This Game Is Too Real
Author: Morning Star LL
Date: 2026-03-06T16:41:20.077000+00:00

Information

Table of Contents URL: https://www.mvlempyr.io/novel/this-game-is-too-real

This game is too freaking realistic!

Bricklaying, running errands, picking up trash, delivering parcels... At most, the company lets you experience the hardships of a 996 schedule, but here you can feel the extreme bonus of 007.

Alright, enough chit-chat, the great Manager has called me to lay some bricks.

That Manager said that as long as we work our livers off, he can get a brand-new set of power armor next month, and then he'll take us to explore a brand new map, picking up even more trash in the vast Wasteland!

...

After teleporting to the Waste World, Chu Guang discovered that he had unlocked the "shelter system" and could summon creatures called "players" from a parallel world.

From that day on, nothing in the Waste World was normal anymore.

Chapter 1 How Real Can a 100% True Game Be?

"...How real is a 100 percent immersive game?"

Earth, a computer lab at a university.

Ye Wei's first thought upon seeing the chat message wasn't the game itself, but blinding righteousness.

Or to be more precise, the sight of his modded-to-the-max "Maiden Scrolls V" and over 100 personally customized wives springing to life from saved game files.

If we went into any more detail, he might lose his account.

His chat nickname was "Gets up a dozen times a night," but due to its length and lack of decorum, the group bros just called him Night Ten.

"It's exactly as real as it sounds."

"Visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory senses... all are as real as in the real world, the flow of time in the game world is 1:1 with the real world, with about a 12-hour time difference, and because the underlying technology interferes with dreams, playing the game is essentially equivalent to sleeping."

The bro who tapped out these lines went by the simple and serious nickname "Light."

This earnest single-character nickname clashed with the group's name "Cattle and Horses Club," so group mates occasionally called him "Ultraman," "Gaia," or even started referring to him with respect or as awesome.

Level Eight Great Gale (Manager): "Is this some kind of fantasy setting? (laugh)"

Long Days Ahead (Manager): "And it sounds kind of dated, like something from early web novels about virtual reality games."

White Horse Passing a Gap (Group Owner): "Haha, you mean like wearing a virtual reality headset? I used to love reading that stuff when I was at school."

Gets up a dozen times a night (Manager): "Let's be real, that kind of setting doesn't make sense. Are operators not looking to make money, just wanting players to have a blast? If it's 100 percent real, how would you show off the prestige of RMB warriors? Everyone would be freeloading!"

Ye Wei didn't read such novels, but he believed that his nine years of compulsory education set him apart from others. He thought rationality should be sought after more than just thrill.

So he preferred reading fantasy and supernatural stories instead.

Long Days Ahead: "Bro, you're taking it too seriously. If we're talking about rationality, isn't it more logical to give the readers outside the novels a thrilling experience rather than making money for the fictional operators inside the novels?"

Level Eight Great Gale: "No matryoshka dolls allowed."

The conversation quickly went off the rails.

Even though the Cattle and Horses Club was a gaming group, they seldom discussed games seriously as they did today.

Especially a game that didn't exist at all, conjured up entirely from imagination.

However, even as the topic drifted far away, Light, the guy who had started the topic, stubbornly steered the conversation back.

Light: "I mean, if such a game existed."

Light: "Would you guys be willing to play it?"

Ye Wei chuckled and shook his head as he looked at the chat.

Is that even a question?

Gets up a dozen times a night: "Of course, why not? A 100 percent real game, why wouldn't I give it a shot? You know what I'm saying. (funny emoticon)"

Level Eight Great Gale: "+1, but I still have some doubts about what you described. If game time is equivalent to sleep time... wouldn't this technology be more appropriate for work?"

White Horse Passing a Gap: "Holy shit, are you the devil???"

Long Days Ahead: "Then I'd rather just sleep honestly. (bitter smile)"

Quit smoking: "You guys aren't sleeping this late at night, just daydreaming in the chat."

"LMAO."

More and more people started bubbling up in the chat.

Some didn't send messages but were peeking at the screen with great interest.

In a gaming group of 200 people, there are usually about ten to twenty active members. Occasionally, a couple of new faces pop up, "He knows you, but you don't know him," kind of people, and you find out they've been lurking for over two years.

But Light, the guy in question, didn't take any of it into account and continued to immerse himself in his own world.

"The fact is, the company I recently joined is developing a fully immersive virtual reality online game."

The boisterous chat went quiet for a moment.

But soon, as if on cue, a flurry of messages popped up.

"Holy crap?"

"For real?!"

"Bro, you're the man! I almost believed you. (funny emoticon)"

Ye Wei thought this guy was really laying it on thick.

A fully immersive virtual reality online game?

100 percent realistic?

Bullshit.

As Brother Gale said, if such a thing really existed, would it be used just for games???

Of course, he disagreed with applying it directly to the office. In his mind, if such amazing technology really existed, it would definitely be used in the military first.

Imagine how incredible it would be for training special forces!

The fellow named "Light" didn't say anything else, he just threw over a website address.

Ye Wei casually clicked on it, only to find that it was actually a game's official website.

The website's design was nothing impressive, seeming as if they couldn't afford to hire a designer, the empty page lacked any content with just three stark lines of text.

[One hundred percent real-life Virtual Reality Game—Wasteland OL]

[Current number of pre-registrations: 0]

[Pre-register: yes/no]

Ye Wei laughed.

Well, pal, after such a long buildup, it turns out this is an advertisement.

Not sure if it's for gambling or online betting.

But the pre-registration number is refreshingly honest, no made-up eight-digit online count, no claim that even the likes of minor celebrities are playing it.

"Alright then, let's see what kind of beast you are."

He clicked yes with the mouse.

Surprisingly, instead of the expected registration page popping up, there was no change other than the number of pre-registrations going from 0 to 1.

"This crappy game doesn't even require an account to register???"

Ye Wei was baffled by this sly maneuver, unable for a moment to decide whether this even counted as an advertisement.

Could it be some kind of virus?

That seemed unlikely.

What age was this, when antivirus software was nearly history, that a virus could be contracted just by clicking yes or no on a website?

Not to mention this was on a school computer.

Even using his own computer, he wasn't worried about this thing.

...

[Number of pre-registrations: 11]

Wasteland, Residents of Shelter No. 404's main hall.

Chu Guang, sitting in his cramped room, let out a sigh of relief and loosened the grip on his mouse as he watched the number change in the computer screen's backend.

"Is this enough?"

The response to his question appeared before his eyes in two lines of text.

[Mission complete.]

[Reward: One set of Carbon Nanotube Bulletproof Vest, +5 reward points.]

The wall on one side of the room vibrated faintly, and as the curved metal door slid open, a black vest lay on the platform behind the door.

A conveyor belt rolled the vest out.

The metal door closed again, and the room returned to its previous calm.

Chu Guang immediately got up from the computer, walked over, and picked up the vest.

It was very light, and felt much like silk pajamas—smooth and soft to the touch, making it hard to believe it could withstand bullets.

[

Name: Carbon Nanotube Bulletproof Vest

Description: Capable of effectively absorbing bullet kinetic energy, dispersing impact force within the range of durability, resistant to a certain degree of piercing and cutting damage.

Durability: 100%

]

Rewards obtained from the shelter system would be recorded in the inventory, complete with product descriptions and instructions for use.

Chu Guang immediately took off his shirt and put it on close to his body.

It was chilly at first, but he quickly got used to it.

At that moment, a cylindrical metal object in the corner of the room emitted a monotone electronic sound.

"Congratulations, Master, it seems you have completed your first task."

"Could you not just start talking out of the blue?"

"Understood, Master."

That trashcan-looking robot was called Xiao Qi.

As the assistant to the Manager of Shelter No. 404, it technically didn't have a name, only the number 777.

But Chu Guang, who couldn't be bothered, gave it a name anyway.

Who Chu Guang really was, and why he was in Shelter No. 404, starts with a tale from a dark and stormy night...

Chapter 2 Shelter No. 404

Chu Guang, male, nominal age 26, grew up with his grandfather after his parents divorced when he was young.

In the second year of college, his grandfather passed away, leaving him all alone.

Fortunately, he was born in a peaceful era and managed to balance work and study, eventually graduating and finding a job in sales. Due to his excellent performance, he quickly earned his boss's recognition and was promoted to supervisor not long after joining.

Just when Chu Guang thought the toughest days were behind him and he could finally enjoy a few days of peace, fate had other plans.

This time, the joke fate played on him was rather severe.

About five months ago.

Chu Guang still remembered that he was negotiating a 20-million contract with a client. The boss was in high spirits and drank a bit too much at the dinner table, eventually passing out.

When he came to, he found himself lying in a desolate wilderness.

Moreover, this was no ordinary wilderness.

He walked for about two miles without seeing a single human shadow, and nearly got mauled by a big two-headed dog.

It was thanks to that two-headed beast.

Scared out of his wits, Chu Guang broke out in a cold sweat, instantly sobering up, and ran as fast as he could.

Perhaps because the two heads made it heavy and awkward, the dog chased him for a while but eventually gave up with a howl.

Not seeing that beast anymore, Chu Guang didn't dare go back and didn't know which way to go.

It was then he realized his wallet and mobile phone were gone, and even his clothes had been changed into a set of blue jackets.

Finding a small puddle, he looked down with the help of the moonlight and was surprised to see not only had his clothes changed but his face too!

He couldn't figure out which lunatic knocked him out, changed his face, and dumped him in this godforsaken place.

As Chu Guang wandered aimlessly in the wilderness, he noticed smoke rising in the distance.

Thinking back, Chu Guang still felt a bit scared.

Determined to report this to the police, he ran towards the smoke, realizing later that he was lucky to reach a genuine survivor settlement.

If he had encountered looters, cannibals, or mutant tribes, he would probably have been cooking in a pot.

Maybe even the shoes would have been cooked!

After interacting with the survivors here, Chu Guang pieced together that this was no longer Hua Nation, even this wasn't the Earth he was familiar with!

In this parallel world, a war two hundred years ago destroyed all of civilization's achievements, leaving behind a barren wasteland and survivors struggling to eke out an existence.

It was now the year 2340.

It was also the 211th year since human civilization entered the Wasteland Era in early 2129!

Confusion.

Shock.

Indescribable fear.

Fortunately, Chu Guang's ability to adapt was strong. After surviving the initial days, he gradually began to acclimate to life here.

He struggled to survive for five months on the wasteland, barely having enough to eat and constantly battling mutant creatures and malicious looters.

Just as Chu Guang pessimistically thought this was how the rest of his life would be, a turning point occurred a few hours ago.

In the ruins of an abandoned sanatorium, he discovered the entrance to a shelter numbered 404.

To be precise, it wasn't that Chu Guang found it, but rather this facility named "Shelter No. 404" found him.

A voice in his head guided him here.

When Chu Guang approached the sanatorium, he suddenly realized this was the spot where he had first woken up in this world!

If he hadn't wandered around aimlessly or if the day had been a bit brighter, he might have found it earlier!

Regardless, the "cheat" that had been five months late finally arrived.

At the same time, a brand-new job was presented to him.

This shelter seemed to have been prepared just for him and had been waiting for a long time.

From the moment he stepped through the shelter's door, his identity transformed from a scavenger to this Shelter No. 404's sole resident and manager.

And his job was just one thing.

To use the Internet on Earth to guide—or rather trick—a group of beings called "players" to come to this world and work for him.

Yes, the high technology in this shelter not only connected to the parallel world's Earth Internet, but it also had its own "official website"!

Players who reserve the game would automatically receive a serial number and be registered in the Administrator System's Resident Directory.

As a manager, Chu Guang could select specific serial numbers to grant "game qualification."

The System would deliver the game helmet to the players through some special method. The player just had to put on the helmet and then connect to the cultivation chamber in the shelter, waking up as a clone.

Very user-friendly.

Also very convenient!

Although there would be no punishment for going on strike, the rewards for completing tasks were irresistible to Chu Guang.

For instance, that bulletproof vest.

Struggling to survive on the wasteland for five months, he understood how crucial such life-saving things were.

Additionally, the task reward points were also valuable because they could be exchanged for "blind boxes" from the Manager Allowance page.

Buying a basic blind box required 1 reward point, an intermediate blind box 10 points, and an advanced blind box 100 points.

According to the explanation of the Manager Allowance function by "Shelter No. 404 Administrator System," the items from the blind boxes were varied and random, but there would always be something, meaning there was no such thing as "Thank you for participating."

The different levels of blind boxes determined the guaranteed rewards.

For example, even a basic blind box would provide food supplies, an intermediate blind box would guarantee medicine, and an advanced blind box could yield weapons.

As for whether a basic blind box could contain intermediate blind box rewards, the system's explanation did not mention it, but even if it did, the probability would probably be very low.

As Chu Guang was contemplating whether to spend his 5 points on basic blind boxes or to save up 100 points for a weapon, the "wastebasket" in the corner of the room spoke up again.

"Master, a new task has been updated in your Administrator's Log. Please check it promptly."

"Got it," Chu Guang replied impatiently.

Damn it.

Who is the master here!

Rolling his eyes at the corner, Chu Guang decided to put the blind box matter aside for now and silently recited the Administrator's System.

Soon, a pale blue holographic screen projected onto his retina.

——Administrator's Log——

[Task: Shelter No. 404 activation conditions met. Confirm initial batch of "stored items" delivery, ensuring at least one player logs into the game.

Type: Mainline.

Reward: Active Substance Extractor.

]

[Task: Prepare a generator with a power output greater than 10kW.

Type: Side quest.

Reward: Reward points +100.

]

What the heck?

100 reward points?!

After reading the updated task in the Administrator's Log, Chu Guang's eyes widened.

What caught his attention even more was the reward for the mainline mission.

"Active Substance Extractor... what the hell is this thing for?"

Xiao Qi answered.

"Active substance is the raw material for making clones. As for how to use it, there should be an instruction manual or something."

As an AI assistant, Xiao Qi didn't know much either.

Currently, Chu Guang's access only reached the B1 level of the shelter; other floor's access needed to be unlocked through mainline tasks.

By the way, forcibly breaking through the shelter's walls in an attempt to infiltrate other floors would cut off the shelter's power and air supply.

The "shelter system," which was loaded into his brain when he first entered, had already informed him of this.

Even without this warning, Chu Guang thought he probably wouldn't be stupid enough to dismantle the place.

Joking aside.

If I dismantle this place, where would I live afterward?

Not to mention, the shelter was designed to withstand strategic nuclear strikes, dismantling it wouldn't be easy.

Not to mention nukes; he didn't even have a gun.

"Alright, I get it."

So, the active substance was similar to "Resurrection Coin," the resource players needed to reassemble clones.

Currently, B1 level housed 100 active cultivation chambers, all in an activable state, each likely containing 1 unit of active substance, sufficient for the initial clone synthesis.

Considering the system's "one chamber per number" setup, Chu Guang could summon up to 100 players to this world as clones.

Of course, Chu Guang was aware that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

Firstly, the Wasteland OL's official website currently had no traffic.

Most people, upon seeing claims of a "100% immersive virtual reality game," would first assume it was a scam.

After all, such technology didn't exist in reality, not even self-media could concoct such stories.

Secondly, even if 11 players were lured into making reservations, he couldn't ensure they would follow his instructions.

Entering and exiting the game was entirely up to the players.

His authority only extended to forcibly kicking out disruptive players, banning their login rights, or revoking their game qualifications; he couldn't force anyone to put on the helmet and log in to work for him.

Therefore, selecting who got the game qualifications—especially the first batch of "closed beta" players—had to be done carefully.

Better to have fewer reliable players than more erratic ones.

Otherwise, it would only complicate things!

And then, the most crucial part.

The conditions on the wasteland dictated that more people weren't always better.

Each additional person meant another mouth to feed.

He was nearly starving, and accommodating another hundred mouths was out of the question.

Even if he had the means to activate all 100 cultivation chambers, it would only provide food for the variants and looters.

Nothing else.

Chu Guang returned to the computer and sat down again.

Calmly contemplating in front of the screen for a while, his thoughts gradually cleared.

He re-logged onto his QQ account, reopened the "Niubi Club" game group, and pulled the group owner and three admins into a discussion group.

Next, he typed in the group chat.

[Send me the serial numbers that appeared on the website when you reserved the game.]

[There are only four closed beta slots. I'll apply to the company and see if they can send the closed beta qualifications and game helmets directly to you guys.]

These were players he frequently played cooperative games with, so considering them didn't seem out of place.

More importantly, Chu Guang couldn't think of any other familiar person to rely on, except for these online friends he had never met in real life but had some connection with.

Relatives?

After his grandfather's passing, they hadn't contacted each other for years. If the police didn't notify them, they might not even know he was gone.

Landlord?

Probably searching all over for him, asking for the rent.

Classmates?

Hadn't been in contact since graduation.

Colleagues?

Hah.

They probably deleted him, thinking it was bad luck.

Even if they hadn't, Chu Guang would never message them since he collapsed at the dining table.

Getting messages from the dead was creepy enough to imagine.

By comparison, these sand sculpture netizens were undoubtedly the best choice.

Though they had never met in real life, they wouldn't overthink about him being offline for five months.

White Horse Passing a Gap: [Niubi, awesome!]

Level Eight Great Gale: [Impressive, impressive!]

Long Days Ahead: [666!]

Getting Up Over Ten Times a Night: [Sure! Strong invincible bro! Waiting for your game helmet! (funny)]

Chu Guang continued typing reminders.

[But remember, the equipment is only lent for you to use, don't lose it, and definitely don't dismantle it. Otherwise, I can't explain to the company.]

[Also, the equipment will be bound to the user's identity information. In principle, each equipment can only register one account and be used by one person.]

Actually, he wasn't worried about the players not following the rules.

According to the system, the helmet would verify the player's identity, rendering it unusable by anyone else.

As for the equipment…

He didn't care about that.

If the system could deliver the helmets, it surely had ways to handle "after-sales service," which wasn't his concern.

Long Days Ahead: [Is this free?]

Chu Guang: [No fees during the closed beta stage, but due to budget constraints, there won't be any wages either.]

Long Days Ahead: [6666, privately sending my serial number, ship me one.]

White Horse Passing a Gap: [Niubi, niubi, hahaha, give me one too. If it's truly a fully immersive virtual reality, I'll live stream standing on my head and have diarrhea!]

Level Eight Great Gale: [Hahaha, I support this as well.]

Getting Up Over Ten Times a Night: [(funny.jpg)]

Although these four buddies clearly didn't believe what he said, they still sent their serial numbers "to play along" with his "prank."

It's just a serial number from the official website.

Not like it's a bank card number and password.

Besides, they were curious about what trick this guy was playing...

Upon receiving the serial numbers, Chu Guang didn't hesitate, immediately calling up the Administrator System. locating the Resident Directory, and checking "grant game qualification" next to the four numbers.

The cultivation chamber took Three days to synthesize clones.

In these three days, the system would use special means to deliver the game helmets to the players... without needing a shipping address.

As for the specific means, whether it would attract modern society's attention, or involve illegal operations, Chu Guang couldn't care less.

He hoped more people would notice their official website, creating a sensation was even better.

This way, he had more options to choose from.

"Master, don't we already have 11 players registered on our official website? Why did you only grant four slots?"

Possibly noticing the activated cultivation chambers in the neighboring room, Xiao Qi expressed confusion.

"Because there isn't a need for that many at the moment."

Shutting down the Resident Directory,

Chu Guang then opened the Manager's Allowance page in the system and spent all five reward points on "basic blind boxes."

Saving up for an advanced blind box was pointless.

The second task's reward was directly 100 points, making these 5 points insignificant.

The pale blue holographic screen flickered, the alloy door of the "output port" on one side of the room shook gently, and with a soft click, it opened.

Seeing the items on the platform, Chu Guang blinked in surprise.

"This… is the blind box?"

Xiao Qi answered.

"It should be."

Chu Guang calmed himself and said.

"I thought the prize would at least come in a box."

Xiao Qi tried to explain.

"Maybe the blind box is just a concept?"

But what's the point of a blind box with no packaging to open?

Why not just call it a lottery?

Staring at the rewards on the conveyor, Chu Guang was silent for a while.

"I get it."

"But why did I exchange for five, and only four came out???"

Chapter 3: Is This Guy Serious?

Alright.

As it turned out, I had misunderstood.

The Blind Box indeed had "five" rewards.

The System didn't do anything as despicable as "swallowing equipment," nor was there such a thing as "thanks for your patronage."

However, the fifth reward from the Blind Box was overshadowed by the other four…

Now, laid out before Chu Guang, were a vacuum-sealed, 100g compressed biscuit and three 25g lollipops—apple, banana, and mango flavored.

And a note.

The packaging of the compressed biscuit was intact, showing no bulges, and though the expiration date and production date were a mystery, it likely wouldn't kill anyone.

This thing was a good find.

The nutritional label claimed it had 500 calories, which could fill a stomach whether eaten dry or cooked into a porridge.

As for the lollipops, despite their not insignificant caloric content, they couldn't provide a sense of fullness.

Nevertheless, to the nearly desperate Chu Guang, they were quite a treat.

Speaking of which, this System was really stingy; was it so worried he'd eat too much or what, that it just palmed off these few items to him?

Standing next to the exit point, Chu Guang stuffed the food into his backpack then picked up the note that had come through on the conveyor belt and unfolded it for a look.

It was written in the language of this world:

[…Is there any creature better suited to be sheared than players?

Not only are they brimming with curiosity, but they are also endlessly enthusiastic, facing challenges head-on without succumbing to the dire straits they find themselves in. Of course, the key point is, they even consider issues from the operator's perspective, helping the operator to shear them!

Packaging this device as a Game, I am simply a genius!

— Manager of Shelter No. 404; (Please place this note in the fifth basic Blind Box, it's an Easter egg for my successor!)]

Chu Guang: "…"

Honestly, he felt not a hint of the surprise one might find from discovering an Easter egg, but rather, he found it somewhat absurd.

But…

What did it mean by "device"?

"Xiao Qi."

"What is it, Master?"

"Do you know the First Generation Manager?"

"I do not recognize them; my main program was only activated when you entered Shelter No. 404. According to the data records in the Shelter's database, the transition of operational rights from the last Manager occurred over a century ago."

Chu Guang continued to inquire.

"Which year specifically?"

Xiao Qi answered.

"January 1, 2157."

The War ended in 2129, and humanity entered the Wasteland Era; 2157 marked its 28th year.

From now…

183 years!

Chu Guang had always been sensitive to numbers, especially such crucial details; once he committed them to memory, he rarely forgot.

"So, you mean to say that 183 years ago, the First Generation Manager invented this device capable of projecting the consciousness from a parallel world into clones and packaged it as a Game, but for some reasons it was never used, correct?"

Perhaps it was because of nuclear winter.

Or maybe another reason that the Shelter had failed to meet the activation conditions.

In any case, those from a hundred years ago were probably long dead.

Xiao Qi said.

"That seems likely."

"What was his name? The First Generation Manager?"

Chu Guang suddenly became curious about his identity.

The person who had come up with such a whimsical setup might not be a genius, but anyone who could invent such an incredible technology amidst the decline of civilization was beyond a mere descriptor of "genius."

Projecting the consciousness from a parallel world into this plane and into clone containers.

Chu Guang couldn't even begin to understand how that was possible.

Technology beyond comprehension was, to him, no different from magic.

"I also do not know; there is no detailed information about him in the available database, maybe it was deleted?"

"Forget it… asking you is as good as asking no one."

Chu Guang was slightly disappointed but not discouraged.

Currently, only Level B1 of the Shelter had been unlocked.

As he progressed with the missions, the secrets buried in this Shelter would eventually be fully revealed before him.

Stuffing the note carelessly into the computer desk's drawer, Chu Guang tightened the straps of his backpack.

Noticing his actions, Xiao Qi, who was squatting in the corner, asked.

"Master, are you leaving?"

That flat, somewhat pitiful voice.

"Yes, players won't log in until three days from now, and there's no point in me just waiting here; better to go back and get prepared."

This place called a shelter lacked even basic sustenance.

Chu Guang had only half a square biscuit and half a bottle of water left on him, as well as the newly acquired compressed biscuit and lollipops from the reward points.

This supply wouldn't last until three days later.

Nearby, in the Survivor Settlement, he had a rudimentary shelter stocked with some supplies and useful tools.

Chu Guang planned to go back, organize a bit, and bring over anything he could carry.

This would be his new base from now on.

"By the way, Xiao Qi."

"What is it, Master?"

"I need your help with something."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued.

"Our official website is too basic, I need you to add a forum feature and a directory and bestiary; can you do that?"

Simply put, he wanted players to understand this "Game" better.

Convincing people to join just with words was a bit tough—some groundwork had to be laid.

"Of course, you have editing rights for the website. Aside from the game reservation page, you can add subpages or modify existing pages."

"Good, I'll leave it to you then."

"I've got it covered!"

Xiao Qi seemed pleased with the task assigned by his master, even raising his speaker volume by half a decibel.

Of course, that might just be Chu Guang's misunderstanding.

"Master, when will you return?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said.

"Three days at the latest."

"If everything goes well, maybe even before tomorrow night."

…

Present day, Cow Horse Club group chat.

That guy named "Light" in the group chat, after dropping a website link, had disappeared. It was unclear whether he had gone offline or was just lurking.

Initially, the topic of "fully immersive Virtual Reality Game" was nearly over, but a few minutes ago, this guy's flurry in the small group chat had jerked the topic back to attention in the main chat.

Quit smoking: [Damn, is this guy serious?]

Quit smoking was also an active member who often popped up in the group, though not a manager.

White Horse Passing a Gap: [Yeah, after you guys made the reservation, he created a small group and dragged us few group managers into it. (scratches head)]

White Horse Passing a Gap was the group owner, naturally also in that small group.

Upon hearing this, the group members instantly boiled over.

[Darn it! It's a conspiracy!]

[Do you guys know the name of the company Brother Guang joined? I'm gonna report him for P2P trading! (funny)]

[Nonsense, a company? Last year a VR company went bust, and it took the boss down with it! VR is not the trend anymore!]

[Keep your voices down, Ah Guang might be peeping at our screens. (funny)]

[What's he really up to? Just for a joke?]

[Who knows, maybe he's directing you brothers to a gambling site, waiting to harvest you all when there's enough traffic!]

[I knew this guy was no good! Just kick him out.]

The conversation gradually lost its appeal.

It even escalated into personal attacks.

Ye Wei watched, frowning. He was about to say something when he saw the group owner step in to put the brakes on.

(Group silenced)

White Horse Passing a Gap: [Guys, let's not be like this. The new members might not know Ah Guang, but he's a decent person, just lacking in marksmanship, a bit blind, a bit lacking skills, everything else is fine.]

Long Days Ahead: [Indeed, I believe Ah Guang isn't veering off onto the wrong path into gambling. We're just not sure if his account was hacked. If so, our manager team will handle it. I'm going to retract this message in a bit, let's change the topic, ha. (smile)]

(Group silence lifted)

With the owner and managers having spoken, everyone respectfully dropped the topic and quickly shifted to discussing the Euro Cup.

Ye Wei didn't watch soccer, at least not football.

Glancing at the time on the lower right corner of the screen, it was already 18:00, just in time for dinner.

Having uploaded his unfinished major assignment to the cloud, Ye Wei pushed back his chair, went downstairs, ordered a spicy chicken fried rice, and savored it deliciously.

When he leisurely returned to his dorm, he saw a cardboard box on the table and suddenly froze.

A delivery?

"Ah Wei, what did you buy? Such a big thing?"

His dorm-mate approached, and the other two also turned their attention this way.

Everyone was decent people.

Ye Wei wasn't in the dorm earlier, so it wasn't right to touch his stuff. Now that he had returned, it didn't matter anymore.

They were all curious about what he had bought.

"I didn't buy anything... Who sent this over?"

The three roommates looked at each other.

"I didn't notice..."

"Me neither."

"I don't know, I just went to get takeout."

Weird!

Usually, deliveries were left at the delivery station downstairs at the dorm, but today it was delivered directly to their door.

Even weirder, Ye Wei pondered that he had never written in the delivery address which seat he was in.

Are delivery guys this awesome now?

Opening the cardboard box, inside lay a helmet.

The design looked quite like a motorcycle helmet, painted black inside and out, nothing special to look at.

If anything was special, it was that it had no front. Putting it on would cover the whole head, and he could see absolutely nothing.

At first glance, Ye Wei thought it was a pot.

"What the heck is this."

The guy at the next table played with the helmet a bit, put it on his head, then took it off again, confusedly handing it back to Ye Wei.

"You're asking me, but who am I to ask?"

Could it really be a pot?

Ye Wei also tried it baffledly, putting it on his head.

His vision was pitch black.

However, just as he was about to take it off, a pale blue light suddenly pierced the darkness, into his retina.

[Waiting for Game activation: 71 hours 19 minutes]

This...

Could it be that Game Helmet?!

Dammit.

Was it shipped this fast?

Ye Wei was completely dumbfounded.

"None of you saw it?"

He took off the helmet and looked at his roommate who had just worn the helmet.

However, that roommate, just as baffled, looked back at him.

"Saw what?"

Ye Wei hurriedly said, "That countdown! It said 'waiting for Game activation!'"

"What? Can this thing even be a gaming console?"

"Move aside, Brother Liu's eyesight is bad, let me have a look."

Another roommate took the helmet, tried it on, but after a while, like the first, confusedly took it off.

"Nothing."

"Let me try."

Each of the three roommates tried it on in turn, and without exception, none saw anything.

They looked at each other and collectively turned to Ye Wei, expressions odd.

"Bro."

Ye Wei: "…What?"

"Maybe… you should go see a doctor?"

"Get lost!"

Ye Wei cursed and snatched back the helmet, wearing it again in disbelief.

The pale blue text arrived as expected.

[Waiting for Game activation: 71 hours 17 minutes]

The countdown had advanced by 2 minutes.

Not just that...

Right then, he suddenly discovered that no matter how he turned the helmet, that line of countdown always appeared right in the center of his field of vision.

Even if he closed his eyes.

Ye Wei took off the helmet, his face ghostly.

Damn.

Had he really seen a ghost?!

Chapter 4 Chu Guang and the Lollipop

Two hundred years ago.

To be precise, in the year 2125, a war broke out on this prosperous planet.

Both sides of the war were determined to completely annihilate the other, utilizing almost every means available.

The war lasted only three years.

But it only took three years to destroy everything on the face of the Earth.

The long nuclear winter nearly extinguished the flames of civilization, and both sides succeeded in sending each other to hell, while also burying themselves.

From then on, the Wasteland Era, even more desolate than the Great Depression, began.

Although two centuries had passed since that apocalyptic battle, and the nuclear winter had largely ended over a century ago, humankind had not returned to the top of the food chain.

The proliferation of nuclear weapons, biological weapons, and even genetic weapons, caused the entire planet's ecosystem to evolve in extreme directions.

And those mutants known as "Variants" posed the primary threat to the survivors struggling among the ruins.

For example, when Chu Guang first arrived in this world, one of the things he encountered was a wolf dog with two heads – a Variant.

However, even among Variants, there are differences in strength.

Creatures like the Two-headed Hyena Dog, a "freak" caused by Gamma Rays, generally have low combat power, with a few luck exceptions; some may even be weaker than before their mutation.

In contrast, the Eaters, Crawlers, and other such Variants, caused by biological weapons and so mutated they can no longer be traced back to their ancestors, were truly born for slaughter.

Their nervous systems were infected by mutant fungi; during the day, they usually hid in ruins, sewers, or subway facilities away from light, and it was only at nightfall that they ventured out to hunt for food.

The situation in the suburbs was a lot better than in the city.

Especially the distant suburbs.

In the past five months, the most dangerous Variant that Chu Guang had encountered was a Mutant Brown Bear. Although that fellow had tremendous strength, its reactions were relatively slow.

Chu Guang carefully avoided it before it noticed him.

The early morning light broke through the damaged concrete walls and, together with the shadows of the steel rebar debris, fell onto the streets littered with automobile wreckage and broken stones.

The current time was eight in the morning.

Here, the time differed by about twelve hours from the East Eight Time Zone over in the present world.

Watching the two mutated hyenas wandering the streets, Chu Guang gripped the pointed iron pipe in his hand and cautiously made his way behind the ruins.

Though he was confident he could take them down, there was no need to court unnecessary trouble.

What's more, these creatures were clever and even knew to use their kind as bait; no one knew how many more might be lurking in the shadows of the nearby ruins.

He made his way along the small path through the dilapidated blocks.

Upon seeing the sign for the Bet Street Children's Park, Chu Guang finally let out a sigh of relief.

Ahead was "Bet Street" – the larger survivor settlement in the area, home to over a hundred survivor families.

Before the war broke out, this had been a children's amusement park with a plethora of recreational facilities and a spacious lawn.

After the war, the military designated it as a temporary refuge and accommodated a large number of citizens who fled from the downtown area of Clear Spring City.

What became of those refugees is unknown, but after more than two centuries, today the area had evolved into a small "town".

Using discarded plastic boards, canopies, wood, and metal supports, people cobbled together makeshift shanties on the bare muddy ground.

It was strikingly similar to those of the "Outlaw Era".

The amusement park's Enclosing Wall was a natural barrier and, after rough repairs, had been fortified with barbed wire and spiked wooden planks.

At the center of the amusement park stood a five-story classical castle, reminiscent of a fairy tale. The paint on its surface had long since peeled away, and the wall facing the city center had collapsed significantly, leaving only half of the northern side and a solitary, rickety tower.

Even if it were a fairy tale, it would certainly be a dark one.

Yet even in this broken state, it remained the most "luxurious" building on Bet Street.

And, it was also the home of the town mayor.

Having lived here for five months, Chu Guang had not met the mayor. The personage was shrouded in mystery, rarely making public appearances.

"Yo, back so early?"

Watching Chu Guang come around the corner of the street, Old Walter, dangling a pipe, squinted his eyes and exhaled a puff of murky white smoke from his nostrils.

In his hand, he held a Double-barreled shotgun.

Despite its age, no one doubted its lethality.

Chu Guang had witnessed first-hand how the old man had fired just two shots and taken down a Mutant Brown Bear that had gone berserk and charged the gates of Bet Street.

Since then, he had always desired to possess one himself.

"I was held up outside all night."

"Outside?"

The old man glanced at the spiked iron pipe Chu Guang carried on his back, raising an eyebrow in a hint of surprise.

Nighttime was incredibly dangerous, and no one knew this better than him.

Every night shift, he dared not let his index finger stray from the trigger, as any slight rustle or movement put his nerves on edge.

Although the Variants in the remote suburbs weren't as dangerous as those in the urban areas, there were a great many Looters who eyed this place like tigers watching their prey.

Falling into their hands wouldn't be much better than dying at the hands of a Variant.

Old Walter had his doubts that this guy could actually spend a night in the Wasteland unharmed with just a steel pipe.

"There was a bit of an accident."

Chu Guang didn't explain, merely giving Old Walter a tired look that said to draw his own conclusions, then walked through the gates of the Survivor Settlement.

There was only one junk recycling station on Bet Street, and it was easy to find, located right next to the entrance gate of the Survivor Settlement.

An old electronic scale that never gave accurate readings sat beneath the shutter door, next to it stood a sign that professed "Fair prices, honesty to all."

This store was the property of the town mayor and the only place on Bet Street that bought scrap parts and mole hides.

In order to monopolize the scavenging business, this despot even brazenly enacted a law:

No one was to sell their hunted game or scavenged trash privately to the Commercial Teams that passed through.

The reason given was to ensure that the goods from Bet Street fetched reasonable prices, instead of being shamelessly squeezed by "sly merchants."

The fact that such arrogant and unreasonable rules could be enacted was partly due to the ignorance of the local survivors.

Moreover, most Commercial Teams wouldn't risk offending the despot by buying the pitiful amount of materials from the hands of Scavengers.

They only engaged in larger trades.

And only did business with trusted individuals.

"Selling? Or buying?"

The shopkeeper was a fifty-year-old man named Charlie, rumored to have been a resident of a Shelter from another province before being captured as a Slave, until the town's mayor bought him from a Slave Owner and entrusted him with interacting with the Scavengers.

Most residents here were "Wasteland-born" with no education to speak of, and their math skills were poor—to the extent that they might even miscalculate basic addition or subtraction within one hundred.

But Charlie was different.

He came from a Shelter.

Although none of the Shelters in the Wasteland were exactly alike, they did share one commonality.

Those who lived there were invariably the elite of pre-War society, their children not only inherited their parents' intelligence but were provided with good education from a young age.

If this world hadn't gone to hell, he probably would have ended up like his forebears, becoming an engineer, doctor, or scholar.

Instead of keeping accounts here.

"Selling."

Without further small talk, Chu Guang pulled out 6 scrap batteries and 5 tubes of adhesive from his backpack and tossed them onto the scale's tray.

He had scavenged these from the remnants of buildings nearby before he discovered Shelter No. 404.

Old Charlie picked up the scrap batteries from the table, casually checked the type and for any bulging or damage, then carelessly tossed them onto a scale next to him.

One could be certain these were useless, but still, the materials inside could be recycled.

"Decent quality given that the trash around here's been pretty picked over. Where did you find this good stuff?"

This could be considered good stuff?

"Got lucky."

"Heh, was just asking. Hmm, the batteries aren't bad, but the quality of the adhesive is so-so, the seals have been tampered with, and it's probably a mess inside. I can only give you half the rate for those... all together, it's 3 points in chips."

Chu Guang didn't bother to haggle and took the 3 white chips from Charlie's hand.

These plastic coins with a metallic feel were the "money" issued by Giant Stone City, the largest Survivor Settlement in Qingquan City, and could be exchanged for food and supplies in most Survivor Settlements around Qingquan City.

The chips had their denomination on the front and a special security code and unique holographic print on the back that shimmered under sunlight.

These chips were heat resistant, easy to store, highly recognizable, and—most critical—almost impossible to replicate with post-War technology.

Places like Bet Street, with smaller populations and no industrial capabilities, mainly conducted business with the Commercial Teams from Giant Stone City, exchanging agricultural produce, hunted game, and scavenged trash for necessary living supplies and even weapons.

Naturally, this currency started circulating in Bet Street as well.

Of course, it wasn't always effective; if the Commercial Teams didn't visit for a month, the Settlement's prices would spiral out of control.

The mayor had tried to introduce Bet Street's own currency—a sort of voucher system—but no one acknowledged it.

Even the survivors of Bet Street knew well that such paper was more of a hassle than help, barely distinguishable from trash.

"Would you like to buy something? The store just received a new shipment from Giant Stone City."

Just as Chu Guang was about to leave, he paused in his steps and turned back to ask,

"Do you have any guns?"

"No, none of that, and even if we did, you couldn't afford it."

Old Charlie cracked a smile and continued as Chu Guang turned to leave.

"However, there is some food and fuel available. If I were you, I'd definitely buy more before the price goes up."

Weapons, even the cheapest kind, were hard to come by in places like Bet Street.

Even if the occasional arms caravan passed through here, those weapons usually ended up in the mayor's own warehouse and were never laid out on the shelves for people to choose from.

Moreover, as Old Charlie had said, even if such things were available, scavengers like them could never afford them.

Chu Guang understood why he said that.

As a well-educated resident from the refuge, Charlie must have seen that all the survivors living on Bet Street, whether scavengers or hunters, had been completely exploited by the mayor and his family.

Even if the lord mayor had never personally reached into their pockets to take even a single chip.

"Food and fuel are going up in price?"

Looking at the surprise on Chu Guang's face, Charlie said with a faint smile.

"Haven't you noticed? It's getting colder lately, and the Variants outside are starting to get active."

Chu Guang frowned in thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something and spoke.

"Is winter coming?"

"I remember you arrived here five months ago. Perhaps you haven't experienced it, but around this time in previous years, it would usually begin to get colder. This year... winter might come a bit earlier; it's possible that it'll start snowing in October."

At this, Charlie paused for a moment, then said with profound meaning,

"Winter is coming."

"Both people and Variants need to start preparing in advance."

When Chu Guang first came to Bet Street, he wore a blue jacket, and Charlie had subconsciously taken him for someone from the shelter, so he had been quite caring towards him.

Although this care never reflected in the trading prices, this old man had indeed helped Chu Guang with some experience.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have adapted to life on the Wasteland so quickly.

Chu Guang nodded seriously.

"I understand, thank you."

"Don't mention it," Charlie said with a faint smile, "just don't die."

It was already the beginning of September, and if it were really going to snow in October, Chu Guang had only a little over a month left to prepare.

For the survivors living in this area, snowfall was definitely not something to rejoice over. It meant that besides food, they would also have to add fuel expenses.

Most people here lived off of scavenging and hunting; nearby farms only needed people during the busy seasons.

In winter, the difficulty of scavenging would exponentially rise; no one could predict whether the parts buried in the snow were reusable junk or the fangs of mutated rats.

And animals like deer and rabbits, which could provide meat, would reduce their activity times, or even hide in their lairs to overwinter.

Most fatal of all, once winter arrived, the caravans would no longer come here. Even if good items were scavenged, they could only be piled up at home, waiting to be sold when spring came the following year.

Or take the risk of venturing to Giant Stone City, ten kilometers away.

That was the largest survivor settlement in the Clear Spring City area, and even in winter, its market would not close.

However, it was located on the edge of Clear Spring City's Third Ring Road, right next to the North District of Clear Spring City, with countless dangers lurking along the way.

For an ordinary person to think about walking there, especially when the lowest temperature could reach minus ten degrees in winter, was tantamount to suicide!

…

After leaving the recycling station, Chu Guang first went back to his place of residence.

It was more of a makeshift shelter barely able to keep out the rain than a home, lacking even a proper window or door.

Until yesterday, he had thought about saving up some cement, PVC boards, and other materials to seal the drafty walls before the arrival of winter.

But now, it seemed there was no need.

Prying open a rusty aluminum box from a moldy sleeping bag, Chu Guang strained to open it and poured out the plastic coins clattering onto the wobbly wooden table.

A total of 47 white chips with a face value of 1 point each.

Including the three on his person, that made exactly 50 points!

This money had been saved up little by little, scrimping and saving, so that one day he could leave this hellhole and move to the better conditions in Giant Stone City.

But now, well...

He had a new plan for this "fortune."

Why rely on others when you can stand on your own?

"The ruins of the sanatorium above the shelter can be put to use, and the walls around the building are all concrete structures… If there were players to command, gathering some materials nearby, the difficulty of repairs shouldn't be too great."

"The Wetland Park is near the sanatorium, making it inconvenient to collect metal scrap, but the surrounding vegetation is still quite lush. There shouldn't be too much shortage of fuel for heating. Besides, wood can also be used for repairing buildings and making furniture... Axes! Right, I'll need to buy four axes."

Leveling up by fighting monsters?

"Not possible!"

They said it was a 100% realistic hardcore Game, and if it's a hardcore Game, you naturally have to start with the most basic Work!

"Tools like shovels and saws can't be neglected either!" Even before the players logged in, Looter had already thought about how to arrange them.

Of course, besides the tools for Work, there's also the critical issue of food rations.

Once activated, the Cultivation chamber would immediately consume the pre-stored active substances within and synthesize a clone for the players to use.

And these clones needed to eat!

Although the clones could lie dormant in the Cultivation chamber with a lower metabolism when the players weren't online, they couldn't always lie down.

People needed to eat to live, and that was an eternal Truth!

"At least I need to store enough food for five adults for a week... Assuming two meals a day, one flatbread per meal, that would be 70 pieces."

Flatbread was the most common Food on Bet Street, 1 Plastic coin would buy one piece.

This thing was usually as big as a palm, and it might have bark or other fibers mixed into it. It was tough and coarse to bite into, like earth mixed with sand, but it could fill the stomach and added a bit of salt.

If you boiled it in a pot, you could make porridge.

70 pieces of bread would cost 70 Plastic coins to buy, and even if you haggled, it wouldn't be less than 60 Plastic coins. With such expenses, he wouldn't have enough budget,

Looter's brow furrowed, but then it relaxed again.

He had made things too complicated moments ago.

There was no need to feed those players too well.

If he replaced the flatbread with its raw material—it was green wheat, produced by the nearby farms. For just 3 Plastic coins, you could get a whole kilogram!

Stocking 5 kilograms would be enough for a few days!

And if worse came to worst, you could mix in bark or plant roots like the Survivors on Bet Street did.

As for the rest, he would figure out something when the time came.

"Let's just prepare these things for now..."

He swept the allocated Plastic coins into his backpack and slung it back onto his shoulder.

Although he hadn't slept all night, he was now too excited, as if he had found a new purpose in life, without the slightest hint of tiredness.

When he opened the door and came outside, he saw the little girl from next door squatting at the entrance of the neighboring shack, curiously looking his way.

Looter recognized her name, Yu Xiaoyu, the youngest daughter of the Yu family.

Most survivors in the Wasteland were thin and haggard, and Yu Xiaoyu was no exception. Her arms and legs as thin as reeds made it hard to believe she was of marriageable age.

Noticing Looter's gaze, she didn't act shy but walked out from her house.

"I heard noises from your place and came to see."

Every morning at dawn, the men of Bet Street would go out to scavenge or hunt, while the elderly, women, and children usually stayed home to mind the house or do some Work that could earn Money.

Although everyone was poor and lived hand to mouth, unable to save any Money and with nothing worth stealing at home, no one wanted strangers taking small advantages in their homes while they were out.

This man named Looter was an outsider, usually leaving early and returning late, seldom interacting with the local community.

She didn't know much about him, only noticing that he didn't look like the type to endure hardships.

Initially, everyone was cautious of him, and her mother had told her to keep an eye on this foreigner.

However, Yu Xiaoyu thought he didn't seem like a bad person because he had once shared a bowl of soup with her when he was cooking at his door.

"Thank you."

"It's nothing. I can watch your house when you're out," she blinked, happily adding, "I'm free anyway."

Poor child.

If this were the other world, she would still be in school at her age.

Not wanting to appear offensive, Looter hid the faint sympathy in his eyes, took a lollipop from his pocket without expression, and put it into the little girl's hand.

"Here, eat this."

"Don't tell anyone I gave it to you."

"Otherwise, you won't get any more."

She had never seen this kind of Food before.

Yu Xiaoyu first tried to bite the wrapper, realizing it was unchewable, then she discovered she had to tear it open.

Her big eyes fixed on the red fruit ball stuck on a plastic stick; she cautiously stuck out her tongue, giving it a light lick.

What, what flavor is this?!

So sweet!

Her eyes sparkled like little stars as she looked up happily, wanting to say thank you.

But the man who gave her the candy had already walked away.

Chapter 5: 4 Heaven disaster

Dog and Horse Management discussion group.

This is a small group with only four people.

The group owner is White Horse Passing a Gap, and the members are three dogs and horses from the adjacent group—in other words, Dog Management: Night Ten getting up countless times in one night, Level Eight Great Gale, Long Days Ahead.

Night Ten: "Did you all receive the helmets???"

Old White: "Got it... It's pretty strange, dumped right at my doorstep."

Fang Chang: "I found mine at the garage entrance..."

Wild Wind: "Mine was on my office desk... I thought it belonged to a colleague."

Night Ten: "None of yours is as bizarre as mine; the package was delivered straight to my dorm! All three of my roommates were there, and not one of them saw how it got in! And the creepiest part, I don't know if you guys noticed, but when you put on the helmet, you can see a countdown timer, but no one else can see anything."

The group fell eerily silent for a bit.

The first to break the silence was the group owner, White Horse Passing a Gap.

Old White: "...Now that you mention it, it does seem pretty strange."

Fang Chang: "What kind of gaming company has such vast powers, not only knowing our addresses but delivering the packages without anyone noticing?"

Wild Wind: "Yeah, that's what concerns me the most. The address is understandable; they could theoretically figure out our real-world location from the IP address when we clicked on the link. But the logistics... I can't wrap my head around it. I'm in Jinling, and if I remember correctly, Night Ten is studying in Jiang City. That's a difference of five hundred kilometers, but we all found the helmets almost simultaneously."

Night Ten: "Right... And shortly after clicking the link."

Old White: "Shit, should we call the police?"

Fang Chang: "There's no property damage, so the police will probably have a hard time dealing with it. Plus, what are you going to tell them? The courier delivered it to the wrong address? There's an issue with the helmet? Others can't see anything when they wear it, except for the person using it."

Wild Wind: "Yeah, that's the biggest issue, it's hard to explain to others what this thing is. I even tried to put my mobile phone inside the helmet while wearing it, but although I could clearly see something, the phone couldn't capture anything."

Wild Wind, who is a teacher in reality and probably teaches science, speaks in an orderly manner, and this statement was unanimously agreed upon by Fang Chang and Old White.

Night Ten: "Should we... take the helmet apart to have a look?"

Wild Wind: "It's not impossible, but there's a risk. At least I haven't found a place where it can be disassembled. If we resort to force, it's unlikely we'll be able to put it back together."

At this point, they decided not to risk it.

Fang Chang: "True, we can't screw over Ah Guang."

The fact that the helmet had been left at the door of his garage by someone with such vast powers made him somewhat believe what that guy with the ID "Light" had said.

Could this company be a mysterious research organization supported by state agencies?

Whatever it was, as it stood, they had not suffered any losses. Plus, he was quite interested in fully immersive VR games.

The countdown had successfully piqued his interest.

Wild Wind: "I messaged Brother Guang privately on the penguin platform, but he hasn't replied yet. That official website's URL doesn't look like it belongs to a domestic site, it even resembles a non-standard domain name, so I can't find any registration info."

Night Ten: "The dark web?!"

Wild Wind: "Not sure."

Old White: "Let's just leave it at that for now; discussing it is pointless. At the end of the day, in three days, we'll know what's the deal with the helmet!"

...

While the players discussed, Chu Guang in the Wasteland was busy making his final preparations.

5 kilograms of green wheat and some iron tools.

Chu Guang had worked hard to move these items inconspicuously from Bet Street to Wetland Park, three kilometers away.

Shelter No. 404 was hidden underground in this park, with the entrance inside a nondescript sanatorium.

The vegetation here was lush, and it was also near a lake, which theoretically meant that there should be plenty of wildlife in the area.

Chu Guang was very careful after getting close, watching out for any potential dangers in the surroundings.

Fortunately, no accidents occurred.

He checked the marks he had made at the sanatorium entrance to ensure that no Variants or Looters had slipped in while he was away, then he pushed open the door with the pointed end of a water pipe and cautiously stepped inside.

The entrance to Shelter No. 404 was the elevator in the innermost part of the sanatorium lobby, the only one labeled with a Level B1 floor.

Chu Guang first went down to drop off the grains in the corridor between the elevator base and the airlock door outside the buffer room.

This was an open space, roughly forty to fifty meters below the ground level.

To be honest, it wasn't the perfect place to store food, but it was still better than leaving it in the sanatorium to be targeted by passing rats or Mutant Cockroaches.

Passed through the two airlock doors of the buffer room.

Entering the hall, Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi squatting in the corner and said,

"Is the forum feature on the official website developed yet?"

"It's already done."

"What about the players? Have they received their helmets?"

"They've received them, yes."

That fast?

Chu Guang was slightly surprised.

He remembered leaving Shelter No. 404 at six in the morning, and it was only around one o'clock in the afternoon now, a mere seven hours apart.

"Is the flow of time here in the Wasteland the same as in modern society, a 1:1 flow?"

"Of course it is, but the time here corresponds to the Earth's Western Time Zone Four."

Hua Nation in the current world is in Eastern Time Zone Eight, with a time difference of about twelve hours with Western Time Zone Four, which means it's one o'clock in the morning in the eastern region of Hua Nation right now.

Chu Guang sat in front of the computer and logged into the official website's backend.

Xiao Qi had added a forum feature to the official website as per his instruction, but there was no traffic yet, naturally, so there wasn't a single post.

The same was true for the database and the illustrated handbook.

"How can I upload photos from here to this place?" Chu Guang pointed at the image library on the screen.

"Just upload it directly."

"…What I meant was, how do I take pictures? Or do you have something like a camera?"

It was absurd that such a huge shelter had nothing at all on Level B1.

Not to mention leaving some weapons for personal use, shouldn't there be at least some basic survival tools prepared?

"Uh, probably no camera, but my camera can take pictures for you... What kind do you want to take? Just here?"

Looking at the robot that resembled a waste paper basket in the corner of the wall, Chu Guang sighed and said,

"Taking pictures here is pointless... Never mind, I'll figure something out myself."

He couldn't possibly bring Variants here.

However, taking Xiao Qi outside was something to consider.

Most Variants weren't particularly interested in an inedible pile of metal; with a bit of camouflage, perched atop a building, it could be a Divine Artifact for watchkeeping!

The more Chu Guang thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

He logged onto Penguin number through the resident hall computer.

Chu Guang found that four players had sent him private messages, inquiring which company he worked for, what exactly was meant by a fully immersive game, and what exactly the game helmet was all about.

To be honest, Chu Guang didn't know how to answer their questions either, nor was it possible to tell them the real situation of this world.

Only by making them believe this place was the Game world,

Could they descend as "the Fourth Heaven disaster," fearless and tireless, becoming his strongest tools.

"Master."

"What is it?"

Looking at Chu Guang closing the computer and standing up from the chair, Xiao Qi curiously asked from his corner,

"Aren't you going to reply to their messages?"

"There's no need."

The more explanations, the more loopholes; better to brush them off with corporate secrets or state secrets.

As for the rest?

Let them guess on their own.

What are brains for, if not for making guesses?

Aren't they for filling in the blanks?

Chapter 6 The First Batch of Closed Beta Test Players

"I am an NPC."

Facing the mirror, Chu Guang took a deep breath, straightened his collar, and tried to make himself look sufficiently authoritative.

And emotionless.

Three days had already passed since that day.

In a few minutes, it would be time for the players to log into the Game.

As for this blue jacket he was wearing, it was the same one he had been wearing when he first arrived in this world long ago.

Old Charlie on Bet Street had once told him that the residents coming out of the shelter seemed to all wear this.

"I am an NPC."

Chu Guang practiced again, using a mirror he had found outside.

The nature of this "new job" was completely different from the sales job he used to do—smiles like a breath of spring and polite attitudes shouldn't appear on a Manager's face at all.

After all, this was the Wasteland, where the law of the jungle prevailed.

To survive in this wasteland, his image didn't have to be that of a tough iron-blooded man, but at least it should give enough confidence and security.

Touching the lines of his cheeks, Chu Guang pondered in his mind whether he should carve a scar on his forehead.

Or maybe just style his hair into a punk Mohawk?

After all, this was the Wasteland, where the law of the jungle prevailed.

Too handsome.

It would affect the sense of immersion.

"Master."

As Chu Guang, still playing with his look in the mirror, raised his chin expressionlessly.

"What is it?"

Xiao Qi whispered.

"According to the data I looked up, NPCs in the Game usually don't refer to themselves as NPCs."

Chu Guang's expression froze slightly, and he cleared his throat lightly, saying,

"Of course I know..."

Facing the mirror, he muttered again.

"...I am the manager of Shelter No. 404."

The appointed time should have almost arrived.

Three hours ago, the cultivation chamber had already completed the synthesis of the clone.

And he had agreed on Penguin with four "lucky" players who got the beta testing opportunity that before 9 PM Beijing time, they would wear their helmets, find a comfortable position to lie flat or sideways, and log in on time at 9 PM.

As Chu Guang was thinking about how he should make his entrance in front of the players, suddenly, a "ding" sound echoed in his mind.

Following that, a line of text appeared before him.

[Mission Completed!]

Chu Guang's heart tightened slightly.

Here it came!

...

"Holy, holy, holy, holy! Incredible!"

In a nondescript room next to the resident hall's living area, four cultivation chambers unlocked simultaneously, opening their semi-transparent chamber doors.

Sitting up from the opened cultivation chambers, Ye Wei looked around, dumbfounded, his face filled with surprise and even bewilderment.

This—

Is this the Game world?!

Until a minute ago, he was still wondering if this could be a meticulously planned joke.

However, just as he lay on the bed with his fully charged helmet about to fall asleep, a light pierced through the darkness toward him.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already in a strange room.

Covered in a damp mess.

As if he had just been fished out of a pool.

The air blowing from the vent above fell on his shoulders, and he could distinctly feel the liquid evaporating bit by bit, taking away his body warmth.

There was also a faint odor accompanying it.

Ye Wei suddenly gasped, widening his eyes.

Vision!

Smell!

Touch!

Taste!

Hearing!

All five senses intact!

Awesome!!!

This immersive feeling filled his eyes with tears.

He couldn't believe that in his lifetime, he would truly witness fully immersive virtual reality technology!

This was beyond incredible!

It wasn't just him.

The other three players who had sat up from the cultivation chambers also simultaneously showed shocked expressions.

"Holy, holy, holy, holy."

"...I actually thought it was a joke."

"Damn! It really is fully immersive!"

"Has technology advanced this much already??? Damn, why haven't I ever seen this in the news?!"

"Hiss... even the sense of pain is damn real." A player pinched himself.

"Who the hell are you? An NPC?"

"An NPC my ass, I'm Old White! 'White Horse Passing a Gap!' And who are you?"

"What the fuck? Boss?! I'm Wild Wind! Level Eight Great Gale! Why do you look like that? Hahahaha, you're killing me!"

"Get lost! Call me 'boss' again, and I'll show you what rough means... Hey, this game is pretty interesting. Did it already set appearances? Wonder if we can edit characters in the public version."

Old White pinched himself too. Despite wincing in pain, his face was filled with joy.

Exciting!

Thrilling!

Unbelievable!

Dreams turned into reality!

Ye Wei, who was on the neighboring bed, stared wide-eyed, unmoving, trying to digest the shock.

Besides him, another guy sat unmoved, who seemed to be Long Days Ahead from the group.

He stared pensively between his legs, apparently deep in thought about something.

"Is the character setting defaulted to male? No character customization phase. I mean... can I create a female character?"

"Damn, you're quite saucy, aren't you? You must be Night Ten."

"I'm Fang Chang..."

"What the fuck?! Fang Chang?! Good brother... you get what I mean, right?"

"Beat it, I was just saying. This guy next to us is Night Ten, right... You all came?"

As the three of them looked over, Ye Wei finally snapped out of it.

Realizing he was still naked, he quickly grabbed the uniform hanging beside the cultivation chamber and threw it over his head, casually responding.

"Yeah, just arrived... How do we play this game? Isn't there a tutorial for newbies?"

"Don't know, we just got here too."

As soon as he finished talking, the door to the room opened.

A man in a blue jacket walked in.

Behind him followed a trash-bin-shaped robot, its tubular body looking somewhat comical yet its streamlined shell and polished silver paint exuded a sci-fi vibe.

All four players stared intensely.

"An NPC!"

"Just like a real person!"

"Is this really the Game world?"

"It's too realistic!"

"Quiet," Chu Guang halted the noisy chatter, glancing around at the four players in the room before slowly speaking, "Welcome to Shelter No. 404."

"I am the Manager here."

"Code name—Dawn."

An instantaneous silence filled the air.

The four players, unexpectedly well-behaved, gazed at him holding their breath, afraid to miss any plot detail.

It appeared his presence had successfully taken control of the scene.

Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief internally and continued according to the script he had prepared.

"Firstly, I have some good news—the War is over."

"But the bad news is, our world is unrecognizable. If you're hoping to grab your bags and go home to find mom, that's obviously not possible."

"It's the two-hundredth year post-apocalypse, and fortunately, we've survived the toughest years. Standing here, you're luckier than 12 billion people. And now, I need you to quickly understand the current situation and fulfill your oath under the United Human flag—rebuild our homeland!"

"Beside me is my assistant, its name is Xiao Qi. If you have any questions about the shelter or anything unclear, feel free to ask it."

That was the opening speech.

When the next batch of players came, Chu Guang would say it again.

After all, it had been painstakingly crafted.

And on Xiao Qi's part, what could be disclosed and what couldn't had already been briefed by Chu Guang, so there wasn't much worry about slipping up.

Even if something did slip up, it wouldn't matter.

Any unanswerable questions could be dismissed with "It's just a game setting." These days, what setting is perfect? If someone insisted on nitpicking, even the national news broadcast could be found buggy.

Seeing that Chu Guang had finally finished, the player whose registered nickname was Night Ten quickly asked.

"Could you tell me where Brother Guang is? I mean, the game planner who gave us the helmets."

"I don't understand what you're saying," Chu Guang replied expressionlessly.

"How do we log out of the game?" Old White followed up.

"Go back and lie down in the cultivation chamber, and you can log out properly."

There was another way to log out—by fainting, sleeping, dying, or other abnormal states, but Chu Guang certainly didn't want them to experiment at will.

Lying in the cultivation chamber was energy-efficient, while handling bodies lying around would be problematic.

"What about the levels? Where's the player system interface? I can't seem to find it."

Wild Wind had just voiced this question when Fang Chang immediately interjected.

"Where's the character customization system? Can't we change the character settings? And about the character's gender—"

"Enough, those are questions you should ask the planner… cough, it's not your turn to ask questions yet."

With a face full of frustration, Chu Guang sternly interrupted their endless queries. He flung four booklets into their hands without explanation.

"I will show you around here and tell you what you need to beware of."

"Especially what is allowed and what you shouldn't even think about."

-

(Thanks to "εIrnaз" and "Kakarot from the Future" for their generous donations~~~~~)

Chapter 7: To Be Rich, Start by Shaking the Tree

Without rules, there can be no standards.

Especially for players fond of stirring up trouble, it's important not to show mercy.

Residents of the refuge handbook 1.0 edition.

1. The Manager's orders are supreme, and all residents of the refuge must obey unconditionally.

2. For residents who violate the rules, the Manager reserves the right to use "forced dormancy" or "solitary confinement" as the ultimate measures. (Note: Forced dormancy is equivalent to being kicked out of the Game, while solitary confinement means banning login privileges.)

3. The Manager has the final interpretation right of all the above terms.

Being kicked out for breaking rules had gone beyond the capabilities of ordinary NPCs.

Reading the note after the second item in the Residents of the refuge handbook, players thoroughly understood that this NPC was not just an NPC, but also had some GM permissions to "ban" players who affected the gaming experience of others.

Now there are few people, and the rules are just these three for the time being, but if more need to be added later, Chu Guang would consider releasing a 2.0 version or even a 20.0 version.

For example, codifying the rules of contact between players, between players and "NPCs," and prohibited activities within the Game, among other things.

One of the reasons the alpha test was preceded by a closed beta test was also because of this.

The space inside the refuge was not large; though it seemed there were plenty of rooms, about twenty in total, each of them was actually very small, crowded full with four cultivation chambers.

The previous Manager seemed deeply afraid that he wouldn't work hard and would idly consume resources, so he had cleaned out Level B1 entirely, leaving not a single useful item behind for him.

Chu Guang did not stay in the refuge too long; after finishing stating the rules, he took the four players and Xiao Qi onto the elevator leading to the outside world.

These four beta test players were quite obedient, giving him, the Manager, due respect, though their curiosity was a bit too exuberant.

From the moment their feet touched the ground, they were like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Gardens, touching this and looking at that all along the way, wanting to touch everything.

Not a single cell in their bodies could stay still!

The elevator came to a halt.

Looking through the broken windows at the sunlight spilling in front of the elevator, all four players issued the astonished exclamations of those who'd never seen the world before.

"Whoa..."

"This light! These walls! This—this this this..."

"This is way too awesome!"

"Sunlight filtering through the cracks of the concrete ruins, shining on the grass emerging from the floor, and the visible dust motes floating in the light... Every frame is a piece of art, every second is burning money!"

"Brilliant! Brother Ri is so cultured!"

"Cut it out, call me Grandpa Fang Brother!"

"Sure thing, Brother Ri."

"..."

A bunch of rubes...

Chu Guang found it somewhat amusing but he understood them, so he pretended he hadn't heard anything and proceeded with his duty as an NPC, leading them outside of the sanatorium.

Turning to face them as he looked at the tools placed on the ground, Chu Guang began,

"As you can see before you, the nuclear war ended two hundred years ago."

"Our current location is in the far northern outskirts of Qingquan City, quite far from the nuclear crater. Unless we encounter a 'luminous rain' or visibly radioactive clouds, we needn't worry too much about excessive Gamma Values."

"The refuge cannot shelter us forever, nor can our civilization forever hide beneath the rubble. Remember, we are the vanguard returning to the surface; behind us, thousands await our good news, and there's no time for dallying."

"The first task we need to do is to repair the sanatorium beneath our feet and establish a forward outpost on these ruins."

"It will become the bridgehead for our return to the surface."

"I am assigning you a task, pick up the axes on the ground, go outside and chop some wood to bring back."

"Before winter arrives, we need to stockpile enough fuel and repair the broken walls surrounding us."

"Remember not to stray too far, and if you encounter any Variants, do not act recklessly, retreat immediately."

"Move out!"

Chu Guang thought he'd have to spend more time speaking.

To his surprise, these players were even more obedient than he had imagined, quickly picking up the axes and getting to work.

The speed of their actions was as if they couldn't wait for him to finish, lest they waste time they could spend working.

"Master, are you sure these folks are alright?" Xiao Qi, following silently by his side, expressed its concern, always feeling that these clones didn't quite have their heads on straight.

"That's why I had you come out too," Chu Guang glanced up at the sanatorium behind him, paused for a moment, and continued, "you go to the window on the north side of the third floor and keep an eye on them. If they run into trouble or stray too far, give me a shout."

As for himself, he needed to check the rewards for completing tasks.

The waste basket next to Chu Guang did not move.

After a while, Xiao Qi spoke softly,

"... Master."

"What is it?"

"Well, I don't have legs."

The moving waste basket circled around Chu Guang's legs, demonstrating its means of movement. It wasn't until then that Chu Guang noticed the creature had always been gliding around on four sets of casters.

"... Alright then, I'll carry you up."

He sighed.

Chu Guang crouched down and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

Boy, oh boy.

It was quite heavy.

Ka-ka—

Duang!

A tree as thick as a thigh slowly fell over, crashing to the ground with a dull thud.

"I don't think this looks like the Wasteland."

"Then what does it look like?"

"It's more like a forest... I'm talking about The Forest, I don't know if you've played it, but it's where you chop trees like this and build houses."

"A Divine Artifact for gaming, of course I've played, and not just played, I've built a house up in the heavens. But building there is much simpler, just a click of the mouse does it, not like here... damn, this axe is heavy."

"Speaking of settings, I actually think this is quite realistic. I remember watching a documentary about returning to Chernobyl, forty years without human disturbance, and it had evolved into a new ecosystem, buildings entangled with vines, trees growing taller than houses... The setting for this game is the Wasteland two hundred years later, right? It's not impossible. I even think the conditions in the city might be more exaggerated than here."

Watching the mess behind them, Old White wiped off some sweat and clicked his tongue.

"If this were the real world, I'd probably end up in jail for a long time."

He had been busy for about two hours.

Although the efficiency wasn't high and the stumps looked like they'd been gnawed on by dogs, he had managed to chop down about a dozen pine trees, each as thick as a thigh, and countless smaller ones.

However, the Manager had not specified how much was needed, so no one was sure if they had enough.

"To be honest, this Game is way too realistic... Whether it's the dull thunk of the axe hitting the tree or the flying wood chips and sunlight streaming through the leaves, it reminds me of—"

"Alright, alright, cut the bull."

Night Ten cut off Fang Chang's reminiscing, leaning on his axe, looking at the scattered branches and Autumn Leaves on the ground, and said, gasping for breath,

"Since we can chop trees, building houses and farming shouldn't be a problem, right?"

The physical abilities within the Game were much better than those in the real world.

The real-world Night Ten belonged to the group whose physical condition had been drained by nine years of mandatory education, but in the Wasteland, he could at least muster a pair of biceps.

Of course, the happiest was Old White—aka White Horse Passing a Gap.

His character might not have looked great, with a beard worthy of a bristle pad, but roll up his sleeves and it was all muscle, a sign of strength.

"If we're going to farm, I suggest we set a fire. The ash from the burnt vegetation can be mixed into the soil. Once winter passes, by next spring, that'll be fertile ground... Of course, that presupposes that the Game is indeed that realistic, otherwise it'd be a waste of effort."

"You know, I've always wondered why you look at Old White with muscles like he works out, while I struggle even to hold an axe."

Wild Wind was panting heavily.

His character was probably the closest to his real-world physicality, getting worn out after just a little exercise.

"Every character definitely has different attributes... although I don't know how those are determined," mused Fang Chang, rubbing the back of his head before adding, "But I do have a guess."

"What's your guess?"

The three players were all interested in his discovery.

Anyone who had spent time at the Cow Horse Club knew him to be an expert on several solo Game walkthroughs and the person with the most extensive Steam gameplay library in their group.

Whether it was FPS, RPG, or SLG, there wasn't a genre he didn't play.

"You must have noticed that we woke up from a silvery canister. Considering the theme of the Game, there are two possibilities for our backstory. One, we came to the present from before a war through cryogenic dormancy technology. Two, we're all clones."

"Of course, personally, I think the latter would make things simpler, especially since it would easily explain how respawning works—just recombine a new body from the DNA stored in the Cultivation chamber," Fang Chang continued, seeing the players look at each other in confusion.

"I suspect they'll add an Attribute Panel and levels or something similar later, and our differences in physical abilities are likely a part of that setup!"

"I'm also really looking forward to the developers coming up with a unique game mechanism. For instance... integrating DNA with an Occupation System to differentiate between strength-oriented players and agility-oriented players, each with their distinctive attribute growth curves. This would not only ensure freedom but also enrich gameplay."

"It's a shame characters are assigned randomly; it would be great if we could decide our Initial Attributes."

After a long talk, Fang Chang finally paused.

"Enough chit-chat. Once I log off, I'll have a chat with Brother Guang."

He remembered Brother Guang saying he was a planner for the Game. Talking directly to a planner about this stuff definitely beat their baseless discussions.

Just then, Night Ten, who was staring into the distance, suddenly spoke.

"How big do you guys think this map really is?"

"No idea."

"What if I just kept walking in one direction...?"

Seeing the eager Night Ten, Wild Wind, who was leaning on his axe, resting, hesitated before saying,

"Most likely you'll hit an invisible Wall or encounter a plot-driven kill. But I'd advise against trying either."

"Don't you remember? The Manager asked us not to stray too far from the sanatorium."

"Damn it, he's just an NPC, do you listen to him?"

"But he can log us off, and might even revoke our beta test privileges," Wild Wind reminded.

Fang Chang also chimed in,

"Right, and I suspect that, given the intelligence level of NPCs in this Game, there might be hidden metrics like an affinity rating. Actually, if you noticed, it doesn't treat all players exactly the same, so there's definitely a hidden algorithm at work."

"Alright, alright, I won't try it."

Hearing this, even the restless Night Ten calmed down.

There was no choice.

That argument was too compelling.

Anyone with clear vision could perceive the immense value beneath the surface of this Game.

Fully immersive Virtual Reality...

This technology, upon its release, would turn the entertainment methods—and even the lifestyles—of the entire modern society upside down!

Even if one disliked Games, who wouldn't fancy having an extra 12 to 8 hours a day?

According to Brother Ri from the group, time spent in the Game world was equivalent to sleeping in the real world.

That is to say, even if you spent the whole night here, it wouldn't affect work the next day!

One could hardly imagine that such a world-shattering Game would begin its closed beta in such a "hasty" and even quiet manner.

Didn't that Company need to make money?

But no matter what, since this opportunity had landed in their hands, not a single one of them was willing to let it go easily.

Just as Night Ten abandoned his impulse to explore the map's boundaries and decided to dutifully chop trees again, a sudden strong sense of danger enveloped him.

His limbs went cold.

A cold sweat broke out on his back.

He did not know where this sense of impending crisis came from, but it felt as if it foretold his gruesome demise—

His legs gave way, and Night Ten stumbled backward. However, this very stumble saved him from the shadow plummeting from above.

Rip—!

Shavings flew everywhere.

The tree trunk beside him now bore three half-foot-wide claw marks!

"Gah—!"

A scream like that of a banshee!

The diving bird missed its target and, leveraging the recoil from hitting the pine tree, flapped its wings to gain height again, disappearing into the treetops.

Staring at the falling black feathers, Night Ten sat paralyzed on the ground, dumbfounded, instinctively touching his head.

What the hell?

Chapter 8 This Game Can Even Have Meals!

"""

[Active Substance Extractor User Manual:]

[1. Active substances are the primary materials for producing synthetic clones, including but not limited to minerals required by the human body, 20 common amino acids, and 2 rare amino acids, etc.]

[2. The raw material for the Active Substance Extractor is animal carcasses, with Chordate Mammalia Primates being the most efficient, reaching an extraction efficiency of up to 90%. The efficiency is lower for non-primates and lowest for invertebrates, under 10%.]

[3. Extraction efficiency is also related to the degree of decomposition.]

With the completion of the player recruitment task, rewards and the manual were both credited to his account.

Inside Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang was examining the iron lump that looked like a coffin next to the conveyor belt while reading the manual projected onto his retina by the System.

According to the manual, this device was for producing "the material to create synthetic clones"—in other words, "Active Substance."

So, was its function similar to corpse recycling?

But it seemed from the manual's description that the bodies of Variants were also within the scope of recycling.

After briefly understanding how the device worked, Chu Guang used a handcart he had found outside to drag it to the elevator and then took it up to the surface.

He certainly did not want dead bodies inside the Shelter.

As for electricity.

There would always be a way.

The elevator ascended slowly and came to a stop as its doors opened.

Just as he was pulling the cart out of the elevator, Xiao Qi's voice nearly coincided with this moment from upstairs.

"Master!"

"What's wrong?"

"There seems to be something going on with your players... A huge black bird is attacking them! It's on the north side of the sanatorium!"

A black bird?

Chu Guang initially paused in surprise but his expression changed rapidly, and he immediately dropped the handcart and rushed toward the exterior of the sanatorium.

...

"Damn? Night, you're amazing."

"That forward roll dodge just now was something!"

"Buzz off, I was freaking scared! Stop standing there like an idiot, hurry and give me a hand!"

In the woods north of the sanatorium.

A black bird perched on a tree limb ten meters high, its piercing gaze locked onto the group of players below.

The bird's legs bent slightly, and its kite-sized wings folded back, ready to spring into action at any moment.

After hearing the commotion from Night Ten and the others, three more players immediately put down their work and rushed over with axes in hand.

Perhaps intimidated by the crowd below, the black bird didn't immediately dive into a second attack. Instead, it perched out of reach, biding its time.

Wild Wind bent down to pick up a black feather from the ground and examined it closely.

"It looks a bit like a crow."

"Crows are this big?!" Glancing at the scratch marks on the nearby wood, Night eleven backed away nervously as he spoke.

"This thing must be a Variant... a mutant resulting from Gamma Rays or some other thing. I saw the setting on the official website," said Fang Chang, cautiously keeping his eyes on the bird without letting his guard down.

Night Ten: "The official website has a setting?! Wasn't it just a pre-order page?"

Wild Wind: "That was several days ago... The official site updated with new features yesterday, didn't you see?"

"Let's stop the nonsense for now. What should we do? Just stand here doing nothing?" Night Ten took another nervous step back.

Now, Wild Wind was the closest to the bird.

The four men and one bird were at a standoff.

At that moment, a whooshing sound soared over their heads and smashed straight toward the big bird.

"Caw!"

Though the stone missed, it scared the bird enough to make it flutter away, jumping onto another branch.

As it finally stabilized itself on the tree limb after flapping its wings, it saw the man below picking up another stone and hurling it.

The big bird was now thoroughly enraged.

It had never before encountered such insolence in this territory it considered its own.

With a powerful spring from its bent legs, it launched itself from the branch like a cannonball aimed straight for Chu Guang.

Its sharp talons reached forward like open hooks.

Yet ultimately, the beast was just a beast. Even with an additional head, it could never understand the sneer at the corner of that man's mouth.

Chu Guang, dropping the stone from his hand, skillfully grabbed the steel pipe planted in the ground and thrust its sharp end fiercely forward.

In a flash, there was no time for the bird to avoid.

Even though the bird was startled and flapped its wings trying to distance itself upon seeing Chu Guang pick up an unfamiliar object, it was nearly impossible to adjust in time due to its inertia.

The steel pipe, like a javelin, pierced straight into its chest.

"Caw—!"

A shrill cry echoed in the forest.

Feathers streaked with blood scattered about.

Watching the big bird struggle to fly away, Chu Guang silently moved forward and picked up the bloodied pipe from the ground.

"This is no crow."

"Its scientific name is Falco... probably from around two hundred years ago."

The four players watched him, dumbstruck by the smooth sequence of actions, leaving them rooted to the spot.

Damn!

So strong!

However, they didn't realize that for the vast majority of survivors able to walk the Wasteland alone, this level of skill was merely basic training.

"""

Over these past five months, Chu Guang hadn't learned much other than how to throw a javelin with lethal precision, ensuring his target was hit within ten meters.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the chance to stand here showing off.

"Wild Wind! A hawk that big?" Wild Wind exclaimed, his understanding of birds thoroughly upended.

Fang Chang swallowed nervously.

"Because of Gamma Rays?"

"Not just Gamma Rays. Viruses, bacteria, genetic weapons… a variety of factors contributed to everything we see today. Of course, the Variants are merely one of the threats we face. In certain situations, humans can be more dangerous than them."

Chu Guang looked up at the pine trees in front of the four players and continued.

"The hawk from before must have made its nest in this tree, no wonder it didn't leave despite so many of you being here."

Generally speaking, birds rarely provoke land creatures that are larger than themselves, their diets mainly consisting of mutant cockroaches, and rodents such as mice and squirrels.

The beast may have flown away, but it couldn't have gone far; it was probably perched on a tree nearby waiting to die.

These water pipes with a sharp end might not have strong penetration power, but their hollow insides were natural bleeding channels. Just one hole in the body was almost certainly fatal.

Forget about birds, even if a person were hit by one, it would be challenging to stitch up the wound properly.

Night Ten hung his head in shame.

"I'm sorry… I was preoccupied with chopping wood and didn't notice."

"No need to apologize," Chu Guang said, looking up. "Bird eggs are quite the treat."

There would be a delicacy to enjoy in a short while.

...

Chu Guang's prediction was quickly confirmed.

Beneath a crooked tree, he found the black bird that had breathed its last.

After bleeding the bird with his dagger and plucking it clean, he tossed it into a pot and placed it on a makeshift stove formed from bricks. He stuffed dry branches and leaves beneath the pot and lit it with matches he had bought earlier.

Smoke began to curl upward.

Before the water boiled, Chu Guang fished the blanched bird out of the pot, skewered it on a rod, and roasted it directly over the fire.

He also roasted the eggs that he'd found.

There was no salt, no spices.

But even so, it was far better than the undercooked grain mush they had been surviving on.

"Can we actually eat this thing?"

Night Ten couldn't help but feel a natural aversion to the "mutated" creature roasting on the iron rack, but the fragrance relentlessly tantalized him, making him swallow his saliva despite himself.

To be able to eat in the Game was definitely an unexpected delight for a foodie.

And it made all the hard work of the morning seem worthwhile.

"It's edible once it's cooked. I'll let you know about anything that's not safe to eat," Chu Guang slowly rotated the spit, ensuring every side of the food was thoroughly cooked.

Opportunities to eat game meat were rare in the Wasteland.

Even on the rare occasions when they could catch something edible like this, it would spoil quickly due to lack of preservation methods.

Here, salt was a commodity scarcer than electricity.

Especially for survivors living in inland cities like Qingquan City, using a large amount of salt to preserve food wasn't exactly practical.

As for a fridge, he'd heard that the Mayor's castle in town had one, but Chu Guang had only heard stories and never actually seen one.

Of course, survivors weren't completely without options.

For example, the Survivor Base next door—Mr. Brown's farm—produced tobacco leaves rich in tar and acetaldehyde. Even without salt, smoking them could extend the shelf life of food for a few months.

"Manager, may I ask what amount of wood do we actually need?"

Waiting for the food to cook was torture.

To distract themselves from thinking about food, Fang Chang struck up a conversation of his own accord.

Upon hearing this question, Chu Guang responded offhandedly.

"Chop as much as you can."

The players looked at each other, not particularly motivated.

Chu Guang didn't pay much attention at first, but then a thought suddenly struck him.

They were "players," "outsiders."

Unlike himself, who had made the crossover, they could leave at any time and didn't face the same urgency to survive.

Even if he explained the importance of stockpiling wood, they would never truly understand what those words meant.

The players' identity meant they approached problems from a different perspective than his own. Even if they didn't mind the grind, it was unlikely they would continue to exert themselves without reward.

There had to be tasks.

And naturally, there had to be rewards.

"Let me think…"

Chu Guang pondered as he stroked his chin.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

"At four in the afternoon, we'll tally up today's achievements."

"A tree as thick as an arm will be worth 1 Contribution Point per meter. A tree as thick as a thigh will be worth 2 Contribution Points per meter—"

However, what Chu Guang didn't expect was that no sooner had the words left his mouth than four figures holding bowls shot up vigorously.

"Manager, I suddenly don't feel very hungry."

"Me neither."

"There's still some time before we eat, I'll go chop a couple more trees!"

"I suddenly feel like cutting something else!"

Chu Guang: "…?"

He hadn't even told them what the Contribution Points could be used for…

Chapter 9: Gene Sequence and Player Levels

The workload completed in the afternoon was almost three times that of the morning.

There were a total of about fifty logs of various thicknesses, pulled over to the infirmary enclosure wall by the players using ropes and handcarts.

To be honest, the performance of these players surprised Chu Guang.

Each log was between 10 to 8 meters long, with some even reaching 20 meters, and more than half were as thick as a thigh.

Chu Guang calculated the total, which amounted to 2000 Contribution Points.

Among them, Old White had achieved the most, single-handedly earning 800 points, while Wild Wind was probably the most pitiful. This guy's clone wasn't adept at physical activities, having just the physique of an ordinary person; he had busied himself all day and only earned 300 points.

As for what this thing was useful for?

Chu Guang hadn't figured that out yet.

Shelter No. 404 was poverty-stricken, and he only had two lollipops in his pocket; he had a compressed biscuit before, but he had already gnawed it away.

After much thought, he only told the players that besides waiting three days, resurrection also required Resurrection Coins.

And Resurrection Coins needed to be bought with Contribution Points.

Although the "purchasing power" of Contribution Points was weak, the players didn't seem to care too much.

After all, it was the closed beta stage; it was understandable that there were fewer game contents. As long as there was no account wipe, hoarding money and finding a place to spend it after the server opened would always be possible.

Moreover, Contribution Points had no physical form; they were just a number that could only be checked after logging out and visiting the official website.

Although Chu Guang also wanted to emulate Giant Stone City and produce tangible Coins, it was impossible; the conditions of the Shelter were too harsh, and they couldn't even scrape together the materials for "coinage."

He certainly couldn't issue chips to the players.

Although chips were the hard currency in the Qingquan City area, he himself had only a few left.

Moreover, giving chips directly to them was useless; it was impossible for the players to trade at the Survivor Base themselves.

He could communicate with the survivors because he had soul-traveled here, his brain loaded with the language of this world.

Those clones used by the players were completely blank slates, lacking even basic intellect, let alone the concept of inherited memories.

The language used by the survivors in Qingquan City and the surrounding area was the common language of the United Human.

This language was completely different from any contemporary country or ethnic language, at most having some similarities in grammar and pronunciation to Chinese.

In the future, Chu Guang would consider developing a translation tool to solve the communication problem between players and "NPCs" and would also redesign the distribution system and the Economic System.

But not now.

...

After tallying the day's work results, it was also getting late.

Chu Guang looked up at the slanting sunset and squinted slightly.

It was almost evening.

"Manager, I've noticed our Outpost Base has no electricity," Fang Chang came up and said, "Why don't we try to get a generator?"

This was a good question.

Unfortunately, it was as good as nonsense.

"We don't have a spare generator," Chu Guang looked at him, "Any of you knowledgeable in this area? Or have any electrician-related skills?"

The players looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Can't we just pull a line up from underground?" Night Ten asked a very foolish question.

"There's no cable long enough, and the Shelter's energy is not limitless. Even if it could be used for a short time, long-term problems remain unsolvable and would create even greater hidden dangers."

Saying this, Chu Guang paused for a moment.

"It's getting late; it's time to go back."

"Going back," for the players, naturally meant "logging off."

Though it wasn't completely dark yet, it was already five in the afternoon, and soon it would be dawn in Hua Nation of the parallel world.

Unwittingly having stayed so long in the Game world, the players who snapped back to reality all had looks of reluctance on their faces.

It always felt like there was so much more in this world left to explore.

But there was work during the day, and it wasn't possible to stay here all the time.

...

Inside Shelter No. 404.

Watching the players who returned and lay down in the Cultivation chamber, Chu Guang pondered that maybe he should try recruiting some idle people who didn't work during the day.

Or players from other time zones.

Otherwise, come evening, the vast Outpost Base would only have him left, which from a security standpoint wasn't quite right.

"I'll continue to sleep inside the Shelter tonight."

He really didn't want to return to the "dog kennel" on Bet Street unless necessary.

Just as Chu Guang was contemplating what to do, Xiao Qi came up to him.

"Master."

"What is it?"

"The clone's medical report has been updated. Would you like to take a look?"

Chu Guang hesitated for a moment.

"...Medical report?"

"Yes! Each time a player logs out normally, the Cultivation chamber scans the clone inside, records the physical function status of the clone, and extracts a certain amount of embryonic stem cells for backup and records the Gene Sequence development progress—"

"Hold on, what's a Gene Sequence?"

Hearing this unfamiliar keyword, Chu Guang felt like he was missing some critical information.

To the Manager's question, Xiao Qi casually replied.

"Didn't you notice? Each clone used by the players is synthesized from different DNA; a Gene Sequence is simply a code for different DNA."

Chu Guang immediately asked, "And what is this development progress?"

"Each Sequence's DNA is carefully designed. Unfortunately, we have not mastered the mysteries of life to their fullest."

"Not all traits of genetic information have been fully expressed. It's like how an athlete's child is more likely to become an athlete but isn't born an athlete."

"The so-called development progress refers to the degree of dominant expression of special fragments within the Gene Sequence, typically represented as a percentage. For example, reaching a 100% development progress means that the life form's overall performance is infinitely close to the limit designed by the genes, achieving the most perfect state... but this is nearly impossible."

"Currently, the development progress of the four activated Gene Sequences is between 0 and 1%. Studies show that by continually stimulating survival instincts and exercising the body, this percentage can be improved."

If one were to understand the "Gene Sequence" as a profession, then "development progress" could be likened to Level.

A Gene Sequence that focuses on strength enhancement is like the "Barbarian" in D&D rules, having stronger innate Strength and a predisposition to enhance the Strength Attribute.

Like "White Horse Passing a Gap."

Other players seemed normal, but he was hairy and bulky, obviously not quite human.

My goodness.

These clones—oh no, the players—they could actually level up!

And there was also something like Talent!

Such an awesome detail, and he was only learning about it now!

Looking at the nonchalantly explaining Xiao Qi, Chu Guang couldn't help but say.

"Why are you only telling me this important fact now????"

Xiao Qi replied with a wronged expression, "Didn't you ask me not to speak out of the blue? I was planning to tell you from the beginning."

Chu Guang: "..."

This guy...

Deliberately so!

Chapter 10 This Game is Awesome!

"Brothers, even if I died and got nailed into a coffin, I'd still use my decaying voice to shout out that this game is freaking epic!!!"

"No more words needed—if this game doesn't explode, I'll do a handstand while diarrhoea hits!"

Early in the morning, the group leader "White Horse Passing a Gap" blew up in the Niuma Club, and this unexpected statement stirred up quite some activity.

Quit Smoking: "Damn, is the group leader alive?"

Grandpa Ao: "This guy's lifestyle is too intense, lol!"

Spare people under the knife: "I haven't seen you few dog managers all night, I thought you guys got arrested for misbehaving. (funny)"

Who understands me: "What? What game?"

"Dumbfounded.JPG"

After a while, Dog Manager "Long Days Ahead" also appeared.

"It's the Virtual Reality Game that Brother Guang was recommending in the group the day before yesterday."

Quit Smoking: "Damn, you guys are already playing it?! For real?! You're not lying to me!"

Long Days Ahead: "Why would I lie to you."

Sadly, the device doesn't support taking screenshots in the game.

Otherwise, he would have posted a picture right away.

Quit Smoking: "Then hurry and tell us, what exactly is a completely immersive virtual reality game like? Which VR can be used to play it?"

White Horse Passing a Gap: "VR? Haha, you think those screen-mounted headsets can compare to the Game Helmet of Wasteland OL? (laugh)"

Quit Smoking: "What do you mean, you can play Wasteland OL without VR glasses?"

Long Days Ahead: "You can tell you're clueless, they use a game helmet. Emmm…how should I explain, you've seen Sword Art Online, right? It's pretty much like that."

Quit Smoking: "Damn?!"

Who understands me: "A head-mounted microwave?! Awesome!"

Grandpa Ao: "Who are you kidding, Sword Art Online that kind of… Why haven't I ever heard about such awesome technology!"

Spare people under the knife: "Exactly!"

Most people didn't believe it.

It sounded too fantastical!

To be reasonable, when a groundbreaking technology debuts, there must be a phase from unfamiliarity to maturity. This foundational process can be short, but it has to exist.

Fang Chang actually understood their feelings deep down.

After all, he had also gone through what they were experiencing—feeling that the so-called immersive virtual reality game was just a joke made by some quirky group member.

However—

It was true.

Long Days Ahead: "The device doesn't support photography, so I really can't prove anything, just believe it or not. But after experiencing it for such a long time, I've managed to summarize some information about the game."

Quit Smoking: "Good brother! Tell us quickly!"

Long Days Ahead: "Group leader, mute everyone else, I type slowly."

White Horse Passing a Gap: "All right!"

As someone who was once in the top 200 of PUBG Asia and had ascended to the top of the Legends League, Long Days Ahead's gaming talent was evident to everyone in the group.

He also had the most say in gaming matters.

This guy was like he didn't need to work at all, playing games every day.

Not just multiplayer online games; in many speedrun guide teams for single-player games, his name appeared as well.

Some monumental titles, in fact, many guys in the group had used guides he created.

It could be said that he was indeed a gaming god.

Hence, whether or not they believed in the "Fully immersible virtual online game" concept, or whether they obtained the Closed Beta access or not, almost everyone eagerly waited for him to give details.

"Let's start with the game's background."

"The background isn't anything special, a standard post-apocalyptic setting plus a wasteland punk style. The story is set in a fictional world, where a nuclear war 200 years ago destroyed everything, and the players play as residents of fallout shelters returning to the surface."

"Currently, we—meaning the closed beta testers—are acting as the vanguard going to the surface to build outposts; we haven't entered the main story yet. More clues will probably be unlocked in the internal beta or even public release, so I won't expand on that here."

"Now let's talk about the game's realism!"

"Without exaggeration, this game's realism is the ceiling compared to all games I've ever seen, and foreseeably, even fifty years from now this ceiling will almost be impossible to surpass! As to why I say this, because this game is essentially 'Earth OL's' Wasteland DLC!"

"Whether it's lighting effects, or five-sensory interaction, or even the grainy sensation of touching an object's surface…everything is designed to make you believe that this is the real world. This level of immersion is undoubtedly at one hundred percent perfection. Yes, exactly one hundred percent! I haven't found any noticeable bugs or flaws."

"Next up is freedom."

"As a sandbox game, you can interact with almost everything you touch in the game. This interaction isn't just simple volume collision; you can actually move items around based on your willpower, and within the bounds of physical laws, you can change their shape or state."

"I know what you're thinking—Minecraft or The Forest, right? But it's completely different, it's a true sandbox, not just a block and texture stitching! Just on this point alone, sandbox players will absolutely find this game to be a steal!"

"Now onto the most critical part!"

"First, whether it's players or monsters, there are no HP bars or MP bars set, not even a visible attribute panel, at least during the beta phase."

"However, in the actual game, there are initial attribute differences between players. For example, some players have stronger strength, others have higher perception, agility, or other hidden attributes that have yet to be discovered. I speculate that by the closed beta, an occupation system and weapon system will be introduced, allowing players to develop their own gameplay based on their attribute talents."

"Next are the NPCs, during the current beta phase, there are only two NPCs in the game. One is the Manager codenamed 'Dawn'. The other one is his assistant, a robot named Xiao Qi!"

"It's been confirmed that both NPCs have a high level of intelligence and can communicate and interact normally with players. I suspect there might be hidden affinity settings involved, but that's just my personal guess and it's not confirmed yet."

"Besides that, what really concerns me is the sense of pain. Though the game is one hundred percent realistic, some aspects being too real isn't good, especially since I'm someone who really fears pain. However, the game's design is very humane; the sense of pain does exist along with touch, but there is a protective threshold."

"For instance, when I tried to cut my arm with a stone, I didn't feel pain, but pinching myself did hurt. I assume the game might have some sort of protective mechanism that prevents 'excessive' pain from being captured by the brain's neural center… Of course, it could also be the body's natural protective mechanism. It's like how in dreams we feel pain but it never exceeds our tolerance."

"Actually, I think the game officials could be more humane, like giving players the rights to adjust their pain settings themselves. Personally, I'm very satisfied with the current sensory immersion and pain masking, but there might be players who enjoy that kind of sensation. (Laugh)"

"As for the game's resurrection mechanism, I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard that each death deducts contribution points and the resurrection cooldown is as long as 3 days! Contribution points are okay since they can be earned by accomplishing tasks, but the punishment time is really too long. Anyway, I'm not keen on trying it, but any brave soul is welcome to give it a go, maybe they'll unlock a different gameplay."

"Lastly, I want to complain, why are all the characters pure alpha males??? Who the heck wants to see big burly men naked!!! I strongly call for the game officials to allow players to set their own gender!"

"Long Days Ahead" wrote a lengthy post of one to two thousand words, attracting more and more onlookers in the group chat.

Among them was the mastermind—"Light."

Chu Guang was looking at medical reports from the cultivation chamber scans, hadn't noticed the group chat, and when he accessed the computer at the residents' hall, he saw the lengthy post.

However, to be fair, this "Long Days Ahead" guy summed it up pretty solidly, covering virtually everything he wanted to say, even considering aspects that hadn't been thought of.

Group silence lifted.

Group messages instantly flooded the screen.

"6666!"

"Niubi, is this game really that awesome, I'd freaking buy ten copies!"

"I don't believe it."

"Don't believe +1! Unless you give me a beta pass!"

While there are still many in the group who don't believe in such an awesome game, at least about a dozen people changed their minds.

As for why Chu Guang knew, it's because he could see the backstage of the official website.

In that little while when "Long Days Ahead" was talking, the number of pre-registrations jumped from 11 to 25.

Light: "I was working just now and didn't notice the group chat. What Long Days Ahead brother said was pretty much correct, just let me add a couple of points."

Quit smoking: "Damn! Brother Guang!!!"

(Group silence activated.)

("Light" has been appointed as the group's manager.)

Hmm?

Turned into dog management?

Chu Guang was slightly surprised but didn't pay much attention, continuing to type.

"Firstly, regarding player characters and attributes, just as Long Days Ahead brother said, there are indeed character attributes and level settings in the game, and each player's initial talent is different, which can be viewed at respawn points—i.e., the cultivation chamber where players wake up, or on the official website."

"The death penalty is not just a 3-day resurrection cooldown and deduction of contribution points but also results in the loss of some progress before the save. The method of saving is to lie in the cultivation chamber to undergo scanning and somatic cell sampling, taking about 1 to 2 hours, which will automatically process when the player logs off."

"We plan to implement a quicker attribute inquiry system before the closed beta stage, allowing players to keep real-time track of their character's status, enhancing playability."

"As for customizing the appearance and gender of characters... I'm sorry that's not possible."

"Like being reborn, it's not something you can choose. The bodies in the game are determined by preloaded DNA, and if players are dissatisfied with their character's appearance, they may consider plastic surgery or even prosthetic modifications, which will be available later in the game."

"Also, from the Series A testing stage, players will be able to set their preferences for the five attributes—strength, agility, constitution, perception, intelligence—through a questionnaire on the reservation level page."

"If you choose strength, for example, you are more likely to gain a Strength Type talent, and your initial character will have higher strength. If you do not specify a preference, you may choose a balanced type."

"As for the gender, the character's gender matches the player's, and players cannot freely set this. This is mainly for safety reasons, as physiological differences can lead to coordination problems. Concurrently, the risks of gender dysphoria and related social criticism are something we are unwilling to take on."

Actually, this wasn't set by Chu Guang.

But rather, it was a system's original setting.

There seems to be very complex technical challenges involved, and Chu Guang doesn't understand the principles, only knowing that it is set this way.

Long Days Ahead: "Damn! Come on, I'm an adult already, I can sign a risk awareness agreement!!! T.T"

(Group manager "Long Days Ahead" has been muted for 10 minutes by the group owner.)

White Horse Passing a Gap: "Don't interrupt!"

Level Eight Great Gale: "Exactly!"

Got up at night a dozen times: "Please just shut up for now."

Chu Guang chuckled inwardly, yet he didn't interrupt, continuing to type diligently.

"That's all I've got from the meeting we just had. Moreover, in the next phase of testing, we will add an 'Affinity' System."

Got up at night a dozen times: "Affinity?! What does that mean? Can we date NPCs?!"

(Group manager "Got up at night a dozen times" has been muted for 10 minutes by the group owner.)

Good gosh.

This Old White is really impartial, muting without a second word.

It did save him quite a bit of time.

Chu Guang shamelessly continued to nitpick words with all seriousness.

"Stop always thinking about your object; 'favorability' means the NPC's evaluation of a player."

"The specific manifestation is that the player's behavior will affect the NPC's view of the player. Especially for some key NPCs, when the favorability is high enough, not only can players receive extra rewards, but they may also trigger hidden tasks and unlock hidden career paths!"

Hidden tasks!

Hidden careers!

Seeing these simple eight words, the four beta testers in front of the screen had their eyes wide open.

Their hearts caught fire.

Goodness, this is encouraging them to be bootlickers!

But—

Grandpa likes it!

What's wrong with being a bootlicker?

It's not like licking real people!

They're licking NPCs, artificial intelligence, and besides, licking brings big benefits.

Not embarrassing at all!

Chu Guang thought about it, and it seemed there was nothing else to add.

Currently, the shelter was too poor, and he, the Naked Commander, only had a bunch of free labor and nothing else; he could only draw pies for the players with his identity as an online dog planner.

"Do you guys have any questions? Or any concerns?" Chu Guang wanted to know if the players themselves had any better ideas.

He was very open-minded.

If conditions allowed, he could consider adopting their ideas. If not, he could still draw a pie, telling them that everything would be available in the future.

Level Eight Great Gale said, "Yes! What exactly are Contribution Points? Are they money? Or something like experience? Points?"

Sure enough, the question came up.

Chu Guang thought about it and typed back.

"The game's economic system is still being designed. Our goal is to create a completely realistic economic system from production to circulation, allowing both life-occupation players and combat-occupation players to fully enjoy the game."

"As for the Contribution Points, you can think of them as a special currency for the beta phase, mainly to test the current task system."

"In addition to being used to purchase Resurrection Coins, our planning team is also considering introducing special rewards that can only be exchanged with Contribution Points as a return for beta testers."

Anyway, it was just drawing pies.

As for what rewards, Chu Guang hadn't decided yet; that would depend on what good stuff he could get from the system.

However, this statement was completely different in the eyes of the players.

Only exchangeable with Contribution Points?!

That is to say—

Beta-testing limited rewards!

The four who had already obtained beta-testing qualifications were overjoyed.

Those who had reserved on the official website but had not yet received beta-testing qualifications also felt itchy hearts.

As for those group members who didn't believe in the "full immersion virtual reality game" from the start, naturally, they wouldn't change their minds because of his words.

However.

That was not important.

As long as some people believed, that was enough.

"It's getting late, I've been adding work all night, I need to sleep for a while. By the way, 'Fang Chang,' your strategy is well-written, why not post it on the official website? The forum system has been launched on the official website, you can register an account and post there, and good posts seen by the manager will be highlighted."

This manager was naturally Chu Guang himself.

Currently, he was the only person in the whole company. He played the role of NPCs, an online dog planer, and also moonlighted as the moderator of the official website's forum.

"OK! I'm on it!" Fang Chang, whose gag order was lifted, left this message and quickly crawled through chat records.

The group owner lifted the gag order for the whole group.

Messages flooded the group chat like a bursting dam.

Chu Guang saw that quite a few people added him as a friend; some wanted to inquire about beta-testing qualifications from him, others wanted to dig for game information, and some even planned on teaching him how to make games.

Unable to keep up with the replies, he simply didn't respond and logged off.

Looking at the four medical reports on his computer, Chu Guang suddenly had a whimsical idea and asked.

"Xiao Qi."

"What is it, Master."

"Do you think... since players can use the cultivation chamber, can I also use a clone from the cultivation chamber to move around."

"emmm... I don't know."

"I have no idea what that is???"

"Because I am only your assistant, the information I know is basically what you also know. There is no record of the cultivation chamber you used in my database, perhaps... the Manager did not design a cultivation chamber for your use?"

Chu Guang was about to ask why, but then he fell silent again.

Actually, the reason was not difficult to guess.

If this shelter could withstand a strategic nuclear strike, there surely wouldn't be any means on the Wasteland that could forcibly invade this shelter.

Even if something unexpected happened to him, who was highly anticipated, it would merely mean another period of dormancy for the facility, waiting for the arrival of the next Manager.

Watching Chu Guang fall into silence, Xiao Qi squeaked with concern.

"Master?"

"It's nothing."

Having regained his composure, Chu Guang continued to look at the physical examination report on the computer screen.

Perhaps to help players understand, or perhaps due to the first generation Manager's peculiar sense of humor, over 120 complex physiological data points were all re-summarized and condensed into five succinct categories:

Namely, Strength, Agility, Constitution, Perception, and Intelligence.

Strength referred to the strength of muscles, bones, and other body tissues, indicating the player's basic carrying capacity, melee damage, and throwing weapon distance.

Agility corresponded to reflex nerves, relating to the player's reaction speed and physical coordination abilities, with the specific display being that players with higher agility were more adept in combat and more likely to actively dodge attacks.

Constitution referred to the player's vitality and resilience, mainly reflected in health recovery and resistance to certain abnormal statuses and immunity, among others.

Intelligence was not equivalent to IQ or logical thinking ability, mainly affecting the learning ability and mental condition recovery speed of the character, as well as the compatibility with neural access devices. Specifically, characters with high intelligence could operate more neural access devices simultaneously.

Perception represented intuition and discernment abilities, with characters having higher perception being more sensitive to crises and more likely to discover hidden clues and traps.

This was the most mystical attribute!

All attributes started with a baseline value of 5, fluctuating within the range of ±2 based on the gene sequence and physical condition.

Although he did not have a cultivation chamber specifically for him, Chu Guang still found a spare physical examination device on Level B1 of the shelter.

Just as he had guessed.

He also possessed a special gene sequence, detectable by the physical examination device.

Unfortunately, there was no information related to this gene sequence in the database; it seemed like an existence outside of the plan.

To explain using a term from the game, this was a path not even considered by the "game publisher."

And this also meant that no one knew where this path would lead or what results might come from following it.

Realizing this, there was a slight unease in Chu Guang's heart.

But more than that, he was excited.

Perhaps the word 'adventure' was engraved deep in his bones.

Rather than following a path thought out by others and proceeding step by step, he preferred to forge his own path.

Based on the results of the physical examination and the attribute conversion formula left by the first generation Manager, Chu Guang created his own attribute panel and also made one for the four beta testers using it as a blueprint.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager

Level: LV.5

—Basic Attributes—

Strength: 8

Agility: 6

Constitution: 6

Perception: 7

Intelligence: 6

]

"The five-dimensional data are basically stronger than the players by one level."

"Does Level LV5 mean the gene sequence has undergone 5% development? It seems that the past five months have not been entirely wasted."

The development progress of the other four beta testers was 0.

But not exactly 0.

For instance, "White Horse Passing a Gap."

His gene sequence was "Strength Type," and by frequently using brute force, namely chopping trees, his development progress had increased by 0.3% in a single day, while the other three beta testers had only increased by about 0.1%.

If he continued chopping trees for the next two days, Old White might become the first player to break through level 0 and advance to LV1.

Thinking of this, Chu Guang made up his mind in his heart.

Indeed, he had to take advantage of them more and make them work harder.

This was also for their own good!

Chapter 11 Daily Tasks

"A generator? What do you need that thing for?"

Present day, at the cafeteria of Jinling University.

Watching Professor Yanfeng, who sat earnestly across the table asking this question, Professor Wang Haiyang put down his chopsticks.

He didn't know much about Professor Yan, just that he was from the physics department and was about the same age as him, around thirty.

He couldn't remember when they had exchanged WeChat contacts, and they had never chatted before. Wang himself belonged to the Engineering Management department and didn't really interact with Yan in their professional work.

But today, out of the blue, he received an invitation from Professor Yan for lunch in the cafeteria because Yan had something to consult him about.

Honestly, when Wang saw the word "consult," he thought it was about a research topic, but he certainly hadn't expected such a peculiar question.

The conversation continued in a casual chat atmosphere.

Professor Yanfeng explained,

"...I've been reading this novel recently, it's a post-apocalyptic theme. I want to know if such a scenario really happened, how would the survivors solve the electricity issue?"

"Why take the stuff in the novel so seriously? Just see what the author writes," Professor Wang Haiyang chuckled, "But your question is quite interesting, post-apocalypse... It really depends on the type of apocalypse and how many days after the end of the world we are."

He also liked to read novels, but he mostly read cultivation stories, not much into post-apocalyptic themes.

Funny, he had never thought that one day he'd seriously discuss the contents of a novel with a colleague from university.

"The setting is two hundred years after a nuclear war."

"Two hundred years? Nuclear war?" Professor Wang Haiyang paused, hesitating, "That might be a bit tricky. Unprotected electronic devices would get damaged by the electromagnetic pulses produced by the nuclear explosion, the more sophisticated the equipment, the less likely it is to survive."

"Is there a solution?" asked Professor Yanfeng, with furrowed brows.

"There are some, for example, you could find backup diesel generators in common residential properties or restaurants, which aren't very sophisticated. But two hundred years… It's likely they've been scavenged already. And even if they haven't been, the parts would probably be degraded from lack of maintenance over a long time. Fuel would also be a problem; you can't expect to still find gasoline in petrol stations after two hundred years."

Professor Wang Haiyang stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and continued,

"But it's not completely hopeless."

"What could be done?" Yanfeng asked immediately.

"Generally speaking, every car has a recyclable generator. As long as you get the rotor spinning, it can generate a stable 12V DC electricity. A minor repair should make it work. For small-scale electricity generation, such as lighting, 12V is enough. And if you could find an inverter, turning DC into 240V AC isn't impossible… Do you really need to take notes on this?"

Watching Yanfeng seriously taking notes with his notepad, Wang Haiyang was baffled.

Is it necessary to be so serious about a novel?

Pushing up his glasses, Yanfeng replied nonchalantly,

"Don't mind me, please continue."

Wang Haiyang: "…"

He'd always heard people say that those in the physics department were oddballs, but he thought it was just a stereotype.

Now, he was starting to believe it.

...

Wasteland.

Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang slept on the floor in the resident's hall until he woke up at four in the morning. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a pop-up notification from the system.

[Congratulations Host, Achievement Unlocked "Novice Instructor" (Player logged in and stayed online continuously for over 8 hours on the first day)]

[Reward: +10 reward points]

A piece of good news like this?

He could draw from the blind box again after waking up.

Rubbing his bleary eyes Chu Guang opened the system and selected the "Manager's Allowance" subpage.

Hesitating between the basic blind box valued at 1 reward point and the intermediate blind box worth 10 reward points, Chu Guang finally put all his "chips" on the intermediate blind box and silently prayed in his heart.

Please let it not be freaking cough syrup!

A pale blue light flickered.

As Chu Guang watched tensely, the alloy door on the side of the resident hall's wall opened, and a plastic-wrapped injection appeared on the platform.

[Muscle cell enhancement injection. (Small, permanent boost to muscle strength, use interval 24 hours, diminishing effects with multiple uses)]

"Permanent boost to muscle strength?"

This is good stuff!

Chu Guang didn't hesitate, he immediately tore open the package, removed the cap but, surprisingly, there was no needle.

How do you use this thing?

Hesitating for a moment, Chu Guang pressed the tip of the syringe to his arm and pushed the button that looked like a switch at the tail. It felt like something had stung his arm, and then...

That was it.

"That's it?"

Chu Guang was a bit confused, waved his fist but didn't feel any significant change in his body.

Maybe it's expired?

After all, it was two hundred years old...

Being cautious, Chu Guang still performed a physical check on himself.

When he got the results, the confusion in his heart was finally resolved.

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager

Level: LV.5

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 9

Agility: 6

Constitution: 7

Perception: 7

Intelligence: 6

]

"The progress of gene development remains unchanged, strength and constitution have each increased by one point... Wow, that's something!"

Normally, a 20-year-old adult male without any special training would typically have five points each in strength and constitution, where five is also the baseline value for all attributes.

That is to say, this one point in strength and constitution is equivalent to 20% of a normal adult male's physical capacity.

Chu Guang now only lacks one point in strength attribute to have twice the strength of a normal adult male.

Looking at the updated attribute panel, Chu Guang contemplated whether to test his strength with a few push-ups, but just then, he suddenly noticed that the Administrator's Log had updated with new tasks.

When he opened it, Chu Guang was a bit stunned.

Oh boy.

Before going to bed yesterday, there was only one unfinished side task remaining, but today, the number of incomplete tasks had jumped to 20+!

The variety of tasks was also a mixed bag.

From relatively easy tasks like "hunt a variant," "hoard 5 tons of wood," "hoard 100L of freshwater," to troublesome tasks at first glance like "repair the external wall of the sanatorium," "repair the second-floor wall of the sanatorium."

As for the rewards, they ranged from a minimum of one point to a maximum of 20 points.

All these tasks had one common label—"Daily."

"What does 'daily' mean? Will it refresh every day?" Chu Guang couldn't help but complain.

However, nobody minded him.

The shelter system didn't talk, and Xiao Qi was on duty at the sanatorium outside, leaving Chu Guang alone in the entire shelter.

Chu Guang silently calculated that if he could complete all 20 tasks, he could earn a total of 150 reward points.

Of course, at least three-quarters of those reward points were not so easy to obtain, at least not something that could be handled in just one or two days.

Chu Guang fell into thought.

If he were to tackle these tasks by himself, he would definitely be exhausted. But if he left the tasks to the players, it seemed he would only need to spend a few "contribution points."

Thinking this, his thoughts suddenly cleared.

In the drawer of his computer desk were marker pens.

Taking a pen, without another word, Chu Guang took the elevator to the surface. After searching through the sanatorium, he found a plastic board that the scavengers had not yet taken and burned.

After dusting off the plastic board, Chu Guang used the marker to draw two lines, then erased them, nodding his head in satisfaction.

"Not bad."

Erasable and writable.

This one's it!

It took some time, but Chu Guang picked a few tasks from the Administrator's Log that he thought players could likely accomplish and wrote them on the plastic board.

[Collect wood (requirement: can be used as building material): 1 point contribution per meter.]

[Find water storage containers (material: plastic, metal. Shape: barrel-like, jug-like. Requirement: the bigger, the better!): 1~10 contribution points.]

[Search for recyclable waste: 1~? contribution points.]

[...]

"Mission accomplished!"

Glancing at the time, it was now four-thirty in the morning, still an hour and a half before the scheduled online time.

Chu Guang didn't idle around; he returned to the shelter, turned on the computer, logged into the official website backend, and noticed that the number of reservations had increased by 10 compared to last night.

Now it was 35 people.

It seemed that yesterday's discussion in the group had some effect in drawing people in, and ten more fresh "little leeks" had raised their hands.

However, Chu Guang pondered that the potential of "Bulls and Horses Club" users might also seem to have reached its limit.

After all, it was just a gaming group of around a hundred people, with only a handful of active users. Perhaps these 35 people were all the real people there.

"Should I consider changing the promotional method?"

Placing ads wasn't very realistic as the Wasteland OL's official website was not registered in the country, and the server might not even be on Earth.

There was another problem as well.

Once they drew from a larger pool of traffic, it would inevitably usher in a wave of "low-quality users," those who were troublemakers.

These people might just be clicking yes for fun, or they might have clicked by accident.

Bringing such players in would only cause trouble.

"We must raise the bar for reservations…"

Chu Guang pondered quietly, noting this action down for later.

When he had time, he'd have Xiao Qi modify the official website again, such as moving the reservation option from the first-level page to a second-level page, and requiring users to register an account as well as fill in their phone numbers and delivery addresses to make a reservation.

Although the shelter system seemed not to need players to fill out delivery addresses, this approach could at least filter out some less determined players and "invalid reservations."

What if someone made multiple reservations using several devices?

Or were they simply bots + virtual machines?

But after a thought, Chu Guang discarded this problem.

Since the system could deliver helmets accurately to users' hands, it should definitely have the means to identify the identity of those reserving.

It was somewhat worrying over nothing.

"The new main task hasn't been triggered yet, probably the conditions haven't been met."

"Let's put the daily tasks aside for now; the important thing is the remaining 'side task'—needing a 10KW power generator."

Electricity was a big issue.

The shelter couldn't be living in the future while the surface was still stuck in a primitive society.

For Chu Guang, who came from modern society, having no electricity was practically no different from primitive society.

"Better think about how to handle this generator issue!"

Chapter 12: The Overgrown Parking Lot

He thought long and hard, but Chu Guang couldn't come up with a result.

Although the principle of the generator is simple, something even middle schoolers knew—essentially "the motion of a conductor cutting magnetic lines of force"—turning that concept into a 10KW power generator was not so simple.

Searching on Baidu only led him to purchase links.

Heh.

If I could buy online, would I really need you to tell me which one to buy?

Absolutely useless!

After much effort, Chu Guang finally found some reliable tutorials, but considering the current scarcity of resources, none of the information was truly useful.

Time quickly reached six o'clock sharp.

With the sound of the chamber doors opening, four players woke up.

"Let's research more later."

Chu Guang took his legs off the table, tidied up his appearance in a scavenged mirror, and calmly went to the neighboring room.

When he entered the room, the four players were checking their attributes on the cultivation chamber's display.

"As expected, my gene sequence is strength type... starting with 7 points of strength, but only 3 in intelligence? I don't feel dumb though."

"That statement doesn't sound very smart… And how quickly has your beard grown?"

Old White's beard was indeed a bit exaggerated.

It was just stubble yesterday, but today it was as long as a fingernail.

"I have no clue what's happening, but is there a razor here?"

"Obviously not, maybe try using an axe?"

"Get lost."

"I can't believe I'm an agility type; I thought I was intelligence type," Fang Chang said, chin in hand as he fell into thought, seemingly pondering something.

"I'm intelligence," Wild Wind said with a bitter smile, raising his hand, "is 3 points in strength too low? 7 points of intelligence... I don't feel any smarter."

"I'm perception type, but what's the use of perception attributes? Can it predict the future?" Night Ten seemed a bit frustrated.

Compared to such ambiguous attributes, he would have preferred excelling in strength or agility.

Or at least constitution, to at least be a tank.

"It's probably an intuition for danger, remember how you dodged that mutant's ambush yesterday?" Fang Chang speculated, "This attribute might be quite OP if used well… it's wasted in your hands."

"Screw you."

"Ahem."

Chu Guang, who had walked into the room, coughed to interrupt the players' conversation.

Perhaps because he had chatted with them as a planner and discussed their affection points last night, the four players looked at him differently now.

In order to maintain a sense of immersion for the players, Chu Guang decided to continue upholding his authoritative image and spoke sternly.

"Time is pressing, so I'll make it short."

"The work that needs to be done is piled up like a mountain, but we don't have much time left. In order not to affect subsequent plans, we need to complete our outpost on the surface before winter arrives."

"Food, drinking water, fuel… these all need to be stockpiled, along with building defensive fortifications and surface dwellings."

"The tasks to be completed are all organized on the plan sheet, which you can check on the notice board at the entrance to the sanatorium."

The players' eyes lit up, their faces showing eager expressions.

Has the task system been perfected?

"That's the basics. Any questions? If not, let's head out."

"Wait, hold on, Manager!"

"Speak."

Night Ten, his face turning red, raised his hand.

"Please, where is the restroom?"

...

The restroom.

Indeed, that was a problem.

Level B1 of Shelter No. 404 was more like a reception area; although there were compartments with cultivation chambers, they lacked any living facilities.

Chu Guang suddenly realized, observing the players who rushed out of the hospital after reaching the surface, that with the influx of players, not only food and drink were problems, but defecation would soon become a big issue as well.

On Bet Street, there were public toilets, and the manure from humans and animals would be collected and reportedly sold to nearby Brown Farm.

Since arriving at the hospital in Wetland Park, Chu Guang had always found a safe spot in the woods to relieve himself, never considering the logistics of one hundred people relieving themselves.

It seemed that some had upset stomachs because four players returned limping.

"No toilet is damn uncomfortable."

"No paper either, I ended up using leaves...almost scraped myself bloody."

"+1."

"Damn, why do I feel a burning sensation...do you guys feel it?"

"No."

"Did you wipe your butt with nettle leaves or something..."

"What, what are nettle leaves?"

"Never mind, just endure it and it'll pass."

"???"

Chu Guang listened from the side with a face full of embarrassment.

He seemed to have forgotten to tell these guys that they could use moss for toilet paper, a little tip he learned from the survivors at Bet Street.

But they didn't seem to give him a chance to speak.

Endure it.

Everyone's been through it.

"Manager, sir," limping over to Chu Guang, Fang Chang spoke respectfully, "I propose that we should build a toilet."

Night Ten: "Second that!"

Old White: "I agree, and with a toilet, we can also dig a big pit to collect the excrement, mix it with wood ash and sawdust compost, and let aerobic bacteria and fungi decompose the organic matter to generate heat which kills the pathogens in the waste to make fertilizer."

Fang Zhang: "Exactly, and not just for producing fertilizer, we could also pack some manure and organic debris in a sealed environment and let anaerobic bacteria convert it into combustible methane! My hometown used to do this with biogas pits, which provided lighting and electricity."

"That's a good idea, we should consider it," Chu Guang said approvingly.

Biogas.

He had always been worried about survival issues and had forgotten about this.

From what he remembered, although there was no biogas pit on Bet Street, the neighboring Brown Farm had one.

Seeing the approving expression on the Manager's face, the four players were even more energized, tossing ideas back and forth.

Building a toilet and even a biogas pit wasn't too difficult; the only challenge was finding sealing and gas storage materials.

Fortunately, the Wasteland lacked many things, but there was no shortage of plastic.

Especially beverage bottles and trash bags.

Since burning them would produce toxic gases, few survivors burned them; they were usually just used to start a fire.

A careful search in the nearby suburbs would most likely turn up quite a few.

Thus, the Task board got a new mission—to collect plastic bags and containers.

"Manager, about the engine, I have an idea," Wild Wind, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly said.

Chu Guang looked at him.

"Let's hear it."

Wild Wind proposed,

"Most cars have onboard generators; I wonder if there are highways around here? Or a parking lot would also do. If we could find a car, the problem might be easily solved."

Chu Guang responded,

"Finding a car isn't hard, there's a parking lot near Wetland Park that I've checked out, but there wasn't anything worth salvaging."

"I want to try," Wild Wind persisted, "if we find a working generator, we could get electricity at our outpost on the surface!"

"You can go, but I can't let you go alone," Chu Guang looked at the players in front of him, his gaze settling on Night Ten, "you go with Wild Wind to the parking lot and check it out."

Night Ten said eagerly.

"Yes!"

Night Ten's gene sequence was of the Perception Type, which proved useful for intuitive crisis response.

Before they set off, Chu Guang had them carry two short scythes meant for mowing, which came in handy when encountering Variants and were more effective than the bulky axes.

Moreover, Chu Guang repeatedly cautioned them that if they encountered Variants, they should avoid conflict and run if possible.

But if they were discovered and the other party showed clear hostility, under no circumstances should they turn their backs to the enemy.

Doing so was tantamount to suicide...

Holding the map of Wetland Park and a basic compass, Wild Wind left the sanatorium with Night Ten.

Old White and Fang Zhang, who remained, looked at Chu Guang and asked,

"Manager, do we continue chopping trees, or?"

Chu Guang glanced around and counted the dozens of unprocessed logs on the ground.

"We're not chopping trees today, we need to solve the issue with the toilets first... here, go get the shovels and axes, and I'll show you how to do it."

...

The parking lot was on the southeast side of the sanatorium.

Two hundred years had passed undisturbed.

Nature had completely overtaken it.

Tree roots had pierced the hard concrete floor, and bushes and wild grasses were knee-high.

Vehicles speckled with rust were covered with vines, and through the broken windows, one could even see moss that covered the seats and air conditioning vents.

Seeing all this, Wild Wind finally understood what the Manager meant.

There truly was nothing worth salvaging here anymore.

Night Ten also looked troubled.

With things in such a state, finding a generator was a ghost's chance.

"Should we go back?"

Wild Wind was silent for a while, then headed forward, unwilling to give up.

"We're already here."

Night Ten shrugged and followed.

Having known him for many years, Wild Wind's most evident trait to him was stubbornness, though he couldn't say what he did in reality.

Many of the cars in the parking lot had hoods rusted shut, unopenable. Wild Wind searched throughout the parking lot before he finally found one that could barely be opened.

But upon opening the hood, he was stunned.

This was...

An engine?

"What's wrong?" Night Ten approached and asked.

"It looks like an electric engine... but it's not quite," Wild Wind frowned and said, "Do you know about cars?"

"I haven't even gotten my driver's license; how would I know?" Night Ten sweated, "Haven't you been working for many years? Didn't buy a car?"

"I live in the company dormitory, just have a bicycle."

Unconvinced, Wild Wind continued rummaging around under the hood, even crawling behind the car to peer underneath... checking every possible area.

But suddenly, his hands stopped.

Noticing his expression, Night Ten asked.

"What's wrong now?"

"It's strange... I can't find the power source." Wiping the mud from his face, Wild Wind scrunched his eyebrows and pondered for a long time, "I can roughly locate the engine, but... I can't find the power source."

"Could it have been removed?" Night Ten suggested a possibility, "After all, it's been the Wasteland for two hundred years. It's normal if there were survivors here, right?"

"That's a possibility."

Habitually closing the hood, Wild Wind looked over the parking lot full of derelict cars, his feelings mixed.

There was actually another possibility.

According to the game's background setting, the pre-war society was technologically advanced enough that it could have reached the stage of replacing fixed power sources with remote ones.

But no matter which possibility it was, it wasn't good news for him.

Hoping to salvage an engine from a wrecked car now seemed unlikely...

On the other side.

There had been new progress in the construction of the toilet.

Under Chu Guang's direction, Old White and Fang Chang first dug a pit two meters wide and three meters long, deep enough to fit a person, outside the sanatorium on the open space. They then inserted sawed-off logs into the sides of the pit as walls and lined the bottom with broken stones and leaves.

Once the cesspit was completed, constructing the toilet became much simpler.

Chu Guang directly asked the two to build two simple sheds by the cesspit and used a plastic tube detached from the sanatorium's exterior wall to connect it to the cesspit.

Thus, a simple toilet was finally deemed completed.

"Fecal matter and urine need to be stored separately; mixing them makes mud too easily. Plus, urine is sterile and can be used to water crops... But let's leave it at that for today," Chu Guang nodded approvingly, watching the morning's laborious efforts.

Exhausted and leaning on their shovels, Old White and Fang Zhang exchanged helpless glances.

Though it was a 100 percent realistic Virtual Reality Game, did it need to be this realistic?

"Bathing is another issue... There's a water source within one kilometer, but there are many Variants near it, so we must be extremely cautious when fetching water."

Perhaps building a bathhouse later would be good.

Otherwise, the smell would be the least of the problems, but getting sick would be a major issue.

"Manager, sir." Fang Zhang raised his hand.

Chu Guang looked towards him.

"What is it?"

"I think we should consider safety issues," Fang Zhang said, "Given the Variant we encountered yesterday, this Wasteland is not safe."

Nonsense.

That was something he didn't need to be told.

"I know, but we can't ignore sanitary issues either. There isn't enough medical supply in the shelter, and an outbreak could have severe consequences."

Safety issues, however, were not as pressing. Variants in Wetland Park were less active than those in the city areas, and there weren't many survivors around to worry about, so they could retreat back to the shelter if danger arose.

Sanitation for over a hundred people, however, was a major issue.

In Bet Street, each household used iron barrels to store water and heated it on the rooftops for disinfection, body cleaning every two or three days. It wasn't about being particular; it's just that being too smelly would get them driven out.

Fang Zhang and Old White exchanged looks.

This Manager's AI setting didn't include being a germophobe, did it?

They would have to be mindful of that in the future.

"Speaking of which... there's something I've been wanting to ask. Why doesn't such a large shelter have any supplies?" Old White interjected, "And what about the other floors? We've only been on Level B1 so far."

"The other floors are not open yet, but they will be opened eventually."

Chu Guang didn't explain the reasons, merely stating the facts.

The two players, curious but unable to get an answer, didn't persist and assumed it was just part of the setting.

Meanwhile, Night Ten and Wild Wind, who had been out exploring, had returned.

Seeing Wild Wind covered in mud, Chu Guang asked,

"How did it go? Did you find the engine?"

"No, we didn't find it, but it wasn't entirely fruitless."

With that, Wild Wind opened a plastic bag he had found in a trash can, filled with blue mushrooms.

These mushrooms were small, only as long as a finger, with a surface covered in translucent fine filaments. Following the patterns revealed a shimmering, multicolored gloss.

Chu Guang, looking surprised, asked,

"Where did you find these?"

With a hint of pride, Wild Wind reported truthfully,

"Near the parking area, there's a concrete sewage pipe, about as tall as two men. The pipe was filled with lots of these mushrooms. I wasn't sure if they were edible, so I just picked some to bring back."

He had initially wanted to try one, but hesitated for a long time due to the game's realism.

"Its name is Blue Umbrella Mushroom, scientifically known as 'Blue Angel'. I heard that those who eat it can see a real angel within an hour."

"Don't doubt it—unless you are a toxin-resistant Mutant, you definitely can't eat these."

Chapter 13 "Blue Angel

Chu Guang tightened the seal on the plastic bag and continued,

"You should count yourselves lucky that you didn't continue further in. These kinds of mushrooms usually grow near the nests of mutated leeches."

Night Ten froze.

"Mutated leeches?"

Chu Guang replied casually,

"Yeah, juvenile mutated leeches are only the size of a palm, and aside from specialized mouthparts, they look pretty much like normal leeches."

"However, once they reach adulthood, their size will rapidly grow to over 1 meter, with the largest even reaching 3 meters. Their feeding habits change as well. I've heard they can even swallow a living person whole... Of course, that's just what I've heard."

After listening to the Manager's narrative, Night Ten felt a chill run down his spine.

He knew there was something unsettling when he was picking mushrooms, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong. Looking at it now, he had skirted around Hell's Gate.

"Can't be eaten?" Wild Wind's expression was one of regret as he looked at the mushrooms Chu Guang had put away and muttered, "I thought they could add a BUFF."

"Don't overthink it."

Where are there so many BUFFs?

There was something Chu Guang left unsaid.

Although inedible, these mushrooms were a main ingredient for making a radiation antidote.

Chu Guang was not clear on the exact principle, having only heard about it from Old Charlie on Bet Street.

The Blue Umbrella Mushroom contains a special kind of polypeptide material that can effectively alleviate and cure non-fatal injuries caused by gamma rays.

The commercial teams of Giant Stone City would buy these things, and the prices they offered were not low. Usually, they would be transported to Giant Stone City and sold to the factories there.

It's just that these things are really difficult to obtain; very few scavengers are willing to risk their lives to search for mutated leech nests in swamps, subways, or sewer systems.

Being hard to find is one thing.

Returning alive after finding them is another.

Even those driven by necessity don't want to deal with these flesh-eating tentacles…

Unexpectedly, this close at hand, there was a nest of mutated leeches.

Chu Guang felt mixed emotions.

The good news was that these Blue Umbrella Mushrooms could fetch a decent sum of money. The bad news was that mutated leeches were not easy to deal with.

Salt?

Where could he get hundreds of kilograms of salt, and if he had that much, it would be more profitable to sell the salt directly.

Fire?

These things generally lived in humid areas and weren't so easy to set alight.

"Do you remember the specific location of that sewer entrance?"

Faced with the Manager's question, Wild Wind quickly pulled out the map and pointed to the marked position,

"Right here."

Chu Guang glanced at the map, committing the location to memory.

"I've got it."

...

Wild Wind and Night Ten had brought back an estimated 2 kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms, which usually traded for 1 chip per 50g.

2000g equaled 40 chips!

This was almost equivalent to Chu Guang's entire savings from the past five months.

And this was the price set by the recycling stations of Bet Street.

The actual value of these things was at least twice that number!

Chu Guang planned to sell all the mushrooms and use the chips to purchase urgently needed supplies for the outpost.

"Outpost supplies need to be restocked, so I'm going out for a bit. Stay here and don't wander off."

"At five in the afternoon, Xiao Qi will open the elevator on time for you to return to Shelter No. 404."

"While I'm gone, Xiao Qi will tally your work results. If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask it."

As for the 2 kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms, Chu Guang allocated a total of 220 contribution points to Wild Wind and Night Ten.

200 of those points were for the discovery of the mutated leech nest, and the remaining 20 were for the mushrooms.

He wasn't being stingy on purpose; he feared that giving too much would tempt the players into taking risks collecting these things, only to potentially lose their lives in the process.

Before finding a generator that could power the "Active Substance Extractor," he felt it was better to be cautious.

Lunch was boiled barley porridge.

Though it was called porridge, to Chu Guang, it felt more like unsweetened mung bean soup.

The stuff had hardly any taste, serving merely to fill the stomach.

But surprisingly, the four players devoured it as if they were starving ghosts reincarnated.

Was it really that delicious?

Chu Guang began to doubt his own culinary skills.

Could he have been good at cooking all along?

That shouldn't be the case...

He finished the meal in a hurry.

After cleaning up the pots and pans, Chu Guang put out the fire and set off on his journey alone, leaving behind four players and an AI robot hanging upstairs.

Fang Chang stared at the task board planted at the entrance of the sanatorium, deep in thought.

Night Ten asked on the side.

"What are you looking at?"

Fang Chang asked.

"Considering the Manager's attitude, these Blue Umbrella Mushrooms must not be useless, but the task only awarded you 20 contribution points, which is equivalent to chopping down two trees... Do you think that's reasonable?"

Night Ten was taken aback.

"Is there a problem?"

Fang Chang asked.

"Of course, there is," Wild Wind pondered. "Normally, the profit a player gains from a task should be positively related to the difficulty of the task. Not only did you unlock a new instance, but you also gathered high-value materials. It doesn't make sense for the reward to be so little."

"What do you think is the reason?" Fang Chang snapped his fingers.

"Priority!"

"Pri, priority?" Night Ten was baffled.

"That's right," Fang Chang nodded. "Do you still remember what the Manager said in the previous storyline? The top priority right now is survival!"

Was there such a thing?

There seemed to be.

Night Ten didn't pay much attention; in most games, he didn't bother with the storyline and would just Ctrl-skip it. Even though it wasn't possible to Ctrl-skip in this Game, zoning out for a few minutes was no different.

Fang Chang continued.

"...So I guess, the tasks on the task board are not the only tasks. This game has given us a lot of autonomy. Not only can tasks be issued by NPCs, but they can also be actively triggered."

Wild Wind furrowed his brow.

"Reason?"

"You have already received a reward, haven't you?" Fang Chang said. "Although you didn't find the generator, you discovered an alien nest and gathered valuable materials."

"So, I surmise that as long as our actions meet the current needs of Shelter No. 404, we can get contribution points. And the value of the reward is positively correlated with the value created by our actions!"

"For instance, building latrines was a task issued by the Manager after adopting our suggestions. Old White and I both got a reward of 200 contribution points."

Old White nodded.

"It seems to be the case."

"I think I got your point," Wild Wind stroked his chin, "but aren't we also gaining contribution points by completing the tasks on the task board?"

And those points weren't low.

"That's the second point I was getting to," Fang Chang's face revealed a mysterious smile. "Do you remember what the planner told us about the favorability setting?"

A flash of realization crossed Wild Wind's face.

"I see... I understand what you mean now."

Night Ten and Old White were still confused.

"What do you two understand?"

"Explain it clearly!"

Fang Chang spoke leisurely.

"To put it simply, by methodically completing the fixed tasks on the task board, we can get a guaranteed minimum reward but can't showcase our abilities. In contrast, actively triggering tasks better reflects our capabilities! Theoretically, it should enhance the Manager's evaluation of us."

Of course, these conjectures were based on the premise that Wasteland OL was a "completely realistic" immersive virtual reality game and that the Manager's actions were governed by program logic, not a human setting.

If its intelligence wasn't as high as he imagined, this guess might well be invalid.

However, given what they had seen so far, the Manager's intelligence seemed quite high. Normal communication was not an issue, and Fang Chang even couldn't help but wonder if the Manager might be played by an actual person.

After understanding Fang Chang's explanation, Old White stroked his chin beard and nodded.

"This train of thought is quite interesting and worth a try... So what do you think we should do?"

"As for what to do specifically, I'm still figuring it out, but my intuition tells me that, before the second round of closed beta testing, it's more critical to accumulate more NPC favorability than contribution points. This will ensure that we start the second round with a higher 'starting point' than other players."

After a pause, Fang Chang snapped his fingers.

"I propose we form a team!"

"Forming a team means...?" Night Ten asked, puzzled.

Old White nodded.

"I have no objections."

Wild Wind nodded, too.

"Neither do I."

Night Ten voiced his agreement as well.

"I don't mind either, but could you explain the details of the teaming?"

Fang Chang explained patiently.

"In short, from now on, we are a team. We will share information and help each other. Next, we need to play to each of our strengths."

Fang Chang looked at Wild Wind and Night Ten and continued.

"Wild Wind, Night Ten, you will scout along the lake shore of Wetland Park, paying attention to the distribution and movement of Variants. If you spot any areas that look like nests, mark them... But remember, don't get too close, especially avoid engaging in combat. We need a safe water source."

Wild Wind nodded.

"Got it."

Then, Fang Chang turned to Old White.

"As for us, we need to chop more wood right now."

"I'll look up some information online when I log off later, and tomorrow we'll figure out a way to make use of all this wood we've stockpiled!"

Chapter 14: The Shady Merchant from Giant Stone City

Chu Guang was lucky, he didn't encounter any insurmountable dangers along the way.

Not only that.

When he arrived near Bet Street, he happened to see a commercial team from Giant Stone City unloading at the entrance of Bet Street.

Old Watt, carrying a hunting gun, stood to one side smoking his homemade dry pipe while Old Charlie was having a pleasant conversation with the team's leader, and idle scavengers were unloading under the watchful eye of the gunmen.

The leader of the commercial team was called General Lee, whose first name Chu Guang didn't know; he only knew that he came from Giant Stone City with eight gunmen and about twenty mutated yaks.

Every so often, he would bring his men and beasts to Bet Street to sell some supplies, while taking away the "specialties" from here.

In the Wasteland, especially in urban areas, animals are more reliable than vehicles.

The roads are littered with broken-down vehicles and collapsed ruins, plus the highways, due to lack of maintenance, are severely cracked, even with roots of vegetation breaking through, rendering most wheeled vehicles immovable.

By comparison, donkeys, cows, horses are precious—they may not be fast, but there's almost nowhere they cannot go.

Most importantly, they're cheap to maintain, just thirty pounds of grass for a hundred kilometers.

Technology isn't always reliable, at least not here.

Of course, if it's a long trek across provinces, that's a different story.

Chu Guang once saw a half-wheeled, half-track truck with a chimney-like thick barrel standing on top, quite in the spirit of punk art.

But these bulky trucks generally don't enter the city; they usually offload outside the city and trade with active medium and small commercial teams in the surrounding area, and then they leave.

Chu Guang noticed that among the goods being transported to Bet Street this time, there was even a woman wrapped in a long robe.

Her hands and feet were in shackles, with a barcode printed on her ankle; her delicate white skin looked nothing like a Wasteland survivor, more like an elf who had stepped out of a movie.

Or rather, a "commodity" cultivated from a growth vat.

"A clone?"

Chu Guang had only heard of the slave trade in Giant Stone City before, but this was the first time he had seen it with his own eyes. However, such "luxury", he thought, could only be afforded by the town's mayor.

Chu Guang didn't immediately approach but quietly waited in the shadow of the ruins for the trade to be completed.

The "cowboys" were all busy and did not linger here.

After loading the goods, General Lee reached into his chest and pulled out several white chips, which he threw to the idle scavengers like giving alms.

Then, amidst a chorus of thankful and wistful praise, he and his gunmen set off, herding the yaks, loaded with big and small parcels.

Chu Guang followed from a distance, crossing two streets.

However, at that moment, the man walking beside that General Lee suddenly stopped and stared straight in his direction.

Chu Guang's heart skipped a beat on being noticed.

They were at least a hundred meters apart—how did this guy spot him?!

But, since he'd been discovered, it was pointless to follow behind anymore.

Chu Guang walked out from the ruins, first raising his hands to show he meant no harm, then carrying a black plastic bag, he approached.

Stopping under a crooked coffee shop sign about ten meters away, he halted.

For both parties, this was the safest distance.

In the event of a conflict, the carbon nanotube bulletproof vest he wore close to his body would buy him at least five seconds to escape.

As long as he wasn't shot in the head...

"I mean no harm," he said, "I just want to trade with you."

The man called General Lee narrowed his eyes and rested the shotgun on his shoulder.

"Are you a scavenger from Bet Street?"

"Chu Guang."

"I don't care what your name is, and we don't do petty trades," the man said with a mocking look at the plastic bag in his hand, "You might as well give that stuff to that old guy Charlie."

Chu Guang said nothing but opened the plastic bag, revealing the commodity inside.

The man was clearly knowledgeable; his expression froze as he apparently did not expect the bag to contain something other than old parts and batteries, but rather this kind of desirable item.

Chu Guang noticed a flash of greed in his eyes that was hard to catch.

"Where did you get this from?" the man asked.

Chu Guang looked at him and said indifferently,

"Sewers, next to a mutated leech nest, but even if I told you where, would you really want to go?"

"It was just a casual question, don't mind."

His eyes' greedy look diminished a bit, and the man handed his shotgun to his attendant, stepping in front of Chu Guang.

"How do you plan to sell it?"

The recycling price at Bet Street was one point per 50 grams, but this thing's real value was definitely worth much more!

After two seconds of silence, Chu Guang decided to take a gamble and quoted five times the price of Bet Street's recycling station.

"I have 2000 grams here; I want 200 points!"

"Deal."

Seeing that the man hesitated only briefly before agreeing, Chu Guang immediately realized that he had underpriced his offer.

Indeed, the damned mayor's selling price to these merchants was surely more than that!

These bloodsuckers!

Chu Guang silently cursed the mayor and his family in his heart, wishing that tonight he wouldn't be able to perform in bed.

"Let's be friends; my name is List."

The man extended his right hand, his earlier arrogance gone, smiling now, "I rarely deal directly with scavengers, but you are an exception... I find you very interesting."

Unpretentiously, Chu Guang shook his hand.

"Thank you, I am Chu Guang."

"I know, you just told me."

Releasing his hand, List stared at Chu Guang and continued, "So firstly, I hope the mayor won't find out about our trade today."

Chu Guang said,

"Of course, he won't know; I don't want any trouble either."

"Ha, you're a smart man."

Pleased with Chu Guang's answer, List nodded with a smile and continued to speak.

"I can pay you 200 points right now, but... since you're going to use these chips to exchange for stuff anyway, why not just buy directly from me and save yourself from the middleman's markup. I also have some surplus goods here, I can give you a 20% discount, how about it?"

Chu Guang didn't believe his so-called 20% discount nonsense as there was no way he could know how much the goods on the backs of the cows were sold for in Giant Stone City.

However, as long as his price was cheaper than Bet Street, there was no reason for him to refuse.

"I need weapons, do you have any?"

"Of course, what kind do you need?"

"Guns."

"Guns, huh?" List stroked his chin, "How about a 9mm bolt-action pipe rifle? It only costs 200 points, and I'll throw in 30 bullets for free. If you want to buy extra bullets, they are 1 point each, an absolutely fair price."

"A 20% discount?"

"This is already discounted. If you think it's too expensive, I have cheaper options, like the 5mm pipe handgun for 100 points. It's quite effective against Looters but not recommended against Variants."

That's already a 20% discount—is not bad.

I'll believe you when hell freezes over!

Chu Guang glared at him and said.

"I'll take the 9mm bolt-action pipe rifle plus 60 bullets. In addition, I want to buy food and other supplies with another 20... no, 25 points."

Watching List shrug nonchalantly, Chu Guang continued in a serious tone.

"There's more than 2 kilograms of mushrooms in the Mutated Leech nest, but I can only collect the ones near the entrance... you get what I mean?"

"You want me to invest in you?" List looked at Chu Guang with interest, "Interesting."

Chu Guang remained unmoved and said.

"Why not? I bet even at this price, you can still make a good profit. And if you agree, the goods I bring next time could be ten times what I have today! Don't you find that tempting?"

List was tempted.

Honestly, it was an attractive proposition.

Carrying these two kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms to Giant Stone City, he wouldn't just buy one bolt-action pipe rifle—he could buy ten.

These country bumpkins living on the outskirts have no idea what rad-resistants and anti-rad drugs mean to city folk.

The good stuff is all hidden near those nuclear bomb craters!

"Normally, very few people can get chips off me."

List signaled his assistant with a glance, instructing him to take a pipe rifle and 60 bullets from the mutated yak.

"You are the exception."

Counting out 25 white chips from his pocket, List handed them over to Chu Guang, along with the goods.

"20 kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms, consider it an investment. I await your news."

"I'll come here again at the end of the month, and if all goes well, it will probably be the last time this year."

"I hope to see you then."

Mutated Leeches.

No one wants to mess with those things.

Only God knows how many disgusting bugs are hiding in their nests—and the worst part is, regular piercing gunfire is useless against them.

Their terrifying regeneration ability and vitality allow them to split into two new individuals after a brief struggle, even if cut in half, let alone just a few small holes.

As for fire...

Not only is it uncertain if you can ignite it, but even if you do, you'll burn the valuable stuff too.

A complete loss.

"Right, the twenty kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms, I'll just count as 2000 points for you. You can place orders with me, no need to pick through others' leftovers."

Watching Chu Guang fiddle with the weapon in his hands, List reminded him.

Chu Guang stopped what he was doing and looked at him to ask.

"How do I know what goods you have?"

List snapped his fingers.

His companion got the hint and handed over a square tablet computer.

"There are photos on it; swipe left and right to choose... I won't teach you if you know how to use it. I guarantee the quality of these goods is good, but I do not guarantee that what you actually receive will look exactly like the pictures."

After skimming through the tablet that Chu Guang had received, he realized there were indeed quite a few good items on it.

Especially, he saw what he needed the most.

"Have you made your selection?" List urged as he watched Chu Guang browsing.

"I've chosen," handing back the tablet, Chu Guang said, "A 10KW wood-fired generator and a KV-1 powered exoskeleton."

"You have good taste. The KV-1 is a base model but also one of the most durable. But why do you need a generator? If you're worried about running out of electricity, it's better to buy extra batteries. I offer a trade-in service here, very cheap."

A generator wasn't cheap; one would cost 1200 points.

By comparison, just 800 points were enough for a KV-1 powered exoskeleton, and a matching chemical energy battery was only 150 points.

Even if battery replacements were expensive, they wouldn't amount to over a thousand.

And after buying it, where would he even put it?

An exoskeleton could be worn under the clothes, but a generator wasn't something a common Scavenger could afford.

Seeing right through List's concerns, Chu Guang said.

"Don't worry, I won't take it back to Bet Street."

"I was just asking. How you handle it is none of my concern. After all, even if you claim I sold it to you, I won't admit it. You'd be the one at a loss," List shrugged nonchalantly, glancing at the sky not far away, "It's getting late; till we meet again."

Chu Guang stopped him.

"Wait a second, do the items I just ordered have a 20% discount?"

List laughed heartily, waving his hand without turning back.

"The prices you saw are already the discounted ones."

Chuang Guang: "...%￥#￥%"

Damn it!

I'll show them who's boss next time I deal with these swindlers!

Watching the Commercial Team move off into the distance, Chu Guang, with a dark expression, also turned to leave.

Chapter 15 Mobilization Order

The Sun already hung on the edge of the sky, and it was undoubtedly late; there was no chance he could make it back in time now.

Chu Guangning would rather stay overnight on Bet Street than travel by night.

With several unpleasant experiences behind him, he knew all too well how dangerous it was to survive only by the grace of The Sun.

Chu Guang wrapped the iron pipe rifle he had bought in a plastic bag and tied it together with a sharpened water pipe he carried on his back, making it unrecognizable as a gun.

Although Bet Street didn't forbid survivors from carrying weapons, Chu Guang didn't want the mayor's spies to find out about his private transactions with the outside commercial teams.

50g of Blue Umbrella Mushroom for only 1 point chip.

What a rip-off these bloodsucking leeches came up with!

He passed through the gates of Bet Street.

Chu Guang saw a crowd gathered around the doorway of the recycling center, men and women, old and young.

They were dressed in tattered clothes, with yellow, gaunt faces, carrying woven bags or baskets on their backs, and hauling plastic buckets or other containers in their hands.

Their daily routine was simple.

Exchange the collected garbage for chips and then use those chips to buy life's necessities.

"New stock of soap! Produced by Huge Stone City Chemical Factory, only 3 point chips and you can wash off that nauseating stench from your bodies. Hurry and buy one for your wife; only 30 available, first come first served."

"Cooking oil, never mind what it's made from, it's all fresh and good, brought in from Brown Farm, only 10 point chips per liter... It's a bit expensive, but there's a reason for the price. You'd better find someone to split the cost with."

"Let me see, oh yes, coarse salt! A piece the size of your thumb for only 5 point chips... Don't worry about how it came to be, how much better do you expect to eat? Come buy it."

"There's also tobacco, good for smoking or for curing meat, also from Brown Farm... Forget it, just pick what you want, I need a break."

Old Charlie hawked his wares at the entrance with such a lackadaisical attitude that he hardly seemed like a businessman.

In fact, it really wasn't business, it felt more like a master's handout to a servant.

And it wasn't just Bet Street.

Within a five-mile radius, many things could only be bought here, and the people who lived here had no choice in the matter.

Also, don't think that five miles is short.

Although Qingquan City is situated on the southern plains, this place had long become an even more dangerous concrete graveyard than a forest...

Old Charlie wiped his sweat, handed over the task of collecting money to a store clerk, and sat down at the side, squinting his eyes for a rest.

At that moment, a young man, thin with a grey coat, waving a wooden plaque in his hand, came to the front of the crowd.

"Mobilization order! A mobilization order from the mayor!"

"By the end of the month, each household must contribute 100 kilograms of firewood and 2 square meters of fur."

"Pass it on to each other!"

The crowd stirred.

There were constant complaints, but no one came forward to rebel.

After all, it had always been like this in previous years.

Bet Street does not collect taxes, but that does not mean living here comes without a cost. Aside from the indirect exploitation in trading rights, the mayor always found one way or another to levy resources.

The mobilization order was just one of those methods, occurring every year in August or September.

And what if one refused the levy?

The punishment was very straightforward.

Within the settlement, all men and women over the age of 16, regardless of whether they lived independently after splitting from the family or not, were counted as individual households if unmarried; once married, two people were combined into one household.

If the resources weren't paid up, the registry butler would cross off that household's name from the registry and confiscate their shack on Bet Street, expelling them from the survivor's enclave.

In this world where life was thinner than paper, losing a shelter wasn't much different from dying.

Especially in the cold winter.

Though not wealthy, Bet Street was already better than neighboring Brown Farm—at least the survivors living here had a bit of pitiful freedom.

"It looks like the mayor is planning to make one last score before the final commercial team of the year arrives, to have a prosperous new year with the exchanged supplies,"

Chu Guang pondered in his heart but didn't take this so-called mobilization order seriously.

He would leave before winter.

When the time came, he would not wait to be driven out; he would leave on his own.

He bypassed the recycling station.

Chu Guang walked straight to his own shack, but before he reached the door, he saw Yu Xiaoyu and a guy standing at the door, arguing about something.

The guy was about seventeen or eighteen, not tall—a teenager. Chu Guang didn't know him, only remembered that he seemed to be the Wang Family's third son, named Wang Defu.

His shack was in the most secluded corner of the enclave, diagonally opposite the Yu Family, and then the Wang Family after that, usually not crossing paths with them.

Chu Guang wondered what business the Wang Family's third son could have at his place.

"Move aside."

Wang Defu, impatient, pushed Yu Xiaoyu, who was blocking his path. The girl stumbled backward, but still stood firm with her arms spread out like an eagle protecting its chick, refusing to give way.

"I won't, this isn't your home!"

"Nor is it yours."

"But he has asked me to help watch the house!"

"What's there to watch in a dead man's house?"

"He's not dead," Yu Xiaoyu glared at him, her eyes like a goldfish's.

"Stop lying, the foreigner hasn't been back for four or five days."

Wang Defu continued impatiently, "You from the Yu Family just want a share, don't you? I'm not planning to keep it all for myself. So, the crossbeams and this door are mine; you can take the rest."

The house of the deceased would usually be divided by the neighbors.

There was no set rule that a few days' absence meant death, but generally, if someone hadn't been seen for days, everyone assumed they were either captured by slavers or looters, or snatched away by Variants to feed their young.

No one could survive outside for several nights straight.

Even experienced hunters found it difficult.

Yu Xiaoyu's lower lip was bitten blue, her eyes, bright like a little goldfish, remained defiant, but she didn't move aside, nor did she take any other action.

Wang Defu didn't want to wait any longer; if he waited, the men from the Yu Family would be back, and he wouldn't gain anything alone, so he decided to push her aside by force.

However, at that moment, a hand rested on his shoulder.

"Who said I was dead?"

Wang Defu's body tensed up, and he jumped to the side. He regarded Chu Guang with a wary gaze, like that of a wild animal. Yu Xiaoyu quickly scurried behind Chu Guang for cover, whispering a report.

"He came yesterday, wanting to dismantle your house."

"Thanks."

Chu Guang looked at Wang Defu with a smile that was not a smile, then said.

"Are you leaving on your own, or should I escort you?"

Wang Defu, knowing he was in the wrong and unable to argue, glanced at the steel pipe on Chu Guang's back, the tip stained with blood, and eventually left without saying a word.

He wasn't afraid of the Yu Family, nor was he afraid of this foreigner, but nobody wished to offend a man with a sturdy physique.

Especially since this guy was all alone without any weak points.

Watching his retreating figure, Chu Guang suddenly felt somewhat sorrowful.

Some people, although alive, were no different from the hyenas and vultures outside.

He had once witnessed a mutated hyena bite the neck of its injured companion and share the flesh. At the time, he didn't think much of it, merely considering it a law of nature; now, he could somewhat empathize.

He had only been away for a few days, yet these people had already become restless.

Hiding behind Chu Guang, Yu Xiaoyu didn't leave. She thought that if she waited a bit longer, she might be able to eat the candy she had tasted the other day.

She had never eaten anything so sweet; she nearly chewed on the plastic stick too.

Noticing those big eyes staring at her.

Chu Guang was initially stunned, then realized what was going on and smiled as he fished out a forgotten lollipop from his pocket, handing it to the little girl.

"Thank you for your help these past few days."

"It's no trouble!"

Little Fish happily tore open the plastic wrapper and stuffed the lollipop in her mouth, speaking indistinctly, "It's not like I've anything else to do anyway. I can help keep an eye on things when you're out."

At that moment, the men of the Yu Family, carrying their spoils, returned from the direction of the recycling station. Judging by their bulging bundles, they had reaped a considerable harvest.

Seeing her eldest brother, second brother, and father, Little Fish promptly dashed back inside the house.

Earning candy was just a side job; keeping an eye on the foreigner was the task her elders had assigned her, and Little Fish had not forgotten the advice her elders had given her.

However, no matter how quick her actions, they could never outpace the eyes of a hunter.

The patriarch of the Yu Family—a sturdy, wrinkled-faced old man—glanced at Chu Guang without saying a word and entered the house with his eldest son, who was carrying two sacks of green wheat.

The second son of the Yu Family, Yu Hu, stopped in his tracks in front of Chu Guang.

Chu Guang recognized him.

People around here didn't interact much with him, and this eighteen or nineteen-year-old youth was one of the few who would initiate conversations with him.

It was just that the young man was always blunt and straightforward, much like his name suggested.

"I thought you were dead since you weren't around these past few days,"

Chu Guang said.

"It seems your intuition isn't very accurate."

Yu Hu paused, then grinned and scratched his head.

This foreigner was quite interesting, speaking differently from others—always liking to beat around the bush.

He didn't mind, and he continued.

"I have to tell you, the mayor just issued a mobilization order. Before the end of the month, each household must deliver 100 kilograms of firewood and two square meters of fur."

The Yu Family had three adult males and needed to submit 300 kilograms of firewood and six square meters of fur, which made them a "major taxpayer" on Bet Street.

The former was manageable. Vegetation was everywhere in the city, and further out to the north, large tracts of woodland were visible. Even without the mayor's order, they would have cut some firewood to prepare for winter.

But the latter was more challenging to deal with—six square meters of fur would mean having to kill at least four, perhaps five, mutated hyenas.

"I heard about it when I came back."

"That's good."

Yu Hu was direct.

"We were just discussing with the Li family about trying our luck in the northern woodlands. There are supposed signs of deer migration there. If we could catch a couple, not only would we get the fur, but we would also get meat. Do you want to join us?"

"I'd rather not; I'll think of something myself."

Chu Guang tactfully declined, but he made a mental note of it.

The scavengers from Bet Street were planning to hunt to the north, and Linghu Wetland Park was also to the northwest. Hopefully, they wouldn't run into each other.

Yu Hu naturally didn't know what Chu Guang was thinking and assumed he was just being modest, continuing to persuade.

"I can tell you're capable, but even a capable person has limits. The Wang Family boy dared to bully you because they have numbers."

"Here's an idea: my sister will be of marriageable age next year. Why not marry her? Then we'll be family."

"If you're in a hurry, we can arrange the wedding tonight."

Chu Guang nearly choked on these words, coughed, and said,

"There's no need."

What the hell?

How did the conversation jump to that?

Besides, the marriageable age that these survivors deemed acceptable was something Chu Guang, coming from a civilized society, could not accept.

After all, he was still young, and marriage was much too early for him.

"Alright then."

Yu Hu did not persuade further, only feeling a sense of regret.

People who escaped from the shelters tended to be smart, like Old Charlie, who had been working for the mayor since he could remember and was seen as a big shot in the neighborhood.

Old Charlie said that Chu Guang also came from a shelter, so there must not be a mistake; Chu Guang must be clever as well.

If he could have a son with his sister, maybe the Yu Family could also produce a big shot like Old Charlie.

He had even prepared to persuade his father.

But now, it seemed he was getting ahead of himself.

He took his things and returned home.

Yu Hu pulled his sister aside.

"Little Fish, tell me, would you like to marry next door's Brother Chu Guang?"

Little Fish, with her mouth still stuffed with a lollipop, mumbled,

"Okay."

It wasn't far since it was just next to her home.

In her eyes, getting married was simply about sleeping somewhere else; there wasn't much difference, and she might even get an extra piece or two of candy.

Yu Hu, who was about to give up, happily said,

"Then I'll try persuading him again."

"Oh."

Little Fish casually responded, focusing on her candy and not really caring.

But Yu Hu was enthusiastically making plans.

"Okay, I'll talk to Dad and Big Brother, but don't just sit around waiting. When you have time, go learn from Mom how to bake flatbread… What are you eating? Let me try some too."

"No way!"

Seeing her second brother try to snatch her candy, Little Fish was instantly displeased. She ducked and dodged, then vanished like a puff of smoke.

Chapter 16 How to Play Sandbox Games

In Linghu Wetland Park, next to the abandoned sanatorium, stood wooden stakes of varying thickness and size.

"I heard that newly cut wood can crack and warp if it's not treated," said Old White, frowning as he leaned on his axe, looking at the logs piled up haphazardly against the wall.

Fang Chang asked,

"How is it usually treated?"

Old White said,

"Dry out the moisture from the wood by baking it or let it naturally air dry after painting both ends. You could also soak it in water, but that makes it harder to manage... I just hope it doesn't rain in the next few days."

Old White roughly estimated that, taking into account yesterday's labor, they would have more than enough to cut all these logs into 3 to 4-meter lengths, sharpen both ends, and stake them into the ground to repair the walls on the north and west sides of the sanatorium.

The problem was that these were untreated logs, whose durability was hard to ensure. A few rains might just rot them away.

So he discussed it with Fang Chang, and they decided to shift their approach and use cement as building material.

There was a substantial amount of concrete waste on the wasteland, and even the sanatorium had quite a bit.

Weathered by time, expansion and contraction from heat and cold, and worn by wind and rain, most of these concrete chunks, stripped from reinforcing bars, had already become rubble.

Relying on these materials to be reliable was wishful thinking.

But by mixing these materials with cement and securing them with some steel rods salvaged from the ruins, building a basic concrete structure was feasible.

It was a shoddy job, but it was still better than wood.

After all, they had no plans to build a skyscraper.

However, in order to use these concrete wastes, they first needed cement.

And to make cement, they needed enough coal and a furnace that could withstand temperatures up to 1450 degrees Celsius.

Just then, Wild Wind and Night Ten returned.

Fang Chang noticed that in the plastic bucket Wild Wind carried, there was a full bucket of even-textured mud.

"There's a river to the east of Rhombus Lake that isn't on the map; it must have formed sometime in the last two hundred years. We explored the entire east to south shoreline and marked the areas where the Variants are active and the suspected nests on the map."

As he spoke, Wild Wind had Night Ten take out the map, which had some marks drawn on it with charcoal.

With this map, fetching water from the lake would be much safer.

But Fang Chang's attention was on the bucket in his hand.

"What's in this bucket?"

"I found it by the river," Wild Wind put the bucket down and continued, "I suddenly thought we could use this stuff as a construction material, so I brought it back."

"This stuff can't be used as a building material; it'll wash away with water," said Old White, squatting down and picking up some mud to rub between his thumb and forefinger. An excited expression suddenly crossed his face, "However, this stuff is great. We've got something for our kiln."

"Kiln?" Night Ten was puzzled.

"I've discussed with Old White about making cement," said Fang Chang.

Wild Wind looked at him in surprise.

"Is that possible?"

"Why wouldn't it be? Isn't this a sandbox Game?" Old White stood up excitedly and said, "Just dump the mud here, and go fetch a few more buckets back. Fang Chang, help me collect some tree branches. Make it quick."

"Got it," Fang Chang went off with high spirits.

Wild Wind and Night Ten exchanged glances, then went off, still baffled.

...

The river wasn't deep, but there was plenty of silt beside it, and since it wasn't far from the sanatorium, they managed to bring back quite a bit without much effort.

Old White used the silt to form a circle and dug two holes beside it as air inlets. Then he placed the leftover charcoal and dry leaves from their previous cooking fire inside the mud circle and lit them with matches left by the Manager.

The fire rose quickly.

The surrounding mud was slowly drying out.

Old White used his hands to dig up fresh mud, and as he dried it, he started building it up on the walls of the furnace until it reached his thigh; only then did he begin to stuff in thumb-thick sticks.

"What are you doing?" Fang Chang asked curiously. Although he had played survival games before, he had never done such detailed work in a game.

"Making charcoal! Without coal, we have to use charcoal instead. To make cement, burning wood won't do—we need to start from the most basic."

"How do you even know this stuff?"

"Played with it back in my hometown when I was a kid."

"..."

Played with it, sure.

Who would play with this stuff for fun?

Standing up, Old White clapped his hands and began to seal the top of the furnace while the fire inside had not yet ignited the wood.

This step was crucial.

Before the wood caught fire, he needed to leave an opening at the top, then, once the temperature inside the furnace was high enough, cover all the openings with mud, allowing the wood inside to smolder for a day. By tomorrow, they would have a full furnace of charcoal.

"If you seal all the holes, won't the fire go out?"

"It won't go out immediately, and that's the effect we want."

Wiping his sweat, Old White patted Fang Chang's shoulder.

"Don't just stand there; let's build a few more kilns, and get the one for making cement tomorrow ready as well."

"Okay..."

It wasn't just Fang Chang who joined Old White's "construction crew." Even Wild Wind and Night Ten, after moving enough mud, were drafted into the effort.

The four players worked together and built four earthen kilns for charcoal burning, and then with the aluminosilicate clay dug from the river bank, they built a slightly larger one.

According to Old White, they could try making some cement tomorrow.

What he planned to make was wood ash cement.

This primitive method produced cement that was not very technologically advanced or reliable, but it was definitely stronger than wood.

Moreover, with wood ash cement, he could try to build a cement kiln that could withstand higher temperatures.

Old White had already made up his mind to look up information online after logging off.

"Damn it... now I understand why the Manager wanted us to figure out how to build a bathhouse." Night Ten, who was already somewhat germophobic, felt he was almost killed by the stench of sweat.

This game was just too damn hardcore.

"How about we take a bath by the lake before we log off?" Old White suggested.

"I agree... But speaking of which, where's the Manager? The log-off time is almost upon us, but he hasn't returned yet," Wild Wind asked.

"Maybe he's got something to do."

"How are we supposed to let him know about our afternoon's hard work?" Night Ten hastily asked.

Fang Chang glanced at the sanatorium behind them.

"Don't worry about that; I've already spoken to the robot named Xiao Qi. It said that it has recorded our achievements and will report the situation truthfully to the Manager."

Upon hearing this, Night Ten finally felt at ease.

...

Just as the players were logging off, taking off their helmets, getting up, and preparing to start a new day, Chu Guang, who was still on Bet Street, carefully removed the plastic bucket under the water purifier.

There was a public well in Bet Street, and each household had their own water collector, including Chu Guang's.

Apart from the "glowing rain" laden with radioactive dust, or when the clouds looked distinctly abnormal, the rainwater on the Wasteland was generally safe, even safer than in the pre-war era.

After all, it was two hundred years after the decline of civilization, and phenomena such as acid rain and smog, which were byproducts of industrial society, were hard to come by here.

Of course, even so, drinking rainwater directly was not a wise decision.

By cutting a plastic water bottle in half, Chu Guang placed a layer of dried pine needles and moss at the base of the bottleneck and then added crushed charcoal ash on top.

Thus, a makeshift water filter was completed.

Chu Guang didn't know whether graphite could absorb radiation or not, but in the distant suburbs far from nuclear craters, radiation was not the main threat to survival; diarrhea and dehydration were.

He still remembered that in the month he first settled here, he almost had to run to the toilet every other day. He didn't die at the hands of Variants but almost succumbed to his own gastrointestinal issues.

"Not even 10L... it's like trying to put out a blaze with a cup of water."

He sighed as he looked at the various bottles and jars in the room.

It took only a few days for the player to nearly use up the supplies he had saved up for many days.

He'd need to come up with some solutions.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

Chu Guang got up, pulled out the door bolt, and opened the door.

Standing at the doorway was Little Fish with her hands behind her back, her big, shiny eyes fixed on him without saying a word.

Just as Chu Guang was about to greet her, he suddenly remembered what the second son of the Yu Family had said to him about the marriage proposal, which made him feel awkward.

Even if he had to take ten thousand steps back.

Without Shelter No. 404, without the System, without players, and in his isolated and helpless state, he wouldn't be able to lower himself to that level!

She was too thin.

At the very least, she needed another couple of years.

"Is there something you need?" Chu Guang asked calmly.

Yu Xiaoyu stretched out her arm, which had been hidden behind her back.

Only then did Chu Guang notice that she was holding a small, dark piece of cake in her hand - it was probably made from boiled and kneaded green wheat paste.

"My second brother asked me to give this to you. He told me to say I made it for you." She spoke word for word.

The way she mixed up the pronouns made Chu Guang dizzy for a moment, and it took him a while to figure out that it was Yu Hu who wanted her to give him the cake.

"Thanks?"

"No need."

After stuffing the cake into Chu Guang's hand, Little Fish turned around and ran off, leaving him alone, disheveled in the wind.

...

Present day.

Jinling.

After removing his helmet, Yan Feng rubbed his nose bridge, fumbled on the bedside table, and put on his glasses.

He sat on the edge of the bed for a while before getting up to go to the bathroom. After washing up and putting on a coat, he went downstairs, straddled his bicycle, and leisurely made his way to the cafeteria.

The time was now 5:30 AM.

Apart from students studying for postgraduate entrance exams, few people would visit the cafeteria at this time. The hall was empty, with only a few counters by the door open for business.

The cafeteria lady, who was busy behind one of the counters, recognized this regular customer immediately and said with a smile.

"Professor Yan, you're up early today."

"Yeah, I went to bed pretty early yesterday... two buns, please."

"The buns have just been put in the steamer; you'll have to wait a bit."

"No rush."

Yan Feng took out his meal card and swiped it on the reader.

The steam rising from the steamer smelled fragrant.

Yan Feng really liked this scent; it made him feel comfortable. Unfortunately, it was not so friendly to him as a bespectacled man.

After removing his glasses to wipe away the fog on them, Yan Feng couldn't help thinking about his character in Wasteland OL.

His avatar in the virtual world, though initially slightly weaker in Strength, was much stronger than his real self.

And most importantly, the virtual self wasn't nearsighted.

At that moment, someone patted his shoulder.

Yan Feng put on his glasses and turned around to see Professor Wang Haiyang.

"Have class this morning?"

"No class. I just woke up because I couldn't sleep."

"I thought you physicists stayed up late."

"That's a misconception. I rarely bring Work home," Yan Feng pushed up his glasses and suddenly remembered something. Looking at the professor, he said, "By the way, there's something I want to consult with you about."

Professor Wang Haiyang raised his eyebrows.

"The topic from yesterday?"

Yan Feng nodded.

"Yeah."

"Hold on, let me ask you first, you're not talking about a novel you wrote, are you?" Professor Wang Haiyang said with a laugh, "Novels should be a bit fantastical, if they're too close to reality, they tend to be less enjoyable."

"Actually, it's not a novel, to be honest, it's... a game."

"A game?"

"Yeah," Yan Feng said as he took the bun from the cafeteria lady's hand, unwrapped the plastic bag, and took a bite, "a post-apocalyptic themed game."

Professor Wang Haiyang became interested and asked.

"Can you be more specific?"

"I'm not very clear about the details, as the game is in the closed testing phase, and I don't know much," Yan Feng paused for a moment before adding, "you mentioned how only an advanced society could have cars without any power source."

"No power source?" Professor Wang Haiyang was taken aback before laughing, "Are you talking about replacing a fixed power source with remote power supply technology?"

"Is that difficult?" asked Yan Feng.

"I'm not sure about the difficulty. From my field of expertise... wireless power supply technology isn't hard, the challenge lies in how we obtain clean and cheap energy that is affordable even if the energy loss reaches 90% or more."

At this point, Professor Wang Haiyang paused, then jokingly said.

"Apart from controlled nuclear fusion as depicted in science fiction novels, I can't think of a better solution.

Nuclear fusion?

Yan Feng looked thoughtful.

"I see..."

It seemed the background setting of Wasteland OL was even grander than he had imagined.

There must be much more worth digging into.

"When do you plan to publish your novel? Can I take a look?" Professor Wang Haiyang joked, "Maybe I can offer some advice."

Yan Feng glanced at him.

"I told you it's not a novel."

"Alright, alright, if you say it's not, then it's not," Professor Wang Haiyang said with a laugh, patting his colleague's shoulder as he took his breakfast from the cafeteria lady, "I have a class, so I'll head out first. Good luck to you!"

Chapter 17: It's Our Honor to Share Your Worries!

Night fell deep.

Chu Guang slept restlessly, waking several times and only falling back to sleep intermittently after feeling for the gun hidden in his sleeping bag.

The shelter was too comfortable; there was no need to worry about any danger, so much so that he found himself somewhat unable to adapt to this unsettling environment all of a sudden.

"I've become complacent."

Chu Guang sighed, his hand unconsciously touched the gun concealed under the blanket again, the rough and long barrel filled him with a sense of security.

He wondered how things were going with the players.

Although he had explained to Xiao Qi what to do in his absence, he couldn't let go of his worries when he wasn't around.

Waking up again at five in the morning, Chu Guang found he could no longer sleep, so he lay there with his eyes open, waiting quietly.

It wasn't until the faint light of dawn filtered through the window that he crawled out of his sleeping bag, dressed, and slung on his steel pipe and the newly purchased gun.

This time when he left, he estimated it would be a long while before he could return.

The mayor's demands forced him to move up his plan for relocating; all preparation had to be completed before the end of the month.

If he couldn't stockpile enough resources for a hundred people, the next trial wouldn't happen until February or March of the next year.

The entire winter would be wasted.

He pushed open the door.

Equipped and ready to depart, Chu Guang happened to run into the men of the Wang Family.

Wang Defu, who had caused trouble at his doorstep just the day before, gave him a look—no words were exchanged, but his eyes carried a hint of provocation.

Perhaps because his father and older brothers were by his side, and with hunting weapons on his back, he had more courage than the day before, almost as if he was showing off.

Of course, Chu Guang had no intention of stooping to the level of petty children.

A sixteen-year-old boy was considered a full-fledged man on Bet Street, but to him, the boy was nothing more than a kid whose whiskers hadn't even fully come in yet.

"Hey, don't go dying on me."

Chu Guang ignored him, didn't even glance his way.

The Wang Family kid grew angry, his teeth clenched and face turning red; he felt humiliated by this outsider's disregard.

However, just as he was about to do something rash to provoke a reaction, his older brother suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.

Although still somewhat dissatisfied, Wang Defu quickly calmed down.

It was clear that the kid listened to his brother.

Chu Guang stole a glance at the Wang Family's eldest son—this strong and imposing man was also looking at him.

Chu Guang sensed a faint danger from the man, but it wasn't pronounced.

Interestingly, during their observation, the man's face also revealed a hint of surprise, though he concealed it carefully.

Hunter's intuition—

This guy is trouble!

After a brief eye contact, both parties quickly averted their gazes.

There was no need to stir up unnecessary trouble.

The Wang Family moved on.

Chu Guang also prepared to set off.

Just then, a crisp voice came from behind.

"Be careful on the road."

Chu Guang paused, turned around, and saw Little Fish peeking at him from behind the door.

He smiled faintly and said,

"Yeah, thanks."

"No need."

In the blink of an eye, the girl scurried back into the house and disappeared.

...

At six in the morning, the sky was almost fully bright.

Bet Street's gate slowly opened, and survivors armed with knapsacks, bows, and arrows, knives, crossbows, and other equipment tread across the cracked concrete and through weeds sprouting from the fissures, heading in groups towards the ravaged ruins.

But on this day, two hundred years later, finding good things in the Wasteland was not so easy anymore; even a bullet casing dropped by mercenaries or Looters could be considered a treasure.

Chu Guang didn't leave the settlement immediately. Instead, he lingered at the gate for a while, waiting until everyone else had gone far, and then he visited Old Charlie's recycling station.

"I need 7 kilograms of green wheat; here are 21 points of tokens. Also, how much tobacco for curing meat can I get for 4 tokens? I've never bought any," Chu Guang asked.

"One point per tael."

"Then give me four taels!"

Food was the key to development.

Only by stockpiling more food could he recruit more players to do work for him.

The survivors couldn't be expected to subsist on thin porridge made from green wheat every day; even if they could endure it, he could not.

Now with a gun, hunting would be much easier than before.

Chu Guang planned to buy some tobacco leaves to take back, to make cured meats from the surplus that couldn't be eaten immediately, which would serve as a winter reserve.

Old Charlie lifted his eyelids.

"I remember you just bought five kilograms of green wheat a few days ago, didn't you?"

"Is that a problem?" Chu Guang replied nonchalantly.

Old Charlie just curled his lips.

"No problem, it's good to save up."

Chu Guang, planning for the future, suddenly became alert.

A word from the speaker, a listener's attention.

He realized a potential issue.

He hadn't brought back any useful trash or other findings for a while, yet had made two substantial purchases in a row.

The mayor might not notice such a small figure as himself, but it might breed suspicion in others' minds about where he was getting all this money from.

But Old Charlie didn't say anything, perhaps he didn't care at all—he weighed out the grain, and with a smile, saw him out.

"I've been careless..."

Stepping out of the gate of Bet Street and turning a corner, Chu Guang finally let out a sigh of relief, paused to observe his surroundings for a while, and then continued on his way.

Over 10 chips was already considered a substantial "fortune" for the Scavengers, as they usually couldn't save any money.

Yet he had twice consecutively taken out more than 20 chips to purchase supplies that he couldn't exhaust in a short amount of time.

Old Charlie was relatively kind to him, given that they both had come out from the same refuge, but at the end of the day, he was still the servant of the town mayor.

With this thought, Chu Guang's brow furrowed.

It was a pity that the Merchant named List only accepted grains and sold industrial products from the Giant Stone City.

Perhaps he should try his luck at the Brown farmstead.

...

Seven kilograms of green wheat and ten liters of drinking water, along with bullets and gear, weighed more than twenty kilograms in total—a heavy burden on his shoulders.

Aside from carrying the load, Chu Guang also had to be careful to conserve his strength and watch out for dangers lurking in the shadows.

Even with strength hidden in his muscles that was extraordinary, he could only walk a distance before stopping to check the road conditions and then continue moving on.

The roads outside of the settlement were rough to traverse; sometimes, he had to detour around collapsed highways and weave through fallen skyscrapers.

Chu Guang suddenly felt envious of the protagonists in "The Last of Us" and "The Fading Light," who could parkour through the ruins with a bunch of stuff on their backs, while he could only plod along step by step.

Maybe...

Next time, should he buy a cow?

Just not sure if List would sell one.

Fortunately, the Variants he encountered along the way hadn't discovered him.

Passing through the ruins.

After following the road for a while and arriving at the sanatorium located in Wetland Park before eight thirty in the morning, Chu Guang was surprised to find that all four closed beta players were already online.

Not only that.

Outside the sanatorium's Enclosing wall, there stood four half-man-tall furnaces and a hemispherical kiln about a person's height.

What...

What's this?

He didn't remember assigning them the task of building furnaces.

"Manager Sir! You're finally back," Fang Chang said with a smile as he approached the evidently surprised Manager.

"I was delayed outside for one night," Chu Guang, still fixated on the furnaces and having forgotten to put down the things on his back, asked, "How are things here? Did you encounter Variants or other survivors?"

"Everything is normal! There were no accidents!"

Fang Chang reported their work to Chu Guang with a bright face.

Those four half-man-tall furnaces were for charcoal burning, and the one with the bellows was for calcining the raw material for cement at high temperatures.

"We burn the bark into ash, then mix it with water and stir, filter out the potassium carbonate solution from the top, and squeeze the remaining mud to extract the calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate needed to make cement."

"Next, we put these raw materials into the blast furnace to calcine until they turn orange-red, then mix them with sand we've picked up from the riverside, add water and mix well, and—voila—we've got ash cement!"

Damn?

Honestly, Chu Guang was amazed by the practical skills of these players.

He himself had tried mixing grass ash with mud to make cement, following methods found on forums, but what came out crumbled easily and was utterly useless.

Now, it seemed he had been doing it wrong all along.

Was the key in the blast furnace and a secondary calcination?

And the purity of the ash...

Fang Chang didn't stop talking and continued.

"We plan to use the cement to repair the sanatorium's Enclosing wall! Oh, and those potassium carbonate solutions we filtered out, we collected them too. They're really useful for tanning leather!"

"You all... did very well."

After a long thought, Chu Guang couldn't think of any reward to give to these players, only coming up with this commendatory phrase.

But to Fang Chang who heard it, he was thoroughly exhilarated.

It went up!

The favorability!

It definitely had gone up!

Not missing the opportunity, Fang Chang recited the speech he had thought about all night with an earnest expression.

"For the continuation of civilization!"

"It is our honor to alleviate your worries!"

"..."

Chu Guang suddenly didn't know how to respond to him.

Compared to himself, these players seemed a bit too noble.

"Spoken well... for the continuation of civilization, and for the future of all of us."

Coughing, Chu Guang kept up a dignified expression and said to the excited players, "I'm going to put down the supplies downstairs. Your plan is very good... go ahead with confidence!"

Fang Chang stood tall and proud, brimming with enthusiasm.

"As you command, Manager Sir!"

"You all should also pay attention to balancing work and rest, don't overexert yourselves," Chu Guang advised.

It was not so much out of conscience as it was worry that these players might overdo it and burn out their enthusiasm too soon.

However, this player did not seem to grasp his well-intentioned concern, as he proudly declared his loyalty.

"Serving you is our mission, and it also is my declaration under the banner of United Human!"

Hearing this, Chu Guang nearly choked.

A declaration, huh...

Have you ever seen what the United Human flag looks like?

"Alright, that's the spirit, go ahead."

Watching the player jog away, Chu Guang silently sighed in his heart.

After all, his concern was unnecessary.

Chapter 18 I Reserved It First

Since the players were so self-aware, Chu Guang felt that he shouldn't interfere too much with them, letting them play freely seemed a better choice.

He placed the supplies next to the elevator and returned to the shelter, calling out the Administrator System. Soon, a task completion pop-up appeared before his eyes.

"Congratulations, Host, for completing the daily task: Stockpiling Wood, Reward: reward points +2"

"Congratulations, Host, for completing the daily task: Making Cement, Reward: reward points +5"

The completed daily tasks totaled seven reward points, which was not enough for an intermediate blind box.

However, Chu Guang was not concerned.

His players had already dealt with the cement, and now the stockpile of food had exceeded ten kilograms; soon he would be able to recruit a few more players as free labor.

"System, all reward points, exchange them all for basic blind boxes!"

The reward points in the Administrator's allowance instantly zeroed out.

The alloy door on the wall opened, and the conveyor belt started moving, dispensing the rewards from the opened blind boxes.

Five lollipops, a 200g block of chocolate, and a 500g bag of salt—all of them without an expiration date or a brand name.

How much did this damn first generation manager love sweets?

Looking at those lollipops and chocolate, Chu Guang was at a loss for words for a moment.

But this pure white salt was a good find.

Chu Guang reached out and picked it up, his face showing unexpected delight.

The salt available on Bet Street was coarse salt transported from Giant Stone City, wax-yellow in appearance, not only expensive, but also of low quality, with a bitterness that overshadowed its saltiness.

This type of pure white fine salt usually came at a steep price, which ordinary survivors could hardly afford.

"If only there were more of it!"

This amount was sufficient for cooking, but using it to make bacon or sausages would be somewhat wasteful.

Of course, trading it was a viable option, as this pure white fine salt could be exchanged for ten, or even twenty to thirty times the weight in coarse salt.

However, there were other risks involved.

River Valley Province was an inland province.

Salt, only second to munitions in hyper-profitability, required substantial power to handle this trade rationally.

After confirming the rewards, Chu Guang opened the player list to check the log-off time of players from yesterday and their log-in time today.

He was surprised to find that Old White had leveled up?

"Can you level up by chopping trees?"

Chu Guang was shocked.

Previously, the development progress of these players' gene sequences had all been at 0%, but Old White's gene sequence development progress had risen to 1%.

Correspondingly, his level was now LV1.

But after thinking about it, Chu Guang was relieved.

Chopping trees, a physically demanding task, also served as a form of exercise, and since Old White's gene sequence was strength type, it was not surprising that his development progress had increased.

Gaining experience didn't necessarily require combat.

Though the latter was relatively a shortcut...

He closed the system interface.

Sitting in front of the computer in the residents' hall, Chu Guang logged onto the Wasteland OL official website's backend.

Having set a reservation threshold that required filling in a shipping address and phone number and registering an account, Chu Guang was prepared for a slowdown or even a halt in the growth of reservation numbers, yet upon opening it today, he found that the number of reservations had risen from 35 to 45.

Well, well.

Do so many people actually gather at the Niubi Club?

Surprised, Chu Guang then logged into his Penguin account, opened the game group called Niubi Club, and scrolled through the chat history to catch some clues.

Just yesterday, a bunch of newcomers flooded into the group, and the number of members had skyrocketed from over a hundred to more than two hundred.

Most of these newcomers were invited by friends to watch, and many of them were group hoppers, active in various gaming groups all year round.

Now, in the PC gaming circle, a rumor about a "fully immersive virtual reality online game" was spreading.

Although most people scoffed at it, there were always one or two who believed it and went to great lengths to join "Niubi Club."

Everyone was unsure if the Dog Management was just messing around, but the official website did look quite professional.

--Historic chat record--

Quit smoking: [Why are there suddenly so many new people in the group? (confused.jpg)]

Pick up trash 99 level: [Big shots! How do I pre-order that game? Does it cost money?]

Quit smoking: [What? They're all here for Wasteland OL? (shocked.jpg)]

Up several times in one night: [Might as well change the group name to Wasteland OL Players Group. (funny)]

Grandpa Ao: [Closed beta testing is free, not sure about later, just register an account and fill out a form to queue up. As to when you'll get your turn, it's up to luck...sigh, I'm done, some people really believe it.]

Quit smoking: [Night Ten bro! Did you guys log in last night??? Tested any new content??? (excited)]

Up several times in one night: [Tested it, worked on it all night, and we managed to make some cement, haha. Ask Fang Chang, I gotta go to class, we'll talk later.]

Quit smoking: [Cement???]

Pick up trash 99 level: [Isn't it supposed to be picking trash???]

There was a lot of back-and-forth in the group.

Chu Guang directly skipped over that long string of nonsense and scrolled down to Fang Chang's message.

Long Days Ahead: [Honestly, the realism of this game exceeded my expectations! Unlike most sandbox building games, logs in Wasteland OL don't automatically turn into planks, and making charcoal isn't just a matter of throwing wood in a furnace for a one-click production; you need to build a charcoal kiln first, and the burning method is much the same as in reality. The same goes for making cement, there's no one-click crafting table, you start by burning plant ashes.]

Quit smoking: [What? It's that realistic?!]

Long Days Ahead: [Exactly, it's that realistic! Haven't tested the combat system yet, but as far as sandbox gameplay goes, so far Old White and I haven't found a limit to this game!]

Long Days Ahead: [Theoretically, all the materials we've encountered so far can be transformed according to real-world physical and chemical rules, and the environmental effects of these transformations are permanently preserved! They won't get reset! That's what amazed me the most!]

This reminded him of the "pseudo-sandbox game" Death Stranding, which involved building roads all over the world.

But this game was not just about building roads; it offered more interactive content than the pixel-style Minecraft, and the graphics were crystal clear, even more deceptive than the photorealistic racing game Horizon 4.

Especially that immersive experience.

It was unlike anything he had ever seen.

To put it simply, he was absolutely blown away by this game!

Grandpa Ao: [Ha, I laughed. If it's really that awesome, I could build a replica of Jinling City in Wasteland.]

Spare people under the knife: [I don't believe it either! It's too preposterous.]

White Horse Passing a Gap: [Cut the bull, just wait until you get into the game, you'll see it's the most grinding game I've ever played, all materials have to be manually collected, and it doesn't support idle play. In other games, you can leave the computer running overnight to level up, but in this game, just chopping a few trees will leave you too tired to lift your hands!]

Level Eight Great Gale: [Indeed, I can relate to that.]

Quit smoking: [Damn, damn, damn, you guys are making me wanna play it so bad!!! Brother Guang, I know you're lurking, I'm begging you, please give me a chance!!!]

Chu Guang continued to scroll through more chat records.

Those who got closed beta access and the group admins were basically hyping up Wasteland OL with all sorts of praise, with comments like "sandbox gameplay yyds" and "contender for game of the year."

There were also players who couldn't help but interject from time to time, "I'll pay 100,000 for beta testing eligibility" and "100,000 is too little, I bid one billion (joking)," and other such comments.

Then, the group members started talking about survival in the Wild.

Perhaps intrigued by the gameplay described in "Long Days Ahead," many players who didn't believe in "the existence of fully immersive Virtual Reality Games" also joined the conversation, chiming in and even strategizing.

Among them, Chu Guang was most interested in a group elder by the ID "WC There are Mosquitoes."

Checking his join date, this elder had recently joined the group and was new.

While everyone else was chaotically discussing the game, he seriously explained the eighteen uses of wood.

Burning charcoal, making furniture—those were the basic ones.

Additionally, he mentioned "dry distillation" of wood.

The specific principle was that, during the process of baking wood to make charcoal in a sealed container, a large amount of combustible gas and smoke containing various organic chemical components would be released.

These complex mixtures were collectively called "charwood products," which are chemical precursors to many chemical products—until the widespread use of coal tar and petroleum.

According to this group elder's description, by filtering the collected condensates, a watery solution composed of acetic acid, acetone, and methanol could be obtained, as well as a thick tar-like residue.

Both were complex mixtures, but different organic chemical components could be extracted from them using distillation.

No need to mention the acetic acid and methanol, but this acetone thing was good stuff; not only could it serve as an organic solvent, but it could also be used to make smokeless gunpowder!

When Chu Guang read this, he was utterly shocked.

"Is this guy a chemical engineer?"

He instinctively clicked on the person's profile picture and then on his space.

The space wasn't locked, so he got in easily, but there was nothing related to chemical engineering inside—just advertisements for furniture and building materials.

Well...

It looked like he was selling furniture.

His profound understanding of wood must have been out of personal interest.

Nevertheless, his knowledge might come in handy here.

After thinking for a moment, a plan formed in Chu Guang's mind, and he sent a private chat popup.

"Friend, interested in joining the beta test?"

"Wasteland" was nine in the morning, so it should be nine in the evening in Hua Nation of the parallel world—the peak time when no one would be asleep.

Sure enough, the elder whose ID was "WC There are Mosquitoes" sent a question mark.

"[?]"

"[Who are you?]" Chu Guang typed.

"[I'm the planner for Wasteland OL.]"

WC There are Mosquitoes: "[WTF? You're the planner?]"

WC There are Mosquitoes: "[Brother, how do we test? Does it cost? I don't have money.]"

Chu Guang patiently explained.

"[No need for money, just fill out a form, I'll send you the link.]"

Although full of questions, WC There are Mosquitoes still clicked on the link, filled out the address and phone number on the official website reservation page.

However, when filling out the address, he was cautious and wrote the community station instead of the door number.

WC There are Mosquitoes: "[What next? Any other procedures?]"

Light: "[That's it. Send me the reservation number, I will tag it on the backend here, and I will notify you when it goes online in three days.]"

Creating a clone took three days.

While Chu Guang pondered on what other talents the outpost still lacked, the group chat suddenly exploded.

When he opened the group chat, it turned out that the guy "WC There are Mosquitoes" who had just filled out the form had gone to the group to brag immediately after.

"[Hahahaha, brothers, Grandpa got the beta eligibility!!!]"

Quit Smoking: "[WTF? WTF WTF!]"

Quit Smoking: "[Why him! I had reserved earlier! T.T]"

The group chat instantly blew up.

Along with that, Chu Guang's private messages also exploded.

Looking at that long series of notification dots, Chu Guang's scalp tingled, knowing he couldn't stay hidden any longer and quickly came out to explain.

Light: "[Everyone, calm down. The beta testing is for everyone's gaming experience. At this stage, we need to test whether various game systems are complete, so we need some players with specialized knowledge to act as guinea pigs.]"

Quit Smoking: "[I can be a guinea pig too! I have seven years of driving experience! T.T]"

Spare People Under The Knife: "[Pssh, your seven years of driving is nothing. I can operate an excavator!]"

Grandpa Ao: "[You guys stop fighting. Didn't you notice that this 'WC There are Mosquitoes' just joined the group yesterday? Maybe it's an admin's alt! This whole fully immersive Virtual Reality Game, it's fake! All fake!]"

④Who Understands Mystery: "[Looking at his space, it doesn't seem like an alt...]"

Quit Smoking: "[Brother Guang! I'm kneeling! Give me a chance!]"

Light: "[... Wait a few days. In a few days, a hundred spots will be released, trust me, everyone will have a chance!]"

The group members went into another frenzy.

Chu Guang tried to calm their emotions, but it was useless; the other admins were all in the game and couldn't manage this side.

This couldn't go on...

Maybe, release another spot?

Chu Guang rubbed his chin pondering.

Anyway, there were about ten kilograms of rations already stored in the base, and with guns, they could start hunting soon. Adding a few more pairs of chopsticks shouldn't be a problem...

Right, food!

Chu Guang's eyes lit up as he pecked at the keyboard.

Light: "[By the way, we're still short on a chef.]"

Light: "[To test the Cooking System.]"

What Chu Guang didn't expect was that after sending this message, the quarrel in the group became even more intense.

Not everyone knew woodworking, but the threshold for being a chef was much lower.

Nowadays, who couldn't whip up a couple of dishes and a soup?

You just needed hands!

Regardless of whether they truly knew how to cook or were just bluffing, the old brothers in the group outdid each other with claims like, "I can stir-fry a plate of Kung Pao Chicken with my eyes closed" and "Lame, my dog can do that," almost boasting themselves as reincarnations of Culinary Gods descended from heaven.

For the sake of the beta testing spots, these netizens did everything they could, completely overwhelming Chu Guang.

How the hell should he choose?

The debate lasted for a full half hour until one brother revealed his New Oriental certificate, finally calming things down.

That thing certainly had more persuasive power than bragging.

Chu Guang instantly announced the ownership of the sixth beta testing spot, asked for the reservation number in private, and then logged off at warp speed.

Chapter 19: The Ambition of the Architecture Team Leader

"Wooooo, master, you finally came to find me."

The Wooooo at the beginning was the sound of rollers rolling over the concrete floor.

After returning to the surface, Chu Guang first went to the third floor of the sanatorium.

He had planned to find Xiao Qi to understand the situation, but before he reached the window, he saw the trash can pathetically leaning toward him.

Chu Guang looked at it, bewildered, not knowing what was wrong with it again.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Xiao Qi only has one bar of battery left."

Well.

He thought it was something serious.

Wait a minute...

Chu Guang, "Where am I supposed to find a place to charge you?"

Xiao Qi, "I have a wireless charging port on my body, just staying in the shelter for a bit will do!"

Chu Guang, "..."

No wonder he hadn't seen a single outlet in the shelter, and that computer on the desk without a host unit never seemed to run out of power—apparently, it was all high-tech.

Although wireless charging wasn't exactly cutting-edge technology.

Lifting up the trash can-shaped robot, Chu Guang headed downstairs.

Xiao Qi docilely retracted its rollers and suddenly spoke up.

"By the way, master."

"What now."

"I just remembered, the power system of the shelter seems to be supplied by a nuclear fusion reactor core."

"Nuclear fusion?"

"Yeah, so the electricity inside can last a very, very long time."

"Oh, that's a good thing, huh." Chu Guang was already figuring out how to steal some of that electricity.

Xiao Qi continued.

"Although, this might not be such a good thing."

His train of thought was interrupted by that statement, and Chu Guang, who was descending the staircase, stopped in his tracks.

"What do you mean?"

"Because it's already the year 2340 now, compared to the year the shelter was built, it's much, much later..."

What?!

Chu Guang quickly asked.

"What happens if the power runs out?"

However, Xiao Qi's reply almost made him spit out a mouthful of old blood.

"I don't know."

"Don't know??"

You're telling me you don't know the answer to such a critical issue!

Isn't there any emergency plan???

Xiao Qi said cautiously.

"According to the plan... this shelter was supposed to open a hundred years ago, but for some reason, it was delayed by an entire century."

Chu Guang, "..."

Seeing that Chu Guang didn't say anything, Xiao Qi continued to softly comfort him.

"Actually, you don't have to be too pessimistic, the power station of Shelter No. 404 should be on the third level of the shelter, just unlocking that level and replacing the fuel rods should be okay."

Chu Guang almost couldn't hold back from bursting out.

"Where the hell am I supposed to get nuclear fusion fuel rods!"

It's already the 211th year of the Wasteland Era,

Xiao Qi, "Err, there must be a way, right?"

Chu Guang, "..."

Anyway, it's not right to take out frustration on electronics.

That's just tasteless.

Chu Guang left Xiao Qi by the elevator and watched as the trash can robot rolled back.

He felt somewhat irritable.

But Chu Guang knew that getting anxious now was useless, problems had to be solved one by one.

In the short term, there shouldn't be a big problem with the power supply, even if the shelter's opening was delayed by a century, the past century had been work-free, it probably ran in energy-saving mode, and possibly the remaining power could last for several decades.

Compared to that, the upcoming harsh winter was more worrisome.

The time left for him to prepare was running out...

Leaving the sanatorium.

Chu Guang arrived in front of the cement kiln and found the players energetically working, already starting on the second cement kiln.

The charcoal piles next to it, too, were neatly set up in eight mounds.

This was skipping the agricultural era, leaping straight into industrialization!

Chu Guang was secretly thrilled.

All thanks to his skill in governing people and managing the village!

Watching the approaching Manager, Old White wiped the mud off his face, looking excitedly not at all like someone in his twenties or thirties. He stood up like a child and said.

"Manager, you're here!"

"Yes, I just went down there... Are these your ideas?" Chu Guang asked as he looked at the earth-made cement kiln behind him.

"It's everyone's contribution!"

"No need to be modest, I've seen everything and the organization will remember your contributions."

Old White was thrilled.

This was exactly what he had been waiting to hear!

Especially the last part.

"... Furthermore, on behalf of the organization, I will award each of you 1000 Contribution Points as a recognition for unlocking cement building materials. And from now on, you will be the Construction Leader at Outpost of Shelter No. 404."

"You will be able to freely express your creativity, within the planned scope, to design and construct our Outpost Base."

If only a system notification chime could sound right now.

That would definitely be cool.

Or, it would be nice if a reward notification window could pop up in the players' eyes.

But unfortunately, neither happened.

Still, even such verbal promises and praises made Old White glow with excitement.

Contribution!

Position!

And, favorability!

It seemed that the hidden systems in this game were more intricate than he'd initially thought!

"Respected Manager, I will definitely do my utmost to build our homeland!"

The other three players looked on enviously.

Although everyone got Contribution Points, it was clear that Old White, who scored the "Construction Leader" role, really hit the jackpot.

Having the freedom to construct facilities wasn't just about being a Construction Leader; he was essentially the planning director of Wasteland OL!

Awesome!

Watching the spirited Old White, Chu Guang nodded appreciatively and spoke,

"Well done, now I need you to tell me about your plans."

"Yes!"

Old White stood straight and began to report.

According to Old White, after logging off yesterday, he had visited a real-life cement plant, consulted the masters there, and learned that mixing iron filings into cement could yield a stronger, more durable product.

Since NPCs seem to automatically ignore out-of-game content discussions, seeing no response from the Manager, Old White proceeded directly to the main topic.

Considering the rusted steel scattered across the Wasteland, he had mixed collected rust with charcoal, using the latter as a reducing agent, to produce iron through calcination, and then calcined the iron slag with wood ash cement.

Although this process seemed to increase production costs, the cement produced this way could be used to make more durable, temperature-resistant kilns with greater output.

"Relying solely on these earth kilns to produce large amounts of cement is impossible, so I plan to invest the initial batch of cement into construction facilities to further increase production!"

Chu Guang nodded his approval.

"The idea is good, but... how much cement can we produce using just tree bark?"

Just now, Chu Guang had noticed that not only the pile of logs that had been chopped down, but also the trees near the sanatorium had almost all been stripped bare by the survivors.

Even the stumps had not been spared!

Old White had clearly anticipated this problem and confidently replied,

"That's exactly why we need more professional kilns... ones that can reach temperatures of 1450 degrees! With those, we can produce calcium carbonate cement by calcinating limestone and clay, completely replacing the wood ash materials!"

Wood ash cement containing potassium and sodium was not the ideal building material, merely a substitute when conditions dictated.

After being appointed Construction Leader, Old White suddenly harbored greater ambitions.

His vision no longer included just a wall or a sanatorium.

Instead, it encompassed the entire Wasteland.

He wanted to transform this world into the image he envisioned!

"You've considered everything very thoroughly, go ahead and implement your plan."

Chu Guang nodded and then turned to the other three players.

"We will soon have two newcomers finishing their rest and joining our expedition team. I plan to hold a small celebration to welcome them, so we need to bring back some game... we can't just offer them porridge."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued.

"Who wants to go hunting with me?"

As soon as the words fell, four hands shot up instantly.

Chu Guang was stunned.

Good grief, even his newly appointed Construction Leader had raised his hand!

"Cough, we don't need that many people... Night Ten, you come with me, you're the Perception type."

"At your command, Manager!"

Night Ten saluted excitedly, and with a proud stride, took his place next to the Manager while the three players watched enviously.

Chu Guang turned to the other three players and said seriously,

"Your task is also very crucial. Cement is critical for the development of the Outpost. We have enough wood for now, so we can put logging on hold, I need you all to focus on producing cement. Can this be done?"

Although they were disappointed not to join the Manager in hunting, the three players obediently followed his instructions.

"Mission guaranteed!"

Very well.

These are indeed the players I've appointed!

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction, and with a delighted Night Ten, headed towards the forest south of the sanatorium...

Chapter 20 Mutant Tribe!

Before leaving Linghu Wetland Park, Chu Guang first took Night Ten to the mutated leech nest near the parking lot.

"Those mushrooms, we found them in there," Night Ten pointed to the damaged concrete pipe not far ahead.

"Good thing you didn't go in."

Chu Guang patted Night Ten on the shoulder.

"Let's go."

"Our target isn't that today."

It was said that leeches could be used in medicine, but whether mutated leeches could be used was unknown.

The two carefully circumvented the mutated leech nest, avoiding the lush vegetation and concrete ruins, trying to stay in the sunlight as much as possible.

They walked toward the east for a while.

Looking at the viaducts and residential buildings ahead, Night Ten, following by Chu Guang's side, couldn't help but ask.

"Aren't we going hunting?"

"Yes."

"Then why are we getting further and further away from the forest?"

"The forest is up ahead."

"?"

Chu Guang didn't explain further and silently took the iron pipe rifle off his back, chambered a bullet, and his aura also changed.

Not far away was a broken viaduct.

On the moss-covered concrete load-bearing columns, the marks of the years were hidden by the shadows of the greenery.

Rats, as big as washbasins, licked the muddy water in the gutter pits, and when they discovered the two intruding unwelcome guests, they quickly darted into the bushes on one side.

Night Ten's pupils dilated slightly, and a shade of shock painted his eyes.

Behind that broken viaduct lay high-rise buildings covered in vines and moss. Thick roots burst through the cracked concrete earth, tree trunks emerged in the middle of the road, lifting up cars and bus stops that had long turned to scraps of metal.

In this green hell where life was bursting forth, lethal dangers were also hidden.

The world in his eyes was so shockingly impressive that each frame seemed like an apocalyptic-style work of art, leading Night Ten to even forget that this was the "Game world."

And at this moment, he finally understood the meaning of Chu Guang's words.

This was the real forest...

"From here on, we need to be careful."

Chu Guang said while disabling the rifle's safety, cautiously stepping forward to explore.

Although this was only considered the far suburbs of the north part of Qingquan City, far from the core urban area, vigilance could not be relaxed.

High-rise residencies, sewers, vertical gardens, parking lots, drone hives, CNC planting towers, maglev stations, and behind every window...

All of these man-made wonders, after being abandoned by civilization, became natural greenhouses and nurseries.

After the nuclear war, there indeed was a long winter on this land, but it lasted less than half a century.

The power of nature reversed everything.

The high-rise buildings were the first to succumb, with moss starting from the shaded sides, creeping up, eventually enveloping them entirely.

And those non-high-rise buildings were no exception.

During the years of human decline, just a few torrential rains and a sweltering summer were all it took to turn this place into a paradise for fungi and angiosperms to grow wildly.

They provided plenty of food for wild animals.

And after the urban drainage system collapsed, the freshwater resources in the city were even more abundant than Rhombus Lake next door.

Wild animals and feral poultry began migrating from forests, lakesides, and farms to cities with more comfortable living conditions, and under the triple effects of radioactive materials, genetic weapons, and time, evolved into ferocious, bloodthirsty mutants.

They were collectively known as Variants!

Of course...

The dangers here were far from just these.

They cautiously moved along Street No.76 for a while, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. Just when Night Ten was wondering where the Variants had gone, Chu Guang's voice came from beside him.

"There's a situation."

Chu Guang suddenly stopped in front of an abandoned car.

Night Ten immediately snapped back to reality and also stopped in his tracks, looking around nervously, but he didn't see anything.

"What happened?"

Chu Guang's expression was grave.

"There are traces of survivor activity."

"Other survivors?!" Night Ten was taken aback, and, mimicking Chu Guang, he lowered his voice, but couldn't hide the excitement in his tone, "You mean the indigenous people of the wasteland?"

Finally, he was going to meet other NPCs!

He had been waiting for this moment for so long!

Chu Guang glanced at him, knowing what he was thinking.

"There's no need for such excitement; this isn't something to be happy about."

"Why?"

"Because in places like this, strangers are more dangerous than variants."

Without further explanation, Chu Guang crouched down and found a string of cans tied with wire behind the wheel of the scrapped vehicle.

The aluminum of the cans burst outward, looking as if something had exploded inside, and there was still a faint smell of rotten eggs.

"Sulphur overload in the gunpowder, along with tacks and shrapnel..."

Chu Guang's brows furrowed.

Mutants?

Or looters?

Ordinary survivors wouldn't set tripwire mines near their settlements.

Such devices were unlikely to harm the keen-smelling variants, which meant they were intended for humans.

Judging by the lingering scent, the explosion must have occurred not long ago, at most five hours or even less.

Chu Guang turned to ask.

"Did you hear any explosions from the east when you came up from the underground?"

Night Ten shook his head nervously.

"No."

"Wait here for me."

As he watched Chu Guang put down the can and stand up, Night Ten asked anxiously.

"What are you going to do?"

"Scout the situation ahead."

"I can come with you—"

"You, stay here."

Night Ten wanted to insist, but the look in Chu Guang's eyes made the words catch in his throat, and he ended up nodding slowly.

The pressure from his superior authority made him realize that this man was not kidding; he might really get kicked off the server...

After instructing Night Ten to hide beside the derelict car,

Chu Guang put his gun away and pulled a sharpened steel pipe from his back, then crouched and quickly slipped into a building on the side of the street.

Although he had intended to use the player as bait when they first got out, the situation was now different.

The other survivors could potentially be looters or part of a mutant tribe; using bait had become pointless and might even spook the enemy.

Chu Guang's expression was serious, his steel pipe gripped tightly in hand.

The straight-line distance here from Linghu Wetland Park was at most 1 kilometer, too close to Shelter No. 404!

Especially now that players were ramping up production, the smoke and noise, even if partially blocked by plants and concrete barriers, would eventually be discovered by the people here.

Leaving these dangers unchecked was always a risk.

Chu Guang was prepared to kill.

Once he judged that the other party could pose a threat, he wouldn't hesitate to strike first.

The ten-story street-side building had very narrow safety passages, and the cramped space was covered in moss.

But fortunately, there were no particularly dangerous Variants here.

Around the fifth floor, however, there were a few fat Mutated rats, perhaps feeling that their numbers gave them strength, they bared their teeth and hissed at Chu Guang, oblivious to their fate.

If he had turned his back and run, they would certainly have swarmed him by now, but this uninvited guest wasn't afraid at all, which kept the naturally timid creatures from recklessly attacking and daring only to feign lunges with high-pitched squeals and bared teeth.

He had long since grown accustomed to such sights.

Chu Guang didn't say another word, just pushed forward with a piece of pipe, stabbing at the closest Mutated rat and skewering it instantly.

Seeing how vicious he was, the rest of the rats scattered like birds and beasts, darting into the building entrance and disappearing into the shadows.

"It doesn't look like a rat's nest."

"There should only be about ten or twenty..."

Any more than that, and they wouldn't be easy to deal with.

Groups of Mutated rats could be troublesome even for fully armed Mercenaries, not to mention himself with only a pipe rifle.

Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief, shook the sharp-ended steel pipe, flinging off the dead fat rat and the bloodstains together.

He proceeded straight to the top of the ten-story building.

Using the pipe in his hand as a crowbar, he pried open the rusted door panel and entered the rooftop terrace.

The wind was strong atop the terrace.

He walked up to the rusted water tank, looked eastward towards the housing complex, and saw just as he had guessed.

In the midst of that concrete construction's Open Space stood a palisade made of wood, with tattered cloths and building debris blocking the outside view.

Survivor Bases in the Wasteland were roughly divided into two types, one being those who still lived in houses that hadn't collapsed before the war, and the other building anew from the ruins or clearing.

Scavengers living in the urban area usually stayed in buildings and rarely built such primitive dwellings and defensive structures.

Only the Mutants—an average height of two meters and over 300 pounds in weight—would construct such wooden shacks even when there were already existing houses available for use.

At the entrance of the encampment, wooden stakes were sharpened to points like the canine teeth of wild beasts, with several mutilated corpses haphazardly hanging from them, and dried bloodstains on the ground.

They ate everything.

Not just fungi, fruits of plants, but even the flesh of Mutated flies, rats, and cockroaches.

Of course, what they loved to eat the most was their once brethren—

The two-legged humans.

His gaze swept along the street sides, and indeed, Chu Guang saw a Mutant Sentinel carrying a Metal Longbow on the rooftop of the street-side shop at the end of Street No.76.

Their green, oily skin was eerily reminiscent of orcs from fantasy movies, and in fact, they were just as strong, barbaric, crude, and bloodthirsty as orcs.

Their two-meter stature and bulging muscles were wrapped in Armor cobbled together from metallic junk, and the billboard they used as a Breastplate even had visible words "Second half-price."

The two outward-curving steel bars mounted on their shoulders were directly taken from bicycle handlebars—these were extremely effective in dealing with slashing and blunt force trauma, capable of catching saws or Axes.

It could be said to be quite cyberpunk.

If Chu Guang and Night Ten had continued walking forward just now, they would have been ambushed by the Mutant Sentinel at the street corner at best!

A shiver ran down his spine.

Chu Guang's Adam's apple shifted slightly as he moved his gaze, continuing to observe the Mutant encampment in the eastern district.

Due to many obstructions, he couldn't see how many people were inside; he could only estimate, based on the encampment's size and his experience, that there were probably twenty to thirty Mutants.

"A small Mutant settlement..."

Chu Guang's expression gradually grew grim.

These fellows were trouble!

Almost at the same time, a pale blue System popup appeared in his field of vision.

[Quest: Exterminate the Mutant tribe at Street No.76

Type: Side quest

Reward: 200 reward points

]

Wait—

Could tasks be triggered outside the shelter?!

Chu Guang first paused in surprise, then immediately tried to call out to the System, but there was no response.

The pale blue task popup faded away as if it had never appeared.

It seemed that the System could only be accessed near the shelter, but tasks could be triggered anywhere outside the shelter?

However...

Those 200 reward points were quite impressive.

Without hesitation,

Chu Guang immediately put away his weapons, turned around, and descended the stairs, swiftly leaving the area with a bewildered Night Ten in tow.

That was 200 reward points!

A side quest that summoned a hundred players only offered 100 points, yet this task awarded 200, which clearly indicated it was no easy feat to accomplish.

There could very well be a huge pitfall hidden within!

Chu Guang wasn't foolish.

He certainly wasn't going to fall for such an obvious trap.

"Manager, sir, what exactly did you see?" Night Ten, gasping for breath and resting with hands on his knees after Chu Guang finally stopped, couldn't help but ask.

Chu Guang casually replied while standing and resting.

"It's a Mutant tribe's camp."

"So we're just... leaving like this?"

"What else do you suggest, fighting them? Losing and getting thrown into a vat of boiling oil?" Chu Guang glanced at him, "Use your head. We only have one gun."

And only one person who could shoot.

Night Ten closed his mouth and said no more.

He had initially thought the Mutants were simply NPCs in the Game, but now, having heard the Manager's comment, could it be that the Mutants were a hostile force?

And they even practiced cannibalism...

Secretly taking note of this intelligence, Night Ten planned to share it with the other players once they returned.

"Now isn't the time to stir up those beasts; we need more thorough preparation, a concentrated effort to wipe them out once and for all."

Chu Guang, walking further away, cursed under his breath.

"It's really damned bad luck… The Mutant tribe's camp is right across from the east gate of the park on Street No.76."

"Either way, we need to be cautious!"

...

The originally planned hunting route had to be altered!

Chu Guang led Night Ten around Street No.76 and walked about a mile north along the elevated expressway, where they came across an abandoned construction site.

The construction site was quite large, likely for a housing complex that had just started. One of the buildings was constructed up to the seventeenth or eighteenth floor, while in several other pits, the foundations were still being dug.

Most of the construction equipment was already scrapped, and the tower crane had even fallen onto the unfinished building, creating a ramp.

The quality of the building seemed decent.

Even the tower crane had been toppled by the blast wave of a nuclear explosion, yet the concrete structure had only suffered a gap and hadn't damaged the main framework.

The steel materials stacked on the site had rusted away, and the bags of cement had hydrated and deteriorated, rendering them unusable.

To his surprise, however, Chu Guang found a large quantity of unused blue-gray stones!

He recognized them at a glance. They were limestone, primarily composed of calcium carbonate if his memory served him right, perfect as a raw material for cement manufacturing.

"Great stuff!"

Chu Guang thought to himself with satisfaction, pulling out a map to make a note.

If all this limestone were turned into cement, it would be enough to build two buildings.

As long as Old White unlocked the technology to manufacture silicate cement, they wouldn't have to worry about raw materials for a very long time!

Chapter 21 Hostile Forces! New Intelligence Unlocked!

Around three in the afternoon.

Chu Guang returned to the outpost above Shelter No. 404 with Night Ten and the game they had caught while hunting.

This expedition's haul was quite satisfactory; the two mutated hyenas looked a bit lean but each weighed around forty to fifty kilograms.

As one of the main sources of meat for the survivors on the Wasteland, the mutated hyena was one of the most cost-effective quarries. They provided meat tenfold that of a mutated rat, were not scarce, often appeared in groups of three to five, and crucially, the risk of food poisoning was relatively low.

However, it was relatively harder for scavengers to overcome these group-oriented Variants with melee weapons, especially without guns.

"Two mutated hyenas, and... one piece of good news and one piece of bad news," Chu Guang said, dropping the game at the entrance of the sanatorium, addressing the players who approached.

Old White asked first.

"What's the good news?"

Chu Guang replied.

"The good news is that to the northeast of Wetland Park, following the highway out of the city northward, there's an unfinished construction site. We found a large quantity of limestone there, presumably the kind that's been treated for sulfur removal. Plus, there are some abandoned hand carts that could be used after some repairs."

Joy spread across Old White's face as he clenched his fists excitedly.

"That's great!"

He had been worrying about finding the raw materials for making calcium carbonate cement, and now the problem had been resolved so quickly.

And it was already processed material!

However, Fang Chang, who stood next to him, felt that things were not so simple.

"What about the bad news?"

Chu Guang continued.

"At the eastern gate of Wetland Park, if you proceed along Street No.76, you will find the camp of the Mutants. A rough estimate puts their number above twenty."

The three players exchanged glances, failing to grasp the significance of his words.

Seeing his companions' confusion, Night Ten quickly added an explanation.

"Mutants are hostile forces! They are formidable in combat and, most critically, they are cannibals. We must be cautious!"

Chu Guang nodded.

"That's the idea."

After hearing this, the players were not frightened but rather seemed eager to try their luck. However, Chu Guang quickly dampened their enthusiasm.

"Those Mutants are not something we can handle right now; their levels are at least 10 and above. Rash contact would not only be fruitless but also reveal our location."

"From now on, everyone is forbidden from getting close to Street No.76 and from leaving through the east gate of Wetland Park until the threat is eliminated!"

...

The players were quite obedient.

Although they were curious about what Mutants looked like, since the Manager, who had GM authority, had commanded it, they didn't dare to disobey.

Being locked in a little black room was a minor issue.

Losing the favorability they had worked so hard to build—that would truly be grievous.

The players seemed to be keeping well in line, needing no further concern from him.

After a brief inspection of the morning's labor results, Chu Guang focused on how to deal with the fresh game.

Although he had eaten this type of meat before, he had only ever bought it from the barbecue stalls on Bet Street; he had never processed such a thing by himself.

Chu Guang had heard that freshly caught game needed immediate bleeding to avoid the meat from going gamey and spoiling, but as for the specifics of how to bleed and what to do after bleeding, he was not very clear.

For the past five months, he had mainly relied on picking up trash to earn chips, and his hunting experience was not very extensive.

After all, hunting was too dangerous for a lone wolf.

In any case, after killing his prey, he had slit the animal's major arteries, but he still felt that the blood wasn't completely drained.

While Chu Guang was pondering over this, Wild Wind approached him.

"Respected Manager."

"What is it?"

"May I have some of the game's blood?"

"Blood? What do you need that for?" Chu Guang asked.

Wild Wind explained.

"I want to verify some hypotheses, and I need it for that."

Chu Guang didn't give it much thought, he took out his dagger and chopped off one of the mutated hyena's forelegs, tossing it to Wild Wind.

"Take it."

"Thank you!"

After expressing his gratitude, Wild Wind walked away with an air of mystery.

Chu Guang was curious but chose not to ask any further.

By early evening, all the players had returned to the sanatorium, and from the expression on Old White's face, Chu Guang knew that they must have had a rewarding day.

Chu Guang wanted to ask about their day but before he could speak, Old White eagerly began.

"Respected Manager, under your wise guidance, the cement kiln at the outpost is nearly completed. Once the cement dries tomorrow, we can start test production of the first batch of cement!"

"Very good."

Chu Guang nodded in approval and encouraged.

"Thanks to you all, we have taken another step toward the grand goal of rebuilding the United Human. I hope you continue your efforts; the organization will remember your contributions."

Chu Guang felt he was getting better at making promises.

Yet it appeared the players were indifferent to whether he was making empty promises, seemingly finding new pleasure in the labor of rebuilding their home.

After all, isn't that what a sandbox game is all about?

Watching their home improve bit by bit was part of the fun too. Having the opportunity to experience such cutting-edge immersive virtual reality technology was fortunate in itself.

Of course, Chu Guang was happy that the players found joy in their involvement.

Shelter No. 404 is really too poor right now, Chu Guang couldn't come up with any substantial rewards for them; he could only start by making empty promises and handing out some Air coin for now.

...

After logging off.

The Niubull Club was buzzing once again.

Lately, many of the night owls had switched to daytime schedules.

With "Quit smoking" as their leader, people who didn't sleep until it was light out now hit the sack at exactly ten at night and got up promptly at five in the morning, all just to see the Dog Management "creating spectacle."

Night Ten: [Mutants! New power update! Manager encountered a Mutant tribe on Street No.76! It's confirmed that Mutants are a hostile force!]

Night Ten, who was the first to log off, couldn't wait to be the first to break the news, igniting the group's passion for gossip.

[Mutants?! What do they look like?]

[How come it's not updated on the official website yet?]

[Niubi! There are hostile forces now; the closed beta must be close!]

[Damn, I really want to play!]

A series of messages exploded one after another.

Night Ten continued to type.

[I don't know exactly what they look like, I haven't seen them myself! But everyone, don't panic, the official website will definitely update the information about the Mutants; I'm also waiting for news here!]

Quit smoking: [What about the other three? How come only you logged on today?]

Night Ten: [No idea! The boss seems to have gone off to research concrete, Wild Wind probably had classes this morning, Fang Chang, I don't know, that guy has always been pretty secretive.]

(The mortal enemy of all girls, Night Ten, has been muted by the group owner for 1 hour.)

Old White: [Try calling me boss again and see! (Rage)]

Spare people under the knife: [Hahaha, good mute!]

WC actually has Mosquitoes: [Excited... Just two more days and I'll be partaking in the tests!]

Tomato Scrambled Eggs: [+1 (funny.jpg)]

Quit smoking: [Damn it! Mute these two showing-off dogs too! So hateful! I was the one who reserved it first! T.T]

Grandpa Ao: [Sigh, it's hopeless, truly hopeless.]

Even now, this guy called "Grandpa Ao" still didn't believe the nonsense of the "fully immersive virtual reality Game," let alone something "one hundred percent real."

He and his followers still firmly believed that Dog Management had concocted a grand deception, feeding rumors upon rumors.

"Long Days Ahead" didn't bubble up in the group chat today, but instead updated his play-test experience on the official Forum—

Or rather, he hand-recorded the Game's live situation.

[Today is the third day of the closed beta. The charcoal kiln has provided us with a large supply of charcoal and with the successful production of grass ash cement, under the leadership of the boss, we built a bigger cement kiln. If tomorrow's trial firing is successful, we will have a more reliable building material to construct our home.]

[I have to praise the production team; this Game has provided me with an experience that no other game on the market has ever given. Especially at the moment the cement kiln was completed, the resulting sense of achievement made it impossible to stop; I was hooked!]

[The content tested today wasn't much, mainly focused on testing the Game's sandbox system.]

[However, it's worth noting that today the Manager revealed that there's a Mutant tribe at the end of Street No.76, identified as a hostile force. All players need to be cautious but the Manager has not disclosed more information about the Mutants, and as of now, their photos haven't been updated on the official website—perhaps the plot hasn't reached that point yet.]

[If there's new information, I'll update it in the post at the first opportunity, so all Wasteland friends looking forward to the public beta, please keep an eye on this thread!]

"Wasteland friends" is a self-designated term by the players who have reserved the Game.

Although there are only about forty people, all of them are active—even fervent users; they buried the thread under dozens of layers of comments in no time.

Chu Guang quietly lurked and didn't join the players' discussion.

Still, as usual, he took notes on some of the good suggestions, and he marked the particularly thoughtful players in the backend.

If there was a new recruitment plan for players, these users with high loyalty were the top priority, while those who liked to be argumentative or cause a stir would be put on hold. Rather than letting them inside to create chaos, it was better to keep them on the net to spice up the atmosphere.

To put it bluntly, if you're here to cause trouble, why should I let you in?

Just because you run your mouth off and act brainless?

At this stage of the closed beta, Wasteland OL was actually more like a private server—and moreover, a private server for friends of the Manager, with no chance given to troublemakers. By gradually increasing the barriers to entry, those who had Game qualifications really treasured the opportunity in their hands.

As for the public beta stage well, that's an easier story.

The public beta had its own way of doing things.

By then, an area would be roped off as Novice Village, and unless one had a certain level or title of honor, they wouldn't even get to see his face.

Chu Guang found himself becoming more and more scheming without realizing it.

When had that started exactly?

Forget it.

There's no point in thinking about such things.

Shutting down the Computer, Chu Guang opened the System to check the rewards for today's daily task.

[Task: Cut down ten trees, Reward: 1 reward point]

[Task: Kill one Variant, Reward: 3 reward points]

"Didn't complete many tasks today."

In total, only 4 points.

Chu Guang struggled internally, but in the end, he couldn't resist. He opened the Manager's allowance and threw all 4 reward points at the basic Blind Box.

The alloy door opened.

The conveyor belt rolled.

Watching the four lollipops lying at the end of the conveyor belt, Chu Guang almost couldn't stop himself from blurting out a heartfelt curse.

However, just at that moment, over one of the light golden wrapped lollipops, a translucent holographic popup suddenly appeared.

Like a label—

[Enriched Chocolate-flavored Lollipop: Strength boost +10%, duration 10 hours.]

Chu Guang: "?"

What?

Chapter 22: Capturing Mutated Leech Younglings

Strength increase by 10%.

What kind of black technology is this?

But then again, should this be considered candy or a stimulant?

Chu Guang didn't know the ingredients, and there was no production date or ingredient list on the outer packaging.

"The effect lasts for 10 hours."

A 10% boost seemed pretty decent, and at critical moments, even a small amount of extra strength could turn the tide of battle.

But eating a lollipop right before a fight...

It didn't quite fit with his tough-guy image, similar to that of Ancestor Wu Y.

Plus, when it would take effect was anyone's guess.

After thinking it over, Chu Guang decided to keep it for now.

Having an extra ace up his sleeve was never a bad thing.

...

The next morning.

Players logged in as scheduled.

Although they were dead tired from their day jobs in the real world, they swept away their fatigue once online, each one full of energy, lively and spirited.

Old White's cement kiln had completely dried.

He and Wild Wind made a trip to the construction site on the map, using a handcart to haul back several tens of kilograms of limestone, then went to the river to get several large buckets of clay and sand, and began the first trial firing of silicate cement, grunting all along.

In fact, the formula for ordinary silicate cement was publicly accessible online.

Simply put, it involved crushing limestone and mixing it with clay and iron filings in specific proportions, then heating it in a specially made kiln to 1450 degrees Celsius for calcination.

The cement clinker produced this way, when mixed with sand and water, could be used to prepare the cement mortar needed for construction.

With the help of some professional websites, even the specific material ratios for different types of cement could be found, based on construction requirements.

As long as one did their homework before logging into the game, it was far easier than starting from scratch in ancient times.

Considering it was his first time making this stuff, Old White chose the simplest formula. The requirements for materials weren't too stringent, which means with the current conditions at the refuge outpost, he could just manage it.

Leveraging his "natural strength," he swung a hammer to break the stones he'd collected at the construction site as small as possible, then mixed them with the clay and the iron filings restored from charcoal, and put them all into the just-completed kiln.

The charcoal was lit.

Blue smoke gently rose.

Fang Chang was enthusiastically lending a hand nearby, twisting branches tied to a clay disk—it was a simple blower made from a water pipe, tree bark, and cotton thread that could blow a large amount of air into the kiln, making the charcoal burn fiercer.

"How are we supposed to determine the temperature inside the kiln?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know???"

"What else? Do you have an industrial thermometer? Just keep your mouth shut and pump the blower harder! Ah... it would be great if we could get a generator."

...

Old White rubbed his chin and sighed while Fang Chang stood beside somewhat speechlessly.

This guy.

Ever since becoming the "construction team leader," he really started to act more like a contractor.

While twisting the branches, he was also slacking off a bit, wondering where on earth Wild Wind and Night Ten had gone...

In fact, not just them, but as the Manager, Chu Guang didn't know either.

Although he could confirm if players were online or offline, as well as their general direction and proximity through the system, he couldn't fully grasp their exact coordinates.

At least not for now.

But as Chu Guang was pondering what those two players were up to, he saw them walking towards him, carrying buckets.

"Where did you go?"

In response to the Manager's inquiry, Wild Wind answered truthfully.

"Near the mutated leech nest."

Chu Guang frowned.

"Didn't I tell you not to go there?"

"We didn't go in; we just set traps near the nest... Look, these are the young of mutated leeches."

Wild Wind hadn't spoken yet, and seeing the Manager's displeased expression, Night Ten, afraid to drop in favor, quickly placed the plastic bucket he was holding on the ground to explain.

Chu Guang glanced into the bucket and saw some glass bottles containing palm-sized larvae.

Their postures twisted as they stretched their deformed mouthparts, entwined with each other, and wriggled in a mess, much like the tentacles in those comics.

"Interesting... How did you do it?"

He had never heard of anybody catching these things back when he was on Bet Street.

Although mutated insects were rich in protein, they also had a high parasite content, and those parasites couldn't be killed by just boiling them for a while.

Moreover, these creatures had a unique living environment and seldom acted alone; their combat power was hard to assess, and few survivors took an interest in them.

"Blood! We used animal blood to lure them into the baited glass bottles. The larger leeches couldn't squeeze in, but the smaller ones did and couldn't get out!"

Night Ten spoke excitedly while Wild Wind added a few more details on the side.

"These mutated leeches probably forage at night and retreat back to their nest during the day. Except for some bottles that were crushed, these little guys all remained inside. I was just giving it a try; I didn't expect it to work so well."

Chu Guang stroked his chin and nodded.

"I see... That is indeed a good idea."

No wonder Wild Wind had asked him for some game meat yesterday; was it intended to be used as bait for catching mutated leech offspring?

But then...

"... What do you plan to do with these things?"

Chu Guang looked at Wild Wind and continued asking.

"I'm not sure about the leeches, but mutated leeches are definitely inedible."

"I didn't intend to study how to eat them; I plan to use them for fishing."

"Fishing?"

"Yes," Wild Wind nodded, slightly excited, "When exploring the lakeshore earlier, I saw some big black birds fishing on the lake! Since there are fish in the lake, we can totally obtain food by fishing!"

What a brilliant idea!

After hearing Wild Wind's words, Chu Guang's eyes instantly lit up.

Actually, he had tried fishing before; after all, compared to hunting, fishing posed much less risk.

However, his fishing skills were indescribably lacking; it was hard enough to catch anything with professional fishing gear and bait, let alone without them.

In fact, it wasn't entirely his fault; if fish were so easy to catch, why wouldn't survivors settle by the lake?

The fish in Rhombus Lake were also mutants, what survivors referred to as Variants.

After several unsuccessful attempts and losing the fishing gear he had painstakingly made, Chu Guang also gave up.

"Do you know how to fish?"

Faced with the Manager's inquiry, Wild Wind paused and then said.

"No... but I looked it up online; there are those fishing traps. I intend to try making a few."

Although he wasn't sure if the NPC could understand what "looked it up online" meant, since there had been no reaction from the NPC during their previous discussions about real-life issues, it probably meant that the program was set to automatically ignore such content, so Wild Wind simply spoke openly.

Chu Guang was thrilled internally, yet he nodded calmly.

"Alright, since you know how to catch fish, I'll leave this task to you!"

Following the order, Wild Wind and Night Ten immediately ran off to make traps.

Fishing is much more interesting than moving bricks or chopping trees!

Chu Guang watched them gather some tree branches and plastic ropes from somewhere and start tinkering near the corner of the wall.

He didn't bother them; Chu Guang was now focused on figuring out how to use the purchased tobacco leaves to smoke meat.

Yesterday, following the method of the Bet Street survivors, he had crushed the tobacco leaves, wrapped them around the meat, and then slowly roasted it over a fire, allowing the tar rich in ketone alcohol compounds from the leaves to seep into the fat layer of the meat, killing parasites and microorganisms...

But somehow, it seemed to smell a bit foul?

"That shouldn't be right..."

He picked up a piece of hind leg meat and sniffed it, frowning.

Normally, the meat smoked this way should have a nicotine scent with a burnt-yellow fat gloss on the surface.

However, the piece of hind leg meat in his hand was noticeably dark red, cooked on the outside but raw on the inside, and subtly exuded a rotten stench.

"Could it be the method was wrong?"

Chapter 23: Two New Cuties Arrive

No matter what, this meat was definitely inedible.

Chu Guang sighed and reluctantly tossed the meat aside.

"If only there were a fridge."

The Blue Umbrella Mushrooms in the mutated leech nest...

For the generator, he had to get his hands on them no matter what.

But now it was only the second week of September, and List's Commercial Team wouldn't come to this area until the end of the month. There was no use in thinking about it now.

He couldn't wait until the end of the month to start storing food.

Besides, a luxury like a fridge was unaffordable for the shelter with its current economic situation...

For three days, Chu Guang would usually go hunting early in the morning, come back at noon or in the afternoon to cook a pot of meat for the players, and then he would squat in a corner of the sanatorium, continuing to ponder the skills of smoking food alone.

This fixed schedule, was as regular as an NPC.

Though the progress on smoking meat was not very smooth, the players' performance in the past few days had been outstanding, which was gratifying.

Chu Guang did the math.

In three days, he had gained a total of 7 reward points.

Though he was close to 10 points, after some thought, Chu Guang eventually decided to bet all his chips on the basic Blind Box.

Thankfully, this time it wasn't just lollipops, he also managed to get a bottle of soy sauce.

He didn't know the brand, but it was still an improvement to the players' meals.

Chu Guang cherished the soy sauce like a treasure.

But...

Having said that, his cooking skills were really nothing to brag about, just enough to get the food cooked.

The players found it novel at first, feeling it was fresh, all-natural, and pollution-free, a different flavor compared to takeout fast food, but eating the same thing meal after meal was unbearable for anyone.

"Eating stew every day, I'm about to throw up..." Sitting on the ground with a bowl in hand, Night Ten looked sullen.

He was initially excited to find out that the Game involved eating, but now he was starting to realize how painful eating could be.

Stewed meat every meal, or porridge cooked with unripe wheat.

Even if his taste buds could bear it, his rear end couldn't take much more...

Fang Chang chewed on greasy foreleg meat, furrowing his brows in thought, and said,

"Probably because the taste system isn't fully developed yet. Otherwise, even if there's less salt... the taste shouldn't be like this."

It wasn't salty, it wasn't bland, it was just greasy!

And even a bit bitter.

Not even as good as porridge cooked with unripe wheat...

"The meat has too strong of a gamey taste, you need to use cooking wine, scallions, ginger, and garlic to blanch it and remove the gamey flavor; it might taste better," Old White consoled, "Make do with what we have for now. This is the Wasteland, where can we find those things? The good stuff will surely come later!"

Fang Chang gave him a glance and said nothing.

Ever since he was appointed "Architecture Team Leader," Old White increasingly took the Game manufacturers' perspective into account, even going so far as to voluntarily draw up plans for the future.

But indeed...

Since realism was a selling point, treating spices as luxury goods was not a problem, and it might even involve a premium cost in the future.

Night Ten sighed and muttered under his breath,

"I hope they'll bring out some spices in the next update... I'd spend RMB on them."

Wild Wind chewed his meat slowly, not joining in the conversation.

He didn't mind the taste much, what he was thinking about was how to improve the fishing traps.

Seeing that the conversation stalled, Night Ten turned to Old White and casually asked,

"How's the production of cement going?"

Old White, drinking soup, answered,

"The quality still needs to improve, but I feel we're getting closer to success."

"Really?"

"Dead serious, no joke! And it's not just the cement, recently Fang Chang and I have been studying how to fire bricks, but it's annoying without molds, and the shapes aren't very pretty... But they should still be usable."

Night Ten hesitated before asking,

"Can't you make molds out of wood?"

"Ha, you think it's that simple!"

Fang Chang shook his head and continued, "This isn't like chopping trees, making perfectly square ones is all about craftsmanship."

Fang Chang also didn't expect it.

Himself, a high-level player who could build a house in half an hour in The Forest, a hardcore survival master, was tripped up by such a low-level problem in this Game.

Of course, this was also related to the ultra-hardcore settings of Wasteland OL...

Night Ten and Wild Wind exchanged glances, then looked at Old White and Fang Chang with a helpless expression.

They were both the theoretical type, their practical skills weren't zero, but not much stronger.

Although they had caught quite a few young mutated leeches these days and replicated numerous traps from the survival experts in short videos, they didn't catch a single fish.

It made sense.

All the fish-eating birds were by the lake; the dumb fish had long been snatched away and eaten, the ones left were the crafty ones that wouldn't fall for it, they ate the bait and then made their getaway.

Wild Wind could only console himself, to fatten up the fish in the lake first, perhaps when the fish let down their guard, he might catch them next time...

Just then, there was noise coming from the direction of the sanatorium.

The Manager, accompanied by two dazed individuals, was seen walking this way.

No need to ask.

That look of shock that seemed to last an entire year, was unmistakably the expression of new players entering the Game world for the first time.

Night Ten once again sighed quietly in his heart.

Why two more guys...

"Let me introduce you to everyone, these two are our new members... Scrambled Tomato and Egg and WC There are mosquitoes."

These are some weird names.

Chu Guang suppressed the urge to retort since, after all, in the game his identity was that of an NPC.

"Clap clap clap..."

Sparse applause started to rise.

The beta testers sitting in front of the cauldron put down their bowls to clap, signaling a welcome, though the enthusiasm of the welcome was clearly lacking.

But the two newcomers didn't mind.

They hadn't yet snapped out of the shock of what was before their eyes.

Under Chu Guang's direction, they sat in front of the fire supporting the great cauldron, blankly staring at the white steam rising from the pot.

This moist heat and the scent of meat that hit them in the face...

It was freakishly realistic!

Seeing the two newcomers remain motionless for a long time, Old White took the initiative to open the conversation.

"What are your attributes?"

The one named WC There are mosquitoes was the first to snap back to reality.

"I'm of the agile system."

Then Scrambled Tomato and Egg also came back to his senses.

"I'm constitution... Have you all already started eating?"

"The manager had planned to hold a welcome ceremony, but it seems it was botched... so he let us eat first," Night Ten said with a helpless expression, "You've just woken up, right? Want some too?"

Mosquito swallowed.

He took the bowl filled with large bones and soup, took a sip, and his pupils dilated in shock.

"Taste... Niubi, you can really eat in this game!"

Holy shit!

This is way too niubi!

"Not only can you eat, but if you don't, you'll suffer from low blood sugar," Fang Chang sighed, "I actually think it doesn't need to be this realistic, or at least could taste a little better."

Scrambled Tomato and Egg stared at the bowl, not taking a bite, hesitated for a long time, and asked,

"What... is this stew made of?"

Old White replied,

"Meat."

"Meat? What kind of meat?"

"Mutated hyena... We don't really know whether to call the damn thing a wolf or a dog; anyway, it's a mutant."

Upon hearing this, Mosquito subconsciously moved the bowl away, nearly spilling the soup.

But Scrambled Tomato and Egg was different.

Instead of recoiling, he leaned in with interest and took a taste. However, after the taste, his eyebrows knitted even more tightly.

"Why does it taste so gamey... Did you not bleed it?"

The players looked at each other.

"Don't know."

"The prey was caught by NPCs."

Old White suggested,

"If you know how to cook, you could talk to the Manager. Anyone with a skill is valued here."

Scrambled Tomato and Egg's expression brightened with eagerness.

"Really? I'll give it a try later."

"Can you use woodworking? I can do carpentry!" Mosquito hurriedly asked.

"Woodworking?" Old White's eyes lit up, staring at him as he pressed, "You can do carpentry??"

Mosquito was startled, smiled awkwardly, and said,

"Yes... My family sells furniture, the handmade solid wood kind, if you're interested you can add me on QQ, I'll give you a discount—"

"That's fantastic!" Old White jumped up excitedly, "I just happen to need someone to make molds. Come give me a hand!"

"?"

Not only did Old White stand up, Fang Chang also got up.

Before WC There are mosquitoes could react to what was happening, he was propped up by the arms of the two people.

"Wait, I haven't finished my soup—"

Watching the two drag him toward the construction site, Mosquito looked utterly bewildered; just as he was about to protest, Old White interrupted him.

"Stop eating, damn it, won't a new pot made by a chef this afternoon taste good??"

Fang Chang added another line,

"Exactly! Buddy, listen to me, that stuff really tastes bad! Let's familiarize you with the gameplay of this game."

Mosquito: "...%*&#!"

Scrambled Tomato and Egg, baffled, watched the new brother being dragged into the woods, swallowing his saliva.

"Is this game... serious?"

Night Ten and Wild Wind looked at each other.

"It's fine."

"Probably?"

Scrambled Tomato and Egg: "..."

Why is that a question!

Chapter 24 From now on, you are the shelter's cook!

The newbie named "Mosquito" really had some decent carpentry skills.

Old White and Fang Chang had worked with steel bars as rulers for a long time and couldn't saw out a plank, but he, with just a handsaw, quickly put together a pile in no time.

Not only that, these planks even had slots on their edges, which easily fit together to form perfectly square hollow brick slots.

Soon, several brick molds were ready.

"You guys didn't process the wood properly—look, it's almost growing mushrooms." Mosquito wiped his sweat, leaned the saw on one side, and looked toward Fang Chang and Old White, asking, "Is this enough?"

"Enough, enough! Thanks, bro, you've been a huge help!" Old White wore a thrilled expression, patting Mosquito's shoulder.

Mosquito responded with a shy grin and a short laugh.

"Don't mention it! Just let me know if you need anything."

Old White chuckled heartily and slapped his shoulder.

"Sure! I'll remember that, won't be shy next time!"

Mosquito: "..."

With the molds ready, making mud bricks became much easier.

Old White and Fang Chang mixed the yellow clay collected from the riverbank with a little water, kneaded it into a sticky mud, and poured it into the molds, arranging them neatly on the ground. In the middle gaps, they added some charcoal, and smoothed ash over the surface of the mud bricks.

This was also a method Old White had learned from a wilderness survival video.

When the first layer of bricks was nearly dry, they changed the orientation, stacked a second layer, and continued like this, layer by layer, until the stack of bricks was taller than them.

When all was done, Old White cautiously lit the charcoal inside the stack, allowing the fire to start in the middle and gradually engulf the entire stack.

"Will this thing even work?"

Watching the smoking "mud stack," Fang Chang wiped the sweat from his forehead with his muddy arm, looking as if he had just crawled out of a manure pit.

Old White's appearance wasn't much better, covered in even more charcoal dust, resembling someone who had just emerged from a coal mine.

"Who knows, we'll just have to wait and see."

It was also his first time trying this, and as a child, he had only watched adults do it, unsure if this method would work.

They could only wait until tomorrow to see.

"Let's go, let it burn for now."

"Let's check out the cement kiln. I feel like we're getting really close to the final product. Let's use a bit more force with the blower this time—aim to make a bucket before logging off!"

Meanwhile, with the help of WC There are mosquitoes, Wild Wind and Night Ten had finally finished improving the Nth version of their fish trap.

They replaced the original tubular structure with a cage-like structure and substituted the frail wooden rods with solid steel bars, further reinforcing the main structure of the trap.

No matter what fish, if they enter, they're not escaping!

The three of them headed to the lakeside to give it another try.

It looked quite fun.

As for Chu Guang, he was still deeply contemplating the techniques of smoking meat.

Though still with little progress...

"Respected manager, may I ask what you're doing?"

Hearing a voice beside him, Chu Guang stood up from in front of the meat smoking rack, wiped the charcoal dust from his hands, and looked aside to see "Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes," looking curiously at his smoking meat rack.

If he remembered correctly, this guy was apparently a chef who graduated from New Oriental?

Thinking this, Chu Guang's eyes suddenly lit up.

"I'm researching how to make smoked meat... You've come just at the right time, from now on, you're the chef for Outpost 404!"

Without giving the player a chance to speak, Chu Guang continued seriously.

"We are facing a dire situation, besides building the outpost's facilities on the surface, we must also store enough food for the subsequent arrival of a hundred comrades before winter arrives."

"I need your help!"

Scrambled Eggs looked bewildered.

Chef? Sure...

In real life, he was a chef, and just before logging on, he had cooked two dishes before handing over his spatula to a colleague. Little did he know he would fall back into his old profession in the game.

Was this like changing his career to a lifestyle player?

It took him a long time before he finally opened his mouth.

"What can I do for you?"

"Good question."

Chu Guang looked towards the smoked meat rack next to him.

"I've tried smoking meat, but the results weren't ideal. I need you to solve the food storage problem... I've read your file, the organization says you have experience with handling food, right?"

Fried Eggs was stunned.

"I know a bit, but the game is still a game—I mean, I'm not sure if my experience is applicable here."

Realizing he was in the Game world, Fried Eggs quickly changed his wording, but it seemed that the NPC didn't care, probably because the program was set to automatically ignore elements irrelevant to the game.

"No worries, I need professional advice," Chu Guang said as he glanced at the smoked meat rack, "Can you take a look and tell me what went wrong with the way I set up the smoked meat?"

Looking at the wooden rack in front of him, Fried Eggs fell silent.

Rather than something specific being wrong...

It was more like everything was a problem.

"This... First of all, shouldn't the meat be smoked in an enclosed environment? Your method seems like it would just char the outside to no use. And this herb sprinkled on the meat, is it?"

"A special kind of tobacco leaf."

"Tobacco leaf?!"

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded as he observed Fried Eggs' surprised face, "This is the Inland Area where salt is very expensive. Local survivors use this tobacco leaf, rich in aromatic compounds and tar, as a substitute for salt. They crush it and smear it on the food. The heat mixes the preservatives with the fats on the food surface, achieving a preserving effect."

Is that even possible?!

Fried Eggs was shocked.

Some aromatic compounds can indeed act as food preservatives, but it was his first time hearing about them being edible.

Maybe if not consumed excessively, it wouldn't be lethal?

But his instincts told him that this smoking technique was like fighting poison with poison...

"Actually, you can smoke meat without salt... it just won't taste as good. I'm not familiar with the method you mentioned, but from a health perspective, it doesn't seem quite right."

Fried Eggs spoke diplomatically since he had heard that NPCs had a favorability setting, and higher favorability could unlock hidden quests.

In reality, he would have eye-rolled.

"You can smoke meat without salt?!" Chu Guang was stunned.

"Yes... Microorganisms need moisture to survive. The essence of smoking meat is to dry out the moisture in the meat, achieving a dehydrating effect. Having salt helps improve the effect, prolongs the preservation, and enhances the flavor. But even without salt, it can still work if done properly."

"Of course, if the fat content is high, dehydration can be a bit tricky... it also depends on what kind of meat it is."

At this point, Fried Eggs paused for a moment, somewhat awkwardly glanced at the smoked meat rack beside him and whispered,

"But no matter what the situation, without sealing... it's definitely not going to work well."

If they could preserve food without using such bizarre tobacco leaves, it would definitely be good news for the Outpost.

However, Chu Guang still had some doubts.

Even if the survivors of Bet Street were ignorant, having survived in the Wasteland until now, they couldn't possibly be wrong about such survival skills, right?

What was actually wrong?

However, Chu Guang didn't want to ponder such complicated matters for now.

One reason was that he wasn't that free.

Secondly, if NPCs solved everything, what would the players be there for?

"Excellent, this glorious and arduous task is yours!"

He patted the newbie's shoulder earnestly.

Chu Guang solemnly entrusted the task of smoking the meat to "Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes," reminded him again about safety issues, then walked away in high spirits.

Nice.

Another problem solved.

Now that the food issue was starting to get some direction, should he try to recruit more players to boost productivity?

Just relying on these few hands, they might not even finish repairing the sanatorium's enclosing wall by the end of the month.

While Chu Guang was thinking this, suddenly, not far away, a loud exuberant cheer was heard.

"Niubi!!!"

"Damn, finally made it!"

Chapter 25: Running Short of Hands

Cheers erupted from the cement kiln.

Chu Guang walked over and saw Fang Chang and Old White piling up a mound of light gray powder on the ground, which they mixed with water and sand to form a pasty slurry.

It was roughly estimated that this batch of cement weighed about 20 kilograms.

Since it was a trial burn, not much was produced. Judging by the capacity of the filler port of the cement kiln, it shouldn't be a problem to process about half a ton a day.

Although it couldn't compare to professional production equipment, it was barely usable.

"Respected Manager!"

Upon noticing Chu Guang approaching, the two players dropped their tools and excitedly came up to greet him.

"Cement!"

"We've finally made the silicate cement!"

This was indeed not easy.

To make the temperature inside the cement kiln exceed 1450 degrees, the two practically risked their lives cranking the blower and continuously shoveling coal into it, almost developing a Kylin Arm.

Especially Old White, whose gene sequence is of the Strength Type, had almost leveled up in these three days!

"You've done very well."

Chu Guang nodded as he looked at them approvingly.

"With this cement, we've taken a big step forward in our first phase plan. The refuge will remember your contribution, and each of you will receive a reward of 1000 Contribution Points!"

Expressions of joy appeared on the faces of the two players.

The toil of the past few days had indeed not been in vain!

However, what they didn't know was that the NPC and the "Dog Plan" standing in front of them were already contemplating how to reclaim the "excess currency" in their hands.

Rapid inflation wasn't good; it affected the game's lifespan.

Maybe ...

Start a gacha feature?

1000 Contribution Points per draw?

That wasn't out of the question.

While Chu Guang was pondering the best approach, Fang Chang and Old White exchanged glances and respectfully said to him.

"Manager, there is something I must report to you!"

"Speak."

"Now that the cement has been successfully produced, we need more hands to start building the outpost!"

Chu Guang looked at them.

"How many people do you need?"

Old White hurriedly said.

"At least ten people! Of course, the more, the better! The cement kiln here requires manual operation for calcination. Two people per shift can manage one kiln, and we'll soon build a second one. That alone will need four people! At least four are needed for transporting stones from the worksite, and at least eight more for building walls and houses."

Chu Guang calculated in his mind.

That amounted to sixteen people?

Currently, the food reserves at the outpost would only last seven people, including himself, for a week; suddenly tripling the population, it was uncertain whether logistics could handle it.

After much hesitation, Chu Guang finally decided to take a gamble.

It was already the 9th.

Nearly a third of September had passed, and if they didn't pick up the pace, it would be difficult to complete the outpost before winter.

"Alright! I understand."

He nodded, looking at the two players, and continued.

"I will request support from upper management, and in three days, a batch of new members will awaken from hibernation and join us on the surface."

Hearing this, joy spread across the faces of Fang Chang and Old White.

With new members joining, their infrastructure project would be much easier than it currently was!

Moreover, Fang Zhang's assumption was confirmed.

This NPC's authority was evidently not merely that of a simple NPC, and he could even influence the game's closed beta process.

This made Fang Zhang recall the fantasy setting in early web novels about online games—

"The game runs on a supercomputer with limitless computing power. The game company sets the framework of the world, while the content is completely dynamically generated by AI."

Perhaps Wasteland OL was just like this!

The more Fang Zhang thought about it, the more excited he became.

He felt he understood once again.

...

With the addition of carpenters and chefs, the working conditions and quality of life for the players had visibly improved.

With the help of "WC There are Mosquitoes," Old White and Fang Chang's construction team got molds for making clay bricks, and Wild Wind and Night Ten even improved their fish traps.

They even used tree stumps to make a wooden toilet seat that wouldn't cut into one's buttocks.

Now, at last, the toilet was something one could sit on comfortably.

It wasn't that everyone liked the sitting-style toilet.

For instance, Wild Wind.

This guy seemed a bit obsessed with cleanliness and, even in the game, couldn't bear using a toilet that someone else had used. Stubbornly, he dug a hole next to the original toilet and put up some wood for privacy.

Thanks to him, the outpost now had a second toilet.

But compared to these trivial matters, what really surprised everyone was his and Night Ten's fishing plan.

With the help of improved traps, the two finally caught their first fish before dusk.

And it was a big one!

Judging by its appearance, it seemed to be a catfish.

I say "seemed" because its thick lips and unusually large head, along with deep blue patterns interspersed with white spots and coral-like red whiskers, were all indications.

Obviously, this was also a mutant after undergoing mutation.

Watching the "big guy" flounder in the trap, trying to escape, Wild Wind and Night Ten were so excited they almost cried, not minding at all how ugly it looked.

Three days!

A whole three days!

They had finally caught one!

As the large birds circling in the sky and the beasts by the lake remained unaware, they quickly dragged the big guy along with the trap from the lake shore to the bank, ruthlessly beat it to death with steel rebar.

Only after it was thoroughly dead did they tie its head and tail with ropes to the rebar, carrying it from front and back, bringing the still-twitching dead fish back to the outpost.

"Bro Scrambled Eggs, look at this, can it be eaten?"

"What the heck is this?"

Staring at the catfish Wild Wind and Night Ten threw on the ground, [Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes], who was building a smoking rack, was almost popping his eyes out.

He had been cooking for half his life and had never seen such a big catfish.

Just the fish head could fill a washbowl.

I mean, if you threw this thing in the lake, could the other fish even survive???

Catfish are carnivorous!

"It's probably a catfish," Wild Wind said.

"Nonsense, I know it's a catfish," Scrambled Eggs squatted down to flip open its lips and tugged at them, smacking his tongue and said, "My goodness... must be over a hundred pounds!"

Night Ten hastily asked.

"Can you make smoked fish out of it?"

"Who the hell makes smoked fish from catfish..." Scrambled Eggs continued with a speechless expression, "This thing's got thick fat and a moisture-preserving slime on the surface, it's quite a hassle to handle, not sure if it can be dehydrated."

"What should we do?" Wild Wind asked.

"I haven't tried it either, let's just try it..." Glancing at the smoking rack he had been working on all day, Scrambled Eggs fell silent.

A hundred pounds of fish would definitely crush it.

Had to rebuild it...

...

At dusk.

Bro Scrambled Eggs, substituting for the Manager, stewed a pot of fish head soup for the players, proving through practice that this thing was indeed edible.

And the taste was surprisingly good.

Although there were no tofu side dishes or seasonings like green onions, ginger, garlic, and cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, Brother Scrambled Eggs relied on his superb cooking skills, using only salt and soy sauce for flavoring, to make a pot of fish head soup that was fresh yet not greasy.

The players ate with tears streaming down their faces.

Brother Scrambled Eggs and Mosquito were amazed that there was taste sensation in the game, while the other four players were touched to finally eat a bite of normal food.

Woohoo, it wasn't easy...

On that day, they logged off at six in the evening, and it was exactly six in the morning in reality.

The closed beta players had just exited the game and hadn't had time to log into their Penguin accounts, when the messages in the Bull and Horse Club group exploded.

Quit smoking: [Crap! You guys check out the official website!]

Grandpa Ao: [You haven't given up yet...]

Spare people under the knife: [What's up with the official website?]

Quit smoking: [Alpha 0.2 version major update! The website is releasing 24 more closed beta slots! The number of closed beta players will increase to 30!!!]

Spare people under the knife: [What?]

Grandpa Ao: [Heh, starting to harvest leeks now, tell me, how much? Let's see if it's enough for the police station downstairs to open a case. (picks nose)]

Quit smoking: [It should be free, I didn't see them mention any charges in the announcement! Haha, I don't believe it, I can't get in this time!!!]

Pick up trash 99 level: [You're thinking too much, the reservation numbers have already broken a hundred. 24 additional slots... the probability is one-fourth to one-fifth.]

Quit smoking:[A hundred?! What the heck, could our group even have that many active members???]

Pick up trash 99 level: [Uh, not all are from our group... I saw several gaming groups discussing this game last night.]

Spare people under the knife: [It's actually becoming popular. (shocked)]

④ No one understands me: [Yep, I just saw it, the reservation numbers are already at 111.]

Quit smoking: [I'm freaking blown away!]

Chapter 26 alpha0.2 version update

Official Website:

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta test server alpha 0.2 version update announcement.]

[Major Updates:

1. The number of players in the closed beta increased to 30.

2. The expansion "Winter is Coming" goes live: the game will enter winter within thirty days, with temperatures dropping to negative ten degrees within sixty days. If players successfully resist the cold invasion, all those who average more than four hours of online time per day during the closed beta will receive the limited title of "Winter Warrior". If the challenge fails, the game servers will be shut down for a period, and after difficulty settings are adjusted, the closed beta will go online again.

]

[Optimization:

1. A more realistic physics system.

2. A richer variety of mutant creatures.

3. Increased freedom.

4. Fixed a few bugs.

5. ...

]

[The Player Manual has been updated to version 2.0, please check it in time if you have acquired an invitation.]

[Current number of reservations: 113 people]

Damn.

In the blink of an eye, two more reservations popped up.

At this moment, Chu Guang was sitting in the residents' hall of Shelter No. 404, staring at the backend of the official website on the computer screen, pondering in his mind.

"Where did all these people come from?"

There aren't that many live people in the group chat...

Alts?

Impossible.

No one can create an alt on the official website of Wasteland OL.

Forget changing your IP; changing your whole head would be useless, the reservation qualification is tied to the person, not to the computer.

Chu Guang opened the forum and took a look. There were quite a few familiar IDs, and some he was seeing for the first time.

Quit smoking: [Why did so many people suddenly show up in the forum???? Where are you all coming from!]

"Kakarot" From the Future: [King's group for starting black? I saw a link someone else posted.]

Elena: [I'm different, I'm from the driving group. (Sly)]

All the Good Names Were Taken by Dogs: [Brother, lend me a speech.]

A Touch of Yearning: [(Eating melon)]

Teng Teng: [What game is this anyway, is it serious?]

Everyday Big Devil: [+1 same question.]

Quit smoking: [No need to ask, it doesn't look serious at all, do those people above look serious to you? I'm begging you, please don't book! It's fake, all of it is fake. (Freaking out)]

Teng Teng: [≡ω≡]

Everyday Big Devil: [Farewell.]

Chu Guang: ...

Is this Quit smoking guy out of his mind???

The official forum had finally started to get some traffic, and before it could heat up, he managed to drive one away.

And possibly more than one...

Chu Guang was speechless but didn't take it too much to heart.

He wasn't the kind of small-minded man.

After browsing around the forum for a bit, Chu Guang had a rough idea why there had been a sudden influx of new users lately.

He didn't know which group insider had shared screenshots of the Cow and Horse Club's group chat along with links to the game's official website to other gaming groups.

Then, out of nowhere, this Wasteland OL, which only had an official website, settings, and "pie in the sky" promises, suddenly became popular in gaming circles.

Many of the new users came from following trends in other gaming groups, most of them asking questions like "What exactly is this game?", "When is the internal test for the game?", and strange questions that are difficult to answer, like "Can you take your pants off?" and "Is there a mosaic?"

There weren't many who were seriously discussing the content of the game.

Chu Guang wondered to himself whether he should appoint a few forum moderators to help manage the forum.

Switching to the desktop to log into his QQ account, Chu Guang opened the "Cow and Horse Club" gaming group chat, which was buzzing with activity.

The topic of closed beta qualifications seemed to have been discussed earlier, and now the focus of the group had completely shifted to the alpha 0.2 update and the "Winter is Coming" expansion.

A game still in closed beta is releasing an expansion?

That's just ridiculously unbelievable!

Pick up trash 99 level: [Damn, those without closed beta qualifications are missing out, aren't they?]

④ Who ⑧ Understands: [It's really absurd!]]

Quit smoking: [Can someone tag Dog Planner, recruit more people, please! I don't want money! No, I can give money!]]

Pick up trash 99 level: [@Guang, someone's calling you Dog Planner.]

Quit smoking: [Damn!]

("Quit smoking" retracted a message)

Chu Guang: "..."

Not this guy again.

Just as Chu Guang was pondering whether he should pop up in the chat, he suddenly discovered that Long Days Ahead had sent him a private message.

[Brother Guang, are you there? (Gritted Teeth)]

Curious about what this "bro" intended to say, Chu Guang typed back a response.

[Just finished up, what's up.]

Long Days Ahead:[There's been something that's really been puzzling me, and I'd like to consult you... it's about that NPC known as the Manager, is it played by an employee of your Company, or is it an AI?]

Worried that this "bro" might find the question inconvenient to answer, after sending that message he quickly added another one.

[Just asking casually, haha, if it's a corporate secret or anything, just pretend I didn't ask.]

Light:[No worries, it's not exactly a secret. Besides, a mere planner like me wouldn't have access to such secrets anyway.]

Fang Chang looked thrilled and quickly typed eagerly.

[Yeah! Please tell!]

Chu Guang gave it some thought, then brazenly banged out his response on the keyboard.

[Simply put, its existence is quite special.]

Special!

Man oh man.

This NPC is definitely not simple!

Seizing on two key words, Long Days Ahead got completely excited, his thumbs dancing on the screen of his mobile phone.

[Can you be more specific?]

Light:[He is the first generation of complete artificial intelligence developed by our company.]

[Complete artificial intelligence??]

Fang Chang looked utterly confused.

This was beyond his realm of knowledge.

But—

It sounded so awesome!

Sitting in front of his computer, Fang Chang's eyes gleamed with excitement, wishing this "traitor" would reveal just a little bit more.

And Brother Guang did not disappoint his expectations, continuing to type out words on the screen.

Light:[That's right, a complete AI almost indistinguishable from a human!]

Light:[He has his own personality, memory, thought patterns, as well as values and motivations for action, so we have given him the authority to restrict players and the duty to guide players into the Game.]

Exactly as I thought!

I'm freaking genius!

Fang Chang was so excited he almost dropped his phone on his face; his trembling thumbs kept typing.

Long Days Ahead:[I get it now! No wonder his decisions can affect the progression of your testing! I've realized that the content of the Game itself is very thoroughly developed—the immersive feeling is just like a real world! No exaggeration, even someone as picky as me can't find a single blatant bug!]

Long Days Ahead:[If there's one slight disappointment, it might just be that there are too few NPCs! So, I was thinking, is it possible that you're not actually testing the Game itself, but testing the Game's AI? Even including the expansion pack "Winter Is Coming" that was launched with the alpha 0.2 update, it could be for this purpose... Am I right?]

Spot on!

Right to the point!

This was Long Days Ahead's own evaluation of his remarks.

Piecing together various clues, he felt he had fully perceived the intentions of the Game developers.

His gaming friends were all discussing why Wasteland OL had launched the "Winter Is Coming" expansion during the closed testing phase. All those fragmented conclusions and guesses they had made seemed superficial in his eyes.

They barely scratched the surface, not even the first layer.

Only he had reached the stratosphere!

The mysterious company developing Wasteland OL was ostensibly testing the Game, but what they were really testing was the "complete artificial intelligence" operating within the Game's framework!

And this expansion called "Winter Is Coming" was this mysterious company's trial run for the "first generation complete artificial intelligence"!

A silence ensued for a while.

Seeing that Brother Guang wasn't speaking, Fang Chang already had his answer and the corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously.

I really am a genius!

Light:[You're very smart.]

Light:[Indeed, just like you said, the "Winter Is Coming" expansion is indeed to test the performance of the first generation complete artificial intelligence, and this is also a necessary procedure to start the next round of testing.]

As he typed these words, Chu Guang silently deleted the spiel he had just edited in his document.

Because he thought this bro's ramblings sounded more convincing.

No flattery, no slander, this guy was indeed talented.

In terms of creativity...

Long Days Ahead:[I think I understand what you mean, so the progress of testing is really affected by how the Game's storyline progresses, right?]

Light:[Yes.]

Long Days Ahead:[And at this stage, the only one capable of driving the storyline is the Manager of Shelter No. 404, right?]

Light:[Right.]

Long Days Ahead:[Thanks! I get it! Sorry for bothering you, and for all the insider information you've shared with me. Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret! (Gritted Teeth)]

Light:[Actually, it's not really any insider info; it's okay if you don't keep it a secret.]

Long Days Ahead:[No no no, I will keep it a secret, you can count on that! Anyone who knows me knows I'm super trustworthy! (Gritted Teeth) (Gritted Teeth)]

Chu Guang: "..."

Is this what they call corporate-level understanding?

Eye-opening, indeed.

Chapter 27: Winter Is Coming!

"The leaves are withering yellow, the temperature is dropping, an unprecedented crisis is approaching."

"This year's winter will be harsher than in previous years and will come earlier… There's not much time left for us to prepare."

"From now on, we must seize every minute, even every second! We need to get ready for the cold snap before the situation completely deteriorates!"

"The mission panel has been updated with a list of necessities, facilities that need to be completed, and corresponding rewards."

"Remember, only through unity can we overcome the difficulties together!"

"Winter is coming."

"This is a test of fate for all of us!"

In the resident hall of Shelter No. 404, a heartening voice reverberated.

Facing the spirited gazes of the players, Chu Guang delivered a stirring speech, officially launching the first expansion pack since the Game's closed beta—"Winter is Coming."

And as the new chapter began, the atmosphere at the Outpost Base of Shelter No. 404 started to change, just like the Game's official website, becoming different from before.

Not just the players.

Even Chu Guang himself could feel that sense of urgency from the gradually cooling air.

The resources stored at the Outpost were already meager to begin with, and the population had skyrocketed from 6 to 30 people—a fivefold increase!

The surging population brought more manpower, but it also exponentially increased the supply pressure on the Outpost.

To feed the thirty mouths that would soon arrive, Chu Guang had been working his heart out these past two days, keeping busy from dawn to dusk. He took Night Ten, who had a Perception gene sequence, hunting everywhere just to stockpile a bit more food.

For a while, they stirred up chaos throughout Linghu Wetland Park.

But correspondingly, the results were quite gratifying.

In just three days, Chu Guang alone had killed over a dozen mutated hyenas, and caught innumerable wild rabbits and squirrels using traps.

Although they were mutants, they were edible.

Besides, Night Ten, responsible for alert and enemy search, had also successfully advanced from LV0 to LV1, and Chu Guang also faintly felt he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

However, the Manager gene sequence was truly too special.

Chu Guang had yet to grasp the trick to upgrade and could only confirm through the physical examination device that there was indeed a very slight increase in the development of his gene sequence.

On the other side, the performances of the other players were also quite outstanding and could even be described as each showing their unique abilities.

Old White and Fang Chang used charcoal as a reducing agent and, through the calcination process, recovered a small amount of iron slag from rusty steel bars, car parts, and other iron-containing scrap, adding the slag to the cement kiln to calcine with crushed limestone and clay, producing more reliable cement clinker.

This was a physically demanding job.

Whether it was manually operating a blower or using a repaired twin-wheel barrow to transport stones, it took a lot of effort.

But it was precisely because of this that Old White, who was a Strength Type, advanced again with his gene sequence level moving from LV1 to LV2, and his Strength attribute increased by one point.

As for Fang Chang, who took turns with him, he finally broke through the limit and advanced from LV0 to LV1.

But the attribute he gained was not Strength; it was Agility.

It appeared that while the development of gene sequences complied with the principle of "use it or lose it," the increase in attributes was a different matter.

Moreover, speaking of upgrades, perhaps the most unfortunate was Wild Wind.

Up to now, among the four beta players, the only one who still had a gene sequence level of 0 was probably him.

These days, he had caught quite a few fish using improved traps, but he was always just a bit of "experience" short of reaching LV1.

The "experience" gained through trapping and killing Variants didn't seem to be as much as what was gained in direct combat against Variants.

Wild Wind was puzzled by this as well.

But unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any good solution at present.

Apart from the four pioneering Dog Management players, the two newbies who joined were also brimming with energy and hardly idle for even a moment these past few days.

Take "Brother Mosquito," for example.

He wasn't in a rush to upgrade and continued to do woodworking work, occasionally helping Old White and Fang Chang or repairing Wild Wind's damaged traps.

And besides these tasks, he was busy with his own stuff.

According to Brother Mosquito himself, he was planning to use wood to build a simple wooden hut to serve as his chemical laboratory and storage room.

These days, while helping to transport stones from the construction site, he had collected quite a few bottles and jars to place alongside the little hut.

""

Although Chu Guang was quite skeptical about the safety of such small cabins, seeing how much this guy enjoyed it, he thought it would be better not to interfere too much with the players' choices.

Compared to Brother Mosquito's leisure, "Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry" probably epitomized the ideal hard worker.

As the cook of the Outpost, he not only had to prepare meals but also had to help the Manager deal with the prey that was brought in.

This included bleeding, skinning, deboning, cutting meat, and most importantly, smoking.

Since the salt at the Outpost wasn't luxurious enough to be used for smoking meat, Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry had adopted the most primitive smoking method.

That is, not adding anything at all.

He directly hung the cut meat on a rebar rack, stuffed it into a kiln built from clay and bricks, smoked it over charcoal, slowly roasted it with a low flame to dry out the moisture, and sealed the opening with pine branches and leaves.

The smoked meat produced by this method was actually more like dried meat, which could last for a while even without adding salt and didn't need anything fancy like wrapping tobacco leaves around the surface.

By next month, either early or mid, it would almost be winter.

At that time, wrapping the dried meat in plastic bags or bark and burying it in the snow, it should be fine to eat until the next spring without any major problems.

However, the texture and flavor of the smoked meat made in this way could only be described as indescribable.

In addition, the skins peeled from the mutated hyenas were not wasted by Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry; he collected them to make leather.

In fact, tanning is a quite complex and tedious craft, much more troublesome than making jerky.

However, what the shelter needed was not the smooth and supple high-grade fur, but merely materials that could keep out the cold. There were no quality requirements.

So, many unnecessary steps could be omitted.

Previously, Old White had kept the lye from the burned vegetation ash he made in collected plastic barrels.

Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry made full use of these lye as tanning liquid to soak the raw hides that had been peeled off the prey and washed.

When the hide and tannin were fully integrated, he hung it up on the hastily-built tanning rack to dry, so that he could get a piece of leather of passable quality.

"…Respected Manager, I must report to you, I really can't handle it all by myself. I desperately need a helper, even one would be good!"

Taking the freshly killed prey from Chu Guang's hands, Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry's gaze couldn't help but drift over to Night Ten.

He always felt as though this guy seemed very idle, aside from helping the Manager carry some prey, he didn't seem to have seen him do anything else.

Perhaps...

He could lend a hand.

Night Eleven saw right through Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry's intentions and hastily waved his hands, saying,

"Don't look at me, I am very busy."

What a joke.

Leveling up with NPCs, where else could one find such good fortune of free experience?

He didn't want to learn cooking with this guy!

Seeing Night Ten's reluctance, Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly and muttered to himself.

Busy my ass!

Facing the complaint from Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry, Chu Guang spoke to reassure him.

"Night Ten needs to help me search for prey, and his perception of danger is also vital, so I can't ask him to stay and help you. However, I promise you that your problem will soon be resolved. Our reinforcements are already on their way; they will soon arrive on the surface."

"Okay, thank you... If that's really the case, then that's great."

Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry sighed and, after a pause, continued,

"There is another matter, although I have tried my hand at tanning, I can only do some simple treatments. As for how to make them into clothes ... I really can't handle that."

Chu Guang said with a smile,

"Don't worry about that, among the reinforcements that are about to arrive, there are talented individuals skilled in this area. I will delegate the work of tanning and making warm clothes to that person."

Not just tailors.

Among the 24 new players he selected for the closed beta, there were a bit of talents from various industries.

They may not necessarily be experts in their fields, some were even students, but within their capabilities, they could still play a role.

Besides, there was the tool that is the internet.

Chu Guang was full of confidence in these energetic and enthusiastic players. So long as they worked hard enough, one day he would be able to move into a bigger house.

Steady as a rock!

Chapter 28: 24 New Players! Reinforcements Have Arrived!

September 12.

6:00.

After three excruciating days of waiting since the closed beta qualifications were issued, it had finally arrived—the day the servers opened.

Following the tutorial on the official website, Du Mingdao put on his helmet, lay flat on the bed, and closed his eyes.

However...

Is that really all it takes?

Yet, just as this thought crossed his mind, with his eyes still closed, he quickly saw a beam of light piercing through the darkness, shining in front of him.

Even though he hadn't opened his eyes...

Du Mingdao sat up from the damp cultivation chamber, glanced around, and his dull gaze was gradually replaced with intense shock.

Is this...

the game world?!

Metallic walls and floor tiles gave off a sci-fi vibe, streamlined cabin doors added to the effect, and wisps of steam evaporated from his shoulders, bit by bit taking his body heat with them.

Taking a deep breath of the game world's air, he caught a whiff of an unpleasant smell.

Whether what was in front of him was real or not, Du Mingdao wasn't certain.

But the hundred-percent immersion had already rendered him speechless with astonishment.

This feeling—

It's freaking awesome!!!

At that moment, the sleep cabin next door suddenly opened, and a fellow with a lizard mouth and a body covered in dark green scales sat up from the sleep cabin.

At the moment their eyes met, Du Mingdao was startled.

"Holy shit?! What the hell is that?"

"What do you mean, 'what the hell is that'..."

"Who the hell are you? An NPC???"

"What NPC, I'm a player, man! ID: Pick up trash 99 level... I was just about to ask you, who the hell are you?"

"You're Pick up trash?! I'm Spare people under the knife! Damn, are you that newbie who joined the group a few days ago? Why the hell are you so ugly?!"

"You're the freaking ugly one..."

With amber pupils dilated, the Lizard man was clearly bewildered, obviously failing to grasp the situation.

However, quickly, his gaze fell upon his scaly dark green skin, and a look of horror seeped into his confused pupils.

He frantically lowered his head, looking left and right, clumsily groping his body with his claws, tail twirling with his body, much like a gecko that had fallen into a pit of mud.

Then, suddenly, his gaze stuck to what lay between his legs.

He let out a piercing wail.

"Damn it! Where's my thingy?!"

Du Mingdao almost sprayed out a mouthful of old blood.

"You look like that, and your concern is about that thingy?!"

"That's gone, and that's gone too! F**k! Damn dog planners, all lies! If you can become a Lizard man, why can't you make a female character?!"

"If you don't want to be a Lizard man, let's swap."

"Screw off."

The sleep cabin was connected to a body scanning device that could show your attributes and level, details that were public knowledge on the official website.

Junk Lord lifted his index finger and flicked at the interface, and soon, the attribute panel was projected onto the screen.

ID: Pick up trash 99 level

Gene Sequence: Heterogeneity·Lizardman

Level: LV.0

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 8

Agility: 7

Constitution: 8

Perception: 8

Intelligence: 2

Talent:

Cold-blooded (Greater stealth, slower reaction in cold environments)

Polydactyl (Greater endurance, difficulty in operating complex machinery)

Physical Regeneration (Stronger recovery, difficult to increase gene sequence level)

Holy crap?

These attributes are something special!

Junk Lord vaguely remembered reading on the official website that the standard attribute baseline for a normal adult male is 5, fluctuating within ±2.

And clearly, he wasn't based on an adult male's standard; except for his low intelligence attribute, the other four dimensions were exceptionally strong.

The key was that he didn't feel unintelligent at all.

So what if the intelligence on the panel is a bit lower?

Doesn't affect his ability to show off at all!

Realizing this, Junk Lord immediately couldn't stop grinning, and his fuss was over.

Du Mingdao, sitting in the adjacent cultivation chamber, looked over at the Lizard man giggling foolishly and asked with concern.

"Are... are you okay?"

"Haha, couldn't be better! Let's go, let's get out of this room quickly and meet up with the other players! We don't want to keep the Manager waiting!"

Saying that, Junk Lord somersaulted and leaped out of the cultivation chamber.

He found another perk to being a Lizard man; there was no need to wear clothes because it didn't matter if he put on pants or not, there was nothing that needed to be covered up!

Staring at the lively lizard, Du Mingdao's face was etched with weirdness.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a piece of paper stuck to its butt.

"There's something on your butt."

"Where?"

Upon hearing this, Trash King also felt the foreign object on his butt and reached back with his claws.

Being unaccustomed to controlling this new body, it took a good while of scratching with both claws before the piece of paper was finally scraped off.

The paper was made of waterproof material, so it hadn't gotten wet.

However, the text written on it wasn't Chinese, nor was it any language he recognized.

Trash King was utterly confused, scratching his head with his claws.

"What the heck is written on this?"

...

Residents' lobby of Shelter No. 404.

The originally spacious room was currently crammed full with the newly-added players.

A diverse array of people stood there, their faces uniformly blanketed with confusion, astonishment, excitement, and curiosity.

Before this, almost everyone had thought this so-called "fully immersive virtual reality game" might just be a prank by a few bored game enthusiasts.

Even after receiving helmets sent by the company, the vast majority of people were still skeptical.

But now, all doubts had vanished into thin air.

If one had to pick a game more realistic than this one, it would probably have to be "Earth OL" itself!

When "Pick up trash 99 level" stepped out from his room, passing through the automatically opening and closing door, it caused quite a stir.

Initially, everyone thought he was an NPC, but after asking, they found out he was also a player and might even possess the mythical "hidden profession"!

Basked in the envious gazes of others, Trash King seemed to have pushed the fact that he lacked a certain bit behind him, beaming with what could pass as pride.

Was that thing really important?

Not at all.

"Brother, stick with me from now on, I've got your back."

Trash King slapped the shoulder of the man standing next to him, Du Mingdao, with his snout turned sky high. The latter just gave him a speechless glance, disinclined to bother with him.

It was just that the initial data on the attribute panel was a tiny bit stronger.

Exiting the room with Trash King, Du Mingdao also attracted quite a bit of attention.

Regrettably, his gene sequence was just a common Strength Type, nothing particularly impressive.

As the players in the hall sized up the two of them, he was also covertly observing the other players inside the hall.

Aside from Trash King, most of the players seemed comparatively normal, at least on the surface there was nothing to differentiate them from others.

From a physical perspective, most appeared to be mainly Strength Type and Constitution Body Type, but there were also a minority of Perception, Agility, and Intelligence System players.

What surprised Du Mingdao the most was that there were actually two female players among them?

One of them was 180 tall with curves in all the right places, straining the seams of the shelter uniform, likely a Strength Type.

The other was a bit shorter, probably just over 150, unremarkable, with no clear system affiliation, at least not resembling a Strength Type.

Du Mingdao, born and bred in civil engineering and with years of work under his belt, had accurate estimations, especially when it came to gauging distances and sizes, and was seldom off the mark.

The two women had emerged from the same room and seemed to be embroiled in a disagreement, their auras butting heads.

"Who's this little squirt? Are you weaned yet?"

"You! Think you're so great just because you're tall? Who knows how short you might be in real life!"

"Heh, anyone who says something like that must be pretty young in reality. You aren't a primary school student, are you?"

"Hehehe, as it happens, I'm the director at a fashion design company, quite grown-up really. Unlike you, needing to find a sense of presence in a game."

"Hehehehe, a mere director, and here I thought you might be some big corporate CEO. May I inquire which company has had the pleasure of your employment, sister?"

"Hehehehehe, none of your business!"

Du Mingdao: "..."

He invariably felt both characters were quite primary schoolish...

Of course, they weren't the only ones quarreling.

After the long wait, finally obtaining access to the beta test, the players who had just entered the game were excited, blabbering non-stop, touching this, looking at that, incapable of staying still.

Some were head-butting walls and then, instead of yelping in pain, they held their heads and cackled goofily.

And these were the relatively normal ones.

Others were grabbing nearby players, begging them to give a good slap just to try out the feeling of getting hit, mentally preparing for the eventual monster battles.

Du Mingdao felt his scalp tingle.

Had he entered into a game world, or had he been locked into an asylum?

Just when someone started to pull down their pants, ready to do their business, even potentially engaging in more cringing actions, a commanding voice cut through the chaos of the residents' hall from the direction of the main entrance.

"Silence."

In an instant, all was quiet.

That commanding voice seemed to carry a unique pressure, causing the players in the hall to instinctively halt their clamor, and everyone's gazes involuntarily followed the direction of the voice.

Du Mingdao was no exception.

Excitement lit up his face the moment he turned to look at the figure standing at the doorway.

NPC!

Open of story sequence!

This must be the legendary Manager!

Although it was his first time playing this game, he had followed "Long Days Ahead" postings on the official website, so he was quite familiar with the game's settings.

The other players here were the same, all watching breathlessly, anticipating the beginning of the story.

When Chu Guang selected players, he also considered the professions filled out on the pre-registration page, as well as forum history, online duration, and activity level, attempting to weed out those "primary school students" with unsound thought processes, and the little fools who seemed to only know how to argue.

They were better off moving bricks on a construction site, not here.

Scanning the players in the residents' hall, Chu Guang spoke again in a calm and stern voice.

"Welcome to Shelter No. 404."

"I am the manager here."

"Code Name—Dawn."

Chapter 29 Life in the Wasteland Begins with Brick Moving

From the moment he started speaking, all the players shut their mouths, holding their breath and watching him intently, afraid to miss any detail.

Chu Guang was quite pleased with the players' reaction, as he lifted his head and glanced around the hall.

However, when he saw the Lizard man standing in the corner, his expression froze for two seconds, and his hand almost reached for the gun on his back.

What the heck are Variants doing here???

But...

Looking at that dumbface, the player must be underneath the skin.

Nothing to worry about then.

Whether in terms of combat experience or character stats, these noobs were completely outmatched by himself. Chu Guang might have been concerned about survivors lurking in the shadows, but he really wasn't too worried about these players causing trouble.

Kick, ban, revoke qualifications—all under a second, and what can one do in just one second?

Deciding to figure out what the deal was with this Lizard man later, Chu Guang moved his gaze away from it and looked squarely at the players in the hall, continuing to speak.

"First of all, I have to tell you some good news, the war is over."

"But the bad news is, our world has been turned upside down, and if you're hoping to grab your luggage and immediately go home to find mom, obviously that's not very likely."

"Today marks two hundred years after the apocalypse, and luckily, we have made it through the most difficult times. You standing here are already luckier than 12 billion people, and now I need you to quickly come to terms with the situation and fulfill your declaration under the United Human banner—rebuild our homeland!"

"This here is my assistant, its name is Xiao Qi. Any questions about the refuge, or things you don't understand, you can ask it."

The routine introduction he had said once before, word for word.

If a new batch of players arrived, he would say it again, and unless there was a severe BUG or plot hole, he didn't plan on making changes.

After all, it was not easy to come up with.

Pausing for a moment, Chu Guang continued.

"In addition, the Residents of the refuge handbook has been updated to version 2.0, which includes the Resident's Covenant, code of conduct, and requirements for public order and good customs, as well as prohibitions. Please make sure all residents check it in a timely manner."

"For those who violate the rules, the penalties range from enforced suspension, solitary confinement for lighter offenses, to being sent back underground, and permanent expulsion for severe violations. I hope everyone will strictly comply."

A murmur spread among the players.

Isn't this NPC's power a bit too much?

Still, there wasn't much of a reaction from everyone.

Since they chose to pre-register, it means they'd accepted the Game's settings.

And before logging into the Game, they had already seen the "Residents' Handbook" on the official website, which didn't set out too harsh content.

The new clauses simply regulated actions like "player-to-player PK," "harassing other players," "illegitimate transactions," "maliciously destroying Game world facilities," and more.

These clauses are in line with the interests of the vast majority of "normal" players, and some were even discussed by the players themselves on the forum, which the Dog planners took note of and then implemented.

Like the "malicious destruction of Game world facilities" proposed by Long Days Ahead and Old White, and the "prohibition of coercive acts" mentioned by a player who had not yet obtained a reservation in a discussion thread.

All good suggestions.

After all, this is a brick-laying Game, not a nuclear bomb simulator, and certainly not some adult game.

Even Games that tout freedom and sandbox concepts can't allow a player to wantonly ruin the game experience for others.

Not only did Chu Guang adopt these suggestions, but he also made more detailed regulations for these rules.

Such as treating malicious destruction of facilities with "compulsory labor", and depending on the severity, some behaviors might be met with "permanent confiscation of tools used in the offense" up to a "permanent ban".

Very much in the style of those planners.

What?

Can't accept it?

Hurry back and play CF, leave the helmet for someone who needs it.

After briefing on the important matters, Chu Guang took the 24 players out of the refuge and, in two groups, they took the elevator to the surface.

The visual shock that hit them upon arrival left these new players speechless.

And it wasn't just the visuals.

Hearing, smell, touch, and even taste—every single cell in their bodies was telling them that this was a completely real world!

"Awesome..."

"Is this... really the Game world?"

"Oh man, I'm freaking blown away!"

"Amazing!!!"

Watching the players dancing with excitement, a smile curved on the corners of Chu Guang's mouth.

He really wanted to tell them that it was too early to be happy.

After familiarizing these newbie players with the Outpost's facilities, especially emphasizing the prohibition against urinating and defecating near the Outpost, Chu Guang then took them all back to the sanitorium and handed them over to the eagerly waiting Old White and the others.

The construction site at the Outpost was in desperate need of manpower; there was no need to worry about these players having nothing to do, as the veteran players would tell them what work needed to be done.

A portion of the people were rounded up to haul bricks and repair walls.

Another group was taken by Fang Chang to move raw materials for making cement to the construction site northeast of the Wetland Park.

As for the payment.

It was ten Contribution Points per hour.

Even though they were unaware of what exactly Contribution Points were used for, every player was enthusiastic, wishing they could start working right away.

Why worry so much in the closed beta test phase.

The developer had already said there wouldn't be a server reset, just work and get it done!

The enthusiasm of these players made even Chu Guang feel a bit embarrassed.

Of course, not all players were assigned to the construction site; tasks such as making smoked meat, tanning fur, fishing, hunting, gathering needed to be done too.

For instance, a female player as tall as 1.8 meters, with the ID name "Crow," was assigned to the gathering job.

Her Gene Sequence was from the Perception Attributes. Although her main attribute (Perception) was 1 point less than Night Ten's, being only 6, she had one more initial Talent in her talent slot—"Toxin Intuition."

According to the System's explanation on the player list, a player with this Talent can intuitively sense poisons purely through biological instincts, independent of knowledge and experience.

On the flip side, before obtaining "Poison Resistance," the "Poisoning Effect" itself would have a more significant negative impact on her.

Additionally, the positive effects of this Talent were influenced by the Perception attribute.

Having her as the gatherer couldn't be more perfect.

Then there was the Lizard man.

After arranging the gatherer's work, Chu Guang called this player aside.

"You're 'Pick up trash 99 level'?"

What a Sand Sculpture name!

Seeing the Manager address him directly, Garbage Lord thought he had triggered a hidden plot and quickly stood at attention, nodding excitedly.

"Indeed, it is I!"

Chu Guang nodded and was about to assign him some work when he saw Garbage Lord suddenly seemed to think of something and proactively handed over a note.

"Respected Manager, when I awoke, I found this note, but I can't understand the text. Could you please tell me what it says?"

"Let me see."

Chu Guang took the note from his hand.

The note was slightly damp, as if it had been soaked in water, but it didn't soak through – it appeared to be made of waterproof material.

The handwriting was very familiar, and since it was written in the language of this world, Chu Guang immediately guessed who had left it.

"Where did you get this?"

"My butt."

Chu Guang's hand shook, and he almost dropped it.

Seeing the Manager's exasperation, Garbage Lord immediately guessed something and hurried to explain with a mix of laughter and tears.

"I mean, it was stuck there in the Cultivation Chamber when I woke up."

"It's fine, I was just asking."

Chu Guang continued to read the content on the note.

"Congratulations, you've hit the jackpot! This is the easter egg I've left for you! The Genetic Sequences stored in the gene bank are not all human; some are special Genetic Sequences. To be honest, it was my doing, although there were some accidents involved, but I'm not planning to admit to any mistakes. How can I put it? Don't you think this is also part of natural selection?"

"By the way, should we call it a Variant or a different species? Never mind, it doesn't matter what you call it, decide for yourself."

"—First Generation Manager."

This guy must have gone mad.

Chu Guang was speechless.

He didn't bother to criticize the deceased but opened the System interface to check this Lizard Man's five-dimensional data and talents through the player list.

Just as his imposing stature suggested, both his Strength and Constitution were off the charts. If it weren't for Chu Guang's intervention, his Strength could have even caught up with Chu Guang's own Level 5.

Plus, he had the talents of Physical Regeneration and Cold-blooded, making him a weapon in actual combat!

Although he had debuffs such as difficulty leveling up, intolerance to low temperatures, and difficulty operating complex machinery, these weren't fatal flaws.

In a word, no big deal.

Chu Guang was already considering whether to outfit this fellow with knuckledusters or steel claws.

Or maybe turn him into a tin can to take the front line? That didn't seem too bad either.

Being scrutinized by the Manager, Garbage Lord felt somewhat anxious.

However, the NPC didn't stare at him for too long and soon gave him a different task from other players.

"Starting today, you'll hunt with me."

Chu Guang decided to not worry about weapons anymore.

The players might not be dumber than himself; better to let them figure out the gameplay on their own.

Garbage Lord clenched his fists excitedly, voicing his excitement in an elated tone,

"I am at your service, respected Manager!"

"Very good, quite spirited."

Chu Guang nodded in approval and continued,

"Go wait for me at the entrance of the sanatorium."

"I have some things to arrange and will come over later."

"Understood!"

Garbage Lord scurried away.

Chu Guang turned his attention to another female player who was waiting nervously nearby.

Her ID was Teng Teng, and her Genetic Sequence belonged to the Intelligence System. She appeared quite petite, standing about one-five meters tall.

The expression of genes was inherently unstable; even if designed perfectly, there could still be oversights, and Chu Guang could not help with that.

However, what happened to her wasn't entirely a bad thing.

Like that Crow, she also had a very special initial talent, "Skillful Hands and Minds," in her talent column.

"Talent: Skillful Hands and Minds (Stronger muscle memory, can accumulate proficiency faster in repetitive tasks.)"

If he remembered correctly, her profession in reality was a clothing designer, right?

If so, this talent was tailor-made for her.

"Can you make clothes?"

Faced with the Manager's question, Teng Teng nodded anxiously.

"I can! Given materials and tools... I could try."

Although her main job was design, mainly working with a computer, she wasn't completely devoid of manual abilities and was stronger than the average person.

"Materials aren't an issue, tools might require some thought... but come with me first."

Saying that, Chu Guang led her to the back of the sanatorium, pointing at the rows of raw fur pelts drying on the wooden racks.

"Is this enough?"

Gazing at the rows of fur on the racks, Teng Teng's eyes went wide.

Although she wasn't sure what animals the furs came from, she could tell at a glance that the texture and sheen of the fur were not cheap.

"All of this... for me?" Teng Teng's eyes shone brightly.

Chu Guang nodded and spoke,

"Yes, if possible, you could also take on the processing of the fur. The leather on these racks was processed by our chef, who actually doesn't know much about it."

"Mhm! Don't worry! Leave it to me," Teng Teng said energetically, nodding vigorously, "Do you have any requirements? In terms of design?"

Chu Guang, "Design isn't really a requirement, as long as it's warm... Do you need any particular tools? It might be difficult to get something like a sewing machine, but we do have some basic tools like needles and scissors."

Teng Teng, "Although a sewing machine would be better, if it's just for warmth... these are enough!"

Great!

He liked players who were diligent and required little attention.

Chu Guang nodded approvingly.

"Then, I'll leave it to you."

"I should be able to snag some game in the next few days... I plan to head north along the elevated road out of the city to check out the migrating deer herd."

"If we're lucky, we should have a good haul!"

Chapter 30 This is too cruel, right?

Chu Guang was a principled man and naturally wouldn't exploit players' labor without compensation.

Although the refuge was very poor now and Contribution Points could only buy "Resurrection Coins," he still offered Teng Teng a wage.

50 Contribution Points for every piece of clothing made.

The requirements weren't high, as long as it was wearable and warm.

Once the "Shop System" went live, he planned to price the clothes between 100 and 500 Contribution Points based on their quality and sell them to other players.

That being said, he would need to find an NPC to act as a merchant.

He had heard that Brown Farm, next door, sold some less agile serfs every winter to save on food and fuel and would buy a new batch of cheap goods from slave merchants when spring arrived.

Maybe he should try his luck there.

"Respected Manager, when do we set out?"

Looking at Chu Guang who had just come out of the sanatorium, Trash-picking Lad greeted him with his lizard tail wagging, impatiently pressing for an answer.

"No rush, I need to find you a suitable weapon... follow me."

Outside the sanatorium's enclosing wall was a small cabin, built by "WC There Are Mosquitoes," currently serving as a carpentry workshop.

Outpost Base was currently lacking in tools, particularly reliable steel tools, and many things had to be replaced with wood.

But solutions were always concocted by people.

By combining industrial waste scavenged from the Wasteland with wood, this player proficient in carpentry indeed manufactured quite a few post-apocalyptic style tools.

For instance, the crossbow leaning against the Wall was one of them.

The wooden crossbow stock combined with stainless steel parts assembled into a simple mechanical structure and hinges, the bowstring made of treated mutated hyena tendons.

As for the arrowheads, they were sharpened metal pieces.

His own iron pipe rifle was low on bullets, only about twenty left, so he had to conserve them. It would be better to use the crossbow for hunting whenever possible.

Seeing the Manager pick up the crossbow, Trash-picking Lad thought he was going to give this treasure to him and quickly reached out his hands to take it, only to be slapped away.

"Your weapon is that one."

Chu Guang pointed to a few javelins in the corner, their tips made of sharpened metal pieces, next to them a convenient carrying strap.

"With your initial strength at 8 points, mastering throwing techniques will allow you to take down prey within ten meters in one shot."

Trash-picking Lad frowned miserably.

"But Manager, I still feel... if I had a long-range weapon, my hunting efficiency would be higher."

Chu Guang glanced at his two-meter-tall figure.

Such a big guy should be charging forward as a tank, not sniping from behind. Is that really manly?

"Javelin is a basic skill in hunting; it prevents you from becoming passive, whether in close combat or mid-range encounters."

"Today, I'm only teaching you hunting skills; the kind of weapon you choose to fight with in the future is up to you."

It turned out to be a part of the storyline.

Trash-picking Lad nodded as if he understood, then shut his mouth and stopped talking.

While they were talking, the player "WC There Are Mosquitoes" pushed open the door of the cabin, holding two glass bottles as he walked out.

Seeing Chu Guang, his eyes lit up as he said.

"Respected Manager, I was just looking for you! This is the acetone I mentioned! We can make smokeless gunpowder by using it as a solvent."

As he spoke, he imitated an alchemist's motions, shaking the bottle in his right hand, startling both Chu Guang and Trash-picking Lad, causing them to instinctively step back.

"It's fine, hehe, as long as it doesn't meet open flame, it's okay, hehehehe."

Mosquito said this with an excited look on his face.

He would only dare to do such a thing in the Game, definitely not at his small workshop at home.

However, he hadn't expected the Game to be this realistic, actually allowing him to craft such an item.

At this moment, he suddenly noticed the Lizard man next to Manager Lord and his excited expression noticeably paused.

"Who is this...?"

Chu Guang cleared his throat before speaking.

"He is a new Resident, ID: Pick up trash 99 level."

"Wow, a newcomer."

Mosquito looked at him with envy.

Starting with a hidden profession.

That's just too cool!

"Tell us about the thing in your hand," Chu Guang glanced at the glass bottle in his hand, "how did you make this...?"

"The method is quite simple, it's essentially dry distillation of wood. Place the wood in a sealed metal container to bake, lead it out through a conduit, cool it down with a water bucket, and collect the condensate, which can be easily separated into an aqueous solution and a thick tar residue... A simple distillation process will do."

"The aqueous part is wood vinegar, mainly composed of acetic acid, acetone, and methanol, which can be further distilled based on their different boiling points. Acetic acid can react with alkali metal compounds to form salts of various uses, while acetone, in my right hand... its application is quite significant."

Upon saying this, Mosquito let out a sigh of longing.

"Tsks, if only we had sulfuric acid. With sulfuric acid, we could produce hydrogen peroxide, and mixing hydrogen peroxide with acetone would create triacetone triperoxide... TATP, commonly known as TATP explosive."

Junk Lord was agape on the side, swallowing hard.

What on earth does this guy do in real life?

This is seriously intense!

Chu Guang was also shocked by this revelation.

He subconsciously took a look at the little wooden hut in front of him, and couldn't associate it with a chemistry laboratory.

Only players would dare do such life-threatening things.

After regaining his composure, Chu Guang continued to speak to him.

"I will keep an eye out for chemical plants in the vicinity, so... you mean you still can't get explosives?"

"I can't get high-performance ones, but Black Powder is pretty easy to make. Give me some more time, I'm thinking of other methods, but... sometimes it's not absolutely necessary to use explosives to achieve lethal effects," Mosquito shook the glass bottle in his left hand with a heh heh, then continued, "It's a mixture of pine resin and acetone. I've also added some plant fibers in it; lighting the cloth wick at the top of the bottle and throwing it can burn for quite a while."

Molotov Cocktails?!

These items are quite useful!

Chu Guang's eyes lit up as he took the glass bottle from Mosquito's hand and weighed it.

"Have you tested its power?"

"Uh... there are trees all around, and I'm worried I wouldn't be able to put out the fire." Mosquito awkwardly explained.

Not bad.

Looks like the guy still has some sense.

"I will take it outside later to test it for you."

Without showing any change in expression, Chu Guang pocketed the glass bottle and continued,

"Conducting chemical experiments in this environment is still somewhat dangerous, and the shelter is not currently equipped to store such hazardous materials. I will give you the appropriate reward, but I can't encourage you to scale up production."

After a brief pause, Chu Guang changed tack.

"However... I would suggest that you try to find uses for these chemicals in the construction and production at Outpost Base, creating the value we need."

"Creating the value we need, eh..." Mosquito looked ponderous, slowly digesting the sentence, deep in thought.

"Right, you might want to give it some thought," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "Of course, I'd even more strongly suggest you talk with other Residents of the shelter, and ask if they have any good suggestions."

"You might find unexpectedly rewarding outcomes."

Chapter 31: Encounter with the Looter! The Players' First Battle!

Acetic acid, acetone, and methanol still had quite a wide range of uses.

If the refuge's outpost wanted to truly initiate industrialization, these chemical materials were indispensable.

Although there wasn't any immediate use for them, Chu Guang still rewarded the player [WC There are mosquitoes] with 1000 Contribution Points, and publicly recognized his "outstanding contribution in successfully preparing acetic acid, acetone, and methanol using wood as raw material."

Was this considered a Worldwide Announcement in a web novel about gaming?

Watching [WC There are mosquitoes] filled with pride while the other players looked on with envy, Chu Guang felt it was necessary to keep up this fine tradition.

Yes.

Not just in the game.

It needed to be announced on the official website too!

In the future, a Hall of Fame could be established, recording "On such a year, such a month, and such a day, a certain player achieved a certain milestone."

Such achievements could be solving a developmental problem or clearing a high-difficulty instance.

As a poor ruler, a cheap sense of honor was the only cost-effective reward he could offer the players.

After the event, Chu Guang, along with Night Ten and Garbage-kun, continued to explore north along the overpass outside Linghu Wetland Park.

They searched for traces of prey and valuable exploration targets.

Qingquan City's industrial clusters were mainly concentrated in the southeastern corner of the city, spreading out in a fan shape along the third and second ring roads.

The northern area where Linghu Wetland Park was located was mainly residential zones, with many unfinished buildings visible along the roads leaving the city.

Aside from well-developed public facilities like education, medical care, and transportation, no large-scale industrial clusters had formed in this area. Only some light industrial workshops were sparsely situated in the suburbs far from residential areas, neighboring garbage incineration plants.

Now, many of them were covered by forests.

Upon the advent of the nuclear war, Qingquan City's North Suburb, due to its large population base and extremely low strategic value, had hardly been directly hit by strategic weapons.

However, the massive number of refugees brought another kind of disaster here after the complete collapse of order.

Supermarkets, convenience stores, vegetable markets, and malls were quickly looted clean, followed by hospitals, schools, office buildings, and even every fridge and storage cabinet within residences.

No refuge would risk their safety to open gates and take them in, and besides, it was not possible, while the completely paralyzed transportation made it very hard for these people to leave.

Even two hundred years later, today, bullet holes in walls and shattered glass still bore witness to the tragedies that had happened here.

Some display windows, shelves, and even trash cans still held skeletons that hadn't completely decomposed.

"Damn... this is too tragic."

Watching a large and a small skeleton curled up together, Garbage-kun couldn't bear to look and closed the lid of the open trash bin.

Night Ten's reaction was comparatively calm; after all, this was not his first time venturing out with Chu Guang, and he had long been accustomed to the situation here, even acting like an old player commenting on it.

"To be fair, the game's scenery design is pretty spot-on... like it's really the world after the apocalypse."

"This indeed is the world after the apocalypse."

Chu Guang commented casually, carefully observing the situation inside the shop window, and made a mark on a paper map.

This should have been a clothing store.

But few clothes remained on the shelves, and the only two tattered pieces hanging there were covered in dark mold.

Clearly, scavengers had visited here long ago.

And not just once.

"…I think we're wasting our time," sighed Night Ten, "Clearly, everything here has been scavenged."

"There's always something useful to find… like this thing." Chu Guang found an unopened sewing kit from behind an almost shattered cabinet and tossed it to Night Ten.

The needle should be made of an alloy, and the thread probably synthetic silk. The unopened package meant no oxidation, it could be used not just two hundred years later, but even another two hundred after that.

These small tools were exactly what the outpost was most in need of.

Teng Teng would be interested in it.

With nothing left to search, the group was ready to leave the shop.

However, just at that moment, a shrill scream came from the distance, followed by two gunshots.

By the sound of it, they were 5mm bullets.

Chu Guang became instantly alert, took down the iron pipe rifle from his back, crouched, and hid in the shadow at the base of the wall, carefully looking toward the source of the sound.

At the street corner under a crooked billboard, a man in a gray coat lay on the ground having been shot, moving backwards with a look of horror.

Blood seeped out from his back, staining the ground.

"...Scavenger?"

Before long, another figure rounded the corner.

A gunman wearing a beast skin coat, biting a cigarette stub, holding a makeshift iron pipe rifle in his hand, walked towards the man lying on the ground, begging for mercy.

Behind him was another person and a dog.

The comrade also held a rifle of similar design, with a firefighter's axe hanging at his waist and a dog on a leash on the other side.

Chu Guang's pupils contracted slightly.

It took less than a second for him to quickly determine the identity of the two men.

Looters!

"What's happening outside?" Night Ten came up from behind, keeping his voice low.

He thought he was being quiet, but his skulking skills were still far from perfect.

"Shh!"

Just as Chu Guang managed to make a silencing gesture, the mutated hyena, its neck strapped with an iron chain, instantly turned its head and barked twice in their direction.

Chu Guang's expression changed instantly.

Fuck!

Had this beast pumped all its skill points into Perception?!

In a flash, the two looters turned their heads toward them, reacting extremely swiftly, lifting their rifles to fire.

Pop, pop!

Two consecutive gunshots rang out, and Chu Guang quickly ducked his head back, but he soon realized he had been overly concerned.

That homemade DIY rifle probably had no rifling.

At the distance of a street away, the shots simply went wide, and as expected, the bullets didn't even come close to the door beside him, all falling on the concrete road.

"An exchange of fire?! What's going on?! Did we run into Mutants?!" Garbage-kun, hiding inside the shop, was not at all panicked; in fact, he rubbed his hands together with excitement.

Night Ten was the same, pulling out a javelin at the first opportunity.

"Don't panic, everyone, let me take a look—"

"What's there to look at?!"

Seeing that neither of the two fellows knew fear, Chu Guang felt his nose almost go crooked with irritation. He freed a hand and pressed down on Night Ten's head, pushing him back.

"It's Looters! Two people, both armed, and with a dog! Retreat through the back door, we'll meet up in front of the bus stop, three hundred meters to the direct south—"

"Respected Manager, sir, why should we retreat? They're only two people and a beast, we don't have fewer people than they do!" Garbage-kun clenched his fists tightly, "We can fight too!"

"That's right! We can fight!"

Night Ten, also excited, picked up the crossbow that the Manager had just discarded, and declared with high morale, "We only have one gun, but we also have Molotov Cocktails… and this two-meter-tall Lizard, I don't believe it can't beat a dog."

Hearing this, Chu Guang, who had been tense, suddenly snapped back to reality.

Yeah.

Why run?

It was normal for him to hide when he used to be out alone, with his life hanging by a thread in the wilderness, encountering such ruthless bandits.

Now armed with guns and people, there was no damn reason to run!

Especially since there were only two of them on the other side.

Chu Guang was quick to react, making his decision on the spot, and racking the bolt to chamber a round.

Screw them!

"You, take the Molotov Cocktails and go over there." Chu Guang tossed the Molotov Cocktails and matches to Night Ten and pointed toward the diagonal corner of the street.

"Listen for my command. When you hear my gun, light it and throw!"

The enemies didn't know how many people were on Chu Guang's side. Seeing someone rushing out would definitely provoke a chase.

Night Ten was stunned upon receiving the Molotov Cocktails.

"How am I supposed to get over there?"

"Run over, what else? You want me to carry you? Don't worry, their guns don't have rifling; they won't hit you." Saying this, Chu Guang pushed him forward.

Night Ten staggered to the doorway.

His heart racing, but considering this could be an opportunity to show off in front of Manager, he clenched his teeth and steeled himself to go.

Damn it.

All in!

Afraid of what in the Game?

As expected, just as Chu Guang had anticipated, when the Looters saw Night Ten rushing out of the shop, they immediately started yapping and shot at him twice.

"Haha, my little treasure, where are you running off to?"

"Give up, you can't escape. Surrender now, and you can still save your life!"

Night Ten couldn't understand what these people were saying, only feeling bullets whiz past his scalp.

He did not dare to stop for even a moment, nor did he dare to raise his head, charging headlong into a shop on the other side of the street.

The Looters exchanged glances, grinned wickedly, and advanced with guns ready, one after the other, releasing the dog chain.

No gun on him.

He must be a Scavenger picking through trash nearby.

Crushing a Scavenger was as insignificant to them as stepping on a cockroach.

Hidden inside the shop, Chu Guang remained motionless, quietly waiting for the right moment.

As the barking grew closer, he suddenly lunged out halfway, aimed at the charging mutated hyena, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The 9mm bullet burst forth, at less than five meters away there was no chance to dodge, and it pierced through the beast's flank—

Though Chu Guang had aimed for its head.

The hyena didn't even have time to cry out before it collapsed to the ground and rolled two meters, motionless.

The Looter who had rushed closer was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting the opponent to also have a gun.

By the time he regained his senses, his longstanding companion was already dead, and his expression twisted in rage.

"I'm going to skin you alive!"

"Jon, keep your cool! There's more than one person on their side—"

Before he could finish his words, a Molotov Cocktail was thrown his way, striking and shattering on the wrecked vehicle behind them.

The flames shot up along with the spread of glass shards.

Seeing that the other side had Molotov Cocktails as well, the Looters scrambled to evade, contemplating retreat. But with the fire blocking their escape, they found themselves trapped, unable to advance or retreat.

That's when one of the Looters caught a glimpse of a horrifying figure under the eaves of the shops on the street corner out of the corner of his eye.

It was a lizard with dark green skin.

Or rather, a humanoid lizard.

"A monster—"

Swish—!

A whooshing sound cut short his words as a javelin hurled directly at him pierced through his chest, pinning him against the burning wreckage behind him.

Until the last moment of his life, he couldn't understand why a creature that looked like a Variant was mingling with Scavengers.

He had heard of people taming mutated hyenas as pets, and even of those who kept bears and horses, but it was his first time hearing that someone could tame something like this.

That was too absurd!

Chapter 32 The Talent Carved into One's Bones

The construction site on the old sanatorium grounds.

Dust swirled, the sound of hammering was incessant, and the noise of unloading went clink and clank, creating a scene of bustling enthusiasm.

These players seemed to have boundless energy and passion, pushing carts they had picked up from the abandoned construction site, one load after another of stones, transported to the cement kiln to be smashed with hammers, then poured into the kiln and calcined into the raw material for cement.

Players squatting nearby energetically operated the bellows, striving to make the kiln's fire burn even more fiercely. Not far away was the constantly operating charcoal kiln, and beyond that, a kiln for smoking meat and a fish-smoking rack, with rising smoke and noise that even chased the birds from the trees.

Together, the players poured the burned cement into sand and water, mixing it into a thick cement slurry, quickly completing the foundation for the first section of the wall.

Wisps of blue smoke joined together in blankets.

This place was like a nascent tribe, young and full of vigor.

Having left the construction site to [Spare people under the knife], who had a civil engineering background, Old White and Fang Chang had already begun to study "primitive methods of smelting."

Moreover, Wild Wind had also improved the fish traps, using Mutated Leech larvae as bait, easily catching a dozen fish a day without any problems. The excess was handed over to Brother Stir-Fry Egg to be made into dried fish.

The lake's bounty was even richer than he had imagined.

The only thing to watch out for was not to put too much bait in the traps, and not to set them too deep, otherwise large fish could easily break the traps.

But these were minor issues.

As long as one mastered the tricks, everything would gradually become second nature, and the process itself was full of fun.

It was the same for the new players.

There was no need to deliberately look for it; everything here was so novel to them, an experience nearly impossible to have in modern society.

Many people sat in offices all day long, day after day, taking on work that anyone could replace, losing themselves in the minutiae.

But this place was different.

This difference came not just from the novelty of the moment but also from a sense of satisfaction in realizing one's self-worth.

The civil-engineering dog who hadn't made it into management even after five or six years on the construction site only had to shout, "I'm in engineering," to be immediately revered by other players and entrusted with important tasks.

And there were the workers who mixed cement and plastered walls.

Most of the players were ordinary people whose jobs in reality might not be so remarkable, but here, as long as you had some skills, you could receive collective recognition without even needing to be particularly outstanding.

And because of each individual's efforts, the surface outpost of the shelter was visibly improving.

In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, this was the highest level; it was beyond any low-level interest, and the spiritual pleasure it brought was incomparable to any other interest.

The key was that acquiring it did not require a great cost. Even if you were tired to the point of muscle soreness, it was just the character in the game who was tired, not affecting the next day's life.

Instead, going to bed early meant you would be even more energetic the next day.

All of the above was just Chu Guang's wild guess when he returned to the outpost with his loot and saw the players so busy.

Of course, he couldn't possibly know what the players were thinking.

For the Manager, such things were utterly unimportant and not a concern.

As long as the number of players making reservations always exceeded the list, there was no need to worry about running out of fresh recruits to sweat in toil.

Giving up the game?

AFK?

The same old saying applied: please leave your helmet and account to those in need, and try a more primitive gaming method.

Back to the main point.

The outing this time was quite fruitful.

Two 5mm steel pipe rifles, 62 rounds of 5mm ammunition, and three backpacks that hadn't been searched yet.

These were all found on the two Looters and the unlucky soul they had chased to death.

Chu Guang was a man who disliked waste, including the Mutated Hyena that had been shot in the neck, which he took as well.

Taming did not affect its taste, after all, to Chu Guang, it was all Variants.

He handed the Mutated Hyena over to Brother Stir-Fry Egg, the cook, and then Chu Guang started searching through the backpacks he had found with Night Ten and Trash Lord, two other players.

"Matches, a compass, a map, and... some dried meat? And some plastic chips? What's written on these things?"

Hearing Night Ten's muttering, Trash Lord, with his not-so-nimble paws, also came over and took a curious look, pinching one of the chips closer for examination.

"Sort of looks like gambling chips from a casino."

"Give me the plastic chips, I can use them."

Chu Guang calmly confiscated the twenty-odd white "plastic chips"; anyhow, these things were useless to other players.

Then, he turned to the dried meat that Night Ten had in his hand.

"...Forget the dried meat, I suggest you don't eat it."

Night Ten, who was about to take a bite, froze.

"Why?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and chose his words carefully.

"Looters usually aren't picky eaters. You can't be sure what kind of meat that is."

Trash Lord hadn't figured it out yet, but Night Ten had already tossed the dried meat aside in disgust.

Even in a game, he couldn't accept certain realities.

Seeing Night Ten's reaction, Chu Guang became curious about how these players thought, so he turned to Trash Lord and asked.

"What does it feel like to kill someone?"

Trash Lord was taken aback, scratching his head.

"I didn't notice..."

What feelings could a game evoke? He had played gorier games than this before.

The blood effects in this Game weren't particularly exaggerated, which is why he hadn't paid them much attention at that moment.

However...

As he rushed forward and plunged the javelin into the chest of the last Looter, blood splattered onto him, and in that instant, he suddenly felt a craving to eat.

It was like a biological instinct.

Chu Guang looked at the "Lizard man" with some surprise, not expecting this player's psychological resilience to be unexpectedly strong.

Could it be that dreams diminished the sensation of death?

Or perhaps the players had a kind of filter in their view of this world that he didn't understand.

It wasn't clear.

After all, this device wasn't designed by Chu Guang, and he had never used the helmets of the players, nor did he know if the world they saw was the same as the one he saw.

It looked like he would need to talk more with the players, using his identity as a planner...

...

By five o'clock in the afternoon, the Enclosing Wall on the north side of the sanatorium was basically repaired.

It had to be said, these players were simply geniuses.

Chu Guang even felt that his NPC was redundant.

Some Talents, although not written on the Attribute Panel, were etched in their bones; given a piece of land, they could turn it into a field by tomorrow.

Even if the server reset and the world was destroyed tomorrow, they could rebuild it, brick by brick.

The treasures on the construction site were not just those gray-blue pebbles but also the mountains of cement chunks wrapped in burlap sacks.

These things were too heavy, ordinary survivors couldn't carry them or make use of them, so they remained as they were at the outset of the nuclear war.

Although the cement had long since hardened and could no longer be mixed with sand to pour foundations, if you changed your thinking, using it directly as blocks to build the Wall was excellent.

At least, much more reliable than the yellow mud bricks that Old White had fired!

Under the lead of "Spare people under the knife," players drove four to five meter long pine logs into the earth, stacking the cement chunks brought over from the construction site in the middle, then inserting rebar stolen from the construction site to secure it, and finally pouring on a mix of calcium carbonate cement.

Once the cement dried, a simple but sturdy concrete fortification was completed.

As for the inside of the Wall, they used cement chunks and concrete waste to build a slope.

If attacked, players inside the Wall could simply crawl on the slope and take advantage of the cover to retaliate against the invaders.

Considering the further expansion of the Outpost in the future, another line of defensive works could be built on the outside of the Fortress, in conjunction with sentry posts and watchtowers for alert.

"... The terrain of Wetland Park is relatively flat overall, and the area around the sanatorium is even more of a wooded plain with no steep slopes to serve as cover. I could chop down the trees around here, so that we would be able to spot any targets approaching the Outpost at the first opportunity!"

"That's fine, bro, what exactly do you do in real life?" Old White looked at the new player beside him with surprise.

He had a bit of a rememberance of the ID "Spare people under the knife," but only a little; he remembered it was someone who joined the group some time ago.

He didn't expect that the small Game group actually harbored so many experts.

Spare people under the knife gave a shy smile, saying a bit abashedly.

"I'm just a civil engineering dog, a marginal figure in my unit. I spend my days drinking tea and reading newspapers, and hardly anyone gives me a second look."

"No, no, you did well! To be honest, I never thought that we'd finish an entire Wall today."

"Too kind, you're too kind!"

Evening had arrived, and the sky was tinged with yellow.

The player designated as chef, Egg Fry Brother, had set up a large pot in the Open Space in front of the sanatorium and threw in the fish that Wild Wind had caught from the lake to make a pot of pine nut fresh fish soup.

The players all sat down on the ground, each with a bowl, along with a piece of smoked meat. A spoonful of fish soup and a bite of meat made for a distinct flavor as they ate.

Of course.

Not everyone could adapt to this kind of flavor.

For example, Teng Teng, sitting on the ground, was holding her nose and looking at the bowl in her hands with a pained expression.

"Ugh, so fishy..."

Whether in the Game or in real life, she was very sensitive to smells and couldn't accept this heavy type of Cooking.

Egg Fry Brother, who was nearby, heard her and rolled his eyes.

"You think I want to... There's not even cooking wine here, I've done my best."

His expression clearly said, take it or leave it.

"Just make do with it. You'll go hungry in the Game if you don't eat," Night Ten also comforted from the side, "Why don't you pinch your nose and gulp it down? I can help."

Teng Teng scooted away.

"That won't be necessary."

Speaking of which, did NPCs need to eat?

Teng Teng glanced around and noticed that the Manager was also near.

However, he had not dined with the players, only staying for a while before hurrying off again.

And when he returned, not a few players who were close saw that his face was ashen, and he seemed to be in a bad mood.

The players stirred.

Old White, noticing the situation not far away, became curious and put down his bowl, standing up from the ground.

He walked quickly forward and pulled aside Wild Wind, who was nearby, to ask.

"Brother, what happened?"

Wild Wind looked grave and spoke in a heavy tone.

"I heard..."

"Apparently, someone died."

Chapter 33: The First Blood!

"Dead, someone died?!"

Old White was dumbfounded, unable to regain his senses for a while.

But when he recovered, his first reaction was, "Can people even die in this game?"

Logically speaking, unless one actively seeks death or acts recklessly, it's quite difficult to die in this game.

Not just Old White, Chu Guang was also puzzled.

He hadn't expected that the third batch of players had just logged in when they suddenly encountered a non-combat reduction in their numbers, at least half a month earlier than he had anticipated...

The player who died had the ID "Crow," with a "Perception " gene sequence, and her talent was Toxin Intuition.

Chu Guang remembered sending her out in the morning to gather berries and edible mushrooms, but somehow, she ended up near the mutated leech nest.

Checking the player list, Chu Guang could determine the players' general locations, and as he explored, he found her last active area was beyond the mutated leech nest and immediately gave up the idea of recovering the body.

Young mutated leeches were bearable; their mouthparts had degenerated, and even sucking blood was difficult for them. They mostly fed on decaying food, and occasionally, wasteland cockroaches and rats gnawed at them, or diligent players would capture them for nesting.

However, adult mutated leeches were a different matter.

These creatures would swallow their prey whole, and their anesthetic digestive fluids would relax the prey's muscles within a minute, causing them to lose consciousness within minutes.

There was no doubt that not even bones could be found now.

Anyway, it was also time to log out.

Chu Guang took the players back to the shelter in batches, settled them back into their sleep cabins to log out, then he returned alone to the surface and came by the Active Substance Extractor.

A layer of dust had settled on the cylindrical extraction furnace. Chu Guang hadn't used it once since getting it, as there was no electricity.

What was particularly annoying was that although the cultivation chambers had a wireless charging interface compatible with the shelter, the device earned from the reward lacked one, having only a plug with positive and negative poles.

Clearly, the device's designer did not intend to allow him to steal electricity from the shelter.

"Xiao Qi,"

"What is it, Master?"

"How should the synthetic substance generated by this device be injected into the cultivation chamber?" Chu Guang asked, stroking his chin.

"It's quite simple, the active substance storage tanks of the cultivation chambers are removable; just pour the active substance into them, and that should work, right?"

Chu Guang, pondering, nodded slightly, then suddenly changed the subject.

"That means… it's also possible to remove the storage tanks from other cultivation chambers?"

Xiao Qi paused.

"Uh, I don't know, Master, you wouldn't be thinking of stealing…"

"It's borrowing,"

Chu Guang interrupted Xiao Qi, speaking decisively, "We can't get our hands on a generator until the end of the month, and I can't wait until then to revive a dead player."

"There are still 70 unopened cans anyway, just sitting there. We might as well use the active substance in them for now."

Xiao Qi whispered.

"But... what if we run out?"

Chu Guang didn't hesitate.

"We'll think of a solution when the time comes; let's solve the immediate problem first."

There are always more solutions than problems.

Increasing the death penalty or imposing extra penalties for consecutive deaths could curb the players' curiosity a bit.

Once more players join, maybe create a "Novice Village" where players below level five aren't allowed to leave to prevent wastage—there are plenty of methods available.

Chu Guang still couldn't understand what this player named Crow was thinking. Everyone else aside, she was, after all, a Perception-type.

When he returned to the shelter later, he planned to talk to her in his capacity as a former planner.

However, the main issue wasn't how she died but that the dead player was a newbie with no Contribution Points to deduct.

In other words, she couldn't afford the death penalty.

This was a bit troublesome.

It wasn't like they could just say to owe it.

What would other players think? Wouldn't they all let loose?

"…Seems like we need to set up compulsory labor or penalty tasks, as substitutes for the death penalty when it can't be paid."

"Hmm, there's also a drop in affection level, and extending the revival cooldown for consecutive deaths."

There are always more solutions than difficulties.

Having returned to the shelter with Xiao Qi, Chu Guang first compiled and summarized today's work outcomes in a computer document.

That was a habit he had developed recently.

With more and more players joining, the daily changes in inventory were significant.

As the Manager, he had to plan and coordinate every item of inventory.

When there was a shortage of wood, he mobilized players to cut trees, and when there was a shortage of food, he got everyone to go out hunting and gathering to ensure that construction and production could proceed smoothly without stalling due to a shortage of any resources.

"Building materials inventory includes 84 logs, 500 kg of carbon, 500 kg of calcium carbonate cement, two stacks of yellow clay bricks, and several hardened cement blocks. As for consumption... 220 logs were used, the cement produced during the day was almost depleted, with an additional 200 kg consumed from the stock."

"Approximately."

"Food inventory includes 50 kg of smoked meat, 10 kg of smoked fish... as well as 2 kg of edible roots, and a small amount of raspberry berries. About 10 kg of smoked meat was consumed, and pine nut fresh fish soup was made for dinner without using the stock of smoked fish."

"Maybe I should hire a Warehouse Manager."

He also needed to get a more accurate scale and measuring tools.

Chu Guang took some time, and according to the statistical information provided by Xiao Qi, he allocated Contribution Points to each player's personal account based on actual data.

New players mainly earned Contribution Points by moving bricks, calculated at 10 points per hour, which were mostly divided between the numbers 90 and 100.

Only Teng Teng was still at 0 Contribution Points.

However, making clothes was a technical job, especially with materials that had never been used before, and it would definitely take some time to get the hang of it.

Once she fully adapted to the local tools and materials, he believed her Contribution Points would grow rapidly like a snowball.

After distributing the players' rewards,

Chu Guang then opened the System and confirmed the rewards for today's daily tasks.

[Task: Cut down ten trees, Reward: 1 reward point]

[Task: Kill a Variant, Reward: 3 reward points]

[Task: Collect 1 ton of stone, Reward: 1 reward point]

[Task: Store 10 kg of food, 1 reward point]

A total of 6 reward points.

In reality, the players had completed well beyond the daily task requirements, but those were the easy reward points available each day.

Chu Guang calculated the reward points earned in the previous days, and including today's points, he had a total of 17 points.

"Let's take a gamble!"

After a bit of thought, Chu Guang, who had opened the [Manager's Allowance] subpage, spent 10 points on an intermediate blind box and the remaining 7 points on basic blind boxes.

Soon, the wall trembled.

As the alloy door opened, the rewards from the blind boxes rolled out on the conveyor belt.

[Nanoscale Therapeutic Needle: Mainly used for non-lethal injuries, can enhance tissue repair in a short time to accelerate wound healing.]

"This thing must have come from the intermediate blind box."

Specific efficacy was not listed, side effects unknown, active ingredients and mechanism of action were also not indicated, same as the previous Enhancing Needle—a product with no information provided.

Chu Guang wasn't injured now, so he temporarily stored the therapeutic needle in a drawer of his computer desk and looked at the other rewards.

As expected, five out of the seven rewards were lollipops.

One of them was orange-flavored, like the previous chocolate-flavored one, with a 10-hour attribute enhancement buff, but instead of strength, it boosted Constitution.

The other two items were a 200g bar of chocolate and a 230g box of canned beef.

Emmm…

The chocolate should be edible, but was the canned beef really okay?

If Chu Guang remembered correctly, canned food was invented during the Napoleonic wars in the 1800s. This old can of beef might be older than the museum antiques from his original world...

"Never mind... I'll find a player to try it and see if it's edible."

Chu Guang hesitated for a long time and finally decided to invite a player with high favorability to a meal when the players logged in tomorrow.

Such a good offer was unlikely to be refused.

After confirming all rewards,

Chu Guang returned to his computer desk, sat down, didn't immediately start the group chat, but rather opened the official forum to look for a player with the ID "Crow."

He had expected it to take some effort, but as soon as he opened the forum, he saw this ID on the homepage, with comments in nearly a hundred layers under the post.

"Wuwuwu, it's my fault for being reckless, I shouldn't have taken the risk! Please, dear Planner, have mercy, I didn't do it on purpose, please don't ban my device! QAQ"

Banning the device?

That seemed excessive.

Just having read the title, Chu Guang didn't understand what exactly had happened, until he read through the entire post and finally understood the situation.

This guy…

Really knew how to court death.

Chapter 34 We are a Proper Company

Post Content:

[I admit it! I really did have an itchy finger! But I couldn't help it; blame it on that "Toxin Intuition" talent. Anything poisonous just glows green in my eyes; it's like an OCD nightmare!]

What the fuck?

Chu Guang was first stunned, then completely taken aback.

"You can identify it with the naked eye? That's so niubi."

But what exactly are the criteria for something to be considered "poisonous"? Is there a dosage limit? And what about the activation mechanism of this talent?

I don't get it…

Chu Guang decided to put aside the things he couldn't understand for the moment and continued reading.

The post went on to say.

[...According to the task given by the Manager, I started off picking mushrooms and raspberries in the forest. Thanks to the effects of my character's talent, I could identify almost all the poisonous berries and mushrooms, so it was pretty efficient. I picked several plastic buckets full in a short while.]

[I figured I'd gathered everything near the sanatorium and decided to walk further to see. While walking, I came across a place that looked like a parking lot with plenty of mushrooms. I picked quite a lot, and just as I was about to go back, I suddenly saw a large, tall concrete pipe, kind of like a sewer entrance, with a big patch of green light coming out of it!]

[At the time I didn't think too much and just figured with so many mushrooms inside, why not check it out. I could identify the poisonous ones anyway, so I thought I'd just avoid them and that would be that.]

[Plus, I didn't see any dangerous monsters around, so I went over, stuck my head in to take a look... I swear, I really just glanced inside!]

[And then the horrifying thing happened!]

[A lump of flesh... I don't know what kind of flesh, but it smashed right onto my face. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe, couldn't open my eyes, and soon I couldn't even move; it felt like I was swallowed by something?]

[In any case, although there was no pain, the experience was truly awful! Almost in the instant I lost consciousness, I suddenly woke up in reality, and everything that had just happened felt like a nightmare.]

[At first, I thought I had been disconnected, so I quickly put the helmet back on to reconnect, but then I saw the words "Connection Interrupted" inside the helmet, which then changed to "Restricted Login." No matter what I did, I couldn't log back in. Wuu wuu wuu.]

Niubi!

Just giving it away for free, huh...

After reading the post, Chu Guang was dumbfounded.

This player was truly brave, literally sticking their face into the bushes. He definitely wouldn't dare to do something like that.

The netizens below the post were not very friendly either.

Some had already gotten the closed beta test qualification and were simply there for the show, but even more were those who couldn't reserve a spot at all, unanimously condemning this shameful waste of opportunity.

You know, the resurrection CD is at least three days!

Such a giveaway means a direct loss of three days of game time!

What else good could have been done in that time?

Night Ten: [Your head is gone, but you're still okay? Headless Sister? (Funny)]

Quit Smoking: [What the fuck?! That's it? That's it? If you really can't play, please donate your gaming spot to someone who needs it! Damn! T.T]

Debt Giant Eye: [That's pretty itchy hands, isn't it just a giveaway? Why not leave it to me!]

Elena: [Keep updating! Can you talk about what it felt like to be eaten? (Funny)]

All the good names were taken by dogs: [After you said that, my mind wandered, bro, let me have a word with you. (Funny)]

The thread probably started to go south from there.

A nice request for help, and no one really cared if her problem got resolved or not.

In the end, maybe because the officials didn't engage, and the netizens had filthy mouths, the post gradually turned into the original poster alone, angrily clashing with everybody in the thread.

This little player was quite venomous as well, obviously a seasoned troll.

Chu Guang couldn't watch any longer, so he locked her post and popped a private message to her.

"Hello, I am the game designer for Wasteland OL, we have received your feedback. According to the game's death penalty settings, you need to wait 72 hours to be resurrected. Please be patient and wait for the resurrection CD to end, and then you can log back into the game."

Crow: "Ah? I have to wait three days... can't it be changed to one day? I can recharge, just tell me how much."

Chu Guang: "It's not a question of money."

Crow: "Can't we make an exception? Please, I beg you, planner bro, I really didn't mean to do it—just help me out. Oh, and what's your QQ number? Can I add you? Typing here is such a hassle, let's chat on QQ. (pitiful)"

Chu Guang: "Rules are rules, and I can't help you with this."

Crow: "Really, no exceptions at all? (pitiful)"

Chu Guang, unmoved, continued to pick at the details.

"My words aren't finished; besides the resurrection cooldown, dying for the first time in the Game will also deduct 500 Contribution Points from a player."

Crow: "My Contribution Points will be deducted too?! But, but I don't have that many..."

Chu Guang: "The troublesome part lies here: you currently have only 30 Contribution Points, earned from gathering tasks, and these points are far from enough to cover the death penalty."

Crow: "What if it's not enough? (nervous)"

Chu Guang: "The current setting will affect the NPC's evaluation of that player; in other words, you'll lose favorability."

Crow: "Lose favorability?! No! QAQ"

Scared now?

What were you doing earlier?

"Clearly, you haven't grasped the severity of the problem. Imagine this: the character you're playing is shouldering the mission to save civilization. Yet, as a human elite sent to the surface to support the construction, not only have you failed to create any value, you've caused such a huge nuisance for everyone. Don't you feel the slightest bit guilty?"

Haven't even earned 500 freeloading coins and just wasted a whole can of active substance on you.

Shameful, isn't it!

Crow: "But, but this is just a game..."

"Yes, a game, but it's not just your game," Chu Guang typed righteously, "You must have played murder mystery games before."

Crow: "Played, I've played them..."

Chu Guang: "This is like a game for 30 people, where 29 players are taking it seriously, but there's one who is fooling around—and with a role card at that. You'd know how detrimental such behavior is to other players."

Actually, it's not so exaggerated—he's just a newbie, after all; dying is just dying. But Chu Guang felt they wouldn't learn their lesson if he didn't react at all.

They needed some education!

But perhaps he had been too harsh, and this little player had too thin a skin, or maybe they had been truly burnt by a murder mystery game in real life.

Sitting in front of the computer, Crow was nearly crying, typing apologies desperately.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's my fault! It's all on me! QAQ"

A string of messages flooded the chat window, making Chu Guang, ready to continue typing, feel a bit embarrassed.

It almost felt like he was gaslighting her.

Forget it...

It's not important.

Chu Guang: "No need to apologize to me, I am just explaining the game's penalty system to you and why such settings were made. Later, you can post in your thread about this too, I'll unlock the thread."

Chu Guang: "Also, I must emphasize again that Wasteland OL is positioned as a hardcore game. At least in the early stages of the game, there won't be many casual elements. This was decided when we designed the entire game framework. If you really can't accept the setting, we suggest you switch to another game or wait for the open beta version to play when the content is richer."

Crow: "No, I want to play! I'd die without my helmet! QAQ"

Crow: "Um, planner bro, I have no more concerns about the death penalty, what can I do to regain lost favorability? Would it help if I admitted my mistakes proactively after resurrection? QAQ"

Chu Guang: "It might help, but it won't be very significant. The Manager's AI personality and behavior logic are set to be neutrally lawful; their evaluation is mainly based on whether a player's actions align with the shelter's overall interest. So to make amends, just show them your efforts and don't do those brainless things."

Crow: "I got it, um... may I make a small suggestion?"

Chu Guang: "Speak."

Crow: "Could you guys introduce some sort of in-game monetization? Like gift purchases that can increase favorability? I've seen other games like Big-Nosed Mole Manor... I can pay money to buy them!"

Chu Guang, with a head full of black lines, typed his response.

"My friend, you shouldn't always think about solving problems with money. We are a serious company!"

The person is gone, what's the use of money.

Can you burn it to spend?

Crow sat in front of the computer, startled; her hand paused on the keyboard, unable to wrap her head around what was happening.

A legitimate company...

Isn't that just a money pit?

It has to be disreputable if it's not asking for money...

Closing the web page, Chu Guang set aside the little gamer's issue for the moment and logged into his Penguin account.

Interestingly, the Ox and Horse Club group was just discussing that post on the official website.

Seems like everyone's pretty concerned about the death penalties in the Game.

Spare people under the knife: [Played it, I gotta be honest, this Game is niubi, I take back what I said, I am convinced!]

Grandpa Ao: [Holy crap, even you with the bushy eyebrows have been bought by Dog Management???]

("Grandpa Ao" has been muted by the admin for 1 hour.)

Night Ten: [Dog barking again?]

Old White: [Cut the crap, did you guys see that post on the official website? The one about the person who died today.]

Night Ten: [Saw it, the ID is Crow, the one with the 180cm long legs! Admin, hurry and figure out a way to add her to the group. (Amused)]

Old White: [Get lost, go do it yourself.]

Fang Chang: [Finished reading the post, I've summarized three points: 1. Losing consciousness or dying in the game causes a forced disconnection. 2. They did remove the excessive pain, which matches my previous tests; gotta say, the game officials are pretty astute! It doesn't feel unreal at all if there's no sensation, and too much pain might drive players away, the balance is just right now! But I still say, it'd be nice if we could adjust it ourselves. (Grinning teeth)]

Night Ten: [And the third point??]

Wild Wind: [Let me add that, don't do stupid stuff, and you won't die.]

Fang Chang: [Correct.]

Quit Smoking: [I vomit, why can't I make it through the appointment process, I really want to play the Game! T.T]

Old White: [Err, why don't you butter up Brother Guang?]

Quit Smoking: [I tried, he told me to wait. T.T]

Night Ten: [Condolences.]

Old White: [Eh? That bad, huh? Did you secretly diss him? That old chap does hold grudges, I heard he's a Scorpio.]

Quit Smoking: [No way, where would I dare to diss him! I'm Brother Guang's most loyal bootlicker!!! T.T]

Old White: [That's strange then, I'll ask about it for you one of these days.]

Fang Chang: [By the way, has Pick up Trash 99 Level logged on yet?]

Night Ten: [Not sure, shall I @ him for you?]

Old White: [@[Pick up Trash 99 Level].]

Pick up Trash 99 Level: [Ahem, what's up? I'm in the group.]

Watering the group chat isn't as interesting as lurking.

Besides, in a group with acquaintances, a newbie who has just joined the group a few days ago rarely finds an opportunity to butt in.

Fang Chang: [I noticed your character is a Lizard Man, when you take off the headset and return to reality, do you feel anything off? Like something out of sync?]

Chu Guang, similarly lurking, became interested upon seeing this.

He was curious too, what it felt like for the players who entered the game as Lizard Men.

Especially with the switch from a small tail to a big one, he wondered if they got used to it.

Pick up Trash 99 Level: [Uhh...doesn't seem like it? Feels pretty good actually, the athletic abilities in the game are crazy strong and the reactions too, nothing seems off after logging out. But there is one thing I'm not quite used to, in the game I always want to eat raw meat, and seeing blood makes me feel all pumped up, but once the headset comes off, it's all gone, truly amazing.]

Fang Chang: [Damn! Why are they allowed to choose non-human characters, and I can't even make a female account!]

Wild Wind: [Ahem, stay rational, brother.]

Old White: [That kind of talk is a bit frightening.]

Fang Chang: "Scram! I just wanted to see what it feels like, purely curious, you know what I mean."

Night Ten: "No, no, no, we don't get it."

Wild Wind: "Speaking of which, Night Ten still has to pick up trash today. When you two went hunting with the Manager, did you run into any Looters?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Yes! There were two Looters and a tamed mutated hyena. They were executing a Scavenger when we found them, and that guy had already been killed in the plot! After that, we killed the two Looters and took their gear."

Fang Chang: "Tamed? So, Variants can be tamed. I wonder if players will be able to have pets in the future... I guess this is probably a hint from the developers. (strokes chin)"

Wild Wind: "You killed an NPC?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Well, it was the Manager who ordered the attack... That shouldn't count as a violation of the Resident handbook, right? I even checked afterwards; it only stipulates that attacking neutral or friendly NPCs is prohibited."

Night Ten: "Uh, I think those were spawn monsters, not NPCs? But man, the bleeding effect was... kinda realistic. I almost thought someone really died."

Chu Guang fell into thought upon reading this.

He had previously speculated whether the world the players saw was through some kind of filter, and now it seemed quite possible.

However, this filter was not necessarily one from a beauty camera app, but more likely a sort of conceptual blurring.

It was similar to how the system handled pain.

The brain would block out pain that exceeded certain limits, and sensory overload beyond the tolerance level would likely also undergo "emotional dampening" treatment.

Otherwise, if it triggered the brain's "meltdown mechanism," wouldn't the player just wake up from the "nightmare" and the connection be interrupted?

Clearly, the designers of the system had thought of these details.

Having analyzed this, Chu Guang suddenly felt a hint of envy.

Back when he first came to the Wasteland, it had taken him a long time to overcome these psychological barriers.

Wild Wind: "Were they speaking Mandarin?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "They were talking weirdly, kind of like Chinese but not quite. I couldn't understand, so it must have been randomly generated by the program."

In films and games depicting alien planets or different worlds, similar settings often existed, creating a "foreign language" by jumbling up the normal word order of a sentence, or in some cases, completely made-up language.

Like the Simlish in The Sims with their "hmm and aha."

Pick up trash 99 level thought that Wasteland OL probably used a similar design.

From just this aspect, the game seemed pretty legit.

Fang Chang: "Well, the way they set up this plot is quite interesting. I feel like it's a reminder of the hidden dangers in this Wasteland. It's like the Mutant tribe we discovered earlier; it's all about creating a sense of crisis."

Night Ten: "Wait, you mean the plot isn't randomly generated?"

Fang Chang: "Everything you see has been programmed. There's no such thing as true randomness."

Old White: "I kind of agree with Fang Chang. It's just a coincidence that this happened on the day new players come online... feels a bit like intentional arrangement."

Fang Chang: "It's just a theory! But I think this plot can be seen as a sign that, as the scale of the Outpost expands and the overall strength of the players increases, the conflicts with other forces and Variants on the Wasteland will also intensify. Competing for survival resources and space could be the main theme of the next phase of the game."

Fang Chang: "We can actually start preparing for war now! I reckon, if things move quickly, after the 'Winter is Coming' expansion pack ends, the next one will be 'Stronghold Conflict'."

Wild Wind: "Niubi..."

Pick up trash 99 level: "6666, that analysis is spot on."

Night Ten: "Awesome, Brother Fang is really thinking on a stratospheric level!"

Quit smoking: "Damn! I really want to play! T.T"

Then the chat group members started discussing the primitive method of smelting and making gunpowder, while Chu Guang in front of the screen was gobsmacked.

Goodness, a place even he, the planner, had not considered, and this guy had it all figured out.

What a talent!

Chu Guang felt emotional, and he promptly copied and pasted the analysis made by this guy into a document to save it.

You guys are all right.

All Old Brother Dong indeed.

If anyone asked in the future, Chu Guang decided he'd just explain it this way.

Chapter 35 Please, Let Me Come Up and Move Bricks!

The number of players had increased from single to double digits, leading not only to increased productivity but also a slew of ensuing issues.

For example, the time spent online.

Chu Guang realized he had overlooked something—not everyone had to work or attend school during the day.

Especially within the single-player gaming community.

The most abundant type was probably those who were active online 24/7, making everyone wonder what they actually did for a living.

Staring at the screen until midnight, he forgot to shut down the computer.

Sitting in the chair and dozing off, Chu Guang was awakened in the middle of the night by the beeping of a private chat popup.

Damn it.

Who could it be this late at night...

Rubbing his eyes awake, Chu Guang squinted and opened the private message to find it was from the "Pick up trash 99 level" at the Niu Ma Club.

Pick up trash 99 level:[Brother Guang! When is the earliest I can log on!]

Pick up trash 99 level:[I can't wait any longer, please let me log in and work!]

Giao.

What kind of person is this?

Chu Guang hadn't fully woken up yet and took a while before he started typing a reply.

Guang:[I was just catching up on some sleep... Don't you have to work during the day??]

Pick up trash 99 level:[Hehe, work? This game will definitely make big money in the future! Better to seize the time to level up hehe!]

Chu Guang: "..."

Is it really okay to say those kinds of things in front of a planner?

Forget it.

Might as well pretend I didn't hear it.

Guang:[Take it easy, the public test date isn't out yet. It's possible that the closed testing could last a year or two, and the beta test even three to five years.]

Pick up trash 99 level:[It doesn't matter! A big company like yours isn't worried about going bankrupt, so why should I worry haha.]

His thinking was clear.

Even clearer than most players who had obtained the beta test qualification.

The other games currently on the market didn't stand a chance against this game; they were all trash.

Not to mention, just being able to free up the nighttime hours is already unbeatable.

Who would refuse an extra eight hours of life in a day?

A little tiring during the beta phase is nothing; it's not like it's going to be this tiring forever, or that you can keep working until the server closes, right? Only fools would think the beta content encompasses the entire game.

Trash Kun saw further.

Although he didn't know when the public test would be, as long as it started, success was guaranteed!

Getting to play early means earning early, being a day ahead of others meant having a day more of advantage, not to mention that the game itself was already addictive enough.

Guang:[…Up to you.]

Pick up trash 99 level:[Then, planner big brother, can you let me log on, hehe. I guarantee, whatever you guys need tested, I'll test it!]

Guang:[I can't control what you do, just follow the game rules. But... it's so late, don't you have nothing to do? The game time syncs with real time, it should still be nighttime in the game.]

This was also why Chu Guang hadn't let the survivors work at night.

Even he wouldn't dare stay outside for a night.

Pick up trash 99 level:[That's exactly why it's night! You might not know, but my genetic sequence in the game is that of a Variant! In strict terms, nighttime is actually my main stage, daytime is when I should be sleeping! Hehe, planner bro, just let me log in.]

Guang:[I'll apply for it.]

Pick up trash 99 level:[Thanks, Brother Guang!!!]

Chu Guang sighed, stood up from the chair, and straightened his slightly disheveled collar and buttons.

He had never seen such an enthusiastic player.

However, the guy's reasoning did make some sense.

Strictly speaking, night was indeed the domain of the Variants.

For "Pick up trash 99 level," a Lizard man, darkness might not necessarily mean danger but could offer camouflage instead.

With this in mind, Chu Guang opened the player list and switched Trash Bro's device from[Locked]to[Enabled].

Almost at the same time he made the adjustment, the sound of a cabin door opening came from the next room.

Good lord.

That was fast.

Seeing the Lizard man walking out of the room, Chu Guang composed his expression of surprise, folded his hands behind his back, and spoke sternly to him.

"Awake? You've come at the right time."

"I have a mission for you."

A mission triggered!?

Pick up trash 99 level stood at attention, brimming with energy.

"Please command, respected Manager."

Chu Guang got straight to the point.

"Directly across from the east gate of the Wetland Park, on Street No. 76, there's a Mutant tribe. We also spotted Looter activity along the northern outbound overpass during the day, and I suspect a Looter outpost might exist in the north."

"I need you to scout north along the outbound overpass and search for any survivor activity within a three-kilometer straight-line radius. If you find a suspected survivor base, mark it on the map and come back immediately to report."

"Remember to conceal yourself, avoid unnecessary combat."

"Additionally, if you come across a suitable target, you can take on a hunting side quest; rewards are valid at any time."

After hearing Chu Guang's command, the two-meter-tall man respectfully bowed his head.

"Understood, respected Manager, sir!"

It wasn't easy to get permission to go online.

Pick Up Trash 99 level didn't delay for a moment and after leaving the shelter, he stepped onto the elevator going to the surface and quickly disappeared into the night outside the sanatorium.

Chu Guang could sense the approximate location and distance of each player.

After confirming that Trash Brother didn't run off but followed his command to head north, Chu Guang returned to the shelter, closed the door, and sat down on the chair to continue napping.

...

The next day, just before six in the morning.

Except for Crow, who was still remaking a clone from yesterday, the other players had gradually emerged from the cultivation chambers.

As for Trash Brother who had gone out earlier, he hadn't returned yet.

However, Chu Guang could confirm through the player list that he was still alive, and he wasn't too far from Wetland Park.

"Respected Manager, sir, may I ask what the plans are for today?" Old White was the first to step forward and respectfully asked.

Although it was a redundant question, he would ask it daily.

Who knows, it might trigger some scenario?

And even if it didn't, it's like making one's presence felt in front of the Manager.

As usual, Chu Guang fulfilled his duty as an NPC, giving a routine answer.

"The tasks are the same as yesterday, they are all written on the notice board. Besides that, you can do as you please. The outpost urgently needs food and building materials... and defensive fortifications."

One side of the Outpost's enclosing wall was already fixed.

The remaining three walls would likely be completed within two days.

Chu Guang was now more concerned that the increasing activity at the outpost was alerting the mutant tribe on the east side of Street No. 76.

The entire outpost has only three guns, two of which were small 5mm pipes. Facing those green-skinned musclemen, we can't say we stand no chance, but we'd definitely take a beating, and probably only I could escape.

If those beasts caught us, it would really be a fate worse than death; usually, the mind would break before the body...

Of course, if the players were captured, they'd probably be force-disconnected, and whatever happened afterward, curious as we might be, we wouldn't feel it.

A group of players arrived at the surface in batches, spirited and ready to start a new day's work.

"Where's Mister Trash? Why don't I see him?" Night Ten looked around, realizing that the big lizard wasn't among the crowd.

Chu Guang glanced at him and said,

"He has already set off earlier, I have given him a special task."

Hearing this, the nearby players all showed envious expressions.

Special jobs really are different.

While they are still hauling bricks, that guy has already triggered a unique mission.

Damn Europeans!

"Night Ten, you and I will take a trip out later… and Fang Chang, you come too." Chu Guang thought for a long time and decided to bring along someone with brains.

Shock appeared on Fang Chang's face. He instantly abandoned Old White, who gave him a "melancholy" look, and trotted over eagerly.

Although he had agreed with Old White to research primitive methods of smelting before logging in, that couldn't compare to undertaking a mission with the BOSS.

Not to mention the generous rewards.

Just the fresh firsthand information was enough to excite him!

"Good buddy, wait for me to come back!"

"Get lost, don't come back."

Chu Guang didn't concern himself with the interaction between the two players. He took off the two 5mm pipe rifles he had been carrying on his back and tossed them respectively to Fang Chang and Night Ten.

At the same time, he distributed 20 bullets to them.

He didn't expect these two amateurs to hit anyone with those smoothbore guns, but in a critical moment, firing a couple of shots to intimidate the opponents and keep up appearances was useful.

And what if they did hit?

Even one successful shot would be a huge gain.

Of course, it would be best if no battle occurred.

"The safety is on the right side of the trigger. Get familiar with the placement, but don't fiddle with it unless I tell you to switch it off."

Watching the two players excitedly fiddling with their guns, Chu Guang paused, then continued,

"We're going to a nearby survivor base to exchange for some supplies needed by the outpost."

"Whatever happens, you must follow my command, remember not to act on your own, especially remember not to fire or engage in hostile actions without permission."

"Remember, we represent everyone from Shelter No. 404."

"Do you understand?"

"Understood, respected Manager, sir," Fang Chang excitedly stood straight and performed a botched and unstandardized military salute, "Your command is our mission!"

Night Ten was a bit slower in reacting, but his brain worked fast enough to mimic Fang Chang's salute quickly.

"I, same as him!"

Chu Guang: "…"

Where did they learn this from?

It's too cringeworthy when read out loud!

However, as the Manager, he certainly couldn't say such a thing. His control over the players, in a sense, correlated positively with the players' immersion.

The more the players identified with their identity as "residents of the refuge," the more likely they were to follow his commands instead of causing trouble.

"... Very good, full of spirit!"

Chu Guang coughed lightly and looked seriously towards the outside of the sanatorium.

"We need to carry 50 kilograms of smoked meat, 20 kilograms of smoked fish, 10 pieces of mutated hyena skin... and a cart for transportation."

"You two, go prepare together."

"We'll head out in ten minutes!"

Chapter 36: Brown Farmstead! A New NPC Stronghold!

Constructing Outpost Base required tools.

And the required quantity was not small.

For example, fire tongs and hammers for forging, axes for chopping trees, saws for breaking down the wood, and other small tools such as screwdrivers, screws, nails, wrenches, and so on.

Without tools, many tasks were either difficult to initiate or, even if they were initiated, the efficiency was extremely low.

For instance, the plastering knives used by players at Outpost Base to repair the walls were makeshift versions made of wood.

Actually, if it was the first few years of the Wasteland Era, these tools could have been easily found in hardware stores, department stores, repair shops, and the like.

Thanks to the advanced material technology before the war, these items were usually of very good quality.

However, two hundred years had passed by now, and the easily lootable places had long been picked clean. Places rich in resources like department supermarkets and repair shops were even, in the early years, simply the lairs of the survivors; it was impossible for much to be left.

But nothing is absolute.

Just like how scavengers could still find a tiny bit of pitiable materials on the Wasteland 211 years later today, there would always be some good things left behind by careless people.

These items were usually sold by scavengers to nearby survivor settlements, laid out on shelves as garbage for the passing commercial teams to select from.

Chu Guang's idea was very straightforward.

He planned to pull two players dressed as a commercial team and head to the nearby Brown Farm for a trade, exchanging the materials needed by the Outpost.

Before leaving, they changed into casual clothes they had picked up.

Chu Guang, with Night Ten and Fang Chang, set out from the southern gate of Wetland Park, avoided Street No.76, and, following the broken road, moved toward the southeast.

The distance to Bet Street and Brown Farm was almost the same from here, about three kilometers straight-line distance on the map, the only difference being that one was due south while the other was in the southeast direction.

The reasons for choosing Brown Farm were simple.

One was that no one there knew him or his background. Another was that the route to Brown Farm was a bit easier to travel; there would be relatively fewer ruins to traverse.

But even so, traveling on foot across the Wasteland in reality meant covering a distance far greater than just three kilometers.

The group of people walked and stopped along the way, avoiding impassable ruins, and had to be wary of Variants as well as survivors with bad intentions.

Finally, before nine in the morning, the group arrived near their destination.

At the end of the muddy road stood a spacious iron gate, flanked by enclosing walls constructed from concrete stones.

The enclosing wall was not high, just under three meters, with rows of aluminum canopy and steel bars on top, seeming to have been raised externally with industrial waste.

The dense bullet holes on the wall, and the gallows with skeletons hanging outside the wall, unmistakably declared that the people here were not to be trifled with.

From the road signs by the highway, it could be seen that before the war, this was a farm-style agritainment.

Various signs indicated that at the beginning of the collapse of order, survivors fleeing from the urban areas occupied this place.

Unlike Bet Street.

The owner of Brown Farm, Mr. Brown, was a real landlord, and unlike Bet Street, there were not many free citizens here.

Those living here had only two identities: either they were the farm owner's henchmen or serfs.

However, Chu Guang was not too worried about the other party harboring malicious intent — any force with two pieces of land to farm seldom initiated attacks on outsiders; after all, those wearing shoes always had to weigh whether it was worth bothering the barefooted.

They stopped about ten meters away from the iron gate.

Chu Guang raised his right fist, signaling the two players behind him to stop.

At the same time the group stopped, a dark barrel of a gun also protruded from between the aluminum plates on the enclosing wall.

Showing weapons meant there was no hostility.

It seemed this contact was successful, and Chu Guang slightly relaxed.

The man standing on the wall shouted in a fierce tone.

"Hey, hey, hey, stop! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"We mean no harm. We just want to trade some things with you," Chu Guang signaled the players behind him not to be nervous as he calmly looked at the man in front of him.

"Trade some things?"

The man quickly glanced at the handcart behind the three of them without moving his trigger finger away, still looking at Chu Guang with a suspicious gaze.

"I haven't seen you before, where are you from?"

Chu Guang brought out the story he had prepared in advance.

"We come from the Wasteland, we've recently migrated to this area."

The man hesitated as he asked,

"Nomads?"

Chu Guang shrugged, giving him an ambiguous answer.

"Depends on how you understand it."

Nomads were not uncommon in the Wasteland, particularly in the suburban regions; in fact, they could be considered quite common.

These people usually wouldn't enter urban areas, mainly roaming the wilderness between cities.

They did not engage in agriculture, living off herding and hunting instead, chase the tracks of Variants and beast swarms, relocating from one region to another. Occasionally, they would also trade like merchants, bartering hunted game and picked-up garbage for daily necessities.

Of course, they sometimes engaged in looting and plundering as well.

On the Wasteland, there were no absolute good or evil people; in certain environments and under specific conditions, anyone could become a Looter.

The man didn't immediately trust the three people at his door, but the guns in their hands made him reluctant to act rashly,
especially without knowing how many more were in their "tribe."

"What goods do you have, and what do you want to trade for?"

"50 kilograms of smoked meat, 20 kilograms of smoked fish, and 10 skins of mutated hyenas... we need hardware tools and grain grown from the fields. I promise we'll leave immediately after the trade is done, not staying a second longer."

Finally believing that these people were here to trade, the man slowly withdrew the gun barrel that was sticking out of the cover and warned,

"Wait here, I'll go back and ask for instructions."

"Please do."

After finishing his words, Chu Guang quietly stood in place waiting.

And the two players behind him were whispering to each other,

"This Survivor Settlement is pretty impressive... I'm talking about the architectural style; it's got that post-apocalyptic flair."

"Indeed, seems like there's quite a bit of new content in this update."

"Is that the new NPC?"

"Must be, just no idea what he's jabbering about."

"Who knows, all I know is that expression looks like it deserves a beating..."

"I think so too."

Nobody likes having a gun pointed at them.

Neither did Chu Guang.

But since he couldn't respawn, he still had to exercise some restraint while out and about.

He didn't have to wait too long as the iron gate soon opened.

A wooden cart driven by a serf in shackles came out, watched by two Gunmen, from within the Enclosing wall.

The cart was loaded with sacks full of grain and toolboxes crammed into wooden frames.

The man who had yelled at Chu Guang from the Enclosing wall also came out of the gate, his gaze sharp upon him.

"Liu Zhengyue."

"Chu Guang."

The two briefly shook hands and quickly let go.

Looking at Chu Guang, Liu Zhengyue continued,

"I need to know what kind of meat you have loaded on your cart."

"The smoked meat is all mutated hyena, and the smoked fish includes catfish and carp; you can check it yourself," Chu Guang said calmly.

He knew what the man was worried about.

Liu Zhengyue walk up without any idle talk and lifted the plastic tarp on the cart, leaning in to meticulously inspect the goods.

The smoked meats were an especially key focus of inspection.

He took a small blade from his waist, casually selected a decent-looking piece of dried meat, cut off a thumb-sized piece, and threw it to the serf pulling the cart.

"Eat it."

The serf didn't dare resist, hastily stuffing the dried meat into his mouth, fearing that any delay would result in a beating. After chewing for a moment, he hastily said,

"It's mutated hyena meat, no salt, just air-dried."

The absence of salt taste was normal; after all, this was inland. Liu Zhengyue said nothing more and quietly waited with his eyes half-closed.

About ten minutes passed.

Seeing that the serf showed no abnormal reaction, his eyebrows relaxed slightly as he turned back to Chu Guang, gesturing with his hands as he spoke numbers.

"1 kilogram of smoked meat or fish for 2 kilograms of green wheat, or 2 kilograms of goat horn potatoes. Fur for tools, one for one."

Goat horn potatoes are a kind of tuber crop, somewhat similar in taste to potatoes with a shape that resembles a goat's horn.

Rich in carbohydrates and convenient for both storage and cultivation, they are a major staple, much like green wheat, for the survivors in the vicinity.

Previously on Bet Street, Chu Guang had seen survivors planting this stuff right outside their homes, like the Yu Family across from him.

Chu Guang had also tried planting them before but had soon given up.

It wasn't that he couldn't grow them, but because he had to go scavenging every day and there was no one to watch the house, the first sprouts barely emerged before they were pilfered by someone…

It might be a good idea to buy some goat horn potatoes to plant back at the Outpost Base.

"1 kilogram of smoked meat should at least be exchanged for five kilograms of food, half green wheat and half goat horn potatoes. Also, these furs are top-quality. One should get three tools at least," Chu Guang shook his head, "I've been to Bet Street. Don't think I don't know the prices."

He quoted this price only as a starting point for negotiation.

However, to Chu Guang's surprise, after hearing his offer, Liu Zhengyue didn't haggle but watched him with a dumbfounded look.

Did he quote too high?

Just as Chu Guang pondered whether to concede a bit, the man in front of him finally snapped back to reality, oddly looking at Chu Guang and nodding slowly.

"… Deal."

These people don't bargain when trading?

Chu Guang was initially stunned, but his previous sales experience made him understand the situation almost instantly, and he mentally burst into curses.

Damn it!

That damned town Chief!

He even dares to mess with the food prices!

The two players nearby were confused throughout the entire process; since they couldn't understand the language, they also couldn't comprehend the exchange between the Manager and this "native."

But seeing him nod...

The deal must have been struck?

They just didn't know why the Manager's expression was not very good.

50 kilograms of dried smoked meat and 20 kilograms of smoked fish were exchanged for a total of 350 kilograms of green wheat and goat horn potatoes, filling up more than a dozen sacks.

The remaining ten pieces of fur were exchanged for thirty pieces of tools.

When selecting tools, Chu Guang chose those of better quality, preferably old alloy products produced before the war.

Don't be fooled by their age; they date back two hundred years.

In terms of quality, they were leagues beyond the imitation items forged from iron or pure steel by the indigenous people of the Wasteland.

Liu Zhengyue said nothing, indifferent to Chu Guang's selective process.

Clearly, the farm had a pile of these tools, most likely sold there by nearby scavengers who pick up trash, with the leftovers picked over by passing merchants.

The grain was weighed and loaded onto the cart.

Liu Zhengyue and Chu Guang shook hands, and on that tense face, due to distrust, finally emerged a slight, stiff smile.

"Welcome to come again."

"I will."

"We also grow some mutated tobacco leaves here; do you need any?" Liu Zhengyue pulled out a small handful of dried tobacco leaves from his pocket and offered them to Chu Guang, "They can relieve fatigue, and when wrapped in food, they can enhance flavor, very useful."

"Maybe next time, we have nothing left to trade."

If possible, Chu Guang would have liked to buy one or two slaves to command, but as he said, he had nothing left to trade.

Maybe next time?

"No, no, no, my friend, this pack is a gift, on the house."

With a smile on his face, Liu Zhengyue stuffed it into Chu Guang's hand, this time his smile much more practiced than before.

Hearing it was a gift, Chu Guang no longer declined and decisively accepted it.

Even though he didn't smoke the stuff, he thought it should still be good for trading in for a chip or two.

Smoke it himself?

No way.

The deal was finally complete.

Chu Guang instructed Fang Chang to head out with the cart, shook hands with Liu Zhengyue one last time, then turned and followed Night Ten.

On the return journey, Chu Guang was in a very good mood.

The trade could be described as bountiful.

The two players who came with him felt good too, and were excitedly discussing right now.

"Is this place called Brown Farm?"

Fang Chang: "Hmm, I remember that name too... If I'm not mistaken, today's test should be about the trading system, along with a new neutral faction base! It's just my guess, but there should be a new update coming with a fresh merchant gameplay, do you remember what the Dog Planner told us before? Wasteland OL's economic system will be designed according to a completely realistic supply and demand system, and exchange of goods with other survivor settlements is essential! I estimate this content will be updated within the next two versions!"

Night Ten: "Damn, now that you mention it, I'm really looking forward to the official release!"

Fang Chang: "The official release is probably still a ways off, this game company is ambitious and I guess there's a lot more content to test. However, I feel like even before the official release, the content in beta should already be very rich!"

Night Ten: "That said... are you sure Brother Guang can't hear us talking about the Dog Planner here?"

Fang Chang gasped in alarm.

"Shit... now you mention it, I'm getting anxious. Brother Guang, I'm sorry, you're the boss!"

Chu Guang: "..."

Forget it.

Let's pretend he didn't hear it.

As a diligent and responsible NPC, Chu Guang did not participate in the players' discussion but cast his gaze casually around, seemingly wandering without care, but in fact scrutinizing every shadow where danger might lurk.

It was around ten in the morning, a relatively safe time.

But one should never be too careless.

Anything could happen in the Wasteland.

"Did you guys hear anything?" Night Ten, who had been chatting with Fang Chang, suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked around with a frown.

"Sounds?"

Fang Chang paused, didn't hear anything but stopped anyway.

Chu Guang's brows furrowed as he glanced around alertly, his index finger unconsciously flicking off the safety on his gun.

He heard it too...

The breathing of Variants!

Chu Guang's head snapped up, looking toward the vine-covered buildings on the right front, where a repulsive creature was crawling on the wall, its grayish-black skin almost blending into the wall, with scarlet eyes staring motionlessly at them.

It had no legs, replaced by four long, powerful arms; its desiccated fingers, like hooks, were firmly secured on the concrete wall.

The muscles on its chest rose and fell gently, its bloody mouth clutching a human leg bone, its hissing breath betraying a craving for flesh.

Chu Guang's pupils shrunk to a pinpoint.

A Crawler!

Chapter 37 Crawler!

But why during the day?!

A chill ran down his spine.

Before he could ponder the question, Chu Guang abruptly lifted the barrel of his gun and shouted as he pulled the trigger.

"Scatter!"

Bang—!

Flames ejected from the muzzle.

However, the distance was too great, and the bullet did not hit its target, merely leaving a deep bullet hole in the wall behind the Crawler.

Enraged by the splintering stones and shrapnel, the Crawler bit off the leg bone held in its mouth, its bloody maw emitting a piercing howl.

"Awoo!"

The players were so frightened by the display that they stood frozen beside the cart, their feet as if glued to the ground.

Damn it!

This was way more shocking than any Looter!

"How many times do I have to say it? Scatter from beside the cart!" Chu Guang yelled, his hands not stopping as he rapidly cycled the bolt to continue firing, sending out several more bullets.

Thanks to the hunting experience he had accumulated over the days, although he wasn't a marksman who could hit whatever he targeted, at least his reloading actions had become much smoother than when he first handled a gun.

The Crawler's four arms moved swiftly, and it quickly dashed through a nearby window.

At that moment, two players finally reacted, hurriedly lifting their guns and aiming nervously.

"Manager, we won't go anywhere!"

"No, no wrong! We swear to defend—"

"I told you guys to get away from the food!"

Watching the two bumbling fools stuttering their lines, Chu Guang was tempted to kick their asses.

However, now was clearly not the time for that.

He could feel danger rapidly approaching.

Crawlers were different from Eaters.

Although both were products of mutated fungi, the latter resembled mindless zombies that retained only the instinct to feed, feared sunlight, and had combat power that was even inferior to mutated hyenas.

But the former was different; these creatures were almost indistinguishable from "living" organisms—they didn't rely on instinct to hunt but used their brains.

Not only did they think tactically, but they would also pursue targets lost from their sight. Sunlight frightened them, but it didn't limit their movements.

Who the hell had provoked this thing!

A drop of cold sweat slid down Chu Guang's forehead as his eyes rapidly scanned the concrete buildings along the street, his nerves taut to the breaking point.

Left?

Or right—

Catching a glimpse of a fleeting shadow from the corner of his eye, Chu Guang swiftly turned his barrel, pointing it at the second floor of a shop on the right side of the street.

At almost the same time, the loathsome Crawler, waving its four arms, fiercely charged toward him.

Bang—!

His index finger on the trigger moved on its own.

In a flash, the bullet fortuitously struck the Crawler's shoulder.

Black blood splattered everywhere.

The Crawler let out a painful wail and tumbled to the ground.

Although a beat slow, the two players eventually reacted, hastily lifting their 5mm pipe rifles to fire.

However, since both guns were inferior models without rifling and because neither player had any shooting experience, the two bangs of gunfire amounted to nothing.

Not even a whisker was touched.

The gunshot wound on its shoulder did not stop the Crawler, instead enraging it further, and it rushed towards what it perceived as the biggest threat.

Death arrived like the wind.

Chu Guang, who had just finished reloading, almost instinctively let go of the pipe rifle in his hands, drawing the steel pipe he wore on his back like a spear, and held it horizontally in front of him to block the gaping bloody maw lunging at him.

The steel pipe creaked under the strain, as Chu Guang clenched his teeth, every muscle in his body tensed to its limit.

However, 9 points of strength, though extraordinary for a human, was still slightly inferior in the face of a Variant like the Crawler.

Despite Chu Guang's all-out effort, he gradually felt himself losing control over his footing, as the ground-crawling Variant forcefully pushed him backward with brute strength, slamming him hard against a bus marooned in the middle of the road.

Boom—!

The completely rusted car shell cracked and dented as Chu Guang felt an instant loss of sensation in his back.

However, this also ignited his instinct to survive.

"Damn!"

His eyes gradually reddened, glaring at the approaching sharp fangs.

Suddenly, Chu Guang felt a force surging out from his swollen blood vessels, actually managing to halt the large mouth advancing towards him, even slightly pushing it back.

Perhaps sensing a hint of danger from the prey before it, the Crawler suddenly raised its forearms, intending to grab the prey's shoulders and completely tear him apart!

However, in that lightning-fast moment, two gunshots followed. One bullet hit the bus, and another struck the Crawler's shoulder blade.

"Ow—!"

The Crawler, hit in the back, let out a miserable wail.

The sharp teeth biting onto the metal pipe reflexively loosened, and its head jerked backward, losing balance and control over its prey.

"Ah ah ah! Die!"

Tossing aside the gun in his hand, Fang Chang picked up the 9mm steel pipe rifle that Chu Guang had earlier discarded and charged forward, howling.

Marksmanship is bad?

Then shoot at close range!

Bang—!

The trigger pulled, fire burst out, and black blood exploded on the Crawler's back.

This shot was still not fatal, but it was enough.

Seizing the opportunity, Chu Guang raised the steel pipe, which was now bent into a V-shape, and violently thrust the pointed end into the Crawler's neck.

Once.

Twice.

Three times!

Then, he exerted all his strength and stirred.

Black blood gushed out like a faucet turned on, shooting skywards, drenching Chu Guang.

The Crawler let out a dry howl, flailing its arms, struggling as it staggered backward and finally fell heavily to the ground, twisting and convulsing a few times before it stopped moving.

Leaning on the bus, Chu Guang breathed heavily, lifted his arm to wipe the black blood from his face, and spat on the ground.

"Thanks."

Watching the blood-soaked Manager, both players were immensely shocked.

So strong!

If it had been them, they wouldn't have been able to last even a round against the Crawler, let alone exchange blows; they would have been dead already.

"No worries... Let me help you up."

Fang Chang was the first to recover.

Seeing that the scenario seemed to be over, he immediately stepped forward to help the Manager up but saw the Manager raise his hand to stop him.

"No need, I'll rest for a while..."

Chu Guang, gasping for breath, glanced at his arm, bulging with veins as if he could see the blood vessels pulsing beneath the muscle.

Was this the potential hidden within his gene sequence...

When he had been pushed to the brink earlier, he had felt an immense strength surge from his arms, allowing him to match the Crawler.

It was hard to describe the sensation he had felt just now.

Gently clutching his sore fists, Chu Guang decided to get a checkup after returning.

He wanted to know what exactly had happened to his body just then.

At that moment, Night Ten, carrying a gun, also came over.

"Mr. Manager, should we rest for a while in the shops nearby? The street is too open, I'm worried it might be dangerous..."

"Indeed, with all the gunfire just now, anyone nearby must have heard," Fang Chang added from the side.

In reality, Chu Guang wanted to say that any survivor who heard the Crawler's howling would stay far away, not daring to even glance in this direction.

But his muscles felt so sore as if they were damaged, and he indeed needed some time to recuperate.

"That sounds good... Fang Chang, help me to the restaurant across the street. Night Ten, drag our cart to the door."

Night Ten nodded vigorously.

"Alright! By the way, do we need to recover the body of the Crawler?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"No need."

"You can't eat its meat."

The nervous system of the Crawler had been completely eroded by mutated fungi, each inch of its cells containing enough neurotoxins to be lethal.

Strictly speaking, the black blood drenching him was also poisonous, but talking about toxicity without dose is nonsensical — as long as you don't foolishly take a few sips, there generally wouldn't be a problem.

Moreover, he did have a constitution score of 7, his recovery ability, resistance to abnormal status, and immunity were about 140% of a normal adult male's, he wasn't that susceptible to poisoning in the first place.

Speaking of which, it's uncertain whether this Crawler counts as a mammal or if it could be thrown into the Active Substance Extractor for recycling.

If the generator could be fixed, it might be worth a try.

However...

Glancing at the cart filled to the brim with food, Chu Guang silently sighed in his heart.

What a pity.

There was no more carrying capacity.

He certainly couldn't stack the body on top of the food they needed to eat...

...

Night Ten sprinted towards the direction of the cart.

Chu Guang, with one hand on Fang Chang's shoulder, limped toward the restaurant across the street corner.

However, as the two passed through the open doorway of the shop, ready to find a place to sit and rest for a while, they suddenly noticed a person leaning against the bar of the restaurant.

It was a red-haired woman.

Her spirited face was pale from blood loss, her thin eyebrows tightly furrowed, and beads of sweat the size of beans were visible on her forehead.

What was fatal was below—her entire right leg beneath the knee was gone, the wound only crudely bandaged with a torn half-sleeve and some straps.

Well, well.

So it was you who had drawn the hatred.

However, not having fainted from this, she must be quite tough.

Chu Guang had finally understood where the human leg that the Crawler was carrying in its mouth had come from.

"A new NPC!"

While Fang Chang was still marveling in surprise, Chu Guang had already snatched back his rifle from his hand and aimed it at the woman lying on the floor without hesitation.

"You'd better stay put... my injuries are light compared to yours."

The woman's hand had touched the handgun on the ground.

Seeing the dark muzzle already aimed at her, she resigned herself by pouting and pushed the handgun toward Chu Guang's feet, then simply closed her eyes.

"Is she an enemy?"

Noticing the Manager's actions, Fang Chang nervously confirmed the other's identity with him. However, in the latter's view, asking this question on the Wasteland was foolish in itself.

"I don't know."

And it doesn't matter.

Giving an ambiguous reply, Chu Guang gestured for him to help him sit down in a nearby chair. Then with a "click" cocking the rifle, he placed it on the table.

Hearing the sound of the bullet loading, the woman's eyebrows twitched violently, her tightly shut eyes filled with regret.

Who would have thought?

The gun in this guy's hand wasn't even loaded...

Despite the severe pain in her body, Chu Guang still managed to squeeze a pleasant expression on his face.

"Now we can have a chat."

The woman forced herself to remain composed, her expression calm as she spoke.

"What do you want to know?"

Chu Guang didn't beat around the bush, introduced himself first, and then got straight to the point.

"Chu Guang, your name?"

"Xia Yan."

"What are you?"

"A mercenary from Giant Stone City."

"Are you the only team member left?"

"Dead."

"Oh… how many died?"

Xia Yan's mouth twitched slightly as she gritted her teeth and said,

"Three... all except me are dead."

Chu Guang nodded, then looked towards Night Ten, who was dragging a cart in from the door, and said in Mandarin,

"Just leave the stuff at the door, don't drag it inside. Go around this area and see if you can find any corpses dressed like this lady here."

"If you find them, bring their equipment back."

Night Ten, confused, stared at the woman sitting paralyzed in front of the bar, wondering where this NPC had come from.

Damn!

Did I miss the plot again?

Watching the man who turned and left, Xia Yan's gaze flickered slightly. She neither understood the bird language Chu Guang spoke nor knew what he was doing.

"Right, I almost forgot to ask you, what's with the Crawler?" Chu Guang looked at Xia Yan, who had opened her eyes, and continued, "How did you guys provoke it?"

"It targeted us," Xia Yan didn't hide anything and admitted, "We were searching for the entrance to Shelter No.117, and then we encountered it… It chased us out all the way from the subway, we almost got wiped out."

The Crawler was indeed troublesome, especially in narrow terrains, even experienced veterans would find it tricky.

This was Chu Guang's first encounter with such a creature; he had only heard Old Charlie from Bet Street say before, if you see a four-armed monster, run as far as you can.

Thinking about it now, it's a good thing he didn't listen to the old man.

How could we possibly outrun this!

"Entrance to Shelter No.117? What's that?" Chu Guang asked curiously.

"Don't know, we only know it's located near the Line 7 New World Department Store in the North suburb of Qingquan City; there's something our employer wants inside."

Chu Guang nodded.

He didn't really care whether what this guy was saying was true or not, nor did he care at all. There might be some good stuff in Shelter No.117, but it wasn't worth the risk.

Just look at this guy's plight.

Even professionals got beaten up like this; who knows what other dangers are lurking there.

Right now, the priority is to develop and strengthen the outpost; Chu Guang didn't plan on creating unnecessary problems. Later, when he became stronger, why not just make it an instance and let the players figure it out?

Why risk his own neck?

Seeing that Chu Guang seemed uninterested, Xia Yan tentatively asked.

"Aren't you interested?"

"Why should I be?"

"I heard there's a power armor inside."

"Oh, you saw it? Show me the photos."

"…We don't have any."

Chu Guang gave a faint smile.

"Then wait until you have them before talking to me about this."

For him, chatting with this guy was just a way to kill time; by the time Night Ten finished licking his wounds and came back, he would probably have rested enough.

He would keep the handgun on the floor for her.

As for whether she could survive, that was no longer his concern.

"By the way, is your hair dyed or natural?"

Xia Yan paused.

The topic jumped too suddenly, and he didn't respond immediately.

"…Natural."

"Oh, the color is pretty nice, but you should wash your hair."

Xia Yan glared at him angrily.

"Are you mocking me?"

Chu Guang laughed, finding it quite amusing.

However, just as he was about to tease her a couple more times, a stern shout suddenly came from the doorway.

"Let her go!"

Chapter 38 Shoot Me!

Chu Guang turned his head.

A brawny man stood at the doorway, his left arm firmly wrapped around Night Ten's neck and bound hands, while his right hand held a pistol, the muzzle pressed against his temple.

But the moment he uttered the phrase "let her go," two guns were already swiftly aiming at him.

Upon seeing this, the brawny man instinctively ducked behind Night Ten and shouted frantically,

"Nobody fucking move! Your teammate is in my hands! I know you're strong, but can you be faster than a bullet?"

Chu Guang, holding his gun, was momentarily stunned, the corners of his mouth twitching unnaturally upwards.

I'm strong?

Hey, that's a bit embarrassing.

Having been in the Wasteland for over five months, this was the first time someone complimented him on his strength.

"Chen Yang? You're not dead?!" Xia Yan stared wide-eyed at the man in the doorway.

The brawny man's expression was visibly awkward, but he still managed to force a grin on his face.

"Hehe, I'm not that easy to kill. Just wait, I'll rescue you first!"

Hope reignited in Xia Yan's eyes.

If possible, she certainly didn't want to fall into the hands of these "primitives." She could imagine, with the five toes she had left, the kind of treatment she would receive as a captive.

Occasionally, captured mercenaries would be ransomed back from slave traders by teammates or Company associates, if they happened to be sold to Giant Stone City.

But even if they stayed alive, they were no different from the dead.

Whether in spirit or body.

Finally managing to wriggle free a little space from beneath the brawny man's arm, Night Ten, nearly suffocated, gasped for air without taking a breath.

He struggled desperately while shouting,

"Shoot! Fire at me!! What the hell are you waiting for!"

"Fuck... this idiot's got body odor, it's killing me!"

If the brawny man had known what this guy was shouting about, he might have actually lost his cool and shot him on the spot.

Unfortunately for him,

The man didn't understand and just found the hostage annoyingly loud.

Raising the gun handle, Chen Yang smacked the back of the hostage's head and scolded sternly,

"Keep still!"

Night Ten was anything but still.

He couldn't feel the extreme pain; in fact, getting hit like that only enraged him more, and he shouted with even greater force,

"Shoot at me! Manager, please don't worry about me; I can't die!"

Nonsense.

Of course, I know you can't die.

You think I'm the one buying your lives?

Chu Guang rolled his eyes internally. His face, however, revealed nothing as he coolly observed the brawny man named Chen Yang at the doorway, saying nonchalantly,

"I don't like being threatened. You'd better put the gun down, put your hands over your head and against the wall. I might let you live."

Chen Yang exclaimed excitedly,

"I'm not joking around with you! I will shoot!"

"Same here," Chu Guang calmly looked at him, "want to try? We'll both make a move on the count of three."

Unable to bear watching any longer, Xia Yan, slumped under the bar, didn't want her teammate, who had narrowly escaped death, to end up dying here because of her.

"That's enough, Chen Yang. You can go on your own... don't worry about me."

Chu Guang ignored her and softly spoke the first number,

"3."

Watching Chu Guang beginning the countdown, a bead of sweat rolled down Chen Yang's forehead.

This guy's insane!

Doesn't he care at all about the life and death of his teammates!

And the hostage, with his face full of eagerness to embrace death, did not look like a hostage at all.

"2."

Madness.

Complete madness!

"Wait, stop, I don't mean to threaten you! You can take the hostage, no problem, I just want one thing!"

Chen Yang admitted he wimped out.

Glancing hastily at Xia Yan sitting on the ground, he continued rapidly,

"Just give me the key on her; I'll let her go the moment I have the card!"

Chu Guang raised his eyebrows, curious,

"A key?"

"A magnetic card! She knows what I'm talking about!"

Chu Guang looked toward Xia Yan on the ground but the woman didn't look back at him; she just stared blankly at her former teammate.

"So it's the key you're after..."

"Call it whatever you want; instead of dying here for no reason, it's better to let me complete part of the Work."

Teammates?

This is the Wasteland.

Originally, his plan was to wait until the Crawler had left before checking the bodies of his teammates, otherwise, he wouldn't have played dead to escape and watched from the sidelines, only coming to help her now.

Chen Yang ignored his former teammate's disappointed gaze, using the gun to press against the hostage's temple and slowly backed away, his eyes locked firmly on Chu Guang's face.

"How about it? A woman and your teammate, I just want a card from her! The card is useless to you anyway."

Chu Guang nodded,

"That makes sense."

So that would mean I come out ahead?

But...

No need for that.

Chu Guang looked toward Xia Yan.

"Give it to him."

Seeing the Manager not shooting but instead negotiating with the kidnapper, Night Ten struggled all the more fiercely, fearing that the NPC might compromise with the kidnapper for his sake.

"Don't mind me! Fang Chang, have you gone stupid, shoot!"

I'm a player.

I ain't scared!

If I die here, it'd be a noble sacrifice and my approval rating would skyrocket!

"I fucking... don't move around, let me aim properly."

Fang Chang was nervous as hell.

He dared not move a muscle.

It wasn't that he couldn't go through with it - he had shot his teammates while playing battle royales before - but this Game wasn't a battle royale. With the Manager not taking action, how could he dare to make a move?

What if I miss the critical plot, what then?

Xia Yan silently pulled a blood-stained card from her pocket, which the team leader had given to her before his death.

Logically, Chen Yang should not have known this card was on her person.

Unless he had already searched the team leader's body.

In an instant, she understood everything.

Xia Yan looked at her former teammate with an expressionless face. Instead of sadness or fear, her heart was filled with numbness.

Perhaps her end would be quite miserable.

Like a dirty rag thrown in the corner to await mold, or sold by these barbarians to other slave traders until she could no longer work.

But suddenly, she felt all of that didn't matter anymore.

"Take it."

With two fingers, she tossed the card out.

Watching the card fall at his feet, a brief flash of ecstasy and unabashed greed crossed Chen Yang's eyes. He stepped on it, trying to kick it outside the door.

But at that moment, something unexpected happened.

Almost at the same time as he stretched out his right foot, the hostage struggling violently in his arms suddenly slumped and slipped out from under his elbow, kneeling directly on the ground.

Before Chen Yang could react to what was happening, two gunshots rang out beside him. One of them pierced right through his forehead.

A spray of blood burst from his brow.

Chen Yang, eyes wide, fell straight back, dying without ever understanding what had happened in that instant.

"Fuck, got him!"

A headshot!

Pulling aside the barrel of the gun, Fang Chang shouted excitedly.

"That was my shot, your bullets flew off to the street lamppost… Better keep practicing," Chu Guang said with an expressionless face as he reloaded his rifle.

He had lost all hope for these players' marksmanship.

Speaking of which, this was the first time he had used his "GM" authority to forcefully kick a player offline.

Surprisingly handy, that feature.

Of course, he wasn't going to admit it if the players asked, just blame it on network fluctuations as a game planner at most.

"You, you killed him…"

Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang with a wooden face, clearly not expecting him to suddenly fire.

Chu Guang said impatiently, "I told you I hate threats, and besides, I gave him a chance."

And that guy had pointed a gun at him after all.

In the midst of the conversation, Night Ten, who had been kneeling on the ground, suddenly convulsed and woke up bewildered.

"Why did I get disconnected just now?"

His blank gaze drifted and landed on the corpse behind him, and Night Ten immediately jumped up from the ground, reflexively.

"Holy shit, how did this guy die?"

Did the plot jump again?!

Fang Chang walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Must have been a network fluctuation. It's good you could log back in… Headshot, hehe, wasn't that badass?"

"Badass, badass, extremely badass!"

Alright.

Looks like I can even skip explaining this.

Having retrieved his gaze from the two players, Chu Guang felt he had sufficiently recovered, so he stood up from the restaurant chair.

Approaching the corpse of Chen Yang, Chu Guang bent down to pick up the bloodied card and the fallen handgun from beside his feet.

The former was temporarily useless, the latter was a good find though.

Chu Guang played with the handgun for a while, which seemed to be semi-automatic. He wasn't sure about the power, but it appeared to be significant.

"I'm planning to leave, good luck to you."

Seeing Chu Guang speaking to her, Xia Yan looked up blankly.

"Aren't you taking me with you?"

Chu Guang asked in return, "Did I say I would take you?"

Xia Yan was stunned.

This was completely different from what she had envisioned, entirely beyond her expectations.

But she no longer had the luxury of time to think.

Watching this man named Chu Guang indeed not joking and proceeding to exit with his two loyal subordinates.

The thought of being left behind alone, caused her to panic.

"You... you really aren't the Looters?"

Chu Guang stopped in his tracks and asked her with a teasing tone, "Are you disappointed?"

"I," Xia Yan opened her mouth, embarrassed for a moment, then cleared her throat to continue, "I mean, are you survivors from nearby? Can you take me to your settlement?"

After all, she had nowhere else to go.

To think of walking back to Giant Stone City with one leg, was more ridiculous than single-handedly knocking out a Crawler, not to mention she couldn't go back anyway.

Since these people here weren't Looters or slave traders, going with them might not be bad.

However, Chu Guang had no interest in carrying this burden.

The current medical conditions at the refuge definitely couldn't afford her a mechanical prosthesis, at most, a woodworker could make her a crutch to get by.

With a missing leg, she definitely couldn't do hard labor, plus another mouth to feed with that food—better to recruit another player to join.

But just then, he overheard the two players whispering.

"Is this woman a new NPC?"

"Possibly, but not sure...looks like the Manager isn't planning on taking her."

"But I think she could still be saved."

"Indeed, she seems to be a mercenary or something. Even with a leg missing, making firearms, weapons and such should still be possible, right?"

Emmm...

Sort of made sense when they put it that way.

Chu Guang considered for a moment and then looked at Xia Yan.

"I'll be straight with you; you're a burden now. Even if you're left at the nearby survivor settlement, your fate won't be much better than death."

Xia Yan bit her lip and lowered her head.

That was the truth.

She could already imagine what would happen to her.

Observing the woman who remained silent, Chu Guang continued, "Of course, if you have a skill to offer, I'm not opposed to taking you..."

"As long as you're willing to work for me."

Chapter 39: Finally a New NPC?

In fact, there was no choice at all.

Xia Yan was well aware that with only one leg left, even walking out of this street was difficult, let alone returning to Giant Stone City.

What's more, what would be the outcome even if she could go back?

Although she had been a mercenary for quite some time, she had barely saved any money. The better neurally-linked bionic prosthetics easily cost tens of thousands of chips, while the slightly inferior mechanical prosthetics still cost thousands.

The prices were comparable to a set of chemically-powered exoskeletons.

Even if she sold herself, she couldn't afford one.

Either go with these people or wait here to die.

The choice wasn't really that hard.

Sitting on the edge of a shaking wooden cart, jostling up and down with the bags packed full, Xia Yan quietly sighed in her heart.

Perhaps this journey was the last bit of freedom she had left.

Besides taking her back to have kids, she truly couldn't think of any other use she could have for the man before her.

A particular skill?

Work?

Haha.

After thinking it through, the only thing she had left was her body, which still held some value.

She had heard it would hurt a lot, but she didn't know if that was true...

"We have arrived."

A voice from ahead interrupted her brain-filling fantasies that had at least two hundred thousand characters missing.

Snapping back to reality from her daydreams, Xia Yan jerked her head up and realized that at some point, these people had brought her to a small grove of trees.

In the center of the grove, surrounded by bushes, was an open space dotted with wooden stakes, standing on which was an unfinished concrete wall.

Next to the concrete wall were furnaces emitting wisps of blue smoke, and further back were pits for smoking meat and racks for smoking fish.

The air was suffused with the scent of roasted meat, and the sound of clinking and clanging echoed in her ears.

Some people were hammering stone materials, others were operating bellows to blow air into the furnace, and more were transporting stones, building walls, or cutting trees.

The place was like a large construction site.

Primitive and busy.

All these people... were they his subordinates?

Looking at everything before her, Xia Yan's pale face was filled with surprise. She quickly counted and found that there was a sizable number of people here, at least a dozen or two, all wearing uniform blue work uniforms.

And in the instant she clearly saw those clothes, it took her less than a second to guess the identity of these people.

Residents of the refuge!?

She hadn't heard of any refuge in the vicinity.

However...

What were they doing?

Xia Yan was a bit perplexed.

Refuge shelters in Qingquan City were not uncommon; some had been open for many years, and many were still in lockdown, awaiting the arrival of their unlocking dates.

Those well-off refuges could occasionally count as a local force, while the poorly-off ones usually became food for mutants or Variants.

Xia Yan remembered that there seemed to be a refuge not far from Giant Stone City, but the survivors living inside were quite reclusive, unwilling to interact with outsiders and very cautious. Let alone undertaking large-scale construction on the surface, they rarely came out of the refuge at all.

Speaking of which, what was the point of this wall?

It seemed sturdy enough; bullets probably couldn't penetrate it, but was any wall really more robust than the main gate of a refuge?

That thing could even withstand gamma rays.

"...You are from the refuge?"

"Yes," Chu Guang glanced at her injured leg and said, "I thought you had fainted."

She had been very quiet the whole way, not making a sound.

And Chu Guang, with his attention mostly elsewhere, had thought she had fainted from blood loss.

He hadn't expected that she would still be awake.

"I'm not that fragile."

Xia Yan lifted her chin, her eyebrows and expression as stiff as if they were filled with lead. She felt this might make her look a little more dignified.

At least it wouldn't seem cowardly.

Unfortunately, no one cared about her pretense of toughness, and nobody had even noticed.

"I can see that," withdrawing his gaze from her grisly severed leg, Chu Guang casually remarked, "The healing speed of your wound is indeed a bit faster than that of an ordinary person."

Using the attribute template from Shelter No. 404, this person's constitution would be at least 8 points, with a probable error margin of ±1.

For an ordinary person, even if not from blood loss, they would have passed out by now due to high fever.

Yet this person was still hanging on, with only beads of cold sweat on her forehead, a pale face, and semi-consciousness.

Of course, it could also be due to "Talent."

Survivors on the Wasteland more or less had something to do with mutation; it was not unusual to have some physical traits that deviated from the norm.

Chu Guang looked at two players, instructing them.

"Take the food to 'Scrambled Eggs with Tomato' to keep it properly stored."

A few days prior, Chu Guang had instructed Brother Eggs to plan a granary that could store grains and meats.

If all went well, it should be finished by now.

Whether the food was dried and stored or just piled in bags, he trusted the professional judgment and reliability of the cook over his own.

With players around, Chu Guang couldn't be bothered to fuss over these minor details.

The last time he had a hard time just with smoking meat, leaving the granary planning to himself would probably lead to spoilage or becoming rat food before winter hit.

Hearing the Manager's orders, Fang Chang and Night Ten nodded in unison, accepting the task.

"Yes!"

"At your command!"

Chu Guang didn't say anything.

He simply reached out, lifted the female mercenary, who was slumped over the handcart, without regard to her exclamation, and carried her on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Then, his other hand stretched out, grabbed the backpack that Night Ten had licked from the other three mercenaries, and strode towards the direction of the sanatorium.

Night Ten and Fang Chang watched from the side with admiration.

This big bag of equipment and a living person together must weigh at least a hundred kilograms.

To pick them up with just two hands and walk off, that was too strong!

Watching the Manager head towards the sanatorium and noticing the situation here, Old White quietly came over.

"What happened? Who's the person our BOSS is carrying?"

"You ask Fang Chang; he's the one who watched the entire plot unfold. I just watched my loneliness." Whether it's rummaging through packs or being a hostage, Night Ten felt he was just like a tool person, looking utterly dejected.

Fang Chang made a helpless expression.

"Don't look at me; this game doesn't even come with subtitles. I couldn't understand a thing the NPCs were saying to each other during the cutscene... Just think of her as a newly added NPC, I guess."

One could guess the general idea, but explaining it in detail was a little difficult. Better to wait for the official website to update.

Old White said blankly.

"Okay... But how did she get so badly injured?"

"Hah, never mind the severity of the injury, she was almost gone," Night Ten sighed and said, "You have no idea what we encountered on the way back."

"What did you encounter?"

"Crawlers!"

"What the fuck?" Old White looked at Night Ten with surprised eyes and quickly pressed on, "You ran into Crawlers? What do they look like?"

The official website had information on Crawlers, but besides a few abstract descriptions, there was no detail on their combat power.

There were no illustrations to refer to either.

Old White could only remember that these creatures and Eaters seemed to belong to the same category, both symbiotic Variants birthed from fungal infections, and somehow related to biological weapons, their ancestry beyond tracing.

He had thought this creature was probably just a monster in the setting, and that the game company might not have even designed the model yet.

He never expected that these two would actually run into one!

"It's ugly looking with four long arms, crouching about half a person's height, probably two meters when standing. Not only is it outrageously strong, but the key thing is, it's damn quick too! We shot a round with three guns and didn't hit it once. Later, it was the Manager who was awesome, swinging a steel pipe and stabbing it to death in just a few hits."

Night Ten described the situation vividly, though his abstract storytelling style basically didn't clear anything up.

Old White looked at Fang Chang for help, who let out a sigh.

"I can't explain it clearly right now, but essentially, it was like Night Ten said, that Crawler was unbelievably strong."

"I'm guessing the new expansion didn't only update in-game activities but also introduced more Variants, new NPC factions, and related tasks. Let's talk about this after logging off... The Manager asked me to deliver the handcart to Brother Egg Fry's place; I'm going to complete a task."

Although he wanted to discuss his new findings with Brother Fang Chang, there were only three hours left before nightfall, and there truly was no time to slack off.

Old White sighed and nodded.

"Alright, go ahead... I'll go think about the steelmaking furnace some more. Once you're done, hurry up and help me!"

"Mhm, see you."

…

Meanwhile, inside the sanatorium.

The players working on the scaffolding all took notice of the Manager returning from outside.

Of course, they also noticed the woman he was carrying on his shoulder.

"Damn, look quick, the Manager's got someone on his shoulder!"

"Who's that person??"

"A new NPC?"

"And it's a girl!"

"Finally, a new NPC! Brothers, we're another step closer to the beta test!"

"Oh oh oh!"

Thinking of being a step closer to the beta test sent the players into overdrive, hauling bricks and plastering with more vigor.

Xia Yan, carried on Chu Guang's shoulders, had cheeks burning like a fire, not just because of the position but also because those gazes made her feel like needles in her back.

She did not understand what those people were saying, but she didn't need to.

She could guess they were saying trash just as crass as the lustful glances those men threw her way.

She imagined they were like Hyenas of the Wasteland, offering flattery and respect to the male leader in this manner, hoping to get a bone or a mouthful of broth after he had his fill of the prey.

Clearly, she was that tender and succulent lamb.

The more Xia Yan thought about it, the more terrified she became. Her clenched teeth involuntarily rattled, and her eyes became wet, even shedding tears.

She suddenly regretted her choice; rather than be humiliated and thrown to the wolves to be torn apart, she would have preferred to end herself, to die with a bit of dignity.

But her body didn't obey her.

The elevator descended.

Arriving.

Chu Guang strode through the gate of Shelter No. 404, passed through the buffer room and into the residents' hall, tossed the packed bag aside, and then dumped Xia Yan in a chair.

"Sss, be gentle… What are you going to do?"

She inhaled sharply from the pain and stared tensely at Chu Guang, who was approaching.

"Behave."

Too lazy to entertain her, Chu Guang casually pulled open a drawer, took out a silver-white metal cylinder, flicked off the plastic cap with his thumb, and habitually tapped it with his index finger.

"It shouldn't hurt, just bear with it."

Chapter 40: Level Up and New Talent

[Nanoscale Therapeutic Needle: Used primarily for non-lethal injuries, this can enhance tissue repair capabilities in a short time to accelerate wound healing.]

Chu Guang had obtained this item from a Blind Box.

He had witnessed her remarkable recovery abilities and originally intended to save this needle, but after noticing her wound had already started to show signs of inflammation and pus, he weighed the pros and cons and ultimately decided against cutting corners.

If the wound were to worsen, amputation might become necessary.

Currently, the refuge lacked a doctor capable of performing surgery, not to mention anesthetics or disinfectant alcohol, let alone a sterile environment for major procedures.

With this in mind, Chu Guang silently resolved in his heart.

Anesthetics could wait, but at the very least he had to get Brother Mosquito to procure the alcohol!

Watching Chu Guang steadily approach, Xia Yan instinctively wanted to retreat, but with only one leg and half a life left, she slumped in her chair, unable to move back.

"You, you stay away from me."

Chu Guang couldn't be bothered with idle talk and explanation as he injected the needle into her right leg.

"Ah—"

Huh?

It doesn't hurt?

The scream Xia Yan had started died in her throat as she stopped abruptly, looking bewildered at the man before her who withdrew the syringe from her leg.

What happened?

Why don't I feel anything…

Just as Xia Yan was about to whisper that question, her consciousness suddenly blurred before she could speak.

"You… what did you do to me?"

"Saved your life, no need to thank me."

If she really wanted to thank him, working hard would suffice.

However, Chu Guang did not expect the natives of this world to be as industrious as the players from that other world.

Xia Yan wanted to say something more, but her tongue wouldn't move, and her consciousness quickly plunged into darkness as her erratic breathing slowly became even.

"I didn't expect this thing to have a sedative effect."

"Lucky I didn't use it in a fight…"

He quietly observed her reaction, Chu Guang took a pen from a drawer and silently recorded her clinical responses in his notebook.

The Nanoscale Therapeutic Needle has side effects such as drowsiness, anesthesia, and a sense of disorientation, unsuitable for use in combat situations.

After all this, Chu Guang carried her next door to a room where all four cultivation chambers were inactive and laid her on the floor.

The effects of the Nanoscale Therapeutic Needle were already becoming apparent.

The red and pus-filled wound was slowly reducing in swelling and pus, and her pallid cheeks were gradually regaining some color.

Although it was unlikely that the lost lower leg would regrow, at least amputation was not necessary.

The temperature and air quality of the refuge were basically stable within the most suitable range for human habitation; although the floor was a bit cold, it was certainly better than outside.

The rest was just rest and recuperation.

Her constitution wasn't bad, Chu Guang felt she would survive.

After leaving a piece of chocolate and a bottle of pure water produced by the Outpost on the ground, Chu Guang used his Manager's authority to lock the room's door, preventing her from wandering around the refuge upon waking.

Then Chu Guang returned to the Residents' Hall, eager to conduct a self-examination.

[ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager

Level: LV.5→LV.7

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 9→10

Agility: 6

Constitution: 7→8

Perception: 7

Intelligence: 6

"Actually leveled up twice?"

Although he had vaguely felt on the verge of a breakthrough before, Chu Guang had not expected this crisis to take him directly from LV5 to LV7.

Surprise and delight were written all over Chu Guang's face.

But then again, the attribute changes caused by the increased progress in developing the "Manager" Gene Sequence seemed to have no discernible pattern.

Other players all had a primary attribute, yet he did not; the points appeared to be allocated randomly.

However, gaining 1 point of Strength and 1 point of Constitution weren't bad at all.

These two were basically the most useful and cost-effective attributes in the early stages.

Chu Guang now possessed 10 points of Strength, almost twice the power of an average adult male, and a similar story unfolded on the physical examination chart in terms of stamina, explosive power, and other related items.

The increase in Constitution meant that he would have a stronger physique and greater resistance to negative statuses.

Of course, what Chu Guang cared about the most was the Talent section at the bottom of the attribute panel.

Compared to the last physical exam, there was a new line in the Talent section—

[Talent: Wild Instinct (Wild instincts can be awakened under extreme conditions, increasing all attributes by 10~15% for the duration, with fatigue accumulation increasing by 20~30%).]

"Wild Instincts, not bad..."

It felt peculiar to Chu Guang.

But he could understand it.

After all, the First Generation Manager who designed this attribute panel and conversion formula was a rather twisted individual.

Chu Guang had made an estimate based on the previous physical exam data.

Simply put, the meaning of this Talent was probably to enhance the work and metabolic efficiency of all body cells for a certain period, or perhaps to stimulate adrenaline secretion or something of that sort.

The effect was somewhat similar to a stimulant.

But, just similar.

The physiological chemical reactions involved were likely quite complex.

And the data from the physical exam that was converted into the panel was merely a reference.

For instance, the Crawler he encountered today—based solely on panel data—would have had no issue crushing him as a human being.

Despite this, it wouldn't have been easy for that beast to kill him.

After entering the physical exam data into the Computer archive, Chu Guang continued to look at the backpack he had thrown on the ground earlier, reaching out to pick it up.

Inside were the weapons scavenged by Night Ten from the bodies of the three Mercenaries.

As soon as he opened the zipper, a look of joy instantly crossed Chu Guang's face.

Four handguns, two stockless Submachine Guns, one pump-action shotgun, and one assault rifle broken in half in the middle.

Regardless of whether the assault rifle could be fixed or not, the haul from this outing could be described as a bounty!

"Struck it rich!"

It was an excellent haul!

In addition to the Firearms, there were also about a couple hundred rounds of ammunition in total. Some were loaded in magazines, some were just loose, stuffing the backpack to the brim.

It was evident that Night Ten had been very thorough, not even leaving behind empty magazines, which were also stuffed into the bag.

However, the quality of these bullets was pretty average, most of which were made entirely of steel with only a few loose bullets cased in copper or with a lead core.

Chu Guang noticed that a few bullets were painted red at the tip, and the materials seemed unusual, probably indicating special ammunition.

These Mercenaries might not have been wealthy, but they were certainly well-armed.

"It seems Giant Stone City's strength is not to be underestimated..." Chu Guang weighed one of the red-tipped bullets and gently tossed it back into the bag.

The overall strength of a region was usually linked to its productivity.

For instance, Residents in the suburbs used homemade iron pipe rifles or salvaged weapons, some even resorted to melee weapons.

To arm even "stragglers" to this extent, Giant Stone City's industrial capacity was likely more astonishing than what he had heard from rumors.

Chu Guang made up his mind.

After this winter, he would definitely go there to take a look!

It would be best to organize a Commercial Team to go together.

The Outpost was bound to grow in size, and initiating trade with other Survivor Bases was inevitable.

One can't always expect those unscrupulous merchants to bring goods to the doorstep; To avoid being fleeced, one must make the journey personally.

Chapter 41 The Game Officials are Too Conscientious!

Evening.

Players began to trickle back into the sanatorium. The cook, Egg Frying Bro, set up a large pot in the open space and started making the last meal of the day.

Tonight's menu was salt-boiled horned potatoes with smoked dried meat.

Thanks to the discovery of a new NPC base, the players at the refuge finally got to eat something other than fish soup.

These horned potatoes tasted quite good. After boiling them in salt-water, a drizzle of soy sauce gave them a bit of that KFC mashed potato vibe.

The only downside was the excessive use of soy sauce.

Just making these 28 servings of mashed potatoes consumed nearly a fifth of a bottle of soy sauce, even though they were being frugal with it.

On the other hand, it seemed that the refuge was also running low on salt, with only half a bag left.

At this rate of consumption, it wouldn't be long before everyone would be back to plain broth and water.

"Woohoo! This mashed potato is incredible! Egg Frying Uncle, can I have another bowl?" Teng Teng, clutching a bowl and squatting on the ground, looked utterly content.

"No more, everyone gets just one bowl." Egg Frying was not pleased with being called "uncle" and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"So, are we eating mashed potatoes again tomorrow?" Teng Teng asked pitifully.

"We can't afford it, we're running low on soy sauce, and we need to save it. If you want mashed potatoes, get up and order some takeout yourself." As he spoke, Egg Frying sighed inwardly.

Cooking for this bunch every day was a real heartbreaker.

Having been a chef for so many years, he had never scrimped for a boss like this, hating not having two grains of salt for every one used.

Meanwhile, Night Ten, sitting among the players, held his bowl and went into a vivid description of the day's events, even forgetting to eat his meal.

Especially when he came to the part about encountering a Crawler on the way back, he got so excited that he put his bowl down and picked up a tree branch to start drawing on the ground.

"I was just walking down the street when I felt a chill down my spine, a sudden surge of alarm! I grabbed my rifle and fired a volley in the blink of an eye—"

Fang Chang, sitting nearby, couldn't bear to listen and interrupted.

"You and your volley, anyone would think you had a Gatling gun in your hands."

Night Ten coughed awkwardly.

"That's not important!"

"So, what happened next? Keep going, how did you guys beat that thing?"

"Yeah, keep going, don't interrupt!"

The other players didn't much care for the details; they were at the good part of the story, too hooked to bother whether he was bragging or not, and egged him on to continue.

"Don't panic, guys, let me keep going. It all happened in a flash; the moment the Crawler pounced, I did a sliding tackle..."

Seeing everyone's interest, Night Ten quickly regained his composure and resumed his tale, describing how he provided support for the Manager entangled by a Variant, how he scavenged on the battlefield, and how after a slip-up he was sneak-attacked by a scoundrel, and ultimately how he made a tactical log-off, coordinating with his teammates for a desperate counter-kill...

Fang Chang rolled his eyes as he listened, unable to bear it any longer, he simply picked up his bowl and moved elsewhere to eat in peace.

Once dinner was over,

The sun was close to setting.

Chu Guang brought Xiao Qi down from upstairs and led the players back to the refuge in groups, watching as they laid in the cultivation chambers for a safe log-off.

Except for Garbage King, who was still out in the wild, everyone else had returned.

But Chu Guang wasn't too worried about him.

Through the player list, Chu Guang could confirm that the guy was still alive, but he had logged off two hours ago.

Even the most hardcore players can't be on the Game for twenty-four hours straight; you've got to get up to eat and stretch your limbs or something.

Plus, the clones in the Game also need to rest; no one can stay awake for twenty-four hours, not even the Lizard people.

According to the official data on the website.

Logging off wasn't limited to lying back in the cultivation chamber for a voluntary hibernation; any loss of consciousness could sever the connection.

That included giving yourself a bonk on the back of the head or finding a spot to lie down and sleep.

However, logging out like that wasn't very reliable.

First, you couldn't "save your progress"; second, it wasn't safe.

The clones rapidly synthesized by the cultivation chamber didn't possess any consciousness.

In other words, without a Consciousness Entity connected, these clones would hardly react to external stimuli beyond reflexive responses.

At that moment, if a mutant mouse or cockroach happened to pass by, it could nibble away at a person bit by bit.

But Junk Collector had probably found a safe place to hide; he seemed pretty secure for now.

Putting Junk Collector's situation aside for a moment.

Chu Guang sat down in front of the computer in the Resident Hall and, as per usual, began to compile a summary of today's work achievements.

"The Enclosing Wall on the east side is completed."

"In terms of resources, the inventory in the building material stockpile received 110 Tree Branches, one ton of charcoal, one ton of silicate cement, two stacks of yellow clay bricks, and several blocks of hardened cement. As for consumption, 240 Tree Branches, 800 kilograms of cement... The wood stock has been decreasing for two days in a row, but surprisingly, we're starting to have a surplus of cement."

It looks like we need to assign a few Lumberjacks.

Or, increase the daily task requirement for logging for players.

"Food stock received an income of 350 kilograms of green wheat and horned potatoes, 5 jin of smoked meat, as well as a small amount of berries and mushrooms. The consumption was about 5 kilograms of dried smoked meat, 10 kilograms of horned potatoes, and 50 kilograms of smoked meat and 20 kilograms of smoked fish for trading purposes... Hunting has to continue tomorrow."

"Then, there's the fur inventory... Aside from the amount used in trading, 5 pieces of fur were consumed as raw materials. Today, Teng Teng actually made 5 pieces of clothing? Not bad... Let me see, that should be 250 Contribution Points."

"Oh, right, there's also the increase in the weapon inventory... We'll have to plan for an Armory in the future."

Finally, today's daily tasks generated 7 reward points.

Time to happily open Blind Boxes again.

After compiling the data, Chu Guang leaned back in the chair and stretched.

While he had been doing all this work, the thirty activated cultivation chambers in the next room had also completed scanning the clones inside and archiving the somatic cell samples. They compiled the players' Gene Sequence development progress and panel data into a table.

Chu Guang glanced at it briefly.

Perhaps because the current stage of the Outpost predominantly needed physical labor, the Strength Type players were obviously leveling up a bit faster.

Take Old White, for instance, now at LV3.

Besides, Night Ten, who had been following him, had his Gene Sequence improved from LV1 to LV2, and his main Perception Attribute had reached 9, making him the player with the highest Perception Attributes in the entire Outpost.

"Master!"

Looking at Xiao Qi rolling up beside the table, Chu Guang shifted his gaze away from the computer.

"What's up?"

"How come you picked up a strange woman from outside?"

Chu Guang almost choked on those words.

Although it didn't seem entirely wrong to say that, something about it didn't quite sit right.

"What are you talking about?"

"Xiao Qi saw everything from the rooftop, oh, it was carried back."

Chu Guang said impatiently.

"So?"

Speaking in an unfluctuating electronic tone, Xiao Qi said with a sense of grievance.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to remind you that compared to clones whose movements can be restricted at any time, the indigenous people of the Wasteland are much harder to control. It's better not to trust them too easily."

"You're overthinking it. I've never fully trusted anyone, be they players or the locals here," Chu Guang said indifferently.

"Mhm, mhm, that puts my mind at ease!"

The camera on top of Xiao Qi's head shook up and down to indicate a nod.

"By the way, you can always trust Xiao Qi. No matter what happens, Xiao Qi will always be your most loyal assistant!"

"Okay, got it."

"How perfunctory!"

Couldn't this guy take a break while charging?

Chu Guang suppressed the urge to retort and continued staring at the computer screen.

More than ten minutes had passed since the players logged off. As expected, this was the busiest time on the official forum.

Time for the delightful activity of screen lurking.

Humming to himself, Chu Guang opened the back end of the official website to check the number of reservations first.

The green onions, sitting in their bowls, had doubled from just over a hundred and were now just shy of hitting 300.

The threshold for reserving the Game had changed from simply filling out a form to filling out a form and answering questions.

Although they were just general knowledge questions, the patience required to read through them and fill in the blanks at least helped to filter out the more serious players.

Those who passed were quite high quality.

Meanwhile, the website's traffic had also grown significantly, with a daily average of 1000 visits.

Not everyone registered an account, nor did everyone click to reserve, but at least it showed that the visibility of Wasteland OL in the gaming community was growing.

It was just a small, unregistered "three-no" website with nothing but a pile of textual settings and a few construction site photos, and yet it had managed to attract so many people.

Chu Guang couldn't help but feel amazed.

"There sure are a lot of bored people."

Just perfect.

Since he had nothing better to do, why not come into the "Game" and put them to work?

Closing the back-end page, he entered the forum.

As Chu Guang anticipated, the players who had logged off had all come here to report in, and the forum was bustling with activity.

Including the Trash Guy, who had logged off two hours earlier, soaking in the forum as well.

Pick up trash 99 level: [Damn, I'm dead tired today, but luckily there was some gain! About 2 kilometers north of the abandoned work site, there's a tire processing plant. There are people patrolling with dogs nearby, possibly a Raider Camp, but I'm not sure yet! I plan to get closer and take a look when it gets dark, and boast on the forum once I've confirmed it.]

{Wild Wind: 666!}

{Old White: Damn, I was wondering why I didn't see you when logging off! Also, why can you log on during the day???}

{Pick up trash 99 level: If you were a Variant, you could too! Cut the crap. I'm going to rest a bit and then log in. {Bared teeth}}

{Night Ten: You just came here to show off, didn't you!}

{Quit smoking: Forget being able to log on during the day, I'd die without regrets if I could just log on to take a peek! T.T}

{Crow: I'm still on revival cooldown, so sad.}

{Pick up trash 99 level: {Bared teeth}}

Besides Trash Guy showing off by himself, the vast majority of players on the forum were eagerly discussing the new NPC brought back by the Manager as well as the newly discovered Survivor Settlement.

Especially the latter.

The players were particularly interested.

At the top of a long string of posts, Chu Guang quickly found an analysis post by Long Days Ahead.

This guy was as good at summarizing as ever, and his posts were the most popular in the forum. If circumstances allowed, Chu Guang would've dearly liked to invite him to plan the Game.

[...I have to praise the Alpha 0.2 version update! It's clear that the game officials are quite sincere, truly conscientious!]

[The content of this update is far more than just the few optimization items listed on the official website, including new factions, new monster models, a larger map, and so on. The content is far richer than I had previously imagined!]

[For example, the Brown farm that traded with us. As soon as I arrived at the concrete Enclosing Wall, I was shocked by the game officials' art design. The immersion is hard to describe in words, whether it's the post-apocalyptic Architectural style or the detailed textures on the clothing of different NPCs, everywhere you can see traces of careful sculpting rather than just re-skinning existing materials!]

[In addition, there was the combat system test. On our way back, we were attacked by Crawlers, and had a close yet harmless battle. Before this, I had thought that such outrageously powerful Variants only existed in the set-up, but I didn't expect them to be implemented in the current version!]

[I must say, our Manager is truly deserving of the Novice Instructor title, so powerful in combat! The moment the Crawler pounced, neither Night Ten nor I reacted in time, almost on the verge of being out-of-body. It was all on him to dish out damage, managing to take down a two-meter-tall Eater with just a small pipe! It was so thrilling!]

[Moreover, personally, the most surprising to me has been the new NPC joining our Outpost. Her unique identity could perhaps bring us more new gameplay, such as weapon modifications or even more side storylines... I think we can look forward to it!]

[For more details on the Alpha 0.2 version update, I'll keep updating this post. Friends interested in dirt can give a follow!]

Conscientious, okay.

Ah, this is a bit embarrassing.

After reading the post from start to finish, Chu Guang couldn't stop grinning.

But to be fair, Chu Guang felt he was quite conscientious indeed; at least he hadn't duped the players out of their wallets.

A next-generation game that released the dreams and sleep—had Goose Factory or Pig Factory been endorsing it, wouldn't it cost at least 800 RMB just to play?

Not to mention play; you'd probably have to first subscribe to be a member even to move bricks!

What?

You don't have money?

Well, no problem, you probably wouldn't mind smoothing some plaster with your hands, right?

After all, how else could the noble RMB warrior, wielding a trowel to build walls, be embodied? And of course, you could choose to watch two hours of ads to unlock a membership discount coupon.

At least such unscrupulous deeds were something Chu Guang couldn't bring himself to do.

Feeling flattered that he was being praised for his conscience, Chu Guang made Brother Fang Chang's post sticky.

Casually closing the post, as Chu Guang pondered what to do to pass the long night, Xiao Qi's plaintive voice came from next door.

"Master."

"The woman you brought back has woken up."

Chapter 42 Please Show Some Self-Respect!

"Thirsty... need water..."

Xia Yan, gradually regaining consciousness, was primarily aware of an intense hunger and a throat as dry as if it had been seared with a hot iron.

Her arms felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

Her blurred vision was like looking through a fog, and though she tried to get up from the ground, after a slight attempt, she gave up.

Then her gaze fell on a plastic bottle and a wrapper not far away.

She pounced on it, grabbed the plastic bottle without considering what liquid it might contain, and tipped her head back to gulp it down.

The thirst was instantly soothed.

After emptying the last drop of water into her mouth, Xia Yan tossed the bottle aside, then tore into the plastic wrapper like a starving ghost.

Her instinct told her there was food inside!

However, when she saw the dark lump inside, her famished expression paused for a moment.

What is this...

She sniffed it—it didn't smell bad.

After hesitating, Xia Yan finally decided to take a cautious bite.

The moment the substance touched her lips, her expression froze and her pupils dilated with shock.

This!

What is this flavor!

She stuffed the dark lumps into her mouth, and after finishing them, Xia Yan licked her lips unsatisfied, well, she didn't even spare the plastic wrapper, licking it around as well.

At that moment, the alloy door in front of her opened.

Xia Yan raised her head to see a man standing in the doorway.

"Awake?"

She instinctively shrank back slightly, hurriedly glancing at her clothes before stiffly nodding.

"Yeah."

"Tastes good?"

She wanted to act a bit tougher, but her mouth wasn't cooperating.

"Tasty..."

Chu Guang gave a slight smile.

"Want more?"

"Yes," Xia Yan nodded vigorously.

Pleased with her response, Chu Guang nodded.

"What you just ate is called chocolate."

"From today, you work for me, doing whatever I ask of you."

"In exchange, I can provide you with a safe place to stay and food. Additionally, if your performance pleases me, I can give you another piece of that thing you just ate."

Xia Yan had never tasted chocolate before, only hearing that it was a popular pre-war food item and a luxury in Giant Stone City's high society.

"...That's what chocolate tastes like?"

Her index finger touched her lips subconsciously, and a perplexed Xia Yan's eyes gradually filled with regret.

Dammit!

I should have eaten it slower!

Of course, Chu Guang could not guess what she was thinking.

If he knew, he would undoubtedly roll his eyes.

It's just a piece of chocolate…

Is it worth it?

"Yes," Chu Guang continued, looking at Xia Yan sitting on the ground, "so what's your answer?"

"I'm willing."

Xia Yan replied without hesitation, not even questioning what Chu Guang intended for her to do.

After all, there wasn't a choice.

She, having lost half a leg, would end up rotting in the alleys of the slums of Giant Stone City if she were to return.

Just like a decaying orange peel.

No one would care.

Who would choose death when they could live?

At least she wasn't at that level of awareness yet.

Xia Yan turned her head, resignedly closed her eyes, and said softly,

"Although I haven't tried, it should be fine. I know what you want... please, be gentle."

"Huh?"

Chu Guang was taken aback for a moment, but as someone who had driven for many years, he read her expression and guessed she had misunderstood. He straightened his face and said earnestly,

"Madam, please have some self-respect. I am discussing work matters with you seriously right now."

If you keep this up,

I just won't be able to act serious anymore.

Hearing Chu Guang's words, Xia Yan was also stunned.

What the hell?

Wasn't this guy planning to force her to have children when he took her captive???

Pupils shaking violently, as if finally distinguishing between her imagination and reality, Xia Yan's face gradually turned the color of a pig's liver.

Ashamed, she turned her head away and glared at a crack in the corner of the wall, saying fiercely,

"Then kill me..."

Chu Guang: "???"

What the hell?

...

After some time, Chu Guang and Xia Yan, who lay on the ground, briefly explained the situation here.

The concept of the Game wasn't popular in the Wasteland, and using the concept of players would only confuse the other person, Chu Guang couldn't be bothered to cast pearls before swine and simply used terms she could understand.

"To put it simply, my subordinates and I plan to establish a Survivor Settlement on the surface, drive out the Variants, shelter refugees, and restore order to this area."

After hearing Chu Guang's statement, Xia Yan wore an incredulous expression.

How confident do you have to be to churn out such an unrealistic statement?

Restore order?

Countless people had tried that over the past two hundred years, but not one had succeeded. Instead, the number of Variants and Mutants holed up in the city kept growing, and the living space for survivors was continually shrinking, with things getting worse every year.

"Do you think restoring order is as easy as just building an Enclosing Wall?"

Mentally wounded, Xia Yan's tone was slightly sarcastic, "You should really take a look at Giant Stone City, where there are countless people stronger than you all, and even they can only hover on the edges of the third ring. What do you think you can achieve?"

"I naturally have my plans," Chu Guang, who had never considered such things, calmly looked at her and continued, "I'm not planning to achieve this goal in a few months. I'm fully aware it's going to be a protracted Battle, and I am prepared to make sacrifices over several generations to complete it."

How annoying.

It's just a setting, can't you let me finish speaking?

Chu Guang, of course, knew that restoring order wasn't something that could be fixed with just a few words, nor had he ever become arrogant enough to believe he's invincible just because he wiped out a few raiding Looter beggars on the outskirts.

But that was his character set.

Or rather, the game setting.

At least it had to make the players feel like this NPC was the real deal.

However, the person in front of him clearly only heard the latter half of the dialogue.

Several generations?

Xia Yan tensed up and shrank back a bit.

So, was it really about having children after all?

"Back to the real issue," Chu Guang coughed lightly and continued, "You can assemble Firearms and perform maintenance on parts, right?"

Xia Yan nodded her head.

"Yes, that's the deal."

"Good," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "From now on, you are the owner of the weapon shop."

"What?" Xia Yan was totally confused, not understanding what he was saying.

It was because when Chu Guang used a particular word, he wasn't speaking the language of this world but Mandarin from a Parallel World.

"The owner of the weapon shop," Chu Guang stared at her and repeated each word deliberately, then continued, "That's your position. To put it simply, it's about selling Firearms and maintaining them. If someone asks what you do, that's what you respond with."

"Sell guns?" Xia Yan asked, puzzled, "Sell to whom?"

"The residents of the shelter."

"Ah???" Xia Yan was even more baffled, "Aren't those your subordinates?"

"Yes, but they're a bit different from subordinates as you understand them," Chu Guang paused, then continued, "Simply put, we've just crawled out from underground, and we need to focus our Strength on big tasks. Also, resources are scarce, so we are temporarily operating under a planned economy—everyone works together and eats from the same big pot."

"Once the survival crisis is resolved and resources start to become surplus, they'll need to take the initiative to work hard and step out of their comfort zone to pioneer and make progress. That's when our Settlement will switch to a different set of rules. Things like Food, medicine, weapons, and other resources won't be free anymore."

"Since you mentioned Giant Stone City, you should be aware of chips, right? It's essentially the same concept."

Clearly, this woman hadn't understood the words he was speaking.

Residents in the Wasteland who had at least some education could even mix in as lackeys for the local tycoons, like Old Charlie who idled away on Bet Street. If someone had a technical skill, they could land a job in a factory, stoking boilers, mixing medicines, repairing power armor.

Only the poor would trade their lives for money.

Like Ms. Xia in front of him.

In the Wasteland, being a Mercenary was never a prestigious job but rather a group of cheap Cannon Fodder without welfare or subsidies.

But Chu Guang didn't mind.

All he needed was a tool that could carry out his orders.

Knowledge? Experience? Qualities?

All could be learned.

After a pause, Chu Guang looked at her and said,

"The language our people use is a bit different from that of those on the surface. But it's not a big issue, I will teach you a few simple phrases for daily communication."

"You just have to do as I say."

Chapter 43 Excellent players have started giving NPCs tasks to do

Language barrier?

Can't communicate?

To Chu Guang, that wasn't a problem at all.

As a tool man, he only needed to master a few simple phrases to meet the players' needs for Game functionality.

For example, the simplest buying and selling could be learned without complex vocabulary.

And if he couldn't understand the players' trash talk?

Cool as a cucumber.

After all, even in a fully immersive virtual reality Game, it wasn't possible for every NPC to have full, realistic intelligence.

That was only reasonable.

Therefore, Chu Guang didn't ask Xia Yan to learn Chinese but only to grasp a few basic words and set phrases.

However, what he didn't expect was that, despite setting his expectations very low, she still fell short of them.

"...For customers who come into the shop, you have to say 'Hello, I am Xia Yan, the weapon shop owner's wife, how may I assist you?' When you hear 'I want to buy something,' point to the menu and respond 'Look for yourself,' and when you hear 'I need to maintain my firearms', hand them over and answer 'Bring them here'?"

What in the world was all this?

Holding the piece of paper in her hand, Xia Yan had a distressed expression, looking to Chu Guang, who was sitting on a chair, for help.

Despite every word being annotated with pronunciation, she was still struggling with the strange sounds.

Even though it was indeed quite similar to the language of United Humans.

Noticing that Xia Yan was looking at him, Chu Guang shifted his gaze away from the computer screen and turned to look at her.

"Have you learned it?"

Xia Yan: "Not yet..."

Chu Guang: "Then what are you looking at me for, keep studying."

There was a moment when Xia Yan felt that perhaps giving birth to children might be easier, but for some reason, the man showed no interest in her.

Am I that ugly?

Hardly.

Pinching her own red hair tips in frustration, Xia Yan was quite confident in her appearance. For instance, the captain had pursued her for a while.

She just hadn't been interested.

Life as Cannon Fodder was too hard, constantly under the threat of death; her dream was to marry into the Inner City of Giant Stone City and live a wealthy life.

Actually, when she thought about it, it wasn't impossible.

What if one day she received a mission to escort a VIP? It was possible that the kind of situation from a novel, where the beauty saves the hero, could happen.

Only too bad that talking about escorting VIPs was out of reach for fringe teams like theirs, that couldn't even take work around the second ring road but were delegated to the Wasteland to open "Blind Boxes."

As for the dream life?

Even less likely now.

Who would want a cripple?

And a cripple who had been captured by Barbarians at that...

While Xia Yan was feeling melancholy about her misfortunes, a light cough sounded beside her.

"Try to contain your expression a bit."

"Ah?"

Xia Yan looked confused.

She obviously was daydreaming.

Seeing her instinctive reaction, Chu Guang, sitting at the chair, was speechless.

He sighed, paused for a moment, and said emotionlessly,

"Starting now, I'm timing you. In two hours, I'll test you again."

"If there's still no progress, the Brown farm next door might be more suitable for you. They happen to need serfs."

"It would also make me a bit of money."

...

It was winter now, and Brown's farm didn't need serfs; instead, they would be getting rid of a bunch of old things who couldn't work, or the defective goods with broken arms and legs, at the end of the month.

No one would want a crippled mercenary, even if she was free.

As for coveting beauty, that was even more ludicrous; even the rustic tycoons on Bet Street could afford clones more exquisite than stars after some minor adjustments. What would a soul, outwardly strong but inwardly weak and crude, even be worth?

This was the Wasteland.

Selling that woman off, Chu Guang had just been speaking offhand.

It was more to scare her a bit and give her some motivation.

Even if she was indeed too foolish to memorize those few pages of script, he wouldn't actually sell her as a slave.

At most, he would throw her out.

In fact, having interacted with her during this time, Chu Guang found her quite entertaining; talking nicely did no good, but threatening her worked wonders, making her timidly study.

Why the trouble?

Chu Guang shook his head and went back to his internet. He'd just discovered that his Steam account was still active, perfect for killing some time...

The next morning.

Having had a good night's sleep, Chu Guang opened the player list, unlocked login permissions in bulk, and led the online players to the surface.

"Respected Manager sir, where is the lady from yesterday?" Standing beside the Manager, Fang Chang respectfully asked.

"You mean Xia Yan? Her injuries are quite severe; she needs a few days of quiet rest. I spoke with her last night, and she has agreed to join our cause. Once her wounds heal, she will be responsible for Outpost Weapon Maintenance Work."

Of course, Chu Guang didn't mention that she had been studying until two or three in the morning, ultimately having to be carried to the next room by himself. Odds are, she was still sound asleep.

After hearing the Manager's response, Fang Chang's eyes lit up.

New intelligence!

The new NPC's name was Xia Yan!

Her identity must be a Weapon Shop Owner or a similar profession!

Quietly noting down these facts, Fang Chang planned to update his thread with all this information after logging off for the day.

Chu Guang could guess what he was thinking, which is why he had been so detailed in the first place.

Continuing his role as an NPC, Chu Guang took the players to the open space of the sanatorium for a quick pep talk, then announced the dismissal.

After two days' time to get used to the game, the new players had pretty much got the hang of it and no longer needed his direction.

Watching the gradually rising furnace flames and black smoke from outside the construction site, and those players climbing up and down the scaffold, huffing and puffing as they worked, Chu Guang suddenly felt like the old duck-raising farmer.

Every day, his job was to drive the ducks out of the pen, let them waddle about on their own, and then herd them back into the pen at nightfall; afterwards, he'd tally the day's yield and calculate how much the ducks had fattened up, and on top of that, systematically pluck a few feathers for himself.

Of course, that wasn't exactly right either.

After all, most of the tools for the work were provided by themself, and most of the jerky they ate was also brought back from their own hunting.

Thinking this way, they really did put in quite a bit of effort.

Probably?

Standing at the construction site for a while, just as Chu Guang pondered what to do today, Night Ten had already proactively come over.

"Respected Manager," Night Ten said with a respectful salute, eagerness written all over his face, and took the initiative to speak, "Are we going hunting again today? When do we leave?"

Chu Guang was slightly startled and nodded.

"...Now."

Well then.

Now these players had become rather initiative, learning to assign work for themself?

But Chu Guang didn't say anything.

After all, he had indeed planned to go out for a stroll and smoke some game meat.

Chu Guang, with Night Ten in tow, returned to the shelter and donned a tactical belt he had stripped from a mercenary, slid the pistol he had picked up into it, and then inserted two 5mm pistol clips as spare ammunition.

His primary weapon was still his 9mm iron pipe rifle, as well as the Physics Holy Sword—a steel pipe that could pry open doors and hammer people.

Although he now had the options of a submachine gun and a shotgun—these two "close combat divine artifacts"—neither was particularly meaningful for hunting.

The spare ammunition for the spreader contained no slug rounds; using buckshot would damage the fur.

Rather than relying on close-quarters firepower suppression, Chu Guang preferred to use the high-quality 9mm iron pipe rifle with rifling threads, taking down the game with a single shot at a medium distance.

Or at least immobilize it, then go up close for the coup de grâce with the steel pipe.

This would not only save precious ammunition but also preserve the game's fur in a more complete condition.

After all, each additional bullet hole or slash would decrease the quality of the fur by ten percent.

"Take this with you."

Chu Guang handed Night Ten a pistol and a crossbow, along with a beast skin quiver holding fifteen crossbow arrows.

"Can I use the shotgun?"

Night Ten looked at the pistol, then at the shotgun leaning in the corner of the wall, pleadingly gazing at Chu Guang.

However, Chu Guang had no intention of yielding and said expressionlessly,

"We're going hunting, not fighting mutants."

"You get used to these two weapons before talking about others."

...

Chu Guang set off on a hunting trip with Night Ten.

The players at the outpost worked as diligently as they had the day before, some moving bricks, some mixing cement, some plastering—none were idle.

Thanks to the thirty tools exchanged by the esteemed Manager from the Brown farmstead, the work efficiency of the players had substantially increased.

Especially those building the walls.

The enclosing wall's construction site was advancing at a visibly rapid pace.

Not just at the construction site.

Fang Chang and Old White, pondering over the primitive method of smelting, had made new progress in their work after acquiring fire tongs and a hammer.

They had dismantled parts from the cars in the parking lot—rusted car frames, engine hoods, suspensions, and even the engine casings—these scraps, subject to two hundred years of weathering until no complete structures remained, were like natural open-air ore deposits to them.

Smashing the brittle rust into the furnace, still using charcoal as the reductant and manual bellows for airflow, this time they actually succeeded in smelting the junk into hot molten iron.

"Awesome!!!"

"It worked!"

Old White and Fang Chang clenched their fists excitedly.

They had been waiting for this moment for a full three days!

The hot molten iron produced by this method would cool down into pig iron with high carbon content. By repeatedly heating and cooling, they could reduce the carbon content to between 2% and 1.5%, obtaining the most basic steel materials.

As for creating alloys by adding metals like chromium and nickel, that was still too difficult for them. Real steel smelting required professional equipment, at the very least an electric furnace.

Actually, forget about smelting steel; just being able to produce molten iron from industrial waste was already an incredibly significant achievement for their rudimentary production facilities!

"What should we forge?" Old White excitedly asked Fang Chang, "An axe? Cutting tools? Or something else?"

Fang Chang, with an equally joyful face, pondered for a few seconds before responding.

"Let's start by making a big pot!"

"I'm so sick of stew, I could throw up!"

Although yesterday's mashed potatoes weren't bad, they heard from Brother Catfish that there wasn't much soy sauce left. If nothing unexpected happened, it would be pine nut and fresh fish soup again today.

That stuff really wasn't tasty at all; one sip and your mouth would be filled with the flavor of catfish.

"Haha, good idea! With an iron pot, we can stir-fry!"

The two quickly reached a consensus, starting to work with the little yellow clay left from brick-burning, figuring out how to create a mold for making the iron pot.

Meanwhile, in front of the carpentry shed.

Brother Mosquito, sitting on a small stool at the doorway was fully engrossed in the handcraft before him.

He was seen cradling a trash bin picked up from who knows where, sealing it with a wooden board, then hammering a stainless steel pipe into it, making a simple spray kettle structure.

And he wasn't done yet.

Clearly dissatisfied with a simple slanted sprinkler, Brother Mosquito sealed the connections with pine resin, fitted the exterior of the trash bin with a hand-carried wooden handle, constructed something akin to a pressure sprayer from a plastic bottle, and connected a tube bent into an S-shape to the back of the bin.

"Perfect!"

Having completed his creation, Brother Mosquito looked at the device in his hands with a joyous expression.

A manual pressurized flamethrower!

As long as wood tar was poured into the bin and a lit cotton strip was inserted into the front pipe, theoretically, within a radius of five meters, this device could become the nightmare of any person or Variant—

Of course, provided you didn't set yourself on fire too.

To put it in high social IQ terms, the design concept of the device was a bit cyberpunk, but Brother Mosquito felt it wasn't a big issue, and it could always be improved later on.

For now, they could call it "Hellfire 0.1"!

As he was contemplating where to test it, Brother Mosquito looked up and suddenly saw Wild Wind approaching with a plastic bucket in hand.

That guy usually went fishing early in the morning, and typically he wouldn't be seen near the sanatorium until the afternoon. But today was an odd exception; he was back before ten o'clock.

"Yo, back so early today?" Mosquito asked, seeing Wild Wind approach, teasing him with a smile, "Don't tell me the traps broke again."

"It's not the traps," Wild Wind said, throwing the plastic bucket onto the ground, "Guess what I found?"

"Found what—?" Mosquito froze when he saw the contents of the bucket.

Inside were some white stones mixed with yellow and light brown impurities.

The stiff look on his face instantly turned to ecstatic joy.

"Bird Feces Stone!?"

Chapter 44 The Merchant from the Neighboring City

"I should have thought of this earlier!"

"The richest resource of Rhombus Lake isn't just the fish in the lake but the abundant nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium on the lakeshore! We're almost there, just ahead!"

Walking toward the lake with Mosquito, Wild Wind spoke excitedly along the way.

The two stopped at a shallow beach by the lake.

The area was lush with vegetation, making it an excellent hiding spot and water source for both humans and animals.

Just as Wild Wind was about to point something out, Mosquito beat him to it, stepping forward and crouching in front of a relatively flat rock.

He extended his index finger, gently rubbed it on the rock face, then brought it close to his nose for a sniff and tasted it.

Wild Wind, undeterred by the sight, asked hastily,

"How is it?"

Spitting onto the ground, Mosquito had a look of mixed joy and woe on his face.

"Ptui, why the hell is there fresh stuff..."

Wild Wind: "..."

Although he inadvertently tasted some fresh bird droppings, one thing was for sure, there were indeed large quantities of Bird Feces Stone present here.

The main component of this ore is Mg(NH4)[PO4]·6H2O, with an orthorhombic crystal structure. It's not hard to see from the chemical composition alone how widely this stuff can be used.

Furthermore, once there is a certain amount of Bird Feces Stone, the ammonia within it gradually oxidizes into nitric acid under the action of nitrifying bacteria, and ultimately accumulates beneath the soil in the form of potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate, magnesium nitrate, etc., creating what is known as nitrate ores.

This "byproduct" nitrate ore, with a simple method—such as mixing with lye that hasn't been filtered from wood ash and boiling it—could extract the calcium and magnesium ions and produce saltpeter with a few impurities!

In short, finding bird poop basically meant having control over saltpeter.

And with saltpeter, you essentially had gunpowder!

It wasn't just bird droppings, the shores of Rhombus Lake were covered with large amounts of excrement from Variants. Over time, these droppings weathered, deposited, and compacted to eventually form coprolite mines.

As for why there were so many coprolites along the lakeside, it was quite simple to figure out.

In the early years of the Wasteland Era, the planet went through a long period of severe cold that lasted almost half a century.

During that time, Linghu Wetland Park, being the region with the richest water resources, had a large number of wild animals and livestock that escaped from ranches living here.

These droppings were likely left behind from that time.

It wasn't until the end of the cold period and the formation of a more lush ecosystem in the uninhabited urban areas that this place gradually quieted down.

"With these nitrate ores, making black powder won't be a big problem!" Mosquito stood up excitedly and looked at Wild Wind, "Help me out, let's gather more and take it back."

Wild Wind asked with a puzzled tone,

"We have the nitrate ores and the charcoal, but if I remember correctly, doesn't the formula for black powder also include sulfur? Where do you plan to find sulfur?"

If he wasn't mistaken, sulfur was typically found near volcanoes or hot springs.

However, this area clearly didn't look like it had either of those features.

Mosquito paused for a moment.

Obviously, he hadn't considered this problem yet.

"Uh, if we don't have sulfur, sulfates could work too, it's just that the process is a bit more troublesome... they should still be easy to find, right?"

Wild Wind glanced around and shrugged helplessly.

"Anyway, let's start looking."

...

Unfortunately, there was no sulfur in the forest, nor anything resembling sulfur by the lake.

Think about it.

How could such a thing appear in Wetland Park?

But thankfully, just when the two were about to give up, they stumbled upon a gypsum deposit beside a small river that extended from Rhombus Lake.

This stuff is made of calcium sulfate, and when burned at high temperatures with carbon, it can produce calcium sulfide and carbon dioxide, exactly the kind of sulfate mineral they were looking for!

"How could I have forgotten about this!" Mosquito slapped himself on the back of the head in annoyance. "Just the other day, I saw Old White and the others making cement; didn't they mix in this gypsum powder? Isn't this damn thing calcium sulfate?"

Wild Wind said with a wry smile,

"So this is the so-called darkness under the light."

"Anyway, the outcome is good," Mosquito said as he picked up some gypsum ore and put it into a plastic barrel, washed his hands, and stood up looking toward Wild Wind. "Let's go, now that we've got the materials, we can head back."

Wild Wind nodded and followed behind him.

The two returned to Survivor Settlement, and as they were heading toward their cabin, they noticed a commotion at the entrance.

The players who were working on the construction site had come down from the scaffolding for some reason, each of them carrying tools and surrounding a cow with two heads.

A strange man stood beside the Double-headed Cow.

He was wearing a leather jacket, his face adorned with a conciliatory smile, making weird hand gestures, and babbling in a language that was incomprehensible.

Mosquito, curiosity painted on his face, stopped in his tracks.

"Who is that guy? A new NPC?"

He hadn't heard anything about an update today.

"I don't know, I'll ask..."

Wild Wind was a man of action. He set down the plastic barrel and strode toward Egg Fry Brother, who was standing by the smoking rack enjoying the spectacle, and pulled him aside to ask, out of curiosity,

"What's happening over there? Who is that person?"

Egg Fry Brother crossed his arms and shook his head.

"I'm not sure about the details myself, but from what others have said, it seems like our guys encountered this fellow on the way back from transporting stones at the construction site. Then, without saying anything, he just followed them here."

As Wild Wind moved closer, he overheard the players' discussion.

"How come this cow has two heads?"

"A tamed Variant?"

"This guy followed us the whole way! I bet he's up to no good, probably a spy for the Looters!"

"Not necessarily, what if he's an NPC?"

"That doesn't make sense, if he were an NPC, communication wouldn't be an issue, right?"

"Could it be that we haven't triggered the right conditions?"

"Why don't we lock him up for now and wait for the Manager to return?"

Feeling the increasingly hostile gaze from the surrounding crowd, Sun Shiqi, who was surrounded, felt immense pressure.

Although he had a revolver hidden under his jacket and the safety was off, even if he emptied his chamber, it would only be six bullets.

And these Residents of the refuge closing in on him wouldn't even give him the chance to fire six shots.

One person, one Hammer, and he would be laid out on the ground.

"I'll say it one more time, I have no ill intentions. I am a Merchant, Merchant, you understand? Damn it, even if things were bad 200 years ago, the profession of a peddler couldn't have disappeared, could it? Or have you slept for too long and forgotten?"

"Alright, calm down, let me put it another way, I want to trade the goods on this cow's back for something you have in abundance that I just happen to need... Anything will do! Of course, if you don't want to trade, that's fine too, I'll leave right now, and I won't bother you again!"

Seeing that communication was impossible, Sun Shiqi already had thoughts of retreating.

However, these residents of the refuge had no intention of making way; instead, they pressed in even closer and even produced some ropes.

Despair filled Sun Shiqi's heart.

Just as he was contemplating whether to fight to the death, the blue-jacketed crowd surrounding him suddenly opened a path.

A man appeared, carrying the corpse of a mutant reindeer over his shoulder, walking towards them.

That mutant reindeer must have weighed over a hundred kilograms, nearly the size of a horse, yet the man carried the large prey as if it were nothing, his stride unchanged.

Although he was wearing an innocuous blue jacket, Sun Shiqi still sensed an extremely dangerous aura emanating from him.

This guy...

He is definitely not an ordinary resident of the refuge!

The man dropped the prey heavily on the ground, exchanged a few words with his companions, and then they obediently dispersed.

Watching the man approaching him, Sun Shiqi tensed up, his nerves stretched tight.

In an instant, a thought flashed through his mind. If he could take this man hostage, maybe he could leave here smoothly.

However, his instincts told him that if he really did that, he would die the moment he made his move...

"Who are you?" Chu Guang asked, looking at him.

Hearing the man speak to him, Sun Shiqi was slightly startled and a look of surprise crossed his face.

"You can talk? No, I didn't mean that. What I mean is, do you speak the language here?"

The language here naturally referred to United Human language.

Before the war, this region was part of United Human's territory, and naturally, the unified language was used. Practically speaking, the residents of the refuge should also be using United Human language, but somehow these people seemed a bit different.

Chu Guang slightly frowned and continued to speak.

"I'm the one asking the questions now."

"Answer me, who are you?"

Sensing the unfriendly tone in his voice, Sun Shiqi quickly explained,

"My surname is Sun, my name is Sun Shiqi. I come from the neighboring Red River Town! I'm a merchant!"

Red River Town?

Hearing this unfamiliar place name, Chu Guang's eyebrows slightly raised.

He only knew this place was Qingquan City, located in the River Valley Province, in the heartland of United Human. As for what other cities were in River Valley Province, he wasn't very clear.

"What are you doing in Qingquan City?"

Sun Shiqi spoke cautiously.

"I am a merchant... Of course, I came here to do business."

Chu Guang's expression remained unmoved.

"Merchant? Then why did my companions say that you were following them?"

"It's a misunderstanding, it's definitely a misunderstanding!"

Sun Shiqi gestured with his hands, explaining with a cry of laughter,

"I was originally planning to go to Giant Stone City. I happened to see them wearing blue jackets, and I thought there might be a shelter nearby, so I wanted to trade something with you... I'm just a merchant, I really didn't mean any offense!"

He had not expected these people to be so sensitive.

If it were any ordinary survivor settlement, he definitely wouldn't dare to approach alone so rashly, but a refuge was different.

These adorable folks in blue jackets were known on the Wasteland for being naïvely kind-hearted, easily bullied, and easily deceived.

They were usually the elites of society before the war, or the descendants of the elites, often priding themselves as descendants of civilization, arrogant and disdainful.

At the time, he thought following them was harmless, and at worst, he'd be driven away like a beggar with no loss to himself.

Who could have imagined that after luring him in, they would surround him without a word, neither listening to him nor intending to leave.

This was simply dishonorable!

Despite the man's explanation, Chu Guang's expression remained firm as he continued to speak.

"Regardless of whether you meant any offense, you have indeed offended us. I believe that in any corner of the Wasteland, tracking isn't seen as a friendly act, right?"

Sun Shiqi sweated profusely and nodded reluctantly.

"...You're right."

"Good, it seems you've realized your mistake," Chu Guang nodded, "But don't worry, we are reasonable people. I've already convinced my companions by telling them that you are willing to apologize for your offensive behavior."

Sun Shiqi nodded hastily.

"Yes, yes, I am willing!"

Hearing this, Chu Guang finally showed a trace of a smile.

"That's settled then. By the way, you wouldn't suggest we choose ourselves, right?"

Sun Shiqi froze, looking confusedly at the man before him.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'choose ourselves'?"

Chu Guang said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world,

"Well, you can't apologize empty-handed, right? Otherwise, where would the apology come from? We won't extort you; we'll just pick one thing from the back of your cow."

As he spoke, the smile that had appeared on Chu Guang's face began to fade.

"You wouldn't be... unwilling, would you?"

With a face uglier than crying, Sun Shiqi steeled himself and nodded.

"No, not at all! The goods are on this cart... You pick."

These bandits!

Where's the dignity and pride of a civilized person?

To actually rob a ragged Waste Land Wanderer!

It's like a rich man, adorned with wealth, robbing a beggar on the street—don't these people feel any shame for their actions?

What a shivering disgrace!

Sun Shiqi cursed under his breath, but his face remained welcoming with a smile, not daring to show any negative emotion.

He was gradually starting to realize that this refuge differed fundamentally from any refuge he had encountered before.

As for Chu Guang, he paid no attention to what the merchant was thinking.

Because that was completely unimportant.

Seeing that the man was so cooperative, his face broke into a pleasant smile again.

"Then I won't be polite."

-

(Note: Combined, these two chapters are nearly eight thousand words long. Being honest, although I am still myself, compared to the past when I was known for two chapters a day, I'm doing pretty well now, right? Thus, I boldly ask for your recommendation and monthly votes—doesn't seem excessive, does it?)

Chapter 45: The Red River Town that Does Not Produce Grain

What Chu Guang hadn't expected was that the ox back was carrying quite a few good things.

For example, the five "Rider" model revolver rifles placed on top.

This device had a 7mm caliber, with two simple rifling grooves inside the barrel, which could keep the bullet trajectory within fifty meters relatively stable.

Especially its simple spring-plate type action structure was not only easy to maintain but also quite reliable in combat, so one did not need to worry about incidents such as jams or misfires, as a light flick of the cylinder would allow shooting to continue.

If the barrel was removed, it could even be used as a pistol, though the accuracy would be left to fate.

Of course, what satisfied Chu Guang the most was the firing rate of this thing.

Although it was a semi-automatic design, as long as one could pull the trigger fast enough, firing six bullets in a short period to achieve a suppressing effect was not a problem at all!

One could say it was quite user-friendly.

As Chu Guang was pondering whether to pick a rifle as "compensation," his gaze suddenly fell on the sacks tied to the sides of the double-headed cow.

Upon opening one, it was stuffed full of coins.

These coins were either brass-colored or silver-white. It was uncertain what material they were made of, but they did not rust. The brass-colored coins were slightly smaller, and the silver-white ones were a bit larger, with denominations written as 1 and 10, corresponding to their values.

"Pre-war currency? No...

Chu Guang picked up a coin and flipped it over, quickly recognizing the line of small characters in United Human language printed on the back—

[Galaxy Arcade]

Well, now.

They were game currency.

"Where did you get these from?"

Chu Guang tossed the coin back into the sack and sized up the merchant surnamed Sun, asking with the nervous expression on his face.

Upon hearing Chu Guang's inquiry, Sun Shiqi answered honestly.

"I found these coins in the basement of an arcade, thinking they could be refined into some copper and steel, so I just packed them."

Commercial Teams rarely stopped to scavenge, usually dealing with local Scavengers, which benefited both parties and avoided potential conflicts.

But nothing was absolute, just as impoverished Mercenaries occasionally moonlighted as Looters to rob homes, cash-strapped merchants would naturally risk scavenging themselves.

Like the current merchant, who clearly hadn't been in the business for long, and the double-headed cow behind him might have been just recently purchased with pooled money.

"Is there any more there?" Chu Guang asked.

Sun Shiqi was stunned for a moment and then nodded subconsciously.

"There seem to be two more cabinets... with these sacks, you could probably fill four or five more."

"Very good, I want them all."

Chu Guang unloaded two sacks from the ox's back and said to Sun Shiqi,

"These two sacks and the coins inside will be your compensation to us. Next time you come here, remember to bring all the remaining coins. Let me think... for every hundred kilograms of coins, I'll give you four kilograms of dried meat. How about that?"

A hundred kilograms, roughly the amount in a single sack, could yield about thirty to forty thousand coins.

Doing business favors a slow and steady flow, so Chu Guang didn't want to fleece the man too harshly. Therefore, he picked out those two sacks, which he just so happened to have a use for.

And...

Since he was planning to let the man go, Chu Guang didn't want to appear too desperate for weapons.

Clearly taken aback by Chu Guang's interest in these junk items, Sun Shiqi's face was full of surprise, but he dared not let it show too much and hastily nodded his head, saying,

"No problem! As long as you need them, I'll make sure to bring them all next time!"

He didn't care what the man in front of him needed the coins for. Was it for sentimentality? Maybe another reason? These old popsicles were always hard to figure out.

He had originally planned to haul these coins to Giant Stone City to sell them as copper and steel, even though they weren't worth much in chips.

If he could use them to open up a market in a shelter, he couldn't think of this deal as a loss!

Besides, shedding some weight in advance would make his upcoming journey a bit easier.

Aside from those two sacks of coins, Chu Guang also kept the five revolvers he had taken an interest in earlier, and he also purchased 200 rounds of 7mm ammunition the merchant carried.

In exchange, he provided the traveling merchant with a total of 50 kilograms of smoked meat and 10 kilograms of smoked fish.

Although there were many misunderstandings during their initial encounter, overall, the result satisfied them both.

Chu Guang got what he wanted, and the merchant surnamed Sun got the trade rights and food he needed.

Residents of Qingquan City would find it hard to imagine the situation in Red River Town, even though the two places are less than a hundred kilometers apart, the ecological environment there is a completely different picture.

According to this merchant surnamed Sun, there was a large-scale chemical industry base and a landfill site in the area.

Because these facilities went unmaintained after the war, with storage leaking, this resulted in severe soil contamination, especially in terms of heavy metal content exceeding standards, extensive desertification, and hardpan, which nature has not completely restored even now.

Furthermore, due to the fragility of the ecosystem, the main Variants there consist of scavengers and arthropods.

This extreme situation has led the local survivors to have almost no arable land to utilize and made maintaining a living through hunting exceedingly difficult.

However, interestingly, the landfill site that had faced protests from the locals before the war, became the survivors' greatest asset in the two centuries following the nuclear conflict.

Nearly half a century's worth of garbage was buried there, much of which had not yet degraded.

In today's Wasteland Era, the landfill's contents have formed a type of "non-natural ore deposit," which has enabled the prosperity of the local mining, archaeology, and trade industries.

"But what do you eat?" After listening to Sun Shiqi's description, Chu Guang couldn't help asking, "Do you rely entirely on imports?"

The price of food must skyrocket to heaven!

"Of course, we can't rely entirely on imports. Although we lack reindeer and hyenas, there are many edible Mutant Moles and rats. Besides, we also catch some less dangerous insects to make protein extracts for feeding livestock or for making nutritional paste like this stuff."

As he spoke, Sun Shiqi took out a sealed glass jar from the package on the back of the Double-headed Cow, which was filled with a dark, jelly-like substance.

It looked a bit like turtle jelly.

Chu Guang had seen this stuff when he was going through the bundles earlier but hadn't understood what it was for, so he didn't pay it any mind.

He never expected it to be food.

"What is this made of?"

Sun Shiqi chuckled and said,

"Mutant Cockroach."

Chu Guang: "..."

Damn!

He felt he could never look at turtle jelly the same way again.

"Although it's extracted from the protein and fats of mutant cockroaches, after boiling, filtering, air-drying, grinding, soaking, and concentrating through several processes, this stuff actually has nothing to do with cockroaches anymore, it's all protein ... Want some?"

Chu Guang said with a poker face,

"No, thanks."

He'd rather starve than eat that stuff.

But...

Listening to this guy, the costs of this kind of food seemed pretty low?

Mutant cockroaches were common everywhere, and certainly, those in Qingquan City would have much less heavy metal content than those in Red River Town.

In a pinch, using this nutrient paste as emergency rations for the players didn't seem like a bad choice?

Chu Guang fell into a long contemplation about whether to go down this path.

However, just then, he suddenly thought of something else.

"You seem to know a lot about insects?"

Sun Shiqi immediately nodded.

"Of course, we deal with those things every day."

Chu Guang continued to inquire,

"Do you have a way to deal with leeches?"

"Leeches?" Sun Shiqi paused, "Are you talking about... those mutated leeches?"

"Yeah."

Seeing Chu Guang nod, Sun Shiqi pondered for a moment with a troubled expression.

"Those things... aren't very common in Red River Town, probably because we have a lot of ants there."

Chu Guang asked with a frown,

"Ants?"

Sun Shiqi nodded and explained,

"Yeah, we have a type called Iron Back Ant. They're about the size of a thumb and can grow up to the size of a fist. These creatures have very hard exoskeletons, are corrosion-resistant, and will eat almost anything. Most soft-bodied animals are no match for them."

Chu Guang asked,

"Could you bring me a few to look at next time?"

Sun Shiqi said with a smile,

"No problem! Consider it done!"

After the trade was completed, the merchant named Sun didn't stay for long and chose to continue on his journey.

Chu Guang didn't hold him back but reminded him of a mutants' camp near Street No.76 and signs of Looter activity towards the north of Wetland Park before wishing him a safe journey.

The silhouette of the double-headed cow gradually disappeared into the forest.

The players who watched him leave were all talking amongst themselves.

"That guy was indeed a merchant!"

"Damn, glad we didn't hit him."

"Even if we had hit him, it probably wouldn't have mattered, we could have kept all his stuff."

"That's true, but what if the merchants don't respawn after they die?"

"It's unlikely they just won't respawn if they die, but it's possible that the upcoming 'Winter is Coming' expansion pack will really only have this one merchant. And didn't you hear the game designers say? Wasteland OL aims to create an economic system that truly reflects supply and demand. If this isn't just pie in the sky, playing the long game is the smart move!"

"...That sort of makes sense."

Ignoring the players' discussions, Chu Guang's mind was completely focused on those two sacks of game currency.

He had a bold idea.

If plastic chips could serve as a general equivalent, why couldn't metal currency?

Those two sacks of coins must contain at least sixty or seventy thousand each, and it wouldn't take long for Sun to bring him another huge batch.

For a community of under 500 people, these coins were more than sufficient!

Copper coins would be the yellow-brass ones, and silver coins would be the silver-colored ones, with a value of 10 to 1.

The original Contribution Points would be incorporated into a new honor system that could be used to purchase status, titles, and even private land.

Meanwhile, the mercenary, commercial team, guild, and army systems to be introduced in the future would also be linked to Contribution Points. Only players with sufficient contributions would have the legitimacy to lead other players.

This not only would strengthen management but also greatly limit those troublemaking players.

After all, the higher the value of players' accounts, the more they would cherish their hard-won gaming privileges and be inclined to invest more effort and voluntarily maintain order within the game.

Troublemaking was fun.

And that was human nature.

Lugging two nearly hundred-kilo heavy sacks, Chu Guang returned to the shelter alone. He found an empty room without an active cultivation chamber and leaned the sacks against the corner of the wall.

Then he turned around, went back to the residents' hall, turned on the computer, logged into the official website backend, and began to write a title.

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta Version alpha0.3 Update Announcement: Major Economic System Overhaul!]

As he typed this line, Chu Guang opened his document.

He had copied quite a few brilliant ideas from the forum before.

Now it was the perfect time to make use of them...

Chapter 46 Developer Log: Alpha 0.3 Version

Official Site:

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta Server alpha0.3 Version Update Announcement.]

[Major Updates:

1. The number of closed beta players increased to 50.

2. A brand new economic system.

3. A brand new honor system.

]

[Optimization:

1. Added several new Variant models.

2. A richer variety of tradable resources.

3. Fixed a small number of bugs.

...

]

After the announcement was released, Chu Guang didn't idle; he continued by pinning the post he had edited in advance on the official Forum.

Such major updates that affected the interests of all players definitely required a good chat with them in his capacity as a developer.

"Developer's Diary: alpha0.3 Version"

"Hello everyone, I am your most beloved planner. Thanks to our all-nighters and the beta players who punch in every day on time, the development progress of Wasteland OL has taken another big step!"

"It's not like I should boast, but this alpha0.3 version update will be the most significant one since the game's closed beta was launched!"

"Some buddies have been complaining that the process for settling Contribution Points is too complicated, requiring logging off to check and failing to enjoy the pleasure of counting Money in-game. They're also always worried about NPCs skimming off their wages... actually, this concern is completely unnecessary. The manager of Shelter No. 404, who also serves as the Novice Instructor, is absolutely just in setting; they wouldn't shortchange anyone by a penny, and I can guarantee that with my reputation!"

"However, although there is no issue of wage skimming, it's true that the contribution point settlement process is too cumbersome. After receiving feedback, our planning department held meetings day and night for three days, reaching a conclusion—gameplay shouldn't be sacrificed for the sake of realism."

"Therefore, we decided to design a set of brand new Money to replace the existing Contribution Points as the main reward players receive from tasks!"

"This Money is very convenient, mainly in denominations of 1 and 10, consisting of brass and silvery-white colors, and can be used to purchase Food, equipment, and other paid services and Commodities."

"Yes, after this update, Food will no longer be freely supplied; instead, players need to spend the in-game Copper or Silver coins to buy them. At the same time, players will also earn Money as a reward from tasks... doesn't that sound interesting? Gameplay has become richer instantly!"

"On the other hand, after the Alpha0.3 update, the shelter will allow its Residents to own private property! The junk or equipment players pick up from the Wasteland will belong to themselves and can be traded with other players or sold to the shelter for rewards."

"For this purpose, we've specially introduced an additional storage system, located in the buffer room at the entrance and exit of the shelter!"

"There's a row of lockers with customizable passwords that you've probably already noticed. Now they've been made available for use, where you can store Money or weapons, except for the dangerous goods banned from the shelter!"

"What? Are you asking if it's free of charge? Of course, it's not! But please don't worry; the rent is very cheap; everyone can afford it!"

"Additionally, players holding a large amount of Contribution Points needn't be disheartened! Although Contribution Points are no longer used as Money, all NPCs see your contributions to the shelter and the entire civilization."

"After research by our planning department, we've decided to integrate Contribution Points into the brand-new 'Honor' system!"

"This system is independent of the Economic System and mainly relates to the 'privileges' players enjoy within the shelter... to put it simply, it can be exchanged for status and titles!"

"All players' initial status by default is 'Residents of the refuge,' and spending 2000 Contribution Points can upgrade from Resident to Citizen."

"At Shelter No. 404, Residents only have basic human rights; only Citizens can own private Land."

"Currently, only the 'Citizen' status is open for exchange. The initial Citizen status supports the purchase of only 5 square meters of private Land. However, this number will continue to grow with the advancement of status."

"More statuses and titles will be released in future updates according to the progress of the test."

"Meanwhile, systems like Mercenary, Commercial Team, Guild, and Army still in design, also have certain requirements for status and Contribution Points."

"After the Alpha0.3 version, the rewards for daily tasks will mainly be Money, and only actions that contribute to the overall interest of the Outpost can reward Contribution Points. This includes, but is not limited to, holding public positions, resolving emergencies, great creations and inventions, etc."

"Please remember this!"

After the post was published, there wasn't a big stir immediately.

But this was within Chu Guang's expectation.

It was 3 p.m. in the Wasteland, and in the real world, it was the wee hours of the morning; too hellish for the net friends who had not obtained the reservation privilege and too early for the players in the Game.

They'd naturally see it when they logged off.

Stretching lazily, Chu Guang was about to shut down the Computer when he suddenly noticed that the post had received a new reply.

[Crow: What's going on, this just got updated!? Did I, I, I miss the whole 0.2 version?! QAQ]

Seeing this post, Chu Guang was shocked.

This guy really did what he said he'd do, not sleeping without a helmet.

But there was nothing he could do.

If he could, Chu Guang wished more than anyone that the players' respawn cooldown could be shorter, but unfortunately, developing from an embryo into a mature individual always takes some time.

Just hold on a little longer, you should be able to get back to Work by tomorrow.

Ignoring the unlucky player, Chu Guang shut down the Computer and stood up to go outside the shelter.

Ever since he bought a batch of tools from Brown's farm last time, the players' Work efficiency had indeed increased a lot compared to before.

It had only been two days since the third batch of players entered the Game, and the concrete Enclosing Wall surrounding the sanatorium was almost finished.

Not only that, Chu Guang noticed a group of players under the leadership of "Spare people under the knife" digging a foundation in the Open Space in front of the sanatorium, laying yellow mud bricks inside, and applying cement.

It looked like they were building a house.

Chu Guang approached and pulled aside a player who was moving bricks to ask,

"What are you guys doing?"

That player was straightforward and explained with a chuckle,

"We heard that the new NPC is a Weapon Merchant, so we're building her a weapon store!"

Holy shit?

Hearing this, Chu Guang was startled.

Was it so self-aware?

Although he did indeed share information about NPCs with Fang Chang, he had never hinted at anything like fixing a weapon shop.

The level of prediction was out of this world!

Keeping his face expressionless, Chu Guang continued to look at the foundations beside him and asked,

"And what about the other one?"

The player replied with a smile,

"That? It should be a public bathhouse!"

"Remember how we always went to the lakeside to clean up? But then we realized it wasn't too safe to keep doing that. Especially since yesterday, when Old White nearly got his little worm bitten off by a catfish as soon as he hit the water. So we discussed it and decided to build a public bathhouse."

Pfft.

No, he couldn't laugh.

Chu Guang held it in, nodding with a stiff expression.

"Ahem, keep up the good work."

"Hygiene is important..."

The player laughed,

"Alright! Then I'll go get busy."

"Go ahead."

The evening came quickly.

Brother Scrambled Eggs set up an iron pot in the open space, first throwing in a piece of hyena fat to render the oil, then tossing in the pre-cut deer meat and some foraged greens into the pot for a vigorous stir-fry, seasoning them with salt.

Tonight's menu was ferns stir-fried with deer meat, accompanied by a side of plain boiled green wheat porridge.

Thanks to the reindeer obtained by the Manager, players were finally able to improve their meals.

"Where did that iron pot come from?" Seeing Brother Scrambled Eggs holding kitchen utensils he hadn't seen before, Chu Guang's curiosity was piqued, so he turned to Old White, who was closest to him.

"That thing? Fang Chang and I made it," said Old White with a chuckle in response to the Manager's question.

"You made it?" Chu Guang looked at him in surprise and continued to ask, "Is that blast furnace of yours... operational now?"

"It's working! Although the steel it produces is of only average quality, it's perfectly fine for making some tools."

Old White said with pride, then continued,

"I was just thinking of reporting it to you, but I couldn't find where you were, heh."

Chu Guang hadn't anticipated that these players had mastered even the primitive method of smelting steel.

Though the quality of steel produced by this method might not be top-notch, doesn't all technology mature step by step?

With steel.

If not combat power, at least their productivity could ascend another level!

Chu Guang reflected on this, his face showing admiration.

"You've done very well. I will report your achievements to the organization."

"You and Fang Chang will earn a reward of 1000 Contribution Points... as recognition for addressing the Outpost's need for steel."

Old White was overjoyed, quickly saying,

"It's my honor to alleviate your burdens!"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"No need for that."

These players were all talented, and they knew how to speak pleasantly. His role as the Manager seemed too easy.

He remembered when he was on Bet Street, Chu Guang had heard from Old Charlie at the general store that most Managers of the refuges didn't end up well.

The residents of the refuge were far more difficult to please than the survivors of the Wasteland. Even well-fed and clothed, they would still disregard the dire situation and make unrealistic demands.

Very few Looters could penetrate the refuge's Copper Wall and Iron Wall outright; their weapons mere tickles against the refuge's gates, leaving barely a scratch. Most refuges that fell into disuse for non-natural reasons did so due to internal conflicts and disagreements leading to their collapse.

When he first heard these words from Old Charlie, Chu Guang always felt a hint of melancholy in his tone,

As if it was a part of his own experience.

When he first took over the management rights for Shelter No. 404, Chu Guang was also somewhat apprehensive, worried that he wouldn't handle the job well. That's why he always kept an escape route for himself back on Bet Street, bribing Little Fish to watch his house.

But now, he no longer thought that way.

Similar events might happen in any refuge, but they definitely wouldn't happen here.

Walking up to the stove where the meal was being prepared.

Chu Guang took a bowl and said to Brother Scrambled Eggs, who had just finished cooking a pot of food,

"Serve me a bowl too."

Brother Scrambled Eggs was surprised.

In his memory, this NPC had never dined with them before. He even suspected that the lord had a setting where he did not need to eat.

Could the artificial intelligence have upgraded?

"Me!"

Teng Teng, who was waiting by the stove, quickly took the bowl, filled it with a generous portion of green wheat porridge, and handed it to the Manager.

"Careful, it's hot."

"Mm."

Chu Guang nodded in thanks, had Brother Scrambled Eggs ladle some stir-fried deer meat on top of his thick porridge, and then turned to head towards the refuge's elevator.

Chapter 47: Being a Planner Proficient in Human Nature

"Eat."

Inside Shelter No. 404, in the room adjacent to the residents' hall, Chu Guang handed a bowl and spoon to Xia Yan, who was sitting against the wall.

Looking at the green barley porridge topped with deer meat and fern leaves, Xia Yan could not help swallowing her saliva and, ignoring the possibility of poison, buried her head and gulped it down greedily.

Being able to eat it meant her recovery was almost complete.

Watching the female mercenary devour the meal, Chu Guang casually glanced at her right leg. Although the limb couldn't be regenerated, the wound had mostly healed and the scabbed parts were even starting to fall off, revealing new flesh.

It seemed that the treatment injection really was something special.

If only he could inject another.

Once Xia Yan had almost finished eating, Chu Guang spoke up.

"How's the back?"

Xia Yan put down the bowl and nervously nodded her head.

Honestly, she wasn't confident.

But she was afraid to say no, fearing she might be sold to the neighboring farm as a serf.

This ruthless man had torn apart a Crawler with his bare hands and could shoot his own people without even blinking an eye; who knows what more inhuman things he could do.

"Very good," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "You can rest tomorrow, and the day after you'll start working."

Xia Yan anxiously asked,

"What exactly does the owner of the weapon shop do?"

Chu Guang looked at her and said,

"It's your role. Haven't you memorized all the lines yet?"

Xia Yan looked puzzled, clearly not understanding the nature of her job.

Chu Guang sighed.

"Never mind, if you don't understand, it's okay. My assistant, Xiao Qi, will train you on the job. Just do the tasks as I instruct."

"Also, I don't mind about other places, but in front of others, you must address me as the Manager. Understand?"

Xia Yan nodded.

"Understood…"

Chu Guang instructed,

"Now say it once."

"Manager, sir," Xia Yan said, her head bowed in submission.

Hmm?

She's a quick learner.

Pleased by her attitude, Chu Guang nodded, handing her a chocolate-flavored lollipop.

"Very good."

"This is dessert after the meal, take it."

Xia Yan, looking bewildered, took the lollipop from his hand and stared blankly at it, her mind obviously wandering.

Chu Guang didn't want to hear her thoughts nor was he curious about what she was thinking.

Leaving the room without lingering, he closed the door behind him, returned to the surface, first carried Xiao Qi down from upstairs, and then like an old peasant, he herded the released players back to Shelter No. 404, settling them back into their cultivation chambers.

Login access was locked to prevent anyone from getting out of bed in the middle of the night.

Except for one player scavenging outdoors, all 28 players had returned to the nest.

Sitting down in front of the computer in the residents' hall, Chu Guang opened the Forum.

As he expected, the first thing the small players did upon waking up, instead of brushing their teeth, was unanimously to pick up their mobile phones or computers and log onto the Wasteland OL official website.

Just after the players had logged off, the forum on the official website was at its liveliest for the day.

Especially since just three hours ago, Wasteland OL's official site had dropped such big news!

Just under three days after the launch of Alpha 0.2 version, they had updated to 0.3 version. And looking at the content of this update, it wasn't even a bit less remarkable than the previous version!

Absolutely no need for highlights.

The post that Chu Guang had made on the forum as a planner, unsurprisingly, replaced "Long Days Ahead" analysis post and became the current number one hot post on the entire forum!

Old White: [??? The most diligent official ever! A major update every three days, and a minor one daily, love it!]

Spare People Under the Knife: [Moved to tears, finally getting paid for quests! T.T]

Night Ten: [What are you saying? Haven't they been paying all this time? Don't contribution points and goodwill count as payment? (facetious)]

Fang Chang: [Wait a second, I have a question! Does this mean, from now on, daily tasks will no longer yield contribution points?]

Wild Wind: [Damn!]

Spare People Under the Knife: [Damn damn!]

Night Ten: [No, man! You can't do this! (panic)]

Future Kakarot: [Actually, there's another small detail, 2000 contribution points can upgrade to citizen, what if some tasks are only available to citizens, and residents can't take them?]

Canyon Fugitive Mole: [Wuwuwu, I want to build a house! Don't stop me from building a house! What happens if you build a house without buying land?]

Elena: [That would probably be considered an illegal construction. (facetious)]

Makabazi: "Building a house? That's pointless, I want to farm! Darn, what can I possibly grow on just 5 square meters! (Angry)"

These players always focus on the weirdest things.

Chu Guang just wanted to express that in the future, doing quests and work would earn money. Yet, what the players focused on was that it would be even harder to earn Contribution Points!

Moreover, regarding the Identity System and Private Land System in this update, they seemed to have misunderstood some things.

But this was also his own fault, as he hadn't explained this part clearly.

Guang: "Everyone, remain calm, I just finished a long shift and hadn't even managed to shut my eyes when I heard from the Forum moderator that you all have a lot of questions about the new version! So here, let me clarify what this Private Land System is all about!"

"First off, those who have already obtained the closed beta access should have felt that the map of the Wasteland OL game is an open world, where the actual map size is quite vast, almost infinite. However, compared to that, the available safe zones at the surface outpost of Shelter No. 404 are limited!"

"These 5 square meters of private land can be regarded as a personal space within the Enclosing Wall provided to players by the Outpost Base. Players are free to build their houses on their own land as long as the height doesn't exceed the center of the base where the sanatorium's ruins are located!"

"If you want to increase the size of your private territory, aside from striving to earn Contribution Points to upgrade your identity level, you can also cooperate with friends to jointly develop and share the use!"

"Of course, some players might wonder if they can build houses outside the Enclosing Wall of the Outpost Base if they don't have their own land?"

"The answer is definitely yes, we promised that players could freely unleash their creativity to remodel the world, and the server will preserve these alterations, which is indeed one of the core gameplay elements of this game!"

"However, note that free construction is just a server-supported feature! Players are allowed to exercise this function but must also abide by the rules set by NPCs within the game. After all, in terms of settings, players are residents of Shelter No. 404."

"The territory of the Outpost Base is not only the Wall but also includes the defense buffer zone outside the wall, agricultural zones, and so forth. As long as they don't occupy these lands and don't pose a threat to public safety or the facilities of the Outpost Base, players can explore their creativity and build freely."

"But take note, these facilities outside the territory are not protected by the shelter."

"Also, since the scale of the Outpost will constantly change as development progresses, the nearby land may be included in the new territory any time. Therefore, for the sake of your gaming experience, you should be creative and it's best to choose a location a bit far from the Outpost Base."

"If your building accidentally falls within the Outpost's territorial scope, there's no need to worry too much. The merciful Manager will not immediately demolish buildings inside the territory but will give the owner 30 days."

"Within this 30-day period, you will have the right of first refusal for the land, whether it's by upgrading your identity level or cooperating with other players. As long as the land under your building becomes your private land, you can keep the unauthorized building, which is very humane."

"Of course, if during these 30 days the player does not exercise the right of first refusal, the Manager will have to follow the shelter's management regulations, reclaim the land, and confiscate the unauthorized buildings, proceeding with asset disposition."

"During the asset disposition process, the Manager will decide whether to demolish the building, list it as a public facility, or auction it off based on its purpose and quality. Depending on how the building is dealt with, the Manager may also provide some compensation to the displaced player."

"Additionally, I have to mention, the current money is only a temporary currency during the closed beta and even the internal testing phases! This is crucial!"

"By the end of the game testing, we're considering adopting digital currency and electronic accounting to integrate the money system with the Attribute Panel, presenting it right in front of the players through a visual interface, just like those traditional PC games you play! Attributes, properties, everything will be there for you to check any time!"

"However, implementing this function is not easy, involving many complex technical issues. Please be patient and give our development team some time!"

"By the way, this update has added 20 more closed beta qualifications, and I believe the lucky folks should have received the notification emails by now. Please check them in time."

"After working all night, I need to catch some sleep. If you have any more questions, leave a comment under this post, and I'll get back to them once I wake up!"

Of course, Chu Guang didn't sleep.

Over in Wasteland, it had just turned dark, not even 6:30 PM yet. Sleeping this early would mean waking up in the middle of the night, and he didn't have a Game Helmet to help him sleep.

Might as well sneak a peek on the forum and watch this bunch of Sand Sculptures chat.

As Chu Guang expected, less than two minutes after his post was updated, the comments section exploded again.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Awesome! The planner actually replied!"

Human Outline Chef: "Brother Guang!!! Just like you!"

Sweat Falling On Soil: "I beg for a closed beta qualification, please just give me a chance!"

Grandpa Ao: "Keep talking smack—I'm not buying it anymore. I'll say it again, a completely immersive virtual reality game simply doesn't exist in this world. Those accounts above are all robots! Live people in the forum, don't let the Dog Management of the herd fool you! They're no good!"

Elena: "Are there still real people on this forum? Aren't they all my alts? (joking)"

Quit smoking: "What? The 20 spots are already taken? Why didn't I receive anything in my email?!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Hahahaha, I got it!"

That Touch of Remembrance: "+1, Haha!"

Huh?

This ID of Grandpa Ao looks a bit familiar.

Seems like it's from the herd!

But what Chu Guang didn't expect was that this Grandpa Ao kid actually followed them to the forum.

Hadn't this guy always been saying that this official website was a shady site hung up by a horse?

Why is he bowing down to reality now?

Chu Guang clicked on the account to see, and laughed even harder.

Good fellow, he's actually a pre-registered player, and had answered ten questions after Chu Guang had raised the registration threshold.

Chu Guang chuckled to himself and didn't take the guy's ridiculous comments seriously.

In the forum, he wasn't the only one who didn't believe the game really existed.

All Chu Guang had to do was to sift through those three hundred "reservists" and pick 20 reliable players to let in.

His methods included, but were not limited to, analyzing user profiles based on forum posting history, quiz scores, activity levels, and login times—with his sales background, he was exceptionally good at this.

Those puffers who refuse this and that, thinking you're the smartest—don't bother. So many rebars on construction sites to carry, yet choosing to be a smart aleck in the game, that's just inappropriate.

Can't get a reservation?

Furious?

Haha.

Chu Guang couldn't care less.

As a dog planner who was an expert in human nature, Chu Guang just needed to figure out how to let players willingly carry bricks for him all day long with the least amount of dialogue.

Chapter 48 Alpha 0.3 Version Released! New Gameplay Unlocked!

The next morning at dawn.

The area outside the sanatorium's enclosing wall was bustling with activity and calls from all directions.

"Transporting stones from the abandoned construction site, a four-person team with three of one rank and one of another, rental fee for two small carts already paid, hurry up if you want a ride."

"Any Strength Types looking for teammates? Group up to chop wood, make money, and level up!"

"Agile system looking for a group! Perception types preferred, Intelligence types step aside, for scavenging quests at the Northern Terraced Building! GKD!"

"Damn it, do people with the Intelligence System have no rights at all??"

"The Outpost is recruiting a part-time Warehouse Manager with a fixed daily salary of 9 Silver Coins and 100 Contribution Points, working hours from 6 AM to 6 PM, including a 3-hour rotating break. Job duties include checking ledger, inventory count, resource purchasing, and sales; Intelligence System preferred, hiring two people only. Be warned, the Manager is always watching you, and any acts of favoritism or fraud will be severely punished... Oh shit! I'm signing up!"

"The carpenter's hut is also hiring! The guaranteed daily salary is 10 Silver Coins and 200 Contribution Points, with an extra commission for tool-making orders. Uh, carpentry experience required, capable of processing logs, and able to make above good-quality furniture, Bow and Arrow, and Lance... I'm out of here."

After the update, every player received a newcomer's gift packet of 5 Copper Coins from the generous Manager.

What can you do with 5 Copper Coins?

Actually, there are quite a few things you can do.

For example, you could rent an axe for 5 hours from the lumber shack, or rent a flatbed cart, push cart, or other tools from the warehouse for 5 hours.

Besides rental, you could also buy one pound of goat horn tuber, green wheat, or 100g of jerky from the warehouse, so purchasing power is quite strong.

I must say, players are always the quickest to adapt.

If it were the Scavengers from Bet Street, upon hearing that someone wanted to replace their chips, which had been used for nearly a century, with metal pieces, they would probably stand up and fight that person immediately.

But players are different.

They are like particles performing Brownian motion in a bottle, with chaos and order coexisting as dualities within them. As long as they still need to repeatedly put on and take off their helmets, they can never escape this bottle.

The Game has its rules, and updates and adjustments are the norms.

To the players, this is common sense.

In less than an hour, these self-taught geniuses had already familiarized themselves with the new version's rules and started pondering over strategies to adapt to this version of play within the rules.

The open space in front of the enclosing wall.

Fang Chang didn't set off right away but gathered Old White, Night Ten, and Wild Wind together to sit in a circle and start a strategy meeting.

Fang Chang, "The biggest change in the Alpha0.3 version is the overhaul of the Economic System and the Identity System."

Fang Chang, "I just consulted the Assistant to the Manager, and to earn Contribution Points, other than making significant contributions, the only other way is through employment. Taking the lowest entry position of Warehouse Manager as an example, working one day you can earn 100 Contribution Points, and starting with zero foundation, it normally takes 20 days to reach Citizen level."

Wild Wind touched his nose and raised his hand.

"I'd like to add that it's not just through the employment system. There are guarantees with the daily active quests. For example, if you chop 20 trees and haul them to the carpenter's hut, in addition to the pay for chopping wood itself, you also get 80 Contribution Points... however, the daily maximum of Contribution Points you can earn from active quests is only 160 points, roughly two quests will cap it out."

Fang Chang, "Hmm... using the break time from professional quests to do daily active quests, theoretically, the maximum Contribution Points you can earn in a single day is 260, and it would take 8 days to accumulate 2000 points. But for the average person, I guess it's quite difficult."

Night Ten murmured.

"Holy cow, that means... my 3000 Contribution Points are kind of Niubi?!"

Old White scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

"I have 5000."

Night Ten, "Damn!"

The first time they entered The Game, Contribution Points for chopping trees were calculated based on the length and thickness of the wood. For trees as thick as an arm, 1 point per meter; trees as thick as a thigh, 2 points per meter.

Perhaps the game's numerical planner didn't design it well, and as a result, the Strength Type Old White stubbornly chopped wood until he reached 800 points, and even Fang Chang, the weakest in stamina, earned 300 points in a single day.

This was obviously unreasonable.

Sure enough, from Alpha0.2 version onwards, the income from chopping wood was significantly reduced, and now in the Alpha0.3 version, the income from chopping a tree, depending on thickness and length, was only 2 or 4 Copper Coins. Moreover, if you don't have your own axe, you still have to pay an hourly rental fee of 1 Copper Coin and accept credit.

Even if you chop 20 thigh-thick pine trees in one day, the income is just 80 Copper Coins, which is equivalent to 8 Silver Coins.

Plus the 80 Contribution Points for completing 20 trees, the lumberjack profession has been nerfed to an epic degree compared to the very beginning of the server!

However, the Outpost didn't seem to be lacking in wood anymore, and chopping trees is probably for next year's spring planting.

"Thanks to the overflow of Contribution Points data in the early stages of the game, we four are now the highest in Contribution Points in The Game. I have already exchanged for Citizen identity, and later you guys should also upgrade. That way, we have a combined 20 square meters, and can enclose a plot near the sanatorium."

"Enclose a plot for what?"

"Are you stupid? To build a house! A 20-square-meter tiny house with three floors shouldn't be a problem, right? As long as the height doesn't exceed that of the central sanatorium. The first floor will be the storefront, second and third floors divided up, one room each, isn't it great to have a bed and a box in there?"

Fang Chang glared at Night Ten, how could he ask such a dumb question.

"That makes sense..." Old White's eyes lit up, "We could go into business!"

The storefront directly faces the sanatorium's main entrance, the respawn point for players, an absolutely golden location in prime territory, where selling anything would make a fortune!

"Exactly! That's what I considered!"

Fang Chang snapped his fingers, a confident smile appearing on his face as he said,

"The new version is clearly encouraging players to be creative, to organize production and trade on their own initiative! Remember the dog—cough, remember what the planner emphasized at the beginning? The goal of Wasteland OL is to create an Economic System that truly reflects supply and demand, and this will determine a large part of players' equipment and supplies in the future, likely having to be acquired through trade between players!"

If you don't enclose land now, when will you?

Unfortunately, the Identity System limits the amount of land a player can purchase, otherwise Fang Chang would really like to save up and buy all the land around the sanatorium, straight up developing a real estate business in the Wasteland.

Isn't this a better value for money than buying a house in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou?

Could there possibly be any chance that Game wouldn't explode during public testing?

"Niubi!" Even Wild Wind couldn't help but give a thumbs up this time.

The analysis was spot on!

Night Ten and Old White exchanged a glance, their faces brimming with excitement.

"How much does it cost to buy land?"

Fang Chang said with a smile.

"I've checked it out, 1 square meter only needs 10 Silver Coins. What we need to do now is to gather 200 Silver Coins before all the other players, and buy the nearest 20 square meters to the sanatorium!"

Old White hesitated, "What if someone beats us to it?"

Fang Chang made a helpless gesture.

"If that really happens, then we'll just rope them into joining us."

Right now, there were hardly a few people who had leveled up to Citizen level. Even if there were some who were faster, there couldn't be that many, right? A couple more wouldn't hurt.

The three nodded in agreement, seeing no issue with the idea of pulling others into the endeavor.

"I have another question," Night Ten raised his hand and said, "What should we do to save up money? I checked, and working in cement production is the highest paying job among those with no experience requirements. But even then, the daily income is only 10 Silver Coins. Even with a 20% production bonus, that's only 12 Coins at most... and it only requires two people."

Wild Wind pointed in a certain direction, reminding them,

"Moreover, there are no spots left now, look over at the cement kilns... smoke has already started rising, probably filled up with people."

Though the cement kiln had been built by Old White and the rest, after the Alpha 0.3 version update that introduced the land system, every facility inside the enclosing wall had become public property.

As the builders of the facility, Old White and Fang Chang both enjoyed a 30-day priority purchasing right.

But the location of that cement kiln was really too remote – almost against the wall – and who knew when it might be obliterated by a stray bullet from outside invaders.

Neither of them planned to waste their precious "land purchasing quota" on that, especially since the technology involved wasn't that advanced. It would be better to wait for the 30-day mark when the assets were liquidated, and the fixed assets above the ground were officially confiscated, after which the Manager would compensate them with a sum of money and Contribution Points.

They were even hoping for the confiscation to happen now in exchange for a demolition compensation to buy land.

Fang Chang stroked his chin and said,

"Even if it's not fully staffed, I wouldn't recommend taking those fixed positions. To outrun the other players, we must find an alternative path."

Night Ten looked at him and asked,

"Such as?"

"Such as hunting!"

"Hunting?"

Fang Chang nodded.

"Yes, I just saw at the warehouse entrance, a mutated hyena carcass can be traded for 5 Silver Coins, and if the prey weighs more than thirty kilograms, every kilogram over nets an additional 2 Copper Coins."

Night Ten's eyes widened.

"5 Silver Coins? That much?!"

And that was based on the bare minimum!

Mutated hyenas generally weighed around thirty kilograms, but now it was autumn, and most prey were bulking up on fat, so they usually weighed more than usual.

This game executed that detail impressively.

"...Yeah, besides mutated hyenas, mutant reindeer were also on the buying list, and each piece of game was priced at at least 12 Silver Coins! Basically, if the four of us team up and manage to hunt down 8 mutated hyenas in a day, we can steadily surpass the income from four people making cement! Every extra one means more profit!"

This was the quickest way Fang Chang could think of to earn 200 Silver Coins.

"But... where do we find so many prey?" Old White hesitatingly said, "Inside Wetland Park, there seem to be mostly birds and small animals. Don't we have to go out of Wetland Park and into the city to find bigger game?"

Before Fang Chang could answer, Night Ten sitting next to him raised his hand.

"We don't have to worry about that! I've been hunting with the Manager these past days. I remember the dangerous spots and where the prey is abundant. Moreover, yesterday the Manager and I found a migrating herd of deer. As long we follow the tracks, it'll be easy to find game!"

Wild Wind nodded.

"Right, our Night Ten is Perception Type, 9 points in Perception, currently the highest among all players. Searching for game shouldn't be too hard. The real question is, how do we go about hunting? The Weapon Merchant isn't open for business yet."

Fang Chang confidently smiled and stated,

"There's no need for guns. With proper use, spears, slingshots, bows and arrows, crossbows... these weapons perform just as well as guns at medium and close range."

Wild Wind furrowed his brow in enquiry.

"Have you ever used a bow? It's not so easy to hit a target with that thing."

He had tried archery once during a team-building activity at the Archery club in college, even using one of those professional aiming bows.

Nevermind hitting a target 20 meters away; not embarrassing yourself with a bag of 10 arrows was considered a bit of a talent.

Many aiming for their own targets would end up hitting someone else's or even the protective cotton on the floors and ceilings.

Without sights for the bows...

Wild Wind couldn't even fathom how low the hit rate might be.

However, Fang Chang didn't seem worried in the slightest, still wearing a confident smile.

"Don't worry about it. Leave the archery to me. I have some experience. You will be in charge of making traps and finishing blows, Old White as the frontliner, Night Ten on scouting and alert."

"Trust me, this lineup is rock solid!"

[Note: "Niubi" in Chinese is a slang term often equated with "awesome" or "badass".]

Chapter 49 Chu Guang Plays a Big Game

Actually, it wasn't just Fang Chang who noticed, many players had already noticed.

The significance of this update wasn't just about perfecting the economic system or incorporating Contribution Points into the honor system.

Its greatest significance was emphasizing cooperation among players!

With the increase in the number of players, this step was inevitable.

A good social system not only enhances the players' gaming experience but also increases user stickiness and daily activity.

Although the latter seems somewhat superfluous for the technically proficient "Wasteland OL."

Up until now, the players selected by Chu Guang were all hardcore, nearly wishing they could stay online 24 hours a day and unwilling to log off unless forced to.

As disciplined as if they had no sex lives.

In any case, in the eyes of the vast majority of players, the impact of this update on player cooperation was profound.

Although the official didn't update the social system, many settings were actually laying the groundwork for teaming up and the guild system.

For example, the typical one where players can share land usage rights with friends.

5 square meters of land might not accomplish much, but put together by four players, making up 20 square meters, they could build a small apartment.

Isn't this the embryonic form of a guild?

"Xiao Qi, do you know what the soul of a game is?"

"What is it?"

Standing on the third floor of the sanatorium, watching players bustling inside and outside the Outpost War Base, Chu Guang's lips curved into a gentle smile.

"It's mathematics."

"Mathematics?"

"Yes, more precisely, it should be said it's the design of values. It's an art form, and excellent value design can even become a gameplay style in itself. Compared to that, plot, graphics, and settings are just added value granted to the game by art."

Even Baidu isn't completely useless.

It can occasionally find some nonsense.

After pausing for a moment, Chu Guang continued methodically.

"Through the design of values, we can keep the Contribution Points and money that the majority of routine-following players can earn in a day within a reasonable range."

"For example, under normal circumstances, it takes two to three weeks to rise from Resident to Citizen. This time period can't be too long, as it would cause players to lose confidence, nor can it be too short, as things that are too easily obtained are meaningless. And once players become Citizens, our core users, we immediately set new goals for them, like buying land."

Xiao Qi tilted the camera.

"Buying land? But the land price you set seems inexpensive, right?"

"Correct," Chu Guang nodded, "For players who have already obtained Citizen status, buying land itself won't take long, even just reaching into their wallets. But after buying land, something has to be built on it, right?"

"Building houses requires cement, bricks, and sturdier cottages require steel. If you build several houses, won't the production capacity for materials like cement, bricks, and steel increase? I don't believe these players would enjoy seeing their homes in the game looking as ugly as shanties. Why only give them 5 square meters of Citizen status? If I gave them 10 square meters, 20 square meters, our safe zone would soon be filled with useless shanties and trash."

Xiao Qi: "Ah, this."

For an AI, empathetically understanding these matters seems to be somewhat challenging.

However, Chu Guang didn't mind.

With a light smile, he continued.

"Once the houses are built, they can't just remain unfinished, right? If it's beds or tables and cabinets, or even carpets and curtains, and later when there's electricity, even getting a light bulb—folks will still need to furnish them somewhat. Wood, fur, crafts... in this back and forth, won't production and consumption rise together like stepping with both feet?"

Whether it's buying land to build houses or acquiring furniture, all these require spending money, right?

And where does the money come from?

Sorry, this game is still in closed beta, currently not supporting in-game purchases via real money; if you want to earn money, you have to earnestly complete tasks, grind dungeons, or work on the land.

Through the lever of the task system, Chu Guang could easily control the flow of money and indirectly control the players' actions.

For example, if the refuge lacks food, then increase the rewards for gathering and hunting tasks. If houses need to be built, then increase the earnings for brick moving, plastering, and cement making.

What if mutants or looters attacked?

Then it wasn't a matter of money anymore.

Chu Guang would issue a "never retreat" wartime mobilization in the form of a "game activity" and temporarily waive some of the death penalties for players during the activity, providing them with weapons.

Facing a group of fearlessly brutal Heaven disasters.

Even the mutants who knew no fear would feel a chill.

"...once they've had their fun, I will unlock new identity levels for them to play with. Beyond citizens, there are intermediate citizens, and they can purchase land up to 25 square meters. By then, the second encircling wall would also be completed, and we would no longer lack cement, bricks, timber, or steel; they could build larger houses and repeat all the above steps."

"When they get tired of building houses at their doorstep, I will throw them a noble title, assign them a slightly more distant fiefdom, and let them figure things out. Weapons, ammunition, food, fuel, building materials... they'll produce what they can, and import the rest from home if they can't. It'll be good to find something for the new players to do."

"As for after that? Let's talk about it when it comes. Fuck, I've only just unlocked Level B1 of the shelter, and here I am worrying about their future..."

The exact number of cultivation chambers in Shelter No. 404 is still unknown, and he may well have to figure out how to build these things himself.

He was certain that the all-powerful First Generation Manager had completed some "unprecedented" great technology in this shelter.

And would surely reveal all the secrets to him when the time came.

However, although the road ahead was unpredictable, Chu Guang was still full of confidence about the major update of this Alpha 0.3 version.

He was playing a grand game.

In his first stage plan, players with nine years of compulsory education were all quality labor, and it wouldn't be a problem to leap directly from an agrarian society to an industrial one.

Having achieved basic industrialization, they would then have the prerequisites for survival on the Wasteland.

In the second stage, as the number of players increased, Chu Guang would try to recruit some indigenous people from the Wasteland to join Outpost Base, engaging in basic production jobs like farming, chopping trees, and brewing cement. If there were any exceptionally talented individuals among these natives, he would arrange special positions for them.

Those players who had upgraded to citizens could be freed from the basic manual labor positions to engage more in creative, combat, and exploration work that was both challenging and "fun," fully utilizing their advantages of being able to resurrect and repeatedly make errors.

In the third stage, the final stage.

Ideally, the NPCs from the Wasteland natives and the players as clones should have formed a special symbiotic societal relationship.

Benefiting from each other's strengths and imposing mutual restrictions.

If all went well, the players here with their property, possessions, equipment, friendships, and even love, would regard Wasteland OL as their "second life," becoming upholders rather than challengers of the order, forming a healthy game ecosystem.

This type of game actually exists in reality as well.

Commonly known as a "server environment."

Of course, Chu Guang knew that plans could never keep up with changes, so he also had many Plan Bs prepared to address any sudden situations.

But at least for now, the implementation of the first stage plan was quite good.

These players Chu Guang had carefully selected for the closed beta clearly desired the big picture he had painted, even more cooperative than he had imagined.

Xiao Qi held up the camera, looked at his master standing next to him, and whispered a reminder.

"Master, do you know? You're smiling like a villain right now."

"Villain? Have you ever seen a villain as kind as me?"

Chu Guang glared at this tactless fellow.

"I freed them from their monotonous daily lives, and gave them an extraordinary and additional 12 hours in their lives. All they needed to give was a little sweat and dream time, no other loss, not even spending a dime!"

Damn.

Talking like this seemed rather unfair.

The helmet should have been charged for!

But thinking it over, Chu Guang didn't know what use money would be for him, as things purchased online couldn't be delivered, and the server's electricity and helmet costs didn't need to be paid by him.

At least for now, charging money would be rather troublesome.

Shaking his head, Chu Guang turned away from the window, turning his back to Xiao Qi and yawned.

"The wind is a bit strong on the rooftop."

"I'm heading back to the shelter now, I'll leave this place to you."

His most promising team, the "Calf Horse Squad," had already set out with the bows and arrows, javelins, and dry food they bought with pooled funds; they were probably hunting.

Before this, Chu Guang had been deliberately nurturing a player called Night Ten, not only teaching him survival skills from the Wasteland, how to use "Perception" to track prey, and discern danger but also successfully leading him to find the tracks of a herd of deer.

If they couldn't bring back any game, it would be a shame on his cultivation.

Running low on 9mm bullets, Chu Guang decided to give himself a break today.

Xiao Qi moved the camera obediently, accepting the command.

"As you command, Master."

...

Noon arrived.

Next to the residents' hall in Shelter No. 404, from a partially opened cultivation chamber, a hoarse whimpering emerged.

"Uuu, big sis, I finally survived!"

Previously, too excited upon waking up, she bumped her forehead on the still closing chamber lid, rubbing her reddened forehead as Crow sat up in the cultivation chamber.

Looking at the mirror in front of her, seeing the tender skin and impressive figure, her pupils brimmed with tears.

Half from the pain, half from excitement.

Before going online, she had been observing on the Forum for three whole days!

Three days!

Heaven knows how she endured those restless nights without her helmet.

Wiping away the squeezed-out tears, Crow quickly slipped into the clothes stored in the chamber's storage compartment, pulling the zipper tight, and walked briskly out of the room.

The lights in the residents' hall were on.

Chu Guang, who had just returned from outside, was sitting at the computer in the hall, browsing the internet.

Hearing footsteps coming from next door, he casually closed the webpage he was viewing, released the mouse, and looked over at the player walking into the hall.

This young sapling bowed her head and spoke in a tone of repentance.

"Respected Manager, please allow me to apologize for my reckless and thoughtless actions!"

Although the planners told her that apologizing was meaningless, the NPC was made too realistically.

Especially when he looked over, she always felt that if she didn't say sorry, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

"No need to apologize to me, you've failed the trust of the organization and those still resting in the underground, awaiting their turn."

Chu Guang glanced at her clothing.

If he remembered correctly, each cultivation chamber was only equipped with two sets of these blue jacket uniforms. If she died one more time, she would probably have to run around naked.

On Teng Teng's side, although some warm beast skin jackets had been made, they were only suitable for outer wear; wearing nothing underneath would be somewhat inappropriate for children.

Especially since this person had a somewhat unique figure...

Chu Guang continued with an expressionless face.

"According to the rules, I should deduct 500 Contribution Points from you, but unfortunately, you don't have any Contribution Points to deduct."

Crow bowed her head in shame and said,

"I am truly sorry, and I am willing to accept any punishment!"

"Punishment is to help you learn a lesson. To survive in this Wasteland, courage is not the only requirement; you need intellect too. I hope you treasure your life and this hard-earned chance to come to the surface."

Chu Guang paused briefly, then continued.

"I'll assign you a task. Collect 100 kilograms of food from outside, including but not limited to wild vegetables, berries, and mushrooms. Until the punishment task is completed, your status will be downgraded from 'Resident' to 'Sinner,' which will not allow you to accept regular tasks or receive any rewards."

"Remember, your balance is too low to pay for the death penalty. If you die again, I will permanently expel you back underground."

"Be careful."

Permanent expulsion meant the deprivation of playing rights.

In the fictional game setting, all players came from the deepest part of the refuge — a hibernation center freezing thousands ready as a vanguard to return to the surface.

Hearing "permanent expulsion," Crow trembled and quickly said,

"Yes! I promise it won't happen again!"

Satisfied with her reflective attitude, Chu Guang nodded slightly.

"Go on."

Crow, feeling dejected, was about to walk towards the door, but just then, the Manager sitting at the desk suddenly called her.

"Wait a minute."

Crow stopped and turned back.

"Do you have any other instructions?"

"Hmm, wait a moment, I have something to show you."

Saying that, Chu Guang took out a can with metallic packaging from the drawer, pulled the tab, and tore off the lid.

A fragrance wafted from the inside.

Chu Guang paused after seeing it.

He didn't expect that this aged can, instead of having a layer of fat, looked as fresh as if it had just been produced.

It couldn't possibly be freshly processed...

Chu Guang's expression became slightly odd.

Is there a need to test for poison?

It seemed unnecessary.

Recently revived Crow didn't think through that much.

Her stomach was empty and although she wasn't hungry, upon seeing that deliciously appealing canned food, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva.

Looking up at the Manager, her face filled with disbelief and emotion.

"Is this, is this for me?"

Chu Guang didn't respond but simply asked,

"Do you want to eat?"

Crow quickly nodded.

"Yes."

Chu Guang continued asking.

"Does the color look okay? Like...any green tinges?"

Crow vigorously shook her head.

"No!"

When you're hungry, everything looks appealing. Her attention was already completely drawn to the food, and again, she couldn't help but swallow.

This Manager was just too kind!

Although he had just punished her, but, but, but —

"Alright, I understand."

Chu Guang took the canned food back.

"I just showed you; don't think too much about it."

Crow: "???"

In the end, the young player ran out with tears in her eyes.

Sitting there eating the canned food, Chu Guang also felt that he might have been a bit too severe this time…

Chapter 50 Diligent Players

How long would it take to pick 100 kilograms of mushrooms?

Chu Guang wasn't actually sure himself; he generally wouldn't touch those things.

His food was always self-procured; unless absolutely necessary, he would never choose fungi as sustenance.

Meanwhile, Crow stepped out of the shelter with a gloomy face, and as soon as she set foot on the open space in front of the sanatorium, she was stunned by the sight before her.

"This, has the map been updated?!"

A completely new scene!

Around the sanatorium, there was a three-meter-high concrete wall. Concrete blocks and rubble on the inner side of the wall formed a slope.

Makeshift shelters had been made on top of the wall using engine hoods taken from abandoned cars and aluminum strips found in the Wasteland.

It looked quite cyberpunk.

Not just the Enclosing wall, but in front of the sanatorium, two small brick and wood buildings of different sizes stood erect.

Wooden signs hung at the entrance of the houses, one labeled weapon shop and the other labeled bathhouse.

Not logging on for three days felt like a century had passed.

The changes from this update were too big.

Crow was bewildered.

After a while, she found the gate of the Enclosing wall, and as she approached it, she saw two players standing next to it, busy hammering and nailing pointed stakes into a row.

"What are you guys doing?" Crow asked curiously as she approached.

The two players didn't even lift their heads, humming to their busy work, clearly enjoying themselves.

Yarr I gotta pee: "We're making fences and shelters, got the task from the carpentry hut! It only needs two people, you're too late!"

Ward's foot odor who Levin: "That's right! Fortifying a shelter, you can earn 50 contribution points and 5 Silver coins! If we're attacked, we'll push the fence to the gate, and even if they break through the wooden doors, we'll use the shelters to encircle them and then shoot from a distance! Really useful!"

"But do we need to make it so complicated? Doesn't it say on the Task board that all we need is two wooden stakes laid across?"

"You don't know crap! This is a wooden anti-tank hedgehog based on the ones from World War II! When we can, we'll wrap it in barbed wire. No scrappy Looters nor green-skinned brutes would be able to breach our gate without becoming sitting ducks."

"Keep dreaming, it's just a lousy fence. I almost believed you."

While talking, the two players seemed to start arguing about the practicality of the defense structure.

Crow watched with a perplexed face and listened with complete confusion.

Silver coins?

Is it the currency recently updated?

And what's this about receiving tasks from a wooden hut? Weren't tasks always looked up on plastic signs before?

Crow pondered in her mind.

Looks like this update had some significant changes...

Nevertheless, she had to hurry up and complete the punishment task to regain her Resident status. She didn't want to miss out on this version only to have a new update roll in.

Thinking this, Crow decided to go find a container for the mushrooms.

However, just as she was going to pick up a plastic bucket, she found that the garbage inside the sanatorium had already been collected and stored in a wooden shed.

As she walked over, she saw a player sitting with legs crossed at a Table, with a notebook on it and an oil pen hanging nearby.

When the player saw the approaching Crow, they looked up with surprise.

"Hey? You're alive?"

Crow paused.

"You know me?"

The player said with a cheeky smile.

"Of course, who wouldn't? Since the start of the game, you're the only one who died for nothing."

Furious and wanting to hit someone but feeling like she would not win, Crow gave the player a fierce glare.

"Move aside, I need a bucket."

"Small bucket, 1 Copper Coin, big bucket, 2 Copper coins."

"What?" Crow's eyes widened, "You're charging for this junk?"

The nerve!

"Miss, it's not my rule. I'm just working here," the player made a helpless expression, spinning the oil pen, "If you have a complaint, go talk to the NPCs."

"But how am I supposed to have money right after reviving?" Crow said, laughingly frustrated, "Could you let it slide this once, bro? I'll return it after I use it."

"No can do, not following rules will get me punished. We can only sell these trash buckets, not rent them out," the player was straightforward, shaking his head like a tambourine, "Didn't everyone get 5 bronze coins with the update? It's not expensive, just buy one."

Crow was stunned.

"Ah?! Money was given out? Why didn't I receive anything?"

The player was obviously clueless too and scratched his head.

"Umm... maybe it's a favorability issue?"

"Did you offend any NPCs?"

Hearing about losing favorability, Crow almost cried of frustration.

Damn it!

She was already being punished, and now her favorability had to drop too?

Just then, a voice like heaven's melody came from behind.

"I'll pay for her."

Crow swiftly turned around and saw a short figure about one and a half meters tall, carrying a stack of thick Hyena Fur Coats, walking up to the warehouse's Table and dropping the load with a thud.

"Heave-ho, a total of 2 coats, mark it down!"

"Just a second."

As the player flipped open the notebook and started to write with the oil pen.

[...date...time, "Tailor" Teng Teng completed 2 Hyena Fur Coats.]

After taking up the tailoring profession, just complete a certain number of orders every day to not only ensure a base salary but also earn 2 Silver coins as a bonus for each quality coat completed.

Of course, players could also purchase beast skin, fiber, and other materials from the warehouse, produce the coats themselves, and then sell them to other players or back to the warehouse.

Equivalent to being a self-employed individual.

The profit from a coat made this way was about 1 to 5 silver coins, varying with quality. And if it was exceptionally well-crafted, once everyone had some money, perhaps a player would pay a high price for it.

Teng Teng planned to hone his skills a little more, save some money to buy a piece of land, and open a clothing store right in front of the sanatorium's main entrance.

Wouldn't running his own store be more profitable than working for an NPC?

"Teng Teng..."

Snapping back to reality, Crow grabbed Teng Teng's arm, her eyes brimming with grateful tears.

She hadn't expected that the only person to reach out to her after she ventured out would be Teng Teng, with whom she'd once had a falling out.

Embarrassed by her stare, Teng Teng's face turned red, and he awkwardly pulled his hand back.

"...Don't look at me like that, it's just one copper coin, not that much. Besides, you can pay me back later if it's such a big deal!"

"I am sorry, it was my fault before. You are really kind!"

"...Well, I didn't hold a grudge against you. Just do your best, alright? I've got to make clothes, so I'm off."

Leaving a copper coin on the table, Teng Teng, with a basket full of beast skins, turned to leave, but Crow eagerly took it from him and said.

"Let me help you!"

"No need, no need. Go about your business, you can leave me be."

Teng Teng was flustered, reaching to take the things back, but couldn't reach due to his height, deftly dodged by Crow.

Holding the basket high, the warmhearted Crow giggled and said.

"How can I do that? You're such a little thing; I can't let you carry all this. Where's your workstation? I'll take them there for you."

"..."

Why is this guy so annoying?

Teng Teng's forehead creased with annoyance, and his shoulders shook slightly.

His fists, clenched!

...

Woodworking cabin.

Brother Mosquito, sitting on a stool with a straw in his mouth, skillfully secured two wooden slats with tools and sandwiched an elastic alloy sheet he had picked up from the Wasteland in the middle.

After stringing it with a bowstring made from tanned mutated hyena tendons, an improvised wooden bow was completed.

"Done."

Another order was completed, another 2 silver coins earned.

Mosquito hung the finished wooden bow on a rack nearby, waiting for other players to come and choose.

Strictly speaking, to make a real hunting bow, these simple steps were far from enough.

Mosquito had heard that even the moisture content of the wood used for the bow's handle was quite important for a good hunting bow.

But that said, for players without firearms, these were already quite decent. Within thirty paces, killing a mutated hyena was not an issue.

Of course, that was if you hit it.

Anyway, he himself couldn't do it.

"Twenty wooden bows, able to pierce a mutated hyena's skull within 20 meters... This order might take all the way to the day after tomorrow."

Mosquito muttered, glancing at the jars at the corner of the table.

Inside those jars was saltpeter he had extracted from nitrate soil; next to that, a jar of gypsum powder with sulfuric acid, and under the shelf, a bucket full of black, hard charcoal lumps.

He had planned to concoct some black powder today, but the rewards offered for the Manager's orders were just too tempting.

Earning a guaranteed wage for making five wooden bows a day, plus a commission of 2 silver coins per bow.

"Forget it, making money comes first..."

It wasn't great to routinely perform chemical experiments in the woodworking cabin anyway.

He planned to save up some money to buy a plot of land, get some cement and bricks, build a small house, and sell the weapons he designed.

That would be way more interesting than woodworking!

Just then, the door of the woodworking cabin was pushed open, and Fang Chang, who had bought a bow from him earlier, strode in.

"I need another 20 arrows!"

"You burned through them that fast?" Mosquito, taken aback by the blood-covered Fang Chang, said, "You do know those things are reusable, right?"

"I know, but are you sure they can still be used?" Fang Chang, looking gloomy, placed the quiver on the table.

It was filled with a multitude of broken arrows and detached arrowheads.

He sat down with a sigh, and continued to air his grievances, "These quality issues are truly heartfelt!"

Mosquito picked up the quiver, examined an arrow, and stroked his chin.

"Um... Let's think rationally. The fact that the arrowheads remain in the prey's body should be seen as a plus. But just like you said, the loss rate is a bit high for hunting. I'll think of a way to improve them."

The arrowheads were made from sharpened metal pieces, fixed to wooden shafts with resin, indeed not top quality.

"Please!"

"You're welcome. It's my job, after all."

Mosquito counted out 20 arrows from a shelf and handed them to Fang Chang.

One arrow cost 2 copper coins, so 20 arrows cost 4 silver. Fang Chang, without hesitating, pulled 4 silver coins out of his pocket and slapped them on the table with confidence.

He had traded for them with his freshly hunted game.

"Thanks, brother."

"No problem, happy hunting," Mosquito grinned, waving goodbye to Fang Chang as he left, "Oh, and you might want to try my new weapon. I guarantee it's really useful."

Hearing this, Fang Chang nearly tripped over the door frame.

"Cough, definitely next time!"

That would be like testing it with his life on the line!

Thinking back to "Hell's Sprinkler" that Mosquito had previously designed, Fang Chang, steadying himself on the door frame without looking back, bolted with his quiver as if fleeing for his life.

Mosquito touched his nose, puzzled.

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

He had originally planned to outfit his "Hellfire 0.1" with a close-combat bayonet.

Chapter 51: The Economic System of Wasteland OL

The first day after the alpha0.3 version went live.

The testing results for the new version were quite pleasing.

With the players' division of labor and cooperation, the enclosing wall around the outpost was finally completed.

The three-meter-high concrete fortification brought not only a sense of security but also made nighttime activities in the game possible for the players.

Previously, as soon as it approached 6 pm, Chu Guang would lead the players back to the shelter to prevent them from being carried off by the Variants hunting for food.

Now, with the protection of the wall, players were willing to stay on the surface until their characters began to feel sleepy (fatigue value depleted).

Of course, for safety reasons, Chu Guang still prohibited the use of high furnaces and other open fire facilities at night.

During the day, processing steel and burning cement was okay since the forest concealed much of the smoke and dust, and the daylight fire was not as noticeable. But at night, it was a different story.

The Mutant tribe on Street No.76 was like a thorn stuck in the outpost's throat. Chu Guang couldn't feel at ease until this thorn was pulled out.

Besides the wall, the weapon shop and the bathhouse were also completed with the players' efforts, albeit not luxurious; they were functional.

Especially the partitioned bathhouse which Chu Guang was exceedingly satisfied with.

Before, whether it was him or the players, they all had to go to the lake to wash up, but now with the bathhouse, hygiene could be managed directly within the base.

Naturally, the wooden water tank on top of the bathhouse could only store 5 cubic meters of water, and it would inevitably run out after prolonged use.

At this point, someone would need to manually transport water from the lake to the tank so that those inside could continue bathing, which was indeed a bit troublesome.

Therefore, the wise and great Manager was considering converting the bathhouse from a public facility to a charged one, charging 5 bronze coins for each cubic meter of water. At the same time, establishing a new role for a water carrier whose job would be to fill the bathhouse tank.

This was quite reasonable.

On another front, besides construction, the players' performances in production, gathering, hunting, and crafting were also beyond Chu Guang's expectation.

The introduction of money greatly spurred the players' productivity (game enthusiasm).

Just hearing the clinking sound in their money bags could dispel the fatigue and weariness from their limbs, encouraging them to work fervently at their posts.

The most outstanding performance still came from the bull and horse small squad.

Against high expectations, these four veterans excelled at their game, combining scouting, frontline, output, and support into a quadrilateral combat tactic, impressing with their achievements on their first joint operation.

By evening, as they explored south along the elevated path, they had hunted a total of eight mutated hyenas and one mutant reindeer.

The proceeds from the sale of the prey were equivalent to 55 silver coins—43 from the mutated hyenas and 12 from the mutant reindeer.

Although the yield of meat from mutated hyenas and mutant reindeer was not high, usually just over 40% and not exceeding 50%,

Scrambled Egg Brother, who acted as a temporary butcher, still managed to get over a hundred kilograms of hyena meat and over a hundred kilograms of reindeer meat from these prey.

This meat would be processed into smoked meat and stored. Before being turned into smoked meat, players could also spend money to purchase fresh raw meat as their dinner.

It's worth mentioning that originally, everyone at the outpost ate communal meals, with Scrambled Egg Brother, who also acted as the chef, arranging two meals a day.

What the players could eat depended entirely on the chef's mood and whatever prey the great Manager happened to bring back that day.

But now, things were completely different.

The base's food supply would be open to all players, offering fair prices that did not cheat old or young. With just 1 Silver Coin, one could exchange for 1 kilogram of green wheat, or 300g of raw meat, or 200g of smoked dried meat.

What does 1 Silver Coin represent?

According to the rules designed by Chu Guang, 1 Silver Coin was equivalent to 10 Copper Coins, roughly the median income of players in an hour.

In other words, the majority of players just needed to work diligently for 1 to 2 hours, or complete some tasks patiently, to buy food that would fill their bellies.

As for whether the players chose to stuff the food directly into their mouths, or add some seasoning to cook it into green wheat porridge or wheat cakes, or even join others at a table to share a meal or make a trade—it was all up to them to decide.

When Chu Guang had previously designed this simple Economic System, he had done some calculations.

A mutated hyena weighing just over 30 kilograms, after discarding the inedible innards and head, would yield roughly 12 kilograms of meat.

Purchasing the game from a hunter for a base price of 5 Silver Coins and paying an average cost of 2 Silver Coins to hire a butcher to slaughter and process the meat, skinning and deboning, the total cost would be a mere 7 Silver Coins of zero cost.

Assuming that 12 kilograms of meat had been obtained and calculating with the price of 300g of raw meat for 1 Silver Coin, this 12 kilograms would equate to 40 Silver Coins!

With a product value of 40 Silver Coins and a production cost of 7 Silver Coins, overlooking the circulation costs, this simple economic chain would hence generate a surplus value of 33 Silver Coins.

This number meant nothing to the players, after all, they were playing a Game; but for Chu Guang, who served as the Manager, it meant a great deal.

As long as this "from game to raw meat" economic chain could keep running, each cycle would provide the Outpost's food supply with "33 Silver Coins worth of raw meat" and "an amount of Silver Coins worth of fur".

Of course, players would not be able to consume all the raw meat. Even if they spent all their money, it would be impossible for them to buy up everything they produced; overeating was not a good idea.

Thus, besides a small portion of meat being purchased by the players with the Silver Coins he distributed, much more of the raw meat would remain, as "raw material" entering a new economic chain, stored in the form of dried meat in the supply depot, as a food reserve for the shelter.

Beyond the "from game to dried meat" industry, chopping trees, picking up trash, making concrete, bricklaying, gathering, and fishing were basically similar economic models.

Through the two levers of pricing and task rewards, it was easy to adjust the stock of various items and the current focus of the players' work.

For instance, now that the Enclosing Wall was built, the base's need for plastering and bricklaying had decreased, whereas there was an increased need for more Food and weapons to feed and arm more players.

Therefore, Chu Guang would appropriately lower the prices of the weapons at the carpentry shop, stimulating players to order weapons, upgrade their equipment, and at the same time, raise the price of game, urging capable players to hunt with the weapons they bought, to enhance their proficiency.

As a result, the players had money, equipment, and also accumulated experience in battle. And Chu Guang not only obtained a large food reserve, but also gained a group of warriors with rich military virtues.

This was truly a win-win!

No, it should be a triple win!

Because as the Manager, Chu Guang could win twice!

Those few Coins were like a catalyst; despite not creating any value, they revitalized the entire economy of the Outpost.

Chu Guang felt he was simply a genius.

The only minor issue was that no one had cooked today.

The brother who fried eggs had not yet saved enough money, and his restaurant had not opened.

And to save money, almost everyone ran to the warehouse for basic subsistence, buying 1 kilogram of goat horn potatoes with 1 Silver Coin, renting a large pot among several teammates, lighting a fire, and simply cooking enough to eat. After finishing their meal, they would rent the pot to the next person.

It actually wouldn't matter if it wasn't cooked properly; the potatoes could be eaten raw; it was just a matter of hygiene and taste.

It seemed that in an instant, everyone, having a goal to strive for, suddenly didn't care much about how their food tasted, taking the spirit of hard work to the extreme; their only requirement was one, to be full!

Only Crow was different.

While everyone else happily munched on potatoes, she couldn't even afford to buy one.

Because the Manager had forgotten to give her the minimal assistance, compounded by the fact that she had logged on too late to find a teammate, she was now sitting in the corner, sullenly nibbling on sour berries and mushrooms.

In the end, it was Teng Teng who couldn't bear to watch this any longer and walked over to share half a bowl of mashed goat horn potatoes with her.

Watching Crow devour the food voraciously, Teng Teng couldn't bring herself to ridicule her and sighed instead.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll have to work hard on missions to earn money, okay? I can't support you forever."

Crow hugged Teng Teng with emotion.

"Teng Teng, are you an angel?"

Looking at Crow with tears shimmering in her eyes, Teng Teng, whose face was being squished, sighed and wriggled out from under her arms, her face flushed,

"...What nonsense are you talking about?"

The sky gradually darkened.

Chu Guang, strolling inside the base, was inspecting his territory as well as the situation of the players.

Although most players wanted to stay a little longer, in two more hours it would be dawn in the real world, so the working folks needed to freshen up and leave for their jobs.

Chu Guang, thinking that it was getting late, was about to call them together when a thumping knock suddenly came from the north gate of the base.

All the players looked towards the gate, and Chu Guang's right hand subconsciously gripped the pistol in his pocket, but he soon relaxed.

Through the player list, he confirmed that the person outside should be Junkie.

Looking at the two players closest to him, Chu Guang ordered,

"Fang Chang, Old White, go open the door."

"Yes!"

Fang Chang and Old White jogged forward, lifted the bar blocking the door, and pulled open a crack in the wooden gate.

Seeing Junkie squeeze through the gap, Fang Chang and Old White were taken aback.

"Fuck?"

"Bro, what happened to you?!"

Blood!

He was covered in it!

Although some of the wounds had already healed, many more were visibly raw with bite and gunshot wounds.

Seeing Junkie in this state, Chu Guang's brows furrowed slightly—he could guess what had happened to the poor guy.

Fortunately, if the enemy had mistaken him for a Variant, and not a particularly tasty one at that, the likelihood of being pursued was not high.

Ignoring his own injuries, Junkie hurried to the Manager, gasping for air as he said,

"The Raiders' Camp! It's about 2 kilometers north of the abandoned construction site, roughly 3 to 4 kilometers away from here! It's a tire factory!"

Night Ten couldn't help but ask, "Did you get into a fight with them?"

"No, no, I swear I didn't provoke them!"

Junkie quickly waved his hands to clear things up, stealing a glance at the Manager before continuing, "I was planning to retreat, but just then I bumped into their patrol... I saw there were only three of them."

Night Ten then asked, "And yet you ended up fighting them?"

Junkie looked embarrassed and averted his eyes.

"Uh... Got caught, couldn't help it."

It seemed he must have lost the fight.

But that wasn't surprising; a patrol of three people would usually have a dog with them, and the bite wounds on his body were probably from that.

Although this guy had a clear advantage in terms of panel data, fighting experienced Raider veterans, he wasn't necessarily going to come out on top.

It was already lucky that he made it back.

"The tire factory to the north, huh? I got it," Chu Guang nodded, then said to Junkie, "You should go rest in the Cultivation Chamber."

The Cultivation Chamber had the function of accelerating tissue and cell repair for clones synthesized by oneself. Coupled with Junkie's own Constitution attribute, he should recover before long.

"Yes, esteemed Manager." Having said that, Junkie, with his tail wagging, hobbled towards the direction of the sanatorium.

Along the way, many players noticed his state and began whispering to one another.

"This guy's injuries are severe!"

"Heard he found the Raider Camp."

"The Raider Camp?! Are we getting a new instance?!"

"Awesome!"

"Damn, I need to hurry up and save money for a gun!"

"Ah, I'm torn... should I buy land or a gun first?"

"Don't be stupid, start with bricks first."

Clearly, these players didn't realize the gravity of the situation and were eagerly discussing it instead.

But that was understandable.

After all, for them, this was a Game.

Only Chu Guang, as the Manager, felt a pressing concern.

To the north lay the Raider Camp, to the east the Mutant tribe's lair, to the west Rhombus Lake, and to the south, the survivors of Bet Street and Brown Farm.

The strategic position of the Outpost was not great; its room to expand was tightly constrained.

"Whether it's the Raiders or the Mutants."

"To break the deadlock, we'll have to fight one of them..."

Chu Guang had already thought through the content of the next expansion pack.

Chapter 52: You've Finally Understood the Game

7:00 PM.

As players gradually logged off, the official game forum started bustling with activity.

It had been 12 hours since the Alpha 0.3 version had launched, and everyone, from those who had pre-registered but hadn't received access to those backseat drivers who hadn't bothered to pre-register, was waiting for the firsthand scoop on the new update.

After delivering a meal to his little sister Xia Yan, Chu Guang hummed a tune as he returned to his computer, sat down, and opened up the forum to lurk.

The first post he saw was from Trash King.

"Finally confirmed today! The tire factory three kilometers north of the abandoned construction site is a Raider Camp! The numbers are roughly between 50 to 100! I wanted to capture a prisoner, but they turned out to be too many. Fortunately, they were clearly startled by me, too. I knocked out a dog that bit my arm with a slap and escaped while they were reloading."

"Damn, that mutt almost bit off my tail! The Raiders I encountered this time are way fiercer than the last!"

Chu Guang: "..."

What this post described didn't quite match what he'd heard half an hour ago.

Chu Guang remembered this guy saying that he hadn't actively provoked the Raiders. The injuries he suffered were because he had run into a Raider patrol on his way back.

But according to the post, it sounded like he had initiated an attack in an attempt to take a prisoner.

This kid wasn't telling the truth.

Chu Guang thought it over for a moment and shook his head.

Whatever, it's not important.

The first posts that come out are usually not very informative.

The regulars on the forum had been hearing Trash King blow hot air about that Raider Camp for almost three days. And after three days of squatting, he ended up fleeing in a rout.

Everyone expressed their inability to accept this in the thread.

Quit Smoking: "What's with this 50 to 100 range, how many exactly were there? You're even worse than Teletubby as a scout."

Elena: "Unzipped my pants but didn't fart, eh, just messing around. (smug)"

Grandpa Ao: "Trash, you got scared for nothing if there weren't even a hundred of them! Couldn't you have just kited them? Kill one at a time, repeat a few times, and they'd be wiped out, wouldn't they? Pah, what am I even talking about. This damn game doesn't even exist!"

All the good names were taken by dogs: "Move around! Noob!"

Si Si: "Can't even beat the mobs with a special class, that's just embarrassing! Better let me play!"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "??? Can you show me how to move? Damn it! Even the mobs know tactical flanking, alternating fire, and they even unleash dogs, can you believe that?!"

Quit Smoking: "I would love to! Give me your account, I'll show you how it's done."

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "I'm so green!"

The thread had completely veered off course, turning into a verbal brawl led by Brother Lizards, reminiscent of the time when Crow gave away his account and clashed with a crowd of players.

But no matter how he described the situation, he couldn't change the reality in the backseat drivers' minds that he was labeled as a newbie.

Perhaps, only after the photo-taking feature was implemented, could he prove his innocence.

Chu Guang was very aware of the Raiders' combat power.

These people might not have the best gear or the best physical fitness, and their discipline was as bad as goblins from a fantasy world, but their street-fighting talent was nearly maxed out.

After all, from the first year of the Wasteland Era, these people had never ceased battling, with the gene for pillaging already fused into their blood and marrow, passed down through countless generations.

After revisiting the elegant Mandarin in the post by Garbage King, Chu Guang closed the thread and continued browsing the forum.

It had been a while since the players had logged off, and a flood of quality content had started to emerge.

To Chu Guang's surprise, this quality content featured many new faces he hadn't seen before.

For example, an ID called "Escaping Mole from the Canyon."

Chu Guang checked his profile and found that he was a newcomer who entered the game in the Alpha0.2 version.

Based on his historical posts, it could be deduced that he found the official Wasteland OL website through a link shared by a friend, after the urban legend that circulated in the single-player game community.

In a nutshell, he was also someone who had free time at night.

"Mole Express: Hardcore Observations on the New Version! Backseat Drivers and Newbies, Please Detour!"

"Hello everyone, I'm your Big-Nosed Mole, and today after I logged in, I found that the game had undergone major changes. The production team finally delivered a small piece of their promised big pie, and I absolutely love the new version! Yay!"

"Let's start with the conclusion: I'm utterly blown away by the new economic system designed this time! Although currently, there are only a few simple supply chains, the details are enough to glimpse the ambition of the production team! They are indeed playing a big game!"

"But I won't blow smoke here; I'll just talk about my findings, which might help you out!"

"Currently, there are 2 recognized low-threshold, high-return ways to make money in the game: one is to burn cement, and the other is hunting. The former offers stable income and can be done solo but requires competition for positions since there aren't many daily openings. The latter provides unstable income, needs equipment, and is nearly impossible to solo, so if you want to take the hunter path, it's best to form a team with players who have Perception-based vehicles!"

"Burning cement doesn't require much skill, so let's focus on the hunter gameplay here!"

"A 30-kilogram mutated hyena, can be sold directly to the granary for 5 silver coins, and with some time spent on butchering, you can get 12 kilograms of raw meat, which instantly values at 40 silver coins. Isn't that amazing?"

"Of course, I'm talking about value here! Value! Emphasize that point."

"The granary at the Outpost doesn't accept raw meat; they only take unprocessed prey and directly preservable dried meat. And like in other games, NPCs' shops have sell-buy price differentials. For instance, dried meat, buying a kilogram costs you 5 silver coins, but selling it back gets you only 1 silver coin per kilogram, a five-fold price difference. Talk about reasonable!"

"If you hunt and make dried meat to sell to NPCs, at least you can earn more. But if you buy raw meat from NPC shops to smoke yourself, you could even end up losing money!"

"But actually, it's not so bad. I've seen worse in other games, so this is nothing. Especially in online games, where something that cost you 1000 game currency can only be sold for 1 game currency, that's basic. The brilliance of the game designer here is that they use the differential between buying and selling commodities at NPC shops to encourage player-to-player trade, rather than purchasing stock from NPCs."

"Here's a little tip: hunting teams could collaborate with one or two players to butcher their prey and turn it into dried meat and fur."

"A portion of the dried meat can be sold to players at prices lower than the granary's. You divide a kilogram into ten portions and sell them for 1~9 silver coins, depending on you and the buyer's wallet. Even if it doesn't all sell, you can offload it to the granary before dark and make a profit."

"After this operation, though it takes a bit more time, the theoretical income from a single mutated hyena can at least double. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Extending this further, based on my research, running a commercial team is also a gameplay method, but it seems too difficult and unprofitable for the time being. An NPC shop charges 5 silver coins per kilogram of smoked meat, which when transported to Brown Farm can be exchanged for 5 kilograms of grain (in theory). But that same grain only values at 5 silver coins when transported back to the Outpost! And that's just the selling price at the NPC shop! The buying price is even lower! Whether you sell to NPCs or to players, it's a big loss."

"Considering that the current expansion is named 'Winter is Coming,' it seems the production team isn't testing the focus on the trade system. I'm very much looking forward to the next version, where the production team might develop the trade system as a key feature."

"An economic system that has only domestic sales and no exports is incomplete. Wouldn't it be more interesting to balance production and import/export relationships through tariffs and price control? Please consider this, production team! If the server CPU can handle it!"

After reading the post, Chu Guang gave it a like but didn't comment.

The idea was good, but it wasn't very meaningful at this stage.

Keyboard economists often fall into the idealist's fallacy, and grand narratives do not help solve current problems.

From the perspective of planners and players, these suggestions to enhance game playability are indeed nice.

But from the perspective of the Manager at Shelter No. 404, it was a different story.

To Chu Guang, everything in the shelter, including the players' bodies, belonged to him. So why should he let them use his stuff to trade with his neighbors?

Unless they could do it better than himself.

But that was obviously impossible.

Even Chu Guang himself often faced exclusion and suspicion from some of the scavengers on Bet Street because of his accent, and due to his lack of understanding of the market and rules, his previous life's sales experience was utterly useless.

This is the Wasteland.

A dystopian conglomerate composed of human scum and villains.

Compared to the rule-abiding bankers or economists, the degenerates who deal in ships and the swindlers peddling bad financial derivatives fare much better.

Letting players trade with these local tycoons wouldn't guarantee they could put even 1% of their eloquence to use, and even if they could, so what?

Might as well bring a few more guns along.

Chu Guang suddenly understood the Old Leech—oh no, the old mayor of Bet Street.

The guy was indeed no good, his eating manners were atrocious, and his exploitation was solely for pleasure, without any long-term planning for the future of Bet Street.

But if you let scavengers trade directly with the merchants, those poor souls would only be squeezed even harder.

This isn't just about ignorance.

Only the naively optimistic would believe that merchants from Giant Stone City would be any kinder than the rural local tycoons.

It's like comparing bats and leeches to see which one is a better sucker.

"Encouraging players to trade with the indigenous forces is meaningless. Every bulk export trade must be under regulation. For example; establishing a permanent commercial team, planning routes and trade varieties, setting listed commodity prices, players providing armed escorts for the transport, NPCs handling transactions, with a payout of fifty-fifty or thirty-seventy...This could also cater to the less hardcore players, simplifying trading procedures."

"However, tariffs are indeed a good idea, that's worth noting! In the future, based on real needs, we may consider allowing external NPCs to directly participate in the players' markets... provided that they barter, or use the money of the shelter."

And all under supervision.

"Free Trade?"

"Heh."

"When I need you guys to fight, I'll naturally tell you who to trade with freely."

Aside from the "Canyon Escaping Mole's" strategy posts, there were also tutorials on building houses by Earth Dog, and discussions among Metallurgy Dogs about how to use limited materials to efficiently make steel.

Some people chatted until they threw links to Station N, Island A, switched places to continue the discussion, and unexpectedly brought a decent new traffic flow to the website.

Regarding the urban legend of "complete immersive virtual reality games," there are signs of continual expansion. Although the vast majority took it as a bluff, a small few took it seriously, clicking on the reservation button with a half-joking mindset.

The number of reservations was steadily increasing.

What surprised Chu Guang was that Long Days Ahead, who usually had the highest popularity and "understood him best," hadn't shared any game insights on the forum this time.

The sun must have risen from the west today.

As Chu Guang was browsing the forum, the Bull and Horse Club group chat was boiling with excitement.

Although Brother Guang hadn't shown up these days, the topics in the group were mostly about Wasteland OL.

At least they were in the morning.

Old White: "Fang Chang, have you seen that post on the official forum? The one written by the Big-Nosed Mole."

Wild Wind: "His name is Canyon Escaping Mole."

Old White: "Not important!"

Fang Chang: "Saw it, the method proposed in that post is interesting, but it's not very meaningful."

Old White: "Ah? I think it's quite good! Selling a hunted animal directly to an NPC earns you five silver coins, find someone to butcher and air-dry it all in one go, and it's worth at least twice as much."

Fang Chang: "Heh, theory is just theory, but he overlooked the existence of contribution points."

Night Ten: "What do you mean?"

Fang Chang: "You can understand a citizen's identity as having a deep-city household registration, and contribution points as residency scores."

Wild Wind: "Awesome, that analogy's pretty snazzy..."

Fang Chang: "Same idea. Among all the players right now, aside from a few of us who upgraded to a citizen, only Mosquito, the woodworker, and Teng Teng, the tailor, might barely scrape together 2000 points. In other words, besides these six people, everyone else needs to grind for contribution points, upgrade to citizen, then think about making money."

You can only buy land after becoming a citizen.

Even an idiot would realize that the earlier you get in, the better the plots you can buy.

Fang Chang: "Once you've understood this, analyze everything else. Out of these six people, who do you think is suitable to be a butcher? Any of you have butchering experience?"

Old White: "Er, that's indeed a problem."

Night Ten: "I mean, is butchering that hard?"

Wild Wind: "...Anyone who has ever bought groceries at the supermarket wouldn't ask such a question."

Fang Chang: "Night Ten is still in school, it's normal for him to have little life experience. Take the strategy post mentioned, it's not really viable for now. We need to find another vendor, a butcher, split the revenue six ways, we might not necessarily earn more."

"Actually, I crunched the numbers a while ago, just didn't mention it. When Tomato and Egg rises to a citizen, we might try talking to him about cooperation, though I don't hold out much hope."

Night Ten: "Why?"

Fang Chang: "Are you daft? Why would he cooperate with us? Save up money, buy a piece of land, open a restaurant, and by the way, take on a butchering business—doesn't that sound great?"

Old White: "Damn! Now that you mention it, if you had butchering and cooking skills, you'd make a killing in this game!"

Fang Chang: "Only say that it is so for now, wait a bit and it might not be."

Fang Chang: "Our top priority is to level up and then improve proficiency. Life skills gameplay in any open-world game is relatively easy to monetize at the start, but in the mid to late game, the first echelon will always be the real power players!"

Wild Wind: "Alas, you really got this gaming thing figured out... I can never wrap my head around why you don't become a professional gamer."

Fang Chang: "Had no chance before, now, heh, I feel the opportunity has come."

Pick-up Trash 99 Level: "Boss! Take my knees!"

WC has a Real Mosquito: "Take me with you!"

Fang Chang: "Sure, haha! We're all in one group, we might as well call our guild Bull and Horse Club!"

Old White: "Ahem, maybe we should change the name?"

Night Ten: "Change it to what? This name sounds great. (Funny)"

Fang Chang: "Whether we change the name or not doesn't matter. But I'm telling you, Mosquito, you're probably close to having enough points, but Trash Jr., you've been hunting these past few days, so you're probably a bit short. Your first priority now is to upgrade to citizen, get that done and then save money! Later we pool together and build right in front of the respawn point. The first floor for street-facing shops, second and third floors divided into one large suite per person, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Old White: "That's going to be our guild base! (Excited)"

WC has a Real Mosquito: "Brother's steady!"

Pick-up Trash 99 Level: "6666!"

Quit Smoking: "Damn! I really wanna play so badly!!! T.T"

-

(Thanks to "Big Green Peanut Bar" for the bounty! ~~~~)

Chapter 53: Just Consider It a Benefit for the Players

"Huh? Is it already 30 reward points?"

Recently, players have been quite diligent.

Chu Guang, who had just shut down his computer to go to sleep, checked the Manager's allowance right before bed and suddenly discovered he had accumulated thirty points. Without a second thought, he allocated 20 points to the intermediate blind box and the remaining 10 to the basic blind box.

However, the rewards that came out were not ideal.

At least they weren't what he wanted.

"One box of oral antibiotic capsules, about 12 capsules. One box of hemostatic bandages, containing two packs, usable twice... Unfortunately, no muscle strengthening needle."

"Even a healing needle would have been nice."

Picking up the supplies from the conveyor belt, Chu Guang sighed.

Not that they were entirely useless.

Just mediocre.

Out of the ten basic blind boxes, besides a bunch of colorful lollipops, the only useful items were a 500ml bottle of soy sauce and a 500g bag of salt.

But this bag of salt was somewhat interesting.

"… A single intake of more than 10g can increase immunity and metabolism by 1~5%. Wow, did I just unbox a legend?"

What would happen if someone consumed the entire bag?

Just as the thought of stacking buffs appeared in Chu Guang's mind, he quickly realized how stupid that idea was.

Eating an entire bag of salt.

That would probably be overly flavored.

"Anyway, let's wait and put them on the shelf tomorrow."

500g could be divided into five individual packages of 100g each, selling each for 3~5 silver coins isn't too unreasonable, right?

Honestly speaking, that's not too greedy! After all, it's pure salt without sulfates or organic impurities, the sparkling kind, and it even comes with buffs.

Consider it a benefit for the players.

The soy sauce is hard to divide; 100ml sealed containers are hard to find, so just slap a 20 silver coins price tag on it and put it up on the shelf.

Since I'm not planning on opening a restaurant, I doubt any player would buy it.

"That's it then, let's sleep... Xiao Qi, wake me up at six in the morning."

Xiao Qi, who was crouched in the corner acting idle, lit up its signal light.

"Okay, Master."

Chu Guang soon fell asleep.

However, Xia Yan, crouching in the next room, just couldn't fall asleep.

It's not because of someone's snoring—this room's soundproofing is quite good. As soon as the door is shut, everything gets quiet.

What really kept her tossing and turning was that tomorrow would be her first official day at work.

Is this job as "the weapon shop owner's wife" even proper?

Chu Guang had been pampering her with good food these past few days, leaving her feeling uneasy.

After all, captives usually get nutrition paste devoid of actual nutrients, or even wood shavings mixed with tree bark, maybe something else entirely.

Talking about meat and porridge be out of line—it would already be a blessing to have regular food.

Yet, over these days, she felt like she was actually gaining weight...

Dwelling too long on such thoughts can make one sleepy; clutching her script, Xia Yan eventually dozed off. When she woke up from her drowsy state, it was already eight in the morning.

"Get up."

Looking at the man standing at the door, Xia Yan rubbed her eyes and started to get up from the floor with the help of the wall, only to find two crutches laid out before her.

"Are these… for me?"

Chu Guang chuckled.

"Who else needs them here but you?"

Might consider giving her a bionic prosthesis when there's a chance; watching her like this is rather pitiful.

"..."

This guy!

Why does he have to be so annoying!

Xia Yan gritted her teeth, each arm grabbing a crutch, and struggled to stand up.

Watching her complete the task by herself, Chu Guang nodded approvingly, quite pleased with her strong demeanor.

"Not bad, seems quite suitable for you."

With a cold expression, Xia Yan stiffly said,

"Say whatever you want… after all, I'm your captive, even if you ask me—"

"Alright, stop talking," not wanting to delve into this person's crazy ideas, Chu Guang swiftly cut her off and continued coughing slightly, "I'll assign you some work later. For now, come with me."

The last time she breathed fresh air was three days ago.

Following Chu Guang, she took the elevator straight to the surface.

Seeing the sunlight scattered in front of the sanatorium's entrance, Xia Yan subconsciously raised her left arm, the one clenching the crutch, squinting her long lashes as she found the light a bit dazzling.

"The wall outside, did you all build it?"

Chu Guang casually said.

"Give it a review."

Xia Yan pursed her lips,

"Mediocre I guess—enough to fend off a few country-side Looters. But if it's Mutants, they could probably climb over with just a small boost, not to mention facing a Tide."

Hearing a term she'd never heard before, Chu Guang took a longer look at her.

"Tide?"

With an indifferent tone, Xia Yan explained,

"It happens often along the third ring line; you probably can't feel it here. Packs of Eaters migrate from near the second ring towards the third ring area, mingling with quite a few Crawlers— and even stronger mutants than Crawlers... Even if I tell you this, you probably can't imagine."

Since Giant Stone City is enormously vast, if any Variants migrate north from within the city, they invariably pass through this survivors' fortress.

And naturally, the inevitable war between humans and Variants ensues.

Although Xia Yan's mercenary squad was just a fringe squad, they had also participated in several missions to handle the Tide.

Moving with the main force, the danger was relatively lower, and the money from such missions was generally good.

In order to restore trade and production ASAP, the bigwigs of the city often spared no expense to hire them, providing plenty of ammunition generously.

All they had to do was pull the trigger and brace the gun with their shoulders.

Many of the poor living in slums took the irreversible path of becoming mercenaries during the "Tide."

"Indeed," Chu Guang nodded, "I've only seen the Eaters a few times… they seem to dislike light, right?"

That was back when he first arrived in the Wasteland.

He nearly didn't make it…

Xia Yan nodded.

"Yes, not only light, but mutated hyenas, jackals, moles, and other Variants like bats and rats don't take kindly to them either; they'd even hunt them down when starving… so these creatures often squeeze into subways or sewers."

"Generally speaking, if you see one, it means there's a group nearby; encountering them in narrow places is very dangerous."

Silently noting these clues, Chu Guang decided to later update the word "Tide" in the official website's database.

But now was not the time for that.

"… From now on, this house will be your workshop. When conditions allow, I'll find someone to build you a new one."

"For now, just make do with this one."

Leading Xia Yan to the door of the weapon shop, Chu Guang hung the sign, which he had placed by the door, on a hook by the doorframe.

"I've engraved the prices on the sign, and I've taught you the corresponding sales talk. If you have any questions, ask Xiao Qi… but it's on the third floor, so it's not easy for you to get up there. My players are very friendly, so if you don't understand what they're saying, just stare at them expressionlessly."

For a socially awkward shut-in, staring expressionlessly was already quite impactful.

"Players?"

Xia Yan hadn't understood the meaning of the word "players" as Chu Guang had used it in Chinese.

"It translates to 'residents of the refuge,'" Chu Guang casually explained, "You don't need to remember their names or deeply understand the meaning of the word; just use it to address them."

It somehow felt impolite to address residents of the refuge as "residents of the refuge"…

But since Chu Guang had said so, Xia Yan had no objections.

Being a slave, having a decent job was already the greatest kindness for her.

"Remember, you need to record every sale, and I will check the ledger and inventory daily. But even the cheapest steel pipe rifle costs hundreds of Silver Coins, and the players can't afford it yet, so your job shouldn't be too busy. In your free time, help me repair that assault rifle and, within your capabilities, help me make some bullets and weapons."

Xia Yan glanced at the sparse room, which, apart from a table and a chair, contained only a wooden board nailed to the wall.

Some inferior metal pipe weapons hung from the nails, and it seemed she was worried she might forget the prices, as there were wooden tags with prices hanging below them.

With a somewhat dazed gaze, Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang, unable to help but ask,

"Are you planning on having me carve out a gun with my fingernails?"

Chu Guang: "Can you manage it?"

Xia Yan: "Can I manage a ghost! Even if there isn't an electric lathe, shouldn't there at least be a manually operated worktable?!"

Mercenaries often, due to using DIY weapons, couldn't find the necessary bullets and accessories in store shelves. In such cases, they usually went to small or medium workshops that customized machine parts or precision instruments to rent their workbenches and process what they needed.

Because of poverty, Xia Yan did have experience making weapons and bullets; though she couldn't afford the high-end, smart automatic lathes that could "input and form," making these items with some affordable electric lathes wasn't difficult and didn't take much time.

But the situation in front of her was beyond her imagination.

Don't even mention motorized machine tools, this place has neither electricity nor beds. Not to mention various types of cutters, they don't even have the most basic lathe tools, boring tools, or milling cutters.

What kind of weapons can you make with this!

Chu Guang didn't care about her complaints and continued indifferently.

"So, if you need something, just say it, don't make me guess."

"Now I need you to make a list of everything you need, write them down, and it's best to simple sketch what they look like. If they can be found, I'll have the players try to help you look for them. If they really can't be found, I will think of a way to buy them... Oh, remember to write down their prices, I don't want to waste money unnecessarily."

Xia Yan, "Lathe tools, boring tools, milling tools, as well as pliers and hammers, these are the most basic. Besides, I also need a grooved bar with a thread and scale... forget it, I will just draw it."

"Having a drawing is best. You can draw as detailed as possible. Maybe my players can make it."

Chu Guang took out paper and pen, along with a wooden ruler, and handed them to Xia Yan.

After receiving them, she frowned, relying on her memory, and began to write and draw on the paper.

Chu Guang didn't rush her.

Drawing these items in a way that makes them understandable to others is not an easy task, especially for a mercenary who is not professional.

But isn't everything started from the first time?

After Xia Yan finished her drawing, Chu Guang took the blueprint, added two lines of text, and then head to the warehouse, finding a player sitting at a wooden table on duty.

Handing over the paper, Chu Guang spoke concisely.

"I need the items on this paper."

"If anyone comes here selling goods, let them know to keep an eye out for these during their scavenging."

"When you have free time, trace this blueprint, help me draw a few more copies, post them at our entrance, and also send one to the steelmaking blast furnace area."

The Warehouse Manager's job also included handling the collection and issuance of production tasks, after all, assigning tasks one by one was too bothersome.

The player who received the paper was shocked.

[Task: Forge or collect a lathe tool (with drawing)]

[Reward: 10 Silver Coins, 100 Contribution Points]

10 Silver Coins!

Damn!

That's equivalent to a day's wage for burning cement!

What a fortune if you find one!

There are more tasks like this, including other tools like boring tools and milling tools.

Regardless of how envious the player sitting at the Warehouse Manager's position was, after Chu Guang gave his instructions, he turned around and left the place.

Although the task includes forging or collecting, to be honest, he didn't have much hope for the players picking up such good items from the Wasteland.

Not to mention it was already the year 211 of the Wasteland Era; even the society before the nuclear war might not have used such "primitive" tools for processing, they probably had already popularized more advanced production methods.

Like 3D printing, for instance.

Although this technology was not mature on Earth in the 21st century, who can say about the future?

What Chu Guang truly hoped for was that his lovely players, with their limited tools and materials, could solve this problem.

For example, those big guys often discussing metallurgical technology on the forum were on the list of players from the third batch of closed beta, and the fourth batch had even added a few more.

Besides the armchair strategists, he believed that among these players, there were surely one or two who could genuinely solve the issue.

Chapter 54: NPC Number 2 Goes Live and Introduces a New Street Vendor Gameplay!

Players' performance indeed did not disappoint Chu Guang.

The two metallurgy majors only took two days to manufacture the tools needed by the "weapon shop owner's wife."

They even ingenarily improved the blast furnace, cleverly solving the issue of bubbles in the castings made by using primitive methods of smelting.

The finished castings included a boring cutter, a turning cutter, and a milling cutter.

Although all made from castings, their strength was still very reliable. With proper maintenance, they would definitely last a few months.

In addition, there was a set of double-rail thread calipers reconstructed with screws, steel bars, and old gears, with one side of the calipers connected to a winch with a drive shaft and handle.

This device could convert torque into horizontal thrust through the gears, with each click of the winch precisely advancing the tool holder on the calipers by one millimeter.

Though this device can't match the efficiency of an electric lathe, it was still somewhat usable for component processing with millimeter-level precision.

The only thing that left Chu Guang speechless were the IDs of the two brothers who completed these commissions.

One was called "Ward Foot Odor Who of Levin," and the other "Ya'er, I Want to Go pee."

What sort of underworld names are those...

Anyway, according to the order at the warehouse doorway, they made a whopping 80 silver coins in total, splitting it 40 each.

According to their plan, they intended to grind Contribution for a week, striving to save up 2000 points as soon as possible to buy a plot of land in front of the sanatorium.

The reward for making tools had given them a taste of success.

They planned to open a workshop later, specializing in metallurgy and forging.

"Are these tools enough?" At the entrance of the weapon shop, Chu Guang placed the wooden crate containing the metal tools on the table in front of Xia Yan.

Xia Yan glanced at the tools in the crate and grudgingly nodded.

"They'll suffice. With these tools, there's at least no problem making bullets. If you can get seamless steel tubes, I can even make you some simple iron pipe rifles… Did you buy these?"

"Players made them."

"Made them?" Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang in surprise, "I didn't expect your people to have such skills."

Chu Guang smiled and asked,

"How does it compare to Giant Stone City?"

"Giant Stone City is quite vast, it depends who you compare it with."

As Xia Yan installed the thread caliper onto the wooden table, she continued indifferently,

"There's not just poor folks like us there; there are also heavily armed Regular Army—the Militia Group of the Giant Stone City. They have power armor, dual-engine flyers, neural interfacing drones, semi-tracked support vehicles, and stuff whose names I can't even remember."

"Oh? That strong," Chu Guang said with a smile, "Then why haven't they attacked here?"

"Who knows, maybe they aren't interested. After all, the countryside doesn't have much to offer."

Xia Yan answered vaguely.

In fact, she didn't tell the whole story. Although the Militia Group of the Giant Stone City did have some good gear, clearly not all militia members were armed to the teeth.

For example, regarding the power armor, from what she understood, the entire militia group had only a double-digit number, and more than half of those were post-war inferior reproductions, with relatively outdated power sources and weapons.

Only a minority of them were pre-war equipment that hadn't failed yet, powered by He3 cold fusion batteries that became fewer with each use.

As for drones, flyers, support vehicles, and the like, they sounded intimidating but in fact, had more of a deterrent effect than practical combat utility.

Especially in close-quarters street combat, Cannon Fodder was always the most cost-effective option. In the slums of Giant Stone City, turning an infant into a soldier only took 13 years, and the "maintenance cost" was nothing but nutrition paste that could be made from cockroaches, spiders, and rats.

Though Chu Guang always took her words with a grain of salt, the intriguing settings could be added to the official website data archives.

Both Backseat Drivers and players loved this kind of hype.

...

By evening,

Players started to return to the outpost.

Chu Guang noticed that on the open space just inside the northern gate of the outpost, there were already a few players setting up stalls.

And the most popular stall was Crow's.

"Mushrooms for sale, fresh mushrooms, don't miss out, folks."

"Worked all day, why not reward yourself with a pot of mushroom soup?"

"It smells delicious!"

Since Crow could not receive quests from NPCs and did not want to be embarrassed by mooching meals daily, she chose to set up a stall.

Aside from the mushrooms taken to complete the punishment quest, she kept about twenty pounds for herself, trying a sale with a sense of trial.

Players passing by quickly gathered around.

"Are these mushrooms edible?"

"Are they fully cooked?"

"Male or female?"

"Can someone with sensitive skin use it?"

"Can you see little creatures after eating it?"

"You can eat them, you can see them—ah no no, you can't see them! Don't believe me? Look!" Crow took a mushroom, took a bite, and hopped on the spot to show she was still alive, neither disconnected nor feeling dizzy.

Seeing the stall owner eating them herself, the players at the stall no longer hesitated and pulled out their copper coins.

As Crow said, a pound of mushrooms was not expensive, costing only 3 copper coins, much cheaper than the food sold by the granary.

It had been two days since the new version was released, and most players could afford it.

"I'll take a pound, no meat today, let's try mushroom porridge."

"Grilled mushrooms sound good too."

"Boss, give me a pound, and if it's not good, I'll come back and return it."

"It's a pity you can't see little creatures, next time please give me something that can! I want Kali to call me hubby."

"Hello? Demon Demon Spirit, there's a pervert here."

In less than five minutes, the twenty pounds of mushrooms piled on the stall were completely sold out.

Looking at the sixty shiny, heavy little copper pieces in hand, Crow nearly squeezed tears out of her excitement.

Is this what wealth feels like?

Such a hard-earned feeling!

Although…

It actually sums up to just 6 silver coins.

On the other side, players who had just bought mushrooms, passing by the weapon shop, suddenly noticed some tools on the wooden table in front of the shop owner that they hadn't seen before.

As everyone knows, the designers of Wasteland OL are quite meticulous. Sharp-eyed players have already identified that the items on the table are cutting tools used for equipment processing.

Which means…

Can they gather materials in the future and let NPCs modify their equipment?!

"Are you Kaili from the heavens?"

"Boss lady, where is the boss?"

"Idiot, she is the mercenary that the Manager saved! There's no boss."

"I know, but being so serious makes you look dumb."

Xia Yan looked baffled at the players surrounding her.

Although she couldn't understand what they were saying, she still remembered what Chu Guang had told her and coolly looked at them, reading her lines slowly,

"Hello, I am Xia Yan from the weapon shop. How can I help you?"

"This NPC doesn't seem very intelligent."

"Normal. It's already good that such a large server can accommodate one or two spirited NPCs!"

"5mm smooth-bore iron pipe rifle, quality 'Inferior'… damn, even the inferior ones are 100 silver! I'm out of here."

"I can't afford it, I can't."

"Wuuu, she really must be Kaili from the heavens, I could sense the wealth from the price list."

Xia Yan: "..."

These people are so annoying, why do they talk so much?

Are they buying or not!

However, what somewhat relieved Xia Yan was that these people were, as Chu Guang had said, quite friendly in their attitude.

Although staring intently was somewhat rude, at least they wouldn't do anything irrational just because she ignored them.

In the tavern of Giant Stone City.

99% of brawls are caused by person A looking at person B once too much.

…

After the players had logged off, Wasteland OL's official website had a new post, quickly rising to become the hottest post of the day.

"Mole Daily: Shelter No. 404 welcomes its second NPC! From the heavens (just kidding) weapon shop owner—Xia Yan!"

Mole on the Run from Canyon: "Hello everyone, I'm a red-nosed mole who escaped from the Canyon. There's not enough land to till in the manor, so I decided to hide in Wasteland for a bit."

"Back to the topic, let's talk about the newly added NPC, Xia Yan!"

"This NPC actually came online yesterday, but it might have been a debugging stage, as she was sitting at the table but there was a 'Closed' sign at the door. Today, not only is the 'Closed' sign taken down, but there are also guns hanging on the shelves, and Boss Xia's table has a set of tools! Bold guess here, she'll be your new Kaili, when will a level 14 enhanced iron pipe rifle come out? (Just kidding)"

"Also, attached is my rough drawing, only for reference, please no hate."

"Image"

Although Wasteland OL does not support in-game screenshots, it doesn't prevent experts with tablets from sketching the characters in the game.

Like this mole brother, didn't expect he was also a hidden drawing master! His drawing is quite something.

Old White: "666!"

Night Ten: "You could say it's a spitting image!"

Teng Teng: "Love it, love it, sister is so cool, this is too awesome! (Cute) (Cute)"

Mole on the Run from Canyon: "Hehe, actually I studied fine arts, but after failing to get into Central Academy of Fine Arts, I switched careers. A little suggestion for the officials, maybe add a punk-style Z-shaped studded belt and goggles to the new NPC's outfit, and change clothes to jeans and a white shirt with red hair, would look cooler! Just a suggestion."

Quit Smoking: "Boss, draw the Dawn BOSS too! I'm more interested in that! (Pitiful)"

That Tinge of Longing: "Exactly, who wants to see a weapon shop NPC, I want to see what the BOSS looks like! There's not even a preview image on the official site!"

Mole on the Run from Canyon: "Don't rush, I'm drawing it right now. Damn, what's so great about male NPCs, just wait a bit."

Elena: "No rush, I'll be online by tomorrow night anyway. (Just kidding)"

Quit Smoking: "&%@#!"

Today, the focus on the official website was completely stolen by Xia Yan, Chu Guang glanced at the drawing this mole brother made, then at Xia Yan who was sitting in the corner memorizing her lines.

It's quite similar.

But would adding that belt and goggles really look better?

As a man of pure straight male lineage, Chu Guang admitted his fashion experience was about equal to the ad pushes on X treasure and X east, he was aware of his limitations.

But whatever he wears looks good on him, so it didn't really matter.

Noticing Chu Guang's gaze, Xia Yan nervously shrank back,

"What, what are you doing…"

"Nothing, just wondering how many days it's been since you last changed clothes."

Chu Guang looked at her right leg, the wound there had mostly healed, but the blood on her pants still remained, looking somewhat unsanitary.

Change clothes?

Xia Yan became even more nervous, her face turning pale, paling to white tinged with red and the red shading to green.

"Relax, I was just wondering about your size…Tch," Chu Guang shook his head, halting halfway through his sentence, "Never mind."

It really wasn't appropriate for him to ask.

Maybe he should just write a task, and have Teng Teng do the measurement.

Chapter 55 Hunter and Hunter

The next morning.

In the tailor shop, as Teng Teng started her work, she peeled a note off the wooden board.

"Task... make a set of clothes for the weapon shop's owner, reward 5~10 silver coins?" After reading the note from head to toe, Teng Teng's eyes slowly lit up.

It took only a second for a perfect design plan to form in her mind.

"Yay, leave it to me!"

Stuffing the note into her pocket, she immediately dashed toward the direction of the weapon shop, full of excitement.

On the other side.

Inside the shelter.

Chu Guang stood in the resident hall, facing twenty new players who had just crawled out of the cultivation chambers, and finished the script he had struggled to concoct.

Perhaps it was because of the long wait, or perhaps because there was one more female player than last time, but this batch of newcomers was much more docile than the previous batch—at least no one did anything as eyesore-inducing as stripping in public.

It seemed that gradually raising the reservation threshold, practicing some hunger marketing, increasing the waiting time cost, and selecting high-quality human players did have some effect.

Of course, it might also be because the game was too realistic and without the possibility of creating alternate accounts, everyone had to consider their decency a bit since a bunch of old planners were "secretly watching" from above.

After having Xiao Qi explain the gameplay to the newcomers, Chu Guang led them onto the elevator to the surface and herded them outside like ducks.

Standing on the dirt in front of the sanatorium, these newcomers experienced for the first time the immerse shock of being there.

"Holy shit... Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!"

"Is, is this the world of Wasteland OL?!"

"The sun feels just like in the real world, the wind kissing my cheeks; it's like a dream! No, it is a dream!"

"The kids cried, man, the technology these days is too advanced!"

"This isn't even open for public testing yet! Damn! What else does the development team want to test? Hurry up and launch it, give me a code and I'll buy everything!"

"One word, epic!"

All new players seemed to have a similar reaction upon entering the game.

Chu Guang could understand this state.

From the moment he received the helmet, what started as a semi-joking fun turned into skepticism, endured the most torturous 72 hours tossing and turning, until, upon the opening of his second pair of eyes, all expectations turned into reality through a touch of senses.

It was like being reborn.

The impact of that moment was indescribable with words.

Stepping onto the soil of a foreign world, inhaling the fragrance of the dust, chasing butterflies in the bushes, embarking on an adventure with an unknown future... How many gamers dreamt of this?

Not just them, even Chu Guang had daydreamed more than once about the day he could step onto the virtual world's soil.

Only, it was a pity...

Knowing all the truths, he was destined not to enjoy the game's fun like them. Perhaps for him, the untouchable reality was the virtual.

"Go forth, warriors."

"Go change this decaying world!"

"With your own hands."

Amidst his sentiments, Chu Guang improvised and added three lines of script for himself.

Then he didn't linger there but left the time to these players themselves, taking Xiao Qi to the third floor and placing it in front of the window with the best view... This spot was a prime seat to overlook all the players.

Meanwhile, on the open space in front of the sanatorium.

The new players who had just stepped into the game world had not yet had the chance to breathe in the air of the wasteland when they were surrounded by old players who had arrived at the surface earlier.

"Any of you brothers with special talents? Raise your hands... What? You have? Holy cow, awesome, what's the talent... Calm and composed, what the heck? Sounds so useless."

"Any strength-type newbies here? Let's go pull trees to boost attributes, it's so much fun!"

"Boss, I'm strength-type, how should I play this game?"

Seeing a newbie finally paying attention to him, that old player was overjoyed.

"You're strength-type? What's your name?"

"Construction Site Kid with Bricks!"

"Holy cow, buddy, you get this game! Listen here, as a strength-type player you should chop more trees, move more bricks, roll up your sleeves and just do it, chop down a hundred trees and shoot straight to LV1! 7~8 points of strength will make you invincible in the wasteland, if you encounter mutants just swing your axe and it's done!"

"What if I encounter someone with a gun?"

"Just do it!"

"???"

Standing in front of the third-floor window of the sanatorium, Chu Guang looked down and observed the players below for a while.

Watching those newbies gradually grasping the tricks of playing this game under the guidance of the old players, he couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.

Very good.

Very reliable.

These closed testing players indeed lived up to his expectations.

The only thing that slightly disappointed Chu Guang was that although this batch of newcomers was very obedient, it seemed there was no easter egg—the special gene sequence known as "Variants," left by the First Generation Manager.

However, two special talents did catch his interest.

One was "Calm and Composed," which increased the base resistance to negative mental states like "Fear" and "Despair" by 50%, allowing for quicker removal of negative mental effects.

On the surface, this talent might seem useless, but anyone who has experienced actual combat knows how important this quality is in battle.

The other talent was "Thermal Vision"; the player who possessed this talent was named "Gnome King Riches," under the agile gene sequence.

Just reading the system's description of this talent sounded miraculous for night battles! In a focused state, activating this talent would make the retina more sensitive to infrared light.

Specifically, it meant that within a certain range, one could see heat sources in the dark!

Of course, this talent was basically useless against "cold-blooded animals".

Chu Guang silently noted this "Elf King Fortune", and, if needed in future night battles, he would use it.

Moreover, there were several other strange talents.

For instance, "Temperature Intuition" which allowed for contactless sensing of heat source temperature, "Plant Speaker" which provided insights into the growth state of plants, and "Insect Hunter" which enabled one to smell the pheromones released by insects, among others.

These talents weren't very significant in combat, but if used in production and exploration, they could still play a considerable role.

Chu Guang believed that the players themselves would figure out the best way to utilize these without any hints from him.

...

In the North Apartment Area of the Wetland Park.

A four-person squad was carefully closing in on their prey.

The terrain within the urban area was quite complicated, as seen from the dilapidated tower-style Greenhouse Ruins, indicating that people before the war probably lived quite comfortably.

Wild Wind: "People from the pre-war era sure knew how to enjoy life… Let me speculate, residents living in the community planted vegetables and fruits inside the tower, making this place both their marketplace and garden."

Old White: "Who would maintain it?"

"There must have been a property management company, outsourcing the space to a specialized enterprise isn't a bad idea either. This type of ecological community is quite instructional; the designer of this game is a master." Wild Wind highly praised the design, showing great interest in it.

"You all should focus more on our prey, I feel like we are very close to it."

Night Ten immersed his senses into the surroundings, and through the flowing aura, he seemed to hear the heartbeat of the prey… One strong, one weak.

Wait, two?

"Ahead."

Fang Chang had spotted the arrow-struck reindeer falling to the ground, but as he was about to move forward, he suddenly saw another arrow stuck in the prey's neck.

The neck?

He paused.

Didn't he remember hitting the butt?

Caught off-guard, his eyes met with the young man opposite him.

Both were startled; the next second, they instinctively moved, each drawing their bow and arrow aimed at the other.

"Who are you?"

"NPC?"

The two exchanged gibberish, not understanding what the other was saying.

Wild Wind and Old White reacted quickly, noticing Fang Chang's situation they immediately flanked from both sides, approaching the young man's flank.

The young man, tense, backed up against the concrete wall, concealing his back.

Fang Chang could feel the killing intent emanating from the shimmering point but did not fear, he steadily advanced forward.

After all, from a distance, he wouldn't be able to hit.

"Don't come any closer."

"Drop your weapon, you are surrounded."

What is this person saying?

Looter?!

The young man saw the three approaching and thinking about how those captured by looters died, he suddenly determined, released the bowstring.

Whiz—

The whooshing sound came flying like the wind.

Fang Chang instinctively sidestepped, dodging the arrow that grazed past his cheek, the feathers nearly brushing his nose.

Had he not dodged, it would have been straight back to the springs!

"Damn! Catch him!"

Cursing elegantly, Fang Chang, both anxious and furious, dropped his carpentry, drew a steel reinforcement, and charged along with Old White and Wild Wind.

Faced with a desperate situation, the young man pulled out a small blade from his waist, ready to fight to the death.

Yet just then, a stone whizzed through the air, hitting him square in the forehead, leaving his consciousness clanging in confusion.

"Hurry up!"

With a slingshot in hand, Night Eleven called out, and the three quickly surrounded him, a cudgel knocking the small blade from the young man's hands, forcing him onto the ground.

"Let me go!"

The young man roared furiously, struggling with all his might, but the person restraining him was none other than Old White.

A technology-enhanced man's strength was no joke.

"Keep still! Damn, this guy has some strength! Fang Chang, what do we do now?"

Watching the young man struggle on the ground, Old White, who had tied him up, looked over at Fang Chang.

In Wasteland OL, simple killing or monster-hunting didn't provide experience; the experience of Gene Sequences naturally grew through combat or training.

In other words, the experience from capturing was the same as from killing.

Wild Wind checked the young man's pack, finding inside nothing but a pancake, a few arrows, and a delicately crafted small blade.

Shaking his head, he stood up and said.

"Pretty poor."

Looking at the young man lying on the ground glaring furiously at him, Fang Chang fell into thought.

"I can't guess what he is saying either."

"For now, just tie him up, bring him back, and exchange him for money."

Chapter 56 The Efficacy of Antibiotics

Living captives could be exchanged for 5 silver coins.

Dead ones were only worth 5 bronze coins.

The four men bound the young man tightly, and threw him onto the cart hidden in the corner along with the dead reindeer, dragging it all back to the base.

"Blue Jacket! Are you from the shelter?!"

No one paid attention to him.

The young man, his face a mask of terror, watched the concrete walls pass overhead as he was taken next to the grain silo.

The cart stopped.

Fang Chang and Old White lifted the reindeer together and threw it onto the table in front of Scrambled Egg brother.

"Bro, settle up the work fee."

"12 silver."

Coins clinked and were slammed onto the table as Scrambled Egg Brother pulled out a cleaver left on the table, beginning to chop the meat with heavy thuds.

The dull sound of the blade hitting the board, as if chopping at his heart, made the young man's heart race in terror.

He had never heard of the Blue Jacket eating people!

"Manager, sir? You've arrived just in time, we were about to bring him to you!"

"Where did you get him from?"

"We came across him while hunting, he shot an arrow at me, but he missed."

"I see."

From his pocket, he counted out five silver coins and handed them to Fang Chang, and Chu Guang signaled him to untie the captive on the cart.

Although Fang Chang felt it wasn't very safe to do so, having seen the Manager's combat power, he wasn't too worried and headed towards the cart with Wild Wind.

Hearing footsteps approaching, the young man struggled more fiercely, but when he saw the person following the two men, he was stunned.

"Chu Guang?"

The name was pronounced in this world's tongue.

"Yes, it's me."

Chu Guang smiled, reaching out to help him up.

"I'm sorry for the offense."

The one Fang Chang and the others had captured was none other than Yu Hu, Yu's second child from Bet Street.

Yu Hu moved his wrists, which had turned red from being bound, and nervously glanced at the surrounding Blue Jackets, asking softly,

"Are these all your men?"

It had been a long time.

He had thought this foreigner had died outside; he didn't expect to meet him here again. Just yesterday, he was persuading his sister not to wait for the foreigner at their shack anymore; dust had already settled on the door…

"They're my companions."

"What are they gathered here for?"

"Watching the drama."

"juqing? What's that?"

"It doesn't matter, just ignore them. By the way, what are you doing here? Where's your dad and older brother?"

Chu Guang remembered that whether scavenging or hunting, they always moved as a group.

Yu Hu's expression darkened, and he said in a low voice,

"A few days ago while hunting, my dad was shot in the arm by a Looter. My brother got bitten by a Hyena that the Looters owned while trying to save dad. After escaping back, dad survived, but my brother's leg wound got infected, he's been feverish and bedridden... Winter is coming soon, I don't know if he can make it."

Hyenas, Vultures, and Hu Wolves, the opportunistic trio on the Wasteland, are not picky about their food.

Especially the common Hyenas of Qingquan City, they often eat carrion when they can't find prey, and in extreme hunger, they even bite Eaters, hence their canine teeth are usually filled with bacteria.

If bitten by a mutated hyena, failing to treat the wound promptly can lead to infection, which can be life-threatening if severe.

After hearing Yu Hu's words, Chu Guang frowned.

The Yu family had been quite good to him, though not to the extent of special care, but their youngest daughter always helped him watch his house and even stopped people from the Wang Family from stealing from him.

"Bring your older brother here, maybe I can cure him."

Yu Hu was stunned.

"Really?!"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, bring him here."

Yu Hu was visibly moved and suddenly lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, you're really good people, we were always worried before that you were a bad guy."

Chu Guang replied forgivingly,

"It's okay, being cautious is normal."

He himself wasn't exactly a good person.

"That, um… I owe you an apology."

"For what?"

Yu Hu, his face red, stuttered for a while, scratching his head as he spoke,

"The horned potatoes you planted in front of your door... I saw they hadn't sprouted and dug them up to eat."

"…"

Damn.

So it was you who dug them up!

Forget it.

It's just a potato, not a big deal.

Chu Guang said nonchalantly, "No worries, I probably planted them wrong."

Yu Hu nodded vigorously.

"Yes, yes, you can't really grow anything the way you planted them! When I dug them up, I saw two pieces were already rotten. To grow horned potatoes, simply cutting them is not enough, you need to sprout them first, each piece having at least two sprouts, then paint the cut surface with ashes before planting, that way they mature in a month or two!"

Chu Guang looked at him in surprise, "You know how to plant?"

The young man smiled naively, scratching his head.

"It's nothing, most people know a bit. But it's generally my mom, sister-in-law, and Little Fish who plant them by the front of the house, planting outside hardly ever survives, either dug up by people or gnawed away by rats."

Chu Guang happily said, "Alright, when next spring comes, I'll find some work for you. Let's not talk about this now, you should hurry back and carry your brother here."

Hearing Chu Guang say this, the young man remembered that his elder brother was still lying in bed. He quickly nodded and said,

"Okay, I'm going now."

…

Wetland Park was about three kilometers straight from Bet Street. Just beyond the park lay vast stretches of concrete ruins interspersed with patches of greenery, and to avoid the more hazardous areas, one would need to detour at least two kilometers.

However, Yu Hu managed to cover the distance in less than two hours, carrying his elder brother on his back.

Chu Guang had Teng Teng bring over a fur, which they placed on a wooden table for Yu Hu to lay his elder brother, Yu Xiong, upon.

The hulking man was struggling for breath, his face deathly pale.

The scavengers of Bet Street had a monotonous diet and were mostly malnourished, coupled with a lack of effective medical resources. Without illness, they might survive, but once ill, they often had little chance, and most would meet their end.

Chu Guang briefly examined the man's wounds, preliminarily judging, from the color of the pus, that it was a bacterial infection, so he administered an antibiotic capsule he had "won" previously, then proceeded to dress the wound simply.

Yu Hu, anxiously asked, "Is it alright to use wood ash?"

"It depends, wood ash that has been calcined at high temperature is fine."

Wood ash contains potassium salts and is alkaline, which has a decent antibacterial effect, much like the Hundred Herb Frost mentioned in Compendium of Materia Medica.

Though not as effective as alcohol, without high-purity alcohol available, especially in the wilderness, it was a suitable substitute.

Of course, this referred to high-temperature calcined wood ash.

If it was just scooped from below a stove, there could be a major issue, as it might contain tetanus bacteria. Randomly applied, it could be fatal.

About five minutes passed.

Yu Xiong's complexion had noticeably improved, his furrowed brows relaxed, and the cold sweat had ceased.

Chu Guang took note silently.

The efficacy of this pre-war technology antibiotic was truly remarkable.

Yu Hu, less restrained, overwhelmed with emotion at his brother's improvement, threw himself forward and tearfully grasped his brother's hand.

"Brother! How do you feel now?"

"Little Hu? This, where…" Yu Xiong, noticing Chu Guang standing by as he awoke groggily, paused, his weak face registering surprise.

"...Chu Guang?"

"It's me."

"Weren't you..."

"I'm still alive, but I probably won't be returning."

Yu Xiong paused, glanced around at the Blue Jackets surrounding him, and probably grasped the situation as a smile appeared on his face.

"Congratulations, it looks like you've found your comrades."

"Yeah, only recently," Chu Guang said with a slight smile, "Thank you for your care before."

"Don't mention it, how could we have helped? Instead, you saved my life... that capsule must have been expensive," said Yu Xiong, embarrassment coloring his rugged features.

Such plastic-like capsules were luxury items only found in Giant Stone City, which he had only heard of and never seen before.

Thinking about it, even in Giant Stone City, not everyone could afford such luxuries.

"Don't worry about it. It was just a small effort. I'll give you another one soon. If you feel feverish, take it; if not, save it. It could save your life."

People's kindness was something Chu Guang always remembered, even if it was just a piece of bread.

Moreover, while the tablet was precious to them, to Chu Guang, it was merely a prize from a Blind Box draw.

Hearing that Chu Guang would give him another capsule, Yu Xiong quickly shook his head.

"How can that be right! You saved my life, how can I accept something so valuable!"

Chu Guang didn't bother with much discussion and stuffed the cut-up foil into his younger brother's hands.

"Keep it for your brother; I don't want to have saved him only for him to die of infection on the way back."

Yu Hu hesitated, but looking at the wound on his brother's leg, he eventually nodded.

"Thank you... I will repay you! Once I've taken my brother back, I'll come work for you every day!"

"No need, you are the main support of your family now, the only hunter left. If you work for me, what will your family eat? If you really want to repay me, just get through this tough time, and we can talk about anything else next spring."

Seeing Chu Guang speak thus, they didn't insist anymore but their eyes were full of gratitude, promising to repay him after the winter had passed.

Watching the dramatic scene, Old White tugged at Fang Chang, in a voice not meant for the Manager to overhear, whispered,

"What are they talking about?"

Fang Chang, rubbing his chin in thought, replied,

"Can't understand completely, but I have a rough idea."

Night Ten egged him on,

"Come on, tell us, a rough idea will do."

"Alright, I'll try to explain briefly, not sure if it's accurate... The native young man set out to hunt to treat his family's illness but was captured by us. The Manager recognized him and allowed him to bring his sick family members here, and we treated them with shelter medicine. They were touched by the gesture and expressed that we are now their friends and it looks like they will probably establish a diplomatic relationship with us next."

Old White asked dumbfounded.

"How do they establish a diplomatic relationship?"

Before Fang Chang could reply, Night Ten slapped his shoulder playfully and said,

"Are you silly? How do natives establish relations? Through marriage of course! The chieftain giving away a daughter, that's the old routine."

"Damn! Isn't that too big a sacrifice for our Manager?!"

Wild Wind coughed lightly,

"Don't listen to Night Ten's nonsense, though it's not impossible, I'm still more optimistic about him pairing with the weapon shop mistress."

Fang Chang nodded,

"I always find common ground with Wild Wind, you two should reflect on why your thoughts are never in sync with normal people."

Teng Teng's eyes twinkled excitedly as she whispered,

"Why does it always have to be the boss lady? Why not the grateful young man?"

"Damn! You're not right!"

"This 'Game' is serious, right? It's serious, right?"

"…"

Chu Guang, unable to listen any further, pretended not to hear and walked away.

Speaking of which…

The tailor's profits in the current version seem a bit high?

Maybe I'll balance it in the next update.

Chapter 57 The First Snowflake on the Wasteland

The antibiotics produced by the refugee shelter were indeed effective; not long after taking one, the eldest brother of the Yu family not only broke his fever but also saw his leg injury's swelling subside and was even able to get out of bed and hobble a few steps.

Grateful beyond words, the two Yu brothers vowed to repay this act of kindness in the future. But seeing that it was getting late, they bid farewell to Chu Guang, and the younger brother helped his older sibling towards the exit.

As he passed by Fang Chang, Yu Hu stopped, pulled a delicate knife that did not seem to be from this era from his bag, and handed it to Fang Chang.

This was a valuable find from his scavenging days.

Then, with a deep voice that did not match his appearance, Yu Hu said,

"You're strong, able to dodge my arrow. But if it were one-on-one, I wouldn't lose."

"Keep the knife safe for me, don't lose it. Next year, we'll spar fair and square. If I win, I'll take it back."

Fang Chang didn't understand what he was saying but guessed from his demeanor that he wanted to give the knife to him as a token of thanks for indirectly saving his relative.

Fang Chang pointed at the knife and then at himself, and seeing the NPC nod, he happily accepted it.

"You're too kind!"

Yu Hu didn't understand what he said either, but seeing that Fang Chang accepted the knife, he nodded and, supporting his brother, departed.

Watching the two disappear behind the large gates of the Outpost Base, Fang Chang fiddled with the knife in his hand and turned to Wild Wind, saying with a sense of awe,

"This Game's attention to detail is just insane. Look at the expressions of that NPC, every frame is intricate, for that alone I'm freaking blown away!"

Wild Wind: "…Did you understand what he said?"

Fang Chang shook his head.

"No, it's not important."

Night Ten joined in with a snicker,

"What if he was planning to betroth the three-hundred-pound Tiger Girl from the tribe to you as a wife, and this knife is the betrothal token?"

"Get lost!"

...

Helping his brother out of the base,

Yu Hu looked back at the wall and said,

"Brother, I told you, he's not an ordinary person. When I urged you and dad to marry Little Fish off to him, you guys disagreed, and now you regret it, don't you?"

Yu Xiong's mood was complicated as he sighed,

"Regret what? He's our benefactor, let's not think about unrealistic things… Besides, I never said I was against Little Fish's matter, and neither did dad."

Yu Hu frowned,

"Then why didn't it happen?"

Yu Xiong reached out and patted his younger brother's head, which was as stubborn as a tiger's.

"You're always thinking of the best outcomes. Have you considered whether he's willing or not? Forget about Little Fish. Look at the girls next to him earlier... all of them coming out from the shelter are clean and pristine, would they even look at you, with your bear-like appearance?"

At those words, Yu Hu became anxious,

"I may be bearish, but Little Sister is not! She was so cute as a child, and even though she's thin now, what does it matter? When we get back, I'll coax her to eat more meat, even give her my share, she'll definitely get healthy."

Yu Xiong almost couldn't hold back a laugh as he glanced at him,

"You're so eager to marry Little Fish off."

Yu Hu grinned broadly, his simple expression belying his clarity of thought,

"Is it up to me to decide? Whether she marries or not, Little Sister will be of age next year. According to the street rules, becoming an adult means being counted as a separate household, requiring one to contribute a share per head. Look at our harvest this year, it's barely enough, what will we do next year when we have to pay an extra share?"

According to the rules of Bet Street, at sixteen you're considered a separate household, and when mobilization occurs every autumn, regardless of marital status, everyone must contribute a full share of supplies.

It's essentially a form of "head tax".

Boys are somewhat better off as they typically start hunting and scavenging with adults at thirteen or fourteen, becoming qualified scavengers or hunters in two or three years - a labor force. For girls, it's more difficult in these chaotic times to fend for themselves at this age, so they often marry early.

The reason Little Fish could live carefree at home till now is primarily that their father can still work, the eldest sister-in-law hasn't had kids yet, and the second brother isn't married—three men in the family who could just about support the household.

If they waited longer, whether Yu Hu married or Yu Xiong added a new child, they'd have no choice but to marry Little Fish off, as heart-wrenching as it might be.

Survival is often a heavy subject.

"…Since she has to marry anyway, better to find her a good family than to suffer with us. Better than living a hard life in our place."

Yu Xiong glanced at the sky, squinting,

"The Wang family's third son is also of marriageable age, and their family isn't bad. Their younger daughter is almost grown up too, perfect for you to marry."

Yu Hu hurriedly shook his head,

"No way, I just can't stand the sight of Wang Defu, he even shoved Little Fish once! I swear he's the kind that'll end up beating his wife once he's married."

"The Li family…"

"Eh, that's not right either, our mother came from the Li family."

Bet Street had only about a hundred households; the problem with a small place is exactly that, you end up circling back to where you started.

Left speechless by the rebuttal, Yu Xiong gave his brother a meaningful look,

"Well, you'd better think it through. If she marries outside, you'll have to fend for your own wife."

"That's no problem. Are you worried I can't get a wife?"

Yu Hu laughed heartily, and after a while, he muttered,

"I just don't want you all to keep worrying about me! Whether I'm good or not is my own business… There's no sense in trading my own sister for it."

...

At dusk, the sky gradually darkened.

The players who had gone out came back to the Outpost Base in succession.

Just like yesterday, many players set up their stalls in the open space inside the North Gate of the Outpost Base, shouting and selling their goods, haggling with customers, creating a hustle and bustle like a marketplace.

"Fresh meat for sale! Fresh squirrel meat, delicious whether fried, roasted, or boiled! 1 Silver Coin each, pick at will, affordable price, great value for money!"

"Who'd buy yours! How much meat can one squirrel even have!"

"Plenty of meat here, mutated squirrels, each one is 2 kilograms! You go buy meat at the grain store, one Silver Coin only gets you six liang. Think about it!"

"No money."

"No money then get lost!"

"…"

"Mutated hyena teeth! Can be used for jewelry! Only one Copper Coin each, only 10 available, first come first served!"

"Who the hell uses that for jewelry, it's hideous!"

"What do you know, what if the Game later develops a jewelry system? Equipment with slots for enchants, this material will definitely go up in value!"

"Fuck, seriously?"

"Seriously! Trust me!"

"Then... give me two."

"Alrighty, hey."

Besides the players selling hunting materials, there were also those peddling trash they picked up from the Wasteland.

Even though it was already the year 211 of the Wasteland Era, if one searched carefully, occasionally one could still find some good stuff that hadn't been taken yet.

Especially in some locked doors and cabinets, or buried under the ruins.

Some alloys with decent anti-oxidation effects could be slightly modified into excellent weapons. For instance, Chu Guang saw a fire axe with its rust-preventive paint still intact being priced at 7 silver coins.

It was indeed worth that price.

But few could afford it.

"Anyone want gold? I picked up a gold necklace, found it while searching through a row of apartments! Only 3 silver coins, can't go any cheaper!"

"Too expensive, 3 silver coins could buy so much food! What do I need your gold necklace for? Can't make it into a weapon or spend it!"

"Give me one, damn it, I can't afford it in real life, might as well indulge in the game."

"Hey, you're such a spendthrift! How are you going to join the top ranks later if you don't accumulate capital now?"

"Bro, are you delusional? This is just a game!"

The hottest stall was still Crow's.

Every time she performed her special feat of eating Big Mushrooms raw, it would draw a round of applause and cheers from the players.

The players didn't just freeload, and the mushrooms at her stall were quickly bought up.

Yesterday it was 3 copper coins per jin for mushrooms, today it had gone up to 4 copper coins, and the stream of players coming to buy was still endless.

In addition, she had made a bottle of Ya Ya's Secret Jam with the berries she picked, priced at only 1 silver coin.

However, sadly, this jar of jam just couldn't be sold.

That greenish hue just looked too uncomfortable.

Next was Xia Yan's weapon shop, although none of the weapons on the shelves priced at hundreds of silver coins were affordable, that didn't stop everyone from coming over to see the beautiful shop owner.

"Shop owner, can you say 'I am Kaili from the heavens'? Just say it once, please!"

"The shop owner is so cold, she doesn't pay attention to us! Definitely because we're too poor! Damn, is this what you call a realistic game?"

"Have you guys noticed? Her gaze towards the Manager is definitely different!"

"Do NPCs already have CP? I ship it!"

"What are you shipping, crazy! The handsome Brother Dawn is obviously my husband, no one is allowed to steal him, wuwuwu!"

"Dream on, what's your favorability rating? How many days have you been laboring? Better not just talk big!"

"What do you think the NPCs do after we log off?"

"...Wait for us to log on?"

"Freaks."

Coincidentally, people always end up thinking alike.

Although she couldn't understand what these players were saying, Xia Yan, with her expressionless face, was thinking exactly this sentence at this moment.

"These freaks..."

Muttering to herself, she glanced in the direction of the sanatorium and then at Chu Guang.

So hungry.

When can we return to the shelter?

Is there still going to be dessert after dinner tonight?

That Chocolate... it's quite delicious...

...

Perhaps it was because of the 20 new people, but today's market was even busier than yesterday's.

Standing in front of the sanatorium, Chu Guang couldn't help but start to imagine, in his mind, what a bustling scene it would be when all 100 players were gathered here.

"Life's getting better," he mused with a smile on his face like an old father.

He was happier than anyone.

After all, to the players this was a game, but to him, it could be the rest of his life.

At that moment, a slight chill suddenly touched his tall nose.

Chu Guang looked up, just in time to see small silvery flecks gently falling down.

He touched his nose, wiped away the cold dampness, and stared at his fingertip, murmuring thoughtfully.

"...Snow? Or hail?"

The temperature hadn't dropped to 0 degrees yet.

To be precise, it should still be between 10 and 15 degrees.

There were no rain clouds in the sky, not even a thicker layer of clouds; twilight was faintly visible on the horizon.

His first guess was that it's probably strong cold air passing through, touching the warm moist updraft on its way, condensing into ice crystals at low altitude... he was just guessing.

This probably wasn't snow, nor hail, but rather a unique climate occurrence in the Wasteland.

However, no matter what, this wasn't a good sign.

Flicking the droplet from his fingertip, Chu Guang secretly sighed in his heart.

"...Old Charlie was right."

"This winter is coming earlier than usual."

Food.

Fuel.

And materials and weapons.

Sigh!

Just thinking about it makes one go bald.

However, joy and sorrow do not intermingle.

In the distance, the carefree cheers of the players could be faintly heard, along with their chirpy, joyful chatter.

There was a new female player who had recently joined the game, looking up at the sky with hopeful eyes.

"It's snowing!"

Chapter 58 This man is unfathomable!

Official Site:

[Update: Testing the weather system, added "Snowy Weather".]

[Announcement: It's snowing unexpectedly in Wasteland OL today. The team kindly reminds all players to dress warmly and be careful not to catch a cold.]

Comments under the announcement:

"The official site released another announcement?!"

"Well, I thought there was an update."

"The planner said there was an update, but it's not complete. We're just testing the snow today, and rain will be tested tomorrow. Another day of slacking if we meet the KPI. (Amused)"

"Where is this planner from? It's still twenty degrees here; it's too early for temperature drops!"

"Snow is nothing special. I once biked fifty kilometers up a mountain in minus thirty degrees winter just in a down jacket to see the snow. I was sweating hot without any frostbite when I came back, and was totally fine. (laugh)"

"Are you also Gaia? (Amused)"

Chu Guang glanced briefly at the comments under the announcement, found nothing particularly insightful, and closed the announcement page to open the forum.

As expected,
the forum was bustling, almost a continuation of the flea market at the Outpost Base from earlier.

Twenty newcomers who had just entered the game couldn't wait to rush to the official site and share their gaming experiences on the forum after logging off.

Gnome King Riches: "First day for new players, I won't mince words—the graphics, the effects, the lighting! I'm absolutely blown away by this game!"

Grandpa Ao: "Let me throw a wet blanket, the person above is a shill hired by the development team. Don't be fooled! I repeat, this game doesn't even exist."

Gnome King Riches: "Annoying, huh? Catching someone to rant at once or twice is enough, not every day. (Rolling eyes)"

WC Real Mosquito: "You must be new. This guy was the pet of the bull and horse group. Got banned for cursing at the manager and left the group, now he's here on the forum showing off. Just treat it as a joke. (Grinning)"

Gnome King Riches: "0.0"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "Damn! Does anyone care about the rights of the Lizard man? Damn... right before logging off, I felt an icy chill behind me, stiff as if possessed. T.T"

Spare people under the knife: "I don't care about you, you're just one Lizard. (Evil smile)"

Fang Chang: "That's normal, lizards are cold-blooded animals. Don't panic, your dominant period will come in the summer!"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "%￥&@!"

Apart from players sharing their gaming experiences and tips, there were also many enthusiastic players offering their advice.

Reading these posts always gave Chu Guang the feeling of reviewing memorials to the throne.

Valley Escape Mole: "Raise hand! I suggest the development team consider setting up a trading area in the game. Most games have consignment and stall functions, and even if we can't hire NPCs to watch the shop for now, at least open a shelf with consignment functions, right? It would be more efficient than everyone crowding together and calling out their wares, especially since the trading time before logging off is just too short!"

Light: "This suggestion is indeed good, I will mention it at the next planning department meeting. We will map out an area in the game for players to freely trade at flea markets. Also, we will set up rentable containers in the shelter's buffer zone for players to consign goods."

Valley Escape Mole: "Awesome! ╰(*°▽°*)╯"

Night Ten: "It feels like being in the game lobby itself, why not add a task board too, allowing players to assign missions to other players. (Amused)"

Light: "Don't rush, we need to test the systems step by step. As the game content becomes richer, we will consider setting up a player mission board."

At this stage, there aren't that many tasks for players to undertake, nor are there that many players.

When there are more things for players to do and more content to explore in the future, we can consider opening this feature.

Through the players' commissions, Chu Guang could also more conveniently understand and supervise what the players were up to outside.

Night Ten: "Damn? Brother Guang replied to me!"

Light: "..."

Wasn't he always there?

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Planner, are you there? Good, I also have a suggestion. The pricing of food is unreasonable. How can 200g of dried meat cost 1 Silver Coin, the same price as 300g of raw meat! Isn't that too unreasonable? Suggest changing it to 150g dried meat, 350g raw meat!"

Light: "From a setting perspective, there isn't a fixed price for goods in the game. Trading prices are influenced by various factors. Additionally, the NPC's warehouse is set up only as a reserve for materials, prices are primarily influenced by strategic needs and secondarily by supply and demand."

Light: "Wasteland OL encourages trades between players. The price you negotiate with other players represents the 'market price' that truly reflects the supply and demand."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "What if I hoard all the food?"

Night Ten: "Damn, bro, how much money do you have? I can't even afford a gun!"

Light: "Not sure, why don't you try?"

Light: "We're also curious what measures an NPC with full intelligence and account-control authority would take to maintain order in the game, which will provide valuable experience for closed and open testing."

Elena: "A scalper popping and locking in front of the planner, is that like turning himself in? (Amused)"

Night Ten: "Brother, no offense, but you should have bought it quietly, hidden it in the rented storage locker while the NPC wasn't looking. Then when everyone's hungry, voila, open it and dazzle everyone. (Amused)"

Macabazi: "Hahaha, kudos to the expert."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Er, I haven't even won the closed testing qualification yet, let's talk after I win that, haha. (Awkward)"

Damn, turns out he's just fantasizing.

Chu Guang felt that only a naive question like that could come from such a person.

Light: "… Then let's talk after you get it."

Not getting chosen doesn't mean you should lose heart. Closed and open testing will have more spots, richer content, and better rules.

These bizarre ideas are now useless, but they will be useful later.

Thunder Law King, Professor Yang: "I think I'm still okay, I have a feeling it's going to be my turn next. T.T"

That optimistic?

Guang: "Keep it up."

Just like yesterday, Chu Guang gathered some useful tips and posted them on the document.

For example, some players suggested that "trading should be taxed, it's unrealistic without tax." Chu Guang admitted this was indeed an oversight, but it seemed too early to start insisting on this now.

What would he do with so much money when everything in this shelter was already his?

By now, he had only distributed about 1,200 game currency coins, the consumption from his stock wasn't even one-fortieth, let alone waiting a couple more days for that merchant surnamed Sun to bring him another batch.

Tax collection was possible.

It would be feasible to recoup some money in circulation and keep the income of players with living jobs within a reasonable range, avoiding player purchasing power spillover causing inflation within the game.

But it should still wait until the players had saved enough money, were equipped, could afford to open stores, and were qualified to start making a snowball before discussing this.

While Chu Guang was browsing the forum, Xia Yan, who was sitting in a corner reading a book, couldn't help but peek at him occasionally.

It wasn't because there was something especially attractive about him, but rather that this man always seemed somewhat terrifying to her.

For the past hour, he had been staring at the screen and "smirking" evilly, and she had no idea what sinister plan he was concocting.

Thinking that she was in the same room as a devil, Xia Yan decided to say something to divert his attention, hoping he wouldn't get any bad ideas about her.

"...What are you looking at?"

Chu Guang replied casually, without even turning his head.

"It's none of your business."

Xia Yan kept quiet for a while, then spoke again.

"…Can I ask you a question?"

Chu Guang: "Ask."

Xia Yan asked doubtfully, "Why do you guys have to go outside? I mean, it's so safe in the shelter, why bother fixing that enclosing wall on the surface? Isn't staying underground good enough?"

Chu Guang: "For survival."

Xia Yan: "Can't you survive here? The shelter has clean air, it's not only rainproof but also frost-proof and theft-proof... Speaking of which, where is your water purifier? I've never seen it. And what about facilities like soil-less cultivation rooms? I heard shelters are supposed to have those."

Chu Guang listened with an embarrassed expression.

He didn't know how to explain this question, surely he couldn't say although he was the Manager here, he hadn't fully obtained all the permissions for this shelter?

That would sound too absurd!

Chu Guang closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, then said.

"Maybe you are right, hiding underground is indeed a good choice. What do the things above have to do with us? It's not like we caused it to be this way. Let the outside world flood massively, even if a nuclear war happens again, we can still stay here safely."

Xia Yan: "Then why—"

Chu Guang looked at her.

"But maybe, some shelters are destined to be different from others, people born there are not meant to escape something but are meant to create and change."

Leaving that thought-provoking statement behind, Chu Guang no longer paid attention to her and continued browsing his forum.

His little players were wonderful.

Each one had talent, spoke appealingly, and importantly, their imagination was outrageously large, even more so than his own planning.

Truly.

Without borrowing these geniuses' ideas, Chu Guang felt he would be doing them a disservice.

"…Is there any creature more suitable to be trimmed as leeks than players in this world?"

Chu Guang finally understood why the First Generation Manager had written those words on that note.

As Chu Guang's last words echoed in her ears, Xia Yan, sitting by the wall, was baffled yet felt it was rather impressive.

It seemed...

The man's silhouette suddenly seemed taller.

However, this feeling only lasted less than two seconds in her heart before it vanished entirely as her eyes fell on her notebook.

This guy was undoubtedly a devil, having her memorize such incomprehensible stuff.

Not only to her, but he was also relentless with his companions.

Not only did he make them engage in strenuous physical labor, but he also commanded them to go hunting, charge into battle as cannon fodder, and fooled them with some utterly useless metal pieces, making them treasure them as if precious, and even thanking him profusely in return.

Feeling for a moment that he was a good person had to be because this guy was subtly brainwashing her!

Brainwashing…

Thinking about those folk tales and strange stories circulating in Giant Stone City, Xia Yan couldn't help shivering, shrugging her shoulders, and her fear and wariness towards Chu Guang's silhouette grew.

To manipulate the human heart to such an exquisite degree.

This man...

Was unfathomable!

Chapter 59: These Players Are Getting More and More Hardcore

Yesterday's snow seemed to be just an accident.

The early morning sun of the next day still carried strands of autumn warmth.

Stepping out of the refuge, Trash-Kun cautiously peered outside, and after realizing it wasn't as cold as he had imagined, finally heaved a sigh of relief and happily scampered off, wagging his tail.

It was too cold at night.

His online time had to be adjusted back.

Apart from Chu Guang and Trash-Kun, it seemed that no one was in a hurry; on the contrary, there was a bit of anticipation for the coming winter.

Especially for players from the south, the chance to see heavy snow wasn't common.

Now on the Wasteland, the snowflakes had started falling before September was over, and it was likely that in another ten days or half a month, one could enjoy a thorough and refreshing snowfall.

Passing through the Enclosing Wall of Outpost Base.

Chu Guang patrolled his territory, meanwhile silently pondering which piece of land to enclose next.

North or south?

This was a question worth considering.

At this time, as he reached the gate, he noticed two young players busy in front of the north gate, constructing a door-shaped frame out of wood.

Looking at the shape...

Was it kind of like the gallows at the entrance of Brown Farm?

"...What are you guys doing?"

Seeing the illustrious Manager, the two players immediately stopped their work and looked over, their faces brimming with excitement.

I Gotta Go Pee Sir: "Respected Manager, we are making a gallows!"

Chu Guang: "...A gallows? What do you need that for?"

Feet Stench Who Levin: "It's more Wasteland style! And more punk!"

I Gotta Go Pee Sir: "That's right, and it's very practical! Anyone who breaks the laws of the refuge, we'll hang them up! Heh heh."

Chu Guang: "..."

It's possible.

But not necessary.

Apart from these two Sand Sculptures, the other players in the refuge all seemed pretty normal. If they weren't busy doing missions, they were chopping wood or moving bricks.

Outpost Base was in its early stages of development; everything was needed except for work—no need to worry about players not finding things to do.

The occasional slacker didn't matter either; just let them be.

The art of management lies not in micromanaging but in controlling the general direction—it's good as long as the overall player base remains diligent.

Unless someone consistently didn't log on, he might check-in, and if he confirmed they were AFK, he'd give the closed beta slot to someone else.

As for how the System would retrieve helmets and arrange for delivery, or whether it would cause any disturbances, that wasn't his concern.

If it could be done, there had to be a reason why; in due time, he would know when he had enough clues.

Baseless "infinite doubt theory" made no sense; although scientific thinking emphasizes "doubt, including doubt of oneself," it also stresses the importance of evidence and not to treat conjectures as Truth.

So why bother with matters of a "Parallel World"?

It's not like there's a return ticket.

Arriving at the woodworking cabin, Chu Guang checked the equipment on the shelves.

Up until now, Brother Mosquito had already made 15 Wooden Bows and over a hundred arrows, his motions in crafting and processing becoming more proficient.

Not only that, Chu Guang found this guy was quite talented; he was not only innovative in his thinking but also capable of reasoning by analogy during his Work.

Just take these arrows, for instance; he had designed two different types of arrowheads.

One type involved setting the arrowhead into a wooden strip with a fixed groove and hammering it a few times after heating, allowing this type of arrow to be reused many times until the arrowhead was completely worn out.

The other type used a mixture of pine resin and animal fat to directly adhere rust flakes onto the arrow shaft.

While these arrows were disposable and had slightly poorer penetrative power, as long as a shot hit effectively, it was almost certain to leave the rust-coated arrowhead in the target's body, causing sustained damage.

Even if it didn't incapacitate the victim immediately, they were likely to die from tetanus or other infections after a few days.

"Manager, I was just about to look for you."

Seeing Chu Guang at the entrance, WC Mosquito's eyes lit up and he stood up from his chair, putting down his tools.

Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"I'm just having a look around, do you have something to report to me?"

"The Black Powder you asked me to make, I've managed to produce it!"

With that, Mosquito took out a jar of Black Powder in a glass bottle from the shelf and excitedly handed it to Chu Guang, who couldn't help but step back half a step, almost using his privileges to kick this guy offline.

"It's alright, there's no open flame here, it's safe! Hehe."

Mosquito chuckled and then continued,

"I made it using a formula I found online, with 74.6% potassium nitrate. With this proportion, the powder can burn most completely!"

Like before, Chu Guang ignored the content mentioned by the players that pertained outside of the Game, took the glass bottle to examine it carefully, and nodded.

"Well done... Have you tested it?"

"I can demonstrate it for you right now! Please, follow me!"

Saying so, Mosquito led the Manager outside the woodworking cabin and took out a small 150ml glass bottle from his pocket.

The bottle was filled with powder, the mouth stuffed with a cotton wick and sealed with animal fat.

He dashed out some distance, placed the glass bottle beside a tree, lit the wick with a match, and then took off running.

With the cotton thread burning to its end, there was a thunderous explosion as the glass bottle violently burst, fissuring the surface of the tree trunk and leaving it teetering on the verge of collapse.

Many players nearby, who had been chopping trees, were startled by the noise and ran over to see what was happening.

"Holy shit! Bro, you've got some skills!"

"Did you just make TNT?"

"What TNT? All you know is TNT. Look at the smoke—it's obviously black powder. But still, it's pretty powerful! Everyone knows the recipe; it's just the materials that are hard to get."

"Big boss is incredible!!"

It was clear that he heard the other players singing his praises.

Mosquito looked excitedly at the Manager beside him, his face flush with the thrill of it.

"How's that?"

Amazement was etched all over Chu Guang's face as well.

This...

This player was too intense, no?

A woodworker knows so much, what is he planning to do?

"...Excellent, your performance was beyond my expectations. Although the smoke produced was a bit much, and the power of the explosion could be improved, these aren't problems. I will report your merits to the organization, and you will receive 500 Contribution Points as a reward."

"Additionally, you can try making smokeless powder, like guncotton. If you succeed, the shelter will grant you a reward of 1000 Contribution Points, and I will also have new work for you."

New work?

The expression on Mosquito's face turned instantly excited.

Could this be a hint at a hidden quest?

Actually, it didn't matter if there was a hidden quest, the reward of 1000 Contribution Points was tempting enough.

Since the alpha 0.3 version, the earnings from Contribution Points had been slashed, and even if you completed all the daily active quests, you'd only get about 160 contribution points, with work yielding a similar amount. 1000 points were already very substantial.

Although he was already a Citizen, who would mind having more Contribution Points? The difficulty of obtaining them was only going to increase in the future.

He remembered that the planners had flaunted the idea on the official website that above the Citizen Identity Level, more levels would open up and at that point, you could buy more land.

Full of joy, Mosquito said,

"No problem, esteemed Manager! Wait until I get nitric and sulfuric acid, then I'll give it a try!"

Chu Guang nodded and directed him to get back to his work, then continued his tour around to the side of the blast furnace.

For convenience in transportation, charcoal kilns and cement kilns for burning charcoal and making cement had been built nearby, forming a makeshift industrial zone.

The ceaseless operation of the furnace kept the temperature of the area a couple of degrees higher than elsewhere.

Ever since "Levin Ward's Athlete's Foot" and "Yar, I Need The Loo" had improved the primitive method of smelting, separating the carbon chamber and iron melting chamber, and used incomplete combustion of carbon monoxide to reduce iron oxide instead of using charcoal directly.

Now, steel scrap used as raw materials wouldn't have carbon content rise too much during smelting, and it wasn't necessary to repeatedly forge and quench to remove carbon to produce steel like before.

Although returning the materials to the state they were in 200 years ago was unlikely, their overall strength was surely much better than that obtained by smelting raw ores.

After all, the rare metals that were mixed in the steel wouldn't just disappear; some would remain.

Experience always came through trial and error.

Watching the bustling work of the players, a sense of emotion filled Chu Guang's heart.

Not long ago, the tools for the Outpost Base had to import from the nearby Brown Farmstead, which required trading animal fur.

Today, not only had the players learned to recycle the collected metal waste, but they were even making the tools they needed by themselves.

The woodwork cabin met immediate needs.

And this place would indeed be where miracles could happen.

"These homemade kilns are still a bit inefficient for production; expanding the facilities will require more materials and tools. To achieve this, we must allow some players to directly or indirectly control the means of production—only then can we tap into the players' initiative and creativity, allowing them to improve production unrestrained."

"Let me think...the next version could designate this area as an industrial zone, define the land use, and allow players who've reached the Citizen Identity Level to rent land here to set up workshops for light industrial processing, thereby directly controlling some means of production."

"For heavy industries like steel smelting and cement production, which have large outputs, substantial initial investment, and unstable returns, we could establish a 'public' steel plant and cement plant. We might appoint standout craft profession players to manage these facilities through 'hidden quests,' so they would indirectly control production."

"As for balancing...we'll solve it using taxes and land rent."

"After all, this was all conceived by the players."

Chu Guang stroked his chin, pondering in his mind.

As a competent planner, the first task is to understand what the current version needs.

For example, if everyone is struggling to play ADC, then boost ADC. If everyone runs off to be a sniper, then nerf the sniper on the head, or strengthen the jungler.

The biggest difference between games and reality is that changing laws and adjusting policies in reality has costs.

But, balancing a game, at most people would curse at the "dog planners", and as long as the game is still playable, everyone would continue as usual.

"Manager!"

Hearing someone calling him, Chu Guang stopped in his tracks and turned around, only to see a player, carrying a bow and arrow, rushing towards him breathlessly.

"What is it?"

"At the north side of Outpost Base, near the overpass, two people have arrived, leading a cow with two heads! The one in front looks familiar; he resembles the person who visited us before!"

The player reported the situation in fits and starts, leaning on his knees.

A cow with two heads?

Could it be that merchant from Red River Town?

Already?

There was a slight surge of surprise in Chu Guang's heart, but his face remained composed as he instructed the player.

"Lead the way."

"Yes!"

Chapter 60 The Money Sender Has Arrived

Outpost Base's north gate.

Two fashionably dressed men, one in front and one behind, sandwiched a double-headed cow between them as they walked up to the north gate and stopped.

The one in the front held a 7mm revolver rifle, a specialty of Red River Town. Although the barrel pointed downward, his eyes constantly roamed over the enclosing wall and the surroundings, vigilant for potential dangers.

This man was strong!

That was Chu Guang's first intuition.

As for the one standing behind, he was the very merchant Mr. Sun whom Chu Guang had encountered before.

"Haha, my old friend, we meet again!"

Upon seeing Chu Guang at the gate, Sun Shiqi's nervous expression instantly vanished, and he opened his arms enthusiastically, walking up to greet him.

Chu Guang could smell the odor wafting from him from a distance and, unable to bear it, did not embrace him; instead, he extended his right hand.

Sun Shiqi chuckled, not embarrassed, and smoothly changed his approach to grasp Chu Guang's right hand and gave it a hearty shake, then let go.

"Sorry, I've been on the road for almost five days and haven't had the chance to take a bath. I've made a fool of myself in front of you!"

"No worries," Chu Guang glanced at the men standing beside the double-headed cow and cast an inquiring look at Sun Shiqi, "and who is this?"

"He's the gunman I hired back in Red River Town, responsible for my safety along the way. There are a few trustworthy mercenary guilds in Red River Town, the people are reliable, and most importantly, they know how to avoid conflicts with the local Looters... For safety's sake, just pretend he's not here!"

Mercenary guild?

Likely just Looters who had washed their hands of their past deeds.

Chu Guang nodded, his gaze lingering on the double-headed cow, whose large frame had caught his interest, his eyebrows lifting in an intrigued arch.

It seemed their dried meat was selling well in Red River Town; the last deal must have made this fellow a tidy profit. Not only had he money to stock up on new goods, but he'd also hired a bodyguard.

That was a good sign.

Businesses that benefit both parties can last a long time.

"How's the road to Giant Stone City? Is it passable?" Chu Guang asked casually.

"I didn't go to Giant Stone City, so I'm not sure about the situation there," Sun Shiqi shook his head like a rattle, "After I left here last time, I visited a farm not far from here. By great luck, they were very interested in the remainder of my goods; I traded with them for some food and headed back."

"The city streets are too complicated; the ruins inside are like a maze. I'd rather walk ten kilometers in the Wasteland than a single mile in the city."

"You must have felt it too; this winter is probably going to be tougher than usual. The price of grain in Red River Town is skyrocketing; those big shots like mine owners and slave owners can't stomach those dark, gritty nutrient pastes. My goods practically flew off the shelves at the trading station, snatched up by their servants almost immediately after arrival."

"I figured since it was selling so well, why not make another trip before the heavy snow blocks the roads? So I hired a bodyguard and set off, hehe."

"Selling that well? It looks like I sold it too cheap last time," Chu Guang said half-jokingly.

Realizing he was getting carried away with his success, Sun Shiqi quickly coughed and said with a forced laugh.

"You jest, my lord. We itinerant merchants bet our lives on our waistbands; we say we make some profit, but it's really just enough to cover the trip and get by."

"Enough with the sob story. How much you earn is your own skill. Just remember, when you have the money, buy a couple more cows. Bring more goods next spring," Chu Guang cut through the nonsense and went straight to the point, "Do you have the items I asked for? Did you bring them?"

Sun Shiqi hastily said,

"I've brought them all! Hehe, don't worry, I definitely won't forget your orders!"

After mutation, a Double-headed Cow often weighed over a ton, with a carrying capacity of roughly between 700 to 900 kilograms. It had quite good mobility in both the ruins and wild terrains, slightly inferior to the mutated yak.

Apart from the 500 kilograms of coins, Sun Shiqi had also used the money he earned to purchase less than a hundred kilograms of supplies.

Among these were items of trade value, including a bag of dull yellow coarse salt that appeared to be around 10 kilograms. There were also 10 revolvers with a 7mm caliber, as well as two large bags of heavy bullets, and so on.

Although he still had some carrying capacity left, he had no extra money to buy more goods.

Under normal circumstances, traders without much wealth would take the risk of detouring to scavenge, but at this point in time, it obviously wasn't the right thing to do.

While checking the bullets stored in the burlap bags, Chu Guang noticed that these two large bags of bullets were all made of copper?

It seemed that Red River Town didn't lack copper.

However, compared to the die-pressed casings produced by Giant Stone City, many of the bullets from Red River Town were rolled from copper sheets, with visible dents and bumps on the casings.

No wonder they made these simply structured, semi-automatic revolvers.

A slightly more precise mechanism would probably jam after just a few shots with this kind of ammunition.

Is this the gap between industrial-type Survivor Bases and resource-type Survivor Bases?

Tossing the bullets he was holding back into the bag, Chu Guang silently noted down this intelligence.

"…How about it, sir? Are you satisfied with these goods?"

Sun Shiqi's face bore a flattering smile.

If possible, he hoped that Chu Guang would buy all of these items.

That way, he could also bring back more dried meat.

"I'll take all the weapons and coarse salt, and those coins," Chu Guang's gaze fell on the last bag. He glanced at it and found some turmeric-colored powder inside, then asked, "What's in here?"

Sun Shiqi answered with a hehe laugh,

"Insect powder! Made from dried and ground mutated yellow-browed high-legged spiders, rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, mainly used as fertilizer!"

Chu Guang nodded, indicating he understood.

As fertilizer, that should be something the Brown Farmstead wants. He hasn't started farming here yet, so he doesn't need this stuff.

But this did give him an idea.

He had heard from players that there were large amounts of Bird Feces Stone by the lake; maybe he could try making some fertilizer to sell to Brown Farmstead.

At that moment, Sun Shiqi suddenly remembered something and walked over to the side of the Double-headed Cow. He opened a leather wrap hanging there and took out a glass bottle.

The mouth of the glass bottle was stuffed with a cork, and the cork was pierced with some small holes for ventilation. Inside the bottle, a fist-sized ant was packed, swaying its visibly large limbs and antennae, looking quite unsettling.

Chu Guang stared at the bottle with interest for a while, then asked,

"Is this the Iron Back Ant?"

Sun Shiqi said with a smile,

"Exactly! We usually use it for feed or something else. Someone at the trading post happened to be selling it, so I bought a bottle."

After playing with the bottle for a while, Chu Guang looked at Sun Shiqi and asked,

"How much?"

Sun Shiqi waved his hands, saying,

"No, no, no, my friend, you misunderstand. This is a gift I am giving to you, free of charge."

"Oh? Then thank you."

Chu Guang naturally wouldn't refuse such a good deal and decisively accepted the gift.

As for a return gift?

It was out of the question.

Allowing this guy to do business with him was already the greatest favor.

Seeing that Chu Guang accepted the gift, Sun Shiqi's face was filled with a smile.

"You're welcome, it is my honor to have your friendship... Look, it's getting late, shall we talk about the details of the trade?"

Chu Guang nodded and said just one word,

"Sure."

...

Unlike the merchants from Giant Stone City, most of these itinerant traders from other regions didn't recognize chips as money, they either had their own currency or simply did without money at all.

Therefore, in general, when conducting inter-regional trades, people bartered goods, and there wasn't a fixed "price."

Although he had received a gift symbolizing friendship from Sun Shiqi, after all, friendship couldn't be eaten. During the bargaining, Chu Guang didn't consider personal ties at all and didn't give any concessions.

Are you kidding?

Who could be more thick-skinned than salespeople?

The 500 kilograms of coins were still priced according to the previous agreement, 100 kilograms for 4 kilograms of dried meat, totaling 20 kilograms of dried meat.

Chu Guang had always been a man of his word; he didn't intend to go back on an agreed deal, especially as there was no need.

Both parties happily came to a consensus.

However, the happy part ended there.

Just a few minutes earlier, Sun Shiqi had naïvely thought that the man before him was easy to talk to, until this man blurted out the ridiculous proposal of "3 kilograms of dried meat for 1 kilogram of salt."

"Sorry, did I hear you wrong… perhaps you said 1 pound?"

Chu Guang replied unflinchingly, as he had expected this reaction,

"You heard me correctly. I said 1 kilogram, 1 kilogram of coarse salt."

"That's impossible!"

Sun Shiqi almost reflexively exclaimed, his previous subservience replaced by indignant argument,

"You must be joking! The smoked meat here is made with baking and drying techniques, it hasn't been cured at all, it can't be worth that much!"

"Oh?"

Seeing that Chu Guang was still unmoved, Sun Shiqi took a deep breath and continued in a more conciliatory tone,

"Alright, you're not a merchant after all, you might not understand the market... Let's do some calculations. If I were to take these 10 kilograms of coarse salt to Giant Stone City, for every 100 grams, I could get at least one point in chips!"

Chu Guang didn't respond.

He hadn't actually been to Giant Stone City and only knew that the coarse salt, which was wax-yellow with a bitter taste and only consumed by poor people, cost 2 chips per 100g at Old Leech's on Bet Street, expectedly double the price.

But what did it matter?

Old Leech had tripled the price of grain!

Discussing prices in the Wasteland was pointless.

Wetting his dry throat, Sun Shiqi continued,

"100 points in chips! If I trade these chips for electronics, industrial products, or daily essentials at Brown Farm, I could get at least 300 kilograms of green wheat. If I were to trade this grain for smoked meat, it would have to be at least 60 to 75 kilograms to be fair."

"So the lowest price I can accept is 60 kilograms, which means 1 kilogram of salt for 6 kilograms of smoked meat! For the sake of our friendship... 59 kilograms, that's the lowest I can go!"

"And that's my biggest concession!"

Sun Shiqi felt he had made his case as simple and clear as possible.

Even if these hoarders sheltered in the refuge hadn't traded in the Wasteland, they should at least be able to understand his "hardships."

However, after listening to his spiel, Chu Guang just smiled.

Sun Shiqi was right about one thing.

He was certainly no merchant.

If someone saw him that way, that was far too small-minded.

But to think he didn't understand business?

Heh.

"You are right."

Sun Shiqi's expression brightened.

But before he had a second to enjoy it, Chu Guang's next words made the happy expression freeze on his face,

"...So, my friend, why don't you do it?"

Looking at his long-traveled friend with a smile, Chu Guang said softly,

"What I mean is, if you want to trade 300 kilograms of green wheat for 59 kilograms of smoked meat, I'm not opposed."

Chapter 61 The Nemesis of Mutated Leeches

The trade was over.

After leaving Wetland Park.

A frustrated Sun Shiqi could no longer contain himself and began to loudly complain.

"It's simply unbelievable!"

"I've never encountered such stingy Blue Jackets. Where's the restraint of civilization? What about fair exchange? These greedy ground squirrels!"

"I never should've harbored any illusions about them!"

In the tavern of the trade center in Red River Town, four out of every ten stories that were regaled pertained to the Blue Jackets.

Some people had previously managed to secure large bundles of goods from those Blue Jackets with just a few flatteries, while others had managed to wangle meals and drinks using a pile of colorful paper and still walked out carrying hefty bags of "survival supplies" prepared for them.

These Blue Jackets had almost become synonymous with the phrase "more money than sense." Stories about them often revolved around the term "overnight wealth."

Sun Shiqi never actually thought he could open up a shelter's treasure trove with just a few words like the rumors suggested; he reckoned doing regular business seemed like a decent choice.

However…

Their reactions took him by surprise.

So much so that he couldn't help but suspect that these guys might be vagrants in disguise.

Do Blue Jackets really build houses on the surface?

And until the end, he never actually saw where the shelter was...

The Gunman walking ahead cast a look back at him, then glanced at the bulging packages atop the double-headed cow and asked, puzzled,

"So, did you lose out on this deal?"

He had worked as a bodyguard for many years and dealt with countless merchants, seldom seeing them come out at a loss.

"Not exactly at a loss," Sun Shiqi said indignantly, "but I could have earned much more!"

The Gunman fell silent, shifting his attention away from him and resumed scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Sun Shiqi pulled out his ledger with an expression of pain on his face.

10 kilograms of salt for just 30 kilograms of smoked meat.

If this trip hadn't excluded a visit to Giant Stone City, even if someone pointed a gun at his head, he would have never accepted such an extortionate price!

But alas, there are no ifs in this world.

He couldn't actually drag that salt all the way to Giant Stone City as hypothesized, exchange it for daily necessities and electronics, take those to a farm to swap for grains, and then use the grains from the farm to come here and trade for meat.

That round-trip would have taken him at least four days, or even a week!

The roads in the city were much harder to navigate than outside, not to mention winter was drawing near, and both humans and Variants were frantically preparing for the upcoming cold season.

At this time on the Wasteland, it was more dangerous than ever.

Considering both the time cost and the risks involved, he couldn't possibly take this detour.

And that man had clearly seen this.

It wasn't just the 10 kilograms of salt; the ten revolvers and two bags of bullets he carried were also fiercely bargained down by that guy for a variety of reasons.

While firearms might not be valuable in Giant Stone City, any Survivor Base would not refuse to hoard such easily maintained, durable, and cheap weapons. One could trade for 3 to 4 corpses of mutated hyenas with just one gun, and casually hiring a Butcher could yield sixty to seventy kilograms of meat.

That's 70 kilograms of meat!

Exchanging for 30 kilograms of dried meat isn't excessive, right? Even 20 kilograms wouldn't be a loss!

Yet, that man was willing to give only 10 kilograms of unseasoned dried smoked meat per gun!

Despite all his persuasion, that man simply nodded out of respect for their "friendship," allowing him to take an extra kilogram of smoked fish.

Damn ground squirrel!

"I don't quite understand, but isn't it good enough that you made some profit?" the Gunman said nonchalantly, "Contentment brings happiness, that's what I always hear."

"Heh, what could you understand? Being content won't make one rich."

Sun Shiqi waved his pen impatiently, continuing to calculate in his ledger as he hurried along the road, muttering under his breath.

"…those dried meats need to be exchanged for at least 60 kilograms of crude salt. No, at least 80 kilograms to make it worth the trip. I need to think hard about which mine to do business with."

The Gunman glanced at him, then at the cargo on the double-headed cow's back, and said in a light tone,

"Then you should be devout and grateful."

"At least I, accompanying you on this journey, am someone content with what I have."

…

130 kilograms of smoked meat plus 10 kilograms of smoked fish had been traded for 10 kilograms of crude salt, 10 revolving rifles, two large bags of bullets, and Game Currency.

Chu Guang was quite pleased with the deal.

Of course, the timing had been fortunate.

As winter approached, he who had food was king. Since prey was hibernating, the occasional catch could be preserved just by tossing it in the snow, making salt less vital.

Come spring, however, it would be a different story.

After all, making jerky in spring and summer and expecting to keep it without salt until winter was wishful thinking.

But then again, by that time, would Outpost need to rely on selling food to make money?

Chu Guang thought not.

After all, for Chu Guang, the production cost for 130 kilograms of smoked meat and 10 kilograms of smoked fish was just 60-80 Silver coins.

Even by the Grain Depot's purchase price, it amounted to no more than 140 Silver coins.

Currently, since players were selling their catch directly to the Grain Depot, calculating based on production costs was more appropriate.

In fact, it didn't really matter which price was used.

After all, Chu Guang now had an additional five hundred kilograms of the same Game Currency.

For him, as the Manager, "money" was really just a number...

…

Alone, he dragged all these coins into the refuge shelter, placing them in a vacant room. Gazing at the shiny coins, a satisfied smile spread across Chu Guang's face.

If only he could exchange them all for chips.

Not to mention power armor, wouldn't buying a plane be more than enough?

If someone were selling, that is...

Money that didn't enter market circulation had no meaning.

Chu Guang merely admired his handiwork for a moment before turning to leave the shelter, returning to the surface to ponder over the glass jars he'd obtained from that Merchant surnamed Sun.

Fist-sized ants were crammed into the glass jar, frantically thrashing their legs and antennae, looking for an exit.

One Iron Back Ant facing outwards seemed most spirited, occasionally tapping the glass jar's inner wall with its pincer-like mandibles.

However, the glass's curved inner surface was too slippery to find a solid grip for biting, and even with formidable biting power, it was of no use, only desperately flailing against the transparent "wall."

Chu Guang was not interested in insects, but he was curious about how such small creatures became the natural enemies of Mutated Leeches.

Keep in mind that even the juveniles of Mutated Leeches were significantly larger than them.

So, Chu Guang went to the fishermen by the lake, borrowed a juvenile Mutated Leech, and put it in a bottle with a vigorous-looking Iron Back Ant.

Something interesting happened.

The Mutated Leech didn't immediately attack its prey but tentatively stretched forward with its proboscis.

Just as the edge of the proboscis was about to touch the Iron Back Ant, the Mutated Leech suddenly recoiled as if shocked, twisting its plump body and burrowing to the other side of the jar, as if avoiding something.

And the ant was quite interesting too. It seemed to be aware that a formidable creature was nearby.

But it showed no panic, neither attacking immediately nor running away but instead circling the inside of the bottle while shaking the antennae atop its head.

What was it doing?

Could it be…

Crouching on the ground, Chu Guang stroked his chin, a realization suddenly dawning on his face.

"So that's how it is..."

"It must be looking for its companions."

He seemed to have guessed the reason why these ants could restrain the Mutated Leeches.

Just as Chu Guang prepared to further confirm his speculation, some nearby players were watching and whispering to each other.

"What's the Manager up to?"

"I don't know, looks like he's playing with ants."

"I saw him get a leech larva from those fishermen, could it be he wants to see ants and leeches fight?"

"Damn, who would have such a weird hobby?!"

Crow, who was carrying mushrooms to the granary, overheard the nearby players' conversation and felt a chill down his spine, shivering involuntarily.

Leeches?

Why would anyone play with such disgusting things?!

That's too terrifying...

...

After repeated comparative experiments, Chu Guang finally confirmed his guess.

First, leeches lack eyes and mainly rely on their sense of smell to hunt prey. Mutated Leeches are the same, and due to their even more sensitive smell, they are extraordinarily sensitive to odors.

When the Iron Back Ants find prey, their first action isn't to attack, but like other ants, they immediately release pheromones to inform nearby companions—there's a fat sheep here, everyone come and join in.

Although the digestive fluid of the Mutated Leeches can corrode most prey, it is almost ineffective against the Iron Back Ants; even if swallowed whole, they can't be digested and would instead be gnawed from the inside.

As such, this fear of natural predators is almost ingrained into the genetics of the Mutated Leeches to the extent that, upon smelling the pheromones released by the Iron Back Ants, they instinctively flee without looking back.

"...Case closed, huh."

"It really is because of this thing."

Looking at the half-transparent gel-like substance the size of a thumbnail he held in his hand, Chu Guang gently squeezed it, reminiscent of spoiled tapioca pearls.

This stuff was the pheromone gland of the Iron Back Ant, located under its abdomen, which could be torn off without much effort.

After removing the pheromone gland from the large ant, Chu Guang put it back into the bottle, cohabiting with the Mutated Leech.

This time, the performance of the Mutated Leech was much braver.

After several tentative attempts and probably feeling that the odor on this thing wasn't quite like that of its natural predator, it finally mustered the courage to swallow the prey whole, followed by its body rippling like waves.

About five or six minutes passed.

The young Mutated Leech that was still wriggling suddenly stopped moving.

Chu Guang poured it from the bottle and dissected its stomach with a Small Blade.

Inside, the ant had been suffocated but still clutched a piece of flesh in its mouth, likely torn from somewhere inside the young Mutated Leech.

Such a minor injury was not enough to kill a leech, so the real cause of death might have been the formic acid or something else injected into the leech.

"Eliminating the leeches in the nest isn't realistic."

"But if the extract of the pheromone gland could be applied to the body, disguise as the natural predator of the Mutated Leeches... wouldn't that make it possible to pass through the nest of Mutated Leeches unharmed?!"

Realizing this, Chu Guang's face was immediately filled with excitement, and his gaze towards the glass jar beside him changed.

I'm gonna be rich!

20 kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms could be exchanged for 2000 points in chips, if he could manage to harvest 200 kilograms...

Of course, 200 kilograms might be an exaggeration.

But maybe a hundred pounds or so shouldn't be a problem, right?

Pity all these Iron Back Ants are Worker Ants, without a queen capable of reproduction, otherwise, they could shear the Mutated Leech nest's wool every day!

"...Need to find a player with high Proficiency level in gathering skills to do this job."

Chu Guang's gaze began to roam the Outpost Base, searching for this lucky individual.

Suddenly, his eyes fixed on a player not far from the granary.

Crow!

The moment he saw this little player, Chu Guang's eyes immediately lit up.

That was close.

He had almost forgotten about her!

If he remembered correctly, this player named Crow had the talent "Toxin Intuition," which made the Blue Umbrella Mushrooms she saw glow green!

While others would need to bring lights to search in the cave, this fellow simply had to follow the glowing green and grab it, wouldn't it be easy to collect a hundred pounds or so?

Feeling the gaze of the Manager upon her, Crow, who had just finished her punishment task, shivered all over.

Her Perception-based intuition allowed her to foresee the danger.

However, just as she was about to make a run for it, Chu Guang anticipated her prediction and stepped forward to trigger the plot.

"How did you get on with your punishment task?"

Hearing the voice behind her, Crow cautiously turned around, trembling as she spoke to the Manager.

"I've, I've finished... Just now I finished, and I've already handed in 100 kilograms."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Good timing, you've finished. From now on, your status level is restored to Resident. Additionally, I have a glorious yet arduous mission for you."

Usually, Crow would have happily accepted, puffing out her chest with loyalty—after all, who wouldn't love a hidden task?

Maybe she would even improve her favorability with the NPC!

However, from just a moment ago, her right eye started twitching incessantly, warning her that there might be a huge pitfall ahead.

"I might not be able to complete it. Maybe you should find someone else—"

"Believe in yourself, you can do it. Besides, only you can accomplish this mission!"

Chu Guang didn't give Crow the chance to refuse, cutting off her whining with a serious face. After pausing for two seconds, he continued.

"I will give you a bottle of special powder. You need to apply it to your body."

"It will ensure that you can enter the Mutated Leech nest safely. What you need to do is to collect the glowing green mushrooms inside."

Crow was almost in tears, especially after hearing the six words "Mutated leech nest", she nearly panicked enough to disconnect on the spot.

"But, can I come out safely?"

Chu Guang spoke with certainty.

"In theory, yes."

Crow: "???"

In theory?!

Chu Guang didn't give her the opportunity to protest and continued.

"Saying in theory is just for the sake of accuracy. Don't worry, the success rate is over 90%. Even if you fail, you would have died in a special mission, and there won't be any punishment other than the respawn cooldown."

But that still means there's punishment!

The worst part is the respawn cooldown!

Crow said in a pitiful tone, "Can you also waive the respawn cooldown?"

Chu Guang paused for two seconds, selectively ignoring her question.

"The task is simple. You have 10 minutes of absolute safety, 20 minutes of relative safety."

"Once inside the nest, you don't have to worry about anything else, just avoid those leeches and collect the glowing green Blue Umbrella Mushrooms you can see."

"Get as many as you can before your time is up."

"For every pound of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms—"

"I will count it as 4 copper coins, 5 points of Contribution!"

Chapter 62 You Saved Our Entire Family

Crow stepped into the mutated leech nest with what expression, Chu Guang hadn't paid much attention.

But when she showed up at the warehouse door with a big bag of mushrooms, that face was inevitably filled with the joy of being covered in grime.

Seeing the sack stuffed full of blue mushrooms, Chu Guang couldn't help but express a hint of surprise in his tone.

"So many?"

Out of breath, Crow nodded vigorously, chuckling as she said,

"I went in three times! Almost got bitten, eheh."

Chu Guang: "..."

Three times?!

That's pretty brave.

Anyway, he wouldn't dare.

After weighing it, the sack of mushrooms totaled seventy kilograms.

This number far exceeded Chu Guang's expectations.

He had originally guessed that, at most, she might gather around forty or fifty kilograms, but she actually managed to collect seventy kilograms.

"In total, 560 copper coins, equivalent to 56 silver coins. Besides that, there are also 700 contribution points..."

Did he give too much?

Forget it.

After all, she earned it risking her life.

Hearing the numbers recited by the Manager, Crow jumped excitedly, joyfully swinging her fists.

"Nice!"

"I'm rich haha!"

Chu Guang: "..."

Even though I'm an NPC, could you maybe find a place with no people to celebrate?

The thickness of one silver coin is less than 2 millimeters, a stack of 50 would measure about 9 to 10 centimeters, which compared to the little treasury of the refuge, is but a drop in the ocean.

Having received her reward, Crow walked away happily humming a tune, while Chu Guang, standing at the warehouse door, stroked his chin deep in thought.

Right now, the wealthiest players are probably Old White, Fang Chang, and their ilk, their power and understanding of the game roughly placing them in the first tier among players.

They've been hunting these days, almost identifying the areas of highest game activity nearby, with daily earnings having risen from 52 silver coins to as high as 100 silver coins at their peak; even if the income from hunting is unstable, they've likely saved up a fair amount these past few days.

For safety reasons, Chu Guang checks the players' storage lockers every day.

If nothing unexpected, today the Cow and Horse small team should be able to save up 200 silver coins to jointly purchase the piece of land closest to the resurrection point.

Aside from them, other players' savings are also steadily increasing, even if the purchase of wooden weapons, iron weapons, leather armor, winter coats, tools, and food might take up some, the player with the least savings also generally holds more than 10 silver coins.

"Perhaps the 'banking' feature should be updated."

This way, it's not only able to save players' storage space but can also redistribute the silver coins they've saved up back to them.

The more Chu Guang thought about it, the more it made sense, and he immediately took out a small notebook from his pocket and wrote it down.

As soon as there's a chance, this feature must be arranged!

...

While putting the mushrooms into the warehouse, Chu Guang also took the opportunity to take stock of the inventory.

Excluding the part used in trade with merchants from Red River Town, the remaining smoked meat was nearing 700 kilograms, with daily additions to the inventory of about 100 to 200 kilograms, and more than half of it contributed by the Cow and Horse small team.

Today is already the 20th.

If luck isn't too bad, by the end of the month, stocks should be able to increase to 2000 kilograms; taking out half in exchange for grain and tubers, at least 5 tons could be obtained.

Calculating with each person consuming 4 taels of meat and 7 taels of rice per day, 1000 kilograms of dried meat is enough to last 100 people for 50 days, and 5 tons of grain is enough for 100 people for 142 days.

Of course, these are all ideal situations, and it won't be surprising if the actual figures deviate by more than 20% from theoretical estimates; after all, consumption is related to the amount of physical activity, more work leads to faster hunger, while on idle days one meal a day would suffice.

"…If the number of test players is to be raised to 100, the theoretical estimate for food storage needs to be doubled. Especially meat… It would be nice if games could be hunted in the winter too, but it would be troublesome if they can't."

But viewed from another angle, perhaps not that much food would be needed?

When it's too cold, there's no need for everyone to log in, or even log in every day.

And if in hibernation, consumption by the clones would be greatly reduced, potentially allowing them to go without food for up to 7 consecutive days.

Just that players might not be willing to not work for so long, they would definitely whine on the official site.

But Chu Guang had also thought of a strategy for that, at that time a simple server maintenance notice would do the trick.

What server doesn't need maintenance?

It makes sense.

Looking at the ledger in hand, Chu Guang pondered the future of the refuge, and just then, a player came running in from outside.

"Manager, there are natives here!"

Natives?

Chu Guang's gaze shifted from the ledger, he paused for a moment.

It couldn't possibly be Sun Shiqi coming back again, could it?

Could it be someone else?

Handing the ledger back to the Warehouse Manager player, Chu Guang looked towards the player who brought him the news and asked,

"How many of them are there, where are they coming from?"

"From the south! Two men and a girl!"

From the south?

Hearing this direction, Chu Guang pretty much guessed who it was...

...

The South Gate of Outpost Base.

An old man with a face lined with wrinkles, dressed in a beast skin coat, looked up at the hundred-meter-wide concrete wall, his murky pupils filled with shock and amazement.

The last time he came to Linghu Wetland Park seemed to be two years ago.

The scavengers of Bet Street generally explored towards the south, rarely heading north along the elevated highway out of the city because that's where looters might be encountered, robbing passing commercial teams.

As for Linghu Wetland Park, it is likely a blind spot that would be missed by both scavengers and hunters.

There is not much game to hunt here nor much trash to pick up; hardly any survivors would specifically come here.

But someone has built a survivor base in this forest!

Although the three-meter-high concrete wall looked slightly short, it made up for it in newness and sturdiness, and compared to the patchy broken wall of Bet Street, it gave a sense of safety that was off the charts.

Near the gate of the enclosing wall stood some of the blue-jacketed residents of the refuge.

The old man plucked up the courage and called out,

"I'm here to see your Manager."

No one responded to him.

They just looked on, not very politely whispering and muttering to each other; it was also hard to tell whether their gazes were of goodwill or malice.

It seemed...

More like pure curiosity?

"…Are you sure this is the place?"

The old man turned to his second son, a bit hesitant in his eyes.

Carrying a large bundle on his back, Yu Hu faced his father's questioning gaze, nodded firmly, and said with certainty,

"This is it!"

The old man's expression had clearly become more hesitant.

"They don't seem to be welcoming us."

Yu Hu whispered to his dad with a subtly embarrassed expression on his face.

"Maybe it's not that they don't welcome us, it's just that... they don't understand what we're saying."

The old man was taken aback.

Don't understand?

That can't be right... The outsider in the blue jacket understood us just fine.

Yu Xiaoyu glanced at her father and brother, then turned her gaze to the enclosing wall in front of her, her big, limpid eyes filled with curiosity.

This was her first time leaving Bet Street, and she was going such a long distance.

Chu Guang...

Was he really here?

At that moment, a familiar figure appeared at the gate. When she clearly saw his face, Little Fish's eyes immediately lit up.

However, there were too many strangers nearby.

She, hiding behind her brother, only showed half of her face, looking around timidly yet curiously.

Surrounded by a crowd of people in blue jackets, Chu Guang walked up to the three of them and stopped.

Before he could even greet the old man who had led the way, the man suddenly dropped to his knees with a thump, catching everyone around him by surprise.

Chu Guang was also stunned.

What is this for??

"Dad?!"

Yu Hu was shocked, but before he could ask, his dad pulled his arm, forcing him to kneel as well.

Little Fish was bewildered.

She didn't understand why her dad and brother were doing this, nor did she know what she should do, so she tried to imitate their actions.

"What are you doing... get up!" Chu Guang was overwhelmed, stepping forward to help the old man up from the ground.

But the old man wouldn't get up, just bowed his head, his Adam's apple bobbing for a long time before he squeezed out a word.

"Thank you."

"You saved our family!"

He was old, at best, he could work for another two or three years before he couldn't work anymore, in fact, this year was already a bit of a stretch.

And his son, Yu Xiong, as the eldest son of the Yu Family and also its strongest labor force, was essentially the pillar of the entire household.

If anything happened to Yu Xiong, their whole family would be starving and freezing.

The old man knew this very well.

This outsider had not only saved his son's life but had saved his entire family.

However, Chu Guang hadn't thought that much about it. He wasn't one to calculate every action; saving someone was just something he did if he could.

"This makes me uncomfortable... Stand up, anyway."

It wasn't a time for modesty; one couldn't just let someone keep kneeling.

Saying this, Chu Guang applied a little more force with his hands and helped the old man up from the ground.

Perhaps it was Chu Guang's words about feeling uncomfortable that made the old man stand up after getting help and not continue to kneel. Instead, he took off the pack from the back of his second son.

It was a bundle made of reindeer skin, filled with various animal furs, looking quite heavy.

The old man held it with both hands and handed it to Chu Guang, saying sincerely,

"You are a savior to our Yu Family; we cannot let you waste your precious medicine for nothing."

"We have nothing else to give you, these pelts are stripped from mutated hyenas and reindeer, totaling seven… After subtracting the tribute reserved for the Mayor, this is all of our possessions."

"I know this is not enough to repay your kindness, but we would feel uneasy if we did nothing."

"Please accept them!"

To take the entire wealth of a person who had nothing, that would truly be the cause of unease.

Chu Guang at a loss between laughter and tears, couldn't simply accept it, nor could he refuse it.

But just then, Chu Guang's heart stirred with an idea, realizing that even if the old man took these pelts back, he'd only end up selling them to Old Leech on Bet Street, and then be severely overcharged, barely exchanging them for any money.

He remembered clearly, at the storefront of Charlie's general store, a sign read that one mutated hyena pelt could be traded for 2 chips, and one reindeer pelt for 4 chips.

Out of these 7 pelts, 4 were from mutated hyenas and 3 from mutant reindeer, according to Bet Street's prices this old man could at most get 20 chips.

Such an unequal trade was already exploitative enough, not to mention that 20 chips could hardly get anything good on Bet Street.

For instance, to buy green wheat with chips on Bet Street would cost an entire 3 chips per kilogram, this price was nearly triple that of Brown Farms!

Essentially, 10 beast skins that could protect from the cold, once sold and bought, couldn't even exchange for 10 kilograms of grain.

And that was before the food price increase.

Was that reasonable?

Definitely not reasonable at all!

Of course, these survivors mainly exchanged the chips they got from the pelts for salt or other daily necessities rather than buy grain directly, as they could grow some buckhorn, dig up tree roots, catch mice, and hunt for food themselves.

But no matter how you looked at it, Old Leech was too excessive.

Chu Guang had taken a dislike to him long ago!

So Chu Guang decisively reached out and took all the pelts, passing them to the player nearest to him, instructing him.

"Take these to the Warehouse, then get 1 kilogram of coarse salt and bring it here, I'll give you 5 bronze coins as reward."

5 bronze coins were not few, but where was the fun in the storyline?

That player was clearly reluctant.

Although he couldn't understand the native language exchanges between the Manager and these locals, who hadn't watched a couple of foreign films without subtitles these days?

But the Manager had already put the items in his hands, leaving him no chance to refuse.

Seeing that the scene would not progress if he did not act, the player, even with a thousand reluctances in his heart, had to run back inside the base.

The wait was not long.

The player who had hurried back earlier quickly returned, carrying a black plastic bag and trotting out.

Chu Guang received the coarse salt from his hand, placing it in the hands of the old man.

"I'll take the pelts, and this coarse salt, nearly a kilogram of it, you can consider it mutual courtesy!"

The old man was stunned, then seeing the salt inside the bag, he became frantic, pushing the bag of coarse salt back, adamantly refusing to accept it.

"How can that be!"

"You are a benefactor of the Yu Family, how can I accept your gift!"

One kilogram of coarse salt!

In Bet Street, 100 grams would cost 2 chips, so a kilogram would be 20 chips, not to mention they were always short-changed when they weighed the salt, and quality salt would be resold repeatedly.

The bag of coarse salt that Chu Guang brought, though also coarse, was of much better quality than what was sold in the Mayor's store.

At least it looked clear, less cloudy, and not as yellow!

"Just keep it, consider it me taking advantage of you this time."

Without further discussion, he pushed the plastic bag back and Chu Guang, smiling at the old man, said.

"Next time you have pelts like these, bring them to me."

"One hyena pelt for 150g, reindeer pelt for 300g."

"As many as you have, I'll take them all!"

Chapter 63 Big Fish Eats Little Fish, Little Fish Eats Shrimp (1/4)

While Chu Guang was talking with the head of the Yu Family, the players watching on the side were whispering quietly among themselves.

"Did you understand what the Manager just said?"

"No!"

"Well, I kind of got it. Basically, he traded a kilogram of coarse salt for ten beast skins?"

"Looks like that kilogram of salt was exchanged for three kilograms of smoked meat!"

"Three kilograms of smoked meat for ten skins? Damn! That's a steal! Ten skins could fetch two guns, right? That's seriously taking advantage of the locals!"

"You're thinking too small! By the way... how many silver coins are the coats and leather goods that the Manager sells to us?"

"…?"

"What?!"

"What the hell???"

These adorable little players seemed to have stumbled upon a serious problem, but Chu Guang, who had scored big, wasn't bothered by it.

Does it matter?

Clearly not.

If he didn't buy low and sell high, would he even be an NPC?

You think you've passed into a different world!

Can't stand private servers, where silver coin stats could be modified as much as one liked, as abundantly as the waters in the river.

Yu Hu, the Yu Family's second son, was still there, counting on his fingers; addition and subtraction within a hundred was still somewhat challenging for him.

One hyena skin exchanged for 150g of coarse salt, and 150g of salt at Bet Street went for 3 chips, which means... one hyena skin was exchanged for 3 chips?

That's one more chip than selling to Old Charlie.

But the quality of this coarse salt was much better compared to what Old Charlie sold...

No sand mixed in!

Finally understanding, Yu Hu turned to Chu Guang with unease and said,

"How can that be? You're losing out with this trade. Let's just make it 100g like this time."

Watching this naive child, Chu Guang suddenly didn't know how to face him, so he looked up to the sky and patted him on the shoulder.

"Have you ever heard of a term called 'win-win'?"

"Win-win?"

This foreigner always spoke in confusing terms. Yu Hu had just figured out how much one skin was worth and then got muddled by this word he had never heard before.

He just felt...

Brother Chu's expression looked mysterious.

"That's right," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "You made a profit, and so did I. We're in a win-win situation now."

Yu Hu looked joyfully towards his father.

"Dad! Let's sell all our furs to Brother Chu from now on! That way, we'll both win!"

"Shut up."

The head of the Yu Family clearly thought more deeply,
but obviously, it wasn't because of the price—his son had inherited his way of thinking.

Looking at Chu Guang, the old man still had reservations.

"I get your point, but the mayor doesn't allow us to do business with outsiders. If we're discovered..."

Once or twice might be okay.

But in the long run, it would definitely come to light.

Since the slaughtering and tanning both occur on Bet Street, and if the fur disappears without being sold to Old Charlie, suspicions would definitely arise.

Hearing this, Chu Guang laughed nonchalantly.

"Am I a merchant? Obviously not. My home is right here! We're neighbors, and more importantly, friends. Is there a problem visiting a friend's house? Clearly, there's no problem."

"As for Old Leech... ahem, I mean the Mayor of Bet Street, if he forbids you to contact us, it's fine. You don't need to bring anything from home. Just bring the prey you've hunted directly to me."

"Our people can even help you skin and butcher the animal for free, processing it right in front of you to ensure no shortage or cheating!"

"When the time comes, keep the skin, take the meat and the salt you've exchanged and go back. Or, you could simply sell the hunting game to me. Not only can you exchange it for salt here, but also for grain and smoked dried meat, which is definitely more cost-effective than buying with tokens at Old Charlie's!"

Hearing Chu Guang's promises, the old man's brows finally relaxed, and he excitedly murmured.

"That won't do... We can't allow you to butcher the meat for us without something in return. According to the rules of Bet Street, the slaughterhouse takes thirty percent from the proceeds; we should give you thirty percent too!"

What the fuck?

Is it so profitable to run a slaughterhouse in Bet Street?

But it does make sense, slaughtering is skilled work.

Chu Guang sighed.

Indeed, he was still too kind.

"You are too polite."

"Thirty percent is too much. Twenty percent will do!"

...

Chu Guang didn't want to quibble too much about the difference between twenty percent or thirty percent.

Anyway, no matter how it was calculated, he still benefited more.

Of course, for these scavengers of Bet Street, doing business with him surely wouldn't be a loss.

After all, he was different from merchants.

Those merchants were more ruthless than leeches; they conducted business brutally, wanting to suck even the marrow out of bones. After all, nobody knew if they would be alive tomorrow, who would care about the day after?

As for himself.

He aimed for more than just a few skins and pieces of meat.

If handled correctly, Bet Street might soon see a new Mayor.

At the very least, once there was enough mutual trust built up, a group of people might choose to leave their homeland and come over to join him.

He needed an opportunity.

The Yu Family, old and young, thanked Chu Guang and finally accepted the one kilogram of coarse salt they had been given and prepared to leave.

However, at that moment, Little Fish, who had been hiding behind Yu Hu, suddenly emerged and looked up at Chu Guang with her big round eyes, speaking crisply.

"Will you come back?"

Come back?

It had only been less than two weeks, yet, when Chu Guang heard this, he suddenly felt as if it had been ages.

Seeing Chu Guang not responding, Little Fish continued.

"Second Brother said, you weren't taken away by the hyenas and are still alive, but you won't return. However, he said I could come to see you, so I came. Little Fish just wants to ask, do you still need that shed?"

This kid spoke just as she used to, cramming everything into a sentence, wanting to say it all at once.

However, Chu Guang roughly understood, feeling somewhat touched.

Originally, in his plans, the shack on Bet Street was just an escape route, and it could be useful for exchanging some supplies during the pioneering period. It would be enough if Little Fish watched it for a couple of days.

If three days went by without him returning.

It meant that he didn't need to go back.

"Have you been watching it for me?"

"Yes!"

Nodding vigorously like pounding garlic, Little Fish proudly raised her little nose, looking very smug and no longer shy or afraid.

"Little Fish promised to watch it for you and will never go back on her word. Second Brother said your door had gathered dust, so you definitely wouldn't come back. I even swept the dust away for you."

"Even though that little jerk from the Wang Family always has his eye on your doorframe, always trying to pry the door open when I'm not looking, Little Fish has sharp ears, you know, I can hear the slightest sound! He doesn't dare to mess with me since Second Brother used to beat him up."

The more Chu Guang listened, the more he felt guilty.

Although he had never cheated people when he was in sales, he had certainly smooth-talked plenty, not to mention exploiting people's greed. However, facing such honest, innocent, and kind customers, he really couldn't bring himself to exploit them.

How do I put this?

Ah!

Nevermind.

Maybe that's why he has a face as handsome as Yan Zu's, but he can never become a top seller, nor can he marry into a rich family.

"Thank you for watching over my home for so long! But you won't need to anymore..."

"That shed, consider it my gift for your coming of age—if there's anything useful inside, feel free to tear it down, no need to ask me."

Little Fish nodded, not fully understanding.

"Aren't you coming back?"

That was all she really wanted to ask.

"Yeah, my companions need me, I'll be staying here now," Chu Guang said in a roundabout way.

"Alright."

Thinking that she wouldn't have any candy to eat in the future, Little Fish felt a little sad, but she perked up anyway.

"Thank you for the gift! So, can Little Fish give it to her brother? My burrow is pretty good, but my elder brother still needs a bigger one to get married. That way, he won't have to marry too far away, and he can come back to visit often."

"Cough, your brother... that'd be marrying. Anyway, it's up to you, as it's yours now," Chu Guang replied.

Chu Guang patted her little head and then pulled out all three lollipops from his pocket and stuffed them into her small hands.

"Hold these and eat them, they're all yours... remember to tear off the wrapper."

He added, concerned,

"Also, don't stuff them all in your mouth at once, only eat one at a time, or they'll blend together and become cloying."

"Wow, thanks!"

Finally, getting her long-awaited lollipops, although somewhat reluctantly, Little Fish sensibly followed her family home.

Soon, it was going to be dark, and monsters would crawl out of those tall, big buildings and scavenge the streets for food.

She had heard this since she was little...

…

Evening.

It was bustling in front of the northern gate of the Outpost Base.

A market seemed to have naturally formed here.

Players were sticking wooden boards into the ground, carving their identity numbers and IDs as they demarcated a modestly sized area indicating it was their reserved spot.

The people from yesterday were still here today, and nobody bothered to mess with anyone else's setup.

Now, since there were fewer people in the game, and most came by word of mouth, everyone was more or less nice and behaved decently.

After all, what good does hindering others do?

Most people here were the future top tier, even if the next best was a secondary fighter, a disgrace at least was a third-tier boss.

Not considering one's face now, how would one manage in the future?

Seeing that the players maintained order, Chu Guang, the Manager, was more than happy to relax, and simply went along with the "public opinion" by posting a notice in front of the northern gate:

[From today onward, within a hundred meters outside the northern gate will be the "Market," where residents of the refuge are free to set up stalls and trade.]

[Consignment shelf space is located in the Refuge Resident Hall, and a rental fee of 1 Silver Coin is required to consign items. If unclaimed by anyone, items will be removed after seven days. Fees must be replenished for renewal.]

Once the notice was posted, players flocked to read it, and cheers and jubilation followed.

"Manager, you're awesome!"

"Great! Is this an update in the game? The market function is finally here! Yes!"

"Anyone buying mutated hyena fangs? Now that the market function is here, enchanting, gem socketing, and inscriptions can't be far behind, right? Why wait to stock up on materials and get stronger?"

"Anyone buying mushrooms? Fresh Big Mushrooms! Ooh, please buy them, I guarantee I won't raise the price again. From now on, just 4 Copper Coins, really!"

"Mr. Crow, did your mushrooms go to college?"

"Can they lay eggs?"

"Can we buy it and set it free?"

"Can Diona spit in my drink?"

"Damn, you're a freak!"

Watching the noisy players, Chu Guang wore a smile like that of an old father.

Life was getting better by the day.

But it was darkening earlier every day.

...

Before it got dark, the Yu Family returned to Bet Street, but the atmosphere here was somewhat different than usual.

A cart was parked in front of the gates of Bet Street, beside which stood two men wearing beast skin coats and carrying iron pipe rifles, and a disheveled, ragged slave whose gender was indiscernible due to torment.

Old Charlie was negotiating with the leading man at the doorway, his face adorned with a servile smile.

The latter, visibly impatient, flicked cigarette ash onto Old Charlie's face, while the other burly man urged him to hurry up.

Soon, Old Walter led a woman out from inside.

She was wrapped in a robe, with shackles on her wrists and ankles, her ankle marked with a barcode, the faint whiteness of her skin would appeal to anyone, man or woman.

Little Fish had never seen such a beautiful "sister" before, her shiny eyes blinking with curiosity and envy.

"Bro, who is she?"

Yu Hu whispered.

"I don't know, the old town chief probably bought her from outside, something to do with clones?"

"A clone. Look at her eyes, they're soulless. Don't stare!" The old man, evidently more experienced, quickly pulled his son and daughter aside and whispered, "Keep quiet and don't make eye contact with those people. Let's wait here for a bit."

The two obediently followed their father, hiding in the shadows at the street corner.

The man in the beast skin checked the "goods," chuckled, and slapped Old Charlie's shoulder, giving him a thumbs-up.

Then Little Fish saw the rude man tie the "sister's" hand to the cart and waved his companions to leave.

"Bro, where will they take her?"

Yu Hu didn't know how to explain, being a man, he could guess, but didn't know how to put it.

Each year as winter approached, every household on Bet Street responded to the town chief's mobilization by giving up supplies, but did the old town chief not have to pay tribute to others?

Obviously not.

It was like big fish eating small fish, and small fish eating shrimp.

"You're still too young, don't ask so much."

"I'm not young anymore," Little Fish muttered sullenly.

Hearing this, Yu Hu chuckled and ruffled his little sister's hair.

"Good, if you're not small, eat more meat to grow taller... What's that plastic stick, is it tasty? Do you have more, let me try one."

"No! Go ask Brother Chu yourself." Little Fish dodged like a little fish.

"It's time to go."

The old man carefully concealed something in his chest, then reached out, took the plastic stick from Little Fish's mouth that she had been biting all along, and threw it to the corner of the wall, ignoring her dissatisfaction, pulling the two towards Bet Street.

Old Charlie glanced at the three, said nothing, just chatted with Old Walter next to him in a relaxed tone, as if nothing had happened.

"Did your previous refuge have such beautiful chicks?"

"No, the people living in my refuge were all normal."

"That woman isn't normal?"

"Clones come in two types, one develops from a baby, grows naturally, and is almost indistinguishable from normal people. The other type is fast-tracked, stays in a cultivation chamber until fully developed, and is not much different from a commodity... There are all sorts of uses and development periods, with varying technological content, it's too complicated for you to understand."

Old Walter chuckled and handed a cigarette to Charlie.

"There is still some time before dark, tell me about it."

Old Charlie sighed, started to recount what was an evidently brief yet delightful period in his life, like he was telling a story.

Little Fish also wanted to stop and listen, but her father didn't want to. Without further explanation, he hurriedly pulled her and Yu Hu back home.

Chapter 64: The Ultimate Secret Skill (2/4)

Nighttime.

Players were logging off in succession.

Back at Shelter No. 404.

Sitting in front of his computer, Chu Guang logged onto the official website with practiced ease, as usual, first peeking at the screen to check things out before getting down to the work a planner ought to do.

As expected, the players on the forum were all discussing the storyline that had unfolded during the day.

Spare People Under the Knife: "Damn, am I the only one who noticed? There were so many wild NPCs today! Usually, you can't find even one in an entire day!"

Construction Site Youth and Brick: "Yeah, totally, we had two show up at noon and another three in the afternoon. Just wanna ask, is the open beta coming soon? (Excited)"

That Wisp of Yearning: "Open beta is probably still a ways off, let's start with closed beta. But without any promotional campaign yet, we might have to wait. (Eating popcorn)"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "Damn? What did I miss? I didn't get back till evening!"

Elena: "No worries, I totally missed the daytime storyline too, but I believe the veteran bros on the forum will definitely fill us in on it. (Jokey)"

Grandpa Ao: "Laugh."

Night Ten: "(Jokey)"

The first posts to come out were always lacking in substance; the big shots were all silently preparing their big moves.

Sitting in front of his computer, Chu Guang scrolled through the forum for roughly half an hour, waited a little, and then indeed started seeing high-quality content being posted one after another.

Like Brother Fang Chang's post, for instance.

Perhaps concerned that a certain fugitive rodent was shaking his image as the "Wasteland's number one elite player" in the players' minds.

Long Days Ahead, who had been quiet for many days, finally updated a "super hardcore technical" guide post on the forum!

The post not only detailed insights and experiences with various gene sequences but also shared the secret "quadrilateral combat technique" passed down by the Cow and Horse Squad.

Chu Guang clicked to read it, and without a second thought, gave it a feature.

Goodness gracious!

He was putting up all of his secret moves! If he didn't give it a feature, he himself would feel sorry for these hardworking little bees!

"...Having played for so long, it's time to summarize some strategies. As per usual, let me start with the conclusion, the Perception System is truly the child of this version! Whether it's hunting or scavenging, it's best to have one on the team."

"A character with high perception not only can predict danger in advance but also can track down enemies. Death penalties in this game are exceptionally harsh; when it's time to hunker down, you've got to do it, because no one wants to be on official website OB for three whole days, right?"

"If we say the Perception System is the child of this version, then the Strength Type is the second son. In the early stages, when neither the Constitution nor the Agility attributes can manifest a significant advantage, the Strength Type can bring the most direct melee edge to players, giving teammates a full sense of security!"

"By the way, don't believe those axe-crazy lunatics who keep chopping trees, insisting on using axes. Axes are for cutting trees, and they really, really suck for hunting! If you're a Strength Type, then the javelin is forever your god!"

"Spear tips make all beings equal! If you can't use a bow, consider it. Within five meters, you don't need much precision, and if you really can't hit your target, you can just charge with a spear in both hands!"

"You're asking about rifles? What are those things? They cost more than my life! Why not just rob someone? I'll say it again, early on, early on, unless there's a gamer with a life occupation willing to spend the kind of money that could buy a house to support you, forget I mentioned it! Like if you hooked up with the rich widow Teng Teng. (LOL)"

"As for the Agility system, there's not much to say, I'm one myself. The dodge rate is indeed high, sometimes you can dodge incoming attacks on instinct alone, but that's about it."

"The attribute doesn't really give much of a boost to archery or throwing. Dynamic vision does help with shooting a bit, but accuracy is still mainly affected by proficiency and experience. Maybe, the playstyle for Agility should actually be close combat? Like stealth stabs, or single-handed swords and shields?"

"Using high evasion to replace the close combat suppression effect of Strength, serving as the vanguard of a team, could also be a viable strategy. But this is just to spark ideas; to be honest, I haven't tried it myself, but maybe you can give it a shot!"

"As for the Constitution system, this Sequence is quite a mystery. It's true that it boasts enhanced recovery speed and durability against injuries, but it's not prominent. As a result, players of this Sequence find it hard to gain an immediate advantage in intense fights, and the recovery advantage tends to manifest after the fight has ended."

"Additionally, players with high Constitution seem to get infections less easily and have higher resistance to toxins, even radiation. Looking at it this way, the Constitution system might be better suited for scavenging rather than hunting, with Perception system as the recommended partner."

"Lastly, I must set the record straight for the Intelligence System! The Intelligence Gene Sequence isn't completely useless; it's just that in the current version, this isn't the class to be on the frontline but rather more suited for life occupations."

"The advantage of high Intelligence mainly lies in mastering proficiency levels faster. However, in this game, proficiency is quite an abstract concept involving muscle memory and skill experience, among other things, which means that this attribute doesn't provide as immediate an enhancement to the character as the other four attributes."

"So, when you're filling out your 'preferences', you really need to think carefully if your playstyle actually fits this attribute. If you've decided to become a casual life occupation player before entering the game, then Intelligence System is your best choice."

"Moreover, in the absence of guns, the best hunting team formation is a quadrilateral strategy, with Perception as the scout, Strength as the front line, and Agility as the shooter. The remaining one depends on your needs; you may add another Agile to assist or another Strength to the front line for brawling!"

At the end of the post, Brother Fang Chang added a simple strategy map he made using the electronic map from the official website's database, marking the relatively safe "monster spawn points" around the shelter.

This whole post is loaded with solid info; it could practically be used as a guide for newbies!

Chu Guang looked at it, nodding frequently and couldn't help but smile.

All his nurturing wasn't in vain!

Compared to troublemaking players, he naturally preferred those who had a deep understanding of the game and its mechanics.

Preferably even more so than himself, the planner.

"Speaking of which, the Bull and Horse Squad's total savings have officially broken through 200 silver."

These four experienced players were indeed fierce, having worn out an entire wooden bow and nearly broken ten javelins.

At first, they would buy some knives and axes, but later they got so lazy they didn't even bother equipping them, using just the steel pipes, rebar, and cement wrapped in rebar they picked up.

Clearly, they'd grasped the essence of this "game."

The real "handy" weapons were often the ones picked up on the fly, then altered with scavenged materials, and only after that, the ones displayed on the store shelves for them to consider.

Aside from Fang Chang's strategy post, the "Valley Escaping Mole" also updated a guide, as expected. However, it focused not on occupation playstyle but on the game's content itself.

"Hey there, everyone, Big-Nosed Mole here, the Wasteland is as peaceful as always today! But my nose is already catching the whiff of gunpowder!"

"Don't ask why, just think of it as a keen nose! Earlier, the Manager encountered a squad of Looters near the Northern Terraced Building, Garbage Lord discovered a Raider Camp at the Northern Tire Factory, and there are legends of a Mutant tribe deep in Street No. 76. It's clear the development team is setting the stage with these elements and hinting to us that our home is not safe! It could even be said that the situation is quite grim!"

"Previously, our range of activity was only within Linghu Wetland Park, but now our footsteps have clearly stepped out of the newbie zone, spreading to the urban areas one kilometer—even two kilometers from Linghu Wetland Park! Even if there are ruins and jungles for cover, being discovered by other NPC forces nearby is only a matter of time!"

"Furthermore, the merchant who came this morning, as well as the natives who came in the afternoon, have all confirmed my guess—the frequency of exchanges between player forces and neutral forces is determined by the activity levels of the players in the Game!"

"To be honest, this game's attention to detail has surprised me. If my deduction is correct, we should soon trigger conflicts with either the Looters or the Mutants!"

"I suggest the planners try a wave of Raider siege events, and also test the quality of our engineering to see if it's as reliable as it looks! Otherwise, what a waste it would be if the Enclosing wall was fixed and never used, right?"

Chu Guang couldn't help but twitch at the sight of this post.

That damn jinx!

Don't jinx us for real!

Spare people under the knife: "Damn, are you the devil?!"

Fang Chang: "Don't spook me, brother, we've just saved enough money to buy a house here, we haven't even bought guns, what siege test are you talking about. rushing in the woods? Isn't that masochism!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Hurry it up! Let me fight a Mutant before it snows! (crazy)"

Elena: "So eager to give the Mutants an extra meal? (funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "Hahaha."

Grandpa Ao: "Smile."

"..."

Chu Guang wished he could be as carefree as these folks, but he just couldn't muster a smile.

After all, to them, this was a game, but it wasn't to him.

Just as this Big-Nosed Mole said, as Outpost Base expands in size and the players explore farther ruins, they are bound to encounter their neighbors sooner or later.

Even if they don't, there's no guarantee the others won't follow the tracks back to them.

By day, it was manageable, with all players online, guns and bullets available in the weapon shop, and gunpowder made by Brother Mosquito, rallying a group might be enough to win.

But night was a different story.

The empty fort strategy doesn't always work; once or twice they might not dare to come near, but over time, they're sure to discover that Outpost Base is almost undefended at night...

With this in mind, Chu Guang immediately opened the System and confirmed the number of reservations through the player list.

[Current number of reservations: 612]

"Xiao Qi."

"Present, Master."

Xiao Qi, charging in the corner, lit up, and the sudden voice startled the weapon shop's proprietress who was memorizing her lines nearby.

"Help me open 50 more cans."

"Master, you have only 49 cans that you can open,"

Chu Guang was startled, only then remembering that he had borrowed one can of active substance from one of the unactivated Cultivation chambers to revive Crow.

Shit!

This wasteful thing.

"Then just open 40 for now."

The remaining nine were to be kept as a reserve, just in case.

They would have to wait two more days for the generator to arrive, and in case of an extreme situation of being "blocked at the door," at least he could make a comeback with the remaining nine units of active substance.

Regardless of the circumstances, Chu Guang always had a Plan B prepared, a habit he had developed even before he crossed over.

"What are you talking about?"

There were only three voices in the room, one of which was an AI.

Whether you're a person or an AI, suddenly speaking a language you don't understand would panic anyone.

Xia Yan was no exception, nervously looking at Chu Guang sitting in front of the computer.

"It's none of your business."

Chu Guang replied casually and then stared intently at the computer screen, tapping away on the keyboard.

[Alpha 0.4 Version Update Announcement]

A faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, and her tense brows relaxed slightly.

Chu Guang had already drafted in his mind about the content of this update.

After all, he had so many little geniuses to strategize for him.

Watching that side face illuminated on and off by the glow of the screen, Xia Yan swallowed nervously, her tension mounting.

She always felt this guy was planning something evil.

This man...

Deep, unfathomable!

Chapter 65 alpha0.4 version update! Night System launched! (3/4)

Official Website:

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta Server Alpha 0.4 Version Update Announcement.]

[Major Updates:

1. The number of players in the closed beta increased to 90.

2. The "Night" system is officially launched.

]

[Optimization:

1. Enrich NPC facial expressions.

2. Optimize the details of snowflake textures.

3. Fixed a few bugs.

…

]

As usual,
after the announcement was released, Chu Guang, as a planner, clicked to send the edited post.

"Developer's Diary: Alpha 0.4 Version"

"Hello everyone, I am your dearest planner! After sacrificing a programmer, we finally completed the development of the alpha 0.4 version!"

"Before, some buddies complained that they could only enter the game after six in the evening, and could only chat on the official website during the day."

"Now, this 'BUG' has finally been fixed. Even during the day, everyone can clock in normally. Surprised? Unexpected? Happy?"

"If you're happy, then I must congratulate you for being happy too early!"

"Because in the setting of Wasteland OL, characters controlled by players not only have physiological needs such as eating and drinking but also have a hidden fatigue value setting. In other words, your character in the game also needs to sleep!"

"High fatigue can lead to a 1-33% reduction in attributes, and excessive fatigue can cause characters to become delirious, hallucinate, or even pass out, triggering a forced logout. If you want to step into the Wasteland in the best condition, please ensure more than 8 hours of offline rest time per day, and stay with your family and friends."

"This setting is not just for hard-core elements but also out of concern for players' health. You can think of it as a type of addiction prevention system."

"The night online function will start today at 12:00 PM, and it will be exactly 0:00 in Wasteland time. By the way, since Wasteland OL is set at night full of dangers, even if you log in, you can only move within the base. Please be very careful."

"Here again, to reiterate, we are a serious company, and Wasteland OL is a game that focuses on light and casual gameplay."

"We do not advocate overworking or being competitive."

"Enjoy moderately, maintain good daily routines, plan your game time reasonably, and I wish you a pleasant life!"

As soon as the post was sent, the comment section exploded, as expected.

Makabazi: "Wait, casual?!"

Construction Teen with a Brick: "Not grinding?!"

Crow: "Wait, Demon Demon Spirit, someone here is suspected of false advertising!"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "?? Wait, now everyone can work night shifts? Damn it! What advantage is there for the Lizard people now!"

Spare People Under the Knife: "Hahahaha, Trash brother, epic nerf! Version bro confirmed!"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "Crying here!"

Quit Smoking: "Damn, that's too much! You all can stay online all day, and I haven't even got the internal test qualification! T.T"

Irina: "I just checked, and the number of reservations has already exceeded six hundred. This time releasing 40 places, which means... your chance of winning is less than 6% (funny emoticon)."

Quit Smoking: "Damn (flipping off emoji)!"

Grandpa Ao: "Laugh, only fools would make reservations!"

Chu Guang burst into laughter when he saw this line and nearly couldn't resist giving him a beta qualification.

That was close.

Must hold back!

Early tickets are valuable, and one must not be wasteful, especially on forum pets. Candidates must be chosen with extreme care, and it's not yet time to start being generous.

Chu Guang sent an internal message to the chosen children, closed the forum, got up from his chair, and went to the corner to nudge Xia Yan's arm.

"Hey, wake up."

Maybe these days had been too comfortable because he'd let his guard down, and this guy actually fell asleep memorizing his lines.

Moreover, he was muttering in his sleep about things like "chocolate," "wine," "I can't eat anymore."

Awoken from a sweet dream, Xia Yan, still groggy, opened her eyes.

When she clearly saw Chu Guang in front of her, she got startled like a frightened hamster, instantly wide awake, and nervously huddled her knees and arms.

"What?"

Chu Guang pointed with his chin to the next room.

"Reminding you to go back to your room, don't sleep here."

Xia Yan sighed with relief, mumbling as she leaned on her cane and staggered back to her room.

Clearly, she was still not fully awake.

Thinking that he couldn't count on her for a while anyway, Chu Guang didn't bother with her and turned to Xiao Qi, instructing,

"Xiao Qi, I'm going to take a nap, remember to wake me up at 11:55 PM."

The camera on top slightly nodded, and Xiao Qi energetically responded,

"Okay, Master!"

…

Wasteland time, 0:00.

It should be noon, 12:00 PM in reality.

With Chu Guang lifting the login restriction through the system, a total of 27 players logged into the game.

Honestly, Chu Guang was quite surprised.

Didn't expect there to be so many slackers who don't work during the day?

Of course, it could also just be today.

Facing the players with faces full of excitement, eagerly wanting to go out and see the stars and the moon, Chu Guang used a stern look to quiet them down.

Next, were some lines he made up in his dream.

"Winter is coming, danger is approaching."

"Our recent explorations and hunting have alerted our neighbors. For us, this is both an opportunity and a sign of danger."

"Now, I need 8 brave warriors to step forward—"

Chu Guang hadn't finished speaking when the sound of shuffling feet arose, twenty-seven pairs of legs moved forward in unison, and he was completely overwhelmed.

"Cough, wait for me to finish first."

After a light cough, Chu Guang readjusted his composure and faced the eager gazes, speeding up his speech,

"I need 8 brave warriors to take on the heavy responsibility of night duty, to serve as guards at the Outpost Base."

"During your duty, your equipment will be provided by the shelter, and you will receive 15 Copper coins and 10 Contribution points per hour as a reward."

"The maximum duty time each night is 8 hours, with a shift occurring after 6 hours. If someone dies in the line of duty, the death penalty other than the resurrection cooldown will be waived, and depending on the situation, a compensation of 1 to 10 Silver Coins will be awarded."

Chu Guang paused for a moment, then continued.

"You have 20 seconds to think about whether you really need this job..."

"Now, those who need it, please raise your hands."

The last sentence was obviously unnecessary.

For those obsessed with staying online 24 hours, this lucrative offer was incredibly tempting!

From midnight to six in the morning, there are 6 hours. At 1.5 silver and 10 contribution points per hour, that totals 9 silver and 60 contribution points!

Apart from the slightly lower contribution of the night shift, the monetary gain for six hours nearly matched what the layabouts earned during the whole day!

Almost as soon as Chu Guang finished speaking, twenty-seven hands were raised in the residents' hall without hesitation, resembling a collective surrender.

Indeed, it was also Chu Guang's fault for not clarifying that raising two hands was the same as raising one.

However, such trivial details were not important.

Chu Guang asked Xiao Qi to register the first eight players who raised their hands, then went to the storage locker in the buffer room, and took out the locked weapons to distribute to them.

Eight people shared four 7mm revolving rifles, forming four pairs. Each pair was responsible for one side of the enclosing wall, one person handling the gun and the other handling the ammunition.

In addition, each person was also carrying a wooden bow, nine arrows, a Molotov Cocktail, and a homemade grenade made with black powder and a can.

Chu Guang specifically instructed them that if Variants approached, they could shoot or chase them away with arrows. They were not to fire near the enclosing wall, nor throw any incendiary or explosive devices.

If they encountered an unidentified survivor, they should chase them away with arrows from thirty meters away. If the person continued to approach without understanding or showed hostile intentions, they were allowed to open fire freely.

If it was a Mutant, they should fire without hesitation.

After all, they would surely do just that…

...

Under the envious gaze of other players, the eight guards proudly stepped onto the elevator and returned to the surface as the first batch.

As the four groups each reached their positions along the enclosing wall, the remaining players also came to the surface under Chu Guang's lead.

Outside the sanatorium, the Star River was brilliantly ablaze.

Having never seen such a clear night sky, the players widened their eyes, hoping to imprint the sight they were seeing forever in their minds.

"It's so beautiful..."

"Is this really the Wasteland?"

"So you can actually see clouds at night!"

"You believe in in-game effects too?"

"It would be nice to live in this world permanently."

"Haha, keep dreaming. If you actually ended up in this forsaken place, do you think you could survive two episodes?"

"Uh, maybe not then."

"..."

The ban on using high-heat facilities like cement kilns and blast furnaces at night was lifted.

As the players' activity area expanded, the need for secrecy lost its meaning, and continuing to hide was just fooling oneself.

Besides, the dozen or so guns in the base weren't just for show.

Chu Guang needed these production facilities to be operational, preferably around the clock, to maximize output and produce weapons, protective gear, tools, parts, and construction materials needed for the Outpost Base.

Besides, these obsessed players finally had the chance to come online at night, and surely they couldn't just be left idle to play in the mud, could they?

For them, having nothing to do was far more unbearable than having work to do!

On the three-meter high concrete enclosing wall,

Elf King Fortune and Irina were in charge of guarding the southern section of the wall.

According to the distribution of powers surrounding the shelter, the south and west should be the safest, one being near a scavenger settlement and the other near a lake, so there wasn't too much concern.

If any Variants, Mutants, or Looters were to attack, they would come from the east or the north.

Unless they tactically went around to the back.

But was that really necessary?

The two players stood behind a barrier made of old car doors, looking out into the dark forest twenty meters away, passing time with idle chatter.

Irina said, "It'd be great if the game had a built-in browser, where we could at least watch some series while we're afk on guard duty—it's ridiculous to have to stay in the game!"

Elf King Fortune replied, "A built-in browser? Ha, I'd be satisfied just to have a visual attribute panel before the beta! But speaking of which, Mole, the expert, has once again accurately predicted our current version, alpha0.4, implementing the concept of defense. I just don't know when those muscle-bound greenskins will show up."

Irina said, "How do you know it wasn't just the dog planners seeing the post and making last-minute changes? Comically manual."

Elf King Fortune said, "How on earth do you make last-minute changes? Do you even understand how game development works, bro? Do you think they can alter a project worth billions just by erasing something on paper? Didn't the planners say it took them meetings around the clock for three days just to sort out the money system?"

Irina replied, "I know, of course. They even sacrificed a programmer just to get us online at night. But you being so serious just makes you look silly—"

"Shush!" Elf King Fortune suddenly became alert and gestured for silence. "Quiet... there's something outside."

"Holy crap... Really?!"

Just as they were talking about it?

The two players nervously pressed against their cover, carefully watching outside while their hands firmly gripped the bowstrings, arrows ready.

Was it a person?

Or a Variant?

An eerie feeling lingered in their hearts.

However, it was pitch black outside, and they couldn't see anything.

Elf King Fortune's eyes were almost bursting with blood as his "Thermodynamic Vision" swept along the edge of the forest. It was his first time using this skill that needed manual activation, and he wasn't proficient, ultimately finding nothing.

Irina couldn't help urging him.

"Did you see anything or not, brother?"

"How could I see a damn thing? You think my eyes are telescopes?" Elf King Fortune cursed, wishing he had better Perception talents.

Unfortunately, he had Agility.

What a waste of a talent, he thought.

Irina comforted herself, thinking at least they had this junk as cover, and their opponents couldn't see them either.

In fact, she was right.

Their opponent couldn't indeed see them, and thus refrained from rash actions.

In the forest, a pair of sharp eyes firmly fixed on the enclosing wall, moving along its outline, as if weighing the pros and cons.

Faintly, sounds of metal being forged and bustling voices could be heard from within the wall.

Ten people?

No, it had to be a settlement of at least twenty or thirty people.

The conversation on the wall had abruptly stopped, probably because they had noticed him.

It showed that the people guarding here were quite vigilant!

A hint of wariness shone in those eyes as they silently slipped back into the darkness, concluding this round of probing…

He was only tasked with escorting offerings back; it was best not to stir up additional trouble.

Chapter 66: Jungle Law! (4/4)

"You're saying... a new survivor base sprung up out of nowhere at Linghu Wetland Park right under our watch?"

The flame in the fire bowl flickered.

A man as burly as a bear sat on a human-skin chair, his chin resting lazily against his slightly clenched right fist, expressionlessly gazing down at the servant on the steps below after hearing the report.

His name was "Bear," just like the twisted muscles on his body; every cell of his seemed born for violence.

Most Looters of the Blood Hand Clan didn't have names, except for the clan leader or the Centurion granted a name by the leader.

Following the tradition from the last century, the chiefs of the Blood Hand Clan often only had a single-character name.

For instance, the one before his predecessor was named "Snake," who was blinded and thrown into the subway by "Eagle" to be devoured by the Eaters.

Later, "Eagle" was ripped in half at the waist by "Bear," who crushed his neck and hung him on a street lamp after dousing him with oil.

Now that body was gone, only the ugly skull left, which he used to prop up the fire bowl.

Here, the law of the jungle was observed, where the strong rule as kings.

And he was undoubtedly the strongest.

And the most brutal!

The man crouching at the foot of the steps dared not lift his head, his voice low as he murmured.

"The livestock delayed a bit while preparing the tribute for you, and we restarted our journey at dusk. There are Variants hunting in the urban areas, and we were afraid of hurting the livestock meant for your tribute, so we took a detour around Rhombus Lake."

"We thought it was an isolated place, but as soon as we went in, we found tracks of people. My partner and I followed them and eventually discovered a hidden settlement in a forest."

"How many people?"

The man's forehead touched the floor tiles.

"No more than thirty!"

Hearing this number, a hint of disdain flashed in Bear's eyes, his face showing little interest.

Just thirty people.

Excluding the elderly, women, and children, the number of adult men who could fight might only be half of that number.

Such survivor bases usually didn't have much to offer.

In other words, they weren't even qualified to be livestock.

Wait for a good day and send some youngsters over, slaughter the old and the young, capture the men and women to become slaves. When heavy snow blocks the roads in winter, it's the perfect time to find some entertainment indoors.

If there's a shortage of meat, they could kill some for cooking.

"What about the tribute?"

"It has been delivered to your room!"

At last, a grin appeared on Bear's impatient face.

That smile was chilling, even the flames in the bowl seemed to shiver slightly.

"Very good, you may leave."

The man hurriedly asked.

"What about the base by Rhombus Lake..."

Bear waved his hand impatiently.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow after I wake up."

"Yes..."

The bowing man meekly responded, a bitter smile in his heart, but not daring to complain.

By the time you wake up...

It might already be this time tomorrow.

...

Early morning.

Just a short distance from Bet Street, List, who had ordered the Commercial Team to stop and wait, glanced at the watch on his left wrist.

It was a gadget he had recently purchased.

Through the transparent case, he could see multiple gold and silver hands, as well as gears smoothly rotating under them.

It was not just for telling time; this watch also integrated a compass, speedometer, Geiger counter, and other features... although most people who could afford such "luxury" items usually had no use for them.

List couldn't help but wonder.

Perhaps it wouldn't be long before he would acquire a ticket to the upper echelons of Giant Stone City's society?

He had long grown tired of being a trader, especially as the activities of Looters, Mutants, and Variants became more frequent in recent years, forcing him to spend more on bodyguards and insurance.

And then there was dealing with these country folk.

Perhaps he should learn from the big shots in the Inner City, hand his business over to lower-class people to manage, and use his free time to elevate his own taste.

What was that saying again...

Right!

Class jumping!

"Hasn't anyone taught these natives the concept of punctuality?"

The agreed time had already passed by two minutes.

Yet, the person hadn't appeared with the items he needed.

List couldn't help but think that maybe the guy was already dead, considering Mutated Leeches weren't exactly easy to deal with.

Just then, a figure appeared at the street corner.

"Chu Guang sent me; he said he had an agreement with you to sell you some blue mushrooms."

Yu Hu emerged from the corner of the street, showing his empty hands to indicate he was not carrying weapons and bore no hostility.

Previously, Chu Guang had instructed him to relay this message to List if he saw "General Lee's Commercial Team" at Bet Street, and then lead him to Linghu Wetland Park.

If List refused, then it was to be left at that.

List's eyes narrowed.

"Where is he?"

"He couldn't come here," Yu Hu shook his head, "he has left Bet Street and is now living with his companions."

It took List about three seconds to weigh the risks and rewards.

Twenty kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms was worth the risk.

"Lead the way."

Yu Hu nodded cautiously.

"Please follow me."

...

Today, the average temperature outside the shelter had dropped to thirteen degrees which, for the humid air of the south, was still somewhat uncomfortable.

The chilly wind was enough to make people's skin crawl.

The shelter's coats were made of a special self-adapting thermal material that felt like rubber but was as light and flexible as synthetic fiber. Between 5 and 35 degrees Celsius, the material itself could insulate against the cold or conduct heat in higher temperatures.

Thus, some people were still hopping around despite the cold wind, while some lizards were freezing up due to poor networking.

"This Game is still not very realistic," Night Ten sighed lightly, looking up at the sky, "I'm from the south. With this temperature and wind, I wouldn't normally feel like this."

"Why don't you try taking off your clothes!" Garbage King, shivering from the cold, was currently wrapped in a thick deerskin coat, constantly hopping to warm himself up.

Night Ten glanced at him, as if looking at an idiot.

"Why would I do that?"

Garbage King: "%&@!"

Although the weather was getting colder, it was still a day of great joy for the Cow and Horse team.

Just before logging off yesterday, their total savings had already reached 200 silver coins, enough to buy land.

As for why they hadn't logged on during the day?

Partly because Wild Wind and Old White had to work during the day and only had time to play games at night. Another reason was that, according to Fang Chang's analysis, it was night when they logged on during the day in the server, not suitable for hunting. It was better to stay offline, conserving their characters' "energy" for the daytime in the server.

Daytime was the prime time for hunter players!

"Respected Manager, sir, we would like to buy a plot of land."

Arriving in front of the Manager, Fang Chang respectfully spoke, his hands presenting the silver coins they and his teammates had earned over several days.

"Here are 200 silver coins, adding up to 20 square meters from myself and my teammates."

Nearby players cast envious glances at Fang Chang.

200 silver coins!

Enough to buy two guns!

Chu Guang nodded as he took the moneybag from Fang Chang, then handed him a notebook, speaking in an official tone.

"Personal purchases of land must be adjacent, the length and width cannot differ by three times, and the shape must be square and regular. Group purchases can be merged, and attention must be paid during alterations and construction to not harm the facilities within the base or affect other residents."

A normal person wouldn't choose an odd shape, but players can't always be expected to think like normal people, so setting detailed rules also saves time.

He would teach this to Xiao Qi later.

It's quite troublesome to always say it himself.

"Can it be any location?" If possible, Fang Chang wanted to buy right at the main entrance to connect directly to the sole exit point.

Chu Guang replied,

"Only within the planned range."

The main roads leading to the four gates from the sanatorium were zoned as roads, and the open space in front of the sanatorium was marked as a plaza... these were all noted in the notebook.

Fang Chang, taking the notebook, felt a bit disappointed though he had anticipated this.

Indeed, freedom is a relative concept, especially in online games. Game teams wouldn't let players exploit loopholes, as a server is not just for one person.

Even if someone exploited a loophole, it could be fixed like a bug.

Sigh.

I really want to play the single-player version of Wasteland OL.

That would be awesome!

After some choosing, the Cow and Horse sub-team finally selected a 30 square meter plot of land closest to the sanatorium's main entrance.

The reason for the 30 square meters was because just now, Garbage King and Brother Mosquito had also joined them.

Initially, Garbage King couldn't come up with 50 silver coins, but Brother Mosquito loaned him 40 silver, adding up to his own 10 coins, just enough.

Garbage King said with a moved expression,

"Bro, thanks a lot!"

"You're welcome, two silver coins of interest per month."

"What! There's interest?!"

"What else?" Brother Mosquito glanced at him, chuckling, "Just think of it as a mortgage, it's only a five percent interest rate per month."

Garbage King: "MMP!"

Brother Mosquito: "What did you say?"

Garbage King: "I said you're MVP!"

Is this guy really a furniture salesman in real life?

Not only does he know how to make gunpowder and bows, but he also charges high interest…

Chu Guang listened with a weird expression on his face, feeling that this person was very sharp but couldn't really say anything.

Whatever he does in 'real' life.

After all, he was just an unemotional NPC.

"Manager, sir!"

"Are you here to buy land too?" Chu Guang asked the player in front of him.

"Uh, I'd like to, but I haven't saved enough money or contribution yet," the player scratched his head sheepishly before quickly remembering his purpose and speaking rapidly, "Lots of people have come to the south side of the sanatorium, about ten or so!"

Chu Guang was slightly startled.

"That many people?"

And from the south too.

Could it be…

"And there are over twenty cows! They're carrying loads of stuff on their backs!"

Before the player could finish, Chu Guang immediately picked 5 bronze coins from the moneybag and tossed them into his hand.

"Go to the warehouse, get twenty kilograms of Blue Mushrooms, and meet me at the south gate."

Joyfully accepting the reward, the player respectfully took on the task.

"As you command, Manager, sir!"

Chapter 67: Generators and Exoskeletons

Outside the south gate.

Twenty yaks were being herded by nine well-equipped gunmen, and they stopped fifty meters from the south gate.

Without mutual trust, this was a safe distance for both parties.

There were quite a few players nearby, some chopping trees, others transporting stones. They all stopped their work and watched from a safe distance, whispering among themselves.

"Do you see that person's arm, is it a prosthetic?"

"That's not a prosthetic, that's a mechanical prosthesis!"

"Damn, is there any difference?"

"The difference is... it's more cyberpunk. And look at the guy second from the left, his entire eye is mechanical! I bet it's not just a mechanical prosthesis, they definitely have implanted plugins or bionic organs!"

"Did you see their guns? Those scorpion-shaped barrels are so cool!"

"Woah, when can I afford such a cool weapon."

"Don't dream too high, the game's officials are just showing it off now. You won't be able to afford it until at least Level 10."

The people in the commercial team eyed the Blue Jackets curiously.

They had traveled with their boss to many places, even as far as the bustling eastern coast, and had seen a number of shelters along the way—enough to count with both hands—but had never seen anything so bizarre.

"What are they doing?"

"Probably building houses."

"Don't they live underground?"

"...Maybe they've had enough of that?"

"Probably got those jackets from scavenging."

List, on the other hand, was uninterested in what these people thought. His face was filled with impatience.

These country bumpkins always curious about everything, always wanting to take a look, not caring whether it is polite to stare at others.

However, the Blue Jackets they wore were somewhat intriguing; he'd never heard of a shelter near Linghu Wetland Park.

Still, seeing them struggle to build houses, it seemed they came from a lower-level shelter, probably accommodating between 1 and 100 people. Such shelters usually lack a fully self-sustaining ecosystem, at best they might have a few Sleep Cabins.

Either their food ran out, or the shelter's power did, forcing them to come out and make a living.

List pondered that this might be a new location on his trade map.

Just then, Yu Hu trotted to the south gate and, seeing Chu Guang come out, said,

"Brother Chu, I've brought General Lee's commercial team… be careful."

Scavengers from Bet Street didn't know List's full name.

For them, a figure like him was on par with a town mayor, hardly exchanging words. Brother Chu, on the other hand, was more approachable, having been neighbors with folks like them for a while and not turning his back on them after leaving.

"I will be careful."

Chuang Guang nodded, showing understanding, and then proceeded with a few players.

Seeing that the plot was about to trigger, the surrounding players quietly hushed down, those who didn't were subtly pulled aside by other players.

"I always thought you were a Bet Street scavenger, seems I was mistaken," List said with a light smile, speaking in a pleasant tone, "It seems I made the right investment."

"I'm glad you think so," Chu Guang gestured for the players nearby to drop the sack on the ground, cutting straight to the point, "These are the goods you wanted, you can weigh them."

List gestured to one of his men.

The man, equipped with electronic eyes and mechanical prostheses, stepped forward, lifted the sack with his alloy-made right hand, then looked back at his boss and nodded.

A look of satisfaction spread across List's face.

"Good, you've kept your promise. It seems I didn't make this trip for nothing."

He gestured to a few other men to unload the goods Chu Guang ordered from the yaks' backs and moved them beside the sack containing Blue Umbrella Mushrooms.

Among them, a 10KW power wood-burning generator was dismantled and packed in two boxes. Another item, nearly half a person tall, was a box containing the KV-1 power exoskeleton.

"The boxes come with a manual. We import directly from the factory, we don't provide assembly services, we only guarantee that every part mentioned in the manual is in the box... actually, it's not much, you can check it yourself on-site. The exoskeleton is already assembled; you can open it and try it out."

Even if he hadn't mentioned it, Chu Guang would have done so.

After all, there's no after-sales service in the wasteland.

First, he double-checked the parts of the generator with the manual, then he took the exoskeleton out of the box and put it on.

The device was unexpectedly light, weighing probably less than 30 kilograms, looking just like a skeletal frame.

You could say where it should show, it showed, and where it shouldn't, it still showed; the only sturdy parts might be the humerus on the arms and the few alloy ribs protecting the chest.

"You better not hope it can stop bullets. The KV-1 power exoskeleton's main structure uses aluminum alloy and a small amount of special plastics, featuring excellent lightness and power design. Twelve motor sets respond in milliseconds and provide an extra 200 kilograms of load for the user."

"Additionally, there's a 12-hour battery life and an adaptive gait system... Of course, this is all basic, you can refer to the manual for specifics."

"If you really want to use it for combat, remember to attach some steel plates. I've seen mercenaries do that, but the downside is sacrificing some mobility."

Chu Guang studied the manual carefully.

In summary, this gadget was great for manual labor, with endurance at A, explosive power at C, and mobility being okay. In terms of basic protection, it was almost nonexistent, but the skeletal design provided room for imagination; one could weld on steel plates or weapons as needed.

It was kind of like the engine of a tank and the chassis of a tractor.

Maybe the latter was overproduced and couldn't sell, so they simply modified and sold it cheaper to mercenaries or laborers.

Chu Guang guessed the cost of the gadget wasn't too high; probably around the same amount Xia Yan hadn't wasted here before, just save up some money to afford it.

Chu Guang couldn't help but wonder if this thing was really worth 800 chips.

You should know that the chips issued by Giant Stone City still hold strong purchasing power.

"Are you done trying it? I must remind you that the battery life is only 12 hours, you don't need to keep it on all the time. Turn off the power when you're not using it, consider it a workout," List urged Chu Guang as he seemed to endlessly fiddle with the device.

He understood that every extra second he spent here was a cost of time. Since the trade was already complete, it was almost time for him to leave.

"I'm done... I'm quite satisfied," Chu Guang nodded, turned off the power, and took off the exoskeleton.

This gadget could be sold to players in the future.

He believed that with their creativity, they could make interesting use of it.

He planned to organize a commercial team to bring in a batch of goods from Giant Stone City, hopefully trading the leftover Blue Umbrella Mushrooms for a better deal than what he got from List.

List had no idea what Chu Guang was thinking at the moment. To him, the 20 kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms seemed like half a month's output of the survivor base, and it probably cost several lives to procure.

Getting so many good things in exchange for a wood-powered generator and an exoskeleton made this trip worthwhile for him.

"It's been a pleasure doing business! By the way, is there anything else you need? I still have some good stuff left. Salt, weapons, and some daily necessities, take a look, there's probably something you can use. Even if you don't need it, perhaps your companions do."

As List spoke, he intentionally raised his voice.

However, to his surprise, the people around didn't react at all to his words, and continued to watch the spectacle with interest.

"What's that NPC saying?"

"I don't know, who cares what he says, just watch it like a movie without subtitles."

"Awesome, our manager got a set of exoskeleton!"

"Work hard, maybe we can get him a full set of power armor next, wouldn't that look cooler than the exoskeleton?"

"Gotta say, the game really nailed the details. The players' actions drive the game's progress, advancing the game speeds up the prosperity of the base, and even the NPCs get better gear, it's all interconnected!"

"Please, developers, start the public test soon! I'll go straight to V10!"

List's face was filled with confusion.

"?"

What were these people even talking about?

Surely there was someone interested in what he was selling?

Chu Guang stifled a laugh, coughed lightly, and spared List from his awkward situation.

"We can have a good talk about the trade."

"However, I don't have many chips left, so I'm afraid we'll have to barter."

"No problem," List, regaining focus, continued, "Bartering is exactly what I was hoping for."

Besides the previously ordered generator and exoskeleton, List's commercial team had plenty of good stuff.

Like some bolt-action rifles of 9mm or 7mm.

Chu Guang realized that much of what this guy sold likely consisted of surplus and parts discarded by the Giant Stone City Military Industrial Complex, bought cheaply and then modified in small workshops.

For example, the barrels of the 9mm iron tube rifles were clearly the same model as the 9mm pistol Xia Yan used previously, even the rifling matched.

The receiver was even more interesting.

The receiver of the 9mm iron tube rifle was highly similar to that of the 9mm pistol, almost identical gas-operated mechanisms, with the former lacking only a piston. It was essentially semi-automatic modified to automatic, with an extended barrel, and unlocking at 90 degrees.

Using game terminology, the jam rate was reduced, accuracy at medium range improved, and the power slightly increased at medium and close range.

The barrels and receivers of the 7mm iron tube rifles were almost identical to the 7mm assault rifles Xia Yan repaired, with the same concept: changing from automatic to bolt-action, from continuous fire to single fire.

Anyway, fire rate didn't mean much to rural survivors; what mattered more to most Wasteland Wanderers was that it was cheap, easy to use, and powerful.

After some selecting, Chu Guang bought two of each caliber of the bolt-action iron tube rifles.

Although List initially insisted on a price of 200 chips per unit, when Chu Guang revealed the "secrets" of these two models and explained that a well-made assault rifle cost only 150 chips in the stores, List finally yielded.

By the way, he got the price from Xia Yan.

"You don't know... what we go through to transport these goods from Giant Stone City! The ruins are teeming with countless variants and bandits, and here I am, offering it to you for just 150 chips. Is that too much? Not at all!"

"We like to do business with honest people. The assault rifles labeled 150 chips on the shelf, their receivers, and barrels are worth at most 50 chips, and your cost? At most only 30 or even 20, since I don't expect you to use the best parts, most likely just surplus from the production line."

"That's slander!" List's face turned red, clearly hit a nerve.

Chu Guang smiled and said,

"I'd rather call it a rational analysis. By the way, migrating reindeer are different from hyenas; they don't belong here, nor do they venture deep into the city area, but move southeast along the edge of Qingquan City. Let me guess… wild beast skins must sell well at your place, right? Why don't you bring some deer skins back, they should fetch a good price."

If it was just for a few pieces of junk, there was no need to go north. After all, in a city full of ruins, one could obviously find much more valuable stuff.

List said with a stiff expression,

"I know, you don't need to tell me."

"How about 8 deer skins for 4 rifles plus 120 bullets? I remember last time you gave me 30 bullets per gun."

"Heh, last time the price was still 200 chips. Forget it, the least I'll take is 12!"

"12 skins? Are you talking about hyena skins? If it's deer skins, then you might need to add another 2 kilograms of coarse salt."

"Who the hell wants hyena skins! You're crazy, greedier than a vampire!" List grumbled, but that was the only complaint he made.

Those living in the Inner City, the fine ladies and rich young women, always yearned for beautiful furs and the adventurous stories behind them. And those big shots were always eager to display their luxury and prominence with these hard-to-get rarities.

These deer skins would definitely be popular back home.

Thinking this, he finally nodded his proud head.

"I need to see the goods first."

Chu Guang nodded with a smile.

"Certainly."

Chapter 68: Dog Plan Causing Trouble?

Twelve deer skins were all the stock that the refuge had, out of which three were obtained by Chu Guang after outmaneuvering Old Leech and trading with the Yu Family.

There were no faults to be found with the quality of the deer skins, in terms of both their color and completeness, they were considered top-notch. After some thought, List finally nodded reluctantly.

"Deal,"

The two parties exchanged their goods.

Before leaving, List shook hands with Chu Guang, managing to squeeze out a somewhat pleasant smile on his face.

"Goodbye, my friend. If we see each other again, it should be in springtime."

Chu Guang also smiled faintly.

"We'll always be here, take care."

"You too."

Suddenly remembering something, List added,

"Oh, by the way, I've heard that to the north of the city overpass there's a Looter Tribe, I think it's called Blood Hand Clan, with about sixty or seventy people. Settling down here doesn't seem like a good idea. Even if they mostly raid northwards, it's just a matter of time before they discover you... Anyway, be careful. Till we meet again!"

Leaving these words behind, List then departed with his Commercial Team.

Chu Guang watched as the Commercial Team disappeared into the woods, then turned and went back inside the Enclosing wall of the Outpost Base.

Of course, he knew this wasn't a good place to settle down.

If he had had a choice, Chu Guang would certainly have chosen a more manageable place to make a home, preferably one suitable for farming, mining, and where the surrounding feng shui promised safety from dangers.

Unfortunately, this wasn't Civilization; three tiles away from a 3 luxury 2 resource start didn't mean you could just restart from the top right corner. The refuge had been built two centuries earlier, and even if one regretted it, it was too late now.

Back inside the wall.

Chu Guang looked at Yu Hu, taking out a white chip from his pocket and handing it to him.

"Thanks, you've done me a big favor."

Seeing Chu Guang take out the chip, Yu Hu's face changed and he quickly waved his hands.

"No, no, what are you doing? I can't accept this."

While saying this, he suddenly remembered something, searching in his pocket and pulling out a piece of aluminum foil the size of a thumbnail.

"Right, my brother's illness has already healed, Father told me to return the leftover medicine to you—"

Seeing that the man stubbornly refused to accept it, Chu Guang sighed and took the chip back.

"Alright, since you insist, I won't be polite with you anymore. But you keep the medicine, I don't lack it."

After some time, he finally managed to convince the forthright young man, and watching him disappear into the forest, Chu Guang thought to himself that maybe he should sell some more medicines.

From the rumors, didn't other medium-to-large refuges seem to do more business with medicines?

After all, larger refuges often have their own dispensary, and some were even said to have vast reserves of medicinal supplies.

Of course, rumors on the Wasteland were taken with a grain of salt.

Even in an era of information overload, one couldn't ensure the veracity of every piece of news, let alone here.

During these past days, the players had been quite diligent, earning an average of 5 to 7 reward points per day, which added up to 22 points.

Having handed over the task of assembling a generator to the players, Chu Guang turned and went back to the refuge.

When he opened the System and entered the Administrator's Log page, a pale blue popup window appeared in front of him.

[Subquest completed.]

[Reward: +100 reward points.]

Faced with this sudden reward, Chu Guang was stunned.

Well now.

He'd dragged out this side quest for so long, he only remembered that the Outpost was missing a generator but had forgotten about the quest reward altogether.

"I'm rich!"

Chu Guang was thrilled, his feet had barely found their footing inside the refuge when he spun around and walked back outside.

"I've got to wash my face outside first!"

Advanced Blind Box!

This thing can't be handled carelessly!

...

To the north of Linghu Wetland Park, at approximately 1.7 kilometers away,
a group of men clad in beast skins, faces painted with red and black pigments, looking wild, were progressing south along the ruins of the elevated road out of the city.

They grasped oddly-shaped iron pipe rifles in their hands, but instead of slinging the guns over their shoulders, they held them as if ready for battle, approaching with menacing intent.

Mutant rats on the road scurried away, and occasionally, mutant cockroaches the size of small dogs charged at them, only to be stomped to death or have their heads smashed in with a buttstock.

However, this did create quite a commotion.

Moreover, due to this group's poor discipline, their banter and jokes could be heard from a great distance away.

Players who were transporting stones from the construction site quickly noticed them, immediately ditching their ore carts by the roadside to hide, with themselves following suit.

"What kind of people are these guys?" Hovering nervously over far-off group, "Construction-Youth-With-Brick" whispered, "Ten men, and they're leading three dogs... I've got a feeling—they don't seem like good folks."

"I have the same feeling... They kind of look like Looters." "Edge Shoveling" also watched nervously, clutching the small blade in his pocket.

Although it didn't offer much reassurance.

"Damn, are they really prompting a siege event?! Did Dog Plan buy a forum house?!"

"Analyze it rationally… he's heard what you just said."

"Plan is my daddy!"

"Shh, you two stop talking," "Debt Giant Eye" looked at his two teammates and whispered with a lowered voice, "Old Brick, go send a message."

"Damn, why ain't you the one going?"

"I'm of the Intelligence System! Who the hell can I outrun? Be careful, a Strength Type can still make a long run."

"Then why not Shoveling?"

"His Perception System is crap for this! Stop wasting time, go, reporting valuable intelligence has rewards, don't you remember?"

Hearing about the rewards, Construction-Youth-With-Brick finally agreed to move.

His heart pounding fiercely, he hid behind a billboard, took a roundabout route of about two hundred meters, and only when that group of men had vanished from his sight did he break into a sprint into the forest.

When he arrived at Outpost Base, the rookies were busy chopping trees, the veteran players were carrying back game, and others were idly opening their stands at the market entrance, contemplating what to cook for lunch.

A scene of serenity.

Ignoring his pounding heart, the one who ran to the entrance, Construction-Youth-With-Brick, bellowed.

"Looters! There are Looters coming to attack!"

Hearing his shout, the people near the enclosing wall looked bewildered, unsure of what was happening.

"What? Looters?"

"Where's the Manager? Quick, go and report to him!" The youth panted heavily, hands on his knees as he spoke in bursts.

"I'm right here," Chu Guang emerged from inside, water still dripping from his brow, looking seriously at the players in front of him, "You mentioned Looters?"

"Yes! There's a squad of them, exactly ten people! They're coming this way along the northern elevated road, each person armed with a gun, and they're leading three dogs!"

Chu Guang's expression changed slightly and he immediately issued orders to the players beside him, no longer concerned about the lottery.

"Get all residents near Outpost Base back here, now!"

"Yes!"

Several players ran off, their faces full of excitement rather than worry, actually somewhat thrilled.

A siege battle!

They never imagined the planners had set them up for such a big job!

However, they did not know that at this moment, a certain planner had an even bigger headache.

Chu Guang strode to the weapon shop and scooped up the dozing proprietress, tossing her over his shoulder while casually grabbing her two walking sticks with his left hand.

"Hey! What are you doing, in broad daylight—" Xia Yan, startled by this sudden action and just awakened from her nap, blushed and struggled, but Chu Guang ignored her.

"Shut up."

After dumping the guy next to the elevator on the first floor of the infirmary, Chu Guang handed the walking sticks back to Xia Yan, who was leaning against the wall, gaining her balance. He stared at her befuddled face and spoke seriously.

"If the fighting reaches the door, get into the elevator and wait there. I'll come to take you down. If I don't show up, don't make a sound. Just hide quietly."

The elevator leading underground required the Manager's authorization to start, and for the time being, Chu Guang had locked down the lift. After all, it was his escape route.

Xia Yan vigorously nodded, seemingly not that panicked, at least not as flustered as when facing him.

"I understand… Wait, what do you mean, 'get to here'? Who's coming here?"

"Looters—"

Before he finished speaking, a gunshot cracked in the distance, followed by two more in quick succession. Judging by the sound, they were roughly two to three hundred meters away.

Chu Guang's expression tightened, and his blood started pumping faster.

Looters!

They had arrived!

…

Outside the North Gate.

The Looter column moved forward with guns in hand, noisily jabbering and advancing toward the North Gate while firing at fleeing survivors.

Their weapons varied greatly, from revolvers picked up from traders to semi-automatics snatched from Mercenaries, or crude DIY pipe guns.

Regardless of the type of weapon, it wasn't easy to land a shot from two hundred meters away in this jungle terrain.

Indeed, after a few shots rang out, not a single person fell. The survivors near the Enclosing Wall scurried back inside the gates, leaving only a few wooden stalls at the entrance damaged.

However, the outcome of a battle didn't depend on the number of people killed in combat but in completely demoralizing the opponent to give up resistance.

These Looters knew this all too well.

The art of fear had been refined to its utmost by them.

The barrage of gunshots and the suppressive fire it generated was devastating to the morale of non-professional soldiers.

A Survivor Base that could muster thirty people might only have a third capable of combat, at most half.

There was no need to kill the fleeing survivors on the spot; these rats would scurry away, bringing the plague of fear back to their lair and completely crushing their will to resist.

In a small Survivor community that had been looted, fewer than one in ten would die in a firefight.

Perhaps these people would muster the courage to fire back symbolically from behind cover, but it wouldn't take long for their morale to crumble and for them to flee through other exits.

At that time, elders, kids, and women would be left behind, and the fleeing youth would stand no chance against the hunting dogs they brought with them.

The eventual fate of these Survivor Bases was often one of two outcomes.

Either they were slaughtered.

Or they became slaves!

"Hahaha! Look at those cowards fleeing like rats at the sound of gunfire!"

A muscular man with his arms bared laughed boisterously as he fired his 9mm pipe rifle, his fierce face glowing red.

As a Centurion of the Blood Hand Clan, his name was Badger, bestowed by the clan leader. Most of his nine subordinates were either kin or confidantes.

Tribe lineages among Looter Tribes were usually very chaotic—they produced nothing, revered violence, and lived by looting and extortion, so there were no traditional family concepts, no spouses or partners.

Take the Blood Hand Clan, for example. If a newborn boy was strong, he would be accepted into the clan; all others were slaves, either laborers or breeding tools. This often resulted in half-siblings with different fathers or mothers.

These kin often stuck together like wolves, and the bravest among them would be appointed as Centurions by the clan leader. Their kin benefitted too, becoming old Looters or Elites with more rights to dictate their spoils of war.

"Hehehe, still Blue Jacket? Looks like we've got some fun waiting for us inside!"

A tall, skinny man let out a sinister laugh in response, cocked his shotgun, and continued firing at the cover along the Enclosing Wall.

"Same old rules, kill all the old and the young, lop off the men's index fingers and tie them up."

"Boss, what about the women?"

"First one through the door gets first pick. We are only staying for two hours, take away whoever is still alive after that."

"Ao ao ao!"

Fifty meters distance!

The other side still hadn't returned fire!

A cruel smile formed on the corner of Badger's mouth.

He knew exactly what these survivors were thinking; they were just waiting for his men to come out from the forest so they could use their cover to open fire.

Without a doubt, these people were already clutching their guns, lying behind the cover of the enclosing wall, waiting.

However...

Would he be so stupid as to let his men rush forward?

"Let's start a fire, give them a boost of excitement!"

"Roger that!"

The Looter at the very front crouched down and lit a Molotov cocktail in his hand. Under the covering fire of his comrades, he took a running start and hurled the Molotov cocktail.

The flame traced an arc in the air and landed right onto the three-meter-tall cover of the enclosing wall.

The sparks shattered in all directions, and soon the rusty cover was ablaze, red-hot from the intense fire.

Then came a second, and a third. The fire on the wall quickly joined together, leaving hardly any place to set foot on.

However, what surprised the Looters was that the expected screams did not arise, nor did anyone fall from behind the cover.

It was as if...

These covers had been unoccupied from the start?

Badger frowned slightly, feeling that something was not quite right.

Had these people given up on resisting already?

That couldn't be...

At least put up a symbolic counterattack...

The sliver of confusion quickly turned into contempt.

However, just as he was about to command his men to move forward and blast open the wooden door with dynamite, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded from the woods.

It was like some sort of signal for an attack!

Almost instantaneously, a dense barrage of gunfire rained down like droplets, coming from both sides.

'Swish-swish', 'swish-dah' - bullets flying chaotically nearly grazed scalps, scaring Badger enough to immediately hit the dirt behind a relatively thick tree stump.

Acknowledging marksmanship?

Nonexistent.

But flesh and blood feared the random spray of bullets.

He called out at the top of his lungs.

"Everybody to cover!"

"Spread out and retreat one hundred meters to regroup!!"

"Quick!!!"

-

(Thank you "Call Me Little Baozi", "Crippled Kevin", "Capable Man" for the chiefs' rewards~~~~~

Brothers, we've broken ten thousand on first subscriptions!! Love you guys!

I will keep writing vigorously! Suddenly evolving from the 2K party has been a bit of an adjustment, it's not that I don't want to burst into action, I'm really out of juice QAQ.)

Chapter 69 Surrounded by Fat Sheep?

Morale?

Desperation?

Fear?

These emotions could arise in anyone,
but they simply couldn't surface in players!

They might not be well-trained soldiers, but they were born warriors.

The threat of death meant nothing to them, and the sound of gunfire not only failed to scare them but rather ignited their desire for battle, experience, and loot.

Shedding the mask of civilization, at that moment they were the true disasters.

Just like undead fearless of death!

Looters?

Fuck them!

It's been so long since the server opened, and finally, an exciting event came along!

"Free fire! Repeat, free fire!"

"Attention all squads, you're facing the fiercest scum in the Wasteland, the rules and methods of civilization don't apply to them, show no mercy! Use all means you can think of, and hit them hard!"

"Beat them till they kneel and beg for mercy!"

In this battle, Chu Guang mobilized 34 reservists.

And that was nearly everyone nearby the base!

Fifteen revolvers armed thirty people.

Each pair shared one rifle with 15 7mm bullets between them, with one person also carrying Bow and Arrow and Throwing items for support from the rear.

If a teammate fell, a reserve would step up.

If ammunition ran out, they'd engage in close combat!

Thirty players split into fifteen squads, scattering from both the east and west gates, spreading out to flank from the direction of the north gate.

Since there was no radio communication, they agreed to signal with a whistle.

The other four players with the highest contributions were led by Chu Guang himself, carrying newly bought 7mm and 9mm bolt-action rifles, each still with 15 rounds of ammunition, flanking from the west gate to the rear side of the looters.

When the whistle sounded, gunshots merged into a continuous barrage in the woods, bullets flew wildly through the air, explosions thundered, making it impossible to hear each other.

But that didn't matter!

To the players, unaffected by morale, the more chaotic the battle, the more excited they became, which worked to their advantage. Over thirty people managed to exert the force of sixty, completely encircling the mere ten looters.

If it weren't for only death penalty being waived, along with needing to think about the respawn CD, they would have already rushed in with spears, axes, and stools.

"Maintain the firing line, maintain the firing line, don't just stand and shoot, we move from south to north. It's noon, they're backlit, we have the advantage!"

"Flank from the left, smoke on the right, they'll think they're surrounded!"

"Aren't you afraid of being heard shouting like that?"

"They can't understand shit!"

"Dude, that actually makes sense!"

"Damn, this is way more exciting than squad."

"Shit, I think I've been shot... Huh? It really doesn't hurt at all?"

The looters at the north gate were completely dumbfounded.

They were no regular army, just a ragtag bunch of fighters, always facing soft targets, easily shattered, but they had never encountered such hard nuts that grew fiercer with combat.

"How many of them are there???"

"I don't know! Fuck, is this really just a thirty-person survivor base?! I feel... like there are way more than thirty just surrounding us!"

"Fuck, why do they seem more like bandits than us!"

They managed to retreat only fifty meters.

The recently dispersed looters were pressed firmly to the ground, pinned behind cover, daring not to move, barely able to return fire.

Bullets whizzed past their scalps, along with the flash and smoke of explosives, occasionally accompanied by arrows, stones, and spears through the thick smoke.

The air was filled with a pungent sulfur smell.

They couldn't even tell where the bullets were coming from, feeling as though they were being shot at from all directions.

"The enemy is on our flanks! Dammit! They're trying to surround us!"

"What the hell?! These cowards dare to surround us?!"

"Shit, how dare they come out of the walls!"

The badger named Centurion was totally stunned.

It was supposed to be their side initiating the attack, so how were they the ones being surrounded?

He had led raids on survivor bases before, fewer than five at times, almost a hundred at others, but never had he encountered such stubborn and outrageous resistance.

Holy shit.

Was it full mobilization?

Badger could feel that the enemy's marksmanship was poor, their equipment inferior to his own side, yet their side's momentum was overwhelmed by the enemies.

An ominous premonition grew stronger, and he'd already harbored thoughts of retreat.

But these people clearly had no intention of letting them go.

The sound of gunfire was clearly moving towards their rear, getting closer. If they didn't find a way out soon, they'd soon face encirclement from three sides.

Realizing this, Badger's blood was ignited.

His eyes turned blood-red, he clenched his teeth and fixed a bayonet to his rifle.

"Fuck it! Let's fight them!"

However, just as he thought this, from a nearby cover, a strange figure suddenly appeared.

That man held a bizarre-looking contraption, composed of a barrel and a pipe, resembling... a giant spray kettle?

The man placed the contraption on the ground, set up its wooden biped stand, pointed the nozzle their way, muttering something incomprehensible, accompanied by an almost insane laugh.

Badger naturally couldn't understand.

But the nearby players could hear clearly, consciously avoiding this madman.

"Hahaha! Feel the heat from me!"

A narrow flame spat out from the pipe, drenching the center of the looters' position.

Although this shower of fire hit no one, it ignited the surrounding dry branches and leaves, creating a fiery barrier across the battlefield.

Thick smoke billowed up.

The ground was scorchingly hot!

Smoke everywhere, choking the looters, almost blinding their ability to aim.

Brother Mosquito only managed to spray a burst of fire before immediately dropping his "Hellfire 0.2" and fled.

No choice but to run.

Spraying was exhilarating, but the backblast pressure was insufficient; the fire traveled back up the fuel and ignited itself.

Brother Mosquito hadn't gotten far when his "Hellfire 0.2" exploded with a bang.

Fortunately, the surrounding players had quickly moved away, so they did not injure their own people.

Although they only managed to fire a single round, its effect had clearly been achieved.

The flames raging on the battlefield, along with the nearly scorched surrounding air, became the final straw that broke the Looter's psychological defenses.

The loud whistle sounded again, signaling the charge.

The encircling players were almost out of bullets, amidst the ground filled with smoke and fire, and their eyes were bloodshot with fury.

Upon hearing the whistle, they, as if injected with adrenaline, roared out from cover, picking up spears, axes, and even bricks, and launched a charge under the cover of shouting and thick smoke.

The surrounded Looters, who had never seen such a spectacle and had always been the ones charging at others, couldn't hold their morale any longer.

This motley crew began to collapse from the outermost perimeter, eventually turning tail and fleeing.

Three hounds were involved, with one killed by Trash King, another scared off by the big green Lizards, and the last killed by stray bullets during the flee.

Seeing his comrades fall one after another, Badger, in despair, trembled as he dropped his weapon and knelt on the ground with his hands raised.

"Stop! I beg you!"

"We surrender!"

...

Principally speaking, Looters seldom surrender, as they had never treated their captives kindly and no one treated them kindly in return.

However, the Blue Jackets on these people gave Badger a glimmer of hope for luck.

Who would choose death when they could live?

They were not people of strong beliefs themselves.

The battle had lasted less than fifteen minutes before it ended.

Upon hearing the gunfire from the base, nearby players continuously arrived for support, seamlessly joining in the encirclement of the Looters.

So much so that toward the end, the number of people on Chu Guang's side kept increasing from the initial 34 to 45, boosting their morale even further.

After the battle ended, Chu Guang led the players to extinguish the fires in the forest, then they cleaned up the battlefield and assessed the casualties.

Initially, he had prepared to use the reserve of active substances, but the performance of the players had surprisingly exceeded his expectations.

Although seven were injured, none had died.

The most seriously injured was a Body Constitution System player who got shot in the thigh during the charge.

Fortunately, the bullet went straight through without hitting any arteries or bones. Due to the blocking of hypersensitivity, by the time he realized, the wound had stopped bleeding and didn't even need a bandage.

As for the Looters, it was quite tragic. Ten of them saw five killed instantly, two more bled to death from severe injuries, and the remaining three were lightly wounded and captured.

The only regret was that over two hundred bullets were used up, consuming the amount of one trade, which pained Chu Guang.

These players really spared him no expense, as if determined to use up every bullet issued.

Especially the revolver rifle being semi-automatic with a not so low firing rate, just a few continuous pulls of the trigger, and before you know it, all bullets were gone.

There were only ten people on the other side!

Is it so hard to see a person and then shoot?

What Chu Guang found most incredulous was that among the seven who died, four were killed by spears, bows and arrows, and axes—only three actually died from gunshot wounds.

One of them, he had even shot down himself.

"I need to find an opportunity to get these players trained in shooting!"

No, better yet, let them buy their guns and provide for their own ammunition!

At this rate of firing, while it was indeed fierce and bold, just one battle had used up nearly half of Outpost Base's ammunition stock.

With the current logistics of the shelter, it was indeed a bit overwhelming.

Fortunately, the battle yielded significant gains, which was some consolation for Chu Guang.

There were a total of ten guns, nearly eighty bullets of various calibers, an unused Molotov Cocktail, and two dirty syringes.

"What is this?"

Chu Guang glanced at the prisoner squatting on the ground with his head in his hands and pointed at the syringes in his hand.

The prisoner raised his head slightly, then quickly buried it back down in fear.

"Stimulant…"

"Is it effective?"

"Uh, it should be okay."

Even if it was effective, Chu Guang dared not try it on himself. For the time being, he dumped it with the rest of the spoils, perhaps one day a player would be interested in buying it for research.

Then, Chu Guang instructed several players standing nearby to tie up the three injured prisoners and secure them to a wooden post at the north gate.

Outpost Base did not have a prison yet and could only temporarily watch over the captives this way.

To be honest, Chu Guang had not yet decided how to deal with these three prisoners.

It was said that some survivor settlements hung them directly, others sold them to slave traders or mines, and still, others harvested their organs for individual sale.

After all, the cost of creating synthetic organs was generally high, unaffordable for ordinary people, whereas harvesting tissues from slaves or clones was more economical.

But such inhumane acts were something Chu Guang could not bring himself to do.

Moreover, he did not have the conditions to perform such operations.

At this moment, Fang Chang, carrying his bow and arrow, came over from not far away.

During the earlier outbreak of the battle, the small team had been hunting in the nearby city area. By the time they heard the gunfire and rushed back, the battle had largely ended.

Essentially, they had no part in the battle.

"Respected Manager, the looters in the north have discovered us, my suggestion is that we should pursue the victory! Give them no chance to breathe, once and for all end this riddle!"

"Exactly!"

"Take them down!"

Looking at the players around him eager to try, Chu Guang pondered for a moment and finally shook his head.

"We are not yet in a position to take the offensive."

Woodland combat and urban area combat are two different concepts; the former is our home ground, while the latter is the main territory for those looters.

Taking these players into the city to engage in street fighting and storm the minefields is essentially no different than sending them to their deaths.

The respawn cooldown was at least three days; it was better to be cautious.

According to the intelligence gathered by Chief Trash from several reconnaissance missions, that looter tribe based in the abandoned tire factory numbered at least fifty people. Combining this with the information from List's Commercial Team, the estimate was around sixty to seventy.

Had the other side not misjudged our strength, they certainly wouldn't have sent just a ten-person squad.

The only thing to be grateful for now was that these ten individuals had all been captured, and the other side couldn't gauge our actual situation for a while, and they might not even know whether the group they sent out was dead or alive.

Following the logic of a normal person, they would first send a few scouts to gather information, then plan the next round of attacks.

Of course, there was also a chance they wouldn't play by the rules.

Thinking this, Chu Guang then turned to look at the players beside him.

"Our enemies are experienced in street warfare; they have been active in this area for a long time and are far more familiar with the urban terrain. Without an absolute advantage in numbers and equipment, it is unwise to venture into their territory."

"Our strategy remains primarily defensive, with harassment as a secondary tactic. In a war of attrition, we'll wear down their forces and force them to abandon their advantages and enter our home ground."

"I have a strong premonition that the coming heavy snow will provide us with a perfect opportunity."

"And before that, what we need to do is trade time for space and develop as much as possible."

"Gentlemen, the war has already begun!"

Chapter 70 Cleaning the Battlefield

North Gate of the Outpost Base.

Standing on a stool with a noose around his neck, a robust man was desperately begging for mercy through sobs and snot.

His name was Badger.

But at this moment, he looked as pitiful as a worm.

"Please, don't kill me. I've told you everything I know; you said you would spare me!"

The players nearby were starting to feel uneasy, whispering among themselves.

"Isn't this too cruel?"

"Yeah... This guy has surrendered, maybe he could become one of us."

"It's kind of a pity."

However, Chu Guang's expression did not change despite the robust man's pleading.

The Outpost Base didn't have jail cells to detain prisoners; it was even less feasible to keep them in Shelter No. 404. And it was foreseeable that no merchant interested in slaves would pass by here throughout the winter; keeping these three prisoners would just waste food and also bring risks.

What about intelligence?

The information acquired was almost the same as his own guesses.

Chu Guang had never promised that he would spare their lives if they confessed honestly.

As for the Looters, every single one of them deserved this due to their heinous acts; hanging was the most merciful punishment they could get.

"Go repent in hell."

Seeing there was no hope for survival, the robust man's face twisted in an instant as he began to curse loudly.

"You scum! Liar! Even if I go to hell, I won't let you off! Wait and see; our leader will avenge me. He will hang you from the street lights and make you watch helplessly as your kin are massacred and viol—"

Before he could swear even more vulgarly, Chu Guang, who was tired of the nonsense, kicked the stool from under the robust man's feet.

With a snap, the man known as "Badger" ended his sinful life on the gallows of justice at the Outpost Base of Shelter No. 404.

The gallows' creators, Ward Foot Fungus and Ya'er I Need to Go to the Toilet, watched from a distance, their eyes wide with shock.

They never thought that the gallows they'd built on a whim for ambience would one day actually serve its grim purpose.

Watching the suspended corpse, the color drained from their faces, though not completely pale.

After all, it was a game.

But the expression on the hanged man's face was too bizarre.

Just like a real dead person.

"This game is always strangely realistic in the details."

"Sins, sins, Amitabha."

Standing not far away, Teng Teng was somewhat moved.

"War."

She was a casual player, not much into the thrill of combat, which could be due to her attributes in the Intelligence System and the fact that her short legs couldn't run fast.

Thinking about this made her feel depressed.

Is that fair?

Absolutely unfair!

"No worries! Sister will protect you!"

Standing beside her, Crow chuckled, his hand intended for her shoulder but accidentally landing on her head.

Teng Teng's head was full of black lines, her fist clenched.

"Touch me again, and I'll punch you, wow."

Crow quickly let go, explaining in a fluster.

"Eh? No, I didn't mean it, I was just trying—"

"Alright, alright, it's annoying if you keep talking."

Nearby, players buzzed, discussing when the next wave of attack would come and whether its intensity would be higher than this time's.

Chu Guang confirmed that the man on the gallows was truly dead.

He turned to the two players nearest to him, reaching into his pocket and tossing five copper coins into their hands.

"Take these three bodies to the morgue, strip them bare, and dump them with the other Looter corpses."

"Once the generator is assembled, send them into the Active Substance Extractor for processing."

The two players snapped back to reality, immediately nodding.

"Yes, Manager Sir!"

...

Assembling the generator didn't take much time.

There were plenty of skilled hands among these players; even without understanding the words in the manual, purely based on their knowledge of the generator structure and some diagrams, they managed to assemble all the parts.

The whole power generation equipment consisted of two parts: a wood gasifier and a gas-driven power generator.

The former was simple in structure, essentially an airtight column with a covered top.

As wood was fed from the top, it was first further dried during the slow descent, then thermally cracked by internal heat, and partially burnt in limited oxygen.

This process generated a lot of heat and at the bottom of the column, a layer of hot charcoal, reacting with the pyrolysis steam and other flammable gases, ultimately produced a mixture of combustible gases rich in hydrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide.

This wasn't particularly advanced technology; similar wood gasification equipment was used by the German Army during World War II to power some tanks under fuel scarcity.

Generally speaking, 3-4 kg of wood was equivalent to 1L of petrol; however, the specific consumption depends on the type, density, and dryness of the wood and can't be generalized.

But the consumption didn't really matter, as the Outpost Base was not short of wood at all; it just took someone to clear the debris and stuff the wood in.

Through this power generation device, a stable supply of up to 10 KW of electricity could be provided to the Outpost Base. Even under full load, the hourly consumption of wood was less than 10 kg, making it very cost-effective.

The generator started running successfully, eliciting a cheer from the nearby players.

Their outpost finally had electricity!

Many jobs that could not be carried out previously were now possible.

"I'm going to dig up some wires!"

"Can 200-year-old wires still be used?"

"The insulation material should protect them well enough to be usable, otherwise it's not a big deal, we can just melt them down and remake them. Let me think if I can make a transformer and a stabilizer, then we can go directly to using an electric furnace for our steelmaking."

"Boss, you're awesome!"

Hearing the conversation of the players, Chu Guang was also very happy.

The active substance extractor, covered in a thick layer of dust, finally started working, refining the bodies fed into the furnace into active substances.

About ten bodies recovered approximately four units, finally compensating for the active material deficit caused by a certain small player.

"Is the fight over? Did we win?" Seeing Chu Guang approaching, Xia Yan, who was waiting by the elevator, quickly asked.

Chu Guang casually replied,

"If I didn't win, it wouldn't be me."

Xia Yan continued to press.

"Was that group from the Blood Hand Clan?"

Chu Guang glanced at her.

"You know?"

"You don't need to know, they're somewhat famous around the north suburb of Clear Spring City."

Making a helpless expression, Xia Yan warned,

"You better be careful. There might not have been many of them this time, but they're not as weak as they appear. There was a merchant, probably wanting revenge or something, who hired a twenty-man mercenary team from Giant Stone City, and guess what happened?"

"I don't like guessing, just tell me."

"Alright… in the end, only one came back, and he lost an arm," Xia Yan took a deep breath and said, "That mercenary squad was decently equipped, and their combat skills were not bad either, with two of them even being retired soldiers from the Giant Stone City Militia Group. But fighting looters is a whole different ball game than fighting variants, especially in urban areas."

"They planted can mines in the road, bait bombs, lured Eaters from subway entrances into street-side shops, and even tamed mutated hyenas… According to the one who survived, that battle was simply a nightmare; they faced a gang of Eaters who could shoot, take cover, provide support, and ambush."

Whether it was a DIY pipe rifle or the most advanced assault rifle, hitting the vital parts was a matter of one shot. Even if they missed the vitals, at most, it would take another shot.

The mercenaries from Giant Stone City weren't regular army, so they couldn't afford the best protective gear. Most of them just used wire frames and steel plates to protect their vitals, and only a few wealthy ones could afford exoskeletons and full bulletproof armor.

"It might also be that those mercenaries underestimated their enemy," Chu Guang casually remarked.

"Maybe, people from Giant Stone City tend to look down on the countryside."

"Like you?"

Xia Yan looked embarrassed and quickly explained,

"Uh, definitely not including me."

Chu Guang smiled and didn't mind.

Although he had never been to Giant Stone City, just seeing the way the survivors on Bet Street lit up when they talked about it was enough to understand their sense of superiority.

After all, it was the only "City" in Qingquan City and the remaining "land of order" around.

Even if someone was dirt poor there, they were still superior compared to those outside.

"Speaking of which, I get the feeling you aren't very afraid."

"What's there to be afraid of? You even tore apart Crawlers with your bare hands, how could you not beat them? Besides, you have so many people here," Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang oddly as if she didn't understand why he was asking such a weird question, "What are you so nervous about? From what I heard, there were just about seven or eight people involved in that gunfire, and it occurred in an open area."

"..."

Emmm…

That makes sense.

Chu Guang did not know how to respond for a moment.

…

Late night.

In an abandoned tire factory in the north suburb of Clear Spring City.

Looking at the man crawling below the steps, Bear, lounging in his chair, asked lazily,

"How are things on Badger's side, have the spoils been brought back yet?"

According to the tribe's tradition, whoever sieges the spoils has the first right to enjoy them.

Once brought back, they are shared among everyone, with no distinctions.

If they have attacked a survivor base, the raiding party usually hangs around a bit longer, has some fun, like throwing a party or playing a game of cat and mouse, while scavenging for loot.

As the clan leader, Bear could empathize with his subordinates.

However, seeing as it was already dark, they really shouldn't have been away this long.

"…No news yet," the man bowing at the stairwell kept his forehead pressed to the ground, not daring to move a millimeter.

"No news?"

His brow furrowed like a centipede, a hint of displeasure surfacing on Bear's face, his voice impatient, "I recall they left in the morning."

"Yes."

"Too slow."

Bear gazed sternly at the man down the steps, instructing, "Send someone to check. If they meet them on the way, urge them to hurry. If your man arrives and they haven't set off yet, come back and inform me."

"Yes!"

Watching the departing figure outside the tent, Bear rubbed his beard thoughtfully, his mood somewhat irritable.

How could a thirty-man survivor base take so long?

Could something have gone wrong?

But that was unlikely.

Shaking his head, Bear decided not to dwell on it and stood up from his chair.

Even if the group was a tough nut to crack, with Badger's alertness, they would have surely made it back.

The only explanation for them losing time was if they were having too much fun or getting preoccupied with looting.

Bear wasn't worried anymore and his mood lightened considerably.

Especially when he remembered the almost broken "toy" lying in the room, a chilling smile squeezed itself onto his rugged and ugly face.

This winter wouldn't be too boring.

Chapter 71: Drew a Hammer?

Lately, dusk was settling earlier and earlier.

In the Wasteland, just past 6 p.m., vast expanses of urban areas and forests had already darkened.

To guard against ambushes, players set up torches outside the base's enclosing wall and laid tripwires in the woods, hanging bells as an early warning system.

In a while, it would be dawn in the real world, and many had to go to work during the day. Only 20 players remained at the base, while the other 30 chose to log off.

However, half of the players who logged off said they would be free in the afternoon and would return after noon.

It was a good time to switch players.

After temporarily taking Xiao Qi back to Shelter No. 404 to recharge and seeing off a group of players, Chu Guang sat in the hall's chair and opened the System panel to check his points.

Including the 100 points rewarded for completing the power generator side mission, he now had 122 points, just enough to buy one advanced blind box, two intermediate blind boxes, and two lollipops.

Furthermore, as Chu Guang had predicted, with the completion of the last side mission, he indeed triggered a new task—to open the B2 level of the shelter:

[Mission: Eradicate the Blood Hand Clan entrenched in the abandoned tire factory in the north part of Shelter No. 404.

Type: Side mission

Reward: Access to B2 level of Shelter No. 404]

"...Addressing external threats before unlocking the next level of the shelter, is that the idea?"

It was fairly reasonable.

He hoped to find some good stuff on the next level, at least not as bare as Level B1, which aside from 100 cultivation chambers and a computer, had nothing.

"System, open the Manager's allowance!"

A pale blue holographic screen materialized out of thin air in front of Chu Guang, presenting him with three options.

Without any hesitation, Chu Guang chose one advanced blind box, two intermediate blind boxes, and spent the remaining two reward points on a basic blind box.

Accompanied by a slight shake, the alloy door embedded in the wall slid open.

When he saw the big item on the conveyor belt, Chu Guang was stunned.

This...

Was it a weapon?

He saw a square-headed, long-handled warhammer standing upright on the conveyor belt.

The silver handle, made out of alloy and roughly as tall as a man, topped with a metallic arc that was as large as a human face at its head.

The shaft was inlaid with two sets of recessed metal grooves, front and back, with steeply carved lines connecting the two rings, giving off a rather sci-fi feel.

However, even trying to understand the taste of the First Generation Manager through empathy, Chu Guang found it difficult to associate this object with a weapon.

Was he expected to engage in melee combat swinging this hammer?

An axe or javelin would have been fine, but swinging around such a cumbersome thing, he'd surely be shot to pieces if he weren't hit by bullets!

Walking forward, Chu Guang, with an odd expression on his face, grasped the hammer's handle. He braced for a heavy weight, but to his surprise, he lifted it with just a raise of the hand.

"Huh?"

The weight was not light but was not as heavy as imagined, perhaps only between twenty to thirty kilograms.

Tapping the surface with his finger, Chu Guang didn't feel it was hollow inside.

Could it be made of aluminum alloy?

Or titanium alloy... or some kind of specialty material that he wasn't familiar with.

At that moment, Chu Guang noticed three touch-sensitive buttons on the handle.

Out of curiosity, he extended his index finger and pressed one of the buttons.

There was a soft hum, and before Chu Guang could react to what was happening, a high-intensity stream of air burst out without warning from four sides of the hammer, gushing backward.

A large thrust propelled the hammer forward.

Chu Guang, holding the hammer with both hands, almost lost his grip and nearly hammered the alloy door, quickly lifting his finger off the button in fright.

"Fuck?!"

Was this hammer seriously boosted with nitrogen?

Pretty impressive!

As Chu Guang was caught in his astonishment, a semi-transparent, pale blue holographic window popped up in his field of vision, floating beside the hammer like a label.

[Item: Nitrogen-Powered Hammer]

[Description: By manipulating the flow of nitrogen on the armor surface via a special force field, defense, offense, and mobility functionalities can be achieved.

In A mode, it can create a vortex of nitrogen flow at the top of the Power Hammer, thereby covering a defensive surface with a maximum radius of 1 meter, deflecting and reducing the kinetic energy of flying objects, providing considerable defense against light weapons.

In B mode, it can compress nitrogen at the front part of the Power Hammer, forming a 2-3mm thick nitrogen armor, which then detonates upon contact with the target.

In C mode, it can eject high-pressure nitrogen streams from the back of the Power Hammer, providing directional acceleration.

This product is recommended to be used with Assault Power Armor, where B mode can have strong destructive effects on light armored targets, obstacles, and cover.]

[Note: Due to the lack of an internal nitrogen storage system, it cannot be used in nitrogen-free environments such as vacuum or underwater.]

Following the instruction manual provided by the System, Chu Guang tried it out simply and finally understood how to use it.

In short, some kind of device built into the hammer could interfere with nearby nitrogen molecules.

A mode was essentially defensive, creating a shield in front of the hammer.

B mode was like charging up, releasing the compressed nitrogen on the armor surface instantly upon striking a target, resulting in an explosive shockwave?

C mode was basically like attaching a propulsion device to the back of the hammer, which was effective whether for running with it or swinging it at someone.

Furthermore, a mini cold fusion battery powered the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer, located right in front where the handle met the head.

According to glowing markers at the end of the handle, the current charge was full, suggesting that theoretically, as long as it wasn't continuously running, it should last until the equipment was no longer usable.

However, it could not actually be kept running indefinitely.

According to the instruction manual provided by the System, continuous use would cause the internal circuit components to overheat, while a blinking warning light for three seconds would trigger a protective shutdown.

Holding the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer in his hand and playing with it for a while, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel emotional.

The technology that surpassed his understanding was indeed no different from magic.

Let alone how this thing controlled nitrogen molecules, the miniature cold fusion cell at the end of the handle was already in the realm of sci-fi movies for him.

At least Chu Guang couldn't imagine the principle behind it at all.

Take it apart for study?

It wasn't that he couldn't dismantle it, but what was the point?

If its material was helium-3, then he'd have to go to the Moon to mine it, and if it used some sort of unknown process for a certain material, then the speed of reverse-engineering would probably be slower than starting research from scratch.

After all, scientific research wasn't about brute force miracles, nor was it about opening blind boxes. Maybe in the future, if he could gather some talents from other shelters, there would be hope of restoring some pre-war technology.

As for now?

Of course, as long as it worked, that was enough.

Apart from the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer, the two intermediate blind boxes also yielded a box of antibiotics and a healing injection.

However, what surprised Chu Guang the most were the two basic blind boxes, which contained a bottle of soy sauce and a bag of salt.

Well, that was something.

He was mentally prepared to get a couple more lollipops, and somehow his luck exploded in the strangest of ways?

Chu Guang didn't even know if he should consider himself lucky or at a loss...

In Wasteland time, six in the evening was actually six in the morning in reality.

Although many people were still lazing in bed at this time, it was the exact opposite for the players of Wasteland OL.

Playing the game all night not only didn't make them feel tired at all, but they also felt refreshed after nearly 12 hours of sleep.

Especially that battle with the Looters, it was just incredibly exhilarating!

Almost as soon as they logged off, the official website became lively, with the forum threads refreshing non-stop and water-cooler talks starting up in the chat zones.

Spare people under the knife, "Damn, the killing spree this afternoon was too awesome! Hahaha, I've got to swing by the construction site in the morning, fellas wait for me to return."

Quit smoking, "Afternoon?!"

Spare people under the knife, "Cough, I meant the afternoon in the game! This game is too realistic; it made me forget the real time. It must be the wee hours of the morning in reality now, right? Damn, dude, you're already watching the official website this early?"

Quit smoking, "T.T"

Old White, "My heart aches for you, Smoking Quitting Brother. I'm almost tempted to lend you my account to play."

Quit smoking, "Really?!!! (Excited)"

Night Ten, "A hammer's chance, buddy. Put on whatever you want, you won't see a thing, and then you'd be the butt of the jokes. I don't even bother explaining anymore; too many explanations and they'll think I'm insane. Those who understand will understand. Just wait for the public test to slap them in the face. (Amused)"

Lord Arrogant Brother, "I'm dying laughing here, you talking about slapping faces! You might as well swell up your face to look like a pig's head!"

Night Ten, "You just wait, I'm gonna apply to be a moderator right now."

Elena, "Grandpa Ao is here too? Did you guys buy houses on the official website? (Amused)"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs, "Knew you all would be in the forum! Let me blow my own trumpet too; the battlefield environment made in this game is just so damn realistic! Unlike those orphan games that look like light pollution when it gets down to fighting, a real battlefield should have bullets whizzing by in disorder, not even sure if they hit the target, don't even see the people, but whatever, it's just so thrilling!"

Old White, "Hahahaha, the battlefield atmosphere is spot on."

Night Ten, "Case closed, so it was you, the cook, wasting the bullets, huh? No wonder the Manager's face was so dark in the end. (Amused)"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs, "What's wrong with being a cook? And you know what, I charged with my axe and actually knocked someone down! Only realized after everything that I had been shot in the leg, and it didn't hurt one bit."

Fang Chang, "Scrambled eggs must be of the Body Constitution System, right? How does it feel?"

Compared to others, Long Days Ahead, always focused on game intelligence.

Tomato Scrambled Eggs, "Recovery is very fast! Didn't notice anything else. Ah, if only I had the Perception System, the Strength System would also be fine."

Fang Chang, "I see...got it."

Pick up trash 99 level, "Be content, man, I got a gun only to find my finger wouldn't fit in the trigger. QAQ"

Night Ten, "Hahahahaha!"

Fang Chang, "Uh, that is indeed a problem. Why don't you just snap off the frame in front of the trigger?"

Pick up trash 99 level, "I'll wait until I can buy my own gun, damn, and I still have to pay back Brother Mosquito. T.T"

Brother Mosquito, "No worries, good brother, why not try crossbows? I'll make you one for cheap once the shop is up! (Amused)"

Pick up trash 99 level, "I'll stick with javelins then!"

Elena, "(Amused)"

The forum was filled with a jovial atmosphere.

After teasing Trash Guy, everyone continued on to another thread where they discussed strategies for dealing with the Looters in a hodgepodge.

Some cloud players who hadn't gotten access to the game also joined in, throwing out some stinky ideas every now and then, which left certain peeping game designers dumbfounded.

Let alone using fire attacks.

Even water attacks had come out of the woodwork.

Was there even a reservoir nearby? Where were they supposed to get that much water from?

Of course, not all suggestions were impractical; for instance, a clever little player had come up with the same idea he had.

The player's ID was imposing, called "Spring Water Commander," reserved as number 661 in the sequence. From checking the post history, it looked like this was a blowhard who had been brought over from other forums by fellow users.

"…If you guys don't have an advantage in equipment and can't win street battles, the best method is to delay, delay until everything is icebound, delay until the snow blocks the roads. Then it's not just a fight over equipment and tactics—it's about supplies, logistics, and morale...if Wasteland OL has that setting."

"Just assuming, I mean hypothetically. Listening to you guys, these Looters don't produce anything, the whole nation under arms, living off plundering, where do they get their food, supplies, clothing, and entertainment from? If it's just an occasional looting or extorting traveling merchants, that's certainly not stable, nor necessarily enough. Spring, summer, and fall might be fine, but in winter, are there going to be any merchants passing by?"

"So there are only three possibilities, either they live frugally, knowing to tighten their belts and get by, or they have a stable and long-term meal ticket feeding them."

"The former is very unlikely; we're talking about Bandits. If they really had that discipline and knew how to live, why would they bother being carefree and happy bandit chiefs? Even without farming, they would have amassed enough to become a local military faction!"

"If it's the latter, then it's easy to deal with. It's unrealistic to scorch the earth at their doorstep, so we cut off their supply lines! Winter is still long, and the fortress's supplies will eventually run out. Without the support of a meal ticket, how long can a group of ragtag forces hold out?"

"The other possibility is that the system spawns them like many games do, where AI keeps churning out units even after all their resources are depleted."

"If that's the case, please ignore everything I've said!"

Chapter 72: The Bird Droppings Business

This was the second snowfall that Qingquan City had encountered since entering September.

And quite coincidentally, it happened right when the players were switching between being online and offline. Many who pushed open their doors saw specks of silver white scattered around the torches.

"It's only late September, isn't it? Winter seems to have come too early."

"It is indeed a bit early."

"Analyzing this rationally, perhaps the orbital debris in outer space is blocking some of the sunlight, causing the planet to absorb insufficient heat. Moreover, the rapid decline in civilization due to the war has reduced the proliferation of vegetation, weakening the greenhouse effect..."

"Wait, can this game even simulate that realistically?"

"That depends on how the game operators set it up. Didn't their official settings mention that they reached heaven? If they can make up stories, why can't I?"

"Dammit..."

At the north gate, there was a banging sound.

After confirming it was one of their own, the guard on the wall greeted them, and the player by the door lifted the latch to let the people outside in.

Chu Guang looked towards the north gate.

He saw a Strength-type player and a Perception-type player, carrying a man tied up like a rice dumpling, missing one ear, and quickly approaching, before throwing him down in front of himself.

Also thrown to the ground was the corpse of a mutated hyena.

"Respected Manager, we found this guy near the observation point on the northern overpass!"

Both players were injured, but the man was obviously more severely hurt, with a broken arrow stuck in his knee, causing him to grimace in pain.

The man on the ground, not understanding what the two behind him were saying, simply stretched out his head in a panic, pleading with Chu Guang.

"Sir, I am a nearby Scavenger, I don't know where I offended you."

"Scavengers shouldn't still be outside at this time."

"I, I was inadvertently delayed for a while..."

Ignoring this pale excuse, Chu Guang pulled five silver coins from his pocket to give to the players, telling them to share it among themselves. Then he bent down and with his forefinger, hooked the necklace at the man's collar.

It had a human phalanx strung on it.

And it seemed to be an index finger.

In the Blood Hand Clan, skulls were the exclusive vessels of the leaders, while the phalanges were decorations favored by most Looters.

They would chop off the captives' index fingers, dry them, and make them into bracelets, necklaces, hanging ornaments, or even decorative bone armors to flaunt their bravery and savagery.

Disgustedly tossing aside the greasy necklace, Chu Guang straightened up, expressionless.

He didn't look at the man whose face was ashen, but instead at the two players.

"Looter."

"Send him to the gallows."

The two players respectfully replied.

"Yes!"

"As you command!"

It was only because bringing them back alive was more rewarding that the players were familiar with the tactics of the Manager towards Looters.

So, when they heard the command to send him to the gallows, they weren't surprised at all.

However, for the man who was about to be hanged, it was a different mentality.

As if guessing his own fate, hysterical wails and pleas followed him as he was dragged to the north gate, adding a touch of fear and bloodiness to the desolate woods outside.

The sound and the sin abruptly ceased.

The north gate closed again, and the two players dragged the body toward the direction of the morgue.

Standing in front of the sanatorium, Chu Guang felt not the slightest pity, even yawning as he watched the extraction furnace begin to operate, then turned and walked towards the sanatorium's elevator.

It was already midnight.

He still had to get up at six o'clock tomorrow.

These players' enthusiasm for logging in was higher than Chu Guang had anticipated, and he felt his biological clock was almost getting messed up.

...

The snowfall wasn't heavy, but it persisted for a long time, continuing from before dawn until five in the morning the next day.

A layer of white frost formed on the ground, making a crunching noise when stepped on, which would vanish completely once The Sun rose, as if it had never been.

"Variants in the urban area seem to have decreased last night."

"Is it because of the snow?"

"It's likely, the cold weather probably made them take cover, but those Eaters seem unaffected; I saw them coming out of the residential area and wandering the streets until four or five o'clock before slowly making their way back."

"Do you remember where they came out of?"

"I have a rough idea, I'll go offline to eat, and later I'll mark it on the map and post it on the forum."

"Bro, solid!"

Players returning from scout duty to Outpost Base's square chatted with other players. Chu Guang, standing at the entrance of the infirmary, heard all these conversations.

Since there was no radio, players usually exchanged information in the square, especially during peak times of logging in and out.

For Chu Guang, it became another excellent source of information besides the forum.

The players were like his eyes.

However, he had other matters to attend to soon and couldn't stay here indefinitely.

He had to make another trip to Brown Farm to exchange some supplies before the heavy snow made the roads impassable. This time, he had prepared a new trade item—bird feces stones.

At Brown Farm, they should fetch a good price.

"Manager, the supplies you ordered are ready, we can leave at any time!"

Wrapped in a hyena skin coat, the excited "Escaped Vole in the Canyon" approached.

On his back, he carried a 7mm bolt-action iron pipe rifle supplied temporarily, a studded wooden club and a short knife strapped to his left side, and on his right, a Molotov Cocktail filled with wood tar, increasingly resembling the indigenous people of the Wasteland.

Yet, he hadn't mastered the essence.

Among all the weapons Chu Guang had tried, he found "forked" pipes the most to his liking.

Seeing him nod, Chu Guang spoke.

"Wait for me a moment."

With that, Chu Guang turned and went back into the shelter, soon emerging wearing a KV-1 power armor and carrying the nitrogen-powered hammer he had drawn from the system on his back.

Seeing the manager in this gear, the surrounding players' eyes widened.

"Damn, that hammer looks cool!"

"Awesome! Did I miss something? When did our NPC change his equipment?"

"I don't know, maybe it's just something from the shelter... didn't the official site say there's a huge cryogenic hibernation facility underground? Maybe there's an armory?"

"Damn! I'd like to get one too!"

"Forget it, NPCs' gear is just for show, but I'm curious if this thing really works in the Wasteland facing bullets."

"Are you dumb? Just because you haven't seen awesome armor doesn't mean it doesn't exist; maybe it's meant to be used in conjunction with something else."

"Suddenly feels cyberpunk."

"What cyberpunk? This is Wasteland punk!"

"I know, but taking the joke so seriously makes you look silly."

As a dutiful NPC, Chu Guang neither caught on to their jokes nor paid attention to their excited chatter, focusing on fulfilling his duties as he walked over to the prepared covered wagon.

Previously, Chu Guang had tasked "WC There are mosquitoes" with designing a medium-distance transport capable of carrying five tons.

It turned out, as long as the creation was within a range normal humans could understand, the guy's technical skills were quite reliable.

The entire covered wagon was 2.5 meters long and 1 meter wide. The space inside was quite spacious, with springs added to the chassis to create a simple shock-absorber system, suitable for transporting goods or people.

Considering rain and dust protection, the canopy was covered with two layers of scavenged plastic; curtains had been installed at the front and back.

This way, even in rainy weather, there was no need to worry about the goods inside getting wet, making it quite useful.

The only drawback was that Outpost Base did not have animals like oxen or mules, so players had to pull it temporarily.

"Let's go!"

At Chu Guang's command, the covered wagon team, consisting of six players and one NPC, left through Outpost Base's south gate amidst the envious glances of other players, heading towards Brown Farm.

Unlike last time,
this commotion was so loud that it inevitably attracted the attention of some Variants.

Especially the mutant cockroaches the size of small dogs and the mutant flies as large as washbasins, these insectoid Variants seemed to have lost their fear of humans after mutating and crawled out of the shadows upon hearing the noise.

However, these players were no longer the rookies who had just entered the Game, especially after the baptism of that battle, they had become adept at dealing with enemies.

Chu Guang did not lift a finger, instead, he stayed at the rear, watching the players dispatch these miscellaneous soldiers with knives, guns, clubs, and stones.

If there were Variants they couldn't handle or other high-threat targets, he would naturally take action.

Interestingly, Chu Guang found that his gene sequence was not only affected by basic training; leading players in combat also accumulated a small amount of development progress.

This unique evolutionary method piqued Chu Guang's curiosity.

However, he was currently unable to record the development progress of his gene sequence in real-time and would have to wait until he had the resources to conduct a deeper study.

Along the way, making stops and avoiding impassable ruins, they finally reached their destination before nine-thirty.

Outside the Brown Farm.

When Chu Guang and his group approached the entrance, they saw a burly man carrying a hunting gun, leading a frail-looking serf out of the wall.

When the two parties met, Chu Guang's side was not nervous, but the other side was.

Especially after seeing the exoskeleton on Chu Guang's body and the somewhat exaggerated hammer on his back, the burly man instinctively reached for his hunting gun behind him.

"We are just passing merchants, don't be nervous."

"At this time of year, who else would be a merchant—huh, is it you?"

Liu Zhengyue, who was on the wall, was startled. He retracted the barrel he had just extended and stared blankly at Chu Guang's exoskeleton and hammer—and the blue jacket underneath.

He distinctly remembered, this guy was not dressed like this the last time he had come here.

"Yes, it's me." Chu Guang smiled lightly and shouted up to the wall, "We need food, steel, and copper."

"What do you intend to trade with?"

Liu Zhengyue watched the group warily from behind the wall, his gaze sweeping over their equipment, indecisive.

This group was clearly much stronger than the last time they visited.

In principle, it was not a good time for trade, with winter arriving earlier than usual this year. They also needed to reserve some food for the winter and extra in case the Looters came plundering.

Looters from the north occasionally visited here; although the farm was not without guns, nobody wanted to risk a confrontation with them.

If there was harassment during the spring planting, the losses would exceed just the food paid as a tribute.

However,
the gun carried on the newcomer's back made him carefully consider the risk of refusal.

Chu Guang didn't speak but walked to the covered wagon, pulled back the curtain, and yanked out a sack, tearing off the string that was tied around it.

Liu Zhengyue squinted his eyes to get a clearer look.

"Is this…"

"High-purity diammonium phosphate; if you don't understand, think of it as bird feces stone. Either way, it's a high-quality fertilizer," Chu Guang looked up at Liu Zhengyue on the wall, his tone slightly displeased, "Can you come down and talk? It's tiring to shout like this."

"Give me a moment... I need to consult my master."

After dropping this line, Liu Zhengyue disappeared from above the wall, but soon he returned, leading a serf, and reappeared at the main gate.

"My old friend… you've changed quite a bit."

"I've recently come into some money."

"Are you really nomads?" Liu Zhengyue stared intently at the blue jacket under Chu Guang 's exoskeleton, clearly doubting his own judgement.

"Does it matter?" Chu Guang said lightly, "Don't worry about it, I found this jacket."

Seeing that Chu Guang was not inclined to reveal more, Liu Zhengyue did not press further but instead turned his attention to the bag of fertilizer.

"I need to authenticate the goods."

That was a reasonable request; Chu Guang nodded.

"Please."

The procedure for checking the goods was the same as last time; Liu Zhengyue kicked a serf nearby and pointed to the bag.

The slave stepped forward, dabbed his index finger inside the bag, and nonchalantly tasted it.

"It's bird feces stone."

Hearing this, Liu Zhengyue's face broke into a smile.

Though he didn't know where these people had gotten such good stuff from, it was indeed what they needed.

Animal and human manure, although a type of fertilizer after heating, lacked sufficient nitrogen content and its comprehensive fertility was significantly inferior to bird feces stone harvested over time and washed by the rain.

Often, a handful of bird feces was equivalent to a large bucket of cow manure. If the latter was used, it needed to be mixed with urea.

Brown Farms didn't have the capability to produce high-quality urea in large quantities. Using it raw not only burned the roots, but when mixed with manure, it could easily lead to soil compaction.

Thus, they often imported synthetic and organic fertilizers from Giant Stone City or Red River Town, mixing them with fermented manure.

Not just Brown Farms, almost all the farming survivor settlements around Qingquan City did the same.

"Name your price!"

"We only brought 300 kilograms this time. Give me a sincere price, and we can cooperate in the future."

A mu of land roughly needed several dozen kilograms of organic fertilizer, which varied depending on the crop, soil condition, type of fertilizer, and expected yield.

According to pre-war maps, the whole farm wasn't large, merely topping out at about 80~100 mu of cultivable land, which is roughly 7~9 standard sports fields.

Of course, it was also possible they were engaged in vertical farming or indoor planting, as such techniques were not uncommon before the war.

Chu Guang couldn't guess their needs, so he simply let them name their price.

Liu Zhengyue hesitated momentarily before tentatively responding.

"300 kilograms… How about 2 tons of green wheat?"

Upon hearing this figure, Chu Guang inwardly sighed.

Fortunately, he hadn't spoken first.

The wholesale ratio he found online back on Earth was about 1:5, his psychological expectation being around 1:6~7.

It seemed that the prices in this parallel world were completely unreliable.

Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"At least 5 tons."

"5 tons?! That's impossible," Liu Zhengyue exclaimed, "We only produce 500 kilograms of green wheat per mu."

"That's because you haven't used our fertilizer. From next year, it will be 1000 kilograms."

These mutant crops really underperformed…

He wished he could get access to a pre-war seed bank.

Considering wheat, the yield per mu on Earth in the parallel world was at least 600 kilograms, easily reaching over 1000 kilograms with no issues and claims of 10,000 kilograms being obviously exaggerated.

Chu Guang thought to himself that his shelter was just making do, but surely the normal shelters should have some seed stocks?

It was unclear if it was due to distance or climate issues that pre-war crops hadn't become popular in the wasteland.

Or perhaps it was just this area?

"Are you dreaming? A thousand kilograms per mu?" Liu Zhengyue's eyes bulged as he shook his head, "Friend, if you are really sincere, 3 tons... that's my bottom line. We have a stable supplier who delivers in bulk. Do you think your bird feces stone is irreplaceable?"

"But it definitely offers the best cost-effectiveness, and I don't believe they would bring it all the way here just to sell it to you cheap," Chu Guang replied, "1 kilogram for 12 kilograms of grain. Considering this winter has arrived early, that's the biggest concession I can make."

"Next year, we will also supply this in large quantities. If you can't accept this price, I'd rather return the way I came and sell to passing merchants."

The bird feces stone around Rhombus Lake was sparsely scattered on the southern shallows and extended to the east side. The reserves were not rich but were certainly not small; it could be mined with some time and manpower.

Chu Guang didn't know why these survivors hadn't discovered that geomantically blessed land, but anyway, it was now his territory.

Liu Zhengyue hesitated for a moment, finally nodding his head.

"Alright, you better not be deceiving me… Next spring, we'll need 3 tons of bird feces stone for sowing season. Where are you guys located, in Qingquan City or nearby? If it's not too far, we can come to pick it up."

"There's no need for that, once this winter is over, we will naturally deliver it."

Chu Guang extended his right hand with a smile,

"Then here's to a pleasant cooperation."

Though his face twitched in pain, Liu Zhengyue still managed a smile and shook his hand.

"… A pleasant cooperation."

Chapter 73: The Harvest before the Harsh Winter

"3 tons of bird feces stone... calculating with an average usage of 30 jin per mu, the actual cultivated area must be well over a hundred mu, a lot larger than expected,"

On the way back, Chu Guang pondered as he wrote in his notebook.

"It seems my speculation was correct, they must have applied some no-soil cultivation techniques, and this part accounts for 15% to 30% of the total output... maybe even more."

Brown Farm itself would produce some of the manure and also purchase a little from other merchants, the actual cultivated area is probably larger than imagined.

Before the crossing, Chu Guang had heard about a type of pipe-based no-soil cultivation technology that maximized the use of space and water resources. Provided there was enough fertility, one mu could be used as if it were ten.

In the pre-war era of this world, there seemed to be similar technologies that maximized space utilization to the extreme, developing automated towers that incorporated sowing, nurturing, ripening, harvesting, conveyer belt transportation, packing, and delivery – truly capable of surpassing yields of ten thousand jin per mu.

They were known as CNC planting towers, considered the ultimate form of industrialized planting technology.

Very cyberpunk.

Brown Farm certainly didn't have such luxurious energy resources, but since they could trade some electricity for grain, their electric power resources must not have been too scarce.

Moreover, having farmed for at least a century, they would have inherited some technology and adapted it to fit the wasteland environment.

At this moment, Chu Guang suddenly had a novel thought.

"Could it be... they are planting some kind of energy crops?"

Brown Farm didn't just grow green wheat, which was known to mature quickly. After harvest, there was still the opportunity to grow another round of crops like ram's horn potatoes, beans, fruits, vegetables, or other plants.

Perhaps it was the latter that required more fertility?

By the end of the 20th century, people were already using economic crops, by-products, or artificially bred special crops to produce ethanol and biodiesel. As this technology gradually matured, these types of crops were sometimes specifically classified as "energy crops" based on their usage.

Logically, the pre-war world that had mastered controlled fusion technology might have developed similar technologies beyond his expectations.

However, in an era where nuclear fusion technology made significant breakthroughs, the practical use of such energy crops wasn't to produce alternatives to fossil fuels.

Instead, they were used as industrial raw materials.

"... Brown Farm itself does not possess industrial capabilities, so the production of some kind of economic (energy) crop is partly used as fuel and partly sold to merchants from Giant Stone City as industrial raw materials for factories in Giant Stone City."

"The products are suspected to be some kind of rubber-like substance, crude oil, or other hydrocarbons."

"And, this crop must consume a lot of fertility!"

Chu Guang wrote down these words in his notes.

The gains from this trade were greater than he had expected.

Not only the grain, tools, and the "order" for 3 tons of bird feces stone for next spring in the covered wagon, but also the information indirectly collected through the trade.

Especially this information, which would have been impossible to obtain when he was a scavenger.

After returning, he would make it publicly available in the official settings collection for players to reference.

As Chu Guang analyzed this information, the players beside him also whispered amongst themselves.

"1 kg of bird feces stone can be exchanged for 10 kg of food? Am I seeing this right?"

"You're wrong; it's 12 kg."

"I don't get it; is this green wheat too cheap, or are the stones we picked up by the lake too valuable?"

"Maybe both? Maybe neither... Wait, how much is the grain we buy from the warehouse again?"

"About 1 silver coin per kg of green wheat, I know what you're getting at, is it that we only get 2 copper coins for 1 kg of bird feces stone when we bring it back to the warehouse?"

"Exactly! Does that make sense?"

"Don't worry, although the farming system isn't open yet, I bet the price NPCs will pay for green wheat definitely won't exceed 1 copper per kg. Doesn't it seem reasonable now?"

"Pfft, it's absolutely insane... what the hell! They sell it to us for 1 silver coin per kg!"

"Calm down, which game isn't like this? Besides, if you're really nitpicking, isn't the real-life grain price fluctuating too? Just sell some to the players, and whatever you can't move, dump it to the NPC granaries."

At this point, the player with the ID "Escaped Vole in the Canyon" sighed and spoke with a look of regret.

"If only they would open up a merchant trading system, transporting 1 kg of Bird Feces Stone to Brown Farm for grain, and bringing it back would yield 12 kg of grain. Even if you sold it to NPCs, it would be worth more than 2 copper coins, right? 12 kg would get you at least 1 silver coin, believe it or not? This game is terrifying when you ponder it."

Chu Guang didn't look up or even pay attention to him but still glanced at the guy and chuckled inwardly.

He wasn't wrong.

But he thought too small.

If you took Bird Feces Stone to Brown Farm for grain and then sold that grain in Giant Stone City for guns, would you believe that a hundred kilograms of Bird Feces could get you five or six guns?

Don't worry.

Come next spring, your great Manager will trade for you, and the chips earned will be Outpost Base's foreign reserves, and they'll even share the profits with you.

What?

You want to be paid in Giant Stone City's currency?

What, you want to buy a house and get married in Giant Stone City too?

Actually, Chu Guang didn't mean to "exploit" his little players, and compared to the farm owners at Brown Farm and Old Leech on Bet Street, what he was doing hardly counted as exploitation.

Within the blueprint Chu Guang envisioned, by the time the fifth-generation currency emerged, the money issued by Shelter No. 404 would replace the currency issued by Giant Stone City, becoming the most solid common currency in Qingquan City and the surrounding areas.

Suffering now was for everyone to enjoy prosperity together in the future.

"Manager, there seems to be someone ahead."

"?"

Still coming?

He tucked his notebook back into his pocket, and Chu Guang's right hand reflexively reached for the large hammer on his back. However, as he touched the handle, he realized the so-called people were just two individuals.

He saw the robust man who had greeted him at the door earlier holding a serf he had taken out earlier at gunpoint.

The latter, hands over his head, was shivering and kneeling on the ground.

The group stopped.

Chu Guang looked at the burly man, and the burly man stared back at him blankly.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

Chu Guang glanced at the poor man who dared not move under gunpoint, then looked towards the robust man again, asking with puzzled expression,

"What's this?"

The robust man originally didn't want to explain, as it was his family's private affair, but seeing that this group was not easy to provoke, he cautiously said,

"...He's the master's slave, old and suffering from arthritis in his legs, can't do much work, and he even broke a plate yesterday. The master told me to take him outside and dispose of him."

After hearing the robust man's words, Chu Guang remembered that every winter, the Brown Farm seemed to dispose of a few slaves who were no longer capable of heavy labor and whom no one would buy, only to buy new ones from slave merchants the next year.

As for where these slaves came from?

Hell knows.

Some were auctioned off by creditors due to debt, some became unfree after capture by Looters, others were simply clones, or the inhabitants of some forgotten shelter that had been unsealed.

Chu Guang had even heard that some Scavengers sold themselves or their relatives because they couldn't survive.

In the Wasteland, a slave nearing the end of their life is worth even less than a Double-headed Cow capable of carrying goods.

At least the latter had a bit more flesh on his bones.

"Please, I beg you, spare my life."

The burly man looked impatiently at the man kneeling on the ground.

"Even if I let you go, where could you go? Let me make it quick for you, don't make it difficult for me."

"Please, I beg you..."

The serf could no longer utter any other words.

"Wait a minute."

Chu Guang stepped forward, looking down at the old man kneeling on the ground.

"How old are you?"

"51..."

Indeed, a bit old.

As far as slaves go, he was already of advanced age.

But on the other hand, it also meant experience.

Chu Guang continued to ask.

"What can you do?"

Seeing a glimmer of hope for life, the old man shakily turned around, reaching out in an attempt to grasp that lifesaving straw.

The burly man, seeing this, kicked him away quickly with his foot and scolded.

"Don't touch the guest of the master with your dirty hands, do you want to be hanged?"

His keen eyes could tell that these people had business dealings with the master.

Although kicked, the old serf didn't mind at all, got up without even looking at the burly man, and raised his wrinkled face to look at Chu Guang.

"I can farm, count, do carpentry, and move things... I can do any sort of work. Please, sir, give me a chance to live."

"You can count too," the burly man sneered, "Counting a few potatoes makes you a mathematician? Sir, don't listen to his nonsense, at his age, he can't work anymore. Two groups of merchants dealing in slaves came this month, and none of them were interested in him."

Chu Guang took out a white chip from his pocket and flicked it into the burly man's hand with his thumb.

"Is this enough?"

The burly man's face brightened as he nodded eagerly.

"Enough, enough."

A mosquito is still meat, after all, and besides, the slave wasn't his.

After securing the chip, the burly man raised his hunting gun to the sky and fired a shot, then picked up the shell from the ground, bowed to Chu Guang, and happily carried his gun back to report.

The serf was shivering on the ground, clearly frightened by the gunshot, looking as though he had lost his soul.

Chu Guang ordered a player to pull him up and bring him in front of himself, and with a commanding tone, instructed him.

"Your life is mine now, you work for me."

He finally came back to his senses.

The serf seemed ready to kneel, but Chu Guang raised his hand to stop him.

"We don't do kneeling here, place your right fist over your left chest to show loyalty. If I find any betrayal or disloyalty in you, don't make me do it, dig it out yourself and feed it to the dogs."

Chu Guang was just scaring him with these words, if there really were traitors, throwing them into the Active Substance Extractor to be processed would suffice, no need for such an elaborate threat.

Though Chu Guang was a civilized man himself,
after living and observing here for a while, he knew well that some issues couldn't be dealt with using a civilized man's thinking.

Indigenous People and players were fundamentally different creatures.

With the natives, you have to manage them using their own methods.

That's for the best for both parties.

"Yes, sir," the old man said obediently, his head bowed and expression much more at ease, sensibly placing his right fist on his chest, "I offer you my loyalty... My name is Luka, no, I have no name, please give me one, sir."

"You'll be Luka then."

Chu Guang didn't want to waste time, and waved his hand at the players.

"Keep moving."

"We need to get back before noon."

...

This trading expedition could be considered a full success.

300 kg of Bird Feces Stone were exchanged for 3600 kg of green wheat and ram's horn potatoes, 100 kg of smoked meat for 500 kg of green wheat and 5 tools.

Although Chu Guang wanted to argue, deer meat was different from Hyena meat; the former more rare than the latter, as not always could one encounter a deer migration. But the other party said if that was the case, Hyena meat would suffice. After all, as long as it wasn't human, rat, fish meat, etc., it was all the same to them, so Chu Guang had to give in.

However, in respect of their relationship, Liu Zhengyue still made a small concession, allowing him to choose 5 tools or 1 pound of tobacco leaves to take away as a gift.

Of course, Chu Guang chose tools, and he picked the ones with bigger sizes like pipe wrenches and fire axes. Even if they weren't useful, they could be taken back for steel and copper smelting.

Moreover, 25 kg of smoked fish were traded for almost 150 kg of scrap metal.

Unlike the aluminum and steel alloys commonly seen on the streets, these metals were good quality containing copper and zinc.

Originally, Liu Zhengyue didn't really want to sell them, but perhaps he thought that since the merchants would not return for several months and keeping them on the farm was useless, he agreed after asking the master.

The noon sun shone overhead, with the shadows of trees fluttering on the road.

Aside from a Strength-type player pulling a cart, the rest of the players were scattered around the covered wagon.

If they occasionally saw a Mutant Cockroach coming close, they would rush up with shouts and beat it with sticks, more excited than the Variants themselves.

If the Variants could think, they would be dumbfounded at this moment.

Who exactly is the prey?

The only thing Chu Guang needed to do was to stop their hoarding habits, wanting to stuff any strange things they found into their pockets.

While sometimes, the stomach of a Mutant Cockroach might surrender some indigestible trinkets, with extremely good luck even a chip or bullet, the chances were slim.

Most of the time, they found cockroach eggs.

Old Luka shook with fear at the sight, probably scared by these people's actions.

He had never seen such odd humans and comprehended nothing of what they were thinking.

But Luka knew very clearly as a servant, he didn't need to ponder such questions, the less he knew, the longer he'd live, so he did not make a sound all the way, with a presence so low it was as if he didn't exist.

Feeling happy enough to sing.

Leading the covered wagon team back to Outpost Base, just at the entrance, Chu Guang happened to see the Yu Brothers carrying their prey, gesturing anxiously with the players at the southern gate.

Chu Guang's eyes lit up, and he called out from a distance.

Hearing the familiar voice, the Yu Brothers turned around immediately, waving their hands with joy.

"Brother Chu!"

Chapter 74: Is Being a Carpenter Just a Matter of Having Hands?

"Brother Chu—eh, what's that on your back?"

"Weapons," Chu Guang didn't want to bother explaining, so he decisively changed the subject, "Are you here to trade for something?"

Yu Hu bobbed his head like pounding garlic, embarrassed to say.

"Yeah, my brother and I bagged a deer and wanted to come here to trade for some stuff to take back. But I don't understand what they're saying, and I'm not sure how to go about it... Luckily, you came."

He glanced at the prey, which looked quite substantial.

"No worries, I'll get you a pass in a bit... forget it, I'll give it to you now."

With that, Chu Guang took out a small notebook, scribbled a few strokes with a marker, and handed it to Yu Hu.

"Keep this safe, and if anyone stops you, just show it to them."

The paper and pens from the shelter were a bit challenging to forge.

The words on the pass were all written in Chinese, and it also bore his signature, which wasn't easy for the average person to imitate.

Out of caution, Chu Guang also wrote a numeric code on it, which would make it easier to verify who it was issued to in the future.

When conditions permitted, they'd switch to printed versions with security codes.

Yu Hu didn't understand what was written, but he carefully pocketed it with a nod.

Then Chu Guang pointed to the old slave, Luka, by his side.

"From now on, he's in charge of the warehouse. Give him the game, and he'll help you find someone to deal with it."

Old Luka, though completely baffled, still nodded obediently.

From his experience, there was no need to interject while the master was talking with the guests—he would be informed later if there was something he needed to do.

Otherwise,
it meant there was no need for it.

Yu Hu was meeting this man for the first time and was unaware of his identity, so he nodded back amiably.

"All right."

"I'm about to head to the warehouse myself, so both of you come with me." Not lingering to make small talk at the entrance, Chu Guang led the two men and the caravan to the warehouse.

The reindeer had just been killed, with an arrow through its throat. Chu Guang had a player who served as the warehouse manager weigh it before sending it to the butcher for meat processing.

Brother Omelet was getting more and more adept at this work, and he even took on two apprentices to observe and learn.

Most of the mutant reindeer's offal wasn't edible, partly because there were no spices to mask the gamey smell and partly because it was uncertain what it had eaten along the way.

Even though they were herbivores, unlike hyenas that ate carrion, they weren't domestic animals. Some harmful plants and fungi to humans might linger in their digestive systems.

If you weren't of the Body Constitution System, there was no reason to take that risk.

Yu Hu and Yu Xiong, the brothers, looked on curiously. Although they had seen butchers at work before, it was their first time seeing the Blue Jackets do it so skillfully.

Skinning, tendon-pulling, meat-cutting, not even blinking—an elegant dance of the knife blades that never touched bone, leaving bones that didn't have a scrap of meat on them.

Simply brilliant.

"I'm gonna watch and learn. I'll open up a slaughterhouse by our house on Bet Street. The business will surely be good," Yu Hu excitedly said to his brother.

Yu Xiong shook his head.

"Quit dreaming. If you open one, don't do it near our house. Next year I'm planning to have a kid; wouldn't want to scare the little ones, not to mention Little Fish."

Yu Hu scratched his head sheepishly.

"Oh, okay, then I'll set up across from Old Charlie's general store. There are more people around there."

Soon, all the edible meat was on the chopping block, and the inedibles were dumped in the plastic bin nearby.

Brother Omelet hung up his butchering knife and packed the meat into a crate to be weighed. He turned to the Manager and said,

"Precisely one hundred kilos, quite a lot."

Chu Guang nodded and instructed him to take two portions of the meat, keeping the tendons, bones, and offcuts, and packing the rest for the Yu brothers into plastic bags they had brought.

"You'll also take 300 grams of coarse salt to the warehouse."

The salt price at Outpost Base had been adjusted once, and now the price for unrefined coarse salt was 1 Silver Coin for 50 grams, having been slightly reduced.

The price of refined salt was five times that of coarse salt, hence 50 grams cost 5 Silver Coins, which represented a noticeable increase from before. Salt with added buffs was priced 50% above the base rate.

However, whether with or without buffs, the refined salt wasn't for sale to outsiders, supplied only to players, marking a sort of privilege for them.

If you calculated according to the salt price, the cost Chu Guang had exchanged for the deer hide was approximately equal to 6 Silver Coins.

If calculated based on trading costs, that number was likely less than a third, since most of the coarse salt was acquired by trading smoked meat with merchants from Red River Town, and the average cost for one kilogram of coarse salt was only about three kilograms of smoked meat.

Nevertheless, the Yu brothers were still quite elated, for getting unadulterated salt, not short in weight, was already a fortuitous affair for them.

Especially since Brother Chu gave them an extra generous 50 grams, allowing them to enjoy it for many more days!

A win-win, truly splendid!

With a heart full of gratitude, the brothers thanked Chu Guang, carrying away eighty kilograms of deer meat and 300 grams of coarse salt, walking away happily.

Chu Guang summoned Luka, who had been standing nearby, and instructed him,

"When Blue Jacket residents come to drop off game, there's no need to weigh it. For a hyena, give 5 Silver Coins, for a reindeer, 12 Silver Coins. Send the game to be processed, smoke the meat, and then store it in the food warehouse reserves."

"If it's a foreign hunter like the one just now, guide them to the butcher as I did, take two portions of the meat for smoking, keep the tendons, bones, and hide, and give the rest along with 300 grams of coarse salt. Understand?"

Luka, being sensible, didn't ask what a resident was, just remembered what he had to do, and nodded immediately after understanding.

"I understand."

Chu Guang nodded, satisfied.

But just then, he suddenly remembered something and pulled out two coins from his pocket, one silver and one yellow.

"These are Silver Coins and Copper Coins, remember them well. I'll teach you some simple daily language later so you can communicate with the people here. It's fine if you don't understand. Just do what you need to do and say what you need to say, got it?"

Luka studied them for a moment and nodded vigorously.

"Got it!"

"Good. Basically, that's all for your job. Stand here and watch for now to get familiar with the work environment. I'll come back to teach you the rest later."

Luka stood obediently at his post, next to the part-time warehouse manager player, which made the latter feel rather uncomfortable for a while.

Chu Guang was very satisfied with his attitude.

This new NPC wasn't bad at all, truly you get what you pay for—the ones bought with chips were definitely stronger than those who came for free.

Xia Yan, on the other hand, was not worth mentioning. The guy could fall asleep carrying books, and as soon as the work was completed, he started slacking off. Without a whip to spur him on, he wouldn't budge an inch, yet he's quite popular on the Forum.

Up to now, Chu Guang still couldn't figure out what was so special about this guy, other than his chest...

At this very moment, Xia someone-or-other who was sitting at the entrance of the weapon shop, nodding off, sneezed without warning.

Sniffling, she lifted her head, which was red from pressure, and looked around bewildered like a sleepy groundhog, stretching her neck.

Upon noticing the shop was as quiet as ever with no business and no one checking in, Xia Yan breathed a sigh of relief, wrapped herself in her fur coat again, and went back to her dozing.

Perhaps because reviving her former career was hopeless, with life looking grey and uncertain, she admitted she had been a bit too relaxed recently, even losing her basic vigilance.

But let's be clear, although this place wasn't as bustling as Giant Stone City, this deer fur coat was quite warm, made not only from top-notch deer skin but also hand-stitched.

If you were in Giant Stone City, it would probably cost quite a few chips.

Chips...

Alcohol... Chocolate...

Thinking about it, she couldn't help but drool.

...

Carpentry hut.

When Chu Guang found "WC There are mosquitoes," he saw him standing in front of a wooden box half the height of a person, busily engaged in something.

"What are you doing?" Chu Guang asked.

Hearing the voice behind him, Brother Mosquito put down his tools and clapped his hands, turned around, and enthusiastically said to the Manager.

"Respected Manager, I am designing a new kind of weapon!"

"...A new kind of weapon?" Chu Guang echoed, puzzled.

"Yes! After the last Battle, I realized we urgently need a support weapon that can deliver massive firepower to the enemy's position in a matter of seconds!"

Saying this excitedly, Mosquito then pointed to the honeycomb-shaped wooden box in front of him.

"'Blizzard 0.1'! That's what it's designed for!"

Is this thing a cluster rocket?

But there was nothing inside; it seemed the most crucial "rockets" hadn't been made yet.

He stared blankly at this device for a while before Chu Guang managed to squeeze out a question.

"...I remember you already made it to 0.2 last time, why did it go back to 0.1?"

"Cough, that was Hellfire, not from the same series."

Mosquito's expression turned slightly awkward, but his excitement quickly took over again, "Please hear me out! Even though it seems primitive, I guarantee it's truly, truly useful!

According to my design, it can launch all 50 rockets carrying Black Powder, acetone, and wood tar within 10 seconds, covering a battlefield up to 100 meters away!"

Covering a battlefield 100 meters away wasn't bad.

Let's not even talk about the range and accuracy.

I was just worried about a burst barrel covering even a negative 100-meter radius.

"Rockets? Are you sure about that?" Chu Guang inquired.

"Eh, sure! Although the propellant is Black Powder, it should work roughly the same?" Mosquito said, his gaze drifting away unnaturally as he chuckled.

"According to my design, each rocket's propulsion unit is about 1kg, and with the addition of a flame retardant, theoretically, the working time could be extended to 6-8 seconds, theoretically generating 3.5-5 kilograms of thrust, theoretically there should be no problem in carrying 1-1.5 kilograms of warhead!"

"For these 1-kilogram warheads, I intend to load them with wood tar, vaporized acetone from wood distillation, and Black Powder so that they can burn after exploding!"

Chu Guang's eyelids were twitching.

My God.

This was using explosives to shoot explosives.

If they shot out, all was well, but what if they didn't?

That would be utterly disastrous!

Chu Guang cleared his throat cautiously and reminded him, "If we're talking about street combat... that power might not be enough, and it seems pretty dangerous. I would suggest you try to make nitrocellulose instead; it might pack a bigger punch."

Black Powder only had an explosive velocity of 600, Smokeless Gunpowder could reach 2000, and didn't leave any residues.

I heard that the famous "Katyusha" BM-13 series rockets initially used Smokeless Gunpowder as the propellant, and later they mixed viscous nitroglycerin as a plasticizer with nitrocellulose to make a double-based solid rocket propellant.

Black Powder...

Just enough for making bombs.

It's a little hard on it to make something like this.

"That's true," Brother Mosquito stroked his chin and murmured, "Tsk, it'd be great if we could get a gas cylinder."

Chu Guang had a feeling this guy was thinking of something dangerous, but it was hard to say whether there were gas cylinders in this era; maybe he didn't need to worry too much.

"Let's not talk about that for now... I need you to make three single beds for me."

"Okay, and is it urgent?"

After thinking, Chu Guang said, "Could you get at least one done by tonight?"

Brother Mosquito stroked his chin and said, "Shouldn't be a problem."

Developing weapons took some time.

But carpentry?

Just need hands to do it, right?

Chapter 75: The Warehouse Manager Who Can Do Farm Work

"Bro, why isn't this electric stove working well?"

"…It might be a power issue. I'll take a look and see if I can use these copper wires to build a bigger generator."

"Steady, bro!"

As Chu Guang left the carpenter's cabin, he passed through the industrial area and saw a few players in front of a steel furnace, figuring out how to improve the steelmaking technology.

It seemed the improvised electric furnace had failed, apparently due to insufficient power. Two players were discussing how to create a more powerful generator.

It would be great if it worked.

Silently cheering them on, Chu Guang, with a hammer slung over his shoulder, walked over to the brick kiln where "Spare people under the knife" was directing other players in brick firing.

Ever since Old White switched to being a Hunter Player, the role of construction team leader had fallen to "Spare people under the knife," who had a civil engineering background.

"The three-meter-high enclosing wall is too low. We don't know when the Looters' second wave of attacks will come. I plan to strengthen the defenses of Outpost Base. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Unexpectedly, the Manager was seeking his opinion on such a critical matter.

"Spare people under the knife" was initially surprised and then started thinking seriously.

"Judging by the Looters' weapons, they use Molotov cocktails, throwing objects, and light weapons a lot. The wall can physically prevent them from breaching our defenses, but it doesn't actually give us much advantage in a real firefight!"

"My suggestion is that we concentrate building materials to construct 3 to 4 meters high pillboxes outside the enclosing wall and connect these pillboxes with a 'Z' shaped trench!"

Hearing this player's suggestion, Chu Guang's eyes lit up.

That was indeed a good idea.

Looters were a bit like goblins from fantasy films; their firepower and close combat abilities were weak. Their advantage lay in intimidation and harassment.

Intimidation was useless against players—it only made these lunatics more excited. The only thing needed to be curbed was their ability to harass.

A pillbox provided frontal suppression, and the trenches stretching out from the flanks perfectly limited the mobility of the Looters.

Were they still Looters if they lost their mobility?

They were just walking "experience packs"!

Even if they gritted their teeth and breached the defense gap, jumping into the trenches, a cruel and bloody massacre awaited them.

Missing in shooting was a matter of skill.

Was there still a need to worry about that in trench bayonet combat?

In the minds of these players, there was no concept of retreat. Blinded by fury, they'd take a few down with them even if it meant catching themselves in friendly fire.

With this in mind, Chu Guang immediately made a decision.

"Let's do that. How many people do you need?"

"Spare people under the knife" quickly calculated in his mind and replied.

"Give me 20 people, and I can get it done in three days! 30 people, and at most two days!"

Digging trenches wasn't a difficult task. With shovels and some Strength-type players, it probably wouldn't even take a full day.

First, excavate the main structure, then gradually fortify it with wood.

As for the pillboxes.

The kind made from concrete casting was overkill. Dragging over some hardened cement blocks from an abandoned construction site, using wood and scrap rebar for beams, building an earthen pillbox wouldn't be a problem.

Chu Guang nodded.

"I'll give you 40 people!"

"40? Isn't that too many?" "Spare people under the knife" was momentarily stunned.

Chu Guang shook his head.

"We're not short on people; we're short on time. Tomorrow a group of reinforcements will reach the surface, and I'll hand all the newcomers over to you."

This batch of players who had obtained the closed beta qualifications was the largest in history, totaling 40 people.

With so many newcomers flooding into the game, they had to have something to do, lest they ran around the base like headless flies.

It would also help them get acquainted with the working culture of Shelter No. 404.

To emphasize the importance of this task to "Spare people under the knife", Chu Guang paused after explaining and continued in a serious tone.

"This task is crucial, and I hope you take it seriously. Moreover, your Contribution Points and rewards will depend on the quality of the defense works."

"If the defenses you design perform excellently in the next battle, there will be additional rewards."

Although the Manager didn't tell him how much the reward was, seeing the NPC's serious demeanor, "Spare people under the knife" immediately took it as a hidden quest.

He stood up excitedly, pressed his right fist against his left chest, and said spiritedly,

"Mission guaranteed to be accomplished!"

"Good."

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

"With the remaining time today, get the plan ready and mark the spots outside the enclosing wall. Start working first thing tomorrow morning."

"Go."

…

Last night, they captured a scout, and throughout today, there was no activity from the Looters' side, leaving everyone unsure of what the Blood Hand Clan was planning.

Were they waiting to make their move?

The raiding parties and scouts who came for the harvest had not returned, and even the dullest of enemies should have realized by now that those men were never coming back.

The Hunter Squads roaming the north and east sides of the Wetland Park were not only hunting; they were also coordinating with observation posts to track Looters' scouts.

Wearing the Exoskeleton constantly was rather troublesome, especially with a massive hammer weighing twenty or thirty kilograms strapped to his back.

Chu Guang went over to the generator, removed his gear, found a cable to connect his KV-1 Exoskeleton to the power source, began charging it, and then started patrolling inside the Outpost Base.

At that moment, he noticed two players crouching by the corner wall of the granary, muttering something to each other, so he walked over to take a closer look.

"What are you doing?"

The two crouched players stood up.

"Respected Manager, we think this looks very familiar, similar to the green wheat we ate before,"

Saying this, one of the players pointed with a forefinger towards a few swaying green wheat stalks by the granary.

In fact, rather than wheat stalks, their shape was more like foxtails. Thin stems topped with bunches of unopened husks, under the fine hairs on the edges there nestled tiny green seeds the size of sesame seeds.

Chu Guang had never farmed this crop before, having only tried planting horned potatoes, and never successfully.

Although a lot of green wheat had been imported before, its origins remained unseen, and he was momentarily undecided.

Recalling there was an expert in the Outpost Base, Chu Guang went to the warehouse, where he summoned Old Luka, who was familiar with his post, and brought him to the granary.

Luka barely glanced at it before nodding confidently without even crouching down to check.

"Sir, this is indeed green wheat, and it looks like it has been growing for half a month. However, it's not the right season for it, and it looks like it's about to fall over. Moreover, with frost earlier this morning and impending snow in the next two days, I fear these seedlings won't last much longer."

Fuck?

Is it really green wheat?

After staring at the wavering seedlings on the ground for a while, Chu Guang guessed they must have been accidentally spilled during food transportation.

"Can you cultivate this?"

"Sir, you jest. I've been farming for decades... Besides, green wheat isn't really wheat, it originally evolved from foxtail. It's not hard to grow. Unlike horned potatoes, which have to sprout before being cut and plastered, green wheat skips even the seeding step. Just scatter some on a plot of land, and in two or three months, it grows just like grass," Luka whispered.

"That's miraculous?" Chu Guang remarked, stunned.

"Not really miraculous, mainly because... this grain isn't anything special, typically reserved for us lower servants. If you had seen how it was right after cutting, you'd understand why I say this. The sour stench it emits is just like grass, only improving slightly after being sun-dried."

Chu Guang: "…"

Luka cautiously looked at Chu Guang and continued hesitantly.

"However, this thing has its benefits< it grows fast, has deep roots, can absorb water, is drought-resistant, and can survive if the temperature is not too low< it doesn't require much care. The only drawback is that you can't harvest much from each planting; the yield isn't very high."

"You can slice off the ears to fill stomachs and even feed livestock. Burning the stalks to ashes and tilling them into the soil can serve as potassium fertilizer, or you could ferment them into compost as well… We usually intercrop it with other plants in rotation."

"If there's some residual fertilizer in the soil, for instance, after just planting something else, sowing the seeds could easily produce four to five hundred pounds per acre. But if you plant it alone, the harvest is just average< the ears are small, about the size of this root growing by your wall, yielding only a few dozen pounds per acre."

"… In my experience, merchants from the north buy some of this food, and nearby survivor bases purchase some too, but those further south buy far less."

Previously, Chu Guang had been curious about what exactly this green wheat was a variant of, and now the case was broken.

It turned out to be a mutation from foxtail grass?

No wonder the survivors on Bet Street milled this stuff into pancake flour or cooked it into porridge, likely to evaporate some of the oxalic acid.

Had he been making players eat grass all this time?

Chu Guang's expression became somewhat intricate.

Anyway, this piece of information was better not updated on the official website.

"So what crops did you normally plant before?" Chu Guang changed the subject and continued asking.

"Many things; green wheat and sheep's horn potatoes are the cheapest and available all seasons. Vegetables and fruits fetch a higher price, mostly grown in greenhouses. A crop that brings good profits and is easy to sell is the red-ribbed leaves, which can be used as tobacco when dried. Both scavengers and merchants can afford these, and I've seen some use them as alternatives to spices to cover up some of the gamey tastes. Besides, there's another crop called the Cam Tree that bears a yellow-green fruit."

"What is that?" Chu Guang immediately asked.

Luka shook his head and said,

"Sir, farm owners don't discuss these matters with us underlings; I've only seen merchants from Giant Stone City come and buy loads of it. Honestly, it's not tasty, feels like chewing on tires. However, if you cut open the bark, you can extract a lot of oil, which we use for our generators after a bit of refining."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment.

"Perhaps that Kamu fruit isn't meant for eating."

With Luka's level of knowledge, he couldn't comprehend this statement, but he smartly kept quiet, waiting obediently and only answering the questions asked.

Chu Guang took out his notebook and jotted down a few notes.

[1. Wasteland Tip: Brown Farm cultivates an economic crop called the Cam Tree, whose fruit is suspected to be refinable into rubber. The tree oil can be used as fuel.]

[2. Power Information: Brown Farm closely engages in trade with outside parties, harbors serfs, and stockpiles a significant number of weapons, intentionally concealing their power level. Their true economic conditions and combat capability might be slightly stronger than they appear; adjust threat level from C- to C, maintain neutral (0) favorability.]

[3. Power Information: Shelter No. 404's Outpost has a good relationship with the scavengers on Bet Street; maintain threat level at E-, raise favorability from neutral (30) to friendly (50).]

[4. New NPC at Outpost Base: Warehouse Manager Luka. Old Luka is a tragically born serf, sworn to serve the shelter after being saved from gunfire by the manager. His aspiration is to rid the wasteland of hunger.

His legs suffer from severe arthritis, preventing him from working too hard. Helping him carry items might be a good way to improve favorability, but be aware that theft and similar actions will lower his opinion of you. Moreover, his experience with various wasteland plants is a valuable treasure that might come in handy during the planting season.]

Today's official website update.

That should be it for now!

Chapter 76: New Instance Gameplay

Official Website:

[...]

[5. Shelter No. 404 B2 level content will be unlocked after completing the "Blood Hand Clan" dungeon.]

[6. Wasteland Tip: The weather is getting cooler, everyone remember to dress warmly. Additionally, if you see the weapon shop owner dozing off, please remember to wake her up so she doesn't catch a cold.]

That day, as usual, six o'clock struck and the official website timely updated the announcement. The comment section below the announcement was quickly taken over by those players who had bought virtual real estate on the official website.

Tail: "Throne! (≥ω･*)ﾉ"

Quit Smoking: "First!"

Quit Smoking: "Damn! My first floor!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn, I thought there was an update!"

Spare people under the knife: "Got excited for nothing!"

Elena: "Speaking of which, more new players are entering. What batch of new players is it that's coming online tomorrow? (sly)"

Don't bullshit: "The fifth batch! A total of 40 people! I'm so thrilled haha, I couldn't sleep last night from the excitement, tomorrow night's going to be great!"

Makabazi: "Brother, don't get too excited too early. This game ain't your ordinary grind, I'm telling you!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Strength Type group up, any newbies want to chop trees together? Come chop trees, the axe is forever godly!"

Spare people under the knife: "Nobody fight me for them! Hahaha, the newbies are all mine!"

Night Ten: "Brother Knife! Hold steady, your mature and dependable image is crumbling!"

Old Timer A Bin: "This person is terrifying. (ﾟДﾟ*)"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Is this game serious? It's serious, right? Nervous."

The official website was as joyous as ever, filled with a lively atmosphere.

Tomorrow marks the fourth day since the launch of Alpha 0.4 version, and 40 new players will arrive in the game world.

And the population of Shelter No. 404 on the surface will rise to 90!

Chu Guang glanced at the reservation numbers, which had just broken the eight hundred mark. This time it was thanks to the illustrations a certain Mole drew on the forum, attracting many onlookers who were there just for the buzz.

Chu Guang clicked on the post to take a look and found out that the drawings were actually of himself.

Hey, not bad, the drawings were quite handsome.

No, rather, they were quite accurate.

Mole on the run: "What else does everyone want to see? There seem to be only these few NPCs."

I Max Black: "Doujinshi! I want to see doujinshi!"

Rainy Night Without Umbrella: "Sure! I want a doujinshi of Teng Teng and Crow! (nosebleed)"

Teng Teng: "No, you don't! (#`Д´)ﾉ✄╰ひ╯"

Matchstick Girl: "Crow and Leech!"

Mole on the run: "F***, you're a pervert."

Chu Guang watched and chuckled to himself.

How nice, his game was getting more and more lively.

Today's announcement on the "Wasteland OL" official website, although it lacked any new information about development progress, and was instead filled with some settings that were gradually released as the game's plot progressed, many astute players still read a lot of important information from it.

Cattle and Horse Club Group.

Old White and the other Cattle and Horse Club players, who usually log off and wake up promptly at six, have a daily routine that's fairly normal.

After logging off, the first thing these people do isn't to wash their face or brush their teeth, but to grab their mobile phones and start boasting in the group chat.

And right now, the topic of conversation was centered on today's announcement from the official website—

Old White: "Damn, this update's got a lot of content!"

Quit Smoking: "Good brother, spill it! T.T"

Old White: "In a nutshell, they added a new NPC! They added a 'faction relationship' feature! And there are new 'background stories' and 'character traits' for NPCs! In any other game, this stuff would be enough for the dog planners to boast for three versions!"

④ Who Knows: "Too bad Lord Arrogant Brother left the group, otherwise there'd be so much fun right now. (gritting teeth)"

Night Ten: "Who knew he was so weak mentally, I just called him a barking dog, and he bailed. (sly)"

Wild Wind: "Isn't the focus on getting silenced?"

There Are Mosquitoes in the WC: "(sly)"

Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: "(eating melon)"

With Grandpa Ao gone, there was less fun in the Cattle and Horse Group.

But the guy was soaring high now, from being the beloved of the Cattle and Horse group to the pampered pet of the Wasteland OL forum.

Fang Chang: "Forget that guy, let me share my analysis. Although the official website didn't release new content in the form of 'Alpha 0.5 version,' this soft update is substantial enough for a version's worth of content! My guess is, perhaps because this part of the content doesn't require adding new beta players? That's why the official site didn't update the version number."

Old White: "Makes sense, every time they update the version number, it seems they give out beta testing qualifications. Not updating the version number means that this content test is still within the frame of version 0.4."

Fang Chang: "Exactly! Actually, you might have noticed, since the last version, our frequency of interaction with NPCs has almost doubled. First, there were visits from commercial teams, then the nearby natives came to cooperate, and today there was even an organization of players forming a commercial team to go to Brown's farm. Who wants to guess what this implies?"

Seeing no one taking up the conversation.

Estimating that everyone was listening intently, Fang Chang didn't wait any longer and began to type, answering his own questions.

"This means... a broader world! Think about it, from the game planners' perspective, why would they update the 'faction reputation system' at this time?"

Night Ten, "Uh, I can't figure it out, can you elaborate?"

Fang Chang, "I still remember the very first thing Brother Guang said, 'Wasteland OL' aims to create an entirely realistic world! If it's supposed to be a realistic world, then NPCs will definitely evaluate players' behaviors and react accordingly, right?"

Night Ten, "That seems to make some sense, but what does this have to do with the 'broader world' you mentioned? NPCs already had a reputation system in place."

Fang Chang, "That's a big connection! Players, as members of Shelter No. 404, are not only in relationships with NPCs but also face evaluations from NPCs towards the players as a whole. For example, if one of us kills a local today, it's improbable that the locals' relatives, friends, and neighbors will still welcome us with open arms tomorrow, right? Neutral won't change to hostile but it will turn to cautious!"

Night Ten, "Holy shit! You mean, collective responsibility?"

Wild Wind, "This is tough, it's okay when the circle is small, but once it's big, it's hard to make sure everyone is sane."

Fang Chang, "No worries, troublemakers are rare amongst the veterans, it's mostly rookies. Such newbies without guns, money, attributes, or skills, if there's any conflict, they are just hammered by NPCs. Spotting and dealing with issues early is the way. After grinding for some time and developing, the save files become valuable, then they have sunk costs— you get what I'm saying, right?"

Wild Wind, "Makes sense."

Night Ten, "??? What what what? You understood what?"

Fang Chang, "The issue of rookies causing trouble is a problem for the server maintenance staff after the closed beta test, we don't need to discuss it here. In any case, the introduction of the faction reputation system means the planners are consciously guiding players to consider issues from the shelter's collective interests. Why do such a thing all of a sudden? Obviously, it's to lay the groundwork for adding broader 'NPC factions' for the 'New Map'!"

Old White, "I agree with Fang Chang's view. Did you guys notice, the fifth item in today's update announcement mentioned that Shelter B2 will be unlocked after passing the Blood Hand Clan instance! What does this imply? Obviously, the new map is already pre-loaded, just not open yet."

Night Ten, "Damn, are they testing the AI or us again?"

Fang Chang, "I think both! After all, the game is made for people to play, so if they want to build a community close to the real world, they have to test the players' behaviors in this community and adjust the server rules and gameplay accordingly. I can't help but praise the production team, their approach is unbeatable!"

Old White, "Alright, enough praise, what ideas do you have? What do we do next? Continue hunting?"

Fang Chang, "After winter starts, there are fewer hunts, and it's not very profitable. Since the war with the Blood Hand Clan has begun, I predict the Manager will soon increase the bounty on Looters, and the next phase of gameplay will revolve around this."

Wild Wind, "That sounds reasonable."

Night Ten, "Right, we bought the land but haven't started building yet, when do we build the house?"

WC Really Has Mosquitoes, "Yeah, I'm waiting to start the workshop. (joking)"

Wild Wind, "No rush, building ourselves is too inefficient, better to hire some people to do it."

Fang Chang, "That's what I'm thinking, let's have players with life skills handle the building; we should focus on making money, leveling up, and upgrading equipment."

Chu Guang, who hadn't checked his Penguin account for a long time, felt a wave of emotion looking at the computer screen.

Elder Brother Fang Chang surely understands this version better than myself, the planner.

"Starting from tomorrow, increase the bounty on Looter targets."

"Capturing an enemy faction target, after confirming their identity as a Looter, on top of the initial reward of one silver coin, an additional bounty of 20 silvers and 200 contribution points will be awarded. Bringing back a Looter's body, on top of the initial 5 bronze coins reward, an additional bounty of 10 silvers and 200 contribution points will be awarded."

"If the target is a Centurion, the additional reward will be doubled!"

"Right, to prevent newbies from throwing themselves at the enemy, we also need to restrict the level required to take bounty missions. Hmm... Let's tentatively set it at LV2 for now, and we can adjust later based on the situation."

Most first-tier players have already reached LV2 gene sequence, and veterans like Old White who entered the game early have even reached LV4.

If someone could reach LV2, it shows they have a certain understanding of the game, and the enhancements from basic attributes wouldn't put them at a disadvantage against Looters.

Of course, the key part is that players of this level have savings, and with a little bit more effort, they can afford the cheapest lead pipe rifle from the weapon shop.

Chu Guang checks the storage locker daily.

And for every silver coin that was handed out, Xiao Qi kept a record, so Chu Guang even knew better than the players themselves how much money they had.

In fact, the land itself isn't expensive, only 10 silver coins per square meter.

By now, most players have saved enough money to buy land; they are just struggling to reach 2000 contribution points to upgrade to Citizens.

Perfect, don't save it, those with money should hurry to buy guns, with guns, they can fight bandits, earn money and gain contribution points.

Once the instance is passed, this opportunity will be gone!

"If there are not many buyers tomorrow, I'll have Xia Yan give a 10% discount at the weapon shop."

Of course, the promotion is only for lead pipe rifles and revolving rifles, not including bullets.

A steel-core copper bullet produced by Giant Stone City costs 1 silver at the weapon shop. A rolled copper shell bullet produced by Red River Town costs 5 bronze.

If it's an "inferior" bullet made with black powder by the weapon shop's proprietress, it's a bit cheaper, 2 bronze per piece.

Too expensive?

Complain to the proprietress, what does it have to do with me, the Manager?

It's not my shop anyway.

A smile filled Chu Guang's face.

Finally, he didn't have to worry about the players' ammunition.

Let them buy the guns and waste their ammunition as they please; after all, it's their own money being spent.

Shivering unexpectedly as she studied in a corner, Xia Yan felt suddenly cold even though the vent was blowing warm air. She always had the feeling that the man sitting in front of the computer was plotting something "wicked."

His lips were curled up to his ears...

—

(Thanks to "Xiao Xiaosha Chong" for the generous support~~~~~)

Chapter 77 The Fifth Batch of Little Cuties

In the square in front of the sanatorium, the crowd buzzed, bustling and lively.

The newbies who had just entered the game, like the batch before them, stared at the lifelike world before them, rubbing their eyes over and over, wishing they could kneel on the ground and gently kiss the sand and dirt beneath their feet.

"This, this, this!"

"Damn, is this really virtual reality? Wait a second, where's the logout button? Gotta make sure I can actually get back."

"Haha, no need for all that trouble, just find a brick and knock it on your head, and you'll log out."

"Sob sob sob, can I take a screenshot? This is too shocking."

"A shock that lasts my dad a whole year!"

"So big."

The square was filled with chirping and chatter, but for the veteran players of Wasteland OL, this scene was nothing new and no longer surprising.

After all, their reactions were pretty similar when they first logged in.

Stepping on a virtual soil with their feet, facing the incredibly real wind, that kind of impact on their worldview and cognition was indescribable.

Entering the scene as the manager of Shelter No. 404, Chu Guang, carrying a plastic bag, walked over to these newcomers, signaled for them to be quiet, and then distributed novice gift packs to them one by one.

"Here are 5 copper coins."

"You can take them to rent tools from the warehouse, buy food from the granary, or trade with other players."

Despite the newcomers being noisy, they held a considerable amount of respect for this manager who held their "power of life and death."

"Manager, are you really an NPC? I mean, are you really AI, not a person acting? Forgive my boldness, but you look... too real!"

"Manager is so handsome, can we ship you with someone?"

"NPC, how do I check my favorability? Where can I see that, doesn't this game have a player interface?"

"Where are my health bar and mana bar?"

"Whining, how do I play this game, can somebody guide me?"

"What's the use of just giving out money, can you give me a novice sword instead?"

Heh.

Novice sword?

Chu Guang laughed to himself but didn't pay it any mind.

Don't worry, you won't need that thing.

As a serious and responsible NPC, Chu Guang didn't say a word in response, adeptly finished giving out the novice rewards.

After making sure no one was missed, Chu Guang looked over to the eager Knife Brother standing to the side, hands clasped behind his back, and said in a matter-of-fact tone,

"The security of the Outpost Base is in your hands now."

Knife Brother, with excitement, clasped his hands in a salute.

"At your command, Manager!"

Before the little newbies had a chance to kneel and kiss the ground at their feet, they were pulled away by this passionate foreman to dig trenches outside.

Once the trenches were dug, and they saw the fruits of their labor, they would likely have a deeper understanding of the game.

Don't worry.

Every other player went through the same thing.

Watching the little players march towards the north gate, Chu Guang suddenly remembered an RTS game he played a very long time ago.

It was translated as Fantasy of Sovereignty, and because it was so niche, plus the sequels were lackluster, probably not many people have heard of it.

The gameplay was very interesting; unlike the mainstream RTS games that emphasized micro-management, players ruling the kingdom couldn't "directly control every unit."

What does that mean?

Simply put, if a monster appeared in your territory, you couldn't micro-manage the kingdom's various professional heroes to attack it, but you could put a bounty on the monster, scattering some gold coins.

The heroes would naturally form a team to hunt it down, and whoever killed the monster would gain experience and gold coins. With their mission reward money, they would go to the kingdom's taverns to spend, buy weapons and supplies at the prop shops, or learn skills and magic.

If the monster was too tough, the heroes would be frightened and run away...unless you increased the bounty on the monster. With enough motivation, even if the adversary was a dragon, the adventurers with their shabby equipment would bravely charge forward.

Sometimes, Chu Guang felt that what he was doing was essentially the same thing.

Although you couldn't put a health bar above the Looters' heads, you could sprinkle a handful of silver coins over them.

The Outpost Base's warehouse was surrounded by a crowd of "veteran players" above level 2.

As most quests were related to resource gathering, this had become the de facto quest distribution point.

"Holy crap! 20 silver and 200 contribution points for a Looter? And it can stack with the existing 5-silver-capture reward?"

"Centurion reward is double!"

"Does anyone know how many people are in the Blood Hand Clan??? This is urgent, waiting online!"

"Folks, the chance to strike it rich overnight is here! Whether you're charging in or not, I am! Any squads forming? I'm strength type, need perception and agility, let's go hit and run together! We'll split the profits!"

"I'm still 1000 points short of being a Citizen, I'd have to grind for a week, but 5 captures would be enough? Damn, this reward is good! Does it count as long as they're left breathing?"

"Even if they aren't breathing, it doesn't matter! 10 silver coins, man! It takes me a whole day of bricklaying, sob sob sob."

The players who saw the reward went crazy; they even wondered if the manager had mistakenly set the bounty too high.

However, what they didn't know was that a certain "NPC" did it on purpose.

No matter how high the bounty set on the quest seemed, it wasn't something one person could solo. Three-player and four-player teams were the standard fare; once the reward was divided among each person, it became reasonable.

Based on intelligence, the Blood Hand Clan had about sixty to seventy people, counting several centurions, so a budget controlled within two thousand silver coins was fine.

And even if it went over budget, no big deal.

Can it be a bad thing for players to have money?

Obviously not!

Everything in this shelter was his anyway.

The forty little newbies who had just come in were enough to fill the basic labor positions at the Outpost Base.

While those who had a deeper understanding of the game could take their money to buy guns, acquire land, stimulate domestic demand, and develop new gameplay.

Chu Guang thought to himself that he might be even more of a genius than the First Generation Manager who "packaged this world as a game."

This is perfect!

At this time, someone finally noticed the level requirement written at the bottom of the task sheet.

"Damn! There's a level requirement for the task? How can I solve this when I'm only LV1?"

"Strength-types go chop trees, Perception and Agility types should find a team to mix with... Wait, this seems to only require LV2 to take the task, doesn't restrict teaming up with those above LV2, right?"

"Boss! Take me with you!"

"What's your sequence?"

"Intelligence!"

"Scram."

"Damn!"

The new Warehouse Manager Luka sat in a chair in front of the door, guarding the ledger laid out on his wooden desk, deaf to the chattering noise outside the door.

Last night at dusk, his new master had explained his job duties to him.

Starting today, he no longer needed to do farm work; he just needed to move the items brought by these residents in blue jackets into the warehouse, note them in the ledger with a few simple signs, and then give them their "reward."

It was a kind of strange metal coin.

Luka didn't understand what was so valuable about it; he had never heard of a survivor settlement trading with such things.

However, after receiving these coins, the residents in blue jackets seemed to treasure them, so it probably meant something important to them.

Luka didn't want to think about these problems.

Years of experience taught him that knowing too much wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Seeing Chu Guang approach, he immediately trembled to his feet, clenched his right fist over his left chest, and respectfully saluted.

"Sir, do you have any orders for me?"

Ignoring the curious looks from the surrounding players, Chu Guang placed a wooden basket on the table.

"I have a few things here; I'd like you to sell them for me. Same old rules as I told you, if someone comes to buy, just point to the price tag and have them pay accordingly."

Chu Guang had earned 6 reward points the previous day and spent them all on opening blind boxes, but maybe because he'd used up his luck last time, he ended up with 6 lollipops in a row.

However, luckily two of them had attribute bonuses, so it wasn't too bad of a loss.

Considering his drawer was nearly full, Chu Guang grabbed a handful and brought them over to the warehouse.

Each lollipop was priced at 1 Silver Coin, and those with buffs were double the price.

Such expensive candies might not sell, but since they were laying around, they might as well decorate the store shelves.

"Yes, sir."

Old Luka arranged the items from the basket on the shelf then attached the price tags written by Chu Guang.

At that moment, Chu Guang suddenly remembered something and asked.

"By the way, do they grow sugarcane at the Brown farm?"

"Sugarcane?" Old Luka looked bewildered, as if he had never heard of it.

Chu Guang explained.

"It's a type of crop that produces sugar."

Hearing about sugar, old Luka finally understood and replied.

"Sir, I've been at the Brown farm for twenty years and have never heard of a crop called sugarcane... but I do know a bit about sugar. There's a crop there called red beets, which look like radishes when pulled from the ground and can be squeezed for red sugary juice. After boiling, you can retrieve small granules from the bottom; that should be the sugar you mentioned."

Planting beets for sugar production?

Chu Guang thoughtfully nodded.

"Is that a good sell?"

"I'm not sure if it's a good sell... but merchants from both the south and north always buy some, not much though, saying it's not as valuable as salt."

Where sugar is produced, sugar certainly isn't as valuable as salt.

In the Wasteland, the cost of transporting a commodity could even be higher than its production cost; this wasn't anything new.

But sugar is good stuff.

Not only edible, but it can also be used for brewing and even making weapons.

He should find a way to get some seeds come spring next year.

Chu Guang immediately thought of Giant Stone City.

That was the most likely place nearby to buy what he needed.

"Sir, do you have any more orders?"

"No, continue with your work."

"Yes, sir."

Old Luka watched Chu Guang leave before returning to his seat.

At this time, many players had taken an interest in the new items on the shelf, gathering around.

Luka was terribly nervous inside, fearing someone might steal them.

However, these players were all of good quality, excitingly discussing around without reaching out to touch anything.

"This lollipop increases attributes?! Are you serious?!"

"Chocolate flavor boosts Strength Attribute by 10%... lasts for 10 hours. Holy shit, if you're a Strength-type player, isn't that amazing?"

"Strawberry flavor for Perception, apple flavor for Intelligence... currently these are the only three with attribute bonuses, twice as expensive as the others!"

"What? Only twice as expensive? That's a steal! Here, two Silver Coins, old man, I'll take one!"

"I'll take one too!"

"Damn! Why is only the one for increasing Intelligence left! Forget it, I'll buy it for Teng Teng."

In no time, the three attribute-boosting lollipops on the shelf were snatched up, leaving behind twelve unclaimed ones with no attribute bonus.

"...They actually sold out?"

Staring at the six Silver Coins on the desk, Old Luka muttered to himself in disbelief, deeply shocked.

Chapter 78: Waiting for a Rabbit by the Stump

"Fuck... where did these people come from?"

Standing on the ruins of crumbling walls, Wild Wind held a monocular wrapped in duct tape and looked towards the construction site nearby.

There were about three to five people there, pushing carts filled with stones and hardened blocks of cement.

They moved quickly, not staying here long, shoveling enough for one cartload and then leaving.

Wild Wind racked his brain but couldn't figure out where those people had come from, and they even managed to build an outpost right under their noses.

In his memory, Linghu Wetland Park was supposed to be a desolate forest where no birds would even shit, and right in the center of the woods was a dilapidated sanatorium.

Except for some birds, beasts, insects, and snakes that would move there, even hyenas disdained the prey there.

But that wasn't important.

Those shelters, big and small, popped up like the eggs of mutant cockroaches; every so often, a new batch would emerge. All he needed to consider was how to devour this flock of fat sheep.

"Boss, when do we make our move?"

Standing beside Wild Wind was a man whose left eye was bandaged; he had more than a dozen knife scars on his chest, looking like a centipede.

At least half of them were from brawls, and the other half were self-inflicted stealthily with his knife.

"No rush, we're just scouting now; it's not yet time to attack."

Wild Wind handed the monocular to a fellow clansman beside him.

Unlike Badger, no matter the opponent, Wild Wind never underestimated or took them lightly.

Even if there were only three to five people, and they didn't even have a single gun, he would carefully observe for a long time until he was sure there was no danger, then he would launch an unexpected and swift attack, striving to overpower the enemies in one move, and render them unable to resist in the shortest time possible.

"How about we send a few slaves to probe them out? They've been moving stones all morning... I'm worried they're moving the stones back to fortify their cover."

The hunchbacked man, wearing a steel helmet, leaned in close to Wild Wind and whispered.

He had a large shovel hanging on his back.

On closer inspection, the shovel was not only sharp on one side but also had teeth on the other, and behind the handle was a simple breech-loading smoothbore gun.

Wild Wind thought for a moment, then nodded.

"That might work."

"Let's send some cannon fodder to test their reality."

The Blood Hand Clan's dungeon held many captives; these slaves were both their playthings and livestock, and also served as cannon fodder on the battlefield.

For the livestock and cannon fodder, the Looters of the Blood Hand Clan usually didn't bother to provide them food specifically, but kept them in a partially collapsed sewer, regularly dumping a bucket of slop down for them to fight with mutant cockroaches and rats, enduring the torment of mosquitoes, fungi, and viruses day and night—raising them like guinea pigs.

It continued until their humanity wore off, they went completely insane, and became animals driven by instinct. Then, some of them were selected, armed with clubs and daggers, and promised that if they took over the outpost, they could join the post-war revelry and be accepted as companions.

This was euphemistically called a blood baptism.

Wild Wind sent one of his men back, and the rest waited on site.

On the other side, Elder Fang, ambushed in the unfinished building near the abandoned construction site, frowned as he watched the carts gradually moving away.

Old White squatting at the door was getting restless and couldn't help but ask,

"Why has no one come yet?"

Elder Fang replied impatiently,

"Don't ask me, ask Night Ten."

Night Ten also had a worried frown on his face.

"Nothing... I can't sense it, but there are two mutant cockroaches in the basement, should we go clear them out?"

Wild Wind shook his head.

"No need."

Fang Chang bit his thumbnail, deep in thought.

"The opponents are trickier than we imagined. I'm sure they've already discovered this construction site, but they aren't rushing to act... What are these people waiting for?"

According to his plan, the Looters should have had their sights on this place long ago and would not have spared those brick-moving workers who didn't even bring weapons.

Even if it were just for revenge, they'd definitely launch an assault!

Thus, the Bull and Horse Squad lay in ambush nearby, using the brick-moving players as bait, preparing to lie in wait.

However, for some reason,
they had been squatting here all day yesterday, and today they had even come early in the morning, but the opponents seemed blind to the activities on this abandoned construction site.

"Could it be that they haven't discovered this place?" asked Wild Wind.

"Impossible! As long as they aren't blind, there's no way they wouldn't have noticed this place!" Fang Chang said confidently.

While they were talking, Night Ten, who was closest to the window, suddenly became alert and raised his right fist.

"Shh, everyone be quiet... There seems to be a noise nearby."

The three of them immediately fell silent.

Time ticked by, and not only did Night Ten hear footsteps, Fang Chang and the others did as well.

The four of them exchanged glances, stealthily moved along the wall, and reached the window on the other side of the unfinished building.

They saw six bare-chested men not far below them, sticking behind the wall of another unfinished building, and cautiously moving toward them along the narrow alley.

Not only were their clothes ragged, but the weapons in their hands were also a bizarre mix.

There were rusty machetes, clubs with nails embedded, and saws wrapped with wire around baseball bats, looking decidedly wasteland.

Yet these were all melee weapons, not a single gun among them!

Judging by the Looters' route, they were planning to go through the alley between the unfinished buildings to the construction site entrance, waiting for the next group of survivors hauling stones to arrive and then launching a surprise attack, catching the brick movers off-guard.

However, they weren't aware that their plan had already been anticipated.

Fang Chang felt a surge of joy in his heart. As he placed an arrow on the bowstring, he gave a look of excitement and affirmation to his teammate next to him.

Old White immediately got the message and gripped his javelin tightly.

Night Ten and Wild Wind took out Molotov cocktails, lighting them with matches.

"Three... two... one, engage!"

"Get them!"

Following Brother Fang Chang's command, javelins, arrows, and flaming bottles were simultaneously hurled from the third-floor window, catching the group of Looters off-guard.

The worst off was the robust man at the front, whose chest was pierced by a javelin, creating a large hole. Like a deflated ball, he stiffened his legs for a moment, then fell backward into the fire without a sound.

Another Looter got an arrow in his arm, which wasn't a big problem, but soon another arrow shot straight into his mouth.

The Looters downstairs, struck by weapons falling from above, were thrown into chaos, yelping and shouting, clearly shaken in morale.

But thinking of the dire consequences of fleeing and the verbal promises from those people, they overcame their fear with loud cries and, braving the arrows and javelins raining down, charged into the unfinished building in front of them.

However, in no time at all, they experienced what a real nightmare was like.

These players had no regard for martial morality; they could think of any fancy and tricky moves.

Seeing that they had reached the second floor and were only a staircase away from the third floor,
they hadn't even begun their battle cry when a smoking can rolled down from upstairs...

Less than two seconds later, a loud bang echoed through the hallway.

The rolling white smoke exploded instantly, the pungent smell of gunpowder wrapped around metal shards, flying wildly in the narrow hallway—a true hell on earth!

The smoke hadn't even fully cleared.

The Looters, who were lively just a second ago, were all lying on the ground wailing.

The most unfortunate one among them couldn't even wail; half of his body was blown into a bloody mess, with only his legs still twitching.

"Holy shit... this thing has such power?"

Holding spears and ready to charge, Old White stood frozen at the stairwell entrance, dumbfounded by the sight inside.

"Nonsense, think about how much gunpowder was stuffed into it."

Fang Chang pushed his shoulder.

"Don't just stand there, go tie them up quickly..."

If they waited any longer, the one lying on the ground would probably be dead for good.

Even if the end for these Looters was to be hanged on the gallows of justice, they had to wait until after collecting the bounty!

…

Several hundred meters away.

The sound of the explosion inside the building drifted far.

Standing on the ruins, holding a monocular, the badger's expression grew grim.

Although he couldn't see the situation from the moment those Cannon Fodders rushed into the building, some things could be guessed without seeing them.

Just as he thought.

The entire construction site was a trap set by the Blue Jacket crew!

They deliberately sent people to move stones, seemingly defenseless and harmless, but they had people ambushed all around.

Such cunning tactics!

"Boss, what do we do now?" a man with a scar on his chest asked anxiously.

The badger remained silent, and the scarred man continued,

"I suggest we just storm over there!"

"They're using bow and arrows and spears and even revealed their positions! With so many guns on our side, why should we be afraid of them!"

The hunchbacked man glanced at him, disdainfully said,

"Are you deaf? Was that explosion earlier fake? They clearly sent people in to be slaughtered! Who knows how many more are hidden inside."

"So what do you suggest we do! Everyone else is scavenging in the north, and we're just idling here? I say we either storm them or head north too! If we're lucky, we might still catch a couple of fat sheep heading east; once it starts snowing, there will really be nothing left!"

Just idling here wasn't realistic.

Badger understood that his brothers also needed spoils to survive the winter; nobody wanted to starve and freeze.

But leaving this place to head north wasn't realistic either.

The leader had tossed this fatty piece to him to chew on, which was a confirmation of his loyalty, his trust, and a reward. If he messed up like that fool, Brother, the leader would definitely not let him off easily.

"Wait."

Hearing the boss speak, the scarred man was stunned and couldn't help but ask,

"...How much longer do we wait? It's already noon."

"Wait until tonight, wait until they crawl into their beds," the badger said sternly, looking at a thin man beside him, and commanded, "Go back there again, bring ten fast-running slaves over, and prepare some Molotov cocktails and needles."

"The rest of you, rest up right here, and conserve your energy."

"Come midnight, let's give them a surprise!"

…

Outside the north gate of the Outpost Base.

The Cow and Horse Squad, under the envious gazes of numerous players, escorted three prisoners, shackled in hands and feet, and walked back from the direction of the construction site.

Besides the three prisoners, there were also three dead bodies stashed on a cart.

One was blown into a bloody mess by a bomb, and the other two were simply charred, emitting an unpleasant smell.

"Holy shit! Holy shit!"

"This truly is a hardcore game! But for some reason, I don't dare kill a fish in real life, yet here, seeing blood doesn't faze me at all?"

"Maybe this is the next-generation technology based on dream interference principles. Visual filters? Emotional desensitization? Not sure."

"Boss is awesome! He wiped out an entire team."

"Other than awesome, I'm speechless!"

From afar, hearing the commotion, Chu Guang approached the north gate and saw the prisoners and bodies being escorted back by the Cow and Horse Squad; his face also registered surprise.

A team of four had overturned a team of six.

These little players had some substance!

However, the shock only lasted for two seconds, Chu Guang went closer to inspect, and quickly understood the situation.

These six weren't real Looters; they couldn't find any symbols representing their identity like osseous appliances on their bodies, instead, a word was carved on their face or forehead.

"...Badger?"

Although a few strokes were misplaced, it should be this word.

No surprises, all these prisoners were slaves of the Blood Hand Clan.

But, what of it?

Accomplices of criminals are also criminals, and since they had taken up arms, they must have been aware of the consequences.

Confirming the identity of each one, Chu Guang said nothing extra but pulled out a bag of silver coins from his pocket and handed it to Fang Chang.

Facing these overjoyed small players, Chu Guang nodded with an encouraging tone,

"The refuge will remember your contributions, here are 106 silver coins and 5 copper coins. Besides, there is a total of 1200 contribution points, which each of you will share equally, getting 300 points each."

"Now, send these criminals to the gallows of justice."

"Death will forgive them!"

Chapter 79: The Most Unscrupulous Boss in History

106 Silver, 5 Bronze!

This staggering amount of money shocked the entire refuge.

Only one morning had passed since the bounty was posted, and someone had already made the first kill!

If this wasn't the work of a pro gamer, what was?!

As soon as the Manager turned and walked away, a swarm of players rushed up, surrounding the four members of Team Ox Horse, bombarding them with admiring questions.

"Big bro! Where did you find the Looters? Did you go to the tire factory??"

"Wiping them out without taking a hit, that's way too strong!"

"Big shot, take me with you!"

Anyone would get a bit carried away being surrounded by so many players, and Night Ten, who was always full of hot air, was no exception. He rubbed his nose with his forefinger and smirked as he spoke.

"Sorry, guys, our team is full; we're not taking on anyone else. But don't worry, Brother Fang Chang will update our strategy tonight. It's just a few Looters; as long as you've got hands, you're good."

"What? You're asking how I took down six men? Ah, that's a long story! Those six fierce brutes were heading our way, about to spot us, and without a second thought, I drew my dagger, poised and ready to leap and slash..."

Fang Chang gave him a sideways glance, too exasperated to comment.

Wild Wind looked away, pretending not to know the guy.

Only Old White, earnest to a fault, couldn't stand Night Ten showing off anymore. He braved it, reached out to pull him aside, and dragged him out of the crowd.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't pull me; I haven't finished!"

"Finished my ass!"

"Cut the crap; and let's get ready for the next round!"

As the first team to 'eat the crab,' Team Ox Horse's members unsurprisingly became the focal point of other players' heated discussions.

As for the three Looters hanged on the gallows and the bodies sent to the Active Substance Extractor, no one seemed to care.

After all, the Manager's reputation for hating evil had long been etched into their minds, so it was expected that he would have those people processed.

Unwilling to listen to Night Ten's bragging, Fang Chang and the others didn't stay outside the North Gate any longer than necessary. After receiving their reward, they pooled together 120 Silver Coins and went directly to the weapon shop.

Soon, they became the first customer of Xia Yan's slightly modified shop, buying the very first 7mm Bolt-Action Rifle the weapon shop had sold!

Together with six high-priced, 1 Silver Coin Steel-Cored Copper Bullets and ten cheap, inferior bullets, Fang Chang handed all these items over to Night Ten after the payment was made.

It made sense for a player with high Perception, like Night Ten, to take on the sniper role, especially when everyone's marksmanship was about the same.

Old White could throw javelins and charge into close combat with courage, Fang Chang himself could support with his bow and arrow, now quite skilled at it, not necessarily worse than a gun at medium to close range. As for Wild Wind, of the Intelligence System, throwing a firebomb or setting up a trap in critical moments was enough; expecting him to deal damage was unrealistic.

At least in the current version, the Intelligence System was indeed somewhat lackluster, but who knows what the future may hold?

Maybe in some future update, Intelligence System players will be on top.

"... My archery is decent, and this bow will last me for a while longer. My good brother, this is the only 98K in our team! You better not go wasting bullets!"

"Rest assured, my good brother! I won't let you down!" Night Ten solemnly received it from Fang Chang's hands and hugged the gun, swearing he would use it well.

His affectionate manner suggested he might even strip the paint off the barrel if it had any...

Just like that, the Silver Coins that Team Ox Horse had just received from the Manager were spent at the weapon shop before they could even warm up in their pockets.

Not only that, but to re-supply gunpowder, arrows, and other provisions, the four even dipped into their savings.

Yet, none of them felt any regret.

Money was made to be spent, and investing in equipment, they would soon earn even more.

This hunt had given them a taste of success.

Aside from the experience they gained in battle and the money and Contribution Points from the bounty, the loot they'd stripped from the Looters was also their personal property.

While it was mainly close combat weaponry and rudimentary armor, these were at least usable - even if they couldn't use them, bartering them for a few Silver Coins with other players wouldn't be an issue.

The four, setting forth once again on their journey, were full of ambition and ready for the next big score.

Hopefully, this time it would be something substantial.

Taking down a few armed men would indeed bring them a fortune!

A single gun was worth at least 100 Silver in the weapon shop, and selling it at the market for 50 Silver to other players wouldn't be too much to ask, right?

As long as it could fire, it was guaranteed to attract a crowd of buyers!

Fang Chang hummed a tune as he walked further and further away, while Chu Guang remained near the weapon shop, observing the other players for a while.

It was quite clear that, stimulated by Team Ox Horse's "wealth myth," many players were itching to move, hesitating whether to use their savings for buying land to purchase guns instead.

After all, without enough Contribution Points to reach Citizen level, they couldn't buy land even if they had the money. It might be better to first buy a gun, take down some bandits, earn some money, and accumulate Contribution!

Especially after seeing those four from Team Ox Horse take down a whole team without guns, who wouldn't dream of what they could do if they were armed?

Seeing these rookie players already tempted, Chu Guang decided to add fuel to the fire.

So, Chu Guang beckoned to the proprietress of the weapon shop, and after gesturing for her to come over, he handed her a wooden board he had prepared earlier and instructed.

"Hang this sign at the door later."

After taking the sign from Chu Guang, Xia Yan asked with a puzzled face.

"What does this say?"

Chu Guang replied succinctly.

"9% off on all revolving rifles in this store, discount ends at midnight tonight. Sale limited to 15 revolving rifles or while stocks last, restock time is uncertain."

Holding the wooden sign, Xia Yan looked at him with a quirky face.

"Is there a need for a discount? After all, we're the only shop in the base."

"Are you thinking I'm after those few coins in their pockets? How superficial!" Not wishing to waste words explaining, Chu Guang impatiently said, "Stop with the idle talk. Just do what I tell you to do, hurry up and go."

Perhaps his wording had been a bit harsh.

Xia Yan's body visibly shook, and she dared not talk back, obediently taking the sign and going.

Pleased with her obedient behavior, Chu Guang nodded in approval, then continued to stand aside, enjoying his masterpiece.

Just as he had predicted, as soon as Xia Yan returned to the weapon shop and hung up the sign, those players who were still hesitating saw the irresistible discount and immediately pulled out their silver coins to frantically purchase the weapons on the shelves they had long coveted.

The revolving rifles were very affordable, with prices before the discount at 110 silver coins and, after the discount, only 99 silver coins—just shy of 100!

And most importantly, the revolving rifles were semi-automatic. Fire as fast as you can pull the trigger!

Isn't that much more exciting than a bolt-action rifle?

A bargain indeed!

Watching these players frantically buying, Chu Guang barely held back his laughter.

They would know once they got their hands on them.

Sometimes firing too quickly isn't a good thing.

The price tag on this baby was cheaper than the bolt-action rifles made in Giant Stone City for a reason!

Of course, even after the discount, the players who could fork out 99 silver coins at once were still the minority.

At least half of the rifles sold were from teams of three or four friends who put their money together for group purchases.

For a standard three-person team, having one gun was actually enough.

The three could take turns using it while the others supported with bows and arrows or other melee weapons. And after they had gotten the hang of it, it wouldn't be too late for the whole team to switch to guns.

In the early days of starting up, things might be a bit tough, but saving where you can is key.

Sooner or later, everyone would have one!

The 15 revolving rifles were snapped up in no time.

Under the stimulus of the promotion, the broken guns previously seized from Looters were also sold out, and even the non-discounted bolt-action rifles from Giant Stone City had two sold, leaving a lone 9mm rifle hanging on the shelf.

Those players who didn't manage to get a rifle, though somewhat disappointed, were not discouraged, and soon came up with other plans.

Some quick-witted players simply took the opportunity to sell their DIY weapons.

The entrance of Boss Xia's weapon shop turned into a bustling barter market for a moment.

"Sapper's Happy Sticks for sale! Super useful! Only 1 Silver Coin each, buy now while supplies last!"

"Oh, come on, a stick with some iron wire wrapped around it and you dare charge 1 Silver Coin? The least you could do is tie a blade to it!"

"What do you know? This is puncture + blunt damage! If you tie a blade to it, it becomes slashing damage!"

"Sorry, I'll take an axe!"

"Anyone want a Crossbow? Produced by the wood workshop, regular price 20 Silver, now just 15 Silver, and comes with 5 free bolts. I'm switching to guns and won't need this anymore, PM me if you want it fast!"

"Can you make it cheaper? I only have 14 Silver."

"Oh, well, let it be. Consider it making a friend."

"A Steel Breastplate! Want a Looter's style breastplate? Not 99, not even 88, just 2 Silver Coins and take home this melee artifact!"

It is commendable for players to trade amongst themselves, but they must choose the right place and time.

Seeing that the shouting of these players was already obstructing traffic, and if left unattended, it would block the route to the warehouse.

So, Chu Guang stopped idling and took a few steps forward, clearing his throat loudly before addressing the group of players.

"Street vending is prohibited inside Outpost Base; please go to the market in front of the north gate for trading."

"This is not a place to set up shop!"

Seeing the Manager speak up, the players scattered away, heading outside the base to the north gate to continue their unfinished deals.

And as these players left, the entrance to the weapon shop finally quieted down.

"Can I take a day off now? There's only one rifle left on the shelf." Xia Yan asked expectantly as she saw Chu Guang approaching.

The weather was getting colder, and even wrapped in a deer skin coat, she shivered a bit. It was hard even to take a nap.

Compared to staying outside, Xia Yan would much rather be inside the refuge blowing warm air.

It was so much more comfortable to sleep there than outside!

"Of course not, your work isn't just selling guns."

Without mercy, Chu Guang rejected her naive thought and continued with a smile.

"I need you to make at least 100 bullets before you finish work. If you can't, I'm afraid I'll have to let you sleep in the weapon shop tonight."

Xia Yan's eyes widened in alarm.

"You can't do that, I'll freeze to death!"

"Don't sound so pitiful, it's not even below zero and you're going to freeze to death. How did you survive before? Luka sleeps in the cabin next to the warehouse, right? Don't worry, I'll prepare warm blankets for you and plenty of charcoal. Just remember not to close the door too tight when burning that stuff, a little draft is safer."

Looking at Xia Yan, who was looking all pitiful, Chu Guang wore an innocent expression, "Don't look at me like that. I am doing this for your own good. It'll keep you from getting too bored and dozing off. It's easy to catch a cold if you fall asleep here."

"You big swindler! Heartless boss! I don't believe you at all!"

Seeing that acting pitiful was of no use, Xia Yan, revealing her true nature, gritted her teeth angrily. But in the end, she had no choice against Chu Guang.

Her instinct told her he would really do it.

"Fine... 100 bullets, right? I'll make them, okay?"

"Isn't that better? People have to work to live. Look on the bright side; at least making bullets isn't life-threatening... if you're careful," Chu Guang said in a caring tone to the crestfallen Xia Yan, adding a reminder, "By the way, I'll be checking the quality, so I suggest you not just try to get by."

"Of course, if you perform very well, like... completing an extra 50 bullets and the quality is all right, I'll give you a reward."

The moment she heard about a reward, Xia Yan, who had been down just a second ago, perked up, looking hopeful.

"What's the reward? Chocolate?"

"No chocolate, but I have a few chocolate-flavored lollipops."

This girl is utterly hooked on chocolate...

Watching Xia Yan swiftly pick up her tools and get to work, Chu Guang nodded with satisfaction and finally left with peace of mind.

On the other side, players at the north gate, after finishing their trades, didn't delay for a moment and, spurred on by the bounty, headed toward the outskirts of Linghu Wetland Park.

They spread out northwards along the overpass, scanning the ground thoroughly for traces of Looters.

They scared off the chupacabras lurking on the northern side of the abandoned construction site, afraid of spooking them and affecting their evening offensive, and only stopped after retreating a kilometer.

Although they regretfully didn't find any Looters, only catching mutated rats, cockroaches, and hyenas, it wasn't a complete loss for these minor players. They still managed to hunt quite a few game before dark, bolstering their food storage.

Hunting had indeed become much more difficult than it was a week ago.

There were signs that migrating herds of deer were leaving the outskirts of Qingquan City and moving south along the city's edge.

The weather was so cold that even the hyenas hesitated to leave their dens.

To expect to encounter a few wandering mutated hyenas as easily as before was becoming somewhat unrealistic.

The players in the city now encountered more of the Eaters, which had no hunting value.

As the dark grew earlier, these light-shy Variants became more active than before, which increased the difficulty for the players in their hunting.

They would emerge from the shadows like zombies, locking onto their prey and swarming it. In both the narrow urban terrain and rubble-strewn landscapes, they were tricky to deal with.

The night deepened gradually.

The city on the outskirts of Wetland Park was the first to be engulfed by darkness.

The players who had ventured out began to return one by one, and the Outpost Base bustled with activity.

As before, these players set up stalls in front of the north gate, calling out loudly, trading today's catch with others.

Some of the more enterprising minor players weren't just selling raw materials anymore; they had started catering businesses.

Like Crow, who sold mushrooms.

This little player was getting savvier by the day, buying a big pot and lighting a charcoal fire right at his stall in front of the north gate to start stewing.

Grilled mushrooms were priced at 2 copper coins a skewer, mushroom soup at 3 copper coins a bowl — customers had to bring their own bowls.

"Mushrooms for sale, fresh mushroom soup, grilled mushrooms too, come and buy!"

A crowd gathered around the stall.

"Crow Boss, do your mushrooms dance?"

"Can they chant the Great Compassion Mantra?"

"Can you release them back to life after cooking?"

"Can you stew a Paimon in the pot?"

"Crow Boss, can you perform 'steaming yourself in a pot'?"

"Do you want me to die!!"

I must admit, this mushroom soup smelled absolutely delicious; even Chu Guang was tempted and couldn't help but buy two bowls, one of which he took over to Xia Yan.

Sitting at the entrance of the weapon shop making bullets all day, Xia Yan's fingers had turned red from the work, and her stomach growled with hunger, feeling unjustly aggrieved.

Seeing the steaming hot mushroom soup Chu Guang handed her, the young girl was moved to tears. She picked up the bowl and gulped it down until it was empty.

"What kind of soup is this! Wah wah wah, it's too delicious!"

Chu Guang wore a kindly smile on his face.

"Just an ordinary bowl of mushroom soup, don't mention it, it's on me."

"You can be this nice?" Xia Yan clutched the bowl, eyeing him suspiciously, "I always feel like something's off, are you hiding something from me?"

"Would I do that?"

Watching her lick the bowl clean, Chu Guang waited for a moment before he picked up his own bowl and took a small sip.

Hmm.

The taste was indeed good, it had a hint of chicken soup flavor – could it be the legendary chicken fat mushrooms? I hadn't expected the forest to yield such treasures.

Just a bit low on salt though.

...

Outside the enclosing wall.

Forty newbies, wielding shovels, finally received their pay for the day after completing the final scoop for the trenches.

A total of 10 Silver coins, plus 100 Contribution Points.

For beginners, that income was pretty substantial.

With their shovels planted at their feet, standing beside the trench, "Spare people under the knife" spoke with an exciting and impassioned voice to these newbies.

"Congratulations, you have proven your loyalty with your actions!"

"Look at our feet and behind us, this trench will become our most solid first line of defense, and it is a joint achievement of us all!"

Brother Knife's rousing voice had said everything that Chu Guang had planned to say.

On second thought, not having much to add, Chu Guang approached those sweaty-faced but joy-filled newbies and wrapped things up proficiently.

"Welcome to the Wasteland."

"From now on, this will be your second home."

He declared them dismissed.

The newbies then dashed toward the market at the northern gate, eager to spend their earnings.

Many of them were already starving.

They didn't even serve meals for trench digging here; in the real world, no one would do such a job!

The buzz continued into the late night, and only quieted down some when the main gate was shut.

On the wall were the guards on duty.

Inside the wall buzzed the industrial area.

Sitting in the third-floor infirmary, Chu Guang yawned and glanced at the time behind Xiao Qi – it had unwittingly reached midnight.

Twelve o'clock in the morning.

The first shift change of the late night was already underway.

Chu Guang stood up from the grand chair Mosquito had made for him, stretched, and picked up Xiao Qi.

"Let's go, time to recharge."

"Master."

"What's up?"

"About 521 meters to the north side of our wall, there are roughly 11 people. Another 10 have circled to our northwest side and are moving toward the west, at a straight-line distance of 611 meters."

"...What?" Chu Guang, holding Xiao Qi, paused, instinctively craning his neck to peer out the window, "I can't see anything."

Xiao Qi tilted its camera, matter-of-factly replying.

"Because my camera can capture infrared light, ah. Most cameras can do that, right?"

"...?"

Damn it?

An ambush?

Chu Guang, who had been somewhat sleepy, was suddenly wide awake.

Chapter 80: Who is Attacking at Night?

Less than two hundred meters from the enclosing wall.

A man with a scar engraved on his chest squatted in the bushes, inspecting the circle of slaves crouched before him with his eyes as he whispered a rallying speech for the charge.

"Do you see the flames up ahead?"

"Living there are folks clad in blue coats, with chests and backsides both perky. They couldn't even beat the rats and cockroaches in the sewers, and your job is to barge in there, blow open their doors with dynamite, bash their heads with clubs, and then take over everything, do whatever you want to do."

"Now, pass down the needle, each person injects a third, don't use too much... Good, you all are doing great."

"Go on, start running, charge forward! Throw the fire bottles on top of their wall, plunge them into the abyss of terror!"

"This is a test of courage from our leader."

A pair of murky pupils, a craving for blood was ignited.

They were skinny but agile, clutching broken weapons in their hands, charging through the forest like phantoms.

Scarred Man watched their receding figures, raised his gun above his head, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

That gunshot thoroughly ignited the bloodthirstiness in the slaves' hearts, and, howling like bloodthirsty beasts, they launched their final charge.

Eighty meters!

Fifty meters!

Scarred Man, overseeing the charge from a distance, felt ecstatic.

Watching that crowd of slave soldiers nearly face-to-face with them, yet the enemy had not shown the slightest response, it seemed they were still asleep in their beds.

Just as he thought this, less than ten meters from the wall and behind the pitted hillock, suddenly heads popped out.

What was propped up simultaneously were countless bows and arrows, crossbows, and gun barrels!

Before Scarred Man realized what was happening, he heard a resounding and powerful shout from the other side—

"Fire!"

Bang—!

A burst of gunfire twinkled, bullets, arrows, and crossbow bolts shot out together, swooshing into the night-enshrouded woods.

The cannon fodder that had just rushed out of the forest couldn't react in time, let alone dodge, and in an instant, a third of them fell.

The momentum of the charge abruptly stalled.

Before they could regain their senses, intensive gunfire rang out again.

As comrades fell one by one around them, even beasts would be frightened, let alone people.

The cannon fodder injected with excitement drugs could temporarily forget the fear of death, but Scarred Man at the back could not.

Sweat dripped down from his forehead.

He couldn't understand how the opponent anticipated their ambush. Even more inexplicably, where had these trenches come from?

Wasn't there just a wall here when they scouted yesterday?

On the other side.

Chua, who had circled to the flanks to ambush, felt joy upon hearing the gunfire from the north gate, immediately signaling to his brothers to quietly head towards the west gate with guns ready.

Westward lay Rhombus Lake.

Logically, it should be the weakest defense.

Now all the enemy's firepower had been drawn to the north gate; all they needed to do was silently reach the corner of the wall, light the dynamite, and blow open the west gate.

By that time, the enemy would surely be thrown into chaos, and their morale would certainly crumble!

"Boss, I always feel like something's off," the hunchbacked man following Chua whispered softly.

"What's wrong?"

Although he asked, Chua wasn't actually concerned.

The hunchbacked man looked around before continuing in a low voice.

"The first round of gunfire was too concentrated. By the sound of it, it didn't seem like a hasty response; it felt like they were already ambushed there."

Hearing this, Chua furrowed his brow.

"Are you saying our movements have been exposed?"

Before the hunchbacked man could reply, he was interrupted by a brother beside him.

"Don't freaking jinx us!"

"I'm not jinxing; it's just that—"

"Enough, stop arguing," Chua interrupted their dispute in a lowered voice, commanding, "No matter what, we've come this far; there's no reason to retreat!"

"Plus, our cannon fodder has drawn some of their fire; by the sound of it, at least a dozen guns are firing in the north. Even if there's an ambush, it's nothing to fear—"

Chua's words had hardly fallen when, upon reaching the edge of the jungle, he suddenly saw that, ten meters in front of the wall, a trench had appeared out of nowhere.

The shape of the trench, like a centipede, zigzagged in a Z-shape, sprawling between them and the wall.

When had this trench been dug?

It definitely wasn't there last night...

A bad premonition welled up in his heart, and Chua instinctively raised his right fist, signaling his men to stop.

"Stop... No, retreat!"

"Everyone, pull back!"

Hearing their leader's voice, the Looter ready to charge were all dumbfounded.

Their cannon fodder had already gone ahead, and they had already reached close quarters.

Just leave?

Though reluctant, the leader's commanding voice was absolute to them.

However, before they could retreat two steps, whoosh—several flaming arrows flew from the wall, whizzing over their heads and sporadically landing near the row of men.

Before the Looters could figure out how they'd been exposed, a loud whistle came from the trench ahead.

"Charge!"

"Don't let them get away!"

"Howl!"

Looking back, the Looter's eyes widened in shock and horror.

In the North Suburb of Qingquan City, he had never witnessed such a terrifying and absurd scene.

He saw those who should have been cowering behind cover, trembling with fear, as they seemingly forgot all about their dread of death at the sound of the whistle. One after another, they climbed out of the trenches.

Some of them were armed with firearms, others with bows and arrows, crossbows, or spears, knives, and battle axes. Some didn't even have proper weapons; they wielded shovels, bricks, and even stools in their hands, shouting excitedly as they rushed towards them.

The atmosphere had arrived.

Everyone was howling, feeling that it was somehow lacking if they didn't yell something.

"Demacia!"

"For the tribe!"

"Ollie give!"

The tables turned in an instant, from offense to defense.

Caught off guard during their retreat, the Looters halted to return fire but realized they were being shot at while running, resulting in utter chaos.

With a mere fifty-meter distance, there was no time to fire many rounds before close combat ensued during the run.

It seemed the opposition didn't want to waste bullets; they preferred to greet their enemy with whatever weapon they had in hand, opting for duels and brawls up close.

The Looter had never seen such savage behavior from those in blue jackets, nor such barbaric tactics. For a moment, his mind buzzed, and he forgot who was ambushing whom.

"Damn it! Have these people gone mad!"

"Get the hell out of my way! Ah!"

"What the hell is this?! Why do I see lizards, too?! Hanging out with people?!"

"Ah! Retreat! Retreat! Don't stop to fight them! Everyone head to the rendezvous point!"

It had to be admitted, these Looters knew how to switch directions with the wind. As soon as they realized the situation wasn't in their favor, they immediately turned tail and ran without a backward glance.

Those embroiled in close-quarter combat on the outskirts were abandoned.

Although he was the last to run, the Looter soon found himself at the forefront.

The fight no longer mattered.

All he needed to do now was to report back to the leader about the situation here; these blue jackets' strength had far exceeded their expectations.

They had to eliminate this hidden threat once and for all before it developed any further!

Gradually, the Looter left the people behind him and let out a sigh of relief.

However, before he could exhale completely, he suddenly noticed a figure standing ahead.

The person was wearing something that looked like makeshift armor, holding an incredibly large hammer with the head pointed straight at him.

The Looter sneered, thinking how foolish the weapon was. Without a second thought, he drew the Scorpion Submachine Gun from his waist and sprayed a barrage of bullets.

"Die away from me!"

Ratatat—

The trigger was pulled to the fullest, firing twenty 5mm bullets at once. Not a person, but even if a bear were standing there, it would have been turned into a sieve.

But the next moment, his sneer turned into absolute despair.

The bullets that poured out seemed fake; they didn't even spark against the man's hammer, let alone turn him into a sieve.

"What the hell?!"

"Ah, what a waste," Chu Guang even pitied his bullets for him.

The high-speed air current blew away the surrounding leaves.

Before the Looter could process what the man had said, he saw the hammer moving at an unimaginable speed, swinging at his face.

Is this human speed?

He had no time to ponder the question as his combat instincts caused him to ditch the empty submachine gun and pull out the short knife strapped to his shoulder.

However, the hammer moved too fast.

Before his arm could fully extend mid-air, a massive gust of air blasted toward his face.

"B Mode—"

The wind halted in an instant.

The Looter felt like his nose had crashed into a wall, but before the pain registered, a roaring gust swept away his consciousness.

The recoil that exploded in that instant caused Chu Guang's arm, clutching the hammer's handle, to jerk as he looked at the Looter, now headless before him, slightly stunned.

"Holy shit… is it really that powerful?"

He had intended to test the new weapon's power, but never imagined that with one swing the Looter's head would be blown clean off.

The overheated high-pressure airstream even charred the wound as large as a bowl, bottling back the jet of blood that should have sprayed out.

Chu Guang retracted his hammer, staring at the falling corpse, somewhat dazed.

Is this what they call anti-light armor?

It should be renamed the anti-tank hammer!

The players following the Manager were also dumbstruck.

They had assumed the Manager's hammer was just a hammer, without expecting such an impressive hidden ability.

"Holy shit?! What just happened?"

"Shield! Explosion! Those are the only two skills I saw."

"Boss is awesome!!"

Seeing the tragic death of their leader, the remaining Looters' legs turned to jelly, and they dropped their weapons, surrendering.

Shouts of victory converged from afar.

The players at Chu Guang's side were also snapping out of their shock, rushing forward to tie up the prisoners they caught.

After the battle, the tally was in: 67 players participated, with 5 lightly injured and 0 dead.

21 Looters took part, with 14 dead and 7 who surrendered.

12 firearms, 21 pieces of assorted blades and cold weapons, 21 sets of leather guards and clothing were captured, along with 27 white chips and various personal items.

A great victory was won!

Chapter 81: Team Battle and Auction!

The battle lasted less than twenty minutes before it ended, but cleaning up the battlefield took a full hour.

Like last time, the old rule still applied, and captives, bounties, and all loot from the group combat belonged collectively to all participating players.

The captives were valued at 5 silver coins each, and the deceased at 5 copper coins, factored into the total post-battle earnings to be divided equally among all participants who followed orders.

As for the loot, it was gathered at the north gate for interested players to bid on.

The bidding process was simple, much like an auction.

First, the Manager would set an estimated low and high price. Interested players would then take turns bidding, with each increase being at least 1 copper coin, until no further bids were made or someone offered the maximum price.

Why set a maximum price?

Mainly because Chu Guang was too kind—he worried that these young players would recklessly spend too much silver on this trash, which wasn't worth it.

If they were truly interested, they could directly bid the maximum price to make a purchase.

If an item received no bids and thus failed to sell, the shelter would buy it back at ten percent of the low price, placing it for resale in the weapon store or warehouse at a new price.

Malicious bidding would result in a deduction of Contribution Points and 10% of the bid amount as a penalty.

All proceeds from the auction, after a 10% tax deduction, would be included in the total earnings to be divided among all participating players.

This was a variant of the GDKP system, which was used in many MMORPGs, especially when it was difficult to define output ratios.

Chu Guang modified it slightly and adopted it straight away.

Additionally, for those who performed exceptionally in combat, Chu Guang would give extra silver and Contribution Points as a reward.

However, the MVP of this battle, without a doubt, was Chu Guang himself. With a single blow of his hammer, he took out the Centurion's head—an event witnessed by all surrounding players.

By the way, since there was no suitable candidate, Chu Guang had to play the role of the auctioneer himself.

"This is a 16mm caliber shotgun, and as mentioned, a shotgun naturally lacks rifling. Its design is quite unique, in that... there's a shovel attached to its barrel."

"Um, I suppose it's for digging dugouts more easily? After all, no bulletproof vest compares to the dirt and sand right at your side. The starting price is 35 silver, with a cap of 70 silver. Those interested, please raise your hand to bid."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone raised their hand.

"I bid 35!"

"35 silver plus 1 copper!"

"Damn it! I'll add another copper!"

"You're so tough! I'll bid 40 silver!"

"40 silver plus 1 copper."

"%#@!"

In the end, this gun, which seemed rather useless and didn't even have rifling, sold for the "astronomical" price of 47 silver and 5 copper coins.

Since the weapon store did not carry 16mm ammunition, whoever bought this gun probably had to figure out a solution themselves.

Otherwise, it could really only be used as a shovel.

Chu Guang then turned his attention to the next weapon, a Scorpion Submachine Gun wrapped in duct tape.

Different from the standardized firearms produced by Giant Stone City, this gun clearly had been modified from parts scavenged from who knows where, having a receiver somewhat resembling a semi-automatic handgun's, fitted with a piston, and showing saw marks at the front end of the barrel.

The drawbacks were clear: low ammo capacity, a short barrel despite having rifling, and one could imagine how large the bullet spread would be.

But its advantage? Extremely rapid fire rate; a magazine could be emptied in about 2.5–3 seconds on full-auto... but, is that really an advantage?

Maybe for the wealthy, it is!

"This is a 5mm Scorpion Submachine Gun, previously owned by the Centurion of the Blood Hand Clan, with his name—Chai—engraved on the grip."

"Looters aren't typically well-educated and don't choose overly complicated names. His end was tragic, died to the righteous Iron Hammer... While his crimes are too numerous to list, it's undeniable that his weapon is quite decent. This gun embodies his lifetime of combat experience: it's been modified to be lightweight and fast, with minimal recoil, so unless your Sequence is in the Intelligence System, holding it steady with one hand shouldn't be a problem. The opening bid is 50 silver, capped at 100 silver."

"I bid 70!"

"100!"

Chu Guang: "...?"

The one who shouted the exorbitant price of 100 Silver Coins was Mosquito.

Under envious stares from other players, this unseen magnate walked away with the loot, looking as if he had obtained a treasure.

Chu Guang's instincts told him this guy didn't seem the type to be on the front lines, and what drove him to buy this gun was a mystery.

Regardless, Chu Guang sincerely hoped that this young player would apply his intelligence to something useful for society.

Even if that world had nothing to do with him anymore.

The auction proceeded at a rapid pace.

With the cap on the highest bids, a sale was typically completed every two minutes.

Out of 12 firearms, 10 sold, with 3 going for the maximum price and only 1 selling at the starting bid.

For the remaining 2 unsold guns, Chu Guang planned to hand them to Xia Yan to modify; he felt the receivers and barrels could be reused. If they were really unusable, then it was fine to let them go.

As for melee weapons and armor, they were all cleared out at prices ranging from 3 silver at the most to 1 silver at the least, with no need for an auction.

Chu Guang was pleasantly surprised to find that the loot auction had raised 631 silver coins—100 more than he anticipated.

After a 10% trading tax deduction, the total was 567.9 silver.

Chu Guang ignored the change and generously distributed these 567 silver coins along with other rewards to all 67 participating players.

After the battle, each person received a payment of more than 10 silver coins—everyone was pleased.

Except for the few prisoners on the gallows.

Upon seeing the Blue Jacket, these Looters still harbored a sliver of hope; after all, most Blue Jackets opposed the death penalty, thinking surrender might spare their lives.

Their expectations, clearly born from experience, had led them astray.

In order to make these individuals useful to society even in death, Chu Guang would send their corpses to a biomass reactor to extract the necessary biomass for cultivating clones.

To synthesize truly useful people.

"...Alright, warriors of the shelter, you have successfully defended the hope of civilization—I salute you!"

"The spoils of war auction is over. Those who need to rest, follow me back to the shelter. The rest of you are free to do as you please, but you must not leave the Enclosing Wall of the Outpost Base... unless you have a special mission to carry out."

"The north gate of the base will close in 5 minutes. If you have unfinished conversations, head to the square; if you're done talking, go back to sleep. That's it, everyone dismiss."

Chu Guang clapped his hands, herding the players gathered at the north gate back into the Outpost Base like ducks.

The battle was so thrilling that many were still buzzing with excitement.

However, with the clock striking two, it was time to log off—the fatigue values of the in-game characters were about to exceed the limit.

Those who had planned to log off at midnight could only reluctantly return to the shelter and lie down in their Sleep Cabins for a normal log out.

Forum.

The players who had just logged off flooded in, as expected.

Quit smoking: "Did the planners update today? Any news on the closed beta?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "No! But today's group battle was so awesome haha! I ran out of the trench, slid in, and bit off that Looter's leg! He was totally dumbfounded haha!"

Elena: "Which leg? (playful)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "?"

Construction Youth with Brick: "Ah, I really wanted that automatic iron pipe rifle. I was wondering how much to bid, but someone snapped it up for 80 Silver Coins at the cap price—outrageous!"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "No worries, when that brother starts shooting, you'll know what 'outrageous' means. With that barrel and receiver, I bet it jams every three shots. (picks nose)"

Crow: "Anyone selling Silver Coins? I'll exchange them for RMB! PM me if interested~"

Night Ten: "!!! Rich lady!"

Elena: "You also want to disco under the planner's watchful eye? (playful)"

Fang Chang: "Damn! You're even buying up closed beta Game Currency. Got too much money to burn?"

Someone interested in a cash transaction?

Every MMORPG is plagued with RMB trading, but Chu Guang never expected someone to buy the test currency even during the closed beta phase.

What if the Game Currency inflates the next day?

For instance, after Level 10, a reward for a quest is 100 Silver?

It wasn't impossible.

Chu Guang didn't recall ever saying that Silver Coins would be used until server closure.

Right now, only Silver Coins were issued, but who knows? Maybe in the future, when power armor, airplanes, tanks, and artillery roll out, there might be Gold Coins, Platinum Coins, Amethyst Coins, Air Coins, and Digital Coins.

Heck, even changing the whole currency set during closed or open beta wasn't out of the question.

Surely, you couldn't have level 1 newbies and max-level veterans earning the same money for the same tasks, right?

That'd be outrageous for the Game!

Out of care for his little players, Chu Guang sat upright in his computer chair and began typing on the keyboard.

Light: "A friendly reminder from the planners: 'Wasteland OL' does not endorse or acknowledge off-site transactions. Any posts on the forum requesting to buy or sell in-game currency will be deleted. If you trade on third-party platforms, the official site cannot control it, but we won't recognize any off-forum chat records or transfer information, and we won't rectify any in-game or out-of-game losses based on these evidences."

Light: "Many players on the forum are actually acquaintances who referred each other. If you really must trade, I won't stop you, but please consider the risks and don't trust strangers easily. As we continue to develop, we'll consider launching an official trading platform to ensure the security of player's assets. Until then, please focus on enjoying the game itself."

This was truly for the players' own good.

At this stage, whether it's selling Silver Coins for RMB or trading equipment for RMB, it's definitely a loss for both sides.

Any thoughtful person could foresee the global sensation the game would cause post-open beta.

As a planner, Chu Guang had already promised—this was an un-deleted closed beta test. Why not spend money on oneself to boost combat power, work hard to gain an edge, and rise to the top echelon to become one of the overlords?

Otherwise, a few versions later, would you still be competing with newbies for work?

That would be too tragic.

Night Ten: "Woah! Brother Guang exploded."

Crow: "Ah! Big Planner, I didn't mean to! I won't dare again! QAQ"

Quit smoking: "Ban her! Haha, let me play! (sunglasses)"

Crow: "Get lost! (#`O′)"

Grandpa Ao: "Heh, starting to harvest leeks? Getting actors to hype up the Game Currency and then lure people in. Tsk tsk, those in the know, know. (picks nose)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "You discourage RMB trading, but can I use BTC? (curious)"

Night Ten: "Although your way of thinking is always unique, I suggest you first secure a closed beta slot. (playful)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Damn! Just my luck, truly miserable. T.T"

Quit smoking: "Scram, your misery is nothing compared to mine!"

Night Ten: "I can testify that Quit Smoking bro is the most miserable. We all clicked 'reserve' together, and now we're all Level 4, yet he still hasn't got a slot. (playful)"

Elena: "(playful)"

Quit smoking: "Don't say it, bro. T.T"

Really?

Ah, this...

That's too pitiful.

Chu Guang swore he didn't target anyone on purpose. With so many reservation players, he couldn't possibly know each one, and at most, just filtered out the unconventional thinkers, the antisocial personalities, the under-eighteens; the rest were randomly drawn.

He hasn't been drawn for so long...

Might as well buy a lottery ticket then.

"Reservation number 888, that's a nice number."

Auspicious!

After one last glance at the official site, Chu Guang shut down the computer, stretched with a yawn, and went to sleep in the next room.

Chapter 82: Industrial Zone 0 Bill! Enhance the Life Career Epic?

At night, Chu Guang had a very, very long dream.

He dreamt that he was playing a game called "The Sims," where day by day he went to work, ate, slept, and then woke up to go to work again, eat again, and sleep again—until one day, a truck came barreling toward him, startling him awake.

"Fuck… even sleep is a grind, I must be going insane."

Couldn't he have a nicer dream for once?

Gasping for air, he woke up in bed and instinctively reached for his chest, only to find his clothes soaked through.

"Did I crank up the AC too high?"

Muttering quietly, he hopped out of bed, stretched his limbs, and his joints cracked loudly, feeling extremely comfortable.

Wait a second.

Had he leveled up?

The thought struck him, and Chu Guang immediately went to the resident hall to fetch a body scanner and performed a full-body scan on himself.

Sure enough, as he had guessed, his gene sequence had grown by one level, from V7 to V8!

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager

Level: LV.7→LV8

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 10

Agility: 6

Physique: 8

Perception: 7

Intelligence: 6→7

]

"The last few times it was physical abilities that increased, this time it's my brain cells' activity?"

Chu Guang flexed his arms, pondering while looking at the medical report.

"As I suspected, when I command other clones in battle, my gene sequence grows as well."

Of course, the attribute panel was just a reference.

Rather than just stacking data, being able to fully leverage the advantages of his bodily functions was key.

Just like with that Crawler last time—none of its attributes aside from intelligence were lower than his, yet he still managed to pull off a clutch comeback against it.

That was the perfect example.

"When the players' levels reach around LV10, I'll just throw Shelter No.117 at them as a dungeon to grind."

He heard there was power armor there.

Chu Guang was just missing a set of armor to pair with his Nitrogen-Powered Hammer.

Once he had both the armor and the weapon set, he'd be a true human Tank—not to mention Crawlers, even more awesome Variants standing before him would only be good enough to scratch his itch.

Thinking gleefully to himself, Chu Guang headed to the next room to wake Xia Yan, ignoring her protests as he urged her to get up and start her work.

"Can't you let me sleep a little longer? There's no business at the weapon shop at this hour!"

Standing in the elevator, Xia Yan complained quietly while combing her disheveled red hair with her free left hand.

"The morning hours are the most crucial for a day's success, there's no helping it. If you're not diligent, how am I supposed to live a good life later? Don't worry, once this winter is over, your workload will lighten up."

Chu Guang joked, watching the tuft of hair at the back of her head and reached out to press it down twice, "You better go to the bathhouse and get some water on that. I doubt it'll stay down otherwise."

Her hair roots were pretty tough, it seemed she'd been getting good nutrition lately.

Gosh, it's killing my OCD...

Xia Yan was still somewhat sleepy, and as her mind fogged over, the moment Chu Guang touched her scalp, she jolted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, jumping to one side and huddling with her walking stick in the corner of the elevator.

"What are you doing!"

Chu Guang shrugged his shoulders, not quite sure how to explain, and frankly, too lazy to think about it.

Xiao Qi, who had been AFK and playing back the entire time nearby, raised its camera, observing Xia Yan huddled in the corner for a while before speaking up unexpectedly.

"According to Xiao Qi's analysis, the probability of Master having any ill-intentions towards you is less than 0.3%. From the DNA data, any chromosome preserved in the gene bank of Shelter No. 404 has greater reproductive appeal and value to be passed on than the chromosomes you possess."

Xia Yan's face turned as red as her hair instantly, glaring at the corner robot with a laugh that sounded almost hysterical.

"Hehe, hehehehe!"

She must have lost her mind.

Chu Guang also looked displeased, turning to Xiao Qi.

"Why is there still 0.3%?"

Was this AI also doubting the honest and upright character of a certain Mr. Chu?

Xiao Qi tilted its camera, speaking in a reasoned manner.

"Because after all, Master is a young man, so it's understandable even if there are thoughts. After all, if there isn't even a 0.3% chance, it seems like there might be a problem in some aspect, right?"

Chu Guang stroked his chin.

"...Now that you mention it, that does make sense, I have no idea how to refute that."

Xiao Qi: "Right?"

Xia Yan didn't react to the one-on-one conversation with the AI at all. He just sat there, chuckling darkly as if he had turned into an evil character.

Chu Guang always felt that something was off about the way he looked at Xiao Qi.

To be honest, this AI had probably been on standby for too long. Whether it was hardware degradation or something else, sometimes its thought process really wasn't too sharp, especially when it came to speaking, and its emotional intelligence was extremely poor.

But giving credit where credit's due, you were a mercenary once. How come you have such poor psychological resilience?

Or is it that anyone with a pair of hands could become a mercenary in Giant Stone City?

Chu Guang didn't know what to make of it.

...

Ever since Chu Guang stopped micromanaging players' login rights and approved night-time logins, he stopped sleeping in the residents' hall and moved into the empty room next to Xia Yan's.

Whenever he slept, he would entrust all of Outpost Base's permissions to Xiao Qi, who was charging, with the only instruction being not to let the players rummage through his things.

With Old Luka outside to keep an eye on Shelter No. 117, the other players could frolic as they pleased—it wouldn't matter.

All through the previous night, the furnace of the Active Substance Extractor hadn't stopped.

With 6 Cannon Fodder during the day and an additional 21 at night, they had produced a total of 12.3 units of active substance. Adding the previously accumulated 4 units and deducting the 1 unit loss caused by Crow, the stock of active substance had reached 15.3.

An extractor could only hold 25 units; once full, they could only extract it and store it in plastic bottles.

He wasn't sure if it would spoil if stored outside.

Anyway, Shelter No. 117 wasn't as short on active substance anymore. As long as the deaths weren't meaningless, a reasonable attrition rate was acceptable.

Besides forbidding players from provoking the green-skinned musclemen on Street No. 76 or harassing neutral survivors in the south who could be allied with, Chu Guang's restrictions on players' activity scopes weren't as strict as before.

Perhaps after some time, it might be appropriate to reduce the Contribution Points penalty for death.

When Chu Guang surfaced, many players had already logged on and were busy shuttling through the industrial area with a bunch of clanging parts.

Currently, more than 40% of the industrial area's orders were coming from the proprietress of the weapon shop, including parts needed for making gun frames and copper casings and gunpowder for bullets.

Among the fifth batch of new players who had joined the Game, there were a few fresh faces specializing in metallurgy who had chosen the Intelligence System. Their development direction was clear—they were aiming to become lifestyle-oriented players.

Thanks to the repeated practice and improvements by players "Ya Er I Need to Go to The Bathroom" and "Ward's Athlete's Foot Who Levin," the Outpost Base's steelmaking technology had significantly advanced.

Now, these guys were contemplating how to recreate the Bessemer acid-bottom blow converter method from the mid-19th century.

Without the means for large-scale production of pure oxygen, Bessemer's "air steelmaking" method was a good choice.

While they struggled to remove phosphorus from the ore, they actually used scrap steel, which naturally contained no phosphorus, forego the limestone phosphorus removal step altogether.

As for the "gas porosity" issue, it could also be addressed by drawing on later experiences, such as adding "deoxidizers" after blowing.

However, everything hinged on first needing a furnace 1.2 meters tall, lined with tetravalent compounds like silicon dioxide and zirconium dioxide as acid refractory to prevent the furnace itself from melting in molten iron.

This was a major test for the sintering process.

Yet these eager players didn't seem to be daunted by this difficulty; instead, they saw it as a challenge.

Previously, the big shots had been one-upping each other on the Forum with their boasts.

Now that they had their closed beta access, it was time to show their real skills. Even if they hadn't tried it before, they had no choice but to forge ahead.

Chu Guang couldn't fault these players' diligence, but the planning of the industrial area was rather rough around the edges.

Charcoal pits for burning charcoal sat right next to brick kilns, and just a few steps away were steel-making furnaces, with no semblance of proper planning.

This simply wouldn't do.

As everyone knows, if the first house isn't positioned well in a building game, the rest of the planning ends up in chaos.

To save himself from being tormented by OCD and for the safety of these players, Chu Guang took a wooden stake and a wooden board to the south side of the sanatorium. He planted the stake in the ground and hung the board on it.

Then he rapidly wrote line after line with a marker pen on the board. After he finished, he stepped back two paces to admire his handiwork.

[Industrial Zone No. 0 Decree:]

[1. The area south of Outpost Base is designated as the industrial zone.]

[2. Applications are required for new facilities and must be submitted to the Manager or the Manager's assistant. These should specify the project, type of operation, budget, and estimated area, and construction can only commence within the approved area.]

[3. Use of roads, exceeding planned area, or other illegal constructions will be cleared and removed.]

"Not bad."

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

After all, Decree No. 0 was just a draft; the fewer the words, the better.

Fewer words would reduce the players' reading difficulty and make it easier to manage. After all, there was no point writing a lot only for everyone to claim they hadn't seen it.

Details about security deposits, rent, management fees, taxes, etc., would be supplemented later in the form of the [Industrial Zone Management Regulations]. The current regulations were just to prevent the players from building haphazardly and blocking the path from the south gate to the respawn point.

Before he even walked away, the nearby players spotted the sign and gathered around out of curiosity.

"Industrial Zone No. 0 Decree?"

"Area south of Outpost Base designated as industrial zone... holy shit?! Epic enhancement for lifestyle careers?!"

"Enhancement my ass, do you think they're giving you a BUFF! This notice just means you can't build randomly inside the base anymore. You have to apply first, then build, plan your structures."

"Ah? So it's a nerf?"

"But think of it another way... even if you haven't purchased land in the industrial zone, you can now use industrial zone land through approved applications? And this area doesn't count towards private land area?"

"Holy cow! Awesome!"

"This isn't a nerf at all! Lifestyle careers have hit the jackpot!!"

"Stoked!"

Having deciphered this notice of fewer than a hundred words, players in the vicinity of the "NPC" erupted in excitement!

Chapter 83: Life-Skill Players with Wild Imaginations

"It hadn't been two minutes since the decree was issued, and Chu Guang hadn't even walked away from the notice board, before he was surrounded by excited players."

"Manager, how should I write the application?"

"Dawn, is there a limit on the type of businesses? Can I do any type of industry?"

"I want to build a greenhouse and grow vegetables!"

"I want to make a generator!"

"I want to open a toilet!"

"I want to sell poop!"

"Damn! Are you crazy?"

"..."

There was always a player who said what Chu Guang wanted to say, which saved him the trouble of making sarcastic comments.

To maintain order, Chu Guang raised his hand, motioning for the players to quiet down, then he cleared his throat and continued seriously.

"If you want to apply for industrial land, please submit a written application. Verbal applications will not be accepted!"

"Paper needed for written applications is available for purchase in the stockpile at Outpost Base, priced at one copper coin per sheet. If you have any questions, please contact my assistant about the details of writing an application, as well as the rules for using industrial land. It will provide you with this information in half an hour."

"Disperse now, go do whatever you need to do!"

The paper needed for writing applications was available in the stockpile at Outpost Base, mainly scavenged from apartments, office buildings, and other such ruins.

Although it seemed incredible, the paper in this world did indeed last longer than one might imagine.

Especially items like paper certificates, a small amount of currency, collectible paintings, or books—if they weren't exposed to outdoor elements like wind, sun, and rain, or damp and moldy, while it might not be in perfect condition, surviving the erosion of time wasn't a big issue.

Perhaps they contained some kind of antioxidant material, or maybe they weren't traditionally made from wood at all?

Just as Chu Guang couldn't explain the technology of controlled nuclear fusion, he couldn't explain this either.

Technology that is two decades ahead counts as high-tech, but technology a century ahead might as well be pure magic. It decomposes when people need it to decompose and remains preserved when people need it to stay intact.

At any rate, the shelter still occasionally reclaimed some recyclable waste paper. While it wasn't luxurious enough to be used as toilet paper, a small amount of office waste was acceptable.

However, when Chu Guang saw the applications being submitted in stacks, he inevitably began to doubt his own pricing.

One copper coin per sheet of paper.

It was indeed too cheap.

In front of the medical facility, a dense crowd had gathered.

Though there were slightly over 40 players with life-skills, it still looked like a lot when gathered together.

"Respected Manager, I think our Outpost Base still lacks a bit of festive atmosphere. And what is that? Barbecue, of course! So, I'd like to apply for a 20-square-meter plot for a traditional street barbecue—"

"Please go to North gate market for restaurant businesses, next."

"Papermaking! Manager, I want to open a toilet paper factory! It doesn't need to be big, 1000 square meters will do! Using leaves is too uncomfortable, I accidentally grabbed a clump last time—"

"Next."

"Boss! Look at me, I want to open a tavern! 200 square meters should be enough; a game in a different world without a tavern just seems to lack something!"

Emmm...

That was still within the realm of normalcy.

Chu Guang took his application form, glanced at it, and then handed it back.

"Suggest changing the business to distilling and consider reducing the area to below 100 square meters, then reapply."

"But, but I was thinking of the kind of bar with cocktails..."

"Next."

Some people clearly didn't understand the concept of industry and also confused industrial and commercial differences.

While it was partly his own fault for not explaining clearly, Chu Guang felt it was something that shouldn't need to be explained.

Is it really that hard to understand what the Manager needs?

Not hard at all!

In any case, any bizarre, inappropriate for the needs of Wasteland's people, or indecent industries and business proposals would be directly rejected by Xiao Qi.

Such ventures as opening cesspits, barbecue stalls, restaurants, taverns, or KTVs... it's not that they are totally forbidden, but it's about picking the right place and seeing if people actually need it.

For example, if there's a shortage of bricks at Outpost Base, opening a brick factory wouldn't be a problem.

Opening a tavern...

Do we really have surplus food to spare for brewing?

If you're really craving a drink, better to just take off your helmet and drink!

However, if someone wanted to set up an ethanol distillery, Chu Guang was all for it. As one of the most widely used industrial raw materials, ethanol had many applications.

"Can I open a tailor shop? 48 square meters would be enough, but 40 square meters would also work."

"Give me the application form."

Chu Guang took the written application from Teng Teng's hand, glanced at it briefly, and kept the application.

"Approved!"

"Industrial land applications approved before noon will be distributed collectively in the evening, please prepare the necessary materials and tools for construction at that time."

Construction was hardly the term to use.

Currently, building materials at the Outpost Base were somewhat expensive, making house building quite challenging.

By the time this little player received the land, they would likely start with a wooden stall, similar to the environment they used to work in.

However, upgrading from a worker to a sole proprietor, Teng Teng still felt extremely happy and excitedly jumped up, waving her little fists.

"Wow wow wow!! Nice!"

Watching Teng Teng, who barely reached his height when she jumped, Chu Guang smiled internally, his face remaining rigorously expressionless.

Happy, aren't you?

Haha, it's too early to be happy now!

After opening the tailor shop, the clothes and armor produced could indeed be sold independently, whether to the warehouse or to players, and the money earned would wholly belong to the producer.

However, the high-quality furs in the warehouse wouldn't be available for freeloading anymore.

A complete deer hide currently costs 6 to 8 silver coins in the warehouse, which would increase slightly after the onset of winter, but not by much, making 2 to 3 garments feasible.

Completing NPC warehouse orders, the profit for one piece of clothing was about 2 to 3 silver coins, a figure Chu Guang would actively regulate to ensure players didn't earn excessive income from NPCs, thereby disrupting the balance of the game.

As for selling to players, that was fine.

Market forces would naturally balance out to a reasonable price, attractive clothing would always sell well, and it was reasonable to have slightly higher profits. However, the purchasing power and total market capacity of the players were fixed, so sales depended on skill.

In short, be proprietary and profit or lose!

In any case, saving on wages meant he earned more.

Besides Teng Teng's tailor shop, the omelette brother's slaughter shop was also approved.

After thinking it over, the food processing industry could be considered light industry, and placing it in the industrial zone wasn't a problem.

All in all, the brilliant and heroic Manager hesitated for a moment before finally nodding his noble head under omelette brother's hopeful gaze.

Either way, a slaughter stall was at least more reliable than a barbecue stall.

However, after winter set in, there was hardly any game left, and the busiest season for the slaughter business had passed. Was choosing to go solo at this time really more profitable than remaining under the Butcher's minimal welfare scheme?

I don't understand.

In any case, not spending one's own money was a good thing, and Chu Guang couldn't be bothered to worry about these little players.

In less than half an hour, Chu Guang reviewed all the applications, mercilessly rejecting the unqualified ones, and only retaining the reliable ones.

These included a 6X8m tailor shop, a 6X8m slaughter shop, and a 20X10m steel-making workshop, totaling 296 square meters.

What surprised Chu Guang was Brother Mosquito.

He thought the guy would open a carpentry workshop but instead, Brother Mosquito filled out "Goblin Technology" in the application field and listed "Chemical Industry" as the business scope.

"Your application is not acceptable, you cannot just fill in 'Chemical Industry.' You need to specify the exact production items, such as which chemical product you intend to produce and its uses. Write it all down."

Scratching his head, Mosquito reluctantly said,

"Then can I switch to producing weapons, including their raw materials?"

After some thought, Chu Guang found no objections.

"That's fine, but you need to provide at least one product to ensure it can function properly and someone is willing to use it. You can then make it your main production item, and if you want to add more later, just register them with my assistant. I need to make sure each piece of industrial land I approve is effective, do you understand?"

Mosquito nodded repeatedly.

"Understood! Hehe, I'll rewrite one right now!"

I hope he truly understood.

While Chu Guang wasn't opposed to him conducting some wildly imaginative experiments, he still hoped it wouldn't be too extreme, affecting other players.

Orders for gunpowder and smokeless gunpowder were available on the warehouse's order wall, and the weapons shop had some orders for homemade grenades and Molotov cocktails that could be taken.

These didn't require much imagination and were quite profitable.

As for woodworking.

It wasn't particularly needed.

Among the newly joined players, at least five understood carpentry, filling his vacated positions wouldn't be an issue.

"His workshop needs to be set up a bit far from the revival point."

"Don't blow me up."

Standing at the door of the infirmary, Chu Guang thought to himself and took mental notes.

Just then, snow suddenly began to fall from the sky.

Within moments, the snowfall intensified, significantly dropping the temperature as well.

While the shelter's Blue Jacket would change its material properties in cold weather to reduce heat conduction for warmth, it couldn't replace overcoats and padded jackets.

Feeling his neck get a bit chilled, Chu Guang turned around, planning to return to the shelter to put on his deerskin coat.

However, just then, from the direction of the west gate of the Outpost Base, a commotion suddenly erupted.

A fisherman, holding a plastic bucket and homemade fishing rod, ran towards the increasingly heavy snow, screaming in fright, one of his shoes lost along the way.

"Crabs!!"

"Crabs are eating people!"

Chapter 84: Crack Claw Crab! A Dangerous Species Appears

Chu Guang never expected that the second non-combat casualty at Shelter No. 404 would be because of a crab in the lake?

"Crack Claw Crab."

Looking towards the lakeside, where a huge crab was feasting on the head of a player, Chu Guang recognized it in just a second.

This kind of crab seemed to be some mutated form of lake crab. No one knew what specific type it was, nor did it matter, since a one-meter-tall crab didn't exactly make a good relative.

Covered in mud and algae, it looked like a lump of rotten mud that could never be cleaned. Its high, dome-shaped shell acted like natural armor, crammed with large amounts of calcium-magnesium minerals, chitin, keratinized fibers, and other high molecular weight biopolymers, effectively dispersing and cushioning kinetic energy damage. Light weapons were pretty much useless against it, like scratching an itch.

And those two enormous pincers had explosive power, reportedly capable of cutting through tree trunks as thick as a thigh... But how could this thing appear here?

Could there be a nest of Crack Claw Crabs somewhere at the bottom of the lake or on the opposite shore?

Chu Guang's brows furrowed deeply.

"What's a Crack Claw Crab?" Fang Chang, walking beside him, was utterly confused and quickly asked.

"A Variant."

There was no time to explain.

The Crack Claw Crab had already gnawed away half a head, and if they waited any longer, the unfortunate player would be devoured from the neck down.

Chu Guang switched his KV-1 Exoskeleton from "Cruise Mode" to "Maneuver Mode," increasing the output power at the knees and elbows, and moved towards the crab with heavy steps, calmly pulling out his hammer from behind.

The crab's shell was wide, resulting in almost no rear vision for the Crack Claw Crab.

Despite their sharp hearing up close, as long as one approached directly, the crab couldn't accurately determine the front and rear direction of the target.

With speed, he could knock it down with his hammer in 2 seconds!

However, just as Chu Guang stepped out of the woods and was still twenty or thirty meters away, Brother Mosquito suddenly emerged from a bush nearby carrying a wooden tube.

"A big crab? Where??? Dammit, it's huge! Lord Manager, it's too dangerous there, please don't go! Let me finish it off!"

After saying that, Brother Mosquito excitedly ignited the fuse at the back of the tube, hoisted it on his shoulder, and aimed the dark barrel at the crab.

"Holy shit!"

"It's Mosquito!"

"Run!"

The nearby players, gathered to watch the excitement, were startled by his action and scattered like they had seen the plague.

Before Chu Guang could intervene, a tongue of flame shot from the tube, carrying a fist-sized firecracker that zoomed towards the Crack Claw Crab.

The crab likely heard the noise, but before it could turn around, the firecracker landed in the muddy ground right behind it.

Obviously.

This RPG wasn't very accurate.

But that no longer mattered.

With a loud "boom," a column of mud shot up four to five meters, and the explosion jolted the shell a couple of times. Thick smoke quickly engulfed the large figure,

Nearly one kilogram of gunpowder exploded instantly. If a person had been standing so close, even if they weren't killed by shrapnel, their internal organs would have been shattered.

However, the Crack Claw Crab was not human.

The blast wave from the explosion didn't penetrate its shell, much less injure the few internal organs it had.

A sharp and hoarse scream erupted.

Emerging from the dense smoke in pain, the Crack Claw Crab quickly locked on to Chu Guang, the closest target, and charged, waving its large pincers.

But its legs seemed to have been "fractured" by the shock, so it was only slightly faster than walking.

Nearby players quickly raised their guns to fire, but the Crack Claw Crab seemed unaffected, as if nothing had happened.

"Cease fire!"

Chu Guang lifted his right fist, signaling players to stop wasting bullets, then hefted his hammer with a sigh and stepped forward.

"Always finding work for me."

...

The limping Crack Claw Crab posed no difference to the scavengers firing blanks in front of the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer.

Chu Guang didn't waste time with it, switched to B Mode, delivered a devastating armor-piercing blow, and instantly the nitrogen armor blasted half of its face off.

The fight was over.

The dozen or so players who had followed him from the base were merely scratching the surface, and aside from wasting a few bullets, they didn't inflict any damage.

"He's too strong..."

"Dawn boss is awesome!"

"Now I know how that Looter lost his head..."

The surrounding players chattered excitedly.

Mosquito, still carrying the tube, looked puzzled and only came back to his senses long after the battle had ended.

"Damn...nothing happened?"

"You seriously used HE rounds on the carrier? At least switch to AP rounds," Night Ten said with a playful grin, patting Brother Mosquito on the shoulder, "But I gotta say, bro, your skills are quite criminal."

Brother Mosquito's face turned red as he made an excuse.

"It must be the plot... plot armor! The plot isn't over, how could you possibly kill him with locked health. A kilogram of gunpowder, without the lock, he'd definitely be dead!"

"Hahaha, that's possible! Why didn't I think of locked health, hahaha."

...

Fang Chang sighed and did not join Night Ten in making fun of him; he just patted the big brother on the shoulder, giving him an encouraging look, and then went to help the Manager gather the spoils of war.

Such a large Crack Claw Crab, must be at least three hundred pounds heavy, maybe even four to five hundred pounds.

Midnight Chicken Killing rotated his axe and brought it down on the back of the Crack Claw Crab, only to have his hands hurt from the shock, and the dirty thick shell merely got a muddy imprint.

"Damn? Is this shell made of iron?" His eyes bulged out, doubting the power of his axe for the first time.

"Would make good armor," Escaped Vole in the Canyon squatted nearby, filing the big crab's claws with a wood-cutting knife, "The claws are damn hard too, is this creature really a radiation mutant?"

"Who knows."

Watching the group of players gathered around the Crack Claw Crab, inspecting it, Chu Guang put away his hammer.

"Get a cart over here and carry it back."

"Yes!"

"By your command, Manager!"

Watching the players starting their work, Chu Guang then found two idle players and had them carry a headless body back.

They were lucky to have arrived just in time; this little player only had his brain eaten, and his clothes were almost intact. The fragments from the previous explosion and the burning wood tar were mostly blocked by the crab's shell.

Chu Guang was not so worried about the players doing something reckless now, but was more concerned about them damaging the clothes.

A person can respawn, but there were only two sets of Blue Jacket, and if they got ruined, he really didn't know where to get another set that fit so well.

...

On the way back, the snow kept getting heavier, and snow began to settle on the branches and bushes. If it didn't stop by evening, by tomorrow there would likely be a layer of snow.

Chu Guang speculated that it was probably the drop in temperature that altered the activity range of these Crack Claw Crabs, just didn't know from which direction they migrated.

Hopefully, they didn't settle right at his doorstep.

To prevent similar incidents, Chu Guang issued an order to mark this area as a danger zone.

Until the source of these Crack Claw Crabs was determined, it was forbidden to approach.

He also instructed two Perception Type players, one to scout northeast and the other southwest along the lake shore, to report back immediately if they noticed anything unusual.

The huge crab, about a meter high when it sprawled, was carried onto a cart by two Strength Type players.

Singing a messy victory song, these players who had "gone to war" with the Manager carried the spoils back to Outpost Base.

Their high-profile appearance attracted a lot of attention.

"Damn, such a huge crab?"

"What's going on?!"

Curious and uninformed players came up and grabbed one of the followers to ask.

"Bro, where did you catch such a big crab?"

"Fished it up, obviously."

"What? You can fish up something this big?!"

"Hey, first you bait the fishermen, and there you have it, fished it up."

Yu Hu, who was just coming from Bet Street for a trade, was not only stunned by the nearby players but also by the sight of the crab.

Standing next to him was a man, both carrying a pole over one shoulder, tied to a robust mutant wild boar, standing at the western gate stupefied by the sight of the crab.

Chu Guang noticed him and came over with a smile.

"Here to trade?"

Yu Hu opened his mouth, his eyes just moving away from the large crab to the giant hammer on Chu Guang's back.

It was the man next to him who reacted first, nodding nervously, and earnestly spoke.

"I'd like to trade for some salt; I heard you can get salt here."

Yu Hu finally snapped back to reality and hurriedly introduced him to Chu Guang.

"This is my cousin, surnamed Li, called Niu Li."

Niu Li, that'll do.

Chu Guang wore a weird expression, thinking that if all the zodiac animals and a few common ones were used up, what would they do then.

"It's snowing hard outside, come in with me."

Under Chu Guang's lead, the two had unimpeded access through Outpost Base, though they continuously received curious glances.

Yu Hu was used to it by now, having been there several times, but his cousin, who came with him, felt uneasy on his first visit.

"Please don't mind, they've been underground for too long and haven't seen people outside the shelter, so they are curious when strangers arrive."

Seeing the important figure in the blue jacket talking to him, Niu Li quickly waved his hands and said, "It's okay, it's okay, I don't mind."

Chu Guang nodded and led the two to the warehouse, handing them directly to Luka, the Warehouse Manager who was on duty there.

The old serf recognized Yu Hu and immediately knew what he needed to do, skillfully taking the man named Niu Li to the slaughter stands.

Yu Hu handed over all the game, not following them, but instead joined Chu Guang, curiously staring at the big hammer.

"Brother Chu, is this your weapon?"

"Sort of."

"Such a big one? Can you use it?"

"Of course."

"Then, the Crack Claw Crab we just saw, did you take it down with this hammer?"

"Yes."

Receiving a positive answer, the young man's eyes bulged out in awe, taking a while to process the shock before managing to say,

"So powerful!"

Crack Claw Crab!

A monster any Scavenger would hate to encounter.

Its burst speed in narrow terrains is very high, extremely explosive, and with simple thinking—once it locks on a target, it relentlessly pursues.

Unless one can climb to a high spot, escape is difficult.

Almost nothing can confront this creature head-on, not even a Mutant Brown Bear would choose to fight it.

Chu Guang just smiled, offering no explanation.

It didn't matter how strong he was; the power of technology was sufficient.

A nuclear-powered hammer coupled with a chemically powered exoskeleton could smash even a wall with one blow, let alone the face of a beast?

"It's okay. By the way, how are things on your side? It looks like the snow isn't stopping anytime soon."

"How could it be otherwise, it's the same every year around this time, we just get by," Yu Hu was optimistic, unconcernally saying, "But this winter came too early, our preparations were rushed. Normally, commercial teams are still coming by October, but who would have thought the last wave would be in late September this year..."

Chu Guang comforted him,

"Look on the bright side, the meat will keep longer in the cold."

Yu Hu shook his head.

"But game is hard to find, to shoot more game, we need to venture into the city, towards those Variant lairs."

Chu Guang said with interest.

"Oh? Do you have any experiences?"

Yu Hu nodded and explained.

"It's not much of an experience, just a feeling! Those half-collapsed buildings, especially those invaded by tree arches, many small animals love to burrow inside, even building nests. Some hyenas, wolves, and other carnivorous animals also follow inside. You can find game there all year round... but it's risky."

Chu Guang, "Eaters."

"Yes, Eaters love hiding inside buildings, but they don't stay too high. We start sweeping from the fourth floor upward. Even then, it's hard to say what we might encounter inside. Perhaps a nest of ten thousand rats, or maybe a resting Crawler. Without guns, we don't dare to delve too deeply, usually going up to the farther edge of the fifth ring at most."

Chu Guang sighed.

"It's snowing now, even harder to move deeper."

Yu Hu responded with a wry smile.

"It's not just difficult because of the snow, even without snow it's tough! The paths are like a maze, jumping up and down, and some streets are perennially flooded, never drying out!"

From Bet Street to Giant Stone City, the direct distance on the map spans more than ten kilometers, approximately from the fifth ring outside to the third ring edge of Qingquan City, with Wetland Park even further away.

In a parallel world, Qingquan City couldn't be found, but Chu Guang, paralleling his former life in Jiang City, casually drew a ten-plus kilometer line on the map, stretching from the riverside to the far districts.

What was this distance like?

Under no traffic, a good half-hour drive would suffice, and if there were many intersections, perhaps one hour.

As for walking?

Chu Guang had never tried walking that far, but even without making an exact comparison, twenty overpasses or subways weren't avoidable.

And that's under normal traffic conditions.

If traversing through ruins, it'd be a completely different concept.

In the time before the war, even the shortest buildings within the fourth ring were at least six hundred meters tall. Magnetic bases and nodes installed on roads and building facades supported a three-dimensional traffic system with one hundred twenty vertical lanes.

In an era where maglev technology had spread to private cars, high-rises weren't just "houses" any longer, they had become part of "roads," especially those near main roads where there were mandatory height requirements.

Of course, these were all guesses by Chu Guang based on stories from Old Charlie and limited information, not necessarily accurate.

But just imagining those meticulously arranged dominoes, he could feel the oppression brought about by this reinforced concrete graveyard.

People inherently revere or even fear creations that are hundreds of times greater than themselves. It certainly wasn't easy to hunt on these ruins...

Chu Guang suggested,

"Why don't you and your family move over here, I actually need some extra hands."

Although tempted, Yu Hu still shook his head like a bobblehead.

"No, no, we can't trouble you."

Chu Guang said with a smile,

"What trouble? I'm not keeping you for free, it would just be helping each other out."

Yu Hu shook his head even faster.

"Coming over to help is fine, staying a few days is no problem, but moving over is out of the question! We're quite comfortable where we are living above ground... it's just kind of weird. Besides, other than you, I can't understand anyone else here, it would be difficult to get along over time."

Seeing him say this, Chu Guang didn't insist any further.

Although Chu Guang wanted to say that they weren't like the traditional "Blue Jackets" who always lived underground, that clearly wasn't the crux of the issue.

When someone refuses for various reasons, the reasons they give are often the least important.

The classic example is "My mom won't let me."

So Chu Guang never listens to excuses, even if he hears them, it's as if he didn't.

Trust is something that takes time to build, you can't force it.

Besides, it's not like they don't have a home.

You can't just tear down someone's house.

Yu Hu then changed the subject, grinning as he asked,

"By the way, Brother Chu, is the meat from that giant crab edible? This is the first time I've seen someone catch one of these things."

Chu Guang chuckled and replied,

"I don't know, I was actually going to ask you."

"Me? How would I know? I've heard that crab roe from females is edible, but I've never heard whether the meat is edible… It would be great if it is, a crab that size must have a lot of meat."

Saying so, Yu Hu was drooling.

Chu Guang laughed and waved his hand,

"Next time then! I'll first check if it's poisonous, and if it's safe, I'll treat you until you're full!"

Yu Hu nodded vigorously, laughing,

"Alright! Then I'll bring Brother, Dad, and Little Fish with me next time!"

"Haha, I'll just pack some up for you to take home!"

The two chatted for a while, and on the other side, the slaughtering was finished.

Perhaps because it was just entering winter, a 250 kg wild boar had a meat yield of 60%, which resulted in 150 kg of meat.

Twenty percent of it, 30 kg, was given as compensation to Shelter No. 404. The remaining 120 kg was given to the man from the Li family and Yu Hu.

Wild boar skin is considered high-quality leather, especially good for armor, although not as rare as deer skin, its value was still much higher than hyena skin.

After consulting Chu Guang, Luka still priced the skin at the rate of deer skin, giving the man 300g of coarse salt in exchange.

The man, delighted with the salt, thanked Chu Guang and Luka profusely before leaving with Yu Hu.

"Luka."

Seeing his master speaking to him, Luka respectfully lowered his head and responded,

"Is there something you need, sir?"

Chu Guang asked,

"Is the meat from the Crack Claw Crab edible?"

Luka paused, furrowing his brow as he thought carefully before cautiously saying,

"Sir, I have always worked in the fields and have never seen such a creature... But if you are unsure, I can test the poison for you."

"That won't be necessary."

If there really were a need to test for poison, that was a job for players. If it turned out to be nonlethal, a quick rest in the cultivation chamber with a 100% healing speed bonus should do the trick to recover.

Besides, dying wasn't a big deal, as three days on official bereavement left one as good as new.

However, just then, Chu Guang suddenly thought of someone and his eyes lit up.

Right.

How could he have forgotten about that guy.

Was there a need to use someone as a test?

Just give it to Crow and see if she eats it, that would settle it!

Chapter 85 The Correct Usage of Crow

Action speaks louder than hesitation.

Chu Guang immediately found an ax and chopped the joint of the Crack Claw Crab's hind leg, severing a piece almost as long as a baseball bat.

And really, this crab leg looked pretty solid—heavy and long, weighing at least six or seven pounds, enough to stuff two or three people.

The white crabmeat in the shell looked tender like tofu, filled with high-quality protein and fats.

Despite its ugliness and muddy exterior, which seemed impossible to clean, the meat inside was surprisingly delightful.

Hungry because he hadn't had lunch, Chu Guang randomly picked a passing player and had him summon Crow to the room at the sanatorium.

Before Crow could even ask why she was there, Chu Guang handed her the crab leg and showed her the meat.

"Can it be eaten?"

Crow looked dumbfounded and hesitantly nodded.

"Uh, maybe?"

There was no sign of it being green.

Still, verbal assurance wouldn't cut it.

Being his usual cautious self, Chu Guang commanded in his stern voice,

"Take a bite."

His demeanor was almost like a gracious offering.

Just like the NPCs who stand by the respawn points in other games.

However, the player being bestowed did not see it that way.

Seeing Manager trying to stuff the raw crab leg into her mouth, Crow quickly backed away, waving her hands and said with a laugh,

"Wait, wait! It's raw, for smokes sake! Can you at least cook it first?" She didn't really mind Manager's forcefulness—after all, he wasn't a real person.

Shoot!

Why bother with details in a game?

Just eat it if you're told to eat, and bite it off.

Unexpectedly, this player was quite picky. But thinking it over, Chu Guang felt she might have a point.

Freshwater crabs differ from deep-sea crabs; they harbor more parasites, making it risky to eat them raw.

After all, non-toxic doesn't mean it won't give you diarrhea—it just means it won't kill you right away. Like, even if you have high constitution, why would you specifically pick unclean food to eat, right?

With this in mind, Chu Guang didn't insist anymore but changed his approach,

"I have a task for you."

"What, what task?"

Suspicion and wariness spread across Crow's face, sensing something scheming about the word "task."

However, Chu Guang couldn't care less about explaining as he forcefully handed her the long crab leg.

"The task is simple; first step, go cook this crab leg... here are 2 copper coins, use them to buy some charcoal from the warehouse."

It seemed this task required a step-by-step approach.

Though it felt like a trap, being a player, Crow couldn't resist the temptation of a "unique task" and, giddy with excitement, took the 2 copper coins, which were "task props," and ran off to the warehouse to buy charcoal.

Soon, Crow returned with the newly purchased charcoal.

She carefully found a wind-free empty room on the first floor of the sanatorium and squatted in a corner, forming a small circle with stones.

Then she placed the charcoal inside, lit a fire, and began to sing as she roasted the crab leg.

While Crow busied herself roasting the crab leg, Chu Guang, bored and waiting at the door, let his thoughts drift.

He pondered why, if both were scavengers, cockroaches weren't edible but crabs were.

Could it be...

They were actually edible too?

No one had tried before.

Having no solution to his puzzle, his gaze involuntarily drifted towards Crow's back.

Just then, a loud "pop" cracked through the air as the shell of the crab leg on the fire split open.

Startled by the sudden noise, Crow jerked her neck and shoulders back, unaware of someone's malevolent intention.

Chu Guang walked into the room and looked towards the crab legs in her hand.

The mud-green shell had turned to a wrapped circle of black wax-red, with a crack in the center that was neither too large nor too small.

Wisps of white steam and bubbles ebbed out of the slit, carrying with them a long-stifled fragrance that quickly filled the entire room.

"Wow... it smells so good."

Crow sniffed and involuntarily swallowed her saliva.

It seemed even more delicious than King Crab.

The key was, she had eaten King Crab before, but never this!

"Is it ready?"

Hearing the prompting from behind, Crow realized she was still on a mission and quickly stood up with the crab legs.

"Respected Manager, I have completed the task you assigned!"

"Very well."

Taking the cooked crab leg from Crow's hands, Chu Guang waited until it cooled down a bit before breaking it in two and gave her half.

"Eat it."

"Yes!"

Who would refuse cooked delicacies?

Crow obediently took the crab leg with both hands, cautiously nibbled it ensuring it wasn't too hot, then wolfed down the entire piece, before looking up expectantly at the Manager.

Chu Guang said nothing, instead quietly waiting a while to see if there was any toxic reaction, then finally tasted the half he held.

The fragrance of the crab meat unfolded between his lips and teeth.

Although there was a tad of raw fishiness, it didn't detract from the tender, smooth texture with a bit of a bite. It rightly fit Mr. Tree Man's statement that high-end ingredients often required only the simplest cooking methods.

In a word, utterly delicious!

Especially for Chu Guang, who had been eating dried meat and grains for too long, this crab meat reignited his passion for fine food.

The only disappointment was that when he collected the crab legs, he found out that the Crack Claw Crab was male and had no roe.

What a pity to only nibble on the crab legs.

"Not bad."

Chu Guang chewed slowly, nodding his head, then took another impassive bite, and another… bite after bite.

Really, the more he ate, the more addictive it became.

If there were some cooking wine to eliminate the fishy smell and some garlic sauce for extra flavor, it would have been perfect…

Crow watched with wide eyes, holding a half piece of rapidly cooling crab leg shell, waiting a long time without hearing any further instructions.

Seeing that the Manager had finished his crab leg, she finally couldn't help but add a hint of impatience to her tone and quietly asked.

"Respected Manager, may I ask… any further instructions?"

Chu Guang wiped his mouth and handed her the crab leg shell.

"No, just find a place where it won't be in the way and dispose of it."

Crow looked at the crab leg shell in her hand, then at the Manager, hesitated a long time, and finally managed to squeeze out a question.

"What about... the reward?"

Chu Guang blankly looked at her.

"What reward?"

Seeing the Manager's clueless expression, Crow immediately became anxious and quickly reminded him.

"Just, just the task reward... Wasn't it the task for grilling crab legs? I've already finished it, haven't I?"

Chu Guang stayed silent for a while, looking at her with a strange expression, and slowly nodded.

"Yeah, you could say it's finished."

Hearing this, hope reignited on Crow's face, her eyes reflecting a gleam of expectancy.

"So—"

Chu Guang, "…but you ate some too, didn't you?"

Crow, "???"

What the heck!

That works?!

…

One shouldn't be too greedy.

Could dining with the great Manager, enjoying delicacies even more esteemed than King Crab, not be considered a reward?

No matter how much this little player argued, the taciturn Chu Guang kept giving her the "I am an NPC" look.

He was starting to understand Xiao Qi.

Pretending not to be smart seemed to save a lot of trouble.

In the end, Crow didn't manage to get the reward she had hoped for from the revered Manager and left this sad place.

However, the resilient Crow was only distressed for two seconds before quickly regaining her spirits.

Rationally analyzing it, there couldn't be a mission without rewards because that would contradict the logic of game design!

Especially such a core NPC's "personal invitation" for a "special mission," the mission was neither failed, nor could it possibly have no reward at all.

The reward must've already been given!

But not through money or Contribution Points, it was settled in another way.

Crow suddenly recalled a conversation she had with the planner via in-game messaging, her eyes gradually lighting up as she muttered to herself.

"Exactly, NPCs all have a favorability rating, how could I forget such important information!"

If it's not experience or money, it must be favorability!

Ah, how could I be so dumb!

Actually asking an NPC for a reward!

Good thing the NPC didn't give in, otherwise exchanging favorability for Silver Coins would have been regrettable!

Thinking this, Crow felt relieved, thankful that she hadn't insisted too much and that the NPC hadn't relented.

The only pity was that favorability couldn't be checked. It was said to be a hidden attribute, and who knew how much this mission had added?

But that's the way these neuro-connection online games are written, aren't they?

The Protagonist makes a simple meal for the NPC, the NPC doesn't pay but gives a thumbs up. Then as time passes and both the protagonist and the readers have forgotten about it, the NPC suddenly emerges, plop, a great big sword lands in the protagonist's lap, plop, and then a secret manual, not for men or women but only for you, making the protagonist and readers slap their thighs in amazement.

Goodness, that meal was foreshadowing!

She definitely had read something like this in some book, it absolutely exists! Just that she had read too many to recall which one it was.

The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Initially a bit dejected, Crow couldn't help but smile foolishly, as if she had grasped the future.

Favorability.

Hehehe.

Hidden mission!

Hehehehehehehe.

All of a sudden, the vast drifting snow outside the house and the cool breeze that blew past her ears and around her ankles didn't feel so cold anymore.

Carrying a basket of furs, Teng Teng was just coming out of the warehouse.

She happened to see Crow passing by the door and was caught by his silly smile, so she couldn't help but give him a second glance.

Speaking of which...

Is this guy really okay?

That expression made it seem like he had eaten the wrong mushroom.

However, Teng Teng only looked twice before she stopped paying attention to him and, with great enthusiasm, hummed a cheerful tune as she continued toward the tailor's stall not far from the warehouse.

This evening, the great and wise Manager was going to allocate her the land for building her tailor's cottage.

By then, she'd go from little tailor Teng Teng to Boss Teng Teng!

Teng Teng had already planned it out.

It didn't matter whether she became a rich lady or not; what mattered was her love for making clothes. She wanted those clothes, printed with her meticulously designed logo, to sell well across the entire Wasteland!

Then not only players but even the NPCs in the game would wear the clothes she designed.

A completely real Virtual Reality Game.

How wonderful!!

In the afternoon.

The snow continued to fall heavier.

To prevent the trenches from being buried by snow, Chu Guang instructed the players on duty at the door to report to him immediately if they noticed any waterlogging or snow accumulation in the trenches.

At the same time, to prevent Looters from approaching in the heavy snow, he dispatched two players from the Perception system and two from the Agile system to form teams and start scouting cautiously along the main road from the north and east gates of the Wetland Park.

They were to return and report immediately if they encountered any situations.

After finishing these preparations, Chu Guang, now wearing a deerskin coat, went to the industrial area south of the sanatorium.

He brought four pieces of wood, placing two at the entrance and two against the sanatorium's building—a straight line measuring a 5-meter wide main road.

The total area of the Outpost Base wasn't very large; counting the enclosing walls, it was just over a hundred meters in length and width.

A five-meter wide main road seemed somewhat excessive, but for future planning, Chu Guang still decided to widen the road surrounding the "respawn point."

Once the main road was delineated, Chu Guang, like drawing a grid, marked spots with tree branches at intervals along the main road and indicated corresponding positions on the sketch of the Outpost Base, placing numbers in the areas in front of the marked positions.

He still needed to install signs on the marked plots, corresponding to the squares drawn on the map.

"Phew, I didn't anticipate this surveying to be such a technical job."

Had he known, he would have asked a PE teacher for help.

The area inside the walls was only slightly larger than a sports field.

He remembered back in school, without a laser surveyor, the PE teacher could walk along the sports field with a spoon and draw a straighter line than the math teachers could on the blackboard.

Noticing the late hour, Chu Guang shook the snow off his notebook and returned in front of the sanatorium, gathering the players who had been approved for industrial land.

Actually, there weren't many related personnel; considering the late submissions, he had only approved five projects in total.

However, the players who gathered were far more numerous.

Most were there just to watch the commotion.

"Land distribution time!"

"Land reform!"

"I hope my steel workshop is close to the respawn point."

"That's unrealistic, you've marked such a large area, how could it be next to the respawn point, forget about it!"

The noisy chatter continued.

With a stern seriousness on his face and holding his notebook, Chu Guang cleared his throat and loudly announced his arrangements.

"Approved industrial land has been marked on the map."

"Players whose projects have been approved, please come forward to claim your plots."

Chapter 86: Steel Factory No. 81 and the 'Exclusive Mission

Several small players quickly stood up, afraid of arriving late, while admiring the lucky ones surrounded by an envious crowd.

"So jealous!"

"Damn it! Why isn't my Gwent Tavern working!"

"Maybe the manager doesn't know how? Try switching to playing cards next time."

"It's 2340, how can there be no Big Bird Whirl Bar? It's totally unreasonable."

Despite the snow falling from the sky, the surroundings were bustling with excitement.

At that moment, the players huddled around the map finally confirmed their positions and began chattering.

"Wow wow wow, Teng Teng's cabin is right next to the respawn point! Nice!"

"My slaughterhouse is so close to the granary, awesome."

"Damn! Why is my Goblin Chemical Factory on the very edge?" Mosquito looked at the map with a face wanting to cry but unable to shed tears.

Chu Guang glanced at him and snickered inwardly.

The very edge?

It's already good that I didn't assign you outside the wall!

As everyone knows, the chemical industry, especially one that manufactures gunpowder, is very dangerous. It doesn't matter if people get blown up, but if it destroys the neighboring houses as well, that would be a huge loss.

Chu Guang would have Luka monitor the Gothic Industry's raw material usage and daily output, keeping hazardous materials within safe levels.

If the Outpost Base expands in the future, he would consider relocating it further outward.

Brother Ciso "I Need to Go to The Toilet" and Brother Levin "Who Has Athlete's Foot" stared at the map, completely puzzled.

The two players had no complaints about the location of the steel workshop, as it was close to the south gate but near the main road, making trips to the warehouse convenient. However, a question mark had been penciled on their workshop's location on the map, confusing them.

Brother Ciso looked up at the Manager.

"Honorable Manager, may I ask... what does the question mark on the map mean?"

Brother Levin also nodded and asked.

"Yeah, I don't understand it either."

The question mark, of course, meant that a task was available.

These two players had even forgotten this basic knowledge. Chu Guang cleared his throat and spoke seriously.

"Steel is the backbone of industrialization at the Outpost Base, and your hardworking performance has triggered a hidden task. Of course, this task is optional, and you have the right to choose whether to accept it or not."

Hidden Task!

The two players' eyes instantly lit up like light bulbs, and the surrounding players also cast envious glances.

"A plot of land of 200 square meters and a hidden task!"

"Damn!"

"That's too cool!"

Brother Ciso's hands trembled with excitement.

"Honorable Manager, we are willing!"

Brother Levin also nodded vigorously.

"Yes! I'm willing too!"

With a slight, barely noticeable smile, Chu Guang handed them a task book—or rather, a contract—that he had already prepared.

"Take a look at it before you decide."

…

[Task: Fire of Industry (Optional)]

[Explanation: To stimulate the steel production capacity of the Outpost Base and improve the efficiency of smelting scrap metal, the Chief Manager of the Shelter has issued a directive, willing to allocate a budget of 2000 Silver Coins to support the research and development of steelmaking technology.

If you accept the budget support, the steel workshop will be upgraded to a joint venture steel factory, with the Shelter holding 80% of the shares and the founder holding 20%.

The founders only need to pay 50 Silver Coins as the registration capital to set up a corporate account for receiving the budget subsidy.

Funds in the corporate account cannot be directly withdrawn but can be used to purchase materials from the warehouse, commission the warehouse for scavenging, exploration bounties, and to pay salaries for hiring up to 4 workers.

A salary of less than 1 Silver Coin per hour and a work duration of less than 12 hours only needs to be registered; if exceeded, it requires the Manager's review.

When the funds in the corporate account exceed 2000 Silver Coins, partial profits can be requested for distribution. Within one month, distributions of less than 1000 Silver Coins are tax-free, distributions between 1000 and 10000 Silver Coins are subject to a 4% tax, and distributions exceeding 10000 Silver Coins are subject to an 8% tax, with the rates incrementally increasing. The specific tax rate will fluctuate with policy changes.]

[Important Note:

1. For the regulations on the use of funds, see the 'Rules for Corporate Account Management.' If there are any behaviors such as exploiting the rules to extract funds, the offending accounts will be subjected to a penalty of at least 200% of the extra amount and at most permanent deportation underground.

2. Accepting the task will trigger a series of exclusive tasks and orders. The rewards include but are not limited to equipment, money, Contribution Points, budget subsidies, land, and shares. If abandoned, specific conditions must be met before it can be triggered again.

]

Should one start a small workshop or a large factory?

If this were reality, this question might require serious consideration.

But in the game...

This is a hidden task, damn it!

Though the budget can't be withdrawn directly from the account, it was still 2000 silver coins! Spending 50 silver coins to get the usage rights for 2000 silver coins, it's definitely a bargain.

Without even a second's hesitation, Brother Ciso and Brother Levin eagerly accepted the task and signed their long string of IDs on the mission document.

The main responsible party registered was "Who Invited Levin with Athlete's Foot," and after discussing, they each held 11% and 9% of the shares.

"Respected Manager, what should we call our steel factory?"

Chu Guang naturally didn't want to take care of such troublesome matters.

"You can decide on your own."

To have the power to pick the name!

The two players' eyes lit up, and they immediately huddled together to discuss.

"How about Sun Steel Factory? What a powerful name!"

"Pff, what if we get sued for infringement once the game goes public? Better change it to another day!"

"It doesn't have the same ring to it though."

"Stop dawdling, hurry up and think of one, don't keep the NPC waiting!"

"How about Number 81? That number is auspicious."

"Okay!"

And so, the first steel factory in Shelter No. 404, "Number 81 Steel Factory," was officially established.

Brother Ciso and Brother Levin also unlocked their first exclusive task—"Customize a set of armor for the Manager's KV-1 Exoskeleton!"

The task requirements were simple—the total weight of the armor had to be less than 200 kilograms, capable of protecting the wearer from light weapons fire from the front without affecting mobility.

Additionally, there were some detailed requirements, such as the breastplate needing to be thicker than 10mm but less than 20mm, and it had to be detachable for replacement when damaged.

As for the task reward, it was as high as 200 silver coins!

That was 200 silver coins!

Many people end up penniless after buying equipment!

Once the news spread, the entire Outpost Base was abuzz.

"I swear, isn't a 200 silver coin reward way too high?!"

The speaker was Brother Mosquito.

After dividing the land, the Manager went to sit on the third floor of the sanatorium, while the busy players of the day squatted on the first floor eating.

Originally, he was quite excited about the name change approval for "Goblin Industry," but compared to those two idiots' steel factory, it felt completely insignificant.

Scrambled Eggs also appeared envious.

"Compared to 200 silver coins, I think the 2000 silver coin budget is even more outrageous! A historic boost for lifestyle profession players. But why wasn't I the one enhanced, damn!"

Several players from the Cow and Horse Group were nearby, and Night Ten, chomping on a lamb horn potato, chuckled.

"Manager said there are no hunts to slaughter now, why don't you dig trenches instead?"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs: "Cried, can we change the purpose of use? Can I secretly set up a stove and open a restaurant?"

Wild Wind: "That's risky, you should still apply for it, changing land use is said to result in its recapture and even fines."

Tomato Scrambled Eggs: "Wuu wuu wuu."

Fang Chang, who was watching nearby, couldn't help but interject.

"Actually, it's not as outrageous as you think. Receiving a 2000 silver coin budget means control is reduced to 20%, and it's clear the planning team considered the problem of value inflation. In other words, even if you earn 10,000 silver in a month, your share would only be 2000 silver, and you can't even withdraw that money! Dividends must first have tax deducted, and when calculated, each person gets less than 1000 silver."

WC really has Mosquito: "But it's still a lot!"

Old White: "Combat profession players are crying in the restroom."

Wild Wind: "No, there's actually a very interesting mathematical problem here, it's about the yield curve. Normally, the earnings of a newbie player in a month are around 300 silver. If the steel factory's profit is less than 3000 silver, then it's a 'loss' for the two co-operators because they could earn that much just by performing regular tasks. But if they can improve production and reduce costs to create a profit over 3000 silver, then the task is profitable for them."

Night Ten: "There's a reward of over 200 silver coins for an exclusive task, is earning 3000 silver in a month difficult?"

Fang Chang: "It is still a bit challenging, don't just look at the present, you also have to consider the long term. Think about it, how many sets of armor can the Manager wear?"

WC really has Mosquito's eyes lit with realization, he owns a store in reality and immediately understood.

"Wait a minute, now that you mention it… I think I get your point."

Fang Chang loves chatting with smart people and smiled.

"Right?"

Night Ten was still confused, seeing that Fang Chang had no intention of explaining further, he quickly asked.

"What what what? What does it mean? I still don't get it!"

Fang Chang explained impatiently.

"Tch, to put it plainly, exclusive orders are limited! This game introduces a concept many MMORPGs don't have, which is 'demand'!

"NPCs won't buy endlessly from lifestyle players like a black hole. What players produce mostly needs to be sold to other players, which means the steel factory's profits aren't actually determined by themselves, but by other players' spending power, especially combat profession players!"

"So, suppose I'm a combat player with 100 silver coins in my pocket, and I plan to spend 50 silver coins on upgrading weapons and armor, then lifestyle profession players can possibly make that 50 silvercoins, and they have to compete with NPCs too, do you understand now?"

Night Ten spoke in a daze.

"…So you're saying, how much money lifestyle players can earn actually depends on how much combat profession players make from quests? Wow, now that you put it that way, I think I kind of understand…"

Fang Chang: "That's roughly it. For example, I'm planning to buy a piece of power armor, so there'll be corresponding demand for the engine, steel, sensor elements, and other equipment. If lifestyle players want to earn this money, they first have to make it affordable for me. And where does my money come from? Obviously, from completing tasks. Most players are the same!"

It's a simple concept, if a game plans to place a piece of equipment on the store shelves, it definitely makes it affordable for a group of players.

Either use cash to buy vouchers, or spend time farming.

So overall, the total earnings of combat professional players won't be less than those of lifestyle players, because the products of the latter need to be consumed by the former.

Even if value inflation happens, it affects both together.

For instance, when the gene sequence level reaches Level 10, suppose they open a dungeon for raiding abandoned shelters, perhaps the rewards for clearing might reach 1000 or even 10000 silver coins?

That's not impossible!

Old White immediately asked a follow-up question,

"So are the first tier still combat professional players?"

Being a Strength Type, he naturally cared most about this.

Fang Chang nodded,

"That's one way to put it. At least while combat remains the main theme, the 'Children of the Version' will definitely be born on the front lines of the battlefield. The only difference would be which gene sequence they have! Combat players earn the NPCs' money through tasks, while lifestyle players make money from combat players. This way, the game's economic chain can form a closed loop, and value is less likely to inflate. There won't be too much money chasing too few goods, nor will there be goods without buyers."

Wild Wind thought for a long time, carrying his bowl, then added,

"At present, the shelter's economic model is militarily oriented. Maybe if the external environment changes, like an update to the export system that allows for selling goods to other survivor settlements, this theory might no longer hold true."

Fang Chang said lightly,

"Right, so what I'm discussing is the Children of the Version, not the planner's own kids. As for the possibility you mentioned, it would probably take many versions later. We haven't even solved the essential needs from the threat of the Blood Hand Clan or opened the map of Giant Stone City yet."

Wild Wind replied, "Indeed."

After thinking for a while, Old White suddenly spoke,

"But what you just said, doesn't that mean that one day lifestyle players will come into a powerful era?"

Fang Chang said with a smile,

"Version rotation is the norm; is it not very normal?"

Old White then said, "Shouldn't we also consider setting up a steel mill to hedge the risk? In case one day combat players aren't popular anymore, we could still make money from the industry."

Fang Chang gave him a sideways glance,

"… You know how to make steel?"

Old White chuckled and said,

"I might not know how to make steel, but I can burn bricks and make cement! Especially bricks, there are many brick factories where I'm from. I've seen those ring kilns operate; bricks are just loaded on kiln cars, which move along rails into the furnace just like that. As the fresh bricks go in, the fired bricks come out at the other end, cool down, and they're ready to use. I heard some impressive ones can produce up to a million bricks a day!"

Night Ten exclaimed, "... What the fuck? That's awesome?!"

Wild Wind added, "Shelter No. 404's warehouse sells red bricks at 1 silver coin for 100 pieces, and the purchase price is 4 copper coins. The theoretical income from producing one million bricks daily is 4000~10000 silver coins? But I think, given the conditions of Outpost Base and the settings of Wasteland OL, it's unrealistic to set up a brick factory covering 20 acres."

Old White retorted, "Nonsense! Investing in such a brick factory would cost at least 20 million RMB, not to mention the equipment. How much steel do you think we'd need?"

Fang Chang added, "Actually, we don't need a million bricks daily. Even 10,000 bricks would earn us 40~100 silver daily. With a brick burner's daily wage at 10 silver coins, as long as the daily production exceeds 1000 bricks, it would be profitable. If it's less than 1000, might as well apply for a brick burner's job at the manager's office to scrape by."

Night Ten interjected, "I have to ask, what's the deal with 1000 bricks?"

Old White replied, "It's less than two cubic meters."

Night Ten asked, "Er, is it difficult to start firing?"

Old White explained, "Using the African method, you'd slop up a mud kiln and fire it for three days and nights, which should yield about four to five cubic meters, over two thousand bricks. Pick a larger area, dig a few proper brick kilns, and arrange for a semi-annular kiln... Yikes, brothers, why don't we build a brick factory? I think it's a promising venture!"

Fang Chang asked, "Do you think the base would give you land for it?"

Old White laughed, "Well, just trying doesn't hurt! Anyway, winter's coming, and there's no hunting, so why not get the brick factory started? When it's time to build the guild's structures, we'll have bricks available."

Wild Wind stroked his chin and nodded,

"That makes sense… if everyone needs to build, the demand for bricks is likely to be greater than equipment."

At that moment, Fang Chang also snapped back to reality, realizing a serious overlook on his part,

"Wait a minute… How did I forget this? Wasteland OL isn't a traditional MMORPG; players' demands aren't limited to equipment. So, damn, the demand for bricks might really be high!"

Old White affirmed, "24-brick walls require 128 standard bricks per square meter. Do the math. (grinning)"

Brother Mosquito and Brother Egg, listening from the side, were stunned,

"Fuck, can I join in?"

"Damn! Listening to you guys makes me so tempted!"

Fang Chang shook his head,

"You both have your own land; don't bother joining us in this venture, and just focus on developing your own industries. And don't just listen to Old White's boasting, if we can produce two to three thousand bricks daily, I'd be satisfied."

Seeing Fang Chang's disbelief, Old White replied confidently with a bright smile,

"It will definitely be more than two to three thousand bricks! I'll ask my fellow villagers back home about increasing production. And guys in the chat, don't rush, once the guild system launches, the profits from the brick factory will be the guild's funds! I won't say how much, but it's sure to benefit everyone."

Fang Chang put down his bowl and stood up assertively,

"The night is long, and full of dreams; what we can think of, others can too. I propose we get started right now and submit the application before someone else beats us to it! If we submit early, we might even trigger hidden quests… Old White, how much area do we need for a small brick workshop?"

Old White thought and replied,

"400 square meters should be enough, one kiln 5*5, about two meters high… I reckon."

Fang Chang nodded,

"Alright, then let's apply for 400 square meters."

Night Ten chimed in, "666, big bro is awesome!"

Wild Wind proclaimed, "Boss, I'm sticking with you!"

Four little players didn't dare to delay, they even skipped dinner and rushed to the warehouse to write their application.

The orders for Shelter No. 404's warehouse had specific requirements for brick materials and dimensions, almost the same as standard bricks in reality, measuring 240mm×115mm×53mm.

A standard brick amounts to about 685 pieces.

Currently, the brick-burning technique in the industrial area had evolved from primitive stacking methods to more advanced sunken kilns, which were easier to control in terms of dimensions, had higher internal temperatures, and consumed less fuel.

However, although the temperature of these kiln pits had increased, changing from "one kiln every three days" to "one kiln per day," the output still couldn't increase.

Even with two kiln pits operating together, the daily output was only between 1400 and 1500 bricks, roughly adding up to about two standard pallets.

Chu Guang had previously done some calculations,

The daily wage for a brick burner was 10 Silver Coins. Assuming a two-shift system, the labor cost would be 20 Silver Coins.

Taking the maximum daily output of 1500 bricks, based on the Shelter's own "purchase price" of four Copper Coins per 100 bricks, these bricks were only worth 6 Silver Coins.

Even if it was assumed "these bricks don't go into inventory," and were snatched up by players as soon as they came out of the kiln, valuing them at 1 Silver Coin per 100 bricks, the daily output value was merely 15 Silver Coins.

Obviously, whether it's 6 or 15, a shelter with a human labor cost as high as 20 Silver Coins was definitely running at a loss.

Moreover, it was a "heavy loss"!

This meant that the Shelter had been subsidizing these brick burners all along.

Was this reasonable?

From the perspective of the Shelter's manager, this clearly wasn't reasonable.

If two workers were employed, with a daily wage of 10 Silver Coins each, the daily output value had to be at least 20 Silver Coins to avoid a loss.

Here, according to the warehouse purchase price of four Copper Coins per 100 bricks, 20 Silver Coins would correspond to an output of 5000 bricks, which would split as 2500 bricks per person.

Otherwise, to avoid losses, the only options were to raise the prices of the bricks or cut the brick burners' income.

But doing so could lead to other issues.

Raising the prices too much could cause demand to dwindle. If everyone couldn't afford the bricks and switched to building wooden or cement houses, the demand for cement would also shrink, destabilizing this cycle.

Reducing the income of the brick movers was even less feasible; brick burning was already hard work, and if a day's labor couldn't even earn 10 Silver Coins, no one would be willing to do it.

Even Lumberjacks, despite being slashed twice by the dog planner, could earn 10 Silver Coins a day by renting an ax and continuously chopping down trees!

Looking at the application in his hands, Chu Guang spent less than half a minute pondering before making a decisive decision.

"Approved!"

The faces of the four players from the Ox-Horse squad immediately showed joyful smiles.

They had only intended to try their luck, not expecting the application to actually pass!

That was incredibly exhilarating.

Not only that, before they could celebrate for a couple of seconds, the next statement from the manager excited them even more.

"Your application has triggered a hidden quest. Would you like to accept it?"

"If you accept, you will receive a budget support of 5000 Silver Coins. In exchange, the Shelter will hold 80% of the shares in the brick factory."

5000 Silver Coins!?

The four little players were instantly dazzled by the Silver Coins, almost unanimously shouting out.

"I'll take it!"

"Take it, take it!"

Chu Guang nodded with satisfaction.

"Very well, I will now allocate land for you."

Saying this, Chu Guang took out a map of Wetland Park and stared at it, pondering for a long time.

Watching the manager deep in thought, Night Ten, who had waited for a while, couldn't help but whisper to Old White beside him.

"Weren't they supposed to announce it in the evening?"

"Why fuss so much!" Old White glared at him, afraid that the manager might hear and recall, speaking in a lowered voice, "Isn't an early batch better?"

Fang Chang added, "Exactly! Just keep quiet."

Seeing his teammates staring at him, Night Ten sheepishly smiled.

"I'm not saying it's bad, just a bit curious... Besides, isn't there a saying? When something is abnormal, there must be a demon—"

Before he could finish, several hands pressed down on him.

Chu Guang, although having heard the players' whispered conversation, paid no attention to it; he had his own plans for how to use them.

Brick manufacturing differed from steel refining; the latter required some trial and error and, before capacity expanded, could be temporarily placed in the "downtown" area. However, the former did not demand high technology but rather a large amount of fuel and soil.

Thus, the map Chu Guang was holding was definitely not of the Outpost. He also had not planned to locate the brick factory right at his doorstep.

"The location of the brick factory will be about 1km northwest of the base, by the river. There, abundant clay resources are available, and the surrounding trees can be used as fuel."

Pointing to a 100x100 grid on the map, Chu Guang looked at the four players and continued.

"I've considered it; a 400 square meter layout is too small to be effective. Therefore, I plan to allocate all of this 15-mu land to you."

"Please make good use of it."

15 mu?!

The four little players were instantly stunned.

But then again...

This land wasn't even in the industrial area!

Chapter 87 The Debate on Balance

Official Website:

[Heavy snow falls today, with surface temperatures dropping to 0 degrees. The "Winter is Coming" DLC is nearing its end, so we're releasing an additional 10 closed beta spots to reward those little players who have been patiently punching in on the official website for a long time.]

[Also, as the temperature drops, remember to bundle up.]

Today's version number is still Alpha0.4.

The announcements on the official website still don't mention anything about the Alpha0.5 version, only an announcement regarding the testing situation of the "Weather System".

However, the content discussed by netizens on the Forum today has nothing to do with the planning team's announcement.

Almost all the topics and gripes are focused on the in-game enhancement of players who pursue life professions.

Teng Teng: "This is way too outrageous! First 2000 silver, now 5000 silver! Planner, come out and manage your NPCs please! QAQ"

Mosquito that really exists in WC: "I don't care, dark curtain! Unless you give me money too! Goblin Industry needs subsidies! (╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Strength Types need a boost! It's unreasonable if an axe can't chop through a crab's shell! ┬─┬ノ('-'ノ)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Intelligence Type players protest! Strongly request that weapon shops add drones and floating turrets! (╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻"

Makabazi: "Farming! I want to farm!"

Stop Pulling the Calf's Tail: "Does no one care about the fishermen? 500 Contribution Points is too painful! QAQ"

Crow: "Hahahahaha, lame! Even fishing can kill you, weakling! {*≧∀≦}"

The players on the official website have a lot of opinions, almost arguing to the sky.

Actually, think about it, what's the most important thing in a game?

Of course, it's balance!

In reality, one might selectively ignore the wealth gap, but not in a game! Everyone grinds the same way, so why should you guys have all the fun?

Unreasonable.

This is just too unreasonable!

Especially since Outpost Base is no bigger than two sports fields, which might not even add up to 20 acres, yet a brick factory there takes up 15 acres, practically establishing another sub-base.

Even if players only have 20% control, it's a bit unbalancing.

It would be more reasonable to keep it below 5%!

Of course, there are also players who pursue a different kind of realism, such as the Mole escapee from the canyon who's always squawking about developing a "Free Trade" system.

This guy started a separate thread and rationally analyzed the realism in it.

"Actually, it's not as exaggerated as you guys think. A good economic circulation system is necessary for a game that strives for detail. Have you heard of 'Albion'? Although it's an MMORPG, its Economic System is very well designed. All equipment in the game is crafted by players, and basically, your profession is determined by 'what you wear'."

"The most impressive design in it is that the economies between cities in the game are independent of each other. There's an auction house for trading, but there's no active circulation. Players can buy storefronts, set up workshops, craft their equipment, or rent them out to players for a fee. The equipment produced can not only be auctioned to players but can also be sold to the Black Market."

"The most eye-catching part is the Black Market; equipment sold there will be 'bought by monsters' and become the spoils of war when players kill these monsters. If no one sells a piece of equipment, the Black Market will raise its price within a certain limit to entice players to produce it."

"Obviously, Wasteland OL is also creating a similar Economic System. However, based on my observations, Wasteland OL's Economic System will be closer to reality. Have you noticed that different NPC outposts actually use different Money? So most trade is bartering!"

"Later on, there might be a setting for exchange rates, but this would make the System very complex, even approaching a 'Chaos System', leading to unpredictable fluctuations in the game's economic-related values. I'm not even sure the server CPU can handle it!"

""

"No matter how you say it, daring to innovate is a good thing. Kudos to the production team for their guts!"

Chu Guang actually read through the post and, as usual, took notes on aspects worthy of emulation. With enough notes, wouldn't that lead to Alpha 0.5?

However, it's uncertain whether the server can handle it or not. Just a few minutes after this post was made, a certain little rebar already came to argue.

Thunder Mage Professor Yang, "Heh, I haven't played the game you mentioned, but my view remains the same, letting players meddle excessively in tasks that should be done by NPCs is a misstep! Where there are people, there are societies, and you can never guess where the players' bottom lines are! If I were the brickyard manager, I wouldn't sell to the NPC warehouse. Then I would jack up the brick prices. Buy or don't buy – that's up to you!"

Hmm.

This is indeed a problem, but it's one that could only occur in later versions, not right now.

This backseat driver probably forgot, once you take on a hidden quest, it means you've ceded 80% of the control to "NPCs".

Running the business properly is fine, but if you're thinking about price gouging to create a shortage sale?

Then just watch how the NPCs deal with you and that's that.

The methods available in the game are far more numerous than in reality.

Yet this player's train of thought has given Chu Guang a hint. One can trust in the players' abilities, but never overestimate their moral standards, nor should one forsake using rules to constrain them.

Even if one day the shareholding ratio for players were to be adjusted, it would never exceed 50%.

And there must also be an alert line set for inventory liquidation.

Once inventory reaches that alert line, an automatic balancing mechanism would trigger, and no matter how tightly you're holding on to your stock, not wanting to sell, you'll have to sell half at a discount.

What's that, you want to stop production? Limit output? Do like the Bostonians and throw bricks into the water?

Heh, the warehouse orders from NPCs won't stop. Try halting production and see what happens – the penalty is a "limited time quest" to reduce your shareholding. Whether you do it or not is up to you.

There's always a way to deal with these little tricks.

Little did Professor Yang know, his theories had already caused a certain NPC to jot down two more notes in their little book, but a normal person probably wouldn't even imagine that an NPC in the game could browse the official Forum.

At this time, someone from the Ox-Horse team spoke up.

Fang Chang, "Ahem, to clarify the issue raised by Professor Yang, first of all, you can't treat the player community as a homogenous whole. Just like in chicken-eating games, there are cheaters, but also those committed to maintaining a good gaming environment, right? I can't control others, but our Ox-Horse team has integrity; we won't engage in price-gouging within the game, not now, nor in the future, everyone please rest assured."

"Besides, we're also working for a paycheck. 80% of the brickyard's shares are owned collectively by the Outpost Base, we have only 20%. Frankly, this is a hot potato where the effort doesn't match the rewards, it's not as good as you all think."

He didn't really want to clear things up, but seeing the intense discussion on the official site, he was afraid the planners would interfere with the game and directly cut down the profits from brick making.

With a meager 20% share already, cutting down the brick-making profits would literally leave them eating dirt.

In short, it's time to play up the pity card!

Canyon Runaway Mole, "You've had enough! Give it to me! If you don't want to do it, let me do it! (Crazy)"

Fang Chang, "Cough."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang, "Heh, You say you won't, then you won't? And what about the 20% shareholding, isn't it still players who are managing it? I'll say it again, you can never underestimate a player's moral bottom line, there will always be someone looking for loopholes!"

"For instance, I could deliberately lose some inventory, claiming the bricks were burned incorrectly, but actually divert them through a third party, selling them in large quantities to players in need at below-market prices. Not only does this bypass the NPC warehouses, but it also skirts around corporate account limitations! You get what I'm saying, right? Even if it appears as a loss on the books, players can still make a stable profit – and it goes straight into their pockets! (Smug)"

Chu Guang was shocked when he saw this post.

Damn.

This guy's got criminal law down pat!

WC There Are Really Mosquitos: "Dang, in real life, you'd start with execution by firing squad."

Tomato and Eggs: "I think it's even more criminal than mosquitoes! (gritted teeth)"

WC There Are Really Mosquitos: "? What does it have to do with me."

Elena: "Bro, your wolf got killed. (amused)"

Fang Chang: "It's all about the big picture—do you think you're the only clever one? That only you could think of this? If you were smart, you'd think about why I didn't go this route and even made a post to declare I wouldn't. (side-eye)"

Night Ten: "Want to come and bricklaying at our factory during the closed beta? I'll appoint you as the workshop director. (amused)"

Old White: "Hahahahaha, probably in the open beta! I think that should be doable."

Light: "(applause)"

Teng Teng: "Great planner!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "...Uh, it's all hypothetical, don't take it seriously, just thinking out loud, cough cough. (sweating bullets)"

Grandpa Ao: "Laughing, you talk as if it's the real deal. Keep pretending, I want to see how long you can keep this up. (picking nose)"

Quit Smoking: "Dad! I'm begging you, give me a chance. T.T"

After closing the forum and taking a tour around the official website, Chu Guang noticed that the number of reservations had risen from 888 to 996.

Although the clickbait method of drawing in willing participants is not the most efficient, the advantage is that it filters out a large portion of the non-target group.

What's a non-target group?

The likes of Professor Yang, who slipped through the filter, are certainly not the target group during the closed beta phase.

Always scheming about how to cheat and engage in a battle of wits with the game bugs and the planners—does that honor the hard work that went into making the game?

Can't they just move bricks for the NPCs decently?

They've even been promised non-wipe privileges, allowing them to become T1, T0 players!

"I need to find a way to get Level B2 opened... There are still so many new players waiting to get online and move bricks."

I have no idea how many cultivation chambers there are on Level B2.

But there's a problem: There are fewer than a hundred players right now, and the elevator capacity is already somewhat strained. What are we going to do when thousands, tens of thousands of players show up?

What about when the numbers reach millions or even tens of millions?

Of course, Chu Guang thinks that the designers of this shelter must have considered these issues, such as the possibility of other exits reaching the surface on different floors.

After all, it wouldn't make sense for such a large shelter to have only one exit to the outside world. Moreover, if the "technology for connecting to parallel worlds" was completed within this shelter, then the First Generation Manager would have left behind the technology to produce such cultivation chambers.

Once it's possible to send "players" from the shelter to the surface en masse, it will naturally be time for the closed beta.

And when they can produce "players" in large quantities on the surface, beyond the spatial confines of the shelter, it'll naturally be time for open beta.

"Xia Yan."

Hearing Chu Guang call her name suddenly, the weapon shop owner who had been reciting textbook content to the point of dizziness in the corner looked up at him, confused.

"What?"

"Do you know how to contact a slave merchant?"

Hearing the words 'slave merchant,' the young woman's face turned pale, she gripped her book tightly, and her body seemed to shrink.

"What, what do you plan to do?"

"...?"

While Chu Guang figured she was probably overthinking things, he also imagined the possibilities in his mind as a branching tree diagram.

Tch, annoying.

He hates guessing the most.

Seeing Chu Guang not speaking, Xia Yan's complexion cycled through shades of white, red, and even a hint of blue, deepening the misunderstanding as she tremblingly said,

"If, if there's anything I've done wrong, just tell me, I will definitely change. Please, please don't sell me... I'm begging you."

"...What are you babbling about? You still have one leg, why would I sell you," Chu Guang rolled his eyes, urging her, "I'm thinking of buying some labor. Do you know anyone who deals in this sort of business or not, say it quickly."

This girl was obviously still too idle.

Typically, when you hear the company is downsizing, the most terrified are the ones always slacking off. If you're not slacking, what's there to be scared of?

Hmm?

Although she felt there was something off about Chu Guang's response, it wasn't about him selling her off.

Xia Yan breathed a sigh of relief, and her tense shoulders relaxed.

She slowly leaned back against the wall, raised an eyebrow, and muttered to Chu Guang.

"Me, where would I know such a merchant? Do I look like I can afford slaves to you?"

"Tch, have you never sold any before?"

"What kind of person do you think I am? I'm a proper Mercenary, not a Looter." Xia Yan argued with a red face.

Chu Guang just shrugged, offering no judgement.

Is there a big difference between a Mercenary and a Looter?

Even Merchants occasionally dabble as Looters. Given that Mercenaries earn their living by the gun, what's the point of interrogating further? It's a boring pursuit and irrelevant to him.

"I really haven't!!"

"Ao, that's a real shame. I was hoping to buy some labor to alleviate the burden on my citizens."

Xia Yan looked at him, strategically scared, and shrank her shoulders without speaking.

The last time, this guy used the word "Residents" to refer to the non-talkative Blue Jackets; he's already calling them "citizens" now.

Would the next term be "Servants"?

Truly frightening...

This guy must have been a devil in his past life!

No, he still is in this one!

Chapter 88: Negotiating with a Tiger for Its Skin (Seeking Subscriptions)

The snow had begun to fall ceaselessly.

The northern wind howled, and the forest rustled with its passage. The woods outside the Outpost Base were pitch-dark; behind every tree seemed to lurk a figure, and each blade of grass appeared to be breathing.

The guards on the wall were all on edge, afraid they'd become another casualty of the plot, just like the fisherman whose nest was disrupted.

The official website OB was torturous.

It wasn't just the players on duty who were tense—Chu Guang was as well.

He had already dealt with two groups from the Blood Hand Clan. Logically, the enemy wouldn't just let him be; even if it meant suffering heavy injuries, they would need to reclaim their standing.

However, there was no movement from the Looters to the north, and that left Chu Guang feeling unsettled. Wearing his exoskeleton, he sat upstairs for half the night until well after one in the morning, not getting out of bed until eight or nine the next day.

The players, on the other hand, were all brimming with energy, taking shifts to log in. Despite the heavy snowfall, they seemed oblivious and went about their work without any hindrance.

How enviable.

After all, the body wasn't theirs, and with heightened pain thresholds turned off, they couldn't feel even if their hands and feet were frozen numb. A bit of meat and carbs, few hours in the cultivation chamber, and they'd be good as new.

Of course, this was just the start of winter; the coldest days were yet to come.

Don't talk about minus ten degrees not being cold—try experiencing a magical attack in the south. No need for sub-zero temperatures, just a gust of wind could cost one half a life.

"Should add a heating tube to this exoskeleton."

"Forget it, let's wait till they've made the armor lining."

Watching carts of bricks being transported from the warehouse to the industrial zone, Chu Guang's face broke into a satisfied smile as he nodded approvingly.

Not bad.

These players were very understanding.

Equipped with a budget from Brother Ciso and Brother Levin, they got tough with spending. The very next day they logged on, they immediately used Chu Guang's budget to buy 5,000 bricks and 500 kilograms of cement from the warehouse, and in front of envious players, they hauled it off to the industrial zone.

Since the silver coins used were from the corporate account, all it took was a ledger entry to handle the transaction. Old Luka could now smoothly handle this process, without Chu Guang needing to worry at all.

As for the sand needed for plastering, there wasn't much stockpiled in the warehouse since it was nearly used up during the wall construction.

But that was no issue; spend a few silver coins to rent a cart and hire two men to haul from the abandoned construction site to the direct north. 1 Silver Coin per cart, calculating five carts to a cubic meter, hauling about nine carts should suffice for the time being.

After all, it was just a little over 2 kilometers round trip on flat ground, easy to walk, and there were plenty of people eager for the job.

Piles and piles of sand and gravel were there, intended for constructing hundred-meter skyscrapers. Although it was unclear what type they were, it was assumed that pre-war materials were of good quality.

Even though part of this sand had been washed into the foundations by rain, the portion buried just on the surface was more than enough for many years to come.

Building an 18 cm thick wall required 96 bricks per square meter, 10 kilograms of cement, and over 50 kilograms of sand and gravel.

To fully enclose a 20X10 steel mill would need around thirty to forty thousand bricks and about four to five tons of cement—amounts the warehouse couldn't provide even if emptied.

But it didn't matter.

On the Wasteland, there was no need to be so particular—if need be, they could crudely plaster the northern wall first, then scavenge some old metal and plastic sheds to build a semi-open "T"-shaped factory. That would save more than half the materials.

The Wasteland, after all, should have the vibe of a wasteland. Chu Guang's old shack on Bet Street hadn't used a kilo of cement, yet it was still fit for living.

That's called post-apocalyptic style.

At least the two factory leaders, Brother Ciso and Brother Levin, didn't care.

The pressing issue was to get the steel-melting converter built, then melt and cast old metal into two rolling mills, and finally forge an impressive set of armor for the mighty Manager!

That was their foremost task at the moment.

Besides hiring two men to transport sand, they also employed three players experienced in construction work to assist with the wall and lay the foundation for the converter.

Everything was proceeding orderly.

However, compared to the smooth going of the "81" steel factory, progress for the Bull Horse Brick Factory was less smooth.

Old White, Fang Chang, and the others arrived at the warehouse a step too late, and instantly their hearts sank.

Damn it, where had all the building materials gone?

There had been such a tall pile yesterday—how could it all be sold out upon login?!

"Damn!"

"How could they move so fast?!"

"Tsk, miscalculation."

"Bossman is a professional... forget it, brothers, don't panic. Let's survey the terrain and find a solution."

After selecting from the warehouse, they bought a wooden cart, shovels, axes, and machetes for clearing land, then set out into the heavy snow with four people's worth of provisions.

It wasn't that they wanted to save money for the shelter.

It was simply that they had money but nowhere to spend it...

Incidentally, since the corporate account could only be used in the warehouse, it was also not possible to use it to buy guns at the weapon shop.

To verify this, Fang Chang even made a special trip to try, but the owner of the weapon shop was too lazy to entertain him, so he could only give up reluctantly.

Outside the Outpost Base, the snow was heavy, and the northern wind blew fiercely.

Night Ten gritted his teeth as he held his pipe rifle, momentarily freeing an arm to wipe the snow from his bangs and eyebrows, and complained in a low voice.

"This wind is way too damn strong for the end of September, isn't it?"

Old White was actually pretty optimistic, chuckling as he said,

"I guess it's to test whether the weather system is stable, huh? Whether it snows or not in the Game World is just a matter of the planners' say-so. I wouldn't even be surprised if it snowed in summer."

Fang Chang glanced at the only Perception Type in their team and gave a reminder,

"You guys better stay alert. We're currently at war with the Blood Hand Clan. Although this river is in Wetland Park, it's not far from the north gate. If the Looters launch a sneak attack, we're likely to be the first to confront the enemy."

Night Ten smirked,

"Scared of what? In the forest, this is our home turf! Let the Looters come, I'll go up and—hisss, something's not right, there seems to be someone ahead."

"Holy shit! For real?!"

Although Night Ten wasn't the most reliable person, his Perception was currently the highest among all the players.

Alerted by Night Ten, the other three players didn't dare to hesitate; they hurriedly dropped the handcart and grabbed their weapons to scatter and take cover nearby.

This wasn't their first time hunting as a team.

Nor was it their first time facing Looters.

Night Ten leaned against a tree, and his usually playful and smiling expression was gone, replaced by seriousness and vigilance.

He carefully peeked out, scanning the snowy forest in a circle; his gaze suddenly locked onto a certain spot.

Signaling a rough direction with his hand, Night Ten gave the other three teammates an affirmative look.

"Flank around."

"Got it."

Old White, on the outer edge, moved first, and the four of them advanced in turn with tacit understanding, spreading out in a quadrilateral to surround the target.

Ten meters.

Fifteen meters.

Twenty meters!

Finally, in the midst of the swirling snow, a sneaky figure emerged.

The person was dressed in a gray coat, with a thick felt hat on his head and an iron pipe rifle on his back. While pressing down his hat brim that the wind kept blowing, he was heading toward the direction of Outpost Base.

He definitely wasn't up to any good!

Fang Chang immediately made a judgment. Taking advantage of the fact that they hadn't been discovered yet, he quickly drew his bow, placed an arrow, aimed at the person's right arm, and released the string with a snap.

A sound of an arrow piercing the air whistled through.

The person didn't have time to react before he was struck by an arrow in the thigh, letting out a pained scream and collapsing to the ground.

"Don't move if you don't want to die!"

Old White rushed forward first, kicked away the gun in the man's hand, and menacingly pointed the spear at his head.

The man looked terrified, babbling something unintelligibly.

Fang Chang suggested,

"We need to spare someone to take him back."

"I'll do it."

Wild Wind lifted his Crossbow a bit.

Even though he was an Intelligence Type, a crossbow didn't require much attribute enhancement.

The other three had full confidence in Wild Wind's meticulousness and had no objections.

Old White returned to the side of the handcart, found some rope to tie up the man, and poked his back with a spear as a threat.

"If you even think about running away, we'll take off your other leg!"

After that, without a care if the man understood or not, Old White handed him over to Wild Wind and watched as Wild Wind escorted the limping prisoner away in the direction of Outpost Base.

...

After watching the Bull Horse Squad leave Outpost Base, Chu Guang saw it was getting late and went to the warehouse to chop off a crab leg, then found a room in the former sanatorium to bake and eat it.

With the heavy snowfall, food was not so easy to rot, and this crab leg would last two or three days without problems.

This thing was high-quality protein, essential for muscle building.

Chu Guang spent his days with nothing much to do, either walking around with his exoskeleton powered off or doing push-ups and bench presses with the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer to build arm strength.

After each workout, he would head to the bathroom for a shower, dry his clothes, and prepare his own food by mealtime. His life was much more comfortable than when he was back on Bet Street.

Although the training results weren't very obvious and the Attribute Panel showed no changes due to the exercise, he could still clearly feel that his strength and muscle coordination had slightly improved.

Chu Guang speculated that the body scan and summary data from the health check equipment mainly measured the body's "basic hardware," and that exercising might provide efficiency boosts to the hardware in the form of BUFFs.

For example, "Strength +3%" or "Strength +5%" or something like that.

The higher the base value of the attributes, the more noticeable the effects of exercising would be.

For players with Strength Type Gene Sequences, exercising could also accumulate progress in gene sequence development, pushing beyond the limits of hardware.

At the moment, Chu Guang's Strength Attribute was 10, roughly a 200% of a normal adult male's baseline (benchmark value of 5).

Even without any skill, and only partial muscle coordination, he could easily overpower an opponent of the same weight class with his attributes alone.

If he encountered a Crawler again, even without an exoskeleton or Nitrogen-Powered Hammer, Chu Guang didn't say it would be an easy win, but at least he wouldn't be as embarrassingly disheveled as before.

However,
this supposition was unlikely to stand.

After all, it's not like he travelled outside; even within Outpost Base, whether he had work or not, he habitually wore his exoskeleton beneath his deerskin coat.

He just usually kept it turned off, considering it part of his weight-bearing training.

Five pounds of crab legs contained two and a half pounds of shell, but the remaining two and a half pounds of crabmeat were pretty solid. After finishing his meal, Chu Guang clapped his hands and extinguished the fire.

Right at that moment, a player, escorting a local in a large coat, walked in from the outside.

He brought the captive into the main building of the medical center and Wild Wind stood at attention with a serious face, reporting to the Manager.

"Respected Manager... we've caught a Looter scout!"

"A captive?"

Chu Guang wiped his mouth and squinted at the man in front of him.

The man was covered in snow, mud, and withered leaves, with a broken arrow lodged in his thigh. The dark red blood had stained half of his trousers, leaving him in quite a sorry state.

He gritted his teeth and said,

"Is this how you treat your guests?"

"Courtesy is reserved for guests."

Chu Guang didn't think he looked like a Looter, but he did not seem like a local Scavenger either, and so he continued with an interrogative tone,

"Who are you? Why have you entered our territory? Each entrance to Wetland Park has a sign clearly stating that entry is forbidden to unrelated individuals. Even if you can't read, surely you can recognize the skull symbol."

"I'm here to mediate!"

"Mediate?" Chu Guang narrowed his eyes, his tone turning unfriendly, "Are you from the Blood Hand Clan?"

"No! I don't belong to anyone!"

Sensing the hostility in Chu Guang's voice, the man quickly clarified his position, but the pain from his wound was so excruciating that his emotions flared, and he winced in pain.

After what felt like an eternity, he managed to regain his composure and pushed out a breathy response through clenched teeth.

"... Can you treat my wound first? If we wait any longer, I might be a goner."

Goner, huh?

Seeing how calm you are, I thought the injury wasn't serious.

Chu Guang chuckled at the turn of events but didn't trouble him further.

He tossed five silver coins into Wild Wind's hand, sending the little player away, and then pulled out a roll of bandage from a Blind Box from his pocket and tossed it to the man.

He had never tested the hemostatic effect of this thing.

Might as well use him for an experiment.

The man clearly knew how to use the bandage and efficiently unwrapped it, snapped off the shaft of the arrow, and used the tools within the package to dig out the arrowhead painfully.

Blood gushed out like a faucet, soaking his trouser leg.

Chu Guang averted his gaze, clicking his tongue at the sight, but the man seemed unaffected, sighing in relief after tightly bandaging the wound.

"Feeling any better?"

"Yes, better," the man nodded, took a deep breath, and continued the prior conversation, "My name is Hain, a merchant from Red River Town."

"Why would a merchant from Red River Town be mingling with Looters?" Chu Guang studied him with interest and went on, "Besides, isn't Red River Town at least fifty or sixty kilometers from here?"

"Fifty or sixty kilometers? Ha, that's the straight-line distance. To circumvent the urban cluster, it's a journey of at least one hundred thirty kilometers! Of course, to be safer and avoid the highway bridges... it's about one hundred fifty kilometers or so."

"So what?" Chu Guang tilted his head, encouraging him to continue, "You haven't answered my question. Why would you be mingling with Looters?"

"Cough, it's not exactly mingling, it's just... we have some business dealings."

Hain shifted his gaze uneasily and after a moment of awkwardness resumed,

"Alright, let me be frank. I'm an employee... or rather, a merchant from the Horseshoe Iron Trading Company in Red River Town. Due to my boss's connections, we sometimes do business with some trustworthy Looter Tribes in the Southern River Valley Province, mainly concerning people. Don't look at me like that—if it weren't for us, those captives wouldn't survive winter. At least we give them a chance to start over!"

"So you're in the slave trade?" Chu Guang rubbed his chin with apparent curiosity but kept his face expressionless.

"That's right!" Hain nodded before adding, "This time, I was sent by my boss to Qingquan City to buy some slaves from them. But by the time I arrived, I heard you guys were at war?"

Chu Guang smiled amicably, saying,

"Yes, and your trading partners' enemies are currently considering something. Suppose your boss doesn't know you came here—"

Hain swallowed nervously, cutting off Chu Guang's sentence,

"I know what you're going to say, but it's pointless. People die on the Wasteland every day; my death would be of little concern to my boss."

"Is that so?"

"Instead of deciding how to deal with me, wouldn't you rather hear my proposal first?"

"Go ahead."

Hain rattled off his pitch quickly.

"The Blood Hand Clan wants to cease-fire with you. They're willing to pay twenty chips in ransom for each captive... of course, for the ones missing limbs, they're only willing to pay half."

"Oh, and where's their contract?"

"My contract? What contract—"

"Cut it out," said Chu Guang, visibly impatient with Hain's feigned ignorance. "Do you think you can fool me? You just said people are dying every day in the Wasteland. Would anyone risk their life for nothing in return? Or could it be that the cease-fire actually benefits you?"

Hain offered a sheepish smile in response.

"I didn't mean to hide anything... It's just that there's really no formal contract between me and them. Alright, I'll tell the truth. Their leader promised me that if I could bring their people back, they would 'deal' with their wounded for me at a low cost. But this is beneficial for you as well, isn't it?"

"No one wants to fight in a snowstorm, and your neighbors are as troubled by this damn weather as anyone. It would be better for all of us to sit down and have a proper talk. There's no irreconcilable conflict here, and I'm sure we can resolve any misunderstandings."

"I'll return with the captives as proof of my work, you'll receive war reparations, and you'll make peace with your neighbors... It's a win-win-win situation for all parties!"

Chu Guang couldn't help but smile.

However, the arc of his lips was cold.

Misunderstandings?

Resolution?

Ha, ha, ha.

He had never heard such a laughable joke.

If it weren't for meeting him and coincidentally these players, had it been any other Survivor Base, not to speak of what would have happened to the men and women, they'd have been stripped clean to the bone long ago.

Peace talks?

These people were just biding their time.

Waiting for an opportunity like the end of the snowstorm.

"Mr. Hain, you seem to be joking with me. A reconciliation with the Looters? Do you actually believe what you're saying?"

Hain looked somewhat embarrassed.

Actually, before entering Outpost Base, he had a premonition that these people were different from any other Survivor Base he had visited.

Enclosing walls, trenches, duty sentries, hunting guards...

Not one of them was a professional soldier, but each seemed capable of holding their own in a fight, and more importantly, they had the guts to fight.

They wore Blue Jackets, but they harbored no illusions about the kindness of this world.

These negotiations were likely doomed...

"I get it, you have your reasons. If there's no room for discussion, I won't insist... Can I leave? I promise to keep what I've seen here a secret." Within a second, Hain made a decision to cut his losses.

However, Chu Guang didn't say a word, just stared unblinkingly into his eyes, keeping his gaze steady for a long while.

Feeling like prey under a Crawler's gaze, Hain began to sweat through his back, feeling unbearable pressure until his lips quivered and he spoke.

"Even if you killed me, it would bring you no benefit... Why bother? I have no grudges with you, sir. You can continue your fight, and I promise not to interfere anymore."

"But it would also cause us no harm."

There was a moment when Hain felt as though his heart had stopped.

Yet, the next words out of Chu Guang's mouth reignited his hope for life.

"You said... you deal in slaves?"

"Yes, yes!" Grasping at what seemed like a lifeline, Hain nodded frantically. "You need slaves? I can serve you! We do more than import slaves; we handle exports too, and we even offer home delivery—if you're interested—"

"Come with me."

Watching the man walk out, Hain was forced to hold his tongue. He swallowed hard and followed with heavy, dragging feet.

Outside, the snow fell harder, cutting against the face like knives, particularly stinging on wounds. Hain felt as if his blood were freezing.

Thankfully, it wasn't far.

The man led him to a shabby hut, exchanged a few words with the old man on duty at the door, and then watched as the old man nodded, went inside, and brought out a wooden box.

Chu Guang weighed the box in his hands before passing it to Hain.

Taking the box, Hain's hands sank under the weight, and he looked puzzled at the man who handed it to him.

"...What's this?"

"Open it and see."

A bad premonition settled in his heart, but Hain still freed up one hand to open it.

When he saw the jewelry made of finger bones inside the box, his blood seemed to freeze, draining the color from his face.

Familiar with the handiwork of Looters, he recognized these items.

The Looters would take their prey's index fingers as trophies, dry and clean them to make into jewelry to wear, treasuring them like dear life.

This blue-coated devil!

Not a single one was spared...

"Winter is coming, and I don't have that many cells here. The captives you want will have to be picked from here."

Watching the soul-shocked Hain, Chu Guang smiled carelessly.

"Let's make a deal."

"I assure you, you'll get a large batch of captives—very large. You can show off big time in front of your boss, and rocket to the pinnacle of your career. If you're lucky, you might even say goodbye to a life with your head on your belt."

"And me? I'd be rid of the trouble from the north once and for all."

Chapter 89: Boss, We Have a Great Advantage!

Despite the wind blowing against him on his way back, Hain felt like his body was floating, and the arrow wound on his leg didn't hurt as much anymore.

Because of the plan, he had spent a day at the camp of those in Blue Jackets, and now it was the afternoon of the second day, and just a few hours ago, he had lunch with that man at his invitation.

The lunch left a deep impression on him, with steamed Crack Claw Crab Leg meat as the main course and mushroom soup plus horned potato mash as the side dishes.

Being able to take down a Crack Claw Crab showed that these people were stronger than he had imagined—they certainly had anti-armor capabilities.

Moreover, the horned potato mash was even sprinkled with soy sauce for added flavor.

Fully armed and well-supplied, the Blood Hand Clan had indeed provoked a formidable opponent, losing two teams to them was not unjust!

Hain was a merchant, and merchants are realistic.

He would always stand with the victors... at least with the side that seemed most likely to win.

In fact, the man called Chu Guang didn't seem to understand the rules of the Horseshoe Iron Business Group very well when persuading him.

Even if he put on a strong show in front of his boss, he couldn't escape days with his neck on the line.

Although nominally he was a "salesman" for the firm, in reality, the nature of a salesman was closer to that of a partner.

They operated in the Southern River Province, leveraging their relations with the Horseshoe Iron Business Group to conduct trades, and took a cut from each transaction.

Hain had done some rough calculations.

Even with the loss of two groups of men, the Blood Hand Clan still had fifty to sixty strong laborers, and counting cannon fodder and prisoners, nearly a hundred people.

Even if he could bring back a third, it would make him a legend in the Horseshoe Iron Business Group—and perhaps even the whole of Red River Town.

Those fit for work could be sold to mine owners; those missing limbs could be sent for organ harvesting, sold to Giant Stone City or other large survivor settlements in the Promice Northern Part, all yielding profits of 1000%.

This business deal was certainly a blood jackpot.

As for whether these Blue Jackets could win?

Honestly, he had never considered the possibility of them losing.

These people could work diligently like oxen and hunt fiercely like wolves; even he, who had roamed the wasteland for years, had been outmaneuvered by them.

They had astonishing advantages both tactically and strategically.

Their leader was a man whose depth could not be measured.

These people were truly terrifying!

Hain's instinct told him that cultivating a good relationship with these people could assure a prosperous future, perhaps even more profitable than working for the trading firm!

…

Following the remnants of the city's elevated exit northward and circumventing a few collapsed ruins, it wasn't long before Hain saw the tire factory occupied by the Blood Hand Clan.

The concrete outer walls were spiked with wooden stakes and rebar as obstacles, and the wall was smeared with eerie, inexplicable graffiti.

A headless corpse discarded by the roadside drain was being gnawed on by several fat rats, presumably another unfortunate slave who had failed to please these barbarians.

Hain clicked his tongue in pity, cradling a wooden box and striding towards the fort gate made of wood.

"I'm Hain, open the gate!"

The bandages on his leg had already been removed, and the wound had stopped bleeding; Hain feigned a shout and waved to the sentry on the enclosing wall.

Recognizing Hain's face, the bald man with crimson paint on his face walked to the rebar winch, flexing his muscular arms to turn it.

Accompanied by creaking noises, the wooden door slowly opened.

Hain didn't pause for a moment, quickly stepping into the Blood Hand Clan's stronghold. Under the guidance of a raider sentinel, he arrived in front of Bear's tent.

He placed the box on the ground and pressed his forehead to the earth.

"Respected Chieftain! Those people are mere barbarians. I'm sorry, I did my best, but they simply cannot be reasoned with."

Bear, sitting languidly in his chair with his chin propped on his fist, looked emotionlessly at the man kneeling before him.

"You didn't bring my people back."

"Yes... because there were no captives."

"No captives?"

Bear sat up straight in his chair, his already small eyes almost squished into a dot by the tight flesh on his face.

"What do you mean there are no captives?"

He was well aware of what his subordinates were capable of.

If they had encountered those terribly fierce foes, they might have fought to the death. But a fight with the Blue Jackets... even if they couldn't win, there was hardly a chance of a bloody standoff.

Trading 20 points for a captive was not a loss; after resting and recuperating for a while, they'd gather forces and take back control.

As for those maimed by missing limbs, he had let this slave trader here deal with them outright. The Blood Hand Clan does not keep idlers and had no extra food to sustain them.

He even suspected that this man was lying, negotiating in his name but delivering the captives elsewhere.

Hain was very sensitive to the atmosphere.

Even though he couldn't see Bear's expression, he guessed what the muscle-brained fool was thinking. He quickly conjured a look of grief, producing the story he had prepared earlier.

"Those people are the scum of the earth, rats, maggots in blue coats! They have no sense of morality or ethics; every cell in their body spells cunning."

"They pretended to accept the surrender of your men but after your people laid down their weapons, they brutally hanged them at the entrance!"

Saying this, Hain opened the box in his hands, which contained phalanges strung into a necklace.

Bear's eyes instantly narrowed to a point, and his right fist slammed down on the armrest of his chair.

"I want to chop the limbs off those rats and throw them into a dungeon to feed the cockroaches!"

Crude roars echoed within the tent, causing the flames in the brazier to flicker. A raider old soldier beside tightened his grip on the knife and axe at his waist, watching Hain's expression flicker.

Waiting only for the Chieftain's command, they were ready to rush forward and chop the discourteous offender into mince meat to relieve the great Chieftain's anger.

Feeling Bear's fury,

Hain dared not even take a breath as he continued his tearful accusations.

"Respected Chieftain, you don't know what I went through there! I went to their camp with peaceful intentions and even willingly handed over my weapons to their sentries. But no sooner had I met their leader than he ordered me thrown into prison."

"They had no intention or plan to negotiate! He gave me this wooden box, mocked me, saying all the people you wanted are here, and told me... to burn them for you!"

"Although they didn't hang me right there, presumably because they were afraid I would reveal their secrets, they insisted on keeping me locked up and unable to leave. Fearing more dreams in a long night, and that I might be silenced by dawn, I used the chips hidden in my shoe soles to bribe the guard, managing to escape their camp with the box under the cover of night."

"However, those people reacted swiftly, realizing that I had disappeared and dispatching hunters to pursue me. I dared not flee north, so I took a roundabout way to the eastern gate, but before I entered the city area, I was still shot with an arrow."

"Fortunately, the arrow did not hit any vital organs; I hid your subordinates' relics in a garbage bin and then crawled into some ruins myself. I had barely entered when they started searching the area! Thankfully, they didn't notice me, and I stayed hidden in the ruins until dawn when they finally left."

"Once I was sure there was no danger, I didn't dare delay for a moment and immediately brought the box back to report to you!"

Weeping and sniffling, Hain continued, and Bear sitting in the chair, finally seemed to shift his anger away from him.

His eyes firmly locked onto Hain, Bear asked in a deep voice,

"You say they are worried you will expose them? What secrets do they have?"

Hain continued quickly.

"Those people are not actually residents of the refuge, just scavengers who wandered in from somewhere. They took over a refuge hidden in Wetland Park by deception, stole the blue jackets, pretended to be residents of the refuge, and used this to deceive the wandering wasteland customers."

"They are not as strong as they appear, just a bunch of bullies who are tough on the weak and soft on the strong. They only number around thirty, and the rest are captives from the original refuge. Their favorite activity is to light a bonfire in the middle of the camp at night and then bring out the captives who are good-looking to party...You know what I mean."

"So if you plan to make a move on them, it's best to do it deep in the night."

With eyebrows lowered, Hain skillfully recounted the story someone had told him.

"That's when their defenses are the slackest, many people even without their clothes... That's when I took the chance to escape."

Captives.

From the refuge.

A greedy look surfaced on Bear's face.

The clone offered by Bet Street had long been broken by his play, now probably torn apart into parts by his men.

Moreover, those toys that show no emotional fluctuations, neither scream nor cry, couldn't pique his interest at all.

If there is no screaming, how could he demonstrate his bravery?

But those who come out of the refuge are different, they are top-notch goods wherever they are.

"Guns? How many do they have?" Bear immediately followed up with the question he cared about most.

Seeing the leader's interest, Hain was excited and quickly said,

"At most thirty! Half of those were even seized from your men! And their ammunition reserves are low, more than half of them still use bows and arrows, spears."

"You see, this leg wound was caused by their arrows!"

Hearing about bows and arrows,

Bear's expression scorned even more.

Those primitive things are scavengers' weapons, unless it's the few "Awakeners" with special abilities or mutants with extremely developed muscles, most people would prefer improvised guns made from black powder if given a choice, rather than fight with spears and bows.

Bear himself was two meters tall, all muscle, and when four people arm-wrestled him together, they couldn't even move his arm. Ordinary people can't even walk if they wear an armor weighing around twenty to thirty kilograms, but his own armor weighed a hundred kilograms, with the breastplate alone making up fifty kilograms of homogeneous steel!

Let alone crossbows and spears, even ordinary bullets hitting it felt like tickling, at most leaving some scratches.

In his view, crushing those scavengers was no different from crushing a nest of ants.

"My lord, I think we should consider this carefully," the horse-faced man standing beside him nodded and continued in a deep voice.

"Badger and Bear possess considerable strength, and their tribes are brave and skilled in combat. However, both of them have fallen to those scavengers consecutively, and I always feel that there's something fishy about it."

Hearing this statement, Hain got anxious and was about to speak. However, he saw Bear wave his hand and directly interrupted the horse-faced man,

"Badger is brave but lacks strategy, Bear has strategy but lacks courage, those two are not elite. They're just a bunch of scavengers. I will lead the team personally, concentrate all manpower, and crushing them will be more than easy."

Bear did not want to drag it out.

The longer it drags on, the heavier the snow and the colder the weather, the harder it becomes to fight.

Moreover, if all those refuge captives were played to death by the scavengers, what's left for him to enjoy?

Hain sighed in relief.

To make the bear hesitate no longer, he decided to drop another bombshell.

"Boss, you don't have to worry too much, we actually have a big advantage!"

"When I entered the Wetland Park, I discovered they were setting up camp by the river to the northwest, building brick kilns, probably planning to strengthen their shelters before the snow gets heavy, which clearly exposes their inner fears and weaknesses!"

"You just need to take advantage of the night and charge directly at their brick factory, they will definitely be thrown into chaos! Then we can pursue their fleeing soldiers and break into their camp, where all the wealth and supplies will be yours to take."

Saying this, Hain had a look of anger on his face.

"And I can also take a vicious revenge to settle this score with them!"

"Brick kilns?" The bear touched his chin interestedly, "How many people are there?"

"At least a dozen! Sixty percent are men captured from the refuge, and the other forty percent are their own people!"

The bear was overjoyed, slapping the armrest of his chair.

"Great!"

Although he couldn't completely trust this slave trader, the existence of the brick kilns was something easy to verify with just one look.

With that said, the bear immediately turned to the horse-faced man and commanded.

"Send one of your underlings to find a high point overlooking the direction of Wetland Park. If you see campfires by the river and smoke rising, come back immediately and report to me!"

The horse-faced man nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yes!"

...

Meanwhile, by the river at the northwest side of Wetland Park, Fang Chang and a few others had set up a shelter using a plastic tarp and wooden sticks on an open space.

This type of shelter was so draughty from all sides that actually living in it would guarantee arthritis, but they were reluctant to use better materials.

After all, they had to place barrels of black powder and wood tar inside soon...

"I don't think the Manager really expected us to produce any bricks."

As Night Ten dug out a kiln hole with a shovel by the riverbank, he complained, "Otherwise, why would he assign us such a peculiar task?"

Old White was a real doer and didn't talk much while working.

"Stop blabbering and finish your work… in a while, it will be almost time for the task."

"Damn…"

"By the way, Wild Wind, don't you have classes during the day?"

"Sent the PPT to the teaching assistant."

"Awesome!"

The first exclusive task the Bull Horse Brick Factory received was not to produce a certain number of bricks nor to build a kiln with a certain daily output, but to set traps within the camp.

Does this sound like something a life-profession player should be doing??

Well.

Though they weren't exactly life-profession players to begin with.

Chapter 90: Art is an Explosion!

It was eleven o'clock at night.

The heavy snow had paused for a brief moment.

In the pitch darkness, players carrying weapons fanned out in an arc in the forest, shoveling the ground with their shovels to dig dugouts, simple trenches; they worked at a swift pace.

"Thrilling! I just entered the game not long ago and already, two big team battles back to back!"

"Later, no one fight me for it, I want to kill ten!"

"Damn, I better stay away from you. Don't use me to pad your numbers."

"Am I that kind of person?"

"Who knows."

No one was panicked, only excited as if on a rush of adrenaline.

This game was so lifelike it perfectly set the atmosphere.

It was almost like a real battle!

The rustling in the woods covered up the players whispering in hushed tones.

Fully armed, Chu Guang stood with a hammer, his hands crossed over the end of the handle, his dark pupils staring intently towards the north.

He was taking a bet.

He bet that Hain had sided with his own interests and had successfully convinced the leader of the Blood Hand Clan to advance under the cover of darkness, splitting some forces off toward the small river in the northwest.

Of course, Chu Guang had also prepared for the worst-case scenario: if Hain had sided with morality and chosen to help a former trading partner, then Chu Guang would have to face the main force of the Blood Hand Clan head-on.

That would be a bitter fight between equally matched opponents.

But he was not worried.

Even if it were one for one, his side would come out ahead.

At that moment, a player with heightened perception ran over from a distance and reported excitedly to Chu Guang.

"Respected Manager, the forces of the Blood Hand Clan have left their camp and are advancing in our direction!"

Chu Guang felt a surge of joy.

However, he did not let his emotions show on his face. Instead, he composed himself and said,

"Are the props all set up?"

"All preparations are complete!"

"Good, issue my orders, all squads act according to the plan!"

"Yes!"

The player snapped to attention, his right fist to his chest, and excitedly went off.

Just thinking about the "props" set up nearby made him unbearably thrilled.

This was just too exciting!

...

North Gate of Wetland Park.

A dense crowd stood there.

Most of them were clad in beast skin coats, with makeshift metal, wood, or leather guards strapped to vital areas, and blood-red patterns tattooed on their arms, necks, and faces; the array of weapons they carried was even more diverse.

Although they looked more like a ragtag army of thugs, both in temperament and attire, in reality, their combat power was not as weak as it seemed.

Each person here was a battle-hardened veteran, an elite warrior of the Blood Hand Clan!

The Bear, clad in heavy armor, sat atop a rhinoceros with a nose ring, shouldering a double-barreled shotgun, squinting his eyes as he looked toward the dark forest.

At the entrance of that forest, there stood a sign with a skull painted on it, on which was sloppily written—

[Private property, no trespassing. Trespassers take full responsibility for their consequences.]

A playful smirk curved the corners of the Bear's mouth; he threw a glance at a lackey beside him.

The Looter understood and immediately stepped forward with an axe, swinging it down in a clean chop that cleaved the sign in two.

"Let's bring destruction over their heads!"

"Everybody, advance!"

The Bear let out a hearty laugh, flapping his huge hand forward, kicking the mutant rhinoceros beneath him, leading the way for the column.

The rhinoceros began moving forward with heavy steps, and at the same time, the fifty-five Looters following beside him, led by five Centurions, pressed forward.

At that point, something crossed the Bear's mind, and he called out to his confidant walking beside him.

The man's name was "Horse," with a long face resembling that of a horse, standing nearly two meters tall, towering over the surrounding lackeys; he was the most valiant Centurion under the Bear's command.

Looking down at him, the Bear instructed,

"You take your men west to storm the riverside brick kiln, capture any prisoners you can. If you can't catch them, drive them south, we'll meet you there."

Martial embraced his fists and accepted the command.

"Yes!"

Having said that, the Centurion didn't hesitate and immediately led his ten subordinates to quicken their pace towards the west.

Eleven people.

The cover of night was more than enough to launch a surprise attack on a camp.

Afterward, Bear turned to the remaining subordinates, his face revealing a cruel smile.

"We'll go south."

"Go ahead and wait for them!"

...

Although the heavy snow had eased up a bit, the chill in the forest had not dissipated, especially when the north wind blew through the trees, making a rustling sound that always kept one's nerves on edge.

Martial dared not take any orders assigned personally by the leader lightly. He moved quickly towards the river to the west while being cautious of threats in the forest.

Fortunately.

There were no ambushes.

Perhaps just as the merchant had said, these uncivilized survivors were holding an open-air meeting in their camp, completely unaware that death was approaching.

At the edge of the forest, the flickering campfire could be seen.

A group of Looters quickened their pace toward the glow.

Soon, they found a row of shacks built along the riverbank on the southwest side of the river.

The entrance to the shacks was covered with a plastic tarp, obscuring the view inside, but axes and shovels, the tools for clearing land, were placed at the entrances.

In the center of the shacks was a stone-encircled fire pit, with recently gnawed bones scattered around it.

Looking at the camp before him, Martial's face slowly showed a cruel smile; he loaded his iron pipe rifle and fitted a bayonet in the slot under the barrel.

"We'll sneak in quietly, no one make a sound."

"Try not to use guns if you can."

"If anyone resists, stab them to death!"

Upon receiving their leader's instructions, the Looters either fixed bayonettes to their rifles or drew hammers and short spears from their waists, ready to slaughter the enemies in their sleep.

The group approached silently, soundlessly entered the camp, and, with an understanding among them, two men took a shack, controlling the entrances from the left and right.

As all shacks were under control, Martial raised his right fist, signaled the action, and the group worked together, lifting the shack's door flaps with their bayonets—

Then.

Everyone was stunned.

There was nothing inside.

No, it wasn't quite right to say there was nothing.

In almost every shack, there was a tin can coated with wood tar.

"Spread out!"

Martial's face changed drastically as he was the first to realize the danger and shouted loudly.

However, it was still a step too late.

About a dozen fire arrows with flames attached, like locusts, flew from across the small river and landed one after another in the camp.

The plastic tarp on the shacks was ignited by the fire arrows, instantly shrinking into burning droplets and falling. Then, the cans wrapped in wood tar and the gunpowder inside were ignited.

Boom!!!

The chain of explosions that followed wreaked havoc in the camp. The Looters who had scattered to flee—half of them barely escaping—were swallowed by the dense smoke and the glare of the explosions.

Two Looters were blown to pieces on the spot!

The remaining nine, if not dead, were injured!

One unlucky soul caught by the splashed burning oil fell to the ground, rolling in agony, his mouth emitting wolf-like, ghostly howls.

The screams grew weaker and weaker, and soon there was no sound left.

Watching his subordinates each in pitiful states, and another taken away in an instant, Martial's eyes bulged with blood vessels, almost biting his teeth to pieces, and he roared.

"You cowards! What skill is there in a sneak attack!"

"Come out and fight me like a man!"

"Cough—"

The smoke got into his throat.

Ignoring the blood and flesh behind him, he buried his head and emerged from the dense smoke, firing his rifle one round after another toward the opposite bank of the river.

Bang—!

Flames flickered, and gunfire erupted chaotically.

The remaining Looters also returned fire in the direction from which the arrows had come, but after a dozen shots, they hadn't seen a single person, only watching arrows zip overhead.

Morale began to waver.

Not just Chu Guang was panicking; his men were too, starting to shoot as they retreated.

Meanwhile, the players lying in ambush on their west side were rubbing their hands with excitement, just waiting for the right moment to launch their attack.

"They're panicking! They are panicking! Hahaha, they're in a rush!"

"Elite down! Looks like a Centurion!"

"Damn, a Centurion! Charge! Brothers, take them alive!"

"For the spirit of charging into battle!"

"It's do or die!"

"Long live Demacia!"

"For Crow's mushroom soup!"

The players shouted out mixed gibberish as they excitedly emerged from the nearby bushes, each chant as unique as their inherited skills.

At the same time, the players supporting from across the river stopped shooting arrows and promptly pulled out shovels, axes, and sickles, wading through the ankle-deep shallows to coordinate an encirclement from the opposite bank, joining the frenzy.

People were everywhere!

Gunshots, footfalls, and battle cries filled the air, surging forward under the cover of night. They had no idea how many there were or where they were coming from.

Looters who had just emerged from the light of the fire and dashed into the forest felt like their eyes were smeared with ink, seeing nothing.

Chu Guang struggled with a jammed gun, ejecting the stuck shell while bellowing orders to his men.

"Retreat! Head south!"

A sliver of rationality told Chu Guang that their only chance of survival was to rendezvous with the main force to the south.

However.

Could someone else not predict what even he could?

The line of defense against the main force was to the south if they ran through the burning camp to the north, there was still a slim chance of escape, but running south was like charging bare-faced into a trench!

Just as Chu Guang and his followers were being struck head-on, the elite of the Blood Hand Clan, advancing toward Outpost Base, also heard explosions from the northwest.

"What's going on?"

"It seems to be coming from the direction of the brick kiln by the river..."

"Could it be, could it be that something happened to Chu Guang's group?!"

"No way, that's Chu Guang... I saw him tear apart an Eater with his bare hands!"

The Looters exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.

Instinct told them that the five consecutive explosions were a bit off.

Bear frowned as he looked towards the northwest, his expression uncertain.

Chu Guang was his trusted man, and he knew the equipment of his followers well; none of theirs could make such a sound.

In that case, there was only one possibility!

"Damn it! Everyone, move towards the northwest!" Bear, both anxious and angry, kicked the mutated rhino in the belly, spurring it on with a roar.

"Run for it!"

"Faster!"

The deaths of Badger and Chi weren't enough to grieve him, but if Chu Guang also perished, not only would the Blood Hand Clan suffer a major blow, but his own prestige in the tribe would plummet.

There was no time to worry about formations now. Looters didn't have a habit of marching in lines anyway; once they started running, the ranks quickly stretched out.

The other four Centurions felt something was wrong, but at this moment, they dared not object, only gritting their teeth and urging the stragglers to keep up.

A distance of less than six hundred meters for support was a matter of minutes, even if the forest terrain was inconvenient for running, still much better than the obstacles in the city.

The glow of the fire loomed ever closer.

Even from afar, the blinding blaze conveyed a terrifying heat.

"Damn it! Haven't you eaten? Run, damn you!"

Still not having caught sight of Chu Guang and only seeing the rising inferno, Bear couldn't contain his fury, cursing as he urged his men to speed up.

The men begrudgingly complied, sprinting with their weapons although the enemy was nowhere to be seen.

Bear raised the double-barreled shotgun in his hands and led the charge.

However, just then, in the mud illuminated by the firelight, he suddenly saw faces peeking out.

Pairs of eyes seemed to glow green, causing even the fearless Bear to panic for a millisecond.

"Fire!"

A harsh shout came.

Though he couldn't understand what those two modulated syllables meant, his combat instincts nonetheless made him flip off his mount, his robust body tumbling behind a tree root as thick as a python.

The sound of gunfire like thunderclaps suddenly erupted, continuously cracking in the air, the flashing muzzle flashes seeming to surround them from all directions, like the whistling 'whoosh whoosh whoosh' of lightning in the sky.

Fear gripped Bear's heart.

For a moment, he couldn't discern how many rifles were on the other side; he just saw his brothers in arms getting caught off guard during their charge, falling one after another.

It was unclear whether they were taking cover or being mowed down by gunfire.

"Damn it! We've been ambushed!"

"The first thing I'm doing when I get back is chopping that Hain into pieces!!!"

"First, let's talk about getting back..."

"Shit! How many rifles do they have over there?!"

"How do I feel like there's at least two machine guns!"

"Ahh ahh ahh!"

Hearing the scared voices of his brothers beside him, Bear was beside himself with panic.

The mount that had charged toward the enemy's position had been shot dead, its body lying motionless next to a tree some twenty meters away, its bullet holes indiscernible.

Bear didn't dare poke his head out to look; he didn't dare gamble on the marksmanship of the enemy with his own head.

But once he caught his breath and listened calmly to the sounds of whooshing overhead, he sensed something was amiss.

How to put this.

The thunder and lightning were not matching up!

In an instant, he regained his senses and shouted in alarm and anger,

"No, this isn't right! This isn't gunfire! This... This is!"

Bear wanted to say something, but couldn't remember what that thing was called.

In fact, he guessed right; it really wasn't gunfire, just a couple of homemade firecrackers made from waste paper, gunpowder, and brick powder.

In an age where people were struggling even to eat, who would have fireworks for fun? Not recognizing this stuff was normal.

However, one has to admit that in the dark environment, when the firecrackers were set off between rifle shots, they indeed had a deceiving effect.

The Looters, panting as they ran, hadn't seen where the enemy was but were met with such a blow; they were all stupefied, incapable of realizing that the enemy was using deception.

Lying prone on the ground, they felt as if two machine guns had been brought up against them, 'rat-tat-tat' firing at them.

Especially when their comrades were falling one after another, they couldn't clearly see who had been hit. One by one they were scared stiff by the mixture of gunfire and firecrackers; they didn't even dare lift their heads, much less return fire.

Moreover, they were fighting against the light...

While the four Looter squads were left utterly bewildered by the barrage, players crouching on both flanks of the trench had left their cover, using the sound of gunfire to envelop the Looters from both sides.

Seeing motion towards the flanks of their own position from the corner of his eye, Bear let out an angry roar.

"They've split up their forces!"

"Everyone charge!"

"Stop lying on the fucking ground; those aren't real gunshots! Everyone, follow me, charge into their trench, and smash their heads with the butt of your guns!"

He yelled his lungs out, but not a single person heeded him.

Consecutive ambushes had already brought the morale of these ragtag troops to the brink of collapse.

Despair suddenly surged in Bear's heart.

Perhaps...

Leaving the city to enter the enemy's home turf was a mistake from the start.

"Boss... the firepower on the other side is too fierce; charging now is suicide!"

"Fuck their firepower! Can't you hear it?! It's fake!" Rage burned in his chest, Bear almost biting his gums until they bled.

But he knew, at this moment, no matter how loud he yelled, there weren't many who could hear him, and even fewer who wanted to listen.

Knowing the battle was lost, he turned to the east side, made up his mind, and ordered a few of his confidants beside him,

"We can only wait for death here; we'll break out toward the east side!"

A few confidants nodded tensely.

However, just as Bear was about to elaborate on his breakout plan, a series of piercing howls came from the western position.

Bear looked up only to see lines of flame cleaving the darkness, pushing fist-sized rockets that fell from the night sky upon them.

Boisterous laughter came from afar.

Although he couldn't understand it, he faintly heard a hoarse tenor,

"Hahaha... haha."

"Art——is an explosion!"

Chapter 91: Blame Yourself for Having Too Long a Skill Animation

The spotlight on the battlefield had been completely stolen by the "Mosquito."

If nothing unexpected happened, he was undoubtedly going to be the MVP.

As the fuses behind the wooden "beehive" were all ignited, fifty wooden rockets, carrying heat waves, tore through the night sky like fiery meteors falling from heavens, and bombarded the Looter's position.

One kilogram of "Black Powder" wasn't terrifying. If it didn't land right next to them, it would probably only give them a scare.

However, fifty rockets carrying one-kilogram warheads launching simultaneously was a completely different story.

These wildly inaccurate rockets were even more numerous than the people lying here!

A total of fifty kilograms of gunpowder rained down on the enemy's trenches within three seconds, and the explosion's roar nearly shattered the Looters' eardrums.

Perfectly interpreting that saying—

As long as the quantity is sufficient, quantity itself is a quality!

Billowing smoke instantly burst open, and thick pine trees, as thick as thighs, were blasted apart.

Falling bark, wood chips, and ignited sparks flew chaotically across the battlefield, scalding the lying villains who rolled on the ground in desperation, scampering with their heads covered.

Even if only a few were killed on the spot, the chaotic scene was enough to cause desperation.

Conversely, the players in the trenches were full of excitement, their faces lit by the reflected glow of the fire.

"Mosquito rules!"

"Damn! Katyusha!"

"Bullshit, this is called Katyusha? At best, it's a swarm."

"Hahaha, awesome!"

The rockets hitting the ground became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The Looters' morale instantly collapsed.

Unable to hold the crumbling position any longer, they fled from the fiery shelters, not caring about the squad leader's scolding shouts, nor able to hear them.

No one knew when the next bombardment would come, or what else lay in wait behind them.

Like a group of terrified rats, the Looters desperately threw away their projectiles, not caring whether they hit enemies or comrades, and scattered in a crazed run for their lives.

And as they abandoned their position and scattered in chaos, a shrill whistle suddenly pierced the forest.

One after another, figures eagerly leaped out of the trenches and dugouts, brandishing their weapons, and pounced on the fleeing Looters like ravenous wolves.

"Ula!"

"Kill!"

"For the Alliance!"

"Ora ora ora!"

"Aooo aooo aooo!"

The shouts of killing were like a tsunami, rendering the "fight to the death" command pale and unnecessary.

Upon hearing the whistle, the players were like wild horses breaking free from their reins, seeing the fleeing Looters as walking trophies.

Startled by the barbarity of these "Blue Jacket" players, the Looters encountered barbarians even more savage than themselves for the first time.

No.

They weren't even human.

They were like "Eaters" that knew how to use guns!

"Mommy!"

"Get out of the way, don't block my path!"

"I surrender! I surrender, don't kill me!"

"Boss... we can't hold out here any longer, we need to retreat."

"Damn it!"

Comrades fell down one after another; those who didn't were playing dead on the ground. "Bear," attempting to break out towards the northeast direction, quickly realized he was left alone.

Carrying a hundred pounds of "heavy armor," he couldn't run fast; with bullets whizzing past in chaos, he dared not discard his armor to flee. Gritting his teeth, he had to retreat while fighting.

Such a large target was far too conspicuous on the battlefield.

He scrambled up, but before he'd made it a hundred meters, he was targeted as a "high priority target" by the eager Blue Jackets who surrounded him with excitement.

Bear was both shocked and furious, as the Blue Jackets seemed to have no fear of death; no trace of fear could be seen in their eyes, and they paid no mind to the casualties of their companions.

He watched as he raised his hand and fired two shots, shattering an approaching skull, only to be swiftly approached by two more, howling as they thrust forward with two long lances.

The double-barreled shotgun was powerful, but with only two bullets in the chamber, there was absolutely no time to reload at such a close distance.

Left with no choice, Bear had to abandon his hunting gun and block the two lance heads with his breastplate. Then, with a sweep of his arm, he grabbed and easily snapped the two long lances as if he was tearing apart cotton.

"Roar!"

His face twisted into a ferocious roar, attempting to intimidate those surrounding him with his fierceness.

Any regular survivor would certainly be terrified by him.

However, the ones standing before him were not ordinary people but a group of players who lacked martial ethics. Although startled by the sound, they were far from being frightened into immobility.

Instead—

They grew more excited?

"Fuck?!"

"This BOSS is fierce! At least a Centurion!"

"Someone come and help!"

"Got it! I'll flank; you guys hold him off!"

Bear's face was filled with shocked rage; the attitude and response of these people were insulting to him.

He drew the long-handle battle axe from his back and hacked repeatedly, driving the approaching Blue Jackets back, but these fearless Blue Jackets still relentlessly pressed forward.

At that moment, Bear suddenly sensed a dangerous aura and turned his head sharply to the side, only to see a man with a severe expression standing there.

A deer skin jacket hung from a branch nearby, fluttering in the north wind.

Strapped to the man's body was an exoskeleton, with a huge long-handle warhammer standing in front of him, his hands casually resting on the handle.

The look in the man's eyes was challenging.

As if to say to him—

"Want to try?"

With a sneer curling the flesh at the corner of his mouth, Bear's expression was fierce.

"Heh, let's try!"

He was never afraid of anyone in a test of strength.

Even an exoskeleton had to bow down before his prodigious strength!

As the NPC teammates watched their own members and the Looter BOSS lock eyes, seemingly triggering a key part of the story, the players also started to cease their eager advance.

Seeing that the Manager had no intention of involving them, the players, it was better to watch the scene play out from the sidelines.

If they were accidentally hurt in the mix-up or killed by the plot, that would be a major loss. Many among them had witnessed the Manager's hammer, as explosive as a shell.

"Fuck, Jess Dano's hand?"

"What Jess Dano's hand, can that hammer fire? Clearly, it's Poppy's!"

"What are you talking about? Isn't it the Fool's hammer brother?"

"...Fuck off!"

"..."

Zzz, this bunch of sand sculptures.

All the atmosphere brewed especially for you has gone to waste.

Forget it.

It's irrelevant anyway.

Chu Guangning, intent on a quick resolution, didn't waste words and directly maxed out the output power of the exoskeleton. He then adjusted his grip, with his thumb resting on the B Mode button.

Fully prepared, Chu Guangning stepped steadily towards Bear.

Watching the man approaching full of openings, Bear's mouth cracked into a wicked grin.

He didn't know where this man got the confidence to challenge him to a one-on-one, but he wouldn't miss this perfect opportunity.

Intuition told him that as long as he could control this guy, he still had a slim chance of survival!

His right foot scraping against the ground, the Bear's legs suddenly exerted force, charging at Chu Guang like a real brown bear roaring.

Admittedly, that full-body protective armor did look quite imposing. Especially when charging, it was like a fully powered tank, making the Earth itself seem to tremble faintly.

"Coincidence."

"My hammer is meant to smash tanks!"

B Mode—

Activate!

Under high pressure, the nitrogen gas compressed into a thin layer, adhering to the curved surface of the armor.

Chu Guang stepped forward, swirling his warhammer with all his might.

Watching the hammer coming down slowly, a cold smile appeared on the Bear's face. He lifted his battle axe and swung it out.

He seemed to already see the cumbersome and comical hammer being knocked away like a baseball hit by his battle axe.

However, what the Bear never expected happened.

The moment his battle axe touched the hammer, it was as if something exploded. His axe blade was blown into spinning and flying backward.

The base of his palm throbbed painfully, while his finger bones felt as if they were going to split apart.

Clutching the empty axe handle, the Bear was utterly stunned, having no clue what had just happened.

"Goodbye."

Regaining control of his warhammer that had been swung wide open by the recoil, Chu Guang grinned and didn't give him any chance to catch his breath. With all the strength of a blacksmith, he swung out again horizontally.

Dragging along the reconstituted nitrogen armor, he brutally hammered it into the Bear's chest!

Boom—!

In the blink of an eye, with no time to react, the Bear was hammered and sent flying.

His two-meter-tall body was like a cannonball, smashing a pine tree behind him as thick as a man's thigh.

"Ugh… cough."

Gushes of fresh blood surged out of his mouth, countless bones broken throughout his body.

The Bear's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at his chest.

The steel plate, as thick as a thumb, which originally bulged outwards, was smashed open and caved inwards! Even the dragon bones that secured the armor pieces had snapped!

What on Earth was it?

That force was definitely not human!

No, this was not simply the result of brute strength!

Watching the man coming towards him with the hammer in hand, a rare trace of fear emerged in the Bear's eyes.

Extending his nearly fractured hand, the Bear clenched his teeth and snapped off the steel plate that almost crushed his ribs, struggling to stand up from the ground.

Like a wild beast cornered, his eyes bloodshot, harsh breath visible as white vapor, every cell in his body seemed to tremble.

Suddenly—

When his emotions peaked, the Bear felt an unprecedented sensation surging from his chest throughout his body, coursing through every blood vessel, every inch of bone, every muscle, and skin.

His broken ribs seemed to heal in a flash, his blood flowing rapidly, feeling an unprecedented clarity and comfort.

At the same time, thick hair started to grow wildly on his body, gradually covering him entirely.

The surrounding players exclaimed.

"Fuck, is this BOSS evolving?!"

"What the hell is happening?!"

"Has it gone moldy?!"

Awakening!

Remembering rumors he had heard, the Bear instantly understood what was happening to him and joy burst within him, an ugly, twisted, maniacal laugh appearing on his face.

"Hahahaha, all of you are—"

Before the word "dead" could escape his mouth, the whooshing warhammer thundered down on the top of his head.

The explosion of nitrogen had obliterated his brain, shattering his skull and pressing the fragments into his chest cavity, leaving a pasty white smear and blood drenching his back.

The bear's body swayed and softened, and his huge frame knelt straight onto the ground, slowly leaning to one side.

The players watching the scenario beside him were all dumbfounded.

"Damn!"

"Our Manager has no honor in combat!"

"To attack before one has even transformed!"

"Hahaha, love it, love it."

"But seriously, is the scenario considered complete now?"

"There must be something fishy about this native, probably related to the upcoming expansion pack. Just wait, there will definitely be more to come, but not today—the guy's dead as a doornail."

Chu Guang slung the warhammer onto his back and took a piece of paper out of his pocket to wipe off the "crumbs" hanging on his exoskeleton and collar. Looking down at the corpse on the ground, his eyes showed not the slightest bit of pity.

"Go repent in hell."

If you were to blame anyone, blame it on the fact that your skill animation took too long.

But dead men don't talk and naturally, they couldn't respond to him.

The Looter forces collapsed like a house of cards.

Especially with the death of their leader, the remaining Looters still resisting also threw down their weapons and gave up all resistance.

A total of 82 players participated in the battle; 7 died, 3 were seriously injured, and 11 sustained minor injuries.

There were 56 Looters in total, with 27 of them dead, 10 seriously injured, and the rest with minor injuries.

All the seriously and slightly injured were captured, none of these lackeys escaped the combined tracking of Perception-type players and Agility system players.

This battle was a great victory!

But that being said, this battle was the bloodiest since the beta test began, and the only one so far to have casualties.

Although the players were all exceptionally gallant and fearless during the charge, the desperate resistance of some Looters, along with the random bullets on the battlefield, still caused a certain number of casualties among the players.

Especially that "bear".

Of the 7 dead players, 2 were killed by him.

In addition, two of the serious injuries were also his doing, one of whom had an arm chopped off, resulting in direct disability.

Without a way to reattach limbs, they could only persuade this newbie player to log off, save his Gene Sequence, and toss his maimed body into the Active Substance Extractor to be melted down and reformed into a new body…

"I don't want it! I don't want to be 'out of bounds'! I feel like I could still be saved!" Makabazi kept yelling.

"Alright, alright, the Manager said there will be a pension for you. Your equipment will be stored for free for the next few days; I'll bring it back for you."

"Damn! Don't you dare take my stuff."

"Do I look like that kind of person?!"

Watching their seriously injured comrades being knocked unconscious with bricks by these Blue Jackets, who then stripped them of their clothes and gathered the captives next to the brick kiln, the faces of the prisoners showed fear.

These guys...

They are simply devils!

All the bodies, friend and foe alike, were loaded onto carts and taken to the morgue at Outpost Base, waiting for the next steps in processing. As for the prisoners, Chu Guang temporarily incarcerated them by the riverside at the brick kiln, surrounding the area with torches, and assigned several players to guard them.

Perhaps because of the experience accumulated from several previous group battles, the post-battle processing was done quickly and smoothly.

Looking at the bulky figure being carried onto the stretcher, Chu Guang pondered in his heart that perhaps the body of this brute alone might provide a whole unit's worth of Active Substance.

However, more intriguing to Chu Guang than the Active Substance on his body was what exactly was this sudden growth of body hair?

Could it be some kind of special ability?

Like an atavistic reaction that occurs at the brink of extremity, leading to an increase in all attributes.

Thinking of this, Chu Guang suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Lucky that the Talent he had unlocked was somewhat normal—if he had to grow hair all over his body every time he used an ability, Chu Guang would rather not have that ability at all.

Leaving a part of the players to clean up the battlefield, assist the injured, and watch over the prisoners, Chu Guang gathered twenty more elite players who still had the strength to fight. He addressed them, saying,

"The enemy's main force has been annihilated! Their homes are left with only the old, the weak, the sick, and those poor souls they captured."

"Advance!"

"It's time to end this War!"

Chapter 92 No One is Better at Turning Things Upside Down than Players (Please Subscribe)

"Ahhhh!"

"Take them down!"

The players excitedly raised their weapons and responded to the Manager's call with overwhelming enthusiasm.

Chu Guang nodded in approval of their attitude and waved his hand forward.

The group passed through the northern gate of the park, followed the broken paths of the elevated exits from the city, and headed straight towards the Looter's nest four kilometers to the north.

It was an abandoned tire factory.

Crude defensive fortifications were placed outside the walls, which were smeared with strange patterns and symbols.

[Escaped Vole in the Canyon] lowered his voice and whispered to [Midnight Chicken Killing] beside him,

"These graffiti remind me of wild men in the forest."

"Wild men in the forest?"

"A game, on PC."

"I know... But these people don't live in the forest, do we live in the forest, right?"

"..."

Although the enemy's main force had been completely wiped out, Chu Guang still didn't let his guard down, carefully watching his surroundings and possible traps.

Interestingly, when Chu Guang and his company arrived, they found the gate to the Looter's den wide open.

At the same time, as he confirmed the fall of the Blood Hand Clan's camp, a pale blue popup window emerged before his eyes.

[Mission completed.]

[Shelter No. 404 B2 floor access granted, lock to be lifted after 24 hours.]

[Countdown: 23h59m59s]

Damn, still a 24-hour wait.

Oh well.

It wasn't like Chu Guang was in a hurry, as he had a lot of things to deal with before exploring the B2 floor.

Including those prisoners.

And other spoils of war.

Meanwhile, Hain, who was anxiously waiting at the gate, finally sighed in relief upon seeing Chu Guang.

If the person who had come wasn't him, or if he hadn't walked here, Hain's life might not have been spared.

"I still think getting involved in the locals' squabbles isn't a good choice," a muscular female Mercenary holding a boxy assault rifle reminded her employer, "We have no control over the region; they can decide our fate on a whim."

"I agree with Luna's point of view," another strong Mercenary glanced at the group outside and frowned, "If they decide to take it all, what do you plan to do?"

His name was Wen, and he was the strongest among the three.

Hain dismissively replied to his subordinates' concerns,

"That's a problem, but not a big one. We even do business with Looters, so why not with them? Trust me, switching to a relatively rule-abiding trade partner isn't a bad thing."

"Really?" the female Mercenary whistled sarcastically, "I don't think they're much more civilized than the Looters."

"Alright, shut your mouth. Just stand here and wait for me!"

Leaving his two bodyguards behind, Hain quickly descended the stairs and stepped out excitedly to greet the newcomers, his expression as if he'd known them for many years.

"My dear friend, you don't know how thrilled I am to see you safe and sound here!"

"I feel the same," Chu Guang said with a light smile, glancing at the nearby gate and speaking with mild surprise, "You took down this stronghold all by yourself?"

Hain laughed and replied,

"Of course not by myself; only penniless gamblers would travel this far alone to do business. Now, let's not talk in the doorway; come on in!"

"In a bit, I will introduce you to my two bodyguards and assistants. I really owe it to them this time. Otherwise, our plan wouldn't have gone so smoothly!"

Hain politely invited Chu Guang and the group inside, vividly describing his ingenuity in deceiving the Blood Hand Clan chief and how, while they were unaware, he coordinated with his waiting bodyguards to take down the fortress.

To be honest, Chu Guang wasn't interested in Hain's "heroic tales"; no matter how embellished the story was, it couldn't be more thrilling than what he had personally experienced.

However, now that the fortress had already been breached from the inside, it saved him quite a bit of time.

Chu Guang had been prepared to use players as human bombs, risking their lives to charge the doors with ten kilograms of black powder, but now it seemed this extra expense could be spared.

Next was the looting.

No one was more skilled at this than his players.

Upon receiving the orders, the players' eyes lit up with greed, swarming into the Looter's stronghold.

Not just the cabinets laid out in the rooms - they wouldn't even overlook a loose floor tile!

"What's in this jar?"

"Yuck, it stinks."

"Probably something from Ollie."

"Holy shit, there's a human head in this drawer… That's seriously twisted."

"There are white plastic pieces under the floorboards!"

"What are these good for? Casino chips? Collectibles?"

"This? Holy crap, good stuff! According to the guide on the Forum, you can exchange these at the warehouse for money, one chip for five copper coins!"

Watching these Blue Jackets, who seemed even more like bandits than the Looters, Luna clucked her tongue, while Wen beside her wore a queer expression.

The Blue Jackets he had seen were always more reserved, even pedantic - seeing any without airs like these was indeed rare.

"What language are they speaking?"

"Don't know, never heard of it; definitely not from around here."

"Are they really from Shelter No. 404?"

"Don't know, does anyone actually care?"

"You're really no fun to talk to."

"I just don't have as many questions as you do."

The two mercenaries whispered among themselves. The most ferocious power in the area had been annihilated, so no one would bother them for the rest of the night.

Standing aside, Hain and Chu Guang were also engaged in a friendly conversation, discussing how to split the profits from this lucrative raid.

"I lost seven... actually eight. Another poor kid had his arm chopped off by the leader of the Looters, bled out too much and couldn't be saved."

"Damn... that, that's really tragic."

Hain clicked his tongue, his wide-eyed expression conveying his shock and sympathy.

He didn't know how many people were at Outpost Base, but he guessed it was fewer than a hundred. To lose eight in one battle was to cut the population by a tenth, a considerable cost indeed.

"...Don't be too hard on yourself. People die every day in the Wasteland; casualties are inevitable. Last year I had four bodyguards, and this year, only two are left."

Hain sighed and consoled him, "At least their sacrifice has brought peace; the survivors, including everyone in this area, will thank them."

"They will compensate us later, but that's not what we're discussing now," Chu Guang looked at Hain and continued, "you seem to have misunderstood me. I'm not looking for your comfort; rather, I'm informing you that we'll be taking the larger share."

Hain was dumbfounded.

Temporarily at a loss for words, he stuttered.

"Ah, okay... I mean, no problem. Yes, you rightfully deserve it, my esteemed lord."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Good, now we can discuss the exact details of the split."

The two mercenaries exchanged silent glances, not daring to speak, only using their eyes to communicate.

'I've never seen Blue Jackets this ruthless before.'

'I'll bet the boss hasn't either.'

'A real warlord.'

'Fierce, just my type.'

...

There were a total of twenty-nine captives from the Wetland Park Looters, ten of whom were seriously wounded; it was uncertain if they would survive the night.

The Looter's dungeon held about 30 people, including the two juvenile soldiers they had just thrown in, making it 32 in total. However, half of them were severely injured or ill, some were barely clinging to life, looking utterly miserable, possibly dying at any moment.

According to the negotiation between Chu Guang and Hain, all Looter captives, regardless of how serious their injuries, were to be handed over in a package deal. In exchange, Hain needed to provide a batch of goods of equivalent value.

There were a total of 31 Looter captives.

Without a standardized currency, it was hard to estimate value, so Chu Guang simply used "coarse salt," a special product of Red River Town, as the equivalent, pricing each captive at 20 kilograms of salt.

When Chu Guang previously traded dried meat for salt with Sun Shiqi, he got about one kilogram of salt for every three kilograms of meat. According to this exchange rate, a captive was worth 60 kilograms of "cured meat."

He found it to be quite reasonable.

Although Hain didn't make the connection to dried meat, he found the trading price barely acceptable.

A strong laborer, with just a bit of training, could be sold to the mine owners in Red River Town for two to three times the amount.

Disabled captives were also not a problem: Red River Town may lack food, but not nutritional paste. By next spring, there would be someone willing to take their still-functional "parts."

The only trouble right now was that Hain didn't have that many goods on him.

This time, to make the final trade before winter, he only brought some of the hard currency from Qingquan City—plastic tokens.

With that much capital, buying two or three strong laborers would be no problem, but swallowing over thirty all at once... was somewhat a daydreamer's talk.

Hain tried to make a final effort, looking at Chu Guang and saying,

"We didn't bring that much stuff! I can guarantee with my reputation that I will bring the promised goods next spring!"

Chu Guang snorted.

"Stop talking nonsense. If you had something like a reputation, we wouldn't be standing here making a deal. Anyway, Red River Town is just a two-day journey from here; you can go back and get it now."

Hain exclaimed in shock,

"Are you mad? It's winter now! Just a few hours ago, there was heavy snow outside! You want me to run back to Red River Town and then come back here?"

Chu Guang said indifferently,

"It's just the beginning of winter, and that was only the third snowfall. The ground temperature hasn't even reached below zero. You call that heavy snow? You're not afraid to come to me alone to negotiate, but you're worried about this little risk?"

Should he take two or three people back, or thirty?

Opportunities for such a trade weren't abundant.

After weighing the pros and cons, Hain didn't even spend a minute before he made his decision.

It was a principle that no Caravan wanted to trade at this time.

But when the profits outweigh the risks, principles are merely principles.

Chu Guang was satisfied with his decision.

If he had disagreed, the gallows of justice would have been busy again.

He couldn't spare precious food to feed these Looters, as the benefits of doing so were far less than converting them into raw materials for summoning the fourth Heaven disaster.

These people had a nature resistant to discipline; slacking off was common for them. It would take a lot of time and manpower to tame them, and even if successful, they wouldn't be as obedient as the players.

Why bother?

He would soon be opening Level B2.

At that time, more beta testing spots would be available to satisfy those eagerly awaiting companions.

...

After discussing the spoils of war, Chu Guang ordered the players to go to the dungeon to clear out the space, making way for the Looters from the Brick Factory.

When the dungeon's gate opened, the pungent stench that wafted out nearly choked the two young players who followed down; they had to air out for quite a while before they could continue forward with their torches lit.

The deep, shadowy stone walls were covered in sticky filth, and occasionally cockroaches the size of fists scurried across the floor, while rats as big as shoes fought over a rotting corpse.

The men and women chained by their hands and feet watched the newcomers at the dungeon's entrance with vacant stares, their eyes lifeless, few with all their limbs intact. Some even had thumb-sized bugs crawling on them and paid them no mind at all.

Elf King Fortune couldn't hold it in and vomited on the spot.

"I'm never coming down here for this job again."

Escaped Vole in the Canyon was doing better; he even snickered and teased,

"Wasn't it you who insisted to come?"

"...I thought there was an injured little Kali here."

"Tch, how do you call for help here?"

Watching the two people walk ahead, Irina, who reached the door, stopped in her tracks, a subtle expression on her face, much like the comically scared figure standing in a corner.

"I can cover your retreat here, mainly worried about looters ambushing from behind."

Fu Gui and Mole exchanged glances, then simultaneously chuckled and turned their attention to this good brother.

"Don't be like that, brother, you've come this far."

"The quest reward is 5 silver coins, man. We've got to get this person out."

"Exactly, exactly," Brother Fu Gui from the Agile system grabbed hold of the fleeing Irina, chuckling, "There ain't any looters around here anymore, behave."

"Let go of me! Ahhhhh!"

It took quite some time to get all the prisoners out of the dungeon, and on the other side, the looting of the spoils continued.

The players plundering the loot had turned the entire tire factory upside down.

Not just the obviously valuable stuff, but even the pots and pans, tables, and stools used by the looters were collected.

Speaking of which, there was a little episode here.

While searching the looters' boss's room, players found a wooden torture device with a cooled clone hanging from it, her fair skin stained and scarred.

Chu Guang had a slight recollection of her.

He remembered seeing List and Old Charlie doing business at the entrance to Bet Street when a gunman from a Commercial Team led her down from a vehicle.

"Old Leech's clone, how did she end up in the Blood Hand Clan's camp?"

Chu Guang stroked his chin, lost in thought.

In his mind, four possibilities, ABCD, emerged, some more respectable than others.

The four young players who had entered the room with him whispered behind his back.

"Is this game really serious?"

"Maybe...?"

"Then why's there a comic-like plot?"

"What comic-like plot, all you know is comics! This is called world-building, get it? Ah, when I log off, I gotta hype it up on the official site. This game's got a lot of detail, hope they don't cut it out after the public beta."

"Stop dreaming about the publishing license, just play on the international servers."

"But honestly, our Manager is quite upright. In this Wasteland where hearts are colder than ice, to have such a just, fair, and kind NPC is really rare."

The players unanimously agreed with this statement.

Without exaggerating or downplaying, many details showed that their beloved Manager was a leader with great personal charm.

Otherwise, why would the weapon shop's proprietress always steal glances at him, huh?

Hearing the players' conversation, Chu Guang chuckled.

Otherwise, what?

If I were a normal Waste Land Wanderer, you lot would be hanging from that torture device. Think about it, where do all these "commodities" come from?

He casually dragged a piece of fabric over her, Chu Guang then turned to the players behind him.

"Take this poor soul down and carry her away."

"Leaving the body here would only feed the cockroaches; better to let her contribute a bit to the rekindling of civilization."

"Also, search this room carefully, report any clues to me immediately."

"Be wary of traps."

The four players, energized, responded.

"Yes! Sir!"

Licking the package!

Raiding NPC's cupboards!

This work was what they did best!

Chapter 93: The Mark of Blood

Linghu Wetland Park.

By an unnamed river, the surroundings consisted of burnt soil and tree trunks.

The previous fire had been extinguished, torches encircled the open space, corralling twenty-nine disheartened captives in the center.

It was now the second half of the night, and in a few hours, it would be dawn.

Night Ten yawned, looking towards Old White.

"How long until the Manager returns?"

"I don't know."

"And Wild Wind?"

Fang Chang pointed his chin towards the half-dug cave by the river.

"He had class in the afternoon and fell asleep there."

Logging off in the game was quite convenient except for safely logging off at respawn points, any scene that resulted in loss of consciousness could disconnect you.

That included, but was not limited to, being knocked unconscious or simply sleeping.

However, this method wouldn't save your Gene Sequence progress.

Hearing that Wild Wind had gone to class, Night Ten asked in confusion.

"Didn't he send his assistant the PPT?"

"I don't know, probably couldn't leave his students behind. Anyway, the mission was over, and since he was spaced out, I let him log off to handle his things. When he wakes up, he can just take over our shift."

As one of the earliest veterans in their group, Old White probably had the longest contact with Wild Wind and understood him best.

"…Don't be fooled by how Wild Wind brags in the group chat every day. In reality, he's actually a very honest and dorky guy, extremely dedicated to his work, and has no other hobbies but the game."

Night Ten chuckled.

"I didn't see the honesty, but he does seem broody."

Old White laughed.

"Haha, just keep roasting him while he's offline!"

Night Ten: "Speaking of which… After logging off, the game characters are unresponsive no matter what you do?"

"Probably, so logging out in non-safe zones is really risky if no one's watching," Fang Chang glanced at Night Ten, "What are you thinking?"

Night Ten's eyes flickered.

"I'm not up to anything, just thinking… What if we all logged off? Wouldn't NPCs be able to do whatever they want with us in the cultivation chambers?"

Hearing this bizarre idea, Old White and Fang Chang choked on their spit.

"Putt."

"Cough! Alright, stop projecting your filthy thoughts onto others. Besides, such baseless speculations are utterly meaningless. You have no evidence to prove it, nor any evidence to disprove it. Questions like whether aliens are always around us, whether our world is actually a game, or whether the science we know still works outside our 'Viewrange' are purely a source of unnecessary worries unless you find credible evidence."

"What do you mean filthy! Can't I be curious? What else is there to do while on guard duty, daydream? And you sound more and more like Wild Wind with that preachy tone," Night Ten said, rolling his eyes.

Fang Chang shrugged.

"Nope, I just think that people who ponder such questions are themselves very questionable."

Old White nodded in deep agreement, adding another jab.

"Exactly, and I think nobody would want to mess with your body."

Night Ten: "I said it was a hypothetical! Hypothetical! Ah, it's impossible to have a common language with you old folks."

Fang Chang: "…"

Old White: "…"

At that moment, Tomato Scrambled Eggs and three other players walked over from a distance.

Seizing the opportunity, Night Ten quickly changed the subject.

"Yo, Brother Scrambled Eggs, what brings you here?"

"I came to take over the shift. Didn't the Manager say I'd be on duty after 2 A.M.?" Scrambled Eggs noticed someone was missing and curiously asked, "Where's Wild Wind?"

"He logged off, got something to take care of in reality, we'll carry him back later."

Scrambled Eggs nodded understandingly.

"Ah."

Since others had come to take over, they could relax now.

Perfect time to log off for a meal, rest a bit, then come back to play.

Old White picked up Wild Wind on his shoulder then handed over the duty of guarding the captives to Scrambled Eggs and the others, and then walked away with Night Ten and Fang Chang.

Now it was Scrambled Eggs and their turn to be bored.

At first, the four young players stood guard with serious expressions, but since all the captives were asleep, they gathered to chat casually and pass the time.

"That was rash, had I known guarding was so boring, should have bought some meat and charcoal from the warehouse to grill and eat."

"Right, speaking of which, Brother Scrambled Eggs, is rhino meat tasty?"

"I've never eaten that thing…"

"Aren't you a chef?"

"What restaurant dares to do that???"

"I heard rhinos come under CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora's Appendix I species, seems like the penalty is at least five years with no upper limit. But there are probably no wild rhinos in China, you'd have to go to South Africa."

"…Ahem, should be fine in the game, right?"

Players casually chatting.

At that moment, rustling noises came from the nearby woods.

Everyone immediately tensed up and gripped their guns, but they quickly relaxed.

It was one of their own.

"How are the captives?"

"They're all still here, respected Manager."

"Good."

Chu Guang nodded and turned to the players following him, instructing,

"Take these people with you."

One of the duty-bound players exclaimed excitedly,

"Take them back to hang?"

That had always been their approach!

However, this time it seemed that the Manager had a new plan.

"Take them to the abandoned tire factory four kilometers away, where they've built their own dungeons," Chu Guang glanced at those villains and said indifferently, "Death is too good for them. They will spend the rest of their lives in the mines of Red River Town."

The mines of Red River Town weren't real mines, mostly just old landfill sites.

Only God knew what could be dug out from there; discovering improperly buried nuclear waste wouldn't be surprising.

The slaves working there were disposable, with few surviving past ten years—the quicker ones barely made it two or three years.

But who cared?

People died every day in the wasteland.

The drowsy captives were all woken up, over twenty people strung together by a rope, the line stretching quite long.

With about ten players armed with guns overseeing them, there was no worry about these people escaping.

After walking four kilometers along the elevated pathway out of the city and turning into a street, they quickly arrived at the abandoned tire factory.

Seeing people already on the walls of their former lair, despair showed on the Looters' faces, displaying looks of utter hopelessness.

Inside the camp, the freed captives stood bewildered on the open space, staring at the returning Looters instinctively wanting to flee.

However, upon seeing the ropes tied around the Looters and the warriors guarding them, these pitiful people quieted down.

Even the less intelligent could see what was happening.

The place had changed hands.

After issuing a highly rewarding "garrison mission," Chu Guang picked the ten luckiest players who raised their hands first to stay here, then he assigned the slower hands to gather the spoils of war, packaging them onto carts and hand trolleys brought from the base.

According to his and Hain's "contract," all the spoils belonged to him.

After making these arrangements, Chu Guang approached Hain, looking at this merchant who had made substantial profits and said,

"When do you plan to leave?"

With a respectful expression, Hain replied,

"I've already sent Wen back. He moves fast and should return with what you need within four days."

Chu Guang asked,

"Just him alone?"

"Of course, one person is fastest. He has my token on him, so it's all the same whether I am with him or not," the wily old merchant added thoughtfully, perhaps recalling something, "I know what you're worried about, please rest assured, I am willing to stay here as a hostage. Even if you don't trust my character, you should believe I wouldn't joke with my own life."

Chu Guang looked at him with interest.

Knowing what I'm worried about is pretty good.

I didn't even know myself.

"Suit yourself. I've never trusted your character nor cared about your tricks. I plan to head back to Outpost Base soon. Are you staying here, or are you coming back with me?"

Inside the base, he had left ten players in charge—five in each group, working in shifts. Basically, two stood watch inside the dungeon and three at the enclosing wall and gates, enough to watch over the few captives.

These spoils couldn't be moved all at once; several more trips would be needed during the day.

The entire next day, the players would be busy.

"I'll come back with you," Hain determined in just a second, immediately saying, "I don't want to stay here for another second."

Looters usually weren't very hygienic, and the stench of decay in their camp was unbearable for any normal person, likely only appealing to rats and cockroaches.

Chu Guang nodded without saying anything, gesturing to the players pulling carts and trolleys who were ready.

"Let's go."

"Take our spoils of war."

"Home!"

...

They returned to Outpost Base at four in the morning.

Peering through gaps in the forest, they could already faintly see a few patches of white mist.

Except for the guards on the enclosing walls and a few players bustling about in the industrial zone, there weren't many people in the base.

But wait a little longer, and it would be bustling.

Chu Guang found a couple of empty rooms in the main building of the hospital, lending them to Hain and his female bodyguards.

Then, instructing Luka, who had just woken up, to watch them a bit, Chu Guang returned to the shelter with Xiao Qi.

He placed Xiao Qi in the corner to charge, reminding it to wake Xia Yan for work on time the next day but not to disturb him, before heading back to his own room.

The door closed.

Sitting on the soft bed, Chu Guang pulled out a yellowed notebook from his pocket.

He had found it in "Bear's" room—a collector's item.

Since the notebook's cover bore a Blood Handprint, Chu Guang thought it might be some sort of token from the Blood Hand Clan and had curiously stuffed it into his pocket.

What Chu Guang hadn't expected was when he turned to the first page of the notebook, instead of the eerie customs or traditions he imagined, it was merely a plain diary.

[January 2, 2129]

"War ended in late 2128, 2129...so, this diary was written in the first year of the Wasteland Era?"

Chu Guang had a good memory for numbers, rarely forgetting what he saw.

So far, among all the information he had gathered, there had been no word of that war.

Perhaps this diary could provide some clues.

With a trace of curiosity about exploring old relics, Chu Guang, under the soft light of the room, looked at the first line under the date tag.

It was a rather intriguing sentence.

[...That day, I survived.]

Chapter 94: Battle Report, Great Victory, and the Forefront of the New Version!

Just as Chu Guang was engrossed in archaeology with his diary, the "Wasteland OL" official website forum in another world was buzzing with excitement.

The 7 players who had died in battle logged off one after another, almost simultaneously rushing to post firsthand battle reports on the forum for the backseat drivers and jolly folk lurking online.

This battle was much more intense than any before.

The total forces committed by both sides exceeded that of an entire company, with tactics involving splitting and encirclement, fire suppression, and various raids and counter-raids, which left all participating players thoroughly exhilarated, exclaiming their deaths were totally worth it!

Especially during the battle's finale.

Fifty rocket missiles blanketed the battlefield. At the sound of a whistle, everyone leaped out of the trenches and charged forward, painting such a glorified and exaggerated picture that even the backseat driver forum-goers were thrilled by the spectacle.

"Hahaha, lighting fireworks was too sassy; the other side must've been stunned. Just where did you learn these slick moves?"

"But the weirdest thing is that Mosquito's rockets actually worked? Didn't you guys say that the flamethrower he made last time didn't have enough chamber pressure and was missing a backfire valve, resulting in him setting himself on fire?"

"Goblin Technology redeems itself. (Amusing)"

"A one-kilogram warhead is still playing small ball! Next time, let's get the hot air balloon going and drop 300-pound aviation bombs—that'd definitely do the trick!"

"Hot air balloons seem tough; once you're up there, you're an easy target. But you could try building an engine and making a propeller-driven aircraft. Aren't the Mini-Max series planes made of wood? With a little effort, it's definitely possible!"

"Go build a tank. Tanks are more reliable, but I hear that near the respawn points it's either cities or anti-tank trees, which might be tricky."

"Are you guys really talking about the game? Something feels off. (Amusing)"

"Cough cough, we're discussing plastic models, plastic models!"

While the conversation often veered off-topic, it quickly got back on track as new updates were released.

Whether it was strategizing or playing armchair generals,

Whether they were earnest pre-registered players of the game or just there for the fun, what mattered most to everyone was the outcome of this war.

Though the reports had been favorable so far, everything under control, what if these closed beta players didn't live up to expectations, or if the Looters had any aces up their sleeve?

If they lost, it would be a complete disaster.

After all, the official statement had made it clear: should the "Winter Is Coming" expansion challenge fail, the game servers would be indefinitely taken offline for recalibration before resuming.

As for how long it would be halted, probably only the planners would know.

Fortunately, the zealous netizens didn't have to wait for long.

As a "fatally injured" player was forced offline, he brought the victorious news back to the forum, lifting the weight off everyone's chest.

Makabazi: "I was finished by my teammate! But it doesn't matter, a glorious victory! 56 Looters, including elite monsters and the BOSS, all annihilated! Hahaha, such an exhilarating massacre! I took down at least three... no, definitely four!"

Quit smoking: "Then how come you're still dead? (Rolling eyes)"

Crow: "Weakling! Hahahaha! If you died, you're just a noob! Hahaha! o(*≧▽≦)ツ"

Makabazi: "Damn! You have the nerve to talk? You didn't even join the fight! (Angry)"

Crow: "Humph, as everyone knows, pretty girls don't fight; I'll join in the ruckus once I've saved enough to buy power armor. @乛◡乛@"

Quit smoking: "Then why the heck are you playing?? Not playing, just give me the account! T.T"

Grandpa Ao: "Laugh, calling that a war? You can't combine 100 people and still pretend it's a war? Not to speak too far, just in our corner two high schools could spontaneously start a fight involving thousands of people. It almost alarmed the county—it didn't escalate only because of them; otherwise, it would have definitely made the news."

Elena: "Thousands? Is your school called Bellflower Boys' High? How many dishes are there in the canteen? Stop just drinking the dishwater; eat some food at least. (Amusing)"

Night Ten: "I'm dying of laughter, haha, I can't even. Damn."

Gnome King Riches: "Yo, Elena joined us to spectate? (Amusing)"

Elena: "You two wait, I'll remember this. (`Д´*)9"

Mole on The Run: "Scared. (Amusing)"

Every time the forum darling showed up, they monopolized everyone's amusement; the entire forum was filled with joy and as lively as a festival.

But this person was like a Ground Squirrel, poking fun and then ducking out, not staying a moment longer to give anyone the chance to retort.

Maybe in their own world, they were battling against some dark force.

And without a doubt, those "mocking" and "belittling" them must be the forum administrators' alts.

Quit smoking: "Speaking of which, where's that Trashlord? Why isn't he here showing off?"

Elena: "Right, right, where's his slide tackle? (Amusing)"

Night Ten: "Tch, just thinking about that guy is embarrassing. The Manager didn't let us start fires to keep warm, right? That guy was shivering in the trench, afraid he'd fall asleep, so he started telling jokes to the person next to him. Maybe the jokes were too cold, because not a single person laughed, and he ended up freezing and passing out. We couldn't wake him up even after the battle ended. In the end, we had to carry him on a stretcher as a casualty, really an embarrassment."

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn, you think I wanted this? I tried several times, but the system kept showing 'Character Status Abnormal,' I couldn't connect at all! When I finally got online, I was already in the cultivation chamber!"

Night Ten: "Anyway, embarrassing. (Amusing)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "@#@%!"

WC truly has Mosquitos: "Hahahaha, I'm the MVP of the field! Who else is there? (Proud)"

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato: "Big boss 666, Goblin Technology is invincible!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Stop joking, I counted the bodies; only three were confirmed dead by the explosion, and it's not sure if they were killed by your rockets."

Night Ten: "Hahaha, confirmed jesters! But fair is fair, Mosquito's weapons aren't that powerful, but they're quite intimidating. A barrage of rockets sent over and the enemy's flag went white."

WC truly has Mosquitos: "Damn! You're the jester! Your whole family is jesters! (Angry)"

Teng Teng: "Don't quarrel, everyone did great. 0.0."

Old White: "This bunch of sand sculptures isn't quarrelling at all; they get along quite well, actually."

Teng Teng: "Is it that sort of feeling between two boys?"

Old White: "...how am I supposed to answer that?"

Having just gone through a thrilling battle, many players were still riding their adrenaline highs, wishing they could jump out of bed and do a hundred and eighty push-ups to vent.

But alas, their physical bodies in reality weren't as formidable as their avatars in the game, and their senses of negative status effects were not diminished in the least; just a little bit of exercise, and muscles started to fatigue, not to mention those who forgot to eat were dealing with low blood sugar and dizziness.

Really, compared to the Game, isn't reality more of a crappy game?

Fang Chang: "Speaking of which, Mole, you followed the Manager to the Blood Hand Clan's camp?"

Fugitive Mole: "Yeah, I went, but most of their forces were wiped out by us at the park, so there wasn't much of a fight when I got there, just followed along for the storyline, then I rummaged through their base turning over containers for spoils of war. Not to blow my own trumpet, but the game really spares no detail, from the dungeon where the prisoners are kept to the rooms of the Looters...tsk tsk, I can only say that sending this stuff to the gallows is letting them off easy."

Night Ten: "What's the situation? Give us the details."

Fugitive Mole: "What's there to talk about, you'll see for yourselves tomorrow, it's literally hell on earth. But I guess once we've cleared this dungeon, it probably won't respawn, and if there are any Looters nearby, they'll likely just be solo operators. Now that we've dealt with the Looters at the tire factory, the map around there should be open, right? I see lots of landmarks worth exploring; we'll probably find a ton of good stuff."

Fang Chang: "This time we're feeling good, tomorrow when we divide up the spoils, we'll probably feel even better."

Fugitive Mole: "Let me ask a technical question, the budget of your brickyard, can it get involved in the auction of war spoils?"

Fang Chang: "What are you dreaming? If we could get involved, wouldn't that just be cornering the market?"

With 5000 silver coins, indeed, they had the capital to corner a market.

It hadn't been three days since the last auction, everyone's pockets were almost empty, and the war rewards would be tallied after the auction, so this time around, a lot of items would likely go unsold.

Fugitive Mole: "You're right. We don't need 5000 silver, with 3000 silver we could nab 50 pieces of equipment easily. Man, untouchable."

Night Ten: "It hurts, if only there were banks, I'd take out a loan and buy a set of power armor, and then get a fully kitted out +14 automatic rifle."

Fang Chang: "Dreaming is something you're good at."

Actually, no matter how you slice it, from this battle, we stood to gain no matter what.

Last time we faced just a small squad led by a Centurion, and the average profit for each player was more than ten silver coins.

This time, not only did we wipe out five whole teams, but we also knocked over their base.

Wouldn't it make sense for us to get at least fifty or sixty silver coins, or a hundred and eighty Contribution Points?

At the very least we have to get fifty silver coins, not a coin less!

Fugitive Mole: "Hey, isn't anyone curious? The B2 level is about to open. What do you guys think we'll find there?"

Night Ten: "I have a feeling there'll be a major update, probably the Alpha 0.5 version."

Fang Chang: "Listening to your words is like listening to a speech."

Old White: "If that hunch had any use, it wouldn't be completely useless."

Night Ten: "Goddammit! Then analyze it!"

Fang Chang: "I'll just tell you the conclusion. I expect the next phase of updates to focus on two areas. One is the game system itself, and the other is the game content."

Canyon Running Mole: "What does Fang Chang think?"

Fang Chang was pleased with the address. The two most popular technical players on the forum right now were himself and Mole.

Flattered by this brown-nosing, he even typed faster.

"Let's start with the game system itself. Previously, there has been a strong demand on the forum for a simpler attribute interface. But what you newcomers might not know is that at the very beginning, there wasn't even an attribute interface to speak of, let alone level settings, everything had to be discovered by the players!"

"But soon, we found that each player's initial attributes were different; some were obviously stronger, some had sharper intuition, while others were faster. It wasn't until we asked the planners that we learned that players had the concepts of attributes and levels!"

"They said it was for realism, but too much realism was a burden. On our strong suggestion, the planning team had a meeting for several days and finally integrated the settings of attributes and levels into the game in the form of data. The attribute panel you see now was actually made later; it didn't exist before."

"Then there's money. At first, there was no concept of money at all, and rewards for chopping down trees were all settled with contribution points. Around alpha 0.3, the task system and the economic system were overhauled, and that's when we got the silver coins we use now, as well as the later concepts of citizen identity level and private land."

"In fact, players who have been playing for a while can feel that the rules of Wasteland OL are being perfected bit by bit. The planners are also exploring, balancing the lever between realism and playability."

"The currency system is already well-developed at the moment, so I guess the development team will try to improve players' in-game interface next, like making the 'gene sequence development progress more intuitive'? It would be great to also add a progress bar for 'proficiency level'; it would give a better sense of achievement when grinding, right?"

"Now, about the game content! This is the part I'm most looking forward to!"

"Many of you have probably noticed that this time we took down the Blood Hand Clan's base, not only taking over the equipment of these Looters but also freeing a large number of prisoners they had captured!"

"Most of these people are survivors who have suffered at the hands of the Looters. They are not just pale names; they all have different identities. Some may come from shelters, others from other survivor bases... like the Brown Farm we've visited, or the setting with Bet Street, Giant Stone City, and so on."

"In their hometowns, they might have their own social relationships, and somewhere in this Wasteland, they might have their own family."

"The identities of these NPCs might become clues, unlocking more side plots for us, and how we properly settle them and establish relationships with these NPCs will also be a new test for our 'virtual community'!"

"So, I boldly speculate that with winter coming, the next expansion pack might revolve around this very proposition!"

Fang Chang's views were affirmed by many.

Including Canyon Running Mole and other technical players.

As the game has progressed to this stage, the number of players has far exceeded the NPC count. If the number were to multiply several times over, it would be obviously difficult for Manager and his assistants to handle all the interactions.

If Wasteland OL's ambition is to create a game world close to reality, and build a human-friendly virtual community in the virtual realm, then the next expansion pack will undoubtedly revolve around the relationships between NPCs and players.

And these pitiful rescued people are undoubtedly a good opportunity.

The nearby survivor bases, which have also been rid of the Looters' tyranny and harassment, would surely be grateful to this army of justice.

Fang Chang felt he had completely grasped the planners' thinking.

Thinking this, he, sitting groggily in front of his computer, couldn't help but smile triumphantly.

Just as expected from me!

Absolutely niubi!

Chapter 95: Diary, Clues, and Origins

"I'm done."

Rubbing his eyes, which were too tired to stay open, Chu Guang put down the journal and the notes in which he'd excerpted key pieces of information, and he tossed aside the pen he was holding.

Although he had not found the answers he was looking for, the stories inside still provided him with quite a few interesting clues.

At first, he thought the journal was about a group of survivors who lost their humanity and eventually transformed into Looters.

In the end, it turned out to be just a plain modern version of The Farmer and the Snake.

There are three main characters mentioned in the journal.

The owner of the journal was named Li Xiu, an ordinary sports journalist—let's call him Little Li.

Another was a woman named Sun Lai—let's call her Little Sun.

And the third person was Little Sun's husband, who served as a security guard in the shelter.

Since the journal didn't mention the name of this guard, let's just call him "Sufferer."

After reading the whole journal, Chu Guang felt that this brother who lived inside the yellow page journal was truly miserable.

The beginning of the journal was described in a bland manner, with Little Li, who had survived the disaster, using his memories to simply recount what he saw and heard during the outbreak of the nuclear war.

At that time, there was a regional basketball game going on at the sports arena in the north suburb of Qingquan City, and the match was in its tense and critical final stages.

That's when the broadcast suddenly blared the warning of a nuclear strike.

"…Almost no one realized what was happening, even my assistant thought the sound effects were arranged by the organizers to liven up the atmosphere. But I panicked, running almost instinctively, dashing into the basement, where I found the Sleep Cabin placed there. The moment both my feet stepped in, I hesitated. What if this was all an ill-conceived joke? In just a month's time, my audience would forget me completely, and I would be left with nothing… But I eventually shut the door and turned on the cabin's launch safety."

"The temperature around me started dropping, and my consciousness slowly faded away. When I opened my eyes again, pushed the door open, the mechanical clock on the door presented the fact to me that the nuclear war had indeed happened—I had been asleep for more than three years, and now everything outside had changed. I'd gambled correctly, but I didn't feel lucky at all… I'd rather be the one who was wrong, that everything was just a poor joke— at least I would be able to get a hefty compensation from the organizers. Or perhaps it would be better to have ended everything three years ago; dying in Utopia is not a bad thing. Being alive is the real torture."

In the next section, Little Li described the scenes he witnessed on the streets from his point of view.

Shattered streets, riddled concrete buildings, and dead bodies left on the streets to be pecked at by crows—all was like hell.

It was despair to the point of suffocation!

It was August, yet snow began to fall from the gray, sunless and warmth-less sky.

Wandering aimlessly on the streets.

Finally, just before he was about to collapse, he found a group of pitiful survivors in a nearby abandoned tire factory.

In those days when humanity had not yet faded, the survivors at the tire factory saved him, and there he met a woman named Sun Lai.

This woman was a nurse, with a child not yet seven years old; she had been separated from her husband at the time of the nuclear explosion and had been searching for him for years.

Li Xiu sympathized with her plight and offered to help her.

At this point in the journal, there was a yellowed photo pasted in—it was their joint photo; although the woman's face was marked with the traces of harsh weather, one could tell she was still quite lovely.

Chu Guang didn't care about their emotional development or the complex ethical entanglements that ensued, so he quickly skipped at least 30 pages of psychological activities and detailed descriptions—until he finally saw the clue that truly interested him.

Little Li and Little Sun assembled a primitive but reliable radio using scavenged parts and successfully received a broadcast from the shelter.

And the man in the broadcast was Sun Lai's husband—the sufferer who served as a guard in the refuge shelter.

For three years, the broadcast had not stopped for a single day, always starting punctually at noon and continuing until three in the afternoon.

The content of the broadcast consistently sought his lost wife and children every day for three years.

Realizing that her husband had never given up searching for her, Little Sun, already somewhat shaken, lay in Little Li's arms and burst into tears.

Chu Guang could sense that the owner of this diary didn't seem very happy, even omitting her husband's name from the diary and briefly referring to him as "that man."

However, the events that followed gradually began to get interesting.

As a shelter guard, the sufferer was locked in the refuge shelter before the nuclear war broke out.

Upon learning that his wife and children were still alive, he immediately found a way to contact his friends who worked at the police station before the disaster, guiding them to bring supplies and go to the aid of those poor souls living in the tire factory.

These resources proved invaluable.

Moreover, leveraging the near-infinite knowledge stored in the shelter, he accessed usable data from the electronic library and actively helped the survivors at the tire factory gather useful items, establishing their own shelter to fend off the harsh cold and hunger.

It was like remote assistance.

Little Li and Little Sun were very cooperative, yet they concealed one fact: they didn't tell the survivors about the refuge shelter.

People are selfish.

If those survivors knew there was an accessible shelter hidden nearby, it was hard to say whether they would continue to live courageously, united, and helping one another like they were now. They might even have bad thoughts, force the people helping them to reveal the location of the shelter, or even do something more outrageous.

The credit and prestige were temporarily attributed to Little Li's name while the existence of the shelter remained a secret; he seemed like an all-capable genius, winning everyone's admiration.

That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

But leading a group of survivors was no easy task.

Especially since the collected resources would eventually run out, and this endless winter showed no hope of ending.

The diary owner's thoughts were clear from the start; he knew that only by entering the shelter could they find everlasting peace.

Thus, he began to try persuading Little Sun, implanting ideas in her mind, telling her that only the refuge shelter was the sole path to safety.

This was not only for her sake but also for the sake of her children.

No matter the reasons, it was clear that Little Sun was convinced; no one wanted to stay in hell and suffer when compared to the comfort of a shelter.

Moreover, her husband was inside the shelter, so it was not entirely impossible for her to enter.

However, neither of them knew that once the doors of the shelter were shut, they would not be so easily opened again; the belief that they could enter was wishful thinking.

Though the sufferer was also anxious to see his wife and child, only the Manager had the authority over the shelter's doors.

As a mere guard, he could not even dream of opening the doors, let alone qualify to see the Manager.

And that wasn't all.

In principle, as soon as the shelter's doors were closed, they would immediately enter radio silence, forbidding anyone from sending out any messages to the outside world. If discovered, they would be subject to severe punishment.

The reason he could send signals to the outside world and receive information from it was largely because the refuge shelter he was in was somewhat special.

This shelter concealed a low-power signal tower on the surface, and listening to nearby signals was something he had to do every day.

Yes, he took advantage of his position.

For whatever reason, this was not an honorable thing to do.

He hadn't figured out how to confess, and he was even less sure how to plead with the esteemed Manager to let him off the hook.

The worst outcome was that after he confessed everything truthfully, he would be sentenced to life imprisonment as a traitor by the Manager, frozen forever in a sleep cabin, and subject to the judgment of the law once order was restored.

By then, he would lose contact with his wife and children forever.

All of this was Chu Guang's speculation based on the contents of the journal.

After all, the journal did not record the owner's psychological state but simply mentioned the clues about "radio silence" and "unable to open the door."

Later, out of guilt for his wife and children, the sufferer used the radio to guide them to some hidden supply points that wouldn't normally be marked on regular shelter maps.

There were plenty of supplies there, including food, medicine, clean drinking water, and even riot control police weapons.

These supplies allowed the survivors from the tire factory to enjoy a period of affluence and even help a group of survivors who wandered from the nearby city.

Consequently, the owner of this journal naturally became a savior in these people's eyes and a hero to others' wives and kids.

However, this affluent period did not last very long.

From the latter part of the diary, it's clear that as the supplies were exhausted, the friction and conflicts between people gradually intensified.

At first, men and women, young and old, were able to enjoy two cans of meat and unlimited supplies of self-heating rice each day and even had ice-cold beer to drink.

Then, the survivor community began to prohibit alcohol; meat was reserved only for the young and strong men who went out exploring, hunting, scavenging, and for pregnant women. The porridge became thinner, and sometimes they even had to mix some bark into it.

Eventually, all the hoarded supplies were depleted, and the days grew colder.

Everything was getting worse, with no sign of improvement, even the most optimistic person couldn't see a glimmer of hope.

Some said the winter would last a long time.

Others claimed it was a rumor, there was no such thing as a nuclear winter.

Then, a voice retorted, maybe it's not just nuclear weapons? After all, the news had said they had already mastered something even more deterrent than nuclear weapons.

But, if it truly existed, was everything before their eyes fake?

They had never even seen the most primitive nuclear bombs— their knowledge all came from chewed-over information and couldn't differentiate what was real from what were speculations and conjectures.

Doubt and complaints spread among the survivors; some chose to leave, while those who stayed gradually turned against each other.

Perhaps...

From the start, they shouldn't have taken in those wandering survivors.

But who wasn't a wanderer?

Or rather, from which accepted person should they have started counting?

When the conflicts accumulated to an irreconcilable extent, they eventually turned into a fierce conflict. The cause might have been as trivial as a moldy piece of bread or even a bone; none of that mattered anymore.

The melee finally quieted with Little Li's gunfire, but from that moment, his dreams of being a savior were utterly shattered.

Sun Lai's kids died in that conflict, and she herself went completely mad. One snowy night, she vanished and was never seen again.

And Little Li was steeped in regret and pain, the journal's content gradually turned to another extreme. The initial crisp clarity was replaced by sloppy and perfunctory words.

Sometimes, he wrote a few lines every few days; sometimes, he simply forgot to update for an entire month.

And the last page bore the date of the fourth year of the Wasteland Era.

[...I am still searching for that shelter, the only hope, though I know the hope is slim. The world is beyond saving now.]

That was the last line he wrote.

Until his life's end, he searched for that unattainable Utopia.

"This journal could be displayed in a museum... if one day museums and history reappear on this planet; someone has to know what happened here."

"Forget it, I'll take some time another day to update the 'Blood Hand Clan' entry on the official website's setting collection."

"The servers of a Different World are always more reliable than the museums of the Wasteland."

Although the diary explained the origins of the Blood Hand Clan, it did not mention Little Li's own fate.

But that doesn't matter.

The bloodstain imprinted on the cover, in a sense, told everything; it was likely left by him.

Chu Guang had heard from Hain that two years ago, the leader of the Blood Hand Clan wasn't called "Bear" but was a man known as "Eagle," his body hanging near the tire factory, suspended from a streetlamp.

And before "Eagle," there was "Snake," who had his eyes gouged out.

Who it was before then, nobody knew; perhaps they had other names.

The legend goes that all of the Blood Hand Clan's past leaders met with violent ends, almost all of them murdered by their successors — or more accurately, the ruthless Darwin's law.

This journal, imprinted with the Blood Handprint, seemed as if it was under a malicious curse, treated by the Looters as a spiritual totem, along with that bloody and violent culture, handed down generation after generation to the present day.

Now, inherited by "Bear," it seemed justice's Iron Hammer finally shattered this vicious cycle.

With a soft sigh, Chu Guang closed the journal in hand.

"Xiao Qi, I'm going to sleep; turn off the Light for me, and remember not to forget to wake Xia Yan."

"As for me, 1 p.m…. Forget it, let me sleep until I wake up naturally."

"I'll deal with those spoils of war after I wake up. If any player asks you, just say… the equipment has not been identified yet."

Everyone knows that unidentified equipment can't be equipped; it's common sense in MMORPGs, very reasonable.

And Xiao Qi's voice was always so attentive.

"Okay, Master."

"Go to sleep ba."

The light in the room gradually softened and finally succumbed to darkness.

It would be a pleasant dream.

Chapter 96: The Second Underground Level of Shelter No. 404!

Chu Guang had a really long dream.

This time, he wasn't dreaming about working so hard he got hit by a dump truck, but rather about starting a game of Civilization 6, and it was even the enhanced marathon edition with one turn per year for bladder challenge.

When he started from a primitive society, sent out scouts like crazy to stomp on villages, and climbed and climbed up the tech tree... after thousands of turns, he finally ground several deity-level AIs to death and achieved a technological victory.

But the moment he opened his eyes, everything was gone.

"Damn it, at least let me finish the dream!"

As expected, had he continued, it would probably have been cosmic civilization?

He stretched lazily, sitting up from his bed, and his bones cracked and popped.

Something clicked in Chu Guang's mind, and he immediately went to the resident hall next door to find a medical examination device and conducted a full body check on himself.

Just as he had anticipated, he had leveled up!

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager

Level: LV.8→LV.9

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 10→11

Agility: 6

Physique: 8

Perception: 7

Intelligence: 7

]

[-

Skills: Wild Instinct

]

"Sleeping really does help you grow taller."

Good kids should go to bed early.

After confirming his electronic medical report in front of the computer, Chu Guang casually dragged it into a folder to save it and stood up to stretch his arms.

With 220% of a normal adult male's base strength, plus the attribute boost from "Wild Instinct," Chu Guang felt he was braver than ever.

"Time to go out and get some food."

Yes, also to distribute the spoils to the players.

With that thought, Chu Guang hummed a tune as he entered the buffer room, donned the exoskeleton lying there, and hung the big iron hammer securely on his back.

Once ready, he stepped into the elevator heading for the surface.

Wasteland time, 5:30 PM, and it was the busiest time at the Outpost Base.

Especially the market at the north gate, where players returning from scavenging packed the area.

Even though snow had started to float down from the heavens, it didn't dampen the lively atmosphere here at all.

Players had developed a habit now; they would first set up a stall at the north gate with the trash they picked up or the spoils from hunting, and only if no one bought them would they send the materials to the warehouse.

After such a process, they could earn a couple of more copper coins than before, and those players with a need to shop would also browse here before heading to the NPC's store.

"I don't know whether to call them cold or strong. A tenth of the population died yesterday, yet there isn't a single person mourning the dead, not even a decent funeral." Standing at the north gate, Luna looked at these blue jackets with utter surprise.

She found that she could not find even a trace of sadness on their faces.

"Coldness and strength don't conflict. The world has become this way; if people don't toughen up a bit, they'll fall apart before others have a chance to beat them down."

Hain was seeing these kinds of blue jackets for the first time as well, but having seen much stranger things, he was only momentarily surprised.

Existence is the basis of legitimacy.

Besides, if they were the type to wallow in sadness and weakness, perhaps it would have been a different group of people standing here.

Distracted by a nearby stall, Hain walked over and examined the crack claw crab legs on the iron rack for a while before asking curiously,

"How much for this?"

Crow looked up at the NPC.

Though she didn't understand what he said, she roughly guessed what he wanted by his gestures—he probably wanted to buy her grilled crab legs.

Crow wiggled her index finger.

"Small ones, 1 silver coin."

She hadn't decided yet how much to sell the big ones for and planned to think it over since they weren't cheap to buy from the warehouse.

Does he mean he's offering a chip?

It seemed like survivors in Qingquan City only traded with chips.

"I'll take two."

Hain gestured two fingers, then pulled two chips from his pocket and placed them on Crow's outstretched hand.

However, Crow, upon seeing the chips, shook her head and quickly produced two silver coins, waving them in front of him.

Hain and Luna looked completely baffled.

They'd been to so many places yet had never seen these metal coins.

Crow sighed helplessly when she saw that they didn't respond and reached out to pick up two tokens.

"Two plastic pieces, only worth one silver coin."

Saying this, she tapped the two tokens against a silver coin to indicate their equivalent value. Then she took out a roasted crab leg and handed it to Hain, who was standing in front of the stall.

2 tokens for one roasted crab leg?!

Has she gone mad!

It would have been fine if it were a bit bigger, but this small crab leg obviously weighed only two or three pounds, and the meat inside probably didn't even amount to one pound.

Hain's eyebrows and the corners of his mouth twitched, but he didn't say anything.

After all, he was depending on others now, and it was best to avoid conflict in all things.

Damn!

It still hurt!

In such a backwater place, 2 points in tokens could buy quite a few supplies!

Hain didn't want to buy a second leg, but he still looked politely at his companion and asked,

"Do you want some?"

Luna, without any nonsense, caught half with her left hand and flicked her curved knife with her right, cleanly splitting the crab leg into two pieces. She shook the half in her hand.

"This piece is mine."

"..."

Accustomed to this person's rudeness, Hain shook his head without saying anything and bit into the soft and fragrant crab meat.

Hmm.

It's actually quite delicious.

It's just that the roadside stand didn't use much seasoning, so it didn't compare to the meal Chu Guang treated him to the day before yesterday.

And it felt not quite fresh...

After finishing the crab meat, Luna licked the juice from the corner of her mouth and suddenly asked, while looking at the people at the North gate market.

"What do you think of their strength?"

Hain thought for a moment and gave an honest assessment.

"Very strong. Both in terms of psychological quality and various abilities, these people are much stronger than any Blue Jackets I've seen."

"Especially their leader, who seems to have reached the edge of Awakening... I don't understand, they're not some barbarian tribe that worships strength, this is the first time I've seen a power's leader train themselves to the brink of Awakening. Aren't they comfortable with sitting on their strong legs and giving orders?"

While Hain was talking, he noticed Luna's meaningful expression and hesitantly asked,

"What are you planning to do?"

"I'm definitely not going to do you," said Luna unabashedly, tossing her hair back and speaking frankly, "I like strong males."

Hain looked at her mockingly and then glanced at the girl at the neighboring stall roasting crab legs.

"Look, even she's roasting crabs. I don't think that man would be interested in you."

Sensing Luna's hostile look, Hain shrugged his shoulders in submission, signaling his defeat with a gesture of surrender and walked away.

Just as they were talking, Chu Guang, carrying a big hammer, emerged from the North gate.

The players' eyes lit up immediately upon seeing the Manager and surrounded him.

Loot!

Contribution Points!

And favorability!

Before the players could act eagerly, Chu Guang, like a real NPC, lifted his right fist majestically and made a gesture to gather everyone.

Then, he announced in a resounding voice,

"Divide the spoils!"

"The old rules apply, so I won't repeat them."

Walking to the cart piled with spoils of war, Chu Guang casually picked up a double-barreled shotgun with rifled barrels and started doing what NPCs do—

Valuing the equipment!

"...This is an 18mm caliber double-barreled shotgun, the weapon of the leader of the Blood Hand Clan—Bear. Although he, like a gibbon, did evil all his life and died a well-deserved death, ultimately sent to hell by the righteous Iron Hammer, his weapons are innocent. The wooden stock is carved with a bear, although a few strokes might be wrong, but it's not important; raiders aren't exactly known for their scholarship."

"Bidding starts now, with a starting bid of 40 silver coins and a cap at 80 silver—"

Mosquito, taking the lead, didn't even wait for his words to finish and swiftly raised her hand.

"80 silver!"

Chu Guang: "...?"

The surrounding players ready to pounce began cursing in frustration.

"Damn!"

"It's that person again!"

"Too fast, too fast!"

Chu Guang was also caught off guard.

He originally thought the shabby gun, aside from its quality steel barrel, had nothing else going for it, so he just casually called a moderate price.

And it was snapped up just like that?

But looking at the regretful expressions on the players' faces, he also realized in an instant.

"Tsk, I was careless... the BOSS's equipment was collectible."

What was it called again?

Anyway, it was a named weapon!

Chu Guang silently chided himself for being hasty, but he didn't take it too seriously.

He was a man who didn't sweat the small stuff.

Besides, there were five Centurion weapons here; he could concoct some exaggerated legends for those oxen and horses later and sell them for a bit more, right?

That could be considered robbing the rich to help the poor.

The rhythm of the auction was fast, with all fifty main weapons being dealt with in half an hour.

The remaining odds and ends were sold for 1 Silver Coin each, and the rest were considered 1 Copper Coin each before being dragged to the warehouse for slow sorting.

Out of the 50 pieces of equipment, 20 were unsold, and the 30 that sold fetched a total of 971 Silver Coins. As per the usual rules, after deducting the 10% transaction tax, that left 873.9 Silver Coins, rounded down to 873 Silver!

In addition, the 29 captives were priced according to the group battle reward rules at 5 Silver Coins each, which came to a total of 145 Silver Coins.

Plus the combat rewards for killing 21 Looter old soldiers, 5 Looter Centurions, 1 BOSS-level Looter, and various other rewards for conquering the stronghold and saving captives, the total reward astonishingly amounted to 4371 Silver Coins!

By comparison, the funds raised from the auction seemed minor.

All 82 players who participated in the battle would get at least 50 Silver Coins each, and the more fortunate ones could get 55 or even 60 coins!

They were overnight riches!

Players who died in combat received a consolation payout from the Manager on top of their loot rewards.

However, the amount of the consolation wasn't high; for example, for Gene Sequence LV1, it was about 1 Silver Coin per level per day. After three days, they would get almost 3 Silver Coins.

LV2 was 6 Silver Coins, LV3 was 9 Silver Coins, and so on.

It wasn't a lot of money, but it was better than nothing, and they'd be back in the game in three days!

"Long live the Manager!"

"Yesss! I've got a gun now, haha!"

"Wah, 41 Silver Coins! I've never been this rich!"

"Let's hurry and buy something!"

The combat professional players were cheering and holding the Silver Coins personally distributed by Chu Guang, happily heading out to spend them.

The eight non-combat professional players who did not participate in the fight looked on with envy and were close to tears. If they had known the rewards were so high, they would have joined the fray with shovels and clubs.

Crow stealthily priced the big crab leg at a "hefty" 3 Silver Coins. It didn't sell earlier, but now it probably would.

Luna and Hain, who were standing by and watching, were utterly confused; it took them a while to swallow their saliva and whisper to each other.

"What are they doing?"

"It looks like an auction."

"I don't understand. Why are they buying back their own spoils of war? Shouldn't it be 'finders keepers'?"

"I don't get it either, but I'm deeply impressed."

Hain suddenly gained a new understanding of this young ruler, not knowing what methods or spells he used, but the art of wielding power had been mastered to perfection by him.

It's nothing praiseworthy to have a farmer offer up his own harvest, after all, anyone can load a rifle.

But getting a group of farmers to willingly, even gratefully, hand over their coins to buy back their own harvest...

Only a devil could do such a thing.

Whatever the case, this was the second time in a single day that Hain had to revise his opinion about the same person.

However, Chu Guang, the person being mentally evaluated, didn't care about what others thought of him.

Compared to the Kaili from the heavens, Chu Guang felt he was a kind soul—he wouldn't dig into players' wallets, nor would he fool them with hidden drop rates.

Could it really make players happy by giving away too much money?

Those who think so probably haven't played enough games, not having seen those that throw out billions upon billions of Gold Coins; in the end, only the fresh greenhorns get a quick thrill from recharging for a bit, while the players who grind through the game feel like fools.

Yes, Chu Guang had been fooled more than once, so he was very careful when designing the economic system of Wasteland OL.

He knew that he, unlike those real "Dog Planners," could not recklessly develop "God Equip" to soak up the excess Money, nor could he spawn bosses with inflated stats to encourage players to spend more.

Amid the cheering of the players, Chu Guang waved his hand and passed through the North gate, returning to the sanatorium. He took the elevator down to the basement.

The elevator to Level B2, located in the residential hall on Level B1, was still locked, with a few hours to go before it would open.

Taking advantage of the spare time, Chu Guang sat in front of the computer and updated the settings on the official website with information he had organized from the "Blood Hand Diary" for cloud players and spectators to freely imagine.

Then Chu Guang browsed the forum for a while, skimming through the posts from last night that he hadn't had time to read.

Some ideas were really good and could be considered for inclusion in the Alpha 0.5 version package.

As the minutes and seconds went by, it finally approached two in the morning.

Chu Guang stretched and stood up from his chair when he thought it was almost time, and put on the Exoskeleton suit, with the Big Hammer on his back.

Even if the chances of the First Generation Manager causing him harm were one in ten thousand, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Xiao Qi, I'm going down now."

Xiao Qi, who had returned to the corner to charge, lifted its Camera head and nodded obediently.

"Mhm, understood, Master. Be careful."

Just about to step onto the elevator, Chu Guang stopped in his tracks and glanced back at this trash can.

"What do you mean by 'be careful'? You mean there's something down there? Or do you know something?"

Taken aback by the barrage of questions, Xiao Qi was stumped for a good while before finally responding dully.

"I don't know... probably not?"

"Then why did you tell me to be careful?"

"Ah?! That, that's just a routine phrase stored in the language area..."

Er.

There's a setting for this?

"...Come with me."

Chu Guang reassuredly stepped onto the elevator heading to Level B2, as he watched Xiao Qi, who had closed its mouth and obediently rolled next to his feet.

It wasn't that he was scared.

It was purely out of cautious consideration.

As soon as Chu Guang stepped in, the touch screen, originally pitch-black, immediately lit up with two buttons for B1 and B2, along with a dialog box that read "Authorized."

Chu Guang extended his index finger without hesitation towards the B2 button.

The elevator door closed with a slight buoyancy, and after a slight dip, it opened again in less than three seconds, revealing a gust of dry and refreshingly clean air that whiffed through the cracks.

Even a hint of heartening fragrance was mingled within it.

"...Air freshener?"

Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi beside him with an odd expression.

"You go and scout ahead."

"Okay..."

The voice sounded listless and somewhat aggrieved.

But Xiao Qi still obediently headed forward, rolling its wheels woollily.

With his right hand on the hammer handle behind him, Chu Guang stepped forward steadily, cautiously stepping into this area that was said to have been untouched by humans for over a century.

The floor here was very clean, without a speck of dust, and stepping on it produced no creaking sound.

Not just the floor, everything around was so new that not a single trace could be found that indicated people had lived here.

The elevator was situated at the very center of a circular hall, which resembled the stage of an amphitheater, more spacious than the resident hall on Level B1.

The hall had four main doors to the east, south, west, and north, each leading to a straight main road and into four fan-shaped areas divided by the main road.

Adjacent sections had controllable alloy doors that normally stayed open by default but could be closed down to isolate the sections completely if necessary.

Zone A was a functional area with complex facilities, which Chu Guang decided to explore later.

The structure of Zones BCD, however, was quite simple; a glance at the floor plans posted at the entrances revealed this to be a residential area.

The dense array of doors and numbers filled the hallway like pigeonholes, barely large enough to fit a cultivation chamber and a table about 4 to 5 square meters in size, which was less than half the area of Level B1.

"Do people really live in this place?"

Walking in Zone C, Chu Guang secretly marveled, casually opening a room to find nothing inside but a cultivation chamber.

Well.

There was nothing wrong with that.

Maybe this place wasn't meant for living after all.

"...The rooms are small, but changing a four-person room to a single makes sense; it does take players' privacy into account after all."

Each section had two hundred rooms, and with both Zones CD equipped with cultivation chambers, there were a total of four hundred.

The population capacity of the shelter had been directly increased from one hundred to five hundred people, which was undeniably great news for Chu Guang, who was in desperate need of labor.

All these spaces could last for several versions!

The only pity was that such a large population was not needed for winter.

But no matter, there would be plenty of work to be done come spring planting season!

As for Zone B, it had a very ordinary setup, with just a bed and a foldable table in each room, not even a stool.

"This side should be for living."

Chu Guang thought, but no matter how much he searched, he could not find any personal belongings left behind.

Including the provided bedding, everything was folded neatly, looking like tofu blocks, so precise that not even a ruler could measure a millimeter of difference.

"...If people had lived here, the place seems too clean, as if someone had tidied up."

Really?

It was as if someone had been erasing evidence of a crime.

Just as Chu Guang was thinking this, he came to a halt in front of the last room on the main road of Zone B, and so did Xiao Qi who was rolling ahead.

"Master, there seems to be something on the floor."

"I see it."

It was a card that looked somewhat like an ID card.

The card laid in front of the room at the end of the corridor, right beneath the doorknob... It looked deliberately placed there, as if baited for someone to notice.

Chu Guang approached and picked up the card.

Light from the passageway illuminated the white card, revealing a metallic sheen along the hexagonal pattern, though its material was unfathomable.

The card bore no photo or name, only two words that seemed to be job titles or codenames printed on it—

"...Guard?"

Chu Guang seemed to grasp something.

Chapter 97 Morphogenesis Field

The answer was obviously hidden right in the room before their eyes.

Without hesitation, Chu Guang unlocked the door with his authority.

Unlike the other rooms in Zone B, this one hadn't been cleaned up. Personal items were left on an unfolded collapsible table, and the bed next to it was unmade.

What was noteworthy was an article of clothing laid out on the room's floor—a blue jacket and a pair of pants positioned with the sleeves and legs spread out, resembling a prone person.

And at the position of the right sleeve, there was an old-fashioned-looking revolver.

It was as if...

they were reconstructing the scene of a crime?

However, probably due to considerations of harmony or other factors, the most crucial element—the corpse—was missing, which made the scene seem somewhat comical.

"...Is this also one of the First Generation Manager's sick jokes?"

Chu Guang subconsciously looked toward the wall on the left side of the room, yet he did not see any bullet holes there.

He then walked over to pick up the revolver and, feeling around, opened the cylinder to find only five bullets.

"No bloodstains, no bullet holes, and no casings... Just the weapon and the clothing left behind."

Approaching the open collapsible table, Chu Guang noticed a diary and a pen as thick as an index finger placed on it.

There was a button on the pen.

Out of curiosity, Chu Guang pressed it and, to his surprise, the pen emitted a sound.

"...(Loud static noise)..."

"Do you have anything else to confess?"

"Nothing left."

Was this thing a recording pen?

Judging from the content of the recording, it seemed to be an interrogation.

Curious, Chu Guang continued to listen.

The voice of the person conducting the interrogation sounded somewhat young, while the one being interrogated seemed a bit dejected or rather, weary.

He didn't seem particularly concerned about his own end, only wishing for all of this to be over soon.

Guard: "...Then what do you plan to do? How will you punish me for dereliction of duty?"

Interrogator: "Don't plan to do anything."

Guard: "...What do you mean by not planning to do anything?"

Interrogator: "When I reported to the Professor, the Professor just said he knew, then he didn't inquire further. I asked him how you should be dealt with, and he said there was no need for that, you merely did what anyone in that situation would have done."

Guard (emotionally agitated): "I'm not begging for your forgiveness! Listen, I've made a serious mistake; I... I shouldn't have arrogantly thought that I could be a savior. My conceit and idiocy hurt everyone. If I had done nothing from the start... maybe things wouldn't have turned out so bad."

The man's voice first became hysterical madness, then turned into a muffled confession, and finally choked up into sobs.

However, the voice of the interrogator, from beginning to end, did not have much fluctuation, maintaining that calm tone throughout.

Interrogator: "That's an interesting hypothesis. But since the Professor says you're innocent, then I think you really don't need to blame yourself so much. If that doesn't convince you, then think about this now: Do you think you are smarter than the Professor?"

Guard: "...How could I dare compare myself to him?"

Interrogator: "It seems you're quite clear-headed. So, I'll ask you another question: If you so clearly think that you cannot compare to the Professor's intelligence, then why would you naively believe that you could deceive his discerning eyes?"

Guard: "… What do you mean?"

Interrogator: "What is the subject of our research?"

Guard: "… Morphogenesis Field? I don't quite understand. Wait, are you saying that the Professor knew from the start that I was using that radio to contact the outside? The survivors from the tire factory, including that Li Xiu—"

Interrogator: "When we study the motion laws of macroscopic objects within the framework of classical mechanics, we selectively ignore the discussion of the basic particles constituting the objects. This is not because we are unaware that matter is composed of smaller particles, but because there is no need to consider it in that context."

Interrogator: "Similarly, it is impossible to predict the different choices a person will make at different stages of life. However, the collective composed of individuals and the developmental laws of macroscopic events are traceable. If you're interested, you might ponder this issue. After all, from now on, you have plenty of time to waste."

Guard: "Is this part of the interrogation?"

Interrogator: "You could say that, but the main purpose is to provide you with psychological counseling. The Professor told you not to be too hard on yourself. What's happened here is just one link in tens of thousands of experiments, and we will achieve the final victory. By the way, the person who has been in contact with you is probably dead. We have received another message from the same terminal, but it is clearly not from him."

"Those survivors from the tire factory hoped we would take them in, but it's clear that at least three out of every four sentences they say are lies. We will continue to track and record the surrounding radio signals and the changes in the shielding field strength, but we will no longer respond. Now this work is carried out by the AI, and we will enter a true silence. You can rest assured that there will be no more mistakes."

Then came the sound of a door closing.

A long wait ensued.

Just as Chu Guang was pondering whether it was over, a gunshot suddenly rang out from the recorder, startling him as he listened intently.

"Darn it! That's not playing fair!"

"… By the way, what exactly is a 'Morphogenesis Field'?"

Chu Guang vaguely remembered hearing the term before—not in this world, but before he traveled to this Wasteland.

Back in the 1980s, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake of the Royal Society in England proposed a controversial 'Resonance' theory.

According to Dr. Rupert Sheldrake's theory, not only do the basic particles that make up matter resonate, but abstract events can also produce a resonant effect.

Based on this hypothesis, he referred to places where similar events continuously occur as "Morphogenesis Fields" and referred to similar events as "formative resonance."

However, guesses based on conjectures are predictably unreliable.

Like many speculations about multiple universes and aliens, you have no reliable means to prove or disprove them.

Even if it seems "obviously" true.

"… Could it be that this recording implies that the technology used to project the consciousness of Parallel World players into this world is related to some speculation proposed by the Morphogenesis Field theory?"

"For example, via some unknown field, crossing spatial dimensions, triggering resonance between consciousness entities."

"Hiss… my head hurts."

Why bother with these things?

If it works, isn't that enough?

Investing time and effort in something without results is pointless; the truth will naturally unfold when more clues are available.

The information Chu Guang could glean from this recording was that the research into the Morphogenesis Field was a major topic at Shelter No. 404.

Piecing together the information he received when he first arrived here, this project was likely completed over a century ago.

But then again, was the First Generation Manager referred to as the Professor?

That guy seems even craftier than me.

Setting aside the terrifying details in the recording, Chu Guang could now confirm the identity of this guard—he was the Sufferer mentioned in the "Blood Hand Diary."

And the Utopia that the original "leader" of the Blood Hand Clan sought until the end was indeed Shelter No. 404 beneath his feet.

Chu Guang picked up the anonymous diary on the table.

The timeline in the diary basically matched the one he had seen before in the "Blood Hand Diary."

It had always been this guy who remotely guided, via radio, the first leader of the Blood Hand Clan, offering strategies and helping those survivors abandoned in the Wasteland.

Unfortunately, his good intentions seemed to have backfired.

And the mess left behind tormented the survivors in the "North Suburb" area for over a hundred years, until it was finally ended nearly two centuries later.

It was unexpected that Shelter No. 404 and the Blood Hand Clan actually shared such origins, and that it was all due to a broadcast.

"…Such a misdeed."

With a couple of clicks of his tongue, Chu Guang shook his head and decided to archive this diary along with the one with the Blood Handprint.

Besides a silver revolver, Chu Guang found quite a few nice things here, like a box of 10mm caliber revolver ammunition.

There were more than 30 bullets in the ammo box, each as long as a forefinger and with no signs of oxidation, looking brand new.

The bullets seemed pretty large, like they contain even more propellant than a rifle round, but it was unknown whether a single shot could kill a Crawler.

For the Eaters, though, one shot each was definitely no problem.

Chu Guang noticed that the packaging of the ammo box was imprinted with a silver python, and the brown handle of the silver revolver bore the same design.

Examining the revolver in his hands, Chu Guang pondered for a moment and then said to himself,

"I'll call you 'Silver Snake.'"

Besides the "Silver Snake" revolver, Chu Guang also found a police baton under the folding table, and then underneath the bunk bed storage, he discovered another surprise.

"A red dot sight?"

The width of the buckle was adjustable, fitting perfectly onto the raised rail on the "Silver Snake's" barrel, and to Chu Guang's delight, the little gadget still had power!

"2X magnification, fine-tuning of the dot… Nice item."

Of course, Chu Guang didn't plan to use it on the revolver, as putting a sight on a short-barreled, close-combat weapon would be a waste.

He had just fixed up an assault rifle that would make good use of this little gadget, and with the red dot sight, it would be nearly fully equipped.

...

After leaving the room, Chu Guang crossed the circular corridor of Zone B, which connected to Zone A.

This was the second underground level's functional area, equipped with separate toilets for men and women, and a communal dining hall that could accommodate 100 people eating simultaneously.

It was evident that living space here was tight, with not only staggered bathroom and shower times but also queued dining.

But to be fair, the quality of life here wasn't bad.

The shower was one of those 360° surround panoramic mist-spray self-cleaning systems, and you didn't even need to move while showering. The toilets were the same, just pull and it's done—water wash combined with ultrasonic agitation cleaned up to the nanoscale dirt, saving the need for paper.

No more worrying about the newbies catching strange stuff in the forest.

Chu Guang tried the faucet here and was surprised to find it had running water, and you could even switch to hot water.

"I thought this shelter was just a shell…"

It seemed that only Level B1 was empty.

Xiao Qi chimed in from the side, "How could it just be a shell? You saw it yourself just now, didn't you? This place really was inhabited, right?"

Chu Guang: "Then where are those people?"

Xiao Qi: "Hmm, not sure."

An expected answer.

But Chu Guang didn't mind; eventually, he would unravel all the secrets of this shelter.

After inspecting the facility, Chu Guang pondered that it might be a good idea to move all 100 cultivation chambers on Level B1 to Level B2.

After all, the cultivation chambers were equipped with wireless power sources and could be connected anywhere within the shelter.

There were 200 rooms available for use in Zone B of Level B2. Although narrower in size, transitioning from four-person rooms to private standard rooms would likely please the players,

After all, to them, this was just a save point.

The extra beds and bedding squeezed out could then be stored in the empty rooms of Level B1 for future use.

And there was no need to worry about commuting.

The shelter had only one elevator accessing the surface externally, but internally, it boasted eight elevators.

This included two for transporting goods and six for passenger use, more than enough for the players' commuting between floors within the shelter.

And that external lift to the surface could be modified later.

If necessary, the sanatorium could be demolished, a bigger pit dug, and, while at it, the players could be asked to build a more spacious house for him.

No big deal.

While toggling the faucet, Chu Guang suddenly asked,

"Is there a usage limit on the water here?"

Chu Guang had had enough of filtering lake water and rainwater through activated carbon, which always tasted a bit off no matter how you filtered it.

Xiao Qi tilted its camera head,

"I don't think so? According to the records, the shelter's water seems to be replenished by rainwater, and theoretically, as long as there's power, it will always be supplied, but it's better not to transfer water out. It's fine to use water normally within the shelter, as domestic wastewater goes into the shelter's internal recycling system, getting fully filtered and then reused. A bit of loss is okay, but a large transfer of water out could potentially burden the shelter's water recycling system."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Where does the filtered-out waste go?"

Xiao Qi: "It's probably sent to the fermentation room for processing? And the resulting fertilizer might be sent to a planting greenhouse on some level? Or maybe vaporized and expelled through the vents? Anyway, as long as there is power, this shelter can continue to operate forever. I'm also looking forward to learning about the other levels."

Chu Guang: "..."

That answer was as good as none.

Damn!

After inspecting Zone A's sanitation facilities and the dining hall, Chu Guang followed Xiao Qi's wheels through the longitudinal corridor, quickly reaching the depths of Zone A.

It seemed to be a warehouse.

The space was quite large, about the size of two basketball courts.

More than thirty plastic bins were piled up in the corner of the warehouse, labeled medical supplies.

Chu Guang walked up, opened one of the bins, and found that it didn't contain any medicine, but rather a bunch of wristwatches with displays.

At a rough estimate, there were at least a thousand piled here.

Slightly taken aback, Chu Guang hesitated,

"What are these…"

Xiao Qi, who had followed at his heels, came forward at the right moment to provide an answer,

"They are VMs."

Chapter 98 Alpha0.5 Version Update! A Brand New Player System!

VM is an abbreviation.

Its full name is "Vital signs monitor," and it's found in almost every shelter.

But Chu Guang had seen one for the first time.

Indeed, the functionalities of this gadget went far beyond mere "vital signs monitoring;" it was more akin to a wrist-mounted computer, incorporating features like medical check-ups, localization, communication, mapping, and a black-box recorder.

The system, concerned that Chu Guang might not know how to use it, thoughtfully provided a manual, which appeared before him in a light blue pop-up window.

[[

1. Monitor the wearer's vital signs activity, collecting information including heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, blood oxygen concentration, hormones in sweat, DNA structure, etc., and perform comprehensive analysis on the collected information to display it in a specific data format.

2. If the wearer's vital signs cease, the VM will automatically archive the cache data including "final recording," and continuously send an encrypted signal containing relative distance and direction information through an emitter in the chip for easy recovery by search and rescue teams.

3. The VM can intermittently emit specific frequency lasers within a certain range, to map indoor spaces in three dimensions, with a maximum mapping radius of 5m, though this can deteriorate due to air humidity and dust particles. This feature is very useful when exploring buildings, as it can mark out large obstructions like walls, doors, and boxes, and data can be uploaded and shared afterward.

4. The VM's power is supplied by a thermo-sensitive battery, which can be charged by light exposure or proximity to a heat source, such as a fire. In low battery conditions, it can absorb the natural heat emitted by the wearer to slowly charge and automatically switch to energy-saving mode, operating the device at minimal power.

]]

Besides the common functions mentioned in the manual, Chu Guang also learned through Xiao Qi that in principle, all VMs can be recompiled through programming.

This meant, given the hardware's abilities, if he added a few "very useful" plug-ins to these VMs, Chu Guang would know where every player was, what they were doing, and even hear what they were saying.

"Holy shit, this thing is pretty powerful!"

No.

It was extremely powerful!

Chu Guang wanted to call it the "Emperor's Joy Tracker"!

Everyone should have one, and no one should dare remove theirs!

No, wait...

After a few seconds of excitement, Chu Guang quickly calmed down.

Thinking it over, if he forced players to wear a mobile on their arm, wouldn't it seem like he was making them do things against their will?

People are naturally rebellious.

And things that come free are never appreciated.

Looking carefully at the VM in his hand, Chu Guang stroked his chin and pondered.

"To be fair, this wrist-mounted computer... can't be cheaper than a Looter's crappy gun, right? I'd say at least 30 silver coins each."

Xiao Qi raised its camera.

"But master, these VMs are said to be quite common in the shelters, right? And considering they are easy to maintain and durable, the technology involved isn't very high..."

Chu Guang: "Hmm, let's make it 40 silver coins each, and they should only be purchasable by those at citizen level."

Xiao Qi: "...Master?"

Chu Guang turned to look at Xiao Qi standing beside him.

"Xiao Qi, do me a favor, I want to add some features to these VMs, can you do it?"

Xiao Qi obviously hesitated.

"...I can, as long as the hardware allows. But what exactly do you want to add to it?"

"Attribute panel! Taskbar! Map! Chat window!"

Isn't it still a game without these things?

Several players have already complained that they can only check their level and experience offline, and not being able to open the character interface at any time to check levels, experiences, abnormal statuses, and buffs – what's the difference between this and "Earth OL," that trash game?

Another complaint is the task system.

Although they no longer write on wooden or plastic boards, but rather switched to paper on wood, the essence hasn't changed, and checking task progress is still too tedious.

And most critically, it wastes too much paper!

That's not eco-friendly.

As for the map feature, it was an unexpected benefit.

Chu Guang had not expected the VM to be so capable, especially with its laser surveying; now, when players went scavenging with it, it was like they were mapping for the shelter.

And it was clear at a glance where had been searched and where had not, making it easier to reveal overlooked hidden spaces and secret passages, effectively doubling the efficiency of scavenging!

Most importantly, enabling automatic uploading of maps by the players also saved a significant portion of Chu Guang's workload.

Mapping before was done through physical recon by the players.

For instance, a player completing a scavenging task would travel to a location on the pre-war map and then report back to the Manager about what the place looked like now.

The needed information included, but was not limited to, changes in the landscape, the presence of Variants, and signs of human activity.

While this might sound easy, in practice, it was torturous; a hundred mouths could tell a hundred different versions.

Some people had such poor sense of direction that they ended up not even where the map pointed, yet spoke with utter seriousness, making Chu Guang's head spin.

Now with the VM, he no longer needed to listen to these sand sculptures narrate the conditions of the Wasteland. With the VM, data upload was all it took upon return, and exploration maps could be synchronized to the official web database.

Players didn't even need to operate it themselves.

Chu Guang had Xiao Qi perform the operations automatically on their behalf.

"Attribute panel, task system, and the map are easy to incorporate... However, the chat window is problematic; although the VM has a transmitter, it's not a specialized communication chip. Sending and receiving text messages and updating the task panel nearby the shelter is fine, but it gets tricky further away."

I see.

Chu Guang stroked his chin, pondering for a moment before speaking.

"The chat feature can wait, let's first develop the attribute panel, the task system, and the map functions. I'll find you a few templates to use in a moment."

The features were imperfect, and releasing them would just invite ridicule from sand sculpture netizens. It'd be better to wait until they were improved. Moreover, with the "Plaza" and the "Official Website," there was enough to boast about to the players.

"Alright, Master!"

Watching the enthusiastic Xiao Qi, Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction and turned back to head to Level B1.

It was 3 a.m. in the Wasteland, and 3 p.m. in the real world—the time when the least number of players were in the game.

It was also the best time for an update!

Sitting down in front of the computer at the residents' hall, Chu Guang yawned as he pulled out his notebook from the drawer, then opened the document for reference.

Everything was ready except for ctrl-C and ctrl-V.

Chu Guang stretched his fingers and a smile appeared on his face.

Time to do a planner's work!

...

Official Website:

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta Version alpha0.5 Update Announcement]

[Major Updates:

1. Increased the number of closed beta players to 200.

2. Significant changes to the attribute panel, task system, and map functions.

3. The B2 Level of the shelter officially opens!

[Optimizations:

1. More realistic snow effects: as time passes, the ground will harden, rivers will freeze, and even lake surfaces may freeze.

2. A charcoal fire has been added to the weapon shop for warming up. Please encourage the shop owner to cheer up, which might increase her favorability.

3. Increased spawn rate of wild monsters suitable for severe cold climates.

4. Richer details inside the shelter.

5. Fixed a few bugs.

6. ...

[As the number of players increases, the Player Manual and User Agreement have been updated to version 3.0. Players who have obtained closed beta access should check them promptly to avoid a poor gaming experience.]

[Current number of reservations: 1007]

[Additionally, the "Winter is Coming" expansion pack has officially ended. The title of Winter Warrior has been awarded to 90 qualified closed beta players, and their IDs have been included in the Hall of Fame. Winter has arrived—tremble in the cold, survivors!]

...

There was quite a bit of content in this update.

Rather than just boasting to the players, Chu Guang always worried they might think he wasn't working hard enough.

Still following the old routine.

After posting the update announcement, Chu Guang immediately posted the edited developer's log.

"Developer Log: alpha0.5 version"

Light: "Hello everyone, I am your beloved planner! After squeezing out 5 engineers from the technical team, our server has finally upgraded from a potato to a horned potato! Now it can accommodate 200 players entering the server simultaneously. Aren't you excited? Aren't you thrilled? Go check your backend mailbox! Applause for the Exalted!"

"The biggest change in this version update is mainly the attribute panel, task panel, and—the additional map function gifted to you! Are you happy?"

"I'm as happy as you are! Under the temptation of roasted potatoes, the developers finally understood the functionality we wanted."

"Of course, don't get too excited too soon. Considering the player's game experience and game authenticity, we have decided after five days and nights of continuous department meetings to integrate these functions into a special prop named 'Vital Signs Monitor (VM).'"

"After reaching the Citizen level, players need only pay 40 silver coins to purchase this device. Due to its special setting, each player is limited to one per account, non-unbindable, non-transferable. If your teammate unfortunately dies, remember to retrieve their VM, otherwise the shelter will deduct 10 silver coins from their account for the 'Device Retrieval' task reward."

"As long as you are in the shelter or near the sanatorium, the VM can connect to the shelter's server to carry out task operations."

"Besides the task bar, the core function of the VM is still the attribute panel! Through a small screen, you can conveniently check the development progress of your gene sequence, character attributes, buffs or debuffs, as well as contribution points and citizen level."

"Of course, you don't even need to show off your contribution points—the VM itself is a symbol of identity and power! In our setting, only 'Citizens' who have made outstanding contributions to the shelter deserve this honor. Owning it also means that you are no longer a rookie but a true warrior qualified to venture into the Wasteland!"

"Additionally, the VM's onboard laser mapping function can accurately capture nearby obstacles and walls, and upload the map data to the shelter's server. Even if you're directionally challenged, you'll be able to find your way home—your mom no longer has to worry about you getting lost in the Wasteland!"

Click, upload.

Done!

Chu Guang stretched lazily, pushed back his chair, and stood up.

After staying up until nearly dawn for two days straight, even his iron body was feeling the strain.

This time he planned to sleep until noon, hoping to get his sleep schedule back on track.

Thinking of this, Chu Guang looked towards Xiao Qi crouching in the corner.

"Xiao Qi, don't forget to wake Xia Yan when it's time."

"Alright, Master."

After delegating the last task, Chu Guang happily went back to the neighboring room to sleep.

While Chu Guang was sleeping soundly, the discussion about the "Alpha0.5 Version" on the official website nearly crashed the servers!

Chapter 99: B2 Floor is Way Too Awesome!

Comments below the official website announcement:

Tail: "Throne! (*/ω＼*)"

Quit Smoking: "!!! What?! Beta test qualifications are gone again?! What's happening?! w(゜Д゜)w"

Night Ten: "Damn, you're kidding me, right? You don't even have a little red dot notification?!"

Old White: "Hahaha, Quit Smoking Brother, you're just too unlucky."

Spare People under the Knife: "Quit Smoking Brother is really unfortunate, I was in the second batch of reservations, and I'm already playing it."

Quit Smoking: "T.T"

WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Speaking of which, it's amazing this time. They actually released 100 slots. The last batch of 10 extra slots hasn't even started playing, right?"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs: "It seems to be true. Those players should be online by 6 o'clock tonight."

Grandpa Ao: "Hehe, 100 slots? I don't believe a ghost! Only fools would reserve. Those 100 chosen must be fake."

Si Si: "No way? I was actually chosen."

Tail: "Tail was too! (*/ω＼*)"

Quit Smoking: "Storm of tears."

The announcement had just been posted for a few seconds, and no one had time to read the entire announcement. Everyone just glanced at the first line and hurried down to comment.

Besides commenting, there were those who fainted in utter dismay.

For instance, Quit Smoking Brother, who missed out on the reservation qualifications again—truly unfortunate. But he's not the only one; out of over a thousand players who reserved spots, aside from a few blacklisted cuties, more than nine hundred didn't get in.

Not being a high-quality user marked by the backend to absolutely win, the normal drawing chance is perhaps even less than one in ten.

Getting chosen would rightly feel princely.

After consoling Quit Smoking, those who didn't grab the top floor spot hurriedly went back to read in detail what exactly the announcement said.

After seeing it, they were stunned by the sheer volume of information.

The expansion has ended!

"Winter Warrior" limited title issued!

A special in-game prop integrating attribute interfaces, the task bar, and map functionality!

And the opening of Level B2 in the shelter!

Wow.

This would be enough updates to last till the end of the year for some games!

Irina: "Shivering in the cold is about right, only feels like the trash pickers would shiver though. (funny)"

All the Good Names Were Taken by Dogs: "Damn! I haven't even logged on yet, and the expansion pack is already over?!"

Future Kakarot: "Shocking! A small detail, the attribute interface actually needs money to unlock! Well, at least it's not real money."

Pick up Trash 99 Level: "Money is the least concern; it's the contribution points! Wait, it seems I had enough contribution points long ago. Oh, then no problem."

WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "You dunce, you bought land, and the money was still borrowed from me, pay it back fast!"

Pick up Trash 99 Level: "QAQ."

Makabazi: "Perfect, I log on just as the new version launches."

Less Nonsense: "+1, hahaha, I hope the lake doesn't freeze over. Fishing is just too fun."

The sudden end of the expansion was unexpected, but everyone saw it coming.

After all, the expansion's big boss had been taken down, the last battle was exhilarating, leaving a hairy mystery and a bunch of bewildered captives, setting the stage for the next version.

Winter is here.

The theme of the next expansion pack is probably survival, the enhancement for players who role-play living professions was already hinting at this moment's arrival.

Ending here couldn't be more fitting.

After reading "Developer's Log" by Ah Guang in the forum, players are immensely looking forward to this so-called VM prop and the new version's gameplay.

However, there's one critical issue—

What about Level B2?

These dog planners didn't even mention it once!

Tomato Scrambled Eggs: "Hold up, where's Level B2?"

Quit Smoking: "Developers wake up! You feel proud rolling out an update, but where is Level B2? That's what we want to know, hey!"

Spare People under the Knife: "Who's online and can check it? Is the elevator to Level B2 working? I think I saw an elevator in the resident hall!"

Night Ten: "Crap, I'm currently in a class at school, and my helmet is still at home!"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Brothers, chill, I'll be right back!!"

Fang Chang: "I'll go too, luckily I'm at home!"

Old White: "Damn, you really don't need to work, huh?"

At 3 PM on a workday, most players who had jobs weren't off work yet.

And those who didn't need to work and were online from the start probably didn't even know about the game update.

After all, the game can't access the official website from within, and updates don't seem to kick players who are online.

Now, the only hope left in the forum depends on those who don't need to work or attend school during the day and just happen to be offline.

After dropping a few words, Fang Chang and Mole went suddenly silent, probably meeting up in the game.

Twenty minutes passed and still no news.

The crowd in the forum was growing impatient, nearly cursing out loud.

Old White: "These two clowns are really dawdling."

Spare People under the Knife: "Exactly! Why aren't they back yet? I've been waiting for 29 minutes and 12 seconds!"

Night Ten: "There must be some hush-hush business going on here."

Teng Teng: "? Let me see. (eyes)"

Night Ten: "Huh!"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Ah, I'm back, was so exhilarating!"

Teng Teng: "!!"

Night Ten: "F*ck, what did you guys do? Why so slow? And where's the dunce Fang Chang?"

Mole on the Run: "No idea, I went to squat in the toilet and left, he ran into the bathroom and didn't come out for ages, I didn't bother waiting and just left. Let's not talk about all that nonsense anymore, I'm telling you, level B2 is freaking amazing, isn't it!"

Night Ten: "Well, tell us what's so amazing then!"

Mole on the Run: "Hold on, first off, the layout of level B2 is like a circular space, divided into ABCD four zones in a fan shape. Among them, zones BCD look like dormitories, and zone A must be the functional area; it has a dining hall, washrooms, and bathrooms. There's another door at the back I couldn't open, but just the washrooms and bathrooms alone are freaking amazing!"

Scrambled Eggs and Tomato: "Dining hall! Is there food??"

Mole on the Run: "Not really, the back kitchen door was locked and I couldn't get in. The hall had several fridges and drink machines all empty, but I guess the back kitchen must be the same. However, the fact the fridges work is great news! Next year when it gets hot, we can have cold drinks."

"Let's not talk about the kitchen, but just the washroom alone deserves praise! A self-cleaning toilet seat, an automatic washing system, you sit there and aside from doing your business, you don't have to worry about a thing, no need to fear grabbing a handful of Ollie instead of Tess! Wuu wuu wuu, I'd even be willing to pay for this toilet!"

Mosquito in the WC: "Damn, shut up already, don't let the planners hear that!"

Night Ten: "Awesome! Just yesterday, Old White and I were discussing how to deal with getting frozen while relieving ourselves in winter. Being able to conveniently go in the shelter is just so amazing!"

Wild Wind: "Wait a minute... you mean there's water in the shelter? Is that toilet the flushing type?"

Irina: "…What are you scheming? I have a bad feeling about this. (funny)"

Wild Wind: "Nah, just curious."

Mole on the Run: "Hahaha, of course there's water! That's my second point! The biggest difference between level B2 and level B1 is that there's a freshwater supply! Be it from lake water, rainwater collection, or an internal recycling filtration system, you can drink clean water from the kitchen's dispenser, take care of business in a high-tech bathroom, and enjoy a 360-degree immersive shower in a private stall! Speaking of which, where's Fang Chang, still not out from his shower, addicted is he?"

Night Ten: "Honestly, that guy can be a bit weird sometimes, but most of the time he's okay, let's just leave him be."

Fang Chang: "Screw off! I got out a while ago, was just writing a strategy post!"

Night Ten: "Huh?"

Mole on the Run: "Fang Chang, how was the shower feeling?"

Fang Chang: "Hmm… pretty refreshing. Probably simulated Ultrasonic Atomization Technology, but I never thought they could apply this technology to the showers. It's quite sci-fi, basically, you just stand there, don't have to move, totally subverted my understanding of showers, feels like spending money on this experience isn't a loss."

Night Ten: "Damn? It's that amazing? Ahhhh, I really want to log in now, I'll try it once I get back to the dorm!"

Mole on the Run: "Did you finish editing your post?"

Fang Chang: "It's already up on the forum!"

...

"Shelter No. 404 level B2 tour guide... These players have already explored level B2?"

When Chu Guang woke up, it was already one in the afternoon.

The first thing he did after waking up was to turn on his computer and log into the official website to check the silly posts by netizens on the forum.

Jeez, looks like these players thoroughly explored their own level B2.

But he had locked most of the doors, so they couldn't open them anyway. weapons that could break doors weren't allowed past the buffer room and couldn't be brought into the shelter. Plus, Chu Guang had given Xiao Qi the camera privileges, with Xiao Qi helping to keep an eye on things, there wasn't much worry about these players demolishing the place while he was gone.

Overall, players were quite thrilled with the content updated in the Alpha0.5 version.

Especially after experiencing the high-tech facilities newly added to level B2, those who had experienced it quickly fell in love with life here.

Compared to the surface, life in the shelter was just too comfortable!

After reading these posts, Chu Guang kind of understood the settings left by the First Generation Manager.

Indeed, compared to outside, this place was practically paradise.

Expecting those standing in paradise to build hell was itself a concept against human nature.

Chu Guang stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"Okay, I've decided. Using the amenities within the Shelter requires VM to access, and we'll implement a pay-to-use system for the water purifier, showers, and toilets."

The official website's message log bore witness.

This wasn't his idea, but something the players themselves had suggested.

Additionally, some players who had already purchased VM from Xiao Qi even came up with further suggestions, such as integrating a translator and a wallet into the VM.

The wallet idea was worth considering, to launch it alongside the Banking System.

Even without digital payment features, it would not matter. Excess silver coins could be stored in the bank, to be withdrawn when needed. This way, not only could players easily check their balances, but it also facilitated Chu Guang in recirculating the currency.

It was a win-win!

As for the translator,
in theory, it would take some time to develop, but it wasn't necessary at the moment.

Allowing players to freely communicate with the indigenous people in a rush, other than causing himself a load of trouble, brought no benefits.

Put simply, while language barriers might be a problem for players, for Chu Guang, they were not a bad thing.

From a manager's perspective, creating an information gap, or an "information filter," between players and the indigenous people was the best choice for everyone. Inter-server communication could still maintain some beautiful illusions between them.

Besides, even the most liberal games didn't allow for large-scale normal conversations with every NPC, right?

Achieving that would be truly unreasonable!

Compared to that, weapon shop owner Xia Yan's dialogue was already quite extensive. When annoyed, she would not only stomp her feet but would also utter some broken yet endearing verbal trash.

Many players even woke her up from her sleep just to hear Boss Xia's trash talk.

Without the information filter, not to say whether Boss Xia could remain adorable, players would surely pity the Looter or be deceived by NPCs into taking "side quests."

Adding such features would bring nothing but trouble and unpredictability. Even if translators were to be implemented later, selective translation would definitely be necessary.

However, from another angle...

"We could develop a VM exclusively for NPCs."

Upon this thought, Chu Guang, who was staring at the forum, suddenly brightened his eyes.

"The NPC-specific edition of the VM would eliminate the attribute panel, add task issuing and translation features, and the translation function would only support specific language scenarios, translating daily and functional phrases."

Players' nonsense need not be translated. The cultural background is different, and even if you translate it, it could lead to misunderstandings due to mismatches.

For instance, "Ollie" could be translated as "Just do it" or "Old Eight," but neither really fits as they mean different things in different contexts.

The weapon shop owner should just do what a weapon shop owner should do—know what her lines mean and what the players want to buy.

As for other things, when the great Manager deems it necessary for you to know, you'll naturally find out.

"The VM's screen is still a bit small, akin to a teleprompter for simultaneous interpreting... but paired with language training, it should be good enough for now."

Gradually, a group of indigenous people who spoke Chinese could be trained, reaching about a level 1~2 proficiency, which would be more than enough. As long as they could handle some game-specific terminology and everyday communication, they would be well-suited for NPC roles.

Chu Guang felt more and more like a genius the more he thought about it.

Truly worthy of me!

As for the "subtitles" used by the players,
he would consider implementing them when he felt it was necessary.

Chapter 100: Players with High Enthusiasm for Exploration and the Commercial Team Facing the Snowstorm

"Alright, stop wasting water in there, everyone out."

Chu Guang walked into the public bath on Level B1 and knocked on each door, chasing the players out like herding ducks.

"Wait, wait, wait, I just got in!"

"Put your clothes on and get out."

"Okay, okay, don't open the door yet."

"You have one minute."

"!!!"

As he chased these young players out, Chu Guang suddenly felt like the landlady from "Kung Fu."

But there's no other choice, he had to do it.

Expecting voluntary compliance from the players was impossible; the queue outside the public bath had turned into a long dragon.

Almost every player in Shelter No. 404 had come here to line up, and there was hardly anyone working on the surface. It was absolutely crazy.

Chu Guang herded the players crowded in the public bath in Zone A to the hall and surveyed them with authority. With a solemn tone, he said,

"I have good news to share. Just half a day ago, our impressive performance led our organization to increase its investment in us."

"From now on, the underground Level Two area of the shelter is open to our advance team. Your sleep cabins will be relocated to Area B here, along with the next batch of reinforcements."

"This area has nearly complete living facilities, much better than Level B1. However, I hope you don't get too comfortable with the favorable living environment here and keep your eyes on the long-term goal."

"Rebuilding Utopia in the human world is our ideal and pledge."

"To conserve the shelter's valuable energy and water resources, starting now, the drinking fountains, showers, and public restrooms will require a fee to use."

"Restroom usage will consume 1 Copper Coin per use, with an additional 1 Copper Coin for every 10 minutes beyond half an hour. The shower will consume 3 Copper Coins per use, with an additional 3 Copper Coins for every 10 minutes beyond half an hour. The drinking fountain will charge 1 Copper Coin for every 200ml of purified water, no limits on hot or cold."

"You must prepay the fees at the Manager's assistant place before using the facilities. Permissions will be bound to the VM device. The camera will record the user's identity and usage time. No more than one person is allowed to use a device at the same time. Irregular usage will cause the device to lock, and violators will be penalized. Additionally, if there are overdue fees, they must be settled within 24 hours, or it will affect future usage."

Control of the cameras had already been given to Xiao Qi.

It could accurately identify the usage time of each player's device, directly operating in the background to deduct the prepaid fees in accordance with the rules.

AI management was far more efficient than manual management.

Overdue fees?

Then don't use it.

In his territory, hardworking players wouldn't run out of money.

Upon hearing the manager's announcement, the players expressed some regretful expressions but were not unable to accept it.

It's well known that VIP value-added services require payment, and bathing in the shelter is indeed more comfortable than outside. You don't have to worry about running out of water halfway through.

At least the generous manager didn't implement some hellish membership service like the Emperor Penguin, charging a fee for entering and another fee for turning on the faucet, with priority given to those who pay extra.

"Damn! I was just halfway through my bath and got chased out. Huge loss, boo-hoo."

"What loss? At least you got to experience it. I didn't even get to the front of the line!"

"Bathing costs 3 Copper Coins? That's three times the price outside. I'll still head to the lake to bathe."

"You're crazy. It's almost freezing outside. You want to bathe at the lake? I think you'll just sink there."

"Wait a minute, you guys can bathe in half an hour?! Speaking of which, it's really unreasonable that after half an hour, every 10 minutes costs 3 Copper Coins."

"You can also come out and go back in. But if there are a lot of people, you'll probably have to queue again."

"I also think it's unreasonable. I finish in 10 minutes. Why do I have to pay 3 Copper Coins? Can I just pay 1 Copper Coin?"

Seeing the noisy players, Chu Guang clapped his hands and shooed them to the elevator.

"Now, go upstairs and drag down your cultivation chambers."

"Underground Level Two Area B currently has rooms numbered 1-100 available. The players with the highest Contribution Points will select their rooms first. Everyone can have one room as their respawn point."

"Go on now, don't just stand there stupidly. If you're late, you'll get a random allocation."

Under the manager's urging, the players finally dispersed, ran upstairs, and started working, dragging their cultivation chambers down.

Soon, the hall on the underground Level Two was packed with cultivation chambers.

Including the 10 new players who just joined the Game, nearly all 81 players without tasks gathered here.

Every cultivation chamber had a unique identifier corresponding to the player's U ID, ensuring they wouldn't be mixed up.

Next was the seat selection process.

As the most advanced players in the Game, the four members of the Bull and Horse small team undoubtedly had the highest Contribution Points, securing rooms 001-004.

Then it was Mosquito and Teng Teng, taking rooms 6 and 8, respectively.

Following them were Egg Fry, who had cooked for two versions and worked as the butcher for one version, and Crow, who made a fortune from the Leech Nest.

Seeing the prime room numbers taken, they swiftly grabbed rooms 66 and 88.

The numbers might be high, but the digits were impressive.

As for the rest, they didn't really matter!

In less than half an hour, almost all rooms were assigned. Players stationed at the Outpost Base and the abandoned tire factory got their rooms through random distribution.

Players happily dragged their cultivation chambers to their allotted rooms to set up their beds.

Chu Guang ordered the players to send the freed beds upstairs.

From now on, Level B1 would be reserved for himself and core NPCs who needed to visit the surface frequently.

The remaining 100 rooms in Area B of Level Two could be considered for accommodating some technical personnel or special talents collected from the Wasteland in the future.

It would be best if they came over from cryosleep, so the "bloodline" would be relatively pure, and the knowledge system would be more complete.

After settling the players, Chu Guang went to the surface and found Hain pacing back and forth in front of the open space of the sanatorium.

Seeing Chu Guang, the merchant from Red River Town's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately approached with a broad smile.

"My friend, you've finally adjusted to the schedule. I almost went down to look for you."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"You probably can't use that elevator."

"I know, so I didn't even try," Hain chuckled and continued, "Just now, my most capable assistant Wen brought good news. The commercial team from Red River City has already set off and is expected to arrive within three days. We plan to complete the transaction at the tire factory!"

Chu Guang didn't ask how Hain got the news.

Radio communication wasn't high-end technology, and besides radio, there were clearly many other communication methods in this world that he had never heard of.

For example, the signal transmission between the players' helmets, clones, and cultivation chambers clearly didn't use radio as a medium.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible to achieve zero delay.

"I hope you brought what I wanted," Chu Guang said as he looked at him.

"Of course. It's what we agreed upon." Hain removed his hat and bowed, his face full of sincere reverence and respect, "Honesty and trustworthiness are my mottos."

Having experienced his acting many times, Chu Guang just smiled faintly without commenting.

Believe your lies?

The grass on your grave is two meters high!

If you're unlucky, you wouldn't even have a grave.

...

With the downfall of the Blood Hand Clan, the largest looter group in the North Suburb has completely perished.

The flag of 404 was planted on the roof of the abandoned tire factory, and Blue Jackets armed with iron pipe rifles stood guard on the enclosing wall.

Until new looter forces set their sights on this piece of meat, the survivors in this area could enjoy a brief period of peace.

In terms of the game's terminology, thanks to the players' brave fighting, the "Looting Level" of the local area dropped by three levels, and the prosperity increased by one level.

Meanwhile, the regional reputation of Shelter No. 404 increased by 100, relations with neutral survivor forces increased by 10, the frequency of commercial team appearances increased by 10%, and the probability of neutral NPCs joining increased by 10%...

These were all updates Chu Guang posted on the official website, just for players and backseat drivers to brag and feel proud.

He had also noticed that not everyone on the forum believed this game truly existed. Many simply thought they were playing a "concept game."

But even so, watching so many people "bragging" seriously was quite interesting, much like the early MUD games where over ninety percent of the content relied on a group of people using their imagination.

However, as one of the most widespread urban legends in the current gaming circle, even if the reservation account required filling in substantial personal information, many new players still signed up enthusiastically.

Their motivation was quite simple.

Beta test qualification meant having a player identifier on the forum account, which made their bragging more credible than those without the identifier.

When the helmet appeared at their door, their expressions would undoubtedly be spectacular.

Regardless of the parallel world's affairs, with the introduction of the "VM" equipment, players' enthusiasm for exploration had reached a peak.

Even though the snowfall outside grew heavier, it couldn't stop them from wanting to explore the map. Watching the map's shadows gradually disappear from the screen was quite a stress-relief.

The key was that it was quite convenient to operate, as long as one walked close to the wall.

If Chu Guang hadn't set limits on the exploration areas, prohibiting them from venturing north into the wilderness or deep into the city, they might have dared to reach Giant Stone City by relying on their legs and hands.

Of course, it was more likely they would die halfway there.

There were almost no main roads to follow from here to Giant Stone City, either circling west along the high-rise loop remains, or finding a way through large ruins and collapsed buildings.

And the cold winter would make all this even more dangerous.

Death was a small matter; the trouble was having to issue corpse-running tasks and finding ways to retrieve their bodies and VM equipment.

Especially the VM equipment, which was much more valuable than the players' bodies, costing 40 silver coins to buy!

Besides the players, the only two indigenous people "NPCs" at the Outpost Base, a female weapon shop owner and a warehouse manager, also used the NPC version of the VM under Chu Guang's arrangement.

With the prompter's help, their work efficiency had significantly increased. At least, when buying and selling stuff, they didn't need to ask the players to repeat themselves because they didn't understand them the first time.

"The snow is getting heavier."

On the enclosing wall of the abandoned tire factory.

Looking at the street, streetlights, vehicle remains, and buildings covered in silver frost, the fully armed Chu Guang suddenly sighed softly.

Such heavy snow would definitely impact the industry at the Outpost Base.

Even if the players weren't afraid of the cold, couldn't feel pain, and could overcome the cold with a worker's will, they would still suffer from frostbite, cold stupor, or even shock.

There was no way they could smelt steel in the shelter.

Hain, who stood beside him, couldn't guess Chu Guang's thoughts and offered his compliments with a smile.

"This year will probably be colder than last year. The surrounding survivors' days will be tough. But you shouldn't worry; the shelter is like spring all year round."

Chu Guang didn't respond to him, just kept looking north.

The cold northern wind howled, swirling with snow like blades.

Behind that hazy snow mist, figures suddenly appeared.

Hain reacted faster than Chu Guang, eyes filled with joy, and excitedly pointed to the snow mist ahead.

"Sir! Our commercial team has arrived!"

Chapter 101 Are You Stuck in a Bug Here?

The Commercial Team from Red River Town had arrived earlier than planned.

Upon hearing the news of the Blood Hand Clan's demise, these merchants had hurriedly marched and reached the northern outskirts of Qingquan City in just two and a half days.

The longer they delayed, the colder the weather would become, and the probability of the prisoners' survival would decrease. They needed to transport these prisoners back to Red River Town before they froze to death and sell them to the right buyers.

If more than half died on the return journey, they would hardly make any money from the trip...

Braving the heavy snow that filled the sky, the dust-covered Commercial Team arrived at the gates of the abandoned tire factory.

Signaling for the team behind him to stop, a man wearing a cotton coat and carrying a semi-automatic rifle on his chest stepped forward.

He looked up at Chu Guang and Hain standing on the gate and called out with a loud voice, "I'm an employee of the Horseshoe Iron Business Group, your goods are all here!"

Hain's bodyguard, named Wen, was also in the Commercial Team.

However, his status did not permit him to interject, so he just stood beside the pack yaks, cleaning the chambers of his revolver to pass the time.

"One moment."

Chu Guang gestured and then turned to the players by his side.

The players, already impatient from waiting for the plot, immediately began cranking the winch and opened the wooden fort gates.

As the gates opened, a group of Looter prisoners, dejectedly walked out from the dungeon, escorted by 4 players.

"Behave yourselves!"

"Don't dawdle!"

Actually, the Looters weren't dawdling at all, but the players just felt like they had to shout something, or it would seem like something was missing.

Due to the language barrier, the Looters didn't understand what the players in Blue Jackets were saying; they could only sense, from the shaking muzzles of their guns, that they were probably being urged to move forward.

Seeing the yaks at the gate and the horseshoe-shaped badges, many of the seasoned Looter veterans had guessed their fate, their faces showing a deathly despair.

Only a few younger Looter teenagers appeared confused, not knowing where they would be taken or what kind of end awaited them.

The players holding rifles whispered among themselves.

Some of them had died in battle just a few days previously but were now alive again.

Makabazi, "There are a few prisoners here that look pretty familiar."

Debt Giant Eye, "Hey, which one took you down?"

Makabazi, "Hell knows, it was so dark, and bullets were whizzing by; I doubt it was the enemy that got me. Damn! It makes me angry just thinking about it. How did I even die?"

Debt Giant Eye, "Come on, you're just making excuses for being bad at it, and nobody's blaming you. Friendly fire counts too, you know we check for bullet holes afterward, right?"

Makabazi, "Let's drop that subject... What do you think will happen to these Looters?"

Debt Giant Eye, "Looks like the Manager intends to sell them to Red River Town."

Makabazi, "Red River Town?"

Debt Giant Eye, "Yeah, it's in the game's official setting collection, haven't you read it? It's a town under Qingquan City, probably a few dozen kilometers away. There are a lot of pre-war garbage landfills there. The slaves sold there will be sent into the mines to dig until they die."

"Tsk tsk, that's terrible..." Makabazi's eyes flickered, and suddenly he got an idea, "But on the other hand, what if I sold myself there and then committed suicide? Couldn't I take advantage of the situation for free?"

Hearing this rogue plan, Debt Giant Eye was shocked.

"Fuck, are you trying to exploit a bug?"

Although their crimes were heinous enough to be hung ten times over, Chu Guang had still preserved their basic human rights, allowing them to keep their clothes and shoes, eat the unidentifiable meat from the warehouse, and use a small amount of scavenged bandages for simple dressings.

It was not out of pity that he did this.

Purely, he was concerned that too many deaths would affect his income.

The good days for these people were still to come.

"30?" The leading man counted the number of prisoners and asked Chu Guang, "Why is there one missing?"

"Must have frozen to death," Chu Guang casually looked back as he descended from the gate and happened to see a player dragging a corpse with a broken leg out of the dungeon.

Seeing that the numbers matched up, the leading man nodded and, without saying much, simply signaled for the guards behind him to help unload the goods.

The sooner they completed the trade, the sooner they could head home.

...

According to the agreement between Chu Guang and Hain, each prisoner would be exchanged for an equivalent of twenty kilograms of coarse salt, regardless of whether they were disabled or not.

With one of the thirty-one prisoners dead, that counted as thirty, totaling six hundred kilograms of coarse salt.

Here, coarse salt was a specialty of Red River Town and served as a general equivalent in trade between the two parties.

Chu Guang had no use for so much coarse salt, so aside from two hundred kilograms of it, the remaining four hundred kilograms were exchanged for some of Red River Town's specialties.

This included thirty revolving rifles, eight boxes of handmade bullets totaling over four thousand, which were rolled in copper casings, and a large quantity of copper, zinc, chrome ingots, and strong oxidizers like potassium permanganate.

The former satisfied the defense needs of the Outpost Base, while the latter drove the industrial development of the Outpost Base, providing raw materials.

Besides that, there were miscellaneous hardware pieces that would be used in processing machinery, as well as some gears and drive shafts of the like, primarily for the proprietress of the weapon shop.

Although a few player-specialists in metallurgy could forge by hand, the issue with steelmaking was unsolved, and the material strength remained a significant problem.

The quality of knives they ground by hand was, to put it mildly, unspeakable; they were passable for temporary use, but surprisingly wore out quickly in actual use, so much so that they often needed replacing every few days.

It made Chu Guang wonder several times whether Xia Yan was deliberately making them that way out of laziness.

Although the industrial capabilities of Red River Town couldn't compare with those of Giant Stone City, making some processing tools was not a problem, and their quality was pretty decent.

This time Chu Guang intentionally purchased a few more sets, which should be fine to use until the coming spring.

To transport these goods, the Horseshoe Iron Business Group had mobilized ten mutated yaks and also provided eight gunmen armed with revolving rifles as guards.

Watching the people unloading the goods, Chu Guang glanced at Hain next to him and said,

"Speaking of which, that person claimed to be an employee of the Horseshoe Iron Business Group. Are they your colleagues?"

Hain let out a chuckle and explained,

"Although we both work for the Horseshoe Iron Business Group, someone like me is slightly different from the employees you have in mind. To put it simply, our relationship with the business group is more akin to a partnership than employment. The caravan guards and yaks you see belong to the business group, while the goods were purchased with our own money."

Chu Guang's interest was piqued.

"Purchased from the business group?"

Hain looked surprised at Chu Guang, as if he hadn't expected him to know that, and nodded in confirmation,

"Yes, our goods are all purchased through a centralized procurement from the business group, and the sellers are mostly customers of the business group... apart from this time. We reconcile every transaction, deducting the cost of the goods and payment for the guards. From the profit, we then have to give sixty percent back to the business group."

This sounded somewhat like a franchise system.

The goods, logistics, and even customer relations all belonged to the "headquarters," and the merchants like Hain acted like franchisees.

In this way, even if a sale incurred a loss, the Horseshoe Iron Business Group wouldn't bear any risk, and the loss was entirely the franchisee's own.

However, if a profit was made, the business group would take sixty percent of the earnings.

No, even in the event of a loss, from the business group's perspective, it was still a profit.

After all, all the "franchisees" purchased their goods from the business group, which certainly wouldn't sell the products to the franchisees at cost price; a certain portion of the profit was retained by the group.

Contemplating this, an involuntary sentiment arose within Chu Guang,

"The natives are the real experts at harvesting leeks.

Compared to them, I'm plainly too kind!"

However, this trading model was something he might consider adopting in the future.

For instance, in a trading system.

...

"Goodbye, my friend, I hope we can trade happily with you again next spring!"

The delivery of goods finally finished, Hain stood with his two bodyguards beside the Commercial Team, tipping his hat in respect to Chu Guang.

Chu Guang smiled faintly, waving his hand.

"Fair winds to you."

Hain laughed heartily in response.

"Hahaha, looks like we'll have to walk against the wind for a while! We're heading off first, good luck to you all!"

The group began their journey.

It was then that Chu Guang noticed the female Mercenary beside Hain suddenly turned her head and gave him a look full of silent accusation.

Their eyes met, but the Mercenary wasn't embarrassed, she even boldly blew him a kiss through the air and mouthed 'We'll meet again,'

Then, she disappeared into the vast snowy mist along with the Commercial Team.

Chu Guang was slightly startled, furrowed his brows, and thought for a good while but couldn't remember her name; even more, he was completely puzzled by her final action.

Was it... Wendy?

Or was it Helen?

After all, he had only heard that Merchant named Hain mention her once—who would pay attention to the name of a Mercenary by a Merchant's side?

Forget it, no point in pondering such trivial matters.

Chu Guang shook his head, signaled the players to load the materials they had exchanged for the slaves onto the carts, preparing to haul them back to the Outpost Base's warehouse.

However, even though Chu Guang wasn't bothered, his fellow players couldn't suppress their gossiping fervor, especially after witnessing that blown kiss; they instantly had wild thoughts deep as the Mariana Trench.

"Damn! That look definitely has a story!"

"I saw it! That flying kiss!"

"Do you think the Manager might have something going on with that woman?"

"Come on, they were only together for a few days."

"A few days is quite some time, you know!"

"Damn, what about the weapon shop's proprietress?"

"Big news! The Manager's unspeakable million-word short story with the Commercial Team's female Mercenary!"

"Tsk, tsk, not simple at all! Definitely an untold story behind that!"

"Got it, we'll have Brother Mole do a drawing once we're back!"

Tsk.

These people, really...

They think of the thigh at the sight of an arm.

Chu Guang's eyebrow twitched, but in the end, he restrained the urge to retort and maintained the dignity a NPC should have.

Coughing, he commanded in an authoritative tone to the players who stopped to gossip and forgot the task at hand.

"Hurry up!"

"While the snow at noon isn't as heavy as before, we need to haul all the goods back!"

Under Chu Guang's urging, players finally stopped dawdling and quickly loaded the packaged goods onto the wooden carts.

Even so, they chatted non-stop from beginning to end.

Everything was finally packed, and the group was ready to hit the road.

Looking back at the gate, [The Work Site Youth and Brick]took a step forward to inquire to Chu Guang.

"Respected Manager, what should we do with this outpost? Do you still want us to guard it?"

There was nothing left in the outpost, and he was wondering if they could collect their rewards ahead of time if it was no longer needed.

Chu Guang thought for a few seconds and then gave an order.

"Burn down the gate."

"Leave the rest for the Variants."

The outpost was too far from the players' respawn point, and it didn't have any strategic value in terms of location; there was no point in keeping it.

Besides, just standing inside, Chu Guang felt his SAN value dropping.

He really couldn't understand how the Looters could settle down here with a clear conscience.

[The Work Site Youth and Brick]nodded excitedly in agreement.

"Yes!"

Destroying things was much more fun than chopping trees!

...

Chu Guang trusted the players' looting abilities.

They would dig three feet into the ground if need be, not letting go of anything, even going so far as to haul away the entire cupboard if they felt like it.

The entire Blood Hand Clan's outpost was left almost bare, with nothing usable remaining.

Those things left behind were either inconvenient to carry or simply had no value to be recycled.

Take, for instance, the dried meats in the warehouse.

Clearly, a significant portion of these meats did not come from normal prey.

After being dried, it was hard to distinguish which meats were from animals and which were from their own kind based on appearance alone.

Out of a sense of mental cleanliness, Chu Guang simply abandoned them all.

Some were thrown to the Looter prisoners in the dungeons as feed for a while, and the rest just hung from the beams in the tire factory's warehouse.

They might as well feed the rats and the cockroaches.

As for tubers like horned potatoes and the plump grains, as well as a vegetable resembling cabbage, Chu Guang had these transported back and stored.

These were all good stuff.

Especially those vegetables, totaling three to four thousand kilograms, when mixed with grains and meat, they would last for a long time and also balance the clones' nutrition.

Without a doubt, these foods were likely raided by the Looters from Brown's Farm during the autumn harvest.

Apart from the food, there were also things like Hyena hide, deer hide, Wild boar hide, and even Bear hide—totaling about 230 pieces.

It was impossible that all these hides came from Bet Street.

Bet Street only had about a hundred households; even if they drained all the bone marrow from Old Leech, they might not have been able to assemble these tributes.

Chu Guang speculated that a significant portion of them must have come from tributes by other Survivor Settlements nearby.

These ill-gotten goods which the Looters had laboriously collected throughout the entire autumn had barely been enjoyed before they changed hands to their new masters.

Naturally, Chu Guang had no intention of returning them back.

The rules of the Wasteland.

What you find, you keep.

The gates burst into raging flames, and the sparks carried away by the North wind kept drifting towards the main building.

Looking at the fire before him and recalling the contents of those two diaries, Chu Guang felt a complex emotion stirring in his heart.

Pulling out the "Silver Snake" revolver holstered at his waist, he fired a shot into the sky.

"Bang—!"

The gunshot echoed along the snow-covered streets, drowning in the blizzard, serving as a prayer for the souls who died here.

Brushing off the dissipating smoke from the gun's barrel.

Chu Guang reholstered the Silver Snake into Teng Teng's crafted gun holster, turned to the waiting players, and took the lead.

"Let's go home!"

Chapter 102: A Wave of Newbies is Approaching!

Official Forum:

"Big news! Shelter No. 404 Manager 'Dawn' is flirting with a female mercenary from Red River Town!"

"Shocking! The Manager slept with the female mercenary!"

"Pass it on, they slept together for five days and nights!"

"The kid is 5 months old already!"

"We're all adults here who can play the Game seven days a week, so please speak more maturely! Don't be so childish! So where's the process animation? The storyline CG? Just skipped it? Thumbs down!"

"Hahaha, are you bullying the NPCs because they can't go online and their affection won't drop? Hahaha."

It wasn't just the players who were jeering; the Backseat Drivers joined in the fun too.

Just then, the Forum heavy-hitter 'Escaped Vole in the Canyon' jumped out and started a separate post.

"Sketches are here! (image) (image) (image)"

Crow: "!!!"

Teng Teng: "Is this something we can see without paying? (nosebleed)"

Night Ten: "Mole Old Brother yyds!"

Fang Chang: "Niubi!!!"

Escaped Vole in the Canyon: "Hehehe, bros, don't panic, it's just a sketch, ha. Wait till I color it!"

['Escaped Vole in the Canyon' has been banned by the moderator for 12 hours]

Old White: "?!"

Elena: "Dangerous! (funny face)"

Light: "Don't post strange pictures, from now on, no nudity allowed. Although our servers are in compliance with local laws and regulations, we are a serious Company, and the Game is serious as well. Please exercise restraint, no risqué pictures, ha."

Even though the Game was only released to adults, anyone could access the official website, and people of all ages are around. It was still not appropriate to see images of violence and bloodshed.

'Wasteland OL' is a game that focuses on 'easy entertainment, casual development' as a selling point; it does not have bloodshed or violence. The game does not promote grinding or spending extravagantly, and definitely doesn't endorse racy content.

Once someone posted risqué content, they received a mute warning the first time, had their account at risk the second time, and the third strike led to an IP and machine code lock.

Since Chu Guang discovered that Xiao Qi could operate the Computer in his stead, Chu Guang simply tossed the Forum moderation responsibilities to Xiao Qi as well.

After all, with thousands of posts coming in daily, there was no way he could personally keep up with moderation.

Besides, Chu Guang also let Xiao Qi feature some interesting strategy posts on his behalf, which he'd check out when he had the time.

It's still worth taking a look at selected memorials.

What if there are good ideas?

The Alpha 0.6 version came from that, didn't it?

Night Ten: "Damn, the racy pictures blew the planner up!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Pass it on, the planner comes out when he sees racy pictures!"

All the good names are taken by dogs: "Pass it on, the planner looks at racy pictures during work hours!"

Chu Guang: "..."

Tsk.

This bunch of Sand Sculptures!

Fang Chang: "Ah! I feel sorry for Mole Old Brother, he only drew a sketch and got penalized immediately, tragic, tragic, tragic!"

Teng Teng: "Since we can't draw Manager and the female mercenary's doujin, maybe... Mole Brother could consider tweaking the mercenary into a young man who returns the favor? (oﾟ▽ﾟ)o "

Night Ten: "I suggest drawing Teng Teng and Crow!"

Wild Wind: "Supported!!!"

Elena: "Withered vines old trees evening crows? (funny face)"

WC always has Mosquitoes: "!! Goblin Industry sponsors a Silver Coin!"

Crow: "What the hell?? (.Д.;)"

Teng Teng: "(❀‵□′)✄╰☋╯"

...

As the deal with Horseshoe Iron Business Group concluded, time quickly moved on to October.

Just as most experienced survivors predicted, this year's winter arrived earlier than usual.

It was just the beginning of October and the daily average surface temperature dropped to below zero, the howling cold wind and falling snow swept across the Earth. Just one night was enough to pile snow from the soles of the feet up to the shins, and even the knees.

Thankfully, the snow had not continued.

On this rare sunny day, a group of energetic and enthusiastic new players arrived in the vast expanse of the Wasteland.

They awoke from the comfort of their cultivation chambers.

Looking at their incredibly realistic torsos and the environment around them, they were shocked, bewildered, and even ecstatic to the point of breathlessness.

Chu Guang locked the permission to open the door, giving them ten minutes to get dressed and adjust their emotions, to avoid dying of embarrassment in public.

Then he used the broadcast to remind them to gather in the central hall on B2.

"Wuwuwu, damn, damn! It's really virtual reality technology!"

"It's so shocking; am I dreaming?"

"Pinch me... Huh? Why doesn't it hurt at all?"

"Dumb! Have you been squatting on the official website for half a month for nothing? They've said it's pain suppression, pain suppression, get it?"

"Hehehe, can I turn it off? I want to try turning it off..."

"...???"

For the old players, these wide-eyed newcomers were no longer surprising, as they had been through it themselves in the beginning.

Moreover, since the Game releases accounts in batches, watching the new players collectively embarrass themselves had become one of the traditions or perhaps one of the pleasures of the Game.

"Tsk, that young guy is not bad; he's not even that surprised. He looks like a pro player."

"Hey, how do you know he's not just scared stiff? Look at his pupils, they're dilated."

"Ah, the quality of this batch of newbies is so-so, their psychological tolerance isn't too strong, their reactions to surprise are too exaggerated, some are over the top."

"Oh, come on! You're one to talk! I clearly remember it was you who tried to strip down when you first came in, and you were stopped by the people around you."

"Alright, alright, you can shut up now."

Chu Guang was also watching from the side.

He was waiting for everyone to arrive.

At that moment, a few shrieks of "ya" suddenly came from behind the crowd.

Chu Guang looked up and saw a dog bear with white fur, about two and a half meters long, timidly holding onto the door frame and poking its sheepish face through the north gate of the plaza.

"Me, me, me, why am I all furry?"

Many of the nearby newbies were startled and instinctively dodged to the side.

"I giao! There's a bear!"

"Breasts?! Where?"

"Damn!"

The veteran players, however, were relatively calm.

After all, there were even Lizard men, so why not a dog bear?

Occasionally, the Game would produce a few Exalted players, either with special talents or even a gene sequence that was different from normal players.

As for Chu Guang?

He was even more composed.

After each player completed their login, their gene sequence would update to the System's "Player List." And he was the first to see their attribute panels.

[

ID: Meat mountain big steamed bun

Gene sequence: Different Species·Bear

Level: LV.0

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 9

Agility: 6

Constitution: 7

Perception: 7

Intelligence: 3

]

[

Talent:

Cold resistance (extremely high resistance to severe cold, not good in hot environments, and receives extra burn damage.)

Polydactyl (greater stamina, difficulty manipulating complex machinery)

Physical regeneration (enhanced recovery, difficult to increase gene sequence level)

]

Agility, Constitution, and Perception are 1 point lower than Garbage King, Strength is 1 point higher, and Intelligence is higher by 1 point.

Of course, that was at LV.0, but now Garbage King is LV.2.

Although the initial attributes of the "Different Species" sequence are generally stronger than the five mainstream sequences, the growth weakening debuff that comes with the Different Species sequence is a severe defect.

Take Garbage King, for example.

Despite being one of the first batch of veteran players to enter the Game, his level has always been pressed at Echelon No.2, only managing to reach LV.2 after almost half a month, which is somewhat embarrassing.

Moreover, the trait of "Polydactyl" makes them more inclined towards engaging in primitive activities and makes it difficult for them to operate machinery as conveniently as normal humans.

Still taking Garbage King as an example, even with modifications made to the trigger and grip, he finds it challenging to shoot with light weapons.

In any case, Chu Guang's feeling is that this guy has given up on using guns and has completely opted for physical evolution. If he can get in close for melee combat, he will; if he can't, he throws javelins.

Most players are very happy to team up with him.

After all, who doesn't love a tank?

If he can't break through, he's a target, but once he's through, it's a massacre!

When they first saw the bear, the novices were quite panicked, but after seeing how cowardly it was, they became curious and drew closer.

At this time, a short-haired female player named Tail circled behind and curiously tugged at Meat Meat's tail, startling the bear into darting forward.

"What, what, what are you doing?!"

Tail chuckled mischievously.

"Bro, that's awesome! How much did you pay for this account?"

"I, I, I just got it through normal draws, it took a long time to draw it. Besides, how do you even spend money in this Game, there's no option to recharge."

Another long-haired female player named Si Si came over, curious to pull the furry tail, scaring the bear until it backed up against the wall.

"Speaking of which, why did you choose such a strange name, Big Steamed Bun?"

"I, I, I originally wanted to call it Meat Mountain Demon King, but I entered the wrong character. Ugh, and you can't change names in this Game, it's so annoying."

Si Si suddenly smirked evilly.

"Got it, I'll go to the Forum and register a sub-account called Meat Mountain Demon King."

"Don't, I'm going to cry."

Tail stroked her chin for a moment, then suddenly smacked her right fist into her palm.

"Decided, from now on, you'll be called Meat Meat! You'll be my mount. Wait, let me check something first, do you have that?"

Meat Meat was about to cry.

"Dirt! I'm a girl!"

Tail laughed even more cheerfully.

"No problem, so am I! Come on, let me check!"

Si Si: "Ew! Are you being indecent?"

"Don't be annoying!"

After some commotion, Tail finally let go of the bear with disappointment, clicking her tongue.

"Tsk, nothing at all."

It must be said that such fluffy animals are quite attractive to female players.

Of course, mainly because this one is too embarrassing, not domineering at all. If it were those Mutant Brown Bears from the Wasteland, the tougher ones could smash a Crawler with a single slap.

But then again, Different Species sequence players don't have those organs, so what exactly is Meat Meat? A male or female bear?

Emmm…

Forget it.

This question is too difficult for him.

Guess he'll just go with the player's gender.

When even the slowest player had taken their place on the square, looking at these frolicking players, Chu Guang coughed loudly, signaling them to be quiet.

Following that, Chu Guang said in a solemn voice,

"The war has ended."

"However, the bad news is that our world has changed beyond recognition."

"Now, two hundred years after the apocalypse, it is fortunate that we have survived the toughest years. You who stand here are luckier than 12 billion people, and now I need you to quickly come to terms with our current situation, and then fulfill your pledge under the banner of the United Human—to rebuild our homeland!"

"This assistant next to me is called Xiao Qi. If you have any questions about the Shelter or anything you don't understand, you can ask it."

As he had done many times before,

As the Manager of the Shelter, Chu Guang announced the rules and regulations of the Shelter to these one hundred newly emerged players from the cultivation chambers.

And those lines that he had thought up with great effort.

The "cutscene" for new players entering the Game was more or less the same every time, but with the "Alpha 0.5 version," Chu Guang had added a special task for veteran players who had reached Citizen level.

That is, to take new players to level up.

All players who had reached Citizen level and obtained the VM device could receive the "Pass the Torch" task from the task system.

The content of the task was simple.

Players who took the task could choose up to three newbies to become their "Novice Instructor," and as long as they were able to bring them from LV.0 to LV.1 within a week, they would receive a reward of 100 Contribution Points and 10 Silver Coins.

100 Contribution Points wasn't very attractive for players who had reached Citizen level, but the reward of 10 Silver Coins was quite tempting.

For Strength Types, all one needed to do was to keep chopping trees until utterly exhausted—around two days of constant chopping should be enough to reach LV.1.

Other types of leveling required some tricks. But basically, except for Intelligence System types, it wasn't too difficult to level up from LV.0 to LV.1—it would take about three days of dedicated effort.

While leveling people up, you could also do other tasks to make money, and you could bring along three underlings at once. The Silver Coins were practically free money, why not take advantage of it?

Moreover, newbies at gene sequence level LV.0 could also pick up the associated task, "Pass the Torch," from the notice board in the hall.

Choose an "Old Soldier" from the Shelter with VM equipment to become their own "Novice Instructor."

As long as they level up to LV.1, they would receive a reward of 80 Contribution Points and 8 Silver Coins, which was basically equivalent to the income of a newbie player grinding for 12 hours.

This numerical design was very reasonable.

The "Pass the Torch" task was launched for two reasons, one was to help newbies quickly acclimate so they weren't like headless flies bumping around, and the other was to integrate them into the large community of Shelter No. 404.

Especially the latter.

Even in a class of a hundred people, just changing seats could alter the classroom's atmosphere, let alone suddenly doubling the number of people.

Chu Guang was very clear that the biggest challenge that the Alpha 0.5 version update had brought was not the server's CPU but the impact of new players on the Wasteland OL server environment.

After all, a game with a threshold that has a hardcore bent and touts "Virtual Community" as its selling point decided from the get-go that the server's environment was of paramount importance.

It was like an ordinarily normal online game where everyone was playing nicely, and then suddenly, there's a weekend when it's free for a limited time and a few flies slip in, making it unplayable instantly.

Like a certain squad.

A newbie could become the nightmare of an entire small team, especially when they grab the only "sniper" rifle or a heavy barrel, or even worse, infiltrate into a vehicle team and become the driver—that would be the start of a nightmare.

Could you blame them?

Not really.

Everyone has been a newbie before, except for those who take joy in ruining others' gaming experience, the vast majority are still open to communication.

If someone is willing to teach, they are often eager to learn, and naturally, the server environment will improve.

Actually, from a money-making perspective, the normal logic would definitely be to drive away the paid old players, let those few flies run wild in the server, which could nurture the metagame and stimulate consumption. When the flies are having fun and the server bans them, they might, in a fit of anger, open several accounts to blow up the server, leading to skyrocketing sales.

Like a certain blue hole.

But is Chu Guang that kind of person?

What is money?

Just crumbs!

Wasteland OL would rather operate at a loss to provide players the highest quality of gaming experience, maintaining the server environment to the end!

"With VM in place, the friend and team systems can be arranged as soon as possible; these features are divine artifacts for maintaining the social ecology of an MMORPG."

"Once the number of players increases, and the gaps in levels, wealth, and combat power widen, we can gradually develop the Guild System."

"Powerful guilds could then upgrade to armies, striking out to explore new lands or get into fights."

"Ah, the content about guilds and armies could be combined with the identity level system; only players who have made enough contributions to the Shelter can become the lords of pioneering lands, leaders of guilds, or even Legion Leaders."

"I'm simply a genius!"

Looking at those players who were already in the square shouting for team-ups, Chu Guang's expressionless face couldn't help but reveal a hint of satisfaction.

Very good.

The tender shoots of new players were growing up strong.

Chapter 103: Hardworking Little Players Can Take Care of Themselves

After Chu Guang left, the second floor's underground hall erupted with shouts.

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Any new Perception types? Old driver's team, front row Strength Type LV3, one Agility, one Constitution for damage output. Perception types just need to scout, nothing else to worry about, we'll make you cool and take you flying!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Any Strength type teams? Team up to chop trees wow, I'll help you level up to LV1 in one day!"

Spring Water Commander: "Damn! Doesn't anyone want Intelligence Types? So cold!"

Gnome King Riches: "Brother, it's not that we don't want to carry you, we just don't know how to level up the Intelligence System!"

Elena: "I can teach you, comically."

Naturally, the most sought-after newcomer was the white bear, but there was only one bear, and it was quickly tricked into being a tank.

Next in demand were the Perception types, with the greatest team benefits, followed by the easiest to level up, the Strength types, and the Agility and Constitution systems that could fit any position.

The most pitiable were still those of Intelligence.

In the current version, though life professions were on the rise, not all life profession roles required intelligence.

Indeed, the higher the Intelligence attribute, the more it slightly sped up skill learning, but this benefit wasn't very noticeable during the novice phase.

Roles like brick-moving, plastering, digging, stone-carrying, and cement-making in life professions actually demanded Strength.

As the Intelligence system players wandered helplessly, a 1.5-meter-tall Intelligence system girl stood up and raised her small hand.

"This is Vine Cottage, recruiting newbie apprentices who want to be tailors, Intelligence system preferred. Come and sign up fast!"

A group of newbie Intelligence players seemed to see a bright light in the dark world.

"Mom, I saw an angel!"

"Coach! I want to learn tailoring!"

"Wah wah wah, from today onwards, scissors and needles are my life!"

"Hold on, can Strength types sign up too? I suddenly find life professions quite interesting!"

"I think intuition is important for making clothes, I'm a Perception type!"

"Nonsense! Tailoring definitely needs Agility! Being fast is crucial!"

Not just the Intelligence system newbies, but newbies from other systems also joined in.

Eventually, not just newbies but even VM's veteran players came over to join the fun, hoping to cling to a rich and powerful benefactor.

Overwhelmed by the crowd, Teng Teng couldn't help but laugh and cry, quickly waving her hands.

"Don't all rush over here, I can only take three people."

Standing at the edge of the crowd, Tail scratched his chin and clicked his tongue.

"Damn, the bear was snatched away."

Standing nearby, Si Si sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Stop cursing, let's hurry up and find a big leg to carry us."

"Big leg?"

His head seemed to sprout an antenna.

With his neck stretched, Tail scanned the area, his eyes suddenly lit up, locking onto someone with long legs at the edge of the crowd.

"Si, you're a Body Constitution type, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Agile System, faster!"

Right fist met palm, Tail stared at Crow in the distance, eyes gleaming.

"That's the one!"

Si Si looked at Tail skeptically.

"...Can that guy really do it?"

"Definitely! He's bigger than both of us combined!"

"...Are we talking about the same thing?"

"Big means strength!"

Watching as Tail bounced off, Si Si sighed.

"That guy must be crazy."

...

Having handed over the newbie training to the veteran players, Chu Guang spent his newly freed time training those rescued from the Looter's dungeon.

There were thirty captives in total.

Previously, Chu Guang had instructed the Warehouse Manager Luka to register their identities, clarify how each person had been captured, what they did before being captured, whether they had any professional skills.

Furthermore, he also asked where they came from, whether they had any relatives still on the Wasteland, and whether anyone was willing to ransom them back, among other things.

These were all necessary procedures.

Chu Guang needed to decide their jobs based on their personal histories.

Of course, if anyone expressed a desire to go home, he would generously let them go, although he wouldn't provide travel expenses, and he certainly wouldn't try to keep them.

Forced loyalty isn't sweet or necessarily quenching, and these slaves couldn't be stronger, more capable of fighting or working than the players.

Chu Guang needed loyalty from the heart.

Only genuinely loyal NPCs could become his assistants and help him guide the players to play the "game" correctly.

Although Old Luka was illiterate and had only learned some basic phonetics, VM had a recording function, and oral recordings could be converted into text saves.

"Sir."

Seeing Chu Guang approaching the warehouse, Old Luka, who was teaching the survivors to follow rules, respectfully came forward.

Chu Guang glanced at the survivors.

They were wearing ripped coats and leather jackets stripped from Looters, mostly appearing malnourished, undernourished, and emaciated.

Chu Guang had previously settled them near the brick kiln, and recently he had moved them into the Outpost Base, allowing them to build shacks to live between the south gate's Enclosing Wall and the trenches.

Every day, Luka would stew a pot of barley porridge for them, adding two liang of raw meat and one jin of cabbage from the Looters, minced up and thrown in, which was a supreme delicacy for them.

Indeed, it could be considered a delicacy.

After all, when they were in the dungeon, not to mention having clothes to wear, even a slightly fatter rat or cockroach could be considered delicious.

Where could they have gotten hot steaming food?

"How come there are only 25 left?" Chu Guang counted the number of people and noticed some were missing, so he looked towards Luka and asked.

Luka, with his head lowered, replied,

"Five didn't make it through… When they were brought back, many were severely injured, even crippled. I found some herbs to dress their wounds, but they still didn't survive. I took it upon myself to send their bodies into that furnace. Please, sir, punish me."

Taking initiative, huh.

Chu Guang found that this Old Luka and Xia Yan were the complete opposites—one was sensibly heartbreaking, while the other one needed a whip behind him to even move.

"No need, you did the right thing," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "Have the identities of these survivors all been accounted for?"

Luka nodded and replied,

"Already accounted for!"

The recordings were organized into data and uploaded to the computer. Xiao Qi retrieved the files, organized them, and sent them to Chu Guang's VM.

Chu Guang's VM, unlike those of players and NPCs, had the highest authority and could directly connect to the mainframe of Shelter No. 404. As long as he wasn't too far from the Outpost Base, he had signal.

Looking at the names and data on the VM, Chu Guang roughly understood the identities of these survivors.

Among them, two had previously been serfs at Brown Farm, and two had been hunters on Bet Street; the majority of the others were from the Survivor community near the North Suburb of Qingquan City or were simply nomads wandering nearby.

"… Zhao Shu and Yang Ergou?"

Tsk.

What kinds of names are these.

But now Chu Guang understood, if the survivors from Bet Street ran out of zodiac and common animals' names, what would they do?

When short on people, they could always use numbers.

Hearing the Manager call their names, two skinny survivors hastily stood up, timidly saying,

"Here, sir."

"How were you captured by the Blood Hand Clan?" Chu Guang looked at them curiously and asked, "Your Old Leech—I mean, your mayor, didn't he pay the Blood Hand Clan protection money?"

Both looked baffled.

"Protection money…"

"No, we don't know."

"Sir, the mayor wouldn't discuss these things with us."

"Yes... We were captured last month while hunting."

It seemed these two hadn't considered why the looters of the Blood Hand Clan had spared Bet Street.

The military strength of Brown Farm was decent; supplying them was probably to buy peace, but Bet Street, with its few guns and walls that couldn't even keep out rats, wouldn't need more than a Centurion to take down.

It looked like protection money and ransom were two different concepts, and they didn't ensure their safety while scavenging outside. Moreover, the mayor of Bet Street didn't seem to have plans to redeem them.

Chu Guang looked at them for a while and spoke,

"Do you have family in Bet Street?"

Both nodded repeatedly.

"We do."

"Good, now I'm giving you two choices—one is to go back and reunite with your family; the other is to stay and work for me."

The pair exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, and then looked at Chu Guang and said,

"Sir, I want to stay."

"I... me too."

Chu Guang watched them and smiled.

"Are you sure?"

Both nodded simultaneously.

"Sure!"

It's hard to hunt in winter, and they knew exactly how little food was left at home. Going back now would mean just another mouth to feed, and a big eater at that, only worsening the situation at home.

Having a place to live, a fire to warm them, and food to eat here, they were already satisfied. Even if they were to return, it would have to wait until next spring.

Chu Guang was well aware of what was on their minds, but it didn't concern him much.

Whether they carried the benevolence of Shelter No. 404 back home or stayed here to help build the Outpost Base, both were useful to him.

Looking at Luka, Chu Guang continued to inquire,

"These serfs from Brown Farm, do you recognize any of them?"

Luka humbly replied,

"Rest assured, sir. I am your servant, and no matter where they are from, I will treat them all equally."

Chu Guang spoke with a smile,

"Just tell me if you recognize any."

Luka quickly nodded,

"I do know the names of those two, although we didn't talk much."

Chu Guang nodded and continued,

"Those two will stay. Take them and familiarize them with the Warehouse Manager's position. Once they are competent at warehouse management, assign them to take care of the granary and warehouse."

"After this task is done, I will arrange more important duties for you."

Receiving important tasks from his master, Luka was overjoyed, yet he still humbly bowed his head, solemnly promising,

"Yes, sir! I'll make sure they're well-trained for you. If they make any mistakes, I am willing to be punished alongside them!"

The serfs from Brown Farm were easy to train; they were the most obedient.

Looking at the remaining survivors, Chu Guang pondered for a moment before saying,

"Have the rest pack up, taking fuel, food, and other supplies, and set out."

"While the snow has stopped, I need them to head northwest to the edge of the river and set up camp. There's a brick kiln there, and I will assign them tasks."

Later, pick a couple of sharp survivors to act as foremen, give them a VM, and make sure they communicate with the players while supervising the work of the other survivors.

VMs have a location feature that is passively activated; Chu Guang wasn't worried at all about them losing the valuable device, and damaging it wasn't easy either.

Luka nodded respectfully, receiving the command and saying,

"Yes!"

Chapter 104: More NPCs and a Richer Interaction System

After the order was issued, the survivors quickly dismantled their shanties and made their way to the brick factory in the northwest direction.

Although they had come from that area previously, being sent back there caused no complaints about the Manager's arrangement.

Having survived the Looter's dungeon was fortunate in itself, not to mention being able to enjoy warm clothing and full bellies.

Fang Chang and Old White, who were measuring land at the brick kiln, saw this procession and stopped their work in confusion, approaching the Manager to inquire.

"Respected Manager, may I ask who these people are…" Chu Guang didn't hesitate to respond.

"These are survivors we have rescued. To repay us for saving their lives, they are willing to support our construction!"

Joy immediately lit up the faces of Fang Chang and Old White.

Now that the players were doing novice tasks, they were worried about the lack of manpower, so these laborers were indeed solving a pressing need.

"Then how much do we need to pay them in wages?" Actually, there was no need to pay them any wages.

However, since the players had asked, Chu Guang, considering authenticity, pondered for a moment before responding, "One silver coin per person per day. I will directly deduct this expense from your accounts; you only need to ensure that they don't go hungry or freeze to death."

"Additionally, pay attention to construction safety. I do not want poor working conditions to reduce our workforce. This would not only affect our regional reputation but also delay production."

"If there are any casualties, a hundred silver coins will be deducted per person as compensation."

Of course, this compensation would never actually be paid to NPCs; it was merely a concept at the setting level.

Moreover, these indigenous people didn't care about these metal pieces, which for them had no recycling value—a chunk of meat was more valuable.

While speaking, Chu Guang sent over a pre-edited task to Old White through his VM.

Although it was a bit far from Outpost Base, it didn't affect the point-to-point data transfer between the two VM devices.

After triggering the task to hire NPC workers, the Bull Horse Brick Factory would automatically spend twenty-three silver coins daily from the account as these hired workers' "wages."

Compared to the players' wages of at least ten silver coins per day, hiring these NPCs was indeed very cheap.

After discussing it, Fang Chang and Old White immediately agreed, overjoyed.

Of course, to prevent these players from behaving worse than actual humans, Chu Guang quickly added another line, "The minimum daily food standard per person is one jin of green wheat—of course, that's just the minimum nutritional requirement. If you want them to work even harder, consider buying more meat and fish, or even hunt some wild game in the city for them."

The ability to feed NPCs!

Well, this game incorporated not only management elements but also elements of nurturing.

Fang Chang and Old White's eyes lit up, and they swore solemnly, "Rest assured, Manager, we will certainly keep the workers well-fed!"

"That's right! Even if I go hungry myself, I won't let them starve!"

Emmm...

That might be a bit excessive.

Eating too much can actually be counterproductive to work—an example of this was already evident at Outpost Base.

However, Chu Guang didn't say anything.

Exploration itself was also part of the fun of the game.

The players would naturally figure out a suitable path; Chu Guang only needed to steer the overall direction.

It was neither realistic nor necessary to control every aspect of a person's life.

...

Twenty-three survivors settled down at the brick factory, their status changing from refugees to brick burners of the Outpost Base.

They set up camp quickly, taking less than an hour to replicate the shanty they had built by the south gate here.

Although it looked simple, it was sufficient to provide shelter from wind and rain.

For the survivors in the Wasteland, building a shelter that could shield them from wind and rain was almost an essential talent.

However, players were not very good at it.

Even the player who called himself "Pick up trash 99 level" had never actually picked trash in reality, at most he had just taken the trash downstairs.

Watching these survivors building their shacks, Chu Guang found Zhao Shu and another survivor from outside Qingquan City, and issued each of them an NPC-specific VM, appointing them as foremen responsible for communicating with players.

If other survivors had any issues, they were to report to the players immediately, and in special cases, they could use the "Task System" to ask players for help.

However, the task rewards for different NPCs were fixed and could not arbitrarily throw money at the players.

This was similar to other MMORPG games.

Chu Guang set the highest reward tier for the foremen at 2 Silver Coins, which could only be issued once every 72 hours. The lowest tier was 5 Copper Coins, with a CD time of 24 hours.

If there were difficulties in life, such as a leaky shelter or need for fuel, they could release the lowest tier task. If somebody got sick or injured, they could use the highest reward tier to issue a task.

Of course, Chu Guang did not tell these NPCs the actual name and meaning of the "Task System"; he simply abstractly instructed them on how to cautiously use these features to seek reasonable help from those all-capable Blue Jackets.

Like other NPCs, every task they posted and every conversation they had with players was recorded in the VM.

Every once in a while, Chu Guang would have Luka come over, collect this data with the VM, bring it back to Outpost Base to archive, and audit the data with the aid of AI.

Just by reviewing this data, Chu Guang could easily keep track of what kind of interactions and communications had happened between the players and the indigenous people, and he could also conveniently check if these NPCs were issuing any tasks that were "inconsistent with their character and identity."

If so, Chu Guang would eradicate that "BUG."

"New rules always have some loopholes; it's good that we have fewer people during the closed beta stage, and we can slowly find and fix these errors."

Watching the retreating figure, Chu Guang stroked his chin, pondering.

"… By the internal testing phase, we should have developed a relatively complete NPC-player interaction system."

Indeed.

I am indeed impressive!

After arranging everything here, Chu Guang walked away satisfied.

…

Wasteland time, 6 PM.

After logging off, Old White immediately went to the forum to start a thread.

"Extra, extra! Bull Horse Brick Factory officially opens tomorrow! There's a grand opening discount campaign, all orders tomorrow get a 10% discount! Players who need to buy housing, what are you waiting for? Hurry and place your orders!"

Meanwhile, it was 6 AM in the real world.

Typically, forums are quiet at this time, but the official website for Wasteland OL was the opposite, usually busiest around this time.

Tomato and Egg Stir-fry: "How much can you produce per day?"

Old White: "Not much, not much, currently we can produce a thousand or two blocks per day, and we aim to reach ten thousand per day by the end of the month! (grinning teeth)"

Tomato and Egg Stir-fry: "Awesome!!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Boss, give me a ton!"

Wild Wind: "Our bricks aren't sold by the ton, haha, they're of fixed size and sold by the piece, 100 standard bricks for 1 Silver Coin."

Night Ten: "Bro Wind is a genuinely honest man, what nonsense are you talking with Professor Yang, he doesn't even have closed beta qualifications. (joking)"

Grandpa Ao: "Laughable, 100 bricks for 1 Silver Coin? Could you please work out the math? Building a house would take at least a billion bricks, wouldn't it? Not to mention, our two-story Western-style house used 500 million bricks, building one would cost millions of Silver Coins? I heard you guys get single-digit Silver Coins for a task? Haha, your game is really realistic."

Elena: "Big brother, is your home's name the Forbidden City? And then you still need a ticket to return? (joking)"

Spare people under the knife: "Hahaha, just arguing a point, the Forbidden City didn't use that much, only about eighty million bricks. But those types of bricks are indeed much larger."

Elena: "I was just kidding around. (joking)"

A toilet with an interior area of 2.5m*2m and a height of 3m, the wall area at most is 27 square meters. A wall of 18 cm uses 96 bricks, and 2600 bricks are more than enough.

Even if most players choose to combine resources and build bigger, taller row houses, the per capita wouldn't exceed 5000 bricks.

100 bricks for 1 Silver Coin, a per capita cost of 50 Silver Coins, was quite reasonable.

Later on, as the demand for bricks increases, the price might go up, but any change is capped at 100%, unless the NPC in charge of prices adjusts the base value, otherwise, it could only rise to 2 Silver Coins.

After all, if it were any more expensive, everyone would start considering building with wood instead, which would be counterproductive.

Grandpa Ao was still the same, as unrestrained and unruly as his ID suggests, always showing off and then leaving without responding to anyone who mentioned him.

After all, he was everyone's favorite character, so everyone simply continued smoothly with their previous topic.

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "Boss Bai, I'm a newbie, can I have a tab since I have no money?"

Old White: "No can do, bro, we're just workers too, with most of the shares held by the refuge community. But being broke is okay, welcome to come play at the brick factory, haha, we suddenly have a bunch of NPCs here, quite interesting."

Night Ten: "Indeed, if you hunt something and give it to them, they not only thank you but they will immediately set up a large pot to stew the game and then give you the best leg meat and the first bowl of broth. These NPCs act like living beings. Man, I've played so many games, but only this one makes player and NPC interaction the most comfortable and meticulous I've ever seen!"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "What the fuck? That's sick! Wait, are your NPCs the ones we rescued from the Looters?"

Fang Chang: "Yes."

Construction Site Lad with Bricks: "Niubi! It all connects now!"

Escaped Mole of the Ravine: "I'm crying with envy! We are still running tasks for NPCs while you guys are already commanding them!"

Ward's Foot Odor, Who is Levin: "This is so rigged! I don't care, our steel factory needs NPCs too! If not, it's unfair! (going crazy)"

WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Rigged! Goblin Technology also needs NPCs!"

Night Ten: "Yeah right, what do you want useless NPCs for, to use them as human bombs? I advise you to just be a good person."

Fang Chang: "Cough, it's actually not as exaggerated as you think, most of these NPCs can't interact much, they only say 'Thank you,' 'Yes,' 'As you command,' and stuff about 'Brick burners.' I've observed carefully, only NPCs wearing the VM devices can truly interact, the rest don't seem that smart."

Escaped Mole of the Ravine: "Hmm, that's what I thought, it's more reasonable that way. If all NPCs could interact, the game servers would be incredible."

Right now, there are fewer people, just the Bull Horse Brick Factory.

Once more players join later on, even if the ratio of NPCs to players is 1:10, it would be enough to blow up the servers.

Wild Wind: "...I think the virtual reality technology alone is powerful enough."

Escaped Mole of the Ravine: "Let's not talk about that for now. Have you guys tried interacting with the able NPCs yet? Triggered any special dialogues or hidden tasks?"

Fang Chang: "...Hidden tasks?"

Escaped Mole of the Ravine: "Yeah! Normally, those NPCs with a lot of script usually have hidden tasks, right? Isn't that how it's written in those virtual reality gaming novels? Haven't you guys tried?"

After a long silence, Fang Chang replied with a post.

"...Well, I've tried it, but it doesn't seem to trigger any tasks? They just make bricks, and the Manager's task given to us is to have them repair the kilns."

Escaped Mole of the Ravine: "Ai, you guys lack imagination! In the MMORPG world, not to mention a foreman role, even a non-descript old hen at the entrance of Novice Village, if it clucks differently than the others, it could possibly be a hidden boss! Forget it, no use talking so much to you, I'll go online later and try it myself."

Fang Chang: "...I'm warning you, don't mess around and disrupt our brick factory's production that would be a big problem!"

Escaped Mole of the Ravine: "Hehe, no worries, I'll just chat a bit! Won't touch your NPCs!"

Tail: "Oh, sounds fun, count Tail in!"

Si Si: "Oh, let's go!"

...

Ever since that day the Looters threw Zhao Mouse into the dungeon, he had never thought that he would ever live to walk out of that dungeon.

Honestly, his life now felt like a dream.

Comfortable bedding, warm fire pits, abundant food, he only had to work 16 hours a day, and the rest of the time was his.

Moreover, those skilled Blue Jackets would occasionally bag some game to provide them with a savory treat.

To be honest, every time he received game from the hands of the residents of the refuge, Zhao Mouse felt unbelievably privileged.

He had seen how ruthless these people could be.

Even the Looters, before these residents, behaved as meek as chicks, not daring to breathe heavily. It was the first time Zhao Mouse saw such fearsome villains wear such scared expressions.

In his understanding, the Looters were at the top of the food chain.

"Hey, what's your name?"

Hearing a resident of the refuge speak to him, Zhao Mouse immediately stopped in his tracks, expertly glanced at the VM on his left arm, and with imperfect pronunciation, said.

"Hello, my name is Zhao Mouse, I'm the foreman here, how can I assist you?"

These strange pinyins were what Old Luka had taught them some days ago. Learning each phonetic symbol wasn't hard, but using them was a bit awkward.

Hearing him speak, the surrounding residents of the refuge immediately got excited.

"He can speak!"

"Indeed, he can interact!"

"Hey, can you shout 'Ollie gave it' for me? Please?"

"Get lost! Don't listen to him, buddy. Do you have any troubles you can't talk about? Tell us, and we will definitely help you solve them!"

Zhao Shu looked bewildered.

His VM had no response; it neither told him what these people were saying nor how to answer them.

As requested by the Manager, he kept silent; yet these residents of the refuge wouldn't stop bothering him, incessantly murmuring around him.

Zhao Shu started to panic.

He was worried that ignoring their behavior could provoke them and possibly bring about fatal consequences.

After all, this was an era where human life was cheaper than paper.

He didn't believe his life was more precious than that of the people before him.

Just then, Zhao Shu suddenly remembered another phrase the Manager had told him before leaving.

If these residents of the refuge didn't leave him alone, he was to press the grey circle button on the top right corner of the screen and read aloud the pinyin that appeared.

Without hesitation, Zhao Shu did exactly that.

Swallowing his saliva, he said with a stiff expression,

"My worker brothers are starved, we need a fish, can you help us?"

Upon hearing this, the players nearby instantly became excited, almost bursting into cheers.

"Wow, it worked!"

"The keyword is 'task', huh? Hmm, next time try a different syntax to see if it can trigger a similar effect."

"The task requires a fish, right? Okay!"

"It showed up on my VM! I'll take it—damn! Why is the reward only 5 bronze coins?"

"Maybe it's a part of goodwill? Is 5 bronze coins a loss for a fish? Who here has sold fish?"

"Never mind, I'll accept the task. Any fish will do, right? Let's sneak one from the fisherman by the lake!"

"gogogo!"

Zhao Shu didn't understand what his own words meant, nor did he understand the player's response; however, not long after, he received a fish.

And it was not a small fish, being almost as long as an arm, its powerful tail ceaselessly slapping, splashing water everywhere.

Zhao Shu swallowed his saliva again.

This time out of craving.

Nevertheless, despite this, he did not forget the Manager's teachings and quickly pressed the green check mark on the VM, reading out the words displayed on the screen.

"On behalf of my worker brothers, thank you all, have a pleasant day, generous sir, this fish has been a great help!"

"We have no more troubles needing your help, or perhaps you could come back tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, the players around him walked away disappointed.

That evening,

Holding a bowl of steaming fish soup and eating with his coworkers, Zhao Shu pondered long and hard but couldn't figure out exactly what he had said to make those in Blue Jackets so disappointed.

But he didn't dare to ask more.

Those in Blue Jackets were all influential people.

The only one who could control them was the Manager, who always carried a hammer.

The Manager had expressly forbidden them from revealing any clues about the Task system or interacting about this matter with the residents of the refuge.

Zhao Shu wouldn't dare disobey such orders, he swore he'd die before he let slip a single word.

Regardless, the fish soup was delicious; just a few pine nuts and a bit of salt cooked together made it incredibly tasty.

With this bowl of fish soup, everyone had more energy to work!

Chapter 105: Brother Ba Feels Uncomfortable Not Planting Something

After the Alpha 0.5 version of the Game had been online for a while, everyone finally began to get the hang of the new gameplay after a few days of research.

The official website saw a surge of popular posts.

There were professional strategy analyses, and some sand sculptures were just rambling.

Little Crap Talker: "This winter is just too cold. My hands are about to crack from trying to fish, and last time a bunch of idiots even stole one from me, damn it! QAQ"

Xiao Xiaosha the Bookworm: "Has anyone seen Trash Older Brother? I haven't seen him in days."

Gnome King Riches: "I've seen him! He's tried to go out several times and ended up fainting from the cold, getting dragged back in, and one time it was even Manager himself who dragged him. That guy is now pondering stuffing a furnace into his clothes, haha."

There Really Are Mosquitoes: "I designed a heating liner for him, which should work with a cotton jacket. But there are two unsolved problems now: no battery, and it easily sets the jacket on fire."

Elena: "Why not try replacing electric heating with a kerosene stove? (amused)"

There Really Are Mosquitoes: "!! Very good idea! Now we've only got one problem left! (gritting teeth)"

Pick up Trash 99 Level: "Are you guys trying to kill me?! (terrified)"

Winter indeed is not too friendly toward Trash Older Brother, where Lizards are supposed to be hibernating, going out might have been a mistake in the first place.

But staying in the shelter all the time also meant there was nothing to do, and he had to spend money every day on food. He still hadn't paid back Brother Mosquito's loan, which made Trash Older Brother very desperate.

Fortunately, his buddies from the Bull Horse group were all suggesting bad ideas, and the most feasible one right now seemed to be to come up with a set of heated armor.

As long as over sixty percent of the body could be heated, maintaining body temperature shouldn't be a problem.

If worse comes to worst, carry a steam pot on your back, boil water while pulling the cart, and you could even spray hot water in the face of an enemy in a pinch, or turn around and make a cup of tea for a thirsty teammate.

Tea-serving soldiers on the battlefield, extremely practical.

Escaped Vole in the Canyon: "Speaking of which, there are quite a few Blue Jackets in the new room on level B2, haha, Crow no longer has to worry about dying without clothes on!"

Crow: "Punch you in the nose! ψ(*｀ー´)ψ"

Wild Wind: "I recommend switching to hunting gear for long trips, Blue Jackets are one less every time they're used, and even a small hole can significantly decrease their warmth."

Construction Youth and Bricks: "You don't need to be so thrifty, clothes are for wearing, not for worshiping. Who knows, maybe we'll find a pile more when we unlock floor B3. But on another note, the boots in Vine Cottage are simply amazing, once I put them on, I felt like I turned into a dog."

Teng Teng: "…I'll take that as a compliment."

…

After reading through the idle chat section of the Forum, Chu Guang looked toward the strategy section. Usually, the analytic posts on the square would get featured by Xiao Qi and then moved to the strategy section.

The IDs in this section were always the same few familiar faces.

Like Escaped Vole in the Canyon.

This guy had specifically created a post to study the NPCs at the brick factory, even summarizing the dialogue "text" into a tree diagram.

His diligence was a bit unnecessary.

"Hello everyone, I'm your Big-Nosed Mole. According to my three days of continuous missions and research, I've basically figured out the NPCs at the Bull Horse Brick Factory!"

"As per usual, let's start with the conclusion, these NPCs are not as intelligent as Xia Yan, the weapon shop proprietor, or Warehouse Manager Luka!"

"Take the foremen, for example. They have the most lines recorded—over twenty different phrases. But the other brick burners are rather dumb, only saying 'Thank you,' 'Yes,' 'Command acknowledged,' and 'Brick burner.' I speculate this is because either the NPCs' texts aren't finished yet, or, since they aren't key story characters, they simply weren't programmed with similar linguistic functions."

"However, curiously, from my observation, although these NPCs cannot communicate with players, they are not rigid in their actions. In fact, they are quite intelligent, and they even communicate with each other. Perhaps their programming kernel includes similar mechanical learning settings? Like observing player behavior through the main AI program and the subsidiary AI programs simulating deductions, ultimately, more NPCs capable of normal interaction will emerge? Just thinking about it is pretty exciting!"

"I'm clueless, waiting for cryptography and linguistics experts to research. It's still unclear whether the Game Company has created a language similar to the Hilichurl language or if it's just generated random phonetic symbols through artificial intelligence technology. But whichever it is, it's pretty shocking!"

"What's for sure is that only NPCs with a VM can achieve smooth communication with players and trigger missions. However, each NPC can only trigger one mission per day, and the reward is a mere 5 bronze coins, which is way too little! I strongly suggest that the official authorities adjust the mission rewards or increase the trigger limit, changing it so each person can trigger 5 times. That would be more reasonable."

Mole Old Brother's posts were always of high quality, with 100+ follow-up replies.

Chu Guang briefly looked at the post, not expecting this little player to be so idle as to dig out all the text he had designed.

"It's only natural for the rewards to be small—the two foremen aren't key NPCs. They were just added as Easter eggs to enrich the game's content."

In other words, it is simply to satisfy your strong curiosity.

A 20-pound big catfish delivered to the NPC warehouse could be exchanged for at least 1 Silver Coin, and you could sell the fish soup to players in the northern gate market for at least 5 Silver Coins if it's tasty.

Consider the 5 bronze coins lost on the task as charitable giving.

Of course, many players also speculated in the comments that the reason the mission earnings were unreasonable might be because part of the reward was distributed in the form of affection.

As for what the foreman NPC's affection was useful for, it remained a mystery.

However, including Mole himself, most players expressed understanding in the discussion.

It's an open-world Game, after all.

The real fun of course lies in exploration.

Perhaps that "Thank you" is the real reward, and the 5 bronze coins are just an extra gift. With that in mind, the entire game instantly fills with positive energy.

Closing Mole Old Brother's post, Chu Guang scrolled the mouse, continued looking down, and soon saw another familiar ID.

However, this ID is rarely seen in the strategy section; Chu Guang often sees him posting in the chat section, clamoring to farm.

Makabazi: "Brothers, I can't take it anymore! I want to farm! Isn't it reasonable to want to farm in a farming game? Tomorrow I'll set up a greenhouse to give it a try, throw a plastic roof on top, put a brazier inside, burn charcoal to raise the temperature—I refuse to believe it won't work!!"

Night Ten: "Go for it, old bro! Just don't set yourself on fire when you light it!"

Fang Chang: "Hahaha, watch out for carbon monoxide poisoning. This game makes some weird things very realistic; I remember Mosquito almost set himself on fire last time."

WC really has Mosquitoes: "Need Goblin technology? We not only sell explosive effects but also fertilizers for farming. (joking)"

Makabazi: "No money! QAQ"

WC really has Mosquitoes: "No problem, we offer credit and financing services! A monthly interest of two percent, quite a bargain! (joking)"

Fang Chang: "Don't listen to this guy. Just go to the warehouse and buy a sheet of paper, write a serious proposal, and submit it to the Manager. If the plan's good, you might even get a subsidy."

Night Ten: "Right, Outpost Base is really short on food, I think it's feasible!"

Makabazi: "Brother Fang Chang is awesome! Damn, how did I forget about that!"

Wild Wind: "Speaking of farming, I suddenly remembered that when I was hunting, I saw a greenhouse ruin shaped like a tower in a residential area. I don't know if there's anything recyclable inside; we didn't go in at the time. If you're interested in farming, you might want to check it out and see if there's anything useful."

Fang Chang: "True, I do have some memories of that big house. But it sounds like it won't be easy to dismantle and bring over here, right?"

Wild Wind: "Just a suggestion."

Makabazi: "Thanks, everyone! I'm going to give it a try right now!"

Greenhouse greenhouses, eh.

Quite interesting.

Chu Guang watched the to-and-fro discussions in the post with great curiosity, stroking his chin.

In fact, from the pre-war maps, vertical farming technology was widely applied in Qingquan City.

However, this was not so much because the concept of vertical farming was outstanding but purely because controllable fusion had provided virtually unlimited energy to all sectors.

What does virtually unlimited energy mean?

It means that every grandiose flight of imagination had a foundation for realization, and the cost of energy could even be excluded completely from every aspect of social production.

From a screw in an industrial machine to a grain of rice on a supermarket shelf.

For those still constructing their Utopia, this era of extreme affluence is hard to comprehend.

"I really want to see the pre-war era."

Unfortunately, those two diaries didn't mention anything specific about the pre-war world.

Chu Guang, after finishing the interesting posts in the forum, stood up and went outside the shelter.

The north wind was howling.

The snow on the ground had already passed the knee.

In order to prevent the snow from blocking traffic, Chu Guang had no choice but to have Old Luka issue a task to clear the snow, recruiting two Strength Type newbies to clear the snow from the main road.

1 Silver Coin per hour, the two newbies held shovels and worked away gleefully.

At this time, a player holding an application form hurried over from the direction of the warehouse.

It was none other than Makabazi, who was active in the forum discussions.

"Respected Manager! I believe our shelter needs more food, I want to build a greenhouse farm for our Outpost Base! Here is my plan, please allow me ten minutes of your time to explain it in detail—"

"Approved."

Chu Guang interrupted his long-winded speech, glanced at the application form, and simply stuffed the paper, worth a Copper Coin, into his pocket.

Looking at Brother Ba who was agape, Chu Guang pondered for a moment and continued, "Your land is located in the western gate area along the lake of Outpost Base, spanning 20 acres, with fresh water and fertile soil needed for cultivation. The only trouble is, it's an untamed piece of land, but I believe that won't be a problem for you."

Seeing that Brother Ba still seemed to want to say something, Chu Guang promptly wrote out a check.

"Effective immediately, your 'Greenhouse Farm' will have a budget of 2000 Silver Coins, and the mission is updated in your VM device. You can choose whether to accept this budget."

"Wait, wait a minute!" Makabazi became anxious upon hearing this.

Not because the budget was too small.

But because he had written the plan in such a hurry that he forgot to name his project and had directly titled the document as "Greenhouse Farm" at the top of the file.

However, Chu Guang would not give him the chance to change the name, finally stumbling upon a somewhat normal name.

"Do you want to give up the mission?" Chu Guang looked at him and asked.

Brother Ba swallowed hard.

After an internal struggle, lured by the Silver Coins, he finally nodded his head reluctantly but with a smile.

"I accept."

Chapter 106: Devil Moth's Lair (Please Subscribe)

"Why did you choose such a weird name?"

"Is it really that weird?"

"No, 'Greenhouse Farm'...if anything, it's too proper, which is kind of weird."

"Damn! How is that my fault? Hey, I had already submitted my application when I realized I forgot to pick a snazzy name."

"What were you planning to call it?"

"QQ Farm."

"Ha."

Makabazi had found Edge Shoveling, a contact from the Forum, and together the two young players set out wearing beast skin coats, carrying wooden bows and spears, heading towards the east gate to start their homesteading adventure.

Chu Guang was curious as to why they were heading out the east gate instead of the west and why they were armed with bows and spears instead of hoes and axes, but after some thought, he decided not to intervene.

In the evening,

Chu Guang was too lazy to cook, so he strolled around the north gate and noticed that Crow had made a pot of deer meat and mushroom soup. Therefore, he placed one silver coin on the table.

"I'll have two bowls."

"Coming right up!"

Crow handed over two heaping bowls of soup with a sweet smile, warning Chu Guang,

"Careful, it's hot."

The players nearby, holding their own bowls, instantly lost the aroma from their meat as they watched, and they started to grumble.

"Crow Boss, you're playing favorites!"

"Yeah! You weren't gentle at all when you served me!"

"Manager's bowl has such a big piece of leg! I saw it!"

"Exactly, why do we only have one piece of meat in our soup!"

"And it's butt meat!"

"Delicacies should not discriminate between the rich and the poor! My wife said so!"

Crow's face turned red, and she scrambled to make excuses.

"What do you mean 'butt meat'? Am I that kind of person?"

And so what if I'm playing favorites?

Is it wrong to curry favor with an NPC? Dare you say you've never done it? Ha, calling out 'Respected Manager' with every breath, and you have the nerve to criticize me?

At least I've triggered hidden quests!

"I don't care, unless you give me another bowl!"

"Keep dreaming!"

Chu Guang smiled like an old father and ignored the raucous players as he turned and walked through the north gate to Xia Yan's little sister's weapon shop.

After several renovations and rebuilds, the weapon shop had completely changed its appearance.

The former mud walls had been replaced by neat red brick walls, which had been plastered inside and out; the floor had been laid with wooden flooring.

If it had still been the old, run-down hut, it probably would have been crushed by the snow by now.

It was clear the players were even more concerned for Boss Xia than himself; her hand-drawn CG images on the Forum had nearly made her a mascot.

No, should I say she already has become one?

When Chu Guang arrived, Xia Yan was asleep at the table, with a crate full of freshly made bullets beside her.

Now that the players were all playing happily at the north gate, nobody had come to disturb her.

Chu Guang didn't wake her, instead, he quietly placed the bowl beside her.

Then he found a chair in the room, sat down by the furnace, and tossed a log into the fire. He warmed himself while savoring the delicious deer meat and mushroom soup.

Sparks danced above the flames.

The scent of the soup slowly filled the room.

Her nose twitched while buried in her arms, and Xia Yan, who was waking up slowly, looked around hazily. Once she caught sight of Chu Guang sitting in the room, she became completely alert.

Watching Xia Yan as she woke, Chu Guang casually remarked.

"You've definitely been more relaxed lately."

Having someone sneak up behind you for so long without noticing, and only waking up when you smell the scent of meat—if this were out in the Wasteland, you'd probably not survive two episodes.

Caught red-handed, Xia Yan looked embarrassed, like a child who had done something wrong, burying her head and not daring to look at him, she said softly.

"I, I only slept for a bit after I finished my work, I wasn't slacking off... When did you come in?"

"Just now," seeing Xia Yan's nervous look, Chu Guang teased with a smile, "Are you that anxious?"

Xia Yan hemmed and hawed for a while without speaking.

After thinking for a bit, Chu Guang spoke up.

"Starting tomorrow, I will pay you a daily wage... um, of 10 Silver Coins, with daily settlements for this month and monthly settlements from next month on. Every month I will give you a target, mainly concerning the crafting of ammunition and weapons. You can treat it as your task, and upon completion of the task, you can earn a bonus of 10% to 30% of your monthly salary. Also, your bonus will be linked to the profits of the weapon shop."

Xia Yan quickly asked.

"What if I don't complete it?"

Chu Guang shrugged.

"It's fine, we currently have a stockpile of 30 revolving rifles and over four thousand bullets, which should be enough for now."

The Blood Hand Clan had been annihilated, and the only threat in this region was now the Mutants of Street No.76, but they seemed to have their own problems to face and hadn't yet turned their attention to Linghu Wetland Park.

The sudden onset of winter was both a risk and an opportunity.

This natural barrier would buy Shelter No. 404's residents some precious time for development. Food, fuel, and building materials were key; weapon demand wasn't as urgent by comparison.

Stealing glances at Chu Guang, Xia Yan quietly said.

"…To be accurate, there are actually 14 rifles left, we sold 16 recently, and there are just over 2000 bullets left."

Chu Guang said nonchalantly.

"No worries, there's still a pile of junk in the stockpile we looted from the Looters, enough to keep those newcomers entertained for a while."

"Why are you suddenly being so nice... even paying me wages?" Xia Yan asked quietly.

In Giant Stone City, those big shots only showed sudden kindness when they needed these little people to go on a suicide mission.

Even though it was unlikely to find buyers in winter, Xia Yan was still a bit scared, given the deep impression this man had left on her.

"Because I think the time is about right," Chu Guang said after some thought, "Not just you, but everyone working for me, including Old Luka, will be rewarded, more or less. You don't have to think of it as a handout; it's the part you deserve after your labor."

In short, it's time to stimulate spending.

Relying on players to consume what other players produce is a bit difficult, so having NPCs buy what players produce can motivate the players to scale up production.

Xia Yan seemed to understand as she nodded.

What she really wanted to say was that if he truly wanted to reward her, he could give her those white plastic cards, not too many, just one a day would suffice.

But she was too timid and just consoled herself.

Actually, Silver Coins were pretty good, too—10 Silver Coins... I heard that you need two chips to exchange for one Silver Coin, so thinking about it, isn't my daily wage 20 chips? That's 600 chips a month!

In Giant Stone City, an assault rifle only costs 150 chips, a month's income could buy four guns, becoming a true middle-class citizen!

Hehehe...

As she entertained this dream, Xia Yan amused even herself.

Chu Guang didn't care about her silly expression and continued on his own.

"Besides, you will get a 'budget' from the 'profits' of the weapon shop, to issue tasks to the 'players.' Just like I taught you, you can guide them to do some of the things you would normally have to do yourself. Like loading bullets into casings, oiling the gun mechanisms, or even minding the store for you..."

"This part you are free to play with your imagination, anyway these little details are more familiar to you than to me, your VM can help you edit, and if you don't understand something, you can contact my assistant, Xiao Qi, through the VM. Finding things for others to do will also make your own work easier."

Sitting up straight and listening to Chu Guang, Xia Yan didn't dare move or interrupt.

But that bowl of venison mushroom soup was just too tantalizing, and several times she couldn't help but sneak a peek, swallowing her saliva over and over again.

Noticing her little movements after finishing his instructions, Chu Guang smiled and said in a relaxed tone.

"Figure out the rest for yourself, I won't say more. That bowl of venison mushroom soup is on me, hurry up and enjoy it while it's hot, there's even a piece of venison leg in there."

Xia Yan immediately picked up the bowl and started wolfing it down.

When she put the bowl down, her face was brimming with happiness, and, not minding the grease and soup all over her mouth, she couldn't stop praising.

"Uh-uh-uh, it's so delicious!"

"Once you're off work, you can go check out the North Gate; it's becoming quite the lively spot, I bet you've never been there."

Chu Guang stood up from his chair, placed the empty bowl on the wooden table next to the brazier, and counted out 10 silver coins to leave by the side of the bowl.

"After you finish drinking, help me wash it too."

"Thanks for everything during this time."

It wasn't until Chu Guang had stepped outside that Xia Yan, still holding the bowl, snapped back to reality after a good while.

"!"

What word did that devil just say?!

She couldn't remember if it had happened before, but she was very clear on how cold-blooded and heartless this man's methods were.

Not only was he ruthless to enemies, but he also didn't spare his own people.

She had seen with her own eyes how he ordered the bodies of fallen soldiers to be thrown into the furnace and burned alongside their enemies, not even leaving a grave for them.

Such a ruthless man showing kindness to her must have an ulterior motive!

However, for some reason, Xia Yan suddenly felt that she wasn't as scared of him as before.

How to put it?

When the man threatened to throw her out to fend for herself if she didn't work properly, she did find it quite frightening.

But it seemed that after living together for a while, he hadn't actually kicked her out.

Sipping her soup in small gulps, Xia Yan found herself at a loss for any trash talk.

Forget it.

After all, he hadn't done anything particularly terrible to her.

This venison soup is quite delicious.

Considering he treated me to soup, I might as well wash his bowl as a favor.

…

After leaving the weapon shop, Chu Guang found Old Luka and informed him about his wages.

Old Luka, a slave for most of his life, looked utterly bewildered when he heard his master was planning to pay him.

Chu Guang was too lazy to explain what wages were again, and simply said,

"Think of it as a reward."

"Keep it to buy some food or necessities, go to the carpentry hut to get some furniture, support the players' businesses, or save up to build yourself a decent house."

Upon hearing the word "reward," Old Luka was moved to tears, and immediately wanted to kneel down, but remembering the master said that the people of Shelter No. 404 must not kneel, he promptly placed his right fist over his chest.

"Thank you for your generosity, Master."

If this thought made him feel better, Chu Guang couldn't be bothered to correct his perception.

After discussing work-related issues, Chu Guang went on to ask about the training of the two new warehouse managers.

It had to be said, these survivors with serf experience had a natural suitability for service positions like "warehouse management."

After all, for them, at Brown's Farm, these positions were high-status roles available only to the top among serfs.

A step higher would only be the farm owner's servants, butlers, and soldiers.

But those people couldn't really be considered serfs, and not exactly slaves either, they were more like servants with some status. Most of them followed in their fathers' footsteps, and only on very rare occasions, a serf would be selected to work in the master's house.

Therefore, both valued the opportunity in their hands greatly and learned quickly, and they were expected to be officially in charge within a few days.

Chu Guang was confident in Luka's work ethic. After a quick inspection, he turned and returned to the sanatorium.

As he pondered whether to play the newly downloaded game at the shelter or spend some time with Xiao Qi on the third floor, a commotion suddenly came from the direction of the north gate.

A familiar scene seemed to play out before him.

He saw a little player who had lost a leg, lying on a stretcher, carried by two other players who hustled in from the north gate, panting heavily.

Chu Guang recognized him.

If he remembered correctly, it should have been in the afternoon.

This guy, along with Makabazi, cheerfully singing songs, carrying wooden bows and javelins out of the east gate.

At the time, he had wondered why they were leaving from the east gate and if they had taken the wrong path. Now it seemed, they hadn't mistaken their direction but instead were heading toward their deaths from the start.

Chu Guang displayed a bizarre expression, activated the system, and opened the player list, indeed finding that Brother Ba's icon had turned gray – he was clearly gone.

He approached and looked down at Edge Shoveling, who lay on the stretcher, his consciousness teetering. Chu Guang, with a frown, asked,

"What's happened to you?"

"Moths! Loads of them! And one was so huge, nearly the length of my arm! Their teeth, like scissors!"

The expression on Edge Shoveling's face was somewhere between excitement and terror, his emotions clearly agitated as he gesticulated wildly in the air.

"We went to the neighborhood northeast of Linghu Wetland Park on the map, where there's the ruin of an artificial greenhouse! We originally planned to see if there was anything useful inside. But after we struggled to enter through the safe passage, as soon as we reached the exit, we saw a row of cocoons hanging on a web! We were stunned at that moment, just as we were trying to figure out what they were, Makabazi who was at the front got pounced on by the moths!"

The one carrying the stretcher, Construction Worker with a Brick, was all ears, and when he heard the last bit about being gnawed on, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"Gnawed, you say?"

"Yes! Just gnawed!" Edge Shoveling gasped for breath, too agitated to care about his bleeding wound, and continued, "Seeing there was no escape, Brother Maca took off his VM and threw it to me. I didn't dare to look back and just dashed for the safe passage like my life depended on it! I was almost out when two giant moths bit into my legs..."

"Thankfully, these insects can't stand the cold, so I rolled and crawled out of the safe passage. The moths didn't chase after me, and the two that bit my legs didn't have much strength left. I stabbed them several times with my dagger and finally killed them, but my leg... only half of it was left."

Half a leg left and still talking...

Edge Shoveling spoke so vividly that Chu Guang, listening by the side, couldn't help but twitch his brows.

It was a good thing that excessive pain was blocked; had it been any other survivor, they might have been in so much pain they couldn't breathe from the first bite.

"Devil Moths."

Chu Guang took a deep breath, glanced at the bloody stump of his leg, and immediately made a grim diagnosis.

"You've lost a leg, and even the bone is gone; this isn't an injury a cultivation chamber can heal. Without 'limb regeneration' traits, no matter how strong your healing abilities, it's useless. Do you understand what I mean?"

The most humane course of action was to kick him offline, lock his login, and then send him straight into the furnace.

Whether he was dead was actually irrelevant; without a consciousness entity's access, the clone was just an empty shell with no intellect, and whether it was alive or not didn't affect the recovery of active substances.

Edge Shoveling obviously understood the subtle hint from the respected Manager, a longstanding tradition of Shelter No. 404, so he nodded at lightning speed.

"I know! I understand, respected Manager, but if I must die, can I choose the way I go out?"

It was a reasonable request.

Chu Guang nodded.

"No problem, how would you like to die?"

Edge Shoveling gave an embarrassed smile, speaking shyly,

"I want to try out the gallows at the door... heh heh, just curious."

Chu Guang: "..."

It was the first time he'd heard such a strange request.

Well then.

If they could leave a complete corpse, it would also make it easier for him to handle the recovery.

...

And so, Edge Shoveling, who had just been carried into the base, was now carried by two players to the gallows outside the north gate.

"Hang on, let me think of a cool line to say, I want to die like a hero—"

"Cut the nonsense and go down!"

"I ga—"

The two players dealt with him swiftly, sending the limp-necked Edge Shoveling to the corpse room.

His equipment and VM would be stored in the buffer room's storage locker, and in three days, he'd be back as good as new.

Chu Guang went to the Third Floor of Outpost Base and found Xiao Qi.

"Northeast of Linghu Wetland Park, a nest of Devil Moths has been discovered."

"Devil Moths?"

"A kind of insect variant. I need you to mark three skull flags on the map for me, those creatures are tough to deal with."

Xiao Qi skewed the camera slightly.

"Should we prohibit players from entering the area?"

"That's not necessary, just a warning," Chu Guang thought for a moment and continued, "The restrictions for Street No. 76 can be lifted as well, but keep the danger signs."

"I'm curious to see how these players will tackle this tricky problem."

Chapter 107 - Although a Pest, Its Entire Body is a Treasure

Devil Moth.

One of the most dangerous Variants in the Wasteland.

Although its individual combat power is not particularly strong, even a single Eater might have a tough fight against it, but ranked by danger, even Crawlers likely bow down to it.

Danger level, at least B-class!

This creature usually appears in swarms; its larvae feed on Spirit Leaves, while the adults are omnivorous and primarily carnivorous.

The larvae have no combat capabilities, but the adults have incredibly sharp mouthparts with great bite force!

It's said that the strongest among them, the Queen Devil Moth, can even tear through steel, and the ordinary Devil moths biting through several bulletproof vests is nothing extraordinary.

Of course, not every Devil Moth nest can produce a queen, just like not all Crack Claw Crabs have their queens.

Nevertheless, they are dangerous enough.

Interestingly, although this type of Variant is no different from a pest, it's not entirely useless.

For example, the larvae of the Devil Moth secrete a type of silk called "Devil Silk" used to make cocoon rooms.

It is said the silk's strength exceeds certain high-polymer biopolymers, and due to its lightweight nature, it's typically used to create superior performance armor. This material is not only a favorite among mercenaries, caravan guards, and other Wasteland wanderers but is also highly sought after by the upper echelons of Giant Stone City society.

However, these Variants are not common, and their environmental needs are even more stringent than the Mutated Leeches.

First, they require sufficient light and heat, and their larvae must feed on Spirit Leaves, otherwise, their colonies can't reproduce.

Speaking of Spirit Leaves, it's said that they can be used to make a mildly addictive stimulant, and brewing it as a tea also has a more potent mind-alerting effect than your regular coffee or tea leaves.

Why would Spirit Leaves appear in an abandoned greenhouse ruin?

That was the most baffling part for Chu Guang.

According to Brother Macabazi's description on the Forum, they encountered quite a few Devil Moths in the greenhouse...

Macabazi: "Darn! You can't imagine just how unlucky I was! Brother Edge and I went to the greenhouse ruins to see if there was anything worth salvaging, and as soon as we stepped in, we got swarmed by those moths!"

Night Ten: "Peeking through the bushes isn't so bad, always reminds me of someone. (Funny)"

Crow: "Hahahahaha! The guy died twice! Such a noob! LOL o(*≧▽≦)ツ"

Macabazi: "(#`Д´)!"

Fang Chang: "Let's not focus on whether it's noob or not for now, how did you get in?"

Wild Wind: "I'm also curious about that. If I remember correctly, wasn't the greenhouse's main gate electronically operated? Plus, it was rusted shut. Old White tried bending two steel pipes without opening it, even explosives didn't make a dent; we started to suspect it was game graphics."

Macabazi: "Brother Edge is a firefighter, and also an Agility system user. He kept muttering that there had to be a fire escape that would lead inside as we circled that tower-like greenhouse. That sounded logical to me, so I accompanied him as we looked around, and sure enough, we found a safety door near the warehouse!"

Fang Chang: "A safety door in the warehouse? I think I've seen that one, but it's locked, isn't it?"

Wild Wind: "Yeah, that thing also runs on electricity."

Macabazi: "Here's the amazing part! We tried and indeed couldn't force it open, but we found a distribution box inside the room. Brother Edge checked the distribution box and discovered the circuit breaker was stuck, and the fuses had burned out. Brother Edge tried to fix it but couldn't understand how that thing worked, so we brainstormed and just pulled out any replaceable parts we could, then we scoured the surroundings and replaced them."

"We didn't even think it would work, but after switching a few things—don't know whether they were batteries or fuses—the light on the door suddenly lit up miraculously! We hastily opened the safety door and walked into the greenhouse...then I hit the cluster of big moths right in the face!"

Edge Shoveling: "They're called Devil Moths! I asked!"

Macabazi: "Yo, Brother Edge, you're back? How are you?"

Edge Shoveling: "Hehehe, I'm okay, got the VM back, and my gear is intact. I'm just badly wounded, had to be patched up by my teammates."

Crow: "o(*≧▽≦)ツ"

Fang Chang: "I just saw an update on the official website about the Devil Moth; it says that the silk produced by the larvae is an excellent fabric material, and devil Moth's teeth could be used to create tools like daggers and scissors. Moreover, the Spirit Leaves consumed by the larvae can be used to make stimulants."

Waste Land Wanderer: "Holy smokes! High-level equipment materials?! Could this be a fortune?!"

Escaped Vole in the Canyon: "All the fortune is useless without a life to spend it. Look at Brother Ba and Brother Edge, one a Strength-type and the other an Agility system, both Level 4, and they were direct dones, doesn't that tell you something?"

Fang Chang: "Yeah, especially the fact that a Level 4 Agility system player didn't even make an enemy detection check. The Devil Moth's stealth might be even greater than a Crawler's!"

Old White: "This thought is indeed terrifyingly thorough, and the fact that there are crops inside the greenhouse, does this mean... there's still electricity in there?"

Fang Chang: "This possibility is very high, the power system for the door and the greenhouse's internal cultivation system might be two completely different sources. Let's make a bold assumption—the most concerning safety issue for this highly integrated greenhouse, what could it be?"

Old White: "A power outage?"

Fang Chang: "Exactly! Unlike traditional agriculture, once there's a power cut in this type of greenhouse, it means a complete halt of the ventilation, water supply, and lighting systems. Just a few hours under unsuitable temperature, air, and light conditions might cause the crops to die. So, apart from relying on the public grid, this facility must also be equipped with an independent power source."

Wild Wind: "Hmm, and the backup power for the internal facilities and the external facilities are not the same."

Night Ten: "What kind of power can work for two hundred years?!"

Escaped Vole in the Canyon: "Are you dumb? Wasn't the pre-war era in the game background almost like a utopia? Isn't controlled nuclear fusion basic? A kilogram of helium-3 can produce 1.7 billion degrees of electricity, and a hundred tons would be enough for the whole world for a year. What does that mean? If there's a fusion fuel rod weighing one ton inside, forget two hundred years, I reckon it would last till the next century without a problem."

Wild Wind: "You don't even need nuclear fusion, even the solid hydrogen batteries often seen in sci-fi would last a long time. Since hydrogen itself is not reactive, as long as the battery structure is intact, theoretically, the battery can be preserved for a very long time."

Night Ten: "How is that possible?! Even with controlled fusion, doesn't the equipment need maintenance?"

Escaped Vole in the Canyon: "What else do you want? Do you expect the game developers to build one for you to verify it? Does EVE need to build you a stargate? Does J.K. Rowling need to cast a spell for you?"

Seeing that the two were about to argue, Fang Chang quickly intervened.

"All right, all right, Night Ten is nitpicking too much. Let's ignore that and talk about your ideas."

Escaped Vole in the Canyon continued typing.

"It's simple, I think it should be a monster-spawning spot. The official website says Devil Silk is a great item, there are also materials from the Devil Moth, and those Spirit Leaves that can be used to make stimulants, it's clearly a lucrative source. The real question now is, how do we farm monsters safely. A frontal assault won't work; a level 4 strength-type brother couldn't withstand it, I guess others would have a tough time too."

Players discussed back and forth for a total of twenty pages, Chu Guang read everything till the end.

At first, the group decided to try using fire since fire can counter insect-type Variants, but the downside was that the loot might also burn, leaving almost nothing.

Some mentioned putting in air conditioning.

But the building itself is quite durable; tearing down the greenhouse might not be that easy. Additionally, if the facility inside is still working, producing enough heat, it's hard to say how effective a window-sized hole would be.

Finally, after some discussion, a group of players decided to lure the Devil Moths out through a safety passage and then take them down one by one outside.

Once the number of Devil Moths in the lair had decreased, they would rush in, loot quickly, and retreat.

As for Mosquito...

He opted out, leaving a message that this work was his specialty, then he logged off the official website early and went into the game.

Chu Guang didn't know what he was up to, but didn't interfere with the players' methods, as the active material reserves at the Outpost Base were still sufficient to allow them some risky moves.

Not only are Devil Silks great for making armor, but they can also be traded with other Survivor Bases as specialty goods, which is super cool.

Especially, as the players analyzed, this greenhouse likely hides a recoverable controlled fusion battery.

If that's true, that would be a real fortune!

…

The players were very proactive.

They gathered a caravan on the official website, set foot on the Wasteland at six o'clock sharp in the morning, surrounded the Greenhouse Ruins with loads of gear.

It's too wasteful to shoot moths with guns; without enough ammo to spray recklessly, using larger surface area, lower-cost cold weapons proved more effective.

The group acted separately and quickly found the greenhouse's blueprints, and also found some spare parts that hadn't yet been scavenged.

A thumb-thick cylindrical tube was likely some kind of solid-state fuel battery, powering independent devices like gates and firefighting equipment; a forefinger-thick cylindrical tube was probably some kind of fuse used in professional equipment, though the specific material was unclear.

This game doesn't mimic reality in every setting.

The Niuma Squad didn't participate in this operation. The combat command was led by a forum authority, the laid-off artist "Escaped Vole in the Canyon."

Everyone, hearing he was an unemployed artist turned commander, immediately appointed him as the commander.

Mole Old Brother didn't disappoint, quickly devising a battle plan.

"The entire greenhouse is divided into above-ground and underground sections, with the above-ground having 5 levels and the underground having 10 levels. According to unreliable analysis, around the 9th basement level, there might be a connection to the city's disabled drainage system, which I think the Devil Moths might have used to get in, and the Spirit Leaf seeds might have been brought by them too!"

"The 10th basement level should be where the backup reactor is! The Devil Moths might have turned it into their lair!"

"According to the design description, there's an automatic closing valve connecting the first and second levels of the greenhouse."

"Strategically, we'll close the valve, cutting off the connection between the first level and the others, making the entire first level ours!"

[Youth with Bricks] nodded excitedly.

"Great plan! Close the door and beat the dog! Attack level by level downwards, we can definitely get to the lair! Those Devil Silks and other materials, won't they all be ours!"

[Elf King Fortune] excitedly chimed in.

"Sell to rich lady Teng Teng!"

A strength-type player asked.

"What's the plan?"

Escaped Vole in the Canyon tapped the map, then used a charcoal pencil to draw a cross at the end of the corridor.

"Tactically, we need two tanks in front, using concrete debris and wood for cover, to keep the Devil Moths outside the passage. Then, two agility system players will follow behind and stab them with spears through the gaps! These insects have no brains; they'll just swarm straight at us. If we coordinate well, there shouldn't be any problems!"

"Let's do it!"

The two strength-type players teamed up, carrying temporary covers made by carpenters, setting up simple obstacles in the secure corridor leading to the Greenhouse Ruins.

These obstacles were mainly to make their retreat easier to manage without getting overwhelmed by the pouncing Devil Moths.

As they neared the exit of the corridor, the strength-type players dropped sacks filled with concrete chunks onto the ground and used the incoming wood to build temporary fortifications.

The crisscrossing wood formed layers of netting, supported by several main beams, sealing off the entire half-meter-wide space tightly. It took two hours to complete this barrier.

The moths were as long as an arm, and even the smaller ones were half an arm long; the holes left out were too small for them to pass through.

"Everyone ready? I'm going to draw the aggro now!"

Saying this, a strength-type player took out a Molotov Cocktail from his waist, reached outside the cover to light it, and threw it onto an open space inside the greenhouse.

With a crisp snap, the bottle shattered.

The flames hissed and immediately attracted the Devil Moths lurking on the walls nearby.

There were no flammable materials around, so the fire did not burn long and soon extinguished.

But right after, those Variants discovered the "dazzling" heat sources hidden behind the crude barricade.

An ear-piercing friction sound followed.

Moths slammed into the wood barrier like bullets, heavily impacting the thick wooden logs, which made squeaking noises under the force.

The two sides collided solidly!

"Damn! These moths are really strong!"

"Hurry up and act, man! I can't hold on anymore, fuck!"

"I'm moving, I'm moving! Just hang in there!"

The agility system players squatting behind didn't hesitate. They immediately thrust their spears forward, retracted, and thrust again, repeating the straightforward piston motion.

Although not every thrust was accurate, such chaotic stabbing inevitably killed a few moths.

The Devil Moths didn't have strong defenses; their soft abdomens were like paper mache, and a spear thrust would leave the spearhead wet with blood, guts, and fine hairs scraped from their wings.

"Fuck, when will this end?!"

"Put some effort into it!"

"Damn! I'm pushing harder, but there's just too many!"

"I can't hold it anymore! Stop poking and come help me—"

However, just as the unfortunate kid was midway through his plea, the wooden fortifications, like a breached dam, were overwhelmed by the swarm.

Even if the strength-type players pushed back, the barrier couldn't hold.

The wood was chewed to pieces.

Soon, bones and flesh followed.

Four players even didn't have a chance to turn around as the connection to their clones was instantly severed, and they rolled back to official online observers.

Since there was absolutely no chance to retreat, the obstacles they left along the way were also completely useless.

Cries and deafening wing-buzzing echoed through the corridor.

The players guarding at the entrance exchanged glances, looking at each other.

"Did we just lose that quickly?"

"I don't know… but from the sounds of it, it seems over."

The first attempt ended in failure.

However, the players did not give up; instead, they became more determined and quickly started the second round of action.

This time, the frontline had three strength-type players, followed by two strength-type rookies serving as substitutes, responsible for repairing covers and replacing exhausted frontline players.

Behind them were three agility system players, each carrying four lances, with a body constitution system player carrying Goblin Technology's "Hellfire 0.3," playing rearguard.

This device was sponsored for free by Mosquito, no charge, as long as they wrote a usage experience on the official website afterwards.

It was said that this version of "Hellfire" had been fitted with a backfire valve, preventing flames from burning back along the fuel line.

However, even Mosquito, who had boasted so confidently about the device's effectiveness, couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be other accidents.

What else can you expect from a trial product?

It was already free; what more could they want?

In any case, the general advice from Mole Old Brother, the frontline commander, to his soldiers was to avoid using Goblin Technology products unless absolutely necessary.

The nine players were finally ready and moved together toward the corridor, their crowded formation completely blocking the path.

They were fully committed to the fight against these moths and would not rest until they had retaken the site.

However, the current battle situation didn't look optimistic.

The moths kept coming, wave after wave, seemingly endless.

Eventually, the nine-person squad couldn't hold them off any longer and were forced to use the Goblin Technology device, managing to retreat before the flamethrower exploded, and temporarily closed the entry to the safe passage.

The battle, which had lasted from morning to evening, including the team that had been wiped out earlier, had cost the players four deaths and two injuries.

At least a hundred, perhaps even more, of the first level's Devil Moths had died.

As for the exact number, that was unclear; in such circumstances, it was impossible to tally the battle results, and they could only estimate based on feeling.

A casualty ratio of 4:100+, which could be considered very powerful. Ordinary survivors wouldn't even have the courage to enter the lair to face such creatures, let alone fight them.

The only downside was that there were no spoils today, only the depletion of some of the opposing force...

Seeing that it was getting late, the players, despite feeling reluctant, could only wait to try again tomorrow.

As for the "four dead, two injured" result, Chu Guang, who had observed the entire process, fully expected this and didn't take it to heart.

The players had become somewhat arrogant after their great victory over the Looters a few days earlier, and taking some losses wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Fire was a good tactic, but the quantity was an issue, and hunting differed from war, as the former required preserving materials.

Perhaps they could try using smoke next time?

As for Chu Guang, a small amount of casualties was an acceptable price for growth, especially since any important equipment could always be retrieved.

Especially since Chu Guang had recently discovered that Eaters could also be a source of active substances.

Although the amount was pitifully small, with each providing only 0.1 to 0.2 units, and the waste produced was utterly useless, only fit for discarding like biological trash into a septic tank, it was still better than nothing.

Killing Eaters wasn't very difficult.

As long as they weren't encountered in narrow terrains like subways or ruins, even a rookie caravan could easily take down several using kite tactics.

As of now, over 70% of the 100 new players had reached Level 1, and the highest level among the older players had even reached Level 6, almost catching up to their own.

Chu Guang himself, possessing the "Manager" sequence, had developed it to 9%, or in gaming terms, Level 9, and was very close to reaching Level 10.

Perhaps another battle or tagging along with other players for some experience would allow him to break through.

A force leader as brilliant and brave as himself was indeed quite rare among survivor bases outside the Barbarian tribes.

A little pride in that fact seemed quite reasonable.

With these thoughts, Chu Guang patrolled the industrial district with a large hammer on his back.

Just then, Brother Levin from Factory No. 81 hurried over to him.

The young player's face was red, whether from the northwest wind or out of admiration and reverence for him, it was hard to tell.

"Respected Manager Sir! I have an important matter to report to you!"

Stopping, Chu Guang said,

"Speak."

Brother Levin clenched his fists excitedly and took a deep breath.

"Your custom-made armor!"

"We've finished it!"

Chapter 108: The Nomads from the Wilderness

As Chu Guang stepped into Factory 81, he felt the temperature around him rise significantly, making him feel somewhat overheated despite wearing a deerskin coat.

He looked up and saw, at the very center of the workshop, two furnaces, one large and one small.

These furnaces were cast from molds and lined with refractory materials such as silica, serving as the acidic furnace lining.

The blast furnace, equipped with a blower, was responsible for heating the scrap steel inside to 1300 degrees, melting it into molten iron, while the other furnace, raised on a concrete base with six air inlets, was in charge of converting the 1300-degree molten iron into qualified steel by blowing.

This process did not require reheating.

The heat released during the oxidation process was sufficient to raise the temperature of the steel in the furnace from 1300 degrees to 1600-1700 degrees. A certain proportion of chromium was added, and after the steelmaking was completed, the molten steel was poured from the converter into molds made of refractory material and repeatedly rolled by a pair of rollers.

For the sake of convenience, many pulleys and hoists had been installed on the ceiling, most of which were made from materials dismantled from old tire factories, and their quality was still very reliable.

Currently, Factory 81 was still just a small workshop that lacked the means to precisely measure the carbon content in the converter. The technical principle used was merely an improved version of a mid-nineteenth-century acidic bottom-blown converter steelmaking method based on "modern" experience.

Chu Guang, not very knowledgeable about steelmaking, intuitively felt that this setup was far more professional than the primitive blast furnace Old White had created.

Especially the pair of rollers, and the simple electric motor made from copper wire next to them, even he, a layman, thought it looked feasible.

At least it seemed more credible than manually hammering.

It just seemed to lack a stamping machine; seamless steel pipes couldn't be produced, but with a bit of effort, that shouldn't be a big problem!

Brother Levin quickly closed the workshop door and brought the Manager to their workbench, showing the results of their recent work.

"20mm curved armor, tailored to your measurements! This detachable steel plate can perfectly integrate with the front of your KV-1 Exoskeleton, providing a greater angle of armor for critical areas like your heart, to avoid fatal injuries. Additionally, as you requested, we designed this armor with two special keels, so even if the armor is completely destroyed, it can be quickly dismantled and replaced!"

"Based on our performance tests, this steel plate can perfectly defend against rifle and pistol bullets of various calibers, such as 5mm, 7mm, and 9mm, fired from any distance! Just by donning it on your chest, even amidst a barrage of bullets, you could retreat calmly!"

Chu Guang lifted the curved steel plate and estimated its weight to be around fifty to sixty kilograms.

That was just one piece of armor.

If a similar curved steel plate were to be attached to his back as well, the total weight of the upper body armor would probably be around a hundred kilograms.

Without an exoskeleton, wearing this wouldn't be easy. Even full medieval plate armor weighed only about 25-30 kilograms, and including the tack, it was hard to exceed 45 kilograms.

And this was just a breastplate.

"What about the other parts?"

Brother Ciso immediately interjected from the side.

"They're all here! Besides the front armor, we've also designed corresponding rear armor for you, as well as bulletproof linings to protect the torso! But for your safety, we still don't recommend you stand on the frontline of the battlefield. After all, such conspicuous armor will definitely become the enemy's primary target."

Chu Guang smiled.

What a joke.

If even you can think of that, wouldn't I have considered it?

For now, Chu Guang would only join the fray to secure a kill and show the players a "cutscene" when victory was virtually assured.

As for leading a charge, how could he steal the players' thunder?

He just needed to pick the right moment to blow the whistle.

However, this set of armor looked like not only he could use it, but it would also be quite useful for the Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun and Trash Lord.

Both of their panel attributes were pretty good, with initial strength values nearing 10. A few levels up, and they could definitely handle it.

Since they had the polydactyl debuff and struggled with operating complex machines or working in livelihood roles suited for "Game" players, they were naturally suited to serve as tanks.

A huge white bear or a Lizard man clad in heavy armor charging forth—just imagining that scene was enough to be astonishing.

The 20mm steel plate was enough to allow these monsters to reach the enemy's cover before their armor could be shredded by light weapons.

Chu Guang checked the other protective gear including the helmet, which basically covered more than 90% of his front and 100% of his vital areas.

With the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer, he didn't need to charge under fierce gunfire. It was enough for him to guard against sneak attacks at critical times.

"The total weight of the armor is 220 kg, over by 20 kg, but it's not a big problem," Chu Guang set down the protective gear and looked at the two players. "May I try it?"

Brother Ciso and Brother Levin nodded in unison, their expressions filled with excitement.

"Of course! We've been ready!"

"Please do give it a try!"

What's the point of making equipment if you don't test it?

Speaking of which, Brother Ciso and Brother Levin, struggling under the weight, carried the hundred-kilogram breastplate and set it on a wooden stake that served as a target, then quickly moved aside to avoid stray bullets.

Chu Guang estimated the distance to be about thirty meters, then pulled out a 10mm caliber silver revolver from his waist and fired a shot at the breastplate.

Bang—!

The explosive sound echoed through the factory, and the muzzle flash burst forth like lightning. The breastplate hanging on the wooden stake seemed as if it had been struck by lightning, falling backwards along with the stake.

He didn't expect the gun to be so powerful!

The two players widened their eyes and rushed over to see. When they saw the bullet lodged in the steel plate, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It penetrated, but didn't go all the way through!"

"The bullet's construction is solid, it didn't even fragment. Although the bullet is flattened… Ow, that's hot." Brother Levin touched the bullet and immediately withdrew his finger as if electrocuted.

It wasn't painful, but it seemed to blister.

Walking over to inspect the piece of armor lying on the ground, Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

"You've done very well. It seems your steel factory is on the right track. The reward for completing the task has been credited to Enterprise Account No. 81 of the Steel Factory, totaling 200 silver coins!"

"In addition, for your exceptional individual performance, I will award you an additional 20 silver coins and 200 contribution points on behalf of the Manager."

After hearing the Manager's words, the faces of the two players immediately lit up with joy and excitement.

They didn't expect there to be extra rewards for completing this task!

"Thank you, Lord Manager!!"

"We will certainly continue to work hard! We'll make Steel Factory No. 81 shine bigger and stronger!"

"Good, that's the spirit!" Chu Guang cleared his throat, his expression stern as he continued seriously, "Next, I have two more important tasks to assign to you."

"Currently, the Outpost Base lacks heavy armor and seamless steel required for producing gun barrels. I need you to produce 10 sets of breastplates weighing less than 30 kg each, designed so that standard-sized Residents of the refuge can wear them, primarily aimed at Strength Type Residents."

"In addition, I need you to produce 10 pieces of 7mm caliber seamless steel tubes, capable of withstanding the chamber pressure generated when firing rifle bullets."

"The specific details and rewards for the tasks have been updated in your VMs; please check them in time."

After hearing this, Brother Ciso and Brother Levin immediately stood up straight, their morale high as they shouted.

"Guaranteed to complete the tasks!"

Very good.

Chu Guang nodded satisfactorily and finally instructed the two men with a few words about "pay attention to production safety."

Then, he put on the fully protective exoskeleton and, carrying a large hammer, left what seemed like a furnace of a steel factory.

Outside the factory.

The heavy snow briefly paused, and the sky in the distance gradually darkened.

It was now the NPCs' rest time, and the weapon shop at the Outpost Base had already closed its doors.

With today's daily wage in hand, Xia Yan, limping with a cane, curiously strolled to the North Gate Market.

Looking at the stalls filled with a variety of commodities, her eyes widened in surprise.

Of course, the players were even more surprised.

They had never seen Boss Xia leave her weapon shop, let alone wander the North Gate Market.

"Damn, the weapon shop owner came out?"

"Awesome! NPCs can now buy players' items!?"

"Wait, hasn't the Manager always been buying? I've seen him sneak over here to eat long ago!"

"Is that the same thing? The Manager is the planner's darling child! Besides, haven't you heard the planner say? The code for other NPCs was based on his source code. Clearly, his AI evolved, and the other NPCs have become smarter too! Maybe in the future all NPCs will be able to buy our stuff!"

"Damn, now that you mention it, why does it feel like a nurturing game?"

"emmmm... Nurturing the Manager? That sounds about right. After all, he's so smart now, at least half of that is thanks to us."

"..."

Sometimes, Chu Guang really wished his ears weren't so sharp, or people would always misjudge him as being petty.

On my honor, isn't he selfless enough?

People like him were almost extinct in the Wasteland!

"Here."

The sudden voice by his ear broke Chu Guang's train of thought.

Turning his head, he saw Xia Yan, her elbow holding the cane, handing him a skewer of roasted deer leg meat with one hand.

"Last time you treated me to soup, this time I'm treating you to roasted deer leg!"

The act of holding the cane with her elbow while also holding the roasted deer meat was somewhat comical.

Chu Guang laughed and took the deer leg.

"Then I won't be polite. But as your boss, I still have to remind you, you should spend your wages sparingly."

Xia Yan, biting into the meat, blinked her eyes.

"Spend sparingly? What's that?"

"Don't you have a habit of saving?"

"Saving?"

"Forget it," Chu Guang blew on the hot deer leg meat, gently tore off a small piece with his teeth, chewed it carefully, swallowed, and then spoke deliberately, "I never said anything."

Xia Yan: "?"

Having lived such comfortable days for so long, he had almost forgotten about that time on Bet Street.

The vast majority of people on the Wasteland lived day by day; the concept of saving was foreign to them.

Who knew when the chips saved up would end up in someone else's pocket? Better to live each day happily.

At that moment, a player suddenly ran over from afar, shouting excitedly as he ran.

"A lot of people are coming from the north! They're moving south along the city's elevated roads, about fifty or sixty people... maybe sixty or seventy, and they're leading a few camels and cows! Not sure what their identity is!"

The players at the market entrance immediately burst into discussion.

"Could it be a Commercial Team?"

"My giao, more merchants?!"

"Weren't they supposed to be the last wave of the winter?"

"I don't know, strictly speaking, the last time should have been the last one, but then there was another wave, wasn't there? It's not strange!"

Watching the busy 'players,' Xia Yan glanced at the VM, saw no movement, then tilted her head to sneak a peek at Chu Guang's expression. Noticing his look becoming increasingly solemn.

Even if she wasn't skilled in reading expressions, she guessed that something bad must have happened.

So she quickly finished the half of the roasted deer leg in her hand and asked quietly, holding her cane,

"What happened?"

"Most likely nomads."

"Nomads?! What are they doing in Qingquan City this time? The snow has already fallen so heavily." Xia Yan looked shocked.

She had indeed heard rumors about nomads, although they weren't very good ones.

"I don't know, the snow came suddenly this year, more than a month earlier than usual. War, famine, tides... these aren't unique to Qingquan City, the Central Continent isn't just made up of River Valley Province."

The nomads on the Wasteland weren't those who tend livestock, but those displaced persons who, having lost their homes and forced to wander, live by hunting and scavenging.

They usually signified disaster, chaos, and ill omen but weren't as blatantly violent and plundering as Looters.

Maybe one day they'd find a suitable homeland, settle down permanently, and embark on a lawful path.

Or they might suddenly find a stash of weapons, become emboldened, cross the moral line, and veer completely towards the camp of chaotic evil.

Of course, the possibility of this was very small, like winning a lottery; maybe only one or two out of ten thousand chances would hit the jackpot.

Previously, Liu Zhengyue of Brown Farm had mistaken them for wanderitous nomads because of the large amount of jerky Chu Guang had brought to trade food.

It turns out he really encountered them this time...

"Go back and stay in the refuge."

If they continued to move forward, they'd certainly discover the brick factory in the northwest corner of Rhombus Lake Wetland Park.

Without further explanation to Xia Yan, Chu Guang looked at the players at the market entrance and raised his voice.

"Everyone, gather."

"Bring your weapons, and come with me to meet them!"

Chapter 109: Resettling the Refugees

[Quest: Nomads from the Wilderness]

[Summary: An unidentified group of nomads has come from the north, no matter what their purpose, we must be fully prepared.]

[Description: Players within 30m of the Manager automatically trigger the quest, just follow the Manager with "weapons" to enter the conscription status.]

[Reward: 1 Silver Coin.]

…

North of Wetland Park.

A ragged band of refugees stopped in their tracks.

A burly man stepped to the front of the crowd, beholding Chu Guang at the North Gate of Wetland Park with a gaze that was neither servile nor overbearing.

"We mean no offense and seek only to draw some water from the lake."

The way the others stepped aside and looked at him with respect suggested he was their leader.

Chu Guang glanced over the crowd following him, roughly sixty or seventy people, maybe even eighty, among them children, the elderly, pregnant women, and even infants.

They were unlikely to be Looters.

In terms of property, these people had two cows, a bull, two calves, and eight camels loaded with luggage and supplies.

For weapons, only five guns were visible, the rest were bows and arrows, short crossbows, spades, axes, hoes, and even clubs.

It would only take one charge to scatter this rabble, and their belongings would undoubtedly become his spoils of war.

The only question was whether to remain a person.

Behind him stood nearly fifty players, guns at the ready.

Chu Guang didn't order an attack but observed the group of exhausted travelers from afar.

"Your journey leads into my territory; you can continue south along the freeway overpass or leave to the north."

The crowd stirred.

The man's face showed difficulty.

"We need fresh water, if not, our livestock will die of thirst."

"Town has everything you need, and there's snow everywhere on the ground. The eastern and southern banks of Rhombus Lake are home to Crack Claw Crabs, not a good place for water retrieval."

"The water in town is frozen, and we don't have enough fuel to melt the snow. As for the Crack Claw Crabs, they can't be more terrifying than the monsters in town."

An old man by the man's side took a step forward and implored with downcast eyes, "We beg your mercy, we won't disturb you."

If everyone told the truth, the world wouldn't have turned out this way.

Chu Guang's face remained impassive as he weighed the pros and cons in his heart.

Allowing this group to camp by the lake might lead to complications in driving them out.

Maybe their next move would be to chop wood for camps, build ramparts, or even bring over their distant relatives, until the refugees outnumbered the indigenous people, who would then be the ones ousted.

Such scenarios were not uncommon in the Wasteland and often ended in bloody conflict.

But on the other hand…

These people were labor; they could take positions the players were unwilling or too lazy to fill.

And with their extensive hunting experience and knowledge of survival in the Wasteland, perhaps they could teach his players some interesting things.

All things considered, the opportunities outweighed the risks.

Chu Guang lifted his chin to look at the man before him.

"I've said this before, the land before you is our territory. Every tree, even every patch of soil here, belongs to us."

"Out of compassion, I will offer you two choices. Either accept our settlement and follow our laws, camp at the designated spot."

"Or, leave this place."

The man glanced warily at the armed warriors behind Chu Guang and spoke carefully.

"I need to discuss with my people."

Chu Guang nodded.

"I'll give you ten minutes."

In fact, it didn't even take ten minutes.

A few tatterdemalion refugees huddled together for a consultation, after which the man came back to Chu Guang and presented his hunting gun with both hands.

"We are willing to accept your arrangement."

Chu Guang hadn't anticipated his voluntary surrender of his weapon.

But then again, it made sense.

After all, he had said that this entire park was his territory. It was only logical to disarm when seeking refuge on someone else's land.

The hunting bows and crossbows were allowed to be kept.

Chu Guang assigned the group a spot to settle, one hundred meters outside the east entrance of Outpost Base, on a patch of land the size of a basketball court. They were permitted to chop down trees within the area and establish their home there.

Separated by a trench, an enclosing wall, and a hundred-meter buffer distance, Chu Guang was not particularly concerned they would cause any trouble.

Especially since Xiao Qi was positioned on the rooftop.

He would know immediately if anything happened.

"What is your name?"

The man answered with a thick voice.

"Iron Axe, sir."

"Iron Axe?"

"Yes, sir, that is what my people call me. At the age of six, I cracked open a Looter's skull with an axe."

Chu Guang's expression was somewhat bemused.

"Your name is unique, but it's not convenient for our communication and could cause misunderstandings. Here's what we'll do: from now on, your surname will be 'Wu,' and 'Iron Axe' will be your given name, so you will be Wu Iron Axe."

Although still a mouthful, it wasn't too problematic with some use.

These nomads were hardly cultured, even less so than the survivors in the settlements; he couldn't expect them to conjure up a couplet on the fly.

He couldn't very well name him something too literary; the man might not even grasp its meaning.

"Thank you, sir, for bestowing a name. From now on, I am Wu Iron Axe!"

The burly man showed no objections, even feeling somewhat honored by their host's act of naming.

In their tribal customs, only one's elders had the right to bestow names.

Now, as these people depended on others for shelter, the act of being given a surname by their host signified a form of acceptance and protection.

At least in his understanding, this was a good thing!

Seeing Wu Iron Axe agree, Chu Guang continued.

"Our laws are simple: no fighting, stealing, murder, coercion, intimidation, or any actions that negatively affect others. You are free to take water from the lake but must not disturb those fishing there. Aside from your camp, you may not fell trees in the woods without my consent; if you need lumber, go outside the park to collect it."

"Additionally, the useful parts and metals collected from scavenging, as well as hunted prey or other useful items, can all be exchanged for goods in our warehouse."

"However, remember that only between six and seven in the evening can you send someone to deliver the trade goods to our warehouse. At no other time are you allowed to cross our entrance at will."

"For the rest of the specific terms, I will have my servant deliver them to you later. By the way, do any of your people know how to read?"

Wu Tiefu quickly nodded.

"A few of the elders in the tribe can read a little, and so can I."

"Good," looking at this robust man, Chu Guang nodded, "You should take the time to learn as well. It will be beneficial for you."

...

After settling these refugees who had drifted in from other places, Chu Guang dismissed the summoned players, giving each one silver coin and telling them to go about their own business.

These refugees were also very honest and did not cause any trouble for Chu Guang. After marking the territory, they devoted themselves to chopping trees with axes and setting up camp.

For the standards of their encampments, Chu Guang did not have stringent requirements, emphasizing only hygiene and security.

That is, indiscriminate defecation was prohibited, as it provided a breeding ground for bacteria. All excrement had to be collected and transported to a designated location for disposal.

Chu Guang made the same demands of those survivors living in the brick kilns.

Furthermore, the enclosing walls of their residence could not exceed two meters in height, and future buildings could not be taller than the east wall of Outpost Base.

However, for these refugees, such rules were actually somewhat superfluous.

Let alone encircling walls and toilets, having a place that was sheltered from the wind to sleep in and keep the children from freezing was already more than enough for them.

In this way, both parties lived in peace through the night.

Early the next morning, the refugees crawled out of their makeshift shacks and continued their work.

The men conscientiously took their tools to the lakeside to fetch water, dig wells with shovels, cut down trees with axes, and used the collected materials to continue building shelters.

The women and the elderly stayed at the camp, looking after the livestock, mending clothes, repairing damaged tools, and preparing lunch in large pots.

Players watched curiously for a while, finally unable to resist their curiosity, they took the initiative to communicate with these indigenous people.

At first, the indigenous people were a bit scared, but gradually they realized these strangers meant no harm and began to worry less.

Although they could not speak the same language, a few gestures made their intentions clear.

For example, even monkeys would understand the gesture—'I want to exchange "this" for "that."'

Speaking of which, there was an interesting episode.

Combining observing with the posts and comments on the official website, Chu Guang noticed a fascinating phenomenon.

These players were actually very bright.

Having realized that Wasteland OL had created a language, they quickly mastered the two basic nouns "you" and "I."

Then, words like "hyena," "jerky," "wood," "prey," "fish," high-frequency words that frequently appeared in missions, were not difficult to learn.

Some veteran players, when hearing NPCs mention them, could roughly guess what the NPCs were trying to express.

As for the more difficult verbs, less frequently used adjectives, and specialized grammatical particles used in certain contexts, these were actually not commonly needed in everyday communication. Moreover, the linguistic connoisseurs among the players had not reached a consensus on how to precisely translate some of the pronunciations.

In truth, mastering a foreign language is a lengthy process, not something that could be achieved by a "big shot" writing a few papers out of thin air.

Especially systematic mastery, which normally requires long-term contact and communication between two civilizations, reaching consensus on certain objective things, actions, and even deeper philosophical concepts.

The more advanced a civilization is in material and spiritual culture, the broader its vocabulary and the more versatile its grammar.

Their language might even contain many nouns, verbs, and adjectives unknown to lower-level civilizations, thus making deciphering even more challenging.

However, just for everyday communication, it wasn't as difficult as one might imagine.

Maybe in a few years or even a decade, players might actually be able to converse with the indigenous people effortlessly without the help of translation tools... only if someone is so bored that they'd rather learn the language of the game instead of taking the CET-4 or CET-6.

Chu Guang hadn't yet decided whether to give them a helping hand and settled on observing during the closed beta phase before making a decision.

After understanding the players' intent to trade, these vagabonds also took out their valuable goods.

They had dried meat, which included hunted hyena meat and slaughtered beef and camel meat.

In addition, they had various animal furs and their own handmade slingshots, scabbards, and other leather goods.

However, what surprised the players the most was that these indigenous people actually had such good things as cow's milk and camel milk!

Unlocking two recipes at the same time was too thrilling!

"Guys! We can trade for furs with these people! And there's cow's milk and camel milk!"

"Three kilograms of ram's horn potatoes can be traded for one kilogram of dried hyena meat!"

"Three kilograms of ram's horn potatoes for just 3 silver coins... Holy shit?! That means 1 kilogram of dried hyena meat can be traded for just 3 silver coins! If you buy it from an NPC's warehouse, 3 silver coins can only buy 600g, right?!"

"Trade for hyena meat? Have you not had enough? Damn it, I haven't even eaten camel meat in real life. Let me go to the warehouse to exchange some stuff and try a couple of pieces!"

"How many points is this jug of camel milk worth... Smells so strong, can it be drunk?"

"Alpha0.5 version rocks! Planning Daddy is unbeatable!!!"

"These indigenous people also sell leather goods and ironware! But... the quality doesn't seem too great."

The indigenous people were clueless as they watched these Blue Jackets.

Even though they couldn't understand what they were saying, they seemed very excited.

In that case, it might not be a problem to charge a little more...

...

The players quickly spread the news to the official website.

Without waiting long, Brother Fang Chang, who never disappoints, summarized a strategy guide.

Trading coarse salt for dried meat was the most cost-effective, as 100 grams of coarse salt could be exchanged for one kilogram of dried hyena meat.

The former costs only 2 silver coins at an NPC's warehouse, while the latter costs 5 silver coins to buy!

However, this method was only practical for stocking up on supplies, not for making money.

Firstly, the buying and selling prices in NPC warehouses were different, and the price difference for the same item could be as much as 1:10.

The dried meat you exchanged could either be consumed personally or sold to other players at a lower price, but it was impossible to sell in bulk to the warehouse for cash.

Selling to other players was also impractical; once the news spread, there'd be no information advantage, and making money from it naturally became impossible.

Who would want to be the sucker?

Another impractical reason was that in-game prices were influenced by supply and demand.

Not long after Elder Fang Chang's post went up, the "bug" for stocking up on supplies was fixed by an invisible hand.

Later, players who took 100 grams of coarse salt hoping to trade with those distant indigenous people for meat found that they simply refused.

They no longer lacked salt; satisfying hunger was their primary need. As for camel milk and cow's milk, they needed to save some to feed the babies in their village—they were not selling it for now.

The only things left for trade were some furs, leather goods, and some nice-looking trinkets without any attribute bonuses.

Players didn't have a lot of silver coins in their pockets to splurge, and besides, the indigenous peoples' leather goods and clothes were not as nice-looking as those from Vine Cottage.

Appearance is more important for "skins" without added attributes!

Just like that, the burgeoning trade craze came to a temporary close.

Chapter 110: Sir, I Want to Borrow Something from You

[Task: Devil Moth Hunting (Repeatable)]

[Introduction: The Devil Moths have built a nest in the Greenhouse Ruins, where there may be something related to fusion batteries or emergency reactors—exactly what we need.]

[Requirement: Bring back 1 Devil Moth corpse]

[Reward: 1 Silver Coin]

——

[Task: Devil Moth's Cocoon (Repeatable)]

[Introduction: The cocoon of the Devil Moth is a great thing; we can use its silk to make clothing or armor. Also, it's said that the pupae inside might be edible?]

[Requirement: Bring back 1 Devil Moth's Cocoon]

[Reward: 5 Silver Coins]

——

[Task: Conquer the first floor of the Greenhouse Ruins]

[Introduction: We need to clear a path to the underground of the Greenhouse Ruins and safely retrieve the "treasures" within.]

[Requirement: Shut down the first-floor floodgate and cut off contact with other floors...]

...

Dusk.

Brother Mole led a group of players who had taken on the Devil Moth's nest, singing a victorious anthem, and hauling back a full bounty of five large carts of loot from the direction of the Greenhouse Ruins.

"Feeling freaking good, a sparrow sleeps~~~ on the antenna pole~~~"

"Lard bones, for braising, and I forgot to wash the eggs~~~"

"Damn, what the hell are you singing?"

"Exactly, what are you singing? We just lost a brother, and we've got to send another off soon. Can't you be a bit more serious?"

"I'm washing kelp, washing kelp~~~"

"Shit, who's going to sew this mole's mouth shut?"

"I'll do it, I'm good at this."

"No, no, no, I have merits for the plan! I've shed blood for the base! You can't do this to me~~~"

As it turned out, Devil Moths weren't unkillable; if one attempt wasn't enough, then two, and if two didn't suffice, then a third, a fourth.

For two consecutive days.

Eighteen players, following Brother Mole's strategy, formed a "531 lineup," split into two caravans for alternating attacks, and slaughtered a large number of Devil Moths in the narrow passages.

Some were burned to death, and others were stabbed with cold weapons.

Interestingly, these Devil Moths didn't seem to fully inherit the characteristics of moths, or rather, they evolved a special characteristic similar to a beehive consciousness.

When the number of their species in the space fell to a certain level, these insects suddenly abandoned their suicidal tactics of direct attacks and retreated into their nest, protecting the larvae and the pupating cocoons, and launched stealth attacks on targets entering the nest from the cover of shadows.

This posed a certain challenge to the players' fixed routine combat method.

According to Brother Mole's understanding, it was probably because the dog planners realized they were exploiting a "BUG" to farm creatures and adjusted the server parameters.

But that wasn't a big problem.

The remaining Devil Moths of the first floor were no longer enough to pose a fatal threat.

As usual, the strength-type players took the front line, agility types dealt damage from behind, and the group quickly harvested Devil Moth cocoons near the passage exit and gathered the Devil Moth corpses found nearby, returning home with their abundant spoils of war.

Despite the cost of one death and one severe injury, compared to their gains from the trip, those losses seemed trivial.

Over a hundred Devil Moth corpses piled up into a small hill, and more than a hundred football-sized cocoons; had another batch of Devil Moths not surged in, they could have taken even more.

Plus, they harvested a small amount of Spirit Leaf from the planting units, bringing the total earnings from the mission to 841 Silver Coins!

An average of 41 silver coins each!

Of course, when it came to distributing the money, it definitely wasn't divided evenly—human lives and equipment wear and tear were costs. However, after calculating, each person could still get more than 33 silver coins.

That was much more satisfying than making bricks.

A group of people was passing by the east gate.

Wu Tie-Fu, who had just finished exchanging resources at Outpost Base, and a few natives happened to see the pile of Devil Moth corpses and clumps of cocoons on the wooden cart, and their faces showed shock.

They certainly knew what these were.

Especially in the summer, during the most prolific season for Spirit Leaf growth, these creatures were like the grim reapers of the Wasteland, leaving not even a single intact body in their wake.

But why were these insects in Qingquan City?

And where did the Spirit Leaf fields come from?

With this hellish weather already several degrees below zero, don't these moths need to hibernate?

"They even managed to overcome the Devil Moths..."

"It's incredible, how did they do it?"

"They came from the east... the eastern city district has a nest of Devil Moths."

"We'd better stay away."

A few tribespeople, quietly muttering with potato horns slung over their shoulders, had their thoughts on other matters, especially Wu Tie-Fu, the chief of their tribe.

They had come all the way from the Promice's Northern Part of the River Valley Province, engaging in countless dangerous fights for survival.

Among these, the most perilous battle was to escape from the slave traders' guns; during this, his father and uncle died.

The tribe once had more than fifty able-bodied men; now, only a little over twenty remained, the rest were elderly, women, children, and even infants not yet weaned.

Now was the time to seize the opportunity to rest and recover under the protection of the strong.

The current issue, however, stemmed from the previous disastrous losses. The number of women left in the tribe capable of bearing children far outnumbered the men who could father them, and many were blood-related.

Inbreeding within a small tribe was a troubling problem. To ensure the health and strength of the newborns, his tribe needed fresh blood.

These mighty warriors seemed to be the ideal choice.

Reflecting on the lengthy discussion with the elders of his tribe from the night before, Wu Tie-Fu didn't utter a single word on their way back.

After instructing his people to store the grain they had exchanged, he returned alone to Outpost Base and found the ruler at the doorway of the infirmary.

"My lord."

Chu Guang glanced at him.

"What is it?"

Speaking in a low voice, Wu Tie-Fu said,

"I would like to borrow some seeds from you."

Borrow seeds?

Curious—do these nomads even farm?

Chu Guang found it quite interesting and said with a smile,

"I'm sorry, but we don't have any seeds. I'm afraid I can't help you with that. Besides, with the heavy snow outside, the ground is already frozen. Even if you got some seeds, I'm afraid it would be impossible to plant them now."

Wu Tie-Fu scratched the back of his head.

"No, you might have misunderstood me. The seeds I want to borrow from you... aren't those seeds, but rather, those seeds."

"What do you mean by this and that?" Chu Guang frowned and said, "What exactly are you trying to say? Don't beat around the bush with me."

Wu Tie-Fu didn't dare to be careless and quickly explained,

"I mean, for human breeding."

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang almost choked on his own spit.

What the hell.

Was I hearing it wrong or understanding it wrong.

Breeding arrangement for people, what the heck is that?!

Noticing the change in Chu Guang's expression, Wu Tiefu was startled and didn't understand why the leader had such a strong reaction.

But he still continued with a lowered stance, earnestly pleading.

"Our tribe experienced a big battle a few days ago, and our numbers are thin. We need fresh blood. We wouldn't dare to ask for your lineage, we just hope that you'd nod and allow our unmarried young women to stay at your camp for a few days."

"We wouldn't ask you to help us for free. As compensation, we'd offer a camel hide and a dagger for the father of each newborn."

Hearing this, Chu Guang finally understood what this guy meant.

It made sense, too—where would tribal folks even get the concept of propriety?

Larger tribes thriving in population could not only pair within the tribe but also capture slaves from other tribes to reproduce. Smaller tribes with lesser numbers had no choice but to rely on the powerful, gaining new blood from their suzerain forces.

"I understand your difficulty, but I can't help with this," Chu Guang said sternly, "We're a legitimate game... cough, I mean, our customs are different from yours. I can consider helping with other things, but not this one."

Besides, even if I wanted to help, I couldn't.

Chu Guang remembered very clearly from reading the cultivation chamber manual that the genetic factors of these clones seemed quite unlikely to hit the jackpot?

They weren't designed for natural reproduction in the first place, just "containers" for players' consciousness entities, "products" manufactured by cultivation chambers.

Especially the alien sequence, whose genetic factors have no way of stably passing on to the next generation, and even due to chromosomal anomalies, the functional aspects were outright castrated.

Moreover, Wasteland OL is a game that focuses on casual, joyous gameplay.

Chu Guang didn't even give it a second thought and decisively refused on behalf of the players.

Youxi?

Wu Tiefu was confused and didn't understand what the leader meant.

But seeing the expression on his face, he seemed dissatisfied with his own proposal.

It made sense after thinking about it—these wanderers are, after all, from the Wasteland.

Even out of concern for disease, this leader would not allow the vital young labor force of his tribe to waste their vibrant energy on foreign women.

"It was presumptuous of me."

Wu Tiefu bowed his head in regret and shame, expressing his sincere apologies. Then, under the curious gazes of the surrounding players, he turned and left.

Players whispered amongst themselves.

"What are they talking about?"

"I don't know."

"Farming! I heard the Manager mention 'farming'! I know that word!"

"All you know is farming."

...

Deep into the night.

The natives who had set up camp ignited a bonfire in the center.

The flames flickered in the snow.

The refugees sat around the fire, playing flutes made of animal bones, singing indistinct folk tunes, sharing muddy meat soup and pitch-black roasted cakes, celebrating the end of their journey and blessing the newborns.

The players, though curious, did not approach, only standing on the enclosing wall and watching from afar.

"What tune are they playing?"

"Never heard it, probably Alpha 0.5 version BGM. Didn't I say the new version was probably going to emphasize the development of human-computer interaction systems? But I didn't expect the production team to be so niubi, even the wanderers of the Wasteland have their own culture."

"That bone flute they're using is pretty interesting, I'll see if I can buy one to check out tomorrow."

"What if it's made from human bones? Would you still play it?"

"Damn, that's a freakishly bizarre thought, isn't it?"

"Just a rational analysis. I've heard that some African tribes make musical instruments from the bones of their deceased parents."

"Thank you, I'm flattered by the filial respect."

The players weren't the only curious ones.

Chu Guang, looking out from the third floor of the sanatorium, wore a similarly interested expression on his face.

He hadn't expected these refugees to have their own unique tribal culture.

These settings could be updated on the official website to kill time and satisfy the curiosity of the backseat drivers.

He just didn't know what to call these people.

After some thought, Chu Guang decided to give them a name, a flag, or a totem, or something, in the near future.

"The tune is actually quite nice."

"Do you want to record it? Master."

"Can you record from this far away?"

"There's a technology called laser listening. Even from a great distance, if you shine a beam of light over there, you can record the audio by capturing the vibration frequencies of the objects."

"You can do that?!"

"Of course, within a few hundred meters. I can even reduce the noise in the audio."

"… Then let's record it."

Incorporating the original sound into the database on the official website wasn't a bad idea; it was like surveying the local customs and culture of the Wasteland.

Past midnight.

Chu Guang carried Xiao Qi back to the sanctuary and then opened the System to check his Manager's allowance.

In just under half a month, he had actually saved up 222 points.

"Two advanced blind boxes, two intermediate blind boxes, and two basic ones... let's just draw them."

The lollipops were almost finished anyway.

There was no reason to hoard points since there were daily active missions to do. With the increasing number of players, if he was lucky, he could save up ten to twenty points a day; if not, still seven or eight.

Chu Guang reached out and tapped the draw button a few times.

Pale blue light flickered.

The wall in the residents' hall trembled slightly, and as the alloy door opened, the rewards from the blind boxes were conveyed out.

From the two basic blind boxes, a 500g bag of white sugar and a 500g bag of salt emerged; from the intermediate blind boxes, a box of antibiotics and a healing injection were drawn.

Overall, the haul was not bad and even Chu Guang himself felt pleasantly surprised by his good fortune. Although he didn't get any attribute-boosting injections, the sugar, salt, and medicine were all valuable items.

As for the advanced blind boxes...

To be honest, it was a bit ostentatious.

"A mechanical composite bow with a sighting device, it seems to have a motor and can also fit a battery. Looks like it can charge up shots? But no arrows provided?"

He didn't know how to use a bow, so it would only be useful for the players.

"And what is this... a grenade?"

Chu Guang picked up a silver sphere from the conveyor belt, but couldn't find the pin after searching for a while.

Tossing it lightly in his hand and weighing it, he couldn't figure out how it worked, so he glanced around, looking for a target to test whether it hurt when thrown.

Seemingly unable to watch any further, Xiao Qi quietly crouched nearby and weakly informed him in a soft voice.

"Master…"

"That thing is not meant to be used that way."

Chapter 111 Hummingbird! And the Auction Event!

This little guy is actually a drone?

Well, that was almost embarrassing.

Looking at the silver metallic sphere in front of him with two pairs of propellers popping out and hovering, Chu Guang poked it with interest.

It can stabilize itself automatically?

"Interesting."

If he changed the propellers to wings, painted the sphere gold, and made it a tad smaller, it would look exactly like the Golden Snitch from Harry Potter.

The light blue label attached to this thing by the System read "Hummingbird Drone," along with a long string of instructions for use.

Simply put, this device could connect to any electronic device equipped with imaging technology and information transmission, requiring just a plugin the size of a thumbnail.

The universal interface on the VM just happened to fit this plugin perfectly.

But is this thing considered a weapon?

Chu Guang turned and looked at Xiao Qi.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Xiao Qi's response came with a wronged tone.

"But you didn't ask me, Master."

Emmm...

Seems fair enough.

Without blaming it, Chu Guang fiddled with the toy for a while before continuing.

"What's the use of this thing? Can it shoot?"

It better not be a one-time use explosive device.

If it's really disposable, that would be really crappy.

Xiao Qi: "Its main function is surveillance... For such a small guy to integrate a long-life battery and a motor is already quite difficult; it certainly won't be able to carry combat components, right?"

"Surveillance?" Chu Guang stood next to the drone and observed for a while, "How come I don't see its camera?"

Xiao Qi continued to explain.

"The camera has already been integrated into the surface material; you certainly can't see it with the naked eye. But don't worry about its performance—even though the camera is very small, it's incredibly powerful! The 60-point camera array distributed on the surface of the sphere can capture high-definition images of the 360-degree area without any blind spots, and it can even be used at night."

So even though he can't see the cameras, the whole body is essentially covered with cameras smaller than pinholes, right?

Speaking of cameras, doesn't that mean it can take photos?

Although Xiao Qi could also take photos, its range of activity was too limited, and the best it could do was to stand on top of the sanatorium and snap pictures of the players at work.

With this thing, he should be able to capture many interesting photos. Just add a filter, and you've got movie-quality game CG.

Chu Guang stroked his chin, continuing to inquire.

"What about flying altitude? And the range, working time, and... how does it charge?"

Xiao Qi quickly answered.

"Charging is very simple; the drone has a built-in wireless charging interface, just like me, it can automatically charge in the shelter, and I can also share some of my battery with it."

"As for the flying altitude, it's recommended to fly below 100m, although theoretically it can fly hundreds of meters high, it's suggested not to stay at high altitudes for too long, as prolonged high-altitude operation can put a strain on the engine and also bring safety risks."

"Regarding the range, if there aren't many obstacles, it works well within a three-kilometer radius, but again, it's not recommended to go too far from the terminal. After all, this is a short-range reconnaissance drone; its strengths are nearly 12 hours of extended endurance and overcoming obstacles in complex environments... Remote reconnaissance is a bit difficult."

Obstacles will affect signal transmission.

However, the Hummingbird drone's control chip has an integrated automatic return-to-home program, which automatically activates AI once connection is lost. Based on cached video data and estimated flight paths, it controls the drone to return to the starting coordinates or a pre-set rendezvous point.

After understanding the little guy's functions, Chu Guang reached out to take the drone down, holding it in his hand and liking it more the longer he looked at it.

If he threw the drone up into the sky before a fight, it would basically be like planting a true eye over the enemy's head.

He could receive video and images through the VM.

That's so damn cool!

"Master..."

"What is it?" Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi curiously upon hearing its voice, "Is there any functionality you haven't introduced yet?"

"That... Could you give it to Xiao Qi?" Xiao Qi tentatively suggested, "Your VM can directly connect to the shelter's main server; the images I see can be transmitted to you directly. If you give it to me, Xiao Qi will be able to see farther away, and it will be more convenient to help you monitor the players' activities."

"That's not a bad idea." Chu Guang's eyes lit up.

The gadget was indeed useful in combat, but he didn't have that many opportunities to be on the front line, and now that his defenses were as solid as a barrel of iron, an extra gadget like this wouldn't make much difference.

Better to use it for spying.

No, to say it properly—strategic surveillance!

Xiao Qi continued.

"Master, when I was organizing materials for you yesterday, I noticed that the guard's journal seemed to mention a signal tower? If the power supply to that signal tower could be restored, it might be able to further extend the signal coverage of Shelter No. 404."

Chu Guang placed the drone on Xiao Qi's head, continuing with interest,

"You mean... the signal tower the guard used to communicate with the survivors on the surface? I did consider it, but according to the clues sent back by the players' exploration maps, there doesn't seem to be any significant findings."

Xiao Qi went on to say.

"The function of that signal tower shouldn't be just to communicate with the surface; according to the clues from the recordings, this shelter seems to have been collecting wireless signals from the surface as analysis samples for several years after the war."

"Based on my conjecture, this signal tower should possess complete signal transmission and reception capabilities. Perhaps we can use it to provide information services to the players' VM devices. In this way, even in areas far from the shelter, you can issue missions to the players."

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"It's a good idea, but the problem is, where do we find this signal tower? Do you have a map?"

Xiao Qi immediately said.

"Although I don't have a map, it's obvious that the signal tower is nearby, right? If the players have explored the area within two kilometers around here—"

Hearing this, Chu Guang suddenly realized.

"Street No.76?"

Xiao Qi said happily.

"Yeah! Master is brilliant!"

Indeed.

Once all the wrong options are eliminated, the final answer naturally surfaces.

To the west and northwest of Wetland Park is the lake, and to the south, there are wastelands, abandoned buildings, and abandoned park facilities. Further south is Bet Street and the fifth ring road beyond it.

As for the area north to the abandoned tire factory, players from the shelter have long been familiar with it. The only unexplored area was right across from the east gate, Street No.76.

Speaking of which, the Greenhouse Ruins seemed to be right at the entrance of Street No.76.

The range of the players' activities was getting closer and closer to the territory of the mutants.

Chu Guang, looking at the map, fell into deep thought.

"Tsk."

"We need to figure out a way to wipe out those green-skinned muscleheads all at once."

…

The next morning, after a slight pause in the heavy snow, it seems today is a rare sunny day.

At the doorstep of the weapon shop, a large crowd of people had gathered.

The players who arrived later stood on their toes, peeking over the crowd, grabbing nearby players, and asking what was going on.

"What's happening? Why are so many people crammed in here?"

"It's the weapon shop auction!"

"Auction?! When was there a group battle again, how come I didn't know about it?"

"It's not a group battle, just a normal auction! I also don't know what's going on, seems like a temporary event in the Game, haven't you checked the official website?"

"No! The moment I got home, I didn't even strip before slapping the helmet on my head!"

"Dude, you don't even shower?"

"I shower when I wake up in the morning! What's reality compared to the Game?"

"This is madness."

Chu Guang glanced at the crowd around him, and seeing that enough people had arrived, cleared his throat, raised the bow in his hand, and said in a solemn and serious tone,

"…This is a mechanical composite bow from the deepest part of the shelter. As for its legends... well, in fact, it's yet to create any legends."

"But that's not important!"

"Brand new limbs, shiny bow string, a scale-marked variable focal-length sight, and with a battery, you can even use electric power to energize the pulley system! It will help you deliver a lethal blow! It is unquestionably the latest model, born for hunting. As for its legends, they're waiting for you to write them!"

"The starting bid is 100 silver! Each bid must increase by at least 1 silver coin!"

"No upper limit!"

No upper limit!

Exciting!

The moment these words were said, the atmosphere at the scene immediately erupted.

"101 silver!"

"I bid 102 silver!"

"Damn! What's wrong with you? I bid 110 silver!"

"I'll take that, 120 silver, this bow looks way niubi than guns, if I use triangular arrowheads, maybe I could shoot right through—"

"130 silver! You talk too much!"

"180!!"

That shout was almost a screech.

The place went quiet instantly.

Everyone turned towards the person who made the bid, thinking it was Mosquito, who never goes to the front lines, but it turned out to be the one "Brother Mole who was personally banned on the forum by the planner"—Escaped Vole in the Canyon.

Can he even use a bow and arrow?

Feeling a bit embarrassed by everyone's gaze, Mole turned red and argued.

"I'm an agility type, is there a problem?"

Silence fell over the crowd.

Feeling pressured by his aura, a nearby newbie whispered timidly,

"No..."

"Right—"

"Cough, I bid 188, let's round it up for good luck."

"!"

Just as the Mole had started to feel smug, he turned abruptly to look at a hand raised in the crowd. The onlookers sighed, accepting that Mosquito was, as expected, making his move.

Once the price broke 150, it was like gods clashing in combat.

Third-tier players had already dropped out of the bidding, while the second tier watched and waited.

To be honest, Chu Guang didn't care to whom he sold the weapon, but he particularly didn't want to sell it to Mosquito. Whenever that guy won an auction, he never used the item; he just hoarded them like collectibles.

Like that Scorpion Submachine Gun, or the double-barreled shotgun dropped by the Blood Hand Clan's big BOSS, Chu Guang had never seen him actually use them.

What's the point of hoarding them?

Could they reproduce or what?

Just then, a righteous hand shot up.

"200 silver!"

"What the fuck?!"

"Two, two hundred?!"

Both Mole and Mosquito's eyes bulged instantly.

Turning sharply, they saw that the person raising his hand was none other than Brother Fang Chang, who had started playing the game even earlier than them.

Whispers broke out among the players nearby.

"200 silver for a bow?!"

"He's gone mad; that money could buy two guns!"

"But I think it might be worth it, like if you tie dynamite to triangular arrowheads... Have you guys played Graphics Card Crisis? It's like that."

"MMP, stop talking, you're making me - an intelligence type player - want to buy it!"

"Wuwuwu, when will I ever have this much money."

Brother Fang Chang ignored the whispers of the other players and looked at Mosquito Brother, sheepishly grinning.

"Bro, do me a favor… I actually have a use for it."

Probably no one among these players knew how to use a bow and arrow better than he did.

Mosquito spread his hands in resignation, signaling surrender.

"We're all friends here, I fold."

He had no choice but to fold.

Although he had indeed made a fortune selling wooden bows to newcomers, his own expenses on "inventions and innovations" were also huge. Furthermore, after a recent buying spree, he was left with only 190 silver in his pocket.

Mole grumbled in annoyance.

"Damn! Where do you guys get all this money? You must be embezzling!"

Before Fang Chang could respond, Night Ten popped out.

"Heh, you think we just make bricks and do nothing else? Not to mention, just by increasing the brick factory's daily output to over 5,000, you get a direct—"

Before he could finish, Old White covered Night Ten's mouth.

"Alright, alright, no more talking."

We don't want the developers to hear us, or we're done for.

However, that said, these 200 silver were indeed all the funds that the Niubi Squad had. The reason Brother Fang Chang hadn't bid before was that he was discussing with his teammates.

Cutting to the chase, he wanted that bow.

His archery accuracy rate was now high enough to hit a moving target beyond 50 meters. If he could get his hands on this bow, his combat power would multiply severalfold, and the team's DPS would soar!

His three teammates had no objections. They had played other games together as a team, and it was the same deal in this game.

Why worry about making money with increased team damage output?

Especially Night Ten, who was most supportive of Elder Fang. After all, the bolt-action rifle he was now using was something they had all chipped in to get for him, on Fang Chang's suggestion.

Escaped Vole in the Canyon: "Sigh, you guys are really loaded. I'm crying."

Fang Chang chuckled and said, "Sorry, bro. Next time there's good loot, I won't compete with you!"

Escaped Vole in the Canyon: "I'll remember that promise!"

And so the fight among the wealthy players came to an end, and everyone dispersed to attend to their own business.

Brother Mole was doing the same as yesterday, leading a convoy organized on the forum to rush to the Greenhouse Ruins instance. As for the two guys in the team who had been feigning death, they had been replaced by two strength-type newbies.

Insect-type instances were rare places where perception-type players struggled to make an impact, as most insect-type variants seemed to have innate stealth bonuses that made them virtually undetectable.

The official forum has already reached a consensus that when running copies like these, it's better to bring two more tanks than scouts.

If they can hold the line, there will be output.

As for Team NiuMa, Chu Guang specifically observed them with a drone and found out they weren't staying at the brick factory. Instead, they had gone out through the north gate of Wetland Park and headed over to a collapsed department store located between the tire factory and abandoned construction site.

Was there something valuable there?

Chu Guang was curious but didn't send the drone to follow them. After all, going forward would exceed three kilometers, and the signal was likely to be affected.

In any case, if they found something good, they would still bring it back to him. Later, he could just look through strategies on the official website, and he would naturally understand.

...

All the combat professional players had dispersed to do their work, leaving only the rookies running errands and the life-skilled players who treated Wasteland OL as a recreational game.

When Chu Guang walked into Teng Teng's cottage, Miss Teng Teng, who was skilled with her hands and mind, was standing on a stool, teaching three novice Intelligence System players how to use the remnants of fur coat materials to craft leather goods like gun holsters and scabbards, using a charcoal-smeared wooden board.

"There are no two identical leaves in the world, and there are no two identical pieces of fur either, you must remember this phrase."

"If you want to become a qualified designer, you first need to learn to distinguish the subtle differences between nearly matching fur materials. Only by choosing the right materials can you proceed to the next step of your work."

"Do you understand?"

Miss Teng Teng, standing on the stool and teaching, was like a kindergarten teacher for an older group of children.

The three players stared at each other, clearly not understanding, but still dazedly nodded their heads.

"We understand!"

"Great!"

Seeing her students showing such astuteness, Teng Teng nodded her head in satisfaction, patted her grimy hands, and hopped down from the stool.

Just then, she spotted the manager standing at the entrance and her eyes immediately lit up.

Was a hidden quest coming her way?!

"You guys just work it out amongst yourselves for now!"

Dropping those words, Teng Teng immediately headed for the entrance, excitedly saying,

"Respected Manager, do you have any orders for me?"

Chu Guang went straight to the point.

"Recently, Outpost Base captured a batch of Devil Moth's Cocoons. The Devil Silk drawn from these cocoons is high-quality material. I was wondering if you have a way to weave it into usable fabric."

"Weave fabric?" Teng Teng looked bewildered, "I remember before weaving fabric, we need to reel the silk, right?"

Truthfully, she didn't know how.

If it was just about fashion design, she didn't need to bother with such "basic" knowledge. Even her current work with fur processing was self-taught through online materials downloaded after playing Wasteland OL.

The Manager had just given her a hard task.

While it wasn't too difficult to find some public information with the help of the internet, she was unsure whether the information she found would still be applicable to Devil Moth cocoons.

Did anyone actually use cocoons from these mutated moths to make clothes?

It sounded weird.

Chu Guang continued.

"Whether it's reeling silk or whatever else, I need it turned into usable silk thread and fabric. If we can make use of these materials, we could produce lighter and more durable armor, and the surplus products could be exchanged for the food that we urgently need... Do you have any good ideas?"

Although not very confident, Teng Teng's spirits were still high after realizing the importance of the task from the Manager's explanation, and she nodded her head vigorously.

"I've never tried it before, but I think we can give it a shot!"

As soon as her words fell, her VM received a task popup.

[Task: Textile Crafting]

[Briefing: Outpost Base has obtained a batch of Devil Silk, which is excellent material. But before turning this material into silk threads and fabric, we first need to solve the problem of production tools.]

[Request: Construct a spinning wheel and a loom.]

[Reward: 100 Silver]

[Note: Although a manual spinning wheel and loom would suffice for the task, if you can come up with a more efficient production machine that meets the current needs of Outpost Base, it might trigger additional hidden rewards.]

100 Silver!

When she saw the task reward, Teng Teng's eyes immediately turned the color of silver coins.

Especially because of that note at the end.

If she could produce an efficient production machine, she might be able to trigger additional hidden rewards!

"Don't worry, revered Manager!"

Her index finger tapped on the VM screen, and Teng Teng looked up excitedly, swearing confidently, "Teng Teng will certainly not let you down!"

"Good, I'm counting on you."

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

These troublesome affairs would be difficult to figure out alone; he would probably be pondering over refining steel alone until next year.

But with these diligent and brave little players...

Chu Guang suddenly felt that life in the Wasteland wasn't as hard as he had imagined.

Chapter 112: NPCs Coming to Set Up Stalls in the Players' Market?

Official Site:

Fang Chang: "A new landmark north of the abandoned construction site has been unlocked, the Abandoned Department Store Building, which is filled with Eaters! We've basically cleared out the Eaters on the first floor, but when we tried to enter the basement, VM warned that the radiation index of the current area exceeded the safety threshold. Straight to the point, there might be something good in the basement. Any players with the Body Constitution System? We're just missing one."

Si Si: "Me me me!"

Tail: "Tail is here too! Uh, I think I am part of the Agile system, but it doesn't matter, I'll sneak attack! (｀ω´*)"

Fang Chang: "Sorry, but we can't bring newcomers on this mission. Let me clarify the requirements again, Constitution attribute 10 points, preferably above 10 points."

Tail: "QAQ"

Elena: "I'm Body Constitution System LV4, my main attribute is just 10 points, talent... never mind, pretend I didn't say anything. (joking)"

Fang Chang: "Bro, check your PMs."

Pick up trash 99 level: "Do you need a Lizard? I might be able to handle it, whether it's radiation or poison!"

Night Ten: "First figure out how to get out of Shelter No. 404. (joking)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Dammit!"

Teng Teng: "Waking up at 4 A.M. to watch a PPT, almost forgot to go to work, there are still a few things I don't get. Wailing, my head's going bald, this game is getting harder and harder! (T ^ T)"

WC really has Mosquitoes: "If you don't understand, just ask, the Goblins wanna know if the PPT you're looking at is serious?"

Teng Teng: "(*・ω・)✄╰ひ╯"

WC really has Mosquitoes: "(ﾟДﾟ*)"

Today's official site remains calm and peaceful.

Other than a few old brothers arguing about which type of steel is better for seamless steel pipes, the whole forum is very harmonious.

Chu Guang did not join the discussion, just silently marked those old brothers' accounts, placing them on the next batch list.

No bragging – if you can, just do it.

Wait for the Alpha 0.6 version to come out, there will be a stage for you to shine.

Actually, Chu Guang has always been curious, how has Wasteland OL's forum been so fierce every day and still hasn't been blocked until now?

The official site has been online for over a month now, where the daily active users are about to break ten thousand, and there are quite a lot of people.

That kid named Grandpa Ao must have reported a lot.

Yet, it doesn't seem to make any difference.

"Unbelievable."

Including the ability to mysteriously get helmets delivered right to the players' doorsteps – if that's something high tech can do, then it's truly incredible.

It's almost like magic...

Chu Guang, playing with a ballpoint pen in his hand, leaned back in his chair and smacked his tongue.

Right then, he suddenly remembered the "Morphogenesis Field" mentioned in that recording.

"Xiao Qi."

Xiao Qi, which was charging, raised its camera head.

"What's up, Master."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then said,

"Have you ever heard of the Morphogenesis Field?"

"Is it the main research topic of Shelter No. 404?"

"Eh?" Chu Guang sat up in surprise, looking at the wastebasket crouched in the corner, and asked, "You know?"

"Master... I have mentioned this before, Xiao Qi's saved information, it's all obtained from you." Xiao Qi's voice sounded somewhat helpless.

Alright.

Got excited for nothing.

But it was just trivial stuff anyway.

Chu Guang leaned back on his chair again, dropped the pen, grabbed the mouse, and started a new round of playing Stars, gazing out at the virtual sea.

...

Ever since it was equipped with the "Hummingbird" drone, Xiao Qi's field of vision had expanded significantly.

The silvery spherical drone would usually hang quietly 50 to 100 meters above the Outpost Base – so tiny that no one would notice.

If necessary, it could also be redeployed around the park. As long as it didn't fly beyond three kilometers, the signal was quite good.

Through the VM device worn on his arm, Chu Guang only needed to make a light swipe on the touch screen with his index finger to drag and redeploy the drone horizontally.

This feeling was just like playing a god-perspective RTS Game.

The only pity was that players had their own ideas, and he couldn't box-select the little blue figures on the screen to micromanage.

Otherwise, it would have been just like an RTS game.

Peeking at screens was really too enjoyable. Hugging his VM, Chu Guang dragged the drone to the entrance of Street No.76 for a while, spying on those players grinding in the Greenhouse Ruins; then he dragged the drone near the Mutant tribe, to see what those green-skinned muscle-heads were busying themselves with.

Well, they seemed indeed very busy.

A few more corpses were added at the tribal gate, but the strange thing was, aside from the blatantly secret sentries, he didn't see any of the muscular guys come out of the village.

Where did these corpses come from?

Out of thin air?

Unfortunately, the Mutants liked to use wood to make domes inside their village, and the corridors were hung with tattered cloth and clothes, which made it impossible to see the inside from high above.

Maybe?

Should he randomly select a small player to send in to feed them?

It wasn't out of the question.

Only when the drone battery was about to die, triggering an automatic return to home did Chu Guang reluctantly put away his VM and gave control of the drone back to Xiao Qi.

...

Approaching dusk,
the market at the North gate was bustling.

There were stalls selling barbecue, performances involving eating mushrooms, and even those selling clothes, selling knives, and even "Goblin rocket launchers."

It must be said that each of these players was a talent. Even if the Game itself didn't offer much content, they were able to create content and enjoy themselves thoroughly.

The natives living nearby were also drawn over by the lively atmosphere here.

But they were too embarrassed to get too close.

With their pockets empty and no Silver coins, they watched enviously from the side for a while and then quietly left.

"The market of the Blue Jackets is so lively."

"Their clothes look so beautiful, and so do the people."

"I saw the shells of Crack Claw Crabs; they made armor pieces out of the Crab's shells? Although it doesn't seem very durable, they actually killed the Crack Claw Crabs!"

"They actually use charcoal to grill meat; that's really extravagant."

"If we could trade with them, that would be great..."

"Yeah, kids can't just drink Milk, they'll need to eat some porridge or mush when they get bigger... Their horn potatoes are nice, bigger than those we've seen in the North."

"I wonder if they need short-term workers, there are even fewer game animals in winter; it would be nice to exchange some labor for Money."

"I want to save up for an axe. Their axes seem to be more solid than ours, made of steel... I've only seen steel tools at big Survivor Bases."

Sitting around the central village fire, the refugees ate their flatbread and drank their warmed camel Milk, whispering quietly to each other with faces full of envy.

Those Blue Jackets, unlike them, didn't need to build very big and tall bonfires to get warm but used those small torches dipped in black tar to light up the entire camp.

They were just too rich!

But as much as they envied,
the distinction in status was etched into DNA.

Having a place to settle down next to a big force's base, not being driven away, they were already quite content.

At least they were pretty satisfied with life now.

Watching the wisps of black smoke rising from the distant camps and sitting among his tribesmen, Wu Tieaxe fell into a long contemplation.

The night passed without words.

The next morning,

Wu Tieaxe went alone to Outpost Base and after asking permission from the on-duty guard at the door, he met with Chu Guang, who had just come up from the Shelter No. 404.

"Respected sir, there is something for which I would like to earnestly request your help!"

Again?

Chu Guang yawned.

"I don't lend out Seeds, let's not talk about that."

Wu Tieaxe's face showed an embarrassed expression as he explained with his head hanging low.

"I was too presumptuous last time. This time, I've come to you, not for Seeds."

Chu Guang gave him a curious glance.

"Oh? You tell me."

Wu Tiefu didn't beat around the bush and stated bluntly.

"My tribespeople wish to set up a stall at the North gate market of your Outpost Base, and we humbly request your permission to borrow a piece of land the size of a camel's hide."

How big is a piece of land the size of a camel's hide?

Chu Guang had never used such a strange unit of measurement.

However, the focus wasn't on the area.

"Setting up a stall, is it? What are you looking to trade?"

Wu Tiefu continued.

"Some leather goods, scavenged parts, tools we've crafted ourselves, and things like game... I can assure you with my head that my people will not cause you trouble. We only wish to barter for some grains and tubers to feed our children."

Assuring with their heads was still acceptable.

Typically, survivor settlements are quite averse to doing business with nomads, as these wanderers often don't have much of value to offer, and no one likes a savage stall owner.

But if you consider the issue from another angle...

Chu Guang pondered for a moment.

With an idea in mind, he looked at the tribal leader before him and said,

"I can allow you to enter the North gate market, but you must adhere to the rules we have set. Such as guaranteeing that your business activities are decent and orderly, keeping the area in front of your stall clean and unobstructive to traffic, no private fighting, no forcing sales or purchases, no private trading of slaves, no selling addictive drugs, etc."

"Additionally, while operating a stall in our market, you can only use our official currency. Any commodities sold must also be guaranteed for quality. In case of disputes, everything will be determined based on the rules and arbitration results stipulated."

"The specific details are posted on the notice board at the North gate. If you can accept these terms, I will give you a stall."

Wu Tiefu nodded respectfully.

"We are willing to accept, sir."

"I hope you have seriously considered the weight behind that 'willing,'" said Chu Guang, looking at him, "then it's settled."

...

In fact, Chu Guang had given thorough consideration before allowing these nomads to deepen their interactions with the players.

This was even before Wu Tiefu took the initiative to approach him.

If properly managed, appropriate trade exchanges could foster good relations between both parties.

The players gained benefits, the natives got their food rations, and copper and silver coins naturally found their way into the pockets of the natives.

This wave was certainly a win-win.

Or perhaps it should be called a triple win?

After all, he had won thrice.

Evening.

The players who had gone out to work were returning to Outpost Base, carrying the spoils of the day.

Just as they were about to head to the North gate market to set up a stall, they were surprised to discover an NPC stall at the market entrance?

Aren't NPCs supposed to conduct business within the base?

Could it be that an increase in prosperity has triggered a hidden plotline?

In front of the stall, two NPCs dressed in beast skins with an exotic look, were sitting on the ground next to a basin of charcoal for warmth.

Both were young; the elder appeared to be in her early twenties, and her demeanor was steady and quiet. The younger one looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, with large eyes that blinked and looked around, filled with curiosity for everything here.

The two seemed to be sisters.

The firelight from the charcoal reflected on their wheatish cheeks, covering up any signs of malnourishment, giving them a rosy and glossy look.

Before them lay a camel hide, on which colorful stone jewelry, scrap parts, iron daggers, scabbards, holsters, and other trinkets were displayed, along with freshly slaughtered hyena meat.

And it was the prime cuts of leg meat and tenderloin.

Besides that, there was also freshly squeezed milk, stored in iron and aluminum containers; in short, the stall had all sorts of items.

Although the players didn't really lack game, they were still filled with curiosity about the NPC that had suddenly appeared in their trading market.

"Why is this NPC at our market?"

"So cute!"

"Hey Mole Old Brother, you get what I'm saying, right?"

"Dammit! All you guys think about is doujinshi, who'll be blamed when you get muted?"

"Uh, we didn't mention doujinshi yet."

"!!!"

"Tails thinks it looks huge!"

Chu Guang was also curious about what the locals were selling, so he walked up to a stall to take a look.

Seeing the Manager approaching, the players immediately cleared a path, eagerly waiting to trigger a storyline.

Chu Guang looked at the two and asked,

"What are your names?"

Just as the elder was about to speak, the younger one stretched out her arm, raising her hand with great enthusiasm to answer first.

"I'm Autumn Leaves!"

Chu Guang had a rough idea of the naming style of this tribe, figuring they probably named themselves after whatever they saw or whatever happened during their travels.

It was certainly more normal than Iron Axe.

"And your sister?"

"Autumn Grass!"

"Pfft."

Chu Guang almost couldn't help but burst into laughter.

But he managed to hold it in.

"...Nice names."

Observing the Manager's expressions covertly, the elder sister whispered,

"Sir, my little sister is still young and lacks discipline. If she has offended you... please punish me, and please don't be harsh on her."

"No, your sister is quite adorable."

After asking so many questions, it would seem stingy of him not to buy anything.

Chu Guang glanced over the items on the stall, where every commodity had a wooden tag next to it with Arabic numerals, clearly priced as per the rules he had established.

He taught them these numbers mainly for the players' understanding.

Good, these refugees were obedient.

They weren't as "evil" as they were rumored to be.

Laying down one silver coin, Chu Guang chose a smaller plastic bottle.

"Let's try the camel milk."

Autumn Leaves: "Ah, the camel milk is the bottle next to it—"

"It's fine, cow milk will do."

Having said that, Chu Guang carried the plastic bottle off to have it appraised by Crow.

The young girl wanted to follow and explain, but her sister, who had been silent and blushing throughout, held her back, shaking her head gently and whispering,

"We can't go beyond that gate, can't run around in the market, and can't talk back to that gentleman, understand?"

"Everything here belongs to him, and we give him whatever he wants."

Besides, he had rightfully paid.

Although the tone might be strict, but a benevolent ruler.

The young girl looked aggrieved.

She had only good intentions, yet still got scolded by her sister.

"Alright then."

She said so, but inside, she was still troubled.

That really wasn't camel milk...

The elder sister smiled tenderly and stroked her little sister's head.

"Good girl."

The players gathered around and were discussing the recent storyline with various takes, some wildly inaccurate, but they got a general idea.

Especially since they saw the Manager himself make a purchase, they followed suit one after another.

"I'll take a dagger set!"

"Which one is camel milk? I want camel milk! Eh? Is that how it's pronounced?"

"That one's sold out!"

"What's this fruit? It looks dark and nondescript, can you eat it?"

"Who cares, buy it and let Crow Boss try it, then we'll know."

Chapter 113: Bigger is Justice!

"Crow can be sure, this bottle of milk isn't poisoned!"

Staring at the plastic bottle for quite some time, Crow stroked her chin with a look of cunning intelligence and came to a firm conclusion.

Chu Guang nodded, taking back the bottle.

"Thanks."

Crow asked curiously.

"By the way, what kind of milk is this? Does it taste good?"

Chu Guang responded offhandedly.

"Probably cow's milk, want to try some?"

"Yes!"

As she spoke, Crow kept sneaking glances at the VM on her arm. She had heard from Teng Teng that there would be a prompt if she triggered a mission.

Strange, why isn't there any reaction?

Chu Guang, however, didn't notice her little scheme and simply poured some milk into the cap, handing it to Crow.

After carefully taking it, Crow brought it close to her nose and sniffed. Her face immediately took on an indescribable expression.

"This smells weird—is this really milk?"

"Maybe it's camel milk."

"?"

"What do you mean maybe?!"

Regardless, for the sake of affinity and hidden missions, Crow still pinched her nose and drank. It might very well be camel milk; the taste was hard to describe and certainly not delicious.

It felt familiar, but she couldn't remember when she might have had it before.

Seeing that she had no adverse reactions, Chu Guang walked away with relief.

Watching the Manager's figure leave, Crow stood still for a long while, not blinking until the figure disappeared at the gate.

Wait a minute, what about my mission reward?

Did he forget to give it again?

The surrounding players had been watching for some time, and as the Manager walked away, they immediately started making a commotion.

"Oh oh oh, what did I just see?"

"Spread the word, the Manager fed Crow milk!"

"It's being passed around, Crow fed the Manager milk!"

"What?! Crow Boss was by the Manager—"

"Are you dying?!"

With her anger level through the roof, Crow picked up a big mushroom and hurled it, and the player who got hit by the mushroom scooped it up and ran away.

...

Official website announcement:

"In recent days, our Outpost Base has welcomed a group of nomads from the Wasteland who, in admiration of civilization, have settled nearby. Please treat them kindly, as this will encourage more NPCs to join us. Remember, your every word and action will influence the world's opinion of you."

"Updated NPC settlement: Nomads"

Forum:

Debt Giant Eye: "666!"

WC There are mosquitoes: "The planners are awesome! (voice breaking)"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Where is Alpha0.6? We need Alpha0.6!!"

Elena: "Careful, at this rate, they'll slap a version number on you, and the next thing you know, the warm reminders you see now will become update announcements. (playful)"

Tomato and Egg Stir-fry: "A person can't, or at least shouldn't."

Gnome King Riches: "Bro, what was the situation when you went down to the dungeon yesterday, did you find anything in the department store?"

Elena: "Find anything, my ass. There was actually a Crawler in there, but thank goodness I reacted quickly. Fang Chang said there might be a shelter hidden there. We plan to spend some time and gnaw our way in."

Canyon Escaping Mole: "A shelter?!"

Elena: "Not one of those large-scale shelters, probably just a small survival facility or something, and it's very likely there was some kind of accident. Hard to say if anything's left inside, let's see."

Construction Kid with Bricks: "Occupying a supermarket at the beginning of the apocalypse makes sense."

Teng Teng: "Is there anyone who knows about textiles? My eyes are about to go blind. (dizzy)"

Night Ten: "The old guys on the forum only study intense stuff. Asking them to ponder this really puts them in a tough spot. (playful)"

...

Milk was placed in the fridge.

Returning to Shelter No. 404, Chu Guang first took a shower on Level B2, then went back to the residential hall on Level B1, sat in front of the computer, and began the work that a planner should do.

Today, the official website was as lively as ever.

The hottest post was still Brother Long Days Ahead's.

But this time it wasn't because of a guide; it was about a piece of equipment.

In a time when the average bank balance hasn't reached a hundred, bidding 200 silver coins for a bow was downright extravagant.

After all, in the early days, everyone was spending their money on weapons, bullets, and supplies; who could save up that much.

Fang Chang didn't let down the expectations of the forum bros, sharing his experience with using the mechanical composite bow and even giving his bow a saucy name—"Dawn."

"This 'Dawn' is all good, but the draw weight is just too heavy!"

"Especially the charged shots, ordinary wooden arrows can't handle it. When fully drawn, holding the switch on the bow body activates a motor that gears up the limbs, making it not too difficult to maintain. But the moment you release, I feel it's at least a hundred pounds! Fully charged, I reckon it could be two hundred! One arrow shot out and the Eaters' heads explode!"

WC There are mosquitoes: "Are you firing cannonballs or what?"

Gnome King Riches: "I'm crying with envy!"

Grandpa Ao: "Lol, 200 pounds and you make it sound like what. My ancestors were from the great steppes, a bow of 500 pounds was the standard, less than a thousand and you'd be ashamed to call yourself a man."

Elena: "Exactly, since bragging doesn't get taxed. (playful)"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "This equipment is too unbalanced, even fiercer than guns, shouldn't it be nerfed?!"

Seeing someone clamoring for a nerf, Fang Chang immediately panicked and explained.

"What's so unreasonable about this? The setting is the near future, is 200 pounds too much? Not at all! Ever played 'Graphics Card Crisis'? The compound bow in there even has electromagnetic acceleration!"

"And this thing really devours arrows, one quiver has only twenty, and the arrows launched with full charge can hardly be recovered. Unless I encounter tough big creatures, I usually don't dare use this move!"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "I suspect you are bloody showing off at Versailles! (flips table)"

Gnome King Riches: "Exactly! Versailles!"

Fang Chang: "..."

In the long run, spending 200 silver coins on this bow was definitely worth it because inflation would occur, but the equipment in Wasteland OL wouldn't.

The equipment officially produced by Shelter No. 404 would always be top-tier; awesome weapons would remain awesome even until the server shutdown.

Of course, this assumes that the weapon doesn't break and the equipment isn't lost.

The death penalty in this game was not as simple as just losing some contribution points; as everyone's equipment became more expensive, the cost of death increased with the potential loss of equipment.

This was particularly unfriendly to solo players.

Levels and experience could be saved, but not equipment.

If you're unfortunate enough to die without good pals to help recover your gear and VM, you'd have to turn to the forum for assistance or put a bounty out.

Aside from Brother Fang Chang showing off at Versailles, there were plenty of other discussions on the forum about internal combustion engines, steam engines, etc.

As for the cause, it was a help-seeking post made by Miss Teng Teng.

These old men didn't understand anything about textiles, nor did they care about the original poster's issue, they simply wanted a place to show off.

The topic quickly shifted from the Jenny spinning machine to the most advanced non-woven fabric and melt-blown technology.

It was tough for them, researching while trying to boast.

However, the thread occasionally still saw one or two real experts.

Given the current conditions at Outpost Base, building an internal combustion engine seemed rather difficult, especially since the steel mill was still working on seamless steel tubes.

To craft an internal combustion engine casing that could withstand continuous high-temperature and high-pressure gases, they'd at least need to unlock the cold rolling process.

But then again, who uses an internal combustion engine for weaving?

Sheer madness.

On the other hand, a steam engine was a rather good idea.

A continuously burning boiler would release energy more gently, demand less from material strength, and most importantly, wasn't picky about fuel.

Whether for generating electricity or for industrial production, it was a splendid idea.

Teng Teng diligently took notes and engaged in the forum, trying to get the derailed conversation back on track.

It seemed she was planning to replicate the ancient Jenny machine with a steam-powered spinning machine.

The players on the forum, whether they were combat professional players or lifestyle players, were all so excellent.

Looking at these thriving little plants, Chu Guang's heart filled with a father's joy.

Just wonderful.

…

Last night, snow had fallen all night long.

By the next morning, the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow.

Three elderly people, all in their forties or fifties and dressed in beast skin, hesitated at the east gate of Outpost Base, as if they wanted to come in but dared not approach too closely.

Sensing they had some matters to discuss, Chu Guang called them over.

"What are you doing here?"

Fearing they might offend the ruler, the old men timidly bowed their heads and said,

"My lord, we mean no harm, just wondering if there might be something we could help you with."

"We're looking for some work."

"We are old, unable to keep up with hunting, but we can still handle tasks like moving stuff, repairing houses, and darning things."

Looking for work, eh.

Chu Guang's heart stirred slightly, and he responded,

"The snow on the roads of Outpost needs clearing; I'll pay 2 silver coins a day for each person. If you want the job, go find Luka."

The warehouse and granary were handed over to newly trained warehouse managers, and Old Luka was their foreman, responsible for communication with other NPCs, including trade with the survivors on Bet Street, as well as conveying the "wills" of Outpost Base to the refugees.

His role was somewhat akin to a butler.

Upon hearing Chu Guang's words, the eyes of the three old men lit up instantly.

Two silver coins could be exchanged for two kilograms of tubers.

For three people together, that would be six kilograms of tubers!

Such low wages definitely wouldn't attract players who would rather have an "hourly wage" of at least 1 silver coin; anything less wouldn't be worth their efforts.

But to the refugees, these wages were already quite high.

"Thank you, my lord!"

"Thank you for your generosity!"

"Leave it to us!"

The warehouse had brooms made of wooden branches, as well as snow shovels and pushcarts for carting away the snow from the Outpost Base.

However, aside from wheelbarrows, these refugee workers didn't use the tools from the warehouse; instead, they brought their own from the village and started working energetically within the camp.

Chu Guang instructed Xiao Qi to keep an eye on them, then he walked off to the industrial area by himself.

When Chu Guang entered the industrial area, he noticed "WC There are mosquitoes" and "Game I need to use the bathroom" two young players, standing at the door of the Vine Cottage measuring with a ruler and gesturing to each other about something.

Out of curiosity, Chu Guang walked over and asked,

"What are you up to?"

Hearing the Manager's voice, they immediately stopped their work and excitedly explained,

"Respected Manager, we're designing a steam boiler!"

"That's right! It's new work we got for our steel factory!"

"It's also new work for Goblin Technology!"

Steam engines, huh.

It seemed like just a few hours ago, they were discussing this on the forum, and now they were already putting it to use.

Pretty efficient.

"How are you planning to do it? Burn wood?"

Player "Game I need to use the bathroom" replied, "Wood isn't powerful enough, we're planning to imitate the generator you bought and make a wood gasifier! While burning the boiler, the heat generated can be perfectly used to gasify the wood!"

"WC There are mosquitoes" added, "Actually, I initially planned to use biogas since our septic tank is filled with waste, but it's a bit hard to collect, and it seems the heat from the waste isn't enough during winter. We can only wait until next spring to research it further."

Chu Guang responded, "Hmm, think it over."

Spinning yarn and weaving by hand was too slow.

The Outpost Base didn't have enough manpower, and piles of Devil Moth's Cocoons were already turning into small hills outside the warehouse. If nothing went awry, another hill would soon accumulate.

If they could develop the textile industry before spring, not only would the players' defenses greatly improve, but the Outpost Base could also earn a substantial amount of "foreign exchange" from the trade of Devil Silk Cloth and use the earnings to develop more advanced industries.

Perfectly, the camp of refugees could provide female workers. Once the textile factory was set up at the east gate, that area could become the light industrial district.

Passing by the steel factory, Chu Guang saw "Brother Levin who suffers from foot odor."

This guy was not pondering steam engines with his best buddy but was instead rushing out of the factory with a red-hot "big iron pot" on a wheelbarrow and rolled it into a pile of snow.

With a "hiss," a cloud of white steam rose.

The red-hot iron pot cooled down instantly, and a large portion of the snow melted, turning into water steaming delicately.

"What's this?" Chu Guang curiously asked, watching Brother Levin scoop up snow and pour it over the big iron pot.

Laughing, Brother Levin turned around and said,

"107mm howitzer, sir!"

What?

Chu Guang stared at the object for a moment before he couldn't resist asking,

"...you're calling that a cannon?"

"It's sort of, even though it's only a barrel," Brother Levin chuckled and continued, "Pressing technology still needs a bit more time. We've nearly spent our budget, so we had to take on some new work to make do."

"Perfectly, Goblin Technology placed an order. Brother Mosquito said that bigger is better, and better means explosive. He asked us to make a cannon barrel big enough and thick enough. Even a cast iron barrel would do; he'll figure out how to file the rifling himself. If he can't, no big deal. I figured the job wasn't too hard, so I made one for him... hehe, it's a big order worth 200 Silver Coins."

Chu Guang didn't quite know how to comment at the moment.

But...

This thing should be more reliable than rockets, right?

Probably.

Chapter 114: Can Candy Be Used as a Reward?

South of Wetland Park.

Survivors from Bet Street were carrying a wild boar towards Outpost Base.

It was hard to hunt prey in winter, but if one explored the high-rise ruins along the Fifth Ring, with a bit of luck, one might still catch one or two kinds of game.

They usually dealt with small animals like squirrels and rabbits on their own, but for a large one like a wild boar, taking it to the town butcher would cost them thirty percent!

That was too uneconomical.

The Blue Jackets, asking for only twenty percent in compensation and never being vague about the weight, were worth the extra miles.

The boar was tied to a stick, with Yu Hu and Niu Li each shouldering one end, and a little one with red cheeks and ears from the cold trailing along.

Not many Variants wandered about in this weather, and Looters seldom left their strongholds. Little Fish insisted on coming, and Yu Hu couldn't say no to his sister, so he brought her along.

Though the weather was freezing, the thought of soon seeing Brother Chu lifted Little Fish's spirits, and she unconsciously began to hum a little tune she made up on the spot.

At that moment, the steps of her second brother and cousin suddenly halted.

Little Fish stopped too and blinked.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

Yu Hu gestured for silence and then looked at Niu Li, pointing ahead.

"Nomads."

Niu Li saw the figure in the distance but wasn't sure.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

Niu Li asked quietly.

"Why would Nomads be here?"

Yu Hu thought for a while but didn't understand and shook his head.

"I don't know, maybe Brother Chu kindly took them in."

Brother Chu was a good man, down-to-earth, just a bit too kind-hearted at times, making others worry that he might be deceived.

Honestly, every time they brought game to trade, Yu Hu felt guilty.

The salt bought from here was pure and he even received more than what Old Charlie gave.

He truly worried that he might incur losses.

Little Fish looked up at her second brother and cousin, blinking her big eyes in curiosity, not understanding their conversation.

She didn't know what Nomads were.

And she didn't find their presence here strange at all.

With Brother Chu being such a good man, surely many people would want to be his neighbors, right?

However, Yu Hu and Niu Li found the situation somewhat strange, which Little Fish saw as normal.

The lifestyle and cultural practices of these Nomads from afar were different from those of the settled survivors.

Because they had no fixed abodes, they hardly cared about their neighbors' opinions of them and seldom paid attention to whether their actions might be offensive.

Perhaps it was prejudice, but their ranks did indeed contain many thieves, deceivers, and scoundrels, and sometimes they carried dreadful plagues...

Yu Hu held back his sister until the person walked far enough away, then signaled to Niu Li to continue forward.

The group carefully avoided any contact with the migrants, showed their passes to the guards, and went straight into Outpost Base through the south gate.

The place had truly changed a lot since the last visit, different from before.

Yu Hu remembered clearly that when he last came, the road from the south gate to the warehouse was just a muddy track with nothing beside it.

But now, the road was coated with a layer of something grey and solid to step on, and red-brick houses had been built along both sides of the road.

Especially that largest house, with doors tightly shut and a chimney made of bricks on top, emitting black smoke.

Yu Hu had never seen such a strange building, nor had his sister or Niu Li, who all stared wide-eyed in curiosity.

"Brother, what's that?"

"That should be a chimney, I remember the town leader's building had one."

"A chimney? What's that for?"

"It seems to be for cooking? I think it's to vent the cooking smoke."

"But it's not time for meals yet."

"I don't know, maybe... it's a place where they cook for a lot of people."

Bet Street doesn't have such weird stuff anyway.

The curious expressions of the trio starkly contrasted with the Blue Jackets here, who seemed less curious about them than before.

Except for the newbies who had just come in, the players here were already familiar with these few, and whatever curiosity there was had already been satisfied.

They happened to run into Chu Guang, who was wandering around the industrial area.

Yu Hu's eyes immediately lit up, and he called out from a distance.

"Brother Chu."

"Eh, long time no see. Did you guys get some more game?" Seeing the wild boar that Yu Hu and Niu Li were carrying on their shoulders, a smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

Not bad.

Good food ahead!

The last batch of wild boar meat had been devoured by the players, and this time he had to save some for himself, so not all of it got bought by the players.

"Yeah! It's a big one!"

Little Fish happily gestured with her hands to indicate 'big,' and Chu Guang couldn't help but smile.

Yu Hu glanced at his sister and said in a deep voice.

"Little Fish has been missing you."

"Yeah! Little Fish has been missing you!"

"I've missed you guys too," Chu Guang said with a smile, ruffling Little Fish's head before looking at Yu Hu. "Are you living in that shack now?"

"Yeah," Yu Hu nodded, smiling embarrassedly. "I fixed up the shack a little bit. It's much more spacious now than before, thanks."

"Don't thank me, Little Fish gave it to you. Just be good to your sister," Chu Guang continued, "By the way, how have you been lately? Any harassment from Looters?"

"Looters? Haven't seen those folks around lately, we're all doing quite well, but you should be careful," Yu Hu's expression turned serious as he spoke earnestly, "I heard some of the elders say there's a group up north using a Blood Handprint as their flag. Some Hunters who went north to look for deer herds even got kidnapped... The ones who injured my brother and my father last time were them!"

Blood Handprint?

Is he talking about the Blood Hand Clan?

But they probably won't have the chance to do any harm anymore.

Chu Guang smiled faintly, nonchalantly saying.

"Don't worry, they won't be harassing you guys anymore."

Hearing this, Yu Hu and Niu Li's faces immediately showed surprise, while Little Fish was full of question marks, not understanding what the adults were talking about from start to finish.

However, speaking of the last incident, she did remember something.

"...Speaking of which, last time Little Fish saw two very fierce-looking men take away a very pretty sister from Bet Street."

Hearing Little Fish's interjection, Chu Guang was intrigued and asked,

"That sister, was she very fair? About... this tall?"

Chu Guang gestured, about up to his nose.

Little Fish frowned in thought, nodded seriously, and said with wide eyes,

"Yeah, yeah! Have you seen that big sister, Brother Chu?"

Don't mention having seen her...

His expression was somewhat intriguing.

Chu Guang thought for a while and ultimately used a tactful expression to lightly gloss over the topic that was still too heavy for her.

"That sister… yeah, I sent her away."

That person was indeed sent away by the old town leader.

Saying that, Chu Guang looked towards Yu Hu and Niu Li.

"Let's not talk about that for now. It's so cold outside. If you trust me, why don't you leave the wild boar with Old Luka to handle, and come inside to sit for a while?"

Yu Hu and Niu Li immediately nodded.

"Yeah!"

"Alright!"

...

Niu Li wasn't too familiar with Chu Guang, but Yu Hu knew him very well.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that, aside from his nearest and dearest, Brother Chu was the outsider he trusted most.

If it weren't for his help in times of danger, his own brother would have died on the sickbed a long time ago.

This is a life-saving grace.

Moreover, Yu Hu didn't believe that someone as good as Brother Chu would covet a few pieces of his meat. If Brother Chu really wanted it, he'd give it to him.

In Yu Hu's opinion, it was only right.

Chu Guang led the three of them to the main building of the sanatorium, where there was a room on the first floor that was quite spacious and draft-free, having been converted into a reception room by him.

There were some simple pieces of furniture in the room, all made by a few new lifestyle occupation players from the woodworking cabin.

Chu Guang lit up the charcoal and after settling the three guests, he went back to the shelter and took a bottle of alcohol and a bottle of milk from the fridge.

He gave the milk to Little Fish.

As for the alcohol, Chu Guang pulled Yu Hu and one other person to sit in front of the fire basin, handed each a small cup, and poured them each a drink.

It was not much, about 20ml.

"Try it."

Yu Hu leaned in to smell the cup and his eyes immediately lit up.

"Is this... alcohol?!"

Chu Guang said with a smile,

"It's brewed from Jerusalem artichoke, using knotweed as the yeast."

Niu Li also said with an admiring face,

"It smells so good!"

No, it should be said that it's too luxurious!

This damned cold winter, and there was still surplus grain to brew alcohol.

Yu Hu and Niu Li were extremely envious.

In past years, only during particularly bountiful years would the elders in their families use leftover grain from the previous year to brew some murky grain alcohol, saving it for special festivals or celebrations.

Especially since barley contained acid and couldn't be used to make alcohol, making alcohol required Jerusalem artichokes, or a type of fruit gathered from the wild.

But those fruits were only available in autumn and summer, ordinarily there was no chance at all.

To be able to drink a sip of alcohol that warmed the body in this weather was truly a rare treat.

"Hisss, so spicy!"

Yu Hu was still okay, as his tolerance seemed good, but Niu Li, despite looking robust, blushed like a monkey's butt after just one gulp.

Watching the young fellow sticking his tongue out from the spice, Chu Guang chuckled and said,

"The proof is a bit high, drink it slowly."

After all, it was a distilled liquor.

Variant potato version of vodka, it was normal for it to be fiery on the throat.

In fact, Chu Guang didn't brew alcohol for drinking purposes; the warehouse opened this order mainly for stockpiling medical alcohol.

But the players had been too considerate.

After a few adjustments to the death penalty, the severely injured players would conscientiously walk back on their own, then find a spot out of the way to patch themselves up.

The alcohol wasn't needed for major injuries, and there was no opportunity to use it for minor ones, only some wounds requiring stitching could take advantage of it.

Having had their first experience, the two young fellows were much more cautious and didn't drink as quickly. One sip of the alcohol, and their bodies, originally frozen stiff, instantly warmed up.

"Life here is too good," Yu Hu said enviously, looking at the rising flames from the fire basin.

"It will get even better," Chu Guang poured another small cup for the two and said with a smile, "You can come here often in the future, we need people here, not just for hunting, there are many things to do."

Yu Hu patted his chest and said,

"No problem! Brother Chu, just let me know if you need me!"

Niu Li also nodded along,

"Me too."

Chu Guang smiled,

"Don't worry, I won't let you help for nothing."

At this moment, sitting on the side, Little Fish who had been sipping the milk little by little, finally finished the bottle. Licking her lips with a look of longing, she wore an expression of immense satisfaction.

Yu Hu laughed and asked,

"Is it good?"

"Yep!" Little Fish nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling with little stars, and gave a big thumbs up, "It tastes like Mommy!"

Yu Hu: "?"

Niu Li: "?"

Chu Guang: "...?"

...

The butcher was quick at his work, and after sitting in the house for a while, Luka knocked and entered the guest room, respectfully reporting to Chu Guang.

"Sir, your guest's game has been processed."

Chu Guang nodded, looked towards the slightly tipsy pair, and said,

"Let's go, collect your game."

The group arrived at the warehouse.

Luka had already packed the meat into plastic bags for the two, handing them over to Yu Hu and Niu Li. As for the fur, as usual, it was exchanged for 300g of salt.

As for the trimmed off innards and bones, they were left in the plastic buckets to the side. The two had no intention of taking them and left them there.

Seeing her brothers were about to leave, Little Fish hesitated.

After a long thought, she gently tugged on Yu Hu's sleeve, signaling him to lower his head and come closer, then whispered something in his ear.

Upon hearing this, Yu Hu first froze, then vehemently shook his head like a rattle-drum, saying in a deep voice,

"How can that be okay? We've already caused enough trouble for Brother Chu!"

"But..."

"There are no buts, that won't do!"

Noticing that the siblings' discussion seemed to involve him, Chu Guang curiously glanced at them.

"What are you talking about?"

Seeing Chu Guang looking at him, Yu Hu appeared somewhat embarrassed, pondering how to broach the subject.

However, at this moment, his sister next to him mustered the courage and spoke up softly,

"Little Fish also wants to help Brother Chu just like her brother. After all... you don't need Little Fish to watch the house anymore, and you've given her so much candy."

"Candy?"

Yu Hu was taken aback and gave his sister a glare.

"When did you start eating other people's stuff? Didn't dad teach you not to just eat what is given to you by someone else?"

He only knew his sister seemed to have taken some plastic sticks, but he hadn't heard they were candies.

That stuff was much more valuable than salt!

Knowing she was "in the wrong," Little Fish's ears turned red under her older brother's glare. Unsure of what to say, she simply refused to speak, turning her neck away as if she hadn't heard.

Observing the siblings, Chu Guang said with a smile, "Your brother helping me, that can't really be considered help, we should call it... a trade? Or you can think of it as compensation."

Little Fish looked up, her eyes sparkling.

"Then, if Little Fish helps, will she also get a reward?"

"Of course..."

Little Fish's eyes shone even brighter.

"Then, can the reward be candy?"

Lollipops were something Chu Guang had plenty of, since they were the guaranteed reward from the beginner blind boxes, and even if they were eaten, he could always draw more.

Chu Guang simply hadn't thought that they'd come in handy in such a situation.

"If you want to help me, I do happen to have an important job for you, but... your home is so far from here, and it's quite a long walk to come over. Are you sure that's not a problem?"

Chu Guang looked towards Yu Hu.

He had expected the older brother to dissuade her on his behalf, but to his surprise, Yu Hu, who had just been shaking his head like a rattle-drum, suddenly switched sides on the spot.

"There's no problem at all, as long as it can help you! Brother Chu, if you don't mind, my sister can stay with you, saving the trouble of back and forth travel!"

Before Chu Guang could respond, Little Fish also excitedly nodded and raised her arm.

"Oh! Little Fish is already an adult, she can take care of herself!"

Niu Li didn't know what to say but felt he should offer a hand, so after thinking a while, he blurted out a sentence.

"I can help set up shelter... I'll go gather some stuff."

Chu Guang coughed to interrupt the thoughtless act of this fellow.

"...That won't be necessary."

Chapter 115 Version 0.6 Update!

Outpost Base's south gate entry.

Carrying a hefty wild boar carcass weighing dozens of kilograms and 300g of coarse salt, Yu Hu and Niu Li staggered out of the main gate.

Neither of them were good drinkers, having rarely the chance to drink, not quite two liang and already slightly tipsy, their footprints in the snow were somewhat askew.

But their heads were clear.

"Huzi, is this really okay?"

"You mean leaving Little Fish there?"

Niu Li nodded.

"Yeah."

Yu Hu frowned in thought, then shook his head.

"I don't know, but Brother Chu isn't a bad person."

Niu Li whispered,

"Little Fish is of age to get married, aren't you worried... about people on the street gossiping?"

"Who dares! If anyone dares, I'll beat them up!"

Yu Hu's eyes glared, but he soon realized that wasn't very realistic. After all, he only had his pair of fists, not enough to beat everyone.

Maybe just able to handle that little rat from the Wang Family.

"No worries, she's pretty good staying there, better not come back," Yu Hu swayed his head sobered by the north wind, muttering, "Anyway, staying with Brother Chu, she's definitely in a much better place than ours."

Niu Li nodded.

He agreed with that sentiment.

Even though he didn't know much about this Brother Chu, with so many in Blue Jackets working for just him, he must be some big-shot like the town mayor, at least.

Silent the whole way.

The two crossed the snowfields, passed through the ruins, skirted a pack of Hyenas gnawing on giant rats, and quietly reached the entrance to Bet Street.

The snow hadn't started falling yet, so the journey back wasn't too difficult.

Gatekeeper Walter, with a cigarette in his mouth and a hunting gun in hand, stood guard at the entrance, not even giving them a glance.

The two hurried through the main gate, planning to slip into the alley, but as they passed Old Charlie's general store, they were stopped by the old man himself.

"You two, wait a moment."

Yu Hu and Niu Li halted, exchanged glances, then looked over at Old Charlie.

"What is it?"

Old Charlie, the mayor's retired butler now running the general store, supplied many of the town's delicacies.

The survivors in town respected, or rather, feared the old butler, who could mingle easily with the merchants traveling from the south to the north.

After all, those traders never looked straight at them, but with Old Charlie, they would laugh and chat merrily.

However, respect was a thing of the past.

Since dealing with Brother Chu's people, Yu Hu increasingly felt that Old Charlie wasn't any good either, cut from the same cloth as the mayor; even with clearly priced goods, he'd skimp on the weight and always sold them subpar items.

As Brother Chu would put it, "He doesn't play by the rules."

Definitely not a good person.

Old Charlie glanced at the plastic bags in their hands, then at the snow on their shoulders, his nose twitching slightly before his muddy eyes narrowed.

"Did you go north?"

They shook their heads like rattle drums.

"No, no."

Even if they did, they wouldn't admit it.

What could he do?

"Don't head north, it's not safe there."

After staring at them for a while, Old Charlie took his gaze off them, said nothing more, waved his hand, and dismissed them.

At that moment, the eldest son of the Wang Family, Wang Biao, came through the door, carrying a Hyena cub on his shoulder, and slapped his catch on the wooden table beside him with great enthusiasm.

"Old Butler, I bagged some game, even a young one! Take a look, if the Mayor doesn't want it, I'll just take it over to the slaughter stand."

Although Old Charlie was no longer a butler, that's still what everyone called him.

Charlie glanced at the Hyena cub that lay dead on the table.

The meat of the Hyena had a strong gamey smell, which would turn foul if not processed in time, so survivors in the area applied crushed Red-Rib Smoke Leaf from Brown Farmstead to remove the smell with smoke.

Whether it was healthy was one thing, but it truly could cover up the stench.

Unlike adult Hyenas, the Hyena cubs were an exception; their meat was fresh and tender, especially the ribs from their legs—they were considered top-tier delicacies.

It was said that this was because they had been weaned not long ago and had consumed less carrion.

"Leave it there."

Old Charlie pulled open a drawer, took out four chips, and tossed them onto the table.

Wang Biao grabbed the chips with a delighted expression.

Four chips!

That's enough for four taels of gleaming salt!

Having no meat wasn't terrible; for an experienced hunter, as long as one had enough patience and attention to detail, one would always bag some game.

But without salt, that was a matter of life and death; without salt, one wouldn't have the energy, without energy, one couldn't bag any game, and without game, a family would starve.

Just as Wang Biao was about to leave, Charlie suddenly called out to him.

"Come back."

Wang Biao stopped in his tracks, turning with a simple smile to ask.

"Do you have any instructions, Old Butler?"

Charlie asked.

"You live next to the Yu Family, don't you?"

Wang Biao hurriedly nodded.

"Yes, we're not far from their house."

"Keep an eye on their youngest son for me, what's his name... Yu Hu? Anyway, if you see him heading north one day, follow him and see where he goes," Charlie pondered for a moment before continuing, "If you discover anything, you don't need to disturb him, just come back and report to me. The reward will be no less than the amount you're holding in your hands."

Wang Biao's heart rejoiced, clutching the chips even tighter.

"Don't worry! I'll definitely keep an eye out for you."

"Keep your voice down," Charlie scolded him, glancing left and right to see if anyone was there, then waved his hand to shoo him away, "Go on."

...

Yu Hu and Niu Li split the meat and salt between them and went back to their respective homes.

Yu Xiong was coming out of the house just as he saw Yu Hu returning alone. He was initially taken aback, then a whiff of alcohol that Yu Hu brought with him made his nose twitch instinctively.

"Have you been drinking?"

Yu Hu's face turned red, and he scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

"Uh, a little... but I didn't take advantage of anyone, ha! It was Brother Chu who insisted I drink, so I did."

Yu Xiong took a look behind him and didn't see anybody else nor the little footprints, which made him ask.

"Where's Little Fish?"

Yu Hu hemmed and hawed for quite a while before he said.

"She... uh, stayed behind."

Upon hearing this, Yu Xiong's eyes widened in shock.

"You left her there alone??"

Yu Hu hurriedly explained.

"It's not that I left her there, Little Fish herself said she wanted to help Brother Chu with work—so I put in a good word for her. Brother Chu is so nice, there won't be any problems!"

"What kind of work can Little Fish help with!?"

Yu Xiong simply didn't believe that nonsense.

He had tried Little Fish's pancakes once, and it nearly knocked his teeth out; in the end, he had to boil it into a mushy paste to finish eating it.

Yu Hu was anxious to explain, but unfortunately, he didn't really understand it himself; how could he explain it clearly?

"I, I, how would I know, why don't you ask Brother Chu? Come on, I'll accompany you there now."

Yu Xiong was torn between laughter and tears.

"No need, forget it, what's the point at this time of night? Sigh, you... how am I supposed to explain this to Dad later? Tell him you traded for some salt and left your sister there as alcohol?"

Yu Hu was about to cry.

"Don't say that, bro, Dad will kill me."

Yu Xiong shook his head and sighed.

"You figure it out, does this make any sense to you?"

Burying his head, Yu Hu muttered to himself.

"What's confusing about it? It's all good, isn't it? They even have food and make alcohol... Little Fish won't starve with them, right? Brother, if you're worried, I'll go there every day for the next few days. If Little Fish is mistreated, I'll bring her back immediately!"

Yu Xiong looked up to the sky and just sighed.

"Forget it, I won't say anything more, do as you please."

What more could he say at this point?

They would have to take it one step at a time.

...

Outpost Base.

Players in the square curiously examined the direction of the sanatorium, chattering and gossiping.

"Who's that little girl next to the Manager?"

"That's Yu Xiaoyu from Bet Street, an NPC. It says so on the official website. Old players understand, there have been a few stories about Bet Street before, it was even discussed on the forums, you should be able to find it if you look through the earlier posts."

"Damn! I'm new, I don't get it!"

"Did I miss a storyline or something?"

"Kali! Okay, not Kali... but it doesn't matter, she's so cute! I can't take it!"

"Demon Demon Spirit, huh? I think this person is not right, come and take him away. What? You can't intervene? I can step in!"

"I'll do the shooting!"

Shelter.

Level B1, Residents' Hall.

Xia Yan, who was sitting at a wooden table learning a foreign language, had been staring at Chu Guang straight ever since he came back from outside with Little Fish.

Seeing that she wasn't busy and had the leisure to moon over him, Chu Guang tossed two silver coins onto the table in front of her.

"Go to the market at the east gate and buy a pound of milk for me."

Little Fish had gone to Level B2 to take a bath, and although the players were very curious about this new little sister, with Xiao Qi by her side, he didn't need to worry too much.

All day today, Little Fish behaved well and did a great job, learning very quickly everything he taught her.

Especially that diligent and eager attitude, it's something a certain person really should learn from.

Chu Guang was never stingy in rewarding diligent, good kids, whether they were NPCs or players.

However, eating too much sugar was bad for the teeth; the best thing for growing a body was to drink some milk. Maybe it would even help her grow taller in time. Even if not taller, getting healthier was fine too; at least she shouldn't be so frail that a gust of wind could knock her down.

Speaking of which, after she officially started her job, he would have to order her a set of clothes with higher recognizability.

After all, her role was quite important.

It might even be more important than the weapons store and warehouse combined.

Looking at the two silver coins rolling and clinking on the table, Xia Yan's eyes widened, her gaze shifting back and forth between the coins and Chu Guang's face.

It seemed she couldn't believe it.

Finally, she couldn't hold back and said,

"You're asking a disabled person to run errands for you, you okay with that?"

Be a decent human being!

Chu Guang, who had just opened his computer to edit a document, glanced at her as if she were an idiot.

"I didn't ask you to go yourself, couldn't you have the players do it for you? How have I taught you? Open VM, select the task bar, click the edit button, and then make up some passable excuse... for instance, say you can't sleep without drinking milk every day. Choose someone to issue it to or post it on the public channel, either works."

"Got it, the Manager must drink milk at night to sleep... I'm, I'm, I'm wrong, it's me who wants to drink, it's me who wants to drink."

The moment Chu Guang looked over, Xia Yan instantly cowered, a dejected expression on her face as she pressed the backspace key, deleting the task she had just edited and changing it to what Chu Guang had forced her to write.

Very good.

Seeing Xia Yan behave, Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

It sure had its perks to be handsome; just one look and they get the idea, not even needing to speak a word to persuade her.

Actually, whatever Boss Xia wrote on the task panel didn't matter.

NPCs used VM to issue tasks in two ways, one was preset, point-to-point sending, which could be used outside of the refuge's signal range.

The other was personally edited tasks that had to be sent to the server first, approved by Xiao Qi, and then distributed to a player's device, or as a "Daily Task" or "Random Task" to the public task area visible to all players.

That meant as long as Chu Guang gave Xiao Qi the nod, no matter what Boss Xia wrote on the task panel, it would be corrected to what he wanted her to write.

"It's done... A player named Crow accepted it."

Crow, huh?

That's reassuring.

She would get a taste when it arrived.

"Okay."

Seeing Chu Guang drop a comment and then ignore her to continue hammering away at his computer, not even knowing what he was typing, made the incessant clicking noises even more annoying for Xia Yan, who couldn't concentrate on her book and finally couldn't help but ask.

"... so, what's the deal with that girl? Don't get me wrong, I'm just asking, even if you've stooped low enough to—"

Annoyed by the interruption, Chu Guang typed a typo, twitched his eyebrow, hit the backspace key, and replied dismissively.

"There's nothing going on, she's your roommate from now on."

"Wait a minute, roommate?" Xia Yan panicked and quickly said, "Aren't there still vacant rooms? Why do I have to be her roommate? I can't take care of someone."

Taking care of someone, alright.

We'll see who ends up needing care.

Chu Guang said offhandedly.

"I'm planning for you to teach her the everyday language of the players, the one in the book you're holding."

Xia Yan murmured.

"But, but I haven't even learned it myself..."

And if they live together, wouldn't that mean no privacy at all?

There are vacant rooms right next door.

Chu Guang took his hands off the keyboard, eyeing her with interest.

"It's fine, it's a good chance to learn together. Once you've taught her, I'll move her to the room next door. Let's hope that by the time she learns, you won't still be clueless."

The guy still acting so righteous.

After so long, she still hadn't learned to insult someone in beautiful Mandarin, just repeating those same two lines over and over, driving the forum's little players crazy.

"How is that possible!"

"Heh, we'll see about that."

Ignoring Boss Xia, who was making a fuss, Chu Guang turned his eyes back to the computer screen and typed the last few words and punctuation.

"... all that's left is copy-pasting."

Looking at his handiwork completed in less than half an hour, a joyful and pleased smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

Version 0.6!

Done!

Chapter 116: The First Bank in Wasteland OL Goes Live

Official Website:

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta Server alpha0.6 Version Update Announcement.]

[Major Updates:

1. The number of closed beta players has increased to 250.

2. New "Banking System" added!

3. VM updated the "Property" page!

]

[Optimization:

1. Added richer activity trails for the Nomads, Autumn Grass Autumn Leaf sisters' booth is getting busier.

2. Enhanced NPC individuality, if you anger Boss Xia, next time the items might be more expensive.

3. A richer variety of food, today's recommended recipes are milk stewed with mushrooms, and salt-grilled dried little fish.

4. Fixed a small number of bugs.

5. ...

]

[With the increase in player numbers, the Player Manual and User Covenant have been updated to version 4.0, including the new Treaty on Interactions with Refugees. Please check in time if you've obtained the closed beta qualification to avoid a poor gaming experience.]

[Current number of reservations: 2333 people]

...

Night Ten: "Let me see, who's part of the dark curtain this time? (joking)"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "The bank! The banking system is out!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Damn! How come I am not included again! T.T"

Outline Human Veggie Master: "I don't care! If I'm not there, it's a dark curtain!"

Grandpa Ao: "Haha, stop acting, robots. I won't make a reservation anyway, you could kill me and I still wouldn't reserve, haha, just forcefully deceiving, can't make a reservation at all."

Elena: "Dude, how would you know if you can't make a reservation without ever trying? Could it be... (joking)"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Wait, you guys aren't paying attention to the banking system? This update actually has a bank!!"

Old White: "...Isn't the in-game bank just a place to store money? What's there to be excited about."

Night Ten: "Exactly, what are you thinking? That you could get a loan or something? (joking)"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Uh, well, guess you're right, haha."

To say that it's simply a place to store money is not completely accurate.

In other games, such a feature would definitely be for the convenience of players, but in Wasteland OL, it's definitely for the convenience of Chu Guang.

The number of Silver Coins is limited, and now, on average, each player's storage locker is stuffed with fifty or sixty coins, which adds up to no small sum.

Especially for big dogs like Mosquito, who just ordered a cannon barrel and their funds went to the enterprise account of Shelter No. 81 Steel Factory, would now probably have two hundred coins saved up.

Plus, as money circulation at Outpost Base is getting higher and higher, not only are the players using their own issued money, but the nearby refugees are gradually accepting these Coins.

Recalling Coins is imperative.

And opening a bank is undoubtedly the best choice!

For players, being able to store money in a bank is surely going to be much more convenient than now. Death penalties in Wasteland OL include full drops, so many people need to make a trip back to the shelter to get money when they want to buy something, which is really troublesome.

Why not integrate the currency system into the VM, create personal accounts for each player, which not only makes it convenient for yourself to "print money", but also makes it easier for players to spend money.

Later, within the signal coverage of Outpost Base, transactions could be completed directly between two VM devices.

Moving straight into the era of mobile payment, isn't that wonderful?

As usual, after making the announcement, Chu Guang immediately updated the post he had just edited on the official website.

This update was quite significant.

It was necessary to have a good chat with his leek-followers.

Light: "Hello everyone, I'm your dearest planner! After slaughtering 12 siege engineers, the Outpost Base finally had enough food! So we specially recruited 50 little players into the game, let's give a round of applause for the Exalted Ones!"

"Let's put the Exalted Ones aside for a moment, after five days and nights of continuous meetings, the department finally made a decision to add a sub-page called 'Property' in VM."

"Through this page, as long as you are within the signal coverage of the Shelter, you can conveniently access a range of personal properties, including bank account balances, land, shops, stocks, etc."

"Of course, this also includes your equipment!"

"Yes, as more and more players join the server, I believe you are all good kids who abide by the rules, but to avoid unnecessary disputes, we've decided to introduce an equipment 'binding' service to maintain fairness and justice on a programming level!"

"Any equipment you feel is valuable can be photographed, scanned for registration at the Manager's Assistant NPC, and you can fill in the record price yourself. Once the scan is complete, the equipment will be bound to your personal account and registered on VM's 'Property' page in both image and text format. The service fee is a minimum of 1 Silver Coin, and for a record price over 100 Silver, it is charged at 1%."

"Equipment that is bound will be protected by the Shelter's legal system, and even if it is picked up by other players, they cannot change the ownership of the equipment. If the equipment is unfortunately lost due to death or other reasons, players need only pay 10% of the 'registration record price' as a security deposit to claim ownership of the equipment. The player who picks up the equipment must return it to the Shelter within a time limit, and at the same time, the returner will receive the 'security deposit' paid by the owner as a reward."

"If the latter refuses to return the equipment, or even maliciously abandons or damages it, they will be punished for theft, destruction of personal property crime, in accordance with the rules within the game and the Player Manual. In addition, depending on the situation, the equipment owner can also set an additional bounty and provide more details including the location where it was lost, to issue a bounty quest for the equipment, seeking help from other players."

"Remember, rules only constrain the moral baseline, even for unbound equipment, we do not recommend that you take other people's equipment as your own. Your actions will influence others' evaluations, and a noble character shines brightly in both the real world and the virtual. Do not lose much for something small."

"Additionally, based on suggestions from the players, we are developing a 'Social Credit Score' system on top of the existing social functions. Players with high credit scores will be more likely to trigger high-quality quests and get a better gaming experience. At present, the system is running as a hidden parameter for trial, and it is expected to be displayed on your personal homepage after the closed beta phase."

"In short! The biggest change affecting everyone this time is that you can now make direct payments using VM! No more having to worry about counting money!"

"To facilitate the newly developed Banking System, we've arranged for a special NPC to serve as the first bank president of Shelter No. 404!"

"Wish you all a happy gaming! I'm off to work overtime."

The post went live and immediately skyrocketed in popularity, breaking a hundred replies after a few refreshes.

All the good names have been taken by dogs: "Wait a minute, who exactly is this special NPC?!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Planner big brother, don't go!"

Night Ten: "Cold shivers! Ah Guang is keeping us in suspense again!"

There are really mosquitoes in WC: "Damn it! Can we see this in the game now?"

Fang Chang: "I don't think so, it's still nighttime in the game, other than the NPCs managing the warehouses and food stores, who else would be on duty?"

Without replying to the individual posts, Chu Guang closed the Forum and casually started a game of Napoleon: Total War.

But after not many turns, Chu Guang got bored.

Mainly because it lacked immersion.

"Tsk, these lobster soldiers, how wimpy can they get?"

"Face them head-on, one volley, a flank charge, and their flag turns white. Get face-to-face, then fix bayonets and stab! Why run, der?"

"Sigh, rubbish, I'm not playing anymore."

Compared to his own players, they're just trash!

After closing the game, Chu Guang thought maybe he should download a mod that boosts morale?

That might feel more immersive.

...

After closing Napoleon: Total War, Chu Guang ended up opening Stars again, and after maxing out technology, he started to idle and unintentionally watched the sea all night long.

Chu Guang dozed off in the middle, and by the time he came to, the fallen underlings he had carelessly let out had been devoured by his xenophobic vassals.

Glancing at the time, wow, it was already morning!

If he slept now, when he got up, he could go to the North Gate to browse the players' market.

Chu Guang suddenly realized it wasn't just Boss Xia who had become complacent. Ever since the downfall of the Blood Hand Clan, he had been living too comfortably, making him a bit lax.

This wouldn't do.

He still hadn't finished clearing out the Mutant tribe on Street No. 76, the harsh winter had just begun, and after the winter ended, there were even more severe challenges waiting.

Reinvigorated, Chu Guang put on the Exoskeleton, slung the hammer behind his back, and stretched his stiff bones and muscles.

Today was Little Fish's first official day on the job!

Even if she needed to catch up on some sleep, it would have to wait.

Chu Guang mustered up his energy and headed for the elevator.

And as he stood on the elevator heading to the surface, a crowd of players had already densely gathered in front of the main entrance of the sanatorium.

"Is this the bank?"

"The official website said it was here."

"Why are there no NPCs?"

"I guess it's not time yet!"

The bank of the Outpost Base was at the end of the first-floor corridor of the sanatorium.

Since the bank was still in its trial operation phase, the land had just been marked on the map and the foundation work hadn't even started, so they temporarily borrowed an empty room on the first floor of the sanatorium as a storefront, which admittedly looked a bit rough around the edges.

The only furniture here was a table and a chair, and a wooden sign hung at the entrance—with the word "Bank" written on it in big characters.

Players surrounded the place with faces full of curiosity and excitement, whispering to their teammates from time to time.

At that moment, a slim figure squeezed through the crowd and under the watchful eyes of everyone, walked over to the table at the bank's entrance and took a seat.

With so many eyes on her, Little Fish's heart felt like a deer had run into it, thumping uncontrollably.

But thinking about how she could finally help Brother Chu, she took a deep breath and silently cheered herself on in her heart.

Come on, Little Fish!

You can definitely do it!

Recalling the lines she had memorized the night before, she bravely lifted her head.

"Bank, bank!"

"We're open now..."

Perhaps it was her unfamiliarity with the players' language, or perhaps it was just sheer nervousness.

Little Fish, straining with all her might, accidentally set the tone too high for the first two words, which climbed to the ceiling. As a result, her voice faded more and more like a deflating balloon, until it was completely a mosquito's buzz at the end.

Her face turned red as if scalded by boiling water.

Seeing the atmosphere seemingly "cooling down," she desperately wanted to recover the situation but in her panic, she forgot her lines and even bit her tongue, the pain almost bringing her to tears.

Ashamed and wishing she could just disappear into a crack in the ground, Little Fish held back the tears and the pain, and ultimately completed her task with determination.

"Do you want, want to deposit money?"

For a moment, Little Fish felt that she had let down Brother Chu's expectations, as well as the sacred and honorable profession.

Oh...

So embarrassing!

However, Little Fish, whose face was red as an apple, didn't realize that her two-sentence introduction had unexpectedly made the atmosphere at the scene explode with excitement.

"Ah ah ah ah, so cute!"

"Ah Weh is dead!"

"Not good! The tail's HP is depleted!"

"Let me ask, is this a nurturing game? The official site said it was a nurturing game, right? When will card drawing be available? I'm gonna whale!"

"Can I deposit RMB!! Don't stop me; I want to go ALL IN!" (Voice cracks)

"Hey, hey, little sister, do you like mushrooms? Wait for tonight, your sister will treat you to mushroom soup! So slurpy, so fragrant!"

"Danger! Go tell Teng Teng, Crow Boss is about to be stolen by Little Fish!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Who's going to manage her!"

Confused by the players surrounding her, Little Fish blinked her eyes.

With only a few sentences learned, she couldn't understand what they were saying, and her VM did not translate that indistinguishable chatter.

However, the eyes are the windows to the soul.

Looking into their eyes, they must have recognized her, right?

With that thought, the little girl's confidence was reignited, and the despair from forgetting her lines was replaced with boundless energy.

Go Little Fish!

She couldn't let down Brother Chu—or the "players'" expectations!

"If you'd like to make a deposit, please line up."

"Please leave your coins with Little Fish before you head out on an adventure. She will take good care of them for you!"

"Be careful out there!"

Players orderly queued up, placing their silver coins on the table.

Little Fish, now getting into the swing of things, meticulously counted the silver coins and copper coins on the table.

She carefully counted each coin twice, then sorted them into a box next to her, and used a VM device dedicated to work to deposit the amounts into the players' accounts.

Bank work gradually got on track. Chu Guang, who had been observing from the sidelines, finally nodded in satisfaction.

Not bad.

It seemed his decision was the right one.

At first, Chu Guang had planned to appoint Old Luka as the bank manager, but Old Luka was only good at stocktaking and was honest enough. However, dealing with numbers, which taxed the brain, was somewhat challenging for him.

Moreover, Old Luka had more important tasks at hand.

Rather than reclaiming silver coins from players, Chu Guang needed a loyal servant to help him manage the other servants. For that role, only Old Luka, who came from a serf background, was most suitable. Nobody else would do.

After much consideration, the best person for bank manager really was Little Fish.

A game bank manager was different from one in the real world; in the game context, the role was more akin to customer service or a teller.

Diligence, stubbornness, honesty, and keeping promises were all virtues of Little Fish, and these could be seen with one's own eyes.

In addition, she herself was hardworking and smart enough to have learned Arabic numerals and basic arithmetic in just one day, and memorized lines before bed.

Such efficiency would be enough to make a certain weapon shop owner feel ashamed!

And most importantly, Little Fish's presence easily earned favorable impressions from the players. Those bright, clear eyes like morning dew could even make silver coins pale in comparison.

If Little Fish were to be the bank manager, Chu Guang believed the players would surely work even harder and willingly hand over their hard-earned silver coins.

Well, when you have your Little Kali as the manager, surely you wouldn't keep harping on about street lamps, right?

Could you bear it?

Wouldn't your conscience hurt?

Would it be okay not to call out "Daddy Developer"?

It was hard to argue with that logic.

Finally, glancing at the long line stretching from the bank door to the outside of the infirmary, Chu Guang turned and left with satisfaction.

At the same time, not far from the infirmary, at the weapon shop.

Its doors had been open for a while, but thus far, not a single customer had come.

Xia Yan sat at the entrance of the weapon shop, bored, occasionally glancing toward the bank. When someone finally came out and headed towards the southern industrial zone, she couldn't help but yawn. Boss Xia picked up her tools, smoothed out the dented copper skins, fitted them into the molds, hammered them into shape, and filled in the primer.

She had the nagging feeling that she had fallen out of favor.

"How odd."

No one had come to bother her all day.

She wasn't even sleepy anymore.

-

(Thanks to "marttty" for the Lord tier reward!!!)

Chapter 117: Hoping Our Neighbors Can Feed Those Jackals

Outside Outpost Base, snowflakes were fluttering about.

At the southern gate, Yu Hu, clad in furs, braved the heavy snow, hastening from the direction of Bet Street.

Upon his arrival at Outpost Base, Yu Hu had intended to find Chu Guang, but instead came upon the long queue formed in front of the sanatorium.

Drawing nearer, he saw his little sister seated at a small wooden table.

Her young face was the picture of concentration.

She extended her small hand, taking silver coins from those in line wearing blue jackets, meticulously counting them several times before tapping a few times on a screen.

"In total, 41 coins!"

Lifting her head, she looked at the player in front of the counter, her face breaking into a sweet smile.

"Thank you! Be safe on your adventures, okay."

"Wuwuwu... Dammit, Si Si! Lend me money! I need to deposit more!"

Si Si, who was standing behind, was rubbing her forehead with a headache, tugging at the sleeve that had a tail.

"Alright, alright, Ah Wei, stop embarrassing yourself here. You're blocking the people behind."

"Don't you think she's adorable! You heartless woman!"

"Adorable, adorable, tsk. Speaking of which, the caravan to Greenhouse Ruins is about to leave. Are you still going or not?"

"Going! Dammit, why do I have to work during the day, and at night too! What happened to the chill game? Can't I spend a little more time with something cute!"

"I'm sorry for not being cute enough. Enough chit-chat, leveling up and earning money to buy gear is important. Let's go. If you keep dawdling, the old brother behind is going to start a fight."

Still grumbling, the tailed Si Si was dragged away.

Just then, a large white bear emerged from behind, sneakily standing in front of the counter, its hands somewhat apprehensively resting on the door frame.

Seeing the big bear, Little Fish was slightly taken aback but not frightened, quickly revealing a sweet smile on her face.

"Would you like to make a deposit?"

Covered in fur so you couldn't see it blush, the bear awkwardly fumbled out a coin purse, upending its contents onto the table.

"I-I-I, I give it all to you!"

Watching the big white bear throw down the money and walk away, Little Fish quickly said,

"Ah, wait, wait a minute, your ID, please."

"It's all yours!!"

In the end, thanks to Xiao Qi's help, Little Fish managed to find out the white bear's ID.

After carefully counting the coins on the table, Little Fish logged the amount on the VM, just as Chu Guang had taught her to do.

Yu Hu didn't understand, nor could he make sense of what those blue jackets were saying, but it seemed they weren't giving his sister a hard time.

It was just that when the white bear had bolted out, he instinctively flinched, and if it hadn't been for the lack of reaction from those around him, he nearly drew his bow and arrow to shoot.

At that moment, Chu Guang walked over and said with a smile,

"Aren't you going to say hello?"

"No need, I'm just passing through. Better not to disturb her work," Yu Hu said in his good-natured manner, scratching his head, "I had no idea Little Fish was so competent. Last night, I was still worrying, afraid she'd cause you trouble."

Chu Guang replied with a smile.

"Trouble? Your sister is very smart, and she learns quickly. She just hasn't had anyone to teach her many things."

Yu Hu sighed and said,

"Dad and my brother have to go out hunting most of the time, so we can't really teach her anything. Mom taught her how to make pancakes, but she was never very good at it. Last night, I was still worried that she might mess things up. That's why I came over first thing in the morning — I thought that if she did cause trouble, I'd take her back no matter what. But now, seeing her... Well, Little Fish is definitely better off with you than with us."

"You can't say that," Chu Guang shook his head, "you should still come to see her often. Even the warmest quilt isn't as good as being with one's family."

A warm quilt?

Was their relationship progressing that fast?

Yu Hu was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"You're right... Well, I'll be going then."

Chu Guang said politely.

"Are you in such a hurry to go back? Stay for lunch before you leave."

"No, no," Yu Hu shook his head repeatedly, waving his hand as he spoke, "I won't disturb you here; I still need to go hunting. You go ahead with your business, I'm just going to head back now."

Chu Guang did not insist, simply nodded.

"Be careful on your way."

...

Leaving through the north gate, Yu Hu felt very good, even though it was snowing, he felt warm, even more comfortable than if he had drunk alcohol.

But just then, he saw a large covered cart filled with bricks with a person standing alongside.

The man looked somewhat familiar.

As Yu Hu walked closer to take a look, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Zhao Mouse?!"

"Yu Hu?!"

"Wait, weren't you dead? I saw that your family even held a funeral."

Yu Hu was still the same old inarticulate person, but Zhao Mouse, now bumping into an old acquaintance, was too emotional to care about such matters. His eyes brimmed with tears.

"Brother, I nearly died! Luckily these Blue Jackets saved me!"

In about five minutes, Zhao Mouse told Yu Hu about his experiences over the past month, from being captured while hunting by the Looters, to when this group of Blue Jackets broke through the Blood Hand Clan's stronghold and placed him and others at the brick factory by the river.

Although instinct told him something was fishy about getting caught by the Looters, Yu Hu's mind couldn't figure out the complexities and soon shifted his focus elsewhere.

"...So you mean, you are now working for Brother Chu?"

Zhao Mouse paused before replying.

"Brother Chu? You mean the Manager? Anyway, working here is quite comfortable. They provide food and lodging, there's meat at every meal, firewood and coal for heating, and now they even pay 1 Silver Coin a day. The work is to make bricks using molds, then fire them in the kiln, and bring back the fired bricks. It's not that tiring."

Yu Hu nodded, then asked.

"Then you aren't planning to go back?"

A complex expression crossed Zhao Mouse's face.

"Go back? Where would I go back to? Only my parents, my elder brother, and his two kids are left at home. The little food that remained would barely get them through the winter. If I went back now, it surely wouldn't be enough. Let's talk about it after spring comes next year... We'll see when the time comes."

As he was speaking, Zhao Mouse suddenly remembered something. He said, "Hold on for me," and then turned and ran into the gate.

In a short while, he returned with a small bag of coarse salt, weighing about three or four ounces, and stuffed it into Yu Hu's hand.

"This is what I exchanged with my wages. Take it back for my mother. Just say... I'm doing well and tell them not to worry! I'll go see them next spring! And Yang Ergou, he's alive too... but he's busy right now. You decide if you want to tell his family or not."

Taking the salt, Yu Hu nodded seriously.

"Rest assured, I will definitely pass on your message!"

Yu Hu retraced his steps.

However, just as he was passing the south gate of the Wetland Park, he suddenly noticed a set of footprints not far from his own that didn't belong to him.

The footprints were shallow and seemed to have been made some time ago.

As a hunter's instinct kicked in, Yu Hu squatted down, rubbed his forefinger over the print, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Whose footprints are these?

...

Bet Street.

Rushing through the door, Wang Biao headed straight to Old Charlie's grocery store.

"Old Butler!"

Charlie, who was sitting at the door resting with his eyes closed, opened half an eye and instantly understood when he saw Wang Biao. He stood up from his chair.

"Come in and talk."

The door curtain was drawn.

Wang Biao, with a look of excitement and without even catching his breath, started gesticulating as he reported to the old butler everything he had seen and heard following Yu Hu.

Charlie's frown deepened the more he listened.

"You're saying... a survivor settlement has appeared in Linghu Wetland Park?"

Wang Biao nodded fiercely.

"Yes! There are Blue Jackets and some refugees whose origin we don't know... I suspect they came from the north. They've built enclosing walls in the forest, dug ditches, and set up roadblocks. I couldn't see inside the encampment, but there's a chimney that's always emitting smoke."

"From the north?"

Charlie's frown deepened.

The north was the territory of the Blood Hand Clan, and there seemed to be a Mutant tribe not too far away.

What was the difference between establishing a settlement there and offering up heads as tribute?

And...

Those Looters were the kind who'd devour people without spitting out their bones—how could they have let them in?

Wang Biao, however, didn't care about all that and only busied himself with shouting excitedly.

"Old Butler, that young brat from the Yu Family has broken the rules; we should quickly catch him!"

He had long harbored discontent with the Yu Family.

Especially since Yu Hu had beaten up his younger brother. And that foreigner's shack too—they didn't even leave them a door frame; they took everything for themselves and had the cheek to say it was a gift, truly shameless.

Wang Biao's calculations were loud and clear; according to the rules of Bet Street, anyone who traded privately with outside Commercial Teams would be seen as a betrayal. The minor punishment would be a fine of one beast skin; the major one would be confiscation of property and expulsion.

Whether those people counted as a Commercial Team didn't matter; what he cared about was the shack Yu Hu was living in. If he could get him expelled, his family could just take over that foreigner's shack.

However, Old Charlie was a man of experience and naturally wouldn't be as short-sighted as him.

Blue Jackets, huh...

He had once been one, although that was a very, very long time ago.

After a long contemplation, Charlie said cautiously,

"This matter isn't urgent, remember not to act rashly; I will report the situation to the mayor first before making a decision."

Wang Biao was stunned.

What else was there to ask for?

Just raid the place and that would be the end of it.

As long as the mayor gave the order, the Wang Family would respond first.

However, the old butler didn't bother with further conversation.

Tossing four white chips into his hand, Old Charlie chased him out of the grocery store, locked the door, and hurried toward the center of the town.

...

The mayor's family lived in an ancient castle in the center of Bet Street.

This castle, originally built for entertainment purposes, had now become a symbol of the pinnacle of the pyramid.

Inside the castle lived the rulers of this small town; servants, guards, and direct relatives lived in the brick and wood houses nearby, while further out lay dilapidated shanties.

After asking the guard at the entrance for permission and going through a simple body search, Charlie was allowed to enter.

As he stepped into the grand hall on the first floor, he happened to see two adorable children playing soccer in the great hall of the castle.

Their clothes, made of deer skin, matched the ball they were kicking; their clean faces and carefree smiles were something the children outside didn't possess.

Noticing Charlie at the entrance, the slightly older boy with brown curly hair picked up the ball from the ground.

"Charlie? You're back? Want to join us for soccer?"

"Sorry, respected young master, I'm afraid I can't accompany you to play... I am here to see your father."

A touch of disappointment crossed the boy's face as he spoke impatiently.

"Go on, he's in the study."

Charlie respectfully bowed his head.

Circling around the children's playing area, he was led by a servant to the elevator and rode it to the top floor.

As the elevator doors opened, a warm breeze greeted him.

In the fireplace directly opposite, the fire burned and the wood crackled.

"I know the way."

Nodding to the servant, Charlie passed through the door on the left and arrived in front of a double door that was two persons tall.

This is the town mayor's study room.

Within the study, rows of bookshelves were lined up, and on them were novels, poetry collections, and some odd curiosities that scavengers had picked up from outside.

Sitting in front of an antique wooden table, the mayor leisurely sipped his tea. The intermittent sounds coming from the radio on the table were from his favorite post-war music by the Red-tailed Thrush Band.

Among the larger radio stations in Giant Stone City, there was one that could be heard even in the distant "North Suburb" of Qingquan City.

Every evening from six to seven, the station repeatedly broadcast the day's closing prices for trade commodities. From seven to ten, they offered planting tips for scarce "economic crops" like Cam Trees and Spirit Leaves, interspersing the segments with ads from arms dealers and clone traffickers.

As for the rest of the time, it was replays of pre-war popular music, which was also the old mayor's preferred program, as it allowed him to briefly forget these troubled times.

Even to the ears of a real "pre-war person," this was all just old-fashioned amusement.

Quietly waiting for the song to finish, Charlie approached the desk, respectfully bowing his head.

"Sir, I have urgent news to report to you."

The mayor glanced up, responding indifferently,

"What is it?"

In his view, urgent news from Old Charlie could only be about some new trouble ignited by those roaches living in the shacks outside.

To him, those people were like weeds that would sprout up in batches after a while; he never cared about their welfare.

Old Charlie continued with his head lowered.

"To the north, in Linghu Wetland Park, a survivor settlement has emerged, with a population of over a hundred... perhaps even more."

"Linghu Wetland Park? A survivor settlement?! How's that possible!"

Placing his teacup heavily on the table, the mayor sat up straight, staring at Charlie who stood before the desk, "Is this information accurate?"

"It should be correct."

Charlie nodded solemnly, continuing his respectful tone,

"They are not to be underestimated. Some hunters have been taking their game directly to them, exchanging it for salt and meat to bring back. And it seems their terms are more generous than ours. I'm worried that if this continues, it will damage your interests... I suggest that we make contact with those people proactively and adjust the price of salt accordingly."

The mayor's expression went from cloudy to clear as he tapped his index finger lightly on the desk, apparently weighing his options.

After a moment,
he felt a slight urge, pulled open a drawer, took out an envelope with the Blood Handprint, and a blank piece of paper.

After writing a few lines with his pen, the mayor stuffed the paper into the envelope and tossed it into Charlie's hands,

"Find someone brave, meticulous, and trustworthy to deliver this letter to Blood Hand."

Gazing at the envelope in his hands, Charlie was slightly taken aback.

"Are you planning to...?"

The mayor said expressionlessly,

"This winter will be very cold. If nothing unexpected happens, Blood Hand will come again next month."

Just the thought of those insatiably greedy villains made him clench his teeth in anger. However, there was no helping it; his guards combined were no match for them.

Charlie hesitated, and after a moment of deliberation, he cautiously reminded,

"This may not be the best idea. Besides, I don't think Blood Hand is unaware of them and needs us to point them out—"

"There is no doubt this is the best idea, unless you can come up with a better one?" the mayor said impatiently, waving his hand, then added, "We don't have enough surplus in our granary to feed them, and if you can't produce the food, you have to provide people. You know what happens to those taken by the Looters, don't you? Think of those broken families. I'm doing this for the good of the townspeople."

At this point, he suddenly seemed to care for the town's people.

Picking up his teacup again, the mayor looked at the silent Old Charlie, took a sip of the warm tea, and slowly began,

"The weather's getting worse every day."

"Let's pray that our neighbors can satiate those wolves."

Charlie bowed his head in respect,

"I will follow your orders."

The mayor nodded, pleased,

"Go now... Oh, and when you get back, tell those troublemakers to gather more firewood and try to dry it out better. Damp wood pops and crackles when it burns, and it's noisy."

With his head bowed, Charlie left the study with the envelope in hand.

"Yes, sir."

Chapter 118: The Shelter beneath the Department Store Building

The next day.

Rhombus Lake's eastern shore.

"Get ready!"

A loud and sharp voice echoed around the edge of the woods.

"Fire!"

The fuse was ignited.

Set up on a wooden stump, a large iron pipe burst into flames and white smoke. The shell turned into a dark shadow as it traced a beautiful parabola through the air and heavily smashed into the lake hundreds of meters away.

After a short wait, a column of water shot skyward, the spray scattering in all directions, accompanied by a muffled boom like spring thunder, rolling across the lake surface.

"Damn!"

"Who the hell is setting off explosives over there!"

"Damn mosquitoes!"

"My fish have all been scared away!"

The fishermen, who were bragging and chatting along the lake shore, launched into a tirade of curses. However, Mosquito, caught in his excitement, couldn't hear them.

Ever since he had figured out how to produce nitric and sulfuric acids, his little workshop had been able to produce small amounts of nitroglycerin, and with some added plant fibers, he could even manufacture some nitrocellulose. With the solution of ethanol and ether, he could dissolve and gel it into quite a useful jelly-like explosive.

Though he still hadn't unlocked the drying technology to granulate it into a solid form, it was already much stronger than the old black powder!

This shot alone must have been equivalent to at least 30 kg—maybe even 50 kg—of black powder!

"Hahahaha, nice! I finally did it!"

Mosquito, elated, threw a punch in excitement, hitting a tree trunk instead. It didn't hurt, but he almost broke his hand.

It was a pity that sugar was in such short supply at the warehouse; so valuable it was nearly too expensive to eat, or else he could craft something even more badass using sugar and potassium fertilizer.

One shot wasn't enough.

Using fire tongs, Mosquito removed the scalding shell and loaded another one, adjusting back to the previous angle to light the fuse.

Another thunderous boom followed.

This shell flew even further than the last, an extra hundred meters forward.

The explosion reverberated across the lake.

Nomads, coming to the lakeside to fetch water, were startled by the thunderous noise and stood frozen, staring at the water column shooting up from the lake.

"What, what is that?"

"A big gun?!"

"It should, it should be called a cannon… I've seen them at larger survivor bases, where they use these cannons against large Variants."

"The power is so immense, no wonder they can hunt Crack Claw Crabs!"

Unlike the amazed and admiring nomads, the fishermen could no longer contain their anger and, gripping their rods, stormed over from the lakeside.

"Shit!"

"Can't you set off your explosives somewhere else?"

"You've scared all my fish away!"

"Exactly! It's already damn hard to catch fish in this game, and now it's even harder!"

Seeing the fishermen, led by "Less Bullshit," marching towards him with furious momentum, Mosquito quickly pushed his little cannon cart and ran away in a cloud of smoke.

...

Elsewhere.

Near the south side of the abandoned tire factory, inside a department store.

Five players were fiercely battling with the Variants that roamed the B2 level of the underground parking lot.

The radioactive source was located behind the door next to the B1 section elevator in the underground parking lot. This was their Nth time running this instance.

After several rounds of pulling, luring, charging, and focus firing, the Bull-Moose squad gradually wiped out the Eaters that Elena had drawn out and successfully trapped the "instance boss"—the Crawler—using a pre-laid trap.

Cooperating with his teammates, Fang Chang pulled back Dawn and, with a full-force shot, shot an arrow straight through the Crawler's skull, successfully killing it.

Leaning against a concrete pillar, Night Ten took a deep breath, threw away his rolled-up machete, lifted his arm to wipe off some sweat, and cursed under his breath.

"Fuck! Finally cleared it! This Game shouldn't respawn after we clear it, right? Hope a bunch doesn't pop up again."

Old White and Wild Wind glared at him.

"Don't jinx it!"

"Shut your mouth."

Night Ten shrank his neck and closed his mouth.

"It shouldn't respawn, if it does a few more times, we might go bankrupt." Fang Chang walked into the Crawler, pulled out the arrow stuck in its forehead, gave it a glance, and threw it away.

It was clearly unusable now.

"Are you guys sure there won't be any more creatures down here?" Elena, supporting herself against the wall, asked with a subtle expression as she walked over.

Night Ten chuckled at him, "Bro, don't be scared, it's all clear now."

Wild Wind gave a thumbs up, "Waiting on your word."

Elena: "Fuck! Aren't you guys scared?"

Old White matter-of-factly said, "What's there to be scared of, it's not a horror game."

Elena: "..."

That made sense.

He didn't even know how to argue.

After dawdling at the door for a while, Elena eventually went in with a crowbar and Dynamite for breaking doors.

It was a corridor, neither too wide nor too narrow, probably a spare warehouse before the war.

The rotting smell was suffocating, the floor covered with Eaters and Crawlers' fluids, and unidentifiable fungi growing in the corners.

This dreadful environment might even make Mutant Cockroaches stay away.

Although she had dragged out and killed the last Crawler, Elena's heart was still incredibly anxious.

The atmosphere here was too eerie.

He couldn't help but recall the horror games he had played.

Is this supposedly a casual, fun game for relaxation?!

Fuck!

Fortunately, what he feared did not happen.

Using the light emitted by the VM and the scanned map, Elena smoothly reached the end of the corridor.

There was a rusty amalgam door there, and a corpse in a protective suit lain at the door. Yet, only bones remained.

There were no bite or tear marks on the protective suit, seeming that he had died before the Eaters took over and at least decades ago.

"The radiation level is getting higher... seems like the source of radiation is right behind this door."

The one lying on the floor must have been the owner of this small shelter. Stuffed in a backpack thrown aside were some cans, puffed food packets, and decayed remnants and mushrooms—supplies he must have scavenged from outside.

But for some reason, he died right at his own doorstep.

"Bro, don't blame me."

Though very reluctant, Elena braced herself, stripped the quite intact protective suit off the skeleton, and put it on.

The air filtration system was broken.

But no matter.

He just needed to block part of the Gamma Rays. The rest relied on his Constitution skill's resistance and regenerative bonuses. Hanging on shouldn't be much of an issue!

Elena planted the Dynamite at the door, lit the fuse, and ran toward the exit of the corridor.

"Boom!"

Dense smoke from the explosion instantly filled the corridor. Waiting for the smoke to clear a bit, Elena returned to the doorway.

The amalgam door was still intact, but the beside concrete wall was blasted open, revealing its steel framework.

"Damn... that's sturdy."

After much effort, Elena finally used the crowbar in her hand to clear the chunks of broken concrete at the damaged part of the wall and then inserted the crowbar and her arm through to pick open the bolt-type door locks one by one.

Luckily, there were no more protective structures.

With creaking noises, the thick amalgam door finally opened, with murky air carrying a stale smell rushing toward her.

Elena held her breath as she entered the room, turning off the dimly glowing VM screen and lighting the lantern she had brought with her.

The flame fluttered vaguely, gradually becoming clearer and illuminating the nearby space.

All indications pointed to the fact that this was indeed a small-sized shelter.

At least it used to be.

The shelter was small in size, and compared to Shelter No. 404, it could even be considered quite miniature.

However, unlike the large-scale official-backed facilities of Shelter No. 404, the layout of this small shelter was quite compact.

There were no buffer rooms with dual air locks and pressurization functions here—there wasn't even an entrance hall.

Behind the open alloy door, directly opposite, were rows of shelves covered in moss.

Carrying the lantern, Elena walked into the shelter.

She carefully examined these shelves and found that above each glass vessel lined up were elongated light fixtures.

"Could it be... soilless cultivation?"

This area appeared to be a plantation zone, probably for growing vegetables and staple crops, while simultaneously improving the air quality within the shelter.

But after so many years, the water in the cultivation tanks had long dried up, leaving only a layer of dead moss and some dried-up remnants and curled plant fibers.

He couldn't even tell what had been planted here before.

After checking the radiation index on the VM, Elena continued forward with her lantern.

Behind the plantation area was a row of real shelves.

And it was the items displayed on these shelves that made him widen his eyes in disbelief.

Copper ingots, steel ingots, aluminum ingots, lead... and a large quantity of metals that even her scavenging experience could not precisely identify, all neatly arranged.

In addition, there were also large quantities of non-metal materials like glass fiber, graphite powder, rubber products, hydraulic oil, lubricants, adhesives, and more.

There were even some liquid or powdered chemicals of unknown composition!

Moreover, these materials, unlike the junk scattered in the ruins, were perhaps oxidization-resistant and preserved quite well—at least they looked usable.

Beyond these crafting materials, on the last row of shelves, Elena discovered some unfinished tools and parts, as well as five gleaming gold ingots and ten silver ingots!

As she saw this, her eyes involuntarily bulged.

"Damn..."

She'd struck it rich!

Clearly, the owner of this shelter must have been a tycoon, very possibly the owner of this department store or at least a major shareholder!

And this person's awareness of crisis and hands-on abilities were extraordinarily strong.

Immediately adjacent to the cargo container was a DIY workbench.

Apart from basic tools like screwdrivers and wrenches, it was also connected to guide rails, guide plates, mold balance devices, and hydraulic overload devices. Located next to the workbench were various interchangeable cutters and processing modules.

The entire workbench barely used any advanced electronic technology and wouldn't be affected by an EMP in the least.

And maintenance was practically a breeze!

Even in a power outage, a handcrank could replace the motor to drive some of the processing modules on the workbench!

Compared to those high-tech tools that became useless outside civilized society, these durable and long-lasting "primitive tools" instead provided a greater sense of security.

Seeing this, Elena had one thought.

This workbench was way better than the one at the weapon shop owner's place!

"Struck it rich, struck it rich... now to get to work."

Not lingering here for long, Elena, in search of the radiation source, continued forward through the door behind the workbench.

The area behind the door was likely the living quarters.

According to the continuously rising radiation index on the VM, the radiation source should be inside.

Stepping cautiously into the living area, Elena immediately saw the dormant sleep cabin positioned directly opposite the door, against the wall.

The door of the sleep cabin was wide open and appeared to have been broken for a long time.

From the opened hatch and the scattered parts and tools nearby, it seemed someone had attempted to fix it but failed. This likely led to a severe electrical accident, eventually causing the shelter to lose power and the ventilation system to cease operation, ultimately suffocating the people inside.

Next to it, Elena found a single bed, with two skeletons lying flat on the sheets.

From the size and shape of the skeletons, both individuals appeared to be adult females, but their specific ages were unknown.

Considering the body found at the entrance and the only cultivation chamber in the room, Elena had come up with at least four possibilities regarding "who the owner of the shelter was" in her mind.

However, none of them mattered anymore.

For a player eager to complete the quest, the story of the dead was utterly insignificant.

After a careful search, Elena quickly found the radiation source that had set her VM beeping non-stop, on a facility resembling a generator.

It was a pitch-black cylinder, inserted into a circular slot.

Based on the storyline of "Wasteland OL," she guessed it was some sort of civilian model fusion battery?

Or rather, the "fuel rod" of a cold fusion generator?

Regardless of what it was supposed to be in the settings, it had clearly broken down, leaving only a damaged shell and radioactive residue with nowhere to go.

Strictly speaking, nuclear fusion should be clean, as its byproduct is helium.

However, the cleanliness here wasn't absolutely harmless, just relatively safer compared to the radioactive waste from nuclear fission, which could linger for hundreds of thousands of years. The nuclear waste from controlled fusion wasn't that troublesome to deal with.

After all, any material exposed to high-energy neutron radiation could develop "induced radioactivity." However, the radiation dose from such waste would be much smaller, usually posing a "century-level" hazard, and might vanish after a few centuries.

To put it bluntly, as long as you're not holding the "broken nuclear battery" in your hand, there generally won't be much of a problem.

In this regard, "Wasteland OL" was quite accurate.

Just like now.

Elena had just held the battery in her hand for a moment when she felt like she was about to die...

"Seriously, I think I might still be savable."

After tossing the radiation source away and returning to the faces of the Buffalo Horse Team, Elena, with a bloody nose, said solemnly.

Wild Wind glanced at her and shook his head.

"No hope."

Bloody nose like that, and still able to stand and talk, only possible in the game.

In reality, she would have been out cold on the ground.

"Did you hear that? Even the physics teacher says you're beyond saving," Night Ten chuckled, patting her shoulder and winking, "Don't struggle, brother. While you can still walk, hurry back and heal up. We'll gather the loot for you, don't worry, you won't miss out!"

Elena grimaced.

"I just want to know, does recycling the body reduce the respawn CD?"

Fang Chang laughed too.

"How could it, haven't you read the official setting collection? The respawn CD isn't a death penalty. But you're in luck that your VM is still intact, otherwise, you'd have to buy a new one. By the way, if you're worried you won't make it back to the base, you can leave your VM with us, to avoid half-way collapsing, losing both your corpse and VM, that would be really troublesome."

Elena: "Damn! You're not worried about me, but my VM! Does this cold world have no warmth left?"

Night Ten rolled his eyes.

"Isn't this out of concern for you not wasting money —"

"Alright, quit yapping," Old White coughed to interrupt Night Ten's chatter and then turned to console Elena, "We can give you an extra 5% of the dungeon's profits, should compensate for your loss over these three days. If there's a chance for cooperation next time, we'll still consider you, how about that?"

5% was quite generous, given that the dungeon was discovered by the Buffalo Horse Team and most of the damage was dealt by them, consuming a lot of ammunition and supplies.

Being a joiner midway through, Elena was originally entitled to only 10%, so an additional 5% was more than fair.

Old White's words finally made Elena feel like there was still a wee bit of warmth left in this cold world.

With a face full of tragic heroism and flicking her nose blood, Elena took off her VM and handed it solemnly to Old White.

"Tell Little Fish, just say..."

She collapsed to the ground with a thump, words only half said.

Night Ten couldn't help it and burst into giggly snorts.

Wild Wind turned his head, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Looking at the blood stain on his sleeve, Old White frowned deeply, finally sighing.

"I'll move him outside to the tent first."

"Let's drag him back together later."

-

(Thanks to the reader "Reader 1434843101910900736" for the three chief rewards~~~~~~)

Chapter 119: Alpha 0.61 Version! Major Adjustments to Dungeon Gameplay!

On their way back from the abandoned department store, the four members of the Bull and Horse Squad felt even the wind blowing in their faces was sweet.

The setting sun was sinking in the west.

When Fang Chang and his companions, dragging a full cart of supplies, appeared at the North Gate of the Outpost Base, the eyes of almost all the players bulged out.

"Damn?!"

"Awesome!!!"

"Did you guys freaking hack the console or what???"

"Game designers, I'm begging you, please nerf them already! If you don't, these guys are gonna reach the heavens!"

A cart full of spoils of war!

And it was visibly filled with good stuff!

It was just too exaggerated!

Sitting in front of their stall, the Autumn Grass Autumn Leaf sisters were attracted by the commotion and turned to look over. Especially the younger sister, who was curious and stretched her neck trying to see what was in the covered cart.

But just as she was about to stand up, her older sister reached out and pulled her back down.

Autumn Grass shook her head and patted her sister on the head.

"Don't look around everywhere, it's impolite."

Autumn Leaf pouted in disappointment and lowered her head.

"Got it."

But she was still curious.

Even though she couldn't understand what those Blue Jackets were saying or see clearly what was loaded on that cart, she felt like they seemed very excited.

Could it be...

a baby was born?

The players' faces were filled with envy and jealousy, continuously ranting about how it was so unfair, and many chanted for the game designers.

Hearing someone shout for the designers, Night Ten immediately became restless, knowing that with Ah Guang's personality, he must be lurking and definitely heard it already!

Without hesitating, he shouted back.

"Nerf my ass! Do you know how hard it was for me down there? Two Crawlers! One in front and one behind! Plus over a hundred Eaters, do you know how hard we fought to get these? Damn it, two of my knives got their blades all bent!"

Watching Night Ten put on airs there, Fang Chang couldn't help but facepalm.

Old White, on the other hand, didn't waste words and walked right over, picked up Night Ten by the collar, and led him away like picking up a small chicken.

"Shit! Stop pulling me, I'm not done talking yet!"

"Behave!"

"Yeah, keep it down!"

Wild Wind and Fang Chang together, pulling the cart full of supplies, didn't stop for a moment as they passed through the North Gate and hurried toward the NPC's Warehouse.

If these newbies knew that this cart full of supplies was just the tip of the iceberg inside the shelter, who knows what they would think.

As for how abundant the supplies on this cart were?

In one sentence.

The supplies were so abundant that the Warehouse Manager had to seek help from his superior, Old Luka, and facing the contents of the cart, even Old Luka was at a loss, not knowing what to do, forced to report further up to the Manager himself.

"...Sir, I really don't know how to price these, I can only trouble you to decide for yourself," Luka said, standing in front of Chu Guang with his head bowed, as if he had done something wrong.

Chu Guang, without bothering to respond to him, walked directly to the cart, glancing inside, and his eyebrows jumped fiercely.

Holy crap!

We're rich!

Turning his head to the four little players with faces full of excitement, Chu Guang nodded in approval.

"You've performed beyond my expectations... To be honest, I didn't expect you to bring back so much."

Seeing the manager's expression, the four little players were even more excited.

We've struck it rich, struck it rich!

Fang Chang lifted his head and puffed out his chest, his face full of respect.

"It is our honor to contribute to the great cause of rebuilding civilization, esteemed Manager!"

Night Ten joined in the conversation.

"That's right! It is our honor!"

"I'm glad you think so, but clear rewards and punishments are also an important part of rebuilding civilization. The rewards that rightfully belong to you will be calculated clearly," Chu Guang glanced at the covered cart and continued, "It will take some time to tally up these supplies. I will give you an appropriate amount before midnight... including the other resources you discovered in the instance."

Chu Guang had used drones to observe them earlier and had even collected recordings of their in-Game chats, so he knew exactly what they had been doing there.

The four players did not doubt how the Manager knew, after all, isn't it normal for an NPC to know the whereabouts of players?

Not strange at all!

This guy could even kick people offline.

However, when they heard the Manager use the term "instance" to describe the shelter they had found under the department store, excitement flashed across their faces.

Instance!

Sure enough, the one they had cleared was a hidden instance!

Although the Game instances were one-time only…

Fang Chang's face showed utmost respect.

"We are not in a hurry; we will follow your arrangements!"

They left the cart next to the warehouse.

Fang Chang and his group carried Elena to the corpse room, then took the elevator back to the safe haven, preparing to log off and get out of bed.

Chu Guang delegated the task of tallying the spoils to Xiao Qi and then instructed Luka to post a task to recruit some Strength Type and Body Constitution System players to drag the supplies found under the department store back.

"…The map has been updated in your VM. If you can't find the way, open auto-navigation."

"Remember, once you're there, take everything that can be moved back with you!"

"Don't leave even a single screw behind!"

After delegating these tasks, Chu Guang stood on the elevator and returned to the safe haven, where he opened his computer to start drafting the Alpha 0.61 version update announcement.

That's right, the version number was not 0.7, but 0.61.

This update was merely a supplement to version 0.6.

As for the reason for the sudden update?

It wasn't solely because of the "income settlement" issue of the Cow and Horse Squad's instance. A large part of it was due to a little problem that had arisen with Brother Mole's convoy.

First, let's talk about the Cow and Horse Squad.

The battle at the abandoned department store could be said to have been brilliantly fought.

Without much concern from Chu Guang, they had annihilated the Variants in the underground garage and dragged back a full cart of supplies.

And these supplies were very high-quality industrial raw materials!

Especially those chromium ingots and tungsten ingots, they packed a great quantity into the cart, which looked to be at least over a thousand pounds. If one wanted to buy these materials currently, they could only be imported from Red River Town, and they weren't cheap.

As for precious metals like gold and silver, they are excellent conductors with exceptional performance necessary for making precision instruments.

Not to mention the non-metallic consumables and chemicals; they were all valuable commodities.

Now the key issue was, how to calculate the profits?

If handed over to the NPC warehouse, his little players would definitely suffer a loss, as there were many items without corresponding orders and would only be recycled as trash.

If they wanted to maximize profits, they could only slowly sell them at the Frontline Base North entrance market, but in doing so, it would probably take until next month to sell everything.

After all, there were only a handful of lifestyle players who could use these materials.

The most reasonable solution was for Chu Guang to set a price himself, in the form of a reward settlement, and buy all the supplies produced by the instance.

It would be as if wholesaling bulk commodities.

Actually, this was manageable, as giving money to the players was just a matter of moving silver coins from one pocket to another for Chu Guang.

Now, with the bank, even the step of moving pockets was unnecessary.

The income settlement was a minor issue.

What the Alpha 0.61 version really needed to tackle were the imbalances in instance gameplay and the problems that had arisen in the distribution mechanism!

The problem didn't occur with the Cow and Horse Team, but over at Brother Mole's "Greenhouse Ruins," it was actually quite serious.

'Wasteland OL' instances differ from traditional MMORPGs; strictly speaking, they cannot even be considered "instances."

First of all, once an instance in 'Wasteland OL' has been cleared, it does not refresh.

Second, the number and difficulty of monsters do not increase with the progress of the strategy; in many cases, they decrease as the strategy progresses.

This may conform to the logic of reality, but it does not conform to the logic of games.

After all, orthodox RPG games allow players time to level up, placing the most difficult boss at the end of the stage.

However, in 'Wasteland OL', the hardest bone to chew might well be the first line of defense. Once the first line is breached, the rest is just reaping the rewards.

This mechanism means that the later stages of the instance become easier, so players who pioneer the instance find it thankless, throwing their lives and equipment into it without necessarily gaining any benefit.

Obviously, Elder Fang Chang must have thought of this beforehand and didn't make a big deal out of it on the forum after finding good items, a group of them silently making a fortune.

It was only when they were stuck that he looked for a Body Constitution system passerby on the forum. During the actual discussions, he sneakily went for a private chat, and not until the instance was cleared did many players become aware of its existence.

They ate the fish from head to tail, so naturally, there was no issue with unfair distribution of profits or other players picking off their rewards.

But over at the "Greenhouse Ruins," the situation was completely different.

Since the instance was discovered, the number of players who went in has doubled, almost turning into a battle royale!

Chu Guang couldn't believe it unless he had seen it through drones and VM maps; nearly fifty or more players had squeezed into the already cramped first floor of the greenhouse!

And fatally, these later players hardly contributed to the fight, just busied themselves with harvesting Devil Moth's Cocoons and running off with a few.

If the players in front bleeding and sweating had no complaints, that would be a real surprise!

According to the posts on the forum, Chu Guang gradually realized that there was a serious "BUG" present in the current instance play mechanics.

Under the current game mechanics, first, the value of intelligence could not be reflected; second, the players who pioneered the instance became the fools, either making a silent fortune or those who slipped in later for leftovers.

Is this fair?

Not in the least!

If this continues into the beta phase, who would be so foolish to share their strategies?

As the embodiment of justice, Chu Guang would, of course, not stand idly by.

Fairness is the second principle, second only to the server environment. Since there's a BUG in the existing play mechanics, adjustments must be made!

[Alpha 0.61 Version Update: Instance Rule Adjustments!]

After typing a line of headline, Chu Guang continues to edit the detailed adjustments in the document.

First comes the definition.

Including Alien nests, hidden resource points, shelter ruins, and other special facilities, as long as the search value is more than 100 Silver, and there is a certain threat level, they will be marked as "instances" on the map.

The profits of smaller instances are immediately settled after clearance; larger instances may be divided into smaller ones, with profits calculated in stages according to the progress of the strategy.

In principle, players need to obtain "Exploration Rights" before entering an instance.

At any one time, a player may only possess Exploration Rights for one instance, which will also be authorized to only one player.

The authorized player can organize a team to explore the instance. Other players who enter an authorized instance illegally will be considered an infringement of Exploration Rights and fined according to the situation, with compensation provided to the infringed player.

With the time of uploading map data on VM as standard, the first discoverer of an instance will automatically obtain the priority Exploration Rights after the clues are uploaded and assessed.

"One instance simply doesn't need so many players rushing in. All cramming into a single instance is both inefficient and prone to chaos. It's better to disperse and explore more instances."

"Protecting the rights of the discoverers of 'high-value resource points' can also encourage players to discover more goods."

"Hmm, not only need to limit the number of authorizations but also set a time limit... to weed out those who occupy a spot without acting."

Chu Guang continues to edit the document.

Depending on the type of instance, the authorization term for priority exploration rights is between three to seven days!

During this period, the discoverer of the instance and their teammates can prioritize exploring the instance or trade the priority Exploration Rights to other players.

However, note that the transfer does not trigger a re-timer, in other words, the transferee may only enjoy the remaining time of the rights.

If, unfortunately, the player still has not cleared the instance by the end of the priority exploration period, the Exploration Rights will be removed.

At the same time, the Outpost Base will reassess the difficulty of the instance based on available intelligence, set a guaranteed clearance reward, and then hold a public auction for the right to explore the instance.

Half of the auction proceeds will be used to compensate the player who lost the priority Exploration Rights, and the other half will go to the Outpost Base.

This can also be considered compensation for the pioneer players.

After all, every bullet fired is money, having no compensation at all would be too pitiful.

Of course, pioneering players who lose their priority exploration rights are also able to participate in the auction, if they think it is worth continuing to invest in this dungeon.

After the dungeon is cleared, Outpost Base will evaluate the dungeon's profits based on the specific situation and provide a reasonable valuation.

Players can decide whether to settle the dungeon's profits with the preset minimum guarantee reward or according to the valuation price given by NPCs.

If no choice is made, the default is to take the higher of the two values.

At the same time, after the dungeon is cleared, the exploration rights automatically expire.

Players can then search for another dungeon to tackle, and Outpost Base will also re-plan the cleared plots, regions, and facilities.

Players can put forward reasonable suggestions.

But whether they are adopted depends on the judgment of the relevant NPCs.

As for the dungeons explored before version 0.61, the priority exploration rights are automatically removed, and they go directly into the auction process for reassignment of exploration rights.

According to the rule of first come, first served, "Edge Shoveling," who was the first to mark the dungeon entrance with a VM and successfully brought back the map data to the shelter, will probably become the biggest winner of this version update.

Although he lost the priority exploration rights, according to the auction rules, he will receive 50% of the exploration rights auction earnings as compensation.

As for whether he splits it with "Makabazi," who dived with him into OB, that's between the two of them.

...

When Chu Guang uploaded the Alpha 0.61 version update announcement to the official website, it was exactly six thirty in the morning in the real world.

This time was also when the official website was bustling with activity.

Without any surprise.

Almost the instant the 0.61 version update announcement appeared on the homepage of the official website, the Forum immediately exploded with topics.

Ah Wei: "Throne! (｀∀´)Ψ"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "!!! Big news! The version number has changed to 0.61!"

Mole Old Brother Escaping the Canyon: "The officials finally noticed the issues with the dungeon mechanics. If they didn't manage this, it would really be impossible to lead the team anymore! T.T"

Gnome King Riches: "Feeling sorry for Brother Mole, he's about to be driven crazy by the newcomers hitching rides. (Funny)"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "Wait, does the announcement mean that from now on, only one car team is allowed in a dungeon at the same time?"

Ah Wei: "What?! Ah Wei can no longer freeload?! !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si: "Ah Wei, please stop, don't be so boldly righteous."

Scrambled Tomato with Eggs: "Damn, one dungeon tied to one person? When there are more people later on, can the servers handle it?"

Little Nonsense Cutting Bullshit: "I think this is unreasonable! Another auction! Mosquito will definitely blindly bid!"

WC Has A Mosquito: "Damn! Do I look like that kind of person? Even if I bid, I wouldn't just sit on it without care!"

Little Nonsense Cutting Bullshit: "Have you ever been to the front line?!"

WC Has A Mosquito: "How have I not? Although I didn't go in person, my equipment did!"

Little Nonsense Cutting Bullshit: "Cut the crap! The monsters you've blasted to death are fewer than the fish you haven't killed!"

Teng Teng: "Alright alright, stop arguing guys, when can my spinning machine be finished? The kids are about to cry. QAQ"

Toilet Going Yar: "Don't cry, Teng Teng! It's almost ready, just a few parts left! There, the workbench is ready, and we have the rubber for the pistons, I'll get it done for you within three days!"

Mole Old Brother Escaping the Canyon: "Speaking of which, does anyone know about Elder Brother Fang Chang's dungeon profits? Why haven't I seen them show off?"

Elena: "(Funny)"

Night Ten: "(Funny)"

Old White: "... Speaking of which, when does the auction for the 'Greenhouse Ruins' dungeon exploration right start? (Sideways glance)"

Wild Wind: "Exciting. (Funny)"

Mole Old Brother Setting Up Traps: "Wait!! What are you guys trying to do? (Shocked)"

Fang Chang: "Cough, Brother Mole… sorry man."

Mole Old Brother Setting Up Traps: "Good brother, give me a chance! I was freaking about to break through! ∑(っ°Д°;)っ"

Fang Chang: "Definitely next time!"

Chapter 120: The Feeling of Overnight Wealth

When the hot topic on the official forum shifted from "Alpha0.61 version" to "how much silver did the Cow and Horse squads earn," a sneaky figure took advantage of the dusk, crossed the snow-covered streets, and arrived near the abandoned tire factory.

Gazing at the gate not far away, with an envelope tucked in his chest, Wang Biao swallowed his saliva as a bad premonition gradually rose in his heart.

"...Why is the gate open?"

It wasn't just the gate being open.

The dark appearance looked as if it had been burned by fire.

No guards could be seen on the enclosing wall.

What Wang Biao found most unbelievable was that he had come all this way and hadn't encountered a single patrol.

He swallowed his saliva again.

Brushing the snow off his collar, his hands trembling, Wang Biao pulled an envelope from his chest and held it high over his head. Like surrendering, he walked out from the shadows at the base of the wall and headed towards the gate.

"I, I come from Bet Street! Delivering a message for our town's mayor!"

To be honest, Wang Biao was very reluctant to take on this job.

After all, this place was filled with folks who'd eat you without spitting out your bones.

If it weren't for Old Charlie stressing repeatedly that the looters wouldn't trouble him after seeing this envelope, and promising him a reward of five chips, he would never have taken on this dangerous job.

This was literally risking life for money!

With every step forward, Wang Biao felt his heartbeat skip a beat.

When he finally reached the entrance, just as he leaned forward, about to peek inside the half-open gate, a pair of antennae suddenly quivered through the crack, nearly hitting his nose.

"Shit!"

A mutant cockroach!

Seeing the cockroach, about the size of a wolfhound, poking its head through the gap, the already nervous Wang Biao got so scared his soul nearly flew away.

He threw the letter aside, and almost reflexively, pulled out the club tied to his waist and started smashing wildly.

Mutant cockroaches of the wasteland were not that terrifying, as long as you didn't walk into a nest and get surrounded by a swarm. Even the weakest survivor could easily kill a few.

Two hits to the head—brain splashed!

Watching the cockroach turn belly-up on the ground, Wang Biao nervously squatted down, picked up the letter that had fallen in the chaos, fearing it'd get wet from the snow.

Then, he yelled into the door:

"Is, is anyone there?"

No response.

His adam's apple moved, and Wang Biao, suppressing the nervousness and fear in his heart, carefully walked through the charred gate.

Indeed, the outpost was deserted.

The looters who should have been stationed here had vanished as if into thin air.

Only the severed limbs on wooden stakes and the bloodstains on the wall remained, indicating that they had once been there.

"Damn..."

It's not like the looters were eaten by cockroaches, right?!

Part of Wang Biao's heart was shocked, but more of it was joy.

Not a single survivor in the North suburb of Qingquan city didn't hate and fear the looters from the Blood Hand Clan.

He didn't dare stay a second longer.

Once he confirmed that there was no one inside, Wang Biao ran off.

Braving the wind and snow, he finally made it back to Bet Street, several kilometers away, before it got completely dark. Gasping for breath, he stood in front of Old Charlie with his hands bracing his knees.

Old Charlie frowned as he saw the letter crumpled in Wang Biao's fist.

Before he could even ask, the breathless Wang Biao took a deep breath and said excitedly,

"Blood Hand! The looters at the tire factory! They're gone!"

"What did you say?!" Charlie was startled, glancing around subconsciously. Seeing no one around, he immediately pulled the bewildered giant into the house.

After closing the door, Charlie stared intently and demanded, "Explain clearly, what do you mean by 'gone'?"

"The outpost! The whole outpost is empty! There's not a soul!" Wang Biao's face showed both shock and joy as he panted, "I took a peek inside, there was no one... The looters, it's like they just disappeared!"

After hearing Wang Biao's account, Charlie's expression was a bit elusive.

People don't just vanish.

The Blood Hand Clan wouldn't just up and move either.

But this did sort of make sense.

Charlie pondered for a moment.

Counting out five dirty chips from a drawer, he flipped them in his hand, suddenly as if deciding something, and gently placed them on the table.

"Let's leave it here, as if you have delivered it. These chips are the reward the mayor promised you, take them."

"Thank you, Old Butler!"

Setting the letter he was holding down, Wang Biao didn't overthink it, happily grabbing the chips from the table.

Five chips!

That could be exchanged for a lot of good stuff!

Charlie gave him a look and silently folded the letter on the table, stuffing it into his pocket. He then spoke in an unhurried tone.

"Keep the Blood Hand Clan issue to yourself, you understand me?"

Hearing this, Wang Biao was startled and asked cautiously,

"Um, Old Butler, my head's a bit slow, could you clarify a bit?"

He didn't understand why the old butler was so serious.

The looters are gone...

Wasn't that great news?

He couldn't wait to bring this good news back home to share with his family.

But then again, why did the mayor write a letter to the looters in the first place?

He had never considered this before, but now he began to get curious about what exactly was written in that letter.

Looking at this clueless giant, Charlie sighed and patiently explained,

"I'm telling you to keep your mouth shut."

"You've already received the reward for delivering the letter. If the mayor finds out that the Blood Hand Clan people are gone and that this letter wasn't actually delivered, you know what the consequences would be, right?"

Did that even need to be stressed?

He was resigned to the fact.

Finally understanding, Wang Biao's heart trembled as he nervously nodded,

"Yes! You're right, I won't mention a word about the Blood Hand Clan. But, but what if the mayor finds out on his own?"

He was ecstatic when he first got the chips, but now that he thought about it, these chips felt kind of hot in his hand.

Just as the old butler said.

He hadn't actually delivered the letter.

If the mayor knew he had deceived him, he would definitely flay him and hang him at the gate to feed the rats.

"Winter is a time when anything can happen," Old Charlie said carelessly, "as long as you do as I tell you, everything will be fine."

Even though he was full of confusion, Wang Biao still nodded stiffly.

"Alright... I'll listen to you!"

It wasn't so much out of trust for the old butler as it was a reluctance to give back the chips he held in his hands.

However, this meant that the good news the Blood Hand Clan once had could only be temporarily held back.

"Good to remember, you can leave now, there is nothing more for you to do here," Old Charlie waved his hand, signaling that he could go.

Wang Biao, holding the chips in his hand, walked to the door, just about to pull open the curtain to exit when suddenly he remembered something and hesitated, stopping in his tracks.

Old Charlie glanced at him.

"What is it now?"

Heh-heh, Wang Biao chuckled softly.

"That matter, about the kid from the Yu Family..."

"Get out."

After being inexplicably scolded, Wang Biao, though confused, didn't dare talk back and silently slipped away.

Old Charlie sat in his chair, cursing under his breath, and massaged his temples.

To be honest, he was old. Seeing the world as it had become, he had no more ambitions in this life, and he never thought of pursuing "glory and riches." He just wanted to live out the second half of his life peacefully in a world that had fallen into dystopia.

But now, he no longer had a choice in the matter.

He pulled a wrinkled paper from the drawer and, after pondering for a moment, picked up a fountain pen and began to write on it.

"I hope my judgment is correct."

Though, in his life, he hadn't been right many times...

…

It was deep into the night.

As the last batch of supplies arrived at the storage of the Outpost Base, Chu Guang had finished counting the treasure unearthed by the cattle team right before ten in the evening.

First were the metal materials, the most stored in that shelter were clearly labeled steel ingots, totaling 2200 kilograms.

These steel ingots were coated with a gel-like antioxidant layer that physically isolated them from oxygen and moisture, thus, even after two centuries, they were well preserved.

Besides that, there were 1000 kilograms of aluminum ingots, 1000 kilograms of lead ingots, 1000 kilograms of copper ingots, 500 kilograms of chromium, tungsten ingots, etc., as well as 5 kilograms of gold and 10 kilograms of silver.

These quantities were nearly double of what was bought from the merchants in Red River Town!

And it wasn't just metal materials—some non-metal materials had pleasantly surprised Chu Guang as well.

These included 200 kilograms of fiberglass, 200 kilograms of graphite, 200 kilograms of oxidation-resistant synthetic rubber, 20 one-liter bottles of hydraulic oil, 30 300ml bottles of lubricant, 50 bottles of special adhesive, along with a few other consumable materials.

Of course, what surprised Chu Guang the most was that workbench.

If Xia Yan's DIY workbench could barely count as Black Iron Rank, then this workbench was at least at a Platinum Level.

It might even barely reach Diamond!

Other than that, the fact that the two-century-old cutting tools and various devices did not oxidize or deform, and the newly-looking guide rails and replaceable modules, was enough to demonstrate how impressive this piece of equipment was.

The entire workbench did not show a speck of rust.

At least, that was how it looked from the outside.

"…The motor won't start, probably an issue with the circuit, perhaps a part inside has aged. But it's no big problem, a little fixing should make it workable."

Inside the weapon shop.

Having studied this brand-new workbench for a while, Xia Yan closed the electrical box on the side of the workbench and curiously asked Chu Guang, who was standing by.

"Where did you get such great stuff?"

Chu Guang's face bore a brilliant and sunny smile.

"Where it comes from isn't important. What's important is that I have a group of hardworking and brave little players. With them, I can always get my hands on some good stuff."

The boastful tone made Xia Yan involuntarily bow her head to further examine the device in front of her.

It wasn't because she was particularly diligent.

She simply didn't want to let her dear boss see her eye-rolling gesture.

"If I could fix this workbench, the bullet production speed would probably be much faster. Plus, this workbench is pretty versatile; besides the cutting tools, it even has punching modules and drill bits ... Speaking of which, what is this drill bit made of? Why does it feel harder than diamond? Hmm, with this thing, processing a few seamless steel tubes shouldn't be a big problem."

When Chu Guang heard the words "seamless steel tubes," his mind stirred, and he immediately asked,

"So does that mean we can make guns?"

The technical stuff was beyond him, but he had heard from players that the main reason the No. 81 Steel Factory couldn't produce guns was their inability to manage seamless steel tubes.

If they could produce that, at least half of the problem would be solved.

Hearing Chu Guang's question, Xia Yan naturally replied,

"Although it's not as simple as you think, with the right tools, it's not too difficult. Let me put it this way, if we heat the steel ingots to form steel rods, we get the gun barrel blanks. Then we just need to drill and rifle the bore, and that pretty much completes a gun barrel."

"The challenging parts are the drilling and rifling. As for the earlier stages... if we have the raw materials, making the gun barrel blanks isn't that hard. I think your steel plant should be able to handle it."

Chu Guang looked at Xia Yan somewhat surprised.

Seems like this guy has some skills.

Just a bit lazy.

"I'll find someone to manage the gun barrel blanks. What about the receiver parts? Can you make those?"

"That's easy. Wait till I fix this workbench and show you—it'll just take a couple of days... If it goes well," Xia Yan said, yawning involuntarily, looking at Chu Guang to propose, "You see, it's too dark to fix anything... can I head back now? I have to get up early tomorrow."

"You go ahead."

"What about you? Aren't you going back?"

Chu Guang glanced at the time on his VM and replied casually,

"I still have some things to take care of. I should be done before midnight."

"Midnight? Alright, then I won't wait for you."

After extinguishing the lantern on the table, Xia Yan closed the door of the weapon shop, tucked his crutch under his arm, and walked towards the hospital.

Chu Guang didn't linger here but returned to the storage area, watching Old Luka and two storekeepers sort and store the materials.

This batch of supplies should keep the Outpost Base going for a while.

Even if his lifestyle players were wasteful, letting them squander until next spring shouldn't pose a big problem!

With the inventory checked and this windfall thoroughly delighting Chu Guang, it was now time to let his little players have some fun too.

"The earnings from the instance... let me think."

Purely in terms of value, this batch was worth at least 2000 silver coins or more. But considering game balance, anything above 1000 silver coins would be disruptive.

The Ox-Horse squad had found and cleared the entire instance in just four days. If the total earnings were 1000 silver coins, it meant their average daily per person income was 62.5 silver coins.

Emmm...

Okay, that's not too outrageous.

Equipment wear and tear, spent ammunition and supplies... These all have costs, and it seems they even picked up a random player along the way.

So it's actually five people sharing?

After wrestling for five minutes between actual value and balance, Chu Guang finally arrived at a reasonable figure—1500 silver coins!

As for how they divided the money internally,

Chu Guang really couldn't be bothered with that.

Let them handle it.

These silver coins would keep them happy for a while.

Chapter 121: Four-Digit Rewards and Rights to Explore Relics

[Task Reward: 1500 silver coins, 1000 contribution points, 4 free weapon upgrade opportunities.]

[Warm Tip: Due to the workbench you recycled, the weapon shop at Outpost 404 has unlocked the "weapon modification" option. Do you wish to announce the squad information to all the server players? Yes/No]

The next morning,
the four little players logged into the game and confirmed their dungeon earnings through team leader Old White's VM.

"Holy shit! Four digits!?"

"Brother Guang is amazing!"

"We're rich, we're rich!"

After deducting the 225 silver coins for Elena, there were still 1275 silver coins left, which meant each person could get 318 silver coins!

Compared to most players with less than a three-digit balance in their bank account, this was undoubtedly a huge sum of money!

Looking at Night Ten, who was grinning like a pig brother, Old White glared at him fiercely.

"Don't you fucking go showing off on the forum! I'm warning you!"

Saying this, he poked the "No" option.

Night Ten said with a playful grin,

"Would I do that? It's called sharing the joy in my heart with the forum brothers!"

No sooner had he spoken than he received three eye rolls in reply.

But jokes aside, Night Ten knew better than to flaunt carelessly.

Keeping a low profile and making money might go unchecked, but causing public outrage could compel even the game managers who might want to protect you to consider the feelings of the majority of players.

1500 silver coins!

The most expensive weapon at the current weapon shop, the 9mm steel pipe rifle from Giant Stone City, was only 150 silver coins. And that was after the price had been slightly increased after the 7mm steel pipe rifles sold out!

It's like when someone worked hard and toiled through quests for several days, happily saving up enough money to buy their first steel scrubber, filled with a sense of achievement, and then you just jump out, splashing your four-digit dungeon reward right in their face.

Other than making those hardworking, tool-like players feel like they had their brains screwed, what was the point?

The game isn't reality, and from the perspective of the game company, the overall gaming experience of the players is what matters most.

Don't say that planner Brother Guang is just a member of the group chat.

Even if Brother Guang was his real father, he'd probably want to sacrifice him to appease the heavens.

Objectively speaking, the rewards from their dungeon this time indeed had an impact on balance, completely outclassing the regular task earnings of players at the same level by two orders of magnitude.

Last night, they discussed in the cow and horse group for a long time, and the consensus they reached was only about 800 or so.

After all, compared to the brutal meat grinder at the entrance to the Greenhouse Ruins, having a couple of hundred Eaters scattered over two floors of an underground parking lot and dealing with Crawlers was tough, but that was an issue from several versions ago.

With equipment, levels, and the ability to lay traps and plan tactics in advance, the actual difficulty wasn't as outrageous as Night Ten made it out to be.

If [Professor Yang, King of Thunder and Lightning] found out that they made four figures from a dungeon, he'd probably rant about them having inside information again.

"I'm thinking about how to spend it..." Fang Chang stroked his chin, "200 silver to get Old White a set of steel armor should be no problem, and 100 silver—"

"Alright, alright, stop calculating," Old White waved his hand to interrupt Fang Chang, "set aside 200 silver to save up as guild funds, and once we have enough, we'll build our guild building. The rest everyone can split and decide what equipment to buy on their own."

"I agree," Wild Wind nodded, "But 200 might not be enough, we still have to bid for the exploration rights to the Greenhouse Ruins dungeon at eight o'clock."

Old White: "Hiss... Would setting aside 500 be enough?"

"Definitely," Fang Chang said with a smile, "just consider how much money the others have, and you'll know. I bet it won be over 200 silver. If the bid starts below 200, we'll just slap down 200 and snipe it!"

Old White nodded.

That made sense.

Unless several players pooled their money together, other players had no chance of competing, and even if they did, it wouldn't matter—they could definitely outbid them.

"How are the Contribution Points divided? And what's the deal with the weapon upgrade opportunity exactly?" Night Ten suddenly asked.

"Let's just divide the Contribution Points evenly, that's 200 for each person including Elena. Anyway, we're all citizens now, just waiting for the new version to release higher status levels. As for the weapon upgrade... I reckon it's about adding a grip to a gun or engraving some sort of sight, but my imagination is limited, we'll see when we get there," Old White said as he stroked his chin, analyzing haphazardly.

Wild Wind: "I plan to add a winding mechanism to wind up my Crossbow, and replace the foot pedal with a bayonet."

Night Ten: "That's just overkill, man."

Wild Wind: "You don't understand, it makes it more Wasteland-style."

"I'll pass, I'll give my chance to Old Yi," Fang Chang didn't want the workstation to ruin his "Dawn" which he treasured so dearly.

Night Ten: "Pfft, who the heck is Old Yi?"

Fang Chang: "I certainly can't call her Old Na, can I?"

The three of them froze simultaneously.

Uh.

That was cold.

...

In the Wasteland, it was around seven in the morning.

The distant Sun gradually rose, and the sparse sunlight seeped through gaps in the forest, casting light over the pristine snow.

Nomads in the camp carrying large and small plastic buckets headed to the lake for water, while players also emerged from the sanatorium elevators, beginning their leisure time after getting off work.

At this moment, a large crowd had gathered tightly at the door of the sanatorium.

Standing at the center of the crowd, Chu Guang, clad in heavy armor and carrying a large hammer, began to speak in a solemn and serious voice.

"Now, up for auction is the exploration rights to the First Floor of the Greenhouse Ruins."

Hearing this, the surrounding players began whispering to each other.

"Why are they only auctioning the first floor?"

"Dummy, of course you have to clear the first floor before you can tackle the second and the basement levels!"

"I remember there were 5 floors above ground and 10 below, right?"

"I know, and I think the controlled nuclear fusion generator is on the ninth floor! The tenth connects to the urban drainage system? The Devil Moth's Lair must be there!"

After glancing at the players discussion, Chu Guang didn't linger for long. He simply narrated the difficulty of the dungeon, the expected number of monsters, and so forth, effectively introducing the auction item.

Then, he announced the start of the auction.

"... A minimum guaranteed reward of 200 silver coins for the dungeon clearance, with a starting bid of 100 silver. Each bid must be at least 1 Silver Coin higher."

Mosquito promptly raised his hand.

"150—"

His words were cut off before he could finish.

"200 silver!"

As Fang Chang raised his hand, the players around him gasped in astonishment.

"Damn, they're bidding 200 silver for a dungeon with a clear reward of 200 silver? What's the point?"

"That's outrageous!"

"What do you know, that 200 silver is a guaranteed minimum reward. If you clear out all the cocoons and sell them, do you think it'll only fetch 200 silver?"

"Well, it's not certain. Maybe you don't know, but cocoon piles of the Devil Moth are already heaped up like small hills next to the warehouse, and the purchase price has already been heavily discounted several times. If there are no other new findings, those remaining Devil Moth's Cocoon might not even sell for 200 silver."

Wasteland OL currently has two markets, one is the NPC warehouse, and the other is the market by the north gate.

During the closed beta, the number of players was too few and their spending power wasn't high. Right now, if you want to make money, you mainly have to rely on the NPC warehouse orders.

Wasteland OL's Economic System is quite interesting.

To prevent an oversupply of a single resource and severe inventory backlog, the NPC warehouses for each type of resource would preset a blue line and a red line.

The blue line represented the "reserve limit," while the red line represented the "inventory warning line." These two lines maintained a balance of supply and demand, primarily based on the demands of the industrial district.

If the resource reserves exceeded the blue line, that is, the reserve limit, for every 10% exceeded, the purchasing and selling prices would drop by 10% based on the current rates, effectively reducing production and spurring sales.

If it dropped below the red line, the inventory warning line, for every 10% below, the purchasing and selling prices would rise by 10%, encouraging increased production and tighter consumption.

Here's a fun fact, the vast majority of players did not have private warehouses.

Smaller amounts of resources could be stuffed into storage lockers, while bulk resources either had to be sold to the factories in the industrial district or piled up on one's private land.

Random piles would be considered abandoned, up for grabs by other players and NPCs.

Now, never mind the NPC warehouses, even the storage in Teng Teng's little cottage was stuffed full of these cocoons, and with several days of dumping, the purchase price of the Devil Moth's Cocoon had already fallen to 1 Silver Coin each, with the selling price also pinned to the floor.

It was said that if inventory exceeded the blue line by five times, a "circuit breaker" mechanism would be triggered, where the Manager would set a "white line," locking the selling price and halting purchases until inventory fell below the white line.

This situation had not happened yet, but judging by the current pace, it seemed imminent.

The Devil Moth's carcasses and Spirit Leaves were in the same boat; both materials had very low "blue lines" to begin with. The warehouses had little desire to keep reserves, and their purchase prices continuously took a nosedive, with only the newbie hitchhikers bothering to transport them back.

"Why bother worrying about others not making money," looking at these sand sculptures fretting about other people's lack of profits, Brother Mole gazed at the sky, sighed deeply, and shook his head, "You guys simply don't get the rules of this thing… Do you think they care about the 200 Silver Coins of revenue? So what if they don't make money?"

"What do you mean?"

Gnome King Riches was stunned for a moment, completely puzzled.

Not making money in a dungeon?

Then what the fuck was the point?

Forget about bullets, you'd even have to pay to buy a new axe if the old one broke!

Brother Mole gave the little fool a meaningful glance.

"Clearing the first level unlocks the entrance to the second level above ground and the first level underground, right?"

Gnome King Riches: "Uh, what then?"

"The maximized prioritized exploration rights could last up to 7 days," Brother Mole paused, then continued indifferently, "If it were me, I'd sell the second floor's prioritized exploration rights to another team… just 200 Silver will do, then concentrate forces on the underground first level."

"Holy shit?!"

At last, Gnome King Riches got it, his eyes widening in shock.

"Isn't this snowballing like crazy?!"

"As long as you clear it within the period of the prioritized exploration rights, attacking one floor after another, in theory, you are indeed snowballing."

Brother Mole sighed enviously.

"The first level guarantees a profit of at least 200 Silver… and there are ten levels beneath that."

If it weren't for knowing these people had just cleared a major dungeon, and he had zero chance of outbidding them, he would definitely try to snatch a bid.

After all, the markup inside was terrifyingly high.

Damn!

If only you could pay to win!

Brother Mole had a premonition.

If these guys continued to snowball like this, Wasteland OL might have the Guild System up and running even before the closed beta stage ended.

Or perhaps even more expensive game mechanics than the Guild System.

After all, the most expensive equipment in the shop was only in the triple digits.

He truly couldn't fathom what these people would even spend their Silver Coins on once they made more than triple digits.

…

After obtaining the exploration rights to Greenhouse Ruins, the Cow and Horse Team didn't start their raid right away but instead recruited 5 old players who had participated in this dungeon before, forming a 9-person squad.

All of their Levels were above LV4, with most specializing in the Strength Type and Agility Type.

Among them was a certain Mole.

Old White, who had taken on the role of team captain, walked up to the five strangers and began to speak.

"The first floor has been pretty much nibbled away. I reckon the remaining resources might barely scrape together 200 Silver. Unless there's a surprise, the final clearance reward should just hit the minimum guaranteed."

Gnome King Riches nodded.

"Indeed... Those noobs are too damn wild."

Old White: "You can't blame them for being wild. After all, there was something wrong with the previous gameplay mechanics. Dozens of people squeezed into one instance, and we didn't dare to speak up on the Forum. It's different now. The gameplay's become more regular, which is better for everyone."

After a pause, Old White continued.

"If the final dungeon revenue is 200 Silver, you five can split that money; the four of us will abstain. Whatever exceeds 200, we'll take forty percent, and the rest is still yours to split."

Midnight Chicken Killing said in a daze, "Won't you guys be at a loss?"

"Don't worry about that," Fang Chang said with a smile, speaking frankly, "Our goal is the exploration rights to the second floor above and the one below."

Old White shook the VM on his arm.

"If there's no issue, then I'll start drafting the team contract."

VM's team feature allows for drafting team contracts. Apart from a few templates provided by the official website, you can also customize your own.

If a dispute arises, the Outpost Base will arbitrate based on the content of the contract to determine the ownership of the spoils and rewards.

After the five players received the team invitation and confirmed it, they exchanged glances, none raising any objections.

Especially Mole and Brother Fu Gui, who had communicated earlier and already knew what the objectives of the members from the Niú Mǎ team were.

These big shots weren't interested in picking up the leftovers. Their real targets were the stages after the next and the one following that.

But what Mole didn't expect was that they would overlook even these remaining 200 Silver Coins and directly offer them to these strangers.

How fat must these guys be!

After clicking confirm on the VM screen, Mole clenched his fists and gave a bow.

"Brother, I'm counting on you. I just hope to get a sip of the broth following you."

Fang Chang said with a laugh, "Good brother, don't say that. We're counting on learning how to run Insect-type Heterogeneous Nest instances from you. Don't worry, the next time a good opportunity like this comes up, we definitely won't compete with you!"

I don't believe you for a second!

Mole sighed inwardly.

As expected.

To get rich quick, one must find a way to explore high-value resource points. Following behind others for the leftovers holds no future.

Looking at Mole, Old White said with a smile,

"Brother, you know what, why don't you join our group? We're planning on creating a Guild, hang out and play together when we've got time."

Night Ten chuckled and chimed in, "How about being the vice president? When the Guild is set up, we'll have you as a vice president."

Mole looked up at the sky and shook his head.

"Thanks, but I'll pass on the Guild. In other games, I had neither the money nor the time to compete for t1. Now that I've encountered such an awesome game... I want to be the big leg for once."

A vice president in an MMORPG is just a fancy title with no real play.

At least as a beta player, if he didn't play as a Guild president, wouldn't that be a waste?

Fang Chang and Old White both smiled at him, showing understanding, and dropped the subject.

"Let's get the party started; no more talk, it's all about the money!"

"Charge, charge, charge!"

"Let's do this!"

Chapter 122: Mission: Liberate Bet Street

Sanatorium, 3rd floor.

Chu Guang's face showed a satisfied smile as he watched the re-equipped Ox-Horse Squad, now with long weapons and hunter gear, ready to set off once again.

Good.

These young players were becoming more and more capable.

And it was thanks to their understanding that he was spared a great deal of effort, allowing Chu Guang to devote the micromanagement time to the planning that needed to be done.

Like playing a couple more games for inspiration.

"…Now that I think about it, the players from the Alpha 0.6 version should be coming online tomorrow."

The Outpost Base had an abundance of raw materials nearly bursting the stores, urgently needing lifestyle profession players to step up their game to catch up with the pace of combat professional players.

Especially the Devil Moth's Cocoons, of which several small hills had been piled up beside the warehouse. Once the Ox-Horse Squad took down the first level of the Greenhouse Ruins, they'd probably have to pile up another mound next to it.

Even the baseline profit of 200 silver coins seemed a bit much.

But it didn't matter, silver coins were just numbers to Chu Guang. With electronic accounts, he could dispense as many as he wished.

The key was to enrich the goods on the shop shelves, to increase the variety of items players could buy. Only then would the dispersed money have significance.

Otherwise, what use was it to credit a billion to your account in a dungeon loot?

Today you get a billion, tomorrow someone else gets twenty billion, and eventually, everyone's happy to pay for potatoes with a dozen zeros?

By then, those little pufferfish who complain about low quest rewards would probably miss the good old days when a single sheep's horn potato cost just a few copper coins.

Fortunately, even if such people were not sober, their planners were, and such events were very unlikely to happen.

To increase the production capacity of the Outpost Base, most of the 50 players recruited for the version update were drawn randomly from a pool labeled "lifestyle professions."

And how this label was applied naturally depended on the survey questionnaire they filled out when pre-ordering the game.

For instance, in answering the question "What is your favorite single-player game?" their answers frequently included titles like Stardew Valley, European Truck Simulator, RimWorld, Don't Starve, The Sims, and other leisurely retirement games.

This meant that upon entering Wasteland OL, they would be more inclined towards lifestyle profession gameplay.

Such as production, transportation, farming, building houses, and so on.

I believe these creative-minded young players would be able to make something valuable out of those raw materials.

Indeed.

By the way, the users from version 0.4 were entirely different since Chu Guang pilfered them from the pool of Paradox Interactive users.

These players were not only experts in the manufacturing of seamless steel pipes but also had in-depth research into gunpowder formulas, cleared elderly populations with precision using disaster DLC in City Skylines, and made canned meat from alien flesh in Stars.

One could say they were all average war criminals.

"250 players are still not enough; there are 250 more cultivation chambers left."

"If only we could get more food."

After conquering the Blood Hand Clan's base, the Outpost Base's food reserves were theoretically enough for 300 people to last till the end of winter.

However, there's a problem: the actual consumption of food often far exceeded expectations.

Were it not for the expensive condiments and limited cooking conditions, Chu Guang would bet that these players could eat five meals a day, each one until they were completely stuffed.

Plus, there were the nomads who had come to join them, as well as survivors working at the brick factory, so Chu Guang didn't dare to make his plans too inflexible.

250 players were already tight; it was safer to have a food reserve at over twice the actual consumption.

"Speaking of which…maybe I should go to Brown Farm to ask for some benefits?"

Those looters' warehouses showed that Brown Farm hadn't been cheap with their protection money.

Anyway, I had solved such a big problem for the survivors of the North Suburb of Qingquan City once and for all. It wouldn't be right not to get a thank-you gift, right?

Asking outright wouldn't be good, as it's not appropriate for civilized people to do a bandit's work; we must find a way to make them offer willingly.

Chu Guang stroked his chin, beginning to scheme.

But just then, Xiao Qi, who had been squatting at the side playing with the drone, suddenly raised the camera.

"Master, we have visitors."

…

Outside the South Gate.

Braving the wind and snow, Yu Hu hurried toward the Outpost Base.

When he arrived at the south gate, he coincidentally saw Chu Guang standing at the entrance. His eyes instantly lit up, and waving the clenched fist holding an envelope, he yelled from a distance,

"Brother Chu!"

Watching Yu Hu, with a look of urgency, jogging over, Chu Guang asked,

"What's the matter? You look so rushed."

Could something have happened at home?

Out of breath, hands on his knees, Yu Hu said,

"Charlie… I mean the old butler of the general store, he told me to bring you a letter!"

Truth be told, when Charlie handed him the letter and instructed him to bring it here, Yu Hu was scared to death—his heart almost stopped.

After all, there were rules on Bet Street, and private dealings with foreign commercial teams were forbidden. If discovered, one would face severe punishment!

So Yu Hu had always been very cautious, avoiding Old Charlie, but to his surprise, he was still found out!

Whether Brother Chu counted as an outsider was a separate question, what perplexed Yu Hu was that Old Charlie neither reprimanded him nor reported him to the mayor or the guards. Instead, he handed him this envelope marked with the Blood Handprint.

Yu Hu was illiterate and didn't know what was written on the envelope, but seeing that Blood Handprint, he had an ominous premonition.

So without a moment's hesitation, he took the letter from Bet Street and rushed over here to deliver it.

"Let's go inside to talk."

Taking Yu Hu to the 1st-floor reception room of the sanatorium, Chu Guang casually lit the brazier and sat down in a chair next to it, opened the envelope with the Blood Handprint, and glanced through it.

There were two pieces of paper inside.

One was from the old mayor... oh no, it should be said from Old Leech.

It basically informed the looters of the Blood Hand Clan that there was a group of survivors at the Linghu Wetland Park. Skipping over the glorified reasons and respectful phrases, the full page of black and white text could be summarized in four words—borrowing a knife to kill.

The other piece was in Charlie's handwriting.

And by the looks of the ink, it seemed it was written not long before.

""

"Dear Manager,
my name is Charlie, a survivor living on Bet Street.

I believe you have read the other letter in the envelope and must be furious about its content at this moment.

No offense intended, but I truly understand how you feel. In fact, I felt the same way when I heard that our respected town mayor was actually colluding with the Looters and trying to incite them to attack our neighbors; I could hardly believe my ears and eyes.

I tried to persuade him, telling him that it wasn't a good choice, but to no avail. Despite my light words, he insisted on sending this letter to the Looters.

Such behavior has crossed the moral line—no matter the disagreement, I believe we can't, or at least shouldn't, let a group of thugs who don't spit out the bones they pick clean arbitrate the matter.

We have had enough of the brute oppression; the people of Bet Street crave civilization! If you are willing, we are ready to make every effort to cooperate with your actions to drive that Vampire out of his castle! Every Hunter from Bet Street will be grateful for your favor!"

That's rough.

Sending a knife for oneself to be stabbed with, huh?

A spark from the charcoal in the brazier floated up.

Chu Guang slightly lowered the two letters in his hand and looked at Yu Hu, who was sitting opposite him. After pondering for a moment, he said,

"Do you know what's written in this letter from the old butler?"

Yu Hu was startled and shook his head.

"The old butler didn't tell me... He just said it was something very important, concerning your safety."

Concerning our safety, huh.

Chu Guang smiled.

It was certain that Old Leech did not know the Blood Hand Clan was gone, or he wouldn't have come up with such a foolish idea as delivering a letter to a dead clan.

This was quite understandable. Bet Street was far from that abandoned tire factory, and the Scavengers would not explore north along the city's elevated roads unless absolutely necessary. The area was known to be unsafe—who would willingly approach the Looters' lair?

Now, the only suspense left was how many truths were in the letter written by Old Charlie.

There were two possibilities.

One was that Old Charlie sent someone out with a letter first and upon finding out the Blood Hand Clan's base had been taken out, then delivered the mayor's letter here.

The other possibility, just as Old Charlie wrote in the letter, was that he decided to take a stand on the side of justice because the mayor's actions crossed his bottom line, joining the survivors of Bet Street in resisting the mayor's tyranny.

In fact, whichever version of the story you believed didn't really matter; reasons were never important, and one could even fabricate them after everything was over.

Chu Guang's mind stirred.

He suddenly had a brilliant idea.

Not only could he rightfully bring Bet Street into his sphere of influence, but he could also make the people from Brown Farm voluntarily present him with tributes.

"...Your mayor is really no good."

Yu Hu was taken aback by Chu Guang's suddenly serious face. His own expression tensed.

"The m-mayor? But wasn't the letter written by Old Charlie?"

"There are two letters inside: one written by Old Charlie, and the other... the original one stuffed in here, was personally written by your mayor to the Blood Hand Clan."

"To the Blood Hand Clan?!"

Yu Hu's eyes widened, and his brain struggled to make sense of it.

He remembered Brother Chu mentioning that those Looters wouldn't bother them anymore. Plus, he had seen Zhao Shu, who was kidnapped by the Looters, and heard that Yang Ergou was alive too.

Why would the mayor be writing to dead men?

And, there was correspondence between the mayor and those Looters?!

One bombshell after another.

Watching the confused Yu Hu, Chu Guang calmly continued,

"That's right. And judging from the content of the letter, it seems your mayor was planning to incite the Looters of the Blood Hand Clan to come and plunder us."

"Incite the Looters to plunder you?! How dare he—"

Chu Guang nodded.

"In fact, after we overtook the Blood Hand Clan's base, we indeed found some interesting things there. Various signs suggest that your mayor seems to have reached some secret pact with them. He wasn't simply being extorted by the Looters; he was actively collaborating with them to harvest what should have been your property... Do you understand what I'm saying?"

After hearing what Chu Guang had to say, Yu Hu's face was a picture of disbelief shocked.

There was no doubt left in his mind after the conversation had reached this point, even for someone with slower wits.

But what he couldn't understand was, why would the mayor do this?

"I need to go back and tell the people in the town!"

Leaping to his feet from the chair, Yu Hu's face was filled with rage, and his fists clenched tight.

"That bastard, he deceived us all!"

"Don't act impulsively," Chu Guang stood up with him, "I'm glad you're on my side, but you're Little Fish's brother, I can't let you just throw your life away."

"...Throw my life away?"

"Do you think by going back and shouting, the other survivors of Bet Street will immediately believe what you say?"

Yu Hu's face turned red, and he stiffly countered,

"I... I can persuade them!"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Persuasion with words is meaningless; your mayor will convince them with guns."

Yu Hu, eager to argue, couldn't articulate his point and hated that he was so tongue-tied.

Chu Guang wasn't surprised by his reaction.

After all, if he had been a minutely meticulous person, Old Charlie wouldn't have sent him with the letter in the first place.

"So I'm just supposed to watch him keep everyone in the dark!"

"Of course not."

Chu Guang placed his hand on Yu Hu's shoulder, giving him a resolute look.

"This isn't just about you; that old leech's foolishness and shamelessness have gone beyond what we can tolerate."

"I'll go with you!"

At the same time, every player carrying a VM near the Outpost Base received a mission popup simultaneously—

[Mission: Liberate Bet Street]

Chapter 123: Punitive War

"Work's here, work's here!"

"Another fight? Awesome, it's been so long since we've had a good scrap!"

"Damn! Why only 50 people? Are you all that quick on the draw?"

"Hesitate, and you lose!"

"Can I hang around without a mission? I'm broke, but I just want to watch the storyline unfold!"

"Front row offering Goblin Rocket Launchers for sale! Selling at a loss, big clearance, 5 silver coins each! You can't get fooled if you don't buy, you can't regret if you don't overpay!"

"I'll take one, put it on my tab!"

"Get lost!"

At the western gate of Outpost Base.

A huge crowd of players, clutching their weapons and ammo, ran to the open space in front of the trenches to gather.

The bustling scene didn't quite seem like they were headed into battle; instead, it felt like a festival.

Especially a particular mischievous little player, who rented a covered cart from the warehouse, loading it with cannon barrels, mounts, and shells all in one go.

He even hired a Strength Type novice to help pull the cart.

"Boss! Can, can I fire the cannon just once?"

Upon hearing this, Mosquito immediately burst into laughter, chuckling as he patted the kid on the shoulder.

"Of course! Good brother! Just follow my orders later, and you light the fuse!"

"Yes, sir!!!"

Such commotion was visible to anyone with eyes.

Nomads returning from the lake with water looked over in surprise, exchanging glances and chattering among themselves.

"What are they about to do?"

"Is it a battle?"

"They all have guns in their hands!"

"Who are they going to fight? Looters? Or Variants?"

Holding two plastic buckets full of water, the sisters Autumn Grass and Autumn Leaf curiously watched Manager Chu Guang walk out from the western gate.

Both of their gazes inevitably landed on the impressive hammer on his back.

"That's huge..."

"That hammer must weigh dozens of kilos, right?"

"The armor looks heavy too, is it made of steel?"

"And he doesn't seem tired at all!"

"It's not polite to stare at someone continuously like that."

"Uh, alright... wait! Why only mention Autumn Leaf? You were staring too, weren't you, sis?"

Autumn Grass retorted, her face flushed.

"No, it's not polite."

More and more curious nomads, drawn by the noise, gathered at a safe distance to observe the soldiers in front of the trenches, wondering what had happened.

Was there a war brewing?

People died in wars, didn't they?

But why did these soldiers look so excited?

Could it be they were not afraid of death at all?

A sense of awe rose in the hearts of many nomads; the morale of the Blue Jackets surpassed even the impressiveness of their weapons!

As the clanspeople busily discussed, Clan Leader Iron Axe, followed by a few hunters carrying bows and javelins, emerged from the crowd.

Approaching Manager Chu Guang, Iron Axe clasped his hands in respect and said,

"Sir, the men behind me are the elite of our clan. Just give the word, and we will be your sharpest spear!"

Chu Guang glanced at him, originally intending to turn down the offer politely.

But then, something stirred in Chu Guang's heart, and changing his mind at the last moment, he nodded.

"Stay by my side in a while."

"Yes, sir."

Signaling Yu Hu and Iron Axe to wait there, Chu Guang stepped in front of the players. Under the gaze of numerous expectant eyes, he began to recite the speech he had come up with in ten minutes.

"For too long, the people of Bet Street have endured the oppression of the mayor, struggling to survive under his rule mired in hunger and poverty. The wealth he extorts all ends up in his own pocket, fulfilling nothing but his selfish desires."

"His crimes are beyond description. And now, not only has he set his sights on us, but he has also crossed our line of tolerance, secretly colluding with our mortal enemies, the Blood Hand Clan, to form a secret alliance. He even incited them to wage aggression against us!"

"Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent," he declared. "Now is the time to let that insatiable Old Leech know what happens when they provoke us."

"Everyone, follow me to battle!"

On the open space in front of the trenches, a thunderous roar of excitement nearly deafened the listeners.

"Free Bet Street!"

"For Little Fish!"

"Rawr!!"

...

Bet Street.

Central Castle.

The study door on the top floor burst open, and a guard clad in a deerskin jacket rushed in, frantically crossing a long row of bookshelves to reach the Manager.

"Sir! A large group is approaching from the north! There are, there are more than fifty of them!"

"How many?!"

The Manager's face suddenly changed, and he immediately rose, dashing out the study and hurried down the corridor towards the tower, ascending to the highest point of the castle.

The north wind howled atop the high tower.

Without a coat, the cold air made him shiver uncontrollably, but he ignored the chill, snatching up a telescope hanging nearby and peering towards the north.

He saw a group dressed in fur coats, carrying long and short weapons, looking even more like Looters than actual Looters as they marched determinedly in the direction of Bet Street.

Amidst the howling winds, the old Manager's forehead somehow beaded with sweat.

He whirled around, grabbed the guard, who had chased after him up to the top of the tower, and bellowed so forcefully that saliva flew.

"Quick, gather all the guards and grab their weapons to the north gate!"

"And, send someone to find Charlie and have him rally the hunters of Bet Street! All men over 14—gather at the armory's entrance!"

"Now, go!"

The guard shook with the Manager's roar, nodding repeatedly.

"Yes, yes!"

The castle's alarm bells rang out desperately, shattering the serenity of Bet Street.

The survivors standing in the streets had no idea what had happened; they thought the Looters had arrived. They rushed home, frantically packing their things to flee, panicked and confused.

But Old Charlie, hearing the urgent ringing, felt not a trace of panic—instead, he sighed with relief, feeling as though a weight had dropped from his heart.

If a foolish act was inevitable, all he could do was hasten its arrival.

For example, before a brainless Manager could commit an even more egregious folly, better to light the gunpowder keg early and spare some innocent souls from the repercussions.

Without fail, they would soon send for him, asking him to rally the hunters of Bet Street to stand defiant on the walls against those in Blue Jackets.

He drew the curtain over his grocery shop and casually picked up his cane, slipping into the chaos of the frantic crowd.

Meanwhile, the armory door on one side of the castle swung open.

The guards, donned in deerskin coats, took the iron-barreled rifles and ammunition handed to them by their captain, then hurried towards the north gate to take cover and prepare for conflict.

However, the makeshift barrier of outdated metal scraps and concrete debris offered little reassurance.

Besides a few wrinkled old soldiers, many young guards showed fear and apprehension on their faces, their hands trembling as they gripped their weapons.

Forced to deal with powerhouses like the Blood Hand Clan, who collected their protection money and stayed away, they were usually up against Variants, with the most dangerous enemies being a few Mutant Brown Bears. Only in rare cases did they encounter foolish Looters attempting to extort them, whose combat strength was so lacking they often did not even possess a decent weapon and were no match for the town's hunters.

Such a scenario was a first for many of the younger guards!

Old Walter, holding a hunting gun, scanned his fellow guards with an air of gravity on his features.

Including himself, they had mustered only 11 men, half of whom were the Manager's private doormen, who might not have fired 30 rounds between them all year.

The guard captain beside him yelled at his subordinates.

"Where are they? Is this all we have? What about the town's hunters? Give them the guns and scatter them in the surrounding buildings!"

One of the younger guards, clutching his rifle nervously, replied.

"Old Charlie went to rouse them... They should be here soon."

"There's no time," Old Walter said, peering past the cover. "They've already arrived."

The snow-covered streets.

A group of soldiers, each draped in fur coats and carrying long and short guns, led by a man in heavy armor, took to the ends of the streets, spreading out behind the various barriers.

The two sides were separated by two hundred meters, already within striking distance!

Yet, no one moved; they simply stood in tense standoff.

Just when the tension seemed palpable, Walter's brow suddenly furrowed—he saw a dark cannon barrel being pushed out from the street corner!

They had artillery too?!

The cannon barrel was about as long as a leg, probably cast, with incredibly thick walls, and the dark muzzle emitted a chilling light.

Although it looked crude, no one dared to underestimate its power.

The guard captain beside it swallowed, finally losing his patience, and shouted loudly across,

"What are you people? What are you doing here!"

Nonsense...

Does such a foolish question even need to be asked?

Old Walter complained in his heart as he silently loaded his hunting gun and stretched the barrel out, aiming at the opposite side.

However, at that moment, his pupils suddenly constricted.

He saw a man in a beast skin jacket raise his hands to show he was unarmed, stand up from behind the cover, and walk out.

Old Walter squinted his eyes.

Having watched the gate for dozens of years, he almost recognized every face on the street.

Clearly, it wasn't just him who recognized the man's identity – a few of the young guards recognized him as well and began whispering to each other.

"Zhao Shu?"

"It seems... it really is him!"

"Hiss... wasn't he dead? I saw his family held a funeral for him."

"I remember! It happened last month, right? Supposedly he went up north to hunt deer and ran into people from the Blood Hand Clan... Yang Ergou from the Yang family was caught with him."

"Yang Ergou?"

"Yes, yes, exactly that guy!"

As the guards discussed this, Zhao Shu, who had walked twenty meters forward, stopped in his tracks and shouted loudly,

"My fellow villagers, I am Zhao Shu! I've come to help you!"

"Help us?"

The Guard Captain, behind the cover, sneered coldly and yelled at Zhao Shu standing in the snow, "Your kind of help is this?"

Seeing the Guard Captain, a fear instinctively arose in Zhao Shu.

But remembering the dozens of soldiers backing him and the words the Manager had said to him earlier, the flame rekindled in his eyes, and he straightened his back.

Addressing his fellow townspeople behind the cover, he raised his volume and spoke loudly.

"A month ago, Yang Ergou from the Yang family and I went up north to hunt deer and unfortunately were captured by the Blood Hand Clan looters and thrown into their dungeon. Just when I thought I was done for, it was our neighbors... the people behind me, who rescued me from the dungeon of the looters."

The guards behind the cover stirred, and expressions of surprise appeared on their faces.

Rescued from the looters' dungeon?

Does that mean the Blood Hand Clan has been taken down?!

Zhao Shu didn't stop talking.

"Not only did they provide me with food, clothes, and fuel, they also arranged work and housing for me, freeing me from hunger and cold. They didn't just accept me, but all the other captives who were rescued as well. I'm not saying this for any other reason than to let you all know, they are not our enemies—"

"Utter nonsense!" the Guard Captain cursed loudly, "You ungrateful cur! Just because strangers throw you a couple of bones, you wag your tail and beg for their mercy, willing to be their dog, even turning your fangs on your own people! Where is your conscience?"

Zhao Shu grew angry and roared back.

"Conscience? You dare to talk about conscience? Tell me loudly, who is the real ungrateful cur? We scavenge, we hunt, we trade our lives for chips, and what do we get? We pay tribute to him every year, endure his exploitation, buy the garbage he picks leftovers from, and get shat on by those looters outside!"

"Tell me, where was he when I was thrown into the dungeon by the looters? He never protected anyone, he only ever had eyes for himself, and when we needed him, he couldn't even step out of his own castle!"

"From the start, that vampire living in the castle was no different from the Blood Hand Clan! With the fruits of our labor, he honors those looters, even helping those villains suck our blood dry! You think I'm joking? Just yesterday, that vampire wrote a letter and sent it to the Blood Hand Clan, trying to incite those villains to raid our neighbors!"

As he spoke, Zhao Shu took a letter out of his chest pocket and held it up high.

"Do you want me to read it to you?"

Old Walter's eyes widened upon hearing this.

The faces of the young guards nearby also showed astonishment.

The old mayor is in cahoots with the Blood Hand Clan's people?

Is that true?!

Watching the shaken looks of the guards around him, sweat began to bead on the Guard Captain's brow.

His first instinct was that such incendiary talk couldn't have been conjured up by this illiterate bumpkin.

Someone must have taught him!

If this man was allowed to continue speaking, the battle would be lost without even fighting.

As a direct descendant of the mayor and an existing beneficiary, right or wrong, the Guard Captain's stance meant he had to side with the mayor.

Moreover, the situation wasn't that dire – although there were dozens of people on the other side, there were hundreds of survivors in Bet Street.

Now that the armory was open, as long as Old Charlie could rally the town's survivors, the fight might not necessarily be lost!

Making a quick judgment, and looking at Zhao Shu, who had started to read the letter aloud, the Guard Captain yelled out.

"Fire!"

However, no gunshots rang out; no one heeded his command.

Listening to the nearly sycophantic and pleasing content of that letter, not just the young guards, even Old Walter fell silent, staring at the hunting gun in his hands for a long time without a word.

The captain of the guards clenched his teeth, his eyes spewing fury.

He waited no longer, grabbing the rifle in his hands, he aimed at the hick who stood over 150 meters away, pretending to read the letter, and pulled the trigger.

Snap!

Woosh—

The first bullet grazed Zhao Mouse's face as it flew past, hitting the snowdrift behind him, scaring him into immediately diving aside, taking cover behind a car wreck buried in the snow.

Old Walter's face changed, looking at the captain of the guards who was still pulling the bolt to shoot again, he exclaimed in horror.

"Have you gone mad?"

The captain of the guards glared at him fiercely, then glared at the guards cowering behind cover.

"Why should I be polite with Looters! If you don't want to die, start shooting!"

Across the street, witnessing the bullet mark landing not far from them, the players were not the least bit panicked; on the contrary, they were riled up with excitement.

"Boss! They're firing at us!"

"No more talking rubbish with them, let's do this!"

"Charge them!"

Though things didn't go as planned, considering the enemy had already opened fire.

Chu Guang didn't hesitate any longer, looking at Mosquito not too far away, he waved his right hand in a forward motion under his expectant gaze.

"Fire!"

"Roger that!" Hearing the order to fire, Mosquito gave an excited glance to the newbie stationed at the cannon and yelled, "Waste them!"

The firing details were already set, and that Strength Type newbie immediately lit the cannon's fuse and then covered his ears.

Boom—!

Flames and smoke erupted, the cannonball drew a parabolic trajectory in the sky like a thunderbolt, and smashed into the north gate of Bet Street.

"Boom!"

With thick smoke and dispersed fireworks, the wooden gate, as if struck by lightning, exploded with a thunderous crash!

The captain of the guards who had been shooting from behind cover was so shocked that he instantly shrank back into hiding.

At that moment, a whistle echoed from a distance down the street, followed by deafening shouts and yells that surged towards the defensive position like tumultuous waves.

"Fire! Everyone shoot!"

He yelled furiously, commanding the guards around him to retaliate, but no one paid him any heed.

The already low morale was shattered by the cannon blast. Hearing the piercing whistle and shouts of attack, to not drop their cover and run was already brave enough, let alone poke their heads out to shoot.

Seeing the other guards scared stiff, Old Walter couldn't help but recall an incident from long ago.

A long, long time ago, when he was still young, Bet Street once fell prey to a raid from the Blood Hand Clan.

At the time, there were 12 guards; 11 of them were decimated, leaving only two survivors.

What good did it do to rally the town's Hunters?

These were the ruthless people who had flattened the very stronghold of the Blood Hand Clan, flattening them was probably just a matter of a charge.

Moreover...

Old Walter had just recognized the man giving the orders to attack as Blue Jacket, who had spent some time in Bet Street before, and then became untraceable.

If these people were from the shelter, they might not necessarily be harsh on these pitiful folks.

"Surrender... since reinforcements haven't arrived by now, they're probably not going to come. There are only 11 of us here; we can't possibly be their match."

Old Walter put down his gun.

Looking at the captain of the guards turning his gun barrel towards him, he sighed and said.

"Why bother? With no casualties on both sides yet, they might not be too bad with prisoners of war."

The face of the captain of the guards turned deathly pale, his fingers trembling.

"Don't push me."

Old Walter reached out and held his gun barrel, not moving, gazing seriously at him.

"If you're determined to fight, then shoot."

"Many people will die today; leading the way might not be so bad."

Watching the captain of the guards' expression change from fierce to stiff, and from stiff to despairing, Old Walter breathed a sigh of relief, slowly lifting the rifle from his shaking hands.

"Thank you. You've given all of us a chance to live."

The captain of the guards' face was pallid, squeezing out a feeble, powerless smile.

"Hope."

Chapter 124 Those People Will Never Come Back!

I Got Health Insurance, I'll Go First: "Drop your ! Surrender and you won't be killed!"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Damn?! Not even a bit of resistance?"

Construction Site Teen with a Brick: "What a lonely charge!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Refund! Mosquito refund! We didn't even get to use this rocket!"

Borrowing Ten More Centimeters from the Sky: "Brother Chicken, let it go, it's just a silver coin's thing. It's good we didn't have to use it, trust me!"

The war was going exceptionally smoothly.

When the players burst through the gates, the defenders of Bet Street had already thrown down their and voluntarily squatted in the corners with their hands on their heads, surrendering.

This left many players who had been looking forward to a big fight feeling like they had punched cotton.

Why did they surrender so quickly?

Couldn't they have put up a little bit of resistance?

Following Manager through the wooden gate blown open by artillery, Wu's expression was full of shock and admiration.

So strong!

He had seen these Blue Jackets well-equipped before but never realized that they weren't just well-equipped—their combat discipline was also top-notch.

Although their charge wasn't very orderly, their opponents had been completely crushed by their momentum and didn't have the slightest will to resist.

Thinking this, Wu silently felt fortunate about his past decision, relying on these strong players was indeed the right choice.

"Plant our flag on the enclosing wall!" Chu Guang looked around nostalgically for a moment, and then turned to Walter, who was squatting in the corner. "You, get up."

Walter blinked, stood up with his hands still holding his head.

"...What would you have me do, sir?"

"Don't you recognize me?"

Old Walter gave an embarrassed smile.

"I do..."

Chu Guang smiled, took a knife from Wu's hand, and tossed it to Old Walter, then gestured with his chin to the people squatting in the corner.

"Keep an eye on them for me."

Old Walter hurriedly took the knife, bowing his head respectfully.

"Yes, sir."

The had been collected, and these guards had lost the will to resist.

Since they had surrendered so easily, Chu Guang didn't plan to make things difficult for them. As long as they quietly waited until everything was over, they would naturally be allowed to go home to mama.

Leaving two highly-contributing players to guard the gate, Chu Guang then instructed Zhao Mouse to go with Yu Hu to reassure the survivors of Bet Street, telling them there was no need to panic. They should stay indoors and not come out, patiently waiting for the war to end, and for Old Leech's public trial.

Noticing the battle had subsided, Old Charlie emerged from a nearby alley.

When he saw Chu Guang's face, his expression flashed with surprise; he obviously hadn't expected the leader of this group of Blue Jackets to be the simple-minded foreigner wandering the Wasteland.

However, his reaction was still pretty quick. After being surprised for just a few seconds, he respectfully bowed his head.

"Respected lord, welcome to your arrival! The survivors of Bet Street are ready to welcome their new master."

"Lift your head, Old Leech's era is over. From now on, the people here can decide their own future."

Seeing Charlie nod, Chu Guang skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"Since you're here, that's good. I need the people of Bet Street to understand that we've come to liberate them, not to persecute them. Apart from the mayor being hanged, no one else's life will be affected. Therefore, when we attack the castle, I hope no one comes out to cause trouble, you understand me?"

Old Charlie certainly understood, bowing his head respectfully.

"I'll reassure everyone for you!"

Chu Guang nodded, then looked back to the restless players behind him and waved towards the central castle of Bet Street.

"Everyone else, follow me!"

Players all followed commands closely, proceeding along the streets under Chu Guang's orders without harassing the shivering survivors huddled in their shanties.

The only one who couldn't seem to keep still was alone.

Mosquito, still not over the thrill of having blasted open the gate with a single shot, was about to command the small players pulling the cannon cart to fire another at the castle, but was immediately stopped by Chu Guang.

What a joke.

The fattest place on Bet Street was Old Leech's castle.

This was his war trophy.

How could he let it be blown up?

Without encountering any resistance along the way, the players, led by Chu Guang, crossed several brick buildings near the town center and quickly arrived at the entrance of the castle.

When the group arrived, the castle gates were tightly closed, and the situation inside was completely obscured from the windows.

Through VM, Chu Guang directed the players to split into three groups,

One group to surround the castle from the outside, another to take over the armory next to the castle, and the last group to attack the castle from the front to capture Old Leech alive!

"The explosives team is in position!"

"Ignite!"

Even though they could have simply forced the door open, several players tasked with storming the building eagerly placed dynamite at the entrance.

The fuse burned out, and with a loud boom, the castle's main entrance was blown to smithereens, falling heavily backward onto the ground.

"GoGoGo!"

"Charge!"

With bayonets fixed on their rifles, the players howled as they rushed through the thick smoke of the explosion and into the castle.

When they saw the opulent decoration in the castle hall, everyone was taken aback.

"Holy Giao, is this a style you'd find in the Wasteland?!"

"Damn, these columns are actually made of marble!"

"The columns were probably built before the war... but the carpet, damn, it's actually sewn from bear fur!"

"Too rich, way too rich!"

While everyone's stomachs were still growling, the old town chief was already living comfortably!

It wasn't just carpets sewn from beast fur, but also wall hangings and chandeliers suspended from the ceiling... all of it formed a stark contrast with the decayed streets outside. This place didn't resemble the Wasteland at all, it was more like a palace.

Beyond those obviously valuable items, the players quickly discovered that there was an elevator in the seven-story castle!

However, it seemed the generator had stopped working.

The players who stormed the interior of the castle quickly split into two groups, one sweeping upward through the staircases, while the other began a thorough search from the ground floor, looking for the generator and the whereabouts of Old Leech.

However, to their surprise, the players tasked with storming the castle searched the entire building without finding the key NPC for their mission—none of the Old Leech family.

It was as if they had vanished into thin air from the castle!

But soon, a player named "Midnight Chicken Killing" made a new discovery while exploring the underground wine cellar.

Holding an axe, he excitedly reported back to the manager.

"Manager, we've found a passage in the underground wine cellar!"

Did they tunnel their way out?

After hearing this, Chu Guang wasn't surprised.

With Old Leech's style of tyrannical governance, it would be no surprise if he hadn't constructed an escape route beneath his own backside; otherwise, he probably couldn't sleep peacefully at night.

Looking at Midnight Chicken Killing who had reported back to him, Chu Guang immediately ordered,

"Take two people and follow that passage, see if you can catch up with them."

"It doesn't matter if you don't, I need to know where that tunnel leads!"

Meanwhile, Midnight Chicken Killing's VM on his arm popped up a task window.

"[Task: Explore the underground passage of Castle's wine cellar (can be replicated for up to two players)]"

"[Reward: 5 silver coins, 50 Contribution]"

Glancing at the task popup, Midnight Chicken Killing excitedly clenched his fists in front of him.

"Yes!"

Having said that, he quickly formed a team with two nearby comrades and charged towards the direction of the passage.

Watching the little players' figures rushing towards the underground wine cellar, Chu Guang touched his chin.

Speaking of which, Old Leech sure knows how to enjoy himself—having a wine cellar in the basement?

Perfect, when celebrating victory tonight, the old mayor's collection can become a welfare benefit for the players.

With this in mind, Chu Guang walked to the armory next to the castle, where the Warehouse Manager had already surrendered with his hands up, squatting in the corner of the wall.

Walking through the wide-open door, Chu Guang glanced inside and a look of surprise—and confusion—crossed his face.

Thirty iron pipe rifles from Giant Stone City, the same type Liszt had sold to him, plus the handmade pistols, hunting guns, and other weapons laid on the table, as well as the bullets and frag grenades in boxes, were enough to arm a guerrilla team!

The armament of these people was not weak.

Even slightly more standard than that of the Looters.

However, until the castle was breached, these weapons did not reach the hands of the survivors on Bet Street but instead fell into their hands.

Wu Tiefu's face was filled with confusion.

"Their equipment is not weak."

Chu Guang nodded.

"That's right."

"...Then why didn't he distribute the equipment to his clanspeople?"

"Because those people are not his clanspeople, just his servants and slaves. If not for needing them to hunt, he wouldn't even allow them to have a Bow and Arrow."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment then continued to Wu Tiefu.

"Have your clan load these spoils onto wagons and take them back to Outpost Base to find Luka. He knows what to do with them."

Wu Tiefu was surprised and flattered that the Manager trusted him so much.

With a solemn expression, he earnestly accepted the order.

"Yes, my lord!"

At the same time, Chu Guang waved his hand, signaling the players behind him to follow.

"Let's go."

"We're going to check out Old Leech's private collection!"

...

As the players at Outpost Base planted the flag of 404 on the spire of the castle, Zhao Mouse, who had been ordered to penetrate the neighborhood and soothe the people, finally arrived at his own home's doorstep.

Seeing his family, the thin man burst into tears and hugged his loved ones tightly.

"Dad! Mom! Brother! Sister-in-law! I'm back!"

His elderly mother's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Son, you've finally come back!"

"Thanks to those Blue Jackets, I got my life back," Zhao Mouse sniffled, squeezing a smile onto his face, "The salt I asked Yu's second Child to bring for you guys... he brought it, didn't he?"

Old Dad nodded, his expression somewhat fearful.

"He did, he did! Son, tell me the truth, where did you get that salt? Why is it of a better quality than what we used to trade for at the general store?"

The big brother also nodded, speaking anxiously.

"Yeah, don't just take other people's stuff!"

"What do you mean, 'take other people's stuff'? Am I that kind of person?" Zhao Shu said with a laugh, "You guys don't need to worry, I earned it with my labor!"

His elder brother looked confused.

"Labor? What labor..."

When they worked for the old town leader, they had never received any wages, at most just meals. Sometimes, when they worked until four in the afternoon, still a while away from mealtime, there wasn't even a meal, just a turnip thrown in their hands before sending them off.

Zhao Shu chuckled.

"Working for those Blue Jackets not only includes meals and lodging, but also a silver coin a day. You can exchange it for stuff in their warehouse. I got that salt from their warehouse! It's way better than what you get at the grocery store in town!"

Saying this, he grasped his elder brother's hand.

"Brother, why don't you come too? I see they're still hiring! The silver coins can be exchanged not only for salt but also for food; they're even handier than chips! Since prey is scarce in winter anyway, why not make bricks for them? The work isn't tiring, and it's warm, much more comfortable than lying in the snow waiting for prey!"

Zhao Shu's brother's eyes widened.

"Is it really as good as you say?"

Zhao Shu nodded vigorously.

"Of course! Would I lie to you?"

The elder brother scratched the back of his head, murmuring.

"Then I'll think about it... Speaking of which, are you still going home, or are you following those people?"

"I plan to work until next spring before deciding. There isn't enough grain at home, so I'm not going to stay home for the winter!"

Looking at his younger brother, the elder brother said with a touch of guilt,

"...You've had it tough."

Hearing these words, Zhao Shu couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha, what hardships? Brother, you don't know how good life is there; I feel like I'm about to gain weight. Anyway, I'll tell you more about it next time you go!"

Although reluctant, he still had a mission to complete.

After saying goodbye to his family, Zhao Shu left the house and continued on to the next one.

On the other hand, the Yu family was also experiencing similar concerns.

Watching his younger brother return from outside, Yu Xiong, who stood guard at home with an axe in his hand and a look of terror, anxiously grabbed him and asked,

"What happened out there? Who are those people that came?"

Yu Hu replied with a smile,

"Brother, don't worry, those are Brother Chu's men!"

"Brother Chu?!" Upon hearing about their savior, Yu Xiong paused, his nervousness fading. He dropped the axe and looked at his brother, pressing for details, "Why did he come?"

"All because of our town leader!"

Thinking of the letter, Yu Hu could not help but get angry, his words taking on Chu Guang's tone.

"That Old Leech, secretly colluding with the Looters! What a scoundrel! Pah!"

All the survivors on the Wasteland despised the Looters, hating them even more than they hated the Variants.

Yu Xiong's face showed surprise; not understanding the full story, he could not fathom how the town leader had gotten involved with the Looters.

"If it's those people, I'm relieved," said the old father, who had also relaxed his grip on the weapons at hand, letting out a sigh of relief, "As long as they aren't from the Blood Hand Clan, we can talk things over!"

Seeing his father, Yu Hu suddenly remembered something.

"Ah, right, Dad, I forgot to tell you, the Blood Hand Clan won't be harassing us anymore!"

"They won't harass us?" The old man glanced at his son and said with a chuckle, "When did they ever skip a year? Just because you say they won't harass us, they won't?"

"It's not me saying this," Yu Hu smiled honestly, a look of pride on his face, "The Blood Hand Clan's stronghold has been leveled by Brother Chu!"

"Those people, they won't be coming back anymore!"

Chapter 125: A New Order!

Bet Street's northern gate.

Old Walter tut-tutted as he watched the convoy of covered wagons carry away weapons and ammunition, his mind a mix of complex emotions.

"If that guy had distributed the guns earlier, maybe we wouldn't have lost."

The survivors of Bet Street had never even touched a gun because their respected town mayor had never intended to let them afford one.

As for the reason, he could see it clearly.

Compared to the Looters, who could be appeased with wealth, it was the Scavengers beneath his feet, constantly hungry, who truly scared him.

Old Charlie, who had just returned from pacifying the survivors, happened to hear this and cracked a thin smile before casually responding,

"The result would have been the same."

"Why?"

"Do you have faith?"

Old Walter was taken aback.

"Faith?"

Charlie glanced meaningfully at the Blue Jackets, full of spirit and steadfast at their posts.

"They do."

The reason this world had become a Wasteland was never due to some terrible weapon, but the despair from witnessing the collapse of paradise.

Before he was sold here, he had seen a landlord farming with bionic robots, witnessed war maniacs mounting fusion engines on airships, and even a madman who transformed himself into an octopus with eight prosthetic limbs.

Many of his brethren from the same shelter had seemed entirely sane before the doors opened, only to descend into madness shortly after stepping out.

And numerous others chose suicide, unable to face the cruel reality.

Yet these Blue Jackets seemed to be the total opposite.

How should he put it...

They seemed unhealthily optimistic, maybe?

Old Charlie himself couldn't figure out how to describe their state of mind.

But one thing was for sure, if even the despair of paradise collapsing couldn't destroy them, then they must have some powerful belief sustaining them in their hearts.

Unaware of what Old Charlie was pondering, the two young players standing guard at the gate were killing time with idle chatter.

"I have the following six opinions on the situation in Afghanistan..."

"You're right, but the Vatican has a permanent population of 800, and Australia alone has 47 million kangaroos. If the kangaroos decided to invade the Vatican, then every Vatican citizen would have to fight 58,750 kangaroos."

"Did you say that old man seems to be watching us?"

"Does he have a quest for us?"

"Doesn't look like it, there's no exclamation mark on the map and he's not wearing a VM."

"Then forget about the old guy... Oh right, where was I?"

...

The power generator supplying electricity to the castle was located on the first floor, the same model Chu Guang had bought from List, a combination of a wood gasifier and a gas-fired generator.

However, this wood-powered generator had a much higher output than the one Chu Guang had previously purchased, with four feed ports connected to four giant cylinders, it could actually reach a maximum output power of 150KW!

To place this generator inside the castle was simply a waste.

Chu Guang planned to take it back with him.

Currently, the power output of the "electric grid" at Outpost Base was only 10KW, which was barely enough to power a single Active Substance Extractor.

150KW, that could do quite a lot!

But before moving it back, Chu Guang needed to use it.

The players efficiently stuffed wood into the feed ports and pulled the electrical switch. As the generator started up again, the castle's lighting was restored.

Chu Guang, carrying a large hammer, entered the castle and took the elevator straight to the top floor.

According to the players' reports, this was the old mayor's study.

Chu Guang instructed them not to rummage through the things here, to wait until he arrived.

The players obediently did as told, though they had practically stripped everywhere else, short of gnawing the paint off the walls.

The elevator came to a stop.

Looking at the fireplace directly ahead and the neatly stacked firewood inside, Chu Guang couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Damn, corrupt to the core."

Even the hallways have heating!

This old leech doesn't wear clothes at home, does he?

The mental image was somewhat eye-searing, and Chu Guang decided it was better not to imagine it.

Passing through the carpeted hallway, Chu Guang headed straight for the study which he had marked with a special symbol on the VM map.

Rather than a study, this place was more like a collector's room.

On the shelf, apart from novels, poetry collections, and cooking recipes from before the war, there were also some quirky gadgets and ornaments.

Chu Guang reached for a small brass-colored pistol on the shelf, examined it in his hand for a while, and then aimed at the wall next to him and pulled the trigger, only to see a small flame burst from the muzzle.

"Lighter?"

Apart from the lighter shaped like a pistol, there was also a Beetle Clock made of gold gears and springs, which looked quite valuable.

Chu Guang even found several gold bars in a rusty iron box.

It seemed that in Qingquan City area, gold was not such a rare thing, at least not worth as much as those colorful chips.

Otherwise, it would not have been discarded here.

"Tsk, this iron rooster."

"Really didn't leave a single chip for me!"

After admiring his spoils for a while,

Chu Guang set these flashy but impractical things to one side, his eyes landing on the radio on the desk.

Stepping forward, he reached out and pressed the switch.

After a brief pause, melodious and soothing music mixed with the noise of electrical currents soon wafted from the old speaker.

Chu Guang was surprised.

"There's a signal?"

From Giant Stone City?

Or another survivor settlement...

Chu Guang was about to tune it to see if there were other channels.

However, just as his hand touched the black knob, the soothing music abruptly stopped, replaced by a slick DJ.

"... And now for a news break. To our north, in the "North Suburb" of Qingquan City, there has been a large-scale melee involving a hundred people. A group suspected to come from the north, armed with rifles made from water pipes, charged the local survivor settlement. Their most advanced weapon was a ridiculous smoothbore cannon?"

"Tsk tsk, how cruel. We saw those migrants using black powder to blow open the local residents' doors, smashing their skulls with rifle butts. They hung the men at the gates, tied the women up, and dragged them off into dark alleys, from one-year-old children to fifty-year-old women... tsk tsk tsk, these beasts are truly savage."

Chu Guang: "…?"

Is this DJ on drugs?

What nonsense he's spouting.

The study window faced the ring roads of the northern part of Qingquan City.

Looking out, Chu Guang could only make out the uneven and twisted silhouettes of high-rise ruins and the remnants of overpasses.

Further off, the downtown area was either obscured or blurred by winter fog.

"…Can Giant Stone City really see all the way here?"

Or was it that they had set up observation posts along the ring road or atop some tall building, using large telescopes to covertly observe?

Chu Guang's eyebrows lifted slightly.

Interesting.

The radio continued broadcasting.

After sensationalizing the brutality of the northern migrants, the DJ smoothly transitioned to pushing advertisements in the news.

"The ongoing turmoil in the northern part of River Valley Province is threatening the safety of the southern area. Huge Rock Military Industry reminds you that guns are the foundation of life. For your safety, we proudly recommend our latest products—the Fire Lizard Assault Rifle, the Fire Dragon Fruit Grenade Launcher, and the crowbar-branded bread supplied by Cafeteria No. 1."

"If even these cannot keep your neighbors calm, we also offer a range of military outsourcing services, including mediation and dispute resolution."

"As long as your pocket is filled with enough chips, the mercenaries of Giant Stone City will never disappoint you!"

...

[Mission: Liberate Bet Street (completed)]

[Description: The flag of Shelter No. 404 flutters atop the castle on Bet Street. Our enemies have fled in panic, abandoning their weapons and surrendering. While the whereabouts of Old Leech are unknown, that is irrelevant. The people of Bet Street will thank us, and they will embrace a better tomorrow.]

[Reward: 50 Silver Coins, 100 Contribution Points, a chance to draw a lottery, a bottle of 330ml wine, and the gratitude of Little Fish.]

At noon.

Almost simultaneously receiving the task completion notification, the players standing in front of the castle revealed surprised expressions on their faces.

"Eh?! Am I seeing things? What's this lottery chance?"

"Well, well, the internal test hasn't even started, and they've already created the lottery feature!"

"I'm blindly guessing the next feature will be a card draw!"

"Operator: 'Testing the money-making system is also part of the closed test. If you're not cool with it, just don't play. Manual funny face.'"

"I'll draw! Hey, I actually got a Brass Pistol Lighter?!"

"Holy shit, it's my turn... Darn it! How the hell did I draw a goat horn potato?!"

"Hahahaha, confirmed African!"

Of course.

Not everyone was busy with the lottery.

Like a certain girl with short hair.

"Little Fish's gratitude! Wah wah wah, how will Little Fish thank Tail? Will Tail get a hug? Can Tail be hugged and nibbled on?"

Standing beside her, Si Si sighed and poked Tail's arm with the butt of her gun.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, being too perverted could get you kicked offline, you know."

The lottery feature was something Chu Guang had asked Xiao Qi to develop last night, but hadn't found the opportunity to use, so he first tested the waters by putting it in the mission rewards.

From the looks of it, the player feedback seemed pretty good?

Although the prizes in the pool were just little trinkets that didn't affect game balance, the occasional excitement from one or two lucky players always pushed the atmosphere to a climax.

To Chu Guang's surprise, from the players' reactions, the universally acknowledged SSSR was not a 150 Silver Coin iron pipe rifle, but that utterly useless "Brass Pistol."

The brass appearance gave off a "Golden Legend" vibe, and its cool design made it look really stylish.

The only downside was that it couldn't fire bullets, only light cigarettes, since it was, after all, a lighter.

But that didn't matter!

Anyone who played "Disconnect Territory" knew that a named weapon wasn't necessarily more effective than those generic orange gear, but people still kept them as collectibles to flex in forums and trick noobs.

Wasteland OL was no different.

"Legendary" weapons did not provide any damage boosts to bullets at all, whether it was a chia submachine gun or a bear's hunting gun - they were no more effective than those iron pipe rifles bought from Giant Stone City, apart from coming with a unique story.

Of course, saying Old Leech's lighter was completely useless wasn't entirely true, especially since players at Outpost Base mainly relied on matches for fire.

This kind of lighter with piezoelectric ceramics was relatively "high-tech."

Brother Mosquito, who had drawn a goat horn potato, ranted furiously in the square.

"Poor review! Why didn't they hold an auction this time! I want that Old Leech's lighter!"

The surrounding players just laughed at him.

So you blindly bid, huh? No G-group rules this time, feeling dumbfounded now, aren't you?

Makabazi, who had drawn the lighter, was grinning from ear to ear, as if he wished he could wear his VM around his neck to show off.

"1000 Silver Coins, you in? One-time chance."

"Darn! A lighter for 1000! Are you freaking robbing me?!"

Who the heck can fork out a four-digit sum?!

Brother Ba looked smug and arched his eyebrows.

He had no intention of selling; the price was of course made up on the spot.

"1000 Silver once, 1000 Silver twice... Anyone else raising a bid? No? Good, going for 1500 now."

Mosquito: "%￥#@!"

After completing the task, the reward of Silver Coins and Contribution Points would be credited immediately.

As for the prizes drawn and the grape wine rewarded with the task, they needed to be claimed at the NPC's warehouse after returning to Outpost Base.

It was better to keep the wine for the victory celebration dinner.

If they gave the wine to players now, Chu Guang was indeed worried these little fools would drink themselves offline right there and then, and he'd have to arrange for someone to carry them back.

That would be pure trouble.

Apart from the rewards that everyone could receive, there was also an extra reward for players who performed additional tasks, mainly consisting of Silver Coins and Copper Coins, which would not affect balance or trigger OCD in those who didn't receive them.

Actually, Chu Guang had been considering recently developing a military honors system outside the Contribution system, to create a range of electronic medals and ranks and further differentiate the growth paths of players with life skills and those with combat roles.

But, that would lead to other complications.

After all, it would be better to wait until more players joined and needed to go out and expand territories to enrich this part of the gameplay.

At the castle entrance.

Chu Guang found Old Charlie and had him do a simple inventory of the supplies on Bet Street.

Old Charlie was experienced with this task, quickly finding the account book left in the warehouse and taking Chu Guang to the grain storage to check.

"The grain storage on Bet Street has a total reserve of 8000 kg of sweet potatoes, 12000 kg of green wheat, 5000 kg of cabbage, 800 kg of dried meat, as well as 30 kg of coarse salt, and two sacks of pepper and Sichuan pepper... All the supplies are recorded in this account book, and there's a record for every withdrawal of supplies, please have a look."

Saying this, Old Charlie respectfully handed the crumpled account book to Chu Guang.

After taking the account book, Chu Guang quickly glanced over it.

To his surprise, besides those food reserves, there were actually two packets of 500 g of fine salt and 20 jin of white sugar in the warehouse.

Even soy sauce and vinegar were available!

That Old Leech certainly had quite the luxurious diet.

"What about the reserves of supplies other than food and arms?"

Old Charlie answered respectfully.

"The main stock in the warehouse is fur for trading, which can be found later in this account book. However, after List's commercial team visited last time, the people from the Blood Hand Clan had extorted us again, so there wasn't much left in the storage room."

"In addition, there are 173 chips and the skin of a baby hyena at the general store. It's not in the account book, but I've already prepared it for you, it's on the table at the entrance to the warehouse."

Chu Guang nodded.

173 chips, that was a significant amount.

As for the batch of fur that Old Leech presented to Blood Hand, it was now lying in his warehouse, part of which seemed to have been bought by Teng Teng to make clothes, worn by many of the players.

Just as he was about to ask Old Charlie to take him for a round in the warehouse, a dirt-covered little player came over from the direction of the castle.

"Manager, Sir!"

Seeing the lone Midnight Chicken Killing returning, Chu Guang roughly guessed the outcome but still looked at him and asked,

"How is the situation?"

Midnight Chicken Killing said with a look of shame,

"...When we went down, there was already the sound of an explosion in the passage, and sewage soon flooded up to our shoes. We continued forward and quickly encountered some frightened large rats and mutant cockroaches... After dealing with them, we tried to clear the collapsed rocks with shovels, but the wooden beams of the passage had broken. As we dug, more collapses occurred in the front, so we could only retreat."

Sewage?

It seemed that the underground passage of the wine cellar must connect to the sewage system of Qingquan City. When that Old Leech lit the dynamite, he probably blew up the water pipes buried nearby.

After listening to Midnight Chicken Killing's report, Chu Guang didn't blame him but merely nodded.

"I understand, you've done well enough, there's no need to blame yourself."

If it was lost, then let it be.

The survivors of Bet Street already knew of the old Leech's crimes. Regardless of whether he was dead or not, the people here would never allow him to return.

After saying this, Chu Guang swiped his index finger on the VM screen, marking the little player's task as "Confirmed Complete."

Watching Midnight Chicken Killing leave with a delighted expression, Chu Guang then turned to Old Charlie and tossed the account book into his hands.

"I will take away all the supplies in the warehouse. As for the food, I will take half, and the rest will stay here for the residents of Bet Street to purchase. Keep the account book safe; I will have someone regularly check it."

"Furthermore, the official currency of Bet Street will now be Silver Coins and Copper Coins. The previous chips can still be used, but they will no longer be actively circulated in the market. If villagers come to exchange game for money in the future, you pay them directly with Silver Coins and Copper Coins."

The implementation of new currency might be difficult at first, but Chu Guang was planning to leverage price controls to subtly influence people's choices.

The same commodity, when bought with silver coins, would be cheaper, so survivors would naturally prefer to deal in the new currency.

Hearing Chu Guang's orders, Charlie immediately understood his intentions and nodded comprehensively,

"I understand what you mean."

Chu Guang nodded.

Just then, Chu Guang suddenly remembered that there was another important matter he hadn't mentioned. So, he looked at Old Charlie, cleared his throat, raised his voice, and continued with a serious expression,

"Oppression has been overthrown, and the survivors of Bet Street will welcome a new order."

"Starting now, you are the new mayor."

"I will pay you a salary of 400 Silver Coins per month, and your first task is to draft a clear set of written rules to serve as a preliminary step for Bet Street's first laws. Everything here will be governed according to what is written in the law."

Charlie looked surprised.

Although he had suspected that Chu Guang might have him help clean up the mess, the salary and the laws honestly exceeded his expectations.

Did this great man still believe that this world could be saved?

Despite being filled with doubts, Old Charlie didn't say anything. He simply bowed respectfully and gladly accepted the appointment.

"I will follow your orders, Sir."

-

(Brothers, it's the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I took half a day off to gather with my family and to gather material. There's only one update today, but it's still quite substantial. Could you perhaps compliment me? I will continue to work hard tomorrow!)

Chapter 126: Triumph! And the Victory Celebration Banquet!

In the evening, as the last covered wagon left the north gate of Bet Street, the survivors from Shelter No. 404 sang the songs of triumph as they headed home.

The residents of Bet Street watched in bewilderment as the victors disappeared at the end of the street, many still not recovered from the sound of cannon fire that morning.

Just...

Was it over?

No one was sacrificed.

The most seriously injured was just an unlucky guard who had his face scratched by wood splinters blown off by a shell. After breaking through the gates, those invaders didn't loot and plunder like the Looters, but headed straight for the castle at the center of Bet Street—just as Mole Old Brother and others had said, they had come to teach the old mayor a lesson, and as long as you stayed inside and didn't go out, you'd be fine.

As for the fate of that missing old mayor, no one cared what became of him; his end was self-inflicted. Some even wished he were dead, never to appear before them again.

And the spoils taken by those people, the residents of Bet Street had no feelings toward it, whether it was the grain from the granary or the weapons from the armory; all were the property of the old mayor.

He never shared any of it with them, so naturally, they felt no obligation to feel sorry for him.

"Where do you think the mayor went?"

"Don't know, seems no one saw him come out of the castle."

"Maybe he dressed as a Scavenger and slipped away."

"I think those Blue Jacket guys probably killed him."

"I heard the Blue Jackets rarely resort to using force proactively. Looks like the mayor's family really pissed them off."

"The new mayor is the old butler?"

"That's not bad, but he's so old... Can he handle it?"

"What I'm worried about now is the grocery store... without it, where will we go to trade for salt?"

Hearing the residents' conversations, Old Charlie coughed and moved in front of the group.

"The grocery store will operate as normal. I will arrange for a dedicated shopkeeper so no one needs to worry. Your lives will not be affected by today's events and may even improve."

"Celebrate this day, for the tyrant who oppressed you has been overthrown; no one will sell you inferior goods anymore. The grocery store will be operated by the street office and will no longer prioritize profit-making as its primary objective, I can assure you of that."

Street office?

What's that?

The residents of Bet Street looked at each other in confusion; they had never heard such a convoluted term before.

In fact, it was the first time Old Charlie had heard it too.

But the name doesn't really matter in the end.

It's all about the actions.

After a rowdy discussion, the group of residents dispersed to attend to their own affairs.

...

Meanwhile, at the outpost base of Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang, on his way home, instructed several Strength Type players to help unload the goods from the covered wagon and sort them into the warehouse and granary.

Several tons of grain, over a dozen fur pelts, and a heap of seasonings.

Looking at the nearly full granary, Chu Guang felt for the first time the joy of robbing the rich.

This was just too damn exhilarating!

Maybe... they could just take down the rich neighbor too?

As Chu Guang was oscillating between a lawful neutral and lawful evil stance, Old Luka, standing to the side, respectfully reported to him.

"Sir, while you were out, a messenger came from Brown's farmstead."

Turning his gaze away from the stacked granary, Chu Guang looked towards Luka.

"Messenger? What did he say?"

Luka nodded.

"He's brought a message from Mr. Brown, saying he's grateful for your contributions to the survivors in the North Suburb and wishes to present you with a batch of supplies as a token of thanks. This includes 5000 kilograms of goat horn potatoes, 5000 kilograms of beets, and 5000 kilograms of corn. At the same time, he expressed a hope to establish friendly trade relations with us."

Chu Guang's expression showed mild surprise.

"They really went all out this time."

He had been thinking about taking a stroll by Mr. Brown's farmhouse after taking Bet Street, to subtly hint that he was in dire need of food. But unexpectedly, they took the initiative. He hadn't even spoken yet, and they had already offered to send food.

At this moment, Chu Guang suddenly recalled the broadcast he had heard on the radio in the mayor's office at Giant Stone City, and his expression turned slightly odd.

It looks like I should also thank that radio host who's always shooting his mouth off, huh?

Luka nodded again, speaking with a touch of emotion, "They really did go all out, so much food... It definitely wouldn't be cheap if we had to buy it."

In years past, merchants from Giant Stone City would come to the farm to buy grain, always by the truckload, with wholesale prices varying. But even during the cheaper times, 15,000 kilograms of grain would cost over a thousand chips.

Moreover, corn and beets are more expensive than goat horn potatoes and green wheat.

After all, the latter are "servants'" food, while the former one is a high-quality staple and the other is raw material for sugar production, with longer planting cycles as well.

Chu Guang figured that these goods were most likely prepared for the Blood Hand Clan.

Now that the Blood Hand Clan was gone and he had become the most threatening power in the area, the farm probably wanted to take this opportunity to establish friendly relations with him.

At least, they didn't want to become enemies.

Chu Guang didn't feel the slightest bit sorry for accepting this "token of thanks," and he looked at Luka while posing another question.

"When do they plan to deliver the goods?"

"If the weather is clear, they'll arrive by noon tomorrow. If it snows, it might be delayed."

At this point, Luka paused for a moment and then reminded, "Additionally, my lord, you might have noticed that our granary is full. And now that the base's food supply is increasing, I suggest building dedicated silos for a few major reserve varieties. This would not only extend the shelf life of the crops but also save more space."

Previously, when the base had only a small amount of grain and the weather was getting colder, they just built a shed to shield from the wind and rain where they could store the grain.

But now, with the increasing population at Outpost Base and larger reserves of food, it was clear that their previous casual approach was insufficient.

To properly store food long-term, they had to consider not only waterproofing and insect-proofing but also moisture-proofing, fire-proofing, and various other issues.

After listening to Old Luka's suggestions, Chu Guang nodded.

"Your suggestions are excellent, and I will arrange for someone to assist you. Now I have a task for you. I need you to draw 500 jin of raw meat, goat horn potatoes, green wheat, cabbage, Chinese cabbage from the granary, as well as five barrels each of beer and red wine brought from Bet Street, and deliver them to the north gate of Outpost Base."

"There will be a banquet tonight to celebrate our victory at Bet Street."

"All food and drinks transported to the North gate market will be sold at half price!"

Old Luka took his orders with a nod.

"Understood!"

...

[Event: The Victory Banquet]

[Description: The righteous cannons have ended the tyranny of Bet Street, and amid the applause and cheers of the locals, our warriors have returned triumphantly! Celebrate the victory, special discount stalls at the North gate market are offering food and drinks at half price! The proprietress of the weapon shop reminds you that while good wine is enjoyable, don't overindulge.]

6 PM sharp.

A grand evening party was held at the north gate of Outpost Base to celebrate the day's victory.

The warehouse managing NPC set up special discount stands at the North gate market, arranging half-priced food on tables for players to select and purchase.

As the first in-game event since the launch of Wasteland OL, both new and old players were brimming with excitement, pouring their two hundred percent enthusiasm into the event.

Of course, the main reason was the half-priced food!

Before, 300 grams of raw meat that would cost 1 Silver Coin could now be bought for just 5 bronze coins. Goat horn potatoes, green wheat, and the recently added cabbage, Chinese cabbage, etc., could now be bought for very little money. If not now, when would one buy?

It was thanks to the slow restocking pace of the discount stands that limited the purchasing power of the players; otherwise, the food would have likely been snapped up as soon as the event started due to its low price!

"Wow, sister, sister, the food sold at that stall is so cheap! They have vegetables too!" Autumn Leaves, who had sneaked over to join the fun, ran back excitedly to her sister's side, pulling her arm, "I'll go tell the folks from our clan!"

Autumn Grass looked worriedly at her younger sister.

"Can we buy those things?"

Autumn Leaves nodded excitedly.

"Yes! I asked the stall owner! As long as you have those little coins, anyone can buy them!"

"Then... go and come back quickly."

"Okay! Leave it to me!"

Having received her sister's permission, Autumn Leaves didn't pause for a moment and raced toward the tribe, afraid if she ran slow, by the time she returned, there would be nothing left.

Watching her sister run off, Autumn Grass counted the coins in her bag, totaling 11 silver coins and 24 copper coins.

"At half-price... we could buy more than twenty kilograms of food."

A happy smile spread across Autumn Grass's face.

She was fortunate to have convinced the chieftain to save the earned money. Now, they could exchange it for a lot more food.

No one should starve this winter.

While the sisters Autumn Grass and Autumn Leaves were still worried about whether the folks in their tribe would go hungry, the players over there were already complaining that their stomachs weren't big enough.

"Damn it! Why can't tails have two stomachs!"

One hand holding a skewer, the other clutching a mug full of beer, Tails' cheeks were puffed out like a hamster, struggling to chew and talk at the same time.

Watching her friend's collpased image, Si Si, who had been tasting wine, gave her a sidelong glance.

"Ah Wei, do you realize you look like an uncle right now?"

Having finally swallowed the food in her mouth and burped satisfactorily, Tails turned her head, unconcerned.

"We're already in the game world! If we still had to control our diet, what would be the difference between this and that garbage game Earth OL! It's not every day you get to eat such delicious food, Ah Si, you're too serious. Loosen up a bit!"

Si Si: "..."

This guy.

She completely lets herself go in the game.

And she's quite ladylike in reality.

Not far away, a white bear was happily gobbling down a whole grilled catfish, its fervent feasting envious to nearby players.

Of course, the most envious, jealous, and hateful was a certain lizard.

Both being variant players, some revel in gluttony outside, while others can only watch longingly from within Shelter No. 404.

Garbage-kun had been idle in the shelter for a while.

Every day after logging in, he did nothing but wander aimlessly around B2, touching here, looking there, either training or waiting for friends to feed him, logging out promptly at six to wash up and head to work.

When in the game, the body in reality was in deep sleep. Putting on the helmet at ten and waking up energized at daylight, ready to head to work; even if he couldn't accomplish anything else, the ability to fall asleep instantly was excellent.

To boost the festive spirit, Mosquito ignited homemade fireworks on the open space at the north gate.

However, due to either a problem with the formula or the lighting technique, a Vaulting Monkey soared onto Teng Teng's stall.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Only Mosquito was chased for a few hundred meters by an angry Teng Teng, wielding scissors.

In the end, Mosquito tearfully bought all the singed fur coats to settle the matter.

Aside from this small interlude, most players enjoyed the banquet in a more standard manner, the lifestyle occupation players taking advantage of the discounted ingredients to concoct Wasteland specialties into consumable dishes.

Normal dishes included roasted white oak deer leg, while abnormal ones comprised pine squirrel tail soup and salt-roasted Devil Moth pupae.

Alright, the Devil Moth pupae were actually edible, but eating insects still required some courage.

The entire aroma of delicacies permeated the north gate market.

Not just food but also fine wine.

Ten barrels, half as tall as a person, placed next to the discount stall, with several wooden mugs hanging beside them, and a sign standing nearby read—

"Beer 1 Silver Coin per cup, wine 5 Silver Coins per cup, now selling at half price!"

"Note: Each person is limited to one cup at a time, and you can buy again after finishing. Wasting is prohibited! Violators will be fined!"

The cups were wooden ones scavenged from the old town mayor's castle, and as for the amount per cup, it was roughly 330ml.

Like the discounted food on the special price stalls, all the drinks were half off. Players who had participated in the day's "Hit the Rich" operation even got a free cup.

Even if you didn't drink, it was fine; you could sell your cup to other players.

However, I believe no one could pass up the opportunity to taste fine wine in the game. Even if you got blind drunk here, it wouldn't affect tomorrow's work.

A few younger players were knocking drinks back till they were stumbling all over, some even lying flat on the ground. Every now and then there was a flutter as one struggled with their network connection.

"Damn! I suggest the game company opens up a pain sensation adjustment feature!"

"Exactly! You can't fully experience the feeling of being drunk! What's the point of drinking then?"

"Belch..."

Two totally plastered young players were making a fuss, not far off Crow stuck out her tongue, holding her cup with a bitter look on her face.

"Ew, I didn't know wine was this bitter!"

Teng Teng glanced at her: "Haven't you ever drunk in reality?"

Crow shook her head like a rattle-drum.

"Allergic to alcohol... but now that it tastes so awful, I guess I'm not missing out."

Autumn Leaves, who had run back to the village to call people earlier, had now brought the gang back again.

They marveled at the festive bustle and splendor of the celebration, their eyes filled with curiosity, astonishment, and deep envy!

Barbecued meat!

Baked pancakes!

And booze!

It was simply too lavish!

Not far away, the Bull and Horse team that had grouped to sweep the "Greenhouse Ruins" and high-level players like Mole Old Brother were returning in canvas-covered wagons, hauling their spoils of war.

Seeing the bustling scene at the north gate, everyone was startled at first, but soon their VMs strapped to their arms received a pop-up about the event, and they were dumbfounded.

"Holy shit, what's happening?"

"A victory feast?!"

"War?! What the hell, it's all over by the time I get back?!"

Seeing the baffled looks on the faces of old acquaintances, Spare people under the knife, who was eating skewers and drinking beer at the North gate, chuckled and said.

"It's over! Bet Street is now our turf!"

Night Ten regained his composure and quickly asked,

"Our turf now? Gosh, did any top-notch equipment drop?"

Spare people under the knife shook his head.

"No, but the quest rewards are decent—50 Silver Coins. Not sure if the rules for wars have changed, or if the rewards for invasion and defense are different by default. No auction this time; just got some money and contribution points, along with a chance to draw a lottery. The lottery was kind of interesting, but there wasn't anything good. I guess it's the planners testing the lottery system forcibly, don't really understand it myself."

Old White glanced at the big bunch of skewers in his hand, which was obviously too much to finish in a short time.

"Don't you work during the day? Why haven't you logged off yet?"

Spare people under the knife said with a smile,

"Tomorrow's Saturday, no bloody work to do."

"You guys have weekends off!" Old White said, envious, "That's too awesome."

"Few tasks, little money, not much fun. Sometimes I even feel like it doesn't matter whether I'm there or not." Spare people under the knife suddenly let out a long sigh while indulging in drinks and meat, voicing the sentiment of many players, "I wish I could be online 24 hours a day!"

-

(Next chapter will be updated before 10:30, OCD, I'll check for typos twice more QAQ)

Chapter 127: The First Code of Bet Street!

Boss Xia got plastered.

Chu Guang wasn't paying attention, and this guy actually took all the money out of his pocket to buy liquor. He just sat on the chair and guzzled without even taking a bite of the dishes.

This person always spends without thinking of tomorrow, it's a miracle she has lived until now.

But...

This seems to be a true reflection of the Wasteland Wanderers.

Even if tomorrow is hell, today we must live optimistically for ourselves.

"Burp... I can still drink!" With red hair disheveled over her shoulders and reeking of alcohol, Xia Yan, holding up her cup, babbled and clamored.

"No one's stopping you."

Chu Guang gently pushed the head that had fallen on his shoulder onto the armrest to lie down.

Sitting on the bench at the northern gate, Chu Guang sipped a bit of wine, savored the slightly tannic sweetness, and then didn't continue.

Because of the psychological shadows from his past life, he restrained himself from drinking more. After all, if he got drunk again and lost his life, he didn't have the confidence to be reborn well in this world.

Moderation is a virtue higher even than kindness.

It's not because he was scared.

In the distance, the Nomads also joined the players' celebration. The talented singers and dancers among them quickly won the applause and cheers of the players.

"My lord... Although I do not wish to dampen your spirits, today's consumption of food might be a bit excessive. The raw meat at the discount stall has almost sold out, and there isn't much grain left either," Old Luka, bending over, came up to Chu Guang, and said cautiously, "Those nomads spent all the silver coins you rewarded them on double-headed potatoes, and they didn't even use them for the celebration, but took them all back to their tribe."

He didn't dare to say another thing, which was that these Blue Jackets could really eat, almost as if they wanted to eat two meals in one go.

But since the residents of the refuge had a status higher than his own, and the concept of status was ingrained in Luka's bones, he dared not overstep and could only pick on the Nomads' faults.

"It's fine, a banquet can't happen every day," Chu Guang said with a light smile. "Taking these things out was meant to let everyone have a good time. Don't worry, I've got it all figured out."

It's a game, after all, having fun is what's important.

Coincidentally it was a day worth celebrating, taking out some supplies to organize an event for the players was also helpful in boosting morale and improving the server environment.

There are always people on the Forum complaining that his Wasteland OL is not casual enough.

Here you go, casual content has arrived.

Seeing how happy those players looked, they seemed to be having a good time.

Seeing his master speak this way, Luka no longer said more and respectfully bowed and stepped back.

...

"Woowoowoo, I can't drink anymore."

"Then don't drink."

"Water..."

"Stop flailing around, be still."

Having carried the drunk Xia Yan back to the refuge, Chu Guang tossed her onto the bed, placing her walking stick by the bedside.

Her pupils were dilated, her eyes misty; her cheeks were redder than her own hair, with the redness extending to her earlobes. One button of her collar had come undone, likely scrubbed open, revealing her collarbone and a hint of fair skin.

Chu Guang casually covered her with the blanket.

Speaking of which, her tolerance for alcohol was really rubbish.

Did the taverns in Giant Stone City only sell plain water?

Chu Guang had more than once heard her boasting, bragging about how much she could drink and such, but now it seemed she really was just bragging.

Sitting in the room, Little Fish blinked curiously at the scene.

"Did she drink alcohol?"

She once tasted alcohol and just once. That was when her brother got married, and her sister-in-law brought it from home.

She still remembered that taste to this day—both astringent and bitter, not pleasing at all.

Dad also said that when she got married, he would prepare a bottle for her to bring to her husband's family. But she didn't want to drink it at all; if only she could trade it for candy.

"Uh-huh, this one got drunk," Chu Guang placed a bottle of milk on the table, "if she wakes up later and clamors for water, give her this to drink... I'm leaving her in your care."

Little Fish nodded eagerly and said earnestly.

"Yeah! You can count on Little Fish!"

That's nice.

If only every person in the refuge could be as well-behaved and sensible as Little Fish.

Then he could write every day.

Resisting the urge to pet her head, Chu Guang rewarded her with a chocolate-flavored lollipop, telling her to wait until tomorrow to eat it, and then turned back to the residents' hall, opening his computer.

Old routine, first check the Forum.

By this time, most of the players had already logged off, leaving only some newbies cleaning up and life-skilled players still online grinding missions.

Chu Guang glanced at the posts on the Forum.

Unsurprisingly, in the few minutes that he was carrying Xia Yan back to the refuge, these idiots started concocting stories about him again.

Tail: "Big news! Tail saw the Manager carrying the shop manager back to the refuge! (｀∀´)Ψ"

WC True Mosquito: "Shocking! The weapon shop's owner is actually the Manager!"

Gnome King Riches: "I even saw them go into a room together!"

Don't Talk Nonsense: "They haven't come out for ten minutes!"

Night Ten: "! Only ten minutes for the Manager?!"

Elena: "Your discussion makes me feel like I missed an update. Just tell me how old the child is. (jokingly)"

Escaped Mole from the Valley: "Does any eloquent brother want to fill in on the details? WC True Mosquito said he's willing to pay for it."

WC True Mosquito: "No money, no money, went bankrupt today. QAQ"

Escaped Mole from the Valley: "Alas, what use are you... I guess it's up to me to take action, isn't it?"

Night Ten: "Mole Old Brother, you rock! (breaking voice)"

Watching this group of sand sculptures start to fill in those nonexistent details, Chu Guang, who was lurking behind the screen, couldn't help but chipped in with a line of text.

Light: "Hold up, those kinds of pictures, and that kind of writing are not allowed, okay?"

Escaped Mole from the Valley: "Damn! I'll go outside to write! Brothers, let's go!"

Night Ten: "Ao! Charge!"

Tail: "Ollie road! (｀∀´)Ψ"

Chu Guang: "..."

Aside from the less serious posts, there was indeed some serious discussion happening on the forum.

For instance, a newbie called "Spring Water Commander" shared his experience of getting so drunk in-game that he lost his connection, along with the brainstorm it triggered.

"Shocked, the drunkenness effect in the Game is too realistic, who knew that blacking out could actually disconnect you! Let's analyze rationally, when you need to log out temporarily in the game, you can totally slam down a bottle of vodka."

This idea seemed not bad, but this little player clearly forgot to consider how to come back after disconnecting. Once you've chugged till blackout, it's not something you can wake up from whenever you like, and even if you do wake up, you'd still be suffering from a hangover DEBUFF.

Sure enough, there were complaints right below the post.

Construction Lad with a Brick: "Don't listen to this guy, the blackout DEBUFF lasts over two hours! You can forget about logging back into the Game during that time. And the most crucial thing is... after you blackout, you might actually wet your pants! If you want to social suicide, go ahead and try it, I sure as hell won't dare T.T"

Night Ten: "Logging out with strong alcohol is fine, bro, but you might as well ask Crow Boss for a mushroom, it's way faster than that. (amused)"

Crow: "Shut up! You're slandering me! When have I ever sold poisoned mushrooms! (`Д´*)9 "

Elena: "Scary. (amused)"

Although drinking in-game caused a string of DEBUFFs and the experience from inebriation to blackout wasn't as realistic as in real life, everyone still highly praised the fact that you could actually drink in Wasteland OL.

Especially for some players with alcohol intolerance who wouldn't touch alcohol in reality, but got to experience drunkenness for the first time in the game.

Although everyone agreed that one experience was enough.

The feeling of struggling with the network connection was simply too unpleasant.

Besides discussions about the evening banquet, the forum's main topics were still centered on the daytime "Liberate Bet Street" mission.

Some clever little players, after carefully observing NPCs, discovered some very interesting things.

The NPCs were so life-like, almost just like real people, each one with his own unique life trajectory.

And this trajectory was different from Red Dead Redemption, it didn't seem pre-designed but rather it looked like it was calculated in real-time by the program.

If it weren't for the many unscientific aspects, they would be tempted to suspect that these NPCs were all played by customer service staff.

Like the workers of an escape room, or the DMs of a murder mystery game...

Debt Giant Eye: "This Game is too realistic! Although that's a selling point, sometimes being overly realistic can be a hassle. It's the first time I've seen a game where even the Novice Village has to be built by players, and not just constructing buildings, but even the NPCs in the village have to be imported from outside."

Old White: "Haha, isn't that interesting? Watching the game world change bit by bit because of our actions, isn't that much more fun than just mindlessly grinding monsters?"

The earliest Outpost Base had nothing but a dilapidated building surrounded by trees.

Now there's not only an enclosing wall and a moat but also a full granary and storehouse, the refuge has opened up to the B2 level, and the Manager has even put on "God Equip."

Thinking that he had contributed to this, Old White felt a sense of accomplishment and pride so full it was about to overflow.

A completely realistic Virtual Reality Game is simply amazing!

Grandpa Ao: "Laugh, what's the point of this? I suggest playing a few more games to broaden your horizons, so you don't appear too ignorant. Ever played The Elder Scrolls V? You kids probably haven't even heard of it, right? I massacred every NPC and player in Morning Wind Province by myself, until the GM had to privately message me, begging for mercy. Not only did they clear my red name, but they also gave me a year of VIP."

Wild Wind: "Bro, your bait is way too obvious, I almost suspect you're trolling."

Old White: "Hahaha! To each their own joys and sorrows, I understand! (grinning)"

Gnome King Riches: "Ah, suddenly I feel like it'd be better not to go open beta. Otherwise, releasing a bunch of arrogant types in here, feels like it won't be playable anymore. T.T"

Night Ten: "You're overthinking it, is this a game for kids? (amused)"

Fang Chang: "Releasing activation codes slowly as is happening currently is pretty good, but the Company needs to make money, right? Open beta is inevitable, it'll be interesting to see how the operators handle it then."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "No, don't say that, you Europeans, are so unappreciative! I haven't even got my reservation qualification yet! T.T"

Night Ten: "There's a long line of people waiting, be patient. (Funny face)"

...

The next day.

The messenger from Brown's farm brought the promised "thank-you gift."

A total of 15 tons of grains, packed into four covered wagons, were pulled by double-headed cows to the warehouse entrance at Outpost Base.

Who would have thought that Brown's farm actually had cattle?

Chu Guang stroked his chin and pondered.

Perhaps sensing something from the gaze of the esteemed Manager, the messenger dared not stay a second longer. After receiving promises of friendly trade and exchanges, he immediately called for the servants and, urging the cattle-drawn wagons, took to the road once more.

After sending off the messenger from Brown's farm, it was already noon. Yu Hu, with a handwritten letter from Old Charlie, rushed from Bet Street to Outpost Base.

Enclosed in the envelope was a draft of the legal code he had worked on overnight.

Chu Guang glanced over it, confirmed there were no major issues, and then signed his name and the date, indicating the document took effect immediately.

Having a code of law is the first step to establishing order. The first legislation didn't need to be too complex—the simpler, the better, so even scavengers who couldn't recognize a single character could understand.

As for subdividing regulations for each field and industry, as well as detailed explanations and clauses of the laws, these could be further refined during subsequent implementation.

Just like the Player's Manual, which had been updated to version 4.0, practically spelling out what one mustn't do and the consequences that followed. The initial 1.0 version was only a few short lines.

Currently, Bet Street was only a small village with a little over a hundred households. Old Charlie had ample time to explore rules suitable for the survivors of the Wasteland.

Chu Guang felt quite reassured with Old Charlie serving as the mayor of Bet Street.

This former butler knew Bet Street well enough and had the capability to handle this not-too-difficult job.

Apart from the mayor, the next appointment to make was the captain of the town guard.

The original captain, a direct relative of the old mayor, plainly could not be retained—it was merciful enough not to strip him of his possessions and expel him.

After much thought, Chu Guang ultimately decided to assign this task to Yu Family's eldest son, Yu Xiong.

Compared to his brother Yu Hu, he was a bit more flexible in his thinking and more meticulous in his actions.

Most importantly, he was already married with a child on the way. A family man is naturally more stable than one without family commitments.

With Bet Street's original guard dissolved and its defenses nearly nonexistent, it was crucial to establish a new guard as quickly as possible to prevent chaos.

Considering Bet Street's distance from the players' respawn point, it was only practical to recruit the town guard from the local population.

In subsequent tasks, the captain of the guard would not only need to maintain Bet Street's security but also organize patrols to eliminate high-threat Variants in the vicinity of Bet Street.

The patrol teams could be composed of a mix of players and NPCs, and this aspect could be part of a mission.

Chu Guang planned to repair and reinforce Bet Street's enclosing wall with surplus building materials, creating a sanctuary for more survivors.

However, the present top priority was to develop the base at Linghu Wetland Park.

The broadcast he had heard at Old Leech's house was filled with nonsense, but it still revealed some useful information.

The instability in the northern part of River Valley Province seemed to be intensifying, with more refugees migrating from the north to the south.

If the news was accurate, then Linghu Wetland Park, located at the gateway north of Qingquan City, would soon welcome a large influx of new refugees.

For the nascent Outpost Base, this would undoubtedly pose a severe test!

-

(Sorry! It's a bit late!)

Chapter 128 LV10! The Second Stage of the Sequence!

Evening.

Chu Guang had a nightmare.

In the dream, his body was covered in fur and he had turned into a bear. To evade the pursuing hunters, he ran desperately through the forest, tearing apart a Crawler with his claws and killing a Crack Claw Crab with a slap, and eventually, even punching a real bear into flight...

Wait a minute, if I took down a Crack Claw Crab, why am I running from hunters?

Just then, Chu Guang woke from the dream in alarm.

The first thing he did upon awakening was to feel all over his body, discovering that apart from being drenched in sweat, there were no other changes.

Chu Guang heaved a sigh of relief.

That was close!

Bracing himself with both hands on the bed board, Chu Guang intended to sit up, but he did not control his strength well and with too much force, he bounced right off the bed onto the floor.

Stumbling forward a few steps before steadying himself, Chu Guang had not even grasped what had happened when his bones made cracking sounds with the movement of his limbs.

After moving around, every cell in his body felt more comfortable than ever, as if each pore was breathing.

Not only that, Chu Guang's mind was clearer than ever, and his vision was unprecedentedly sharp. He didn't feel like he had just woken up but rather as if he had downed several bottles of taurine.

Especially shocking for Chu Guang was that he could now clearly see the texture on the doorknob while standing beside the bed!

He immediately realized what had happened.

Without a moment's hesitation, Chu Guang ran to the resident hall and used the medical Device there to give himself a complete body check.

As expected.

He had leveled up again after this sleep!

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Stage 2)

Level: LV.9→LV.10

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 11→16

Agility: 6→11

Physique: 8→13

Perception: 7→12

Intelligence: 7→12

]

[

Talent:

1. Wild Instinct

2. Mind Intimidation

]

[Mind Intimidation: Produces a psychological pressure effect on sentient beings weaker than oneself, weakening their will to resist.]

Stage 2!

All attributes increased by 5 points!?

"Holy shit, this is too awesome."

Leveling up while lying down!

Chu Guang couldn't stop grinning at the examination results displayed on the VM screen.

Just like he had guessed, Level 10 was a bottleneck and once the development progress of the Gene Sequence broke through this bottleneck, his strength would take a quantum leap!

"An increase in all attributes by 5 and an additional Talent... Is this the 'Awakening' as described by the Wasteland natives?"

Chu Guang still remembered, it was Hain from Red River Town who had first mentioned this term to him.

And in the subsequent fight with "Bear," pushed into a corner, "Bear" even displayed a phenomenon akin to becoming "Variant." Without surprise, this should also be considered a kind of Awakening.

However, in Shelter No. 404, this phenomenon seemed to be referred to as the Second Stage of the Gene Sequence.

Unlike the naturally awakened "Bear," Chu Guang's own appearance and characteristics hadn't changed noticeably due to Awakening.

The only change he could feel was that he had grown stronger, his thoughts sharper, his perception of his surroundings keener, his reaction speed faster, and his regeneration and immunity had also strengthened.

Chu Guang roughly speculated that the bonuses provided by different Sequences at the Second Stage must differ, and unlocking Talents should also vary. For example, Strength Types might focus more on muscle enhancement, while Agile systems might focus more on reflex nerves and the like.

However, all of this was just speculation.

Currently, in the entire shelter, only he had reached the Second Stage; even the fastest-leveling Bull and Horse Squad among other players had only reached the peak of Level 7.

As for what conditions the other Sequences were in, he would only know once they had trained to Level 10.

Anyway, Chu Guang was quite satisfied with the Second Stage of the "Manager" Sequence that he possessed.

A 5-point increase in all attributes had instantly turned him into a Pentagon Warrior. Plus that skill that inflicts a fear debuff on people, he felt he was invincible!

Footsteps echoed in the corridor.

Yawning, Xia Yan, who had just woken up, emerged from her room, her arms clutching a crutch.

Seeing Chu Guang sitting there with a goofy smile and holding a VM, the sleepy-eyed Xia Yan paused and muttered softly.

"What's so good that it makes you laugh like that?"

Quickly wiping the smile from his face, Chu Guang abruptly lifted his head and looked over at Xia Yan, staring into her eyes.

Their gazes met.

The air quieted for a few seconds.

Her fair cheeks began to blush.

"Freak."

Turning her head, Xia Yan left, leaning on her crutch.

As he watched her walk towards the buffer room with a sway, Chu Guang stroked his chin and pondered for a moment before suddenly looking towards the trash can crouching in the corner, recharging.

"Xiao Qi."

The signal light on its head lit up, and Xiao Qi raised its camera.

"Here, Master."

Chu Guang then asked.

"Was she frightened?"

Xiao Qi seemed to hesitate for a moment, and after several seconds, it spoke hesitantly.

"Although the target's blood pressure, heart rate, and heat dissipation have risen slightly, Xiao Qi feels... that might not be the effect you were expecting?"

Chu Guang: "..."

Well then.

Perhaps he was too handsome, making him seem less intimidating.

This skill was somewhat underwhelming for his own use.

...

Bet Street.

In the plaza in front of the Castle, there was a bustling crowd.

The residents of Bet Street were called here early in the morning, many of whom had just woken up, their faces filled with confusion and curiosity.

For the residents who lived here, many had never come to this place in their lifetime.

Old Charlie's family couldn't stand seeing the poor, so every time they came anywhere close, the patrols nearby would chase them away.

But now it was different. Old Charlie's family had been driven out.

Even though a new Mayor had taken office, at least this new Mayor was a familiar old acquaintance whom they had dealings with, which was naturally much more affable than the vampire they had never met.

Facing a sea of eyes looking towards him, Old Charlie took out a paper signed with a name and date from his chest, cleared his throat, and said.

"Starting from today, the first code of law for Bet Street officially comes into effect! It will promise and protect the lawful rights and interests of all residents of Bet Street."

"The rules are simple: intentional murderers will be sentenced to hanging, those who start fights causing minor injuries will face at least a year of imprisonment and labor, and those causing serious injuries will face at least three years of imprisonment and labor. Additionally, thieves or those who maliciously damage property will, according to the amount involved, face imprisonment, labor, and whipping..."

Old Charlie read out probably more than twenty items, but only a dozen or so were understood by most people.

The crowd in the square looked at each other in confusion.

Law code?

Many of them were hearing this odd and curious term for the first time.

Although Bet Street had a security team before, the security team never dealt with the residents' disputes; they were only responsible for the safety of the castle and the enclosing wall.

In all these years, there had never been a murder case, though fights were common; but no one ever got seriously hurt.

After all, living was difficult enough these days, and no one wanted to offend others lightly. Even if it wasn't out of moral obligations, the community would weigh the consequences of disrupting order.

As for theft…

Does digging up Jerusalem artichokes from someone else's front door count as stealing?

How should this be accounted for?

Watching the bewildered residents, Old Charlie knew what they were thinking but didn't provide any explanation.

There was no need to explain.

Too complex, and they wouldn't understand.

Laws, if only written on paper, mean nothing. Once they are strictly enforced for the first time, people will naturally start to weigh the consequences of violating them.

After a pause, Old Charlie continued to speak.

"Starting today, the official currency of Bet Street will be set to two types, silver coins and copper coins, which can be used to purchase food, living supplies, clothing and other materials at the street office's general store. The existing chips can still be used but only for buying food and salt. Additionally, the rewards for scavenging and hunting will no longer be paid in chips. The current exchange rate between chips and silver coins is tentatively set at one chip for one silver coin, but after a month, one chip can only be exchanged for 5 copper coins."

As soon as the word was out, there was immediately a murmur of discussion.

"Chips are no good anymore?"

"Why switch to silver coins and copper coins…"

"Exactly! What are these silver coins and copper coins? I've never even heard of them."

"Are you going to exchange?"

"Not me!"

"Only a fool would!"

While saying this, many were covertly watching Old Charlie's facial expression.

They thought he would panic, even become distraught.

However, to their disappointment, Old Charlie didn't take their complaints to heart at all, his expression remained calm and steady as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Meanwhile, Yu Hu, who was in the crowd, was more anxious than Old Charlie.

Unlike the other residents of Bet Street, he had seen those silver and copper coins. Those Blue Jackets in Wetland Park used these coins to buy things, and they could buy quite a lot of good stuff with them.

Now someone was saying that only a fool would use chips to exchange for those silver coins, how could he stand by?

Just as he was about to explain, Yu Xiong, standing next to him, saw his intention and immediately pulled him aside.

"Bro, why are you pulling me?"

Looking at his indignant brother, Yu Xiong shook his head solemnly.

"What can you say to them? What's the point other than starting a fight?"

Yu Hu was urgent.

"But—"

"There are no buts. If you can think of it, wouldn't Brother Chu have thought of it? Since he made this decision, he must have his reasons and plans. As for us, just do our jobs well and don't accidentally cause more trouble than help!"

Rebuked by his elder brother, Yu Hu finally calmed down.

He hadn't understood at first, but after his brother's explanation, it kind of made sense.

Would someone as clever as Brother Chu not consider the current situation?

Realizing this, Yu Hu relaxed, and looking at those making a fuss, determined not to exchange their chips for silver coins, he thought they were foolish.

Heh heh.

Just wait and see!

I'll exchange all the chips at home for silver coins when I get back, and then we'll see who loses out!

Yu Hu and Yu Xiong's father kept silent, but it was clear he already had his own ideas in mind.

"Chips aren't in a hurry to be exchanged."

With a tap on his eldest son's arm, Old Yu lowered his voice and said,

"If we get silver coins and don't want them, we can exchange our chips with them… should be able to get more."

Yu Xiong slightly startled, immediately grasped his father's meaning, and nodded.

"Good!"

After allowing the surrounding residents enough time to discuss, and once they had had their fill of discussion, Old Charlie slowly began to speak, continuing with other arrangements.

Like the security guard team.

Although the original security guard team had been disbanded, Bet Street couldn't afford to be without guard for even a day.

The role of captain of the security guard team would be temporarily taken by Yu Family's eldest son, Yu Xiong, and they were openly recruiting 15 young people between the ages of 14 and 35 to form a new guard team.

The daily work of the guard team was to patrol and stand guard, as well as train.

The work intensity was not high, and there was no need to risk one's life—at least it was safer standing behind the parapets of the enclosing wall than scavenging or hunting in the Wasteland.

As for the treatment, in addition to room and board, the street office would pay each guard a salary every month.

Currently, this amount was 50 silver coins, and it might increase in the future.

Although no one had a concrete concept of the purchasing power of a silver coin, according to Old Charlie, at the grocery store operated by the street office, one silver coin could be exchanged for one kilogram of ram's horn potatoes or green wheat.

50 silver coins a month, that's 50 kilograms of food.

Some of the money could even be used at the grocery store to exchange for salt or other daily necessities—more than enough for a family's expenses!

After Old Charlie finished speaking, quite a few people showed an eager expression on their faces, planning to leave their fingerprints to sign up for a try later.

If they were chosen, there would be no need to worry about going hungry all winter!

"… Additionally, Bet Street's Central Castle will open a welfare-oriented school, currently offering two courses: literacy and arithmetic."

"All teenagers between the ages of 6 and 14 must complete two terms of these courses. During school hours, the school will provide a free lunch to those enrolled.

"Young adults over the age of 14 can choose to sign up for an adult class from seven to nine in the evening, free of charge. Passing both courses with a satisfactory score will qualify one to work at the street office."

Obviously, compared to the recruitment of the security guard team, the majority of Bet Street's residents were not very interested in this so-called school, nor did they consider it a welfare benefit.

However, the free meals were still quite attractive.

Even if it was just the children's meal, it could save some grain for the family to get through the winter.

Whether the residents of Bet Street were interested in literacy and arithmetic or not, this literacy campaign was essential.

Establishing order was the first step, and emerging from ignorance was the second. Only by succeeding in these two steps could a solid foundation be laid for further work.

Looking at those survivors with faces full of ignorance, Old Charlie sighed softly in his heart.

The responsibility is great and the road is long.

After all arrangements had been explained, Old Charlie immediately announced the adjournment of the meeting.

Aside from those planning to sign up for the security guard team who stayed behind, the rest of the residents went their separate ways.

Many of them still had to go hunting and, as the day had not yet fully dawned, hurried home to prepare their equipment.

On the way home, the third son of the Wang Family, Wang Defu, complained with a face full of resentment.

"Why let Yu Family's people be the captain of the guard team? They've only got two men, why should they!"

It was not just he who was dissatisfied; his two older brothers were also clearly unhappy.

Especially his eldest brother, Wang Biao.

Until Old Charlie announced the selection for the captain of the guard team, he had been in good spirits, always considering himself one of Charlie's men.

However, when Old Charlie announced the selection for the captain, he felt as if his whole world had instantly turned grey, his face looking uglier than if he had eaten something distasteful.

Why?

Why is it that he, who risked his life to deliver messages to the Blood Hand Clan, who kept his mouth shut and kept the Blood Hand Clan's destruction a secret for Old Charlie, was not the one made captain of the guard team?

After hearing this arrangement, he felt even the few chips in his pocket lost their allure…

Chapter 129: This wave is not a loss!

Wang Biao could never have known that the position of security team captain wasn't something Old Charlie had the authority to appoint on his own, it was merely announced through him.

After all, nominally, the security team was under the Street Office, loyal to the entire residents of Bet Street.

However, in reality, Shelter No. 404 had long taken over the control of Bet Street.

Be it the mayor or the captain of the security team, they were actually appointed personally by the noble manager of Shelter No. 404…

…

All players of Shelter No. 404 VM:

[Today's News:

1. Last evening, someone spotted traces of Crack Claw Crabs by the lake, fishing players please be cautious when baiting.

2. The situation in the northern part of River Valley Province continues to be tumultuous, if you see a large number of refugees, please report immediately to the noble manager.

3. Goblin Technology is selling a limited edition of Wasteland Punk clothing, seven items that completely embody the spirit of the wastelanders, sold while stock lasts! (This is a paid advertisement, advertising space available for long-term rental, if interested please contact the manager's assistant.)]

[Outpost Base new food varieties: Corn and beets]

[Today's recommended recipe: Fried crispy corn cakes and freshly squeezed beet juice.]

[New supplies added to the warehouse: Granulated sugar.]

[Warm tip: According to the fortunetelling by the weapon shop's lady owner, heading north for exploration could bring good luck. But remember not to walk too far alone, encountering zombies can be very painful!]

The sun rose.

The dawn's faint light scattered across the snow, illuminating footprints that spread from the hospital to the outdoors.

Players who had already decided on their destinations left the Outpost Base in groups of three to five, while those who hadn't decided yet lingered in the square.

A lot of them were newbies who had just joined the game.

Shocked by what was before their eyes, they first froze like statues, then danced around in excitement, losing their minds.

Some players kneeled on the ground, excitedly stuffing snow into their mouths.

Of course, that was comparatively sane; tasting the snow was not exactly a socially fatal act.

As for some eye-watering newbie players, to prevent them from committing social suicide, Chu Guang would force them offline for 10 minutes to cool down in reality before returning.

Regardless, today was another beautiful day filled with hope.

"Change of clothes! 90 silver coins for a second-hand revolver. PM me if interested!"

"Boss, I'm a newbie! How long does it take to earn 90 silver coins?"

"Very quick, if you're lucky, two to three days, unlucky, maybe a week of hard grinding. You better find a fellow Sequence peer to take you on the 'Pass the Torch' task, reach LV1 and you'll be able to defend yourself, the reward is just enough to buy a set of hunting gear."

"Any Perception-type players around? Starting a settlement in the north, interested folks PM!"

"Shocking! Have you all seen today's VM push? The designers finally remembered to enrich our recipes!"

"Wuwuwu, finally there's new food! Life-career players are weeping with joy!"

"But jeez, the prices of corn and beets are so expensive, twice as much as green wheat and horned potatoes."

"Maybe it's because green wheat and horned potatoes are easier to grow."

"When will Makabazi's Greenhouse Farm finally open? They placed a sign by the lake and then nothing?"

"I don't know. I feel like the moment the Greenhouse Ruins are conquered, he might just find himself unemployed on the spot."

"Hahahaha, that's too tragic!"

Currently, the exploration of Greenhouse Ruins was in its final stage.

The Bull-Cow Squad successfully reached the gate near the first floor, activated it, and disconnected the surface level from the other floors.

This prevented Devil Moths from reinforcing from other floors.

The remaining task was to clean up the stragglers.

According to Fang Chang's post on the official forum, it could be done in a day if things went fast, and two days should be more than enough if it went slow.

And by then, the constant-temperature planting units filled with Spirit Leaf on the First Floor of the Greenhouse Ruins could be reused.

Just when the players jubilantly started their new day of brick moving, Chu Guang, who had just finished the opening remarks for the new players, turned around and went back to the shelter, opened the Manager's allowance page in the System, and confirmed his rewards.

During these days, the players had been quite diligent, and his reward points had accumulated to 137 points.

Time to joyfully open some blind boxes again!

Chu Guang didn't start immediately, instead, he went down to B2 level to wash his face, and then leisurely began to draw.

7 basic blind boxes yielded 4 lollipops, 2 cans of pork with soybeans weighing 500g each, and one 200g pack of cumin.

Overall, his luck wasn't bad.

Not to mention the two cans—food produced by the shelter never disappointed Chu Guang. And then there was the pack of cumin, a prized item!

Barbecue without cumin was soulless!

As for the 3 intermediate blind boxes and 1 advanced blind box, the items they yielded were rather ordinary: three packs of hemostatic bandages and one EMP grenade.

Especially the latter, specifically designed to damage electronic devices and absolutely useless against other kinds of targets.

Excluding some friendly unit, Chu Guang couldn't even find any target that could be damaged by this grenade.

And the most annoying part was that it was a one-time use item.

Something that cost 100 reward points and could only be used once—too frustrating!

"Damn it, I'd rather have more bandages!"

Even a drone would be better.

Cursing under his breath, Chu Guang picked up the grenade from the conveyor belt, opened the System interface, and glanced at his task panel.

The only task left now was the one triggered when he first encountered the Mutant tribe, to wipe out the Mutant tribe.

At that time, the shelter was short-staffed, counting himself, there were only five people in total. Chu Guang sensibly chose to turn around and flee.

Now, the population of Outpost Base had increased many times over, with the number of players alone reaching 250, a stark contrast to the initial situation.

Looking at the task reward of 200 reward points, Chu Guang felt an itch in his heart.

Speaking of which, the weapon shop had received a new shipment of weapons, and the number of players who had bought guns had reached the hundreds. It could be said they were well-armed.

How could they not strike at the Mutant tribe?

It wasn't just to draw a couple more advanced blind boxes.

It mainly bothered him that these green-skinned muscleheads were living not far from his doorstep, making it hard to sleep peacefully.

Looking at the remaining side quest in the System interface, Chu Guang felt it was time to settle things with those green-skinned muscleheads.

Thinking this, without hesitation, Chu Guang immediately used VM to compose a task and sent it to the nearby small players at Outpost Base.

[Mission: Raid on Mutant Tribe at Street No. 76 (limited to 10 people)]

[Synopsis: The Mutant Tribe at Street No. 76 poses a continuous threat to the safety of Outpost Base, and we have no room for negotiation with these barbarians. We need a swift raid to diminish their living forces while assessing their strengths and weaknesses. No matter the method, kill at least one Mutant!]

[Level Requirement: Serial Level LV4 and above]

[Reward: 15 silver coins per participant for the raid, plus an additional 15 silver coins in team bonus for each Mutant killed.]

Edit complete.

Click send!

In less than half a minute, the number of applicants surged to more than 40 people, probably because the rewards were so high that even players in non-combat roles joined the fray.

Chu Guang carefully selected 4 strength-type players, 3 agility-type players, 2 constitution-type players, and 1 perception-type player based on their contribution and level, forming a raid team with the highest-contributing player as the team leader.

Next, Chu Guang deployed a drone over the Mutant tribe and sent aerial images to the players' VMs.

Everything was ready!

The players, having completed their team setup, quickly changed into their combat gear and, carrying weapons, headed in the direction of Street No. 76.

From the vantage point of the drone, Chu Guang could clearly see the small heads gathering at the entry of Street No. 76.

Unfortunately, he couldn't micro-manage their actions.

Otherwise, it would have been almost like playing an RTS game...

Meanwhile, at the frontline.

The players who had gathered at the entrance of Street No. 76 started devising specific battle plans based on the aerial footage they'd received through VM.

The Mutant tribe was located within a small community, capped with a dome, obscuring any view inside. Complex terrain surrounded by the ruins of tall buildings made it difficult to approach.

Additionally, there were outposts scattered nearby.

These green-skinned brutes were quite sneaky, using covers for camouflage. Besides the outposts exposed by the drone, there were definitely more hidden in unknown street corners.

Construction Kid and Brick: "Why don't we try dropping things from high up? The tallest building nearby has 30 floors, we could go to the rooftop and throw stones down to smash those beasts."

Throwing a stone from the 30th floor would be no less powerful than a bullet. If it hit, it would either kill or severely maim the target!

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Good idea, but the uncertainty now is whether there are other Variants inside the high-rise."

Edge Shoveling: "What good idea? It's nonsense, the building is so wrecked, how would you get up there? Even if you did, with the north wind blowing like this, who could you possibly hit? You can't expect them to just stand there and let you hit them? Once they react, prepare to be encircled. In such a high building, there's nowhere to run!"

Gnome King Riches: "Then what do you suggest?"

Edge Shoveling: "I'm Perception-type, let a Body Constitution System player coordinate with me to draw aggro. Once we lure the Mutants to our ambush spot, we can open fire and gun them down chaotically. I don't believe these green-skinned brutes can withstand my 7mm!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "I say we charge! My axe is already thirsting for blood!"

In the end, everyone agreed with Edge Shoveling's suggestion.

Eight players dispersed behind cover in the middle region of Street No. 76, with one Body Constitution System player and one Perception-type player cautiously advancing toward the Mutant tribe.

The plan proceeded smoothly.

However, just as the two decoys walked nearly two hundred meters away from the ambush point, something unexpected happened.

Neighbor Old Wang, who was in the lead, kicked a tripwire buried in the snow. Before he could react, a can hidden under a car wreckage exploded instantly.

Shards flew wildly, peppering a nearby car door with holes.

Neighbor Old Wang, who was caught between two car wrecks, couldn't even let out a cry before he was shredded by the flying shrapnel and collapsed bloody in the snow.

The explosion's sound echoed in the abandoned silence of Street No. 76.

Seeing their teammate blasted to death, Edge Shoveling, who was walking behind, was completely dumbfounded.

What happened?

Can't Perception-types detect mines?

Maybe the mine was too well-hidden, he felt not even the slightest hint of danger.

Regardless, with things as they stood, Edge Shoveling made a snap decision, rushed over to retrieve his teammate's VM and revolver, turned around, and bolted.

However, danger was a step too fast; he had barely run a few steps when whoosh—a cold arrow flew from a distance, striking his thigh.

"Fuck!"

His knee buckled, and Edge Shoveling, who was mid-run, stumbled forward, falling face-first into the snow.

Ignoring the wound on his thigh, his mind ringing with alarm, he instantly rolled to the side and hid behind the wrecked car nearby.

Almost grazing his shoulder, another cold arrow followed closely, embedding itself where he had just lain.

A chill ran down his spine, and Edge Shoveling couldn't help but shiver.

Had he been a moment slower, he might've been sent straight back to the official website as an observer.

Fortunately, the arrow hadn't hit an artery; he grimaced and snapped off the arrow shaft.

It surprisingly didn't hurt much.

It's the blood gushing outward that looks a bit creepy.

"Damn it... I underestimated them!"

I didn't expect the AI in the game to be so smart; these mutants were actually setting up an ambush!

There was no fear in my heart; leaning behind the cover, "Edge Shoveling" got even more excited instead.

What's the fun in fighting idiots?

Being able to clash with the strong, even if it meant death, was a death without regrets!

After all, it's just a game; you won't really die.

"Ahhh, die, you bastards!"

Grabbing a teammate's revolver and peeking out from behind cover, "Edge Shoveling" didn't even aim and just wildly pressed the trigger in the direction from which the arrow had come.

Six bullets fired rapidly, a wild shooting that hit nothing but air, didn't even see where the person was.

However, although he didn't hit anyone, his random shooting dragged the mutant hidden in the shadows out into the open.

Maybe it felt it had its prey cornered, or maybe it was out of confidence in its own strength.

A mutant, two meters tall with bulging muscles, stepped out from the shadows. In its hand was a hunting bow, its right hand pulled back on the string, its ugly face cold and fierce, like a bloodthirsty beast.

"Edge Shoveling," leaning behind cover, held his breath.

Is this still a human?

"Come on, what are you waiting for?"

The shout echoed through the street.

Although the mutants couldn't understand what the human was saying, they dismissed it as the prey's anguished cries.

Keep closing in!

However, just then, intense gunfire suddenly erupted from the other end of the street.

100 meters away, eight rifles fired simultaneously, and the unsuspecting mutant caught two bullets directly in the chest, splattering a trail of blood.

"Ah!"

With a pained roar, the shot mutant fell to the ground and rolled behind a bus stop sign on the side of the road.

Such a minor injury was nothing to it.

As long as it wasn't fatal, even with broken bones, it could heal itself with its powerful regeneration ability.

Preparing to strike back with the hunting bow, however, just at that moment, a stream of white smoke suddenly shot up from the position of those firing at him from a distance.

Before the mutant could react, the white smoke hit the trash bin behind it, followed by something the size of a fist that then rolled into the nearby snow.

After a brief pause, a burst of explosive fire shot into the sky, shrapnel and smoke instantly engulfing the mutant.

Although it didn't kill it on the spot, a human wielding an axe quickly charged forward, howling as he swung the axe down, decapitating the mutant.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"Cover me; I'm going to pull up our buddy Edge!"

"And Neighbor Old Wang!"

"He's too far, forget him for now! VM and guns are with me; if we can't drag the bodies, just leave them!"

Under the cover of his teammates, a strength-type player carried the injured "Edge Shoveling" towards the direction of Street No. 76.

The mutants' reinforcements had already arrived, and their operation had to be ended prematurely.

1 dead and 1 wounded in battle, exchanged for 1

Clearly, this group of mutants wasn't as easy to handle as anticipated; not only were they skilled in urban warfare, but they also knew how to set traps.

Nevertheless, they still managed to kill one of them.

This round was not a loss!

Chapter 130: The Guard's Exclusive Weapon

"Damn! Not losing a fucking thing here! I took a huge loss on that one!"

Official forum.

When he saw Brother Edge and a bunch of Backseat Drivers forcefully explaining that the "extreme 1-for-1 trade" was not a loss at all, Neighbor Old Wang couldn't hold back any longer and jumped into the conversation.

Seizing the opportunity, a forum favorite initiated a group mock.

Grandpa Ao: "LOL! 10 against 1, and you guys still ended with one dead and one injured. Do you even know how to play? If I were you, I'd smash the helmet, wash up, and go to sleep. You suck this bad and still play? Of course, this game doesn't even exist, just keep making stuff up, I'll treat it as a joke."

Elena: "Here's a fun fact: the beta test helmets are lent by the game company, and since you didn't even pay for the shipping or charge up a card, smashing it might just earn you a lawyer's letter. (Funny)"

Edge Shoveling: "Cough cough, sorry Old Wang. I admit, there were some mistakes in the command, didn't expect those mutants to pull a sneaky one on us, even had trip wire mines, completely against the warrior's spirit! But don't worry, I've figured out their tricks now, next time it's a sure win!"

Neighbor Old Wang: "I believe in you my ass! If I get on your dark ride again, I'm a dog!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Definitely a loss, a total mess. One goblin rocket costs 5 silver coins, basic mission income 10 silver coins. Killing a mutant nets a 5 silver coin reward which is actually a team bonus pool, each person just gets 5 copper coins."

Edge Shoveling: "Didn't you get those 5 silver coins as a reward? I hit one shot too!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "No, I just wanted to complain, those rockets were useless, didn't even kill and I had to rush in with an axe to finish the job."

WC There are mosquitoes: "Damn! You used it to blow up mutants, why didn't you use it on a Crack Claw Crab? The official info database even says mutants have a Constitution score above 30, limit unknown. What's the meaning of 30 Constitution?! Even a player who specializes in Constitution might not have such high attributes at level 20! Be reasonable bro, wasn't it my rocket that crippeld it so you could finish it off?"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Weakling!"

WC There are mosquitoes: "Fuck! Wait, next time include me on this mission! (Angry)"

Elena: "Forget it, I'm a bit scared, was thinking of checking it out after reviving tomorrow... I won't go. (Funny)"

Night Ten: "Don't be a coward, Old Na, I remember you being super brave. (Funny)"

Elena: "Call me Old Na again, and I'll hold a grudge! (#`皿´)"

At 7 PM, Residents of Shelter No. 404 Hall.

After dinner, Chu Guang sat in front of his computer, browsing the forum as usual, seeing what his little players were chatting about.

To facilitate his more efficient screen stalking, or rather, reviewing memorials, Chu Guang had Xiao Qi help make a spreadsheet to track the hottest topics on the forum between six and seven each evening.

This time was basically when the beta test players were most active on the official website.

Unsurprisingly, "Mutant Tribe of Street No.76" topped the topic heat chart, firmly in the first place.

This was the first clash between the Outpost Base and the Street No.76 mutant tribe.

Previously, most players' impressions of mutants were based on pictures and text settings from the official info database, and secondary creations brainstormed by netizens based on official data.

Although on the surface, having 10 against 1 and still ending up like this was indeed a bit embarrassing, Chu Guang was very clear in his heart that achieving this battle record was actually not bad.

Firstly, the average level of the players who participated in the battle was LV5, which in the Outpost Base could only be considered the second echelon; neither their levels nor their combat experience could be counted among the top-tier, so taking some losses was normal.

Moreover, those green-skinned brutes were notoriously tough.

Their extraordinary healing abilities and resistance, nearly immune to all poisons, and on top of that, they had a digestive system comparable to mutated hyenas, able to eat even the rotting flesh on Eaters when starving.

To put it strongly, they were even better adapted to the environment of the Wasteland Planet than the Variants. At least in the earlier years, both Variants and survivors had a hard time during the harsh winters, but only these green-skinned brutes, whose origins were unknown, were found all over the Wasteland Planet.

Some said they were victims of biological weapons, others claimed they embraced evolution willingly, and still, others said they were biological weapons themselves.

The more reliable rumor was that their ancestors hailed from an unidentified shelter, forced to adopt still-underdeveloped genetic modification technologies due to the unbearable early, devastating winters.

In fact, apart from being a bit ugly, the genetics of these green-skinned brutes were quite strong. Not only were they highly adaptable to the Wasteland environment, able to live in a radioactive environment for a long time and maintain genetic stability, but they also possessed an "Iron Stomach" capable of digesting almost anything.

Given a few thousand years to develop, it's quite possible they could indeed replace Old Humans as the new masters of this planet as New Humans.

However, mutants were not without weaknesses.

Their gigantic stature required them to live in larger houses, and their utilization of remnants from pre-war civilizations was far lower than humans. Thick fingers and underdeveloped cerebellums made it difficult for them to use their joints as flexibly and harmoniously as humans. Crafting precision instruments required much more effort, which was almost impossible given their tribal culture.

Even some Looters could craft homemade pipe guns, but for mutants, stuffing black powder into a can to make a tripwire landmine was about the peak of their technological achievements.

If they had guns, they were certainly stolen from other humans. Most of the time, firearms in their hands wore out as quickly as their ammunition. Preferring raw violence and cold weapons, they tended to shred their opponents with axes, saws, and butchery knives, hanging the entrails on their armor to intimidate their living enemies.

This was the most time-efficient method of killing for them.

Additionally, although they possessed almost perverted regenerative powers, their heads remained a vulnerability.

Even if their chests could withstand continuous shots from 7mm rifles and rely on "unscientific" healing powers and tenacity to rapidly repair damaged muscle tissue, organs, and bones, it was difficult to put back spilled brains.

Therefore, many mutants, even bare-chested, would wear a heavy helmet on their heads and, if conditions allowed, attach things like car doors, billboards, or chariot armor plates to their chests to protect the more difficult to repair heart and lungs.

Chu Guang noticed that Brother Fang Chang had written a summary post, compiling the content discussed by the players who participated in today's fight, and analytically summarized the weaknesses and strengths of the mutants, providing a relatively reliable reference for players planning to challenge the mutant tribe on Street No.76.

"First, the conclusion, this mission is quite difficult for players below level 5! According to the official data provided, these mutants, if placed in other MMORPGs, would be at least equivalent to level 20 monsters. A group of level 5 players challenging level 20 monsters is obviously level-skipping, and casualties are to be expected."

"However, Wasteland OL is somewhat different from other MMORPGs. The influence of attributes is not as direct as in other games but is more akin to DND rules. That is, as long as you continuously roll high enough numbers, slaying a dragon with a goblin is not impossible."

"I guess the developers placed the mutant tribe near the Novice Village at Outpost Base to test whether asymmetrical warfare would affect the gaming experience, considering that a real wasteland won't keep dangers away from the weak. If my analysis is correct, congratulations everyone, we have advanced a big step towards the public beta—our players have proven through actual practice that level suppression is not absolute, and higher level monsters are not unbeatable! Even if we can't see their health bars!"

"Of course, though I say this, if you are not confident enough in your strength, it's better to cautiously choose whether to take on this mission."

"However, opportunities always come with risks, and if you can take down the mutant tribe, the rewards should be quite substantial."

"This game has many hidden mechanics, it is recommended to delve more into them if interested!"

...

The next day.

After lying in the cultivation chamber overnight, Edge Shoveling's leg injury was almost healed. He made a homemade bandage for his thigh and energetically pulled a group of teammates to set off again.

The teammates were still the ones from yesterday, but this time, Neighbor Old Wang, who was waiting for the resurrection cooldown, was replaced by "WC There are mosquitoes."

To redeem himself, Brother Mosquito went all out this time, bringing along a half-human-tall large box and having a Strength Type player carry it for him.

The team headed out from the east gate with great momentum, marching toward Street No.76.

Although Chu Guang had appropriately increased the rewards for the raid mission considering the strength of the mutants, could they really recoup their investment with so much gear?

Other players were also commenting.

"Has Mosquito gone mad?"

"Wow, that's a huge box. Does he think gunpowder is free?"

"So hardcore!"

Night Ten glanced around at his teammates.

"Not to lie, I'm kind of curious to see."

Wild Wind and Old White didn't pay him any attention, but Fang Chang gave him a glance and said realistically,

"Not to lie, we better get 'Greenhouse Ruins' done first, we've delayed it for so long."

Though they were curious about what was in Mosquito's box, clearly focusing on the task at hand was more important.

After changing into "moth equipment," Fang Chang and his group also set off from the east gate.

The Greenhouse Ruins were right at the entrance to Street No.76, so the two groups happened to be on the same path.

Chu Guang quickly glanced down through a drone in the sky, then returned control of the drone to Xiao Qi and went to Boss Xia's weapon shop.

Since he had changed to a new workbench, Boss Xia no longer needed to handcraft bullet casings. Placing the roughly shaped material into the mold and activating the stamping module with a push downward, a brand new bullet casing was formed.

However, pressing bullet casings was only the first step in bullet production. To obtain a bullet with sufficient power and stable performance without jamming, a series of tedious processes were still necessary.

To increase work efficiency, Xia Yan employed two female workers from the Nomads' camp, paying each two silver coins per day, including meals but not accommodation.

One of them was responsible for using professional tools to load the propellant and primer into the casing. The other took care of adding the lead bullet into the casing filled with propellant.

Xia Yan himself operated the professional equipment on the workbench, processing bullets and casings, crimping the base of the loaded bullets, and roll crimping the bullets embedded in the casings to ensure an absolute seal between the bullet and casing.

After all these steps, the bullets still needed to be water-washed to rinse off the metal debris from the surface of the casings.

These invisible metal debris significantly increased the chances of jamming and could affect shooting accuracy.

Despite going through so many processes, the bullets produced still couldn't compare with those made on professional assembly lines.

But for the players, these stamped bullets were much more comfortable to use than the slower "low-speed stamped" rolled bullets previously made by Boss Xia with a small awl.

At least, on these bullet casings, there were no visible pitted indentations. There was no longer a need to worry about having to squat down to deal with jammed casings while shooting.

"Is there something you need?"

Watching Chu Guang approaching, Xia Yan placed a full basket of processed casings on the wooden table beside him.

These bullet components would keep the two still inexperienced workers in the next room busy for a while.

Chu Guang looked at her and asked,

"How much ammunition do we have in storage now?"

Xia Yan responded,

"There are still 3,500 rolled bullets left, and for the stamped bullets, including what you brought back from Bet Street and what I've made this week, together there are about ten thousand in total."

Chu Guang looked slightly surprised.

"That many?"

Brushing the bangs off her forehead, Xia Yan's lips curled up in a slight arc, seemingly quite proud,

"That many? It's alright. The processing efficiency of this workbench is decent. Once you get the hang of it, the speed is much faster than before. Besides making bullets, I've fabricated four 7mm iron pipe rifles using other materials. Although they are not as good as the ones you bought from the merchants in Giant Stone City, they work quite well. However, I have to remind you that at this rate of consumption, we might run out of copper by the end of next month."

Though this reminder was serious, Chu Guang didn't take it too seriously.

Bet Street was already under the control of Shelter No. 404.

If needed, he could easily increase the resource collection by raising the resource recovery prices and sending the scavengers from Bet Street deep into the urban area inside the Fifth Ring for resource gathering.

Additionally, he could mobilize the local survivors through Old Charlie to form a scavenger team, escorted by the players to scavenge dangerous areas they normally wouldn't approach.

"Don't worry about that, I'll arrange to increase the collection efforts."

After pausing for a moment, Chu Guang continued,

"Besides, I plan to train a batch of guards to maintain the security at Outpost Base, about 15 iron pipe rifles... preferably completed within a week. If the schedule is too tight, it's okay to slow down the bullet production."

"Guards?" Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang oddly, making a teasing remark, "Who can fight better than your 'players'?"

"It's not the same."

Chu Guang shook his head, not really sure how to explain the difference between NPC guards and player guards, and simply didn't.

"After all, having players do the same job all the time isn't workable; they work for us not for money but for fun."

The guards standing at the main gate and patrolling outside, those jobs were usually taken by the newcomers, as old players weren't interested in such small profits.

With the new version releasing rather quickly, there were constantly newcomers coming in, so there was no need to worry about these basic positions going unfilled.

But if the influx of refugees continued, security would soon become a major issue.

Relying solely on players to maintain order was clearly impractical; law enforcement was not their forte.

Chu Guang planned to reassign some of the survivors from the brick factory, forming a regular, fixed personnel guard to maintain security around Outpost Base.

Their weapons did not need to be too good; deterrence would suffice.

Moreover, these NPCs also served as a restraint for the players.

After all, even though Xiao Qi had excellent vision, it could only serve as a tool for supervision and adjudication and could not intimidate as much as a group of guards with rifles and armbands.

Once the number of players increased, these guards would definitely be useful.

"Fun??" Xia Yan's eyes widened as she murmured, "What could be fun about that?"

Someone actually finding joy in their work was preposterous!

"You don't understand, just do as I say."

You don't say, how could I understand?

Xia Yan silently complained in her heart, but it was not appropriate to confront the boss face-to-face, so she nodded obediently.

"Okay, 15 guns, right? It won't even take a week; we could get it done in three or four days if we stop the bullet-making work. What caliber do you want? Bolt action or revolver? Will those 7mm pipe rifles hanging on the wall do?"

"7mm caliber, bolt-action is fine, but I have some requirements for the appearance."

Saying this, Chu Guang raised his arm and lightly swiped his finger on the VM, transferring a blueprint he had downloaded from the internet to Xia Yan's VM.

Looking at the drawing on the screen, Xia Yan slightly stunned, her expression filled with bemusement.

The thick barrel, heavy receiver and ammo chamber, and all-wood stock.

Though the design was indeed more aesthetically pleasing than the pipe rifles hanging on the wall and possessed a rough sense of power, she really didn't see the sense in designing a gun this shape.

Was it designed so heavy to make it easier to use as a club?

"I don't really understand... I won't comment on the barrel, but does the receiver need to be designed so wide?"

Chu Guang replied nonchalantly.

"It just looks thick. Think of those superficial parts as a kind of 'skin designed for deterrence.' The difficulty in processing isn't large, nor does it consume much material. As for the effective structures, including the barrel, receiver, spring, and firing pin, just replicate them from the rifles we've bought from the merchants at Giant Stone City."

"Okay..."

Xia Yan reluctantly nodded.

Were the words under the image meant to be engraved on the stock as the name of the weapon?

Arbiter I?

Sounds odd...

"Alright, I leave it to you."

After giving his instructions, Chu Guang was ready to leave; however, just then, the VM screen on his arm suddenly lit up, showing a message.

The message was undoubtedly sent by Xiao Qi.

"Master, your players seem to be in trouble!"

-

(Another chapter coming in ten minutes, please wait a moment!)

Chapter 131: Encounter Battle on Street No.76!

East gate of the Wetland Park, where Street No.76 meets the ruins of an overpass, gunfire and explosions melded into one continuous roar.

The group from Edge Shoveling that had entered Street No.76 first didn't get far before they walked into an ambush by a squad of Mutants.

The two in the lead were turned into porcupines on the spot, while the remaining eight scattered and fell back, taking cover and pulling out their weapons to return fire.

Hearing the gunfire ahead, the cow and horse squad following close behind from the park rushed to support.

However, the ambushing Mutants quickly noticed them, and soon several Cold Arrows flew their way.

Fang Chang, struck by an arrow in the stomach, was dragged behind cover by Old White.

"Fuck! If I'd brought my Mechanical Composite Bow, I'd have shot these motherfuckers dead!"

Fang Chang cursed as he reached for the arrow in his stomach, but before he could touch the shaft, Old White slapped his hand away.

"What the hell?"

Old White spoke with a serious face.

"I just looked at those arrows from the Mutants; they all have hooks. If you try to pull it out by force, be careful you don't rip out your intestines!"

Hiss...

Fang Chang shivered and took in a sharp breath.

It didn't hurt, but it was still frightening to hear.

Crouched behind the nearby cover, Brother Mole from Canyon Runaway lit Molotov Cocktails and handed them to a nearby Strength-type player, indicating the direction to throw.

The Molotov Cocktails traced a beautiful parabola over the friendly defensive line and the Mutants' position. Burning pitch scattered in all directions, turning the old car wrecks into a fireball and forcing the Mutants behind cover to move.

The friendlies up front immediately seized the opportunity, opening fire en masse, with at least a dozen bullets raining down on the exposed Mutants, wreaking havoc on them.

But mere havoc was not enough.

The injured Mutants were quickly dragged by their comrades into a storefront on the side of the street. The wounds of these green-skinned brutes would clot and scab at an incredible speed, and before long they would be up and spry in front of them again.

Night Ten was the only one in the cow and horse squad with a gun, and although his shooting skills had improved over time, hitting a target two to three hundred meters away was still no easy task.

Especially when Cold Arrows were being lobbed at him from the opposite direction, causing him quite a bit of trouble.

Several arrows he dodged by relying on his high Perception instinct, barely grazing past his ears, making his heart pound with fear.

One careless move, and he'd go straight back to the Forum on a One-Way Trip.

"Damn it! I've never fought such a disgusting enemy!" exclaimed Night Ten, having a hard time hitting his mark and cursing up a storm as he saw a Looter take a bullet and act as if nothing had happened.

The last Molotov Cocktail was also used up, and Brother Mole bellowed out.

"We don't have guns; let's bail!"

These Incendiary Bombs were originally meant for moths, but now they were all used on the Mutants.

Hearing that their teammates behind were planning to retreat, those at the edge of Edge Shoveling panicked and quickly shouted back.

"Fuck! Don't leave us behind!"

Fang Chang, lying wounded next to Old White, cursed.

"Then fucking give me a gun! We're here to run a dungeon, not even carrying guns, what good is this!?"

Canyon Runaway's Mole: "Mosquito, where the hell are you?! How much longer do you need?"

"Almost there, almost there!"

Finally retrieving his box from his teammate's corpse, Mosquito hurriedly opened it and pulled out the "Storm V0.5 Personal Edition" inside.

Without time to introduce his equipment, Mosquito lit the fuse and hefted the rocket launcher, as thick as a thigh, onto his shoulder. Aiming at the nearest Mutant, he defiantly yelled out a challenge.

"Waste the fucker!"

The tail flames and white smoke from the rocket filled his own face. A huge fist of a rocket blasted straight at a fifty-meter distant deserted bus, followed by an explosion of orange-red fire.

To be fair, the power was quite shocking!

Especially since Mosquito had learned from the lesson of "Midnight Chicken Killing" and had replaced the high-explosive warhead with an Incendiary Warhead and increased the charge.

While he did not hit the target he aimed at directly, the swirl of flames enveloped a Mutant, burning him as he let out a howl of agony, rolling in the snow, and was shot dead amidst the chaotic fire from the players in the front.

Fang Chang, observing from behind the cover, furrowed his brows and said.

"There's at least 10 of them left on the other side!"

Old White, "I feel like there are at least 20 of them!"

Fang Chang, "20 is unlikely. If there were that many, they wouldn't just be in a standoff with us, they would have overrun the guys up front already!"

Fang Chang came to this conclusion because they were not in the superior position in terms of numbers; hence their rather sneaky tactics.

Even so, the situation was far from optimistic.

On one hand, the Bull and Horse Squad had nine people, all equipped with "moth weapons," which were useless against the Mutants.

On the other hand, the Edge Shoveling team had ten people with guns but was caught off guard right from the start. Now, only five were still holding their positions, with the rest either dead or injured, badly enough to be incapacitated.

The players' will was unyielding, as long as they could still move their hands, they wouldn't stop fighting. However, the realities of the situation created a gap that sheer willpower alone couldn't bridge.

They were not facing just one or two Mutants.

They were up against an entire Mutant ambush team!

The team must have been lying in wait for a while, just waiting for them to enter the ambush zone for a brutal surprise attack.

The greenhouse convoy at the rear found themselves in a bind.

Both Fang Chang and Brother Mole knew very well that if they continued the standoff, the odds of disaster were high.

But if they abandoned the forward teams and retreated, those Mutants would certainly charge without hesitation and devour the advance allied forces.

Running low on ammo, Edge Shoveling decided to take off his own VM and stuff it into his fur pouch before tossing it towards Fang Chang and the others.

"Take my VM back! Get out of here!"

Night Ten caught the pouch and, seeing Edge Shoveling outfitting his rifle with a bayonet, exclaimed in shock,

"F*ck, bro, have you lost your mind?! Going bayonet to bayonet with Mutants?!"

Edge Shoveling bore a tragic look as he glanced at his newly purchased beloved rifle, gritting his teeth and yelling.

"Go! Don't mind me!"

Night Ten was stunned.

"No, what I mean is throw your gun over too!"

A gun was worth hundreds of Silver Coins, which was way more than a 40 Silver Coin VM.

Edge Shoveling: "%￥#@!"

Sensing that the firepower of their prey had weakened, the Mutants began to stir and move forward, ready to hunt these feeble humans in the most primitive way.

Just as Edge Shoveling was cursing and about to throw his gun over too, there came some noise from the direction of the Wetland Park.

A row of familiar figures burst out of the bushes.

Fang Chang, peering from behind the cover, suddenly saw a glimmer of hope ignited in his eyes. He tore his throat open to shout at the allies in front,

"Reinforcements!"

"Our reinforcements have arrived!"

Almost simultaneously as he shouted, a dense volley of gunfire and overwhelming battle cries erupted from the jungle.

"Kill them!"

"For the Alliance!"

"For His Majesty the Manager!"

The surging and spirited battle roars stirred the blood, and although nearly every player shouted different slogans, this motley crew managed to project the might of thousands of soldiers.

The fearless Mutants seemed to be overwhelmed by the momentum.

However, they didn't turn tail and run like Looters but were provoked by the charge into a frenzy of savagery and brutality. They tossed aside their bows and arrows and spears, pulled out uneven Battle Axes and clubs wrapped with iron wire, and charged towards the approaching players.

These lambs for the slaughter dared to engage in hand-to-hand combat with them!

The two sides collided quickly and engaged in brutal close combat. A player at the forefront was sent flying with a swing of a club, but soon more players thrust forward with lances, turning the lead Mutants into pincushions.

Before the charge, they had all thrown away their VMs and had utterly shed any pretense or dignity of civilized beings.

They were all prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, even when facing beasts ten or more levels stronger, no one flinched.

In reality, it was fine to wince and cower.

But in the Game, what was there to fear?

In three days, they'd respawn as good as new!

Both sides had blood in their eyes, and the scene was incredibly bloody for a moment!

These mutants were probably facing such brave humans for the first time; they didn't turn tail and flee when charged but instead fought back fiercely.

"ROAR!!!"

Enraged and swinging the club in hand, an "elite" mutant, clearly larger than the others, blocked an incoming axe with his muscle-veined arm. Then, with a casual swing of his mace, he sent the one holding the axe flying away.

Just like playing baseball!

"Come on, you bunch of ants! Who else dares to stand in front of me?"

Damn, they really did come!

Shaking off the blood and flesh from his club, the enraged mutant elite glared at the humans who, undeterred, were howling and rushing towards him.

This was a first!

Just then, a tall figure suddenly appeared among the crowd opposite.

The man, gleaming in his breastplate, was covered in steel plates, holding an absurdly large warhammer across his hands, his steps steady and firm as he advanced toward him.

Sensing a dangerous aura exuding from the man, the mutant elite slightly lowered his stance and gripped his mace tighter.

"ROAR—!"

With another roar, he explosively propelled himself forward, swinging his mace as he charged at the target armored like a tin can.

"I'm going to smash your skull!!"

Chu Guang remained unflustered, swinging the hammer in his hand and smashing it towards the mutant.

With 16 points in strength, plus the driving force of the exoskeleton, even an ordinary hammer could bring down a wall.

Not to mention, its hammer face was coated with a layer of high-pressure nitrogen!

"Goodbye."

The collision of flesh and technology!

The nitrogen armor, nearly compressed into a solid, exploded in an instant. The mutant elite, yet to realize what happened, was blasted away, his arm and club shattering into pieces!

He crashed next to a trash can a dozen meters away, the previous second's vibrant elite mutant instantly struggling for life.

That one hammer blow not only shattered his arm but also ruptured his internal organs with the explosive shockwave.

"Manager is awesome!"

"Charge!"

"The kill is mine!"

Seeing the elite monster knocked out by an NPC, players wielding spears and axes charged excitedly to deliver the finishing blows, as if invigorated with chicken blood.

Gripping the hammer to stabilize himself, Chu Guang expressionlessly glanced at his dying opponent, but he was inwardly astonished.

In that instant of close combat, the strength he felt at his wrist and the base of his thumb was clearly above that of a "bear"!

He hadn't expected that an elite monster, just a bit larger, would possess such power!

Add to that their freakish resilience; no wonder his group of players had such a hard fight!

After beheading the mutant elite, Chu Guang didn't linger. He continued forward with his hammer, picking off isolated targets.

Ordinary arrows and stones hitting his breastplate felt like tickling, leaving not even a scratch. Blunt force impacts were a concern, but with players covering him, hardly any mutants could get close - it was he who was hammering people down.

After blasting away the third mutant, the last one was turned into a hedgehog by the players' spears and javelins and had its skull chopped off by an axe.

The skirmish that erupted at the entrance of Street No. 76 finally ended in victory for Shelter No. 404. Both sides proved their bravery with blood, and not a single person surrendered.

After the battle, Chu Guang had Xiao Qi use a drone to tally the casualties.

Players participating on their side: 101 people, 15 dead, 6 injured.

Mutants participating: 11 people, 11 dead.

Picking up the VM he had dropped on the ground earlier, the players received the battle report sent by the Manager, their faces showing surprise.

"Holy shit... 101 people ganging up on 11, and we still lost 4 more than they did!"

"Be content, the official data shows that the mutants are at least level 20 or above, and I feel it's even more! The last time, ten people ganged up on one and ended up with 1 dead and 1 injured. This time we managed a total wipeout despite being ambushed. Personally, I'm already satisfied."

"We charged too soon, should've shot them for a bit longer before charging."

"There's no point, every one of them on the other side is like a tank, with thick skin, high defense, and scarily strong recovery powers—it's like they've all put on a tyrant's armor. Even if you empty your bullets and charge in, I don't think it would make much difference; on the contrary, it's possible that our teammates at the front would get killed in the charge, increasing our casualties."

"These green-skins are too fierce; my axe got knocked clean out of my hand."

"That's nothing; the one we were ganging up on had three spears stuck in his body and was still swinging a mace fighting with us. In the end, it took a close-range headshot to finally take the brute down!"

"Doesn't it make sense to sharpen the blade?"

"Why didn't Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun join in?"

"This batch of newcomers is too timid; next time we should recruit more CF players."

With an arrow stuck in his arm and blood all over him, Old White limped over while carrying a lance in one hand and a rolled-edge knife in the other.

Despite his serious injuries, his face was filled with excitement.

Fighting with these mutants was way more thrilling than chasing after Looters!

This, this is what you call a real battle.

Running after bullies who only pick on the weak; that's nothing but a slaughter.

"Manager, should we pursue the victory?"

Chu Guang glanced at his wounds and said indifferently,

"Your injuries are severe, continuing to fight could lead to irreversible damage. I don't want to see anyone else die because of untreatable serious injuries."

"Take your teammates back to the cultivation chamber to rest."

Pursuing them wasn't realistic.

The fact that these mutants did not attack by rushing into the forest, but instead chose to ambush at the entrance of Street No. 76, showed that they are not as brainless as they seem.

Not only were they masters in the art of guerrilla warfare, but they were also very cautious.

The reason they haven't sent reinforcements yet is probably not due to a lack of strength but likely a deliberate display of weakness, with troops scattered around in ambush.

If we charge in, it's sure to be another brutal meat grinder.

Why bother?

With a life lost every three days, we should be able to wear them down, right?

Looking toward the end of the street, Chu Guang chuckled, waved his hand to signal the nearby players to clean up the bodies, equipment, and spoils on the ground, and return to Outpost Base.

The corpses filled several covered carts, and the stench of blood could be smelt from a great distance.

Watching the bodies on the carts, the Nomads gathered at the east gate showed expressions of surprise and panic.

Of course, what surprised them the most was the expression on the faces of those in Blue Jackets surrounding the carts.

Many were wounded, some lightly, others heavily, with some completely covered in blood, unidentifiable as enemy or their own.

However, on everyone's face was a nonchalant expression; they even carried their weapons and laughed and talked, having a merry time with their comrades beside them.

These people seemed to know no fear, treating death like passing clouds.

They were like the War Gods under the command of their ancestors!

Many of the marriageable unwed tribal girls not only blushed at the sight but also had moist eyes.

As the leader of the tribe, Wu Battle Axe approached the triumphant Chu Guang and, seeing the blood on his armor, asked cautiously,

"Sir, are you injured?"

"It's the enemy's blood."

Wiping it casually, unable to remove it, Chu Guang didn't bother and continued to speak to Wu Battle Axe,

"There's a tribe of mutants on Street No. 76, at least 30 in number. The specific count is unknown; tell your people to stay away from there."

"Also, if there's any disturbance, report to me immediately."

"Remember, do not engage in battle without authorization!"

Hearing that they were facing mutants, Wu Battle Axe looked at the blood on Chu Guang's breastplate with immense shock.

With both hands clasped in a fist, he respectfully accepted the order.

"As you command!"

-

(I've been a bit unsettled these past few days; I will try to adjust and still aim to post at ten o'clock if possible! _(:з」∠)_)

Chapter 132: Wood Gasification and Steam Power!

Dead players were sent to the morgue, the Active Substance Extractor began its work, and with so many bodies piled up, it would likely be busy until tomorrow morning.

Currently, the active substance reserves at Outpost Base were sufficient, and although the casualties of over a dozen people were significant, they weren't catastrophic.

The six severely wounded people left should honestly return to the Cultivation Chamber and lie down to heal their injuries.

As for those missing limbs or unable to get out of bed for ten days to a half a month, they might as well go queue in the morgue.

After all, VM was retrieved, and equipment stored, there was no death penalty for sacrificing in the defense of Outpost Base, instead, a small condolence payment was made.

Though those few silver coins as condolence payment couldn't match what was earned in the game, they could still be considered a small comfort.

Eventually, Chu Guang discovered that out of the six seriously injured players, four actually "patched themselves up."

These people really didn't hesitate at all...

Drum Washer: "Wait a minute! Can I try jumping off a building? I've never tried that before!"

Other Party is typing: "Do you want to make Little Fish cry?"

Drum Washer: "Uh, okay, never mind then, I'll just lie down in the furnace..."

Anyway, with pain inhibition, being alive or dead made no difference when lying down in it.

According to the descriptions from the old timers on the forum, while lying in that iron coffin, you'd initially feel a bit warm, and before you even start sweating, you'd disconnect just like that, similar to logging off in the Cultivation Chamber.

Chu Guang wasn't interested in watching the little players describe how they courted death; what concerned him was that the mutants actually understood tactics.

If he hadn't decisively ordered a charge and personally eliminated high-threat targets, the players' casualties would likely have doubled.

At least, the few little players who were already caught by the mutants were definitely not going to survive.

In any case, there was no room for negotiation between the two sides.

Once humans and mutants faced off, it was a battle to the death, and it would inevitably end with the complete annihilation of one side.

Chu Guang instructed Xiao Qi to set a few more surveillance points on the drone's patrol route and designated Street No.76 as a key surveillance area, swinging by every 30 minutes to take some photos and observe any new developments.

However, these mutants were very cunning, hiding under vegetation, ruins, and buildings, making it difficult for drones to capture them from high altitudes.

After yesterday and today's battles, the mutants on Street No.76 had become much more cautious, pulling their defenses back near their lair.

Honestly, this didn't seem like something mutants would do.

Previously, Chu Guang found it odd that while he and the Looters had exchanged several rounds, the mutants at Street No.76 acted as if they hadn't noticed, staying indoors and never coming out.

Even now, it was the same.

Even though the firefight had escalated, these mutants continued to prioritize defense and made no move to attack, not even stepping foot into the forest.

If it were just due to caution, it made no sense.

Thinking of the inexplicable fresh corpses at the gate, Chu Guang suspected there was some significant secret guarded within the mutants' lair.

Were they sitting on top of a refuge?

Though filled with doubts, Chu Guang dared not fly the drone too close.

These perplexing questions would have to wait until after they had taken down the mutants' lair for further exploration.

...

Real World.

In Shanghai, 8 PM.

Cars came and went on the highways, streets bustled, skyscrapers glimmered with neon, and in the midst of the dazzling nightlife, all was prosperous.

Having logged off and removed his helmet, Fang Chang felt restless at home and uninterested in other games, so he decided to take a stroll downstairs and enjoy the evening breeze by the river.

As he wandered along the street, his mobile phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

Fang Chang took it out and saw, surprisingly, a message from Old White.

Old White: "Brother, the first floor of the Greenhouse Ruins has been taken down!"

Fang Chang was startled, then typed a response,

"Already?!"

Old White: "It was just wrapping things up, there were only a few moths left. By the way, I shared the dungeon gain of 200 silver coins with Brother Mole and the others. As for the exploration rights to the second floor and basement one, Night Ten and I are holding onto them for now, ha. The manager gave us priority rights for seven days, which is plenty of time—I plan to continue down the dungeon after you come online tomorrow."

Fang Chang: "No problem, but why did you go offline too?"

Old White: "Hey, I just came off to share the joy with a good brother! I feared you might be feeling lonely down there. (Grimacing)"

Fang Chang: "I almost believed that!"

Old White: "Hahaha, enough bragging. The manager just summoned me to reallocate some manpower from the brick factory. I'm logging in to report now."

Fang Chang rolled his eyes.

Having known him for so many years, he could even imagine the smug expression on Old White's face.

Fang Chang: "Go ahead! And hey, we can sell the exploration rights to the second floor to Brother Mole. It's pointless to hoard them if we're not going to explore. If it goes to auction after seven days, we'll lose 50%. I think we should focus our efforts on moving downward, targeting the B9 floor backup generator and the lair on the tenth floor. If all goes well, that's where the good stuff will be!"

Old White: "Alright, I'll ask around in a bit!"

Fang Chang turned off the mobile phone screen, his face brimming with envy.

If it weren't for that arrow that hit him in the intestines, causing moderate blood loss, he wouldn't need to spend an entire day lying in the cultivation chamber!

But it was unavoidable.

After all, he wasn't a constitution-focused player - his base recovery speed was only slightly better than a normal person's. The cultivation chamber only provided a recovery bonus; it didn't actively repair damaged tissues.

That would probably be a feature of a "medical chamber."

This game always had a way of being inexplicably realistic.

Whether it was the resurrection cooldowns, healing time for wounds, or the requirement for game characters to sleep every day, it seemed as if the game operators were afraid of players staying too long on the servers.

However, Fang Chang could understand.

In such a fully realistic virtual reality game, if there weren't any anti-addiction systems, many people would probably spend 24 hours a day in the game.

He definitely would.

"...If only my real body could be as strong as it is in the virtual world."

Looking at his right hand, Fang Chang clenched his fist, his heart itching unbearably; he couldn't wait to put on the headgear and jump back into the game.

Oh well, maybe just a bit more shopping for now.

Just then, his eyes landed upon an advertisement for an archery club.

Feeling a slight stir, Fang Chang immediately turned and entered the adjacent mall, rode the elevator to the fifth floor, and found the archery club.

Despite the mall's crowd, the club itself wasn't very busy.

Fang Chang, holding his phone, purchased a ticket and, after ticket verification, followed one of the staff members to the archery range inside.

Before the staff could introduce anything, Fang Chang spoke proficiently,

"50-meter range, give me a 28-pound bow."

The archery club was located in a costly mall, and the longest range was only 50 meters. Nearby, many children and couples were playing at the 30-meter range. The latter was more newbie-friendly, but still, many people would aim at their own target but somehow hit the one next to it.

The staff member glanced at him in surprise,

"Bro, been here before?"

A 28-pound bow was a bit challenging for a beginner. The highest they had was 28 pounds; most customers used 16 or 20 pounds.

"I've played elsewhere."

Taking the bow, Fang Chang tested the string—he guessed the actual weight was around 26 pounds; probably because it was rarely used and poorly maintained, which had caused the bow limbs to lose some tension.

It doesn't matter anymore.

After hearing what Fang Chang said, the staff member's eyes lit up, and he immediately started pitching.

"Sure, bro, have you thought about getting a card? Our coach is a retired member from the provincial archery team, and we even host some competitions occasionally. Last month's prize was a thousand bucks!"

Fang Chang chuckled.

The provincial archery team, huh.

Still, a bit small. Other stores brag about their managers participating in the Olympics.

Seeing Fang Chang's smile, the staff member felt a bit awkward and forcefully coughed to change the subject.

"Bro, don't rush to shoot, your bow-holding posture is wrong—"

Swish—!

He nocked an arrow, drew the bow, and released, all in a fluid motion.

Seeing the arrow nailed exactly in the center of the target, the staff member promoting the club was dumbfounded, his expression even more awkward as he coughed and continued.

"Nice shooting, bro! Lucky shot! But your posture is off, you could easily hurt yourself. Let me demonstrate the correct way to hold the bow—"

Swish—!

Another arrow hit right in the bullseye.

This time, the staff member figured this guy was here to show off, so he just shut up, waiting for him to make a mistake before continuing.

Fang Chang also wasn't much of a talker, he just kept aiming at the bullseye, one arrow after another, and soon turned the target 50 meters away into a hedgehog.

Within a minute, all 15 arrows had been shot!

Not a single miss!

Not just the staff member, but the customers nearby were also stunned. When the last arrow hit perfectly, they couldn't help but burst into applause.

"Damn! So cool!"

"That's super accurate!"

"And both accurate and fast!"

"I'm baffled, must be a pro from the provincial team here for fun, right?"

"No way, probably just a street talent, the provincial team doesn't do fancy rapid-firing."

"Eagle Eye! Just like you!"

"Bro, you're awesome! Can I add your VX? Let's play together next time."

Hearing this, Fang Chang gave a smile to that girl.

Play together?

Haha.

Is this crappy bow even a match for his "Dawn"?

Among the nearby spectators, someone was holding up a mobile phone, filming the impressive archery they'd just witnessed and uploaded it to a short video APP.

Before a minute had passed, it quickly received over a hundred likes.

"Ah, these old bones," looking at the target 50 meters away, Fang Chang shook his slightly sore arm and sighed lightly, "I've neglected my training."

Such a pity.

Real-world bodies just don't match up to those in "Wasteland OL", and just shooting fifteen arrows had already made his arms sore.

Fang Chang estimated that his real-world stats would probably be around 4.5, maybe even less.

After all, these days he was always playing "Wasteland OL," every night at 6 p.m. he'd put on the helmet and lie down, and it'd be a 12-hour session until he got up the next morning. He'd never had the habit of eating breakfast, and since getting the helmet, he'd even skipped dinner.

In the game, he could not only hit running mutated hyenas but even catch up to additionaly stab them.

At that moment, the owner of the Archery Hall came over, his eyes burning with excitement as he handed out his business card.

"Friend, have you considered looking for a job? Our club's work is very easy, all you need to do is guide the customers in archery, plus a commission for processing membership cards, the monthly salary starts at at least 10K!"

With that set of amazing skills he just displayed, turning it into a viral short video was a certainty!

And wouldn't customers pour in then?

Just in this little while, the short video his employee had just uploaded on their mobile phone had already gone from a hundred to nearly a thousand likes!

"No, thanks. I'm too casual for a job. I don't really like going to work."

Fang Chang, who took the business card from the manager, politely smiled, handed back the bow to the staff, and turned to leave, bathed in admiring gazes.

...

Wasteland World.

In the industrial area of Outpost Base, "Brother Ciso I need to go" burst excitedly out of the smoke-billowing steel factory pushing a two-meter wide flatbed cart.

"I did it, Brother Mosquito! I did it again! This time it's sure to work!"

On that cart, there lay a brass-colored machine and a bunch of loose parts. Even though the thing had no name, one could easily guess its purpose just by seeing the large boiler.

Mosquito, who was carrying raw materials to his small workshop, abruptly threw the wooden box into the snow, excitedly gesturing a thumbs up towards Brother Ciso.

"Brother, you're awesome!"

"Never mind awesome, hurry up, help me out! Let's get it assembled and see if it'll run this time!"

"Brother Ciso I need to go" and "WC There are mosquitoes" grabbed wrenches and pliers grunting as they assembled the brass-colored machine.

Wood was stuffed into the feed hole.

As the wood gasifier started operating, the separated gas was channeled into the combustion chamber to ignite, beginning to heat up the water boiler.

The water began to boil!

Patiently waiting for the temperature and pressure indicators to both hit their thresholds, Mosquito excitedly pulled down the lever, opening the valve that controlled the steam.

The high-temperature steam, controlled by the slide valve, alternately entered the left and right sides of the cylinder, driving the piston to move swiftly.

As for the cooling steam, it was channeled through pipes into a condenser to be recycled, condensing back into water to flow back into the boiler to repeat the cycle.

The piston moved faster and faster, driving the crankshaft connecting rod mechanism to start working, converting reciprocal motion into rotational motion outputting power.

Standing watch, Teng Teng was utterly dumbfounded.

After a long while, she managed to squeeze out half a sentence.

"This... is this a spinning jenny?"

WC There are mosquitoes excitedly shouted.

"No! This thing is a steam engine!"

"Exactly! It's a steam engine! We made a steam engine using primitive tools!" said Brother Ciso, excitedly holding Mosquito's hand. "Man, your skills are incredible! Which school did you graduate from?"

"Pfft, I graduated long ago. My main business is selling furniture, I just like tinkering with fun stuff when I'm bored. But you, your hands-on capability is way beyond most students I've seen. If you use it properly, you're heading for great things in the future!"

"Haha, let's exchange contact info and chat on VX!"

"Let's do it after logging off the game; I'll send you a private message on the Forum."

"Deal!"

"..."

Watching the two totally forgetting about her and chatting so animatedly among themselves, Teng Teng felt like crying out of frustration.

She had been waiting nearly a week, and this was the result??

So what the hell does this steam engine have to do with her "spinning jenny order"???

Chapter 133: Training the Guard Squad!

In the end, the beautiful and kind-hearted Miss Teng Teng still paid for the machine.

Even though it wasn't an order she had placed.

Mosquito and Brother Ciso probably also felt quite embarrassed, and they both agreed to only charge half the cost, refunding half the money to Teng Teng.

Furthermore, the two of them also requested Teng Teng to grant a few more days extension on the order and promised that this time they would definitely not disappoint her, and the remaining balance could be paid after the spinning machine was completed.

They helped move the machine into Vine Cottage.

Seeing the steam machine that occupied nearly half the space in the small house, Mosquito awkwardly scratched the back of his head, saying awkwardly,

"Uh, the main issue is that I don't really know anything about weaving... but don't worry! I'll ask a few knowledgeable acquaintances, and we should definitely be able to figure it out!"

Gazing at the massive machine in the workshop, Teng Teng let out a deep sigh.

"Let's hope so."

No matter what, having the steam machine was a good thing after all.

During this period, Teng Teng hadn't been idle, continually researching how to turn the Devil Moth's cocoon into raw silk.

Following modern silk-making techniques, she discovered that continuously boiling the Devil Moth's cocoon in water at ninety degrees Celsius to cook the pupae inside, and then letting it sit in room temperature water for a while, the cocoon silk would naturally unravel.

All one needed to do then was to insert two chopsticks and stir, filtering out the "starting threads" of the Devil Silk, then it could be pulled out by hand.

Fortunately, the cocoons of the Devil Moth were large, each composed of a single thread.

And these threads were tough enough that they were difficult to cut even with scissors, making the silk reeling process easier than those of smaller cocoons in reality.

Teng Teng followed a PPT she downloaded from the internet and used a set of parts custom-made at a carpentry shop to assemble a manual silk-reeling machine. The efficiency was decent.

The inventory had already stockpiled quite a bit of raw silk, and the next step was to figure out how to weave these silks into fabric.

Of course, it would be even better if steam power could be applied to this process.

...

Meanwhile, at the western gate of the Outpost Base outside the trenches.

A group of survivors who had been transferred here from the brick factory stood in a disjointed formation. Despite many of them being gaunt and pale, they were much better off than half a month ago.

They wore newly swapped fur coats and each held a wooden stick over a meter long, staring blankly at the Manager addressing them from the front of the line.

"I have a new job for you. Of course, you have the right to decline. Drop your wooden sticks now, and you can still go back to work at the brick factory."

Chu Guang waited a moment.

No one moved.

Satisfied, he nodded and continued,

"Good, since you all voluntarily chose to stay, I expect you to demonstrate your loyalty through actions."

Clearing his throat, he raised his voice.

"Starting from today, you will be enlisted into the Outpost Base's guard, responsible for maintaining the order of the Outpost Base!"

"The numbers on the nameplates on your chests are your identification numbers, which will stay with you until you are discharged. Your duties include, but are not limited to, patrolling, standing guard, maintaining order, upholding the dignity of the law, as well as daily practice and studies."

"And as compensation, Shelter No. 404 will provide you with a monthly salary of 80 silver coins, along with food and lodging."

A monthly salary of 80 silver coins was quite substantial.

Initially, at the brick factory, they earned only one silver coin a day, but later the Manager raised their wages to two silver coins a day.

Hearing about the raise, the previously bewildered survivors all showed expressions of joy.

Chu Guang wasn't bothered by their mercenary attitudes.

After all, expecting a group of Waste Land Wanderers who lived like Hyenas to hold lofty ideals and faith was more unrealistic than expecting Mutants to sit down and negotiate.

But it didn't matter.

He would teach them what obedience and discipline were through rigorous training.

"Let me know if you understand."

"I understand!"

"Louder, haven't you all eaten?"

"I UNDERSTAND!!!"

Faced with Manager's majesty, no one dared to slack off; they summoned all their strength and shouted out.

Although it was still somewhat lacking, this time was more passable.

Chu Guang nodded his head and then gave the order.

"Now, everyone turn left and run a lap around Outpost Base. After you've finished, return here to regroup! What are you still standing there for? Get moving! I'll see who comes last and make them run five extra laps!"

Upon hearing the last sentence, the group finally snapped to their senses and dashed forward, terrified of being the slowest.

It wasn't long before someone had completed a lap and returned to Chu Guang's side.

Staring at the man who was gasping for air, Chu Guang spoke.

"Report your name and number."

The man, trying his best to control his breathing, respectfully answered,

"Wrench, Number 006, sir!"

It took Chu Guang a while to realize that "Wrench" was the fellow's name.

Well, what a casually chosen name.

Was it because there just happened to be a wrench lying next to the bed when he was delivered?

Unable to come up with a fitting surname for such a name, and not being great at naming to start with, Chu Guang couldn't be bothered to bestow one upon him.

"Number 006, starting from today, you are the captain of the guard squad. Your sole task is to train the rookies behind you and train with them."

As he spoke, Chu Guang tossed a VM into his hands.

Watching Wrench, whose face showed utter astonishment, loosen his grip on the stick to hastily catch the VM, Chu Guang continued sternly,

"The training schedule will be sent to your VM later, and the drone flying overhead will record your training results. I allow you to use any means necessary, with only one requirement; that is to keep them alive to complete the daily training tasks."

"If you can't manage that, it will only prove your incompetence. I won't blame anyone else, I'll only hold you accountable."

"Do you understand?"

Looking at the Manager, Wrench nodded nervously.

"I understand, sir!"

"Cough."

"Yes, Commander!!"

Good.

Pretty sharp.

Glancing at the stick lying on the ground, Chu Guang continued speaking.

"Pick up that stick on the ground. Until you receive your weapons, it is your weapon, and I expect you to treat it as your own life."

"Train well. I'll be watching from above."

Watching Wrench hastily bend down to pick up the stick, Chu Guang left these words behind and then turned to walk towards Outpost Base.

Not long after he left, Wrench, having received the training schedule, immediately started rallying everyone to begin training.

As Manager had said, the drone was hovering above, keeping a clear and close watch on everything they did. To avoid punishment, Wrench pushed them ardently, not daring to relax even slightly.

To be honest, Chu Guang didn't know much about training.

After all, in his previous life's trajectory, he had only ever experienced high school military training and freshman military training during college.

Neither of which were anywhere close to the intensity of legitimate military training.

But it doesn't matter if they don't know how; they've never eaten pork but have seen pigs run, right?

A lot of information can be found online—all they need to do is edit it according to the needs and conditions of the Wasteland, and it can be used.

Like running drills, standing at attention, low crawling, basic combat, and bayonet fighting training, etc.

Master these basic skills, improve physical fitness, develop discipline, nurture a bit more spirit and vitality, and that should be about it.

Chu Guang didn't need them to have strong combat power; he just needed them to be loyal, loyal, and even more loyal!

As for fighting, that was the players' work.

After all, no matter how much these survivors trained, the idea of beating a group of fearless, stable "awakened" clones was simply impractical.

...

Noon.

Quality Square in front of the sanatorium.

A group of players, holding their bowls and excitedly chattering, gathered here for lunch.

"Have you guys noticed? It seems like our Outpost Base has gotten a batch of new NPCs?"

"I saw it too! At the west gate, right? When I went to look, they were practicing bayonet fighting! I don't understand, can we take them with us in a fight?"

"What do you mean 'a new batch'—those people at the west gate are the prisoners we rescued from the Blood Hand Clan's dungeon. They even said before that to repay us for saving them, they would help us work at the brick factory."

"Damn, it's them? Okay, I'm a bit face-blind, and my vision isn't great, plus those people don't often wash their faces, so it's not surprising I didn't recognize them!"

"It looks like those people have fully joined us now, exciting! The number of NPCs at our Outpost Base is increasing!"

"That security team captain seems to be carrying a VM! Speaking of which, can he trigger a quest? Has anyone tried?"

"I've tried! Just nag him a couple of times, and you can trigger a quest to train with them. But honestly, that quest is pretty boring. Following them for an hour only earns you 5 copper coins! I'd rather go rent an axe at the woodworking cabin and chop trees!"

"Do you think if we train with them all day, we might unlock a quest to join the security team?"

"Are you dumb… The security team's quest has always been available from the Manager, it's just the standing guard task newbies do."

"Shit!"

Initially, many players were curious about this group of NPCs that suddenly appeared at the west gate, skillfully handling clubs.

However, this curiosity lasted only a morning.

As players found out these NPCs neither triggered quests nor interacted much with them, they gradually lost interest and went about their own business.

Perhaps, the planners haven't worked out this part of the content yet.

After all, it's the closed beta phase; it's understandable if there's a bit less content!

...

After lunch, players dispersed from the Outpost Base.

The team led by the strategist, lacking their advisor, temporarily disbanded.

Old White and Wild Wind went to the brick factory, figuring out how to further increase the output of the kilns. Meanwhile, Night Ten went to the lake and spent some time studying casting and feeding techniques with the fishers.

As for Brother Mole, he tearfully pulled out 200 silver coins collected and bought the priority right of exploration for the second floor of the Greenhouse Ruins from the team, taking Gnome King Riches, Elena, and four other passersby as teammates, and began a new round of dungeon raiding fiercely.

Whether this snowball could keep rolling depended on if he could conquer the second floor's challenge within seven days!

In theory, it wasn't very difficult.

After several past battles, Brother Mole had already gained a wealth of experience in "moth warfare," becoming quite adept at dealing with these bugs.

However, the situation they now faced was not very optimistic.

The main reason was the awkward location of the Greenhouse Ruins, right at the entrance of Street No.76, just around the corner from Edge Brother and his frequently injured teammates, as well as mutants ready to shoot cold arrows.

This meant that while Brother Mole and his teammates tried to conquer the dungeon, they also had to be wary of the mutants' harassment.

After all, no one could guarantee those mutants wouldn't decide to come their way.

Before, Brother Mole had heard that the Manager intended to utilize the first layer of the Greenhouse Ruins, but due to the threat of the mutants, the plan had to be temporarily shelved.

However, it was fortunate that Brother Edge did not give up, and it seemed he had completely antagonized the mutants, attracting their animosity to some extent.

After a morning of reorganization, he incredulously gathered a group of even more skeptical teammates and launched the second round of today's assault against the mutants.

This time, he had learned his lesson and did not take the main road. Instead, he bypassed from the south gate of the Wetland Park, followed the street adjacent to Street No. 76, crossed the ruinous terrain, and infiltrated the side of Street No. 76.

This surprise attack seemed very successful.

The dispersed mutants had not anticipated that a troop would infiltrate their flank.

Caught off guard, a lone mutant archer was surrounded and shot dead by the players, who then severed his head.

The sounds of gunfire and explosions rose again from a distance and lasted for quite a while.

War clouds hovered over the airspace of Street No. 76.

Compared to the players who paid no heed to danger, the nomadic tribe at the east gate was in a state of panic.

Most in their tribe were elderly, women, and children; some babies had not even been weaned yet. The remaining capable young adults found it difficult to fight ordinary looters, let alone withstand mutant attacks.

However, unlike the anxious tribe members, their chief, Wu Tieaxe, was not very worried, especially after receiving the "do not initiate attacks" promise from the clan leader, he felt even more at ease.

This clan leader was very kind.

Knowing their tribe had few men, he had no intentions of using them as cannon fodder.

As for safety, Wu Tieaxe was even less concerned.

That man was strong, and so were his subordinates; just a few mutants could not possibly be their match!

This could be seen from the attitude of the mutants themselves.

Those mutants did not dare to attack proactively, only daring to shrink back and set up defenses and ambushes on Street No. 76. In Wu Tieaxe's view, this was not because those bloodthirsty beasts did not want to counterattack, but because they simply did not have the capability to do so!

And they dared not enter the forest either!

However, out of caution, Wu Tieaxe still warned his tribespeople not to go hunting in the east, advising them to head north or south as much as possible.

Based on his exploration these days, the area near the fifth ring had a good hunting ground.

There were many tall building ruins hiding small animals like squirrels and rabbits, and quite a few mutated hyenas that had taken refuge there after winter began.

With a bit of patience and by setting traps and baits, there were occasionally some gains to be made.

As for the north, the direction they had come from, there were not many animals to hunt. Especially along the elevated road leading out of the city, there was a long uninhabited area.

In this wasteland, any place with a bit of food source or other valuables would not be completely deserted.

Third floor of the sanatorium.

Chu Guang, sitting in the chair, stared at the VM screen, watching through a drone as the retreat of the "Edge Shoveling" group moved south along the path he had planned.

About twenty minutes ago, Chu Guang had already arranged for twenty fully-armed players to stand by near the retreat point through the task assignment method.

If the mutants chased after them, they would face a fierce counterattack!

Speaking of which, was this micro-managing?

Maybe not.

At that moment, Xiao Qi, crouched by the window, suddenly turned the camera towards Chu Guang sitting in the chair and said,

"Master, Xiao Qi feels like the weather is changing."

"Changing?" Chu Guang looked up at the white snow outside the window, then strangely at Xiao Qi, "What more could change with this damn weather?"

Could it drop another ten degrees?

Xiao Qi shook the camera and whispered,

"Xiao Qi doesn't know either, just feels the clouds are moving a bit fast."

Chu Guang furrowed his brow slightly.

Just as the conflict between Shelter No. 404 and the mutants was escalating, near the elevated bridge in the northern part of Wetland Park, a group of uninvited guests appeared...

Chapter 134: Distant Visitor

North suburb of Qingquan City.

Trudging through the snow that reached their calves, five black pieces of power armor walked beneath the abandoned elevated highways, heading toward the direction of Qingquan City.

"... Detected radio activity, approximately four kilometers straight ahead, low signal activity, unresolvable."

"Can you identify who they are?"

"Obviously not, we know nothing about this area... I suggest we ask a local for information first."

"Good idea."

Lu Yang looked past the road signs denoting place names and raised his head to gaze at the silent city ahead, frowning beneath his helmet.

"So this is Qingquan City."

Qingquan City, located in the southern River Valley Province, once served as an important hub for the central cluster of cities and supported a population of hundreds of millions.

As for now, it was feared that the current population wouldn't even constitute a fraction of its former glory.

Lu Yang extended his index finger, lightly tapping the side of his helmet, and quickly pulled up a geographic information image of the Qingquan area from the database.

Compared to the beautiful times before the war, the place now resembled hell, left only with desolation, decay, depression, and death.

"This damned war..."

Lu Yang confirmed the map with a glance and waved his fist forward, leading his four squad members along the remnants of the elevated highway.

The transformation did not end with Qingquan City. If they wanted to reminisce about the past, they could go on from the horizon to the Kuiper Belt.

But doing so was pointless.

The reason they had traveled thousands of miles from the East Coast to this location was not for archaeology or to film a documentary, but to keep moving westward, deeper into the wilderness in search of humanity's last hope—the legendary Shelter No.0.

As for why they stopped here...

Honestly, Lu Yang didn't want to.

However, unfortunately, their transport had experienced a slight malfunction.

To quickly repair it, they could only seek help from nearby survivors.

He didn't want to waste several months here.

According to their experience on the journey, once they stopped for over a month, trouble would continuously find them.

"Captain, there's a drone watching us."

The marine walking to Lu Yang's left looked up at the airspace straight ahead and added in a jocular tone.

"It's a cute little fellow... My database doesn't have a matching model, but just by its looks, it seems to be a civilian model from before the war that's been modified. Hard to believe it can fly so high."

Another marine spoke lazily.

"It looks like there's a shelter nearby. Great, we don't have to deal with the locals."

"How do you know the people living in the shelter aren't locals? You forgot that guy in the Blue Jacket we met last time? He kept claiming he was from Shelter No.117, and then immediately swallowed the gum I gave him."

"Hahaha!"

As they spoke, uncontrollable laughter echoed through the communication channel.

Clearly, they weren't too concerned about the little guy above.

"Stop digressing, someone's watching us."

Pulling out the jamming gun from his waist, the marine walking on the farthest side looked at their captain with an inquiring gaze.

"Do you need me to take it down?"

"No need."

Lu Yang gestured with his hand, signaling his comrades to pause, and then waved towards the sky, showing they had noticed it.

"Distant friends, we mean no harm. If it's convenient, could we talk?"

Unsure whether the drone had an audio collection system, Lu Yang activated the loudspeaker on his power armor helmet to convey his friendliness.

The sound echoed over the ruins.

Perhaps it had heard his voice, or perhaps it had realized that it had been spotted, but the drone descended in altitude and flew to their front.

It was a silver-white sphere, surprisingly small, with propeller blades made of some unknown material, flying silently in the air.

Lu Yang watched as it stopped in front of him, circled around him once, and then slowly drifted toward Wetland Park.

The team members beside him exchanged glances.

"Is this a gesture of friendship?"

"Probably, it seems to be inviting us over."

"Captain, should we go?"

Lu Yang pondered for a moment before saying,

"Wang Yi, stay behind and look for a high point nearby to observe, the rest of you follow me."

"Yes!"

…

Outpost Base, third floor of the sanatorium.

Watching the four people entering Wetland Park through the screen on his arm, Chu Guang's face grew solemn.

Power armor!

He had only heard about this from the survivors before, and now, seeing it for the first time, it was even more exaggerated than he had imagined.

Thick, full-protection armor covered every inch of their skin, and the rectangular modular rifles in their hands emitted a chilling cold light.

They looked like humanoid tanks walking straight out of a sci-fi movie set, formidable and intimidating.

Chu Guang even wondered, half in doubt, whether ordinary caliber bullets hitting them would feel like mere tickles.

Their heavyweight armor and equipment did not seem to affect their mobility at all; from the way they moved effortlessly through the jungle and over obstacles, it seemed almost playful.

Chu Guang roughly estimated that their equipment weighed at least 1.5 to 2 tons, likely powered by fusion batteries.

He had recently operated the "Hummingbird," flying a circle around the lead power armor and had not seen any obvious fuel tanks or battery structures. If they were powered by something like solid hydrogen fuel cells, which could have a very high fuel density, it still couldn't account for this level of capability.

Clearly, the power armor they wore was top-grade!

Should a conflict arise, it seemed that the entire Outpost Base, except for the hammer behind him, could pose some threat to their armor.

Compared to these individuals, the green-skinned muscle men of Street No. 76 were nothing.

"Xiao Qi, you head back underground."

Xiao Qi tilted its camera and asked Chu Guang.

"But master, it's only afternoon."

"It doesn't matter what time it is, I'm not sure if those people outside are friends or foes. If a conflict happens, I might not be able to look after you, it's safer if you go down first."

"Although Xiao Qi is happy to hear master say that, Xiao Qi won't abandon you and hide alone. Besides, you don't have to be too nervous. Those people are probably from a shelter too, they might not be a big problem for us."

Chu Guang looked at it in surprise.

"You can tell?"

Xiao Qi said,

"Well, not necessarily, but the electromagnetic rifles they carry look a lot like pre-war standard-issue weapons. Moreover, after they spotted our drone, they didn't shoot it down but instead showed friendliness to us... If they came with hostile intent, it feels unnecessary for them to go through such trouble. What do you think, master?"

"Me? I don't know, but I usually don't place my hopes on other people's kindness."

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang weighed the EMP grenade in his hand and casually stuffed it into his pocket.

Although he was unclear on how effective this thing would be against power armor, having it was better than not.

Even if it could only disable the opponent's electronic devices for a couple of seconds, it would buy him an extra two seconds to react.

Chu Guang decided to keep any negotiations within a distance of three meters.

Even if an accident occurred, he would use the nitrogen-powered hammer in his hand to teach the opposing side a profound lesson.

...

North entrance of the Outpost Base.

Players at the North gate market gazed at the four strange contraptions approaching from afar, expressions of naivete spreading across their faces.

"Goodness! What are those things?"

"Could those be power armors from the official website data!"

"Where did these NPCs come from?"

"Logically analyzing, the Game must have a hidden prosperity setting. When the prosperity reaches a certain level, it attracts wild NPCs to visit!"

"Their weapons look freaking cool… Honestly, I want to buy one!"

"Starting price is at least 100,000 silver. Go ahead and buy it."

"Damn!"

Sitting at their stall in the market, the Autumn Grass Autumn Leaf sisters also noticed the situation outside the market.

As they watched the four contraptions approaching the north entrance, Autumn Leaf blinked curiously.

"Sister, what are those? They look like their armor is even prettier than the Manager's."

"I don't know… they seem to be called power armors," Autumn Grass said nervously, pulling her sister's hand and pulling her into her embrace, "Don't stare at them."

Clearly, these people were not familiar with those wearing blue jackets around them.

A group of armed strangers appearing at their doorstep could not be assumed to have good intentions, regardless of the circumstances.

Should they inform the tribal chief?

Autumn Grass pondered nervously.

Just then, a figure appeared at the north entrance.

The Manager, carrying a long-handled war hammer, accompanied by several Blue Jackets, walked out from the Outpost Base.

Watching the man approaching, a Marine beside Lu Yang, couldn't help but tease in the communication channel.

"Do you see that hammer behind him? I've never seen such a strange weapon… wait, is that even a weapon?"

"Shut up."

Lu Yang gave his teammate a warning glare, tucked his weapon behind his back, and lifted a finger to tap the side of his helmet, retracting the face shield as a gesture of friendliness.

"Are you folks from a shelter?"

"Manager of Shelter No.404, Chu Guang," the man stopped in front of them, staring sharply, "Who are you? Why have you come here?"

"Lu Yang, a corporate employee, serving in the First Pioneer Corps of the 'Silver Wing Group' overseas division. We come from the distant East Coast and are heading west in search of something. We mean no harm; we just happened to pass by here."

The term "Corporate" was somewhat familiar to Chu Guang; a large survivor base located on the East Coast was rumored to originally be either Shelter No.6 or Shelter No.66. Their influence was said to be vast, supposedly spanning an entire province on the East Coast.

However, due to its distinctive method of expansion, Corporate's control over its "branches" in the area was weak, and the true assets completely controlled by Corporate might only amount to a survivor base somewhat larger than Giant Stone City.

Many traders who were not even from Corporate, and not even from the East Coast, liked to do business under the banner of Corporate.

As for the Silver Wing Group, it was probably one of Corporate's branches, perhaps newly established for a specific purpose; Chu Guang hadn't even heard of it.

The straight-line distance from the East Coast to River Valley Province was thousands of kilometers, and if one considered the actual travel distance, it could well be over ten thousand.

With such a vast distance, any message could potentially be distorted by the time it reached here.

Regardless of whom they pledged allegiance to, considering they managed to travel from the East Coast to River Valley Province, the equipment and strength of this group should not be underestimated!

Although Chu Guang was curious about what Corporate was searching for in the west, he knew that even if he asked, this man would likely not disclose it, so he refrained from asking indiscreetly.

After observing Lu Yang for a moment, Chu Guang continued.

"Is the thing you're looking for in Qingquan City?"

Lu Yang shook his head and said.

"Of course not, River Valley Province can only be considered the central part of this continent, whereas the West we speak of is a place much farther from here."

He paused for a moment and continued speaking to Chu Guang.

"Let's speak frankly, our main force is stationed in an open area about 10 kilometers from here. If possible, we wouldn't want to stay here either, but unfortunately our Pioneer encountered a minor issue, so we had to come here for help."

Chu Guang: "What is the Pioneer?"

"You can think of it as our means of transportation, originally comprised of four SC-500 tracked transport platforms. We've slightly modified it by connecting them together and adding some modular facilities suitable for long-distance travel. As for what it specifically looks like," Lu Yang was unsure how to describe it so he simply gestured broadly with his hands, "It's huge!"

"Tracked transport platform?"

With such a vague description, Chu Guang couldn't help frowning, "Can you be more specific? Like its length, width, or tonnage..."

After thinking for a while, Lu Yang replied with certainty.

"The tonnage is about twelve thousand tons!"

"???"

What the heck?!

Twelve thousand tons?!

Hearing that number, Chu Guang was shocked on the spot.

If he remembered correctly, even the Gustav Train Gun only weighed 1500 tons, right?

Even the tracked transport platforms used to transport the colossal Saturn V rocket only weighed a total of 3000 tons with a maximum load of 8000 tons...

Twelve thousand tons!

Did they bring a cruiser onto land or what?

Chu Guang didn't ask whether those twelve thousand tons were the net weight or the maximum load weight. Either way, the number was already beyond his comprehension.

It was hard to imagine such a massive thing "sailing" across the Wasteland.

Definitely, it wasn't running on oil.

Returning to his senses from the shock, Chu Guang took a deep breath and, looking at the expectant Lu Yang, shook his head.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, we have some engineers in our shelter... but the kind of thing you're talking about is obviously beyond their capabilities, I'm afraid I can't help you with this!"

Forget exceeding capabilities.

Such a heavy transportation vehicle was something his players could probably only understand through game settings.

Chu Guang suddenly became curious about what it actually looked like.

If possible, he wanted to take a photo and post it on the official website.

Seeing that the Manager had misunderstood his intention, Lu Yang quickly waved his hands to explain.

"No no no, my friend, you've misunderstood! We're not seeking technical help from you. We have our own engineers and production tools, we know how to fix the damaged parts. But the problem is, we are short on manpower, and our reserves of materials and energy are nearly depleted."

To sum it up: they're short of people, minerals, and power?

But I'm short of those too!

Chu Guang looked at him and cautiously asked,

"So what's your proposal?"

Lu Yang spoke sincerely, "We hope you can lend us some manpower to help us collect the nearby resources that can be utilized. Besides that, we need someone familiar with the local terrain as a guide! We know where to find what we need! Of course, we won't let you help us for free, we will pay."

Upon hearing the word "compensation," Chu Guang finally became interested in the topic.

Moreover, from what he said, it sounded like they knew where to find nuclear fusion fuel?

That's valuable stuff!

With a pleased smile on his face, Chu Guang extended his right hand.

"Of course, my friend, helping others is the noblest of virtues!"

"However, it seems the snow is getting heavier. If it's convenient, please come inside and we can talk further."

Chapter 135: Can That Be Called Labor Dispatch? That's Called a Time-Limited Event!

The three power armors remained at the north gate.

As for their captain, Lu Yang, he followed Chu Guang into the Outpost Base.

It was clear he was very confident in his own strength and was not at all worried about encountering any mishaps.

Of course, Chu Guang had no intention of causing trouble for himself either.

Having invited Lu Yang into the sanatorium's reception room, Chu Guang intended to offer him something hospitable, but when he brought out the wine glasses, Lu Yang quickly waved his hand to stop him.

"I appreciate the gesture! But I'm currently on a mission and can't drink alcohol."

"What about milk?"

"Really, there's no need. Our armor has reserves of fresh water and liquid food. In the field, we can only consume our own supplies, as a matter of discipline."

"How about the stool—"

"There's no need, it might break under me."

"Alright then."

Chu Guang had not expected to encounter such a disciplined force in the Wasteland.

Of course, it could also be a matter of caution.

Chu Guang didn't insist any further and put the items away.

"Speaking of which, I'm a bit curious what exactly your SC-500 Track Transport Platform looks like, and what it means when put together… could you satisfy my curiosity?"

Lu Yang nodded.

"Of course, no problem."

With that, he tapped a button on his helmet, and a button-sized integrated light at the collar projected a beam over the burning brazier.

On closer inspection, the light was made up of many fine strands as thin as filaments, which soon began to gently wave, weaving a transparent three-dimensional holographic image above the flames.

"Holographic projection?"

"Yes," Lu Yang nodded, his face showing pride, "This is our Pioneer! Impressive, isn't it?"

Four tracks, each nearly twenty meters long, supported a 50-meter square platform. The platform was stacked with rectangular modules, fitted together like shipping containers, looked like an irregular Rubik's Cube or a three-dimensional mosaic from afar.

And there were a total of four such platforms, laid out in a matrix at the corners, connected by a series of pipes in the middle, appearing as if they could separate.

Rather than saying it was a cruiser that had taken to the land,

It's more like a fortress on four legs!

"It is indeed impressive… Do you have photos? I mean, photographic images, not these skeletal holographic projections."

Lu Yang was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

"Photos? I do have some… if you need them, I can send one to your VM."

"Please send me one!"

Although Lu Yang was puzzled as to why Chu Guang wanted a photo, he still selected one that was not too sensitive and sent it over.

Concealing his pleasure, Chu Guang gave a light cough, maintaining a serious expression as he continued to look at Lu Yang.

"Thank you, this is a big help. Also, I have a rough idea of your demands. To put it simply… you need one hundred laborers for resource gathering and materials transportation work, correct?"

Lu Yang nodded earnestly.

"Yes, it would be even better if we could have more people! We need a lot of labor to collect vehicle wreckage and other metal rubbish, to drag them to our production workshop for melting down and re-smelting into the steel and other alloy materials that we need."

"As for the technical issues, you don't need to worry about those, our engineers will handle them! Your people only need to do some simple work."

"And in return, we are willing to provide food and accommodation for every worker, and pay them a wage of 1 CR per hour, settling accounts daily,"

Chu Guang asked,

"What is CR?"

"...I almost forgot, this is it!" Lu Yang smacked his head and pulled out a 100 CR paper bill from his waist, showed it to Chu Guang, and explained with a smile, "It's a bond issued by the company, which also serves as money, the full name is Credit Points, abbreviated as CR! You can use it at any survivor base on the East Coast to buy anything you want... as long as they have it."

"Additionally, all commercial teams from the East Coast acknowledge its value, and you can exchange this bill for any of the goods they have. A paper bill like this is enough for an enterprise employee's expenses for a week, and with frugal spending, it can last for two weeks!"

Chu Guang said with a playful smile,

"So a wage of 1 CR per hour is the company's minimum wage?"

"We don't have a concept of minimum wage, but this is the rate for basic manual labor. A wage of 1 CR per hour for a 12-hour workday equals 12 CR, isn't that enough? We will provide food and lodging for your workers!"

"This is River Valley Province, not some East Coast. Hmm, do you have chips?"

Lu Yang looked puzzled.

"...Chips?"

"Yes, around Qingquan City here, we mainly use these plastic chips as money. Traders coming here all know about it, I thought you'd at least be somewhat aware." Saying that, Chu Guang took out a white chip from his pocket and gently swung it in front of Lu Yang.

The anti-counterfeit paint on the chip, even after two centuries, had no sign of fading at all, as if it were fused with the material itself.

Lu Yang looked somewhat troubled.

"Unfortunately, we are not merchants... To be honest, we are on an important mission to the west, which is related to the fate of everyone on this planet. Could you cut us some slack for the sake of the future of civilization? As far as I know, the River Valley Province is also within the company's business scope. I guarantee with my credit points that these bills are valid!"

"Talk of 'the future of civilization' has been chewed over and over a century ago. Now it is already Wasteland Era Year 211, and nothing has changed."

Pocketing the chip in his hand, Chu Guang continued to speak to Lu Yang.

"Your team must have something to trade, right? It's not like you've lived on air all the way here. Whether it's food, weapons, or production tools and methods, we really need these. These paper bills you're giving me are pointless; heaven knows when the East Coast's commercial teams will pass this way. And what use is 'valid' anyway? Even if 100 CR can buy a suit of power armor on the East Coast, it might still not buy a cow here!"

Even in a civilization with convenient logistics, the purchasing power of different currencies varies in different regions, let alone in the wasteland.

Would a commercial team cross tens of thousands of kilometers just to exchange their goods for a bunch of local unusable paper?

They're in business, not in the delivery service.

They have to bring something back!

Lu Yang cleared his throat and said, "...100 CR could never buy a power armor, not even a broken one. However, I think I understand what you mean. You need food, weapons, and production tools, right?"

"Exactly right!" Chu Guang looked at him with bright, intense eyes and continued, "If you want to hire my people, you need to pay them with Silver Coins and Copper Coins. If you want Silver Coins, use what we need in exchange!"

Lu Yang nodded.

"Got it, that's a fair demand. But I'm not good at this, the trade matters will be discussed by someone from the logistics department, they will arrive here tomorrow morning. Also, if possible, I would like to set up an office here to facilitate timely communication. This office won't be very big, probably with a staff of two people, how about that?"

Chu Guang readily nodded.

"That's exactly what I'm hoping for!"

Finally, a smile spread across Lu Yang's face.

Communicating with civilized people is always more satisfying than with the natives. Even if the trade is a bit troublesome, he can just leave it to the logistics department to worry about.

The Pioneer did not lack food and fresh water, and they could produce their own living supplies; what they truly lacked was ore and electricity. With the working miners, the problem with ore had been solved, now only one last issue remained.

"...Then it's the matter of finding a guide."

Chu Guang looked at him and said, "No problem, my people are very familiar with this area. The key is what it is you're looking for."

Luka: "Controllable fusion fuel rods! Of course, I'm not talking about those fusion batteries used for power armor, tanks, or small workshops, but rather those with a helium-3 reserve exceeding 5 kilograms and an output power between 100MW to 1GW, which can power up the Pioneer. The model of these fuel rods is a bit special, but our people can recognize them."

Chu Guang: "Then do you know where to find these things?"

Luka nodded confidently.

"Of course, based on our analysis of pre-war map data, there's a carbon dioxide collection station near the fifth ring of the northern suburb of Qingquan City. This kind of public facility is common in densely populated cities. Its main function is to absorb the carbon dioxide accumulated in the urban areas during off-peak electricity hours, essentially to maintain so-called carbon balance."

"The backup generators in the carbon dioxide collection station use fuel rods that are almost the same model as ours. However, the tricky part is that they're usually not marked separately on civilian maps but merged with high-rise buildings like offices and apartments, typically located between the 20th and 30th floors. We can only speculate on its approximate location based on the limited information we have."

Hearing this, Chu Guang couldn't help interrupting him.

"Are you sure it hasn't been searched already?"

"We're not certain, which is why we need a local guide to work with our marines to find places that haven't been scavenged."

After a pause, Luka proposed the terms of exchange.

"If we're lucky to find it, we only want the controllable fusion fuel rods from there. As for the other by-products, like long-chain alkanes, olefins, or ketones and esters, you can take them at will. It doesn't matter to us whether you use them for firewood or for making something else."

Burning them should not be an option.

Chu Guang felt he would not resort to such a wasteful act.

Those high-quality industrial raw materials could be sold if not immediately needed. Survivor bases with industrial capabilities, like Giant Stone City, would likely be eager to buy.

Chu Guang remembered Old Luka once saying that every year, a Commercial Team from Giant Stone City would come to the Brown farm to purchase oil and resin produced from the Cam Tree.

Looking at Luka, Chu Guang nodded.

"No problem."

"I'm glad we've reached a consensus. That's all," Luka said with a pleasant smile on his face, extending his right hand, "I wish us a happy cooperation!"

As he shook the extended right hand, Chu Guang's face also wore a smile.

"Happy cooperation!"

...

Watching the captain emerge from the Enclosing wall, the tense marines stationed at the north gate finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The curious stares from around made them uncomfortable.

Had these country bumpkins never seen power armor before?

Fortunately, these people were restrained and didn't come up to touch.

"It's getting late, we'll head back now!" Stopping beside his teammates, Luka looked at Chu Guang with a smile and said, "Our people will come back tomorrow!"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Then I won't see you off."

Luka was preparing to leave with his subordinates.

However, at that moment, a voice came over the comms channel.

"Captain, there's the light of an explosion and gunfire to your east... My visibility isn't good, but it looks like a firefight."

Luka was slightly stunned and turned to Chu Guang to ask.

"Are you in a war?"

Guessing that it was probably their elder brother left outside who had seen it, Chu Guang calmly replied.

"You mean the east side? If that counts as a war, our people are indeed in combat with the Mutants."

"Mutants?" Luka's expression changed slightly, "Are there Mutants here?"

"Where aren't there any? Those green-skinned guys are everywhere," Chu Guang said with a smile, "Of course, I'm not sure if the Mutants in River Valley Province are the same group as those on the East Coast. I heard that deep green and light green are not the same."

"Whatever the kind, they all are a bunch of disgusting creatures! This tumor-like, beastly humanoids are incurable, like a cancer to civilization!"

Luka said through clenched teeth, with a look of virulent hatred, while Chu Guang felt there was a story there.

Moved, Chu Guang looked at him and said.

"Would you be willing to help us eliminate this trouble? For the future of civilization."

Luka was taken aback for a moment, hesitated, and then replied.

"This... isn't really appropriate, our discipline doesn't allow us to intervene in local disputes."

If they interfered in local disputes, one troublesome issue would follow another, which he had experienced all too well.

Not to get involved in local disputes, okay.

Why didn't you say that when you were asking us for help?

"But Mutants can't be considered human, right?" Chu Guang didn't give up and spoke patiently, "Plus, by extending a helping hand to us, you're effectively helping yourselves too."

Luka: "What do you mean..."

Chu Guang: "Think about it, if we have to deal with Mutant harassment, how can we give our all to help you? I promise you, if you deal with the Mutant trouble for us, we can double the number of laborers we provide support with... which means two hundred people. A fair trade, does that also violate your discipline?"

Two hundred workers...

It looks like Alpha 0.7 will have to be released early.

Chu Guang contemplated, the new version would be perfect to launch a New Map and send players over for labor. Of course, officially this couldn't be called "labor dispatch," but a time-limited event in the game.

Time-limited events in the beta phase, with rewards that don't require microtransactions, where else could you find such a conscientious Game Company?

Chu Guang was nearly moved by his own conscience.

Meanwhile, Luka standing opposite him was completely stunned.

Two hundred people?!

Did this Survivor Settlement have two hundred people??

If you include the villagers outside, perhaps it did, but what he needed was able-bodied laborers, not the old and weak.

It was also possible there were more people underground yet to come up.

Weighing the pros and cons, Luka eventually nodded reluctantly.

"I hope you keep your promise."

More people to help would mean faster progress. If possible, he didn't want to waste too much time here. Since entering the River Valley Province, they had been moving too slowly!

"Of course, I'm a man of my word!"

Chu Guang said, smiling brightly.

He knew.

From the moment the man before him bowed his head, the Mutants loitering on Street No.76 were as good as dead...

-

(Today's release is a bit late, sorry! Searching for typos has made my eyes blurry. T.T)

Chapter 136: Battlefield Reporter Xiao Qi and Director Chu

Near the East Gate of Wetland Park.

The players were still engaged in a firefight with the Mutants.

After Edge Shoveling led the team to sneak some kills, they retreated in combat, following the retreat route marked on the VM map, and quickly withdrew to an evacuation point on the adjacent street.

Normally, a typical FPS game would have ended here.

But for an open-world game like "Wasteland OL," the monsters' aggro didn't seem to depend on how far they were from home, but truly on how much they wanted to tear you apart.

The Mutants chasing Edge didn't swarm into the ambush; instead, they split into three teams to flank.

This resulted in, aside from the first wave of Mutants who rushed onto the street being caught off guard by the ambushed players, the remaining two teams entering the battlefield in full health and full rage.

Fifteen against thirty.

Even though the players had a numerical advantage, merely double the number isn't enough to bridge the gap in levels and attributes.

The battle quickly intensified.

"Damn! How thick is the blood of these damn Mutants?!"

"Two shots to the chest and they don't fall; do you really have to hit the head to kill them?!"

"Disgusting, without anti-material rifles, we can't fight at all!"

"Anti-material rifles wouldn't do much good, it's not about penetration anymore, it's like they're freaking immune. We should at least bring out recoilless guns or dynamite!"

"What? Bro, you also play 'Loofah', let's team up for black ops after we die here!"

"Uh, I play 'Mama 3' mostly… I don't understand what you're saying."

"Dog planners are finally waking up to work! This health regeneration speed is absurdly unreasonable!"

After several cold arrows, the Mutants began to realize, these humans had no other methods except for a few small pipes.

And there seemed to be no other reinforcements.

Grinning viciously, the closer Mutants picked up engine hoods and car doors as shields and drew axes and daggers, preparing for close combat with these slender humans.

Looking at a fallen teammate beside him and remembering the man's promise, Edge Shoveling showed a sorrowful expression, pulled off his VM from his arm, and handed it to a comrade beside him.

"Bro, this is my VM, take it back for me!"

The player was stunned for a moment, and then said blankly,

"What? What are you doing?"

"I said I'd bring all my brothers back alive, and it's freaking just me left."

The more he spoke, the more embarrassed he felt. Filled with sorrow, Edge Shoveling handed his well-worn beloved gun to his teammate and picked up a lance from the ground.

"You guys retreat; I'm going to fight these bastards—"

Before he could finish, there was a loud bang.

A Mutant soldier rushing out from cover had his head blown off in a burst of blood mist and fell to the side.

Seeing this sudden turn of events, the players shooting from behind cover were all stunned.

What the hell?

What just happened?

Did the planners finally wake up to work?!

The Mutants, halfway through their charge, were also dumbfounded, staring blankly at their fallen comrade, thrown into chaos.

Where's the head?

How did it disappear?!

Time didn't stop for their confusion, and the sound of air tearing apart erupted like scattering beans!

Metal bullets accelerated to Mach 5 by the electromagnetic rail burst forth, pouring down like a storm from one side of the street.

The Mutant Warriors charging onto the street were instantly flipped over by this sudden firepower, with limbs flying all around.

Some Mutants didn't even have time to cry out before they were turned into sieves by the mass bombs, dropping into pools of blood, breathless.

Forget about flesh and blood.

Even solid steel plates less than 20mm thick were like paper mache in front of this terrifying kinetic energy.

Seeing four power armors emerge from the shadows and the sparking gun muzzles, the players crouching behind cover were spellbound.

"Holy crap… what is this thing?!"

"Power armor! Awesome! It's the power armor from the official settings collection!"

"Are they allies?!"

"Roughly? Looks like they're here to trouble the Mutants!"

"Man, the Dog Planner is awesome!"

"This is too cool..."

Several players displayed looks of envy on their faces.

That streamlined ergonomic design, the sharply defined breastplate and shoulder armor perfectly matched their ideal of violent aesthetics.

And that incredibly powerful Gauss Rifle!

These green-skinned muscle men were nothing more than paper dolls in front of it.

In a nutshell, it was damn cool!

"No bullshit, I bet these guys are at least Level 30!"

"Not necessarily, it's the gear that's strong, not the person. Give me a set, and I could go up too!"

"Keep dreaming! But speaking of which, Wasteland OL's gear doesn't have level restrictions, right?"

"I read in the settings that some weapons have attribute requirements, like the Manager's hammer needs a lot of strength... at least that's the setting."

"What do you think would happen if you hit power armor with the Manager's hammer?"

"Emmm... ask the Dog Planner."

The battlefield turned into a one-sided slaughter.

The players had ceased firing and started spectating on the side, relinquishing control of the battlefield entirely to the allied forces that had suddenly invaded.

Their little guns wouldn't have been much help anyway.

Better save the bullets and watch the show.

Caught in the eye of the storm, the enraged Mutants didn't retreat. Instead, they roared and charged at four sets of power armor, their muscular arms lashing out with rocks, spears, and axes.

However, against the thick armored steel plates, these attacks were akin to scratching an itch, only managing to create clanging sounds on the armor.

Just like cavalry charging a tank.

This reckless behavior of the Mutants only hastened their demise.

"Are these creatures' muscles growing into their brains? Charging at survivors is one thing, but power armor?"

Watching his own axe bounce off his breastplate, a Marine soldier grinned, pulled the overheated barrel out of the rail, replaced it with a new one, and resumed firing.

"Hahaha, I agree! These East Coast green-skinned monsters at least know to embed two useless steel plates in front of their chests!"

Less than three minutes after entering the battlefield, the Mutants had already suffered heavy casualties, with the street filled with dismembered limbs and bloodied corpses.

The battlefield was a gruesome sight!

The battle nearly halted.

Lu Yang raised his right fist, signaling his teammates to cease fire, intending to move forward to check on their allies.

However, at that moment, an unexpected change occurred!

From the shadows beside the street, there suddenly came a furious roar.

A bare-chested green-skinned muscle man stood up holding a drum, and with brute force, hurled it forward.

He threw the drum, filled with Dynamite and his rage, at the iron monstrosities that were slaughtering his teammates.

The fuse burned out!

The Dynamite-filled drum exploded mid-air!

Although the suddenly erupting Mutant was riddled with bullets by the alert soldiers, turning him into a sieve, the rolling smoke and shrapnel managed to engulf the nearest power armor.

The flying shrapnel left only tiny scratches on the armor, inconsequential to its integrity. However, due to the angle, the explosive shockwave still rocked the Marine soldier's shoulders.

"Cough, cough—"

A series of disordered coughs came through the communication channel.

The bewildered Marine soldier stumbled out of the smoke, propping himself up with his Gauss Rifle, and clutching his unscathed helmet, he shook his dizzy head.

Seeing this, a teammate went up to help him.

"Damn... buddy, are you okay?"

"He's fine, probably just choked from laughing."

"Get lost... to hell with you! Cough, cough... I think I need to see a doctor."

"A dentist?"

"Maybe a proctologist, I suspect he got a scare and swallowed the gum he was chewing."

"Shut up!"

Reprimanding his teammate who was jesting, Lu Yang reached out to grab his comrade involved in the explosion, clenched his shoulder, and had him face himself, looking seriously at his helmet.

"Can you still go on?"

Taking a deep breath, the soldier nodded.

"I... I can still go on!"

"Good!"

Patting his shoulder armor, Lu Yang affirmed with a nod, then raised his right fist and waved it forward, signaling to attack.

"Keep advancing!"

"Let's eliminate all those bugs before the sun sets."

"Not a single one left!"

...

In the distance.

Through drone surveillance, Chu Guang instructed Xiao Qi to capture exciting moments while critiquing the combat effectiveness of these people.

"...It looks like the power armor isn't entirely invincible; I thought it would at least have a nitrogen shield or something else added on."

"Still, being able to withstand several tens of kilograms of dynamite at such extreme ranges is impressive. Calling it a humanoid tank might be an exaggeration, but humanoid armor vehicles are definitely a thing."

Mutant technology primarily extends up to black powder, and the explosive force of an equal mass of black powder is roughly one-fifth to one-seventh that of TNT.

Ignoring other factors such as detonation velocity and the burning rate of the explosives, that blast was comparable to the power of 5~10 kilograms of TNT.

That's quite powerful.

"In the event of a conflict, let me think... 10 kilograms might not be enough, but 50 kilograms' worth of TNT should definitely do it."

Chu Guang had high praise in his heart for these allies in their honeymoon phase.

The battle had progressed to a point where there was basically no suspense left.

Four power armor units advanced cleanly through the alleys between abandoned buildings, protected by an observer, and efficiently eliminated the mutants hidden in the alleys and ruins.

Perhaps it was his own wishful thinking, or perhaps these soldiers were unconsciously showing off, but Chu Guang always felt they were flaunting something to him.

But it didn't matter.

Chu Guang wished they'd show off even more, ideally revealing all the capabilities of the power armor so that his game CG could be even more explosive.

"Xiao Qi, move closer, skim over from above their left, and let the camera follow their charge, capturing that bulldozing momentum!"

"Ah? Closer? But I'm worried about stray bullets..." And what kind of momentum is bulldozing?

Xiao Qi was busy flipping through the internet of the Different World to find information, only to find that there were several hundred gigabytes of data.

I can't understand it at all!

"It's fine, just keep filming, and if it gets damaged, we'll make them pay!" Chu Guang said without hesitation.

"Okay, okay then..."

Watching the power armor effortlessly leap five meters high using the vortex engine, clear obstacles, and land steadily, Chu Guang felt incredibly envious while instructing Xiao Qi to give those big brothers some close-up shots.

The mobility really is badass!

It's like a Hummer flew through an alley.

If you have this jumping capability, what's there to fear from RPGs?

You could probably chase down RPGs!

Ah, I really want one!

In just five minutes, the battle outside the mutant tribe had concluded, and only meager resistance remained—merely a dying struggle.

Commanding Xiao Qi to raise the camera again to observe the power armors breaking into the mutant tribe's camp, Chu Guang watched with a look of wanting more.

"It would be great if there was a long-range tactical nuclear strike now."

Xiao Qi timidly responded, "But wouldn't that risk hitting your players?"

By this time, players had already entered the alleys near the mutant tribe's camp.

It wasn't so much to support the allies; it was mainly to collect heads.

A mutant corpse could be exchanged for a lot of money!

Does it matter if I killed it myself?

After all, NPCs won't compete with players for credit.

Chu Guang didn't mind the minor players' actions; the mutants' bodies could also be utilized, producing quite a bit of active materials.

Meanwhile, a light blue pop-up window caught Chu Guang's eye.

[Task Complete!]

[Objective: Exterminate the mutant tribe at Street No.76]

[Reward: 200 reward points]

…

"Area cleared."

"Confirmed 47 mutants killed... quite a few more than the intel from our allies suggested. Plus, those beasts fried one of our guy's brains; they ought to owe us some compensation."

"Get lost... If you mention my brain again, I'll shove my fist into your mouth!"

"Ha ha ha, calm down, I was just joking."

The soldiers occupying the camp boasted and joked over the communication channel. This time, Lu Yang didn't intervene. After a fierce battle, they truly needed to unwind.

All the mutants had been wiped out, not a single one spared.

Rather, the mutants didn't give them a chance to keep any alive.

From the moment they breached the fortress, those green-skinned monsters in bizarre outfits, insane as they seemed, charged at them.

Yet, it was all in vain.

In the face of a Gauss Rifle, not only their muscle but even their wooden fortresses were like paper.

They drove the remaining mutants to the eastern side of the camp, likely where the leader's tent or something similar was situated. Then, they fired into it until the gun barrels, packed with magnetic slugs, glowed red-hot before they ceased fire and went forth to finish the job.

With mutants, there was no need for mercy.

In these past two centuries, they had not done a single good deed.

"Captain, come look at this..."

"What have you found?"

"Some interesting stuff... Come take a look, and you'll see."

Hearing his comrade's voice, Lu Yang, who was reporting the frontline situation to Pioneer 10 kilometers away, immediately walked over to the marine.

Before them was a spacious wooden house, its door narrow in the middle and wider at both ends, with spikes hanging from the eaves like a monster's mouth. Inside were parts taken from various prey: a bear's claw, a deer's head, a two-headed dog, and a human hand.

The mutants had a strange tribal culture, worshipping not only blood and violence but having a unique affection for the variants of the Wasteland.

They wouldn't consume their entire prey. Instead, they preserved parts of it, half smeared with a liquid containing copper sulfate and nitrous acid, kept as trophies, and the other half left at the camp's gate or outside the enclosing wall as offerings to their envisioned gods—although, mostly, those offerings ended up being eaten by rats or cockroaches.

It resembled an altar for storing trophies.

"Is there anything noteworthy here?" Lu Yang glanced around the room, his expression revealing disgust.

If possible, he truly did not want to stay here another second.

"Yes, Captain... I found something odd here."

Saying this, the marine shone his helmet light onto the floor.

Lu Yang followed the beam and saw a deep, dark bloodstain on the wooden floor.

The shape somewhat resembled a drag mark from a body.

"It seems like a place for sacrifices, where these mutants butcher their prey and then dismember—"

"Enough, you don't have to explain; I know what they do."

Lu Yang frowned, stepped forward, and stamped his right foot on the wooden floor made of whole logs.

The sound from beneath his foot seemed off.

Something inside him stirred, and he forcefully stomped forward, snapping the wood plank in two.

Just as expected!

Beneath the floor was empty.

Lu Yang, following the same method, broke a few more logs and shone a beam of light down, revealing a tunnel with walls carved with strange symbols.

"...There's even a tunnel?"

The marine came to his side, comparing the pre-war maps in the database.

"Your current location should be the central flower bed of the community. From the concrete structure below, this passage appears to have been built before the war."

So, were those symbols left by the mutants?

"What do you think this tunnel leads to?"

"Sir, I'm not sure, but from experience... only certain special shelters need to be hidden beneath a flower bed."

Lu Yang pondered for a moment and soon made up his mind.

"Let's go down and take a look."

Chapter 137 alpha 0.7 version update! The second expansion pack goes live!

As the marines under Lu Yang had guessed, a pre-war shelter lay below.

From the moment they entered the tunnel, a strong scent of blood was detectable. Various signs indicated that many years ago, this place had become a sacrificial site for the mutants, with walls covered in chilling patterns of blood and grease.

However, what Lu Yang and his teammates had not expected were the bones that permeated the air, a broken Sleep Cabin, and a working Cloning Human Cultivation Device inside this shelter!

This Cloning Human Cultivation Device contained 24 chambers, where one could still see undeveloped embryos.

Perhaps due to its early construction, the biotechnology used in this cultivation device wasn't very advanced and hadn't been updated in time.

Even with sufficient energy and raw materials, this device would need at least three months to cultivate an infant, and seven months to develop it to adolescence.

The creators of this shelter seem to have considered the extreme situation of a sparse post-war population, hoping to use cloning technology to supply a workforce for post-war society, even equipping the facility with a guide and a cryogenic Sleep Cabin.

However, the Sleep Cabin had been broken for many years, and its occupant was long gone.

The occupying mutants seemed to regard this facility as some kind of "holy site."

Simply by pouring in "raw materials," pressing the switch, and waiting ten months, they could harvest a delicious clone.

For these murder-prone, primitive brutes, this magical phenomenon seemed no different from a gift from the gods.

For the clones that emerged from the cultivation chamber, males were generally devoured in various ways by them, whereas females were consumed in another sense.

Due to the use of unstable technology, there were many branches of mutants.

The two main branches included one type being eunuchs without reproductive organs, who could not reproduce traditionally and needed human infants and cultivation tanks to "create" their kind.

Another type, despite having reproductive organs, only acquired mutated Y chromosomes leading to a population devoid of females, necessitating human ova for reproduction.

If an X and X combined, the resultant baby would be human, but this was a rare occurrence. Whereas, if X and Y combined, the resultant baby would be a mutant offspring.

In the latter case, the mother often died in childbirth, with few survivors. Even if some did survive, the mutants quickly devoured them, as humans without reproductive capability were no different from food to them.

Generally, the former group of mutants were the earliest, typically possessing some degree of civilization. Legend has it that long ago, they even upheld pre-war societal morals, knowing to control their population to prevent more from becoming victims of "incomplete technology"... although this fragile moral code did not last many years.

The latter group was purely barbaric, reproducing quickly and abundantly. They were said to be the ancestors of the former group, striving in genetic engineering, but evidently, they did not address the fundamental issues, or perhaps, they only solved their own problems.

In whichever case, it was certain that these green-skinned beasts were like tumors.

Describing them as a cancer of civilization was in no way an exaggeration.

If they were to rule this planet, the only fate for humanity would probably be as their livestock, penned for food and reproduction.

"...Twenty-four chambers, on average a fresh human harvested every half a month. Over these ten or even several decades, the clones born from that device lived a cycle of birth to death that was nothing short of despairing."

In the guest room of Outpost Base.

Returning from the Mutant tribe, Lu Yang discussed with Chu Guang in a reflective tone about what he had witnessed there.

Upon hearing that Captain Lu had blown up the place after taking photos for evidence, Chu Guang couldn't help but curse inwardly as wasteful.

But with his high emotional intelligence, he politely managed to say,

"Well done."

Lu Yang nodded and happily accepted the compliment.

"Thanks for the praise. I think this is what every conscientious human would do, to prevent such technology from falling into the wrong hands."

Chu Guang said, "Isn't that a bit absolute? What if the technology falls into the right hands? At least the technology itself is innocuous."

Lu Yang smiled faintly and said, "What are the right things, though? Slavery? Barbarians? Looters? A breeding ground for mutants? Or a source of organs? Technically speaking, advanced embryo cultivation technology can produce an adult within a month, but that doesn't mean they will immediately possess the mentality of an adult. Even if we actively feed them a lot of information, there are limits to how fast the human brain can absorb and process it, and some things must be established while the brain is still immature."

"I'm not an expert in this area. I can't discuss theoretical possibilities with you, but from what I've seen, few people use this kind of thing in the right way... By the way,"

While speaking, Lu Yang suddenly remembered something important and placed a fist-sized cylinder on the table next to him.

Chu Guang was just about to ask what it was when Lu Yang continued.

"This is a fusion battery I found in that shelter. Don't worry... This cold fusion battery is very safe. As long as it doesn't melt down, you could even place it under your pillow."

Chu Guang said, "That joke is a bit cold."

Lu Yang laughed and said, "Maybe! I'm not very good at telling jokes. This model is common in civilian shelters. Although it can't be used in the nuclear fusion reactors of shelters, I've heard that some shelters have emergency power supplies that can accommodate this type of battery. We can't use it anyway, but I thought you might need it. However, after being used by those mutants for so many years, it only has 11% of its power left, so it might not be very helpful."

"Having 11% is still good," Chu Guang's face lighted up with a smile, and he decisively took the battery, "Thanks, this is a big help!"

...

Though it is a battery that requires professional equipment to use, having it is better than not.

Who knows when it might come in handy?

Chu Guang also has a card for Shelter No. 117, which he got from Xia Yan. If that shelter runs out of power, at least this battery could get it working for a little while.

After leaving the battery here, Lu Yang and his team members took their leave, and Chu Guang courteously escorted them to the entrance of Outpost Base.

It was already late.

According to Captain Lu himself, he still had to write a report tonight to explain today's action, where he and his team members used their ammunition, and the necessity of their actions.

Chu Guang could tell that Captain Lu was a man filled with a sense of justice.

At least he was either "chaotically good" doing what he believed was right or "lawfully neutral" in administering justice.

However, Chu Guang actually leaned towards the former assessment.

After all, he ultimately convinced himself to break the rule of non-involvement in local conflicts.

And what about those embryos in the destroyed cloning facility, which had developed to various stages of life? And the poor people carrying mutant children?

Of course, Chu Guang would not ask, and Lu Yang did not say.

But he felt that the man in front of him would likely decisively end the misery of those unfortunate people and send away those still unborn lives in the cultivation chambers.

Chu Guang merely lamented, thankful that this guy was not an overly righteous saint who would bring unmanageable trouble his way.

Otherwise, he really wouldn't have known how to handle the situation appropriately...

Seeing those uncommunicatable NPCs leave, eyeing the "WC There are mosquitoes" gear on their bodies, he eagerly walked up to Chu Guang and asked.

"Respected Manager, Sir, who were those people?"

"They were guests from afar who had encountered some minor trouble and will probably stay here for about half a month."

With these words, Chu Guang turned and headed back to Outpost Base, taking the elevator to the Shelter.

It was already 7 p.m. in the Wasteland, which was exactly twelve hours ahead of the real world.

Many players who had to work during the day were now logging off one after another, heading to the Forum to idle away.

As a planner, it was time for Chu Guang to get to work.

He turned on his computer and logged onto the official website.

As expected, the website was bustling with activity.

Little Fish: "Shocking! Did you guys see those tin cans?? (*゜Д゜)"

Gnome King Riches: "Saw them! Did they first show up at the north gate of the base? Then they went out through the east gate, right? Seemed like they headed to the east side of Wetland Park?"

Crow: "I, I saw them too! They bought a bowl of mushroom soup from me right before they were leaving, but they paid with paper... I didn't dare say a word, they stared at me for a while and then left with the pot. Little Fish said that paper can't be saved, does it mean 100CR? I'm totally confused, who knows how to use paper that says 100CR? QAQ"

Edge Shoveling: "Yes! The east side of Wetland Park! They were just here! And they were fighting with those mutants!"

Construction Youth and Brick: "WTF? Power armor against mutants? Quick, tell us, who won?"

Edge Shoveling: "Isn't that obvious? It was a massacre! Ah, it seems like the planner dad noticed the mutants were too tough and spawned a bunch of max-level big shots to push the plot forward."

Crow: "Doesn't anyone know?! QAQ"

Elena: "Don't know, how about I give you 1 Silver Coin for it? (joking)"

Crow: "Do you think I'm a fool! (#｀Д´)ﾉ"

Little Fish: "No lie, I want one too! Is it too late to start saving up? (oﾟ▽ﾟ)o"

Si Si: "Wake up Little Tail, you have no money."

Little Fish: "!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

WC There are mosquitoes: "Right? I knew it, the mutant's strength is ridiculous! How can a big lump of rockets fly over and not kill them! Does that make sense?"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Delusional!"

WC There are mosquitoes: "$%#@!"

Valley Escaping Mole: "Let's analyze rationally, this game update is probably meant to fill in the sci-fi background of the game and also to balance the strength of the mutants. Letting a bunch of rookies with an average level below 5 take on a group of level 20+ green-skinned muscle brutes is too insane! The space here is too small, I'll start a separate thread to talk about it later. Bros, don't panic, let me first fix a PowerPoint for my darn boss."

Watching the thrilling discussions and the posts from the gurus on the forum, Chu Guang, who was considering how to write the Alpha0.7 update announcement, couldn't help but smile slightly.

He was worried about how to make up a story.

But here it was!

Perfect.

…

Official Website:

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta alpha0.7 Version Update Announcement.]

[Major updates:

1. Closed beta player count increased to 400!

2. Expansion Pack "Land-Based Ark"!

]

[Optimizations:

1. Added a large number of high-tech weapon models to balance the overpowering strength of Variants and hostile forces.

2. Added a weapon drilling service, pay the weapon shop owner, and she can drill a hole in a designated spot on your gear, resulting in -1 durability effect.

3. Weather System enhancement, expecting more severe blizzards soon.

4. Richer details inside the Shelter.

5. Fixed a few bugs.

6.…

]

[Current reservations: 3777 people]

["Land-Based Ark" Expansion Background: A land fortress named Pioneer, anchored about 10 kilometers north of the Shelter. They come from the remote East Coast seeking hope in the West. Although we have chosen different paths, we all once solemnly swore under the flag of the United Human.]

[Expansion Introduction: During the expansion period, an all-new task system and gameplay activities will be unlocked. A fortress named "Pioneer" will be refreshed at the north of Outpost Base, and an NPC "First Pioneer Corps Quartermaster" will be added.

Register with the Quartermaster NPC, and you can go to the camp located ten kilometers away to support our allies and unlock exclusive tasks during the activity. The number of players for each reinforcement operation is limited to a maximum of 200, and it will rotate every three days.

In addition to the generous rewards for completing tasks, you can also collect Activity Points. At the end of the expansion, not only can the Activity Points be used for a lottery and exchange for prizes, but the top ten players will also have the chance to unlock a limited title and a mysterious gift from our allies! What could it be? Your planner Ah Guang is excited too!]

[Expansion CG: (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)]

[Expansion Promo PV-"Power Armor": Click to Play]

-

(Thanks to "xX大师兄Xx" for the leader's reward! Let me tell a ghost story; I was checking the formatting and typos with WPS, and suddenly the text disappeared, which scared me silly. Thankfully, restarting fixed it...)

Chapter 138: The Eye-Popping Game PV!

The promotional PV was a total of one minute.

After all, it was a promotional video meant to entice players, so there was not much screen time allocated to them, just the first 21 seconds.

Considering the low level of equipment of both the players and the mutants, which was not very visually appealing, Chu Guang opted for a still shot showing axes flying in the air, bow and arrows, and the flames and bullets ejected from an iron pipe rifle, each in a 2-second slow-motion close-up.

Moreover, it was paired with slow and melodious classical music, adding a touch of black humor to the cruel and bloody war scenes.

At 17 seconds, the BGM suddenly stopped, and the scene accelerated like an arrow released from a bow, with the frozen axe flying toward a player behind cover, and bullets piercing the chest of a mutant, spraying blood!

At 18 seconds, a mutant tore off a car door, pulled out a rusty, blunt knife, and roared as he charged.

The pace suddenly quickened!

Every frame, every second was filled with excitement!

In just three seconds, the previously static battlefield exploded as if it had been ignited like gunpowder.

At 21 seconds, the situation for the players was perilous, almost as if the mutants were about to charge at their faces when suddenly four power armors, like descended deities, burst onto the battlefield from one side of the street!

Electromagnetic accelerated metal pellets whipped up a bloody storm on the streets, big muscled brutes wailed as they fell, along with nearby concrete walls and wrecked vehicles, all riddled with holes.

The battlefield instantly turned into a one-sided slaughter!

Mutants on the street were dropping dead one after the other.

The last shirtless mutant, roared and hurled a barrel of gunpowder in a display of final barbarism.

The focused camera gave the soaring gunpowder barrel a slow-motion spotlight, followed by an explosive flash of light and an unscathed boot stepping out of the smoke, along with a heavily falling green-skinned corpse, perfectly synced to the dramatic heavy metal music!

As for the scene where the marine was dazed by the explosion, Chu Guang of course wouldn't leave it in the PV as it would disrupt the overall pace, and neatly cut it out.

Set to a fast-paced BGM, the power armors charged from the main road into the alleys amid ruins, with a total of fifteen minutes of alley fights and outpost sieges, all condensed into an exhilarating 30 seconds!

There was absolutely no dull moment!

The PV had been online for less than two minutes, and the comment section below the video instantly shot up by hundreds of comments, and kept growing.

"Who the heck said this is a game PV? Is this a movie?!"

"Socked! I can actually see the feel of a Hollywood blockbuster from a game PV!"

"This visuals and special effects blew my mind!"

"Damn, is this in the game? Or is it a standalone CG? The scene destruction is so frickin' awesome, those flying rocks look just like the real thing!"

"LOL, look at you guys acting like you've never seen the world. Please, go buy a movie ticket and watch it in the cinema. Aren't those Bollywood IMAX blockbusters far better than this? I'm not trying to be harsh, but you guys are overpraising it. This CG quality is like that of an eighteenth-tier local team in China, I can point out two hundred flaws easily. My uncle owns an animation company in Hangzhou, any intern there could do a better job."

"Am I remembering wrong, or didn't you say your ancestors on the grasslands could shoot a 500-pound bow? (Funny)"

Sitting in front of the computer, Chu Guang almost couldn't hold back his laughter, watching the fandom boasting had almost become his daily source of joy.

Fair to say, there wasn't anything wrong with that statement.

After all, these effects were truly not any special effects!

Every frame of this promotional PV was shot by Xiao Qi controlling a drone, filmed in one continuous take under his direction.

At most, they just edited the footage a bit, added some BGM and a filter to enhance the visual impact of the film.

However, Chu Guang had not expected that the footage he filmed would be mistaken by netizens for special effects?

It seemed he had quite the directorial talent.

Seeing the hundreds of flattering comments, a smile unconsciously appeared on Chu Guang's face.

He definitely needed to shoot a few more of these!

"Damn! This is game footage? I was actually there at the scene!"

"Game footage? Dude, which one are you?"

"The one squatting on the ground!"

"Hahaha! What a coward!"

Edge Shoveling: "Scram! I'm switching my equipment! (Angry)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Go check out the 21-second mark! That corpse on the ground is mine! Haha, I made it into the promotional PV!"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "I just want to ask, can Lizard Man wear this? QAQ"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "Can a bear wear it? QAQ"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "What's the use of you wearing it! You're not even going up! Damn!"

Elena: "I feel like it wouldn't be much use to you either, better give it to me. (Playful)"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "Damn!"

The entire forum's threads were discussing that one-minute PV and the high-tech equipment featured in it, overshadowing even the heat of the Alpha 0.7 version update!

Actually, when you think about it, it makes sense.

There are about ten to twenty thousand active IPs on the forum, but only 250 got the closed beta access and were actually playing the game, with an extra 150 new players still on their way.

Although it's all just pie in the sky!

But a full-color pie is always tastier than a black-and-white one!

Chu Guang casually glanced at the comments section below the video; besides praising the graphics and special effects and the beta players fervently recommending the game, the most common concerns from backseat players were two things.

One was whether the numerous corpses were too gory?

And the other was the most frequently asked question—

When exactly will "Wasteland OL" start its open beta?

Half an hour after the PV was uploaded, Chu Guang took a look at the number of pre-registrations.

Well, well.

The numbers had jumped from 2333 directly to 5777!

And this was after raising the pre-registration bar to one hundred questions!

"It feels like it's going to blow up." Chu Guang couldn't contain his smile.

Aside from some still stubbornly skeptical players, many who initially firmly believed this game couldn't possibly exist had started to waver.

I mean, what's there to lose in believing?

At the very least, considering this PV animation didn't start with a cliché and didn't rip off dragon-back cavalry, clicking on pre-register and giving a bit of support seems alright.

What if it really happens?

That'd be a massive win!

As for the players' calls for an open beta, Chu Guang didn't quite know how to respond; not only did it depend on whether the system would favor him that much, but also on whether he currently needed so many people.

Just let them shout, he had already gotten used to it anyway.

As everyone knows, good games require waiting. Isn't it common for a AAA title to be delayed for a couple of years?

Like a certain Cyberpunk game, if not for pre-order players rushing it, would they have served up such a mess? If it were released in 2077, it definitely wouldn't have had so many bugs!

Chu Guang promised that he would launch an open beta before pushing out Love 6.

Of course, that's unless the sales of Love 5 suddenly plummet.

In that case, disregard what he'd said.

What wasn't just shocking players was the promotional PV, but also the CG of the "Pioneer" land fortress.

The massive thick steel chassis and the impressively intimidating heavy tracks perfectly matched the industrialists' aesthetics for megastructures. The box-like structures built above the tracks and chassis, along with the minimalistic modular design, struck a chord with sci-fi players.

Many netizens were inquiring on the forum about which painter maestro had created this CG.

...

Niubi Club group.

Recently, this group had turned into a Wasteland OL game chat, where a bunch of chatterboxes discussed the game daily.

The moment Alpha 0.7 updated, the group immediately livened up.

Night Ten: "Damn, the official website is already overrun by Backseat Drivers! Half an hour in, and there are barely any posts about the new version! It's infuriating!"

Wild Wind: "Calm down, this is normal. I just glanced at the reservation count, almost 6000! You have to understand the forum buddies still queuing."

Fang Chang: "+1, I don't feel much regardless. A crowd is more fun, and it's not cool without people. (Grinning)"

Night Ten: "Damn! Then why do you interfere when I show off?"

Old White: "What you do is not showing off, it's repeatedly hopping under the planner's eyes to draw hate. Alright, enough banter. Have you guys seen the update announcement? The content of this update seems pretty awesome!"

Fang Chang: "New expansion pack, how could it not be awesome? I'm already prepared! The moment the quartermaster NPC spawns, I'll start grinding! (Grinning)"

Night Ten: "Wait, what about the Devil Moth instance?"

Fang Chang: "No rush, everything has its priorities. If you want to stay in T0, you've got to follow the version. Let's get a grip on the expansion pack first! As for the Greenhouse Ruins, there's seven days time. Even if it surpasses that, it doesn't matter. Worst case, we spend some money and buy it. Losing 50% isn't a big deal."

Wild Wind: "Indeed, this terrestrial expansion pack even has unique activity points. I've seen it clearly, not only do you get a limited title after the expansion ends, but there's also a raffle."

Old White: "I'm more interested in the mystery gift for the top ten scorers. I wonder what the reward will be. If it's a power armor, then killing a few moths would be a breeze. (Grinning)"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs: "Ah, I wonder if the chef will be of any use. T.T"

Spare people under the knife: "Keep calm. As a wood dog, just the chance to see that land fortress on the CG up close fills me with satisfaction. As for anything else, it isn't important anymore!"

There are Mosquitoes in WC: "By the way, are we helping to fix that land fortress? I glanced at the CG, how are we supposed to fix this? Have you seen anything like this in reality?"

Fang Chang: "No, but with such a sci-fi backdrop, the game developers surely don't expect players to figure it out on their own. They'll probably open a new map, place some NPCs, and issue scavenging or exploration missions to collect the materials needed for repairs. As for the actual repair work, it's definitely going to be done by NPCs."

Wild Wind: "Makes sense, but this means the new expansion pack is just a different place to scavenge, doesn't it?"

Fang Chang: "Uh, can't say for sure. I feel like, with such a big addition, there should be some plot branches, right? Why not try mentioning Ah Guang? He definitely knows, but I doubt he'd tell you. (Sideways glance)"

Quit smoking: "@Guang!!! Planner dad is awesome! Brother Guang, I love you! Hahahaha, I finally got it! QAQ"

Night Ten: "?"

Wild Wind: "??"

Old White: "???"

Pick up trash 99 level: "What the fuck?"

...

The reservation questionnaire for the players contained 100 questions.

It included 30 general knowledge questions, 20 optional bonus questions concerning professional knowledge, 40 questions testing personality, logical thinking, character portraits, and 10 questions for detecting entrapment.

These 100 questions determined each reserving player's weighted score and user group portrait tags. Both were used as references for issuing closed beta qualifications, hidden from any user-visible page, and assuredly not sold to third parties, thoroughly respecting user privacy.

Scores ranging from 100 to 60 and meeting the version's requirements entered the draw for the closed test qualification.

Each scoring tier of 10 points had a different number of slots.

In principle, the higher the score, the greater the chance of drawing a closed test qualification. Lower scores still had a chance, albeit a lesser one.

Furthermore, the entrapment questions neither added nor deducted points. But if one stepped on a mine in these questions, a hidden weighted score would be directly reset to zero.

For instance, choosing "Looter" as your dream job in the question "What is your dream job?" or selecting "to slaughter cities" in the single-choice question "What gameplay in Skyrim or the Fallout series do you find enjoyable?" would lead to a reset.

Much is written literally on the user's hands, and the hook was almost ready to slip. Answering carelessly or haphazardly would mean waiting for the public test.

Aside from some players with unique talents who might automatically qualify due to back-end tagging, the vast majority of closed test qualifications were issued this way.

The timing of reservation did not affect the probability.

If one didn't draw for several versions in a row...

It wasn't because they were blacklisted, they just really had bad luck.

Chu Guang had not noticed Quit Smoking Brother's mention. In fact, he hadn't even logged into his QQ account. After browsing the official site, he focused his attention on his system.

The mission to annihilate the Mutant Tribe rewarded 200 Reward Points, which could totally be described as overnight wealth.

Having just drawn two advanced blind boxes, Chu Guang could happily play the lottery again.

"211 Reward Points… Let's start with 2 advanced blind boxes and 11 basic blind boxes."

An intermediate blind box isn't very interesting.

Chu Guang wasn't running short on medicine, and his players didn't seem to need the stuff, either; after a few battles they were either seriously injured and gave up on treatment or slightly injured and just lay in a cultivation chamber.

So far, Chu Guang had already hoarded several bandages and one healing syringe, giving him another would be meaningless.

Unless he pulled a syringe that boosted attributes, he might as well keep it and gamble with basic blind boxes instead. Getting a lollipop with stats would be lucky, and getting seasoning would be a killing.

The alloy door on the wall quivered.

Looking at the item conveyed in front of him, Chu Guang held his breath in excitement, and couldn't help but swear.

"Holy shit! This is—"

A mechanical exoskeleton?!

He actually saw an exoskeleton on the conveyor belt!

The streamlined design, the powerful alloy struts, and the layers of armor attached to the struts!

Chu Guang couldn't describe how thrilled he was at this moment.

His exoskeleton was finally more than just a "skeleton"!

[Type 5 "Light Cavalry" Light Duty Police Exoskeleton]

[Description: Compared to the Type 6 Heavy Duty Police Exoskeleton, the Type 5 offers light weapon defense while possessing greater mobility and endurance, suitable for various scenarios. It is important to note that while the composite armor plates made primarily from polymer materials can withstand regular bullets, the material itself is not very durable. It's best not to think of oneself as power armor recklessly leaving cover. If encountering fierce bandits, call for backup, and if possible, try to pair it with a bulletproof vest.]

Chu Guang quickly scanned the specs of this police exoskeleton, whether it was endurance or load capacity, this exoskeleton's attributes were far above his KV-1!

But that was evident.

After all, the KV-1 exoskeleton produced by Giant Stone City was a general model where only the battery could be called a piece of black technology, nothing else was particularly sophisticated.

But this "Light Cavalry" was different.

This thing not only came from pre-war times but was also law enforcement equipment! Speaking in MMORPG terms, its equipment prefix was a tier above [Civilian Equipment]!

With the carbon nano protection suit that had always been worn close to his body, Chu Guang now had two sets of bulletproof vests.

The sense of security was ridiculously strong!

"Decided then, I'll sell the replaced gear to players!"

"The KV-1 Exoskeleton bought from List required 800 points. Let me think… Yeah, let's sell it for 800 silver coins!"

After all, it was armor worn by Manager himself, so it seems okay to price it a bit higher, right?

To make the players feel it's worth it, Chu Guang decided to name his own exoskeleton and make up a thrilling and bizarre story.

Standing in front of the mirror with the exoskeleton on, Chu Guang stared at his own face for a while, and no matter how he looked, he appeared dashing.

"Not bad, looking good there!"

"Simply the embodiment of justice!"

This equipment was really custom-made for him!

Having gotten over his initial burst of exhilaration, Chu Guang then looked at another piece of equipment lying on the conveyor belt.

Just from the design, you could feel there was something extraordinary about it.

The triangular stock, the sleek black barrel, two long, rail-shaped magnets extending from the barrel with a gap in between, almost resembling an absurdly long tuning fork from a distance.

A pale blue label hovered beside it, clearing up all of Chu Guang's doubts—

[Type 20 "Spur" Gauss Rifle]

-

(I only slept 4 hours yesterday, I feel like I'm fading. I should be able to finish the next chapter within ten minutes, just hang in there, guys!)

Chapter 139: The Impressive Manager

[Type 20 "Spine Needle" Gauss Rifle]

[Description: As standard anti-material equipment for orbital airborne troops, the Type 20 "Spine Needle" Gauss rifle adopts a barrel-less design with hollow magnetic guidance. Its standard ammunition is the 9mm caliber, 100g "long nail" tail-stabilized bullet.]

[When firing standard ammunition, the theoretical muzzle velocity can reach 5 Mach, with a muzzle kinetic energy of 144,755 joules. Considering the special operational environment of the orbital airborne troops, the Type 20 "Spine Needle" Gauss rifle is designed to fire conductive materials through a side loading mechanism, even without standard ammunition, such as cut iron nails and steel balls. However, it should be noted that when firing non-standard ammunition, the stability and accuracy of shooting cannot be guaranteed. Please refer to the user manual and use caution.]

144,755 joules of muzzle kinetic energy!

When Chu Guang first saw this number, he thought he had read it wrong.

If he remembered correctly, the single-shot energy of the 20mm caliber M61 Vulcan cannon on an F16 fighter plane was only around 50,000 joules.

A muzzle kinetic energy exceeding 144,000 joules, that's an order of magnitude higher than an artillery cannon!

Can this thing even still be called a rifle???

But if you only look at the caliber, calling it a rifle isn't technically wrong.

Chu Guang picked up the fearsomely powerful Gauss rifle from the conveyor belt, held it in his hands, and studied it for a bit, before stripping off the cumbersome magazine.

The bullets stuffed in the magazine were long and more resembled a shuttle than a nail in shape; the pattern on their tails was likely what served as the "stabilizing tail fins," allowing the bullets to maintain a stable trajectory during flight.

Lu Yang and his teammates' Gauss rifles seemed to use a different technical approach—an enclosed magnet track with a rifled barrel added in the middle.

Chu Guang noticed through drone surveillance that their Gauss rifles required a replacement of the overheated barrel after continuous firing.

Intuition told Chu Guang that the barrel-less design might carry a higher level of technical content, but the costs of maintenance and usage were hard to predict.

"The recoil probably isn't small... without an exoskeleton or power armor, it might indeed be hard to handle."

"And there's the ammunition, 10 bullets is too few."

"I wonder if it would work to make a similar shaped bullet out of tungsten steel."

With the production conditions at Outpost Base, expecting the materials to be completely identical was unlikely, but shaping the bullets similarly shouldn't be a big issue.

Chu Guang planned to save these 10 "original bullets" and use them sparingly for valuable targets. For dealing with ordinary Variants, some imitation ammunition should suffice.

In addition, the optical sights on the rifle were a nice touch, with a max magnification of 12 times.

However, perhaps having used up all his luck on the advanced blind box, 11 standard blind boxes ended up giving him 11 lollipops in a row.

And they were all chocolate-flavored, no less.

Still, Chu Guang was in a good mood, not only did his blood pressure not rise, but he even gave Xia Yan and Little Fish a lollipop each, sharing the joy he felt at that moment.

A cannon and a piece of armor.

This neat more than earning a killing.

It was a fortune!

...

The next day was a rare sunny day.

Despite the cloudless sky, not a single cloud was seen.

But the snowfall last night was heavy, with goose-feather-sized snowflakes falling all night. By dawn, the deepest snow had even exceeded knee-height.

He still hired two nomads for clearing the snow.

After inspecting the training of the security team, Chu Guang found Old Luka.

"I'm giving you a task; the details have been updated on your VM. Go to the brick factory and pick out two sharp survivors as your assistants."

"In a while, our allies will send someone here to register for labor dispatch. After that, you can follow the instructions I left on your VM and set off with them."

Old Luka nodded respectfully.

"Understood, my lord."

Not long after Old Luka left towards the direction of the brick factory,

Chu Guang quickly spotted through a drone in the sky, a large-wheeled off-road vehicle breaking through the snow and driving in from the north.

There were four people in the car.

Except for the driver and the copilot, who were clad in exoskeletons and armed with light weapons, the two passengers in the back weren't equipped with exoskeletons, merely wearing uniform gray coats, likely civilian officials.

The condition of the roads in the Wasteland is poor, especially in the urban areas where one can count up to ten uneven ripples on a single road. Some of the wider cracks even exposed the underlying pipes, with differences in width exceeding two meters.

Forget about vehicles; even people and livestock had trouble crossing; they had no choice but to navigate around the ruins of buildings that had deep foundations.

The route coming from the crumbling overpass out of the city was anything but smooth; many pits had been buried by the snow.

Chu Guang watched from above and guessed with Xiao Qi when the car would break down. In the end, Xiao Qi guessed right, and about 1 kilometer from Wetland Park, the off-road vehicle's front wheel plunged straight into a ditch.

Snow spray was whipped into the sky, but no matter how the tire spun in the pit, it simply couldn't dig itself out.

The co-driver and driver had no choice but to get out of the car, gripping the hub with both hands, they actually managed to lift the front of the vehicle out of the trench with the brute force of their exoskeletons.

Chu Guang had originally planned on calling over a couple of Strength-type players to help, but seeing this scene immediately dispelled that thought.

"The power of technology is really strong."

When can I get a set for each of my dear players?

Wouldn't moving bricks be super fast?

After expressing his admiration, Chu Guang watched the group get back in the car and drive towards the North Gate of Wetland Park. He turned off the VM screen, went downstairs, and waited at the north gate.

...

The off-road vehicle couldn't enter Wetland Park, so the driver and the vehicle waited outside the North Gate, while the other three continued on foot.

The group quickly reached Outpost Base and met with the Manager there, who invited them to the reception room.

"Let me introduce myself first. I am Li De, from the logistics department of the First Pioneer Corps, which is part of the Silver Wing Group. The person behind me is Luo Hua, my colleague from logistics, assigned as the provisional Office head for your camp, responsible for communication and coordination. Another person is Ais, from the security department, mainly in charge of his safety."

"Hello, Mr. Manager." The man named Luo Hua, wearing glasses, looked somewhat refined.

The striking female bodyguard simply nodded at him, without uttering a word or joining the conversation, as if she were the air that didn't exist.

Chu Guang shook Li De's extended right hand with a smile as warm as a spring breeze on his face.

"Chu Guang, Manager of the Shelter No. 404. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with you. Please, take a seat."

Handsome faces always tend to be well-received.

Even if facial muscles stiffened from the northern wind, upon seeing Chu Guang's smile, Li De managed to squeeze out an equally friendly grin.

Communicating with civilized people is so much more comfortable.

It's okay to be a bit poor, as long as we can communicate.

Throughout his journey, Li De had had his fill of the natives, who were impossible to interact with in the manner of civilized people.

Except for the bodyguards on duty at the door, the three people in the room took their seats one after another.

Li De didn't beat around the bush, and upon sitting down, he went straight to the point and took out a tablet from the bag he was carrying.

"Let's begin then. I have provided a list here, which details what we can offer you. We are still paying each laborer 1 CR per hour, 200 people working for 10 hours a day, with a total daily wage expense of 2000 CR... This is our budget."

Chu Guang took the tablet from his hand, his index finger swiping the screen, quickly scanning the list.

Generally, the purchasing power of CRs was quite strong.

Perhaps because the production line was on caterpillar tracks, the list's prices were closer to the standards of the East Coast natives, even seeming a bit cheaper than those at the Survivor Bases on the East Coast.

1 CR could wholesale quite a few bulk commodities.

However, when Chu Guang saw the strange trade items towards the end of the list, such as one kilogram of starch, glucose, sucrose, amino acids (including thirty types such as lysine and tryptophan)... he was taken aback.

The goods were being sold by the molecule?

Of course, besides these too technical items, there were normal trade items as well.

For example, rice, wheat, and corn, these agricultural products were 2 CR per kilogram.

Chu Guang remembered that rice only had a 75% starch content; wouldn't buying rice actually be more expensive than purchasing starch?

Besides that, there were also plant-based meat patties or mince, each kilogram costing just 2 CR, surprisingly the same price as rice and wheat.

In any Survivor Base at Qingquan City, it was impossible for meat to be priced the same as something grown in the ground!

Additionally, processed and cooked foods were also on the list.

One portion containing 430g of class C nutrition meal cost 1 CR, which included enough carbohydrates, fibers, proteins, and other mineral nutrients for a meal's daily intake. But, the water content seemed a bit high, as one portion of 800g class A nutrition meal was priced at 8 CR.

Was this a family bucket for sale?

These were pretty much the food items available for trade. Starting from 10 CR, the list began to include various daily necessities and industrial products.

For instance, one kilogram of sulfur soap, priced exactly at 10 CR, could be cut into 10 pieces with a net weight of 100 grams each, equating to 1 CR per piece.

Then there was salt, where they only sold purified sodium chloride, and each kilogram also required just 10 CR.

Interestingly, their price of salt was both ten times that of grains and meat. Chu Guang couldn't immediately determine whether this was cheap or expensive.

At his place, salt was sold by the "liang".

Then, starting from the 100 CR range, some good items would appear.

For instance, submachine guns priced at 200 CR, and assault rifles at 300 CR. There were also bulletproof vests for 100 CR and heavy-duty full-body bulletproof armor for 300 CR.

Bullets were extremely cheap, with one CR buying three, equivalent to a pound of rice.

"Why are there no Gauss rifles?"

Chu Guang directly scrolled to the bottom of the list, where he found some production tools that he might use, but not the power armor and Gauss rifles he wanted more.

Li De said with a straight face,

"I'm sorry, Manager sir, our power armor and Gauss rifles are the soldiers' lifelines; we can't sell those."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Understood, I was being presumptuous."

Got it.

It looks like it's not easy for you guys to produce that stuff either, at least not to the point where everyone has one.

In Chu Guang's memory, although the principle of coil guns was quite simple, in reality, it was a very expensive technology, so costly that the Americans mounted the guns on ships, scammed the military budget, and then dismantled them.

And think about it, how cheap are traditional cannons?

They're easy to maintain; you fire one shot and it explodes, if the barrel is damaged, just replace it and fire again.

Chu Guang had studied all of the previous night but still couldn't understand what material was used for the magnetic rails of the Type 20 "Stinger" Gauss rifle, let alone dare to disassemble it and take a look.

He wasn't foolish.

What if metallic hydrogen was stuffed inside the magnetic rails?

That would blow up directly.

Studying black technology was truly more thrilling than opening a blind box. After thinking it over, Chu Guang still decided not to bother with it. Not to mention that even if he understood it, he might not be able to make it, as he completely lacked the equipment and preconditions.

Every tiny breakthrough was the result of thousands of research topics and tens of thousands of experimental results piling up. And when quantitative change accumulated into qualitative change, focusing on a single mature technology, it contained tens of thousands of those tiny breakthroughs.

So, just open blind boxes.

At least the items from blind boxes could be used immediately.

You need guns and cannons to get grain, grain to have people, and people to develop industry, expand territory, and pick up trash from farther away. Once grain, electricity, and minerals are all readily available and production capacity rises, then it's time to talk about the tech tree.

Otherwise, it's useless no matter who comes.

Chu Guang: "There are no issues with the terms, at our place one kilogram of rice requires... um, 10 copper coins. So, converting that, I think a fair exchange rate would be 1 CR for 5 copper coins."

Originally, Chu Guang thought to say 2 CR for 1 silver coin.

But then, he reconsidered and chose a more emotionally intelligent way of saying it.

However, to his surprise, this military supply officer friend was not the least bit grateful and simply shook his head and said,

"Manager sir, I may be quite direct, our captain is a rough person, indeed he doesn't understand these matters, but do you think I don't understand either?"

"Let's not make it so complicated, and besides, exchanging each other's money back and forth is pointless; we can't stay here forever. We will pay all the money to you directly at the standard rate of 1 CR per hour. As for how many silver coins you plan to pay your residents, that is an internal issue for you, and we will not interfere."

"As for the issue you brought up about CR not circulating properly, we have already solved it for you. This list in your hands was summarized overnight by our logistics colleagues. I believe the supplies listed are definitely richer than any commercial team you've seen here, don't you think?"

To sum up in one sentence, you can't bamboozle me.

Pay whatever hourly wage you wish to your people; after all, this is what we are offering.

The items are sold to you at cost price, which is already quite generous.

Chu Guang, with years of sales experience, of course understood the implied meaning and showed an embarrassed smile on his face.

"That works too."

Originally, he still wanted to say that his people (players) had a minimum hourly wage of 1 silver coin, which would correspond to 2 CR. But he didn't expect the other party to be so shrewd, not even wanting his money.

Seeing that Chu Guang expressed affirmative attitude, Li De looked at him cautiously and said,

"So may I assume that we have reached consensus?"

Yesterday, Lu Yang bragged to him that the manager of Shelter No. 404 was a very straightforward person, and they reached consensus in less than ten minutes.

Now it seemed, it wasn't that this guy was straightforward, but that their captain was too straightforward...

"We've reached half an agreement," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "Your team leader promised me that you would provide food and lodging for our people. Considering the distance of 10 kilometers between us, our people simply can't afford to waste so much time on the road every day. And then there's the matter of eating, which is also a big issue."

When Li De heard the earlier statement, "We've reached half an agreement," he was fumbling for his blood pressure medication in his pocket, but it was the latter half of the statement that finally put his nerves at ease.

That was a reasonable demand.

"Rest assured on that account, we have already built a temporary camp for your workers. Although it's not as comfortable as the shelter, there is no issue with keeping out the wind and keeping warm. As for meals, also rest assured, we will provide a mobile kitchen for you, supplying three meals a day at the standard of 1CR per meal."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"1CR per meal, so that would be 3CR a day, right?"

Li De was slightly taken aback and nodded cautiously.

"Uh, yes, sir."

Chu Guang's face broke into a smile.

"At the standard of 3CR per person per day, you could just transfer the money directly to us. We'll make bulk purchases and prepare our own food. That way you wouldn't need to set up any mobile kitchen. Just some cooking utensils would suffice, what do you think?"

Li De was dumbfounded.

Is that possible???

However, he did not immediately give his opinion; instead, he silently calculated the costs in his mind.

Deploying a mobile kitchen in the workers' camp would incur actual daily costs of at least 1000CR, not to mention the hassle if anyone got food poisoning.

They had encountered similar issues when cooperating with the locals before.

Paying out at the standard of 3CR per person per day for 200 people would be 600CR, they would cut costs by 40 percent and also avoid any risks.

Li De nodded decisively in agreement.

"Deal!"

Chu Guang also promptly extended his right hand.

"Agreed!"

...

After reaching a consensus, both parties quickly drafted a contract in black and white, signed their respective names, and used their fingerprints to substitute for a company seal.

At this moment, Li De finally understood his team leader's appraisal of this manager as "straightforward."

Indeed.

His efficiency was impressive.

He was truly wasted here...

Luo Hua, who had taken on the role of office head, stayed behind, while Li De set off under the escort of Ais to the pick-up point at the entrance of Wetland Park.

She would later return to Outpost Base, and together with Luo Hua, they would use the materials they brought to build a simple cabin as an office space.

"The conditions here are really primitive... they're still using the primitive way of steel production," Luo Hua couldn't help but remark as he looked at the large chimney to the south.

Ais seemed indifferent to these facilities and simply fell silent for a while before speaking.

"That man is very powerful."

"Powerful?"

"Mhm, an Awakener, probably at the first stage."

"Which one?" Luo Hua looked up curiously, noticing that there were still quite a few residents of the refuge around.

These people also looked at them curiously, not knowing what to make of it.

"The one who was talking to you guys earlier."

"You mean their manager?" Luo Hua asked in surprise, "But I thought you had to —"

"Go through countless life and death trials, at least once at Hell's Gate."

Ais's face remained expressionless, but her pupils held a hint of caution, as she unusually added an extra comment.

It seems the team leader's appraisal was correct.

"That man is powerful."

-

(Sorry, I'm a bit late, I just fell asleep on the desk ... QAQ)

Chapter 140: Salute to You, the Residents of Shelter No. 404

Luo Hua and Ais continued building the barracks, but the players gathered around were getting impatient, whispering hurriedly to each other.

"Damn, these NPCs move so slowly!"

"Exactly! It's like they're dragging their feet just to put up a simple shelter."

"Can't they just set up a table and get the work done first? They're so inflexible!"

"How much longer before these NPCs start working? Can't we get a progress bar or something? I'm wondering if I should go chop a couple of trees in the meantime."

"Too slow! I can't take it anymore, I'm opening up the New Map, I wanna go work there!"

If Luo Hua and Ais knew that the residents of the shelter were complaining about their efficiency, it's hard to guess what expressions they would show.

Happy?

After all, people were eager to get to work.

Speechless?

There was a reason for that too; nobody likes to be rushed.

But the two of them couldn't understand.

Just as the players around couldn't understand what that NPC named Luo Hua was incessantly muttering about.

"What's with these Blue Jackets? Have they got nothing better to do than to hang around and look busy? If they're so free, they might as well come and give us a hand."

Ais: "..."

Luo Hua: "Speaking of which, what are we eating for lunch?"

Ais: "Freeze-dried food."

Luo Hua: "Ah, figured as much. Just the thought of those folks sitting in an air-conditioned room sipping on hot cocoa and playing poker, while I'm here yapping with a bunch of Blue Jackets, makes me question, is this fair? I'd rather not have that daily allowance of 50 CR! I mean, what good is money in this godforsaken place? The locals don't even want this useless paper, how many times has it been now?"

Ais: "..."

Perhaps realizing he was getting a bit too annoying, Luo Hua sighed.

"Alright... I admit I talk too much, let's just get back to work."

Ais: "Agreed."

They had to get the barracks up before any snowfall.

From the boxes Ais had brought earlier, they took out folding brackets, and with meticulous care, Luo Hua used an angle finder to mark four points on the ground. He inserted the brackets securely, then wrapped plastic cloth around to form four walls.

Thus, the framework of a model house was set up.

Of course, that wasn't the end.

Luo Hua continued by using a marker and ruler to outline doors and windows on the plastic film, while Ais held a metal can with a nozzle, spritzing out a gray foam onto the transparent plastic film.

The foam was light, highly adhesive, with a fine and uniform texture that was invisible to the naked eye, and it had a matte finish on its surface.

Luo Hua took out a folding shovel-knife and expertly spread the foam sprayed on the plastic film evenly.

The whole process looked as easy as spreading cream on cling wrap.

The light gray foam quickly smeared over the plastic film, and once it solidified completely, the foam darkened in color, transforming into a wall that looked pretty much like concrete.

Of course, it only looked like it.

Touching it, one could tell the difference between polymer and silicate materials.

Spare people under the knife, standing by, was staring wide-eyed, constantly babbling.

"Holy shit, what's this material? Polyurethane? Doesn't seem like it... Directly spraying it on the plastic film? Can this thing really pass as an exterior wall?"

Night Ten said with a cheeky grin, "Use your imagination, we're set in the future, is it so strange to build houses with foam?"

Spare people under the knife brooded for a while, eventually convincing himself.

"You're right, after all, it's a game."

As a game setting, it wasn't unacceptable.

The first foam wall was quickly completed, and the second wall was made by the same token. When the two NPCs had finished the second wall's construction, the first wall had already dried completely.

In less than 30 minutes, a temporary camp that was windproof, waterproof, and insulated was ready.

Although its shelf life was less than a year and its quality couldn't compare to the reliability of proper "silicate material," it was more than enough for a temporary facility!

Chu Guang, watching from the third floor of the sanatorium, was green with envy.

These guys have so many good things.

I've got to find a way to get some...

At that moment, Old Luka, who had just returned from outside, approached the visitors who had come from afar and handed a VM to Luo Hua.

Luo Hua looked at the old man strangely and did not reach out to take it.

"We don't carry that thing."

Old Luka said respectfully.

"This is something Manager has instructed me to give you. It can help you conduct some basic communication with the residents of the shelter."

Only then did Luo Hua remember the language barrier, and he no longer declined, taking the VM from Luka's hand.

"Alright, thank you."

Luka nodded slightly.

"Don't mention it."

...

After the camp was set up, two signs, one large and one small, were erected at the entrance, with the characters for ["Pioneer" Stationed at Outpost 404 Office] and [Volunteer Registration Office] respectively written in Chinese.

That's right.

Chu Guang wrote these words, and they looked quite neat.

At the same time, almost all the players nearby the Outpost Base received a message on their VMs, and players without VMs heard the broadcast echoing throughout the base.

[Server Announcement: Quartermaster NPC now online! New building added to Outpost Base—"Pioneer" Stationed at Outpost 404 Office!]

[Quartermaster Luo Hua: Greetings, residents of Shelter No. 404! I am the Quartermaster from the "Pioneer," and our land fortress has run into a bit of trouble. This may be a bit presumptuous to ask, but we need your help!]

[Tip 1: The Quartermaster from the Pioneer seems to have some trouble. An exclamation mark has appeared on the map. Why not go and have a chat with him?]

[Tip 2: VM character page now updated with exclusive event score for the expansion pack. Head to the new area to complete tasks and earn event points! Characters without VMs can check their scores with NPC Luka or Manager Assistant Xiao Qi, or after logging out, view them on the official website!]

A ring of people had formed at the entrance of the camp.

Almost the instant the announcement went out, players ran so fast they nearly knocked over the tables at the entrance.

"Me, me, me! Tail wants to sign up!"

"Pick me! I'm a Strength Type! I'm super good at hauling bricks!"

"Damn! Are your muscles just for hauling bricks? Stop pushing; I'm going to die here!"

"How can we squeeze in?" Crow, unable to push her way through, was stomping her feet in frustration on the edge of the crowd. She stood on tiptoes to look inside, and just one glance left her completely despondent.

The collision volume in this game is so annoying!

It would be great if we could just pass through other players like in other MMORPGs.

"Just give up," Teng Teng sighed after glancing at her and looked skyward, "This feels like a popular milk tea shop suddenly opening downstairs—I never manage to line up for it anyway, so I might as well wait for them to cool down before trying."

Crow suddenly snapped back to reality.

"That makes sense... anyway, it rotates every three days; we can wait for the first batch of players' strategies."

Teng Teng nodded in agreement.

"Right?"

Unbelievably, the residents here were so enthusiastic that Luo Hua was somewhat caught off guard with the registration list.

Standing beside him, Ais was also stunned.

In the crowd, she actually saw a bear?

And it was a white bear.

"…Why is there a bear?"

The sweaty Luo Hua had no time to worry about such things, frantically taking photos with the tablet for registration and clumsily handing out numbered work ID bands.

"Who knows, maybe it's their pet… Come help me!"

Ais: "…"

It was her first time seeing such an obedient bear, looking all fluffy.

Hmm.

Kind of wanted to pet it.

The entrance of the office was in chaos.

Fortunately, the Manager had anticipated this situation and sent an assistant to help complete the registration work.

After finishing the personnel registration,

Luo Hua set up a big pot and antenna over the barracks, and after brief tuning, finally received the communication signal from the "Pioneer."

The voice of a colleague from logistics came through the radio.

"…How's the situation on your side?"

Luo Hua, "Extremely smooth, so smooth it's beyond my imagination! These Blue Jackets are too enthusiastic; as soon as we opened the office, they swarmed up… To be honest, I'm quite touched. I didn't expect such a kind group of people to live in the distant Inland Area!"

There was a moment of silence on the communication channel.

Li De cleared his throat and continued speaking.

"…It is quite surprising."

Luo Hua, "Let's not talk about my side for now. How much longer before you arrive? They look like they can hardly wait."

Li De, "We're almost there; our captain is just 2 kilometers away from you guys."

Luo Hua, "Captain?"

Li De, "Yes, he's leading the team personally, escorting our reinforcements."

…

Leaning on the doorway of the weapon shop, chewing on a wilted foxtail, Xia Yan watched the bustling scene at the office entrance from a distance.

Today, no players were bothering her; they'd all gone to queue up at the new "NPC."

Working here for so long, she'd come to accept her status as an "NPC."

However, sometimes she was baffled by this identity because Chu Guang always emphasized the difference between NPCs and players, yet pointed out that NPCs rarely refer to themselves as NPCs, just as players rarely call themselves players.

So what was the meaning of this identity, after all?

This role-playing was truly weird.

At that moment, Chu Guang, carrying a long spindle-shaped weapon, approached her.

"I need you to make something for me; here's a sample. Use tungsten steel or other metals with a higher melting point if possible, and replicate it at a one-to-one scale."

"Okay, I'll check it out for you in a bit."

Taking the strangely shaped shuttle in hand, Xia Yan curiously glanced at Chu Guang's exoskeleton and asked, "Where did you get this exoskeleton?"

Seeing someone finally noticing the difference from yesterday, a smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"Looks cool, right?"

"Not bad," Xia Yan couldn't hold back an internal eye roll at this guy's smugness, "So where exactly did you get it?"

"Picked it up."

Xia Yan: "..."

Chu Guang said with a smile, "Just kidding, found it in the shelter."

Xia Yan said helplessly, "I was just asking casually, if it's not convenient for you to answer, just forget it. Speaking of which, how did you end up dealing with corporate people?"

"They came yesterday and even helped us deal with the mutants on Street No.76... Is there a problem?"

Noticing Xia Yan's peculiar expression, Chu Guang couldn't help but send an inquiring look her way.

"No, it just seems a bit unbelievable," Xia Yan said, looking at the two people not too far away with a meaningful expression. "A long, long time ago, the corporate expeditionary force came to Qingquan City."

"The expeditionary force?"

"Yeah, but that's ancient history. Plus, I hear the 'corporation' is huge with divisions as numerous as cow hairs, mostly gathered around the East Coast. I've heard they weren't originally called 'corporation,' but since they changed names so often, people just started calling them that. Later, they must have gotten used to it, or maybe they felt that name had the most clout, and they started calling themselves 'corporation.'"

Chu Guang looked at her in surprise.

"You know about this?"

Xia Yan replied nonchalantly, "It's hardly a secret, though the stuff about the expeditionary army is pretty outdated; I wasn't even born yet."

Chu Guang: "Then do you know what they came for?"

"What else could it be? It's an expeditionary army, so obviously they were here to fight, right?" Xia Yan glanced at him oddly, "Anyway, all I know is they eventually lost. After that, you could hardly see any of their people in Qingquan City, though their commercial teams would often come to trade."

It seemed Qingquan City's residents were quite tough.

But thinking about it, it made sense, with thousands of kilometers in straight distance and tens of thousands of kilometers of supply lines, it would be a wonder if they hadn't lost.

Hearing some interesting intelligence, Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, we'll chat more when I get back. I'm planning a trip out. If you need something, contact Xiao Qi, it can find me."

Xia Yan: "Where are you planning to go? That fortress thing?"

"What for?" Chu Guang glanced at the map on his VM and set a coordinate, "There's a signal tower on Street No. 76, which, if I'm lucky, should be near the mutants' nest. I plan to go there to see if I can fix it."

With Luka looking after the 'Pioneer' back home, Chu Guang didn't need to go there himself. His players were his eyes, and whatever they saw, they would naturally share on the forum.

The priority now was to repair the signal tower.

Once the signal tower was fixed, the communication range of Shelter No. 404 could at least cover the entire North Suburb of Qingquan City, and the range of the drones' activities would also be greatly expanded.

Then, whether it was to assign missions to players or to peek at his little players, it would all be much more convenient than now.

"Better be careful, why not take a couple of people to accompany you?"

This was definitely not out of concern; Xia Yan was purely worried about losing her meal ticket.

Even her disappeared old dad had never taken such good care of her. Whether or not he was a devil no longer mattered; she now thought that devils were pretty good too.

"That's a good point."

Chu Guang thought about it and felt there was merit to the suggestion.

However, the players' interests were all focused on the expansion pack right now; they probably weren't too interested in ordinary missions.

But Chu Guang wasn't worried; it was just a matter of waiting a little while.

Currently, there were 250 players on the server, and his contract with Captain Lu Yang only promised to dispatch two hundred laborers. This meant that, no matter what, in a little while, there would definitely be fifty little players left without qualifications, beating their chests and wallowing in despair.

As a manager with high emotional intelligence, Chu Guang felt it was his duty to comfort those with wounded hearts.

Hmm.

When the time came, he would pick a couple of high-quality Cannon Fodders to go for a stroll near the mutants' nest.

-

(The next chapter will be updated before 11 o'clock! I'd like to be on time too, but it's tough for someone with clumsy hands.)

Chapter 141: Why Can't Our Kitchen Make Some Mortal World Food?

[Mission: Head to the Action Camp]

[Introduction: Heartfelt thanks to all of you, volunteers from Outpost No. 404! The reinforcement escorting you to the Action Camp has arrived at the North Gate of Wetland Park, and we have prepared a warm barracks for you ten kilometers away. Please follow us now!]

[Requirement: Follow the staff of "Pioneer" to reach the Action Camp and trigger the subsequent missions.]

[Reward: 10 Activity Points]

Frontline Base North entrance.

Fully equipped players had assembled, looking not at all like laborers heading to a construction site but more like people on a picnic.

Players who hadn't qualified looked on enviously, especially when they heard about the 10 points awaiting at the destination, nearly crying out of jealousy and resentment!

"Ten points just for opening a map, is that reasonable?"

"The expansion just started, and they are already forcefully widening the gap, is that reasonable?"

"It's unreasonable! Totally unreasonable!"

"Calling the Game Planner Daddy!"

However, it was all to no avail.

The majority were lined up; the minority were not.

Standing in the team of the lucky ones, Fang Chang chuckled and said, "Don't panic, brothers. We'll scout ahead for you! I'll update any good finds on the forum right away! That way, you won't have to cross the river by feeling the stones!"

Hearing this, the players who didn't make the lineup started complaining.

"Damn! Aren't you ashamed? You've hogged all the good stuff! And what about your dungeon run? You've only got seven days of priority exploration!"

Fang Chang smirked: "Why bother with dungeons? New maps smell better! Why don't you take over and run it for three days for me?"

"Get lost!"

In the distance, a dark power armor appeared through the snow-covered forest, heading towards the North Gate of the Outpost Base.

Reaching outside the North Gate Market, Chu Guang shook hands with Captain Lu Yang, smiling after a brief shake.

"I entrust my residents to you."

Captain Lu Yang, with a serious and solemn face, promised earnestly.

"I swear on my honor and credit score, I will ensure the safety of each and every one of them!"

What Chu Guang actually wanted to say was that it wasn't necessary to take it so seriously—if someone accidentally died, it wouldn't be a big deal; just provide them with compensation.

Not much.

1000CR would suffice.

But what exactly is a credit score?

At that moment, the young players around noticed that their manager's shabby armor was gone, replaced by an expensive-looking exoskeleton. A hammer still hung on his back, but next to it was a stylishly shaped rifle.

It was an overload of elements, but it was so Wasteland!

Of course, what surprised them most was that their manager had changed his equipment again!

"Holy moly! Look at the manager's exoskeleton!"

"Eh? When did he change his gear?!"

"Man, this is like going from 'Radiation 2077' to 'Cyber 2077'!"

"Look at you all, acting like you've never seen the world. Didn't Brother Mole analyze it on the forum before? The NPCs in this game grow stronger with players' actions! Logically analyzing, it's definitely because of our task efforts that made the manager upgrade!"

"That's realism for you in this game!"

"Guys, let's push harder, try to get the manager into power armor!"

"Let's go for it!"

As the captain and manager talked, standing beside them and waiting to send them off, Luo Hua looked at the unresponsive VM and lamented.

"This translation function is so unreliable sometimes."

Ais: "…"

Luo Hua: "Hey, what do you think they are all talking about?"

Ais: "…"

Luo Hua: "You're not curious at all? Okay, never mind… I'll go make some hot water, we can soak the freeze-dried food soon."

Ais: "I want the corn one."

Luo Hua: "…"

After sending off Captain Lu Yang and the players, Chu Guang waved at their departing figures, then suddenly noticed Luo Hua nearby, who couldn't keep his mouth shut.

This guy was clearly the type who couldn't keep secrets.

A thought suddenly struck Chu Guang, bringing him an idea.

However, it was still too early to eat. He had things to do later, and he decided it was best to discuss dinner when he returned in the evening.

...

Marching across the wilderness, a ten-kilometer journey took about 200 minutes, which was slightly easier to traverse compared to the city streets.

To clear the snow for the residents of Shelter No. 404, when Lu Yang arrived, he had brought an off-road vehicle with a snowplow attached to the front bumper, leading the way to clear the snow from the road.

The morale of these shelter residents was considerably high, and their physical condition was strong. Initially, Lu Yang was worried they might get tired, but he soon found his concerns were entirely unnecessary.

A journey that should have taken 200 minutes was completed in only two hours.

Before ten in the morning, the group arrived near the "Pioneer" model mobile fortress.

Looking at the four interconnected steel fortresses, resembling mountains, many players showed faces filled with surprise and even excitement.

The broad and massive body sat on the plain, its majestic tracks followed by trenches stretching towards the horizon, endless at first glance.

Whether it was vegetation, towering trees, shattered highways, or abandoned rural houses, everything became rubble beneath its feet.

There were no roads ahead of it.

Where it walked, the road was made.

Looking up at the grand fortress, "Spare people under the knife," like other players around, also craned his neck and widened his eyes.

In the face of such a monumental engineering marvel, he felt like a minuscule primitive man gazing at an unheard-of wonder.

Although people kept reminding him that it was just a game, the immersive shock was absolutely genuine.

After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out two words,

"Holy…"

It was overwhelming!

Standing not far beside him, Night Ten also raised his head and said, "Holy." However, the shock he felt was entirely different in meaning from what "Spare people under the knife" experienced.

"... This expansion pack is so damn conscientious!"

It's rare for a game to bring out the good stuff in a beta phase.

Players continued to advance with the NPC.

When they reached the campsite next to the "Pioneer," they saw the huge mobile fortress unfold a structure like a gantry crane, using a mechanical arm to detach a container-like module from itself and placing it about five meters from the steel platform on the open ground.

Dust billowed.

Workers dressed in gray coats approached, pulled out a thick pipeline from the side of the fortress platform, and connected it to the newly deployed module on the ground, then proceeded to input parameters on the touch screen.

Electrical input.

The device started operating, buzzing sounds were heard, but it was uncertain what was being produced inside.

Following Old Luka, two survivors acting as assistants widened their eyes, exchanging looks of astonishment.

"What is that?"

"A production workshop," Captain Lu Yang, who happened to hear their conversation, smiled and said, "That should be a carbon dioxide trap, producing starch and glucose. Later, we will deploy one that produces long-chain alkanes and alkenes. The last one to be put down is for alloy smelting and a machining production workshop."

"But there's no rush on this; we can continue deploying after your people are rested and have set off!"

Deploying such modular production workshops kicked up a lot of dust, so they tried to choose times when there were fewer people around the campsite to construct.

Two locals looked at each other, utterly confused, not understanding what this man, dressed like an armored can, was talking about, nor why it was necessary to wait for them to depart before continuing with the deployment.

Old Luka only understood a bit, but only the latter part.

As for carbon dioxide traps, long-chain alkanes, alkenes...

He assumed those were just some complicated types of trash.

...

The players' action camp was adjacent to the mobile fortress, less than a hundred meters away.

All the camp's buildings were constructed using thermally activated polymers "sprayed" out, so the construction was completed in just one night.

From afar, these buildings looked like concrete, felt like plastic to the touch, albeit lightweight, they were quite sturdy, highly insulating, and soundproofed.

There were five rows of camp buildings, resembling those movable panel houses typically seen on construction sites, structured into two floors, with 22 single rooms on each floor, dimensions of 3×4 meters, comfortably housing a single bed and a folding table, slightly more spacious than the rooms at the shelter.

In addition, in the center of the camp, there was a gender-segregated public bathhouse and toilet, with the second floor housing water tanks.

Including the common areas, the entire campsite covered an area of 15 acres, comparable to a 400-meter track field, with a reasonable volume ratio, even appearing a bit more spacious than the players' Outpost Base.

Two quad-rotor drones and two remote-controlled all-terrain track vehicles patrolled the periphery of the camp, responsible for eliminating approaching Eaters or other threats.

Meeting Li De at the door of the camp building, Lu Yang wore a slightly constrained expression, but, thinking of representing the Manager, he straightened his back.

"Good day, sir. I'm Luca, from Shelter No. 404, conveying the sincerest greetings on behalf of my master. During our cooperation, I will be responsible for communications between you and the residents of the shelter, and you can relay any needs through me."

Although referring to someone as "master" was somewhat unusual in the context of the shelter, Li De didn't comment on it.

Slave labor wasn't unheard of on the East Coast; some corporate junior employees were nominally employed but hardly different from slaves, quickly removed from employee dormitories if they didn't work, and being removed usually meant death.

Of course, the benefits for the mid-level employees were still good, and it goes without saying that his level was even better.

To prepare this First Pioneer Corps, the Silver Wing Group had spent a lot of money. Their living standards were almost the same as when they were on the East Coast, even better, in fact.

The only downside was that it was far from home.

Looking at Old Luka, Li De nodded his head.

"I have already learned about the situation from the liaison," he said, "and the next work arrangements will be coordinated with you by my colleague."

As he spoke, the man standing next to Li De connected with a smile and extended his right hand.

"Hello, my name is Vite! I'm looking forward to working with you!"

Old Luka quickly shook his hand.

"Hello! My name is Luka…"

"I heard just now. Relax a bit, I also came from the shelter, though it's been some years. You can think of this place as your own home, and if you have any problems, you can contact me," Vite said with a squeeze of his eyebrows, looking like a humorous person.

"That's fine, I'll leave this place to you then. I need to hurry our engineers."

Li De patted Vite's shoulder, nodded again toward Old Luka, and then left with Captain Lu Yang, who was beside him.

Old Luka looked a bit reserved.

He wanted to say that although he was wearing the VM, he was actually not from the shelter, but it seemed somewhat superfluous to say so.

Vite, however, didn't mind and deftly took out a folding computer from his pocket, pulled out the flexible screen in the middle, and began to transfer the newly completed Action Camp to him.

"To cut a long story short, this action camp is now yours. During the cooperation period, we will be responsible for your safety, and our water truck will deliver water to you for free. Inside the camp, there are water pipes connected to the camp's central boiler facility, which is very efficient. Just boil the water; the residual heat can also be used to heat the water for bathing. However, we only deliver water, as for burning wood or coal to boil it, that you'll need to figure out for yourselves."

"But this can also be solved easily, there's no shortage of wood around here. If you walk westward, there's even a forest. But I'd recommend you still try to gather from the east. Our fortress flattened many trees on the way here earlier. You can recycle those."

"Also, concerning today's work. Our scouts found an underground garage in the community hospital of the northern abandoned town, containing about 2000 vehicles with high recycling value. We need to dismantle their frames, doors, hubs, hood, and suspension… in short, all the recyclable metal."

"Our marines have cleared the Variants there, so your job is to use the equipment we provided to cut and dismantle the recyclable parts of the vehicles and then compress these dismantled parts into blocks using a compactor, to be loaded onto our transport."

"Due to terrain limits, our transport vehicles can't reach deep into the city as the roads are too bad—you will see when you get there. In short, it's about 800 meters from the community hospital to the resource spot, and you'll likely need to use handcarts for this stretch."

"That's all for work matters. I'll notify you if there are new arrangements. It's now ten fifteen; you can start settling your people in. We leave on time at twelve noon and gather back here at six in the evening. There won't be time for meals in-between, so you better prepare some dry food."

"If you need to purchase supplies, you can list them for me. You have a budget of 600 CR now, and today's compensation will be settled at midnight."

Luka nodded.

"No problem."

…

The players quickly allotted the rooms.

After the cooking utensils were delivered, Luka immediately issued a mission via VM, recruiting a few players with domestic skills, and set up a large pot in the middle of the camp to start cooking.

Just then, the water truck responsible for delivering water arrived, using a pressure pump and hose to fill the central water tank of the camp.

While filling the water tank, two logistics drivers took two buckets of freeze-dried food from the truck, pouring boiling water into them.

This type of food was convenient, edible with just the addition of boiling water, containing carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins, ensuring it was sanitary, nutritious, and available in five flavors.

Generally, if they had work in the afternoon and were too lazy to take the elevator back inside the fortress, they'd make do with these meals.

Actually, they had heard before that the logistics department had intended to deploy a mobile kitchen on the ground, but the residents of the refuge had refused, suggesting they'd rather be given money directly.

The drivers couldn't understand what those Blue Jackets were thinking!

Eventually, hearing that the allies wanted to cook for themselves, their frugal superior canceled the plan to deploy the mobile kitchen.

After all, most of the time, their personnel ate inside the fortress, with only rare instances of coming out on duty.

To set up a big contraption just to cook lunch for a few seemed hardly worth it; better to distribute some money instead.

Leaning against the door of the water truck.

The two drivers watched the residents of the refuge setting up the big pot to cook, waiting for the freeze-dried food to rehydrate, idly chatting together.

"What are they doing?"

"Looks like they're peeling potatoes? Is that a potato?"

"I heard they call it a 'Horn Potato,' probably a variant of the potato... Look, they've started boiling water."

"Using firewood for cooking? That's pretty primitive, at least use an electric stove. But then again, why don't they throw the potatoes directly into the pot, instead of putting them on top of it?"

"Maybe they want to steam the potatoes with the steam... I'm suddenly curious, does food prepared this way taste good?"

The two suddenly looked at each other and said in unison.

"I'll go and trade with them."

…

A long queue formed at the camp.

The tomato and egg stir-fry cook, standing in front of the pot, called out loudly.

"One for each person, everybody gets one, no cutting in line, no panicking! We're all Exalted players who got to experience the expansion pack first! Let's not become a joke for the sand sculptures on the forum, haha."

Finally, it was Mosquito's turn as he held the lunch box in his hands, his face streaming with tears of joy.

"I've missed this so much! It's been ages since I've had a pot of scrambled eggs and tomatoes!"

Night Ten, who just got his own portion, also sighed.

"Yeah, +1 on the nostalgia. When did our esteemed Manager stop providing food again?"

Mosquito, holding his lunch box, said,

"I remember! After version Alpha0.3 introduced the money system, you had to pay for food! Ah, the nostalgia. Back then nobody knew how to cook, we just bought potatoes and crouched in the square, hugging them and nibbling away!"

"Right, right, right, haha, I remember now! It was only after the North gate market was established that lifestyle players started to go there to sell stew."

"Unfortunately, Crow Boss wouldn't sell the mushrooms that let you see tiny people."

"Speaking of Crow Boss, where is she?"

"She probably missed out, as usual; she never catches a break."

At that moment, two NPCs wearing grey coats walked over, seemingly the ones who were driving the water truck earlier.

"Hey."

One of them raised a hand, greeting them in a friendly manner.

Mosquito and Night Ten exchanged glances and looked at the two men.

"What's up?"

One of the NPCs pointed at the untouched box of food in Night Ten's hand and then at the "instant noodles" in his own, chattering something incoherently.

Although they couldn't understand it, the body language was clear enough that even a monkey would get it, combined with their expressions and tone, one could mostly guess what was going on without any issues.

Mosquito: "It seems like he wants to trade?"

Night Ten: "Should we trade?"

Mosquito: "Duh, why not? Let's see what their food tastes like."

Night Ten's eyes lit up: "Great idea!"

The two players excitedly handed over their boxed meals to the water truck NPCs and received their instant noodles in return.

They exchanged thanks in their respective languages, and the two NPCs quickly scooted off.

Mosquito and Night Ten didn't bother about them and eagerly lifted the lids of the instant noodles.

"Let's see what's inside?"

"Instant noodles? Or maybe not?"

"Damn! How many dried vegetables did they put in here? What's all this?"

"I seriously suspect that they mixed noodles into freeze-dried vegetables!"

"But it does smell pretty good."

"It's not as tasty as Mashed Potato Bro's scrambled eggs, though! Ah, too bad. Teng Teng isn't here. Ever since Scrambled Egg Bro stopped cooking to become a butcher, she hasn't had it in a long time, huh?"

As the two residents of the refuge took the boxed meals, the NPCs unwrapped them like treasures and clumsily dug in with wooden spoons, stuffing a lump of mashed potato into their mouths, their faces instantly lighting up with pleasure.

"This is good!"

"Really good!"

"Smashed horned potatoes mixed with soy sauce and minced meat? The texture is kind of like potatoes, but not quite, amazing."

"This braised meat is fantastic too! What kind of meat is it?"

"Who cares! At least it's way more satisfying than plant-based meat!"

The two NPCs wolfed down their meals, their faces a picture of lingering satisfaction.

After returning the lunch boxes to the refuge residents, they exchanged a look, immediately agreed upon a plan, and quickly went to fetch two more buckets of instant noodles, excitedly locating the recently fed refuge residents. With gestures and motions similar to before, they tried to coax the boxed meals out of their hands.

The players were seeing something this bizarre for the first time and didn't think to refuse, decisively handing over their boxed meals to the NPCs.

After wolfing down the meals once again, the two NPCs finally, with satisfaction, returned to their water truck, which was already empty, and drove it back to the machine shop beside the "Pioneer" at the outskirts of the camp.

"Having left the East Coast for so long, this was the first time I tasted something so delicious!"

"Me too! Compared to that horned potato mash, those dried vegetables are just garbage! Tui!"

"Agree! Why can't our kitchen cook some real food from the land of the living? Is upgrading the program that hard? We can totally grow potatoes!"

While tallying up the supplies to be delivered to Shelter No. 404, Li De happened to overhear the conversation of the two men walking out of the garage, his expression suddenly stiffening.

Horned potato mash?

Calling dried vegetables garbage?

What nonsense are these two idiots talking about?

Chapter 142 Besides labor dispatch, we also provide additional 'value-added services

It was seven in the evening.

The night was deep.

Next to the towering Steel Fortress, a heavy-duty truck came to a steady stop.

Compared to the driver who jumped down from the truck, the vehicle itself could be described as formidable. However, when placed next to the steel platform and tracks beside it, the formidable presence of the truck seemed somewhat diminished.

From a distance, it looked like a tiny bug crawling at the edge of a shoe.

The driver disembarked and operated an automated loading and unloading platform using a tablet device, removing cubic blocks of metal from the truck.

These metal blocks were all made from recycled trash, compressed into cubic meters with dimensions of one meter each side and a density varying between 6-7g/cm³.

Inside were car doors, engine hoods, and various other metal parts, all tightly pressed together, making it hard to distinguish their original forms.

It must be said that the residents of the shelter were indeed very capable. Not only were they physically fit, but their work enthusiasm was also high. They almost completely scrapped everything that could be recycled.

The only drawback was that it seemed they also stuffed in things that could not be recycled...

But that was of minor consequence.

These metal blocks would soon be sent to a dedicated processing workshop, transferred from one module to another through a series of automated production processes, eventually becoming whatever they needed.

Non-usable waste materials would automatically be ejected outside of the production line during manufacturing phases.

Wearing a thick protective suit and a safety helmet, the engineer unfolded the flexible screen of his tablet computer and walked towards Li De, who was standing by the temporary warehouse.

"Today's collection amounted to 112 tons of scrap steel. I'll send them onto the production line later, and we can start the replacement operation for the tracks tomorrow."

Li De, "How much steel do we need in total? I mean, that kind of trash."

Engineer, "At least 3000 tons... maybe even 5000 tons."

Li De frowned.

"Why such a large discrepancy?"

The engineer replied helplessly,

"There's no helping it. The steel quality of those civilian vehicles is too poor. Probably to save costs and weight, they're filled with a lot of non-recyclable carbon-based copolymers. Plus, the oxidized parts, we're optimistic if we can recycle 400 kilograms out of one ton of scrap steel."

"Also, I must mention that we need not only steel but also rare metals... I don't expect to find titanium or uranium in this forsaken place, but tungsten is a must. Otherwise, we could push west for another 500 kilometers at most before we have to anchor again."

Tracks and hubs were major areas of wear and tear.

And not to mention mechanical structures like bearings and drive wheels, which, although not as deleteriously affected as the tracks, required periodic replacement.

In theory, the underground garages that hadn't been flooded should hold vehicles with reasonably high recycling value, potentially reaching recovery rates of 40% and even 50%.

If it were those vehicles exposed in wildernesses or unmanned highways, the recovery rate could struggle to reach 30%.

After all, rainwater is naturally acidic. Even with carbonic acid's weak acidity, two centuries of "acid washing," regardless of how advanced the material technology, would lead to deterioration.

Moreover, acid washing is more lethal than oxidation; oxidation merely causes rust, and while the structure might collapse, the metal elements are still there and wouldn't vanish. If it's acid washing, the ionized cations could be carried into the soil by the rainwater, making them irrecoverable.

Li De's brow furrowed even more, as he meticulously considered the engineer's words.

500 kilometers before anchoring again...

According to the route planned on their map, 500 kilometers might not even take them out of River Valley Province.

Anchoring in the wilderness would be a real disaster.

"I understand the situation. I'll have the Ground Combat Department deploy a search squad to specifically search for rare metal materials in this area."

The Engineer shook his head,

"It's difficult to find them in this area. I suggest looking around Qingquan City's Fifth Ring Road. A basic principle the denser the human activities, the higher the macro-utilization rate of rare metals. Especially those maglev vehicles, whether it's the magnetic generators on the vehicles or the maglev tracks embedded under the highways and within skyscrapers, they all contain what we need... You won't find these in the suburbs lacking an elevated road network."

"Also, the search for controllable fusion fuel rods needs to be expedited. The fusion fuel in the rod we're currently using is down to 8%, and even if our tracks don't fail, we probably need to find a spot to settle this issue."

Li De, "How long will the remaining energy last?"

Engineer: "It's enough for us to use for a long time, but you know, we can't stay here forever."

If it were just that bit of production consumption, the 8% energy was enough to last them until next year.

But, as his engineer had said, they couldn't stay there forever.

The place that consumed the most energy in this land fortress wasn't those production workshops on it, but its four engines.

Pushing a fortress of tens of thousands of tons to move smoothly over land, if converted to diesel engines, would take several tons of fuel per kilometer, equivalent to 1~2 armored divisions marching across off-road terrain.

Li De: "The contact point for Shelter No. 404 was just established, their people are helping us find guides, we should be able to leave within two days at most, it shouldn't be a problem."

The engineer sighed.

"Hopefully, actually compared to the scavenging work, retrieving the nuclear fuel rods isn't that urgent, as long as we find them before we depart. Speaking of which, I can't help but compliment those Blue Jackets, their work efficiency is unexpectedly high. What exactly did you promise them? They work as if they were on drugs."

When he said the last part, the engineer looked at his boss with disbelief and curiosity on his face.

Li De had a complex expression as well, seemingly unsure how to answer the question.

Honestly, when he saw the results of today's resource gathering, he too was incredibly surprised.

Based on their past experience, hiring those local survivors to help pick up garbage, managing to collect 300 kilograms per day was already good—after all, cutting, transporting, and compacting took time, and those natives were rather slow, making the work infuriatingly sluggish.

Yet, those Blue Jackets, they managed to collect over 500 kilograms per person in just an afternoon! 200% above their expectations!

If they were given a whole day, wouldn't the per capita scavenging capacity exceed a ton?

Their enthusiasm for work was unmatched!

Though it was none of his own business, Li De still couldn't help but wonder, how much did their Manager pay them to be that motivated?

"Where are they now?"

"They've already returned, they're cooking in the camp now."

Li De nodded.

It was good that they returned safely.

At that moment, a logistical staff member suddenly walked over from the side.

"Chief, there's a call for you."

"Transfer the call to me."

He took out an earpiece the size of a toothpick box from his pocket and hung it beside his ear, and Li De lightly tapped on the white earpiece with his index finger.

A dark green beam of light projected forward, quickly forming a three-dimensional holographic image in front, showing the facial features and bust of the person on the other end.

"How much for your holographic communication system?"

Looking around with curiosity, Chu Guang watched as Li De gave a soft cough.

"…We haven't considered selling it yet."

"Okay."

Chu Guang in the holographic image nodded, seemingly showing understanding, and Li De hoped that he truly understood.

Forming a slight smile on his face, Li De continued.

"Is there something you need?"

Chu Guang didn't directly answer the question but smiled at him and said in a casual tone,

"Nothing special, I just wanted to ask how you feel about the work efficiency of our laborers?"

"Very... quite good." Li De was about to say very good, but suddenly remembered that he was facing a cunning old fox and changed his response in time.

Unfortunately, the other party seemed to catch the change in his expression, the corners of his mouth lifting into a barely noticeable smile.

Li De suddenly felt a bit regretful.

Maybe he shouldn't have transferred that holographic communication device over.

The original purpose of this device was to facilitate communication.

But now it seems that only one person is finding it convenient.

"I'm glad to receive such high praise from you!"

"Uh, actually, it's not as high as you think, but it's not bad either. I must admit, your workers are very dedicated, which is extremely valuable."

"Let's then discuss the cost issue!"

Upon hearing this, Li De's expression changed instantly. Although he didn't become hostile, his face still somewhat soured.

"My friend, haven't we already settled on the salary? Raising the price at the last minute isn't a show of good faith."

"Please don't be nervous, my friend," Chu Guang said with a calming smile and gestured for him to relax before he continued, "I'm not talking about salary issues, but about... uh, value-added services."

"Value-added services?" Li De was stunned for a moment, his tense expression involuntarily relaxed slightly.

It was the first time he had heard such a strange term.

Chu Guang continued with a smile, "Yes, when you want to improve the workers' efficiency, you have to stuff their pockets with money, bribe them to work harder, rather than just give them a fixed salary... or to put it more diplomatically, you need to provide them with a commission, allowing them to feel the joy of growth throughout the production process. Would you like to know how I do it?"

Li De wanted to say he didn't want to know, but he felt that no matter what he said, this guy would find an excuse to keep the conversation going, so he simply kept quiet.

Sure enough, this manager in the blue jacket did not "disappoint" him. The guy didn't even give him a chance to speak and just went on without pausing for a second.

"In addition to the regular hourly wage, they get paid an extra amount for every kilogram of scrap metal they collect, so they are motivated to work hard. The numbers you see on the production list aren't because they are particularly brave or strong or because of what you call dedication, but because I've put money into it."

Li De didn't want to listen anymore.

It all came down to the same meaning.

He said sternly,

"How much do you want?"

Chu Guang laughed and said,

"Not much, considering our close relationship, how about 5 CR per ton? For you, it's just the cost of a few extra bowls of instant noodles."

Although he wasn't going to spend that money on instant noodles.

After hearing Chu Guang's proposal, Li De didn't immediately respond but quietly did some calculations in his mind.

If the daily production was 200 tons, that meant they would have to spend an extra 1000 CR.

How should he put it?

The number was exactly in a very ambiguous range.

If he didn't pay this amount, the other party probably wouldn't subsidize their workers with that "extra" money to stimulate production. Then, even if these men in blue jackets didn't slack off, they would likely struggle to work as hard as they did today.

Was it worth spending nearly a thousand CR per day on the so-called value-added services?

Or would it be better to maintain the current expenses and let the productivity fall to a "normal" level?

Chu Guang didn't rush him, patiently waiting for the logistics director to think.

With furrowed brows relaxing and then tightening, seemingly having made a decision, Li De, with a stern face, stared at his holographic image and said,

"What about today's value-added service? Do I have to pay extra for that as well?"

Hearing this, a pleased smile crossed Chu Guang's face.

He knew this too well from his sales experience.

When clients keep asking about prices or nitpick, it means they are hesitant and might or might not buy, the chances being fifty-fifty.

But when a client stops discussing the deal itself and instead asks about irrelevant freebies, the deal is almost certainly secured.

All that's left is to make the client feel they are getting a bargain.

"Well, there's no need for that, today's six hours are a trial period for the value-added service, free of charge."

Li De chuckled.

"You taught me a lesson... are you interested in corporate work? I can write you a recommendation letter and recommend you for a management position. Honestly, your talent is wasted in this godforsaken place."

Chu Guang humbly responded, "I dare not, I'm just trying to make sure my residents can survive this miserable world, so I tend to be very frugal."

He felt slightly better inside.

Li De sighed lightly, glanced at the sky, and slowly nodded his tilted head.

"Deal."

...

Spending an extra 1000CR a day wasn't unacceptable.

After all, no matter what, human labor was much cheaper than mechanical labor here, and the efficiency of the latter might not necessarily be higher in complex environments.

1000CR amounted to five hundred kilograms of grain or a ton of monosaccharides or polysaccharides synthesized from "consumable air."

If they needed gunpowder rifles, that was even easier to negotiate, using leftover materials from machined parts was probably cheaper than crops that needed time to be cultivated.

At this time, several marines, drivers, and engineers, with arms around each other's shoulders and backs, were walking back from the direction of the Residents of the Refuge camp, laughing and chatting.

"The mashed potato with goat horn was absolutely delicious!"

"How did they come up with that? They actually steamed the food! And it tasted so good!"

"From what I've read, people ate like that 300 years ago."

"300 years ago?! That's really ancient."

"Yes, even more ancient than the Prosperity Epoch... but I do wonder, can just steaming really kill the microbes in the food?"

"Look at you, so clueless, the temperature of steam is much higher than boiling water!"

"That's true... well, the only flaw I can point out is that it's quite fuel-consuming; first, you have to boil the water and then use the steam to cook the food. Those guys in Blue Jackets really know how to live."

"Strange knowledge has increased again."

Today's work had ended, and if there were no emergencies, the remaining time belonged to them.

One of life's greatest pleasures was to knock off work on time after a busy day, comfortably take a hot shower, then head to the cafeteria for a cup of synthetic milk or hot cocoa, and go to the activity room to play a couple of rounds of billiards or poker with colleagues while chatting.

Oh yes, and sharing the joy of tasting delicious food with everyone!

For the cost of a bucket of instant noodles, you could get a bowl of fragrant mashed potatoes—what a bargain!

And tonight there was even pine nut and fish stew! I think that was the name.

I don't know what herbs those Blue Jackets put in the soup, but they managed to reduce the fishy smell of the rotten mutant catfish. Biting into it was a sensation of full collagen, both the texture and the flavor were just superb!

Their usual diet was relatively bland, low in salt and oil, although nutritionally complete, it always lacked a bit in flavor.

The only drawback of those Blue Jackets' "cafeterias" was that you had to bring your own bowl and chopsticks, as there were no disposable bowls.

But that wasn't really an issue for them.

A few of them first consulted with an engineer from logistics production, quickly persuaded him with a bowl of mashed potatoes, and got him to operate a machining workshop tablet to produce some steel bowls as thin as paper and spoons for the soup.

These steel bowls were not pure steel but were made of polymer composite steel, mainly using leftover materials from cutting steel, mixed with some cheap synthetic resin. They were very cost-effective. They treated them as disposable dishes, tossed after use, saving even the effort of washing up.

"…Running around outside, while those lucky dogs sit in the office enjoying the warm air, it's so infuriating!"

"Exactly, it would be a shame not to show off to them, especially after the Northwest wind we endured today!"

"Agreed, we absolutely must show off!"

"Hahaha, let's make those dogs jealous!"

The group of young men reached a consensus and, laughing and chatting, stepped onto the elevator. This feeling was like discovering an oasis in the desert.

Meanwhile, Li De, standing not far away tallying supplies, and the engineer with the tablet wore baffled expressions, as if they sort of understood what was being said and yet didn't.

"…?"

"?"

Chapter 143: The Answer is the Chef?!

After hanging up with Li De, Chu Guang felt that his life was really not easy.

Neighbors who had traveled from afar were marching westward for a grand ideal, not only radiating the confidence and faith of civilized people on their faces but also rich enough to spill their meals from bowls three times a day.

On his end, not only did he have to meticulously plan every single resource, but he also had to find ways to keep the players happy with limited supplies.

Even when times were tough, if he occasionally got ahold of something good, he'd use it to boost everyone's morale.

At this point, there were still children on the forum eyeing the two bricks he used for building walls, analyzing how not to let the "middlemen" make a profit.

Doesn't it hurt to touch one's conscience?

The weak had no choices; Chu Guang was very clear that even with a shelter as a bargaining chip, the room for negotiation with those aboard the "Pioneer" was very limited.

Especially Li De, who was much harder to fool than their Captain Lu, with an even more elusive bottom line that left no opportunity for exploitation.

But there was no helping it, Chu Guang had no other choice.

Rarely encountering a group of rich tourists who recognized the blue jacket he wore, no matter how difficult, he had to grimace and shear the wool.

After all, this time it was friends who came, what if the next visitors were wolves?

By then, even if unable to win, he'd still have to fight.

If all went as expected, today's labor should be exchanged for 1200 CR. Together with the meal allowance of 600 CR, it would total 1800 CR, which could be traded for six submachine guns.

These people were quite generous, agreeing to 600 CR for a day, and even though he hadn't eaten breakfast at their place, they still awarded him the money.

Once the cooperation ended, the weapons store would update its inventory with new equipment priced at 300 and 400 silver coins, including automatic rifles and submachine guns, as well as sights for modifications—ideal for upgrading the gear of players who had reached levels 6 to 8.

All for a brighter tomorrow and a new version.

He hoped his players would work hard!

…

Before his call with Li De, Chu Guang, and two Perception-type players had found a signal tower near the Mutant Nest mentioned in "Guard Diary" and "Blood Hand Diary," discovering the device had merely tripped. Though some parts were aging, they weren't completely broken.

The backup power still had half its capacity left; without a word, he flipped the circuit breaker back on, immediately restoring power to the signal tower.

Seeing the signal strength back to full on the VM, a smile spread across Chu Guang's face.

The signal's coverage expanded instantaneously to beyond 10 kilometers, now encompassing the entire northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

Now his players no longer had to worry about poor VM signals.

As long as they weren't buried under debris or wandered too far, he could monitor their situations at any time and issue them tasks.

How wonderful.

After completing the call with Li De, Chu Guang next used the office's phone to contact Old Luka.

On the other end, Old Luka respectfully reported today's situation.

"Sir, as you instructed, I used the 600 CR meal allowance to buy 100 kilograms of potatoes, 100 kilograms of corn, and some seasonings like salt, soy sauce, and pepper. However, Li De just told me that if we use their vehicles to transport our goods, they will charge us a transport fee of 1 CR for every 100 kilograms…"

What a mess.

There seemed to be a bit of sulking.

Chu Guang chuckled and said, "No worries, we won't use their vehicles."

The Outpost Base now had ten covered wagons and over a hundred Strength-type players; hauling a few dozen tons of goods back would be a breeze.

With shifts changing every three days, once our people got there, others would have already hauled the goods back.

As for the batch of supplies exchanged today, it was mainly intended as food for the players.

Although they had brought some emergency food like horned tubers, green wheat, and dried meat, which was only enough for a few days and wouldn't last much longer. When other players took over their shifts, they wouldn't need to bring more dry food.

Luka: "Sir, I found that the starch... seems cheaper? It's only 1 CR per kilogram, and it looks like it's edible."

Chu Guang sighed and said, "Just eating carbs will cause constipation; that stuff isn't meant to be meals."

Old Luka didn't quite understand, in his view, being full was a blessing, regardless of what was eaten. But since his master had spoken, he naturally wouldn't object.

"Yes... Oh right, sir, I noticed those people coming from the east seem very interested in our food, they even offered to pay for it."

"Oh?" Chu Guang inquired with interest, "They came to buy food from you?"

Luka nodded.

"Yes. I wasn't sure how much to charge them, but wanting to avoid trouble, I just sold them a portion; horned tuber mash and fish soup for 1 CR each."

Chu Guang stroked his chin and said.

"Estimate the cost for one serving, just the materials, not including the labor."

Luka: "Actually, it's not expensive. A serving of mashed potatoes with corned beef costs about two or three copper coins, and the fish soup is even cheaper at just two copper coins. However, we're almost out of fish, and I reckon we'll cook something different tomorrow."

"If those people come back tomorrow, pitch them the 2CR and 4CR meal sets. A 2CR serving includes 200 grams of mashed potatoes, and the 4CR also comes with a serving of meat dish... You know what, I won't settle on the menu. Let the culinary players work out what to eat each day. I'll assign them tasks later, just price it according to the two standards I mentioned."

Luka replied respectfully.

"As you command, my lord."

...

Official website:

[Little Fish friendly reminder: The Manager has repaired the shelter's antenna. The signal of Outpost Base now extends to ten kilometers.]

[Today's Recommended Recipes: Savory Mashed Potatoes, Pine Nut Fish Stew.]

Whenever everyone logs off, the forum becomes incredibly lively.

Fang Chang: "I'm back! First off, the conclusion, the new area unlocked by the expansion pack is almost identical to what was shown in the promotional CG!"

Spare people under the knife: "Yes, I can testify! Other games are about finding similarities between real game graphics and promotional graphics, but here, it's about finding the differences... and I damn well can't find any! Can you understand what it feels like to step into the game's CG?"

Mole on the Run: "Damn! I don't get it!!! I want to go to the new map and earn my keep too. T.T"

Old White: "Honestly, high-tech bricklaying is kind of fun, slightly better than the experience near Outpost Base. (grins)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Dude, tell us more! What's the process like over there?"

Fang Chang: "Let me explain. First, we followed the people from the Pioneer to the action camp they built for us and moved into a two-story temporary housing. Scrambled Eggs made us a long-missed lunch, nothing much to talk about. The highlight was the afternoon! We followed two power armors to a deserted town to the north!"

Fang Chang: "It's kind of like a suburban area, with a lower building density than around Linghu Wetland Park, mainly consisting of detached houses with a few multi-story buildings. We ventured about 800 meters deep into the city area, reaching an abandoned community hospital—brand new territory! We had never scavenged so far before!"

Fang Chang: "There was a thick layer of dust on the hospital floors. I did a quick exploration on the first floor and found that not only had it been scavenged, but it had been scavenged multiple times. Not sure if there are other survivors nearby. Our 'site' was in the basement parking garage, filled with well-preserved car wreckage and bodies of Eaters!"

Fang Chang: "I suspect there was a battle here before! Sadly, by the time we arrived, the battle had ended. The two power armors, along with two mechanical dogs, patrolled the parking garage, and our task was to use the supplied cutting machines to dismantle valuable parts of the old vehicles!"

Fang Chang: "The whole process was quite stress-relieving. Using the construction equipment was much more straightforward than using axes and saws to dismantle cars! We crushed the car doors and hoods using a manual hydraulic press, then dragged them onto a heavy truck parked at the city entrance. There, NPC engineers using more professional equipment conducted a second hydraulic press, then loaded the pressed metal blocks onto the truck."

Fang Chang: "Right, the NPCs there would weigh our scrap, and the collection amount would be recorded in the VM taskbar—it turned out that 100 kilograms could exchange for about 1 silver coin."

Gnome King Riches: "Wait, isn't that a ripoff? Isn't the same rate applied to scrap recycling tasks at Outpost Base? I recall it's 100 kilograms of scrap steel for 1 silver coin."

Old White: "It's different. For the trash recycling task at Outpost Base, you have to pick up trash from outside the Wetland Park. Just leaving the park is at least 1 kilometer, and if you go to those residential area's underground parking, it's even more hassle—not to mention the distance, there are often Eaters ambushing."

Fang Chang: "Exactly, and we don't have those kinds of cutters at the base. Removing car doors and hoods takes quite some time there. Plus, this task has some bonus activity points, about 1 point for every 100 kilograms."

Night Ten: "Epic enhancement for strength-type players! Speaking of which, I discovered something fun. Mosquito Brother and I were squatting in the camp eating boxed meals when an NPC came over and offered to trade his instant noodles for our lunch. (amused)"

Drum Washing Machine: "What?! That smart?"

Neighbor Old Wang: "What did the NPC's noodles taste like? Were they good?"

Night Ten: "Delicious my ass, it was just a hodgepodge of boiling water, some vegetables mixed with a bit of noodles. I think it was a bad deal. But it was novel, alright. Their stuff isn't filling, anyway; I was hungry again by four in the afternoon. (amused)"

WC Mosquito: "I must complain about this. I feel sorry for the NPCs on the Pioneer, living in such distress, unable to eat a decent hot meal."

Elena: "Maybe you two just eat too much, you absolute foodies. (amused)"

Scrambled Eggs: "Now that Night Ten mentioned it, I remembered, didn't some NPCs from the Pioneer come over to our place for dinner tonight? I saw Old Luka taking their money, one piece of paper from each, don't know how much it was."

Debt Giant Eye: "!? So chefs are the answer to the version?"

Scrambled Eggs: "What the hell, that paper isn't for me to keep. (eye roll)"

Makabazi: "But seriously, what's that paper for? Can it buy anything? I haven't seen any NPC stores accepting that."

Night Ten: "Don't know, seems like only Crow Boss has one so far. Did she figure it out, or should we ask her some other time? (amused)"

Elena: "Crow Boss: Are you polite? (amused)"

...

North Gate of the Outpost Base.

Watching the deserted market, Crow sighed deeply.

This was her third sigh within an hour.

Normally, by this time, her stall would have been bustling with crowds. Today, everyone had gone to explore the new map, and there were more sellers than buyers in the market.

Just moments ago, two young players were idly chatting, gradually shifting the topic to "the market is so empty today," "let's go to the forum instead!" "Let's go!"

And with that...

The two of them actually left.

Crow suddenly felt that those annoying ghosts who clamored to buy Wind-Touched Mushrooms, asked to watch her perform stewing herself in an iron pot, or begged her to hit them with mushrooms weren't so annoying after all.

"Today is so quiet..."

Should she close up shop?

If she were on a quest, it wouldn't matter, but having a stall with few people around was quite boring.

Might as well go on the official website to see the sand sculptures boasting.

At this time, it was also dawning in real life, many had logged off, and the official website was probably buzzing with activity.

Those big shots opening up the new map must have also devised their strategies, she expected to see some interesting things.

Just as Crow was thinking this, a pair of clear, large eyes appeared in front of her stall, curiously gazing at the big pot and blinking.

The pot wafted with the scent of mushrooms, deer meat, and some herbs, a very tempting aroma, making Autumn Leaves swallow her saliva ungloriously, her eyes filled with desire.

Delighted to see her first small customer of the day, Crow quickly called out.

"Do you want a bowl?"

Autumn Leaves's face turned red, and she shyly nodded, then shook her head, stuttering in halting pronunciation.

"No, used."

Huh?

Crow's expression became even more surprised, like she had discovered a New Continent.

This NPC could actually speak!

Seizing the opportunity, she quickly continued.

"Mushroom soup is 50% off today, wanna buy a bowl?"

Autumn Leaves blinked; she didn't understand this sentence.

She knew only a few words, all picked up while tending a stall with her sister.

Those Blue Jacket folks always said some hard-to-understand things, but she could guess the meanings of some frequently used words by combining them with body language.

This mode of communication was somewhat like the nomads they encountered during their travels.

Some people from far, far away, even though speaking seemingly the same language, sounded quite different.

At such times, one had to rely on intuition.

Crow picked up a wooden bowl, served the little girl a hot steaming mushroom soup, and said softly with a sweet smile.

"Never mind, since there are no customers today and you are so cute, this bowl is on me."

"Drink it while it's hot."

Looking at the bowl suddenly handed to her, the little girl was bewildered, her expression anxious as if she had done something naughty.

In her fluster, she blurted out a few more words.

"I, I don't have money…"

Crow smiled gently, and wiggling her index finger lightly, said in a mixture of broken game language and Mandarin.

"It's free, it's on me."

This time, the little girl seemed to understand that the mushroom soup was free, but her face still carried a bashful expression.

Watching the steaming soup in her hands, she finally couldn't resist the temptation of the delicacy and lifted the bowl, blowing on it and drinking it all in big gulps.

Watching her guest drinking the soup heartily, Crow's face revealed a motherly smile.

Indeed.

Compared with silver coins or anything like that.

This was the most satisfying pursuit.

"Drink slowly, do you want another bowl? I'll add some more meat for you."

After finishing the soup and putting down the bowl, Autumn Leaves looked embarrassed. After hesitating for a while, the young girl rummaged in her pocket and quietly placed a string of necklaces on the table.

Hanging from it were several beautiful stones.

"This is a talisman I found on my travels... it's for you."

Leaving these incomprehensible words and the handmade necklace, the little girl didn't wait for Crow to continue serving soup, and turned around to run away with a patter.

Crow paused slightly, placing down her soup spoon and picking up the necklace that was on the table.

Hmm...

Is it a quest prop?

It seems not to have added any attributes, just plain quartz no matter how you look at it.

Nevertheless, Crow was delighted and happily pocketed the necklace.

Just then, the market near the north gate welcomed a strange new visitor.

The guest had a sneaky expression on his face and looked around as soon as he entered the market, seeming to search for something.

When he spotted the mushroom soup stall, his eyes lit up. He approached, pointed at the pot, then pulled out a paper currency from his wallet and slapped it on the table.

"I'd like to buy a bowl, how much is it?"

Why are all the visitors today NPCs?

On closer inspection, could he be the supply officer from the office?

Looking at the 100CR note on the table and listening to the incomprehensible accent, Crow couldn't help but smile bitterly.

What the heck?

Is he here to buy the whole pot again?

As Crow was bewildered, a towering figure suddenly appeared next to her stall and came to her rescue.

"Ha-ha, my friend, I've been looking for you for a long time, so here you are! I just used your phone. You see, you can't spend this type of paper here, we only use a special coin. Let me treat you to this soup."

He gently took the paper currency from the table and swiped with his index finger on the VM.

Hearing her own VM ding, Crow hurriedly lifted her arm to look, and then she seemed as if she could stuff a goose egg in her mouth.

100 Silver???

Oh my!

That's way too much!

Watching Chu Guang tuck away the currency, Luo Hua was also stunned.

Wait a second...

Didn't he say he was treating me?

Give me back my money.

"You haven't had lunch either, right? Come with me, I've prepared some good liquor and food," Chu Guang said as he picked up the entire pot of mushroom soup.

It smelled quite appetizing.

It should make it easier to get a couple more bottles in him.

"Liquor? You have liquor here?" Luo Hua asked, a look of delight crossing his face, instantly forgetting about the money.

Chu Guang looked at him curiously.

"Don't you have any?"

Luo Hua's expression turned a bit awkward as he chuckled and said,

"We do have alcohol, but it's not like we can just drink alcohol, and besides, the captain says drinking causes issues..."

Chu Guang looked thoughtful.

"So by inviting you to drink, I'm violating your regulations..."

Luo Hua quickly glanced around, saw that no problematic people were around, and waved his hands.

"No worries, no worries, I'd be happy to join you for a couple of drinks. It's part of my duties!"

Seeing the eager expression on his face, Chu Guang understood and grinned, patting his not-so-strong shoulder.

"My friend, how can this be merely for duties? It's after hours, let's say... let's drink to friendship!"

Luo Hua's brows lifted in joy as he nodded vigorously.

"Yes, yes! Let's drink to friendship!"

Watching the two men walking away, the baffled Crow finally snapped out of her shock over the 100 silver coins and sprang up from her chair.

"Wait, wait a second!"

"Manager, sir, I still have a duck here!!!"

Chapter 144 Who Exactly is Our Enemy?

Official Forum.

Just logged off, Crow rushed in.

"Big news!!! That piece of paper with '100CR' written on it can actually be exchanged for money! Guess how much I got? (*≧▽≦)"

Night Ten, "Huh? Speak of the devil, and he shall appear? (funny)"

Elena, "(funny)"

Crow, "Hey! Stop interrupting, do you guys want to know or not! (;｀O´)o"

Si Si, "I guess 10 Silver Coins."

Fang Chang, "Just tell us."

Don't Beat Around the Bush, "Exactly! Stop keeping us in suspense!"

Tail, "GKD! (｀∀´)Ψ"

Crow, "Hehe, listen up, I was selling mushroom soup, when suddenly a sneaky NPC ran over, pulled out a piece of paper, and tried to snatch my pot! And then, just when I didn't know what to do, the Manager suddenly appeared! Speaking of which, the Manager's new armor looks so cool, I wonder if I can buy that skin. (✧◡✧)"

Canyon Escape Mole, "Damn! Just get to the point!"

Teng Teng, "???(╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻"

Crow, "100! 100 Silver Coins! The Manager took the paper, then gave me 100 Silver Coins! I was about to say, don't rush me. QAQ"

The entire thread went quiet for a moment.

Then, dozens of replies burst out instantly!

Old White, "?!?"

Wild Wind, "..."

Night Ten, "Damn!"

Fang Chang, "100???"

Crow, "Don't flood the chat, actually, it's 200... because I also went yesterday with that '100CR' ticket and exchanged it with the Manager. The Manager even praised me, said I was a good kid, hehe. (=´ω｀=)"

Elena, "￥@#!"

Two pots of mushroom soup exchanged for 200 Silver Coins!

This luck can't even be described as Exalted!

The players on the forum were green with envy, even the early access passes for the expansion pack lost their allure...

...

Meanwhile, at the Outpost Base's reception room.

"Burp~ This wine is not bad, the fruity aroma of grapes mixed with the freshness of oak, even in a company... it must be a rare delicacy."

"You know about this, too?"

"Of course, my father has a wine cellar, filled with his collection, he goes there every day just to spend some time, doesn't drink, just enjoys the atmosphere, I suspect if this continues, all that wine will turn into vinegar... Ah, I really want to go home."

Several empty wine bottles were laid out on the table, Luo Hua, drunkenly slurring, leaning on the chair and burping incessantly.

Chu Guang responded absentmindedly, taking the chance to glance at the VM, which listed the information Xiao Qi had organized for him.

[155. This person comes from a wealthy family, holds a mid-level position in the First Pioneer Corps, it is assumed that the crew members of the 'Pioneer' in the company are mid-to-senior employees, with no low status.]

This intelligence was all exchanged for a table of barbecue, a pot of soup, and precisely six bottles of wine.

Normally, Chu Guang wouldn't possibly indulge so extravagantly.

However, these efforts all came with rewards.

From the mouth of the office manager, Chu Guang managed to indirectly inquire about quite a few interesting things.

Firstly, the company was located in the easternmost part of the Central Continent in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, at the mouth of a major river and two tributaries, which was the political, economic, and cultural center before the Prosperity Epoch, encompassing four strategic areas, three urban agglomerations, two industrial centers, and an area of "historic," ancient cities.

As for the company's headquarters, it was situated at an industrial zone remnant between Cloud-On-City and Cloud-Below-City, above No.0 Shelter, in a place known as "Ideal City."

There, towering walls like dams stood with towers reaching the clouds, aircrafts navigated between the streets yet couldn't fly too far, and people crowded into an "urban" area of less than five hundred square kilometers. Most people lived underground without windows, and only a few could see the clouds outside their floor-to-ceiling windows.

Listening, Chu Guang always felt that this "Ideal City" had some semblance of the "City That Never Sleeps," unsure of how much truth there was in this man's words.

In addition, contrary to the intelligence reported by Xia Yan, the internal structure of the company was not riddled with factional strife and severe infighting but was not the type of organization the mercenaries from Giant Stone City understood it to be.

For instance, the company did not have a ruler in the strict sense, but a corporate board with a strict organizational structure and clear division of powers, where most members were chairmen of the subsidiaries. Each subsidiary had even smaller sub-companies layered down.

These subsidiaries varied from producing steel to cement, manufacturing guns and cannons to drones, and trading clones or biomimetic companions. Silver Wing Group was just one of the "marketably" larger ones, but market values change daily, making it hard to say who was the biggest.

Ten years ago, the company did dispatch an Expeditionary Army inland, but the target was not Qingquan City in the southern River Valley Province but the Grand Canyon in the north.

People always liked to credit successes to themselves; the same event, once passed through two people's lips, could evolve into three different versions.

And the versions that prevailed, most often were not the ultimate truth but merely because those narratives were tantalizing, and people preferred to believe them to be true.

However, according to Luo Hua, it was true that the Expeditionary Army had indeed failed, for there had been a time when the victories from the front were frequently mentioned through various channels.

Then, suddenly one day, no one mentioned it anymore.

Besides those who bought "war bonds" finding themselves on rooftops plummeting, many never returned, and everything seemed as if nothing had happened.

In a sense, The "Pioneer" was also a similar existence. To build this magnificent fortress on land, Silver Wing Group had also issued a significant amount of "bonds," likely promising some perks to the wealthy buyers.

The latter part, however, was Chu Guang's conjecture.

Perhaps he just wasn't high-minded enough, but Chu Guang felt that if he lived in such an environment and happened to have a lot of money on hand, he definitely wouldn't throw it away.

Furthermore, from Luo Hua's words, Chu Guang also learned that their current objective was to head west to find a place called No.0 Shelter.

Legend had it, that it was the strategic planning location of a grand scheme, where the founders of the Prosperity Epoch, the pathfinders of the great voyages, and immortals who garnered countless glories, once rested.

Some regarded it as the last hope.

"...Since you have such advanced technology, why pin your hopes on a mythical existence? You actually don't know where it is, right?" Chu Guang poured Luo Hua a glass of wine and asked, "And from what you describe, since you can build a fortress on the ruins, why haven't you considered... well, starting over?"

Luo Hua sighed, waving his hand amidst the smell of alcohol.

"I've heard that argument too many times...my friend, how far have you been? The furthest you probably have been is just from the north side of Qingquan City, maybe a bit closer to the fifth ring road. It's not as simple as just building a few houses."

Chu Guang smiled and said,

"After all, I've only come out from underground a few months ago... I'm also curious about what the world has actually become."

"It's a mess," Luo Hua shook his head. "What's the most terrifying Variant you've seen? Eaters? Crawlers? We generally refer to them as slime mold parasites, but do you know how they originated? Have you seen their Lair?"

Luo Hua continued.

"I have seen them, even a Lair as big as an entire skyscraper, with runaway slime mold fused with reinforced concrete, covering half the city district. The survivors there resisted, but failed, and then were swallowed up in swathes... We were powerless, only able to take dozens of the few survivors left and place them by a lake fifty kilometers away."

Chu Guang's expression shifted slightly.

He had heard that there seemed to be a Lair in the center of Qingquan City and that every once in a while, Variants like Eaters would spread from the city center outwards.

The survivors of Giant Stone City called it "Tide."

All this was told to him by Xia Yan.

"So you just... leave that Lair alone?"

"We don't need to worry about that thing," Luo Hua waved his hand. "You underestimate the power of nature. Anything on this planet, once it expands beyond a certain limit, will quickly decline. It's the same with those slime molds. In rare cases, they might mutate, run amok, no longer fear sunlight, and voraciously consume nearby living beings, using their flesh and blood to rapidly reproduce. That sounds terrifying, but once they expand to a certain scale, they will quickly recede to where they came from... We call this the self-limiting nature of the expansion of mutant slime mold colonies."

Hearing this, Chu Guang's expression slightly relaxed.

Right.

If they could have expanded endlessly, this planet would have been occupied by them long ago.

Moreover, from the perspective of energy balance, probably no ecosystem could accommodate such terrifying creatures.

After a pause, Luo Hua continued to babble as he burped from the alcohol.

"These mutant slime molds are just one of the troubles. As you know, in this world, not far away, there are those damned Eaters, and even the mutant cockroaches, which have nothing to do with the slime molds, are annoying enough. And then there are the Mutants. Have you ever seen a 'Super Mutant' as tall as a three-story building? I suspect that thing is just a lump of human tumors. We used two tactical nuclear bombs to completely eradicate it… so you guys are really lucky. Those dozens of Mutants, we took care of them with just five power armors."

Chu Guang's Adam's apple moved.

He had meant to ask where all these damned creatures were coming from, but the question that was already on his lips changed into the one he had been pondering all along.

"Who exactly is our enemy?"

Hearing this question, Luo Hua smiled.

"Our? Enemy? You mean... that war of the apocalypse? Haha, who knows what happened two centuries ago? I've met many who were cryogenically frozen from the 22nd century; some really came to find refuge, and others simply thought it would be fun to go to the future. Haha, anyway, they themselves couldn't clarify what happened, thinking they were on the set of some variety show, ranting about suing us."

As he spoke, Luo Hua's gaze became a bit hazy, his hand holding the wine glass trembling.

Chu Guang felt he was drunk, so he added another cup for him… after all, it was part of his "official duties," and there wasn't much left in the bottle anyway.

"Those poor guys… hic, all we can do is hand them over to the nearby survivors. Maybe their knowledge could be useful, but I doubt it."

Without refusing the drink Chu Guang poured for him, Luo Hua tilted his head and took another gulp, letting out a long burp that rendered his tongue unable to straighten.

"They say the answer is in No.0 Shelter, it's not just us looking for it, the Academy, the Army… many people are searching for it, but there hasn't been any result for years. Maybe it's not in the west, or like you said, maybe it doesn't exist at all. But who knows? Someone has to try."

As he spoke, Luo Hua face-planted on the table.

Seeing him about to dip his head into the nearby fire basin, Chu Guang quickly reached out to help him, moving his head to the other side.

Luo Hua was still blabbering.

"I want to write a memoir. If we succeed, it will become the best-seller in Ideal City."

"That might be difficult. Your names are too hard to pronounce, not conducive to word-of-mouth. If you change 'First Pioneer Corps' to 'Knights Templar', and rename Pioneer to Zheng He, and give your captain a more imposing name… such as Ruby Janka, venturing to the western heavens, I bet this book would become the best-selling adult fairy tale on the East Coast."

Originally, Chu Guang was just talking nonsense, but Luo Hua brightened up after hearing this.

"Great idea—"

He had only bitten off half of the word "idea" when suddenly, with a thud, he was out cold. His wine glass also fell with a clang next to the fire basin.

Chu Guang no longer bothered with the drunkard but stared at the VM screen.

Observing the last line of the gathered intelligence, he lightly raised his eyebrows.

"The Army and the Academy…"

This world seemed broader than he had imagined.

Good.

He could draw a new big pie.

...

The next morning.

At six o'clock sharp, the diligent little players logged on on time, running to the communal washbasin in the central latrines of the camp.

After a quick wash, they gathered in groups of threes and fives, carrying their boxed meals as they continued running toward the open space in the center of the camp.

However, as soon as they reached the open space, they were stunned.

Twenty or so NPCs clad in gray coats stood in line before a large pot, already holding bowls in their hands.

Seeing the Blue Jackets looking over, the crew of the Pioneer somewhat sheepishly grinned and waved amicably, pointing to the bowls in their hands.

Their expressions seemed to say,

"Big bro, don't panic, we're just here to snag a meal and then we'll leave."

The players holding the bowls were all stunned.

"Damn! These NPCs are becoming ever more brazen about scrounging meals!"

"The pot isn't even heated up yet, what's the rush?!"

"Eh? Where's Fry-Up Brother? I just saw him by the faucet, but now he's gone?"

Not far away, Fry-Up Brother was walking with Old Luka, carrying a large basket of noodles. Arriving beside the iron pot, he set down the basket heavily on the table.

The table also held other ingredients and seasonings.

Wiping his forehead with his arm, Fry-Up Brother donned sleeves and an apron, then rapped a spoon against the side of the pot.

"Plant-based meat, synthetic starch noodles, and Crow Boss's chicken fat mushrooms… Let's try some high-tech ingredients today. Just to let you know, I haven't tried these either, so I'll do my best. If it doesn't taste good, we'll figure it out next time."

Fry-Up Brother had initially planned to cook porridge just to get by, considering there wasn't as much time in the morning as there was in the evening, and they would have to go to the New Map to work soon.

But just then, his VM suddenly received a mission—to cook a pot of food that could bring happiness to the players in the camp.

What constitutes a food that could bring happiness?

Fry-Up Brother looked utterly confused, but the three question marks under the mission rewards section, and the expansion pack exclusive tag pinned at the top, piqued his competitive spirit.

Hearing that Fry-Up Brother was showing off his skills, the queueing players burst into a raucous cheer.

"Big bro is awesome!"

"Add an extra egg for me!"

"Pass it on! Fry-Up Brother is serving us below!"

"Ew, I can't pass that on, pass it yourself!"

Although the crew members of the Pioneer didn't understand, seeing the excitement among the Blue Jackets, they too looked forward to it with anticipation.

Fry-Up Brother ignored them and immersed himself wholly in the task at hand.

He put some fat from the wild boar at the bottom of the pot to burst out the flavor of the oil, then skillfully poured in the plant-based meat, which had been marinated beforehand in "secret sauce marinade."

Shzzzz—!

The aroma of the meat wafted through the air.

Quickly stir-frying, adding soy sauce for color, and sprinkling some salt and pepper to enhance the aroma, once the mince started bubbling, Fry-Up Brother adeptly lifted a pot of boiling water, pouring it into the iron pot, shaking it a few times, then covered it with a lid.

The bubbling noise and aroma were both sealed in.

With the sauce ready, the simmering chicken fat mushroom soup also began to release its fragrance.

The taste buds were relentlessly enticed as the queueing NPCs constantly swallowed saliva, switching their bowls from the left hand to the right, and back again, nearly wearing out the shine.

Finally, the pot boiled.

Fry-Up Brother scooped up the noodles with a strainer, blanched them briefly, and served them into the bowls passed to him, evenly ladling the mushroom soup and sauce.

"4 CR each! There's enough for everyone, no need to rush."

Old Luka collected the money and handed the bowl filled with noodles to the truck driver who thanked him profusely, then continued to call out warmly to the lined-up gray coats.

"Next!"

Chapter 145: Martyr and Unexpected Casualties

"I swear... this is the most delicious noodles I've had since I left my hometown!"

"So tasty! Are these really made with our noodles??"

"Flavor I've never found in seasoning packets! Unbelievable, how did they do this?"

"What on earth did they put in the soup? Damn it, why is it so good... I want another bowl!"

"Hot, hot, hot, hiss... it's burning me!"

"What are you doing?"

"Getting in line!"

"You're not driving anymore??"

"No rush, I'm going for another bowl, hehe!"

A group of NPCs in grey coats squatting beside the camp, slurping noodles, looked as funny as could be, leaving the players nearby dumbfounded.

"Are they really that good?"

"Seems... not bad?"

"After all, it's the craftsmanship of the Fried Egg Master, a stable performance as usual!"

"Smells so good~~ I miss Crow Boss's grilled mushrooms."

Watching the NPCs enjoy their noodles so much made the noodles in the players' hands smell even better.

Old Luka counted his money, a total of 80 CR, and his wrinkled face bloomed with joy.

He sold 20 meals, not only solving the players' food issue but also making a small profit. Two more in line were coming, and early in the morning, this might earn him 100 CR.

If the Boss knew, he would definitely be very happy!

He couldn't wait to tell his master the good news!

At that time, Lu Yang in his powered armor and Director Li from the logistics department were coming down from the elevator of the Pioneer.

Seeing the crew members squatting at the entrance of the Blue Jacket camp slurping noodles, both were stunned.

Lu Yang approached and asked.

"What are you eating?"

The squatting marine soldiers immediately stood up, holding their bowls in their right hands, and reported at attention.

"Captain, we're eating noodles!"

"What kind of noodles?"

"I don't know, but they're really delicious! I suggest you try them too, only 4 CR, very cheap, and a good amount."

4 CR a bowl?

Lu Yang was confused, didn't quite understand, but Li De standing beside him seemed to get it, his eyebrows twitching severely.

But he didn't say anything.

A little side business was harmless enough; he wasn't so miserly as to restrict his staff on where to spend their money.

As long as it didn't interfere with the real work.

However, it seems these guys were truly dogs... They usually didn't like to do field service, but today they were all lining up next to the elevator.

Li De glared fiercely at a few familiar faces from the logistics department squatting on the ground and left without a word.

...

Around 9 am, a blizzard suddenly hit the Outpost Base.

The north wind howled, almost ripping the roof off the granary.

Fortunately, Chu Guang borrowed a can of foam spray from Luo Hua to reinforce the roof of the granary, saving the teetering granary in time.

Looking at Chu Guang, who entered the barracks looking like a snowman, Luo Hua said with a helpless and sympathetic expression.

"Honestly... the conditions here are too crude, didn't the refuge have any production tools or something?"

Chu Guang patted the snow hanging on him and casually placed the can of foam spray at the entrance of the barracks, saying indifferently.

"I guess the refuge ran out of budget halfway through construction... Are you feeling better?"

"Much better... Did I say something weird last night?" Luo Hua said nervously.

He was well aware of his own mouth; even normally, he couldn't keep it shut, let alone when drinking.

Of course, Chu Guang wouldn't tell him about the 200+ key points he marked on VM, so he simply made up a story on the spot.

"No, you just told me the story of you and your bionic partner back home—"

"Okay, okay, please don't say more." Luo Hua hurriedly stopped Chu Guang from continuing, glancing at Ais nearby.

Seeing she hadn't paid any attention to this side, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The Pioneer wasn't very big, and he didn't want his private life to become the butt of his colleagues' jokes.

Huh?

Chu Guang looked at him with surprise.

Really had one?

Chu Guang, who had not been too concerned before, suddenly became a bit curious.

At this moment, Ais looked up.

"The captain is coming over. I told him about your drunkenness when I contacted him just now. You'd better think about how to explain it to him."

"What do you mean 'drunkenness'? That's called socializing!" Luo Hua tried to be smart, bringing up the words Chu Guang taught him.

Ais was taken aback for a moment, regained her composure, and said with an expressionless face.

"You can explain it to the captain."

Hearing this, Luo Hua suddenly deflated like a punctured ball and shut his mouth.

Chu Guang patted his shoulder consolingly, offering him a friendly smile.

"Don't worry, my friend, I will explain it for you!"

Luo Hua looked over, his face full of gratitude.

"Thank you, you really are a good person!"

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"No need to be polite, after all, you have helped me a lot... cough, what I mean is, I'll be relying on you for future contact with your director."

It was truly good to work with such a simple-minded lad.

Luo Hua, completely unaware, smiled and said, "I wouldn't say it's a bother, it's all part of the job! If you ever have any trouble in the future, as long as I can help, please feel free to ask me!"

Chu Guang: "Definitely!"

Ais: "..."

...

The blizzard had been raging for a little over an hour and had only started to subside just before half-past ten. At this time, a group of people arrived at the north gate of Wetland Park.

Captain Lu Yang, clad in his powered armor, was leading 4 marine soldiers to the north entrance of Outpost Base, followed by a four-legged mechanical dog carrying a large box.

Different from their previous arrangement.

Besides the power armor Captain Lu himself was wearing, among the four marines he brought, only two were clad in power armor and were equipped with powerful Gauss Rifles.

As for the other two, they were wearing light mechanical exoskeletons. One was holding a compact and handy assault rifle, and the other was carrying a light machine gun.

Apart from the supplies on the mechanical dog, they also carried large, heavy backpacks on their backs, preparing for a long trek.

Chu Guang, through the VM, had arranged a mission and brought four players armed with iron pipe rifles to meet their allies.

Seeing Chu Guang approaching, Lu Yang said with a smile,

"... we encountered two Mutant Brown Bears on our way here, which delayed us a bit."

"You guys are really lucky to run into two at the same time."

What about the bears?

Don't these people collect their hunt?

Chu Guang glanced at them and saw no sign of bears.

Thinking this, he tapped a few times on the VM, sending a message to Xiao Qi to help draft a mission: to send two Perception-type players to follow these people's tracks northward and see if they could locate those two Mutant Brown Bears.

The weight of a Mutant Brown Bear could exceed 1000 kilograms, which in Chu Guang's eyes, was all meat.

The blizzard had just passed.

With some luck, they should be able to find them.

"Maybe it was a male and a female," Captain Lu said with a hearty laugh, looking at a fully-armed Chu Guang before asking, "It looks like you are all prepared?"

Chu Guang replied with a faint smile.

"We are ready anytime."

Captain Lu: "So are we! Then I'll leave you to lead the way!"

Chu Guang nodded and gestured to the four eager young players behind him.

"Let's go!"

...

The players had never been to the edge of the Five Ring Line, but Chu Guang had been there a few times, though it had been in autumn; winter was a completely different situation.

But no matter, Bet Street was full of Scavengers living off the resources around the Five Ring Line.

Chu Guang took his group to Bet Street and found Yu Xiong, the head of the security, intending to borrow a savvy lad to help out.

After listening to Chu Guang's request, Yu Xiong immediately said,

"A big blizzard just came through. Yu Hu is actually at home, why don't I call him over to help you? He's familiar with the area around the Five Ring Line."

"No need, one guide will be enough, let him stay home in this dreadful weather. There's not much good work around the Five Ring Line."

Yu Xiong chuckled and said.

"Alright, just let me know if you need anything, and I'll take care of it!"

After parting with Yu Xiong, Chu Guang took the security team lad and walked outside. On their way out of town, he casually asked,

"What's your name?"

The lad, who had obviously seen Chu Guang entering the Castle, responded with a look of reverence,

"Zhao Yang, sir."

That's an interesting name.

"Is Zhao Mole a relative of yours?"

Zhao Yang paused, then hurriedly replied, "He's my younger brother!"

Chu Guang nodded and moved on to business.

"In a bit, your job will be to serve as our guide. Do well, and I will give you 5 silver coins once the task is completed."

The wages for NPCs were much lower than for players. A guard in Bet Street only made 60 silver coins a month, which breaks down to 2 silver coins per day.

Hearing that he could earn 5 silver coins just by going to the edge of the Five Ring Line, Zhao Yang immediately got excited and firmly assured,

"Rest assured, sir, I will do the work you assign me with all my heart!"

Chu Guang smiled.

"Then I look forward to your performance."

After joining up with Captain Lu Yang and his group and observing the three power armors and the two shiny exoskeletons, Zhao Yang was so shocked he could hardly speak.

He certainly didn't know what the "Pioneer" was, nor any enterprise, but the neighbors of Wetland Park had powered armor?!

Amidst his shock, he couldn't help but marvel.

It seems the old town chief didn't lose in vain.

With such equipment, not to mention the Blood Hand Clan, probably no one in the North suburbs of Qingquan City could be a match.

He'd have to share this big news with everyone later!

Thanks to the guide's help, the group smoothly entered the fifth ring road without wasting too much time crossing the ruins.

Those towering skyscrapers looked like tombstones, countless floors high as far as the eye could see. The streets were piled with fallen maglev cars and building rubble, the cracked highways revealing buried pipelines and the base of the maglev tracks below, and the east-west streets had even turned into forests, covered with vegetation and moss in the shadows... But now, all of this was shrouded in snow.

The four young players looked at everything before them, showing astonished expressions on their faces.

Makabazi: "Damn... have you guys played 'The Last of Us'?"

Mole, the escapologist: "To be honest, this is much more shocking."

Midnight Chicken Killing: "The Last of Us 2077 edition?"

Gnome King Riches: "Not bad, it's got the vibe."

The exploration team from the "Pioneer" had a clear goal. With the help of Zhao Yang, they quickly navigated through a rugged alley to the area marked on the map.

The first floor of the office building was a bank, and the sign hanging at the entrance could barely be made out. Chu Guang was suddenly curious if the vault still contained gold, so he secretly sent a side mission to the four young players via DM.

[Side Mission: Search for the Bank's Vault]

[Reward: 10 Silver Coins]

"We're here."

Comparing it with the AR image in his field of vision, Lu Yang tapped the side of his helmet with his index finger and then looked towards Chu Guang.

"Based on our intelligence estimates, the carbon dioxide trap should be somewhere between the 20th and 30th floors."

Chu Guang, "How do you plan to get up there?"

"We'll take the emergency passage to reach the 20th-floor area, then start going up floor by floor from there. With some luck, we should be able to find it."

"Is there no way to scout from the outside? I have a drone."

"It's not that simple. That thing isn't like an external air conditioning unit," joked a marine next to him, "there'll be a lot to find once we're inside."

"Yes," nodded Lu Yang, and looking at Chu Guang, he asked, "Would you like to come with us? Or it's also fine if you wait for us below."

"I'll wait for you guys then... Oh, and if it's not too much trouble, could you clear out the Variants on one of the floors for us? We'll look to see if there are any similar blueprints or structural maps of the building."

"No problem, but I wouldn't get my hopes up about that."

Captain Lu Yang smiled, then gestured to his teammates.

The large box on the mechanical dog's back opened, and two quadcopter drones bristling with guns flew out menacingly, following the three power armors and two light infantry into the fray.

Intense gunfire erupted, the orange-yellow trajectories nearly illuminating the entire space of the first-floor lobby. The Eaters lurking in the ruins hadn't even reacted before they were torn into pieces.

It was a completely one-sided slaughter!

The four young players watched enviously, and the iron pipe rifles they were holding suddenly seemed less appealing.

"That drone is too strong."

"Tat-tat-tat, and that group of Eaters just lay down."

"I really want a set."

Hearing the conversation of the four young players, Chu Guang sympathetically smiled.

Never mind you guys wanting them, I want them too.

Just endure it a bit longer.

Work hard, and maybe in a couple of versions, we'll have everything.

...

Chu Guang found that the marines from the "Pioneer" were not only incredibly strong in street combat but also in assaulting buildings.

Of course, a large part of this was due to their equipment.

An exoskeleton could stabilize the weapon without any recoil, and the powered armor probably also had an assisted aiming system, not to mention the drone's support fire. Chu Guang felt that with a set like that, he might just make it too.

However, even with such formidable firepower, it still took them most of the day to advance from the 20th to the 30th floor.

The Variants inside the fifth ring road were not limited to Eaters.

Starting from the 20th floor, they encountered attacks from Crawlers.

Furthermore, there was a type of Variant called "Martyr", which had bulges on their back filled with spores. Usually, they were as still as plants and had mediocre vision and hearing. But once they locked on to a target, they would immediately rush over and explode.

If your Constitution was below 10 points, there was a high chance of poisoning, fainting, or even being corrupted by the mucor upon inhaling the spores. Even if your Constitution was above 10, it was still inadvisable to inhale too much, because everything is about the dosage.

Of course, with a gas mask, there would be no problem.

Just don't get blasted directly.

On the other side, Chu Guang's young players, at the deepest part of the first-floor lobby, indeed found a facility that looked like a vault.

But the alloy door had been opened, and inside, there was nothing but a bunch of obsolete banknotes; not a trace of gold was seen.

It was clear to see, in the early years of the Wasteland Era, precious metals like gold still held value. Until later, people realized they couldn't eat it, and it wasn't really rare, and it slowly got marginalized.

The players wandered aimlessly in the lobby, somewhat unwilling to give up since they hadn't found any good loot. Meanwhile, Chu Guang found a sturdy spot to sit and quietly waited for the battle upstairs to end.

From noon, he waited until three in the afternoon when Lu Yang finally came down with his people.

Unfortunately, they didn't find the carbon dioxide trap they were looking for in the building. The building's air purification system had a spare fusion battery, but neither the model nor the specifications matched the type of fuel rods they needed.

Moreover, the battery had little energy left—only 8%.

Lu Yang was a bit downhearted, but he wasn't discouraged.

In fact, he hadn't expected to find it on the first day; getting to know the terrain was still a gain for him.

Although Chu Guang had a guess about the outcome, he still asked.

"How's the situation?"

"Not ideal, but my gut tells me that we should be able to find it around here."

Lu Yang sighed deeply, looking at Chu Guang with an apologetic face.

"Sorry for having you accompany us for so long without any results. Oh, and we found this battery upstairs, although it's not fully charged... Take it if you need it."

Is this my lucky day?

Chu Guang eagerly accepted the battery with a smile.

"No worries, I always keep my promises."

Please make sure to look more carefully!

If he could find such good things every time, Chu Guang would prefer if they came up empty-handed more often.

Lu Yang was about to say thank you, but just then, a piercing scream came from the side of the hall.

A Martyr!

Lu Yang was shocked and promptly turned to offer support, but it was already too late.

With a thundering explosion!

There was no time to react!

The group quickly moved to help, rushing into the archives room from where the explosion sounded.

The room was a mess, all the cabinets were open, and almost not a single door was left hanging.

And in front of the last standing cabinet lay a Resident of the refuge twisted grotesquely, his body mangled, his face no longer recognizable.

The silence was as if death itself had settled in the air.

No one expected casualties at this time.

The marine soldiers, clad in exoskeletons, gripped their light machine guns, their faces beneath the helmets filled with shock.

"Martyr... damn it!"

"It's impossible, I checked this place thoroughly!"

Looking at the bloody, mangled corpse on the floor and the cabinet door blown off its hinges, Lu Yang's Adam's apple bobbed.

"It's clear now— it hid inside the cabinet... It exploded the moment the cabinet door was opened."

Another wave of dead silence ensued.

Guilt was written all over everyone's faces, especially Captain Lu Yang.

He turned to look at Chu Guang and slightly bowed his head, speaking in a heavy tone.

"I'm sorry... I promised I would ensure your safety."

Chu Guang didn't speak, immersed in a deep silence.

After a while, he sighed softly, his expression weary.

"Death is inevitable; he was prepared for it as soon as he left the refuge, ready to dedicate his life and loyalty to rebuilding our civilization. But, I didn't expect... why did it have to be him?"

Lu Yang: "He..."

"He was a cheerful, optimistic young man, just got married last month," Chu Guang looked away, his eyes filled with melancholy, "I promised his wife I'd bring him back."

The marine soldiers exchanged looks and silently averted their eyes.

Lu Yang: "...May I see her? I would like to apologize in person."

"With what right? I believe she wouldn't want to see you, your apology won't make her feel any better, it will only add to her grief. Besides, I was the one who made her the promise; ultimately, I have to face it... This is the Manager's fate, you should be able to understand."

"I understand. I too promised their families they would return home with victory and honor..."

Lu Yang rested his hand on Chu Guang's shoulder, fell silent for a moment, and then continued.

"While I realize this doesn't make up for our mistake, please let us at least cover his compensation."

"At least materially, I hope his family can be a bit better off."

Chu Guang remained silent.

Now was not the time to blurt out a figure, it would seem too crude and spoil the mood.

He knew well that even if he said nothing now, this man of his word, the captain would surely contact his logistics head upon return and have Li De come negotiate the compensation with him.

As long as the demands weren't too excessive, they were likely negotiable.

Like money.

Or perhaps...

More trading options.

Chu Guang understood that buying their means of production was unrealistic, but surely using their modular workshops to machine a few handy tools for him would be feasible, right?

They clearly had the capability; it was just a bit of a hassle.

Or better yet, if they could send an engineer to help set up a couple of production lines.

Not too many— just enough to handle cement and steel production would solve over 60% of the problems.

No, this would have to wait until later.

For now, he should focus on sadder thoughts.

Watching the Manager, weighed down with heavy emotions, and the silent NPCs around, the three grimy players nearby exchanged glances.

"What are they mourning?"

"He's only out of bounds (OB) for three days... it's not like it's Makabazi's first death, and the last one was much worse than this. At least this time he left a complete corpse, or what should be considered one."

"But thinking about it... being OB now means he will definitely miss the next shift change."

"I giao! Now that you mention it, I feel kind of bad for him."

Chapter 146: He's Our Good Partner, We Need to Pay More!

No one had expected such a thing to happen at the end of the mission.

All were somber, their morale flagging.

Apart from the three bewildered little players and the Bet Street guide who didn't know what to do,

Chu Guang said he wanted to be alone for a while, to calmly think about how to break this cruel fact to the families of the victims.

He wasn't very good at comforting people.

If he came off as too exaggerated, it would be embarrassing, so it might be better to say nothing.

Sometimes silence indeed is the best language.

Lu Yang placed his hand on Chu Guang's shoulder, indicating understanding.

"I understand how you feel, but it will be dark in two hours, and the situation in the city will get very complicated. After we return, I will have Li De contact you... regarding compensation for the families of the victims."

It was at least twenty kilometers from here to Pioneer. They needed to rush to get back before dark. Although the night was not a lethal danger to them, it was still better not to delay too late out of caution.

"You all go ahead, I'll handle the aftermath and then leave."

"But... are you sure it's okay for you guys to stay here?" Lu Yang said, his expression slightly hesitant, unable to help but glance at the equipment in the other three refuge residents' hands.

Iron pipe rifles.

The most common weapons in the Wasteland.

But to him, they were no different than pieces of plumbing.

"Don't worry, we are very familiar with this area and have always lived like this."

Seeing that Chu Guang said so, Lu Yang did not insist any longer. After giving him a firm look, he took his men and set off on the long journey back.

After they had gone a good distance, Chu Guang used the VM to issue a mission for the other three small players to collect the shell casings scattered on the ground, and then he too set out with Makabazi's body.

To be honest, Chu Guang wasn't really coveting those two shell casings.

Mainly, it was just too difficult to keep up the act all the way, he used to work in sales not as a funeral director, he simply lacked that kind of experience.

So, it was better to let Lu Yang and the others go first.

On the return trip to Outpost Base, when passing Bet Street, Chu Guang remembered the matter of his reward and took out 5 silver coins and handed them to Zhao Yang.

Looking at the silver coin in his hand, Zhao Yang's face beamed with joy as he nodded and thanked him profusely.

"Thank you, sir!"

At first, the folks on Bet Street were very resistant to this metal currency, but since they found out that they could buy lots of good stuff previously unattainable with it, they gradually began to accept it.

What's the difference between using chips or silver coins, after all?

In the dead of winter, there wouldn't be any trading caravans from Giant Stone City coming this way.

What they needed were food, fuel, and warm clothes, and ideally, a new set of bedding for the home to make life a little more comfortable.

That was all.

"This is the compensation you deserve. If needed, I will come to find you again."

After sending Zhao Yang on his way, Chu Guang returned to Outpost Base and placed the body in the Active Substance Extractor.

In three days, another stout fellow.

And if someone remembered his face, what would happen? Chu Guang thought this was not a problem at all. If anybody became suspicious, it was just a matter of having an extra twin brother.

Or maybe post an announcement on the official website?

Such as due to an insurmountable bug in the expansion pack, players who died in the expansion pack cannot be revived temporarily, and later the official will provide a limited edition submachine gun or event reward points as compensation?

That seemed quite reasonable.

What game doesn't have bugs?

Let alone in the beta phase, the game itself might as well be considered a free gift with bugs.

As long as the compensation rewards are reasonable, the players will be able to accept it emotionally, the worst being like Crow's previous withdrawal reaction, unable to sleep for three days straight.

Chu Guang was somewhat troubled; he had quite a few cards in his hand.

However, the current problem was, he didn't want his little players to see the rewards and all start faking their deaths for the payout. That would be too fake, treating people like fools.

Yet he also hoped that the little players could help him earn a little more condolence money. After all, working for three days could only earn a maximum of 13 CR, it wasn't too much to pay a four-figure sum for a death, was it?

Tsk.

It would be good if there were a way to make the cooling a bit more reasonable.

Chu Guang reckoned Li De would probably be calling soon, so he walked toward the office barracks.

Coincidentally, just as Chu Guang began to head in that direction, Luo Hua happened to come out from the barracks. He lit up upon seeing him and came forward to greet him actively.

"Hey, you're finally back."

"Is your section chief looking for me?"

Luo Hua looked at Chu Guang in surprise, nodded, and said,

"Yes, he asked me to give him a call if I saw you return... How did you guess?"

Chu Guang was about to smile, but remembered he couldn't smile, or at least, he shouldn't, so he swallowed it down and with a light sigh said,

"It's a sad story... let's talk about it over drinks another time."

Luo Hua looked clueless, not understanding why they had to wait until they were drinking to talk, or why the always gentle Chu Guang looked so somber.

But, since he had merely asked in passing and since it was somewhat presumptuous, he didn't pursue further.

"Alright..."

Chu Guang nodded and continued toward the office.

Through the door of the barracks.

Ais, who was maintaining the weapons, looked up at him. Without saying a word, she skillfully activated the holographic communication system on the table, sending a connection request to the Pioneer.

This bodyguard usually said very little, one might even say hardly anything at all.

Chu Guang appreciated her personality; if only Boss Xia could learn from her.

Whether it was her attitude toward work or her professional dedication.

Green beams wove in the air, forming a three-dimensional net.

After a brief wait, Li De's bust appeared in the holographic image.

After making eye contact with Chu Guang for two seconds, the logistics department head cleared his throat and began to speak since Chu Guang showed no intention of starting the conversation,

"I've heard about what happened from the captain, and I'm truly sorry for the young man's death. But of course, feeling sorry is not enough to express our apologies. If you have no objections, let's discuss the compensation next."

As expected.

Chu Guang understood inside, but his face gave nothing away.

He nodded slightly and said,

"That's fine."

Anticipating that this old fox wouldn't initiate a "quote," Li De didn't waste more time waiting and continued,

"You are not corporate employees, so we can't issue you compensation based on corporate standards or employee levels. Our proposed compensation plan is... 1000 CR, equivalent to 1000 hours of hourly wages."

Chu Guang stared at him.

"I cannot accept that. Do you really think a life is only worth 1000 CR?"

A ton of starch is too outrageous!

Makabazi was our good companion!

We need to add more money!

Li De was also staring at Chu Guang, unfazed by this bait-and-switch tactic.

"I understand, a life is worth far more than that, and money cannot measure life, but we have to consider reality... Besides, his death wasn't caused by us. I'm right, aren't I?"

Eh?

Chu Guang was slightly surprised inside; he hadn't expected the man to have wised up.

It was apparent that before taking the call, this logistics section chief must have done quite a bit of homework, at the very least understood the entire process of the operation after speaking with their team leader.

Indeed.

Strictly speaking, old Makabazi didn't die due to their mistake, but because of his own bad luck, stepping on a mine while rummaging around.

The implication in Li De's words was obvious, it could even be said that it wasn't an implication at all, but an outright statement—the deceased didn't die because of us, but he did die in an operation related to us, and we are willing to pay a sum for compensation out of morality, but don't push it too far.

Chu Guang was well aware of the situation inside, but expecting him to just give up was underestimating his professional ethics.

He nodded slightly and employed a tactical retreat.

"Yes, I can't deny that we both bear responsibility for what happened, and I have no intention of pushing all the blame onto you. Frankly, your willingness to offer compensation to the families of the victims is already a praiseworthy act of kindness. But I hope you understand that from my position, I naturally have to try to secure a bit more for our people."

Li De, "I understand, so your answer is?"

Chu Guang, "I accept the compensation you proposed. Additionally, I will personally give the widow an additional 2,000 silver coins as a pension. This sum should be enough for her to be free of material worries for some time."

Li De's brow relaxed slightly.

He had mentally prepared himself for a lengthy discussion before making the call, but unexpectedly, the conversation went incredibly smoothly.

To be honest.

He was quite surprised.

This old fox hadn't tried to take advantage of the situation to extort them, which was completely unexpected and rendered the prepared speech in his stomach useless.

What a waste.

"It seems we've reached an agreement."

"Yes, we have reached an agreement on the matter of the pension."

Having heard "Yes," Li De allowed a smile to appear on his face, but as he heard the second half of the sentence, his blood pressure shot up instantaneously.

Staring at Chu Guang's holographic image, he fumbled in his pocket for some blood pressure medication while pressing aggressively,

"What do you mean? Are you suggesting that since each resident of the refuge is an asset to the collective, in addition to his individual loss, we have to pay you as well?"

Eh?

Can it also be interpreted like that?

Chu Guang, surprised by this layer of meaning he hadn't considered, quietly admired the argument internally and made a mental note to use it when the opportunity arose.

Taking a second to collect his composure, he steadfastly faced Li De's holographic image and said with righteous indignation,

"What do you mean by that? Are you implying that all I care about is money?"

Or else what!

Li De suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"Stop beating around the bush, just say it, what do you really want?"

Chu Guang said with a heavy expression,

"I've seriously reflected on the cause of today's accident, and it wasn't because your people failed to protect us, but because we failed to protect our own."

"If we had provided him with a bulletproof vest and a helmet, he wouldn't have been killed on the spot by the explosion. If we had provided him with a submachine gun or a shotgun, today's tragedy might not have even occurred. If—"

Li De couldn't help but interrupt him,

"If we could provide you with a few sets of power armor, you wouldn't even need our help, and you could find the fuel rods for us yourself, is that what you're trying to say?"

Chu Guang actually wanted to say "Yes".

But he knew there was no point in saying such things; they were meaningless beyond eliciting an eye roll.

Some things are non-negotiable, like those power armors and those plug-and-play modular production units.

However, some things...

There's still room to negotiate.

"That would be too much trouble for you, and besides, it's better to teach a man to fish than to give him fish," said Chu Guang without a blush, continuing, "Our demands are not high; to prevent such tragedies from happening again, I humbly request that you send an engineer to support our construction. For example, help us establish a production line that manufactures steel, cement, helmets, protective gear, and weapons."

"You call that a 'not high' demand?" Li De glared at him, his eyes nearly bulging out, "What do you think we are, magicians?"

Building a production line for rifles is much more difficult than producing a single rifle.

The costs and time required to build such a line vary enormously depending on the type of process, product quality, level of automation, and expected capacity.

Moreover, establishing a single production line outside of an industrial system is hardly significant. Parts on the line are constantly wearing out, and if those replaceable standardized parts cannot be made, it might be better to buy the products directly with the money instead.

"No need to say more."

Li De interrupted Chu Guang, who seemed to want to say more, and after pinching the bridge of his nose and pausing for a moment, continued,

"You are in luck... As it happens, I have a 'Magnetic Constrained Plasma CNC Machine Tool' here. That thing is quite interesting, very precise, convenient to use, and relatively easy to maintain; it's an antique we got from the last city. But we have more advanced production tools, so we never really used that piece, and it's been gathering dust in the warehouse."

Chu Guang's eyes sparkled, "How much?"

Li De smiled and said, "I can give it to you for free, do you want it?"

Chu Guang, "...Is that thing broken?"

Li De looked at him in surprise, chuckled, and said, "Exactly, and it's paralyzed in every sense of the term. Even for us, it would be quite an effort to fix."

Hearing this, Chu Guang finally understood what the guy was up to.

But he had no choice; he braced himself to ask.

"How much?"

"100,000."

Chu Guang, "..."

MMP!

100,000?!

200 people working 10 hours a day, plus a total daily meal allowance of 600, and nearly 1000 CR commission, it would still take 27 days of continuous work to earn that amount!

What's 27 days?

Who knows if these people would even stay here for 27 days!

"...Your inflation is pretty ruthless."

"How so? This is already a very conscientious price. If you don't believe me, you can ask the commercial teams from corporations to see if they can offer a better price than ours."

Watching Chu Guang's crestfallen expression, Li De couldn't help but smile proudly, but soon coughed lightly and restrained his inappropriate expression.

"Right, work hard. I'll send you the instructions for that device later to take a look at. Of course, if you really can't afford it, there's no need to force it. Our produced submachine guns and bulletproof vests can also provide you with the ability to defend yourselves. And I bet the quality will be much better than anything you could produce on your own."

"By the way, the death compensation will be transferred over soon... You veered so far off-topic, I almost forgot about such an important matter."

With that, Li De happily ended the communication.

From his last-second expression, Chu Guang could feel the guy's triumph.

That must feel pretty good.

Chu Guang tried to put himself in his shoes.

Turns out, it wasn't just good—it was freaking amazing.

"Do you still need the phone?" Seeing him immobile, Ais, who was waiting nearby, asked.

"No more."

Upon hearing there was no need, Ais didn't dawdle, and reached out to turn off the holographic communication device.

The dark green light beam vanished from within the barracks.

Ais's gaze unintentionally swept across Chu Guang's face, and she was slightly taken aback, a hint of surprise slipping onto her expressionless face.

She clearly remembered that this person had a downtrodden look just a second ago, yet now there wasn't a trace of it to be found.

Instead...

There seemed to be a flash of excitement?

That can't be right...

Ais thought she must have seen it wrong.

After all, they just lost a teammate, and the compensation didn't seem to meet expectations. She really couldn't imagine any reason for him to be happy.

But that quartermaster Old Li really was a stingy one.

100,000 CR...

That would take a long, long time to earn.

-

(This month I've updated a total of 260,000 words; to be honest, I'm quite surprised at myself, but feeling like I've been emptied out is also true. Sometimes not getting enough sleep—less than six hours a day, I probably need to improve my writing technique and typing speed. I'll need to reflect on this.

A new month starts, I'm setting a small goal for myself, try to write 10,000 words a day! I'll do my best to maintain the tradition of updating by 10pm! If I can't make it, just go easy on me; I will work hard to maintain at least 8K, ensuring quality.

Considering my efforts this month, I kindly ask for a half-day sick leave, I'm off to the clinic soon... Although I know it's probably a minor cold due to erratic sleep patterns, I feel more at ease getting it checked to see if I need medication.

Sorry, just one chapter today.)

Chapter 147: Expansion Pack Update! Server Bug?

"One hundred thousand CR..."

Seated in front of the computer in the Residents of the refuge hall, Chu Guang couldn't help feeling a wave of emotion as he looked through the manual for the plasma numerical control machine.

The machine was a good one.

It was just freakin' expensive!

If it were one hundred thousand silver coins, he would buy it without a second thought.

Even taking out a loan or paying in installments would have been alright.

He heard from Luo Hua that Ideal City had a stock exchange, and he wondered if it were possible to list his Shelter No. 404. Chu Guang didn't dare make guarantees, but investing in them was definitely more reliable than dispatching some Expeditionary Army.

His gaze returned to the manual.

Although the professional content inside was beyond his knowledge, thanks to some key information Xiao Qi helped sort out, Chu Guang still came to understand the gist of it.

First of all, this machine tool was indeed very high-tech.

Even though high-precision plasma cutting technology has been around since the end of the 20th century, and people have combined it with CNC technology in the field of precision control machine processing, they were limited by the inherent limitations of plasma, leading CNC plasma cutting machines to be generally limited to cutting patterns and parts on flat steel plates using only two motion axes.

One of the main reasons was that the cut made by the plasma torch was simply too wide, and was fundamentally based on heat to make the cut.

Even if manufacturers produced smaller nozzles and smaller plasma arcs, the precision could only reach the lower limit of laser cutting at most.

However, the machine Li De showed him was different.

At the very root of its technical principle, the plasma used by this machine was not even the same thing as the so-called "flammables" of the Parallel world, but rather a variant of a magnetically confined controlled fusion device.

It could not only heat the inert gas used as a working substance to hundreds of millions of degrees, forming a super-energetic plasma, but could also constrain it using its magnetic field.

It was like a fusion reactor that doesn't generate electricity.

The plasma jet containing terrifying energy was focused into a cutting line with the width of a single atom.

With precise control over the plasma jet's emission speed and volume, it could achieve nanometer-level precision in cutting solid materials and even precisely control the cutting depth with almost no visible burrs or scorch marks on the cutting face!

Compared to traditional mechanical cutting tools, this "gaseous single-atom knife" formed under magnetic confinement virtually had no "machining principle error."

With just the input of preset parameters, it could, without changing the material's properties, complete geometrical shapes with simple cuts and welds that traditional machine tools would need multiple processing steps to create.

For the Pioneer ship, the significance of this "antique" might not be so crucial, as such machines were not suited for mass production and only good for high-precision processing of traditional solid materials that had already been shaped, much like the final step of a process. By comparison, they had not only more advanced and safer cold gaseous single-atom cutting technology but were also closer to pre-war society in terms of mass production.

However, for Shelter No. 404, which lacked tools, its meaning was akin to an industrial mother machine!

No matter what, this machine tool had to be acquired!

Chu Guang pondered in his heart.

Although it seemed somewhat unkind to say so, it was also for the sake of giving his little players a better game experience.

"I need to find more ways to milk some benefits!"

...

Official website.

Forum.

Makabazi: "??? Why did I get disconnected? Screen went black just as I opened the cabinet? A BUG? Planning dad, check it out for me, will you?"

Gnome King Riches: "Bro, that's not a disconnection, that's instant death."

Midnight Chicken Killing: "+1, I saw it with my own eyes. You were blown to bits, disintegrated; the Manager stood in silence looking at you for a long time."

Elena: "Don't pretend, brother, it's not your first time dying. Others might not know what the black screen means, but you know, don't you? (facetious)"

Makabazi: "???"

Crow: "Hahaha! Noob! Hahaha! A rookie! (*≧▽≦)ツ┏━┓"

Mole on the Run From the Gorge: "I think the official website should update a special achievement, a record of the first player killed by a monster. (facetious)"

Night Ten: "Supported. (facetious)"

Makabazi: "$#@%!"

The whole post was filled with a jovial air.

While everyone was jovially teasing about how Makabazi would die next time, the official website suddenly updated with an announcement.

[Announcement: Temporary adjustments to the expansion pack activities]

[1. In order to test the taste and cooking effects of ingredients in the new game update, we are now launching a series of life-profession quests. Luka at the Action Camp seems to be in some trouble, as indicated by the yellow exclamation mark on the map. We encourage players skilled in cooking to quickly log in and accept the quest.]

[2. Due to an anomaly with the new monsters' data in the expansion pack, resulting in a technical bug that is difficult to fix, players who died due to the expansion content will temporarily be unable to resurrect. Our technical staff has been working around the clock to troubleshoot the BUG, having put in 24-hour shifts. Our boss has even purchased extra insurance for each employee, vowing not to leave until the bug is resolved!]

[Since this bug is extremely stubborn and can't be fixed in the short term, to compensate players who might miss out on the beta test of the expansion, we will distribute 100 silver coins and a lottery chance that guarantees a weapon accessory as compensation to the affected accounts. This compensation will be issued within three days after the end of the expansion pack.]

[At the same time, we strictly prohibit exploiting game BUGs for malicious suicide to obtain compensation. If intentionally abusing the bug is determined, severe violations will result in a 300% additional death penalty, while minor violations will not receive any compensation for the death.]

Tail: "Si Si!!! Log in later and hit me with a hammer! !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si: "Do you want to get me banned!"

Makabazi: "What the fuck?! You mean I can't play for these few days??? (panicked)"

Gnome King Riches: "What the fuck, bro, you better finish reading the announcement! You're rich!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Damn! Why wasn't I the one who opened that cupboard! Can I still make it in time? T.T"

Debt Giant Eye: "Got it! The answer to the version is a corpse!"

Elena: "Anyone want to team up to play corpses? (funny)"

Canyon Escape Mole: "Hold on, everyone, don't rush to die! The 100 silver coins reward seems a lot, but dying at this time is undoubtedly a loss! The expansion pack activity points can be used to enter a lottery after the expansion ends anyway, and the compensation lottery chance is just a guaranteed chance at a weapon accessory! You know, besides scopes, grips, bipods, and bayonets also count as accessories!"

Fang Chang: "True, mainly because there's no exact time for the expansion to end. If it ends after half a month, and we only get compensated with 100 silver coins and one lottery chance, it really feels like a loss. I don't recommend everyone dying just for this little compensation."

Makabazi: "Damn! Now that you mentioned it, I feel so cheated! I was only happy for 5 minutes! QAQ"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Objection! If you hit the unresurrectable bug on the last day of the expansion pack, you will have fully experienced the content of the expansion pack and also received the compensation, isn't that a huge profit?"

Canyon Escape Mole: "..."

Fang Chang: "..."

Night Ten: "Fuck, you think you're the smart one! You're the one who talks too much!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "?"

Several familiar IDs instantly disappeared from the forum.

Players with beta test privileges were either discussing privately in small groups or rushing online to accept the quest "Old Luka's Troubles". Especially the former is well known—Ah Guang is a screen snooper. You never know when he will pop up, more startling than the class teacher appearing at the window during evening self-study.

It was only the backseat drivers and the adorable newbies who were animatedly discussing, trying to figure out a reasonable way to die without being judged by the game designers as maliciously scamming for compensation.

After all, scamming for compensation not only gets you no compensation, if your act isn't convincing you'll also receive a triple fine, which is clearly not worth it.

But from another perspective, as long as your acting is up to scratch, that could be a huge gain!

And as long as you're not overacting to the point where the words "scamming for compensation" are written on your face, even if you're not successful in deceiving, the chance of getting an extra punishment should also be quite small—at most a "light penalty of no compensation".

It's just a game!

Can there be no death at all?

Moreover, for them, the penalty was not rigorous—just deduct some game currency without even a ban; it was not really considered a punishment in their eyes.

The risk here, however, is that you have to keep an eye on the official website at all times.

If an announcement suddenly pops up and the bug is fixed, then you need to stay where it's cool and just observe.

Reporting for three days on the forum only to make a loss is a business no one would do.

Watching these little players under his watch, figuring out how to collectively scam compensation the day before the BUG is fixed, Chu Guang found them truly adorable.

Please ponder it more!

With a fatherly smile on his face, Chu Guang had already opened the document.

If your bad ideas are better than mine, then we'll go with your plan.

...

Late at night.

Li De sat in his office, drinking coffee, gazing out at the endless snowflakes, and his thoughts drifted back to his distant hometown.

For the survivors on the Wasteland, this snowstorm was no doubt a disaster.

But for those living on the Pioneer, these two snowflakes weren't as shocking as the "immersive dynamic walls" in the single bedrooms of the crew members.

If they wished, they could even "sleep on the spire of Ideal City," overlooking the night view of the Ideal City as they fell asleep.

However, if they don't find more fuel rods, by next month at the latest, they'll have to cut the non-essential energy budget for the crew members.

It's troubling.

Whenever sacrifices to personal enjoyment were necessary, morale would plummet and everyone would become gloomy, all buzzing with homesickness.

"Do you think I don't miss home too?"

However, since meeting that man, Li De suddenly became interested in the classic arts of management from the old era and the corresponding sociological research.

Especially in terms of boosting morale.

The 'Blue Jackets' were clearly earning far less than their salaries justified, using the most outdated equipment, yet they remained highly spirited and hopeful for the future.

It was puzzling.

He had seen slave city-states where even giving slaves bionic prostheses didn't improve their work efficiency, and they were even less efficient than non-industrial companion androids.

For all these reasons, Li De speculated that Shelter No. 404 probably housed some sort of sociological research findings. The funding they received before the war might have not been much, so they lacked even the most basic steel and concrete production modules.

If possible, Li De would like to learn about their management art and methods of boosting morale.

Not to spread it across the whole group, but at least to try it out in the logistics department.

"Section Chief!"

Li De set down his coffee as the young fellow burst into the room without knocking and asked him,

"What's wrong?"

The young man said anxiously,

"Our ally camp is billowing with a lot of white smoke! It might be on fire!"

A fire in snowy weather?

Li De was slightly stunned, quickly stood up, and followed the logistics department lad out of the room, through the corridor, to the side facing the Blue Jackets' camp.

Through the porthole, he saw thick white fog rising from the center of that camp, not dispersing despite the howling north wind.

The communal bathhouse was blocking the view, so the specifics were unclear.

It seemed like something had caught on fire, but no flames were visible.

Seeing that the fire didn't seem very serious, Li De breathed a sigh of relief and casually waved his hand,

"Send a water truck to help them."

He hoped it wouldn't affect tomorrow's gathering work.

That was crucial for when they could set off.

"Yes!"

The young man nodded immediately, then dashed off to get busy.

Before long, a water truck from the mobile garage parked next to Pioneer's tracks departed, heading towards the neighboring action camp.

But...

When the logistics department's driver brought the water truck to the destination, he was dumbstruck by the scene in front of him.

A group of people had set up a wooden shed here, boiling water, kneading dough, chopping meat filling, all bustling with great enthusiasm.

And that billowing white smoke turned out to all be rising from the boiling pots...

Old Luka was already familiar with this driver and remembered the youngster's name was Yuan Hao. Seeing him approaching, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Still working overtime? You've come at the right time. Want to try a bun?"

Yuan Hao was perplexed.

"Bun?"

"Yes, those in the steamer over there. It's the food invented by our manager!"

Whether it was really invented by the manager didn't matter. Old Luka hadn't seen it before and instinctively attributed the honor to his superior.

The driver glanced over and saw those Blue Jackets turning white flour into round skins, then stuffing chopped meat filling inside, pinching them into lumps with little tails... Dough?

Bustling with delight!

Yuan Hao had eaten meat pies before.

The canteen on Pioneer also provided not just nutritious meals, but also meat pies flavored with meat floss, caramel, and mixed nuts as snacks, ready to be heated and eaten.

"What's that meat filling?"

"""Bear meat! Just delivered from Outpost Base, wild game!"""

Upon hearing it was wild game, Yuan Hao's eyes immediately lit up, and he hurriedly asked,

"How much?"

The wild game from other Survivor Settlements tasted awfully bad, but these Blue Jacket folks clearly had better culinary skills than those natives, something he'd witnessed firsthand.

Following the Manager's instructions, Old Luka replied with a smile,

"We haven't started business for today; it's on the house. Just help us taste it and see which one is delicious."

As soon as he heard it was free, the driver immediately grabbed a freshly steamed bun and took a bite.

Beneath the fluffy texture, the taste buds burst with the flavor of meat.

His eyes immediately widened.

Gulping down the entire bun in one go, Yuan Hao struggled to swallow while giving a firm thumbs-up, his words muffled,

"This! Delicious! Tastier than meat pies!"

Old Luka's smile bloomed as he quickly brought over another new delicacy,

"Here's also dumplings, the skin is thinner. Have a taste of that too!"

While the bun in his mouth hadn't even been swallowed, more delicacies were handed to him, and the overfilled Yuan Hao couldn't help but exclaim,

"It's so tasty, do you guys usually eat this?"

Old Luka complimented him,

"We've only started eating this recently, thanks to you folks for supporting our business."

Yuan Hao laughed, feeling quite satisfied upon hearing this, rather than feeling taken advantage of.

What's the use of high wages or attendance bonuses?

When you're so far from home and can't spend it!

Here, not only could he enjoy food and drink, but he could also help these poor people. He felt not just physical satisfaction, but a spiritual fulfillment as well.

Better than searching for Shelter No. 0, indeed, this was the feeling of being a savior!

This was much more enjoyable than throwing money onto a bar's dance floor!

Yuan Hao, with a face full of justice, said,

"I can't just eat your food for free… How much for the buns? I want to buy 50 to take back! These delicious treats, I've got to bring some back for my colleagues to try!"

"Isn't 50 too many?" Old Luka suggested, "We also have dumplings, shumai, soup buns… these are sold by weight. Why don't you get a little of each? You can freeze what you can't finish, so as not to waste."

Yuan Hao, with a wave of his hand, said generously,

"Then, let's start with 50 buns, and I'll take 10 pounds each of the others that are sold by weight!"

"!"

50 buns, 2CR each, that's 100CR in total!

As for the dumplings, soup buns, and spring rolls, priced at 10CR per pound, ten pounds of each totals 300CR!

These passengers from the Pioneer really did have money, ready to spend what amounts to four weeks' expenses for a bottom-rung corporate employee, without any hesitation.

Old Luka no longer dissuaded him, hurriedly helping him pack up. He stuffed the steamed food into plastic bags, tied them securely, and instructed that they should be eaten while hot, or frozen if not finished to avoid wasting food.

Yuan Hao only responded with affirmations, then grandly slapped down four 100 Yuan Bills, picked up a large bag of steaming hot delicacies, and drove the water truck back the way he came.

Before leaving, the water originally intended for firefighting in the truck was also conveniently poured into their bathroom rooftop tanks.

Looking at the four 100CR Paper Currencies in his hand, Old Luka was thrilled.

He was indeed a high-ranking person!

This day alone, they were likely to earn a substantial amount!

The young players nearby were bustling with discussions, joking about the disappearing water truck in the heavy snow.

"How many buns did he buy? How can someone eat so much!"

"Who cares, just keep making them, we earn 1 Copper Coin for each bun! This is way easier than chopping wood!"

"Molding 100 servings, you get 10 reward points; this is too cool!"

"I'm gonna mold like crazy!"

Chapter 148 Everything Is For Foreign Exchange

Late at night.

Old Luka sent a message to Chu Guang, reporting today's income.

Among it, 2000 CR was a fixed salary. Thanks to the double production service purchased by the logistics department of the Pioneer, a total of 255 tons of garbage were collected, with a commission of 1275 CR. That added up to 3275 CR!

Then there was the income from breakfast, dinner, and late-night snacks, which unexpectedly reached 700 CR!

Adding the daily meal allowance of 600 CR and subtracting the cost of 150 CR for supplies and ingredients, today's balance reached 4425 CR.

As for the cost, the task reward for every 100 kilograms of garbage was 1 Silver Coin, equivalent to 2550 silver.

Oh right, there were also 2550 Activity Points.

Spread among 200 people, the average earnings were still a bit low, probably pulled down by some players in the Intelligence System.

Hope the players can keep up the good work and achieve greater glory!

"Adding in the surplus of 1200 from half a day yesterday, the total income for two days is 5625! Man, that's enough to buy 18 assault rifles!"

Previously, even at the height of his armory's reserves, he never had so many weapons.

Chu Guang wished he could convert all the saved money into guns right now, then hang them up in the weapon shop for 400 silver coins apiece, and then start a promotion - "For expansion pack-exclusive weapons, 1 Activity Point can be used to deduct 5 silver coins, up to 50% of the total price."

He believed that once the first wave of players returned, they would definitely jump with excitement!

Presumably, the next time they went, they would definitely work even harder!

Chu Guang felt that he had thoroughly understood the game industry's promotional activities—after all, he had learned from so many materials.

Leaning back in his computer chair, Chu Guang clasped his hands behind his head and gazed at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Tomorrow is the last day before the shift change, and the day after, new players will log on for a formal handover."

"50 old players leading 150 new players... I hope there won't be any trouble."

Or maybe...

I should go there in person.

With Xiao Qi, Xia Yan, Little Fish, and so many old players here at the base,

There shouldn't be a problem!

Just as Chu Guang closed the text document and opened a game of Stars to relax, Li De from the logistics department stationed on the Pioneer ten kilometers away was staring dumbfoundedly at the plate on the table.

"Is this... Blue Jacket's meat pie?"

His secretary, Wang Jie, replied.

"It's a bun."

"And this one with the transparent skin?"

"That's also a bun... Supposedly it's a soup dumpling. They say it's best to eat it hot, dipped in vinegar."

"And this flat one? Boiled bun?"

"Uh, that's called a dumpling."

"???"

Strange food.

In Ideal City, fats and proteins would not be roundaboutly wrapped in carbohydrates like this.

And there were no supermarkets that would sell the food of the dispossessed—the Variants' meat.

The lowest-level employees and the unemployed survive on synthetic starch and a small amount of dietary fiber. Middle-tier employees have plant-based meat and some nutritionally balanced set meals in their bowls. After all, they form the main force of the enterprise and the majority that machinery cannot replace, so businesses usually start to consider their health.

The employees a step higher can eat pre-war crops from CNC planting towers and scientifically synthesized meat. These foods are also industrial products, but in addition to nutrition, they pay more attention to the dining experience.

As for senior employees and middle-level managers and above, the quality of their diet is quite high, with opportunities to taste evenly distributed fat in cultured meat and eggs hatched from live poultry, as well as pure natural milk.

With cooking devices even more precise than CNC machine tools, they can control the taste and texture of food at the molecular level. With the aid of technology, cuisine becomes an art.

Looking at the bun in front of him, Li De couldn't help but fall into contemplation.

This thing probably couldn't be called art, but rather seemed more like a cultural product.

Wait, it's stuffed with Variant meat...

Can you really eat it?

With the empiricist spirit that so many people have eaten it without issues, Li De finally let go of his prejudices and took a bite.

And then...

The second bite, the third bite...

Li De: "???"

Holy shit!?

This flavor is somewhat addictive!

...

The next day.

At the Western Entrance of the Outpost Base, the guards squatting in the trenches were wearing uniformly styled fur coats, each shouldering a uniquely shaped rifle.

The square-shaped body, black shell, heavy breech mechanism, and pure wooden stock made it look quite a bit like something from Warhammer.

Even if someone swung it as a blunt weapon, there would be no sense of incongruity.

The use of bold and rugged aesthetics was perfectly embodied in this weapon, yet its name was quite understated, or one might say orderly.

Arbiter Type I.

The standard weapon of the Outpost Security Team!

"Fire!"

Bang—!

Fifteen gunshots rang out in unison; the bullets hurtled toward the targets a hundred meters away with aggressive intent, shattering the trunks near the targets.

The Security Team's Captain Wrench's expression was slightly embarrassed.

Fifteen targets, ten missed. The most embarrassing part was that he himself had missed, the bullet whizzing into the forest, lost to sight.

The most critical issue was, the Manager was standing right at the doorway watching.

"Reload!" Captain Wrench yelled out.

The guards quickly pulled the bolts, dumping the hot cartridge cases into the snow and taking aim at the targets again, waiting for the command to start a new round of shooting.

"This power is pretty strong?"

Using a wooden telescope to observe the lined-up tree trunks pierced through at a hundred meters, Chu Guang's face bore a trace of surprise.

The power felt stronger than the 7mm pipe rifles that List sold him.

Is it really a replica?

"You told me you wanted as big as possible, didn't you? Since the receiver was built so thick, I figured it'd be a waste not to make use of it. I just increased the length of the cartridge and the amount of powder. Now it uses a 7x70mm rifle cartridge, which is 20mm longer than the original," Standing beside him, leaning on a cane, Xia Yan cast a teasing glance at him, "How about that? Big enough for you?"

"Big enough it is," Chu Guang mused, "it's just that the hit rate is a bit... touching."

But actually, it didn't really matter.

These guards weren't meant for the front lines anyway. There was no need for them to hit targets 100m away; that was a job for the players, the ones who could holler.

All they needed was a loud warning shot to the sky!

If he hadn't been worried about jamming the breech, he would have even considered switching their smokeless gunpowder for the cheaper black powder. It was louder and smokier, which looked badass.

Lately, there had been an influx of players choosing life-career roles, and everyone was living a bit too zen. In the next version, Chu Guang planned to recruit more players from Company B to scavenge through the trash.

And invite more players from Company P to start some fights.

"It's probably an issue with the bullet composition and the barrel design. Within 50m, it's fine, but the spread of the shots gets too wide past 100m. I'll think of a way to fix this..." Seeing Chu Guang looking at her with a puzzled expression, Xia Yan paused slightly, "Is there something on my face?"

"No, it's quite clean," Chu Guang said with a smile, nodding at the confused Xia Yan, "I'm just impressed that you've been so proactive lately, actually taking the initiative to consider these things for me. As your boss, I'm relieved."

"It's not like I'm thinking about you; don't flatter yourself!" Face turning red, Xia Yan glared fiercely at him and shuffled away with her crutch.

Chu Guang just chuckled and didn't pursue her, brewing his expression for a moment before heading straight out the Western Entrance of the Outpost Base and finding Wrench crouched in the trench.

Climbing out of the trench, Wrench looked up at the Manager guiltily, head hung low and ears red, as if he wanted to explain.

"Sir, I..."

"Lift your head! Puff out your chest. You are the security guards of the Outpost Base, defenders of order and justice."

After reprimanding him, Chu Guang nodded in approval when he saw the Security Team Captain standing up straight and lifting his head.

After a brief pause, he continued.

"It's normal to miss the target when you've just received your guns; practice makes perfect. I've seen all the training you've been doing. Don't beat yourself up over it, but remember not to get complacent!"

Wrench quickly responded.

"Of course not, sir!"

Chu Guang nodded, brushed off the snow from Wrench's shoulder, and continued with a resolute look in his eyes.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you all on a long trip; it will be your first mission. You're the captain of the security team, remember to observe and learn."

"Also, later go to the warehouse and claim 14 VMs for your fellow brothers. You should know how to use them; I don't need to go into more detail."

Including the one Wrench now wore on his arm, there were a total of 15 VMs that Chu Guang had asked Xiao Qi to edit specifically for the security team's use. These could identify players' IDs directly through the map and report any violations straight to Chu Guang.

If a violation was confirmed, Chu Guang would dispense punishment based on the facts.

Although currently, the players in the test server were relatively friendly, as more people joined various issues would inevitably arise.

Guns could only intimidate new players with low levels and dependent refugees; higher-level players still needed to be deterred with permissions.

Wrench replied with full vigor.

"Yes, sir!"

...

The fourth day after the launch of version Alpha0.7.

Early in the morning, Wrench led the 15-member Outpost Base Security Team, neatly lined up at the north gate.

Their continuous days of training bore some fruit.

Leaving aside their combat prowess, at the very least, their posture and formation now looked disciplined, no longer slouched and sloppy.

With daily meals of fish and meat, and with the consistent satisfaction of horned tubers and green wheat, their complexions looked far better than when they had first emerged from the Looter's dungeon.

Lu Yang, who came from the Pioneer to escort workers to the Action Camp for their shift change, looked in surprise at these guards standing in formation with rifles on their backs.

Their gear was makeshift, with cumbersome rifles and packed luggage on their backs, and they wore coats made from mutant reindeer hide, barely achieving a semblance of uniformity.

The only piece of high-tech equipment they possessed on their bodies was probably the vital signs monitor strapped to their arms—the common VM seen in shelters.

Unexpectedly, however, what stood out was their discipline.

Yet, Lu Yang couldn't help feeling they didn't look like shelter people; they resembled Wasteland wanderers more closely. Those clad in Blue Jacket from the shelters generally looked cleaner and more refined, resembling middle to upper corporate employees, and didn't appear cut out for hardship.

But these men were different, their faces clearly marked by tough times.

As Lu Yang pondered, the two Marine soldiers behind him chatted on the communication channel.

"What did you have for breakfast?"

"Went to Blue Jacket's and grabbed a couple of buns."

"Holy shit, what time did you go down?"

"Five o'clock."

"Badass!"

Lu Yang coughed and scolded in the communication channel.

"Quiet."

The two Marine soldiers immediately shut up and turned off their mics.

At that moment, Wrench caught Lu Yang's eye and walked over with his rifle slung, standing to attention and giving a crisp military salute.

"The Manager has ordered me to wait for you here. He will come up with his people at eight o'clock sharp. Before that, he needs some time to mobilize his residents."

Lu Yang nodded and replied,

"I see, no rush."

The departure time he had agreed upon with Chu Guang was indeed eight o'clock in the morning.

But today, the road conditions had been smoother than expected, and he and his subordinates arrived at their destination half an hour earlier than anticipated.

"Please allow me to take you to the reception room to rest for a while."

Lu Yang shook his head, declining.

"No need, I'll just wait here."

Wearing power armor, it didn't really matter where he waited.

The heavy snow outside couldn't touch him anyway, nor could it make him feel the slightest bit cold.

Wrench nodded, didn't insist any further, and turned back to join the line, standing together with the brothers of the Security Team.

Meanwhile, on the second underground floor of the shelter, it was bustling with activity.

A one-of-a-kind newcomer's celebration was reaching its climax.

A swarm of little players dressed in Blue Jackets, with their eyes wide as saucers, emerged from their rooms, following the broadcast's instructions to gather in the square in front of the B2 elevator.

Confusion resonated among the crowd, with nearly everyone unable to believe their own eyes, questioning whether everything before them was indeed real.

But the truth was right there in front of them!

This was an almost entirely real world!

And they were all standing here in the flesh, breathing the air, listening to the bustling noises around, feeling the blood surging through their veins.

The damn developers didn't lie!

Wasteland OL—

It was freaking awesome!

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!"

"Is this really Shelter No. 404?!"

"Damn! This wall is so solid! Can't phase through it at all, and these textures, they're just too damn real!"

"Hahaha, badass, badass, never thought I'd get to play a fully immersive Virtual Reality Game in my lifetime! Wait for me, guys, I'll shit upside down when I log off!"

"Bro, remember to stream it!"

"Need help? I can send you a bottle of fish oil!"

"Damn, you guys are serious?"

Like the waves of newcomers before them entering the game.

The newbies standing in the plaza in front of the B2 elevator were dancing with excitement, touching here and looking there, some even bumped into walls, and others hopped on the spot as if they were part of some grand ceremony.

Dozens of old players who hadn't managed to snag an expansion ticket stood aside, judging and reminiscing about their lost youth and the past.

Chu Guang was observing these players too, ready to deal with any unexpected situations.

However, what pleased him was that there didn't seem to be any "pants-droppers" among this batch of new players.

It seemed this group of newbies was rather reserved.

Of course, it's possible that, following advice from old players on the forum, these newcomers had a fairly good understanding of the Game's basic settings and had reached Backseat Driver level even before entering the Game.

For example, in Wasteland OL, each person can only create one account, which will stay with them from closed beta until open beta; it cannot be canceled, and after retiring from the game, the operator reserves the right to take back the account and reissue it to someone else.

At that moment, Chu Guang happened to see a small player in the crowd suddenly cry out "Gah" and fall backward to the ground.

After a slight startle, Chu Guang spoke softly.

"Xiao Qi."

Xiao Qi, who was following beside Chu Guang, raised the camera.

"What's up, Master?"

With his gaze lingering on the system interface that only he could see, Chu Guang mused.

"Can being too excited cause disconnects?"

Xiao Qi: "Uh, generally speaking, no, but it's not absolute. For example, if the excitement leads to a physiological shock in the clone, naturally the connection of the Consciousness Entity would be interrupted... But such probability is really small, can someone really get that excited to the point of shock?"

Chu Guang: "..."

Physiological shock, really now.

Chu Guang glanced over the player list, wanting to see which unlucky soul it was. Just as he caught sight of the name, he paused briefly.

Quit smoking?

Well, that's somewhat understandable. An 80 score is decent, hovering on the edge of the second-tier score, and it took so many version draws for him to get here.

But then again, what if he took off his helmet and continued to be excited? What to do?

Could he actually go into shock in reality as well...?

Chu Guang suddenly worried for him.

Not too far away.

Tail, with arms crossed, shook her head in disappointment and said with an air of weary experience, "Tsk, this batch of newcomers is no good, all just humans!"

Si Si glanced at her sideways: "Humans are no longer enough for you, huh."

Tail grumbled, "What I mean is, aren't there more fantasy creatures? Like skeleton men, slimes, or tentacle monsters! By the way, if I could customize my character, I would want to be a tentacle monster."

Si Si sighed.

"As expected of Ah Wei."

Somehow, it felt like seeing a side of her one wouldn't normally see.

...

Meanwhile, on the surface.

Teng Teng was busily rummaging in the hut.

Crow stepped inside, glanced around, and eventually found Teng Teng with her head buried in a box next to a wooden device.

"Teng Teng! We're about to leave... huh? What's this piece of cloth?"

Curious about the soft and light-feeling piece of fabric on the table, Crow picked it up in her hands.

Teng Teng turned around, her face red, and snatched it back.

"Are you, are you... curious?"

Crow: "?"

"Anyway, I haven't finished this one yet!" Teng Teng exclaimed. "Wait until I'm done, oh right, mission mission, the Manager has asked me to bring some clothes over... help me carry some."

Watching Teng Teng turn back to rummage through boxes and wardrobes, Crow tilted her head in confusion but still went to help.

In casual conversation, Crow learned that these clothes were made of Devil Silk.

Teng Teng had been studying how to weave Devil Silk into fabric, and the process of silking and weaving had finally produced some results.

Although the foot-operated loom was a bit outdated, the fabric produced was usable. This fabric made from Devil Silk wasn't very warm, but it was sturdy enough.

Ordinary steel scissors couldn't cut it; only the mouthparts of a Devil Moth could do the job.

Teng Teng had made about a dozen T-shirts from these silk products, but they only seemed suitable as underwear.

"What's the point of bringing these?" Crow asked.

"Apparently, they can be exchanged for rewards!"

"Ah? Really?" Crow found herself interested.

Just yesterday, she had picked some beautiful, non-poisonous mushrooms.

"Wait for me! I'll go grab something!"

"Aren't you cutting it a bit close going back to get stuff now?"

"Wait for me, it'll be quick!"

With the back and forth hustle, by the time they both hurriedly made it to the North gate, the team was about to set off.

"Manager! The clothes I made these past few days... Do you think they're enough?" Breathing heavily from running, Teng Teng held up the clothes in her hands and asked shyly.

Chu Guang was not picky about the quality of the clothes; after all, he didn't know what kind of products the Pioneer crew members would like.

In such a short period, it was good that she could prepare these.

It was an attempt nonetheless.

Chu Guang nodded approvingly and said.

"Not bad, you've worked hard."

Teng Teng smiled shyly.

Just now, her VM had received a mission completion prompt, rewarding her with 100 event points.

At the same time, the next mission triggered immediately—

[Mission: Sell the clothes woven from Devil Silk to the Pioneer crew members.]

[Reward: For every 1CR earned, convert to 1 Silver Coin and 1 Activity Point.]

Looking at the quest log, Teng Teng's eyes shone brightly.

She had not expected to earn activity points before going to the new map, and she had even unlocked new map-related missions.

This was a big win!

...

Due to brother Maca's accidental death and Trash-kun, who couldn't leave the respawn point, there were only 198 players heading for the shift change.

But it doesn't matter, when the time comes, Chu Guang would casually think up a reason to pick the player who collected the most trash in these three days to stay and do another round.

After all the players had done a round, he would tally up the total gathering amount from players within the three days and adjust the expansion pack's rules, changing the task assignment method from equal distribution to targeted registration and selection on merits.

In this way, not only would the efficiency of trash picking be improved, but also those players whose interest in picking trash wasn't that strong could choose to do other work they were more interested in.

Such as kneading dough and making dumplings or running a barbecue stand.

As long as it could help Shelter No. 404 earn "foreign currency," they could get Activity Points.

This wave Chu Guang called it light industry wool gathering!

As long as they could get that industrial mother machine back, any amount of sweat would be worth it.

By the way, earlier when Crow came to him with cash to exchange, besides giving her Silver Coins, Chu Guang also supplied her with the corresponding Activity Points afterwards.

Watching the scattered assembly of players, Chu Guang raised his voice and shouted with a loud voice.

"Everyone, assemble."

"Our allies are waiting for our support; let's not keep them waiting too long."

"Now, move out!"

The procession set off mightily, the line even longer than the first time they had set out.

Three-quarters of the nearly two hundred person group were newbies, still not over the excitement, wanting to touch everything they saw along the way.

In reality, many of them hadn't even seen snow yet, but in the Game, it was already snowing heavy flakes!

Lucky it was snowing.

If it were another season, they would encounter Mutant Cockroaches or rats, as well as those basin-sized flies, and Hyenas baring their canine teeth.

A careless touch, and losing an arm would be the least of their worries, losing a life would be a costly mistake.

Watching these not-so-smart Blue Jackets, two marines following behind Captain Lu exchanged glances.

"Are these people okay?"

"I feel they're rather silly..."

"Compared to the last batch, they don't seem very bright."

Lu Yang had his doubts but didn't think too much about it.

Although he hadn't seen those Blue Jackets' enthusiasm for work first-hand, he had heard colleagues from logistics mentioning it.

They worked like their lives depended on it, as if they wanted to scrape off the ground itself.

Perhaps overly optimistic behavior is just like this.

No matter how smart they are, as long as they do the work well, that's all that matters.

They moved on in silence.

Making it before ten o'clock, the group reached the Action Camp where the guards and players were standing by at the center. Chu Guang saw Old Luka here.

Spotting his master, Old Luka eagerly approached him with excitement to deliver the good news.

"My lord, we earned a total of 4530 CRCR yesterday!"

More than yesterday by 105 CR?

Chu Guang looked at him with surprise.

"That much?"

Old Luka nodded excitedly.

"Yes, my lord, that's the amount! Thanks to your idea, those delicacies like steamed buns and dumplings contributed at least 800 CR! Those guys in grey coats, they buy a lot at once to take back! Especially this morning, even their chief came over to our place to buy buns!"

That Li De?

Chu Guang really couldn't imagine that guy being interested in their snacks, much less that he would be so generous.

But...

There's a limit to a person's stomach after all.

Counting on this small business to make a fortune is still a bit difficult.

But to look on the bright side, earning nearly ten thousand CR in 3 days is undoubtedly a good sign.

Maybe by the time comes, they could earn a hundred thousand without a single death?

It's worth a try anyway.

Just then, Vite from logistics approached the two of them.

"May I know if you are the Manager of Shelter No. 404?"

Chu Guang nodded at him.

"Yes, that's me. May I ask who you are?"

Vite smiled warmly.

"My name is Vite, I work in logistics, mainly responsible for arranging the work of the laborers! Our chief cares a lot about you, he asked me to send his regards."

Chu Guang smiled back politely.

"Please extend my regards to him as well. Tell him, his old friend misses him."

Vite smiled, and then continued.

"I will! Also, there's one more thing, I need to inform you about the new gathering site—"

Right in the middle of their conversation, a siren suddenly went off from the Pioneer.

At the sound of the prolonged alarm, players in the camp showed surprised expressions on their faces.

"What happened?!"

"Could it be triggering a plot??"

"Exciting!"

The expressions of the three of them froze in unison.

Chu Guang was the first to snap back to his senses, asking Vite.

"What happened?"

"Please hold on… I'm asking."

Not noticing the expression on Chu Guang's face, Vite pressed his headset and turned to contact his colleagues in logistics.

Gradually, his expression turned serious.

After hanging up the communication, he looked at Chu Guang and took a deep breath before speaking.

"About 6 kilometers from us, in the northwest forest, there's an unidentified armed group heading straight for us. They are numerous, well-armed, and they don't seem like Wasteland vagrants."

Chu Guang gravely said, "Anyone wandering around in this damn weather can't be good! Do you need me to send someone to scout ahead—"

Vite hastily waved his hand, "No, no, our people are already on it. Actually, we've made the same judgment; their purpose is too clear, they're obviously coming for us!"

After a pause, Vite continued with a troubled expression.

"I hate to say it, but we might be in trouble."

-

(Thanks to alliance leader "Drizzt_Maxs" and others for their rewards~~~~)

(I took some medicine yesterday and slept a long, long time; I almost thought I had time-traveled, but then I woke up. It's the beginning of the month; please give a vote, thank you!)

Chapter 149: Army!

Qingquan City's northwestern wasteland.

Snow-laden pine trees and elms pierced through the ruined countryside villas, while withered sea buckthorn swayed beneath toppling buildings. The only highway had been buried by time, now invisible, and where one lifted their gaze, a blanket of falling snow merged into one.

This was the boundary between Qingquan City and Tianshui City, as well as the fringe of the southern city cluster of River Valley Province.

Although geographically closer to Tianshui City, administratively, this area belonged to the more populous and industrially dense Qingquan City.

It had a name full of pristine ecological charm: Elm District.

This place used to be planted with a large number of elms and cypresses, and now it was only those evergreen trees that had survived.

In that distant utopian era, this area was a famous summer resort. Because of the South Dynasty Rhombus Lake, the low mountains and hills to the west, and the sporadic clear winds and falling leaves that brushed through the woods, it was always poetic here. Residents from both cities tired of urban life often came here to live a few days of reclusive existence.

Since there were no tall buildings around, every household had a lawn the size of a basketball court, and some cultivated crops with a primitive flavor in their backyards. This led the survivors here to become self-sufficient for a while in the early days of the Wasteland Era, forming family-based agricultural communities.

Of course, it's long since been abandoned.

Wildly growing vegetation has replaced the traces of civilization, and within a few short decades, this idyllic countryside's greenery rate skyrocketed from 60% to a full 100%. Now the edge between forest and ruins is indistinguishable.

It proves that once human beings adapt to industrialization, it's hard for them to be away from industry for too long.

Even though many people clamor about being tired of urban bustle, if they truly returned to an agricultural era, 99% would not be able to stand it.

And those primitive crops grown as hobbies couldn't even feed the refugees that poured in, let alone the locals. With the harsh winter approaching, those small and large agricultural communities quickly disappeared into the snow.

Lacking recyclable trash and plagued by dangerous Variants, few survivors visited here. Only some merchants who were not afraid of death chose to settle down.

However, this neglected and lost district was unusually bustling today.

A group of unexpected guests had come from the north and entered the area in a mighty procession.

They held uniform bolt-action rifles with cheap wooden stocks, and even the barrels were cumbersome castings. Without protective gear or unified clothing, they barely covered themselves with tattered fur coats and boots adorned with fur trim.

Their only uniform equipment was, perhaps, the electric shock collars around their necks.

These people were undoubtedly humans.

But in those beast-like pupils, there was not a glimmer of civilization's light nor of reason.

Clutching rifles and wearing collars, they resembled a group of tamed monkeys. And those lower-ranking officers holding remotes, urging them forward from behind, looked more like living beings.

Those in the know could tell at a glance the identity of those wearing collars.

Clones!

And the cheapest kind at that!

Across the Central Continent, probably only one organization could "tame" clones on a large scale and efficiently, deploying them into battle in an organized way.

That would be the Army!

Standing beside a damaged house, a man in a dark blue coat watched the marching troops, his vulture-like gaze as sharp as a dagger.

His name was Vanus.

Whether at the Army headquarters or in his Eastern Legion, it was an unimpressive name.

Yet contrary to that ordinary name, he harbored the ambition to become a general.

Driven by a thirst for honor and power, he joined the Eastern Expeditionary Army, following General Kras's steps, marching east towards the Grand Canyon in the northern part of River Valley Province.

Legend had it that the "Company" of the Far East had also dispatched an expeditionary corps there but unfortunately met with defeat.

As for the company's failure, Vanus had no comment and looked down upon it.

In his eyes, those who coveted comfort and curled up within a single province were weak and naturally doomed to fail in understanding what war was.

But the Army was different.

They were warriors born for battle, flesh and blood driven by an iron will.

Whether clones, freemen, or citizens, from the moment of their birth, the iron laws of the Army were branded deep within every one of their hearts.

Even without advanced equipment, they were still able to march in four directions at once, driven by their thirst for victory and glory, and with a will to win etched into their very marrow. On a wasteland of ruins, they carved out a vast territory, making countless tribes bow before them, offering slaves and tributes.

The fertile Grand Canyon would sooner or later succumb to the iron hooves of the Army, and under the Lion Flag, there would be no exceptions. They would use a seven-day siege to punish those who resisted to the bitter end, to honor the spirits of the fallen.

Although the battle had been at a stalemate for a year, Vanus had no doubts about this.

They were about to win!

Originally, he and his subordinates were to join the winter offensive, but just then, a piece of news that could not be ignored came from afar.

A mobile fortress was moving toward the west!

According to the intelligence gathered, the fortress came from the distant East Coast, ruled over by nobles from the Company—of course, in their own words, they were senior employees. Judging from their route, it seemed they intended to head west, in search of the whereabouts of No.0 Shelter.

Coincidentally, the Army was also very interested in No.0 Shelter.

However, in theory, this was not something the Expeditionary Army should be meddling in, especially splitting forces at this critical juncture to provoke the people from the Company was not a wise choice.

Vanus raised objections with General Kras, but they were overruled.

According to General Kras, to break through the impenetrable Holy Shield System of the Grand Canyon, the Expeditionary Army needed this mobile fortress to handle nuclear materials and produce inexpensive and effective nuclear warheads.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, their tactical nukes were almost used up...

"How far are we from that fortress?"

Hearing his superior's voice, the aide-de-camp behind Vanus reported solemnly,

"We are 10 kilometers away, sir."

Vanus nodded and said,

"Stop here; if they aren't blind, they've definitely seen us."

The Army lacked dark technologies, but that didn't mean they had never seen them.

Vanus had a clear strategy.

Construct defensive fortifications, establish positions based on jungle terrain, and use artillery to strike at their rear, ultimately forcing them to surrender.

He believed that once the artillery sounded, those soft-shelled shrimps who had never fought a serious battle would panic.

"Lay down foil paper and heat insulation foam, set up a command post here!"

Stepping on the concrete blocks beneath his feet, Vanus looked toward the south, squinting his eyes into a slit.

"Those tin cans are tough, but they can't stay there forever."

"We'll wait for them here!"

...

On the Pioneer, a light fixed-wing drone took off from above the fortress, circling the edge of the Elm District.

At the same time, in the combat command center.

Captain Lu focused on the flecks of brightness on the screen, his eyebrows gradually furrowing.

"The Army's people?"

The drone operator at the console responded,

"It should be, Captain."

The flickering bright spots were so dense it was hard to count, with more than two thousand of them spread over a front 2 kilometers wide and 2 kilometers deep, like beans scattered on the ground.

Apart from the Army, he couldn't think of any other possibilities.

Captain Lu had heard that the Army's people had mastered a DNA sequence that had been banned in the pre-war society, able to accelerate the entire life cycle of clones to eight times that of a normal person.

These mass-produced Clone Slaves only needed 1-2 months to develop from an embryo into a baby capable of leaving the chamber. After being sent to the crowded nurseries, they would complete in one year the childhood phase that took a normal person eight years.

During this year, they would learn language—or it didn't matter if they didn't—once time was up, they would be sent to facilities akin to coliseums, where they would spend their second year—that is, their adolescence.

In this stage, their mortality rate was as high as 50%, with some elite selection facilities reaching 70%. These facilities would not teach them how to fight, but merely serve as sieves, screening those who could adapt to the battlefield, or rather, the beasts ferocious enough.

Those who made it out alive would be sent to the front lines on their second birthday, becoming a qualified Cannon Fodder.

Since their developmental speed was eight times that of normal humans, their theoretical lifespan was only between 10 to 15 years.

But this wasn't a weakness because, in reality, they couldn't live that long. The Army never stopped waging war, whether against Variants, Barbarians, Mutants, or other Survivor Bases. Cannon Fodder who charged into the front lines had an average lifespan of less than three years, with five years being the maximum.

There was a saying that the dungeons where Looters assimilated slaves were a practice learned from the Army. They locked captured slaves in dungeons, made them fight for food, destroyed their spirit and rationality, and turned the surviving madmen into Cannon Fodder, and the surviving Cannon Fodder into their own...

However, the Army usually didn't take the last step.

This type of mass-produced Clone could only be Slaves, and their ultimate fate could only be to die in battle.

To ensure the combat power of these Cannon Fodders, each of them would be fitted with an electric shock collar, and every ten Cannon Fodder would be supervised by a junior officer, that is, a Centurion of the Army.

A troop of nearly two thousand seemed vast, but most of the Cannon Fodder actually couldn't form effective combat power. By comparison, what Lu Yang cared more about was why these men had appeared here.

"Did they say anything?"

"They didn't respond to our radio requests. Either they don't have radios, or they just don't want to deal with us."

Lu Yang nodded lightly.

"The former possibility can be ruled out."

"Then only the latter remains," Li De cautiously said, looking towards Captain Lu, "We still have four Tactical Nuclear Bombs left, more than enough to handle 2000 people."

"That's the most optimistic scenario, with 2000 people standing in the square for you to bomb," the Marines' executive officer Yi Hai shook his head, "They're dispersed in the forest, where they've built defensive works. Unless we level the whole forest... But that's impossible, even a conservative estimate would need 40 bombs."

Not to mention, the enemy was dispersed in a terrain mix of jungle and city ruins, which was rife with obstacles and cover that could be exploited.

With just a few simple Dugouts, they could greatly reduce the threat of explosives. And those beast-like Clone madmen essentially had no morale issues; the electronic locks on their necks would start them raging the moment they were triggered, more effective than stimulants.

Lu Yang mused, "Unless we have one of sufficient yield."

Before Li De could speak, his secretary Wang Jie shook his head and said, "There's not enough uranium-235. We used too much before. Deuterium can only be extracted by the sea, and to produce it... with the energy we have left, it's basically out of the question."

By the end of the Prosperity Epoch, the application of nuclear energy on this planet had evolved from the early D-D fusion to the third generation of controlled nuclear fusion.

Pure helium-3 fusion.

Under such reaction principles, the fusion of two helium-3 atoms would produce two protons and one helium atom, with no neutrons being produced in the process.

The Pioneer used such technology and naturally wouldn't bother storing tritium, with its measly half-life of only twelve years.

Li De rubbed his brow, saying with a headache.

"So what do we do now? Just watch them build fortifications under our noses? They're less than four kilometers away from our resource gathering site! If they move just a bit eastward, they'll discover our construction site!"

"Perhaps they've already discovered it but are just too busy digging fortifications to care," a veteran of the Marines raised a reasonable hypothesis.

"Let's move! There's no need to be polite with them! The longer we drag this out, the harder this bone will be to chew," the Marines' executive officer pounded his fist on the Table, "A ten-kilometer radius is already dangerous, we can't let them continue."

Kindness doesn't mean weakness.

Besides, since they were from the Army, there was no need to hold back against that organized group of Looters.

Lu Yang wasn't one to hesitate. After a moment's consideration and weighing the pros and cons, it only took him three seconds to make a decision.

"Launch the offensive at eight tonight!"

The Army didn't have much high-tech equipment, with the darkest technologies being nothing more than individual nuclear bomb launchers and laser rifles, mainly supplied to elite troops.

As for these people, it was clear they were far from elite; they probably had no more than recoilless guns or Rocket launchers. Not to mention self-guided rockets, they might not even have wire guidance.

The Pioneer's Marine Corps not only had powerful power armor, but their helmet visors also integrated night vision and thermal imaging functions, and fixed-wing aircraft provided air support from above.

Once it got dark, they'd pound those blind targets!

Lu Yang, eyes narrowed as he stared at the large screen, spoke decidedly.

"Since they've refused communication."

"We'll use our caliber to teach them to speak human language!"

...

Action Camp.

Players returning from scavenging in the Northern urban area were chatting and laughing on their way back from the worksite, handing over shifts to the Africans and newbies who had hurried over from Outpost Base.

Standing in the center of the camp, Teng Teng watched the vast crowd returning in the distance and excitedly shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Group leader! Fang Chang! Wild Wind! Night Ten! Where are you guys?"

He shouted for a while, and not long after, four little players who looked like they'd just emerged from a coal mine approached him, laughing and slapping his shoulder.

"Not bad, buddy, you've finally made it up here."

Quit Smoking: "Man, it's a long story of sadness! Wait, who are you?"

Fang Chang smiled and said, "I'm Fang Chang! The one without the beard is Old White, the showiest one is Night Ten, and the quietly showy one is Wild Wind."

Night Ten, with a playful smirk, said, "I disagree! Who says I'm the showiest? Isn't Wild Wind the showiest? Don't let his silence fool you; the fact that he can climb to the first tier with an Intelligence System is proof enough of his sleaziness, isn't it?"

Wild Wind: "Get lost."

Old White went up, patted Quit Smoking on the shoulder, and spoke with a hearty laugh.

"This has really been tough on you! I remember when the game was at version 0.1, you'd reserved your spot, right? Back then, it was easiest to get in. Later on, with more people, it became much harder to get a spot!"

Quit Smoking, his face filled with excitement, said, "Ah, don't get me started! I've watched as the reservation quiz went from 10 questions to 100 questions. I entered the lottery seven times and never won once; I'm about to split open from frustration."

Old White sighed, "It's okay, there is more than one person from Africa. Haven't you seen many folks on the Forum starting to post 'Queueing Diaries'? The game's closed beta access is indeed a bit scarce, but it should get better when the open beta starts."

"Actually, it's not that scarce," Fang Chang said with a laugh, "Which game company is willing to lend out so many Devices for free to players? 400 helmets already, right? People are impatient mainly because the game's completeness is rather high. The fact that we've only encountered one bug during such a long closed beta has really surprised me."

Night Ten, grinning, said, "Brother Light said, 'I'm working overtime right now, even if you butter me up, I won't be able to hear what you're saying.'"

Fang Chang: "Dammit! Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

Old White placed his right hand on Quit Smoking's shoulder.

"Enough chit-chat. Quit Smoking, my brother, in a bit we're heading back to Outpost Base; there's a dungeon we haven't raided yet. A few days ago, Teng Teng unlocked the weaving skill, and with so many people waiting to exchange for armor, the demand for Devil Moth's Cocoon is definitely going to rise. Since we've also finished the tasks here, we plan to take some time to conquer Level B1 of the Greenhouse Ruins."

"Just follow the main force for now, get used to the controls; the game's processes are quite simple."

"After you get back to Outpost Base, we'll take you to level up in the dungeon!"

Hearing that he'd be carried by a strong player, Quit Smoking immediately nodded happily, his face all smiles.

"Got it, boss! I'll do good work on grinding, get my gear together, and make sure not to drag you down!"

Night Ten spoke with a touch of emotion.

"You newbies are quite lucky, launching right into an expansion, and it's a major one that opens a New Map! A single reward from this expansion lets you graduate right from Novice Village. Unlike back in our day, where we had to make furnaces out of clay blocks, burn concrete, smelt iron, and fight with Bow and Arrow and Spear."

"Right, compared to 'Landship,' 'Winter is Coming' was just a little brother. No equipment, no food, not even a pretend-promising PV, and all we had to carry was bricks," Fang Chang also said with emotion, "You guys are truly chosen by fate, having everything right from the start."

Quit Smoking, embarrassed, touched his nose and chuckled.

"Low profile, heh heh... Now that you mention it, I do suddenly feel pretty lucky."

Night Ten chuckled.

"Do you feel touched inside?"

"Absolutely!"

At that moment, a rumble like rolling thunder suddenly came from afar.

The group of five friends from the Cattle and Horse Brigade all looked curiously toward the north, wondering what was happening beyond the veil of snow.

But just then, Night Ten's face suddenly changed.

The sense of impending doom made him almost instinctively shout loudly.

"Get down!"

-

(Next chapter updates at 11 o'clock! 2/30 of daily tens of thousands in October!)

Chapter 150: Bombardment and Casualties

Boom!!

The blastwave spread out, raising billowing dust in the very center of the screen.

The combat command center was filled with noise.

"Grenades!"

"Damn—they've got artillery!"

"The enemy artillery positions have been locked on... fixed-wing drones are en route... encountering enemy anti-aircraft fire."

"Hit?"

"No... imagery is being gathered, looks like cluster munitions with proximity fuses, probably launched from some kind of man-portable rocket launcher. Their firing elevation isn't high enough to pose a threat to us... they seem to have realized that and have ceased fire."

"You've used 'should' three times."

"Because I'm not certain. The attack came from many directions, scattered throughout the forest. They've likely used some material to conceal their heat source... Done, two artillery pieces have been taken out, a large number of suspected enemy targets nearby, requesting use of tactical nuclear bomb."

"Request denied, it's not the time."

"Roger... conventional ammunition depleted, returning to base."

The light fixed-wing drone circling in the sky began its return flight towards the Pioneer.

These small aircraft don't carry a high payload and are mainly used for reconnaissance; they can't rain down fire power indiscriminately like gunships.

Besides, they need to conserve some for tonight's operation.

Lu Yang's face was grave as he stared at the large screen in the command center, clenching his fists.

"What's the casualty situation?"

"They fired 20 rounds. We calculated only 2 are trajectory-likely to hit us here, and both were intercepted by our close-defense fire."

Hearing this, Lu Yang slightly relaxed.

The Pioneer could rampage across the Wasteland only because of such capabilities. They have a total of 5 light rapid-fire close-defense guns based on electromagnetic acceleration, with four located on the outer waist of four steel platforms, covering four sides and up to a 60-degree elevation angle, down to a -5-degree depression angle. Another is on the top of one of the steel platforms, deployed in a modular, vertical fashion.

In fact, this "Dot Defense System" has blind spots; the closer the approach, the larger the blind area. However, beyond close-defense guns, they also have reactive armor to deal with threats, and as long as they're not facing saturation fire coverage, there's no need for excessive concern.

Their allies, on the other hand, were facing a tougher time...

"What about the other 18 rounds?"

The operator at the console said embarrassingly,

"Besides the 4 that went off course by a whole kilometer, the other 14 were aimed at Blue Jacket's camp. The interception efficiency at steep angles is too poor; we were able to shoot down only 12..."

All those shells had been aimed at Blue Jacket's camp, so much so that he couldn't help but suspect they were targeting the camp's smoke.

It was noon now.

Those Blue Jackets seemed to be cooking, right?

Maybe the Army mistook the smoke for that from steelmaking or some other production facility—clearly, they didn't know that many of those modular production units were zero-emission...

Li De cursed, "Damn it! These sons of bitches, always bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"

Lu Yang clenched his fists tighter.

Although he wanted to avenge his allies, rationality still prevailed.

The enemy was provoking them into taking action.

It wasn't the time yet!

Squeezing three words between his teeth, he turned and walked out.

"Wait for nightfall!"

...

10 kilometers away.

The artillery position turned into a sea of flames.

The fixed-wing drone flying above performed a surgical strike on both artillery pieces, with two high-explosive missiles descending from the sky, physically silencing Vanus's two guns hidden in the forest.

Alongside came 600 rounds of medium-caliber electromagnetic accelerated projectiles, furiously killing around thirty Clone soldiers nearby.

But this was meaningless.

Vanus could produce as many of these cannon fodder as needed.

He even felt a bit of regret for not tricking the other side into using a tactical nuclear bomb.

However, looking at it from another angle, it also confirmed his guess that the equipment carried on the Pioneer wasn't as exaggerated as imagined.

After all, those people couldn't even be considered professional soldiers.

What was it they called themselves?

Professional security?

Nevertheless, exchanging two conventional shells for two guns, this round was a bit of a loss. Especially since their anti-aircraft rocket launchers hadn't even touched the opponent's camera, which was an alarming sign.

Looking at the fiery remains of the position, greed flashed in Vanus's eyes, rather than any disappointment.

"...Is this the power of metallic hydrogen?"

Just 1 kilogram of explosive, the volume equal to 1 liter of water, yet the power was 35 times that of Teng Teng with over twice the detonation velocity.

Vanus didn't understand the intricate knowledge, but the palpable power was impossible to ignore.

If he could get the Army to grasp these weapons, Vanus believed he could lead his men all the way to the East Coast and build an empire far greater than the one from two centuries ago.

There's no doubt about that!

At this moment, his adjutant approached him.

"Commander, there has been no movement from the enemy."

Vanus squinted slightly, gazing southward.

"It seems they're planning to save the main event for tonight,"

the adjutant respectfully said.

"Just as you predicted."

"Indeed," Vanus lifted his chin and ordered, "Distribute the rocket launchers, grenade launchers, cluster grenades and dynamite... all available anti-armor weapons, and make sure the men at the front are ready, and tell them that the day of their utmost loyalty has come!"

The adjutant nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes!"

...

At the action camp.

Chu Guang stood amid the smoke, with his warhammer held out flat in front of him. A wall of nitrogen, created by the high-pressure airflow, blocked and blew away every shard of debris.

Crow, who embraced Teng Teng, had a dumbfounded expression, looking at the towering figure of the Manager through the dust, her eyes gradually filled with little stars.

So cool!

Because she was so focused, she accidentally forgot about someone...

"Wuuu!!"

Chu Guang glanced at Teng Teng struggling in her arms—and the wooden box that had fallen to the ground—then slowly let out a breath.

Out of habit, he still asked.

"Are you okay?"

The nearly suffocated Teng Teng finally wrenched herself free, hair disheveled, face flushed red, glaring angrily at Crow, who almost sent her packing.

"What are you doing! I—I—I, nearly died there!"

However, the latter was completely unaware.

At this moment, Crow's attention had been completely captivated by that handsome profile and silhouette, just nodding erratically like a pecking chicken, her stuttering voice even turning shrill.

"No, no problem! Manager sir, Crow won't die, but as for you, um... you didn't get hurt, right?"

Chu Guang gave a faint smile.

As a joke.

If that could hurt him...

He wouldn't have come up to help.

With his 12 points in Perception and 11 in Agility, plus the speed boost from the exoskeleton, he was sure he could escape if he ran.

In fact, when the first shell landed near the 'Cow and Horse Squad', Chu Guang made a preliminary assessment of the explosion's power.

The explosive probably was regular dynamite, with an estimated 2–3 kilograms of explosive charge, and a lethal radius of about 10 meters.

Of course, the lethality of the shrapnel was harder to predict, bad luck scraping by could mean not dead but crippled.

So, when he sensed the second shell heading their way, Chu Guang didn't even bother to drop to the ground, just pulled out the hammer from behind and pointed it forward, activating the "Shield Wall".

The impact fell 12 meters away.

The high-pressure released airflow perfectly blocked the shockwave and shrapnel generated by the explosion.

Not only did he save the clothes Teng Teng had just managed to make, but he also managed to save Vite, who stood beside him.

This favor would come in handy.

"Cough! Cough cough... thank you, you saved my life."

When the shell landed, Vite's heart stopped beating, until the wind carrying sand woke him by choking him.

"You're welcome."

Looking at the two craters in the camp and the little players lying on the ground beside them, Chu Guang stared at him with a grave expression and continued to inquire.

"I want to know what exactly is going on here?"

Vite swallowed nervously and said,

"I don't know, I was in contact with the logistics department, but my colleague hasn't gotten back to me yet... I presume they're also in a panic right now, could you give me some time?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"That's not urgent right now, it's more important to treat the wounded."

Vite's mood sank, and he quickly said.

"I'll help you!"

Chu Guang hastened to stop him: "You go and get in touch with your colleague first; we can handle things here."

Unexpectedly rejected, Vite felt a bit stunned, but still nodded in agreement.

"Okay..."

By another blast crater.

Meat mountain big steamed bun, with a broad figure, released Tail and Sisi from his arms, sporting a frightened expression.

"Be careful, all of you."

Although she was also frightened, she instinctively wrapped her arms around the two people beside her, shielding them from the flying shrapnel with her broad, sturdy back and fur.

The white bear fur was bloodied, but surprisingly, it didn't hurt. Variant players healed quickly, and she guessed it would heal in a while.

Come to think of it, this was the first time she'd been injured since entering the Game.

"I think your worries are unnecessary," Sisi said while rubbing her face and straightening her disheveled bangs and hair with dignity. "By the way, Sisi also thinks your actions were unnecessary."

Sure enough, just as she finished speaking, Tail started ranting furiously beside her.

"Damn it! I didn't die! Fire another shot!"

Sisi sighed and grabbed Tail, who was swinging his fists at the sky.

"Stop it, Ah Wei, that's too fake."

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: QAQ

The incident happened abruptly.

Although the alarm had sounded two hours earlier, no one expected nothing to happen when the alarm went off, only for artillery shells to fall two hours later.

Two shells landed in the camp, injuring more than ten people, two of whom died instantly.

Wrench and the others were standing quite far away and were lucky not to be affected. At the Pioneer, only Vite was in the camp, and Chu Guang had managed to rescue him.

A world where only players were injured was achieved.

Surprisingly, the Cow and Horse Squad, which was close to the artillery dropping point, suffered only minor injuries.

But on second thought, it made sense.

The player with the highest Perception server-wide was in their team, and the four of them cooperated very tacitly. Almost as soon as Night Ten warned them, the other three immediately dispersed and lay down with him.

The most tragic was Quit Smoking...

The kid was only five meters from the center of the explosion and had lain down in the wrong direction, charging straight toward the impact point. With a loud bang, not even his body could be found.

Beside the crater, looking at a charred half of a leg, Night Ten couldn't help but smack his tongue.

"...I suspect he was targeted by Brother Guang."

Wild Wind dusted off the ash from his clothes and, after glancing at the gruesome scene, couldn't help but shift his gaze away.

"This is too damn tragic... Just entered the Game and already gone," sighed Old White.

"But the compensation of 100 Silver coins isn't bad. This brother won't even have to move bricks, he can buy a rifle right off the bat... But why the hell did we hide?"

Night Eleven looked bewildered.

"Yeah... Why did we hide?"

I almost missed out on the subsidy!

Fang Chang patted his shoulder and said, "It's good that we hid. If we can't survive the next four days, wouldn't our priority exploration rights be auctioned off by others?"

Hearing this, Night Ten, who had been regretting it a second ago, also came to a realization.

"Hisss... now that you mention it, it makes sense. Thank goodness I didn't die," he said.

Wild Wind nodded.

"If we're not sure when the BUG can be fixed, then that subsidy is more profitable for newcomers; for us, not so much."

Old White agreed: "Indeed."

In the center of the camp.

A group of players rolled on the ground wailing, a pitiful scene that saddened the listeners and moved onlookers to tears.

"I think I'm not going to make it!"

"My head, my head hurts so much! It must be blast syndrome! Put me out of my misery!"

"Can't you act a bit more realistically? Do you get headaches in this Game?"

"Giao! I totally forgot!"

"Take care of my VM... take it back for me!"

"Damn! You just twisted your ankle, is it really necessary? I can't even watch this anymore!"

"But what the hell exploded? Where's the enemy? Brothers, grab your weapons, and let's go after them!"

Chu Guang couldn't stand it any longer and kicked several players who were obviously fooling around offline for a two-second cool down. When they logged back in, they behaved.

At that moment, Lu Yang, wearing power armor, walked over from the direction of the Pioneer.

Looking at the refuge residents lying all over the camp, his heart tightened with guilt.

These people had all come to support them.

But they ended up being involved in a conflict that wasn't theirs.

Clearly, the Army's people were coming for them.

"The injured and the dead... I've arranged for them to be sent back to the refuge. I need an explanation for what happened today."

Looking at the approaching Chu Guang, Lu Yang was silent for a moment.

"It was the Army's men."

Chu Guang was slightly stunned.

"...The Army?"

"Yes," Lu Yang nodded and said, "They are a group of organized Looters, mainly active in the western region. However, they seem to have sent an Expeditionary Army to Grand Canyon in the northern part of River Valley Province recently, where they are fighting against the local Survivor Forces."

Connecting the news brought by the merchants from Red River Town, the Nomads who had wandered in from the North, and the broadcast he heard in the old town leader's house, Chu Guang felt as if various clues were stringing together.

He nodded slightly and said,

"I've heard something about it... but I only know that there is a war going on in the North, not what they are fighting over."

Lu Yang: "I do know some of the inside story, but it probably has little to do with today's matter, and I guess you wouldn't be interested."

"I want to know," Chu Guang stared at Lu Yang and spoke, "please tell me if it's convenient. It's very important for me and my Residents."

Lu Yang was silent for a moment before he slowly began,

"Then I'll start with what's happening in the North."

Chu Guang quietly waited for him to continue.

"It's not just the Army. Many inside the corporations are also interested in the Grand Canyon. It was once a national geological park of the United Human and also the site of the 'Pangu' Energy Storage Center."

Hearing an unexpected term, Chu Guang was slightly startled.

"Pangu Energy Storage Center?"

Lu Yang nodded.

"Yes, in the pre-war era, people built many grandiose wonders, and the Pangu Energy Storage Center was one of them. Because of the huge disparity in day and night electric grid loads in the Central Region, it was mainly used to store excess surplus electricity and to use this surplus energy to improve the atmospheric environment."

Chu Guang frowned and asked,

"Storing the energy from nuclear fusion? How was that achieved?"

Lu Yang: "It's said to be done through electrolyzing seawater."

Chu Guang: "How much would that take..."

Lu Yang: "I don't know. I've only heard it was a lot, a whole lot. The chlorine gas produced as a by-product could even serve as an industrial raw material, supplying the surrounding industrial zones. Therefore, there's a large amount of solid hydrogen stored underground at the Pangu Energy Storage Center, along with other things."

"In the earlier years, it was guarded by the 111th Orbital Airborne Division. After the Wasteland Era began, it was said to have continued under military control for a while, sheltering a large number of Survivors who had fled from other regions. But what happened afterward is unclear... In any case, it has now developed into a large Survivor Base. Their industrial capabilities are weak, but they have inherited quite a bit of pre-war equipment, some of which is still usable today."

"I think you might guess, such high-threat strategic facilities usually have very stringent defense measures, and one theory I've heard is that those facilities are still operational."

Chu Guang nodded.

Although he had never seen it, by comparing it to the Three Gorges Project, he could imagine to what extent pre-war society protected it.

Even his own hammer could be equipped with a nitrogen shield.

Would it be too much to put a plasma shield or special force field on the Grand Canyon?

Whether such technology existed was unknown.

But since cold fusion existed, one could boldly guess.

Being wrong wouldn't matter.

Lu Yang continued,

"The corporations had previously sent Expeditionary Armies to the Grand Canyon, but it seems they ultimately failed. According to intelligence we collected on the way, about a year ago, the Army also dispatched an Expeditionary Army to the Grand Canyon, but it looks like they suffered a great loss."

Chu Guang: "Then why would they show up here? From the very Northern part of River Valley Province to here is at least 500 kilometers, right? The actual distance might well be over a thousand."

Marching in the Wasteland was not like crossing a vast plain; even if the larger ruins could be bypassed, you still had to traverse the smaller ones step by step.

Unless you could steamroll across like the Pioneer.

Lu Yang said in a grave voice,

"They're probably headed for us."

Chu Guang: "...Coming for you?"

"Yes," Lu Yang nodded, "It's quite obvious. There are only two corridors that cut through River Valley Province east to west, one in the Central plains and one in the South. Although the Pioneer allows us to transport a large amount of production materials across the wilderness, it also has obvious drawbacks – we can only move through the plains."

Chu Guang frowned and said, "But why would they—"

Lu Yang shook his head and said,

"There is no why. It's one of the rules of survival. To be exact, as I have told you before, the Army is essentially a group of organized Looters. They drive cheap Clone Cannon Fodder to fight and enslave captured Survivor laborers. When we planned our route, we deliberately chose the path further away from them, but we didn't expect to still be targeted."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

It made sense.

Such a big, fat sheep passing through one's territory – anybody would want to shear some wool off of it.

The only question was how to shear it.

But on the other hand, the people of Giant Stone City seemed to be sitting still.

The two biggest forces in the Wasteland were clashing right at their doorstep, yet nestled at the edge of the third ring, they didn't make a peep.

If Chu Guang remembered correctly, their combat power seemed pretty strong.

Didn't they claim to offer defense outsourcing services?

He wondered why no salesman had come over.

Lu Yang: "That's all the intelligence we have. They probably hope to get their hands on something good from us, to help them win the war that was doomed from the beginning."

Chu Guang: "How many of them are there?"

Lu Yang: "Two thousand."

Chu Guang: "???"

What the hell?

-

(Thanks to 'Little Yun Duo' for the Dominion's reward~~~~)

Chapter 151 Task "Blood for Blood!

Okay.

After hearing Lu Yang's explanation, Chu Guang realized it was a false alarm.

Those two thousand were clones, and mass-produced ones at that.

According to Lu Yang, the Army had mastered black technology capable of producing clones with a developmental speed eight times that of normal humans. These clones not only had low maintenance costs and a fast maturation rate but also formed combat capabilities after just two years.

Unlike other clones, who either had to stay in their tubes for a year and a half to reach the desired physiological age before emergence or develop from zero age like normal infants.

The Army's clones were nearly flawless as cannon fodder with vastly superior morale than the average Looter and, supported by the Army's industrial backing, their equipment wasn't too shabby either—at least better than that of Looters.

The only flaw was that two years wasn't enough to establish a complete mind; these clones usually fought relying on animal instincts, driven by fear and pain.

Most could only be used as light infantry, with only a few old soldiers capable of operating slightly more complex machinery. And one couldn't expect too much efficiency and accuracy from them.

Therefore, the Army generally required a large number of junior officers to command—or rather drive—these cannon fodder, occasionally enslaving some of the general survivors to act as laborers and build complex defensive constructions.

The true backbone of the Army was this vast number of junior officers. They were Centurions on the battlefield and small Slave Owners off of it.

On average, ten to twenty clone light infantrymen needed one Centurion to command them. Only a few Armies that adhered to the "human wave tactic" military doctrine could achieve a ratio of 1:50 or even 1:100 between Centurions and clone light infantry, overwhelming their opponent's defenses with vast numbers and sufficient weapons.

No doubt about it.

1000 clones were definitely cheaper than one set of power armor.

According to Lu Yang, even the pre-war Utopian Society did not possess technology that allowed a clone to possess a complete and mature mind in a short period.

And when Chu Guang inquired about the existence of clones that "can be cultivated in just a month and have full minds," Lu Yang looked at him as if he had heard something utterly inconceivable.

"Impossible! A clone with a full mind in just a month? If that were true, wouldn't that be more convenient than a machine? I've traveled all the way here from the East Coast and heard many strange things, but I've never heard of such a thing."

"Human beings are the cells of society; you can't create a person who can adapt to society entirely disconnected from it. Even we need to provide our staff with basic education and onboarding training, and select the best among the lower-level staff, refugees, and indigenous people through examinations."

"As for technology, at most it accelerates this process from the original fifteen or twenty years to five or eight years. A mind must be gradually constructed during brain development, it's not as simple as plugging a memory stick into a computer."

"If someone tells you there's technology that can give clones a full mind in just one month, they're either mad or a scammer."

After listening to Lu Yang's firm statements, Chu Guang fell into silence, at a loss for words for a moment.

I understand all that.

But what about my players?

...

Before leaving, Lu Yang solemnly promised Chu Guang that he would compensate the injured workers and the families of the deceased, and deal a heavy blow at eight o'clock tonight to those who claimed to be part of the Army!

The First Pioneer Regiment would not tolerate those who dared to provoke them and hurt their allies!

Perhaps to soothe an ally, Lu Yang even disclosed the exact time of the action to Chu Guang.

Truth be told, this was a big help to Chu Guang.

Two thousand people.

They couldn't possibly fight with just sticks on fire, right?

Even if the equipment was terrible, active material was still a good thing...

After Lu Yang left, Chu Guang turned around and returned to the center of the camp.

The casualties had already been taken away.

Old Luka, who had dealt with the bodies, knew some of the inside information, so he calmly used something to cover the faces of the dead and seriously injured, preventing those on Pioneer from seeing their faces clearly. He let the security team carry them back.

The players were all very sensible, knowing that once they were on a stretcher, this bug was definitely stuck, so they all acted like they were barely hanging on, motionless on the stretchers.

Later, they simply went to a black screen.

It was, however, the players who didn't feign death that were furious, stomping their feet and cursing as they ranted.

"Damn! Why are two shrapnel wounds in the stomach considered fatal injuries? He can still talk, can't he? It's not like he's hit in the head!"

Among the 11 injured, 3 died of severe injuries, adding to the 2 who died instantly, this round of shelling resulted in a total of 5 deaths.

This was more than just a number; it represented 5 families and everyone who knew them...

The medical staff of the logistics department around were silent.

They took it as him venting his grief, using the stones on the ground to represent those despicable villains ten kilometers away.

At this time, it was better to leave him alone for a while.

As for the other 8 injured, after their treatment, their wounds were mostly healed.

Vite approached Chu Guang, who was walking from the entrance of the camp, and volunteered that the captain had already contacted him, and they would pay the compensation money to them later.

He also brought another piece of bad news—

The afternoon gathering plan was canceled.

"The gathering plan is canceled? Why?" Seeing Vite's bewildered face, Chu Guang immediately snapped out of it and explained righteously, "I mean, aren't those so-called Army Looters in the northwest? I heard our construction site is in the north."

The more there is a war, the less production can stop!

Don't you have the slightest sense of how fast you're burning through your resources?

Chu Guang had people retrieve their bullets during previous battle with mutants to calculate their usage; they were firing tungsten steel bullets, 9g each.

One magazine at 30 rounds would certainly weigh half a pound!

Vite hesitated, "That's true, but the straight-line distance between Elm District and our resource gathering point is only five kilometers; it's hard not to attract their attention... to reduce unnecessary casualties, our chief suggests that you should temporarily withdraw to avoid accidental injuries during the battle."

When Vite said this, his emotions were incredibly complex.

Of course, they hoped to continue production.

But they couldn't possibly expect their allies to risk their lives picking up their trash so soon after such an incident, could they?

At least give people some time to grieve and take care of the aftermath.

It was something not even their stingy department head would have demanded—pushing people back to work on the heels of a death.

Chu Guang had no qualms about the compensation, but upon hearing the afternoon's collection plan had been canceled and that his people were to retreat, his mood instantly took a downturn.

Damn it!

Was making a bit of foreign currency easy for him?

Without money, how could he improve the players' gaming experience? He couldn't expect them to move bricks and burn cement for a lifetime.

If they pulled out now, the light industry wool-pulling scheme he had so painstakingly laid out would be impacted, and that was just the tip of the iceberg; the key was that his players would miss out on experiencing the content of the expansion pack.

Afraid of what?

He wasn't scared, why should they be?

Wasn't it perfect if their enemies came out from the forest?

Drawing them into urban combat, it wasn't clear who would beat whom.

However, Vite had misunderstood Chu Guang's expression, thinking he was saddened by the catastrophe that befell the residents, and a hint of guilt also crossed his face.

"We're deeply sorry for what happened, no one could have expected... that they were hiding two mortars."

"It's not your fault, you don't need to apologize. Those who should pay are the shameless scoundrels who suddenly opened fire on us."

Chu Guang's heart stirred slightly, but his somber expression remained as he gently shook his head and walked away from Vite.

Under Vite's puzzled gaze, Chu Guang approached the players and raised his voice loudly.

"A gang claiming to be an Army of Looters has invaded our homeland from the north, attacking without declaration, attempting to make us submit with their shells."

"This is a despicable sneak attack!"

The players all quieted down, looking in the direction of the Manager.

A triggered storyline?

Was a task incoming?

Responding to those expectant eyes, Chu Guang continued with a loud and resolute voice.

"The residents of Shelter No. 404 will not submit, the blood of our brethren shall not flow in vain."

"We will make them understand the cost of provoking us!"

Almost simultaneously, all the players holding a VM received a task popup.

[Task: Blood for Blood!]

...

The southern gate of the Action Camp.

Watching those Blue Jackets retreat southward, two logistics staff members exchanged whispers.

"Those Blue Jackets are gone?"

"They should be. I heard that to avoid casualties, our head let them lay low for a while."

"Damn... does that mean no buns to eat tomorrow?"

"All you think about is eating!"

"You've had your fair share of eating too! But speaking of which... why do some of them have VMs and others don't?"

"I don't know, not all the Blue Jackets carry that thing, right?"

"Okay, I just thought it was strange because the ones who left all had VMs. Those without VMs stayed at the camp."

"Hiss... now that you mention it, it is pretty strange."

Unable to figure it out, and not seeing it as something to report, the logistics staff didn't dwell on it.

In fact, those Blue Jackets with VMs had indeed left.

But it was not a retreat.

They were going back to grab their weapons, ready to retaliate!

A round trip of twenty kilometers couldn't stop the players determined to complete the task. The heavy snow drifting down couldn't extinguish the boiling blood in their veins.

An Army, huh.

Whoever you are, if you dare to bomb us, you're dead!

Blood for Blood!

A group of them returned to the shelter, brimming with rage.

In addition to picking up their bound rifles, all the little players who took on the task also went to the warehouse to collect a woven bag, as required by the task.

Previously, while scouring an abandoned construction site, the warehouse had stocked up plenty of these bags made of polymer filaments.

Always, the scavenger players used them as a substitute for backpacks to hold collected trash, and now they were perfect for carrying loot!

If there were none.

Just gear up yourself!

In a moment, the atmosphere within Shelter No. 404 became unexpectedly solemn. Looking at their own inventories, many players were hesitating about what would be best to take into battle.

Fang Chang was also caught up in a similar dilemma.

Without a doubt, Dawn was the best choice; exploding arrows could kill targets behind cover, and armor-piercing arrows could even penetrate some light armor.

But the problem was...

This battle was likely to be quite difficult.

Even if he bound his equipment to himself, he couldn't guarantee he would be able to bring it back in one piece.

Old White, who was checking his gear next to him, saw the hesitation in his friend's eyes. He extended his right hand, placed it on his shoulder, and said with a smile,

"Don't waffle so much. If you want to bring it, then bring it."

Fang Chang shook his head and said cautiously,

"Everyone chipped in to buy this, and to be honest, this battle will definitely be much tougher than when we fought the Blood Hand Clan. I'm not sure I can bring it back."

The death penalty in this game was somewhat harsh.

Previously, when their pockets were as clean as their faces, it hadn't seemed like a big deal. Now, as the game progressed, Fang Chang increasingly felt that, apart from losing some silver coins and the three-day respawn CD, the loss of equipment was actually the biggest punishment.

So, he had to carefully weigh the costs and risks, deciding what equipment to bring for which tasks.

Predicting Fang Chang would say this, Old White grinned and patted his shoulder.

"Equipment is made for use. There's no point in being so cautious. Isn't the point of the game to do things you want to do in reality but don't dare to? Don't carry so many burdens. Although it was bought with everyone's money, it was bought for you, so don't think of it as ours! If you think you won't need it and thus don't bring it, I have no objections. But if you're afraid of losing it and end up not using it at all, you might as well go to battle with a bow and arrow and a spear."

Night Ten gave a heh-heh laugh and joined in, "Exactly, what's there to fear? Are you planning on dying out there? I sure don't want to die! With this bug not fixed, who knows how many days I'd be out of the game if I died? Let those beginners send their heads to the grinder, but I plan to be one of the last standing! Anyhow, I have to bring back some spoils!"

Wild Wind gently coughed, "Let's not talk about dying yet; remember, we still have to avenge Quit Smoking Brother."

Old White laughed heartily, "That's right, avenge Quit Smoking Brother! I almost forgot if Wild Wind hadn't mentioned it."

Night Ten added, "That's right! Quit Smoking Brother finally got the chance to log on, didn't even get to experience anything, and was killed by the plot. We must take damn good revenge!"

Moved by his friends' encouraging gazes, Fang Chang smiled and no longer hesitated.

"Yeah, take damn good revenge!"

...

Back in the shelter,

Fang Chang was no longer hesitant, but WC There are mosquitoes was still undecided.

After pondering for a long time, he finally sighed and reluctantly headed down to B2 level.

Ever since the "Winter is Coming" expansion pack ended, Garbage Kun hadn't left the shelter. However, he still logged in regularly, doing push-ups and practicing squats in the lobby.

In his own words, this could level up his character, and after all, exercising in the game wasn't as exhausting as in reality. It was better to find something to do when he couldn't sleep rather than stay offline.

Everyone was skeptical at first.

But then he actually leveled up.

After that level-up, Garbage Kun was as excited as a two-hundred-pound kid. He even went to the forum to post a new guide, pioneering the fitness gameplay in Wasteland OL. Along with Midnight Chicken Killing Brother, the "Tree-Chopping Maniac," they were known as the incomparable duo.

Incidentally, because he hadn't been doing any quests and eating required money, Mosquito was supporting him during this time.

Of course, as with buying land, this was borrowed money.

Watching the Lizard squatting in the corner, Mosquito cleared his throat and quipped,

"Are you planning to level up your squatting to 99?"

Lifting his head in surprise, Garbage Kun asked,

"Eh? When did you get back?"

Mosquito replied, "Quest. Came back to get some equipment."

"Oh, I got that too," Garbage Kun nodded with an envious look, "I'm really jealous of you guys, able to roll in the snow. The last time I went out to fight—"

"It was the last time, right?" Brother Mosquito consoled, "Don't worry, we're all normal people. Even if we can go out, we wouldn't roll in the snow. We would just do quests, have a barbecue, maybe a bowl of mushroom soup when thirsty, listen to the corny jokes of the proprietress, and watch Little Fish count the money—"

"Damn it! Are you here to show off?!" Garbage Kun was visibly upset, but because of his ugly face, it didn't quite stand out.

Mosquito chuckled and said.

"Not really... Actually, I've come to tell you some good news."

"No bad news?"

"There is, but it's not important."

"???"

Ignoring the wary expression on Garbage Kun's face, Mosquito cleared his throat again and continued with a serious tone,

"Some time ago, didn't I help Teng Teng design a steam engine?"

Garbage Kun nodded vigorously.

"I know. I saw Teng Teng complaining about you guys on the forum, saying that you were just playing and the thing you created was nothing like what she had imagined—"

"That's not the point!" Mosquito interrupted him without hesitation, "The point is, after exchanging experiences with Brother Toilet, I've improved the steel-making process. We can now cast boilers that are lighter and more durable! By the way, how much strength do you have now?"

"I've leveled up to 4... with 14 points of strength," Garbage Kun replied tentatively, then suddenly realized something and his eyes widened, "Wait, are you suggesting—"

Seeing that his good brother understood him so well, Mosquito smiled.

"I need you to carry 40 kilograms of heavy armor, a 10-kilogram boiler, and 60 liters of boiling water, charge into the forest in your fiercest stance, jump into the trenches, and tear apart the enemies in front of you! Or simply splash the boiling water directly onto their faces! In short, do everything possible to take them out!"

Mosquito's eyes were shining as he looked at him.

"Art is an explosion!"

"I often think about how the power of explosions isn't enough, and they never produce effective damage... but now, I've got a new idea!"

"Do you want to be my spark?"

...

At 7 p.m.

Next to the steel platform of the Pioneer, 10 power armor units had completed assembly.

In addition, there were 15 exoskeleton-clad light infantry and 5 mechanical dogs carrying dual-load drone beehives.

Everyone's morale was high.

Even the mechanical dogs with four legs were rubbing their metal paws on the ground.

Lu Yang, standing in front of the troops, held a Gauss rifle and was clad in bulky alloy armor, giving his troops the final peptalk before battle.

This was almost all the ground weaponry that Pioneer could deploy.

As for the four-wheel off-road vehicles, they were of little use in the complex jungle and ruin terrain, prone to getting stuck in snow pits and easily becoming targets for focused enemy fire, better off not being brought along.

Anyway, with the exoskeletons, the light infantry could carry enough ammunition to fight this battle, and their mobility wouldn't be too compromised.

Although compared to the Army's side, their numbers were a bit inferior.

But it wasn't a big problem.

Besides the ground forces, there was a light fixed-wing drone overhead, armed with 600 electromagnetic accelerated mass bullets, two 50-kilogram metal hydrogen high-explosive bombs, and one variable-yield tactical nuclear bomb, with a maximum yield of 10 tons, ready to be deployed.

Air supremacy was entirely on their side!

At the same time, in a forest several kilometers away.

Vanus sat silently in a dark temporary command post, facing an old paper map.

The map was dotted with numerous points, like chess pieces on a sand table.

Because they couldn't use lights, nothing could be seen here.

But it didn't matter.

Although the communication channel was silent, and intel about the enemy was pitch black, Vanus's heart held no trace of panic.

This wasn't his first time engaging in asymmetric warfare, and during his year fighting the Grand Canyon, he and his subordinates had already experienced the power of technology.

But so what?

They themselves were the crystalization of technology.

Supreme numbers were also a form of quality.

All deployments were completed.

He trusted his subordinates to bring him the glory of victory.

It was then that a light appeared in the distance, and a mushroom cloud rose from the plains, the shockwave from the explosion even subtly reaching the door of the tent.

The communication signals in the radio were flickering like a dying candle in the wind, issuing a crackling electric sound under the influence of the electromagnetic pulse.

Finally showing a hint of fervor in his otherwise placid eyes, Vanus stood up from his chair, his fist resting on the map.

"They've finally come!"

Explosions kept roaring, with flames from gun muzzles and blasts lighting up the edge of the forest and ruins.

On the command of the Centurion, the clone light infantry crawling in the trenches pressed the syringe, injecting themselves with anti-radiation drugs.

The scorching light roasted their backs, burned their cheeks, their skin began to rot, bone marrow necrotic, organs gradually failing, their mouths as if filled with rusty metal—

But even so, it wasn't enough to kill them immediately.

Even though hundreds had died in an instant just moments ago, it still wasn't enough to shake their resolve. The slight pain of an ant's bite at the nape of their necks kept awakening fearful memories in their brains.

No looking back!

No retreat!

"Fire!!"

Orange-yellow trajectories wove a net above the forest and ruins, and the overture of the collision between steel and flesh rang out beneath the snowy night.

With the cover of drones, power armor, exoskeleton infantry, and quad-rotor drones, pierced the side of the Army like a sharp armored lancehead.

The defensive line was instantly torn open, as if toppling a snowman.

However, the Army wasn't about to just sit back and take it.

Clone light infantry rushed forward tirelessly, while rocket launchers shuttled through the silent forest and ruins, accompanied by fragmentary grenades launched from grenade launchers, blasting rubble and debris everywhere.

The snow was painted red by the fire.

The night burned in the north wind.

Lu Yang's face was grave as he turned off his helmet's night vision function while replacing the rifle's barrel because it was no longer needed.

Unknown to anyone,
at this very moment, a group of Blue Jackets, carrying lances and short guns, were silently approaching from the east side of the battlefield, under the cover of the night...

Chapter 152 They Deserve It!

"This thing is pretty big."

Chu Guang, leading the players to the flank of the battlefield, gave such an assessment after seeing the light that flared up.

But his players didn't think so.

"Is this what you call a nuclear bomb?"

"It's too small! It didn't even reach a few kilometers, did it?"

"Are you stupid? That's a tactical nuclear bomb, not a strategic nuclear weapon."

"Then why not use it? Isn't a strategic one better?"

"Try molding one from a clump of mud!"

"Quiet." Chu Guang scolded the whispering players, pushed aside a capsule and threw it into his mouth, swallowed, and continued speaking, "Take the capsules I gave you earlier and eat them."

The players obediently followed, even though some mumbled, "This isn't scientific," they still compliantly did as told.

The capsules they swallowed were called oral radiation protection agents.

Compared to injections, it acted a bit slower but was just as effective.

As long as one wasn't directly struck by the nuclear bomb or jumped into a nuclear crater, there generally wouldn't be any major problems. Once they left the radiation area, taking one more radiation cleanser would perfectly eradicate even the slight effects.

As for where these pills came from?

Naturally, they were from Vite...

Half an hour ago...

At eight o'clock, Lu Yang promptly led his Marine Corps towards the Army positions 10 kilometers away.

Because a number of players needed to go offline to eat or request leave from their companies, by the time Chu Guang and his players arrived at the Action Camp, Lu Yang and his team were already engaged with the enemy.

Seeing Chu Guang appear at the camp's entrance, Vite's face was full of surprise.

What surprised him even more was that Chu Guang did not come alone, but was followed by a large group of Blue Jackets carrying assorted weapons.

Before Chu Guang even spoke, Vite could guess what these fiercely-determined faces intended to do.

"This is too dangerous!"

However, Chu Guang's reply was—

"This is our unanimous decision, we cannot watch our allies fight in the front while we hide behind, debts of blood must be repaid in blood!"

Unable to dissuade him, Vite could only report the situation to his superiors.

The battle on the front lines was tense, and the logistic department's head, Li De, pondered for just two seconds before promptly approving their request to join the battle, also providing 300 radiation protection pills, 300 radiation cleansers, and 300 green glow sticks to Chu Guang and his team.

The medications were naturally for combating radiation, as they anticipated deploying a tactical nuclear bomb on the battlefield in half an hour.

The glow sticks were for enemy identification.

After all, bullets don't have eyes, and in such chaotic conditions, without identification markers, the probability of being hit by friendlies could even be higher than being hit by enemies.

Unfortunately, there were no spare night vision goggles available; otherwise, Chu Guang would have seized the chance to get some.

Such night-fighting tools were not only effective in combat but also superb for scavenging in ruins.

Although he didn't get night vision goggles, Li De hesitated but finally took out 20 assault rifles from the stock, each equipped with a "red dot sight" and a lightweight grip, and also supplied 2400 rounds of ammunition.

On average, each rifle would get 4 magazines with a capacity of 30 rounds each.

Chu Guang without a second thought accepted all these supplies and distributed them among his players.

Each player definitely received a radiation protection pill and cleanser. As for the rifles, those were handed to the players with higher Contribution Points.

For fairness, of course, it was limited time use.

The mission this time included a total of 210 players, all veterans with VM, many of whom had already participated in two battles, had significant "combat experience," and had gene sequence levels of LV4 or above, with the highest being LV8.

Chu Guang and the players successfully crept to the flank of the battlefield.

The mushroom cloud from the distant nuclear explosion had been dispersed by the snowstorm, and the power armor troops that had blasted a gap in the Army's positions seemed to be engulfed in fire.

At that moment, a drone circling high above launched 2 high-explosive bombs, landing 800 meters ahead of where Chu Guang and his group were.

Flames exploded furiously, shattering trees and building debris all around as the thick dust billowed into the sky, leaving behind two craters several meters in diameter that amazed the players who exclaimed in awe.

"Holy shit! That's too fierce!" Mosquito exclaimed with widened eyes, suddenly feeling that the basket of hand grenades he was carrying on his back wasn't as appealing anymore.

"Is this what you call art?" Standing aside, Gnome King Riches glanced at him, "Yours is just fireworks."

Mosquito: "Heh!"

"Brother Fu Gui, your night vision is finally coming into play," joked the Mole, holding an automatic rifle.

"What the hell? Was it useless before?"

"Uh, maybe it just didn't show?"

In the distance, the clone soldiers whose hair and clothes were ignited, could no longer scream as they crawled out from the trenches and rolled into the snow piles, losing their breath.

Knowing that his allies were creating opportunities for him, Chu Guang did not hesitate and seized the opportunity, blowing the charge whistle.

Was there not even a sneak attack this time?

Hearing the whistle, the players, already eager, charged like they were on adrenaline, shouting excitedly as they ran.

"Kill!"

"Ula!"

"For the unbreakable alliance!"

"To avenge the Smoking Quitting Brother!"

"For Demacia!"

Watching the players sprint forward, Chu Guang's lips curled into a smile as his right hand reached for the "Type 20 Needle" Gauss Rifle on his back, but then he thought better of it and relaxed his grip, instead drawing the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer hanging beside him.

Since it was a forest-covered ruin, being reckless might also be acceptable, right?

However, just to be safe, he planned to let the players charge first to draw out the enemy's "trump card," and then decide whether to join the front lines based on the situation.

...

Meanwhile, at the front of the battlefield.

The armored spearhead penetrating into the heart of the Army was now facing encirclement by the clone light infantry.

These clone infantry had dug numerous dugouts and trenches in the forest, connecting the jungle ruins and the moss-covered concrete low walls.

Despite experiencing countless battles big and small, facing the Army for the first time, Lu Yang dared not underestimate them.

He could feel that the sentiment was mutual.

When 10 quadcopter drones stormed into the trenches, those junior officers were clearly startled, their prepared rocket launchers were left unused, mowed down by the machine guns hanging from the drones, falling alongside their clone brethren.

However, it was clear that the Centurions' combat discipline was high, far surpassing those Looter gangs who wielded hoses looking for trouble and brawling.

They quickly changed their strategy, pulling back the light infantry with anti-armor weapons to the second line of defense to reorganize.

It was from here that Lu Yang distinctly felt the resistance increased more than twofold, significantly slowing the forward push.

At the same time, large groups of clone light infantry began flanking from both sides, trying to recapture the positions they had lost earlier.

If they succeeded, the torn line of defense would swiftly turn into a pocket, trapping the people inside.

Even wearing power armor as heavy infantry or a heavily shielded heavy tank couldn't withstand the continuous assaults of light infantry rocket launchers and Dynamite.

After all, destruction is always easier than defense.

The infantry of the Pioneer suffered from their fewer numbers.

If only they had had an extra two hundred infantry to fill the gaps and protect their rear, they wouldn't have been so passive.

Lu Yang's plan was to use firepower, armor, and mobility advantages to directly breach the opposing position.

Given the shortage of manpower, this was the best option.

His opponent apparently also realized this and decisively abandoned the first line of defense, pulling back to the second line and ordering a firm stand.

This area, the Elm District, had the densest remnants of buildings and a distinct elevation compared to the surrounding plains.

Lu Yang knew very well that if they could seize this high ground, he and his comrades could rely on the terrain to establish a defense, and victory would be within reach.

But if they couldn't break through.

The pocket behind him was bound to be closed eventually.

Coincidentally, the enemy thought the same.

At this point, it was a life-or-death struggle.

The dugouts and trenches had turned into meat grinders, with bullets and dynamite rolling like blades, embedding limbs and arms in every inch of the ground.

Even though he was armed to the teeth, Lu Yang, who had just replaced his overheating gun barrel for the second time, still found it challenging to cope with the intense offensive.

Comrades next to him were already falling.

The battle reached a stalemate.

The enemy seemed determined to sacrifice more than 90% of their forces, furiously urging the clone light infantry to push forward.

Many clones couldn't withstand the electric shocks at the back of their necks and the extreme mental pressure, breaking down and jumping out of the trenches.

Some seemed to simply want to commit suicide, while others charged at them with cluster grenades, planning to die together.

These men were unequivocally mad.

Their brains had been completely assimilated by the war.

If they were ordinary Looters, they would have collapsed when the tactical nuclear bomb fell, but they were different, preferring to be riddled with bullets rather than turn back.

Casualties began to appear among the team members, and madness gradually etched itself onto Lu Yang's face.

Fortunately, at that moment, the headquarters sent word that 200 reinforcements from Shelter No. 404 had arrived on their flank.

Surprise appeared on Lu Yang's face, but more than that, it was a relief.

Without a second word, he ordered the drones that had just completed resupplying at the front line to drop the two fresh high-explosive bombs directly on the eastern side of the front line to help their allies break through.

And indeed, his allies did not disappoint him, seizing the opportunity to charge immediately.

The group of Blue Jackets, wielding miscellaneous weapons, showed no fear in the face of blazing warfare; with the support of air firepower, they swiftly crumbled the Army's right flank.

Their combat style was exceptionally fierce, charging bravely amidst the bullets whizzing wildly, utterly fearless of death. From a distance, they used bolt-action rifles for controlled shots, or simply jumped into the trenches, fighting hand-to-hand with bayonets, rifle butts, and even axes.

As they faced attacks from two directions, the right flank of the Army's position began to waver significantly, and the scales of victory started to tip towards the allied forces of Shelter No. 404 and the Pioneer.

At that moment, a hoarse roar sounded.

A huge figure, carrying an iron pot, crashed through the dense fog, using the steel plate on his chest to forcefully catch the concentrated fire from machine guns, and directly rammed into the Army's second line of defense, breaking into a half-collapsed ruin.

When he burst in, the Centurion and the clone soldiers inside were evidently stunned.

They saw a lizard, dressed in a breastplate, bleeding profusely from the shoulders and arms, clutching a spear and an axe in his hands, with a boiling pot strapped to his back.

They had never seen such a bizarre creature.

And they hadn't expected him to be so brave!

In the excitement of the moment, Trash King didn't hesitate at all. Having been stifled in the shelter, he now finally seized the opportunity to wreak havoc.

"HAHAHA! I'm back on the battlefield!"

The spear plunged into the chest of the Centurion, dressed in a dark blue coat and clearly an elite, while he used his freed right hand to grab another head, smashing it against the concrete bricks of the wall, and his axe in the left hand sweeping down another who rushed up with a bayonet.

That's when Trash King noticed a machine gun set up beside a slanted corpse, with a box alongside it filled with palm-sized bullets.

His breastplate had been completely shattered during the charge.

Glancing at his own claws, Trash King inwardly sighed with regret, pulled out the spear from the Centurion's chest, and dived into the trenches behind the ruins.

A bloodbath ensued!

It wasn't just the Army's Centurions who were stupefied; even the allied forces assaulting at the front were baffled, watching the smoke-emitting lizard unsure of what to say.

"Where did this lizard come from?"

"A Variant?!"

"... Is it an ally?"

"I guess it's like that white bear, probably one of those pets the Blue Jackets keep. Look, it has a glowing stripe on its shoulder… let's treat it as an ally."

Lu Yang yelled through the communication channel.

"Our allies have captured the eastern position of the Army's second line of defense. All power armors, leave the trenches and advance forward, light infantry follow up!"

"Leave the rear to our allies, now we need to utilize the maneuverability of the armor to split them right down the middle with one stroke!"

"Yes, sir!"

...

The only disadvantage of the Pioneer was the lack of manpower.

And now, that disadvantage had been filled.

Although it was unclear where these fearless warriors had come from, the fact was that they were even more fierce than their own Clone light infantry and more agile while being fearless of death...

The second line of defense quickly fell.

The pocket that was about to be closed was torn open again.

The power armor that had captured the high ground drove straight through, under the support of aerial firepower, quickly drilling through the Army's position, completely splitting the Battlefield.

And behind them were the Blue Jackets, who jumped into the trenches to finish off and clean up the remnants...

Temporary command center.

Listening to the frontline report coming from the radio, Vanus's pupils were filled with disbelief. He still couldn't believe that he had been attacked by a third-party force.

Reinforcements?

Where did the Company's people get reinforcements?

This is River Valley Province!

Could there be any Survivor Settlement daring to meddle in the affairs of the Army?

Vanus roared.

"Who are they!"

The voice of the frontline adjutant carried panic.

"I don't know! They're wearing fur coats, wielding weapons cruder than our Cannon Fodders, fighting savagely, just like... Looters! And there's even a Lizard! Damn..."

Looters?

Lizards?

Vanus's mind was completely muddled...

Meanwhile, at the command center of the Pioneer.

Watching the drone footage of those Blue Jackets bravely fighting, the people standing here fell into a long silence.

Unexpectedly,

The first to break the silence turned out to be Li De, the head of the logistics department.

Many people standing here had heard him complain about those Blue Jackets, especially about that greedy, cunning Manager who always liked to take advantage of him.

He spoke with a solemn voice.

"Please allow me to offer them the highest respect, they are true warriors. They bear great righteousness, fear no sacrifices, do not fear powerful enemies, and have reached out to us in times of peril."

"I take back all my rash, biased remarks I made before and sincerely apologize... I'll tell him myself later."

Pausing, Li De seemed to have made some decision, looking at the people around him.

"Although it's a bit unconventional, I still intend to do so. I will use my credit score as a guarantee to submit a formal application to the board of Silver Wing Group."

"To award them the honor of 'Permanent Strategic Partner of the Company!'"

Although the people around him were surprised, no one opposed.

The assistant of the marine department, Yi Hai, nodded in agreement.

"Count me in for the signature."

"They deserve it!"

-

(Thanks to the two alliance leaders of "readers" for their rewards~~~ Brother, you don't have a nickname.)

(Today is still 10,000 characters! [3/30])

Chapter 153 Survivors of Qingquan City

The distant rolling thunder disturbed the tranquility of Qingquan City.

Behind the ruins buried by the snow curtain, in Giant Stone City located on the edge of the three-ring line, people crossing the street corners and alleys all raised their heads.

"What's that sound?"

"It's pretty rare to have thunder in snowy weather."

"That's not thunder... sounds a bit like something exploded."

"From the north? I've heard it's been going on for a long time."

"They wouldn't bring the fight to Qingquan City, would they? There's nothing here worth coveting for those country bumpkins."

"You just called them country bumpkins, and you still expect them not to covet what you have?"

"Even if they really did attack, what of it? Master Fang will surely have a way to deal with it!"

Here, you can't see too far.

Citizens who could survive in the city would never go outside. The poor living under the concrete walls might go out scavenging, but usually, they wouldn't go too far.

In the corner bar, a few mercenaries who had seen the world could tell something from the explosion, but they just shook their heads and continued drinking their beer diluted with water, not even interested in discussing it.

Whatever was happening there, it was not their concern. Even if there was plenty of work to be done there, with this damn weather, it wasn't realistic to go to the north suburb of Qingquan City from the edge of the three-ring line.

After all, these poor devils had no chance of flying to their jobs...

Inner City center.

Top floor of a pitch-black skyscraper.

A man in a crisp suit stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his expression meticulous.

Of course, you cannot see the northern suburbs of Qingquan City from here. Giant Stone City, surrounded by a ring of tall buildings, presents only a view of a vast stretch of grey ruins in any direction you looked.

But.

His eyes were not only here.

Staring at the reflection on the floor-to-ceiling window, he muttered to himself in a low voice.

"They've even used nuclear bombs."

A response came to his ears.

"Yes, sir."

"And the outcome? Who won?"

"Looks like it was the corporate people."

The man nodded.

The Army was strong, but after all, they were held back by the people of the Grand Canyon. The corporations had fewer people, but they had the upper hand in equipment and logistics.

The probability of victory was originally 4 to 6, but at the moment the tactical nuclear bomb was dropped, it became 3 to 7. If the Army didn't have a stronger card to play, it was only logical for them to lose.

Of course, this analysis was from the standpoint of a spectator. War and playing poker are fundamentally different after all, and even a 1 in 10 chance can lead to victory.

But.

The betting houses would probably be bustling today.

Those who had bet on the Army would likely lose a fair amount.

"Should we intervene?" the voice by his ear asked.

"If the leader of the Army is still alive, buy him. When the messenger from the Army arrives, we can do them a favor."

The voice continued to inquire: "What if he is dead?"

"Then send a greeting to the corporate people, remind them to use fewer radioactive weapons, the aftermath will be troublesome."

Whether it was the Army or the corporations, it was best for him to interfere as little as possible with their conflicts. This is River Valley Province, and either side was too far away from here.

"We better not get involved in their disputes, offending anyone would be troublesome, and pleasing anyone would bring no benefits."

"But after all, it happened on our turf."

"Send someone to mediate then."

...

Brown Farmstead.

Looking at the flames rising in the distance, the farm owner huddled in the house, shivering uncontrollably, muttering non-stop.

"Nuclear bomb... tactical nuclear bomb..."

His young daughter looked at her father, puzzled.

"Dad?"

"Don't worry, dear," the wife placed her hand on his shoulder, speaking softly, "That's far from us."

"Get lost!"

The man angrily waved his hand and accidentally hit his little daughter's face with the back of his hand, sending the head flying off.

Sparks were jumping from the lonely neck.

The wife was taken aback for a moment, sighed lightly, and silently went over to the head.

As he saw the head rolling on the ground, the man was startled for a moment and quickly calmed down, but he couldn't help muttering.

"Damn it... hope it doesn't mean war is coming again."

"We've already spent enough money this year! Let me have some peace!"

...

Bet Street.

A group of survivors looked at the sky not far away; from their location toward Rhombus Lake, they could only see a small beam of light.

Many people had come out of their shacks to whisper at the light in the distance.

Yu Hu glanced at his elder brother and asked in a muffled voice.

"Brother, what is that?"

Yu Xiong frowned.

"Not sure. Doesn't seem like it's from Rhombus Lake, seems even further... Elm District?"

For the survivors of Bet Street, that was a rather unfamiliar name, only occasionally heard from scavengers coming from the north. It was said to be an old urban area covered by forests; there's hardly any garbage worth scavenging, let alone a whole brick.

Yu Xiong had only been there once when he had followed the tracks of a deer herd. On his way back, to avoid the men from Blood Hand, he had taken quite the detour.

Yu Hu said blankly.

"Is it far from Brother Chu's place?"

Yu Xiong nodded.

"Quite far, about 20 kilometers or so."

"Oh, that's good," Yu Hu breathed a sigh of relief, scratching the back of his head, "I'll go check on Little Fish tomorrow; she's been away from home for a while."

Yu Xiong also missed his sister a bit and said.

"Go see how she's doing. I hope she's okay there."

Yu Hu, "Brother, how about going together?"

"I'd better not; there's still guard duty to train, and we have patrol duties every day," Yu Xiong ruffled his little brother's head, "If you have time, it's better to go learn some writing at the castle, especially now that it's winter."

Old Charlie's school?

Wasn't that just for kids?

Yu Hu recalled it was mostly children under 16 there, whose parents sent them to learn writing and arithmetic to save a meal or two.

"Why should I learn that stuff..." Yu Hu said in confusion.

Yu Xiong didn't know how to explain, after all, he was illiterate himself and had only recently learned to write his own name by attending night school. All he could vaguely say was,

"Anyway, this is something Brother Chu got, you just need to learn it, it's definitely going to be useful."

Several kilometers away at Outpost Base.

Upon hearing the sound, Xia Yan, leaning on a cane, stepped out of the weapon store, staring at the flashing light in the north, murmuring in shock,

"...A tactical nuclear bomb? These guys are fighting way too fiercely."

Tactical nuclear bombs with a yield below one ton were purchasable in Giant Stone City with chips, although few people ever bought them.

For one thing, they were expensive.

For another, they were dangerous.

Many Variants were keen on settling in radiation-dense areas, especially highly dangerous ones like Crack Claw Crabs, Night Demons, and Death Scorpions, which particularly enjoyed such environments. The radiative energy made them as excited and savage as if they were on drugs.

If it was in the city area, it usually turned into a breeding ground for Eaters and Crawlers. If it was in the suburbs, it was hard to say what strange species it might attract.

At that moment, Xia Yan suddenly noticed a small figure at the entrance of the sanatorium, who, like her, was looking at the northern sky.

The light from the torches at the entrance flickered.

Even though there was some distance between them, she could still see those big, shiny eyes filled with fear and worry.

Sighing, she walked over and placed her hand on Little Fish's head.

"What is that?" Little Fish asked softly.

Xia Yan, unusually speaking in a softened tone, comforted,

"It's nothing good... but it's okay, they're all strong and won't be harmed. You should head back now, it's getting late."

...

Because of a sudden tactical nuclear bomb explosion, the survivors in the northern suburb of Qingquan City were all in a panic.

It was not unusual for some clueless youth to throw a nuclear bomb at the Variants, but those were much smaller in power, maybe just a few hundred kilograms or about a ton in yield, and the sound wasn't as loud.

Some said it was the Army coming from the north.

But no one could explain why the Army would bother with this godforsaken place.

Others suggested a Super Mutant had appeared, and the local survivors, desperate to live, detonated a tactical nuclear bomb.

However, nobody could remember any survivor settlement in the North Suburb having the capability to deal with a Super Mutant.

In contrast, on the official website of Wasteland OL, things were bustling as if it was a festival.

In fact, in-game activities for players genuinely felt like a celebration.

On the Forum:

Quit smoking: "Damn, I'm splitting apart! Walked 10 kilometers and didn't even see a construction site, one shell just took me away! (crying)"

Elena: "Two minutes of fighting, two hours of running, it's definitely squad confirmed. (funny)"

Night Ten: "Eh, Old Monk, you've returned?"

Elena: "Call me Old Monk one more time! (`Д´*)9"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Bursting with joy! I charged into the trench with a slide tackle, my claws slashing wildly! But these damn monsters have no martial morality, actually using a bundle of grenades to blow me up!"

WC truly has Mosquitoes: "Next time, you'd better charge for that boiler, not expensive, just the cost price, 100 Silver coins, okay. (sideways glance)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn! Are you robbing me?!"

Night Ten: "Lots of familiar IDs here. By the way, how many people died in this round?"

Elena: "At least 20, when I came down I passed a row of bodies... Oh, and that automatic rifle fire was quite satisfying, just went brrrr, but too bad I had two clips left, big loss. (funny)"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Definitely more than twenty, this time it might even hit a hundred! Waiting for a mate to get finished off by friendly fire."

Makabazi: "Hahahaha! You guys laughed at me, you feel stupid now? Now you've come down to join me, huh?"

Night Ten: "Don't brag, at least we died in a group fight, we'll still get paid from the spoils of war when it's all tallied, I think it was worth it. (funny)"

Elena: "Indeed, that scene was absolutely spectacular, a real feast for the eyes, especially that wave that charged along with the power armor. Anyway, I also think it was worth it. (Funny)"

Makabazi: "#&@!"

Even the garbage lord joined the fray, Makabazi dude totally lost his defense.

The forum was once again filled with a cheery atmosphere, with everyone speculating about the ultimate loot from this great battle.

Buying power armor is unrealistic; in other games, that thing would be at least level 30 equipment, so it's not something to count on in the early stages.

But buying a gun should always be possible, right?

After a good while, nearly around noon in the real world, someone finally brought news from the front lines.

Gnome King Riches: "Brothers, I got replenished! A total of 117 people dead, more than half, it was horrendous! But the enemy fared worse, I heard from the trenches that over two thousand bodies were dragged out, and not a single one is intact! But we might have struck it rich this time, we captured 5 light trucks, and who knows how much supplies in the fortifications! Now it's just about how to divide the spoils!"

Night Ten: "Hehe, I'm not asking for much, just hoping it's enough to buy that automatic rifle, and if not, just sell me the red dot sight on its own, a gun with a sight and one without are like two different weapons."

Mosquito in True WC: "Agreed!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "What the heck are you agreeing to! You're the sleaziest, hoarding all the guns you buy in the warehouse and never bringing them out!"

Mosquito in True WC: "Damn! Didn't I come down to join you all!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Don't pretend I didn't see it, you blew yourself up with your own hand grenade!"

Night Ten: "Pfft."

Makabazi: "Hahahaha!"

Mosquito in True WC: "Fuck you!"

Anyway, this battle was really exhilarating.

As for the spoils of war, even if you wanted to worry about it, you couldn't; that was a matter for the game's program.

Everyone expressed their hopes that the developers, the game planner daddies, would be decent enough to give a little extra death gratuity, seeing how we don't know when we'll be able to get online for the next wave.

We're not asking for much, 200 silver coins seem reasonable.

If we could get up to 300 silver, that would be even better.

In the forum, the conversation gradually shifted to be dominated by players from Company P and the big picture folks, from whether it's better for a machine-gunner to move five meters forward or backward, to which was stronger in the game's settings—armies or corporations.

One represented the powers of the extreme west; the other the extreme east. Typically, they would never cross paths, but somehow, their underlings ended up fighting in the central River Valley Province.

According to official information from the website, it seems the Army follows a human wave strategy supplemented with other land doctrines. The troops they encountered this time were the most common Clone light infantry + trench fortification, with the two artillery pieces probably representing the firepower support doctrine.

Their advantage lies in low logistical pressure and esprit de corps; these Clone Infantry behave as if brainwashed, or perhaps they aren't fully sentient humans at all, preferring to be killed rather than surrender.

As for the corporations, they likely focus on "mobile warfare" land doctrine, with all members being heavily armed high-tech troops, high in mobility, strong in armor, equipped for night combat and even air support.... Even though it's just one light fixed-wing aircraft, it's better than none.

On the surface, it might seem like the latter has greater advantages and more expensive equipment, but their performance on the battlefield does not seem as invincible as the data suggests.

After the power armor cut through the Army's first line of defense like a knife through butter, they quickly faced an embarrassing problem.

There was no one behind them.

Spring Water Commander: ".... The Pioneer can at best be considered a scientific expedition team; the soldiers aren't professional military but more like adventurers. Doing as well as they did is already not bad. If it were a conventional army clash, this kind of problem simply wouldn't exist, would the corporate headquarters really lack light infantry? I don't believe it."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Heh, if they actually fought on a real battlefield, they'd be facing hundreds, even thousands of forces just like the Army we saw today. They can build cannons, so would it be hard to build an engine? No need for dark tech, just slap together a WWII-level tank chassis with a railgun on top, definitely cheaper than power armor."

Million Mighty Army Lindon Wan: "They can't fight it out, right? With an entire continent between them, how long would the supply line need to be? Moreover, with the landscape of the Wasteland, it's all guerilla Variants along the way, non-combat attrition would be maxed out for sure."

Seafood Can Merchant: "Speaking of which, why don't they just take the sea route? The sea route is obviously easier than land."

Duke Venetian Seaview: "Maybe there are threats in the sea."

Scaring Ghosts at the Grave: "Right, right... imagine if a Kraken-level sea monster came along, even 10 Pioneers would probably have a tough time."

Gnome King Riches: "Cough, stop arguing, isn't whether they're strong or not all down to how the developer sets it?"

He hit the nail on the head.

But no one paid attention to him.

The game is still in closed beta, with version numbers only reaching Alpha, each version like a new game. Who knows what kind of outrageous stuff will come out next.

Nobody can say for sure.

Chapter 154: Eternal Friends

"...Forget it, just consider it eating a piece of candy."

The sounds of gunfire not far away had gradually subsided, and Chu Guang, who was observing the battlefield through a small drone, tossed the unwrapped radiation-diminishing pill into his mouth.

Even with his constitution, there was no real need for it, but without eating one, he always felt uneasy.

Because the players' performance was so impressive, Chu Guang never found the right moment to join in until the end.

But that was a good thing.

Chu Guang was very satisfied with the growth of the small players.

The difference between fighting against Variants and team battles was quite significant.

After this battle, even the players from the Alpha 0.6 version could take off their rookie hats, and many veteran players had advanced to being old soldiers who had experienced three battles.

Moreover, they were all able to "survive."

With this experience, Chu Guang believed they would be even more courageous next time.

Besides, it must be said, the Army's combat power was indeed very strong.

Anti-tank rockets whizzed through the air over the positions, fragment grenades were launched from grenade launchers, and a machine gun was mounted behind the defense works.

It was fortunate that Trash King had charged in first, otherwise, twenty or so more lives might have been lost.

After the machine gun ceased fire, the battle was essentially over.

The players quickly tore a hole in the eastern side of the Army's second line of defense, aiding the advance of the allied power armor through the Army's defenses.

The only regret was that Trash King did not survive; a cluster grenade blasted him into the sky in the trenches.

The steam boiler burst as well, boiling water hissed up into the air, dispersing into fireworks through the mist.

It was quite a spectacle.

Outside the battlefield, Chu Guang, who was observing, was stunned and quickly recorded it.

Putting this in a promotional PV with a one-second clip wouldn't be too much, right?

Forget strength, coolness is everything!

...

The battle at the front had come to an end.

Next to the burning trench.

A player stepped forward, trying to pick up the pipe rifle on the ground.

At that moment, a Clone lying face up suddenly opened his eyes, struggled to stand up, and bit into the player's thigh, startling the player who immediately kicked him away.

"Damn! Are you a freaking dog or what? Put your hands up! Move again and I shoot—"

Bang!

A gunshot rang out from the side, blowing the head off the half-burnt Clone.

The player was dumbfounded as a soldier wearing an exoskeleton passed by him and patted his shoulder.

"They are all pitiful people; giving them a quick end is better."

The player stared blankly at the retreating figure, not understanding what he was talking about, then glared at the corpse on the ground, swearing under his breath.

Damn!

5 silver coins turned into 5 copper coins!

What a freaking loss!

The clean-up of the battlefield went relatively smoothly.

These Clone infantry had no intention of surviving—the ones who were stunned by explosions and woke up would charge with a howl, only to be shot dead.

Initially, the players planned to take prisoners alive.

After all, live captives were more valuable, and there was a certain discomfort in slaughtering those who laid down their weapons—it could be done, but it wasn't necessary.

However, the players soon realized that these people weren't normal at all.

Whether it was incomplete AI programming or just the design, these Clones were like Eaters with guns, so the players stopped holding back. They would finish off even those who couldn't move with a stab or an axe chop, to prevent any surprises during the search.

As for those Army centurions and millennia leaders in dark blue coats, although many showed desperate resistance, when they realized the situation was hopeless, those trapped in the trenches eventually threw down their weapons and raised their hands to surrender.

Compared to the lower-ranking frontline officers who resisted to the end, Centurion Vanus, who acted as the commander, surrendered even more straightforwardly.

He hadn't run at all, sitting quietly in the temporary command post, pouring himself half a cup of cloudy wine, waiting for the Pioneer's power armor to come searching.

In this heavy snowfall, where could he run to?

Without supplies and no guards following, he couldn't possibly cross the hundreds of kilometers to the Expeditionary Army headquarters.

Not to mention drones were flying overhead. Without thermal insulation, even the mist from his breath could be seen clearly, let alone him, a large man.

As soon as he stepped out of the command post, he would light up like a lamp.

Rather than having his head pushed into the snow by the pursuers, it would be more dignified to wait here and surrender.

As a high-ranking officer with complete military education, his value was far greater than that of ordinary Clone soldiers and those small Slave Owners who led Clone soldiers into battle. The Army permitted them to surrender to the enemy after their forces suffered over 90% casualties.

Although he would be demoted a level, as long as he could survive, there was still a chance.

The corporate folks rarely slaughtered prisoners of war, and Lu Yang indeed hadn't done anything to him. He just had someone cuff him and take him back with those surrendering Centurions.

The logistics personnel built a temporary prison out of foam material in an open snowy field, which even had plastic water heating pipes installed, connected to a small wood-burning stove.

If they got too cold, they could go outside and gather firewood to burn themselves.

However, correspondingly, once they were locked up, the corporate people would take their coats, leaving them only a shirt and trousers.

With heavy snow swirling outside, even freeing a hand could result in it freezing, let alone trying to escape.

Without a cold-proof coat, it's feared that one might not even make it a kilometer before freezing to death in the snow.

Compared to those prisoners, Chu Guang was more interested in the equipment they left behind.

The gear of these Clone light infantry was poor; only a few had assault rifles, most had semi-automatics or even bolt-action rifles.

However, what's commendable is that they managed to standardize the weapon styles and bullet calibers.

Unlike Chu Guang's players, some were holding 9mm, some 7mm, and there were those with the 5mm revolvers; if the distance increased, the bullets might hit anywhere but the target.

It appeared that this group of Looters calling themselves an Army had some capable logistics, likely backed by industry, but the exact level was hard to judge.

Besides the conventional weapons, the players also scavenged ten 12mm caliber machine guns and nearly 100 unutilized, Iron Fist-looking anti-tank rocket launchers that resembled the "Iron Fist."

These anti-tank rockets were light, weighing less than 5 kilograms, with around 200 grams of propellant stuffed inside the slender metal tubes, meant to be fired and discarded, single-use.

The rocket's front warhead was a 155mm-diameter cylindrical chamber capped with an aerodynamic cone to reduce air resistance, nearly 1 kilogram of TNT mixed with black gold explosives capable of penetrating 200mm of homogeneous armor... if it struck directly.

Whether it was about killing infantry or countering light armor, these things were cheap and effective, certainly much better than the Mutants' black powder bombs.

The only drawback was the slow launch speed of the weapon, with a dismal range of just 50 meters, and poor accuracy since it lacked sight, requiring the user to feel for the target using the rocket's profile.

But despite all these flaws, Chu Guang was delighted.

A rocket launcher more reliable than a Goblin rocket, wouldn't selling it for 50 silver coins in the weapon shop be reasonable?

Such a weapon would surely find a use against things like Crack Claw Crabs!

Besides the rocket launchers, there were also grenade launchers, though to be honest, they were somewhat underwhelming, being merely grenade projectors with average power. However, those leftover shrapnel grenades were excellent items that Chu Guang planned to hand over to Boss Xia for handling.

In theory, Pioneer should have its share of these spoils of war.

However, the employees from Pioneer didn't care for these old-fashioned armaments at all. If taken, they would only serve as scrap metal and would require the effort to collect, so they generously left everything to Chu Guang and his group.

Apart from weapons, what surprised Chu Guang the most were the 5 light trucks.

These trucks were outfitted with wood-gasifier engines, where one could simply insert a piece of wood into the feeder to start it up, seemingly tailor-made for the Wasteland environment.

Moreover, to navigate rugged terrain, the 5 light trucks were designed with very large tires. Although even the biggest of tires would struggle to drive into the city, they could manage a run in the wilderness.

At least the journey from Outpost Base to Action Camp would no longer require the players to run on foot.

Clearing the battlefield took some time.

Chu Guang found a few players who could drive and, after getting used to the truck's operations, drove the light trucks to an open space with sparse vegetation, waiting for the players to collect spoils of war and their comrades' corpses.

Luckily, he had the foresight to have players bring woven bags, or these younger players would have had to make more than a dozen trips before they could load their scavenged spoils onto the vehicles.

Watching players carry the spoils onto the trucks, Chu Guang suddenly felt a sense of fortune.

But he knew that laughing out loud at this moment would be somewhat inappropriate.

Even for the sake of condolence payments, he had to keep a heavy expression.

At the very least, keep a straight face.

Just then, Lu Yang, clad in power armor, approached him.

Mud and blood sullied his armor, making him look quite a mess, but he was unharmed.

Lifting his faceplate, Lu Yang looked at Chu Guang and said with a sincere tone,

"Brother, thank you. If it wasn't for your support, this battle might not have ended so smoothly."

"We are allies; it's only right to support each other. Besides, they killed our people, and we had to avenge them personally."

Pausing, Chu Guang looked at him and continued,

"How are your casualties?"

When it came to casualties, Lu Yang's expression grew heavy, and he said in a low voice,

"We lost three, and four are critically injured…"

The crew on Pioneer totaled no more than a hundred; losing three was a severe reduction in numbers.

The last time such severe casualties occurred was when they had just left Province of Yúnjiānxíng and fought a Mutant tribe.

No one expected the tribe's leader to be an ultra-Mutant, which they finally eradicated using two tactical nuclear bombs.

Drawing in a breath of frosty air, Lu Yang stared at Chu Guang and asked,

"And you?"

"We lost 117, and we have not yet tallied the seriously injured."

Hearing this number, Lu Yang's heart felt like it skipped a beat, with any small comfort of victorious joy he might have felt being completely dissipated by this sobering figure.

He didn't know how many people were in Shelter No. 404, but he guessed it wouldn't exceed a thousand.

Such heavy losses would be a catastrophic blow for many small and medium-sized Survivor Settlements.

Lu Yang couldn't imagine the kind of pressure this man in front of him was bearing at the moment, and how he would face the families of the deceased residents afterward.

Behind that number, there were 117 families...

"We will do our best to treat the injured... I'm very sorry for those who have passed away."

Chu Guang remained silent.

To be honest, he felt a bit reluctant to deceive this guy any longer.

If an NPC had died, he'd probably feel sad for a while, but if it were a player... they would come back to life after three days.

The players themselves didn't feel much, their excitement almost bursting into song as they scavenged the spoils of war.

Yet, this guy in front of him clearly took it to heart.

"Before they came here, they were prepared. Before we set out, I told them to take guns and woven bags. If they couldn't carry the enemy's bodies, then they should carry their own."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued.

"So, there's no need to feel bad for us, everyone dies eventually. They were prepared before coming here."

Chu Guang's intention in saying this was actually to comfort his righteous partner.

However, to Chu Guang's surprise, after he finished saying this, the expression on the big brother's face became even heavier, and there was a touch of sadness.

After taking a deep breath, Lu Yang calmed himself down and looked at Chu Guang.

"There's something I want to ask your opinion on."

Chuang Guang looked at him and asked,

"What is it?"

Lu Yang spoke earnestly,

"I plan to submit a request to the board of the Silver Wing Group to grant you the title of 'Permanent Corporate Partner'... This isn't just my own idea, but the collective will of all the members of the Pioneer."

Chu Guang was slightly taken aback and hesitated a bit.

"What does 'Permanent Corporate Partner' mean?"

Lu Yang explained,

"It's a form of certification and recognition... Of course, I need to seek your opinion."

Opinion?

Of course, Chu Guang had no objections.

Even though they were thousands of kilometers away, who would complain about having too many friends?

Without hesitation, Chu Guang gladly accepted Captain Lu's proposal.

"I have no objections. From the moment you helped us deal with the Mutant tribe, you have been our partners."

Hearing this, Lu Yang's face finally showed a sincere smile.

"I'm glad you think so."

"But this title shouldn't just symbolize partnership; it should have some practical benefits... Let's talk while we walk."

...

Five trucks crawled through the wilderness.

An off-road vehicle with a snow plow and welded machine guns led the way, escorting their allies back to Outpost Base with their spoils of war.

Even though the crew of the Pioneer hated fieldwork, when Li De asked them, "Who's willing to escort our heroes home?" nearly everyone volunteered eagerly, willing to participate in the operation.

Even the marines who were injured.

During the battle, these residents of the shelter earned the respect of every member of the Pioneer with their bravery.

They might be poor and backward, but they were not weak.

They were warriors who could fight with the weapons in their hands to defend their dignity!

Such people deserve respect wherever they are.

Instead of returning to Outpost Base immediately, Chu Guang followed Lu Yang to the Action Camp first, where they met Li De who had been waiting for a long time.

The two have been communicating through holographic images and seeing each other face-to-face again after many days unexpectedly made Chu Guang feel a sense of kinship.

Of course, what surprised Chu Guang even more was the 180-degree change in attitude.

Previously when he had come here, this guy hadn't even come down to greet him and only instructed his subordinates to entertain him.

But now, this department head actually took the initiative to come forward and shake his hand.

"I apologize for my earlier mistrust and prejudice. You are real warriors, and your bravery has impressed us all. Thank you for everything you've done for us; without you, the outcome of this war could have been uncertain."

Having witnessed the battle through the drone, Li De had a completely different perspective. In his view, had the Army surrounded their armored units, it would have been Lu Yang and his squad who were cut off and surrounded.

Besides the power armor cutting a bloodied path out, it was uncertain how many of the lightly protected exoskeleton infantry would have survived.

This battle also made him determined to more than double the stockpile of ammo and design a new light fixed-wing aircraft with a larger payload.

If they continued westward, encountering the Army's people again was only a matter of time.

After shaking his hand and letting go, Chu Guang nodded and spoke.

"I will convey your praise to my residents. In addition, I'd like to understand some details regarding the title of 'Permanent Corporate Partner'."

Li De, knowing Chu Guang would ask about this, nodded and made a welcoming gesture.

"That's exactly what I was intending to discuss with you. Let's talk inside!"

...

Inside the barracks.

Based on Li De's account, Chu Guang gained a general understanding of the title "Permanent Corporate Partner."

The so-called "Permanent Corporate Partner" is essentially an enhanced version of a "trade whitelist."

It is well known that although the Company is located in the distant Province of Yúnjiānxíng, its trading map extends far beyond just that small locality. Even on the West Coast of Central Continent, one can see people conducting business under their banner.

If disputes arose, the Company couldn't possibly fly over thousands of kilometers just to seek revenge.

Thus, to prevent issues before they arise, the Company introduced the "trade whitelist" system.

If a Commercial Team doing business with a whitelisted Survivor Settlement is looted by local survivors, an insurance company will compensate the team for their losses after an agent investigates the situation. However, for settlements not on the whitelist, no compensation would be provided.

As a result, the majority of Commercial Teams from the Company, especially those carrying high-quality goods, would prefer to trade with those regular Survivor Bases on the "whitelist." Only a few small teams would take the risk to gamble and do business with unregistered Survivor Settlements.

Giant Stone City, for example, is on the trade whitelist.

For decades, Commercial Teams from the Company conducted business in Giant Stone City, where their legal rights were secured, enabling them to purchase high-technology products.

Places like Bet Street and Brown Farms, however, are only contacted by Red River Town's slave traders and third or fourth-tier Commercial Teams from Giant Stone City. Commercial Teams from the Company wouldn't even consider trading with them or staying at their settlements.

After all, if there were any problems, their insurance wouldn't cover it!

To get on the whitelist, an employee at Level A or above must apply to the Company headquarters and vouch with their credibility score.

Beyond that, they must submit an inspection report of more than 30 pages and stay in the locality for at least 60 days to ensure the accuracy of the investigation.

The Company employs staff dedicated to this task, who often earn a handsome salary, because if they successfully develop a market for the Company, for the next ten years, the Company will grant them a commission based on the trade volume and may honor outstanding contributors with an exemplary employee award or even include them in the management tier.

At the same time, the Survivor Settlements that obtain the guarantee will be recognized by the Company as civilized and will have more Commercial Teams including them in their trade routes.

Many Commercial Teams, even those not belonging to the Company, will also refer to this list to some extent to gauge whether a trading partner is trustworthy.

After all, no one wants to waltz into a Looter's trap or test another's ethical boundaries with the goods in their pockets.

Trading with low-risk Survivor Bases makes it easier to borrow money from banks.

As for the title "Permanent Strategic Corporate Partner," its significance is extraordinary, surpassing the "trade whitelist" guaranteed by Level A employees, both in terms of influence and the difficulty of attainment.

First and foremost, the applicant must be at least the senior executive or a shareholder of a branch, or even the chairman of the branch itself.

Secondly, this branch must not be a small, insignificant company within the "Company"; it should hold at least one seat on the headquarters' board of directors!

If the trade whitelist simply guarantees the credibility and safety of the trading party, the title of "Permanent Corporate Strategic Partner" seems more like a strong recommendation—

"These are high-quality clients we've encountered outside. We're introducing them to you. They offered us a helping hand amidst danger, and they're completely trustworthy. You can stay on their turf with peace of mind; they'll provide you with food and shelter."

"At the same time, corporate commercial teams are prohibited from hostile actions against them, and armed mercenary companies are prohibited from targeting them. Technologies of class F and E, as well as related trade items, will no longer be restricted."

Giant Stone City had been trading with the Company for dozens of years and was merely on the whitelist. There wasn't a survivor base in the entire Qingquan City that could claim the title of "Permanent Corporate Partner."

After all, it was indeed difficult.

In principle, as a "Scientific Expedition Team," the Pioneer had no authority to grant such a title to a survivor base far away from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

But the composition of this "scientific team" was simply too luxurious.

Even the drivers of the steam carts were C-class employees of the Company, and the office had many B-class and A-class employees. Li De, the head of the department, and Lu Yang, the captain of the marine corps, were higher-ups in the Silver Wing Group.

Most of the commercial teams that went to other provinces to do business, even the bosses, were at best B-class. There were only a few A-class individuals willing to leave Ideal City to roam the wilds.

With the influence of the Pioneer's crewmembers, they indeed had the qualifications to submit the application, though it would still require some procedural handling.

Chu Guang was filled with interest in regard to the last point Li De mentioned.

"Do the E and F-class technologies include power armor?"

Initially, Chu Guang had not held out much hope, but to his surprise, Li De nodded.

"Of course, there is... However, I do not recommend it. The power armor of E-class technology uses chemical battery power, basically an enhanced version of exoskeletons. Few commercial teams would carry such heavy stuff, and most survivor bases tend to purchase power sources and process them on their own."

After a pause, Li De continued.

"I am eager to help you obtain this title. Thousands of corporate commercial teams pass through River Valley Province every year, and one of the two corridors to the west runs through the plains just north of Qingquan City. If you manage to accomplish this, it will be of great help to you in the future."

"However, the big problem right now is that your strength still needs improvement. I'll have someone fix that machine tool for you later, but even so... it's unlikely you will be able to offer anything that other commercial teams find interesting. Even if you become a permanent corporate partner, I cannot guarantee you'll be more attractive than survivor bases listed on the 'trade whitelist.'"

To put it simply, the machine tool was more like a "staff." Its power depended not on itself but also on the "materials" used for the casting and the "person" who cast the spell.

However, after hearing Li De's words, Chu Guang did not focus on the problem but instead became more interested.

"That's okay, they can invest in factories here! Those E and F-class products can be produced right here and then sold to other parts of Qingquan City."

"We have an abundance of raw materials here. Piles of unprocessed trash are waiting to be dealt with. We also have quality labor, and we can even provide logistical support for their intra-province trade... This is certainly much easier than transporting products all the way from the East Coast!"

After listening to Chu Guang's words, Li De was visibly surprised.

Ah...

Is that even possible?

-

(Thanks to the alliance master "Zìyóu fēngyǔ 2" for the reward! Sorry for being late today; there was a small bug with WPS, but thankfully the manuscript was recovered. Still 10,000 words today! [4/30])

Chapter 155: Running Out of NPCs

Having sent Chu Guang away, Li De returned to the Pioneer and, after some thought, wrote the following in the electronic application which he deemed appropriate—

"This is an ideal outpost. They don't have any specialties, but one can buy delicious food at cheap prices without worrying about having their throat slit in their sleep. If planning to head further westward across the provinces, a stopover here would be safer than in other places. I vouch for their trustworthiness with my credit score."

The electronic signatures of several other crew members from the Pioneer were also featured at the end of the document.

This encrypted letter would be sent to the board of directors of the Silver Wing Group, who would respond within three days.

Li De felt that there shouldn't be any issues.

After all, even Captain Lu had left his signature.

The sacrifices they made in this battle were deserving of the respect from those in Blue Jackets.

And as for factory operations...

Frankly speaking, walking this path, it was the first time that Li De had heard such a wildly imaginative request. Would any bank be willing to lend to such a high-risk project?

Hard to say.

In any case, he couldn't interfere in such matters, and the Pioneer wasn't here to develop a market; it wasn't possible to summon a dozen commercial teams with just a phone call.

Li De suggested to Chu Guang that when a commercial team from a corporation passed by their door, he could try to negotiate such cooperation himself, but he shouldn't hold too high hopes.

After all, doing business in the Wasteland was inherently risky, let alone setting up a factory in an area not controlled by corporations...

How would these commercial teams take their profits back?

And who could guarantee their interests?

It was a problem worth pondering, not something that could be handled with mere cleverness.

However, these issues that Li De saw as deeply concerning were not seen as problems at all by Chu Guang.

Whether or not a deal could be negotiated was one thing, and whether or not there was an opportunity to talk was another.

Moreover, as Li De said, if they obtained the title of "Permanent Corporate Partner," a large number of corporate commercial teams would include them on their trade routes. Even if they couldn't set up a factory, opening a small inn or a barbecue stall could still make money.

When that time came, CR wouldn't just be useless paper anymore. With more visiting commercial teams, wouldn't people become interested in this market?

The massive traffic from commercial teams was a market in itself. Shelter No. 404's biggest advantage over Giant Stone City was its proximity to the suburbs, making transportation more convenient.

Whether as a trade node for corporate commercial teams traveling to the central or even western regions or as a trade hub for foreign commercial teams and local merchants of Qingquan City, it could generate substantial income for the Outpost Base.

Living career players Epic Enhancement!

It was fantastic.

...

At the north gate of the Outpost Base, a torch flickered in the snow.

It was midnight in Wasteland time, and noon in reality.

Apart from a few living career players who hadn't logged off in the residential area, most players had logged off to eat.

After all, it wasn't possible to be online 24/7; even if the players in reality could endure it, the clones in the game also needed to rest their eyes.

Otherwise, a "Fatigue DEBUFF" would appear on the VM, directly impacting the next day's work efficiency.

Wearing the Type 5 Police Light Exoskeleton, Chu Guang approached from the north. Wrench, who was patrolling the gate, saw him and immediately went up to salute.

"Sir, you've returned."

Chu Guang nodded his head.

"Ah, what about those spoils?"

Wrench reported,

"We've unloaded half, the other half is still in the truck! There's just too much stuff. Old Luka said tomorrow he'd gather some people to build a new warehouse, specifically to store those munitions."

Chu Guang nodded.

Munitions definitely needed to be stored separately from other supplies.

As the resources at the Outpost Base grew, a separate warehouse would be built for each type of resource, managed by specialists.

Thinking of this, Chu Guang couldn't help but sigh.

There weren't enough NPCs.

It would be great if Old Charlie's literacy class could speed up a bit.

If Shelter No. 404 were awarded the title of "Permanent Corporate Partner," by next spring, corporate commercial teams would definitely pass by here.

At that time, he would need more manpower.

Chu Guang couldn't help but consider, should he also start a literacy class for the nomads' camp? It's hard to arrange work for them without education.

Crossing the entrance of Outpost Base, Chu Guang noticed that the light in the weapon shop was still on, revealing a figure leaning on a cane standing at the door.

Xia Yan, with her cheeks red from the cold, also saw Chu Guang approaching from the north gate and sighed in relief as she limped toward him with her cane.

"You're finally back, I was about to issue a mission to find you," she said.

Chu Guang glanced at the VM on her arm and teased her,

"I am reassured, you're getting more adept at using it."

Xia Yan raised her eyebrows, about to say something when suddenly a voice drifted over from the direction of the sanatorium.

"Woof woof, master!"

The trashcan-shaped robot rushed to Chu Guang's side, happily circling around his calves several times.

"Master, you're finally back! There was a huge electronic pulse outside just now, Xiao Qi was so worried about you!"

Chu Guang gently patted Xiao Qi's head, smiling and said.

"Don't worry, that thing doesn't affect me much. But are you okay?"

Xiao Qi: "Xiao Qi is fine! That level of EMP doesn't affect Xiao Qi!"

Huh?

So, you're quite brave.

Chu Guang rubbed its rounded head, only to discover his hand dust-covered, realizing it might be time to give it a bath.

Watching Chu Guang only interacting with his robotic pet, Xia Yan couldn't help but roll her eyes, coughed lightly to remind him that she was still there, and then said,

"What exactly happened up north? Was it really a nuclear explosion?"

Chu Guang casually picked up a handful of snow from the entrance of the weapon shop and washed the dirt off his hands,

"A small nuclear bomb, about 10 tons, not a big problem."

Xia Yan paused.

"…Was it the army's men?"

"Yeah, a thousand-person brigade led by a centurion named Vanus. It's said that when Lu Yang found him, he calmly poured a glass of red wine and asked if he wanted to drink together. Over two thousand clone light infantrymen filled the trenches with blood… But regardless, their equipment is now ours."

Looking at the smile on Chu Guang's face, Xia Yan spoke worriedly.

"I feel like you're a bit too optimistic."

"About what?"

"About everything," Xia Yan sighed and continued, "A year ago, the army's expeditionary force fought in the north against the people from the Grand Canyon, claiming a million-strong army… and in reality, it was about that number. Do you know what this means? They have no idea how many such thousand-person brigades they have."

Chu Guang raised his hand to stop her.

"So you're saying, we shouldn't meddle in this war, right?"

Xia Yan nodded seriously.

"Meddling in the affairs between the army and corporations is not a wise decision. If the army finds out that your meddling caused them to lose a thousand-man brigade, and if you were their commander, what would you do?"

"Me?" Chu Guang smiled and said, "That depends on what I'd be doing at the time, if the frontline situation was pressing, I would put this problem aside first and deal with him when I free up."

Xia Yan looked at him incredulously.

"Since you know that, then why—"

"So you think their battle is going smoothly?" Chu Guang said calmly, "If it was truly going well, they wouldn't come down south for a break. It's simply that they can't fight this Battle anymore, and they intend to grab anything they can before they retreat."

Xia Yan: "... That's just an ideal scenario analysis, and those people are looters; they don't consider every action carefully."

Chu Guang said with a smile,

"I know, I was considering it from their perspective. Have you thought about what would happen to this troop if they hadn't caught Pioneer?"

Xia Yan was slightly stunned.

"…Hadn't caught?"

How is this related to their previous discussion?

Xia Yan couldn't help feeling puzzled.

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, whether it's fighting a war or negotiating a contract, you always have to be prepared for both scenarios, since things can't always go as smoothly as you'd like. If they're optimistic, they successfully intercepted the Pioneer, and then the supply for two thousand people will be easy to handle, just skinning it right off the sheep."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"But in fact, they were actually a step too late. Had the Pioneer not anchored in the north suburb of Qingquan city, they might have really missed this fat sheep. With only five light trucks, the supplies they carried were far from enough to get them through the entire winter, and with the heavy snow, it wouldn't be possible to trek hundreds of kilometers back... What do you think they would do then? Stand silently in the snow, or curse looking at the tracks on the ground?"

Xia Yan fell into thought, looking somewhat troubled.

Clearly, this was beyond the scope of thought for a small mercenary.

She had only considered the possibility of retaliation from the Army if she acted against them, but she hadn't considered that provoking them or not was actually the same.

Watching her struggle to think, Chu Guang spoke leisurely.

"Since they dared to set out before winter, they must have been prepared for both scenarios. Let me put it this way, plundering the survivors in the north part of Qingquan City was already part of their contingency plan. So, what difference does it make whether we provoke them or not? They were already prepared to provoke us."

In fact, even if the Army had successfully intercepted the Pioneer, the second scenario was still completely possible.

Being organized does not mean being disciplined, just as the enterprises evaluate them, the so-called Army is just a group of organized Looters.

From the moment they set off, this war was destined.

But the good news is that this lazy employee now actually understands to share the worries of her boss.

That's a great thing.

It seems his training was effective.

Patting her shoulder, Chu Guang gave her a look of approval.

"Remember this saying, reliance is just a temporary measure, real development and expansion are fought for. If you can't figure it out, stop thinking about it, after all, it's not your concern. Better to think about happy things. A large batch of weapons and relief funds, a free industrial mother machine, and the title of a permanent corporate partner... These things will last us a long time."

Chu Guang was filled with confidence about the future.

As long as he develops, whether it's the Army, corporations, or academies, none of them would be a problem for him.

When the fire of industry ignites, infinite production capacity coupled with endless vitality, his players will be the strongest!

...

An uneventful night.

Chu Guang had a long dream.

He dreamt he became a gunman, squatting in a bunker, with the Army's million clone army in front, surrounded by roaring artillery, and planes whistling as they dove from the sky.

And the players who should have been charging in front were actually all standing behind him, constantly muttering and grumbling.

"Raise the muzzle a bit!" "Burst fire, don't you know how to burst fire? Aim before you shoot!" "Can't you keep your finger on the trigger without letting go? Who are you saving bullets for?" "Move five meters to the left, gunman, ah, it's making me anxious!"...

Chu Guang got angry, turned the muzzle, and rattled off a burst, sweeping them all away, except for the one with the biggest chest, he couldn't bear to shoot.

And then...

Did the dream end?

"Damn... Need to change the sheets again."

Sweating all over, Chu Guang got up from bed early in the morning, feeling as if he had done push-ups all night, every cell in his body expanding.

Accustomed to growing physically while sleeping, Chu Guang calmly took a bath on the B2 floor, then returned to the resident hall to do a check-up on himself.

Just as Chu Guang had expected.

He had leveled up again.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Second Stage)

Level: LV.10→LV.11

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 16

Agility: 11

Constitution: 13→14

Perception: 12

Intelligence: 12

]

"This wave must have siphoned off the players' experience."

Chu Guang's Constitution attribute increased by one, improving metabolism and resilience, quite handy for someone who can't respawn.

Looking at the physical exam form, Chu Guang stroked his chin with interest, muttering to himself, "But to only level up once after such a huge battle, it seems I still need to improve my experience-siphoning skills."

The criteria for upgrading a Manager's Sequence were quite vague, unlike the other branches, where you could understand the method straightforwardly from the literal meaning.

Putting the issue of levels aside for now, Chu Guang sat in front of his computer and opened the official site.

Chu Guang initially wanted to see how the players felt about last night's major battle. But just a glance at it, he saw over a hundred withdrawal symptoms kicking in.

"Ah, I'm going to die without Crow Boss's mushroom soup!"

"I can't dance by holding a little person's hand anymore."

"Without Little Fish's good morning and 'be safe', I feel zero motivation to go to work! My boss scolded me today, and I actually glared back, he seemed really scared. Should I start preparing a new resume?"

"Damn! I want to blow something up! I just got the Black Gold recipe and was planning to try it out."

"Why don't you try it in real life?"

"Get lost, do you want me to die?!"

"The 12th hour of being unable to log in, I feel the pain of Makabazi and Quit Smoking Brother, it's so painful I can't breathe."

"Wu wu wu, planning daddy, please, let me in!"

Chu Guang: "..."

Crap!

It's just a few days off the game, is it really such a big deal?

He hadn't realized these players were so addicted.

Chu Guang had previously thought it'd be good for them to take a few days off, to relax a bit in reality, but it seems he had been too naive—their eagerness to get back online surpassed even his own.

Especially Quit Smoking Brother—'sadness' in his posts were practically flowing backward. According to him, he had been wearing his helmet to sleep for the latter half of last night.

But can he even sleep like that?

From discussions in the cattle and horse groups, Chu Guang vaguely remembered that when wearing the helmet, whether your eyes are open or closed, you can still see those countdown and login restriction notifications, right?

Chu Guang wasn't clear on what was going on with that helmet, he just hoped they weren't wrecking their health and that they'd live well when they couldn't log in, without causing trouble for society.

As for the login issue, honestly, Chu Guang was even more anxious than they were.

In the "servers," over a quarter of players couldn't log in. If this were at companies like Goose Factory or Pig Factory, they wouldn't rest without compensating with ten thousand happy beans.

It's just as well it's in closed beta.

Ah Guang: "Everyone, don't panic, we've been working overtime for 48 hours on emergency repairs, and all players who can't log in normally due to bugs will receive compensation! Also, players who died in today's battlefield mission will receive a special medal! The loot auction will also proceed online, and you can collect your gear as soon as you log in, so you no longer have to worry about missing out on equipment due to death!"

Quit Smoking: "Brother Guang!! Wu wu wu, please ask your programmers to hurry up!"

Night Ten: "As long as I can participate in the auction! I want to bid on a scope! Red dot YYDS!"

Tail: "Give Tail 5 Silver Coins! Nothing happened to Tail! Give Tail 10 Silver Coins, Tail help wash your feet! (｀∀´)Ψ"

Si Si: "Ah Tail, you haven't even died, what are you fussing about?"

Tail: "!! Damn, has Si Si been bought out by the evil planners! Spread the word, Si Si is not clean anymore!"

Si Si: "???"

At the same time, at the prison next to the Action Camp.

Wearing a cotton-padded Jacket, Yuan Hao turned off the off-road vehicle and dropped a basket of potatoes at the door, coldly calling out,

"Dinner's ready."

The door of the prison opened.

Watching Vanus step out, Yuan Hao's right hand instinctively touched the pistol at his waist, cautious of his every move.

Seeing the wariness in the eyes of the man before him, Vanus said nothing, simply picked up the crate of potatoes, and turned back into the house.

Watching the door close, and remembering his compatriots who had died tragically in battle that day, Yuan Hao couldn't help but spit at the doorway, cursing as he returned to his vehicle.

"These scumbags."

In his view, there was absolutely no need to be polite with these people, they shouldn't even be housed in a warm prison but thrown out in the snow to freeze into ice!

Chapter 156: The Messenger from Giant Stone City

From afar.

The swirling snow and a dozen gunshots painted a touch of melancholy for the funeral.

Three fallen marines were put into ice chests, and the crew of the Pioneer held a simple ceremony for them.

To prevent their comrades' bodies from being consumed by the Variants, they would freeze the bodies, store them in the morgue, and bring them back for burial in Ideal City after the triumphal return of the Expeditionary Army.

When the Pioneer set out, it had one hundred people; now, only ninety remained, with three more lying in the medical bay, awaiting cybernetic implant surgery.

Gazing at the bodies of his fallen comrades, Captain Lu's heart felt heavy, even a bit lost.

He did not doubt the decisions made by the enterprise's higher-ups, nor did he fear dying in search of No.0 Shelter. However, what made him anxious was that he did not know how many more would die if they continued on this path.

They had already lost 10% of their personnel just by reaching River Valley Province.

If they continued deeper into the wasteland to the west...

At this moment, his adjutant, Yi Hai, came up beside him and said in a low voice,

"We should increase our weapons reserves, by at least another 500 tons. The farther west we go, the greater the likelihood of encountering Army forces. I'm worried... that new situations will arise by then."

Captain Lu nodded.

"Last night, I discussed this issue with Director Li of the logistics section. On the one hand, we need to increase our weapons reserves; on the other hand, we need to actively seek reinforcements from the corporate headquarters. I plan to help the Residents of Shelter No. 404 reinforce their action base so that we can receive supplies from there once reinforcements from headquarters arrive."

But that wasn't the only consideration.

Captain Lu was concerned that General Kras of the Expeditionary Army would find out that Shelter No. 404 had been granted the title of "permanent strategic partner" shortly after his thousand-person Brigade suffered losses.

That would undoubtedly signal to them the decisive role Shelter No. 404 had played in the outcome of the War.

Perhaps General Kras wouldn't lose his reason over a Thousands of leaders, forgetting his purpose in coming to River Valley Province.

But it was hard to say whether they would engage in other acts of retaliation.

After all, the Looters were the Army's "number one fans", with many of their tactics in organizing and training slaves simply copied from the Army.

Yi Hai nodded slightly.

"That's what I was thinking too."

...

Dawn broke.

In the distant action camp, the industrious Residents of Shelter No. 404 had already started cooking.

Fang Chang, sitting in the camp with his left arm wrapped in bandages, also holding a bowl of noodles in his hands, lamented after sipping the soup,

"Ah, it's a good thing Brother Egg is still alive; otherwise, we couldn't even have this bowl of noodles."

He had managed to save both bow and life.

The only regret was that Brother Night Ten had been sacrificed, Old White couldn't log in due to other commitments today, and Brother Gale had lost an arm and was receiving treatment on the Pioneer.

This bowl of noodles, only he could sit here and eat alone.

"I'm Niubi after all, not so easy to kick the bucket," said Brother Egg slapping a plaster on his face and holding the cooking spoon, without forgetting to call out, "Next."

Although more than a hundred people had died the night before, those who survived seemed unaffected, only sometimes slightly sighing during casual conversations, as if expressing regret for the deceased.

Leaning against the water wheel, eating a bun he just bought, Yuan Hao looked towards the white smoke rising in the distance and couldn't help murmuring,

"Maybe we should learn from their optimism."

"Yeah..." Vite nodded, admiration and emotion in his eyes, "Perhaps, that's why they've managed to survive in this harsh world."

"Speaking of which, the soy milk today is not bad."

"Indeed! To tell the truth, I really wish we could leave the planting chambers to them... Using the freeze-drying workshop and the mobile kitchen to process those precious ingredients is just a waste."

At that time, from the direction of Rhombus Lake to the south, a black transport plane approached.

Its shape was striking like a dolphin, with a wide nose and a slender body, and the two engines located at the bottom of the fuselage, one in front and one behind, were ejecting enchanting blue fire arcs, propelling the fuselage forward.

The electromagnetic Point Defense on top of the Pioneer targeted it, following its outline slowly for a while before firing two mass bombs as a warning.

The thunderous booms that pierced the sound barrier halted the plane, which obediently stopped moving forward and landed gently in the open space south of the Pioneer.

With the engines off, four men wearing exoskeletons jumped cleanly out of the cabin and headed towards the Pioneer from afar.

Many players in the action camp witnessed this scene, their faces showing surprise.

"What the hell?"

"A helicopter without propellers!"

"That engine emitting blue light is so cool..."

"If only I could buy one!"

"One million silver coins a piece, go buy it."

"Shut up, what if the game designers overhear you?"

Regarding these unexpected visitors, the Pioneer went into the highest level of combat readiness but did not sound the alarms. Logistics staff took elevators back inside the fortress, and four marines in power armor descended from the elevator.

Approaching with three teammates, Captain Lu Yang scrutinized the four men in front of him, his brows lightly furrowed.

"Who are you?"

The man in the lead took a step forward and spoke politely.

"We are from the Giant Stone City Militia Group, my name is Lihua."

Lu Yang stared at him.

"Silver Wing Group First Pioneer Corps, Lu Yang, state your purpose."

"We're here to deal with the aftermath. We don't want to get involved in your conflicts, but this clash did happen on our territory..."

From the corner of his eye, Lu Yang noticed the fixed-wing drones taking off above the fortress, and Lihua reluctantly raised his hands, "Don't be nervous, friends from afar. Since your fight is over, how about stopping here? Why not leave the captives to us? We can pay a ransom for them... After all, keeping them is of no use to you, right?"

"Are you representing the Army?" Lu Yang's tone grew heavier.

Lihua said,

"A neutral third party. Of course, if you refuse, we won't say anything. After all, they are your captives, and you have the right to dispose of them."

Lu Yang pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"I can't decide alone about the captives; I need to ask our allies for their opinions."

"Allies?" The man was taken aback, exchanged a surprised glance with his teammate, and eventually looked at Lu Yang and nodded helplessly, "Fine... we can wait."

Someone dares to meddle in the matters of the Army?

Truly a brave soul!

Watching those people return to their plane, Lu Yang also returned to the Pioneer with his subordinates and made a call to Chu Guang.

When the call went through, Chu Guang was at the Office, receiving a payment list for the consolation money from Luo Hua.

117,000 CR and a magnetic confinement plasma processing machine.

Yes, the latter was free.

Following the battle, the director of logistics had changed his previous attitude and decided to repair the machine tool for free as gratitude for the support from Shelter No. 404 during the encounter.

However, the machine was technically complex and required about a week to fully repair, so it would take a bit of patience. Luo Hua assured Chu Guang that he would deliver the machine before departure.

Chu Guang certainly didn't mind waiting; he was in no rush.

Saving 100,000 CR was a huge gain!

He only had to spend 117 units of active substance after all, and thanks to the more than two thousand corpses left by the clones, the cost was essentially null.

Besides, there was also the 117,000 CR in consolation money, which whether used for buying weapons or food, was a great deal.

Of course, since the amount involved in the tens of thousands of CR meant purchasing a vast quantity of goods, Luo Hua also reminded Chu Guang that the Pioneer's production capacity had limits. If large quantities were needed, it was better to order in advance as they didn't keep a large inventory, and arranging production took time.

Like assault rifles.

Like agricultural products.

If they couldn't deliver before departure, they would have to give them the money to buy from the commercial teams of the enterprise.

Of course, these issues didn't seem to be a problem to Chu Guang at all.

If Shelter No. 404 became a permanent partner of the enterprise, it would be fine even if the CR couldn't be spent immediately; it would eventually get used.

At that moment, Chu Guang was feeling extremely pleased with himself, yet he couldn't show too much excitement; he felt like all 16 points of his strength were being used to suppress his laughter.

However, before he could enjoy his contentment, he soon received a call from Lu Yang...

"Giant Stone City? They plan to redeem the people?" Chu Guang was taken aback after hearing the words of Captain Lu.

Just a couple of days ago, he was wondering why there was no movement from the people of Giant Stone City, yet today, first thing in the morning, they showed up.

"Yes." In the holographic image, Lu Yang nodded, "They just arrived in the 'North Suburb'."

Chu Guang immediately asked,

"How did they get here?"

With so much snow!

The road from the 'North Suburb' to the Third Ring was completely blocked, and this wasn't just a short distance of one or two kilometers, but it involved traversing several mountains and tunnels!

The most crucial point was that they didn't use the Northern elevated highway, and the Hummingbirds hovering in the area didn't even spot them.

Could they have crossed from the lake?

Lu Yang: "It was a twin-engine rotorless aircraft."

Chu Guang: "..."

Well then.

He'd wasted his expressions.

But since they could afford a plane ride, they were likely not just any mercenaries or hired guns; they were probably from the Giant Stone City Militia Group.

Looking at Lu Yang's holographic image, Chu Guang's expression became serious, and without even asking how much the ransom was, he said,

"We can't take this ransom!"

Lu Yang looked at Chu Guang and asked,

"We haven't agreed to them. Before deciding how to dispose of those captives, I wanted to know your opinion."

Opinions?

What opinions could there be?

If we were to release the captives and let the Expeditionary Army up north know it was we who spoiled their plans, that would be real trouble.

Although the Army's Expeditionary Army would eventually find out that it was us who had acted, learning about the same event through different means can lead to entirely different outcomes.

If Vanus doesn't make it back, even if the generals of the Expeditionary Army did learn the truth, they might not bother sending anyone to search the south for a foolish failure.

Marching through heavy snow slows the troops down, and by the time the snow stops, the Pioneer would be long gone. Travelling over five hundred kilometers to beat up some hillbillies isn't worth it.

Too few men would be a waste of lives, too many and it wouldn't pay off.

But if Vanus made it back alive, that would be a different story.

What if he managed to persuade his general and gathered a thousand-team to come back looking for revenge?

It's not entirely impossible.

Considering this Thousand-leader's network within the Army and the Expeditionary Army, as well as potential family ties, Chu Guang could list at least four completely different possibilities.

After some thought, Lu Yang asked,

"So, what do you think is the best way to handle this?"

"If you're not planning to take him with you when you leave, then hand these captives over to us," Chu Guang said sincerely, looking at the holographic image of Lu Yang, "After the Army's Expeditionary Army is defeated in the River Valley Province, I will give him a chance to redeem himself, but not now."

Releasing him is definitely not an option, but killing him isn't right either. It's best to wait until the Expeditionary Army has withdrawn from the River Valley Province, then decide based on the situation whether to deal with him or give him a chance to redeem himself.

The Thousand-leaders of the Army are Slave Owners, and there's always a way to squeeze some benefits from them.

If all else fails, selling him to Giant Stone City is an option too.

At least while the Army's Expeditionary Army is in the River Valley Province, Chu Guang can't afford to send this unpredictable factor back.

Lu Yang had probably thought of this too and nodded.

"Right, I don't agree with releasing him now either. At least before we set off, we need to keep him under control to ensure he doesn't go running around. Since we're on the same page, I'll just send those messengers from Giant Stone City on their way."

Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slightly.

"That will be very good."

...

The jet-black helicopter took off again, heading back to Giant Stone City at the edge of Qingquan City's Third Ring Road.

Glancing at the increasingly distant Pioneer, Lihua's face showed some regret.

The militiaman seated beside him couldn't help but ask,

"Commander, we're just leaving like this?"

Lihua glanced at him.

"What else? Do you have a better idea?"

The soldier immediately shut his mouth.

What good idea could he have?

He was just worried that the group leader would blame them for returning without accomplishing anything.

But when it comes down to it, these hillbillies from the North Suburb are really daring, actually getting involved in the disputes between the Army and corporations.

Are they planning to dance in a minefield?

Incomprehensible.

In the nearby Action Camp.

Players who had expected some new developments dispersed in disappointment, each going off to do their own thing.

"What on earth were those people here for?"

"Don't know..."

"Who do you think those people were?"

"Their gear looks different from the corporations'... Could they be from Giant Stone City?"

"Possibly."

At game time midnight, which corresponds to noon the next day in real time, the official website will host a spoils auction.

From the items listed in the announcements, there were quite a few good things, and many eager online players decided to make some money in the meantime. That way, when the auction came around, they would have a chance to bid for their desired equipment.

Meanwhile, on board the Pioneer.

Wild Wind lay on the medical bed, looking at his right hand in utter astonishment, his face filled with disbelief.

It was a mechanical hand.

The shiny steel casing looked incredibly sturdy and heavy, but it did not hinder its agility in the slightest.

Honestly, it didn't look like a prosthetic at all.

It was as though it had grown right out of his own body!

At that time, he was lying in the trench, thinking he was about to go down and join Night Ten OB but surprisingly, a soldier wearing an exoskeleton saved him. There was a lot of shouting, and then he was hoisted onto a stretcher.

Anyway, he, seemingly the only one who survived with severe injuries and wasn't finished off.

To save him, the Pioneer had carried him to the operating table where they injected him with anesthesia... and then Wild Wind lost connection.

After an ordinary afternoon in reality, Wild Wind only put on the helmet that evening with a try-and-see attitude but unexpectedly managed to connect successfully.

When he woke up from his coma, he found himself transformed like this.

That's when the door to the medical room opened.

A doctor in surgical attire walked in.

"How do you feel now that you're awake?"

Wild Wind: "..."

What was this guy saying?

And there were no subtitles.

Seeing that he didn't speak, the doctor sighed softly and continued.

"I'm sorry, we did everything we could. Over 90% of the tissue in your right arm was necrotic, and we had to amputate. Later, we examined your nervous system and found your neurons were unexpectedly active, which made you a perfect candidate for a prosthetic implant. So, we fitted you with this mechanical arm."

"Compared to a bionic prosthetic, this mechanical hand might be inconvenient for daily life, but it's quite handy for lifting heavy objects and operating equipment. We don't have the means to create bionic prosthetics here, but if you're looking for that natural feeling similar to your original hand, you might want to keep an eye on corporate merchant teams... if you're lucky, you should be able to buy one."

Wild Wind didn't understand what the doctor was saying, but he felt this new arm was incredibly niubi. He couldn't wait to go show off to his buddies—

Oh no, he meant to share the good news!

This was more than just a win.

It was a huge jackpot!

After the doctor finished speaking, Wild Wind nodded sincerely.

"Thank you!"

A smile appeared on the doctor's face. He didn't understand what Wild Wind said either, but he could tell the patient's expressions.

"You're welcome, it's part of our job!"

...

Riding the elevator down from the Pioneer back to the Action Camp, Wild Wind overheard the conversation of the players around him.

"It seems like there's another collection task... moving stones at the construction site in the Northern urban area, what's that about? Are they going to mix cement again?"

"I don't know, who cares! The rewards for the task are pretty good, we'll find out when we get there."

After this battle, the game seemed to have a soft update. Though the expansion's bugs were still unresolved, a lot of new tasks were added, so much so that there was now somewhat of a labor shortage at the Action Camp.

Apart from the garbage recycling tasks, Old Luka had also posted some stone collecting and truck-driving tasks.

The trucks confiscated earlier from the Army were redistributed; two went to the Action Camp. And it seemed that the allied Fortress had new movements too—they had deployed a modular production tool next to the Action Camp.

Judging by the materials piled up nearby, was that module for producing cement?

But Wild Wind still didn't understand what these people needed cement for. Were they planning to construct a permanent fortification here?

At that moment, Fang Chang came over to greet him but caught sight of his arm at first glance.

"Holy shit?! What's going on with your arm?"

That sly face showed a sly smile.

"I don't know, it was like this when I woke up."

"Let's go!" Fang Chang excitedly reached out to pull him.

"For what?"

"Seems like a group of Mutant Snow Wolves showed up at the battlefield in Elm District. Don't know where they wandered in from, but they're messing with our recovery of Clone corpses," Fang Chang said, handing Wild Wind a bag of javelins with a smile, "I just took on a task to drive off the Mutant Snow Wolves, why don't you try it out too?"

Wild Wind was precisely planning to test the might of his new mechanical arm. He weighed the bag of javelins in his hand that was light as a feather and nodded.

"Sure... when do we leave?"

"Right now! The truck to Elm District is about to depart, let's hurry and catch a ride, ten kilometers aren't close!"

The engineers and logistics officers standing next to the cement production workshop looked up at the departing figures of the two players.

"… Are they going hunting?"

"Seems so."

"I feel like the one with the javelin looks familiar."

"I remember him, he's the one who was saved from the battlefield yesterday. His arm was blown off, only half a sleeve dangling from his shoulder! Director Li personally arranged for his prosthetic implant surgery, so I guess he's woken up now..."

As they spoke, they both showed expressions of admiration on their faces.

Just off the operating table, and already heading out hunting with a weapon in hand.

That was simply too niubi!

-

(Day 5/30, asking for your votes! After a few chapters, when the corporate people have left, the Action Camp will become the new gathering spot, acting as the second "town" in the MMORPG, serving initially like a merchant team's station. It will be linked to the northern resource gathering spot and the hunting grounds in the northwest Elm District. What do you guys think we should name it? If you've got good names, we'll use yours!)

Chapter 157: Is Spring Coming for the Intelligence System?

Elm District.

At the edge of a concrete wall covered in vines and bullet holes, a whoosh cut through the air.

Before the snow wolf gnawing at a corpse on the ground could react, it was nailed fiercely to a nearby tree trunk by a thrown spear.

Fang Chang, holding a mechanical composite bow, approached and checked the prey—it was dead. When he saw the short spear that had penetrated the tree trunk, he couldn't help but click his tongue.

"This is just too awesome!"

The tree trunk was as thick as a thigh.

If it were him shooting with an arrow, he wouldn't be able to penetrate it without a charged shot.

No, even with a charged shot, it would be difficult, unless it was switched to a pure steel-forged arrowhead, perhaps.

Wild Wind glanced at his own right hand, his face a picture of bewilderment as he muttered softly.

"...Is it really that strong?"

"Brother Wind."

"What?"

"Maybe switch hands when wiping your butt from now on."

"Get lost!"

Wild Wind stepped forward and tried to pull out the spear, but he only managed to extract half of it; the other half remained stuck in the back of the trunk.

As for the mutant snow wolf, there was no need to check—it was definitely dead beyond dead.

Fang Chang: "The strength in that right hand of yours must rate at least 30 points. It feels like it could even pierce steel plates. Consider broadening your ideas, not just spears—throwing knives, slinging arrows, rocks, bricks... Damn, I suddenly feel like Old White's strength type is totally being duped by a mechanical arm."

"Not necessarily," Wild Wind shook his head and said, "I remember Brother Guang mentioning in the group chat a while ago that each phase of the Level 10 Gene Sequence for the strength type should unlock exclusive skills. Otherwise, compared to the mechanical ones, it does seem a bit lackluster."

The strength types were one thing; worst case, they could just attach another mechanical arm, but Variant type players were truly suffering. They are inherently not proficient with complex machinery and not to mention their poor intelligence attribute.

If they can't compensate for this disadvantage with skills later, Variant types are entirely lackluster. Wild Wind estimated that when they reach level 10, there definitely would be some new changes.

"That's true," Fang Chang nodded, "Now that you mention it, I also remember, that boss from the Blood Hand Clan... almost surpassed his limits before dying."

"Yes, and... I feel this mechanical prosthesis must have some demand on the intelligence attribute," looking at the broken spear in hand, Wild Wind thoughtfully said, "I don't feel anything under normal usage, but if I increase the output power, there's a slight feeling of dizziness... I'm not sure what causes this phenomenon, and there's nothing similar mentioned on the official website."

Fang Chang stroked his chin with interest and suddenly spoke up.

"Speaking of which, what's the power source for that mechanical arm of yours?"

Wild Wind paused briefly and replied.

"Not sure, but there's a charging port here."

Saying this, Wild Wind lifted his sleeve, revealing a hole on his arm.

Fang Chang stared at it for a while and said.

"There's more than one hole, huh? There's one on the forearm and another on the upper arm... I suspect not all are charging ports."

Wild Wind: "What else do you think there could be?"

Fang Chang: "Look at this slot on your shoulder, the two bars outside obviously serve as a fixation slot, I guess it's for connecting external implant plugs. Maybe in the future, you could attach another... uh, arm?"

Wild Wind: "..."

Another arm, that could work.

Doctor Octopus?

Doesn't seem impossible.

But, he doesn't have a third arm in real life, so even if he attached this non-existent arm, how would he use it... Wait a sec.

Wild Wind suddenly looked up, speaking to Fang Chang.

"Do you remember what the official website said about the intelligence system? I recall it mentioned that the intelligence attribute affects the operation and the number of connections for neural access devices."

Fang Chang nodded.

"I was just thinking about that issue. Perhaps mechanical modification is indeed the correct combat approach for the intelligence system. If the store later opens up the purchase of implanted prostheses, perhaps the spring of the intelligence system is coming!"

"The spring of the Intelligence System."

Wild Wind suddenly felt teary-eyed.

He always felt like he had been waiting forever, and now it was finally here.

Fang Chang said, "But you better be careful. Even if I dropped my mechanical bow, I could pick it up again, but if you died... even if your arm could be recovered, I think fitting it back on would be quite a feat."

Wild Wind held his right arm, calmly stating,

"Don't worry, I'll take care of my Kylin Arm."

Amused by his coy expression, Fang Chang laughed and said, "You really should take good care of it. Also, it might be best to avoid showing off on the Forum later."

"...Why?"

Seeing Wild Wind clearly planning to flaunt on the Forum, Fang Chang sighed deeply and said,

"Bro, do you know how many people were severely injured and repaired last night? I'd say at least a quarter of the 117."

A mechanical arm!

Not to mention those players who got repaired.

Even those like him who had minor injuries and only needed a bandage were insanely jealous of such god-like luck!

Thinking of the players clamoring to be 'cut down,' the usually calm Wild Wind felt nervous.

"Then I'll make up a story later..."

"That's better," Fang Chang nodded. "Just say you saved their leader's life, and you traded your life for this mechanical arm. It sounds much better than just laying on the ground, waking up, and having some 'God Equip' extra."

Wild Wind quickly nodded.

"Alright, I'll do that!"

"If anyone asks, that's what I'll say."

...

Giant Stone City.

A vertical-takeoff aircraft soared over the towering concrete walls and the peripheral urban areas, landing on the helipad outside the buildings of the Inner City.

Accompanied by three teammates, Lihua jumped off the steady plane, walked toward the officer waiting at the edge of the helipad, and gave a military salute.

"Reporting, sir, the mission failed. The enemy refused to hand over the POWs and declined further discussion on the ransom."

The middle-aged man dressed as an officer nodded, not blaming them.

"Alright, I'm aware now, you can go."

"Yes, sir."

Handling disputes between the Army and corporations had to be done very carefully; if the Army got upset, it could bring warfare to Qingquan City.

Provoking the corporations was equally troublesome; although they were far away and sending troops directly was impractical, they could simply adjust the regional risk assessment and tighten the banking support for trade routes, potentially halving the commercial teams coming from the East Coast, costing at least a billion in chips yearly.

Whoever ended up winning, they had to visit there.

If they could buy off the POWs to earn some favors, that would be ideal.

If playing mediator failed, it was no big deal; at least they had tried, and when envoys from either side came asking, they would have an explanation.

...

Outpost Base, the heavy snow subsided slightly.

Carrying a hunting bow, Yu Hu had walked a long way and finally saw the outline of the south gate. However, he was puzzled, as there seemed to be far fewer people than usual.

Were they all busy elsewhere?

The gate guard recognized his face and, after routinely checking his pass, let him through.

The industrial area's chimneys were still puffing away, with the sound of metal being struck intermittently floating from the half-closed workshops, indicating there were people inside.

Without staying long in the southern industrial zone, Yu Hu went straight to the main building of the sanatorium.

There was a room there with a sign on it, and although Yu Hu didn't know what was written on the sign, he knew it was a bank and also where his sister worked.

"This work is pretty easy; most players with VM already use electronic payments, only newcomers use metal currency.

In his spare time, Little Fish would just hold a book and sit at the wooden table by the door, reading.

When they arrived at the entrance of the bank, seeing Little Fish sitting and reading at a wooden table, Yu Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his hanging heart also settled down.

"Little Fish, are you alright?"

"Brother?" Little Fish, lifting her head in surprise, looked at the second brother standing at the door, put down the book in her hand, and curiously asked, "Why are you here?"

Yu Hu smiled and said, "I'm just worried about you! Last night, a bright light flashed in the north; Big Brother, sister-in-law, Dad, and Mom were all really worried about you. So, I came to check on you on their behalf."

Little Fish: "I'm fine, I saw that very bright light last night too, but it's quite far from here, so it didn't affect me."

"I'm relieved you're safe!" Looking at his unharmed sister, Yu Hu said with relief, "Remember to eat more meat, only then can you grow taller."

Little Fish shook her head like a bobblehead.

"I can't eat too much, eating too full will make you fat."

Yu Hu: "It's good to put on some weight!"

Little Fish: "Not good!"

The little sister was fine in every aspect except she was quite stubborn. When it came to arguing, Yu Hu had never won against her since he could remember. He sighed and then didn't argue with her anymore.

"Never mind, you wouldn't understand; I won't argue with you… By the way, what is this book about? Is it interesting?"

Little Fish slightly curled her lips, looking at her clueless elder brother, and boasted.

"This book, it's about the sayings from Brother Chu! Little Fish is now learning two languages!"

Yu Hu, playing with the book, was stunned.

"Ah? Wouldn't that get you confused?"

Little Fish proudly said: "Not at all; Little Fish is very smart! Brother Chu said that as long as I study hard, he will reward me with candy."

Yu Hu looked envious.

It wasn't the book he envied.

It was the candy.

He wanted some too…

…

Seeing his sister well and even in better spirits than when she was at home, Yu Hu's little worry also disappeared.

He planned to greet Brother Chu before leaving, but unfortunately, Brother Chu was not here. The old man in charge of the warehouse said he seemed to have gone north, just a few minutes ago.

Thinking of last night's nuclear explosion in the north, Yu Hu couldn't help worrying a bit, hoping that the place Brother Chu went to wouldn't be too dangerous.

Every year on Bet Street, there are always one or two unlucky fellows who get sick from radiation and, unable to afford the expensive anti-radiation drugs, can only lie in bed and wait for death.

Moreover, compared to the radiation itself, the Variants attracted by the radiation are even more dangerous, and the probability of breeding dangerous species is much higher than in other places.

Anyway, may he live long.

In this damned world, there were too few kind-hearted people like Brother Chu!

…

"Achoo."

Chu Guang, sitting on a light truck, suddenly sneezed without warning; Xia Yan glanced at him.

"Caught a cold?"

"No, probably someone's thinking about me."

It was just a casual remark, but somehow, the guy sitting next to him, suddenly glared at him.

"Who, who would be thinking about you, don't flatter yourself."

Chu Guang: "...?"

What the heck."

While they were talking, the truck pulled up next to the Pioneer.

Chu Guang hopped down from the truck and lent a hand to the limping Boss Xia.

After getting off the truck, Xia Yan looked around cautiously, eyeing the massive steel platform and the tracks, then glanced at the nearby production workshop that buzzed incessantly, and whispered,

"What did you bring me here for? Is there some new work? Just to be clear, I don't want to be too far from the shelter, and I don't want to live outside..."

Hey?

You're quite picky.

Chu Guang responded, "Okay, decided. I'll throw you outside for two days."

Hearing that it was indeed a change of position, Xia Yan's face turned sour, and she muttered in aggrieved tones,

"Hey... if you have any complaints about me, just say it. Can't I change if you tell me?"

Chu Guang glanced at her without a word and then led her directly to the side of the Pioneer's elevator. A woman dressed in a white cold-weather suit had been waiting there for a while and smiled at them.

Her name was Wu Ya, a medical staff member of the logistics department on the Pioneer, skilled in surgery and prosthesis implantation research.

Approaching her, Chu Guang got straight to the point,

"Doctor Wu, this is the cripple; I leave her in your hands."

Amused by the term "cripple," Doctor Wu looked at him with a smile and said,

"Rest assured, our technology is professional."

"Uh, just don't let her die."

"Wait, what? Die?" Xia Yan was utterly confused by their conversation. Her face turned pale with anxiety, and she took a step back, "What, what are you going to do to me?"

Wu Ya couldn't help but laugh out loud. After shooting Chu Guang an annoyed look, she turned to her patient and explained,

"Your boss is just joking with you. He has bought you a mechanical prosthesis, which I will install shortly. Please be assured, the prosthesis implantation surgery is a mature technology here, with a less than 1% chance of any mishap, and even if something does go wrong, the risks are completely manageable."

Prosthesis?

Surgery?

Xia Yan was stunned.

After a while, she looked at Chu Guang in disbelief.

"You..."

Knowing what she wanted to say and also knowing this crude fellow couldn't utter any pleasant words of thanks, Chu Guang casually waved his hand to stop her,

"No need to thank me, just work well to repay me."

Dropping these words, he walked toward the direction of the Action Camp, where players were still waiting for him to assign tasks.

Watching Chu Guang's departing figure, Xia Yan stood dazed for a moment, her heart gradually filling with complex emotions.

Prosthesis...

That must be expensive.

Especially in Giant Stone City, it still carries a high price.

She had seen it several times in shop windows—some powerful prostheses that could even compare to a bionic person with basic intelligence. Even citizens with civil status would shake their heads at the sight and say they couldn't afford it.

Typically, only powerful mercenaries or private soldiers maintained by the big bosses had the chance to use such costly equipment.

Honestly, after seeing her leg become what it was, she had almost given up hope for the future. Even though Chu Guang had once told her that he would give her a leg if she performed well, she never took it seriously, thinking of it as a pie in the sky.

After all, that was an item worth tens of thousands of chips.

How could it possibly be used on someone like herself...

Not to mention he had said it jokingly.

"Do you need me to wait for you a moment?" Doctor Wu asked softly, walking up beside her. "After all, you're the only surgery scheduled for today."

Pulling up her collar to hide her red, frozen ears, Xia Yan picked up her crutch stuck in the snow and turned to the elevator, saying softly,

"No need..."

"Let's go."

Chapter 158 Alpha0.8 Version Announcement! A Brand-New Base System and SLG Gameplay?

Although Wild Wind kept a low profile at Brother Fang Chang's suggestion, the pure steel arm was too eye-catching.

As soon as the two returned to Action Camp, they were immediately surrounded by players.

Especially the Intelligence System players, who were so excited that they almost cried. They gathered around Wild Wind to shake hands, nearly rubbing the paint off his Kylin Arm.

"Damn, why didn't I come across such a good thing!"

"I don't care, unless I get one too, otherwise it's definitely a dark curtain!"

"Sob sob, please, Brother Guang from planning, grant me a Kylin Arm, I promise to burn incense for you every day!"

"After hearing this, Brother Guang smiled and didn't speak, and set your luck to zero. You're the next to be assassinated by the storyline."

"Giao! I was wrong, Brother Guang! I am so wrong!"

In any case, with his new mechanical arm, Wild Wind was quite spectacular for a few days, even juggling javelins, throwing knives, and bricks.

The Forum also saw posts like "Each update, a new legend. The weakest Sequence, the Intelligence System, is about to rise!" and "The era of cybernetic implants is coming, the Strength Type will finally be the little brother!" These were highly misleading reports for newbies and were completely irresponsible.

Besides, it wasn't just the smaller players having fun.

Ever since he had his prosthetic legs installed, Boss Xia had been much cheerier, strolling around the base daily.

That's a good thing.

Exercise is beneficial for health.

However, recently Boss Xia had been looking at Chu Guang in a way that made him slightly uncomfortable.

How to put it.

It was like owing someone tens of thousands, not knowing if it was guilt or just embarrassment. Chu Guang, who had been forced to work in sales before transporting to this world, had never seen such an expression in the eyes of a few customers.

Sales, huh.

Isn't it normal to be taken advantage of a bit if you're too handsome?

Chu Guang didn't mind himself, but this guy seemed to.

"If you feel uncomfortable using it, you can go for another operation to have them removed."

Xia Yan immediately dodged to the side.

"No way! Do you know how painful that surgery is?"

"Don't you know? Didn't the doctor give you anesthesia?"

"He did, but the first two days of adapting post-surgery were all sorts of awkward, it felt as if the legs belonged to me and yet didn't," whispered Xia Yan. "By the way, those prosthetics weren't cheap, right?"

Chu Guang chuckled and did not answer.

Joking.

Are class E trade goods ever cheap?

Even if it did not involve banned technology, the design and craftsmanship were definitely top-notch.

However, Boss Xia was lucky. The Pioneer did not have the capability to produce bionic limbs, and there just so happened to be two right legs left in the storage.

Chu Guang and Li De bargained for a long time before getting their hands on them.

Seeing Chu Guang not answering, Xia Yan asked quietly.

"... How much?"

"One million silver coins."

Xia Yan glared at him reproachfully.

"... I'm serious here."

"Ten million silver coins."

"!!!"

Boss Xia couldn't take a joke, and with just two casually mentioned figures, she clenched her teeth and nearly pounced to bite someone.

But almost is still almost.

Seeing Xia Yan angrily stomping her foot and going back to work at the weapon shop, Chu Guang still couldn't find any reason to dock her salary.

He glanced around at the sparsely populated Outpost Base.

Chu Guang sighed quietly in his heart.

"Better open B3 level soon..."

He missed the bustling times.

With gameplay changes in the expansion pack and transportation routes opening, players had run off to the Action Camp to pioneer new territories, leaving only a few self-entertaining lifestyle players in the industrial area to work on those 'little tricks' useless in real life; thus, Outpost Base was too quiet.

As time passed day by day,

On the seventh day of withdrawal symptoms, players finally awaited the announcement from the official "Wasteland OL" website.

Their hopeful and excited expressions were heart-wrenching.

It was evident, every day without being able to log on felt like agony.

However, after reading the content of the announcement, the little players' mood quickly fell into an even deeper abyss.

The announcement wasn't the bug fix they had hoped for.

It was a brand new version!

Well, hallelujah.

The darn officials had once again stopped acting like humans!

...

Official Website:

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta alpha0.8 version update notice.]

[Significant Updates:

1. Number of beta players increased to 500.

2. New "Base System" and gameplay added!

]

[Optimizations:

1. Optimized the Quartermaster AI at Outpost Base, adding personality traits to NPCs - the scholarly-looking Luo Hua is actually a drunkard, and the silent Ais likes fluffy things and is even willing to spend money on them.

2. Boss Xia added a new prosthetic leg, crutch removed from the sprite, and if she gets angry, she might chase you down and beat you up.

3. More variety of food, today's recommended recipes include sesame soy milk and glutinous rice dumplings.

4. Fixed a few bugs. (The bug where players can't resurrect is still unresolved)

5. ...

]

[As the number of players further increases, the Player Manual and User Conventions have been updated to... version, adding Army, Enterprise, Academy, and other full-map factions' contact treaties; please check them in time if you have obtained the beta qualification, to prevent a poor game experience for yourself and others.]

[Current reservations: 11111 people]

...

[alpha0.8 version developer's log]

Guang: "Hello everyone, I am your beloved planner Ah Guang! After drowning a product goldfish in last night's Death Lottery, the programmers and engineers finally got their desired bananas, and we received the innovative Alpha0.8! Although I always say this, this time, like last time, is serious!"

"We often ponder how to establish a friendly NPC interaction virtual community in 'Wasteland OL,' a game primarily featuring sandbox gameplay, rather than an out-of-control and chaotic fast-food world."

"Therefore, in the Alpha0.8 version, we made a decision contrary to tradition, adding a unique gameplay element to Wasteland OL that traditional MMORPGs lack — namely, the Base System!"

"In the concepts we previously outlined, we mentioned that bases belonging to players would develop gradually based on player actions and grow stronger. With the assistance of our allies, the Action Camp is rapidly developing and will soon become our second base, connecting Elm District and the northern abandoned towns, and attracting commercial teams passing through the northern suburb of Qingquan City."

"We have now quantified this process. The prosperity status of player bases will be updated on the VM map in the form of a card, and every task you complete will accumulate progress for the growth of your base! You will witness first-hand how a survivor base goes from desolate to flourishing — it's reflected not only on the shelves of NPC shops but also on the faces of each resident!"

"For players, we have added a new 'Regional Reputation' attribute, which is integrated into the VM map interface. You can view it by selecting the relevant survivor base."

"Friendly behavior, generous donations, and development-related tasks can all boost your reputation at that survivor base. Conversely, unfriendly behavior will result in penalties and a deduction of your reputation in that area."

"When your reputation score is between -100 and 1000, the reputation level is Indifference, you can freely take on regular tasks and trade goods. However, to the locals, you're just an insignificant traveler."

"When your reputation reaches 1000, the reputation level upgrades to Friendly, people start valuing your opinion and see you as a dear friend. You will receive discounts when shopping in the area, unlock more tasks, and be allowed to operate industries locally. When your reputation reaches 10,000, the reputation level upgrades to Respected, people acknowledge your existence and believe you have brought them prosperity. Besides acquiring more exciting tasks, you can even take on some special public positions to showcase your individual value."

"When your reputation exceeds 10,000, the reputation level upgrades to Revered, NPCs will see you as a benefactor, a hero, or even a great figure! They will carve your name in the square and may even erect a statue in your honor. Not only will you unlock new achievements, but you'll also have the opportunity to enter the city hall to hold important positions and strategize on the future development of the survivor base... Unlocking SLG gameplay in an RPG game, doesn't that sound wonderful?"

"When your reputation falls below -100, the relationship level drops to Hostile, and players will be barred from entering that survivor base, unable to receive tasks from that region, and can only be slowly repaired over time, about one point per day. When your reputation falls below -1000, the relationship level drops to Hated, resulting in proactive attacks and possibly becoming the target of bounty tasks by other players... Of course, you don't need to worry too much about this, as it's nearly impossible to lose so much reputation all at once unless the guard corps catches you and sends you back underground."

"It is worth noting that regional reputation is different from Contribution Points. Contribution is towards a faction, concerning your identity and privileges, whereas reputation is about the estimation by people in various areas within the faction. Currently, the reputation system is limited to within factions, and non-player faction survivor bases do not have this concept."

"That concludes this update's 'Base System' and related gameplay. For more details, players are encouraged to explore in the game. We are currently developing the 'Occupation System,' but it's uncertain whether it will be released in the next version."

After posting the update announcement and developer logs for Alpha0.8 on the official website's notice board and forum, Chu Guang swiftly departed.

As expected.

The forum was instantly overwhelmed by 117+1+5 players experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

Quit smoking: "Wait, what about the unrevivable BUG?! It's been a week! Just pretending nothing happened?? QAQ"

Gnome King Riches: "Wow, a new version is here, and the BUG hasn't been fixed?!"

There are Mosquitoes in WC: "Where is your company?!(╯°Д°)╯"

Elena: "What do you want to do, I advise you to be kind. (Sarcastic)"

As the forum was filled with cries and wails, players discussing the new version didn't dare to speak up and all slipped into private groups to talk.

Only the backseat players were cheekily mocking those Europeans sent to prison in Australia.

Missing one version also counts as an issue?

I've missed several versions and expansions without saying anything, and bookings have already exceeded tens of thousands, yet I haven't even touched the helmet!

Come down from there!

...

At the same time.

In the Cow and Horse Club group chat.

Elder Fang, who had seen the update content online, manually typed the data card added to the VM map page and posted it in the group.

[

Base Name: Outpost Base

Base Level: Village (LV1)

Prosperity: 100

Industry Index: 150

Commerce Index: 150

Needs: Food, weapons, building materials

Orientation: Exploration (scavenging task revenue +10%), Industrialization (factory orders and production tasks revenue +10%)

]

[Regional Reputation: 0 (Neutral)]

Prosperity mainly depends on the NPC population, living conditions, and the number of public facilities. Regions with higher prosperity have more quests and higher upper limits on quest rewards.

The Industrial Index is related to productivity. Bases with higher industrial indexes have stronger logistical capabilities, cheaper equipment, and lower industrial product prices.

As the name implies, a Commercial Index means the base has a more prosperous market, influenced more by foreign trade compared to domestic sales. This is reflected in more tradable commodities and the more frequent appearance of trade convoys and itinerant merchants, among others.

As for demand, it generally means that such commodities can sell at better prices in the region. The tendency is similar to the reward bonus BUFF that players receive when they take on quests from the base.

For example, logging tasks at a base lacking timber could yield higher profits.

This is quite reasonable.

As for regional reputation, that's Elder Fang's own attribute, and everyone starts at zero.

You can increase it by completing tasks that bring "prosperity" to the area or by providing much-needed supplies during shortages.

The game mechanics suddenly became richer.

Old White truly has mosquitoes: "What about the Action Camp? I'm curious about what level it's at now!"

Elder Fang: "The Action Camp doesn't have a data card. Its prosperity is 15. I guess once the prosperity reaches 100, it can evolve into a Survivor Base, unlocking the corresponding data card."

Elder Fang: "Additionally, Bet Street's prosperity is actually 140, but both the industrial and the commercial indexes are very low, just 10 and 20, barely into the double digits."

Old White: "It seems this prosperity is mainly influenced by the number of NPCs."

Elder Fang: "Not necessarily. My guess is that the players' impact on prosperity is mainly shown through quests and trade, not by contributing population. After all, compared to NPCs whose range of activity is fixed, players are much more mobile."

Night Ten: "Wuu wuu wuu, I regret! I thought this BUG would at most take three days to fix. I haven't played the game for a week now! And now Alpha0.8 is out! QAQ"

Old White: "Don't panic, everyone is suffering, not just you who can't log in. I heard the compensation will be increased. (Grinning)"

Night Ten: "Ah well, compensated or not, the main thing is I want to do some grinding."

Wild Wind: "Find a factory."

Night Ten: "Gosh, working in a factory is exhausting, and I still have classes during the day! It's not as cool as in the game, where you play all night and feel refreshed the next day."

Old White: "Speaking of which, Elder Fang, what do you think about this update? Is it necessary to grind for reputation?"

Elder Fang: "I guess regional reputation is probably aimed at individual players. If we go the guild route, there's no need to deliberately farm it; we should mainly focus on accumulating Contribution Points."

Old White: "How so?"

Elder Fang: "As stated in the developer's log, Contribution Points are contributions to the faction, while regional reputation represents a player's reputation in a certain city within the faction. Didn't Ah Guang mention this before? Later stages will open up higher status levels, allowing players to form guilds and establish their own Survivor Bases. Unlike NPC towns, player-established bases probably don't have a regional reputation setting, at least not for the guild members themselves."

Elder Fang: "As for reputation, even if you grind it to the highest 100,000 to reach the worship level, you'd just get some minor position in the city hall, and at most, you could become the mayor? Though it might impact the development of the base, I feel like it will ultimately still be dominated by NPCs."

Wild Wind: "Indeed, we can't just hand over Northern County Monastery and Flash Gold Town to players. That would too much affect other players' gaming experience. At least the main and crucial side narratives related to NPC bases should remain in the hands of NPCs... From a planner's perspective, that should be the case."

Night Ten: "By the way, does this game have a main storyline?"

Wild Wind: "Of course, it does! Did you forget the declaration under the United Human flag? (Side-eye)"

Night Ten: "Uh, okay. There was indeed such a setup when I first joined the game. I almost completely forgot. (Silly)"

Wild Wind: "Be careful not to be sent back underground. (Side-eye)"

Night Ten: "That won't happen. I have built merits for the shelter! I have shed blood for the United Human! But on a side note, not being able to log in really sucks. The game's penalty for breaches is seriously exaggerated."

Quit smoking: "Do you suffer as much as I do! I'm torn apart! (Crying)"

Old White: "Hahaha, Smoking Quitting Brother really has it rough!"

Elder Fang: "No comparison, no comparison, you still own the fastest death achievement."

Quit smoking: "T.T"

Chu Guang, silently lurking in the chat group, slightly smiled.

The players who best understand him are indeed here.

How nice!

Chapter 159: Chief, We're Running Out of Money!

North suburb Fifth Ring Road of Qingquan City.

A skyscraper on the edge of the ring road overpass had its 20th floor hallway covered in dark green slime molds and eroded moss.

Bright orange tracer bullet heads wove a web in the corridor, the scorching air almost charred the atmosphere, and at the center of the concentrated fire was a three-meter tall humanoid beast.

Its skin had completely keratinized; its twisted muscles were pitch black, and its arms protected its head, managing to push forward two steps despite the electromagnetic-accelerated mass bombs.

But just two steps—

"Roar—!"

With a half-hearted roar of defiance, the three-meter-tall tyrant eventually fell heavily under the concentrated fire of the Gauss rifles.

Five power armor suits had no reason to lose in such terrain.

Lu Yang crisply signaled with his hand, and the squad members wearing power armor proceeded forward, continuing along the slime-covered corridor until they reached a hefty alloy door.

One of the squad members approached the door, pulled a thumb-thick cable from the forearm armor, and connected it to the touch screen beside the right side of the door.

"Key acquired... Successfully entered safe mode."

"Open the door."

"Received, opening now."

The door trembled before slowly opening to both sides.

Stale air rushed forth.

Looking at the dust on the ground, Lu Yang felt a surge of joy in his heart.

Leaving two squad members to guard the entrance, he led the other two inside, glancing around, his excited expression growing increasingly evident.

"Comparative results matched..."

"We found it!"

Carbon dioxide trap!

One of the essential public facilities indispensable for high-density urban clusters.

During the height of the Prosperity Epoch, when population and industry were concentrated, carbon emissions reached alarmingly high levels. Traditional green vegetation alone was insufficient to absorb the excess carbon dioxide; even if the entire city were covered in green plants, it couldn't absorb such vast amounts of greenhouse gases, and oxygen scarcity would become another significant development issue after the heat island effect.

In the mid-Prosperity Epoch, United Human widely adopted a solution that had been tested in space activities—carbon sustainment technology.

That is, setting up carbon dioxide processing devices on specific floors of high-rise buildings, converting carbon dioxide into other carbon-containing compounds through multiple complex chemical processes, allowing the region's air quality to reach a habitable level while also producing some industrial raw materials.

It's said that just half a floor of this space could process an amount of carbon dioxide each year that could rival an entire primitive forest or a body of water's algae.

The group searched carefully within the facility and soon found a backup thermal nuclear fusion generator that had been shut off.

Because soon after entering the Wasteland Era, United Human's carbon emissions plummeted dramatically, even falling below the levels before the Industrial Revolution, those carbon trappers naturally stopped working, and the thermal nuclear fusion reactors that powered them consequently shut down as well.

For this reason, carbon dioxide traps were among the few facilities from which thermal nuclear fusion fuel rods could be reliably recovered after the war.

Lu Yang, leading his own marines, cautiously dismantled and removed the fuel rods, which contained liquid helium-3.

"Done!"

"How much energy is left?"

"93%"

"That'll last us a very long time!"

Helium-3 is a stable isotope with a negligible half-life, and although thermal nuclear fusion can't be turned on and off as easily as cold fusion, it has the advantage of nearly no "fuel" loss when shutting down the reactor.

This was something cold fusion cells simply couldn't match.

The soldiers carefully stored the fuel rods inside a metal cylinder, completing the operation. Then the marines glanced at the various boxes and storage tanks around them.

"Sir, how shall we deal with the rest of these items?"

Lu Yang looked around.

"Stay here then," said Chu Guang.

"Our allies should find that useful," Game added.

...

At the same time, over twenty kilometers away on the Pioneer, in the logistics department's office.

Seated in the office chair, Li De, looking at the electronic spreadsheet on the flexible screen, had a face that spelled surprise.

This was the production report from the previous week.

Among the eye-catching data, they had astonishingly recycled 1,872 tons of waste for the past week, achieving 255% of the expected efficiency!

Those Blue Jackets were incredibly hardcore, managing an alarming daily recycling average of 267.4 tons, with each person collecting 1.3 tons per day, more extraordinary than before the great War. If this work had been handed over to the natives, one would laugh out loud if they could achieve even a third of this efficiency.

And their additional expenditure was merely 9,360 CR.

Li De could hardly believe his eyes; if this report hadn't been personally handed to him by his secretary, he would have wondered if something was amiss.

Were they all robots?!

No, even better than machines!

Up to this day, a week had passed since the battle with the Army, and a sad atmosphere still hovered over the Pioneer, with many engulfed in the sorrow of losing comrades, low in spirits, and working inefficiently.

But these Blue Jackets were different.

They had endured even more casualties, yet they weren't defeated by hardship, instead transforming their grief and anger into motivation, living each day actively and optimistically.

What incredible faith and belief this must be!

Thanks to the diligence of those Blue Jackets, they had almost cleared out the entire underground parking garage and two abandoned factories filled with cobalt- and nickel-containing industrial waste.

From this total of 1,872 tons of waste, they had successfully recycled 941.4 tons of metal and turned it into the parts they needed.

And there were even excesses.

As Li De couldn't help but feel impressed, Wang Jie, the secretary who stood before the desk, suddenly spoke up.

"There's one more thing," Wang Jie said.

Folding the tablet in his hands like a scroll to the size of a pen and casually tossing it into a drawer, Li De looked up at his secretary in a good mood and asked amiably.

"What's that?"

Wang Jie wore an awkward expression but still spoke up.

"It's about the demands of the frontline engineers... They want to increase their attendance subsidy from 10 CR per hour to 15 CR per hour."

"…?" Li De was baffled.

What the hell??

Weren't these lazy dogs complaining just a few months ago that they had so much cash they didn't know where to spend it, dismissing his pile of 'useless paper' that tempted them to work?

Now they're complaining about insufficient subsidies?

Wang Jie's expression remained awkward as he quickly continued.

"Perhaps... it's because the Survivor Settlements we've encountered before were too poor, and the benefits on the Pioneer are too generous—they really had nowhere to spend their money. I don't know what to say, but our employees have indeed been quite extravagant with money recently... I think we might need to put some restrictions."

Li De's face turned red as he knocked on the table angrily.

"The question is, where are they spending all this money?! Wiping their asses with it? Can buying a few buns cost that much?!"

Wang Jie said, "Of course not just buns. There are dumplings with various fillings, sweet rice balls, soy milk, fried dough sticks, and... ahem. I think we need to upgrade our mobile kitchen. Those Blue Jackets take our raw materials, make slight modifications, sell back to us, and earn a lot of our money."

Li De was speechless.

Wang Jie swallowed and went on.

"Besides food, they've also been selling clothes, scarves, and other trinkets lately, especially a silk product that is very popular with the female passengers. They call it Devil Silk, apparently a specialty of the Central Region. Surprisingly, this silk thread is extremely tough, almost comparable to the fire-resistant fibers we use in bulletproof vests... The power of nature, to be honest, is quite marvelous, and even I find it surprising. Our technicians researched it for quite a while, managed to figure out its composition, but never understood its industrial synthesis method."

Li De pressed his temples.

"Just these?"

He didn't care about the Devil Moth silk, nor did he care about what clothes and trinkets the female passengers had bought.

All he wanted to know was how much CR they had wasted in the hands of those Blue Jackets.

This money wasn't something you could just sign for at a restaurant.

It had to be cashed in on the spot!

"Uh, there were also some special ingredients, like black truffles... they were very cheap there, selling for 1CR per gram."

Li De abruptly lifted his head.

"1CR per gram? Are there any left???"

Wang Jie looked at the head of the department in surprise and nodded blankly.

"There should be some left. The mushroom seller sets up his stall at the Action Camp around six o'clock every evening… Head of the department?"

Realizing his own lapse in composure, Li De quickly regained his senses and after a light cough, he resumed his serious expression to continue.

"I'm just a bit surprised, I didn't expect them to know how to enjoy... By the way, is the Magnetic Constrained Plasma CNC Machine Tool fixed?"

Wang Jie nodded.

"It's fixed. Our warehouse personnel have just delivered it to them, and in a little while it should all be delivered to their outpost on the surface."

Thinking of that machine tool, Li De felt somewhat regretful.

He had been too hasty in his decision-making at the time; just that machine tool alone could have helped them recoup 100,000 CR.

It shouldn't have been free!

However, those Blue Jackets really did help them out a lot. They didn't ask for those Blue Jackets to support their war, but they did so anyway, and at the most critical moments of the battle, they rushed forward with guns without a second thought.

Honestly, without them, it's hard to say what the casualty figures would have been in the end. Perhaps they would have had to abandon the second tactical nuclear bomb, perhaps many more than three people would have perished that day...

Li De pondered and thought if he had to make the decision again, he might still choose the same way.

With a soft sigh, he said.

"Good, as long as it's delivered. We should be leaving in a few days anyway."

Dragging things out like this was never going to work.

The longer they waited, the tougher the road ahead would be. If it hadn't been for a sudden breakdown, there would have been no need to get into that fight with the Army.

Wang Jie: "About the salary increase..."

Li De, without another word: "Tell those slackers... I mean the engineers, the salary increase proposal will be brought up at the monthly meeting at the end of the month; it's procedure. Also, I'll think of a way for the mobile kitchen—which I'll have our technicians look into to see if we can add a few ingredient processing workflows."

Of course, if it was successful, Li De planned to charge a fee.

What was that word again?

Ah, right, additional value-added services!

Upon hearing the salary increase issue being pushed to the end of the month, Wang Jie immediately understood the head of department's intent, his face betraying a helpless expression.

"Alright, I'll pass on the message."

When the end of the month comes.

Those people won't have anywhere to spend their money.

Naturally, they wouldn't clamor for a raise anymore.

...

The repaired machine tool was still en route; delivery was expected to take a while.

Worried that the players would damage the thing, Chu Guang had specifically arranged for two light trucks for transportation. An empty truck with a snow plow attached to the bumper led the way, with the one carrying the machine tool following behind.

If they encountered a roadblock or hidden ditch, the first truck would detect it in time, and the second truck could avoid it.

To ensure nothing would go wrong, Chu Guang had the reliable Old Luka accompany him in the vehicle.

The road conditions in the Wasteland were truly terrible. The stretches leading out of the city were somewhat better, but many routes within the city were impassable even for animals with four legs, let alone wheeled vehicles.

Chu Guang planned to build a road in the near future to connect Outpost Base and Action Camp.

In the future, wherever the players of Shelter 404 chose to plant their flag, that's where the road would reach.

How did that saying go again?

If you want to get rich, build a road.

Implementing this project in the Wasteland wouldn't be easy, but it was definitely worthwhile.

While waiting for the machine tools to be delivered, Chu Guang wasn't idle. Instead, he sat in the community hall of the shelter and turned on his computer to glance at the official forum.

After simmering overnight, the little players who couldn't get to work had finally vented their pent-up frustrations. The atmosphere on the forum had returned to normal, with topics shifting from "Let's all rush Ah Guang" to "What exactly did Alpha 0.8 update?"

But it was as if nothing had happened.

Overall, the players who had experienced the changes in the new version online were quite intrigued by the unique base gameplay and regional reputation system.

Particularly when they learned that "contributing resources could earn regional reputation" and that "once the prosperity of the Action Camp reached 100, it could grow into a Survivor Base," they became noticeably more enthusiastic in their work.

In other MMORPGs, NPC towns are just a bunch of static textures, but in Wasteland OL, Survivor Bases are built brick by brick, through the personal effort of the players. Moreover, they grow alongside the players' in-game actions.

This wave was a perfect combination of RPG and SLG, experiencing the joy of two games in one.

What a steal!

The players were thrilled, and it hadn't taken much effort on Chu Guang's part either.

For him, it was just a matter of devising a few simple formulas based on last month's report and having Xiao Qi help turn them into a data card similar to the "Attribute Panel."

Even without the Alpha 0.8 update, he would have prepared the monthly report anyway, but now he was presenting it to the players in the form of a "Progress Bar."

As for its purpose?

Mainly, it was to share the joy of a sapling growing into a towering tree with the players.

After all, merely telling the players about how awesome our shelter had become thanks to their efforts would probably leave them scratching their heads. But if all their hard work was quantified into visible progress bars, who could say such a gesture was useless?

Look at Boss Xia's weapon shop; it has a brick you contributed. Doesn't that thought give you more motivation when hauling bricks?

Never mind the players who couldn't revive due to bugs and were utterly miserable; those still online and those who had made reservations were already raving excitedly.

With his mind completely at ease, Chu Guang copied down a few shrewd ideas that struck his fancy, saving them in his notebook. Then, he stretched and leaned back in his computer chair.

"The delivery won't arrive for another hour, what to do in the meantime?"

Ah, that's right.

It seemed he could open another Blind Box.

His eyes lit up, and Chu Guang sprang up from his chair, staring intently as he opened the Administrator System and switched to the "Administrator Allowance" subpage.

These days, the players' in-game actions were relatively monotonous, mainly focused on resource gathering tasks at the Action Camp. The daily active tasks were rather average, with a bunch left unmet every day.

Even so, Chu Guang had still managed to accumulate 33 reward points over the week.

The usual routine, three intermediate Blind Boxes, three basic Blind Boxes.

But just as Chu Guang was about to open his rewards, a thought gave him pause.

Wait.

If it was all a gamble anyway, why not go big and try opening 33 basic Blind Boxes at once?

What if he managed to get rewards from the intermediate or even advanced Blind Boxes? Wouldn't that be a massive win?

After all, he had no use for so many plasters and syringes.

With this in mind, he no longer hesitated, immediately betting all the reward points on the icon furthest to the left.

"System, bring me 33 basic Blind Boxes!"

"Open!"

Chapter 160 This is Probably the World's Most Expensive AK

"MMP!"

The alloy door panel shuddered, and as Chu Guang looked down at the items on the conveyor belt, he couldn't help but curse under his breath.

Out of 33 basic Blind Boxes, 22 freaking lollipops emerged, nearly sending his nose askew with irritation.

Luckily, half of these lollipops could buff them up, so his little players would probably spend money buying them. He lost out, but not completely.

Beyond that, there were 3 cans of food, 2 buckets of instant noodles, 1 pack of compressed biscuits, and other preserved foods, along with 2 bottles of soy sauce and 2 bottles of vinegar.

Truth be told, ever since the Pioneer arrived here, Chu Guang's interest in the food pulled from Blind Boxes had significantly diminished.

Who needs canned food when you have those sand sculpture players around? If they want something, they just need to drop a hint.

The only thing that caught his eye was a vacuum-sealed transparent pack of palm-sized seeds, placed at the very end.

They looked like seeds, right?

"What the hell is this?"

Chu Guang picked up the pack of seeds, examined it curiously, and a pale blue tag floated out from the side.

[β-712 Cotton Seed: As the name implies, these seeds can grow cotton. Thanks to genetic engineering, this variety has a larger yield per plant and a shorter growth cycle. Traditional soil planting won't highlight its genetic improvements, so it's recommended to use soilless cultivation techniques for focused planting to ensure seed purity.]

Okay, so they were cotton seeds.

Though it's questionable whether they could be considered food, these cotton seeds were still quite useful for Shelter No. 404.

Cotton is said to be harvested once a year, taking several months to mature.

Chu Guang wondered how long these Blind Box seeds would take to mature and planned to find a farming-enthusiast player to try planting them.

Even though Outpost Base now had Devil Silk, cotton still had its irreplaceable role in terms of warmth and economy.

Especially with its high yield, stable production, and wide range of uses, cotton could be woven into fabric or serve as stuffing.

In the absence of large-scale synthetic fiber production, at least cotton could meet some of the players' clothing needs.

After all, Blue Jackets were in limited supply and players couldn't always wear them.

For activities like hunting or going out on quests, most players tended to change both their equipment and their clothes.

"Speaking of which, I have no idea if an intermediate Blind Box can produce living creatures."

After opening so many canned pork, it would be awesome if he could get a live pig.

If not, chickens and ducks would do too.

There was the occasional milk to drink, but Chu Guang hadn't tasted eggs in a long time—excluding bird eggs, that is.

…

Around 5 PM.

Lu Yang and his marine squad returned from the south, arriving at Outpost Base almost simultaneously with the two light trucks escorting the machine tools.

At the same time, the good news that "the fuel rods have been found" also arrived.

Wearing power armor, Lu Yang approached Chu Guang, tapped the side of his helmet to release the visor, and greeted him with a hearty laugh.

"Thanks to the guide you recommended, we finally found the fuel rods we needed. The energy is still at 93%—quite substantial, enough to last a good while!"

Honestly, while that might be good news for the Pioneer, it wasn't particularly thrilling for Chu Guang.

After all, for Shelter No. 404 at the moment, the longer the Pioneer stayed, the better for him.

But seeing the bright smile on Captain Lu's face, Chu Guang sincerely shared in his joy.

"Congratulations! After searching for so long, you've finally found it."

"Yes, it certainly hasn't been easy," Lu Yang said with a look of emotion, speaking in a complex tone, "We originally thought we could find it in just two or three days, but we didn't expect it to drag on for so long."

Actually, about three days ago, they had already found a carbon dioxide trap dating back to the pre-war era—on the twenty-fifth floor of a hotel.

However, to their disappointment, after they had gone to great lengths to secure the objective, they discovered that it had already been claimed by others many years prior.

Not only were the fuel rods that were supposed to be plugged into the generator gone, but even the recyclable materials inside had been completely stripped away.

Various signs suggested that during the 0 to 10 years of the Wasteland Era, a group of survivors had lived there. They had made a brief stop at the hotel and used the glucose, starch, and other resources produced by the carbon dioxide trap to survive a difficult period.

After the carbon dioxide trap stopped operating due to the CO2 concentration falling below the threshold, they removed the spare fuel rods from the backup generator to power the hotel facilities and eventually departed when the fuel rods were completely exhausted, their fate unknown.

This was all quite normal.

After all, it is now the 211th year of the Wasteland Era, and the only trash they could pick up was what others had left behind, overlooked, or had not been able to take due to insufficient strength or conditions at the time.

In this world, even surviving requires a bit of luck.

Let alone scavenging for garbage.

Chu Guang: "Are you leaving now?"

Lu Yang nodded and said,

"Yes, we've been here for nearly half a month. Now that the damaged equipment has been repaired, the fuel rods found, and the resource storage filled... it's time to hit the road again."

There's no party that doesn't come to an end. The Pioneer has traveled so far, not to provide aid, but they have a more important mission to complete.

With nuclear fuel and sufficient resources, they estimate they can travel very far this leg of the journey.

If things go well, they might not have to stop for the rest of the way.

Hearing the expected answer, Chu Guang sighed lightly.

"Although it was a brief time, I'll really miss you guys."

"I feel the same," Lu Yang said sincerely, looking at Chu Guang, "I've learned a lot from you, including your noble qualities, which have been truly awe-inspiring."

"The feeling is mutual!" Chu Guang said with a smile, "Your technology has also deeply impressed us! Let's save our goodbyes for the day you depart. On this day worth celebrating, let's not let the atmosphere be so somber."

Lu Yang also smiled.

"Oh right, that carbon dioxide trap we found had quite a few interesting things left in it. I'll send you the coordinates later. If you're interested, you can go reclaim them."

Chu Guang asked instinctively,

"What's stored there?"

Lu Yang smiled mysteriously and didn't give a direct answer.

"If I told you, wouldn't that spoil the fun of unboxing?"

Looking at the tantalizing Captain Lu, Chu Guang had a helpless expression.

Another blind box?

He really had opened enough blind boxes for the day.

However, although Captain Lu didn't say what was there, Chu Guang guessed a lot of information from his mysterious smile.

There must be quite a few good things left there.

The old fellow probably wanted to give him a surprise.

"Alright, first thing tomorrow, I'll take two people over to have a look," he said.

...

The Pioneer would set sail within three days.

After exchanging a few words with Chu Guang, Captain Lu and his marine squad set off again, escorting the fuel rods back in the direction of the Pioneer.

Old Luka, who had been waiting nearby for a long time, approached as soon as the Manager had finished his business. He walked over from the direction of the truck, looking respectfully at him and said,

"Sir, your goods have been delivered. Where would you like us to unload them?"

Chu Guang glanced left and right, his gaze finally resting on the main building of the sanatorium. After several renovations, the quality of the rooms was still quite good.

At least they were much better than the newly built brick houses outside.

"Let's just place it on the first floor of the sanatorium for now. Find a larger room and I'll come by to take a look later," Chu Guang said.

Old Luka nodded respectfully.

"Yes, sir."

The machine tool was large and heavy.

Out of caution, Old Luka first had the carpentry workshop's players make a few supports for unloading, and it took four Strength-type players to successfully lower it from the truck.

A small incident occurred here.

Since the machine tool was already assembled upon delivery, it couldn't fit through the sanatorium's main door. Chu Guang had no choice but to choose a room close to the exterior and have half a wall dismantled, barely managing to get the machine inside.

The silver metallic paint surface looked square and sharp from a distance, resembling a large refrigerator. However, its internal structure was far from as simplistic as it appeared on the surface; it was quite another world.

Chu Guang took a quick look at the manual.

The volume of the processing chamber was a full 1.5 cubic meters, capable of processing materials up to 1X1X1m in size.

Due to the particular nature of magnetic confinement plasma processing, the device had high environmental requirements for processing, needing a near-vacuum environment. Therefore, before entering the processing chamber, the materials would first enter a buffer chamber between two airlocks where protective gas was injected to create a near-vacuum, and then they were sent to the processing chamber.

The operating procedure was very rigorous, even tedious.

However, relatively speaking, this device had no special requirements for the environment in which it was placed; it only needed to be plugged in to be used, sparing Chu Guang the trouble of setting up a dust-free workroom to accommodate it.

Looking at the high-tech machine behind the ruins, Chu Guang couldn't resist asking Xiao Qi to take a photo of it.

This was so Wasteland!

The deployment of the device was complete, and then it was time to power it up.

Chu Guang checked the device's rated power carefully, and when he saw the unit, he wondered if he was reading it wrong.

"Megawatts?! Fuck... Does it consume that much power?"

According to the information Chu Guang found online, the power consumption of a typical machine tool was only at the kilowatt level.

Yet, such a device that occupied less than three square meters had a power consumption reaching the megawatt level!

After some thought, Chu Guang came to terms with it.

After all, it was handling plasma at temperatures of hundreds of millions of degrees, not only requiring the generation of a magnetic field to contain them but also accurately arranging them into a single-atom blade capable of cutting materials.

Such terrifying control, not to mention its use as a machine tool, was enough to ignite a fusion reactor. Thinking this way, the fact that it didn't reach gigawatt levels of power consumption could actually be considered energy-efficient.

Chu Guang even suspected that by making some slight modifications and switching the working gas to isotopes of helium or hydrogen, it might actually function as a nuclear reactor.

Only that would be a bit of a waste, like burning a violin to cook a crane...

In any case, it was a good thing that Captain Lu had previously given him two cold fusion batteries.

Otherwise, with the 10kw wood-fired generator he bought from List, even adding the ones seized from Old Leech, they probably couldn't power this energy-hungry device.

Chu Guang fumbled around for a while and found the emergency power socket near the terminal, perfectly fitting the standard cold fusion battery.

The power was connected.

The indicator light came on!

Watching the touch screen gradually light up in front of him, Chu Guang stroked his chin with interest, scrutinizing it carefully.

"Speaking of which, how exactly do you use this thing?"

There seemed to be a manual on the screen.

Just as Chu Guang was about to click and take a look, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly came from upstairs.

"Master, if you don't know how to use it, Xiao Qi can help out," Xiao Qi offered.

Hearing the voice from the third floor, Chu Guang looked surprised as he went outside and looked up to ask.

"You still know how to use this?"

Xiao Qi, "Theoretically, it shouldn't be difficult. The automation level of this kind of machine tool is very high, and you only need to fill in the preset processing parameters, then insert the materials, and the rest can be left alone. I believe if Master had finished reading the instruction manual, you would definitely be able to operate it too. Xiao Qi is just here to simplify the process... By the way, Master, could you take Xiao Qi over to have a look first?"

"Wait a moment, I'll go back to Shelter No. 404 to search for a few blueprints first. You try to process them for me!"

After speaking, Chu Guang didn't wait for Xiao Qi to respond and turned around to go back inside Shelter No. 404.

Sometimes, on the official forum, there would be big shots throwing around blueprints from who knows where, vehemently arguing with others till their faces turned red.

For classic firearms like the AK, Mosin-Nagant, kar98, SKS, and Type 56, there was everything from internal structure GIFs to professional blueprints with part dimensions marked. Although Chu Guang didn't highlight them, he had silently saved them all.

His intuition told him that these things would definitely be useful someday.

And now, that day had indeed arrived.

He picked out an AK47 design and went to the storage to fetch a few steel ingots that were of proper size and shape.

Although the steel produced by Factory No. 81 was of average quality, these ingots were reserves scavenged by the Cow and Horse Team from some private shelter.

They were perfect for machining barrels and receivers!

The door closed, and as the materials entered the buffer chamber from the feed port, the numerical control machine tool started to work.

Before the blazing plasma, sturdy steel melted away like mud, easily broken down into parts.

Chu Guang was surprised to find that this device could not only machine multiple geometric faces of the same part, but it could also use preprogrammed design to create eight plasma blades, making cuts at different depths and angles, and even cut multiple parts of various sizes and shapes from the same material, minimizing leftover scrap to the smallest amount possible!

Since the AK rifle didn't require high precision for its parts, the machining process didn't take very long.

Not counting the machine startup time, Chu Guang waited for about twenty minutes, and all the machining programs were completed.

The finished parts and scrap were all sent out of the discharge port and placed separately.

Although they were machined by plasma reaching billions of degrees, because the cutting medium used was minimal, the temperature of the machined workpiece didn't increase much, only about forty or fifty degrees, greatly reducing processing precision errors due to temperature change.

According to the description in the manual, if nano-level precision was required for the parts, the temperature of the finished workpiece could even be the same as when it was fed into the inlet.

It just would take much longer.

Chu Guang assembled the parts according to the blueprints and quickly got an AK-47 without a wooden stock or handguard.

Considering the cost of electricity, materials, and the hidden costs on the technical level, this was probably the world's most expensive AK.

Xiao Qi, "Master."

Chu Guang, who was excited at the moment, didn't have the time to pay attention, and he replied perfunctorily.

"What is it?"

Xiao Qi, "Xiao Qi always feels... this machine tool doesn't seem like it's meant for producing such crude things, uh."

Chu Guang didn't hesitate to say, "I know, I just wanted to test how well this thing works."

If it can make guns, it can also make the tools to produce guns.

Once the entire production line was replicated, wouldn't each of his players have one in hand?

By that time, when the steel production capacity was increased, and rifle production went up as well, everyone would have 50 silver coins—oh no, that should be 100 silver coin mobilized soldiers.

Three days a life, a gun a day, the bug where the weapon shop couldn't restock in time would be completely fixed, no longer worrying about guns being more expensive than people!

Holding the AK in his hands, Chu Guang was touching and looking at it excitedly, with a thrilled expression on his face.

Too bad there were no matching bullets.

Otherwise, he really wanted to fire a couple of shots to try it out.

If it worked well, he'd just throw it into the storage as a limited edition skin to sell, after all, it was a dream collaboration with CF, so selling it for 500 silver coins wouldn't be too much, right?

Xiao Qi watched silently from the side, not daring to speak.

It always felt like their master wasn't too bright.

Luckily it wasn't like this every day...

Chapter 161 The Name of This Gun is Sickle

[Worldwide Announcement: Outpost Base acquires a "Magnetic confinement plasma processing machine tool," durability 99%, industrial index +100]

[Note 1: This machine tool can produce metal parts of any geometric shape. Players can now submit related drawings and explanations of use to the manager's assistant to get a quote and find out the required material amount. Drawings can be made within the game or submitted electronically via the official website's personal page.]

[Note 2: The processing device can only change the geometric shape of the material, not the material properties itself, and the cutting process will generate waste. To process steel ingots into steel pipes, please pre-treat them by forming them into rod-like or near-rod-like shapes. To process copper ingots into copper wire, use a wire drawing machine, and do not occupy the valuable machine tool resources.]

[Note 3: The specification for input materials is limited to 1X1X1m, materials exceeding this specification cannot be processed.]

The announcement was made at 6 p.m.

This time coincided with the peak period of players logging in or out.

Whether it was brick-moving players going to the northern towns to pick up trash or hunter players hunting in Elm District, most had returned to the Action Camp.

Seeing the announcement pop up on their VMs, players' faces showed an expression of surprise simultaneously.

"A magnetic confinement plasma machine table?"

"And it's CNC?"

"What kind of Frankenstein device is this, I've never heard of it before?"

"If you had heard of it, that would be something, in reality, one minute could be considered 'high confinement' and 'long pulse.' Get what I mean? Nevermind, you wouldn't understand."

"Ah, these game developers sure do have wild imaginations, they start boasting without needing a draft!"

Though Chu Guang wanted to share their joy, joy and sorrow are not the same for everyone.

Most players didn't know how hard it was to get this machine tool, let alone those who couldn't log in due to bugs, and the sacrifices they had made for it.

They just thought maybe Boss Xia had an additional workbench now, not only could he pierce weapons but now also inscribe them?

It was all just redundant functions anyway!

The more astute players speculated about the update to Alpha0.8 version.

The industrial index of Outpost Base had gone up by 100 points, from 150 to 250... that meant an increase of 166%?

Didn't that mean new products would soon be in the weapon shop!?

Some particularly smart and well-positioned players excitedly took their steel ingots as described in the announcement to the manager's assistant to get quotes.

Some wanted to make an axe, others wanted to shape steel ingots into the form of a rifle, but most eventually walked away cursing.

Why?

Because it just wasn't worth it!

Turning on the machine alone cost 100 silver, and the quoted price for processing a single axe was another 100 silver, totaling 200 silver.

With that money, you could buy twenty axes! Probably even save some if purchased wholesale from Steel Factory No. 81.

As for the rifle, processing a gun barrel with rifling would cost 200 silver, and the player had to provide the rod-shaped steel themselves.

If not, plasma arc welding would have to be used in the process, doubling the quoted price.

With that money, you could buy two rifles from the weapon shop!

But on second thought, a regular rifle wasn't worth using such an advanced machine tool. It was not cost-effective at all.

At this time, within Steel Factory No. 81.

[Yeah, I Need to Visit the Bathroom Brother] was sitting on a small stool, one hand on his chin and the other holding a steel ingot, staring intently and finally squeezing out a phrase after a long contemplation.

"I speculate this machine tool is meant for producing manufacturing tools!"

His good friend [Who the Hell Wants to Smell Ward's Athlete's Foot]rolled his eyes.

"Do you really need to tell me that? Imagine using a multimillion-dollar CNC machine in the lab to mill seamless steel tubes, you think your boss wouldn't hammer you to death?"

Brother Ciso: "Uh... I have a feeling he'd freak out, call the cops, and get me locked up."

Brother Levin: "The operational cost of that machine really is quite high, I feel it's not intended for individual players at all. Just the start-up fee is 100 silver coins, unless it's a company sponsored by Shelter No. 404, an ordinary individual can hardly afford it!"

Brother Ciso: "Maybe not necessarily, Mosquito Brother definitely can!"

Brother Levin: "Let's not talk about him, he is a ruthless guy. By the way, how much money do we still have in our account?"

Brother Ciso: "4000 silver coins… Earlier, a bunch of newbies came in and bought quite a few axes and arrowheads. What? Ready to share the profits?"

Brother Levin: "Share what? This amount of money isn't enough to distribute anything. I'm planning to get the thermal perforator up and running. Those parts we couldn't make earlier, with this machine we should be able to process them. Once we have the perforator, we can start manufacturing seamless steel pipes!"

Hearing this, Brother Ciso's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Awesome, brother! We're on the same page!"

Brother Levin rolled his eyes, "Don't get too excited. Once we log off, you go upload the blueprints. Let's keep it simple; I reckon it shouldn't be too expensive."

Brother Ciso chuckled.

"Alright, bro, my graduation project was actually on this!"

...

While Brother Levin and Brother Ciso were busy discussing their grand plans for expanding the seamless steel pipe industry and creating brilliance in the Wasteland, on the third floor of the nearby sanatorium, Xiao Qi lifted the camera towards Chu Guang standing beside it, whispering.

"Master, don't you think the price you set might be a bit too expensive?"

At least a dozen people had asked for the price just now, but as soon as they heard the startup fee was 100 silver coins, they were scared off immediately.

100 silver just to start? It's like robbery!

Hearing Xiao Qi's suggestion, Chu Guang wasn't convinced.

"Not expensive at all; I even think it's cheap. They find it expensive only because they don't understand the version deeply enough, which shows they're not our target customers. If there were no barriers, who knows what kind of blueprints they'd bring, you want them making a bunch of poor quality spears and shabby axes?"

Leave that kind of job to Boss Xia!

The two workbenches at her place, one DIY and the other scavenged, can handle that stuff.

Xiao Qi nodded the camera somewhat understandingly, as if it got it but also as if it didn't. In its view, if those items aren't to be produced, why not just directly say they're not allowed?

Why go in circles with a "barrier" to limit?

Chu Guang wasn't planning to explain to the AI his reasons or the differences between human behavioral logic and AI algorithms.

Well.

Chu Guang wasn't against players coming up with peculiar and odd ideas, but he needed to control it via rules, making players think twice whether their creativity was worth it before proceeding.

Just as Xiao Qi itself said, this machine isn't meant to produce those crude items.

Take the previous AK47 Chu Guang made as an example, 6 kg of steel turned into 3 kg of workpieces, half of which were oddly shaped steel scraps that were likely only good for recycling in a steel plant.

Besides, there were costs like consumed electricity and the natural wear of inert gases used during the process—visible costs, not to mention the invisible and hidden costs.

Its real purpose was to produce "tools for production," or to process some "high-tech, high-value" precision equipment when materials were available.

The latter could be ignored for now; the former was the current main target.

Chu Guang planned to move step by step, starting with players making a thermal perforator to address the barrel issue.

For now, ignoring complex techniques like three-roll continuous rolling and mandrel straightening, a single perforating machine would suffice for producing seamless steel pipes.

Whether it could be mass-produced efficiently and with quality was a matter for later; first, one needed the capability to produce.

Seamless steel pipes would be one of Shelter No. 404's most vital industries for a considerable time to come.

As for the machining of the receiver.

Chu Guang hesitated between milling and stamping the receiver for a while, eventually choosing the latter.

Though milling the receiver was more modern and precise, its downsides were clear: it wasted material, had high personnel and equipment requirements, and was inefficient.

Like the AK47 he had previously made with the machine, which was technically a milled receiver, even the barrel and rifling inside were cut with a single atom cutter.

However, the stamped receiver was different. Aside from the mold-making process being somewhat laborious, the rest of the production steps had little technical content, making mass production particularly efficient.

The only drawback was its lower precision, but compared to its advantages of being cheap and durable, this drawback wasn't much of a drawback at all, at most a minor flaw.

After all, in the Wasteland environment, the average combat distance is less than 100 meters; precision matters less than speed and stability in shooting.

Adopting the stamping process, Chu Guang planned to directly emulate the AK's receiver and design a 7mm caliber rifle.

Compared to the upper and lower receiver design and seven-lug bolt of the AR rifle series, the AK's U-shaped receiver and two-lug bolt design were more than twice as simple to produce, with molds potentially allowing the whole piece to be stamped out of a single block of steel.

What does it mean to be able to punch out entire steel blocks?

Like ink on paper coming out of a printer, these could be mass-produced and fitted with gun barrels and solid wooden stocks, making them perfectly suitable for combat in the Wasteland.

There's a good reason they sell well in the third world.

Especially in places where life is cheap, guns definitely need to be as affordable as possible.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste when someone dies?

...

The next day.

A crowd gathered in front of the weapons shop; many young players had rushed back from the Action Camp last night, all waiting for the weapon shop to open.

Yawning, Boss Xia had long grown accustomed to this.

She opened the store on time as usual, moving the two sample pieces Chu Guang had asked her to make yesterday and hanging them in the semi-open display window.

These were two solid wooden, pure steel rifles.

One had a compact layout, with the stock and magazine in the standard assault rifle design, a top rail that could mount scopes, and a grip that could be installed under the barrel.

The other had a significantly longer barrel and a casing, with the magazine embedded in the body, revealing only a triangular outline, looking somewhat broad.

Both shared a rugged outward appearance and grand lines, and they looked incredibly similar, like good brothers from the same production line. Not only did their appearances resemble each other, the names of the rifles were also quite similar; the longer one was called LD-47s, and the shorter one LD-47.

Beyond that, they had a slightly saucy nickname —

Sickle!

"Damn, the weapon shop really did have new stock today! Brother Fang Chang is awesome!"

"I get it! The LD-47s must be a sniper!"

"Right! It's a 98K!"

"98K my ass! It's obviously a semi-automatic!"

"Wait, the shorter one...does it look more like an AK to me?"

"Be confident, remove the doubt, the operator is just being lazy again, must have just copied the CF skins!"

Both guns were very affordable, the longer one at 250 silver coins, and the shorter one at 200 silver coins, only twice as expensive as the iron pipe rifle!

Now, which old player doesn't have 200 silver coins in their pocket, especially after that battle with the Army, with a basic income of 150 silver coins?

While many were still hesitating, the quick-handed tail had already made a move.

"Lady boss! Give me one! Tail wants the long one! The short one for Si Si."

Boss Xia glanced at the short-haired female player, yawned, and let out a few words.

"Sample, not for sale. If you want to buy, wait two days."

Hearing this neither fluent nor standard Mandarin, the surrounding players were instantly stunned.

What?!

Not only did the boss lady change her leg, but her voice pack was updated too!

Epic Enhancement!

Just as there was a commotion at the entrance of the weapon shop, the industrial area in the south was also bustling.

Many small players who had registered as sole proprietors logged online, about to get on trucks heading to the Action Camp for the market, when their VM taskbars suddenly filled with a slew of orders.

Some requested production of wooden stocks, others for grips; these were not difficult tasks, one could say you just needed hands.

There were slightly more challenging tasks too, like polishing lenses or making optical scopes, with a variety of types.

These tasks had one thing in common; the rewards were quite generous, and due to the Alpha 0.8 update, the orders even had an additional 10% bonus on rewards!

Beyond that, the first 100 orders for each item also had extra Contribution Points rewards and regional reputation.

How could anyone miss out on this and still call themselves human?

With such generous rewards, many small players who focus on livelihood professions became instantly exalted. Each picked up their tools and rushed to their workshops to work as if they wished to weld their buttocks to the stool.

Of course, compared to those individual artisans, the truly exhilarating ones were certain investors in Shelter No. 404 known as "major producers."

Early in the morning, the 81st Steel Mill of Outpost Base received a special order—[Produce 100 gun slides and 100 gun barrels for the Outpost Base]

This order had clear requirements for the material, specifications, dimensions, and even the precision of processing, making production quite challenging.

However, that didn't matter!

What was important was that the wise and mighty Manager not only offered a generous price of 4000 silver coins but also paid 50% in advance as a deposit.

This unexpected "windfall" left Brother Ciso and Brother Levin dizzy.

Though this money was kept in the company account, it was still money!

Under the stimulus of the order, the somewhat hesitant duo, without a second thought, took the 4000 silver coins they had and the ample steel in stock, and went to the Manager's assistant to custom order a batch of parts, preparing to make a big impact by producing the drilling machine for gun barrels and stamping dies for the slides.

In addition to this, the just-received and still-warm 2000 silver coin advance was also invested by the two into posting scavenging tasks and ordering raw materials required for production.

Although the steel mill's account was emptied, the two felt nothing inappropriate; instead, they felt hopeful about the future.

On the surface, it seemed they not only didn't earn any money from this order but even invested their own money.

But should issues be looked at only superficially?

Of course not!

The money they spent didn't disappear; it just transformed into a higher form, staying by their side forever.

With the drilling machine and stamping dies for the slides, they could fulfill more orders, further reduce the production costs, increase efficiency, and get the ball really rolling.

This was far from a loss.

It was a total win, honestly!

Incidentally, as the steel mill's major shareholder, the wise and mighty Manager also felt the same way.

For Chu Guang, money was a minor issue; the key was that this whole operation not only significantly enhanced the steel mill's production capacity but also greatly reduced the logistical pressure on Outpost Base.

And what he invested was merely a few thousand enjoyment points.

This was probably not simply winning big.

It should be called a win-win!

After all, he won twice.

Besides the guns themselves, he planned to also produce wooden stocks, triangular bayonets, magazines and drums, bipods, optical sights, and other accessories.

In the future, just by selling accessories and bullets, he would be able to recoup quite a bit of silver coins and even sell the excess capacity to the surrounding survivors or even export it to Red River Town and Giant Stone City.

Chu Guang was sure that as long as his weapons were cheap enough, those mercenaries and caravan guards who couldn't afford expensive weapons would definitely adore him.

"But… by that time, using game currency as money definitely won't work."

This pre-war era game currency, while robustly crafted with some anti-forgery properties, had a glaring downside—its limited quantity.

Players could use digital money, but those Waste Land Wanderers would not recognize something they couldn't see; they wouldn't even trust paper currency.

Moreover, Chu Guang wasn't sure if the traveling merchant named Sun Shiqi hadn't held back, like secretly keeping a bag of coins without selling it to him.

Such a thing was not impossible.

Watching the bustling and revived Industrial Zone of Outpost Base, Chu Guang silently made up his mind.

"I must launch the second generation currency soon!"

This task had to be completed before winter's end.

After winter, the trade in the north suburb of Qingquan City would rejuvenate. By then, players would also face a more open, broader, and challenging world.

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind, pulling Chu Guang's thoughts back to the present.

Fully armed, Fang Chang nodded slightly and respectfully said, "Respected Manager, we are ready. When shall we depart?"

Standing up from his chair, Chu Guang grabbed the warhammer placed beside him and casually hung it on his back.

"Now."

Chapter 162: You've Struck it Rich!

Qingquan City, north.

Near the Fifth Ring Road overpass, a six-person squad pressed on slowly along the icy, desolate streets under the howling wind.

Originally, this journey was planned for just five members.

Back at the Central Square of Outpost Base, Chu Guang had gathered four fully armed players, ready to depart. However, before they could leave through the southern gate, Luo Hua caught up with them, expressing his desire to accompany them.

His reason was quite straightforward—

"The carbon dioxide trap might produce a variety of things, and the captain has asked me to go with you. Although it's highly unlikely that the city center holds a large scale storage of dangerous goods, he's still worried you might encounter danger due to mishandling."

When someone offers help out of goodwill, Chu Guang naturally wouldn't refuse.

Although one of his players was knowledgeable about chemicals, they couldn't recognize the letters of this world. He could read, but didn't understand the professional symbols.

Chemical product Blind Boxes aren't to be opened recklessly; having someone who knows their stuff with them was always a little better.

Thus, the six set out together.

But no one expected that the sunny day, which had started so fair, would suddenly turn into a blizzard halfway through the trip.

These kinds of days were becoming more frequent.

Chu Guang figured that once November came, the weather in the Wasteland would likely get even more erratic, making each day harder to endure than the last.

They would need to hurry along the progress at the Greenhouse Ruins!

Old White, walking at the front of the team, lowered his head and watched as the snowfall suddenly intensified, squinted his eyes involuntarily.

"The last time I saw snow this heavy was in Harbin."

"I saw it on TV," said Fang Chang, holding Dawn in his hands, his gaze sweeping cautiously along both sides of the street, "But more than the snow, I'm worried about something suddenly popping out from the side."

Old White let out a light sigh: "Honestly, I sort of miss Night Ten. Without his Perception Attributes, I always feel like we're missing something."

"Add one more to that. Our team is a pair of eyes short," Wild Wind commented, pinching a short spear in his right hand, scanning the streets on both sides with a tension that seemed even more exaggerated than Fang Chang's.

There was no choice; they had to be careful.

Both were now equipped with gear more expensive than the other's, and the slightest mishap could mean wiping out entirely, like having a rude awakening back to square one.

This steel right hand was just badass; Wild Wind was now reluctant to even wash his hands.

Listening to these guys talk all the way, Edge Shoveling complained discontentedly, "Damn it! Am I not enough? I'm also a Perception Type, and I'm nearly level 7, okay!"

Wild Wind: "No matter how close, you're still a little Old Six."

Fang Chang: "True, I'm already level 8, Wild Wind is close too, and Old White is about to reach 9. Bro, you gotta step up your game."

Edge Shoveling: "@#%!"

Walking next to Chu Guang, Luo Hua, who could not understand a word of what the residents of the refuge were saying, couldn't help but softly express his amazement.

"I always thought that only the natives would speak those incomprehensible languages..."

He suddenly realized there might be something problematic about his comment and quickly added an explanation.

"Uh, I didn't mean any offense, just that it's strange. Because normally, residents of the refuge would speak standard United Human language, rarely with any accent."

Chu Guang simply smiled, unworried.

"No problem, I'm as baffled as you are. Why do you think that is?"

Returning the question just as it was posed is a reliable move Chu Guang found effective time and again.

Rather than fabricate a flawed excuse that might lead others to sense insincerity or concealment, it was better to share the confusion with them. They might even stand on your side and consider reasons for you.

Why is the sky blue, after all?

Yes, why is that, I'm curious too. What do you all think?

Luo Hua, however, did not press further. He had seen too many strange things on this journey; such trifling matter was hardly surprising to him.

The group quickly reached their destination.

It was an abandoned office building. From the outside, it was difficult to discern what purpose it served in the pre-war era.

Perhaps it was precisely because of its unimpressive appearance that it had been overlooked throughout the scavenging of two centuries and remained hidden until now.

Following the map given by Captain Lu, the group moved along the edge of the hall, entered a safe passage, and quickly ascended the stairs, arriving at the target floor sooner than expected.

Greenish-black mold covered the corridor, parts of which had decayed into a deep brown. Dozens of Variant corpses lay twisting on the ground.

The Variants here had been cleared out, and for the moment, no new Variants were wandering in.

"Damn... what the hell is this?" Edge Shoveling crouched next to a humanoid Variant that was over three meters tall, poking it with the bayonet of his rifle.

Its dark skin was so stiff it seemed unnatural, and the bayonet poked it as if it were poking into the tire of a heavy truck, not piercing at all.

Was this thing really a carbon-based life form?

"Tyrant," muttered Chu Guang, glancing at the Variant on the ground with a slight frown. "To think there would be such a monster within the Fifth Ring."

"Manager, sir, is that Tyrant tough to deal with?" Fang Chang asked, looking towards him.

"Difficult to deal with," Chu Guang considered before replying. "In this kind of terrain, a team like yours could probably be wiped out twice over."

Actually, he had never seen one.

But exaggerating wildly could never be wrong.

Fang Chang swallowed hard, Wild Wind shrank his neck, while Old White and Edge Shoveling seemed unaffected—their equipment was only at the bare minimum standard.

If they died, they died.

Stepping past the Tyrant's corpse, Chu Guang led the group through a metal door that read "No Admittance for Unrelated Personnel," and arrived inside the carbon dioxide trap.

The space inside was enormous, almost occupying half the floor and was open to the space above.

The carbon dioxide generated by the entire building was delivered here through the central ventilation system, where it was broken down into graphite and oxygen as needed, or added with hydrogen, or the oxygen was replaced with hydrogen.

For the people of that era, atoms were like toys in their hands; with what seemed like endless energy at their disposal, they could freely transform nature's creations into whatever form they needed.

All the produced materials were stored in boxes made of special materials, piled up beside a dedicated freight elevator, waiting for the forever absent workers to carry them away.

Looking at the room filled with boxes of various sizes, Chu Guang roughly estimated there to be around three to four hundred cubic meters.

He couldn't help but ask,

"Hasn't your captain ever been curious about what's in those boxes?"

"No need for curiosity. As long as we have enough energy, we can make anything related to carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, it's just a matter of cost... for instance, these black boxes here clearly contain graphite. Looks like your luck isn't very good."

Luo Hua laughed and walked towards another row of boxes.

Shining a flashlight over them, he read aloud the text and continued with interest, "This is better, a bunch of high-polymer fibers... the label reads X-4."

"X-4?"

"It's a code name. After all, their spatial structures are complex and bizarre; we can't just use chemical formulas to identify them." Pausing for a moment, Luo Hua added, "By the way, although its main use is for making clothes, if you need, you can also substitute the wood fibers in smokeless gunpowder with it. The speed and power of the explosion could increase by at least 20%... that's what we do."

That made it much easier to understand.

In gaming terms, it would be — [Rifle Ammunition Power +20%, Chamber Explosion Risk +?].

Chu Guang silently took note of its uses, glanced at the quantity of similar boxes, and estimated there were around forty to fifty of them.

Even if he underestimated, there would still be twenty to thirty tons.

It looks like it'll last quite a while.

Just then, Luo Hua walking in front took a sudden gasp.

"Damn?!"

Chu Guang, snapping out of his thoughts, lifted his head and immediately walked over to his side. Four little players, thinking they had triggered a plot event, followed and crowded around, curiously sticking their heads in.

"What happened?" Chu Guang asked for them.

"Dilat Rubber!"

Staring at the unassuming gray box in front of him, Luo Hua took a deep breath, his face a mix of disbelief and envy as he muttered to himself.

"How could this be here?! It's so abnormal!"

Chu Guang: "Is there a problem?"

"Of course, there is! The products of the carbon dioxide traps are mainly determined by the industrial demand of the region. Commonly seen are starch, graphite, polymer fiber, and near industrial zones there might be olefins and aromatics, even phenol ketone. But Dilat Rubber... I've only seen it near the Aerospace Industrial Park. Does Qingquan City have an aerospace industry?"

Taking another deep breath, Luo Hua made his conclusion.

"In a word, you guys are rich!"

Dilat Rubber, a composite nanomaterial formed by the chemical bonding of organic and inorganic components at the molecular level.

Yes, it's not just an organic compound - it couldn't be synthesized from carbon dioxide and water alone. Other substances also had to be introduced to the reaction system, and even in Ideal City, it could sell for quite a bit of money.

That was why Luo Hua was so surprised.

In an anaerobic environment, its molecular structure would fold and arrange itself into a gel-like liquid at the macro level. Upon exposure to oxygen and under normal temperature conditions, it would rapidly transition to a solid state, with its molecular structure undergoing a change to resemble that of a crystal.

It was like cement that had undergone a hydration reaction.

Since the molecular components were altered, this process was usually irreversible.

This material had excellent abrasion resistance, acid and alkali resistance, and almost metallic tolerance to high temperature. Unlike traditional rubber, it didn't age easily. Such properties were extremely rare in traditional polymer materials. And because of that, it was typically used as a material in aerospace.

Chu Guang: "Can you produce it?"

Luo Hua's expression turned somewhat awkward. After all, he had just shown off, only to be contradicted in less than two minutes.

After a slight cough, he tried to explain.

"... It can't strictly be considered a hydrocarbon mixture! It also contains many inorganic components, almost like an organic/inorganic hybrid polymer."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully, as if trying to translate the sentence he didn't understand.

So, it probably can't be produced.

"By a conservative estimate, there are about fifty tons here..." Luo Hua enviously eyed the warehouse, and with a sense of amazement said, "You really shouldn't let our chief find out."

"Why not."

"I'm afraid he'll lose sleep over it."

"..."

Is it really that exaggerated?

Chu Guang felt if Li De wanted some, he wouldn't be so stingy as to not give any.

It's just that the journey from here to the Action Camp is so long, and the goods would also need to be moved down from the building...

Would charging a shipping fee be too much?

In any case, according to Luo Hua's introduction, Dilat Rubber had a wide range of uses and was highly valuable. Chu Guang tried to understand its place in the rubber industry - was it somewhat akin to the role of perfluoroether rubber in the early 21st century?

And it didn't have the problem of being "difficult to process."

Before encountering oxygen, it could be kneaded like glue, and no rubber material could be easier to handle.

By the way, due to its excellent sealing performance, its application in the aerospace, nano-devices, bionic engineering, mechanical seals, and other industries is quite widespread.

For example, the power armor produced before the war made use of this material!

Of course, its uses aren't limited to this, as many industrial production devices require rubber. If Dilat rubber could be substituted in, maintenance costs would be greatly reduced and production efficiency would be improved significantly.

With these good things, the industrial area of Outpost Base wouldn't need to worry about rubber for some time.

Of course, with so many boxes, it's not likely that six people could carry them back.

So, Chu Guang immediately updated a delivery task on the VM—

[Task: Transport goods from the specified location back to Outpost Base (Strength Type recommended)]

[Reward: 10 Silver Coins per box, 10 contributions]

Now, there's less and less work at Action Camp, and Chu Guang always needs to find something for these energetic little players to do...

After returning to Outpost Base, Luo Hua went back to the Office with his partner, Ais, to pack up and leave.

The Pioneer would depart the day after tomorrow; their work here was done, and a vehicle would pick them up before evening.

Thinking that his newly acquainted drinking buddy was about to leave, Chu Guang couldn't help feeling a bit sentimental. He went back to the refuge, selected a bottle of red wine with gold plating from Old Leech's collection, and took it to the temporary office.

"I appreciate everything during this time, I don't have much to give you," Chu Guang sincerely said as he handed the red wine to Luo Hua, looking at him earnestly, "consider this bottle of wine as a farewell gift. Just remember not to drink it while working."

"Thank you, your friendship is the most precious gift to me!" Luo Hua, visibly moved, accepted the red wine from Chu Guang's hand and rummaged through his pockets with an embarrassed look, "...damn, I wasn't prepared at all."

His pocket was cleaner than his face.

There were definitely a few banknotes before…

"That's okay, your friendship is equally precious to me," Chu Guang said with a smile, "when you finish writing your Journey to the West, just send me a copy."

"That's a given! But it's not the same, I have to give you something too..." Luo Hua racked his brains for a while, then his eyes lit up, "Got it! I'll write you a letter."

Chu Guang gave him a puzzled look.

"A letter?"

Luo Hua immediately nodded, saying excitedly,

"Yes, I have a drinking buddy on the East Coast, and although he can't drink as much as I can, he's still not bad! Of course, it's not just about drinking; he's also an engineer... Although I forgot what that thing he studies is called, I always hear him complain about how boring life is in Ideal City, envying us lucky ones who can embark on the journey for the future of human civilization."

"When I get back on the Pioneer, I'll write him a letter and recommend he come over here!"

Chu Guang always felt this guy was a bit naive.

That kind of complaint wasn't really complaining; it was clearly Versailles bragging.

But out of politeness, he still nodded with a smile.

"Then I'll be looking forward to your good news."

Luo Hua grinned and assured with a slap on his chest,

"Don't worry! I'm very reliable!"

Beside him, Ais, who had already packed, glanced at this guy.

If Chu Guang wasn't mistaken, that was probably an eye roll...

-

(Crack, I just stretched and twisted my shoulder.T.T)

Chapter 163 Heading Out to the Wilderness!

Letter:

"My dear friend Batch, I have good news to tell you. With the generous help of our allies, we have successfully repaired the damaged parts and will be back on the road soon!"

"Do you remember the last time I wrote to you was half a month ago? The reason for my silence isn't that I've forgotten about you, but that I was assigned a very important mission, acting as a liaison at our allies' place... This work is critical; you could think of it as a diplomat. It involves a lot of socializing, but it's not unpleasant."

"I remember you once told me that you wanted to cross that towering wall to see the world beyond, to gaze at distant mountains and lakes, to look upon the endless deserts and swamps, to climb over snow-capped mountains and jungles, searching for lost relics. You also told me you've grown tired of a dull life, that you are very envious of me for finding a group of like-minded companions, to shun the mundane and venture into the wilderness that chaos and barbarism have claimed."

"What I mean is... why not give it a try? The road is right under your feet. And as I write this letter, we have already traveled thousands of kilometers and will soon venture even further."

"If you're looking for direction, I seriously recommend the friends we met in Qingquan City. They are a group of hardworking, brave, optimistic good people who live in Shelter No. 404. They have an impressive culture, and every day spent with them is so delightful."

"It's a good place. Once you get there, you'll understand why I say this."

Aboard the Pioneer.

Lying in a comfortable single room, Luo Hua, with the back of his head resting on his folded arms, dictated the contents of the letter to the holographic window floating before his eyes.

It's incredible that he's been away from home for over a year already.

The crowded, noisy environment he used to disdain, he now finds himself missing.

"I should write one to old Dad as well."

Luo Hua sighed softly, ready to hit send but then remembered he had forgotten to add a signature. He slid his index finger that was hanging in front of the holographic window and added the line swiftly.

"– Your devoted friend, Luo Hua."

...

Two days later.

An ordinary morning.

Without any grand ceremony, as if on cue, the Steel Fortress sprawled across the Wasteland unfolded its gantry crane-like steel structures to the sides.

The mechanical arms descending from the ceiling, like a hand, picked up the modular production units deployed on the Open Space one by one and put them back on its back.

This incredible scene, occurring so naturally on it, was as easy as breathing.

Standing in front of the office porthole.

Watching the production modules slowly rise outside the window, Li De's face showed a look full of confidence and ambition.

"It's finally time to hit the road again."

He had been waiting for this moment for too long.

"Yes, we've been delayed here for nearly half a month now."

Standing behind Director Li, Wang Jie agreed verbally, but his feelings were complex.

On one hand, he wished to stay here a few more days.

On the other hand, his pockets were nearly as empty as his face.

In fact, he wasn't the only one troubled. Ever since a water cart driver came back holding a bag of buns, their pockets seemed to have been cast under a spell.

Luckily, they couldn't swipe their cards here, and a large part of their wages was deposited directly into their accounts; otherwise, they might have had to dig into their savings...

If Wang Jie was merely troubled, then Director Li standing in front of him was thoroughly headachy.

In just under half a month, those Blue Jackets had managed to make a staggering 210,000 CR from them!

Li De deeply reflected on his mistakes in decision-making.

At the time of signing the labor contract, he had not considered the Blue Jackets would come to their doorstep to do business, let alone imagined that these destitute Blue Jackets could actually make a tidy sum from them.

Therefore, when pricing their goods, Li De only considered the most basic wage expenditure, estimating a daily expense of 2000 CR, at most spending fifty or sixty thousand before departure.

This was just something that couldn't be helped.

Who would have thought that those people would come up with some value-added services and trades, which caused his budget to exceed by an order of magnitude.

Those items on the list should never have been sold to them at cost!

Of course, after thinking about it, Li De felt that it might not be such a bad thing.

Although he had made a profit of 210,000 CR, a rational analysis showed that the trade deficit was actually zero. The money that was made ultimately ended up being spent with him.

The money had made a round trip and ultimately flowed back into the Pioneer's funds. Now, with the logistics department's finances in a comfortable position, the cafeteria's fridge was stuffed full of the Blue Jackets' buns, dumplings, wontons... and a whole bunch of other delicacies to boost morale.

Looking at it this way...

Could it not be considered a loss after all?

He took a sip of fragrant coffee and said slowly, looking out the porthole,

"Speaking of which, what did they buy from us?"

Wang Jie answered, "Some metallic hydrogen batteries and exoskeletons... the rest he exchanged for food and seeds."

It was easy to understand the exoskeletons, as they were the perfect substitute in the absence of power armor.

But these metallic hydrogen batteries...

Li De asked curiously, "What do they want metallic hydrogen batteries for?"

Just as puzzled, Wang Jie replied, "I don't know... Maybe they plan to use them for exoskeletons or drones?"

Li De: "..."

They have that technology?

How strange!

...

Outpost Base certainly didn't have the technology, but someday it would.

While the Pioneer was packing its bags, Chu Guang, accompanied by Old Luka, was tallying up the "wool" in the Action Camp's storage.

A total of 213,420 CR, minus the 117,000 CR of compensation, leaves 96,420 CR.

What did 96,000 CR represent?

It meant that, on average, his little players were generating nearly 9,000 CR of income for him every day! At least half of that was earned through trade, outside of labor dispatch.

With such an astonishing trade surplus, it's not just the wool that was being sheared by his little players but nearly the skin as well!

After deducting the 10,000 CR spent on Boss Xia's leg replacement, there was still 203,420 CR left.

This hard-earned fortune was something his little players had exchanged with untold sweat—and even blood. Naturally, Chu Guang couldn't waste it frivolously.

After much reflection, Chu Guang first took out 100,000 CR from it to purchase 50 common models of metallic hydrogen batteries—at an average cost of 2,000 CR each.

As for why buy batteries, the reason was simple: they offered the highest cost-performance ratio and were hard to obtain in Qingquan City.

Based on Chu Guang's research on the KV-1 Exoskeletons produced by Giant Stone City, the only black technology worthy of the name in the whole exoskeleton was a solid hydrogen battery.

Regarding mechanical structure and engineering design, though there were commendable features, none were impressive enough to astonish people.

Yet the metallic hydrogen batteries produced by the enterprises had an energy density a whole step higher than the average solid hydrogen battery.

This stuff was genuinely black technology—whether used for drones or exoskeletons, it was very reliable. Even if he bought a bunch of KV-1s and just changed their batteries, it would greatly enhance their endurance.

The price of 2,000 CR was definitely a bargain!

Chu Guang figured that in the area around Qingquan City, such a good item that could serve as a strategic reserve should at least sell for 4,000 CR or be exchanged for equivalent goods.

After spending 100,000 CR on batteries, there were still 103,420 CR left.

After weighing his options, Chu Guang took out half of his inventory and exchanged it for food and some pre-war crop seeds. The other half was spent purchasing ten sets of Miner Type I Exoskeletons, each valued at 5000 CR.

Just by hearing the name, it was clear what this exoskeleton was intended for.

But that wasn't important.

The KV-1 was originally used for moving bricks. After welding on rebar and steel plates, it could also function as a kind of fake power armor.

In particular, this Miner Type I Exoskeleton was much better designed than the junk bought from Giant Stone City.

Not to mention, its metallic hydrogen battery alone was more than a little superior to the KV-1's. With its excellent electronic control system and motor design, it ensured a long endurance while providing stronger and more stable power output. If modified, it could theoretically carry even thicker and heavier armor!

In terms of business, the Miner Type I Exoskeleton was considered a Class E commodity and was the most advanced model Chu Guang could buy under the mechanical exoskeleton listings at the moment.

Of course, this exoskeleton wasn't without its drawbacks.

The explosive power of metallic hydrogen was 35 times that of regular dynamite, and its detonation velocity far surpassed black gold; theoretically, only 1L was needed to take down a main battle tank. Therefore, in later models II and III, the company switched back to the slightly safer solid hydrogen batteries and downgraded the export controls to Class F commodities.

Interestingly though, even if models II and III were safer, the most popular model on the Wasteland was still the original generation.

Even though Vite strongly recommended that Chu Guang buy the safer Model II, Chu Guang stuck to his own ideas without hesitation.

"With these things, I feel like there's no need to sell my old armor..."

Looking at the several exoskeletons with a rather industrial look in the warehouse, Chu Guang couldn't help but fall into thought. However, he thought for less than three seconds before making a decision.

"Forget it, I'll just sell it."

"Consider it a bonus for the players."

Since the armor was used by the Manager himself, Chu Guang decided to hold an auction to decide its new owner. Only the most diligent players could possess this exoskeleton, inscribed with honors!

Hmm, when he got back, he'd have to add a couple more scratches to the front armor.

As for the Miner Type I Exoskeleton, Chu Guang planned to mandate that only those who reached Citizen level could purchase it, and each account was limited to buying just one unit. Upon purchase, it would automatically bind, making it untradable to players or neutral NPCs. If they didn't want it anymore, they could only hand it over to a designated warehouse or weapons store.

Considering the import price was as high as 5000 CR, setting the price at 5000 silver coins would be reasonable.

But setting it at that price, his little players would probably have to save money until next year to afford it.

"Let's make it 2000 silver coins then... and I'll add another hurdle. Not only do they need to be Citizens, but they also need to reach level 10 before they can buy!"

Leaving equipment to collect dust in the warehouse was something Old Leech would do.

As long as he ensured that the gear was smoothly equipped by active combat professional players, whether they were using the equipment for moving bricks, scavenging, hunting, or other activities, it was all in the interest of maximizing benefits for Chu Guang.

Generally, unless one was part of the Intelligence System, life professions found it difficult to level up quickly in the early stages.

The most typical example was Mosquito. Since his Gene Sequence was from the Agile system and he often holed up in his workshop, he rarely went out on missions; his level was a pitiful LV5. Tomato Scrambled Eggs, who had entered the Game with him, had reached LV6 before the expansion pack was released and was now nearly at LV7, already a mature Tank of the Body Constitution System.

After instructing Old Luka to arrange for a truck to transport some of the goods back to Outpost Base, Chu Guang, who stepped out of the warehouse, glanced at the Pioneer, which was busy packing outside the camp, his eyes filled with reluctance.

It would have been nice if they could have stayed a few more days.

Popcorn had only just started becoming popular on the Pioneer, and it was a shame not to have sold more...

...

Deployment took ten minutes, packing up took an hour.

By eight in the morning, the Pioneer had finally completed packing.

However, this steel beast didn't take everything away; for instance, the Action Camp located about a hundred meters away from it was left untouched.

Moreover, during the time after the encounter with the Army, the Pioneer helped the Residents of the refuge fortify the Action Camp a second time.

The current Action Camp not only had three-meter-high reinforced concrete Enclosing walls, but there were also five-meter-high pentagonal gun towers located at each of the four corners of the camp.

In addition, there were 300 tons of cement that they didn't manage to use, which the crew of the Pioneer left at the camp.

Together with the supplies that Chu Guang had purchased with CR, these were stored in various warehouses.

"...This is a little token of our appreciation. We hope they can be of help to you."

Wearing his power armor, Captain Lu Yang approached Chu Guang and the residents of the refuge and removed his helmet's faceplate.

Chu Guang looked at him and said solemnly,

"Thank you, you have helped us so much. I will remember this kindness."

To be honest, Chu Guang seldom bared his soul to others, whether in his past life or in this one.

But his words were indeed heartfelt.

It was rare to see such a serious expression on the face of this friend, but Captain Lu Yang didn't pay much attention to that and smiled heartily.

"Don't be so formal. You've helped us a great deal too. Without your assistance, there's no way we could have set out again so quickly."

After a brief pause, that hearty smile turned somewhat wistful.

"Farewell, my friend. If all goes well, we'll meet again!"

At that time, he would return in triumph.

Chu Guang nodded.

"We certainly will. May your banners fly high and your journey be free of worries."

"Hopefully your words will bring good luck!"

They bumped fists as a final goodbye, and then the jaunty Lu Yang waved his hand and stood on the elevator leading to the Steel Fortress.

This was the last batch.

The elevator slowly ascended, and the hatch closed with a heavy clunk.

The Earth trembled ever so lightly, emitting a muffled sound as the majestic ground fortress, driven by fusion power, began to move.

The steel tracks rolled forward slowly but resolutely, crushing the pristine snow and frozen branches beneath them until the towering form merged with the morning mist of the winter day, leaving behind deep furrows as if they were gorges.

This stunning scene caused the players at the entrance of the Action Camp to widen their eyes in amazement, as if their gaze was glued to the fortress that had vanished from sight.

"Has it left?"

"Awesome, the fortress actually moved! I'm beginning to doubt the realism of this game's physics engine!"

"To analyze it rationally, if it's nuclear fusion, it could be possible… Of course, the materials used are probably not regular steel; otherwise, they couldn't support its enormous weight."

"Alright, enough analysis, what I want to know now is, has this expansion pack ended?"

"Probably? Since yesterday, the scavenging missions in the northern towns have disappeared. Didn't you guys pay attention to the VM announcements?"

"Wait a minute, aren't there still over a hundred unlucky players who haven't been revived?"

"Damn, this game operator is so sly. Instead of fixing the BUG, they just ended the expansion pack!"

"Hahahaha, one word, epic!"

Listening to the chatter of the younger players, Chu Guang smiled faintly.

Drawing his gaze away from the fortress that had disappeared into the distance, Chu Guang swiped his index finger across the VM.

The server announcement he had previously edited was immediately sent to every player's VM and also posted on the official website.

[Worldwide Announcement: The prosperity of the Action Camp has reached 100 points, evolving into the Survivor Base, now renamed "Long Endurance Farm."]

[Worldwide Announcement: "Ground Fortress" expansion pack has officially ended, and players who were locked in login status and unable to revive can now log into the game normally.]

[Worldwide Announcement: 100 new players have been added in the Alpha 0.8 version of the game, let's welcome their arrival!]

-

(The next chapter will update before 11 o'clock! I'm checking it twice for my OCD.)

Chapter 164: Changjiu Farm and the Clue to Unlocking Level B3!

At the same time.

VM map page, "Action Camp" sign was replaced with a new sign.

And the complete profile card was updated!

[

Settlement name: Changjiu Farm

Settlement level: Village (LV1)

Prosperity: 100

Industrial Index: 0

Commercial Index: 0

Need: Building materials (Donations can gain local reputation)

Tendencies: Exploration (Scavenging task profit +10%), Construction (Infrastructure task profit +10%)

]

Watching a series of messages pop up on VM, the small players standing on the open space exchanged surprised glances and began to talk among themselves.

"Holy shit! The expansion pack really ended!"

"What the hell do zero industrial and commercial indices mean?"

"After all, the black workshops and black brick kilns are registered at Outpost Base, so it makes sense for the industrial index to be zero. And all the NPCs left, so the commercial index is also zero... I'm just guessing."

"Changjiu Farm? Where's the 'farm' in that? Is there anything growing? Why can't I see anything?"

"+1! The operator is pulling the wool over our eyes by selling one thing and delivering another!"

At the same time, on the B2 floor of a refuge ten kilometers away, over two hundred cultivation chambers opened simultaneously, with door-crashing sounds one after another.

Not just the players who had died in battle before.

But also newcomers who had just logged into the Game.

Over two hundred people logged into the Game at the same time!

As usual, let those newcomers get excited in their rooms first. After they got dressed and the broadcast in the room finished playing the beginners' tutorial and customer notices, then the alloy doors would open.

As for those old players who had just respawned, Chu Guang also kept them confined for a while to cool down before releasing them.

After all, having been suppressed for so long, it's almost inevitable to do something stupid when emotions are running high, and you can't register alt accounts in this game, so it's better to do those socially suicidal things alone when no one's around.

It was for their own good.

However…

Chu Guang still underestimated the power of withdrawal rebound.

As soon as the alloy doors of the single rooms opened, old Makabazi, like an unleashed wild Husky, raced ahead and charged into the B2 floor hall.

He slid forward, wrapped his arms around the central elevator's doors, and frantically jabbed the up button with his fingers, twitching like they were having a seizure, and excitedly making a weird noise while he did so.

"Hahaha! I'm back, baby! First place is mine!"

Soon, thumping footsteps flooded towards the hall from the corridors, following in old Makabazi's footsteps.

"Damn! How can he run so fast! Is he a dog?"

"Nobody fight for it! There are only so many elevators, let's go one by one, I'll go up first and scout ahead for you guys, see if the snow is heavy!"

"Ah, let me up first! I want to watch Little Fish count money!"

"Frigging males, what's so great about Little Fish! I want to see the handsome and dashing Manager!"

"It was me! I'm the one who got here first!" Makabazi, pushed out of the crowd, screeched, on the verge of crying while watching the ascending elevator.

They'd placed a bet on the official website's forum. Wagering 1 Silver Coin on who would be the first to leave the shelter; the winner would be paid by everyone else.

Apart from the unfortunate guy who couldn't leave due to a glitch, over a hundred little players, stuck with the bug, had joined in.

Over a hundred!

One coin each, that's a hefty sum altogether!

The area in front of the elevators was jam-packed with people.

The new players, who were still lingering at the back, touching here and looking there, marveling at how lifelike the rendering was, turned to stone when they saw how the old players reacted.

What are these people doing?

Is this game always this wild?

Standing off to the side with her arms crossed, Xia Yan looked disdainfully at those jostling at the elevator door and couldn't help but vent to Xiao Qi beside her.

"Have these guys' brains gone bad? I feel like they're not very sharp."

Like Old Luka, she seemed to have figured out some inside information, the players were similar to clones and wouldn't really die.

When it came to clonal technology, she wasn't particularly knowledgeable, only aware that it wasn't a rarity in the Wasteland, so she didn't make much of it.

Who knows, though?

Maybe there was technology that could extract brain pulp and recreate a clone, she wasn't a specialist in this stuff after all.

Besides, considering how Chu Guang would always have someone carefully retrieve every body and toss it into some furnace whose purpose she didn't know,
it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility.

Xiao Qi adjusted the camera, turned to Xia Yan beside her, and said somewhat helplessly,

"The boss said it's 'behavioral art,' so don't bother with them. If someone does anything weird, just leave it to Xiao Qi to handle."

Behavioral art?

What on earth was that?

Furrowing her brow and unable to make heads or tails of it after some thought, Xia Yan decided to simply stop worrying about such vexing issues.

She walked up to the newbie players.

Dropping her arms that were crossed in front of her, she shook her fiery red hair and swept her sharp gaze across them.

"So you're the newbies sent by the organization."

"Unfortunately, the Manager isn't here today, and I'll be the one training you."

"If you don't want an uncomfortable experience, you'd best behave."

That was the entirety of the weapons shop owner's dialogue.

The introduction for the newcomers would be conducted by the Manager's assistant and chief repeater—little Miss Xiao Qi.

However...

It was clear that no one paid any attention to that trash-bin-like little thing.

The new players, still in shock, wore not-too-sharp expressions and gazed blankly at the striking figure of Boss Xia.

Training?

Behave?

Wait, was this content free to enjoy?

...

As new and old players logged on, the "server" once again reached its full capacity of five hundred players.

Almost simultaneously, Chu Guang's Administrator System also finally received fresh non-daily tasks after a long hiatus.

And this time, two were triggered at once!

[

Task: Explore Shelter No.117.

Type: Main.

Requirement: Use the VM's map data collection function to explore all areas of Shelter No.117, leaving no corner unchecked.

Reward: Unlock B3 level.

]

[

Task: Find the VM of the Manager of Shelter No.117.

Type: Side

Reward: 200 reward points.

]

"B3 level access is linked to Shelter No.117?"

In the Central Square of the Action Camp, Chu Guang, having just dispatched tasks to the players here, stroked his chin with interest while looking at the two new task cards updated in the system interface.

Neither task looked too difficult. Boss Xia knew the location of Shelter No.117, and even the magnetic card for the door was with him.

With the heavy snowfall and frozen landscapes, he didn't have to worry about mercenaries from Giant Stone City coming to compete with him.

As long as he took care of the Variants from the metro entrance to the shelter's door, his little players could not only explore the map, they could scrape the land clean!

As for the VM of the Manager of Shelter No.117, that would require a bit of luck since nobody could be sure if that fellow was still in the shelter.

"There's an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher just sitting in the Armory that's got a new use, and aren't there about ten light machine guns too? Shouldn't be too hard to deal with the Crawlers."

Anyway, firepower was definitely sufficient, so he might as well let the players worry about these tasks.

As for Chu Guang, he had more important matters to attend to on his own.

He headed to the east side of the Changjiu Farm, where a foam-structured barracks housed the prisoners of the Army.

Twenty-six people were crammed into one room, all sleeping on the floor with thin blankets, huddling close to the hot water pipes for warmth.

As Chu Guang arrived nearby with two Strength Type players, intonations of whispering conversations filled the barrack's Centurions.

"The corporate people have left..."

"They didn't take us with them."

"Are they planning on leaving us for the natives?"

Thinking of the hundreds of Residents of the refuge who had died in that battle, many faces wore expressions of panic.

God knows how those Barbarians would treat them.

Perhaps they would be thrown into the snow, left to freeze to death, or forced to fight each other and then execute the last survivor in a cruel manner.

They were afraid because they had seen, if not done, these things themselves.

In the Army, such methods were common, used not only against enemies but also occasionally as punishment for their own people.

Vanus didn't join in the discussion, merely sitting quietly against the wall, silently awaiting his fate.

The answer was quite clear.

The corporate people had refused to sell them to the local Survivor Base and declined negotiation, clearly with no intention of letting them live.

Now it was merely a matter of how they would die.

At that moment, the barrack's door opened, and the snowy wind blew in violently, causing those near the door to huddle together, shivering violently.

Of course, it wasn't entirely due to the cold.

Part of the reason was the man standing at the doorway.

Here he comes!

Seeing Chu Guang's face, Vanus felt his heart leap to his throat, hoping they would be quick with him and not prolong his suffering.

Unexpectedly, the Manager of Shelter No. 117, standing at the doorway, did not immediately order their execution.

Instead, he looked at them and said,

"From now on, you will go through reformation through labor. To live, you will Work."

With an icy gaze overlooking the inhabitants of the cell, Chu Guang continued to speak.

"Who is your commanding officer?"

Eyes hesitantly turned toward the man sitting against the wall in the cell.

Knowing it could not be hidden, Vanus sighed inwardly and stood up squarely.

"It's me... sir."

Hearing this man calling him sir, Chu Guang found it somewhat amusing.

He had just considered the man to have some backbone, but he had given in so easily.

However, Chu Guang still maintained an expressionless face of authority, his sharp gaze fixed on the man.

"The rest of you stay here, waiting for orders. As for you, come with me."

Following Chu Guang out of the barracks, Vanus's legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and he couldn't shake the feeling that this path led to the execution ground.

Yet he had no choice but to follow.

The north wind howled.

The snow felt like blades, slicing at him relentlessly, and Vanus, dressed only in a single layer, was frozen to the point that his lips turned purplish and his muscles shook uncontrollably.

The two younger players who followed beside Chu Guang murmured to each other.

"Damn, our Manager is quite the sadist."

"They'll torment the man before hanging him."

"Tsk tsk tsk, that's just brutal, too brutal."

Chu Guang ignored the two younger players' murmuring about the mission's plot, and led Vanus to the warehouse of Changjiu Farm. There he fetched a dead man's clothing scavenged from the battlefield and threw it at Vanus's hands.

"Put it on."

Taking the bullet-riddled fur coat, Vanus, who thought he was going to be executed, was surprised but quickly did as told.

The cold coat didn't provide him a shred of warmth, but at least it prevented his body heat from escaping too quickly.

"Your subordinates will stay here to burn limestone and carry stones, building our homeland, while you will be assigned to the brick kiln ten kilometers away."

Vanus swallowed, moistening his cracked throat.

"I'd like to say something," he said, looking at Chu Guang.

"Go ahead."

With a forced smile squeezed from his frozen face, he tried to propose, "I have family in the west. I can pay my own ransom... How about a hundred thousand dinars? No, two hundred thousand! I can hand over all my possessions!"

Chu Guang: "Dinars?"

Vanus explained hurriedly, "That's our currency, made of gold. Two hundred thousand dinars is enough to buy a hundred strong slaves, not mass-produced cannon fodder, but the kind that can do work and understand human speech, almost indistinguishable from normal people."

Seeing what appeared to be a mocking smile on the man's face, Vanus spoke even faster, his voice now somewhat panicked, a far cry from his earlier composure.

"Of course, if you're not interested in the labor force, this money could also buy dozens of beautiful female slaves with excellent genes, professionally trained... I assure you, I'll pay the ransom, just please spare my life!"

It seemed that the Army used precious metals as money and primarily traded slaves.

But it made sense, after all, given their advanced cloning technology, it was unreasonable to produce only one kind.

Mass-produced clones were sent to the battlefield to charge into the fray as cannon fodder, while naturally-grown clones and survivors served as labor, sent to factories or mines to toil.

The strength of this Army was not to be underestimated.

Interrupting his plea, Chu Guang said, "When spring comes next year, if there is a Commercial Team going west, you can send a letter to your family to come with the ransom to redeem you."

"But not now."

"Like your officers, you need to undergo labor reform. This has nothing to do with ransom. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Despite the humiliation, at least his life was spared.

Vanus moved his stiff neck and lowered his head.

"I understand..."

"I am willing to comply with your arrangements."

It didn't matter whether he meant those words or not.

Chu Guang only needed to keep these nuisances under his watch until the situation in the north became clear.

After all, neither releasing nor executing these people was quite appropriate, and Chu Guang felt it would be a loss not to give them work to do.

He was no good-hearted soul from the Pioneer, willing to offer precious food to sustain them for free.

Apart from Vanus, who was sent to the brick kiln, the twenty-five junior officers each received a shovel and a barely warm fur garment. Under the supervision of four guards armed with rifles, they cleared snow from the Open Space and pathways inside the camp.

In the afternoon, they would be arranged to level the Land outside the farmstead.

Chu Guang planned to build a cement factory to the south of the Long Endurance Farmstead, using the produced cement to pave roads connecting the Outpost Base to the farmstead.

Once the road was completed, the commute time from Outpost Base to Long Endurance Farmstead would be cut by more than half.

Later, Chu Guang also intended to extend the road to the towns under his jurisdiction in the north, to make it easier for his players to pioneer those areas and establish new Action Camps in Tianshui City further away.

It was said that the Survivor Forces there were slightly weaker and more scattered, not as dominant as in Giant Stone City.

Since he could not expand southward, he might as well expand northward.

Chu Guang planned to seize all the land along the elevated road leading out of the northern suburbs of Qingquan City, attracting refugees fleeing from the northern part of River Valley Province.

At least, that was his plan.

Meanwhile, those small players who finally managed to resurrect received their compensation for missing the expansion pack.

The highest compensation was 300 silver, the least was 150 silver, along with 100 Activity Points and a chance at the lottery, which everyone was entitled to.

The final lottery was the climax of the entire expansion pack.

According to the rules published on the official website,

100 Activity Points could be exchanged for a high-level gift box, guaranteed to contain an item equivalent to 100 Silver, such as the Corps Iron Pipe Rifle from the reward pool. An Assault Rifle, the same model from Pioneer and exclusive to the expansion pack, was also up for grabs.

10 Activity Points could be exchanged for a medium-level gift box, guaranteed to contain weapon accessories, armor, or medical supplies such as bandages. Similarly included in the reward pool was an expansion-exclusive "Red dot sight" valued at 233 silver.

1 Activity Point could not be used for the lottery but could be exchanged for 1 Silver Coin—though no one actually did.

It's absurd; the reward from the gift boxes was exclusive!

Who wouldn't want to hit the jackpot with a red dot sight?

Only a fool would trade Activity Points for money!

Not all players possessed the VM, so the expansion pack lottery was organized to take place on the official website.

At 6:00 PM Wasteland time, 6:00 AM in reality, the announcement for exchanging gift boxes was promptly updated on the official website.

As the excited players and Backseat Drivers who camped on the Forum saw the dazzling pool of rewards, the entire server instantly erupted!

Chapter 165: The Carnival of the Non-Tribal and the Exalted

Official Forum.

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Hahahaha! Awesome, I won a second prize! LD-47 Sickle Assault Rifle!"

WC True Mosquito: "I also got a second prize! Wait, the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher is disposable, right? Damn! That's totally screwing us over!"

Night Ten: "Damn! Why are you guys so lucky, and I got only the guaranteed items from two advanced gift boxes: one Ten-Husband Long Pistol and one 'Opener' Pipe Shotgun exclusively from the Army... This is even worse than the 7mm produced in Giant Stone City! Bad luck! Seriously bad luck!"

Makabazi: "Dying laughing, solid proof he's Non-Tribal!"

Night Ten: "Red dot sight! Damn, I got a red dot sight from my medium-level gift box! Hahahaha!"

Makabazi: "%￥@#!"

The announcement for the gift box exchange had just been updated less than ten minutes ago, and the speed of refreshing posts on the official website had more than doubled.

There were those showing off their gift box prizes, those bragging about their activity points, those angrily cursing, and even those live streaming their face and hand washing.

The whole forum was bustling with excitement!

The reward pool for this expansion pack's box opening was quite sincere.

Among the top prizes was an orange-yellow exoskeleton!

According to the panel data, in terms of load capacity and endurance, it far exceeded the KV-1 that Manager had used before, and it was equipped with a pinnacle chemical kinetic battery—the Metallic Hydrogen battery!

In the game setting, this kind of battery is already considered almost T1 technology, much higher than the high polymer azide compound batteries and solid hydrogen batteries mentioned in the background setting!

Although it's called Miner Type I, that's not the main point.

Wearing it, Strength Type muscle men can transform into big bosses, and Intelligence System pretty boys can instantly become super soldiers.

Since it operates on motion sensing rather than neural sensing, this suit places no requirements on attributes, meaning it's a "level-less" God Equip!

As the special prize for this lottery draw, both advanced and medium-level gift boxes could produce it, though the former had a winning probability of 1%, and the latter only 0.1%.

Besides the special prize, the first prize in the advanced gift box also included the corporate standard weapon, the "Black Swan" G9 Assault Rifle.

The compact barrel and receiver, modular accessories, foldable stock, and in-built digital grey urban camouflage…everything was designed for urban terrain.

The 7mm caliber ammunition was extremely effective against both humans and Variants, especially since this gun can switch between fully automatic and semi-automatic, and even adjust the rate of fire under full-auto mode to either 60/200/700 rounds per minute.

The highest speed setting maxes out, turning the assault rifle into a submachine gun!

In the previous battle against the Army, Chu Guang had pulled twenty "Black Swans" off the Pioneer, with thirty-one red dot sights.

After the battle, he had been busy organizing the funerals, and Li De hadn't had the heart to ask Chu Guang for them back, and of course, Chu Guang wouldn't bring it up, so the matter had just been left there.

In this lottery draw's reward pool, Chu Guang had put ten "Black Swans" in the advanced gift boxes and ten red dot sights in the medium-level gift boxes.

As for the rest, they were priced at 500 silver and 233 silver respectively and slowly sold off in the weapon shop.

This kind of gun is just for fun, as the ammo is really too expensive.

The big enterprise that provided ammo for the "Black Swan" G9 added X-4 fibers to all the loads, which theoretically could reach 133% of the blast speed of traditional smokeless gunpowder according to the design process.

Although Chu Guang had picked up quite a bit of X-4 fibers from the Carbon Dioxide Trap, it was impossible to set up a dedicated production line just for these twenty rifles, as there were just too few chamber and barrels that could withstand that chamber pressure. Most likely, they would end up using traditional smokeless gunpowder replicas, which definitely wouldn't be as powerful as the original bullets.

But does that matter to the players?

Clearly not!

In the game, the guns just need to look cool!

This "Black Swan" undoubtedly fits that bill—its design screams European-style weapon. Wouldn't you hit the jackpot if you were to draw it?

The drop rate for exoskeletons was absurdly low, but thinking about "Black Swan's" drop rate was still reasonable, as nearly all players exchanging advanced blind boxes were aiming for it.

Chu Guang briefly checked the official website backend.

In just ten minutes, the whole server had opened over two hundred advanced gift boxes and nearly a thousand medium-level gift boxes—the boundary between Exalted and Non-Tribal became immediately apparent.

Three lucky players had drawn the "Black Swan," and five fortunate ones had opened red dot sights from medium-level gift boxes.

Almost everyone published their "award speeches" on the Forum, while the replies below were all, without exception, filled with envy.

Following the Dreamer: "Damn, inside job!"

Kevin with the broken leg: "This is too unfair, too unfair! Why don't I have one! I don't care, the officials are biased, unless they give me one too!"

Brother Mole on the run: "Unfair my ass! Always complaining! You think it's simple to get God Equips without spending tens of thousands to reach V10? Have you seen a more generous operator?"

Mid-lane Sniper God Qi Ting: "Wuuu, Strategy Dad please, give me one too!"

The first batch of top prizes came out, and Chu Guang unexpectedly saw a familiar ID.

It was Brother Mole.

This guy had written a "trial experience" when he took his gun to the battlefield, and now he actually won one?

But, it didn't matter who won it.

What mattered was, within just ten minutes, Chu Guang had drained half of the server's activity points.

The little players who had finished opening their gift boxes were either showing off their rewards on the forum or feeling jealous and envious in the Europeans' posts.

The official website's traffic soared, the players were thrilled, more backseat drivers and random netizens were tempted and clicked to reserve. Chu Guang couldn't count how many times he had won with this move.

Anyway, as long as he crushed it, it was fine!

Gnome King Riches: "Damn it! Why can't this crappy game have microtransactions!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Exactly! Strongly suggest the officials open up a recharge channel! I'd charge straight to V10 on the spot!"

Macabazi: "It's unreasonable that you can't buy activity points, I suggest the developers learn from Goose Company. Although it's in the beta phase, as long as accounts aren't wiped, I think microtransactions are totally feasible!"

Crow: "Yes, yes, at least fix the bug that doesn't allow us to spend money! It'd be even better if they could release some more attractive clothes. QAQ"

Teng Teng: "! Are the clothes I made not pretty enough? Σ(゜ロ゜;)"

Night Ten: "Ms. Crow is right! (Funny Face)"

Elena: "+1! I support her unconditionally. (Funny Face)"

Watching the sand sculptures in the official forum, Chu Guang smiled slightly.

Just when he was planning to soothe those non-tribals who had used up their points, a post suddenly popped up.

Spring Water Commander: "Hahaha, exoskeleton! Hahahaha! I freaking won it!!!!"

Night Ten: "!"

Elena: "!!"

Fang Chang: "???"

The replies under the post instantly flooded the screen, covering over a hundred floors within just a minute.

A bunch of people were shouting in disbelief.

But before long, that little player named Spring Water Commander posted a screenshot of his winning record in the post, accompanied by a 1080p large funny face.

The mockery was just maxed out!

"Damn! Kill that European!"

"I'm crying! Why didn't I get one! Dark curtain! It must be the developer's alt!"

"Boss, are you selling? I'll offer 2500 silver!"

"I'll offer 3000!"

"5000!"

The bidding got more and more outrageous.

Unable to stand it anymore, Spring Water Commander jumped back in and replied, "Get lost, get lost, stop bluffing, do you even have that much money? Not selling, not selling! Even for ten thousand silver coins I wouldn't sell!"

5000 silver was definitely exaggerated.

Even if the won exoskeleton wasn't bound compulsively and belonged to the "level-less" equipment in an MMORPG, it's unlikely it would sell for twice the price.

Especially considering Wasteland OL didn't allow creating alts yet, and large guilds hadn't settled in, there's no such tactic as "whole team supports one account."

1.1~1.5 times the price would be more reasonable.

Unless it's open for public testing and large guilds move in, the prices would probably skyrocket.

It wasn't just inside the Forum posts.

Even outside, on the rest of the Forum, there was a lot of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Initially, Chu Guang planned to console those Europeans but seeing the little players shouting about conspiracies, he felt too awkward to jump in.

He simply pretended not to see it.

Anyway, this unknown ID that couldn't even be found in the T3 team, suddenly became famous across the entire Forum.

To be honest, even the Spring Water Commander was a bit confused. The moment he won, he felt incredibly light.

It was like living in a dream.

A set of exoskeletons, if used well, could easily boost someone from T3 to T2, and with some hard work, even to T1.

Without any hesitation, he logged into the Game.

He arrived at Boss Xia's weapon shop and, just before closing time, quickly received the godly equipment that countless players dreamt about—

The Miner Type I Exoskeleton!

The orange-yellow paint and its oddly dull name didn't diminish its coolness. If anything, it made it feel more like a "protagonist's exclusive outfit."

As everyone knows, in mech anime, the protagonists always pilot training mechs, which mostly come in crappy yellow.

Spring Water Commander, seeing stars in his eyes, couldn't let go of this equipment.

Could he be the legendary Chosen One?

The protagonist of an MMORPG novel?

That was just too lucky!

…

Niu Ma Club.

Night Ten, who had been chatting on the Forum, rushed in hurriedly.

"I just checked online, and the Miner Type I Exoskeleton is available at the weapon shop! But there are only 9 units available!"

Fang Chang: "How much??"

Night Ten: "2000 silver coins each, and 100 event points can be exchanged for a 10% discount coupon."

Wild Wind: "…"

WC Mosquito: "F*ck! What I need is that discount coupon?!"

Night Ten: "Hehe, you couldn't buy it anyway because there are restrictions on purchasing exoskeletons from the weapon shop; you need a Citizen Contribution Level and a character Level of at least LV10 to make a purchase! And once purchased, it's automatically bound to you and cannot be traded to other players, only sold back to the NPC shop."

WC Mosquito: "Shit! I am only LV6!"

Fang Chang: "Old White is currently the highest level in the server; these days, we are primarily focusing on conquering the 'Greenhouse Ruins' in one go, hoping to level up."

The Strength Type, which leans more towards physical enhancement, levels up faster, whether it's chopping trees or moving bricks.

Thus, even within the same team, while leveling up together, Old White's leveling speed was a bit faster than theirs.

After the Strength Type, the next in line is the Body Constitution System for tanking, the Perception System for scouting, and Agility System mainly for dealing damage.

As for the Intelligence System, if not using neural connection equipment, it's basically like being forcefully carried by the group, only being able to mix in a bit with the Agile System.

Wild Wind: "What about the raffle? Are the raffled items bound as well?"

Night Ten: "I just private messaged that Spring Water guy, and it seems like they are not."

Fang Chang: "Ah, envy those lucky bastards, damn it, I opened three advanced blind boxes, all trash."

Wild Wind: "Same here... that Ten-Husband Long Pistol uses 10mm bullets, which I haven't even seen in the weapon shop."

WC Mosquito: "You guys got that crap too? Hahaha, don't worry, mates, no panic, if the NPC shop doesn't have it, we'll just make our own! After work tonight, I'll figure out how to craft it!"

Night Ten: "All on you! (funny)"

Wild Wind: "By the way, Old White, what did you open?"

Old White: "Cough cough... what's it called, Black Swan? Anyway, it looks quite cool, just not sure if it's any good. (grits teeth)"

There was silence in the chat for a while.

No one spoke for a long time.

Wild Wind: "…"

WC Mosquito: "…"

Fang Chang: "Seems like we have a European among us."

Night Ten: "+1, let's kick him out."

Old White: "???"

…

The raffle event continued from Wasteland time evening until midnight at 12 AM.

This time coincided with noon in reality.

As players exhausted all their event points, the official site also took down the event link and, instead, published the list of the lucky winners.

Of course, players could choose to remain anonymous, but absolutely no one did that.

Why hide the things one earns by skill?

Everyone was a European here, be confident!

After the rewards were published, Chu Guang briefly checked what items he had given out.

First prize included nine "Black Swans" and eight "Red dot sights."

Second prize went to twenty-seven LD-47 "Sickle" rifles and forty-nine iron pipe sights.

Third prize and consolation prizes were not worth mentioning, all being junk picked up from the battlefield.

The Clone light infantry's standard gear—"Opener" iron pipe rifle was just a 7mm bolt action.

The reason it was called "Opener" might be due to the long bayonet, useful during a charge.

This rifle's shop price was 100 silver, still decent for beginners to use.

Sitting in front of the resident hall's computer, looking at the backend statistical data, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile.

These players really weren't great.

The prize pool hadn't even bottomed out before they were completely drained.

"That, master…"

Hearing Xiao Qi's voice, Chu Guang lifted his head and asked.

"What is it."

"We only have about five 'Sickles' in our inventory," worried his master might have forgotten, Xiao Qi spoke softly, "You just gave out twenty-seven, we don't have nearly that many…"

"It's just for now," Chu Guang said nonchalantly, "I didn't say that I'd deliver the rewards immediately, since the new equipment is still being tested, delaying it for two or three days before going online is normal, right?"

And it probably wouldn't even take that long.

The custom parts ordered from Factory 81 had already been delivered, and soon Brother Ciso and Brother Levin would start on the first batch of pressed metal casings and barrels.

The production process for LD-47 is not complex, and it doesn't require as high shooting precision as the "precision shooter's edition" LD-47s.

So why not put the LD-47s in the reward pool?

Chu Guang had already considered these issues long ago.

Xiao Qi, with her camera raised, looked at Chu Guang in astonishment.

Worthy of being the master!

He planned to owe temporarily from the very beginning.

Chapter 166: It's only natural that the armor used by the Manager should be a bit more expensive.

Changjiu Farm.

The heavy snow had eased off a bit.

The ground inside and outside the enclosing wall was covered in deep snow that could bury a person's lower legs.

Two guards carrying Mediator's Rifles were pressing four ragged prisoners of war to build a mound of earth on the open space to the north of the enclosing wall.

They sealed branches, dead leaves, and licorice inside the mound, leaving a small hole at both the top and the bottom, then lit a fire.

Gradually, the fire blazed up, burning from the bottom to the top, and in no time, thick smoke billowed.

"Why are we lighting a fire near the north gate?" asked the younger guard, looking at his superior with a face full of confusion.

Wrench replied with meticulous care,

"It's an order from the Manager. We just do as we're told."

Honestly, Wrench himself was harboring doubts.

Wasn't he concerned that this much smoke would attract nearby Looters?

In fact, Looters weren't much of a concern, the real fear was that it would draw the refugees.

War was raging in the north, and this winter was exceptionally harsh; even the herds of deer knew to head south, let alone people.

November was fast approaching.

It would be even tougher than now...

But since it was the Manager's command, he didn't dare to ask more. He just followed orders.

...

[Worldwide Announcement: Due to the need to adjust the values of new equipment, "Sickle" series weapons will be available in NPC Weapon Shops in three days. Players who are temporarily unable to redeem prizes, please stay calm.]

Thankfully, this wasn't a bug, and since a clear time for the fix was given, the players weren't too anxious. Only a few players who had won "Sickles" were clamoring for compensation on the Forum.

However, there weren't many who paid them any attention.

After all, the odds of winning meant that most people were Non-Tribal, with only a few being Exalted.

Exalted ones looking for compensation?

Take my Non-Tribal spear!

...

The next day, early morning.

A dense crowd of players had gathered in the Outpost Base's square, a sight not seen in a long time.

As was the custom, many players would stay here for a while after coming up from underground to see if they could join a car convoy or find a boss to lead them.

What a lively scene!

Elven King Riches, carrying a hunting bow, stepped forward and shouted at the top of his lungs,

"Anyone joining the 7 AM ride to Changjiu Farm? Agility system player looking for a group, going to do a hunting mission in Elm District! Interested parties DM me."

Elena: "Eh? Old Wang? Aren't you going to dungeon crawl with Mole Old Brother anymore?"

Elven King Riches: "Not today. Greenhouse Ruins are too grueling, freaking thousands of moths, man, I just want to quietly be a hunter and slack a bit. Old Monk, wanna join?"

Elena: "I don't know that person, go find your Old Monk."

Elven King Riches, grinning, grabbed his arm.

"Old Monk, don't go! Join us!"

"Get lost! I don't know you!"

The two walked off towards the north gate.

Hearing their conversation, the players nearby whispered to one another.

"I heard that Elm District recently spawned a group of Mutant Snow Wolves?"

"Not just Snow Wolves! Near that nuclear crater, I even saw Crack Claw Crabs!"

"Damn! I better stay far away then."

"By the way, how much is a Snow Wolf Skin worth?"

"One Silver Coin more than a Hyena Skin at the NPC shop, but that's not important! Vine Cottage is buying in bulk, 4 Silver Coins per skin, and those as white as snow go for double – guys, let's rush!"

"Me, me, me, take me with you!"

A Hyena Skin was only worth 1 Silver Coin, but a Snow Wolf Skin was going for 4 Silver Coins – this was even more expensive than deer skins before!

Hearing that rich lady Teng Teng was in need, the savvy young players instantly swapped their gear for hunting attire, shouldering hunting bows and guns.

Tail glanced at Si Si.

"That's right! You know what I mean!" Tail said with a click of her tongue.

Sighing, Si Si said, "Snow Wolves today, huh? Wait for me to go back and change my gear—"

"Snow Wolves? Such weak creatures aren't worthy of Tail's intervention!" Tail scoffed, lifting the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher off her back and onto her shoulder, boasting, "Hmph, look at what I pulled yesterday?"

"Wait... don't tell me you're going after a Crack Claw Crab," Si Si said.

Tail's eyes sparkled as she gave a thumbs-up: "Tail gives you a like!"

Si Si: "???"

The team headed to Elm District grew larger and larger; even a giant White Bear joined in, raising its chubby right paw.

Crow decided to join the large group and check out the scene there.

It wasn't for the hunt, though, but because the mushrooms near Rhombus Lake Wetland Park were almost completely harvested by her.

In this game, mushrooms don't seem to respawn daily; she would have to try her luck in the new map.

Besides those doing hunting and gathering quests, there were a few small players who were all about exploration quests. Wasteland OL had a variety of quest types, from delivery to moving bricks, from picking up trash to running errands; even without fighting, one could still earn Silver Coins and Contribution Points rewards.

"Explore the outskirts of Tianshui City... looking for a new Survivor Base," Spring Water Commander mused while stroking his chin, enthusiasm in his eyes as he looked at the mission column on his VM, "This quest sounds quite interesting."

Though he belonged to the Intelligence System, with his Exoskeleton, it wasn't a big problem!

In a bit, he'd find a Perception-type player to take the front, even if it was a newbie, because even if they couldn't win, he sure could escape.

With that in mind, Spring Water immediately headed towards the Weapon Shop, planning to spend the 200 Silver Coins he had saved up to buy a suitable weapon.

Preferably a semiautomatic rifle.

After all, that six-bullet-capacity pea shooter was far too mismatched for his badass Exoskeleton Armor.

However, what Spring Water didn't expect was that when he arrived at the entrance of the Weapon Shop, he found a crowd packing the place.

The crowd here was no less than the one in the square.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that an auction was taking place?

And the item being auctioned was the Manager's Armor!

"...Now up for auction is the KV-1 Modified Exoskeleton Armor that the Manager once used. Although there are some scratches on the surface, they do not affect its performance. On the contrary, they are proof of its reliability. The Manager said he doesn't need it anymore, but it's far from retirement. He hopes it can continue to serve the greater cause, helping others who need it, so he asked me to find it a good home," said the auctioneer.

"Starting bid—200 Silver Coins!"

Boss Xia read the script verbatim.

After finishing, she even picked up a small mallet and tapped it on the Table in style.

Recently, Xia Yan had just learned Pinyin, and Chu Guang decided to let her host the auction, reasoning that it would help her practice her spoken language.

Although her pronunciation was uneven and lacked some presence, the players didn't mind.

Who cared whether Boss Xia held a small Wrench or a small whip in her hand?

They only cared about the Manager's awesome Armor!

As soon as the mallet hit the table, someone immediately raised their hand and added a hundred Silver Coins, skipping the minor increments and escalating the competition to a fever pitch.

Edge Shoveling: "400!"

Escaping Mole from the Canyon: "I bid 410!"

There's Really A Mosquito in WC: "I'll add 50 more!"

Escaping Mole from the Canyon: "Darn it! When have you ever used the equipment you bought!"

Edge Shoveling: "Exactly! You just hoard it all! What good is that?"

Makabazi: "Get this disruptive Mosquito out of here!" (voice cracking)

There's Really A Mosquito in WC: "That's nonsense! What do you mean hoarding? I'm going to start leveling up soon too! And why are you, Old Maca, even chiming in? You can't afford it!"

Makabazi: "You're the old one!"

Spring Water was dumbfounded watching from the outskirts.

How can these guys be so rich?

Three hundred Silver Coins, just like that!

The auction was in total uproar.

The smaller players who couldn't afford it anyway gathered around to cheer happily, enjoying the show, and snacking on melon seeds.

Xia Yan yawned, finding their noise bothersome.

This armor, where exactly is it good that it's worth a month of her basic salary?

Isn't it just a KV-1 with a few pieces of steel welded on it?

Although she couldn't afford it, she had seen with her own eyes last night, Chu Guang, brandishing a dagger over it, vigorously claiming that his "players" all liked this model and even said that each scar was a medal?

Only idiots would believe his nonsense.

After the second strike of the gavel, just when Boss Xia was thinking it was about time to wrap things up, suddenly a hand was raised.

"Five hundred!"

Wow!

Surrounding players were astonished, their eyes widening.

Five hundred silver coins!

Who the hell has that kind of money?!

Everyone turned to look, and sure enough, they saw that the hand belonged to Fang Chang of the Buffalo Team.

Just as Mole Old Brother was about to spitefully raise the bid by 1 silver coin to annoy Mosquito, he withdrew his hand halfway up when he saw it was Fang Chang. His nose practically bent with irritation, and he complained with a sad and angry expression.

"Damn it! Didn't you agree not to compete with me?"

Edge Rowing: "What use is heavy armor to you, an archer?"

Maca: "Take it away! Take it away!"

Fang Chang gave an embarrassed smile and said to Brother Mole.

"Sorry, bro, I didn't buy this heavy armor for myself. A few of us pooled together the money to buy it for our T. Next time there's good stuff... I definitely won't compete with you!"

Ravine Fugitive Mole: "I trust you, my ass!"

Maca couldn't help but gloat over his misfortune: "Hahahaha! Brother Fang Chang is awesome! Mole has been plucked bald! Hahaha!"

Ravine Fugitive Mole: "%￥#@!"

Old White courteously waved his hand and said, "Sorry about that, brother! We'll definitely repay this favor next time!"

Mole sighed and shaking his head, he said.

"Well, it's done. Next time, raise your sign earlier so I don't waste my expressions."

Seeing Fang Chang raise the sign, Mosquito also backed down.

He could have bid higher, but there was no need.

Why compete with someone from the same Buffalo group?

Besides, he couldn't outbid...

Watching Old White immediately put on the Manager's same model of armor, Spring Water, who was OBSERVING from the side, suddenly felt that his orange exoskeleton wasn't at all appealing.

A "bulk-machine model" that could be bought from a weapon shop couldn't compare with an "ancient legacy" that had been through the flames of war.

Those scars were like medals of honor...

Spring Water became absent-minded without realizing it and didn't snap out of it even after everyone had left.

It was at this moment that someone tugged at his arm.

"Brother, did you glitch out?"

He turned his head and saw it was Mosquito.

Spring Water immediately became alert and withdrew his arm.

"What's up?"

Mosquito hee-heed with a smile.

"Not... not much, just wanted to ask if you're interested in getting a Manager's matched armor? I could modify it for you!"

Spring Water swallowed.

"How much?"

"Not expensive at all, just the cost price, 200 silver coins!"

That's still not expensive?!

But...

After clenching his teeth, Spring Water eventually pulled out his VM, ready to pay.

"200 is it? You sure it's the same as that one?"

Mosquito affirmed confidently, thumping his chest.

"Of course, I have to! Could I ever deceive you? With that item, I can whip it up in no time—ahem, naturally, I'd still need a bit of time to make it. But rest assured, if you're not satisfied, Goblin Technology offers a full refund!"

Spring Water: "..."

I always feel like I might have gone to the wrong person.

But it shouldn't be too big of a deal.

After all, Mosquito Brother did say, if the product doesn't meet expectations, I can return it. Anyway, I might as well test out the results...

...

Before eight o'clock, the morning mist gradually dispersed.

The little players inside Outpost Base had mostly dispersed as well, all off to attend to their own business.

With the closing of the "Land Boat" expansion, everything seemed to be returning to normalcy.

The angler carried his fishing rod to the lake, while Brother Killing Chicken, the tree-cutting fanatic, happily led a group of newbies off to cut down trees.

Most of the hunters headed to the new hunting grounds further north, while the scavengers carried their woven bags to the "Ninety percent new" Street No.76.

Having just dealt with the Mutant tribe, a large area had been vacated, and those high-rise residences and street shops were like treasure troves to the garbage-picking players!

Given they had been occupied by Mutants for years, it's likely few Waste Land Wanderers dared to scavenge there, so there should be plenty of valuable finds.

As for the advanced players, they aimed at more challenging targets.

Old White, who had donned Fake power armor, had equipped a long-handled axe with a spearhead and then purchased a steel helmet from Ironworks No.81.

Fully armed, he looked more like a canned Manager than a regular player.

As long as he coordinated well with his teammates, paying attention to positioning, pulling aggro, and smoke deployment, handling a few Devil Moths would be no problem!

After fully preparing, the group marched towards the entrance of Street No.76 with high spirits, ready to continue their relentless clash with the Devil Moths in Greenhouse Ruins' underground first floor.

Brother Mole originally planned on heading to Greenhouse Ruins too, having just pooled funds with teammates to buy exploration rights to the second floor from the Ox and Horse Squad.

However, right then, he suddenly received a mission personally issued by the Manager— to conquer the subway entrance 1.2 kilometers from Brown Farm!

According to the mission brief, the subway concealed the entrance to Shelter No.117.

As long as they could find it and clear out the Variants from the subway entrance to the shelter's doors, they would receive a reward of 1200 Silver coins and trigger the next stage of the storyline.

Of course, the mission was anything but easy.

At least four Crawlers were expected to appear, along with over two hundred Eaters. It was recommended that at least 4-6 players of level 6 or above form a team, and it was strongly advised to include a Perception-type player for reconnaissance.

A reward of 1200 Silver coins!

Upon hearing this figure, Brother Mole's eyes seemed to turn into the shape of silver coins.

Without a second thought, he grabbed his newly-acquired "Black Swan" G9 assault rifle and dragged Mosquito, who was about to start work at the workshop, for a consultation.

Makabazi was also inclined to join the buzz, but at that moment, he too received a mission from the Manager.

Arriving at the sanatorium's first floor, he met the Manager who was waiting there.

Although he usually appeared to be a fun-loving guy, facing an NPC with a likability setting, Makabazi immediately adopted a "reliable" expression and respectfully said,

"Manager, were you looking for me?"

Chu Guang nodded and picked up a bag of corn seeds beside him.

These seeds, which he had bought from Pioneer, were improved, early-maturing varieties. Although the yield wasn't astonishing, their short growth cycle and low climate requirements were advantageous. With proper fertilization, harvest could be expected in 70-90 days.

This bag of seeds weighed around five kilograms, enough to sow two to three acres—yielding at least 600 kilograms of corn, and optimistically, up to 900 kilograms.

"The first floor of Greenhouse Ruins has been cleared; we can make use of the cultivation tanks there. I have some seeds here that I need you to plant for me."

"This mission is crucial to the shelter's food security and key to our future development. I hope you can take it seriously."

"If the germination rate is good, I'll assign you more important tasks. Consider these seeds a test."

Hearing that he had land to sow and follow-up tasks if he did well, Makabazi's eyes lit up with eagerness, and he nodded immediately.

"Rest assured; leave it to me, Manager. I'll treat these seeds as my life!"

Chu Guang smiled inwardly, though his face remained solemn.

"Good, I'm entrusting them to you!"

[Quest: Sow corn seeds and tend to the crops.]

Seeing the quest updated on the VM, Makabazi stood up straight with excitement.

"I will not fail this mission!"

——

(Thanks to "Hu Zhixiang" and "hhhzz6" for their Chief Patron reward~~~ I almost fell asleep just now, that was close. My sleeping schedule's been chaotic these days; feels like I'm about experience a tribulation. qaq)

""

Chapter 167 News from the North and the Second Wave of Refugees

Early morning, by the riverside brick kiln.

Vanus stared blankly at the square wooden box in his hands, his expression somewhat bewildered.

Unable to figure out how to use it, he carefully lowered his head, humbly seeking guidance from the foreman beside him.

"This... how do you use it?"

Yang Ergou was a down-to-earth man, he didn't look down on his subordinates' clumsiness and patiently explained to him.

"This is a mold for stacking bricks. You fill it with mud, press it down, then overturn it onto wooden strips. After it dries a bit, you pull out the mold. But lately, it's been so cold that the mud by the river and under our feet is as hard as stone; we need to warm up the mud in the cave first... You go throw the mold here, then go outside and pick some firewood."

Vanus nodded woodenly, put down the mold, and walked towards the nearby forest.

Gazing back at the camp, he had contemplated running away, but the thought had only flickered for an instant before he gave it up.

Escape?

Where could he flee to?

To the south and east were the icy jungles of steel, to the west was a lake, and to the north, an expanse of frozen wasteland.

Without guns, food, or even fuel, he would be a piece of tender meat in the eyes of Variants or even Looters, wandering the wilderness; a single layer of clothing provided no sense of security at all.

Those real barbarians wouldn't give him a chance to pay a ransom; they would happily chop off his head, make his skin into seat covers or carpets, and introduce them to their barbarian brothers—look, this is the skin of an Army thousands of leaders, I defeated them!

Vanus felt that, rather than such a death, it was better to be shot or hanged and then buried; at least that would leave some dignity.

The north wind howled, with large snowflakes drifting intermittently from the sky, and from time to time, accumulated snow fell from the pine trees.

Finally having gathered enough firewood, Vanus, holding a bundle of dry wood, made his difficult way back to the brick factory, only to see the originally deserted open space had become bustling.

Yang Ergou was directing the workers to carry the mud into the kiln cave with wheelbarrows, he glanced at Vanus, didn't ask why he was delayed, only urging him to hurry and get the firewood inside.

Vanus didn't dare to delay, and immediately ran into the cave with the wood in his arms.

The temperature inside the cave was very high, like in summer; he who had been shivering with cold a moment ago was now sweating from the heat.

No wonder everyone worked so diligently, it was much more comfortable here than outside!

Vanus noticed that inside the cave was a furnace made of bricks, with a tall chimney connecting the ground to the ceiling and extending out from the top of the cave.

The workers burned charcoal beneath the chimney, smoke was filtered out through the chimney, the resulting charcoal was used to burn the bricks, and the residual heat was used to thaw the frozen soil by the river.

This design was simply genius.

Did they come up with it themselves?

Vanus was surprised. Although he had been educated at the Academy, he had never done such lowly work.

Here, he could only be ordered about. He basically did whatever he was told, helping out here and there like an idle helper, never too much in the way.

Busy for an entire day.

A group of people worked together in the kiln cave, stacking ten loads of bricks on wheeled metal racks, transporting them on a level pathway made of bricks into the adjacent kiln cave.

The charcoal fire lit.

The kiln door sealed shut.

Only then did Vanus realize he was not only sweaty but also covered in mud; his entire person had turned into a lump of coal.

Yang Ergou looked at him for a moment, then burst into laughter, patting his shoulder.

"It's always like this the first time, go take a bath later."

"A bath... where?"

"There's a small communal bathhouse here. We're too lazy to go a kilometer away to Outpost Base, so we take care of it here. But you have to pick your own firewood; the charcoal is all used for burning bricks."

Hearing there were hot waters, Vanus heaved a sigh of relief.

In this hellish weather, even the river's surface was icing over.

To bathe in cold water was simply torture!

...

Late at night.

After taking a bath and changing into a fur outfit, Vanus sat in a work shed lit by a fire basin, when the foreman Yang Ergou came over and handed him a wooden box.

The wooden box looked very similar to a brick mold, but it wasn't dipped in mud, and it contained a hot, roasted potato corner and a strip of jerky as long as a middle finger and as thick as a thumb.

"There's hot water boiling in the stove; help yourself if you need it," Yang Ergou said, sitting beside him and grinning. "How do you feel on your first day of work? Are you getting used to it?"

Vanus smiled bitterly in his heart; how dare he complain.

Working here, at least there was fire for warmth, and after the kiln was sealed, there was less to do, much more comfortable than those underlings of his who were digging ditches up north.

"It feels pretty good... How long have you been living here?"

Yang Ergou said.

"About a month I guess, why?"

Vanus: "You seem very familiar with this place; I thought you had been here much longer."

Yang Ergou laughed and said, "Familiar may not be the word, but this place does indeed feel like home to us."

Vanus: "Home?"

Yang Ergou: "That's right, we were all people on the brink of death, barely avoiding dying in the Looter's dungeons. Later it was the wise and valiant Manager who planted his flag on the Looter's lair... and those of us who were rescued had nowhere else to go, so we simply stayed."

Actually, compared to those survivors whose families were destroyed, he still had a place to go. Just a four or five-kilometer walk south of Wetland Park would take him to Bet Street, where his relatives were.

But where is as comfortable as this place?

Not only was there a warm house and firewood for heating, but meals were provided thrice a day and they even received money to spend... He had to admit, before coming here, it was his first time hearing there was such a thing as dinner in this world.

Bet Street didn't care much for dinner; even oil lamps were a rarity. As soon as it got dark, only Old Leech's Castle still had lights on, and everyone else would quickly go under their covers to rest. At most, they would make a pot of green wheat porridge in the evening, dry it into green wheat cakes, and keep it for the next day's provisions.

After the family of Old Leech had been driven away by the Manager's gunfire, Yang Ergou took some time off to check his house but stayed only a couple of days before running back here. He not only lacked the intention to return, but he even wanted to bring his family over.

Life here was like heaven.

Yang Ergou talked on and on, eventually becoming parched, and upon realizing he had been the only one speaking, he curiously glanced at Vanus.

"So tell me about you. Were you also saved by the Manager?"

"Um..."

Considering the reputation of the Army outside, Vanus dared not reveal he was one of them, so he vaguely nodded.

Yang Ergou's eyes lit up, without any suspicion, and he continued to raptly share how good life was here under the administration of the Manager – not only were they fed and clothed, but they were also far from the disturbances of Looters and Variants.

Listening to the foreman's words, Vanus fell silent, his mind wandering into thought.

It seemed people here also lived under some form of order.

But, compared to the territories ruled by the Army, it was a completely different kind of order.

He had no doubt that the Army's order was supreme, where only the strong were entitled to speak of civilization, and only the strong could survive in this barbaric world that followed the law of the jungle, while the weak were inherently slaves, their inferior genes and character undeserving standing upright. As a member of this powerful group, with Black Gold flowing in his veins, he was entitled to the most luxurious material pleasures, be it a sumptuous mansion, gold, fine wines, or beauties...

But Vanus had to admit to himself that perhaps these weaklings with impure bloodlines and contaminated genes, these servants and underlings, indeed had a more comfortable life here.

Order granted them the greatest leniency, allowing them to build and enjoy at the same time.

Allowing brick burners to eat meat?

That's madness.

...

Around 10 p.m.

An update came from Long Endurance Farm that a group of refugees had wandered from the north. Mostly comprised of the old, weak, women, and children, there were about a hundred people, like Wu Tiefu and his party, who were Nomads roaming from the north, though significantly more numerous.

Upon hearing this news, Chu Guang immediately issued a mission, assembling two truck-driving drivers, along with over thirty "small players" still online, to head to Long Endurance Farm to provide support.

Since the Manager had been so generous, many of the "small players" had just come back from Long Endurance Farm and hadn't even unloaded their equipment before they hurriedly followed along.

As they passed through the northern part of Wetland Park, Chu Guang suddenly remembered leaving an Army Thousands of leaders in the brickyard, so he swung by to take a look.

When he arrived at the brick kiln, everyone except for Yang Ergou, who was responsible for the night watch, and another brick burner had already gone to sleep.

In the shack area, snores could be heard one after another.

Chu Guang found Yang Ergou and looked at him as he asked,

"The person I handed over to you, how did he do with his work today? Did he slack off? Or did he disobey orders?"

Hearing the Manager asking about the outsider, Yang Ergou didn't think too much and respectfully replied,

"Are you talking about the one from yesterday? He worked quite hard, just a bit clumsy and seems not too bright."

It seemed this man was capable and adaptable; no wonder he could become one of the Thousands of leaders.

As for Vanus being so obedient, he really saved him a lot of trouble.

"Understood."

After getting the situation here, Chu Guang turned and headed towards the north gate of Wetland Park, to meet with the group of young players who were waiting there.

Two light trucks, carrying more than thirty people, set off with great fanfare.

And as Chu Guang and his party were on their way, at the same time, outside the north gate of Changjiu Farm, it was a complete mess.

Over a hundred refugees had surrounded the entrance, not daring to come closer, but with no intention of retreating. They were negotiating with Old Luka who stood at the entrance.

Behind Old Luka was the guard squad led by Wrench.

Fifteen guards were divided into two groups, one in front of the door and the other atop the wall, clutching their guns tight and ready for anything.

Standing next to Wrench, a young guard didn't dare to let down his guard for a second and was fixing his gaze intently on the group of refugees ahead, even carefully controlling the white breath coming from his mouth.

"I've said it before… such a large plume of smoke was bound to attract troublemakers."

Another guard, standing at his side, muttered quietly.

"What do they think they are by coming close? Aren't they afraid that we might be Looters?"

"Heh, do you think they're any good themselves? Look at those guys, they obviously all have hunting guns on their backs! I'd bet that if we didn't have these fifteen guns and had not built such a tall enclosing wall, we'd probably have to fight a tough battle today!"

The young guard muttered.

The guards nearby all agreed, not doubting his words in the least and without even a hint of a different opinion.

On the Wasteland, kindness was rarer than gold. Even neighbors couldn't be completely trusted, let alone these itinerant refugees?

Against a more powerful force, each one could be a dancing little lamb, but facing weaker Survivor Forces, it wouldn't be surprising to see them all shed the sheepskin and become hungry wolves.

Such examples were not news on the Wasteland!

"The wind outside is too strong, our children and pregnant women are about to freeze to death… please, have mercy, let us rest here for a while, and we will leave once the storm passes."

Standing at the front of the refugee line was a burly man, with a steel pipe rifle on his back and a revolver not far from his right hand at his waist.

Old Luka noticed the dried bloodstains on the hem of the man's clothing but wasn't sure if it came from an animal or from a person.

Judging from the respectful and awed look in the eyes of those around him when they looked at his figure, this man was likely a clan chieftain or a leader, and his authority was not low.

Being able to lead so many people on a long journey across the Wasteland, it indeed wouldn't be possible without real ability.

"I am not in charge of this matter; I need to wait for my owner to arrive," although standing in front of this muscular man felt like standing next to a dry twig, Old Luka's face showed no cowardice.

His owner was a powerful being who had defeated the Blood Hand Clan and even gained respect from corporations far away on the East Coast.

Just a few refugees were not enough to scare him.

The man fixed his gaze on him and continued,

"Where is he? Can I talk to him?"

"He is on his way here, and will be arriving soon," Old Luka slightly lifted his chin, locked eyes with him, and spoke evenly, yet firmly, "Before visiting someone's home, shouldn't you introduce yourself first? Who are you, who are these people behind you, where did you come from, and where do you plan to go?"

The man stared intently at the old man for a long time and then glanced at the guards behind and atop the wall, seemingly assessing whether these people would be easy to provoke.

Old Luka's eyebrows knitted together.

"It appears you don't really have the intention to communicate earnestly, so we have nothing to talk about anymore."

"Sorry, I was too abrupt," the man quickly said when Old Luka seemed about to leave. "My name is Li, and most of us come from the central part of River Valley Province."

Luka: "What do you mean by 'most'?"

The man named Li nodded and continued.

"We're not all from the same Survivor Settlement. More than half of the people here joined us along the way."

Luka: "That doesn't make sense. If, as you say, you were once a Survivor Settlement, why would you suddenly leave it? And in winter no less."

"Because of the damned War. We didn't want to, but we had to move," Li said angrily, "You must have heard, the Army's men have been fighting up north for a whole year, and this sudden winter has probably made it impossible for them to persist. Droves are fleeing southward."

Luka frowned.

"Did you encounter the Army?"

Li responded furiously, "To be exact, we encountered the Army's fleeing soldiers. Those people are no different from Looters, they plunder everything they see! Damn it, I even feel Looters would at least negotiate, but they are just completely despicable! Beasts! Scum!"

This burly man nearly exhausted all the curses he knew, recounting their atrocities in the northern and central regions.

However, Old Luka's focus was not on these trivial matters, but rather a sense that...

Had the Army lost?

Or at least they were close to losing.

After all, if there were organized looting, then it wouldn't just be fleeing soldiers.

Surprise flashed through Luka's eyes.

Previously, the Manager had mentioned that the Army from the north could send out a fully equipped force of two thousand to take a detour and intercept the Pioneer, either they were very confident in their victory already, or they were about to lose and ready to grab some benefits before fleeing.

If what these people were saying was true, it seemed the Manager had guessed right...

Admiration gradually replaced the surprise in Old Luka's eyes.

Meanwhile, the man named Li kept pouring out his hardships, trying to convince the elderly man before him to let them in.

Just then, the sound of an engine suddenly came from the distance.

The migrants crowded in front of the Enclosing Wall became agitated, their faces revealing panic. Li also took a half step back cautiously, his right hand on the pistol at his waist.

Wrench was eyeing him, his thumb already having disengaged the safety of his Arbitrator, and the few guards beside him slightly raised their muzzles.

Seeing the atmosphere plummet swiftly, Old Luka raised his hand to signal everyone to calm down, surprise still in his eyes.

"Don't be rash! It's the Manager!"

The Manager?

Li was slightly stunned.

Just then, the headlights of a truck suddenly turned on.

Li looked towards the Light, squinting involuntarily, only to see a towering figure standing beside the truck with its lights on.

This man should be the Manager they were talking about.

Or, in other terms, the lord of this place.

He was clad in an Exoskeleton, but what no one could ignore was not the rifle on his back, nor the Warhammer by his side.

It was the Warriors behind him with hungry eyes, and the rifles in their hands.

Facing that blinding light, a chill arose in Li's heart.

At the same time, a cadenced voice came through the snow curtain, drifting from afar.

"Lay down your weapons and accept our arrangement."

"Or—"

"Go back to where you came from!"

-

(The next chapter will be out before 11 pm. Everyone, please be patient.)

Chapter 168 This Game Seems to Have Recruited a Planner from Company P

Guns, at any time, are more persuasive than words.

Like now.

Li did not take long to make a decision, he had no doubt that these people could destroy them without even a charge.

Even though the refugees behind him were not willing, he still tried to persuade them.

"We have no choice, they won't let us move forward, and we can't go back."

A ragged Waste Land Wanderer couldn't help but shout, "What if we hand over the weapons and they just open fire on us?"

"What if we don't hand over our weapons?" Li looked at the man and said, "They could annihilate us without even a charge."

The Waste Land Wanderer had no rebuttal.

There were a total of over one hundred and eighty people, more than half of whom were the old, weak, women, and children. The adult men capable of fighting numbered less than seventy... and this was only by counting the children between the ages of eight and fourteen.

All the firearms added up to just over twenty, the rest were bows and spears which were enough to deal with equally lousy Looters, but still only good for hiding and keeping distance when faced with tougher opponents.

They had been driven away by other Survivor Bases before, almost no one would open up their living room during winter.

At least, these people didn't open fire despite being capable of destroying them.

That was the greatest kindness...

After the refugees laid down their weapons, Chu Guang had Wrench send two people in to collect their weapons and, keeping his promise, set up a large pot in the open space at the east gate.

Chu Guang couldn't feed them as well as the players, but he wasn't going to watch this group of refugees starve and freeze in the cold wind.

He issued a quest through the VM, asking Tomato Scrambled Egg to go to the warehouse to collect fifty kilograms of green wheat to make porridge for those refugees.

At the same time, he asked the man named Li to take the younger adults who were still able to work and set up camp fifty meters outside the east gate.

The terrain here was uneven, with dead trees embedded in the snow everywhere, and there were also concrete fragments and a few building ruins that could be used.

Building a makeshift shelter was a necessary skill for every Waste Land Wanderer, and these people were no exception. After they were given some shovels, wheelbarrows, and other tools, the work progressed smoothly.

Meanwhile, the large pot at the east gate was set up, and as the water boiled, the Egg Brother poured all the green wheat into it.

The wheat with a tangy smell was hard to whet anyone's appetite and needed to be boiled for a while to get rid of the astringency.

But that was for the players.

For those who were close to starving, even a bit of murky soup was a supreme delicacy.

The white steam rising from the pot made all the refugees swallow, and the speed of building the camp quickened.

Standing behind Chu Guang, several players whispered.

"These people look pretty pitiful."

"Yeah, it's sad. Even the kids are helping out."

"But who would've thought that this Survivor Base would have people arriving just after it was constructed?"

"The effect is too quick."

Listening to the whispers of the players, Chu Guang was also puzzled. Although he had given the order to light the smoke, he hadn't expected to draw people over on the second day.

Why didn't anyone come when the Pioneer was still around? The smoke from the camp was much bigger than now, as his players got up early to cook for themselves.

And now they come!

If these refugees had arrived just two days earlier, their meals would have been so much better. The people from the Pioneer weren't lacking in food or clothing, even more, sympathetic to the poor than himself. Chu Guang even dared to bet that if he showed willingness to accept these refugees, they would have generously offered a batch of supplies to him.

As for now, all Chu Guang could say was that he would do his best.

While these refugees were building the camp, Chu Guang got Old Luka to take a census.

There were a total of 187 refugees, 61 of whom were able-bodied men over the age of fourteen, the rest were the old, weak, women, and children, including 5 infants under a year old and 4 pregnant women.

Chu Guang estimated that their group, at its largest, probably had around three to four hundred people. It seemed they had lost about half their number along the way.

Even so, their situation was still much better than the Nomads who settled in the vicinity of Wetland Park.

If he remembered correctly, Old Luka, with his clansmen from River Valley Province, walked all the way here northwards and were nearly wiped out, even eyeing their own seeds.

The security team had finished confiscating the guns, and they allowed them to keep knives, axes, and bows and arrows.

According to Wrench's count, they handed over a total of 23 mismatched caliber iron tube rifles, including 5 old smoothbore guns, which genuinely surprised Chu Guang.

They had actually managed to come this far with such equipment.

It was truly unimaginable.

"Sir, I discovered someone had contracted typhoid at their camp," Luka reported to Chu Guang upon his return from the Refugee Camp.

Chu Guang, "Is it serious?"

"I'm not sure. Most of them are in poor health. It could be hunger, or it could be genuine illness... I can't tell," Luka said cautiously, "I'm worried they'll bring in a plague. We have neither doctors nor enough medicine to handle this situation."

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang nodded.

"I got it, I'll figure something out."

To be honest, Chu Guang didn't really have any good solutions.

Hygiene wasn't a real issue for the players, at least not a core one.

Even if one wasn't a Body Constitution System player, as long as they reached Level LV7 or above, they would generally have a constitution of 6 to 7 points, which is already 120% to 140% the efficiency of a normal adult's immune system.

As for Chu Guang himself, his constitution had reached 14, with an immune system almost three times as efficient as that of a normal person. Ordinary diseases were no problem for him, let alone a certain dosage of poison or mild radiation.

Seeing that Manager Chu Guang understood, Old Luka paused before continuing,

"Also, there's the food..."

"Go ahead."

"Even when providing the least for relief, the daily consumption of food for over a hundred and eighty people is nearly fifty kilograms. We'd need about one and a half metric tons a month, and that's an ideal scenario. Although you've obtained some food from the Pioneer, this harsh winter might last until the end of February, or even the beginning of March... Our own food supply is already very tight."

The number of players at Outpost Base was now five hundred, with a staggering daily food consumption of half a ton. Sometimes Old Luka really felt that those people were like bottomless pits, without a shred of thriftiness, as if they could eat double or even triple of what he could every day.

Currently, the total food reserves at Outpost Base were just over thirty metric tons. A third consisted of corn, rice, and potatoes purchased from the Pioneer; another third was made up of fresh meat, jerky, and the catch of the day from hunting and fishing.

The rest were spoils of war obtained from the Blood Hand Clan and Old Leech, and a portion that was voluntarily tributed from Brown Farm.

Conservatively estimated, given the current consumption trend, the food supply would probably only last until the end of the year.

"Food is indeed a problem," Chu Guang pondered for a moment, "I'll come up with a solution."

Just a month ago, Outpost Base didn't even have enough food to last a few dozen people half a month.

Worst comes to worst.

He could just ask the neighbors to lend him some.

...

After the porridge for the relief of the starving was distributed, the clamor in the Refugee Camp gradually subsided.

Many people had been on the move for a long time, unable to bear the exhaustion. With their bellies now full of warm food, they curled up in their sleeping bags underneath their shelters and fell asleep.

Although they were asleep, Wrench did not dare to relax his vigilance. He arranged for people to stand on the Enclosing Wall to keep watch, constantly monitoring the Refugee Camp.

Chu Guang was not too worried.

He didn't even take the Blood Hand Clan seriously, let alone some refugees.

In the house near the east gate of Changjiu Farm, he welcomed a man named "Li."

This man must be the representative or rather, the leader chosen by the group of refugees.

"Thank you for your generosity!"

Upon entering the house, Li kneeled on one knee and nodded, "If it weren't for you, many of us wouldn't have survived the night."

"We don't do kneeling here, get up," Chu Guang continued as he watched the man stand up, "We can offer you shelter, but you must be aware of your place and follow our rules and customs. Also, you should understand, this isn't without cost."

Li nodded his head.

That was a reasonable request.

No one welcomed a guest who didn't follow the rules.

Besides, before becoming refugees, they had their own homes and were aware that being "homeless" was unwelcome.

"What do you need?"

Chu Guang, "It's simple. Work for us, and we'll compensate you. Then you can use that compensation to exchange for food, fuel, or other things."

Before unlocking B3, the number of players had hit a temporary bottleneck. Without new players replenishing their ranks, he needed more indigenous people to replace the growing newcomers and take on those low-end, low added-value repetitive tasks.

Although he always joked that players worked harder than beasts of burden, he couldn't always treat them like beasts of work.

Moving bricks occasionally was part of experiencing life, but doing it every day made it work.

Hearing what the Manager said, Li's expression relaxed slightly, and he even showed a trace of joy.

In his expectation, just having food to eat would have been good enough. In other Survivor Settlements, the status of refugees was no nobler than that of slaves; as for the idea of compensation, he hadn't even thought about it.

"Thank you for giving us the chance to survive."

"All we can offer you is a chance, whether you grasp it or not is up to you," Chu Guang paused before continuing, "I was told by my men that you previously had a survivor settlement. Does that mean you are not nomads?"

Li hurriedly nodded and said.

"Yes, my lord."

Chu Guang: "Tell me what you can do."

Li immediately replied: "We can do many things, including hunting, farming, weaving hemp ropes, and we also have carpenters and blacksmiths... Whatever you need, we can do it for you."

Watching Li eagerly pitch their skills, Chu Guang nodded slightly with satisfaction.

Hunters, carpenters, and other craftsmen were exactly what he needed, and as for blacksmiths, with a little training they could be placed in the steel factory.

While these laborers might not compare to his players' quality, they were certainly better than the nomads. However, these survivors might have slightly weaker physical constitutions and they had not brought any livestock that Chu Guang desired.

"Settle yourselves in for the next couple of days."

"In a few days, I'll arrange work for you."

"By the way, your name is a bit ominous and could cause confusion. You could add a surname for yourself, or I can give you a new name."

Offering a name or a surname meant acceptance, as well as acknowledgment of conversion.

The man's heart leaped with joy at the unexpected generosity of the local lord and he hurriedly said.

"Please bestow a name upon me, my lord!"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said.

"We call this place Changjiu Farm, so it wouldn't be appropriate for you to take the surname Chang. You'll take the surname Jiu instead, and change your given name Li to the 'Li' from 'dawn.'"

"From today on, your name is Jiu Li."

...

Official Website:

[Announcement: A group of wanderers has arrived at Changjiu Farm (Prosperity +50).]

[Changjiu Farm gets "Migration Tide" buff: Increased demand for food and furs, population influx rises.]

[Old Luka's Concerns: We don't have much food ourselves; we can't always keep feeding them. It would be great if we could find them some work to do. (Tip: There are many excellent hunters and artisans among the refugees, once you reach a "Friendly" reputation level, you could operate local industries and hire them for work.)]

[Today's Recommended Recipes: Salt and Pepper Corn, Mapo Tofu (can be non-spicy too).]

[Vine Cottage: Vine Cottage is restocking with a large array of silk products for you.]

Tail: "!! New storyline! What did you guys do while Tail was away?!!! ∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Quit smoking: "Damn! A new NPC?! The planners are awesome!"

Escaped Mole from the Valley: "I guessed right, the prosperity really does link to the NPC population number! But it seems the value is not calculated through a fixed formula based on population, but event-driven?"

Night Ten: "I suspect the operators have hired a Company P planner, waiting for the unchangeable ancestral laws and comets to come crashing down on us. (Funny)"

Irina: "Speaking of which, Tail, how did your Crack Claw Crab hunt go? Did you take care of it? (Funny)"

Sisi: "Ugh, don't remind me, Ah Wei evacuated me first, and in no time he came down too."

Tail: "Wait, can you blame Tail for that! That rocket launcher was faulty, it wasn't accurate at all! And it backfired with flames! (ŎдŎ;)"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "How can a recoilless gun not backfire..."

Tail: "But the one Mosquito sold didn't backfire!"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "That's because what he's selling is definitely NOT a recoilless gun, what penetrating power? It's just an unscrupulous cannon you shoulder."

Mosquito: "!!! You're dragging me into this!"

Crow: "Hahaha! Rookie! Hahaha! Noob! o(*≧▽≦)ツ"

Thanks to the noble sacrifices of Tail and Sisi, everyone got a heads-up: this tube isn't just for fun like Mosquito's Firecrackers—do NOT point it at people when firing.

Anyway, the equipment and VM were retrieved.

It's just a three-day OB, no big deal.

The arrival of the refugees sparked quite a debate on the official forum, but it didn't become the focus of players' discussions as in the past.

After all, it wasn't the first time refugees had arrived, and besides, there was just too much happening today to discuss it all.

Makabazi, who received seeds from the Manager, was exchanging corn farming techniques with others in the forum.

Mole Old Brother and Mosquito's joint venture in tackling the Shelter No. 117 mission also garnered considerable player attention, as the mission is suspected to be linked to the main storyline of the Game.

Unfortunately, there was no progress today.

The situation below the subway entrance is incredibly complex.

Just as Boss Xia said, there are at least hundreds of Eaters inside, not to mention Crawlers.

A single "Black Swan" with limited ammunition is simply not enough.

They need more automatic weapons and Molotov Cocktails, earth grenades, and other throwing objects; perhaps things will look up once the automatic rifles are officially on sale at 200 silver coins in a couple of days.

Contrary to the bad news of the stalled conquest of Shelter No. 117, the good news is that the second layer of Greenhouse Ruins has been successfully captured by the Cattle and Horse Squad.

They have successfully taken control of the gates between the second and third underground levels, and the space of the second underground layer of Greenhouse Ruins has now been freed.

Incredibly, even after two centuries, the facilities there are still in energy-saving mode, operating slowly.

Many of the luminous strips on the culture dishes have broken, but there are still some that light up. The indoor temperature is around twenty-five degrees Celsius, and the Spirit Leaves in the culture dishes are growing well.

Fang Chang wrote a tactical guide, summarizing the techniques for dealing with insect-type heterogeneous nests.

However, compared to the tactical guide that isn't immediately useful, players on the forum are clearly more concerned about how much money the Cattle and Horse Squad looted from the second underground level of the Greenhouse Ruins.

Fang Chang didn't say.

But Chu Guang, who was peeking at the screen, knew because he personally handed the money to them.

Taking into account the difficulty of the mission and the profits, they got a total of 1200 silver coins, and with the amount divided among four people, each person got 300 silver coins.

As for costs, Chu Guang didn't calculate for them, but he estimated that they must have used up some ammunition.

If they had chosen to grind it out slowly with melee weapons, even with heavy armor to hold up, it would probably have taken a very long time. More so, they would have had to hire many people and count on a war of attrition.

When the profits were distributed, it wasn't worth it compared to just spending some ammo.

After returning from Changjiu Farm, Chu Guang updated the announcement and then sat in front of the computer in the Resident Hall, browsing the official website.

Many players had already started discussing what work to assign to those refugees.

There are suggestions to open a textile factory and others to start a cement factory; suggestions were diverse. Of course, starting with version 0.8, setting up a factory has reputation requirements for the region, which need to be Friendly (1000) or above.

Completing tasks to help with regional development can increase the local reputation, or directly donating the materials needed by the region can boost it quickly.

Players complained that this setting was outright plagiarized from Mount & Blade.

Long live the Doggy Planner!

Additionally, what caught Chu Guang's attention was that the Spring Water Commander, along with a newbie with high Perception, discovered an abandoned military base in the northern town.

The base was small in size, resembling a field operation base, situated on a community school's playground.

In the early years of the Wasteland Era, it seemed to have sheltered some refugees, but probably didn't last long before evacuation, so it didn't develop into a Survivor Base like Bet Street.

Spring Water looked around there but didn't find anything useful.

The whole school was searched thoroughly, even the library shelves were dismantled nearly in half, likely used by local survivors for firewood during the early stages of the Wasteland Era.

"It's strange, that town seems to be a dead city, as is that school. There are no traces of survivors there, nor any Looters, just those Eaters filling the houses and the foul-smelling basement... Our equipment was insufficient, so we didn't dare to go deeper into the buildings for exploration."

"I plan to head out again tomorrow to look around; maybe I'll find something."

Chu Guang was also curious about what they might find there.

Although it probably had been scoured countless times over these two centuries, based on his experience, there was always something left behind that wasn't taken.

While Chu Guang was online inside the shelter, fifteen kilometers north of Changjiu Farm, a few men carrying rifles and wearing thick coats were searching meticulously nearby.

"Those people couldn't have gone too far," muttered the bearded man, tugging on the dog leash he was holding.

The hunting dog he was leading hissed and sniffed at the ground carefully.

Suddenly, the dog raised its head and barked furiously toward the south.

The man leaned down, patted its head, then extended his index finger to rub the ground.

Beneath the snow were traces of footprints.

He stood up again, squinting toward the south.

"They're running pretty fast."

-

(Sorry! Four minutes late... Speaking of which, today should have been 10,000 words? But I forgot the progress bar. (༎ຶД༎ຶ))

Chapter 169: The First Weapon Production Line in Shelter No. 404 Goes Live!

River Valley Province Northern Part.

The biting north wind howled, while snowflakes as sharp as knives littered the sky for ten thousand li.

As far as the eye could see, countless craters riddled the cracked earth, turning the entire wasteland into a land plowed by some monstrous force, strewn with debris.

Beneath every inch of soil lay charred corpses. On a nearby gentle hill, a burning Lion Flag was planted at an angle—

That was the Army's flag!

Ten days prior, the Expeditionary Army, locked in a stalemate with the Grand Canyon, launched its first winter offensive against it.

This sudden onset of winter pushed both sides to their physical and mental limits, and everyone knew that the moment of decisive battle had arrived.

The battle-hardened General Kras acted decisively, seizing the opportunity of the blizzard to launch a full-scale attack as the severe weather weakened the Holy Shield System.

His judgment was correct.

Regrettably, although the snowstorm did indeed impact the performance of the Holy Shield System, it did not diminish the defenders' will.

Like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, drones' missiles rained down, and the Army's cannons fought back valiantly, covering the assault of light and heavy armored units and infantry scattered across the hills. In the short stretch of just over a dozen kilometers, countless fully-staffed Ten Thousand Troop units were fed into the fray, none returning.

The entire battlefield had become a cruel meat grinder.

Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the Army's cost was undeniably steeper.

The distant sound of artillery fire rose again, like the beating of war drums, but anyone could tell that the drums beat with exhausted spirit.

A man dressed in navy-blue military attire was jolted awake by the cannonade.

He shook his head, spat out the mud in his mouth, and struggled to stand up from the ground.

Just ten minutes ago, as a Centurion, he was ordered to lead a squadron of twenty light infantrymen to fill a gap in the defense.

His superior had not told him the specific combat orders, merely instructing, "Do not retreat," and then shoved him out.

When he opened his eyes again, the burning flag was already more than a hundred meters away. Looking around, there were no living souls, only land so parched that even the accumulating snow had been baked dry.

He lowered his head to see his swinging pant legs and the half-length of intestine protruding from his belly.

Unable to contain the fear in his heart, he dumped his rifle, collapsed into the muddy ground, and let out cries like a newborn baby.

Similar scenes were visible everywhere on this land.

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers behind him, on the plains leading to the northwest of River Valley Province, a convoy retreating westward was facing a devastating attack.

They planned to retreat westward, but two power armor squads broke through the northern defenses and quickly intercepted them.

Steel was burning, and survivors were few and far between.

A piece of power armor, with a searchlight slung over its shoulder, was dragging a blood-soaked man out of the wreckage of an off-road vehicle.

"I can pay... a ransom," he stuttered with a missing tooth, his left eye glued shut with blood, but still able to speak, "We lost... I surrender."

Defeat was not to be feared.

General Kras, a veteran of countless battles, had not won every fight in his life.

However, the power armor ignored him. After comparing the holographic image information, it turned to a comrade nearby.

"It's him, the leader of the Expeditionary Army, Kras."

"Are you sure he's not a clone or some kind of body double?"

"Not sure, but does it matter?"

Laughter arose from the group.

Indeed.

Did it matter?

The Army's strength in River Valley Province had been utterly decimated. They had annihilated hundreds of thousands of troops, leaving behind only the dead and the fleeing.

So what if a Naked Commander remained?

The piece of power armor turned again to the man it held in its grip, shaking the withered flesh and blood as though holding a small chicken.

"There's a Dead Claw nest nearby."

"Excellent, those little creatures must be famished."

"They'll like this gift."

As Kras heard this exchange, a hint of panic surfaced on his otherwise unflappable face. His withered hands gripped the steel around his neck, struggling in vain.

"You... if you kill me... the Army... won't let... you go!"

Kras felt short of breath.

The man looked at him mockingly, staring into his eyes.

"Then let them come."

"There are no cowards in the land beyond the valley."

...

Dawn began to break.

The sparse noise disturbed the tranquility outside the eastern gate of Changjiu Farm, as the young guard on the enclosing wall sneezed and gave his relieving comrade a tired look.

"You're finally here."

A horse-faced guard came forward, holding an iron mug filled with boiling water, and glanced outside the enclosing wall.

His name was Liuding, and he was Wrench's deputy.

His name used to be Rivet, but he gladly accepted the new name given to him by the esteemed Manager.

"Any issues last night?"

"None," Lu Bei shook his head, slinging the rifle onto his back, "I watched them all night, nothing unusual to report except for some loud snoring... I'll leave this to you; I need to catch some sleep."

He was the youngest member of the Outpost Security Team, having just turned fourteen last month, but he already looked no different from an adult.

In the security team, age and birth were irrelevant; the only requirement the Manager had for them was loyalty and honesty. Although he was the youngest, Lu Bei felt that he met these standards better than anyone else.

With no family left, he wholeheartedly believed in the Manager, who had rescued him from the Looter's dungeon. He would not only stand guard but was even willing to die for him.

"Go rest, kid, I've got this."

Liuding patted the young guard's shoulder, watched him leave, and then set the iron mug on the icy concrete bunker.

Looking over the refugee camp, he took the Arbitrator's Rifle from his back and watched the direction carefully.

Some refugees were coming out of the camp to gather firewood, while others set up pots to boil snow.

Jiu Li, the man, was organizing them, seeming to manage everything well, but Liuding did not have much faith in his ability to control these people.

Unlike the nomadic tribe led by Iron Axe, Liuding could tell from experience that these people were not all together.

Whether it was the distribution and orientation of the shacks or the locations of the fire pits, it was clear there were at least four groups... perhaps even more.

On the other side, the POWs were also being driven out to gather firewood; Changjiu Farm's fuel demand had increased several times.

According to Old Luka, they had to build two more charcoal kilns to maintain a fuel balance. Those prisoners from the Army were likely to be out picking firewood all day.

Remembering the Manager's instructions, Liuding tightened his grip on the hefty rifle and forced himself to stay alert.

"Hope there won't be any trouble."

...

Outpost Base.

Little Fish arrived at the surface early before the banks opened and everyone was online, and quietly built a snowman in the plaza in front of the sanatorium.

Although it might be a meaningless act and the snowman wasn't good-looking, she still wanted to do something for those who ensured the safety of Shelter No. 404.

[Work hard on today's adventure too!]

She hung a wooden sign on the snowman's belly with a line of crooked letters that she had recently learned.

At last, her work was complete.

Brushing the snow off her gloves, Little Fish hopped back a couple of steps, her eyes sparkling as she admired her handiwork, and gave a satisfied thumbs-up.

"Not bad, not bad. Little Fish is awesome."

Mimicking the Manager's intonation, she praised herself with a good mood and slipped away.

After a while, players began to log on.

Seeing the snowman on the plaza and the crooked words on the sign, countless little players instantly felt their hearts melt.

"!!!"

"Wuu wuu wuu, this snowman! It must have been piled up by little Kali for me!"

"Ugh, Demon Demon Spirit? It's the end of the year time to chase achievements, I've found you a freak."

"I feel full of strength, I could even beat a Crack Claw Crab!"

"Crack Claw Crab? Isn't that easy if you have hands!"

"Good buddy, let's go!"

"Hehe, it must be Little Fish who made this to cheer me on. Don't worry, sis will be careful, and I will make you a delicious mushroom soup when I get back!" As Light spoke, Crow took out a pretty big mushroom from her pocket and carefully made a nose for the snowman.

"Wait for me! I feel like it's still missing something!"

Seeing Crow's action, Teng Teng suddenly had an idea, clapped her hands, ran back to the cabin to get a scarf, and hung it around the snowman's neck.

"Nice!" Teng Teng touched her chin with satisfaction and nodded with pride, "It looks much better now!"

Carrying the newly-made rocket, Mosquito chuckled and wanted to join the fun, but before he reached the square, he was tackled to the ground and given a face full of snow by a group of enthusiastic players.

"What are you doing! My rocket! That's my rocket!"

"Gosh! At least pay for it!"

Yawning, Xia Yan carried Xiao Qi up to the third floor.

She couldn't help but comment after glancing at the players in the square outside the window, who were making a racket early in the morning.

"I'm really envious of them, so full of energy first thing in the morning."

"Xiao Qi was full of energy too, until a strange woman carried him upstairs."

Xia Yan glared at this trash can.

"What do you mean? I did you a favor by bringing you up here, and that's wrong?"

Xiao Qi's camera didn't look at her.

"Xiao Qi doesn't want to talk to you today. Please come back tomorrow."

"As if I care!"

What a nutcase!

Xia Yan rolled her eyes, went downstairs, and opened the door to the weapon shop.

Shelter No. 404 was as lively today as it was yesterday; the spirited young players had left early in the morning to work.

As for Chu Guang, of course, he wasn't idle either.

As a planning administrator, he knew he couldn't always be squatting in front of the computer monitoring things. He still needed to do what a planner should do.

Like securing more benefits for the players.

Factory No. 81.

Standing next to a machine that took up about six or seven square meters, Chu Guang looked it over for a while and then said,

"Is this called… a punch press?"

"Yes, respected Manager! It's a bit rudimentary, but its function is no less," Brother Ciso chuckled and said, "By the way, this is my graduation project... Although you might not know what a graduation project is."

Chu Guang thought they really took him for a fool, but he didn't say much, and his face showed no change in expression.

NPCs have this advantage.

When you don't feel like dealing with people, you don't, and you don't have to explain yourself if you don't want to. No one will think it's rude. It's much more comfortable than doing sales.

Brother Levin also said with a smile,

"That's right! The principle of punch presses is pretty much the same—converting rotary motion into linear motion. We designed a set of electric motors to drive the flywheel, which, through the clutch, drives gears, crankshaft, and connecting rod, to push the slide block for processing. The maximum punch force is average; making engines is a bit difficult, but manufacturing AK parts is no problem. The only trouble is that the lubricant quality is not great; we made it from birch leaf ketone acid and pine tar... Anyway, it works for now; we'll just have to see how it goes."

Brother Ciso: "What AK! It's LD!"

Brother Levin apologized: "Right, right, right, hehe, I forgot."

To be honest, not only did Chu Guang not find this machine primitive, but he even thought it was awesome.

All the parts used in this machine...were they really cut out by that lathe of his?

That's incredible!

Next to the punch press was a hot piercing machine used for making seamless steel pipes.

The heated steel would be pressed into rods under the rolling mill, then fixed in a fixture where the perforation, cutting, and cooling were carried out by a motor-driven mandrel before being sent to a workbench where a boring tool would draw out the barrel rifling.

Next to the workbench, you could see a batch of completed steel pipes and machine casing parts—exactly what Chu Guang had previously ordered them to complete.

"Are these two devices easy to operate?"

"Extremely convenient!" Brother Levin said with confidence, patting his chest, "Manager, if you want to produce anything else, just leave it to us. Our products will definitely satisfy you!"

Chu Guang looked at the two with approval and nodded satisfactorily.

"You've done an excellent job!"

"With these weapons, we have even more confidence to survive in this world."

Before, the check he had written could finally be cashed in!

Task completed!

Both of them received the notification at the same time and immediately opened VM to take a look.

Seeing the final payment deposited into the corporate account, both Brother Levin and Brother Ciso's faces broke into excited expressions, as if by mutual agreement.

Struck it rich!

Chu Guang quickly placed a new order with them and then had the warehouse manager come over to inspect the batch of goods and take them to the warehouse.

The assembly could be handed over to Boss Xia.

She had plenty of tools there, and if the precision of the parts wasn't enough to fit together, a little processing would do, which shouldn't be too difficult.

However, Chu Guang felt this worry might be superfluous, after all, the mold for that stamping press was carved out with a "Magnetic Confinement Plasma CNC Machine".

Mold not precise enough?

Non-existent!

As for the principle errors caused by mechanical movement, those had little impact.

Watching Xia Yan assemble the firearms, Chu Guang excitedly held it in his hands to fiddle for a while, then he loaded a magazine and took it to the shooting range by the west gate to test the feel of the gun.

He fired a few shots in semi-automatic mode, then emptied a full magazine in automatic.

With a caliber of 7mm, slightly smaller than the 7.62mm used in AKs, but with a 50mm cartridge that could hold more propellant, the penetration was still very impressive.

It worked great, whether against humans or Variants!

"This performance is solid," Xia Yan said with surprise after glancing at Chu Guang, "I didn't think you knew how to design weapons?"

"I don't have that kind of skill."

"Then what?"

After thinking for a moment, Chu Guang said,

"You can simply understand it as... we have a place to chat, where many people have nothing better to do than to argue and quarrel. And in the midst of all this arguing, some blueprints from who knows where would pop up."

Honestly, he himself wasn't shy about fishing for them.

Xia Yan was stunned for a moment.

"Your quarrels have such high stakes?"

"On the contrary, there are no stakes at all. It's precisely because there are no stakes that all kinds of people show up there," Chu Guang said, ejecting the empty magazine and speaking animatedly, "Anyhow, what do you think of this gun? How does it compare to the Bumblebee X-2 Assault Rifle from Giant Stone City?"

Xia Yan rolled her eyes at him and said, "When I say it's good, I mean it's relative to pipe guns. Do you expect something cobbled together in a small workshop to compare to a gun manufactured in a large factory?"

Chu Guang just smiled nonchalantly.

"Experience in production is summarized through practice; it's bound to get better over time."

Players just need to die a few more times to gain that experience, right?

"That's true, for a first generation it's indeed not bad." Picking up a cooled cartridge from the ground, Xia Yan examined it while stroking her chin, "I'll take a look and see how we can improve it."

Silence lingered nearby.

Xia Yan turned her head and saw Chu Guang looking at her with a surprised face and said softly,

"Is there a problem?"

"No."

Chu Guang shook his head.

It was quite unusual, to be honest.

This guy had been increasingly diligent lately, almost like a changed person.

Drawn by the gunfire at the west gate, nearby players looked over curiously, whispering excitedly among themselves.

"There's a story unfolding!"

"Sickle! It's the Sickle! Hahaha, finally revealed!"

"Damn! I'm talking about the Manager and weapon shop owner's drama! Is nobody noticing her look? Brother Mole, you know what I mean."

"Scram, what's that got to do with me? You trying to get me muted?"

"Tch, this mole has lost sight of his dreams."

"Maybe he should be roasted."

"%￥#@!"

Chapter 170: The Doctor and the Bounty Hunter

[Worldwide Announcement: The numerical adjustment of the LD-47 rifle has been completed and is now available on the shelves of the Outpost Base weapon shop. Players who won the earlier lottery, please see Boss Xia to collect your equipment. The semi-automatic precision shooter version of the LD-47 will be available tomorrow, so stay tuned.]

Word had spread that the weapon shop had stocked up on new weapons.

Players around Outpost Base had flocked to check it out, but it didn't take long for most of them to disperse.

The weapon itself wasn't expensive, priced at 200 Silver Coins apiece—merely twice as expensive as an iron pipe rifle. However, the ammo was prohibitively expensive.

At 1 Silver Coin per round, a 30-round magazine would cost 30 silvers, something that newbies who had just entered the Game couldn't afford.

Moreover, unlike the Sickle Assault Rifle and the iron pipe rifle, which had extremely simple bolt structures, theoretically accepting any correctly calibrated bullets, whether they were rolled or punched, and could even use Black Powder when out of Smokeless Gunpowder, the same couldn't be said for the LD-47.

Staring at the shop's shelves, the new players heaved sighs of disappointment.

"Damn! That's too expensive!"

"Alas, better level up quickly."

"True, you need a higher level to take on tasks with better rewards. It's too hard to afford such automatic weapons in the early stages!"

Chu Guang hadn't stayed at Outpost Base the entire time. Around two in the afternoon, he caught a truck ride over to Changjiu Farm.

By the time he arrived at the farm, numerous small-time players had already returned from Elm District with their prey, turning them in for Work at Old Luka's.

Food had been scarce at Changjiu Farm recently, and the bounty for hunting tasks was very high.

The basic bounty for a Hyena had risen from 5 Silver Coins to 8, and the Snow Wolf, with even more valuable fur, had jumped from 10 silvers to 15, higher than the Reindeer seen in the North Suburb of Qingquan City some time ago!

In addition, there was the opportunity to earn regional prestige.

Several life-skilled players who were eager to set up workshops and weren't particularly short on cash were directly camping at the entrance to Elm District, paying a high price to buy prey from Hunter Players, and then delivering them to the warehouse on their behalf to complete the tasks, effectively buying prestige and Contribution with money.

From Elm District to Changjiu Farm was at least ten kilometers, saving those Hunter Players the time of traveling back and forth and allowing them to focus more on the Work of hunting itself.

As long as the price was right, why fuss over a small decrease in Contribution or regional prestige?

Most combat professional players didn't need regional prestige anyway; earning Contribution Points was sufficient for them.

By noon, fifteen Mutant Snow Wolves and twenty-one mutated hyenas were now hanging from the wooden racks at the entrance of the warehouse.

The former averaged just over forty kilograms, and the latter were generally about thirty kilograms, with a meat yield rate of roughly 40% each. Altogether, this amounted to nearly five hundred kilograms of fresh meat.

At this rate, it would likely take less than two days before Elm District's game would be completely hunted out by these players.

Luka at the warehouse entrance was frantically busy.

Upon seeing the Manager arrive, he quickly approached and said,

"Sir, we need to hire two butchers to process these catches!"

"You can post the Work on VM, look for two residents of the refuge to take it."

"The task has been posted... but," Luka said embarrassingly, "no one's signed up. I've raised the hourly pay from 1 Silver Coin to 2, yet there's still little interest."

Each task and position carries a baseline value, for instance, the butcher's hourly wage is 1 Silver Coin, followed by a commission based on the amount of game processed. NPCs set task rewards according to this baseline value and can adjust it based on urgency. Old Luka's authority allowed him to double this baseline.

Yet even then, no one had applied for the job...

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang instantly grasped where the problem lay.

The majority of Alpha 0.8 version players were in Novice Village—that is, at Outpost Base.

An hourly wage of 1 Silver Coin, plus Contribution Points, was attractive for new players under LV5, but for older players who had just weathered a wave of expansion packs, it seemed a bit paltry.

Especially since butchering required a certain threshold of skill, not everyone could handle the knife as adeptly as Old Brother Fried Eggs, swiftly and neatly doing the job.

"No worries, if no players are willing to take the Work, we can turn to the refugees from outside. I plan to visit the Refugee Camp later, follow me over there."

Although skeptical about the refugees, upon hearing the Manager's decision, Luka simply nodded his respect and replied,

"Yes, sir."

As Chu Guang, accompanied by Old Luka and two guards, made their way towards the eastern gate, the situation within the Refugee Camp was far from optimistic.

Observing the old man curled up in a makeshift shelter, looking sickly and coughing intermittently, Jiu Li's expression was laden with solemnity.

This was the fourth case he'd seen today.

Even though he was not a doctor, he could tell the old man's condition was dire.

"They've caught an illness, possibly typhus," said the thin man standing next to Jiu Li, warning, "It'll be troublesome if we don't deal with it quickly."

His name was Nine Searches, Jiu Li's brother and also his right-hand man.

He had originally been known as Li, but when his elder brother was granted a family name by the local lord, he too changed his name, embracing the culture of the locals.

Jiu Li fell silent, and after a long while, spoke.

"We can't just drive them out of here."

"We have no choice. We have no medicine, no doctor, and they simply won't make it through; they're as good as dead," argued Nine Searches, trying to persuade him. "We lost half our people to get here! Are we supposed to do this for a few old men with one foot in the grave—"

"Who the hell are you saying is in the grave?"

An enraged voice came from the side.

A burly man emerged from the crowd, grabbing Nine Searches by the collar and glaring at him with a forceful question.

"What do you plan to do with my father? I'm right here, and I'd like to see who dares to take him away!"

His name was Sun Cheng, a butcher from a small village in the central part of River Valley Province with a population of a hundred.

Due to looting by the Looters, he was forced to leave his home and abandoned his burned-down homestead, braving the cold winter to migrate south in search of a chance to survive.

Like many others here, they had joined this group en route. And to get here, they had suffered not insignificant losses, just like these people.

In light of the bowl of hot porridge last night, he had surrendered his gun, persuaded by Jiu Li.

Sun Cheng had originally thought it was all worth it.

However, just now, while gathering firewood outside, he heard that a crowd had gathered at his doorstep.

Guessing that something bad was happening, Sun Cheng wasted no time, dropping his work and hurrying over.

Ironically, just as he arrived, he heard Nine Searches' words, instantly boiling with rage, almost wanting to tear the person before him to pieces.

Nine Searches remained silent, expressionless, allowing Sun Cheng to hold him, though his right hand had already touched the dagger in his pocket.

Just as the confrontation was heating up, several people stood up from the crowd.

Some stood behind Nine Searches, others behind Sun Cheng, as both groups glared at each other.

The atmosphere was tense and explosive!

Clearly, Nine Searches had more backers, with nearly everyone around them on his side.

Knowing that a conflict would mean a disadvantage for his side, Sun Cheng released his grip on Nine Searches' collar, squinting his eyes at Jiu Li.

"I get it now; you plan to throw us away after using us."

Jiu Li stared back at him.

"I never said that."

"Never said that?" Sun Cheng gave a cold laugh. "You know very well what was said just now, and the people around heard it too. Do I need to repeat it?"

Jiu Li calmly met his gaze and said,

"I apologize for my brother's thoughtless words. I never said we would abandon anyone, nor do I intend to. Now, we have sick people. To prevent the epidemic from spreading, we must separate the sick from the healthy. It was unity that got us here, wasn't it?"

"Unity? You call trying to throw out my father while I'm not around unity? Have you forgotten who covered you when we crossed the snowy fields? I see clearly now; you only care about yourselves!" Sun Cheng lifted his chin, staring him down, "Let me make this clear: my father isn't going anywhere, and I will take care of him myself. If you want to take him away, you'll have to step over my dead body."

The atmosphere became deadlocked.

Just as both parties were at an impasse, a hesitant voice suddenly interjected.

"Your father has infections from frostbite, but with timely treatment, there's still hope to save him, otherwise, I fear amputation might be necessary."

Both Jiu Li and Sun Cheng instinctively turned toward the source of the voice and saw a young man in his twenties step out of the crowd.

He wasn't tall, nor particularly robust, with slightly curly hair sticking to his forehead, bearing a slightly haggard appearance.

Jiu Li didn't have a strong memory of him, presumably, he was someone who had joined their group along the way.

"Do you have knowledge of medicine?"

The young man nodded.

"A little, although what I mainly understand is..." he paused, "You could consider it surgery."

Sun Cheng grabbed his shoulder, speaking eagerly.

"Can you cure my father?"

"Yes," the young man swallowed, nodding hesitantly, "but I need you to help me prepare some things... then, I need to treat his inflamed wounds first. Can you carry him over to me? This place is not suitable for surgery."

Jiu Li glanced at his brother, signaling with his eyes.

"I have a stretcher over there, go get it."

Nine Searches reluctantly complied with his brother's request and turned to leave.

The tension at the scene somewhat eased.

Seeing that his father had hope of being saved, Sun Cheng, who had previously been ready to fight, also calmed down.

A group of people hustled back and forth and carried the old man to where the young man lived. As they set down the stretcher, Jiu Li looked at the young man and asked,

"What's your name?"

"Yin Fang."

"I don't remember you. When did you join the team?"

"It's been a while, probably around the central part of River Valley Province. The snow wasn't so heavy then." Looking at the old man's leg with frostbitten, inflamed wounds, Yin Fang clicked his tongue, "To have held on until now is really a stroke of luck... Could you all step outside, please? I need a quiet environment."

Jiu Li nodded and led his brother outside the shelter.

Although Sun Cheng was anxious about his father, he still complied with the doctor's request and stepped out of the shelter.

Although the tension had subsided, the atmosphere between the two was still somewhat uneasy.

Jiu Li was about to mediate when a familiar face from the same hometown approached.

"The Manager is looking for you at the entrance; it seems he has something to discuss with you."

Hearing that the lord of this place was seeking him, Jiu Li immediately nodded,

"I'll be right there."

...

The entrance of the Refugee Camp.

Jiu Li once again saw the leader of the place.

Just like yesterday, he wore a blue exoskeleton, his back bearing a warhammer and a rifle with an absurdly long barrel, giving off an exceptional aura.

Jiu Li revised his estimation of him.

Perhaps not even a charge, let alone the men behind him, was necessary. Just he alone could easily dispatch all of them.

At least he himself stood no chance against him.

It was a good thing that there had been no misunderstanding last night.

"How is everyone settling in?"

"Thanks to your grace, sir," Jiu Li said with a slight bow, respectfully speaking, "we have found shelter for everyone, assuring that each person has a place to live. No one has frozen to death, nor starved to death, and even the most troublesome children slept soundly... Last night was probably the most peaceful we've had in a while."

The words were truly comforting to hear.

Chu Guang felt he was beginning to understand the pleasures of those on the Pioneer.

Smiling faintly, Chu Guang didn't say much but looked around.

"I'm glad you're adapting well. But... there's something odd about the atmosphere here?"

Jiu Li smiled wryly and said, "There was a conflict just now... You know, not all of us come from the same Survivor Base, and many joined our group along the way. With a larger number, frictions are inevitable. Please trust me, I can handle it well."

Chu Guang nodded.

He wasn't too keen on bothering with the issues of the refugees; moreover, this might not entirely be a bad thing for him.

As long as they adhered to the laws he had established and averted any bloodshed, that was all that mattered.

Without further concern, Chu Guang said to Jiu Li,

"I need two Butchers to process some freshly hunted game. Do you have anyone here who knows how to Slaughter?"

Jiu Li immediately nodded, "Yes, sir, we happen to have a Butcher here. If you need him, I can take you to him right now."

"Hmm, lead the way."

Chu Guang followed Jiu Li, and soon they arrived in front of a shelter.

A burly man stood at the doorway of the shelter. Seeing Chu Guang following Jiu Li, a hint of fear instinctively showed in his eyes, thinking they had come to trouble him.

However, to his surprise, Jiu Li, with whom he had had a conflict, didn't bring up the recent events. As if nothing had happened, he casually introduced him to the nearby Manager.

"...This is the Butcher I mentioned to you. His name is Sun Cheng, and he comes from the central part of the River Valley Province. His father's leg is frostbitten and is being treated inside the shelter. If you could provide a room for them, I believe he would be very willing to work for you."

Chu Guang looked surprised.

"You have a doctor?"

Jiu Li hesitated before saying,

"The one treating his father's frostbite is named Yin Fang; we met him on the way. I am not certain if he's a doctor, but he's the only one here who knows medicine, so we had to leave it to him."

Chu Guang didn't speak, merely nodded thoughtfully.

Interesting.

I'll have a chat with him later.

Setting aside the matter of the doctor for now, Chu Guang turned his attention to the man called Sun Cheng in front of him.

"I have some work that needs a butcher to slaughter the game we hunt. I'll pay you two silver coins a day, plus a place to live. Are you interested in this job?"

Sun Cheng was momentarily startled before he eagerly nodded his head.

"I'm willing to serve you, sir."

Chu Guang nodded and looked over to Luka.

"Leave it to you."

...

Meanwhile, at the northern part of Changjiu Farm, about a kilometer away,
a few men carrying guns were crouching beside a half-collapsed building, holding monoculars and looking toward the survivor base to the south.

The group of refugees they were tracking had pitched camp on the east side of that survivor base. The situation was messy—if it were just a group of refugees, they would be manageable, but now, it was not just the refugees; there was also the survivor base that had taken them in.

This was a bit more complicated.

"I see an enclosing wall and watchtowers... Damn, the people there have quite a few weapons."

"Let me have a look."

Taking the monocular from his comrade, the man with a goatee closed one eye and peered towards the survivor base.

After observing for a while, his expression became increasingly grave.

"The enclosing wall is at least three meters high, and the soldiers standing guard all have the same model guns... these folks are tough to handle."

His name was Eugene, a mercenary who also took on bounty hunter's work from time to time.

Like now.

"What should we do?"

Upon hearing his comrade's question, Eugene thought for a moment and said,

"Let's try negotiating with them first. After all, we're only after one person; if we can avoid conflict, that would certainly be best."

The others nodded as well, agreeing to the idea.

However, what they didn't know was that, as they sneakily observed Changjiu Farm, a few players had already set their sights on them from not far away.

Edge Shoveling: "What are those people up to?"

Construction Youth with Brick: "Not sure."

Debt Giant Eye: "Refugees? That doesn't fit either, didn't we confiscate their guns last night?"

Edge Shoveling: "emmm... Maybe they're not the same group?"

Not the same group?

Which means...

Monsters?

The three novice players exchanged glances, their faces slowly turning malevolent as they looked back towards those few men, as if seeing walking silver coins and contribution points.

For some reason, Eugene suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

Just then, a hunting dog led by a nearby mercenary suddenly started barking furiously in one direction.

The mercenary turned sharply, swinging his gun toward that side.

"Who's there!"

Hearing that fierce shout, the three novice players quickly hid behind their cover.

Almost at the same time, however, a volley of bullets swept over the mound in front of them.

"Damn! They open fire without even a greeting?"

"Looters! Definitely looters!"

"MMP! Whoever the fuck it is, they made the first move, let's get 'em!"

-

(If there's any typo, remind me, and I looked twice and my eyes are blurry. If there's still any I missed, I'll fix it after I wake up this afternoon.)

Chapter 171: The Academy's Traitor

Refugee Camp.

In a simple shanty.

Looking at the old man lying on the stretcher, Yin Fang took a deep breath, and finally made up his mind, slowly extending his right hand.

A moment's pause.

Then, from the pulse of his right hand, a silver surgical scalpel slowly extended, stopping only when it was an inch longer than his middle finger.

The scalpel slowly bent downward, resembling a praying mantis's forelimb. Upon closer examination, around the scalpel, four silver threads circled, hanging in the air and gently fluttering like antennae.

Looking at the young man's right hand, the old man curled up on the stretcher wore a face of fright, trembling and wanting to ask, yet too afraid to make a sound.

"Don't be afraid, I'll take care of your wound."

After reassuring the old man, Yin Fang concentrated all his energy on the surgery.

Anesthetic injection followed by sterilization.

His right hand's five fingers moved nimbly and adeptly, gently quivering up and down, manipulating the scalpel and silver threads hanging below his palm.

It was like controlling a marionette!

The scalpel precisely avoided nerves and blood vessels within the muscle tissue, carefully excised the necrotic parts, and deftly sewed and bandaged with the silver threads, leaving only spider silk-thin thread ends.

The entire set of movements flowed smoothly!

Yin Fang held his breath and focused intensely, with fine beads of sweat forming on his brow, even carefully controlling his breathing rate.

Under his precise control and operation, the excision and bandaging of the necrotic tissue were almost simultaneous, and the surgery caused minimal blood loss.

The surgery lasted an hour.

After removing all necrotic tissue, Yin Fang finally breathed a sigh of relief and raised his left hand, wiping the sweat from his brow with his arm.

Then, he took a small spray bottle from his pocket, carefully spraying it several times on his right hand, and slowly retracted the extended scalpel and silver threads back into his bionic limb.

Almost at the same time, an unfamiliar voice rang out from behind him.

"Remarkable skill... Is this for medical use, this bionic limb?"

Yin Fang was startled, swiftly turning around to see a man wearing an exoskeleton standing at the door, looking over with interest.

He had been so focused during the surgery that he hadn't noticed someone had come in.

Yin Fang's heart raced; he hid his right hand behind him, quickly realizing that this was akin to covering up.

He lowered his arms, which he had been holding across his chest. Chu Guang displayed a friendly expression on his face and casually asked,

"Don't be nervous, I was just asking… are you a doctor?"

"..."

Hesitation was written all over Yin Fang's face.

Chu Guang could tell by his look that this guy probably had many secrets, probably racking his brains right now to concoct some story to fool him.

Why bother?

I'm not going to eat you.

Not wanting to hear this guy's story full of loopholes, Chu Guang looked at him and cut straight to the point.

"I am the Manager of Shelter No. 404 and also the Lord here. If you need any help or have any ideas on improving living conditions, you can go find Jiu Li or Luka, they will bring you to me."

"I offer job opportunities to capable people, but honesty is a prerequisite."

After speaking, Chu Guang did not linger there any longer and turned to walk out the door.

Watching the closing door, Yin Fang slowly exhaled, his charged shoulders relaxing as well.

At this moment, a weak voice came from the stretcher behind him.

"Thank you, young man."

The old man had woken up during the ordeal, but with an important figure present, he dared not interrupt.

Yin Fang looked back at the old man and squeezed out a forced smile, speaking in a soothing tone,

"Don't mention it, are you feeling better?"

"Much better…" The old man nodded, reading the atmosphere, he said softly and embarrassingly, "I've troubled you."

"It's nothing," Yin Fang shook his head.

Saving a life was important, and besides, these people had helped him a lot.

If it were just him alone, he wouldn't have made it here, nor would he have escaped the pursuit of bounty hunters.

The old man struggled to sit up on the stretcher, attempting to walk, but his legs were still in pain. After a few tries, he gave up.

At that moment, a man walked into the shanty and, seeing the old man's condition, hurriedly came forward to support him.

"Dad, are you feeling better?"

A smile spread across the old man's face as he nodded.

"Much better... Thanks to this young man. If he ever finds himself in trouble, you must help him."

Sun Cheng turned to Yin Fang, speaking earnestly,

"Brother, thank you! My name is Sun Cheng; you've saved my father's life. If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."

Yin Fang shook his head, indicating there was no need to be polite, and did not take this paper-thin promise to heart.

If only it were that simple.

His troubles were not something any Waste Land Wanderer could simply solve.

Watching the father and son leave the shanty, Yin Fang sat down on a nearby chair, staring at the ceiling, and sighed.

"Ah."

"Let me be…"

…

"There's a doctor in the refugee camp, don't worry about the plague, he seems like a compassionate man, leave it to him to handle."

"Also, have Jiu Li keep an eye on him, but don't deliberately disturb him, don't actively ask him questions, and don't make him feel exceptionally cared for. If he does anything suspicious, report it to me."

After leaving the shanty, Chu Guang found Old Luka and handed him this task.

"All right, sir, leave this with me!"

Old Luka nodded earnestly, committing this matter firmly to memory.

Shelter No. 404 had not yet fully established trust with these refugees; it was natural to be cautious, and in such circumstances, rushing things was not advisable.

Chu Guang was not in a hurry to pry open the secrets of that person, nor was he eager to invite him over.

In this freezing weather, where could a person possibly run off to?

What's coerced never feels genuine; it's better to wait until he is ready to come clean voluntarily.

Having left the refugee camp, Chu Guang was planning to inspect the labor reforms of the prisoners of war.

Just then, from the north side of the refugee camp, a burst of dense gunfire suddenly resounded.

Judging by the sound, it was approximately 1 kilometer away.

And by the looks of it, the battle seemed fierce; Chu Guang even heard the sound of homemade mines made by mosquitoes exploding.

Unperturbed, Chu Guang immediately composed a mission through his VM and sent it to the devices of players within a designated area on the map.

[MISSION: Players within 1 kilometer of the map marker must proceed immediately to the target area for support.]

[REQUIREMENT: At least one captive must be kept]

[REWARD: 10 Silver Coins, 10 contributions, 50 regional reputation]

Judging from the gunfire, there were probably four or five shots.

Maybe six at most?

Having spent so much time in the Wasteland, guessing the number of people from the sound of gunshots had become a basic skill. It wasn't completely realistic to guess exactly, but estimating the upper limit wasn't a problem.

According to the display on the VM map, there were at least thirty players in the area where the conflict occurred, and they were mostly veteran players.

Chu Guang felt very relieved leaving it to them.

…

However, Eugene's feeling at the moment was completely disastrous.

What initially seemed a simple mission, optimistic estimates suggested it could be completed in three months, yet it ended up in this mess because of those incompetent teammates.

Had he known it would turn out this way, he might have acted alone.

But now, complaining seemed pointless.

Less than ten minutes after the gunfire began, he and his teammates were ambushed by at least thirty people. Gunfire rained from all directions, making it impossible for them to raise their heads.

Eugene witnessed the mercenary, who fired first, and his beloved dog being riddled with bullets. The other three were killed one by one during the resistance.

Seeing no hope of breaking out, he didn't hesitate to throw down his weapons and surrender.

The men roughly tied his hands and then threw him into a truck that took him to the back of a concrete Enclosing Wall into a spacious room and then pushed him onto the floor.

A man in a Blue Exoskeleton was sitting in the room, scrutinizing Eugene with a probing gaze before he spoke.

"Looter?"

Eugene didn't respond immediately, his mind racing as he contemplated how to escape.

The man in the exoskeleton, however, did not seem very patient. Seeing that he hadn't spoken, he waved his hand impatiently.

"If you don't talk, take him down and deal with him."

After all, the equipment on him didn't seem very valuable, and he probably wasn't anyone significant.

The Wrench, standing beside Chu Guang, didn't waste any words and immediately stepped forward, grabbed the captive by the collar, and started to drag him out.

Seeing this, Eugene panicked and struggled as he spoke.

"I am not a Looter, I... my name is Eugene, I'm a mercenary! Sir, I mean no harm."

"No harm?" signaling Wrench to stop, Chu Guang looked at him with interest, "You mean, that burst of gunfire was accidental?"

The initial contact rule of Shelter No. 404 was to not attack NPCs in neutral areas, but if a neutral unit opened fire, any form of retaliation was permitted.

VM wasn't just a vital signs monitor; it also had a function to record activities. Although it didn't record video, it was easy to determine who fired first by analyzing the gunfire and recording sounds.

Chu Guang was curious as to how this guy would explain himself.

Feeling his heart chill under that gaze, Eugene hastily explained.

"It was a misunderstanding, the gun wasn't fired by me... I was just in a cooperation for a commission with those people!"

"Commission?" Chu Guang stared at him with a scrutinizing look and continued, "What commission?"

Not daring to conceal anything, Eugene quickly confessed.

"It was a commission from the Academy."

Hearing this unexpected answer, Chu Guang was slightly stunned internally, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he continued to interrogate.

"Go on."

Eugene swallowed, speaking rapidly.

"About three months ago... I received a commission from the Academy, requesting our help to capture a fugitive Prospector. We tracked him down to River Valley Province based on clues provided by the employer. If not for an unexpected encounter with disbanded soldiers of the Army, we would have caught him last month. However, he fortuitously blended into a group of refugees."

"Is the deserter you're talking about equipped with a bionic prosthetic limb?" Chu Guang asked thoughtfully.

Eugene's eyes lit up as he nodded briskly.

"Yes! That must be him! The commission requires us to bring him back to Wandering Swamp or, at the very least, to bring back his arm. If you're willing to hand him over to me, I can split the bounty with you—no, 40-60! You 60, me 40!"

That 60% share seems reasonable.

Suppressing his laughter, Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"How much bounty did the people from the Academy offer you?"

Thinking Chu Guang was tempted by his proposal, Eugene hastily continued.

"5,000 CR! Originally, it was to be split among six of us, but now there are only two left."

Chu Guang asked with surprise.

"CR? Why would the Academy use corporate funds to pay?"

"It's not that the Academy is using corporate money, sir. We mercenaries only accept corporate CRs or the Army's Dinars," Eugene explained with a resigned expression. "You should know that every place has its own form of money. I've even seen transactions with bullet casings and bottle caps."

Although corporate paper money experiences severe inflation far from the East Coast, where a rifle sold at 300 CR on the East Coast can fetch 600 or even 800 CR in River Valley Province, it's still somewhat more practical than those highly regional currencies.

Chu Guang stroked his chin in thought.

Just 5,000 CR.

That probably means the fugitive isn't that significant.

If it were a 500,000 CR bounty, Chu Guang might consider the "diplomatic risk" of keeping the person. But with such a meager reward, he's almost certainly just a "cyber fugitive," unlikely even to be a B-class wanted individual.

But keeping such a significant matter from him.

This wasn't very honest of the young man.

A subtle shift crossed Chu Guang's mind as he looked toward Wrench, who was waiting nearby.

"Go to the Refugee Camp, find a man named Yin Fang, and bring him here."

"Yes, sir," Wrench nodded, accepting the order and immediately stepped outside.

It wasn't a long wait.

Wrench soon brought the man Chu Guang wanted to see.

Seeing Eugene in the room, Yin Fang's face changed instantly, and he turned around to leave. However, just as he turned, he was blocked by Wrench standing at the doorway.

Upon seeing Yin Fang, Eugene's face showed a burst of joy as he hastily exclaimed loudly,

"Sir, it's him—"

"Shut up."

Chu Guang signaled with his eyes for Eugene to close his mouth, then looked toward the young man whose eyes were filled with fear, and said,

"Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

A bitter look surfaced on Yin Fang's face as he lowered his head.

"I apologize... I didn't mean to conceal my identity from you…"

Chu Guang stared at him and asked,

"Are you from the Academy?"

Yin Fang nodded.

But soon, his expression darkened, and he shook his head again.

"I was, half a year ago. Not anymore."

Chapter 172: Class D Personnel and Academy's Intelligence

The people sent by the Academy to capture him were right here, and Yin Fang knew that keeping things hidden was pointless, so he confessed without hesitation.

Half a year ago, the Academy received intelligence indicating that a pre-war abandoned research facility contained relevant clues related to No.0 Shelter.

Without any hesitation, the Academy immediately dispatched a scientific expedition team to investigate.

This was supposed to be just another routine "archaeological" task, similar to the many others carried out by the Academy almost daily. The only difference was that this task had some connection to the No.0 Shelter.

However, no one could have foreseen that such a mundane task would end in disaster.

An unmentioned lair in the intelligence lay under the research facility; they had barely gotten through the airlock gate when they were besieged by a multitude of Eaters, Crawlers, and even Tyrants, among other Mucor species Variants. After a grueling battle, they managed to retreat, but only the expedition team leader and an accompanying engineer survived.

"So you became the scapegoat?"

Chu Guang looked at the young man with a strangely amused expression.

"But that doesn't make any sense. How could an engineer like you take the blame for a decision-making error?"

Yin Fang's expression was subtly complex.

At this moment, the bound Eugene chuckled and interjected.

"My lord, don't be misled by his vague explanation. The Academy's commission to us was to capture a fugitive Class D prospector. An engineer? Ha! It's clear he is that team leader."

"...?"

Chu Guang paused, staring at the young man for a while, unable to see how he resembled a team leader.

Catching that fleeting look of astonishment, Eugene smiled slyly and continued.

"An expedition team typically has around ten people. It's common for Class D and Class C prospectors or researchers to lead an expedition, since field work isn't exactly pleasant... Tsk, I'm not from the Academy, but I've had my fair share of dealings with them."

To think he would be exposed by a mercenary! Yin Fang argued back irritably.

"I never said I wasn't the team leader! Alright, yes, I am the team leader. So what? The intelligence was wrong, yet they blamed all the losses on me. What could I do?"

Eugene sneered dismissively.

"I'm just clarifying why there is a 5000CR bounty on your head – your internal affairs are none of my concern. And who knows what the truth is? You can conjure up any story you like, after all, those people will not be coming back to refute it."

Yin Fang glared at him fiercely, clenching his fists, his eyes nearly spewing fire. Clearly, this guy was not good at arguing, whether it was characteristic of all Academy people or just him remained unknown.

To think this guy was actually a leader of a scientific expedition team.

Risk Value +1.

Chu Guang felt a headache coming on and after pondering for a moment, looked at Yin Fang and continued.

"What do you plan to do?"

Yin Fang's face took on a bitter expression, and after a moment's thought, he said.

"I was planning to go to Giant Stone City. There are ways to get to the East Coast from there. Whether it's by airship or following a Commercial Team by land, as long as I make it to the corporate territories, even the Academy couldn't touch me if they knew I was there."

Chu Guang glanced at his right hand, speaking thoughtfully.

"There is a place where you can also escape the pursuit of the Academy."

Yin Fang seemed to guess what was coming.

"Are you referring to your Shelter?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"You don't seem too keen on the idea."

A Shelter with full protective capabilities, embodying the pinnacle of human defense technology from the Prosperity Epoch, was, in theory, nearly impossible to breach from the outside.

Plus, there was no need to worry about being found inside, unless the Manager of the place wanted it to be so; without their approval, not a single floating data point could leak out.

In terms of safety, it was unparalleled.

Yin Fang carefully phrased his reply.

"No, my lord, it's just... can I really trust you completely?"

Chu Guang responded with an indifferent tone.

"Do you have any other options?"

Yin Fang fell silent for a moment.

In the end, he relaxed his shoulders in resignation.

"You're right, I have no choice."

Seeing Chu Guang reach an agreement with his target, Eugene, feeling a sense of crisis, hurriedly spoke up.

"My lord, you want to take in a fugitive from the Academy? That's not a good idea—"

"This is River Valley Province, not the Academy's territory."

Chu Guang nonchalantly interrupted him, looking past Eugene at Yin Fang, and continued.

"I'm very interested in your abilities. It seems you're not only versed in surgery? Tell me what else you can do."

"I can perform neurosurgery and some simple surgeries," Yin Fang paused, then continued, "To be precise, I am not a doctor. The main job for explorers at the Academy is to conduct archaeology on pre-war relics, recover valuable data and materials, and bring them back to the Academy for researchers to analyze and repair. My expertise mainly involves neuro-connections, so I might know a thing or two."

"Can you make bionic prosthetics?" Chu Guang asked with deep interest.

Yin Fang explained.

"Bionic prosthetics come in many types. The simplest ones, driven by muscle cells, are not difficult to make. But if it's powered by neural currents, you'd need biomimetic neuron materials, which are hard to come by anywhere ... I can't just conjure up things that aren't there."

He's not a doctor, but he's even more exceptional than a doctor. He's not only skilled in surgery but also knows a bit about bionics.

The most critical point is, he seems to know how to scavenge valuable technological materials from the remains of pre-war civilization.

Chu Guang became more and more interested in him.

"I'd like to discuss Academy-related matters with you. As it happens, I plan to head back to the shelter, why don't you come along? Oh, do you need to pack any belongings first?"

Yin Fang shook his head.

"I don't have any belongings to pack."

Chu Guang smiled, his demeanor warm and pleasant.

"That's fine, congratulations on starting a new life."

Yin Fang also smiled, although his smile was somewhat forced.

Honestly, he didn't have high hopes for this so-called new life, but as the Manager said, he had no choice.

After making his point, Chu Guang suddenly remembered there was another person in the room, so after a moment of thought, he turned to Wrench.

"Take this mercenary to the brick kiln and hand him over to the foreman there."

Releasing him wasn't an option. Besides, Chu Guang still had some use for the mercenary.

For now, it was best to send him for re-education through labor, conveniently to keep company with a Centurion named Vanus.

Eugene's face turned pale.

Hearing the words "brick kiln" and "foreman," he could guess his fate was likely to be working in the dark kiln until death, or being sold to slave traders to continue working until death...

However, Wrench felt no sympathy for him and promptly accepted the order with utmost precision.

"Yes, my lord."

...

Eugene was arranged to work in the brick factory.

As for Yin Fang, Chu Guang planned to place him on floor B2 of the shelter.

There were still a hundred empty rooms in Zone B of floor B2. Chu Guang had originally intended to use these rooms to accommodate technical talents excavated from the Wasteland, but he didn't expect to use them so soon.

As for having him so close to the players, was that appropriate?

Honestly, Chu Guang wasn't the least bit worried.

Worrying about such matters was as pointless as worrying about whether it would rain tomorrow. Clone technology might have been sensitive in his world before he crossed over, but to the people of this world, it was as mundane as cigarette butts on the ground.

Boss Xia has believed up until now that there exists a technology in this Wasteland that can produce a clone in one day; making a person in three days is nothing. When Chu Guang asked her where she heard this from, she couldn't give a clear answer, scratching her head in confusion.

The Wasteland is so vast, it's normal for outlandish rumors to spread.

The survivors of Qingquan City credited themselves with defeating the Business Expeditionary Army, even though commercial teams from the corporation frequently passed through Qingquan City.

No matter what Yin Fang might discern, Chu Guang didn't care at all. Once he entered the shelter, he had no plans to let him out anytime soon.

"If he did something stupid, he would soon experience what being 'red-named' in the game felt like."

"That would be quite thrilling."

A certain lizard stuck inside the shelter, unable to leave, would undoubtedly be very interested in this hard-to-come-by opportunity to perform.

Before evening, the return truck arrived at the north gate of Wetland Park.

At the entrance of the sanatorium's elevator.

When Chu Guang pressed the down button, he glanced at Yin Fang beside him and reminded him,

"Have you thought it through? You still have a chance to back out now. Once we go in, I'm afraid it'll be a while before you can come out."

Yin Fang let out a light sigh.

"Even if I wanted to come out, I'd have to wait at least until the people from the Academy have forgotten about me."

"How long does it take to forget a Class D personnel?"

Yin Fang thought for a moment and replied,

"Maybe three years, maybe five... It depends on how badly they want me dead, although I don't think I'm that important."

If the clues to No.0 Shelter were found, the Academy might indeed go to great lengths to catch him and bring him back, but unfortunately, they hadn't found anything like that.

...

Around six o'clock in the evening.

A group of happy little players dragged a three-meter-tall Crack Claw Crab back from the direction of Changjiu Farm using a wooden cart.

There was a huge hole in the back of the crab, probably blasted by an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher.

Whether or not it was worth 50 silver coins to exchange for a Crack Claw Crab, they did indeed kill one.

When they saw the creature being placed down at the North gate market, the Autumn Grass Autumn Leaf sisters opened their mouths in surprise, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Sis, is that a Crack Claw Crab?"

Autumn Grass nodded in a daze.

"Yes..."

Eyes shining with admiration, Autumn Leaf looked at the residents of the shelter and couldn't help but exclaim,

"They're so amazing!"

"Yes..."

On the Wasteland, Crack Claw Crabs were even more dangerous than Claws of Death. They wouldn't move around without reason, nor would they make loud roars when unprovoked. They might be hiding in a deeper puddle or resting in a damp cave, camouflaged as algae or a moss-covered rock.

In their tribe, those who could defeat a Crack Claw Crab were, without exception, the most powerful warriors, and such warriors generally only appeared in the stories of elders.

Because they were so astonished, they even forgot to stop the younger sister from looking around.

Though it wasn't enough to hold a triumph for a single Crack Claw Crab, the Outpost Base was still as lively as a festival.

"The crab legs are cooked, everyone hurry up and eat, crab won't taste good overnight!"

The call for dinner rang out.

A crowd immediately gathered around.

"Wow, crab meat with truffles is amazing!" Crow, holding half a crab leg and chewing slowly, revealed a blissful expression on his face.

"Does it taste good? I find it just okay." Teng Teng bit off a piece with a puzzled frown on his face.

It was far from the goodness of mashed potatoes.

"This is okay? Right, I have to get some for Little Fish!" Crow grabbed half a crab leg and scurried off.

"To be honest, the food system in this game is really impressive! The tender crab meat is like jelly before cooking, and after it's cooked, the tenderness of the crab meat is infused with a hint of earthiness, just like an artwork..." Fang Chang, holding half a roasted crab leg and taking a bite while sitting on a stone stool, suddenly looked up at the sky and mused.

Night Ten, covered in moth fluff, laughed and patted his shoulder, "Okay, brother, stop flattering. If I were Brother Guang, I'd dig out a mansion on the spot with my toes."

Fang Chang's face turned red and he glared at him.

"Scram! What do you mean 'flattering'? It's called providing feedback when a beta tester shares their game experience."

Wild Wind and Old White were discussing the eighteen different ways to eat crab legs and had no time to join the conversation of these two.

Elena, who was sitting beside a stall and wolfing down a feast, was currently stuffing his mouth full of crab meat. This was already the second crab leg he had eaten.

Suddenly, he furrowed his brow as if he had an epiphany.

"Wait, I feel a warm current flowing inside my body, could it be that this crab meat can add BUFF?!"

He quickly checked VM.

Huh.

Nope.

"No BUFF," said Gnome King Riches, who was holding crab legs in both hands and eating even more eagerly than him, with a joking smile, "You've got pregnancy cravings."

Elena: "I'm gonna knock on your old wood!"

Makabazi: "Hahaha!"

Later, it was proved that eating the meat of the Crack Claw Crab didn't give any buffs, but eating too much of it really did cause diarrhea.

That warm current eventually did not persist.

The three people, having tossed away half-eaten crab legs, rushed to the restroom in a panic, nearly coming to blows at the door over the one remaining stall.

It was unclear how they resolved it in the end.

In any case, when they returned to the No.0 Shelter, all three of them had wobbly legs...

That night,

After many players had logged off, an announcement was posted on the official Wasteland OL website.

[Outpost Base has added two new NPCs: Class D explorer Yin Fang from the Academy and the Bounty Hunter Eugene who's hunting him.]

[Hints from Xiao Qi: Yin Fang's clinic is located on B2 floor, and if you need to install an implanted prosthesis you can find him, but you need to have...]

[Old Luka: Eugene is undergoing reformation through labor, I will make him a useful person.]

Tail: "What happened! What else happened while Tail was not around!? ∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Quit smoking: "!! Is the Occupation System about to be released? Planner big boss awesome! (Voice crack)"

Teng Teng: "Just asking, is this a 'love-hate' CP? (*/ω＼*)"

Night Ten: "?? When I typed these two question marks, it's not that I'm the one with the issue, but I think you are."

Elena: "+1 (funny)"

Teng Teng: "What's the problem here! (;｀O´)o"

Fang Chang: "With the additional surgeon, Brother Gale no longer has to worry about not being able to get his right hand reattached, 'Son of the Version' confirmed. (sideways glance)"

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Hey, you Europeans. T.T"

Wild Wind: "('ω')?"

...

Inside the No.0 Shelter.

Having posted the announcement, Chu Guang wasn't peeping at the forum but was lost in thought, staring at the text document on the screen.

About ten minutes earlier, he had learned about the Academy from Yin Fang, and there were many points that were of interest to him.

"The Academy is located in the center of Wandering Swamp. Before the Prosperity Epoch, it was a desert; after the Prosperity Epoch, it was transformed into a man-made ecological reserve. During the war of the end of the world, due to strategic weapon bombardment, the landscape there was permanently altered into swamp land, roughly 1.5 times the size of River Valley Province."

"The origin of the Academy is ominous; the majority of its technologies come from 'archaeology,' with researchers and explorers making up its base level. Among them, Class E explorers are somewhat similar to Class E employees in corporations and Centurions in armies? Class D personnel are more like middle management, possibly on par with Centurions or Thousands of leaders of armies."

"In addition, it seems that the Academy has embarked on a path different from both the armies and corporations. There, implanted bodies and informatics technologies are quite advanced, with a focus on energy weapons and shield technology for equipment; their industrial capability seems rather weak... perhaps because their home is in the swamp?"

However, after two centuries of studying the ancients, they still haven't finished examining everything left behind by the pre-war civilizations - how extravagant could those legacies be?

Comparing to the development trajectory on Earth before he crossed over, Chu Guang couldn't imagine what might have occurred in the years after the Prosperity Epoch.

With a mouse in hand and after a moment of contemplation, Chu Guang selected a portion of the information he had organized, copied it, and pasted it into the back end of the official website.

He pressed the Enter key.

"Anyway, let's first update it as part of the game background in the official website's lore database."

Perhaps the players' wild ideas might uncover something after all.

Chapter 173: The Work of the Refugees

Niubi Game Club.

Quit Smoking: "Have you guys seen the content updated on the official website? The background stories for the three major powers have all been laid out!"

Fang Chang: "Saw it earlier, we've already discussed it in the group."

④Who Understanding It Wrong: "Ah Guang said that he just made a folder, and your excitement makes you look really dumb."

Scrambled Tomatoes & Eggs: "They've even got the full maps for the three big powers before the beta, and the 'Giant Stone City' regional power's map isn't even open yet. I have my suspicions that seven great overlords will come out after the public test."

④Who Understanding It Wrong: "Ah Guang says this is like a big snow sealing off the city, hoping you're not ungrateful, or you might push me to delete the new folder I created. (side-eye)"

Night Ten: "And then it turns out there are actually eight people in the seven overlords? (funny)"

WC Full of Mosquitoes: "Too small, too narrow-minded. Just wait for version 8.0 when the Manager burns down the refuge shelter, don't we have to use two expansion packs to bring it all back?"

Wild Wind: "Old jokes are banned."

Old White: "Speaking of which, they suddenly added an Academy Faction NPC in the refuge shelter. Are they planning to introduce the implantation function?"

Fang Chang: "Hard to say, I just logged in and checked. The new NPC doesn't have the function to sell mechanical prostheses. No matter what you say to him, it only triggers the dialogue asking if you want to undergo surgery."

Night Ten: "+1, I just tried it too. If you annoy him, he'll ask if you want to have your brain checked. As expected, Little Fish is still the cutest. (funny)"

WC Full of Mosquitoes: "Why Little Fish? Don't you think the stammering lady boss cursing is cute too?"

Wild Wind: "Didn't expect such a small game group to attract two kinds of weirdos."

Fang Chang: "Anyway, even though they've updated with an NPC who can perform surgery, Wild Wind needs to be careful, the surgery fee to reinstall an implant is 50 silver coins. And that's without any damage. Fixing mechanical prostheses costs extra."

Night Ten: "Do you think Brother Guang will arrange a plot-driven event to test if there are any bugs with the reinstallation function of the implants? (funny)"

Old White: "Eh? That's a pretty novel angle... Now that you mention it, why else would they let Wild Wind get an arm for free?"

Wild Wind: "Fuck, don't be like that! (terrified)"

Fang Chang: "Ahem, alright, alright, let's not scare Wind so he's afraid to go out."

Quit Smoking: "Hahaha!"

...

Level B2 of the refuge shelter.

Yin Fang sat eating his meal in the dining hall.

Today's food was corn and shredded pork fried rice. It tasted really good, probably the best meal he'd had in half a year.

The only downside was that he was surrounded by a circle of people.

They looked at him with curiosity, as if watching a monkey in an ecological park, as if doing so would benefit them in some way.

Considering the Manager had told him to ignore them and it would be over in a couple days, Yin Fang didn't mind; he just thought of them as local natives who had never heard of the Academy before.

After quickly finishing his meal, he took his plate to the tray return where an automatic washer would clean off the food residue and grease, then sanitize with ultraviolet light.

With nothing else to do, Yin Fang decided to take a detour to the communal showers.

The shower rooms there were gender-divided and required a fee. Chu Guang gave him a daily living allowance of 10 silver coins, which was enough for him to live normally in the shelter.

However, something intolerable happened soon after. Not only did these stalkers want to watch him eat, they even wanted to watch him shower!

Watch my ass!

Don't you have your own?

"Enough, if I see you following me again, I'll remember every single face, and I swear I'll make sure the next time I use a knife, I'll attach that face to an ass! I swear I can do it!"

Chu Guang had taught him that sentence.

It was for self-defense.

If someone consistently followed and harassed him, all he had to do was say that sentence, and they would immediately scatter. However, he was advised not to use it too often—once a day at most—because if overused, it would lose its effectiveness.

Yin Fang guessed that the statement was probably some sort of offensive curse, given its excessively long rhythm. If his memory weren't so good, he doubted he could have remembered it.

What Yin Fang didn't know, however, was that after those players left, they went to the forum to mock him.

"This new NPC is pretty impressive! He can attach a head to an ass!"

"Holy crap, what's the big grudge?"

"According to my stats, tracking for 31 minutes and 71 seconds triggers that dialogue."

"What kind of experience would it be to have a head growing on an ass?"

"Emmm... want to try it?"

Refuge shelter Level B1.

The number of players had now reached five hundred. The lobby was always bustling with people coming and going. To prevent players from secretly using his computer, Chu Guang had moved all his stuff into the next empty room.

After ordering a set of simple, solid wood furniture from a carpenter, he turned the space into his own "Manager's Office."

Even NPCs need a bit of privacy, after all.

Always being watched by players made Chu Guang feel uncomfortable.

"I'm so done with this! Don't your residents have anything else to do? No matter what I do, they just follow me around, pointing and making comments without any manners!" Yin Fang entered the Manager's Office with a look of utter exasperation, complaining to Chu Guang.

"Calm down, it's their way of showing enthusiasm. They'll get over it in a couple of days... would you like some milk?" Chu Guang gently tapped the electric thermal pot on the corner of the table, which held heated milk.

"Thank you, I'll have a cup... Do you have any capsule coffee here? Or even freeze-dried coffee would do, I'm not picky."

"No," Chu Guang said as he picked up a disposable cup to pour him some milk and handed it over, "Things are a bit rough here; we're in the start-up phase, bear with us."

Taking the cup of hot milk from Chu Guang, Yin Fang held it in his hands, and after taking a sip, he felt a bit more relax.

Actually, life here was pretty good, at least much better than the days he spent on the run.

Once he accepted the situation, he found that moving in wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

There were almost all advantages here, just too few people to talk to.

"Speaking of which, it's hard to believe, your shelter code is in the three digits. It shouldn't be this short of funds."

"What does the code have to do with that?" asked Chu Guang casually.

Yin Fang nodded.

"Of course, there is some correlation. Generally, shelters with single-digit codes have higher budgets than those with double-digit codes, and double-digit shelters have more than those with triple digits. As for shelters with four or five digits, and private shelters without any codes, their budgets are usually pretty pathetic; some don't even have full recycling, only managing half-cycling."

As a Class D explorer, he knew this all too well.

Those valuable treasures were usually found in shelters with double and triple digits codes. Those with four- or five-digit codes, on the other hand, would be quite lucky just to scrounge some leftover resources. The majority of materials had been exhausted by the survivors who lived there decades ago.

Chu Guang, who had been staring at the computer screen, looked up.

"Listening to you, I'm starting to get curious about what happened at the end of the Prosperity Epoch."

The numbers have already lined up to five digits, and that's not even counting those who didn't get a number.

How many refuges did the United Human build in their last few years?

Amidst his musings, Chu Guang adeptly maneuvered the mouse and lobbed a few nuclear bombs, which had taken several turns to create, into the home of his neighbor Old Man Gan.

With a lack of good games to play recently, he could only download "Barbarian 6" again to pore over.

Of course, it was mainly for gathering material.

Hearing Chu Guang's words, Yin Fang showed a helpless expression on his face.

"We've been investigating that as well, the war seemed to have happened suddenly, without any warning."

Chu Guang, "There's no one left alive from that era?"

Yin Fang, "There are quite a few, in fact. At the Academy, there are even some from that era who have been in cryogenic sleep until now, but they can't clarify what really happened either, continuously asking us when they can go home... We speculate that some information must have been controlled, or perhaps United Human didn't expect the war to really break out, otherwise the number of refuges would probably be even higher."

Chu Guang gave him a puzzled look, "That sounds contradictory. Even if there was information control, didn't anyone question the nearly ten thousand refuges?"

Yin Fang made a helpless expression.

"You have to understand it in the context of the era. After entering the Prosperity Epoch, this planet hadn't seen war for a very long time. The crises we imagined included unexpected solar flare activities, the impact of lunar exploration on tidal effects, ecological crises caused by excessive urban expansion, or even third-kind encounters with extraterrestrial civilizations... but we had never thought that one day in the future we would repeat the stupid mistakes of the distant past."

He paused before continuing.

"Plus, there's a limit to the amount of information a human brain can process each day. When you're in an age of information explosion, there are millions, even billions of things more worthy of attention, and it feels like..."

"Being in a cocoon room?"

"Exactly. It seems you understand quite well," Yin Fang said, surprisingly giving Chu Guang a look, "Speaking of which, I've been wanting to ask... what kind of refuge is yours? Cryogenic sleep? Or communal?"

Chu Guang's gaze drifted, giving an evasive answer.

"I think it's neither. It's probably better not to delve too deeply into this question."

Seeing that Chu Guang didn't intend to discuss the matter with him, Yin Fang helplessly shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright then... you go on with your work; I'm heading back to my room to rest."

Returning his focus to gathering material, Chu Guang nonchalantly responded.

"Go ahead, and close the door behind you."

Drawing out the words, Yin Fang adopted the tone of others in this place.

"At your command—"

"Respected Manager."

...

The following morning.

Changjiu Farm.

Old Luka arrived early at the Refugee Camp and found Jiu Li, the person in charge, saying to him,

"We need 30 strong young laborers capable of working. We will pay them a daily wage of 2 silver coins, plus three meals a day."

Though the Refugee Camp also provided meals, the watery porridge only managed to keep people from starving and wasn't particularly nutritious.

Just yesterday, the farm employed a butcher from their camp who apparently moved into a heated house and even got meat in every meal.

Such a divine lifestyle would be worth it even without a salary, let alone the added 2 silver coins.

Jiu Li didn't hesitate and immediately nodded in agreement.

Still, out of responsibility for those who trusted him, he asked,

"No problem. What kind of work is it exactly? Are there any specific requirements?"

Old Luka said,

"There aren't any particular requirements. As long as they have the strength to do heavy work. Our leader plans to build a cement factory to the south to produce cement for building houses and roads. Besides that, we need some hands to clear obstacles from Changjiu Farm to Wetland Park and transport salvageable items to a designated location for processing. I will arrange the specific tasks, you don't need to worry about that."

Relieved that it wasn't dangerous work, Jiu Li said,

"Give me ten minutes; I'll bring the people you need."

Old Luka nodded and said,

"Hmm, once everyone is gathered, take them to the east gate. I'll wait for you there."

Jiu Li was prompt about his task and quickly summoned his brother Nine Searches, selecting thirty strong young men from the camp to do heavy work and led them to the east gate.

By the time Nine Searches arrived with the people at the east gate, there were already about twenty people gathered there.

Seeing those people, many refugees, including Nine Searches, showed a mixture of anger and fear on their faces.

"They're from the Army."

"Is that for real..."

"No mistake, look at their noses... The Army people have that bump in the middle of their bridge, these guys must be at least Centurions."

"Bastards!"

As for the captive soldiers from the Army, they were befuddled by the hostilities and fears displayed by the refugees—weary of the misunderstandable scene on their faces.

They could assure that they had never met these people before.

Why does it feel like a grudge as deep as patricide?

Noticing the unrest among the group of refugees, Wrench stepped forward and raised his voice,

"On our land, anyone who works earns respect, regardless of whether they are free folk or a war captive. Whatever grudges you had before, you must abide by our rules here. Anyone who breaches our law, no matter who they are, will receive no leniency from us."

The refugees fell silent.

They already realized that these twenty-odd Army Centurions were captives of that respected Manager.

To capture more than twenty Army Centurions... That would mean annihilating at least two hundred-man teams, or even a thousand-man squad.

And such an annihilation would have to be a crushing victory, completely breaking the enemy's will to fight, prompting them to abandon their weapons and surrender.

If it were a battle of evenly matched forces, the Army wouldn't surrender so easily.

The power of these Survivor Forces might be even greater than they imagined!

Standing at the forefront of the labor force, Nine Searches felt relieved, thankful that there had been no conflict between the two parties that night.

Even the Army had lost to these people.

He couldn't even begin to fathom how his side could have any chance of winning, or any reason to believe it possible...

-

(Next chapter by 11 pm at the latest!)

Chapter 174: The New Gathering Point and Steel Mill Relocation

To avoid trouble, Old Luka discussed with Wrench for a while and eventually decided to separate the two groups of people.

30 young and strong laborers recruited from the Refugee Camp were assigned to the cement factory's construction site, overseen by the player "Spare People Under the Knife" and four foremen selected from the brick factory.

These foremen all wore VM, which could translate the players' language into simple and understandable phonetic symbols.

Having worked at the brick factory for so long, they were already familiar with how to work with those "Blue Jackets," and as long as they had translation tools, communication was not a big issue.

"Spare People Under the Knife" was in charge of directing the construction, while the foremen were responsible for leading the people in their work—the division of labor was clear, and each had their responsibilities.

The other 25 prisoners of war were escorted by two guards along the elevated road leading out of the city, clearing obstacles from Changjiu Farm to Linghu Wetland Park.

If there were piles of rubble, they used shovels to throw them to the side of the road. If there were abandoned vehicles, they used tools to dismantle them on-site, loaded them onto trailers, and transported them to the south gate of Changjiu Farm.

The people from the Pioneer hadn't taken all the equipment away before, leaving two hydraulic presses in the warehouse for Shelter No. 404 that could press roughly cut waste into blocks for easy transportation to the steel plant to be remelted into useful materials.

From Changjiu Farm to Outpost Base is a full 10 kilometers, and due to the frequent activities of the players, this area had become relatively safe.

While repairing the road, Chu Guang planned to set up a heavy industrial base along it, relocating Steel Factory No. 81 there and building related supporting industries nearby.

Like bullet production lines, firearm production lines, and so on.

After all, with the terrain of Linghu Wetland Park, big vehicles simply couldn't get in, and with trees all around, the only place to recycle metal resources was an outdoor parking lot.

The resources in that open-air parking lot were scarce to begin with and, after being scavenged by players round after round, not to mention rusty car frames, even the railings next to the parking spaces had been taken away.

To scale up production, you still needed to be close to resource points and then have convenient transportation, and it would be even better if there were existing buildings that could be utilized.

Taking these factors into account, Chu Guang immediately thought of the Blood Hand Clan's old base—the abandoned tire factory.

Not only did it have a complete enclosing wall, but it also had a fairly spacious warehouse, the kind that trucks could drive directly into through the main gate.

Geographically, the tire factory was just a short distance from the elevated road out of the city, located right between Linghu Wetland Park and Changjiu Farm—and it was even closer to the Wetland Park side.

Originally, because there weren't enough hands and it was too far from the respawn point, Chu Guang simply gave up the base, asking players to set a fire before they left.

Now, with the number of NPCs and players on the rise, it was entirely possible to reuse it.

The only trouble now was that the place was probably crawling with Mutant Cockroaches and rats; they would need a few players to go in and clean it up.

But this was not a problem for Chu Guang.

It was the perfect job to throw at the newcomers who had entered the Game with the Alpha 0.8 version to level up and get familiar with the gameplay and combat skills against the Variants.

"I should have gotten a nutrition paste synthesizer from the traveling merchants at Red River Town back then."

He heard that nutrition paste made from Mutant Cockroaches and rats was quite popular over at Red River Town.

Chu Guang silently regretted it and tapped twice on the VM screen with his index finger, placing a marker on the map.

[Quest: Clear the Variants in the abandoned tire factory (located 4 kilometers north of Linghu Wetland Park)]

[Requirement: Kill at least 10 Mutant Rats or Mutant Cockroaches. This quest can be accepted repeatedly.]

[Reward: 10 Silver Coins, 20 Contribution]

In a while, he would send a guard to the entrance of the "Monster Den" as a related NPC for the quest, responsible for issuing the quest and confirming its completion, essentially supervising the players at work.

"I heard that Mutant Rat tails might be edible, but I don't know if that's true."

Although the players wouldn't eat it, the refugees wouldn't mind.

It's all meat.

Who cared where it came from?

...

4 kilometers north of the Wetland Park, at the fork in the road connecting the city to the elevated highway.

A young guard carrying an "Arbitrator" rifle was stepping on the snow-covered ground, heading in the direction of the abandoned tire factory.

His name was Lu Bei, the youngest member of the Outpost Base Security Team.

Although he had been on the job for less than a month, his loyalty had already been recognized by the Manager.

Just a moment ago, the Manager himself had entrusted him with the task of overseeing the clearance of Variants from the abandoned tire factory by the residents of the refuge.

Lu Bei still remembered this place.

After all, just over a month ago, he was a prisoner of the Looters here.

It was an unbearable memory.

Although the Looters here had been purged, he still couldn't help but shiver instinctively when he returned.

"Come on... Lu Bei, you have to pull yourself together."

He slapped his own face hard, and the 14-year-old boy took a deep breath of the icy air, overcoming his fear with loyalty.

"This is a task personally given to you by the Manager!"

Regaining his courage, Lu Bei took the heavy rifle off his back and stood at the entrance of the abandoned tire factory.

It wasn't a long wait.

Soon, several residents of the shelter, carrying long and short cold weapons and dressed in hunting gear, approached.

Despite the ghastly weather, their faces were still filled with sunny, confident, and optimistic smiles, but they did not have VMs on their arms.

According to the Manager, they were all "newbies" who needed to accumulate merit before they could obtain proof of identity.

Thinking of this, Lu Bei couldn't help but feel proud because he happened to wear such a "proof of identity" on his arm.

The players approached him and asked,

"Hello, do we pick up quests here?"

"Big bro, we'd like to do that mission clearing out the Variants at the abandoned tire factory, do we need to do any paperwork?"

"Damn, where's the quest pop-up?"

"Are you freakin' stupid or something? There's no quest pop-up; user info is all integrated into the VM, and you can't pay for it until you're Citizen level!"

"Crap, this game is too damn realistic, paying for a user interface!"

Lu Bei could not understand what they were babbling about.

But that was not important.

The Manager had told him that he just needed to follow the prompts on the VM, do what he was supposed to do step by step, recite the dialogue he was supposed to recite, and then supervise their work.

"You have finally arrived."

He saluted these people military-style, stood up straight, and spoke with a sonorous and powerful voice,

"The abandoned tire factory has been occupied by a group of Variants, and we need to clear them out."

"Your mission is to kill at least ten mutant rats or mutant cockroaches. After completing the mission, I will report your results to the captain."

Although Lu Bei himself was not quite sure what he meant by these words, the players, upon hearing them, rushed excitedly into the abandoned tire factory to fight the Variants roaming inside the building.

The sight of them bravely fighting without regard for their own safety was hard not to admire.

They might not have been wearing VMs, but their valor was second to none.

Watching their retreating figures, Lu Bei felt a mix of admiration and a tinge of shame.

Just a few minutes earlier, he had almost been too scared to come near because of an unpleasant memory.

"Clearly, I still need more training..."

With a more resolute gaze, Lu Bei tightened his grip on his rifle.

To not let down the VM on his left arm, to deserve that proof of identity, he still needed to be more loyal!

...

As the new players were wielding axes and clubs, enthusiastically clearing the mutant rats and cockroaches in the abandoned tire factory, the Spring Water Commander, who had changed into new equipment, was now leading two familiar players in tackling the abandoned school in the Northern urban area of Changjiu Farm.

The school wasn't very large; it was probably a community college before the war.

Last time, he and a comrade with a Sensing Sequence had found an abandoned military camp as well as traces of survivors' past lives here.

His instinct told him that there might be something good to be found here.

The successive gunshots shattered the silence.

Breaking into the abandoned academic building, his two teammates used their automatic weapons to continuously harvest the Eaters wandering in the hall on the first floor.

Raising his hand, he took down three charging Eaters with a burst of fire and shouted excitedly to his fellow teammate, "Hahaha, brother, I'm not bragging, but this 'Sickle' is freaking awesome!"

Worthy of being a CF co-branded weapon!

This rat-tat-tat sound was much more satisfying than the hissing cough-like sound of a pipe rifle!

"+1!" Flush-faced with the flames dancing from the muzzle, "I Max Black" shouted enthusiastically, "I freaking love shooting!"

Compared to the Sickle Assault Rifle, the 5mm revolver rifle he'd used before was like a mere water pistol!

At this moment, the Spring Water Commander, clad in an exoskeleton, was also holding a crowbar.

Seeing his teammates wasting bullets on the Eaters, he couldn't help but curse,

"Damn, save some ammo, will you? One bullet for 1 Silver Coin!"

Originally, he had planned to buy an LD-47 to play with, but alas, he had given all his money to Mosquito.

Thankfully, Mosquito Brother came through for once and really hooked him up with armor that was a replica of the Manager's.

The suspended armor had covered all the vital parts of his body, turning the standard mining exoskeleton straight into heavy infantry armor without affecting his mobility.

It would have been perfect with a hammer!

The only pity was that he was completely broke, having mooched off his buddy for food yesterday.

If they came up empty-handed this time, they would be facing some lean times.

Brother Battlefield said, "Don't worry; what's money for if not to spend?"

I Max Black chimed in with a grin, "Exactly! What's the point of being stingy in the game? That'd just make you a salted fish!"

Brother Battlefield said, "Bro, I think I'm running low on ammo, could you spare me some?"

I Max Black replied, "Damn, brother, you should've said something sooner; I'm almost out too."

Brother Battlefield exclaimed, "Damn! Why didn't you save some?"

I Max Black retorted, "You seriously blaming me?"

Spring Water Commander: "..."

Although they said that, as they delved deeper into the building's interior, the sound of their guns firing 'tut-tut-tut' ceased.

A magazine cost 30 silver coins – thinking about it, that really did hurt the wallet a bit. Battlefield Atmosphere Group fixed a bayonet under the firearm's barrel, while I Max Black brought out an axe hanging on his belt.

Despite the playful attitudes, caution was necessary when the time called for it.

In such narrow spaces, it was better to resolve things with close combat weapons if possible.

They crossed the hall and entered the corridor.

The trio distinctly felt that the atmosphere was unnatural here.

I Max Black said, "This should be the experimental building."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group asked, "What makes you think that?"

I Max Black replied, "Don't know – maybe because it smells like liver around here."

Spring Water Commander: "..."

"Seriously, no joking now," I Max Black frowned, his eyes darting around alertly, "I sense something drawing closer to us."

Sensing Sequence LV4, with 10 points in perception attributes – while weaker than the big shots, it was enough to discern common dangers.

They dared not take anything lightly.

Spring Water Commander switched his crowbar from his right hand to his left, then drew a Ten-Husband Long Pistol from his waist with his right hand.

However, almost at the same moment, a shrill roar came from above the partially collapsed ceiling ahead.

All three of them were startled and quickly raised their guns, only to see a Crawler poke its head out from behind the rubble and scream, charging towards them.

"Fuck! A Crawler––"

Standing in the front, Spring Water Commander bore the brunt of the onrushing Crawler and was hit head-on.

It all happened too suddenly.

So sudden that nobody had time to react.

Thanks to the breastplate hanging on the exoskeleton, Spring Water Commander felt his blood surge but was otherwise unharmed.

His pistol was flung away, and both he and the Crawler rolled back five or six meters, colliding solidly with a wall.

As the Crawler bit down, he almost instinctively raised the crowbar, blocking the blood-spewing maw, pushing forward with both hands as hard as he could.

"Roar––!"

The filthy teeth were inches from his face!

Spring Water could even smell the foul breath from its mouth.

"Shit!"

The steel tube gradually bent, and as he avoided the dripping saliva, Spring Water cursed and increased the output power of his exoskeleton. Clenching his right fist, he pushed it outward and finally aimed at the beast's head.

"For fuck's sake––"

"Die!"

The moment the words fell, there was a loud bang.

As a thick copper shell was ejected from the side of his arm, a thumb-thick steel nail fired from the front end of his arm, nailing through the Crawler's skull.

Black blood splattered everywhere.

The Crawler, whose head had been smashed, struggled for a while before finally collapsing heavily next to the Spring Water Commander.

The two who came to support, including Spring Water himself pinned down by the Crawler, were all shocked by its power.

"Holy shit, what kind of equipment is this?"

Wiping the blood from his face, Spring Water Commander spat and said.

"Don't know... Mosquito called this thing a nail shooter, and also said if I wanted, I could call it Nails 1.0."

The principle seemed to be nitrocellulose compression ignition, to propel the steel nails from the left arm nail shooter. According to Mosquito himself, it could penetrate 20mm thick steel plate at close range.

Just like the one hanging in front of his chest.

"This is too handy..." admitted I Max Black enviously, picking up the hot cartridge from the ground, "But why not use electric drive? You have batteries on you."

Spring Water Commander: "Mosquito said it's fiercer this way."

Indeed.

Explosive propulsion was far more powerful than an electric motor; the only downside was that reloading was necessary for a second strike – it wasn't capable of continuous output like a pile driver.

But that didn't seem necessary.

Half of the Crawler's head had been blown off...

Battlefield Atmosphere Group extended a hand and pulled Spring Water up from the ground.

"Brother, you OK?"

"I'm fine, just a stomachache from being hit."

Shaking his head, Spring Water picked up the Ten-Husband Long Pistol that had fallen to the ground and continued forward with his two teammates to explore further.

The crawler we encountered earlier seemed to be the final boss.

Afterward, we met only dimwitted eaters, and two hits in melee easily took care of them without any effort at all.

Next to a laboratory, the group found an entrance to an underground chamber.

The door to the chamber was wide open, and the pitch-black passageway was chilling to the bones.

The Spring Water Commander swallowed hard and said nervously,

"Should we go down and have a look?"

That was obviously a redundant question.

They had already come this far; they couldn't leave empty-handed.

If there was an entrance to a maze below, or some kind of hidden experimental facility, that would be amazing.

But now the question was...

Who would go down first?

I Max Black, "I have a bad feeling about the inside... Spring Water, it's up to you."

Spring Water Commander, "Damn! You say there's something bad down there but you're sending me‽"

I Max Black, "Then what? You have the highest toughness. If you don't take the lead, you expect me to take the hits‽"

Spring Water Commander argued anxiously, "Is this really a question of toughness‽"

Seeing that none of his teammates were reliable, Brother Battlefield sighed and bravely stepped forward.

"I'll do it."

Spring Water Commander looked at him with excitement, his right hand resting on his shoulder.

"Good brother, go for it! It's all on you!"

I Max Black also placed his hand on his shoulder, cheering him on, "Go ahead, brother, we'll wait for your news on the official website!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group, "???"

Fortunately, this time I Max Black's intuition did not come true. The passageway leading to the underground chamber was free from fatal radiation, traps, or lurking dangerous monsters.

However, at the end of the passageway, they did not find any relics of pre-war civilization, the entrance to an underground maze, or a mysterious experimental facility.

But the trip was not in vain.

In that spacious underground chamber, ten neatly arrayed cryogenic sleep cabins were lined up. The doors were open, and judging from the dust settled on them, they had been opened for a long time.

The batteries had been removed, possibly by scavengers who had been there or taken by people who woke up from the sleep cabins.

Luckily, although the batteries were missing, the electric devices behind the sleep cabins were intact, not even a scratch on them!

According to the purchase price listed by the Outpost Base's warehouse, the parts from an undismantled discarded sleep cabin could sell for at least 50 silver coins, and up to 100 silver!

And here, there were ten of them!

All three held their breath simultaneously. Especially the Spring Water Commander, who was then clutching his fists with excitement.

Awesome!

Straight up jackpot!

Battlefield Commander, "Now there's only one problem, how do we carry all this stuff back?"

Spring Water Commander said excitedly, "That's easy, we can rent a truck and drive to the outskirts of the city. I've inquired about the price; it's about 10 silver coins per kilometer."

It was roughly 20 kilometers back to Linghu Wetland Park, and it would be easy to recoup the travel expenses with a little scavenging.

"Speaking of which... this emblem looks kind of familiar." Standing next to a desk, I Max Black held a metal box that he found in a drawer.

The box was pitch black, made of an unknown material, and its purpose was not clear. There was no visible mechanism or button to open it.

Only on the back of the box, there was an indented circular emblem.

"Let me see."

Spring Water came over to I Max Black's side, took the black box from his hand, and scrutinized the emblem.

Around the large circle, there was a smaller dot, somewhat resembling Earth and the Moon, as well as a hydrogen atom.

So familiar...

I feel like I've seen it somewhere before.

Spring Water furrowed his brows.

At that moment, Brother Battlefield, who was watching from the side, suddenly interjected.

"I've seen this! It was in the documents updated on the official website yesterday!"

Spring Water snapped to his senses and blurted out.

"The Academy!?"

The three of them who caught on were immediately stunned.

Damn it‽

Is this the start of a plot twist‽

Chapter 175 Principle, Method, Conclusion

On the muddy road leading to Changjiu Farm.

Sitting in the back of the truck, Yin Fang, wrapped in a fur coat like a rice dumpling, kept talking nonstop.

"This is impossible! The Academy's insignia? Appearing in a community college of an unknown small town? Are you sure you're not joking?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly and said,

"If I were joking, I would have let you go alone."

"..."

Yin Fang looked at him speechlessly, not wanting to talk.

But Chu Guang actually wanted to chat with him.

Unfortunately, Qingquan City was so isolated, and he had to rely mostly on hearsay and his own imaginations for news about the outside world.

He was equally curious about why something from the Academy would appear in an ordinary Academy.

According to Yin Fang, from here to Wandering Swamp was at least a thousand kilometers, far beyond the Academy's sphere of influence.

Although Qingquan City was once an important city in the southern metropolitan group of River Valley Province, that was during the Prosperity Epoch.

"Actually, I've always been curious about what kind of organization the Academy really is."

Yin Fang shook his head and said, "To fully explain this question might take a whole day and night."

"Then just pick the main points, the ones I'm interested in."

Overwhelmed by this whimsical request, Yin Fang opened his mouth, gulped a Northwest wind, and then came back to his senses, coughing several times before speaking.

"Well, the Academy… isn't as mysterious as you outsiders imagine. It's like a huge library. In fact, until the end of the Prosperity Epoch, it was just a loose academic organization."

Chu Guang looked at him with interest and said, "But your actions aren't loose at all, not plain, nor like any academic organization."

"That's for sure, I'm talking about before the end of the Prosperity Epoch. Now, it's the 211th year of the Wasteland Era."

Two hundred years.

In the history of human civilization, many feudal dynasties didn't last that long, let alone just an academic institution.

Yin Fang squinted toward the southwest and continued,

"I've only heard a bit about it. In the early years of the Wasteland Era, the Academy took on some of the post-war reconstruction work, mainly focusing on the technical field. This included taking over some experimental facilities, scientific research equipment, and restoring damaged data and lost technologies."

Chu Guang: "Sounds like a massive project."

Yin Fang sighed deeply and said, "That's true. We've been working on it until now. The world changes too fast. It's said that long ago, the Academy's influence covered the entire Central Continent, and its exploration teams could go anywhere they wanted. But that didn't last long, and outside the Wandering Swamp, there was no room for Academy people anymore. Everyone looked at us like we were fat sheep."

Hearing this phrase, Chu Guang unconsciously glanced at the guy's right hand.

Honestly.

A single arm is worth at least 10,000 CR, and that's a friendly price. Chu Guang felt that you really can't blame others, even someone as nice as him would be tempted.

"By the way, what exactly is the Wandering Swamp?"

Yin Fang briefly replied, "A vast marshland, as big as a whole province, with uncontrollable weather every day and Variants going mad… You wouldn't like it there."

"I never said I wanted to go, just curious," Chu Guang looked forward, patted the hood of the truck, and signaled the driver to look for a place to stop nearby, "We're almost there, stop here."

After getting off the truck, Chu Guang pulled out a hammer from behind him.

The four accompanying young players decisively grabbed their weapons and walked ahead, taking on the role of guards.

A 2 strength 2 sensitivity lineup, two Strength-type players clearing the way ahead, and two Perception-type players following behind lighting up the path. Each person had an LD-47 assault rifle, providing ample firepower and a strong sense of security.

Since they were well-armed, Chu Guang didn't need to add more firepower. Holding his hammer, he just needed to activate his shield to protect himself and the nearby NPC; that was okay.

This part of the city was quite deserted.

Due to the snowstorm, there were hardly any Variants wandering the streets. After dealing with a few Eaters hiding in the shadows, the group easily reached the target area on the map.

It was a community college, looking very plain from the outside, its size only slightly larger than a nearby high school.

Standing in front of the laboratory building, Yin Fang looked up and shook his head.

"I don't think the Academy would be interested in such an insignificant target. You've probably made a wasted trip."

Hearing this, Chu Guang smiled indifferently.

"We're already at the doorstep, whether it's a wasted trip or not, we'll know once we go inside."

Dropping this line, Chu Guang led the players inside.

Seeing that he was being left behind, Yin Fang had no choice but to stiffen his resolve and follow them into the eerie laboratory building.

The floor was littered with broken tiles and rubble, and there were fresh shell casings on the ground, indicating a fierce battle had taken place here just over an hour ago.

Looking at a Crawler with a split open head on the ground, Yin Fang clicked his tongue and unconsciously moved closer.

In the Academy's scientific teams, dealing with combat, a crude task, was usually the job of Level E, F, or even bionic and unmanned personnel; Class D personnel needed independent analytical capabilities and excellent brains.

Even if they needed survival skills, it was primarily about survival itself.

Like basic first aid knowledge.

Yin Fang was quite skeptical of these people's combat ability, especially seeing this Manager still holding the handle of a hammer, which made the unreliability even more pronounced.

"Can you give me a gun? I can protect myself."

"You're a VIP; just stay quietly behind me."

"VIP?"

"Tsk, how do I explain this to you."

During this casual chat, the group had already arrived.

The Spring Water Commander, wearing a suit of heavy armor, stood in front of them, respectfully placing his right fist over his chest in a military salute.

"Respected Manager, by the time you arrived, we had already successfully cleared all the Variants from the entire first floor hall."

"Well done." Chu Guang nodded approvingly and said, "Lead the way ahead."

"Yes!"

With the Manager's approving look, Spring Water Commander happily led the way. Chu Guang then instructed two players to guard the entrance, while the other two players followed him and Yin Fang into the basement for exploration.

The passage here was very narrow.

However, once inside, the view opened up dramatically.

Seeing ten sleep cabins in the basement, Yin Fang seemed petrified, freezing on the spot.

Regaining his composure, he rushed forward without a word, moving close to the nearest sleep cabin and staring intently at it.

"It can't be wrong… This cultivation chamber's design, it's exactly the same!" Yin Fang whispered to himself, his hands fumbling on the dusty cabin door, almost as if he wanted to throw his whole body against it.

The surrounding players exchanged bewildered glances and murmured quietly.

"What is this doctor doing?"

"I don't know… Maybe it's a special hobby?"

"I get it, the new NPC's hobby is Sleep cabins!"

"Big shot Niubi! I'll post this on the forum later, heh, I wonder if I can get a feature."

Chu Guang: "..."

Who would feature such a boring post.

Clearing his throat softly, Chu Guang looked at Yin Fang, who seemed completely obsessed, and asked,

"What's exactly the same?"

"It's exactly the same model as the sleep cabins at the Academy... It's really bizarre, why would this model appear in the River Valley Province?"

With a face full of disbelief, Yin Fang finally moved away from next to the sleep cabin, looking seriously at Chu Guang.

"Where's that box? The one you mentioned with the Academy logo on it?"

Chu Guang took the box — which the players saw as a quest prop — from a player standing beside him and handed it to Yin Fang.

"Here… What exactly is this?"

"A data storage black box!" Yin Fang tapped the surface of the box lightly with his knuckles, speaking excitedly, "The outer material can effectively resist neutron beams and the electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear explosion. Besides, it likely has inert gas infused inside, to protect the graphene circuit boards… I guess it's probably a holographic image or something like a recording. Let's open it and see."

Saying this, Yin Fang didn't wait for Chu Guang's signal. He skillfully took a blade and gently made a cut on the surface of the box.

Then something miraculous occurred.

The moment the outer material was cut, the black paint wrapped around the box dispersed like sand vanishing in the wind, revealing the silver shell underneath.

Yin Fang carefully felt around the edges of the box, quickly finding a subtle seam and opened it.

Unable to hold back, the Spring Water Commander glanced at the Battlefield Atmosphere Group and whispered, "Why the hell couldn't I pry it open after trying for so long."

"That's to be expected," before the Battlefield Atmosphere Group could speak, I Max Black interjected, "What kind of quest prop would allow itself to be used just like that?"

The two were stunned.

That made sense, impossible to refute.

In the brief moment of distraction, a deep blue light had already converged into form, and a holographic bust appeared out of nowhere in the room.

Chu Guang and the players had no reaction, however, Yin Fang, standing in the room, stared with eyes so wide they almost fell out of their sockets.

"Principle?!"

"Principle?" Chu Guang asked, puzzled, as he watched Yin Fang muttering to himself, "What principle?"

"Principle, Method, Conclusion... The three doctors of the Post-War Reconstruction Academy, their statues stand at the entrance of the academy."

Yin Fang swallowed hard, his eyes filled with disbelief, and continued, "The person before you is Doctor Principle, after whom the academy's laser rifles are named. I'm sure I'm not mistaken; it's him, and moreover, it's him in his youth. But why would his relic appear here? The history of the academy doesn't record it this way... I don't understand."

Chu Guang: "..."

How coincidental.

Chu Guang wanted to say he didn't understand either.

But just as he was about to say this, the holographic image standing in mid-air began to speak as if narrating its own story.

"We have exited the cabin, feeling well."

"It's the second year of the Wasteland Era now, and we were received by Captain Zhao Weisheng of the 111th Airborne Division, as planned. We successfully met with the army, though we were a bit late... but fortunately, they didn't give up and loyally waited here for us for two years."

"According to the plan, our next step is to head to the Northern Great Rift Valley under military escort, which is a central energy storage hub in the Central Region, housing enough metallic hydrogen to rebuild the Central Region twice over. The Great Rift Valley is currently controlled by the 111th Airborne Division."

"Based on information provided by Captain Zhao, the Post-War Reconstruction Committee has already started work. What we need to do now is to report there, meet up with the others, divide responsibilities, and begin reconstruction."

"The only trouble now is that the battalion responsible for escorting us unexpectedly took in over a thousand residents who didn't manage to find refuge in time, which has nearly exhausted our supplies. And, compounded by the terrible road conditions and weather, we can only rely on our own feet."

"Moreover, Captain Zhao wishes to bring those survivors along. Honestly, they are a burden, only adding variables to our plan. I can't judge whether his deed is right as, putting myself in his shoes, I would probably make the same decision."

"Regardless, there's no delay from here on; our duties are piled high, and we've run out of time. However, what makes me uneasy is, I always feel that things aren't as smooth as they might appear... Has the war really ended? Honestly, I'm very confused."

"My respected mentor once taught me to always be prepared for all situations, things won't always go as smoothly as we anticipate."

The man in the holographic image looked up at the sky and then stared straight ahead, squeezing an optimistic smile from his expressionless face.

"Hey, listen, the one who finds this recording."

"If you are standing in a prosperous Utopia, with the air filled with the scent of peace, please take this to the museum. It's valuable data, perhaps you can find my name in the exhibit hall. I'm sure the museum will pay you a handsome sum for it, these are my words. If they try to back out, just break this box in front of them, haha."

The man laughed heartily, his face suddenly marked by a trace of loneliness.

"But if scenario B happens, and we unfortunately live in a tragic world, then it proves... we might have failed."

"I'm so sorry, both to my mentor and to those who trusted me, giving me this chance to shape the future. The little thing I can do for you is just this."

"Please take this recording and go to Shelter No.117 located under the Garden Street Metro Station in the North suburb of Qingquan City. I'm not sure about the exact location, and you might need to look around for it."

"There's a manager there, and an old acquaintance of mine. I once entrusted him with a suitcase containing some useful items. If it's scenario B, I probably won't get a chance to retrieve it, so go take it, my old friend will give it to you after seeing this video."

"Remember the suitcase code, X1179."

"If you input the wrong code three times, you will lose everything."

Chapter 176: Thanks to the Gifts of Nature

On the way back, Yin Fang held the holographic tape tightly in both hands, looking solemn as if he were holding his own child.

That right hand repeatedly rubbed over it, almost polishing the cover to a gloss.

Damn it...

Lucky I remembered the password.

Chu Guang felt his eyes burning and turned his face away like an old man with a mobile phone. However, just at that moment, Yin Fang suddenly looked at him intensely.

"If I bring this thing back, do you think the Academy might let me off the hook? You can have the box; I don't want anything."

Chu Guang rolled his eyes at him.

"Am I a sucker just because I treated you a bit nicely?"

Yin Fang's expression faltered.

Chu Guang easily stretched out his hand and effortlessly took the holographic tape from his embrace.

"You know? The fact that I didn't silence you already speaks volumes."

Looking at the young man whose face was turning pale, Chu Guang didn't scare him any further and patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

"Do you know what I encountered the first time I woke up in this world... cough, I mean, when I first woke up?"

Yin Fang swallowed, his voice trembling slightly.

"What did you encounter…"

"A two-headed dog that seemed to have sprinted out of Hell to greet me," Chu Guang said offhandedly while stuffing the holographic tape into his pocket, "If I had been a bit slower back then, I might already be dead. In fact, I later found out that running east or north would have led to the same dead end. It's purely by luck that I survived. I'll cherish this life, so I advise you not to make me perceive you as a threat."

To the west was a lake, a dead end. Heading north would have meant bumping straight into the Looters, and running east would have meant ending up in the cooking pot of the Mutants, all dead-end scenarios.

Even now, recalling it, Chu Guang couldn't help but shudder for himself.

Yin Fang opened his mouth, his expression looking somewhat dazed.

Chu Guang ignored him, folded his arms, closed his eyes to rest, and sorted through the information he had gathered from the tape as well as planned how to edit and update this segment of holographic imagery on the official website.

Sitting in the truck, the few players gave each other looks, their expressions like those of people who had watched a foreign language movie without subtitles for too long, completely bewildered.

Spring Water Commander gestured to Brother Battlefield to come over and whispered.

"How should we hint to the Manager to give us a reward?"

Brother Battlefield was clueless.

"I don't know... Ask directly?"

Both felt embarrassed to speak first.

At that moment, I Max Black finally spoke up.

"Mr. Manager! Is our mission completed?"

Looking up at the hopeful eyes, Chu Guang realized he had forgotten to distribute the rewards.

With a dignified expression still on his face, he nodded gravely,

"You all did very well, superbly."

After thinking it over, Chu Guang finally decided to give the players a little sweetener and selected a pre-edited mission reward on the VM, clicking send.

[Notification: Hidden side quest triggered.]

[Reward: 10 silver coins, 100 contribution points]

As for the several sleep cabins on the truck, that was the Warehouse Manager's job. Chu Guang wasn't responsible for helping them count how much that trash was worth.

Seeing the notifications pop up on the VM screen, the players' faces lit up with excitement.

10 silver coins are one thing, but getting 100 contribution points for a storyline!

That was too awesome!

Seeing them so happy, Chu Guang felt delighted too.

If only everyone in the Wasteland were as lovable as his little players.

The truck kept heading toward Changjiu Farm.

However, just then, a gunshot suddenly cracked loudly in the distance. Bullets whizzed past the truck, one even hitting the front window.

"Enemy contact!"

"It's the Looters!"

There were quite a few antagonists; the volley of gunshots must have reached at least thirty. However, these novices, poorly equipped and firing from such a distance, hadn't hit anyone.

The player driving, a ruthless individual, quickly identified the direction of the bullets. Unfazed, he slightly turned the steering wheel and expertly drove the truck's nose into the snow.

In an effort to protect the engine from being damaged, he pulled the handbrake and used the snow to stop smoothly, then grabbed a rifle and leaped from the vehicle.

"Those with bolt-action rifles stay back, brothers with assault rifles follow me! Let's flank them!"

"Ao ao ao!"

"Here we come!"

Seeing the opportunity for heroics at hand, the players' eyes gleamed green as they grabbed their weapons and jumped out of the truck, leaving only Spring Water Commander on board.

He wanted to join in too, but unfortunately, only having a Ten-Husband Long Pistol which couldn't hit anyone at such a distance and fearing losing his equipment if he got too close.

In a flash of inspiration, he shouted loudly.

"Go on without me! I'll hold the fort!"

Saying this, he fired a symbolic shot toward the front. Whether he hit anyone or not didn't matter; at least he was now officially part of the combat.

Bullets whizzed by, and Yin Fang, who sat up in the truck with his head covered, looked around nervously.

"What's happening?!"

Could it be the people from the Academy have tracked us down?!

"Don't panic, it's just a small scene."

Chu Guang's right hand grasped the hammer, but after seeing the situation on the opposite side clearly, he turned up his lips and released the hammer to hold the Gauss Rifle instead.

The magazine was loaded with imitation ammunition.

Armor-piercing was a bit doubtful, but it was more than enough to handle these low-level soldiers...

Meanwhile, three hundred meters in front of the truck, behind a pile of snow, lay about thirty men in navy blue uniforms.

They held uniform iron pipe rifles, and at first glance, they all looked like Centurions from the Army, but there was not a single soldier under them, and they were all malnourished and ugly.

A man with tattooed faces held a loudspeaker made from rolled-up sheet metal, shouting from behind the cover.

"Listen up, everyone ahead! Do you see our uniforms? You are surrounded by the Army! Surrender and drop your weapons if you are wise! Otherwise, you'll face the punishment of the army!"

They shouted for a long time without any response.

It was as if the other side hadn't heard them, bullets still whizzed over their heads or thunked into the cover in front of them.

A man with a Mohawk cut nervously turned to a bald man beside him, his eyes panicking,

"Boss! These guys... are tough!"

Their morale attack strategy had no effect at all!

He even felt that after the loudspeaker announcement, the firing from the other side intensified.

The bald man cursed and slapped his head.

"Useless fools, what are you afraid of? They're just nine people including the driver, and we have thirty-two guns—can't we overtake them? Start shooting! Don't let them escape!"

Then he added,

"And, don't kill them all, damn it! Leave two hostages; we still need to ask for ransom from their base!"

The bald man's name was Tu, originally an active looter in the central part of River Valley Province. As for why he was now at the southern edge, that was a long story.

The Army had been fighting with the people of the Grand Canyon to the north for a whole year, without much progress, suffering a significant defeat recently. Under General Kras, men died, got injured, or fled; it was a complete collapse.

According to people who fled from the north, the retreating soldiers of the Army were like locusts, leaving nothing alive in their wake, even the Variants took detours to avoid them.

Tu naturally didn't believe such absurd stories, assuming those idiots were just scared witless, spewing nonsense to save their lives. He ordered them to be dragged out, bled dry, and thrown into a pot to serve as a drink.

The Army?

Hah, weren't they just the defeated underlings of the Grand Canyon?

Coming here was just like delivering equipment to him!

However, Tu himself probably did not expect that on the third day when he bragged about making a night pot from the head of the Army commander, the Army's fleeing soldiers really did appear at the small town by his doorstep.

The incoming group was not large, just nine Centurions without a single Clone Slave. These people were perhaps driven insane by the shelling from the Grand Canyon, or maybe by the shelling from their own side; regardless, their eyes were red, shooting anyone they saw without a word of warning.

Tu, with about a hundred men under him, naturally wasn't afraid of them. He led his men to surround them and swiftly dealt with the group.

However, something baffling happened to Tu. Over a hundred people fighting nine, yet they suffered a one-to-one casualty ratio, enraging him so much that he killed the only prisoner he had captured, completely forgetting about the ransom!

It didn't take two days for another wave of deserters to arrive. This time, there were slightly more Centurions, totaling twelve, who also brought along seventeen or eighteen clone slaves. Unlike the previous batch of lunatics who killed anyone they saw, these soldiers chose a survivor settlement and took it over directly.

The settlement had paid Tu a protection fee, and seeing his revenue source disappear, Tu obviously couldn't bear it. So, he took his men and surrounded them again.

However, this battle turned out disastrously—they lost a third of their forces. It became an almost lost battle before the enemy even ran out of bullets.

This time Tu was genuinely frightened by the fight, finally appreciating the formidable force of these locusts. In less than a week, dozens of his men had died with countless more injured.

Even for them, who lived by plundering, such drastic losses were unsustainable.

Hearing that more soldiers fleeing the army had arrived, Tu was so scared he felt like he lost his soul, not even daring to fight this time. Instead, he gathered his confidants and fled towards the south with his belongings.

After enduring many hardships along the way, half the group had scattered, but they finally found what seemed to be a prosperous survivor settlement.

However, the people there did not look easy to meddle with. All the soldiers standing on the enclosing wall were holding identical rifles, and the smoke wafting through the camp was constant. With only about a hundred people visible outside, no one knew how many were inside.

Tu didn't act rashly; he didn't even dare to get too close, but rather found a high ground to the north and used a telescope to watch.

After waiting anxiously for two full days, just as his men were becoming restless, they finally got a chance to take action.

A truck headed towards the northern abandoned urban area with just a few people on it.

Seizing the opportunity without hesitation, Tu led his men to ambush them on their way back, ready to pounce.

However, to Tu's surprise, things didn't go as smoothly as he had anticipated. After being ambushed, instead of panicking as expected, some of the enemy even started flanking them.

Just then, something nearby exploded with a loud "pop," startling Tu just as he was about to peek out from cover and fire.

"Damn, what the hell was that—" Tu violently turned his head, and to his horror,
he saw one of his men's heads blown off as if hit by a cannon, brains blasted away, leaving only a lone half-neck standing, blood spurting out.

Before he could even register what had happened, another explosion echoed from close by.

This brother fared worse than the last; with a huge hole blasted through his chest along with the cover, he struggled on the ground for a while before he swallowed his last breath.

This time, not only was Tu stunned.

The Looter brothers standing next to him were equally dazed, and for a moment, they even forgot to shoot.

"What kind of weapon is that!?"

"It's someone from the truck!"

"Shit! A Gauss rifle?! How do they have Gauss rifles!"

The Looters had heard rumors of the Gauss rifle, although they didn't understand the principle behind it, they knew it could penetrate power armor with a single shot, even more effective than the army's anti-materiel rifles.

Hearing that it was a Gauss rifle, everyone panicked and didn't dare to return fire, but the more they hesitated, the more dangerous their situation became.

A Looter with a Mohawk looked towards their boss, fearfully suggesting,

"Boss, let's retreat!"

Better safe than sorry; if they continued fighting, they might end up annihilated. While four-legged sheep are scarce, there are plenty of two-legged ones. If they couldn't take this survivor settlement, they could simply find another.

Tu was still hesitating. Reason told him he should retreat, but he couldn't bear to let go of the easy prey right before him. Even with a Gauss rifle on the other side, they still had the numerical advantage. If he could send out some men to endure, and flank from the sides—

Just as he thought so, gunshots unexpectedly came from another direction, followed immediately by a barrage of bullets whizzing past their backs.

Caught off guard, a few Looters positioned at the rear screamed as they were hit and killed.

Tu was startled and quickly turned around to see a group of people who had inexplicably arrived from the direction of the Elm District.

And there were quite a few of them!

At least about ten!

"Boss, their reinforcements have arrived!"

"Shut your damn mouth, I don't need your reminder—fuck!" Tu, both shocked and angry, quickly designated some men to head west to stop the reinforcements from advancing further toward them.

He couldn't for the life of him understand how these people managed to provide support so swiftly—it had only been about ten minutes since the gunfire had started.

Even reactions should take a moment, right?!

The situation had instantly reversed, with both groups positioned east-west, trapping them on a gentle slope running north to south!

With humans on both the west and east sides, regardless of which inclined slope they used for cover, they were being caught in the crossfire from the opposite side.

After a short time, several more men fell to the ground, with a few blasted to bits by Gauss Rifles.

In just over ten minutes, the casualties had approached thirty percent, and this disorganized group had lost the courage to continue the fight.

Tu could no longer control his men.

They all abandoned their fighting positions and fled northward, running frantically. However, in terms of stamina and physical condition, they were far inferior to the players who ate three meals a day.

Especially in the players' eyes, these fleeing Looters were like walking silver coins and contribution points, as well as regional reputation!

This was an encounter battle triggered near Changjiu Farm, so it wasn't excessive to give a couple hundred regional reputation, right?

The benevolent and generous Manager was on site, and even if Dog Planner Ah Guang pinch pennies, the server-empowered Mr. Dawn certainly wouldn't be stingy with this little reward!

Watching them flee, the chasing players looked like hungry wolves with green light in their eyes, eagerly pursuing them.

"Don't run!"

"Drop your weapons and spare your lives!"

"Hands on your head, get down!"

During this time, some old players had still learned a few words that the NPCs could understand, and through a burst of shouting, indeed a few Looters understood, dropped their weapons, and crouched on the ground with their hands over their heads.

Throughout this encounter, the players' side had zero deaths and three lightly wounded, one of whom had tripped over a tree root buried in the snow in his overzealous chase and bumped his nose.

In reality, that surely would have hurt for half a day, but in the game, even if left unattended, it was no big deal.

As for the Looters, it was a terrible outcome: 11 dead, and 26 captured.

Every player involved in the fight was awarded 50 silver coins, 50 contribution points, and 100 regional reputation. Chu Guang then instructed the jubilant players to escort the prisoners to the open space in front of the north gate of Changjiu Farm, where they crouched with their hands over their heads on the ground.

Accompanied by two guards, Chu Guang walked up to the prisoners and glanced at their dark blue coats, asking,

"Are you with the Army? Who is your commanding officer?"

Tu, who was bruised and battered from the fall, attempted to raise his hand to answer, but before he could speak, one of his subordinate lackeys nervously replied,

"We, we are not, sir."

So they were just ordinary Looters.

Understanding, Chu Guang continued to inquire.

"Where did you get these clothes from?"

Crouching nearby, Tu hurriedly responded,

"The Army suffered defeats in the north. It is said that General Kras of the Expeditionary Army was executed by the folk of the Grand Canyon. The fleeing soldiers of the army, moving like locusts, killed anyone they encountered. Our clothes and weapons were picked from those fleeing Centurion soldiers."

These clothes were very useful, especially a bit further north, where many survivors would turn tail and run at the mere sight of the dark blue coat.

Tu was puzzled; weren't these people afraid?

The Armies had lost?

Chu Guang felt a twinge of surprise but not shock.

Such heavy snowfall was definitely unfavorable for those with long supply lines. If he were a general of the Expeditionary Army, he would also consider launching a decisive battle before the situation worsened further, to settle the outcome once and for all - losing meant returning home, winning meant taking the enemy's place.

The appearance of Vanus further confirmed his guess that these people could no longer continue the fight. However, Chu Guang had not expected the Expeditionary Army to lose so thoroughly that even General Kras was killed.

The disorganized Army soldiers were wreaking havoc everywhere, forcing even the Looters to move southward.

This winter was going to be tough...

Seeing Chu Guang lost in thought, Old Luka thought he was unsure about how to deal with the prisoners and came forward, suggesting softly,

"Sir, if you are undecided on how to handle them, perhaps you might consider my suggestion."

"Speak."

"We are currently in need of labor, and it would be a waste to kill them outright. Why not send them to do hard labor, and come next spring, we can decide whether to keep using them or sell them to the mines in Red River Town."

That was a good idea.

Chu Guang nodded.

But there was still one problem.

"We're running low on guards in the security team; what if someone tries to escape?"

Old Luka continued,

"This can actually be easily resolved. Mix the new prisoners with the old, assigning two to a cell. If one goes missing, hang the remaining three."

Chu Guang's eyes lit up, "That's not a bad idea; how did you think of it?"

Luka blushed slightly and replied respectfully, his head lowered,

"Sir, this isn't anything novel... many survivor settlements with slavery systems operate this way."

Well, okay.

It seems I was too merciful.

Chu Guang sighed softly to himself, then turned to look at the Looter, displaying a stern expression and said from above.

"I originally planned to hang you all on the gallows, but killing captives isn't a just act."

Looking at the shivering captives, he continued.

"Starting today, you will undergo reformation through labor, striving to become something useful to society, civilization, and humanity."

After finishing, Chu Guang didn't look at them but turned to Old Luka.

"These people are now your responsibility."

Old Luka nodded respectfully.

"Yes, Sir."

...

Official Website:

[Announcement: Academy forces information has increased, connecting Shelter No.117 and the Grand Canyon, version 0.9 is in production, stay tuned for new gameplay!]

[Recommended Recipe of Today: Today, the Manager also doesn't know what to eat, it's up to you guys to decide.]

[Base System Announcement: Looter activity spotted in the northern part of Changjiu Farm (Prosperity +10)]

Quit Smoking: "Wait, why does the prosperity increase when Barbarians appear?"

Fang Chang: "Because those people are too weak, almost like serving their heads on a platter. But I do think +10 is too little; it might be considering the impact of looter activities on local security and immigration."

Night Ten: "Thanks to the bounty of nature. (facetious)"

Quit Smoking: "I see, no wonder you're Elder Brother Fang Chang, I didn't think of that—planning bigwig impressive!"

Fang Chang: "...?"

Night Ten: "Pfft."

Construction Youth and Brick: "Crow Boss, why have you stopped selling mushrooms recently!"

Crow: "How can you find mushrooms in such cold weather! Gone, all gone, no more until spring! QAQ"

Makabazi: "Damn! My life is so bleak."

Less Nonsense: "+1, I'm gonna die without Crow Boss's mushroom soup."

Crow: "Is it, is it that severe?"

Si Si: "Don't believe it, you'll get conned this way."

Tail: "Yikes! Si Si, how did you know Tail was thinking about scamming the unemployed Crow Boss to put on a maid outfit while calling him master and pouring wine for Tail!?!! ∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si: "...?"

Teng Teng: "?"

Night Ten: "Asking because I don't understand, is this content we can see without paying? (facetious)"

Elena: "@Canyon runaway Mole, you know (nosebleed)"

Crow: "I could devour you guys. ^o^"

After returning to the shelter, Chu Guang browsed the official website, especially checking the progress of strategies on the entrance of Shelter No.117.

Brother Mole worked reliably, together with Mosquito they developed a toxic gameplay, which is—find a newbie from the Agile system to lure monsters, bring them up and team up to kill.

The monsters in "Wasteland OL" don't have a chase range limit; theoretically, if you're cunning enough, monsters can chase you to the ends of the earth.

They had already used this method to kill two Crawlers!

Brother Mole thought he'd found a bug, didn't dare to make it too clear on the forum, but what he didn't know was, VM recorded their conversation information and secretly uploaded it to the cloud.

Chu Guang figured it out even without Xiao Qi's help.

Besides Brother Mole, another active beta tester on the forum today was "Exalted" Spring Water.

This guy found 10 Sleep Cabins all in good condition, amassed a total of 700 silver coins, splitting it with two teammates, averaging 233.3 silver each.

That doesn't include the earnings from a battle and narrative progression afterwards.

Moreover, Spring Water even opened a thread promoting Mosquito's "Steel Nail 1.0" as a divine melee artifact.

"Brothers, trust me, occasionally Mosquito does knock it out of the park. I swear, I've never seen a better melee weapon! While being pounced on by a Crawler, it was about to bite my neck off, I instantly clenched my fist, then *bang*, a hole right through the Crawler's head! Simple and brutal, one-hit kill! I'd call it the strongest in this version!"

Night Ten: "Speak up, how much did Mosquito pay you to advertise with a straight face? (facetious)"

Actual Mosquito Presence: "Dammit! What do you mean 'occasionally can be reliable', aren't my Hellfire and Storm already strong?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "I testify! Mosquito can indeed occasionally be reliable, but he's a bit tough on people, last time I charged into the trenches carrying a boiler and enjoyed myself so much I didn't log on for three days."

Actual Mosquito Presence: "Pay up!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "QAQ"

Peeking at the screen, Chu Guang couldn't help but comment.

"These guys are really something."

Just then, a knock came from outside the door.

Chu Guang didn't look up, simply responded.

"Come in."

Thinking it was Boss Xia coming to bother him again, he was surprised to see Yin Fang entering instead.

The young man didn't speak at first, stood there with his head lowered for a while before finally opening his mouth with a full face of shame.

"I..."

"Owe you an apology."

-

(Today was also incredibly tiring, my back can't take it much longer, updates next week might be unstable, will continue the daily challenges the week after…)

Chapter 177: Academy Branches and Players' Tactics

When Yin Fang mentioned the word "apology," the atmosphere in the office became subtly charged.

Chu Guang pondered for a while but couldn't come up with anything Yin Fang might have done to wrong him.

After a moment of silence, Chu Guang looked at him and asked,

"You forgot the password?"

"No, that's not it," Yin Fang coughed dryly, seemingly caught off guard by Chu Guang's question, and said, "My memory is still quite good."

"Did you dismantle Xiao Qi?"

"…?"

Apparently not.

Chu Guang sighed, "So what is it, exactly?"

Yin Fang's face showed difficulty in broaching the subject; after hesitating for quite some time, he finally spoke, "It's about what I said on the road... about wanting to hand over Doctor Principle's relic to the Academy. I owe you an apology; I didn't think it through."

That's it?

Relieved, Chu Guang also couldn't help feeling speechless.

With a grave expression on his face, this guy had made it seem like some serious issue, only to reveal it was such a trivial matter.

"Oh, that... no need to worry about it; I had almost forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it."

Chu Guang was not one to harbor petty resentments over such insignificant matters.

Seeing Chu Guang didn't take it to heart, Yin Fang relaxed, yet continued earnestly,

"Regardless, I indeed didn't give it enough thought... After considering it more carefully later on, if I had given the relic to the Academy, they would surely come here to investigate the whereabouts of that briefcase after watching the complete recording."

"Congratulations, you thought of something anyone would have realized," said Chu Guang, looking at him and continuing, "Besides, even if you gave them this recording, it wouldn't redeem you; at most it would give them another reason to want you dead."

Yin Fang was taken aback.

"Why…?"

"You said it yourself, this goes against the history of the Academy you know of. Doctor Principle, one of the three founders, had never been to River Valley Province, much less to Qingquan City in the southernmost part of River Valley Province. Have you considered the reason the Academy might hide this clue?"

Yin Fang fell into thought.

It was clear that the kid was naive but not foolish.

After taking a sip of warm water, Chu Guang paused for a moment and then continued,

"Let's make a reasonable guess. There are two possibilities. The first is that Doctor Principle had an accident on the way to the Grand Canyon, or at the Grand Canyon itself, but this is implausible, as you mentioned, Doctor Principle made distinguished contributions to the establishment of the Academy."

Yin Fang nodded earnestly.

"That's right... the foremost among the three branches is named after him, including our laser rifles. Without him, the Academy wouldn't have been born."

Chu Guang: "Thus, there remains another possibility: after establishing the Academy, Doctor Principle thought that the worst-case scenario, Plan B, might happen, so he chose to keep the holographic recording a secret."

Yin Fang objected, "That doesn't make sense either. Since the worst-case scenario he anticipated has already happened, shouldn't he instead guide his descendants to find hope?"

Chu Guang: "Perhaps he didn't count on you guys."

Yin Fang was stunned.

"…What do you mean?"

Chu Guang lightly smiled and said,

"Nothing much, you've said it yourself, the history of the Academy spans two hundred years, and a lot must have happened. Perhaps, it's no longer the same institution as it was back then."

When he heard this, Yin Fang instinctively concluded that it was baseless speculation; however, he could not come up with a well-reasoned argument to counter it.

In fact, over these two centuries, the influence of the Academy had indeed weakened too much. From its spread across the entire Wasteland to its current retreat deep into the Wandering Swamp, even to the point of having to offer bounties to bounty hunters to chase down traitors.

Watching Yin Fang's silent contemplation, Chu Guang offered him some comfort,

"In fact, you shouldn't feel too disheartened. Whether it's due to a lack of trust or merely a wish not to put all eggs in one basket, we have ultimately come into possession of the holographic image. If you are puzzled by Doctor Principle's decision, shouldn't what you need to do now be to uncover what exactly happened two centuries ago?"

Hearing Chu Guang's last words, a glimmer of enlightenment surfaced in Yin Fang's bewildered gaze, as if he had come to a realization.

"Thank you… I think I understand now."

Chu Guang hadn't expected the guy to be so easily persuaded; he had merely offered some words of consolation, and yet Yin Fang appeared greatly impacted.

Regardless, it saved Chu Guang a lot of trouble.

"If you've understood, then now—"

"Just as you said, the reason Doctor Principle left that holographic image there without allowing the Academy to recover it must hide certain truths. Perhaps that image was left for us," Yin Fang's eyes grew resolute as he seriously said to Chu Guang, "I've decided, I must find out what exactly happened two hundred years ago!"

Chu Guang was slightly taken aback before nodding.

"This idea isn't bad, but... it's not likely that I'll let you go, at least not for a short while."

Yin Fang shook his head and said, "I won't be leaving; on the contrary, I'll stay. This isn't a trade but a request; I need your help."

Chu Guang, "...what do you need my help with?"

"I want to form a scientific research team!"

Yin Fang looked at him with determination and continued, "When I served the Academy before, I was always on the front lines of data recovery work. I'm very familiar with the entire workflow of research data recovery, and I can do the secondary line of data analysis too! If you would lend me some manpower, I could replicate the Academy's model and rebuild a research data recovery system at your shelter!"

"I understand what you mean. It's like an independent branch of the Academy, right?"

Chu Guang got up from his computer chair with a pleased expression, walked over to Yin Fang, patted his shoulder, and gave him an encouraging look.

"I'm glad you have such an aspiration. Feel free to go ahead! Someone must correct the mistakes that occur, and Shelter No. 404 will be your strong support. We have ample manpower; we can go places the Academy can't reach, and we can do the things they can't do."

"I will give you a generous budget. We'll start with Qingquan City, mine all its treasures, then move on to the next city. You will become the Academy's fourth founder!"

Yin Fang was surprised and touched by Chu Guang's enthusiasm.

Although his goal wasn't to unearth any treasures but to find the truth, it seemed the two weren't in conflict.

Gratefully glancing at Chu Guang, Yin Fang responded with a firm look, reciprocating this trust and support.

"Thank you, thank you for your support."

"You're welcome!"

Chu Guang's face bore a brilliant smile.

Yin Fang got the truth he wanted, and finally, Shelter No. 404's "scientific capability" was no longer zero; players unlocked more tasks—or rather, richer gameplay.

This round, ah.

Was a triple win!

Was there anything more pleasing than this?

Probably not.

...

On the edge of Qingquan City's fifth ring.

Near the Subway Entrance of Garden Street, two gunshots from within the subway broke the street's silence. An agile player ran out of the subway entrance, followed by scores or even hundreds of swarming Eaters.

They weren't particularly swift or nimble, but they were enduring enough to pursue for a whole day. Once they amassed in numbers, with individuals exhibiting speed and strength anomalies, even experienced Waste Land Wanderers would find them troublesome.

But, this was generally the case.

What they faced now was not a bunch of poverty-stricken Waste Land Wanderers but an organized, coordinated, logistical, relentless group of players.

Agility system players began accelerating, passing the line drawn on the snowy field while players ambushing on the streetside lit the fuses.

Almost when the Eaters came about ten meters from the subway exit, the glaring barrels of black powder on the street exploded instantly.

Boom—!

The thick smoke swallowed half the street in an instant, and the explosion's flames scattered shrapnel throughout the area, knocking down the leading Eaters like cut wheat.

"Damn it! You almost blew me up too!" The exhausted rookie gasped heavily and glared angrily at Mosquito.

To lure more creatures, he had run long and hard below and almost hadn't made it back.

"It's just because I was afraid you'd be caught," Mosquito chuckled, then yelled out to the front, "Brothers, it's time to finish them off, hurry!"

"Attack!"

"Howl howl howl!"

"Beat them down!"

The players, who had been waiting for some time, seized their weapons and charged up after hearing the command.

Some wielded spears, some axes, and there were those who had made hammers imitating the Manager. Various melee weapons were brought down upon the Eaters.

The stronger Eaters usually ran faster, and those who led the pack were already blown away, leaving the stragglers, who hardly warranted wasting bullets and were easily dispatched in close combat.

Night Ten, who was watching the battle from the side, couldn't help but remark,

"This fight must cost you a fortune."

Mosquito chuckled and said,

"Actually, it doesn't cost much. I made the bombs myself, so there's basically no cost."

Night Ten rolled her eyes and said, "What about the black powder? And hiring those extras, those must cost money, right?"

Due to gradually increasing mission rewards and difficulty, as well as the unique gameplay of Wasteland OL, players had developed a third set of loot division rules beyond the existing equal division and G-group rules.

That is, the mercenary system.

A new player's average hourly income median was 1 Silver Coin and 1 Contribution. For the cost of 2 Silver Coins' worth of income, one could hire a fearless mercenary.

They didn't need good equipment, as they couldn't afford it anyway. In contrast, when dealing with Eaters or Devil Moths, creatures of relatively weaker individual strength, guns were less useful than crowbars.

After all, bullets cost 1 Silver Coin each, while crowbars were lying all around in the Wasteland.

Night Ten estimated, they probably charged those newcomers around 3 or 4 bronze coins per Eater.

After all, if it was too low, it wouldn't be worth it compared to chopping wood.

"To deal with those Eaters, we don't need good black powder; regular Black Powder will do. As for extras, well, that might cost a bit more, but not much..." Mosquito's expression turned a bit awkward, and she quickly changed the subject, "Speaking of which, aren't you guys going down today?"

A smug smile appeared on Night Ten's face.

"We just cleared B3 level, so we decided to relax and split up for a day."

Old White and Wild Wind took Quit Smoking to the Elm District for leveling, Fang Chang had disappeared to who-knows-where, and being on her own without anything specific to do, given that her Perception Type wasn't suited for solo play, she had wandered over here for some excitement.

"Rich people," Mosquito clicked her tongue enviously, "If you guys clear the last level, the total earnings could be in the tens of thousands."

Greenhouse Ruins was currently recognized as the most lucrative map, especially after the problem of spinning Devil Silk was solved. The earnings from one level, to say the least, should be over a thousand. That Fang Chang was too inconsiderate, keeping the earnings to himself since B2 level, a real shitty move.

Why be so secretive about earnings?

Just share it openly and let everyone have a look!

How can you know if there is any dark curtain behind it if you don't check, maybe some unspeakable transactions are going on, huh?

"Hehe, not too shabby," Night Ten was about to boast, but suddenly remembering Fang Chang's morning reminder to keep quiet, she coughed and changed what she was about to say, "Actually, it's not as exaggerated as you think. Once you consider equipment wear and tear, supplies, and all sorts of miscellaneous expenses, there's not much profit. Besides, the farther down you go in this crappy map, the harder it gets, and then the earnings have to be split four ways. Sigh, I'm broke."

This time, Mosquito was the one who rolled her eyes.

"Can you ever tell the truth? Just how much did you make?"

"Really not that much."

"Damn!"

The battle nearby had ended.

With the wave of monsters cleared, the players began to tidy up the Battlefield, tallying their victories.

Meanwhile, Brother Mole, who had fought side by side with the newcomers, was verifying their tallies and dispensing their deserved rewards.

The Battlefield was buzzing with lively chatter and laughter; one could hardly tell that a brutal battle had just occurred.

"This mission is too easy, I alone hacked down eleven."

"Niubi! I got eight, haha! All those with their heads split by an axe are mine!"

"5 Silver Coins in hand! Wooo, now I can watch Little Fish count money!"

"Brother Mole, remember to call me next time you get such good Work!"

"Definitely, definitely! Thanks everyone for supporting!"

Mole, handing out the cash, had a smile on his face but his heart was bleeding internally.

He had counted earlier—there were a total of 136 Eaters on the ground, having blown up 20 on the spot with a barrel of Black Powder and personally taken out 15. The newbies had dealt with 101, and at a rate of 5 bronze coins each, he had to pay them 50.5 Silver Coins.

Damn!

That's almost enough to buy an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher!

Mole truly felt that he and Mosquito Brother were like contractors working for the Manager, and a "no upfront payment" and "finance your own Work" kind at that. If he couldn't finish this mission in two days, he feared he would be driven to bankruptcy.

"Oh, planner dad, I beg you, hurry up and release the new version!"

Looking at those newcomers getting their payment and bubbling with joy, Mole had a look of faint sorrow on his face.

If a new version isn't released soon, once these little leeks level up, the labor cost will be even higher!

Right at that moment, the Agile Type little player who had lured the monsters earlier had finally finished counting the bodies on the ground and ran up to Mosquito.

"I just lured 136 Eaters here; you owe me 13 Silver and 6 bronze coins."

A sorrowful expression similar to Brother Mole's appeared on Mosquito's face, but she still managed a friendly smile.

"No problem. By the way, can we round it up? I just happen to be out of copper coins."

"You want to give me 20?"

Night Ten couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. Mosquito's brows twitched fiercely as he pulled out some coins from his pocket and stuffed them into the newbie's hand.

The little newbie counted the coins, looking surprised.

"13 Silver, 6 Copper, just right... huh? Didn't you say you were out of copper coins?"

Mosquito: "Suddenly got some."

Newbie: "..."

Night Ten patted the newbie on the shoulder with a smile and said, "Kid, not bad, not bad, what's your ID, let's team up next time."

But the newbie was not appreciative and gave him a glance, "Who are you calling kid? I'm already thirty, how old are you?"

Night Ten's face turned embarrassingly red as he withdrew his hand.

"Pffhahaha!"

Watching him get shut down, Mosquito couldn't help but laugh like a pig, cheerfully slapping Night Ten's shoulder, and winking at the newbie.

"Him? Just a little bro. I remember he's just started college."

Night Ten, face flushed, protested, "Screw off! I'm already in my second year of college!"

The newbie clicked his tongue, "Still just a little bro then."

Mosquito chuckled and said, "Dude, you're really funny. What exactly is your ID?"

"Zhang Hai."

"Uh, no, I meant your game name. Why are you giving me your real name?"

"That's what I use, Zhang Hai. My name doesn't change, not even when I'm playing games," Zhang Hai said, eyes bulging.

Night Ten: "What if someone else registers that name?"

Zhang Hai snorted, "No problem, I've got Zhang Hai 001, Zhang Hai 111, Zhang Hai 000 too."

Night Ten: "Pfft."

Mosquito, easily amused, was laughing so hard he was in pain. Coughing, he said, "Bro, about your style... why don't you play a Strength Type or Body Constitution System? Why choose Agility?"

Zhang Hai boasted passionately, "That's because you don't understand. In the world of martial arts, speed is unbeatable. Fast is strong; I am speed!"

Mosquito: "Hahaha, damn."

"Wait," Night Ten suddenly furrowed his brows, looking around vigilantly, "I've got this feeling that something is watching us."

"Don't worry about it, it's not embarrassing," Mosquito said, patting his shoulder, "Let's go grab a bite after we finish work, yeah?"

Zhang Hai's eyes lit up, "Come eat at my stand. I'll make you guys hand-pulled noodles, authentic stuff."

"..."

Was it just imagination?

That feeling of being watched gradually faded, and Night Ten shifted his suspicious gaze away from the distant street.

Meanwhile, hundreds of meters away on a tall building.

A mercenary, clutching a sniper rifle, had an expression as if he'd seen a ghost and was pressing his back hard against the wall.

He had just aimed to observe the street below with his scope to see what was happening. However, before he could make out how many people were there, one of them suddenly looked around vigilantly and then looked directly his way.

Was it a coincidence?

But it was too much of a coincidence!

At that moment, the voice of his team leader came through the comm channel.

"Karl, what did you see?"

"A lot of people."

"How many?"

"I couldn't see clearly... give me more time."

The mercenary named Karl swallowed hard, his face tense as he continued.

"Those people... might include Awakeners."

-

(Body can't take it, endured two months of over 8K updates a day, only six hours of sleep; feels like my body is sending out warnings. The doctor advised me to rest up and not ruin my liver while I'm still young. Then he recommended some liver protection pills—I didn't get paid for advertising, so I'm not advertising...

I'm truly sorry, guys. There might be only one update these next few days, but I'll ensure the word count is around 5-6K, which should be considered normal compared to my previous two updates of 2K, right? Resuming double updates from the 24th, continuing the challenge for ten thousand words a day... let me catch my breath, and at the same time, take this opportunity to catch a breather and straighten out the plot a bit for a faster pace.)

Chapter 178 Your idea is good, I'll consider it for the next update.

Official website:

[Alpha 0.81 version update: Added "Scientific Expedition Team Mission"]

[Scientific Expedition Team Mission: The Shelter No. 404 Scientific Expedition Team has been established, targeting the relics of pre-war civilization! As the leader of the Scientific Expedition Team, Yin Fang will intermittently publish "Scientific Survey" missions, place exploration beacons on the map, and give rewards or hidden tasks based on the research-type relic clues provided by players.]

[Yin Fang: It wasn't me who betrayed the Academy, but the Academy that betrayed me. The mistake will be corrected. I will find out what exactly happened two hundred years ago and locate the last hope of human civilization—the No.0 Shelter!]

[Tips from Ah Guang: When an NPC needs something, a yellow question mark will appear over their icon on the map. Repeating meaningless dialogues will not trigger hidden missions but will only lower the NPC's favorability. Additionally, you don't have to initiate missions through dialogue; you can also receive missions via VM.]

Tail: "Throne! (｀∀´)Ψ"

Quit smoking: "Shocking! Alpha 0.81 version is out! The planner is awesome!"

Night Ten: "Smoking Quitting Brother, stop it. One bootlicker like Fang Chang is enough for Ah Guang. You're making me sad. (funny emoji)"

Fang Chang: "Buzz off, when have I ever licked boots? (angry)"

Teng Teng: "⁄(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)⁄"

Fang Chang: "?"

Chu Guang, who had been lurking on the screen after posting the announcement, finally couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw this.

He could testify that Brother Fang Chang definitely hadn't bootlicked; at most, he just understood things better. There were lots of bad ideas in his own new folder, all borrowed from him.

After lurking for a while, Chu Guang felt his eyelids start to fight each other. Glancing at the time, he realized it wasn't early anymore. He yawned, stood up, and went to sleep.

That night.

He had a very long dream. He dreamed he was walking by the lake with a guy named Doctor Principle, followed by a little brother.

Although he didn't see the face clearly, Chu Guang felt it must be Yin Fang.

The realization of this point also made Chu Guang very speechless; why were there no busty women in the dream he had today?

This dream seemed quite irrational.

The lake was shrouded in fog, the road was very long, and the lake itself was as broad as the sea, its rippling water shimmering without end.

The moonlight was clear, the air still and serene.

After walking for a long time, a voice suddenly came from beside him.

"What year is it now?"

Chu Guang was about to answer, but Yin Fang, Doctor Principle's number one bootlicker, beat him to it.

"It's the year 2340!"

Doctor Principle beside him nodded, then suddenly spoke with emotion,

"2340, huh..."

"It's been too long."

The dream dissipated.

Waking up, Chu Guang lay on his back looking at the ceiling, blinking his eyes calmly.

With sweat all over his back, as if he had been fished out of the water, Chu Guang even suspected that someone had thrown him into the lake for a bath while he was asleep.

The sheets and clothes were completely soaked.

There was no doubt that every time this happened, he definitely leveled up.

"Damn it... Next time I'll just sleep in a cultivation chamber too."

Chu Guang seriously suspected that when players leveled up, they too were covered in sweat, but since they were in cultivation chambers, all their waste was flushed away.

It seems his recent training had paid off.

Chu Guang rolled out of bed, his bones crackling with a series of snaps, his eyes clearer than ever, as if he had drunk a whole case of taurine drinks.

After moving his limbs around a bit, Chu Guang quickly adapted to his new body and went to the residents' hall, where he used the medical equipment to check himself.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Administrator (Stage 2)

Level: LV.11→LV.12

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 16→17

Agility: 11

Constitution: 14

Perception: 12

Intelligence: 12→13

]

"Two attribute points increased this time?"

Chu Guang checked again and confirmed he had only gone up one level, yet both Strength and Intelligence had each grown by one attribute point.

"It seems that the growth of 'physical functions' with the 'progress of gene sequence development' isn't completely linear."

"Unfortunately, the pattern within remains a mystery."

As Chu Guang pondered over the medical report, light footsteps approached, and Boss Xia, who had just gotten out of bed, yawned and walked in from the neighboring corridor.

Upon noticing the bedsheets slung over Chu Guang's shoulder, she paused, a strange expression crossing her face.

"Why do you change your sheets every day?"

Chu Guang casually replied,

"Not every day."

Xia Yan's gaze inadvertently drifted downwards, catching sight of the sweat-drenched clothes and bulging muscles. To be honest, this was nothing unusual, but it was just her luck that it paired with that quite striking face.

"You… should put on some clothes."

Her face suddenly flushed red, and Boss Xia turned her head and walked away.

Chu Guang didn't bother with her and, taking advantage of the lull before the players' peak login time, hummed a tune and went down to B2 for a shower. After changing into clean clothes, he casually tossed the bedsheets into the washing machine.

The shower area had communal washing machines available, scientifically sterilized and with automatic drying, very convenient, costing only 1 silver coin per use. Alternatively, one could go to the lakeside, which was free, albeit with the risk of having to help fishermen bait their spots, but that wasn't a big issue.

After washing up, Chu Guang returned to the Manager's Office to sit and rest a bit before going back up, but before the chair even warmed, he saw Yin Fang push the door open and enter.

"Have your residents gone mad? They were waiting outside my door early in the morning! Wherever I go, they follow, even more exaggerated than yesterday!"

While speaking, Yin Fang anxiously glanced behind him, relieved to see that those residents of the refuge hadn't followed him in.

Seeing his inexperienced appearance, Chu Guang smiled and poured him a cup of hot water.

"Relax, they're all excited after hearing you're planning to establish an exploratory group. Isn't that good news? Trust me, just find something for them to do, and they'll naturally disperse... Here, drink some hot water."

Yin Fang took the cup and shook his head.

"But I don't need that many people! Four, at most eight is the absolute maximum!"

The current leads were scarce, maybe more people would be needed later, but certainly not at the beginning.

"I know, you don't have to hire them all, but you should at least pick a few reliable-looking ones. There's a level code on the player roster I gave you; generally, the higher the level, the more reliable the player." Chu Guang shared some of his life experience.

This was something he had summarized through constant trial and error.

Yin Fang sighed and said, "I don't know how you set up this level system, and I'm not sure how reliable this 'reliable' really is. Frankly, you should have an occupational assessment system, otherwise how would I know if they are better at chopping trees or picking up trash?"

Chu Guang's eyes lit up as he said,

"Good idea, we could integrate that into the next update."

"…?"

Update?

Yin Fang was confused but didn't dwell on it too much.

After all, it wasn't the first time he didn't understand the made-up phrases that occasionally popped out of the Manager's mouth.

"Anyway, keep a tight reign on your residents. I'm actually worried their brains have gone bad. Also, to start work as soon as possible, I need some data."

Chu Guang looked at him and said, "No problem, what data do you need, where is it located, we can help you retrieve it."

Yin Fang: "Doctor Principle's recordings are related to three locations, the Grand Canyon, Shelter No.117, and New House Community College."

Chu Guang: "We're clearing the entrance to Shelter No.117, and New House Community College is?"

Yin Fang: "That's where we found that video tape, and also where Doctor Principle woke up!"

"Is there anything worth investigating there?"

In Chu Guang's memory, that place seemed to have been thoroughly scavenged.

After all, according to the narration in that video, over a thousand survivors once lived in that community college.

Things like tables, wooden stools, and even the books from the library had been burned for fuel two hundred years ago, like the aftermath of a locust plague.

Yin Fang shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, the level of destruction there is too high, it's very hard to find any valuable clues. However, even so, the location itself is still an important clue."

Chu Guang: "How so?"

"This brings up the workflow of our prospectors!"

Confidence shone on Yin Fang's face as he continued,

"A common knowledge from before the war, any scientific research institute cannot exist independently without society's support. A research facility might manage hundreds of projects, which could be backed by thousands of funding sources and involve tens of thousands of researchers. The outcomes produced wouldn't be stored in just one place. If we can find just one lead, it might be possible to follow the vine to the melon and find everything we're looking for."

"Some electronics might be damaged due to EMP or lack of maintenance, but many critical records are preserved on paper. The polymer materials used in making that paper and the anti-oxidation ink can last not just two hundred, but even two thousand years!"

Is this what an expert looks like?

After listening to Yin Fang's statement, Chu Guang nodded in approval.

Indeed, when it comes to archaeology, the people from the Academy really know their stuff. Others may just pick up trash, fumbling and pretending to understand incomprehensible documents, but they truly know how to utilize those files.

Many people think of scientific research too simply, as if it's just like copying homework; thinking that with blueprints in hand, they could replicate anything. But in reality, a blueprint isn't just one paper; it could be many fragments, and many things that look identical on a macro scale could be entirely different on a micro scale.

Unless there is a systematic understanding of this work, archaeology is not something one can just casually conduct.

How great it would be to get more people from the Academy to work here.

Wouldn't the research points just soar?

Chu Guang felt his demands were not high; it would be quite good enough if he could develop a complete set of technologies related to the industrial preparation and room-temperature storage of metallic hydrogen, among other things.

This stuff could be used for bombs or batteries, incredibly handy.

According to Yin Fang's words, he planned to start his investigation from four aspects: the academic staff archives of the New Residence Community University, related research projects, cooperating institutions, and sources of funding.

This might take a bit of time.

But there should be some gains.

After staying in the Manager's Office for a while, Yin Fang saw that the players gathered outside had dispersed and hurriedly left.

Before heading to the surface, Chu Guang glanced at the reward page of the Administrator System and unexpectedly discovered he could draw lots again.

A total of 111 reward points, a very auspicious number.

Chu Guang pondered briefly and clicked on the advanced, intermediate, and basic blind boxes.

Perhaps because he had bad luck before, the prizes this time were surprisingly good.

The basic blind box revealed a pack of salt-roasted Little Fish, a snack he had never seen before. The intermediate blind box yielded an adrenaline shot, painless injection type, one shot to go berserk.

The advanced blind box went even further, yielding an SSR--a "Hummingbird" drone!

Now Chu Guang had two cameras to use!

"Master."

Xiao Qi edged up to Chu Guang's leg, lifting its camera, gazing at him with a longing expression.

Chu Guang originally wanted to keep the drone for his use, but that voice was just too pitiful.

This little guy, who knows where it stole a voice pack from, was just too good!

"Alright, alright, it's yours."

Patting the round metallic head of the little guy, Chu Guang picked it up from the ground, smiling as he said,

"Let's go."

"It's almost daylight; let's take a stroll outside."

...

In fact, it wasn't almost daylight outside; it was already bright. It's just that Chu Guang had been leaving the house a bit late recently; leaving before eight o'clock was considered fairly early for him.

It wasn't because Chu Guang was not diligent but because his little players were too hard-working, logging on and punching in every day, even more proactive than going to work.

Chu Guang hadn't even come up with a name for the heavy industry base sandwiched between the Outpost Base and Changjiu Farm, but his diligent little players had already reclaimed the abandoned tire factory from the Variants.

The bodies of mutant rats and cockroaches piled up like small hills, and those newbies wielding cold weapons had gone on a killing frenzy.

The conquests of Shelter No. 117 and the Greenhouse Ruins were also progressing steadily.

Especially the former, where players had even evolved a whole new set of team rules that even Chu Guang found profoundly shocking.

Indeed, third-rate planners escape from players, second-rate planners farm players, and first-rate planners not only farm but also cultivate them.

As a top-tier planner proficient in human nature, Chu Guang could not only facilitate the farming of players by each other but also inspire them to do so spontaneously.

"How nice."

Everyone's making a killing.

A world where no one loses is just too wonderful!

Upon entering the elevator.

As soon as Chu Guang reached the surface, the new Warehouse Manager trained by Old Luka came up to greet him respectfully.

"My Lord, a Messenger from Brown Farm has arrived."

Chu Guang remembered that this middle-aged man's name was Guoba, once a Slave from Brown Farm, later entered the dungeons of the Blood Hand Clan. Since the name was too cost-inefficient in grain to pronounce, he casually changed it to a more locally integrated one, calling him Guo Niu.

As for the other Warehouse Manager, he was called Guo Ma.

"A messenger from Brown Farm? What do they want?"

Guo Niu replied respectfully.

"The messenger brought 5,000 kilograms of jerusalem artichokes and 5,000 kilograms of Chinese cabbage, stating that they are tribute from Mr. Brown to you, and also the messenger indicated that they truly have no more."

They truly have no more?

Chu Guang was briefly stunned by this statement, perplexed, and didn't understand what it meant at the moment.

He didn't remember asking for it.

But to be fair, this unseen Mr. Brown was quite generous. A full ten tons of food, just like that, it seemed he wasn't just any common fat cat.

Chu Guang thought.

Maybe he could even borrow some more.

"Did the messenger say anything else?"

Guo Niu nodded and continued.

"The messenger also mentioned they hope your Residents could restrain a bit... for several consecutive days, they've heard gunshots and explosions coming from the direction of the Garden Street Metro Station, which is less than a kilometer from Brown Farm. His exact words were, if this is meant as a joke, it's not funny at all."

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang's expression became somewhat complex.

Upon hearing about the explosion, he immediately guessed that it must have been the Moles and the Mosquitoes. They had caused quite a commotion at the entrance to Shelter No.117, scaring the people from Brown Farm.

But then again, it made sense.

With a particularly formidable neighbor living next-door who had nothing but guns and abundant ammunition, they had cleared all three directions—east, south, and north—in just a month, except for the west side which was bordered by a lake with nothing to shoot at.

Now this neighbor had brought people to his door, firing guns and setting off bombs every day, clearly not in celebration of the New Year.

Anyone would panic.

However, Chu Guang truly hadn't anticipated the farm owner being so faint-hearted, dragging food to his doorstep to beg for mercy.

Seeing that the Manager had not spoken, Guo Niu asked cautiously,

"Sir, the messenger from Brown Farm is in the reception room. Do you need me to take you to meet him?"

Coming back to his senses, Chu Guang looked at Guo Niu.

"There's no need for that. Tell him to relay a message to the farm owner of Brown Farm for me, and say thank you for their generous donation. Also, our residents did not intend to disturb them, they are merely conducting... uh, combat exercises against Variants there."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued,

"The exercises will end within a week. Tell them not to overthink it or worry too much. Shelter No.404 is the preserver of order in this region, and we look forward to engaging in fair and friendly trade with them."

"Moreover, treat those messengers to lunch before letting them return. They have generously donated so much food to us; it is only right to show our gratitude."

Guo Niu nodded respectfully.

"As you command, sir."

...

Reception room.

Liu Jiuyue paced back and forth in the room, a look of worry on his face.

Mr. Brown had lost sleep last night and thrown a tremendous tantrum, making the lives of their servants uneasy.

Early in the morning, his boss Liu Zhengyue called him over, instructing him to lead the covered cart team to Linghu Wetland Park, four kilometers away, to present the supplies on the carts to the lord there.

Liu Jiuyue checked the cargo on the carts and was genuinely shocked to find a total of 20,000 kilograms.

He knew that the premature cold spell had caused the farm to produce one less season's worth of grain. Not only had the serfs' meals been reduced to one a day, but the rations for the servants like himself had been cut back time and again, with not a drop of oil in the mix.

He wondered if the master wasn't concerned about running out of food for the winter by giving away so much to the neighbors.

But this was not something for a servant to fret over.

At that moment, the door opened.

Guo Niu, who had received him, entered from outside.

Liu Jiuyue recognized the man; he remembered him as a serf who used to harvest wheat on the farm. But now he could only pretend not to know him, plastering a smile on his face to greet him,

"Sir, have you met with the Manager?"

Guo Niu showed no favoritism because of their "fellow townsman" status and replied with a businesslike attitude,

"The Manager is already aware of your requests and expresses his gratitude for Mr. Brown's generous donation. The exercises at Garden Street Metro Station will conclude within a week. He said it is not directed at you all, so you should not worry too much. Additionally, to prevent accidental harm, he hopes that your people will stay away during the exercise period for their own good."

Liu Jiuyue looked bewildered.

"Exercises?"

"Yes, the Manager mentioned that those are combat exercises against Variants," Guo Niu repeated, unable to explain the term further than what the Manager had said.

Liu Jiuyue nodded, still confused.

So the gunfire near Garden Street Metro Station would continue for a week?

Yet whatever was happening there was not targeted at them, and they should not worry.

Regardless, he had received a response, and his mission was deemed complete; he could go back and report. He only hoped that this response would satisfy Mr. Brown, after all, that man's temper was terrifying.

"Thank you for listening to our requests. I will convey this to Mr. Brown," Liu Jiuyue said respectfully.

Guo Niu nodded and added,

"Also, the Manager instructed me to offer you lunch before you leave, should you not be in a hurry. The roads will be safer at noon."

Liu Jiuyue did not decline.

On the one hand, as the receptionist had said, the roads would indeed be safer at noon than in the morning. On the other hand, getting a meal before leaving was surely more comfortable than traveling on an empty stomach.

Before setting off, he had eaten nothing, stuffing only a piece of hard, cold, barley bread into his pocket, as tough as stone. The water in the flask hanging from his waist had long gone cold, and the fact that it hadn't frozen was a stroke of luck.

"Thank you!"

Looking at the man in front of him, who was so meek and submissive, Guo Niu suddenly felt pity.

Back on the farm, they, the serfs, envied those servants who attended to the farm owner's family because only those servants were considered human beings, whereas the serfs were seen as animals.

Even the female workers who did laundry and the cobblers who polished the owner's shoes were of much higher status than them. They could live in wooden or brick houses, eat two hot meals a day, and if they made a mistake, they received just a beating instead of being dragged away because they were old or disabled.

But now, he felt that this man, who once stood high above him, seemed like a pitiful creature.

Perhaps, in this world, only the Manager could liberate them.

"You're welcome."

Guo Niu paused, then repeated the Manager's words,

"The Manager said, it's the proper etiquette."

Chapter 179: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

The main course for lunch included white bread the size of a palm, corn kernels roasted crisp and charred, as well as wolf meat stewed soft with soybeans.

Not only Liu Jiuyue, who acted as the messenger, received the hospitality, but also the eight serfs and two guards who accompanied him enjoyed the meal with him.

The guards were not accountable, being servants of equal status to him, but having the serfs dine at the table was unexpected for Liu Jiuyue.

However, since they were not dining in the same place, Liu Jiuyue did not comment further.

With palms pressed together, he thanked the host who provided them with food and eagerly reached out to grab the white bread on the plate.

Different from the cold and hard green barley cakes, this bread was incredibly soft and spongy, made from unknown ingredients and by unknown methods. Merely holding it caused Liu Jiuyue's concentration to waver, and he hurriedly took a bite.

Delicious!!!

His eyes bulged almost out of their sockets, and before he could swallow the food already in his mouth, he hastily scooped up a spoonful of the bean-stewed meat and stuffed it into his mouth.

Tender, flavorful, melting on the tongue, his taste buds exclaimed their highest praises from the first bite!

Unable to savor it slowly, he devoured the food greedily, resembling a starved ghost reincarnated, completely forgetting the headman's instructions given to him before departure.

Wolf meat is usually sour, but stewed with soybeans until very tender, it had a surprisingly pleasant taste. As for the corn, it was remarkably well-prepared, perhaps even fried in oil?

Such extravagance!

Having his fill of white bread, Liu Jiuyue felt he could eat no more by the time he started on his fourth piece.

After drinking a sip of hot water, he struggled to swallow the food lodged in his throat and, with a naive expression, looked towards Guo Niu who was eating across the table.

"What is this?"

Guo Niu, a straightforward man, answered truthfully.

"Steamed buns, salt and pepper corn, and braised meat with soybeans."

Liu Jiuyue looked bewildered.

Three completely unfamiliar terms appeared at once. Unable to hide his envious gaze, he couldn't resist asking.

"Do you eat this every day?"

Guo Niu shook his head and said,

"That depends on what's at the market."

Outpost Base had no canteen, and cooking was done by the residents of the refuge.

Although the midday market was not as bustling as in the evening, there were still many people setting up large pots and cooking various unusual foods.

The Manager had established lunch standards, with a budget of 3 silver coins per person; Guo Niu used this money to shop at the market.

The resident traders at the northern gate were very enthusiastic, eagerly dragging him to their stalls and even offering discounts for bulk purchases.

Although Guo Niu didn't understand why bulk buying offered discounts, it was certainly good to save the Manager's money. In the end, this meal only cost seventy percent of the total budget, which was very economical.

"A market?"

However, after listening to Guo Niu's explanation, Liu Jiuyue's expression grew even more baffled.

It did sound very strange.

Typically, small survivor bases wouldn't have a market.

After all, trade is a product of prosperity. If, in a place, more than half the people are slaves without private property, what could possibly be sold at the market? They might not even own the flesh on their bones, let alone have something worth exploiting.

He'd heard that Bet Street once had a grocery store run by the old town leader, who allowed the local scavengers to exchange for daily necessities. This was considered a charitable act in the nearby area, but that family had been driven off by gun-wielding barbarians, and now he didn't know if the concept of a "store" still existed there.

Liu Jiuyue hadn't visited the place but had heard that a group of ragpickers lived there, occasionally scavenging near the farm; they were usually chased away unless they had something to trade. The farm owner, not wanting to conflict with neighbors, would generally let them exchange some green barley for food.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Liu Jiuyue took a moment to suppress a burp before rising and respectfully added,

Guo Niu shook his head and earnestly corrected, "This generosity is all from the Manager; you should thank him, not me."

Liu Jiuyue glanced at him enviously.

How strange.

He actually saw loyalty on the face of a serf!

What was even stranger was that he found himself needing to please him...

After coming out from the dining room, Liu Jiuyue called over the serfs he had brought and had them lead the double-headed cow that was tied up at the door.

He waved the whip in his hand, seemingly wanting to vent his suppressed emotions on these people.

"Hurry up, you lazy dogs, it's time to hit the road."

The serfs dared not defy him, and certainly not the iron tube rifles carried on his and the guards' backs. They quickly untied the ropes from the double-headed cow and set off under Liu Jiuye's urging.

However, people's simple longing for a better life cannot be blocked by a mere whip. A few serfs, taking advantage of Liu Jiuyue and the two guards being distracted, began whispering amongst themselves.

"The food just now was so delicious."

"Yeah, even in a good year, we've never eaten this well..."

"This place is practically heaven!"

"Speaking of which, that person was… Guo Niu?"

"It seems so."

"Unbelievable, it was actually him! I almost didn't recognize him!"

"What if we were to join him..."

"Shh! Don't let that man carrying the gun hear you. Don't blame me for not warning you, but the last kid who bragged about traveling with the Commercial Team was hung at the door and dangled for three days and nights. By the time he was taken down, half his body had been eaten away!"

The serfs fell silent, not daring to speak further.

Watching the tribute caravan disappear into the forest's edge, standing by the third-floor window of the sanatorium, Chu Guang suddenly spoke enviously.

"If only they'd send me a few more cows."

Xia Yan, who had come here to freeload a meal, joked.

"Is this what you call looking at the pot while eating from the bowl?"

This saying, which she had learned from Chu Guang, was supposed to describe a person's insatiable greed. Although she didn't think it was an accurate description of the Manager, it was surprisingly fitting in this moment.

"Of course not," Chu Guang turned around and glanced at her, discontentedly saying, "I taught you that phrase, not for you to use it on me."

Xia Yan gave him a light glare and continued focusing on the popcorn cupped in her hands.

Although Chu Guang always said it was junk food, she didn't think so at all. Just a light sprinkle of white sugar on top made it taste absolutely heavenly!

Silver coins were truly wonderful!

She was already starting to figure out how to spend tomorrow's salary.

…

It had just turned noon.

About 4 kilometers from Wetland Park, at the entrance of the Garden Street Metro Station, the pungent smell of gunpowder pervaded the street, and not even the howling north wind could disperse it.

A group of joyful players busied themselves enthusiastically, repeating yesterday's tasks—pulling mobs, focusing fire, tallying the spoils of battle, bustling and extremely merry.

Except for two who were not amused.

One was Mole, the other was Mosquito.

These two "contractors," big and small, had already invested over 400 silver coins to clear the path from the metro station entrance to the door of Shelter No.117—enough to buy two LD-47 rifles!

If they couldn't clear this mission today, whether in terms of time or cost, it would be hard to say whether the reward of 1200 silver coins was worth it.

"Maybe we should learn from Brother Fang Chang and his team," Mosquito said with a furrowed brow, glancing at Mole beside him, "I chatted with Old White yesterday. When they were at the Tongwen House Ruins, they didn't use that many people. Although they spent some ammunition, the cost wasn't much higher than ours."

Mole shook his head and said,

"Brother Mosquito, you're mistaken if you think they're sharing game insights. Little do you know, they're just showing off. Elite tactics? Have you seen what kind of gear they have? An exoskeleton just like the Manager's, the strongest mechanical composite bow in the server, a mechanical hand that maximizes the damage of an Intelligence System player, and... the highest Perception in the server."

"With such a hexagonal team, what tactics are there to discuss? One person's output equals three of ours. Just ensuring they survive is already a huge win. If we tried their method, we'd be grinding this mission until next month. Listen to me, when the equipment is lacking, we must make up for it with numbers. There are no shortcuts!"

I understand all that.

But God, I'm so envious!

With a face full of envy, jealousy, and resentment, Mosquito couldn't help but blurt out,

"Damn! These cursed Exalted ones!"

Mole nodded in agreement and said,

"Right? Now you see the importance of balance?"

That mechanical hand's output is insane. The projectiles almost turn into cannons in his hand. Did the designers even consider the feelings of Strength-type players? And that mechanical composite bow, it's more powerful than a gun, can pierce armor, launch explosives, and the ammunition is cheap—how is that fair?

Of course, if after completing the mission at Shelter No. 117, they reward him with an equipment set that's even better, then I've got nothing to say.

I don't care, if being Exalted is not my fate, then it must be a conspiracy!

Zhang Hai, who had previously been responsible for drawing the monsters, had just finished tallying his results and arrived just in time to overhear the conversation.

Although he didn't understand a word, he excitedly joined in with a popular phrase.

"The human wave strategy is forever godly!"

"Mosquito, you naive newbie, what celebration are you joining? Do you even understand your own sequence?" Mosquito, who was enviably fixated, wasn't in the mood for idle chat, handing him a coin, "Take it! Keep the change!"

Zhang Hai counted it, not a copper coin short, and chuckled.

"Thanks, boss! May you thrive in wealth!"

Hearing this wish of prosperity triggered another fierce twitch in Mosquito's eyelid.

Thrive in wealth?

At this rate, not to mention thriving, he was about to go bankrupt!

Seeing Mosquito's pain and empathizing deeply, Mole sighed and gently patted his shoulder.

"Hang in there, victory is just around the corner. I have a feeling that the rewards from this mission might not be worse than those from the Greenhouse Ruins. We'll definitely make a comeback!"

Mosquito looked up at the sky, letting out a long sigh.

"Let's hope so."

In fact, Brother Mole's words weren't just to comfort him. Victory was indeed in sight.

This round, they had killed sixty-seven Eaters, which was already fewer than yesterday. The newbie Zhang Hai had lasted more than twice as long drawing the monsters than the day before. It was clear that the density of Variants was no longer as high as the previous days.

Mole estimated that, optimistically, two more rounds should suffice to complete this mission.

Coincidentally, it was time for lunch. The smaller players taking part in the strategy session took a short break, walking into an abandoned store by the road where they fired up some charcoal and gathered branches to boil a pot of water.

The newbies, saving up for equipment, mostly didn't spare expenses on costly supplies and primarily brought dry food like green wheat cakes or roasted bread made from horned potatoes.

This kind of dry food might not be nutritious or tasty, but its convenience was unbeatable. Whether tossed into a pot to cook into a mush or simply gnawed on directly, it filled the stomach.

Hunger could lead to a low blood sugar debuff, affecting output. The players planned to start the next wave of the offensive after eating their dry food.

However, at this very moment, unbeknownst to either Mole or Brother Mosquito, just across the street from the Garden Street Metro Station on the highway, a fully armed group of mercenaries was quietly entering the area.

Their numbers were small, just eight people, and though their equipment wasn't the most elite, it was significantly superior to the ragtag fighters scattered across the wasteland. Not only were they equipped with automatic weapons, but two of them also carried thick rocket launchers on their backs, boasting considerable firepower.

It was clear their boss had spared no expense, learning from the previous failure, not only by hiring a tougher Mercenary Group but also by purchasing round-trip tickets to and from the "North Suburb."

Their task was simple.

Arrive at Garden Street Metro Station, clear the Variants beneath the station, then enter Shelter No.117 and bring back the items inside to the evacuation point for extraction.

Actually, under optimistic circumstances, they should have completed this mission two days ago. However, unexpectedly, another group had also set their sights on Shelter No.117.

Those people seemed to be from a newly emerging Survivor Forces in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City. According to the blabbermouth host of Giant Stone City Radio, these people had not only killed off the Blood Hand Clan but also eliminated the Mutants of Street No.76 and recently even colluded with enterprises passing through the northern suburbs.

Although the equipment of those people was weak and their own side had a clear advantage, no one dared to take it lightly.

Especially since yesterday, when a scout establishing a sniping point in a tall building reported a sighting of a suspected Awakener.

Awakener!

As the captain of this twelve-person team, Pruitt felt that things were probably not as simple as imagined.

Without making an immediate move, they occupied a partially collapsed street-facing building, set up a radio, and established a temporary command post from where they established contact with the scouts who had arrived at the front lines earlier.

"Karl, is the Awakener from yesterday still around?"

After a brief wait, the scout's voice came through the communication channel.

"Gone... I suspect he hasn't fully awakened yet, but signs of awakening have already appeared."

Pruitt spoke gravely.

"What are his abilities?"

Karl replied.

"Likely related to the Intuition or the Mental systems."

Intuition or Mental systems.

Pruitt's brow furrowed tightly.

So-called awakening was a partial "variant transformation" of characteristics on the body, exhibiting traits abnormal to regular humans.

There were many possible triggers for an awakening; commonly seen ones included the use of genetically enhancing drugs or the activation of survival instincts at the brink of death, causing previously inactive gene segments to be expressed dominantly.

Compared to the "risk-controllable" mechanical prosthesis modification, awakening was undoubtedly a thorny path. Although it could bring immense strength, it wasn't without a cost.

However, it was undeniable that Awakeners were difficult to deal with, especially those of the Mental and Intuitive types. Many of their abilities were ridiculously strong, making them nearly impossible to defend against.

Just like the branch of energy weapons among light arms!

"The group is getting ready for a second wave of attacks; I feel the Variants beneath the metro station have almost been cleared by them… Boss, when do we make our move?"

Pruitt replied calmly.

"No rush, let them lure the Variants out from below."

Drawing the Variants out from beneath the metro station to concentrate fire might be a stroke of genius, but these people clearly hadn't realized how much noise they were making and how exposed their vulnerabilities were from behind.

Pruitt's thought process was clear.

There was no need for them to clash head-on with those survivors. They just had to quietly wait for the Variants to swarm out, and when the survivors charged forward wielding melee weapons, they would strike opportunistically.

What if there was an Awakener among them?

Devouring these disarrayed survivors and Variants in one go would be as easy as gobbling up a cream-filled cookie.

Thinking this, a faint smile appeared on Pruitt's face.

He was going to teach these survivors a lesson.

Show them what it meant to be the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole behind!

-

(Starting this Sunday, I will return to two updates a week, feeling a bit more replenished. _(:3」∠)_)

Chapter 180: Red Name! Bounty Task!

Noisy electric current sound—

"Hello everyone, this is the Voice of Boulder City. Before we broadcast our segment on the planting techniques for Cam Trees and tips for Scavengers to get rich, allow me a moment to break in with some popular news."

"Right to our north, near the Garden Street Metro Station on the edge of Qingquan City's fifth ring, our Captain Pruitt of the Black Snake Mercenary Group has finally drawn down the butcher's blade on those country bumpkins from the North Suburb."

"Tsk tsk tsk, it was gruesome. Just as those country bumpkins lit the powder keg to send the Eaters flying, our despicable and shameless Captain Pruitt fired his gun without a warning. Those people fell like frosted young wheat. Those poor souls, who had busily worked for a week for the treasure hidden beneath the subway, not only lost the treasure to someone else's marriage but even paid with their lives!"

"This again shows how important it is to choose reliable bodyguards to ensure your safety! Unfortunately, there are no reliable military contractors to recommend today, as no one has paid for this service! However, although there's no military contractor to recommend, our channel has launched a prize guessing competition!"

"1. What exactly is hidden underneath the Garden Street Metro Station?"

"2. How many did Captain Pruitt kill in total?"

"3. What were the casualties for the Black Snake Mercenary Group?"

"Central Casino of Boulder City underwrites this betting round; you need only one chip to participate in all the bets! If you answer all three questions correctly, you'll win a grand prize worth a hundred thousand chips, as well as three nights in the VIP suite of the Central Casino Hotel. Those wishing to make a fortune, hurry up and take action! Opportunities knock but once!"

The old radio on the bar counter repeatedly played that slick, noisy voice.

The smell of inferior tobacco mixed with pungent alcohol filled the air, nearly choking the newcomers here. The pole in the dance floor had been vacant for years, as even the cheapest dancers couldn't stand the filthy air here; only drunk patrons occasionally performed spontaneous acts.

This is the Twin Tail Rat Tavern, one of over a hundred bars in Boulder City and also the most inconspicuous one hidden deep in the alleyways.

The customers who frequented this place were mercenaries and scavengers living in nearby basements or cheap motels. The watered-down beer sold here was very popular; just 1 chip allowed you to sit at the bar and forget all your sorrows for the entire night, and no one could kick you out as long as you had thick skin.

Of course, if the watered-down beer tasted too bland, there was also equally cheap industrial alcohol. Drinking a small amount wouldn't harm you, but you had to be careful not to end up carried away by other burly men.

It's not ruled out that some do it on purpose, but unless you have a special preference or are ready for some dirty tricks, you definitely shouldn't do it. There are no security guards here, the bartender only has to serve drinks, wash glasses, and clean the floor. As long as no one gets killed, the guards outside generally won't intervene.

Listening to the radio, a group of mercenaries shouted loudly, their words filled with undisguised envy.

"Captain Pruitt? Hahaha, that despicable and shameless guy actually stooped to ambush a bunch of scavengers!"

"Shh, don't let his old acquaintances hear you. You're not the host of the Voice of Boulder City, protected by a big boss."

"Garden Street Metro Station? Never heard of it."

"Regardless of what it is, what good stuff could possibly be in the North Suburb? The scavengers there are so desperate they would even lick the moss off the walls!"

"I'm betting 10 chips on no casualties for the Black Snake Mercenary Group!"

"The odds are too high, hard to trust that they won't fix the game… I bet they lose one."

The reputation of the Black Snake Mercenary Group in Boulder City might not be the greatest, and their Captain Pruitt isn't exactly a top battler. But that depends on who you compare them with.

Against a bunch of scavengers from the North Suburb scavenging in trash and unable to string a few pipe rifles, not to mention a fully armed Black Snake Mercenary Group, everyone sitting here was confident enough to teach them a lesson.

Almost everyone doubted that Pruitt and his brothers could possibly lose.

The only suspense was whether, by some exceptional chance, there would be casualties or not, as well as what exactly was hidden under the Garden Street Metro Station.

Not only the idlers in Boulder City wondered, but Pruitt's mind was also full of curiosity.

However, the employer hadn't told him much about the details of the mission, only asking him to watch out for the power armor inside Shelter No.117 and a black briefcase.

Pruitt was indeed curious. Since the employer knew the situation inside as though he had seen it with his own eyes, why hadn't he taken them away himself?

Yet, as a hired gun, he didn't have the right to question his employer and had never even seen the employer's face.

So far, he had only received two things from the employer—a down payment made by an arms broker on their behalf and a magnetic card for opening doors.

Maybe after this mission ended perfectly, the employer would invite him for a drink.

That would be someone who could afford plane tickets.

It would be great to meet him.

"A and B squads, follow me and push forward. C squad, deploy along the street and clear all survivors approaching this area."

"Karl is watching from upstairs. If he spots a target worth shooting, he can open fire without revealing his position."

"Our position is just four kilometers from their stronghold—power armor and more than a dozen lives are enough to drive them crazy."

"Quick battle, quick end. Everyone, move! Fast!"

Fifteen mangled corpses lay twisted on the street, together with those slain Eaters.

As he reloaded his rifle, Pruitt crisply signaled to move forward, leading the other three members of squad A towards the subway station below.

Knowing beforehand that there was an intuitive Awakener among those survivors, Pruitt deployed his three squads 500 meters away while the survivors were arranging their defenses.

As the powder keg exploded and the survivors charged with cold weapons, he immediately ordered all three groups to open fire from three directions, unloading their barrels' fury.

Eight tactical flashlights lit up at the same time, transforming the subway station into broad daylight.

Cracked concrete walls crawled with slime fungus, and the cold air was filled with floating dust and a putrid smell.

Where Eaters roamed, traces of "Mutated slime fungus" could be seen.

On the Wasteland, the complex ecological environment provided them with abundant nutrition; the bodies and even the excrement of all creatures might become a breeding ground for them.

Teams A and B consisted of eight people in total.

Under the leadership of Captain Prite, they cautiously moved toward the entrance of Shelter No.117, their gun barrels periodically spitting tongues of fire, harvesting the scattered Eaters blocking their path.

Thanks to several days of relentless efforts by the survivors, they advanced from the security checkpoint to the platform's edge without much exertion.

The train carriages were twisted and squeezed together, nearly blocking the tunnel, a clear indication of a severe traffic accident in the past.

However, events from over two hundred years ago were irrelevant to Prite and his group.

The entrance to Shelter No.117 was in the middle of the tunnel.

They were only three hundred meters away from their destination.

Victory was in sight!

At the same time, in an abandoned train carriage anchored next to the platform,
three lucky surviving novice players, listening to the footsteps growing closer, instinctively held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

The beam of the flashlight shone into the carriage from the platform, almost brushing their scalps but thankfully not discovering them. After searching for a while, the flashlight moved toward the front of the carriage.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire tensed the nerves of the three novice players.

However, the bullets weren't aimed at them, but at an Eater lingering in the front part of the carriage.

With the sounds of shell casings falling and Eaters collapsing, hurried footsteps and light entered the adjacent carriage before moving through the broken shell and into the tunnel.

Listening to the footsteps fading away, the three finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead and leaning on the carriage, the Mole couldn't help but ask quietly.

"Mosquito, what's your Sequence again?"

"Agility!"

"Damn, why are you also in the Agile system?"

"I heard the Agile system could run fast..."

"MMP, great, now we have three Agility types here, squatting in the metro like blind men," Zhang Hai muttered, clutching his bloodied right hand on his butt, "Who has a bandage for me to use?"

Mosquito and Mole looked at each other, then at the extremely unfortunate newbie.

"How about you just charge out and be done with it?"

"Do you have anything valuable on you right now? I can help you take it back."

Zhang Hai switched hands and said sarcastically.

"Fuck off, I haven't saved my progress. Dying here would waste today's efforts, wouldn't it?"

Ignoring the jokester, Mosquito turned to Mole.

"What do we do now?"

Mole bit his lip, lost in thought.

"It's tough... These people are too well-equipped, and we didn't bring good gear. Rushing out would definitely mean death."

Unable to help himself, Mosquito said.

"Are we just going to watch them hijack our mission?"

While pressing on his butt to stop the bleeding, Zhang Hai suddenly interjected.

"That might not be the case."

The two turned to him and asked in unison.

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Hai chuckled slyly and said.

"I know this route well; there's a Crawler hidden inside. I thought it might be troublesome, so I left it alone. If they keep going, they're bound to run into it. We just have to stealthily follow them, and maybe we can pick up on their leftovers."

Mosquito's eyes sparkled, and even Mole couldn't help but praise.

"That's a good idea."

However, before they could finish, a piercing scream followed by a loud explosion came from ahead in the tunnel.

The three were startled, crouching down and peering ahead with half their heads sticking out.

Ahead in the tunnel, flames blazed intensely.

A mercenary crouched in the middle of the tunnel, a rocket launcher hoisted on his shoulder, and not far in front of him was a Crawler!

The three of them changed expressions at the same time.

"Damn..."

"Damn, they even have a rocket launcher?!"

Zhang Hai, clutching his rear, was dumbfounded and muttering.

"We're screwed. We're absolutely screwed."

If even the Crawler couldn't stop them—

Just then, Mosquito and Mole's VMs vibrated simultaneously.

The two hurriedly opened their screens, and almost the moment they looked at them, expressions of surprise and disbelief simultaneously appeared on their faces.

Zhang Hai, without a VM, curiously leaned over.

"What's going on? Let me have a look... Holy shit?!"

On the screen, there was a task popup.

[Bounty Task: Red Name Bounty]

[Description: A group of shameless attackers viciously killed our companions. Their location is marked on the map, and image information is updated in the task bar. Take them down, dead or alive!]

[Reward: 200 silver coins, 200 contribution points per target]

Seeing this reward, Zhang Hai nearly poked his eyes into the screen.

200 silver coins!?

Is this what the world of the strong looks like?!

Garden Street Metro Station entrance.

Lambert, manning a light machine gun, glanced at the pile of bodies on the ground and then at the deserted street in the distance, taking a slow, deep breath.

At that time, a voice came through the communication channel.

"Damn... it's too quiet here."

"Well, it's winter after all, and it just snowed a bit."

"Do you think they'll come?"

"They might, and they might not. I hope they're smart enough not to come here to die. Everything is getting more expensive in this damned weather, including bullets."

Lambert didn't respond.

Though he agreed with the sentiment, a conflict seemed inevitable.

More than a dozen lives.

For Boulder City, it was nothing notable, but for the bumpkins of the North Suburb, losing so many young adults could drive them mad.

When it was time to retreat, there would likely be a bloody battle.

Just then, Karl's voice came through the channel.

"…Team C, be aware, suspected hostile targets are approaching your position."

"Which direction?"

"Due north... no, wait... not just north, there's another group from the west." Karl's voice carried a hint of surprise as he continued, "They seem to have split into groups of three to four. You'd better be careful, these people are well-organized and, while their equipment isn't top-notch, it's much stronger than the rookies we just cleared out."

"Can you confirm the number?"

"About thirty."

Hearing it was only thirty, the four members of Team C left on the surface simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

The team leader spoke into the channel.

"Keep a close eye on them, and take out any high-threat targets for us."

Karl replied.

"No problem, I'm watching. Be careful."

Only thirty.

Although it was more than expected, it wasn't beyond their capacity.

What surprised Lambert was the response speed of these people, which was faster than he had anticipated.

From Linghu Wetland Park to here was at least four kilometers.

Given the complex traffic conditions in the Wasteland, unless they started rushing this way the moment they heard the gunfire, it was impossible for them to enter Karl's vision so quickly.

In such a short time, mobilizing so many people.

How on earth did they do it?

...

Lambert could never figure it out.

When a dozen players logged off in quick succession, Chu Guang sensed something was wrong the moment the attack occurred, and immediately sent over the Hummingbird drones stationed at Outpost Base.

Seeing the twisted bodies on the ground, Chu Guang, who was planning the relocation of the No. 81 Steel Factory, became furious.

What the hell!

Dare to touch my ruins?

Without hesitation, Chu Guang threw a mission marker on the map and set red bounties for all the targets tracked by the drone!

At the same moment, nearly every player near Outpost Base who had a VM received the pop-up for the bounty task.

And almost everyone's eyes widened in response.

Two hundred silver coins and 200 contribution points per head!

Did the Manager really not hit an extra zero when issuing the task?

Shelter No.117, B2 floor, Central Square.

Tail, who had just revived, enthusiastically shook his VM in his hand and said to Si Si,

"Si Si! Quick, look at the VM! This mission is awesome, and the name is even in red! Let's go do it!"

Si Si, who was being rocked back and forth, looked somewhat listless.

"Ah Wei, are you sure? We've only been alive for a few minutes."

"What's the big deal? Tail feels amazing! Si Si, pep up, you've been asleep for three whole days!"

Three days of sleep indeed.

Without her helmet, she had no idea how she got through those three days, unable to sleep at night with her eyes wide open, feeling as if she was floating in the air during the day.

Looking at the energetic Tail, Si Si sighed and said,

"You know... aren't you getting confused about which side is the real world?"

Tail was nonchalant. "It doesn't matter! The real world sucks!"

Si Si: "..."

Greenhouse Ruins.

Night Ten, who was eating dry rations, suddenly jumped up as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Holy shit, Fang Chang! Look at the VM!"

"I see it," said Fang Chang, seated on the ground and rubbing his chin as he stared at the VM screen, deep in thought. "But it's odd, why would an NPC also have a red name?"

"Does it matter? Two hundred silver per head." Wild Wind's gaze was intense, and his right hand was already itching in anticipation.

"Indeed, we can't ignore this reward... By the way," Fang Chang turned to Night Ten, "I remember you said in the group yesterday that when you went to watch the mole, you noticed someone was watching them?"

Night Ten scratched the back of his head.

"Um, I'm not sure, actually, but I just had this sudden feeling that something was watching us."

Fang Chang fell silent for a moment, then suddenly nodded.

"Right, if my analysis isn't wrong, we might have missed a hidden sub-plot."

The three were stunned.

Especially Night Ten.

"What, what does that mean?"

Fang Chang speculated, "It's nothing, I just think that the person who was watching you yesterday might be in league with those who attacked the mole today."

Night Ten was shocked. "Damn, is this game that realistic?"

"It's just a guess, but specifics are probably only known by Brother Guang. In any case, we should pay more attention to such clues in the future, there might be a big reward."

With that, Fang Chang got up from the ground, reached for the mechanical compound bow leaning against the wall, and lightly plucked the bowstring as if warming up.

"Let's go."

"The hunt is about to begin."

While they were chatting, a hundred people had already accepted the task, half of whom were level 5, and the numbers were still rising.

It was a good thing half the server had gone to the new map.

Otherwise, with these twelve targets.

If they were late, they'd probably not even get a sip of the soup!

Chapter 181: The Black Snake Mercenary Group is Annihilated!

Inside the semi-collapsed abandoned building.

Crouched by the broken enclosing wall, Karl was holding his sniper rifle, aiming at the street over eight hundred meters away, occasionally pulling the trigger to take out targets exposed beyond cover.

The view here was very broad; the entire street lay under the aim of his rifle, not even a mouse could sneak into this area without escaping his notice.

"The fifth one... die!"

Through the scope, a survivor carrying a rocket launcher had a burst of blood mist explode from the back of his head. The survivors nearby seemed startled but didn't panic; they immediately bent down to pick up the rocket launcher from his hands and, along with the others, hid inside the nearby cover.

"These endless rats... just how many more are there!"

Cursing under his breath, Karl took a deep breath, proficiently pulled back the bolt to eject the cartridge, and started searching for the next target, continuing to fire.

Squad C had already engaged the enemy, and they were locked in fierce gunfire with the local survivors.

The combat at the entrance to Garden Street Metro Station was gruesomely severe, with machine-gun bullets weaving a web of death across the open street!

However, the intense gunfire hadn't scared those survivors; even if their companions were torn into fragmented sieves beside them, they would still bravely mount an attack.

This baffled Karl; he could not fathom what kind of courage this was, nor could he imagine what made them so fiercely disregard their lives.

Even though he had successfully suppressed at least three squads, holding back at least a dozen men, the situation of Squad C had not improved at all and was still being dragged into a hard fight by these survivors' numbers.

A teammate's voice came through the communication channel.

"Damn it, I've already used up a drum of ammo; if it weren't for 'North Suburb,' I'd think we were up against 'Tide'!"

"Karl! How many do you see!"

"Forty... no, maybe fifty," Karl licked his chapped lips, targeting his prey and spoke, "You'd better prepare for a tough fight; from what I can see, they're like an army of ants!"

"Shit! I didn't hear there were so many survivors in the North Suburb, have they all come?!"

"Probably."

Iron Fist Rocket Launcher, "Opener" rifle, and that ancestral 60cm bayonet from the army!

Looking at these familiar weapons, Karl's eyelids twitched, feeling an ominous premonition.

He was certain they were not with the army; that left only one possibility, that they had defeated the army at least once on the frontal battlefield!

Even if it was just the remnant forces of the army!

Merely with these cannon fodder, it was impossible to win against the army on the front lines, unless they had some other trump card.

At this moment, there suddenly came movement from downstairs.

As the squad's professional scout, Karl's nerves tightened instantaneously; he quickly stowed the sniper rifle and drew the handgun at his waist, stepping quietly towards the door.

The noise downstairs seemed to disappear.

Most of the walls here were damaged, leaving only the load-bearing walls barely intact, while most of the space had become a playground for Variants, with not only Eaters but also mutated rats and cockroaches.

He hadn't cleared out the Variants in the entire building.

But he was sure, that noise was definitely not made by Variants!

Thinking of the target who might be an Awakener he had seen yesterday, Karl felt his heart rise to his throat.

Silence enveloped the surroundings.

It was so quiet that he could even hear his heartbeat.

Looking at the communication channel's signal light flashing frantically, a drop of cold sweat slid across Karl's forehead.

He knew he couldn't delay here any longer, he had to move quickly to a new sniping position to provide support for Squad C, embroiled in a tough battle!

He had to take the initiative!

With resolve, he gripped the handgun, carefully leaving the room, and made his way to the neighboring room. There was a two-step-wide hole there, leading directly down to the floor below.

The sound seemed to be near the safety passageway; after going down, he only needed to move through the corridor to the entrance of the safety passageway to surprise them from behind!

As soon as his feet touched the ground below, Karl squatted down, but just as he was about to lean close to the wall, an arrow whizzed over his head!

"Shit!"

Startled, Karl cursed, leaning out from the cover and fired three shots in the direction the arrow had come from. His other hand didn't hesitate to pull out a grenade and threw it out in front.

Boom——!

The fragmentation grenade exploded, sending shrapnel rampaging through the open hall, drawing out the Eaters from the next room.

Karl wasn't flustered; with the number of people on the other side unknown and him alone on this side, the more chaotic the situation, the more it benefited him.

This was why he hadn't cleared the Variants on the nearby floors!

When necessary, those Eaters would become the most reliable shield for him, covering his transfer between floors!

Just then, another cold arrow flew past his head and stuck into the concrete wall behind him.

Karl sneered in his heart.

Bows and arrows?

What era was it, and someone still used such primitive weapons. Daring to challenge him without even a gun, they must be tired of living!

"Do you have any skills aside from ambushes—"

Before he could finish the sentence, an explosion roared from behind Karl. He hadn't noticed that the arrow shot before had three thumb-thick tubes tied to its side.

The 3X50g charge exploded instantly, scattering 3X20 steel pellets like a torrential rain, sweeping through the room. Caught off guard, Karl's back was blasted into a bloody mess, and he screamed painfully.

"Ah——!"

Screams and blood squeezed out from Karl's throat together.

Through the smoke, a figure approached him.

Almost instinctively, Karl struggled to lift his pistol, firing several shots at the figure, but only saw the bullets spark against the chestplate, failing to scratch the person, just like tickling.

The magazine was empty.

Karl's face was etched with despair.

The man walked up to him, nonchalantly took hold of his gun-wielding right hand, and easily plucked the pistol from his grasp.

And to add insult to injury, he crushed his wrist on the spot.

Looking down at the red-named target writhing on the ground like a maggot, Old White took a glance at the scratch on his own breastplate and couldn't help but praise.

"Holy shit, this armor is so damn useful!"

It was indeed armor that the Manager himself had worn once!

Regular bullets couldn't penetrate it at all!

At best, they just added a few more medals of honor to his breastplate!

Wild Wind, who came in carrying a javelin from the adjacent room, glanced at the man curled up on the ground babbling in pain.

"What is he saying?"

Fang Chang responded, "Probably begging for mercy? That's how it usually goes in the movies."

Old White turned to Fang Chang and asked, "Speaking of the bounty mission, did it say anything about taking prisoners?"

Fang Chang pondered for a moment and said, "200 silver coins are guaranteed, I feel this sniper could be a big help, let's keep him for now... Night Ten, what are you playing with?"

"Holy crap, this sniper rifle is too cool!"

Hugging the sniper rifle he had picked up from the ground, Night Ten was caressing the barrel with his right hand, eyes sparkling as if he had found a treasure.

The light green casing, the substantial bolt, the comforting length, and the flash suppressor at the muzzle all showcased its might. What really thrilled him was the optical scope on the upper rail—maximum magnification of six times, and adjustable zoom and focus!

This was way better than the homemade telescope he had bought from the NPC shop!

"I've decided," Night Ten seriously said to Fang Chang, "from now on, call it Artillery!"

Hearing the name, Fang Chang couldn't resist retorting.

"Can't you pick a name that's slightly less... plain?"

Night Ten rolled his eyes.

"Please, as if it could be plainer than your 'Dawn.'"

"How is 'Dawn' plain at all!!"

"...Alright, there are still people outside," Wild Wind said, peering through the hallway window at the street, "We've already bagged 200 silver coins. What do you say? Do we keep going?"

Staring down at the gunfire-riddled street below, Fang Chang suddenly had an idea and turned to Night Ten.

"Night Ten, can you hit them from here?"

"Let me check!"

Night Ten, with the sniper rifle in his arms, went to the window, looked outside, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"It's a bit far, the angle isn't great... but it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Distance on the map: 800 meters, we are currently on the 19th floor," Fang Chang squeezed his shoulder, "Brother who racked the bolt first in our team, it's up to you now."

…

Eight hundred meters away.

The entrance to Garden Street Metro Station.

Gunfire echoed incessantly, the whole street was in chaos.

Players used homemade smoke bombs made from phosphorus, potassium nitrate, and sugar to cloud the streets, threw homemade grenades made from black powder, and bullets from assorted weapons fired off as though they were free, pushing the front line to the middle of the street in just three minutes.

"Fire! Fire!"

"Damn it, how many of them are there?!"

"I don't know! All I know is if we keep firing like this, I'm gonna run out of bullets!"

The pungent smell of gunpowder filled the whole road, and bullets zipped through the air.

The flames spitting from the machine gun bathed Lambert's face in a ruddy glow. At first, he was only firing short bursts, but then he had to spray to keep up—now the barrel was getting hot.

Yet even so, he couldn't stop these survivors' attack that surged like a high tide!

Have these people gone mad?!

Don't they fear death at all?!

To avoid being overwhelmed, Team C had to repeatedly fall back, ultimately retreating to the entrance of Garden Street Metro Station.

Repositioning the machine gun, Lambert cursed over the communications channel.

"Damn it! Where's Karl? Did that idiot fall asleep?"

"I have a bad feeling..."

"No matter your feeling, hold your position! Our Teams A and B are still below in the subway—"

Right in the middle of speaking, a teammate beside Lambert took a burst of bullets to the chest, producing a spray of blood. He didn't even have time to grunt before he fell to the ground.

"Sniper!"

Fear seized Lambert's heart, and just as he was about to retreat, two rocket-propelled grenades cut through the smog—one whizzed into the subway station while the other slammed into a concrete boulder barrier in front of them.

The explosion nearly singed his hair, and Lambert, who had thrown himself to the ground, scrambled and grabbed a rifle from a teammate to hide within the subway.

Past the security checkpoint, he ran wildly to the platform, flipped into a carriage, and set up his rifle aiming at the stairs behind.

While catching his breath, he said,

"This is Team C, the surface position is lost, we need to find a new—"

Halfway through his sentence, a gust of wind suddenly hit from behind, heavily striking Lambert on the back of his head and knocking him out cold.

"Ha ha ha! I've made my loss back, made it all back!" Mosquito, holding a steel rod, was so excited he nearly gave the red-named elite monster another whack.

Picking up a free kill was simply exhilarating, okay?!

"You're getting excited for what? That's just 200 silver coins. You need another kill to break even—what the fuck?"

The Mole, who had sneaked over from the adjacent carriage with him, caught sight of the black-colored rifle on the ground at a glance.

He picked it up off the floor and, looking at the tactical flashlight and vertical grip under the muzzle, the Mole's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"This rifle is cool..."

Although it couldn't compare to his Black Swan, selling it for two or three hundred silver coins shouldn't be a problem, right?

"A handgun, and two grenades... This bulletproof vest should be usable, too!"

Zhang Hai, who had his backside covered, didn't know when he had slipped over from the next carriage. He excitedly felt around the body of the elite monster while mumbling to himself.

"We're gonna be rich, rich!"

Mosquito and Mole exchanged glances, communicating silently.

'What does it have to do with him?'

'Who knows!'

...

Surface.

The street adjacent to Garden Street Metro Station.

Seeing the smoke in the distance, despite the weather being minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius, Liu Jiuyue felt sweat seeping into the palms of his hands.

He was coincidentally passing by while escorting the caravan back to Brown's farmstead and had witnessed the entire battle from start to finish.

Only one thought crossed his mind.

They were so strong!

The guard next to him swallowed, whispering quietly with another guard.

"Is it over?"

"Seems like it..."

"What on earth is hidden inside this metro station? It's not just the people from the North Suburb here; even the mercenaries from the Giant Stone City have shown up."

"No matter what's hidden there, it's not something we can handle," Liu Jiuyue said, interrupting the guards' whispering. He swallowed again before continuing.

"Let's keep moving. The fight is over now."

The neighbors near Wetland Park might be even stronger than they had imagined.

He suddenly understood a little better why Mr. Brown had taken the initiative to offer food to those people...

...

Voice of the Giant Stone City Radio Station Headquarters.

Haus, the star radio host, was currently sitting in the studio with his feet perched on the table, looking at the press release his colleague had just brought in.

Although his posture was relaxed, his expression was anything but relaxed, gradually turning solemn and tense.

Suddenly, he sat up straight in his chair, looking at the colleague standing in the studio.

"Black Snake Mercenary Group lost? Lost to a bunch of country bumpkins? How is that possible? Is there some mistake?!"

The colleague in the studio shook his head and said.

"You're not the only one surprised. I confirmed it twice with the reporters at the lookout tower, but the result was the same."

"The Black Snake Mercenary Group's sneak attack completely enraged the country bumpkins from the North Suburb; they sent out at least a hundred people to surround them. The squad that Commander Pruitt left on the surface was completely annihilated; the remaining two squads are trapped inside the metro station, and it looks like it's more danger than good luck."

"According to the Central Casino, a lot of people bet after watching our program today. We're broadcasting this news in fifteen minutes; get ready."

With that, he turned and left the studio, taking care to close the door behind him.

Haus's face alternated between pale and flushed, his hand clenching the press release into a fist.

Even though he hadn't hired these mercenaries and Pruitt wasn't his acquaintance or friend, he had just bet 500 chips on two members of the Black Snake Mercenary Group dying.

That was his entire week's salary!

If this report was true, he would have worked this week for nothing.

"These incompetent fools, truly disgraceful, all of them can go to hell! Better none of them come back!"

Haus angrily crumpled the press release into a ball and threw it into the wastebasket.

He decided to rewrite it, giving those outnumbering, dishonorable country bumpkins from the North Suburb a piece of his mind!

...

One kilometer from Garden Street Metro Station.

Chu Guang, clad in exoskeleton armor, sat on a bench on the street, overseeing the smoky battlefield through a Hummingbird drone connected to his VM.

The players had already charged to the entrance of the metro station. It took them less than fifteen minutes from arriving on the battlefield to securing the metro station.

Except for the one who escaped into the metro station, the other three mercenaries all died under the chaotic gunfire of his little players.

The entrance to Shelter No.117 was located in the middle of the tunnel.

There was almost no cover to use there; foreseeably, the mercenaries would definitely guard the exit of the shelter.

A faint smile played on Chu Guang's lips as he reached for the Warhammer resting next to him and rose from the bench.

"It's finally my turn to make an entrance."

...

Below the surface.

In the tunnel of Garden Street Metro Station.

"Damn it, Team C is gone, we have to rely on ourselves now!"

Listening to the static in the communications channel, Jerry cursed and propped his rifle on the stairs next to the tunnel.

This was the only place in the tunnel that could provide cover.

The captain left them, entering Shelter No. 117 alone. As the captain of Team B, he was ordered to hold the entrance at all costs.

However, even with two light machine guns and two rocket launchers, it was still not enough to give him a sense of security.

They had no reinforcements.

Those left here were the last standing.

And according to the intelligence provided by Team C, they were facing over ten times their number in enemy forces. Jerry wasn't even sure if their ammunition would last until the commander emerged from the shelter.

At this moment, noises came from the other end of the tunnel.

Not just Jerry, everyone's heart raced to their throats.

A figure appeared in the tunnel.

He was clad in steel armor, carrying a warhammer, and pointed it provocatively at them.

The moment Jerry saw the figure appearing in the tunnel, he roared with all his might.

"Fire!"

Da-da-da—!

Orange-yellow tracer fire poured from both sides of the tunnel, slicing towards the man like scissors, forming a dense network of bullets.

But an unbelievable scene took place.

The hundreds of bullets that poured forth in an instant hit an invisible wall and didn't have any effect at all.

Not even a ripple was created!

Old White, standing at the eye of the storm with his hammer now held with both hands, shouted excitedly.

"Holy shit! This hammer is freaking amazing!"

A few minutes ago, the Manager had given him this warhammer and told him to simply press the button on the handle, direct it toward the enemy, and make a taunting gesture.

Before entering the tunnel, Old White was worried if he could withstand the attack, but it seemed now that his concerns were utterly unnecessary!

The nitrogen shield that extended from the top of the warhammer, like a transparent umbrella, blew away all incoming bullets.

That network of fire seemed fierce, but it hadn't touched his armor once!

"Come on, hit me harder!"

"Is this all you've got? Didn't you have lunch?"

Old White wasn't sure if these elite monsters would understand his imperfect Mandarin, and even less certain if they could hear him over the gunfire.

But it didn't matter.

Being this badass was all that counted!

Please, let there be more missions like this!

Seeing the "monster" unfazed in the midst of their firepower, Jerry, filled with fear, quickly directed his men to set up the rocket launcher.

However, before the man with the rocket launcher could pull the trigger, a shot, as powerful as artillery, tore his upper body to shreds.

Jerry was stunned.

But in just a second, he realized what had happened and his face turned pale with horror.

A Gauss Rifle!

These hillbillies from the North Suburb actually had a Gauss Rifle!

These mercenaries weren't given the time to think of a counterstrategy.

Chu Guang, who had successfully attracted the opposing fire while tucking away his Gauss Rifle, decisively blew the whistle in his mouth.

The piercing whistle echoed through the tunnel.

Deafening shouts of war rose simultaneously as players with bayonets affixed to their weapons flooded from the platform into the tunnel like a bursting dam.

"Kill them!"

"Ula!"

"For Demacia!"

"For the Manager!"

"Crush them!"

The shouting was so loud it made everyone's ears hurt.

Watching the glints of cold light charging from the darkness, Jerry was filled with terror, his willpower uncontrollably collapsing.

By this time, the monster wearing heavy armor and wielding the warhammer had already charged to their front. With a mere wave of his hand, he sent a gunman flying.

Close combat began.

A mercenary had just pulled out his dagger when he was turned into a sieve by myriad thrusting bayonets.

It was over.

Completely over.

Even if their captain came out in his power armor to save them, they stood no chance of breaking out from here.

Completely losing his will to fight, Jerry threw down his weapon like a madman, raised both hands over his head, and knelt down, pleading for mercy.

"Stop!"

"We surrender!"

Chapter 182 Power Armor! And the Black Briefcase!

"...This is Voice of Giant Stone City, interrupting with a news flash: the Black Snake Mercenary Group encountered conflict with local survivors while on a mission in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City. Although Captain Pruitt and his brothers had an absolute advantage both tactically and in equipment, unfortunately, they ran into a bunch of shameless bullies who pick on the weak."

"The mercenaries stationed near the metro station put up a valiant resistance, but in the end, they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The entrance to the metro station is now controlled by the yokels from the North Suburb, forcing Captain Pruitt and the remaining men to retreat inside the metro station in search of another way out."

"Our station will continue to monitor the situation near Garden Street Metro Station, let's pray for Captain Pruitt for three seconds, hoping he can make it back alive."

Pray?

No chance.

For those who lost money, not cursing these fools for three days and nights would be considered showing restraint.

It was just twelve mercenaries after all, their lives were probably not even valuable to themselves. Aside from their employer, no one cared whether they lived or died.

The gamblers of Giant Stone City only cared about their own wallets. They wished those who caused their losses, these harbingers of doom, would all die out there, preferably none returning.

Inside the Twin Tail Rat Tavern, the air was filled with an angry cacophony of swearing and curses, so vile that even the bartender behind the bar couldn't help clicking his tongue.

These gambling drunks, who would ordinarily never agree on anything, even about something as trivial as how much water was in 'today's special beer', were united in their condemnation.

"Damn it, give me my money back!"

"They can't even beat a bunch of beggars, what a disgrace to the mercenaries of Giant Stone City!"

"I seriously suspect that that old bastard Pruitt is in cahoots with the Central Casino! Think about it, what good is there in North Suburb that's worth them rushing over in a plane? Renting a plane from the Militia Group isn't cheap!"

"No matter what their commission was, don't let me see that idiot in this tavern! I swear, I will spit in his face!"

"The Central Casino has fallen too, actually opening bets for such a boring event! They'd be better off betting on the day after tomorrow's weather, at least that's fair!"

People's joys and sorrows are always disconnected.

While the gamblers of Giant Stone City were cursing the twelve mercenaries of the Black Snake Mercenary Group, wishing they'd all have their guts torn out by the barbarians, Jerry, who was crouching on the ground with his head in his hands, was shivering and praying that the survivors would spare his life in light of his surrender.

Although he had anticipated this end from the moment he became a mercenary, it didn't mean that he was indifferent to life and death.

If possible, no one wants to die.

In the tunnel.

A dozen players were standing in front of a corpse, arguing so fiercely that their faces were flushed.

"Fuck! Whose kill is this?"

"I stabbed it first!"

"Obviously my strike was more fatal!"

"You guys take the Contribution Points, just give me the silver coins."

"Get lost! We're all old players with VMs, who the hell still lacks that bit of contribution?"

Watching those survivors bicker, Jerry was shivering, also inexplicably confused, completely not understanding what they were arguing about.

Suddenly, Jerry noticed that those people were looking at him.

"...Wait, there's still a prisoner here?"

"You think if we finish him off, it'll count as a kill?"

"The red name is gone, probably useless."

"Yes...and I remember the Resident's handbook states that attacking a neutral NPC will result in confinement depending on the severity of the incident, and attacking a friendly NPC might even result in permanent expulsion. His map marker is gray, so maybe his bounty is already completed after he became a prisoner?"

"What about the bounty? Who received it?"

"Umm... maybe it's settled later? It's always been like that before."

Although Jerry didn't understand what those people were discussing, the occasional glances towards him indeed made him feel a chill down his spine.

It felt like being a fish on the chopping board.

His life and death depended entirely on a whim of these people.

Just then, a man wearing a blue exoskeleton with a ridiculously powerful warhammer hanging on his back walked over from the direction of the platform. Jerry was sure that the man who had blocked almost all their firepower just now wasn't him.

Meanwhile, Jerry clearly felt that when the man appeared, the survivors around showed a respectful attitude, and even the whispers became much quieter.

He stopped in front of him.

The man looked down at him and asked,

"Where's your captain?"

Jerry swallowed and glanced at the shelter nearby.

"He's already gone in..."

Chu Guang looked to the side.

There was an iron gate left ajar, adorned with a prohibitory sign, yet behind the gate lay a straight passage leading to the refuge's main entrance—the iconic gear-shaped alloy giant door several inches thick.

The entrance to Shelter No. 117, unlike the sunken entrance of Shelter No. 404, was built directly alongside the subway tunnel.

Shelters with three-digit serial numbers all belonged to the "full-cycle" category, which could completely physically disconnect from the outside world once their doors were closed. As long as the thermal nuclear fusion reactor's energy supply remained uninterrupted, the shelter could operate indefinitely without needing any material exchange with the outside.

Theoretically, if the people inside were determined not to come out and had locked the door, nothing anyone did from the outside would make a difference. All those stories of attacks by fire and flood were child's play compared to this; these civil defense facilities were built to withstand strategic nuclear strikes, and their designers had anticipated every possible scenario, including being hit by a megaton-yield nuclear blast.

However—

Shelter No. 117 had obviously been abandoned for many years; the reactor inside had long ceased operating, and relying on the backup power source to open the door was feasible, but expecting a full cycle was out of the question.

After a moment's consideration, Chu Guang bent down and looked into the mercenary's eyes.

"Let him come out."

Jerry moved back an inch nervously.

"It's no use, nobody's useful, Captain Pruitt won't listen to me... He couldn't care less about our lives."

Chu Guang smirked and took out a long nail, placing it gently in his hand.

That was a Gauss Rifle bullet—albeit a pure steel forged replica.

The moment Jerry saw the bullet, his breath halted for a few seconds.

Chu Guang continued.

"Go tell him."

"If he thinks he can escape from here just by wearing a suit of power armor, I'll show him what stupidity costs."

"Of course, if he's scared witless and plans to spend his life with this shelter, I can help him out. For example, use twenty tons of cement to seal this place up completely."

"This is my relic, if I can't have it, no one can take anything from inside."

"Of course, if he's a bit smarter and comes rolling out with his hands on his head, and if he explains clearly who your employer is—"

"I'll spare him a dog's life."

...

Captain Pruitt surrendered.

When he saw the long nail in Jerry's hand through the camera, he made a choice between surrender and defence without much effort.

There was no need for hesitation.

In a shelter that had already been abandoned, with a reactor gone cold, and the cold fusion cell plugged into the backup power source barely enough for lighting and operating doors, he had no chance of holding out here.

Not to mention guarding this door until his death.

At most, he would starve or die of thirst inside within a week.

He was just a mercenary paid to do a job, without any ideological awakening of "dying with the mission."

The door to the shelter slowly opened.

Leaving his weapons at the entrance of the buffer room, Pruitt, with his hands on his head, walked out of the shelter's main entrance under the watchful eyes of the gathered players.

Looking at Chu Guang standing at the doorway, he bowed his head and pleaded in a low voice.

"I surrender... I hope you'll keep your promise."

"That depends on your honesty," said Chu Guang as he looked at him, "Tell me, who is your employer?"

Pruitt glanced at the survivors around him and swallowed before speaking.

"Sir, we're just mercenaries paid to do a task and don't have the privilege of meeting our employer. The middleman who assigns us tasks is called 'White Shark'; he's the one who gave us the advance payment and the magnetic card for Shelter No. 117..."

White Shark?

Chu Guang looked at him and continued.

"What was your commission?"

Pruitt replied, "Our employer commissioned us to find a black briefcase, said to be in the Manager's Office of Shelter No. 117. In addition, the employer mentioned that there was a power armor set here, supposedly a private collection of the shelter's manager. The middleman told me, though, that the employer wasn't sure if it was still here, just mentioned that if we saw it, to remember to take it along for an extra reward."

Chu Guang smirked lightly and said, "It seems your employer is quite familiar with this shelter."

Pruitt swallowed again and said, "That's what I thought too... I feel like he might be someone from Shelter No. 117, but I've never seen him, I'm not even sure if he's in Giant Stone City."

Chu Guang kept his eyes on him and asked further.

"Where can I find that White Shark?"

"At Pirate Bay Tavern in Giant Stone City, he's the owner there, and a lot of mercenaries pick up jobs there," Pruitt replied, his expression tense as he hoped to please Chu Guang with his answer, "Sir, we really don't know who the employer is... but if you want to have a word with White Shark, I can be of service to you."

Chu Guang gave a faint smile.

"I will find him myself."

Judging that he wouldn't get anything crucial out of this guy, Chu Guang let him roll over to the side of the other prisoners, to squat down with their heads in their hands against the wall alongside the other three POWs.

Counting the sniper found by the Bull & Horse team, the Black Snake Mercenary Group had a total of thirteen mercenaries, with only four captured.

The rest were either killed in the crossfire or, before they had a chance to surrender, got turned into sieves by the players' bayonets in close combat.

As for the players' side, discounting those newbies who died in the surprise attack, the casualties reached 17. Given the base of 500 players, this number wasn't enough to cause any major damage.

After the battle with the army, Outpost Base wouldn't lack for active substances for a while; those fallen little players would be back on their feet in three days.

Chu Guang would deal with these prisoners later.

As for now, of course, counting the spoils of war was more important.

Just as the Manager headed towards Shelter No.117, the players guarding the door received the mission completion notification almost simultaneously.

"Giao! Si Si! Quickly check the VM!" Tail, who was holding a pipe rifle, said excitedly while flailing his arms, "37 Silver! We've struck it rich, eh!"

"Eh? I received it too," Si Si, looking at his VM in surprise, said, "Turns out everyone gets a share just for participating, but why do I only have 21 Silver..."

"It's definitely because Si Si wasn't as quick to charge as Tail!"

Glancing at a smug Tail, Si Si thoughtfully stroked his chin.

"Hmm, it might actually be because of that."

Elsewhere.

Old White, clad in heavy armor, walked over to the other three members of the Bull & Horse team, and excitedly told his buddies,

"That was freaking awesome! The warhammer was invincible! Once the shield wall was up, it didn't matter if it was machine guns or rifles; nothing could get through!"

"It's a weapon from the Manager, after all," Night Ten, carrying a sniper rifle, chuckled and said, "Old White, that armor was worth the buy."

"Hey, it would be nice if it could be bought!"

"Forget it, those game-breaking weapons, even if they were for sale, would be ridiculously expensive," Fang Chang casually responded to Old White and, gazing at his VM thoughtfully, said, "Speaking of which, the mission settled quite quickly. I got 111 Silver on my end."

"Already settled? That was fast... Holy crap! I got 144 Silver!" Night Ten's eyes nearly popped out at the number displayed on his VM.

Wild Wind tried to analyze, "Maybe it's because you took out one with your sniper rifle? I got 107 Silver, not much different from Fang Chang."

Fang Chang nodded thoughtfully and said,

"That must be it. Open up the completed missions page, and there is a detailed list explaining the source of each reward. I can see that my rewards are from two parts: one is the bounty mission reward, the other is the battlefield mission reward."

"For example, the sniper we took down earlier, his bounty and Contribution Points were divided equally among us at 25 percent, accounted into the bounty mission. At the same time, being a high-threat target, he also provided us with 50 battlefield points, included in the battlefield mission."

Night Ten's face showed sudden understanding, "That makes sense... But what about the few elite monsters with red names that were killed later? It's hard to tell who took them down."

Fang Chang replied, "Exactly. So the few red-named elite monsters killed in the group fight were included in the total earnings of the battlefield mission and split according to battlefield points. For instance, look at your bounty mission reward; it's the same as ours. But you have slightly more battlefield points than us; thus, you have a bit more earnings."

The total earnings from the battlefield mission included various factors, mainly calculated based on the spoils of war and the difficulty of the battle. Although Wasteland OL did not disclose the specific calculations for battlefield earnings, players could still distinctly sense the differences.

For instance, the simplest one: defensive battles yield higher Contribution Points than offensive battles, while offensive battles yield higher Silver coin rewards than defensive ones. Fighting against an army gives higher returns than fighting against Looters, and fighting players gives higher returns than fighting Variants.

Old White said with a face full of surprise, "I got 171 Silver... Niubi! Just for standing in front with the shield up, they even gave me an extra 50 battlefield points!"

Hearing Bull & Horse team's discussion, the surrounding players all wore envious expressions.

The vast majority of them only got 50 Silver, with only a few reaching 70 or even 80 Silver; those were T2 and T1 tier top players.

Looking at the VM on his arm, Mosquito couldn't help but swear,

"MMP! I got 111 Silver! What kind of rip-off is this!"

Out of that, 100 Silver was from capturing prisoners!

Standing beside him, Mole commented calmly, "Normal, after all, apart from picking up a head, we indeed didn't have much participation... but the good news is, I just received a pop-up for mission completion."

Obviously, the mission being referred to here was not the common bounty mission that everyone had, but the task of clearing the path from the Garden Street Metro Station to Shelter No.117.

Hearing Mole's words, Mosquito's eyes immediately lit up, "Wow! Bro, you're awesome! Is the reward already credited!?"

"It is. Like we agreed, you get forty percent, I get sixty. I'll transfer it to you now."

Saying this, Mole tapped twice on his VM with his index finger and generously transferred 480 out of the freshly acquired 1200 Silver coins to Mosquito.

As for the costs, the two had already shared them earlier.

Looking at the credited 480 Silver, Mosquito's face lit up with joy, and he couldn't close his mouth with excitement,

"Awesome! Hahaha, I'm rich!"

Observing the cheerful folks around, Zhang Hai, who was holding his bleeding buttocks, couldn't help but come over and ask, "Excuse my ignorance, are there rewards for those without a VM? Where can I see the rewards?"

Mosquito gave him a sidelong glance.

"Dream on, do you even have DPS?"

Mole also chuckled and said.

"Don't even think about it, bro, we didn't even get the mission, so there's no freakin' reward. This mission isn't meant for newbies anyway, just think of it as tagging along for some experience."

Zhang Hai: "Damn, it's so cold it's shaking my soul! Do newbies have no rights or what?"

Patting his shoulder, Mole spoke earnestly, "Be content, man. We all started this way, and back in our day, we had to earn Contribution Points by hauling bricks and chopping wood. Take my advice, save up and buy yourself a VM ASAP."

Zhang Hai: "%￥#@!"

While the players at the entrance to the shelter were still making a ruckus, Chu Guang had already passed through the open Alloy Giant Door, taking a Wrench and another guard with him into the interior of Shelter No.117.

Stepping on the concrete floor tiles, the soles of their shoes made a grating sound.

Judging by the thick layer of dust on the ground, it had been years since anyone had visited this place.

Although the chance of running into danger was slim, just to be safe, Chu Guang still held his warhammer at the ready. Up to now, he hadn't encountered any energy weapons; damage in the wasteland was commonly kinetic-based, and the nitrogen shield was almost absolutely effective against small mass flying props.

Picking up a flyer for Shelter No.117 from the ground, Chu Guang flipped it over to the back, where there was a schematic drawing of the shelter's structure.

"Shelter No.117 only has three floors..."

And it's much smaller than Shelter No. 404!

According to the flyer, the shelter's reasonable capacity was between 100 and 200 people, while Shelter No. 404, just the B2 floor's BCD sections alone, had a total of 600 rooms.

However, Chu Guang could clearly feel that life in this shelter should be much better than in Shelter No. 404.

The individual rooms here had an average area of more than 10 square meters each, some even had private bathrooms. Compared to those pigeonhole-like rooms in Shelter No. 404, this was a massive upgrade.

To live in here, you gotta spend a pretty penny, that's for sure!

Right across from the main door of the shelter was the equipment room, with a layout similar to Shelter No. 404 and rows of tall cabinets.

Upon opening a cabinet, Chu Guang discovered that besides protective gear and gas masks, there were also plenty of police equipment inside.

However, most of these police equipment were mainly batons, shields, anti-riot forks, stun guns, and bulletproof vests. There were no automatic weapons or pre-war police pistols, and he certainly didn't see his own "Light Cavalry" Type 5 police exoskeleton.

Chu Guang checked the quality of the equipment.

Besides the batteries of the stun guns being dead and no longer usable, the bulletproof vests and shields were of excellent quality, as were the batons and anti-riot forks—they didn't look like they had been around for more than two hundred years at all.

"A bulletproof vest could sell for 200 silver coins, I reckon that's fair... For the shield, well, let's make it cheaper, 100 silver coins sounds good." Looking at the equipment in the room, Chu Guang stroked his chin, musing.

As for the batons and anti-riot forks...

It wasn't much use selling them to players; better to leave them to the NPCs as tools for maintaining security.

Since there was no power armor discovered in the equipment room, Chu Guang left a guard to watch over it and went to the buffer room with another.

After passing through the two gates of the buffer room, they officially entered the interior of the shelter.

The reactor here had been shut down, leaving only the emergency power supply plugged with cold fusion batteries to sustain the bare minimum operation of the shelter. Facilities like fridges and water purifiers were long dead, and even lights would only turn on when someone approached.

"Sir, the air quality here seems a bit off..." Wrench, following beside Chu Guang, cautiously said, "How about letting me handle the exploration from here on?"

"Don't worry; I know what I'm doing."

Chu Guang tapped his VM strapped to his arm, which showed the oxygen content was still within safe limits. Although there was a slight presence of ozone in the air, the concentration was very low, and it wouldn't be an issue, not for his 14-point Constitution, let alone a normal adult standing here.

Wrench didn't say anything more, just faithfully moved to the front of Chu Guang.

Instead of taking the elevator, they reached the B3 floor—the deepest part of Shelter No.117—through the safety passage next to the elevator.

Chu Guang noticeably felt that the dust here was much thicker than on the first floor.

The two made their way through the corridor and successfully arrived at the entrance to the Manager's Office.

The door was shut tight.

Chu Guang felt around the door for a while, then, with a thought, he took out a magnetic card and stuck it on.

The signal light on the door lit up, and the alloy door panel slid open to one side, retracting into the wall.

Looking at the decor inside the office, and the power armor displayed along the wall, a hint of envy appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"MMP, why are the other Managers so freakin' loaded? I have to build my damn office myself, and that's not fair at all!"

The understated decor held a low-key extravagance, and the display cabinet had the Manager's personal collection of books and decorative items.

But those weren't the main attraction.

The main attraction was the streamlined armor-clad, deep blue-painted power armor, as well as the black box leaning against the office desk!

That should be the briefcase Doctor Principle had mentioned!

But rather than calling it a briefcase, Chu Guang thought the term suitcase was more apt. The thing wasn't small; lying down, it was as tall as his own lower leg.

In addition to that, behind the office desk, there sat a skeleton wearing a blue coat. The skeleton's left elbow was propped on the chair's armrest, with the VM slid down to the joint of his forearm.

The moment his eyes met the VM device, a line of pale blue text popped up in Chu Guang's field of vision—

[Mission Complete!]

Chapter 183: Ark Plan

Worldwide Announcement: Manager "Dawn" has taken over Shelter No.117, and the VM map now includes a new base "Shelter No.117."

"Map of Garden Street Subway Station" now available: The intertwined subway network was once a symbol of the prosperity of Spring City, but it has now become a breeding ground for Variants and sticky fungi. Eaters, Crawlers, Martyrs, and even the terrifying Tyrant, the barbarians living underground and the plague-spreading rat swarms... There is no concept of night and day here, only a unique ecosystem, with a danger level twice that of the surface! However, at the same time, this maze connected to the abyss may also hide unexpected treasures...

Heartwarming tips from Xia Yan: I once lost a leg here, so if you must explore this place, it's best to bring your teammates along, at least you'll have company when you hit the road.

About half an hour after the Manager had entered Shelter No.117, almost all the players with VMs received this series of notifications simultaneously.

"Holy crap! A new map opened!?"

"A labyrinth connected to the abyss... I didn't feel that it was so dangerous here."

"That's because all the Variants here have been cleared out. You think Brother Mole was busy here this week for nothing."

"What kind of trash can you find in the subway?"

"Maybe pre-war strategic reserves? But it's been two centuries, I always feel like if there was such a thing, it would've been looted by now."

"Is there a fleet setting off? Body Constitution System looking for Perception."

"Set off my ass, what time is it! Tomorrow, man. Let me at least go back and save the game, earning experience isn't easy."

"Damn, you die once, and you lose all the progress for the day, this death penalty is too freaking real!"

In the tunnel.

Watching as Fang Chang switched to the map page and found the icon for Shelter No.117, he pointed at it with his index finger.

When he saw the sub-page pop up on the screen, he was slightly taken aback.

[

Base Name: Shelter No.117

Base Level: Relic (LV0)

Prosperity: 0

Industrial Index: 0

Commercial Index: 0

Needs: None

Orientation: Exploration (Scavenging task rewards +10%), Hunting (Hunting task rewards +10%)

]

"The info card for Shelter No.117 actually updated..."

Hearing Brother Fang Chang's voice, Night Ten was startled, quickly opened the map, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"What the hell? A prosperity of 0 and there's still an info card?"

If I'm not mistaken, shouldn't the prosperity reach 100 points before it becomes a Survivor Base? This place doesn't even have an NPC.

Wild Wind also noticed the change in the map, contemplated for a moment, and then offered a hypothesis.

"Maybe the shelter is a special case? Look at the level column, it says 'Relic.'"

Fang Chang nodded, agreeing with his analysis.

"Yeah, whether it's Outpost Base or Long Endurance Farm, the label in the level column is 'Village.' Maybe the growth trajectory for shelters is different from that of regular Survivor Bases."

Like, a save point for the entrance to the underground maze?

As for the specifics, we'll only know when the official announcement comes out.

...

Keeping Shelter No.117 was a decision Chu Guang made after careful consideration.

Though Shelter No.117 was a bit small, it had everything a three-digit shelter should have, including a full-cycle life support system.

The reactor shutting down was an issue, but not a big one.

Even if he couldn't utilize all the functions of this shelter, it would still make a great bridgehead for players to explore the underground world.

Spring City's underground traffic network was extensive. It not only provided commuting to various districts of Spring City but was also connected to many civil defense facilities.

The only trouble was the Variants wandering in the subway tunnels.

However, the moment Chu Guang took the VM off the arm of the previous manager of Shelter No.117, he realized this concern was unnecessary.

Because soon, he received a task notification from the shelter system.

[Task: Refuel the nuclear fusion reactor of Shelter No.117]

[Reward: Maximum (Manager) authority of Shelter No.117]

Looking at the task popup that appeared in his field of view, Chu Guang couldn't help but complain.

"Where the hell am I supposed to find fuel rods for the reactor?"

The fuel rods used by the shelter's reactor were not the same size as those used by Pioneer.

In other words, hoping to recycle fuel rods from the carbon dioxide trap was out of the question.

Following behind Chu Guang, Wrench was stunned for a moment, confused by what the Manager suddenly said.

"Sir?"

"...Never mind."

Watching as the VM recovered from the previous manager of Shelter No.117 was put on himself and waited for a while until it regained some power.

VM booted up.

What entered his field of view was the original operating system of the vital signs monitor, pulling data saved in the black box, revealing that the previous Manager had died from an overdose of sleeping pills.

The desk was very clean, holding only three items: a pen holder with two pens, a brown-covered diary, and an empty wine glass.

Chu Guang searched his desk and quickly found a previously opened bottle of pills in the drawer.

Looking at the remains slumped in the office chair, Chu Guang could roughly reconstruct the scene: the former Manager sitting there, taking an overdose of sleeping pills, drinking a cup of alcohol, and quietly waiting for death.

His gaze landed on the diary on the table; Chu Guang reached out, picked it up, and opened the dust-covered cover.

The title page read—

"To the scavengers of the wasteland world, archaeologists of Utopian Ruins, the ones cleaning up the mess."

"Here lies Sven Vilard, the Manager of Shelter No. 117, the Grave Guard of Utopia."

"The most despairing tragedy is to witness the end of a great era. A year in the grave is no different from a hundred years; after my mission ended, I decided it was time to depart. If my bones still exist, please find a place to bury me; you can take whatever you want from here, I won't need it anymore."

"What does 'after my mission ended' mean?" His index finger traced the line lightly as Chu Guang fell into thought.

Perhaps due to the "Blood Hand Diary," whenever he saw a diary now, he couldn't help but associate it with the First Generation Manager of Shelter No. 404.

The recording seemed to mention he was a pioneer of great routes, the most learned man of the old world.

Could this diary appearing here also be due to some arrangement from two centuries ago?

There were still some undeciphered data in the recovered VM, including this diary; Chu Guang planned to take it back for further study.

There were now three unresolved mysteries.

What exactly was the mission mentioned by the Manager of Shelter No. 117?

Where did the people here go?

And who exactly was Captain Pruitt's employer?

The answers to the last two questions might be found in the first.

Gathering the clues, Chu Guang looked towards Wrench standing by.

"I'll take off the exoskeleton in a bit, and you help me put it on."

Wrench paused slightly.

"And what about you?"

Looking at the power armor standing nearby, a slight smile curved Chu Guang's lips.

"I have that."

...

Subway tunnel.

Entrance to Shelter No. 117.

When the Manager emerged through the Alloy Giant Door from Shelter No. 117, it caused quite a stir among the player community.

That deep blue paint, the sharp, defined lines, and the thick armor—it was overwhelming just to look at!

"Awesome! Our Manager has changed equipment again!"

"Holy moly... that power armor is too cool!"

"Naive question, are they prepping to stock power armor in the NPC store?"

"Strongly demand the official sale of the same model of power armor! I'm buying it all!"

"Forget about it, this kind of SSSR level equipment, even if they let you buy it, it's mostly going to be in a gacha for you to pull."

"Waaaah, please speed up fixing the non-rechargeable BUG!"

Seeing the set of power armor on the Manager and then looking at his own shoddy version, Old White wore an envious expression.

To be fair, the armor he wore also wasn't weak in defense; a 20mm steel plate was sufficient to withstand regular gunfire and was mostly adequate.

However, compared to what the Manager wore, it still was inferior by more than one class, whether in defense or mobility.

"Ah, just wondered when our Manager will change equipment again."

He had no other aspirations; he just depended on using the Manager's outmoded equipment.

Hearing this, Night Ten felt intrigued and spoke up.

"Speaking of which, where is the Manager's previous exoskeleton?"

Wild Wind glanced toward the entrance to Shelter No. 117 and said,

"It seems to be on the Captain of the Guard."

Old White: "Damn!"

Wasn't it usually given to Boss Xia for auction?

Why was it directly issued for another NPC's use this time!

That's way too real!

Stopping in the tunnel, Chu Guang turned back to look at Wrench following behind him.

"I need you to pull two men from the guard team, set up a camp here, maintain order, and assign tasks to 'players.'"

"No problem, Lord," after a pause, Wrench cautiously said, "But... we might be running short on hands."

The guard team only had fifteen people.

These people not only needed to maintain the security of the Outpost Base but also had to manage the Long Endurance Farm and, with the recent establishment of a new gathering point, were already severely short-handed.

After hearing Wrench's words, Chu Guang pondered for a moment before saying.

"After I get back, I'll instruct Luka to recruit some newcomers from Bet Street and the Refugee Camp to gradually increase the guard team from the original 15 people to 45," Fang Chang instructed. "When the time comes, you'll go along with him to ensure quality control."

Wrench respectfully responded.

"Yes, sir."

...

After returning to the Shelter.

Chu Guang, based on the user manual of the power armor, created a data card for his new equipment and updated it on the official online database.

It wasn't to show off but rather to entice the players.

[Equipment: Power Armor

Model: "Order" P-10A Carlos Industries Security Powered Armor.

Durability: 100%

Armor: 100%

Energy: 79%

Shield: 0

Net Weight: 1100kg.

Left Arm: Basic Armor.

Right Arm: Basic Armor.

Chest: 70mm Lightweight Composite Steel/Ceramic Lined Curved Armor

Back: "Raptor-1" Enhanced Propulsion Thrusters X2

Left Leg: "Raptor-1" Enhanced Propulsion Thruster

Right Leg: "Raptor-1" Enhanced Propulsion Thruster

Energy Core: "Hippo-1" Portable Fusion Reactor

Paint: Klein Blue

Plugins: None

]

With a weight exceeding one ton, it was impossible to move in the shutdown state, as it consumed power just by being worn.

However, this suit of power armor had an energy-saving mode, allowing the wearer to provide some of the driving force through muscle power in exchange for reduced mobility, thus reducing the energy consumption of the power armor.

Chu Guang's current strength attribute was 17, equivalent to 3.4 times the strength of a normal adult male, more than enough to carry 3.4 times his own weight.

Additionally, since the power armor was designed with features of a non-powered exoskeleton, it didn't exhaust as much physical strength to move as one might imagine.

The added weight was merely considered physical training.

Of course, for Chu Guang, the achievements from the "Garden Street Metro Station operation" were not limited to this suit of power armor and the 200 reward points he received for completing the side mission.

There was also the black box that Doctor Principle entrusted to the Manager of Shelter No.117!

Yin Fang, with his hands touching the black box, excitedly looked at Chu Guang and said,

"S-level Relic!"

Chu Guang was momentarily stunned.

"S-level Relic? What does that mean?"

Yin Fang took a deep breath and continued,

"I should have mentioned before, to facilitate the recovery of pre-war technology, the Academy based on factors like technology reshaping difficulty, related project quantity, data volume, and application value, divided the 'Blueprints' of projects awaiting recovery into seven grades FEDCBAS to ensure that high-priority projects receive larger budgets and more staff. This grading system is used not only for technology but also for grading pre-war civilization relics and ruins."

Looking back at the black briefcase, Yin Fang said with disbelief,

"Like this thing."

"The 'Black Box' of the Ark Project is without a doubt an S-level Relic."

Chu Guang frowned, "The Ark Project is?"

"Another civilization preservation project parallel to the Shelter Project, assuming extreme conditions where social production is completely halted, and supply chains are destroyed, requiring a simple tool to utilize readily available raw materials to produce items we need."

"The 'black box' is a product of the Ark Project, based on cutting-edge printing technology. By merely inputting the basic materials and electricity, it can generate specific products. For example, the most common type of black box, measuring roughly 30X30X20cm, needs only electric power and exposure to air to absorb carbon dioxide and water from the air and synthesize starch. A slightly advanced version can directly convert carbon dioxide and water into barbecue-flavored pizza and cakes."

Chu Guang was surprised, "Can it really do that?"

Yin Fang replied, "Of course, it is the crystallization of pre-war society technology, like an almighty wish machine! Although it's not very efficient, it's absolutely reliable. The only downside is its single functionality; what it can give you doesn't depend on your wishes but on the functionalities imbued by its designers."

Chu Guang looked at the black box before him.

"So, what can I get from this black box?"

Yin Fang said, "I don't know, the Academy has probably recovered hundreds of boxes over the last two centuries, and I've only encountered ones that synthesize cakes and pizza. But judging by the size of this box, it appears to be medium-sized... It's unlikely to synthesize pizza or cake. Shall we open it? There's usually a foolproof tutorial inside, said to be so simple that even an illiterate person could understand it. Just take a look."

Without replying, Chu Guang entered the password directly on the box.

[X1179]

He was very sensitive to numbers, generally able to remember them after seeing them just once, so it was unlikely he would make a mistake.

Accompanied by a light click sound, the lock was opened.

Yin Fang, more anxious than Chu Guang, opened the box eagerly.

Standing behind Yin Fang, Chu Guang noticed that the box's structure was very simple. It contained only a few buttons, very simplistic, along with what appeared to be a power input socket and a drawer-like filler port.

The instruction manual was placed in a recess next to the buttons.

The manual had some simple, easy-to-understand sketches, just like Yin Fang had said, so that even the illiterate could easily read them.

It seemed the designers of the Ark Project had thought of the possibility that survivors after the war might become illiterate.

Flipping through the manual and looking at it twice, Yin Fang's face lit up with interest, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Neural connection unit! It's integrated with a neural signal collector and a modem, incorporating three C-Class technologies and two D-Class technologies... This is some good stuff."

Chu Guang, "Do you know how to use it?"

"Of course! I'm an expert in this field!"

With a confident smile on his face, Yin Fang put down the manual and looked excitedly at Chu Guang.

"With this thing, we can make some simple exoskeletons and mechanical prostheses!"

...

Official Forum:

"Damn! Do newbies have no rights?"

"So tragic, I was just fighting monsters, and my screen just went black!"

"I'm dizzy. I thought it was a bug! Turns out I was ambushed!"

"Exactly, having to resurrect takes three days—that's just too much!"

Complaining about the resurrection CD has become a daily thread on the forum.

The server has been busier recently, with one or two unlucky fellows each day, either getting their necks nibbled in the Elm District hunting grounds or being dragged into the water while fishing by the lake.

Almost every newbie who dies for the first time complains about the severe death penalties in Wasteland OL, though this time fifteen died at once, which is a bit more than usual.

As for the veteran players and the backseat drivers on the forum, they're used to such uninteresting posts.

Three days, that's nothing.

That's so typical!

The last time there was a bug in the expansion, they didn't log in for the entire expansion!

Tomato and Eggs: "This game is just like this, no way around it. At least it's not a bug, be thankful."

Elena: "+1, realism is one of the selling points of Wasteland OL. The planners not making you reincarnate is already pretty good, if you don't like it, don't play. (funny)"

Night Ten: "You newbies, this time it's at least a plot-related death, they spared us the fine, and you're still complaining! Do you know how much we used to get fined? 500 Contribution points! Crow Boss even cried from the penalty. (funny)"

Crow: "That's not true! Stop talking nonsense! ヾ(｡｀Д´｡)ﾉ彡"

Gnome King Riches: "I testify! It wasn't crab, but leeches. (funny)"

Crow: "(╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻"

...

Cow and Horse Group.

As usual, it was bustling only early in the morning, because at night, the group leader and the dog manager were playing the game.

But just then, a message suddenly popped up in the group.

Old White: "I was just trying to log into the game, why can't I get on all of a sudden????"

The group leader can't get into the game?

This is big news.

While boasting with group friends, Night Ten quickly typed to ask,

"Can't get on? What's going on?!"

"The helmet shows 'character anomaly,' and it doesn't give a specific time," said Old White anxiously, "Damn, could it be a violation?"

Impossible.

He's been very careful while playing, not to mention attacking NPCs, he's been friendly as hell!

Wild Wind: "I just tried it, I can still log on."

Night Ten: "+1, me too."

Old White: "Damn, it's weird, could it be a bug?"

WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "I'll tag Brother Guang for you! @光"

Ah Guang was probably working overtime, no reply.

This brother didn't use QQ much, he always logged in on his computer, with a chance of showing up between 8 and 10 in the morning.

The group started suggesting some weird ideas for Old White.

One group member suggested soaking the helmet in water to see if that would help.

Just then, Fang Chang had an idea, digging into the details,

"Old White, how much was your experience bar before you logged out?"

Old White: "Experience bar? Wait, let me check the official site."

It didn't take long for Old White to come back.

"Solved it."

Night Ten immediately typed to ask,

"What? What did you solve?!"

Old White: "Hehe, I just checked, my character is level 10 now!"

Chapter 184: The Players' First Awakening

"The 'Black Box' was borrowed by Yin Fang for research.

Considering the space on Level B2 was too small, Chu Guang found a slightly more spacious single room for him on Level B1 to borrow, doubling as his lab and 'surgical operating room.'

However, Chu Guang soon discovered that the guy didn't just stuff his personal belongings in there, but even hauled in the bed and bedding.

It looked like he planned to live at his post.

Given this situation, Chu Guang, as the Manager, deeply reflected on himself for a few seconds.

It was clear that his little players had indeed caused no small trouble for Doctor Yin.

But even so, Chu Guang still felt that Yin Fang doing so was somewhat unnecessary.

After all, as long as he still planned to go to Zone A on the second underground level to eat, drink, and attend to other needs, it was almost inevitable for him to run into players who were interested in him.

'Why bother?'

Avoiding those energetic players too much, on the contrary, could make them more likely to target him. About such matters, Chu Guang had too much experience.

He hoped Doctor Yin would adapt to his new life sooner rather than later.

After silently wishing him well in his heart, Chu Guang saw that it was getting late, so he got up and went to the marketplace at the North Gate of the Outpost Base.

As the newbies of the Alpha 0.8 version gradually got the hang of the Game, recently, quite a few interesting stalls had newly opened in the marketplace.

For example, there was one selling ramen and another selling fried rice.

The former was run by a player who used their real name as an ID, who was said to cut the meat thinner than paper and pull the noodles as thin as data cables, pretty much authentic.

The latter wasn't a newbie. Rumored to be the disciple of 'Tomato and Egg Stir-fry', the ID was 'Hot and Sour Potato Strips', also a name that sounded quite appetizing.

However, due to the scarcity of supplies in the Outpost Base, there were neither eggs nor Lao Gan Ma chili sauce. Even though this fellow cooked with great effort, eating it still felt like it was lacking soul. Chu Guang tried it once and then never again.

Seeing Chu Guang sit down in front of his stall, Zhang Hai was so startled that he almost cut his fingers.

'Manager, what would you like?'

NPC!

And a Manager at that!

Could it be a hidden quest was about to be triggered?!

As for the new players' great surprise, Chu Guang was used to it and didn't take it to heart.

He found a wooden table to sit at and said,

'One bowl with meat, please.'

'Coming right up!!!'

Soon enough, the ramen was placed on the table.

White steam rose, the fragrance of the noodles mingled with the aroma of the meat, making it very tempting to the appetite. Especially the meat in the bowl, almost covering the noodles, which seemed different from the rumors, right?

Just as Chu Guang was about to take a bite, he heard the commotion nearby.

'Damn it! Why do I have so little meat?'

'Exactly! Isn't this too little?'

'I seriously suspect this bastard shifted all the meat from our bowls to the Manager's!'

Seeing the customers complaining noisily, Zhang Hai wasn't flustered at all; without even pretending, he declared righteously,

'What's all the fuss? Are you an NPC? Can you give me a hidden quest? Can you help me jump from T5 to T0?'

The crowd of players: '%￥#@!'

'...'

To avoid the players' dispute turning toward him, Chu Guang decided to pretend he didn't hear anything and focus on eating his noodles.

Ever since the end of the month, the weather had been getting colder by the day.

However, the marketplace at the North entrance was getting livelier by the day.

Everything was slowly improving.

The only fly in the ointment was that Crow's mushroom stall seemed to have closed, and Chu Guang hadn't seen her open for business for several days in a row.

It was really too bad.

Chu Guang quite liked the mushroom soup that little player cooked.

Let's hope this damn winter ends soon!

...

After dinner.

Upon returning to the Shelter, Chu Guang first washed his face, then exchanged the 200 Reward Points he earned for completing side quests for 2 advanced blind boxes.

Perhaps it was the effect of washing his face, but the rewards from the blind boxes, surprisingly, didn't disappoint him.

Besides an EMP grenade, he actually drew a set of Type 5 'Light Cavalry' light-duty police exoskeleton!

'Holy shit! Does washing your face actually make a difference?!' Looking at the equipment lying on the conveyor, Chu Guang's face showed surprise."

To be honest, before opening these two blind boxes, he had been somewhat pessimistic.

After all, not long ago he had just pulled out a second Hummingbird drone, and from a metaphysical perspective, it seemed only reasonable he should run into a streak of bad luck a few times.

However, the system, defying any routine, tossed him an SSR straight away.

Chu Guang figured it must be because he usually liked to do good deeds.

His karma was simply off the charts!

After retrieving the exoskeleton from the conveyor belt, Chu Guang initially planned to hang it up for sale at Boss Xia's weapon shop.

However, after a few seconds of thought, he dismissed that idea.

The reason was simple.

Up to that point, apart from one "Miner Type I" exoskeleton that had been given away in a lottery, none of the nine displayed in the shop had been sold.

It wasn't just because of the purchasing threshold of "Contribution Level Citizen, Player Level LV10", it was also because the equipment's price was there for all to see.

2000 silver coins.

The number of players on the server who could come up with that much money was countable on one hand.

And as the "Model 5 Light Cavalry" exoskeleton was a pre-war society's police equipment, its performance in all aspects obviously exceeded that of the corporate-designed Miner Type I, not to mention it came with integrated composite material bulletproof armor—its price surely couldn't be lower than the latter's, right?

If taken to the corporations on the East Coast, such pre-war equipment could easily be traded for at least five "Miner Type I" sets!

"How many silver coins it sells for can be discussed later, Miner Type I is Level 10 equipment, but something as good as the Model 5... should reasonably be Level 15 or even Level 20."

"If the lower-grade equipment hasn't sold yet, putting a higher-grade piece on the shelf now would be pointless other than gathering dust."

That being the case, it would be better to take it to the Guard, letting NPCs with duty requirements use it first.

Under the premise of not disrupting the balance of Wasteland OL, that was the best way Chu Guang could think of to ensure the equipment realized its true value.

Watching his reward points dwindle to single digits, Chu Guang impulsively bet them all on basic blind boxes.

However, the rush of good luck from before seemed to have used up all his fortune, and this time nothing exceptional came out—just lollipops.

And they were the kind without any attribute bonuses.

But Chu Guang didn't mind.

One shouldn't be too greedy.

Just getting an exoskeleton out was a massive gain!

The blind box drawing was done.

Catching the peak of players going offline, Chu Guang intended to browse the forum for a bit, but just as he had sat down in front of the computer, a pale blue pop-up message appeared before his eyes.

[System: Player "White Horse Passing a Gap" has achieved 10% of gene sequence development.]

Huh?

"There's already a player at Level 10?"

Chu Guang was surprised in his heart and immediately opened the player list, spotting Old White's number at a glance.

"Xiao Qi, help me pull up the player's attribute panel!"

The wall-mounted speaker immediately responded.

"Received, Master!"

Soon, the computer screen on the office desk displayed a chart.

[

ID: White Horse Passing a Gap

Gene Sequence: Strength Type (Stage 2)

Level: LV.9→LV10

—Basic Attributes—

Strength: 12→17

Agility: 6→7

Constitution: 6→7

Perception: 6→7

Intelligence: 4→5

]

[

Talent:

Boundary Breakthrough (Strength Type): Breaks through the body's limits in 0.5 to 3 seconds, gaining a 150% to 200% Strength Attribute boost, fatigue accumulation rate of 200% to 400%, with a cooldown time of 30s to 1min.

]

Staring at the attribute panel, Chu Guang stroked his chin with interest.

"Strength Type awakening, main attribute increases by 5 points, the rest increase by 1 point… These panel data are pretty good."

Especially those 17 points of strength, just like my own!

And that "Boundary Breakthrough," capable of obtaining up to a maximum of 200% strength boost in a short time, 17 points of strength instantly doubling to 34?

Though its short duration is a problem, for melee players, victory or defeat itself is a matter of moments.

To be able to achieve strength comparable to Mutants within a short time with a human body is already terrifying!

Chu Guang didn't doubt for a second that his players could make creative use of this skill.

"Awakening takes 6 to 8 hours, during which time clone revival is not possible… It seems my speculation is correct; leveling up happens during sleep."

Perhaps because growing always takes place while sleeping?

Chu Guang noted that the cultivation chamber could speed up this process to some extent.

In addition, after awakening, the vital substances needed to revive a clone increased from 1 unit to 2 units. As for the cooldown, there's no change; it's still 72 hours.

After organizing the information collected from Old White, Chu Guang selectively updated the "Wasteland OL" official database.

He hoped this information would provide some reference for his players.

...

At ten o'clock in the evening.

After fixing up his new room, Yin Fang once again came to the Manager's Office and found Chu Guang.

"Can I get a few more VMs from you? Twenty would be enough."

Upon hearing this strange request, Chu Guang gave a slight pause, then turned to Yin Fang and asked,

"What do you need so many VMs for?"

Although there were nearly a thousand VMs stored on Level B1, now with five hundred players, the average allocation was less than 2 VMs per player.

Even without considering the natural loss due to accidents, NPCs also needed VMs for issuing tasks and communicating with players.

Although Chu Guang had not yet encountered a shortage of VMs, there was certainly no excess to squander.

"Although I'd also like a professional workstation computer, clearly you don't have one here," glancing at the vintage "suitcase-style" computer on the desk, Yin Fang continued, "The processing power of a VM may be weak, but with some modifications, it can be used. If I link twenty together, they'll just barely meet my work needs."

Chu Guang shook his head and said,

"Twenty VMs are too many! If you're in need of computing power, the shelter's server has ample capacity, and I can assign some to you. How does that sound?"

Yin Fang's eyes brightened and he said,

"That would be ideal! But even so, I still need a few VMs to act as screens and interfaces—"

"Three," Chu Guang extended three fingers, "Is that enough?"

Looking at these three fingers, Yin Fang scratched the back of his head with some frustration.

"I'm not sure… To be honest, this is my first attempt at DIYing such a makeshift workstation. Back at the Academy, everyone above Level D had their own independent lab for equipment modifications and sample analysis—"

"Well, I'm sorry, but this is what we have here; you'll have to make do," Chu Guang coughed lightly and continued firmly, looking at him, "However, I assure you that I will have my people keep an extra lookout during scavenging. If they find any usable electronic devices, they'll be delivered to you first thing. As for VMs... that's all I can spare for now; if it's not enough, let me know later."

"Starting a new venture is always tough, right?" Yin Fang made a resigned face and shrugged, indicating no objections.

He was aware of Shelter No. 404's difficulties.

The place was so stripped bare it was as if it had been robbed; he had never seen a three-digit shelter this impoverished. Not to mention the basics like a medical station, there wasn't even an automatic kitchen—the food had to be brought in from the outside!

It was tough on the residents here, each one a model of labor commendation, so optimistic it was almost unhumanly so.

In any other shelter, just the issue of the Manager forcing them to eat mutant food might be enough to spark a revolt.

Taking the three VMs he had received from Chu Guang, Yin Fang was about to head out the door when Chu Guang suddenly seemed to remember something and called out to him.

"Right."

Waiting at the door, Yin Fang turned back and asked,

"What is it?"

Chu Guang continued,

"If I want to refuel the shelter's reactor, where should I look for fuel rods?"

Hearing this unexpected query, Yin Fang first looked perplexed, but then was instantly alarmed after absorbing the implication.

"What do you mean, your shelter's out of fuel?!"

Chu Guang coughed and said,

"It's not my shelter, it's one I... recently picked up."

But as for how long the energy at Shelter No. 404 would last, Chu Guang himself had no idea.

So far, he hadn't unlocked the floor where the reactor was located, and even if he wanted to refuel the shelter, he had nowhere to do it, so all he could do was hope that the current energy consumption rate of the shelter was still within the parameter set by the First Generation Manager.

A GAME OVER due to a power outage would just be too damned lame!

After listening to Chu Guang's explanation, Yin Fang breathed a sigh of relief, paused for a moment, and then continued,

"Finding fuel rods for shelter use isn't easy since the original intent of the shelter project was not to keep survivors underground indefinitely. Some shelters even start phasing out life support systems after activation, or transition from full to partial recycling to encourage the residents to return to the surface for reconstruction work."

Chu Guang's brows were tightly knotted.

"So that means there's no way to fix this?"

"It's not that there's no way," Yin Fang shook his head, "to my understanding, the institution that designed the reactors for the Central State region's shelters is Central State Space, and the reactors are the same model as the 'Gong Gong' series space station and the N series spacecraft."

Chu Guang couldn't help but say,

"There's no way I can go up to heaven to find this thing."

Yin Fang nodded and said,

"That's right, going up to heaven to recover fuel rods is indeed impractical. The situation there is no better than on the ground, and may even be worse. However, although we can't go to outer space, we can look for some stockpiles that haven't been sent out there yet. Besides that, some research institutions affiliated with Central State Space should also have these kinds of fuel rods... I've heard that their backup generators are similar models."

Chu Guang stared intently at him and said,

"Do you have a good plan?"

Yin Fang hesitated before saying,

"I can't promise anything, but we can try... If we can get hold of the production data and product numbers from Central State Space or its affiliated factories, we should be able to locate some usable fuel rods."

If I remember correctly, such facilities should exist in the southern part of River Valley Province.

And there, it should be possible to find some electronic devices that could be useful, which is exactly what Yin Fang urgently needs now.

After hearing this, Chu Guang suddenly stood up from his office chair, walked up to him with surprise and joy, and placed both hands on his shoulders.

"It's all up to you!"

Faced with this eager gaze, Yin Fang paused for a moment and said uncertainly,

"I can only say I'll do my best..."

It was the year 211 of the Wasteland Era, and before that, there had been a war lasting three years. Throughout these long two-plus centuries, anything could happen.

Even the sanatorium on the surface at Area 404 had been visited by scavengers more than once—it was just that no one had discovered that underneath what seemed to be a broken-down elevator, there was actually a shelter hidden away.

If they could get the fuel rods, not only could the related mission for Shelter No. 117 be completed, but the potential energy crisis at Shelter No. 404 could also be resolved.

It was like killing two birds with one stone!

In a very good mood, Chu Guang swung his arm and immediately allocated a "whopping" budget of 10,000 silver coins to the project for recovering fuel rods.

Finding fuel rods compatible with the shelter's reactor would become the first mission of the Shelter No. 404 exploration team.

As the leader of the exploration team, Yin Fang could use this budget to recruit players to explore the target or issue a public bounty.

However, Chu Guang also cautioned him that it was best not to spend all the money at once, as giving too much isn't always a good thing.

The specific methods for using the budget, as well as the setting of reward baseline values for missions of various levels, were detailed in the Shelter Residents Handbook (NPC version).

This was a compulsory course for every NPC starting at Shelter No. 404.

If there was any doubt about any clause within it, one could click the question mark icon on the handbook page of the VM to ask the Manager's assistant, Xiao Qi, who was online 24/7, and Xiao Qi would answer every question.

However, like Boss Xia when he first arrived here, Doctor Yin did not feel anything for silver coins; instead, he took the opportunity to complain.

"You guys are still using metal currency? Don't you find it troublesome?"

Chu Guang disagreed,

"Metal currency has its advantages. The sound of coins clinking motivates people to work harder. Money that you can see and touch is also easier to gain recognition from strangers... But I have also been considering, recently, switching to a more convenient form of currency. You go take care of your own matters; you don't need to worry about this issue. I'll think of a solution."

After Doctor Yin left,

Chu Guang, sitting in front of the computer, switched back to his role as a planner and logged into the "Wasteland OL" official website's backend.

When he activated Shelter No. 117, Chu Guang had only recovered the power armor, Doctor Principle's briefcase, and the Manager's VM from there, and there were still many areas he hadn't had the chance to explore in detail.

Currently in his mission list, there were two remaining tasks.

One was to refuel the reactor of Shelter No. 117, after which he could obtain management rights to Shelter No. 117.

The other was a mission triggered by Doctor Principle's videotape.

That is, to explore the entirety of Shelter No. 117 with the VM in hand, and unlock Level B3 of Shelter No. 404 upon completion!

The mission of finding fuel rods had already been entrusted to Yin Fang to resolve.

As for the latter task, with a current exploration progress of 21%, Chu Guang planned to leave the rest for his small players to complete.

The Variants at the entrance of the shelter had been dealt with, and exploring the map itself was not difficult, so it was a perfect opportunity to distribute some benefits to his players.

Having made up his mind,

A smile appeared on Chu Guang's face, and with his hands on the keyboard, he began to assign "tomorrow's" homework to his little players—

[Announcement: The player "White Horse Passing a Gap" has reached Level 10, becoming the first strength-type player to unlock 10% of their Gene Sequence!]

[Announcement: A new version is coming soon, and the time-unlimited event "Our Neighbors" will start precisely at 19:00 tonight!]

[Event Details: Bring your VM and visit Shelter No. 117, check in at all scenes; if the exploration progress reaches 100%, you will receive a mysterious grand prize!]

[Note: The event is not time-limited; just have a VM to participate. To avoid traffic congestion, players are advised to travel at off-peak times!]

-

(Tomorrow will resume two updates!)

Chapter 185: Indeed, the Exalted are More Hated

The announcement hadn't been out for three seconds when the official forum lit up with activity!

Compared to the event announcement, the birth of the first Level 10 player didn't evoke much feeling from everyone.

After all, Strength Types generally level up faster than the other systems, and Old White had been around since the Alpha 0.1 version of the server, so it wasn't surprising that he leveled up quickly.

Everyone who'd been on the forum since OB knew just how difficult the early stages of the game were.

More hated than the players who got strong on their own merit were those damned lucky Exalted ones.

The only thing that really puzzled everyone was why reaching Level 10 was a big enough deal to mention on its own.

In most MMORPGs, isn't Level 10 just when you leave Novice Village?

What's so special about that to mention it?

Or does Wasteland OL's Level 10 come with some new changes?

Makabazi: "Level 10?! Damn! Old White is too fast!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "+1, as a fellow Strength Type, I'm only Level 8. (￣ー￣)"

Stop Bullshitting: "Isn't Level 10 when you can buy that Miner Type I Exoskeleton?"

Canyon Fugitive Mole: "You need Citizen + Level 10, but usually if you hit Level 10, you've got enough Contribution Points to qualify as a citizen."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "2000 silver coins... Even if you meet the requirements, I doubt anyone could afford it. (looking up at the sky)"

Elena: "Not necessarily, Crow Boss might be able to. I've seen her constantly selling mushrooms and never buying equipment. Could be filthy rich. (amused)"

Night Ten: "+1, let's rob Crow Boss then. (amused)"

Crow: "Enough already, I'm already unemployed, go rob Teng Teng instead. o(╥﹏╥)o"

Teng Teng: "!!?"

For most players on the server, savings were just in the triple digits; those who had made it to four digits were among the elite of the server.

Even without that threshold, indeed, very few could afford it.

Then, someone brought up the Exalted one from the last expansion pack—the one who got an Exoskeleton—suddenly the thread filled with voices of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

So infuriating!

Just because of good luck, they got the strongest God Equip of the version!

Is that even fair?

Is that reasonable?

Shouldn't they get a nerf?

Don't nerf them unless you're also giving me a set!

The unwittingly implicated Spring Water Commander didn't dare make a peep on the forum, just cursing and complaining in the little group they had created.

"Damn! Why am I the one who gets hurt when Old White levels up to 10! Weren't us early access players lucky enough? Go take it up with him!"

I Max Black: "Relax, it's definitely because you're not strong enough, and everyone thinks it's a waste to give you such good equipment."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "+1, why don't you let me use the exoskeleton then? I'm from the Agile system, quick reflexes, and I don't die easily."

I Max Black: "Better give it to me, I'm the rookie with potential and also a Perception type, danger always lags a step behind me, guaranteed not a scratch lost."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "How about we take turns using it? Definitely better than giving it to someone from the Intelligence System."

I Max Black: "Couldn't agree more."

Spring Water Commander: "Like hell I would! (#`Д´)"

...

The next morning, bright and early.

The hardworking little players were gathering in front of the square at Outpost Base, queuing up for the task of exploring Shelter No.117.

The NPC triggering the quest was the deputy commander of the security—the one with a horse-like face, Liuding.

After logging on this time, players were surprised to find this guy had equipped an exoskeleton.

"Damn? The commander of the guards got an exoskeleton handed down from the Manager... but where did his come from?"

"Picked up in Shelter No.117?"

"According to the official website's setting, the correct explanation should be—it is because of our Manager's outstanding work performance that the organization deep underground decided to support him with a new set of equipment."

"So, you're saying as long as we work hard enough, our Manager will soon be able to get a brand-new set of power armor?"

"Damn! When you say it like that, why do I feel like I'm being farmed?"

"Cut the crap, guys, the event convoy is about to leave, anyone still needs to pick up the quest? Let's go together."

"Me me me, please take me with you, boss!"

To avoid cramming too many players into Shelter No.117 at once, causing traffic jams and drawing the attention of Variants in other areas of the tunnel, only 50 spots were released every hour.

After picking up the task, a new event task option would update on players' VM task bars, and opening it would reveal the following interface—

[Event Task: Our Neighbors]

[Description: Carry a VM to visit Shelter No.117 and check in at all scenes.]

[Notice:

1. Do not carry weapons into the shelter, there is a checkpoint at the entrance where equipment can be temporarily stored.

2. Do not randomly take or destroy props within Shelter No.117. If it is necessary to pick up and observe them, please put them back in their original place afterward.

3. Make good use of the VM's 3D area map marking feature. There are hidden Easter eggs in the shelter. Find and mark them, and hidden rewards will be triggered after the event ends. (Each player only has one chance)

]

[Sub-quests:

1. Investigate the reason for the abandonment of Shelter No.117: Shelter No.117 remains as it was before being abandoned, with residents' personal belongings scattered in the rooms. We need to figure out what exactly happened there.

2. Unknown Clues: Waiting for players to explore on their own.

]

[Personal Exploration Progress: 0%]

[Entire Server Exploration Progress: 0%]

Regarding the Easter eggs mentioned in the "Notice," to be honest, Chu Guang himself didn't know what they were. He mentioned the Easter eggs mainly to stimulate players' desire to explore.

Whether they existed or not, why not just have a look?

What if his little players found some clues he had missed?

Then there would indeed be Easter eggs, wouldn't there?

Besides, it didn't matter if they weren't found.

When the time came, he would just browse the forum, pick a few posts that were heatedly discussed and seemed quite plausible, and claim them as his own, and that would be that.

Players would never think they had plagiarized their homework. Instead, they'd be ecstatic to discover the Easter eggs left by the planners.

Standing in the hallway of the sanatorium, looking at the crowd of eager players in the square, a sunshiny smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"I am simply a genius."

Sitting behind the bank counter, Little Fish looked up and blinked curiously.

Was this something that needed special emphasis?

She had always thought Brother Chu was quite clever.

On the other side of the square, looking at the old players who were gathered around Liuding and ready to set off for the task, the Alpha0.7 and Alpha0.8 newbies all had envious expressions.

To buy a VM, one needed to reach Citizen level, and to become a Citizen required 2000 Contribution Points. At a fast pace, it would take a week, and a slower one might take half a month.

The Alpha0.7 version players were okay, apart from those who had bugs with their resurrection, most had already accumulated enough Contribution Points. But for the unfortunate little players who were hit by stray bullets in the faction wars, and those who just joined in version 0.8, many barely had four digits in their Contribution.

It was their first time seeing a game where even the system interface had to be bought.

This was so damn ridiculous!

Envy is envy, but complaining was useless with the settings as they were. If they wanted to experience the full content of the game, they would just have to prove their loyalty to the Manager with hard work.

With a longing for a better life, the newbies stayed in the square for a while before going to the Warehouse Manager to get their daily tasks over with.

Of course, not all of them shunned the idea of looking for shortcuts.

For example, right now, in the center of the square, a little player was standing there yelling.

"Is there any brother who can lend me a VM? I, Zhang Hai, will surely repay you generously!"

WC really have Mosquito just happened to pass by, recognized the newbie who had bunked with him in the train car last time, and went over to tease him.

"Bro, if you can't even afford a VM, what kind of reward can you give?"

Zhang Hai laughed sheepishly.

"I'll give you a treat."

Mosquito: "Buzz off!"

After shouting for a long time, no second person bothered with him.

Looking at the sparsely populated square, Zhang Hai sighed and shook his head, feeling sentimental.

"The world is deteriorating, people's hearts aren't what they used to be… Damn it, I can't even borrow a VM, this game is too realistic."

Quit Smoking Brother, who had just returned to turn in a task, saw the new guy still shouting in the square and couldn't help but chime in.

"Give it up, brother, VMs and account IDs are one-to-one bound. Don't ask how I know; any method you're thinking of, I've tried them. This game's big bugs are almost unsolvable, and there are almost no small bugs... It's better if you don't think about exploiting bugs, it's pointless."

Zhang Hai was shocked when he heard this.

"Darn! Why has no one told me?"

Quit Smoking was left speechless by his naïve reaction and couldn't help but retort.

"...Bro, don't you ever go on the official website?"

Zhang Hai suddenly realized, shaking his head as he spoke.

"Oh, you mean the Forum? I hardly ever go there. There are too many posts, and dozens pop up with every refresh. It's a pain for my eyes."

Quit smoking: "..."

This guy...

Is he really only thirty years old?

...

In Qingquan City, on the edge of the fifth ring road.

In front of the abandoned commercial complex's main entrance.

Old White, dressed in light hunting gear, set down the javelin bag he carried on his back, weighed the javelin in his hand, and fixed his gaze on the Eater closest to the gate.

Ten meters away.

For the battle-hardened Old White, this distance virtually eliminated the chance of missing the mark.

He took a deep breath of the chilly air

With a settled mind, Old White focused all his attention on every inch of muscle and joint in his body, then suddenly hurled the javelin in his hand.

Boundary—

Breakthrough!

It was a matter of an instant.

The electrical and chemical signals shuttling through his neurons surged, and his muscles swelled dramatically in a split second.

There was the sound of the air being torn apart!

The javelin left an almost invisible trail in the air and shot into the gate like a cannonball, pinning the Eater to the wall three meters away.

The Eater with a pierced chest did not die immediately but struggled for breath.

Eaters lingering nearby listlessly raised their heads, their frozen necks swinging slowly from side to side, seemingly searching for the attacker, but finding nothing.

Surprised at his own right hand, Old White's face was written with excited joy.

Before he could speak, Night Ten, who was watching from the sidelines, blurted out.

"Damn! This skill is pretty niubi!"

Earlier, when they had first come online, it wasn't time for the event to begin yet, and there was already a huge crowd around the event NPC, impossible to squeeze through.

Considering that the event was not time-limited and there was no need to rush in that moment, the Bull Horse Squad followed Fang Chang's suggestion and came to the edge of the Qingquan City fifth ring road to find a suitable leveling spot and tested the combat power of Power LV10.

It turned out the gap between LV9 and LV10 was not ordinary at all.

Reaching LV10, Old White seemed to have broken through a bottleneck. Both his panel stats and real-world combat abilities underwent a qualitative leap.

"Not just niubi... That power is practically a BUG-level," Wild Wind, standing to the side, said with an envious expression on his face.

Although he could throw a javelin with the same effect as a cannonball, it was with the aid of mechanical prosthesis.

Unlike Old White, who didn't need any gear enhancement, relying solely on his muscle strength to achieve a level comparable to mechanical prostheses.

If the Strength Type is this niubi, then why even bother with mechanical ascension?

Mechanical prostheses need repairs, maintenance over time, and the risk of complete failure when encountering EMPs. The money earned from missions would be spent on fixing equipment, and if you kit yourself out entirely, your pockets would be emptier than your face.

But physical enhancements are different. Even if you die by accident, it's not a big loss; wait three days and you'll be back in good shape. The cost-effectiveness is simply unbeatable.

Just a few days ago, Wild Wind was excited about the upcoming spring for the Intelligence System.

Now it seems the celebration came too early!

Old White chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"BUG is an overstatement. I think it's quite reasonable. After all, it's an early-game profession. If early-game advantages weren't pronounced, what would you do in the late game—just stare blankly?"

Unable to help himself, Night Ten retorted, "Your 'early game' seems to be a bit long!"

Old White laughed heartily.

"It doesn't matter!"

"Without any exaggeration, with the power of that one throw just now, I feel like it would be enough even against a Crawler," said Fang Chang, arms crossed over his chest in a similarly envious manner, "With my dynamic vision, I almost couldn't see the trajectory of that javelin!"

The Agility attribute influences not only reaction speed but also enhances vision. The fact that a strike was too fast for even him to see was evidence of the terrifying power.

He wondered what Talent the Agility LV10 would unlock.

Having just advanced to LV9, his excitement for the world beyond LV10 was growing.

After listening to Fang Chang's assessment, Old White thought for a moment and then shook his head, sharing his feelings.

"Using javelins is still difficult, Crawlers move too fast, and the wind-up for throwing javelins is too long. If you're too far, it's hard to hit the target. If you're too close, there's no time to charge up and aim. But to tell it straight, this Talent would probably be more useful in close combat than a projectile. Paired with an exoskeleton and long-handle weapons, you could deal tons of damage in a short time! Even against Mutants, I am confident I can take them down!"

His axe was custom-made by Steel Factory No.81, with wide blades on each side, a pointed tip, and a hook capability. It's great against both humans and Variants.

Fang Chang continued to inquire, "Besides that Boundary Breakthrough Talent, do you feel any other changes?"

Old White pondered for a moment before saying,

"Other changes... are hard to describe. Specifically, my muscles and bones feel stronger than before, and my athletic abilities have improved. But it doesn't seem to show much on the outside."

At this point, Old White sighed with some emotion,

"Ah, every time I play this game, I can't help but think how great it would be to have such niubi physical fitness in real life!"

Having the physical fitness from the game in real life would be something.

Upon hearing this, Fang Chang had an expression full of intrigue.

Not to mention anything else, just archery alone—if his physical fitness in real life could match even half of what he has in the game, he'd probably be showing off at the Olympic stage already!

What's the concept of having agility attributes over 10 points?

Just considering eyesight and dynamic vision, there are very few normal humans who could match him.

Unless they've also mutated.

Imagining that scene, Night Ten frowned, "Wait a sec, if that really happened, wouldn't I be at a loss? My perception attributes would be totally useless."

Wild Wind calmly said, "Not necessarily, try your luck in Macau."

Night Ten was initially stunned, then suddenly realized, "Holy shit! Why didn't I think of that!"

Wild Wind chuckled, not saying anything.

If they really went down this rabbit hole, his Intelligence System should be the most sought after.

Right then, Old White, who had been staring at the VM screen, suddenly spoke up.

"It looks like I have a new mission in my task list."

The moment a new mission was mentioned, Night Ten immediately leaned in, curiously taking a glance.

"What mission? Let me see."

"Explore Central State Space's Ecological Experiment Base in the north suburb of Qingquan City; rewards include 200 silver coins, 200 contribution points... Speaking of which, what is an Ecological Experiment Base?"

While talking, Old White switched to the VM map page, scrolling and dragging to where the mission beacon was located with his index finger on the touchscreen.

It was in an unexplored area, located northeast of Outpost Base at a straight-line distance of about 15.7 kilometers.

Considering pre-war maps, there weren't many urban buildings nearby, and the terrain was relatively high, making it very likely to have turned into a forest after the war.

Wild Wind, also leaning in close, stroked his chin and said,

"It turns out to be a task from the scientific expedition team... Speaking of which, since the official website updated the expedition team feature, this is actually the first time I've seen Dr. Yin Fang issue a task."

"Perhaps unlocking the mission requires being Level 10?" Old White's face showed a look of great interest, as he turned eagerly to his buddies, "What do you guys think? Shall we take on the challenge?"

The third floor of the Greenhouse Ruins had just been cleared, and they hadn't even turned in the mission yet, and the fourth floor had not yet been triggered; there was no need to hurry with the guide in the next couple of days.

The ruins aren't going anywhere; might as well see what this new mission is all about.

The name of this research center sounds anything but ordinary!

Night Ten said, "I have no objections!"

Wild Wind added, "Me neither, would be good to check out what the expedition team's mission is all about."

"+1," Fang Chang's face broke into a smile, "It'd be too bad to miss out on something this interesting."

Old White laughed heartily,

"That's settled then! Let's head back to Outpost Base to switch equipment, and meet up at the North Gate of Wetland Park!"

Night Ten raised his hand,

"Wait, how are we going to get there, it's so far away?"

Old White replied with a smile,

"Don't worry about that! The mission states that the expedition team will provide us with a truck to take us near the destination!"

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

A distance of 15.7 kilometers!

If they had to walk there and back, it would probably take up half the day.

As the Bull and Horse Squad headed back to Outpost Base, players who were en route to explore Shelter No.117 had already arrived in front of the alloy giant door located in the subway tunnel.

Ever since it was last opened, the door had remained ajar.

A crowd of people gathered at the entrance, peering inside with looks of curiosity.

The guards stationed at the entrance of the shelter approached the players and announced in a loud voice,

"Players who have received missions, please leave your equipment with me."

"Shelter No.117 is a weapon-restricted area; carrying firearms, knives, explosives, flammable items, or hazardous materials is prohibited."

"There is no limit on exploration time, but please try to keep it within one hour!"

"Good luck to you all!"

Chapter 186: The Easter Egg that Drives OCD to Death

Exploration missions are not about scavenging.

This mission is different from scavenging; players who enter the map can only look around and cannot take anything with them.

After all, this place can no longer be considered the wilderness, even the data cards are available.

Teng Teng speculated that the Dog plan must have arranged this event to check for bugs in the map, hence using the game currency to freeload off the players' labor.

Looking at it this way, it's hard to say whether there is an easter egg or not!

After depositing his beloved gun in the storage locker, Teng Teng followed the footsteps of other players, passed through the buffer room of two gates, and finally stepped into this dust-covered shelter.

The space here is very spacious, with a ceiling height of a full five meters, and a semicircular hall behind which is the residents' square, with two arc-shaped corridors outlining the square's contour with four fan-shaped sections on both sides of the square—this actually bears some resemblance to the layout on Level B2 of Shelter No. 404.

However, judging from the structural diagram, printed on the wall of the hall's front desk, the overall structure of this shelter is very different from that of Shelter No. 404.

Shelter No. 117 has only three levels, from B1 to B3, with the area decreasing successively, looking like an upside-down pyramid in space.

In contrast, Shelter No. 404 is the complete opposite. Although players have not yet visited below Level B3, it's obvious that the areas below are bigger than Levels B1 and B2.

After a quick tour on Level B1, Teng Teng returned to the residents' hall and happened to meet Brother Mosquito, coming out from the right side of the area.

This guy said enviously,

"I think my side must be the functional zone! Inside, there are a dining hall, a viewing room, and a medical room! Damn it... I even saw a basketball court!"

Teng Teng laughed and said, "That's not surprising. This shelter only accommodates a hundred people, so it's normal to have higher specifications. I also saw a separate bath and toilet in their rooms, and every room has one."

Brother Mosquito said with envy,

"I'm asking out of ignorance, but can we switch shelters after the open beta?"

Teng Teng gave him an incredulous look.

"Where's the value in that? The game's not called 'Shelter'; the content is all on the surface. Even if you change the respawn point, it's not going to give you a BUFF."

Brother Mosquito: "Damn, when you put it that way, it makes a lot of sense."

It's not that it makes a lot of sense.

It's just a given...

Teng Teng was about to tease him, when at that moment, two players walked out from a secure passage next to the elevator.

Gnome King Riches said excitedly, "Did you guys go to Level B2? It was freaking amazing down there!"

Teng Teng curiously looked at them.

"What did you see?"

Elena said with resignation, "Geez, it's just an artificial greenhouse. I don't get why he's so excited."

Gnome King Riches: "Isn't it awesome to be able to farm in a shelter? And it's not just a plantation, there's also a water purification device and a processing workshop... and other stuff I didn't understand. Man, this is basically an artificial ecosystem!"

As he spoke, he, like Mosquito Brother, couldn't help but sigh.

"Ah, this is what you call a shelter! Not like ours, which has nothing, and you have to pay for showers and using the restroom!"

Teng Teng asked, "So, who went to Level B3?"

Gnome King Riches: "We both did. There's not much to see in B3, it's really small, except for the Manager's Office and an extinguished reactor. I thought it would be radioactive, but when I went in there, I found nothing... By the way, have you guys finished exploring Level B1? Find anything?"

They had rushed straight to Level B2 the moment they entered, and hadn't had the chance to see Level B1.

Teng Teng shook his head and said,

"I inspected the rooms on Level B1 more carefully."

However, it seemed some quick players had already finished touring Level B1 and were heading to Level B2.

Teng Teng had just seen a short-haired female player, excitedly dragging another with a high ponytail, heading towards Level B2.

Even a white bear was following behind.

A thought flickered in his mind, and Teng Teng looked at his VM, switching to the activity mission page.

It was then that his expression froze for a moment.

[Server-wide Exploration Progress: 90%]

Not sure if it was an illusion, Teng Teng had a feeling that this mission wasn't going to be as simple as he thought.

...

In fact, even though he was not a Perception-type, his intuition proved to be very accurate.

He spent a full hour opening every door that could be opened, and visited every room that could be entered.

Yet, even after he had visited every corner of the shelter and even after tracing the walls again, his "Personal Exploration Progress" was still stuck at 90%.

No matter how hard he tried, that number just wouldn't budge!

"Yikes, this is freaking weird!" Staring at the map on his VM screen, a perplexed Teng Teng couldn't understand what was happening.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one with this problem.

It was the same for the other players.

If there were some missed place, that would be fine, but even the "server-wide exploration progress" is stuck at 90%.

In other words, everyone is stuck in the same place...

After logging off for the day.

Over half the posts on the official forum were discussing this.

Construction Lad and Brick: "I have a bad feeling about this, could it be another bug?"

Canyon-Running Mole: "+1, the progress is stuck at 90%, and I'm sure I haven't missed a single corner, I've run through the entire shelter time and again!"

There Really Are Mosquitoes WC: "MMP, more than just run through, I've done it three times! I'm about to rub the paint off the walls!"

Gnome King Riches: "Could there be a hidden passage?"

Si Si: "There really might be... But isn't this too well hidden?"

Tail: "Damn, Tail has run eight laps! Found nothing!"

Canyon-Running Mole: "Tomorrow I'll go take another look at that manager's office. I always feel like there might be something hidden inside..."

Crow: "Hmm, I have the exact opposite feeling from you. When I was exploring Level B2, I kept having this weird feeling... like something was missing."

Night Ten: "Missing some mushrooms? (Face with tears of joy)"

Crow: "Go die! I'm serious here! (`Д´*)9"

There Really Are Mosquitoes WC: "What if that Easter egg is the remaining 10%!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "This isn't good, my OCD is acting up."

Looking at the discussions on the official forum, Chu Guang was just as confused as these players.

To be honest, while he fabricated that Easter egg, that OCD-inducing 90% was not his fault.

The "server-wide exploration progress" that the players saw was, in fact, the progress bar he saw on the Manager's System page.

Could there be some hidden and not marked on the design area inside Shelter No.117?

That would be unlikely.

There was no rush for activities, half the players had not explored yet.

Chu Guang decided to wait and see if the remaining players would discover anything new.

Meanwhile, the Bull and Horse Squad, on their adventure to the Central State Aerospace Ecological Experiment Base, made a new discovery.

Based on the terminal machines and other electronic devices they retrieved from the guard room, after Yin Fang restored data from the storage hardware, they concluded that the entire facility was actually a fully enclosed artificial bio-dome built around a thermal nuclear fusion reactor.

"... Currently, there's no direct clue that proves which specific project is related to that ecological experiment base. Maybe it serves the shelter plan, or perhaps it's researching how to establish colonies in outer space."

After listening to Yin Fang's report, Chu Guang directly asked his most pressing question.

"Is there a chance to find fuel rods?"

Yin Fang nodded.

"It should be possible, but based on the information your players have explored, there seem to be quite a few Variants hidden inside. Clearing them out might take some time."

Hearing this, Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief.

Taking time was a minor issue.

As long as the fuel rods could be secured, spending any amount of time would be worth it.

...

While the players were busy with their own tasks, Chu Guang wasn't idle either.

The guard team's number expanded from 15 to 45; among the 30 new recruits, half were from Bet Street and the other half from the refugee camp.

As his own direct troop, it wasn't possible to leave them completely unchecked.

Furthermore, Pruitt and others captured before, after being watched for a day, Chu Guang had them all sent to the brick factory for labor reform.

Looking at the new workers, Eugene recognized at a glance that these guys had the same status as him. They were prisoners of the Blue Jackets.

Not just that, he also smelled a familiar scent on them.

Lunchtime.

The new prisoners sat in a corner to eat.

Eugene, carrying his lunchbox, walked over and struck up a conversation with the four of them.

"Hey, newcomers, how did you get in?"

Pruitt glanced at him.

"Mercenary, you?"

"What a coincidence, me too," Eugene grinned, glancing at the bandaged arm of one, "Speaking of which, what happened to your hand?"

Karl with a stone face, expressionless, said.

"Fell down."

Eugene whistled: "Fell down and you're still doing okay, must have fallen on a vise to break your wrist like that."

The gunman Lambert took a step forward, his eyes fixed on the guy, and said in a deep voice,

"Are you here to pick a fight?"

Eugene raised his eyebrows, not taking his provocation seriously at all.

Lambert was annoyed, about to take action, but it was at that moment when a voice came from the side,

"I'd advise you not to cause trouble,"

"If you don't want to be hanged."

Lambert's expression faltered, and the other three also turned their gaze towards the voice, only to see a man with a prominent bridge bone in the middle of his nose standing there.

Pruitt gave Lambert a look, and the latter grudgingly swallowed his anger and stepped back,

The tense atmosphere eased slightly.

Coincidentally at that moment, a man looking like a guard entered from outside, glanced at everyone, and said expressionlessly,

"Who is Vanus?"

The man who had previously stopped the conflict raised his hand,

"That's me."

The guard didn't waste words and said straight to the point,

"Come with me."

Vanus nodded, put down his food container, and got up to follow the guard.

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat subtle.

Pruitt turned to Eugene and asked,

"Who is that person?"

"You mean him?" Eugene looked at the man walking out of the brick factory with the guard, clicking his tongue and said, "He's no small fry."

Pruitt asked,

"What do you mean by that?"

Eugene responded,

"In all respects. Have you heard of the Army?"

Pruitt nodded.

The Army had been fighting with the people of Grand Canyon to the north for a year now, and refugees from the north never stopped coming. One could always hear rumors about the Expeditionary Army in the pubs of Giant Stone City, but most were unreliable.

Some said they had won half a year ago, and the Army had already stationed in River Valley Province. Others claimed they had lost thoroughly, and even the General had been captured. There were also tales that General Kras had died on the front line, and now a new General was leading the troops. And the most outrageous rumor of all was that, unable to make a dent in Grand Canyon, the Army decided to march south and invade Qingquan City.

One thing was for certain: those men were strong!

"I heard that people from the Army have a bump in the middle of their nose bridge..." Recalling the person's features, Pruitt had a realization and said, "Is he from the Army?"

Eugene looked at him with an intriguing tone,

"Yes, he is, and he's a Thousands of leaders."

Thousands of leaders!

Lambert took a deep breath, Jerry and Karl exchanged glances, each with an agitated expression on their faces.

Though they had never seen the Army in person, they had heard plenty of rumors about them.

Capturing a Thousands of leaders would require at least destroying a Thousand-person Brigade.

Pruitt swallowed hard, feeling a slight tremor in his index finger.

Just who exactly were they fighting against?

If there had been any dissatisfaction before, any regret for not having put on his power armor and fought his way out, now his heart was filled with relief.

The strength of these Blue Jackets was probably even more formidable than he had imagined!

It was good thing that there hadn't been full-on resistance.

It was such a relief to be alive...

Meanwhile, outside the brick factory.

Following the guard's footsteps, Vanus walked towards the North Gate of Wetland Park for a while, and couldn't help but ask,

"Where are we going?"

The guard said expressionlessly,

"The high official wants to see you."

Vanus cautiously reminded,

"Outpost Base isn't in this direction."

The guard said impatiently,

"Come on."

"The Lord went to Changjiu Farm before noon... You just follow if you're told to, why all the fuss!"

Hearing this scolding, Vanus immediately shut his mouth, though he felt somewhat relieved inside.

When he first came out, he was a bit nervous, thinking he was going to be taken out and executed.

Now it looked like, at least, he wasn't going to die...

...

Meanwhile, on Level B2 of Shelter No. 117.

Inside a massive artificial greenhouse.

Crow, who stood next to a hydroponic container, touched her chin as if pondering deeply, with a light frown on her forehead.

"There's definitely something wrong here."

Teng Teng yawned, her face wearing an expression of resignation.

"Are you sure you aren't mistaken?"

About two hours earlier, just as she had been preparing to start work, Crow had dragged her here without explanation.

To be honest, Teng Teng didn't believe for a second that they would find a clue that the big shots on the forum had missed so easily.

As a laid-back lifestyle player, she preferred to wait for the guide to come out and then fill in the missing 10% rather than waste time on such details...

"I'm positive, I definitely saw it right!" Crow said seriously, "Don't forget, I'm the Perception type!"

Hearing this, Teng Teng's expression turned slightly odd.

Perception type?

Wasn't it supposed to be the Mushroom type...

Crow, oblivious to Teng Teng's nuanced expression, ran her index finger along the side of the hydroponic container and quickly discovered what seemed unnatural to her.

There was a thin, pale green mark on the side of the container!

"Poison?!"

Crow's heart skipped a beat as she moved in for a closer look.

The trace was incredibly faint and slim, like a web spun by a spider. If not for her 10 points in perception, coupled with the "Toxin Intuition" talent, she would have completely missed it!

Realizing this, Crow's face broke into immediate excitement.

There was no mistake!

It was poison!

Following the intermittent trail with her fingers, she quickly arrived at the side of a wall.

Following behind Crow, Teng Teng was utterly confused.

"Is there something here?"

"My talent is Toxin Detection, and there's dried-up poison on the ground... but the clue ends here. Could it be inside the wall?"

Crow knocked on the wall twice with her hand.

But perhaps the wall was too thick; merely listening to the sounds made it impossible to confirm whether something was hidden behind it.

Teng Teng voiced her doubts.

"This is just an ordinary wall right? Could you be mistaken—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Crow, who had been feeling around on the wall, suddenly seemed to trigger some mechanism, and a clicking sound echoed from the wall.

Immediately after, the seemingly smooth alloy wall began to part, revealing a gap that steadily moved to both sides, exposing the passage behind it.

This wall was actually a secret door!

The two small players standing before the wall were stunned on the spot.

Teng Teng swallowed, muttering to herself in a hushed tone.

"Did we... discover a hidden map?"

A hidden map that even the big shots had failed to find was so effortlessly discovered by the two of them?!

Although the main credit went to Crow...

But clearly, this was not the time to discuss credit.

Looking at the passage hidden behind the wall, Crow's face was flushed with excitement, and she suddenly hugged Teng Teng tightly.

"Easter egg! It's an easter egg!"

"Hahaha, as expected of me, I actually found it!"

"Mmmphhh—"

Teng Teng, her head buried, emitted a sound akin to drowning.

They hadn't seen the easter egg yet.

But she felt as though her health bar was about to be depleted...

Chapter 187 What Year Is It Now?

The passage hidden behind the wall was very dark.

It was so dark you could describe it as pitch-black.

The circuitry here didn't seem to connect to the outside world, although there were strips that looked like they should glow at the corner of the walls, they had no response when approached.

Using the light emitted by the vm, two young players explored the passage with an excited yet apprehensive mood.

With her nose turning red, Teng Teng rubbed her arms and looked around.

"It's so cold... Why does it feel colder here than outside?"

"It really is a bit... and there's a creepy feeling too," Crow said, shrinking her neck and anxiously looking ahead, "Do you think something strange might appear?"

"Like what?"

"Ghosts or something..."

What silly talk.

Hearing this nonsensical remark, Teng Teng sighed and said,

"That's not likely, considering it's a sci-fi themed Game, if anything were to appear, it'd probably be Eaters, leeches, or giant spiders, right?"

"Yikes! Don't scare me!"

Crow stopped in her tracks, too scared to move forward.

Teng Teng looked back at her helplessly.

"I was just saying... Besides, aren't you a Perception user? And your level isn't low either. If there's something, shouldn't your Perception Attributes warn us?"

Hearing this, Crow blushed and shyly said after a moment,

"I... I'm not very good at fighting, I gained my experience from gathering."

Though her level had increased, she had virtually no combat experience... That's what Teng Teng gathered.

"It's okay, I'm the same... But I thought since you've died once, you'd have some experience in this area."

Crow frowned and said,

"That's true, but I don't want to die. Do you know how tough it is to spend a night without a helmet?"

Indeed.

Teng Teng couldn't imagine how boring a night would be without a helmet.

This Game was downright addictive.

Ever since she had the helmet, her need for social interaction in the real world dropped to zero. After work, she vanished completely; she never got disturbed by messages anymore and ignored any that came.

The world where she didn't have to manage complicated interpersonal relationships and could do what she wanted without hesitation was simply wonderful!

Placing her hands on Crow's back, Teng Teng pushed her forward, urging her to move.

"Right, right... let's hurry up or the easter egg will be gone."

"Hey, stop pushing me."

If there was really something ahead, it would have probably noticed them because of their noise.

But the slight smile on Teng Teng's lips betrayed her calm state of mind.

If a battle did trigger…

Crow had a lot of meat on her; she would probably last a while, right?

Please go forth with confidence, buxom aliens!

Teng Teng would go out and call for reinforcements to avenge you!

The hallway soon ended.

Quietly passing through a door, the two sneaked into a room approximately twenty to thirty square meters in size.

It resembled a storage room, with twenty sleep cabins lined up.

At the sight of these sleep cabins, Crow's eyes instantly turned the color of silver coins.

"Sleep Cabins!"

A well-preserved sleep cabin could sell for 50 to 100 Silver coins!

Turning her head towards Teng Teng, Crow's eyes sparkled.

"Teng Teng! Let's split them fifty-fifty!"

"What are you talking about, silly? We can't take any of this with us... But, this must be the easter egg, right?"

All twenty sleep cabins were closed.

Teng Teng walked over and peered into the capsule. But this glance turned her face pale as her lips trembled.

"Dead, dead people..."

Dried-up skeletons wore blue jackets, their organic materials nearly all decayed, leaving only a layer of dried skin and mold spots.

Fear arose spontaneously. She instinctively stepped back, bumping her head into something soft.

"So many corpses, could it be that the sleep cabins lost power?" Crow, standing behind Teng Teng, seemed unbothered as she rubbed her chin with her right hand and stared thoughtfully at the mummies in the sleep cabins.

Seeing her still thinking about it, Teng Teng swallowed nervously and whispered,

"Aren't you, aren't you scared?"

Crow cocked her head.

"Um... It's not that I'm entirely fearless, even with the filter, this model looks pretty real. But this is just a game, right?"

"Even if it's a game..."

Crow continued matter-of-factly,

"And what's there to be afraid of with something that's already dead? It's not like they're moving monsters. Anyway, compared to sticky mutated leeches, this is a lot better."

Teng Teng: "..."

Completely incomprehensible!

She didn't feel at all where it was better.

While they were talking, Crow had already walked to another sleep cabin.

Muttering something, she used the VM's light on the floor, following some invisible traces.

Suddenly, as if she had found something, she quickly walked over to a sleep cabin, excited.

"Teng Teng! Come here! Over here!"

Teng Teng warned,

"I'm not coming over there, tell me what it is first."

"Don't worry, it's not a corpse! The person inside seems to be still alive!"

"?!"

Hearing there was a live person, Teng Teng hurried over.

At that moment, Crow, moving her hands on the sleep cabin, seemed to touch some switch.

There was a hissing sound, and cold gas leaked from the gap between the hatch and the cabin of the sleep cabin. Then, the frost-covered hatch slowly opened.

Teng Teng noticed that in the cabin, lying like inside an ice coffin, was a young woman in a blue jacket.

She appeared young, probably around twenty, with delicate and soft features, and her physique between Teng Teng's and Crow's. Particularly striking were her long silver-white hair—and her blue eyes.

As the cabin door opened, the woman also woke up from her deep sleep.

However, perhaps because she was just woken up, her expression was somewhat vacant, and it took a long time before she looked around blankly.

Her gaze landed on Crow, who was closest to her. Lying in the cabin, the woman spoke with a raspy voice,

"What year is it now?"

Teng Teng and Crow looked at each other.

"What did she say?"

"She seems to have said 'now'?" Crow had picked up a few phrases by dealing with nomads at her stall, but her grammar was all over the place.

Teng Teng, struck with an idea, quickly leaned in and gestured three digits with her fingers.

"211?"

The woman looked confused but seemed to understand, relief showing in her eyes.

"The 211th year of the Wasteland Era?"

She had slept for over twenty years...

That was quite a long sleep.

Watching Crow for a while, her eyes suddenly brightened, and she laboriously lifted her weak arm, grabbing Crow's right hand.

"DNA... could I borrow some? I'd like to do some research."

Crow looked baffled.

Ah...

Is this her way of saying thank you?

"... You're welcome?"

Realizing her own abruptness from Crow's baffled expression, the woman reluctantly withdrew her hand and coughed lightly, saying,

"Sorry... occupational hazard."

Teng Teng and Crow exchanged glances, quietly discussing.

"What should we do?"

"It seems like we've triggered a hidden quest."

"But there're no subtitles... do you understand what she's saying?"

"Not a clue!"

"Then... should we take her to the guards first?"

The two reached a consensus.

"That's the only thing we can do."

...

On the road leading to Changjiu Farm.

Vanus, sitting in the back of the truck, his shoulders jolting with the vehicle. Glancing out at the road, he struck up a conversation with the young guard seated beside him.

"Have you guys cleared all the obstructions from the road?"

"Yes."

Even though he hesitated to engage with the captive, Lu Bei, remembering the manager's orders, replied impatiently.

Vanus couldn't help but praise.

"A wise choice… few survivor settlements will bother to repair those highways, yet they do not realize that this is the greatest wealth left to them by the society before the war."

Whenever the Army occupied a region, the first thing they would do was repair the roads leading there, and if conditions allowed, they would also build a railway.

Even though maintaining a stable transportation route on the Wasteland was extremely difficult, only by ensuring smooth logistics could they guarantee the combat power of the front-line troops.

To ensure the logistics were smooth, they even arranged for young junior officers to patrol along the Army's road network with Clone light infantry.

Just then, Vanus saw that those cleaning the road were his subordinates, and his expression suddenly became somewhat embarrassed, and he stopped talking.

The only thing that was comforting was that his subordinates seemed to be in good spirits?

At least they were all wearing thick clothes, and it looked like they weren't subjected to cruel mistreatment, though their expressions seemed a bit dazed and numb.

Lu Bei appreciated Vanus's expression as he ate, chuckled, and said nothing.

What a joke!

Does the wisdom of the Manager even need your acknowledgment?

Stupid prisoner!

The distance of ten kilometers was not far, and since it was a nearly straight road with few spots where they needed to slow down, the truck quickly reached the station.

Lu Bei nudged his back with the butt of his gun and signaled for him to get off the truck.

Vanus didn't say anything, with this ghostly weather he had never even thought about running away, and obediently jumped off the truck.

Following behind him from the truck, Lu Bei slung his rifle over his back and walked through the snowy ground to the south gate of Changjiu Farm, saluting the guard on duty.

"By the command of the Manager, I have brought the war criminal."

That slightly older guard looked at him and nodded.

"Well done. The Manager is in the middle room. You should hurry and take him over."

"Yes!"

Lu Bei energetically turned around and waved at Vanus, motioning him to come over.

"Listen, I am taking you to see the Manager now, you'd better mind your words and behavior."

Vanus obediently responded.

"Alright, sir, I will."

It had been a while since their last meeting, and he was also quite eager to see the person who had defeated him on the battlefield.

Even though it was Lu Yang who had defeated him on the battlefield, he didn't hold much respect in his heart for those who only stood against him through the power of their equipment.

Instead, it was those survivors who fearlessly charged towards the flanks of his position that left a deeper impression on him.

Previously in the POW camp, Vanus had heard from a Centurion subordinate about how brave those survivors were on the battlefield.

They moved like normal people, weaving in and out, yet they were even more fearless in sacrificing themselves than the Clone infantry, treating death as nothing.

What kind of charismatic leader must he be to inspire such high spirits and willingness for sacrifice among his troops?

After this period of labor and interacting with brick factory workers, Vanus had found some answers, yet more confusion arose with them.

His intuition told him that perhaps only that person could resolve the doubts in his heart.

Crossing through the gate, Vanus followed the young guard's steps and soon arrived in front of a house made of concrete structure.

Through the partially open window, one could see a roaring fire burning.

Lu Bei stepped forward, knocked on the door, and after receiving a response to enter, took Vanus inside.

There were quite a few people sitting inside; there was the steward Luka, the captain of the guards, and two others whom he himself had never met or recognized.

They seemed to be discussing something.

Vanus noticed that when he entered the room, all eyes turned towards him.

In particular, a tall, burly stranger who, after seeing his nose, paused a moment and his pupils clearly filled with anger. Another smaller man, dressed in nomadic attire, seemed to carry some fear in his eyes.

Vanus had a rough idea.

Both individuals were likely refugees, one a displaced survivor and the other probably a migrating herder, most likely from the north or the central area of the River Valley Province.

He had seen many of these people when he was traveling south; essentially, upon seeing his flag they would turn around and flee.

Walking up to the Manager, Lu Bei stood up straight with his right hand placed on his chest, speaking respectfully—and even reverently.

"Sir, the person you wanted, I have brought him for you!"

Observing this guard who was only slightly older than a child, Chu Guang nodded in approval.

"Well done, you can leave him here, go ahead now."

"Yes!"

As he left the room, Lu Bei casually closed the door behind him.

With the wooden door shut, the air in the room suddenly quieted down, leaving only the crackling of the logs in the fireplace.

Vanus's Adam's apple moved as he hesitated about whether he should initiate a conversation.

However, at this moment, the Manager sitting at the main seat shifted his gaze away from him and looked towards the nomad whose face was filled with fear.

"Continue speaking."

"Yes, sir…"

Glancing briefly at Vanus standing punished by the door, the nomad swallowed a gulp of saliva and cautiously continued speaking.

"We passed through the northern part of the River Valley Province," Teng Teng said. "The situation there was beyond terrible. Hills had been turned into pits by artillery shells, the hard ground had turned into a quagmire, and the ground was littered with corpses, attracting vultures, hyenas, eaters, and even Death Claws..."

"The people of the Grand Canyon refused to shelter us. We dared not stay there and had to bypass the battlefield on the west side and continue south. But the situation to the south was also bad, with soldiers from the Army in a rout everywhere. We unfortunately encountered two of them, lost five people before we killed one, and captured the other. After questioning, we learned that the people of the Grand Canyon had won, the Army's Expeditionary Army was defeated, and General Kras had died in the chaos."

The Expeditionary Army was defeated?

Vanus wore a puzzled expression.

However, for some reason, although he had firmly believed until half a month ago that General Kras was invincible, hearing this news left him feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

It was finally over.

Jiu Li, standing inside the room, glanced at him with a slight curl of his lips, his expression slightly mocking, but realizing Vanus wasn't looking at him, he dejectedly averted his gaze.

Chu Guang stared at the nomad and asked, "Is this news reliable?"

The nomad responded timidly.

"Sir, I'm not sure, but it should be accurate... after all, it's from the mouth of someone from the Army."

Someone from the Army had said so.

That probably made it quite reliable.

Chu Guang fell into thought.

At that moment, the captain of the guard, Wrench, stepped forward, his expression serious.

"Sir, if the deserter from the Army continues south, it won't be long before we encounter those locusts. I recommend digging trenches in the north of Changjiu Farm, building defensive fortifications, deploying patrol teams further north, and establishing outposts in both the Elm District and the northern urban area."

Old Luka also advised.

"I think so too."

Building defensive lines and expanding patrol range were basic and necessary measures. This winter might be even busier than he had imagined.

Chu Guang nodded in agreement, then turned to the nomad and continued, "Did you witness anything else along your journey?"

The nomad was slightly taken aback, furrowed his brow deep in thought for a moment, then suddenly as if he remembered something, he hastily said.

"When we passed through Tianshui City, we heard a rumor from the survivors there resting... but I'm not sure if it's accurate."

Chu Guang looked at him.

"Go on."

The nomad continued cautiously.

"They said that in the central western part of River Valley Province, a huge Looter Tribe is rapidly rising. Some say they have absorbed some of the Army deserters, others say they are the deserters themselves; they murder, plunder, torture, commit all kinds of evil acts."

Chu Guang asked.

"What's their name?"

The nomad replied in a low voice.

"Chew-bone, sir, I remember it's called Chew-bone."

"It's definitely those bastards from the Army!" Jiu Li cursed. "Those bugs, just like a plague, they never bring anything good wherever they are!"

Vanus didn't dare make a sound, trying his best to blend into the background.

Luka turned to Chu Guang, murmuring.

"Sir, chaos is spreading, and I have a bad feeling about this."

Was a premonition really needed?

Finger tapping gently on the armrest of his chair, Chu Guang stared at the restless expression of the nomad in front of him, lost in thought.

This group of nomads, just like Wu Tieh-axe and his group, had also migrated from the north, but clearly not from the same tribe.

More than fifty people wasn't many, but those who were young and able-bodied made up less than thirty percent; clearly, they hadn't faced few battles along the way.

What interested Chu Guang were that, besides the five yaks they had brought, these people also kept a certain number of poultry.

This was definitely an unexpected delight.

He had not tasted a tea egg for a long time. He wondered what an egg boiled with Spirit Leaf would taste like.

After a long pause, Chu Guang spoke.

"Your tribe is permitted to migrate to Linghu Wetland Park and stay with other nomadic tribes that have migrated there."

The man heaved a sigh of relief, gratefully kneeling on the spot, his forehead touching the floor.

"Thank you, sir! My tribe and I pledge to serve you with loyalty to death!"

"The word 'spear' carries too much aggression and can be confusing. Since you arrived in the winter, you'll henceforth be called Frost Spear," Chu Guang continued, looking at the man kneeling on the floor. "I will verify your loyalty with my own eyes. Stand up now, we don't practice kneeling here. Just place your right fist over your left chest when you see me."

"Yes, thank you for the name, sir!"

Frost Spear, newly named, joyfully retreated.

What the name was didn't matter.

What mattered was who had given the name.

In the culture of most tribes and refugees in Wasteland, being given a name signified acceptance and assimilation. They would pass down part of that name from generation to generation until their lineage perished.

The door opened and shut, blowing a draft of cold air into the room.

Chu Guang then turned to look at Vanus, who stood by the door, and said,

"Now, let's discuss your issue."

——

(The next chapter comes out at 11, as usual. I'll correct some typos first... Also, yesterday I started a thread for minor roles in the book review section, those interested can book a spot. Finding requests for minor roles in the book review section is too difficult, and sometimes you see them and then forget, really annoying. (｀・ω・´))

Chapter 188: The Officer and the Biologist

The preparation room of Shelter No. 117.

Holding a cup of hot water to warm herself up, the woman finally calmed down after having understood the situation. Then she turned to look at the two guards sitting behind the long table.

"Could I see your Manager, please?"

The two guards exchanged glances.

The slightly older one looked at her cautiously and said,

"We will report this matter to the Manager... Please state your identity. Are you a resident here?"

"Heya, Doctor of Biogenetic Engineering, from the Wasteland Era year 190... You must not be from the refuge."

The guard nodded.

"I'm indeed not. The two Blue Jackets who brought you here are, but the Manager treats us all equally."

Heya's expression suddenly became tense.

"Are you Torch?"

The two guards looked perplexed.

"Torch?"

"What is that..."

Seeing their reaction, Heya breathed a sigh of relief. Her tense shoulders slowly relaxed, and she leaned back in her chair.

She muttered under her breath,

"Nothing... it's fine if you're not."

That's right.

It had been twenty years.

The older guard frowned and asked her,

"What are you talking about?"

Heya paused for a moment and replied,

"I'll explain the situation at that time to your Manager later; it's my duty... By the way, what's your number?"

"404."

404?

Heya looked bewildered.

Was there such a number in Qingquan City?

She had thought...near 117 there should be 116 or 115...

...

On the other hand, Long Endurance Farm.

Discussing my issue?

Hearing this, Vanus's expression immediately became tense,

But Chu Guang's next words somewhat eased his mind.

"The Expeditionary Army has failed, your General Kras has died in battle, and the War is now over. You can write to your family. You just need to pay a ransom of 2 million dinars to compensate us for our losses in the War, and then you can go back to where you came from."

Hearing this number, Vanus nearly choked on his own saliva and coughed as he said,

"Sir, even if I sold all my family's possessions, I couldn't raise that much money."

2,000 dinars could buy a strong and healthy Slave, 2 million dinars equaled 1000 Slaves.

And the Slaves mentioned here aren't those disposable Clones but those survivors—men and women capable of Work and with full lifespans.

1000 Slaves...

At least a Ten Thousand Leader with a "mining estate" could possess such substantial wealth.

At most, he could muster 200,000, and that would be if he drained his entire family fortune.

Without any surprise at Vanus's response,

"Alternative proposal. I need to train some recruits here. You help me out, and I can give you a discount on your ransom."

Vanus was stunned for a second.

Train recruits?

...Me?

Seeing he didn't respond, Chu Guang continued.

"Any questions?"

"No, sir... I'm very grateful for your trust," Vanus paused, then said, "May I know the reason?"

Chu Guang replied without hesitation.

"You must have heard too. A massive Looter Tribe is on the rise. If we're optimistic, maybe by early next year. If not, maybe we'll encounter them before the end of winter. If you don't want a Barbarian for a master, you better show some real skill."

"I will give you ten people, and if the training goes well, I will give you a ten percent discount on your ransom, and then give you another ten people, and so on. If you perform excellently, perhaps I will waive your ransom altogether. Whether you can return home sooner depends on your performance."

Vanus's Adam's apple moved, and his eyes showed a complex mix of emotions.

Among them were surprise, disbelief, and some other indescribable feelings.

He nodded slightly, respectfully saying,

"I will follow your arrangements, sir."

He was beginning to understand.

Why that man could earn such genuine loyalty from so many people.

Watching the obedient Vanus, Chu Guangmang nodded in satisfaction,

"Dismissed."

"Yes."

After Vanus left,

Jiu Li, standing nearby, looked nervously toward Chu Guangmang,

"Sir, are you certain about assigning a member of the Army to be an instructor?"

In the central and northern parts of the River Valley Province, people with a prominent nasal bridge were synonymous with devils, the root of plagues and disasters.

He couldn't trust a member of the Army, let alone a mid-level Army officer.

As for Wrench and Luka, they felt indifferent; in the southern part of He Gu Province, they rarely saw members of the Army. They despised the local Looters and Mutants more.

Although having a prisoner as an instructor was somewhat strange, they themselves were also born captives and serfs of Looters.

Moreover, this was the Manager's judgement, and they had no doubt that his decision was correct.

Looking at Jiu Li whose eyes were filled with distrust, Chu Guangmang spoke straightforwardly,

"Why not? On the battlefield, they are our enemies, but off the battlefield, they can also be potential allies. The Army's influence does not extend to the River Valley Province, and for a long time, we will not have direct conflicts. Our disagreements don't amount to a bitter feud. Besides, he has been reformed satisfactorily during this period, and since he has gained the workers' recognition, I think we should give him an opportunity."

The Army's tactics had aspects worth learning from, and Chu Guangmang needed an instructor on his side to train a group of junior officers proficient in logistics, light infantry tactics, trench warfare, and maneuver warfare.

Vanus, who had received military education from a young age and was himself a mid-level officer in the Army, was undoubtedly a suitable candidate.

It was unrealistic to let a prisoner lead troops, but to teach and train the "NPCs" was not a problem; the only obstacle to overcome was a psychological one.

In large-scale battles, it was necessary for NPCs and players to work together seamlessly to maximize the players' combat power.

Sooner or later, they would encounter opponents even stronger than the Looters.

Of course, this did not mean that Chu Guangmang fully trusted the guy.

Chu Guangmang planned to arrange for two sufficiently loyal guards to enter the classrooms to learn while also serving as supervisors. If they noticed any devious scheming or unnecessary actions from him, those who saw themselves as saviors would report to Chu Guangmang immediately.

At that point, Chu Guangmang would naturally deal with it.

"…Here, identity is not important at all, that applies to everyone."

"Remember that."

This was not just for Vanus; it was also meant for the representative of the refugees.

Jiu Li's shoulders gave a slight twitch.

Although he still couldn't bring himself to trust that Army man, he lowered his head,

"Yes, sir."

...

After the rest had left, Chu Guangmang had Luka stay behind to get an update on the recent situation at Changjiu Farm.

Overall, the integration of the refugees was going fairly smoothly, with nearly twenty refugees who had found work now allowed into the farm.

This included two butchers, three tanners, as well as craftsmen like carpenters, tailors, and masons.

Nearly fifty additional laborers were in the process of completing their paperwork.

The Refugee Camp was merely a buffer; Chu Guangmang had no intention of leaving those refugees lingering at the east entrance, having them there was only to avoid chaos.

As long as they proved their worth through work, anyone could enter Changjiu Farm and become a legal resident.

After listening to Luka's report, Chu Guangmang pondered for a moment and said,

"The refugee population seems to have increased recently."

Luka replied respectfully,

"Yes, sir, just this week alone, we've already received over twenty people in three batches. That's not counting Frost Spear and his fifty-odd tribespeople whom you just met."

It seemed that recent unrest had indeed brought considerable trouble to the survivors of the River Valley Province.

Especially that Chewing Bone Tribe…

Chu Guangmang's fist clenched slightly.

Just then, the signal light on his VM wristband suddenly flashed.

A slight movement in his heart, Chu Guangmang immediately opened the VM screen.

The message was from Xiao Qi,

"Master, Shelter No. 117 seems to have discovered a living person?"

Seeing this message, Chu Guang was stunned for a moment.

"Alive?!"

Xiao Qi: "Yes... Her name is Heya, and she claims to be a resident of Shelter No. 117, saying she has an important matter to discuss with you in person."

As Chu Guang read the text from Xiao Qi, he hadn't yet recovered from his surprise when suddenly, three lines of pale blue pop-up text appeared in his field of vision.

[Mission Complete.]

[Access to Floor B3 of Shelter No. 404 has been unlocked!]

[Please check promptly, Manager!]

...

Chu Guang had not expected his players to be so effective.

He initially thought it would take them at least two or three days to find the remaining 10% of the hidden map, but to his astonishment, they hadn't even taken 24 hours?

That was incredibly strong!

How on earth did they manage it?

Without hurrying to open Floor B3, which wasn't going anywhere anyway,

Chu Guang returned to Outpost Base and followed the guard to the reception room, where he met the woman said to be from 20 years ago.

"My Lord, this is her."

"I know."

After gesturing for the guard to leave, Chu Guang sat down opposite her.

His gaze fell on her striking white hair, and after contemplating for a moment, he asked an inconsequential question.

"Is... your silver hair natural?"

"DNA defect, I heard it was a minor illness before the war, but unfortunately, I was born in a shelter... However, that's not the main point," the lady took a deep breath and extended her right hand to Chu Guang, "Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Heya, a resident of Shelter No. 117... possibly the only surviving registered resident."

Chu Guang noted that she had emphasized her status as a registered resident.

Could it be there are unregistered people?

But for him, these matters weren't the focus.

The focus was her hair, which clearly was an SSSR Card!

If this was to be included in the Alpha 0.9 version update, wouldn't it be appropriate to rave about how amazing the planners were?

Yin Fang's classmate finally wouldn't have to worry about being harassed, and soon, he was going to experience the feeling of being out of favor.

There was no creature more fickle than players.

Noticing a pair of curious eyes watching her

Chu Guang cleared his throat and adopted a serious expression as he spoke to her.

"Chu Guang, manager of Shelter No. 404, I've already confirmed your identity through my assistant, and I would like to know exactly what happened to you all."

Burying her nose in her palms, Heya took a deep breath, raised her head to Chu Guang, and began.

"A disaster. If we are to clarify the entire situation, it might take some time."

"No issue, the one thing we have plenty of in the Wasteland is time."

"You are right."

A look of resigned amusement crossed her face as she gathered her emotions and slowly began,

"For you, this happened over twenty years ago, but for me, it feels as though it all happened yesterday..."

As promoted, Shelter No. 117 was a community-type refuge though, in principle, it didn't have Cryogenic Dormancy Technology.

These facilities were primarily for residents who didn't wish to be cryogenically dormant and wanted to stay with their families and those unsuitable for cryogenic sleep or allergic to cryoprotectants and thawing agents.

After all, although Cryogenic Dormancy Technology had been developed, the longest dormancy period was only fifty years, and no one could guarantee there wouldn't be side effects over periods lasting a century.

Instead of living a life of anxiety about an unforeseeable future, some people preferred to spend precious moments with their families in the refuge before leaving the future to those yet to come.

After the war erupted, a total of 100 residents entered the shelter, including teachers, doctors, professors, corporate executives, and lawyers, all of whom were highly educated elites. Once inside, they assumed their duties as planned, continuing the utopia for a considerable time.

Yet nothing lasts forever against the relentless march of time.

With the birth of the first newborn and the passing of the oldest, the survivors from the old world inevitably faced aging and death.

Mathematical models could predict macro samples but not love. Even though the educated survivors consciously controlled their population growth, the rate of increase was still faster than expected, leading to a crisis in space and resources, which in turn led to divergence.

A faction of the newer generation residents believed that staying would only result in certain death, with no hope in sight; they had to venture out.

Calling themselves the Torch, they aimed to drive the shelter toward change, readying the pre-war tools bestowed upon them to fulfill the duties of the future prematurely.

Yet, another faction, older residents, believed that the world outside was worse than inside, that venturing out would only lead to a dead end. They thought they should patiently await the preset time, pass on their knowledge to the next generation, and then open the doors as planned to welcome a new era.

The divergence rapidly worsened in the Wasteland Era Year 180, and the final straw came when a member of the Torch opened the door and saved a child from the Wasteland.

His name was Wang Yi.

The clever and eager-to-learn child quickly became a core figure in the Torch organization under their care.

In the Wasteland Era Year 190, rebellion broke out, and many died. Most critically, the reactor fuel rods were damaged, and Sven Vilard, the manager at the time, reluctantly compromised. He opened the shelter and promised the Torch that as long as they found replacement fuel rods, he would give them a share of the pre-war reserves to pursue their mission.

Shelter No.117 was to be closed again according to the plan, continuing to await the scheduled time.

However, regrettably, Torch did not keep their promise. They sealed the doors of the shelter, forcing Sven Vilard to hand over the remaining Black Boxes.

Due to the lack of fuel, the Full Cycle Systems could no longer be maintained, and the remaining people had to enter the emergency shelter.

There, twenty Sleep Cabins were stored.

To give others a chance, Manager Sven Vilard chose to stay behind alone.

After hearing all the stories, Chu Guang couldn't help but ask.

"That Sven Vilard... how old exactly did he live to be?"

Heya looked perplexed and shook her head.

"I don't know, I just remember he seemed to have lived for a very long time."

Alright.

Chu Guang let the question go.

"But the others still died."

Heya nodded her head.

"Yes, our ancestors, most of them were unsuitable for Cryogenic Dormancy Technology. Strictly speaking, I am too, but I'm a little different from them."

As she spoke, Heya showed Chu Guang her arm.

In her pulse, one could see a silver trace.

Chu Guang frowned.

"Bionic augmentation?"

Heya nodded.

"Due to DNA defects, my level of bionic augmentation reached 79%, virtually any organ you can name has been replaced with bionics. I think... that might be the reason I survived."

Gripping the armrests with both hands, Chu Guang immediately asked.

"How did you manage to create bionic organs?"

Heya explained.

"The Black Box, a product of the Arc Project, is a miraculous thing that only requires a few basic raw materials to produce the desired product. Our Black Box was primarily for producing bionics, but almost all of them were stolen by Torch during that rebellion."

Hearing they were stolen, Chu Guang felt a pang of distress.

It was bad enough that they were stolen, but it was twenty years ago.

Even if he found them, whether they could still be used was questionable!

"So, what do you plan to do next?"

Heya looked confused and shook her head.

"I don't know, but the Manager instructed us that if anyone survived, we should go find other shelters and tell them our story. Right, in the Manager's office there's a set of power armor; he also said that it could help us—"

"I've already retrieved it, including his VM."

Looking at the bewildered child, Chu Guang continued.

"If you have nowhere to go, why not join us? We could use an expert in biology."

Heya blinked, slightly startled, then nodded gently.

"I have no objections, although my research might not be able to help you..."

As she said this, she suddenly remembered something and her expression became a bit embarrassed.

"Right, there's one thing, I wonder if I could trouble you with it."

The always-helpful Chu Guang smiled.

"Tell me, what is it?"

Heya smiled shyly and said politely.

"Well... could I borrow some of your DNA? I'd like to study it."

Chu Guang: "???"

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door, followed by a knock.

"Come in."

The door opened.

The deputy commander of the guard, Liuding, strode into the reception room, speaking urgently.

"Manager Sir, a plane has come from the south."

A plane?

Chu Guang was slightly stunned, his expression instantly serious as he stood up swiftly.

"Take some men and go there, I'll follow immediately!"

-

(Snap! I got disconnected just now; I transmitted this using a hotspot.)

Chapter 189: Watch Closely, This Is How Players Should Be Used

In the southern part of Lakeside Wetland Park, a plane emitting pale blue arcs of fire flew over the abandoned urban area of the North suburbs.

It had been noticed early from heaven.

Wearing an exoskeleton, the deputy captain of the security team, Liuding, led five fully armed players from the south gate of the park to meet them.

Apart from these five players, more than ten other players led by another guard were ambushed in the forest not far from the park's south entrance.

In case of any mishap, both groups would support each other and pour fire from both near and far distances. With so many rifles, suppressing an already landed plane was more than enough.

However, it seemed the other party had no intention of fighting?

After the plane landed, three people jumped out.

Two were wearing exoskeletons, holding X-2 Male Bee Assault Rifles, looking like they were armed bodyguards.

The person in the middle carried no weapons but wore a washed-out brown leather jacket, raised his hands to show he meant no harm, and walked towards the guards and players with a smile.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just a messenger here to deliver a message. I wish to see your leader... or does he have another title?"

"You may call him Lord Manager."

Holding a Sickle Assault Rifle in his hands, Liuding slightly squinted his eyes, watching the man while using his peripheral vision to remain cautious of the two bodyguards standing beside him.

"State your purpose."

"Like I said, I'm here to deliver a message... by the way, your gun looks good, where did you buy it?"

Seeing that the man in the exoskeleton was growing increasingly upset, the man who claimed to be a messenger finally reined in his frivolous demeanor and coughed before saying,

"Alright, no jokes now. My employer wants to buy something from you... it's about as tall as my knee, a box, black one, previously kept in the office of the 117 Shelter Administrator. If you agree, my employer is willing to pay fifty thousand chips—"

Before he could finish, a voice broadcast through the speaker carried over from afar.

"Roll back where you came from before I change my mind."

Dressed in power armor, Chu Guang, shouldering a Gauss Rifle, emerged from the south gate of Linghu Wetland Park.

Seeing his deep blue armor, the messenger showed no signs of nervousness or surprise, whereas the two bodyguards by his side tensed up, ready for confrontation.

A Gauss Rifle!

With its piercing power, if aimed right, it could take down a plane!

And the power armor he wore was needless to say; ordinary bullets and shrapnel hitting his breastplate were like scratching an itch.

"Fifty thousand chips is already a lot... alright, I'm leaving. Guys, let's pull out, our trip here was in vain."

The man who claimed to be a messenger intended to make one last effort, but, sensing a dangerous aura from Chu Guang, he promptly abandoned the idea.

Chu Guang did not stop him.

Because his instincts told him that the plane probably belonged to this man—or rather, this man's boss behind the scenes; shooting it down would be troublesome.

The City Lord of Giant Stone City, located around the third ring, had not yet considered him important; perhaps to them, a survivor force numbering hundreds to thousands was just skirmishing, with no industries or major businesses, akin to a worthless stone by the roadside, no different in essence from the Blood Hand Clan who previously lived near the highway leading out of the North suburbs.

With no interest from the neighbors, Chu Guang naturally did not plan to needlessly provoke those people.

The position of Shelter No.404 was awkward, stuck near the highway of the North suburb of Qingquan City, with limited developmental space.

Trouble already loomed from the north; provoking those to the south would force him into a two-front war.

Returning to the plane with his bodyguards, the man by the cabin door spoke louder, with a mix of seriousness and jest.

"Respected King of the North Suburbs, my master—a petty armed broker—has a piece of advice for you."

Chu Guang watched him.

"Speak."

The man continued with a smile,

"Your strength is immense, I heard you even involved yourself in disputes between armies and corporations. A hero like you should wrestle with big figures like the City Lord of Giant Stone City, pitting ourselves against you is beyond our line of work."

"My master says if you intend to keep that black box, then we must abandon this commission... I believe no mercenary, for those few hundred chips, would dare disturb you here; it would be purely pointless."

The man's tone suddenly shifted,

"However, the boss who commissioned us to retrieve the box is not someone to be trifled with. Even someone as prominent as the City Lord would need to weigh the consequences of offending him. If he's willing to pay 50,000 chips for your black box, I believe it holds a much higher value to him than merely 50,000 chips."

"100,000? Or 200,000? No matter the amount, he surely won't give up easily. Perhaps when this winter passes, he'll come to fetch it himself. If I were you, I definitely wouldn't want to keep this hot potato in hand. But I'm just a small fry; perhaps you have other ideas?"

"If you decide to change your mind, you can come to the Pirate Bay Tavern in Giant Stone City. You are a respected strongman, and if there's an opportunity, my master would like to treat you to a drink."

"By the way, his name is White Shark... though I'm sure you already knew."

The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft gradually ascended, returning to the south towards Giant Stone City.

Watching the plane flying away, Chu Guang chuckled.

Fifty thousand chips?

Heh.

Old man could earn dozens of chips even just picking up trash for five months; and that's under Old Leech's exploitation.

Yin Fang was researching how to use that thing to make implanted prosthetic devices, and his little player was still waiting to use it to get stronger.

Want to take it from me?

Only over my dead body!

However, in the end, the man who claimed to be a postman didn't say who exactly wanted the Black Box.

Just then, Chu Guang felt a slight stir in his heart.

"Could it be... the Torch?"

Those survivors who took away many Black Boxes from Shelter No.117!

It seemed that they had been doing well these years, having become big shots among the Wasteland Wanderers thanks to the black tech Props produced by the Black Boxes.

However, Chu Guang wasn't panicked at all, as those Black Boxes were at most used for bionic organs and implants, not some kind of mass-destructive weapons.

If they really came knocking, that would be perfect.

It would save him the trouble of looking for them.

Watching the plane disappear into the horizon, Liuding put down his rifle and walked over to Chu Guang's side, speaking earnestly.

"Boss, their plane is too arrogant. We lack effective air defense means, which could be very dangerous."

"I know."

Not having air defense weapons was indeed a problem.

When the people from Giant Stone City went to negotiate with the Pioneer, they had to park their plane several kilometers away, but here they flew right up to our doorstep.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then stretched out his right hand and lightly tapped the side of his power armor helmet.

An orange visual window projected onto the helmet's tactical goggles.

The power armor was built-in with a vital signs monitor, similar in function to VM, and the difficulty of data exchange wasn't much. Any program that could run on the VM could naturally run here as well.

Flicking his index finger in the air a few times, Chu Guang quickly edited a mission and posted it in the "Weapon Crafting" section of the public channel.

The players who would take on this mission were the severest old timers in the server.

Watch and learn, Liuding. This is how players do it!

[Mission: Air Threat]

[Brief: The Deputy Captain of the Outpost Security Team seems to be in trouble. Go have a chat with him.]

[Deputy Captain Liuding: The opponents' planes come and go above our heads at will. We need an air defense weapon that can shoot them down when necessary, or at least scare them off before they drop bombs!]

[Reward: 500 Silver, 500 Contribution.]

Done!

Afterwards, Chu Guang looked towards Liuding and said.

"In a few days, someone will come to you with some strange things. Just pick the one that is both cheap and functional and mark it on the VM's mission page."

Liuding was stunned for a moment.

Though he didn't quite understand, he still nodded.

"Okay... Boss."

...

Meanwhile, at Outpost Base.

Seeing that the Manager of Shelter No. 404 had been gone for a long time and had not returned, an anxious Heya walked out of the reception room.

Just as she reached the main entrance of the nursing home, she coincidentally passed by some players who instantly recognized her in the blue jacket, their faces lighting up as if they had discovered a New Continent.

"White hair!!"

"Holy shit! You can customize hair color in this game?"

"Who didn't tell me this!"

"Miss, what's your nickname?"

Heya looked puzzled, not understanding what these refuge residents were talking about.

As more and more players gathered, someone figured out that although she wore a blue jacket, she wasn't a player.

If that confused expression is an act, then she's quite the actress!

"She doesn't seem to understand our language, nor our memes."

"She doesn't seem very bright… Is she a new NPC?"

"But she's wearing a blue jacket..."

"What's so strange about that? Players are not the only ones with blue jackets, there are a few in the storage room of Shelter No. 117, right? But it seems we've never met people from other shelters before."

This comment received a lot of nods from the players.

Indeed, the game never specified that the blue jacket was exclusive to players, just that the characters they played were residents of the shelter.

Just then, a young player who had just completed a mission at Shelter No. 117 approached.

"I know! She's an NPC that Crow and Teng Teng found in the hidden room of Shelter No. 117!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding crowd let out a murmur of surprise.

"Holy shit! Has the hidden room already been found?!"

"And it was found by Crow Boss!"

"Damn, that's not fair! Tail has almost scraped off the wall paint and still couldn't find it!"

"Just asking, does it have something to do with mushrooms in the room?"

"Don't underestimate Crow Boss. She was the server-first player who died from a monster and triggered a penalty mission, hilariously."

"I don't care about the hidden room, I just want to know where to find the same white-haired NPC?"

"Count me in!"

Surrounded by these enthusiastic and hospitable residents, Heya's expression slowly changed from bewildered to confused, then fearful, unsure of what to do.

At that moment, a power armor approached from the direction of the southern gate, and a loud voice drifted out from the speakers.

"Everyone disperse, don't scare the newcomer."

"Let me introduce you. This is our new doctor of biological engineering arriving at our shelter. From tomorrow on, she will officially start working... Miss Heya, please follow me."

Heya quickly nodded her head, hiding behind Chu Guang.

After giving a yellow card warning to several overly excited players, Chu Guang took her to the elevator and pressed the down button.

Watching the elevator doors close, Heya finally breathed a sigh of relief, her heart still pounding.

"Are they all residents of Shelter No. 404?"

Chu Guang took off his face mask and stretched his neck, casually responding.

"My 'players' are a bit enthusiastic, please don't take it personally... By the way, 'wanjia' means resident, specifically residents of the shelter."

"Why don't I understand what they're saying? Aren't you all using the language of the United Human?"

It had been the same in the emergency shelter earlier.

Heya couldn't understand what the two ladies who had woken her from the sleep cabin were saying.

However, Chu Guang didn't intend to delve deeper into this issue.

"The United Human have been gone for more than 200 years. Is evolving a new language really that strange? But don't worry, I speak both languages."

Heya silently repeated the strange pronunciation of "wanjia" a few times, committing the word to memory.

After leaving the power armor in the equipment room, Chu Guang led her through two gates of the airlock directly to level B2, where Zone B still had a hundred empty rooms.

They randomly picked a room.

After assigning the rights to her VM, Chu Guang continued.

"From now on, this will be your new home. Instructions for using the facilities and the Resident Handbook of Shelter No. 404 will be sent to your VM. Starting tomorrow, you will be a biological engineering expert, and I'll have some tasks for you."

Heya glanced around the room, which contained only a single bed and a table, almost smaller than the confinement room in Shelter No. 117.

"Your rooms... they're quite compact. Do you always live in places like this?"

Chu Guang had heard complaints about his shelter being poor before, so he really didn't mind.

"Yes, but our spiritual world is very rich. Those players... um, they go to other places when they sleep."

"It's a bit rough at the start-up phase, but it will get better. I hope you can adapt."

Start-up? What's that?

Even though she had only slept for twenty years, Heya felt as if she were in another world.

Is there such a big generation gap between shelters?

She couldn't understand any of the words or concepts...

After settling Heya, Chu Guang returned to the central square of B2.

Just as he was about to go check out the newly unlocked B3 to see what the First Generation Manager had left him, he saw Boss Xia holding Xiao Qi waiting at the elevator door.

Xiao Qi, seeing Chu Guang from afar, called out.

"Master!"

Chu Guang glanced at Xia Yan and Xiao Qi in her arms and asked with a peculiar expression.

"Why did you bring Xiao Qi down?"

"He asked me to carry him down... By the way, who was that white-haired woman?" Xia Yan put Xiao Qi down and sneakily glanced behind Chu Guang, only to find no one there.

Chu Guang casually replied.

"The only resident left in Shelter No. 117, my players brought her back."

"Wow," Xia Yan nodded slowly, his expression slightly questioning as he whispered, "But is it really okay to just let her move in? What if she's a bad person?"

Chu Guang smiled.

"Don't worry, Xiao Qi will keep an eye on her 24/7. If there's any suspicious behavior, I'll know immediately."

Xiao Qi said in a somewhat helpless tone, "Although that's true, I still don't recommend bringing people of unknown origin here, especially that guy whose right hand is a machine. I always feel his gaze on me is kind of creepy."

That's a thing?!

"It's precisely because I'm not at ease that I need to keep a close eye on them... The one you mentioned with the mechanical right hand, is that Yin Fang? I'll have him be careful."

Chu Guang paused, then continued.

"Let's put that aside, I have some things to handle, and since you're here, you can join me."

Xia Yan was stunned for a moment, "Join? What kind of 'join'..."

A faint smile formed on Chu Guang's lips.

"Let's take a look at our B3 level."

Saying this, he walked into the elevator and lightly swiped his index finger across the touch screen, quickly bringing up the words "B3 access unlocked."

Following by Chu Guang's side, Xiao Qi let out an excited noise.

"Wow, Master, you got access to the B3 level?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yeah, just got it."

The elevator doors closed, and it began descending slightly.

When the doors opened again, they were greeted by dry, fresh air, reminiscent of Chu Guang's initial entry into level B2.

"It feels like it's just been cleaned..." Xia Yan scanned his surroundings, following Chu Guang out of the elevator.

The layout here was identical to B2. Whether it was the circular arrangement of four fan-shaped sectors, the central elevator tower, or even the total of 600 rooms, as well as the public dining hall and sanitary facilities located in Zone A.

Even the corridor between Zone A and Zone B was the exact same!

Chu Guang's gaze settled on that corridor; he considered the floorplan sign next to the elevator.

From the floorplan, one could see that behind the corridor was a rectangular space, divided into four rectangular sections of varying sizes.

This appeared to be the "functional area."

"Power room, planting area, medical laboratory, storage... and a buffer room? Wait, why is there a buffer room behind the storage?" A hint of surprise crossed Chu Guang's face.

Buffer rooms, used to equalize the inside and outside air pressure of shelters, contain two gates and a corridor with an air shower function capable of removing dust and most contaminants from clothing, with the possibility of spraying acid for sterilization.

Such facilities are typically located at the entrance of shelters, but on the B3 level?

Following beside Chu Guang, Xiao Qi raised his camera, his voice filled with doubt.

"Perhaps... Shelter No. 404 has more than one entrance?"

Chu Guang stroked his chin, pondering momentarily, then nodded lightly.

"I wouldn't rule out that possibility."

Xia Yan looked toward him, slightly tense.

"Shall we go check it out?"

"Of course, why else would I be here?"

However, before that, Chu Guang had something else to do.

Saying so, Chu Guang activated the VM on his arm and pulled up a pre-edited document.

"Alpha0.9 Version Update Announcement"

"Alpha0.9 Developer's Log"

With two clicks, he sent it!

Upload complete!

After finishing this task, Chu Guang then turned to Xiao Qi.

"Xiao Qi, sync this to the official website."

The signal light atop his head flickered slightly, and Xiao Qi said energetically.

"Right away! Master!"

The two, plus one machine, made their way deeper into B3 level.

Almost simultaneously, in another world, the "Wasteland OL" official website erupted with the release of the update announcement!

-

(Cough cough, as usual... before eleven o'clock.)

Chapter 190 Alpha 0.9 Version! A Whole New Occupation System and Proficiency Level Gameplay!

Official Website:

[Wasteland OL Alpha 0.9 Version Update Announcement!]

[Major Updates:

1. The number of closed beta players has increased to 800!

2. Updated the "Occupation System" and "Proficiency Level" settings.

3. New identity level "Intermediate Citizen": Requires 10,000 Contribution Points, allows the purchase of land to increase from 5 square meters to 50 square meters.

]

[Optimization:

1. New NPC "Heya": A silver-haired mixed-race girl, PhD in Engineering, 79% cybernetic enhancement with DNA defects, the sole survivor of Shelter No.117, born among the new generation of residents in the shelter. With her many stories, she seems to have many secrets hidden. (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)

2. Shelter extended to Level B3, more areas opened, more intelligence for players to explore on their own.

3. New Looter faction "Chewing Bone Tribe": Due to the Expeditionary Army's defeat, chaos spread like a plague on the dry land of River Valley Province. A huge Looter Tribe is rising at an incredible rate.

"Chaos, death, and savagery! We shall tear open the throat of civilization, suck on its bones, and hang those superficial skins on our flags to dry!"

4. Death penalty update: Resurrection cooldown remains unchanged, death penalty for players below Level 10 adjusted from 40 Silver Coins to 20 Silver Coins, death penalty for Levels 10-20 remains unchanged, death penalty for Levels 20-30 increased to 80 Silver Coins.

5. New concept of Awakening, advancing from Level 9 to Level 10 will automatically complete the first Awakening, Gene Sequence development progresses from first stage to second stage, player characters will gain at least one additional talent, and both panel attributes and real combat power will experience substantial improvement.

6. Fixed a few bugs.

…

]

[Due to the further increase in player numbers, the Player Manual and User Covenant have been updated to the latest version, adding content related to "War Principles" and "Prisoner Strategies." Players who have obtained closed beta qualifications should review timely to avoid poor game experience for themselves and others. Players who have reserved should also double-check carefully, and if they cannot accept the new rules, please cancel the reservation and wait patiently for the content-rich open beta.]

[Current Reservation Count: 23,333]

[Alpha 0.9 Developer's Log]

Xiao Qi: "Hello everyone, I'm your beloved planner Ah Guang—'s most beloved assistant! As Washing Gull led by example in working overtime, which incurred the collective ire of the development, planning, and art departments, we decided to stuff him in a starfish can and sell it to the Mutant Tribe... However, we finally managed to roll out Alpha 0.9, and this update is very significant. Since Ah Guang is still working overtime, I am entrusted to discuss with you the design philosophy and gameplay of the new version!"

"Firstly, the biggest change in Alpha 0.9 as compared to 0.8 is that we have added an Occupation System and Proficiency Level settings for Wasteland OL."

"Honestly, when making this decision, we hesitated a lot. After all, our original intention was to create a sandbox game with freedom and a virtual community as its selling points, primarily for casual entertainment, and we had no plans to even develop a character interface; the concept of a profession seemed to run counter to that."

"However, as the game content continued to enrich and players increasingly participated in the open-world affairs, our NPC found themselves in a dilemma—there are limited things to do, and how to allocate these limited opportunities to those who need them the most."

"Zhang San likes fishing, Li Si likes farming; we have a hoe and a fishing rod on hand. Ideally, the fishing rod should go to Zhang San, the hoe to Li Si. But now that the number of players has risen to 800, if a specified manner were used to decide who gets to do the tasks, it would violate the principle of fairness, so we needed to set a standard!"

"And the Occupation System and Skill Proficiency Levels were created just for this purpose!"

"For example, when a player carries a VM to chop trees or completes a lumberjack task, their proficiency with the lumberjack skill accumulates automatically. Once it reaches the limit, the skill level increases, starting at level 0 and going up to level 10. This level is independent of the gene sequence level, each skill is calculated individually. Although advancing in skill levels doesn't directly increase your work efficiency, it does unlock more lucrative tasks related to that skill and even exclusive titles like 'Ace Lumberjack' or 'Forest Destroyer'!"

"Besides lumberjacking, other skills that can be improved include firearms, throwing, archery, combat, medical, scavenging, slaughtering, cooking, building, tailoring, metallurgy, manufacture, planting, mining, and more—over 40 types in total. For more details, players are encouraged to explore by themselves!"

"Compared to the Skill Proficiency System, the 'Occupation System' is more like a symbol of identity or a title."

"For example, after 'Guo Niu' the Warehouse Manager becomes a Scavenger, the proficiency of scavenging skills accumulates faster, and he is entrusted with important tasks in scavenging, receiving exclusive professions of scavengers and, once the conditions are met, can become a 'Master Scavenger' or even 'King of Trash'!"

"At 'Guo Ma,' the Granary Manager, one can take up professions such as Farmer or Butcher, unlocking more seeds or receiving more slaughtering orders."

"Moreover, some professions have certain skill proficiency thresholds. For instance, to become a Hunter and hunt more valuable targets, one must have at least one of the skills—firearms, throwing, or archery—at level 3 or pay 10 silver coins to open a hunting skill assessment."

"Similar professions include Soldier, Architect, Prospector, and more. We will also introduce Mercenaries, Adventurers, Engineers, and other professions in later updates. Stay tuned to our official website for more information!"

"New players can only register for one profession. As their citizen level increases, the number of professions they can register for also increases. For instance, a citizen can register for two professions, and an intermediate citizen for three, and so forth. Registered professions can be canceled at any time, but related achievements and titles will also be reset, so choose carefully!"

"Additionally, we will resolve the photo-taking issue in the next version, allowing players to capture beautiful moments with their cameras."

"If it's not fixed in the next version, it definitely will be in the following one!"

...

Less than a minute after the update announcement and development log were posted, comments under the post refreshed rapidly with hundreds of responses.

However, the reason for the players' excitement was not the newly introduced Occupation System.

It can even be said that it had nothing to do with the content of this major update.

Shadow Moon Ghost Wind: "White fur! It's white fur! Fans of white fur, rejoice! (screams)"

This Child Indeed Fearsome As Such: "So tantalizing, too tantalizing!"

Elena: "Is no one calling out for my wife? Then let me do it. (joking)"

Quit Smoking: "The planner is awesome! (shrieks)"

Tail: "prprpr"

Si Si: "Yikes! This person—no, this tail!"

Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Tsk tsk, you LSPs, does no one care about this update's Occupation System and Skill Proficiency Levels? Such important matters, and all the focus has shifted to an NPC! (pounds table)"

Fang Chang: "Sorry, this planner is too good. (nosebleed)"

Night Ten: "+1, Mole Old Brother rocks! (joking)"

Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Damn! How could even you, Fang Chang, with your bushy eyebrows and big eyes, switch sides!"

The post was bustling with activity.

The forum outside the post was the same.

The official website had been completely overwhelmed by backseat drivers, sand sculpture netizens, and jesters.

Especially with this Alpha 0.9 version, the number of players had jumped from 500 to 800!

Releasing 300 test slots all at once had the newcomers thrilled to bits.

What does it mean to have over 200 award acceptance speeches appear on the forum simultaneously?

Not to mention the tens of thousands of lemon-suckers and melon-eaters.

At its peak, posts were flooding in at a speed of 5 meters per second, and new posts were sinking to the second page like stones thrown into a river.

Refreshing the page again, and they were completely gone.

The server hadn't crashed, suggesting the operators had really invested heavily!

Old White, after reading the notification, glanced at the reservation numbers.

Goodness, just a few minutes ago it was 23333, and in the blink of an eye, it had jumped to 27777, heading straight for the 30,000 mark!

Are people really solving problems that quickly?!

...

Guo Niu and Guo Ma club group chat.

No one discussed the new version on the official site, so everyone had taken their discussions to their private groups.

WC real mosquitoes: "Awesome! I just hit exactly 10,000 contribution points, soaring up there among the elites! (grinning)"

Wild Wind: "I've got 12,000, saving up contributions really pays off."

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato: "Dang, I'm still 2,000 short, how do you guys farm so fast!"

Quit Smoking: "Exactly! I just became a citizen, and you liver gods are way over the top! QAQ"

Night Ten: "Great, I can buy land again! (winking)"

Becoming a citizen requires 2,000 contribution points, while becoming a medium citizen multiplies that by about five.

However, that doesn't mean the difficulty of upgrading from citizen to medium citizen is also five times harder, as the rewards of the tasks also increase with level.

If you're serious about gaming, you can make it in a month; taking it easy, two to three months should suffice, with a daily active minimum of 120 points. Not to mention after reaching Level 5, many tasks offer 200-500 points. With good equipment and level, farming contribution points can be quite fast.

For instance, the group owner and the Dog Managers had been farming the Greenhouse Ruins recently, with both silver coins and contribution points usually reaching into the thousands, with contributions being slightly higher. The average daily income could be as high as 600 contributions, and at the low end, around 400 contributions.

Some lifestyle gamers also had similar routines, like Mosquito. The warehouse regularly had orders for making nitrocellulose, a consistently high-demand item.

Especially after the 0.8 update introduced the regional reputation system and the material donation feature, lifestyle players had one more way to earn contributions.

By donating strategic materials, not only were you gaining capital "reputation", but also earning some universal contribution points from your force!

10,000 points was really not that much.

The topic quickly shifted to the newly added Occupation System and Proficiency level system.

Fang Chang: "I just logged into the game, my archery proficiency is somehow at 4."

Old White: "Looks like they counted previous proficiency."

Fang Chang: "'Precisely speaking, it must be the proficiency we've accumulated since getting the VM. It's safe to speculate that our current proficiency levels are based on that data."

Night Ten: "The Manager collecting our personal info through the VM is confirmed now. (winking)"

Wild Wind: "Speaking of which, Fang Chang, what job roles are you planning to take?"

Fang Chang: "As a medium citizen, I can carry three; I'm thinking Hunter, Soldier, and Prospector."

Wild Wind: "Not taking Scavenger?"

Fang Chang: "No room for that, sadly. Hunter is a must, a real money-maker, and just for the hunting profit bonus alone it's essential. Soldier goes without saying, seems like it's the child of this version. Didn't they just update something about the Chewing Bone Tribe? Definitely going to be useful. And Prospector, need I say more? The rewards from the ecological laboratory ruins are probably going to be huge."

Quit Smoking: "Boss! What jobs should a newbie take? QAQ"

Fang Chang: "You're a Constitution type, right? If you were a Strength type, you could start with Lumberjack to raise your strength attribute. For Constitution and Perception, hang on to Scavenger; it's a veritable Swiss army knife. Once you level up to a citizen, you can also add Hunter or Soldier, depending on how you want to play this version."

Night Ten: "Picking up trash is the ultimate god! I don't care, I'm sticking with trash picking. (winking)"

Pick up trash 99 Level: "Who's calling me???"

Night Ten: "Whoa! You're still in the group."

Pick up trash 99 Level: "Dang! What kind of way is that to talk?"

Since the last battle, this lizard guy had been "hibernating" and had hardly bubbled up in the group recently.

Seeing him after such a long time, Night Ten actually felt a sense of warmth.

Wild Wind: "By the way, have you guys checked out the new map?"

Fang Chang: "I was just about to go, wanna come along?"

Wild Wind: "Let's do it!"

Old White: "Huh? Don't you have class soon?"

Wild Wind: "No classes this morning; I can play until noon."

Night Ten: "Coincidence, I'm off the whole day today, guess I'll reward myself with a whole day of gaming. (winking)"

Old White: "Kid, take it easy, don't play games every day. In college, if you're not going to find a girlfriend, be careful of being scammed in society."

Night Ten: "Ha, why bother dating? Is eating not enjoyable or are games not fun? The three-dimensional world is just crap, you guys go hustle—I have Little Fish, that's enough. (silly)"

Wild Wind: "That statement alone should be enough to get you sentenced."

Night Ten: "Speaking of which, stop picking on me. When I go to the cafeteria, I occasionally run into junior girls asking for my WeChat. What about you? Nearly thirty and logging into games on time every day, so disciplined you don't have a sex life, isn't that an odd way to live?"

Fang Chang: "Tch, let's kick this guy out."

Wild Wind: "+1, and it's not that I don't want to; I just find it dull and boring."

Old White: "I'll just start a vote then."

[Group leader initiated a vote: Should we kick him out? 1. Yes, 2. Agree]

Night Ten: "Damn! What about friendship? And how the hell are both options to kick me out!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Hahaha, serves you right for drawing hate!"

Everyone was old friends, and it was all joking; they wouldn't actually kick anyone out.

The group leader had things to do during the day, so he didn't log on.

Fang Chang, Wild Wind, and Night Ten had breakfast and set a time to put their helmets back on, quickly returning online.

They thought the elevator tower in B2 would be crowded, but when they arrived in the lobby, there weren't as many people as they expected.

On closer inspection, wow, there was a new safety passage updated next to the elevator tower!

Wasn't there a wall here before?

It seemed the operator had realized the issue of insufficient elevator capacity in the shelter.

With B3 open, players who didn't want to wait for the elevator could now use the stairs to move between the floors that had been opened.

If only they could upgrade the outside elevator too!

Arriving at B3.

Fang Chang glanced around and after a moment of chin-rubbing contemplation, he gave his opinion.

"This layout looks pretty similar to B2."

Night Ten responded as well.

"Not just similar, it's practically identical."

Wild Wind looked to a sidewall where a floor plan was displayed.

"There's still a difference, look at the corridor between Zone A and Zone B; at the end of the corridor in Zone B2, there's a locked storeroom. However, in the same spot on B3, the space is much bigger, with several more areas to explore."

"Hmm, I noticed that too," Fang Chang nodded, "It seems the core area of the new floor is there... Let's go check it out."

Saying so, Fang Chang led the way, exploring towards the direction of the corridor.

After passing through Zone A and Zone B, the first thing they came across was a white room.

From the operating table-like chair in the center of the room and the room's layout and decor, it appeared to be a medical room or something similar.

As the three of them stood at the door, two female players—one with a chin-length haircut and the other with a high ponytail—were already inside.

Looking around, Si Si exclaimed in surprise.

"It's actually a medical room, and it even feels like a medical laboratory... Can't the door further inside be opened?"

Tail: "Huh? Si Si, how do you know so much about this? Is it because you frequent such places?"

Si Si gave Tail a sidelong glance: "That's not incorrect, but I go there to treat people."

Though it's the less noticed pathology department, dealing with more formaldehyde than living patients, it barely counts as treating people, right?

Tail: "Doc! I'm sick, give me a check-up!"

Si Si listlessly extended her hands, mimicking a spooky gesture.

"I work on brains though, need to cut them open to see."

Tail: "!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si: "Yeesh, how do you even make face emoticons in the game?"

Watching the two women behind the glass wall, the three gentlemen silently agreed it would be best not to disturb them.

Fang Chang: "Let's go somewhere else to explore."

Night Ten: "Agreed."

Wild Wind didn't speak but nodded.

The three continued forward, next passing a highly sci-fi cultivation area.

The entire cultivation area was devoid of soil, instead featuring cultivation units that looked like fish tanks, which seemed to be the official term according to the website.

Wild Wind glanced at his VM and was surprised to discover that the mini-map now displayed the name and a brief description of each facility's function.

It seemed the Alpha 0.9 version update wasn't just about the occupation system; it also subtly changed some in-game settings.

Not bad.

Finally, no need to rely on imagination!

"From the map on VM, this appears to be a planting area... with a theoretical planting area of 50 acres."

"Is this place really 50 acres?"

"There are 50 units of vertical planting shelves here, I guess it means each unit is equivalent to an acre."

Although there were already Greenhouse Ruins, was there still a need for such facilities?

Or did this place house a seed bank, containing pre-war crop seeds?

Fang Chang pondered to himself.

Not far away, Makabazi was holding a vertical planting unit, excitedly rambling incoherently, not knowing what he was babbling about.

And standing next to him, that seemed to be the fisherman "Stop Talking Nonsense."

"Scram! You're not touching my land!"

"What land? This is clearly a fish tank!"

"Your fish tank looks like this!?"

"%&@*#!"

The three exchanged glances and silently decided not to disturb them, continuing to walk forward.

Further ahead, there was a very small room marked with a radiation symbol at the doorway.

"This seems to be a power room?" Fang Chang mused, referencing the text on VM, "According to official data sets, it should be where the fusion reactor is located?"

Night Ten glanced around and muttered, "There doesn't seem to be much to see here, and the area open is small...I thought I'd be able to see inside the reactor."

Fang Chang: "After all, it's hard to fabricate such futuristic technology in sci-fi games, usually they just give you a bunch of models to imagine."

The reactor was not in this narrow room less than 20 square meters; ahead of them was a thick wall and a closed alloy door.

There was a small window on the alloy door through which the metallic framework behind the wall and the half silhouette of what seemed to be a controllable fusion reactor could be seen.

Wild Wind walked up, curiously peered in, and lightly pushed the door.

Yet, the door felt as if it was fixed solid with the space, unmoving.

Maybe this part was simply a graphic?

Or maybe the operator hadn't figured out how to script it, or maybe they just hadn't intended to waste time on trivial details.

Seeing that nothing he tried elicited any response, Wild Wind pulled his hand back, his face filled with regret.

"What a pity."

Though he didn't think the operators would have any brilliant technological creativity, anything related to his field inevitably piqued his curiosity.

It would have been nice to see what it looked like.

...

While the players were exploring new content of version 0.9, Chu Guang, the manager of the entire shelter, stood in the last area of level B3 "Functional Zone" – a warehouse temporarily inaccessible to players.

Inside the warehouse, there were two "Black Boxes," one large and one small.

[Item: Black Box]

[Number: NO.11]

[Function: Produces vital signs monitor]

[Usage Instructions: Place in an atmospheric environment, connect power, input 3L water, 300g aluminum, 200g iron, 100g copper, 50g nickel…]

[Output: Vital signs monitor, organic/inorganic waste.]

—

[Item: Black Box]

[Number: NO.X]

[Function: Clones' exclusive dormancy pod]

[Usage Instructions: Place in an atmospheric environment, connect power, input 100L water, 50KG aluminum, 30KG iron, 5KG copper, 100g nickel, 8g gold…]

[Output: Clones' exclusive dormancy pod, organic/inorganic waste.]

The smaller one was of ordinary suitcase size, similar to those Chu Guang had found in Shelter No.117.

And the bigger one, rather than calling it a box, it looked more like a small car.

Meanwhile, a pale blue viewing window materialized in front of Chu Guang—information cards projected by the Administrator System into his field of vision.

As he approached the box marked NO.X, Chu Guang found a set of instructions inside a palm-sized lid; these were simple stick-figure drawings, easy enough even for an illiterate person to understand.

However...

It didn't explain what this thing was for.

After flipping through the instruction manual back and forth twice, a strange expression surfaced on Chu Guang's face.

At that moment, Xia Yan, who had come up beside him, whispered for him the words he thought but hadn't said.

"Clones' exclusive dormancy pod?"

"Yikes, what is this thing actually used for?"

Chapter 191: The Shelter's New Exit and the Tunnel Not Found on the Map

The raw materials were all readily available in the warehouse, and the power source came with a variable adapter, which could be powered by a generator or plugged into a standard fusion cell interface.

Just like the black box Chu Guang obtained from the office of the manager of Shelter No. 117, the black boxes here were also self-powered, with remaining battery capacities of 98% and 99% respectively.

Helium-3 belonged to a stable isotope with a very long half-life; under normal usage conditions, one could almost neglect the wear from natural decay. Basically, as long as the battery itself wasn't damaged through mishandling or other reasons, energy storage would last much longer than conventional chemical batteries.

Chu Guang instructed Guo Niu through VM to bring all the necessary materials to him, and also called Dr. Yin Fang, the chief prospector and archaeological team leader from Shelter No. 404.

As soon as he entered, Yin Fang's eyes almost popped out.

"Black box?! And two of them! Where did you get these?"

S-level Relics!

And there were two of them!

Just the day before yesterday, Chu Guang had acquired a black box, and he hadn't imagined that before even three days passed, he would obtain another two.

Since graduating and becoming a prospector, Yin Fang had been investigating pre-war civilization relics for the Academy for about five or six years, and this was the first time he had seen such an exaggerate situation!

Seeing how naive Chu Guang looked, he rolled his eyes and threw the newly found instruction manual to him.

"Picked it up, see if you can use it?"

Yin Fang chuckled.

"Even a fool can use this thing... By the way, have you checked the fuel in the reactor? How much is left?"

"Surprisingly quite a lot, about 40% or so."

Chu Guang wasn't too clear on what 40% represented; if it were his mobile phone, he would definitely be feeling his charging OCD kicking in, but for a controlled fusion reactor, wasn't it said that even 1% of energy could last a long time?

He wasn't sure how much energy the synthesis of a clone would consume.

However, no matter what, now that the reactor was in his hands, the weight Chu Guang had been carrying in his heart had finally been lifted.

Hearing Chu Guang's words, Yin Fang also visibly relaxed.

"40%? That's good... No need to worry for a while then!"

With no more worries, Yin Fang began operating the two black boxes.

In a drawer-like filler port, he input the materials according to the instruction manual, one by one, and then closed the drawer. Although the order wasn't necessary, doing so could speed up the process a bit.

The indicator light turned on, indicating the materials were acceptable.

Then he turned on the power and pressed the start button.

All processes completed, very easily.

It was simplistic, almost like some kind of religious ceremony.

Watching the numbers flicker on the screen, Chu Guang stroked his chin and said.

"Remaining production time 59min27s... Really have to wait that long?"

On the other side, another black box, smaller in size, which produced VMs, was quicker in production, taking only ten minutes to manufacture one item.

Assuming an uninterrupted supply of raw materials, theoretically, it could produce 144 VMs a day.

This device certainly was a handy thing.

A VM with a processor, imaging device, and laser mapping function could not only be used as a "vital signs monitor" but could also be used to retrofit other things.

Such as robots with laser mapping and automatic navigation features.

Or simple computers and more.

Paired with the "Neural Connection Device" produced by Dr. Principle's black box left at Shelter No.117, if the materials were sufficient, the modification level of the players might just increase by 10 percentage points!

It was going to be a real springtime for players with Intelligence Systems!

It proved extremely useful.

Yin Fang spoke, "I heard the working principle of the black box is to first powderize the materials, then follow a preset synthetic route to print out the components' parts layer by layer in space, and perform complete production of the product... Compared to an assembly line mode, it definitely takes a bit longer."

Chu Guang said.

"Is it akin to simultaneously making wheels and engines?"

Yin Fang affirmed.

"You could put it that way!"

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully, indicating he understood.

This device was like a 3D printer.

However, its functionality was much stronger than a 3D printer's; it was not only capable of printing the shape of components but also printing the material's "performance" along with the microstructure and macrostructure of the components and completing automatic assembly during the printing process.

This had far surpassed the concept of "printing."

More so, it was like "reconstructing on a pm-scale in space!"

Standing on the side, Xia Yan scratched the back of her head, unable to contribute to this complex topic.

She knew how to repair machines with a wrench, or to work on makeshift workbenches processing parts, after all, Giant Stone City's slums were built right next to the industrial area. People there had only two ways out, either to work to death in assembly lines or workshops or to take up arms produced by factories to become mercenaries trading their lives for money.

And she had walked both paths.

After pondering for a moment, Xia Yan felt that if he kept silent, he would seem useless, so after hesitating for a while, he reluctantly interjected.

"This device sounds quite useful... Can we take it apart to have a look?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang had no reaction, but Yin Fang, standing beside him, jumped as if a dog whose tail had been stepped on, hurriedly saying,

"Please don't do anything like that!"

Xia Yan scratched the back of his head and asked, "Why? Logically speaking, shouldn't this kind of thing be great for research?"

Hearing this layman's statement, Yin Fang shook his head and explained,

"It's common knowledge that the more technologically dense a product is, the more difficult it is to reverse engineer. Finding a grain of gold in a pile of sand only requires you to sift it out. But if you were asked to stand on a dune and categorize every single grain of sand for recycling, that would be an impossible task... unless you already possessed more advanced tools and methods."

"The Black Box of the Ark Project, whether in terms of manufacturing methods or technological principles, represents the pinnacle of the United Human's manufacturing industry. It requires no specific level of material performance or operator education—not even intelligence. Even a monkey from a zoo could use it."

"This wish-granting machine can be said to be the technological culmination of the pre-war civilization. Unless our civilization possesses far superior manufacturing methods and basic sciences, no one could disassemble the necessary components from this complicated and elaborate device."

Xia Yan muttered,

"I was just asking casually, didn't say I really wanted to take it apart... But with this thing being so difficult to maintain, what happens if it breaks?"

"It can't be fixed. If it breaks, it stays broken," Yin Fang answered, shaking his head, "At the Academy, a broken Black Box would generally be sent to a museum, maybe someone could analyze it in a few hundred years... but that's impossible for now. We would rather study the products produced by the Black Box, at least that would be much easier."

Yin Fang's response settled some of Chu Guang's questions.

It seemed that even the Academy was not capable of disassembling the technology within the Black Box, at most they could only study the products it created.

Finally, glancing at the timer on the screen, Chu Guang spoke,

"It seems we still have some time before the mystery is unveiled... Let's go check the buffer chamber next door."

Yin Fang was startled,

"Buffer chamber? Isn't this Level B3?"

Chu Guang nodded,

"Correct, Shelter No. 404 has more than one door, and I suspect that the main door on Level B3 is the real entrance."

From a spatial perspective, the door on Level B3 was obviously wider than the one on Level B1, and it connected to both a warehouse and a planting area.

What did this imply?

It suggested that this shelter was very likely built beginning from Level B3 and then extended both upwards and downwards!

Of course, this was only Chu Guang's conjecture; if more exaggerated exits were found on lower levels, then disregard his guess.

Each time Chu Guang thought he fully understood the shelter and the First Generation Manager's plans, the shelter under his feet always sprung unexpected surprises on him.

Chu Guang even suspected that the designer of the shelter must have been a game developer.

...

Outside the door of Level B3, everything was unknown, and it was uncertain what might be encountered.

If the situation was optimistic, perhaps it was an Easter egg left by the First Generation Manager.

If not optimistic, it might even be a nest of mutant rats or cockroaches.

Just in case, Chu Guang brought the power armor from the preparation room on Level B1, and in addition to carrying the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer and Gauss Rifle, he also casually picked up two Sickle Assault Rifles, a bulletproof vest, and a backpack filled with 7mm bullets.

The bulletproof vest was for Boss Xia.

Returning to the preparation room on Level B3, Chu Guang tossed a Sickle Assault Rifle and a police bulletproof vest to Xia Yan.

"You shouldn't need me to teach you how to use these, right?"

Putting on the bulletproof vest, Xia Yan casually tied her long red hair into a ponytail and picked up the rifle leaning against the wall.

"Are you joking? After all, I am…"

"A mercenary who added a chicken leg to a Crawler's packed lunch?"

Seeing Xia Yan's face full of murderous intent, Chu Guang quickly shut the visor and, coughing, walked ahead.

"Keep close to me."

Xiao Qi rumbled along on its rollers, following behind Chu Guang.

Seeing he was left weaponless, Yin Fang hurriedly caught up and asked,

"What about me? Give me a weapon, too! In case of an emergency, I can fight as well!"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and threw the Silver Snake Revolver hanging on his power armor to him.

"Remember to return it to me."

"Just six bullets?!"

"If needed, I'll give you more."

Chu Guang pulled down the lever on the console and pressed the red button.

The alarm in the preparation room rang three times.

Thick as a thigh, the bolts retracted one by one, and the gear-like alloy doors gradually rolled to one side, revealing the pitch-black tunnel.

A chill, dry breath hit their faces.

Chu Guang turned on the shoulder-mounted spotlight and, holding the Sickle Assault Rifle, walked forward.

The sound of footsteps creaked on the thick dust-covered floor, a clear indication that no one had visited in a long time.

The tunnel was dimly lit, so dark one could barely see their own hand extended in front of them.

Luckily, the power armor was equipped with lighting devices, and the other two also carried flashlights.

Using the light emanating from his shoulder, Chu Guang could see a steel rail laid out on the ground and a few scattered construction tools around it.

"There isn't this tunnel on the map," Dr. Yin Fang confirmed with a glance at the VM and continued, "To our direct south is Garden Street Metro Station on line 12 of Qingquan City, about 4 kilometers away in a straight line! The north direction overlaps with the city's overpass leading out of Qingquan City."

Line 12 ran from the south to the north of Qingquan City, with the Garden Street Metro Station being a significant stop on that line.

Chu Guang lifted his index finger and lightly tapped on the side of his helmet, activating the map on his tactical goggles.

An orange-yellow viewport was projected on the tactical goggles.

The nearest subway station to them was near Bet Street, approximately 800 meters away.

Chu Guang had been there once before but didn't enter, merely glancing from outside, taken over entirely by the Eaters.

Perhaps there were other, even more, dangerous things.

"What about to the north?"

Dr. Yin Fang paused for a moment and dragged the map around.

"To the north... We are already at the northernmost point of Qingquan City, and further north would be outside the city limits. The map doesn't show any subway lines there."

The tunnel ran north-south, with the shelter exit situated on the side of the tunnel, offering paths both to the north and the south after crossing through the iron gate.

"Let's check out the north first then."

After speaking, Chu Guang took the lead, guiding the team northward.

After approximately 800 meters, the tunnel abruptly ended with an alloy wall blocking their way.

"It seems like there's no way forward," Xia Yan, shining the flashlight forward, turned her head to Chu Guang to ask, "Should we go back?"

Chu Guang observed the wall for a moment, then walked to the side and found something resembling a distribution box.

He opened the cover and saw a handle along with a circular interface.

Interestingly, this circular interface matched perfectly with a small cold fusion battery.

With a thought, Chu Guang pulled out a cold fusion battery with 11% remaining energy from his pocket and inserted it into the interface.

Then, he pulled the adjacent handle.

A slight electric current sounded, followed by a grating noise that set one's teeth on edge, and then a slight tremor emanated from the ground beneath them.

It was like an earthquake!

"What's happening?!"

Dr. Yin Fang, slightly panicking, looked around and stepped back a few paces.

Xia Yan, however, remained relatively calm, casting a watchful eye toward the ceiling before staring intently ahead, her eyes widening slightly.

"It's the wall! It's sinking!"

Xiao Qi slipped to Chu Guang's leg and spoke nervously, "Master, this place is dangerous, should we retreat first?"

"Not yet, wait a bit longer!"

Chu Guang stared intently at the wall ahead.

As it slowly sank after a series of tremors, the tunnel behind it was finally revealed.

Only then did the group realize the wall was hundreds of meters wide!

It was like an entire segment of the tunnel lifted up!

"Incredible..." Dr. Yin Fang stepped forward, his face filled with astonishment.

Such a thick concrete structure.

Must weigh thousands of tons, at least.

Including the machinery within and the supporting structures below, it was akin to having a battleship buried underground!

This analogy might not be quite right, but it didn't make much difference.

Chu Guang's face was also marked by a look of surprise.

The mechanism itself wasn't complex.

However, it was surprising that after more than 200 years, it could still activate and operate without any issues!

Just as they were stupefied, a raspy roar and the sound of running came from ahead in the tunnel.

Hearing that, Xia Yan was startled and immediately raised her assault rifle, cleanly flicking off the safety with her index finger.

"Eaters! In front of us!"

Before her words had finished, she had already pulled the trigger, shooting down the two closest ones in a three-round burst.

"It seems the noise has attracted quite a few."

Activating the auxiliary aiming mode on his tactical goggles, Chu Guang raised his Sickle Assault Rifle and swept through, instantly blowing the heads off the nearest Eaters and killing them on the spot!

Just then, a sudden sense of danger washed over them.

"Damn, it's a Crawler—" Xia Yan's face showed a trace of panic, and fearful memories emerged again in his mind.

However, in the next instant, the Crawler's head exploded into fragments.

"Don't panic, I'm here."

Chu Guang, having slung the Gauss Rifle over his shoulder, re-gripped the Sickle Assault Rifle and adeptly switched back to automatic fire, sweeping several charging Eaters onto the ground.

The ground was littered with broken branches and severed limbs.

A rotten, fishy stench spread throughout the corridor.

Hiding behind, Yin Fang breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his raised gun muzzle.

Looking at the Eaters on the ground, and the black spots and mucor on the distant wall, he swallowed hard.

"I have a feeling... there might be quite a few Variants ahead!"

"We don't need feelings for that, just eyes," Chu Guang paused for a moment and continued, "the area ahead should be left for the 'players' to explore."

Saying this, Chu Guang put away his rifle, lightly tapped his helmet twice with his index finger, and brought up the visual interface, skilfully beginning to type.

[Task: Clear the level B3 exit]

[Type: Hunting, exploration, assault]

[Description: The passage outside the entrance/exit of level B3 has been occupied by Mucor species. We need to take it back from those beasts!]

[Eligibles: Hunters, Scavengers, Soldiers, and players above level LV5.]

[Rewards:

For each Eater killed, reward 1 silver coin and 2 contributions.

For each Martyr killed, reward 1 silver coin and 1 contribution.

For each Crawler killed, reward 20 silver coins and 20 contributions.

For each Tyrant killed...

...

]

——

[Task: Explore the level B3 corridor.]

——

[Task: Investigate the source of mucor contamination in the level B3 corridor.]

...

A total of 5 tasks updated on the task channel, all players meeting the "Eligibles" criteria can freely accept them.

This should turn out to be a good grinding spot.

Even 10,000 Eaters would merely amount to 10,000 silver coins.

And even adding 500 Crawlers would just mean another 10,000 silver coins.

In this way, players not only gain experience but also improve proficiency in shooting, archery, throwing, combat skills, and even earn money.

Perfect!

If we could get the Active Substance Extractor, we could even set one up here.

The extraction efficiency from Eaters is average; about 10 of them needed to produce 1 unit. Still, no matter how small mosquitoes are, they add up, and in large amounts, it's a substantial figure, definitely better than letting those Variant corpses rot and stink in the tunnel, turning it into a hotbed for germ breeding.

And all he needed to give up was some adjustable numbers.

Thinking this, a smile involuntarily curled up at the corners of Chu Guang's mouth.

Since all the benefits were for the players.

This time, let's say the players win twice!

Admiringly glancing at Chu Guang, Yin Fang couldn't help but express his admiration.

"Your 'players' are really useful."

Truly paragons of hard work and endurance.

He had never seen such diligent residents of the shelter!

Chu Guang made a jesting remark.

"It seems you're beginning to grasp the essence of this game."

Being confronted with an unfamiliar term, Yin Fang paused and asked,

"youxi?"

"Interpret it in context," Chu Guang replied, "it means trimming the leeks."

Yin Fang: "...?"

-

(Next chapter at 11!)

Chapter 192: Why Don't We Bring Out the 88 Cannon!

Outpost Base Square was bustling with activity at this moment.

Although it was already dark in the Wasteland and the real world was brightening up, many players who had just logged off came rushing back from the Forum due to the recent update.

Debt Giant Eye: "Bro, what profession did you pick?"

Construction Site Teen with a Brick: "Heh, in a game about picking up trash, of course, I'd choose Scavenger!"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "I picked a Soldier!"

Quit smoking: "Damn, aren't bullets super expensive? Have you even got your shooting experience to level 3?"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Nope, but having participated in more than three wars also meets the job requirements, and the NPC store's bullets are 10% off."

Quit smoking: "Crying here, I envy the old players!"

At the entrance to the security room.

Tail and Sisi were leading a White bear and forcefully registering it for the Soldier profession.

Looking at the VM strapped to his arm, Meat mountain big steamed bun whispered with a wronged face.

"But, I don't want to fight... I want to be a lifestyle gamer."

Si Si pretended to be serious and said, "How can you call it fighting? We are clearly becoming shields to protect everyone."

Tail, full of enthusiasm, gave a thumbs up with eyes shining brightly: "That's right! Meat Meat, show some manly spirit!"

Meat mountain big steamed bun whispered: "But, but I'm a girl."

Tail was taken aback.

"Yikes! I would've forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it!"

Si Si went up and tugged at the fur on its belly, trying to get the White bear to stand up straight.

"Anyway, just shout 'Orcs will never be slaves, roar... Oooh!' Come on, just try once."

Meat mountain big steamed bun looked embarrassed, reluctantly raising its paws.

"Roar, roar... oh."

The air became subtly quiet.

Si Si and Tail looked at each other and simultaneously sighed.

"Tail, I give up."

"Jeez, let's just keep it as emergency food after all."

Meat mountain big steamed bun: QAQ

In the nearby industrial zone.

Night Ten, who had just come out of the shelter and registered as a Scavenger at the Warehouse Manager's, just happened to see Mosquito Brother, so he walked over with a smile and patted his shoulder.

"Bro, what profession did you hang up for?"

"Craftsman! Scavenger! And one more I haven't decided on yet," Mosquito laughed, "but tell me why there's no inventor or weapons master? It's unreasonable!"

Night Ten almost choked upon hearing this.

"Pff, you think this is League—"

Before he finished speaking, a faint tremor suddenly passed beneath his feet.

Players chatting about the new version in the square showed surprised looks, glancing around left and right.

"Damn, an earthquake?"

"Is this testing some new system?"

"Awesome! Even earthquakes, this game is getting more and more realistic."

The players weren't really bothered by the sudden earthquake; they just thought the game's physics engine was becoming more lifelike.

In contrast, the NPCs at Outpost Base were terrified by this unexpected event.

At the North gate market.

Autumn Grass, who was setting up a stall, hugged his sister, Autumn Leaves, trembling with fear in his arms and eyes filled with panic.

In the nearby Nomadic Tribe.

The livestock in the pens grew restless, and an aged nomad knelt on the ground, muttering something unintelligibly as he prayed to the gods.

Maybe the prayers worked?

The sensation of the earthquake only lasted a short while before stopping.

The NPCs ran to check if their houses were damaged, while the players discussed whether their planner, Ah Guang, was up to some new trick.

Just then, an excited shout came over the square.

"Holy crap! Everyone, look at your VM!"

Hearing this, players turned to check their VMs.

"VM? What's on the VM?"

"New quest! But it seems like only Soldiers, Hunters, and Scavengers can receive it!"

Staring at the VM screen, Night Ten, who had opened the task panel, did indeed notice something different in the column for occupational tasks.

[Task: Clear B3 Level Corridor]

A look of surprise appeared on Night Ten's face.

"B3 level unlocked a new exit?!"

Mosquito was just as shocked.

"What the fuck?! Why didn't I see it when I was down there just now?"

Night Ten said with a strange expression.

"Maybe that area hadn't been unlocked yet... Let's go check it out anyway!"

"Let's go, together!"

...

With a new task at hand, naturally, they had to take a look.

A few players quickly formed a team and ventured to the tunnel outside B3 level to take a peek, discovering that there were still quite a few Variants inside.

However, a very serious problem now was that everyone's weapons were stored on Level B1 in the equipment room.

According to the Residents of the Refuge Handbook, the shelter is a safe area, and weapons cannot be carried through the buffer room. Apart from the shelter, there are no other entrances to directly reach the outer door of B3 level.

In other words, their weapons couldn't be taken down there at all!

Surely you can't fight the Variants with bare hands?

Except for the Strength Type and a certain cyborg-modified Intelligence System Exalted, there weren't many who could face the Variants head-on!

Fortunately, Dog Plan seemed to have spotted this bug and quickly fixed it.

Now, through VM, you can submit a request for "carrying weapons through the shelter." Just check the bound equipment in the items bar to take it through the buffer room's gates into the shelter.

However, players carrying weapons will have their facility usage rights temporarily locked upon entering the shelter, and are in principle only allowed passage and must quickly leave the restricted area.

In this state, players cannot return to their own rooms, use weapons, or enter the living area to use the facilities there.

If you stay longer than 5 minutes, you will receive the first warning from the VM, and a second warning at the 10-minute mark.

If you don't leave the shelter within 15 minutes, you'll be considered a minor violator, kicked from the Game, and your login status will be locked for ten minutes.

And the equipment brought into the shelter will be considered contraband and confiscated by the shelter.

From the buffer gate of B1 level to the buffer gate of B3 level, under normal circumstances, it's about 3 minutes, so a maximum of 15 minutes is quite generous.

The Manager dragged over two vending machines from Shelter No.117 and placed them in the equipment room outside the buffer room of B3.

However, what's inside those vending machines is not drinks, but bullets and bandages. The bullets come in two types: the cheaper reloaded ammunition and the more reliable pressed ammunition.

If players need to resupply, they can do so directly at the exit of Shelter B3 level without the hassle of running to the surface.

It's very convenient!

...

While the players were engaged in a fierce battle with the Variants in the tunnel, Chu Guang was in the warehouse on B3 level, confirming the products produced from the Black Box.

A Sleep Cabin and a VM lay next to the output ports of two Black Boxes, still hot to touch, quite magical.

There's nothing much to say about the VM; it's the same model as those he had found on B2 level. The VMs he saw before might have been produced by the very same Black Box in front of him.

As for that Clones' Exclusive Dormancy Pod...

Yin Fang stroked his chin and scrutinized it for a moment before making an assessment.

"This thing looks like a simplified Sleep Cabin."

Chu Guang inquired.

"What do you mean by a simplified Sleep Cabin?"

Yin Fang replied.

"Simply put, the organism lying inside will not stop metabolism but will merely be put into a deep sleep state… Hm, there seems to be a scanning function too."

As they were talking, a pale blue popup appeared in Chu Guang's field of vision, floating above that Sleep Cabin. It seems that in the eyes of the Administrator System, anything produced by the refuge's Black Box is equally part of Shelter No. 404.

And now, the Administrator System was exercising its right to clarify.

[Item: Clones' Exclusive Dormancy Pod]

[Description: Contains functionalities for organic body scanning, genetic information, and DNA expression condition detection. It can upload data to the main server of the shelter within the signal coverage area.]

It's a save point!

After reading this description, Chu Guang immediately came to a conclusion in his heart.

What a pity.

This thing doesn't have cloning chamber functionality; it can only help players log off and save their Gene Sequence development progress.

It seems the Black Box that produces Cultivation chambers isn't on this level.

But then again, if it was on this level, why stuff 600 rooms with Cultivation chambers on this level?

You might as well just make them yourself.

Just as Chu Guang felt a pang of regret, the storage room door swung open, and Elena strode in. As she walked toward him, she couldn't stop praising.

"Your medical facility is truly amazing! Not only does it have a pharmacy but also a sample library, it's practically a mini medical laboratory! It's much more functional than the medical facility at Shelter No.117. Could I possibly borrow it for a while?"

"Of course, it was actually prepared for you."

Seeing Elena so satisfied with the working environment brought a smile to Chu Guang's face—he loved hardworking employees the most!

"Thank you! I've been planning to start a new project, mainly focused on the ecological environment and species research on the Wasteland. Those devices will be very helpful!" Elena said cheerfully, with a bright smile on her face, "It would be even better if I could borrow some samples from you."

Emmm...

The samples here probably refer to specimens of Variants, right?

Before Chu Guang could clear his thoughts, Yin Fang, standing next to him, suddenly stepped forward excitedly, his eyes locked on her.

"Wait a moment, if I may ask so boldly... did you install bionic organs?"

Elena was momentarily startled but then nodded gently.

"Yes..."

"Eyes? Hands? Or does it include internal organs too? Incredible... May I study them?"

As Yin Fang gazed at her with fervent intrigue, Elena's face turned pale, and she fearfully hid behind Chu Guang.

Chu Guang sighed and looked helplessly at his other employee.

"Do you know that right now you're coming off as a bit... creepy?"

Yin Fang looked bewildered and turned his gaze back to Elena.

"You... you're not a bionic person?"

"I just have a relatively large number of bionic organs installed," said Elena sternly from behind Chu Guang.

Caught between the two, Chu Guang couldn't help but rub his forehead.

This guy sure had a way with words.

Who calls someone a bionic person like that!

Not far away, standing with Xiao Qi, Xia Yan suddenly muttered softly,

"Too close."

Xiao Qi lifted the camera and looked puzzled toward the weapon shop owner standing nearby.

Noticing Xiao Qi's gaze, Xia Yan gave it a glance.

"What are you looking at me for?"

"Xiao Qi is just curious."

"Curious?"

"Yes, Xiao Qi wants to know what kind of strange thoughts are going through your tiny brain. Just to clarify, 'strange' specifically refers to things related to reproduction."

Xia Yan's face flushed red, and she glared at it threateningly.

"You, you floor-sweeping robot! What nonsense are you talking about!"

The term 'floor-sweeping robot' seemed to have struck a nerve with Xiao Qi, who began to spin in place irately.

"You, you, you! Xiao Qi has decided—starting now, I won't speak to you for 24 hours."

Watching this "trash can top" spin on the spot, Xia Yan rolled her eyes.

Who cares!

Good luck not asking me to carry you up later.

...

On the first day of the new update going live, the forum was awash with positive feedback.

Previously, missions were either dumped onto the public screen or sent privately to a player's VM, leaving everyone debating which ones to tackle or which ones to ignore, and wondering who had struck a shady deal with the dog plan developers.

Although Wasteland OL was still in beta testing, stumbling along, many players had clearly taken it seriously and started to treat it as their second home.

Here there were super-just Managers like Dawn, the super-cute Little Fish, and the pridefully indifferent Boss Xia, the tireless Old Luka and the frequently visiting Hunter 'bro', the face-to-buttocks Dr. Yin, and the recently released SSSR cards.

Tired of fast-food-style games and weary of being harvested by operators like leeks, occasionally diving into a slow-paced, non-grinding, casual game wasn't a bad idea.

Especially when laying in bed all night gaming, only to wake up the next day feeling refreshed and invigorated as the sunrise greeted a new dawn.

Such a game was probably a find nowhere else in the world.

Official website:

[Announcement: Floor B3 exit of Shelter No. 404 opens, offering players a more rich underground maze to explore!]

[Guards' Deputy Commander Liuding: Today's enlistment number is 237 people, a salute to you, brave warriors who defend peace!]

[Little Fish: The thunderous iron factory's relocation is nearing completion, and it looks like the new stronghold will be set up soon. There should be a lot of interesting workshops coming up.]

[Guard Captain Wrench: Who on earth invented that bicycle? It's incredibly useful, I have to award them a medal!]

[Wasteland Tips: Yesterday, activity of Death Claws was spotted in Elm District. Hunters in the area, please take caution. While Death Claw meat adds buffs, remember not to eat it raw; make sure to cook it thoroughly before consuming!]

[Today's Recommended Recipes: Egg Drop Rice Wine, Salt and Pepper Cornbread]

Forum:

Young Construction Worker & Bricks: "Haha, the new version is too awesome!"

Kakarot: "Damn! Two more days, can't wait!"

Sobbing Sesame Paste: "Boo hoo hoo, I've already embedded the helmet in my pillow!"

Quit Smoking: "?! What kind of strange strategy is this, no, how did you even do that!"

Makabazi: "Speaking of which, can the planting area on Floor B3 be opened to players? I think we could plant something there!"

Stop Bullshitting: "Nonsense, that's clearly an aquarium!"

Makabazi: "You're an aquarium, your whole family is an aquarium!"

Zhang Hai: "Mother of leather, could you guys type slower, I can't see anything!"

Wild Wind: "Compared to the planting area, what I'm most interested in about the new version is the power room. I'm very curious whether the operators designed the controlled fusion reactor to mimic a tokamak or a stellarator, whether they used magnetic confinement or inertial confinement or the less common electrostatic confinement, and what the ignition device is. However, there seems to be no content about this part, which is a pity."

Night Ten: "Operators: Sorry, we really didn't think that much, why don't you come help us make one. (amused)"

Elena: "+1, since the rifles are modeled after CF, I reasonably suspect that the reactor is probably copied from Overwatch Butts. (amused)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Shivering with cold, am I, the great EVE, not worthy?"

Lord Arrogant Brother: "Talking about tokamaks and stellarators, stop bullshitting! Someone in my family is an academician at the physics institute, I won't name names for it involves too much. In short, he told me that those fusion reactors in games, when you see them just laugh it off, they're full of flaws!"

Wild Wind: "In front of the cosmos, we are all frogs in a well. I believe that naive ideas are not laughable, what's really laughable is the arrogance of those who believe they are mature, thinking that by glancing at the well's mouth, they've seen the entire sky."

Night Ten: "Holy crap, Wild Wind is getting serious! He's starting to talk about stuff I don't understand! (amused)"

Old White: "I remember Wild Wind is a physics teacher."

Wild Wind: "(side-eye)"

Elena: "Can you guys be a little kinder to the forum's pet, how do you know he isn't telling the truth? (amused)"

Gnome King Riches: "This Old Monk is cunning, you already call him a forum pet and you still play dumb. (amused)"

Makabazi: "Hahahahaha!"

The forum was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

As expected, Lord Arrogant Brother boasted and ran without giving anyone a chance to tease. Everyone guessed that he must have failed to get the closed test qualification again, venting on the forum.

Speaking of which, Brother Guang is quite bad too, secretly sending a forum badge to the reserved players, by default displaying it on their personal page.

Now everyone knew that, while he was ranting, he also clicked on the reservation with a righteous body and had truly acted like a little brother.

...

The following day.

All players with a VM received a worldwide announcement.

The abandoned tire factory located between Outpost Base and Changjiu Farm had finally been refurbished, including the No. 81 steel factory and other heavy industrial facilities, which had also completed their relocation.

Due to its proximity to Outpost Base, less than five kilometers, no new base was established, but it became a part of Outpost Base.

In the newly established factory buildings, "I Need to Go to Ciso", "Who in the World has Foot Fungus Like Levin", and "WC There Are Mosquitoes" gathered together.

The three most infamous players across the server were having a heated discussion.

Ciso: "We need anti-air weapons!"

Levin: "Preferably cheap and easy to make!"

Mosquito: "And it has to be effective against both air and ground targets!"

Levin: "Why don't we just make an 88 cannon!"

Brother Ciso's eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs up.

"That's doable!"

Both immediately turned to Mosquito, but unexpectedly, this time Mosquito didn't share their wavelength.

"I object! An 88 cannon is neither cheap nor easy to make!"

Levin: "We never said we'd make an exact replica, can't we make some modifications?"

Ciso: "Right! We'll just make an 88mm smoothbore cannon, it can still be called an 88 cannon!"

Mosquito couldn't help mocking: "What the heck kind of '88 cannon' would that be! Can it even hit planes?"

Ciso: "How do you know ours can't hit!"

Mosquito looked heavenward and sighed, then declared righteously, "For the future of Shelter No. 404, it seems we must go our separate ways."

Levin cautiously watched him.

"I'm just asking, what do you plan to make?"

Mosquito said with a resolute gaze: "Thorn Fist Rocket Launcher! I plan to change the 9 launch tubes to 12! There's that stuff that can increase the explosive speed of gunpowder, I think it's very promising!"

Brother Ciso: "..."

Brother Levin: "..."

Has that thing ever shot down planes?

Chapter 193: Inconceivable Slime

Floor B3's Planting Area.

The last row of the soilless planting units.

Standing in front of a transparent display case, Chu Guang touched his chin with his right hand, his handsome face revealing sudden surprise.

"Potatoes, corn, tomatoes, baby bok choy, cabbage... I didn't expect to find so many good things hidden here."

Originally, he had planned to check out the planting area, but after walking around the planting units, he found unexpected treasures.

Behind the transparent window, there were boxes labeled with various crop seeds.

These seeds were soaked in a special solution, preserved at very low temperatures.

Chu Guang carefully counted, finding a total of 12 pre-war crop varieties stored in the freezer, with growth cycles ranging from short to long, and suitable climates from tropical to polar, almost completely covered.

No matter what the climate outside, once the doors of the refuge opened, residents could find at least one variety suitable for the current climate to sow.

Moreover, these seeds were genetically modified improved varieties, largely similar to the β-712 cotton seeds he had previously obtained from the blind box.

Quietly following beside the Manager, Macabazi excitedly said with an interested look on Chu Guang's face.

"Manager, I think we should make use of these idle facilities!"

Chu Guang nodded and said,

"You're right, I indeed have that intention."

Hearing this, Macabazi looked eager, but when the Manager turned and walked away, he didn't hear the expected words.

Confused, he blinked and quickly lowered his head to check the VM.

Huh?

Why didn't it trigger a mission?

Could it be the posture of triggering the dialogue was wrong?

...

The soilless planting units in the planting area could complete sowing, watering, fertilizing, and final harvesting through preset programs.

In a sense, similar to the black box's production method, the demand for manpower and planting experience was very low.

With such a high degree of automation, there was no need to involve players in managing it; Chu Guang planned to assign Xiao Qi to handle it.

Too much human involvement would only drag down the efficiency of the facility.

In terms of production plans, Chu Guang planned to focus on breeding staple crops with longer growth cycles and supplement them with short-cycle crops like baby bok choy.

By next spring, the seeds of those staple crops would come into play.

"50 planting units, with a theoretical planting area of only 50 acres… that's still too little."

Even if one carefully cultivated acre could sustain five people, the yield from 50 acres could only sustain 250 people, not even enough to cover the players added in the Alpha 0.9 version.

Whenever he thought about this, Chu Guang was puzzled.

"It's really unreasonable. The plantation area of the refuge can't even sustain the people on this floor; are the people here living off nutritional pastes?"

That'd be too miserable.

Or is there...

Something hidden?

Regardless, food was a big issue.

Besides food, his players also needed fur coats to withstand the severe cold. Blue Jackets had thermal features, but those were for ordinary cold. The winter this year in Qingquan City was so severe that the lake surface had even begun to show signs of freezing, which clearly couldn't be described as ordinary cold.

Compared to the cultivation chamber, supplying resources for a player had become a more urgent issue.

The tricky part was that it was already December, and deep winter was setting in, with everyone likely running low on food supplies.

Brown farm had already been squeezed dry, and there wasn't any nearby survivor settlement with a significantly high food yield.

The only hope was the Greenhouse Ruins.

Hopefully, Macabazi Brother would put in some extra effort.

It had been some time since he had last checked, and he wasn't sure how his cornfield was doing.

After leaving the planting area, Chu Guang took a turn and went next door to the medical room to see what the newly recruited bioengineering expert was busy with.

Due to frequent onlookers and disturbances from the players, she seemed to have locked the door.

Even though for Chu Guang the doors from B1 to B3 felt more like decorations, the high EQ him politely pressed the doorbell anyway.

The doorbell rang.

And quickly opened.

Passing through the medical office, Chu Guang went straight to the room inside.

From the equipment and layout of the room, it appeared to be a medical laboratory.

As he passed through the moving door, Heya, wearing a blue jacket, stood in front of an electron microscope, her eyes fixated on the viewing port, her right hand skillfully manipulating the buttons on the touch screen.

Standing by, Chu Guang observed with great interest and then asked,

"This is?"

Hand still at work, eyes glued to the microscope, Heya replied excitedly,

"Mutated slime fungus! A sample collected from the Eaters! Thanks to your residents... that's how you pronounce it, right? Anyway, please thank them for me!"

It seemed she had now fully grasped the usage of the term "residents," even though she was not yet accustomed to their enthusiasm.

Chu Guang was very pleased by this.

If all his NPCs were as perceptive, his micromanagement could be reduced by more than half.

"I will convey your gratitude. How is it going? Have you discerned anything?"

Unlike the residents who had lived in the Wasteland for some time, Heya had previously stayed inside Shelter No. 117 and, although she knew of the dangerous species outside, she had never actually come into contact with them.

The manager of Shelter No. 117 was a relatively conservative leader who did not support the risk of unbalancing the internal ecological environment of the shelter by bringing samples from the Wasteland inside.

Chu Guang, however, had fewer reservations. Shelter No. 404 had already been opened, and he had no plans to seal its doors completely; bringing in a few samples hardly mattered.

Thus, when he heard that Heya was planning to list the variants from the Wasteland as research subjects, he immediately agreed without hesitation, even allocating a budget of 2000 silver coins for her.

Even if it meant understanding more about the weaknesses of these variants, the money would be well spent.

"It's not just about discerning something; these samples have completely overturned my initial impression of them! At first, I thought the mutated slime fungus and what you call Eaters and Crawlers were in a parasitic relationship, but then I realized it wasn't so."

Hearing this, Chu Guang paused slightly.

That was completely different from the rumors he knew.

"...Really?"

Staring at the microscope, Heya replied without hesitation,

"Of course not! The Eaters, Crawlers, and the Martyrs... Based on the samples collected so far, these creatures you call Mucor species variants are actually sporophores of the mutated slime fungus, and not separate species!"

Hearing words he did not completely understand, Chu Guang asked,

"Sporophores? What are those?"

"A type of structure that produces spores! You might not be familiar with slime fungi; their habits are quite peculiar. Sometimes they crawl on the ground like amoebas, and sometimes they stand up like mushrooms to release spores. But the habits of this mutated slime fungus are even more unusual. The sporophores they form differ from other fungi in both shape and behavior, showing a high degree of similarity to higher animals with complex body structures and highly differentiated organ functions!"

Science fanaticism was written all over that beautiful face.

Even with the microscope blocking her eyes, Chu Guang could clearly feel a completely different aura emanating from her.

Chu Guang cautiously said,

"Could you elaborate on that? I mean, in terms that even a layman could understand."

"Putting it in layman's terms, these slime fungi exhibit a form of sociality similar to ants or bees! They have clear divisions of labor; some form toes, others heads, some tissues necrotize and harden voluntarily, while others form nerve tissues and the muscles needed for movement! It's almost as if a unified consciousness has decided the selective expression of each segment of genes in the slime fungus cells."

Her eyes moved away from the microscope, and Heya looked at Chu Guang with an excited expression,

"Did you not notice? The Eaters are basically a replica of humans, and the Crawlers look like a hybrid of some quadruped beast and human. They not only mimic the appearance of other creatures but also their hunting habits!"

"And the Martyrs are more peculiar, seeming to contain features of multiple animals and some plants, mimicking explosives in their methods of attack, using self-sacrifice to assist their kind in capturing prey... This is simply incredible! Are these slime fungi really creatures from this planet?"

Watching the tirelessly babbling Heya, Chu Guang's face was filled with an odd expression.

Originally, he meant for her to simply look after the crops next door, as those hydroponic units were highly automated and only needed occasional monitoring.

And yet, unexpectedly, he had learned something profound from her.

"You mean to say... the Eaters, Crawlers, and Martyrs are sporophores of the mutated slime fungus meant to release spores?"

Chu Guang pressed his temple with his index finger, trying to comprehend and then frowned, "That doesn't sound right, I heard they are produced by the lair."

"The lair? What is that!"

Heya suddenly grabbed Chu Guang's arm, her eyes blazing, "Can you get a sample? Oh right, you taught me, we can use VM..."

Halfway through her words, she seemed to remember something, letting go of Chu Guang's arm and lifting her VM ready to "place an order."

Chu Guang was startled by her actions and quickly stopped her.

"Calm down, the lair is not something current players can handle; you're sending them to their death."

Good grief.

Was she treating the VM like a wishing machine now?!

Even if his residents were highly useful, they weren't supposed to be used like that!

Heya, momentarily bewildered by being stopped, ceased her movements.

"That lair... is it that difficult to deal with?"

"It's not about whether it's difficult or not; it's simply unmanageable."

Although according to the standards he had set, this kind of task wouldn't even pass Xiao Qi's review, Chu Guang felt it was necessary to help this outlier, ignorant of the Wasteland's common knowledge, understand what the world had become.

Watching the stunned Heya, Chu Guang paused for a moment and began to relay the information he had compiled from the official website and terms related to the setting, including Luo Hua on his journey and the "Tide" that broke out in Qingquan City intermittently.

After hearing these astonishing revelations, Heya finally gained a rough understanding of the danger posed by the Lair.

This thing was extremely dangerous!

It was like a heaven disaster.

Even a well-established survivor force like Giant Stone City, with some industrial capabilities, would struggle against the tide unleashed by the Lair.

As for collecting samples from the Lair, given the current capabilities of the refuge, it was an almost impossible task.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know...that this was such a dangerous matter." Heya's face showed a look of shame.

Chu Guang shook his head.

"It's okay, I was just as surprised the first time I heard about the Lair. The research on the Variants can be taken step by step, when we're capable of handling the troubles in the city center, I promise you'll get the samples you want."

Although they currently lacked the means, Chu Guang had no doubt in his mind that he and his small players would one day completely eradicate the trouble at the city center.

Regardless, he had obtained some interesting intelligence from Heya.

Chu Guang planned to selectively update this intelligence on the official website as a reference for his small players later.

...

The busy day came to an end.

Carrying lances, spears, and axes, the small players emerged from the deep tunnels of Floor B3, still eager for more.

In one day, they had successfully advanced the front line both south and north by 500 meters, killing nearly two thousand Eaters, over a hundred Martyrs, and almost twenty Crawlers!

The number of Variants in the tunnels was greater than imagined, especially towards the north, where swarms of Eaters even created waves of corpse tides!

However, the experienced small players were clever, setting up wooden barricades along the way that slowed the advance of the Eaters while stretching out their ranks.

Once unable to form density, the Eaters weren't so frightening.

For dealing with this type of Variant, which had a singular attack method and relied on numbers to win, even players not skilled in combat could easily handle them if not surrounded.

Not to mention those high-level players in the tunnels with an average level above LV6!

At the refuge, long queues had already formed at the entrances of the bathrooms on Floors B2 and B3, with chattering noises filling the air.

"Damn! Hurry up with the shower in front!"

"Exactly! Dilly-dallying like a dreidel! It's been ten minutes!"

"!!! Are you all dogs? Don't you need more than ten minutes for a shower?!"

"I strongly suggest raising the price of water!"

"Don't raise it anymore, if it goes up again, the Crow Boss won't be able to afford his showers!"

"Get lost!"

Yin Fang, who had intended to freshen up before dinner, was so intimidated by the crowd that he didn't dare eat and instead hid back in his temporary laboratory.

The laundry room was no different.

Especially those small players who emerged from the tunnels looked like they had come out of a coal mine, their bodies more covered in dust than blood!

Finally squeezing out of the crowd.

Planning to go back to his room and log off, Night Ten just happened to see Brother Mosquito, and seeing him all dusty, went up to greet him with a grin.

"Yo! Brother Mosquito, feeling up for a dungeon raid today?"

"Raid what? I got this testing new equipment."

"Did it explode again?"

Hearing this teasing banter, Mosquito couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"What do you mean 'explode again'! If it doesn't explode, can it even be called a weapon? Anyway, the testing today went pretty well, just that the propellant mix had a little problem, it sprayed my face with soot after discharge, damn, I need to make the barrel longer."

Pausing for a moment, Mosquito continued speaking to Night Ten.

"Enough bullshitting, have you seen that dumb lizard? I haven't seen him around the corner doing push-ups today."

At the mention of the lizard, Night Ten immediately laughed.

"That guy? Hahahaha, he's gone berserk killing in the tunnel at the exit of B3! He's probably not had enough yet."

Thinking back to the early versions, Garbage Brother was so impressive, the only one capable of operating at night, living off raw flesh, tearing Variants apart with his hands, all players envied him immensely.

Yet, who could have guessed, not even a month later, winter arrived and as a cold-blooded animal, Garbage Brother was frozen solid offline, unable even to go out the doors of the shelter.

Really, every version has its star players, you only see the newcomers laughing, not the old crying.

Mosquito clucked his tongue.

"Feeling sorry for Garbage Brother, he's been obsolete for at least three versions now, right?"

Night Ten also sighed.

"Be confident, drop the 'right'!"

The night in the Wasteland deepened gradually, as the real sun began to rise.

Every time players went offline during peak hours, the traffic on the "Wasteland OL" official forum experienced a small surge.

Chu Guang briefly browsed the forum.

He found that players were quite enthusiastic about the new version he had released.

In less than 72 hours, over a hundred strategy guides had been created.

"A Monster Hunter's Self-Improvement! Solo Strategy for Crack Claw Crabs!"

"Scavenger's Handbook! The host is spitting blood to summarize twenty high cost-performance materials for recycling! Just for one like!"

"The Son of the Version is Born! Strength Type Scavengers tell you what it means to miracurously gain power! Starting with two hands, all equipment picked up!"

"Floor B3 of Shelter No. 404 Tunnel Strategy! Four Body Constitution System Perpetual Machines will lead you to wipe out the monsters!"

"..."

Chu Guang briefly read a few and couldn't help but marvel at the wisdom and creativity of these players.

What defines high-quality human players?

Just the average level inside the Wasteland OL closed beta!

The guide writers were passionate, and so were the spectators, backseat drivers, and sand sculpture netizens.

In these hundred-plus guides, those that received over ten thousand likes and a thousand replies made up a full twenty percent!

By BBS standards, that was quite exaggerated.

However, what interested Chu Guang the most were not those strategy posts, but a few high-temperature threads in the discussion area.

Brother Mosquito: "Damn! The twelve-tube rocket's power is enough, but the muzzle velocity is still too low! Can't hit high-speed targets at all! Though unexpectedly effective against ground targets?"

Old White: "How much?"

Brother Mosquito: "80 silver coins!"

Night Ten: "Tsk, you're selling it for more than what Iron Fist costs at the NPC store, why wouldn't I just buy an Iron Fist? One shot could befuddle even a Crack Claw Crab. (amused)"

Brother Mosquito: "Damn! That's already at cost price!"

Fang Chang: "Bro, try to reduce the cost, otherwise 'practicality' will always be a dream. By the way, with the players coming in, it's time to increase the production scale."

Brother Mosquito: "Headache! I'll think of something!"

Old White: "In my opinion, don't bother with an anti-aircraft rocket launcher, let alone guidance, you haven't even got a proximity fuse, you can't defend shit. Better to develop an SPG-9 recoilless gun, might even be more reliable than your so-called Thorn Fist for anti-air. (skeptical)"

Night Ten: "+1, give me an elevation angle, I could even use the tank's main cannon to take down a plane. (amused)"

Brother Mosquito: "Nonsense! Thinking this is Battlefield?"

Chu Guang didn't quite understand the violent aesthetics in Mosquito's heart, either.

This guy was actually quite capable, the rapid production of chemical products, as well as explosives like nitrocellulose and TNT at the Outpost Base, owed at least half of the credit to him.

However...

The weapons he made always had a strange style, with few being practical.

Although that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Chu Guang felt that hoping to fill the gap in anti-aircraft weapons from him would likely be in vain.

In another slightly less heated thread, "I Want to Go to Brother Ciso" and "Who's Levin with Foot Fungus" were having technical exchanges with some special backseat drivers.

Brother Ciso: "Imitating the 88 gun still poses some challenges, although I can find the blueprints and videos and even cut out parts using the refuge's black technology, many problems remain unsolved. Especially the barrel, to increase the muzzle velocity of the shell, I must increase the charge, making the barrel withstand greater chamber pressure!"

Brother Levin: "Exactly, and developing new equipment is freaking expensive! 500 silver coins aren't even enough to cover the development cost, it needs an extra zero!"

The high cost of R&D was indeed a problem.

Chu Guang, staring at his computer screen, considered for a moment, switched to the desktop, and opened the budget spreadsheet.

"For producing high-barrier, high-cost large equipment, it's not entirely appropriate for players to bear the entire development cost."

Chu Guang thought for a while and came up with an idea.

He planned to set up a special fund to support the development of new equipment. As long as it passed the review, it could receive funding.

As for the anti-aircraft weapons project at Steel Plant No. 81...

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and made a decision.

"A budget of 5000 silver coins seems too deliberate, let's change it to... 5500 silver coins. If it's not sufficient later, we can increase it."

"The original task remains unchanged, the new task to be reissued in the form of 'exclusive orders.'"

As for Mosquito...

Let him figure it out on his own for now.

If Brother Mosquito came up with a reliable design plan, Chu Guang would, of course, support him with a research budget.

But until now, Chu Guang still couldn't see clearly what exactly he intends to create...

-

(Day X of return to daily life, feeling a bit disorganized in my routine, I'm adjusting, sorry for only one update today. But this chapter is 6K, equivalent to two chapters of 3K? Shouldn't be considered a degeneration.)

Chapter 194: Another Batch of Fresh Leeks Has Arrived

North of Rhombus Lake Wetland Park.

Situated in the ruins, an abandoned tire factory.

This place once served as the den of the Blood Hand Clan, and with their downfall, it had been occupied by cockroaches and rats.

Recently, due to the expansion of activity areas by the residents of Shelter No. 404, this well-structured factory has been put back into use.

Through the relentless efforts of countless novice players, the Variants nesting here were completely expelled, and NPCs set up sentry posts in the surrounding high-rise buildings. Now, it has become the Northern Industrial Zone of the Outpost Base, and all the light and heavy industries, formerly cramped on the south side of the sanatorium, have been relocated here.

This includes the classically trained No. 81 Steel Factory.

As well as the self-made Goblin Technology.

Despite Mosquito Brother's persistent soft whisper and hard sell, the generously magnanimous manager finally agreed to keep his cabin on the southern side of the Outpost Base. However, any production activities involving chemicals, and flammable and explosive goods, must now be moved away from the respawn point and relocated here.

It wasn't that Chu Guang was targeting him, but there were just too many complaints.

This guy was testing weapons recklessly in the forests outside the base, either scaring away the fish in the lake or accidentally setting fire to the pine and cypress trees outside. In the past month, more than once people had approached Chu Guang, hoping he could somewhat curb Mosquito's behaviors.

Chu Guang believed that Mosquito Brother didn't do it on purpose, but to let him continue like this, frankly, even Chu Guang himself felt somewhat uneasy.

There were no such issues at the old site of the tire factory. Firstly, it was a good 5 kilometers away from the Outpost Base, surrounded by an abandoned and uninhabited urban area on all sides.

There were enough Variants there to test the weapons' power.

From now on, Brother Mosquito wouldn't have to risk being thrown into the lake by angry fishermen as he secretly placed bombs and rockets on the lake surface!

In summary, under the wise and valiant planning of the Manager, the Northern Industrial Zone will focus on steel and coal as pillar industries, producing seamless steel pipes of various calibers, bullets, stamping machines, and other manufacturing products, and encouraging players to exercise their creativity on this basis to create more affordable and practical items.

There are usually no Scavengers near the Looter's den, and this area is rich in recyclable resources. Even in the occasional event of inventory shortages, Scavengers can be hired to gather materials on-site.

Most critically, this place is near the city's elevated roads, and by simply clearing the obstacles on the road and the vegetation along the way and slightly repairing the road, trucks can even drive directly to the factory entrance along the auxiliary road below the elevated roads!

Whether in terms of transportation or resource advantages, this area is much better than the Outpost Base located in the Wetland Park.

It's truly a boon for industrial flow players!

The factory, formerly adorned with dried meat of unknown origin and "Trucks Enter," has now been transformed into the new site for No. 81 Steel Factory.

A circular hole was carved out on top of the factory, from which a tall, red-brick chimney emerged.

It stood like a torch.

On these ruins of civilization, it ignited a small but steadfast light.

…

Inside the No. 81 Steel Factory.

The blast furnace was filled with hot molten iron.

Sweat covered his neck, and Niu Li unbuttoned his jacket completely, fanning his palm inside his collar.

"Does today's furnace fire feel twice as lively as yesterday, or is it my imagination?"

If not for those two foremen wearing VMs who forbade it, he'd even want to take off the steel helmet lined with fur padding on his head.

Standing next to him was a fellow townsman from the same village, Wu Dahe from the neighboring Wu family. Their family worked as blacksmiths, but business was rare in winter, and opportunities to open for business were scarce.

Before hiring, both sons of Old Wu's family entered the factory. The elder did the furnace front work like his father and handled some miscellaneous work, while the younger was chosen to do the rod tying work, operating the rolling mill under the guidance of Blue Jacket. Occasionally, he had to hammer some small items, but that didn't happen often.

"The foreman said the factory had received a new batch of funds, and the factory manager planned to add boron to the blast furnace to experiment with making 50B steel… it's said to be used for making cannon barrels."

Niu Li looked curious.

"What is boron?"

Wu Dahe pulled out a small black stone from his pocket, waved it in front of him, and then put it away.

"It's this black stone. They say just adding a tiny bit can significantly increase the steel's strength, but you must control the amount perfectly, not a bit more... I don't fully understand it either. Anyway, those complex matters are for the Blue Jackets to handle, we just do as they say."

Niu Li nodded, half-understanding, then soon continued to ask.

"What is 50B steel?"

Wu Dahe shook his head like a tam-tam drum and repeated what he had just said.

"Don't know, just do as they tell us."

Niu Li was speechless.

Though he hadn't received the answer he wanted, he noted this information as an experience in his mind.

Adding boron makes steel more durable, but only a little can be added, not too much.

But soon, other confusions arose in his mind.

But specifically, how much is added?

And, does this apply to all steel?

Or just certain types?

After all, the factory had a strange way of steel-making; sometimes adding tungsten, sometimes adding chromium and nickel, and sometimes even silicon. Depending on the materials used, the steel also had different uses. Some were sent to make gun barrels, some to make machine cases, and others were used to make bicycle frames.

The blacksmiths on Bet Street didn't have all these complications; they just mixed in some carbon to forge tools that were also effective, sturdy, and durable.

It is said that a clever blacksmith would specifically recover steel from scrapped bike frames, especially those parked indoors.

The steel reforged from those materials would be much more durable than ordinary steel.

Niu Li was not a blacksmith, before coming here, he was just a scavenger living on Bet Street, occasionally going hunting with the second son of the Yu family, Yu Hu, because he always managed to find wild boar dens... although he himself couldn't explain why.

As for why he was here.

That's a long story.

A week ago, the Industrial Zone of the Outpost Base relocated, and Old Charlie posted a notice in the square to recruit 5 to 10 robust workers between the ages of 16 and 35 to help, not only providing two meals a day but also 1 silver coin in daily wages.

At the street office store on Bet Street, 1 silver coin could be exchanged for 1 kg of wheat or horns potato, or 50 grams of salt.

Where else would you encounter such a good deal?

In such cold weather, there wasn't much else to do anyway, and hearing that he could save some food for his family, Niu Li signed up without a second thought.

Whether they paid in chips or silver coins didn't matter much to anyone lately.

Since the beginning of winter, the trade caravan from Stone City hadn't come here again; for the survivors here, anything that could be exchanged for food and necessities was as good as money.

The factory relocation work wasn't very strenuous; all they needed to do was load various items big and small onto a trailer, transport them out of the forest to the north gate of the park, load them onto trucks, and then, under the supervision of the foreman, unload them at an abandoned tire factory in the north.

This abandoned tire factory was once a stronghold of the Blood Hand Clan, and many residents of Bet Street were afraid to go near it. However, Niu Li was not.

The Blood Hand Clan had been annihilated, and the flag that fluttered atop the factory now belonged to Shelter No. 404.

Having frequently visited the Outpost Base with Yu Hu, Niu Li knew well that those in Blue Jackets were good people.

Indeed, the relocation work took a full three days, not only was there meat at every meal, but there was also enough to eat to their fill.

Had the work not been completed, Niu Li would have liked to stay there indefinitely.

It was during this time that the foreman of the steel mill came out and offered them an opportunity.

Steel Mill No. 81 was looking to hire some contract workers, offering a monthly salary of 60 silver coins with room and board provided. Each worker was entitled to four days off per month, which they could schedule as they wished, with bonuses available for good performance.

Aside from age, there were only two hiring requirements: physical strength and literacy—those who could read more had an advantage.

According to the foreman, the factory would establish a night school illiteracy class to teach workers how to write, perform arithmetic, and draw. However, as contracts needed to be signed, one must at least know how to write their own name to enroll, and they were not allowed to have someone else write it for them.

For the first time in his life, Niu Li realized how wonderful it was to be literate.

He had attended literacy classes organized by Old Charlie before. Although he hadn't attended many, he managed at least to learn how to write his name.

Those with three-character names found themselves at a disadvantage, able to write only two, or struggling to barely churn out a family name.

In the end, fifteen people were kept on. The foreman issued them safety helmets and warm fur jackets, arranged for their boarding in dormitories, and informed them that they were now employees of Steel Mill No. 81.

As long as they worked well, they could later bring their families to settle here.

Niu Li didn't think about such distant matters; his current life was enough to fill him with immense happiness.

Wearing the fur jacket issued by the factory, he even felt a bit warm standing inside the building and would go out to catch a cold breeze every shift change.

Such wonderful life circumstances were beyond his previous imaginings!

Looking at the hot molten iron in the blast furnace, Niu Li contemplated in his heart.

"Yu Hu, that kid, never focuses on his studies. I need to find a way to persuade him…"

Time for a break ended.

As the molten iron in the blast furnace reached the anticipated temperature,
under the foreman's direction, Niu Li, along with another worker, coordinated using the control joysticks, positioning the suspended blast furnace to pour and mold the molten metal into rod-shaped steel billets.

The motor started.

The rollers beneath the steel billets began operating,
transporting the rod-shaped steel billets via a series of rollers to a piercing machine where specialty high-temperature drill bits carried out drilling and stamping.

"The temperature of the billets is dropping too quickly."

"Indeed... we need to figure out a way to develop hot stamping technology to conduct stamping inside the mold and preserve the quenching condition."

"Can we make this barrel thinner? If it's too heavy, it lacks all maneuverability and uses too much material."

"We'll try. With such a large caliber, I'm afraid making it too thin might cause the chamber to explode."

Brother Ciso and Brother Levin, standing in front of the production equipment, pointed at the actively running machines and conversed in muttered exchanges.

Why were they so energized?

Because just this morning, as they had just logged in, they suddenly received a research and development grant of 5500 silver coins!

Perhaps the Manager had been moved by their diligence. From now on, whenever new equipment development was needed, as long as the drawings and budget were submitted correctly, they could receive special funding, eliminating the need to fund their own research efforts!

Besides solving their immediate urgent needs, the respected Manager also allocated two sleep cabins to them as a reward for their hard work.

Those sleep cabins were a great asset!

Now, they would not need to leave for the refuge; they could go online and offline right in the factory.

If other players knew about this, they'd be crazily jealous!

Happiness arrived so abruptly.

However, Brother Ciso and Brother Levin were not overwhelmed by this sudden happiness.

They were all too aware of the envy on the forums. If others knew how many benefits they had received, they would surely clamor for a cut.

Therefore, the two kept a low profile, quietly making a fortune while hiring scavengers to recover good steel materials from the wasteland, renting machining tools from the shelter to cut the necessary parts, and going all out to increase the production capacity of the steel mill, secretly escalating the steel industry.

They decided to demonstrate their real skills, showing those who only knew how to complain, "If I were in charge, I could also do it," what a real war machine looked like.

What a job they actually might not be able to handle!

…

[Worldwide Announcement: The Northern Industrial Zone of the Outpost Base is now fully operational; besides the completion of facility upgrades, a total of 37 Waste Land Wanderers have chosen to become workers, joining our great venture. (Industrial Index +100, Prosperity +50)]

[

Location Name: Outpost Base

Location Level: Village (LV1)

Prosperity: 100→150

Industrial Index: 250→350

Commercial Index: 150

Needs: Food, weapons, building materials

Tendencies: Exploration (Scavenging task benefits +10%), Industrialization (Factory orders and production task benefits +10%)

]

On the fourth day after the new version launched, production in the Northern Industrial Zone of the Outpost Base was booming.

At this very moment, on Level B3 of the refuge beneath the base, the place was bustling with activity.

The helmets were finally activated, and three hundred players simultaneously entered the game. Guided by the broadcast, they steadily gathered at the central plaza on the floor, blocking the hall in front of the B3 elevator tower.

"There are so many newcomers this time!"

"Plus, the quality looks pretty good. There seems to be a bit fewer bizarre creatures than last time!"

"Good, it looks like the threshold for scheduling the quiz has gone up."

"Speaking of which, have you seen any Exalted players who drew Variants?"

"Not yet, the Manager hasn't started speaking, so it seems like not everyone has arrived. They are probably still dawdling in their rooms."

Standing at the corner of the plaza, the Spring Water Commander scanned the crowd, looking for new players with potential, ready to 'pass the torch' as soon as the Manager finished speaking.

Although he didn't want to start with newbies, he had no choice as his two teammates were just terrible!

One named "I Max Black" and the other "Battlefield Atmosphere Group," both hopeless at handling monsters and always leaving him, the Intelligence system player, to take the front, all while coveting his equipment.

For his grand plan of advancing to the T0 ladder team, the Spring Water Commander decided he needed a few obedient and useful newcomers to stand in the front lines.

Preferably those hardy Strength Types, or the resilient Constitution Types.

Even better if it's a Variants player like a Meat mountain big steamed bun!

After all, having someone up front would give him a perfect environment to output while wearing his "Fake Power Armor."

At that moment, a commotion spread through the crowd.

A small player who had just entered the hall was seen clumsily fiddling above her head with her hands.

Her nickname was Oh Oh Sesame Paste.

For some reason, her game character looked a little different from everyone else.

A pair of furry beast ears popped out from her hair, replacing human ears, making them look like some kind of headgear.

"Yikes, yikes, yikes? Why are my ears on top of my head?"

"Didn't you notice it while you were in your room?"

"I, I, I didn't know! There was no mirror in the room. I thought my hair was just sticking up." That expression was a mix of amusement and surprise or shock.

Is this what an SSSR is?

Though it doesn't seem to come with any attribute bonuses...

The surrounding players, however, looked excited.

Are they testing the pay-to-win skins?

That could work.

It looks like the public test might be hopeful!!

Tail's eyes sparkled, "Cat ears! Damn, there are more and more Exalted players!"

Si Si exclaimed, "Oh wow, our Variant friends are increasing."

Tail declared, "Si Si! Time to pass the torch!"

Si Si, "Oh, charge!"

Another wave of commotion arose, quickly spreading through the crowd.

But this time, it was not surprise but alarm.

"Ya, ya, ya! Variants!"

"Damn! Why is there a mouse here!"

"Call the guard!"

"Get my Lance quick!"

The first to be startled were the players on the edge of the plaza, and the commotion soon spread through the crowd.

"I'm not a mouse... Damn! I'm a player, okay?"

As people hurried away from his side, the central figure in the crowd—a player or, rather, a Mouse-man—couldn't help but give a wry smile.

Does this count as an SSSR?

Probably.

But the cost seems a bit harsh, instantly losing any mating rights.

Though he was quite pleased with his own appearance, other players—especially female players—did not seem to share that sentiment.

After a long while, not a single one had approached to 'rua' him.

Damn!

These superficial folks!

Is it really that realistic?

Chu Guang, standing in front of the elevator tower, also looked puzzled.

The Cat ears could slide...

Probably just a quirky taste of the First Generation Manager.

And what the heck is this meter-high mouse?

Before opening the cultivation chamber, he couldn't see the clone's specific data, so these kinds of "summoning accidents" did happen from time to time.

ID: Difficult for the strong

Gene Sequence: Different species · Mouse man

Level: LV.0

—Basic Attributes—

Strength: 3

Agility: 3

Constitution: 3

Perception: 5

Intelligence: 3

Talent:

Fast Synthesis: The active material consumption for cloning synthesis is reduced to 50% of the standard value. The synthesis time is shortened to 24 hours.

Iron Stomach: A robust digestive system capable of adapting to rotten food.

Chu Guang opened the system and entered the player list.

Observing the recent scan data of this player's cultivation chamber, a look of interest appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"There are no debuffs like 'hand-and-foot-syndrome' or difficulties in increasing sequence level."

However, the Rat-man's panel data was weak, except for Perception, which was 5, other attributes were only 3, equivalent to 60% of a normal adult male.

"The main attribute should be Perception."

Chu Guang had initially thought that at least the Agility attribute would be higher, but it was not so.

The only advantage of this gene sequence seemed to be the buffs provided by "Fast Synthesis" and "Iron Stomach."

"0.5 units of active material for revival costs, and a 24-hour synthesis time… that's a bit amazing."

"And this Iron Stomach talent… if one can overcome the psychological barrier, it should be very resource-saving on food."

Moreover, another advantage was probably its smaller body size, allowing one to move freely among the ruins.

As for the deficiencies in panel attributes… if the first awakening didn't cover this gap, it probably would only rely on mechanical modifications.

Or perhaps follow a bioenhancement or medication enhancement path?

For some reason, Chu Guang thought of the Skaven from Warhammer.

The plague army swarming all over was a nightmare for the human empire.

However, regrettably,
this Rat-man is an orphan…

Chu Guang thought to himself, maybe he should give this guy a "hidden profession quest," level him up to three and give him a cultivation chamber to let him go out and "grind" in the wild.

As for that little player who grew cat ears, what surprised Chu Guang was that her gene sequence didn't have the prefix of Different Species, just a regular Agile System player.

The only difference was in the Talent section—

[Beast Ears: I originally intended to create a Leopard person, the expressive dominance of only the ear parts was accidental. Besides making phone calls a bit inconvenient, there doesn't seem to be any downside, use it or not depends on you—First Generation Manager.]

Chu Guang: …

This line doesn't quite fit in the player's attribute column, I should change it later.

Standing beside Chu Guang, Yin Fang stared intently at the talking mouse, struggling for a while, finally unable to hold back and said,

"Before the war, whether it was implanting animal DNA fragments in human embryos or transplanting human DNA fragments into animals, it was the most taboo of all. How did the inventor of this technology manage to research these things without being discovered and without any external funding support?"

Yes,
how did he manage it?

Chu Guang was also curious about this question.

Including that Morphogenesis Field that even someone with "Former Academy Level D Prospector" title had not heard of.

"Perhaps he figured it out in the shelter."

Yin Fang looked strangely at Chu Guang.

"Are you joking? In the shelter? With that mediocre medical lab?"

Chu Guang's eyes lit up, thoughtfully stroking his chin.

"That's an interesting thought. It might really be possible."

To be honest, he didn't find the creation of species strange.

Aren't Mutants an example?

To use the words of a corporate employee with poor tolerance to alcohol, uncontrollable technology is rampant on these lands, and anything bizarre happening isn't surprising.

Yin Fang: "…"

Unlike Yin Fang, who was surprised by the background of this technology's development, Heya stood on the other side of Chu Guang, shocked at the fact that "a mouse can actually talk."

Although she completely did not understand its language, she was certain it was speaking!

That was too unbelievable!

"A bear, a lizard, and a mouse with human intelligence… how did they manage that?"

Suddenly, Heya eagerly turned to Chu Guang, clasped her hands together in a praying gesture, and asked,

"Can you give me a sample? No need for tissue slices, a little blood will suffice!"

"I've already given you access to the DNA data of the shelter's residents, you can view it on the medical room terminal."

Although Chu Guang didn't expect her to crack the secrets hidden in the gene sequence, having it as a project parallel to the research on Different Species wasn't a bad idea.

After all, the Different Species active in the North Suburb were just those few, and his players couldn't always obtain new samples.

Heya said excitedly,

"You've already collected them? That's great!"

If it weren't for the crowd blocking the way, she'd have dashed into the laboratory right now.

Standing on the side, Yin Fang pinched his brows.

Is it an illusion?

He always felt that, apart from himself, there wasn't a single normal person in the entire shelter…

-

(The next chapter should be around 11 o'clock!)

Chapter 195: Targeted by Dog Plan!

In the crowd, the Mouse Brother was lamenting the harshness of the world when suddenly, a warm and sturdy hand landed on his shoulder.

Looking up, he saw a person standing there.

And he didn't seem afraid.

"Brother! Want to 'Pass the Torch'?" the Spring Water Commander stared intently at his round nose as if he had discovered treasure.

[Difficult for the Strong]was taken aback.

"Pass the Torch?"

"Yes! Pass the Torch! It's a quest for beginners!" the Spring Water Commander said with a sunny smile, showing off his white teeth. "Don't worry about the details. Just follow me, and I'll help you level up!"

Level up?

Was there such a good deal?!

[Difficult for the Strong]nodded excitedly.

"Sure, bro! I'll hang with you from now on!"

The corners of Spring Water Commander's mouth almost split from his wide smile.

The newbies this time were really easy to please!

However, just then, a disruptor suddenly barged in.

"Bro, don't follow him, follow me! I guarantee I'll make you awesome and take you flying!"

Grasping the shoulders of the rat, Mosquito Brother, who had shoved the Spring Water Commander aside, was written all over with excitement as if he had drawn five Golden Legends in five draws.

Seeing someone spoiling his moment, Spring Water Commander obviously couldn't tolerate it and snatched the plump rat back.

"Dude, don't listen to him! He's the most unreliable one!"

Hearing himself be called unreliable, Mosquito Brother immediately got anxious.

"Damn! Who are you calling unreliable! Have a feel of the steel plates on your exoskeleton, doesn't your conscience hurt?"

Originally, it would have been fine not to mention this issue.

Once it was mentioned, Spring Water Commander couldn't help but explode.

"You've got the nerve to say that! I went to Steel Factory No. 81 to ask! They only charge 150 Silver coins!"

Mosquito's expression instantly turned awkward, and he shifted his gaze while scratching his cheek.

"Cough cough, that includes a design cost of 50 Silver coins… I have to make some profit, right?"

"You call that a little?!!"

Caught in between the two, [Difficult for the Strong], blinked his green bean-sized eyes, his face a picture of confusion.

Just a second ago he was feeling sad for choosing an orphan race and feared he'd have to venture alone until his buddies logged on.

Who would have thought he'd be so in demand?

This happiness was too sudden.

…

"Recruiting Strength Type newbies, tree chopping team taking off, guarantee you go from 0 to 1 in two days!"

"Level B3 exit tunnel taking off! Any newbies want to join?"

"Anybody wants Intelligence System? If you don't know, just ask, where do I buy drones and implanted bodies?"

"In your dreams."

"￥#@!"

After the daily briefing.

Chu Guang left the players to their own devices and turned back to the shelter on Level B1, sitting in front of the computer in the Manager's Office.

From old players undertaking "Pass the Torch" missions and the records of entry and exit from the shelter, sitting here, Chu Guang could easily track the movements of these new players.

Some of them planned to follow the combat profession route and had chosen the Hunter profession, following the old players to the underground tunnels.

Others were being led to the surface.

With the liberation of Street No.76, a large part of the eastern city area of the shelter awaited development, and his little players had discovered quite a few quality resource points.

As the number of players increased, in a move to boost management efficiency, Chu Guang was trying to increase the workload of the NPCs and reduce the frequency of his direct task assignments, shifting his focus more towards overseeing manpower allocation and broader strategic decisions.

Garden Street Metro Station had 112 people, the tunnel at the B3 level exit had 121, and the players exploring the "Underground World" totaled 233.

Long-Endurance Farmstead, Elm District Forest, and the abandoned northern district collectively had 255 people, excluding some executing special missions, the rest were mainly near Outpost Base.

Chu Guang, through a program made with the help of Xiao Qi, briefly reviewed the distribution of player types on the map.

At Outpost Base, players with lifestyle jobs were the majority, making up 60%, mainly concentrated in the new industrial district and the old industrial district south of the sanatorium.

In frontline areas like Long-Endurance Farmstead, combat professional players were the majority, as high as 70%, with soldiers accounting for 20%, hunters for 20%, and scavengers for 30%.

Besides, the configuration of core/non-core NPCs, resource status, and remaining storage were also reflected in the chart.

Unfortunately, the figures on the map couldn't be dragged.

Otherwise, it would really become an RTS game.

"Master."

Hearing Xiao Qi's voice, Chu Guang casually said.

"What's up?"

Xiao Qi, crouching in the corner, whispered.

"Xiao Qi always feels you are getting lazier."

"What do you know?" Chu Guang chuckled, leaning back in his computer chair, leisurely added, "This wave is called focusing on the major and neglecting the minor, reducing micro-management."

Xiao Qi didn't make a sound upon hearing this.

Master's words were becoming harder to understand.

To avoid misunderstanding, it needed to check online first.

...

Northeast of Outpost Base, approximately sixteen kilometers away, surrounded by forest, lay the ruins of Central State Space Ecological Laboratory.

Inside a chaotic hall, hundreds of Eaters' bodies lay scattered haphazardly.

Kicking a Crawler lying on the ground, Wild Wind pulled out a spear from its body, wiped the dark blood off it, and reinserted it into his spear bag.

"Speaking of rookies, they should be logging on now, right?"

Fang Chang glanced at the VM time.

"It's about time, they should be logging in now, wonder if any of the new players drew an SSR Exalted."

Night Ten said with a teasing smile.

"Why are you sure it's an Exalted? What if it's a Non-Tribal like Trash Brother?"

Old White said, laughing.

"Hahaha, bullying Trash Brother again! Actually, he did alright, at least he was the boss for two versions."

About half an hour earlier, the Cow-and-Horse Team, who took a truck from the North Gate of Wetland Park, arrived here.

Based on data analysis provided by Dr. Yin Fang, the leader of the scientific expedition team, the No. 3 Ecological Park located below Building No. 3 was still operational, and the reactor and fuel rods they were looking for were within the Ecological Park.

As the strongest combat force in the entire server, the hexagonally versatile Cow-and-Horse Team, dealing with a group of newbie experience bags was more than easy.

Even several versions' "small BOSS" Crawlers couldn't withstand the "Anti-Armor Spears" thrown by Old White and Wild Wind simultaneously.

Those things were like artillery shells.

Combined with a steel spearhead, two hits to the upper body could deflate a Crawler's combat power by half.

A hit to the head meant instant death!

Even better than bullets!

At this point, the only substantial threat seemed to be the "Tyrant" set in the background among the Mutated slime fungus variants.

Reportedly, its hardened skin was extremely tough, able to withstand a rifle's barrage. Breaking its defense might prove difficult.

However, this was a remote suburb far from the urban area; variants of the mutated slime fungus were sparse here, not usually encountered outside their active zones.

Fang Chang, carrying a mechanical composite bow, walked next to the front desk, searched through a drawer for a while, and found a booklet with a floorplan printed on it.

"The entrance to Level B1 Ecological Park should be in the middle of the corridor on our right hand, where there's a working elevator... just as Dr. Yin Fang's intelligence indicated."

"It looks like the data we found in the security room came in handy," Old White said as he hung a crowbar on his exoskeleton, pulled a 'Sickle' assault rifle from his back, and grinned, "Let's go have a look."

From the map, the Ecological Park was located on Level B1 of the laboratory, accessible only by one elevator and one emergency exit.

This place covered nearly 15 acres, roughly the size of a soccer field.

Even after 200 years, the ultraviolet lights on the ceiling were still on.

However, due to lack of maintenance, the ecological environment here had clearly spiraled out of control, with broad-leaved plants vastly outnumbering others, turning the whole area into a tropical rainforest.

The group chose not to take the elevator but instead went through the more reliable emergency stairs, passing through two gates to enter the place.

The hot, humid air hit their faces.

Looking at the palm leaves swaying in front of his nose and the surprising scene ahead, Night Ten couldn't help but whisper.

"Is this environment modeled after some tropical island? I'm actually feeling a bit hot."

"After all, the temperature here is a full thirty degrees..." Old White, clad in heavy armor, took the lead and scanned around, "And there are no survivors eyeing this place?"

Just then, Night Ten slightly furrowed his brow and looked back.

"Wait, I feel like... someone is approaching us."

Old White was briefly startled.

"Really?"

Although that was what he asked, knowing that Night Ten had the highest perception in the entire server, the three of them immediately became alert upon hearing this.

Wild Wind asked cautiously,

"From behind or in front of us?"

Night Ten frowned, focusing his attention.

"It should be coming from behind, but I'm not certain whether they followed us in or found this place on their own."

"Whether they followed us or not, seeing the situation in the hallway, they must have realized we're here."

Fang Chang unslung the mechanical composite bow from his back and gave his teammates a look.

"Prepare for combat."

…

Meanwhile, in the hall where the Bull and Horse Squad had stayed.

About twenty Waste Land Wanderers had arrived.

Their equipment was rudimentary; bare minimum clothes made from beast skins and adorned with various odd trinkets.

Among them, some held iron pipe rifles, others had hunting guns on their shoulders, and some carried homemade automatic weapons, or simply had no guns at all, only a baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire and a machete with a curled blade.

"There are shell casings on the floor."

A man with a tattooed face squatted down, picked up a shell casing, squinted his eyes, then scanned the surroundings after standing up.

"The blood is also fresh..."

"People have been here!"

From the respectful demeanor of others, it was clear he was the leader here.

The curly-haired man standing next to him whispered,

"It seems others have set their eyes on this place."

With a vulture-like gaze fixed on the corridor ahead, the tattooed face man spared no words and ordered,

"They must still be here."

"Find them."

"Yes!" responded the curly-haired man respectfully, leading his subordinates toward the corridor.

…

In the ecological park.

The elevator slowly descended and stopped on the ground.

Watching five men dressed as Looters cautiously step out of the elevator, their posture holding the weapons indicating they were ready for battle.

Unable to understand their gibberish clamor.

Crouched behind the lush vegetation, Night Ten had a sniper rifle ready and silently gestured toward Old White, mouthing the words,

'I don't think they're up to any good... What do you say, shoot or not?'

Old White was silent for a while, still weighing the options in his mind.

However, Fang Chang beside him had already made a decision, pulling out an explosive arrow from behind and placing it onto the bowstring of his mechanical composite bow, said in a voice pressed to the lowest limit.

"There are two possibilities, if they're not here for the reactor, they're here for us."

Near him, Wild Wind seemed to have reached the same conclusion, his right hand already clutching a throwing knife, ready to act at any moment.

Old White was silent in his heart, looking toward Night Ten on his left. He subtly pointed to the high-threat target holding the automatic rifle.

'That one's for you.'

'Roger that.'

Lying on the ground, Night Ten read the situation, brought his eye to the scope, finger on the trigger, took a deep breath, and was ready to fire.

However, just then, something unexpected occurred!

The chattering of the Looters seemed to have disturbed something in the jungle; they heard the sound of rapid footsteps heading from the dense forest towards the elevator.

"Who's there!"

"Who's over there!"

The five Looters standing next to the elevator quickly aimed their weapons, only to realize that what was coming was not human!

Five pairs of pupils filled with fear.

Before they could pull their triggers, a dark shadow, about four meters long, burst out of the forest and quickly got close to them.

Blade-like claws pierced through a chest, and before the prey could even scream, the figure holding the hunting gun was torn in two.

"Ah!"

"Damn it! Fire! Fire!"

A wave of fear instantly boiled over.

The Looter with the automatic rifle, disregarding his bitten comrade, opened fire wildly at the back of the creature, nearly breaking the trigger with his index finger.

"Roar—!"

Having been thoroughly sprayed with a volley at its back, the creature let out an angry roar. Its swift claws swung out again, cutting the man in half effortlessly as if slicing through tofu.

Muzzle flames flickered.

Gunshots erupted in the forest!

Staring at that four-meter-tall monster, with its thick tail and terrifying claws—and the prey it had shredded, the faces of the members of Cow and Horse Squad drastically changed.

Claw of Death!

One of the most ferocious beasts on the Wasteland, according to the official website data bank!

In this moment, Fang Chang finally understood why there were no survivors keeping an eye on this place...

Night Ten swallowed hard, his eyes filled with disbelief.

His Perception hadn't sensed this monster at all!

"...Should we keep fighting?" He looked nervously towards Old White, his palms sweaty.

Old White gritted his teeth and made a decision.

"Retreat first."

While Dead Claw hadn't noticed them and was still feasting on its prey on the ground, they could slip away through a safe passage not far behind them.

However, just at that moment, the gate of the safe passage suddenly opened, a series of dense footsteps coming from behind them.

Dead Claw's ears twitched slightly. Hearing the noises, it lifted its head from the corpse, its amber pupils narrowing slightly, a cruel hissing sound emerging from beneath its sharp teeth.

It was excited!

Prey was literally coming to its door!

The faces of Old White and Fang Chang changed dramatically; they were in a terribly awkward position, caught right between this beast and the Looters...

Wild Wind couldn't help but curse.

"Fuck!"

Targeted by the damn planners!

Old White made a split decision, shouting loudly.

"Run!"

-

(Sorry, bit late… awkward.)

Chapter 196: Captured by the Looter?

Everyone must die eventually, their weight either as heavy as Mount Tai or as light as a feather.

If this were real life, Old White felt he would have hesitated for a long time before making such a decision, since it meant giving up too much.

But luckily, this is the Game world.

And in the Game, you can die many times.

Without even a second of hesitation, his body made the choice—

"Run!"

As he roared the word, Old White lifted his Sickle Assault Rifle and pulled the trigger towards the Death Claw that was eyeing Wild Wind.

Ratatat—!

The muzzle flashed with fire as bullets whooshed over the green foliage and pounced towards the monster.

Blood splattered on the black scales, and the Death Claw let out a roar of pain.

With its strong and powerful legs, it suddenly exerted force, dodged the incoming bullets from the side, and charged towards Old White, swinging its deadly claws with ferocity.

Old White was unperturbed, setting his Exoskeleton's output power to maximum. His seemingly cumbersome body dodged the deadly attack like a rabbit, slipping behind the thick palm tree trunk into the dense forest.

The immobile palm tree wasn't as lucky.

It shattered completely, as if hit by a bulldozer.

Seeing its prey evade the lethal blow, the Dead Claw let out an angry growl. Its amber eyes swiftly scanned its surroundings. Without half a second of hesitation, it immediately locked onto the direction of its fleeing prey and pursued them fiercely.

Seeing Old White dodge in the opposite direction, Fang Chang's heart lurched. Before he could ask what Old White was planning to do, he heard Old White's bellowing voice.

"Head to the elevator! Forget about me!"

Night Ten exclaimed in shock.

"Holy shit? Old White, what the hell are you trying to do?"

"Something big!"

Wild Wind's right hand, Fang Chang's bow, and the sniper rifle Night Ten had acquired from the mercenaries of Giant Stone City—though his own Exoskeleton wasn't cheap, without it, he could still rely on the Talent of the Strength Type to fight; but they couldn't.

Old White never thought he would make it out alive; in MMORPGs, who doesn't die at least once?

Having taken a position in the front line, he had already prepared himself to sacrifice his life for his teammates.

"Come to think of it, I haven't died once in this game."

He didn't know what dying in the game felt like.

The people on the Forum say it's just like closing and opening your eyes—

"Roar—"

The roar coming from behind forced Old White to focus entirely on running without any distractions.

However, regrettably, the Death Claw was too agile!

If he was like a rabbit diving into the forest, that thing was like a rampant Gundam, unstoppable by ordinary foliage.

Suddenly, a gust of wind and before Old White could react, a heavy thud struck his back, sending him staggering forward with his Exoskeleton, almost falling to the ground.

That teeth-grinding sound of friction made his heart race to his throat, but thankfully the adaptive stride of the Exoskeleton saved him from falling.

Feeling the rushing air from behind, Old White didn't dare to look back, mustering all his strength to keep running forward.

That one strike had torn three slashes through the steel plate on his back!

It was lucky he had the steel plate!

Otherwise, from that one blow just now, he would have been gone!

Fang Chang, seeing he couldn't support Old White, gritted his teeth, raised his Mechanical composite bow, drew the bowstring with force, and released an arrow towards the light source on the ceiling.

The arrowhead pierced the ceiling. The firing pin triggered, and the charge exploded with a bang!

Crash—

Transparent polymer fragments and sparks fell from the ceiling, and the lighting in the ecological park went dark for an instant.

The light in the rainforest dimmed even more.

The charging Dead Claw paused conspicuously; its amber pupils dilated instantly, quickly adapting to the suddenly darkened environment.

Although it was only a moment of pause, it was enough time for Old White to break through the edge of the rainforest, running up to the Looter's group and knocking over the unfortunate one closest to him with a shoulder charge.

Facing this humanoid "Tank" that suddenly rushed out of the forest, the surrounding Looters screamed shrilly, raising the guns in their hands.

"Block him!"

Muzzles blazed, and bullets rained down like a shower. The unlucky guy hit by Old White was the first to be peppered with holes by his teammates.

Next, the bullets flew towards Old White.

At close range, the steel plate that had taken extra damage was riddled with holes, its welding points broke, and it fell off the Exoskeleton.

But—

It didn't matter anymore.

Listening to the running noises getting closer behind him, Old White, feeling a weight lift off his chest, pulled out the Short Axe hanging at his waist, the corners of his bloodied mouth curling into a slight arc.

Bring it on.

Let's have a good fight!

"Limit—"

"Break!"

The jungle on the other side—

"We have to go save him!"

Fang Chang grabbed Night Ten and shook his head at him.

"It's too late."

Wild Wind also looked at Night Ten, speaking calmly,

"Staying here would only waste Old White's efforts… let's go."

Judging by the sound of gunfire, there were at least a dozen or twenty people, with no shortage of automatic weapons. If there were covers in the vicinity that could be used for dragging out the fight, they might have stood a chance.

The plain rainforest terrain offered no reliable cover, with the advantage undoubtedly lying with the side that had more people.

Old White had also reached level 10, and had been reluctant to upgrade his equipment. Afterwards, everyone could chip in and buy him a brand-new Miner Type I.

The three of them rushed into the elevator, and Fang Chang punched the up button.

The elevator slowly ascended.

At the entrance of the corridor, Old White's figure was no longer visible, only the sight of the Dead Claw engaging in close combat with those Looters like a tiger entering a flock of sheep; claws swept through sending blood and gore flying.

However, those Looters seemed to be no cowards.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Night Ten saw a Looter near the emergency corridor shouldering a tubular launcher, pulling the trigger at the Dead Claw.

Three rocket projectiles blasted out from three different angles at once, the orange tail flames drew three straight, crisscrossing paths in the air.

Two of them missed, burrowing into the trees past the Dead Claw's tail, while the other hit its left shoulder squarely, the explosion's flames and shrapnel blasting its flesh apart.

"Roar—!"

With a pained roar, the Death Claw staggered and turned to flee into the woods. At the same time, the fire suppression system at the top of the greenhouse was triggered, and rain began to fall in the rainforest.

The Looters dared not pursue, grabbing their barely breathing companions on the ground, they fired into the dim jungle even as they retreated toward the emergency corridor.

Staring at the fire outside the window, Night Ten couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Monsters…"

To have withstood a hit from a rocket launcher!

That's preposterous!

At this time, the leader of the Looters who had retreated to the entrance of the safe passage suddenly lifted his head and squinted at the rising elevator.

Even in the dim light, he still saw the three people inside.

He called out something to his subordinates behind him. While they coordinated their comrades to run out, he sprayed a burst of bullets toward the elevator.

The whizzing bullets clanged against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the elevator, giving Night Ten, who was standing by the window, a shock.

Fortunately, the elevator was sturdy enough; the bullets only left a string of spiderweb-like cracks on the window without penetrating.

The elevator arrived at the floor.

Not waiting for the doors to fully open, the three people immediately darted out of the elevator and ran north along the corridor, taking a big detour to exit the Enclosing Wall from the back of Building 3.

It was only then that they realized that in front of Building 3's main gate, there were more than forty or fifty people!

Not far from the Open Space, two trucks parked and unloading goods, and a few Looters leading mutated hyenas rushed into the building to support their comrades at the front.

The three of them climbed over the half-collapsed Enclosing Wall, skirting around the perimeter of the research base, reaching the west side of Building 3 about five hundred meters away to observe.

Fang Chang, "Damn, that looks like half a company at least."

Night Ten too couldn't help cursing, "Fuck, where did these fucking Looters come from? Are they here for the fuel rods too?!"

"I thought so at first, but now I'm not sure," hiding behind broken concrete walls, Fang Chang frowned, biting his thumb and pondering for a moment before saying, "They clearly plan to encamp here… Look at those two trucks, don't they look familiar?"

Night Ten squinted and took a closer look, suddenly shocked.

"Same model as the Army? Holy shit, are they from the Army?!"

"Chew-bone," Wild Wind, who had not spoken up until now, suddenly popped out a word, "Remember what was mentioned in the alpha 0.9 version update… With the collapse of the Army, a vast Looter force is rising in the central part of the River Valley Province. Now it seems they must have taken over some of the Army's equipment."

A group of Looters had previously come to Changjiu Farm, and their leader seemed to be Tu, who is now working on road construction with the Centurions, undergoing labor reform. And the weapons they used, even their coats, were the same as the Army's.

If even irregular fighters could get their hands on the Army's gear…

These organized Looters must have even more weaponry taken from the Army.

The expressions on Night Ten and Fang Chang's faces also became more serious.

Fang Chang immediately made a decision.

"We must report the situation here to the Manager as soon as possible!"

"Yeah," Wild Wind nodded, "I was thinking the same."

Old White should have logged off by now.

Later, when they got back, they could log off and join him on the official website.

...

Honestly, Old White himself thought that charging up to the Looters' faces was tantamount to a guaranteed death. The exoskeleton was, after all, not power armor, especially since it was just a basic KV-1 model. Though the steel plates could stop bullets, they couldn't withstand the fatigue caused by continuous shooting and crossfire from multiple angles.

The so-called shameless and brave Warrior could only appear on the battlefield.

After cutting down three Looters and wounding four or maybe five more, Old White who had taken hits in his belly finally collapsed, his vision darkening.

However, what surprised Old White was the fact that when he put on his helmet again, he found that his character had not died.

Old White looked around and realized he was lying in a room.

This was no longer the underground greenhouse; it must be a room somewhere in the aboveground Building 3.

His wounds had been hastily bandaged, his VM and equipment had been taken away, and handcuffs on his wrists and ankles restricted his movements.

Old White tried to break free, but noticing the bloodstains on the bandages were spreading, he quickly ceased his reckless actions.

Although he had prepared himself to face death courageously, he wanted to understand what his current situation was before that.

At that moment, the room's door opened.

A man with sun-tanned skin and tattoos on his face walked in from outside.

Old White sized him up, noting his tattered fur coat, ripped pants, and a bunch of odd trinkets hanging around his neck, including teeth and stones, giving him a very punk look.

A burly man with lip piercings followed behind him, likely acting as a bodyguard of sorts. If you replaced the iron pipe wrapped in tape that he held with a guitar or bass, you might mistake him for a member of some heavy metal band walking down the street...

The tattoo-faced man came up to him, and just when Old White was wondering what this guy was up to, he suddenly squatted down, staring at him intensely with his nose, sharp as an eagle's, almost poking Old White's face.

Old White felt a chill run down his spine.

Fuck.

Could it be?

Although the residents of the shelter did indeed have delicate skin, it wasn't to the point where even men...

"Are you survivors from Qingquan City?"

Old White didn't understand what he was saying and didn't want to know either, putting on an expression of stubborn defiance.

The man seemed to understand the expression on his face, smirked mockingly, and stood up.

"My name is Card."

"You're very strong and brave, a true warrior."

"A warrior like you should have a status and wealth that matches you, not to end up as a pathetic pile of Variant excrement."

"Will you join us, enjoy all the glory and riches, or become a lowly slave, sold to work in the mines until death?"

"I'll give you time to think."

After leaving these words, the man turned and walked away.

Until the end, Old White didn't understand what he wanted to express; all he heard was a string of incomprehensible chatter.

Faced with the empty room, Old White fell silent.

I mean...

What exactly is my status now?

A hostage?

A captive?

Fuck!

Am I dead or not?

...

Floor B3 of Shelter No. 404.

Standing in the planting area, Chu Guang looked at the bean sprout-sized green dots in the soilless cultivation units, his face expressing the warmth of a proud father.

The bok choy had germinated quickly; it had only been three days, and they were already sprouting.

The chives next to them would have to wait a bit longer, taking about a week to sprout.

These leafy vegetables were all intended to improve their meal variety, but the real treasures were in the rows of cultivation units beside them.

By next spring, the corn, rice, wheat, and sorghum crops planted there would be ready for harvest. He planned to save the first harvest entirely for seeds.

Not just the Greenhouse Ruins.

Chu Guang intended to utilize all the land from the north of Linghu to the south of Elm District.

With the vast land stretching over ten kilometers in length and width, and with enough refugees, it wouldn't be a problem to cultivate tens of thousands of acres of fertile land. Optimistically, maybe up to twenty thousand acres in the first year.

If efficiency wasn't sufficient, they'd have to make up for it with quantity.

The theoretical planting area of 50 acres in the shelter, no matter how high its efficiency, could only sustain five people per acre, not even enough to feed a thousand. With traditional farming, despite its lower efficiency, even if one acre could only sustain between one and two people, it would still be enough to feed tens of thousands.

Compared to cultivation chambers, food is the real foundation for increasing troop numbers.

Surely they couldn't really expect the players to eat rotten meat and cockroaches, right?

That would be a bit too hardcore.

As Chu Guang was admiring his little bok choy, the speaker inside the planting area suddenly broadcasted Xiao Qi's voice.

"Master."

Chu Guang responded absent-mindedly.

"What's up?"

"Your players seem to have run into trouble!"

"If they run into trouble, so be it, let it be a lesson. Don't worry, my players are smart; they'll solve any problems they encounter themselves."

Hearing Xiao Qi's voice, Chu Guang wasn't the least bit flustered; in fact, he even reassured him.

After unlocking Floor B3, the number of players in the shelter had been increasing, and Chu Guang couldn't afford to care about so many people anymore.

When there were few people before, the death of a single one was heart-wrenching, but now with shortages of food, electricity, mining, and production capacity, there was no shortage of people and Resurrection Coins.

He only had to set the rules and let the players fuss within them. He couldn't manage, nor did he want to manage, the troubles of one or two players.

There's no such thing as a father taking care of his son for a lifetime, right?

The fun of this game lies in exploration, so players should discover for themselves how to increase NPC affinity and trigger hidden quests.

Xiao Qi: "But but, it's your Bull-Horse Squad that's been sent to the northeastern Ecological Park to find fuel rods—shouldn't you care about that?"

"Cough cough—what the heck?! Bull-Horse Squad?"

Choked, Chu Guang coughed twice and quickly opened the system interface, but found that the clones were all still alive.

Only Old White had disconnected, but there was no danger to his life.

Relieved, Chu Guang continued to ask.

"What kind of trouble did they run into?"

Although he didn't want to worry about the players' troubles, the problem was the Bull-Horse Squad was on a mission to get fuel rods.

Even if he didn't want to care about the players, Chu Guang still had to care about his fuel rods.

Xiao Qi continued to explain.

"That player named White Horse Passing a Gap seems to have been captured by Looters, and the other three just escaped from a Looter encirclement and are now on the way back in a truck."

Old White captured by Looters???

Chu Guang was somewhat dumbfounded.

Wait a minute, what's the situation with the Looters?

"Weren't they supposed to be looking for fuel rods? How did they end up entangled with Looters?"

Xiao Qi continued quietly.

"That's right, but while they were searching for the reactor in the Central State Space ecological laboratory, they encountered a group of Looters, numbering over fifty, exact amount unknown, and they even ran into a Dead Claw. The situation is very complicated, master. Why don't you just check the official website yourself?"

With the key project in trouble, Chu Guang didn't hesitate and immediately hurried back to Level B1, to his office.

Computer booting up.

Logging on to the official website.

Without much effort, Chu Guang quickly found Old White's post on the forum's homepage.

The post title also went straight to the point, summarizing his current predicament in one sentence—

"I seem to have been captured by Looters??"

In the post.

Old White first simply described the mission he and his three teammates were doing in the ecological laboratory and the series of events that followed.

Including the tropical rainforest in the Ecological Park, the sudden emergence of the Dead Claw, the later intrusion of Looters, and how he, in covering his teammates' retreat, was unfortunately seriously injured and captured...

"These Looters aren't quite like the ones we've encountered before; their equipment is a mixed bag, but it doesn't look as shoddy as it seems, not just automatic weapons, they even have anti-armor weapons like rocket launchers! I saw one that looked a bit like the Army's Iron Fist, and there were a couple that looked like iron pipes, looked pretty powerful too."

"And then there's the Dead Claw, I'm going to say it—this creature is just too damn unbalanced! A big lizard that's taller than two people standing up is just outrageous, and runs freakin' fast too, one swipe of its claw and even a steel plate can't stop it!"

"We were just damned unlucky, caught right between that beast and the Looters! I fought like hell, even wrecking my exoskeleton, but managed to draw the Dead Claw's attention onto the Looters' faces."

"Then it was a melee. I found the Talent unlocked in the Second Stage really badass, with real combat effectiveness even stronger than the data on the panel. It's kind of hard to describe, you'll know when you level up to Level 10."

The post had only been up for a short time, and the replies had already broken a hundred.

However, since most players were online at this time, the posts were mainly from Backseat Drivers who hadn't secured an appointment yet.

Although these players had never entered the game, they had a certain understanding of the basic gameplay and settings from the forum discussions and the comprehensive data updates on the official website.

And many new players were selected from among them.

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Captured by Looters???"

Only Moganana Not OK: "Something's wrong with me, why did several gigabytes of plot suddenly pop into my head?"

Riding a Donkey to the Market: "F*ck, you bunch of dirty turtles!"

Old White: "F*ck off! I'm being serious, what the hell are you thinking about. (Angry)"

④Who understands art: "Speaking of which, that Dead Claw you're describing feels just like that Trash-king..."

Old White: "Damn, now that you mention it, I kinda see it too. What if Trash-king really trains up to Level 99, and becomes a Dead Claw?"

Elena: "Too bad Trash-king has gone mad in the tunnel, otherwise we might bump into him on the forum right now. (Slippery)"

Old White: "Eh? Old Monk, why aren't you online?"

Elena: "Ah, that's a long story, gotta run, I'll be on later."

Old White: "666"

Gnome King Riches: "I've got to ask, why are you making flying on a plane sound so mysterious, I would have thought you were rewarding yourself if I hadn't seen your Moments. (Slippery)"

Elena: "Get lost. (`Д´*)9"

At that moment.

Suddenly someone threw out a question.

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Speaking of which, would there be a chance for a server-wide broadcast if someone gets a first kill on such an Elite Monster?"

The post fell silent for a few seconds.

Then suddenly several silent watchers exploded.

"Holy sh*t!"

"Holy sh*t?"

"Ditched the night shift, logging in!"

-

(The next chapter will still be around eleven, adjusting my schedule is so hard QAQ)

Chapter 197: Operation Broken Sword!

Up to now, no one in the "Wasteland OL" closed beta server has achieved the first kill of the Claw of Death.

Although traces of the Dead Claw's activity have been spotted in the Elm District, it is, after all, winter, and the Death Claw, being a close relative to lizards, also needs to hibernate.

They basically lie dormant in their nests twenty-four hours a day, and so far, no players have found where the Dead Claws in the Elm District are hiding.

Chu Guang, who was lurking in the forum, suddenly had a thought and spoke up.

"Xiao Qi, can you send the drone over there?"

Xiao Qi paused for a moment, then spoke quietly.

"Um, it should be possible, but there are risks. The wind outside is too strong, and there is occasional snowfall. Though our communication radius now covers up to 16 kilometers away, the Hummingbird is a short-range rotary-wing drone, and Xiao Qi worries about whether it can fly back once it goes that far."

The endurance of drones varies in different climate environments. The Hummingbird is small and stealthy, but relatively weaker in other aspects.

Chu Guang pondered for a while before saying.

"Don't need to stay there too long, just take a couple of photos, right?"

Xiao Qi replied,

"That should be fine… Xiao Qi will give it a try."

Chu Guang nodded and said,

"Okay, just try, there's no need to force it."

After giving instructions to Xiao Qi, Chu Guang continued browsing the forum.

Compared to the players' discussions about the strength of the Claw of Death, backseat drivers were mainly focused on the group of Looters.

From the Looter's weapons to their clothing styles, there were even discussions about the Looter's habits and culture.

These discussions couldn't be said to be completely useless; they were, in fact, utterly useless.

Chu Guang, sitting in front of his computer, silently calculated.

The Outpost Base currently had five trucks, one of which was allocated to the Industrial Zone and another on the transport route from the Outpost Base to the Changjiu Farm. The other two were deployed at temporary resource points outside the Elm District and the Northern Abandoned Town, responsible for transporting the prey that players hunted and the trash they collected back to the Changjiu Farm.

In fact, there was only one idle truck, which was the one Dr. Yin Fang had rented for the Ox and Horse Squad, currently returning from the lab of Central State Space.

The snow in the North Suburb was already knee-deep.

At the distance of nearly 16 kilometers, without a reliable vehicle, players had to be prepared to spend an entire day trekking if they were to run there for support.

"It seems the Outpost Base is lacking not only weapons but also vehicles."

Long-distance troop deployment was a big issue; even though his little players had DIY'd a few mountain bikes and managed to create tricycles, the numbers were still too few.

"… After dealing with the anti-aircraft weapons, I'll have to get Factory 81 to think of a way to get a few more wood-burning trucks out."

There was one thing that Chu Guang just couldn't figure out now.

What were these Looters doing with fuel rods?

Did they also need to charge their refuges?

Or could this thing be used as kindling to burn?

Just then, Old White, who had only been online for a while, went offline to check the forum again.

He had turned that post into a live thread.

Now it was updating the experience of being captured by the Looters.

"I'm back! I just went online, and I sneaked a peek out the window and saw that there are more and more freaking Looters here! At first it was a few dozen people, but now there's actually hundreds!"

"They confiscated my VM earlier and searched me, haha, but they didn't expect that I could go offline in my sleep!"

"Speaking of which, does this count as exploiting a game bug? Brother Guang won't delete my post, right?"

Holy shit!

Chu Guang's eyes lit up instantly.

Good Lord, captives can be used like this?

Rather than deleting the post, Chu Guang wished he could exploit more bugs, preferably to get all the specific numbers, troop distribution, and post them all on the forum.

As he was hesitating whether to guide the situation with an alt, the dumbass netizens waiting for updates below the post actually asked all the questions Chu Guang wanted to ask.

Clear Sky Without the Moon: "Holy crap, your cell has windows?"

Nursing Home Big Shot: "666, you hurry up and say how many of them there are, what's their equipment like? Old Monk will bring the message when I get off the plane and go online!"

Old White: "Well, if we're just talking about size, I feel like there's not much difference between them and the Blood Hand Clan we ran into before, just your typical Looter. But overall, these Looters are way more organized than Blood Hand's folks, with much stronger gear, sort of between an Army and ordinary Looters!"

"In addition, I saw two trucks at their camp, and would you believe it, there was a light machine gun mounted on top of one! That machine gun is the spitting image of what we seized from the Army!"

"Moreover, they've raised a lot of Variants, especially mutated hyenas. Normally, that wouldn't be anything unusual—after all, the Blood Hand Clan also likes to keep dogs—but these guys are interesting. They're not just keeping dogs; they put clothes on them!"

"I can bet those clothes aren't for keeping warm; they're most likely meant to strap dynamite or something like that on! If you're planning to conquer this place, you'd better be cautious of those hyenas, and don't let them get too close!"

Just as Old White was talking up a storm in his post, a few familiar IDs suddenly popped up on the Forum.

Night Ten: "Fuck, Old White, you're still alive?!"

Old White: "Haha, the man's still breathing! Speaking of which, how did you end up climbing trees too? I vouched so hard for you guys, don't tell me it was all in vain."

Fang Chang: "We are back in the truck, heading to the base. You must have logged off, just lying there offline, came back to check. Good buddy, hold on, we'll be right back to bring reinforcements to save you!"

Old White: "Hold on there, don't do anything rash, okay? These Looters are tough customers. My exoskeleton is trashed, and the most valuable gear I've got on me now is that VM, losing the rest ain't a big deal, and if I die it's just three days of backseat driving in the Forum, don't make it out to be some tearful goodbye. Right now, I just want to figure out, before I kick the bucket, what exactly those Looters are up to in that Ecological Experiment Base."

Fang Chang: "Hm... about that, I do have some thoughts. Maybe they're not after stuff like fuel rods at all, but they have their sights set on the Eco Garden itself."

Hearing Fang Chang's analysis, Chu Guang immediately perked up.

That was exactly what he was most curious about.

Old White: "What do you mean by that?"

Fang Chang: "Simple, a warm climate, ample space, and existing concrete fortifications—it's naturally the perfect operations base. If I were their commander, and I confirmed that the Eco Garden in Building 3 was still operational, I would definitely choose to settle down there."

"Right now, the only trouble for them is that the Death Claw has nested there, but with the Death Claw wounded, they just need to track it down and clean it out."

Old White was taken aback.

"Shit, now that you mention it... it does sound plausible. I noticed their trucks were loaded with a lot of supplies, clearly not just for a hundred people! I counted the boxes and bags they unloaded, if they're all food and ammo, it'd probably be enough to feed a thousand!"

Supplies!

And enough for a thousand people!

Chu Guang was instantly excited.

Good grief.

He was just worrying about supplies, and now someone was handing him a pillow?

Within less than a minute, Chu Guang made up his mind.

He absolutely couldn't let this juicy piece of meat slip away right under his nose!

Fang Chang and Night Ten were still on the truck and didn't dare to stay on the Forum too long. After logging off and getting updated by Old White, they went back online.

...

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then decisively decided to take the initiative in the war. Through the VM, he issued an order to the remaining three of Ox-Horse Squad to get off the truck immediately, set up an observation point near the Central Continent Aerospace Experimental Base, and closely monitor the movements of that group of Looters.

Thinking of setting up an outpost in my backyard?

Dream on!

Chu Guang then sent a message to Luka, instructing him to gather all five trucks and wait for orders at the Northern Industrial Zone by the Outpost Base before nightfall.

At that moment, there was a knock on the office door.

Dr. Yin Fang pushed open the door and entered, a look of urgency upon his face.

"There's big trouble!"

"Our scientific expedition team at the front has encountered Looters!"

Chu Guang responded calmly.

"You're a bit slow; I learned about it ten minutes ago."

Seeing Chu Guang's calm face, Dr. Yin Fang paused for a moment and cautiously said.

"I have to warn you, if they take away the fuel rods there... all our work over the past week will have been for nothing, and we'll have to start the search for a new target all over again."

Chu Guang said.

"I know, but for now, the fuel rods don't seem to be in much danger."

Dr. Yin Fang asked.

"What do you mean..."

"Those Looters have set up camp there. Judging from the size of their team and how they've deployed supplies, they are probably planning on using it as an operations base... If my guess is right, they should be the 'Chewing Bone' Tribe that's risen to power recently."

If things go as expected, they are probably planning to establish a stronghold at the Central Continent Aerospace Experimental Base, to serve as a bridgehead for a full-on invasion of the Southern River Valley Province.

Just as Fang Chang had said, they never intended to take the fuel rods.

They were actually headed for the Ecological Experiment Base!

As he spoke, Chu Guang couldn't help feeling emotional.

He hadn't expected them to come so quickly...

Upon hearing Chu Guang's words, Dr. Yin Fang's complexion slightly changed as he anxiously said,

"Isn't that even more serious?"

"They have their intentions written all over their faces, do you think I will let them succeed? It's just over a hundred people, and it's not my first time exterminating bandits."

Looking at the slightly stunned Dr. Yin Fang, Chu Guang smiled faintly and continued to speak,

"The reconnaissance team has already been deployed near those Looters. Right before you walked into my office, I had already mobilized all the base's trucks and will soon mobilize an additional 200 reservists to form an enhanced company."

"Since they've set foot on my doorstep, they must have come prepared to leave their legs and shoes behind."

"When it gets dark, I'll teach them a profound lesson!"

...

Old White, trapped in the "cell" and unable to leave, looked around bored occasionally, occasionally moving to the window to glance outside when he heard a noise, and then returned to sit on the bed plank.

It had just passed noon in the Game, whereas it was the early hours of the morning in reality. Even if he returned, he was just going to sleep, and might not even be able to fall asleep.

It was better to stay here and be lost in thought.

Speaking of which, those Looters were quite interesting too.

When standing at the window observing, Old White noticed that these NPCs each had their own life trajectories, just like the ones in Grand Theft Wilderness.

For example, the Looter who stood guard at the entrance of the experimental base was a chain-smoker. Whenever his superior was away, he would furtively sniff a half-smoked cigarette before putting it back into his pocket.

The truck drivers leaning against the vehicles seemingly had higher status. No one bothered them as they smoked rolled cigarettes with the co-pilot, indulgently puffing away with contented faces.

There was also a Looter sitting on the stone steps, scratching something on the bullet casings with a Small Blade.

Speaking of which, does anyone actually believe that urban legend?

That carving a cross on a bullet head could increase damage.

At this moment, Old White suddenly noticed through a small hole in the tent, a massive creature approximately four meters long was being carried out from the main entrance below.

"Dead Claw!"

Surprise flickered across Old White's face.

"These people actually took down a Dead Claw?"

To say they took it down might not be accurate.

Upon closer inspection, although the Dead Claw was covered in ghastly wounds, it appeared to be barely alive, still breathing.

Behind building number 2 was a row of tents, which was very close to where the trucks were unloading supplies.

Several Looters worked together, carrying it on a stretcher into a spacious tent.

Just as Old White was wondering what they planned to do with it, he quickly saw an ugly-faced old man following them inside.

For some reason, Old White always felt that the old man wrapped in a thick coat had a different aura from the surrounding Looters.

How to put it?

He seemed mysteriously mysterious.

If you were to compare the surrounding Looters to Goblins, then this old man would at least be a Goblin Witch Doctor.

"Do they plan to heal the Dead Claw?"

A peculiar expression crossed Old White's face.

Surely not?

...

Xiao Qi's drone returned, bringing aerial photos of the Raider Camp. From several photos, it was clear that there was at least a company's worth of Looters stationed at the Central Continent Aerospace Experimental Base.

To put it plainly, that's at most 150 people, at a minimum 100.

They were scattered in several experimental buildings.

Some were patrolling with dogs.

As for supplies, from the aerial photos, it did seem like there were enough for a thousand people, and the unloading spot was near building number 2.

The Looters seemed intent on hiding supplies in the building, so they began clearing out the Mucor species Variants in Building 2.

Night Ten set up an observation post nearby and mounted a sniper rifle. Fang Chang of the Agile system had vision enhancement and served as the spotter. Wild Wind lay in ambush nearby, responsible for covering their rear, while occasionally going offline to check the forum.

Old White, treated as a captive, had become their spying eye within the Raider Camp, constantly monitoring the distribution of personnel within the camp.

However, since the entire Experimental Base itself was built on relatively high ground surrounded by ruins and jungles, Night Ten, serving as the sniper, didn't have a very good view.

But that was unimportant.

Their mission was not to snipe from a high point but to watch the patrols scattered outside the base, providing cover for players approaching the base.

In case they spotted a high-threat target, such as a Gunman or cannoneer, they were to take them out before they could pose a threat to our units.

Wasteland time, eight o'clock at night.

Five light trucks delivered 200 players to the battlefield in two batches, completing the assembly one kilometer away from the Central State Aerospace Ecological Experimental Base.

Chu Guang personally commanded this operation, arriving at the front with six guards for supervision.

In addition, Vanus, a former Army legion chief, was also permitted to go to the frontline.

It was his own request, claiming he wanted to witness firsthand how those who had defeated them on the battlefield fought.

Chu Guang agreed to his request, bringing him alongside and allowing him to observe.

Having an advisor was exactly what he needed; he didn't necessarily have to follow his advice, but Vanus's combat experience might come in handy at a critical moment.

The southwestern side of the Experimental Base was Qingquan City, which was also a focus area for the Looters' defenses.

A machine gun was mounted on the third floor of Building 1, with sandbags stuffed in the window as a barricade, its muzzle pointed directly at the base's gate where the guard post was placed.

Near the guard post, sandbags were piled up, and from behind them, one could shoot downward at the forest below the slope.

Moreover, about thirty Slaves, in shackles, were constructing simple concealments and defensive works inside the base, under the supervision of a ten-man squad.

It was apparent that these Looters were very cautious.

They even considered the possibility of air raids and artillery strikes and even knew to dig Dugouts in their lair.

Chu Guang guessed that those Dugouts and coverings were not for him but more likely in anticipation of Giant Stone City's aircraft or something else.

The eastern side of the Experimental Base, however, was their weak defensive area, with only two patrol teams and no heavy weaponry deployed.

Perhaps because the terrain was flat and cover sparse, they were confident in their ability to respond quickly to any attack from this direction, bringing in trucks with welded-on machine guns.

But they were not facing ordinary opponents.

Vanus glanced at Chu Guang, who was clad in power armor, and said with a strange expression,

"You're planning to go to the front line in person?"

Chu Guang gave him a look.

"Did I ever say that?"

Vanus eyed the heavy Breastplate, the hammer on his back, and the Gauss Rifle, then slowly shook his head.

"No."

To be honest, he had fought in hundreds of battles, big and small, but it was the first time he had seen a commander arm himself like a tin can.

Lu Yang didn't count.

In his eyes, that man could hardly be considered a commander.

Chu Guang paid him no heed, his index finger lightly tapping on his helmet, projecting an orange floating window onto the Tactical Goggles of the helmet.

The information was simultaneously updated on the players' VMs!

[Task: Operation Broken Sword]

[Description: The Chewing Bone Tribe's vanguard has arrived on the "North Suburb" of Qingquan City, not only capturing our compatriots but also planning to establish a Bridgehead for invading Qingquan City! Unfortunately, they've picked the wrong opponent, and we'll use bullets to show them the cost!]

[Note: Participation in the operation will earn 100 points, completion of the commander's orders can earn 10-50 points.]

[Reward: 1 silver 1 contribution per point of war score.]

——

[Task: Rescue the Captive (Side mission)]

[Description: We won't leave anyone behind!]

[Note: Rescue the captives of the refuge.]

[Reward: 50 silver 50 contribution]

Chapter 198: Comprehensive Upgrade of Battle System

Outside the Central State Aerospace Ecological Experimental Base, pine trees laden with accumulated snow stretched from the edge of the enclosing wall all the way to the abandoned town at the bottom of the gentle slope.

The tallest buildings here were no more than three stories high, and most were single-level residences with garages and swimming pools. Occasionally, one could glimpse a few homes with unique designs, likely belonging to research personnel from the nearby experimental base.

However, regardless of who these places once belonged to, they were now thoroughly abandoned.

Frozen vines had crawled from the front yard into the houses, while bushes had grown in the dusty garages. The roots of the vegetation had penetrated the concrete paths and the enclosing walls, and lush trees filled the forgotten corners, even growing out of some wooden house rooftops.

Occasionally, a creaking noise could be heard downstairs—either Eaters had knocked something over again or it was just mice...

The roof of a semi-collapsed duplex villa.

There, Night Ten, lying prone in the snow, took a deep breath and gently adjusted the knob on the sniper scope with his index finger.

The pine forest on the slope perfectly obscured the rooftops of the outermost buildings of the research base.

With his right eye pressed to the scope, he could only make out the vague figures near the checkpoint through the gaps between the branches and the snow.

The Looters were right in front of him.

Less than five hundred meters away.

The Looter patrol had searched the town once before, but not thoroughly, thus they had not discovered the two people hiding on the rooftop.

"Can you see anyone?" Fang Chang, lying next to the chimney with a monocular, squinted his left eye and asked.

"I can see them, but it's a bit challenging to take the shot."

"Ten o'clock direction, do you see that machine gun by the third-floor window?"

"I can see the sandbag and tripod... The head is blocked by the branches, but shooting through them shouldn't be too difficult."

"Okay, he's yours then. Remember, wait for him to fire first and aim an inch above the muzzle flash."

"Understood."

Night Ten took his eye off the sniper scope and glanced at the VM lying on the back slope of the roof.

When the brightness was set to the lowest, only a faint light was visible when facing it directly, so there was no need to worry about revealing their position.

Extremely useful.

After calculating the distance on the virtual map, he lightly tapped the screen with his index finger, switching to the task bar.

[Time before the battle starts: 31min 21s.]

[Mission: Reach the sniping point (completed), Reward: War points +10]

[Mission: Mark high-threat targets on VM map (in progress).]

[Mission: Provide cover for the squad attacking from the east after the battle starts (not started).]

[Violation Conditions: Firing before receiving orders and revealing your position will result in the deduction of all battlefield points and a 14-day ban.]

[Violation Conditions: Refusing to follow orders once will result in a deduction of 50 battlefield points, a second warning will result in 100 points deducted, the third time...]

Quite a few missions.

Night Ten mentally calculated that if he could complete all the side missions, he could earn a total of about 270 silver coins and 430 contribution points.

If he was lucky and dropped a few additional tubes or machine gunners, he might even reach 400 silver.

Isn't this a lot more exciting than "Plug-in V" and "Old Six Summoning"?

If only the sound effects for hitting the target could be enhanced.

For instance, the grip could shake a bit when hitting the target.

"...Hang in there, boss."

"Once we've saved up enough money, I'll get you God Equip!"

Not far away, a group of players dressed in light-colored hunting gear was advancing towards the direction of the experimental base, moving along the ruins at the edge of the town.

The mud smeared on the bayonets concealed the cold glint in the snow, but it couldn't hide the murderous aura radiating from the forest of gun banners.

The enemy's position was ahead!

Pairs of eyes hidden in the darkness twinkled with excitement, and their high-spirited will to fight even seemed to calm the howling north wind.

A great battle was on the verge of breaking out!

...

At the same time, over twenty kilometers away at Brown Farmhouse, a sentry carrying an iron pipe rifle was patrolling along the enclosing wall built from trash.

Different from the usual sparse activity, the farmhouse was rather lively today.

A farmhouse-style mansion.

About a dozen people were sitting in the spacious living room. Each person had a heavy expression on their face, as if dark clouds heavy with water.

Around a round wooden table sat an old-fashioned radio, its static interference and the host's slick tone discordantly contrasting with the atmosphere in the room, yet somehow fitting the occasion.

"This is the Voice of Giant Stone City, I am your beloved radio host Mr. Hauser, and now I bring you the latest situation in the North Suburb."

"According to unreliable sources, a Looter faction known as the Chewing Bone Tribe is expanding and gaining strength in places we can't see. This is definitely not an exaggeration, their power is strong, certainly much stronger than those cowards hiding in the ruins."

"These Looters have not only absorbed remnants of the Army but have also taken over some of their equipment. Right now, they are actively recruiting mercenaries in the central part of River Valley Province... It seems they are aiming to establish a nation of Looters."

"If they continue to move south, make no mistake, not a single country bumpkin in the North suburb of Qingquan City will survive, and the Militia Group will not waste a single bullet on those who haven't paid their taxes. If you happen to be in the North Suburb and don't want to stand by helplessly as your wives and daughters are taken away to the pastures, the Voice of Giant Stone City radio station highly recommends the Hotel Wind From Afar!"

"That's the generous Mr. Leighton, who has specially set up a super five-star hotel for the refugees, located on the edge of the outer wall of Giant Stone City. Although it's on the outside, legally, it still belongs to the territory of Giant Stone City. The Militia Group will not ignore anything that happens there... You only need one chip to stay there for a whole day."

In response to the voice on the radio,
those sitting around the round table only replied with silence.

One chip might only be an hour's salary for legal citizens living in Giant Stone City, or the price of a bottle of watered-down beer.

But for them, it would require a kilogram of food or even more valuable junk to exchange for.

As if fed up with the wordless silence, a muscular middle-aged man wearing a hunter's hat slowly began to speak.

"The Chewing Bone Tribe is growing in strength. We should join forces! The Morning Wind Community can send out twenty hunters."

Seeing someone take the lead, the fat man nearby relaxed, wiping the sweat from his round forehead with a handkerchief, and responded,

"We can contribute nine..." Seeing all eyes at the table turn to him, he quickly added, "I know it might seem too few, but that's all we have."

"Tsk tsk, listen to that—Red Train Station, bursting with fat, only has nine men," a burly man with a burn scar on his face sneered mockingly, "If all your men are dead, we can lend a hand."

A flicker of anger crossed the fat man's face, but, intimidated by the fact that this guy was no good, he merely narrowed his eyes dangerously and refrained from speaking.

Red Train Station, which normally accommodated traders coming from Red River Town to Qingquan City to do business, indeed had a couple more chips in his pocket compared to the paupers sitting there.

Despite that, in this hellish weather, those chips didn't give him much sense of security, not even enough for a single mission by the Militia Group's planes.

The station owner glared at the scarred man, his thoughts dark and vicious.

Just wait!

Once this winter passes, I'll invite mercenaries to pay a visit to your home!

The atmosphere in the living room was a bit stiff.

Mr. Brown was puffing clouds of smoke, looking rather irritated.

Although he knew these neighbors could hardly be counted on, he didn't expect that, at such a crucial moment, they would still be quibbling over who could spare an extra couple of people.

Hopeless!

At that moment, a lean-faced man who had been silent the whole time, sitting at the corner of the round table, suddenly spoke up.

"It's useless, we simply can't match those people. Their numbers are like locusts... they have swept from the central part to the south."

Seeing that everyone, including Brown, turned to look at him, the man paused for a moment and continued,

"I have a relative from Stone Monument Town, about thirty kilometers from here. A few days ago, he fled to my place and said that over a hundred Looters invaded their town. Those who resisted were either shot into sieves or hanged at their doorsteps. The rest were either captured for hard labor or tortured on the ground until they nearly suffocated."

"At that time, he hid in the ruins, watching the fire burning right before his nose, pretending to be a corpse, not daring to move an inch. He was lucky to survive."

The atmosphere in the living room grew even stiffer.

Perhaps in an attempt to lighten the mood, an older survivor gently exhaled and whispered,

"Hard labor... at least they weren't eaten. It seems these people still have some civility."

"I haven't finished yet... The elderly and children were all beheaded," the lean man softly swallowed, his expression numb as he continued, "They only want those able-bodied enough to work and those able to bear children."

The flames in the fireplace burned fiercely.

Bright firelight flickered in the living room, yet the air was chillingly cold.

"Enough!"

Mr. Brown slammed the table, and the ash trembled from the corner of his mouth, falling beside his boots.

He plucked the half-burned cigarette from his lips and crushed it in the ashtray, casting a somber glance at those present, before he slowly continued.

"This place is our homeland. We have lived here generation after generation. Run? Where can we run to? We have no escape, only one path of desperate battle—"

"It's only you who has no escape, given that you own such a large farm."

The scarred man who previously mocked the station's owner, pointed out his pretty words sharply, pressing aggressively,

Mr. Brown's face stiffened, his complexion turning the color of liver as he glared at the man and said,

"What do you mean I have no escape? I can easily take my chips and go to Giant Stone City. There, my life would be a hundred times more comfortable than it is now. Is that what you wish for me to do?"

"Go to Giant Stone City, like the town leader of Bet Street?" the scarred man squinted his eyes, scoffing, "I've heard he's not doing so well these past two months... Don't you have an alliance with him? When they were getting beaten up by Blue Jacket, why didn't you help them?"

Brown's face darkened.

At that moment, someone suddenly said,

"Why don't we seek help from those Blue Jackets? They even dealt with the Blood Hand Clan, and they previously had a fight with the Army. Maybe they can handle those Looters..."

Before Brown could speak, someone nearby replied with a mocking tone,

"Those Blue Jackets? They have no obligation to help us. When it comes to life and death, they will be the first to hide in their rat holes, lock the door, and remain untouched, hiding away for decades to come. Isn't that what they did two centuries ago? I've heard about it."

The station owner spoke nervously,

"Then please ask Giant Stone City to take action..."

The man with the hunter's hat shook his head,

"We have no money left."

"Then give them food!"

As pairs of eyes sharply turned towards him, Brown replied with anger to the unrealistic desires in the eyes of these pitiful wretches,

"Food? Where is there any food left? The warehouse only has seeds for next spring's planting left. We can't possibly eat grass for an entire year."

"So, what exactly are we supposed to do? This won't work, that won't work, are we just supposed to argue here?"

"I have no objections to fleeing. Anyway, life can hardly go on like this. I'm interested in finding a place down south where we can grow crops before the spring of next year."

"Let's vote by show of hands. Those in favor of escaping—"

At this moment, a series of thuds came from the door, interrupting the chaotic arguing in the living room.

Fighting down his rising anger, Mr. Brown took a deep breath and said,

"Come in."

The visitor was named Liu Zhengyue, the chief of his security.

Shaking off the snow at the door, Liu Zhengyue entered the warm house.

"Sir, our neighbor has sent you a letter..."

Mr. Brown looked at him and asked,

"What does the letter say?"

Liu Zhengyue glanced at the people in front of the table, then looked at Mr. Brown and said in a low voice,

"Sir, should I read it here?"

Mr. Brown's face showed a flash of impatience, but perhaps feeling that it wasn't appropriate for so many to hear, he still gestured for Liu to hand over the letter with a patient wave.

He took the letter.

Tore open the envelope.

Pulled out the letter paper, Mr. Brown scanned it briefly, and a trace of surprise crossed his face, soon replaced by suspicion and seriousness.

The middle-aged man wearing a hunter's hat asked,

"What does the letter say?"

"An invitation from the neighbor, nothing much. It has nothing to do with you..." Mr. Brown replied offhandedly, while carefully folding the letter and sliding it into his pocket.

Those sitting around the wooden table exchanged distrustful glances.

Of course, they didn't believe a word of the old fox's mumbo-jumbo, but this was his territory, and if he didn't intend to say more, there was no way they could force him.

"Alright, break it up. We've been discussing from dinner time till now. If you still want to argue, please find another place, not here... it's annoying just to look at you all."

The master of the house had given the order to disperse, and although the guests in the living room were dissatisfied with his attitude, they couldn't well linger and cause further trouble, so they got up and left with discontented expressions.

Outside the house, the snow was flying thickly.

But it was not colder than inside the house.

A line of people headed towards the exterior of the farm.

The gaunt man rubbed his shoulders with his hands and, casting a glance at the others, lowered his voice and said,

"I'll say it again, we're no match for the Chewing Bone Tribe... Escaping is our only option. The other survivors in the central part of River Valley Province did the same."

The older survivor asked,

"Where did they go?"

Everyone paused, exchanged glances, and someone who was informed spoke up,

"I've heard some refugees... it seems they went to Long Endurance Farm, a bit north of here?"

"A bit north? Long Endurance Farm?"

"Yeah, that farm is apparently the territory of those Blue Jackets. They helped a company against the Army, and the company built them a city in the wilderness... that's what I heard."

Looking up at the heavy snow in the sky, the man with the hunter's hat suddenly said,

"I plan to make a trip up north, to those Blue Jackets' park."

The station master looked at him in surprise.

"Now? It's already dark..."

While Variants venturing out for food were scarce in winter, taking a trip to the north now, when would one walk back?

Although they were survivors of the "North Suburb," they hadn't had much contact with the Blue Jackets; it wasn't like they could just meet and assume to be taken in for the night.

"It's not darkness that is scary, but the fear that the sun will never rise again."

Adam's apple bobbing, the man with the hunter's hat went on. "If we don't want to end up as refugees, this might be our last hope."

...

Inside the residence on the farmstead.

Having seen the guests out, Mr. Brown turned and headed to the cloakroom, fetching his most cherished coat and draping it over himself, carefully adjusting the collar.

But soon, as if reminded of something, he snapped back to his senses, stuffed the coat back, and took out a less new one to wear.

At this moment, his wife approached, lightly placing her hand on his shoulder, speaking with a gentle voice.

"It's so late, do you still need to go out?"

Mr. Brown replied perfunctorily,

"Our neighbor has invited me to watch a movie. I have to make the trip, at least let them know we've got nothing left for them to squeeze out of us."

The wife asked,

"Can't we just not go?"

His fingers paused at the collar of his coat, and Mr. Brown was silent for a while, unusually restraining his bad temper.

"I don't know."

"But I feel... that going might be better than not."

...

Central State Aerospace Ecology Experimental Base.

At the foot of the gentle slope, beside the road on the north side.

Two Looters wearing fur coats were throwing picked-up tree branches into the burning iron barrel to warm themselves by the flames.

Looking at the tiny sparks floating above the fire, the Looter with a Trench Stick hung at his waist couldn't help but swear.

"This damned weather... Being a sentry out here is a death sentence."

The Looter next to him heard this and unconsciously glanced up at the sentry post on the slope.

"Shh, you better hope the captain doesn't hear that."

"What difference does it make? He's only allowed to sleep with women in a warm bed, and I can't even grumble here?"

Remembering the woman he had met at the last survivor's gathering point, he unconsciously licked his chapped lips.

Those breasts were really huge.

He still remembered that look of hers that fell from pain into despair.

Too bad, it was all because the boss went too far, and in the end, she didn't make it. Her throat was hoarse from screaming before she stopped breathing.

"Why do I feel like it's getting colder..."

"I'll go pick up some more firewood."

Saying this, the Looter tightened the Ripper Rifle on his back and, stepping through the snow that reached his calves, walked into the nearby woods.

All around was darkness.

But that was no hindrance.

There were plenty of dry branches lying on the snow. He bent down and reached out his hand to grab one.

The cold touch in his palm made him pause for a moment.

Huh?

Why's it hard?

Two gun barrels extended from the darkness, aimed straight at his forehead.

And what he was holding in his hand was not any firewood, but a mud-smeared bayonet, gleaming coldly.

Facing the man lying in the snow, his face slowly turned as white as the snow.

The caught player was also dumbfounded.

He had been lying in the snow just fine; who could have expected that this idiot would ignore all the tree branches and grab his gun barrel instead?

'Damn, what now?'

Edge Shoveling communicated with his teammate next to him with his eyes.

Debt Giant Eye was just as dumbfounded.

'Maybe... you wait for him to fire the first shot?'

Just then, from beside the fire by the road, a shout came.

"Xiu, what are you dawdling for?"

"I, I..."

The controlled Looter's lips trembled, at a loss for words.

Hearing the shaking voice, the Looter behind immediately realized something was wrong, and instantly lifted his rifle, crouched, and pulled the bolt, shouting into the woods.

"Who's there!"

Watching through a drone, Chu Guang knew the people in the woods couldn't stay hidden anymore.

But it didn't matter.

The discovered group was the feint team. Although this was a few minutes ahead of schedule, it didn't affect the plan.

The time to test micro-operation had arrived!

Chu Guang stretched out his index finger and made a gestured in the air. The pre-compiled mission floating in the tactical goggles' display immediately launched.

[Battle countdown: 0s]

[Mission: Free fire! (Released to: Team A—All Squads)]

[Mission: Bombard the target area! (Released to: Support Group)]

"Hit them hard!"

-

(The next chapter will be released before 11 PM!)

Chapter 199: Feint, Blitz, Support, and Server First Kill!

[Mission: Bombard the Target Area!]

[Requirement: Launch 10 rockets at the target area on the map.]

[Reward: Each rocket that lands within the area will grant 5 war points; precise landing within the range awards 10 war points.]

"Fyel!"

In the darkness of the ruins, an excited shout rang out.

At Mosquito's command, the Rat-man standing next to the rocket launcher immediately lit the fuse with a match and then scrambled to the side.

Tail flames spurted!

Accompanied by a wailing whistle, rockets dragging tail flames rose from the launcher's rails and traced a beautiful parabola through the night sky, fiercely striking the Looter's position.

Illuminated by the rocket's tail flames, an excited expression was etched on Mosquito's face.

"Hahaha! Damn! This is just too awesome!"

Difficult for the strong had a face full of admiration.

"Awesome! Boss, did you make this Katyusha?"

He had heard of the power of Goblin Technology on the forum, and now he was finally seeing it.

This was just too hardcore!

"What Katyusha, this is Storm 1.0!"

Thorn Fist rocket failed to achieve the speed or penetration and power he wanted, so Mosquito simply abandoned the original design plan, increasing the caliber from the original 20mm pipe to 90mm, and the weight of the warhead from 20g directly up to 6 kg, going back to his old job.

To his surprise, the new design not only passed the review but also received funding from Outpost Base for development and secured a one-time purchase of 20 rockets!

Each rocket costing 120 silver coins, sold for 140 silver, yielding a profit of 20 silver coins per rocket—this single order earned him 400 silver coins!

Indeed.

Bigger is better!

6 kg of TNT was no joke, significantly stronger than the combat part he previously made from black powder!

And the most crucial point was that these rockets had been bought by Outpost Base, not using his own money.

Seeing Difficult for the strong still standing there waiting for the explosion, Mosquito immediately urged him.

"Quick, load the rockets! There's another round of bombardment when the Eastern front starts attacking!"

Difficult for the strong snapped back to reality and nodded excitedly.

"Alright, bro!"

...

"Fire!"

Southern part of the experimental base.

A quiet forest burst into gunfire, illuminating the area with flashes of light.

At the instant the attack order was received, Group A, responsible for the feint attack at the southern position, immediately launched their assault, firing bullets densely at the slope where the Looters were positioned.

The players forming the feint group were mostly equipped with bolt-action pipe rifles and Ripper rifles.

Before the battle started, each of them had received 40 bullets.

Their mission was singular—

That is, by all means, to pin down the main force of the Looters on the southern side of the experimental base, buying time for the sixteen teams ambushed on the eastern side!

The Looters' machine guns fired from a high position towards the forest, bullets whizzing wildly overhead.

The players scattered through the forest faced a tough battle.

And just then, a howling whistle suddenly came from above, as rockets flew over the forest and fiercely crashed into the high ground ahead!

Flashes of light and explosions filled the area.

Clearly disoriented by this saturation bombing, the firepower deployed by the Looters on the high ground momentarily weakened.

Seeing the explosions up close, the players crouching in the forest were startled.

"Holy shit, Mosquito is awesome!"

"666, damn... I thought the rockets were going to land on my head!"

"A few seem to have flown a bit too far..."

"It doesn't matter! Getting even one is enough!"

Inside the experimental base, explosions continued.

Dynamite strapped to Hyenas, ignited by the heated shrapnel, exploded instantly, killing the Looters holding the ropes and causing numerous fatalities around.

Face tattooed, the man looked out the window.

Watching the chaotic position, his face illuminated by the flames, showed a flicker of surprise and disbelief.

He had anticipated that the group they encountered in the morning might go back for reinforcements but hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly, launching an attack that very evening.

And such a fierce initial move!

The Looter following him spoke with a trembling voice.

"Could it be people from Giant Stone City?!"

Card pondered for a moment and shook his head.

"Unlikely... listen to their gunfire."

The person, having calmed down, caught on.

"Ripper rifles?"

Card nodded, a fierce gleam in his eyes.

"They must be survivors from the Northern suburbs of Qingquan City."

Without hesitation, he immediately ordered,

"Issue my command, everyone must hold their positions at all costs!"

"Reinforcements will arrive before dawn, and as long as we hold out tonight, victory will be ours!"

...Southern front.

Five mutant brown bears locked in cages were brought to the edge of the battlefield.

Hearing the gunfire around them, the mutant brown bears roared angrily, struggling desperately as the steel bars thick as thumbs creaked under the strain.

Looters unbolted the lock of the cage and pushed it vigorously down the slope, quickly retreating back to their cover.

The mutant brown bear broke free from the cage and, driven by Molotov cocktails and machine gun fire, charged toward the players' line.

As Debt Giant Eye saw the brown bear rushing toward them, he was instantly alarmed.

"Damn! These looters really have no honor!"

"Molotov cocktails on the road! Don't let it get through!"

Edge Shoveling shouted, hurling his Molotov cocktail forward.

The cocktail smashed on a pine tree, splattering the ignited oil all around.

Nearby players, thinking alike, hurled their own Molotov cocktails, quickly forming a barrier of fire on the slope.

The mutant brown bear, fearful of setting its fur alight, dared not continue down the slope and instead fled to the side. Along the way, two of its companions were killed by the whizzing bullets on the battlefield.

However, every situation has its pros and cons.

Although the flames stopped the mutant brown bear from reaching the players' positions, they also illuminated their locations.

Two exposed players quickly fell under intensive fire from Looters on the slope, their bodies riddled with bullets.

Casualties on both sides continued to rise.

The battle on the southern front reached a stalemate!

Inside the temporary command center, Vanus watched the VM screen and spoke thoughtfully.

"This plan is risky... If the southern front collapses, and your opponents chase down from the high ground, even if your men gain an advantage on the eastern front, they can easily be flanked from the south side of the high ground, getting caught in crossfire by the troops on the slope."

Vanus didn't finish his thought; he believed Chu Guang understood the consequences.

If it were him commanding, he would not take such a risk, but would instead divide the forces into four groups, attacking simultaneously from all directions.

This way, even if one front falls, as long as the other three succeeded, he could still win the battle.

Of course, that's assuming an absolute advantage in manpower or equipment.

Without a clear advantage, he wouldn't let his subordinates fight a battle they couldn't possibly win.

Unless his superiors demanded it.

"That scenario you assumed won't happen."

Hearing this confident voice, Vanus raised his eyebrows.

"Why?"

Chu Guang didn't hesitate.

"Unless they bring three times my troop strength, completely annihilating the forty infantrymen I've deployed on the eastern front on the slope."

"It doesn't need to be a complete wipeout, just over half casualties—"

"Let's make a wager."

Hearing this, Vanus hesitated slightly.

"On what?"

"10,000 Dinars," Chu Guang said with a light smile, "that my men will fight to the last moment, and even if only one survives, they will not retreat."

He trusted his players.

Having endured numerous battles, they were now experienced veterans, some of whom had even died once on the battlefield.

They possessed more than just fearless courage.

If this battle went smoothly, with every squad completing its mission, Chu Guang planned to introduce guild and mercenary systems in the next version, allowing some players with strong organizational skills to take command of squads, coordinating with familiar teammates in crucial parts of battles.

Out of a hundred players, there would always be ten or twenty who stood out.

Letting them fully leverage their strengths was more valuable than having them sit in trenches.

At that time, Chu Guang would consider focusing more on training junior officers and his personal bodyguard.

This personal bodyguard would primarily consist of indigenous people.

After all, it was a very boring job, and players were unlikely to be interested in it.

Chu Guang's confident tone left Vanus undecided, but such an opportunity to make money was not to be refused.

Fear of death is natural to all living beings, even the clone infantry of armies, driven by their instinct to survive.

Forty men only, facing firepower from an elevated position, if they could hold until reducing their numbers by thirty percent, that would be elite status.

He didn't believe a group of pampered residents of the refuge could have such resolve.

Shrugging his shoulders, Vanus said,

"Then let's bet."

Besides, even if he lost, it didn't really matter.

After all, he wouldn't be able to clear his ransom of two million anytime soon...

...

[Mission: All-out Assault!]

[Description: Comrades on the southern front have bought us precious time, with the Looters' firepower tied down there! The time is ripe for a heavy strike, signal the all-out assault when the whistle blows!]

Eastern front.

Still tranquil, until a piercing whistle echoed through the woods.

Seconds before silence, a boiling intent to kill and shouts of charge surged toward the high ground like an overwhelming force.

The Looters hiding behind cover etched fear across their faces.

For a moment, they couldn't count just how many were charging up from below!

"Kill!"

"Ula!"

"Brothers, charge!"

"Demacia!"

"Capture the point! Capture the point!"

Alongside them surging up the highlands, rained a torrent of bullets!

At a window on the third floor, a gunman was turning his gun to fire, but before he could squeeze off a few shots, a burst of blood mist erupted from his head, and he slumped over the sandbags.

A Looter quickly moved up, took over the machine gun, ready to fire, but as he leaned over, a bullet blew open his skull, scattering brain matter and blood everywhere.

On a double-deck villa roof five hundred meters away.

Night Ten pulled the bolt of his gun and calmly exhaled a hot breath, his face lit up with excitement.

"Two! Twenty points in the bag! By the way, does this game give extra points for headshots?"

"Stop fooling around... concentrate on aiming!"

Several hundred meters was well beyond the range of a bow and arrow, so Fang Chang simply took on the role of spotter and reported to Night Ten.

"Our people have already advanced forward... should we follow them?"

The fastest advancing team had already pounced onto the high ground.

Group B's progress was smoother than expected. Sixteen squads, nearly one hundred and sixty people, had torn a hole directly in the defensive line, and the defenders, the Looters, were completely dumbfounded.

No one manned the machine gun point anymore.

Probably because there was really no one left.

Holding a pair of binoculars, Fang Chang calmly observed.

"Wait for orders, our fighting position hasn't changed."

The orders hadn't been updated; it seemed they weren't the protagonists of this battle.

But that didn't matter.

As a support group, just like the A group that held the southern line, as long as they stayed in their positions, there were points to be scored.

...

"Charge! Meat Meat, hurry up! Everyone else has gone up, if we don't charge now, we'll fall behind!"

Riding on the back of a giant white bear, Tail pulled at the fluffy white fur, waving an iron tube rifle in his hand while howling.

Though the sound was not loud, the momentum was right.

"You, aren't you afraid of getting shot standing so tall?"

Just as he spoke, a bullet whizzed past the bear's ear, scaring her nearly to the point of turning around and running.

Tail pulled her back.

"Don't be scared! If Tail falls, there's still Si Si!"

Si Si, who was charging alongside, gave the white bear a thumbs-up.

"That's right, charge without worries, just think of it as guarding Little Fish's smile. We'll take turns riding you!"

"I, I, I really don't want to be ridden at all!"

The white bear, with steel plates hanging on its chest and head, looked like it was about to cry but still mustered the courage to rush forward.

However, soon after charging to the high ground, she was surprised to find that those Looters seemed to freeze upon seeing her, even forgetting to shoot for a moment.

Could it be...

Like they said.

Was she actually strong?

Just as the white bear knight charged, the eastern line of the Looters had completely collapsed.

Players who assaulted the high ground didn't even bother to engage those Looters; they swept through like a swift breeze.

Killing ordinary targets yielded only one point.

But according to the VM mission tips, reaching the designated point and seizing a favorable position on the map could score ten war points for the entire team!

A squad of ten.

Even if only one person managed to sneak there, it counted as mission completion.

If they held the position for more than three minutes or until the next command was updated, they could earn another ten war points.

That's twenty points!

Isn't snagging five points per battle a great deal?

A bloody good deal!

Unlike Group A, which primarily used bolt-action rifles, each of the sixteen squads in Group B was mostly made up of players equipped with automatic rifles, each team armed with at least three "Sickle" assault rifles!

These assault players, before attacking, received sixty rounds of ammunition and two grenades.

In addition, each squad was also equipped with a support soldier carrying an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher.

This rocket launcher, produced by the army, loaded with TNT, was very effective against both vehicles and infantry.

Especially useful against targets hiding in buildings or behind cover; just fire a rocket and blast everything, cover and all.

...

The eastern line suddenly encountered fierce firepower, and the Looters on the high ground finally reacted.

The group they had staunchly pinned down in the forest was not deterred by their firepower but was merely a decoy...

The A group players, prepared to sacrifice, did not retreat a step, regardless of casualties.

Stationed on the high ground, the Looters launched two assaults downhill, both of which were repelled.

The troops inside the research facility began to mobilize, and the Looters' squads on the south line, led by their Centurions, quickly moved to support the east.

However, at that moment, the second volley of rockets descended on their heads.

The rocket's wing-mounted beepers emitted a shrill whine, swooping down from the sky like the long cry of the grim reaper's hounds.

The open space in front of the research facility exploded in a series of flames, not many were killed on the spot, but countless were scared witless.

"Ah! Ah!"

"My arm! My arm!"

"Help me..."

The chaotic battlefield was filled with continuous wails.

Old White, standing by the window, watched the rumbling flames outside, his face full of astonishment.

"F*ck... this commotion is massive."

Were all these rockets Mosquito's work?

That's way too awesome!

Hearing footsteps from the corridor outside, Old White's mind stirred slightly, stretching his handcuffed hands to grab the bedsheet and quickly pressed against the wall beside the door.

The door was violently shoved open, and two Looters wielding rifles charged in.

Before the two could detect his presence, Old White promptly threw the bedsheet over them and fiercely flexed his muscles, handcuffing one and ramming the other against the wall with his shoulder.

With a strength of 17 points and explosive power from a "Boundary Breakthrough," the two had no chance to react.

Old White twisted the neck of the man in his arms, and with a swift elbow strike, he finished off the stunned Looter against the wall.

"Fuck, the wound on my stomach tore open again."

With a constitution of 7 points, that shouldn't be low, right?

Why hasn't it healed yet?

Ignoring the bodies on the floor, Old White picked up a pistol from the ground, shot the locks off his handcuffs and shackles, tossed the pistol aside, picked up the "Ripper" rifle from the ground, and walked out the door.

Downstairs, the chaotic footsteps indicated that no one cared about his presence.

Casually walking down the stairs, Old White was about to sneak out the back door when, just as he descended the stairs, he ran into an acquaintance in the hallway.

Card and his subordinates, seeing Old White, flashed a moment of surprise on their faces. Two Looters immediately raised their automatic rifles, intending to fire. However, as an Awakener, Old White reacted a step faster, grabbing the nearest rifle with his left hand while wielding the Ripper rifle in his right, and thrust directly at the man behind Card.

Puff—

The bayonet plunged into the chest, skewering the man completely.

With a twist of his hand, blood spurted out as the life faded from the man's eyes, like a balloon with a hole, collapsing into a pool of blood.

Having dealt with that Looter, Old White turned his gaze to the tattooed man.

"You spared my life, so I'll spare yours."

"Surrender."

With the rifle tight in his grasp as if in a vice, Card, who couldn't understand what Old White was saying, flashed a vicious look, drew a dagger with his left hand, and stabbed at Old White's throat.

However, he quickly realized the grave mistake he had made.

What he thought was a swift strike appeared as slow as an ant crawling in the eyes of his opponent.

Without saying a word, Old White kicked him in the chest, sending him flying back, crashing hard onto the ground.

The air was squeezed out of Card's chest, not knowing how many ribs were broken.

Card felt as if a truck had hit his chest, coughing as if drowning, only, instead of water, it was blood he coughed up.

"I already told you I'd spare your life; why the struggle?"

Old White dropped the Ripper rifle he was holding, picked up the automatic rifle that the Looter leader had dropped, and walked over to pick him up from the ground.

At that moment, a flurry of footsteps suddenly chased in from outside.

Leading the charge into Building No. 3's main hall was the [Battlefield Atmosphere Group], just about to rush down the hallway when they joyfully spotted Old White standing there.

"Holy shit? Old White?"

The hostage ran out by himself?

And he even captured one!

Holding the Looter leader, Old White also saw them and immediately wore a look of surprise.

"Holy shit, how fast did you guys move?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group chuckled.

"Had to! Saw you suffering all day on the forum; we had to come rescue you!"

50 silver.

How could they not be quick?

Unaware of the mission, Old White swore playfully and paused before adding,

"Those Looters seemed to have run towards the eco garden below Building No. 3, there's an elevator and a fire escape on the first floor that lead there. By the way, how's the situation outside?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group grinned.

"It's pretty much over! Our guys came straight through from the eastern front, surrounded the Looter forces deployed there at Building No. 5, and are probably mopping them up now. About ten squads have been sent to support the south line; the battle is just wrapping up... listen, the charge whistle, our brothers from the feint group have also charged."

The piercing whistle echoed across the field, becoming the last straw breaking the Looters' psychological defense.

The frontline began to crumble.

The last stubborn resistance gradually turned into a desperate struggle.

The disorganized Looters were either flipped over in close combat by battle axes and bayonets or shot from behind cover or the half-dug dugouts.

The [Spring Water Commander], leading a squad, fully occupied Building No. 3, cut the power to the elevators and forcibly opened the two gates of the fire escape.

Cold air from the first floor poured into the passageway.

Players lit a fire at the entrance.

Deputy captain Liuding, clad in a Type Five Exoskeleton, advanced to the frontline and shouted to the Looters surrounded in the eco garden.

"Your leader has been captured, surrender is your only way out!"

"Drop your weapons, raise your hands, come out on your own!"

"In ten minutes, not one will be left!"

On the other side of the battlefield.

Using Brother Battlefield's map to find his way back to his VM, Old White, holding his rifle, stormed into the tent directly opposite Building No. 3.

Inside the tent lay the Death Claw, barely alive, with a metal box embedded in its tail, its purpose unknown.

An old man stood beside the Death Claw.

Upon seeing him, the old man did not hesitate, immediately stopped his work, and straightforwardly raised his hands.

"I surrender."

Having been through so many battles, Old White could understand the words "I" and "surrender," but what about that beast?

As Old White debated whether to claim the first kill, his VM suddenly vibrated and a pale blue pop-up appeared.

[Congratulations to player "White Horse Passing a Gap" for achieving the first kill on Death Claw.]

[Reward: 10 silver coins, 50 contribution.]

[Choose whether to make a Worldwide Announcement: Yes/No]

Seeing these words, Old White, just about to make his move, suddenly paused.

Holy shit?

Is that even possible?

Chapter 200: It's Advised That You Move House

[Worldwide Announcement: Congratulations to the player "White Horse Passing a Gap" for achieving the first kill on the Claw of Death!]

[Since the player chose to make it public, the achievement will enter the Hall of Fame.]

Central Continent Aerospace Experimental Base.

Players who were cleaning up the battlefield received these two messages simultaneously on their VMs.

They were almost simultaneously baffled.

"Damn?"

"Old White???"

"What the hell, wasn't this guy captured?"

"How about this hostage? Not only did he escape on his own, but he also snagged a first kill?"

"Negative review! Strongly request the planners to change the extras next time!"

"Waaa, my first kill."

500 meters away from the Experimental Base.

On the roof of a double-stacked wild house.

Looking at the VM on his arm, Night Ten's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Damn, Old White's got some moves!"

To think he came out on his own and even killed a Dead Claw!

That monster over four meters tall, with claws almost as long as a leg, Night Ten couldn't figure out how Old White managed to take it down.

"I guess it was probably the one we ran into this morning. I remember before we left, that Dead Claw seemed to have been nearly destroyed by a rocket launcher from the Looters," Fang Chang tried to analyze.

"That's crazy!" Night Ten said regretfully, "Man, they always say the Strength Type is an early sequence, but isn't this 'early' stage freaking long?"

The distance for combat keeps increasing, and the Perception Type is almost irrelevant!

If Neural Connection Equipment doesn't become more popular, the Intelligence System is going to die out!

The presence of Constitution and Agility Types has never been strong, always second place.

Only the Strength Type from 0.1 to 0.9, leveling up fast and fighting fiercely, even better at bricklaying, carrying double loads than others.

Isn't there any justice in this?

If it weren't for Old White being one of our own, Night Ten would probably join those on the forum whining for a nerf.

"Uh, maybe everything before Level 10 is considered early phase?" Fang Chang said, his expression somewhat subtle.

It was indeed a bit awkward to talk about.

With every version update, he predicted the rise of the Intelligence storyline, but from 0.5 to 0.9, it seems like the entire sequence was forgotten by the game developers.

Where are the promised cybernetic implants?

Where's the Neural Connection Equipment?

Strength Type is going wild!

Looks like muscle is the main theme of this game!

"Hey, let's ask Old White to send a red packet when we log off!"

Fang Chang nodded.

"Definitely, got to make him send a big one!"

Night Ten said, unable to contain his eagerness.

"Speaking of which, how long do we have to wait here? Can I take down that mutated hyena crouching in the corner? I've been watching it bare its teeth for a while now."

Fang Chang glanced at his VM.

"I haven't received any new tasks for now, but judging from the green dots on the map, our team has fully controlled the battlefield... let's wait a bit more."

Let them finish cleaning the battlefield since the loot from group battles goes to the collective.

It wouldn't be bad to slack off here for a bit.

However, just as Fang Chang was thinking this, both his and Night Ten's VMs received a new mission.

To be precise, not just the two of them, but also Wild Wind, who was responsible for watching their backs.

[Mission: Proceed to the target area and establish a reconnaissance point]

[Reward: 50 War Points]

"What's going on, isn't the battle over yet?" Night Ten looked perplexed, instinctively turning to Fang Chang.

He always did this when he couldn't figure out the situation.

However, this time, even Fang Chang was a bit confused.

"Don't look at me, I'm not Ah Guang. Reasoning this out, the battle should be over... but it's uncertain whether there will be another one."

Who knows?

Ah Guang might be working overtime recently, too busy to monitor them, and it's not impossible for other planners to target them when they develop too fast.

Isn't there a planner named 'Xiao Qi'?

However, Fang Chang still preferred to believe what Ah Guang said—the plot and tasks in the game are dynamically generated by the server AI, just like the settings in the old MMORPG novels, and planners generally don't interfere with the game's progress.

As for not interfering at all, that's unlikely. Just like the so-called "100 percent reality," such nonsense is only mentioned in advertisements. Who would actually believe it?

Fang Chang switched to the map, his index finger sliding across the VM's screen, quickly finding the mission marker.

It appeared to be an amusement park, located about 10 kilometers north of the Central State Aerospace Ecology Experimental Base. Not to mention whether it's far or not; that location was almost deviating towards the southern suburbs of Tianshui City!

It was an unexplored area; no one had ever gone so far from the respawn point.

"Can I save the game first? I did kill two, after all." Clearly Night Ten had also noticed the position of the mission beacon on the map, his face wore an expression of wanting to cry but no tears coming out.

"Eighty percent chance you can't save now, we're at least sixteen kilometers from the respawn point, a thirty-plus kilometers round trip..."

Fang Chang's Adam's apple moved as he swallowed and continued.

"Anyway, let's meet up with Old White first."

...

At the same time, sixteen kilometers from the front line at Outpost Base.

Wearing a coat and accompanied by Liu Jiuyue and three bodyguards, Brown braved the wind and snow, hurriedly arriving here from the farm.

"I'm Brown, the farmowner from Brown's Farm, here to discuss countermeasures for the Chewing Bone Tribe's invasion of the north suburb of Qingquan City, and here is my invitation… What are you doing here?"

When he saw the people gathered at the southern gate of the Outpost Base, Brown was taken aback.

The ones standing there were none other than those he had driven out of his living room earlier!

"What a coincidence."

Looking at Brown, the man with a scarred face crossed his arms over his chest, whistled at him, and continued in a teasing tone,

"Didn't expect our dear landlord, although he verbally distrusts the 'Blue Jacket,' his body surprisingly tells the truth."

"Is that all you can spit out of your mouth?"

Irritation flickered across Brown's face.

Liu Jiuyue stepped forward slightly, her expression grave as she stared at the scarred man, her hand already resting on her hip.

Ignoring her movements, the scarred man leisurely watched her, his eyes slightly narrowing.

The atmosphere at the scene gradually grew tense.

The two guards standing at the gate had already focused their attention on the few people in the standoff, ready to intervene if needed.

Just then, Brown suddenly caught sight of an old man walking out of the south gate from the corner of his eye.

That old man looked vaguely familiar, but Brown couldn't for the life of him remember where he had seen that face.

Strange.

He couldn't recall at all!

While Brown was distracted, a middle-aged man wearing a hunter's hat stepped forward and nodded slightly to the old man standing at the gate.

"I am Du Conglin from the Morning Wind Community. Please allow me to meet your Manager. I have important matters to discuss!"

The man with the scarred face also stepped forward.

"Night Owl, from Highway Town. I'd like to meet your Manager too, about the Chewing Bone Tribe matter."

Worried about being left out, the man with a head as round as his belly hurriedly stepped forward and added,

"Red Train Station, Doru... Considering we are all survivors from the north suburb of Qingquan City, please help us."

The others also spoke similar words, looking at Old Luka with hopeful eyes.

Standing at the margins, Brown, along with Liu Jiuyue and the rest of the bodyguards behind him, wore utterly baffled expressions.

Who exactly was the invited guest?

Old Luka didn't show partiality to any party.

Though there were about ten more people than originally planned, he still followed the Manager's instructions, receiving them with the demeanor and attitude of a master butler.

"The Manager stepped out and will be back later. If you're willing to wait for a while, please, follow me inside."

As he said this, Old Luka's gaze passed over the crowd and glanced at the landowner Brown at the back.

His expression remained unchanged, all business as he spoke.

"You are Mr. Brown, right? Please, come inside as well."

"Okay."

Mr. Brown quickly nodded his head, walking towards Outpost Base with the other survivors.

On the way to the meeting room.

Mr. Brown pondered relentlessly, trying to recall where he had seen that face before. Finally, he couldn't help but signal Liu Jiuyue with his eyes, inviting him to come closer, and whispered in his ear.

"Is that the Manager's butler? Or somebody else… why does he look somewhat familiar?"

Liu Jiuyue inwardly sighed; he knew why Mr. Brown found the face familiar, but fearing blame, he pretended to be confused and brushed it off.

"I don't know, sir, the last time I was here delivering a message for you was the first time I saw him… Maybe you recognized the wrong person?"

Although skeptical of this response, Mr. Brown truly couldn't remember where he had seen the person before; thus, he did not pursue his query and casually remarked.

"Perhaps that's it."

...

The group arrived at the meeting room.

The environment here was plain; the priciest items were probably the bear skin on the floor and the radio placed beside the wooden table.

Mr. Brown recognized that radio.

He had once visited the old town mayor's house on Bet Street, where even the mutual defense pact was signed in the mayor's study.

Mr. Brown still remembered the episode from "Voice of Giant Stone City" playing on the radio—it was about the planting techniques of Cam Trees.

It was because of this that Mr. Brown felt a bit uneasy.

Although he had promptly delivered a batch of food here at that time, nobody could guarantee that the lord here wouldn't suddenly remember this and use it as an excuse to extort him.

Being able to buy peace with money was a good thing.

But the problem was, he really couldn't squeeze out any more.

Waiting for everyone to be seated.

Looking at the survivors inside the meeting room, Old Luka began to speak.

"We didn't expect so many guests; the facilities here are a bit basic, please bear with us."

Du Conglin from the Morning Wind Community shook his head, politely saying,

"No troubles at all; it's we who are intruding unexpectedly."

Although the meeting room was simple, nobody doubted the capabilities of these 'Blue Jackets.'

Night Owl had been observing the people here all along the way, and to his surprise, he noticed several survivors showing signs of "Awakening."

When had "Awakening" become so common?

Night Owl remembered clearly how cruel the price and perilous the trial of life and death he endured to luckily obtain that hard-won power.

"...Originally, we planned to invite everyone in turn to discuss the situation in the northern part of Qingquan City, but since you're all here, let's discuss it together."

Luka paused and then continued.

"As you may have noticed, the chaos brought by the Army is spreading from the central part of River Valley Province southward. Countless survivors are being displaced by the warfare, and a massive Looter Tribe is rising amidst the chaos. They burn villages, destroy settlements, and plunder and enslave everything in sight."

A thin man shivered and said tentatively,

"Chewing Bone…"

Luka glanced at him and nodded.

"Yes, that's what they're called."

"Originally, our expectation was that they would march to the north suburb of Qingquan City in spring. However, unexpectedly, they arrived earlier than planned."

Saying this, Old Luka nodded towards an assistant at his side.

The young man immediately understood, distributing the prepared VM devices to the survivors present.

As the attendees puzzled over the VMs in their hands, wondering what the Blue Jackets were planning, a video appeared on the screen.

It was a drone's aerial perspective.

The ecological experiment base, now decorated by campfires, had been occupied by a group of Looters.

They were well-equipped, some carrying bolt-action rifles, some holding automatic rifles; there were machine guns welded on the tops of trucks, and some even wore bulletproof vests over their fur coats, with many carrying rocket launchers... All Army equipment!

After witnessing this footage, including Mr. Brown, all the faces of the present survivors turned unpleasant.

"Are they… from the Chewing Bone Tribe?"

"Where is this?"

"It looks like Central State Aerospace Ecology Experimental Base… I've heard of this place, to the northeast of Qingquan City!"

"What?! The Chewing Bone Tribe has already reached Qingquan City?!"

A wave of panic ensued.

The Chewing Bone Tribe had actually reached right under our noses?

The broadcast said there was still some distance!

"Here is about 15 to 16 kilometers from us, not very close but definitely not far," Luka responded to some of their questions, signaling them to calm down and continue watching.

In the video,
firelight suddenly flickered beside the highway beneath the high ground.

Without any sign, the once silent forest was instantly lit up by dense gunfire!

Combat erupted in an instant!

Then, roaring rockets flew across the battlefield and slammed hard on the south side of the Ecological Experiment Base, blooming explosions of firelight on the Looter's position.

Meanwhile, the Looter's machine guns also started to fire down the hill, the bullets almost heating the air they passed through.

The intense atmosphere even penetrated the screen.

Brown unconsciously held his breath, his face as stiff as stone.

At that moment, he glimpsed from the corner of his eye, a fatty named Doru sitting not far from him, sweating beads as big as soybeans on his forehead.

It was clear he was frightened by the scene!

But nearby, Du Conglin and Night Owl were not intimidated by the brutality of the battlefield.

However, as the battle reached its climax, their faces involuntarily showed astonishment, shock, and disbelief.

Not just because of the strength of these Blue Jackets.

What baffled them more was the proficiency displayed by those Looters guarding the high ground in this defensive battle.

Are these people really just Looters???

In Du Conglin's memory, Looters were just bandits who picked on the weak, and their way of fighting was similar to gang fights... although he himself was also from the same ilk.

Yet, these Looters had clearly shown a certain level of combat training.

Thinking of his own side, who less than an hour ago were blushing and vying over a difference of two people, Du Conglin suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

If he tossed them over there to fight a real battle with these Looters, he could be sure, less than one-third would return alive.

In the video, as the survivors from the eastern front charged up the high ground and broke into the experiment base, the battle was nearly at its end.

Only sporadic gunfire flickered on the battlefield.

The Looters who retreated into the building were either shot dead behind cover or killed by grenades thrown into the rooms.

Even more tragically, some were set on fire by Molotov cocktails, turning into human fireballs and were burned alive in excruciating pain.

The battle was undoubtedly a victory for the Blue Jackets.

A group of Looters holding their heads were being monitored by the rifles, lining up to walk out from an experimental building.

The video ended there.

The reception room went deadly silent.

Looking at the survivors seated there, Old Luka spoke gravely,

"Gentlemen, we are facing a group of organized Looters, their threat level far exceeds our expectations."

"The territory of Qingquan City's North Suburb is vast; it's unrealistic and impossible for us to maintain a defense line spanning tens of kilometers."

"A harsh reality is, if we brought our defense line down to our doorsteps and turned a blind eye to your plight, those of you scattered across the North Suburb would likely only have one fate -- being defeated one by one by the dominant Chewing Bone Tribe, becoming their slaves— or even their food."

Watching the survivors' faces turn pale, Old Luka paused for a moment then threw out a proposal from the respected Manager.

"Our honorable Manager has considered this hence we have a proposal here, which we hope you will seriously consider."

"If you neither want to become food for the Looters nor want to flee far away, consider moving to our place."

The moment these words fell, a buzz spread through the reception room, the expressions on the faces around varied and were quite a spectacle.

Especially Brown.

He almost wrote the word "dreaming" across his face.

Move to your place?!

Insane!

Brown's heart filled with anger and humiliation. These treacherous, shameless wretches! How dare they... well, he didn't even know how to criticize them properly, but hadn't they accepted his tribute and should at least do something?

Holding a slim hope, he had rushed here through heavy snow.

Only to hear such an absurd proposal!

Ignoring these vivid expressions, Old Luka continued in a calm tone.

"We understand, moving is not an easy task."

"But compared to the two choices and the possible consequences, I think you should seriously consider, our genuinely sincere proposition."

Chapter 201: It's A Miracle, My Lord

Central Continent Aerospace Experimental Base.

With the surrender of the Looters in the underground ecology park of Building No. 3, the last bit of sporadic resistance was extinguished.

When the captured Looter leader "Card" heard that they had been defeated by a group of Blue Jackets, incredulity was written all over his face.

But whether he accepted it or not, the outcome of the war had already been decided.

From the start to the end of the battle, it lasted a total of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 7 seconds.

More than two hundred players participated in the battle, 28 died, and 21 were injured, with 4 fatally injured who chose to use Resurrection Coins, and the rest suffering non-disabling minor injuries.

Even five Body Constitution System players, within less than half an hour after the battle ended, had their wounds basically scabbed over, shifting from seriously injured to lightly injured, then, to grazes.

At the same time, more than half of the battle damage in this battle was sustained by Group A, consisting of forty players acting as the feinting group.

As the unit directly confronting the Looters, they miraculously tied down more than 80% of the Looter's combat power despite being absolutely disadvantaged in terms of force, terrain, and firepower, and successfully repelled the Looters' two charges. This created a decisive opportunity for the main force on the eastern front.

To commend their bravery, Chu Guang awarded all forty players a Medal of Honor.

Although the closed beta version of the medal was no tangible object, merely a small icon displayed on the VM character pages and the players' forum profiles, it was undoubtedly a delightful surprise for players keen on unlocking and collecting game achievements!

On the side of the Looters, a total of 152 participated in the battle, 94 died, and the remaining 57 were all captured, with half of them seriously injured.

A great victory in this battle!

"…If not for seeing it with my own eyes, I would never believe this battle report."

After returning the VM to Chu Guang, Vanus, who watched the entire battle from start to finish through the drone's perspective, still had an incredulous look on his face.

There was no significant gap in equipment between the two sides.

While the Shelter No. 404 side fired two rounds of support rockets, the morale impact was obviously greater than the actual killing effect.

On the other hand, the Looters on the high ground had clearly obtained more Army-equipped gear.

Through the aerial footage from the drone, Vanus saw at least five light machine guns.

This didn't even count those on the four trucks!

In terms of the terrain, the Looters held the high ground, using existing houses and the Enclosing Wall as cover.

And the Residents of the refuge below the hillside only had pine tree roots and the surrounding snow to rely on… These couldn't really be called reliable cover, barely better than nothing.

Vanus found it difficult to imagine how these Residents of the refuge managed to take the entire high ground while only losing just over thirty people.

Compared to Vanus's disbelief, Chu Guang's expression was as expected.

Although in terms of casualties, the figures reported were considerably lower than his own estimates, it basically aligned with his expectations.

Chu Guang took back the VM from Vanus and didn't mention the terms of their wager immediately. Instead, he looked at him and asked.

"What do you think of those Looters?"

Vanus pondered for a moment before giving his assessment.

"They do not appear to be your average Looters."

However, Chu Guang was not satisfied with his answer.

"That's obvious, I, of course, know they're not your average Looters. What I want to know is if you saw any familiar elements in them."

Vanus was slightly taken aback and thought for a moment before saying.

"…Now that you mention it, there is a resemblance. Although they had certain tactical flaws, it's clear they had received professional training."

And the one who trained them might very well be one of his former colleagues!

Just then, footsteps approached the temporary command post's door, and a guard stood at the entrance, saluting rigidly.

"Report! The interrogation results are in. We've extracted from those captives that they were just the vanguard; the main force is still behind. Their leader instructed them to hold out until dawn, saying reinforcements would arrive before tomorrow morning."

So they think they can make it until tomorrow morning.

A strange expression crossed Chu Guang's face.

One had to be incredibly confident to believe that this rabble could hold out against his players until tomorrow morning.

"How many are in their main force?"

The guard shook his head.

"We can only confirm it's a thousand-strong team, the exact number is unclear."

Chu Guang looked at Vanus.

"What's the general size of an Army's thousand-strong team?"

Vanus thought for a moment and said.

"About 2,000 people on average, the least would be 1,000, but it could go up to 5,000, depending on the configuration of the Ten Thousand Troops to which they belong. For instance, the thousand-strong team I previously led consisted of 2,000 people, primarily light infantry, equipped with two howitzers. If they are confident the reinforcements can arrive before dawn, they must have wheeled vehicles or other fast-moving carriers."

Chu Guang tried asking.

"Any tanks?"

"I have no idea," Vanus said with a wry smile, "I sincerely suggest that you'd better send out a reconnaissance team to search northward along their supply route."

"I have already sent people."

Chu Guang glanced at the map, where he saw Fang Chang and his two companions had left their original observation point and moved to the Experimental Base.

He had prepared some equipment for them there.

Most likely, it would come in handy.

...

At the same time, in the Central State Aerospace Ecology Experimental Base.

On a messy battlefield, Fang Chang and his group finally received the equipment Manager had allocated to them—two bicycles.

"What the hell? Just two bicycles?"

Staring at the roughly made, material-saving bicycle in his hands, Night Ten was completely dumbfounded and didn't know where to begin his rant.

There were three people; they could at least have given three bikes!

Minutes before, Old White, who had rendezvoused with them, patted Night Ten's shoulder with a smile.

"Trucks have been diverted for transporting supplies; you're lucky to even get two bicycles. Be content, many people arrive here by vehicle and end up having to trek back on foot!"

Unlike the picky Night Ten, Wild Wind didn't have any complaints about the mode of transport in his hands.

After all, he used to ride this thing to class every day.

"Old White, are you coming along?"

"Why the hell would I join you when I'm injured like this?" Old White lifted his clothes to show a bandage on his stomach, stained with two patches of blood.

Even dried, the sight was still startling!

Seeing the wound, Night Ten exclaimed.

"Holy shit, are you okay?!"

Old White replied with a smile.

"What could possibly happen to me in the game? I'll just lie down in the Cultivation Chamber for a while, and I might be completely healed by tomorrow."

At that moment, Fang Chang suddenly remembered something and turned to ask.

"Speaking of which, Old White, I've been meaning to ask, how did you manage that first kill?"

Hearing this, Old White's expression turned somewhat awkward as his gaze shifted away.

"Uh, if I said I just found it, would you believe me?"

Fang Chang gave him an unimpressed look and tossed the question back.

"What do you think?"

...

Inside the Experimental Base.

Five trucks climbed onto the high ground, and together with four trucks captured from the Looters, nine trucks lined up neatly in the open space.

Under the commands of the deputy captain of the guard, players, huffing and puffing with heavy loads, were loading their spoils of war onto the trucks.

Clearing the battlefield was also a part of the battle.

Although the captured supplies were "mission props" that belonged collectively to the refuge, these mission props could offer extra "war scores" for all players who participated in the battle during the reward settlement phase after the battle had ended.

This was precisely why the players were moving them with such diligence.

If it weren't for the guards watching, these guys might have even moved the tables and chairs from the lab!

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Wait a minute, why can't corpses be considered war spoils? Can't they be used to produce Resurrection Coins?"

I Max Black: "That really doesn't make sense!"

Worker Kid and Bricks: "I can help drive; we can make a few more trips, I guarantee to strip this Experimental Base bare!"

Players next to the trucks chattered noisily.

Walking by from a short distance, Lu Bei gazed at the supply boxes on the trucks, endlessly musing to himself.

"This year, we should be able to have a good harvest!"

Nearly 50,000 rounds of ammunition filled dozens of large boxes. Winter clothes and quilts were piled up in bundles.

15 tons of green wheat, 15 tons of horned potatoes, stuffed into several trucks!

It was evident that the Looters must have spent quite some time transporting these supplies from the rear.

Moreover, there were over thirty boxes of dried rats, cockroach slices, mysterious dried meat, and a large amount of nutrition paste with unknown ingredients.

However, Manager didn't seem inclined to keep these dubious foods from unknown sources.

The nutrition paste was dumped down the hillside, while the dried rats, cockroach slices, and dried meat were thrown into a fire pit to burn; whatever could be burned was burned.

Manager had ordered that they were to evacuate the area by twelve o'clock, prioritizing everything useful that could be taken away.

As for the unusable munitions that couldn't be easily transported, they were destroyed on the spot; it was crucial that not a single usable bullet was left for those Looters!

At this time, Lu Bei suddenly caught sight of a few odd boxes, and upon lifting the lids, he was instantly stunned.

They were artillery shells!

"Why are there artillery shells here??"

Lu Bei counted them: there were more than fifty of them. The caliber appeared to be quite large; he gestured with his hand and estimated they were about 10 centimeters in diameter.

But he hadn't seen any cannons around here, had he?

Surely those Looters wouldn't use them as bombs, right?

Standing by his side, a somewhat older guard spoke.

"Perhaps the cannon is further back. I heard that the vanguard troops were the first to arrive here."

"Just the vanguard troops?!" Lu Bei said anxiously, glancing at the refuges' residents preparing to evacuate, "What if those Looters attack? Isn't it too early for us to retreat now?"

The slightly older guard laughed as he continued.

"What's there to fear! We took the fuel rods from the reactor and carried off their supplies. Even if they take the high ground back, so what? They can't conjure up food from nowhere!"

...

Next to the supply loading site.

Chu Guang, clad in powered armor, was finally in a dingy tent, seeing the four-meter-long lizard.

This was actually Chu Guang's first time seeing a Claw of death with his own eyes since he'd come to the Wasteland.

And at such a close distance!

Studying the beast before him, Chu Guang fell into deep thought.

Looking at it this way...

Junk King really did bear some resemblance to this thing.

"Xiao Qi."

"Present, Master. Do you have any orders?"

"Help me take a picture with this Dead Claw."

"…?"

Though Xiao Qi was baffled by his master's request, he still lowered the drone and took a photo by the tent entrance of Chu Guang and the Dead Claw.

The photo was sent to the helmet.

Chu Guang admired his own style for a while and nodded in satisfaction.

Not bad.

He'll post this selfie on the official website later!

At that moment, Chu Guang suddenly noticed that the Dead Claw's eyes had opened at some point, and a pair of amber pupils were staring at him.

The stared-at Chu Guang didn't panic for a second, silently pulling out the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer strapped to his back, his index finger already on the handle's touch control.

Seemingly sensing danger from the hammer, the Dead Claw lying on the ground instantly became much more subdued.

Glancing at the metal collar around the Dead Claw's neck, Chu Guang looked towards the robed old man standing in the tent.

Just as Old White had mentioned in the Forum, this person, both in clothing and temperament, was clearly different from the Looters.

Especially that hooded grey robe, which gave him a mysterious vibe.

Without any small talk, Chu Guang got straight to the point.

"What's that hanging around its neck?"

The old man replied softly.

"It is a Miracle, my lord."

Chu Guang frowned slightly, shooting the old man a glance.

"Speak plainly."

Undeterred, the old man said.

"The device's name is Miracle, my lord. If I must provide a simple explanation, it allows us to establish mental communication with Variants."

Through the old man's assured gaze, Chu Guang could tell that this guy probably had no idea how to explain this stuff or the principle behind its working.

That didn't matter, though.

There were two experts in the refuge, one well-versed in cybernetic implants and other mechanical devices, the other in biology.

Chu Guang believed at least one of them would be interested in this thing.

Setting aside the Dead Claw issue for now, Chu Guang looked at the old man and asked.

"I'll change the question— who are you?"

The old man whispered,

"The apostle of the Torch Church, sir, you can consider me a neutral third party."

Torch?

...The Church?

Hearing the familiar word "Torch," Chu Guang's face showed a strange expression as he looked at the old man who seemed to be unaware of the situation.

"You were captured on the Looter's ground, and you still have the nerve to tell me that you're a neutral third party?" he said, looking at the bewildered old man.

"We will settle the score with the Torch later."

"Now, take your things and follow me."

"I will take you to where prisoners should be kept."

...

Dawn was breaking.

Accompanied by the roar of engines, three steel-plated pickup trucks made a round outside the experimental base but ultimately, lacking the courage to approach the highland, they departed northwards.

A few more hours passed.

It was now midday.

The three steel-plated pickup trucks returned with vengeance.

Besides those three vehicles, over two hundred Looters, led by twenty Centurions, were divided into twenty small teams, assaulting the highland from both the east and the west simultaneously.

The man holding the binoculars, with only a tuft of hair on his head, gazed in the direction of the experimental base, a victorious smile curling up at the corner of his mouth.

"It looks like those people have run away."

His name was Gang Ya, the Centurion of the Chewing Bone Tribe under Black Snake's thousand troops, and also a direct descendant of the clan leader of the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Standing beside him, the man in a dark blue coat with an eyepatch over his left eye was named Kevin, previously a Centurion under the Expeditionary Army.

After General Kras's defeat, he had encountered the Chewing Bone Tribe while fleeing southward.

These Looters were quite interesting.

Seeing his dark blue coat, they, against all odds, did not attack him but rather welcomed him warmly.

Kevin was at first completely confused by their behavior.

Knowing that usual Looters, upon capturing people from the Army, would be ecstatic to make them into human skin sofas or other objects as war trophies, he found their acceptance strange.

However, these Looters were very pragmatic.

The captured Army deserters transformed overnight, taking up positions as strategists and instructors in the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Kevin had also met many deserting soldiers like himself, with no hope of return.

Thinking that he had nowhere to go, and no other skills besides warfare, he decided to stay put.

Watching the overly excited Gang Ya, Kevin felt he should remind him, so he cleared his throat and said,

"This is not a good sign... If they chose to retreat, it means in their eyes, this place has lost its strategic value."

Hearing these words, Gang Ya's expression instantly darkened.

Just then, one of his subordinates ran over with a frontline report.

Just as Kevin's foreboding words had suggested, the worst had indeed happened.

His men easily reclaimed the experimental base, but what was left was an empty shell.

Those who had attacked them had not only taken the supplies prepared for their troops but even removed the fuel rods from the ecological park under Building 3!

All that was left were about twenty severely wounded soldiers, thrown directly into the hall of Building 3, now lying on the floor, moaning weakly.

Those despicable thieves!

Cowards who feared war!

And those dumb teammates! To guard such a highland and not even hold it for a single night!

Gang Ya clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with fury as he stared in the direction of the experimental base.

Those were the supplies they had looted from many survivor bases, some of which were even his share, all for the purpose of clearing the way for the troops headed to the front line.

Kevin could probably guess what was on his mind, but he still cautiously offered his suggestion,

"Without supplies, even if we deploy the main forces here, we can only freeze and starve... This place has lost its strategic value, let's retreat."

"We can't just let it go like this!" Gang Ya's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he said bitterly, "They must be survivors from around here! We have to get the supplies back!"

Kevin looked at him, baffled.

Get them back?

From those maniacs who took over the highland in one night?

Did this guy really know what he was talking about???

Chapter 202: Battle Settlement! Manager Authority of Shelter No.117

[Mission: Broken Sword Operation (Completed!)]

[Settlement of Mission:

Base Score: 100

Loot Score: 82

Personal Score: …

]

After the battle ended, the mission reward settlement interface and the entire battlefield report were sent to every player's VM.

Although the battlefield report had no direct connection with the players' rewards, Chu Guang still had Xiao Qi send them to the players and set up titles like "Best Team of the Game," "Highest K/D Ratio Team," and "Top Individual Kill Score," for the players to show off with.

Of course, in Chu Guang's words, it wasn't about showing off; it was about sharing the joy of victory.

The A group, which acted as a feint team, had the highest average score of 300, which translated to 300 silver coins and 300 contribution points.

The B group, assigned to the assault tasks, had an average score of 280, but their potential was much higher.

The team led by Spring Water Commander not only seized 8 points at the forefront but also was the first to capture Building No. 3, achieving a remarkable total score of 455 points!

The squad which completed a side mission, Battlefield Atmosphere Group, secured the highest individual reward of the game, 505 silver coins, thanks to a 50 silver coin side mission reward.

Of course, the B group's scores were unlimited at the top and bottom.

For example, the Midnight Chicken Killing squad was too preoccupied with fighting, and all efforts of coordination fell apart. Later, some realized they were following the wrong team and decided to just roll with the mistake. Ultimately, despite wiping out two entire teams, they only managed to capture 2 points, totaling only 242 points.

After this battle, these "veteran" young players should now have a good understanding of the new gameplay and their strongest positions.

Next time a similar situation arises, they're likely to know better how to play to their strengths and stand where they excel.

On the other hand, the support group that acted as assistance had more variable scores.

For instance, Fang Chang's reconnaissance team didn't play much of a role because B group advanced too quickly and Night Ten ended up firing only twice before relegating to an observer role. It was only later through scouting missions and disrupting Looter reinforcements that they were able to make themselves somewhat useful.

Mosquito's score wasn't particularly outstanding either.

Even though Chu Guang had set up a sufficiently large bombardment radius for him, only 12 out of 20 rockets reached their target area.

Only 2 of those met the "precision strike" criteria, each earning 10 points. The rest just barely passed, earning 5 points each.

With base and loot scores added, the total was 252 points.

However, Mosquito was quite satisfied with this outcome.

He wasn't a combat professional player; scoring high or low wasn't his priority.

Before the battle even started, as a primary life-profession player, he had already made a profit of 20 silver coins from each rocket order.

Now, with the Outpost Base's rocket inventory depleted, the Manager was highly pleased with his "Storm 1.0"'s performance in battle, raising the armory's rocket reserve limit from 20 to 100 missiles.

He had plenty of orders to keep him busy for a good while now!

…

Official forum.

Belated offline peak.

As the front-line players brought back first-hand battle reports to the official website, the forum, which was just a moment ago discussing philosophy and art, suddenly became lively.

Tail: "Damn, my ass hurts from falling, gotta get a seat cushion on Meat Meat next time! (`-д-;)ゞ"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "Stay away, don't come over. QAQ"

Si Si: "Oh, Meat Meat did great this time, keep it up next time."

Edge Shoveling: "Done! Damn, that was intense!"

Mole on the Run from Canyon: "+1, damn, how did Spring Water run so fast!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Him? Bullshit, it was me leading in the front! He was the weakest in our squad, just dragging behind in power armor, might as well give it to me."

Spring Water Commander: "Damn! I'm an Intelligence System, and also the captain. Was there a problem with my commands? Also, that's an exoskeleton! Exoskeleton! Not power armor! It can't handle much! (angry)"

I Max Black: "Too weak, too weak, how could you possibly be T0! Better give it to me."

Spring Water Commander: "Get lost! (｀Д´)"

Although he took some flak from his teammates, fair's fair, Spring Water Commander's real-time command ability was decent.

Without radio communications, coordinating his teammates to unite around him, focusing their strength on infiltrating behind enemy lines, and when other squads were still dawdling at the 3rd and 4th points, leading his squad quickly to the 6th attack point helped the other teams break through, demonstrating at least a B to possibly Level A organizational skill.

Even the fastest charging Brother Battlefield acknowledged this.

The battle concluded so quickly partly because of their team's standout performance. The only regret was that they didn't catch the Looters as they retreated into the underground ecology park in Building No. 3, inadvertently allowing the hostages to nab the opposing commander.

Such a hundred-person scale team battle not only exhilarated the participating players but also those who listened from the sidelines, igniting their excitement.

Especially those newbies still busy mining, donating, leveling up, and grinding skill proficiency in Novice Village, they were all incredibly envious.

Kakarot: "300 silver coins, holy shit!"

Magic Girl Bald Strong: "Newbies are crying, huh? Does the game planner know how long I've farmed just for 10 silver coins? Isn't that a bit too profitable?"

Gnome King Riches: "Jealous, huh? Earned it with my life. (stares at the sky)"

Elena: "I can 'testify', Riches, dear brother, had it rough. When I went to collect his body, I looked for his VM for ages, only to find it had rolled down the mountain with his arm. (funny face)"

Gnome King Riches: "I suspect you're mocking me, but I have no evidence."

A Bag of Rice to Hoist Up: "Wait a second, why is 'Difficult for the strong' ranking up as well? Isn't that rat also a newbie?"

I Max Black: "!! The scandal is confirmed!"

The Soldier profession differs from others; even its entry barrier is higher than that of the Hunter profession.

The latter only needs to meet the skill proficiency requirements or pass an exam to qualify, but the former has clear requirements regarding character level and contribution.

Specifically, one must reach the status of Citizen and obtain a VM to become a qualified Blue Jacket.

Moreover, the character level must also reach LV3.

According to Chu Guang's observations, most players at LV3 tend to allocate 1 attribute point outside of their main attribute—for instance, Strength Types often add 1 point to Constitution and Agile Types usually add 1 point to Strength—which enhances their survival ability on the battlefield.

If the requirements aren't met, players can only join the guard squad as recruits, carrying out simple patrol tasks, with almost no chance of being sent to the front lines unless it's a top-level mobilization.

Seeing someone actually boasting about downgrading themselves to a newbie, Difficult for the Strong couldn't hold back and typed fiercely, full of sorrow and anger.

"I didn't even go to the front lines, damn it! I just lit a fire for Brother Mosquito. Damn! I'm so envious of their task rewards, starting tomorrow I'm gonna grind contribution!"

WC's Very Own Mosquito: "Come on bro, isn't testing weapons with me fun? (funny face)"

Difficult for the Strong: "You only gave me 2 silver coins! Do you think that's fair?! (angry)"

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato: "I don't know why, but hearing that number doesn't surprise me at all. (side-eye)"

Elena: "+1, after all, it's Brother Mosquito. (funny face)"

If the newbies are just enviously weeping, the cloud players who had reservations but couldn't get a slot could only be described as silently dried up.

Many had been queuing since the trailer of the "Landcraft" expansion first released, marking time daily on the forums. Yet, having queued until now without success, they could only squat at the forums calling the pros amazing or bitterly say, "I could do that too."

"Damn! Doesn't the operator want to make money anymore? It's been over two months of closed beta! Hurry up and move to open beta!"

"200 vs. 150? Wouldn't the total number of people exceed 300 then, can the server handle that?"

"We strongly demand new servers for the public beta! The first kills have all been snatched away by these closed beta players!"

As the official website was bustling, suddenly, a post signed "Light" popped up on the forum.

"Hello everyone, I am your dearest planner, Ah Guang. I've been overtime recently and finally just finished."

"Although I'm not bringing a new version today, I can share some progress from our planning team!"

"Many young players might have noticed that as the number of players continuously rises and the situation in the Wasteland remains volatile, the scale and difficulty of battles are also gradually increasing. Initially, we could easily win battles with a single trench and fearless charges, but now our opponents have evolved from a disorganized mob to a trained disorganized mob. Winning isn't just about individual performance; it also requires coordination with teammates."

"In Wasteland OL, there's a piece of hot knowledge: people die when they are killed. Even Awakeners and Mutants can't completely ignore the barrage of bullets. Attribute bonuses can make you a step ahead always, but it's not enough to single-handedly flip Darwin and Newton's coffins."

"Our opponents are getting stronger, and this strength is reflected in various ways. How to adapt the rules to fit the game content is a significant challenge for our planning team."

"So, in this update for Alpha0.9, after referencing some 'open-world' and 'RPG-element' FPS games, we've further strengthened the battle system within the game. While enriching the task system, we've also expanded tactical options available to players. How you and your teammates claim victory in a battle depends on your choices on the battlefield."

"Under the current version, we are trying to let players take on the role of squad leader, commanding small-scale engagements like a building or an alley under the orders of the commander."

"In future versions, we plan to allow players to take command of battles themselves, leading battles on a scale of hundreds."

"At the same time, Guild System and Mercenary System are also in our follow-up development plans, so stay tuned for the epic Version 1.0!"

...

After returning from the front lines last night, it was already past 1 AM.

On the way back, Chu Guang took the opportunity to paint a rosy picture for the players, and upon returning, he didn't go to see Brown at the neighboring farm or the representatives from the North Suburb Survivor Settlement. Instead, he had them rest overnight in the guest room on the second floor of the infirmary.

Moving isn't a minor issue.

Regarding the things he had Old Luka and the others relay, they also needed some time to consider.

Chu Guang completely understood their feelings at the moment.

It felt like choosing the lesser of two evils.

Tonight, many would inevitably be unable to sleep...

He had brought the fuel rods hijacked from the ecological park to the power room of Shelter No. 117.

Following the previous Manager's VM to unlock the door, according to the manual's instructions, Chu Guang inserted the fuel rods thick as his forearm into the circular interface.

After leaving the power room, Chu Guang hit the ignition switch.

There was no earth-shattering reaction as imagined. As the temperature and plasma density reached the threshold values, the reactor started operating smoothly.

Everything was as natural as breathing.

"Remaining energy: 36%. Estimated maintenance time: 115 years."

"36% energy can last that long?"

Looking at the text displayed on the console, Chu Guang's expression was slightly surprised.

Of course, the reason it could last so long might also be that the energy consumption at Shelter No. 117 is currently very low.

If there were more people living there, it might be a different story.

Shelter No. 117's planting area has 50 soilless cultivation units, theoretically covering the same 50 acres as Shelter No. 404. These planting facilities here could be put to good use.

Moreover, Shelter No. 117 could also serve as a save point for players conquering the underground world.

Chu Guang planned to deploy 10 exclusive dormancy pods for clones here initially, and decide later whether to increase the number based on the situation.

Once players had opened up the subway line from Floor B3 of Shelter No. 404 to here, they could also transfer some of the new cultivation chambers or the black boxes that produce cultivation chambers to other floors here.

"...Treating this place as the Novice Village for combat professional players seems like a good choice; stepping out the door leads right to the subway tunnel, a few steps away from a fight."

"However, we need to prepare some novice-specific weapons."

A few guards and veteran players must also be arranged to act as novice instructors!

The subway, compared to the surface, still poses a higher difficulty; even in teams, it could be dangerous for newcomers.

Especially if they encounter Crawlers, they might all be wiped out.

Even for veteran players, without equipment protection and teamwork, dealing with Crawlers would not be an easy task.

The reactor continued to operate for a while.

Soon, a light blue pop-up window announcing the completion of the task appeared in Chu Guang's view.

"Congratulations on completing the task!"

"Authority as manager of Shelter No. 117 acquired."

"Did I just gain authority over Shelter No. 117?"

Chu Guang looked at his right hand and then around him, feeling as if nothing much had changed.

It was not until he tried saying "turn off the lights," plunging the entire corridor into darkness, and then saying "turn on the lights," bringing light back to the world, that he truly understood the rights he held in his hands.

Just as it was in Shelter No. 404.

Here, being able to control all facilities, he was a god omnipotent!

"But then again, it's surprising that Shelter No. 404's system could issue a task to take over Shelter No. 117."

And with such badass "managerial authority," how exactly did the former manager of Shelter No. 117 get overthrown by mere residents of the shelter?

Chu Guang pondered, figuring it wouldn't have happened under his watch.

He wouldn't be softhearted.

Any hint of trouble would be nipped in the bud.

Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged humans are plenty.

Overthrow me?

Plan to run off with resources?

You won't make it out the door if I can help it, I'll pull your oxygen tubes!

What a pity, what a pity indeed, had I crossed over 200 years earlier, they should've chosen me as the manager.

Of course, Chu Guang was just grumbling to himself and didn't mean to belittle anyone. He knew that personal joys and sorrows are not interconnected, and the situation back then might not be as simple as he imagined, possibly even more complex than what he had heard from Heya.

He had heard from Luo Hua that no two shelters in the world were exactly the same; thus, by inference, it was understandable that there would be differences in the authorities among managers.

What happened twenty years ago is best known by the dead.

Living people can say whatever they want.

After playing with the air conditioning switch for a while, Chu Guang thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Xiao Qi."

An enthusiastic voice promptly came from a speaker on the side of the corridor.

"Present, Master."

Chu Guang continued.

"If I share the authority with you, could you manage the shelter?"

Hearing that the master planned to entrust her with the new shelter, Xiao Qi was as happy as a child.

"Of course, Master, please rest assured and leave it to Xiao Qi! Hehe, Xiao Qi will definitely take good care of your new house!"

Those words were truly comforting.

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, then I'll leave it in your hands."

Having a secretary is comfortable; you just toss the troublesome matters their way.

Chu Guang posted a fetch quest through VM, asking the novice players of Floor B3 to go to the planting area and retrieve the cotton seeds he had left there.

Eating wasn't the only priority; clothing was just as important.

By now, the server had 800 players, yet Chu Guang's novice players had only a few blue jackets and beast skin coats in their closets, with only a few able to afford silk and fancy clothes. Even some veteran players looked like wild men when they went out hunting.

This couldn't go on.

Civilized people needed at least to look the part, lest they be mistaken for looters when venturing further afield.

After finishing editing the quest, he quickly posted it on the public screen, and couldn't believe someone claimed it within a second.

"Quest has been claimed."

"Claimant: Makabazi."

When he saw this ID, Chu Guang was momentarily stunned.

Well, damn.

Was this person glued to VM 24/7 just to pick up tasks?

It was just a fetch quest for 5 silver coins and 10 contributions...

That's way too cutthroat!

...

By the time he returned from Shelter No.117, it was already two or three in the morning.

Yawning, Chu Guang went back to his room and fell asleep without a word, sleeping until eight the next morning.

That night, he had a bizarre dream where an SSSR card, wielding a large blood-drawing syringe, chased after him, screaming "Lend me a bit."

Originally, Chu Guang hadn't planned on running, but somehow, during the chase, he turned into a mutant, which woke him up in fright.

Otherwise, he could have slept a bit longer.

He opened his heavy eyelids.

Chu Guang hadn't even gotten out of bed yet when he already felt the dampness around him and a throbbing pain mixed with relief in his skin.

No need to think, he had definitely leveled up!

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Stage 2)

Level: LV.12→LV.14

—Basic Attributes—

Strength: 17

Agility: 11

Constitution: 14→15

Perception: 12

Intelligence: 13→14

"I actually leveled up twice."

In the Manager's Office of the residents' hall.

After conducting a self-examination using the medical equipment, Chu Guang, looking at the examination chart on the computer screen, was filled with surprise.

With 15 points in constitution, in terms of recovery ability, he was now barely comparable to half a mutant.

Except for slightly weaker agility and perception, he was now a complete hexagon warrior.

The only downside was that he couldn't revive, so no matter how strong, he still had to play it safe when needed.

"It seems I've got enough reward points for a draw."

After confirming the attribute panel, Chu Guang casually opened the Administrator System and switched to the manager subsidy page.

There, the reward points had accumulated to 132.

Without any hesitation, Chu Guang spent these 132 reward points on one advanced blind box, three intermediate blind boxes, and two basic blind boxes.

"System,"

"For all the hard work I put in,"

"It wouldn't be too much to ask for a set of power armor, right?"

-

(Last month I updated 270,000 words at the cost of a somewhat chaotic schedule. Got up at midnight yesterday, originally wrote 7K words, then revised it down to just under 6K. I'll adjust my schedule and continue my daily 10K word challenge, only one update today, dare not ask for votes, just don't hit me too hard... QAQ)

Chapter 203: Everyone is hungry during the winter, why does your family have so much grain?!

The Cattle and Horse Club group.

WC There Really Are Mosquitoes: "Weird, where have all the Dog Managers gone? Haven't seen anyone all day."

Old White: "Fang Chang and the others went on a mission and probably haven't logged off yet. Do you really think it's okay to say that in front of me? (sideways smile)"

(Group member "WC There Really Are Mosquitoes" withdrew a message.)

WC There Really Are Mosquitoes: "Damn! They haven't logged off yet? Don't their characters get tired?"

If it weren't for the fact that characters in the game also need to sleep, many people would probably stay online 24 hours a day.

Old White: "Seems like they're taking shifts sleeping. I just saw Fang Chang on the forum."

Tomato and Eggs Stir-Fried: "Speaking of which, did you guys see the post Ah Guang shared on the official website? Version 1.0 seems to be launching the Guild System. Should we start a guild then?"

WC There Really Are Mosquitoes: "Do you even have to ask? Of course, we should! All the combat professionals and life professionals from the T0 ladder are here in our group. If we join forces, won't we be invincible! (grinning)"

Night Ten: "Just asking if you mean yourself when you talk about the life professional in the T0 ladder? (funny)"

WC There Really Are Mosquitoes: "Damn! You look down on Goblin Technology? (angry)"

Night Ten: "I don't, I'm not, I wouldn't dare. (funny)"

Tomato and Eggs Stir-Fried: "(sideways)"

Old White: "Haha, don't pick on Mosquito. Some of the gadgets he makes are pretty strong; I doubt I could make them myself. By the way, Night Ten, why are you here? Did you finish your mission?"

Night Ten: "Finished it, now on my way back. We're taking turns riding the bicycle. I was just riding it, now Wild Wind is carrying me, and I took a nap on his back. Quit Smoking Brother still hasn't mastered the art of logging off, probably dawdling around. I just washed my face, waiting to eat and then take over Wild Wind's shift."

Previously, when they didn't recruit Old White into the team, Night Ten had called Quit Smoking.

The bicycles manufactured by Steel Factory No. 81 are quite large, enough to accommodate two people comfortably. Four people with two bicycles, just right to take turns riding.

Tomato and Eggs Stir-Fried: "So, what mission did you guys do?"

Night Ten: "Reconnaissance! We've got another group up north, about 6 trucks and 5 machine-gun-mounted armored pickups. They're slightly better equipped than the group we encountered last night, most likely the main forces of the Chewing Bone Tribe. They circled the lab base twice before heading up there. Probably fuming by now; I even heard some gunshots. (funny)"

Old White: "Haha, we took all the fuel rods and supplies, burned what we couldn't carry. If I were them, I'd be fuming too!"

WC There Really Are Mosquitoes: "Don't change the subject, what about the guild? We need a badass name, right?"

Night Ten: "Do we even need to ask? (funny)"

Old White: "Indeed, no need to ask. (laugh)"

The name Cattle and Horse Club, almost becoming an urban legend in the single-player game circle alongside "Wasteland OL."

It would be a waste not to use that name for the guild.

"Fuck! That's really stingy!"

Residents of the refuge, checking the rewards from the opened Blind Box, Chu Guang couldn't help but curse.

There was no power armor.

The prizes were as follows:

Two lollipops, three healing injections, and an Active Substance Extractor.

Chu Guang just didn't get it, what kind of weapon was an Active Substance Extractor supposed to be?

Was it because it could produce active substances used to create clones? And then, are clones considered a type of consumable under weapons?

The indirect relationship here was just too long!

Chu Guang felt that if this logic held, cyborgs could also be considered weapons.

After all, they could act as human bombs, serve as cannon fodder online, and when captured, they even drain the enemy's resources. If that's not a weapon, what is?

So...

Can I draw one more time?

"Forget it, another Active Substance Extractor isn't bad."

Back when there were just dozens of players, it was rare for anyone to die in a week. Now with more players, as the exploration of the underground world of Qingquan City picked up, "natural" reductions in their numbers occurred every few days, and the Active Substance Extractor virtually never stopped operating, running at full capacity daily.

Chu Guang calculated that, ignoring the time for loading and unloading materials, it could produce 1 to 3 units of active substances per hour.

If dealing with Mucor species, the recovery speed would be significantly slower than mammals, with output ranging from 0.9 to 1.5 units per hour.

Additionally, factors such as material integrity, moisture content, temperature, and degree of decay all affect the recovery amount and speed.

After some thought, Chu Guang made a decision.

"The new Active Substance Extractor can be deployed just outside level B3."

This would also save the trouble of having to cut up the corpses of the Variants into pieces, pack them up, and send them to the surface for processing.

Chu Guang had long since considered Shelter No. 404 his home.

Bringing those bloody things back home did make him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Shelter No. 404's B3 level.

Two guards were carrying a pitch-black "coffin" one in front of the other, passing through a gear-shaped gate and walking out.

Outside the gate was an underground tunnel not marked on the map, which connected to the subway network of Qingquan City and extended in the direction outside of Qingquan City, leading to an unknown destination.

Currently, the players' progress in strategy was roughly about 1 kilometer to the north and 800 meters to the south. Due to the presence of the central lair in Qingquan City center, the difficulty of strategizing in the direction of the city center was slightly higher, even though this place was very far from the city center.

The construction team at Outpost Base had built a checkpoint here with concrete, bricks, and sandbags.

Inside the checkpoint, two guards took turns standing watch, responsible for issuing tasks to the residents of the shelter while also preventing these residents from bringing strange items back into the shelter or attracting hard-to-handle Variants.

Although no accidents had occurred so far, the manager had still equipped this place with a machine gun and 300 machine gun rounds, as well as a simple 12kw wood-fired generator and four searchlights.

In addition, there were two Iron Fist Rocket Launchers in the outpost, locked in wooden boxes, with the keys kept by the duty captain.

This place was like a miniature fort.

Even if a Tyrant were encountered, it could hold off for a minute or two to get the doors of the shelter closed.

After carrying the pitch-black "coffin" into the outpost next to the generator, the young, new guard straightened up and wiped off his sweat.

Watching his superior pull a cable from the generator and connect it to this strange-looking device, he couldn't help but ask curiously,

"Sir, what is this box used for?"

Liuding, who had just wiped his hands, glanced at the newbie, grinned, and said,

"You wouldn't want to know."

While they were speaking, two residents of the shelter came over, carrying a pitch-black Eater.

"We just saw the task update!"

"Can we now recycle the Eater corpses?"

Looking at the subtitles on his VM, Liuding, following the manager's orders, looked at them solemnly and nodded, reciting in a rote manner with an unstandard accent,

"Yes, esteemed warriors, this is for you to handle."

The two players beamed with joy and cheerfully stepped forward, skillfully opened the lid of the Active Substance Extractor, and tossed in the corpse about to be processed.

They were already mature little players.

They could produce their own materials now!

Gnome King Riches wiped the sweat from his forehead, stared at the working Active Substance Extractor, and couldn't help but ask,

"Say, how many Resurrection Coins can this thing produce in a day?"

Mole from the Ravine offhandedly answered,

"Heard it's one per hour... but the synthetic efficiency of the Eaters is very low, not sure about the exact output."

"Damn! Is that all?"

"No choice, heard that the synthetic efficiency is only higher for mammals."

Gnome King Riches suddenly had a thought and asked,

"What if... how much could be extracted from a living person?"

Mole from the Ravine glanced at him,

"Never tried it, why don't you lie down and try?"

"Are you a devil??"

Liuding glance at his VM, no subtitles appeared, which meant these people probably weren't talking to him.

Meanwhile, the young guard looked at these warriors with a look full of longing.

If only he could be as strong and brave as them, battling those terrifying Variants on his own…

...

Outpost Base East Entrance.

About a hundred meters from the ditch in front of the enclosing wall, tribe residents were walking towards Rhombus Lake to the west, carrying buckets under the morning sun on the snow.

A new day started with fetching water.

Now in December, the surface of Rhombus Lake was frozen, and people could even run along the shore. They had to break the ice before they could get the fresh water they needed.

If they were lucky, they might even catch a couple of fish breathing through the ice layer.

Recently, a tribe that had fled here had settled down, and the separated tribesmen found their way here one after another, making the originally sparsely populated village much livelier.

However, even though the two tribes were next to each other, separated only by a small path, they had not fully integrated into one village.

Even though they were friendly toward each other and there were even two newly formed couples, both sides tactfully maintained a certain distance, neither too distant nor too intimately close.

The newly arrived tribal chief had planted a spear at the entrance of their settlement as the totem of the tribe.

Seeing this, Wuding Axe did the same by placing a post at the entrance of his settlement and sticking an axe on it.

Thus, the Frost Spear and Iron Axe tribes were born.

Carrying rifles, while patrolling outside the base, two guards stopped at the eastern gate for a while and glanced at the village of the tribespeople, casually chatting.

"It's getting increasingly lively around the base."

"Yes."

"Did you hear that among the recent newcomers to the guard team, two are tribespeople?"

"That's true, I remember them being two skinny and dark-skinned young fellas. Not sure if they even reached sixteen, I'm truly worried they'll piss their pants from bullets flying over the trenches."

With this damn weather, wetting pants isn't a joke, it could be life-threatening.

"So, are we going to fight soon?"

"It's likely, I heard from a brother who came back last night that they fought with the people from the Chewing Bone Tribe more than ten kilometers away. Rockets whizzed through the sky, killing many!"

Talking about war, although it made people frown, none of the young guys in the guard team were scared.

After all, even armies as formidable as theirs had once been defeated by their hands, what more a group of blood-thirsty barbarians?

They had no doubt that the brilliant and courageous Manager could lead them to victory, and those daring to bare their canine teeth, like Hyenas, would surely be crushed under the righteous Iron Hammer!

At that moment, a young guard came running from not far away.

"We need manpower to the north! If you aren't too busy, come and give us a hand."

The two patrolling guards tensed up, gripping their rifle straps tighter.

"We are on patrol, what's the situation in the north?"

Seeing their anxious expressions, the young guard smiled and said,

"Don't worry, it's not the Looters, but spoils of war! From last night's operation, we have dragged the spoils to Changjiu Farm, and now a batch has arrived at the North Gate of Wetland Park. Trucks can't enter the park, so we need a few strong men to help with moving and unloading the goods."

Hearing this, the two relaxed and let go of their rifle straps.

"I'll notify the Warehouse Manager, just wait a moment."

The task of moving was for the Warehouse Manager to assign, as they did not have the authorization to assign tasks.

The young guard nodded energetically.

"Hmm, we don't need many, about 10 should be enough!"

Last night's battle had captured over 30 tons of food from the Looters, along with a large quantity of standard military weapons, ammunition, and even rockets!

Part of the supplies was left at Changjiu Farm, and the other part was brought here to Outpost Base.

At this very moment, in the central square of the healthcare facility, Brun, having just woken up, stretched and rubbed the soreness at the brow. He couldn't help but yawn.

The aerial images from the VM last night kept appearing in his dreams repeatedly, depriving him of sleep all night.

"Yo, our old landlord is up this early too."

Hearing the voice from behind, Brun instinctively turned his head and saw the person speaking to him, his brows immediately knitting into three furrows.

"Your mouth is still as foul as ever, it's a wonder you've survived this long."

Embracing his arms, Night Owl didn't take that comment to heart and squeezed out a slightly mocking smile from his scarred face.

"Don't misunderstand, I mean no harm. Let's talk business, have you considered it?"

Brun slightly tilted his chin upwards.

"Until I hear a concrete relocation plan, I refuse to express any opinions."

A relocation plan?

Was that even necessary?

"You always speak so cryptically... let me put it straight, I plan to move."

For this juvenile remark, Brown scoffed and replied indifferently.

"Is this just your idea, or the idea of all the survivors in the highway town?"

Night Owl shrugged his shoulders.

"It doesn't matter, I'll convince them."

"With what will you convince them?"

"We are no match for those Looters, and Giant Stone City does not care about us nor will it intervene in our survival. If we don't unite now, we will be defeated one by one."

Hearing this naive statement, Brown couldn't help but scoff.

"Can you guarantee that those in Blue Jackets will definitely ensure your safety? Even if they have the capability, can you assure they won't use you as cannon fodder, thrown into the frontline to deplete the Looters' bullets?"

Honestly, although Brown was hoping that this emerging group of Blue Jackets could solve the increasingly close troubles from the north, otherwise, he wouldn't have shown up here.

But his envisioned plan involved the Blue Jackets organizing an allied force that would appear at their doorstep in critical moments to confront the Looter's attacks together.

For this, he could pay a price, be it food or something else.

However, Brown never expected that the proposal from these Blue Jackets was for them all to move here.

It was absurd!

If he really did that, it undoubtedly meant losing everything he currently possessed!

And if one must flee, why not run to the safer Giant Stone City?

It was clearly more civilized!

The army was stronger!

And it was much safer than here!

As the two were firm in their respective views, a commotion was heard from the north gate.

A group of residents from the refuge was seen dragging wooden and metal carts, transporting bundles of grain from the outside.

At a rough count, that grain weighed at least ten tons.

Coincidentally coming out of the sanatorium, Doru, who had just woken up, rubbed his eyes.

Staring at the grain being carted from the north gate to the warehouse, his mung bean-sized eyes instantly widened to the size of coins, and he couldn't help but mutter.

"Where did all this grain come from?!"

Everyone was hungry through the winter, why do you have so much grain!

"Eighty percent it's those Looters'." Coming out from the sanatorium's door, Du Conglin with a hunter's hat had a mixed expression of joy and worry.

Joyous because the group in Blue Jackets was strong, and judging from these spoils, at least the pitch-black video wasn't fabricated. They truly fought with those Looters and even won!

However, he was worried because looking at the amount of this grain, the Looters eyeing the North suburb of Qingquan City probably weren't few in numbers!

Tens of thousands of kilograms of grain, pushed by hand carts into the grain store, and what couldn't fit was piled up in a temporarily built shed.

With so much food, even a truck would need several trips, it didn't seem like it was prepared for just a hundred or two people!

It's well known that those Looters don't farm, at least not themselves.

To collect so much grain, they must have caused much destruction along the way...

Continuously emerging from the guest rooms, representatives from other survivor settlements in the North suburb saw those residents of the refuge busily transporting the spoils, each with an expression more vivid than the last.

There were envious, anxious, and undecided faces.

Just then, a man clad in powered armor walked out from the front door of the sanatorium.

Removing the face mask of the powered armor, Chu Guang turned to the nearest unfamiliar survivor and spoke in a friendly tone.

"Did you rest well last night?"

Hearing the lord of this place addressing him, Du Conglin from Morning wind community responded with a constrained expression.

"Thank you for your hospitality, I had a very peaceful sleep last night."

"That's good."

Smiling faintly, Chu Guang paused for a moment before looking at the other representatives from different survivor settlements around him and continued.

"Now that everyone is here,"

"Please follow me."

-

(Next chapter before 11 o'clock!)

Chapter 204 Relocation Plan and Reinforcements

"Has the situation become this tense?"

Staring at the deep blue power armor on Chu Guang's body, Night Owl, who couldn't keep his mouth still, couldn't help but mutter softly.

Not understanding what he meant, Du Conglin tilted his head slightly and asked hesitantly,

"What do you mean?"

"Putting on this thing early in the morning," Night Owl glanced at the power armor and smacked his lips, "if it were me, I would never wear such a cumbersome thing just to walk around the house."

Least of all when going on a long journey.

Walking beside him, Doru couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha, do you have one?"

Night Owl glared at him, about to say something when the Manager's voice came from upfront.

"We've arrived."

This was the reception room at Outpost Base; they had been here yesterday and had watched a "movie" at the invitation of Old Luka.

After asking everyone to sit down, Chu Guang approached them.

Due to wearing the power armor, he did not sit down with everyone else but chose to stand and speak.

"Regarding the relocation, my subordinates should have conveyed our suggestions last night. I want to know how you all have considered it."

The room went quiet for a while.

Brown was silent for a moment before slowly raising his head and saying,

"Is this a discussion, or is it a final ultimatum?"

Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"Of course, it's the former. Even if you have your own plans, as long as you don't ally with our enemies, we will not interfere in any way."

His words implied something more.

That is, we also would not be responsible for your safety, nor could we possibly send reinforcements if you were attacked.

The survivors present exchanged glances, their facial expressions slightly troubled.

Seeing their concern, Chu Guang continued,

"I know what you are worried about, such as whether living under someone else's roof might lead to unjust treatment, and whether we will keep our promises to ensure your safety."

"It's only human to have these concerns. My subordinates, being thorough, have not made promises on my behalf. Here, as the Manager of Shelter No. 404, I promise you that all survivors who relocate to Changjiu Farm will be protected fairly under the laws of Shelter No. 404 and will live dignified lives under our order."

Upon hearing Chu Guang's words, those sitting in the reception room whispered among themselves.

Some were already moved, others still hesitant, but clearly, attitudes were starting to waver.

Just as Chu Guang had pointed out, the concerns of these outsiders were twofold.

First, whether they would be treated fairly, and second, whether their safety would be guaranteed "as promised."

The first point, for now, was not a concern. These inhabitants of the "Blue Jacket" had even taken in nomads; it made no sense that they would discriminate against them.

The second point needed no discussion.

Although they did not have a more direct understanding of the strength of these survivors of the refuge, the presence of power armor alone likely meant they were not weak.

Attaching oneself to a powerful ally is not a bad thing, so long as it is worth it.

Especially for those smaller, more fragmented survivor communities, having a strong protector was far better than fending for themselves like orphans.

However, what was a friendly proposal for other survivors might not be so wonderful for a particular landlord.

The ambiguous attitudes of other survivor representatives made Brown feel a bit tense.

If besides himself, everyone else accepted the olive branch thrown by Shelter No. 404, how important would his opinion be?

He could almost foresee his own fate.

Who knew if these "Blue Jackets" might take the opportunity to settle old scores regarding their past payments of protection money to the Blood Hand Clan, ransacking his home before the Chewing Bone Tribe targeted them, engaging in a scorched earth strategy.

No one could guarantee that such a thing definitely wouldn't happen.

"Will you keep your promise?" looking at Chu Guang, Brown asked nervously, "I've heard that you invaded Bet Street."

As soon as he uttered these words, Brown regretted them, but it was already too late to take them back.

The survivors seated around whispered amongst themselves.

He didn't care about those voices. Chu Guang openly looked at Brown, and the latter, upon meeting his gaze, quickly looked away in fear.

"Invasion? If you had been there, you wouldn't say that."

"After our people arrived at Bet Street, the residents there voluntarily opened their gates and welcomed us. We ended the reign of a vampire and returned the streets to their people, allowing them to live under a new order. Now, they no longer have to endure the old town mayor's exploitation, nor do they have to carve their own flesh to try to feed a pack of insatiable wolves."

"I prefer to call it liberation, rather than invasion."

Silence fell over the reception room.

Hearing the latter part of Chu Guang's words, many of the survivors blushed, showing embarrassed expressions, as if he was talking about them.

If it weren't for paying protection money to the Blood Hand Clan, they wouldn't have had to live so sparingly this winter.

"You and your residents are noble people; I never doubted that."

Du Conglin looked at Chu Guang and continued earnestly.

"The advance team of the Chewing Bone Tribe has already reached the boundaries of Qingquan City. The crisis is urgent, and the current situation no longer allows us to remain divided. We from the Morning Wind Community are willing to accept your resettlement and are very grateful that you are willing to take us in."

"I feel the same," said Night Owl, sitting next to him, raising his hand, "One hundred households in Highway Town have no objections!"

Other survivors also nodded in agreement.

Brown initially wanted to say something but, in the end, did not dare to speak, swallowing the words he had at the tip of his tongue.

Only Doru couldn't resist whispering a question.

"Could you tell us about the specific resettlement plans... I mean, regarding property?"

Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"Of course, that's exactly what I am going to talk about next. I will make you believe that accepting our resettlement is not a bad thing."

Saying this, Chu Guang took out a map, drew a circle between the northern part of Rhombus Lake and Elm District, and enclosed a large area of land.

"From the North of Rhombus Lake to Elm District stretches ten kilometers, with over 100,000 acres of usable land. I've personally surveyed this area; it has rich freshwater resources and fertile soil, making it a great place for farming. Even though there are mutants like wolves, mutated hyenas, even Crack Claw Crabs, it's not a big problem. Our patrol team will take care of these nuisances."

"I hope you can move to Long Endurance Farm; its garrison and enclosing wall can ensure your safety to the utmost. Next year, I will allocate some arable land to you. In addition, the forest farms in Elm District will also be open to you, which are natural hunting grounds and currently one of our main sources of meat."

"All your properties will remain yours, we won't make any dispositions. You only need to pay attention to two things: one is to abide by our laws, and two, to use our currency on our land. If there are any more questions, feel free to ask now."

Upon hearing this, Brown immediately asked,

"What about slaves? Slaves are also part of our property, but your laws seem not to recognize slavery."

Anticipating this question, Chu Guang promptly brought out a well-thought-out response.

"Shelter No. 404 advocates equality and promotes an employment system, prohibiting enslavement of any person in any form. Of course, we won't ask you to give up your ownership of slaves without compensation, you can voluntarily release them or sell them to us. Here, a healthy young adult between the ages of 16 and 35 can be exchanged for 5 acres of farmland, and all others are valued at 3 acres each."

"They will be incorporated as semi-free personnel into the Pioneering Team, working alongside our captives to undergo ideological reform through labor, and after a period, reintegrate into our society as free individuals."

Expecting these Waste Land Wanderers to understand the benefits of the employment system and voluntarily release their slaves was unrealistic—they lacked the ideological awareness, and the practical basis for this did not exist in the wasteland.

Trading heads for land was a good idea.

This was a method Chu Guang had derived from practice when dealing with refugee issues.

Some refugees holding slaves, although resistant to handing them over and preferring to kill them rather than let them go, immediately handed their slaves over, joyful upon learning they could exchange them for land.

With land, they could settle down; once settled, they could shed their refugee status and stop living a precarious nomadic life.

For Chu Guang's side, he had vast lands awaiting cultivation. Giving away a bit of wasteland didn't matter; it would actually reduce his workload.

Those refugees, having obtained land, would instantly shift from being time bombs threatening order to shields upholding order.

Of course, when it came to the issue of land, Chu Guang did not proactively mention "tax."

Now was the starting phase of his enterprise; he needed people to grow the "pie." Collecting a mere one or two silver coins had no significance—after all, the money in their hands was also issued by him. It made more sense to let it circulate in the market to foster economic growth.

Once Long Endurance Farm developed, and the development of the lands outside the farm saturated, making the once worthless lands valuable, levying taxes would come naturally.

After hearing Chu Guang's answer, Brown quietly ran the numbers in his mind.

Slaves themselves weren't valuable; in winter, they were even a liability, requiring food and fuel to prevent them from freezing or starving to death.

He had over twenty serfs, which could be exchanged for more than 60 acres of land.

This amount of farmland was less compared to what he currently possessed, but the Manager's attitude toward the land gave him a glimmer of hope.

His farm was not ideally located, too close to the urban area with high costs for cultivation, and he had not expanded his planting area for many years.

If he could purchase some land from the Manager, he might gain a farm even larger than the original.

Of course, there were risks involved.

No one had truly dealt with these "Blue Jackets," and nobody could guarantee that they would play fair and not turn on them after taking over their property.

Brown was weighing the options in his mind.

At this moment, Night Owl from Highway Town spoke up.

"Do weapons also need to be turned in?"

Chu Guang responded.

"Firearms are prohibited within the residence area; outside, there are no restrictions. Private armed groups staying within our jurisdiction for a long time need to be registered, and any business activities must comply with our laws; other than that, there are no restrictions."

The survivors seated around did not speak.

Although the terms sounded somewhat harsh, at least they would survive.

Seeing no one speaking, Chu Guang continued.

"If there are no other questions, then the above are all the essential points concerning the relocation."

"Later, we will provide everyone with a residents' handbook containing all the necessary guidelines within our settlement, which you can consider our law."

"Additionally, I hope the relocation can start as soon as possible. According to reports from our reconnaissance team from the front lines, the reinforcement from the Chewing Bone Tribe has already reached the north suburb of Qingquan City and is now about 16 kilometers northeast of our location, frantically close, and it's hard to predict whether they might do something irrational."

Noticing a slight change in a few survivors' faces, they became restless, and Chu Guang paused before continuing.

"I am not sure if any of you live nearby, but if so, it would be best to inform them to seek refuge immediately—"

Before he could finish, a sudden rush of footsteps came from outside the meeting room.

A knock sounded.

After receiving permission, a guard quickly entered the room, saluted Chu Guang militarily, and reported earnestly.

"Manager, according to news from Changjiu Farm, we have seen a large amount of smoke in the northeast direction... It seems like something is burning!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang was stunned.

Holy shit!

Is my jinx that powerful?!

With an ominous premonition in his mind, Chu Guang immediately said.

"Can you ascertain the exact location?"

"Our team leader Wrench has already sent people to check the situation there; we can only speculate about the approximate location..."

Under Chu Guang's signal, the guard stepped forward, stared at the map hung on the wall for a while, and drew a circle on it with a charcoal pencil.

Looking at the circled position, Night Owl standing closest to the map gave a slight start and blurted out unconsciously.

"Winter Willow Camp?"

This was the first time Chu Guang had heard the term.

However, judging from the reactions of the other survivors, they were clearly familiar with the name and all turned their gazes towards a gaunt man sitting among the crowd.

Chu Guang also looked at him.

The man had a low presence; from the beginning of the relocation meeting until now, he had not spoken a word.

The sudden bad news made his face lose color, white as the snow outside the door; his lips trembled uncontrollably, and his pupils dilated with fear.

"No!"

…

Northeast of the Outpost Base, in the wilderness.

Two heavy bicycles were making their way clumsily through the snow.

In shallower snow areas, they could manage by sliding their feet, but where the snow was deep enough to bury the wheels, they had no choice but to get off and push.

"This damn weather, what's the use of a bicycle? Would be better to have a few sleds!" Night Ten, pedaling hard, couldn't help but complain.

Sitting in the back, Wild Wind was looking at the VM screen and casually asked.

"Can you ski?"

"No! But I could learn!"

Sitting behind Quit Smoking, Fang Chang was also scrolling through his VM and casually added, "I can ski a bit, but it's difficult with this terrain, unless we have a couple of Huskies running in front."

Night Ten glanced at him.

"Damn, how come you know everything?"

Fang Chang thought for a moment and said.

"emmm… maybe because I'm too idle?"

The north wind howled.

It made people's consciousness hazy.

Unable to help himself, Night Ten yawned softly and muttered.

"This game is too realistic… even the game characters get sleepy."

Sitting in the back, Wild Wind nodded.

"Yeah, it's ridiculous. I've already got a fatigue debuff here, but the 5% debuff effect isn't noticeable… Wait, it seems like a new mission has been triggered."

Hearing about a new mission, Night Ten, who had been listless a second ago, suddenly perked up.

"What mission?!"

Fang Chang, also staring at the VM screen, followed up.

"I've received it too… The mission requires us to head to the Winter Willow Camp one kilometer away, support the survivors there, prevent the Looters from obtaining supplies from the locals, and buy time for the reinforcements to arrive."

Winter Willow Camp?

What kind of place is that?

Fang Chang dragged his index finger across the map and found a green tent icon.

The icon was in a forest area that no players had explored before, so they knew nothing about it. However, from pre-war maps, it seemed to be something like a forest park, with a forest ranger's hut and a tourist rest area.

In any case, it was a godforsaken place.

Wild Wind touched his nose bridge and calmly said, "…Addition, the enemy unit's number is unknown. It's best to prepare for encountering an Elite Monster or even triggering a BOSS battle. Fortunately, the battlefield is in a forest, which is like half our home ground."

Huffing and puffing as he pedaled his bike, the Smoking Quitting Brother, who couldn't get a word in, gasped.

"Bro, give a direction, should we turn around?"

Staring at the VM screen and pondering for a moment, Fang Chang said.

"No need, just continue in the current direction. I'll tell you in advance when you need to turn right… Tsk, this mission has a time limit."

The surrounding terrain was wooded, with high and low undulations, making it difficult to find a suitable sniping spot. The west side was relatively higher, but getting there would take some time.

Fang Chang already had a rough plan in his mind.

Wild Wind patted Night Ten's shoulder and urged.

"The mission fails in 30 minutes. Pedal faster, can't you learn from Smoking Quitting?"

Night Ten cursed.

"Damn! I'm Perception-based, how can I compare with the Body Constitution types?!"

Looking at the vast expanse of white snow ahead, Fang Chang silently sighed.

"It would be nice if we could get the motorbikes going."

Thinking about it, the road conditions in the wasteland made four-wheeled vehicles difficult, but two-wheeled motorbikes were absolutely divine! Modified a bit, they could even serve as snowmobiles in the winter.

The only pity was that the engine was a bit tricky.

Hopefully, Brother Ciso and Brother Levin at Factory No.81 could lend some help!

"There's a big smoke ahead!" Smoking Quitting suddenly shouted, "Should we turn?"

"I can see with my own eyes, keep your voice down!"

Fang Chang couldn't help responding sarcastically and took down a compound bow from his back.

As they were talking, gunfire sounded faintly from afar, and judging by the distance, it wasn't very far and was coming from the forest ahead.

Fang Chang made a quick decision.

"Stop the bike."

"Wild Wind and Night Ten, go to the west slope; Smoking Quitting, follow me. Turn off the safety, and make sure it doesn't go off accidentally!"

"Engage the enemy within 700 meters, we'll advance the rest of the way on foot!"

Chapter 205: The Fierce Battle at Winter Willow Camp!

Winter Willow Camp was ablaze with fire.

Around twenty looters, led by two Centurions, launched their attack from two directions in the thick early morning fog of the forest.

There was no warning.

Gunshots suddenly erupted!

The old gatekeeper watching the village entrance was shot dead. As five Molotov cocktails soared toward the village, smashing into the wooden fences and houses near the entrance, the raid officially began.

The looters, clad in jackets made of hyena skin and adorned with necklaces of human bones and beast teeth, wielded their Ripper Rifles, bayonet attached, as if they were lances.

Screams and wails rose and fell, mingling with rude, hearty laughter and gunshots, turning the place into a living purgatory.

The village fences caught massive fire, with flames spreading from north to south. In the thick smoke, it was impossible to tell how many attackers there were.

Men and women desperately ran towards the outskirts of the village. In the chaos, some stumbled and fell, quickly caught up by the pursuing looters.

Those seen as valuable were brutally beaten and bound, tossed aside on the road. Those deemed worthless had a knife slit their throats or a stab to the back, executed on the spot.

Some initially tried to resist, courageously picking up hunting guns and bows and arrows, even with a mindset of perishing together. Heaving up axes used for chopping wood, they charged.

However, the harsh reality was that almost all resistance was in vain.

In the melee of cold weapons, these survivors, both in skill and equipment, were no match for the looters.

Those who picked up guns to resist barely fired a few shots before they were pinned down behind cover by a barrage of bullets, either killed in the streets during a retreat or turned into sieves by numerous bayonets.

In fact, the survivors of Winter Willow Camp were not weak.

But regrettably, they encountered Chewing Bone Tribe...

These people were completely different from any raiders they had faced before!

They were not only well-equipped but also well-trained.

During their advance, some covered with shooting, and during a charge, they knew when to cluster together and when to disperse.

Even after breaking into the stronghold, they did not scatter, but systematically swept through the village to annihilate any resistance, segregating and driving fleeing survivors to the northwest corner of the village.

There was a mud wall there, the thickest wall of the entire village.

With no nearby houses or footholds, the cornered survivors were like lambs in a pen, only able to wait meekly for slaughter, entirely at the mercy of their captors.

A man with a jawbone-sized skull hanging around his neck and a jutting lower jaw, holding a tape-wrapped automatic rifle, fired two shots into the sky and commanded the panicked survivors fiercely,

"Bow your heads and kneel on the ground!"

"If I see any slight movement, I'll smash your skulls with the butt of my gun!"

His name was Yu, one of the Centurions under Gang Ya, tasked along with another Centurion named "Iron Knee" to lead their men in search of supplies in the nearby area.

As Yu's gaze swept over these villagers, it lingered on a few reasonably attractive women.

A flicker of greed flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure, muttered to himself, and then turned to instruct his followers to plunder the supplies.

"Move quickly! Take the food and anything valuable, burn the rest!"

"No dawdling!"

"Those looking for fun, wait until we return to the base; there will be plenty of time to mess around!"

The supplies intended for the main force had been stolen by a group of unidentified survivors. Their leader decided not to let it go and opted to raid the nearby survivors' settlement for the food, clothing, and fuel they needed.

Before departing, one of the advisers in dark blue coats had specially instructed them to strike quickly, not to linger in battle or waste time seeking pleasure.

If not for the prestige of the adviser, Yu would never have left so easily, he would have let his brothers seek some "fun."

In the Chewing Bone Tribe, those consultants in dark blue coats ranked highly.

They had never fought in wars before and had never won so effortlessly.

Thanks to those in dark blue coats, they now felt invincible, not only settling scores with their foes but also sweeping through the entire Central Region, scarcely any survivor settlements standing in their way.

The culture of the looters was to worship the strong. Whoever could lead them to more slaves and treasures was their alpha.

Even Gang Ya held the consultant in high regard, and Yu did not want to be made an example and executed.

He well knew his leader's nature; merciless to both foes and friends alike.

The twenty or so severely wounded comrades found in the morning were all executed swiftly by their leader. Yu still remembered his leader's words at that time—

They are burdens, undeserving of life!

The villagers were herded to the water well in the village center.

This was the village square.

Edibles, clothes, utilities... all somewhat valuable spoils were brought out of the houses and dumped onto the open space.

Two looters stepped forward, using the bayonets at the end of their guns to prod, sorting these villagers into two groups: useful and useless.

They would kill a group that could not move, serving as their reserve food supply.

Then, they would force the remaining to carry their spoils, bringing them along back to their base.

There, an even more brutal purgatory awaited...

Watching a looter carry away a bag of ram's horn potatoes from his house, an old man kneeling on the ground found courage from somewhere, and, rolling and scrambling, he threw himself at the looter's leg, desperately pleading.

"That's the last of our food at home, please... leave us something at least."

The looter was initially stunned, then a grim smile crossed his face, and he smashed the old man to the ground with the butt of his gun.

"Who do you think you are, old timer!"

Leave some?

Think about how to keep your life first!

With a loud bang, the old man fell in the snow, blood seeping from his head.

A Looter grabbed his collar, dragged him from the middle of the road to the side, stripped off his clothes, and threw them into the pile of spoils.

The surrounding survivors were silent as the grave.

The brutality of those Looters made their limbs go cold, not a single person dared to speak, much less resist.

Blood trailed from the entrance of the village to the central well, permeating deep into their hearts.

These people were devils!

Looking at the grandfather lying in the corner, a boy, covering his screaming sister's mouth, glared at the man who had killed his grandfather, his eyes shimmering with hatred.

It seemed he caught the boy's stare.

The Looter looked at him with interest, as if he had found something amusing, and walked over to him.

"Was that old man your dad?"

The boy didn't speak, just glared at him.

The Looter narrowed his eyes, suddenly noticing the girl in his arms, a wicked thought flashing through his eyes.

Thinking of something fun, he pulled a rusted dagger from his boot and threw it in front of the boy, saying in a tone as though teasing a child.

"Here's your chance."

"Beat me, and I'll let you go."

"Lose, and she's mine."

A kneeling neighbor grabbed the boy and pleaded with the looter.

"He's just a child... let him go."

"Did I ask you?"

The Looter impatiently pulled the bolt of his rifle.

However, before he could raise the muzzle, it was as if something had struck him; a burst of blood mist sprayed from his back.

Bang—

The thunderous gunshot echoed far and wide in the forest.

Blood spurted from the Looter's chest, splattering the faces of the surrounding survivors, who in panic, lay down on the ground, scattering into buildings, hiding behind cover.

The surrounding Looters couldn't stop it in time, their faces also filled with panic, their eyes searching everywhere, firing towards the slopes outside the village.

However, they chose the wrong direction, bullets rattled down on a snow pile about a hundred meters away from Night Ten and Wild Wind.

Seeing that no one noticed him, the boy picked up the rusted dagger from the ground and pounced on the Looter who had been shot in the chest, stabbing manically at his chest as if chopping meat.

The Looter initially twitched, struggling to dodge, until blood poured from his mouth and nostrils, his eyes rolled back, and he moved no more.

Nearby Looters, cursing, lifted their rifles, firing a burst at the boy.

In the chaos, bullets whizzed past, unknown where they hit, the boy somersaulted to the right side of the body, dead or alive, couldn't be told.

"Fuck, I can't stand this anymore!"

This game is great, but sometimes it's just too real!

Night Ten cursed and pulled the bolt, aiming at the Looter who had targeted the boy, and pulled the trigger again.

Bang—

This time, it was a headshot!

The Looter with his head blown off lay silently in the snow beside the stone well.

"It's fine, Fang Chang and Quit Smoking just got here... a second early or a second late doesn't matter."

Taking a deep breath, Wild Wind calmly held the binoculars, scanning the village for a moment before quickly locking onto a man leaning forward by the jaw.

"2 o'clock, see the tent with the red cloth? The man next to it, with a skull on his chest, likely the Looter leader."

"I see him."

"Take him out—"

As he was speaking, Wild Wind suddenly saw the man's gaze shooting straight at him.

In the instant their eyes met, the man leaped like a panther to the side.

Bang—

The gunshot echoed, the bullet hit the snow, kicking up a string of snowflakes.

Night Ten, pulling the bolt, bewilderedly moved his eyes from the scope, unable to believe he had dodged the shot.

"What the fuck? What's going on?"

"We're on the west side..." Wild Wind looked up at the rising sun in the east, his expression grave, "We got careless."

The west side was a slope.

But facing the sunlight!

Now that the sun had risen, and the morning fog had cleared, it was likely the reflection from the sniper scope that had given away their position!

However, Wild Wind felt that it wasn't that simple.

The man's insight and reaction speed were almost unbelievably fast.

At that moment, Wild Wind suddenly remembered the battle with the Blood Hand Clan, where The Manager had hammered down the "Bear."

Could it be...

An Awakener!?

Night Ten, who missed his shot, didn't stop. He immediately adjusted his aim for the next target and killed a looter who was lying next to the well with a single shot.

"Third one!"

If he couldn't take down the leader, it was still good to reduce their number.

However, at that moment, a burst of bullets suddenly came from afar, whizzing over their heads.

Although no shots hit, Night Ten and Wild Wind were forced to retreat back down the slope.

"Damn! How are these looters so fiercely armed!"

"..."

Wild Wind didn't speak; he silently took a wooden-handle grenade from his waist, carefully peeked from behind cover, and picked up his binoculars to search the village. He soon locked onto the source of the gunfire.

The man held an automatic rifle, beneath the barrel hung a bipod and a circular drum magazine.

What a piece.

An automatic rifle modified into a squad machine gun?

"Distance 250 meters, fuse time 6 seconds, initial velocity needs to be over 41 seconds... no, even faster," Wild Wind muttered to himself as he calculated in his mind.

Under normal circumstances, thrown objects couldn't reach that far, nor could they achieve the initial velocity of a javelin.

But...

His right hand was no ordinary hand.

Not to mention a javelin.

Even cannon shelling was nothing for him!

With a powerful swing of his arm, the grenade flew from Wild Wind's hand, tracing a parabola toward the village.

The light machine gun's bullets quickly came flying, suppressing him back, but as a loud explosion echoed from afar, the fierce gunfire suddenly flared upward, whizzing over the treetops and abruptly stopped.

Snow from the treetops fell, covering both men.

Night Ten shook his head, climbed out of the snow pile, and excitedly spoke while remounting his sniper rifle.

"Damn, bro, over two hundred meters fuck, you're practically a human mortar!"

Movies wouldn't dare shoot like this!

Picking up the binoculars again to observe, Wild Wind replied emotionlessly.

"This right hand can adjust its strength... got quite used to it."

"Awesome! But seriously, what if your equipment blows up, would using your original hand be uncomfortable—"

"Shut up."

Their position had been exposed.

Normally, this would be the time to move.

But here was a forest, and only the western slope provided a good vantage over the village; even if they moved, there would be no better sniping spot.

Moreover, Fang Chang and Smoking Quitting Brother had already reached the east gate of the village, needing support right then!

Leading with his Sickle Assault Rifle, Smoking Quitting Brother charged through the main gate first, roaring as he moved forward with Fang Chang's support from the arrows.

Night Ten, having reset his gun, cleanly pulled the trigger, taking out a rifleman who had his sights on the duo, covering their continued advance.

Attacks launched from both far and near caught the village looters off guard.

In just 5 minutes of combat, more than twenty looters had been reduced by forty percent.

The remaining looters could only hide inside buildings, relying on cover and obstacles to dodge the sniper's harvesting, stuck in a stalemate with the unwelcome guests entering the village.

Morale began to waver!

"I think we can wipe out both their teams!" Night Ten reloaded his rifle, speaking excitedly, "We don't even need any reinforcements!"

"Don't get careless, keep your eyes on the target..."

Before he could finish, Wild Wind suddenly saw a red flare shoot up from the village into the sky.

A bad feeling rose from the bottom of his heart.

"We need to move."

"Move?"

Night Ten was slightly stunned, wondering if it was really necessary as the enemies were pinned down in the buildings, unable to make a move.

But just then, the rumble of engines came from afar.

Wild Wind, alarmed, immediately picked up the binoculars and looked towards the direction of the sound.

Two trucks were parked on the northern edge of the forest, about five to six hundred meters away.

Roughly forty people jumped down from the trucks, splitting into four squads, and began advancing quickly from north to south. Their current position was right on the path of the westernmost squad!

Noticing the situation to the north, Night Ten's face changed instantly.

"Fuck... we're screwed now."

Forty people!

If they each spit at them, they'd drown in saliva!

Wild Wind also looked troubled.

"Can you hit them?"

Night Ten swallowed, then said.

"Hit shit! I've got less than forty bullets left."

He couldn't possibly take down over forty enemies, not even if he landed headshots with every single shot.

Hearing Night Ten's response, Wild Wind made a decision in just one second.

"No choice, we need to retreat!"

The mission's reward was tempting, but the enemy's strength was beyond their scope of work.

Retreat now meant only losing some ammunition, but continuing to fight meant abandoning all their gear here.

However, almost at the same time he made his decision, the VM on his arm suddenly vibrated.

A popup appeared.

[Mission: Support Winter Willow Camp (Completed)]

[Mission (New): Cooperate with reinforcements to crush the Looters! (In Progress)]

Wild Wind was initially stunned, then a look of ecstatic joy spread across his face as he abruptly looked toward the south.

From the woods, dozens of figures emerged from the silhouette of the forest!

Lying on the ground, Night Ten also saw the situation in the distance and exclaimed with unexpected joy,

"It's the reinforcements! Our reinforcements have arrived!"

Before he finished speaking, accompanying the sound of the charge, the cries and shouts from a distance had already reached a boiling point.

"Brothers, charge!"

"Ollie!"

"Kill!"

The earth-shattering shouts swept from the south to the north, like thousands of troops storming through the forest.

The men hadn't arrived yet,
but the overwhelming momentum had already terrified the Looters in the village to the point of sweating profusely.

A drop of sweat slid from Yu's forehead.

Pinned down in a wooden house by a sniper, he didn't dare to peek outside, nor did he know how long it would take for the reinforcements to arrive.

He knew only one thing.

If they didn't retreat now, he and his brothers would die horribly!

"Retreat! This sounds like at least a hundred-man team!" Iron Knee, hiding in another wooden house, yelled out loud to him.

Reaching an agreement with another Centurion, Yu immediately made the decision and yelled,

"Retreat!"

"Everyone retreat!"

Inside Winter Willow Camp.

The Looters could no longer hold out and started fleeing from their cover and the wounded, escaping from the occupied cabins and shacks toward the north.

The gunshots gradually faded.

The survivors hiding in cupboards, under beds, and in ruins, walked out from their hiding places.

Gazing at the destroyed village and the bodies scattered on the ground, they looked bewildered. Soon, some began to cry, or silently knelt on the ground.

It was less about despair,
and more about numbness.

No one knew how to face all this, nor did anyone know what path to follow next.

The boy found his little sister, tapped her on the back of her head, and muttered a couple of comforting words.

The village chief of Winter Willow Camp, Horse Occupy Hill, found his oldest son on the street leading to the northern gate, his body riddled like a sieve by the Looters.

He held a hunting gun in his hands, his eyes wide open, still clutching two bullets that hadn't been loaded.

His Adam's apple moved, the old man closed his eyes and remained silent.

Fang Chang, carrying a mechanical composite bow, and Quit Smoking, holding a rifle, walked out from one side of the street.

Looking at the chaos, and the scene akin to an earthly purgatory, Quit Smoking swallowed his spit.

"Has this game always been this real?"

"It always has, and before you came, we'd seen even worse. Luckily, there's an emotional blunting filter. Taking off the helmet is like waking from a lucid dream. Any part of the dream that discomforts your brain gets blurred out, so don't worry," Fang Chang patted Quit Smoking on the shoulder, "You'll get used to it."

If he couldn't adapt, there were other, less intense ways to play.

Like fishing, hunting, or gathering mushrooms.

The game didn't dictate how players had to play. In fact, the operator always encouraged players to find their own way to play within the rules.

Quit Smoking nodded, seemingly getting it.

Indeed...

If this were real life, he'd not only have probably peed his pants from fright, but he'd likely have been scared stiff, unable to joke around with his teammates like this.

They were all ordinary people, not the Crooked Mouth War God.

But then again, bodies in the game were different from those in reality.

If they were as weak as in real life, why even play?

His body, worn out from smoking and drinking, could barely run twenty or thirty meters without gasping for air, let alone rush forward while firing a rifle.

No doubt, any scavenger could pin him to the ground and pummel him...

Chapter 206 Brother Shui, where are we going to feed today?

Gunshots echoed from afar for a while.

The Looters had awkwardly retreated in their trucks after leaving behind a total of seven bodies and three injured comrades they failed to carry away.

Machine guns mounted on two of the trucks fired into the forest, while another patrolling machine-gun pickup also came to their aid, providing covering fire for their retreat.

The players didn't pursue them out of the forest.

Their vehicles were on the south side, and this was the north side of the forest.

Exiting the forest meant facing a gentle slope, and without fast-moving vehicles, it was impossible to chase the trucks with legs alone.

"Damn, those bastards sure ran fast!"

Carrying an Iron Fist rocket launcher and watching the receding snow foam in the distance, a member of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group eventually put down the launcher.

At a distance of 200 to 300 meters and a vehicle speed over 30 yards, it was indeed difficult to hit the target without high-tech aiming systems.

Still, thinking about a left-behind truck and an additional 100 war points, he couldn't help but clench his jaw in frustration.

Such a pity!

If only they had been a bit faster!

The Spring Water Commander came up from behind and patted his shoulder.

"You did pretty well. Our task was to drive the enemy away, and repelling the Looter's attack counts as a victory. As for secondary objectives, it all depends on whether the other side is gracious. This AI is pretty clever; it turns and runs the moment things turn sour."

Honestly, it was a bit cowardly.

But it felt quite realistic.

When battles break out on such terrain types, they can quickly evolve into a war of attrition, then it all comes down to who can reinforce their troops faster.

And this was Qingquan City.

Given the uncertain strength of the opponent, the commander made the most cautious decision based on limited information, which was understandable.

However, it wasn't quite in line with the typical style of the Looters.

The Spring Water Commander silently contemplated, giving an internal assessment of these Looters.

These creatures were not easy to deal with!

Elsewhere.

The Guard Captain Wrench, wearing a Type-Five exoskeleton, walked to the center of the Winter Willow Camp's village square and met the village chief.

Looking at the elderly man, wrinkled and wise, he spoke in a solemn tone.

"The attack on you was by the Chewing Bone Tribe, they have recently expanded from the central to the southern part of the River Valley Province. Although we prevailed this time, I'm not certain if they will come back."

Glancing around, Wrench continued.

"I'm really sorry this happened, we did our best."

The villagers dragged their fallen comrades' bodies to the square, and a quick count showed at least twenty.

Many had died gruesome deaths, a sight so harrowing that it made him frown.

Such beasts!

He couldn't imagine what would have occurred if they had arrived just a few minutes later.

"Sir, please don't say that," Horse Occupy Hill shook his head and spoke, "If it weren't for you... our fate might have been even worse."

Beside the old man, a ragged man staggered over.

Half of his face was burned, his forehead smeared with blood, babbling as if terrified out of his wits.

"I've always said... we should have run away from here, the group that came this time was just a small fry, the real devils are still behind. No one can match them, nobody!"

Wrench looked at him.

"Who is this?"

Horse Occupy Hill's throat moved, and he softly sighed.

"He's a refugee from Tianshui City, a distant relative of our family, named Ma Shan. He's a pitiful man, his family broken and lost to tragedy once, and just when he luckily escaped, he encountered those people here... His mental state might be somewhat abnormal."

Wrench: "…"

Meeting with disasters twice, indeed.

That's genuinely unlucky.

Seeing the exoskeleton-clad man looking at him with pity, Ma Shan, as if triggered, became agitated and spoke.

"I'm not joking! They have very big guns, and huge trucks... The most terrifying part is, they've enslaved the Claws of Death! I know it sounds crazy, but I saw it with my own eyes! Undoubtedly, they are the minions of the Grim Reaper, otherwise, it wouldn't make sense that the Claws of Death would stand with them!"

As one of the most ferocious beasts of the Wasteland, the Claw of Death was seen as a symbol of demise and even worshipped as minions of death by many ignorant tribes.

Wrench listened, utterly baffled, and frowned.

Though he couldn't understand the gibberish, his instincts told him this man might possess some critical information.

"I'll take you to see the Manager."

Ma Shan looked confused.

"Manager...?"

Realizing he hadn't introduced himself properly, Wrench then said.

"I forgot to introduce myself, we are from Shelter No. 404."

"Shelter?" Horse Occupy Hill paused, looking at Wrench with a surprise clearly not expecting that their rescuer was indeed from the Blue Jacket.

And the ragged man, upon hearing this, immediately lit up with hope and blurted out.

"Please take me there!"

"As long as we close the door, those Looters definitely won't get in!"

Outpost Base.

The slender man sat in the reception room, fidgeting uneasily in his chair with a distracted expression. His eyes intermittently darted towards the window and the door; any slight disturbance could make him tense.

Through inquiry, Chu Guang learned that this man's name was Ma Li, the second son from the family of the village head of Winter Willow Camp.

He had an older brother named Ma Yong, but such trivial details didn't matter much.

Chu Guang didn't want to thrive on others' misery, but he had to admit that the tragedy at Winter Willow Camp had served as a wake-up call for all the survivors in the northern suburbs.

After seeing the dreadful conditions there via drone, representatives from other survivor settlements were terrified and finally faced reality.

The Chewing Bone Tribe had made it to the northern suburbs of Qingquan City!

Their methods were brutal, their equipment sophisticated, and they were well-versed in tactics. Ordinary survivor settlements stood no chance against these hungry wolves!

Some had hesitated and even planned to negotiate the relocation; nevertheless, they had now resolved to ask for Chu Guang's help, hoping to start the relocation as soon as possible.

The rest was easy to say.

There were thirteen survivor settlements in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City, spread across nearly 500 square kilometers.

Chu Guang quickly devised an evacuation plan, moving from the farthest to the nearest in three phases.

The five survivor settlements closest to the Central State Aerospace Ecology Experimental Base were included in the first phase of evacuation.

These included Super Power Battery Factory, Hope Mountain Cooperative, Scavenger's Home, Highway Town, and Winter Willow Camp—more than six hundred households, a total of over a thousand people, equivalent to six Bet Streets.

Outpost Base had only nine trucks available, including four newly captured ones!

People could do without trucks, but goods had to be moved, especially food.

Other things could be left behind, but food was a must!

Otherwise, once so many people reached Changjiu Farm, Chu Guang would be unable to find enough food for them, and famine might reach them before the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Chu Guang contacted Liuding and mobilized fifty Strength-type players to form a transportation team, with a hundred Soldier players as guards for the evacuation.

They would start with the outermost survivor settlements, assisting the local survivors in evacuating.

All personnel and materials would first be evacuated to the New United Gas Station, ten kilometers away from Changjiu Farm, then moved to Changjiu Farm in batches.

As for what would happen later...

That would have to be considered later.

The immediate priority was to get people and goods back.

If those Looters got their hands on supplies, who knows how many more would come!

The reception room door opened.

Seeing the Manager walk in, Ma Li, who sat on the stool, immediately stood up and hurriedly greeted him.

"Sir, my family… are they alright?"

Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"My subordinate saw your father, he's doing alright, but... your village might have suffered severe losses. My people are assisting with your evacuation, and if all goes well, you could see your father at Changjiu Farm by tomorrow evening."

Hearing his father was still alive, Ma Li breathed a sigh of relief, his tense shoulders relaxed. However, upon hearing the rest, his heart involuntarily tightened again.

This winter was already hard enough...

Now that they had lost their village and had no home, the days to come would surely be tougher than before.

But no matter what, the others had saved his people's lives.

Ma Li lowered his head and sincerely said,

"Thank you…"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"No need to thank me."

"Helping you is, in fact, helping ourselves."

Winter Willow Camp had over seventy households, including the elderly and children, nearly two hundred people.

Thinking a bit darker,

So many people.

Enough for those Looters to eat for a long time...

Ma Li looked at Chu Guang and earnestly said,

"Is there anything I can do? If I can be of help to you."

Chu Guang had a thought and said,

"Outpost Base's capacity is limited, we plan to gather the first group of evacuees from the survivor settlements at the New United Gas Station, ten kilometers from Changjiu Farm, then move them to Changjiu Farm in batches. If you want to help, you can go there, and I can arrange for you to comfort the survivors so you can meet your father sooner."

Of course.

That also meant,

Standing on the front lines.

Ma Li took a deep breath, overcoming the fear in his heart, and nodded solemnly.

"I'm willing to go!"

Chu Guang, admiring this now spirited man, patted his arm.

"Then go."

"The boarding area is on the north side of the Park, my people will take you there!"

Outside the eastern gate of the Outpost Base.

At the entrance of the nomads' village, the sisters Autumn Grass and Autumn Leaf were standing next to a stump with an axe embedded in it, each holding a wooden basket, craning their necks to look around.

The baskets contained a full load of raw silk wrapped around sticks.

Seeing Teng Teng approaching from the Outpost Base, the sisters' eyes instantly brightened.

Especially the outgoing younger sister, who couldn't help but tiptoe and wave excitedly, running over to hug her.

"Teng Teng!"

"Autumn Leaf, good morning—ah! No, no need to spin me around; it's too weird!"

Having finally touched the ground, Teng Teng, with flushed cheeks, smoothed her disheveled hair, and Autumn Leaf looked at her bewildered, like a child who had done something wrong.

"Teng Teng?"

"It's nothing... Just, don't do that again, okay!"

Autumn Leaf nodded as if she understood.

Although the language of the residents of the refuge wasn't very familiar to her, Autumn Leaf was pretty fluent when it came to saying "Teng Teng."

Thanks to the beautiful and kind-hearted Miss Teng Teng, who had taught them how to harvest silk and gifted them a set of silk-harvesting tools, the tribe now had a lot of beautiful and durable ropes, silk, and fabrics, and also gained extra income.

Every morning, Teng Teng would come by, buying the raw silk they had produced the day before.

Everyone in the tribe was very thankful to this kind person, and the tribe leader had specifically instructed her and her sister to give her the best silk they had. As for the average quality silk, they could keep it for themselves as they didn't need the finer quality.

Autumn Leaf was not particularly interested in coins, but the pupae of the Devil Moth were irresistible!

She had never tasted such delicious insects.

Pale and tender, crunchy with one bite whether roasted or boiled, they were simply delightful!

Just as Autumn Leaf was thinking about inviting Teng Teng to try her delicious cooking, her sister, Autumn Grass, approached from not far away, tapping her on the head.

"Ouch!"

Autumn Leaf covered her head, looking at her sister with a face full of grievance, while the latter glared at her and chided softly.

"You shouldn't be so rude to others; they are our benefactors."

Saying this, Autumn Grass looked apologetically at Teng Teng, lowered her head, and said earnestly in her imperfect pronunciation.

"Sorry, sister, for the trouble."

"It's okay, no need for such formal apologies..." Teng Teng, ill at ease in such situations, especially with Autumn Leaf's pitiful look, quickly changed the subject, "Right, the silk."

Saying this, she took out a bag of silver coins from her pocket and handed it to Autumn Grass.

Autumn Grass was slightly taken aback but then politely accepted, picking up the wooden basket from the ground.

"We've finished the work; we can help you carry it over."

"It's alright, it's alright. I can take it back myself, it's not far."

Watching Autumn Leaf, who stood behind her sister with a face full of grievance, Teng Teng walked up to her and gently touched her head, saying cheerfully.

"Thank you, it was hard work!"

"These materials are a huge help!"

With these materials, so many clothes could be made!

"Thank you!"

Autumn Leaf's eyes lit up, her face immediately breaking into a smile.

She understood that word!

It signified gratitude and affirmation!

Just then, a commotion suddenly arose from the northern gate of the Outpost Base, and a large group of people carrying rifles marched north with imposing momentum.

It was the same yesterday.

The tribal villagers stopped their work, looking toward the north, and started murmuring quietly.

"What happened..."

"I heard it's from the north."

"The north! The chaos has spread to here?"

"May the spirits of the ancestors bless those warriors and grant them a triumphant return."

"Let's hope the war doesn't reach us... We finally found a place to settle down."

The days of wandering had been too harsh.

No one wanted to return to that kind of life.

Looking toward the north, Autumn Leaf nervously huddled next to her sister.

Autumn Grass gently patted her little head, comforting her softly.

"Don't be afraid."

"The Manager will protect us."

Though Teng Teng couldn't understand what the sisters were saying, she could sense the unease in their eyes.

Giving them a firm look, Teng Teng reassured them with an encouraging tone.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen."

"Everyone in the refuge will protect you!"

...

North gate of the Park.

Two trucks stopped.

Edge Shoveling, carrying a sickle assault rifle, called his teammates to board the trucks.

"Brothers, get on the truck, there's work to do! There's work to do!"

"Mission: Head to 'Super Power Battery Factory' (In Progress)"

"Mission: Cover the evacuation of 'Super Power Battery Factory' residents (Not Started)"

With an optic-mounted "Sickle" semi-automatic rifle on his back, Debt Giant Eye hopped onto the truck stirring excitement.

"Let's go, let's follow Brother Shui to put out fires!"

Edge Shoveling rolled his eyes.

"Damn, can we change the name? Can't you just call me Edge?"

However, the more he resisted, the more the others around him teased.

Construction Teen with Brick: "Alright, Brother Shui! Where are we spraying water today?"

Makabazi: "What water? Brother Shui, where are we going to deliver some heads today?"

Edge Shoveling: "@#%!"

Due to the ridiculously high casualty rate, Edge Shoveling's convoy had gained a bit of notoriety on the forum, often being teased by players and backseat drivers as the death car.

When they encountered mutants previously, after two rounds of heavy casualties, had it not been for the planners losing patience and lowering the difficulty, sending a team of power-armored allies to their side, they might have been wiped out entirely!

Even last night's raid on the experimental base, as a feint group, their casualty rate reached 50%.

Although everyone knew it wasn't his fault that so many died, being constantly involved in big scenes and killed off by the plotline was really too unlucky.

But strangely,
he always survived.

Because of this, many debated on the forum whether high perception might add dodging or luck, otherwise, it was inexplicable.

Once on the truck, Debt Giant Eye, unable to keep quiet, chuckled while teasing Construction Teen with Brick next to him.

"Wanna bet? A little wager invigorates the spirit. Let's bet 1 Silver Coin, guess today's death lottery."

Construction Teen with Brick didn't even think before coolly extending five fingers.

"I bet five."

Why five?

Because he had five fingers, the other hand was lazily pocketed and he wasn't bothered to pull it out.

"Tch," Debt Giant Eye clicked his tongue, "then I bet six."

Another player nearby heard this and shivered.

"Shit, can you not jinx it?"

"I just want to get off this truck!"

Mobilized into ten squads in total, two of which were led by Edge Shoveling, headed towards the Super Power Battery Factory located 22 kilometers away.

This battery factory was situated in a small town, producing safe, reliable, and environmentally-friendly solid hydrogen batteries. Before the war, the product was somewhat famous, and the town's two public schools and a kindergarten were even funded by it.

However, more than two centuries later today, the only connection this factory had with batteries was probably just the sign that could barely be read.

Most of the factory buildings had collapsed, only the enclosing wall was barely usable. With no dangerous variants nearby, over time, people settled here.

Survivors built houses with scavenged materials, repaired the walls, and lived off scavenging and farming here for many years.

Two trucks stopped at the factory gate.

Survivors, carrying big and small bags and even hand carts, had already gathered at the gate.

Many faces reflected bewilderment; although the rumor that Chewing Bone Tribe had brought the war to the northern suburbs of Qingquan City wasn't new, nobody expected everything to happen so suddenly.

A young guard jumped down from the truck, quickly walked to the factory gate, and met the village chief of this survivor settlement.

It was a somewhat hunched old man, his face carrying the scars of time, but he still appeared robust.

Lu Bei stood before him, his expression serious and his words concise.

"Guard Lu Bei from Shelter No. 404! By order of the Manager, I'm here to assist your evacuation!"

Although somewhat concerned by the youthful appearance of the man before him, the soldiers behind him reassured the old man.

He nodded and spoke.

"My name is Li Zhong, the village chief here. I've heard about the situation from the kids, we've packed our things, ready to leave at any moment."

"We will abide by your rules, and hope that you can keep your promise and respect our agreement."

Lu Bei nodded, loyally saying.

"Don't worry, the Manager has already planned a bright future for you, now please follow me—"

Before he could finish, gunfire suddenly erupted from a distance, bullets whistling toward the gate, instantly marking the concrete wall with a row of bullet holes, dust flying.

Startled by the sudden gunfire, the surrounding survivors quickly dodged away from the gate.

However, a few who kept their composure amidst danger skillfully picked up weapons and crouched at the doorway, returning fire towards the source of the bullets.

Looking sharply northward, Lu Bei's eyes widened slightly; a steel-plated pickup truck had already steadied itself at the turning corner of the road.

That dark gun barrel was aimed straight this way!

Not far off, Edge Shoveling was already bellowing and leading a charge, firing to draw attention while directing his squad members to spread out.

"Enemy attack!"

"Driver, don't get out! Drive the trucks inside the factory area!"

"Squad A, defend here, Squad B, follow me! We need to break out before they encircle us!"

"Rocket launcher ready! 100 yards range, fire!"

Chapter 207: Incredible Creatures and Technological Qi Point

"Hmm... uh-huh, hmm-hmm..."

At the entrance of Highway Town.

Tail, arms folded around a rifle, leaned against a rust-streaked highway sign, lazily humming a tune Si Si had never heard before.

It was quite pleasing to the ear, actually.

"What is Ah Wei humming?"

Seeing Si Si look over, Tail's mouth curled into a proud smile and said,

"A song from the radio!"

"Radio?" Si Si was momentarily dumbfounded.

What an ancient concept.

Tail's eyes sparkled as they said, "There's a radio in the lounge on the first floor of the sanatorium. At night, it plays some incomprehensible stuff, and in the afternoon, it cycles through the same few songs — possibly an original soundtrack built into The Game! I observed it for a whole day! Oh, Si Si actually didn't discover this Easter egg!"

Why would I care about something that boring?

Si Si helplessly looked at the slowly moving clouds above and sighed lightly.

"Say, is it really okay for us to slack off like this every time?"

Tail glanced at Si Si with dissatisfaction.

"What do you mean slacking off? Hasn't Tail been working hard?"

Si Si reminded.

"I heard that getting distracted while on guard is a death flag, you know."

Tail was unconcerned and said,

"Not afraid, Tails is of the Agile system. As long as Tail is fast enough, death will always be one step behind Tail!"

Si Si: "…"

Their squad was currently located on an interstate highway leading to the east.

The terrain of the highway was elevated, with gentle slopes descending on both sides. Being an interstate highway, there were few buildings in sight. Beyond the guardrails were stretches of pine and cypresses, dotted with dry branches, fallen leaves, and shrubs in the woods.

The Survivor Base they were in was named Highway Town, which, as the name suggested, was a small town built along the highway. The only landmark here was probably the highway sign Tail was leaning on—about three stories tall—which likely lent the Survivor Settlement its name.

The survivors here had constructed a long, narrow settlement along the highway using materials dismantled from old cars and lumber from felled trees.

This had its benefits: during rainy weather, there was no worry about their homes flooding and when wolf packs or Hyenas roamed through, they wouldn't dare launch an attack on those dwelling on the slope so flippantly.

The architectural style here was quite wild, just like the temperament of the local residents.

They didn't farm much, mainly raising goats as tall as horses. If there had to be one difference highlighted between them and the Nomads, it would probably be their reluctance to move their settlement easily; they also occasionally planted economic crops like Cam Trees, selling the rubber and oil-extractable Kamu fruits produced to traveling merchants.

To be honest, Si Si greatly admired the operators of Wasteland OL for making each Survivor Settlement so distinct in style. And this stylistic diversity was not just reflected in the game's models and textures, but reached deeper into the game's core.

These survivors had their own unique cultures and customs, a moral code, worldview, and beliefs different from others.

And this level of detail was not just reflected at the community level, but was accurate right down to each individual in that community.

While they were on guard, a kid dressed in furs stood beneath a small tree as if saying farewell to something. Men and women with their bags packed stood at their doorsteps, looking wistfully at their newly repaired home.

Not far away, an argument broke out between a scar-faced man and an elder over fifty, who were having a heated argument about taking the Cam Trees in the field, entwined with hemp rope and plastic, with them.

They were all so vividly alive.

They not only had their own distinct lives, but their life trajectories were influenced by countless variables, evolving into an elaborate tree diagram of possibilities rather than a straight line with a clear end.

This was much more impressive than any sandbox games Si Si had ever played.

It was even "more impressive" than reality!

She was even tempted to set out immediately, pack her bags, and embark on a journey.

But then again…

Wasn't this itself a form of distraction?

Si Si glanced to the sides unwittingly. She noticed no one was paying any attention to them.

Maybe the other squad members had low expectations of them from the get-go, with I Max Black and another Perception system companion consciously heading out for reconnaissance.

Brother Battlefield, carrying a rifle, was restless, wandering off in the distance looking for a fight, but the cold weather was too much, not even a mutated hyena to be found.

Captain Spring Water, dressed in the only "orange" Exoskeleton in the whole server, always stood at the most stable position commanding the base, assigning specific tasks to each team member with care—including Brother Battlefield and I Max Black, who were out as baits.

Overall, this squad was fairly reliable, at least more so than Brother Edge, Midnight Chicken Killing's death cart team, and the deranged people's cart team.

This led Si Si to ponder often on the significance of her and Tail's presence here.

She glanced at the VM screen's clock. Tail stretched lazily and yawned,

"Looks like we won't have a fight today, Si. Getting to show off our skills will have to wait until tomorrow."

"Ah Wei, please try to recall the fact that you're actually a girl—"

Suddenly, a loud explosion came from afar, cutting off Si Si's mockery.

The two of them simultaneously turned towards the direction of the explosion, tightening their grip on their weapons.

"Are the enemies coming?!" Tail was brimming with energy, eyes shining.

Si Si took a look at the map, pondered for a moment, and said,

"No... I think the sound is quite far away, probably another squad."

At that moment, the curses of Brother Battlefield from a distance confirmed her guess.

"Fuck! Why wasn't it us triggering the storyline! Thumbs down!"

Unlike the players' regrets, the survivors at Highway Town were clearly frightened by the sound of the explosion, each stopping what they were doing and looking uncertainly towards the northeast.

"What happened?"

"That sound..."

"Did something explode?"

"It can't be people from Chew-bone!"

"Those damn Looters! If I catch them, I'm going to twist their heads off!"

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Night Owl, standing in the Camu Tree orchard, frowned, the scars from burns on his face squeezing together. His hand went instinctively to his waist but was quickly withdrawn.

That sound was at least 4 kilometers away, with a vast expanse of ruins and wasteland in between, and it would take some time to get here.

The old man, who had been arguing with him just a second ago, was also looking sharply in the northeast direction, murmuring to himself.

"It's in the direction of the battery factory."

His name was Hooke, and at 56, he was once an agile hunter until he took a bullet to the knee and became the old Camu farmer.

Though he wasn't an Awakener, surviving to his age, his wealth of experience was no less formidable than genetic strength.

Night Owl looked at him with a grave expression and asked,

"That group of blacksmiths?"

Hooke closed his eyes and nodded slightly.

"Should be... Listen carefully, there are also gunshots, and quite a few at that."

Night Owl held his breath and listened intently for a moment, frowning deeply.

"At least 40 people."

"At least double that."

After glancing at the two acres of trees, the old man finally sighed as if giving up and shook his head in pity.

"Go find your father."

"We need to move faster!"

...

Outside the western gate of Outpost Base, not far from the guard squad's shooting range, there was a house made of red bricks, with only an iron window facing the Outpost Base.

This was the prison of Outpost Base, and at the moment, it held several prisoners recently transferred from Long Endurance Farm.

In addition to these, there was one special "prisoner" there.

In the wooden shed, the four-meter-long Claw of Death curled up in a corner.

It was wrapped in chains and ropes made of Devil Silk, its amber pupils reflecting a dangerous light, scanning over the people at the door.

Having been looked at by the beast, Xia Yan involuntarily stepped back, nervously gripping the Sickle Assault Rifle in her hand.

This thing.

Was far more dangerous than Crawlers!

"What, what are you doing bringing this thing close to your doorstep?"

Standing beside her, Chu Guang said without hesitation,

"For research, of course."

He was clad in power armor, with a Carbon nanotube bulletproof vest underneath, which he obtained at the start, and a Nitrogen-Powered Hammer on his back; he was armed to the teeth.

Not just a mere Claw of Death, even if the Claw Crab Queen stood before him, he had the confidence he would come out unscathed.

"By the way, you didn't really need to come along."

"What are you talking about, with something this dangerous, how could I possibly let you come alone?"

Chu Guang looked at Boss Xia, who was tensely colored, with interest, and couldn't help but wonder when this guy had become so brave.

Was it because of that leg?

Looks like that money was well spent.

"Unbelievable... this is incredible!"

Murmuring to herself, Heya walked forward excitedly, causing Chu Guang to quickly pull her back.

"Have you lost your mind?"

That's my SSSR Card!

No, I should say, it's the players' SSSR Card!

"Lost my mind? No, it's this world that's crazy, I've never seen such a remarkable creature!"

Gazing at that lizard, Heya continued,

"I checked its DNA, and there's no doubt it belongs to the phylum Chordata, Order Squamata of the Lizard family! But it has evolved a mechanism to regulate its own body temperature, being able to maintain a high metabolism during winter like mammals and avoid hibernation if it wants, even in the winter!"

"Even Taiga Lizards are only able to keep their body temperature steady during breeding season... Is this really a mutation from radiation?"

Chu Guang didn't know how to answer that question, since it had been less than a year since he arrived in this world, and it was also the first time he had seen such a terrifying creature.

Standing beside him, Yin Fang also showed an expression of disbelief.

However, his focus was different from Heya's; he stared intently at the pitch-black device on the Dead Claw's neck.

It looked like an oversized ring!

"Is it really so preposterous... The device installed on the back of its head, can it really establish a connection with human thought?"

"The results of the interrogation are indeed so, want to give it a try?"

Saying that, Chu Guang took out a prop that looked like "earphones with a microphone" and tossed it into Yin Fang's hands.

Yin Fang caught it and pondered over it for a while in his hands before intuitively placing it on his head without any guidance.

The power turned on.

He turned the knob to the maximum!

A faint sound of electric current began, like an electrical overload in the brain.

But beyond that, there seemed to be no other sensation.

"How does this thing—ssss ah!"

The stabbing pain that surged in the depths of his mind made Yin Fang gasp in pain and instinctively reached for his temples.

However, the pain came quickly and left just as fast; soon, he adapted to the stinging sensation and let his hand drop.

Watching Yin Fang recover, Chu Guang, who had already tried it once, continued to speak.

"You can try giving that creature an order... for instance, command it to stand up."

Touching the mic at the corner of his mouth, Yin Fang took a deep breath and said to the Dead Claw.

"Stand up!"

The body trembled, and despite resisting the order, the Dead Claw, riddled with scars, slowly stood up from the ground.

What the hell?

It actually worked?!

Yin Fang was shocked, forgetting even the headache as he continued to issue commands through the mic at the corner of his mouth.

"Lie down!"

The Dead Claw obediently lay down.

His expression becoming increasingly astonished, Yin Fang was like someone who had discovered a new continent, excitedly continuing to issue orders to it.

"Stand up!"

"Hop on one foot!"

"Draw a circle on the ground with your tail! Tsk, that doesn't work? Then howl like a dog!"

"..."

The repeatedly tormented Dead Claw gradually showed an expression of pain, hyperactive neurons in its body caused its brainwaves to become chaotic.

Chu Guang could clearly feel that if it weren't for the iron chains, this animal would have likely lost its patience and torn the man before it to shreds!

But Yin Fang didn't care about that.

He wanted to understand where the limits of this device were.

Having tried almost every command that he could think of, just as Yin Fang was pondering what other commands to try, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness in his brain and stumbled backward.

Chu Guang gently pushed forward with his left hand to catch Doctor Yin, who was falling backwards, while his other hand removed the headset from his head.

"It's best not to use this thing continuously... It doesn't only impose a mental strain on the controller, but on the user of the device as well."

Chu Guang had tried this thing once before.

Rather than mind control, the functionality of this device was more akin to a form of "hypnosis."

It couldn't enable the user to directly manipulate the actions of the controller, but worked by exerting mental pressure to suggest commands in a way that would make the Variant with the ring execute a few simple orders.

Such as preying.

Or moving forward, backing up, or running in a certain direction.

Hopping on one foot was barely executable, but drawing a circle on the ground with its tail or howling like a dog was out of the question.

The device couldn't coerce the controlled being to perform commands beyond its cognition, unless it had voluntarily done something similar at some point in its life.

Although, even so, this device was incredible, it paled in comparison to the "Morphogenesis Field" in his Shelter No. 404.

Players from "Different World" could literally "soul traverse" into clones—wasn't that way cooler than any indirect PUA or master's commands?

As long as the clone didn't die, the players could keep fighting.

Unlike this fellow.

Bust the ring on its neck and it most likely goes berserk.

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away there, I've never seen this kind of technology before..." Yin Fang shook his head, steadying himself.

Chu Guang said thoughtfully.

"Technology not even the Academy knows about?"

Yin Fang replied helplessly.

"The Academy isn't omniscient. There are things we understand little about or don't understand at all."

He paused, then continued.

"I should have mentioned this to you before, but in order to facilitate the progression of the reshaping work, we've classified technology into seven levels: F, E, D, C, B, A, S for management, to allocate personnel and budget appropriately."

Chu Guang nodded.

"You indeed mentioned it once."

Yin Fang continued.

"In fact, apart from the widely known seven levels, there is also an eighth level outside of this system—we call it the Singularity."

"Singularity?" Chu Guang frowned and asked, "What does that mean?"

Yin Fang replied, "It represents the cutting edge, a placeholder for the future. These technologies are like singularities in calculus, points of nondifferentiability in complex functions, an isolated island outside of the set... They are bottlenecks between us and the future."

"For example, you might never have heard of things like the neutrino channel, or the Mutants that are rampant in the Wasteland... They are all Singularities. Although immature, they usually have extremely tempting prospects. Once completed, they could predictably trigger a technological revolution. For example, the former would correspond to faster-than-light travel, allowing us to reach further star systems more quickly and cheaply. The latter would correspond to a super life form capable of adapting to all environments."

As he spoke, Yin Fang shrugged his shoulders.

"Of course, the technological revolution I mentioned is under the premise of a complete society. What we need now is not innovation, but revival. Hence... the Academy doesn't know much about the Singularity, only selectively retaining some topics worth continuing, and focusing the recycling work mainly on the mature technologies within the system."

Technological entities outside of the system, even the "future technologies" that were not completed before the war.

An inappropriate comparison, perhaps akin to the forbidden spells in fantasy settings?

That's how Chu Guang could only understand it.

"I'm suddenly curious, the clones of the Army, are they considered the Singularity?"

To Chu Guang's surprise, Yin Fang nodded decisively.

"Yes, but only half so. The full name of the topic should be 'Life-Cycle Adjustable Technology.' If it could be completed, in theory, we could shorten or extend any period of any life's life-cycle, truly mastering evolution."

"If you want, you can be a child for a lifetime or an adult—you will be genetically immortal. Our race will completely break away from the outdated r-strategy and k-strategy, no longer subject to natural selection, but will define ourselves by ourselves."

Standing next to him, Heya was stunned on the spot.

"This can be done?"

"Who knows?" Yin Fang shrugged, "Maybe yes, maybe no. Only the future knows anything about the future."

Yin Fang and Heya began an academic discussion on whether such a thing could be realized. Heya clearly didn't believe it, stating that it was unheard of.

Yin Fang merely sneered at her firm statement.

"How young... Didn't your mentor ever teach you not to make hasty conclusions about the unknown?"

Hearing Yin Fang actually turn the topic to her own mentor, Heya immediately bristled.

Throughout the entire conversation, Xia Yan was completely baffled, having lost track of when she had stopped understanding what was being discussed.

Chu Guang, however, was lost in thought.

He suddenly thought of that recording, the one about the "Morphogenesis Field."

He organized his thoughts for a moment and interrupted the two's argument.

"If there is a technology that can establish a strong correlation between consciousness entities in two different dimensions and transmit information across the limits of space and time."

"What kind of devilry is that? Magic?" Yin Fang, caught up in the argument, replied without thinking, his tone sounding mocking.

But perhaps realizing that the person he was speaking to was not to be trifled with, he immediately shut his mouth.

However, Chu Guang didn't take his words to heart.

Because he felt the same.

It sounded utterly miraculous, something unheard of.

But seeing Yin Fang's reaction, Chu Guang roughly understood.

The technology hidden within Shelter No. 404 had obviously surpassed the knowledge of the Academy and thus could not be within the FEDCBAS classification system.

Without a doubt, it had reached the realm of the "Singularity"!

And it seemed to have matured...

Just as Chu Guang was about to discuss the Torch Church with Heya, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly came through the communication channel.

"Master, your players are in trouble!"

Hearing this, Chu Guang was slightly stunned. Without asking for details, he immediately closed his helmet's visor and tapped a few times in front of the Tactical Goggles, switching to the map interface.

Xia Yan, standing beside him and noticing Chu Guang's sudden action, hurriedly asked in a low voice.

"What happened?"

Staring at the map, Chu Guang's brow furrowed as he said in a grave voice.

"There's a situation."

As soon as the words fell, a guard ran up from a distance.

Standing before Chu Guang, he saluted and said solemnly,

"Manager, the team you sent to cover the evacuation of survivors at the battery factory has encountered an attack by Looter!"

"I know, I've already arranged for support."

Chu Guang looked up at the sanatorium and saw a spare Hummingbird drone shoot toward the sky, quickly disappearing in the northeast direction.

Just now, he had mobilized a nearby team to go to the aid and had issued a defense mission to the frontline players.

They must hold on until reinforcement arrives!

"You've got to hold out!"

-

(The next chapter is not finished yet... I should be able to finish it by twelve, daily ten thousand words is too hard for a handicap like me QAQ)

Chapter 208: They Are True Warriors!

Outside the battery factory.

Gunfire roared, bullets freely whizzing through the streets.

Suddenly, a Looter peeked out from cover, aiming his shoulder-held Iron Fist Rocket Launcher at the factory's main gate.

Though he was quickly targeted and bombarded, he still managed to pull the trigger.

"RPG—!"

Makabazi shouted, diving to the side.

Almost the moment his voice trailed off, a rocket swooshed across the street and slammed crookedly into the factory's outer wall.

A fiery explosion erupted, hurling chunks of concrete through the air and exposing a large expanse of rebar.

An unsuspecting player near the wall was hit by a stray bullet, fell to the ground, gasping for air; another player squatting nearby immediately grabbed his collar and, under the cover of their teammates, dragged him back behind cover.

On the street outside the battery factory, patches of fire burned.

An armored pickup truck's engine died in the middle of the road, its front steel plate dented inward, antifreeze leaking from beneath the hood in streams.

The Looter in the driver's seat was as shattered as the blown-open bulletproof panel, his body a mess of gore. However, the mounted machine gun in the back was unharmed and continued to furiously fire into the factory, unleashing volleys of bullets.

"Their firepower is too fierce!" shouted "Strength Type Construction Boy with a Brick," trying to set up a light machine gun in response, but he was suppressed before he could even show himself.

Looters, wielding rifles, pressed forward along both sides of the street toward the factory.

Under the suppressing barrage of machine-gun fire, Edge Shoveling had no choice but to order his newly-deployed squad members to fall back into the factory, tightening their defense.

Just one round of gunfire.

They had already lost three squadmates—only seven left in Squad B!

Though the Looters had also suffered five casualties, given their fierce offensive, this loss seemed negligible.

"Damn it!"

Crouching behind cover, Edge Shoveling cursed as he changed his magazine and glanced at the stranded machine gun pickup.

That damn tube hadn't blown up the truck!

How thick could their tanks be?!

Or was it just their unlucky day??

"We need to figure out a way to take out that machine gun!"

Seeing the team leader looking at him, "Strength Type Construction Boy with a Brick," clutching a light machine gun, bellowed, "Where's the sniper? Damn it, stop aiming, and shoot someone!"

Debt Giant Eye, infuriated, his nose twisted: "What sniper? A semi-auto rifle can't snipe for shit! I even drew the scope's crosshairs myself!"

Construction Boy with a Brick: "Brother Shui! What do we do now?"

Edge Shoveling looked to the adjacent team.

"Do you guys have any more tubes?"

Drum Washing Machine: "Just one last shot left!"

Edge Shoveling gritted his teeth, about to command the firing of the tube when Makabazi's shout suddenly came from the side.

"Wait, hold on, use this!"

Saying so, ignoring the bullets whizzing past him, Makabazi sprinted back and quickly retrieved a tube from the truck much larger than a face.

To be accurate, this couldn't even be considered a regular tube. It resembled a portable rocket nest!

The rocket nest held 12 steel tubes, each approximately 1100mm in length, with a 20mm diameter, each tube filled with a rocket weighing over half a kilo.

Seeing this contraption, Edge Shoveling was taken aback.

"Holy shit, what the hell is this?!"

"Thorn Fist! Get out of the way!"

With that, Makabazi excitedly pulled the trigger.

All twelve steel tubes fired simultaneously, spewing flames and thick smoke. Twelve slender rockets traced parabolic paths in a cone formation, covering the center of the street.

Honestly, this thing wasn't precise.

But in the face of sheer numbers, precision didn't really matter!

The half-street covered by rockets instantly exploded into flames. At least three rockets landed within three meters of the truck, one hitting directly in front of the machine gun's steel plate!

The 144g TNT charge wasn't much, but its power could match 2-3 hand grenades.

The machine gunner, standing at his post, was instantly obliterated, pitching over the side of the truck and lying still.

The machine gun fell silent.

Inside the factory, the pressure significantly lessened for the players and survivors!

Throwing down the rocket launcher, Makabazi excitedly pumped his fist and shouted "Nice," picking up his rifle and heading back to cover.

Including Guard NPC Lu Bei and several local survivors fighting alongside the players, every jaw dropped in astonishment.

What kind of weapon was that?!

Its power was immense.

Construction Boy with a Brick seized the opportunity, setting up a light machine gun and firing across the street. The Looters' offensive was instantly pushed back.

The Manager had issued him two hundred bullets, and now just over a hundred remained. If he was a bit conservative, they should last a while.

Watching Makabazi squat down next to him, Edge Shoveling's eyes nearly bulged out.

"Holy crap? Was that a Mosquito's rocket?"

Makabazi chuckled.

"20mm twelve-linked Thorn Fist! Awesome, right? I got it for 20 silver coins from the market."

Edge Shoveling: "Twenty silver coins?! Awesome! Got any more?"

That was way too cheap!

Makabazi shook his head: "No more! It's disposable. It cost 200 silvers to make! Mosquito gave it to me then said he'd never make such a low cost-performance weapon again!"

Edge Shoveling: "…"

The Looters crouching in the street were utterly stunned by the rocket, clearly not expecting such a formidable weapon hidden on the opposing side.

However, the rocket's intimidation didn't last long.

Under Centurion's cluttered shouts, someone quickly got their bearings and, under teammate cover, ran to the machine gun pickup, taking over for the fallen gunner.

But soon, that Looter cursed as he jumped off the vehicle, tumbling and rolling into a nearby ruin.

At the sight of this scene, Debt Giant Eye, holding a semi-automatic rifle, excitedly shouted,

"Their machine gun is broken!"

"I see it! Hold on, brothers, victory is within eye—"

His words were cut off mid-sentence as Edge Shoveling's face turned dark.

The other players around him also had little time to rejoice before they saw another pickup truck fitted with steel plates appear at the end of the street. It stopped right behind the scrapped pickup, using its wreckage as cover to hide its body and driver's seat.

The fixed machine gun began to unleash its firepower again, firing three-round bursts towards the players' cover.

Caught off guard, "Construction Youth with Bricks," who was holding a light machine gun, was killed in the crossfire, finally relieving them of the suppressive fire, allowing the Looters to start advancing again.

Feeling bullets whiz over his head, Edge Shoveling couldn't help but curse in his mind.

Damn the planners!

We've been targeted again!

"How many Looters did they even spawn?!" shouted Debt Giant Eye.

"At least four squads! I heard that the Ecological Experiment Base group of Looters has only three or four armored pickup trucks!"

"Damn! So half of them are here?!"

At that moment, another group of players shouted from behind.

"They've moved around to the back of the factory!"

At the same time, gunfire erupted from the southern rear of the factory area, where the Looters who had circled from the frontline to the back engaged Group A in a fierce firefight.

Pulling the standard-issue light machine gun from the body of "Construction Youth with Bricks," Debt Giant Eye couldn't help but suggest,

"Should we charge? Maybe there's still a chance if we rush them! If we let them surround us, we're done for!"

"Now is not the time to charge! Their machine gun is set up outside!"

Edge Shoveling clenched his teeth, attached a bayonet to his rifle, and shouted loudly,

"Prepare to abandon the enclosing wall, we'll retreat to the factory building soon!"

Honestly, this wasn't a good idea.

The more they were encircled, the more they should have broken out. Only by fighting back could they turn the situation around; staying behind cover would only leave them waiting to be enveloped.

The Looters were clever, even using tactics they had employed before, with frontal firepower as a diversion and a team sneaking around from the side.

If there were more reinforcements, Edge Shoveling would have opted to let a team break through the weak spot in the firepower and try to flank the machine gun pickup.

But now, he had no better plan.

This was different from the battle last night.

Although they were similarly outnumbered, they only needed to hold their ground then, even if only one person was left, it would be considered a victory.

But now, there were over a hundred villagers behind him!

"Damn!" he cursed under his breath and shouted at the top of his lungs,

"Group A, provide cover, Group B, retreat to the factory!"

"Roger!"

With no radios, commands could only be relayed by shouting and blowing whistles.

Fortunately, these were all experienced players, who understood each other perfectly with just a glance and a few simple hand signals.

The players near the enclosing wall orderly retreated, with Group B entering the factory building and then covering Group A's retreat.

Seeing the survivors retreating from the enclosing wall, the Looters did not immediately pursue but cautiously sent a few men forward to scout the factory area.

Taking advantage of this brief respite, Edge Shoveling gathered the two squads together and tallied the casualties.

Two ten-person squads, with Group A slightly better off, losing four men. Group B, which had fought with him earlier, fared worse, now down to only four members—a 60% casualty rate!

Even those who were alive were mostly injured.

Yet, despite this, not a single one was afraid!

"Twenty rounds of ammunition per person, let's distribute the bullets evenly. Everyone take off your VM, gather them together; they have trackers, our people will find them for us."

After taking a deep breath, Edge Shoveling looked around at the players standing in front of him and spoke forcefully:

"This is our final defensive line!"

"Hold it!"

"Until the last man!"

In response, what came was a heightened—almost frantic—roar and shouts.

"Roar!"

"Auuuh!"

"To the last battle!"

Outside the factory, the Looters had already surrounded the area.

Edge Shoveling had the young guard lead the survivors inside the factory to retreat to the warehouse at the back.

The hundreds of square meters of space were cramped but still usable. Besides one big entrance_door, there was only a row of vents connecting to the outside.

If those outside successfully held off the Looters' attack, everyone inside would survive.

If they failed...

Death was certain, as there was nowhere else to flee.

The transfer was quickly completed.

Still, ten survivors voluntarily stayed behind, picking up the only available pipe rifles and shotguns, ready to fight alongside them.

However, Edge Shoveling didn't hold much hope for their combat effectiveness. After all, whether in terms of equipment or combat experience, they couldn't compare to the cunning wolves outside.

Using the briefest language, Edge Shoveling had the Guard NPC lead them to hold the second line of defense to avoid any confusion from their inability to understand commands.

Quickly finishing all the arrangements, the footsteps and indistinct shouts outside drew closer.

Pulling the pins of their smoke grenades, Edge Shoveling and the other players threw them, spreading the grenades across the open space in the factory.

The factory quickly filled up with smoke.

Almost simultaneously, Looters armed with rifles charged in.

Edge Shoveling let out a furious roar, threw a lit Molotov cocktail, then grabbed the assault rifle hanging at his chest and leaned out from cover to open fire.

"Die, grandpa!"

...

Outside the factory.

Listening to the gunfire coming from the inside of the battery factory, Centurion River Beaver, who was in charge of the operation, felt exceptionally heavy-hearted.

This was supposed to be a textbook raid.

According to the plan, they were to finish the battle within five minutes, then spend twenty minutes packing up the spoils, and retreat before the enemy reinforcements could arrive.

However, nobody had anticipated...

That these survivors would hold them off for a whole half hour!

The original raid had turned into a brutal siege.

He couldn't understand why these survivors were so tenacious. Even though he had left them two escape routes, they could have simply run either east or west.

Yet, they seemed to have never considered escaping, making many of his arrangements utterly useless.

What River Beaver couldn't figure out the most was that he had already concentrated two armored pickup trucks and fifty members of his tribe, and had even breached the enclosing wall and entered the factory building.

But those people still did not surrender.

Even more so, the truly brutal fight had just begun!

A looter with a broken arm was moaning in pain as he was dragged out of the factory by his comrades.

Ignoring the expression twisted by agony on his face, River Beaver strode forward, grabbed him by the collar and demanded,

"What's the situation inside? Why haven't you dealt with them yet?"

The wounded man was in too much pain to speak.

The looter who dragged him out wasn't severely injured, but his expression, one of utter shock, clearly showed he was terrified.

No matter how River Beaver asked, the only words that kept coming out of his mouth repeated over and over.

"Madmen! Those people are a pack of madmen!"

River Beaver furrowed his brow.

Around him, the ground was littered with moaning wounded.

More and more injured looters were being carried out of the factory.

10 people...

20 people...

Explosions and gunshots continued.

Despite their countless charges, they could not fully seize the factory.

The people inside fought like they were insane; it seemed like they were not afraid of death at all.

Even when shot multiple times, they would make sure to take someone down with them.

Having learned about the situation from one of his men, River Beaver felt a chill in his fingers and momentarily forgot to breathe.

What kind of monsters was he fighting against?

At that moment, a looter ran up from behind.

"Boss! Lord Gang Ya has ordered us to retreat!"

"Retreat?!"

River Beaver stared at him incredulously, his eyes bloodshot, "We're about to break through! And now you're telling me to retreat?"

The looter, who was grabbed by the collar, had a panic-stricken look on his face as he stammered,

"This is an order from Lord Gang Ya… Enemy reinforcements are approaching, and they will arrive in as soon as 10 minutes."

The raid had already failed.

Even if they managed to completely take over the factory, the remaining time would not be enough for them to retreat with the supplies without facing encirclement from the enemy's main force.

An armored pickup truck, at least 27 bodies, countless injured... they had already suffered far too many casualties in this battle!

River Beaver gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up.

Even if they couldn't take anything away, even if all they did was hang the intestines of those people on the wall, it would still make him feel slightly better than just retreating.

However, he quickly calmed down.

The tribe allowed failure, but not disobedience.

If he refused to follow orders, even if he took this place at a horrendous cost, a bullet would be waiting for him when he returned.

River Beaver clenched his teeth, looked towards the smoke-billowing factory and the chaotic open space in front of it.

Despite being utterly unwilling, he eventually gave the order.

"Retreat!"

…

Not long after that explosion.

Spring Water Commander received the mission to reinforce the battery factory, and immediately rushed over with his squad.

He was probably among the first reinforcements to arrive.

However, when he got there, he found that the battle had already ended.

His mood sank to the bottom, he muttered softly to his teammates, gesturing for them to spread out and approach.

"Hope we're not too late..."

The factory area was filled with the smell of blood and burnt flesh.

Just stepping through the factory gates, Spring Water Commander soon saw a gruesome corpse not far from the entrance.

His forearm was missing the VM, presumably taken off and placed with his teammates' gear, his lower half was nowhere to be found, but his expression was serene.

Unable to confirm his identity, Spring Water's heart grew heavy, and he quickened his pace into the building.

Following the traces of battle into the warehouse at the back of the factory, he saw a bloodied man at the semi-open warehouse door.

His legs were gone, beneath the gore-soaked half of his trousers, you could even see the white bones, but he still held a rifle in his hands, one eye half-closed, the other unable to open, either scratched by a fragment or glued shut by blood.

For a moment, Spring Water couldn't even recognize who it was, and quickly stepped forward.

"Brother, are you alright?"

He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

There was no way he could be considered okay.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood and saw that allies had arrived, Edge Shoveling chuckled.

"What could possibly be wrong... it's just that the network connection is damn poor, I've been disconnected twice already."

"Wait a moment, I have some bandages—"

Edge Shoveling quickly stopped him.

"No! This is no small injury, using it would just be a waste!"

Spring Water Commander asked, "Then aren't you going to save the game?"

"Ah, it's all fleeting," Edge Shoveling sighed helplessly, "And I don't think a bunch of bandages will get me back, you'd better find a place to help me..."

He was just about to ask Spring Water for a hand when suddenly, his gaze fell behind the seams of the warehouse door, only to see pairs of uneasy eyes staring straight at him.

This game sometimes gets too realistic.

Especially those NPCs, they're just too lifelike.

It often made him inadvertently feel a misplaced sense of immersion.

Speaking of which...

Smoke filled the place everywhere.

It was exactly like a fire scene.

His Adam's apple shifted, and Edge looked towards Spring Water.

"Let's change our location."

Spring Water immediately understood his meaning and nodded gravely.

"Alright, I'll lead you out."

Edge Shoveling swore playfully as he placed his hand on the exoskeleton.

"Don't be so damn serious... damn, you make it look like I'm really gone."

Everyone is good brothers of fifty bucks.

In three days, he'd be a hero again.

Die sooner, respawn sooner.

If he hadn't worried that the Looters hadn't left yet, he would have gone down already.

...

Outpost Base.

Through the Hummingbird drone, Chu Guang could see the brutal scene inside the battery factory.

The survivors had evacuated from the building, and the retreat continued with the help of reinforcing players.

According to battle reports sent from the frontline, two squads totaling twenty players, responsible for the survivors' evacuation plan at the battery factory, were all killed in action!

The Looters attacking the battery factory had five ten-man teams, and in addition, two armored pickup trucks mounted with fixed machine guns.

After dropping nearly thirty bodies, the Looters temporarily occupied the building but were soon heroically driven back by the players inside.

"They are truly warriors." Liuding held his breath and slowly said.

"Yes." Chu Guang, wearing power armor, nodded lightly, his eyes fixed on the tactical goggles, pondering something.

Liuding looked at Chu Guang and earnestly advised.

"Sir, their losses are severe; we should pursue them now while we have the advantage!"

"The Looters stationed at the Ecological Experiment Base are short on supplies. We only need to surround them on the high ground, and they will have to surrender within a week at most!"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Mm, it is indeed a good idea, but the other side is thinking the same."

Liuding was slightly stunned and didn't catch on for a moment.

Chu Guang paused briefly, then continued.

"The Looters stationed at the Central State Aerospace Ecology Experimental Base are retreating, heading towards Tianshui City."

Just half a minute ago, Chu Guang received a report from the Bullhorse squad.

The Looters stationed at the Central Continent base began retreating north.

To be honest, this was within Chu Guang's expectations; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent the Bullhorse squad to take a look.

During the brief span of one day, morning and afternoon battles had directly reduced those Looters by twenty percent, not only failing to seize any supplies but also losing an armored pickup truck.

It's a pity there wasn't a fast-moving vehicle.

Otherwise, this would be a good time to pursue.

Chu Guang inwardly regretted.

However, it was fortunate that these Looters chose to withdraw, it likely meant no reinforcements were available in the near future.

They needed to regroup and devise a new invasion plan.

Meanwhile, his side could gain a little breathing room.

Hearing from the Manager that the group of Looters had retreated, Liuding's face was filled with surprise and then a hint of joy appeared.

"They withdrew?! That's great!"

Chu Guang gave him a look.

"Don't celebrate too soon, we've only managed to pull one tooth from a wolf's mouth, they will come back, and they are sure to return."

Battle was fought to open up space for development.

And the latter was the key to solving all problems.

A large influx of refugees was approaching, and their numbers were many times those of the drifters outside Long Endurance Farm.

Feeding, clothing, and providing shelter and warmth for these people would be major issues.

Only after the first batch of survivors were settled could the evacuation of the second batch begin.

There were lots of troubles waiting for Chu Guang to resolve.

Especially the most critical issue at present...

His "silver coins" were running low.

-

(I thought about it and decided to finish the plot section for better coherence; sorry for the slight delay, brothers.)

Chapter 209: The Second Generation Money and Medal System

The so-called "Silver coins" were not short, not to say that Chu Guang was running out of money.

To joke, as a game designer, he could change a digit with just a flick of his fingers, how could he possibly be short of money?

The chips from Giant Stone City, the CR of corporations, and the Dinar of the Army are another matter; for Chu Guang, "Silver coins" were truly just a number.

He could issue as many as he needed, whenever he needed.

Of course, to prevent hyperinflation, he would still have Xiao Qi help to prepare a report, calculate monthly to tally production and material consumption at the shelter, and create a planned budget sheet, ensuring that Shelter No. 404, this growing organization, could operate in an orderly fashion.

However, the problem now was that although Silver coins could be issued at will, there were insufficient "Game Currency" coins previously used as "Silver coins."

Originally, due to the lack of minting conditions, Chu Guang had adopted a method similar to that used in Giant Stone City, using the gaming coins from a specific arcade as exchange items.

Like casino chips, these gaming coins had distinct surface textures and patterns with a unique currency type and logo design, which had strong regional characteristics; they could only be found in specific arcades, and that arcade was outside Qingquan city, making them virtually impossible to find while scavenging.

More importantly, these coins had special designs akin to those of the chips in Giant Stone City, featuring certain anti-counterfeiting technologies.

With the manufacturing crafts available in the wasteland, it was not worth trying to exactly replicate them.

However, the downside of this currency was also clear, being unable to replicate them meant they couldn't be issued at will.

Certainly, you can't just cut one out with "Magnetic Confinement Plasma."

That would be far too costly!

Whether it was the inert gas used as the cutting medium or the fusion batteries used to power the equipment, they were non-renewable resources on the wasteland, and once used up, only heaven knows when more could be found.

Fortunately, at that time, Chu Guang obtained B2-level access at the shelter and found a pile of VMs in the warehouse. Through these VMs, he pushed for the digitization of currency, recovering some from the players, alleviating part of the problem.

However, with the influx of new players and the gradual flow of Silver coins into the hands of surrounding survivors, his few hundred thousand coins had almost evaporated at light speed, dwindling down to just a few thousand!

By next month, Chu Guang would need to pay the NPCs their salaries.

It's no use issuing IOUs then!

It would be a joke if the warehouse was full but no salaries could be paid!

Hence, the issuance of the second generation currency was imperative!

Currently, Outpost Base had about five hundred kilograms of gold reserves, with a relatively higher quantity of silver at four thousand kilograms, enough to strike some precious metal coins.

Yet the issue was that precious metals were not so rare a commodity in the wasteland, as evident from the Army's implementation of the "Gold Standard" monetary policy.

A Dinar had a weight of 9 grams with about 4 to 5 grams being gold, and at current rates, buying a strong, non-rapidly-grown clone slave would cost 1000 to 2000 Dinars, which is about 8 to 10 kilograms of gold.

A commander who could pay a ransom of 200 thousand Dinars, equivalent to a ton of gold, would be worth hundreds of millions in RMB if calculated by real-world prices!

Clearly, the pre-war society's gold reserves in the Waste World were not on the same scale as those in the real world, being at least ten times, if not a hundred times more, and the per capita holding was incomparable.

Otherwise, a commander wouldn't have been able to pull out a ton of gold.

Therefore, it was tough for a precious metals standard to work in the wasteland and the reasons were completely opposite to those on Earth.

The Army solved this issue with quantity, supporting value with sheer volume.

Corporations, on the other hand, used purely fiat money managed through highly counterfeit-protected paper currency, similar to mainstream currency systems of real-world nations, which facilitated instant adjustments in the money supply. The developed financial sector of Ideal City also had much to do with its lax monetary policy.

However, consequently, the purchasing power and influence of CR fluctuated unpredictably outside the East Coast.

Even the corporate Commercial Teams preferred bartering or would rather use the Army's Dinar than deal with stacks of colorful paper.

Copyright remains in the precious metal industries, just not being particularly valuable due to the slightly excessive supply.

Basically, regardless of the reference routes, one-size-fits-all solutions did not exist, only choices fitting current needs.

After considering various suggestions discussed by small players on the Forum, Chu Guang decided to maintain a credit-based monetary system accentuated with certain scarce attributes for the second generation currency.

The new currency would still use the Silver coin model, but instead of deceiving, it would be designed and minted by the shelter itself.

The weight of this Silver coin would tentatively be set at 10g, composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, circulating together with a paper currency of face value 100.

As for the Copper coins, they would be gradually phased out until completely withdrawn from the market.

Old players could use electronic payment, but new players and most NPCs couldn't, nor could the Wasteland Wanderers and Commercial Teams who came and went.

The new currency was mainly introduced for these people!

Simultaneously, to prevent the value of Silver coins from vastly exceeding the metal's own value, Chu Guang planned a proactive inflation of about fifty percent within two versions.

The specific plan was, while maintaining the resurrection fee unchanged, to raise the NPC shop purchase and sale prices of farm produce, hunted animals, and other raw materials, bringing the minimum transaction unit to more than 1 Silver Coin.

As for the prices of weapons and ammunition, they would remain unchanged.

Since the establishment of the new industrial area, the cost of industrial products had drastically decreased, which could help offset part of the inflationary impact.

Allowing more players to afford ammunition and better-quality weapons could also be seen as a form of indirect enhancement.

Meanwhile, with the prices of raw materials increasing, the NPCs' salary and players' task base rewards would rise accordingly—hunters' catches in the new version could virtually double.

This was also a way to balance the income discrepancies between different gameplay styles and professions.

...

New Industrial Area.

In a brick building adjacent to the guard post in a corner of the abandoned tire factory, a large collection of old parts were displayed, some of which had been assembled into functional machines.

A few workers clad in fur garments were busily adding a specially made alkaline sizing agent to a large pot filled with cotton, hemp, and other plant fibers being cooked down into paper pulp.

Production was in full swing.

In the wooden crates next to them, a batch of products had already been produced.

These sheets of paper exhibited a flaxen gray color under natural conditions and a slight blue tint when held up to the light. This effect was mainly due to the addition of mushroom powder, made from dried Blue Umbrella Mushrooms, into the paper pulp.

Chu Guang had not expected that those mushrooms, which had been gathering dust at the bottom of a warehouse crate, would come in handy at this moment.

Standing next to the crate, Chu Guang pinched a square-cut piece of paper between his index finger and thumb and rubbed it for a while before looking at the elderly man standing by.

"How many sheets of this kind of paper can you produce in a day?"

Upon hearing the inquiry from the Manager, the old man respectfully answered,

"Sir, aside from needing Blue Umbrella Mushrooms, the production of this paper also requires a special kind of nettle. Though it's not a rare item, it's hard to find during winter. If the raw materials are sufficiently supplied, we can produce about 500 kilograms a day with no problem."

The old man's name was Wu Mu, and he came from a survivor settlement in the central part of the River Valley Province, having joined Nine Li along with a group of refugees who arrived at the north suburb of Qingquan City midway.

Before becoming a refugee, he had been a papermaker by trade.

The profession of a papermaker on the Wasteland was quite rare, as paper was generally not considered a scarce item.

Even though cash transactions constituted less than 1% in the Human Alliance Era, a vast astronomical amount of leftover banknotes still existed.

Survivors on the Wasteland had been burning these banknotes for over two hundred years and still had a large amount left unburned.

Additionally, there were educational facilities like libraries and schools, as well as bookshelves in private homes and the like. Those acid-free papers made from synthetic fibers were like plastic and could last a very long time.

Some survivors used pre-war banknotes to make paper cartridges or shredded the paper into fibers to substitute for cotton in clothing or as lining for bedding.

When Nine Li heard that Chu Guang needed a papermaker, he immediately recommended this old man named Wu Mu to him.

And indeed, Wu Mu did not disappoint Chu Guang.

In less than a week, he had constructed a simple papermaking device using recycled parts and equipment from players.

Using a special alkaline sizing agent and a formula passed down by his ancestors, the texture of the paper Wu Mu produced felt exactly like the banknotes that players picked up from the Wasteland to use as toilet paper.

This made Chu Guang wonder exactly what his ancestors did...

Chu Guang cleared his throat lightly and said,

"Five hundred kilograms will be enough."

The weight of one banknote was around 1 gram.

Once the printing issue was resolved, these 500 kilograms of paper would be enough to issue 500,000 banknotes!

Chu Guang paused, then continued,

"I will find someone to solve the raw material problem. After this batch of products is produced, there's no need to rush to produce the next batch. Before resuming production, I need you to solve a key issue."

Saying this, Chu Guang took a thread, thinner than a strand of hair, from his pocket and placed it in Wu Mu's hand.

After examining the thread for a moment, a look of surprise appeared on the old man's face.

"Could this be... Devil Silk?"

This item was much rarer than Blue Umbrella Mushrooms!

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "Since you recognize it, I won't elaborate on its properties. I need you to figure out a way to incorporate it into the paper, whether by weaving it in or pressing it into the paper during the manufacturing process. There's only one requirement: some properties of the Devil Silk must be reflected on the surface of the paper. I'll just say it outright—it's primarily for anti-counterfeiting purposes."

Wu Mu's face showed a hint of difficulty.

After a moment's hesitation, he spoke cautiously,

"Sir, I've never tried such a thing before... I can't guarantee I can do it, I can only try."

Chu Guang responded,

"Alright, first try whatever methods you can think of. If it can't be resolved, I will think of another solution."

After giving his instructions, Chu Guang turned and walked towards the door of the building.

However, just as he was reaching the doorway, he suddenly remembered something and stopped. He turned back to look at the old man.

"By the way, apart from you, who else knows the formula for these sheets of paper?"

The old man immediately replied,

"I personally add the proportions of each component of the paper pulp and the key additives. Except for the detailed proportions written in the formula you have, what materials were used and how much, only I know!"

Chu Guang looked at him approvingly.

"Good, I hope you keep it up."

"Also, I don't want to find people creating identical items to ours elsewhere. Do you understand what I mean?"

The elderly man nervously swore an oath.

"Don't worry, sir, I assure you I'll keep the secret buried in my stomach."

Chu Guang nodded his head.

"I hope so."

Expecting the formula to be completely confidential was impossible, this thing had no technical threshold, and with a little research, it could easily be discovered.

At most, the Blue Umbrella Mushroom had some resource Scarcity; post-war technology could neither synthesize nor cultivate it artificially. Even in Giant Stone City, it was sold by the gram and was not cheap.

And there was Devil Silk.

With these two items, even without "corporate" watermark anti-forgery technology, it was still ensured that counterfeiters would not profit.

Whether it was paper currency or coins, they were mainly prepared for NPCs.

As for the players.

Of course, they primarily used more convenient electronic payments.

...

Official Website Forum:

[Worldwide Announcement: Over six hundred survivors from Super Power Battery Factory, Hope Mountain Cooperative, Scavenger's Home, Road Town, and Winter Willow Camp have been relocated to New United Gas Station. The first phase of the evacuation plan was a complete success! Thanks for everyone's sincere cooperation!]

[Event: Due to a large influx of refugees, the prosperity of Changjiu Farm +200 (now: 360)]

[Worldwide Announcement: To commend the outstanding contribution of twenty players including Edge Shoveling… Shelter No. 404 will award them the Silver Shield Medal. The electronic version of the medal has been updated in personal accounts, and the physical version of the medal can be collected along with mission rewards once it is live.]

["Shield" Medal: Unlock by achieving victory in an "Epic" level defense mission. (Add 500 Contribution Points, Changjiu Farm region reputation +1000)]

[Little Fish: To celebrate the arrival of Alpha1.0 version, Bank No. 404 is about to issue the second generation of currency. We're now collecting designs for the currency, and if adopted, you could win a mysterious grand prize! We welcome everyone to sign up enthusiastically!]

[Xia Yan: Light weapons upgrade! The weapon store will soon stock a new model suitable for mid to long-range suppression light machine gun, and a close-combat submachine gun. More details, stay tuned!]

[Luka: A large batch of refugees is approaching, and we're running low on food. I hope everyone can conserve a bit.]

[Today's Recommended Recipes: Boiled Goat Horn Potatoes, Green Wheat Porridge]

Tail: "Medal! Wait, does this mean we're getting physical medals later?!! ∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Quit Smoking: "Damn! Epic enhancement for the Soldier class! Good thing I picked Soldier as my second profession! (Baring teeth)"

Canyon Escapee Mole: "Collector's ecstasy! And this doesn't even pair with an 0.91 update?"

Night Ten: "Brother Fang Chang is awesome! (Funny)"

Fang Chang: "What does that have to do with me? (Sideways glance)"

Crow: "Speaking of today's recommended recipes, they're quite bland, ducks. Can the Manager even get full? (*′·v·)"

Elena: "Maybe the Manager has had too much rich food lately, and this time he decided to switch it up a bit. (Funny)"

Night Ten: "Dawn: Eek, I secretly ordered and you guys found out. (Funny)"

The primary topics on the forum were still focused on the upcoming Alpha1.0 version and the new medal system.

As for Boss Xia's soon-to-be-released new weapons, that didn't attract much discussion.

After all, the gun barrels and receivers were made by No. 81 Steel Factory, and these two factory bosses were always flooding the forum with discussions on seamless steel pipe manufacturing techniques with netizens even more annoying than mosquitoes.

They already knew what the new weapons to be released were, the only mystery probably being the weapon's name.

Last time it was LD-47, what about this time?

Surely it can't be a hammer.

...

Aside from the serious discussion threads, there were also posts teasing Paddle Brother.

Worried that his OB team members couldn't find their home on the forum, Debt Giant Eye opened a post and tagged everyone there.

"Market's closing! Today's Death Lotto results! There were twenty this time! Pity I guessed six, obviously too conservative, but no worries because no one guessed correctly, so it ended in a draw! A world where no one loses money achieved. (Funny)"

Makabazi: "Hahaha, death by black taxi confirmed! Wait, no, MMP, I died too!"

Construction Site Kid and Bricks: "Fuck! I was enjoying shooting with the machine gun, then how come I just died! Didn't even finish the free bullets issued! (Angry)"

Debt Giant Eye: "No worries, I finished shooting for you. (Funny)"

Construction Site Kid and Bricks: "MMP!"

Edge Shoveling: "Hey guys, I'm sorry, I didn't bring you all back."

While typing this line, Edge Shoveling was truly splitting.

The first time he led a team was during an encounter with the mutants at area 76.

From then on, whenever he was the team leader, things seemed to go wrong, and he often took tons of damage, so much so that someone even joked that next time he should simply bring a gas mask and could cosplay Krieg Death Legion during tough times.

He didn't believe for a second that the game's developers weren't targeting him.

Luckily, his teammates didn't blame him.

Debt Giant Eye: "It's fine. Seeing you down here too makes me feel a lot better."

Spring Water Commander: "Hang in there, Edge Shoveling bro, you're a real man!"

Drum Washing Machine: "Hahaha, +1, it's no big deal. Who doesn't die in games? Makabazi dies several times, and still smiles all day."

Makabazi: "Damn! What do you mean 'dies several times'? I'm specifically being targeted by the developers!"

Worksite Boy & Brick: "Brother Guang: Say that again? I dare to go down next time."

Makabazi: "@#%!"

OB's little players were still flooding the forum, and the clever ones had already started drawing.

Never mind the mysterious gift Little Fish talked about, this was a chance to design game currency!

If they got through, wouldn't they get into the Hall of Fame?

Imagine all the players worldwide using the currency you designed, just think how badass that is!

——

On the highway to the south of Tianshui City, an army a hundred strong was retreating.

Because they arrived in haste and left in haste, everyone looked exhausted and listless, sitting on the trucks.

Sitting on the truck as well was a man with only a tuft of hair left on his head, his face solemn.

Opposite him sat Yu, River Beaver, Iron Knee, and several other Centurions, all trembling and daring not even to breathe deeply, looking down counting the mud on their boots.

Kevin, sitting next to Gang Ya, gave him a word of comfort,

"At least we annihilated one of their elite squads, so it's not as bad as we imagined."

Gang Ya clenched his teeth and squeezed out a sentence through his gritted teeth,

"Why do they also have army weapons?"

River Valley Province is full of army weapons, that's not surprising. You should be more worried that not only do they have army weapons, but they also possess their own standard weapons."

Looking at the captured submachine gun in his hand and not overly concerned about the immediate win or loss, Kevin's eyes sparkled with interest.

The design of this rifle was ingenious.

Especially the receiver, which was unusually simple and even retro.

However, it was unexpectedly durable.

The army's submachine guns used similar design principles but weren't issued in large numbers, normally distributed to elite forces or paired with bayonets for frontline Centurions.

Large numbers of clone infantry in the army, meant mainly to fill the lines and attack enemy formations, still primarily utilize long bayonets and bolt-action rifles; supporting firepower is mainly provided by one or two gunmen.

After all, the lifespan of a clone infantry on the front lines is terribly short. Let alone an automatic rifle, even issuing them an extra pack of bullets is a waste.

That transport capacity would be better used to send a couple more artillery shells to the artillery positions.

"Die-stamped receiver, could manufacture casings just by stamping... this thing is way better than a pipe rifle."

Hearing Kevin's comments, Gang Ding frowned.

"Is there a difference?"

The Chewing Bone Tribe could also replicate the army's ammo and weapons, albeit less efficiently, but they had enough slaves.

With continuous support from the Torch Church and a takeover of a large amount of army stock, he didn't see weapon production as anything special.

Once the main forces advanced to the front lines, crushing those ants was just a matter of time!

Still, since this was the strategist speaking, Gang Ya took it seriously.

Kevin nodded, speaking succinctly,

"Yes, and the difference is significant."

He glanced outside the truck,

Looking towards the south, the man with the prominent nose slightly narrowed his eyes.

"This means they have already developed some industrial capability, even if it's just a little."

"These people are not easy to deal with!"

—

(Only one chapter today, but it's a large one of 6000 words... I wish I could write ten thousand, but with my hand handicap and a bit of contemplating the plot, time has flown by, and I couldn't rush out the next chapter, so it will have to wait until tomorrow's update. QAQ)

Chapter 210: The Sudden Blizzard

Kevin didn't need to remind Gang Ya; he already knew that group was trouble.

By the end of one day, with back-to-back battles and two losses, he had nearly lost forty men and a quarter of his ammunition, including one blown-up light pickup truck.

If they didn't leave now, he feared the rest of his men might not make it out alive!

Meanwhile, as Gang Ya and his remaining forces fled the North suburb of Qingquan city at dusk, the gamers who just went offline were still discussing the newly introduced "Medal System" with the soft update.

In fact, the concept of medals existed before; after every battle, outstanding squads or individuals would receive one.

But those medals lacked physicality; they were merely a number on the personal display page, without even an emblem.

However, this time was different. Not only were there specific medal designs, but there were also physical medals to be claimed within "Wasteland OL" – a first for the game!

Proof of victory in an epic battle!

This was way cooler than any pay-to-win skin!

At this moment, many gamers were surprised to discover that the medals they had received previously had all transformed into a gear-shaped icon following the server-wide announcement.

Upon closer inspection, the teeth on the two concentric gears of the medal added up to exactly 404.

When selecting the medal, there was also a line of description —

[We march to battle from here!]

A massive overhaul of the Medal System!

However, it seemed like these basic medals were just visually updated with designs and collectability elements and were given version numbers, but remained electronic without a physical counterpart.

The changes appeared to be made solely to distinguish them from special medals.

Yet even so, for the absolute majority of combat professional players, this was a pleasant surprise.

What if?

What if the operators decided to fill the gap in a future update? Maybe award physical medals for previous awards in-game, or unlock a hidden achievement when a player collects a certain number of medals.

It wasn't impossible!

Spring Water Commander: "I've got it! The 'gear' medals from ordinary battles are whiteboard medals, so they only have electronic versions, not physical ones!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Adding to that, the unlock conditions for the 'Shield' medals are to achieve final victory in an epic-level defense mission!"

Quit smoking: "Wait, does this mean that there are similar achievements for assault, support, or raid missions? (excited)"

Wen Levin's Athlete's Foot: "Wild guess, if there's a Silver Medal, there should also be Copper, Gold, and Diamond Medals."

Ya'er I Need to Visit Brother Ciso: "Throw in a Master rank, too. It'd feel strange without one."

Debt Giant Eye: "What if they introduce a military rank system in the future? (grinning teeth)"

Canyon Fugitive Mole: "Unlikely, unless there's an increase in the player population, then it might be possible. Besides, we already have an Identity System. If they were to create a separate military ranking system just for the Soldier class, wouldn't all players flock to it? However, it's still a good suggestion for the operators to add a 'Command' skill to the skill proficiency list. It would let it level up like Shooting and Combat. This would lure out the leaders who enjoy being captains, preventing those clueless about leading from taking captain spots, leading to disaster. (sigh)"

Elena: "I suspect you're subtly taking a jab at Brother Killing Chicken. (amused)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "(confused_black_man.jpg)"

Construction Boy and Brick: "Hahaha, makes sense! The ones afraid of taking the blame love to just tag along with the infantry. But yes, we need to give the big shots a little incentive. Just not too much, or it would upset game balance. (evil grin)"

Night Ten: "Planners: They're copying, they're copying. (amused)"

...

That night,
after the peak hour for going offline,

Chu Guang, back at the Shelter, glanced over the forum discussions about the medals.

When scrolling down to Night Ten's comment, Chu Guang chuckled.

Copying?

Think bigger!

Aren't the planners listening to the players' voices something to be grateful for? If I didn't read a single post, you'd still be using Contribution Points as money!

"Most of the Contribution Points and regional reputation actually come from military achievements, so setting up a separate military ranking does seem a bit redundant," Chu Guang mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"...However, adding proficiency for the Command skill does seem necessary."

He casually copied the post from Brother Mole onto a document and noted at the bottom.

[Change: Add 'Command' proficiency level. Based on difficulty, scale, casualty rates, and war score of the battle, calculate players' 'Command' skill proficiency gained during the match.]

Later on, he'd have Xiao Qi help design a formula to improve the experience for squad leaders.

After all, as many gamers had observed on the forums, leading a team was a hassle: if the battle goes well, it's a team effort; if not, the leader takes the blame on the spot.

Command skill proficiency could clearly reflect a player's organizational abilities.

Big shots forming teams always had players clambering to join, whereas lousy teams often struggled to fill up and ended up merged by the system, with captains chosen by vote.

In the future, players with high Command proficiency and numerous medals are likely to become sought-after assets by large guilds—or they might even become guild masters themselves.

This could be considered a hidden benefit.

After reading the suggestions, Chu Guang moved to the fan art section of the forum, curious about the progress of the design tasks he had publicly outsourced.

To his surprise, many talented artists had already submitted their work!

"Everyone's so quick?"

As Chu Guang was about to dive into his little gamers' creativity, he casually opened a post, almost spitting out his drink in disbelief.

This talent had directly put his face on a silver coin!

And not as a profile, but a full-faced portrait!

No exaggeration, it was a close resemblance, boosting the silver coin's aesthetics significantly.

However, by that same token, it was almost too close for comfort; Chu Guang felt one could identify him in person with just that coin.

"Good grief, are they trying to curse my long life here?"

Standing out too much in the Wasteland is never a good thing.

After all, in this world, there are way more lunatics than normal people.

Great drawing!

Next time, don't do it like this though.

Chu Guang thought to himself that when the United Human eventually revived and the Wasteland Era came to an end, he could come and claim the credit without any issue.

As for now, it was better to play it safe.

Besides having his own head drawn, there were also some peculiar designs. Some depicted Little Fish, others had Crow and Teng Teng in them... these were relatively normal, but Chu Guang couldn't help wanting to lock the posts that weren't.

After browsing around for a while, Chu Guang found that the most reliable one was undoubtedly Brother Mole.

Ever since he got muted last time, he had turned over a new leaf and stopped drawing comics; instead, he started drawing more profound and serious stuff.

Like this time's silver coin design.

On his design, one side of the silver coin featured an artistic "N," which looked like the game's numeral "1."

On the other side, there was a pincer of a Crack Claw Crab, which, along the coin's edge, was outlined to form a "F," with scales juxtaposed so finely that it resembled a forked olive branch.

The coin had an anti-counterfeiting milled edge—202 large milled edges and 202 fine milled edges, adding up to exactly 404, spaced very closely, thus increasing the difficulty of forgery.

Since each silver coin weighed 10g, 100 silver coins equated to one kilogram. Even if someone managed to figure out the materials, crafting process, and succeeded in forging the coins, they would be quickly discovered in circulation.

The guards at the posts would inspect all the silver coins individuals carried when entering the Survivor Settlement, and market regulators would increase patrols and oversight, making it nearly impossible for someone to bring a large number of counterfeit silver coins into the settlements under shelter No. 404.

"404, Not Found, censorship... Not bad," mused Chu Guang after reading the post, his eyes lighting up as he immediately marked Brother Mole's post.

The overall design was elegant and beautiful, with complete features without being cluttered, and manufacturing posed a certain threshold.

If by the time he woke up tomorrow morning there was no better design,

Then this would be the one!

...

The next morning.

The little players from Shelter No. 404 streamed out of the sanatorium, stepping into the early morning sun.

Just as the first batch of players reached the surface, everyone on the server received a pop-up notification.

[Worldwide Announcement: Congratulations to the player "Mole On The Run" for their design being adopted by the official bank of Shelter No. 404!]

[As the player has chosen to make the achievement public, it will be recorded in the Hall of Fame!]

Players who had just stepped onto the plaza saw these two messages and instantly felt envy.

"Holy shit! Inside job!"

"That's right! That's so unfair! I even drew the Manager's avatar and it wasn't accepted!"

"Damn it, that stinky mole got Little Fish's mystery gift!"

True Mole, who had just emerged from the sanatorium, heard the players' cursing and was confused, looking up.

"What? Who's calling me?"

All the good names are taken by dogs: "We didn't call you! We're talking about that mole!"

True Mole: "???"

Unable to bear it any longer, Brother Mole burst out,

"Damn! Have some conscience, will you? My design had all the elements, why wouldn't they use it?"

Line by Line Master: "I don't care! It's an inside job if they didn't use mine!"

Mole On The Run: "@#%!"

...

Inside job or not,

Even though being envious of the Exalted is common, everyone was still curious about what the mystery gift was.

Surrounded by a crowd, Brother Mole arrived at the bank's door and from Little Fish, he unlocked the legendary mystery gift—

"Thank you! Thank you for your contribution to the community!"

Little Fish, who stood up from behind the counter, sincerely expressed her gratitude.

This unexpected bow made Brother Mole feel a bit flustered.

Only those who are thanked know what that feels like.

"No trouble at all... just lending a hand..." he responded.

Of course, the mystery gift wasn't just a thank-you.

Afterwards, Little Fish pulled out a golden coin from the drawer and handed it over.

The coin was quite unique, with an "α" symbol on one side and the number 1 next to it—seemingly commemorating the soon-to-end Alpha version.

And on the other side was the gate of the shelter—the pattern was exactly the same as the "gear" medal updated earlier.

"This is where we embark!"

Suddenly, a realization dawned on Brother Mole.

Perhaps this was the second-generation currency that the operators originally intended to use.

Realizing this, Brother Mole felt a surge of indescribable emotion.

His actions had changed the game.

Even if just by a little bit...

As for the onlookers gathered around, they didn't have so many thoughts running through their minds. Seeing there were no other rewards, they slowly dispersed, their excitement waning.

"Tsk, what mysterious gift, just a commemorative coin."

"No stat bonuses, disperse, disperse."

Upon hearing these short-sighted remarks, Mole gave this group of people a disdainful glance.

"You know shit!"

How could this limited edition commemorative coin, with only one issued server-wide, be like any regular commemorative coin?

Wait till the public test has more people, and as long as the official doesn't do any "return to factory" event, this coin will be worth at least a houseful of silver coins!

Can the collectible value be summarized simply as "commemorative coin"?

He carefully pocketed the coin and planned to store it in his warehouse later to treasure it, and even get insurance for it.

This would be his lucky coin from now on.

No matter how much it's worth, he wouldn't trade it!

A new day began with the Warehouse Manager's supply requisition list and daily tasks.

The junior players who collected the tasks lugged their weapons or tools and set off towards the Wasteland under the morning sun.

But...

This was only part of the players.

While some players had already started their work, another group of players was currently stuck underground at the sanatorium.

In front of the elevator leading to the surface, a long queue had formed from the elevator's entrance all the way inside Shelter No. 404!

Looking at the sea of people in front of the elevator, Crow couldn't help but exclaim,

"There are way too many people."

With a twitch of the cat ears on her head, Ao Ao Sesame Paste, who was standing beside her in the queue, sighed lightly.

"I'm already starting to get social anxiety."

Tail, who was not far from them, had been staring at the cat ears for a long time wanting to pull them, but was stopped by Si Si.

Wearing an exoskeleton, the Spring Water Commander craned his neck and looked forward, getting impatient and couldn't help but shout,

"Can those in front move it along? I'm in a hurry to get up there and recharge!"

The people in the queue ahead didn't want to pay attention, but when they saw it was the Exalted, they immediately retorted without hesitation.

Zhang Hai, "Rush, rush, rush, what's your rush? As if I want to be slow?"

Gnome King Riches, "Exactly, you're not the only one annoyed by the slow elevator! We can only grind out a max of 16 hours a day, and queuing up is almost taking half an hour!"

The youngster carrying fishing gear heard this and was instantly shocked,

"Holy shit, a full 16 hours, are you a devil?!"

Fishing simulator for 16 hours?!

Gnome King Riches looked at him strangely.

"What else? Isn't it basic to complete the daily tasks and grind for the Warehouse's demands? Without grinding, where does the money for guns come from, how else do you increase your Sequence Level, how else do you get strong! Sixteen hours isn't even enough for me, they should remove the fatigue limit!"

Standing next to him, I Max Black heard this and couldn't help but shake his head,

"Too much grind, way too much!"

Is it necessary?

It's just a game, after all!

Although he had been online for 16 hours these past few days as well...

Standing on the third floor of the sanatorium, Chu Guang and Xiao Qi looked down together at the bustling square.

Although they couldn't hear the players' complaints under the elevator, Chu Guang could already feel the pressure brought by the increase in server population from the long line.

Fortunately, he had left some space and hadn't opened the remaining 300 cans of food.

Otherwise, 1100 people, just the thought of it was terrifying!

Xiao Qi raised her camera, looking at Chu Guang standing beside her.

"Master, Xiao Qi feels that the elevator's capacity is not enough."

Chu Guang nodded in agreement,

"Indeed, we need to think of a solution."

Even though the B3 level maze had redirected some players, there were still four to five hundred people squeezing in front of that one elevator leading underground during peak hours of logging on and off.

At its most extreme, the queue could stretch from the elevator all the way to the buffer chamber's doorway.

Even if the elevator could cram 20 people at a time, it would still require more than 20 round trips to transport all the queued players to the surface.

In reality, if players brought equipment, the maximum capacity per trip might just be 12 to 15 people.

If it weren't for the save points, many players would just opt to live outside full-time.

Now Chu Guang had two proposals, one being to demolish the sanatorium, dig a hole in its place, and construct a bigger lift that could transport over 100 people at a time.

The other proposal was to forego the elevator altogether and dig a several hundred meter-long ramp, angling directly from the surface down to the entrance of Shelter No. 404.

However, both proposals had high thresholds, whether it was demolishing the sanatorium to dig a well twenty to thirty meters deep, or tunneling a "garage entrance" hundreds of meters long, neither was an easy task.

For now, the only feasible solution seemed to be to manufacture more Sleep Cabins and deliver them to the surface, making Shelter No. 404 a true revival point, with the save point located on the surface.

To date, 67 Sleep Cabins have been produced, and aside from the 30 allocated to the industrial area, the rest were sent to Changjiu Farm.

Chu Guang planned to increase the Sleep Cabin quota at Changjiu Farm to 100 units before the next version release, serving as the public save point for players.

As for a more convenient saving method...

Honestly, Chu Guang wished there was such a method, but unfortunately, there was no better solution available at the moment.

Scanning and recording the gene sequence's development progress is a complex process, despite being briefly mentioned in a single sentence, it involves a hot and cutting-edge research area in DNA studies—epigenetics.

Mainstream views suggest humans have 20 to 30 thousand genes, but not all of these genes are expressed; most of them are like the commented-out code in a computer program.

How to let specific genes selectively express to produce the desired traits is in fact, a more complex task than simply modifying a certain segment of the gene.

Although the genes stored in the shelters are the selected quality breeds from the gene banks of the pre-war civilization, it is clear that even the First Generation Manager didn't master the method to fully express these genes.

If it were possible, it likely would have been considered a "Singularity" level technology.

However, although the First Generation Manager did not complete this work, he did provide a reliable "solution" for his successors before he died.

That is, allowing clones to evolve actively under natural selection, then recording their DNA's selective expression process through scientific means, and imitating that process in the synthesis of the next clone, growing step by step, to gradually approach the ultimate 100%.

The principle behind the Sleep Cabin's scanning is the same as the cultivation chamber, requiring a check of all body cells, which roughly takes 3 to 5 hours—just right to complete while the clone is asleep.

Being able to save at any moment, however, seems quite unlikely for now.

Fortunately, in contrast to the synthesis of clones, the scanning function does not consume much energy, so the Sleep Cabin's rated power is much lower than that of the cultivation chamber.

It only needs a 100KW generator to meet the operation of 100 Sleep Cabins, which can be said to be quite economical.

"Generators are almost not enough, and the industrial zone is an even bigger energy consumer, we need to find a solution to the energy problem."

Building an entire nuclear fusion generator is not very feasible; fusion cells are too expensive and can't be recharged, using up one less each time. Fuel rods last long, but are hard to find, and electricity in the shelters can't be stolen.

Currently, the best option available is the wood-powered generator.

In the Wasteland, everything else is scarce, except wood.

Before, Mosquito and his team managed to work out a steam engine, Chu Guang believes that putting in a little more effort to develop the pot camel engine won't be too much of a problem.

In fact, the Army's light trucks use the pot camel engine, which moves as long as there is wood, making it very convenient. The life profession players in the new industrial zone have already been researching replicas, and it seems that they have made some progress.

"Hope it can be completed before the next invasion of the Chewing Bone Tribe."

Chu Guang plans to set two small goals for the players.

One is to build a 1MW-level thermal power plant in the new industrial zone, Outpost Base, and Changjiu Farm respectively, to enter the electric age preliminarily.

The other is to solve the engine problem and be able to independently produce vehicles.

Not to mention mobilizing an entire motorcycle army immediately, even just having a few more trucks would be good.

With only nine trucks available for four transportation routes, sending forces to slightly farther places still requires freeing up industrial zone vehicles in advance.

This transport capacity is indeed a bit too tight.

Sitting on the third floor of the sanitarium, Chu Guang watched his little players through a Hummingbird drone.

The Ox and Horse Squad had already started a new round of tackling the Greenhouse Ruins, and their progress had reached level B5, which was very close to level B9.

Brother Mole's team also entered the Greenhouse Ruins; however, their strategy was to ascend rather than descend. Their progress was at the third level, with two more levels to go.

Mosquito was testing the improved rocket on the edge of the industrial zone, trying to make the rocket's power greater and more fierce, while a fat rat followed by his side.

At Steel Factory No. 81, Brother Ciso and Brother Levin had completely given up on the dream of an 88mm large-caliber anti-aircraft cannon and turned to study a 20mm small-caliber anti-aircraft cannon, just like Mosquito gave up on the small-caliber Thorn Fist rocket.

Although the caliber of 20mm is smaller, as long as there are enough barrels, the power is still substantial!

If a quad mount is not enough,

Then go for a twelve-barrel mount!

Use a barrage to light up the entire sky!

Seeing his little players working so diligently, Chu Guang felt very gratified. As the server increasingly filled with talents, the things he needed to do himself became less and less.

In the past, he had to go to his neighbor's house to buy vegetables himself.

Now, whenever he needs something, there are players to run errands for him.

...

Time passed, and it was afternoon.

The snow outside the window grew heavier, and visibility outside got increasingly poor.

Initially, one could see 10 meters away, but now standing on the third floor, it was hard to see even the ground below.

For safety, Chu Guang released a server announcement, reminding players to be aware of the blizzard, and had Xiao Qi recall the drones.

The machine was too small and not very powerful, Chu Guang worried the wind might get stronger and blow it right into the lake.

Looking at the growing snow outside the window through the camera, Xiao Qi said worriedly,

"Master, the snow outside seems to be getting heavier."

"I can see that."

Staring at the snow outside the window, Chu Guang had a bad feeling.

Currently, over six hundred survivors were gathered at the New United Gas Station. According to the plan, the survivors from Winter Willow Camp were supposed to arrive at Changjiu Farm by midday.

If the blizzard's impact exceed expectations, it will undoubtedly cause significant obstruction to the follow-up evacuation plan.

Just then, Chu Guang's VM suddenly received a pop-up message.

The message was from Luka.

After a glance at the screen, Chu Guang's expression changed slightly. He immediately stood up and walked towards the power armor parked nearby.

Xiao Qi turned the camera towards him.

"Master?"

"I need to make a trip to Changjiu Farm."

Entering from the back of the power armor and donning his gear, Chu Guang said concisely,

"I'll leave this place to you."

——

(In the past few days, the update times have been a bit unstable; Cheng Xing apologizes to everyone. It's really not because I'm being lazy, sometimes I just don't finish writing. Although I have a complete outline that covers the content of each version and the personal lines of the characters and players, when it comes to writing, I still need to write a detailed outline to make the plot tight.

To ensure sustainability in the future, I humbly ask my brothers to give me three days to refine this detailed outline, so that subsequent updates can also be more stable. Even though there will only be one update during these three days, it will be around 6k words. Once the detailed outline for the next phase is handled, we will resume the daily 10k from the 10th!)

Chapter 211 Wartime Regulations!

On the streets of Giant Stone City, doors and windows tightly shut, rattled loudly in the wind.

There were no pedestrians in sight, only a line of ragged poor pushing carts of snow to dump outside the city.

In the slums by the outer wall, collapsed shanties were everywhere. Disheveled people braved the howling blizzard, searching through piles of snow for missing relatives and friends. Others stood numbly next to their fallen shelters or knelt on the ground praying.

Tilted by the wind, a wooden pole lay unattended at the entrance of the slum. Two loudspeakers, tied on with wire, intermittently emitted an annoying, slick tone.

"...Hello, dear listeners, hello there, this is Voice of Boulder City, and I'm your beloved host, Mr. Hauser."

"Just ten minutes ago, a sudden blizzard swept through the southern part of River Valley Province. This blizzard is expected to last two hours, but don't worry, faced with the towering walls, neither the surging 'Tide' nor the howling cold wind can cause us any harm! Under the great leadership of our Lord Mayor, we are invincible!"

"However, our neighbors aren't so lucky."

"Although the heavy snow has obscured our view, making it impossible to see inside our neighbors' homes, I can imagine what a pitiful sight it must be."

"If your house has collapsed, please don't be sad, the Hotel Wind From Afar always welcomes you!"

"This will be your second home!"

...

The sudden blizzard threw the North suburb of Qingquan City into chaos.

Especially the young players hunting in Elm District were lucky to have GPS and compass functionality on their VMs, or they would hardly have made it out of the forest.

The area was littered with trenches and dugouts left by the army; a careless step could land you in a ditch, occasionally touching a corpse not yet fully devoured by Hu Wolves, Hyenas, and rats...

Overall, the players weren't too adversely affected by the blizzard.

Even when someone occasionally ran into trouble, they could send a distress signal via the map, and nearby players who saw it would typically rush over to help enthusiastically.

However, compared to the optimistic players, the situation for the NPCs wasn't so rosy.

Two wooden houses of the tribe collapsed, as did a cattle shed.

Chu Guang issued missions, asking Teng Teng, who frequently interacted with the tribespeople, to send them two boxes of bandages and called on players with medical or veterinary experience to help rescue the wounded and livestock.

As for the conditions at the riverside brick factory and the industrial area, they were relatively good.

Since they were all brick buildings, the impacts of the blizzard were minimal. The workers all stayed inside the factory where it was much warmer than outside, so there wasn't much of a problem with keeping warm.

However, the situation at Changjiu Farm was somewhat dire.

Although the "foam houses" built with the help of Pioneer were all fine, and the brick houses built afterward were also intact, reaching the refugee camp at the east gate presented a scene of utter devastation.

The houses of the Nomads, being wooden, mostly had decent resistance against the blizzard.

But the shanties inhabited by these refugees, mostly made of debris like aluminum sheets and steel bars picked from the Wasteland, couldn't even withstand a slightly stronger wind without being blown violently about.

Faced with this sudden onslaught of a blizzard, the shanties in the entire refugee camp could only be described with the words "completely wiped out."

The entire camp was as if flattened!

"Is this our new home?" Looking at the chaotic camp before him, a man standing at the entrance of the camp had his face frozen in bewilderment.

The ruins of the shanties.

Trash buried under the snow.

And the injured lying on stretchers...

Standing behind the man were a group of villagers carrying large and small bags. They came from the Winter Willow Camp, many having just narrowly escaped death under the Looter's knife, still bearing wounds and only hurriedly bandaged.

After spending a night recuperating at the New United Gas Station, they were arranged in the first group bound for Changjiu Farm.

However...

As they walked here, bracing the sudden blizzard while harboring dreams of a new life, they were met with such a sight.

Their anticipation for a new life inevitably clouded over.

"So where is the camp?"

"Maybe it never existed…"

"I start to miss my cabin, I just added a fireplace to it... Damn."

"Stop thinking about it, we can't go back there anymore."

As the villagers from Winter Willow Camp stood silently, bewildered by the scene before them, the refugees already at the chaotic camp were also sizing them up.

Most of their gazes were filled with suspicion and vigilance.

Although they occasionally welcomed newcomers, never before had they seen so many arrive at once, easily over a hundred people.

"Has the disaster become this severe?"

"Chew-bone... Chaos is spreading."

"The big deer is up again, I pray for our peace…"

With his tribesmen, Nine Searches, rescuing their fellow citizens, frowned upon the sight of these new refugees and turned back to the camp to find his brother.

In the crowd.

Ma Shan, shivering with cold, his lips trembling and his eyes filled with despair.

"I told you long ago… we should have fled south. Now, everywhere is hell, we have no way out anymore."

The soldier in the exoskeleton had said he would take him to see the Manager, but, to this point, other than a few questions from the guards, this matter seemed to have been forgotten.

Perhaps the Manager did not want to see him.

Entry into the refuge had become hopeless, his heart filled only with despair.

The cold north wind cut across his face like a knife, and feeling the stares from behind, Ma Li's Adam's apple bobbed as if his neck had been frozen.

"… maybe, I should go find the Manager."

After all, he had represented the Winter Willow Camp and agreed to the refuge's relocation plan.

Hearing his son's words, Ma Zhanqiu slowly shook his head.

"When everyone is unfortunate, looking for someone doesn't work."

No one was obligated to save them.

Only they could save themselves.

After a moment of silence, he turned to look at the villagers, and with a hoarse yet fairly loud voice, he exclaimed,

"It looks like warm beds and hot soup will have to wait a bit longer."

"Wounded, elderly, and children look after the luggage, everyone else follow me."

"Our saviors have run into trouble, we need to go help them!"

Survivors from Winter Willow Camp joined the search and rescue work.

And thanks to their addition, soon more people buried under the snow were dug out.

Many were still breathing, though faintly, yet they were alive but had been frozen stiff.

They were carried to the temporarily dug trenches, which provided some shelter from the blizzard.

The guard squad had established a temporary aid station on the trenches, gathered the injured for treatment, and helped those with fractures to immobilize the affected limbs.

Due to the truck breaking down on the road, Chu Guang was delayed for a while, and the latter part was a walk to the Long Endurance Farm.

Upon arriving at the farm, he quickly found Luka, who was commanding the search and rescue efforts at the east gate.

Coincidentally, Guard Leader Wrench and the person in charge of the Refugee Camp, Jiu Li, were all here too.

Without any pleasantries, Chu Guang went straight to the point,

"How's the situation?"

Luka looked solemn and spoke gravely,

"Sir, the disaster situation at the Refugee Camp is very serious, nearly all the shanties have been destroyed. I've already arranged for the workers at Long Endurance Farm to drop their current tasks and assist in the search and rescue effort. Currently, 7 people are confirmed dead, 21 injured, and two are unaccounted for… it's more danger than good luck."

Chu Guang's mood slightly darkened.

Standing beside them, Jiu Li quickly added,

"Sir, the old camp is no longer habitable. I earnestly request you permit us to enter the farm; we can assure you, we won't be any trouble."

Before Chu Guang could speak, Wrench looked at Jiu Li and spoke on his behalf,

"Even if you enter the farm, there aren't enough rooms to house you. The new apartments are still under construction; even if you came in, you'd only be able to sleep on the open ground, which wouldn't solve any problems."

Jiu Li anxiously said,

"At least the enclosing walls could block some of the wind..."

"How could that be?" Wrench shook his head, "Even the roof of our guard station was blown away; I just had it retrieved."

Jiu Li faltered, wanting to say more, but Old Luka, seeing this, also gave advice from the side.

"What Wrench said is the truth, even if we allowed all of you in, it wouldn't make the situation any better."

What Wrench said was indeed the truth; Long Endurance Farm simply couldn't accommodate so many people.

The scale of the Refugee Camp had grown from the initial 187 people to now nearly 300. Add to that over a hundred households from Winter Willow Camp, and the population could well exceed 500.

The dormitories left by the crew of Pioneer for them had only 200 single rooms, of which more than half had already been rented by players active in Long Endurance Farm and the Elm District area, as places to log out. The other half was allocated to those who had found work at Long Endurance Farm,

The two buildings of "Home of the Refugees" apartments currently under construction had only a little over 400 rooms in total. Even if construction on a third building started immediately, it would not be until next spring at the earliest that it could be put to use.

Putting people into shelter only provides temporary relief and doesn't solve any underlying problems. It mainly offers them psychological comfort.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then looked towards the Wrench.

"Do you have a paper map of the North Suburb of Qingquan City with you?"

"Yes, sir."

Wrench immediately took out a map from his chest pocket and handed it to Chu Guang with both hands.

Chu Guang unfolded the map, searched it for a while, and finally locked on to an abandoned department store not far from the new industrial zone.

His cattle and horse team had previously discovered a personal shelter there. It was where they found Boss Xia's workbench.

Chu Guang remembered clearly that there were two underground parking levels, offering vast space where radiation and Mucor species variants had been cleared before.

Although more variants might have spread there recently, the number should not be large and they would not be difficult to clear out.

Most importantly, this department store was not too far from here, only about five kilometers, and near the new industrial zone. This might provide some work opportunities for part of the population.

The only flaws might be the ventilation and sanitation issues, but these would seem minor in the face of severe blizzards.

Before next spring, Chu Guang planned to temporarily settle the refugees there. Although the conditions were not excellent, they were definitely better than leaving them to fend for themselves in the wilderness.

After drawing a circle on the map, Chu Guang handed it to Jiu Li standing beside him and instructed,

"This area near Changjiu Farm is all wasteland with nothing but short withered trees and shrubs, uneven muddy ground, and no shelter from wind or rain, lacking enough materials for you to build a camp in a short time."

"We don't know when the next snowstorm will come. Building a new camp is not a wise choice. Before the end of winter, we must utilize the ruins left by the pre-war society to establish temporary shelters. I know this won't be easy; variants, diseases... many issues need to be overcome, but this is the only option available to save more lives."

"I need you to organize people to take the refugees to the designated area on the map. I will arrange for the security team to assist you in establishing the temporary shelter."

"Subsequently, a batch of wood will be sent there, and I will arrange people to assist you in producing fuel. I will do my best to solve the food issue; the ration standards will be the same as they are here. I can't guarantee how good, but I assure you that no one will die of hunger or cold."

Although heavy-hearted, Jiu Li also understood that this was the most realistic choice.

He bowed slightly and said respectfully,

"Thank you for your generosity, sir."

Whether calming the refugees' emotions or arranging the relocation needed time, Jiu Li did not delay. He soon left with the map and the manager's promise.

Chu Guang asked Luka to go and assist him, and after giving instructions, he did not idle. He immediately used the manager's authority to post a task with no threshold restrictions on the task channel.

The task would also be posted at the warehouse entrance, directed at newcomers who had not yet earned VM credentials.

[Task: Changjiu Farm needs wood!]

[Posted for: All players]

...

Outpost Base.

A group of newcomers gathered in front of the task bulletin board by the warehouse entrance, their eyes almost bulging out as they stared at the line on the list.

[Task: Changjiu Farm needs wood!]

[Requirement: Cut down trees marked in the designated area and drag the cut trees to a specified location for loading]

[Reward: Two silver coins per tree, 5 Contribution Points, 10 regional reputation points (Changjiu Farm)]

The surrounding area buzzed with voices, all filled with surprise and disbelief.

"Damn, two silver coins for one tree?!"

"And 5 Contribution Points plus 10 reputation points!"

"Mother, is this some kind of limited-time event? Why are the rewards so high?"

It was well known that a level 0 hardworking player could only earn 10 silver coins a day.

After reaching level 3, daily earnings would gradually increase to about 15-20 silver coins.

The reason was due to the game mechanism, where contribution points played a bigger role than silver coins in the early stages. Only when a citizen level was reached would monetary gains increase substantially.

The operator's explanation was that only those who made sufficient contributions to the shelter deserved to enjoy the fruits of previous efforts and own more "social resources."

Normal daily tasks, chopping a tree would only award 5 copper coins, and even less for smaller tasks.

But now, the reward had quadrupled!

And there was no upper limit on earnings!

Not just the newbie players, even many old players above level 6 were tempted by such expansive rewards.

Canyon Running Mole: "Could it be that the AI made a mistake when posting the task? This income is way too unreasonable. Will Strength-types skyrocket? We urgently request for planning to add tasks that allow Agile-systems to quickly earn money too!"

Spring Water Commander, "+1, Intelligence System is going to cry."

Midnight Chicken Killing, "Logging convoy is moving out, anyone joining? DM me quickly."

Kakarot, "Brother Killing Chicken, count me in! Hahaha, I am a Strength-type!"

Gnome King Riches, "Brothers, let's go! Before the Dog Plan notices this bug, let's push our silver coins to the sky!"

Spare People Under the Knife, "Man, I'm going to work my liver out!"

Quit Smoking, "Let's do this!"

A group of players surged toward Elm District.

Especially the Strength-type players, they were as excited as 200-pound children. All the logging axes in the store were sold out, and they swore to make a break for the sky.

Unlike previous logging tasks, this one specified a logging area, and NPCs marked the trees; only the marked trees would yield rewards.

The development area was about 10 acres, displaying a rectangular area on the map. Pine trees and cypress trees over 30 cm in diameter and higher than 10 meters were all marked.

Three guards and eight NPC laborers set up a temporary camp next to the logging area. They used simple cutting devices like saws to process the timber, and loaded it onto trucks in sections, transporting it to the Long Endurance Farm and a temporary shelter in the abandoned department store.

Kids must be wondering, what if I make my mark on a slightly thinner tree?

Of course... Heck no.

That would be way too bold.

As long as the NPCs are blind enough, they surely won't find out…

Within the 10-acre range, the NPCs sent by Chu Guang had placed a total of 6,000 marks.

The entire task was scheduled to last one week.

However, what Chu Guang didn't expect was that, within just three days and without modern tools like chainsaws, his little players had used just axes to clear all 6,000-plus marks!

At two silver coins per tree, in just three days, Chu Guang had issued a total of 12,000 silver coins!

A total of 170 players participated in this task, averaging an income of 70.5 silver coins each.

The top performer, Midnight Chicken Killing, broke two axes alone, contributing 120 trees and earning 240 silver in three days. His logging level rose from 5 to 6, and Chu Guang even entertained the thought of awarding him the achievement of Forest Destroyer.

At this rate, Brother Killing Chicken might just become the second awakened in the shelter.

Strength-type is now the strongest version confirmed!

…

Long Endurance Farm.

Temporary Office.

Looking at Chu Guang sitting behind a wooden desk, Luka cautiously reminded him.

"Sir, we now have enough timber, and our fuel reserves have returned to your set reserve level, but food remains a major problem."

"The weather is getting colder, and the game available for hunting is dwindling. We currently have nearly two thousand mouths to feed, and at the current rate of consumption, our food may only last until the end of this month..."

After listening to Luka's report, Chu Guang fell into deep thought, gently tapping his index finger on the table.

Two more months, and the first batch of corn will mature at Greenhouse Ruins.

The actual planting area is about 40 acres, with an estimated yield of 700-800 kilograms per acre, which amounts to around 30,000 kilograms.

The seeds sold by Pioneer are guaranteed to produce results.

Once the breeding in the shelter's B3 layer planting area is completed, and the entire Greenhouse Ruins are fully exploited, a new batch of seeds will soon be planted.

However, distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.

He could freely print money, but after all, he couldn't exchange printed money for food.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang said.

"We need to hold on for two more months."

"As long as we can last until the end of January next year, victory will be ours!"

There was no more food to scavenge in the surroundings. Chu Guang even sent people to check Brown Farm, and their granaries indeed had little left; the farmer had not hidden the truth from him.

It was getting harder to find game in the forests of Elm District, and in the city… even the rats were almost exterminated.

Those Mucor species Variants are ultimately inedible, even if they are turned into active substances, those paste-like fluids can't be absorbed by the digestive system.

If they did not intend to cross ethical lines,
there was only one option left…

Sitting at the desk, Chu Guang pondered for a long time, and finally made a decision. He opened the drawer, took out a piece of paper, and wrote six words —

"War Time Management Regulation."

Chapter 212: Price Increase? It's Just a Closed Beta, Get Used to It!

Ssssh—

The hatch opened.

Climbing out of the cultivation chamber, "Construction Boy with Brick" looked up at the ceiling, letting out a howl as if reborn.

"Holy crap!"

"I am finally alive again!"

Three days!

An entire three days without being online!

Only he knew what he went through during those three days.

The first thing after getting out, of course, was to take a shower to clear the bad luck.

He quickly dressed, picked up the VM at the head of the chamber, and "Construction Boy with Brick" dashed into the bathroom, emerging moments later feeling refreshed.

However, when he saw the water bill, his joyful mood instantly turned to cursing.

"Damn it! I only showered for ten minutes, how is it 1 Silver Coin already!?"

He clearly remembered getting out right on the last second at 9 minutes and 59 seconds!

Coincidentally at that moment, a giant lizard crawled out of the neighboring shower.

Garbage King gave him a look, chuckled heh heh.

"Bro, how long since you were last online?"

Construction Boy with Brick glanced at him.

"Three days! Why?"

"Three days, no wonder you didn't know, the price for showering increased yesterday, now it's 1 Silver Coin every 10 minutes, starting from the 30th minute it's 2 Silver per minute."

Construction Boy with Brick was instantly shocked when he heard that.

"1 Silver Coin for 10 minutes?!! Are they robbing us?"

Garbage King seemed to expect this reaction, speaking calmly.

"Calm down, although the cost for showering is up, the returns from tasks have also gone up these two days. Now by doing the tunnel cleaning task, you can do it once a day, and 40 Eaters will net you 50 Silver!"

Construction Boy with Brick looked at him in disbelief.

"50 Silver?! Are you joking?"

Garbage King laughed.

"Why would I lie to you, if you're short on cash, I'll take you down to the tunnels. The monsters down there are dumb as bricks, and there's plenty of them, killing them is super satisfying!"

Inflation.

Not a bad thing!

You don't have to shower every day, but tasks need to be done every day!

The adjustments were not just to the task rewards, but also to the types and quantity of tasks.

Before, a day's earnings from the tunnels were just over 50 Silver; now, it's shot up to 100+, a full double!

And it wasn't just him whose income was buoyed; even the newbies enjoyed a wave of increased earnings.

Now by doing the "Corpse Mover" task, bringing Eaters to the recycling point next to the Active Substance Extractor, what used to be 10 for 1 Silver Coin is now 5 for 1 Silver.

Many newbies followed the convoy, specializing in this delivery work; on a good day, they could even earn 20 Silver.

This was far more comfortable than the paltry ten Silver Coins they labored for in a day in the past!

Checking the task list through the VM, Construction Boy with Brick finally understood the meaning behind Garbage Brother's words.

The task payouts had indeed hugely increased.

Previously, the lowest reward tasks were settled in Copper Coins, but now Copper Coins seemed to have disappeared from the task list. Even the least lucrative errand tasks rewarded more than 1 Silver Coin, and if it was an errand across Survivor Settlements, the reward started from 5 Silver Coins.

Looking at it this way...

A slight increase in water rates wasn't too preposterous, right?

"These three days offline...it feels like I've been away for three months," he said, putting down the VM, Construction Boy with Brick full of sentiment.

Garbage Brother patted this old guy's shoulder.

"Closed testing, pretty normal, you'll get used to it!"

"I remember just yesterday, Brother Mole specifically opened a thread to analyze the across-the-board increase in task profits. The signs were pretty clear, the second-generation currency system only tweaked the Silver Coins, didn't mention the Copper at all. The operators must be planning to reduce the varieties of currency in circulation, so they simply abandoned Copper Coins!"

Construction Boy with Brick listened blankly.

After a while, he asked,

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

Garbage King shook his head.

"Not sure, I think it has its pros and cons. Those who had a lot of money in their accounts would definitely suffer for a while, but on the other hand, starting from now, gear is easier to grind for, which for most players should be a good thing."

"Especially the 7mm bullets; they haven't gone up in price, still at 1 Silver Coin per bullet! I've seen many people who used to hold a fully automatic wouldn't dare to burst fire before, now they can afford the luxury every once in a while."

Nonetheless, this seemed to have little to do with him.

He couldn't operate a regular rifle to save his life, and the weapons store wasn't going to design a special weapon just for him.

So far, from the available Alien Sequences, it seems that only Rat-men didn't come with the "Jointly Labored" debuff attached.

It wasn't long before Edge Shoveling, Debt Giant Eye, and all the brothers were back, one by one, emerging from their rooms.

As soon as they saw Brother Shui come out of his room, Big Eyes immediately went up to him with a big grin and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Brother Shui, where are we gonna go to feed today?"

Edge Shoveling rolled his eyes.

"Get lost, you're such a freaking jinx. You go feed if you want to— I need to farm for a few days first! Damn, I'm never charging in blindly again, waiting on the forum almost split me in half."

Debt Giant Eye chuckled.

"Got it, but you'll still dare to do it next time!"

Edge Shoveling: "Scram, scram, scram."

Although Edge Shoveling hadn't been in the game for three days, he kept tabs on the forum to stay updated with the latest developments.

Thanks to the brave fighting of him and his squad, the Chewing Bone Tribe's vanguard had been forced to withdraw from Qingquan City.

For the past three days, the wind had been blowing and the snow had been falling heavily; in some places, the snow had piled up from the knee to the thigh, capable of burying a person halfway.

Due to the thick snow on the roads, the transport routes between Changjiu Farm and Elm District had all been stopped, barely maintaining the flow to and from the industrial area and the route from Outpost Base to Changjiu Farm.

It was foreseeable that the Chewing Bone Tribe would probably not continue their southward push until spring comes next year.

"By the way, does anyone know where to collect the medals?"

Edge Shoveling opened his VM and saw a message in his personal inbox.

"I saw on VM that it's at the Manager's Office, presented by the Manager himself..."

He was only halfway through speaking.

A new announcement suddenly popped up on VM.

[Worldwide Announcement: The war between Shelter No. 404 and the Looters has intensified. In order to ensure the supply of war materials, we are now initiating the War Time Management Regulation and regulating certain essential daily necessities. The situation is severe, and we hope everyone can work together to overcome this.]

[Duration: 60 days.]

Everyone was slightly stunned, and looks of surprise appeared on their faces.

Does this mean...

...a new expansion pack is coming??

...

War Time Regulations Article 1: Green wheat and horned potatoes are classified as controlled items and their personal purchase is suspended, to be distributed by the storehouse.

Article 2: The baseline prices of staples like corn, wheat, rice, and flour will increase by 200%; subsidiary produce such as cabbages and cabbages will increase by 150%.

Article 3: Survivor settlements and temporary shelters directly managed by shelters will provide essential nutrients for survival, with each resident entitled to two servings per day.

Article 4: Residents collecting relief food have an obligation to participate in labor. This includes, but is not limited to, production work, shelter construction, and mobilization at critical moments.

Article 5: ...

There are a total of eighteen War Time Regulations, of which about one-third are related to players, while the rest mainly target refugees.

These include arranging for them to build houses, make fuel, and work in factories.

Refugees are relatively stable as long as they are fed and have fuel for heating.

The impact on players is even smaller.

Many players even considered the Wartime regulations as the third expansion pack for Wasteland OL, a continuation of the first expansion pack "Winter is Coming."

Forum.

Chit-chat discussion area.

Right after the peak offline period passed, the topic of the War Time Regulations became a hot discussion.

Night Ten: "Any class rep to give us a breakdown? What's Ah Guang planning now? (Emoticon)"

Elena: "Let me tag the class rep for you @Long Days Ahead@Fugitive Mole. (Emoticon)"

Fugitive Mole: "What's the use of tagging me, tag Ah Guang. (Side-eye)"

Fang Chang: "emmm... From what I can see, the version's favorite seems to be lifestyle occupation players, but they're also the ones who got nerfed the hardest. Whoever can figure out how to feed the most people with the least food will probably gain the favor of the version, I'm just guessing."

Tomato and Egg Stir-fry: "Why don't we stir-fry noodles? If we're not fussy about taste, that stuff can fill you up and the ingredients are simple."

Spare people under the knife: "That's treating the symptoms, not the cause. We lack food, not ways to eat it. I think we should develop more food sources!"

Old White: "Like what?"

Elena: "How about cockroaches? (Emoticon)"

Gnome King Riches: "Holy moly, Old Monk, you have some exotic tastes! (Shocked)"

Old White: "+1, even in the game, I absolutely won't eat that stuff!"

Drum-type hair washer: "How about rats? Squeakers are famous in our area. (Emoticon)"

Difficult for the strong: "Shivering."

Tail: "Why don't we eat Meat Meat! (｀・ω・´)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Don't do it! Even though my gene sequence is alien, I'm still human! (Scared)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Bear Paws! (－﹃－*)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "QAQ"

...

Near the new industrial area.

In front of the abandoned department store.

Stacks of unprocessed wood piled up in the open space, forming a pyramidal shape, with refugees constantly moving around them, bustling about without pause.

Some people carried axes, splitting large logs into smaller chunks of firewood. Others sawed them into planks, carrying them into the abandoned department store to repair the damaged walls and to seal the leaky doors and windows.

The ventilation in the underground parking garage was worse than imagined, and they only realized after their arrival that it couldn't accommodate so many people. The refugees relocated here had to temporarily settle on the first floor of the department store.

Fortunately, the people from the shelter had timely sent over a truckload of wood and some bricks for building stoves.

Thanks to these woods and bricks, they were a huge help!

With stoves and chimneys built from the bricks, they could vent the burning smoke out of the building, without risking poisoning or setting fire by placing the burning charcoal next to their beds.

Because the damaged walls and windows had been sealed up, the consumption rate of fuel also decreased significantly.

Cooks set up large pots at the entrance, boiling porridge inside.

Though the air was thick with the scent of grass, those bubbling bubbles ignited a glimmer of hope for the future in the red-nosed survivors.

That manager in blue armor didn't break his promise.

Those in blue jackets did not abandon them.

The life here might not be satisfactory, but at least they could survive.

As long as they could survive, there was hope!

…

Up to now, it had been a total of three days.

Survivors from all five survivor bases, including Super Power Battery Factory, Winter Willow Camp, and Highway Town, had completed the relocation.

The outermost perimeter of the north suburb of Qingquan City had already formed a void, and the next time those looters came, they would probably only find some useless junk.

The scorched earth plan was initially shaping up!

However, due to the recent heavy snowstorms and shortages of food and fuel, the second and third batches of relocation plans had to be put on hold.

Chu Guang made a promise to the remaining seven survivor settlements.

If they were attacked, reinforcements from the shelters would arrive within half an hour, they just needed to hold on for that half-hour, and the rest could be left to the shelter's soldiers to handle.

But truth be told, in this ghastly weather, the possibility of being attacked was smaller than freezing to death.

Even the ten-kilometer stretch of road from Outpost Base to Changjiu Farm, though repaired and without obvious potholes, passing trucks would still occasionally break down once or twice, not to mention marching in the wasteland.

Considering the pitted conditions of the Wasteland roads, a large force probably couldn't travel a few kilometers before getting stuck in the snow and waiting to die.

Moreover, the Chewing Bone Tribe was situated even further north, facing no less severe conditions at the moment. The temperature in North Suburb was far below minus ten degrees. It could very well reach minus twenty or thirty.

Even if they ate other humans.

They would still need to cook the meat…

This year's harsh winter was not just severe compared to previous years, but could only be described as brutal.

Chu Guang had visited Bet Street before, and while inspecting the situation there, he also had a chat with Old Charlie.

Old Charlie had then stated that he had been living here for a few years.

And such bad conditions as this year had only appeared twice in his memory...

…

On the second day of the War Time Regulations.

The sudden strain on food supply, although it made life a bit worse than before, did not bring an unbearable impact on the players' gaming experience.

The items mainly restricted from purchase were green wheat and goat's horn potatoes, while items like rice, potatoes, wheat, corn, and various types of flour were not limited.

With the income of the players, they could afford the latter.

However, a doubled base selling price still put a lot of pressure on the life-profession players who were vendors.

At the market near the north gate.

It was mealtime.

Players sitting in front of Zhang Hai's noodle stall clamored.

"Boss Zhang, why did your noodle prices go up again?"

"Exactly! The meat is cut thinner than paper already, but now even plain noodles are 2 Silver Coins a bowl!"

"It's doubled in price! This is too much!"

Annoyed by the complaints, Zhang Hai banged the noodle pot with his ladle, impatiently saying,

"What are you complaining about, go ask the warehouse that sells flour! A kilogram of corn flour is already selling for 5 Silver Coins! 2 liang of noodles, I charge you 2 Silver Coins, is that so outrageous? Huh?"

Keep complaining.

Tomorrow it'll be 3 Silver Coins!

Unexpectedly to Zhang Hai, the patrons sitting in front of the stall did not accept this, and continued to make a fuss.

"Damn it! I knew these noodles seemed too little, turns out it's only two liang!"

"It can't be said to be outrageous, this is way too much!"

"Where is the market supervision bureau? I want to call the police; there is a dishonest business skimping on materials!"

Zhang Hai: "@#%!"

Damn it!

I'm charging three silver coins per bowl tomorrow!

It's not just the noodle sellers who are raising their prices, but the barbecue and bun vendors too.

It's only at times like these that players start to miss Crow Boss's mushrooms.

That mushroom soup for one silver coin per bowl was like a ray of hope in the cold winter.

It used to seem expensive, but now it seems too cheap to be true.

Hopefully, when the mushrooms fields reopen next spring, Crow Boss will keep some good memories for them and won't raise the prices...

Walking through the market at the North Gate, Chu Guang pondered what to have for dinner tonight while listening to the players' chatter.

Understanding the will of the people is also part of a manager's job.

After all, it's easy to fall into the trap of being an "armchair strategist" if you only look at spreadsheets.

Overall, this round of price increases was controllable, and the effect had met Chu Guang's expectations.

Players' daily earnings increased by 50% to 100%, while the prices of food, clothing, and other necessities rose by 100% to 150%. Industrial products like weapons and ammunition prices remained the same, which was effectively a price cut.

In a word, the living conditions of career players weren't really weakened, combat professional players got an epic enhancement!

Currently, the only thing in the market that hasn't gone up in price is probably the milk bought by nomads and some dried meat made from game.

The herders from the Frost Spear Tribe brought with them the technique of making air-dried meat from afar, which had a unique flavor, and it became popular with some players who need provisions for the wilderness, because even though the taste might be slightly inferior, the cost-effectiveness as a dry food was extremely high.

After all, green wheat has now become a "controlled commodity," and green wheat cakes have disappeared from the market.

Without wheat cakes, the smaller players could only use dried meat as their dried food supply.

Walking next to Chu Guang, Xia Yan muttered quietly.

"Is it my imagination, or does it feel like my salary isn't stretching as far as it used to?"

She had spent seven silver coins on dinner today!

This was the first time she felt a sense of crisis that her salary wasn't enough.

Chu Guang wasn't too concerned and replied in a relaxed tone,

"Think of it this way, if players buy more guns from you, your performance will rise, and soon you'll find that your salary is more than double what it was before."

Xia Yan replied, "But a gun can be used for a long time, right? Your players can't possibly buy guns every day."

Chu Guang patiently explained,

"You can't think of it that way. If they buy guns, they need to buy bullets, right? If they have guns, they need to upgrade a few components, right? Sights, bulletproof vests, helmets, fragmentation grenades, more durable backpacks, bandages, and so on... these all cost money."

Previously, when Shelter No.117's production capacity was not sufficient, Chu Guang had to be very cautious when setting task rewards to avoid players' savings data experiencing an overflow.

But now, the shelter's production capabilities had reached a new stage, and Chu Guang needed players to consume, to buy the weapons and armor produced by the factory so that it could expand production and further reduce costs.

Only by doing so in a cycle could a balanced and healthy supply-and-demand loop be formed.

Watching Xia Yan's puzzled face, Chu Guang smiled faintly,

"If you can't understand it, then don't worry about it; this stuff is too difficult for you."

Xia Yan glanced at Chu Guang, sensing something, and said,

"I feel like you're making fun of me."

Of course, Chu Guang wouldn't admit it and casually replied,

"I never said that."

After a stroll through the market, Chu Guang ended up buying three meat buns and, on a whim, bought two bottles of milk from the Autumn Grass Autumn Leaf sisters' stall as his dinner for tonight.

The weather was too cold, and he didn't have much of an appetite.

Besides, with everyone tightening their belts, it wouldn't look good for him as a manager to be wasteful.

He headed towards the sanatorium.

Just as Chu Guang approached the entrance, he saw Yin Fang coming out of the elevator.

He was holding a small metallic object, about the size of a basketball, box-shaped, resembling a mini octopus, with four mechanical legs underneath its base.

After taking a bite of his bun, Chu Guang curiously asked him,

"What's that you're holding?"

Upon seeing Chu Guang, Yin Fang's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly,

"It's a four-legged robot made with neural connectivity technology! Remember the Black Box you found at Shelter No.117? Based on the neural connection device it generated, I tweaked it with some VM and other parts, and now we have this. Isn't it amazing? I made it myself!"

Holy cow!

Is that really possible?

Forgetting all about dinner, Chu Guang looked at the object in his hand and quickly asked,

"How does this thing work?"

"It's simple! As long as you put on the specific connecting device... It just so happens I planned to test its performance!"

As he said this, Yin Fang pulled out a wireless earpiece about the size of a thumb from his pocket, tossed it to Chu Guang, and said with excitement,

"Just put it on and you'll understand!"

-

(Tomorrow will resume with two updates!)

Chapter 213: Is Spring for the Intelligence System Coming Again?

Testing it myself was out of the question.

Chu Guang, being such a cautious person, would never experiment on himself.

Without a second thought, he summoned a little player from the Intelligence System and handed over the device Dr. Yin Fang had given him.

"Try this on."

Debt Giant Eye, confused upon receiving the headset, quickly realized what was happening and excitedly hung it on his ears.

A hidden quest!

And it seemed like the kind that rewards you with gear!

How could he let such an opportunity pass?

Having put on the device, he immediately couldn't wait to ask,

"Respected Manager, what's the next step? What should I do?"

Chu Guang looked at Yin Fang.

Yin Fang, undeterred by Chu Guang's exceedingly cautious approach, simply turned and walked into the sanatorium, found a flat surface amongst the enemy's side, placed the robot down, and flipped on its power switch.

Clapping his hands and standing up, Yin Fang made a welcoming gesture and said in what he thought was a succinct manner,

"First, turn on the switch of the connection device, then try to imagine that you're a... um, a quadruped, and with intense mental effort, try to swing your limbs forward, project your thoughts with all your might onto the machine."

Chu Guang: "…?"

Overwhelmed by the many absurdities, for a moment he didn't even know where to begin with his complaints.

Boss Xia was more straightforward; she burst into laughter upon hearing this, crossing her arms and teasingly added,

"Are you suggesting that he imagines himself as a dog?"

Yin Fang shrugged nonchalantly, not taking the mockery to heart.

"Although I've added a gait adaptation program to the robot, basic commands still need to be transmitted via neural signals. Direct limb movement is the most convenient choice if he can't quite grasp the knack of thought-driven activation."

Xia Yan retorted.

"I always feel like you're making things unnecessarily complicated, I'd rather just use a tablet to operate it."

Such expensive equipment was, of course, out of her reach, but some mercenary groups in Giant Stone City could afford it.

She had never touched it, but had seen others use it, and it seemed fairly straightforward.

"What do you know?" laughed Yin Fang, "Once you've mastered the trick of using it, it can perform operations far more complex than you can imagine!"

Looking at the expectant player, Chu Guang was silent for a while, deciding to express himself in a more tactful manner.

Adjusting his expression, he said sternly,

"Turn on the switch on the headset and feel it with your heart."

Debt Giant Eye was puzzled.

What did it mean to feel it with his heart?

Nevertheless, he was still confused, but he reached out and pushed on the headset, turning the switch on.

The signal light flickered, and the red light turned to green.

Then, something unbelievable happened!

The robot, as if coming to life, suddenly jerked up from the ground and began stomping its four mechanical limbs on the spot, shaking its blocky body from side to side.

Big Eyes, covering his ears with his right hand, was completely startled, staring incredulously at the four-legged robot.

"Holy shit! Holy shit! What's happening?!"

The sensation was incredible!

It was as if part of his thinking was projected onto a circuit board, which then converted some electrical signals into neural signals, creating a "mirror image" in his brain!

He could sense the presence of that robot, even sense the motion of its motors, but this perception was not rooted in touch, vision, or any other conventional sense; it was closer to an "intuition"!

Gradually, he began to grasp the trick to control the machine, and the robot, which had been flailing its limbs wildly, started to settle down.

Debt Giant Eye closed his eyes outright, heeding the Manager's "instruction," feeling with his soul that novel Sixth Sense.

As he began to understand this sensation, the four-legged robot seemed to transform into his arm, becoming a part of his own flesh and blood!

The "VM model" laser sensors distributed on the robot's body, by emitting lasers at a specific frequency intermittently, could continuously map the space within a 5-meter range, scanning the terrain, doors, windows, obstacles, shelters, and everything else, all into a net-like structure of a three-dimensional image.

He could clearly see that image in his mind!

Although not with his eyes, the vision was even more precise than that of the eyes!

Standing with his arms crossed, Dr. Yin Fang watched the little player gradually becoming proficient with the controls and a look of interest was clearly aroused in his eyes.

"Uh? The activity level of this person's nervous system is a bit high."

"To be honest, he surpassed my expectations. I originally thought he'd have to exert all his strength just to lift a robotic leg."

Yet, this guy took less than a minute to fully master the tricks of using the Neural Connection Device!

That was simply inconceivable!

So inconceivable that it even seemed a bit absurd to Dr. Yin Fang.

Such talent, even if you put it before the war, would definitely be considered top-notch genius! If he was in the Academy, there would surely be someone willing to take him on as a disciple and train him as a Level F researcher or prospector.

Chu Guang gave a faint smile, thinking to himself that he had a dozen players just like this one.

After a pause, he gave the order.

"Move the robot inside the room, immediately."

Chu Guang needed to understand the robot's capabilities when out of sight.

"No problem!"

Already eager to do so, the moment he received the order, Debt Giant Eye, with his eyes closed, immediately controlled the quadruped robot to dance its four legs and nimbly crawl into the nearby house. It skillfully overcame obstacles on the ground and completed a scan of the room's environment.

The scanned images would be synchronized to the VM and shared with the nearby teammates.

If within the signal coverage of the Shelter, they could also be uploaded to the Shelter's server, allowing sharing with other players.

After a two-minute test, Chu Guang gave his assessment in his mind.

This thing is simply a scouting divine artifact!

If it had an LD-47 welded on top, it would be perfect!

"Enough, let it stop now. If he keeps on like this, I'm worried his brain won't handle it. Any Neural Connection Device is a burden on the nervous system, especially external ones," Dr. Yin Fang said, turning to Chu Guang as a reminder.

Chu Guang asked,

"How long is the limit?"

"The limit?"

Dr. Yin Fang was slightly taken aback, hesitating for a moment before continuing.

"I do not recommend using it for more than 60 seconds, but the specific limit, I'm not clear as it varies from person to person. Some people have naturally active nervous systems and can last a bit longer, but if someone has innate defects in their nervous system, they might not even sustain 60 seconds."

Chu Guang checked the Attribute Panel of Debt Giant Eye and saw that his level was LV7, in the Intelligence Sequence, with attributes at 10 points.

According to statistical observation, from LV0 to LV9, with 9 Sequence Level advancements, the usual pattern is 5-6 points in the main attribute and 3-4 points in other attributes.

Generally, beyond LV6, the main attribute breaks 10.

This player named Debt Giant Eye had an Intelligence attribute of exactly 10, which was quite significant for reference.

Chu Guang wanted to know his limit.

"No matter, I want to see how long he can hold on."

Dr. Yin Fang looked at Chu Guang with a face full of surprise, as if he were watching a madman.

Xia Yan, on the other hand, was unfazed, as she had long been used to it.

Being used to dealing with corpses, she could sense that these players might be clones, or something similar.

So what if they were?

Clones in the Wasteland were not big news.

She still believed till today in a certain rumor circulating in the slums—that there were technologies available in the Wasteland that could synthesize a normal person in one day, and that such technology was very likely hidden in the humble Giant Stone City.

Otherwise, it was completely inexplicable why so many people died in the slums each year, but there never seemed to be a shortage of people.

That was just too strange!

Regardless of what the two of them thought, Chu Guang felt quite composed in his mind.

Not only did he know all the secrets of these players, but he also knew they didn't fear pain and that theoretically, their pain tolerance should be stronger than the average Waste Land Wanderer's.

As expected, the little player in front of him did not disappoint. He held on for a full ten minutes before he started to feel a dizziness impacting his brain.

Noticing his mental stupor, Chu Guang immediately ordered him to turn off the power to the headset and disconnect from the little robot.

After the disconnection, the quadruped robot didn't shut down immediately but entered standby mode. Following predetermined commands, it folded its fragile legs to disguise itself as an inconspicuous, cube-shaped metal block—although it was obvious to any discerning eye that this object was no simple thing.

"My head feels a bit dizzy, Manager," Debt Giant Eye shook his head, looking nervously at Chu Guang out of concern for failing the mission, "… I think I could hold on a bit longer, can I try again?"

Chu Guang looked at him encouragingly and said.

"No need, you've already done very well. Take a break for now."

"Okay."

The young player nodded; he indeed needed to catch his breath.

Just a moment ago, he had actually been disconnected and ejected from the Game.

If it hadn't been for the fast re-login speed, he would have been lying on the ground by now.

"Unbelievable... ten minutes!"

Dr. Yin Fang's face was filled with disbelief as he stared at Chu Guang, unable to help but ask, "Could it be that his pain nerves have been removed?"

Neural connection overload initially manifested as a headache, with the brain beginning to sound an alarm, followed by unbearable acute pain, and finally, confusion or even fainting.

Almost no one could hold out until the end; they usually removed their headsets when the pain became unbearable.

However, that person had completely skipped the first two stages!

Honestly, he didn't think this was a good thing.

Losing the sense of pain also meant losing the warning signs.

However, Chu Guang, standing beside him, was currently thinking about something entirely different.

Clearly, the higher the Intelligence attribute of the player, the better their control over the neural connection device and the longer the operating time.

So, in that case...

Setting the minimum attribute requirement for this equipment at 10 points of Intelligence seemed quite reasonable.

Rubbing his chin, Chu Guang perfunctorily answered Dr. Yin Fang's question.

"It's possible, but my guess is that he doesn't feel no pain; it's just that the transmission of pain signals to the consciousness entity has been blocked. Therefore, he simply can't feel 'pain'... But let's not discuss this issue now."

After a pause, withdrawing his gaze from Big Eyes, who was steadying himself against the wall, Chu Guang continued speaking to Dr. Yin Fang.

"The endurance of this thing is still somewhat worrying. What can you do in ten minutes? Can't you find a way to make it last longer?"

Dr. Yin Fang responded speechlessly.

"Are you not satisfied with an AI that appears intelligent for ten minutes?"

"Intelligent AI?"

"Singularity Technology, it's complicated to explain... In summary, the original purpose of the neural connection device isn't for you to keep it on at all times, but to take over direct operation from the AI at critical moments, accomplishing tasks or making judgments that the AI can't."

After another pause, looking at the robot on the ground, Dr. Yin Fang continued.

"This thing is just an experimental model. I'll develop a set of rudimentary AI for it so that it can recognize a few simple commands. In the event of a neural connection breakdown, it will be able to return by the original route, stand by on the spot, follow targets, and so on. Mhm, I also plan to install a camera on it for use in conjunction with laser scanning."

Hearing this, Chu Guang felt a surge of interest and immediately asked.

"Do you know how to make cameras?"

Dr. Yin Fang gave Chu Guang a curious look.

"Of course, what's so difficult about that? Many facilities can be found with security cameras, all kinds of models and resolutions, some of which even work to this day, two hundred years later... Although most of them are broken, they can just be fixed with a few parts, it's not a big deal."

Communication chips were also easy to handle.

VM was much like a mini-computer; its graphene circuit board integrated many components, and many things could be modified for use.

Including the processor and the laser scanning system in this quadruped robot, everything was taken from the VM.

Chu Guang stared at him with wide eyes for quite a while before finally saying.

"It's that simple?"

Dr. Yin Fang scratched his head.

"Well, it requires a little bit of foundation, but nothing too profound. The Academy provides every Prospector with a 1.2G 'Waste Survival Guide,' which records in images and text some easily attained and usable parts on the Wasteland, along with more advanced modification knowledge, such as making simple weapons, explosives, fuel, and emergency medicines. The use of optical components and graphene circuit boards might require more advanced knowledge, necessitating some basic tools, but it's still not a big issue for Prospectors above Level E."

Chu Guang: "..."

MMP!

With such a great resource, why didn't you say so earlier!

Previously, Chu Guang had not ruled out the possibility of reclaiming the cameras from facilities such as bank buildings. He even specifically asked knowledgeable players to collect a couple for research, but once they were dismantled, they were completely baffled.

Pre-war civilization's electronic devices saw a high ubiquity of carbon-based chips, which had, to a large extent, even replaced the traditional silicon-based chips. And these cameras used neither traditional CMOS nor CCD components.

Many players had discussed this issue on the forum, trying to repair them, but the final consensus wasn't far from "it looks like the developers have run out of ideas".

After all, there was a significant technological gap, perhaps even one spanning a "technological explosion."

This wasn't something that could be figured out by just picking up a couple of devices and looking inside.

In the end, only the lens coatings of these cameras could be recycled; many optical sights in the Outpost Base weapons shop came from that source.

Xia Yan, who had once been a mercenary, was particularly skilled at making such things, roughly as adept as Dr. Yin Fang was at "analyzing pre-war civilization data."

Chu Guang, his eyes burning with eagerness, immediately asked Dr. Yin Fang, "That skill book... I mean, do you have the 'Waste Survival Guide' on you?"

Dr. Yin Fang paused, then nodded and said,

"That thing? I haven't used it since I reached Level D, probably still at home... But if you need it, I can sort it out for you, though it might take some time."

Chu Guang's eyes gleamed as he said,

"No problem! I can wait!"

A Scavenging skill +3—oh no, it could be +5 skill book!

How could he possibly pass up such a treasure!

Not only could the players use it for reference, but his NPCs could also study it as a tutorial.

Even if they couldn't master the essence, at least they'd know what trash on the Wasteland was valuable and what it could be used for.

That alone made it worthwhile!

The little player standing beside them watched the exchange between the Manager and Dr. Yin Fang with a completely bewildered expression.

Without subtitles, he couldn't make heads or tails of the whole conversation.

So, did that mean the mission was complete or what?

Finally unable to contain himself, Debt Giant Eye cleared his throat, preparing to ask.

Just then, as if the two NPCs had reached some form of consensus, Dr. Yin Fang picked up the robot while the Manager turned to him with a serious look.

"Thank you for your assistance!"

"Thanks to your help, we now have a new understanding of the neural connection devices, and soon a batch of new equipment will be available on the shop shelves."

"Your mission reward has been sent to your VM; I wish you a pleasant day!"

Debt Giant Eye: "???"

Wait.

That's it?!

As the Manager began to walk away after collecting his headset, Debt Giant Eye suddenly felt a burst of inspiration and blurted out,

"Manager, I believe there is a serious design flaw in that equipment!"

Hearing this, the Manager stopped in his tracks and turned around with a puzzled look.

"What design flaw?"

Debt Giant Eye immediately said,

"Disconnecting! No, I mean dizziness! While I was operating that robot just now, I suddenly felt a strong spell of dizziness, almost passing out!"

Humph.

I thought it was something serious.

Chu Guang smiled and said to the enthusiastic little player,

"Neural connection devices are all like this; prolonged use can cause a certain level of strain on the brain, let alone equipment that hasn't been fully developed—"

"I volunteer to be a new equipment tester!"

Before he could finish, the little player spoke up with a solemn expression.

"Respected Manager, as a member of Shelter No. 404, I am prepared to make sacrifices for our cause! For the grand goal of reviving the United Human, please allow me to contribute to the development of army equipment for the shelter!"

Watching the longing written all over the face of the little player before him, Chu Guang gave a slight start, then quickly understood what the guy was thinking.

Clever boy.

He'd laid the groundwork for so long, all to freeload some Divine Artifact!

But then...

That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Chu Guang was also curious about how that little guy cradled by Dr. Yin Fang would perform on the battlefield.

Since someone had volunteered to be the guinea pig,

It would save him the trouble of having to post a mission.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang looked at Dr. Yin Fang and asked,

"Do you need a volunteer to test the equipment?"

Chapter 214 Fear of Insufficient Firepower

Finally got the long-awaited "hidden quest," Debt Giant Eye happily carried his new toy.

Neural Connection Equipment!

The only robot in the whole game that can be controlled by brain waves!

Thanks to the scheming mastermind, the chance was given to those who were prepared, and his 10 points of intelligence attribute finally came into play!

Seeing his little player so happy, Chu Guang felt very pleased as well.

As a game designer, making players happy was his honor.

Chu Guang eagerly anticipated the player making a splash with this little robot.

However, Yin Fang's expression showed some concern.

"Honestly, I don't really recommend sending immature equipment into battle, it's irresponsible towards the testers' lives," he said.

Chu Guang smiled slightly.

"Relax, don't you see how happy that guy is? You get your data, and he gets... uh, happiness."

"I think it's a win-win."

Happiness?

Yin Fang paused slightly, not quite understanding the statement, let alone where the joy was in testing immature equipment, but he didn't ask further.

He still had a pile of things to be busy with, whether it was arranging work for the academic group or improving robots, he didn't have time to linger here.

After saying goodbye, Yin Fang took the elevator back to the shelter.

Chu Guang did not go down with him, instead, he went upstairs to bring down Xiao Qi.

After a day's work, it was time for student Xiao Qi to recharge.

But just as Chu Guang, holding Xiao Qi, was about to take the elevator back to the shelter, trouble immediately found him.

A dense crowd surrounded the elevator.

They were all intelligence system players.

Facing those fervent gazes, Chu Guang instantly understood their purpose, and his head began to grow heavy.

Damn!

How could he have forgotten about this!

"Respected Manager, I... I am also level 7 intelligence! And I have 11 points of intelligence! Please allow me to contribute to the shelter!"

"Wise and valiant Manager, look at me! Although I don't have 10 intelligence points, I think I'm much smarter than that Debt Giant Eye!"

"Invincible and eternally great Manager—"

"Damn! Do you all have to show off even in your titles?"

"Heh heh, for a hidden quest, no shame!"

Chu Guang: "..."

Those pairs of eager eyes were like young birds waiting to be fed.

No doubt, they were all intelligence types.

Chu Guang could guess with his toes, it definitely was that player, showing off with the four-legged robot.

MMP!

Next time he tests equipment, he needs to find someone low-key!

As Chu Guang, surrounded and chattered at by players until his scalp numbed, stood at the elevator, Xia Yan, who was waiting for him, couldn't help but curl her lips in schadenfreude.

Humph.

Serves you right for liking to boss people around!

Now do you see how annoying it is to be surrounded and nagged by "players"?

...

Official website:

[Server Announcement: Due to the recent blizzards, transportation routes to Elm District have been suspended, and vehicle rental service at Outpost Base is also temporarily halted. Please understand.]

[Yin Fang: "Wasteland Survival Handbook" has been updated to Chapter One, secrets from the Academy, teaching you how to scavenge more efficiently!]

[Dawn: "Wartime Management Regulation" enters its fifth day, hang in there, victory is nearing! (Remaining time: 55 days)]

[Little Fish: The weather is getting colder. Please keep warm!]

Little Fish: "Front row hugs for Little Fish! (*/ω＼*)"

Gnome King Riches: "Ah, can't go to Elm District now, hunter players are gonna cry."

Little Brat: "Fishing players gonna cry too, the ice on the lake is so hard I can't even chip it open!"

Crow: "Wuu wuu wuu, begging the big planner to let winter pass quickly, I've been out of a job for so long. QAQ"

Worksite Youth and Brick: "+1! I'm gonna die without mushroom soup."

Makabazi: "Haha, everyone, come farm! Farming players are awesome! Greenhouse farms welcome you!"

Elena: "Well... it's proved that the meat of Eaters really can't be eaten."

Gnome King Riches: "What the hell? Old Monk? What did you do?"

Elena: "Uh, I was just curious, after all, I am a Constitution type, so I gave it a try... You know what happened. (awkward)"

Night Ten: "I suggest the officials add an achievement for daring to eat Eaters raw. (funny)"

Elena: "Get lost! At least I cooked it, okay? Who would eat that thing raw! (`Д´*)9"

Night Ten: "That's hard to say. (funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "(funny)"

Ever since December began, the snow in the North Suburb of Qingquan City fell heavier, and players' activities were shrinking like a diminishing safe zone, retreating underground from the surface.

Honestly, Chu Guang was even more anxious than them.

Before, his little players still could hunt or fish, but recently they couldn't even find any game, let alone think about fishing.

The ice on the lake had to be blown open with dynamite!

However, thanks to the heavy snow, the exploration progress of the B3 level underground passage continued to advance, having already connected with the Qingquan City metro network to the south.

Now from the exit of the B3 level, it's possible to move directly to the Garden Street Metro Station at the edge of the ring road and to Shelter No.117.

For players wanting to explore the city area, this was undoubtedly good news.

Previously, to move from Outpost Base to the edge of the ring road—a nearly five-kilometer straight-line distance—even by the shortest route, it would take about 2 to 3 hours, and a round trip would take half a day.

But now, by following the metro, crossing the ruins directly, if one moved quickly, it could take less than an hour.

To reduce the time players spent traveling, Chu Guang prioritized supplying the newly produced 50 sleep cabins to Shelter No.117, facilitating players to save their progress on the front lines.

However, as players continuously made progress in exploring the underground tunnels, the rate of bullet consumption was also climbing.

To keep up with the increasingly rapid demand for bullets, Chu Guang had to plan a larger ammunition factory in the new industrial area and ordered two sets of pressing and priming machines specifically for manufacturing bullet casings and caps from Steel Plant No.81.

Thanks to the magnetic confinement plasma cutting machine tool he got from the enterprise, without this device, many things could be found in blueprints but made impossible to realize.

Besides the bullets themselves, there were also the production of nitrocellulose and short columnar lead azide (α-type) needed for the bullets.

Previously, these components were being produced by Mosquito's Goblin Technology, and it was a major source of income for the Goblin Technology.

However, unfortunately, the output of Mosquito's small workshop was too low, and due to personal reasons, the specifications and quality of its products were hard to standardize, slowly becoming unable to meet the needs of the munitions factory.

For efficiency reasons, Chu Guang planned a specialized chemical plant in the new industrial area to produce various types of chemicals and gunpowder, supplying raw materials to the munitions factories in the new industrial area.

Chu Guang didn't leave this factory to a single player to manage; he appointed several NPCs as factory director and deputy directors and hired players with relevant chemical experience to instruct and oversee production as technical staff.

There was a good number of players with chemical experience on the server, about thirty or so—these were high-quality human players Chu Guang had carefully selected from the forum's discussion boards.

Although many of them were armchair strategists lacking practical experience and had varying levels of skill, with search tools available for reference, they were somewhat more reliable than the Waste Land Wanderers who had no theoretical basis and relied entirely on experience.

Moreover, in a bunch of Huskies, there's bound to be one or two that look more like wolves; it was the same with his small players—a few exceptional leaders could sometimes emerge from a bunch of jokers.

Now, the number of players with livelihood professions active in the new industrial area had reached 71, and the hired NPC workers had reached 240.

These numbers were not enough; whether the former or the latter, there was room for further increase.

Taking advantage of the roadblocks caused by heavy snow, Chu Guang had to make the most of every minute and use every available resource to fan the industrial flame a bit more vigorously on the wasteland.

The Chewing Bone Tribe wouldn't give up on Qingquan City's lucrative opportunity.

Even if they couldn't bite through Giant Stone City's tough bones, that group of Looters would definitely try every way to get a bite of the North Suburb.

There was bound to be a major battle.

And it would happen right after the snow melted!

The outcome of this battle would also determine who would be the master of the North Suburb!

…

In the first week of the Wartime regulations' implementation, although they didn't receive any response from the top planner about when winter would end, players of Wasteland OL still received some good news.

Boss Xia, who had been playing dumb riddles for a whole week, finally displayed some newly launched weapons in the weapon shop—two types of light machine guns and submachine guns independently developed by Shelter No.404.

However, upon seeing the new weapons' models, nearly all the players gathered in front of the weapon shop let out disappointed howls.

"Damn! This operator is addicted to copying CF!"

"Why is it Kalashnikov again!"

"Shatter, forget the light machine gun, but what the heck is this submachine gun?!"

"Please, operator, bring two AR series weapons!"

Compared to the wailing of FPS players, Brother Ciso and Brother Levin looked unconcerned, as if watching a bunch of fools.

"Tsk, these people, they speak so easily. As if manufacturing rifle receivers is an easy job!"

"Exactly! They don't consider the costs of mass production!"

"But... once we manage to make a 20mm cannon, we could consider making a stationary machine gun."

Brother Ciso proposed: "How about a water-cooled Maxim?"

Brother Levin's eyes lit up: "Good idea! That shouldn't be too difficult!"

The final reveal pointed to LD-47j and LD-47c.

Apart from the two factory heads at Factory No. 81, almost all the players had bet on the wrong options.

The LD-47j, based on the original Sickle Assault Rifle, had a prolonged barrel installed with a heat sink and a bipod mounted beneath the barrel.

There was no doubt, it was a machine gun.

As for the LD-47c, it was more crudely made, essentially a Sickle Assault Rifle with its barrel sawed off, and the wooden stock replaced by a more compact, foldable steel stock.

Due to the shorter barrel, there was no doubt it was a submachine gun.

However, the operator hadn't completely skimped on their efforts and did give the two new guns rather imposing names—

The light machine gun was called "Union Harvester," and the submachine gun was called Short Scythe.

Looking at it this way…

The previous semi-automatic designated marksman rifle, could that be considered the "Long Scythe"?

In any case, the prices for both new guns were quite affordable, with the machine gun at 300 silver coins, and the submachine gun at 250 silver coins.

However, the price of these high-rate-of-fire weapons themselves wasn't significant.

The key was the rate of ammunition consumption; it wasn't meant for the kind of exchange involving volleys of bullets, and few could afford its use.

After looking at the weapons on the shelf for a long time, until most of the crowd had dispersed, Edge Treading finally couldn't help but complain.

"Forget the machine gun, but why are the submachine guns also using full-power rounds?!"

Debt Giant Eye, carrying a large bag on his back, curiously asked,

"Excuse my ignorance, but what are full-power rounds?"

Standing beside, a young man from the construction site with bricks explained,

"You see, those World War II movies, bolt-action rifles mostly use full-power rounds. The cartridges are 50 millimeters long, have a massive load of powder, so when you hit someone, the power is basically overkill."

Debt Giant Eye's eyes lit up, "Got it! Like the bullets used in the 98k, right?"

Construction Youth with Bricks: "Uh, if that helps you understand."

Magnetic Drum Hair Washing Machine: "Though, I think these two models would work quite well against Variants."

Full-power rounds do indeed inflict excessive damage when hitting humans, but they're just right against Crawler types.

Previously, using 5mm revolving small pipes, hitting a Crawler only scraped off its skin; now, although encountering a Crawler remains very dangerous, at least they could inflict some damage.

Edge Treading shook his head.

"That's true, but look, besides those of the Strength Type, who else can handle it?"

He was of the Perception type, only his Gene Sequence reaching Level 8, and had slightly increased his strength, barely managing to handle the recoil of the LD-47.

But, he can understand.

From a realistic viewpoint, considering the industrial capacity of Outpost Base, it was already quite an achievement to muster a machine casing production line, especially when all production capacity was prioritized for military development.

Adding an extra weapon production line meant the entire logistics supply cost would also have to increase.

Even if there was a desire to diversify light weapons, it wasn't something to be done right now.

Sufficient equipment, large quantity ensures full supply.

This was the only guarantee they could provide for the shelter that was still in its early stages.

After buying an LD-47j from Boss Xia, the young man from the construction site with bricks felt the barrel and couldn't help but sigh,

"It would be great to have a mortar."

Mosquito's rockets were unreliable, frightening more people than they killed.

Now even the Looter's equipment was nearly better than theirs; once a small local battle started, two armored pickup trucks could deploy so much firepower that they couldn't even break through.

They desperately needed supporting firepower!

Debt Giant Eye nodded in deep agreement.

"Indeed, if only we had carried a couple more tubes, we wouldn't have been pinned down behind cover."

After some deliberation, Edge Treading finally chose the LD-47.

Not just because the base model was the cheapest, only costing 200 silver, but mainly because it suited their needs.

"Let's not dwell on the hindsight; hopefully, our life profession players can contribute a bit!"

After purchasing weapons and ammunition, the prepared Edge Treading Team left Outpost Base heading towards the Greenhouse Ruins.

Brother Mole's team had already reached the fifth floor, which was the topmost layer of the surface part.

Since there was ample natural light there, Spirit Leaves thrived, and Devil Moths were much denser than in other layers of the surface, one team alone couldn't handle it.

Out of caution, Brother Mole called for reinforcements, and since Edge Treading's team had no other tasks, they planned to join the convoy; the profits would be split equally among them later.

Meanwhile, back in the shelter.

Old White, who had just logged on, was being led towards the equipment room by Night Ten and Wild Wind.

All the way there, Old White kept asking questions.

"What exactly is going on that it's all so secretive?"

This time, Night Ten unusually held his tongue, not revealing a single word the entire way there, merely urging.

"Alright, stop asking. You'll find out once we get there."

Beside him, Wild Wind nodded in agreement, sparing his words.

"+1."

Old White: "…?"

Curious, Old White followed Night Ten and Wild Wind to the equipment room.

There he saw Fang Chang standing as well.

At that moment, beside him stood the deputy head of the security team—Liuding, wearing a Type Five Exoskeleton.

And next to him, stood a brand new orange exoskeleton.

Facing Old White, who was approaching from the direction of the buffer room, Liuding spoke emotionlessly in a business-like tone.

"Your bravery and loyalty have proven, you are indeed worthy of this equipment."

"Your friends wish to present it to you. Do you accept it?"

In an instant, Old White held his breath, his gaze slightly startled.

A Miner Type I Exoskeleton worth 2000 silver coins!

The single most expensive piece of equipment on the server!

One needs to be Level 10 and have the contributions of a citizen to purchase it!

Before he could respond, Fang Chang, who was standing nearby, spoke.

"Silver coins are about to devalue. If we don't spend them now, it would be a waste. While the exoskeletons haven't gone up in price yet, and you're the only Awakener in our team, we've unanimously decided to pool money and equip you with one."

It was not just the exoskeletons that had not risen in price.

Many pieces of equipment priced over 500 silver coins, which the shelter couldn't produce on its own, should have increased in price by now, yet they remained unchanged.

Clearly, the Dog Plan had finally decided to be humane, giving players with substantial savings some buffer time to spend their money before inflation hit.

Of course, Fang Chang wouldn't waste Ah Guang's hard work. He, together with Night Ten and Wild Wind, could easily raise 2000 silver coins without even dipping into the profits from the Bull Horse Brick Factory.

"How can this be! Other equipment is fine, but this exoskeleton is too expensive!"

Hearing that the group planned to pool money to buy him equipment, Old White who had finally come back to his senses, kept shaking his head, refusing no matter what.

"Don't say such things that distance us," Wild Wind shook his head and said, "If we're being honest, if you hadn't covered our retreat, our losses would likely far exceed 2000 silver coins. By all rights, we should get you a new exoskeleton."

"That's right! That's the logic," Fang Chang nodded in agreement, "Teachers really do know how to speak!"

Wild Wind coughed.

"What does teaching have to do with this..."

Old White: "At least let me bear a part—"

"Bear nothing, we already said everyone chipped in to buy this for you, what are you paying for?" Night Ten interrupted Old White with a chuckle, "Of course, if you want to gift me some equipment, I won't refuse."

Listening to everyone's words, Old White was deeply moved and for a moment didn't know what to say.

Seeing Old White was about to speak again, Fang Chang placed his hand on his shoulder, laughing heartily.

"Alright, let's skip the mushy talk!"

"Don't forget what you said yourself, equipment is bought to be used, what's the point of hesitating in a game! Everyone chipped in to buy this, so it's yours, stop feeling burdened!"

Night Ten also said with a laugh.

"That's right, there are still four layers to go in the Greenhouse Ruins, we're waiting for you to lead the team!"

Old White's gaze gradually hardened, he took a deep breath, and nodded seriously.

"...I'll skip the formalities, but my gratitude will be remembered."

"Everyone, prep up. We're targeting Greenhouse Ruins B6 Layer. We move out in 10 minutes!"

Wild Wind nodded with a smile.

"Roger!"

The players headed towards the labyrinthine Wasteland, embarking on a new day's adventure.

At that moment, Chu Guang was sitting in the Manager's office, looking at a small gadget in his hand with an intrigued expression.

It was a small digital camera, integrated with both photo and video functions, no larger than a pen.

It had a notch on the side, perfectly fitting the ends of a VM, and could be clipped onto a shirt collar or pocket like a pen, extremely convenient.

This gadget was a small tool that Chu Guang had asked Yin Fang to fabricate, compatible with the VM.

After examining it for a moment, Chu Guang, admiring it, couldn't help but express a bit more desire.

"This camera is pretty good."

"It's just a pity it can't make calls."

"It would be even better if an instant communication system was integrated!"

Chapter 215: They Will Become Your Eyes

"You thought I was a 'Black Box,' too??"

Originally, Dr. Yin Fang felt quite comfortable hearing the first part of Chu Guang's sentence, but the latter part made him involuntarily spray out his drink.

The camera is quite good.

Too bad it can't make calls??

Listen to this, is this even human language?

However, Chu Guang clearly did not reflect.

"Can it be done?"

Seeing his serious demeanor, Dr. Yin Fang paused for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.

"Yes!"

"But I must say the truth, such low-tech tasks should be handled by someone else instead of taking up my precious time—"

"Of course, others will replicate it later, but I need something replicable to begin with, right? I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you with the design."

Seeing Dr. Yin Fang seemingly not placing much importance on the matter, Chu Guang pondered for a moment and continued in a mild tone.

"Don't underestimate this job, imagine your scientific exploration team members with a headset on their ears, able to report new findings to you at any moment and also give feedback on the conditions inside the remnants of pre-war civilizations. And you don't have to step out at all; just sit in an air-conditioned room, tap the screen twice with your index finger, and you can switch to their perspective ... They will become your eyes; isn't that interesting?"

Speaking thus, Chu Guang hung the pen-like camera on his ear, gently adjusting the direction of the lens to face forward.

"I need a headset 'integrated with camera capabilities,' just like this; when worn, the camera should face directly forward, the wider the angle, the better. This way, it can not only take photos but also record video and make calls ... These three functions are crucial, even better if it can be used with the VM."

He certainly wasn't doing this for some online streaming; does he lack reserved players right now?

Clearly not.

Food, clothing, fuel, resources—these four items are all more of a priority than "Cultivation chamber," and reserved players are even further down the list. Chu Guang does not need all six billion people on earth to work for him, nor could he get that many Sleep Cabins.

He just needs to maintain a ratio of 1:5 to 1:10 between himself and the players in the server.

And in fact, the ratio is nearly 1:30 now, even more if you count those sand sculpture netizens who haven't reserved; Chu Guang is not worried at all about running out of naive newcomers.

What should a planner consider?

Of course, enhancing the gaming experience for players in the game!

A headset integrated with camera and photo capabilities not only facilitates communication in regional and squad channels but also becomes your eyes, helping you screen peek and capture key elements that players often overlook.

Combining the functions of an action camera and a walkie-talkie, it could later even consider adding simultaneous interpretation capabilities, the importance of this device is really too significant!

Not to mention, at least squads would no longer have to rely solely on shouting to coordinate with each other!

Even if it's costly and not every player can be equipped, Chu Guang still needs to make sure every squad leader gets one during combat.

Yes, even the NPC guards should have one!

After listening to Chu Guang's speech, Dr. Yin Fang fell into deep thought.

Having the members of the scientific exploration team become his eyes—this statement indeed moved him.

To be honest, although the exploration team had been established for a while, the work efficiency was never very high.

On the one hand, this was due to objective factors like the heavy snow which made many areas inaccessible.

On the other hand, "players" sometimes lacked a clear concept of what was important and what was not, often missing critical details, and he had to reissue missions, causing the players to make repeated trips.

This back-and-forth not only wasted time but also squandered a considerable part of the budget.

Being able to control the actions of the exploration team in real-time and perform micro-managements during operations indeed sounded like a very attractive proposal.

After all, the players' sometimes smart, sometimes dull performance, and the fluctuating levels of execution, made him, a former mid-level academy official, quite anxious.

Stroking his chin, Dr. Yin Fang contemplated.

"I'll think of something...."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

He knew the matter was likely settled.

"Hmm, please do!"

...

"War Time Regulations" Day 10.

Outside the concrete walls of Changjiu Farm, stretching across the vast expanse of snowy land, stood a straight line of dark figures, distinctly set apart from the snow.

They were new recruits of the guard squad.

Just yesterday, a batch of brand-new "Arbiter I" rifles and black uniforms had been transported from the new industrial zone to Changjiu Farm and issued to every one of them.

These uniforms were designed at Vine Cottage, modeled after the military uniforms of various countries in the nineteenth century, and merged with the style of the shelter's uniforms with simple linear textures added.

As for the manufacturing, it was done by refugees from places like Winter Willow Camp, Battery Factory, and Highway Town which are survivor settlements, stitched together one thread at a time.

The fabric of these uniforms was made of Devil Silk, dyed black with glue made from insects, sewn with two layers, and stuffed with crushed banknote paper in between.

This type of "coat" had excellent warmth retention and wasn't too heavy, it looked quite neat, the only drawback was that it couldn't be washed.

After all, no matter how waterproof banknote paper could be, those are still broken fibers, which when soaked in water, wouldn't immediately pulp, but would likely diminish the warming "pores," severely reducing its thermal performance.

However, no matter what, this coat was better than layering hyena skins.

The natural color variation of fur decides that although fur-crafted clothes could look pretty, they are not suitable for uniforms, at most as decoration for shawls or fur collars.

After all, a group of people in fur coats, even if carrying unified rifles on their shoulders, would somewhat resemble a look of a pseudo-army.

But now it looked much better.

The unified black uniforms, along with the heavy-barreled Arbitrator rifles, formed a hundred guards in a line in front of the enclosing wall.

The bright, gleaming white light was extensive and with flags among guns, one could sense the overwhelming sternness just from sight!

Walking ahead of the queue, Vanus, the former Centurion of the army, blew out a puff of white breath and shouted at these recruits.

"All, attention!"

The response was an orderly and unified voice.

"At ease!"

Turning his gaze away from these recruits, Vanus walked over to Wrench, the captain of the guard squad, and asked.

"How do you feel?"

Wrench, clad in "Type Five" exoskeleton, let his gaze linger on the neatly organized new recruits for a moment.

He didn't provide a direct assessment but instead said.

"After the Manager inspects them, I will give you an answer."

Vanus said,

"And your feelings?"

Wrench replied without hesitation,

"The Manager's feelings are my feelings."

Feeling somewhat helpless at this uninteresting response,

Vanus gave up on asking further, looked again at the neatly organized new recruits, and suddenly felt a bit nostalgic.

His eyes slightly narrowed, he spoke.

"Citizens of the legion will start school at the age of six, receiving basic education including literacy and arithmetic, and at the age of twelve, decide whether to become a technical officer studying technology or to enter the military academy for militarized education."

"If they go to the military academy, they graduate at the age of sixteen, where top performers can be promoted to Centurion and assigned to lead as deputies in thousand teams at the front line, while the rest are incorporated into the youth army, fighting alongside frontline troops at the most dangerous fronts until they earn their merits there and become a Centurion."

Wrench glanced at Vanus.

"What are you trying to say?"

Vanus continued,

"If the Chewing Bone Tribe absorbs not only the Expeditionary Army's equipment but also some of its junior officers, your situation will be very dangerous."

Wrench gave a faint smile.

"You're starting to worry about us?"

"After all, I have to consider my own safety as well."

Pausing for a moment, Vanus continued.

"And beyond that, you are a group of respectable opponents, your story should become a saga, not a sloppily ended tale at the hands of barbarians."

This question was actually difficult to answer, and Vanus wasn't sure himself, so he responded vaguely.

He had no doubt that only the legion could bring true order to the chaotic Wasteland, yet on the other hand, he had to admit that these Blue Jackets and those he had seen before were indeed different.

They not only were braver but also more responsible, under their governance, even the lowest ranked brick burners and scavengers lived with dignity.

Especially since he saw loyalty on the faces of those uneducated people!

It was hard for him to imagine.

Wrench glanced at Vanus unexpectedly, but said nothing.

He was not a proud man.

But he had no doubt that victory would side with the Manager.

After all, they had defeated mighty armies like the Army before and had repelled the Looter from the north more than once.

Chewing Bone Tribe?

Come and try if you dare!

Let's see how many teeth you've got to lose!

...

Greenhouse Ruins.

Bright lights illuminated rows of soil-less cultivation chambers, while the narrow corridors were packed with carcasses of Devil Moths and their scattered fibers.

Leaning against gate B8, sweaty Fang Chang lifted his sore arm to wipe his forehead, panting slightly.

"I feel... it's coming."

Holding an LD-47c, Night Ten grinned and said,

"What's coming? Relatives?"

He had noticed something off about Brother Fang Chang since a while ago and had stayed by his side.

Too exhausted to deal with him, Fang Chang rolled his eyes and spat out a word.

"Scram."

Wearing the modified Miner Type I Exoskeleton, Old White walked up to Fang Chang's side, looked him over for a while, and suddenly spoke.

"Do you feel your body heating up now? And your heart beating really fast?"

Fang Chang nodded.

"Yes."

A look of delight immediately spread across Old White's face as he patted Fang Chang's shoulder.

"Congrats, my good brother!"

Seeing the expression on Old White's face, Fang Chang had a hunch and asked.

"Could it be… Awakening?!"

Old White nodded with a smile.

"Exactly!"

Hearing this, a wild joy spread across Fang Chang's face.

He looked at his hands, his voice full of excitement.

"... Is this what Awakening feels like?"

It was so tough!

Perhaps to emphasize that the "Sequence Level" was not everything in the game, this game didn't provide experience for quests; it only gave money, Contribution Points, regional reputation, and skill proficiency.

To raise your Sequence Level, you had to either fight equally matched monsters or repeatedly train the skills related to your main attributes.

For the Strength Type, the simplest thing was chopping trees or charging forward with a rifle.

The Intelligence System could make clothes or crafts... basically, any task requiring focused thinking could accumulate some experience.

The Perception system was easy; just hang out with the team.

Although the Constitution system had different schools, leveling up wasn't too hard overall.

There were those like Old Monk who "trained internally" by scavenging, and those who "trained externally" by taking damage in the frontline; basically, just risking your life was enough.

However, the Agile system was a bit tricky.

The main issue was quantifying training for reaction speed.

Fang Chang had only roughly figured out a method so far, which was playing darts or practicing archery.

Using firearms worked too, but random firing wouldn't count; it had to be aimed effective shooting.

Yet, without clear standards from the game on how to judge, it was all random and chance-driven.

Seeing Fang Chang lost in thought, Old White recalled his own situation and continued.

"I was about the same as you, about to log off, when I felt something off about my in-game body, but there was no debuff alert on my VM. I thought about lying down in the Cultivation Chamber for a while, log off to eat, and then come back to see, but when I took off my helmet and wore it again, I couldn't log back on for 5 hours."

A thought struck Fang Chang.

"And then you awoke?"

Old White nodded with a smile.

"Kind of, now my Attribute Panel shows a Stage 2 mark. I guess the Agile system is probably like the Strength Type, main attribute gets a boost of 5 points, and secondary attributes each get an increase of 1 point."

Though they already knew this, Night Ten and Wild Wind couldn't help but show envious expressions.

"Damn! That's too much!"

"It really is a bit ridiculous... What does double the agility of an ordinary person feel like? That must be so fast."

Fang Chang coughed lightly and said,

"In fact, it's not that fast. What agility enhances mainly is reaction speed and visual capabilities. Enhancement of physical abilities still primarily relies on strength."

Night Ten, "Please, stop it! Stop your Versailles act!"

Wild Wind, "+1."

Old White laughed and patted Fang Chang's shoulder.

"The benefits of Awakening aren't just in the attributes, when you log off later, you can look forward to it, see what talents you unlock tomorrow."

Fang Chang chuckled.

"Hope it's something awesome."

Night Ten curiously asked,

"Like what?"

"Like Gnome King Riches' Thermal Vision, that thing is a godsend for night battles... Ah, too bad this guy totally can't use it."

Every time this came up, Fang Chang felt quite regretful.

The game had many Exalted players. Not to mention the alien sequence "overlords" right from the start, a small portion of players were born with a talent, and the only cost was -1 from their main attribute.

Like Gnome King Riches' Thermal Vision, Makabazi's Plant Speaker, Crow's Toxin Intuition, and Less Bullshit's Insect Pheromone Perception... any of these seemed like divine skills to him!

Sadly.

The luck aspect in this game was just ridiculously realistic.

Old White consoled him.

"Don't think too much; the planners have been pretty good to us."

Fang Chang nodded.

"They have."

No overstatements.

Ah Guang had always been pretty good to them. Extra Contribution Points from early games were never taken back, and he occasionally discussed issues in updates with them in the group chat.

Such a gentle planner was truly rare.

Way better than some other games out there!

"Let's call it a day for the guide... just the last B9 and B10 floors left," Old White confirmed with a glance at his VM and looked towards the gate ahead, "Without surprises, the reactor is right beneath us."

"For safety, let's go back and save first."

"Alright!" Night Ten stowed his rifle and grinned at Fang Chang leaning on the wall, "Come on, let's carry Fang Chang back."

Old White laughed heartily.

"Good idea, brother, want to try a specific position?"

Irritated, Fang Chang gave a roll of his eyes and moved away from the wall.

"Fuck off, I can walk on my own!"

"Hahaha!"

-

(Before 11 o'clock in the next chapter)

Chapter 216: The New Awakeners and Preparations for War

In recent days, Chu Guang's luck had been pretty good.

Up until the 10th day since the War Time Regulations came into effect, his little players had created a total of 371 reward points for him, even exceeding his expectations a bit.

Logically speaking, as the harsh winter continued with incessant blizzards, the players' range of activities should have decreased.

However, the completion rate for daily active missions hadn't lessened in the slightest.

Moved, Chu Guang resolutely decided that he must make good use of the wealth his little players had created for him.

Considering that he had enough medicine for now, besides three advanced blind boxes, Chu Guang used all the remaining 71 reward points to exchange for basic blind boxes.

Not that he was still believing in metaphysics.

It's mainly because Chu Guang had once casually pulled a single blind box out of boredom and got a high-yield rice seed packet.

That was the second time he had gotten seeds from a blind box, the first being cotton seeds.

Without a second thought, Chu Guang used that packet of seeds in a soilless planting unit that had just harvested a batch of baby bok choy and carried out breeding tasks.

As for which rice seeds, the ones he just pulled out or the ones given for free on B3 floor, would have higher yield, he would know after a comparison when the time comes.

Continuing with the results of this lottery draw, though he hadn't gotten any seeds, it was still quite delightful.

Out of the 71 reward points, apart from 25 lollipops, 15 chocolate bars, and 8 cans of meat, there were also 10 packets of 500g salt, 8 bottles of soy sauce, 2 bottles of vinegar, and 3 bags of 3-pound corn flour.

Although these supplies couldn't fundamentally solve the food crisis, they were undoubtedly a blessing for those little players who ran stores.

New condiments were now available.

The life career players get an epic enhancement!

The three advanced blind boxes didn't disappoint Chu Guang either.

A Type Five "Light Cavalry" exoskeleton, a Hummingbird drone, and a carbon nanotube bulletproof vest.

Honestly, the shelter system was so generous this time that he could hardly believe it.

He now had three Hummingbird drones; while overseeing Outpost Base and Changjiu Farm, he could also spare one for hunting in the wild.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang decided to put that Type Five "Light Cavalry" exoskeleton up on the NPC store's shelf.

Since every performance aspect of the "Type Five" was more than double that of the Miner Type I, Chu Guang simply added a zero to the sale price of the "Miner," making it 20,000 silver.

As for the purchase threshold.

It remained Awakening (LV10)+Citizen.

Just as Chu Guang was basking in the joy of his bountiful harvest, admiring the "Administrator's Allowance" coming out of the conveyor belt, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly came from the speaker by the wall.

"Master, two more of your little players have reached LV10."

"Two?"

Chu Guang was slightly startled and immediately opened the Administrator System and switched to the player list.

In the list, two names were marked with a gene sequence level tag of LV10, with the same log-in status of "Locked for 5 hours."

"Long Days Ahead and Midnight Chicken Killing?"

It turned out to be these two gentlemen.

Midnight Chicken Killing's awakening was expected, as he was one of the early players who entered the game, also a Strength Type, and very dedicated.

Chu Guang still remembered the feat of this guy chopping down more than two hundred trees in three days.

"Strength Type is indeed easier to level up."

"Agile system seems secondary."

Currently, Wild Wind has the highest Intelligence level in the entire game, having just reached LV9.

Night Ten of the Perception system has been stuck at LV9 for a while and probably won't take too long to awaken either.

Thinking of this, Chu Guang was filled with emotion.

His little players were so powerful; he needed to work harder, too!

Otherwise, people would always think that the five months he spent alone surviving in the Wasteland were a complete waste, as if just any "Grandpa Ao" could assassinate him.

What was he thinking.

Playing a game with the console activated, thinking he was invincible?

Not to mention the "God Equip" his players had helped him grind for, even the newbies with their slow arms and legs, fluttering like mosquitoes, could hang if they stripped off their gear.

So far, Chu Guang was the only one in the entire game who genuinely tore apart a Crawler, and the abundant martial virtues of Shelter No. 404 were not just a boast.

However, maintaining a level advantage was still necessary.

Not entirely out of caution, but mainly for the care of the players' gaming experience.

After all, it is a well-known fact that in MMORPGs, the leaders of factions NPC are always the highest level.

If the faction leader NPC's level isn't even as high as the players', then the game is too unrealistic!

...

Official Forum:

Stop Talking Nonsense: "It's the 10th day, brothers! Only the last 50 days until the end of winter!"

Gnome King Riches: "giao! There are still 50 days left!"

Tail: "Since we can't go out and fight, let's have snowball fights! (｀∀´)Ψ"

Si Si: "Oh, that's nice."

Night Ten: "Hahaha, then aren't Strength Types really bugged（Slide face）?"

Tail: "Doesn't exist, Tail is super fast!"

Peak offline time.

While everyone was running on the official website to exchange strategies as usual, a notice suddenly popped up on the forum.

[Worldwide Announcement: Congratulations to the player "Long Days Ahead" for becoming the first Agility LV10 player in the game worldwide!]

[Since the player has chosen to make it public, this achievement will be recorded in the Hall of Fame.]

As soon as the announcement was released,
the atmosphere on the forum instantly boiled over.

t

Tail: "!! Someone is actually faster than Tail! w(ﾟДﾟ)w"

Si Si: "Wake up, Tail. At least they're a T0 big shot, what do you have to compare with?"

Tail: "QAQ"

Gnome King Riches: "Damn it, damn those cheaters! I, the Gnome King, am not the fastest! (Rages)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Damn! You're all fucking cheaters, okay? I didn't even get into the game! T.T"

Silver Hand: "I strongly demand that the officials reset the data after the beta goes live! (Voice cracks)"

Silver Sword: "Agreed! (Voice cracks)"

Edge Shoveling: "Get lost, get lost, get lost, don't even think about it!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Exactly! Do you know how hard Brother Shui had to work to get killed? (Sarcastic)"

Edge Shoveling: "Roll away!"

On the issue of data resetting, players and Backseat Drivers could never reach a consensus.

Today was no different.

The two sides were divided into factions, arguing vehemently over whether to reset the closed beta data or not.

Neither of the two Awakeners showed up from start to finish, probably avoiding the heat.

After scanning through posts on the forum, Chu Guang, peeking at the screen, revealed a smile characteristic of an indulgent father.

Reset the data?

Nonexistent.

That's for legitimate game companies to do, when did I ever say I was a legitimate game company?

All these accounts are my property!

However, players who entered the game early have already begun to "awaken" one after another.

It is foreseeable that in the next two months, there will be a peak of player awakenings.

Just wait until winter is over; he might be able to round up a company of Awakeners.

With this quality of individual soldiers, as long as the equipment keeps up,
it's thrilling just thinking about it!

...

Steel Factory No. 81.

The production is in full swing, a bustling scene all around.

With the mobilization under "War Time Regulations," more and more refugees are involved in production work. The workforce of Steel Factory No. 81 has expanded to ninety people, divided into multiple workshops based on different production tasks.

Workers who have mastered production skills were promoted to foremen, leading apprentices with no experience to learn how to use the factory's equipment to turn scavenged junk from the Wasteland into needed resources.

At this moment, in Workshop No. 1 of Steel Factory No. 81, a 20mm caliber autocannon was on display at the center of the workshop.

Box-type mechanism with simple shock absorbers on both sides, and an air-cooling jacket at the root of the barrel.

The magazine slot is located directly behind the mechanism, near the trigger, for easy reloading by the gunner. It is so convenient that one person can operate it.

To ensure the safety of the gunner and the ammunition rack, the front end of the mechanism has a slot allowing for the installation or welding of a 20mm steel plate.

This thickness is sufficient to withstand most bullets and explosive fragments, providing a relatively safe firing environment for the gunner.

Standing next to Chu Guang, Brother Levin, one of the foremen of Steel Factory No. 81, proudly pitched to him.

"20mm caliber, 1500mm long barrel, 1300mm rifling length, a magazine that fits 10 rounds of ammunition, which can all be fired in less than 5 seconds! As you can see, this piece of equipment can definitely be the bane of helicopters!"

Brother Ciso, standing on the other side, also spoke excitedly.

"That's right, Manager Sir, not only helicopters' bane. I dare say even Crawlers and Mutants on the ground can't withstand a direct shot!"

If by some miracle they did withstand it.

Then fire another round!

"Considering various combat needs, we've also designed phosphorus incendiary shells, steel-core armor-piercing shells, and high-explosive bombs! Unfortunately, we couldn't come up with proximity fuses. High-explosive shells with impact fuses have a small chance of dud, but it's not much of an issue!"

"Good, but are 10 rounds in a magazine too few?" Chu Guang asked, looking at the cannon with keen interest.

As if anticipating this question from the Manager, Brother Levin chuckled and replied.

"No problem! We can assemble four autocannons together, firing intermittently! That's 40 rounds!"

Brother Ciso added,

"Exactly, if the firepower isn't enough, we can even use an eight-barrel mounting! Tow it around with a truck!"

Chu Guang nodded in approval.

However, at that moment, he suddenly remembered something and asked,

"By the way, what about that 88mm gun you guys were working on? Wasn't there an experimental model? I haven't seen it."

In addition to anti-aircraft fire, he now also needed a reliable support weapon.

The support referred to here wasn't a Mosquito's remorseless rocket.

It was the kind that could work in tandem with the infantry at the front, precisely dropping explosives onto the enemy's head.

For some reason, upon hearing Chu Guang's words, the expressions on Brother Ciso and Brother Levin's faces became somewhat ambiguous.

The latter cleared his throat and said.

"The projectile velocity of that cannon just couldn't be increased... We had originally planned to convert it into a howitzer, but we simply did not find the time. Then Mosquito came over, made an offer, and said he intended to continue our research, so we packed up all those barrels that hadn't had the rifling done and sold them to him."

Brother Ciso spoke of this matter with a face full of indignant displeasure.

"As it turned out, he had no intention of continuing our research. It was only later that I found out he had cut the barrels into smaller sections, planning to make short-caliber 88mm mortars."

Brother Levin shook his head as he spoke.

"Absolutely fanciful!"

Chu Guang was momentarily stunned when he heard this sentence.

Then his face showed a dumbfounded expression.

Anti-aircraft cannon changed into mortars.

Is that even possible?!

...

Southern outskirts of Tianshui City.

The abandoned Beipo Industrial Area.

Here, decrepit factories and buildings were everywhere, with pieces of concrete scattered on the ground as numerous as the snowflakes in the sky.

In one relatively intact factory building.

Dressed in tattered clothes, emaciated slaves were under the watchful eyes of the Looters armed with weapons and whips, moving supplies from the storeroom into the factory.

Suspended above was a very large furnace.

The furnace was filled to the brim with boiling molten iron, and nearby slaves were endlessly shoveling coal into the heating chamber, making the entire room as hot as summer.

The adjacent factory was just as torrid.

Over thirty iron anvils were arranged within the spacious building, where bare-chested slaves swung hammers vigorously, pounding the glowing hot castings on the anvils.

After these roughly formed castings were heated through forging, they would be taken to another workshop, where a group of skilled craftsmen would process them with simple tools such as files and then transported to the final factory room for assembly.

The overseers watched the slaves with a gaze that instilled an instinctive fear in them, causing their calves to tremble involuntarily.

Their eyes did not seem to see humans.

But meat upon a cutting board.

However, the ability to work here meant at least they would not be eaten. As long as they did their work well, they would stay alive... That was the "promise" from the overseers.

As for those survivors kept in the dungeons, their fates were much worse.

They had only two outcomes.

Either become Cannon Fodder or become food.

And in winter, the latter was much more likely than the former.

The office on the second floor of the factory was as warm as spring.

Sitting behind an old desk, a man dressed in a leather jacket and unkempt in appearance had a wooden pipe in his mouth.

The smoke from the burning Spirit Leaf induced him to blissfully squint his eyes.

His name was Black Snake, a Centurion of the Chewing Bone Tribe, who had been ordered to lead a thousand team to raid down south and had stopped here due to a heavy snowstorm.

His Snake Tribe's standing within the Chewing Bone Tribe wasn't as high as the Ya Clan, but it was still of the main lineage, with nine underlings who were fierce warriors each one a Centurion in capacity.

Originally, there had been ten.

But one named Card, a Centurion on the way to establish an Outpost in Qingquan City, encountered an attack by local survivors and went missing.

Black Snake did not mind losing a mere Centurion; he could elevate another at any time if he wished.

What truly pained him was the loss of nearly one hundred and fifty brothers and almost a hundred 100mm shells and dozens of tons of food during that battle.

Each time he thought of this, Black Snake would become enraged.

Those wastrels!

To think they poured his nutrient paste down the drain and even set fire to his dried rats and meat strips!

Waste was a shameful act.

He swore he would reclaim the lost supplies from these people, undiminished.

"The sound of that blacksmithing, how splendid it is... Once winter is over, we will be able to equip two more hundred-man teams!"

Using nearly a thousand slaves to solve the logistics for one thousand five hundred people.

These slaves could serve not only as labor but also as food.

Black Snake thought himself nothing short of a genius.

Standing to one side, the strategist Vedes looked at him, his expression less optimistic.

"This battle should not be drawn out too long. You must have noticed when your troops attacked the local survivor settlements, they encountered strong resistance twice... Clearly, those survivors have become aware of the danger. They have likely formed alliances and moved the external settlements."

"That's just right."

Black Snake's eyes narrowed slightly, a plume of smoke wafting from his nose as he continued.

"Once they gather together, we can wipe them out in one fell swoop, saving us from having to chase them around!"

Hearing this, Vedes shook his head.

That idea was far too idealistic!

He had learned from Kevin that the survivors on the northern outskirts of Qingquan City were suspected of mastering the technique for producing stamped metal receiver boxes.

This meant they could produce reliable weapons and ammunition in large quantities at extremely low costs within a short time.

In contrast, due to the lack of production facilities and effective logistical support, their side, although the slaves were somewhat effective, truth be told, it was very limited.

The longer the war dragged on, the more dangerous it became for them!

However, compared to Vedes, Black Snake, being a Centurion, was rather optimistic.

"Relax, my friend,"

"I know they might be tough to deal with, but we've got that guy."

100mm howitzer!

A 20kg shell falls, within a 30 meter radius not a blade of grass remains, and it could easily shatter half a meter thick concrete fortifications!

That terrifying firepower was enough to make any survivor settlement of less than ten thousand people despair!

And they had two of them.

Black Snake leisurely added some sun-dried Spirit Leaf threads to his pipe, since there wasn't much else to do in the winter anyway.

Just then, there was a knock at the office door.

After being granted permission to enter, a Looter clad in a fur coat walked in and awkwardly saluted, humming as he spoke.

"Report!"

"Thousand Chief Lion Tooth has sent a message inviting you to join them at Far Creek Town, where they have built infantry fortifications, inviting you to join the spring hunt!"

"Far Creek Town?"

Black Snake glanced subconsciously at the map on the wall but didn't see that place marked.

Vedes, standing by his side, spoke up to remind him.

"Far Creek Town is located directly north of Qingquan City, about 10 kilometers away from the Elm District of Qingquan City, and about 20 kilometers from the concrete fortifications built by those survivors in the 'North Suburb'."

Their current location in the southern suburbs of Tianshui City was roughly to the northeast of Qingquan City.

After a moment's pause, Vedes fulfilled his duty as an adjutant and offered a suggestion.

"The survivors in the north suburb of Qingquan City are tough to deal with; concentrating our forces against them is a good choice."

With two thousand-team armies, the problems he was concerned about wouldn't exist.

With so many people, just by sheer numbers, they could crush the survivors in the north suburb of Qingquan City!

However, his superior obviously didn't think so...

"Why should we join them? We can take the north suburb of Qingquan City on our own," Black Snake's eyes narrowed slightly.

According to the rules of Looters, whoever conquers the territory has the right to plunder!

Acting with the people of the Ya Clan, he could at best get a sip of the broth.

But if he took the north suburb of Qingquan City alone, that would be an opportunity to eat his fill.

He had cannons, armor, and enough infantry to more than handle a bunch of Scavengers.

Why allow others a share of the glory that belonged to him!

"Although Lion Tooth is also a thousand chief, they are the direct lineage, and if we act together, he outranks me by half a level."

"The survivors in the 'North Suburb' are easy to deal with, but that Giant Stone City is a tough bone to chew. If we act together with them, we might just end up being used as Cannon Fodder."

Narrowing his eyes like a poisonous snake, Black Snake methodically continued.

"Not only must we not follow them, but we must also get ahead of them, and take down our prey in the shortest time possible!"

Vedes looked resigned.

He was well aware that this man wouldn't listen to him when it came to strategic decisions.

Looters were mostly the same; their eyes only saw loot, driven by savage nature and ferocity ingrained in their bones, not by anything else.

Even if the Chewing Bone Tribe seemed to act a bit differently, there was no fundamental difference.

Just like a dog cannot change its habit of eating feces.

Seeing Vedes fall silent, Black Snake smiled easily and comforted him a few words.

"Relax, my friend, I'm not underestimating our opponents; I've understood their strength from the brothers who withdrew from the front line before making this decision."

He did respect this strategist who had helped him win many battles.

If it were someone else, their graves would be overgrown.

"Care for a puff? You're no longer with the Army; no need to follow their rules anymore. With us, you can enjoy all the glories and riches you desire."

Looking at the pipe Black Snake was offering, Vedes shook his head.

"No thanks, I need to keep my mind clear at all times."

Army men don't smoke.

At most they drink.

For him, the trio of gold, beauty, and wine was enough.

Black Snake laughed and waved his pipe.

"That's the beauty of it; Spirit Leaves can make you incredibly sharp, but if you don't like it, that's fine."

Leaning back in his chair, Black Snake looked at him.

"I need you to come up with a plan, help me win this war in the shortest time possible."

Vedes pondered for a moment before answering.

"How about mid-January?"

"By then the blizzard should have eased off; the climate won't have too severe an impact, and we can give them a surprise before the spring starts."

The harsh winter had just ended, and those survivors would probably not have prepared too many defense fortifications; the effects of this cold winter were the same for everyone.

Both for the defenders and the attackers.

Black Snake snapped his fingers.

"Let's do as you said!"

——

(sorry… I shouldn't have jinxed it.)

Chapter 217: Ninth Floor of the Greenhouse Ruins! With the First Perception System and Intelligence System Awakener in the Entire Server!

"Our enemies won't wait in line until winter ends and then stroll up to our trenches,"

"They are Looters, best known for their surprise attacks. If they move fast, maybe by the time this blizzard is over, their army will have moved towards the North Suburb of Qingquan City."

"My judgment is… early January, and it's even possible that it might be on New Year's Day itself."

After inspecting the new recruits of the guard team, Chu Guang returned to the guard's station at Changjiu Farm with Liuding, Wrench, and Vanus.

There was a bunker-style temporary command post here, covered with a thick layer of snow, accessible only through a dugout tunnel.

Among the supplies last seized from the Looters, there were a full hundred 100mm howitzer shells.

These shells each weighed 11 kilograms, containing two kilograms of warhead, packed with TNT and Black Gold.

The impact of these shells would likely be shocking.

Although it was unclear how many howitzers they possessed, just these shells were enough to keep Chu Guang alert.

These Looters aren't easy to handle!

Currently, Shelter No. 404 had illuminated the process of producing Black Gold based on the information obtained from the elder forum members and the constant experimentation by 30 players with chemical-related jobs, but sadly, the output was not very high.

To develop a reliable form of heavy support fire before New Year's Day was too challenging. The problems to be solved included not only the cannon barrel but also many other issues, including ballistics, which required more practical experience than theoretical knowledge.

Relying on heavy artillery in the war against the Chewing Bone Tribe might be less practical than hoping for Torpedo Mosquitoes to deliver.

Wrench and Liuding exchanged glances subconsciously, their expressions slightly bewildered.

What is New Year's Day?

Although Vanus also didn't understand what New Year's Day was, he wasn't focused on such trivial matters; his attention was on Chu Guang's prediction of the next offensive by the Looters.

Staring at the paper map hung on the wall of the temporary command post, Vanus thought deeply for a long time before speaking.

"If it were me, I would choose to launch the offensive in mid-January,"

Chu Guang looked at him and asked,

"Reason?"

Vanus said,

"It's out of caution. The snow on the roads will make truck movement difficult, and logistical pressure will be greater than anticipated. As the front line commander, I must firstly assume that you have preemptively evacuated all the plunderable survivor settlements in the North Suburbs and built up sufficient defensive fortifications, with the intention to fight us to the bitter end."

"At that point, our troops won't be able to secure any resources locally and will have to rely solely on their carried supplies, facing a potentially prolonged siege."

His gaze locked on a desolate urban area in the northeast, Vanus continued,

"I would first establish an operational base, position the artillery, then send out mobile units to harass your positions with vehicle advantages, guiding the artillery bombing and launching multiple assaults to weaken your defenses before concentrating forces to attack from multiple directions simultaneously."

Liuding and Wrench unconsciously held their breaths.

If the Looters indeed acted that way, this battle was undoubtedly going to be more troublesome than imagined.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"That sounds like a good strategy."

He certainly didn't expect the members of the Chewing Bone Tribe to make a foolhardy charge towards his positions like the members of the Blood Hand Clan, and then get harvested by the players lying in trenches with automatic weapons like cutting wheat.

Those goblin-like creatures were very cunning, especially now that they had acquired some of the Army's tactics—though only a small part.

However…

It was a pity that they were up against him.

This type of protracted assault might work on others, but against players with "three lives in three days," it was fool's talk.

He only needed to defend the new industrial area located in the abandoned urban district, ensure the supply of weapons and equipment, and the Looters would soon experience the nightmare dominated by undead spirits.

If necessary, he could even abandon the large factories, dismantle the production equipment, retreat into the vast ruins, and then let the players leverage their individual combat strengths and engage the Looters in urban guerrilla warfare.

Noticing Chu Guang's not-so-heavy expression, Vanus raised his eyebrows in slight surprise.

"It seems you already have a plan?"

"Sort of."

"I'm quite curious, might I know what it is?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"There aren't many days left anyway; you'll know when the time comes."

There were many approaches he had considered, but the situation on the battlefield changed in an instant, and he couldn't be sure which approach he would ultimately adopt.

After all, it also depended on which card the other side played.

Vanus didn't pry any further, just shrugged his shoulders.

His status after all was just a prisoner of war.

If Chu Guang sought his opinion, he would express his thoughts and offer advice to refer to. But if Chu Guang didn't intend to inform him, it truly wasn't his place to ask too many questions.

Nevertheless, Vanus was still curious about how this man planned to proceed.

After all, the enemy possessed 100mm howitzer cannons, the actual number of which was unknown.

Moreover, the number of Looters exceeded 1000, the number of their vehicles unknown, they held an absolute advantage in both equipment and manpower.

They weren't ordinary Looters, and after the previous two encounters, this man in front of him was clearly aware.

The odds were actually not high.

Yet his expression, unflinchingly calm, was truly baffling.

Just then, a knock came from the door of the temporary command post.

After obtaining permission, a guard dressed in a black coat entered from outside, his right fist pressed against his chest in a military salute.

"Report!"

Chu Guang spoke concisely.

"Speak."

The guard said.

"Our scouts sent to the north to explore have encountered a patrol team of Looters in Far Creek Town, to the north of Changjiu Farm. They are suspected to be from the Chewing Bone Tribe!"

Upon hearing the report, Chu Guang looked slightly surprised and immediately turned to the map on the wall.

Far Creek Town is about 20 kilometers from Changjiu Farm, adjacent to the north side of Elm District, and administratively it is the southernmost township under the jurisdiction of West State City, close to the Xicheng District of Tianshui City.

The distance wasn't very near, but it certainly wasn't far.

However, what puzzled Chu Guang was why these Looters would appear in Far Creek Town?

Judging by the march routes of these Looters, their base should clearly be in the northeast of Qingquan City or the south of Tianshui City.

Could it be...

They had moved?

Staring at the map, Vanus's expression gradually grew more grave.

"Manager, although I hate to say this... we need to prepare for the worst."

Inside the temporary command post, four pairs of eyes turned towards him.

Chu Guang had a vague idea of what was coming, but he didn't speak, waiting instead for him to continue.

Vanus paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled a cloud of white air.

"The army to our immediate north, and those Looters in the Southern Suburb of Tianshui City, are clearly not the same group."

"What you will be facing might not be just one thousand team..."

"But two."

...

[Wartime Regulations Day 14]

After verifying the information on the VM, Old White casually wiped off the sticky fluid and fallen moth fibers clinging to his steel arm guard.

"The difficulty of conquering level B9 turned out to be surprisingly low."

"After all, this place houses the reactor; it doesn't have breeding tanks, and the area isn't very large," Fang Chang put away his mechanical composite bow and casually remarked.

Four days ago, he had reached Level 10, becoming the first Agile-type Awakener in the entire game.

Just as Old White had guessed, his primary attribute received an increase of five points, while each of the four secondary attributes increased by one point.

With agility now at a total of 17 points, he had almost triple the reaction speed of an ordinary person and dynamic vision.

The skill he acquired was also highly satisfactory to him—similar to the Bullet Time in Max Payne!

This didn't mean he could become faster, but with the agility attribute bonus, he could make everything around him move in slow motion when his attention was highly focused.

Perhaps if his agility was high enough, there might come a day when he could see the trajectory of a bullet.

In any case, for a shooter, this could be described as a divine skill.

Praise be to the planners!

Since unlocking Bullet Time, although his teammates didn't have a tangible feeling of its impact, Fang Chang felt invincible.

The mission was in its final stage.

As Old White carefully searched the corners of level B9 with a combat knife, he eliminated the still not fully dead Devil Moths.

Walking behind, Night Ten, seeing no chance to shoot, casually asked.

"What do you think we'll find on level B10?"

Wild Wind thought for a moment and said,

"I don't know, but one thing is certain, the Devil Moth's lair is there."

Night Ten: "Will there be moths as large as mutants?"

Wild Wind: "From an evolutionary standpoint, it's unlikely; overly large volumes are not suitable for arthropod survival... at least not with Earth's oxygen content and gravitational environment. But, that's not absolute. The Wasteland is not a normal natural selection environment, and besides, this is the 'Game.'"

Saying this, Wild Wind suddenly paused and looked up ahead.

"But... this game is too realistic."

The group halted, facing a closed door.

Judging by the sign similar to the one on the Floor B3 Power Room and the markings on the VM map, this should be the reactor.

Through a narrow transparent window, Wild Wind could see the cylindrical reactor inside the room.

A reactor that had been operating for two centuries and was still working.

Even in a game, this was incredibly hard to believe.

It seemed unlikely that it was just boiling water.

"Is this a tokamak or a stellarator?" Night Ten curiously asked.

Wild Wind thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Doesn't look like either... from the outside it seems plain, even smaller than a nuclear fission reactor."

And way too many!

Night Ten chuckled.

"Maybe the operator just doesn't want to bother anymore... I thought they would design it to be way cooler."

"It actually makes sense, given the pre-war society portrayed in the game, with controlled nuclear fusion increasingly replacing fossil fuels, even encroaching on chemical batteries in some fields. Their understanding of energy technology is like a black box to us; it's probably more straightforward than we imagine, making the simplicity more reasonable."

Wild Wind was curious about what kind of brainwave the operator used, given that it touched on his area of expertise,

However, he was a rational man and wouldn't risk his teammates' lives on a whim.

Moreover, he didn't have the capability to dismantle it.

To destroy the first barrier that blocks neutron rays, you would need at least a few hundred kilograms of dynamite.

This thing isn't made of tofu.

Just the alloy door leading to the reactor chamber was at least half a meter thick, not to mention the walls, which were even part of the load-bearing structure.

It might not even scrape the surface of the reactor if this floor were to be blown up.

At that moment, Wild Wind suddenly felt a slight stabbing pain in his forehead, followed by a burning sensation spreading throughout his body, causing him to frown.

Standing nearby, Night Ten also seemed to react similarly, and exaggeratedly screamed, grabbing his right arm.

"I giao, my Power of the King! That boiling feeling... it's coming!"

Fang Chang looked at him speechlessly.

"Can't you be a bit more normal?"

He steadied Night Ten with one hand, while Old White, noticing Wild Wind's condition, paused slightly, his expression instantly turning joyful.

"Goodness, we've awoken two today!"

The first Intelligence System and Perception System players were born server-wide!

The Cow and Horse Squad all entered the Hall of Fame!

This achievement was simply unbeatable!

Fang Chang's face was also filled with excitement, but they were in a devil moth nest right now, clearly not the moment to be distracted with joy.

"Thrilling! Anyway, let's go back and save first."

As expected, the forum was likely to be bustling for a while today.

Following Fang Chang's suggestion, after feeling out the door on the next floor, the Cow and Horse Squad departed from the Greenhouse Ruins, heading back toward the Outpost Base.

As they escorted their teammates to the entrance of the Outpost Base, Old White, standing under the concrete wall, suddenly stopped.

"Before logging off, I plan to visit the industrial area, you guys go back and save first."

Night Ten curiously asked.

"Industrial area? What are you doing there?"

Old White explained with a smile.

"I've been using LD-47 for a while, but I always feel like it's not bringing out the Strength Type's advantages. I plan to visit the steel factory to see if I can order a couple of Strength Type compatible devices to boost our squad's firepower."

Wild Wind and Night Ten exchanged looks.

Fang Chang, however, understood his intent and was immediately interested.

"I'll go with you! I don't have anything else to do after logging off anyway."

Old White gave a hearty smile.

"Alright, let's go!"

...

New Industrial Zone.

At the entrance of Steel Factory No. 81, as soon as Old White and Fang Chang entered, they saw Midnight Chicken Killing discussing something with Brother Ciso.

"I want a chainsaw, can you manage that?"

"Manage a hammer, where am I supposed to get you a battery?"

Facing Brother Ciso's scorn, Midnight Chicken Killing still didn't give up.

"Burning oil would work."

Hearing this nonchalant statement, Brother Ciso almost spat out, continuing his interrogation.

"Do you have a diesel engine? Do you have diesel?"

It was absurd not to find a diesel engine in all the Wasteland.

These days, he had been troubled by this issue a lot.

Midnight Chicken Killing was slightly stunned, not expecting it to be so complicated, and scratched the back of his head.

"Then... I guess I'll buy an axe."

"..."

Brother Ciso looked helpless.

A short axe with a wooden handle was just 10 Silver Coins, even after a price increase.

Deducting costs for raw materials, labor, electricity, etc., the profit margin was only 10%, earning just 1 Silver Coin.

Selling axes was less profitable than selling more bullets!

"I genuinely suggest you consider more modern equipment."

Just as he was about to find an excuse to send Brother Killing Chicken away, he suddenly saw Old White and Fang Chang at the door.

His eyes instantly lit up, and Brother Ciso immediately dropped Midnight Chicken Killing and went to greet them.

"Hey, Brother White and Brother Fang Chang, what brings you here?"

These two were big customers!

Lately, the progress in the Greenhouse Ruins seemed to have pushed to the eighth floor? Or was it the ninth?

Although the Ox and Horse teams had never disclosed exactly how much the reward was, based on the difficulty of the maze, one could guess that it was at least a four-digit number.

Seeing Brother Ciso decisively abandon him, Midnight Chicken Killing was stunned.

Seriously?

Watching the familiar faces approaching, Old White smiled heartily and said,

"I'm planning to make some equipment. Do you have anything with a bit more power?"

"Something with more power… What do you mean? We have hand grenades and even replicate Iron Fist Rocket Launchers with great firepower!"

"What I mean is not those disposable explosives," Old White tried to explain with his hands, "Do you have guns with a larger caliber?"

While they were talking, Old White's gaze suddenly fell on the quad-cannon behind Brother Ciso in the workshop that was still being assembled.

At that glance, Old White couldn't take his eyes off it and immediately walked over, touching the thick, long barrel.

"Wow, this is 20mm, isn't it?!"

Seeing someone interested in his work, Brother Ciso smiled slightly, confidently saying,

"20mm Quad Anti-aircraft Cannon! Three types of ammo available, we call it the 'Sky Ripper' or simply 'The Ripper'!"

That name sounded quite imposing.

Old White continued, excitedly,

"How much?"

Brother Ciso was taken aback, coughed, and said,

"That's an NPC order… For pricing, one cannon costs 3000 Silver, an armor-piercing bullet costs 20 Silver, just so you know."

"What?! 3000 Silver?" Old White's eyes widened.

Just this one cannon, and the price was equivalent to 1.5 sets of the Miner Type I Exoskeleton!

And that price for the armor-piercing bullet was outrageous, one bullet equivalent to 20 shots of 7mm, firing three could buy an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher!

Although they had pushed through four floors lately and even taken down the crucial floor B9, the money earned shouldn't be wasted like this.

After learning the price, Old White immediately dismissed the idea of buying one and felt embarrassed to ask if it could be cheaper.

Seeing the expression on Old White's face, Fang Chang's mind ticked, and he walked forward to examine the weapon box for a while, then suddenly said,

"Why is this cannon so expensive?"

Just then, another factory manager, Brother Levin, walked out from a nearby workshop.

Hearing Fang Chang's question, he casually answered,

"It's a cannon, isn't the high cost obvious? Just that weapon box in front of you costs at least 2000 Silver, not to mention the barrel and other parts."

Fang Chang thoughtfully said,

"What if we need a model… that only fires single shots? Without such a complex mechanism, perhaps even switching to a bolt action and manual loading."

Brother Ciso and Brother Levin both paused briefly.

"A bolt action… bolt?"

"Manual loading?"

Seeing that they didn't seem to grasp his idea, Fang Chang continued,

"I might not have described it accurately before, simply put, remove the fully-automatic mode and create something similar to a bolt-action rifle. It should be easily handheld or mounted on the ground—"

"I see what you mean, omit the buffer and automatic firing mechanism, right?"

Brother Levin interrupted Fang Chang, thoughtfully stroking his chin,

"But such a gun would be heavy, right? And the recoil isn't small, it probably needs a fixed tripod… Are you sure it would be useful?"

This thing was ultimately a cannon, not a gun.

If shock-absorbing and buffering mechanisms were removed, making it a shoulder-fired weapon, firing once would probably ruin the shooter's shoulder.

Unless the cannon shell was made shorter, to the size of a bullet.

But then, the 20mm caliber seemed a bit excessive, it would have to be changed to 12mm.

However, after hearing Brother Levin's concerns, Fang Chang and Old White exchanged a meaningful glance, simultaneously revealing meaningful smiles.

Might be difficult for ordinary people.

But were they ordinary people?

"Just fit a bipod and a stock for me, no need for a fixed tripod."

Old White knocked on the welded breastplate of his exoskeleton, revealing a reassuring smile,

"Don't worry, I can handle it!"

Chapter 218: The Recoil is Strong! But Also Powerful!

Old White might have been bragging or not.

After hearing what he said, Brother Levin immediately turned and went back to the neighboring workshop, pushing out a freshly assembled 20mm autocannon on a cart.

Excitedly, he came back to Old White, his eyes shining as he said,

"Bro, let's give it a try, huh?"

"If you can really handle this thing for one shot, we'll try making that thing you mentioned!"

Creating a weapon that most people couldn't use had no meaning—Factory No. 81 wouldn't set up a production line just for one player.

But on the other hand, if such an outrageous weapon could be used, that would be a huge win!

The 20mm barrel and ammunition were already available.

The turn-bolt locking mechanism wasn't too hard either, just make a scaled-up version of the Arbiter I bolt-action rifle's receiver!

There were at least 200 to 300 strength-type players in the server, and half of them might awaken within the next month.

What a huge market that would be!

This thought got Brother Levin all worked up.

Hearing Brother Levin's suggestion, Old White found it quite sound, so he cheerfully agreed.

"Alright!"

Saying so, Old White didn't dilly-dally, he reached out and picked up the nearly fifty-kilogram autocannon, striding outside.

The power of the strength-type was undeniable—even such a heavy autocannon seemed as light as a baseball bat in his hands.

Brother Levin and Brother Ciso brought some test ammunition while Fang Chang and Midnight Chicken Killing curiously followed along.

The group quickly arrived at the Goblin Technology Rocket Firing Range on the edge of the industrial district.

The area was littered with concrete debris, a five-meter-high building had been blasted into fragments from continual explosions.

As they arrived, Mosquito, carrying a rocket tail, walked out of the rubble.

Seeing the large group, Mosquito paused.

"What are you all doing here?"

Old White chuckled and said,

"Bro, borrowing the place for a bit!"

The Variants were hiding indoors in this deep winter, and finding a target on the streets was not easy.

But Mosquito's place had plenty of targets.

To ensure the effectiveness of the rockets, Mosquito Brother, a carpenter by trade, had skillfully crafted dummies out of wood, many of which were fitted with steel plates to simulate the armor of Looters and Mutants.

Despite being displeased with these people interrupting his experiments, Mosquito was also curious about the power of the big gun in Old White's possession, so he didn't say much and stood by to watch.

"How about we start with a 20mm thick steel plate? Let's see if it can penetrate that," Mosquito mumbled significantly after glancing at Brother Levin.

"Isn't that obvious?" Listening to Mosquito's nonsense, Brother Levin rolled his eyes.

Standing by Old White, adjusting the weapon, Brother Ciso couldn't help but join the scoffing.

"Exactly! If it can't even penetrate 20mm of steel, what kind of cannon is it?"

Mosquito laughed, intrigued, and asked,

"So tell me, how deep can you penetrate?"

Brother Levin chuckled, spreading his five fingers.

"Within a hundred meters, 50mm; at 500 meters, 20mm."

"Pfft, keep dreaming!" Mosquito rolled his eyes with an unbelieving look, "That's even fiercer than a Barrett!"

Brother Levin continued to chuckle.

"Nonsense! Didn't I tell you it's a cannon? Didn't you see how long our riflings and bullets are, and how much charge we use!"

"How much?"

Brother Levin closed his mouth and said nothing.

He felt this guy was fishing for their trade secrets.

That was what they had wasted so much budget to figure out, the charge ratio.

Want it? Pay up!

Seeing he couldn't coax any information, Mosquito had a look of regret.

At this moment, Old White had mastered the technique of using the autocannon, placing the protruding magazine on his shoulder, and confirming with Brother Ciso beside him.

"It's set to single fire mode now, right?"

As Brother Ciso moved back, he said,

"Yes, it's set. Just choose a target and fire to find out!"

"Got it."

Old White excitedly raised the long barrel, aligning the mechanical scope to aim at the dummy about 100 meters away.

The dummy had a 20mm thick steel plate on its chest, realistically shaped in the form of a robust man about 1.8 meters tall.

Taking a deep breath of the icy air, Old White braced his muscles, ready for the recoil and then pulled the trigger.

Bang—!

A thunderous boom erupted.

A half-meter-long flame spat from the muzzle, and the recoil surged through his body, reaching his feet instantly.

Old White's heels stirred up a swath of snow, scattering and flying backwards, splashing Mosquito and Brother Levin's faces.

The ground trembled!

The wooden dummy in the distance exploded like it had been hit by a truck, bursting into splintered fragments, with the struck steel plate flying out and collapsing on the ground, mangled.

"Damn! That power is kinda wild!" Mosquito's eyes went wide, and he forgot to wipe off the snow on his face.

Just a moment ago he had doubted it, thinking this piece of junk could hardly penetrate 50mm at a range of 100 meters, but now he was starting to believe it!

Holding the cannon, Old White, alongside the onlooking Fang Zhang and Midnight Chicken Killing, were all similarly stunned.

This power was just damn intense!

The two factory directors from Factory No. 81 chuckled, smug expressions filled their faces.

"Are you kidding me? I told you this thing is a cannon! Do you even know what a cannon is?"

"Exactly! You think the explosive speed enhancement of X-4 fibers is a joke?"

Originally smug, Brother Levin suddenly got a jolt when his teammate accidentally spilled a secret and quickly covered Brother Ciso's mouth with his hand.

"Alright, enough talking!"

"Wuwuwu!"

Honestly, spilling the beans didn't make a difference; the information was already available on the official website.

They had merely referenced real-world data and figured out a reliable ratio, which made the cannon's initial speed approach its maximum while the barrel could withstand the chamber pressure.

Mosquito swallowed.

Although he had heard of nitrocellulose made from X-4 fibers obtaining an "explosive speed enhancement," he had never actually tried it.

After all, it seemed a bit counterintuitive.

But could it really be true?

Not far away, Old White had already taken off his exoskeleton.

That previous shot had given him a rough idea of the weapon's recoil.

Next, he wanted to try firing it standing up without any gear!

Everyone around stopped talking and turned to watch him.

Then came another thunderous roar!

Old White, resting the cannon on his shoulder, suddenly jerked backward but managed to brace himself with his muscular strength.

"Damn, that recoil is fierce..."

"But I can handle it!"

After lowering the cannon, Old White opened his collar to inspect his right chest.

A shoe-sized red mark appeared from the recoil, but there was no bruising or other injuries.

His level was now LV12, with 19 points in strength, just one point short of having muscle strength four times that of an ordinary person!

With such terrifying muscle strength, it wasn't an exaggeration to say he was half a mutant.

And his skin hadn't even turned green!

If he had activated "Boundary Breakthrough," he wouldn't have budged at all just now.

Fang Zhang couldn't help but comment.

"Deserving of being the first fierce man of the server, I, Long Days Ahead, acknowledge you as the strongest!"

Old White chuckled.

"Too kind, too kind."

Midnight Chicken Killing, filled with envy, came forward and touched the cannon lying on the ground, its barrel sizzling the snow into white steam.

He weighed it and found it wasn't too heavy.

Looking back, he asked, "Can I give it a try?"

Brother Levin nodded excitedly and generously said, "Go ahead, no need to be polite!"

Didn't expect "Awakening" to be so badass.

If every strength-type player could withstand this recoil after awakening, wouldn't their weapons sell like crazy?

That'd make more money than selling axes!

Indeed.

Strength-types, forever the gods!

After getting permission from Brother Levin, Midnight Chicken Killing also took a shot.

However, his experience was slightly more embarrassing than Old White's, as the cannon barrel lifted from the recoil, and he staggered back, nearly tumbling over.

After all, he had just awakened, and at LV10, typically only had 17 points of strength, not matching up to the now level 12 Old White.

Missing those 2 points of strength, without activating a talent, he really couldn't handle it.

From this, one could deduce that the optimal attribute for using this weapon would probably be 20 strength 10 constitution. Or, as a fixed weapon, then everyone could use it.

"Nice piece!"

Midnight Chicken Killing was excited, but soon calmed down, shaking his head as he lowered the cannon.

"Sadly, with such huge recoil, there's no way you could fire it continuously."

"And definitely not while charging forward."

It's powerful.

But it doesn't quite fit with his unlocked "Berserker" talent!

Hearing this, Brother Levin almost couldn't help bursting out laughing.

"What's the freaking use of charging forward with such a big thing? The barrel would poke people in the face."

Brother Ciso couldn't help but chime in.

"Exactly! Stick to your axe if you don't appreciate real art."

Midnight Chicken Killing: "..."

Damn!

What's wrong with using an axe?

Looking down on melee players?

Have the guts to challenge me!

Old White and Fang Chang walked over and looked at two factory heads from Factory No. 81.

"How about it? OK or not?"

"Can you modify the machine gun to single-shot?"

The two factory heads looked at each other.

"If it's changed to single-shot, can it still be called a machine gun?"

"Indeed."

Old White, unconcerned about these minor issues, said with a hearty laugh.

"Then what do you think it should be called?"

Brother Levin, after a brief moment of thought, suddenly focused on the modified breastplate of Old White's exoskeleton, his eyes lighting up.

"Cavalry Gun!"

He looked toward Brother Ciso, his eyes burning with excitement as he continued.

"What about calling it the 'Cavalry Gun' anti-tank rifle?"

He estimated the cost to be around 900 silver, with a selling price of either 1000 or 950.

The ammunition could be the same as the machine gun's, without even needing a change.

Once the number of awakened players increased, this equipment was sure to sell like crazy!

Their thoughts aligned swiftly, and Brother Ciso, excited, gave a thumbs up.

"Sounds good, brother, I think it works! But since it's 20mm, shouldn't it be considered a cannon?"

"Pfft, don't nitpick, being cool is all that matters!"

Watching them, Mosquito stood by, his face full of envy.

Clearly, he also saw the commercial potential of the invention.

Damn!

They are all making a killing on arms!

Looks like he had to step up his game too.

...

As December drew closer, "Wartime Regulations" had been in effect for 25 days.

If not extended, this regulation had already passed almost half its duration.

In the past 25 days, the steel production capacity and the literacy rate among workers in the new industrial zone had doubled.

Thanks to the night school and study group system implemented in the new industrial zone, after the 12-hour workday, factory foremen would organize lessons for workers in literacy, arithmetic, and geometric drafting.

Literacy, in particular.

According to the rules in the new industrial zone, recognizing basic text was one of the main criteria for apprentices to advance to official workers.

Once promoted to official worker, not only would their salary double from two to four silver coins, but they would also sign long-term stable labor contracts with the factory, and even have a chance to become foremen employed directly by the shelter.

Those foremen with VM were quite enviable, being able to chat merrily with the Blue Jackets, and it was said their daily salary had risen to five silver!

Consequently, the workers were highly enthusiastic about their studies, especially the refugees from far away.

They were the ones most eager to stay.

And they were the ones most eager to be recognized as "indigenous people" of this territory—those acknowledged by the Blue Jackets!

Apart from the development of the industrial zone, what pleased Chu Guang the most was his little players.

Up to now, 13 players had awakened.

Among them, 5 were strength, 3 agile, 2 perception, 2 constitution, and 1 intelligence.

This included Edge Shoveling, who often walked the fine line between life and death, becoming the 2nd perception-type player to awaken in the entire service.

Both had unlocked fairly decent talents, and combined with their personal combat styles, they were likely to pull off some impressive tricks.

Then there was the hunting enthusiast Gnome King Riches, editor Canyon from Mole Daily who escaped the mole, and always-in-the-front constitution-type kitchen Tomato Scrambled Eggs, as well as Old Na who diligently practiced internal strength.

These were players who had entered the game early, including two agile and two constitution types.

Players who entered the game later also had a group reaching Level 9, vaguely approaching the breakthrough edge, expecting to break through in another month.

However, the intelligence system differed from the other systems, with a severe polarization observed in the higher zones, even showing a clear discontinuity.

So far, among all the intelligence-system players, only Wild Wind had reached Level 10.

None of the other intelligence-system players had even reached Level 9, though there were some at the peak of Level 8.

Additionally, what surprised Chu Guang was that lifestyle profession players in the intelligence system seemed to level up faster than combat professions.

For instance, Teng Teng had been at Level 8 for quite some time, and the progress bar for the breakthrough was right in front of him.

Perhaps the first intelligence-system player to awaken would be one who didn't fight on the frontlines or battle monsters?

On the official forum, players debated whether this was fair.

Especially Mole Old Brother, who specially opened a thread for this issue.

"Regarding the Intelligence System: Thoughts on the Eve of Alpha1.0 Version"

"Hello everyone, it's your Big-Nosed Mole here, not writing a guide today, but sharing some personal insights."

"As more and more players awaken, the strength system once again affirms its status as the planner's favorite child, becoming the unquestioned version child."

"And the intelligence system, regrettably, remains on the cold bench from the start to the end of the game's beta test, confirming its position as the beloved brother of the Alpha test version."

"I've predicted the rise of the intelligence system more than once, and more than once, the planners ruthlessly disproved me. From the arrival of the Pioneer to the gameplay of the exploration team">'.

"The cloud of uncertainty that hung over the heads of the Intelligence System never seemed to dissipate, even if occasionally a player unlocked different gameplay. Their experiences could not conveniently be transferred to others."

"All the common knowledge or norms about MMORPGs seemed ineffective when it came to the Intelligence System. It was as if it was a discarded sequence, maybe the designers never intended for it to be influential."

"After all, its impact was indeed hard to perceive directly, and the expandable gameplay was not as rich as with other systems."

"At first, I thought so too, but later I gradually realized that perhaps it wasn't that the designers deliberately ignored the Intelligence System, but rather, it was originally designed this way."

"Killing monsters for leveling up isn't all there is to a game, just like life isn't just about schooling and promotions... From the moment you enter the game, you can feel that the game operators are deliberately crafting this atmosphere."

"They transformed 'Wasteland OL' into an almost real world, making NPCs seem human, and besides elements of violence and destruction, they provided a completely different path for their players—creation."

"Use your creativity and wisdom to change this decayed planet, planting the flag of United Human on the edge of the Kuiper Belt."

"Perhaps, this is the version answer for the Intelligence System."

"And it's an Easter egg left by the game developers for us."

"Likes 666, replies 200+"

"After reading the post from beginning to end, Chu Guang felt an indescribable sensation."

"Such talent…"

"Honestly, he hadn't thought so deeply."

"But this interpretation seemed flawless."

"He casually marked the post as excellent and continued browsing the forum."

"Suddenly, his gaze settled on a post vastly different from the current popular topics in the forum."

"'Speaking of which, New Year's Day is coming. Where does everyone plan to celebrate?'"

"The post was made by Crow."

"Since winter began, she had been quite active on the forum, as combat wasn't her strength; she was only good at freeloading, so there wasn't much she could do in the game."

"New Year's Day, huh…"

"Looking at the post, a trace of melancholy suddenly appeared on Chu Guang's face."

"It's an important holiday."

"He remembered he died in March, arrived in this world in April, and discovered Shelter No. 404 in September."

"Almost a year had passed..."

"He had no relatives worth missing, his life had been a rush, and his friends were mostly online, so that after coming here, he never thought about finding his way back home."

"What for?"

"At least in the shelter, he was collecting other people's rent."

"Scrolling down with his mouse, some people in the post said they planned to be offline for a day to spend time with family, others didn't care much as the in-game time didn't conflict with real life; they'd just log in later."

"Chu Guang stared at the post for a while, then suddenly spoke."

"Xiao Qi."

"A mild voice floated from beside him."

"Here, Master."

"Chu Guang thought for a moment and said."

"New Year's is coming soon, should we hold an event in the game… like celebrating the holiday or something?"

"Xiao Qi: 'Eh? The same kind of celebration as before? But Master… we seem to be running low on food.'"

"I know," Chu Guang sighed lightly, "but we should commemorate the outgoing Wasteland Era Year 211… Is there a cheaper way to celebrate?"

"They say pre-war society had many holidays, as the average annual working hours totaled less than 300."

"With both cultural and technological prosperity, there seemed to be a holiday every other day."

"But after the Wasteland Era, good days were gone."

"There were no good days to celebrate here, and oftentimes even the climate acted up."

"And along with a cultural discontinuity, many people, despite using the United Human language, knew nothing about the United Human's affairs, only that without work, there was no food; without scavenging, there was death."

"Some midsize to small survivor settlements primarily focused on agriculture selectively preserved some festivals to celebrate the harvest and pray for the next year's bounty, but this obviously didn't include scavenger-driven Bet Street or the serf-dominated Brown Farm."

"Especially since all survivor settlements in the north suburb of Qingquan city were mostly these types, or possibly a transit site engaged with tradesmen."

"Chu Guang had been in Wasteland for so long, he had never seen the scavengers of Bet Street have any celebration."

"But having a holiday could boost morale and enhance both a sense of belonging and cultural identity."

"After all, apart from players, the plots he controlled were inhabited by drifters from all directions."

"He had to find a way to unite them."

"Holidays and celebrations were perfect for this."

"Xiao Qi was silent for a while, perhaps using a search tool or earnestly pondering the problem."

"After quite some time, that meek voice drifted back."

"Xiao Qi thinks, since it's Wasteland… maybe there's no need to stick entirely to the Earth's holidays."

"How about… taking the opportunity of celebrating to encourage everyone to try some new foods?"

"And then, in the name of the event, award a prize for the most creative recipe."

"Try some new foods?"

"Award for the most creative recipe?"

"Chu Guang was momentarily stunned."

"For a moment, he even changed his evaluation of Xiao Qi."

"This guy…"

"Could he actually be a genius?"

"——"

"(Thanks to the guild leader of 'Dragon Yin' for the reward~~~~~)"

Chapter 219: New Talent! And New Year's Event!

Cow & Horse Club Group.

Today was as lively as ever.

Ever since Night Ten and Wild Wind became the first "Perception System" and "Intelligence System" players in "Wasteland OL," the Cow & Horse Team became immensely popular on the forum.

Somehow, people found the group number on the forum which led to daily requests to join the group.

To prevent weirdos from entering, and to shield Ah Guang from any harassment, the group admin, Old White, simply shut down the group joining requests.

According to posts on the forum, it seemed that the server had produced two more powerful Awakeners today.

And both of them were Strength Types.

The unlocked Talents were "Battle Berserker" which allowed "half of intelligence to be converted to strength attribute" and "Battle Passion" which provided "+10% agility and constitution." Both talents needed to be activated and lasted between 1-2 minutes, with not a very long cooldown.

Now, the idle chat section was abuzz, clamoring for the officials to open a channel to reselect Gene Sequences, and it would be great if they could also unlock gender modification.

However, it seemed that the officials weren't interested in intervening, and Ah Guang, the planner, didn't even pop up at all.

Since they couldn't get a word in on the forum topics, everyone migrated to the group chat instead.

In the WC, Mosquito said, "Ah, I envy your fast leveling."

Quit Smoking laughed, "Haha, Brother Mosquito, come join us in the dungeons. It's fun in the tunnels! I'm already at Level 5!"

In the WC, Mosquito cursed, "Damn, even Quit Smoking is Level 5!"

Quit Smoking retorted, "What do you mean even I'm Level 5! It's been over a month since I started playing the game! (angry)"

In the WC, Mosquito clicked his tongue.

If he hadn't started playing the game too early and was unfamiliar with playstyles, compulsively following Fang Chang to choose Agility, he would absolutely have been the second Intelligence System Awakener in the entire server!

But he wasn't the most unlucky one, the real unlucky ones were the two factory directors at the neighboring No. 81 Steel Factory.

These two brothers, when they heard that Strength Type was the best, without a second thought chose strength, now they're even more confused and hardly get to swing their hammers anymore.

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato said, "Time flies, huh? It's almost been three months since the beta test started?"

Fang Chang said, "The newbie period in this game is really too long. It took three months just to grind to Level 10, I wonder if they'll adjust the difficulty during closed testing."

Night Ten wondered, "What do you guys think the maximum level is?"

Fang Chang replied, "Who knows, the official has never mentioned anything about the level cap, but I feel like when we hit around level 40-50, we might face a big challenge, then according to the expansion pack's progress, it would be progressively unlocked, probably similar to WOW."

Old White said, "I think you're overthinking it, with the current rate, whether we can even reach level 40 by next year is a question!"

After reaching Level 10, Old White felt that the difficulty of leveling up had significantly increased.

Previously, when his level was lower, just chopping wood could be visibly seen filling the progress bar, but now cutting trees merely added proficiency, and the progress bar didn't budge—he wasn't even sure if it had increased.

This was indeed much harder than any MMORPG he had played before!

Recalling that Scrambled Eggs with Tomato had also awakened a few days ago, Old White continued to dig deeper.

"What was that Talent you unlocked again, brother Scrambled Eggs?"

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato replied, "Balance."

Old White queried, "Balance?"

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato confirmed, "Yeah, it's literally called Balance. The effect is that for one to two minutes, it converts half of the constitution into strength."

Night Ten exclaimed, "Damn! Isn't that awesome?!"

Wild Wind stated, "It's a god-like skill…"

Converting half of the constitution into strength.

Wouldn't you be able to tank and output damage at the same time?!

If Body Constitution System could all develop this skill, the dominative power of Strength Type on the battlefield after level 10 would at least be halved by the constitution system!

After all, the defensive power provided by the Strength Attribute was really too pitiful.

Moreover, in mid to long-range, the impact of Strength Attribute on DPS mainly reflects in weapon control and the range of thrown objects.

Unless you close in to an extreme distance, in most cases, the damage augmentation provided by the Strength Attribute diminishes at the margin!

Unless there is equipment that can further enhance the value of the Strength Type.

Something like the loyal "Golden Toilet" or chainsaw guns…

On the other hand, the Body Constitution System, once the attribute points exceeded 10, even without the exaggerated "auto-healing breath" method from FPS games, it still was very handy to quickly stop bleeding after getting shot.

If it doesn't hit a vital part, it could at least withstand a couple more shots!

After awakening, you might even save on bandages!

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato remarked, "Godly skill, my foot. Old Monk's 'Limb Regeneration' is what you call a divine skill, okay? You can even regrow lost arms!"

Fang Chang praised, "Awesome!"

Wild Wind added, "That's freaking a Variant's skill!"

Elena wasn't in the Cow & Horse Club Group, but she was familiar with the people in the group within the game, and they occasionally teamed up.

Especially on the forum, she and Night Ten often exchanged funny emoticons.

Hearing that he had unlocked the passive "No need for follow-up strikes," everyone was enviously discussing for a while.

Wild Wind said, "I feel like the spring of the Intelligence System hasn't come yet, but the spring of the Constitution System seems to be on its way. (sigh)"

Quit Smoking said with a smirk, "Hehe, Constitution System ecstasy! (grin)"

Night Ten commented, "That's really unreasonable. I thought Old Monk would unlock the Mouse People's 'Iron Stomach', but instead, he unlocked the regeneration traits of bears and lizards. (funny)"

WC's Brother Mosquito: "Speaking of Night Ten, Wild Wind, have you both tested your talents? Are they any good?"

Night Ten: "I've tried it, it feels average, Ah Guang said the talent I unlocked is pretty Niubi, but I don't feel a thing. (helpless)."

The talent he acquired was "Killing Intent Intuition."

According to the description of the talent, it was passively triggered and allowed the user to feel subjective killing intent on a cognitive level.

And the more intense the killing intent, the stronger the feeling!

Unlike perception mediated by light, sound, smell, vibration, and other factors, this type of perception didn't seem to require a physical medium but read the killing intent at the cognitive level in some unknown way.

Brainwaves?

Heart rate?

Or some unknown type of "field"?

The talent description didn't provide a specific scientific explanation; maybe the developers didn't know how to make one up.

Putting aside these minor issues, there was actually a significant problem with the talent—it was severely weakened by distance!

In open areas, the maximum trigger range was only about 800 meters to 1 kilometer, and within indoor settings, the maximum capture range might just be a building of three to four stories.

Honestly, this distance is somewhat useless for a perception system.

After all, before Night Ten awoke, he had been able to catch the faint reflection of a sniper scope from a kilometer away, thanks to his enhanced perception attributes.

According to Fang Chang's analysis, the real function of this Killing Intent Intuition should be to guard against sneak attacks.

For example, when they were at the Ecological Experiment Base, Night Ten's perception completely missed a "high agility unit" hidden in the forest, the Claw of Death.

But if he had Killing Intent Intuition, he might have sensed it the moment he was targeted.

On the other hand, if the opponent hid their killing intent or didn't notice them at all, the talent might become useless.

Overall, the talent was still useful.

But not as useful as one might imagine!

Wild Wind: "Mine is similar... it's called 'Overclocking', it works somewhat like Old White's Intelligence System version and grants a 150% to 200% increase in brain efficiency. Lasts a bit longer, about 30 seconds."

Frankly, this talent might be even more useless than Night Ten's "Killing Intent Intuition."

At least for the current version of the Intelligence System, what's lacking isn't attributes but the ability to convert those attributes into damage.

For instance, The mechanical hand is a tool that can "turn intelligence attributes into DPS", but there's a limit to the output power of the mechanical hand, especially after awakening, this becomes particularly obvious.

When the intelligence attribute is below 10, each increment increases the maximum efficiency of the mechanical hand by 10%, making it more coordinated with muscles and controlled more precisely. But when the intelligence attribute exceeds 10, the incremental benefit is negligible.

Wild Wind's own analysis was that at times like these, one should either install a couple more mechanical hands or even implant a third arm or multi-functional limb like "Doctor Octopus."

Another approach might be using neural connection devices to operate drones or unmanned ground vehicles in multithreaded mode, turning one's brain into a "drone hive."

However, pursuing these options hinges on the availability of such devices at the NPC store.

That's just too hard!

Quit smoking: "Damn, an intelligence boost? That's a bit scammy..."

Wild Wind: "Can't say it's completely scammy, maybe just needs a bit tweaked in how it's used."

"..."

Reviewing the chat history in the group, Chu Guang collected the experiences summed up by the junior players and saved it quietly in a document.

Though his backend could see each player's skills, those were just panel data; the actual performance still depended on the players' feedback.

"… After awakening, the Constitution System might enter a strong phase, focusing on enhancing survival abilities, with more diverse talents compared to other systems."

However, this sequence somewhat depended on talents, and not everyone could grind out a "balanced" god-like skill.

Moreover, even after awakening, the combat power of the Intelligence System hadn't significantly improved.

It seems this sequence is not newbie-friendly.

Following a career path in lifestyle professions might still be okay, but pursuing a battle career heavily relies on external aids, which could prove to be costly.

"Xiao Qi."

As Chu Guang called out, Xiao Qi's voice drifted from aside.

"I'm here, master."

Chu Guang marked the document and leaned back in his chair.

"The content in this document, help me compile it, and update it to the official website's setting collection."

"The Alpha1.0 version will have 300 newcomers, this information should be able to help them a bit."

After hearing Chu Guang's instructions, Xiao Qi said with full enthusiasm.

"No problem, leave it to Xiao Qi!"

As soon as the words fell, a cute little Kali popped up on the desktop, giving him a thumbs up to cheer him on.

Although it was most likely a stolen emoji from the forum, Chu Guang couldn't help but crack a smile, feeling the fatigue of a day's work being dispelled a lot.

Turning off the emoji, Chu Guang was about to edit the New Year's event copy.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the office.

After knocking twice, Dr. Yin Fang pushed open the door and came in.

He was holding a round silver-white earphone in his hand, which appeared to be made of aluminum alloy, not very heavy, and reasonably compact, covering about half an ear when worn.

There was a camera at the front end of the earphone, aligned vertically with the earlobe, facing forward when worn.

To take a photo, one just needed to press a button on the side of the earphone. For video, a two-second long press would do, and pressing it again would turn it off.

Dr. Yin Fang placed the headphones on Chu Guang's desk and continued,

"I've made the headphones you wanted, and based on your instructions, I've added communication features to the existing camera and photo functions."

"However, I must remind you that the VM, that is, the vital signs monitor, has a very broad signal range, which can extend up to twenty kilometers, but the bandwidth for data transmission is quite small. Text and images are fine, but if you need to transmit audio, or even video, you might need to prepare a portable radio set for it."

Chu Guang tried to understand this explanation.

In simple terms, the headphones were paired with the VM and utilized the VM's communication chips and signal transmitters among other components, which is why they could be made so compact.

Nevertheless, the VM was essentially a survival tool designed for wearers to be located by rescue personnel. Stability and reliability were its primary features, which made it unsuitable as a tool for long-distance, large-scale data transmission.

Using the VM's signal transmitter, the headphones could facilitate communication within a small team, and making contact with Outpost Base several kilometers away might just be possible, but hosting a live broadcast would be challenging.

Unless, of course, you were very close to a signal tower, or you equipped your team with a mobile radio station that had stronger, more professional signal reception and transmission capabilities.

Solving this issue wasn't difficult, as long as there wasn't a deliberate pursuit of high integration or compactness. Even relatively "primitive" radio devices would work.

Not just a mobile radio station, Chu Guang also planned to build another signal tower at Changjiu Farm to extend coverage north of Elm District to provide information services for players exploring farther areas.

After examining the headphones on the desk for a moment, Chu Guang looked towards Dr. Yin Fang and asked,

"Is this the only one?"

"There are five in total."

Dr. Yin Fang took out four more headphones from his pocket and placed them on the table, sighing softly,

"The design blueprints are already uploaded to your computer, including the portable radio station. You can find someone to replicate them; it's not very difficult... so please, don't bother me about these things anymore. There's a bunch of data to handle, and that robot, I'm almost too busy to manage it all."

While understanding that the scientific expedition team's workload was heavy, Chu Guang made a helpless expression since he was the only one in the shelter knowledgeable enough to handle those complex carbon-based circuit boards.

"I'll try my best," he said.

After Dr. Yin Fang left, Chu Guang looked at the blueprints he had sent. The content was very detailed,
including where to collect the necessary materials, how to process them, and the way to assemble them.

Later, Chu Guang planned to find a few survivors knowledgeable about radio communications to try replicating several sets based on the blueprints and distribute them to frontline squad leaders to facilitate unified command.

After recording his plan in his work journal, Chu Guang continued to edit the copy for the New Year's event.

["Wasteland OL" First Annual New Year Celebration!]

[Notice: New Year's Day is an important festival in the Wasteland! To celebrate another year of survival and pray for good fortune in the coming year, scavengers in the Wasteland often head out a week in advance to forage, searching for ingredients for their New Year's feast!

What magical delicacies will make it into this year's recipes? What miraculous creatures will be eaten into extinction next year?

A mysterious gift is prepared for all participating residents by the Manager, and participation guarantees a reward!

Moreover, the winner of the contest will earn the glorious title of "Wasteland Gourmet" and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame!

A reminder from the Manager: Safety always comes first!

Don't get sick from eating bad food at any cost!

Unless you want to miss out on the celebration!

]

[Event Start Date: Wasteland Era Year 211, December 25 to Wasteland Era Year 212, January 1]

[Requirement: Use easily obtainable ingredients from the Wasteland to create simple yet delicious dishes.]

After reviewing the event plan from start to finish, Chu Guang's face showed a pleased expression.

Not bad!

The only slight disappointment was that this significant festival activity happened to not include donation options.

If they added a donation bar, it would be just like the games from Goose Factory and Pig Factory!

To prevent players from acting recklessly, causing non-combat casualties, after a lot of thought, Chu Guang decided to appoint Crow as the taste tester.

He believed that Crow Boss, always eager to help, would be happy to take on this task.

"This way, it's foolproof!"

The day after tomorrow was the 25th.

After completing the final edits to the event plan, Chu Guang clicked the mouse twice, setting the sending time to tomorrow evening, then yawned, stretched, and headed to his room to sleep.

...

Perhaps due to his recent exertions, Chu Guang had a long dream that night.

However, this dream wasn't a nightmare, just bizarre.

The person chasing him for his DNA transformed from Heya wielding a syringe to Boss Xia.

After waking up bathed in sweat, Chu Guang waited until the peak of the players' log-ins and log-outs had passed before heading to Level B3.

Medical laboratory.

Miss Heya, with her silver hair, was observing the specimen slides collected by the players.

Seeing Chu Guang arrive, she immediately stopped her work, skillfully turned on the scanner beside her, and patted the pillow.

"Come on, lie down here."

Perhaps because she had been observing specimens just a second ago, Chu Guang always felt her gaze on him was a bit too "intense."

But with Xiao Qi around, Chu Guang wasn't worried about anyone in the shelter causing him harm.

Seeing that the specimen had obediently lain down on the scanning bed, Heya hurried to the terminal at the head of the bed and tapped a few buttons on the touchscreen.

With a faint sound of electric currents, the scanning device quickly started working.

After a short wait, the organized attribute panel appeared in front of Chu Guang.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Stage 2)

Level: LV.14→LV.15

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 17

Agility: 11

Constitution: 15→16

Perception: 12

Intelligence: 14

]

Perhaps due to his recent effective training, his level had increased by one, now reaching LV15.

"I wonder if I will awaken again when I reach LV20."

Chu Guang's gaze rested on the suffix "Stage 2" within parentheses after the gene sequence.

Stage 1 at LV1, Stage 2 at LV10, by analogy, could Stage 3 be at LV20?

Moreover, although he still hadn't figured out the upgrading pattern of the Manager sequence, Chu Guang could clearly feel that leveling up was becoming increasingly difficult.

"It's incredible… Your physical values far exceed those of a normal person; how did you manage that?!"

Sitting at the terminal by the scanning bed, Heya looked at Chu Guang incredulously, her face brimming with intense interest.

As for his surprise, Chu Guang was already used to it.

He sat up from the bed and straightened his collar, casually replying.

"I'd like to know too; why don't you research it for me?"

Heya nodded and said,

"No problem, but before that… I have something here that you might be interested in."

Chu Guang gave her an inquiring look.

"What is it?"

"Research on the Mucor species variants…"

Saying this, Heya took a tablet altered from a VM by her side and turned it towards Chu Guang.

"Based on the tissue samples provided by your 'players,' my previous speculations were confirmed. Many Mucor species variants, including Eaters, Crawlers, Martyrs, and Tyrants, are not just offshoots of the mutated slime fungus; their morphology, predatory behavior, and all physiological phenomena and biological actions are, in fact, mimicking us."

Chu Guang raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Us?"

"Humans, but not limited to humans, even including… machines."

Heya nodded gently, paused for a moment, and then continued,

"For instance, the Tyrant… I found a highly similar form to the Eaters inside it, while the outer layer had a completely different hardened sporocarp structure. This also caused it to continue hunting and release spores using the organic matter obtained from its prey to spread the slime fungus and slowly repair the damaged sporocarps, even if the damage to its outer sporocarps reached up to 90%."

"Doesn't that sound quite unexpected?"

Seeing Chu Guang's growing expression of amazement, Heya enthusiastically continued with her astonishing findings.

"It's mimicking us; although the mimicry is clumsy, it's not entirely useless. It feels as if… um."

Furrowing her brow and pondering for a moment, Heya seemed to be figuring out how to describe her discovery.

However, Chu Guang understood it.

His adam's apple moved slightly as he tried to say,

"… like an exoskeleton or, let's say, power armor made of biotic material wrapped around an Eater?"

Heya's eyes lit up, and she snapped her fingers saying,

"Exactly, that's the feeling! Isn't it amazing? No wonder those people are always clamoring to go out, the outside world is simply too unbelievable…"

Heya continued excitedly.

However, joy and sorrow are not communicated, and Chu Guang could not share her delight in discovering new species, even feeling a bit of a headache.

A self-repairable biotic armor and the astonishing mimicry exhibited by those slime fungi… what exactly is this creature?

"Is there any way to turn those slime fungal sporocarps into something edible?" Chu Guang interrupted Heya's enthusiastic rambling, seriously looking at her as he asked.

Heya was slightly stunned, looking at him with a lack of understanding.

"Something edible? Why would you want to eat such a thing…"

Chu Guang heaved a gentle sigh.

"Because I can't think of a better way."

——

(The weather has turned cooler, and I've caught a slight cold. Today there's only one update, but I'll aim for ten thousand words tomorrow… Apologies to the brothers waiting for the update; I'm truly sorry T.T. New plots and new chapters, I need to think it over)

Chapter 220: Delicacies Battle!

Noon.

Linghu Wetland Park.

Due to last night's blizzard, the pine forest was covered in a white blanket, with the dazzling snow shining brightly under the noon sun.

A young man was panting lightly, stealthily exhaled white mist, and looked up toward the south entrance of the park.

Twisted rebar hung with icicles, with a wooden plank wide as a table anchored at the highest point, bearing a series of numbers.

"404."

He stared at the wooden sign for a while before Yu Hu softly read out the numbers.

This was a method taught by Old Charlie, and it had recently become a habit.

The idea was to silently read out any words seen on the road that one could recognize and quietly count the strokes in one's mind.

The more one recognized, the more familiar one became.

This method proved quite effective. Recently, he had learned to write his own name, Little Fish, as well as those of his parents, his brother, and his sister-in-law, in addition to basic numbers and arithmetic operations.

A few months earlier, these skills would have marked him as an educated man on Bet Street.

But now, they were fairly average.

Lately, the town's passion for learning was extraordinarily high, especially among the young men, who, having heard about the new industrial area's benefits from Niu Li and others, practically lived in the literacy classes, reluctant to leave.

Of course, part of the reason might have been that it was warmer inside the castle—anyone who visited once didn't want to leave.

The most dangerous part of the journey was now behind him.

After a brief rest at the entrance of the park, Yu Hu tightened the rope on his shoulder and continued walking through snow that reached past his knees.

Trekking through the snow with game was not an easy feat, but for a seasoned hunter, it posed no issue.

He made a raft from wooden planks and strapped the mutated wild boar he had hunted to it, dragging it behind him with ropes.

This way, he didn't have to worry about the game freezing stuck in the snow—it was much easier and safer than dragging the game directly.

As long as he was careful with his steps and didn't wander onto unfamiliar paths, there essentially were no problems.

After passing through a few hundred meters of forest, the view suddenly opened up.

Rows of snow-covered wooden stakes stood in an open field outside the trench, leading to the Outpost Base's enclosing wall and south gate. Behind it lay houses built by the Blue Jacket group and Brother Chu's home.

Compared to a month ago, the changes here were enormous.

The tall chimney behind the wall and the clinking and clanging sounds of smithing were gone, along with the trees outside.

In their place were uniquely styled cottages and stone-paved straight streets, as well as an increasing number of people and a richer variety of goods on the stalls.

Yu Hu, who wasn't very literate and had only recently started to recognize some words, couldn't think of any fancy words to describe these houses; he simply thought they looked rather nice.

Some houses had upturned eaves, a mix of brick and wood, square and dignified. Others were cylindrical, stacked with stone bricks, solemn and mysterious.

Though different in style, these houses were all neatly arranged, and none was taller than the central dwelling of the settlement—the roof of the sanatorium.

Yu Hu didn't know what those houses were used for. He only recognized the warehouse and that small wooden hut wrapped in vines, elegantly and uniquely adorned.

He had bought clothes there once and also purchased two meters of fabric for his family; it seemed that his sister's scarf had also been made there.

Occasionally, when a beautifully furred game was caught, Yu Hu would first bring it here to inquire. The shop owner, looking like a child, would offer a slightly better reward than the nearby warehouse.

According to what Brother Chu said, as long as he brought items here for trade, he could help him out, so Yu Hu didn't mind much who he sold to.

But he decided to pass on the wild boar.

Yu Hu thought that the adorable little shop owner probably didn't need such rough leather, so he dragged the wild boar directly to the warehouse.

He dropped the rope at the entrance, just as he was about to ask the steward to help weigh the game, he suddenly saw a familiar face from behind the wooden table.

The man saw him too, his eyes instantly lit up with joy.

"Yu Hu?"

"Zhao Mouse?" Yu Hu looked at him in surprise. "Aren't you at the brick factory?"

While talking, Yu Hu glanced at the fur coat Zhao Mouse was wearing and a hint of envy appeared on his face.

This guy seems to be doing well.

He even got new clothes!

Seeing the surprised expression on his fellow villager's face, Zhao Mouse chuckled smugly and said.

"Recently, the base has been doing lots of construction. Both the warehouse and dormitory are being expanded, and they're short on hands. The conditions looked good, so I volunteered to transfer from the brick factory!"

Actually, he didn't want to come.

At the brick factory, although he earned a few less silver coins, it was always as warm as spring. Plus, there were always people with their faces full of stories brought in to work.

Those old guys each had their own talents, were pleasing to listen to, and especially loved to boast.

They'd start with "back in my day," and finish with "it's a long story." When asked where they came from, if not mercenaries from Wandering Swamp, then Centurions from the far west…all from places he had never even heard of.

Zhao Mouse had never left Qingquan City his entire life; the farthest he'd ever been was to the dungeons of the Blood Hand Clan, and he vaguely remembered their leader allegedly claiming to be a Centurion?

At his peak, that bear-like man, commanding around a hundred people, roamed wildly and committed all kinds of evil in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

But what was the use?

In the end, he was wiped out by those Blue Jackets, and now he was probably working in the mines of Red River Town, whether he was still alive or not, who knows.

So... a Centurion is just in charge of a thousand people?

That's absurd!

Zhao Mouse pondered; all the people he'd seen in his entire life might not even add up to a thousand. He had a headache just trying to remember the names of a few dozen people. Could he really keep track of so many?

Overall, Bull Horse Brick Factory had been a good place. Even if he didn't believe those old guys' tall tales, Zhao Mouse still loved listening to them boast.

If he hadn't been planning to move his family from Bet Street here next spring, taking advantage of the base's northern expansion to settle down in a new house, he would have wanted to stay in that summer-like pleasant place forever.

It was simply paradise.

"...enough about me, how about you? How bad was the blizzard's impact? And how is my family doing?" After sharing his own situation, Zhao Mouse eagerly asked Yu Hu about his family's circumstances.

Last night's blizzard had blown away another house's roof, making him so worried he couldn't sleep all night.

"We're doing pretty well over there. Your old man asked me to tell you, don't worry about home and take good care of yourself..." After conveying the message from Zhao Mouse's father, Yu Hu and his fellow villager continued discussing the recent situation on Bet Street.

Although this winter was colder than anyone had anticipated, with the blizzard fiercely howling enough to chill one's blood, thanks to the help from those Blue Jackets, they had moved into uniform brick-wood houses early on and the disaster wasn't as severe as last year.

"If it had been that shack before, it would have been hard to say; likely, many would have died."

In the toughest of days, Old Charlie allowed those poor souls whose houses had been collapsed by the blizzard to move into the former mayor's castle, while organizing teams to repair the damaged homes.

Under the organization of the street office, everyone united in the face of difficulties.

It turned out that without the old mayor's rule, they only fared better.

After listening to Yu Hu's description, Zhao Shu's face was filled with emotion.

"It's simply unimaginable in past years."

Yu Hu nodded deeply in agreement.

"Yeah."

When the old mayor's family was still around, just surviving took all their effort; how could they afford such comfort as now?

Not to mention opening the castle doors to let the disaster victims in.

Even when the victims gathered together to help themselves, the old mayor would send his lackeys, who only dared to bully their own people, to disperse them.

"Speaking of which, Yu Hu."

"What's up?"

Zhao Shu hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Why don't you come here too?"

Before Yu Hu could respond, Zhao Shu continued to persuade him.

"Life here is way better than on Bet Street, and everywhere is short-staffed. With your hunting skills, you'll definitely find work here! You'd surely do better than me!"

Honestly, seeing the changes here, Yu Hu truly felt tempted.

After all, he hadn't yet settled down; moving out would mean one less mouth to feed at home.

However, after some thought, he ultimately shook his head.

"...Never mind."

Zhao Shu was stunned, not expecting him to refuse, and quickly asked,

"Why not?"

Yu Hu earnestly responded,

"You mentioned it yourself, my hunting skills are all I have. This terrible weather doesn't help, and I might not catch even a single game in weeks. Rather than being a burden here, I'd be better off staying home learning more characters, that might even prove useful."

What kind of reason is that?

Hearing Yu Hu's words, Zhao Shu's face wore an incredulous smile.

"Man, your neighboring granary is almost full. They won't miss what you're eating! Besides, learning to read doesn't have to be at Bet Street; factories here and the security team have night schools too!"

"That won't do either," Yu Hu stubbornly said, "Brother Chu has already helped our family so much; how could I take advantage of him!"

Seeing how obstinate he was, as stubborn as a stone, Zhao Shu shook his head and sighed.

"You... never mind, I can't convince you."

Yu Hu scratched his head and chuckled.

"You don't need to persuade me; I know what I'm doing. Besides, Brother Chu told me to come in the spring next year. He'll find something for me then; I'll just come when it's time!"

Brother Chu was so clever, surely he must have everything well arranged.

Following his advice would certainly be right!

The two gave up talking about moving. With Zhao Shu's help, Yu Hu weighed the mutated wild boar and promptly delivered it to the slaughterhouse.

Blue Jacket, holding a slaughter knife, stood at the chopping board. He expertly removed sinews, peeled off the skin, and extracted the meat. He tossed the bones and offal into a bucket; his movements were so swift they dazzled the onlookers.

Now, the price for game was much higher than before. The purchase price for mutated wild boar hides increased from 10 silver coins to 20 silver coins which could be exchanged for a full 400 grams of coarse salt!

Previously, although salt was cheaper, it could only be exchanged for 300 grams at most.

The same was true for meat prices. The price for goods here had nearly doubled, but the prices for hunting catches had risen accordingly, so it didn't affect him much.

More goods could be exchanged with game catches, certainly a boon.

The raw hide was stored away, soon a leatherworker would come to collect it. The raw meat was divided into two portions, the larger share was Yu Hu's and the smaller was the slaughtering fee, as per the agreement, meant for the base's warehouse.

Zhao Shu flipped open the ledger, marked it, then seriously counted out 20 silver coins from the drawer, lining them up on the table.

"This is 20 silver, take good care of it."

Looking at the silver coins on the table, Yu Hu picked one up to examine and weighed it in his palm, asking curiously,

"Why did the design of these silver coins change?"

They were heavier than before and looked newer.

Zhao Shu explained.

"The Manager said that the old coins were inconvenient, from now on only these new silver coins will be used."

Although he couldn't articulate why they were inconvenient, that was the explanation given by the Manager.

"What about the old silver coins then?" Yu Hu remembered he still had some at home. If they were no longer valid, he needed to hurry and ask his older brother to exchange them all for salt.

Anticipating his question, Zhao Shu waved his hand and responded fluently,

"No worries, the Manager said both new and old coins will be accepted by the warehouse and the bank, but they won't provide them as change anymore."

Knowing this wouldn't impact his family, Yu Hu finally relaxed and put the silver coins in his pocket.

Watching Yu Hu pack up, Zhao Shu asked,

"Are you heading straight back?"

Yu Hu replied,

"I'm not in a rush; I'm going to check on my little sister later. Do you have anything you need me to take back for you? I can make a trip for you."

Zhao Shu continued,

"Nothing needed; our salary is now paid monthly... But could you pass a message to my family for me? Tell my dad and mom to take care of their health. In another two weeks, when it's my turn for a break, I'll make time to go home and visit."

Yu Hu nodded.

"Sure, I'll pass on your message."

Upon receiving this promise, Zhao Mouse's face lit up with a satisfied smile.

"Thanks!"

At that moment, several shelter residents ran over from a distance, pointing at the shelves and chattering about something.

Their voices were so excited, it was like they were arguing.

"I want pepper!"

"Me too!"

"Damn! No cutting in line, I was here first!"

Watching the Gnome King Riches snatch the foremost spot, Night Ten, who didn't outrun him, couldn't help but blurt out,

"What the hell does a hunter need pepper for?"

Brother Fu Gui rolled his eyes and retorted, full of righteousness,

"Mind your own business! Can't hunters be cooks?"

How could he, the Gnome King, miss an opportunity to enter the Hall of Fame!

Although he couldn't cook at all, it didn't matter!

Isn't cooking all about having hands?

With the right seasoning, how could the dishes not be delicious?

So, the key was to snatch those seasonings!

Zhao Mouse glanced down at his VM and skillfully took the last two bags of pepper from the shelf, handing them to the person in the front, and said in slightly off pronunciation,

"This is the last of it, there's no more."

Upon hearing these words, the people in the back instantly dispersed with disappointed faces.

Only the one who purchased, the Blue Jacket, happily said "thank you" and graciously pulled out his VM for payment before hurriedly walking away.

Watching the departing figure, Yu Hu curiously asked,

"What did he just buy? Salt?"

"It's 'pepper,' a kind of seasoning. Tastes weird, I don't really like it," said Zhao Mouse, pausing before adding, "unless it's on grilled meat."

Grilled meat.

Yu Hu unconsciously swallowed his saliva, thinking of the barbecue stall at the North entrance.

The food there tasted absolutely fantastic!

As he looked toward the North entrance, Yu Hu suddenly noticed an unusual bustle. Many Blue Jackets were scurrying about, some fetching items from the granary, others taking things to the granary, and some were moving wooden tables and tents from the carpentry hut.

Usually, that place only got busier in the evening. Why was it so busy at midday today?

"What's going on over there?" Yu Hu felt he was more curious today than he had been in the past week put together.

Zhao Mouse said with a smile,

"Over there? There's a celebration in a week!"

"Celebration?!" Yu Hu looked at Zhao Mouse in surprise, "Is someone getting married?"

A celebration a week in advance, it must be for someone of high status. Could it be...

Brother Chu?!

"No wedding, that's called... New Year's Eve!" Zhao Mouse struggled briefly to recall the term, "Those shelter residents plan to celebrate the new year's arrival. The last and first days of the year seem to be important celebrations for them. I don't understand it all, but I guess it's some kind of festive event."

Yu Hu knew about celebrations.

Like the recent one when the old town mayor's youngest son had just turned a month old. They gave them a Sheep Horn Potato and summoned them to the Castle to work for half a day for free.

Aside from the old mayor and his yes-men, no one was happy.

But...

Celebrating the New Year, being completely new for him, still piqued his curiosity.

Seeing Yu Hu's expression, Zhao Mouse chuckled,

"It's not even the busiest time yet. Wait till the last evening of December, you should come and see if you're free."

"I bet it'll be super lively!"

Yu Hu nodded vigorously, responding with interest,

"Ah! I'll remember that... but it might be inconvenient to go back at night?"

"Why go back? Just stay at my place," Zhao Mouse laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, "I have enough room in my dorm, you'll definitely fit!"

...

Frontline Base North entrance.

At this moment, it was extraordinarily lively.

Players were showing off their skills, either busy setting up stalls or stewing something in big pots; the whole North entrance was permeated with a peculiar smell that even the passing North Wind couldn't dispel.

Autumn Leaves blinked curiously next to her sister.

She had never seen such a bustling scene.

"Night Badger! Plain-Headed Bro from the wasteland! Anyone want it? Just caught outside Changjiu Farm! Set your price, hurry if you're buying."

"Street No.76 building sweep, any brothers getting on board? I heard there's a Hyena den there."

"Three-man team waiting for one Perception type, newbies welcomed."

"Old Na, what did you just throw into the pot?!"

"Crow Boss!! Help check if this has poison in it for Tail!"

"Check mine too!"

"Yikes!! Just leave it on the table, don't stuff anything into my mouth!" Crow's cries echoed across the Mushroom Beach, drawing the guards' eyes before they walked away, seeing there was no trouble.

Not far from the market entrance.

Gnome King Riches swaggered toward Night Ten with two bags of pepper powder in his hand, walking triumphantly towards his teammates, where Brother Mole and Elena were waiting.

Shoving the guy's back, Night Ten cursed and walked over to his teammates.

"Damn! Couldn't buy the seasoning! The pepper was completely sold out, which is just ridiculous!"

When did these people get so rich?

Pepper powder at 1 silver per gram, and someone went and bought two whole packets. That's just excessive!

Old White comforted him.

"It's okay, if we didn't get it, we didn't get it; we might not even need it in the end."

Wild Wind also added.

"Yeah, we should stick to simple ingredients; I think that way we have a higher chance of winning."

Running out of seasoning was something Wild Wind had expected.

After all, the event's rewards included a yearly exclusive title and an entry into the Hall of Fame.

The competition was going to be fierce; it only made sense, since everyone wanted to be number one, it was right there.

If no one competed, Wild Wind would have to wonder if he was really playing on the official server.

At this moment, there was a Crack Claw Crab lying next to them.

Passing rookies couldn't help but glance over, feeling envious and secretly cursing those lucky Europeans.

Even with the roads buried in the deep winter, they managed to find a Crack Claw Crab's burrow.

If not a stroke of luck, then what?

Carrying a bag of flour from the north entrance, Zhang Hai saw the huge crab and his eyes nearly popped out.

He walked up for a closer look and couldn't help but ask.

"Where did you get such a big crab?"

Night Ten didn't hide it, lazily boasting.

"Northern shore of Diamond Lake has a cave with a hibernating Crack Claw Crab. We saw it sleeping and took the chance to smack it right in the face."

Although it cost some money, it was well spent.

Zhang Hai cursed, "Damn it! Why do you always find such good stuff?"

Seeing his envious and resentful look, Night Ten chuckled.

"Maybe it's just luck?"

Zhang Hai: "#%@!"

Fang Chang and Tomato Scrambled Eggs stood together, looking down at the crab, discussing how to cook it.

One had a great appetite, the other a knack for cooking; together, they were quite the odd combo.

"I've thoroughly reviewed the event announcement. It requires the dish to be 'simple yet tasty'. We should use ingredients that are easy to get, to increase our chances of winning," Fang Chang said.

Tomato Scrambled Eggs shook his head.

"Such a vague requirement."

Fang Chang pondered.

"True, and preserving the crab meat will be a challenge."

Even in winter, the meat from a hunted crab was hard to keep fresh until the third day, and by the fourth day, although not spoiled, the texture would be much poorer due to dehydration.

And now, there were still a whole seven days until New Year's Day!

Finding this Claw Crab was purely coincidental, he wasn't confident they could find another.

Tomato Scrambled Eggs touched his chin, then suddenly spoke.

"I have an idea about preserving the crab meat..."

Fang Chang looked at him.

"Oh?"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs continued.

"I once observed the laborers at the brick factory. They gather some grass from the lake to preserve fish that wasn't eaten immediately, keeping it fresh for the next two or three days. I don't know if it works on crab meat, but it's worth a try."

Fang Chang had never heard of such a peculiar plant.

"What grass?"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs said.

"The online encyclopedia calls it Buffalo Grass, but doesn't list specific effects."

Fang Chang immediately asked the key question.

"Can we find it in winter?"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs shook his head.

"Not sure, but when I first discovered this, out of curiosity, I gathered a lot, dried it, and stored it in my locker for later study. It hasn't been used so far."

Hearing this, Fang Chang got excited, enthusiastically saying.

"Good brother! The chance to use it has come!"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs scratched the back of his head.

"Even if we solve the preservation issue... What should we make with it? We can't just roast it over charcoal, right?"

Although that wasn't impossible, it lacked technical depth, making it hard to win a prize.

"That's easy to fix," said Fang Chang with a confident smile, continuing, "I noticed that the storehouse temporarily lifted the restrictions on green wheat and horned potatoes."

Tomato Scrambled Eggs paused, not understanding.

"What do you mean..."

"It's obvious, the 'cheap yet tasty' answer lies in these ingredients! Why else would they lift the restrictions at this time?"

Fang Chang looked intently at his brother, continuing.

"Brother, have you ever heard of crab cakes?"

-

(Next chapter is a bit lengthy and content-rich; hand-disabled party dares not set flags again, but I'll try to get it done by eleven. If not by eleven, then probably by midnight. QAQ)

Chapter 221 New Year

North Gate.

Beneath the spacious shed, a long table was set up, flanked by two braziers, their charcoal burning vigorously.

Chu Guang, clad in blue power armor, stood inside the shed, looking at the little players bustling about the fair, his face showing the smile of an indulgent father.

Not bad.

Drawing up a plan for the players to cook for themselves, that truly was the work of a planner.

Initially, Chu Guang thought the festival would deplete a lot of stock, but it appeared his worries were unwarranted.

Those little players had obviously read his event description multiple times and even dug out things he wanted to express but was too modest to write down, all from the perspective of the game's setting.

Wasteland foodies, huh.

Naturally, they had to use "authentic" wasteland food.

How else could he claim his cooking was the "true essence of the wasteland"?

Crispy stove-cooked cricket meat, deep-fried mutant cockroach legs, leeches hopping about in the pot, and glowing bloodworm meat patties, bring them all on!

Of course, Chu Guang himself wouldn't eat them.

He didn't have many lives to spare.

It was better to eat something healthy and hygienic.

There were three awards for the competition.

One for the food heartily embraced by Waste Land Wanderers, one from the players' point of view, and another approved by the almighty Manager.

The criteria for the three awards were different, and so were the judging panels, but the prizes were more or less the same.

Namely, a hefty amount of activity points!

An exclusive title!

And entry into the Hall of Fame, to shine brightly on the forum!

Like prior events, completing tasks during the event earned points, which could be used to exchange for limited-event rewards and a New Year's red envelope—which was essentially just a repackaged lottery.

Prizes included but were not limited to a first prize of 666 silver coins, and a grand prize—a Carbon Nanotube Bulletproof Vest worth 6666 silver coins.

This item had never been listed in the NPC shops; its price was arbitrarily set by Chu Guang, who figured nobody would argue even if he added another zero.

Besides the lottery, what really interested the players were the exclusive title and the chance to enter the Hall of Fame.

Furthermore, according to the Manager herself, whoever won the "Wasteland Gourmet" title would have their recipes included in the menu for this year's New Year's Eve banquet.

For life-skill players, this was a huge temptation.

In their struggle for this title, nearly all spices except salt were bought out from the warehouse.

This forced Chu Guang to temporarily adjust his event strategy, removing spices from the warehouse shelves to instead be distributed as task completion rewards.

Thanks to this change, the daily active tasks had been progressing remarkably well, and he, as the Manager, had earned quite a number of reward points from the system.

To satisfy the players' cooking needs, Chu Guang had spent nearly all his points on beginner Blind Boxes these past few days and had inadvertently acquired a good number of high-yield crop seeds.

This was an unexpected gain.

Looking at the wooden plaque on the table, Xia Yan, confused, turned to Chu Guang and asked,

"What's a judge?"

She had never heard such a strange term before.

After pondering briefly, Chu Guang explained,

"Simply put, you walk around the North Gate, pick any food that looks good, bring a portion back, and if it tastes good, just give it a thumbs up."

Of course, they had to let Crow taste it first.

As a Perception-type player, her Talent was Toxin Intuition—she could spot inedible things instantly.

Plus, with her low Constitution score, if she could eat something without issues, it was likely safe for others too.

Crow, appointed as the "taster," was thrilled.

Chu Guang could still remember how the little player had assured him, patting her chest, that she would do her utmost to maintain order during the festival and pleaded with him to entrust her with this "honorable and challenging" task.

"Ah, I see." Xia Yan nodded, still dazed.

So, to sum it up... Just grab whatever food you like?

Eat and drink for free without spending a dime?

That's way too awesome, isn't it!?

Sitting behind the long table, Little Fish appeared somewhat uneasy.

She sneaked a glance at Brother Chu and whispered,

"But... is it really okay not to pay?"

Honestly, it was a somewhat superfluous question.

"What? Pay the judges for eating?"

"Isn't it generous enough not to charge an entry fee?"

"Not to mention that entering the contest itself earns reward points, so even the poorest consolation prize should easily cover the meal costs."

Chu Guang had planned to say this, but seeing the guilty look on Little Fish's face, he changed his words at the last second.

It was okay for the Dog Plan alone.

But he couldn't set a bad example for the children.

"This is part of the celebration activities, and the expenses will be covered by Shelter No. 404... you could think of it as the payment already being made."

He paused for a moment.

Watching Little Fish's bewildered face, Chu Guang smiled gently and continued.

"Remember to say 'thank you' before tasting."

"They'll be happy all day."

Boss Xia, standing by with his arms crossed, nodded somewhat understandingly.

He got it.

It wasn't freeloading.

It was public funds eating and drinking.

The New Year's food contest was in full swing, with both lifestyle and combat professional players giving their all to earn a limited title.

The event continued until the last day of December.

It was a rare clear day.

The howling north wind and the blizzards were at their last, and the harsh winter seemed to be coming to an end.

Everything indicated that dawn was near, and victory was at hand!

To welcome the upcoming year 212 of the Wasteland Era, Outpost Base was festooned with lights, creating a lively atmosphere.

Many houses had red paper pasted at the doors and big red cloth strips and ribbons hung.

To enhance the festive mood further, Chu Guang had specifically issued a task that led to the carpentry workshop making more than forty lanterns, hanging them from the nursing home square all the way to the north gate market.

Dusk approached.

More than forty lanterns lit up.

The hazy light, complemented by the blazing torches, added a festive air to the lively Outpost Base.

Chu Guang found his players to be simply brilliant.

Within just a week and under resource constraints, his players had incredibly unlocked hundreds of recipes.

Some of the creative ideas even made him marvel.

Like Teng Teng.

Reportedly having obtained experience from the Nomads, with the help of Autumn Grass and Autumn Leaves, she concocted a gelatin from Devil Moth pupae to create a dessert similar to "Jelly Brady."

The dish was translucent and white, soft and jiggly, tasting like jelly. If not specifically pointed out, no one would associate it with Devil Moth.

Unsurprisingly, this delicacy won the "Most Popular Wasteland Food" among players.

It cleverly found a balance between Old Na's pepper-salt grilled mantis legs and some of the "real-world delicacies" that had nothing to do with the Wasteland at all.

Its taste and texture were fairly good too, fitting the "neutral order" category.

It was only a pity that there was no chili sauce, or else it would have been even more delicious.

However, not everyone was pleased with such an outcome.

Especially those who had come "just a bit short" of winning the competition…

"Damn! Why am I not the Wasteland Gourmet? It was so delicious!"

"Exactly!"

"That's so unfair!"

The award ceremony had ended at noon, and now was the time for celebration.

Not giving up, Brother Mole, Gnome King Riches, and Old Na grilled all the leftover mantis legs, trying to prove themselves with the taste.

But alas, their stalls were sparsely visited, hardly drawing any customers.

Even after confirming there were no toxins, Crow still shook her head like a rattle drum.

"Sorry, it just physically doesn't sit well with me; I really can't accept this type of food!"

Kind-hearted Miss Teng Teng took a closer look, thinking of buying some to comfort them, but still ended up quietly asking before paying,

"So… this really doesn't have any Iron Worms in it?"

Hearing this, Brother Mole felt as if salt was being rubbed into his wounds, and he said with a mournful face.

"Where are there so many Iron Worms! Not every mantis has Iron Worms!"

Gnome King Riches: "Exactly! It's all blasted up! And it wasn't poisonous, right?"

Elena: "Damn! Do you know how hard it is to look for these things in the dead of winter!"

"Sorry sorry, I...I won't ask anymore..." Teng Teng hurriedly pulled out her VM, though she didn't know why she was apologizing, but she paid anyway.

Unable to stand by any longer, Night Ten walked over and patted Elena on the shoulder, sighing.

"Let it go, Old Na, just give up. Don't struggle anymore."

Elena said with grief and indignation, "No way! I'm not logging off until I sell everything!"

Night Ten silently let go of her hand.

Well, damn.

So she was ready to pull an all-nighter...

...

The most recognized delicacy award among the players was effortlessly seized by Teng Teng.

The food that won the approval of NPCs like Boss Xia, Little Fish, Yin Fang, Heya, the guards, and the Warehouse Manager was the "Mushroom Cloud Cake" made by Crow.

Being a taste tester herself, she also participated in this competition.

Using eggs bought from the Frost Spear Clan mixed with white sugar to beat egg whites, Crow skillfully used a round-tipped piping bag to shape them into delicate mushroom caps and sprinkled chocolate bits all around.

The whole cake looked just like a mushroom cloud, with the chocolate bits forming a nuclear crater. It could barely be considered Wasteland-style food.

But honestly, in Chu Guang's view, this was nothing but a gimmick.

Chocolate, white sugar, and eggs were all bought and far from cheap.

Although Chu Guang emphasized that he wanted cheap yet delicious food, the NPCs were all won over by the taste of chocolate and had no interest in the Wasteland-style food.

Seeing the gleaming eyes of Little Fish, Chu Guang didn't have the heart to veto it outright, so he kept quiet.

Fortunately, he had anticipated discrepancies in the voting results, so he had set up a third prize—"The Most Approved Delicacy by the Manager."

He personally awarded this prize.

The winning food was the "Crack Claw Crab Meat Pie" from the Beef-Cow Squad.

400g of Crack Claw Crab meat mixed with 450g of green barley flour, 10g salt, a bit of Buffalo Grass powder, and white berry juice resulted in exactly one kilogram of crab meat minced.

These meat pies, made from this mince, neither had the oxalic acid taste of green barley nor lost the flavor of the crab meat; they were undoubtedly delicious.

Large in quantity, satiating, and easy to preserve, Chu Guang, without a second thought, awarded the prize to its inventors.

As it was a team effort, only the chief cook's name, Stir-fried Egg and Tomato, would be displayed on the main page of the Hall of Fame, while the rest of the collaborators' names would be listed on a secondary sub-page.

The collaborators had no objections to this arrangement as their names were already in the Hall of Fame.

They had decided to give this rare opportunity to Brother Stir-Fried Egg after discussing it among themselves.

Standing at the northern gate of the base.

Chu Guang, in his power armor, announced the final results of the competition with a booming voice and then raised his glass to the crowd at the celebration.

"Enjoy the last day of the New Year!"

"Let's toast to a bountiful year ahead!"

He had many things he wanted to say.

But seeing the excited faces of the little players, Chu Guang suddenly felt that a lengthy lecture would be somewhat redundant at this moment.

Better to give them the time.

He should just silently remain a handsome and impressive NPC.

As his words ended, the marketplace at the northern gate instantly burst into cheers, and wooden cups were raised high.

"Arrr arrr arrr!"

"The planner is awesome!"

"Woo woo woo, I don't have to eat takeout alone on New Year's Day this year!"

"Nah, brother, even if you take off the helmet, you still gotta eat."

"Okay, stop, or I'll start crying."

There were probably about 500 players who chose to celebrate the festival in the game, almost all of whom were here.

As for the other 300 players, either they had matters to attend to in reality or were with their families, probably coming only after tomorrow noon.

Not just the players, but the NPCs who attended the celebration were also visibly happy and joyful.

So this is what a celebration feels like.

So this is what a festival is!

Life seemed to have a new hope, even though they hadn't realized it, a sense of cultural identity was gradually taking shape in their hearts.

Chu Guang pulled out the last few barrels of red wine from the storage, giving everyone a small cup.

Although everything had been distributed, Chu Guang didn't mind.

For one, he had already decided to drink less in his lifetime, avoiding it whenever possible.

Besides, the liquor was stolen from Old Leech's cellar anyway, so it didn't matter if it was finished.

There would be new supplies next year.

"Cheers! Burp—"

Boss Xia, excitedly holding his glass, gulped it down and staggered over with a red face asking Chu Guang if there was any left, perfectly embodying the phrase "bad at drinking but loves it anyway."

Sitting beside the fire pit, Little Fish sipped her milk and glanced at Xia Yan with a worried look, fearing she might pass out from drinking just like last time.

Yin Fang stared at his glass for a while, sniffed it, frowned as he drank it all, and then muttered to himself as he returned to Shelter No. 404 to continue his research.

Heya, after finishing her drink in one gulp, showed no change in expression and stood there, interestedly watching the lively scene among the players and Waste Land Wanderers.

For her, who had grown up in the shelter, everything here was utterly fascinating.

Be it DNA or culture.

Having given his own glass to Boss Xia, Chu Guang glanced at her empty-handed and looked a bit surprised.

"I didn't expect you to hold your liquor so well."

Heya didn't find anything hard to understand and naturally replied,

"After all, my liver and stomach and... all are biomechanical organs that can selectively absorb or not absorb at all."

Chu Guang: "…"

Well, that was a waste.

Not only at Outpost Base was the New Year being celebrated, Chu Guang, after announcing the start of the celebration, issued a mission through the VM, selecting a few minor players to go to a temporary shelter in an abandoned department store to bring New Year's blessings to the refugees there as well.

It wasn't much.

About 300 kilograms of crab meat pies.

Although each person could only get a small 200g piece of the pie, it was still Crack Claw Crab meat after all.

This New Year's gift from Shelter No. 404 was bound to bring them a bit of warmth.

...

"Damn it, why is the bear paw and catfish soup not working!"

The celebration had entered its latter half, Tail, devastated by the soon-to-cool pot of pitch-black fish soup, squatted down and drew circles in the snow with a tree branch.

Si Si comforted her by saying,

"I think the ingredients are fine; maybe there's something wrong with the cooking method... But why has the soup turned black? Wasn't it white before?"

"Please don't mind these details."

"No... I think it's better to figure it out."

Elena, who had eaten all the roast mantis legs while no one was paying attention and pretended that everything was sold out, happened to stroll over.

Seeing the pot stuffed with bear paws and fish heads that comprised the dark cuisine, she couldn't help teasing.

"You guys didn't stew Meat Meat, did you?"

Tail looked at her displeased.

"How could that be! Meat Meat can talk!"

And that was her mount!

She had just barely tamed it.

Si Si, standing beside Tail, sighed and said helplessly,

"It's not Meat Meat's hand, but it's somewhat related to Meat Meat. In short, Tail used Meat Meat as bait to lure the hibernating brown bear out of its cave, Emm... It was a bit chaotic at the time, so I won't go into details."

Elena scratched the back of her head: "Uh, while I'm curious about the details, maybe I shouldn't ask too many questions?"

The players around, who had overheard, all looked at Meat Meat with sympathetic eyes, only Meat Meat had nearly teary eyes.

"Wait a minute, you should clarify that! Everyone clearly misunderstood!"

Ignoring her teammates' clamor, Tail continued to mutter,

"Damn it, it tasted alright!"

Si Si patted her shoulder.

"Alright, alright, don't be sad... Ah, it looks like a mission has come up, and it seems to be a hidden one too, Ah Wei, do you want to come along?"

Upon hearing it was a hidden mission, Tail immediately sprang up, her eyes gleaming as she said,

"Yes!"

Si Si's face broke into a fatherly smile.

This kid was just too easy to coax.

Chapter 222 This is Too Peaceful

The logs piled up into a bonfire, burning brightly.

Sparks drifted into the sky with the heat waves.

Nomads beat their drums and played bone flutes in front of the fire, while young dancing girls, veiled in light gauzes, offered a dance on the snowy ground for the New Year.

Guards, workers living near Outpost Base, and players who loved to join in on the fun, brought delicacies and strong liquor from the market and joined the celebration.

Even though there was only one free cup of red wine, there was plenty of distilled spirits in the warehouse.

Long ago, players had used knotweed to ferment and sweet potatoes as ingredients to brew distilled spirits.

Compared to red wines that required time to savor, these fiery, blood-boiling spirits were indeed more popular among the Waste Land Wanderers.

However, drinking both red and white together really wasn't something many could handle.

In no time, the market by the northern gate was a scene of people staggering and sprawling.

Boss Xia wanted to drink more but ended up falling asleep on the table, snoring loudly.

Worried she might catch a cold, Little Fish, who was very caring, went to the bank to get a blanket and tiptoed to cover it over her shoulders.

A brazier was placed under the table.

Little Fish patted her back and said in a tone as if coaxing a child,

"Next time, don't drink so much, okay?"

However, Boss Xia, already asleep, clearly didn't take it in; she had no idea what pleasant dreams she was having, her lips slightly curled up, sucking noises escaping from her mouth.

"Hehe... I want more."

Not far away, a taste tester was desperately looking for a restroom.

Further away, there came a woeful howl like a duck's voice set on fire.

"Water! Burp—give me water!"

Makabazi lay on the ground shouting until a construction site boy stuffed a handful of snow into his mouth, which finally calmed the chap down physically.

Debt Giant Eye, with an expression of agony as if wearing a mask of pain, muttered to himself while clutching his belly.

"Damn it, what on earth did I eat that's making my stomach roar like this?"

Edge Shoveling looked at his protruding belly and couldn't help but make a snide remark.

"How much did you even eat?"

"Not much, just a little bit," Debt Giant Eye belched and said in a muffled voice, "Besides, why do I have to eat again in reality when I've already eaten in the Game?"

Edge Shoveling: "..."

Construction site boy with brick: "..."

Is this a question that the Intelligence System should be asking??

Drunk, Fang Chang leaned back in his wooden chair, starting his impromptu creation.

Listening to the blacksmith-like percussion and the lingering bone flute played by the nomads, he tapped the beat on the table with his index finger, humming an improvised song.

"Hmm hmm..."

"The gears of Heaven fall into the furnace."

"Boiling steel splashes from the crucible."

"The undying disaster never ceases to stride."

"We will forge anew the realm of mortals."

"..."

That dried-out, raspy voice, like a saw dragging over a violin, carried an unexpected rhythm against the rough background music.

It was like half a bottle of spirit burning down the throat.

Or the pounding hammers of a smithy's forge.

Fang Chang forgot the lyrics halfway through, and the players egging him on picked it up from there, stringing along line by line, and managed to scrape together a song.

However, as it went on, the style got more and more ludicrous, journeying from the sacred Terra all the way to Ionia, and the slogan "for the revival of United Human's great cause" turned into "living is for the sake of XX".

Despite not understanding a word of what the residents of the refuge were singing, the Indigenous People around them joined in with their chirps and hums.

The song dispersed the cold.

And it blew away the barriers between people.

Even though they had completely different cultures.

Their yearning for a good life and their pursuit of beautiful things were the same.

Faces warmed by the heat wave and firelight, everyone sitting together was indistinguishable at that moment, not caring about you or me.

Zhao Shu, drunk, patted Yu Hu on the shoulder, his face aglow in the firelight as red as a monkey's bottom.

"Good brother, what did I tell you? Life here is absolutely fantastic!"

Yu Hu had also drunk quite a bit and let out a tipsy belch.

"You're right..."

"Next year, I will definitely move here!"

On the snowy ground in front of the bonfire, a dance ended.

The shy girl from the Frost Spear Clan bowed slightly.

But the crowd wasn't ready to let her go just yet.

"Another one!"

"Choose the one in your heart!"

"Oh oh!"

Encouraged and egged on by the crowd, the young girl from the Frost Spear Tribe gathered her courage. Instead of picking her dream lover by the bonfire, she unexpectedly walked up to a deep blue power armor.

"May I have this dance with you?"

There was a hint of trepidation in her eyes, like a kid who had lost at truth or dare.

Chu Guang looked at her with slight surprise, then said in a gentle, jesting tone,

"I can't dance in this armor, go find someone who can keep up with your steps."

The young girl's face turned red, and she turned and fled like a startled animal.

Heya, who stood with arms crossed, observing from the side, curiously glanced at Chu Guang.

"Why not dance one?"

Somewhat dissatisfied with her look, as if observing the Animal World, Chu Guang rolled his eyes at her.

"Do you have any idea how much power it would drain to dance in this armor, which weighs over a ton?"

It wasn't impossible to move without the power on. It would be similar to weighted training, but even though seventy to eighty percent of the weight could be transferred to the support structure of the power armor, moving such heavy armor would still require a lot of strength without the help of motors.

And there was the risk of injuring others.

Chu Guang had reasons to stand there and just be a backdrop.

"But this way, you won't get to enjoy the festival," said Heya as a reminder.

"You don't understand, this is my way of enjoying the celebration."

For a Manager, what could be more pleasing than watching the Settlement undulating in song and dance, with the residents safe and content?

That is the highest form of enjoyment.

Heya fell into thought.

Her expression seemed to be recalling past events from Shelter No. 117.

Just then, a teasing remark from Yin Fang suddenly floated in from behind her.

"You've hurt the heart of a young girl."

Chu Guang didn't pay attention to his teasing, but rather looked at him strangely.

"How come you're back again?"

"I just went back to pick something up."

Yin Fang took out a small robot from behind him, its short, stubby legs wobbling, and its head blocky and square.

"The Academy doesn't celebrate the New Year; we only celebrate great discoveries, but it seems you have a tradition of celebrating the New Year here... Anyway, I've just finished it, so consider it a New Year's gift for you."

Chu Guang's face filled with surprise as he took the little robot from Yin Fang's hands.

Different from the previous one, the square head of this robot now had an additional camera.

Not only could it now laser-map the nearby terrain, but a user wearing a neural connection device could also share its vision through the robot's camera.

Although it was a minor change, the practicality had more than doubled.

This little robot was now much more impressive than the original!

Watching Chu Guang, who was interestedly fiddling with the robot in his hand, Yin Fang continued.

"Crawler—that's what I call it, or maybe you have a better name. Aside from an extra eye, there isn't much different from the original robot."

"Thank you," Chu Guang said, expressing sincere gratitude.

Yin Fang coughed lightly and said,

"There's no need to thank me; I just processed the materials that I got from you."

Just then, he remembered another important matter, so he added,

"Oh, right, its power source is a metallic hydrogen battery... your shelter seems to have a reserve of only about forty or fifty. You might want to get more if you have the chance; it's good stuff."

Chu Guang made a helpless expression.

"I know that without you having to tell me."

Metallic hydrogen batteries, containing several Class A technologies, were highly sought after everywhere.

Currently, Giant Stone City could only produce solid hydrogen batteries independently. To acquire metallic hydrogen batteries, one could only hope that the Commercial Teams from the East Coast would bring some.

Chu Guang had previously bought several dozen from the Pioneer to be used in exoskeletons.

However, what his players needed most at the moment were not exoskeletons but rather affordable and functional equipment, as well as the industrial Devices to produce such equipment—this project had been put on hold for that reason.

Looking at the robot in his hand, Chu Guang was suddenly reminded of a very serious matter.

"If this thing explodes..."

Yin Fang answered in a relaxed tone,

"It would be roughly equivalent to 6 kilograms of TNT; the power should cover... um, a football field?"

Chu Guang: "???"

What the fuck?!

Without a second word, he thrust the robot back into Yin Fang's hands and subtly shifted half a step sideways.

"You hold it for me for now."

Looking at the robot returned to his hands, Yin Fang was stunned for a moment, his face a mixture of laughter and helplessness.

"Don't get excited... it's not that easy to explode. And 6 kilograms of TNT is the theoretical equivalent. Without an initiator and oxidizer, it's impossible to reach that power... this isn't a bomb."

There's a gap of at least two B-class technologies between metallic hydrogen batteries and metallic hydrogen bombs; the oxygen in the air alone isn't enough to fully react with metallic hydrogen.

And you're wearing power armor, what are you afraid of?!

However, Chu Guang didn't seem to want to listen to his explanations and only wanted to keep some distance from the man.

Hmm.

Another rule needed to be added in the future.

No robots or exoskeletons powered by metallic hydrogen were allowed to stay in the refuge for an extended period.

...

Abandoned Department Store.

Over a thousand beds were crammed into the vast hall.

New Year's songs didn't drift here, no one sang, just the crackling burn of the furnace fire and mothers hushing their children to sleep.

This was a temporary shelter for the refugees; during the cold winter, they could only stay here for the time being.

Thanks to the firewood delivered by the Blue Jackets, the survivors temporarily living here used the wood to patch up broken walls and ground-floor doors and windows, which finally kept out the drafts.

The leftover wood was split into kindling or turned into charcoal and thrown into red brick stoves, along with some fire starters.

That raging flame brought a hard-to-come-by brightness and warmth to the spacious hall amidst the winter days.

Although the environment here was somewhat rudimentary, it at least offered shelter from snowstorms and hunger.

The refugees from the central and northern parts of River Valley Province, the survivors from Winter Willow Camp and the battery factory, were all grateful to those Blue Jackets.

The Chaotic army fleeing from the front lines, the raiders from the Chewing Bone Tribe, and others who brought chaos, had destroyed their homes, burned their crops and houses.

Were it not for the Blue Jackets, they might have frozen to death on the road or ended up in the raiders' cooking pots.

Of course, they could only speak for themselves.

Not everyone was grateful for their current situation.

Of the first batch of five Survivor Settlements planned for relocation, only two had actually been attacked by raiders, while the residents of the other three settlements had not even seen the shadow of raiders; they had moved here only out of fear.

More than a month had passed since the first blizzard, and although no one had died of cold, some had suffered from frostbite due to working in the cold.

The terrible weather showed no signs of abating, and supplies were increasingly tight, with rumors often circulating that food was running low.

Over time, it was inevitable that people would begin to grumble.

Was the relocation really necessary?

Those settlements that hadn't moved seemed to be doing quite well.

"I always worry that this building is going to collapse."

Looking at the flakes falling from the ceiling, a man wrapped in a tattered blanket couldn't help but say.

In fact, he didn't really think the building would collapse; he just wanted to vent his dissatisfaction with the terrible living conditions.

However, his words had an impact on those around him.

Looking at the dilapidated ceiling, many people showed concerned expressions, exchanging fearful glances and whispering to each other.

"How much longer do we have to stay here..."

"The Blue Jackets say it's spring."

"Why won't they let us move into Long Endurance Farm? This isn't what they promised at the start."

"They say there aren't enough houses..."

"Hmpf, it's not like we can't build our own homes. I think they just want to push the trouble further away."

Most of them were residents of Scavenger's Home and Hope Mountain Cooperative.

Compared to Winter Willow Camp, Battery Factory, and Highway Town, the locations of these two survivor settlements were a bit further south, one hidden on the edge of the city district and the other nestled in the woods.

Now, some people were starting to believe that perhaps the Looters might not find their homes so easily after all.

After all, they didn't have eyes in the sky, nor were all the survivor settlements destined to be raided...

Horse Occupy Hill, the village head of Winter Willow Camp, noticing the dissatisfaction spreading, immediately came out to pacify everyone, to avoid affecting his own people.

"Don't talk like that; it's been over two hundred years and it hasn't collapsed. How could it possibly collapse now?"

At this point, a discordant voice suddenly came from the sidelines.

"Hard to say."

"With the snow so heavy this year, what if it blows down the building?"

The speaker was Ding Tian from Scavenger's Home, one of the more influential scavengers there, and Horse Occupy Hill recognized him.

Watching him frown, Horse Occupy Hill said sternly,

"What are you trying to say?"

The man wrapped in a fur coat sneered.

"What do I want to say? I also want to ask, why are we here? To fight against those Looters from the north?"

"Or to labor for those Blue Jackets?"

Horse Occupy Hill was taken aback.

Before the elder could regain his composure, someone next to him chimed in.

"Maybe Chewing Bone Tribe won't come at all."

"That's right, aren't there still eight survivor settlements that haven't relocated? I think they are quite comfortable staying in their own homes..."

Although everyone here had food, staying wasn't without a cost.

They had to work in the factories and then receive a few coins whose use they didn't understand, hardly enough to buy what they needed.

Even though the Blue Jackets promised these coins would be useful next spring, to them, it seemed no different from pie in the sky.

Since the Blue Jackets were actually planning to pay them, why not use chips?

If nothing else, toilet paper from the East Coast would do—at least someone might want it.

Complaints were spreading.

This wasn't a one- or two-day affair.

Due to their fear of Chewing Bone Tribe, they accepted the arrangements of the Blue Jackets and moved here.

But a month had passed.

Many had not seen a Looter.

Aside from the intensifying blizzards and the bitter days without end, nothing happened.

Some even maliciously speculated whether from the very start, the so-called Chewing Bone Tribe's invasion of Qingquan City was a lie.

A sleeping child was woken by the noise, crying out, and the mother, flustered, tried to soothe the child, not daring to say anything to those making noise.

Watching several people grow increasingly agitated, some survivors who had seen it all and still bore the wounds wanted to argue but didn't dare to make a sound.

Then, someone stepped forward.

"My big brother died."

Perhaps it was the mention of death.

The noise paused.

Facing those pairs of eyes looking over, Ma Li was silent for a moment before he slowly continued.

"The Looters cut open his stomach with a bayonet because he refused to surrender."

Horse Occupy Hill sighed softly and closed his eyes in pain.

That was his child.

And it was the last thing he wanted to remember.

Ma Li paused before continuing.

"I only found out later, I had never even seen his body in the end."

"I haven't personally seen the Looters from Chewing Bone Tribe, only heard bits and pieces of their brutality."

"But if you say it's all lies, then tell me, where is my big brother? Where are those who couldn't make it here?"

"Expecting they won't come again is not just naive and ridiculous, but it doesn't even qualify as self-deception."

"Those residents of the refuge could have stayed out of it, just by shutting their gates—forget Chewing Bone Tribe, even if an army drove tanks up to their heads, they could comfortably wait for those people to die of old age before coming out."

Before the refuge decided to open up on its own, no one could open it from the outside.

On the Wasteland, this was universally accepted knowledge.

Seeing his supporters halve in an instant, Ding Tian stubbornly tried to say something, but a mother holding a child also came forward.

"I've seen it too."

She sat beside the group from Battery Factory.

Her voice trembled like an angry lioness, her eyes glaring at him steadily.

"We had already retreated to the warehouse, the Looters charging at us one by one to protect us... they died right in front of us."

The hall was silent.

Even the noisiest person, under the gaze of those pairs of eyes, involuntarily fell silent.

People remembered the terror of that day.

They also remembered those heroes.

Ding Tian's Adam's apple bobbed, a flash of embarrassed anger crossing his face.

He knew he was in the wrong.

But that didn't mean he liked being lectured.

Especially by someone who seemed much weaker than him.

Watching two groups in a standoff, Night Owl, with his arms crossed, shook his head, about to step forward to say something when he was stopped by Hooke standing beside him.

"What are you planning to do?" asked the limping old man, staring at him.

Night Owl replied bluntly.

"Someone has to intercede; I'm worried they might get into a physical conflict soon."

This is the Wasteland.

"Talking gets us nowhere. Fists are far more eloquent."

Standing to one side, Ye Nan shook his head gently at his son's words.

"This is not our concern."

"But..."

"Go notify the guards. Let them handle it."

It was at this moment that the front door of the department store's ground floor suddenly opened.

The howling north wind swept a few snow leaves inside.

Two guards wearing black coats and carrying rifles on their backs came in, carrying a metal frame that held some charcoal.

Following them were several residents of the refuge.

That exuberant disposition was so recognizable that they could be spotted even without the Blue Jackets.

"Happy New Year!"

"New Year's gifts! Sorry to have kept you all waiting!"

Cat Ears happily shook her head, only to knock her hat off. With a sesame paste-like sigh, she clumsily bent down to pick it up.

Tail, standing at the doorway, turned her head to glance at Si Si next to her.

"Tail thought it was some sort of mission, but it turned out to be a fetch quest."

What happened to the secret task!

She even brought her gear!

"Emmm... Si Si thinks that getting a bit of fresh air is better than having to log off because of an upset stomach," Si Si said.

Everyone in the lobby was taken aback.

Including the people who were confronting each other, they all froze.

They didn't understand a thing the Blue Jackets were talking about.

Luckily, at this moment, the guards who had set down the barbecue stand stepped in to save the day, speaking in United Human language.

"Today is the last day of the year 211!"

"The Manager sent me to deliver New Year's gifts to everyone as a thanks for your cooperation. We've made it through the toughest days."

The residents of the shelter whispered to each other.

"New Year... gifts?"

"What are those?"

This time they understood, but their faces were still blank.

The young guard didn't bother to explain and politely gestured for the "player" wearing a chef's hat to start.

The charcoal was lit; tomato and egg were brushed with oil on the grill, followed by the placement of palm-sized crab cakes.

"Please line up orderly, one by one."

"There's enough for everyone."

"Everyone will get a share!"

The guards maintained the order in the scene, guiding everyone into a long queue.

The sound of sizzling fat and the aroma of meat filled the hall. The crab cakes, tender and flavorful, brought an indescribable sense of happiness.

There's actually meat to eat!

All rumors about food shortages fell apart on their own.

Almost everyone's eyes sparkled with desire.

Seeing the meat cake in his hand, Ding Tian's eyes could not help but show a hint of shame, and those who had followed his lead and made a fuss fell silent, heads bowed, eating the cake.

Standing by the door and feeling hungry, Tail couldn't help but swallow saliva, staring straight at the barbecue rack.

"Does Tail get a share too?"

Si Si tugged at her clothes.

"It's time to go; everyone at Changjiu Farm is waiting. If you want to eat, I'll order you some delivery after we log off."

"I want the beef flavor!"

Yikes!

This person—no, this Tail!

Si Si looked at her with a surprised face.

"I'm just saying that to be polite."

Tail: "Chicken flavor is okay too!"

Si Si: "..."

Outside.

On the back of a truck.

A big rat wearing a coat was freezing, rubbing its paws together in the cold wind.

Next to him were the supplies that were about to be taken to the Changjiu Farm.

Worried his appearance might scare the residents of the shelter, he was left to guard the materials on the truck to prevent Variants from coming over for a snack.

Before they left, they reminded him over and over not to eat the mission props.

These people, honestly!

He was not a real rat!

Where had the trust between people gone!

But...

That smell was so fragrant.

Was it dough balls?

Feeling the impulse of innate behavior, Big Eyes decided not to look over there or think in that direction, instead turning to look at the street beside him.

The street was very quiet.

The moonlit snow was peaceful.

There wasn't even a shadow of a Variant to be seen. If not for the broken buildings and walls, it would be impossible to connect this place with the Wasteland.

Was it really just bad timing to enter this server?

He had heard that in previous versions, there were fights every day; as one fell, another rose, even non-combat players joined the fray, wielding weapons, and the Resurrection Coins were almost used up.

If only he had joined sooner.

Looking at the quiet street, Big Eyes let out a sigh, speaking human words.

"It's all too peaceful."

-

(The next chapter around 11 o'clock!)

Chapter 223: Raid! Mobilize!

"It's too peaceful here."

North of Changjiu Farm.

On the dark and silent abandoned town,
the man, exhaling white mist, carrying a rifle, glanced out the window, dangerous light flickering in his squinted eyes.

A lantern was placed beside his boots, and a black hyena crouched at his feet, making a purring sound.

The man's name was Gray Wolf.

Though his name contained the word 'wolf,' it had no relation to one of the three major clans of the Chewing Bone Tribe, the "Wolf" clan—he was merely a centurion under Lord Lion Tooth.

Unlike other native centurions, before joining the Chewing Bone Tribe, he was just a wandering mercenary, who had fought for armies and beaten up old bosses for the people of the Grand Canyon, depending on who paid him.

Later, when the Chewing Bone Tribe recruited troops far and wide, various Looter powers joined them, and he took the opportunity to bring his brothers in as well.

It proved to be an exceedingly correct decision.

Life as a Looter was much better than as a mercenary.

Here, the law of the jungle reigned supreme—the strong were revered, and fists and bullets were the law. As long as one was strong enough, they could earn respect, and as long as one was ruthless enough, they could become the leader of a group.

Following the banner of Lord Lion Tooth, from the central part of River Valley Province all the way to the south, in his tent, heads big and small totaled in the hundreds. His reputation had grown from a mere centurion to a centurion in charge of a hundred.

However, as a foreigner, being a centurion was basically the limit he could achieve through his personal capabilities.

Even though the Looters' sense of lineage was weak and their organization and discipline entirely depended on violence and plunder, entering their core power circle wasn't something just anyone could do.

He had to prove his bravery.

With a resounding victory, he would demonstrate his value.

And now, the opportunity had finally come.

About a month ago, the Black Snake Tribe stationed in the east refused to join them, seemingly intent on monopolizing the prey in the northern suburbs of Qingquan city.

Lord Lion Tooth was furious, but a heavy snowstorm had blocked the roads, and despite his reluctance, he couldn't possibly send his troops out into the snow.

However, a turning point had recently emerged.

The month-long blizzard had finally begun to subside.

Seizing the opportunity, Gray Wolf immediately volunteered to lead the vanguard, to attack Changjiu Farm in the northern suburbs of Qingquan city and clear the obstacles for the main force.

After consulting with his strategists, Lord Lion Tooth immediately agreed to his request.

Far Creek Town was too distant from the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

If they could take over Changjiu Farm, their main force could take advantage of winter's end and push at least twenty kilometers further south, completely distancing themselves from the Black Snake Tribe in the southern suburbs of Tianshui City.

Lord Lion Tooth highly commended his bravery and, to enhance the impact of this battle, even gave him an additional fifty foreign Looters and weapons, instructing him to definitely remove this thorn in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

After incorporating these fifty foreign Looters under his command, Gray Wolf immediately gathered over one hundred and fifty tribespeople, took ten days' supply and ammunition, and set out for the northern suburbs of Qingquan city.

Marching in blizzard weather was a bold decision, but the extremely low visibility also provided cover.

Gray Wolf was not a reckless person.

Although unclear about the opponent's strength, the fact that they had held back their allied troops and forced the Black Snake's forces to halt in the southern suburbs of Tianshui City meant these people were not as easy to deal with as anticipated.

Taking advantage of the last blizzard in December, he and his tribe arrived at an abandoned town ten kilometers north of Changjiu Farm and hid there.

He didn't immediately launch an attack, but first sent out scouts to observe and allowed the others to rest in the houses to gather their strength until nighttime.

The snow outside the window had paused slightly.

As he noticed a figure gradually approaching, Gray Wolf gently kicked the sleeping hyena beside him.

"Get up."

"It's time to work."

The hyena made a purring sound and lifted its head, seeing its master picking up the lantern and getting up from the chair to head towards the door; it also tiptoed its paws and followed.

In the living room on the first floor, with a wall half collapsed, a man wrapped in white cloth shook off the snow on his body at the entrance and walked up to Gray Wolf, respectfully bowing his head.

"Boss."

Gray Wolf sat on the sofa and looked at him.

"Tell me what you saw."

The scout respectfully said,

"The east gate is in ruins, the Refugee Camp that should've been there was completely destroyed by the blizzard, it's just trash everywhere. It seems the survivors are also having a tough time; this blizzard has hit them hard."

Gray Wolf continued to ask,

"Where did the people go?"

The scout shook his head.

"I'm not sure, but they're definitely not inside the wall, I observed for a whole day, they made food twice, and the smoke that rose was enough for maybe seventy or eighty people."

The survivor base at Changjiu Farm had a high wall with no significant vantage points around, just a few gentle slopes—it was very difficult to see clearly what was inside from the outside.

Gray Wolf's eyebrows raised slightly.

Seventy or eighty people?

"Are you sure?"

The scout nodded confidently.

"I'm sure!"

Gray Wolf's brow gradually furrowed.

A survivor base of only seventy or eighty people.

To be honest, this number seemed a bit off.

He didn't believe that those survivors couldn't see the strategic value of this fortress in the wilderness, which had effectively become the gateway to the northern suburbs of Qingquan city.

As long as they took that place, it would be the equivalent of knocking on all the doors of the survivors in the "North Suburb."

Or did they naively think,

With the cover of heavy snow, they could rest easy?

However, the opponent's naivety was a good thing for him.

A smile curled up at the corners of Gray Wolf's mouth, much like the hyena crouched at his feet.

"Go back and keep watching."

"We'll be there shortly."

The scout perked up, excitedly saying,

"Yes!"

The night deepened.

Small flakes of snow began to drift from the sky.

On the enclosing wall of Changjiu Farm,

Lu Bei, wearing a black coat, looked towards the north tightening the strap of his rifle slightly and moved his numb feet a bit to get the frozen blood circulating.

Today was the last day of the Wasteland Era Year 211.

Ten kilometers away, the Outpost Base seemed to be celebrating the arrival of the New Year, but it had nothing to do with those on duty here.

The threat from the north was approaching.

And this was the front line.

Those standing here couldn't relax for a moment.

Carrying a lamp, an older guard walked to the enclosing wall and patted Lu Bei on the shoulder with a smile,

"Young man, are you alright? If not, let me take over for a while. It's about time for a shift change anyway."

Lu Bei glanced at his VM and stubbornly shook his head.

"Ten more minutes."

"Ah, seems I came a bit early," the old man laughed and set the lamp on the parapet, "I'll keep you company for a bit."

This senior guard, named Ji Xiang, was the oldest in the entire guard unit, reportedly turning forty next year.

People affectionately called him "old man," although he always argued that forty wasn't old. But with his arthritis worsening, he had started to feel the merciless march of time.

Lu Bei had heard his story; he was once a city dweller in Giant Stone City, later became a mercenary, and somehow ended up captured by the Blood Hand Clan, thrown into their dungeon.

There was a scar on his chest that he claimed was left by a Dead Claw, but no one believed it, thinking that he exaggerated.

How could someone who escaped from the jaws of a Dead Claw get captured by a mere Looter of the Blood Hand Clan?

Whenever this was brought up, the old man would become agitated, arguing about how perilous it had been and how he had been captured while covering for his comrades' retreat.

And at this point, someone would inevitably deflate his story by asking,

"What about your teammates? Blood Hand has been cold for a while; someone should have come to take you back by now."

At the mention, the old man would fall silent, muttering that he quite liked it here, that even if his comrades did come, he had no plans of going back with them; better that they didn't show up.

It was a well-trod tale among the guards.

Although everyone doubted his encounter with Dead Claw (except for the one kept by the Manager), Lu Bei believed him.

After all, that scar didn't look like it was made by a knife.

Just then, excited shouting came from the direction of the stairs, and a young man dashed up.

"The vehicles are coming from the south."

"The Manager is sending us food!"

His name was Xu Xun, a year older than Lu Bei, also a young man who had just come of age, and they were close friends.

"What food?" asked Lu Bei excitedly.

It wasn't that he was a foodie, but the food made by those "Blue Jackets" was just too delicious. His mind immediately filled with images of skewers, heaps of steamed buns, dumplings, noodles, and more.

Xu Xun bubbled with enthusiasm, "Dough drops! And meat! I tasted it; it's a bit spicy, but it warms you up."

Saliva uncooperatively edged towards his lips, and Lu Bei swallowed.

Seeing the young man's eager face, Ji Xiang smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Go on, it's time for the shift change."

"Yes!" Lu Bei nodded excitedly, "I'll bring some up for you later!"

The old man waved him off.

"No hurry, I'll go drink it once I finish my shift."

The two young men went down the city wall, and Ji Xiang sighed with a smile about the joys of youth, gazing out at the vast expanse of white snow outside the wall.

The snow was really heavy this year.

Maybe next year would be a bountiful one.

He was planning to save up to buy some land, try growing something, take another wife, and settle down here when he retired from service.

As for going back to Giant Stone City, he had no such plans.

Life here was just as good, and it was only here that he truly felt a dignity he had never known before.

The Manager had said they would never have to kneel to anyone ever again.

No one could strip away their freedom anymore.

The howling north wind was chilling, and the sporadic snowflakes halted momentarily; behind the dispersing clouds, the bright moonlight appeared, and small animals sneaking out to forage quickly retreated back to their dens.

Ji Xiang exhaled a white breath, suddenly feeling cold, so he reached for the oil lamp on the parapet to warm his hands.

The result was unexpected as his hand shook and knocked the oil lamp down.

The lamp fell into the snow; it didn't break, but the flame extinguished.

Ji Xiang cursed under his breath about his rotten luck and planned to pick it up after the guard change.

However, at that moment, his expression froze; he quickly grabbed the binoculars and glanced in the northern direction.

Through the moonlit snow, several figures were accelerating towards them under the cover of darkness.

A pair of fierce eyes shot towards him like arrows.

The overwhelming killing intent—
was exactly like that of the Blood Hand Clan!

Ji Xiang's complexion changed drastically, he didn't say a second word, immediately grabbed the whistle hanging around his neck, stuffed it in his mouth, blew with all his might, and fired a shot outside.

"Enemy attack!"

…

"Hmm hmm..."

"The iron hammer of order sounds the war drums."

"The faith of steel emerges from the soil."

"White bear knights charge out."

"Capturing evil and barbarism."

…

The truck's engine roared loudly.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Tail, with his arm on the window, hummed a song from who knows where while enjoying the cool breeze outside.

Sisi glanced at him while holding the steering wheel.

"When you don't know, just ask, is this a nursery rhyme?"

Tail protested,

"What nursery rhyme! This is BGM!"

Really envy this guy's boundless energy, not even a bit tired.

Is it almost time for the Awakening?

Sisi sighed.

"Mmm, indeed."

Inside the truck's cabin.

Two pairs of eyes, big and small, stared at each other.

Finally, the Rat-man couldn't hold on any longer, cleared his throat, and said,

"You staring at me like this is a bit unsettling."

Holding his knees, the bewildered Sesame Paste picked up his fallen warm hat again, quickly reaching to grab it.

"Eh? No, I'm just curious… What's it like being a rat?"

How many people had asked him this question already?

Difficult for the strong sighed helplessly and said,

"Well, saying hello to friends is a bit of a hassle, have to lift my head really high. But it's quite convenient shuttling through ruins, and accidentally diving into a rat nest doesn't get you beat up, you just have to get out."

"Also unlike other Variants, my fingers aren't uncoordinated. I can use tools without any obstacles. There's no slow experience gain debuff either. Overall, it's a sequence with unlimited potential."

Sesame Paste nodded, half understanding.

This was entirely a discussion from the perspective of strength…

"I thought being a Variant would be distressing."

The big rat on its back looked at her strangely.

"Why would it be distressing?"

"Because... it's not good-looking?"

...

MMP!

Wasn't distressed before, now seriously distressed!

Difficult for the strong couldn't help but curse inwardly.

All furry things; where exactly are rats worse than cats?

Human nonsense!

Die! Die!

…

The truck arrived.

Two guards in the cabin jumped out first, calling the camp members to come and pick up deliveries.

Having more experience than the refugees, the guards had seen lizards and bears, so a one-meter-tall rat didn't surprise them too much; they didn't take much notice.

Difficult for the strong stretched lazily, just about to slip off the truck for a stroll, when suddenly a piercing whistle came from ahead.

Immediately after, the sound of gunfire and explosions erupted, startling the Sesame Paste who was about to jump down; the hat he had not worn for long fell off again.

"What, what's happening?!"

"Not sure..."

Big Rat swallowed his saliva.

Gunshots resounded loudly from the north, like firecrackers, intermittently accompanied by the flash of explosions.

The camp was in chaos. The two guards who went down earlier were nowhere to be found and had probably run to reinforce the north gate.

Standing beside the truck, Si Si looked towards the north wind and furrowed her brows.

"Gunshots, at least fifty... no, maybe a hundred?"

Maybe even more?

Si Si couldn't differentiate the guards' gunfire from the attackers' gunfire.

Big Rat said nervously,

"Your margin of error is too big!"

"After all, the gunshots in this game aren't as regular as in 'chicken-eating'... Tail, what do you think?"

While speaking, Si Si turned to the side.

Yet she saw Tail had already taken out his Sickle Assault Rifle, with eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Si Si! Charge!"

That look was easy to understand at a glance.

Si Si blinked slightly, then a smile appeared on her face, and she energetically gave a thumbs up.

"Oh!"

"Looks like Ah Wei's chance to show off has come!"

This time the score cannot be at the bottom again!

Seeing the two running towards the north, what was left, a cat and a rat, were dumbfounded.

"What, what should we do now?"

Sesame Paste looked helplessly towards the side at Old Rat, but he, too, was clueless and didn't know what to do.

He had been to the battlefield once before.

But that was just tagging along behind Mosquito, and all he heard was the noise.

"In any case, I'll go help first."

Damn!

Wasn't this supposed to be an errand mission?

The mission briefing didn't say anything about fighting!

Otherwise, why wouldn't he have even brought a weapon?

After dropping that line, Difficult for the Strong gritted his teeth and charged following Tail and Si Si, leaving Sesame Paste alone beside the truck.

"Eh! Wait, don't go yet..."

But it was already too late.

As she shouted, that big rat had already run off without a trace.

Sesame Paste had a wry smile on her face, anxiously looking around, not knowing what to do.

Just then, her eyes suddenly lit up, her gaze landing on a building inside the farm, closest to the southern gate.

That was a save point!

She, who frequently ran delivery missions, remembered that there were a hundred Sleep Cabins there where players who were too lazy to go back to the Outpost Base would log off!

"In any case... first, find a way to notify the others."

No sooner thought than done.

Sesame Paste immediately ran over, rushed into the door, and found an open Sleep Cabin to lie down in.

As the cabin door closed and the connection cut off,

She logged off at the speed of light, immediately removed her helmet, opened her laptop, logged onto the official forum, and quickly posted a message.

"Big trouble! Changjiu Farm has erupted in battle."

Not even a few seconds after the post was made, it immediately grabbed everyone's attention.

"Started fighting??"

"What the hell, what's happening?"

"Weren't you guys holding a celebration?"

"Damn! Dog Planner taking advantage of me not being online again!"

Almost simultaneously with the post, an announcement suddenly popped up on the official site.

[Worldwide Announcement: Looters from the north have attacked Changjiu Farm, triggering an emergency mission.]

[Dawn: A group of bloodthirsty bandits took advantage of our New Year celebration to launch a despicable surprise attack! We will make them understand that this was a foolish idea!]

[Defeat Condition: Respawn point destroyed. (All characters at Changjiu Farm will enter a respawn CD state)]

[Victory Condition: Repel the invaders!]

The moment the announcement came out, the forum exploded.

"Damn?!"

"A surprise attack?!"

"No way, can you be killed while logged off?!"

"Did Dog Planner finally decide to stop being human?"

"Brothers, log in! Let's grab our weapons and fight these bastards!"

"Want to raid my God Equip? I'll fight you all!"

Chapter 224: The Correct Use of Anti-Aircraft Cannons

The North Gate of Changjiu Farm.

Sudden gunfire burst out like firecrackers, bullets whistled chaotically through the night, and soaring flames tore through the cold night, like a short blare from hell.

"Advance—"

"Use your bayonets to rip open their guts! Sever their heads to make flasks!"

"Go slaughter!"

"Go loot!"

"Tear them apart!"

The night attack was discovered.

The Looters no longer hid.

Leading the charge was a short-haired man who pulled out a Centurion pistol, shouting wildly as he pulled the trigger.

Figures crawling in the snow rose one after another like jackals pouncing on prey, emitting banshee-like screams and launching a raid toward the north wall.

The fight was about to explode!

The guards on duty atop the concrete wall and in the towers, less than four in number, were caught off guard by the incoming bullets and paid the price of two bodies in the first exchange of fire.

The other two fared no better, pinned down behind cover by the whizzing bullets, unable to raise their heads.

An ear-piercing alarm sounded within the farm.

The stationed guard team immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed to their battle positions, as they had practiced countless times before.

Unlike those Hyenas hiding in the ruins, these Looters were not only well-trained but also equipped with Army weapons. Their firepower was extraordinarily fierce,

In addition to bolt-action Ripper Rifles, they were equipped with automatic weapons and even five or six light machine guns!

Even in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak of combat, Wrench bravely led his men onto the Enclosing wall, but faced with the assault of over a hundred Looters and the torrential incoming fire, they still felt immense pressure.

Without trenches to aid them, a mere wall could not hold back so many people.

A Looter ten-man squad, under the cover of rear firepower, was the first to cross the trenches buried in snow and reached within twenty meters of the Changjiu Farm wall.

"Molotov Cocktails!"

"Smash them!"

The short-haired man shouted loudly, and a dozen Looters behind him lit Molotov Cocktails and smashed them against the three-meter-high concrete wall.

With a whoosh, flames leapt into the air.

Although these Molotov Cocktails did not cause any substantial casualties to the guards on the wall, they still created considerable chaos.

This was a tactic commonly used by the Looters of the Wasteland.

Using Molotov Cocktails to create chaos, forcing the defenders to abandon their fired-up cover, thereby compressing the defenders' tactical space and focusing on assaulting a vulnerable point in the defenses.

To some extent, the Looter's offensive was effective.

More and more Molotov Cocktails were thrown onto the wall, which was segmented by flames. A young guard risked his life to climb the tower, replacing his fallen comrade, set up a light machine gun, and swept the outside of the wall. However, within a few seconds, he was taken down by a bullet shot from the darkness.

Flames burned on the tower.

"Fuck!"

Wrench, who was fighting on the wall, cursed loudly and threw a Wooden Handle grenade with the pin pulled out.

With a bang, snow sprayed high and a Looter was downed on the spot.

But in the face of that wave-like offensive, that grenade was like a stone thrown into the sea, doing nothing to stop the surging waves.

The Looter with a Submachine Gun rushed closer, removed a tube from his back, and fired an Iron Fist at the North Gate.

The thick Rocket blasted a big hole in the gate but did not break it open.

Seeing the gate remained unbroken, the Looters did not give up; they immediately rushed forward to place Dynamite.

The guards on the wall returned fire, taking down two approaching Looters, but were quickly suppressed by bullets shot from afar.

"There are too many of them!"

A wounded guard leaned against a concrete wall section, his arm covered in blood, and despite the pain, he yelled toward his captain not far away.

"Sir! They're placing dynamite at the gate!"

"Can you hit them from there?"

"I tried... their firepower is too strong!"

Grinding his teeth, Wrench made a rapid decision and roared at the top of his lungs.

"Everyone fall back!"

"Let these beasts come in and fight!"

Inside the North Gate of Changjiu Farm, right opposite a construction site, there were bricks buried in snow and an unfinished dormitory building.

The dormitory building was originally intended for housing refugees, but due to delays caused by the blizzard, it was only built up to the second floor, and the exterior of the third floor was only half complete.

It couldn't be more suitable for use as cover!

As Wrench finished speaking, he lifted his Rifle and swept a burst outside the cover, drawing the machine gun fire over.

Seeing his comrades had retreated to the stairwell, he threw his last grenade and then, propelling his Exoskeleton, leapt down from the wall and chased after his comrades to regroup.

Almost at the same time the guards descended from the wall, an explosive boom came from the North Gate.

The blast wave and flames sent the gate flying out, along with the snow on the ground, scattered several meters away.

Seeing the gate breached, the Looters cheered and rushed in with their rifles.

It was also fortunate that the people on the wall retreated in time.

If they had been a bit slower and the Looters had flanked them, everyone on the wall would have ended up like birds on a tree, targeted from above.

Retreating to the inside of the apartment building, the guards finally had a moment to catch their breath.

Taking advantage of the Looters not yet fully bursting in, Wrench immediately organized the remaining thirty-some guards to set up a new defensive line around the apartment building.

Part of the force dispersed around the dormitory building, while another part set up machine guns at windows, engaging in intense crossfire with the Looters who had entered the farm.

Within less than ten minutes, the battle reached a fever pitch.

Both sides clashed fiercely around the North Wall of the farm, each suffering more than a dozen casualties, with tempers flaring.

The guards fought back fiercely against the brutal Looters, morale high.

However, the fact was that the Looters had an absolute advantage in numbers, equipment, and combat experience.

Many of them had followed the banner of Lion Tooth, fighting their way here from the central part of River Valley Province, and along the way, they had fought countless battles and destroyed innumerable villages.

The guards stationed here, many of which were new recruits just finished with their inspection, came from various backgrounds. Some were recruited from refugees, while others hailed from the surrounding Survivor Settlements.

Perhaps some of them had already been tested through fire and blood, but the vast majority were stepping onto the Battlefield for the first time.

This was no shooting practice in a trench.

The overwhelming murderous aura was suffocating, with fires burning right under their noses and the thick smell of Dynamite even reaching their throats.

In the chaos, only flickering flames were visible, and it was impossible to see where people were.

As more and more Looters crossed the North Gate, the guards had no choice but to keep shrinking the defensive lines until they were completely retreated into the dormitory building.

The outcome seemed to have lost all suspense.

If nothing unexpected happened, this battle would end in a matter of minutes.

Gray Wolf, holding a binoculars, glanced in the direction of Changjiu Farm and a sneer curled on his lips.

"A bunch of weaklings."

Victory came faster than he had imagined.

Originally hearing that Black Snake had been thwarted by these people twice, he had been prepared for a tough fight, so he had made a detailed plan, observing from outside for an entire day before ordering the raid tonight.

However, what he hadn't expected was that when the fighting started, he realized he was facing a bunch of rookies who had never seen a Battlefield.

With the loss of less than ten men, his subordinates stormed in effortlessly, seizing both the Enclosing wall and the towers.

Was this an assault?

What a waste of expression!

The Hyena crawling at his feet was grinning with excitement, growling low in its throat, eyes shining with a bloodthirsty light.

It smelled death.

Looks like it was in for an extra meal tonight!

"…It's too strange. I thought at least they had seventy or eighty men, but judging by the sound of gunfire, there seem to be no more than forty?"

The scout draped in white cloth spoke softly next to Gray Wolf, his eyes filled with confusion.

Though he had been a scout for some time and didn't dare claim to guess exactly how many people were inside a camp, his extensive experiences rarely had an error exceeding one hundred percent.

Standing on the other side of Gray Wolf, a burly strong man didn't hide the mockery on his face as he looked at the blazing Enclosing wall and clicked his tongue.

"And they're all fresh new recruits. You see how they retreated, many must have pissed themselves in fear! Haha!"

His name was Wang Tuo, one of Gray Wolf's trusted subordinates and also a Mercenary who had joined the Chewing Bone Tribe with Gray Wolf in the beginning.

Not only was his marksmanship top-notch, but he was also an Awakener!

Those muscle-bound scars were all proof of bravery.

Watching his brothers overwhelm the Enclosing wall, Wang Tuo rubbed his fists excitedly, turning to Gray Wolf.

"Boss, let me go too!"

If he was late, he wouldn't even get a taste of the soup!

The five teams of ten positioned in the rear were originally to prevent the defending forces from surging out of the side gates, encircling behind them.

But now it seemed that the enemy didn't even have enough manpower to fill the main battlefield, much less spare troops to encircle from behind, which would be tantamount to suicide.

It looked like the end was near.

Gray Wolf put down his binoculars and after calmly thinking for a moment, he issued an order.

"You take a team of ten, sneak along the eastern side to their southern flank, and don't let them escape."

"Remember, wait until they come out of the door to shoot."

"And don't kill them all; keep two alive. I have questions for them."

Chasing down fleeing soldiers?

This kind of work, feeding off the flesh, was something he was incredibly good at!

"Yes!"

Wang Tuo accepted the order excitedly and without another word, rushed down the slope to his men.

The group of ravenous wolves, already impatient, held their Bayonet-mounted rifles, looking eagerly towards the south, their eyes full of longing.

Looking at the group of brothers fierce like tigers and wolves, Wang Tuo shouted with excitement.

"Brothers, follow me up!"

"Don't let our prey escape!"

…

Escape was impossible.

The Looters had surrounded the dormitory building, and the guards inside had no way out.

Nor did anyone plan to retreat.

They had already lost the North Gate.

If they lost this spot as well, there would be no reliable cover left to hold, and the Looters would completely occupy the entire farm.

This was the last line of defense!

After intense gunfire, the Looters had gained control of the dormitory building's side stairs and thrown a grenade up.

Flames burst forth!

The gunshots above suddenly ceased, and right as the Looters by the stairs were about to storm up, gunshots suddenly erupted from the dark on the side.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!"

Si Si, who had rushed to the front from the back, fired towards the base of the dormitory wall while fiercely supplying sound effects with his mouth.

Bullets flew wildly, not caring where they hit.

Full-power bullets were frightening not just because of the sound of gunfire, but also the fragments and dust they kicked up hitting the walls.

The Looters, about to storm the upper floors, were startled by the sudden burst of gunfire from the darkness, thinking reinforcements had arrived, and they dared not continue their charge. They quickly sought cover on the spot, while lifting their weapons to return fire towards the source of the gunshots.

Bullets whizzed past, almost grazing Si Si in the chaos.

Si Si, quick-eyed and fast-handed, grabbed the guy who charged too fast and pulled him back.

At almost the same time, a dense hail of bullets rained down on the pile of red bricks in front of them, scattering broken brick debris all over the ground.

Pinned down by the machine gun fire, they couldn't even raise their heads.

Tail, hugging her submachine gun and leaning against the cover behind her, grumbled resentfully.

"Damn it! If Tail's bear were here!"

"Si Si thinks that would probably make things even worse," she replied.

After letting go of the collar she had been clutching on Tail's back, Si Si glanced at the VM screen's map, ready to contemplate a route of attack, her face suddenly showing a trace of surprise.

"Oops, how could I forget such an important thing."

Tail quickly turned to her.

"What's wrong?"

Si Si pondered.

"It's nothing, um... it doesn't matter anymore, our reinforcements have arrived."

"Really?! That fast?"

"Look over there."

Seeing Tail's surprised face, Si Si extended her hand and pointed to the building to the south, continuing, "Remember that place? That's our save point."

Although there weren't as many people here as at Outpost Base, those who came to Changjiu Farm to do quests in this weather were, at the very least, combat professional players if not heavyweight players.

At the same time, the frontline battle situation was reaching a critical point, inside the save point on the southern side of Changjiu Farm, over ninety sleep cabins flung open simultaneously.

Accompanied by the hissing sound of leaking air, faces peeked out one by one from the open cabin doors.

Roller Hair-Washing Machine: "F*ck, I was having lunch! Don't the planners have any families???"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Hahaha, I was also eating! My family made dumplings, I just had a plate, and then I saw people calling for work in the group!"

I Max Black: "Hurry up! I only got halfway through my takeout! It cost me 20 bucks!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Where's Spring Water? Dammit, Spring Water, hurry up and lead the team!"

Spring Water Commander, who was busy donning his exoskeleton, couldn't help but retort upon hearing this.

"F*ck! Is that how you talk to your daddy?"

"Stop f*cking nagging," as he chambered his rifle, Battlefield Atmosphere Group rolled his eyes at him, "What's the use of wearing that thing? You've never charged forward."

"You don't know shit!" Spring Water cursed as he pulled his pants on and put on his shoes, "If I go down, are you going to lead?"

The gear was right next to the sleep cabins.

In half a minute, they were fully equipped; some players had already charged out while a small group assembled.

Quickly counting the number of team members, they formed two groups of ten, making twenty people. Spring Water Commander made a quick decision.

"Group A will follow Old Soldier to the frontline to reinforce the unfinished building's NPCs. Group B will come with me, we'll stick to the east wall and circle behind, aiming for the North Gate, to cut off their escape route!"

"Those bastards don't play fair, using our own tactic of a night raid against us!"

"Let's show them what real tactical maneuvering is!"

Morale soared among the people.

Especially I Max Black, who excitedly fired two shots into the ceiling.

"Oooh!"

"Let's f*ck them up!"

...

One kilometer north of Changjiu Farm.

Listening to the continuous gunfire ahead, Gray Wolf took out his rust-stained pocket watch and glanced at it, frowning slightly.

It had been half an hour since they had taken the North Gate, and a bit of time since his ace, Wang Tuo, had departed.

The battle should have been over by now.

However, for some reason, the gunfire from the frontline was becoming more intense as time passed, with no sign of winding down.

Could it be that reinforcements had arrived?

Impossible...

From Qingquan City to here was at least 10 kilometers, and the snow on the roads could bury up to the knees; even if they had vehicles, they wouldn't be much faster than on foot.

Even if they had responded at the first sign of attack, it would conservatively take an hour to get here from the city.

And this was assuming they even had someone to send over.

It's not like people could just fall from heaven, right?

"Why isn't it over yet?"

Gray Wolf had an ominous feeling in his heart, and his battlefield instincts told him that the ten squads that had breached the enclosing wall might have run into trouble.

He picked up his binoculars and glanced toward Changjiu Farm.

The concrete wall blocked the view; it was impossible to see from here what was happening inside.

Yet at that moment, several figures suddenly appeared in Gray Wolf's field of vision. He saw them, panic-stricken, running out from the North Gate without choosing their path.

Gray Wolf was momentarily stunned.

When he recognized the faces and the equipment of those fleeing soldiers, his eyes bulged, nearly popping out of their sockets.

These deserters were none other than members of his own tribe.

"Boss, the situation at the frontline doesn't look too good..."

Standing beside him, a scout swallowed nervously. He'd had a bad feeling since earlier but didn't dare speak.

But now, that feeling was growing stronger.

"What are those idiots doing?"

Over a hundred men!

To be beaten down by a mere forty-some novices to such a dismal state!

Gray Wolf couldn't help but swear under his breath, wishing he could chop off the heads of those Centurions who had led the teams and feed them to the dogs.

"Click..."

The hyena crouching at his feet suddenly bristled all over, its bared teeth issuing a low hiss.

The irritable Gray Wolf didn't have the patience to soothe it, offhandedly placating it with a word.

"Just wait, you'll get your food soon."

The hyena whined and tugged at his trouser leg, but being unable to get rid of its annoyance, Gray Wolf kicked the beast aside and walked over to his other four trusted men.

"Take your men up."

"And take out those two deserters while you're at it."

"Yes!"

The four Centurions took the order, leading a group of eager Looters towards the North Gate of Changjiu Farm in a furious charge.

Gray Wolf pulled a signal gun from his chest and fired into the sky.

This signal gun was given to him personally by the Thousands of leaders Lion Tooth, instructing him to signal immediately after conquering the fortress, as reinforcements would arrive in batches.

Although it was a bit early now, he felt it was about that time.

That flickering phosphorescence flew in the sky, like a lamp lighting up the night.

Squinting, Gray Wolf looked towards Changjiu Farm. The two deserters were shot dead, and over forty men were now approaching the farm's North Gate, ready to break through.

At that moment, however, two lights suddenly flared up in the night, coming from the east side of Changjiu Farm, drawing closer and closer.

The first to notice the anomaly, the scout nearby cried out in alarm.

"Boss! It's a truck!"

Gray Wolf's heart jumped, and he raised his binoculars to look in the direction of the lights, only to see a truck speeding across the snowy ground.

Wait—

Speeding?!

What was up with that speed?!

It wasn't until the truck continued to bump and ride forward that Gray Wolf could finally see clearly. Beneath the chassis of that truck were not tires but two black… tracks?!

And it seemed the tracks were made of rubber?!

Gray Wolf's face went through a whirl of changes.

Especially when he saw the object mounted on the rear bed of the truck, fear flashed through his eyes.

Four thick gun barrels joined together, pointed directly at the North Gate of Changjiu Farm, aiming at the Looters scaling the enclosing wall and the forty or so men who had reached the gate.

The truck came to a stop on a gentle slope.

The quadruple machine gun on the rear bed leveled out.

The next second—

Thick tongues of flame erupted!

Bang, bang, bang! The guns boomed across the snowy plains, and a series of orange tracer rounds, like lances piercing through the night, poured dozens of high-explosive bombs onto the snow-covered ground before the North Gate in just a few breaths.

There was no time to evade, no place to hide.

The over forty Looters who had reached the North Gate, like mosquitoes squashed against a wall, were torn apart in an instant. Their blood and flesh flew, and without even time to cry out, they were mowed down by the bombardment like wheat being harvested.

"No—!"

His pupils filled with blood, Gray Wolf's eyes bulged, veins about to burst, and a desperate voice surged from his hoarse throat, as if his heart was bleeding out.

Those were his trusted men.

They were also the forces he had painstakingly amassed over several months!

And now—

Everything had turned into a fleeting dream.

The Looters who had occupied the enclosing wall were panicked by the sudden onslaught of fire and scrambled off the wall in disarray.

The tide of battle turned sharply.

A sudden burst of gunfire seemed like a final act of madness.

The focus of the battle was pushed back to the North Gate, with more and more deserters appearing, fleeing from the gate as if their wits were scared out of them.

However, that was just the beginning of their nightmare.

This lone fortress in the wilderness, surrounded by a vast expanse of white snow, even the trenches had been buried.

The quadruple machine gun mounted on the truck was obviously reloaded and ready.

A massacre awaited them!

Staring at the grim battle in the distance, Gray Wolf felt his throat had been stuffed with a block of ice, the bone-chilling cold and sense of helplessness involuntarily reminding him of the purgatory he had witnessed in the north.

Standing by his side, the scout was trembling all over, stammering.

"Boss… do we… keep fighting?"

Keep fighting?

With what?

A bitter look came over Gray Wolf's face as he looked toward the northwest—the Elm District about nine kilometers away from here.

That was probably his only way out.

The dense forest was impassable to vehicles; if he could get through those woods, he might have a chance to return to Far Creek Town in the north and regroup with the main forces...

But what then?

Looking at the slowly falling signal flares in the sky, Gray Wolf turned to the scout beside him.

"Head northwest, go through the forest and you'll make it back."

The scout paused.

"And what about you?"

Gray Wolf glanced toward the south.

"I'll cover your retreat."

-

(Today, there's only one chapter, just finished a section of the plot, the second chapter really didn't come together, otherwise it would be a perfect cliffhanger... people with clumsy hands are going to cry.)

Chapter 225 How Did It Get Invested?

"Hahaha! Awesome! 666! Your machine gun is just too damn exhilarating—no, too damn unbalanced!"

"Isn't it only fair they nerf it?"

Sitting in the back of the truck at the gun position, Mosquito finished emptying a cartridge while excitedly yelling as he fiercely pulled the trigger.

Fully loaded with forty high-explosive bombs, after a burst, all you heard was a series of bangs, way more thrilling than fireworks.

Got to give props, the explosion effects and damage in the Game are just way too damn realistic!

Not like 'Tech Storm V', where you spray a fist-sized anti-aircraft machine gun and it's as weak as a damp squib—hitting someone and not doing a thing, just ridiculous!

"MMP! Can't you save some ammo?" Brother Levin, who was sitting in the truck, cursed while looking in the rearview mirror.

That burst just now burned through half of their stockpile.

Was it worth it?

Forty men bunched up and running through the snow with no place to hide on either side. A single shrapnel shell could take out two—couldn't he use controlled bursts?!

"What's there to fear! Isn't someone footing the bill for the ammo? How do we get new orders if we don't run out? I'm helping you clear inventory!"

Mosquito snickered and turned his gaze to Brother Ciso beside him, continuing with a flourish.

"Bro, help me reload!"

"I'm gonna let another one rip!"

That last round took out at least four teams.

They weren't dead, they were critically damaged!

No doubt about it, today's MVP was definitely going to be him!

Mosquito was having a blast, but Brother Ciso, who had been waiting for a long time beside him, only heard noise.

Seeing that guy actually wanted to unload another cartridge, he was instantly infuriated.

"Beat it!"

"Get the hell down from there, it's my turn now!"

Weren't we agreed you'd just fire two shots to try it out?

You call that two shots?!

"Don't panic, don't panic, look how accurate I am, just let me fire one more burst!"

"Butt! You wanna shoot another burst?! I only brought 80 high-explosive rounds in total, one more burst and they're gone!"

Mosquito and Brother Ciso continued their argument on the truck.

Debt Giant Eye, who had jumped off the cargo compartment earlier, was throwing up by the truck door.

"Ugh—"

This light truck with tracks moved fast but jolted around so much, going up slopes felt like flying in the sky, he felt like he'd thrown up everything he ate yesterday.

Taking down the LD-47j light machine gun from the truck, "Work Site Boy and Brick" slid the thick magazine into place and glanced over at Big Eyes brother, who was still throwing up.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"A man can never say... he can't! Hang on, bro, I just ate too much just now—ugh!"

His hand had barely retracted from the door for a second before it leaned on it again.

Seeing that embarrassing guy, Edge Shoveling shook his head, chambering his assault rifle.

"Can't count on this guy. Let's go."

Debt Giant Eye: "Seriously?! What about brotherly loyalty?"

Edge Shoveling ignored him.

"Brothers, charge!"

"Target the north gate, quick! Let's sandwich the enemy with our brothers at the front lines!"

Don't let the anti-aircraft cannon snag all the fries!

Before Edge could finish speaking, Work Site Boy and Brick, a Strength Type, was already charging forward with the machine gun.

"Go, go, go!"

...

On the other side, Wang Tuo led ten of Looter's elite men to the south gate of Changjiu Farm.

As per Gray Wolf's instructions, he was to ambush and annihilate the defending soldiers fleeing from the south gate.

Yet, what frustrated him was that after making his way here, he waited a long time without seeing anyone sneak out of the gate.

Just as Wang Tuo wondered if the survivors in the farm had been wiped out by their brothers who had stormed in, he saw a flare shoot up into the sky.

A flare?

He was stunned.

"Boss, it's the Big Boss's signal flare!" a Looter pointed out right away.

"I'm not damn blind!"

Wang Tuo cursed, looking up at that clump of fiery red in the sky, his eyes filled with confusion.

He knew what that signal flare meant.

Gray Wolf had told him before they set out that it had been personally entrusted to him by the Centurion, with an agreement to call for reinforcements after the fortress was taken down.

But the fight up ahead clearly wasn't finished yet, was it?

The gunfire had a crunching sound to it, instead growing more and more intense.

Just as he was trying to figure out what was going on, a truck from a kilometer away crossed the snowfield at an incredible speed and charged toward the frontline.

Before anyone could react and understand what had happened, they heard the thunder-like sound of artillery from ahead.

Yes.

That was the sound of artillery.

Wang Tuo was certain he hadn't misheard, having been a mercenary with Gray Wolf up north, he was too familiar with what that sound meant.

Those thunder-like booms made his heart pound with fear.

He didn't even have time to think about how those survivors had managed to drive the truck across the snow as fast as a plane, when two headlights lit up the southern road, growing rapidly closer.

Soon he saw a light truck driving straight toward them.

Reinforcements!

Wang Tuo, lying in ambush by the roadside, was shocked and instantly looked at the comrade beside him carrying a rocket tube.

"Blow their damn truck up!"

He absolutely couldn't let it reach the stronghold!

"Yes!"

The Looter, with his not-so-shabby combat readiness, immediately took the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher off his back, crawling beside the snowdrift at the roadside, getting ready to fire when the truck got closer.

However, just as he was getting the tube ready to position, the truck coming from the opposite side, as if it had sprouted a third eye, aimed its roof-mounted machine gun directly at him, the muzzle spraying flames in an instant.

Da-da-da—!

A net of orange-yellow trajectories was woven.

In the blink of an eye, the Looter carrying the tube couldn't even react before a string of blood mist burst from his body, torn apart by the hailstorm of bullets.

The Looters crawling in the snow were petrified by this scene.

Especially Wang Tuo, who had no idea how his side had been exposed.

Drones?

Or, Awakeners?

Whatever it was, the enemy had clearly discovered them. The truck came to a steady halt in the middle of the road, three hundred meters away, its headlights facing them.

If they didn't do something, they were all going to die here!

"Scatter!"

Wang Tuo yelled out loud, picked up the tube that had fallen to the ground, and was the first to dash toward the reverse slope.

"Go around from the reverse slope!"

Almost immediately after his words fell, a deadly hail of bullets swept across, and two more Looters who failed to evade in time went down.

The vehicle-mounted machine gun's rattling fire lifted strings of exploding snowflowers on the snowy ground.

No longer caring about the lives and deaths of his subordinates, Wang Tuo, carrying the rocket launcher, grit his teeth as he sprinted forward along the reverse slope.

The three hundred meters distance was beyond the range of the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher; he needed to get within a hundred and fifty meters, or even a hundred meters, to ensure the cumbersome warhead could effectively hit its target.

Just then, however, the truck-mounted machine gun suddenly ceased fire.

Was it reloading?

Wang Tuo was slightly surprised but didn't give it much thought, taking the opportunity to charge forward.

But at that moment, his facial expression instantly froze.

There, right in front of him, a power armor wielding a Warhammer was quietly staring at him.

What the power armor was holding in its hand wasn't important anymore.

Wang Tuo made his choice in one second.

Dropping the rocket launcher in his hands, he raised both hands above his head and knelt on the snow, utilizing the power of Awakening and shouted loudly.

"I surrender! I Surrender!"

Chu Guang, just about to strike, was taken aback, the words that had been brewing to his lips were pushed back.

Well, damn.

He had charged all the way here.

And now he surrendered?!

…

"I surrender!"

Facing the blinding headlights, Gray Wolf raised his hands and walked voluntarily toward the north gate of Changjiu Farm.

The battle surrounding them had ended, and the dense bullet marks on the wall showed just how brutal the fight had been mere minutes ago.

Looking at the severed limbs on the ground, and the snow mounds soaked in blood, Gray Wolf felt a bone-chilling coldness.

The guards approaching him had cold eyes.

Gray Wolf could feel that they wished he'd pick up the gun on the ground, so they could shoot him on the spot, fair and square.

Gray Wolf couldn't help but feel fortunate. It seemed he had bet correctly. The dignity of civilized people made them unwilling to execute prisoners, much like those from the Grand Canyon.

In other places, even if he surrendered with his hands up, he would probably still end up hanging at the city gates.

Such a devastating defeat, coupled with the prematurely launched signal flare, meant certain death if he returned. If he didn't go back, there was nowhere else to go in the surrounding area, and the knee-deep snow wouldn't allow him to get very far.

Surrender was the only way to survive.

At the very least, he wouldn't be thrown into a boiling pot or freeze to death in the snow.

"I surrender."

Worried that these people might shoot, Gray Wolf, with his hands raised, repeated himself, continuing to address the person who seemed to be their leader.

"A thousand team is stationed at Far Creek Town, and I'm just an insignificant mercenary, a Cannon Fodder sent here to scavenge."

"You've won. Killing me is meaningless; my death would be of no consequence to Lion Tooth. But if you give me a chance to live, I might be able to help you win."

Wrench, in his exoskeleton, stepped forward.

Only half of the composite material bulletproof plate on his chest remained, and embedded in that half were two crushed bullets.

Wrench stared at him for a bit, then shifted his gaze away from his face to a teenager nearby with blood on his face.

"Take him to see Manager," he said.

The teenager looked at Gray Wolf with a face full of hatred and, although he wished to tear him to pieces, he nodded in compliance with the order.

"Yes."

Gray Wolf obediently walked ahead, arms raised, not making any suspicious moves.

He knew the one behind him was waiting for an opportunity to shoot, and he surely wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

They passed through Changjiu Farm and arrived at the southern gate.

Two trucks were parked there, surrounded by fully armed people, and sitting on the ground were the ambushers he had sent to intercept the garrison.

Judging by the relaxed expressions of the armed survivors, they didn't encounter much resistance and might have arrived after the fight had ended, so much so that some even looked a bit... uh, disappointed?

To Gray Wolf's embarrassment, among the kneeling prisoners, he spotted his own trusted man, Wang Tuo.

Wang Tuo, with his head in his hands, also saw him.

Their eyes met.

Both felt awkward and unconsciously looked away.

At that moment, a deep blue power armor approached them.

Upon seeing the power armor, Gray Wolf finally understood why Wang Tuo wasn't injured.

Damn, they even had power armor.

What was the point in fighting?

Even the most powerful Awakeners were flesh and blood and couldn't compete with power armor, except perhaps real "monsters" like the Claw of Death or the Crack Claw Crab Queen.

Chu Guang didn't waste words and went straight to the point when looking at him.

"Name."

Gray Wolf said respectfully with his head lowered.

"Gray Wolf, sir."

"Centurion? Or a strategist?"

"A Centurion, sir."

Before Chu Guang could ask any more, Gray Wolf said respectfully and without hesitation,

"With all due respect, Lord of Qingquan City... Manager, I am in awe of your and your subordinates' valor. I know I'm no match for you. Please give me a chance to turn over a new leaf."

Turn over a new leaf, indeed.

Chu Guang stared at him for a while and found the man somewhat amusing, chuckling,

"I don't dislike sensible people. If you had come to me with your men to surrender from the start, I might even have offered you a seat. But don't you think it's a bit late to be saying these things now?"

Gray Wolf said with his head still lowered.

"Sir, I am but a mercenary, a fighter of foreign blood to the Chewing Bone Tribe; even if I admire your—"

"It's now in the wee hours, not the time for jokes, so don't waste my time," Chu Guang interrupted impatiently, staring at him, "You now have two choices: go over there and squat, or say something that makes you seem useful."

Then find somewhere else to squat.

But working in a brick kiln would be a little bit more comfortable than clearing roads in heavy snow.

Gray Wolf didn't dare hesitate or make any demands, quickly disclosing everything he knew.

As Vanus conjectured, the Looter thousand team stationed twenty kilometers away in Far Creek Town and the Looters who attacked Winter Willow Camp and the battery factory were not the same group; they were led by a Thousands of leaders named Lion Tooth.

Since Lion Tooth's thousand team lacked enough vehicles, their marching speed was slow, and their southern advance lagged behind Black Snake's.

It wasn't until the first blizzard of the Southern River Province arrived that they barely made it to Far Creek Town, where they had to stop their southward progress to camp and avoid the storm.

"...Black Snake had many vehicles, perhaps even an Army tank, so they moved much faster than us. They arrived at the Suburb of Tianshui City half a month earlier than planned."

"Originally, after passing through Tianshui City, they were supposed to head east along the plains corridor of the Southern River Province to raid Red River Town and expand their territory eastwards. But they didn't play by the rules and continued south, reaching for North suburb of Qingquan city... This was the domain awarded to Lion Tooth by the leader."

"Their actions infuriated Lion Tooth, especially as they rejected the invitation to hunt together after the merge, intent on going it alone."

"So you struck first?" Chu Guang asked, looking at him.

Gray Wolf nodded and said,

"Before the snow melts, Lion Tooth plans to establish a bridgehead in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City, allowing the large army to cross the snowfields. I am the vanguard sent by Lion Tooth, but now it seems... I was probably just treated as cannon fodder."

Chu Guang chuckled.

"So, you're saying you were coerced?"

Gray Wolf gave a bitter smile and said,

"My lord, before I joined them, I was just a mercenary trading my life for money. Many of my subordinates, like me, are outsiders to them. Our lives are trivial to them, and being treated as cannon fodder is not uncommon."

Chu Guang chuckled again but did not take his spiel seriously.

Reasons like these were inconsequential.

Who cares whether he was eager for quick success, volunteered to come to Qingquan City, or was sent as cannon fodder to deliver his own life?

Chu Guang did not bother to verify such insignificant details for veracity.

There were more pressing matters to focus on.

Such as—

"You mentioned that Black Snake might have a tank? What does the tank look like, how thick is its armor, what caliber is it, and what's its tonnage? And... what powers it?"

Hearing this barrage of questions, Gray Wolf looked bewildered and immediately said,

"I haven't seen it... it's just that Lion Tooth often complains, saying the leader actually bestows that guy with a tank, while he didn't even get an armored vehicle."

After a pause, Gray Wolf said seriously,

"You have to be careful, my lord. That Lion Tooth is a cunning fellow. Though his name has 'lion' in it, he's more like a hyena. Moreover, the Ya Clan he belongs to is a direct line of the Chewing Bone Tribe, and West State City to your north is the stronghold of the Ya Clan!"

After hearing Gray Wolf's words, Chu Guang gained an initial understanding of the Chewing Bone Tribe's strategic deployment in the southern River Valley Province.

Actually, it was not much of a deployment.

These Looters, who lived off plundering like barbarians, would just seize whatever they could, merely holding the tools of civilization.

After pondering for a bit, Chu Guang continued,

"Now, I offer you a chance for redemption. Write down and mark on the map everything you know about the equipment, personnel numbers, supply counts, patrol routes, and all defensive installations including trenches and dugouts, of the thousand team stationed in Far Creek Town."

Gray Wolf nodded respectfully.

"Yes, my lord."

After having that man taken away, Chu Guang continued to interrogate several other prisoners separately. The information obtained from them did not differ much from what Gray Wolf had provided.

Summarizing the intelligence gathered, Chu Guang called Vanus to the temporary command center at Changjiu Farm and casually tossed him the notebook.

"You guessed it right, we're facing two thousand teams now, probably amounting to two or three thousand men."

"Fortunately, they are not united as one."

"The Lion Tooth stationed to the north has about 1,500 men under his command, and there may be reinforcements further north. Black Snake to our northeast does not have many people, around 1,000 or so, who we've already hit hard before. The problem is that Black Snake has a lot of vehicles; they might be able to muster twenty or thirty trucks, and there might even be one of your Army's tanks."

Vanus immediately asked,

"Which model of tank?"

Chu Guang answered,

"I'm not sure."

Vanus shook his head.

"The tanks carried by the Expeditionary Army are mainly of three types: one is the Conqueror No.5 Light Tank, used against infantry, another is the Conqueror No.10 Heavy Tank, which supports infantry and takes on anti-armor roles, and the last one is a support variant, using the Conqueror No.10 chassis, but with the main gun replaced by a 100mm howitzer."

Chu Guang asked,

"If it's one of the latter two, can a 20mm cannon penetrate it?"

Vanus fell silent for a moment.

"It should be able to break the tracks, I'm not certain."

Chu Guang: "..."

"Actually, tanks aren't that hard to deal with, especially if there's only one. What you should be worried about now isn't the tank itself, but..."

After a pause, Vanus looked at the map on the wall.

"The enemy to the north isn't likely just a forward team dispatched to build a bridgehead at the 'North Suburb'."

Chu Guang frowned.

"You mean that Gray Wolf is lying?"

Vanus shook his head and said,

"Not necessarily lying, he might just be unaware. After all, if I were the commander, I wouldn't share all my plans with him."

His gaze lingered on the map, moving from Far Creek Town to the Suburb of Tianshui City, and Vanus continued thoughtfully,

"If I were the commander, knowing that my opponent is tough to deal with and my allies are unwilling to cooperate, this battle would likely result in heavy casualties."

"I have two options."

"Either inform the higher-ups."

"Or force them to strike first."

-

(Next chapter around noon)

Chapter 226 Funeral

After the battle ended.

Chu Guang had someone tally the casualties.

Of the 37 guards stationed at Changjiu Farm, 25 died, 4 were seriously injured, and the rest suffered minor injuries.

A total of 221 players took part in the battle, but only half of them actually engaged the enemy. Many reinforcements rushed from the Outpost Base and had just arrived on the battlefield when the fight was already over.

Aside from 4 who died in the melee and 2 who were seriously injured, the rest suffered minor injuries; even if those who got motion sickness were included, the total was less than 10.

Since there were no irreversible injuries, the wounded players just had to lie down in the Cultivation chambers back at the refuge for a while, and it was not a big problem.

As for the Looters, although they initially had an overwhelming offense, they were swiftly brought to heel as more players joined the battlefield.

In total, 107 were annihilated, 40 of whom were specifically eliminated by Mosquito artillery. When Edge Shoveling led his team to search, they found one barely clinging to life. Because the scene was too gruesome, Edge couldn't bear to look and granted him a quick death.

Additionally, there were over forty more captured, half of them seriously wounded, and over forty percent with light injuries.

It was not honorable to slaughter those who had given up resistance. Wrench did not execute these prisoners, but that did not mean forgiveness.

Death would be too easy for them.

They should atone for their sins through labor in the icy wilderness, cultivating the wasteland north of Rhombus Lake until they had paid for their crimes or died.

Since there weren't enough cells, everyone was stuffed into a warehouse with so little space that there was barely room to lie down, and it was pitch black.

There were no medical supplies, not even bandages for dressing wounds, and some of the seriously injured prisoners soon stopped breathing, while the others, even if still alive, would have a hard time making it through the night.

...

On the other side, at the guard's quarters.

In the room where the injured were being treated.

A young boy with his stomach wrapped in bandages lay on a stretcher, weak and barely alive.

He had taken at least two bullets to the stomach and had a piece of shrapnel embedded in his shoulder.

With such severe injuries and the primitive medical conditions of the Wasteland, he was practically a dead man.

His heart was not filled with much sadness. He had contemplated death the moment he picked up a gun, just not that it would come so quickly.

If there was any regret, it was that he never got to taste the hot soup from New Year's Eve.

He wondered what it tasted like...

Just as he was starting to feel sleepy, he vaguely heard someone calling his name.

"Lu Bei!"

Straining to open his eyes a sliver, Lu Bei saw another boy with his arm in bandages running towards him.

"...Xu Shun?"

"Lu Bei! Thank goodness, you're still alive!"

Smiling weakly, Lu Bei was about to say something when he saw Xu Shun clumsily take out a syringe, and then he jabbed it into his arm.

There was no sensation of pain.

Lu Bei even doubted there was a needle at all.

Watching his relieved friend, he hesitated before saying,

"What's this?"

"Medical injection! It's from the Manager. It's said to bring people back as long as they still have a breath left!"

Xu Shun chuckled with a sigh of relief as he continued,

"I made it just in time! I thought it was too late!"

Medical injection?

Lu Bei was startled.

Could such a thing really help?

As this thought crossed his mind, his stomach and shoulder wounds started to itch as if a thousand ants were crawling over them, irritatingly so.

The feeling of pain began to return.

This was a good sign.

Lu Bei gradually felt his cold body warming up, and his previously fuzzy consciousness began to sharpen.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Could it really work?!

Absolutely incredible!

Looking at Lu Bei slowly coming to, Xu Shun reached out to support his arm and said excitedly,

"Bro, do you feel better?"

Lu Bei nodded slightly.

"Much better... but the shrapnel in my shoulder hasn't been removed yet,"

Xu Shun said.

"You're too weak right now to have surgery. I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while longer before we can remove the shrapnel."

At this, he sighed in regret,

"Ah, it's a shame the congee scorched. But if it's reheated, it still tastes alright. Do you think you can eat anything now? If you can, I'll go get you a bowl."

As soon as Lu Bei heard there was food, his spirits were lifted, and he reached out to steady himself on the bed's edge.

"Let's go, together."

"Together?"

Xu Shun hadn't quite caught on when he was surprised to see his good friend, who just minutes before was barely hanging on, had sat up in bed.

Touching his stomach, Lu Bei chuckled and said,

"I'm not too sure myself, but I feel a lot better... look, doesn't seem like anything's wrong at all."

With that, he swiftly jumped out of bed and urged his friend,

"Hurry up, or it'll cool down again!"

It wasn't just Lu Bei who had recovered; the other three seriously injured guards also mustered their strength with the help of treatment.

But, while the medical injections could speed up recovery, they couldn't regenerate limbs or restore burnt skin to exactly how it was before.

Lu Bei was probably the luckiest, as the two bullets hadn't hit any vital areas.

Had they been a bit lower or higher, he might have had to spend the rest of his life in regret.

"Have all the meds been distributed?"

Standing at the entrance to the guard's station, Chu Guang found Wrench, who was directing the aftermath cleanup.

This brother was also tough as nails, the composite bulletproof plate attached to his Type Five exoskeleton had shattered completely, and he had been shot once in the left arm and right leg. Yet, he had stubbornly fought to the bitter end, powered by the exoskeleton.

Different from the players,

They lacked the dulling of pain.

They also didn't have a second life.

Such bravery certainly deserved a Silver Medal!

"All distributed..." Noticing the Manager's gaze falling on the medal on his chest, Wrench looked down at it, feeling somewhat ashamed, "Sorry, I damaged the equipment you gave me."

Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"Lift your head; you've performed very well. Equipment can be repaired or replaced if it can't be fixed. But we only have one life, and I hope you can see the latter as more important than the former."

Four healing injections, two boxes of anti-inflammatories, and over ten boxes of hemostatic bandages.

The intermediate blind boxes Chu Guang had once thought useless now proved incredibly useful.

However, this round of consumption had nearly emptied his stock of medical supplies.

A great battle approached.

It seemed like he had saved up to 120 points, which he decided to spend on intermediate blind boxes upon his return.

A touch of gratitude appeared on Wrench's face.

He knew well how expensive that exoskeleton was since he'd seen it in the store.

Lifting his head, he responded with a firm voice,

"Yes, Sir!"

Chu Guang nodded in approval at his response.

Later on, I'll have someone make a steel chest armor for you to replace it.

Now, take me to see the wounded."

"Yes!" Wrench excitedly nodded his head and took the lead.

As the two made their way to the interior of the guard's station, a young man was sneaking out.

The north wind was howling outside. Lu Bei tightened his coat, which was riddled with holes, and headed northward.

There had been a great battle here before, with the ground covered in trodden dirty snow and blood-mixed slush, horrifying footprints hardened on the surface, not yet fully frozen.

A few reinforcements who had come over stood nearby on duty, supervising several prisoners of war as they dragged bodies into an open space and lined them up.

The bodies were easy to recognize: the guards all wore black coats, while the Looters were mostly dressed in ugly furs.

The bodies of the guards were covered with cloth or something else.

Whereas the Looters' bodies were laid face up, to be hauled away by a truck after a while.

Bodies could attract scavenging Variants, and more likely bring plague, they had to be dealt with promptly.

Noticing the youth wrapped in a big coat, a guard approached him, urging him to leave.

"Hey, what are you wandering around here for? Hurry back, or your wounds will freeze and fester."

Lu Bei murmured softly.

"I'll go back soon. I'm looking for someone."

Seeing the expression on his face, the guard paused.

After a silence, he nodded.

"Then hurry up."

"Thank you!"

After nodding his thanks, Lu Bei immediately trotted forward. After searching through the pile of corpses for a while, he finally found the person he was looking for.

His breath paused slightly.

Trembling fingers pulled away the burlap.

Glancing at the frost-rimmed wrinkles and eyebrows, Lu Bei's Adam's apple moved, and this time he finally believed what his comrades and he had told himself.

After a long silence without a word, Lu Bei silently took out a still warm lunch box from his chest and placed it beside the old man's face.

"... The captain told me this takes more courage than facing the Claw of Death."

"He also said that thanks to you, we reacted in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

"He said that our enemies are much stronger than Blood Hand, and defeating them is something to be proud of. We defeated more than just our enemies, we overcame our past too."

"The captain said a lot of things, but I can't remember them all. I just remember the dumpling soup was pretty good, especially right when it's scooped out of the pot, one sip and you feel warm all over..."

"...I put it here."

As Lu Bei was about to get up, he suddenly saw the whistle lodged in the parched lips.

After a moment of silence, Lu Bei gently tugged at the whistle clenched between the teeth and took it out of his mouth.

Searching for a pocket without holes in the battered coat, he carefully stored it away.

"Thank you."

"I'll take good care of it for you."

Speaking softly, the youth covered him with the cloth again, rose to give a military salute, and walked away towards the direction of the guard team's base...

...

Official Website:

[Worldwide Announcement: The emergency mission is over. Thank you, everyone. You have thwarted the Looters' raid; victory is yours!]

[Worldwide Announcement: All players who responded to the mobilization will receive one Copper Gear Medal, and the team with the highest score will receive one Silver Gear Medal.]

[Battle rewards will be tallied later. Happy holidays to everyone.]

For the indigenous people of the Wasteland, any victory comes at a heavy cost.

But for players not of this world, it is after all just a Game.

With their helmets removed, they still have unfinished dumplings to eat, or they may have to reheat cold takeout, and perhaps have unfinished work to rush off to.

Chu Guang pondered for a long time but ultimately chose not to express the heavy mood in the announcement.

Today is New Year's Day.

There will be a funeral at dawn.

The battle report can wait until tomorrow.

Details not part of the main storyline can be included in setting collections on the official website, or added as Easter eggs in the Game for players to discover on their own.

They had already done very well.

They shouldn't be subjected to a Dog Planner's interrogation of humanity.

Forum:

Tomato and Egg: "Brothers, how's the situation at the front? Is the team battle over?"

Old White: "We fought the loneliness. By the time we rushed over from Outpost Base, everything up front was already over."

Tail: "Tail was the first to get up there! I'm definitely MVP this time! (｀∀´)Ψ"

Mosquito for WC: "Don't even think about it, the MVP is definitely me, I wiped out four teams by myself! (grinning teeth)"

Tail: "!!!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "WTF?!"

Night Ten: "WTF! You hacking or what?!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "A noob's question, how many people are in four teams?"

Wild Wind: "Looters generally have teams of ten..."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Awesome!"

Quit Smoking: "Holy crap, that strong?!"

Elena: "Not bad, not bad, Goblin Technology rising to power. (joking)"

I Wanna Go to the Bathroom: "Awesome my ass! The cannon is ours! (flips table)"

Grandpa Ao: "Laugh, that's it? All together, it's less than one company. My uncle's group, even the weakest cook has over a hundred lives on his hands. Just forty, not even noob level."

Elena: "Bro, even though it's the dark Forum, you shouldn't be talking nonsense. (joking)"

Night Ten: "A noob's question, is your uncle Hail Ding? (joking)"

...

The funeral for the fallen guards was held at dawn the next day.

All the guards lined up at the north gate and fired three shots into the sky, then transported the bodies of the fallen onto a truck.

In the Wasteland, burying in the ground equates to feeding the Variants, as many Variants have the habit of digging in the soil for food and making burrows.

If they had a choice, almost no one would choose a burial in the ground.

The wish of the vast majority of guards was to go into that steel furnace, just like those Blue Jacket people who had once helped them.

Some wished to be cremated and have their ashes scattered in lakes, atop high buildings, or places where they had once fought and defended.

No one knew their last wishes better than their comrades-in-arms, who would survive to carry out those "afterwards things."

Luka stayed for the entire duration of the funeral.

Before leaving, Chu Guang suddenly noticed that there were also a few players standing at a distance, watching, and like him, stayed till the end.

Don't Talk Nonsense: "Speaking of which... when NPCs in the Game die, they don't respawn, right?"

Makabazi: "I think so, I remember the settings mentioned that once they die, they're gone, but someone else will take over their post."

Don't Talk Nonsense sighed.

"Sigh..."

Makabazi looked at him.

"What's up, bro? Feeling emo this early in the morning?"

Don't Talk Nonsense: "Nothing... just that I counted, and I realized someone is missing."

Makabazi said in surprise, "You can remember their faces?"

He had face blindness, hardly remembering a few faces in real life, let alone those wearing filters in the Game.

The only ones he could probably remember were Little Fish, Boss Xia and perhaps Luka.

Oh right, and the esteemed Manager.

But the Manager didn't always show his face, so remembering his face wasn't significant; his deep blue power armor was more representative.

Don't Talk Nonsense sighed again.

"No, I only remember a few as well. Like that old grandpa, every week on his day off, he would go to the lakeside to watch us fish. As soon as I saw his expression, I knew he was a fellow enthusiast, so I recommended a fishing rod to him, and even taught him how to catch leeches with a bottle..."

Makabazi was stunned for a moment.

"Uh, is there a hidden quest?"

"No."

Don't Talk Nonsense shook his head, sighing for the third time.

"Even though it's a meaningless thing, it was pretty fun."

"And thinking that fellow angler won't come again, indeed, it feels a bit lonely..."

Chapter 227: Although more money has been spent, it is a good thing.

At the north of Changjiu Farm, an abandoned town.

Amid the howling northern wind, interspersed with light snow, the roadside branches gently swayed.

Hidden at the edge of the forest, a truck carrying a quadruple anti-aircraft gun aimed its barrels across the snow-covered plains to the north.

And beside the truck, Gray Wolf held binoculars and looked toward the north, his face betraying a hint of urgency as he muttered under his breath.

"This isn't possible…"

Logically, once he fired the signal gun, a hundred-team should have set out from Far Creek Town and rushed to Changjiu Farm to help him fortify the fortress's defense, and reinforcements and supplies would have followed, solidifying the entire "North Suburb" under the control of Chewing Bone Tribe.

However, it was now noon the following day.

Forget about a hundred-team; not a single figure had been spotted coming from the north.

A flicker of irritation crossed Gray Wolf's eyes, feeling as if he had been deceived.

Obviously, Lion Tooth, who had provided him with the signal gun, had never intended to send any reinforcements. In fact, from the very moment they set off, he had considered Gray Wolf and his followers expendable.

But why?

Gray Wolf couldn't fathom the reason behind Lion Tooth's actions.

If that fool had information suggesting they couldn't take this place, why agree to let him take the risk?

Even as a foreigner, he still represented a fighting force, and he considered his own strength to be considerable. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't understand why Lion Tooth would abandon him.

Liuding, standing beside him, did not show any surprise on his face.

Before they set off, Manager had told him that this mission might come to nothing.

Perhaps the Looters of Far Creek Town had no intention of sending reinforcements, for reasons beyond the battlefield.

With a submachine gun slung across his chest, Liuding checked the time on his VM device on his arm, and with a blank expression, spoke.

"It seems your 'reinforcements' aren't coming."

Gray Wolf swallowed hard.

"Maybe they were caught in a heavy snow…"

Ignoring him, Liuding knocked on the door of the truck and signaled to the player in the driver's seat.

"Mission's over."

"Time to retreat."

The player in the truck, "Ward's Athlete Foot Sufferer Levin," yawned, started the light truck's engine, and shouted into the rearview mirror.

"Work's done, work's done, don't you dare fall asleep on me."

The nearly dozing "Ya Er, I Need to Go to Brother Ciso," jerked his head vigorously, and after regaining consciousness, clambered back into the truck, looking at the half-box of ammo and grumbled.

"Damn it."

"I'm so sleepy, I'm about to disconnect…"

Feeling sleepiness in the game was a first.

Wasteland OL's operator always put extra effort in the strangest places.

Is being online for 24 hours reasonable?

Characters in the game need sleep, is that reasonable?

Taking the anti-addiction system to this extent is unparalleled!

...

He had hardly slept last night, and the morning's work had piled up like a mountain.

There was no new movement in the north for the moment, and the next attack was likely to come from the northeast—the thousand-team led by Black Snake.

To guard against a surprise attack, Chu Guang deployed two patrol routes near the Central State Aerospace Ecology Experimental Base, using the old sites of Winter Willow Camp, Highway Town, and the Battery Factory as patrol points to search for potential threats from the northeast of Qingquan City.

The patrol tasks were to be shared by the guard team and combat professional players, not only to carry out the patrol itself but also to familiarize with the terrain of this generation in preparation for the upcoming battle.

By the way, Dilat's rubber is really useful.

Not only for sealing components but also for making tracks crudely and brutally, replacing tires, so that light trucks can "fly" in the snow.

However, the poor quality of the installation is a problem, making the ride quite uncomfortable. Just last night, an intelligence system player was shaken to the point of vomiting.

After returning to the shelter, it was already noon, and Chu Guang hadn't even eaten before collapsing into sleep, only to wake up and find it was already the afternoon.

"I'll have to invert my sleep schedule again."

Shaking his groggy brain, Chu Guang, sitting up from the bed, glanced at his sweat-soaked shirt and then at the sheets and floor.

"…If someone sees this, they'll definitely get the wrong idea."

No sooner had Chu Guang muttered to himself than a cheerful voice drifted over from the wall.

"Don't worry, Master, Xiao Qi won't tell anyone."

Who knows where that voice pack was pilfered from.

Is it the elder sister style today?

"Alright, you can be quiet now."

The voice stopped.

A pop-up appeared on the screen of the VM lying on the bedside table.

"QAQ"

"…"

Chu Guang casually closed the dialogue box that popped up on the VM, skillfully stripped off his clothes, and tossed them into the basket by the door.

Grabbing the towel hanging beside the basket, he quickly wiped the metabolic waste from his body, changed into clean clothes, then headed to the bathroom on B3 to freshen up. After that, he took a turn and continued to the medical laboratory on the same floor.

Upon seeing Chu Guang at the door, Heya raised her eyebrows gently, her expression hinting at mild surprise.

"You've 'leveled up' again?"

This was a new term she had learned from Chu Guang.

Like "player," it was one of those words that was difficult to comprehend just by listening to the pronunciation.

"Correct."

Lying down on the scanning bed willingly, Chu Guang said succinctly.

"Let's begin."

"Wait a moment! I need to put away the samples."

Stopping her work, Heya skillfully took the slide from the microscope, carefully stored it in the low-temperature sample vault, and then briskly walked over with enthusiasm.

Compared to the tissue slices of the Claw of Death, the gene samples preserved in the shelter were obviously more interesting.

To her, this place was like a treasure trove of infinite potential.

It was wonderful to be awake after 20 years today!

Approaching the terminal next to the bed, Heya used her index finger to tap a few times on the touch screen, skillfully starting the device.

The scanning device activated.

After a short wait, the updated Attribute Panel quickly appeared in front of Chu Guang.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Stage 2)

Level: LV.15→LV.16

--Basic Attributes--

Strength: 17

Agility: 11

Constitution: 16

Perception: 12

Intelligence: 14→15

]

Intelligence was increased this time.

Chu Guang closed his eyes to feel it for a moment, but perhaps because he was already smart enough, he did not have a very direct sensation.

Standing next to the terminal, Heya, on the other hand, had a look of surprise written all over her face.

Neurons were non-regenerative cells, and logically, once a human brain matured, it would not grow new neurons.

At least not naturally.

However, the changes occurring in him now were upending her understanding.

Without the aid of medication or other assistive devices, a fully developed body was able to grow twice consecutively!

This was not growth based on exercise.

Instead, the way his genes expressed had fundamentally changed.

In fact, nearly all the residents within the shelter, similar to Chu Guang, exhibited many confounding and perplexing conditions in their DNA expression.

"Incredible... your growth rate is astounding! I seem to recall that it's only been a little over a week since your last physical examination? Last time, it was the immune system, metabolic functions, and bones... So this time, it's the neurons? That's preposterous!"

Chu Guang did not feel much himself, in fact, he felt he had been slightly neglecting his training during this period.

"Is it quick?"

Heya nodded solemnly with a serious expression.

"Of course, otherwise, I wouldn't use the word incredible."

Chu Guang gave her a puzzled look: "Why do I feel like you use that word frequently?"

Heya was taken aback.

"Do I?"

Not wanting to waste time on an unimportant matter, Chu Guang steered the topic back to the issue of the gene sequence.

"So, is growing quickly a good or a bad thing?"

After pondering for a moment, Heya said,

"It's hard to say, the definition of good or bad varies depending on the perspective."

Chu Guang: "What do you mean?"

Heya: "In short, an individual's growth helps to improve their survival rate in the environment, but conversely, an overly complex way of gene expression is not conducive to inheritance... Do you understand what I'm saying?"

In fact, this wasn't such a big issue.

It was said that during the distant Prosperity Epoch, a significant number of people had abandoned conventional social relationships, relying entirely on technological means to reproduce.

Especially with the flourishing of bionic partners and virtual reality technologies, this societal change was accelerated.

After all, who could resist a character that would never fall apart?

Especially when that character could step out of the screen.

"I guess so, but I'm not sure if what I understand is the same as what you're trying to convey."

In essence, it's hard to 'hit the jackpot'?

Chu Guang, sitting on the edge of the scanning bed, fell into contemplation.

So the question was,

Does this count as a good thing or a good thing?

...

There's a benefit to getting up late. At dusk, the North gate market is at its liveliest, and as soon as you open your eyes, there's food to eat.

The bonfire standing at the North gate had gone out, but the festive atmosphere was in no way inferior to last night.

In fact, it was even more exuberant.

Those popular festival snacks had been preserved and continued to shine and sizzle in the market.

And the prey that players had racked their brains to collect from the Wasteland, as well as the unused ingredients, greatly enriched the local residents' menu.

It seems food is always people's top pursuit.

And only after having their fill do people start to think about other things and how to improve their lives.

While Chu Guang was strolling through the market, he noticed people from the Frost Spear clan selling black and red dyes made from insect glue.

It was a technique brought from the Survivor Settlement in the north. The raw materials were some small insects that were not rare on the Wasteland, though this technique had never found its use until they came here.

When the Frost Spear people discovered during the festival that the Blue Jackets had a demand for paint, they immediately crafted this product.

As it turned out, the dye performed exceptionally well, especially in permeating silk fabrics. Once dyed, it wouldn't fade even after repeated washing.

Moreover, the Iron Axe Tribe had gained some experience in their spinning work, and new varieties of products that Chu Guang had never seen before emerged at the stall of the sisters Autumn Grass Autumn Leaf.

Such as some beautiful accessories, durable gloves, scarves, or socks.

Some of the goods were obviously taught to them by Teng Teng.

The thriving market helped boost the morale of producers, and the circulation of goods as rewards for production further stimulated creativity. This motivated people to improve tools and methods, thereby promoting the overall prosperity of the Survivor Base.

Walking in the market, Chu Guang could feel very clearly that the negative impacts brought by the harsh winter and the Wartime regulations were slowly fading away.

The sprouts of prosperity seemed to arrive even earlier than spring.

On almost every person's face, he could sense that robust vitality and the anticipation and longing for life tomorrow.

Something that was hard to see on the Wasteland.

Passing by a barbecue stall, Chu Guang bought a few skewers.

The greasy and fragrant smell of the meat plunged into his nostrils, making him, who hadn't eaten all day, terribly tempted; one bite was simply satisfying.

Just as Chu Guang was pondering whether to drink something or not, he chanced to hear a familiar hawking voice coming from the mushroom stall nearby.

"Fresh Devil's Frozen, folks!"

"Just made, hurry up and buy!

Is the mushroom stall open for business?

It seems this winter is indeed passing by.

Surprised, Chu Guang looked towards Crow Boss's stall.

Unfortunately, the mushroom soup that numerous NPCs and players yearned for was not there. Instead, there was a large bucket.

Next to the large bucket, on a wooden table, there were several delicate bowls, containing a crystal-clear gelatinous substance that looked just like jelly.

Chu Guang remembered that it was probably Teng Teng's masterpiece, boiling the Devil pupa into a gel, making something like Jelly Brady, which tasted peculiarly good and wasn't as stomach-turning to look at as the Devil pupa.

After the New Year event, the kind-hearted Teng Teng seemed to have passed this skill to Crow, who, smelling the business opportunity, promptly set up her stall.

The only pity was the portion size was really too small.

If only it were half her size.

The hawking didn't last long, and, unsurprisingly, a large group of players gathered around the mushroom patch.

"Yikes! Is Crow Boss's mushroom stall opening?!"

"Yikes! It's not mushrooms!"

"Damn it, what's the difference between this and hanging a sheep's head but selling dog meat?"

"Where's the mushroom soup? I want to see Kali's mushrooms!"

"Wuwuwu, I can't see Crow Boss swallowing Big Mushrooms anymore, what's the point of a mushroom stall without the talent!"

"Wait a minute, the jelly seems pretty good too?"

"Buddy, I've just had a bold idea—"

"Shoo!"

The red-faced Crow scooped up a bowl of Devil's Frozen and threw it over; the player hit by it cheered, picked up the bowl and ran off.

Crow, regaining her breath, only then realized she had been tricked and immediately felt regretful.

How careless! Giving away a bowl on the opening day, what a loss!

But as much as they teased, the crowd did take care of Crow Boss's business.

After all, that was the first meal many players had in the game, the starter pack's five Copper coins was just enough to buy a bowl.

That bowl of mushroom soup carried their memories of distant versions, even more ancient than the history of the North gate market.

The little player, after finishing his meal, quickly returned the bowl, apologized with embarrassment, and cheekily said it was tasty and that he dared to do it again next time.

The other players took out their money, ready to pay for nostalgia.

However, when they learned the price, everyone was stunned.

"Wait a minute, isn't one Silver coin too expensive for a jelly?"

"Right! Your bowl is only as big as half an apple; isn't that too little?!"

"I treated Crow sis as a brother, and she took me for a tycoon."

"Too dark, too dark!"

Seeing the crowd's complaints and the chorus of grievances, Crow immediately became anxious and argued.

"The ramen next door sells for Ten Silver coins a bowl; is it that outrageous for me to sell this for one Silver coin?"

Zhang Hai, who was pulling noodles at the stand nearby, heard these words and immediately took offense, glaring over.

"What bullshit!"

"When have I ever charged that much?"

Elena, who was eating noodles, lifted her head and couldn't help but make a snide comment.

"You really haven't charged that much, but the way you slice your meat, it's thinner than paper."

Zhang Hai glanced over indifferently.

"What do you know? This is the real deal."

The diners heard this and burst into a chorus of complaints.

These scammers are too much!

Hang them from the street lamps!

Holding a skewer of freshly bought roasted wild boar meat and watching the bickering little players, a fatherly smile crept onto Chu Guang's face.

This is nice.

Looks like I need to find excuses to hold more celebrations in the future.

Just after the crisis in the "North Suburb" is resolved!

If things look up, the celebration for the spring ploughing might even be combined with a triumph ceremony.

However, all these splendid visions for the future hinge on driving out the jackals to the north.

Otherwise, it's all just empty talk.

After biting off the last piece of meat from the skewer, Chu Guang wiped his mouth and eagerly headed to the next stall.

...

After dinner, Chu Guang strolled down the streets for a while.

Not until the sky had completely darkened did he return to the shelter, to his office, and sat down to start planning the work that needed to be done.

Usually, at this time, most people would have logged off, but today, many were still online.

It seems that everyone had nothing better to do during the extended New Year's break—might as well lie down with a helmet on.

Today, the average online duration for users had increased by at least 20% compared to the previous days.

The key indicator of player "grind levels," the total number of silver coins distributed, had also increased by 13% from yesterday.

Although more money was being spent, it was a good thing.

According to the economic system of "Wasteland OL,"

the rewards players received from tasks and orders were directly proportional to the value they contributed to the community.

Generally, for every silver coin a player earned, they brought 1.5 to 4 silver coins' worth of value to the shelter.

Even if the silver coin came from the market or other player trades, the value remained—it just shifted from the warehouse to the market, providing a basis for future transaction taxes in various forms.

As the players with life skills consumed the inventory, the circulated currency would return to the shelter, thus creating a healthy cycle.

Aside from the flourishing market,

Chu Guang also noted that following last night's battle, 5 new Awakeners had emerged.

Up to now, the number of Awakeners on the server had risen to 27, just three shy of forming three full ten-man teams.

"One step closer to forming an 'Awakener platoon,'" Chu Guang's lips curled into a smile, his face beaming with pleasure.

One Awakener can take on three people, right?

By the same logic, a platoon of Awakeners beating up a battalion shouldn't be a problem, right?

Even though the Looters might have Awakeners and possibly even some bizarre creatures, it wasn't a big deal.

His little players not only had a higher purity, but their evolution direction was stable, and most importantly, produced in large quantities.

A life lost every three days—bring it on, scared?

After reviewing the macro data reports, Chu Guang then opened the report uploaded from Changjiu Farm.

Among the spoils of war this time, there were about 101 Ripper Rifles, an additional 21 submachine guns, and 32 assault rifles, as well as 9 Iron Fist Rocket Launchers and various Molotov Cocktails and grenades.

According to the spoils of war tallied by the NPCs, with Xiao Qi's assistance, Chu Guang settled the player rewards using a predefined formula.

The war objectives differed between defense and offense modes, so kills contributed slightly more war points in offensive mode.

Naturally, the MVP was the "Anti-aircraft cannon" team, tallying 42 kills, nearly forty percent of which were personally reaped by Mosquito, leading directly to the collapse of the attacking side.

When that barrage from the machine guns swept over, the Looters who had taken the encircling wall were scared stiff, and they surrendered not long after jumping down.

So much so that when the "Edge" squad charged up, they were left fighting shadows—the battle had already ended by the time they reached the door.

However, although the kills were claimed by Mosquito, the points were still tallied as a team score.

In other words, Brother Levin and Brother Ciso, who acted as driver and loader, would also receive rewards based on the points.

Including the points from their squad mission, each of them received 480 silver coins in rewards, as well as 200 Contribution points and 1000 regional reputation points.

In addition to this, three life-profession players finally received their first Silver Medal in their gaming careers!

Even though it was a basic medal.

But it was also an achievement unlocked.

Finally having finished all his tasks, Chu Guang leaned back in his office chair and stretched.

Just as he was pondering which game to gather material from next, a post on the forum suddenly caught his eye.

The title of the post wasn't catchy, even quite ordinary, yet the discussion was surprisingly heated.

"A very ordinary morning, about my friend's life"

[Poster: Stop B.S.ing]

-

(Please, I took half a day off to sleep. The efficiency of writing late into the night is too low, and it's hard to concentrate. I'll get some rest and continue writing—only got 6K done today…)

Chapter 228: The Snake Comes Out of Its Hole!

"I always thought that in FPS games, I was just an emotionless killing machine, and in RPG games, just a quest junkie who loved to rummage through everything."

"Until this morning, I noticed the absence of a familiar figure among the guard squad."

"I didn't know the name of that guard; I just knew he was probably the oldest among them."

"Like other unnamed NPCs, he had a routine life, his daily tasks limited to training, standing guard, and patrolling. Besides that, he had one day off each week, usually either Thursday or Sunday, when he would go sit by the lake and watch us pass the time fishing."

"Not to brag, but as an experienced angler, I could immediately tell whether someone had the makings of a fisherman. Few people can endure an entire day without a catch, yet he could sit next to us and watch us come up empty-handed all afternoon."

"So I asked Mosquito to make a fishing rod for me and warned him not to add any unnecessary features to it, then I gave it to the old man."

"The old man was delighted, thanked me profusely, and even tried to give me a silver coin. When I refused to accept it, he gave me a dagger the next day. At first, I thought it was a quest item and was quite thrilled, but I later realized it was just an ordinary gift. Nevertheless, the unique feeling was still very interesting."

"I later taught him how to swing the rod, how to bait the hook, and how to make simple traps with bottles to catch leech larvae as fish bait. Sometimes, we would take the fish to the storage or the market to sell; other times, we would grill and eat them."

"I was like Robinson Crusoe, knowing a bit of everything. And he was like Friday, not very bright, but eager to learn, and curious about everything we did."

"Occasionally, I would vent to him, complaining about real-life troubles, and he would talk about his things—maybe adventures, possibly what he wanted to do in the future, or something else."

"Even though we couldn't understand what the other was saying, surprisingly, it didn't hinder our communication. From him, I also learned quite a few interesting words, some of which I still don't know the meanings of even today."

"But... everything came to an abrupt stop this morning."

"A solemn line of guards at the north gate of Changjiu Farm fired three shots into the sky. I saw a young man lift his body onto a truck, watched as they took him away to be cremated, and then saw his ashes carried to the lake, half scattered on the shore and half sprinkled into the water."

"Perhaps that was his last wish."

"At that moment, I suddenly felt that those NPCs were like living people, not just cold bits of code."

"I had never thought that one day I would become friends with a character in the game, nor had I thought that an unexpected departure could make me so sad."

"For a moment, I wished that it had been me who died that night."

"In memory of a fishing buddy who will never return."

"Even though I never learned his name, I will remember the stories about him, even if I'm the only one who does."

The post was lengthy.

The thread had grown very tall.

Chu Guang seldom saw Night Ten post on the forum; he just occasionally came across his replies in some threads.

But this time, he wrote a lot.

Including the follow-up replies, he recounted memories of the old man from a friend's perspective, including some amusing incidents that happened while fishing.

Though they weren't tales of grandeur, just simple, unadorned events, those words felt alive.

Makabazi: "Pat, pat, the fisherman..."

Tail: "Hmm."

Si Si: "Sorry, I couldn't save your friend."

WC Real Mosquito: "It's tough, if only NPCs could be resurrected."

Wild Wind: "Yes, but on the other hand, maybe it's precisely because NPC lives happen only once that we feel the world inside the game is so incredibly real. What we create is not merely a meaningless string of numbers, but something endowed with a soul."

Night Ten: "Sigh, I know, but it still feels suffocating..."

Old White: "This game is always too real in unnecessary places."

Fang Chang: "It's very much like life, unpredictable."

Teng Teng: "Sigh..."

Crow: "Hmm, it hurts. (>﹏<)"

Chu Guang read to the end, remaining silent for a long time. He typed a lot in the reply box but ended up pressing the backspace key and deleting it all.

He repeated this several times.

In the end, he left only one sentence.

Light: "His name was Ji Xiang."

...

The next day's sunrise was as usual.

Although many people will never return, life must go on.

For those living in the Wasteland, death is the norm. Those who weren't strong enough had already died two centuries earlier, and weak thoughts couldn't have lasted until now.

The training of the guard squad continued as usual.

Thirty new faces joined, heading to Changjiu Farm for training.

Most of them came from the refugee camp and had volunteered to join.

Perhaps inspired by heroic deeds, or maybe just because of a piece of sizzling roast meat, they felt they had found their place in this wasteland.

They didn't want to go back to a wandering life.

With no escape routes left, they decided to take up arms and use their own hands to defend the order and peace here.

At the entrance of the sanatorium.

A fat rat came out of the door, stretched lazily in the snow bathed in the morning sun, and said in human speech.

"MMP! I've finally come back to life!"

That's the only advantage of Rat-man.

Others need three days to live; he only needs one day offline.

It just so happened that Gnome King Riches had just logged in and was stepping out of the sanitarium when he unexpectedly glanced at this guy and asked curiously,

"When did you die?"

Difficult for the Strong replied, "When else could I have died but that night! I didn't even have a gun, but since the fight was right at my nose, I had to charge in regardless."

As he said this, Difficult for the Strong sighed.

"Man, thinking about it still pisses me off; damn it, I was just about to grab a gun when a Hyena caught me."

Gnome King Riches murmured, "Ah, this..."

Mutated hyena, huh?

Those must be among the most common monsters in the Wasteland, right?

Although slightly stronger than the Eaters, they are not much tougher. Due to their keen sense of smell and decent night vision, many Looters like to keep them; they are basically the kind of Variants even beginners can easily handle. If you can't even beat a Hyena, he usually suggests deleting your account.

But...

I heard that Hyenas belong to the cat suborder?

Suppose bloodline suppression makes sense then.

The cat ears on her head gently moved as Crow looked at the chubby rat with a face full of sympathy.

"That's really rough..."

It's embarrassing to admit.

She had completely missed how he died.

On the other side of the square, Tail, who was also just out of the sanitarium and carrying a rifle, had a somewhat disheartened expression, quite different from her enthusiastic demeanor the day before.

Si Si, noticing her distraction, consoled her by saying,

"Relax, Tail has been working really hard. It's unfortunate, but there was nothing we could do about it. Blame the damn Dog Plan for setting the difficulty too high."

"Well, I'm okay. I just feel that if I were a bit stronger... But speaking of which, aren't you afraid of talking like this about the Game in case the developers target you?"

There's a widespread rumor on the Forum: never joke about the developers in the Game or on the Forum, otherwise, you might find yourself in Africa or might even drop dead right on the spot.

It's superstitious, but sometimes you just can't help but believe it.

Si Si immediately bowed her head with hands clasped together, sincerely reflecting,

"Sorry, dear developers. I was wrong. Please forgive a careless girl for speaking thoughtlessly."

"Yikes!" Tail exclaimed, looking at her in surprise, "You backed down way too quickly, didn't you?"

At that moment, they were passing by Outpost Base's guard station.

Tail inadvertently glanced in that direction, then suddenly stopped walking.

Si Si also stopped and looked at her questioningly.

"What's up?"

"Look over there."

Tail pointed in the direction of the guard station.

Following her pointing finger, Si Si turned her gaze only to notice that next to the notice board, there appeared to be a new wall.

Was it built yesterday?

A surprised expression appeared on Si Si's face.

She hadn't noticed it before.

On that wall were nails with some metal plates hanging from them.

"What's hanging on the wall?"

"Um... there are twenty-five of them; they seem to have names written on them? Probably dog tags of some sort."

It turned out to be a memorial wall.

That design certainly matched the style of the Wasteland.

Was this an Easter egg from the production team?

Si Si suddenly noticed that Tail's mood seemed to have improved a bit.

"Let's go, Si," Tail said energetically, renewed in spirit, "We can't waste any time if we want to advance to the first rank soon! The folks at Outpost Base are waiting for Tail to protect them!"

A smile also appeared on Si Si's face.

Indeed.

The lively and energetic Tail was much more adorable.

Although she felt the folks probably didn't expect much help from them.

"Ho!"

"For the sake of getting MVP next time, we need to step it up."

…

To the north of Elm District.

A deserted small town was situated on the edge of a forest, and even the howling northern winds couldn't disperse the stench of blood lingering there.

This place once housed over a hundred survivors, living a life almost completely isolated from the outside world.

However, just a month ago, a group of Looters had arrived here and completely turned this secluded town into a living hell.

Some people could not endure the torture and were slaughtered and hung on the wall, while a few survived and became their slaves.

The Looters occupied their homeland, seized their food for the winter, and transformed their houses into fortresses, placing wooden barricades in the streets and windows, while also digging dugouts and building simple defensive works.

This was not typical behavior for Looters.

Even though they had slaves at their disposal, few knew how to dig trenches and dugouts, let alone where to dig them.

Building a defensive position is a sophisticated art, and it was a skill that the Looters, accustomed to small group raids and scattering, typically had no use for.

All this was thanks to their strategist, a man named Bernie.

As a former Thousands of leaders in the army, his understanding and application of light infantry tactics were nothing short of masterful.

After all, no ordinary men could have survived the relentless bombings at Grand Canyon.

It wasn't just building positions.

Including the entire defensive setup and even the patrol routes of the patrol team were personally planned by this strategist.

It was for this reason when Yang Two, covered in snow, clumsily emerged from the woods, he was immediately spotted by Looters on dog patrol.

"Don't shoot!"

"Don't shoot! I'm one of our own!"

Seeing two Raider sentinels aiming at him, Yang Two immediately threw his gun onto the snowy ground and hastily raised his hands.

"One of our own?"

The Raider in front walked up with a gun, looking at him suspiciously up and down.

"Whose account are you under? Who's your leader?"

Without even a moment to catch his breath, Yang Two said immediately.

"Gray Wolf! I am a scout under Gray Wolf... Please take me to see the Thousands of leaders, I have urgent information to report!"

The two Looters exchanged glances, felt he wasn't lying, and thus took him to a sentry post at the edge of the town, where they searched him and reported the situation to the Thousands of leaders.

After hearing the news, the Thousands of leaders agreed to see him.

Soon, Yang Two was brought over.

Upon entering the room and seeing the man sitting in the chair, he immediately knelt on the ground, his forehead firmly pressed against the floor, too terrified to utter a word.

Leaning lazily in his chair, Lion Tooth looked down at him and said slowly.

"You lost?"

Yang Two swallowed and replied with his head bowed.

"Yes, sir."

Bernie, sitting beside Lion Tooth, looked at him and said.

"Tell me what happened the night before last."

Not daring to hide anything, Yang Two immediately began to speak in a low voice.

"... After making all the preparations, we launched a raid on Long Endurance Farm under Gray Wolf's command. However, the resistance of the survivors was stronger than we anticipated. We once breached their Enclosing wall, but soon more and more reinforcements arrived, and we were ultimately outnumbered."

Yang Two detailed the events that had taken place.

Including the fierce battle with the guards at the north gate, the survivors' rubber tracks, and the remarkably powerful "Rapid-fire Cannon."

"Quadruple Anti-aircraft Gun, and high-explosive bomb..." Bernie, who was standing next to Lion Tooth, listened intently to this scout's account, pondered for a long time, and then said with a solemn expression, "These survivors are not easy to deal with."

Especially the fitment of rubber tracks on the trucks, a maneuver he had not anticipated. Even more puzzling was where these people were getting so much rubber from.

Lion Tooth remained impassive.

After all, he had never really expected Gray Wolf to successfully take down that Survivor Base.

Looking at the kneading scout, he continued.

"Where is Gray Wolf?"

With his head firmly pressed against the floor, Yang Two said with trepidation.

"I don't know... Gray Wolf said he would stay behind to cover our retreat."

Covering the retreat?

This statement actually made Lion Tooth laugh.

That was quite the euphemism.

But no matter, since that guy was just a useless pawn anyway. Using the lives of some outsiders to probe the strength of the survivors in the North suburb of Qingquan City was not bad.

And it also prompted that cunning snake to strike first.

You could say it killed two birds with one stone... oh no, it killed three birds with one stone.

"Get out."

At those three words, Yang Two felt as if a huge mountain had been lifted from his shoulders, a wave of relief swept through him, unaware that his back was soaked with sweat.

"Thank you, sir!"

Not daring to stay a second longer, he hurriedly turned and left.

The door closed.

Lion Tooth turned to the strategist sitting beside him, spoke with an indifferent tone.

"I didn't expect a total wipeout."

Bernie looked at him oddly.

"I thought you did it on purpose."

Lion Tooth gently shook his head.

"You misunderstood. I didn't want him to die out there. I just saw an opportunity to teach that dishonest guy a lesson. I didn't expect his head to be so tough that he'd lose over a hundred and fifty men, including himself,"

Bernie said.

"So that signal gun you gave him was?"

Lion Tooth said with a smile.

"Of course, it was for Black Snake to see."

Bernie was silent for a moment.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of General Kras, whose fate was unknown, and that grand but ultimately failed expedition.

Perhaps they too were abandoned pawns.

Who knows?

Those big shots never tell them everything, at most they just tell them what to do now.

Including now.

He still didn't understand why his superior chose to join a group of natives. The people of Grand Canyon hadn't been wiped out; they had a chance to go home.

"If Gray Wolf is captured, he will spill all our intelligence to those people, and that's not a good thing,"

Lion Tooth said with a light smile.

"I know, but what does it matter? Our strength far exceeds theirs. Even if they see our hand, it's still us who have a higher chance of winning. The only suspense left is how long they can hold under the attack of Black Snake. We need to choose a perfect moment to enter the battlefield, not too early and not too late… What do you think, my friend?"

Bernie thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't know, but it won't be easy for Black Snake to win."

Lion Tooth didn't seem to agree.

"Just because of that machine gun?"

Bernie continued.

"It's not about a single piece of equipment, but those survivors in the 'North Suburb' clearly possess industrial capabilities, and they have prepared for this war all winter. We, on the other hand, have very limited intelligence and know nothing about their logistics. If this war drags on, it probably won't be good for us."

However, on the other hand, if they could take down this Survivor Settlement, the benefits they could reap would be immense.

A Survivor Base with industrial capabilities was much wealthier than those agricultural communities.

The few bases they had robbed before had nothing left in their warehouses but corn and green wheat. If they could take down the North suburb of Qingquan City, their odds of assaulting Giant Stone City would also significantly increase.

Lion Tooth stroked his chin.

"So what do you think we should do to end this war quickly?"

Bernie said,

"The best choice would be to act together with our allies in Suburb of Tianshui City."

"That's impossible," Lion Tooth waved his hand, cutting him off, "I know that guy too well, he would never cooperate with us."

Bernie gave a wry smile.

Noticing the expression on his staff officer's face, Lion Tooth smiled and consoled him.

"Don't worry, this tough nut might be hard to crack, but that's all it is. We have an absolute advantage in both equipment and manpower. Even our spit could drown them out."

"Once our allies make a move and pin down their main force, I'll immediately take our brothers and appear unexpectedly on their flank, coordinating with our allies to annihilate them in one fell swoop!"

"Don't you think this plan is perfect?"

And they could also divert some manpower to beat Black Snake to it and take their base first.

The moment that cunning greedy guy sees his own flag waving over Long Endurance Farm, his lungs would burst with rage.

Thinking this, a pleased expression couldn't help but appear on Lion Tooth's face.

Looking at this overly optimistic Thousands of leaders, Bernie inwardly sighed.

"You're right."

"It might be a really good plan."

If only everything could go as smoothly as planned.

They were a full twenty kilometers away from Long Endurance Farm, and the twenty kilometers of snowy terrain were not easy to traverse, with forests and ruins along the way. Their troops would likely be stretched thin and consume a lot of energy.

Assuming Black Snake really fell for their ploy and decided to strike before the end of winter with a lightning-fast offensive, then those twenty kilometers of snowy land might become the biggest variable in the battle.

Could they really arrive like heavenly soldiers at the most critical moment of the battle, on the flanks of those people?

This wasn't as simple as marking a map.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door, and a Raider hurriedly entered.

The man's face wore an excited expression.

After entering the room, he knelt on one knee, and said in an excited tone,

"My Lord!"

"That Snake has finally slithered out of its hole!"

-

(The next chapter will be a bit late ... if it's not out by midnight, it should be by one. Sorry, brothers, I will finish writing before I eat lunch.)

Chapter 229: Spring Thunder

New Industrial Zone.

Goblin Technology Workshop.

In a factory stacked with various components, stood a rather punk-looking three-wheeled motorcycle.

Unlike a normal motorcycle, this contraption didn't just have tires the height of a man, its engine that drove the tires was absurdly large. Due to the engine's height exceeding that of the seat, it had to be mounted on the side of the motorcycle, supported by an additional wheel, making it look like a strangely protruding tricycle from a distance.

The engine's design was also quite unique, shaped like a furnace used for roasting sweet potatoes, with a round feeding port on top which, if placed by the roadside, could easily be mistaken for an outdoor trash can.

But in fact, the overly spacious feeding port was designed that way to make it easier for the driver to add wood.

Walking beside the esteemed Manager, Mosquito excitedly introduced his new invention.

"This is modeled after the Expeditionary Army's standard light truck engine, specifically designed for the terrain around Qingquan City!"

"With some simple modifications, it has become more adaptable to rough terrain than before, ensuring the engine won't suddenly extinguish even when hopping around in mud pits. Our soldiers no longer need to use their gun butts to keep the wood inside the feeding port steady!"

"And this motorcycle is also a masterpiece of Goblin Technology, which I call—'Death Breath'!"

"How about it? Doesn't it look cool?"

In a certain sense, it sure was cool.

However, Chu Guang felt that the name was somewhat ominous, as if sitting on it meant you weren't coming back.

Apart from that, this contraption was quite interesting, bearing an operational principle similar to a camel engine.

The trash can-shaped feeding port was connected to a barrel-like structure and pipes. The wood, once inserted into the port, would slowly dry out as it descended, subsequently being pyrolyzed by the internal heat, undergoing incomplete combustion in limited oxygen, causing the carbon on the surface to react with water and oxygen, creating a mix of gases including hydrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide, which were then directed into the engine through a metal condensation pipe.

After that, the principle resembled other natural gas engines, including the piston and cylinder structure.

Three kilograms of wood were equivalent to one liter of gasoline, enough to run the motorcycle for 20 kilometers, equating to a consumption of fifteen kilograms of wood per hundred kilometers, making it not only useful but also cheap.

After all, wood was the most abundant resource in the Wasteland.

In fact, this device couldn't be considered Mosquito's latest invention since he had tinkered with wood gasification in his carpentry shop long ago.

And the Molotov Cocktails used by players in the early stages, as well as the flamethrowers he had employed, were all made from byproducts of wood gasification.

After carefully inspecting this uniquely shaped motorcycle for a while, Chu Guang looked at Mosquito and continued asking.

"What's the top speed this motorcycle can reach?"

Mosquito confidently replied.

"100 miles per hour is not a problem! But I wouldn't recommend going that fast; given the condition of the roads outside, a bump might just send it flying."

Chu Guang nodded in understanding.

Although he had never ridden a motorcycle, he had ridden an electric bike and could somewhat imagine that scenario.

"Not bad."

"Although there's still much room for improvement, achieving this much is already commendable."

"With this device, our mobility on the battlefield will greatly increase. Thank you for your contribution to the revival of the United Human."

Never did Mosquito expect his invention to receive such high praise from the faction leader. His face immediately showed a flattered expression.

Containing his excitement, he said with emotion.

"Being able to alleviate your concerns is my honor!"

Orders!

Silver coins!

Most importantly, his invention had been recognized!

Thinking of his pride and joy potentially being listed in NPC stores and chosen by players across the server, Mosquito couldn't help but burst into emotional tears.

Who else dared say his inventions were useless?

Who else dared say his creations were superfluous?

Eh?

Just who would dare!

Chu Guang glanced strangely at Mosquito, who had suddenly become emotional, but said nothing further and continued to inquire about production matters.

"Is it difficult to produce this type of engine? And that... uh, 'Death Breath' motorcycle, what is its monthly production capacity?"

Mosquito chuckled and replied.

"Not difficult at all! As long as the material supply is sufficient and the steel plant's orders can be processed on time, assembling one every three days is no problem! If we hurry, even two days!"

Three days, huh.

He was a bit slow.

He was afraid he might miss the battle that was unfolding.

However, Chu Guang knew this was an unavoidable situation.

Scaling up industrial production required consuming vast amounts of manpower and physical resources, and currently, eighty percent of the manpower and resources in the new industrial area were focused on the production of weapons and ammunition. No mater how much you mobilize, you cannot conjure up what is not there.

As for vehicles, they would have to be temporarily placed as a secondary priority.

Nevertheless, Chu Guang was comforted by the thought that Mosquito seemed to have finally come around, choosing to leave behind the small workshop production model and adapt to the "version" demands, hiring other players and indigenous people, following the model of Factory No.81 to grow and strengthen.

This was undoubtedly a good start.

...

He had placed an order with Goblin Technology through VM.

After leaving Goblin Technology, Chu Guang had toured around Factory No.81 steel plant and then returned to Outpost Base.

However, just as he had returned to the base, he saw Wrench approaching him with a serious expression.

"Sir! The patrolling team deployed northeast has sent a message; they've spotted numerous traces of Looter activity around the area from Central State Aerospace Ecology Experimental Base to Winter Willow Camp."

"They must have come from the suburb of Tianshui City!"

So, they had finally come?

Strangely, upon hearing this news, Chu Guang did not feel the slightest bit of tension; instead, he sighed in relief.

Black Snake choosing to attack now was better than dragging it out to a month later, and both he and Vanus had anticipated that they would make their move early.

It seemed the Looters wanted to spend winter in jail cells.

Very well.

Chu Guang looked at Wrench and ordered calmly,

"Mobilize all the soldiers."

"Deploy them according to the plan we made the night before last!"

Wrench's expression turned solemn, and he replied,

"Yes, Sir."

...

Northeast of Qingquan City.

A convoy made up of twenty light trucks, eight armored pickup trucks, and one tank was meandering awkwardly through a vast expanse of white snow, slowly inching forward.

Besides the vehicles, the sides of the convoy were dotted with hundreds of Looters along with nearly a thousand slaves shackled by their feet.

Since they were carrying all their possessions, their marching speed was slow.

Every now and then, a truck would get stuck in the snow due to the poor road conditions or get wedged by the terrain, forcing the slaves to lift and push.

The Looters walking beside had no choice but to slow down their pace, waiting for these cumbersome vehicles.

Sitting in the back seat of an armored pickup truck, Black Snake, growing impatient, urged the driver,

"How much longer will it take?"

The driver, gripping the steering wheel nervously, answered,

"We should arrive before dark, Sir."

Before dark...

It looked as if they would have to spend another night in the snow.

Knowing that urging was useless, Black Snake cursed inwardly and continued to wait with patience.

The night before last, his scouts dispatched to the south had reported intense battle near Changjiu Farm, and they even saw a flare rise into the night sky.

Although they could not see the specific battle conditions, his scouts reported that judging from the gunfire, there were at least 300 people, perhaps even more, engaged in combat.

Two to three hundred-person squads.

It seemed his old friend, Lion Tooth, had read his intentions, and was now determined to move his troops 20 kilometers south before the snow melted, aiming to take over the large tracts of land in the north suburb of Qingquan City.

Black Snake knew he had to act.

If he continued waiting and only started mobilizing in spring, he feared there wouldn't even be any soup left for him.

Sitting next to Black Snake, Vedes spoke cautiously,

"Marching in heavy snow is not a good idea; our armored units simply can't leverage their mobility advantages in half a meter of snow."

Whether it was the armored pickup truck, tanks, or the two 100mm howitzers towed by trucks,
these heavy-duty pieces of equipment were prone to sinking into the snow, and once they broke down in an ill-timed place, they could easily become sitting ducks.

However, Black Snake did not care or seemed not to have taken the warning to heart.

Judging by the power displayed by the survivors from the "North Suburb" in the first two battles, they were at best two hundred-man teams.

And he had four such teams right by his side, plus six more that had already set out in advance to scout ahead of the main force.

Unable to take advantage of mobility?

That's a joke.

Did he need that?

In the face of absolute power, all he had to do was point the gun barrel at their faces, and they would naturally surrender, abandoning their armor.

"The blizzard has stopped, the hardest part is past, our infantry will clear the obstacles ahead, and our armored forces and supplies will follow up. If all goes well, by tomorrow night we could be sleeping in their houses, under their quilts."

Vedes asked.

"What if things don't go well?"

"The day after tomorrow," responded Black Snake, patting Vedes on the shoulder with a pleased expression, "Don't worry, my friend. I know you like detailed plans, but sometimes the ability to adapt spontaneously is just as important."

Vedes shook his head and said,

"This isn't warfare, this is gambling."

"Gambling? I'm not averse to the term," Black Snake continued with a smile.

"I know what you're worried about. What if our front-line forces come under attack, and our tanks can't charge forward?"

Vedes remained silent…

Before the staff officer could speak, Black Snake answered his own question,

"That concern is completely unnecessary. The heavy snow isn't just on us, they face it too. My battle line is extended, but still within the range of artillery fire. Without vehicles, they will be like grasshoppers trapped in the snow, crushed to death under our fire!"

"What if they choose to attack our rear?" Vedes couldn't help but interject, "If I were them, I certainly wouldn't foolishly charge from the front."

A trace of displeasure crossed Black Snake's face.

Although this staff officer occasionally provided very constructive suggestions, sometimes his words were quite unpleasant.

Especially since he did not think it was a good idea to attack their rear.

"Do you think I haven't considered that? Why else would I have four hundred-man teams staying behind? Even if by a miracle they managed to bypass our front line and appear at our rear, those four teams should be more than enough to overwhelm them."

Besides, that was impossible.

The harsh winter was the same for everyone.

People can't just fall from the sky.

To bypass the six hundred-man teams moving forward, they would have to take a long detour from the east.

At a conservative estimate, their marching route would be extended by thirty kilometers, and during that time, they would have to cross a vast expanse of snow and patches of forest and ruins.

By the time they made the effort to get to the rear, their armored forces might have already entered the urban area of Qingquan City!

And even if, by some miracle, they managed to reach the rear, it would not matter.

Even if tanks got stuck in the snow, at most it would clog their tracks, not affect their gun turrets.

With the cooperation of the four hundred-man teams, dense bullets and shells would swat that bunch of damn bugs dead in the snow like flies!

Black Snake had been waiting for this day for over a month!

After hearing Black Snake's words, Vedes chose to remain silent, as he really did not know what else to say.

Not sending everyone to the front only proved he was not stupid, but that did not mean it was a wise decision.

If this guy were to command the Expeditionary Army, they would probably not last even a week, maybe just three days before a million-strong army was decimated.

Vedes sighed quietly in his heart and could only pray that the opposition was equally incompetent.

However, for some reason,

Whenever he thought this, a sense of unease troubled his mind.

It was an intuition developed from battles along the northern line and against the people of the Grand Canyon, an intuition that had helped him avoid dangers countless times.

Could it really go this smoothly?

...

At this moment, neither Vedes nor Black Snake, nor the patrol team following beside the convoy, noticed a pair of eyes gazing intently at them from a snowy slope 3 kilometers to the east.

The front of the binoculars covered with gauze, Night Ten, lying in the snow, suppressed his excitement and stretched out his frozen index finger to press on his uniquely designed headphones.

"All squad leaders, attention! The target has passed through Mark A and is moving towards Zone C on the map… They seem to want to head to the interstate highway."

"You guys won't let this big fish get away, right?"

Not far away, in a sleeping bag, slept Wild Wind who was offline; soon he would have to log off and call Wild Wind to join them.

They had been on shift here for two days.

In these past two days and nights, neither of them had returned to the base.

Night Ten himself didn't know how he had persevered!

The voices of the squad leaders came through in the communications channel.

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Damn! Again, not passing through my area!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "There's work coming, brothers!"

Standing next to a truck 5 kilometers away from the target on the snowfield, the Spring Water Commander returned to the passenger seat and nudged the one sitting in the driver's seat from the Battlefield Atmosphere Group.

"Drive, let's head to Zone C. Don't jump on seeing someone soon, stop the vehicle before getting into a fight."

"It's on? Fuck, this mission has been too long… I almost fucking disconnected," the Old Soldier shook his head and started the engine.

The Spring Water Commander ignored him and pressed his index finger to his headphones.

"Redeploying to target Zone C… Calling Edge Squad, those people are heading straight for you, looks like you're leading the charge again."

4 kilometers away from the target, next to the interstate highway.

A team of players clad in white camouflage crawled in the snow, with a forest behind them and a gentle slope in front.

This was the nearest route to the interstate highway.

Edge Shoveling pressed his earphone calmly and responded.

"Received."

Ending the communication, he turned to his eager comrades behind him and took a deep breath, saying with a serious expression.

"Brothers, the enemy is marching straight toward us, only 4 kilometers left."

"This will be the very center of the battlefield."

He then looked at the construction site youth and the brick.

"… Brick, aim for the tank's tracks when firing, regardless of hitting or not, move immediately after shooting. If the track breaks, leave it to Big Eyes."

In front of him lay a nearly two-meter-long "Cavalry Gun," Construction Site Youth and Brick exclaimed excitedly.

"Leave it to me!"

"+1," Debt Giant Eye took out a small robot from his backpack and after confirming the dynamite was securely attached, chuckled and continued, "So, are we betting this time? I bet—"

"Get lost!"

"Bet your crow's mouth! You talk too much, hurry up and go put the robot up front!"

Seeing that he had provoked their ire, Debt Giant Eye coughed.

"I was just kidding."

This was going to be a tough fight.

The enemies they would face were going to be several times those of the last time.

However, no one was afraid.

Edge Shoveling could feel that the gleam in the eyes around him sparkled with excitement and a readiness to embrace death.

They would stop those bandits right here, leaving none behind.

Want to get through?

Let's see you try!

Edge glanced at the VM on his arm.

A line of pale blue text emerged on the screen.

[Mission: Operation Code "Spring Thunder"]

This thunder.

Would shatter all darkness!

Chapter 230: The Fire Rain that Descends from the Sky

The entrance of the provincial highway, to the north, was a relatively flat snowfield.

At this moment, the thousand-man team under Lord Black Snake was slowly marching across this snowfield.

Although unsuccessful in persuading Lord Black Snake to make a more cautious strategic choice, Vedes, being on the same boat, still cautiously planned their marching route.

He chose to head straight south, bypassing the large forest and steep slopes on the west side, entering the provincial highway and then heading west all the way, cutting off Changjiu Farm's connection with the North suburb of Qingquan City.

This route would be slightly longer.

But it would also be more pragmatic.

In the back seat of the armored pickup truck.

Vedes had a map spread across his knees, his index finger moving on the map, drawing an arc around the front part of their march.

"...Our due west position is the forest where Winter Willow Camp is located. Unless something unexpected happened, the survivors there would have evacuated over a month ago."

"Our target is towards the provincial highway to the south. Once we reach there, the road ahead will be smooth sailing."

"If the intelligence is correct, there should be a survivor settlement there."

"Even though they might have likely evacuated, we should still be able to find some useful things there."

"It'll be dark in about two hours. We can rest there overnight then continue west. If all goes well, we should reach Changjiu Farm by noon tomorrow. If they haven't blown it up, we should be able to secure a fortress in the North suburb of Qingquan City, and preempt your allies as you wished."

Lord Black Snake stroked his chin, wearing a satisfied expression.

He trusted his strategist's expertise.

However, he had some questions about the plan.

While Vedes was outlining his plan, Lord Black Snake's gaze stayed fixed on a red marker on the map.

That was the Ecological Experiment Base of Central State Space, also a strategically defensible high ground, not only with a complete enclosing wall as cover but also buildings to shield from wind and rain.

Lord Black Snake remembered quite clearly, that over a month ago, Vedes had strongly recommended using that place as their springboard for attacking the North suburb of Qingquan City.

Yet, for some reason, this time his strategist had completely ignored that tactical gem, not mentioning it since the entire operation began.

As if he had forgotten about it.

"Why don't we station ourselves at the Ecological Experiment Base of Central State Space? It's on high ground, which is perfect for deploying our artillery."

Vedes shook his head and said,

"That position is good, but the terrain from there to Changjiu Farm is too flat."

Lord Black Snake asked puzzledly,

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Vedes explained,

"For them, it certainly is. They'll reach there faster than us and occupy the high ground waiting for us to walk right into their trap."

It seemed to make some sense.

Lord Black Snake nodded thoughtfully, his gaze then shifting toward the highway that stretched from east to west on the map, he continued asking,

"What if they ambush us on both sides of the highway?"

Vedes sighed, patiently replying,

"The terrain of the provincial highway is relatively higher than its sides. Nobody would be foolish enough to ambush from the base of the hill those on top of the hill. We just need to allocate a team to scout for explosives and traps in front, and then divide two teams to scout slowly forward along the gentle slopes on both sides of the highway to ensure absolute safety."

This guy always asks some questions that are difficult to answer.

Vedes felt headache coming on.

Despite his headache, the satisfied answer brought a pleased smile to Lord Black Snake"s face, he said relaxedly,

"It seems victory is just within reach."

"Yes, if everything goes as smoothly as planned."

Vedes closed the map in his hands, looking out at the blank expanse of snow through the car window.

His brow furrowed slightly.

The sense of unease grew stronger in his heart.

If the survivors in the North suburb of Qingquan City planned to stop them, this was probably their last and only chance.

Once their convoy hit the highway from the wilderness, the other side would lose all chances of stopping them.

But...

Setting up an ambush here would not be an easy task either.

He had purposely chosen a highway entrance that was not too close to Changjiu Farm.

Even if the other side spotted them and reacted immediately upon receiving the warning, it was unlikely that they would reach this place before them.

Should he send a few men ahead to check?

Just as Vedes was pondering this, suddenly from the southeast direction of the convoy, a loud bang was heard in the distance.

Followed by the whoosh of something cutting through the air, the shell seemed to have landed right in the middle of the convoy.

That seemed to be the location of the tank.

Vedes's face slightly changed.

Sitting next to him, Lord Black Snake reacted quickly. He had already grabbed the walkie-talkie in his hand, furiously yelling,

"Damn it, daring to ambush my convoy!"

"Shoot, damn it!"

Bang——!

From the gun muzzle, a thick tongue of fire erupted, echoing like thunder across the snowy plains.

A 20mm steel-core armor-piercing shell traced an orange-yellow arc through the air, striking like lightning hard against a tank 500 meters away.

Sparks flew.

With a crisp snap, the thick tracks were broken and slipped uncontrollably off the road wheels. The moving tank immediately lost power and became stranded in the snow.

The looters nearby were dumbfounded.

Clearly, they had not expected anyone to dare strike at them.

And to attack that invincible iron beast!

Moving his eyes away from the scope, the young construction worker lying in the snow with "Brick" waved his fist excitedly and couldn't help but cheer.

"Hahaha! The tank's track is broken! I hit it!"

Upon closer inspection, the tank looked quite menacing.

With a nearly eight-meter-long body, a thick gun barrel, and distinct angular lines, it lay in the snow like a giant iron beast.

However, the beast wasn't as tough as imagined; its track broke with just one shot, surprising even the young construction worker and "Brick".

He had thought that it would take several more shots...

Too bad there were no teammates nearby to high-five him.

Taking advantage of the looters' confusion, he swiftly ejected the smoking shell casing and stuffed another armor-piercing shell into the gun chamber, taking another shot at the tank's turret.

If he could damage the turret, this thing would be completely reduced to scrap metal!

However, his idea was good.

Unfortunately, the 20mm caliber was simply too small.

The second shell that hit the turret, like a toothpick stuck in a wall, was unequivocally knocked away and shot toward heaven.

"MMP!"

"Time to switch to high-explosive for hitting people!"

As the second shot rang out, the looters finally spotted him and started shouting and firing toward him.

Bullets whizzed through the distance of five hundred meters.

Unhurried, he folded the "Cavalry Gun" bipod and quickly moved away before the tank's barrel could turn toward him.

Almost at the same time he left his position, a high-explosive bomb landed exactly where he had been.

The explosion sent snow flying dozens of meters high, and two nearby pine trees were snapped in two, cascading down the snowy slope.

Watching the rising snow mist from afar, a group of players hiding not far away all showed surprised expressions.

"Holy shit! That caliber's got to be over 80mm."

"Be confident, take out the guess."

"Holy crap...do you think the construction guy is still alive?"

"He's an Awakener, and a Strength Type, at that; he won't die so easily." Edge Shoveling looked at Big Eyes next to him and continued, "The tank is yours now, be steady. We've only got one robot, just one chance."

Big Eyes, with his connection device, was now closing his eyes.

His consciousness had connected to the "Crawler" deployed forward, its four mechanical legs swiftly moving through the snow.

The target was right ahead!

Though invisible, he could feel it clearly!

His hand already gripping the detonator, Debt Giant Eye gently exhaled a puff of white mist.

"Don't worry."

"As steady as it gets!"

...

Suddenly ambushed.

The looters' formation was thrown into chaos.

Clearly, they had no experience dealing with such situations and the cumbersome group immediately tangled up like a centipede in the snow.

However, their combat proficiency was decent, and their reactions fairly quick.

Once they confirmed the direction of the attack, the tank with the broken track was the first to rotate its turret, firing one cannon in the direction from which the shells had come, followed by a rattle of gunfire from the coaxial machine gun next to the barrel.

Bullets kicked up sprays of snow on the slope.

If anyone had still been there, they would undoubtedly have been dead beyond any doubt!

"Men, charge!"

"Find that rat who ambushed us!"

"Damn it, I'm going to skin him and make a sofa out of it!"

Amidst the roaring commands of a looter Centurion, four squads of ten men each swiftly set off toward the snow slope 500 meters away.

Seeing the distant gunfire cease.

A crew member emerged from the top hatch of the tank, toolbox in hand; he took out tools and began repairing the blown-off track.

Sitting atop the armored pickup truck, Lord Black Snake's face was full of irritation.

Half a minute ago, he had received news from the tank crew that the tank's tracks had been broken and it would take some time to repair.

All because of a mere attacker, the entire team had to stop.

"I suggest we disperse the infantry to thoroughly search the area," Vedes said cautiously, looking at him. "It's highly likely that there's more than one attacker."

Lord Black Snake replied impatiently,

"Once I find that guy, I'll naturally figure out how many flies there are."

The repair work on the tracks was progressing smoothly.

The tank would soon be operational again.

Lifting his arm to wipe the engine oil smudged on his forehead, Looter, who had just come down from the vehicle, was about to install the last part.

However, at that moment, he suddenly noticed something moving in the snow nearby.

Was it a mouse?

In the blink of an eye, the little critter had already scurried under the tank's chassis using the cover of the snow.

"What is that?"

He vigilantly drew the pistol from his waistband, crouched down, and pressed his face to the snow, intending to see what had crawled under the tank.

But the snow on the ground was too thick.

After the thing had crawled under the chassis, it stopped moving, vanishing as if into thin air, which made him even begin to doubt whether he had seen it at all.

At that moment, a voice from the tank commander came down from the roof of the vehicle.

"Is it fixed yet?"

He responded,

"Almost, almost there."

The commander pressed him, his voice carrying a hint of warning,

"You better hurry up, if you make Lord Black Snake wait too long, you know what the consequences will be."

He replied nonchalantly,

"Okay, okay, I got it."

Was it an illusion?

Looter doubted in his mind but had no time to crawl under and check.

He stood up from the ground.

However, just as he picked up his tools and was about to finish his work, a burst of flame suddenly shot out from beneath the tank.

It was like a gas stove being ignited.

In an instant, with no chance to react, the shockwave from the explosion struck his chest, blowing him away!

Boom——!

The explosion's flames and smoke engulfed the entire tank, and the fierce shockwaves lifted it off the ground.

Twisted steel fractured inch by inch, the leaking fuel tank ignited by the intense heat caused a horrific secondary explosion along with the ammunition rack.

The scene was utterly tragic.

Caught off guard, a Centurion was instantly killed on the spot, and nearly twenty Looters around him were swallowed by the explosive flames.

Limbs and remnants flew everywhere.

For a moment, the ground was filled with wails of agony.

It was like purgatory!

"Awesome!!!"

Through his binoculars and lying on the snowy slope, Edge Shoveling excitedly punched the snow beside him.

Not far away, Debt Giant Eye's head shook and he disconnected, but he quickly logged back on, shaking his heavy head and muttered,

"MMP... why did it drop again."

At the same time, Lord Black Snake, sitting inside the armored pickup, felt his eyes instantly turn red, his pupils filled with blood vessels.

Staring out of the window, his heart felt as though it was being ripped apart, bleeding with every cut!

That was the tank bestowed to him by his leader!

It was his greatest reliance!

The reason his thousand team could storm cities and sweep through territories mercilessly from the central part of River Valley Province to the south like a hurricane was largely due to it!

And now, that tank was reduced to scrap metal...

How dare they!

They actually dared!

"I want to kill them!"

"I want to chop them into pieces, mince them into meat!"

Listening to Lord Black Snake's furious roar, the driver sitting in front trembled violently, not daring to breathe, fearing he would become a vent for the anger.

Sitting beside Lord Black Snake, Vedes was utterly stunned.

"What was that just now?"

He muttered softly, his eyes filled with disbelief.

There was no warning.

He had only seen a burst of fire shooting into the sky, followed by the Army's prized "Conqueror" being blasted into scrap metal.

That power...

At least 10 kilograms of TNT.

Perhaps even more!

A drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead as Vedes, realizing the seriousness of the situation, suddenly snapped back to reality.

He immediately turned to Lord Black Snake sitting beside him, ignoring the tyrant's uncontrollable anger, and bellowed,

"Hurry! Call back all six hundred-member teams you dispatched earlier!"

He had only gotten halfway through his sentence.

A barrage of gunfire came from the fan-shaped area ahead.

Bullets whistled like a sudden storm, with at least ten light machine guns—and possibly even more automatic weapons—unleashing fierce firepower at them.

The biggest threat was already eliminated!

There was no need to hide anymore.

Crawling in the snow and supporting the light machine gun mounted on the snowy slope, Debt Giant Eye furiously pulled the trigger and roared,

"Brothers!"

"Hit them hard!"

The muzzle flash turned Debt Giant Eye's face red, his index finger as if welded to the trigger, and he excitedly shouted,

"Arr ARR ARR!""

Bullets wildly flew over the battlefield, with several even hitting the armoured pickup, making the engine hood clang loudly!

Still not recovered from the earlier explosion and now facing a head-on painful attack, the entire convoy was thrown into chaos.

The elongated convoy, without regard for its head or tail, was stuck in the snow, neither advancing nor retreating, caught in a dilemma.

Fortunately, Vedes, an experienced staff officer, though taken by surprise by the sudden attack, did not lose his composure.

Snatching the walkie-talkie from Lord Black Snake and taking over command, Vedes issued several orders, barely managing to control the chaotic situation.

The Looters gradually realized.

The opposition seemed formidable, but in reality, there were not many of them.

The four armoured pickups spinning their wheels in the snow finally lumbered to the front of the convoy, four vehicle-mounted machine guns welded with steel plates crazily strafing the snowy slope 500 meters away, quickly suppressing the enemy.

Under the leadership of a Centurion, a hundred and twenty Looters spread out into twelve small teams and began encircling from the front.

The bayonets glinted in the snow like wild beasts' fangs.

Their eyes flickered with a bloodthirsty gleam, like wolves surrounding their prey.

"Tear them apart!"

"Chop off their heads! Kill them in the most brutal way!"

"Let those rats from the gutters know the consequences of angering Lord Black Snake!"

The Centurion roared, urging his troops forward.

However, just then, a piercing screech suddenly came from above their heads.

The Centurion instinctively looked up, his eyes widening, the bloodthirsty look in his pupils instantly replaced by a color of fear.

He saw rockets, trailing thick plumes of smoke across the sky, raining down like fire, taking the evening's last glow to the ground.

He cried out in shock, falling into the snow, and screamed with all his strength,

"Take cover—!"

The rockets did not hit directly overhead.

Instead, they struck behind him, heavily hitting the rear position.

The explosion's fiery light merged into one, shrapnel madly flying over the open space, the boiling heat wave almost igniting the snow, burning the Looters' mental defenses.

Looking back at the sea of fire behind him, the Centurion, lying on the ground, saw his fear gradually turning into despair, losing the last bit of courage to move forward.

At that moment, sharp whistle sounds swept across the snowfield from all directions, and in the spreading smoke, he saw his men turning their backs to the enemy and running, only to be shot down in the snow.

They were attacked from behind.

The armoured pickups, supposed to cover their advance, seemed to want to go back to help, but the snow was already burying their hoods.

Controlling the wheels stuck in the snow was tougher than they had imagined.

From afar, bang-bang-bang sounds of autocannon fire came as one armoured pickup after another was penetrated by incendiary bombs, one after the other...

Half-buried in the snow, the Centurion faintly heard echoes of battle cries like waves.

He couldn't understand what those people were shouting.

Nor did he know how many there were.

He only knew that the war might end faster than Lord Black Snake had anticipated.

Maybe they wouldn't even need till tomorrow.

Perhaps tonight, they could be sleeping in the survivors' houses...

Chapter 231: Never Fought Such a Wealthy Battle (Thanks to the "Penguin in the Arctic" Sterling Silver League!)

"Niubi!"

Gazing at the blazing position over five hundred meters away, Debt Giant Eye's face, illuminated by the firelight, was filled with excitement.

That salvo just now, with at least twenty rockets, had hammered down right on top of Black Snake's thousand team.

After being attacked, those Looters had all swarmed forward in a wave, squeezing their elongated formation into a big lump.

So, when the rockets flew over, they didn't have the slightest chance to scatter, only to desperately face the judgment of the flames.

The support effect this time could score over ninety!

At least no rockets went astray a kilometer away, and none fell on the heads of our own people.

Especially surprising to Debt Giant Eye was the fact that the rockets fired by Brother Mosquito weren't just impressive in scale; their power was also quite astonishing.

In addition to the damage caused by the explosion fragments, there was an added burning effect—literally stacking the damage buff to the max!

And the effect was clear for all to see.

This round of rocket bombardment was much more fierce than their previous siege on the Ecological Experiment Base!

Watching the sea of fire in the distance, the Roller Wash Hair Machine couldn't help but feel moved.

"That beeper is just too cool, the sound of the rockets whistling as they fly. If I were on the other side, I would've been scared stiff!"

Edge Shoveling: "Low-budget Stuka!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Thumbs up from the Fifty pieces good brothers, no hype, no lies, Brother Mosquito is just too good."

Roller Wash Hair Machine: "After I log off, I've got to hype this up on the forum."

Hearing this, Debt Giant Eye quickly advised him.

"You really shouldn't! What if he gets carried away? Have you forgotten all those quirky things he's made before?"

Roller Wash Hair Machine paused and, feeling there was some truth to it, scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, well, that's also true... so what do we do?"

Debt Giant Eye chuckled and said,

"Simple, we agree to hype up the badass quadruple anti-aircraft gun and the invincible Factory No.81, and then act like nothing happened."

Edge Shoveling: "Wow, that's just too cunning!"

Neighbor Old Wang: "Exactly! I can't even watch this!"

Debt Giant Eye said with an embarrassed smile,

"Too kind, too kind."

With the arrival of reinforcements and supporting firepower, the fighting at the front line was essentially over.

The armored pickup trucks lying in the snow were crazily harvested by the air defense tracked vehicles coming to the flank, grinding against the snowy ground.

The hundred-team that previously charged towards them under the cover of firepower also collapsed in morale under the howling of the rockets.

Especially when they saw their pride and joy, the armored pickup trucks, being destroyed one after another by that monster with four gun barrels, they ran away as if mad.

Of course, they couldn't escape.

Aside from the truck carrying the quadruple anti-aircraft gun, there were also two other tracked troop carriers following behind.

The players driving were all seasoned drivers, leisurely engaging a low gear and keeping a not-too-close yet not-too-far distance behind them.

The gunner standing in the back of the vehicle, with a fixed machine gun welded to the roof, was doing three-round burst fire, chasing their backsides.

Until over half were dead or wounded, dropping their weapons and laying flat on the ground with hands over their heads.

In this short exchange that lasted less than three minutes, the Looters in front had lost a quarter of their forces and more than half their armor.

Debt Giant Eye quickly estimated; on average, the quadruple anti-aircraft gun mounted on the back of the truck could take out an armored pickup every four shots.

The riveted steel plates on the sides of those pickups couldn't block the point-blank firing of the 20mm cannon at all.

Hitting the driver's seat was just a bloody mess, and hitting the fuel tank was like hitting the jackpot.

The bang, bang, bang of the explosions were as crisp as a bottle opener.

Perhaps terrified by the gruesome deaths of their teammates, the last crew of the Armored Pickup Truck didn't even wait for the machine gun to target them before they abandoned the vehicle and fled.

Seeing this, Rolling Drum Hair Washing Machine quickly set up a light machine gun and mowed down the two men with a burst of gunfire.

Watching the Looters cry and howl in the snow, the guy didn't bother to finish them off, cursing under his breath.

"Damn it! Were you having fun spraying us just now, huh? Still having fun now?"

Not far away,
the charging whistles sounded one after another.

Reinforcements from other places, as planned, surrounded the Black Snake's convoy from all sides and launched an assault.

Three tracked vehicles continued forward, lining up in the snow, their vehicle-mounted machine guns spewing fierce fire, covering the infantry's advance.

Watching the intense battle ahead, Debt Giant Eye suddenly felt sentimental.

"This war is just too well-funded."

Edge Shoveling strongly agreed, nodding.

"Yes."

Back during the battery factory days, they didn't have any of this niubi equipment.

Those Looters with two armored pickups and a couple of machine guns welded to steel plates could pin them behind cover without being able to lift their heads.

Even with their best efforts, they only managed to destroy one.

But now, their firepower had not only been enhanced all-round, but it had also passed the test of the battlefield.

Whether it was Mosquito's Goblin rockets or the "20 cannons" produced by Factory No. 81, they all showcased their amazing potential.

Edge Shoveling suddenly felt somewhat relaxed.

He had thought this would be a brutal bloodbath, but to his surprise, not a single one of his squad members had died in the whole fight.

It was like a dream.

The front lines sent out continuous whistles, and the sounds of charging and killing made Rolling Drum Hair Washing Machine's heart itch, and he couldn't help but look at his teammates.

"Speaking of which, we might as well charge with them since we've already fought this far, and they surely don't have the strength left to rush us."

Edge Shoveling acknowledged that it was a tempting suggestion but still shook his head.

"Our mission is to hold our position, let's follow the mission instructions until they're updated."

Their team wouldn't be missed if they added one more to the front lines, nor would they be short if they were absent. Rather than rushing to join the fray, it was better to hold their position well.

Besides these Looters, there were still six hundred-team units scattered outside.

Even if they couldn't make it back quickly, they still had to guard against potential surprises.

Debt Giant Eye also agreed.

"+1, and I feel like it'd be a waste to charge now. By the time we get there, everything will probably be over, so it's better to just hang back and score."

In defense missions, you just need to be within the defense point to earn points.

Rolling Drum Hair Washing Machine sighed.

"Ah, such salted fish with no dreams!"

Ignoring the man, Edge Shoveling suddenly remembered the little robot and turned to Debt Giant Eye.

"By the way, how's your robot doing?"

Debt Giant Eye chuckled and said.

"No worries, the Manager told me that it's a good opportunity to switch to a new model. The new one even has a camera, much more user-friendly than the old one!"

"As for the old one, if it's blown up, then so be it!"

The crawler's carrying capacity is not high; at most, it can carry about four kilograms of dynamite.

Moreover, this is at the expense of mobility.

Four kilograms of TNT, it would be a bit difficult to destroy a heavy tank.

However, the metallic hydrogen batteries used by the crawler themselves are also explosive, with an explosive equivalent not lower than six kilograms of TNT.

With an additional four kilograms of TNT, the total would be equivalent to ten kilograms, just in terms of explosive power, akin to two anti-tank mines.

This power should be enough to blast a tank.

Even if it couldn't completely destroy the tank, it would be enough to leave the crew inside shaken and spewing smoke from all orifices.

Of course, it now appears that this concern was entirely unnecessary.

The damage from the explosion clearly exceeded expectations, not only turning the tank into scrap metal but also igniting the fuel tank and ammunition rack.

Staring at Big Eyes in shock, Edge Shoveling shook his head after a long while and said,

"This is too extravagant."

...

Changjiu Farm Command Center.

After the operation started, Chu Guang had moved from Outpost Base to here.

Overseeing the battlefield through Hummingbird drones, he took in the front-line situation and shared the visuals with everyone in the command center via a tablet computer modified from a VM.

At the same time, a paper map rested on the command center's table.

The map depicted dozens of arrows of various sizes, complete with numbers, virtually planning the attack routes for each ten-person squad.

So far, the plan was proceeding quite smoothly.

A total of 21 infantry teams of ten soldiers each took on the main assault role. Once support fire arrived on the battlefield, they launched their attacks in unison.

Despite being vastly outnumbered, players rushed forward to encircle the Looters, who were left dizzy by rocket blasts.

Under cover from the tracked vehicles, just the first round of gunfire caused the three hundred-team squads guarding the convoy to crumble into disarray, clutching their heads and scampering toward the woods on the west side.

Originally, these 21 squads were supposed to advance in three echelons, attacking northwards in a concave formation, driving the Looters collectively northward before the light vehicles harvested them.

Unfortunately, the collapse of the Looters' defense line was faster than Chu Guang had anticipated.

As a result, the flanking squads hadn't yet managed to encircle the enemy when the attacking players had already breached their line of defense, undermining their will to resist and causing them to flee.

The offensive pushes of the latter two echelons had lost their significance.

Property Chicken killer, among the fastest, had already led his squad members to engage with the Looters in a bayonet fight.

And the most stable Springs team, upon realizing the battle's outcome was determined, also quickly changed strategy. Boarding light vehicles, they swiftly maneuvered behind the Looters' positions, enveloping them.

At this point in the battle, it hardly mattered how they fought; the opposition's flag was clearly white, with morale completely shattered.

Since it was the scoring phase, for the players, the rule was to grab as much as possible.

Watching the footage from the drone, Vanus suddenly spoke up.

"Your opponents made at least two strategic errors; otherwise, this battle might not have been so easy."

One was that the march was too hasty, stretching the battle line too long, with the head and the tail of the force unable to coordinate. When the front squads engaged in battle, those following immediately jammed up into a mass.

The other was overconfidence in their armored advantage, underestimating the impact of climate elements on mobility.

The only tank was immobilized, and the remaining wheeled vehicles, though fast on plains, were just sitting ducks in snowy terrain.

Of course, there was a third mistake.

Opting to launch an offensive in winter was a foolish decision on its own.

Even more so was the all-in gamble, turning the entire war into a high-stakes wager.

If they won the bet, they could spend the winter in the north suburb of Qingquan City.

If they lost, in another sense, they would stay here to spend the winter too.

Wrench spoke with a heavy tone,

"There are still six hundred-man teams left in the North Suburb, and together they make up seven to eight hundred men. If they resist to the end, I'm afraid we'll be in for a tough battle."

Vanus shook his head,

"On this matter, I have a different opinion. We've already crushed their main force. Even if they have the courage to continue resisting, they lack the supplies to support their fight. By comparison, we need to pay more attention to the north."

Wrench furrowed his brows, "You mean... the Lion Tooth stationed to our north might take this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on us?"

Vanus, "I can't rule out that possibility, but the likelihood of that happening is very small. According to the intelligence we've got from Gray Wolf, although they have support fire power, they lack reliable vehicles and move slowly. Unless they plan to stretch their troops thin like their allies, giving us an opportunity."

Wrench asked doubtfully, "Then you mean..."

Vanus continued, "After being disorganized, those six hundred-man teams will likely move towards Far Creek Town and join up with the Lion Tooth stationed there. For every one of them that escapes, we may face one more in the next battle."

Chu Guang nodded,

"I've considered this issue. Before the battle started, I already sent people to intercept them, but since our main force is on the vanguard, how many we can stop is hard to say."

Vanus looked at Chu Guang with a surprised expression and nodded,

"To be able to stop some is still better than letting them go."

Chu Guang smiled faintly and said,

"That's impossible."

The players deployed on the front to ambush Black Snake were only a little over two hundred, but he had mobilized many more players than that.

The remaining two hundred players were moving towards the northeast.

If those six hundred-man teams chose to go back for reinforcements, they would find themselves encircled by players.

If they decided to retreat towards the northwest, the two hundred reinforcements he'd sent to the front should be able to stop a portion of them.

The outcome on the front line was no longer in doubt.

The defenses surrounding the convoy had crumbled, leaving only sporadic resistance scattered in the forest on the west side and at the tail end of the convoy.

By now, it was basically time to declare victory in this war; clearing out the remaining diehards was just a matter of time.

Two hundred against five hundred, one tank destroyed, seven armored pickup trucks, with one captured.

In addition, two 100mm howitzers were seized, along with over twenty light trucks and supplies loaded on the trucks.

This time, Black Snake had brought along everything, even including spoils taken from the central part of River Valley Province.

Soon, Chu Guang would know what good stuff was loaded in his vehicles.

Moreover, according to feedback from the front-line troops, several hundred slaves who accompanied the army were also liberated.

Without a doubt, this was an epic victory!

Even if the battle report had not yet been tallied, Chu Guang could confidently make such a judgment.

And not just that, this battle was also, up to now, the largest-scale battle launched by Shelter No. 404.

Whether it was the troop strength, the equipment, or the number of enemy forces faced, it all reached a historical high since the opening of the server.

It would be hard to conclude without some form of celebration.

"The danger from the northeast has been eliminated."

Chu Guang looked at the map, his gaze landing to the direct north of Qingquan City—the Far Creek Town located 20 kilometers from Changjiu Farm.

The Looters there would probably never dream that now they would have to face him alone.

A smile crept onto Chu Guang's face.

He really wanted to know what kind of expression they had on their faces.

It must be quite a sight.

-

(Thanks to "Backpacking Penguin in the Arctic" for the generous Sterling Silver League reward! Big kudos! So excited, damn, why don't I have more manuscripts ready!)

Chapter 232: Annihilate! Capture! Spoils of War!

The sunset fell through smoke and fire, staining the snow a hauntingly beautiful red. The wilderness was littered with corpses, like the gates of Hell.

It was over.

This could hardly be called a war.

It was more like a massacre!

Without the protection of armor, and lacking any solid cover around, when the screeching reaper soared overhead and the charge whistles blasted from all directions, Yu suddenly remembered the fear he had felt in the forest that day.

His awakened power offered him no sense of safety whatsoever.

He wished he had grown extra legs to run faster or even wings to fly away from this terrifying place...

On the northwest side of the battlefield,
under the cover of his trusted subordinates, Black Snake, who abandoned his vehicle, finally escaped into the forest.

It was the right choice.

Light armors without mobility were like iron coffins on the open snowy field. A few high-explosive bombs were enough to turn the gunner manning the fixed machine gun into a bloody mess, and the looters using armored pickups for cover met instant deaths without even a scream.

"Damn... where did these guys get all this equipment?!" Panic flashed across Black Snake's eyes.

And what were those things flying toward them?!

How many guns did they actually have?!

Black Snake felt like everything happening was a dream.

And a nightmare at that!

Completely different from the intel he had.

Just over a month ago, these survivors didn't even have a decent vehicle, hopeless against their armored trucks, unable to chase or escape.

Now, the situation had completely reversed.

At that moment, Black Snake saw from afar his most loyal and brutally ferocious Centurion, who, like a coward, dropped his gun and crawled on the ground begging for mercy from the survivors.

"This waste!"

He cursed, continuing to run deeper into the forest, yet he dared not stop.

The survivors attacking them had spotted them; the pursuers quickly caught up and relentlessly chased after them.

To cover his retreat, the six subordinates who ran into the forest with him had to leave four behind to hold off the enemy, allowing the remaining two to continue escorting him northwest.

Gunfire erupted behind them.

Those four were probably engaging the enemy.

But the gunfire didn't last long; whether those brave men were dead or alive, whether the pursuers were blocked or not, was unknown.

Without looking back, Black Snake kept running.

However, at that moment, he suddenly realized his military adviser was missing.

He didn't even know when that man had fallen behind.

Out of breath, Black Snake turned to his subordinate beside him.

"Where's Vedes? Where is that guy?"

That subordinate quickly responded.

"I don't know, he was right behind us when we got out of the car, but then he was gone, maybe we got separated... Boss, let's not worry about him now, we need to break through here!"

Another subordinate chimed in,

"Yes! As long as we save our necks, we'll have everything we need to take back what we lost someday!"

Although they had lost this battle and all their belongings, the situation was still not desperate enough to have no room for maneuver.

Black Snake still had six companies of a hundred men each ahead, currently rushing toward his direction.

As long as he could regroup his troops, he still had a chance to regroup and reorganize.

If it came to it, he would abandon Qingquan City, leaving that tough nut for Lion Tooth, and march east according to his original plan.

He had heard of a thriving place in the east called Red River Town, where there was a lucrative mine, and which was also a paradise for slave owners.

With six hundred men, seizing it would be more than possible.

As for today's grudge.

There would be plenty of chances for revenge later!

Suddenly, two gunshots from behind broke Black Snake's thoughts.

The man running to his left groaned, powerless, and fell forward into the snow.

Another subordinate, realizing escape was futile, stopped running. Taking a wide tree as a shield, he pulled out his submachine gun, firing wildly behind him, and shouted,

"Boss! Run fast!"

"I'll cover your rear!"

Touched, Black Snake felt a surge of emotion.

Yet before he even had the chance to bid farewell, he saw his man, who had stayed behind to cover him, get his head blown off by the pursuing bullets and fall backward onto the snowy ground.

Black Snake knew he couldn't escape.

The pursuers were outrageously fast; no matter how far he ran, they would catch up.

As the snow ahead grew deeper, reaching up to his thighs, Black Snake found a relatively reliable cover, caught his breath, and shouted back.

"Friends over there!"

"Are you not thinking about your own situation?"

"I'm just a broken man left, I have nothing on me, capturing me will give you no benefit."

"Why not look behind you? On those trucks of mine, there are treasures, wine, and women, everything you want can be found there! If you're late, nothing will be left."

From the central part of He Gu Province to the south, he had destroyed at least ten survivor bases, looting countless resources and treasures.

Thinking about it, Black Snake felt his heart bleed; after struggling for half a year, he hadn't expected to lose everything before winter was over.

Now, he only regretted not heeding Vedes' advice.

Had he been cautious, why would today have happened?

The two players chasing him exchanged glances, completely baffled, having no clue what he was talking about.

Gnome King Riches: "What... is he saying?"

Elena: "No clue."

Gnome King Riches: "Damn, didn't you say you speak United Human language?"

Elena bashfully smiled.

"Uh, I only know a few words... Maybe I should try Qui Qui language?"

"Forget it, I can't count on you anymore."

Gnome King Riches sighed and shook his head.

Then, using a few words he had learned from an NPC, he shouted at the looter leader hiding behind the tree.

"Surrender!"

"No kill!"

"Refuse."

"Kill!!"

Black Snake was stunned at first and didn't understand.

But when he did, he became instantly furious.

"You want me to surrender? In your dreams! Even if I die, I'll never be a captive!"

Two people try to catch me?!

Roaring, he raised his assault rifle and swept it behind him.

Bullets whizzed through the forest, hitting the tree in front of Elena and Gnome King Riches, sending chips flying.

Taking this opportunity, Black Snake pulled out his last smoke grenade and fiercely slammed it outside the cover.

As the smoke began to spread, he didn't delay a moment, emptied the last of his magazine, then discarded the rifle and ran deeper into the forest.

However, what Black Snake didn't expect was that just after he left the cover, several gunshots came from behind the smoke.

The shooter completely ignored the smoke and sprayed a barrage at him.

Hit by several bullets in the back, Black Snake couldn't even scream before he plunged into the snow, ending his criminal life so sloppily.

As the smoke cleared, Gnome King Riches, holding a rifle, walked up and poked his face with a bayonet only to find the man was indeed dead.

Elena also came out from behind the cover, glanced at the looter killed through the smoke, and exclaimed in surprise.

"Holy shit, dude, did you turn on x-ray vision?!"

"Get lost, what the heck can be activated in a console game, ever heard of talent? Heat Vision! My eyes can see infrared light, how badass is that?"

Elena looked envious.

"Badass, badass... Fair is fair, your ability is a bit of a bug."

Gnome King riches smirked, "Indeed a bit, usual smoke doesn't affect me, unless it's the type that blocks heat."

Or if it itself could generate heat.

Then, Brother Mole's voice came from behind them.

"MMP, finally got it sorted! How about you guys? Caught up?"

Tying up the captives took some time, and by the time he caught up, the gunfire in front had already stopped.

Elena said.

"All sorted, the guy's lying on the ground, tell me, is this guy really a Centurion? Or a Thousands of leaders?"

Mole said affirmatively.

"It probably is."

Gnome King Riches curiously looked at him.

"How did you guess?"

"Do you even need to guess?" The Canyon Escaping Mole rolled his eyes as he spoke, "Look who else runs away like this guy, having others to cover his retreat."

Gnome King Riches was stunned.

Damn?

Makes sense!

Mole went over to check the man lying on the ground.

"Damn, the guy's dead."

Gnome King Riches awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, I was actually aiming for his leg, but this damn rifle's recoil is too freaking much, the second shot went to his back."

"That's where you messed up, should've picked up their submachine gun like I did."

Elena chuckled, waving the duct-taped Army submachine gun in her hand and boasted.

"This thing works wonders at close range, 9mm pistol bullets, practically no recoil, a burst can kill a crowd!"

The Manager has a real fondness for full-powered rounds. Whether it's automatic rifles or light machine guns, they use 50mm casings, and bolt-action rifles are outrageous with 70mm case lengths!

Maybe it's the experience of surviving in the Wasteland, powerful rifles are more effective against Variants. Those short-cased rifles with small calibers wouldn't even break a Crawler's defense.

Comparing it to the Type 95, the full length of a round is just 58mm, and the case is probably around 30+.

What does that mean?

Simply put, when the LD-47 is in burst mode, it's like a rapid-fire "98K", apart from Strength Types hardly anyone can handle it.

This also somewhat saves ammunition, leaving suppressive fire to specialized gunmen.

Mole glanced at the submachine gun in Elena's hand, his gaze lingered for a while on that ruler-like magazine.

"That toy gun of yours... works when shooting people, but I doubt it would be effective against Variants."

Elena awkwardly smiled.

"Uh, that's true."

But no worries.

She could carry two.

Gnome King riches glanced at the body on the ground, muttering quietly.

"What now?"

Chased around half the day only to end up lonely.

Initially wanted to capture someone alive, only to accidentally kill them, and the war score instantly halved, putting MVP status in jeopardy.

Mole sighed, shaking his head as he spoke.

"For now, let's just drag them back."

...

Elsewhere.

The battle on the snowy plains had ended, fiercely resisting Looters were all killed, and those who threw down their weapons and surrendered were rounded up together, huddling and squatting in an open area.

Players on the frontlines had a moment of inspiration, taking the shackles off those slaves and locking them onto the Looters.

These shackles were made of iron, far sturdier than rope!

To prevent the slaves from escaping, heavy modifications had been done to the shackles.

However, these clever designs were now all used on the Looters themselves.

Most of the rescued slaves watched blankly, still unable to comprehend what had happened.

Some had started to recover, but their faces still wore numb expressions as they stood motionless.

In the wasteland, slaves usually wouldn't find freedom just because their owner was killed; at most, they would just swap to a new owner and continue their previous lives.

Still, for many, switching owners was something to be happy about.

After all, being the Looter's slave meant doing tough labor and being treated as emergency food.

Working for the Survivor Settlement meant at least having a shelter to sleep in and not worrying about getting your throat slit at night or being unabashedly taken for dinner.

Up until a week ago, they had almost a thousand people.

Now, only over four hundred remained.

It was enough to see how disastrous it was.

The players didn't initiate conversations with them, just allocated a few people to watch them to prevent any problems based on the VM task.

The security team would arrive within an hour to take over and transport them to refugee shelters for resettlement.

"Motherfucker... Jackpot!"

Standing on the rear cargo bed of the seized light truck, Spring Water Commander flung open the curtain and stepped in, his face lighting up with surprise the moment he surveyed the crowded inside.

Potatoes!

An entire truckload of potatoes!

"This truck's got to have at least five or six tons!"

This wasn't some mutant horned potato, but bona fide pre-war crops. Although he wasn't sure if they were improved varieties, even the most common variety was more expensive than mutant crops like green wheat or horned potatoes.

Especially in some Survivor Settlements that were less picky about food, prices could even reach two or even three times as much.

Spring Water had seen these details on the official settings collection site.

In addition to the truck filled with potatoes, there were some burlap sacks in the corner of the cargo hold filled with grains like rice, wheat, and beans.

He hadn't expected these Looters to have such a balanced diet.

According to the latest food recycling prices at NPC warehouses, the goods in this truck were worth at least five or six thousand silver coins.

If bought, it would cost even more.

In MMORPGs, a difference of a zero in price when trading equipment is common knowledge.

Wasteland OL was similar, starting with a buying-to-selling ratio of 1:10 and, after several rounds of inflation, gradually increased to about 1:3~1:4, which could be considered industry-leading.

According to the game's battle reward settlement mechanism, these resources would be converted into silver coins as war spoils into the prize pool and distributed based on war scores.

It was somewhat similar to the heist mode in GTA5 but not exactly.

Spring Water clasped his hands together, his expression earnest.

"Thanks be to Mother Nature!"

Money was a minor concern.

With these supplies, hopefully, the food crisis at the Outpost Base would be smoothly resolved.

He hoped the ramen prices at the North gate market wouldn't rise again.

"Eating" is one of the major joys in this game, on par with exploring and battling.

Especially since higher levels consumed more energy, logically increasing food intake.

In real life, he couldn't even finish a bowl of noodles, while in the game, he could eat two large bowls without a burp.

You could eat to your heart's content without worrying about getting fat, diabetes, or gout, and even try foods never seen or dared to taste in reality, challenging your taste buds to their limits.

It was sheer happiness!

In the deepest part of the cargo hold, a wooden box contained some jerky with unrecognizable ingredients.

Based on his experience, they were probably not good, so he just closed the lid.

Jumping down from the truck, Spring Water Commander proceeded to check the next vehicle when he happened to hear his teammates' voices.

"Fuck, this truck is incredible! 5, 10, 15...40! 40 artillery shells! Holy shit, I didn't even see them use any cannons?"

"What a waste on them!"

"Hahaha, same here! This is just too much!"

"Let's start betting, I bet our earnings from this mission will hit 500!"

"Damn... now that you mention it, I'm getting nervous."

"Nervous? What's there to be nervous about?"

"The miner's exoskeletons at the NPC shop, aren't there only eight left? They might be sold out instantly once we return."

"Fuck?!"

Damn!

These guys are already worrying about inflation for the game planners.

However, hearing that the 2000-per-suite miner's exoskeletons were about to be sold out, Spring Water Commander couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

Godly equipment was godly because it was rare!

When nobody had guns, even a pipe rifle could be a big deal. Who uses those now?

Exoskeletons are the same.

Right now, just him and Old White have the "Miner I", so showing off is naturally awesome.

Once everyone gets one, the god equipment turns into junk, and he, who had a slight advantage, has to start chasing the next version again.

Nearby players are still counting their loot, boasting and comparing, having a great time.

This stuff is just as fun as opening blind boxes.

Before lifting the curtain, no one knows what's inside. After opening it, a quick scan with a VM gives you 2 more war points.

Over twenty trucks were not enough to go around, half were checked in just a moment.

"Yikes, why's my truck full of crap?" someone from the Battlefield Atmosphere Group couldn't help but say.

Spring Water curiously walked over and looked, speechless.

"What crap, isn't that stuff nutrient paste? I've heard the stuff made from cockroaches is black."

Old Soldier was shocked.

"Holy shit, who can actually eat something so gross?"

"A fun fact, the recipe for Devil's Frozen is similar—"

"Enough, don't say anymore."

"+1, I'm gonna vomit."

"Ha-ha-ha, keep going and Crow Boss will go out of business!"

"Holy shit, you guys are opening blind boxes?! Save one for daddy, let me have a look!"

I Max Black, filled with excitement, lifted the curtain and jumped onto the last light truck, but as soon as he entered, a woman's scream came from inside.

Everyone turned to look, only to see I Max Black, his face blackened, awkwardly hopping back out.

"There are a few girls in the truck... anyone got some clothes?"

Spring Water and Old Soldier exchanged glances, as did the surrounding players.

"Holy shit?"

"Awesome."

"Is it that realistic…"

…

One could guess with their toes what was happening in the truck.

Although it was something the Looters would do, nobody expected the game developer to include this content, especially during beta testing.

Is this content one can see without paying?

Of course, now was not the time to discuss this.

Spring Water pondered for a moment, "I think I saw one truck loaded with cotton clothes and some cotton fabrics…"

Old Soldier immediately said.

"I'll go with you."

Elsewhere.

At the northeast border between wastelands and forests of Changjiu Farm, 200 players and over 30 NPC guards were moving along the forest edge towards the battlefield.

Lacking vehicles, they could only walk.

Walking at the front of the group, Tail suddenly looked around and frowned.

Si Si, seeing her expression, curiously asked.

"What's up?"

"Nothing," Tail shook her head, muttering, "Is it just Tail's imagination? Why does this feel like a picnic?"

Si Si: "No need to feel, it's definitely so."

Among these 200 players, many had joined the game in version 0.9 and 0.8, with an average level of 5, with only a few at level 6 and 7, and even some at level 3, who had just gotten their VM.

Ignoring whether they had been soldiers or had similar experiences in real life—after all, this game has all sorts of players—at least in terms of level, the two standing here could also be considered pro gamers.

"By the way, Si, will everything be over by the time we get there?"

The sun was already setting.

In a few more minutes, it would probably be dark.

Si Si: "Maybe, but isn't that a good thing?"

Tail turned around, surprised.

"Yikes, didn't we run all this way for nothing?"

Si Si: "But look at it from another perspective, if even the big shots can't win, wouldn't we just be throwing ourselves into the fire if we went?"

"Damn, there goes Tail's chance to show off—"

"Not necessarily."

Si Si suddenly squinted his eyes, looking towards a white glow on a snowy slope ahead.

The visibility wasn't good in the snowy weather, and the light at dusk was poor too, but facing away from the setting sun, they could still clearly see a string of vague black dots on the distant slope, rapidly moving towards them.

Almost at the same moment, Tail also noticed the anomaly.

Her agility allowed her to see further, and at this distance, it was more useful than perception attributes.

"Up ahead! Loads of people! One two three... Damn, too many to count, at least a hundred!"

Hearing the player's warning, Liuding, the deputy captain leading the guards, immediately picked up his binoculars.

After confirming the situation ahead, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately ordered.

"Prepare to engage the enemy ahead!"

"Possible fleeing Looters!"

"Get ready for battle!"

-

(Today, there's only 6K, really couldn't catch up QAQ)

Chapter 233 Where on Earth Did All These People Come From?

If it weren't for what he had witnessed, Gang Ya would never have believed what he was seeing.

The sound of gunfire, like scattering beans, came from across the snow-covered slope, bullets whistling through the air, falling like raindrops all around them.

The two snow slopes were at least six or seven hundred meters apart, and without professional aiming devices, it was not easy to hit someone, but the sheer volume of fire made up for precision.

Hundreds of rifles fired almost simultaneously, catching them off guard.

Within a few breaths, four Looters were hit and tumbled down the slope; the others could only return fire hastily.

Unfortunately, their position was terrible, half the team mid-slope and only half at the top.

Additionally, they were fighting against the light.

Looking westward, a huge chunk of the setting sun hung on the horizon; the entire snow slope looked gilded, harder to make out the higher up the slope it went.

Gang Ya couldn't even count how many people were on the opposite side, sensing in the twilight that at least two hundred-man teams were rushing toward him, with people scattered all over the vast snowy field.

"Boss! There are so many people ahead!"

"They're advancing on us!"

"Great Antler God above, grant me the monster's strength and the divine deer's agility..."

"Damn, how many of them are there?!"

"Has the whole 'North Suburb' come out?!"

Chaos reigned all around.

Knowing this was no time to stand their ground, Gang Ya made a split-second decision and shouted:

"Retreat to the north!"

"Run into the forest!"

Crossing through the forest was a risky decision.

The snow would be thicker in the woods than on the plains, and they might encounter Mutant Brown Bears, Snow Wolves, and other carnivorous Variants.

Originally, according to his march plan, they were to proceed westward along the edge of the forest, then cross through the ruins north of Qingquan City, bypass the old school site and head north toward Far Creek Town.

But who expected that just as they approached the edge of the forest, they would run into so many people!

At this moment, Gang Ya felt just like he had been screwed over.

Several Centurions, receiving the order, immediately motioned for their followers to run north.

From a distance, the scene resembled a duck chase as over two hundred people pursued about a hundred and twenty to thirty others, though the relentless gunfire was far more thrilling than any duck chase.

"Stop!"

"Don't run!"

"Thieves ahead, dare you stop and fight?"

"My axe longs to feast!!"

"Damn it, these bastards run fast!"

Those behind yelled frantically, and the ones in front were shouting too, but no one could understand what the other was saying.

Following the Centurion's footsteps, River Beaver glanced back fearfully, seeing glinting bayonets flashing white in the snow.

Still four hundred meters away!

These people had already fixed their bayonets.

Were they all mad?!

"What kind of opponents are we fighting against…" huffed Iron Knee, gasping for breath.

"I don't know, but if I can help it, I never want to come back. Damn it, we should've gone east and left this mess for Lion Tooth and his lot!"

"Hey, did you hear the explosions earlier? I think they had at least ten cannon…"

"At least a thousand-man team from the northeast side, and now at least two more hundred-man teams chasing us, are there even so many people in the entire 'North Suburb'!"

"Insane, insane!"

Listening to the nonsensical chatter of his subordinates, Gang Ya didn't have time to respond.

He finally reached the edge of the forest and let out a sigh of relief.

Looking back at the dozen or so bodies left in the snow, Gang Ya felt a pang of pain in his heart, gritted his teeth and turned his head back.

"Run toward the true north!"

"We'll regroup in Far Creek Town!"

This journey would likely see many fall behind.

But compared to being captured by those survivors, escaping was undoubtedly the better outcome…

…

"Darn it, let those bad guys escape!"

Watching those ten squads disappear into the woods, Tail, reaching the edge of the forest, plunged his rifle into the snow and leaned on the barrel, panting hard.

They were so close to catching up!

Unfortunately, the snow on the ground was too thick, burying up to the shins in some places, and directly up to the knees or even thighs in others, making it impossible to run.

Tail couldn't help thinking of Meat Meat.

It would have been great if her bear were here!

After waiting for a while, Si Si and other players caught up from behind.

"Ah Wei, are you okay?"

"Tail's still okay, just a pity we were so close!"

Watching a dejected Tail, Si Si looked up at the forest ahead and said helplessly.

"Enmm... after all, they didn't even follow the process and just started running."

These people were so desperate to live that catching up was now out of the question.

Even that NPC wearing an exoskeleton couldn't catch up, right?

Seeing the deputy captain of the guard squad have stopped at the edge of the forest and fired a few shots into the woods before retreating.

It seemed he had decided not to pursue further.

Si Si said encouragingly,

"However, Ah Wei did great today."

Hearing the praise, Ah Wei, who had been somewhat disappointed a second ago, couldn't help but lift the corners of his mouth with pride and said,

"Kidding, Ah Wei is super brave, alright!"

Si Si chuckled.

"...Should I say 'show me' at this time?"

"??? You're not right, meow."

...

Having hurried through the forest, it was only after it had completely darkened that Gang Ya finally slowed his pace and gathered his subordinates.

Looking at the sparse group of fifty people, his heart sank slightly.

Though he had anticipated some would fall behind, he hadn't expected so many.

Gasping for breath, River Beaver stepped forward and suggested to the Centurion.

"...The brothers are very tired, if we keep going, I'm afraid more people will fall behind. The pursuers haven't caught up; I suggest we camp here, rest until dawn, and wait for those who have strayed."

Another Centurion, Iron Knee, also concurred,

"I agree... The temperature is too low at night, traveling is too dangerous!"

It was dark, and who knew what was hidden in the snow.

If they continued, it was doubtful many would make it out of the forest alive.

Gang Ya thought there was reason in their words and nodded.

"Set up camp."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and exhaustedly leaned against the trees nearby.

Everyone was tired.

Some even fell asleep standing.

Rubbing his frostbitten hands, a Looter said tremblingly,

"I really want to start a fire..."

Hearing these words, bitter expressions appeared on everyone's faces.

Start a fire?

Here?

Are they insane?

Although it seemed the survivors hadn't pursued them into the forest, they didn't believe they'd just let them go.

Perhaps the Hunter was nearby, just waiting for a moment of laxity to pounce and slit their throats.

Even while resting, many were on edge, clasping their guns cold as ice cubes, not daring to let down their guard.

The night grew darker, and moonlight filtered through the trees, the surroundings deathly still.

Occasionally, a strayed brother would find their way back, but ultimately, only a few returned; most were still unaccounted for.

Now, they could only pray those alive would make it out of the forest and safely reach Far Creek Town to meet them.

A worried look appeared on Gang Ya's face, marking the first time he felt uncertain about the future since he had followed Lord Black Snake's steps south.

Just then, a sound of trudging through the snow came from the darkness, and he immediately raised his gun.

Gang Ya whispered sharply,

"Who?"

Around Gang Ya, guns were quickly raised.

"It's me! Don't shoot!"

From the darkness, a man walked out with his hands raised, his weathered face filled with tension.

Upon recognizing the face, Gang Ya relaxed and lowered his gun.

"One of us."

Yu.

Previously under his command.

Though they lost at Winter Willow Camp, Yu was no slouch and was also an Awakener.

After retreating from Qingquan City, Yu had been taken by Lord Black Snake to be groomed as a Centurion.

To think that they would reunite under such circumstances...

Gang Ya holstered his gun and asked,

"Weren't you with Lord Black Snake? How are things there?"

Though he suspected the situation was dire, he asked, hoping for a stroke of luck.

A bitter expression crossed Yu's face.

"It's all over."

"Except for a few who escaped, the rest are done for."

Before Gang Ya could respond, River Beaver said anxiously,

"All over?! How is that possible... over 600 people, even if they were captured, it should have taken some time."

The incredulity was evident on his face.

Gang Ya's expression mirrored his disbelief.

No matter how bad the luck, even if they had lost all their supplies, escaping with two hundred-man teams should still be feasible, right?

Once they reached Far Creek Town, they could regroup and reunite under the flag of Lord Black Snake.

However, hearing River Beaver's words only deepened the bitterness on Yu's face.

After a moment of silence, Yu recalled the events from hours earlier and slowly began,

"The fire was raging, at least 10 shells... maybe 20, landed on our positions. Then they began their charge, whistle signals from all directions, we could only retreat north, but the situation quickly worsened."

"Their vehicles sped through the snow like sleighs, while our armored pickup trucks got completely stuck and were destroyed one after another."

"Automatic rifles, machine guns... and a type of gun with a very long barrel capable of piercing steel plates, their firepower was fierce, and as soon as the battle started, we suffered heavy casualties."

"It wasn't just firepower; they fought us close quarters with axes and bayonets, and we were no match at all."

Fear gradually emerged on everyone's faces.

Usually, it was they who initiated close combat, using incendiary bombs and projectiles to force the defenders out of their shelters and then charge with bayonets.

It saves bullets that way.

This was the first time they had encountered a method of fighting more brutal than theirs...

Still unable to believe these words, River Beaver asked anxiously, "What about that big guy? Don't we have that... thing called a tank?"

If they can blow up armored pickup trucks, surely they can't blow up tanks as well?

Yu shook his head.

"It was blown up."

Those three words stiffened the surrounding air as if it had been frozen.

The people listening involuntarily held their breath.

Blown up?

That tens of tons behemoth?

Gang Ya's expression shifted slightly, suddenly recalling a previous looting in the Central Region.

They had encountered trouble then, unable to conquer a survivor settlement after a long attack.

The locals somehow got a cannon, and during the assault, they suffered heavy casualties.

It wasn't until later that their Centurion, Lord Black Snake, obtained a tank from their leader.

Shells hitting that tank were like scratching an itch.

Those once-despairing fortifications in front of the steel tracks seemed just like paper, and they easily breached through and massacred the defenders.

And now, someone was telling him that unbeatable iron monster was blown up?

What on earth could blow it up!?

"… At least two thousand-team units are besieging us, these survivors likely have the support of Giant Stone City."

"We are no match for them, and neither is Lion Tooth."

"Targeting them from the start was a wrong decision, and an even bigger mistake, thinking we could end this war by winter."

Two thousand-team units!

The people around whispered among themselves, their faces no longer just fearful but visibly terrified.

Gang Ya also looked grave.

Beyond his apprehension, he couldn't understand.

If these people were so strong, why did they fight him to a standstill more than a month ago?

Gang Ya remembered clearly, at that time to support the besieged vanguard, he only brought a hundred-team unit.

Though they fought all day without gaining an upper hand, they at least wiped out one of their elite teams.

Back then, he didn't rate the strength of the survivors in this area very highly, barely capable of making up two hundred-team units.

If given a few more people, he wouldn't even need Lord Black Snake's help to take down this place.

And now, those who escaped from the front lines were telling him that they were besieged by two thousand-team units!

In just one winter, their combat power had a zero added to it, how did they manage that?!

Doesn't it take time to produce children?

This rapid expansion was too fast!

After a long moment of contemplation, Gang Ya said.

"… We must get to Far Creek Town as soon as possible to inform our allies."

He and Lion Tooth were of the same clan, the Ya Clan, so Lion Tooth shouldn't make things difficult for him.

River Beaver, Iron Knee, and the other Centurions looked at each other, no one daring to speak.

To be honest, after hearing Yu's description, they didn't want to go to Far Creek Town at all.

They just wanted to leave this place, escape from the south of River Valley Province, the further the better…

…

At the entrance of the provincial highway.

The convoy filled with supplies had been moved to the relatively higher ground of the highway.

Although an encounter had broken out on the way, Liuding's reinforcement troops managed to arrive at the front line before dark.

The war here had already ended.

Players even gathered rocks and branches to start a fire on the highway, clearing a space to cook potatoes.

Many players were both combat and lifestyle professional players.

Like scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

As one of the veteran players who joined the game in its early versions, he was not only a cook but also a Body Constitution System Awakener.

He leaned his gun aside, picked up the snow to wash his hands, and then took the pot and spatula to start cooking.

The aroma of food spread across the temporary camp, making the players restless and as lively as a festival.

The captives tied up nearby kept gulping down their saliva but didn't dare ask for food.

Soon, two players pinching their noses walked over and dropped a bucket filled with nutrition paste on the ground.

"Eat up."

Even though the nutrition paste was frozen like blocks of ice, the captives were far from picky, almost fighting over a few bites.

A few players stood by, chatting casually.

"Speaking of which, where have all the captives we caught been sent?"

"Changjiu Farm seems to have a prison, I remember Outpost Base having one too."

"Can such a small prison hold so many people?"

"How could everyone fit inside a building? I heard there's a labor camp near the north of Rhombus Lake. They'll probably send people there to clear the land."

"Digging for potatoes, huh? Exciting."

On the other side.

The rescued slaves were given some food rations along with branches and firewood for daily use.

Liuding picked a few who could cook, and set up a large pot on an open space to make porridge.

Once the warm porridge was in their stomachs, a relieved expression appeared on everyone's faces.

The new master seemed not bad.

He didn't eat them and even gave them something warm to eat.

Many people began to have hope for their future lives.

Rushing over to Liuding's side, Lu Bei stood at attention and saluted.

"Report! The count is complete, 488 slaves liberated! A total of 257 prisoners of war!"

That made nearly seven hundred people in total.

Liuding nodded, pressed his hand to his headset, and reported the situation at the front line to headquarters.

Headquarters then issued instructions: Rest in place for half an hour before setting out immediately, taking all supplies and prisoners of war to Changjiu Farm and relocating the liberated survivors to a temporary shelter.

"Go tell our soldiers to start moving in half an hour,"

Lu Bei said crisply.

"Yes!"

With that, the young man trotted off towards the players' direction.

After conveying the Manager's orders, Liuding looked at the rescued slaves beside him.

488 people.

Mostly young adults, seventy percent male, thirty percent female, almost no elders, and not a single child.

Clearly, this was not a normal age structure.

There was only one obvious possibility.

"…These bastards."

Glancing at the prisoners competing for nutrient paste nearby, Liuding cursed under his breath and walked toward the truck.

He needed to issue a mission to recruit players who could drive the seized trucks back.

The rest would have to walk.

Including himself.

…

"It's okay now, the bad guys have been driven away."

With the cat overhead gently swaying, Sesame Paste squatted on the snowy ground, comforting the crying girl.

Not far away.

Carrying a sniper rifle, Night Ten, along with Wild Wind, had finally returned from the north.

"MMP, why do I feel like I was just an extra in this fight?"

Watching the grumbling Night Ten peeling potatoes, Fang Chang casually replied.

"Not really, your information was very useful, and what you did perfectly matched the role of a scout."

Night Ten sighed, "Well, that's true, but damn, I waited two days and didn't fire a single shot. How is that reasonable?"

Even the rookie players had a battle!

Fang Chang smiled and said,

"Well, isn't that perfect? All the bullets you saved are yours now."

In the current version, factions distribute ammunition before a war mission starts, and unused ammo can be kept.

This is also why many players prefer bayonet fights.

Shooting might miss, and missing two shots could mean a big loss. It's better to go for close combat, as most Looters are no match.

However, there have been fewer such incidents lately.

Mission rewards kept increasing, but bullet prices stayed the same, and the soldier's occupation even got a ten percent discount. Supplies weren't as scarce as before.

Sometimes saving bullets was just a habit, and nobody deliberately scrimped on them anymore.

Night Ten rolled his eyes, squatted down, picked up a potato, and started peeling it too.

Their brought food was all gone, and he was famished, eager for a hot meal soon.

"Where's Old White?"

Fang Chang asked casually.

"Something came up in real life. He logged off after the war points were distributed. He's lying in the truck now. I have to carry him to a save point later. You two help me out."

Night Ten chuckled mischievously.

"Oh? Old White trusts me that much?"

Wild Wind shot him a look.

"What are you planning?"

Night Ten grinned and said, "Heh, nothing much. Just wondering whether to draw a mustache on him or something."

Fang Chang rolled his eyes.

"Can't you be a bit more ambitious?"

Wild Wind coughed slightly and said, "Are you sure you want to destroy the trust between people? We all have real-life emergencies sometimes."

Hearing this, Night Ten instantly backed down, awkwardly laughing.

"Uh, just kidding."

-

(The next chapter will be ready around 12 pm.)

Chapter 234: Fuel Engine

Before midnight.

The convoy finally arrived at Changjiu Farm.

And the players had gradually returned to Outpost Base, or logged off at the nearby save point in the farm.

Many experienced symptoms of fever, fatigue, and dizziness before logging off.

Those who had read the strategy threads on the forum immediately understood what was happening and found a Sleep Cabin to lie down in.

Near the save point.

The air was filled with a joyous atmosphere.

"Hey buddy, you made it too?"

"Hahaha, we all came together, what a coincidence!"

"I'm not asking for much, just give me an SSSR when I draw for talents!"

"That's not asking for much?!"

"May the planners bless me, I'm willing to trade a lifetime of being single for an invincible talent."

"The planner says he got the message and that he'll arrange for you to get a talent that turns you into a support."

"Damn it."

Players who had their Awakening celebrated with each other, while those who were a little or a lot behind frantically consumed lemons, their faces brimming with envy and jealousy.

Although the talents hidden in their Gene Sequence were determined from the moment they "logged into the Game," and the planners had no way to change them, Chu Guang still felt genuinely happy for them.

At least ten had awakened in this battle.

Maybe even twenty!

They had taken a big step toward forming an Awakening unit.

Standing next to Changjiu Farm's warehouse, Chu Guang gazed at the trucks loaded with supplies and the thriving young players, a proud paternal smile forming on his face.

The tender shoots in the field had grown taller again.

How wonderful.

...

Players who had logged off brought the front-line battle reports to the Forum, sharing their joy of victory with the logistics vocational players and the Backseat Drivers still in queue.

They also showed off a few "photographically enhanced" approved Game original drawings.

And Chu Guang, at last, received the battle report he had been waiting for all day.

The first was the highway entrance ambush, with 227 participating players against the four over-equipped hundred-man squads from under Lord Black Snake, including logistics transport and artillery teams, totaling 628 people.

Among the players, 17 were killed (including seriously injured), and 33 were wounded.

They killed 371 Looters, captured 257, and did not count those who escaped in the chaos, estimated to be only around 10 to 20.

The prisoners included one Centurion and two staff officers.

Chu Guang was slightly regretful that the Thousands of leaders, Black Snake, was killed while fleeing, and his young player failed to catch him alive.

But it didn't matter, capturing a staff officer was just as good; anything they could get out of Black Snake's mouth, they could get from his officers.

Anything beyond that, they probably didn't know anyway.

Prisoners of value for interrogation were temporarily held in Changjiu Farm, while Luka dealt with those of no value.

Recently, he had planned a re-education camp near the North of Rhombus Lake to reclaim the wasteland north of the lake.

Although the camp was still an empty Open Space, Chu Guang would provide the prisoners with a dozen logging axes, letting them build their own cells.

Very humane.

Escape?

That's a creative thought, worth giving a try.

Aside from the prisoners, there were also 488 Slaves liberated.

It's said that there were originally 2,000 people, but by winter only half remained, and now there's only these few left.

Most of them are of working age, many like the paper mill foreman Wu Mu, skilled in construction, forging, planting, husbandry, and even simple medical treatments, or possessing arithmetic and literacy among other singular talents.

The majority came from the central and northern parts of the River Valley Province, with some from other areas in the south—mostly those captured by the Looters during their raids on villages. One could say that they have suffered both mental and physical torment along the way.

Chu Guang planned to temporarily settle them in the Refugee Camp, to join the illiterate populace in literacy and numeracy classes, including geometry.

Only an educated workforce can become a quality workforce.

These people will become the foundation of industrialization.

Although this would put some pressure on food supply in the short term, in the long run, this investment was absolutely worthwhile.

Moreover, Chu Guang had just obtained a batch of food from the Looters, roughly estimated to be about 84 tons, half of which was potatoes, thirty percent rice, with the rest being other grains and legumes.

In addition, there were 21 tons of nutritional paste, likely used by the Looters to feed their slaves, which could now be used to feed the prisoners of war.

"...We have captured 25 trucks in total, and besides food, the supplies being transported also include a large amount of cotton products, raw cotton, and animal furs," reported Wrench.

"In terms of weapons, those Looters mainly used Army-issued weapons, including 610 'Opener' rifles, 50 Pu-9 submachine guns, 98 'Blade' assault rifles, along with a small number of iron pipe rifles and Centurion pistols."

"Regarding ammunition, their trucks were stocked with 60,000 rounds of 7mm bullets and a small selection of other calibers. 100 Iron Fist Rocket Launchers and 150 rounds of 100mm ammunition, among other things."

While giving his report, Wrench handed Chu Guang a list.

Other than weapons, food, and items for warmth, the list also included some other materials.

For example, gold.

For example, various kinds of alcohol.

These Looters not only inherited the equipment of the Army but also their penchant for gold and alcohol.

After quickly reviewing the entire list, Chu Guang had just one feeling.

These guys were really damn rich, so fat they were dripping with grease.

Just how much of the Expeditionary Army's assets had this Chewing Bone Tribe inherited?

Though the equipment might be a bit less for arming a battalion, it was more than enough for an enhanced company or a battalion.

If every thousand team were this loaded...

Putting down the list in his hand, Chu Guang muttered to himself.

"Thanks to my brothers for delivering this express package from thousands of miles away. I'll make good use of it."

Wrench was slightly taken aback.

Express package?

What was that?

However, this wasn't the first time he'd heard words from Manager that he had never encountered before, so he wasn't too surprised.

Wrench was well aware that in front of the Manager's vast knowledge, like an ocean, what he understood was merely a droplet in the sea, so not understanding was normal.

"The Army rifles also use a 7mm caliber, but the cartridge length is different, they're not interchangeable... what a shame for these 60,000 bullets."

Wrench nodded and said, "Indeed, but their Pu-9 submachine gun is a good piece, less powerful than our Short Scythe but much easier to handle."

The Short Scythe, or LD-47c, a short-barreled version of the Sickle Assault Rifle, is a "submachine gun with an automatic rifle body, firing full-power cartridges."

Compared to the Short Scythe, the Pu-9 submachine gun was mainly designed for close-quarter combat and trench sweeping with engagement distances within 50 meters and rarely at 100 meters.

At that distance, a small-caliber, high-rate-of-fire submachine gun indeed has certain advantages. Paired with extended magazines or drum magazines, it could even unleash firepower comparable to that of a machine gun in short bursts.

Chu Guang picked up a Pu-9 from the carriage, playing with it in his hands for a while, an interested expression surfaced in his eyes.

The weapon was light, weighing less than three kilograms.

Its design was somewhat reminiscent of the Thompson submachine gun, though only the slanted grip looked similar—the internal structure was distinctly different.

Chu Guang loaded a magazine into the gun and sprayed a burst into a nearby pile of snow.

The sound, similar to ripping fabric, was crisp and pleasant to the ear, although it felt like the power was slightly lacking.

"It's quite effective against the common Eaters or Martyrs, a bit strained against Crawlers, and I doubt it could penetrate the defense of Tyrants."

"It'd do for Mutant Cockroaches, rats, Hyenas as well, high rate of fire can make up for lack of precision, and there's no difficulty controlling it at close range, suitable for low-protection targets."

"However, using it to shoot roaches is unlikely to break even."

Chu Guang turned off the safety of the gun and put it back in the carriage, providing a fair assessment.

"It can be given to newcomers."

The newcomers mentioned here do not refer to newbies who just entered the game but players in the stage between levels 2 and 5.

The vast majority of them have already completed the "Pass the Torch" quest, mastered basic combat or survival skills, graduated from their mentors, and most have already reached Citizenship status, saving enough money to buy the "User Interface".

According to the economic system designed by Chu Guang for the players, players at this stage can complete the second equipment change in their lives within 3 to 7 days, switching from iron pipe rifles or crossbows to "modern weapons," and thus begin to experience the complete game content.

However, the LD series weapons designed for the needs of the current development environment of the shelter are in fact not suitable for newcomers.

Especially the Intelligence System—if the initial Intelligence attribute is 7, usually, Strength is only 3. Within the first ten levels, there is a chance to add a point to Strength, and Awakening adds another point; it's typically not until level 10 that one can steadily have 5 points of Strength... which is the average level for a normal adult.

Without the help of an exoskeleton or mechanical prosthesis, operating the LD-47 assault rifle is still quite difficult.

For them, using other faction weapons designed for ordinary people as a transition is a good choice.

After checking the weapons, Chu Guang directly went to the last row of the convoy.

There was an armored pickup truck parked there.

It was the only one of the eight armored pickup trucks that was intact; the others were more or less damaged, needed some repairs before they could be used, or were simply blown up, beyond repair.

Chu Guang was very curious about this vehicle, especially its power source.

After opening the hood to check, Chu Guang then went to the side rear of the cart and found the fuel tank on the back of the cargo area.

The location of this thing was very cleverly hidden; the front was the cabin, the sides had armored steel plates, and there was also a protective cover on top to place the base for a fixed machine gun.

Unless you get around to the direct rear or shoot through the side armor, you basically can't hit the fuel tank.

Chu Guang opened the fuel tank cap, stuck out his index finger to touch it, then brought it closer to his nose to smell.

The smell was light, not very volatile, and the oil was thick, somewhat resembling diesel.

"Diesel engine?"

The wrench was slightly startled.

"What is that..."

Chu Guang wiped his hands, casually said,

"Nothing much, just an old-fashioned oil-burning engine."

Relative to this world, fossil fuel engines indeed qualify as antiques.

Solid-state hydrogen batteries had already become widespread during the Prosperity Epoch for civilian use, and some special equipment even used metallic hydrogen batteries, completely leaving behind chemical energy, and directly using cold fusion.

No matter how advanced the technology, the limitations of fossil fuel engines are there, and with the continuous innovation of energy storage methods and energy technology, obsolescence was just a matter of time.

However, after the decline of civilization, many technologies that had been swept into the grave seemed to have been dug out again.

Looking at the wrench, Chu Guang continued to ask,

"Did you see any fuel on those trucks? They might be in barrels, just like the liquid in this fuel tank."

The wrench was slightly taken aback, thought carefully for a moment, and then nodded, saying,

"I think I've seen it, but I thought it was oil for making Molotov Cocktails, so I counted it under raw materials. It should be on the list I gave you before."

Chu Guang took out the list to take a look, and indeed, under the raw materials section, he found the item labeled [Combustion Agent].

These looters had quite a stockpile, iron drums with a capacity of 200L, a total of 10, and some were in smaller barrels of 5 liters.

This fuel supply might not be enough for an entire fleet, but it was sufficient for a few armored pickup trucks.

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brow.

Food can be obtained through plundering, but maintaining a supply of fuel this way could be somewhat challenging.

After all, this place is the Wasteland.

Survivor settlements with industrial capabilities are definitely in the minority, and even if they do produce aliphatic hydrocarbon fuels, without a unified production standard, it's difficult to match directly.

"The Chewing Bone Tribe is suspected of controlling an oil well, or other special fuel production facility, of uncertain production capacity and reserves."

"What's certain is that this fuel contains aliphatics; it definitely can't be cooking oil."

"Could it be oil crops?"

Oil isn't just fuel; it's also an important industrial material.

The main sources of organic chemical materials in Spring City are the Cam Trees planted by the various survivor settlements.

These trees produce fruits that can be pressed for oil, and the resin is premium quality rubber, commonplace in the central region of the Central Continent. The technology was born before the war.

Chu Guang silently noted down this information and after thinking for a moment, he looked towards Wrench and ordered,

"Take these fuels to Outpost Base."

It would still be best if Yin Fang could analyze the composition of this stuff to see if it was dug up from underground or produced from something else.

This guy used to be a Class D explorer for the Academy; he definitely understood the Wasteland better than Chu Guang, who had been in this world for less than a year, and certainly more than Heya, who had just emerged from a Sleep Cabin, and Boss Xia, who was incredibly superstitious of urban legends.

If Chu Guang could determine the composition and production methods of the fuel, it would help him have a more comprehensive grasp of the intelligence about the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Besides, it would certainly be more reliable than the information extracted from the mouths of the captives.

After all, most of those captives were illiterate and often embellished their testimonies with their own imaginations, resulting in bizarre information at times.

It wasn't that they didn't want to be honest; they simply did not understand.

Chu Guang still remembered the devotee from the Torch Church who referred to the "collar" that could enslave the Claws of Death as a "miracle."

Wrench said earnestly,

"Alright, Lord, do you need it sent over now?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said,

"Tomorrow morning is better, just to be safe."

Having noted the Manager's orders, Wrench was about to leave to supervise the guards unloading the cargo when he suddenly remembered something and added,

"By the way, Lord, besides that oil, there's something else loaded on one of the trucks. We've studied it for a long time and still can't figure out what it is. The captives couldn't explain clearly either, only saying it belongs to Lord Black Snake."

Chu Guang's heart stirred, and he immediately said,

"Take me to see it."

"Please follow me!"

Wrench quickly led Chu Guang to the back of the truck.

Two guards climbed onto the truck and carried a wooden box down.

Chu Guang opened the box and was momentarily stunned.

This thing...

Wasn't it the same object hanging around the neck of the Claw of Death he kept in the shed at the West Gate??

Chu Guang immediately asked,

"How many of these are there?"

The guard replied,

"We counted, and there are a total of 37."

Chu Guang's face lit up with joy.

37!

What a find.

It seemed the surgeon had been captured, and these Looters had no idea how to use these devices, so they just threw them in the truck.

An epic enhancement for the Intelligence System!

Unlike before,
this time, it might be a real boost!

-

(And to my brothers who have waited a long time, I apologize. It's not that I didn't want to update sooner, but I really couldn't make it... I've been writing since 1 a.m., including planning, outlining, and drafting the main text. I need to catch up on some sleep and will continue writing when I wake up. I was supposed to write about the mission reward settlement, the heartfelt meeting with the captives, and the next plot point today... but my writing speed wasn't up to it, and I only got halfway through.

I'm truly sorry! I'll strive to maintain 10,000 words a day, but I have never tried such a long burst of writing before; it has always been about 4k. I'll finalize it by the morning, if not by ten, then at least before noon. Please give me a little time and understanding... Love you guys.)

Chapter 235: Beast Tamer Gameplay! Has the Intelligence System been buffed again?

While Chu Guang was busy inventorying his spoils of war, the official forum of "Wasteland OL" was bustling with excitement.

After a whole winter of silence,
the chaos from the north had been plaguing the southern border of River Valley Province.

And today, a thrilling, epic victory quickly dispersed all the dark clouds!

[Worldwide Announcement: "Operation Spring Thunder" has achieved victory.]

[The battle report has been published and sent to players' personal mailboxes as well as the in-game VM.]

[As a large amount of supplies were captured during the battle, the food supply has returned to normal, "Wartime regulations" have been terminated early, and the resource purchase restrictions have been lifted. All players involved in the battle, in addition to Contribution Points and regional reputation, will receive an additional +5 favorability with NPCs like Guo Niu, Guo Ma, Luka, Wrench, etc.]

[New facilities added to Changjiu Farm: Two 100mm howitzers.]

[Light: Thank you all for your active participation. This battle has provided us with valuable data. The production of the Apha1.0 version is in its final stages and will be launched together with the new expansion pack, so stay tuned!]

Tail: "Wow!!"

Quit smoking: "Mosquito is awesome! Of course, the planners are too!"

Fang Chang: "It's way too strong, no, I mean way too awesome!"

Night Ten: "Mosquito, with tears streaming down his face, said, 'Eight versions, from Bloodhand to Chew-Bone, finally an MVP.' (Amused)"

WC real mosquito: "Goblin Technology presents the new product! An 88mm mortar! And the 'Hell Breath' diesel-powered motorcycle! Consumes 15 kilograms per 100 kilometers, very handy!"

Elena: "Here's someone advertising. Moderators, please ban him. (Amused)"

Yeah, I gotta go pee: "Damn it, am I not awesome? I blew up 7 vehicles! And even scared one to death!"

Edge Shoveling: "Our team blew up a tank. (Sidelong Smile)"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Our team took out a Centurion!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "I got 20 kills."

Spring Water Commander: "What's the use? Kills don't earn many points! Do you two together have more points than our team?"

Teng Teng: "Everyone is amazing, don't fight, please. QAQ"

Night Ten: "You don't understand, this is their way of bragging. (Amused)"

Crow: "Wait until I save enough for a power armor, and I'll join you on the front line!"

I Max Black: "You're more cautious than Spring Water. (Shocked)"

Spring Water Commander: "Where have I been cautious! (Angry)"

Not only were the players exhilarated, but also tens of thousands of backseat drivers lining up.

A two-minute video and twenty original drawings as well as in-game CGs.

And it was all actual demonstration shots!

Isn't this way better than the pie-in-the-sky promised by EA?!

Riding a Donkey to Market: "Sigh, if the actual gameplay graphics were half as good as the promotional video, I'd die without regrets."

Elena: "Closed beta testers responsibly inform you, the promotional video only has half the actual gameplay graphics. (Amused)"

No can do with resignation: "Please stop testing it, it's complete enough, I just want to play the beta, begging for a chance to be a tool."

Silver Hand: "Does the production team lack money? Have you considered crowdfunding?"

Silver Sword: "Need venture capital?"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "With such awesome technology, you should go public."

A Bag of Rice to the Upper Floor: "Speaking of which, isn't it a problem if actual gameplay graphics are so thrilling?"

Siberia's Potato: "Exactly, what if someone has a heart disease?"

Wild Wind: "It's said that the helmet employs a sort of dream display technology, completely breaking away from traditional visual display technology. Simply put, what you see in the game is as much as you'd see in your dreams - there won't be any significant sensory overload beyond your tolerance threshold, including pain and other physiological sensations... Although I've searched a while and couldn't find any literature, they've just done it."

Night Ten: "Bunker technology is terrifying. (Amused)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Asking for a friend, can you do bad things in the game?"

Old White: "Currently, the only available factions for players are law-abiding ones, so it's a standard MMORPG. However, playability and freedom far exceed those mass-produced, cookie-cutter games out there. You can tell that the NPCs are 'alive,' with their unique moral compass and preferences. You can do anything you like as long as it doesn't affect the experience of others."

Lord Arrogant Brother: "What's the fun in that? I love besieging the royal city, using cheats, blowing up servers. Trash games, not even a dog would pre-register!"

Wild Wind: "Hot take: there's no such thing as a game that could be liked by seven billion people, not even Dou Di Zhu. (Side Eye)"

Night Ten: "Patting Lord Arrogant Brother's dog head, come back, we're missing half the fun without you. (Amused)"

This time, Lord Arrogant Brother's antics weren't celebrated, and everyone commented on his weak combat prowess, quickly drowning him out in the response posts.

But that was normal.

Even forum favorites can't be on top every day.

After tallying his spoils, Chu Guang took a glance at the forum and found that 90% of the posts in the casual chat section were discussing the two-minute PV.

From the launch of rockets to the whistle-blown charge, the camera switched between drone and player perspectives, the heart-stopping light and shadow effects were like those of an actual battlefield.

For some of the more thrilling scenes, Xiao Qi's drone even gave a few close-ups.

Like a Strength-type player, awoken like Rambo, carrying a machine gun and shooting his way out through the billowing smoke.

Or the machine gun on the charging caterpillar vehicle harvesting Looter's armored pickups.

By the way.

Xiao Qi edited the video following the style of Chu Guang's last promotional PV.

As for the BGM, it was copied from the radio by itself.

Although "Voice of Giant Stone City" spends 20 hours of the day talking nonsense, occasionally there are some useful bits of information and good music.

The current BGM has been added to the official original soundtrack, available for online listening and downloading, receiving rave reviews from many internet users who are eager to know the composer.

However.

What does all this have to do with the planners?

Ah Guang was just a junior game planner, you should look for the music director.

...

The next day.

Before dawn fully broke, over two hundred prisoners of war formed a long line at the entrance of Changjiu Farm.

They wore dirty, old fur clothes, shackles around their ankles, and faces marked by depression or panic.

Or numbness and despair.

Two tracked trucks with fixed machine guns welded atop were driving beside the column.

In addition, there were 20 guards carrying Arbitrator's Rifles and hanging PU-9 Submachine Guns at their waists, standing around the column.

Leading the column, a guard with a full beard and a mature look surveyed the prisoners of war with one glance and spoke up with a loud voice.

"The crimes you committed in River Valley Province are enough to have you hanged ten times."

"But the kind-hearted Manager believes killing prisoners of war is unjust, that your blood would stain this land, so you have been spared like dogs."

"You will be sent to the penal labor camp, where you will undergo labor reform, reclaiming the wilderness to the north of Rhombus Lake, constructing irrigation canals, and any other work useful to society... until you have offset your crimes with labor."

"The fifty-year sentence is long, but good behavior can lead to a reduced term."

"Now, set off."

Fifty years.

The vast majority could not live long enough to see that day.

In the Wasteland, being forty was already considered long-lived.

Only residents living in shelters or affluent survivor settlements stood a chance of living somewhat longer.

Yet, the statement "good behavior can lead to a reduced term" still brought a glimmer of hope, or at least the motivation to survive, to many who had already fallen into despair.

Even if no one had told them what standard qualified as good behavior, or how much sentence could be reduced.

The column began its march.

They needed to cut enough wood before nightfall to construct the POW camp.

Otherwise, they would have to sleep in the snow tonight.

Vedes and Kevin stood by the road, blankly watching the column as it embarked.

Having been incorporated into the column and having already given up hope for their future lives, they were unexpectedly pulled out by a guard pointing a gun at them.

Kevin asked in a nervous whisper,

"What do they want to do?"

"I don't know..." Vedes had just responded when he suddenly caught sight of a familiar face approaching them.

Vedes' expression first froze, then shock spread across his face,

"Vanus?"

A touch of sentiment crossed Vanus's face.

"I didn't expect to see you here."

The two had graduated from the same military academy and had known each other since their student days.

After graduation, thanks to his outstanding grades and performance at the academy, Vanus went directly to the front as a Centurion, serving as a junior officer, while Vedes joined the youth army corps as a new recruit to start his military career.

Due to the Army's eastward strategy, both had joined the Expeditionary Army and served under General Kras to fight against the people of the Grand Canyon. Later, with Vedes' unit suffering a terrible defeat and his whereabouts unknown, Vanus thought he had died, only to find him still alive.

What surprised him even more was that their reunion would come in such a dramatic way.

After hearing about Vanus' experiences over the past few months, Vedes gave a bitter smile.

"No wonder... so you're here, it seems Black Snake's loss wasn't so unjust."

These people not only strategically predicted their movements but also tactically avoided their vanguard and ambushed their rear at an unexpected location, creating unbelievable results.

Even in defeat, Vedes could not help but admire their skill.

But after seeing Vanus, he understood.

Everyone graduated from the same classroom, even taught by the same professor.

Whatever tactics he knew, so did Vanus, and nearly every move he could think of, Vanus could as well. It was indeed a difficult battle to win.

Vanus said, "I didn't command that battle, and it wasn't me who defeated you. I only made some suggestions about deployment. But you're right, you really didn't stand much of a chance. Six hundred-man squads thrown forward to scout, supply trains following armored units, and dragging out the battle line so long… what were you even thinking?"

Seeing Vanus's puzzled look, Vedes replied in frustration,

"Do you think I wanted it this way?"

"I risked being thrown into boiling oil, more than once, to remind that fool that marching in winter was a mistake, but no one listened."

Kevin, standing beside him, nodded in agreement, his expression constipated as he said,

"And that's not the worst of it. We were informed of the advancement on Qingquan City on the morning of the first, and before we even had a chance to understand the plan, the vanguard had already departed. We didn't have a single battle meeting during that time, Black Snake seemed to just slap his head and decided to go all in with all our chips, even the route we took was decided after the supplies were packed."

The main force departed at noon on the first, the war ended on the evening of the second, the POW camp began construction on the third, and by tonight, they should be able to put together some sort of shelter.

Kevin had never fought such a frustrating battle.

He'd rather have died on the northern front.

At least in losing to a powerful opponent, his own death might have seemed more dignified.

After hearing the two's stories, a hint of sympathy emerged on Vanus's face.

He tried to put himself in their shoes and realized that the battle was truly unwinnable.

With such a foolish commander, even if he himself had been the strategist, the outcome would likely have been the same.

"I've got the gist of it now... But did you two run into the Looter's tribe?"

Vedes and Kevin looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I don't know, we encountered those Looters when we were retreating south, and our chief decided to join them, so we followed suit."

Kevin continued.

"I heard... they seem to be planning to establish a nation of Looters in River Valley Province. I'm not clear on the details."

A nation of Looters?

What in the world is that?

A vast tribe?

Vanus couldn't imagine such an odd picture, let alone how they planned to realize this outrageous-seeming plan.

"Speaking of which, what about you?" Vedes looked at Vanus and continued asking, "Are you now their strategist? Or?"

Vanus paused for a moment and said,

"Me? I'm also one of their captives, but they've allowed me to train new recruits in lieu of paying a ransom."

Vedes looked at him eagerly.

"Ransom? How much?"

Vanus replied with an ambiguous expression.

"One million dinar, and that was last year's price. I don't know how much it is now; I'd advise you to give up the idea."

Both men took in a sharp breath of air.

One million!

That's an amount they couldn't amass even if they sold all their possessions!

"…Is the job of training new recruits still hiring?"

"Brother, please help us out."

Faced with two pairs of pleading eyes, Vanus said hesitantly,

"I'll ask for you... but I can't make any promises, I can only try my best."

Vedes said excitedly,

"Thank you!"

Vanus advised earnestly,

"Those Blue Jackets didn't send you to labor camps, likely because they want to ask you something. Cooperate well, speak everything you know, don't hide anything, and don't make up stories; they won't make things too difficult for you."

Both immediately assured him,

"Don't worry!"

"We'll tell everything we know!"

Vanus nodded in relief.

"That's good."

Cooperate well, show the right attitude, seriously repent, and even if they still had to undergo labor rehabilitation, the place they ended up at might be a bit better.

After all, whether working in a brick factory playing with mud or digging potatoes in the snow, the chances of survival were vastly different.

The former could even hope to eat meat if they did well.

The latter, though, that was a life-threatening task...

…

The next morning, bright and early.

Outside the weapon shop.

A throng of players surrounded it.

As they looked at the empty shelves, a collective sigh of disappointment and lamentation arose.

"Damn, I was just one step too late!"

"Shit! They really did sell out!"

The battle from yesterday allowed not just 32 players to reach Level 10, but also 57 players had their Contribution Points finally surpass ten thousand, honorably upgrading to Intermediate Citizens.

And they each earned an income of over 400 silver, with the highest even reaching 600 silver!

For them, who were making a mere 10 silver coins a day just a few months ago, this was truly an enormous sum!

The conditions for purchasing the Miner I Exoskeleton were Level 10 and Intermediate Citizen status. The price hadn't changed, it was still a very reasonable 2000 silver.

However, there were only 8 sets of equipment on the shelf.

Almost the moment the battle reward was settled, the 8 sets of exoskeletons were snatched up in an instant.

This moment, everyone finally realized that having too many mission rewards wasn't necessarily a good thing.

It was predictable that the price of ramen tonight would definitely rise...

Looking at the frustrated crowd, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group chuckled to themselves. They had already put on the orange-painted exoskeleton, clenched their fists, and moved their limbs around.

"Is this the power of technology? Not bad at all."

When they'd discussed it yesterday, he had guessed that something like the current situation might happen.

So, he logged into the Game before dawn, standing in line at the weapon shop's door before it even opened.

The instant the battle reward was settled, his account was nearly 600 silver richer, pushing his savings just over 2000 silver, and he decisively bought the "Miner I" exoskeleton.

This proved to be an incredibly wise decision.

Looking at those little players who regretted not coming earlier, he finally got to partake in the experience of the "lord" of Qingquan City.

This feeling was awesome!

Edge Shoveling glanced at him.

"Tch, I wouldn't be caught dead using that thing."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group chuckled.

"Brother, if you're jealous of me, just say it outright. No need to beat around the bush. Want to try it on? I'll lend it to you for a bit."

Edge Shoveling retorted, "Jealous my ass. Once you put that thing on, resurrection costs soar to 2000. If your equipment explodes just once, you're back to square one."

Even with an exoskeleton, and even if you reinforce it with steel plates, it only means you can take a few more bullets.

Why bother?

Isn't it better not to get shot in the first place?

Putting on that gear only makes you a bigger target for focused fire. Even with the thickest steel plates, it's impossible to tank a shot that penetrates over a hundred like power armor.

Cheap and easy-to-use equipment is the best kind. He couldn't be bothered with all the fancy, flashy stuff.

Of course, part of the reason was that he hadn't managed to buy any.

"Damn it..."

After hearing what Brother Edge had said, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was taken aback.

He glanced at his own gear and suddenly felt less enchanted by it.

How was he supposed to charge into battle wearing that stuff?

Dying once would be financially heartbreaking!

Although plenty who had bought the gear regretted it later, those who hadn't managed to buy were still envious of the quick-handed brothers.

Sadly, equipment was bound to players and couldn't be purchased from others.

But even if it were tradable, no one would sell.

People who could afford it had similar amounts of silver coins in their pockets. Aside from a few wealthy players, it was unlikely that anyone could offer an outrageous price.

As for off-the-record RMB transactions...

Not to mention the officials had clearly stated they wouldn't guarantee the security of such transactions, leaving scammed players to deal with the consequences themselves. Even with third-party guarantees, it was impossible to set a price for such gear.

How do you price beta test equipment?

100,000?

1,000,000?

By the time the open beta rolls around, 'god gear' might become trash, causing immediate regret.

Beta is called beta because the game rules aren't perfected yet.

Not charging any fee and not wiping progress is far kinder compared to those games that took money and still played their players for fools!

However, this didn't stop the players who missed out on the equipment from cursing their bad luck.

"F*ck, can't the devs fix the bug with the NPC shops not restocking? When will this get fixed?"

"When will the Commercial Team come again? The blizzard has stopped!"

"I quietly asked the devs, and they told me to buzz off — even told me if I want equipment, I have to earn it by fighting."

"I can testify that Brother Guang definitely didn't say that. With his high EQ, he'd never tell you to buzz off. He'd most likely play dumb and pass the buck to the art or development team."

"I'm feeling the pain of having money but nowhere to spend it."

"Hey, it looks like there's another exoskeleton over there!"

"Type 5 'Light Cavalry' Exoskeleton, damn, that looks so cool!"

"The price... 20,000?! I'm out."

"Damn it! It requires being an Advanced Citizen! 50,000 Contribution Points?! I just barely made it to Intermediate!"

"I reckon you need 100,000 Contribution Points to upgrade to 'Knight' in order to get power armor. Sounds reasonable, manually chuckling."

In Wasteland OL, equipment has no level requirement. As long as you can handle the attributes, you can use it, though using something beyond your capabilities is forced.

Certain rare equipment that restocks randomly does require Contribution Points to purchase.

In the context of the game, these items are considered essential assets of the shelters, hard to secure and limited in quantity, thus available on priority to residents who have made significant contributions to the community.

At the counter,

Boss Xia, with arms crossed, expressionless, patiently repeated her line over and over to the dejected players.

"No more stock. Stop asking."

"Wait for the next Commercial Team to arrive."

The only consolation for the players was that Boss Xia's Mandarin was becoming more and more standard.

Just then, Heya, with her long silvery hair, approached from the direction of the sanatorium, holding a wooden crate.

She placed the crate on the weapon shop's counter and said something to Boss Xia.

Boss Xia seemed to comprehend and nodded, then pulled out a pen from the desk, found a piece of wood, and vigorously wrote a line before hanging it on the shelf.

["Torch" Mind Interference Instrument]

Then, Boss Xia picked out something resembling headphones from the crate and casually placed it on the shelf.

Simultaneously.

The player VM's wiki page was updated with the description of the item.

[Effect: Low-intelligence Variants obey commands after a simple surgical procedure. Applicable to creatures like Claws of Death, Mutant Brown Bears, etc. Not suitable for mindless life forms (e.g. Mucor species).]

[Requirement: Contribution Level must be Citizen, Intelligence attribute above 10.]

[Price: 2000 silver coins (surgery fee not included)]

After reading the description,

The atmosphere around the weapon shop instantly boiled with excitement.

-

(Sorry, only 6K today... I fell asleep qAq)

Chapter 236: Pet System Goes Live!

Mind Interference Instrument!

This name sounds complicated right off the bat.

Especially when they read the equipment's description, players with Intelligence attributes got instantly excited.

"Damn?!"

"Control Variants?!"

"Even the Death Claw is possible?!"

"Got it, the answer for the Intelligence system this version is a beast tamer!"

Although most players had not seen the horror of the Claw of Death, just reading the posts from Brother Fang Chang gave them a sense of it.

The squad with the highest combat power in the entire server, even possessing Awakeners and equipment, could only run if they encountered it.

Those Looters sent dozens of people, even resorted to rocket launchers, just to injure the damn thing.

For just 2000 silver, you could become the Death Claw's daddy!

This was more than just a boost.

It was like taking off from where you stood, you know!

Compared to the ecstasy of the Intelligence players, players from other systems wore faces full of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Construction Boy with a Brick: "Damn, I need an Intelligence attribute higher than 10 to use it! I'm from the Strength Type, and even after Awakening, I've only reached 5!"

Debt Giant Eye patted his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

"From Level 0 to Level 10 you only get 2 points in a secondary attribute, the base Intelligence for the Strength Type is 3~4. So by that estimation, you might need to Awaken two more times. That's from Level 30 to 40 probably, you should be good to go by then!"

Construction Boy with a Brick: "I'm crying here."

While everyone was still gossiping about the gear on the shelves, some had already decisively made their move.

Wild Wind: "Get me a set!"

Boss Xia took a set of equipment and laid it on the counter.

"It'll cost you 2000 silver, and you need to make an appointment a day in advance for the surgery—you can schedule with Heya from the medical laboratory, or book it right here with me."

One was a metal collar, the other a head-mounted headset; judging by their appearance, it was clear the collar was meant for the Variant, and the headset was for human wear.

Wild Wind, having purchased the gear, didn't linger at the door of the Weapon Shop. He thanked the seller and hurried off.

The others watched, stunned, then quickly came to a realization.

"Holy crap, don't tell me there's a limited quantity of these?!"

"I remember now! This stuff was seized from the Looters! They only had about 30 or so, right?"

"?!"

"Boss Xia! I want one too!"

"I'm in!"

"Get one for Tail as well!"

"Ah Wei, wake up, aren't you from the Agile system? You definitely don't have 10 Intelligence points."

Tail: !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ

The 37 pieces of equipment that had just been put on the shelf were snatched up in less than five minutes.

Looking at the empty shelves, Xia Yan was dumbfounded, and silently took down the sign he had just put up.

Were these people insane?

Luckily, Xia Yan couldn't understand what the players who bought the equipment were jabbering about, or he might have felt even more convinced of his current thoughts.

They were actually plotting to capture the Claw of Death?!

Had they lost all hope in life?

To run into that thing and escape was luck itself!

The Spring Water Commander, who quickly grabbed the last piece on the shelf, joyously put on the headset, enthusiastically clenching Old Soldier's shoulder.

"Ha ha ha, good brother, I was just looking for you! Let's go, let's go catch us a Death Claw!"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was immediately shocked.

"Holy shit, bro, are you freaking crazy?! The Claw of Death, man! That's gotta be tougher to deal with than Mutants, right?!"

The exoskeleton he'd just gotten his hands on wasn't even warm yet!

He had no intention of losing it like that!

Nonchalantly, the Spring Water Commander said, "You don't know anything. Now is the best time to catch a Death Claw! Lizards are hibernating; if we don't take advantage of this, are we going to wait until spring to offer ourselves up?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group couldn't help but retort: "I feel like even if you go now, you're just offering yourself up!"

Not every lizard was trash.

For instance, the big guy that the Manager kept in the pen by the west gate didn't seem to be afraid of the cold at all.

At most, it was just sleepier than usual.

However, it was the request of a good brother, and in the end, Old Soldier was persuaded, returned to the shelter to swap equipment, and also took off the newly acquired exoskeleton.

While coming out, he also called over I Max Black from the Perception system.

Although unlike the two awakened companions, I Max Black was still a bit short of Level 10, even unawakened, the Perception system was still decent for scouting.

Think of it as a free leveling session for him.

I Max Black, carrying a Sickle Assault Rifle, excitedly looked up at his two good brothers.

"Let's go, where we fighting today?"

The Spring Water Commander studied the map, thoughtfully stroking his chin.

"Today we're doing a big job."

I Max Black was excited, "Awesome! What's the big job?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group smirked.

"Death Claw, and we're capturing it alive, big enough?"

I Max Black: "???"

Damn!

Is it too late to bail now?

...

Chu Guang had not expected that the 37 "Torch" Mind Interference Instruments he had just put on the shelf would be snatched up in less than five minutes.

When Boss Xia reported this to him, he was stunned for a good while before he could only smile wryly.

"I've been careless."

"I should have stocked them in batches."

Xia Yan gave him a puzzled look.

"What's the difference?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Of course, there's a difference, after all, what I need is not the silver coins in their hands, but to maximize the value of the resources."

The pet stream wasn't suitable for all players, and the Mind Interference Instrument wasn't omnipotent.

There would certainly be some players who discovered that the expensive equipment they bought was not as useful as they had imagined.

Moreover, capturing Variants was not an easy task.

However, Chu Guang hadn't expected his players to act so swiftly and decisively, buying without a second thought.

If he had known earlier, he would have added another restriction, requiring that only those who had scheduled surgery or captured a "surgical subject" would be eligible to buy.

But, in the end, it didn't really matter.

Thinking about it from another perspective, this might even be a good thing.

When a game is first released, no one has a strategy guide; it's only after some time that the experts come out with one. A similar situation occurs with the release of new heroes in MOBA games or certain DLCs in single-player games.

Having spent a lot of money on equipment, wouldn't it be reasonable to put some thought into figuring out how to use it?

The more people use it, the more strategies will naturally emerge.

Xia Yan cocked her head, her expression somewhat blank.

She didn't understand what Chu Guang was saying.

Not need silver coins?

Then why does the store still take money?

As for resources and value... it sounded too complicated; couldn't he speak in terms that were easier to understand?

However, although he always said things that were hard to understand, he looked quite handsome when he smiled...

...

While the Intelligence System players were venturing into the wilderness with friends, embarking on a quest for mythical creatures, over a dozen kilometers away in Giant Stone City, the streets were buzzing with activity.

The last snowstorm was a week ago, and according to the weather forecast interspersed among the chatter on Voice of Giant Stone City, the coming week was all clear skies.

Though Haus, the blowhard behind the voice, couldn't be taken at his word for everything, it still had been a week of sunny, good weather.

On the warmest day, temperatures even climbed above zero degrees!

Winter was waning.

Although there was still a month to go before the official start of spring, signs of recovery were evident across all trades, with factory orders backed up for two months. Goods in high demand like soap, lighters, matches, and antibiotics had even sold out their April stocks ahead of time, with all factories and workshops working overtime to produce them.

As for items like rifles and bullets that were always sought after, while their production was too high to run short, their prices had risen significantly.

According to past experience, the ground snow would be completely melted by February.

But the restoration of traffic was a matter of the next few days.

Pirate Bay Tavern.

The noise was deafening.

The clamor, like the spray of beer, even drowned out the bassist's heavy metal music.

A busty, wasp-waisted waitress dressed as a pirate waded through the crowded tavern, catcalling whistles and all, to the wall, where she hammered fresh flyers onto a wooden board.

[Luhang Bird Trading Group is hiring guards, two-year contract, daily pay of 3 chips, double on attendance, with food, lodging and weapons provided, pay every half month.]

[The Redwood Logging Site is recruiting rangers, we've got a bunch of Night Badgers that need dealing with, salary negotiable.]

[Giant Stone City Military Industrial Complex needs a courier to deliver a package to the Wandering Swamp. Awakeners only, generous reward, details in person.]

[I'll pay 1000 chips to have someone killed. If you're interested, go find White Shark; if you meet my criteria, he'll tell you what to do next.]

[...]

Although Pirate Bay Tavern wasn't the biggest in Giant Stone City, it was undoubtedly the mercenaries' favorite.

The place was affordable, the contracts plentiful, ranging from delivering parcels to the Province of Yúnjiānxíng to finding lost kittens, both varied and fairly priced.

The beauty who pinned up the orders now twisted her way back into the throng.

A group of burly men crowded around, eyeing the board with eager speculation.

"Luhang Bird Trading Group is hiring again? Didn't they just hire a bunch last year?"

"I heard they've opened a new trade route, probably need more hands."

"Daily pay of 3 chips isn't bad, and it's double during active duty."

"What's good about that? That's barely enough for a drink; go big or go home."

"The Commercial Team heading to Garbage City needs temp workers, a two-month round trip for 1000 chips... but that place is dangerous; they say mutants are rampant there."

"Fortune favors the bold; I'm going to try my luck."

"Ha! Here's hoping we see you back here in two months."

As everyone jostled towards the job postings, space at the bar naturally cleared up.

The bartender, busy wiping glasses, glanced at the man who took a seat at the bar and raised an eyebrow.

"What's blowing you in this direction?"

"What kind of wind can blow in this ghastly weather? Give me a cup of hot honey water."

The man placed two white chips on the table.

Skillfully the bartender took the payment, fetched a freshly wiped glass, poured hot water from an iron kettle into it, then scooped honey into the glass with a slender spoon and placed the glass on the bar.

"Your hot honey water, Mr. Lister."

"Your service sure is getting sloppier, you're letting customers stir their own drinks now, eh, White Shark?" Stirring with the spoon, Lister said with a smile.

White Shark.

The owner of Pirate Bay Tavern.

Guest bartending here was one of his few, relatively normal, pleasures.

The bartender gave a faint smile, offering no explanation, and making casual talk.

"What plans do you have for making money this year?"

Lister responded,

"I'm thinking of heading east, picking up some goods when I pass through Red River Town."

Bartender: "Yunjian Province?"

Lister shook his head.

"That's too far."

"So you're here to post a job?"

"No, I'm here for information," said Lister, looking at him. "I heard there's unrest in River Valley Province."

The bartender smiled faintly and said, "You're a bit late hearing about that now."

He paused for a moment before continuing,

"The army was defeated up north, and somehow a batch of weapons fell into the hands of the Looters. Those scoundrels wouldn't dare to mess with the Grand Canyon, so they could only head south. I heard that the Slave Owners in Red River Town made a fortune. If you're planning to go there, it might be worth taking some more kv-1 exoskeletons with you."

List made a mental note of this intelligence and nodded his head before speaking again,

"I've heard that the Chewing Bone Tribe has recently reached out to Qingquan City?"

The bartender spoke in a carefree tone,

"Yes, and the hillbillies in the 'North Suburb' suffered great losses. You probably have a few less names on your client list now."

List cursed under his breath,

"Aren't the Militia Group going to do anything about it? Those bandits have come right under our noses."

The bartender was indifferent,

"What's there to manage? It's just a few hundred-people villages after all."

Even if the people from the Chewing Bone Tribe were to raid every direction of Qingquan City, it wouldn't affect this place.

Master Fang had no interest in them, and Giant Stone City had its own affairs to deal with; this was the official response.

Of course, if those blind Primitives dared to shoot at them, the power armor would quickly land on their heads.

The bartender pondered for a while, then suddenly spoke,

"...However, I've heard that the Chewing Bone Tribe took a fall in the 'North Suburb'."

List raised an eyebrow,

"Oh? Yet I've heard they came on fiercely."

The bartender chuckled, "They did come fiercely, but that was a month ago. Two thousand-team units, two consecutive defeats, and they've gotten their noses bloodied. A Blue Jacket that suddenly popped up in 'North Suburb' beat them so badly they were left searching for teeth. I've heard that hundreds of captives were sent to clear land; those people really know how to manage captives."

Beaten by the Blue Jacket so badly they had trouble finding their teeth?

That was indeed something rare.

While each shelter had different circumstances, most Blue Jackets were generally seen as good guys; that was common knowledge in the Wasteland.

It was unexpected that the Blue Jackets from the 'North Suburb' were so capable of fighting.

List couldn't help but think of the group of people he met in Linghu Wetland Park a few months ago.

Was it them?

However, he couldn't imagine how that mere group of dozens managed to win battle after battle against the two thousand-team units.

Power armor?

Or some kind of pre-war equipment.

List looked at him curiously,

"How did you know?"

Without hesitation, the bartender replied,

"There are at least twenty Looters sitting in this tavern, though they claim to be Mercenaries. How do you think I know?"

The heavy snow blocked the roads, clogging up the trade routes, but there would always be ways for one or two individuals to make it here.

Over the past two months, the streets of Giant Stone City might have been quieter, but that was only on the streets.

His bar never lacked for customers.

List's face showed increasing interest, and as he inspected the honey water in his glass, he suddenly said,

"When the snow melts, I plan to take a look over there."

He smelled an opportunity!

The bartender replied, "Go ahead, there's been quite a change in the 'North Suburb' recently, and I've heard it's developing well. Out with the old, in with the new, as they say about chips, and customers too, right?"

List said, "You're absolutely right."

The bartender gave a chuckle, and while wiping the glass in his hand, he casually continued,

"However, I suggest you still be cautious; they've taken something that belonged to Torch."

"I'm not sure what that box means to 'Torch', but those superstitious fanatics are definitely not going to let it go so easily."

"What does that have to do with me?" List said nonchalantly as he placed his empty glass on the table, standing up from the bar, and adjusting his collar, "I don't do business in the south."

Torch's power was in the south.

It was said to be a place known as Death Coast.

Just from the name, it was clear it wasn't a good market for business, and indeed it never was.

It used to be ruled by a gang of Pirates and Looters, later by a bunch of holy men; in short, there weren't many sane people around.

By comparison, he preferred to do business with corporations. Although they weren't always trustworthy, at least he could make a secure profit.

The bartender said lightly,

"Just a piece of advice; you can take it or leave it."

"Thanks for the advice. When I make it big, I'll come here and hire some more help." List waved his hand and, followed by his modified men, walked towards the bar's door.

...

Evening came.

At the north gate of Outpost Base, the bustling stalls were festooned with lights, lively as if it were a festival.

Although they had just held a celebration for the New Year two days ago, this didn't stop the people living here from hosting another party to celebrate yesterday's triumph.

Black Snake was dead.

His followers, well over a thousand in number, were dead or had fled, and those who failed to escape became prisoners, sent to clear wilderness in the snow-covered fields.

And his own body was displayed on a gibbet at the north gate for all to see.

The Active Substance Extractor was working 24 hours a day.

Once all his followers had been processed into ingredients for the players' rebirths, it would be his turn.

If he didn't rot away by then, that was.

In any case, thanks be to Mother Nature's bounty.

Thanks to the Chewing Bone Tribe for sending a batch of express delivery.

Today, the noodle prices finally didn't go up, and the portions of Devil's Frozen were even a bit more generous.

However, what really surprised everyone was not Crow Boss's sudden outbreak of conscience but that Crow, who never went to the front lines or committed to the cause, also had an Awakening!?

That was big news.

As the mushroom stall just opened, a large circle of little players gathered around to watch.

"Just asking, but can you awaken just by picking mushrooms??"

"I remember Crow Boss is a Perception Type, right? Isn't it only the Intelligence Types that can gain experience from life professions?"

"That's unscientific!"

"Right! Mosquito is only at level seven or eight, isn't he? Dark curtain!"

"Come clean, did you secretly collaborate with the game planners or what?"

"Hidden task! It must be a hidden task! Damn it, Crow hogging it all for himself!"

Seeing their impolite behavior, Crow felt a maddening itch in his teeth and glared at them while saying,

"What the hell! You people, I've been properly leveling up, you know?"

"I don't just pick mushrooms!"

Damn it!

These people have actually forgotten that Tail and Si Si were apprentices she had taken under her wing!

However, it was clear that this statement wasn't convincing at all, as nobody believed her.

Just then, someone suddenly asked,

"By the way, what Talent did Crow Boss unlock?"

As soon as this question was asked, it caused a huge stir.

Right.

What was Crow Boss's Talent?

Pairs of eyes instantly looked at her with curiosity.

Feeling the gaze of so many people, Crow's face reddened, she coughed dryly, and shifted her gaze away subtly.

"Alright, alright, stop asking, it's getting annoying."

Everyone exchanged glances, which only made them even more curious.

Unfortunately, no matter how much they asked, Crow adamantly refused to say.

Maybe it was just really bad luck, unlocking a talent that was pretty useless.

This wasn't uncommon on the forums.

Especially for players who started with innate talents, balancing it out was only normal.

After all, if they had pulled an SSSR, they would have already been bragging on the forums about it.

There'd be no reason to be at a loss for words.

...

After logging out.

Official website forum.

Spring Water Commander: "F*ck my life! I wandered outside for a day! Didn't even see the shadow of a Dead Claw!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "F*ck, you beat a brown bear and still not satisfied! You have to have the Dead Claw?"

Debt Giant Eye: "??? I want it! How much?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Too late, we already butchered it."

Debt Giant Eye: "Damn!"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "QAQ"

Gnome King Riches: "Just out of curiosity, can this thing be used on a Crack Claw Crab?"

Wild Wind: "Not sure, but do Crack Claw Crabs have necks?"

Gnome King Riches: "F*ck, you're right, I never noticed… they really don't seem to have one!"

Canyon fugitive Mole: "Think about it from another angle, if you could hide the collar inside the Crack Claw Crab's shell, wouldn't that solve the problem of collars getting easily damaged?"

Fang Chang: "F*ck?! That's something I hadn't thought of! If we could control the Crack Claw Crabs, they seem just as useful as the Claw of Death!"

Edge Shoveling: "+1, against those with thick shells, even Iron Fist would need two shots to penetrate. If this thing makes it to the battlefield, it's basically a mobile cover!"

Wild Wind: "The key point is that this thing also moves fast, and its close combat abilities are badass."

Night Ten: "It's definitely a tank. (funny)"

Quit smoking: "F*ck, that's visually exciting!"

Old White: "I'm going to ask the planners!!!"

After scrolling through the posts on the forum, Chu Guang finally understood why there were a bunch of private messages in his backend.

Good grief.

Asking him for strategies, no less.

If he had strategies, would he need to copy homework on the forums?

Thinking it over, Chu Guang felt it wasn't appropriate not to reply when so many were asking.

Replying only to some players was even less appropriate.

So he posted a public thread and pinned it temporarily for one day.

Light: "The Pet System is still under development, everybody, please be patient. The initial design intent of the Mind Interference Instrument prop was mainly to enhance the gaming experience for players with an Intelligence System, as it's hard to reflect the strength of Intelligence attributes directly in DPS in the current version."

"As for how to play with this equipment and how to maximize its advantages, I invite players to explore on their own."

"Moreover, it's not just the Intelligence System players who have access to the Pet System. Some Variants on the Wasteland can also be tamed without the need for the Mind Interference Instrument."

"The most common ones are wolves, followed by mutated hyenas, and even rats. I believe many players have noticed that some Looters or experienced Hunters tame wolves or hyenas to utilize their sense of smell and perception of danger for hunting or avoiding threats."

"This function is not exclusive to NPCs; players can also use it, although it requires a bit of skill. For more gameplay on 'Wasteland OL', please explore it yourselves in the game!"

After posting, Chu Guang shut down his computer and went to sleep.

These players could go 24 hours without sleep, wearing helmets to cultivate immortality, but he couldn't keep up.

What Chu Guang didn't anticipate was that almost at the same moment his post went up - just a second after the discussions of "which is stronger, Crack Claw Crab or Claw of death" and "let's nerf the Intelligence System" - the players instantly erupted in excitement.

Tail: "!!! Then can Tail have two bears?"

Si Si: "Shocked, Ah Wei wants to stand on two bears."

Quit smoking: "Awesome! So, players of other systems can also have pets?!"

Elena: "Empire's barbarian cavalry logging in. (funny)"

Canyon fugitive Mole: "Although I had speculated it before and never had confirmation... since the planner said so, it should be possible."

Difficult for the strong: "Speaking of, can Variant players also tame Variants? Or am I restricted to only raising rats. T.T"

Fang Chang: "I suddenly have a bold idea..."

Night Ten: "I have to ask, is it a serious idea? (funny)"

Fang Chang: "? I don't understand what you're saying, but... might need Garbage Jun's cooperation."

Pick up trash 99 level: "F*ck, what do you want to do?"

Fang Chang: "We'll talk once we're online. (sideways glance laughing)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "???"

-

(Sorry, only 6K words today. I need to adjust my schedule; my thinking becomes sluggish at night, and my writing efficiency is too low. It used to be fine when I wrote 6K in the afternoon and another 6K in the evening, getting to bed by twelve. But the rhythm gets messed up if there's a disruption any day. I've updated 210,000 words this month, should reach 250,000 by the end of the month, proving I haven't been slacking off. I really haven't been playing games... QAQ)

Chapter 237 People Can't, or at Least They Shouldn't

It was night.

Chu Guang had a very, very long dream.

Although he couldn't remember the specifics of the dream, the lingering déjà vu told him that it was probably some bizarre nightmare.

Honestly.

Sometimes, Chu Guang felt that the reason he was cautious in his daily life was at least half due to those dreams.

The dreams were so real, it was as if they had actually happened...

"What was the cause of death this time?"

Muttering to himself, Chu Guang sat up in bed.

It must have been the continuous labor and training bearing fruit.

Persistence paid off.

He had leveled up again.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Stage 2)

Level: LV.16→LV.17

--Basic Attributes--

Strength: 17

Agility: 11→12

Constitution: 16

Perception: 12→13

Intelligence: 15

]

In the medical laboratory.

Lying on the scanning bed, Chu Guang looked at the Attribute Panel in front of him, a surprised expression on his face.

Good grief.

He had actually gained two points this time!

He remembered there had been similar instances before, but those were long gone.

One point in Perception and one point in Agility enhanced his intuition for danger and his response capability.

As for his Talents, they were still the same, "Wild Instinct" and "Mind Intimidation."

The former's all-attribute enhancement effect, combined with the power armor and Nitrogen-Powered Hammer, could deal tons of damage in a short period.

The latter was very useful during interrogation.

Apart from that, Chu Guang recalled that only during the introductory cutscene for new players entering the Game did he have a chance to use them.

Looking at the 17% Progress Bar, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel a bit hopeful.

Just three more levels until the Second Awakening.

He didn't know what kind of Talent would be unlocked at the Third Stage of the Gene Sequence.

"Your DNA is very unstable."

Heya, standing by the terminal, threw a wet blanket on Chu Guang's excitement.

Her forefinger and thumb stroking her chin, the puzzled look on her fair face was unmistakable.

If it weren't for her incessant nagging making her seem a bit neurotic, the crane-haired youthful beauty would indeed be stunning.

What a pity.

With the addition of being mute, this SSSR Card would have been perfect.

"Logically, it shouldn't be like this."

"Gene expression should be a stable process, even with artificial intervention, it's difficult to make multiple and consecutive adjustments to the phenotype in such a short time."

"And what's most incredible is that these 'adjustments' are occurring in completely different directions!"

Cutting off her rambling, Chu Guang got straight to the point.

"Just tell me, is it good news or bad news?"

After pondering for a while, Heya shook her head.

"It's hard to define as good or bad—"

I get it.

It's good news.

Chu Guang nodded.

"Okay, I got it, you don't have to say anymore."

Seeing that Chu Guang wasn't interested in her assessment, Heya's face betrayed a resigned expression as she shrugged.

"As long as you're happy."

...

Western Entrance of the Outpost Base.

This was where the guard team's firing range and the cells holding the prisoners awaited interrogation. It was also where Lord Manager kept the creature known as Claw of Death.

Hearing footsteps outside the shed, Claw of Death, curled up in a pile of hay, slightly lifted its wrinkled eyelids.

The scent of humans?

No...

It also smelled something familiar.

Its amber pupils gently shifted, scanning over the figures at the doorway, eventually coming to rest on an odd silhouette.

That was a Lizard.

This fellow was wrapped in strange cloth, dressed like a human. Moreover, it carried a large pot on its back, from which heat emanated.

Was something being cooked inside?

It had never seen such a strange guy before.

However...

It was too weak.

Standing just over two meters tall, not even as long as its own tail, it wondered how such a small thing had managed to survive until now.

Snorting a breath through its fist-sized nostrils with a sound of "tssk," the slightly mocking greeting blew away a few dry grass blades.

Its thick tail shifted direction to form a circle, and the bored Death Claw closed its eyes to continue napping.

The players standing at the door looked at each other in dismay.

This reaction...

It was quite different from what they had planned.

They initially thought that Trash King and this guy might share a common language.

Night Ten, "That expression just now..."

Fang Chang, "I think I understood it."

Wild Wind, "Feel sorry for our bro Trash."

"Damn it! What's there to feel sorry about, ya ball of fluff?" Pick up trash 99 level said, caught between laughter and tears, "I told you it was no use, didn't I? But you didn't believe me!"

This thing isn't a Bear!

It's a Death Claw, bro!

Not to mention the Lair outside of regular consideration; this thing is one of the top Variants in the Wasteland food chain.

Upon rational analysis, it's at least Level 80!

And itself, had only just reached 8...

Mosquito, who had come along for the excitement, stroked his chin pensively, his eyes full of confusion.

"That's not right, this beast didn't act like this when it saw the Manager."

Old White nodded in agreement.

"That's right, I saw it once... this creature was much more docile."

Much more docile was an understatement.

The way it laid on the ground shaking in fear, it was nearly peeing itself, right?

Of course, it might also be because of the power armor.

Looking at that metal lump that was impossible to bite into, any creature with even a lick of sense would panic.

Especially when it was badly injured.

Mosquito looked at Trash King with a skeptical expression and continued.

"Could it be because you're too weak?"

Hearing those words, Pick up trash 99 level got so angry that his nose was nearly bent out of shape as he cursed.

"It's your ass that's weak! You little Old Six, you're not even higher leveled than me!"

WC Real Mosquito, "Scram! Do you know I've already reached LV7, huh?"

Pick up trash 99 level, "Heh, weakling!"

WC Real Mosquito, "％￥#@!"

The two began to quarrel.

The people from the Cow and Horse groups were used to such sights and didn't take it seriously at all.

Stroking his chin and pondering for a moment, Fang Chang tried to analyze.

"There are two possibilities now; one is that Variant players have defective reproductive functions, leading to less pronounced secondary sexual characteristics. The other possibility, as Night Ten said, is that you're too low-leveled, and to this Death Claw, you seem weak, just like the young cubs of its species."

Wild Wind, "So using Trash King to lure the Death Claw is not working, huh?"

Suddenly, Night Ten had an inspired thought, suggesting wildly.

"Could it be because there's nothing there?"

"How about we try attaching a fake one?"

A subtly awkward silence filled the air.

Everyone was stunned.

Old White, "What the fuck?"

Wild Wind, "Humans shouldn't... well, at least they shouldn't..."

Fang Chang, "Damn, you little genius."

Pick up trash 99 level, "Scram!!!"

While the players from the Cow and Horse groups were experimenting with Trash King, Chu Guang, who was standing on the third floor of the sanatorium, was also watching from afar.

From a genetic standpoint, Trash King's DNA did indeed have quite a few similarities with the Death Claw; you could even say that, aside from a brain structure akin to humans, the rest of its body was designed based on a Death Claw—or at least it stemmed from the same source.

However, regretfully...

The mother Death Claw seemed uninterested in Trash King, too lazy to even give him a glance.

"What a pity."

"It seems Trash King's charm is not enough to conquer that Death Claw."

Was it because it was too small?

Chu Guang stroked his chin, falling into deep thought.

Speaking of which, didn't he have a rat in his refuge?

Compared to other mutant rats in the Wasteland, that big rat was significantly larger.

If he could tame a few or even several colonies of rats...

Chu Guang's eyes suddenly sparkled.

"Holy fuck!"

"Could it be that this panel data that looks weak is actually super awesome?!"

With that thought, Chu Guang could no longer sit still; he immediately opened VM, drafted a quest, and sent it to the "Difficult for the strong" brother.

[Task: King of the Myriad Rats]

[Description: Perhaps we could try uniting with creatures unlike ourselves.]

The name of this task alone sounded far from simple; it should be no problem to appease a newbie.

As for the reward.

Besides silver coins and contribution points, it wouldn't be excessive to add a special achievement.

As for the name of the achievement, Chu Guang hadn't thought of it yet.

Anyway, there was no rush.

Whether this task could be completed was still an unknown.

It wouldn't be too late to decide once that young player had finished it.

...

Far Creek Town, perched on the edge of the forest, was as tranquil today as it ever was.

Standing by a barricade made of wood, a Looter yawning with a "Blade" assault rifle hanging across his chest.

The shift from late night to early morning was the hardest to endure.

It's not just the tiredness—there was also hunger.

Was there really going to be an attack at this hour?

At this point, besides those on sentry duty being dead tired, everyone else was brimming with energy.

"When the hell is this snow going to melt?" asked a Looter, totting a dog chain, bored out of his mind.

"Don't know, you'd have to wait until early February if you're up north."

"Maybe less in the south, perhaps next week? Or the week after?"

"I can hardly wait."

"Ha, what a coincidence, neither can I!"

The two exchanged glances and simultaneously revealed a knowing smile.

And it wasn't just humans who understood.

Even the Hyena lying beside them bared its teeth and let out excited pants.

Probably because they'd heard yesterday that people from Black Snake had set out from the southern suburbs of Tianshui City, marching southward to the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

That guy was ruthless.

From north to south, his conquests were a series of swift victories; the number of Survivor Settlements he'd burned down was too many to count on one hand, and the plunder stacked up like little hills.

Otherwise, the chieftain wouldn't have rewarded him with a Tank.

The only thing they were worrying about now.

Was that the survivors in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City were not much for a fight.

It would be a real suffering if by the time they reached the North Suburb, there wasn't even a sip of meat soup left.

Just as the two were chatting in fits and starts, a swath of dark figures suddenly appeared at the edge of the forest to the east.

The two Looters immediately became alert, hurriedly loading their guns and flipping off the safety, pointing them toward the approaching line of people.

"Halt! Stand there and don't move!"

"Who are you?"

The line of people came to a stop.

The man at the front shouted out.

"We're from Black Snake... I'm a Centurion under his command, Gang Ya."

People from Black Snake?

A Centurion?

Upon hearing this, the two Looters were taken aback.

Wasn't Black Snake in the south?

Why would his people show up here?

Could it be...

they'd already finished their campaign?

Realizing that something might be off, the two Looters didn't dare to delay, with one of them immediately dashing back towards the camp.

After a short while, the Looter who went to report came running back.

"Which one of you is Gang Ya?"

"Lord Lion Tooth wants to see you!"

The man who had shouted earlier stepped forward to respond.

"That's me, lead the way."

The Looter hurriedly nodded.

"Please follow me!"

Walking through the heavily guarded camp, Gang Ya followed the footsteps of the Looter sentinel, entering the tent of Lion Tooth.

Inside the tent, there was a brazier burning, and a bear skin laid out on the floor.

Lion Tooth, seated on a wooden chair, was gazing intently at the man who walked in through the door.

"...You are Gang Ya?"

The Ya Clan was vast.

There were at least ten people named Gang Ya.

He had never seen this clansman before, and felt that his shabby clothing made him look like a Scavenger, not at all like the direct lineage of the Chewing Bone Tribe should.

"I am, my lord."

Gang Ya knelt on one knee, bowing his head slightly.

Lion Tooth looked down at him with a contemplative expression and said in a deep voice.

"If you are under Black Snake's command, why didn't you join him in his conquest of the northern suburbs of Qingquan City, and instead come here to me?"

Gang Ya's face showed a hint of bitterness.

"Lord Black Snake encountered an ambush at the provincial highway junction by the survivors from the North Suburb. We fought to the death, but the number of our enemies was enormous... Gunfire came from all directions, with at least a hundred shells falling on our position."

"We had no choice but to move westward, retreating while fighting, escaping into the woods. After a battle, both sides had left behind hundreds of bodies..."

"Lord Black Snake's whereabouts are unknown, nearly all his four thousand teams around him have been wiped out, and we've lost contact with the other five scattered thousand teams. We could only risk our lives crossing through the woods to meet up here with you."

Everyone inside the tent involuntarily held their breath, their faces filled with disbelief and astonishment.

Except for one person.

"A hundred shells? Are you sure?!"

Bernie's eyes were fixed intently on the kneeling Gang Ya as he pressed aggressively.

"And how many people were ambushing you?"

To deploy a hundred shells in a short time would require at least ten cannons.

He refused to believe that a broken survivor settlement in the North Suburb could produce ten cannons!

And what use was that kind of crude shell against the Army's Number 10 tanks? If it was a high-explosive bomb, it couldn't even scratch the surface!

"Absolutely true, my lord. If I speak even half a falsehood, you can have my head."

Gang Ya bowed his head, speaking softly.

"As for the number of people... I'm not sure, but according to the brothers who ran from the front line, there are at least four thousand teams!"

Lord Lion Tooth and Bernie's expressions changed drastically.

Four thousand teams!

How could there be so many people?

Lion Tooth exclaimed angrily.

"Are you joking? Does the entire North Suburb even have four thousand people?"

Even counting the old, women, and children, such a number couldn't be reached, could it?!

There wasn't any affluent survivor settlement in the entire North Suburb, just small villages with a population around a hundred.

Slightly larger survivor settlements would be further south, deep into the dangerous urban area, right to the edge of the Third Ring.

They had grasped these pieces of information before even coming here!

"...If what he says is true, I'm afraid it's the people from Giant Stone City who have taken action."

Bernie spoke gravely, continuing.

"I didn't realize their combat power was so strong, far exceeding our expectations."

Lion Tooth swallowed hard, a rare expression of helplessness flitting across his face as he looked to his advisor.

"What should we do?"

A bitter smile appeared on Bernie's face.

"What to do? I don't know."

"If Lord Black Snake had been able to meet up with us, with two combined thousand teams, perhaps we'd have a fighting chance. But now, we have to bear all the risk alone."

Lion Tooth fell silent, his fingers tightly clutching the armrests of his chair.

A thousand team!

Equipped with armored pickup trucks, tanks... even heavy artillery and support from "Torch."

Whether in terms of equipment or combat experience, the troops under Black Snake could be called elite.

Yet such an elite force had been utterly annihilated in less than a day.

Without a doubt.

Conquering the North Suburb of Qingquan City had exceeded his capabilities.

Bernie, standing aside, glanced at the silent Lion Tooth and spoke in a hushed voice.

"After the snow melts, they might take the offensive. My suggestion is... a strategic shift to West State City."

"You mean to retreat?" Lion Tooth said angrily, "We've prepared here all winter! To leave without a fight, how will the other members of the clan view us! They will laugh at us, thinking we are cowards!"

The Looters who believed in slaughter and war revered the strong.

This was even truer for the Chewing Bone Tribe.

The weak did not deserve to enjoy the spoils of war; this was not only about his reputation within the clan but also about his prestige in the eyes of his subordinates.

Anticipating Lion Tooth's response, Bernie sighed inwardly and continued.

"We haven't fought without striking, and I wouldn't call this a retreat. I'd rather think of it as a strategic shift... preserving strength for a future victory, to recuperate and build up energy."

"You've heard them; they have four thousand teams, more than ten cannons. With our current strength, we cannot chew through such a tough bone."

"We need more manpower and equipment, otherwise, we'll simply repeat Black Snake's fate."

"If anyone thinks we are cowards, let them come, and we can swap with them."

Lion Tooth fell silent.

He actually had the answer in his heart as to what to choose.

He just didn't want to accept it.

"Retreat..."

As he uttered this word, Lion Tooth felt as though all his strength had been drained from his body.

He had wasted two, perhaps three months here and even lost a hundred team.

And all this had resulted in such a humiliating end.

He swore.

When his iron hooves stepped into this place again, he would slaughter the people here to extinction!

Standing aside, Bernie breathed a sigh of relief.

Although his previous words were a bit alarmist, it was evident that if even Black Snake had been defeated, he saw no chance of victory for himself.

With a slight nod, he said softly,

"A wise choice."

-

(The next chapter will be around twelve o'clock, still about a thousand words short. I'll post it after I finish writing and checking for typos. If there are any missed, please help me catch them, brothers.)

Chapter 238: The Method of Taming Variants and Spring Plowing Preparations!

Ever since the developer drew a big pie about the "Pet System" on the forum, it's been a whole three days.

As of now, aside from the hundreds of experience posts about pet breeding on the forum, no player has successfully tamed a Variant from the Wasteland.

However, it's not fair to say there have been no gains.

At least during this time, Chu Guang has seen many new species at the market by the North Gate that he had never seen before...

In the square in front of the sanatorium.

Looking at the Spring Water Commander who had just returned from outside, Spare people under the knife, who was leading a construction crew at work, teased with a smile on his face.

"Brother Spring Water, did you catch a Dead Claw?"

Recently, there has been a flurry of construction at Outpost Base, with the respawn point northward turning into a large construction site. On one hand, many players have upgraded to Intermediate Citizen, allowing them to purchase land up to 50 square meters. On the other hand, more and more NPCs have been settling nearby.

As the chief architect of Wasteland OL, his architecture proficiency level has been grinded to Level 6!

It's said that achieving Level 10 unlocks achievements, and being the first to max out proficiency would get you into the Hall of Fame, but it's been getting harder and harder to level up since Level 5.

The Spring Water Commander hadn't opened his mouth yet when the Battlefield Atmosphere Group beside him started cursing and complaining.

"Catch my ass, I've been out all day and ran into six dogs! I knocked out a bunch of cockroaches and bloodsuckers, but damn it, I didn't see a single Death Claw!"

The Spring Water Commander also sighed and said,

"It's too difficult, can't find it at all."

"I followed the official guide to the letter and checked all the landmarks on the map where the Death Claws might appear, ended up finding all sorts of weird stuff, but not a single Death Claw!"

Like the water treatment station they visited today, which has a collapsed structure twenty meters below the surface with radiation levels in the medium threat zone and an abandoned backup reactor. There should theoretically be Death Claws nesting there.

However, when they got there, all they found were blood-sucking insects the size of washbasins and cockroaches crawling all over the place, along with the dim-witted Eaters.

Luckily, due to the high activity level of the Variants there, some materials could be recovered.

After clearing out the Variants, the silver coins and Contribution Points they got as a reward for reporting the resource spot weren't bad and brought in a small profit.

Otherwise, they might not have even earned back the cost of their bullets.

Although Spring Water and Old Soldier looked frustrated, I Max Black, who followed them, had a face full of joy.

"Awesome! Hahaha! I'm finally Level 6!"

"Damn it, this game is way too hard to level up!"

Elsewhere.

In front of the market at the North Gate, a large crowd had gathered.

Autumn Leaves, sitting next to her sister, curiously glanced in the direction of the crowd.

She saw a large crab lying there, with its high shell covered in muddy silt and algae leaves.

Recognizing what the big guy was straight away, Autumn Leaves' mouth watered, and she excitedly pointed in that direction and said,

"Sister! Look over there!"

Crab meat patties!

Mashed potatoes with crab meat!

And crab roe mixed with noodles!

The market is sure to have so many delicious foods next week!

Looking in the direction her sister was pointing, Autumn Grass's face was also filled with surprise.

In her mind, Crack Claw Crabs were very dangerous Variants, and even the bravest warriors and hunters from the tribe wouldn't consider them hunting targets.

The fact that these Blue Jackets could include such terrifying creatures in their recipes and hunt them one after another was simply amazing...

It would be great to bring one back to the village.

As the sisters were reflecting, little did they know that these players actually had no intention of killing this thing.

Instead, they intended to capture it as a pet.

Unfortunately, the crab was just too tough!

Like most arthropods, it maintained a strong will to fight while conscious, right up until its life was ended.

Even with its legs blown off and its shell caught in Devil Silk, it still vigorously attacked the approaching people with its large pincers.

Out of helplessness and to minimize losses, Edge Shoveling had no choice but to kill the tricky big one they had finally found with an anti-armor wooden-handle grenade.

At this moment, standing next to that large crab corpse, Edge Shoveling was haggling with Scrambled Eggs with Tomato.

A Crack Claw Crab's body could sell for 400 silver, which was the NPC warehouse's purchase price, essentially the market's guide or base price.

At the market by the North Gate, if other players were buying, an increase of 3% to 10% was normal.

Unless it was a particularly hot item, it's rare for the price to rise by more than 20%.

By the way, due to inventory decline, the price of the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher has recently increased to 80 silver, and it looks like it'll have to reach 100 to stop.

Due to Mole Old Brother's post detailing the weaknesses of the Crack Claw Crab, lately, many newcomers have become gambling hounds.

So, for a mere 80 silver coins, one could buy an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher and seek out a Crack Claw Crab hibernating in a cave for a surefire headshot.

If it hits the sweet spot, right in the skull or even just beside it, it would be enough to kill it instantly and ensure the integrity of the catch.

That sounds like a golden opportunity to strike it rich.

But on the flip side, if the shot misses, or if the crab gets accidentally awoken,
one could end up wasting several days' worth of effort for nothing...

"...410 silver, that's as high as I can go. Any higher and I can't afford it," Tomato Scrambled Eggs said, shaking his head in response to Edge Shoveling's asking price of 450 silver.

When Edge Shoveling heard his offer getting slashed by 40 silver, he couldn't help but blurt out,

"Damn! You thick-browed fella, when did you start pinching pennies like Mosquito!"

Debt Giant Eye chimed in from the side,

"Exactly! A crab meat pie sells for two silver coins! This crab here must weigh at least a ton; surely 100 kilograms of crab meat isn't asking too much, right? 1000 crab meat pies is reasonable, isn't it?"

Construction Kid and Bricks: "Holy shit, flip that for 2000 silver! An exoskeleton set in the bag! That's too ruthless, way too ruthless."

Tomato Scrambled Eggs rolled his eyes.

"Do you think wheat comes for free? What about the spices? Do you think people will buy whatever you make?"

"Besides, that's an exaggeration. Getting 90 kilograms of crab meat is more realistic, and it's not even autumn."

However, he wasn't entirely honest about one thing.

Crab meat pies actually sell pretty well.

After all, not all players go back to base for meals, especially at lunchtime, when most folks make do with what they have on hand.

The noob players with empty pockets usually bring along a wheat cake or some jerky, soak it in water to eat; some of the more hardcore ones just gnaw on it directly.

This way of eating can hardly be called flavorful, and the texture is nearly nonexistent; at most, it keeps one's stomach full and prevents the debuff of low blood sugar, which can weaken combat power.

Economically better-off veteran players, on the other hand, might spend an extra silver or two to buy buns, steamed bread, or meat sandwiches. These options are not only convenient and tasty but also provide a more balanced diet. Maintaining a healthy physique in the long run can even lead to a 1-5% buff in attributes due to the strong body bonus.

The crab meat pies, born from the festival, are also a good choice. Whether sandwiched in bread or eaten straight, they offer substantial calories, and the taste is quite good.

Even for the average big eater among the Awakeners, two 200g crab meat pies are usually enough to fill up. Strength-type players might eat more, but generally, three pies are sufficient.

In the end, the giant crab was sold for 420 silver coins.

The four people on Edge Shoveling's side each got 105 silver coins. Even after deducting the cost of ammunition, the profit was still considerable.

Tomato Scrambled Eggs was also busy, bringing over pliers, a hammer, and steel nails, ready to start carving out the crab meat from the shell.

Some life-skill players and Indigenous People squatted by, curiously watching, ready to pick out some well-shaped crab shells to buy for one or two silver coins each to use as armor.

A thumb-thick slice of crab shell could block three 7mm bullets from a distance of 100 meters.

If broken up and wrapped in Devil Silk to create small armor plates stuffed into clothes, it could even simulate the effect of composite bulletproof vests!

Such unique gear was indeed unique to the Wasteland.

Just then, Mosquito Brother sauntered over and grabbed Tomato Scrambled Eggs, who was processing the Crack Claw Crab, and asked,

"Bro, you gonna use these crab shells for anything?"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs was startled,

"Crab shells? Not really... What do you need them for?"

Mosquito let out a sly laugh,

"Well, it's none of your business, but how about I give you 10 silver coins for it?"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs rolled his eyes again,

"Buzz off. At least 50 silver, or don't even think about it."

Mosquito: "Damn! You're not even using them!"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs said with no patience left, "I could sell them to someone else, couldn't I? Go ask around, see if anyone wants them."

After failing to score a good deal, Mosquito looked disappointed, but in the end, he still forked over the money.

The surrounding players, realizing that Mosquito had cut in and snatched away the material they were after, dispersed, cursing under their breaths.

Only the Indigenous People remained, unclear about what had just happened.

"Let's make this clear, don't damage the front shells; they're mine now."

Looking at Mosquito's pained face, Tomato Scrambled Eggs grinned and said,

"Relax, you know my skills. But still, what do you need all these crab shells for? Even though they're sturdy, they're not as useful as steel, right?"

"You just don't get it," Mosquito chuckled, "Do you know how expensive steel is? A tonne of steel goes for several thousand silver! These crab shells are almost as strong as steel, with their only fault being slightly heavier, but that's not a big issue!"

"Such a natural composite material has proven itself in combat against light weapons! I'm planning on adding an engine to power a few machine legs, put a cannon in front, and mount a machine gun on the back. Wouldn't that be far cooler than a live Crack Claw Crab?"

Listening to this, Tomato Scrambled Eggs was taken aback, looking at Mosquito with disbelief.

"Holy crap... that's pretty intense, isn't it?"

He grinned, not missing the chance to be modest,

"Keep it low-key, keep it low-key."

...

As players were pondering over how to make the best use of untamed Variants, their most beloved game designer was also thinking of solutions for them.

Bull Horse Brick Factory.

Chu Guang quickly located the previously captured Gray Wolf through the foreman, Yang Ergou, here.

This guy had surrendered willingly and had given up intelligence on the Lion Tooth thousand team, earning lenient treatment. Although he couldn't avoid punishment and labor, at least his workload was slightly lighter, playing with mud.

Initially, when Chu Guang summoned him, Gray Wolf was somewhat nervous.

After all, Black Snake's corpse was still hanging at the north gate.

Although he wasn't a subordinate of Black Snake, he was still pretty shaken up.

However, after hearing the purpose of Chu Guang's visit, Gray Wolf felt a little relief in his heart.

At least he was still somewhat useful to these people.

He shouldn't end up like Black Snake...

"Variants like Hyenas and Wolves, through conventional taming methods, it's difficult to eliminate their wildness. To completely tame them, you must start from when they're cubs."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and then asked,

"How long does it take for a mutated hyena to grow up?"

Gray Wolf replied,

"A year and a half, or two years."

Even the fastest growth is a year and a half... It's a bit faster than the Army's Clones, but this time is too long.

And just a single Hyena can hardly form effective combat power; it's only slightly stronger than mutated mice and cockroaches, or bullying brainless Eaters.

Mutant Snow Wolves are slightly stronger, but the average combat power is around Level 3, with a few individuals that can reach Level 5, and those would be the alpha wolves.

Spending two years, consuming a large amount of food and energy, to cultivate a Level 3 combat power, from a cost perspective, truly isn't economical.

Pets are indeed just pets.

It's quite challenging to use them as battle companions.

Chu Guang continued to ask,

"Is there any way to tame adult Hyenas or wild wolves?"

Gray Wolf's expression seemed troubled, but he reluctantly nodded.

"There is, but it's not easy... and if their wildness can't be eliminated, it's hard to make them effective."

"No matter, as long as there's a way, that's enough."

Saying this, Chu Guang threw a VM to him, which didn't have the mission release function, only the unlocked recording feature.

"Describe all the methods and experiences of taming and breeding wild beasts orally. If it proves to be useful, it can reduce your sentence."

Gray Wolf's expression brightened up, immediately saying,

"Rest assured, sir! I'll tell everything I know!"

Chu Guang nodded.

"It would be best to do so."

Later, he would have Xiao Qi organize the contents of the recording into notes and update them in the official website's database. That should provide some reference for his little players.

In fact, more than Hyenas and Wolves, he was looking forward to his little players taming some more awesome Variants.

Chu Guang believed that, given enough time, with their intelligence and creativity, they would definitely find a way.

...

A week had passed since the "Spring Thunder" operation, and the sunny days in the North suburb of Qingquan City continued. The last heavy snowfall seemed to be a thing of two weeks ago.

What was knee-deep in snow yesterday barely covered the calves today.

Everyone could feel that the harsh winter was fading away.

Life was beginning to thaw.

But the threat from the north had not subsided.

In preparation for the coming war, both players and the survivors in the North Suburb were actively gearing up for battle.

However, as the Manager, Chu Guang had to consider not only military issues at this moment,

But also next year's food production.

More and more factual evidence had proven that post-Awakening players not only had strong combat power but also had astonishing appetites.

In fact, not just after Awakening, the amount of food the players consumed was already 1.5 to 2 times that of the Indigenous People. As their levels increased, it could even reach a shocking three times by Level 10.

For a moment, Chu Guang didn't know whether to complain that the Indigenous People were living too frugally, or if his players were just too big of eaters.

If it hadn't been for Black Snake delivering a shipment, just the small reserve of food in the warehouse might not have lasted till the end of next month when the corn at the Greenhouse Ruins would be ready to harvest.

To recruit more players into the Game.

The cultivation of the lands North of Rhombus Lake must be prioritized as soon as possible!

In the meeting room of Changjiu Farm, Luka meticulously reported the work situation to Chu Guang, who had come to inspect the Work.

"Sir, spring plowing is about to begin, and although we have enough rifles, we cannot plough the land with bayonets and rifle butts."

"Those slaves... I mean, war prisoners, they can bear the harshest pioneering work, but digging with sticks and hands is too inefficient. Even if we worked them to death in the fields, we couldn't complete the production tasks."

"We need at least 1200 sets of farming tools, including hoes, rakes, shovels, and some seeding carts, as well as transportation tools like hand carts. Since we don't have enough livestock, we will probably have to rely on human labor instead."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and asked.

"How much do we have in stock?"

Luka said with a wry smile.

"Sir, we don't have any stock... The entire industrial zone's capacity is being used to produce weapons. The mere one hundred and twenty sets of tools we do have, came from towns like Highway Town and several other Survivor Settlements, but the quality of their tools is poor, and less than half are made of metal."

Chu Guang felt a slight embarrassment upon hearing the helpless tone in Luka's voice.

The external pressure to survive was evident; he admitted that he had perhaps been overly militaristic recently, but that was out of necessity.

Besides, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

The military industry had stimulated steel production capacity. Once steel production was up, wouldn't making some farming tools be easy-peasy?

"I'll figure something out," Chu Guang mused for a moment and then promised, "I'll try to come up with three hundred sets of tools for cultivating the land within a week, and aim to fill all the gaps before the end of the month. What about our neighbors? Can we borrow some from them?"

Luka thought and then said.

"Brown Farm might have some, but probably not enough. To my knowledge, even including their indoor cultivation area, they don't have more than 400 acres of farmland."

400 acres...

Chu Guang shook his head.

"That's too little."

From the North of Linghu to Elm District Forest, there lay over 100 square kilometers of Wasteland, which amounted to 150,000 acres.

400 acres was barely enough to fill a gap in the teeth.

In Chu Guang's plan, the first phase was to cultivate 30,000 acres to ensure at least 30,000 people could be fed and some cash crops could be produced to supply the industrial zone with raw materials such as plant fibers, oil, rubber, and so on.

It wasn't just a shortage of tools.

Manpower was also a major issue.

In the absence of automated equipment, man-power had to be piled on. A rough estimate suggested that to cultivate these 30,000 acres, at least 1,000 to 3,000 people would need to be mobilized.

At present, there were about 700 war prisoners available for use.

The Refugee Camp currently housed over 1500 people, but the number of able-bodied laborers among them might only account for half, and part had already been absorbed by the industrial zone.

The reason the players' rifles and bullets could be sold so cheaply was thanks to these people sweating on the assembly lines.

Children under the age of 12 were of no use. Even if the able-bodied women and elderly were put into production, they could probably muster only 400 to 500 people.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang speculated.

"We can distribute some of the production tasks to players who enjoy farming, designing a unique farming gameplay."

"If the effect is good, we can apply for more land."

But farming is a technical job.

And it requires patience.

Farming in Wasteland OL isn't quite the same as managing a Penguin Farm.

Planting and harvesting isn't just a couple of mouse clicks and done. Not only do you need to sow the seeds, but you also need to water, fertilize, deworm, and fend off the Wasteland's unique Variants and extreme weather conditions.

The climate on the Wasteland isn't as favorable as in real life.

Even in the less radioactive suburbs, occasionally a couple of oddly colored clouds would drift by. When it didn't rain, it was fine, but once it rained the situation could get quite bad...

After listening to Luka's report, Chu Guang continued to look towards Wrench, who was waiting on the side. Judging by his facial expression, it seemed he had good news to share.

Without waiting for the Manager to ask, Wrench saw that Luka had finally finished speaking, stepped forward, and took the initiative to speak.

"Sir, I have an important matter to report to you!"

"Speak."

Suppressing the elation in his heart, Wrench said excitedly.

"The Looters stationed at Far Creek Town have pulled out!"

Withdrawn?

Chu Guang was slightly taken aback before his expression changed.

Damn it!

Letting those damn dogs get away!

Chapter 239 Alpha 1.0 Version Update! Epic Enhancement for Lifestyle Profession Gameplay!

"F*ck me," he cursed.

"Let the bastards get away."

Standing on the edge of the forest to the northeast of Elm District, Chu Guang held binoculars in his hands and gazed at Far Creek Town hundreds of meters away, unable to help swearing under his breath.

A few days ago, the guard's track vehicles were patrolling the entire "North Suburb", hunting six squads of a hundred. Three were exterminated, but more than half of the Looters had escaped.

Chu Guang guessed that a portion of the Looters had fled towards Lion Teeth, bringing the news of Black Snake's defeat to them.

What he hadn't expected was for these people to be so tenacious.

Instead of charging forward, they turned their heads and ran!

"They fight when they can and run when they can't—quite the Looter style," Vanus, holding binoculars as well, observed for a while before continuing.

"…But these defense works are more like the style of an Army."

The Looters had reinforced the ruins with wood and dug trenches in the streets, setting up barricades and covers.

This place had been transformed into a fortress.

On a three-story ruin, even an emplacement reinforced with sandbags and wood was visible.

The "concave" shooting holes suggested it was probably some kind of infantry cannon with a high arc of fire.

However, the cannon there had already been removed.

"You can tell they retreated in a hurry. They only managed to set fire to it…most of the defenses were left undestroyed."

Chu Guang put away the binoculars and lightly touched the side of his helmet with his index finger.

"Squad 1, move forward."

"Roger that."

Liuding, standing 500 meters ahead, received the command and gestured to the players beside him.

After receiving the command, 5 squads of 10 members each immediately advanced, entering the abandoned town from five different directions.

Wearing exoskeletons patched with steel plates, Old White carried an LD-47j light machine gun, his barrel circling around the windows at the street corners.

His back was even equipped with a two-meter-long Cavalry Gun, although at this close range, it likely wouldn't be needed.

"It's so quiet here."

"The Looters stationed here must have retreated," Fang Chang glanced at a human skull by the roadside and cautiously surveyed the surroundings, "This whole town doesn't seem to have any living people."

Blood smears on the walls formed sinister graffiti, along with some twisted text and symbols.

It looked like the ritual of some evil religion.

Half-eaten corpses were tossed by the road, sordid refuse littered the streets, and there was a mess everywhere.

Night Ten swallowed his saliva.

The atmosphere here was so oppressive it made him feel suffocated.

He would rather have an upfront fight with the Looters than explore a place that made him feel physically uncomfortable.

"Damn, it feels like a horror game..."

Wild Wind glanced around and nodded expressionlessly.

"Yeah, Resident Evil meets Silent Hill…a similar vibe."

It was too quiet around them.

Not a living person to be heard.

Not even a mouse could be seen.

The group continued along the route indicated on the VM, coordinating with other squads to search the outskirts of the town.

After confirming there were no Looters, they continued deeper along the main road, advancing to the center of the town.

There stood a bell tower with an open view around it, the tallest building in the town, probably used by the Looters as a command post or something similar.

Opening the wooden door of the bell tower, Old White, taking the lead, walked in but was quickly driven out by the stench inside.

"Motherf*cker..."

"What did you see?" Night Ten curiously approached.

"I advise you're better off not looking."

But it was too late. Having passed through the door, Night Ten, holding onto the doorway, retched violently.

The hall of the bell tower was piled with corpses like a small hill.

The buzzing of flies was like a tsunami, dark creatures scurrying over the heap of bodies, and the hot breath that hit their faces carried the stench of rot. It seemed as if all the cockroaches in the town had gathered here—some as big as a fist, and others larger than shoes...

Wild Wind peeked inside and was momentarily stunned.

"This is just too..."

That visual impact.

Even with a filter, it somehow also carried a taint on the psyche.

It was simply like a nightmare.

"I feel like the public beta is an eternity away. If we don't change the blood and corpses into green cubes, it's going to be tough to wrap up," Gnome King Riches said, smacking his lips.

Elena gave him a suggestive look.

"Confidence is key. Get rid of those feelings."

...

After an hour's thorough search, it was pretty much confirmed that the thousand team stationed at Far Creek Town had evacuated.

Moreover, they had likely pulled out three days prior, with their destination being West State City to the direct north.

Before evacuating, the Looters executed all the slaves and sprinkled insect eggs on their bodies, burned the supplies they couldn't carry with them, and even set fire to the defense works.

However, due to the lack of fuel, apart from the food being destroyed, most of the wooden shelters and roadblocks survived.

If left for another half a month, the entire town would probably become a paradise for the Mutant Cockroaches and flies.

Those "little guys," although not strong in combat and unlikely to pose a direct threat to the Waste Land Wanderers, are quite adept at spreading disease and stealing supplies.

Clearly, Lion Tooth didn't want this "fortress" to fall into the hands of the North Suburb survivors, so they tried to prevent their take-over with such methods.

Chu Guang ordered the players to set fire to the Bell Tower, incinerating the Variants and corpses inside.

It was nearly 30 kilometers from there to the Outpost Base, making the recovery of these bodies too difficult, and uneconomical in terms of the cost.

Two Active Substance Extractors had been operating for twenty-four hours straight, with production tasks backlogged from the beginning to the end of the month.

At least for a while, there was no need to worry about the issue of Resurrection Coins.

Standing at the northern entrance of Far Creek Town, Wrench unfolded a map in front of Chu Guang and marked several red crosses along the contour lines with a marker.

"...It's nearly 20 kilometers from Far Creek Town to the southern edge of West State City. The entire route is covered by hills and forests. Although there are three pre-war era highways, they're essentially abandoned. If they plan to move from the north towards us, their marching routes are quite limited."

"I suggest establishing a mobile operations base in Far Creek Town, erecting radio stations, and building sentry posts along the northern hills, with radios and communication devices to closely monitor any movements from the north!"

Chu Guang stared at the map for a while before looking toward those hills covered with forests to the north. The treetops loaded with snow formed a continuous expanse, and in the vast white snow, only a few abandoned high-voltage towers and some unidentified ruins could be seen.

The view there was excellent, and the surrounding terrain was open.

If they could establish a sentry post at the top of those hills, covering an area of five to even ten kilometers within sight shouldn't be a problem.

The only worry was the Variants in the forest.

Creatures like Monsters, Potholing Beasts, Mutant Brown Bears, wild boars, apes and even the Claw of Death might lurk in the forest.

Each sentry post would have to deploy at least two machine guns and a 20mm cannon and also keep a couple of Iron Fist Rocket Launchers ready.

This should ensure the safety of the sentries.

Nodding slightly, Chu Guang said,

"This is a good suggestion. How many people do you think would be appropriate to station?"

After a moment of thought, Wrench replied,

"Three men should be ready at each sentry post, with shifts changing twice a day. 30 men should be enough!"

Chu Guang picked up the marker and added three more marks to the map, then handed the map back to Wrench.

"I'll give you 50 men, and raise the number of posts from 5 to 8. Make sure to keep a tight watch over this area!"

"Report to me promptly with any situations."

The work of standing guard could only be assigned to the defense team; players couldn't possibly do such tedious work 24/7 for a whole week.

He himself played games and could squat for a day for a boss, but couldn't possibly squat forever.

However, it was feasible to issue some tasks related to Far Creek Town to divert a group of Hunters, Scavengers, Explorers, as well as players with lifestyle professions to be active in this area, with the number controlled between 20 to 90.

Combined with NPCs' fixed posts, they should be able to ensure absolute security.

Wrench saluted with his hands clasped together,

"Yes!"

The plains of the River Valley Province are mainly concentrated at both the southern and northern ends, traversing east to west on the map in a strip-like pattern, serving as a traffic hub from the Eastern Provinces to the Western Provinces.

Like two corridors.

And the large area sandwiched between the two corridors is mostly dominated by hills and gentle slopes, with a few plains scattered throughout.

Pre-war cities were also mostly built on these plains, or at least centered around them, spreading along the contour lines towards the hills.

The survivors of Qingquan City mostly had it good, with a large part of that due to their location on the transit hub connecting east and west, where there are broad plains.

Unless there was heavy snow blocking the roads, there would usually be many commercial teams passing through the northern or southern suburbs of Qingquan City, often carrying plenty of valuable goods.

Far Creek Town was located right at the northernmost edge of Elm District and also at the northernmost end of this southern corridor.

Crossing the hills to the north and continuing for over twenty kilometers, you'd arrive at West State City, which was under the control of the Ya Clan.

Whether to protect the farmland and Long Endurance Farm's safety or to ensure the smooth flow of trade routes, it was essential to take control of Far Creek Town, this strategic location.

"If I were from the Chewing Bone Tribe, I would wait until autumn to make another trip," said Vanus, glancing northward as he stood beside Chu Guang.

"Should we consider deploying a 100mm cannon on the hillside that's not part of the army? It's not great against armor, but it can blast infantry or break tracks without much of a problem," Chu Guang remarked to him.

"I've been thinking about that, so how far can your army's artillery shoot?" Vanus pondered for a moment before answering.

"The effective range is 11 kilometers, but sometimes it can hit targets up to 13 kilometers. If it's a rocket-assisted projectile, the range could double, but the batches of shells you seized all seem to be standard high-explosive bombs."

Previously, during the attack on the Pioneer vessel, the two howitzers he used were the army's standard 100mm cannons, deployed in the forests of Elm District, hitting Long Endurance Farm over ten kilometers away.

However, those two cannons proved ineffective.

Not only were the vast majority of the shells intercepted by the higher-tech dot defense system, but they were later targeted by drones, and corporate employees dispatched them to heaven with two metallic hydrogen bombs.

However, it must be said that compared to the expensive and costly-to-maintain high-tech equipment, these cheaper, more brutally effective large-caliber cannons were better suited for the Wasteland environment.

After all, using something as valuable as metallic hydrogen to combat Looters was a waste.

It was like using a submachine gun to kill a cockroach.

After leaving Wrench, Liuding, and several other members of the guard team there, Chu Guang led the players back home.

A whole winter spent exhausting troops and depleting resources had finally opened up room for development.

Now that spring had come, it was critical to start farming to avoid starvation.

Back at Shelter No. 404, Chu Guang first opened the shelter system and entered the Manager's Allowance page to check his reward points.

Thanks to the players' diligent work during this period, the reward points had significantly replenished since the expenditure during the recent festivals; there were now a total of 271 points.

"It's time for the enjoyable task of opening blind boxes."

After some careful consideration, Chu Guang selected 2 advanced blind boxes, 5 intermediate blind boxes, and 21 basic blind boxes.

Accompanied by a slight shake of the wall, the alloy door opened, and the rewards from the blind boxes came out along the conveyor belt.

Looking at the items on the conveyor belt, Chu Guang's face showed a surprised expression.

"What is this..."

It was a jet-black exoskeleton, with visible blue lines on its surface, vaguely resembling the Type Five Exoskeleton, but it was by no means small, at least a size larger.

To make an inappropriate but illustrative comparison, if the Type Five Exoskeleton were compared to basketball attire, then this would be American football gear. Thick composite material plates hung in front of the chest, and scale-like armor pieces covered more than 90% of the body.

[Type Six "Heavy Cavalry" Police Exoskeleton: An improved model of the Type Five, it offers more robust bulletproof capabilities than the Type Five "Light Cavalry" Exoskeleton, not only resisting fire from light weapons but also providing certain protection against the shockwave and shrapnel damage from explosions.]

"This is something else."

Interested, Chu Guang donned the exoskeleton and flexed his limbs.

The power was likely supplied by a chemical battery such as azide or solid hydrogen, which would last about 24 hours under normal use conditions.

Compared to nuclear-powered armor, this gadget was more suitable for everyday wear; once the battery was depleted, it could be recharged rather than constantly searching for cold fusion cells.

As for the other advanced blind box, the reward was quite ordinary—an EMP grenade.

Of all the items that had come out of the advanced blind boxes so far, this was the least useful.

The items from the intermediate and basic blind boxes were decent, including two healing syringes, two boxes of bandages, a box of antibiotics, and a large quantity of canned goods, portable food, and seasonings.

"It's a pity that no seeds came out this time."

Unlocking a few more high-yield crops would have been perfect!

After confirming the rewards, Chu Guang sat down in his office, turned on the computer, and logged onto the official website to browse.

The players today were as dedicated as ever.

The two managers at Factory No. 81 were having an intense discussion with the backseat drivers, debating whether to switch the 20mm machine gun to a 37mm rapid-fire cannon to increase the explosive effect of the shells.

Mosquito had drawn a diagram with a pencil that only he could understand, showing the new equipment under development by Goblin Technology—a "Crab Chariot" armored with Rift Claw Crab Shells, powered by a wooden engine, and armed with an 88mm short-barrel mortar and a 20mm machine gun!

Although people teased that it might not withstand a tank blast, Mosquito insisted that this was the equipment suited for the Wasteland.

"Where are so many steel supplies to make tanks! And we're in the Wasteland, brothers, where are so many tanks for you to fight?"

"Clearly, we need a heavy-duty piece of equipment that can quickly harvest soft targets and traverse rugged terrain. It doesn't need heavy protection; as long as it can block bullets, that's enough."

"The shell of the Rift Claw Crab fits this need perfectly! With eight mechanical legs, it can traverse trenches, pits, and barricades like a spider, paving the way for our front-line troops and providing direct fire support! Even the Death Claw would have to scamper away like a reptile in the face of an 88mm mortar shell!"

Human Outline Chef: "Although I completely don't understand, it sounds amazing."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "How do you plan to coordinate the movements of the eight mechanical legs? And what if one of them breaks? In my opinion, it would be better to just use tracks or put on some big tires, like an off-road vehicle!"

WC Real Mosquito: "Heh, it's none of your business! I have my ways!"

Highland Security: "You guys should hurry up and make that plane. Wouldn't an airship with a piston-propeller be sweet? It can patrol, scout, and handle a few bandits with ease."

Siberian Giant Ivan: "Just go for an airship directly! Those things can drop tons and tons of dynamite!"

WC Real Mosquito: "MMP! Easy for you to say, why don't you come in and try it!"

Toilet Summoner Arya: "But speaking of which, a wooden plane could be worth a try, I remember the Mosquito bombers were made out of wood and glue, even furniture factories could make them, only the engine, landing gear, and connecting parts were metal. It could carry 4000 pounds of ordnance, especially fast, comparable to the bf109, just a bit rough on the pilots."

Ward's Athlete's Foot Levin: "The old Russian Po-2 biplane was also a wooden plane, served for half a century."

Elena: "Charlie from Checker's? (jesting)"

Watching these little gamers exchange messages, Chu Guang felt immensely gratified.

Airplanes, ah.

Those are a great thing.

Building a runway at Changjiu Farm and flying to West State City should be no problem.

Then get some photos from the sky, figure out the troop deployment of the Ya clan of the Chewing Bone Tribe in that area, and be prepared for the next attack.

Who knows, there might even be a chance to strike back.

But there's no need to rush.

The most critical moment has passed, Shelter No. 404 had spent the entire winter deploying troops, now what's needed most is development.

After entering February, there will be a wave of Commercial Teams passing through Qingquan City, and the "Corporate Permanent Partnership" buff will soon come into play.

Before that, he needed to be fully prepared to seize this historic opportunity.

"With the food confiscated from Black Snake, we should be able to support an additional 300 people."

"Although it's a month ahead of schedule, now is exactly when we need more hands."

"The shelter needs more life-profession players, especially those with real-world farming experience."

"It's time to release Alpha 1.0."

Selecting these players wouldn't be difficult.

The number of pre-registrations was quickly nearing 100,000. To choose 300 players with labels such as "agriculture-related occupation or major," "farming inclination," "management game enthusiasts," "hardcore gamers," was more than possible.

It's not necessary for all 300 to obediently go farm.

That's unrealistic and doesn't fit the logic of the game.

But if even 1/10 or 1/20 of them are like Old Maca, wishing they could stay in the fields 24/7, that would be enough for Chu Guang.

Ideally, these players would combine their real-world experiences to improve agricultural tools and planting techniques and bring them to the wasteland.

Now the industrial district could independently produce Pot Camel machines, and Mosquito is even starting to make Crab Battle Tanks, so it shouldn't be too hard to make a couple of tractors before the spring plowing begins.

With some other cheap and effective tools, as long as they could handle 1/3 of the production tasks, they'd be a great help to the Manager.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang opened a text document and began editing.

[Alpha 1.0 Version Update Announcement!]

[Major Updates:

1. The number of closed beta testers increased to 1,100!

2. New professions such as "Farmer" and "Operator" added, with comprehensive upgrades to the agriculture and business systems!]

[Optimizations:

1. More varied mission content: Game content expanded to the area around Far Creek Town, with more variants available for hunting. However, please be careful, as Death Claws are roaming that area, and since there is full drop-on-death, low-level players should proceed with caution!

2. Richer NPC characters and traders with unique styles: After the game time enters February, there will be merchants from the Eastern and Western Provinces passing through Changjiu Farm.

3. A richer ecosystem: In the new version, players can capture variant cubs and domesticate wild animals to turn them into pets. They can be a great help, whether it's searching for prey, hauling cargo, or ploughing fields... More gameplay is up to the players to discover.

4. Fixed a few bugs.

...

]

[New Expansion Pack: "To Forge Swords into Ploughshares" is now online!]

[B Round Testing will start after the expansion pack is unlocked, more new content, new maps, and elements await!]

-

(Sorry, Chapter Two isn't finished... Only one chapter for today... QAQ)

Chapter 240: The Third Expansion Pack Goes Live! A Visit from an Old Friend

"New Expansion: 'To Forge Swords into Ploughshares'"

"Overview: The depths of winter are drawing to a close, and the season of revival is upon us. Now is the key time for spring farming and preparing the fields. Only by ensuring next year's food supply can we awaken more of our compatriots to go to the surface and begin the next phase of work."

"Details: Starting today, 'Wasteland OL' will launch a series of quests involving farming and management elements. Players can receive these quests either through VM or by finding NPCs like Luka, Guo Niu, and Guo Ma. Completing tasks with the expansion tag will grant Activity Points. After the expansion ends, these points can be used for raffles, exchange for expansion-limited titles, special rewards, and agricultural land!"

Happiness came so unexpectedly.

Without the slightest sign, not even a promotional PV, the Alpha1.0 version and the new expansion suddenly appeared in the 'Wasteland OL' official website's announcement column.

Almost at the same time as the announcement was made, the little gamers who were squatting on the official website sharing their daily gaming experiences and the everyday sand sculpture netizens instantly boiled over!

In less than a minute, several hundred comments sprouted up beneath the announcement.

Tail: "!!!"

Quit smoking: "New expansion?! Awesome!"

Makabazi: "To Forge Swords into Ploughshares?! Activity Points can be exchanged for land?! Holy sh*t, my DNA is stirring!!"

Spare people under the knife: "Players with life skills careers are ecstatic!"

Teng Teng: "Wuwuwu, I've finally waited for an expansion for us life-skilled players, I'm utterly useless in combat. QAQ"

Crow: "No worries! Crow will handle the fighting, Teng Teng just make the pretty clothes! (@≥︶≤@)"

Night Ten: "Just asking innocently, Boss Crow, ever been to the front line? (teasing)"

Crow: "??? Are you being polite?"

Debt Giant Eye: "Hold on, of the first two expansions, 'Winter is Coming' and 'Land Ho', wasn't every expansion answer tailor-made for life-skilled players!?"

I Max Black: "Exactly! Don't even think about rewriting history! Combat professional players need expansions too! (furious)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "I beg the developers, bring back the Looters please! I just saved up and bought an exoskeleton, even made it bulletproof, and now you're telling me those Looters have run away! T.T"

Spring Water Commander: "I should've just bought a tractor with that money, right? Good that I saved some money. (smirk)"

Night Ten: "I suggest the next expansion should be 'Burning Expedition'. I think we can totally take down West State City and open up the northern market for Miss Teng Teng. (teasing)"

Elena: "Hey there, free trade? But I feel that the Looters there probably can't afford clothes. (teasing)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Tsk, you guys, still too young. Is one poor because they're without surplus value? Can't afford it? Easy, just build several plantations and send them to grow cotton. Once they have jobs, they should be able to afford it right? (bared teeth)"

Night Ten: "Holy sh*t, my understanding of the version is actually inferior to that of a Backseat Driver?!"

Old White: "Come work at our brick factory, we'll hire you as the Manager. (smirk)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Sigh, too many tears have been shed. T.T"

Chu Guang briefly glanced at the comments section under the announcement and noticed the players' enthusiastic discussions about the new version and expansion. They were sky-high.

Many players had already started sharing their vegetable gardening experiences on the forum, and hardcore gamers even posted designs for agricultural machinery.

Although most of these threads eventually went off-topic, resulting in Versailles-style bragging about how much land they had at home, many valuable experiences were still retained.

Surely, they would come in handy in the upcoming spring farming.

If it weren't for the fact that characters in the game need to sleep and real life involves going to work, many players would already be wearing their helmets and getting online to work.

And those small rookies who got their Closed Beta qualifications were overjoyed and quickly shared their award-acceptance speeches.

As for the Backseat Drivers who didn't get the Closed Beta qualifications...

Although Chu Guang was anxious for them, there was nothing to be done in a hurry.

He was a true game planner.

But unfortunately, the game wasn't a real game. Even a wish machine like a "Black Box" needed to consume electricity and materials to produce Sleep Cabins, and the maximum daily output was only 24 units.

One can't materialize things out of thin air that don't exist.

With nearly a hundred thousand pre-registered players, there were only about three hundred Cultivation Chambers left. Even if Chu Guang cracked all of these open, the chance for players to win those would only be 0.3%.

It was impossible to get everyone into the game.

Moreover, when the number of incoming transfers exceeds the limits that society can bear, it might not be a good thing.

Like the refugees on the wasteland, if they can't be integrated quickly enough, they might become destroyers of the existing rules, hindering development.

This is also one of the reasons why most multiplayer games on Steam become unplayable during the discount season and free-to-play weeks.

After reviewing the hot threads on the forum, Chu Guang updated the "Developer's Blog" as usual after a little thought.

Although the players are very diligent, to allow them to better enjoy the game and to appease combat professional players who feel left out by the expansion, Chu Guang felt it was necessary to talk to the players about this brand-new version as a developer.

Light: "Hello everyone, I'm your dearest planner, Ah Guang. The planning department was quite peaceful last month, no one was sacrificed, but that's not important. The important thing is, after adding an entire winter of overtime, we've finally got the Alpha1.0 version!"

"Thanks to our Closed Beta players for their consistent hard work and support, and to the balding code monkeys, as well as NPCs risking their lives on the assembly line, without your tireless contributions, we wouldn't be where we are now."

"Developing a game is not easy, especially one as epoch-making as this. We are currently in, and will be for a long time, the primary stage of game development."

"Building a utopian virtual community isn't a simple task; it requires our collaborative effort. This might take a long time, maybe three years, maybe five, but we assure you that it won't take longer than the neighbors' 'Pie in the Sky Citizen', 'Elder Scrolls 6', or Heaven's 'Give Him Love 6', and we guarantee not to sell half-finished products as cash grabs and disappear."

"I believe many players have already noticed that the content of the new expansion is mostly focused on the word 'management'."

"We hope that through this method, we can establish an economy system that is close to reality. Every player and NPC will be able to play different roles in this simulation of reality, undertake different social divisions of labor, and become builders of this virtual community."

"This may sound a bit idealistic, but we believe it's worth a try."

...

The next day.

Before dawn, a large group of players excitedly surged toward Changjiu Farm, forming a dense crowd at the warehouse entrance.

Seeing the residents of the refuge gathered in front of the warehouse, Luka who had just woken up thought something had happened and was completely stupefied.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Let's cut to the chase, I'm here to do a quest!"

"Where are the fields?"

"My hoe is eager for action!"

Although Luka couldn't understand what the players were saying, he quickly realized that this might be the arrangement of the Manager.

So he immediately checked his VM.

As expected!

All these refuge residents had come to help!

After reading the orders from the Manager, Old Luka was touched and couldn't help but look admiringly at the players crowding the warehouse entrance.

Their willingness to contribute and hard-working spirit were truly admirable.

With a solemn and serious voice, Old Luka said,

"We need to plant the seeds in spring, and before that, we must clear the weeds from the fields, level the land, drive out the Variants active in this area, and destroy their nests."

"Thank you. We are short-handed right now, and your arrival couldn't be more timely!"

"Please come with your tools and follow me!"

With that, Old Luka led the way to the open space on the west side of Changjiu Farm.

The terrain here was relatively flat and close to the warehouse, making it a comparatively easy area to cultivate.

Under the Manager's plan, this land belonged collectively to the refuge, and it would later be farmed by hired farmers. The harvested grain would go into the granary as a strategic reserve to stabilize market prices.

Further to the west was land planned for private lease, and farther still was an area to be cultivated by prisoners of war.

Upon reaching the destination, players' VMs quickly refreshed with detailed pioneering tasks, and the map even marked out the area each player or team was responsible for.

For every acre of cultivatable land they cleared, they could earn 100 Activity Points.

When the expansion ended, players could exchange a minimum of 300 Activity Points for an acre of their own land on which they could plant anything, as long as the purpose of the land did not change.

If they spent more points, they could even buy fertile land near Rhombus Lake.

With the lure of land, the players' enthusiasm for clearing was unprecedentedly high.

Especially as they watched their Farming Skill Proficiency Level rise rapidly, many worked with even greater zeal.

Using Awakeners to till the land.

Such extravagance was unique in the area around Qingquan City.

Even so, clearing the land was still not an easy task.

First was the removal of weeds.

Ordinary grass was manageable, but if they encountered shrub roots or old tree roots, they had to saw and smash, and even dig out the roots.

And merely weeding was not enough; they also had to level the land.

This included digging up soil from higher areas, using shoulder poles to carry it to lower spots to fill in, then piling up ridges and bringing in fertilizer or manure to stack in the fields.

When true spring arrived, they had to plow the land deeply again, break up the large clods of soil, pick out the concrete debris and non-decomposed trash from the soil, and then plant fences around to prevent small animals from running in and gobbling up the seeds in the wheat fields.

In the plains around Qingquan City, a typical survivor's family working together could manage to clear two or three acres by autumn, which was considered quite good.

However, this was autumn.

If they were unlucky to encounter the cold winter and snow fell just after the harvest was done, it was torture.

Forget about the snow not melting; even after it did, the soil was frozen hard as rock.

A hoe would strike without leaving anything but a white mark, as if hitting a wall, causing nothing but soreness in the hands without any effect.

So, to clear land in winter, a mere hoe was not enough; they also had to switch to hard picks used for breaking stones.

It was quite realistic, to say the least.

...

In the evening.

Sitting by the ridge, Night Ten, who was carrying a pickaxe and hoe, said panting,

"Damn it, I who have to rely on my roommate to bring me meals and wait for someone to go my way to take out the trash, ended up doing a full day's farmwork!"

Perception System users typically start with a strength of 5, and after awakening, they could reach 7, which equals 140% of the average strength of a normal adult male—slightly stronger than those in the Intelligence System.

However, it still exhausted him terribly.

A fatigue debuff had already appeared on the VM, and his arms and legs felt like they were weighed down with lead.

If this were reality, it would be more than just fatigue—his muscles would most likely have started to ache by now!

On the other hand, the day wasn't without its rewards.

He had worked an entire mu of land by himself, and his Farming skill proficiency level had jumped two levels; he was just one level short of unlocking the first achievement under the Farming skill.

Carrying the hoe on his shoulder, Old White, who was just as exhausted, took a breath and said,

"I've done this kind of work before, but I've never used such primitive tools."

He was probably the hardest worker in the Guo Ma Squad, having single-handedly worked three mu of land.

That was essentially five times the efficiency of the average refugee's work!

Night Ten curiously glanced at him and asked,

"What did you actually do in reality, Old White? How come you know how to make bricks, char coal, and farm too?"

Old White smiled and replied,

"Didn't I tell you? My family is from the countryside. When I was young, I helped out with farm work occasionally. It's not really relevant now; there aren't many people farming back home anymore, and I've nearly forgotten it all, but I do feel nostalgic working the land every once in a while."

Night Ten uttered a couple of oh's and nodded, not fully understanding.

He had grown up in the city and didn't really know much about these things.

Wild Wind, who sat down next to him and wiped off his sweat, looked at the fruits of their labor and squinted his eyes,

"This won't do, if we keep going like this, even until monkey's year and horse's month, we may never finish... We must improve the tools."

Fang Chang nodded in agreement,

"That's true; sharpening the ax won't delay the work of chopping wood. If we keep gnawing at it like this, we might not even make 10 mu by the end of the month."

Night Ten looked at the two of them and asked,

"Do you guys have any good ideas?"

Fang Chang and Wild Wind looked at each other, and the latter nodded before speaking,

"Wait for another three days. A friend of mine just got the closed beta access; he should be able to help us out."

Night Ten asked curiously,

"Who is it? Male or female? What kind of friend?"

Wild Wind didn't have the patience for this guy.

After a pause, he continued,

"Professor Wang from the neighboring Engineering Institute, he specializes in mechanical engineering and automation."

"He knows more about the application aspects than I do."

...

Two days have passed since the new expansion was released.

Of the 800 players across the server, at least two-thirds were involved in pioneering work.

The remaining third of players, even if they had little interest in "100% realistic farming" or didn't want to grind Farming skill proficiency, were still indirectly supporting the pioneering work in other ways.

Take Factory No.81 for example.

In just two days, using mold casting methods, they produced 500 sets of steel structural parts for agricultural tools.

After rushed production in the workshops of the industrial zone, wooden handles were fitted onto hoes and pickaxes, and the first batch of tools was quickly delivered to the front lines, replacing the inefficient and low-quality wooden and stone tools.

Then there was WC Mosquito Brother.

Mosquito Brother made himself useful again.

He made some modifications to Hell Breath, increasing the output power of the pot-camel machine, and cobbled together a simple tractor.

Not only was it able to haul goods, but he also mounted a harrow at the rear of the tractor for plowing.

This thing was a huge help.

However, Mosquito was a bit cheeky, seeing that no one was buying at the price of 2000 silver coins per unit; he set up a rental business immediately.

Renting it cost 10 silver coins per hour, or 50 silver coins for an entire day.

Players cried foul over the prices but still forked over the money to improve their efficiency.

Seeing how profitable this was, Factory No.81 jumped on the bandwagon and made a clone too, rolling out a prototype, advertising a rental for only 40 silver coins a day.

Chu Guang placed an order with both companies for 10 units each, at a price of 2000 silver coins per unit, to be delivered by the end of the month.

After completing the order, they would also receive 5000 points of regional reputation for Changjiu Farm, as well as 500 contribution points.

Faced with an order worth 20,000 silver coins, Mosquito and the managers of Factory No.81 immediately assured Chu Guang they would work overtime to produce and deliver the equipment in the order as quickly as possible.

Apart from tasks for life-occupation players, there were also some tasks for combat-occupation players.

For example, hunting mutant wild boars, destroying hyena lairs, building fences, etc.

On the evening of the second day since the expansion pack launched,

Outside the Changjiu Farm warehouse,

Facing the inspection from Chu Guang, Luka excitedly reported the progress of the reclamation work.

"Sir, in the past 48 hours, your residents have reclaimed 1000 acres of wasteland!"

"At this rate, we might not even need until the end of the month, at most 15 days and we could finish the target of 10,000 acres!"

While speaking, Luka's face was filled with unbelievable joy.

Initially, he thought that the residents of the refuge wouldn't adapt to such high-intensity labor, but to his surprise, they were far more capable than he had imagined, completing a tenth of the expected target in just two days.

According to the Manager's plan, the first batch of planned arable land amounts to 30,000 acres.

Of which, 10,000 acres would be completed by the residents of the refuge, the remaining 20,000 acres would be halved: one part managed by prisoners of war, the other by refugees.

Perhaps, the reclamation work this year could even be completed beyond expectations!

Even though the seeds hadn't been sown yet, he could as though already see the golden fields of thousands of acres and the granaries filled to the brim!

Chu Guang wasn't surprised by Luka's report.

Mainly because he hadn't done any fieldwork himself, and wasn't too clear on how difficult reclamation really was.

"1000 acres… based on 600 people, that's an average of 0.8 acres per person per day?"

Chu Guang stroked his chin and pondered for a moment.

"Is this considered fast or slow?"

"Sir, this speed is already very fast!"

Hearing the Manager's Versailles-like statement, Old Luka couldn't help but sweat and explained,

"Clearing wasteland is different from farming, it involves a lot of work, especially now that the snow hasn't fully melted, we have to turn the snow out of the ground first."

"By mid-month or even the end of the month, our progress will be even faster!"

Chu Guang nodded, expressing his satisfaction.

"You've all worked hard!"

Hearing the Manager's praise, a proud blush appeared on Old Luka's face as he respectfully said,

"I didn't work hard, but those residents of yours, they are really capable."

"Right, now that the blizzard has stopped, those refugees who were placed in the abandoned department store building can gradually be moved back to the farm as well, we can't always keep them without work."

Chu Guang nodded in agreement,

"Indeed, after having a whole winter to recover, it's time to find some work for them."

After inspecting the spring farming work, Chu Guang took a turn around the warehouse, preparing to check out the training situation of the new soldiers in the guard troop.

However, at that moment, he suddenly received a communication request from Outpost Base.

The communication connected.

Before Chu Guang could ask what was the matter, Liuding's voice immediately came through the earpiece.

"Sir, a Commercial Team has arrived at the south side of Wetland Park, they are currently at the southern entrance of Wetland Park!"

"A Commercial Team from the south?" A hint of surprise appeared on Chu Guang's face, and he immediately continued to ask, "Are they from Giant Stone City?"

"Yes…" Liuding cautiously said, "The owner of this Commercial Team calls himself List, he claims to have met you once and wishes to see you."

List?

Upon hearing this familiar name, Chu Guang was initially startled and then an interested expression surfaced on his face.

Well, well.

I finally have you here!

Chu Guang still hadn't forgotten the vow he had made in the past.

The next time this guy comes here,

I must fleece him thoroughly!

A pleasant smile on his face, Chu Guang pleasantly continued,

"List, that's an old friend of mine."

"Please invite him to the reception room for hospitality, and prepare the teas and such."

"Tell him I'll be there shortly!"

——

(Bad news is today there's only one chapter, but the good news is I've adjusted my schedule, so from tomorrow on I'm back to writing 10,000 words a day! I'll set a flag here for now...)

Chapter 241: We offer two win-win solutions; whichever you choose, you'll make a killing.

"...Unbelievable."

"Is this the same place we visited last time?"

Following the guard's steps from the moment they entered the southern entrance of Linghu Wetland Park, a look of astonishment never left Mr. Lister's face.

A straight cement path under their feet stretched all the way from the park's southern gate into the fortress in the forest.

The road seemed to have been freshly laid.

But there was nothing particularly surprising about that.

Simply leveling the ground slightly and applying a layer of cement is something any slightly organized survivor settlement could manage, if they chose to.

However, for a survivor settlement of barely a hundred people, this was indeed surprising.

Mr. Lister suddenly spoke up,

"When did we last visit?"

The guard walking beside Mr. Lister hesitated for a moment before responding,

"...I think it was October."

Last year, winter came early, and it had been getting progressively colder since October. By November, the roads from Giant Stone City to the "North Suburb" were completely impassable.

Thinking this, Mr. Lister fell into contemplation.

These Blue Jackets had cut down more than a third of the trees in Linghu Wetland Park in less than three months.

What exactly were they planning to do?

Just as Mr. Lister was puzzled, the scene in front of them suddenly opened up.

At the end of the cement road, there was a row of brick and timber structured houses, roughly numbering over a hundred.

And this was just at the southern entrance.

Looking towards the east, there were two villages situated there. To the north was even more impressive, probably a market, with rows of bustling stalls, crowded streets, and people bustling about; there were easily more than a couple hundred people there.

This was no mere survivor settlement of a hundred people.

At least five hundred... no, it could well be over a thousand.

The look of astonishment on Mr. Lister's face intensified.

For a moment, he even doubted whether he had really been to this place before.

Walking in the commercial team, a guard carrying two rifles on his back whispered to a bald-headed man next to him.

"I remember last time we came here, weren't there just bare wooden stumps?"

"It's only been one winter, how many houses have they built?"

"When did so many people get here!"

"And not just houses... they've renovated the concrete walls too, now that shooting platform could hold quite a number of people."

The original walls, made from building debris, had been replaced with sturdy concrete ones, and the smooth walls even had a layer of white lime plaster.

Additionally, those Blue Jackets had also widened the originally narrow gate.

What was once a narrow road that could only accommodate two ox carts side by side had now become a four-lane road, capable of accommodating four vehicles abreast.

Dressed in uniform black coats, guards carrying rifles stood meticulously at the gate. Residents in various outfits hustled by the gate, some in fur clothing, others in Blue Jackets, and yet others in more avant-garde attire, looking oddly attractive but they couldn't think of any other way to describe them.

It seemed these refuge residents had adapted to surface life and had taken in quite a number of Wasteland Wanderers into their settlement.

This place might not be considered developed, as they saw no streetlights on the roads. Yet compared to those settlements that turned pitch dark at night, they had their own public lighting system—half reliant on torches, half on coal lamps.

Not a single person looked pale, hard to imagine they had just endured a harsh winter. An ample supply of resources left most people hopeful about future life; everything here was so orderly.

Mr. Lister suddenly thought of the shanty area at the gate of Giant Stone City.

Houses built along the boundary wall, yet the differences between the two were stark.

"It's hard to imagine they achieved all this in just one winter."

Mr. Lister, his Adam's apple bobbing, continued with a tone of amazement,

"Bon Dragon, remember? The refuge we visited before. They had to leave because they ran out of supplies and built homes on the surface, also about five to six hundred people, but it seemed the same every year when we passed by."

The man walking beside Mr. Lister, with a mechanical prosthesis replacing his right arm and eye, took a careful look around and spoke in a stilted tone,

"Of course I remember, sir. However, I believe that being able to remain unchanged in this world is also a special skill."

He was Mr. Lister's old partner, having traveled to many places with him, having seen more survivor settlements than he could count on both hands.

Yet the number of old clients they could do business with year after year were few.

Many might be there in the autumn and by the time spring came, there was no knowing where they had gone.

Like the old mayor of Bet Street.

Before winter was even over, he had been unceremoniously kicked out of his warm home, humbly rolling into Giant Stone City.

He was one of the luckier ones.

Those less fortunate might end up in a Mutant's stomach, thrown into a boiling pot by Looters, or worse, eaten alive by Variants—such incidents occurred yearly, too commonplace to even make the news.

Being able to maintain the status quo was indeed a great skill in the wasteland.

"That's true," Mr. Lister said with a smile, "But as partners, I must admit I prefer doing business with people who have ambition."

How else could he prosper?

Mr. Lister still remembered, the last time he traded with the people here, that man had traded 20 kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms and 12 deer skins for a 10KW wood-fired generator, a KV-1 Exoskeleton, four bolt-action pipe rifles, and 120 rounds of ammunition from him.

That had been the last trade he made before winter.

Even though that man's slick talking made him earn less than he could have, the profit from that trade was still a considerable sum.

Later, Mr. Lister used the money earned to buy twelve slaves from a merchant in Red River Town stuck in Giant Stone City, sending them to a Kham Tree Plantation in the south he was co-running with a business partner, while the roads were still passable before the heavy snow set in.

Thinking of this, Mr. Lister's heart heated with excitement.

This time he had brought quite a few good items.

He wondered how much he could earn from this trip!

The commercial team stopped at the southern gate.

Some players nearby, there to complete quests, quickly noticed them, casting curious glances their way.

"Who are those people?"

"A commercial team?"

"Damn, I recognize these people!"

"Great news, Boss Xia's store can finally restock!"

As the players were sizing up these people, the guards within the commercial team were also nervously observing the ones in blue jackets.

"Damn... there are actually two Awakeners among them?"

"Are you sure?!"

"No mistake! My special ability is to sense the presence of Awakeners... That strong presence is unmistakable!"

Pang Long, standing beside Mr. Lister, also furrowed his brows slightly.

Noticing the change in his reliable subordinate's expression, Mr. Lister glanced at him and asked.

"What's wrong?"

"These people are much stronger than you anticipated," Pang Long said quietly, "Those wearing the refuge uniforms... I saw at least four Awakeners among them, and at least fifteen people showing signs of awakening. Their strength might not match mine, but their overall combat power is stronger than ours."

Mr. Lister looked at Pang Long, surprised. Though it sounded far-fetched, he trusted his subordinate's judgment.

"We need to avoid conflict with them as much as possible... Keep an eye on our people later, and don't let them wander off."

Pang Long nodded.

"Alright."

Mr. Lister instructed Pang Long to wait at the entrance with his subordinates while he himself followed the guard in the exoskeleton inside.

No survivor settlement would ever allow a group of armed outsiders to saunter into their homes.

No matter how familiar they were with each other.

However, Mr. Lister was quite confident in his ability to assess people, especially clients he had cooperated with before.

Who could only trade once and who could be long-term partners—he could tell at a glance. It was this sharp vision that had kept him alive thus far.

Liuding, who was leading the way, had not interacted much with him along the route, quiet as if merely a tool.

Escorting this guest from Giant Stone City, they reached the reception room.

As instructed by the Manager, Liuding served him a cup of tea, then said,

"The Manager is still on his way back, it might take about half an hour for him to arrive. I hope you don't mind waiting a bit."

Unlike his previous impatient demeanor here, Mr. Lister's face hosted a pleasant smile as he politely said,

"No rush, I have plenty of time. We didn't make an appointment in advance, so I apologize for the intrusion!"

Remembering the Manager's instructions, Liuding politely said,

"How could it be a bother? The Manager specifically told me you're a distinguished guest and instructed me to treat you well."

"If there's anything you need, just let me know. I'll assist within the permitted limit," he added.

Mr. Lister courteously declined,

"No need, you're too kind!"

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Liuding, not adept at handling such situations and having to deal with the security team's matters, soon left after instructing the servants to take care of this long-distance visitor.

Time ticked by slowly.

Soon, thirty minutes had passed.

Just as Mr. Lister checked his pocket watch for the sixth time, he finally heard footsteps outside.

The timing was incredibly precise, almost to the second.

So much so that Mr. Lister couldn't help but internally remark about the man's punctuality!

The door to the reception room opened.

A man clad in dark blue power armor strode in energetically.

Seeing Mr. Lister sitting in the reception room, Chu Guang's face lit up with a pleasing smile as he said,

"Long time no see! Mr. Lister."

"Indeed, an entire winter has passed. I'm delighted to see you again! I hope my abrupt visit hasn't caused any inconvenience."

Rising from his chair, Mr. Lister's gaze was unavoidably drawn to the power armor on Chu Guang.

The deep blue paint, streamlined shell—it exuded a strong sense of security just by looking at it.

A flash of unmistakable envy appeared in Mr. Lister's eyes.

Power armor!

And it was even a pre-war model!

This gear was precious, able to ensure the wearer's safety even under the most extreme conditions.

He had always wanted a suit, but sadly, with the backward industrial capabilities on Wasteland, producing it was not feasible.

Even Ideal City couldn't procure such items.

In the militia groups of Giant Stone City, there were limited numbers of power armor, but those were strategic reserves; even if damaged, they wouldn't appear on the market. Some larger mercenary groups or military contractors might have one or two suits, but those were treasured and used as such.

Catching the fleeting envy in Mr. Lister's eyes, Chu Guang smiled inwardly, though his face showed nothing.

Having been an NPC for so long and with past sales experience, he had sufficient control over his expressions.

"How could it be a bother? Seeing you here, I know the North suburb of Qingquan city is about to liven up."

Hearing Chu Guang's jocular remark, Mr. Lister chuckled and said,

"Not to boast, but we are certainly one of the earliest commercial teams to set off from Giant Stone City! Absolutely the first batch heading north! While our competitors were still planning where to make their fortune, we had already scouted the route and loaded the goods onto the double-headed cows."

Chu Guang asked with interest,

"Oh? What good stuff did you bring this time?"

Just waiting for this question!

Mr. Lister's heart leapt. Unassumingly, he took out a tablet and handed it to Chu Guang.

"As before, here's the list of goods!"

"The first five pages are what we brought with us; the marked items in the back we didn't bring, but if you're interested, we can find a way to get them for you!"

Chu Guang took the tablet, swiping his finger across the screen, quickly flipping through it.

Different from the last list he saw focusing on daily necessities, this time Mr. Lister's commercial team had brought weapons and KV-1 exoskeletons.

"Things like assault rifles, hand grenades, rocket launchers, and the like, the new industrial area has long been able to produce them independently.

Moreover, this fellow is quite dishonest; what he sells are cheap goods assembled from the cast-off receiver cases and barrels from Giant Stone City Military Factory.

Now, even newbies seldom use weapons of that plain 'vintage Wasteland' variety.

Seeing Mr. Lister's eager face, Chu Guang felt a slight stir in his heart, and asked casually in an indifferent tone.

'Why is the list all about weapons? Don't you have anything else?'

Mr. Lister was stunned.

Chu Guang's reaction was unexpected.

Initially, he thought these Blue Jacket guys would be interested in his weapons.

After all, the last time he was here, he managed to trade twelve high-quality deerskins for just four cheap guns.

However, no matter how Chu Guang tried to interpret Mr. Lister's expression, it was hard to associate it with 'interest.'

'We carry weapons because they sell well. With the current unstable situation in River Valley Province, with the Chewing Bone Tribe followers looting everywhere, and the scent of gunpowder in the air wherever you go, what could be in higher demand than weapons?'

Seeing Chu Guang still uninterested, Mr. Lister tried every trick in the book to make a sale.

'I genuinely recommend the Male Peak X-2 Assault Rifle from the list! It is the epitome of light firearms technology from the Giant Stone City Military Factory! If it hadn't been for an entire winter's stockpile, even I wouldn't have been able to get my hands on so many.'

'Considering you're a frequent customer, I can offer you a discount. Only 300 chips each, with it, you will have the most powerful firepower in the North Suburb! If you're not sure what to choose, you can't go wrong with this!'

Chu Guang almost laughed upon hearing Mr. Lister's pitch.

If it weren't because he had seen the corporate 'Black Swan' G9 Assault Rifle, he would have almost believed this guy's nonsense.

'The crystallization of technology,' indeed.

This thing was just copied from corporate standard-issue weapons.

Although his LD-series weapons also drew inspiration from the AK gun family, at least they borrowed from another world, which by a roundabout calculation, barely counts as independent research.

'You seem a bit slow on the uptake for business opportunities,' Chu Guang said with a smile, speaking lightly to Mr. Lister, 'Honestly, if it had been before winter, I might have reluctantly bought a couple, but we don't need them anymore.'

'Not needed?! How could they not be needed?'

Mr. Lister looked at Chu Guang in shock, speaking rapidly.

'Even without the Blood Hand Clan, the entire North Suburb is far from safe! My friend, you might not know, a group calling themselves the Looters claiming to be Chewing Bone is pushing towards the North suburb of Qingquan City. These people are different from the Blood Hand Clan; they not only inherited the army's equipment but are also numerous and strong. Do you think you can chase them off with just a few iron pipe rifles?'

Watching Mr. Lister desperately trying to sell him on the idea, Chu Guang found it somewhat amusing.

It seems Giant Stone City is unaware of what's happening in the North Suburbs.

Of course, it might just be that Mr. Lister doesn't know.

Xiao Qi had been tuning into 'Voice of Giant Stone City' broadcasts recently, mining the chatterbox host's useless chatter for useful information.

It seems that they indeed were unaware that the Black Snake led thousand team had already been defeated by Chu Guang.

This thought made Chu Guang continue.

'Come with me.'

'After you've seen our stuff, you'll know why I'm not interested in the items on your list.'

…

Western Entrance of the Outpost Base.

With doubtful thoughts, Mr. Lister followed Chu Guang here.

Calling over a nearby guard, Chu Guang received an LD-47 Assault Rifle from him and handed it to Mr. Lister.

'LD-47, Sickle Assault Rifle, 7mm caliber. We use this to deal with Looters, Mutants, and even those Eaters and Crawlers covered in sticky fungi, even a Tyrant.'

Mr. Lister took the rifle from Chu Guang, examining it for a while before looking up at Chu Guang with surprised eyes.

'So, these are made by you guys?'

Chu Guang nodded.

'Yes.'

Mr. Lister thought for a moment before giving his assessment.

'The structure looks pretty simple, there aren't many visible parts, and even the stock is made of wood.'

Chu Guang said nonchalantly.

'Simplicity doesn't stop it from being effective. Want to try it out?'

Mr. Lister looked at him and asked.

'Can I?'

Without much ado, Chu Guang handed him a loaded magazine and gestured for him to proceed.

'Please.'

Not being shy, Mr. Lister attached the magazine, turned off the safety, and aimed at a target a hundred meters away before pulling the trigger.

The massive recoil hit his shoulder, making him sway.

However, having ventured around the Wasteland for so many years, he was somewhat skilled.

He quickly adjusted to the weapon's recoil, firing another few shots, accurately hitting the center rings seven and eight.

'Great gun!'

Mr. Lister's eyes lit up as he swept the target with another volley.

Not until the magazine was empty did Mr. Lister reluctantly return the rifle to Chu Guang.

'That's a good gun!'

'The only downside is that it's a bit hard to handle! But its firepower and strength are indeed fierce; mercenaries will probably love it.'

'But such weapons, you guys don't have many, right?'

Not many?

Chu Guang laughed.

'I'm not sure whether it's a lot, but we still have a bunch of rifles like this in the warehouse. Not only that, but we also designed specialized interchangeable parts for it. Swap on a barrel and drum, and it becomes a light machine gun; remove the barrel, and it turns into a submachine gun.'

'Even though these aren't anything technologically groundbreaking, they are absolutely reliable. We've tested burying them in snow, throwing them into mud pits, and submerging them in water, and they still fire normally after being taken out, without any impact on their power.'

A warehouse full?!

Mr. Lister swallowed and couldn't help but say.

'A warehouse full? You've been making guns all winter?'

Chu Guang gave a faint smile and said,

"You haven't been here in a long time, so feeling unfamiliar with this place is quite normal."

More than unfamiliar.

Mr. Lister felt as though he had come to the wrong place!

Seeing Mr. Lister so surprised that he was at a loss for words, Chu Guang paused for a moment, then continued in a conversational tone.

"The changes in the 'North Suburb' aren't limited to just this small piece of land under your feet. Five kilometers north from here is our new Industrial Zone, where the industrial goods produced are enough to supply the entire consumption of the survivor settlement in the 'North Suburb.' The rifle in your hands, and the bullets that were just fired, were all produced there."

"Besides the industrial area, we have an agricultural district. Another five kilometers north from the industrial area is our granary in the 'North Suburb'! There, thousands of acres of farmland being reclaimed will soon become the largest food production base in the 'North Suburb,' solving the food problem for at least thirty thousand people."

"Mr. Lister, times have changed. Now it's the year 212 of the Wasteland Era; we should learn to look forward, shouldn't we?"

Although these words were somewhat exaggerated, there was actually nothing wrong with them.

After all, that was exactly Chu Guang's plan.

The industrial products produced in the future would not only supply the entire survivor settlement of the 'North Suburb' but would also be sold to even more distant places.

So, this was not pie in the sky.

Chu Guang was merely outlining a blueprint for the future.

Mr. Lister swallowed hard, still unable to recover from what Chu Guang had just said.

Industrial Zone?

'North Suburb'?

Relying on those illiterate country bumpkins?

Mr. Lister simply couldn't imagine how, in the current state of the 'North Suburb,' any point could meet the conditions for developing industry.

Relying on those refugees with mixed and uneducated qualities?

Do they even know what industry is?

Do they understand what standardization is?

Or perhaps relying on those "Blue Jackets" who complain loudly about working after just a little labor, clamoring to restore a 2-hour work system?

However, Mr. Lister had to admit one thing: the Blue Jackets here did indeed look a bit special. Apart from wearing a blue jacket, they didn't have the slightest appearance of residents of a refuge.

Seeing Mr. Lister's skeptical face was completely within Chu Guang's expectations.

After all, such things sounded somewhat incredible.

A sharp businessman like him wouldn't be convinced by a few mere words.

"There's still a little time before it gets completely dark. If you're interested, I could take you for a visit."

Hearing Chu Guang's invitation, Mr. Lister hesitated.

"Wouldn't that be presumptuous?"

"How could it be?" Chu Guang smiled faintly, "It's not as if it's anything secretive."

Seeing Chu Guang say so, Mr. Lister didn't hesitate at all and immediately responded.

"Please, do take me for a visit!"

If coming here before had meant Mr. Lister was simply looking to make a quick profit from the unstable situation in River Valley Province by offloading cheap stockpiled weapons and making some money from these local rich men of the 'North Suburb'.

Now, he had transcended those petty profits.

A young and potentially powerful force was rising from this wild land! And its leader was not only decisive and capable but also full of ambition.

Mr. Lister smelled a huge business opportunity!

His intuition told him that if he could grasp this chance, regardless of this guy's success or failure, he would be able to earn an unimaginable fortune!

This was far beyond twelve deer skins and a sack of mushrooms!

…

His expectations were not disappointed, as Chu Guang quickly brought him to the Industrial Zone five kilometers away.

Although night had fallen, the area was still brightly lit, and production was still ongoing.

Getting out of the car at the entrance to the Industrial Zone, Mr. Lister was quickly stunned by what he saw.

Everything here was much more shocking than what he had seen at Linghu Wetland Park!

Tall chimneys jutted from the roofs of the factories, emitting plumes of smoke continuously, while goods and raw materials were piled into heaps in the warehouses.

Every so often, people would push carts, transporting goods from one workshop to another, or from one factory to another.

Especially after visiting the production workshops for the LD-47 machine casing and bullets, astonishment was written all over Mr. Lister's face.

The stamping equipment connected to the conveyors was printing out parts one after another, just like a printer.

Although similar equipment was not uncommon in the factories of Giant Stone City, it was hard to imagine that they had developed all this in just one winter.

Had these industrial equipment and production methods fallen from heaven?!

Mr. Lister suddenly thought of the Pioneer he had passed earlier on the road in the north suburb of Qingquan City.

There was only one explanation.

They had received corporate sponsorship!

"…This place was originally a nest of the Blood Hand Clan, but later we took care of those annoying guys and sent them where they belonged."

"Then, we transformed the entire factory, melting the scavenged junk into steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and using them to make weapons, produce machinery, and create anything else that could help us rebuild our homeland."

"Although the facilities here aren't as good as those in Giant Stone City, we have things Giant Stone City doesn't have. For example, convenient transportation, and cheap labor and raw material costs."

"This place will soon prosper, and it will definitely not lose to any survivor settlement in River Valley Province. Now is the best window of opportunity to enter, I'm only telling you this because you're an old friend. Investing in us now, is definitely a profitable business."

"If you miss it, you might have to wait many years."

Watching his confident expression, although Mr. Lister's intuition told him this guy was probably bluffing him, he still inexplicably opened his mouth.

"How can I invest?"

Finally, the moment he had been waiting for!

A pleased smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"It's simple, we have two win-win plans."

"Whether you choose to contribute money, effort, or both, I can assure you, it will be a profitable deal!"

-

(I shouldn't have made a flag… still 2K short, cracking up.)

Chapter 242: Since it's a win-win, then of course everything is needed.

Night fell.

Since the boss had gone to negotiate a deal and hadn't returned, the caravan set up camp on the open space outside the south gate of Outpost Base.

Enticed by the fragrant aroma wafting from the front of the North Gate of Outpost Base, two caravan guards slipped out of the camp at mealtime, intending to exchange their chips for some food.

However, to their surprise, when they boldly slapped their chips onto the table, they were met not with the obsequiousness they expected from these country bumpkins.

Instead…

Contempt?

The two guards were momentarily stunned.

They must have seen it wrong.

"Damn it, not these plastic pieces again?"

Zhang Hai, with his back to the customers, cursed under his breath and raised his flour-dusted fist to tap the price board beside him, speaking in non-standard United Human language.

"Chips, ten."

Ten chips?!

The eyes of the two caravan guards bulged, suspecting they had misheard.

Their daily wage was only ten chips!

And that was on days when they showed up to work.

In Giant Stone City, a decent meal could be had for 5 chips, and in the surrounding survivor settlements, chips were worth even more—usually 3 chips could get you a very full meal.

Ten chips for a bowl of noodles was unheard of!

"Ten chips?! Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Damn, that's way too much of a rip-off!"

"Are you picking on us because we're from out of town?"

However, as the two men complained and protested, Zhang Hai, who stood in front of the stall, remained unmoved, his expression unchanged.

All players knew that those white plastic pieces could be exchanged for silver coins, two chips for one coin, so wasn't it reasonable to sell 5-silver-coin noodles for ten chips?

That was perfectly reasonable!

He hadn't even charged them a service fee, which was quite generous.

Of course, the main reason was that Zhang Hai couldn't understand what these two were saying.

Otherwise, he definitely would have hurled insults back.

He laughed.

Who would he fear in terms of mouthing off?

The surrounding players were all watching the spectacle, discussing with curiosity.

"What are these two NPCs saying?"

"I bet they're cursing Boss Zhang's noodles for being too expensive."

"Hahaha, serves him right! Good on them for cursing him!"

"Wait, let me take note of their insults."

"Why the hell would you jot that down?"

"You use them in a fight, duh. Otherwise, you'll just be saying 'fuck', and if the opponent doesn't understand, they'll think you're uneducated. Better to learn NPCs' dialect—it sounds more imposing when you shout it!"

"Holy shit! Bro, you've got to teach me once you've learned it!"

On foreign territory, the two guards didn't dare to make a fuss.

Especially with so many eyes on them.

The two men swore under their breath for a while, then moved on to other stalls.

To their dismay, the situation at the other stalls was the same; the prices were outrageously high. Only after they finally found someone they could communicate with, did they understand the reason for it.

"If you use chips, it's double the price," said Autumn Grass, taking out a silver coin and waving it in front of them. "Those Blue Jacket guys, they all trade with these kind of coins."

Autumn Leaves crouched beside her sister, nodding vigorously.

"That's right! This is their currency!"

The two caravan guards looked at each other, completely baffled.

What kind of coin was this?

They had traveled to so many places and had never seen it before.

"Can you sell me that silver coin for two chips?" the guard with the sideburns tentatively asked.

Autumn Grass shook her head, politely declining.

"These are useless to us."

Autumn Leaves nodded earnestly.

"Right! You should go exchange them with Little Fish!"

The two caravan guards: "..."

There's actually a place in all of Qingquan City where chips aren't circulated?

How peculiar!

And who is Little Fish?

Not far away, Zhang Hai, who was below, looked up and caught a glimpse of those two NPCs heading out of the market. He couldn't help but scoff.

"These NPCs must be from some backwater place, how poor they are."

Can't even afford a bowl of ramen.

They didn't buy and instead babbled on for ages.

Made him think there was some hidden quest or something.

Holding his bowl and sipping the noodle soup, Canyon Escape Mole glanced at him and said,

"You've missed the good times. In the previous 'Land Vessel' expansion, when the Company people first came here, those paper cards they gave out could be exchanged for 100 silver coins."

Zhang Hai clicked his tongue.

"100 silver coins? That doesn't sound like much."

Gnome King Riches rolled his eyes.

"Cut the Versailles act, will you? We're talking about silver coins from several updates ago. Can you compare? Back then, a whole day's grind only got you 10 silver."

Construction Site Youth with Brick: "Ahh, I miss the days when a bowl of mushroom soup was 5 bronze coins."

Canyon Escape Mole gave him a sideways glance: "Oh please, back then you would flinch at firing a single shot, you sure you want to go back to the old version?"

Construction Site Youth with Brick scratched his head.

"Er, maybe not."

Thinking it over, the new version is more fun after all.

Rushing forward with a light machine gun going 'tat-tat-tat' is just too thrilling.

Meanwhile, those two caravan guards who had sneaked off for a break had left the market and were heading straight back to the camp.

They had planned to sneak in unnoticed, but as luck would have it, their captain was standing right at the entrance to the camp.

The two guards' expressions immediately turned awkward, but they had already made eye contact and couldn't pretend not to have seen him, so they had no choice but to walk over, steeling themselves.

With his unnerving electronic eye focused on them, Han Long said expressionlessly,

"Where have you two been?"

The younger guard stumbled over his words, unable to speak, while the older one reacted quickly and hastily said,

"Reporting to the captain, we went to gather intelligence!"

Han Long looked at the two of them.

"What intelligence?"

"The prices! We were finding out about the local prices!" the older guard continued rapidly, "The cost of living here is outrageous, they charge ten chips for a bowl of noodles!"

The other guard caught on and quickly chimed in,

"That's right, and they don't use chips here, they trade with something called silver coins. It takes two chips to exchange for one silver coin, it's just too expensive!"

Two chips for one silver coin?

Han Long slightly furrowed his brow.

That was indeed an interesting piece of information, perhaps worth telling the boss later.

However...

Rules are rules.

Staring at them emotionlessly, Han Long slowly stated,

"According to the commercial team's rules, leaving the camp without permission at night results in a week's wages deducted. A second time, you lose all your wages and get expelled from the team."

"If I catch you breaking the rules again, you should be well aware of what that means."

Being stared down by that electronic eye, the two guards involuntarily shivered and quickly bowed their heads, nervously saying,

"Yes..."

"We won't dare again."

In Giant Stone City, finding a respectable job was not easy, a typical commercial team wouldn't just recruit a couple of people with questionable backgrounds, let alone risk being set up by a competitor by taking in those who had been expelled from other teams.

Those expelled from a commercial team without any real skills had only two paths to choose from.

Either they went to the factory to tighten screws, living off a modest salary until the day they could no longer work and died in some desolate alley.

Or they became mercenaries, doing whatever the employer asked, exchanging their lives for chips.

This threat indeed carried weight!

The two men walked towards the camp, dejected.

Han Long did not watch them go but continued to look towards the direction of the south entrance.

It had been over two hours.

The boss still hadn't returned.

As his brow furrowed lightly, just as he was pondering whether to have someone inquire about the boss's whereabouts, his electronic eye suddenly twitched and locked onto something to the north.

Soon, a familiar figure came into his sight.

Seeing the boss returning from the north, Han Long finally breathed a sigh of relief and approached him.

"Boss, you're finally back. I was about to send someone to look for you."

"Don't be so nervous, I have a good relationship with the people here."

With an expression of excitement on his face, List continued to his capable assistant, "Call Qian Duo and Qian Lai for me. I'll wait for them in the tent. I have important matters to entrust to them."

Although curious about the matter, Han Long didn't ask further as the boss didn't volunteer the information, and he simply nodded cleanly.

"Yes."

…

It wasn't long before List was back in his tent.

Soon, the tent flap was pulled back, and two figures, one tall and one short, entered.

"Boss, did you want to see us?"

The tall one was Qian Duo, and the short one, Qian Lai. Both were List's apprentices and had followed him since they were about eleven or twelve years old; now it had been seven or eight years.

List had always been grooming the two as his successors. Originally, he planned to gradually hand over the commercial team's business to them in their tenth year, so he could move to Giant Stone City's Inner City and live the high-society life he had dreamed of.

But now it seemed that day might come sooner.

"I've just acquired a batch of goods from Blue Jacket: 200 rifles and fifty thousand rounds of ammunition. In exchange, I plan to leave twenty sets of KV-1 Exoskeletons from our inventory with them."

One exoskeleton for 10 rifles?

Upon hearing this, both apprentices showed a look of surprise.

Qian Duo cautiously reminded him.

"But... Boss, weren't you planning to transport these goods to Red River Town to trade with the slave traders there?"

The situation in River Valley Province was recently unstable, and the slave dealers in Red River Town had taken in a lot of stock. The mines couldn't digest so many slaves, and the prices had been driven very low.

The slave owners in Red River Town needed exoskeletons to improve mining efficiency, as well as to enhance the combat power of their soldiers.

According to intelligence gathered from taverns, a KV-1 Exoskeleton powered by solid hydrogen was said to be exchangeable for four to five strong slaves.

In Giant Stone City, KV-1 Exoskeletons weren't a rarity. Although List usually sold them for 800 to 1000 chips outside, the truth was the cost to acquire them was only about 400 to 500 chips, and the actual production cost was just over 300.

The battery accounted for half of the cost, the twelve motors distributed on the exoskeleton for the other half, and the rod-like connecting parts were practically giveaways.

Most people who bought a KV-1 Exoskeleton had to modify it before they could use it.

As for an assault rifle, it normally sold for about 150 to 200, and the actual cost may be just a third or even a quarter of that.

Trading one exoskeleton for 10 rifles, especially those produced by the survivor settlements outside, it was difficult to assess whether this trade was profitable or not.

The key question was whether they could sell these rifles at their next stop.

Nevertheless, compared to the worried apprentices, List's expression was full of confidence.

"It's no issue. Red River Town is currently preparing for war with the Chewing Bone Tribe of the Snake Clan, and they need not only exoskeletons but also a large amount of weapons. Rifles and ammunition can sell for a good price there too, and most importantly, if we can open up the market, this trade route will become a gold mine!"

"The second thing those Blue Jackets have promised me, as long as we can sell their weapons in Red River Town and then transport back the phosphorous ore, sulfur ore, rare metals, and aluminum they need, they can offer us even more goods... this entails a profit margin of at least double."

"The reason I called for you," List paused for a moment, looking at the two standing before him, "You've followed me for some time now, and I've witnessed your growth. Now, it's time to put that to use! Do as I have told you. Lead the commercial team to Red River Town, then using our goods, purchase the batch of supplies according to the list I gave you."

Surprised expressions appeared on their faces.

Although they had contemplated the day the boss would hand over the commercial team to them, they had not expected it to come this quickly.

Qian Lai hurriedly asked.

"What about you, boss?"

List replied with a slight smile.

"Me? I naturally have more important matters to handle! I plan to open a factory here to produce solid hydrogen batteries and to assemble the motors needed for exoskeletons."

The two standing in the tent exchanged bewildered glances.

Open a factory?

Here?

And to produce solid hydrogen batteries and motors for exoskeletons?

That...

Sounded almost too far-fetched.

While there were some big shots who would set up simple industries outside of Giant Stone City, usually the saved taxes and land rent ultimately went back in another form.

In places outside of Giant Stone City, there was hardly any order to speak of. Not only did one need to hire lots of guards, but it also cost a fortune to persuade engineers and workers to leave the safety of Giant Stone City's massive walls.

The produced goods also had to be handled with extreme caution, without any insurance company willing to cover them. One not only had to guard against Looters looking for an easy score but also be wary of malicious sabotage by competitors, and the dishonest behavior of the Waste Land Wanderers doing the work.

Where there was no order, not even seeds could germinate, let alone run a factory.

Yet...

Their boss seemed utterly confident at this moment.

Who knows what kind of spell he had been cast under.

"Qian Duo, do as I just said, follow Han Long to Red River Town and close the deal. You can slightly give up a small part of the profit, but you must convince our customers that this is a long-term trade! We will provide them with a steady stream of weapons, and we can continue this business indefinitely."

"Qian Lai, return to Giant Stone City and buy the relevant production equipment as I listed. Whether it's outdated or stockpiled, just get what you can find. Also, remember to look for some engineers capable of operating that equipment for me, you should know where to find them."

Despite harboring some doubts, Qian Duo and Qian Lai both nodded in agreement.

"Alright, boss."

Having clearly delegated the tasks, List let the two individuals leave, then sat down on his sleeping bag, fetched an electric kettle from a bag next to him, and brewed himself a cup of hot cocoa.

This was a habit he had cultivated over his years of traveling.

Consuming something sweet and hot would help him fall asleep faster.

Warming his hands on the cup and watching the misty steam rise, an involuntary smirk of self-satisfaction crept onto List's face.

"I'm a damn genius!"

This time.

I'm really going to strike it rich!

...

Earlier, when discussing potential collaboration, the Manager named Chu Guang, offered him two proposals.

The first proposal was to invest in setting up a factory.

Shelter No. 404 would provide labor, and they could even offer him a loan of 100,000 Silver Coins. He just needed to haul over the manufacturing equipment, and he could start work immediately.

Of the products manufactured, twenty percent would go to the shelter, while the remaining eighty percent he could sell wherever he pleased.

Whether it was for export to Giant Stone City or sold to the local workshops in the industrial area.

When List first heard this proposal, he was somewhat puzzled, so he asked at the time,

"If Silver Coins cannot be directly exchanged for chips here, then what's the point of earning more Silver Coins?"

The Manager patiently explained to him,

"While Silver Coins can't be directly exchanged for chips, you can use them to buy what you want, then bring it back to Giant Stone City and exchange it for your preferred plastic pieces... I mean, those colorful chips."

"Although, rather than doing that, I'd recommend you look further ahead, use the Silver Coins to build houses, start hotels, open taverns, or expand production."

"By next month at the latest, I will have a large caravan passing through here. I forgot to tell you, as we extended a helping hand to the Company's Pioneers during the war, we are now their permanent strategic partners. You're a Merchant, so you should know what that means. Every caravan coming from the East Coast will prefer to stop by our place. Just imagine the fine goods they carry, do you still think Silver Coins are useless?"

"Even if we completely set aside agriculture and industry, this place will quickly prosper from trade alone. Trust me, the Silver Coins in your pocket won't let you down, you will earn more with them."

Feeling that it wasn't persuasive enough, the Manager, after saying all this, then dangled an even larger carrot in front of him.

"Next year, we will plant at least 3,000 mu of Cam Trees, which will be 30 times the supply of the Brown farmstead!"

"We will export half of the raw materials and supply the other half to the local market; here, rubber and alkanes, among other industrial materials, will be very cheap. Whether you sell them to Giant Stone City or directly process them into goods here, you're definitely going to make a huge profit."

After hearing all this, List quickly did some calculations in his head.

3,000 mu of Cam Trees.

If they really could plant that much, the rubber and biomass oil produced here could meet at least 13% of Giant Stone City's consumption.

That was an intimidating percentage.

Compared to the planting area here, his southern plantation and several nearby small Survivor Settlements were merely playing at the fringes.

Regarding the first proposal suggested by the Manager, he immediately agreed to it.

Because he saw almost no downside to this plan.

Especially after he learned from Chu Guang that these Blue Jacket troops had not only defeated the Army's thousand team, but also at a trivial cost had crushed two thousand teams sent by the Chewing Bone Tribe to the North suburb of Qingquan City, his confidence was further bolstered!

The corpse of the Black Snake was hanging from the gallows right outside the Frontline Base North entrance. It was easy to verify the truth of these words.

For an emerging Survivor Base, that was already a strong showing!

Even the Militia Groups of Giant Stone City would take some time and pay a cost to deal with so many Looters.

Being able to ensure the security of the industrial zone, to provide labor and raw materials.

Combined with the previous deal, the Manager's credibility was also reliable.

List felt he could definitely give it a try.

What he needed to do wasn't very hard, just needed to use chips to buy some equipment and then hire some unemployed Engineers to operate the devices and instruct those refugees, who were said to have received some education, to engage in production.

This would probably cost 100,000 or even 200,000 chips, and more advanced equipment maybe even 1 million.

Although this sum wasn't small for him, he had good credit, and he had two pieces of real estate in the Inner City of Giant Stone City that could be used as collateral, so getting a loan from the bank wasn't very difficult.

He chose the most reliable products.

Solid Hydrogen batteries and motors for Exoskeletons.

Even if the local market couldn't digest these two items, he could haul them to Giant Stone City to sell or assemble them into simple Exoskeletons and sell them in places like Red River Town in exchange for Slaves or raw materials to bring back.

This business looked profitable no matter how you sliced it.

And it was solid!

The second proposal was similar.

However, this proposal focused on collaborative sales, requiring him to put in some effort to sell the locally produced goods to more distant locations.

For a Merchant like him, was that a problem?

It was exactly what he did for a living!

How to choose?

It took List almost just half a minute to make a decision.

Since both proposals were win-win.

Why not embrace them both?

Chapter 243: Another Batch of Fresh Newbies Enters the Scene

The next morning dawned.

The commercial team that had rested for the entire night was now packing up their luggage, preparing to set out on their journey.

According to List's plan, his commercial team would continue heading towards Red River Town, while a small detachment would travel light and return to Giant Stone City.

Of course, the group returning to Giant Stone City wouldn't be going back empty-handed.

According to the contract between him and Chu Guang.

This team would carry 100 kilograms of Spirit Leaf and ten bolts of Devil Silk fabric.

A bolt of fabric is roughly 100 meters long, weighing just over 10 kilograms, mainly comprising some backlogged inventory.

As for the Spirit Leaf, it is a special product of the Greenhouse Ruins.

Some Waste Land Wanderers like to use it to make stimulating Spiritual Water or mix it into tobacco to roll cigarettes. However, this stuff is mildly addictive, and extensive use can easily lead to dependence.

Before the commercial team set off, Chu Guang found the Canyon's fugitive Mole and Fang Chang.

These two brothers were the most understanding players among all, or rather, they had the strongest grasp of the game's version.

He needed the two of them to do something for him.

This task was best suited for them alone.

"I have two important missions for you," he said.

When they heard this, the two players were first taken aback then a look of excitement flashed across their faces.

A hidden mission!

And an important one at that!

With this thought, Mole shivered with excitement and straightened his back, saying,

"I am at your service, honorable Manager, sir!"

So, the game does have an affection system!

He hadn't forgotten all the courtesies he'd extended!

Fang Chang, standing beside him, was dumbfounded.

Goodness gracious.

This guy sure knows how to bootlick!

Before he had time to look down on Mole and fearing he might miss out, Fang Chang quickly followed up with a serious look on his face,

"I, too, am at your disposal, respected and great Manager, sir! For the glory of rebuilding the United Human, for the honor of Shelter No. 404, I am willing to go through fire and water for you, without any hesitation!"

Just bootlicking an NPC.

It's not like he hasn't buttered up NPCs in other games.

As long as it triggers a hidden mission, it's not embarrassing!

Chu Guang: "..."

Although he hoped players would get competitive, he wished this competitiveness would be applied in more useful areas, not in giving him goosebumps.

After clearing his throat, Chu Guang decided to pretend he heard nothing and continued,

"The bitter winter has ended, and to proceed with our next step, we need to strengthen our communications with the surrounding areas."

"The commercial teams friendly to us are planning to head to Giant Stone City and Red River Town. I intend to send a representative to survey the local conditions, understand the living standards and morale of the survivors there, and most critically, learn about their needs."

Simply put, this was intelligence gathering and market scouting.

Chu Guang did not completely trust List. It was fine to delegate tasks to capable individuals, but it was essential to keep your own eyes open.

Luckily, these two players loved writing game guides.

He believed he wouldn't even need to hint; just throw them over there, and they would surely turn the place upside down.

Just as Chu Guang had expected, after hearing what he said, the two little players' eyes lit up with excitement.

Giant Stone City and Red River Town!

New maps!

And two new ones being opened at once!

Clearly, the game developers had finished designing the new maps but hadn't fully released them yet, so they wanted to send two people for a test run first.

Both players immediately guessed the planners' intentions, and their excitement grew even more.

"I'll go to Giant Stone City!" Fang Chang was the fastest to respond, speaking up first.

Mole was half a beat slower, but he quickly snapped back to his senses.

"Damn, I want to go to Giant Stone City too!"

It was clear to any observer that the merchants from Giant Stone City were significantly more powerful than those from Red River Town.

After all, the commercial team stationed at the entrance was even using modified limbs, looking as if they walked right out of 'Cyber 2077.'

In contrast, the merchants from Red River Town, though they had visited twice, had a 'Wild West Big Brother' vibe each time.

It was obvious at a glance who was wealthier!

Fang Chang looked towards Mole, attempting to bribe him to give way.

"Good brother, how about 200 silver coins for this opportunity?"

Mole: "Get lost, at least 300 silver coins!"

Fang Chang: "How about 250 silver coins, or else let's roll dice or play rock-paper-scissors, which would be the fairest."

Mole said aggrievedly, "You bastard! Didn't we agree that you wouldn't compete with me next time? You really have the nerve to roll dice with me?"

Mainly because he had no faith in his own luck.

Fang Chang coughed.

"I was talking about auctions... I didn't say anything about this kind of situation. Besides, I was the first to shout, so technically, you're the one competing with me."

Mole: "@#%!"

Chu Guang: "..."

These two really treated him as if he weren't there.

But that also made sense.

After all, he'd often played dumb using the identity of an NPC.

Ultimately, Mole weighed the pros and cons and in the end, opted for 250 silver coins.

"Rolling the dice and playing rock-paper-scissors both have a fifty-fifty chance, lose and the money's gone."

"Besides, going to Red River Town isn't so bad."

Although it's obvious that Giant Stone City is more developed, it's the less developed places that hold opportunities. Clearly, for a significant time to come, the focal point of Outpost Base's trade will be outside of Qingquan City, not around the Third Ring.

Seeing that the two had confirmed their respective jobs, Chu Guang continued.

"I'll arrange for a guard to follow you, serving as your translator, and helping you communicate with the locals."

"Remember, you represent the image of Shelter No. 404. I hope you will be mindful of your status and mission when you're out there."

After listening to the Manager's instructions, Fang Chang and Mole clasped their fists with serious expressions and said,

"Rest assured, Lord Manager!"

"Please leave it to us!"

...

The commercial team set out on their journey.

Fang Chang and Mole followed suit, waving goodbye to the other players at the south gate.

"Goodbye, brothers! Wait for our good news!"

"Don't worry, we'll bring the first-hand information to the forum!"

However, the players at the gate were not appreciative.

Especially when they saw the smug expressions on the faces of the two, their mouths tasted even more sour with jealousy.

"Damn these Exalted players!"

"MMP! It's a dark curtain! Definitely a dark curtain!"

"I don't care! It's a rig if I wasn't chosen! Unless they let me go too!"

"There must be some secret under-the-table deal going on."

Hearing this bunch of guys bad-mouthing them, Mole, the fugitive from the canyon, couldn't help but retort,

"Dark curtain my ass! Opportunities are for the prepared, what do you know?"

Fang Chang also couldn't help but add,

"That's right! Do you know how hard we worked to grind for favor?"

Whether satisfied or not, in the end, only the two of them received the mission.

So it was that, amidst the envious and resentful stares of countless players, the two gleefully followed the commercial team and disappeared into the woods.

After leaving Wetland Park, the commercial team split into two. The main force continued along the planned route, heading to Red River Town located to the east of Qingquan City.

Another group returned to Giant Stone City with the Devil Silk and Spirit Leaf they had purchased from Outpost Base. Their mission was to buy equipment needed for a new factory and to recruit technicians capable of operating the devices.

As they moved farther from the park, Xu Shun, dressed in casual clothes, asked Qian Lai walking beside him,

"How long does it take to get to Giant Stone City from here?"

Qian Lai said with a smile,

"It depends on the number of people. If it's a caravan like ours, it would take about three days if slow, and possibly two days if fast."

To think they'd have to spend a night outside.

Xu Shun nodded thoughtfully.

He grew up in North Suburb and only heard that Giant Stone City was bustling, but he'd never visited it. The road there was full of dangers, variants, and Looters, making it difficult for the average person to traverse alone.

The nearby guard chimed in,

"You need to be cautious on the road. We're too far apart, and we encountered Looters when coming here. Though they didn't attack us, it might be a different story when there are fewer of us... Let's avoid that area soon."

Xu Shun was surprised,

"There are still Looters?"

Qian Lai laughed,

"Just some small fry hiding in the ruins. These kinds of things are common. Maybe some of them were mercenaries or traders yesterday, and for some reason, they decide to switch to an easier life the next day."

The guard added,

"They're like cockroaches that crop up when you least expect them and you can never get rid of them all."

Hearing this, Xu Shun instinctively tightened his grip on the rifle he carried on his back.

Seeing his serious demeanor, Qian Lai couldn't help but find it amusing and teased,

"Brother, how old are you this year?"

"Seventeen."

"Seventeen? Then I'm a few years older than you. I'm turning twenty in a few months."

Xu Shun looked at the brother with surprise,

"You don't look it."

He had thought this guy was as old as Ji Xiang...

"If you started roaming the lands with a boss like I did at twelve, by the time you reach my age, you'd also seem as old as an elder."

Qian Lai pointed to his weathered face and said with resignation,

"Like our boss, can you tell by looking that he's just over thirty?"

Xu Shun nodded, half-understanding,

"I see."

"But our Manager... looks quite young."

Qian Lai shook his head,

"Don't ever think that. The Blue Jackets in the refuge, you can't tell their age by their faces. He might look twenty, but for all we know, he could be a hundred-year-old monster."

Xu Shun: "Is that even possible?!"

Qian Lai: "You haven't been to many places. You'll know once you travel more."

Fang Chang, who was walking beside them, had a completely baffled expression, staring at the VM for a long time and saw no subtitles pop up.

What on earth were these two talking about?

...

Shortly after the commercial team departed, a fresh batch of bright-eyed newbies finally reached the time when the game was unlocked.

Shelter No. 404's B3 level.

The plaza in front of the elevator was swarming with people, and the noisy chatter melded into one loud hum.

"Holy shit?! Is this really virtual reality?!"

"Awesome! I almost went to see a neurologist, never expected it to be real!"

"Am I dreaming? This isn't a dream, right? Waaah, if this is a dream, please don't let me wake up!"

This light!

This wall!

And this incredibly realistic sense of touch!

Many people still hadn't recovered from their shock.

At this moment, a player started shouting in the square.

"Brothers, I am Silver Sword! Where are my two companions?"

Someone quickly responded to him.

"Silver Hand here!"

Silver Sword walked up joyfully and shook his hand.

"Good brother, have you seen Silver Shield?"

Silver Hand shook his head, "I haven't seen him. I don't know where that guy ran off to, I've been looking for a while and haven't seen anyone with that ID."

Silver Sword was confused, "Did he get the pre-order qualification?"

Silver Hand: "He did, I even specifically asked him earlier! Then, after entering the game and calling out for ages, I haven't heard anyone reply."

Just then, a voice suddenly came from nearby.

"Are you guys Silver Hand and Silver Sword?"

They turned around and saw a man with short hair standing there.

That sly smile gave him away, and they immediately recognized him as their good brother.

"Fuck, where the hell have you been?"

"Been searching for you half the day."

The man gave a sheepish smile, a bit embarrassed.

"Uh, actually, my ID isn't Silver Shield."

Silver Hand was startled, "Then what is it?"

Silver Daddy: "Silver Daddy."

Silver Hand: "???"

Silver Sword: "You motherfucker! Didn't we agree on Silver Shield when registering IDs?"

Silver Daddy: "Hehe, good boy."

Silver Sword: "Damn it!"

Silver Hand: "Fucking hell!"

The entire B3 level hall was filled with the noise of chatter.

Since the game was mostly spread through word of mouth in various groups, many people knew each other outside of the game.

As soon as the server opened, everyone started recognizing their kin.

Standing next to the elevator, Tail stroked his chin, nodding sagely.

"Oh, not bad, the rookies this year are pretty spirited!"

Si Si: "Wei, have you decided which one to pick?"

Tail: "No rush, no rush, Tail has decided to look a little longer!"

Si Si: "If you wait any longer, the good quality rookies will be snatched up."

Tail: "Damn, I'll just have to pick the biggest one then!"

Si Si: "...?"

The veteran players were all scouting for newbies to "pass the torch" to, which is an old tradition of Wasteland OL.

As for the rookies, most were still completely bewildered.

Although there had always been promotional videos and game CGs released on the official website, urban legends surrounding Wasteland OL were always a hotly debated topic.

If you put yourself in their shoes, it's easy to understand. If a company claimed they had mastered controllable nuclear fusion technology, then released a bunch of PPTs and contrived a few videos about controlled fusion power generation, but did not connect the generator sets to the grid, probably anyone would suspect a scam.

The helmet was only effective when worn, and others wearing it couldn't even see the countdown, so even those who received the beta test qualifications had difficulty proving it to others through simple means.

Everyone had different information, different values, and different perspectives.

But does that matter?

Obviously, it does not.

When something is doubted, naturally, there will be people who believe.

And at this moment, all the players standing here, as well as those who filled in the pre-order forms, are unanimously the believing kind.

Even if it's with mixed feelings of skepticism and belief.

However, for those setting foot here, all doubts vanished in an instant.

The countdown reset like a key, and in front of them, it unlocked a brand new world.

A door was opening to them.

Disbelievingly looking at their own hands, then at the walls around them, Wang Haiyang reached out to knock on the wall, his expression dumbfounded.

"I didn't lie to you, right?"

A stranger's voice came from the side.

Wang Haiyang turned his head to look and saw a thin man with a mechanical arm in place of his right one, standing there smiling at him.

Wang Haiyang was momentarily stunned.

His instinct made him recognize the man's identity.

"You are... Yan Feng?"

Wild Wind cleared his throat.

"Don't call me that in the game..."

Wang Haiyang immediately realized his faux pas and sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry, the game's too lifelike... I didn't even realize we were in the game," Wild Wind said.

"That's very normal, everyone is like that at the beginning. Your reaction is already one of the calmer ones," Wang Haiyang wondered aloud.

"How did you recognize me?"

"It's habitual movements, mannerisms, and various aspects, like the way you scratched your head just now," Wild Wind thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to specifically describe the feeling; perhaps it's intuition. After all, I do have a perception of 7 points now."

Wang Haiyang responded, still puzzled, "Perception?"

Wild Wind explained patiently.

"Wasteland OL set up five attributes: strength, agility, constitution, intelligence, and perception. Players' initial characters correspond to five sequences, but there are a few lucky ones who can choose special characters, like that clueless lizard beside me."

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn it! Stop calling me clueless! I already have 4 points in intelligence, okay?"

Wild Wind nodded and continued to use himself as a sample to explain.

"The baseline for attributes is 5; 4 points of intelligence roughly equates to 80% of an average adult male's intellectual level. It has nothing to do with IQ but is purely about the activity level of neural cells."

Wang Haiyang asked, stunned, "How is this reflected in the game?"

"It's hard to describe," Wild Wind thought for a moment and said, "Anyway, you just wait until the Novice Instructor gets through the opening animation. By the way, what's your ID?"

Upon hearing this question, Professor Wang Haiyang smiled embarrassingly and cleared his throat before saying,

"Well, um... End-of-the-world Lone Wolf."

Wild Wind: "..."

Pick up trash 99 level: "..."

Seeing their reaction, the Lone Wolf brother suddenly became anxious.

"Is there something wrong with this name? I use the same name in other games too."

Wild Wind sighed, "Nothing. It's just a name with a sense of the times."

Initially thinking his hesitance was due to some embarrassing ID, it turned out to be this.

Pick up trash 99 level also sighed.

"Yeah... It's nostalgic. Reminds me of when I played the Legendary Blood."

Lone Wolf: "???"

At this moment, Night Ten suddenly leaned over.

"To be honest, do you have any relation to End-of-the-world Lone Wolf?"

Lone Wolf replied with a blank face,

"What's that?"

"Nothing, this friend here is quite young and often says some odd things. Don't take it to heart," Wild Wind coughed dryly and swiftly changed the subject, continuing to speak to him,

"Anyway, just wait for the cutscene to finish. After the process is done, I'll tell you some basic settings and how to play the game."

Lone Wolf nodded excitedly.

"Alright."

...

The process for the cutscene was very short.

In simple terms, everyone was a resident of an underground refuge, carrying the expectations of many to the surface to complete the great cause of restoring United Human.

Standing beside Lone Wolf, Wild Wind continued to speak.

"The game's background is set in science fiction, but in most cases, you might have to fight using primitive methods."

"But the battles that needed fighting have recently finished, and the content of this version is mainly about farming. Now's the time when you come in handy."

Lone Wolf had a bittersweet expression.

"Come on, am I being turned into a tool just as I enter the game? But I'm just a newbie; how can I be of any help?"

A smile appeared on Wild Wind's face.

"That's where the game's features come in. Level isn't the only factor determining strength, and the gameplay isn't just limited to leveling up. You can farm, craft by hand, or even develop industry."

Lone Wolf was stunned, "Develop industry?!"

In a game?

Wild Wind nodded.

"Yeah, that's also what makes this game unique. Designs that can be realized in reality can also be replicated in the game."

Lone Wolf asked, "How is that even possible?!"

Wild Wind shook his head and said,

"I don't know. My understanding of these technologies is no different from the average person's. But according to the official website, they have used some kind of dream interference technology, and with the aid of users' cognition, they've established an almost entirely realistic physics system. For instance, if a group of players is aware of what the acceleration due to gravity is and reaches a consensus on it, then the game's acceleration due to gravity will be that... at least that's what they claim."

Lone Wolf pressed on, "What if there's disagreement on certain aspects?"

Wild Wind replied, "Maybe they will consult experts for verification, or maybe it will be treated as a black box issue. The game company hasn't provided much explanation about the technical details of the game; honestly, I am skeptical about some of what they've said... The most terrifying aspects, in fact, affirm another suspicion of mine. But baseless suspicion is meaningless. Perhaps answers will come after the game enters public testing."

Lone Wolf did not inquire further and nodded.

"Okay... Anyway, is there something I can help with?"

Wild Wind kept speaking.

"First, you need to accept the Pass the Torch quest. I'll take you to level three, get the VM and go from there."

"By level three, you'll basically have some ability to defend yourself. For an Intelligence System, perhaps level five or higher is needed. But to experience the complete part of the game, you must first reach VM."

Lone Wolf asked curiously, "What's VM?"

Night Ten, standing to the side, chimed in.

"Simply put, it's your game menu, including the character interface and such. Once you reach the Citizen level, you can buy it with some money. Right now, it's gone up to 100 silver, right? But that's not important. The task rewards have increased too; it's not too hard to grind, and you'll naturally afford it once you level-up your Contribution Points to Citizen level."

Damn?

You even have to buy the game system interface?

Lone Wolf looked completely baffled.

This is way too realistic...

Chapter 244 The Correct Use of Mouse People!

Changjiu Farm.

A plump mouse followed a little one, leading a group of mice scuttling across the wasteland coated with a thin layer of snow.

Soon, the little mouse leading the way stopped beside the ridges, standing next to a bunch of frozen stiff bushes, squeaking at the larger mouse with a face full of grievance and hurt.

"Is this the place?"

The plump mouse lazily uttered in human speech, leaned forward to peek, and saw the breathing holes hidden beneath the bushes. It then began digging frantically with its front paws, and quickly unearthed a groundhog that hadn't yet woken from hibernation.

The groundhog was seething with anger, about to see which foolish thing had disturbed its winter sleep, when it got immediately startled by the huge face in front of it.

Ah! What the heck is this?

Before it could react, the plump mouse smacked it openly, hammering on its head, leaving the groundhog dizzy and disoriented.

Seeing this, the little mice around became excited and cheered on, chittering in utter chaos, much like the monkeys on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit.

Bullying the strong couldn't understand what these "fellow" mice were saying, but felt that they must be applauding him, so he hit even harder.

This was a tough time for the groundhog.

At first, it tried to fight back, but soon realized that in both size and strength, it was no match for the meter-tall large mouse, so it had no choice but to roll around in the snow, belly up, and squeak for mercy.

"Give up or not? Huh? I'm asking if you give up?"

Bullying the strong pressed down on its head, baring his incisors with a menacing threat in his voice.

"Chirp chirp chirp!" the groundhog rolled over, belly up, not daring to resist anymore, just begging for mercy.

It seemed to have submitted.

Reading that look in its eyes, Bullying the strong released his grip contentedly.

But why does the groundhog make noises like a dog?

Is it a game setting?

Bullying the strong stepped on the groundhog's belly, looked disdainfully at the surrounding mice, and declared with great bravado, even if they couldn't understand him.

"This guy is now my defeated underling, and from now on, he's my little brother."

"If anyone else bullies you, lead me to them."

"The Big Horn Rat stands up for you!"

Watching the boastful large mouse, the other mice squeaked in celebration, offering their adoration.

Although its call was strange, akin to those damned humans, that didn't matter.

To them, this ugly beast was the mightiest of their generation.

Whoever could defeat it would be their king!

The groundhog was extremely aggrieved, having been sleeping soundly only to be beaten out of the blue for the first thrashing of the New Year.

Was this a mouse's doing?

Absolutely unsportsmanlike!

And so, the army of mice grew by one more member; last time a mutated squirrel joined, this time an infiltrating groundhog.

Leading more than twenty little mice, Bullying the strong marched triumphantly across the newly piled ridges, looking for his next target.

This was a method he had recently discovered.

Taming these little animals was actually quite simple: just beat them into submission, until they expose their bellies and start begging for mercy.

In the animal world, might is right; all other talk is useless. The more he talked, the less the mice understood, and they would just find his ghostly calls annoying.

Look at the eyes of a few female mice in the back.

It's more than adoration, their eyes practically shine!

Reflecting on the treatment he received when he first entered the Game, Difficult for the strong couldn't help but feel emotional in his heart.

Alas, the world of the Variants was simpler.

Human stuff, die!

Makabazi, who was plowing the field, noticed the mice by the ridge, about to thank nature's bounty when he suddenly recognized the lead fat mouse as Difficult for the strong. He let go of his waist-held hand and teased with a smile,

"Bro Difficult, what are you up to?"

"Here to help me till the land with nothing better to do?"

Difficult for the strong gave him a blank stare.

"Scram, can't you see I'm busy?"

Makabazi said with a laugh.

"Damn, busy with what, picking fights with mice every day, when will you ever awaken?"

"You don't get it," Difficult for the strong lifted his nose and said proudly, "See that group behind me? They're all the new underlings I've recruited. Impressive, huh?"

Makabazi chuckled and said,

"Impressive! Just not sure if they can block a burst from my short scythe."

Even if they were mutant mice, the kind that were up to half the size of a human's calf, if one shot didn't take them out, a second shot would.

The combat power of mutant mice was basically equivalent to that of Mutant Cockroaches, both being the weakest Variants on the Wasteland, even more so than Hyenas.

After all, when Hyenas were starved, they could still hunt Eaters. When mice were starved, they could only fight desperately with cockroaches.

Upon hearing this, Difficult for the strong hurriedly warned him,

"I'm warning you, don't even think about it! They're all my pets!"

Makabazi chuckled and said,

"I'm just messing with you. How could I really do it? But you'd better mark them, or someone else might kill them thinking they're wild monsters."

"Hisss... you just reminded me."

Difficult for the strong immediately noted this down. He'd have to mark his underlings in the future.

His painstakingly gathered mice.

He couldn't let them be mistaken for monsters and farmed!

Evening came quickly.

Difficult for the strong wandered through the wasteland west of Changjiu Farm all day, bullying the smaller gophers and voles thanks to his large size. While completing quests, he also recruited some underlings.

If he ever bumped into a couple that were defiant, he'd thrust a dagger right into their bellies.

Yes.

The Mouse Sequence was different from other sequences; it didn't come with the crampy hands and feet DEBUFF, and they were no weaker with tools than other players.

He even had Mosquito custom-make a pair of Rat-man gloves fitted with steel claws, much sharper than his original ones.

The troublemakers who were killed became food for the mice.

These mice were not picky eaters; they ate anything edible, whether it was their own kind or something else, never wasting a thing.

At those moments, Difficult for the strong would stand by generously watching.

Despite having a mouse's body, he really couldn't stomach eating such "wild taste."

Let alone eating it raw.

Of course, the whole day wasn't all smooth sailing. While heading deeper west, he and his little brothers ran into a starved mutated hyena.

Spring had come.

Having starved all winter, the Variants too began to hunt.

This creature, clearly famished after a whole winter, turned green-eyed at the sight of so many small ones.

Fortunately, Difficult for the Strong had a pistol at his waist and took out the hyena, because if it had come to hand-to-hand combat, with his one-meter stature and subpar Attribute Panel, it wouldn't have been certain he could win.

Seeing their leader had triumphed over the hyena, the rat-men worshipped him anew before pouncing on the corpse for a feast.

Difficult for the Strong, meanwhile, took out some dry food, sat at the edge of the field, and began nibbling away, watching his subordinates gorge themselves with satisfaction.

After the rat-men had eaten their fill, they gathered around the body, burping contently, squeaking away as they started their post-dinner activities.

There were those who argued, those who fought, and even some huddled together in pairs—it was quite the lively scene.

Watching his energetic little brothers, a sense of harvest joy suddenly filled Difficult for the Strong's heart.

"It's not been easy."

He took off the VR headset around his waist and glanced at it; the mission required the recruitment of ten rat-men.

Clearly, he had already exceeded the mission quota.

Surely the Manager would reward him handsomely!

But just then, Difficult for the Strong started to worry.

Having twenty or thirty rat-men for now was manageable, but once their numbers grew, hunting alone definitely wouldn't be enough to sustain them.

And entrusting these rat-men to hunt for themselves was even more ludicrous—they were on par with cockroaches and would get pummeled in a confrontation with a hyena.

Despite their numbers, they were really just a ragtag bunch; they hadn't lifted a finger all afternoon, their sole purpose being to make up the numbers.

Under normal circumstances, how are rats supposed to survive?

Obviously by gnawing at human granaries.

But could he gnaw at Changjiu Farm's granary?

Obviously not.

The Manager was not just an NPC but had GM privileges and could "send players back home" with a click.

This wasn't about regenerating a health bar or anything.

Violate server regulations and he could find his internet cable unplugged!

Moreover, as players only have one account, even without so many rules, he was reluctant to offend other players and tarnish his own reputation.

If he couldn't gnaw on his own granary, then he could only eye others' granaries.

Difficult for the Strong couldn't help but look up with ambition toward the north.

Perhaps…

He should apply for a Sleep Cabin for saving progress from the Manager.

…

While Difficult for the Strong was considering how to con a Sleep Cabin from the Manager, Makabazi was sitting excitedly on a tractor in a nearby field that was being reclaimed, flooring the accelerator.

Behind the tractor, a long line of harrows turned the soil, over alongside a thin layer of snow.

"Hahaha, fuck! This thing is way too useful!"

Isn't this much cooler than Farming Simulator?

The newbie standing beside said with a laugh,

"I told you, just modifying it like I suggested would definitely be more useful than the one you had before."

Although it wasn't technically sophisticated and was just an improvement to the harrows behind the tractors, the efficiency of tilling the fields grew more than twofold.

As for the harrow that Mosquito had made, it seemed to have been directly ripped from the internet. It worked fine on already reclaimed fields, but it was useless when facing fallow land. Sometimes, it would get stuck while dragging or fail to grip the ground firmly, skidding over the snowy ground.

Following his suggestion, the previous issues were immediately resolved.

Standing by, Mosquito said in amazement,

"Fuck, it really works! Big bro, what do you do for a living?"

[Bored Hitting Tigers]smiled shyly.

"I grow tobacco."

Mosquito hadn't reacted yet, but Makabazi, driving the tractor, was so shocked he nearly steered the tractor off into the ditches.

"Fuck?! Growing tobacco?! Are you serious about what you said about growing tobacco?"

Tiger hurriedly said,

"Don't just blurt out anything; I'm legitimately employed at a tobacco company."

"Awesome!"

Makabazi said, his face full of envy.

Working at a tobacco company?

That must bring in a good sum of money.

Mosquito also looked envious, but for a different reason.

"Isn't that too cool, working at a tobacco company? Do you have endless cigarettes to smoke? Can you just smoke the unbranded ones?"

Tiger suddenly looked melancholic.

"Ah, talking about it brings tears. When I first started, I also thought so—until later, when I became a taste tester. Smoking all day, going through several packs, and after smoking, I still had to write reports. That's when you would understand what it means to yearn for life or death."

Makabazi: "What? There's such a good deal?"

Tiger rolled his eyes.

"Good deal my ass! There was a time when I felt like puking at the sight of cigarettes!"

It turned out that turning a hobby into a job isn't always a happy affair.

Out of curiosity, Mosquito asked, "Big brother, are your lungs okay?"

Tiger sighed,

"It's alright; I changed positions later on. Now, I deal with tobacco farmers every day, running around in the fields, quite relaxing actually."

Makabazi asked curiously,

"How big are your tobacco farms?"

Tiger thought for a bit and said,

"I can't say specifically, but the project I'm responsible for covers tens of thousands of acres."

Makabazi: "Awesome!"

Mosquito: "666"

No wonder he knew so much.

This was too strong!

…

Elsewhere, to the north of Bet Street, on the edges of the Fifth Ring Road,

Wild Wind, Night Ten, Old White, and Quit Smoking were leading the freshly joined Lone Wolf brothers in sweeping through a building.

Intelligence System players had a hard time leveling up, especially in the early stages. With only three points in strength, they could hardly shoot arrows, throw spears, or even run without getting winded, which is why early on, many teams were reluctant to take Intelligence System players.

Low efficiency was a minor issue, but holding back the team was a serious matter!

That could be fatal.

Unless you're a player with exceptional manual skills who could take the route of life skills professionals, leveling up might be a bit of a challenge.

Having a strong player to lead the way was a different story, though.

In just one day's time, Lone Wolf's level jumped from Level 0 to Level 1.

The speed of leveling up was like blasting off on a rocket.

At this rate, it wouldn't be a problem reaching Level 3 in four days, and it might be even possible to get there in three days.

While hunting monsters, I just might as well take up a resource exploration mission, pick up the Scavenger job, do some garbage collection tasks, and level up to Citizen, with a light and easy goal of saving up a couple hundred silver coins.

At that time, I'll just hop onto the VM, buy a PU-9 submachine gun, and if the conditions allow, even get a bulletproof vest sewn from Devil Silk. Basically, that would give me the ability to defend myself.

As the sky outside gradually darkened, a group of us, carrying the loot we had scavenged, withdrew from the deserted high-rise.

The haul for today was pretty decent.

The stuff we scoured plus the mission rewards gave us an average earning of around 100.

In the current version of the Game, if we're not at war, making that much daily is really good. If we weren't bringing along newbies, Old White and the rest of us could actually make even more.

Recently, Far Creek Town Hunting Ground opened up, and I heard it has Death Claws. A lot of high-level players have gone over there to forge new paths.

Fang Chang glanced over at Lone Wolf after checking the mission progress on the VM.

"Leveling up is pretty fast up until level three, but after that, it slows down."

Lone Wolf lamented, "This Game really demands a lot of grinding."

Old White nodded in deep agreement, "It really is a bit of a grind. I've been stuck at level 13 for almost two weeks now."

Night Ten sighed.

"You're fairly lucky, I'm a Perception Type, and ever since hitting level 11, my progress bar has been stuck like it's jammed."

Quit Smoking chimed in, "Hey, listening to your Versailles-level troubles is painfully enviable, the kids who haven't awakened are going to cry."

Wild Wind suddenly spoke up, "Maybe we need to challenge higher-level monsters."

Night Ten asked, "Like what?"

Wild Wind replied, "Mutants or something."

Night Ten was shocked, "Damn, isn't that difficulty a bit too high?"

Old White suddenly sighed softly, "It would be great if Fang Chang was here."

Wild Wind agreed, "Definitely, that guy has an understanding of the version that no one can match. With him, our leveling speed would absolutely be faster."

Night Ten said enviously, "That bastard, hogging all the good stuff for himself!"

Old White smiled and said, "He's always been pretty lucky. You forgot about the time we played Battle Royale, and he would land with a 98K every time. Every time Ah Guang would gather some junk, he'd already be fully equipped. Enough chit-chat, it's getting dark soon, let's hurry back for dinner and then log off. Tomorrow night, we'll still meet up online at seven. Let's push hard and aim to get our brother Lone Wolf up to level three in one day."

Night Ten exclaimed, "Alright!"

Wild Wind acknowledged, "Received."

Quit Smoking added, "Okay!"

Watching the enthusiastic bunch, Lone Wolf's face showed emotion.

"Good brothers, thank you!"

Old White laughed, "No thanks needed, otherwise it'd seem like we're strangers!"

Quit Smoking added, "Exactly, we'll have lots more to rely on you for in the future!"

Night Ten, with a playful smirk, suggested, "Maybe you can first help us improve the brick factory. There's a growing demand for bricks, and our orders are backed up till next month."

The never indebted Professor Lone Wolf, his face serious, replied,

"Okay! Brothers, rest assured!"

"As soon as we log off, I'll think of a solution!"

…

As night fell, the North Gate of the Outpost Base.

Silver Daddy, with snot and tears, begged his good buddy, chasing him from outside to inside the gate.

"Good brother, I was just kidding! Give me another chance, I swear I won't dare do it again."

Silver Sword coldly shook off his hand.

"Ken, I trusted you once, and you made me lose so badly."

Silver Hand exclaimed, "Damn it!"

At the entrance of the sanatorium.

After a hearty meal, the little players were lining up to return to their nests, and the square was noisy with chatter.

Crow Boss, with her hands clasped, prayed religiously,

"Dear planners in heaven, I hope the water bill doesn't go up today."

Teng Teng glanced at her and commented,

"You're dawdling too much. Under normal circumstances, ten minutes is definitely enough."

"No way it's that fast! Ah, but if it's Teng Teng—"

Teng Teng's face instantly turned red as she tiptoed and covered Crow Boss's mouth.

"Alright, alright, you don't have to speak anymore!"

Crow Boss whimpered pitifully.

The players around them excitedly egged on,

"Keep going! Say more!"

"Crow Boss, don't give up!"

Even though the "save point" at the Outpost Base now also had about a hundred Sleep Cabins and the baths were recently fitted with water pipes and basic solar panels, everyone still preferred to take a shower back at the Shelter.

Even though the price of water that the big picture tried to control kept going up.

Actually, there was no helping it.

Even if the players wanted to stay on the surface to log in and out more conveniently, it just wasn't possible with the lack of Sleep Cabins. That hundred units were always filled to capacity every day.

If you wanted to save the game but didn't snatch a cabin spot, you still had to return to Shelter No. 117.

Even though Chu Guang had set the priority for producing Sleep Cabin black boxes to the highest level and arranged for someone to press the button to ensure continuous work all day, there was still a significant gap in the Sleep Cabin inventory.

Theoretically, to meet the log in and out needs of all players, at least 900 Sleep Cabins were needed.

Moreover, even if there was a black box, it couldn't run 24 hours a day nonstop.

Not wanting to break the devices, they had to rest for two or three hours a day at a minimum.

Thinking about the respawn point, Chu Guang, carrying Xiao Qi down from the elevator, started walking towards Shelter No. 117.

At that moment, he suddenly spotted a nondescript large rat darting in front of him.

Looking down, it turned out to be the Manager.

Chu Guang looked at him with a caring gaze, speaking with a gentle tone,

"What's up?"

With a respectful bow, the large rat spoke,

"Respected Manager, I have completed the task you assigned!"

Chuang Guang was taken aback at first, then surprise spread across his face.

That quickly?

After checking several players' VM activity records and the drone aerial photos, Chu Guang quickly realized the fellow had not bragged.

He hadn't just completed the task, he had exceeded it!

Chu Guang's expression was subtly complicated.

He obviously couldn't say that he had been too busy lately to think of a proper reward, so after pondering for a moment, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"You've done well."

"Having a Variant as a staff member is undoubtedly a huge help to our enterprise."

"Besides silver coins and contributions, is there anything else you want as a reward? Feel free to speak up."

Difficult for the strong was taken aback and immediately overjoyed. He quickly said,

"Sir, I don't need anything else; I just hope you could give me a Sleep Cabin!"

Chu Guang looked at the man curiously.

"A Sleep Cabin? What do you need that for?"

Difficult for the strong continued seriously,

"I want to go up north! Beyond Far Creek Town to West State City! There's no interference from other players there, and without the rules that bind us in enemy territory, I can more easily snowball, unite the local Mouse People, and strengthen the power of the Rat-man!"

Damn?

That's actually a pretty good idea.

After hearing Brother Hard's words, Chu Guang's eyes lit up, but he still cautioned prudently.

"The power output of a Sleep Cabin is 1KW, you'll need to prepare a generator for it. Getting all this equipment to West State City won't be easy; you need to think it through."

Difficult for the strong said earnestly, "Please rest assured, I will take care of it!"

He had already ordered a "Hell Breath" from Mosquito; at worst, he would order another, smaller, wood-fueled generator.

As soon as the snow on the ground thinned out a bit, he could set off immediately!

Chu Guang nodded and said no more.

"Alright then, go to Changjiu Farm tomorrow and find Luka; he will give you a Sleep Cabin."

"Additionally, I have another task for you. When you go to see Luka, get a radio as well and bring it north to West State City to set up a communication base."

"This task is crucial; please, handle it with the utmost care. After completion, you'll be free to move around in West State City, and I will also arrange new tasks for you periodically."

Difficult for the strong was thrilled,

"Thank you! Respected Manager, I will make good use of it!"

Sleep Cabins aren't anything groundbreaking.

Once there were enough Save Points equipped with Sleep Cabins, Chu Guang considered allowing players to buy Sleep Cabins and install them in their own small houses.

But that's for later.

For now, resources are limited, the interests of the community come first, and public facilities take top priority in resource allocation.

After all, this affects the gaming experience of the vast majority of players.

Returning to the Manager's Office with Xiao Qi, Chu Guang sat in the office chair and turned to look at the wall to one side.

The wall was covered with many screens, all of which were modded by Yin Fang using VM.

Sixteen small screens formed one large screen, displaying a map with numerous little green and blue dots flickering on it, creating a distribution map of players and NPCs.

Some represented players without VM, others were historical positions marked by drones.

With this map, Chu Guang could easily gauge how many players were in an area, how many tasks to assign, and the proportion of function-specific NPCs required—whether additional personnel needed to be sent there.

What comforted Chu Guang was that this new batch of gamers had more enthusiasm than he'd expected.

Out of three hundred people, half had joined the reclamation army, and over ninety percent of them were Strength Types.

The other half, though not engaged in reclamation, had been pulled to pass on the fire, grinding out progress in the tunnels or scouring the buildings along the fifth ring.

The Eaters there were like ants in number, not only a natural training field but also a potential jackpot of rich resources.

Among the three hundred newbies, Chu Guang was particularly interested in two players.

One was "Bored with Beating Tigers."

The other was that Professor Wang—or rather "End-of-the-world Lone Wolf."

Chu Guang had been watching the former gamer on the forums for a while; he often shared his farming experiences with other players and posted photos.

After observing for some time, Chu Guang didn't think twice before tagging the player in the backend, and when it was time for the farming version, he pulled him straight into the game.

And this Tiger Brother indeed did not disappoint him; as soon as he came in, he upgraded two tractors produced by the Mosquito and Factory No. 81.

Now the efficiency of farming has doubled, and it's safe to say that it's been a great help!

The Professor Wang that follows was a pleasant surprise for Chu Guang.

The professor only joined the cattle and horse group last week, and when Chu Guang peeked at the screen, he learned that he was a colleague of Wild Wind and also a professor in Mechanical Engineering and Automated Design.

For such professor-level reserved players, especially those in applied fields, Chu Guang did not hesitate at all. He immediately marked him and included him in the Alpha 1.0 version.

Tiger Brother chose the Strength Type.

While this Lone Wolf Brother, like Wild Wind, chose the Intelligence System; it's very likely the latter advised him on his choice.

Although so far, Lone Wolf is still leveling up with the cattle and horse squad and has yet to demonstrate his expertise in the Game, Chu Guang is not in a hurry.

To improve the productivity of a region, you must first have a thorough understanding of the region.

Companies in Africa have to conduct research before setting up factories, let alone in two completely different worlds.

Chu Guang is very satisfied with Professor Wang's current pace.

If he came in and started giving unsolicited advice without understanding the situation here, it would give Chu Guang a headache.

"Not bad!"

"He truly is the one I chose!"

After glancing over the action record on VM, Chu Guang revealed a pleased expression, feeling as if everything was under his control.

"It seems like the Alpha 1.0 version is running well, and new players have officially entered the mainline of the Game."

"Next, there are only two core tasks left for the shelter!"

One is the major development of Rhombus Lake. North Shore, and the other is to attract investment for the new industrial zone.

Attracting List to open a factory was just the beginning.

Once he gets a taste of the benefits, many more capable merchants will come running over with their surplus equipment and talent.

Plus, with the Commercial Teams from the East Coast, as long as Chu Guang can create a stable environment for them, they will bring the money to his doorstep.

If one day in the future Shelter No. 404 somehow conflicts with Giant Stone City, Chu Guang will have an extra card to play.

Of course, cooperation would be the best outcome.

While a fight could result in overnight riches, in the long run, the returns wouldn't be as stable as farming.

"The solid hydrogen battery is at least D+ level technology and, judging by its chemical energy storage and utilization methods, it might even be a C-level!"

"Although it's not as advanced as the metallic hydrogen battery, which includes multiple B-class technologies and a few A-class technologies, it's still far better than the 'old methods' from the real world!"

"Paired with the Black Box obtained from Shelter No.117, if things go well, within two versions, most Level 10 Intelligence System players should be able to use the Neural Connection Device, allowing for an 8% proliferation of exoskeletons among players and a 15% rate among the guard squad!"

Now that there are more players, Chu Guang has to make decisions from a broader perspective, minimizing micromanagement on a local scale.

Giving one player a piece of equipment does little to improve the overall strength of the shelter.

Only when a piece of equipment occupies a certain proportion among the player community can its impact on the shelter's overall strength be realized.

And productivity is the key to it all.

It must be said, this spring has arrived just in time!

As Chu Guang was planning the shelter's future, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly came from the side, pulling him back from his daydream.

"Master."

Chu Guang: "What is it?"

Xiao Qi spoke in a soft voice.

"Xiao Qi doesn't want to disturb your rest, but there's new information from the two junior players you sent to Giant Stone City and Red River Town, Master."

-

(This month I've updated 250,000 words, which really isn't short, brothers. No more lofty promises; at least 6K per day, aiming for 10K. I'll keep working hard next month!)

Chapter 245: The Graveyard of Civilizations

Just as Chu Guang had anticipated.

After ending the first day of the journey, his little player logged off and immediately brought the firsthand information to the official Game forum.

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Brothers, I'm back! Damn it! The road to Red River Town is freaking Hell to travel, my shoes are almost worn out! (grits teeth)"

Makabazi: "Quit your yapping, who the hell cares about your shoes, did you damn make it there or not?"

Quit Smoking: "Hurry up and tell us, what's going on with the new map?"

Tail: "GKD! Ψ(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́´)Ψ"

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Damn! How could it be that fast, it's nearly a hundred kilometers! Not to mention the troubles along the way. Overheard the head of the caravan guards saying, back and forth, at least a week. Mamma mia, no save points for a whole week, I'm freaking out here."

Less Talk, More Walk: "Damn, why the hell are you babbling so much?"

Quit Smoking: "Cut the crap! If you don't want to go, switch with me! (freaking out)"

More and more people crowded into the forum thread, all of them clamoring for updates.

Brother Mole didn't dare to talk nonsense any longer and quickly got to the point.

"Cough cough, no more bullshit, let's talk business! We traveled east, and the road was fraught with difficulties. At first, we could use the provincial road, but later it was all rural paths, twisting and winding, the traffic situation is hard to describe. Especially the dangerous places, even those biomechanically modified caravan guards didn't dare to get close, we had to detour around them."

"Moreover, with the snow not fully melted, our progress wasn't very fast. Today, we only covered a third of the journey. The guard leader, equipped with a mechanical arm and electronic eye, said that if we're lucky, we should arrive by noon on the third day. If not, we might have to wait until the fourth day!"

Last year, a slave merchant from Red River Town, catching the tail end of winter, took only two days to travel to the North Suburb of Qingquan City.

But another merchant named Sun, to avoid the range of activity of the Looters, took a full five days to travel from there.

This can give you an idea of how complex the roads over there are.

Construction Boy with Brick: "You can understand what they're saying? (surprised)"

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Got guards with us, are you dumb or what? The guard with me is called Lu Bei, anyway if there's something I don't understand, I just ask him. Plus, the VM in the quest unlocked the subtitle function, but that thing is hit or miss. Don't rely on it to work all the time. Anyway, I tested it, and it really only works well when we set up camp or stop to rest. Even so, some sentences still translate weirdly; you have to rely on your own understanding and experience to get it."

Gnome King Riches: "666!"

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "I'll continue, man, the journey was quite thrilling. Although, according to the head guard, we took a relatively safe route, we still encountered three waves of Variant attacks. The first time was passing through the forest when a pack of starving Hyenas targeted us. But it was no big issue, we quickly slaughtered the five leading the charge and the rest ran away fast."

"The second wave was even more thrilling, a hideous thing with a bunch of legs that looked sanity-breaking, suddenly shot out from the side of the road, giving me a real scare. I've never seen this thing in the North Suburb, only after asking did I find out it was a Multilegged Beast, a Variant that lives in dark and damp environments, with a danger level between Crawlers and Tyrants, with decent speed and strength; you can't tell at all what the hell it used to be."

Kakarot: "Aside from new maps, there are new monsters????"

Quit Smoking: "Awesome! What about the third wave?"

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Monsters! That's what the Waste Land Wanderers call it. It was mentioned before on the official site, but there were never any illustrations. This thing is bigger than a Bear, hunchbacked, its head almost buried in its shoulders, teeth sticking out over its lips, its pale rotting skin like it was blistered by water, with a few sparse clumps of hair scattered on top, its roar like thunder!"

"This creature is indeed like its name suggests, looking monstrous and with incredible strength, a swing of its hand can snap a tree right off! In terms of Strength, even Dead Claw probably loses to it! But its weakness is also obvious, it's quite slow, nowhere near as agile as Dead Claw."

"When the caravan guards saw it, they immediately started firing at it, but after a whole round of bullets, it was unscathed! I suspected its recovery capability might even be stronger than that of Mutants, completely overturning my understanding of the limits of carbon-based lifeforms. It wasn't until later, one of the guards pulled out a rocket launcher shaped like a steel pipe and shot it in the chest, which finally took that beast down."

Quit Smoking: "Badass!"

Construction Boy with Brick: "Ahh, so envious I could cry!"

I Max Black: "Dark curtain! It's all a dark curtain! (freaking out)"

Getting early access to the new map was one thing.

But there were completely new monsters too!

That's just outrageous!

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! Your story makes me really want to go! Can I follow on my own?"

Spring Water Commander: "In theory, yeah, since the game hasn't set map boundaries. But the problem is, there are no save points there, nor quests to do. You'll lose out if you take equipment with you, and without equipment, you certainly won't make it far. (smirking)"

Night Ten: "+1, I remember just five days ago, or however long it was, before the new update. Some poor Kids, seeing the snow had melted, tried to head for Giant Stone City. Got as far as the fourth ring road and then poof, they were gone. Lost their gear and had to rebuy VMs too. (amusing)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "MMP, then never mind."

Elena: "Can't help it, the city roads are too damn hard to travel. Who the hell would expect only Crack Claw Crabs hiding in puddles? These bastards have their own camouflage, with a bunch of trash hanging on their back, lying there they just look like a pile of garbage. Without a Perception type, it's really tough. (amusing)"

Gnome King Riches: "Damn, Old Monk, confess, was that unlucky Kid you?"

Elena: "You guess. (roll eyes)"

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Speaking of which, where the hell is Brother Fang Chang? Has anyone seen him?"

Night Ten: "Don't know, probably writing a strategy guide or something, this dude dawdles like nobody's business."

Almost within a minute after Night Ten's forum post went out, the ID Long Days Ahead popped up on the forum.

"Giant Stone City Journey Day 1: Ruins, Death, and Anti-Utopian Culture"

"Distance on paper is just a pale number, but under our feet, it becomes a chasm. The direct distance to Giant Stone City on the map is merely 20 kilometers, and even if we only moved forward one meter per second, it would only take just over five hours. However, as we crossed the edge of the fifth ring road and delved into this graveyard of civilization, we found that every second here was extended."

"Skyscrapers reaching into the clouds also delve into unfathomable abysses, having stood like tombstones for two centuries, and are very likely to remain erect for another two. We cautiously made our way through fragmented alleyways. The silent storefronts and broken billboards spoke in fragments of an era's prosperity before the war."

"The caravan guard told us this place is a paradise of chaos and death, where we had to watch out not only for Variants but also looters lurking in the high-rise buildings. They don't need advanced technology; a rock thrown from the twentieth floor could crack our skulls, and even some smart Variants have learned this trick. In addition, there are landmines buried in the ruins, remote-controlled bombs, or even snipers hiding in some darkened windows."

"We had to carefully choose our paths, especially after entering the fifth ring road. If we don't keep our eyes peeled, it would be difficult to see the sun the next day..."

Just the introduction part was already five or six paragraphs long; the main body of the post spanned an entire page.

Fang Chang described in detail in the post his feelings after entering Qingquan City's urban area.

Having visited Shelter No. 404 before discovering it, Chu Guang had only made a few trips without going too deep, so he could particularly understand the shock Brother Fang Chang must be feeling right now.

If the North Suburb's urban area resembled Los Santos, then the urban area of Qingquan City was Night City with Wasteland MOD and bugfix patches loaded.

"If this post isn't exaggerating, the situation inside the fifth ring road might be even more complicated than I expected."

"However, the good news is that the looters active in this area haven't formed a unified organization; the largest group consists of no more than ten people... Which basically matches the information from Boss Xia."

Rubbing his chin, Chu Guang pondered.

"It seems trading in the Wasteland really isn't something just anyone can do."

Since he hadn't gone out of signal range, Brother Fang Chang had also taken a few pictures, some of which passed the review and were synchronized to the post by him.

The reviewer was Xiao Qi.

In principle, according to the R12 standard, without elements of gore or violence, with a filter similar to the perspective of players, it could be synchronized to the official website.

Looking at the post before him, Chu Guang, who was peering at the screen in front of the computer, had his face written all over with surprise.

What a fellow.

This Day 1 in the title...

It looked like he planned to start a live-posting thread.

Chu Guang immediately looked towards the trash bin charging in the corner of the wall.

"Xiao Qi."

The signal light flashed faintly, and the camera curiously looked over.

"Here I am, Master."

Chu Guang instructed.

"Go to the fridge and get me something to drink... um, milk will do."

Xiao Qi: "Eh? But Xiao Qi doesn't have hands."

"Then go find Boss Xia, she should be off work by now, have her bring it over to me," Chu Guang thought for a moment and continued, "Oh, and make sure it's warmed up."

Brother Fang Chang's post was quite high-quality, worth a thorough study. After reviewing this memorial, he planned to start a game of Stars, and he had a habit of drinking something while at the sea.

He had quit drinking.

Sadly, there was no cola.

Otherwise, it would have been perfect.

Rumbling along on its wheels and with its camera hanging down, Xiao Qi reluctantly headed outside the office.

Before long, Boss Xia, carrying a bottle of warm milk, pushed open the door and came in, saying in an annoyed tone,

"Why couldn't you ask a player to do it?"

What happened to the time after work being her own?

This guy was really starting to enjoy bossing people around.

Chu Guang glanced at her strangely and said as if it were only natural,

"How could I trouble a player with such a thing? Just leave it on the table, thanks."

Xia Yan rolled her eyes and walked over to put the milk on the table.

"No need to thank me!"

Just then, she suddenly caught sight of the computer screen and asked curiously,

"What's that?"

Chu Guang replied, "It's that forum I told you about."

Staring at the screen, Xia Yan frowned and muttered,

"What the heck is drawn all over this thing?"

Chu Guang casually said,

"It's a different kind of writing. If you had seriously learned what I taught you, you wouldn't be clueless about what it is."

As soon as learning came up, Boss Xia, who was exposed as an academic slacker, immediately blushed.

"Hmph, like I care!"

Watching Boss Xia turn and walk out the door, Chu Guang smiled faintly and turned back to the computer screen.

Little Fish was really more peace of mind for him.

In less than half a year, she could already recognize over a thousand characters.

That girl's memory really was extraordinary, and Chu Guang had always had that feeling, even suspecting that she might have the potential for an "awakening."

Awakening was not exclusive to players; it was not uncommon in the Wasteland.

Most Wasteland Wanderers believed that awakening required the test of a life-or-death crisis, but this experience was not absolute.

Some Intelligence System and Strength Type players had already proven that through slow accumulation and training, it was possible to make selective genetic expression and make adjustments better suited to the Wasteland environment.

Tapping a forefinger lightly on the mouse and staring at the computer screen, Chu Guang pondered slightly.

"This situation is indeed worth paying attention to."

"I'll let Heya check it out some other day."

...

The next day.

At the north gate of Changjiu Farm, early in the morning, there was a chattering commotion.

A plump Big Horn Rat was currently riding on a bizarrely shaped motorcycle, looking toward the north with smug anticipation.

A bunch of rat underlings buzzed around the side of the motorcycle, curious yet not daring to get close, and could only squeak at him.

Difficult for the strong automatically translated those sounds in his ears to "666" and "awesome."

After all, trying to imagine it from the little rats' perspective, he found he did indeed look pretty awesome.

As is well known, machines were the creations of the once-dominant humans.

Wasn't the ability to master the wisdom of humans enough to prove the valor of the Big Horn Rat?

Simply invincible!

Standing next to the motorcycle, Brother Mosquito finished checking the equipment and casually wiped some oil on the back of the bike, then looked toward the fatty on the front.

"... I've tied the Sleep Cabin, radio, and the materials for assembling the generator to the top of the carrying frame. Do you want to come down and check?"

Difficult for the strong said, "No need, I can hardly wait! Hahaha!"

Brother Mosquito rolled his eyes and continued, "You'll need to shift gears to adjust the speed, the gear switch is on the left handlebar. Speaking of which, can your arm even make the twist?"

Difficult for the strong replied discontentedly, "Come on, I'm at least LV5, okay? How could I possibly not be able to twist the gear switch?"

Brother Mosquito gave him a sideways glance and chuckled,

"Come off it, don't you know what's on your attribute panel?"

The Rat-man's initial attributes all started at 3, apart from Perception which was 5, and his approach to leveling up was a total mess—randomly adding points here and there, with no sense of overall strategy. As a result, his attribute panel looked like it had been gnawed by rats, and it was even worse than a newbie Intelligence System player who had just entered the Game.

Except for the BUFF "Fast Synthesis," it seemed he didn't have any other advantages.

Oh right, there's also the "mouse relatives."

Mosquito glanced subconsciously at the spirited little mice squatting next to the motorcycle.

It had to be said that when these mice gathered together, they really were bold, not even flinching when making eye contact with people.

Difficult for the Strong: "It's not important! We summoners don't look at the attribute panel."

"Hehe, just be careful anyway. It's no big deal if you die, but don't break the motorcycle. That thing isn't easy to fix."

Mosquito stuck a wooden stick into the feed inlet of the pot camel engine and patted it on top, smiling as he said,

"Have a smooth ride."

"I won't see you off, just take care of yourself!"

This motorcycle was a model he had designed overnight for Difficult for the Strong, modified from the "Hell Breath."

Because the Hell Breath's seat was too high, and thus somewhat difficult for a mouse to control, and because the journey northward required crossing vast stretches of forest and hills, he had to redesign the layout of the motorcycle, moving the two side wheels to the front and back, respectively.

The U-shaped seat was situated between the pot camel engine and the front wheel, and considering off-road performance, he had enlarged the front wheel to about the height of Difficult for the Strong's chest.

Due to the absence of a rear seat and the need to maintain balance, the luggage that needed to be taken north could only be tied on top of the pot camel engine.

The entire motorcycle cost around 1000 silver coins, and a fair selling price would be 2000 silver coins.

Difficult for the Strong, who had just recently shed his newbie status, of course could not afford such a large amount of money.

However, considering their apprentice and mentor relationship, Mosquito allowed him to buy on credit, with a down payment of 400 silver coins and the rest of the 1600 silver coins to be paid back gradually.

If the motorcycle were lost,

Difficult for the Strong would probably have to declare bankruptcy on the spot.

But at this moment, sitting on the "Goblin Motorcycle," Difficult for the Strong felt not a whit of worry about going bankrupt; instead, he was filled with hope.

Last night, on the official forum, he happened upon Brother Fang Chang's impassioned article. It made his blood surge with excitement, tossing and turning and igniting his desire to explore the new map.

"West State City, huh."

"Very good."

"Listen up, Looter fellows, your Big Horn Rat grandpa is coming!"

The combustion chamber finished preheating, and the pot camel engine began to start.

Clang clang went the sound at the north gate, roaring like an angry tractor.

Behind him, a group of little mice squeaked and shouted, with faces showing panic, excitement, or confusion as they spun around on the spot.

It's moving! It's moving!

Seeing the tire in front of him begin to roll, Difficult for the Strong shouted excitedly,

"My little ones, keep up!"

"Target West State City."

"Forward march!"

Seeing this makeshift big brother head northward, some timid mice made their escape, but some hopped onto the motorcycle to join the expedition.

Like the groundhog that had been beat into submission.

And a few mother mice with shining eyes.

Standing at the entrance of Changjiu Farm, holding hoes and pickaxes, two little players happened to witness this scene.

"What the heck is that thing?"

"Is that the Doomwheel of Skaven Ratmen?"

"I swear I can tell it's Brother Mosquito's work at just a glance."

"Awesome, that thing can actually move!"

"666!"

-

(Next chapter around 12 o'clock!)

Chapter 246: Paying the Highest Respect to These Honorable People

Riding a "motorcycle," the great rat led a group of smaller rats and shortly after their departure, a pioneering team composed of five hundred refugees had already relocated from the temporary refuge to Long Endurance Farm.

Approximately 1,500 refugees were still staying at the temporary refuge.

Now that winter was coming to an end, the snow was gradually melting and seeping into the soil. They couldn't possibly stay forever in the crowded, unsafe, and unsanitary building, especially with spring approaching when it could easily become a breeding ground for germs.

Walking at the forefront of the refugee lines, Jiu Li found Luka waiting at the east gate and shook his hand.

"We were delayed on the way, sorry to have kept you waiting."

Luka replied warmly.

"It's alright, the journey here is treacherous with the snow. Seeing you arrive safely is a relief."

After exchanging brief pleasantries, Jiu Li got straight to the point.

"Where do we start? Here, or somewhere else?"

Their camp from the previous year at the east gate had been destroyed by a blizzard, and remnants of it were still faintly visible on the ground.

Old Luka looked at Jiu Li and said,

"The Manager has instructed that your home will be at the west gate. Right now, the most urgent task is to resolve housing issues. Bricks, cement, and timber have already been delivered to the site, and specialists will guide you on construction. Once the houses are built, spring farming tasks will be allocated to you."

"Land will be distributed by household, with each couple constituting one household getting ten acres, and an additional acre for every child in the household. Individuals over sixteen who are unmarried will receive three acres each, and upon marrying, will be re-allotted ten acres when they establish a new household."

"The land is collectively owned by Long Endurance Farm, and cannot be transferred or leased. Inspections will occur quarterly, and violations will result in expulsion from residence and confiscation of the land."

"For the first three years, we will provide you with seeds and fertilizers, and you only need to hand over half of your harvest as compensation. After three years, as long as the land isn't abandoned, the land allotted to each household will be entirely your responsibility to farm, and you will only need to hand over twenty percent of the produce, the rest you may keep or sell to the granary."

The refugees murmured among themselves, all wearing expressions of excitement.

"They're providing seeds?"

"And fertilizers!"

"Only half of the harvest?... This is unbelievable."

Even Luka himself found it incredible.

In Wasteland, allowing farmers to keep twenty percent of their produce was already generous.

Yet the Manager was not only permitting them to keep half, but he had also generously offered to provide seeds, fertilizers, and professional guidance for the first three years.

"The reason refugees are refugees is because they are rootless. Producing food from the land is one aspect, but we also need to bind them to us with land and labor, preventing them from deserting over trivial matters."

"Each household managing ten acres, and with five hundred farming households, they could cultivate five thousand acres. These five thousand acres could not only provide more than adequate living for these families but could also feed thousands more, allowing other refugees to focus on production in factories."

"The remaining 25,000 acres will be part-managed by the collective farm, primarily cultivated by prisoners of war. Another portion will be managed by residents of the refuge, with the produced grain being purchased by a centralized granary."

These were the exact words of the Manager.

Luka didn't fully understand, but he gained a new appreciation for the Manager's kindness.

He genuinely hoped these unfortunate people could have better lives.

Such benevolence was extremely rare in Wasteland.

Having settled Jiu Li's side and provided them with tools and building materials, Luka left the remaining tasks to the foreman and guards, and returned alone to the farm.

Inside the office, Wrench, the captain of the guard team, was waiting for him.

Presently, Long Endurance Farm was understaffed, especially in logistical roles.

Besides their regular duties, the guard team occasionally had to handle communications with the refugees.

This, too, was as per the Manager's instruction.

It was a temporary solution, pending future reforms.

For the refugees, a crisp black uniform and a high-caliber rifle on their backs were far more persuasive at any time than a piece of paper filled with words.

To put it plainly.

Literacy education was still at its initial stage; most people barely recognized a few characters, and a lengthy ordinance was hard for them to remember.

Laws meant little to them compared to a direct order from a Manager in power armor.

This provided a greater sense of security than anything else.

At least in Qingquan City, the people of Wasteland acknowledged this authority.

"The transport route to Elm District has been restored, though our transportation and human resources are presently strained, we can only ensure a supply of 500 to 800 logs per day to the farm—this is under the condition that it does not affect the pioneering work."

"The Manager has said that pioneering work is the top priority. I will arrange for the lumber to be handled and delivered to the farm—just hand it over to me upon arrival."

Luka paused for a moment, his tone serious as he continued.

"Additionally, the brick factory has prioritized its output for Long Endurance Farm; we need to build at least five hundred houses by the end of the month and ensure that the farm's three shared dormitories are completed to completely relocate the refugees from the temporary shelter."

Wrench hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Is that enough time?"

They still needed to prepare for spring plowing, and it might be hard to spare many workers.

Yet Luka's response surprised him.

"At first, I also thought this task might be difficult to complete, but the diligence of the residents of the refuge exceeded our expectations… The pioneering tasks trusted to them have already completed one-fifth, and the remaining tasks will most likely be finished in a week."

"The Manager said that if the situation is optimistic, they could manage to reclaim an additional ten thousand acres by the 20th."

"Considering the ten thousand acres that the prisoners are working on, completing the 30,000-acre reclamation task before spring plowing is entirely feasible."

"This way, the labor saved can be fully utilized in building houses, speeding up the refugees' resettlement."

Saying this, Luka unrolled a bluepribt.

It depicted a brick and timber structured house, very square and plain-looking, but it included all necessary designs.

"This is a row house designed by the residents of the refuge, thirty-six square meters per household, with a brick-timber hybrid structure. The required building materials are not extensive, and both insulation and safety are quite reliable."

Wrench stared at the blueprint for a while, and although he didn't fully understand it, he intuitively felt that this type of house would use far fewer bricks and cement than those inside the farm.

After a long while, he couldn't help but remark,

"To show the highest respect and gratitude to these honorable people."

Luka nodded with the same sentiment.

"We really should thank them. They have given so much."

War, Heaven disaster, famine, disease...

Even compared to the hardest days of the past, this year's winter undoubtedly qualifies as hell mode.

Without those Blue Jackets, not to mention the refugees from abroad, hardly anyone in the "North Suburb" could have survived this winter.

This winter, not a single person died of hunger, and we even had a prosperous New Year.

It was almost unimaginable.

Of course, for Luka himself, his gratitude was much simpler.

If it were not for the Manager's chip, he would probably have died under a guard's gun long ago.

He didn't understand many profound truths, and to this day, he didn't grasp what the Manager meant when he told him, "Stand up, don't kneel."

Luka only knew one thing—his life was saved by him.

That meant his life belonged to him.

...

Night.

The Commercial Team heading to Giant Stone City settled in an abandoned office building.

They cleared the Eaters from the lobby to the corridor and arrived on the second floor.

A tripwire was tied at the exit of the emergency passage, and the Caravan guard responsible for escorting Qian Lai and others back to Giant Stone City approached Xu Shun and Fang Chang to speak.

"This is our safe house on the edge of the fourth ring road. We'll rest here tonight and continue our journey at dawn."

His name was Luo Guang. He had been working under List for five to six years and was considered a veteran in the team.

The other two guards had been working for two years; one with a submachine gun named Wang Zhong and the other with a bandage around his right arm named Kaia—Fang Chang had gotten this info from Xu Shun.

Before arriving here, the group had encountered an ambush by a group of Looters, and poor Kaia had been unfortunately shot in the right arm.

Those Goblins hiding in the ruins always managed to emerge unexpectedly and open fire without a word, not disguising their naked aggression.

Everyone present wore a frightened expression, except for one person who looked ordinary, as if nothing had happened.

That person was Fang Chang.

Isn't encountering Bandits a common sense in RPG Games when running a business?

The production team provides you with guns, naturally expecting you to use them.

Basic survival rule number six.

He didn't find it strange at all, instead, he thought that the attackers were too weak.

"Safe house?"

Xu Shun looked around at the mold in the corner and the fungal mat formed by the variants, feeling nowhere was safe here.

Standing by, Qian Lai gave a wry smile and said,

"Don't worry, the Eaters won't jump out of the ground, and even if there is a small hatchery on the roof, it won't suddenly produce a lot. If used properly, the Eaters wandering in the corridors can actually provide us cover."

At least a hundred Eaters were in the lobby; they had only killed a dozen when they came up, leaving a bunch still.

If Looters intended to ambush them, they would have to clear the Eaters from the lobby to the emergency passage just like them.

Even if the Looters executed the Eaters in melee combat without firing a shot, the sound of heavy objects falling would still be heard by those on the second floor.

As long as someone was stationed near the emergency passage exit as a lookout, their safety was almost guaranteed.

Qian Lai patiently explained to the two novices, "It's dangerous to light a fire here; we probably have to spend the night in the dark. Did you bring any food?"

Xu Shun replied,

"We did."

Qian Lai nodded.

"That's good; there's no place here for you to cook."

The Commercial Team's ration was nutrient paste, and although they also had hard, frozen bread, nobody wanted to eat it.

Xu Shun took out a warm bun from his chest, then reached into his backpack and pulled out some pickles from a can. He sliced the bun open with a Small Blade, poured some pickles on it, and took a bite.

The surrounding guards looked on curiously, whispering quietly,

"How is this bread white?"

"Strange food."

"I've seen it in their market... but it's expensively sold, one piece for four chips!"

Hearing this, the other two guards showed surprised expressions and looked at Xu Shun with envy, as if seeing a wealthy man.

A meal for four chips!

That was extravagantly luxurious!

Fang Chang ate a dumpling, quickly finished, and then went to sit by the window. He pulled out a small notebook from his pocket, glanced at it in the weak moonlight outside.

It was filled with tiny writing about everything he had seen on the journey, which he planned to update on the Forum after logging off.

The situation inside Qingquan City was starkly different from the "North Suburb."

They had been attacked by Looters at least twice on their way.

The first time was five people, wildly shooting at them with pipe rifles. However, three were quickly eliminated, and the two others fled.

The second time, more people came—twelve in total, a squad size of ten.

Kaia, sitting by the wall, treated his wound with alcohol, cursing quietly.

"These fucking dogs! They bully the weak and fear the strong."

Xu Shun asked him,

"How can there be so many Looters?"

Kaia muttered, "They're everywhere. Those empty buildings, any window could be hiding a pair of eyes, watching us. They probably had their eyes on us from the moment we entered the city."

Xu Shun suddenly became vigilant and said,

"What if they surround us..."

Kaia laughed,

"Relax, buddy, not all Looters end up like the Chew-bone Tribe, just like not all cancer cells turn into tumors. At least a third of the Looters were once mercenaries, either they killed their employers, or they harmed their teammates. Unable to return to Giant Stone City and lacking the courage to start a new life, they simply decided to become bandits. How capable do you expect such scum to be?"

Sitting nearby, Wang Zhong interjected, "Our luck has been pretty good; we've only encountered the small-time players. If we dealt with the big ones, it would be troublesome."

Xu Shun: "...What do you mean?"

"It's just that," using tweezers to pull out a bullet, Kaia held it in front of him and grinned, showing his teeth. "Steel pellet, about 6mm... Thank God it's not a lead bullet; my arm would've been ruined."

Wang Zhong joked with a laugh,

"Wouldn't that be a perfect chance to get a mechanical arm?"

Kaia rolled his eyes,

"Give me a break, I can't afford that."

Such expensive equipment was not something he could even dream of affording.

Like most others here, List was temporarily employed, with only a few becoming core employees who committed their lives to working for the caravan—this was also their motivation to strive.

Looking at the subtitles intermittently appearing on his VM, Fang Chang pondered for a long while, then continued writing in his notebook by the moonlight.

"Mercenary is a common job in Giant Stone City, mostly taken up by the poor."

"At the same time, a severely oversaturated private armed market has led to extreme internal strife within the mercenary industry. Most mercenaries must risk their lives for meager earnings to sustain themselves, which is one of the roots of the turmoil in Qingquan City..."

"One of them, at least."

He closed the notebook.

Fang Chang was about to log off, but suddenly he felt an undisclosed intuition,
as if he was being watched.

He tucked the pen into his pocket and his hand involuntarily reached for the mechanical composite bow resting against the wall.

After his Awakening, he had seven points in Perception.

Although not high compared to Perception-type players, it was 140% of the intuition of an average person.

Moreover, combined with the experience accrued in battle, his actual perception of danger was not weaker than that of low-level Perception-type newbies.

Noticing his action, Luo Guang gave him an inquiring look.

"Did you notice something?"

Fang Chang couldn't understand what he was asking, but guessing from his expression, he silently nodded.

Three guards and Xu Shun next to him immediately became alert and gripped their weapons tighter, while Qian Lai moved to a safer spot.

He was aware of his own combat power and believed that there was no need for him to act himself, as these people could handle the Looters easily.

Everyone quietly remained on guard.

But at that moment, Fang Chang acted.

He lifted the mechanical composite bow, an explosive arrow nocked on the string. After silently counting down, he cleanly shot it towards a window across the hallway.

The arrow traversed tens of meters, and the moment it left the window, it burst into a flash of fire. Steel pellets encased in cardboard whizzed out, soon followed by a pitiful wail and the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground outside.

"Enemy attack!"

"It's the Looters!"

Kaia pursued the window opposite, while the other two kept their eyes on the hallway and the emergency door.

Without using the elevator, that was the only route up.

Hearing the gunfire, Looters downstairs immediately charged up.

Standing at the entrance of the hallway, Luo Guang held his submachine gun and unleashed a burst of fire at the incoming Looters, killing two on the spot. Another narrowly escaped behind cover and attempted to return fire, but before he could fire twice, an arrow pierced his forehead, and his pupils dilated as he fell backward.

Xu Shun had just aimed and was ready to shoot, but Fang Chang had already put away his compound bow.

The fight was over.

"There are still three small fries who didn't come up!"

Standing by the window, Kaia raised his rifle and fired two shots at the fleeing figures. Seeing they were out of range, he withdrew his rifle and spit in disdain,

"Damn, let those dogs get away!"

Carefully approaching the emergency exit, Luo Guang confirmed the Looters had retreated, then crouched down to check the bodies.

"...Probably the same group we encountered during the day; they've been following us."

Kaia couldn't help but curse.

"What are these idiots trying to do?"

Wang Zhong jokingly said, "Maybe they were light-headed with hunger."

The group chuckled lightly.

Although it was a narrow escape, it still made everyone's nerves tighten.

Luo Guang patted Kaia's shoulder,

"We still have a journey tomorrow; should reach Giant Stone City by noon. I'll sleep for a while and then take over your shift in the latter half of the night."

Kaia gave him a reassuring look.

"Alright, boss."

Fang Chang returned to the window seat, and after confirming that the crisis was over, he casually glanced at his notebook, then stuffed it back into his pocket, closed his eyes to prepare to sleep, and planned to log off.

Xu Shun sat down next to Fang Chang.

The manager had, of course, instructed him that while his resident was sleeping, he must ensure to stand guard throughout the night and not let anyone approach.

Luo Guang glanced at Fang Chang, who had closed his eyes, and then at Xu Shun sitting beside him, and quietly asked,

"Is he asleep?"

Xu Shun nodded and said,

"Yes."

According to the arrangement, Fang Chang would take over his shift around 3 a.m., during which time he wouldn't wake up.

"The envy of mental resilience," Luo Guang grinned slightly and continued quietly, "I just wanted to tell him that those two arrows were beautifully shot."

In the mercenaries of Giant Stone City, if one had a choice, few would use bows and crossbows. After all, these weapons provided unstable output and were much harder to maintain than guns.

Only some awakeners, considering their own limits, would choose weapons that better utilized their physical advantages.

However, most of them primarily used thrown weapons.

Such as flying knives, javelins, and hand grenades, which were the most common.

Although not as perceptive as Team Leader Han Long, Luo Guang could confidently assert that this sleeping expert was indeed an awakener!

Xu Shun nodded and said,

"I'll pass it on after he wakes up."

Luo Guang made an 'okay' gesture with his hand, then covered his face with his hat, leaned against the wall, and soon began to snore.

The room quieted down.

It was as if the previous battle had never happened.

Xu Shun glanced at the VM.

There was no signal here, only the short-range signal emitted from Fang Chang's device was detectable.

"The edge of the fourth Ring... If we can get to Giant Stone City tomorrow, the position here should be right in the middle."

Xu Shun muttered to himself and made a mark on the map.

This area could serve as a signal relay station, and commercial teams traveling from "North Suburb" to Giant Stone City could also stop here.

However, with looters active in the area, caution was essential.

...

The night passed without incident.

The following morning, the group continued on their way.

As they drew nearer to Giant Stone City, Fang Chang unconsciously quickened his pace, his excitement difficult to articulate.

Always living in the official setting collection of Giant Stone City!

The largest survivor settlement in Qingquan City!

Soon, he would see with his own eyes the surprises the game development team had prepared for the players!

Turning around a street corner and standing on a straight twelve-lane overpass, Fang Chang's excitement was gradually replaced by awe.

A towering wall, as tall as twenty stories, stood like a dam between two skyscrapers reaching straight into the clouds.

The imposing presence of the giant structure was overwhelming.

Even from a kilometer away, it was palpable!

"Seeing that giant wall is the same as seeing Giant Stone City. The rest of the journey should be much easier," Qian Lai's face showed a relieved smile, "Finally, there's a warm mattress to sleep on, and you guys can stay at my place, which although small, is definitely better than a hotel!"

Also stunned by the scene before him, Xu Shun couldn't help but speak out,

"How much cement is that?"

Qian Lai laughed and said,

"Who knows, and it's not all cement inside; it might be mixed with some rubbish or discarded concrete blocks; it has some history. This giant wall was mainly built to withstand the threats from Variants and 'Tides', but truth be told, the Tides haven't threatened the foundations of Giant Stone City's walls for a long time."

Xu Shun: "Incredible!"

"Indeed incredible, but I heard this settlement was built mimicking Ideal City... though it's not up to the same standard."

Saying this, Qian Lai squinted his eyes looking into the distance, paused for a moment, and his gaze toward the giant wall held a touch of longing.

"I hope to visit Ideal City someday."

Xu Shun: "...Ideal City?"

Qian Lai: "Yeah, our boss went there once and said it's the closest thing to a pre-war society on this entire wasteland... although I'd bet he doesn't really know what pre-war society was like."

Xu Shun didn't quite understand.

For someone like him who grew up in "North Suburb," the pre-war was a vague concept.

He had only heard that in that era, people had endless honey and milk, and even drank bottled clean water only to throw the bottles away.

While the cans and glass bottles they collected from the wasteland, which were treasures to them, were considered trash that no one wanted in that age, utterly ignored by people.

Instead, those daunting skyscrapers were treasures they hunted for.

Everything about the Prosperity Epoch seemed completely reversed from this era.

By now, Fang Chang was no longer paying attention to the subtitles; he put on the earphones provided by the manager, excitedly snapped several photos of Giant Stone City.

Although he was out of communication range, and the photos couldn't be sent back, it didn't matter.

He could save them in the VM's album for now!

After all, this was an opportunity he had exchanged for with 250 silver coins; he couldn't waste it.

Once he got back, he would need to make a good story with these photos!

Chapter 247: Brother Fang Chang's "Market Research

The towering walls made Giant Stone City a famous utopia, in comparison to the distant Province of Yúnjiānxíng and Ideal City, this place seemed within easy reach.

However.

This grandeur did not benefit everyone here.

On the way to the main gate of Giant Stone City, what first came into view was a huge slum.

Ramshackle shanties clustered like ringworm at the foot of the towering wall, stretching into the distance like an unending filthy gutter.

Most of the people living here were pale and thin, sitting idly in front of their homes wrapped in clothes worn for who knows how long, or preparing to go out scavenging.

There was hardly any garbage left to pick up nearby, to find anything worthwhile, one would have to go to higher floors, or further afield.

The ever-present sewage and waste dyed the otherwise white snow into various colors. One could imagine, once the snow melted, the situation would get worse. It seemed a miracle no epidemic had broken out.

Fang Chang, who had never seen so many NPCs in this game, stared blankly at the scene before him and asked.

"How many people are here?"

Xu Shun repeated his question, and Qian Lai responded dismissively.

"Ten thousand, twenty thousand, maybe a hundred thousand. Anyway, the population here has never seemed to decrease. Who would bother to count; it's utterly meaningless."

A look of surprise appeared on Xu Shun's face.

Tens of thousands?!

That seemed exaggerated.

At this moment, Fang Chang, who was intently observing the VM screen's subtitles, was thinking about something entirely different.

"Tens of thousands of people?!"

"…What do they eat?!"

Certainly not from farming.

There didn't seem to be room to farm here.

The view of the slum was dominated by a crooked electricity pole, around which a few loudspeakers were tangled, cycling through a few dull channels.

One hundred meters ahead was the main gate of Giant Stone City.

There, clean concrete roads, militia on guard duty, ready-to-go commercial teams, and poverty-stricken residents seeking work could be found, many of them rather young children.

For the vast majority here, life hinged on two hopes.

One was to be noticed by a commercial team or a traveling merchant, and the other was to catch a factory hiring.

If neither of those came through, and if they couldn't let go of their last bit of dignity to beg or sell their soul, then the only option left was to become a mercenary.

Ride the tides, and one wouldn't even need to buy their own gun.

Because they were carrying goods from Outpost Base, Fang Chang and his group were quickly noticed by potential traders.

A small boy with curly, dirty hair closely followed Qian Lai, speaking in a shrill voice.

"Sir, do you need a servant? I can do math, wash clothes, move things… I can also smell rats and cockroaches hidden in the cracks. I can do any kind of work."

His perception was sharp; he identified at a glance the person who looked most like a businessman.

However, abilities like his were a dime a dozen in this slum.

"No need."

"Sir—"

The boy tried to persist, but Qian Lai interrupted him irritably.

"I said no once already."

Facing his unfriendly look and the pistol at his waist, the boy stepped back, not daring to press further, and ran off to find another target.

Xu Shun watched the boy's disappointed figure but said nothing.

He wasn't one to overflow with sympathy, certainly not naive enough to consider helping the child. Such actions only begin endless troubles.

Who isn't pitiable in this wasteland?

For him, the task given by the Manager was the top priority; everything else had to step aside.

However…

Looking at that towering wall, Xu Shun couldn't help feeling impressed.

The wall was high, providing a sense of security.

But it still was the Manager's "North Suburb" that made him feel warm…

Across the street from the Giant Stone City's main gate was the Hotel Wind From Afar, its sign hanging over the magnificent entrance.

But the guests there seemed to have a slight disagreement with the hotel.

In front of a hotel servant, a man in an old leather jacket, his face red with anger, was standing next to a suitcase. From the scattered belongings, it was evident he had been thrown out the door.

Behind him stood other guests who had been expelled as well.

"Wasn't it agreed to be one chip per day?"

The hotel servant dug at his ear annoyedly.

"Yes, our manager did say that, but that was in winter, prices have gone up now. We aren't stopping you from renewing your room, are we?"

"Ten chips a day? Are you robbers? Why is it more expensive after the winter?!"

"It's to free up space for guests from afar, why do you think it was cheap in winter?" the hotel servant scoffed, "All right, take your luggage and you can leave."

"What if I say no?" the man stared at him fiercely.

"What does that have to do with me?"

The servant yawned, not even glancing at him, and turned towards the front door.

Passing by the entrance, he gave a look to the security guard.

"It's up to you now."

The fully armed guard nodded emotionlessly, standing motionless like a statue, eyes fixed straight ahead.

The ignored man angrily reached for his waist.

However, just as his hand touched his waist, a gunshot sounded. A bullet hole appeared on the man's forehead, and he fell backwards with a thud.

A woman nearby screamed.

The other guests hurried back, gathering their luggage to leave the place.

Fang Chang, who had witnessed the entire scene, was surprised and looked towards the city gate's militia, only to see them uninterested even to glance this way.

Walking beside him, Xu Shun voiced his surprise.

"Those people… don't they care?"

Qian Lai gave him a strange look.

"Those people? You mean the militia?"

Xu Shun swallowed.

"Mm."

Qian Lai smiled and said,

"The militia doesn't care about disputes outside Giant Stone City, they only manage the gate area; law enforcement has its boundaries. The Wasteland is vast; surely, we cannot supervise every area. If we manage this street, should we manage the next one too? This hotel has a good reputation; the owner is a noble from the Inner City, and the Manager is quite capable, with good relationships with several gangs from the slums. If you're here for business, they will introduce you to clients... they only take a 10% commission, and it's only charged once."

Taking out a rusted pocket watch to check the time, Qian Lai continued,

"It's noon now, not very crowded. If it were evening, it would be busier here, but I wouldn't recommend you find your amusement here."

"Amusement?"

"Never mind, if you're not interested, forget it. If you are interested, you could ask the servant at the door just now; he can introduce you."

"...?"

Xu Shun looked bewildered.

Qian Lai urged him,

"Come on, we should line up at the city gate now... Oh, did you prepare the entry tax?"

Xu Shun was taken aback.

"Entry tax? There's a tax to enter?"

The Manager had told him that after selling these goods, the Commercial Team would get a share, and they could use some of the remaining money as the team's operating budget.

But the goods hadn't been sold yet, and he had no chips in his pocket.

He wondered if they accepted silver coins...

Smiling, Qian Lai said, "Of course, it's three chips per entry, so most people don't enter and exit frequently. It's okay if you didn't bring any; I'll pay for you this time."

There would be more chances to interact later on.

From the boss's reaction that evening and the Manager's attitude afterward, Qian Lai felt it was necessary to build a good relationship with them.

It was a long-term investment.

Three chips each for him and his boss was just a small amount.

The line didn't take long.

They primarily checked if the goods contained any dangerous items.

Worth noting was that while dynamite over 300g was contraband, bullets and rifles were not. Perhaps with absolute confidence in being able to eliminate troublemakers instantly, the militia seemed entirely unconcerned about whether people brought weapons inside.

It seemed reasonable.

Several heavy machine gun barrels could be seen on the huge wall, and it was plausible for hidden snipers or similar measures to be in place.

However, when they checked Fang Chang, the militiamen unexpectedly took a few extra glances at him and the bow on his back, whispering among themselves before making a note in a book filled with writing.

Of course, Fang Chang was doing the same, calmly writing in his notebook.

"…The head of the militia at the Giant Stone City gate is very strong, can feel the dangerous aura, probably an Awakener, not sure of the level."

"Also, Awakeners entering a Survivor Base would be registered."

"[But from the reactions of the people around, ordinary Awakeners shouldn't warrant special treatment. Registration was just routine.]"

The militia let the group pass.

Looking up at the towering giant gate above him, Xu Shun, with his backpack on, could not help but be moved.

The giant wall was very high and gave a sense of security.

But indeed, it was the "North Suburb" under the Manager's control that made him feel warmth...

"… We followed the Commercial Team into Giant Stone City. The head of the team paid the entrance tax for us, totaling 6 chips."

That night.

After logging off, Fang Chang immediately opened a thread on the official website, taking the firsthand data of Giant Stone City to the Forum.

Not only were the players curious about what "Dog Plan" had implemented in the new map, but even the planners themselves were extremely curious about what Giant Stone City was really like.

No secret about it.

Chu Guang had saved up chips for five months, planning to run there from Bet Street.

Had he not discovered Shelter No. 404, he might already have been screwing bolts there.

Since it was a serialized post and Brother Fang Chang wasn't very fast at typing, Chu Guang, sitting in front of the computer, clicked on the "View Only Author's Posts" option to temporarily filter out the nonsense from other internet users.

"The conditions inside the city are completely different from outside. Here the streets have been renovated, and the buildings are reconstructed over demolished ruins. The buildings get taller the deeper into the city you go, but none surpass the giant wall."

"Nice hotels are expensive. Cheap inns and taverns are tucked away in complex alleys, hardly better than the slums outside. But worth mentioning, because of the constructed drainage system, they don't smell too bad."

"Perhaps the planners are hinting that we should also consider adding some civic facilities to the surface bases?"

"Regarding clothing, the residents mainly wear cotton and linen, so the textile industry must be quite developed. For those who work in the city, clothing isn't much of a problem, though one outfit is worn for quite a long time. Mercenaries prefer leather or specially made bulletproof vests, so even if they hide their guns, they are easy to distinguish."

"A few hospitals and schools are sparsely located on the edge of the inner city. The people living there have a completely different spirit and stronger purchasing power."

"Inside the city center, there's another enclosing wall. That is the Inner City of Giant Stone City, where more than ten pre-war high-rises have been renovated, forming the peak of Giant Stone City's pyramid. The ruler over all of this is a man named Fang Ming. He rarely shows himself in public, mostly appearing through holographic images. Most people hold him in awe, but a significant portion don't care."

"It's worth mentioning that Giant Stone City isn't exactly short of materials, and productivity isn't low either; several technologies have even reached the domain of science fiction, but the vast majority of people still live wretched lives. Especially for the uneducated lower classes, there are only two paths to wealth: join a Commercial Team or become a Mercenary."

"After sorting out where we'd stay, we went with the Commercial Team people to take devil cloth and spirit leaf to the trading post. All the main commodities of Giant Stone City are traded there with hundreds of stalls, just like a market. The stall owners were amazed by our weaving skills—here's a shout-out to Miss Teng Teng—but I could feel that they were clearly more interested in the spirit leaf."

"In the end, 10 bolts of devil cloth traded for 5000 chips, and 100 kilograms of spirit leaf also sold for 5000 chips... This was the result after bargaining; originally, they planned to offer only half that amount. The weight of the items was roughly similar, but personally, the latter seemed easier to obtain and obviously more profitable."

"After the trade was completed, I walked around with a Guard NPC, conducted a brief survey of the market, and found that there is a very stable demand here for rubber and biomass oil, the volume surprisingly high, and most importantly, the prices are transparent! The only downside is that the prices aren't high, getting so much rubber and oil is a problem."

"Cotton, linen, and grain are also traded here, as well as materials like steel, aluminum, and even precious metals such as sterling silver and gold."

"The following is merely speculation!"

"Considering that Giant Stone City highlights the characteristics of the "Merchant" and "Mercenary" professions, the next version might open up commercial and mercenary gameplay."

"If planning to become a merchant, be aware that the residents have weak purchasing power, and delicacies might be hard to sell at a high markup!"

"However, in contrast, the mercenaries have strong purchasing power and clear needs. Cheap weapons, armor, auxiliary equipment, stress-relieving alcohol, even spirit leaf, medical gauze, and dry food can all fetch good prices here!"

"Maybe we should run a store in Giant Stone City? It's clear our weapons supply has already exceeded demand!"

"Of course, if any Brothers of the Strength Type are interested, they could also go to the factory to screw bolts? But currently, the way to trigger this is unknown, and the earnings are very low, the process presumably exceedingly boring."

"Unless you've never worked in a factory, strongly not recommended!"

-

(Got bogged down researching, felt much better after organizing the outline, but ran out of time. Not having backup posts is indeed tough... Just one update today.)

Chapter 248: The Fake Brother Guang, The Real Brother Bing

Giant Stone City is vast.

Not just in facilities, but also in population.

To conduct a thorough investigation of the local customs and culture here, one week might not be sufficient.

Let alone that the "New Map Experience Card" is only valid for three days...

The second evening.

Sitting by the window, Fang Chang glanced at the increasingly bustling street outside, then put away the notebook and pen in his hands.

Overall, progress was going smoothly.

Apart from not being able to enter the Inner City, exploration of the Outer City had reached 60%, and the necessary information had mostly been investigated.

Especially those parts that delved into the societal layer.

And this part was what surprised him the most.

"Unlike smaller survivor settlements like Bet Street and Brown Farm, Giant Stone City not only differs in size but also in composition from most minor survivor settlements governed by 'feudal lordship'; it resembles a complex network of intertwined interests."

"The City Lord is the supreme authority here, holding command over the Militia Group, but he does not involve himself in the city's specific affairs, nor does he operate any assets. He is solely responsible for dealing with the Tide and other threats and for withdrawing money from the city hall's treasury."

"The residents here have established a bureaucratic system suited for themselves, tasked with handling messy affairs and, importantly, taxation. However, lacking direct support from the forces, their governance over the area is weak, and sometimes they need to rely on 'big shots' to solve some issues."

"Interestingly, while interacting with NPCs, I unexpectedly discovered an Easter egg left by the production team."

"In the early Wasteland Era, Giant Stone City was not called so, but 'Building Town.' It was only after they expanded from the first building to the Outer City with the help from an ancient group called the 'Post-War Reconstruction Committee' and built a massive concrete wall to handle the Tide."

"In the following century, they seem to have lost the ability to build such a massive wall and ceased expanding their territory. Instead, through trade, they accumulated significant regional prestige in the southern areas of the River Valley Province. This made 'chips' popular in Qingquan City, becoming the hard currency in the locals' eyes... and this is also the main source of arrogance among most Giant Stone City residents."

"Even though the wealth plundered through these chips has nothing to do with them and hasn't improved their situation at all."

"Contacting such forces seems a better choice to influence through interests than direct military action."

"However, it is essential to be wary, as this is also the field they are most adept in; the NPCs here are far more cunning than those in North Suburb."

Combining the photos he had taken, he could write an impeccable strategy guide.

Considering the players who have been clamoring to trade and exploit NPCs, Fang Chang also calculated the trade prices of several main commodities at the trade station.

And he organized it into a table!

Thinking of those eagerly awaiting players on the forum, a smile couldn't help but surface on Fang Chang's face.

Is this what it feels like to be a boss?

Feels good.

In the past, when pioneering other games, he had often written guides, and several under different pseudonyms were quite popular.

But the sense of achievement he got from those games, even when combined, couldn't compare to what he was feeling with the game he was currently playing.

Just as Fang Chang was putting away his notebook, planning to log off and rest in the next room, Professor List's apprentice walked towards them.

"The engineer and equipment are ready, and we've hired mercenaries to ensure our safe passage to your outpost base."

"Set off early tomorrow."

Reaching the table, Qian Lai sat down opposite Xu Shun and continued with a smile.

"This is our last night in Boulder City, are you not planning to go out for a stroll? I know a great place to drink, their beer is pretty good and super cheap."

Xu Shun shook his head.

"Thank you, no need."

"I still have a mission."

From the moment he stepped out, Xu Shun had kept the Manager's advice in mind, remembering every word, slacking off might happen to anyone, but it would not happen to him.

Seeing Xu Shun decline his invitation, Qian Lai didn't say anything more.

He had already experienced these guys' stubbornness.

Last night he suggested going out to have some fun to celebrate, after all the busywork was done, but this guy refused without a word.

As for the guy who was sitting by the window before, it was even less said.

There was simply no communicating.

Although this was not his first encounter with the Blue Jackets, it was definitely the strangest one.

...

The following evening,

Chu Guang saw on the forum that Fang Chang had published a complete version of the "Boulder City Market Research Report."

Truly deserving of being the server's top connoisseur, Brother Fang Chang's insights never disappointed.

This time was no different.

Fang Chang used a travelogue's touch to narrate their group's experiences in Boulder City and analyzed the situation of various trades through multiple clues.

Now back within communication range, the post was also filled with lots of high-definition pictures.

Not only were the players thrilled, but the backseat drivers were also blown away.

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Damn! Are these actual game graphics?"

Grandpa Ao: "Haha, blowing smoke without a draft!"

Lower Your Voice I'm Brown: "Awesome, awesome, if the finished product can have half this quality, I'm going all in with the spending!"

Fang Chang: "...I will update the trade price reference form for Boulder City on the forum later, everyone can check it out, but it's just for reference!"

"Wasteland OL's trading system is indeed very detailed. Bargaining skills and eloquence directly affect the trading price. Especially for commodities with scarce properties, bargaining can influence the final price up to 50%, or even 100%!"

"Considering the language barriers, if you don't want to get ripped off by NPCs, you can try hiring some high-charisma, high-trading proficiency NPCs to bargain for you! This suggestion is just for reference. If you're the type of person who can master a completely different culture's language in less than half a year and is proficient in slang usage, then ignore what I said."

Quit Smoking: "Boss is awesome!!"

Spring Water Commander: "Shocking! The new map isn't even open yet, and he's made a price list. That's too strong!"

Teng Teng: "I want to open a clothing store in Boulder City! Can I hire locals to help me sell clothes? (✪ω✪)"

Fang Chang: "There's an excess of labor there, definitely possible, but average people's spending power isn't great. Beautiful clothes might only be affordable by the rich. I suggest trying to make bulletproof vests or sturdy leather jackets to earn some money from the mercenaries!"

Teng Teng: "Taking notes, taking notes! (Furiously writing.jpg)"

Tomato Eggs: "Me, me, me too want to open a store! I can open a restaurant! A bar works too! (Excited)"

Aaah Sesame Paste: "I'll handle delivery! Cat Express, mission guaranteed!"

Tail: "Tail will handle the protection! The top bodyguard in the Wasteland is here! Leave the monster fights to Tail! ψ(｀∇´)ψ"

Si Si: "Oh! I'll be responsible for watching Tail."

Makabazi: "Stop messing around, do the nest! (funny face)"

Stop Messing Around: "Get lost!"

Crow: "Wait, what about mushrooms?! Can mushrooms be sold for money?"

Fang Chang: "Uh... I've only seen people buying Blue Umbrella Mushrooms? The price offered is quite high, supposedly they're used to make radiation antidotes, I rarely see other varieties. Maybe some pharmacies would take them? I'll ask around for you in a bit."

Crow: "What the heck, does it have to be those blue mushrooms from the sewers? Σ(°△ °|||)︴"

Elena: "Honestly, you're being a wuss. (funny face)"

Night Ten: "That day, Crow Boss recalled the fear of being submerged by leeches. (funny face)"

Gnome King Riches: "Hahaha! You loser! Hahahaha! What a noob! Did I mimic it well? (funny face)"

Crow: "Shut you up! (#｀Д´)ノ✄"

...

One must admit, each of these players is truly talented.

Chu Guang scrolled through the forum.

He noticed that in just a few minutes, the topic had moved from starting a clothing store and forming a commercial team to culturally conquering the Wasteland world.

Conquering the Wasteland with modern consumerism?

Is this like a cultural renaissance?

emmm...

Technologically, they certainly couldn't win.

At least not in the short term; the gap couldn't be bridged by a few black boxes.

Not to mention that others might also have those things.

But indeed, consumption is their weak spot, especially in terms of consumer culture.

The nobles in the Inner City are keen on products from Ideal City, having indulged beyond common taste, while residents of the Outer City are so oppressed by factories they can barely breathe; although their basic needs are met, they have no extra spending power.

Mercenaries, a massive and diverse group, have been overlooked by those teams focused on external markets.

Though they too are poor, with the arrival of spring and the resumption of trading routes, many come across unexpected windfalls.

Just look at Boss Xia.

Most mercenaries can't save money; those who can either become mercenary leaders, evolve into business owners of trading companies, or start up some other businesses.

These mercenaries need more than weapons and food; not everyone cool-headedly invests all their earnings in themselves.

Besides buying ammunition and supplies and maintaining their weapons, the remaining money either ends up in casinos, or is spent on cigarettes, alcohol, or women.

Chu Guang felt he could definitely find them more aspirational ways to spend their money.

If his players could design items like clothes, shoes, gun straps, protective gear, weapons, etc., that are not only durable but also incorporate elements "favored by mercenaries," the products from Shelter No. 404 might become popular in every bar in Boulder City.

If they could establish a brand effect in the minds of mercenaries, they might actually manage to harvest a bunch of cash crops.

What do you call this move?

Selling skins!

Who says only players can buy skins?

Of course, there are significant challenges involved.

Residents of Giant Stone City, despite their straitened circumstances, still have their basic needs met; they certainly aren't worse off than those Wasteland Wanderers outside the walls.

That superior arrogance can be felt just from listening to their broadcasts.

"Maybe... just slap an Ideal City label on the stuff we sell?"

Chu Guang's eyes darted around; he had some naughty ideas, but he had to wait for the trade teams from the East Coast to arrive to implement them.

And he believed even without stepping in, those clever players would surely think of it themselves.

"These are all details."

"The urgent task is to get the commercial team system up and running quickly!"

Chu Guang created a new folder on his desktop and casually typed a title.

[Alpha1.01 Version Update: Business Association System]

"The B4 level unlocking task hasn't triggered yet, can't activate more players, the B round testing still needs to wait."

"Let's just tentatively call this update Alpha1.01 for now!"

After this.

Chu Guang took a screenshot, blurred the version number, and threw it on the forum.

Guang: "We are working on it, everyone keep working hard, after the 'To Forge Swords into Ploughshares' expansion ends and we finish testing the farming system, we'll immediately open the new map and all-new game content! The trading system you've been clamoring for for 10 versions!"

Almost the instant the post was released, the number of replies soared into double digits, and in the blink of an eye, surged toward triple digits.

Quit Smoking: "Wait, why is there only a folder?"

Si Si: "What's inside? Let me see!"

Night Ten: "Fake Brother Guang, real Brother Bing. (funny face)"

Crow: "Dang, if only our planners were half as kind-hearted as the manager brother! T^T"

Watching the replies below, Chu Guang's brow twitched fiercely.

These guys!

Does setting up communicable NPCs not need time?

Does a journey of two-and-a-half days not require a save point? Shouldn't I include a communications base station too? Do these things not need power?

But most crucially, if you all run off to the new map making a ruckus, who will till the land?

Let's not even talk about sowing yet.

We at least need to complete the reclamation work.

Could it be that reclamation is something your managers have to do themselves?

Chu Guang felt he had been quite explicit already.

"Damn it!"

"Just updated, why is it asking me to update again!"

Chu Guang cursed as he closed the forum page, finished the cup of homemade sparkling water on the table, and opened the P Company Game to watch the ocean.

...

The next day.

South side of the Outpost Base sanatorium.

An older-looking man was stroking his chin, carefully observing the surrounding architecture, and muttering to himself.

Since he didn't wear a VM on his arm, many players were curious but didn't pay much attention to him.

As everyone knew, NPCs without a VM couldn't properly receive tasks.

"…since defeating the Chew-bone Tribe's invasion on the front lines, the morale and confidence of the survivors in 'North Suburb' reached a peak, and the prestige of the local leaders soared to unprecedented heights, giving rise to a new powerful survivor force. This might change the long-time chaotic situation in 'North Suburb.'"

"There is a lot of undeveloped land here and enough labor. Though the infrastructure is backward with no supporting industries, it precisely hides significant business opportunities."

Elder Fang Chang had just published his "market research" on Giant Stone City on the forum when List completed his survey of the area under Shelter No. 404's control.

He didn't use a notebook, however.

He used a portable flexible-screen computer.

This gadget was very handy; it was pen-sized when not in use and could be unfolded like a scroll when needed, with adjustable screen size according to user habits.

Such a high-end device integrated with a plethora of carbon-based optical and electronic components wasn't something that could be produced in Giant Stone City.

However, every year, merchants from the East Coast brought these rare gadgets from the distant Ideal City.

"...correct, I should add the title of 'permanent business partner' as well."

This was what interested List the most.

Just a few hours ago, he had confirmed through his own channels that Shelter No. 404 had indeed received this extremely rare honor—or "contract."

There are only two plain belts that stretch across River Valley Province from east to west, with the northern one blocked by the Chewing Bone Tribe. It was almost predictable that a large wave of commercial teams would pass through here this year.

Thinking of this, a hint of anticipation appeared on List's face.

If he could seize this historic opportunity, he might earn more than he could ever imagine in previous years, with his assets skyrocketing like a rocket!

What was that word?

Right!

Win-win!

"How's the survey going?"

A familiar voice came from behind.

List turned around and saw Chu Guang approaching, speaking excitedly.

"It's all done! Surprisingly, the situation is much better than I expected, although there are also many problems to solve. For example, you lack a stable power supply, but, commendably, you've actually built a steel mill from the ruins."

Chu Guang spoke kindly and cheerfully,

"The power supply issue will be resolved by the end of the month. Our engineers are currently designing the industrial area's power grid and constructing a centralized coal-fired power station. Anything else?"

"Also, the drainage system," List pondered for a moment and continued, "If you plan to have commercial teams stop here next year, at least make sure they won't step into something awful, like excrement, while walking on the streets."

Chu Guang was taken aback.

Fuck?

"Is that an actual problem??"

List cleared his throat.

"Not really... it's just an example. After all, your new settlement already has two thousand residents, but I found only five manually operated latrines. Indeed, locals can manage their needs in the fields, but what about foreigners, merchants, their guards, attendants, and servants? They can't possibly all follow suit and head to the fields."

Chu Guang stroked his chin.

"That is indeed an issue, anything else?"

"That's all for now?" List hesitated before adding, "But these are minor issues, just casually mentioned; don't take them too seriously."

"There are no minor issues here," Chu Guang shook his head seriously and said, "The restroom issue will be resolved within a month."

List was slightly surprised, then smiled and said,

"It seems 'North Suburb' has encountered a wise manager; no wonder the locals are so confident about the future."

Chu Guang: "Thanks for the praise."

List: "This isn't praise; it's reality I've confirmed with my own eyes. I have various types of clients, from farmers like Brown to old rivals of yours who are wealthy landowners, as well as the slave owners and mine bosses at Red River Town… Few people consider the issues of ordinary people as necessary to solve. From my perspective, of course, I hope your residents lead better lives so they have money to buy my goods."

Clearing his throat, List confidently continued,

"Perhaps, I should have more confidence in your future too… Oh right, it seems you are short of agricultural machinery? I happen to know a factory owner who mainly deals with engines and various power components. He has a huge stock of agricultural machinery and wood-burning engines in his warehouse. I use his products in my own plantation in the south, and they are very reliable."

"If you want, I can order some for you! Considering our friendship, I'll give you a ten percent discount."

That's a decent discount.

And the price I am seeing is already discounted?

This guy almost made Chu Guang forget about it.

But now wasn't the time for reminiscing.

Chu Guang immediately asked,

"You own a plantation in the south?"

In order to demonstrate his capabilities to a partner, List didn't hide anything, smiling as he said,

"Yes, not just a plantation, I also have long-term contracts with local survivor settlements there. I take the rubber, and they keep the biomass oil. Every quarter, I bring them the necessities they need and buy stuff needed by Giant Stone City to take back. If you're interested, we can also collaborate. You provide the land and handle security, and I'll provide labor for farming. We can split the produce fifty-fifty."

What intrigued Chu Guang wasn't List's proposal as much as the information it revealed.

The conditions south of Qingquan City seemed better than here, with many of Giant Stone City's merchants owning plantations and similar businesses there.

Yet, that was a blind spot for him.

Maybe, with the opening of spring and the restoration of commercial routes, he should send some people to scout around Qingquan City.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"This sounds like a very attractive proposal, but for economic crops, we have planned to adopt a more efficient centralized planting, so let's talk about those agricultural machines instead."

"No problem."

For Chu Guang's tactful rejection, List was not surprised.

He had walked around "North Suburb" and hadn't seen a single slave, at most only prisoners of war. Clearly, this survivor settlement was not fond of slavery.

In fact, compared to employment, slavery was indeed a less efficient means of production. Even with the same living standards, the enthusiasm of free citizens clearly surpassed that of slaves.

Thus, even in Giant Stone City which admitted the legality of slavery, it was rare for factories to have slaves working on the assembly line.

Chu Guang provided List with a list and purchased ten "Iron Horse 60" pot-camel machines.

Although this device wasn't built with any particularly advanced technology, it was a legitimate piece of heavy equipment and naturally much more expensive than the small-scale KV-1 Exoskeleton.

According to the data provided by List, this set of pot-camel machines had a total weight of about five hundred kilograms and could provide a maximum of 60 horsepower.

Compared to the 8~10 horsepower pot-camel machines replicated and improved by players, and the 20~30 model light trucks commonly used by the army, a five-hundred-kilogram weight for a maximum of 60 horsepower pot-camel machine was indeed considered black technology.

Shelter No. 404 was not lacking in light-duty power equipment, but such heavy-duty power equipment was still in short supply.

Whether used in construction machinery or in land reclamation work, these devices were sufficient to double the original efficiency.

Compared to fuel engines, the benefits of this type of machinery were clear—the manufacture was easy, maintenance was simple, the power source was readily available everywhere, so it was quite popular in the Wasteland.

However, correspondingly, the price was also quite expensive.

A single unit cost an astonishing 5000 chips, equivalent to a hundred iron pipe rifles or thirty automatic rifles.

At a price of 5000 chips per unit, if Chu Guang wanted to buy these, he needed to pay List 50000 chips.

Chu Guang naturally didn't have that many chips.

Nor could he afford to dedicate that much "foreign exchange reserve."

But no matter.

Paying directly in cash was a strange notion anyway; bartering was the norm in the Wasteland.

Stored in Outpost Base's warehouse were hundreds of tons of Spirit Leaf, all cut from Greenhouse Ruins.

After some bargaining, the deal was finally closed with ten pot-camel machines exchanged for 1000 kilograms of Spirit Leaf.

Although List repeatedly claimed that a kilogram of Spirit Leaf was worth 50 chips in Giant Stone City and that price wasn't always achievable.

He would bring these goods back to Giant Stone City, it was impossible not to make a profit.

However, Chu Guang certainly didn't believe his tale and curtly replied,

"5000 chips for one Iron Horse 60 pot-camel machine, isn't that also the price from Giant Stone City? And it was the price you quoted to me."

"And I don't think the 1000 kilograms of Spirit Leaf in your hands can only sell for 50 chips per kilogram. It's still winter right now, Spirit Leaf is a summer crop and highly demanding of the environment and soil. Can you get so much from anywhere else?"

"Giant Stone City's pharmaceutical factories will beg you to sell them this batch of goods, just as you believe in my management skills, I likewise believe your business acumen certainly knows what to do."

Chu Guang believed that List wouldn't be foolish enough to report an outrageous price to himself for the sake of a mere fifty thousand chips that could affect a cooperation worth millions.

But he equally didn't believe that List offered him the factory price.

As the guy himself said, the straight-line distance on the map would be over forty kilometers, and the actual distance could even be as much as a hundred.

Costs for both personnel and transport needed to be covered.

He couldn't possibly be running a charity.

"Management skills? You're really wasting your talent not going into business!"

Looking at the order in hand, although still profitable, List couldn't help but mutter a complaint before quietly putting away the order.

Chu Guang laughed.

Heh.

How do you know I haven't done business before?

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Spirit Leaf had a wide range of uses—it could be brewed as tea, stuffed into cigarettes, or made into Spiritual Water with stronger calming effects and more notable analgesic properties, along with Power Pills, Mint, Radiation Reducers, Anti-Radiation drugs, and various antibiotics—all very popular drugs in the Wasteland.

Although not every mercenary used performance-enhancing drugs, even if only a third did, it was still a considerable market.

The quantity of one ton likely wasn't enough to cause a significant price fluctuation.

Considering that the trade team of the Outpost Base hadn't yet been organized, Chu Guang had made a slight concession in price.

Once the trade team was established, he would make the money himself.

"These goods will be delivered within a week. As soon as my assistant returns, I'll send him back there immediately! I never expected to see an order over ten thousand chips in the 'North Suburb.' It's quite something… Looks like I need to expand the scale of our trading team this year."

With that said, List's tone couldn't help but carry a hint of sentiment.

Before, he had scoured the 'North Suburb,' barely scraping together a few thousand chips.

Who knew it would be like now?

One transaction could make so much.

And not just in chips, but also the resources behind them.

Perhaps in not too long, he would be able to enter the Inner City and live the high society life he had long dreamed of.

Hearing List's sentiment, a thought suddenly struck Chu Guang.

"Do you need a guard?"

Still daydreaming, List replied without thinking,

"Of course, good guards are always in short supply. Even if we occasionally hire mercenaries to fill the gaps, we can't have everyone in the team being just fill-ins. The combat capabilities of these mercenaries are inconsistent, and their quality is average at best. Only a few mercenary groups are decent; most are just slightly better than the Looters."

Chu Guang's face broke into a radiant smile.

"That's perfect."

List paused.

"…Sorry, I didn't catch that. What do you mean?"

Chu Guang cleared his throat and spoke seriously,

"What I mean is, in fact, in addition to providing quality products, we also offer logistics and security outsourcing services."

"If your trade team needs guards, I can provide them!"

Chapter 249: The Embryo of the Business Association and News from Red River Town

"When did a survivor settlement suddenly pop up in North Suburb?"

"I don't know, it's been a month since I heard 'Voice of Giant Stone City' mention this place, I thought the hillbillies in North Suburb didn't survive this winter."

"I remember this place being a forest last year? I recall a Looter outpost to the north and Mutants' territory to the east."

"You've been here before?"

"Only once."

At the southern gate of Outpost Base.

A few mercenaries, carrying rifles, curiously surveyed the small town hidden among the trees, guessing how many people lived there to pass the time.

Some said a hundred, others said a thousand, but no consensus was reached.

Not far from them stood two men in business suits, although not as shocked as the mercenaries, their faces still hinted at some surprise.

Of course, this hint of surprise couldn't completely mask the arrogance beneath their eyebrows.

Even though the suits they wore had been washed to a whitish hue and the buttons re-sewn multiple times, they still looked more dignified than those Wasteland Wanderers in furs.

But the Blue Jackets were another story.

Those born with a silver spoon in the shelters were an exception.

Even the residents living within the grand walls had to admit that those Blue Jackets, dwelling in their iron cages, could stand on an equal footing with them.

"Have you ever seen the Blue Jackets build houses on the surface?"

"Never seen it, but allowing Wasteland Wanderers to live over their heads is already quite extraordinary."

The two engineers whispered a few words.

Considering the monthly salary of 1200 chips and all-inclusive board and lodging, they kept their voices down, conversing in tones only audible to themselves.

One couldn't afford to offend their paymasters.

On the other side, Qian Lai approached List and respectfully said,

"Boss, I've brought the items you requested!"

Two engineers, the complete set of equipment needed to produce solid-state hydrogen cells, had been carried to the south gate of Outpost Base by ten double-headed cows.

Though rudimentary, it was the best option available. The inner city conditions were far worse than the suburbs, with bulging roadways and deep pits often forming abrupt cliffs in localized regions, along with some collapsed viaducts and building debris, making most of the marked roads on the map impassable.

And the slightly better roads were too difficult for four-wheeled vehicles to navigate, not nearly as effective as beasts of burden that managed ten kilometers per bushel.

However, despite numerous difficulties on the road, their return journey was lucky.

Apart from encountering a Potholing Beast and some birds of unknown species, they hardly met any other problems, and no Looters confronted them.

Yet even so, including a three-day stop in between, the round trip took a full week.

Not far away, the warehouse workers were already unloading the goods.

"Well done."

List patted Qian Lai on the shoulder, gave him an encouraging look, and then continued,

"Now I need you to go back again, deliver a ton of Spirit Leaf to our warehouse in Giant Stone City, then head to the Pirate Ship Tavern and talk to the bar, you can start negotiating at 60 chips per kilogram. Don't be polite with him, he'll definitely be interested in this batch, if not, just leave it and I'll deal with it when I return."

"Also, I need 10 Iron Horse 60 type camel machines, remember to get them from my old friend. We have large orders and they have ample stock, you know how to bargain with him. Try to get these goods here within a week, don't let our friends wait too long."

A ton of Spirit Leaf?!

In winter?

Qian Lai's face was filled with surprise, but he did not inquire further, just nodded seriously.

"Okay boss, any other instructions?"

"There is," List nodded slightly and looked at the young man next to him, patting his shoulder and smiling, "This gentleman, there are some residents from the refuge who will go with you."

"My name is Shu Yu." The young man appeared somewhat tense on his face, not from shyness, but rather like someone who might be trying too hard.

Qian Lai looked him over thoroughly.

The first impression was that of youthfulness, the second was that he must come from a well-to-do family, although it was evident that he had endured hardships, which still set him apart from other wasteland wanderers.

His accent suggested that he might be from the northern part of River Valley Province and had likely dealt with traders, though not very familiarly.

Having guessed as much, Qian Lai smiled and extended his right hand for a handshake.

"Qian Lai."

"We should get along quite well!"

...

To provide players with a better gaming experience and to prevent those who visited new maps from wandering aimlessly and causing trouble in someone else's home, Chu Guang decided to establish an office in Giant Stone City to assist players coming from the refuge.

He would also gather intelligence about Giant Stone City.

Initially, his idea was to set up an embassy or something similar, but after reading Brother Fang Chang's post, he abandoned the thought.

That would be meaningless and simply embarrassing.

The city lord was indifferent to the city affairs, and the self-governing city hall had little actual power. Rather than engaging in bewildering diplomacy, it was far more realistic to bribe some influential locals.

Their words might carry more weight than those old men in the city hall, as numerous industries were controlled by big figures from the inner city.

The young man named Shu Yu was selected by Chu Guang from the logistics department.

Initially, his duties were related to sanitation at the Changjiu Farm, later he taught refugees how to read and count, and finally, he returned to the Changjiu Farm to help distribute tasks related to Elm District. He was a rare intellectual among refugees and had an understanding of the language and behavior of "players."

Upon learning from Jiu Li that the young man's family had once operated a trade station in the north, Chu Guang, after deep consideration, decided that he would take the role of the first civil servant at Office No. 404 in Giant Stone City.

Although the young man seemed nervous and not very experienced, Chu Guang thought he was worth training.

No one is born ready for their job, and since his previous work record was still quite commendable, it indicated he was competent.

Although Old Luka was skeptical of refugees coming from the north, believing they weren't trustworthy, Chu Guang did not share this view.

Standing on the third floor of the sanatorium, looking out at the south gate and listening to Old Luka's counsel, Chu Guang thought for a moment and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"These are people without homes, they desire recognition more than anyone. We need to promote capable individuals from their ranks to show them an example of promotion, which not only stimulates their enthusiasm for work but also gains their loyalty."

"I do not doubt your decision, sir. However, regardless of his background, he is still too young. I am concerned that his resolve is not firm enough, and Giant Stone City might corrupt his loyalty," Old Luka cautiously said, "Perhaps you should choose someone more mature."

This seemed like a good idea.

Someone mature in character, with outstanding abilities, well-educated, and with rich experience in management.

If he had such a person at hand, Chu Guang would have assigned major responsibilities long ago.

Just like Old Charlie from Bet Street.

Though he only managed a village of a hundred households, it was a pilot project for the street office and its operations were crucial.

The old man was responsible for educating the local residents and simultaneously training civil servants himself.

As for the residents of the refuge—namely the players—that was not very likely.

Even the word "players" suggests a juxtaposition with stability, when interpreted literally.

Instability was the nature of players; they were born adventurers and inventors. Thus, long-term, repetitive positions requiring stability were inevitably suited only for NPCs, an experience Chu Guang had derived from practice in early versions of the game.

Few players could last long in positions that required standing or sitting all day, such as guard duty or warehouse management. Most of the time, frequent rotations were necessary to ensure these positions were always manned.

Not to mention, having a group of players assign quests to another group always negatively impacted the gaming experience for both parties.

Of course, this wasn't to say players were entirely unsuitable for management roles; it just needed a different format.

For instance, the guild system found in most MMORPGs, which was more flexible in rules and functions. It could strengthen social attributes, increase user stickiness, and stimulate spending while boosting "daily active users," making it a valuable tool for operators to emulate.

Chu Guang didn't ask for much.

A groundbreaking game didn't need to worry about retention; those who couldn't accept it wouldn't choose it in the first place, and opting in meant acceptance.

Being able to increase "daily active users" and stimulate spending was enough for him.

Watching Old Luka's worried look, Chu Guang smiled lightly and said,

"A coin tossed onto the ground can land on either side, how much more so with people? Even a coin flipping expert can't have it land heads up ten thousand times in a row."

"Our job isn't to ensure it lands heads up every time, but to pick it up and toss it again when it falls heads down."

"Trying is always better than doing nothing."

On the other side.

While List was introducing that promising young man to Qian Lai, Fang Chang finally met up with his friends.

As soon as they met, Night Ten grabbed Fang Chang's arm, excitedly saying,

"Brother, you're finally back!"

Old White, unable to help himself, expressed,

"Training newbies is too hard!"

Old White: "..."

Wild Wind: "..."

"Missing Daddy? How embarrassing."

Fang Chang chuckled, suddenly noticing a new face among the players, and said in realization,

"This must be the post-apocalypse..."

"Lone Wolf! I'm Lone Wolf!" worried he would say his full name, Lone Wolf quickly spoke up and changed the subject, "Boss, I've read your strategies, they're awesome!"

Fang Chang chuckled and replied,

"Oh, not at all, brother, you're the real boss here. I heard our brick factory's efficiency doubled thanks to your design."

Although he had been outside in the game and hadn't returned, it didn't stop him from keeping up with the group chat.

Wild Wind had added this brother to the group earlier, and they had met online long before, just not in the game.

Lone Wolf laughed shyly.

"Not quite, I just made some minor improvements, nothing like doubling, maybe just seventy or eighty percent."

He then sighed,

"It's a pity our industrial zone's foundation is still too weak otherwise we could set up that large rotary kiln. Brick embryos would go directly through the tunnel furnace from the tracks, and as new bricks go in, the ones in the front are already fired. By controlling the furnace temperature and the speed of the tunnel, production can be adjusted. At high speed, it's a hundred million bricks a day, and slower settings go down to twenty or thirty thousand with only two operators. That's far more efficient!"

Quit Smoking: "Awesome!"

Regrettably, he had no special skills, so all he could say was 'awesome' for now.

The business mutual praise went on for a while.

Fang Chang turned to his friends and began discussing serious matters.

"The new map has lots of content; I roamed around for three days and only reached a 60% exploration rate. We need to go back soon."

"Unexpectedly, this might be a test for the new trading system... Have you guys received the quest?"

Old White smiled and said,

"Got it, bright and early, we're all prepared."

Night Ten was eager, urging,

"When do we leave? Let's hurry up."

Fang Chang glanced towards the door where the warehouse workers were unloading precious goods from the backs of oxen and loading new packages taken from the warehouse.

Those must be the Spirit Leaves.

The food for Devil Moths and their larvae found in the Greenhouse Ruins, rumored to contain elements that dull pain and enhance focus, though it was of little significance to players.

Pain was already disabled in the game, and reducing it further with medication was superfluous.

"It depends on the NPCs... Speaking of which, what all did you bring? You guys are so quick; let me catch my breath."

Night Ten chuckled,

"Not much, not much. There are clothes made by Miss Teng Teng, mushrooms from Crow Boss, scrambled eggs Brother used in his big bird vodka, gadgets from the 81 Steel Factory, peripherals from Goblin Technology, and... various other items."

Fang Chang was surprised.

"Wow, that's a lot?"

Wild Wind added,

"We only took a little of each, as the Warehouse Manager put it, we're going to open up the market."

Quit Smoking looked envious.

"Ah, I'm so jealous."

"If you leveled up a bit quicker, you could have come with us."

Old White patted Quit Smoking's shoulder and encouraged, "Hang in there, brother. You've got some leveling to do first. From LV8 to LV10 might just be two levels, but it takes time."

Although he could go without receiving the quest, he wouldn't be able to complete any tasks once there. He might spend a few days just to see the CG content already prepared, not to mention the possibility of encountering bugs… That was exactly per a certain game planner's words.

Even if continuous bugs were the norm during closed beta testing, players who experienced bugs in the last expansion pack weren't keen on a repeat.

Quit Smoking sighed deeply.

"I'll keep leveling."

This time going to Giant Stone City required reaching Level 10 and achieving the Contribution Level of Intermediate Citizen.

Since it was a test for the new system, perhaps the planners felt it was more appropriate to arrange for reliable players, hence the high threshold and limited number of participants.

The task process was quite straightforward: escort the goods to Giant Stone City and, after delivery, serve as guards for the NPC to ensure the successful establishment of Office No. 404 in Giant Stone City.

Participants were free to act on their own, and an NPC would follow as a translator and handle communications with the locals.

Incidentally, besides the office in Giant Stone City, the Business Association at the Outpost Base was also under construction. Early in the morning, they had staked out a piece of land by the north gate, just waiting for the design boss to finalize the contents of the new folder.

Without any surprises, these facilities would likely be the embryonic form of the upcoming "Business Guild" of Shelter No. 404.

According to Ah Guang, they planned to set up an "interface" in the game in a way that suited the game's style and settings better, allowing players to more easily find NPC employees.

After the function was implemented, everything could be done through VM.

Thinking of the lights Brother Bing drew for him, Quit Smoking looked at the NPCs busy loading and unloading goods at the door and couldn't help feeling motivated.

He'd put more effort into getting his level above LV10 before the new version arrived.

That way, when the new version came, he could experience even more game content!

"Lone Wolf, want to go level up at the Fifth Ring later?" Quit Smoking turned to the newcomer next to him, his face displaying a determined smile.

Lone Wolf was slightly stunned.

"Me? I don't need to, my 'Pass the Torch' quest is already done, and I have the VM."

Watching this spiritless fellow, Quit Smoking said gravely,

"You're only at LV3, how can you be so lazy! Getting the VM is when the real game starts! Don't you want to explore higher-level worlds? Don't you want rookies clinging to your leg, calling you a boss?"

Frankly, Lone Wolf wasn't interested in that at all; he enjoyed the process of the game itself rather than showing off.

Besides, there were already plenty of people in real life who called him a boss...

"Uh, not necessary," Lone Wolf said with an awkward smile, "I'm in the Intelligence System; there are many ways for me to gain experience, it's not all about fighting monsters. I plan to head to the industrial area later, why don't you find someone else?"

Quit Smoking: "Damn!"

Damn it!

This guy!

Ditched him as soon as he got the VM.

What about their friendship?

Fang Chang and Old White were discussing whether to bring any special products with them. Those chips might be important quest props.

At that moment, a burly figure wrapped in a cotton coat, skin gleaming green, strode out of the south entrance, exclaiming cheerfully,

"Ha-ha-ha, spring! Spring is here! I finally made it!"

Sss—

Still a bit chilly!

But his level had gone up, his metabolism had improved, and with the cotton coat, it wasn't as tough as before.

Rubbish Lord had a blast, but the people at the door were frightened.

Especially a few mercenaries near the commercial team, who pulled out their weapons in shock.

Luckily, nearby guards quickly intervened, preventing a bloody conflict.

"What the hell, where did you get such a big Lizard!? Is this a Dead Claw's young?"

"He can even speak!"

Seeing the two shocked mercenaries, Xu Shun cleared his throat and explained,

"This is our Manager's pet... He has a special training method."

The two mercenaries exchanged looks, seeing confusion written large in each others' faces.

Blue Jacket had such a skill?!

Never heard of it!

They had seen nobles in the Inner City dress their dogs, but this was the first time they'd seen someone clothe a Death Claw.

Isn't it risky without a leash?

"...I've never seen something so ridiculous."

Hearing his companion's words, the other mercenary swallowed.

"I bet the lazy bums in the tavern haven't seen it either."

...

Loading the goods didn't take too much time.

Before noon, a commercial team composed of both players and NPCs, carrying spirit leaves worth tens of thousands of chips, radios for communication, commodities for market expansion, and the hopes of countless little players, set off toward Boulder City once more.

This time, the scale of the commercial team was much larger, with both personnel and goods increased several-fold.

Hopefully, they would bring back good news in a week.

Whether Shelter No. 404, which was already on the fast track of development, could press the accelerator again depended on the performance of its little players and NPCs.

"May good luck follow you!"

"To the warriors pioneering the future."

Chu Guang, standing upstairs, watched as their figures disappeared at the end of the concrete road outside the south gate, sending them a blessing, then turned and went downstairs.

Over on List's side, who had finally gotten the Device, he was already eagerly leading personnel and equipment to the industrial area.

30 workers were ready.

According to List himself, the Device would be installed within a week, and engineers would complete training for the workers within three weeks and start guiding production.

He couldn't guarantee efficiency for the time being.

After all, the educated workers promised by Chu Guang could only read and count.

But List was full of confidence.

Because he had almost no costs.

Silver coins?

Those were loans from the shelter's bank to the Company; whether it was paying salaries or buying materials, it wasn't his chips being spent, just numbers on an account.

Chu Guang had promised him that the factory's debts wouldn't affect their dealings; even if it went bankrupt, at most, it would involve liquidation of "factory assets," and the shortfall wouldn't be charged to him.

In Chu Guang's own words, it was a system of limited liability, where the legal person bore limited responsibility.

This was a novel concept in Boulder City, but perhaps it was common in the pre-war era?

Regardless, this deal seemed risk-free for him.

Right now, List was only thinking about one thing—speed!

The sooner they started working, the sooner he could turn that junk into chips.

He would be one step closer to his dream of rising into high society.

...

That night.

After bustling between the industrial area and Outpost Base all day, Chu Guang returned to the shelter, turned on the computer, and started doing the planner's tasks.

Today, the official website was as busy as ever.

Mole Old Brother, on his way to Red River Town, had finally, albeit belatedly, posted his guide.

Actually, these past few days he hadn't been off the forum; he was just busy monster hunting along the way, nothing remarkable really, as Brother Fang Chang monopolized all the attention on the entire forum.

Now that the Giant Stone City guide had been updated, Brother Mole seized the chance and immediately posted the guide, attracting all those players who were still longing for more.

"...Damn, we've really had some rough luck along the way. Those Variants were like drugged up, each one fiercer than the last. I finally understand why we hardly see anyone around here; most must have been snatched by those monsters!"

"Monster Den! I've already marked it on the map, but this place is out of communication range, so it hasn't updated on the big map yet. We also passed a Survivor Settlement on the way; it seemed to be a small trade post with two Commercial Teams resting there."

"According to the leaders of those two Commercial Teams, the Snake Tribe is expanding eastward, and the territory of the Chewing Bone Tribe is getting bigger and bigger, effectively cutting off the northern trade routes. It's getting harder to do business here. However, if you want to travel from the eastern provinces to the western provinces, River Valley Province still sounds like the best of a bad bunch... This might be good news for us."

"Also, also, I finally made it to Red River Town today! To put it in one sentence, this place is damn desolate!"

"The soil is probably contaminated; you can hardly see any tall trees. Whatever flowers, plants, bushes, and mushrooms that grow from the ground here are all toxic! However, on the flip side, there are many arthropods and herds of Double-headed Cows that seem to be able to decompose these toxins, and the survivors here eat them or turn them into nutritional paste!"

"The ones we traded with belong to the Horseshoe Iron Commerce Association, the same people who previously bought captives from us. Their station does have a few soil-less cultivation boxes, but that small amount is probably not enough for everyone, most likely consumed by the wealthy."

"When I pulled out the dry food, many eyes lit up with greed; transporting excess food here could probably fetch a good amount of money."

"Oh, right, almost forgot to mention! People here don't use chips, nor do they use Gold or CR; instead, they use tickets issued by the local Mining Industry Association."

"Anyway, most merchants don't stay here long, so the locals simply put slaves and minerals directly on the banknotes and even number them. Red Notes are for buying slaves, Blue Notes are for buying minerals, with numbers corresponding to the mining areas. These can be redeemed at the Mining Industry Association or directly at the mining areas... Rather than a guild, it feels more like a place for a few big slave owners to amass wealth."

"Additionally, although barren, there are not a few people here; mostly scattered across various Business Association colonies, comprised mainly of Bounty Hunters, Mercenaries, Cowboys who rear Double-headed Cows, and either their families or purchased Slaves."

"Maybe because there's no Lair here, I didn't see Mucor species Variants like Eaters. But that doesn't mean it's safe here; these people have shady relations with the surrounding Looters. A certain NPC named Qian Duo said we can't fully trust them, but we also can't avoid doing business with them; this place might be the largest slave market in the South Suburb. Whether captives or Clones, all are brought here, and we even encountered a Bounty Hunter who came from the East Coast to help their employer find lost relatives!"

"However, recently the Slave Owners are having a tough time too. Earlier, the rise of the Chewing Bone Tribe brought them a fortune, and the mines were bursting at capacity, but now those blood-sucking barbarians have cleaned out the bones in the central part of the province and started reaching into the South."

"The leader of the Snake Tribe seems to plan on taking this profitable business into their own hands, but those Slave Owners are not willing to give up their treasures; those garbage hills are said to be mineable for several centuries, and they're worth more than Gold mines!"

"In a word, this place needs weapons, tools to enhance the efficiency of Slave labor, and food! Priorities in that order, with weapons being the first and foremost! I drew the pictures myself, and since I'm out of the service area, I had to take off my helmet and sketch by hand, just cope with it, haha."

"(Image), (Image), (Image)."

Unlike Brother Fang Chang, Brother Mole's writing was quite sloppy.

However, it seemed like he drew inspiration from Fang Chang and did manage to relay the situation there fully.

Not only that, his sketching was not bad, and he even added some illustrations to the post.

It might well be because of these illustrations that this belated guide took so long.

Quit Smoking: "Brother Mole is awesome!"

Gnome King Riches: "Get some other illustrations! I want to see Heya!! I want to see Little Fish! (Crazy)"

Night Ten: "Boss Xia says it's damn tough. (Humorous)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Feels like Giant Stone City is like a hobo version of a city that never sleeps, Red River Town kind of like a deluxe version of Wild West… (Sweat)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Although I feel you're forcibly finding connections, uh, but kind of right?"

Roller Hair Washing Machine: "Who would have thought such a small River Valley Province would gather so many vibrant places!"

Old White: "It's not that small, only in the System, where else could a provincial administrative region encompass two large plains and a mountain range in between? And each of these plains is home to a city cluster."

Elena: "Morning Wind Province just laughs without comment. (Humorous)"

Night Ten: "Playing mod? Without mod, it really might not work. (Humorous)"

Chu Guang browsed through the post, tapping the mouse lightly, and pondered.

"Red River Town's specialties are population and minerals, but they need weapons and food."

"There are very few production facilities there, capable of processing iron pipe weapons and even exporting specialty revolving rifles. However, the Slave Owners there lack the drive for industrialization; they don't even have a stable currency but trade with ticket vouchers."

In fact, the tickets could not really be considered money but rather a trading voucher.

"When redeemed, it is destroyed; when produced, it is issued. Even without production, issuance still occurs. In essence, it's somewhat like futures."

"The Mining Industry Association is more like a conventionally accepted guarantee institution. For example, if today Party A couldn't redeem their ticket, Party B helps redeem it to prevent this fool from affecting everyone's credit and making the checks issued by others unacknowledged."

"That is also why the ticket marks out the district number of the mining area."

"Party B, having received the ticket, will use it as evidence of the debt to prompt Party A."

"If Party A fails to pay back on time, they will use either civilized or uncivilized methods to collect it."

"Counterfeit tickets?"

"Nonexistent."

"Rarely do outsiders keep their tickets in their pockets when they leave; they are typically redeemed right away in a transaction where goods and tickets are exchanged simultaneously."

"While local business associations, which often deal with mine owners and slave owners, might keep some Red and Blue Notes, everyone knows each other well, and no one breaches the practices for a small gain."

"Interesting."

"Chu Guang, all intrigued, raised his eyebrows slightly first, marked the post as 'exceptional,' then copied the contents of the strategy post to a text document."

"He planned to edit it slightly in a few days and update it in the official website's settings collection for other players to reference."

"Discovering that his speculative ideas coincided with the next version, he imagined that the player would be incredibly thrilled."

"Predicted the version."

"Isn't that a sense of achievement even more exhilarating than making it into the Hall of Fame?"

"Of course, these are all details."

"...If transportation routes leading here could be opened, it should likely meet the constantly increasing demand for raw materials in the industrial district."

"Food is temporarily unsuitable for trade; its demand is high as well – one Awakener could eat the rations of three people in a day, not to mention those refugees from the north, who need to be fed before being sent to the factories."

"Besides, with more food, one could recruit more players, and by processing the food a little, one could even empty the pockets of passing traders."

"Weapons are a good option."

"The Wasteland is not ancient times; if people don't buy from you, they will buy from someone else."

"Buying from someone else means having to intercept supply lines in battles, but buying from us is much simpler; just control the bottleneck of exports. Sit and stare hopelessly at the inventory, and use up whatever ammunition and shells you have left when the times call, and resort to making more by hand if necessary."

"This is why Chu Guang stopped importing weapons and made weapon research and production a key support project."

"Even if it's something created by Mosquito with wild ideas, he's willing to spend money on it."

"No matter how good or bad, he must use his own products for sure."

"...The only trouble is that Red River Town is too far from here, the route is riddled with Alien nests and Looters conducting guerrilla warfare. At best, it takes two or three days to reach; at worst, it could take up to a week."

"However, with Awakeners as the guards, there should be no big problem!"

"Also, since the destination lies outside the city area, trucks and caterpillar cars can be arranged, making it easier to scale up the trading than dealing with survivor bases within the city."

"This trade route could be arranged after the spring plowing!"

"Chu Guang glanced at the calendar, his mind suddenly stirring."

"Come to think of it, it's been almost three months."

"The corn at the Greenhouse Ruins should be ripe?"

-

(Missing 1.2k to ten thousand.)

Chapter 250: Planting a Corn Can Make a Worldwide Announcement?!

Greenhouse Ruins.

Ground floor.

The place where players once fought and bled has now transformed into a lush garden. No-soil cultivation boxes filled with corn are stacked like containers, arranged layer upon layer.

The situation here was truly tragic at the time.

The first to enter, Paddle Brother, only had his VM returned. The second wave was nearly wiped out until Mole Old Brother developed the "Shield Wall Tactic," which finally broke the deadlock.

But later on, as everyone's equipment improved, farming this dungeon became much easier.

Wearing heavy armor, Old White led from the front while the players in the back held submachine guns and fired a burst of 9mm rounds.

Hit anyone?

What does it matter?

9mm pistol bullets can't penetrate steel plates, at most, they'd leave a few dents.

This type of large-caliber, low-speed ammunition was incredibly effective against unarmored insect-type Variants.

Their bellies held nothing but water and gel. A 7mm might just make a hole, but a 9mm could blow them apart.

After the first floor was cleared, Chu Guang immediately issued a task for players to plant corn.

Now, after three months, more than ninety days in total, stalks of vibrant green were adorned with husks of golden yellow.

Looking at the mature cornfield in front of him, Chu Guang's face bore a smile like that of a proud father, and he approvingly nodded.

"Well done!"

The seeds provided by the Shelter had been genetically modified to grow quickly.

Even the early maturing varieties of corn in reality take a hundred days to ripen, but here they were almost ready in ninety days.

Right.

I almost forgot about the main matter.

Sensing the expectant gazes behind him, Chu Guang covertly raised his index finger and swiped on the VM.

Quickly.

The task settlement list was sent to Makabazi's VM.

[Task: Day of Harvest (Completed)]

[Reward: 1000 Silver Coins, 500 Contribution Points, 2000 Regional Reputation Points.]

"Holy shit! Awesome!"

"Four-digit rewards!!!"

Watching the string of rewards pop up, Makabazi was moved to tears.

500 contribution points, not to mention.

Contribution to the faction is always valuable, whether for buying equipment, undertaking missions, or managing properties, all linked with it.

The only regret was, the regional reputation earned was for the Outpost Base, not Long Endurance Farm.

His reputation at Long Endurance Farm had already reached "Friendly"; he was just a little short of surpassing the 10,000 threshold to reach "Respected."

Just as Makabazi was riding the high of excitement, another line that popped up on the VM nearly made him faint with happiness.

[Congratulations to the player "Makabazi" for being the first to harvest corn.]

[Choose whether to make a Worldwide Announcement: Yes/No]

Seeing the sudden surprise pop up, Makabazi almost reflexively shouted out loud.

"Yes! Yes!"

Although Chu Guang wanted to remind him that it wasn't necessary to shout, as just a touch on the VM screen would suffice,
seeing the player so thrilled, Chu Guang didn't want to dampen his spirits.

Three months.

It indeed wasn't easy to hold on.

From sowing to the final harvest, each step involved a corresponding task, with a series of tasks forming an entire task chain.

Since Greenhouse Ruins' automatic watering and harvesting systems were damaged, many jobs that could be done by machines now needed to be done manually.

Including watering and fertilizing.

Although these tasks also came with rewards, they were somewhat more monotonous compared to hunting or scavenging.

A three-month-long task cycle, staying until the crops matured, Makabazi was indeed a unique character.

At least in Chu Guang's eyes, comparable to that fisherman who, no matter the weather, went to the lake every day!

[Worldwide Announcement: Player "Makabazi" has successfully harvested the first batch of corn.]

Looking at the window that appeared on the VM, Makabazi was so excited he wished he could roll around in the cornfield.

If it weren't for the Manager standing nearby, he probably would have.

"Ha ha ha ha! I'm also someone with a first kill on the Worldwide Announcement!"

Chu Guang watched this excited young player with a smile.

"Can I entrust you with the harvesting job?"

"Don't worry, Manager!"

Makabazi patted his chest and continued animatedly.

"I can even help you transport them to the granary!"

Chu Guang said,

"That's not necessary, the workload is too big, I'll arrange people to help you."

Moving his gaze from Makabazi, Chu Guang continued looking at the cornfield before him, his face involuntarily revealing a faint joy.

Is this what harvest feels like?

Quite nice.

…

After assigning a new task to Makabazi, Chu Guang immediately left the Greenhouse Ruins and returned to the Outpost Base to find Guo Ma and delegated the task of gathering the harvest.

With so many crops, relying on Makabazi alone, even if it killed him, he probably couldn't handle it all.

Moreover, harvesting isn't just about plucking corn from stalks; it also required threshing, drying, and storing.

Doing these tasks in the ruins might even be more troublesome than planting the seeds.

The first floor's tower-style no-soil cultivation boxes were few, having a slightly smaller actual planting area compared to other floors, but still, it amounted to nearly fifty acres.

Based on the planting area and density experience, the estimated yield was about twenty-five tons, with a margin of error within two tons.

Even with inexperienced planting and management, insufficient fertilization, it still reached nearly five hundred kilograms per acre.

Besides the first floor, the Greenhouse Ruins had other floors.

Excluding the ninth floor's reactor and the tenth floor's Devil Moth Lair, the five aboveground floors and eight belowground floors totaled thirteen floors, with a total theoretical planting area reaching 870 acres!

As of now, the first five surface floors and four underground floors had been developed into farmland.

Half of the fields were planted with potatoes, and half with corn, altogether covering 600 acres.

These yields would gradually be released over the next month, with an estimated total production of 300 to 400 tons.

Together with hunting and breeding among other food sources, it was enough to feed three thousand people for a year!

Of course, the actual food consumption of the players couldn't simply be calculated per person.

Especially Awakeners, who not only had physical endurance and metabolism levels far exceeding ordinary people but also had appetites two to three times that of ordinary people.

Even Chu Guang himself had noticed it.

At the beginning, he could eat a can of food across two meals, but now he could barely get through a meal without opening two cans.

In some sense, could this also be considered a conservation of energy?

If based on the actual speed of food consumption, these 300 to 400 tons of food might only last half a year.

Nevertheless, it was enough.

He had reclaimed 30,000 acres of wasteland, and even if the first year's production efficiency was only half that of the Greenhouse Ruins', the harvested crops would be more than sufficient for several versions.

The upper levels above B4 of the Greenhouse Ruins were used for farming.

As for levels B5 to B9, Chu Guang hadn't planted all crops but instead planned to "breed pests," harvesting them every few months for the players to repeatedly farm Devil Moths.

For Spirit Leaves, one could harvest half and leave half.

After one round of harvesting, he would open all the gates from B5 to B9, letting moths come in to lay their larvae.

This way, he could achieve a streamlined production line.

Once the 10,000 acres of good farmland on the north side of Rhombus Lake were reclaimed, it would be no problem to use the entire greenhouse to breed Devil Moths!

Both Spirit Leaves and Devil Silk were definitely scarce commodities out in the Wasteland. Being able to stably produce these two items, likely he was the only supplier within a hundred miles.

...

"Holy shit? Even planting corn gets a Worldwide Announcement?"

"Scandal! A true scandal!"

"Damn it, I could forgive Crow Boss but has Makabazi also sold his soul and ass to the game designers?"

"Sigh! If I had known, I would have found a plot of land and scattered some seeds myself!"

"However, look at it this way, the identity of a player with a life skills version is well established. If planting corn can trigger a Worldwide Announcement, then one for potatoes should also make sense, right?"

"!!!"

On the west side of Changjiu Farm.

The small-time players, farming with pickaxes and shovels on the wasteland, were making a noisy chatter. Nearby, a tractor pulling a harrow rattled along.

Looking back at the almost invisible enclosing wall, Silver Daddy, breathless, threw his rake aside and sat by the ridge, grimacing as he braced himself.

"How long do we have to do this?"

Silver Sword, silently wielding a hoe, didn't look up as he replied.

"Depends on how many activity points you want."

Silver Daddy: "Holy shit! There's no limit to this activity?"

Silver Sword: "Nope."

Silver Daddy: "???"

Isn't this gonna roll all the way to heaven?!

It's well known that most games set limits on the rewards and points that can be obtained during activities, except for spending real money, to prevent players from boosting the numbers extravagantly.

However, this game seemed not to follow that tradition.

As long as you're willing, you can keep grinding until your character runs out of stamina and you physically disconnect due to the "Anti-addiction Mechanism".

Silver Hand, who had been quiet, couldn't hold back and criticized. "You're supposed to be of the Body Constitution System, how come you're working slower than us two?"

Silver Daddy rolled his eyes. "Who knows! In this game, body constitution only adds resistance to debuffs and recovery speed, nothing to do with stamina! And you two, didn't we agree that one would choose Strength and the other Agility? How come both ended up choosing Strength?!"

"Got the nerve to talk about us!"

"Exactly! Weren't you the one who said you would choose the Intelligence System?"

Seeing his two buddies glaring at him, Silver Daddy awkwardly coughed, grinned and said.

"I heard the content in this game is quite rich, high constitution, fast recovery, and later on if we have online romances… you know."

Silver Hand and Silver Sword exchanged glances.

They understood.

But...

"I think that idea is a bit superfluous."

"Indeed, I think so too."

"Damn! What do you two mean?"

Silver Sword shrugged.

"Nothing much, just feel with that lousy ID, dating online might be a bit difficult for you."

Silver Hand nodded.

"+1, not even a tranny would date with your crappy ID."

Silver Daddy: "%￥#@!"

...

While the rookies were toiling in the fields, located at the edge of the third ring road, Giant Stone City welcomed a group of special visitors.

"Is this Giant Stone City?"

"The wall's built like a dam…"

"Mommy… how much concrete did this use?"

"I don't know…"

A concrete wall as tall as a 20-story building.

Considering the steel structures inside, the amount of cement and steel it consumed must have been astronomical.

Descending from the overpass, Old White, Night Ten, and Wild Wind couldn't take their eyes off the wall.

Having already been surprised once, Fang Chang appeared calmer and cleared his throat.

"Act normal, guys."

Night Ten swallowed before finally diverting his gaze from the massive wall.

"I think I'm acting normal, it's this game that's abnormal!"

Standing beside, Wild Wind nodded.

"+1."

While idealistic to say, if they were able to build such a colossal wall, there was no reason they should be trapped by the Eaters.

This didn't make sense at all.

Unless the wall had fallen from heaven.

"These country bumpkins."

Looking at these inexperienced folk, a mercenary walking beside the team sneered softly, but was quickly glared at by the leader of the mercenaries.

"Shut your mouth."

Seeing his boss speak up, that mercenary immediately shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.

After taking his gaze off his subordinates, the leader glanced in the group's direction, saw they hadn't noticed anything, and slightly relaxed.

These people were strong.

Whether it was the man carrying a bow or the one with the machine gun on his back.

Although it sounded far-fetched, his intuition told him both these men could be Awakeners!

He did not want to mess with a force that could domesticate the Claw of Death as pets.

The goods were almost delivered, and causing trouble at this point wouldn't be good for anyone.

They descended from the overpass.

Just ahead was the Hotel Wind From Afar, opposite the slums.

As the group headed towards the entrance, many people sized them up, particularly eyeing the goods carried on the back of the double-headed cow.

A few kids sitting at the entrance of the slums saw this, whispered amongst themselves after seemingly realizing something, and quickly ran back into the slums.

Soon after, a few men with skulls tattooed on their faces stepped out from the slums.

Seeing these men, Xu Shun calmly placed his hand on his waist, Fang Chang and Old White exchanged glances and also instinctively touched their weapons.

The players showed no fear on their faces; instead, a hint of excitement appeared in their eyes.

Was this triggering a storyline?

Get on with it!

Sensing the tense atmosphere in the air, Shu Yu's heart raced.

However, thinking of representing Shelter No. 404, he tried hard not to look nervous.

"Tommy, where did you get all these good things?" The bald man tattooed with daggers, walking at the front, gave the mercenary leader a playful look.

The mercenary leader's face tightened, expressionlessly he said,

"These aren't my goods, but I'd advise you not to think about touching them unless you're looking for more trouble."

"Ha, who's your employer?"

Before the mercenary leader could reply, a voice floated out from the group.

"List."

Walking out from the group, Qian Lai continued to speak to the tattooed bald man.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

Hearing the name List, the bald man's face shifted slightly, the mocking expression subdued a bit.

"Of course not, I was just wondering...with so many herbs, do you need help selling them? We could offer our services."

Qian Lai said impatiently,

"One kilogram for 100 chips, if you buy everything, I'll give you a 10% discount."

Buying all would probably cost several tens of thousands of chips.

But...

If he could make a deal with these goods and turn them into Spiritual Water, doubling or tripling the profit wouldn't be an issue.

The bald man's expression turned strained as he said in a low voice,

"... I need to ask my boss."

Qian Lai said concisely,

"I can wait until 8 o'clock tonight, you know how to contact me."

After a setback, the small henchmen returned to the slums.

Watching their retreating figures, Shu Yu looked at Qian Lai and asked,

"Who are they?"

"Dagger Gang, sometimes they tattoo daggers on their faces, sometimes on their arms. Don't worry about them, you shouldn't deal with these people."

Qian Lai then turned to Tommy's mercenary leader, urging him, "Let's go, if we stay here too long, more flies will come buzzing."

The group continued on their way, lining up at the city gate for inspection.

The militia responsible for the inspection saw the goods on the cow's back and all showed surprised expressions.

"Another shipment? Where do you keep getting these from?"

He remembered this person from a week ago, seemingly the same guy.

Qian Lai lied without blinking, "From a plantation down south, survivors there have quite a bit of stock."

The militiaman clearly didn't believe him but said nothing more, merely hinting,

"This will probably incur a hefty tax."

"Of course, we are law-abiding citizens."

Qian Lai kept a friendly smile on his face, just like his last visit, discreetly slipping a bag of chips into their hands.

The militiaman who took the money opened the bag, peeked inside, smiled knowingly, pulled out two and pocketed them, then headed toward the table at the entrance.

"Just some vegetables."

The officer in charge of registration glanced at the bag of chips on the table, casually making a couple of marks in his book.

"Let them in."

Shu Yu looked at Qian Lai with a bit of surprise.

That's all it took?

Noticing his stare, Qian Lai chuckled softly, lowering his voice to say,

"Food doesn't get taxed; this way it's cheaper… so you see, we do have costs after all."

Shu Yu asked,

"So you don't need to be inspected if you pay?"

Qian Lai thought for a moment and replied,

"It depends on the situation and the person. If you're trying to bring in contraband, it might still be difficult."

Shu Yu nodded thoughtfully.

Although he wasn't new to trading, he felt that things here were much more complex than in his hometown...

After paying the city entrance tax.

The group entered the city successfully.

According to the contract, the mercenaries escorted them to the warehouse area and then settled their pay with Qian Lai.

List's rented warehouse was not far from the entrance of the warehouse area; there was still some space inside, enough to accommodate a ton of goods.

After several people unloaded the goods together, Qian Lai had the guard with a bandaged arm move the Double-headed Cow to the shed at the entrance of the warehouse area and then looked towards Book Yu and the others, smiling as he spoke.

"If you don't want to rent a warehouse, you can also store your goods with us, as there isn't much stuff anyway."

Book Yu shook his head, declining.

"No need, we're actually planning to rent a storefront."

Qian Lai courteously said,

"Are you in such a hurry? Giant Stone City is big; you could look around more and pick a better location."

Book Yu shook his head.

"The Manager told me to find a place near the warehouse."

The warehouse area of Giant Stone City was close to the city gate, just past a street was the trade station, and further down was the local market, making transportation quite convenient.

The office only needed to be convenient; it didn't have to be in a particularly busy area and could even be a bit smaller. The monthly rent should ideally be controlled to be under 1000 chips.

They would buy a building when conditions allowed in the future.

This was the instruction the Manager had given him before he set out.

Qian Lai said no more but still enthusiastically led them to an area outside the warehouse where properties could be rented.

There were many vacant houses around here; the rent was not expensive. A 120 square-meter storefront only cost 800 chips per month, averaging 20 chips per day.

If they added 200 more chips, the landlord indicated that he could rent them the two empty floors upstairs as well.

But to buy it outright, the building would cost nearly 300,000 chips, plus a monthly charge of 50 chips for management fees and property tax.

Watching the captions jump on the VM, Night Ten crunched the numbers and then, confused, turned to Fang Chang.

"1666 chips per square meter, is this considered cheap or expensive?"

Fang Chang pondered for a while and then said,

"It's cheap considering the rent-to-price ratio, but pricey in terms of price and income. I remember the textile factory in the nearby industrial area pays two nutrition pastes, daily wage seems to be 3~4 chips?"

That comes to a monthly salary of only 90 to 120 chips, not even enough to buy a rifle.

For child labor, most factories pay only 1 chip per day, some merely provide meals, and wages are settled weekly or directly with the products produced.

Since the smallest unit is one chip, even the hourly wage of locals can't be calculated.

However, engineers are paid a bit better, with wages typically over ten times more than ordinary workers, and if working outside the city or in nearby survivor settlements, pays may double.

Some technicians with scarce skills can even earn wages in the triple digits.

But these "pandas" usually don't go out of the city; they typically live in upscale apartments near the Inner City, some even move into the well-off Inner City entirely.

As for the mercenaries?

They mostly earn just enough for today; discussing their incomes is meaningless.

The NPCs were still bargaining over the rent.

Book Yu fully utilized his bargaining skills and had already cut the rent down to 900 chips a month.

This price had already touched the landlord's bottom line, but given that properties here were not as coveted as those in bustling districts, he had no choice but to patiently haggle with these people in front of him.

After calculating for quite a while, Night Ten suddenly raised his head abruptly.

"Damn, I should have saved up those chips!"

Old White looked at him oddly.

"Why save that stuff?"

"Buy a set!" Night Ten's eyes lit up, "When the new map is fully open, there will definitely be people coming, right? We could rent it out to them! Isn't that way cooler than directly exchanging for silver coins?"

"Rent it out to Teng Teng!

1000 silver coins a month!

The rich lady Teng Teng can definitely afford it!"

Wild Wind: "..."

Fang Chang said speechlessly, "Have you even handled 10 chips altogether?"

Night Ten: "Er, that's true."

Old White: "And what's the use of buying here, so far from the respawn point! It's better to build one near the base ourselves."

"But speaking of which, there should also be shops in Giant Stone City, right?" Wild Wind looked around from the street, "Did you check the price of this kind of equipment?"

"A Bumblebee X-2 Assault Rifle for 150 chips, seems to be a replica of the G9 Assault Rifle. Tubing rifles are cheaper; they seem to be sold by weight."

Wild Wind immediately asked: "And synthetic limbs?"

Fang Chang was slightly stunned.

"That... I haven't seen any; I visited several weapon shops and didn't see any, but there are exoskeletons for sale."

Hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the three instantly became excited.

"Fuck, an exoskeleton?!"

"Are you sure?"

"Stop blabbering, hurry and take us there!"

"What's the use of you going? Can you afford it?"

Watching his teammates' eyes gleam, Fang Chang helplessly sighed.

"…Fine, you'll see when you get there."

Night Ten had already picked up the package from the ground, chuckling.

"Let's bring this too! Maybe we can sell it for some money!"

Fang Chang said speechlessly,

"That would still be someone else's chips..."

Night Ten: "It's okay! Before we set out, we agreed that half of the chips from sales are ours!"

Fang Chang was stunned.

Was that so?

But seeing his three teammates, it didn't seem like a joke.

Noticing these country folks picking up the packages from the ground, the landlord, thinking they weren't renting anymore, panicked and hurriedly shouted,

"800! 800 is fine! But you have to pay three months' rent in advance, and also a month's deposit! This is the lowest price already, it's impossible to find anything cheaper!"

Not missing this opportunity, Book Yu immediately said,

"Deal!"

Standing by, Qian Lai looked at the man in front of him, slightly stunned.

Good lord.

Snagged two floors...

This guy might just be talented.

Chapter 251: No Trickery, No Merchant

Gray Squirrel Clothing Store.

Two sticks of wood, nearly burned to ashes in the fireplace, wrapped in an old leather coat, Si Er dozed off with his feet propped on a moldy wooden table.

From the end of last September to now, this place's business had been deserted for almost a whole four months.

Yet he wasn't worried about going bankrupt.

It had always been like this in previous years.

Once winter came, only mice would frequent his closet, but that was okay because as soon as winter ended, the streets outside would be packed with people, and business here would quickly pick up.

Even Looters, who had regressed to Primitive Men, would look for a pair of pants to wear.

His shop was right at the entrance to the market, and this market was the closest to the main gate of Giant Stone City.

Any Waste Land Wanderers coming here would spot his signboard at a glance.

Those clothes that cost just two or three chips apiece were most popular, affordable even for workers from the neighboring factories, and some cash-strapped Waste Land Wanderers would consider them.

However, most of the sources of these clothes were not very particular—many were stripped from dead bodies, bearing stitched bullet holes and slashes; the cheapest ones were even left unsewn.

Guards from Commercial Teams or Mercenaries from other places tended to spend more generously. The leather jackets and jeans on the shelves were meant for them, some made in the industrial area's garment factories, and some by tailor shops.

After all, for these Wanderers, it was uncertain whether they would come here next year, and nobody carried those plastic chips in their pocket.

Before leaving, they would exchange their chips for cigarettes, alcohol, bullets, or even Gold, Sterling Silver, or the Army's Dinars.

Besides that, clothes were also a good choice.

As for now?

Winter had just ended, and the streets were full of poor beggars looking for Work. For him, who opened his doors for business, it was naturally the time to recharge and store energy.

Si Er was dreaming of being surrounded by beauty, but just then, a gust of cold air sneaking through the door crack startled him awake.

"Welcome to... visit, are you here to buy clothes?"

Si Er squinted his sleepy eyes and carefully scrutinized the five men who had come in from outside.

The one walking in front was not very old, about sixteen or seventeen, but he had probably been on the Battlefield, with a gunshot wound on his arm and an immature face that hid sharpness.

That was nothing, who here hasn't seen a gun?

However, those four men behind him were impressive; they had the distinct aura unique to Awakeners.

It just so happened that their inexperienced and awe-struck demeanor somewhat shattered his stereotype of Awakeners.

Seeing that the fire in the fireplace had gone out, Night Ten, who couldn't stay still, called out.

"Boss, it's time to add some logs."

Si Er was taken aback, not understanding the dialect that had drifted in from who knows where.

"What are you saying?"

The man in front immediately said,

"He's saying that your fireplace has no fire."

"No need to remind me, I know... Logs don't cost money, this isn't outside the city," Si Er muttered annoyed under his breath, straightening up from his chair, and addressing the man he could communicate with, "You all are Mercenaries, right? What are you planning to buy? A cotton coat? Or a leather jacket? Or perhaps... you want to stock up on some cheap goods?"

Xu Shun didn't offer an explanation but instead looked back at a few guys who had rolled up their sleeves—looking at the "subtitles" on the VM were the old dudes.

Si Er's eyes narrowed slightly, he indeed recognized the thing worn on those people's arms.

He was distracted just now and hadn't realized that those people were actually Blue Jackets?

How rare!

Those Blue Ground Mice had not only Awakened but even dressed up in the clothes of Waste Land Wanderers?

Weren't their jackets supposed to grow on their bodies?

"We aren't buying, we want to sell. We heard that you need clothes?" said Fang Chang in a broken mix of United Human language and his mother tongue in a long string.

The shopkeeper obviously didn't understand.

But Xu Shun, who was used to dealing with players, did understand. He straightened out Fang Chang's words, cleared up the grammar, and repeated them.

After listening to this sentence, Si Er immediately frowned.

"Sell?"

"Why come to me to sell clothes when there's a shop next door that buys old clothes?"

Seeing that these people were not customers, Si Er's expression instantly cooled, and he became visibly impatient.

Dead people's clothes were usually sold in bulk by weight, and he did not have a scale prepared here.

"They offer too low prices there. We all agree that it's an insult to art!" Xu Shun skillfully relayed Fang Chang's words, this time even mimicking his indignant tone.

Si Er scoffed, thinking a bunch of bumpkins from the outside wouldn't know what art is.

He was about to mock them and drive them out, but then he remembered the VMs they had on their hands and suppressed the idea.

Blue Jackets, huh.

They were Blue Jackets.

Si Er's eyes rolled around.

Everyone knew that people from outside Giant Stone City were country bumpkins.

But that didn't include the big merchants from Yunjian Province or those Blue Jackets from the refuges.

Though the latter might seem a bit dim-witted, any "civilized person" had to admit they were a group of lucky ones born in paradise.

Stretching out his wrinkled hand, Xi'er opened the drawer and took out a pair of brass-colored glasses, perching them on his nose.

"Let me take a look."

Xu Shun turned to Fang Chang, who moved his gaze away from the intermittent subtitles and immediately handed the package he was holding to the most reliable NPC.

Xu Shun walked up to the counter and placed the package on the table.

"Take a look and tell me how much you can offer."

Xi'er untied the package and reached inside, a flicker of interest flashed across his eyes.

"Devil Silk?!"

So, the goods that appeared on the market a few days ago were sold by the people in front of him?

He had heard that the ten rolls of fabric had barely shown up at the trade station before they were snatched up by a group of fast-acting people.

Xi'er was unsure into whose hands the Devil cloth had changed, but many tailor shops were inquiring where those exquisite materials had come from.

However, soon, the excitement in his eyes dimmed.

"You've already turned them into clothes? Are these all there is? Don't you have any of the bundles of fabric?"

Xu Shun: "That's all we have."

"That's a shame," Xi'er said, with a regretful expression on his face, clucking his tongue in dismay, "What a waste of good material."

Xu Shun furrowed his brow.

"Aren't the finished clothes good enough?"

"Even the best fabric needs to be used in the right way," Xi'er shook his head, "Yes, Devil Silk is rare and very durable. Whether it's used to make luxurious garments or to make ropes or protective gear, it's a fine material, but... "

Xi'er pulled a garment out of the package and, with a speechless look, shook it in front of Xu Shun.

"Can you explain to me what this is supposed to be?"

The garment, with its pristine and silky texture, adorned with delicately carved patterns on the hem and cuffs, truly emanated an indescribable sense of nobility.

However, the problem was, the garment had only a front, with the back merely symbolically stitched, and at the back, there were only a few ribbons.

The skirt was certainly long enough, but what was the point?

Xu Shun was taken aback and was about to speak, but the players behind him who were reading the subtitles had already begun to grumble angrily.

"Damn! This country bumpkin has no idea what's valuable!"

"Exactly! Such a beautiful long gown!"

"Ah, I dream of seeing Crow wear it just once..."

"Forget it, even a tail wouldn't make it possible."

A gown???

Xu Shun answered stiffly.

"This is a gown..."

"Too much is exposed in the back! Just a few strings, what's the difference between that and being naked?" Xi'er scoffed, "The nobles in the Inner City would never fancy such revealing attire, it would embarrass them at a gathering!"

Xu Shun's expression turned somewhat nuanced.

To be honest.

He too thought the garment revealed a bit too much.

There was only that one piece in the front, could it really cover the upper body completely?

Not to question the taste of the residents of the refuge, but he felt like if you could cut the piece from the skirt and sew it to the back, it would be perfect...

"It might be a cultural difference," Fang Chang mused, stroking his chin, his brows furrowed in thought, "I feel like the culture outside the city is more open, but maybe people in the Inner City are more conservative."

Wild Wind offered a guess.

"Maybe it's a way for the Inner City folks to show they're different from those outside?"

Fang Chang: "Possibly."

Night Ten sighed.

"Ah, Miss Teng Teng has had an unfavorable start."

Old White: "Speaking of which... these clothes didn't sell at Outpost Base, did they?"

He had never seen anyone wearing them there.

After thinking for a moment, Wild Wind nodded, "True, I remember this dress hanging in Vine Cottage for some time now."

You can't register alternate accounts in this game, and you can't change gender, plus everyone knows each other online, so there's an unexpected modesty once in the game.

In any other game...

Probably, it would've been worn by the big guys by now.

Night Ten: "Maybe it's too cold? It's not really appropriate to wear this thing in the dead of winter."

Wild Wind: "The refuge has heating, do you think that explanation holds up?"

Night Ten: "Uh, okay then."

Fang Chang sighed.

"Great, now the most promising candidate has been eliminated, setting aside those unreliable items, we are left with four... uh, three cards."

It seemed there was a reason this dress wasn't selling; if even the players' sense of shame couldn't accept it, it was only natural that the NPCs couldn't either.

It's truly a shame.

I hope Miss Teng Teng isn't too disheartened.

Just as Night Ten was pondering how to break this bad news to Teng Teng, the shopkeeper sitting behind the counter suddenly blurted out another question.

"What's this?"

A glove?

Muttering to himself, Ciel pulled a white long sock out of the package.

After studying it for a moment, probably having never seen such a long and straight sock, he rolled up his sleeves and slid it right onto his furry arm.

The four little players in the clothing store almost spat out a mouthful of old blood when they saw this.

"Holy shit!"

"My eyes!"

"You have to tell him," Fang Chang urgently pulled Xu Shun, his voice so charged he nearly yelled, "that thing is a sock."

Xu Shun was momentarily stunned before hurrying to relay Fang Chang's words.

"A sock?"

Ciel was taken aback, mumbling as he bent down to take off his shoes. The four little players couldn't hold back any longer and rushed up to snatch the item off his hands.

"Get lost!"

"If you're not buying, then don't fucking touch!"

"Exactly! You're defiling art!"

"?????"

Ciel's face was full of question marks. He scratched his head, wondering what he had done to provoke such a strong reaction.

What a bunch of rude people!

Xu Shun's toes almost dug a four-bedroom, one-living-room hole in the ground with embarrassment.

Honestly, he was just as confused, and even with VM assistance, he had no idea how to translate this properly.

Great Manager above!

Please, assign someone else to do this job.

He would rather fight the Looters with bayonets in the trenches, rather exchange fire with Mutants behind cover than continue working as a translator!

"Let's go, we won't find the person we're looking for here."

"It's time to end this charade, stupid NPC."

"Yes, what a waste of time!"

Night Ten bundled up the package and tossed it to Fang Chang, who smoothly slung it over his shoulder, turning toward the door.

Seeing the players were about to leave, Xu Shun breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was finally over, and quickly followed them.

"Wait a minute."

Just as they were packing up to leave, Ciel hurriedly called out to them.

Everyone stopped in their tracks.

Seeing five pairs of eyes looking his way, Ciel cleared his throat and spoke.

"How about this? Since you've already asked next door and no one wants these... um, works of art, why not leave them here on consignment?"

Xu Shun: "Consignment?"

"Correct," Ciel nodded, "You set the price yourselves and then display it on the racks or in the window by the entrance."

"If it sells, I'll only take a twenty percent commission. If it doesn't sell, you can just take your items back before you leave here."

After all, these pieces were made of Devil Silk, and they were curious items from the Blue Jackets; despite the wasted material, the value was still there.

What if they actually sold?

Ciel wasn't a stubborn man.

Anyway, he wasn't doing any business at the moment, being idle. Having a gimmick in his display window might be good.

Moreover, if these people forgot the items they consigned to his store when they left, then those items would belong to him.

Such things happened from time to time.

There was once a Mercenary, an Awakener, who consigned a piece of Dead Claw skin to his shop, saying he would return in a week. When several months passed without his return, and after hearing from other Mercenaries that the guy had died, Ciel happily sold that piece of Dead Claw skin to a big boss in the Inner City.

Shoes made from Dead Claw skin were hugely popular in the Inner City—not just for their comfort and durability, but most importantly, for the status they conferred.

Xu Shun, however, wasn't thinking that far. He just stared at him.

"How can we trust you?"

"My friend, this is Giant Stone City, and it's not like the outside world! Agreements signed in black and white have to be recognized by everyone as long as they don't leave the Enclosing Wall. Besides, my shop is right here; where am I going to escape to?" Ciel said confidently, "You four Awakeners, are you afraid of a mere ordinary person?"

It sounded somewhat reasonable.

Xu Shun looked back at the four players.

After a brief discussion, the four little players reached a consensus.

Treat a dead horse as if it were alive—better to try and fail than not to try at all.

Fang Chang stepped forward, took out the most tattered evening dress, placed it on the table, and knocked on it with his fist.

"Five hundred!"

Night Ten also moved closer, rummaged through the package, and precisely pulled out the white over-the-knee sock previously worn by this guy.

Pairing them up, he threw them disgustingly onto the table.

"One hundred! No, fifty!"

Xier: "..."

How much are you really selling for?

Communicating with these guys is too exhausting.

Impatiently, Xier tore a piece of paper off the ledger beside him, tore it in half, and wrote down some numbers.

"Windy dresses for five hundred, socks that can be worn as pants for one hundred... Alright, leave me an address, at least I have to know which hotel you're staying at."

Xu Shun stepped forward to leave an address and signed his name on the document, not wanting to waste time here, and quickly pulled the players away from the place.

"Are these rags really selling for five hundred? And a torn sock for one hundred?"

"They must be crazy for money!"

Watching the group's figures disappear at the door, Xier sneered, but still got up from his chair and hung the items in the display window.

After affixing labels with the prices, he then neatly placed a small blackboard beside them and wrote:

"[…Exclusive devil silk fabric technology, originating from the mysterious technology of the refuge, unique in Giant Stone City, this is a one-of-a-kind work of art.]"

Done!

Xier took two steps back, read the words on the sign, and nodded in satisfaction.

Although communicating with those Blue Jackets wasn't pleasant, you don't have to be on bad terms with chips, right?

As long as he could trade for those colorful plastic chips, he was willing to do business even with Eaters!

…

After leaving the store,

Night Ten looked towards his teammates.

"Is it reliable to let that guy shop for us?"

Fang Chang shrugged.

"We have no choice, it would be years before we could sell anything with your negotiating skills."

Night Ten wasn't pleased.

"Damn! You have the nerve to critique me, if you'd just speak less Chinese in United Human, would it have confused people to the point of not understanding?"

Fang Chang glanced at him.

"Cut it out, at least my Dad can speak a couple of sentences, what about you? You can't even recognize all the numbers!"

"I need to pass level four, when do I have the time to learn that stuff?"

"If you're bad, just admit it, and learn from Brother Guang, who never makes excuses."

"@#%!"

Wild Wind: "…"

Listening to his teammates argue, Old White looked up at the sky and sighed.

"Ah, this game is damn hard..."

He didn't understand at all.

It must be a matter of intelligence attribute!

Xu Shun silently followed the four.

Although he had seriously learned the language of the refuge, he only learned a few words and short sentences.

Once these people start talking fast, the variety intensifies, and without a prompter, it's really hard to decipher what they're saying; sometimes, even VM doesn't know how to translate.

However…

The atmosphere seemed friendly enough, loud but not like they were fighting.

As Fang Chang and Night Ten were bickering, Wild Wind suddenly interjected a comment.

"Speaking of which, isn't five hundred too expensive? The average salary here doesn't even reach one hundred a month, does it?"

With room and board included, a day's wage is two to three, which sums up to barely ninety a month, and some engineers could earn ten to a hundred times that, but they are as rare as pandas.

"You don't understand, even if we sold it for fifty, ordinary people couldn't afford it," said Fang Chang lazily, "Since that's the case, why not just sell it for more? Those who can afford it will naturally buy, and those who can't won't even if you discount it."

The three looked at each other.

Damn?

That kind of makes sense!

But why does he sound like he learned it from a Mosquito?

He's becoming more and more like a cunning merchant…

-

(Next chapter before 12 o'clock)

Chapter 252: Talent Market

Later on, the group headed to the weapon shop and finally laid eyes on their much-anticipated Exoskeletons.

However...

Night Ten exclaimed, "A KV-1 for 600 chips?! Damn, that's expensive!"

Wild Wind asked, "How much was Old White's set again?"

Old White thought about it and replied,

"Five hundred silver coins, the steel plate was probably half the cost, so just the KV-1 itself about two to three hundred?"

Although that was from a few versions ago and was acquired at an auction.

Thinking about the starting bid of two hundred silver coins, everyone felt a wave of emotion.

Manager was still more generous after all.

Compared to Boss Xia from the weapon store, far too generous!

...

With such expensive items, buying was definitely out of the question; they could only look and quench their desire.

Of course, everyone didn't forget the purpose of their trip.

After some negotiations, the LD-47 Sickle Assault Rifle they were entrusted with by the manager sold for 70 chips.

That was after they had bargained down the price.

The gun shop owner on the new map was far less reasonable than Boss Xia and showed no interest in their weapons.

And it wasn't just one shop.

Although Giant Stone City also had 7mm bullets, the lengths were completely different, as were the structures of the priming caps, making them incompatible despite being the same caliber.

The Male Bee Assault Rifle was priced at 150 in Giant Stone City; the factory price was probably not even triple digits, at most only 90.

Coming here to sell weapons was a bad decision; Giant Stone City's military industrial complex was far superior both in cost and technology than they, who had only been developing over one winter, were.

Unless they tried something different, focused their efforts elsewhere.

Looking at the store shelves, Night Ten muttered,

"Damn, they even sell mortars?"

And the prices were not high.

Just that model a bit longer than a rifle, 60 caliber, range of within three kilometers, only needed a set of KV-1's price?

Old White looked around at the shelves,

"There are no shells."

Fang Chang said, "The shells are available, but you'd probably have to pick them up outside the city. I remember explosives over a certain weight being contraband... Let's go, none of these are affordable for us."

Old White sighed,

"It's too hard, too hard."

I wonder if bricks could be sold here?

Their Bull Horse Brick Factory, that was their specialty product.

Night Ten chuckled,

"How about we go screw some bolts at the factory?"

Old White was a Strength Type!

He'd obviously be great at screwing bolts!

Fang Chang rolled his eyes and decided not to respond,

"Two to three chips a day, you wouldn't have enough for a gun after working for a month. I suggest you save your breath."

Actually, being able to sell a sickle for 70 chips wasn't bad, given the raw material cost was no more than 15 silver coins and other costs likely wouldn't exceed this figure.

After all, a small mosquito is still flesh.

Though this money had nothing to do with them since the sold chips were mission props, the final reward would be settled in silver coins and contribution points according to how many chips they had sold.

Could they pocket some for themselves?

Of course, they could.

As everyone knows, the ways to get rich are all written in the criminal law, and there's always someone clever enough to think everyone else is a fool.

But not them.

The scrambled eggs with tomatoes and vodka they sold to the drunkard at the bar door settled for 10 chips.

All four felt it was a loss, considering that bottle was a full pound.

Brewing that much vodka would take at least three pounds of potatoes, which would be worth at least three silver coins and up to five when prices were high.

Pretty much broke even!

With chips in hand, Night Ten wanted to check out inside the bar, which seemed to have scantily clad people, but before he stepped inside, Fang Chang pulled him back.

Wild Wind said from the side,

"Don't forget what we're here for."

Night Ten protested, "Dang! Aren't you guys curious? Let me have a look!"

The first thing to do when establishing a new map should be to explore places like this, right?

How else do you claim to understand the local customs?

As everyone knows, bars are the hubs of information in any RPG, whether online or offline.

It's practically common knowledge!

Fang Chang coughed dryly, "I visited here a while back... those kinds of bars with dancers, the cheapest entry fee was also two chips, basically you have to buy a drink as soon as you enter."

Night Ten exclaimed, "Damn! You, Mr. bushy-browed, actually went there before! Why didn't you put it in the guide?"

Fang Chang's gaze drifted away,

"I can't possibly write about everything."

Old White patted Night Ten on the shoulder and comforted him,

"Let's talk about it after making some money. These few chips in our pocket probably won't even cover two drinks."

That made sense.

Night Ten calmed down a bit.

Crow Boss's mushrooms were finally bought by the general store.

Except for a few blue mushrooms she risked her life to steal from the Leech nest, the other delicious-looking mushrooms didn't sell for much.

Looking at a bag of chips in their hands, the four players looked worried.

"It's not enough."

After deducting the 70 chips for the mission props, today's earnings were 540 chips, with most contributed by Crow Boss.

The amount they could freely use was 270 chips.

"However, looking back, those Blue Umbrella Mushrooms were really valuable since they were sold by the gram! And you could get a chip for just 4 grams!"

"Sadly, they are too rare."

"Before winter arrived, Crow Boss had already snapped them all up; it seems like there are still some left in the NPC's warehouse."

"Now, the leech dens are merely used as bait by the fishermen, and the blue fungus on the wall won't regain its lush appearance anytime soon."

...

That night,

The four of them laid out their bedding on the second floor of the office and logged off, then simultaneously logged onto the Forum.

Under the eager watch of countless players and Backseat Drivers, Fang Chang updated the post with everything he had seen that day.

Including the fact that Teng Teng's art was on consignment.

Including the fact that Crow Boss had sold his mushrooms for a huge amount of money.

They clearly stated how much money everyone made from their sales, with clarity and openness.

Bad-mouthing people's equipment and game currency was something that any player with a bit of decency wouldn't do, and everyone trusted them as well.

Only Professor Thunder Mage Yang was left theorizing all sorts of things, saying it couldn't possibly be just that little sold, suspecting something fishy, but nobody paid him any attention.

All players' focus was captured by the new map's richness in freedom and content for exploration.

"What is called a virtual world!"

"This is what I call good!"

"'North Suburb' is simply survival in the wilderness!"

Even through the screen, Fang Chang could feel many people's eyes shining with envy.

Tail: "Can I start a Mercenary Guild! (✪ω✪)!"

Fang Chang: "Umm, that's an unanticipated path, you could try it."

WC has real mosquitoes: "Wait! What about my hand grenade? No one bought it!? (ﾟДﾟ#)"

Night Ten: "That's overcharged, who stuffs a half-pound of dynamite into a hand grenade? It got confiscated right at the door!"

WC has real mosquitoes: "Damn! My Crack Claw Crab Mine!"

Old White: "...I think it might be enough for an anti-tank."

Canyon-running Mole: "What about the exoskeletons? Did you see any exoskeletons? Damn, Red River Town is too poor!"

Fang Chang: "It's written in the post, take a good look."

Giant Stone City has exoskeletons.

Not only the basic KV-1 models but also series 2 and 3, and even the improved type a and b models priced from a thousand to tens of thousands of chips.

This stuff is like cars in the real world, with different styles, customizations, and vastly different prices.

The cheapest basic model is practically selling a power source and a small motor, while the expensive, high-end models are not only equipped with armor plates but also a helmet outfitted with night vision and thermal imaging devices. Even though it uses the same solid hydrogen technology, the batteries made from different materials and technologies vary greatly in safety and endurance.

However, those expensive ones are not up on the shelves, they usually require a special order.

After all, not everyone can afford so much money, in most cases, the mercenaries' choice is still the KV-1 which is slightly more expensive than a rifle.

But what Chu Guang didn't expect was that KV-1 Exoskeletons were so cheap on Giant Stone City's shelves, just 600 chips?

The actual production cost might well be only half that number.

Seeing what the little players were posting on the Forum, Chu Guang couldn't help but reminisce about the days of old – someone had once taken 2 kilograms of blue mushrooms from him for merely 200 chips and then turned around and sold him a set of KV-1 Exoskeletons for 800 chips each.

"That's Crow's hard-earned money!"

"Is it fair?"

However, when Chu Guang thought about the devices List had spent hundreds of thousands of chips to purchase from Giant Stone City, he couldn't be bothered over a few hundred chips.

If he didn't sell to him, he could only sell to Old Leech.

Most of the time, what he could do was not to choose the best option from two seemingly good choices but to pick the less terrible option from two poor choices.

Anyway, he had kept his promise and had thoroughly fleeced the guy once.

No, to say fleeced was too vulgar.

It should be called a win-win!

...

While Brother Elder Fang was busy replying to posts, Shu Yu had finally finished all his tasks and the office of Shelter No. 404 in Giant Stone City was successfully established.

Covering a total area of 120 square meters, with no shared public costs and excluding the entrance—spanning three floors, the monthly rental was 800 chips. The first floor was used as a lobby, and the second and third floors as a hostel for players to rest.

Depending on the circumstances, Chu Guang would consider whether to set up a save point here, installing some Sleep Cabins to facilitate players saving their games.

The area near the industrial zone of Giant Stone City had an electric grid, and a chip could buy 10 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Some people would buy wood-fired generators to produce their own energy or tie solar panels on their rooftops.

Others used a mix of both.

However, buying a generator could cost into the thousands, which was not suitable at the current stage.

With only 10,000 chips available, Shu Yu did not dare to squander. After paying three months' rent and one month's deposit, the remaining 6,800 chips needed to be split, with half spent on renovation and furnishing.

This was a directive from the Manager.

Even with the strained budget, the place still had to be renovated with "the flavor of the Adventurers Guild" based on the images he provided.

Shouldn't it have been styled like a Business Association?

Shu Yu was somewhat puzzled but didn't take it to heart, assuming it was just a personal preference of the Manager.

After leasing the site, he promptly set up the communication base station, hanging the antenna on the rooftop, camouflaged with some inconspicuous items.

With this device, players' VMs could finally receive messages from the shelter!

However, possibly due to the high enclosing wall, the signal here was exceptionally weak.

Deep into the night.

Finally having finished the day's work, Shu Yu hung the headset around his ears and made contact with the Manager back at the shelter.

"Sir, as per your instructions, I've contacted the local renovation company for the construction. The renovation of the lobby is expected to be completed within a week! The second and third floors will be finished within two weeks!"

"Well done, you did a great job."

A voice of approval came from the other end of the phone, then paused before continuing.

"With the venue squared away, we also need to address the employment issue promptly. I need you to hire some locals who are familiar with the area, at least ten people, half for fieldwork and half for office tasks."

Field workers would be responsible for liaising with players and interacting with locals.

This was something Chu Guang promised in the version, to provide players a more convenient channel by employing higher-level NPCs to help them sell their items.

When not busy, they could also gather market information, collect local rumors, and compile them into intelligence to send back to the shelter.

Soon the entire Qingquan City would become lively.

By then, one should be able to hear plenty of interesting tidbits.

As for the office staff, plainly speaking, they are civil servants, including receptionists for players, business handlers, and clerks who issue tasks, as well as those who negotiate other businesses with locals.

If any unemployed engineers or other shelters' Blue Jackets were found, they could offer them a new place to go.

If they were willing,

"... you can conduct the training for employees according to the handbook I sent you, and the salary can be slightly higher than the market rate. We can't rely on their loyalty, but we can bind them to our chariot with benefits."

"You handle it yourself, I trust your capabilities."

Holding the headphones with both hands, Shu Yu nodded seriously.

"Alright, sir, but there is a problem now... We only have 3,400 chips left in our account. Even if we go by the minimum standard here, we would need to pay an employee three chips per day, and considering we need to cover their food and lodging, the actual cost might be four to five chips, reaching up to 150 chips for the actual monthly employment cost. If we hire 10 people at a time, with our current funds, we could last for a maximum of two months."

It wasn't just that the funds in the account were insufficient.

More crucial was the source of the funds!

For an organization serving hundreds or even thousands of people, it couldn't always rely on subsidies from the shelter, especially since the shelter didn't have that many chips in reserve.

Hearing his concerns, Chu Guang spoke in a reassuring tone.

"Don't worry, the funding issue will be resolved soon. I hope you won't have to worry about chips in the future. Once the trade route opens, the import and export of bulk commodities between the shelter and Giant Stone City will be your responsibility, and 10% of the transaction value will serve as your funds."

"But remember, you are not a profit-oriented organization, but a public institution serving the collective of the shelter."

"I hope you bear this in mind!"

In simple terms, department KPI assessments shouldn't consider the retention of department funds. No wasting, but no need to be overly frugal, and definitely don't fight with other departments over funds.

Your promotion or appointment wouldn't depend on this. If you raise import prices just for a bit of funding, you'll have a tough time.

However, what Chu Guang considered simple might be a bit difficult for people in this world, so he simply switched to an explanation that Shu Yu could understand.

Shu Yu of course understood, and couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration.

Not for profit, but prioritizing the collective's interests.

No wonder he could govern such a vast territory, uniting those undisciplined waste land wanderers.

Such far-reaching vision and this level of ideological realm truly weren't comparable for ordinary wanderers…

...

The next day.

Early in the morning, not long after four little players had woken up, they were summoned by that NPC named Shu Yu.

Geared up, Night Ten spoke with gusto.

"What are we going to do today?"

Shu Yu spoke in the imperfect language of the shelter.

"Employment, workers."

Recruiting new NPCs?!

Can players be involved in this?!

When the four little players heard this, their eyes lit up.

Especially Night Ten, who was thrilled.

"Will you consider our opinions?"

Shu Yu paused for a moment, glanced at the VM, and nodded as he watched the subtitles pop up on the screen.

"Yes."

Of course.

After all, this office was there to serve them.

Rather, their opinions were very important.

"Hahaha, nice!"

Night Ten swung his fist excitedly, his face full of excitement.

Shu Yu: "...?"

"Naisu?"

What does that mean?

Although the VM translated it, after looking for a long time, he still didn't understand what the translation meant.

Wild Wind looked helplessly at Fang Chang, only to find this guy was also not serious, just pinching his chin mumbling.

"We really should pay attention to this... after all, these are companions we'll be interacting with daily."

Who could refuse a beautiful, fair-skinned elder sister softly saying "Be careful on the road," "Stay safe," or "I'll be waiting for your return"?

Even a vibrant "Cheer up" could be very motivating!

Fang Chang swore, it really wasn't just his personal preference but seriously for everyone's sake.

Wild Wind sighed.

"Let's analyze it rationally..."

Fang Chang immediately guessed what he was about to say and interrupted his spellcasting.

"Nice talk, now you can shut up."

Night Ten: "Screw off, I don't want rational!"

Old White: "Well, rather than being reasonable, I actually value the gamification more."

"..."

Wild Wind thought it might be better not to say anything more.

The person leading the way was the guard from List Commercial Team, that man called Kaia with the bandaged arm.

After several turns, they arrived at a bustling market.

However, unlike other markets.

The stalls here did not sell a dazzling array of goods, but people.

Some sold others, and some sold themselves.

"This is the largest 'Talent Market' in Giant Stone City! Whether free people or slaves, you can find them here!"

"Occasionally, you might even see androids brought by external commercial teams or even good items discarded by the Inner City nobles."

"There's no bigger talent market in Qingquan City. If you don't find anyone here who meets your criteria, you'd have to try your luck in the slums outside, but the quality there is much worse...I think you probably wouldn't be interested."

After a brief introduction, Kaia smiled slightly and looked at Shu Yu and the others standing beside him.

"Take your time picking, just be careful of those with obvious markings on their bodies. These people might be gang members, some even looters; unless you're confident in your eyes, it's best to be cautious."

Shu Yu looked at him unexpectedly.

"There are looters here?"

"Of course, the gates of Giant Stone City are open to everyone, and looters wouldn't write their deeds on their faces. But identifying them is actually easy, perceiving aura is a required course for any experienced warrior."

With a confident smile on his face, Kaia continued.

"I'm free until it gets dark, so if you're undecided, I'm willing to serve you!"

He was just a temporary worker at the Commercial Team.

Although he had been working for a year, he was far from being a core staff member. If the market was bad, he might be fired next year and would have to make his living in the Wasteland.

It was never a mistake to get on good terms with these people.

He was very clear that without the connection to Professor List, these people wouldn't even glance at him if they passed him on the street.

Being a man even the boss needed to please, he certainly wouldn't miss an opportunity to curry favor.

Book Yu, with his mind solely on his work, had far fewer psychological machinations; he nodded his thanks and then walked forward with the players.

This place was more like a refugee camp than a job market. It was definitely large but the quality was hardly satisfactory.

Skin and bones were common here, and most faces carried a pale hue, living on those "not at all nutritious nutrient pastes."

A few were dressed in neat business attire, holding signs filled with words describing their skills and job requirements.

Some set up a booth, charging to write on others' signs.

[Zhao Duo, Electrical Engineer, daily salary expectation 20 chips, accepts 12-hour shifts, can do carpentry and assemble iron pipe rifles.]

[Bi Lechi, Blacksmith, has worked in a steel mill, skilled with both small and large tools, 6 chips daily salary, 5 chips also acceptable if two meals are provided, not accepting work outside the city.]

[Lim, skilled with guns, daggers, skilled with everything.]

[...]

Looking at the scene in front of them, Fang Chang and Night Ten despaired.

"I'm despairing of the future era."

"What happened to everyone having improved genes?"

As far as the eye could see.

There were hardly any faces that were clear and lively.

"You two are seasoned players, why does it seem like it's your first time in the Game..." Old White cleared his throat, "Given the nutritional conditions in the Wasteland, isn't it rare to look good?"

"Yeah, the poor here are too skinny, but there are some pretty girls among the mercenaries..." Wild Wind's gaze was fixed on a beauty in a leather jacket, but he reflexively dodged when she looked over.

Night Ten argued, pulling out a counterexample: "But, Little Fish!"

Fang Chang rolled his eyes at him.

"Her nutrition isn't bad, okay? See if the Manager has ever missed a meal for her?"

Wild Wind nodded, making a fair comment.

"Indeed, compared to when we first entered the Game, the young girl seems to have grown a bit taller."

It wasn't just Little Fish.

Younger NPCs from the Outpost Base, mostly still decent-looking, especially those still growing.

Like the young Xu Shun beside them, and Lu Bei who went to Red River Town with Brother Mole.

These were the names they could recall.

And the tribesmen next door, they had a bit of exotic aura too.

A realization dawned in Night Ten's eyes.

"I get it, the version update's answer is fostering!"

Old White: "..."

Fang Chang: "Corporate-level understanding."

Wild Wind held his forehead.

"Please, try to be human."

...

While Book Yu and the players were selecting employees, on the other side, at the Gray Squirrel Clothing Store today, Xi Er was still dozing off behind the counter.

The two pieces of clothing in the window had disappeared.

Not because they were sold or lost, but rented out to those in need.

After all, the Blue Jackets would be staying here for several days, and it would occupy his prime location for nothing if they were sold.

Lost or damaged?

Even better.

Just compensate according to the price tag.

Doing business with acquaintances was reliable.

The door banged open suddenly, startling Xi Er, who almost fell off his chair.

Seeing it was Luo Bo, his old friend who ran a bar, Xi Er immediately cursed irritably.

"What are you doing? Can't you be gentle when you enter?"

Luo Bo paid him no heed, his eyes gleaming as he stepped forward, placing his hands on the wooden counter, and said with spittle flying,

"Got any more of those clothes?!"

Xi Er: "Yes..."

Luo Bo continued nonstop: "I'll take as many as you have! And those stockings, the really long kind!"

Xi Er was stunned.

"All of it?"

A sudden realization.

The previously half-asleep Xi Er was now fully alert, looking at him seriously.

"No problem, but those are Devil Silk, and it's Shelter technology... might be a bit difficult to get."

"But—"

Xi Er dragged out his words, his tone shifting.

"For the sake of our relationship, I can think of a way."

The disappointed Luo Bo immediately grabbed his hand upon hearing the latter part, excitedly saying,

"Thanks, my good brother!"

Xi Er cleared his throat.

"Cough, chips..."

"Ha ha, look at my memory! Almost forgot the most important thing!" Luo Bo chuckled, releasing his grip and reaching into his pocket. He brought out a bag of high-denomination chips and slapped them on the counter.

"Money for the deposit is included, 600 chips are all here! The rest will serve as down payment!"

Amazed by his straightforwardness, Xi Er quickly pocketed the chips, looking at him and asking,

"What do you want all those clothes for?"

"You know I run a bar!"

"I know that..."

"Then you definitely don't know what happened yesterday. I'm not bragging, but yesterday you should have come to my place for a drink," Luo Bo animatedly said, "when my dancer stepped onto the stage wearing that outfit, the whole bar went wild!"

Chapter 253: This is a Good Omen!

"...Is this the place?"

This was already the twentieth time today that Sil had repeatedly confirmed the address on the note, making sure he hadn't come to the wrong place.

What stood before him was a store undergoing renovation, with the sound of sawing wood and clanging noises coming from inside.

No matter how you looked at it, this place didn't seem like a hotel.

"Is there a person named Xu Shun here?"

"No, no, how many times do I have to tell you?" the man working on carpentry at the entrance replied impatiently.

Sil persisted with his questioning.

"Then who owns this place? I have an important client who gave me this address, and I need to find him.

What's that got to do with me?

The carpenter replied without even lifting his head.

"The owner's gone out and won't be back before dark. If you're looking to find him, just wait."

Before dark...

Noon is before dark, so is the afternoon, just because of this nonsense, he had already stood here for an entire day!

Now, as the sky was already darkening, this guy was still telling him before dark!

Just as Sil was about to give up, he caught sight of a figure approaching in the distance, instantly dispelling the regret and frustration on his face.

Like discovering a dropped purse on the ground, Sil called out with excitement.

"Hey! Mr. Xu Shun!"

He shouted while waving his hand to signal the man here.

"Is that your acquaintance?" Shu Yu looked at the guard next to him, surprised.

Xu Shun made a helpless gesture.

"The residents of the refuge consigned some goods with him, and they signed my name."

Shu Yu stroked his chin, nodding as if deep in thought.

"I see."

"It looks like there's a result."

Before the group could reach the door, Sil had already come forward to greet them, his face beaming with a brilliant smile.

"My friend, you finally came back!"

Before Sil could finish his pleasantries, Xu Shun immediately asked.

"Did you sell the stuff?"

"Sold it!"

Not minding that he had been interrupted, Sil continued to speak animatedly.

"My client really liked your... uh, artwork. And he said that if there's more, he'd like to buy some more to take back for his collection. I remember you had a big bundle, didn't you? If you haven't found a buyer, consider selling it to me."

The players watching the subtitles immediately had their eyes light up.

Especially Night Ten, his eyes sparkling.

"Damn, a kindred spirit!"

Sell!

Must sell it to him!

Old White's expression was subtly complex.

"It seems even the wasteland has its lsp."

Wild Wind coughed lightly and said, "...Anyway, it was sold."

Fang Chang nodded, "And the price was not bad, gives us an explanation for Teng Teng."

To be honest, they had inquired all over the market earlier and no one wanted the items; they had almost lost hope.

But who would have expected that after returning from the talent market, the situation would take a turn for the better?

Indeed, there were still people who recognized the value.

Wild Wind tried to rationalize things a bit. Those long-trailing evening gowns certainly couldn't be meant for mercenaries to wear.

Civilians lacked the financial power, so they could be directly ignored.

The one who could afford to spend so much money must be the nobles from the Inner City.

No matter who it was sold to, Fang Chang took the money bag from Sil's hands, counted the chips inside, and the sum was exactly 480.

Sil had already deducted his twenty percent—totaling 120 chips.

As for whether the guy secretly hiked up the price to earn a bit more, that was his own skill. The agreed-upon deal was simply a cut of the fixed price.

There were still three evening gowns left, and plenty of stockings, about twenty pairs.

With an evening gown priced at 500 chips and a pair of stockings at 100 chips, these clothes actually sold for an "exorbitant" 3500 chips.

Even Shu Yu standing by couldn't help but be amazed.

Good grief.

This deal was enough to pay 4 months' rent!

Of course, what the players were thinking about were the exoskeleton and other equipment on the shelves.

Half of these 3500 chips was theirs, and with the previously earned amount, they had already managed to amass a whopping 2000 chips.

Converted into silver coins, it was only 1000, but if they bought a KV-1 Exoskeleton or other equipment to sell back to players, it would be worth far more than 1000 silver coins.

A Miner Type I sold for 2000 silver and an unrestricted KV-1 sold for 1000 silver didn't seem excessive, right?

Three KV-1s worth 1800 chips could sell for 3000 silver coins, which was an absolute bargain!

Of course, this was just an example. There were plenty of items that could earn more than the KV-1, and many things in Giant Stone City were unavailable in the Outpost Base store.

Fang Chang planned to immediately post on the official website after logging off, running a pre-order service as well as asking if Teng Teng, the wealthy lady, needed any help buying stuff.

"Wait, why 3500 chips?"

After hearing Xu Shun relay the negotiation, Siele's eyes widened as he stared angrily at the few residents of the refuge in front of him and said,

"Aren't you forgetting about my twenty percent cut?"

"That was for consignment, friend, and this isn't," said Fang Chang, who was busy mapping out his commercial empire and didn't have time to entertain him. He used his newly learned vocabulary, mixed with Chinese, to brush off Siele, "If you want to buy, then pay up."

Xu Shun repeated this sentence.

But in reality, it was unnecessary.

Even if he only understood a few words, Siele immediately got the message these guys were trying to convey.

Dammit!

These backstabbing Blue Ground Squirrels!

Though it pained him like bleeding from his heart, Siele still took out his purse from his pocket and handed it over to Fang Chang with reluctance.

"This is all the cash flow from my store... a total of 3500 chips."

Night Ten turned his head to look at Wild Wind.

"Do you believe it? His store's cash flow just happens to be a round number."

Wild Wind gave him a puzzled look.

"Do you actually nitpick these details when playing games?"

Night Ten: "No, just find it ironic how realistic the AI seems when lying through their teeth."

Wild Wind: "..."

There's no need to be courteous with swindlers. Fang Chang took the moneybag from Siele without hesitation, counted twice to make sure it was correct, and stowed it away at his waist.

With a sunny smile on his face, Fang Chang said cheerfully,

"I'm glad you appreciate our art."

"The goods are inside the room; please follow us."

For the sake of art!

Full of irritation, Siele followed his footsteps into the store that was under renovation.

Although the process was fraught with setbacks, he had finally gotten what he wanted.

Looking at the valuable items filling his package, Siele made up his mind to squeeze every penny out of his old friend.

However, just as he was about to leave, Book Yu, who had been silent until now, suddenly called out to him.

"Please wait a moment."

Stopping at the door, Siele turned around and sized up the young man before him.

"Is there anything else?"

Book Yu shook his head.

"No, just curious about who is buying such expensive clothes. Could you satisfy my curiosity?"

Hah.

Do you think I would tell you?

Although he didn't spell out the laugh, Siele's response was blunt and to the point.

"Whoever can afford this sum is naturally a big shot. As for whom it's sold to, I obviously can't reveal that. It's the customer's privacy, and I hope you can understand."

Cash on delivery.

The deal was already done.

Having said that, Siel was about to turn and leave; however, the young man continued to speak.

"So, you also have the means to do business with big shots."

Siel boasted, "Of course, Gray Squirrel Clothing Store's customers span across the entire Wasteland. I'm not bragging."

"Is that so?" Book Yu thought for a moment and then continued, "Actually, we have quite a few similar products available. If you have the sales channels, we might consider a partnership."

"More available?!"

Siele's eyes widened as he took three to two steps towards him, speaking rapidly,

"How many more do you have? I want them all!"

His anxious demeanor and actions betrayed the urgency in his heart, but Book Yu smiled slightly, responding calmly,

"What I said about having plenty isn't about stock, but production capability. Of course, making these things takes some time. Leave me an address, and when necessary, I'll have someone contact you."

"Gray Squirrel Clothing Store, located right at the entrance of the market next door!"

Siel pulled out a paper from his pocket, hastily wrote down the address, and handed it politely to the young man before him.

Watching the young man accept the note, he chuckled and continued,

"If you have any goods, please make sure to contact me! Whether it's consignment or another form of partnership, Gray Squirrel Clothing Store is at your service!"

Book Yu gave a slight nod.

"I'll consider it."

...

Official forum.

Today, as always, was bustling with energy.

"Announcement: Shelter No. 404's office in Giant Stone City is now established! The person in charge is a little brother named Book Yu; everyone, go and bombard him. Additionally, the Outpost Base's Business Association is also under construction, currently entering the recruitment phase, so stay tuned!"

Debt Giant Eye: "This announcement is written by Xiao Qi, right?"

Old White: "Should be, doesn't sound like Brother Guang's style."

Lone Wolf: "Speaking of which, what is Brother Guang's style? (curious)"

Wild Wind: "Yeah, what exactly is it? Wild Wind would like to know too. What does everyone think? (sideways glance)"

Lone Wolf: "???"

Quit Smoking: "Damn, this imitation is too on point!"

Night Ten: "Light, you could've just read out my ID and be done with it. (funny)"

Edge Shoveling: "Where's Fang Chang? Where's your Fang Chang? How come I don't see him?"

Spring Water Commander: "Exactly! Damn Exalted, get your ass out here!"

Just as they were talking about Fang Chang, Elder Fang's ID popped up on the forum.

"Back now! Was editing a post just now! Today's haul was incredibly surprising, the trading volume added a whole extra zero compared to yesterday! It's not just the clothes consigned at the clothing store, all of Vine Cottage's works were snapped up by the locals! We now have a huge pile of chips in our hands, and I've compiled a price list of local goods. If anyone needs anything, I can proxy-buy for you. The prices are fair and transparent, no deception! (grinning)"

Tail: "I giao! Those thrilling clothes actually sold out! (ﾟ△ﾟ;ﾉ)ﾉ"

Si Si: "Is this what the adult world is like? (o°ω°o)"

Quit Smoking: "Teng Teng is awesome!!"

Elena: "Indeed, the force that drives continual progress in society is LSP. (funny)"

Wild Wind: "That's not necessarily accurate to say. After all, not everyone can afford clothing with three-digit prices. A rational analysis suggests that it must have been the nobles from the Inner City who bought them."

Grandpa Ao: "Laughable, who can't afford three-digit priced clothes nowadays? The clothing store my family runs has clothes that start at 999 at the cheapest, and the expensive ones go up to nine figures. You are all simply too young, haven't seen real splendor, the world is way more complex than you think."

Old White: "...are we even discussing things from the same dimension?"

Teng Teng: "!! Will my designed evening gowns appear at the noble ladies' balls?! (☆▽☆)"

Night Ten: "Definitely! You never know, in a while, Vine Cottage might become a hit in Giant Stone City."

Elena: "Invading the whole city is just a matter of time. (funny)"

Crow: "Ah... it's truly the Wasteland. The customs are too open; I really can't accept those kinds of clothes. (´‐ω‐)"

Night Ten: "Is it because they don't cover enough? (funny)"

Crow: "(*・ω・)✄╰ひ╯"

Elena: "(funny scared limited.jpg)"

Teng Teng: "What the hell, what are you all thinking about! Those clothes are not what you think they are! And by the way, your figure couldn't pull it off anyway, you need to be more slender to bring out that high-class feel!"

Crow: "Wait a minute, I can't just ignore that, are you calling me fat!!! (σ｀д′)σ"

Teng Teng: "No, no, that's not what I meant. QAQ"

Tail: "Tail bears witness! Master is not fat at all, just more endowed! (///ω///)"

Crow: "!??"

Si Si: "Let's hear from the designer. Teng Teng, who do you think would suit it better?"

Teng Teng: "Like… Boss Xia?"

Boss Xia?

Chu Guang, who was lurking on the screen, doubted Xia Yan would accept those kinds of clothes, her salary wasn't low, if she liked it, she would have bought it already.

Mercenaries are into leather products, be it leather jackets or short leather coats.

Compared to fiber-woven clothes, animal leather provides better protection against bites and cuts and isn't too uncomfortable in the rain.

Moreover...

He couldn't even imagine it.

That rough character wearing an elegant evening gown...

Chu Guang imagined it for a good while, and all he could come up with was someone clumsily tripping over the hem of a dress, which made him laugh out loud.

Xia Yan, sitting not too far away and reading a book, looked over skeptically.

"What are you laughing at?"

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"Nothing, just thought of something funny."

"Something funny?"

At the mention of something amusing, Xia Yan's spirits immediately lifted, she set down her book and waited with anticipation for him to continue.

A story is far more interesting than these little tadpole-like characters!

But Chu Guang wasn't in the mood to give details.

"When you finish the book you're studying, I'll tell you about it."

Xia Yan rolled her eyes and picked up the book again.

"Tch, stingy!"

Ignoring Xia Yan, who was learning Chinese, Chu Guang turned back to the computer screen.

The topic of players' discussions seemed to have veered from what a fair price for a dress is to the cultural conquest of the "Different World".

Some suggested bringing out Hanfu and Lolita skirts, but others quickly pointed out that the fabric consumption was too high, making it not cost-effective.

Then someone else suggested that, setting aside what to sell, we could first introduce the tail-payment system to reap the profits from the residents of the Wasteland.

While the ideas were big and the creativity commendable, Chu Guang still thought they were getting ahead of themselves.

The NPCs of Wasteland OL, although set up as NPCs, are only referred in relation to players.

These people are anything but stupid.

Chu Guang even dared to say that once someone found a substitute for Devil Silk, a whole bunch of knockoffs would pop up quickly.

There is no trademark law or patents in the Wasteland, everything used are things from the pre-war civilization already researched extensively. Even if a new gimmick comes out one day, who can claim they invented it?

"Surely someone will discover that polyamide can be a substitute."

This stuff is just a type of thermoplastic resin, you can create it through the condensation of adipic acid and hexamethylene diamine, and its uses aren't limited to making stockings. It is also used in various machinery and electronics parts, including bearings, gears, pulleys pump impellers, blades, high-pressure seals, and more.

The chemical plant at Outpost Base also produced this stuff in small quantities, with the biomass oil from the Cam Trees being an excellent raw material.

No need to even think about it.

Even Mosquito Brother can make this stuff, so Giant Stone City definitely can too, it's just that no one has tapped into that market yet.

"Who would have thought that the clothes made by Vine Cottage would successfully infiltrate the high society of Giant Stone City?"

"This is an unexpected delight."

"If this style of clothing can become fashionable in high society and start a trend, and then we create a lower-cost alternative to promote in the down-market, it just might work!"

Devil Silk products take the high-end route, while nylon silk textiles tap into the down-market!

A smile spread across Chu Guang's face.

"I am simply a genius!"

Making clothes and socks is a bit lowbrow?

What does it matter!

Light industry earns foreign exchange, which can then subsidize heavy industry—it's a reasonable strategy.

As long as it can be developed, one shouldn't be too particular about the means.

At this moment, all that needed to be verified was the local acceptance of such products.

Chu Guang's gaze drifted subconsciously to Boss Xia's knees.

Boss Xia, who hadn't been all that focused on reading, felt the stare and reflexively tensed up, asking quietly.

"What are you doing..."

"Nothing."

Forget it.

Just basing things on his own or the players' aesthetics didn't seem very significant; even if Chu Guang thought it was OK, it didn't mean the Wasteland's consumers would agree.

It was better to let the market be the judge.

Chu Guang had plenty of confidence in his little players.

Teng Teng's clothing had already conquered the high society of Giant Stone City.

It was a good sign!

Xia Yan: "?"

Chu Guang diverted his gaze from Boss Xia and opened his VM, intending to draft a mission for the players at the chemical plant, but his fingers paused on the screen.

Emmm...

Thinking about it.

What would be a suitable name for this mission?

...

It was ten o'clock at night, and the darkness was deep.

Qingquan City in the night was like a quiet graveyard, but Giant Stone City near the third ring was anything but silent. Some districts were even livelier than during the day, like the exuberant youth dancing on graves.

Everyone needs a way to relieve pressure.

People's needs can't be satisfied by food alone.

From a chip for a big glass of watered-down beer to three-digit specialty cocktails, people were always looking for ways to add some fun to their lives.

Close to the Inner City, the Night Queen Bar, with its pulsating music and dazzling lights, was bursting with people as usual tonight.

On a purple sofa, a man surrounded by women lounged comfortably.

The shoes he was wearing were made from Death Claw hide and were even designed by a famous master from Ideal City, with gold gilt embossed from the top all the way to the sole.

Would the gilding wear off when it's on the sole?

Was that something he needed to worry about?

If it peels off, just get a new pair. Besides, he didn't need to traverse mountains and rivers to make a living like the Waste Land Wanderers.

His name was Yang Kun, the owner of the Redwood Lumber Mill, with considerable industry in the south and two properties in the Outer City, and he even kept a Commercial Team and a Mercenary Group under his command.

In this bar, he was somewhat of a minor celebrity.

"Luo Bo, my little radish, you guys keep coming out with more and more variety."

The two beauties embraced in his arms were wearing the art pieces previously acquired from Blue Jacket.

Pure white evening gowns and over-the-knee socks, innocent yet a bit devilish, noble yet slightly shallow, sexy yet not too sexy.

This tantalizing sensation was simply superb!

Luo Bo's face was covered with smiles as he courteously said.

"It's my pleasure to satisfy you!"

Yang Kun slowly nodded and said.

"There's only one fault with these clothes."

Luo Bo immediately responded, "Please tell us, we will definitely improve it in the future!"

Yang Kun: "They're too durable."

Luo Bo was momentarily stunned but, catching the knowing look from his regular client, instantly understood.

They both burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha, you are so humorous!"

"Flattered, you're not bad either."

Yang Kun stood up, holding two dancers, and shook the black card between his fingers.

"Get me a room, I'm a bit tired and would like to take a nap."

"You got it!"

Watching the esteemed guest head upstairs, Luo Bo's heart was filled with excitement, burning with anticipation.

He had a strong feeling.

It wouldn't be long before he would become the Night Queen of the entire Giant Stone City—

Oh no, it should be the Night Emperor!

—

(Sorry for the delay… pretend I took half a day off. T.T.)

Chapter 254: Qin Shi Huang touches an electric door, Wins Mahjong

Giant Stone City's bars weren't limited to just the "Night Queen."

While Luo Bo was dreaming about dominating the night of Giant Stone City, cheers for the good stuff from the North Suburb were echoing in the Pirate Bay Tavern down another street.

"Spiritual Water?! Fuck, in this dead of winter, where did you get all these great things from?"

The man sitting at the bar, looking at the bottles and jars on the shelves, showed a face filled with envy and desire.

His name was Ant, the leader of the Red Rocket Mercenary Group, with around forty to fifty men under his command, and including himself, there were six Awakeners.

If it were outside Giant Stone City, with such strength, he wouldn't be an emperor, but it would be more than enough to be a rich landowner like Old Leech.

But here, he was merely a mercenary chief.

There were too many similar cases, and no one would take the trouble to remember the name of a mercenary group and exactly how many people they had.

Because it was meaningless; they might be gone tomorrow, or they might have switched their coats and started another line of work.

The bartender in front of him seemed not to have heard his question at all and kept calmly wiping glasses while speaking in an unhurried tone.

"200 chips."

Ant's eyes bulged as he blurted out.

"200 chips?! For that tiny 200-milliliter bottle? Are you guys crazy for money?!"

The bartender glanced at him, his expression unchanged.

"This is the undiluted good stuff. Extracting these 200 milliliters of essence requires at least one kilogram of Spirit Leaf. You wouldn't be foolish enough to chug this bottle in one go."

A safe intake was below 20 milliliters. Many mercenaries would mix it into alcohol or directly dilute it with water.

Typically, mixing 20 milliliters of concentrated Spiritual Water with 200 milliliters of pure water could make a bottle of Spiritual Water with the best effect, providing two hours of fearlessness.

These two hours were critical.

After all, most battles ended within half an hour; two hours of this good state was more than enough to help them immensely.

He hadn't expected that they would still have this kind of undiluted good stuff here.

Surprise flickered across Ant's face.

If the price was one chip per milliliter, it wasn't excessive, especially during winter, when it was hard to get a lot of Spirit Leaf.

"Give me five bottles!"

The bartender skillfully turned around, took five bottles from the shelf, and placed them on the table.

"That'll be 1000."

Without a second word, Ant slapped a bag of chips onto the table.

"It's all here... Fuck, the money didn't even get warm in my pocket before it landed in yours. You better get me some good work!"

"Winter's already over; do you still worry about not having work?"

The bartender smiled faintly, opened the bag to have a look, then put the chips in a drawer under the counter.

After a moment of thought, he continued.

"There's going to be a fight in Red River Town, and I heard the price they're offering is not bad, a six-month contract of 300 red and blue tickets, whether it's men or women shipped to the south could make money, if you can't find a buyer, you can also bring them here, are you interested?"

"Got anything closer?" Taking the Spiritual Water from the table, Ant lit a cigarette for himself, "Six months is too long, at the beginning of the year I just want a short-term job."

If things went fast, in two to three weeks, if slow, in two months, commercial teams from the enterprises would come here.

This year he planned to try his luck in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

Not just to make money, but also to get himself and his brothers some bionic prosthetics, a couple of reliable pieces of equipment.

He'd heard that things were heating up in Yunjian Province, fighting fiercely against the Mutants. If he could mix in there for a couple of years, maybe he could return home clothed in silk and retire.

No one could be a mercenary all their life.

Neither could Awakeners.

Watching the man sitting in front of the bar, the bartender said thoughtfully.

"Then you'll just have to wait for the Tide."

Ant raised his eyebrows.

"Will there be one this year?"

"I don't know, but the chances are high," the bartender shrugged and continued, "It's been a tough winter. Not only the animals need to find food, but those decaying things need to gnaw on something too. With all that snow last month, I would find it strange if nothing happened when spring arrives."

The Tide.

Ant licked the corner of his mouth, a flicker of excitement passing through his eyes.

What an opportunity!

Whenever the "Tide" arises, the big shots of Giant Stone City would throw out loads of chips, mobilizing those temporary workers to the front line.

Mercenaries battle-hardened like them wouldn't die in the mouths of the Variants as easily as those Cannon Fodders.

Not only that, they could also make a killing in the process!

This money was even easier to earn than what the commercial teams made, after all, the risk of engaging in open warfare with the Variants was far less than the chances of getting shot in a cold-blooded skirmish with Looters.

"Give me ten more bottles!"

Ant had already prepared himself for a big fight.

If this year's Tide were to come.

These highly sought-after supplies would definitely increase in price—stocking up now while there was a "discount" could never be wrong.

The bartender's face broke into a pleased smile as he calmly accepted the chips Ant handed over and then fetched ten bottles of Spiritual Water to place on the table.

"I've always had an eye for people."

"You look like someone who's going to make a fortune!"

…

[Task: Market Expansion]

[Content: The products from Vine Cottage are all the rage in the Inner City of Giant Stone City. To enrich the spiritual lives of the people in the Wasteland, we need to develop more products that even the average person can afford. This would not only bring in foreign exchange for us but also reduce our industrial costs...]

[Reward: …]

[Posted by: Xia Yan]

The new industrial district's chemical plant.

Many players scrolled through this task in their task bar.

Although it spun a long story, the meaning was actually easy to understand—

'Shelter No. 404 needs more polyamide to produce stockings of various colors and transparencies, so get to producing.'

However, the focus wasn't the content of the task, not even the generous rewards, but the one who posted the task.

This name...

Was it really not a bug?

"Holy shit? Boss Xia has this hobby?!"

A player standing next to the production line exclaimed with surprise as if they'd discovered an Easter egg in the Game.

However, it didn't take long for people to realize that things might not be so simple.

"Hang on, doesn't the tone of this task description sound like the Manager?"

"Indeed, Boss Xia never talks so much when posting tasks."

"!!! Holy crap, why do I feel even more excited now?!"

"Who cares, brothers, let's just do it, power to us!"

"OK, OK!"

"Roar, black stockings will conquer the Wasteland!"

"I have to ask, you planning on wearing them on your heads?"

The raw materials for producing polyamide could mostly be found in NPC warehouses, and those that couldn't be found could be ordered through the Warehouse Manager, or players could ask for help by posting on the Forum.

The number of players making reservations kept growing, and even more came to watch the hustle and bustle; occasionally, some high-level big shots would make an appearance.

Despite the backward production conditions and rather old-fashioned production methods, the small-time chemical engineers were busy as can be. Everyone actively shared their opinions and discussed production methods more suitable for the Wasteland.

While the chemical industry was seriously saturated in the real world, in the Game, they were all rare talents, the big shots in the eyes of players and Waste Land Wanderers.

Whether they were life-skilled players or combat professional players, they all had to admit it.

Cooking and housekeeping, that I can do too.

But this, if I were to do it, I might not actually be capable.

In fact, not only did the players who received the task at the chemical plant get excited, but the "wealth legends" of the Ox-and-Horse Team and Vine Cottage also tantalized every player who read the strategy posts— even the Backseat Drivers.

An endless stream of ideas surfaced on the Forum and were brought into the Game by a group of players with immense hands-on ability.

Take Mosquito, for example.

This guy could never sit still.

Especially after his "Crack Claw Crab Repellent Mines" were critiqued on the Forum, he was determined to come up with something useful.

To speak plainly, he really did succeed.

He created removable steel plates specifically designed for the KV-1 Exoskeleton, perfectly defending against bullets targeted at the chest.

Among various bulletproof materials, steel plates are always the most cost-effective option. The only disadvantages are their weight and the possibility that ricochet shards might hurt the soldier's chin and wrists.

However, for an Exoskeleton, this wasn't a problem at all. A little clever design could distribute most of the weight onto the skeleton framework. The issue of shard ricochet could be resolved with a design akin to a collar.

This type of "rigid individual armor" might not be of great significance in the wars of the 21st century, but in the alley-centric warfare of the Wasteland, it could be extremely effective.

Especially when dealing with Looters, no one could predict from which direction the attack would come, nor could they predict what weapons the enemy held in their hands.

Many mercenaries would weld steel plates onto their KV-1 exoskeletons, but generally there were no standards, and they did it purely based on their own experience.

Maybe these standardized, detachable parts could really sell like hotcakes?

Not just the Mosquitoes.

The entire industrial sector was looking for ways to profit from the "New Map".

Chu Guang was both relieved and grateful for this.

Relieved that these little players were improving in their understanding of the version, which meant he could save himself a great deal of micromanagement and devote more energy to strategic decisions.

As for feeling grateful, it was because the pioneering work had come to an end in the past two days, so he could comfortably wrap up the expansion pack, reward those diligent little players, and then make plans for the next season's plowing.

Otherwise, if everyone ran off to shear the neighbor's wool, no one would be left to farm the land...

...

"Shit, I'm finally back!!!"

At the North Gate of Changjiu Farm.

A Commercial Team laden with goods stopped at the unloading point. Qian Duo found List and handed over the ledger to his boss, and List then found Luka to start valuing the goods and discussing what to ultimately trade for them.

Looking at the newly cultivated fields to the west, the fleeing Brother Mole from the canyon was so surprised that his jaw dropped.

"...Hell, the map's been updated?!"

He had only been out for half a month.

And yet, on his return, everything had already changed so much!

Not just the tens of thousands of acres of cultivated land, but also the bright yellow corn cobs spread out to dry on the Open Space by the North Gate.

Holy moly.

A rough count of the corn, and it would be at least tens of tons!

This was too surprising!

Makabazi, walking out of the granary, saw Brother Mole looking like a refugee, with an equally surprised expression on his face.

"Holy fuck, Mole?! Did you run off to escape famine or what?"

The fleeing Brother Mole from the canyon rolled his eyes.

"Get lost, I became like this because I was out scouting the map for you guys."

Makabazi looked at him strangely and continued to ask.

"Why did your trip take so long this time? I remember it took at most half a week for one trip, right?"

Even that lucky bastard Fang Chang has made a second trip to Giant Stone City!

A two-week round trip is way too slow!

The fleeing Brother Mole helplessly said, "The initial plan was to return in a week, but who could predict what would happen on the road. It would have taken another two or three days to get here; this was already quite fast!"

Makabazi, astonished, said, "What on earth did you all encounter? Dead Claws?"

The fleeing Brother Mole said, "No, what we encountered was much more thrilling than Variants, there's been a fight in Red River Town."

Makabazi: "A fight? With who?"

"Who else? The only shit-stirrers in River Valley Province are those from the Chewing Bone Tribe. Before I left, I heard an NPC from the Commercial Team say that two thousand-team units of the Snake Tribe had already blocked the passages to the north and west of Red River Town, and it's said a third thousand-team is on the way to cut off the east as well."

"Of course, Red River Town isn't showing any weakness either. Some mine owners and business leaders joined hands, hired more than twenty Mercenary Groups, and trained a large number of Soldiers, claiming to have an army of ten thousand... but honestly, I don't think they even have half that number."

"For safety, we had to detour south... getting through a Survivor Settlement called Garbage City and then turning back toward the northwest... just like this."

Mole drew a "V" in the air with his index finger, their return trip looked roughly like this on the map.

However, compared to his journey, Makabazi was clearly more curious about something else.

"Wait a minute! What place is Garbage City?"

Could it be a hidden map?!

"Well, how should I put it? A Survivor Base that's neither too big nor too small. I'll draw it on the Forum later, but it feels much smaller than Giant Stone City, and it's even further from here than Red River Town."

At this point, Mole chuckled.

"That's what surprised me the most. I didn't expect the Game's map to be even bigger than I had imagined! Some background Survivor Settlements have already been implemented in the game."

"I have a bold hypothesis that the background maps of Ideal City and so on might have already been updated in the game, it's just that some parts are not finished yet, so the planners haven't made a big deal of it."

If this hypothesis is correct, if you head east from here, you might really be able to reach the legendary Ideal City.

The only problem is that you can't save the game along the way, there's no VM signal, and as strangers in a strange land, the idea of making it there on foot is a bit fanciful.

Listening to Mole tell tales of distant places, Makabazi had an envious look on his face.

Just then, the Manager clad in power armor came walking over from the direction of Changjiu Farm's North Gate.

"Hard work!"

Seeing Brother Mole, who now looked the part of a refugee, Chu Guang settled his task and added after him,

"Go take a shower when you get back."

That smell is just too much!

Brother Mole, somewhat embarrassed, scratched his head, probably aware that his own scent was likely intolerable at the moment, so he decisively went to wait for the bus at the south gate.

On his journey, he fought countless battles, leveling up once, but since he couldn't find a save point anywhere, he was more than a little anxious.

Chu Guang looked at the materials the Commercial Team was unloading.

Aside from the rifles List had gotten from him, there was a batch of goods that belonged to him, which List was selling on commission, splitting the profits 80/20.

This batch of weapons had been traded for nearly fifty tons of mineral resources, twenty tons of worm gel and worm powder for improving soil fertility, and twenty-five Double-headed Cows.

List, accompanied by the apprentice of Qian Duo, walked over to Chu Guang.

"Nearly seventy percent of these goods are yours, and I plan to settle the remaining thirty percent with rifles and make another trip to Red River Town to exchange for raw materials."

Although exchanging for Spirit Leaf was also a good option, as it's easier to turn into chips, the Commercial Team that went to Giant Stone City hadn't returned.

He couldn't just let his team sit around idle.

Taking advantage of Qian Lai not being back yet, he planned to make another trip to Red River Town to exchange for resources that were scarce in Changjiu Farm.

It would be the same to settle with Spirit Leaf later, and he could exchange for even more than now!

After hearing List's plans, Chu Guang nodded and continued,

"Once the delivery of materials is complete at the Warehouse, I'll give you a list. Aside from rifles, we have other good stuff for sale."

List raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?"

Chu Guang said with a slight smile,

"Death Whistle Rockets, Hell Breath Motorcycles, 88mm mortars, 20mm Cavalry Guns anti-tank rifles, and various kinds of ammunition... They've all been tested in battle. We've used them to brutally beat the Looters to the north, and they're all ready to do it again."

"You can tell our friends in Red River Town that they can trust us completely. Chewing Bone Tribe is a problem for everyone, and we'll support their war with real action."

Selling rifles and bullets isn't as profitable as selling Artillery; the former can be produced by hand, while the latter isn't something a few small workshops can easily craft.

The 37mm "Heavy Cavalry Gun" was already developed, and its power was way beyond the 20mm "Cavalry Gun," with over 70mm of penetration at a hundred meters—more than enough for light and medium armor!

And it's not just the products of Factory 81; Goblin Technology's products are equally powerful. The accuracy of the rockets went from a one-kilometer error in the early days to within two hundred meters now.

To further improve their power and accuracy, they had to be tested on the Battlefield.

Without a doubt, Red River Town was an excellent weapon testing ground. The hundred-kilometer distance between them made direct conflicts unlikely, and the Chewing Bone Tribe was a common enemy to all Survivor Settlements in River Valley Province.

Since someone was willing to pay for the armaments industry of Shelter No. 404, Chu Guang certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity to open up a market for his factory.

Not to mention that this buyer also had a lot of human resources and mines at their disposal.

Who knows, maybe in the course of the war, he would end up buying Red River Town.

Hearing that Chu Guang had so many good items, List's eyes lit up, and a pleasant smile spread across his face.

"With your promise, the Mine Owners of Red River Town will be overjoyed! They've been tormented enough by those Barbarians with their Armored Pickup Trucks, and your anti-armor experience and weapons will definitely come in handy!"

Chu Guang replied with a slight smile,

"It's not just about providing weapons; we also offer well-trained Soldiers and Instructors. If they need it, we can even sign a long-term Mercenary contract."

List said excitedly,

"I'll ask them for you, there shouldn't be a problem!"

The people of Shelter No. 404 had once defeated the Snake Tribe, and word of it had already spread.

From List's perspective, he naturally hoped the war would last as long as possible, as that was the only way he could earn more chips.

Hearing List's promise, a pleased smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"I'll send two ten-man teams with you right away."

The front line was a bit stretched, but with the Sleep Cabin as a save point, it wasn't a big problem—if someone died, just replace them.

It was better to tie the Snake Clan down in Red River Town than to face both the Snake Clan and the Ya Clan at the same time.

And that's not all.

The players received their missions, the people of Red River Town gained safety, and he acquired resources from Red River Town.

If the cooperation went well, and he played his cards right, Shelter No. 404 might even establish a permanent military base there in the future.

This round was more than a win-win.

It was like Qin Shi Huang encountering an electric gate—a complete sweep!

Chapter 255: Expansion Pack Settlement! Trade and Foreign Reserves!

Worldwide Announcement: "To Forge Swords into Ploughshares" expansion pack has officially ended!

The total number of participants in this event was 1,100, with a total area of reclaimed land reaching 21,211 acres, 1,700 sets of basic agricultural tools produced, and 17 modified mechanized agricultural devices...

The farmer profession gameplay is now open: Receive the farmer profession at Changjiu Farm from Luka, complete the employment quest, and you will get the system-given "Pioneer Basic Set". Once your planting proficiency level reaches 1, you can apply for 3 acres of tillable land, at level 3 you can apply for 10 acres of tillable land, level 6 opens up 100 acres of tillable land with an additional gift of 15 acres for construction use, and level 8 removes area restrictions and allows you to transfer to the "farm owner" profession, starting a brand-new career!

Players who have reclaimed more than 66 acres of land will automatically receive the "Pioneer Expert" title and their planting skills will be automatically upgraded to level 6.

The list for activity points settlement has been sent to individual accounts. The lottery and prize redemption function will open at 18:00 today. Thank you everyone for your active participation! The test data from this expansion pack will provide a valuable real basis for the open beta of Wasteland OL!

As usual, the announcement was released at the peak time when players were logging off.

Within less than a minute of the announcement, the whole forum instantly became lively.

Tail: "Shocked! The expansion pack is actually over! !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si: "Yi! I thought it would last until the end of the month... Damn, I was just 1 point short of getting another lottery ticket."

Quit smoking: "Hey, I have no high hopes as a Non-Tribal, just hoping for a guaranteed minimum. T.T"

Edge Shoveling: "Speaking of which, what's the guaranteed minimum this time?"

Elena: "Didn't check, but can you not set your sights a little higher? What's the difference between you and a salted fish if you're just looking at the guaranteed minimum before drawing? (joking)"

I Max Black: "Holy shit! The top prize is... whoa! Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton?!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "How much is the Type 5 Light Cavalry Exoskeleton again?!"

Old White: "Ten thousand silver coins... and you also have to be a medium citizen."

Night Ten: "Mother of... then this damn thing must be upwards of fifty thousand silver coins?!"

With the prize pool revealed, the focus of almost every player and backseat driver was captured by that one and only Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" Exoskeleton!

Limited to one piece in the prize pool!

Leading version of God Equip!

Whoever draws it gets to keep it!

Although it's police equipment, this gear is the genuine article from "before the war", and whether it's the setting on the background plate or the stats in the game, it's top-of-the-class at its level!

Even the guard's Type 5 seems like a little brother in front of it.

Who will be this event's Exalted, has become the biggest suspense of this lottery!

As for those vouchers worth 10, 50, and 100 silver coins, as well as the PU-9 Submachine Gun and Ripper Rifle that sneaked into the prize pool, not many people paid them any mind.

...

"Not bad."

At Shelter No. 404, in the Manager's Office.

Chu Guang, peeking at the computer screen, saw the little players excitedly exchanging on the forum and a smile spread across his face like that of a proud father.

"To Forge Swords into Ploughshares" expansion pack had come to a perfect conclusion, and the spring farming plan had completed the most critical and difficult first step.

Including the land cultivated by NPCs, the total farming area for Shelter No. 404 now reached an astounding 35,101 acres, far exceeding Chu Guang's initial plan of 30,000 acres.

With this land, if things go well, Shelter No. 404 could not only settle more than ten thousand displaced Waste Land Wanderers, but also recruit ten thousand more players and provide them with a basic gaming experience.

"This must be the first expansion pack since the game's launch to have such a perfect ending!"

At least there were no game-experience-ruining bugs like "unable to respawn".

And it also filtered out a batch of players who are keen on farming.

As a planner with multiple responsibilities, Chu Guang was quite satisfied with his work.

Xiao Qi, who was crouching in the corner charging up, quietly lifted the Camera and stole a glance at Chu Guang's side profile.

It seemed that his master was in a pretty good mood?

So, it should be okay to bring up some bad news, right?

"Master."

Hearing Xiao Qi's voice, Chu Guang looked over at the wastebasket in the corner.

"What's wrong?"

Xiao Qi continued in a soft voice.

"But we've gone a bit over budget this month."

Chu Guang, "By how much?"

Xiao Qi, "Um, just for the spring plowing alone, you've invested 2.21 million silver coins. According to the algorithm you set, this not only far exceeds our fiscal income for the month but even exceeds the total social output value of the shelter this month… Is that really okay?"

Huh?

It's exceeded by that much?!

A brief look of surprise flashed across Chu Guang's face, but he quickly regained his composure.

"No problem, it's just a small deficit, not a big issue."

Mobilizing players to reclaim wasteland wasn't without cost; whether it was task rewards or the final lottery prize pool, money had to be spent.

On average, each player earned a profit of 2009 silver coins from this expansion pack.

However, averaging the numbers didn't mean much at this point.

Because the earnings of some hardcore grinders were clearly two to three times that of other players, and some who weren't interested in farming only did the tasks for the first few days and then went off to do other things.

What did 2.21 million silver coins mean?

With different productivity and social environments, this amount couldn't be directly converted into RMB, but it could be referenced against the price of goods.

The LD-47 assault rifle, a benchmark for the industrial goods prices of Shelter No. 404, was priced at 200 silver coins, and a 7mm bullet cost 1 silver coin.

At the same time, the most representative rye was bought at 1 silver coin per kilogram and sold for 2 silver coins per kilogram. The buy and sell prices for potatoes were basically twice that figure, and corn, originally the same as potatoes, recently had a discount, with buying and selling prices dropping by 20% and 30% respective to the baseline.

Without considering price fluctuations, 2.21 million silver coins could buy ten thousand rifles, or empty the granaries of Outpost Base and Changjiu Farm three times!

But Chu Guang wasn't worried.

First of all, only less than 40% of the 2.21 million silver coins were directly deposited into the players' VMs, and a large part went into the enterprise accounts of life profession players or was distributed as physical goods, having minimal impact on prices.

And the use of funds in enterprise accounts was strictly regulated and audited.

Chu Guang had considered these issues several versions ago.

Registering players as companies and setting up dedicated enterprise accounts were prepared for situations like today!

"…Moderate inflation is conducive to social prosperity. You can think of it as me borrowing 2 million silver coins from my own bank to expand production. These farmlands will turn into grain to fill our granaries in autumn, so it's not entirely a deficit."

"Moreover, the trade routes to Giant Stone City and Red River Town have been opened, and caravans from afar will soon come here, taking away things we don't need to places even further away. As long as we control the trade surplus well and reasonably shear the passing merchants, these trade routes will absorb a large part of the inflation."

Xiao Qi nodded somewhat understandingly at the camera.

Although not entirely clear, seeing the master so confident, it must not be a big problem, right?

"By the way, Xiao Qi."

Xiao Qi, "What is it, master?"

Chu Guang, "When exactly can we unlock Floor B4? Winter has already passed, hasn't it?"

Previously, Chu Guang wasn't in a hurry when the population hadn't reached the cap, but as the newbies gradually became veterans, he began to feel a bit anxious.

Low-income, low-barrier daily activities were mostly undertaken by the newbies, and players like those enthusiastic about chopping wood even after awakening, such as Midnight Chicken Killing, were rare.

And according to Chu Guang's tests, the actions of the indigenous people would not count towards the completion progress of the daily activities.

In other words, the number of newbies was linked to the reward points he could earn daily; previously, he would average about 15 points per day, but recently it had dropped to 8-9.

Although a mature veteran player was much more valuable than a newbie, some jobs still needed people to do them.

Only a steady influx of fresh blood could form a benign cycle, just like a population—one large increase at a time and no increase at all was not desirable.

Xiao Qi, "Um, I'm not sure, the information Xiao Qi has is basically what you already know... Could it be that the time condition hasn't been met? Like it's set to open at a certain year?"

Chu Guang couldn't help but retort, "If it's set to the Wasteland Era year 312, wouldn't that mean I could be buried and still not see Floor B4?"

Xiao Qi: "Eh? Shouldn't take that long, right?"

Chu Guang: "..."

Why the question marks???

Never mind.

No point in making things hard for an AI.

With his manager's privileges, Chu Guang opened the "Administrator's Log" page of the shelter system, his index finger swiping continuously on the screen.

However, after flipping back and forth for quite a while, all he could see was the long list of daily tasks, without a trace of Floor B4's privileges.

Could it be that this shelter only has three floors?

Impossible...

Considering the design of Shelter No.117, there are still many facilities yet to be unlocked!

Getting worked up over tasks that wouldn't pop up was pointless.

Giving up on his search, Chu Guang's gaze finally rested on the manager's allowance.

He had actually saved up 457 reward points this month.

The canned goods and chocolate in the fridge had never been finished, and it had been a while since he opened a blind box. He hadn't realized he had accumulated so much.

"Master?" Xiao Qi tilted its camera as Chu Guang stood up from his chair.

"I'm going to wash my face."

Leaving just those words, Chu Guang exited the office, eagerly heading toward the living area on Floor B2.

457 reward points!

That would open quite a few good things!

Perhaps thanks to his face wash beforehand, the prizes from the blind boxes this time were unexpectedly decent and even gave Chu Guang a bit of a pleasant surprise.

The four advanced blind boxes contained a Hummingbird drone, a set of "Light Cavalry" Type Five exoskeletons, a set of "Heavy Cavalry" Type Six exoskeletons, and a thermal imager with a 1~6x zoom ratio.

The thermal imager was a weapon accessory, with an adjustable slot beneath the scope that seemed intended for the Human Alliance Army's Type 10 assault rifle, though it would work on other guns as well. Besides the zoom ratio, it had three basic modes that could be adjusted—quite handy.

Chu Guang planned to organize an auction before the next version update, allowing the players to decide for themselves how much it was worth.

As for that "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeleton, it was probably the most valuable item of the lot, and the second one he had ever drawn.

It seemed his luck had been used up on the advanced blind boxes, as the other five intermediate and seven basic blind boxes yielded only average rewards—nothing but bandages, sprays, chocolates, and lollipops.

"Is there a candy factory hidden underneath this shelter?"

After picking up the candies from the conveyor belt, Chu Guang silently complained to himself.

Oh well.

They'll make good snacks for Little Fish.

...

The next day.

The plaza of Outpost Base was bustling with noise and activity, chattering and clamoring.

Everyone was waiting for the exact moment of 18:00—the game's in-world time of 6 am—when the lottery function, along with land and title reward exchanges, would start precisely on time!

Despite the planners' assurances that the prize rate wasn't affected by the number of participants, there was only one grand prize, and whoever drew it would lock it in.

Thus, everyone was online at the first opportunity, fearing this one chance might be snatched away by some blessed gamer.

Silver Hand: "Dear heavens, bless me, I don't ask for much, just a KV-1 set will do!"

Silver Daddy: "Dear planner, I also don't ask for much, just give me a set of the Miner Type I exoskeleton!"

Silver Sword: "Damn! And you call that 'not asking for much'?"

Gnome King Riches: "Exactly! Those things aren't even in the prize pool!"

Silver Daddy: "Hehe, you've got to have dreams, right? What if there's a bug?"

Elena: "Light: Hello, there's a bug with your equipment, it can't be used properly, so let us swap it for a 10% off voucher for the KV-1 exoskeleton for you, please leave us a good review... manually funny."

Quit Smoking: "Damn, that's just too much!"

Crow: "Abba abba abba, I'm willing to trade the lifelong bachelorhood of everyone here, just so I can win the grand prize!"

Gnome King Riches: "What use would you have for that thing!"

Cut the Crap: "Exactly! What's the use of an exoskeleton for mushroom picking!"

Crow: "Mind your own business! Who says I only pick mushrooms, I want it!"

When the time finally arrived.

Tens of thousands of blind boxes opened at the same time, with VM screens on the plaza flashing with green, purple, and non-luminous lights—a spectacular sight indeed!

Players browsed their drawn prizes, with some excitedly pumping their fists and others sighing in frustration.

Just then, a brazen laugh suddenly drowned out all the noise.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"I hit the jackpot! I got it!"

Looking at the golden window that appeared on his VM screen, Spring Water Commander danced wildly as if having a fit, thrilled beyond belief.

The members of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group instinctively stepped aside to get away from him.

"Have you lost your damn mind?"

"Back off, I hit the big prize!"

As Old Soldier hesitated, his expression changed instantly.

"Holy shit, could it be—"

"What did you get? Show me!"

Before Old Soldier could finish his sentence, I Max Black immediately leaned in curiously. But just upon seeing the screen, his eyes bulged in disbelief.

"Holy shit!"

"Damn it! Rigged! It's absolutely rigged!"

Edge Shoveling caught a glimpse at the VM as well and fell silent for a while, seemingly trying to use silence to protest against the unfairness of fate.

After a long moment, he looked very seriously at Spring Water, placing his hands on the shoulders of his buddy.

"Brother Shui,"

Seeing his envious expression, Spring Water Commander snickered and said,

"Yeah?"

Old Soldier looked at him with pity.

"Your butt must really hurt, huh."

I Max Black: "Pfft."

Spring Water Commander: "Damn it, screw off! I pulled two sets of 10 draws, is that too much? I toiled away with an Intelligence System to farm 60 acres, do you think it was easy?"

To improve the efficiency of his pioneering, he'd even gone to the trouble of removing welded steel plates from his Miner Type I exoskeleton.

Does that count as rigging?

Clearly the planners had noticed his hard work!

Not feeling any worse without hearing this, but hearing it was even more infuriating.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "MMP! Just because you pulled 20 draws, I pulled 20 draws too!"

"Exactly! Why the hell did I draw a bunch of trash!" I Max Black protested as well, even though he had only enough activity points for 6 draws.

"Rigged!"

"Absolutely rigged!"

"Unless you drop your pants and prove it, you don't have the luck!"

"Damn it, are you guys perverts?!"

As more unlucky players gathered around, the commander from Springs didn't dare to linger any longer. He didn't even dare to claim his prize and slipped away as quickly as possible before getting surrounded.

From the third floor of the sanatorium, overlooking the square, Chu Guang also had a look of surprise on his face.

The lottery had been drawn for less than ten minutes.

And the special prize had already been won?!

"Is this guy's luck really that against the heavens?"

Speaking with a clear conscience, the odds of winning the lottery were public. Each person generated a random number corresponding to a prize—if that's what you drew, that's what you got. Chu Guang had never given anyone special treatment, nor did he have any reason to do so.

Even for Old White and those he was closest to, Chu Guang had never secretly changed the probability of winning.

And why would he bother playing favorites with an unlucky player (LYB)?

If he really had to choose favorites, he would definitely want someone with bigger... assets.

Xiao Qi tilted its camera slightly.

"Master, should we lower his success rate next time?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"No need for that."

"We can't do something so unscrupulous."

After all, lotteries are just about the excitement.

It doesn't matter who gets the equipment as long as it's distributed. The ability to resurrect is the biggest advantage for players, and the cultivation chambers and sleep cabins are their ultimate equipment; everything else is just an auxiliary on top of that.

That's why Chu Guang had prioritized giving the Type 5 "Light Cavalry" exoskeletons that had been won to the security team.

Functional NPCs who hold key positions really die when they die—the cost of retraining them is too high, and for the players, these are companions they interact with daily. Protecting them is essential.

In any case, the gear ended up in the hands of combat professional players.

Better than letting Crow use it as a skin.

...

"Holy shit, I won a tractor!"

Changjiu Farm.

Standing at the spawn point entrance, Bored Tiger, scratching the back of his head in confusion, said,

"Uh, is this considered expensive or cheap?"

Makabazi heard him and looked on enviously.

"Awesome! The price of a tractor seems to have risen to 5000 silver coins!"

Such big items usually couldn't be afforded by ordinary people; they were almost always rented from Goblin Technology or the No. 81 Steel Factory.

Changjiu Farm had indeed purchased a few recently, though they seemed to be used by NPCs.

Though its price couldn't compare to a "Light Cavalry" which was worth ten thousand silver coins, in the eyes of the farming players, it was far more desirable than any exoskeleton.

Makabazi's biggest dream was to own ten tractors of his own, a farm of tens of thousands of acres, and a villa the size of a football field, where he would hire a dozen maids to rub his back and massage his legs while he watched the young bulls at Rhombus Lake.

And now someone had already realized one percent of his dream.

Damn it.

These newbies were way too lucky!

When Bored Tiger heard the tractor was worth 5000 silver coins, his expression immediately turned to shock.

"Holy crap! Can I sell it?"

Makabazi immediately said,

"I'll offer 2000 silver!"

That was all the money he had on him.

But he thought it was worth it!

"Get lost," Bored Tiger rolled his eyes, "I'd rather use it myself than sell it to you!"

Ignoring Makabazi, Bored Tiger went straight to Luka to get a farmer's job. After confirming his task, he drove the tractor excitedly to the field to work.

In reality, he also worked with the land, which seemed a bit dull, but was it the same?

In reality, that was working for someone else; in the game, it was for himself!

Once the planting skill proficiency level reached 1, he could contract land, and at level 8, he could become a farm owner—with a large tract of land north of Rhombus Lake!

Thinking about this, Bored Tiger felt full of energy, as if a bright future and the dream of being a farm owner were just before him.

"Here we go!"

"Just do it!"

Watching the smoke rising from the tractor, players standing at the entrance of Changjiu Farm couldn't help but envy him.

A mount.

This could be considered a mount, right?

...

Turning away from the distant smoke, Debt Giant Eye glanced at his VM (virtual machine), his expression like someone struggling through painful contemplation.

"This sucks!"

"If I were in Africa, I'd probably become a chieftain."

Construction Youth with Brick: "Don't overthink it, just keep working hard."

Debt Giant Eye: "Anyone want vouchers? I'm selling at 90% face value."

Edge Shoveling glanced at him.

"How many do you have?"

Debt Giant Eye: "Ten!"

When they heard this guy actually won 10 vouchers, both were immediately astonished.

"Damn it?! How could you be so unlucky?"

"That can't be right, isn't there a safety net?"

Debt Giant Eye sighed.

"There is a guarantee, but I only hit the safety net once... a Sickle Assault Rifle. Does anyone want it? I can't use both."

Seeing Big Eyes looking like he was about to break down into tears, Edge Shoveling sighed and gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.

"No worries, we got a mercenary contract; we're not too unlucky."

Construction Youth with Brick nodded and comforted him.

"Indeed, cheer up, brother."

Mercenary contracts were a new gameplay updated by the task system this morning, seemingly developed to test the mercenary profession.

Simply put, once a mercenary contract appears in the task list, players over LV10 can sign up as team leaders and recruit team members.

The team can have up to 10 members with no level restrictions. After an hour, the total scores of each team are tallied, and the top five teams compete in a roll-off to decide who gets the contract.

This mercenary contract was to support the defenders of Red River Town, who were going up against an old adversary—the Snake Tribe from the Juegu Tribe.

The patron offered a very generous price: 50 silver coins per person per day, a total of 500 silver coins for 10 people. Killing a Looter would earn a bonus of 20 silver coins, and wiping out a squad of ten would earn 500 silver coins.

They didn't need to stay in the trenches like the private soldiers of the mine owners; they just needed to fully exploit their mobility and cooperate with the local defense forces to carry out their missions.

These missions were usually filled with risk, but the rewards were also very generous. A single stint could potentially earn enough silver coins to buy the most expensive Type Five Exoskeleton in the NPC shop!

Among the players standing here, not one showed any fear on their face; instead, they were full of vigor and excitement.

After a month of tilling the fields, this old skeleton will rust if it doesn't move!

The Mole Squad, who had received the same contract, was also getting ready to depart. Their captain was a fugitive mole from the canyon, a familiar old acquaintance of theirs.

They had completed their preparations and were walking over.

"We're setting off at 9 a.m., we're ready to go; how much longer will you need?"

Edge Shoveling was taken aback as he watched the Mole Squad approach.

"Damn… You guys are so professional?"

Clad in identical cement-gray coats with steel helmets on their heads, each person had matching gun bags, ammo pouches, bandages, canteens, and an engineer shovel hanging on their belts.

Their weapons varied; some carried light machine guns on their backs, others had submachine guns tied at the waist, others were laden with hand grenades, or had a ludicrously long "Cavalry Gun."

In addition to this, they had gas masks made from plastic bottles hanging around their necks.

Next to these German sticks, Edge Shoveling felt like his group was more like rebels.

"This is called adapting to the battlefield environment, what do you know, dumbass?" the Mole chuckled, handing over a gas mask, "The sandstorms are fierce out there, want one? I have a spare, 100 silver coins, you won't regret it."

Edge Shoveling rolled his eyes.

"Piss off, it costs less than 5 silver coins to make with three plastic bottles, a piece of gauze, and some charcoal. Why would I need to waste my money on that?"

Upon hearing this, the Mole was stunned.

He had spent a good portion of time online learning how to make the thing.

"Damn? You can make it too?"

Edge Shoveling chuckled.

"You're making me laugh."

...

Not far away.

At the north gate of Changjiu Farm, the commercial team was already assembling at the unloading point.

The Manager from the Outpost Base had arrived by car and was in the process of handing over the goods with the owner of the commercial team, List.

The quantity of goods traded this time was more than double the last, to demonstrate strength to potential allies, Chu Guang had brought out many of his stockpiled reserves.

This included 40 Death Whistle Rockets, 400 Sickle Assault Rifles, 60,000 7mm bullets, and 15 Cavalry Guns, along with nearly 500 rounds of 20mm armor-piercing bullets, high-explosive bombs, incendiary bombs, and more.

Additionally, there were two of the latest products from Goblin Technology—88mm mortars with 200 rounds each.

This stash of military supplies, weighing a total of 45 tons, required eight track trucks to transport and was worth a total of 500,000 silver coins!

Naturally, this was the domestic price, or rather, the price for purchasing from the industrial zone shelter.

Even if sold in NPC shops, it couldn't be done at the original price, let alone for export.

The shelter had to make some profit.

Chu Guang's asking price wasn't high: a bottom line of 1 million silver coins. It didn't matter if the other side didn't have enough silver coins; payment in grain, minerals, or slaves was acceptable.

According to the purchase price of 1.5kg of iron goods for 1 silver coin, it equated to 1,000 tonnes of steel!

Of course, steel was only an example for reference—there was quite a bit of steel and aluminum that could be recovered from the ruins near the new industrial zone.

What the Outpost Base truly lacked were phosphate and sulfur mines; the bird feces stone mine by the lake was just enough to meet agricultural needs but hardly sufficient for industrial demand.

Chu Guang smiled satisfactorily as he looked at the trucks stuffed with cargo.

Indeed, trade was the most profitable.

This round trip, at the very least, could generate a net profit of one million silver coins, instantly filling the large hole left on the report by the Spring Plowing Plan.

Inflation?

Nonexistent.

As long as you can acquire a large amount of resources from the outside and stuff the banknotes into the pockets of those outside, printing more money won't flood your own pocket.

Right now, it's just our side unilaterally sending commercial teams there, but once the people at Red River Town realize they can buy military hardware in large quantities and that it's a sure thing from us, they will definitely send their own commercial teams over.

There are more than just mine owners over there, there are also numerous merchant organizations like the Horseshoe Iron Business Group that trade with the mine owners.

"Twenty Awakeners, where did you get so many Awakeners?" Standing beside Chu Guang, List said with a face full of envy.

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"That would be a corporate secret."

"Alright, I was just asking."

List didn't expect Chu Guang to tell him such a thing, cleared his throat, and changed the topic.

"The commercial team we previously sent to Giant Stone City has already crossed the edge of the fourth ring, and they'll arrive at Outpost Base by evening at the latest. Time is money. If possible, I want them to make another run. Is there anything else you need here? Like daily necessities or something."

Chu Guang thought for a moment, then answered.

"I can give you another ton of Spirit Leaf, this time for chips."

List was momentarily stunned, then said with a laugh.

"Chips? I thought you would be more inclined to barter."

Chu Guang said, "That was in the past when trade wasn't frequent and bartering could reduce risk. But now the situation is different, I plan to build up some reserves of chips... You can think of it as foreign currency reserves."

If the steel plant needed to import equipment or hire an engineer from Giant Stone City, it wasn't practical to trade steel on the spot or ask List to help every time.

The significance of establishing foreign currency reserves wasn't just to pay the rent for the office but also to facilitate life for the industrial zone's lifestyle players.

If they needed to buy equipment or hire "foreign" talent, they could take silver coins directly from the shelter's bank and withdraw chips.

List spoke with keen interest.

"Foreign currency reserves? Sounds interesting. It's somewhat like a currency exchange market in the marketplace."

Chu Guang: "Currency exchange market?"

List nodded.

"Exactly, enterprises' Cr, and armies' Dinar, can all be listed for trade there, but basically, the rate changes daily. Some merchants coming from other places usually stop by there when they leave Giant Stone City to unload any unused chips. If they plan to head west, they'll exchange for Dinar; if they plan to head east, they exchange for Cr."

Chu Guang stroked his chin.

"That sounds interesting."

This was indeed an interesting piece of information.

Chu Guang thought to let Shu Yu pay attention to this, to see if silver coins could be listed there for trading, or if there were any conditions that needed to be met.

If silver coins could be injected into the pockets of Giant Stone City, then harvesting the 'leeks' would be too enjoyable.

"Is that so? Perhaps. Some people even make a living from it, but I'm not very optimistic about that. It's as unreliable as the daily betting in 'Voice of Giant Stone City.' The transaction volume is too small, so there's basically no hope of making a fortune from it."

List took out his pocket watch for a glance and snapped the gold-plated cover closed.

"Time is almost up, five minutes to nine. If you are ready on your side, our commercial team can set out at any time."

Chu Guang looked over to the twenty eager players standing beside the convoy.

"Let's do it now."

"My soldiers have been ready."

"They can barely wait any longer."

-

(Should be 8K by now.)

Chapter 256: Expedition to Red River Town!

At nine o'clock in the morning,
the commercial team set out on time.

Belching black smoke from their steep exhaust pipes, ten track-laden trucks loaded with ammunition roared to life and headed towards the eastern wasteland.

According to the plan, after leaving Changjiu Farm, the team would follow the provincial highway east, bypassing the desolate highway towns and battery factories, then veer towards the southeast. They would trace a V-shaped line on the map, skirting around the area controlled by the Chewing Bone Tribe, then head north to Red River Town after reaching Garbage City.

As the trucks were filled with cargo, people had to walk alongside them.

But actually, there was little difference.

Even if there were room on the trucks, no one wanted to sit.

Once off the provincial highway, heading further east, one couldn't find a single intact road. Even with the good off-road capability of the tracks, the road itself was so uneven.

Furthermore, each of these trucks was laden with ammunition, so the drivers dared not drive too recklessly and crawled along in low gear.

Even though the ammunition was safe under normal circumstances, who could guarantee that every bump would be normal?

To avoid serious problems, one had to be extremely careful.

Besides the bumpy roads, the biggest threats were the beasts and snakes lurking in the forests and bogs.

Whether it was burly monsters or swiftly scuttling multilegged beasts, they could all pose a substantial threat to the caravan guards who relied primarily on light weapons.

In addition to these "dangerous species," there were basin-sized flies and mosquitos as long as an arm. These seemingly less combat-capable mutated creatures also could not be taken lightly.

Some flies, with red or green heads, had even evolved the ability to attack from a distance—spraying thumb-thick white insect eggs. These eggs usually carried a large number of germs, and while they might not cause severe direct harm, if they happened to hit a wound, at the very least it would result in an infected sore, and at worst, maggots would breed in the wound, which could easily be life-threatening if not treated promptly.

Only heaven knew how many dangers lay hidden in this wasteland.

"Once we get past that patch of snow up ahead, it'll be a desolate wilderness," said Mole, picking up binoculars to look towards the southeast. "That place used to be a small town, but now the houses have mostly turned into concrete rubble, leaving only a half-collapsed opera house... Last time we encountered a Death Claw there, and there were bones on the ground, not sure if they were from Looters or mercenaries."

The snow was almost melted, leaving behind only a thin layer on the ground.

Many areas had turned into puddles altogether, and in the mud, a few clumps of tender green shoots had emerged.

Life on this planet was far more tenacious than people imagined.

"Will we encounter one?" asked Gnome King Riches eagerly.

"How could we? We're here to make a delivery, not to hunt," Mole put down the binoculars. "We'll be circumventing that area soon. Unless the beast seeks us out, which is unlikely."

The intellect of a Claw of death was considerably higher than that of monsters, and its instinct for danger was far stronger than that of common variants.

Unless one trespassed into its territory, a Claw of death rarely chose to take on a large group of humans.

It was highly likely that both parties would remain undisturbed.

It was also unlikely to encounter particularly dangerous carnivorous variants within a kilometer radius of a Claw of death's nest.

Upon hearing that they would not encounter one, a few nearby players showed expressions of disappointment.

Elena said, "Speaking of which, I have yet to taste the flesh of a Death Claw... Of course, it's not that I want to eat it, but I'm somewhat curious about the taste."

Debt Giant Eye chuckled, "A true wasteland delicacy connoisseur, just like Old Na!"

Elena retorted, "Get lost."

Debt Giant Eye looked up at the sky, observing the clouds, and sighed.

"A hundred kilometers... how long will that take."

Is there no portal or something like that?

Or even an auto-travel feature would be fine.

Mole checked the VM and glanced at the map, pondered for a moment, and said,

"If we don't take a detour, we might get there in two or three days. With this roundabout, it'll probably take five or six days."

The construction site youth and Brick protested, "Why don't we just go straight through? I think it's totally doable!"

Debt Giant Eye added, "+1, they're just a bunch of losers anyway."

Glancing at the overconfident pair, Edge Shoveling couldn't help commenting,

"Alright, we're here to deliver goods, not heads."

Across from us are not just one thousand team, but three, totaling probably five or six thousand people. Even if there were five or six thousand chickens lined up, it would still take a while to kill them, let alone five or six thousand armed bandits.

These Looters had come killing their way here from the central part of the River Valley Province, and it's unlikely there are no Centurions among them, let alone commanders from an Army. If they don't show any flaws, it'll still be difficult for the survivors of Red River Town to defend their territory.

A glint of excitement flashed through Edge Shoveling's eyes.

A fight where the forces are evenly matched, huh?

Not bad.

It's getting exciting!

Debt Giant Eye and the construction site youth and Brick exchanged glances, and their expressions suddenly became a bit peculiar.

"Are you panicking?"

"I wasn't, but now I am a little."

"What if we die and have to go all the way back... then this trip would have been for nothing."

"Shit! Is it still possible to switch teams now?"

"Maybe... you could ask if Mole and his team are still looking for people?"

Edge Shoveling: "???"

...

Just past noon.

Less than four hours after the caravan had left for Red River Town, the one returning from Giant Stone City arrived at the south gate of Outpost Base.

Just back from a quest and seeing Wild Wind and Night Ten with bandages on, Quit smoking showed a look of surprise on his face.

"Damn, how did you two get injured?"

Old White smiled and said, "We were targeted by Looters on the way back, about twenty or so people, but it wasn't a big deal."

Although Old White said it wasn't a big deal, the expressions on the faces of the other NPCs in the caravan clearly weren't as nonchalant as he described.

That leader named Qian Lai still had a look of lingering fear on his face.

And the guard beside him had acquired another set of colorful bruises; Quit smoking remembered that at departure, his arm was already bandaged, and now the other arm was wrapped up too.

Quit smoking had a curious look on his face: "Damn, those Looters could actually ambush you?"

Fang Chang explained,

"It wasn't exactly an ambush. We noticed them early on, and they clearly knew about us too, following us all the way. We couldn't move fast while escorting the goods, so we couldn't shake them off. They probably couldn't gauge our strength and didn't dare get too close, waiting for a chance to strike from behind."

"We'd reached the edge of the fourth ring road when they probably felt that if they didn't strike then, they would lose their chance. Finally, they couldn't hold back any longer and took action, and then, we had a real fight with actual weapons in the back alley."

Quit Smoking said excitedly,

"Thrilling! How many did you take out?"

"About half, they ran after we fought off half," Old White smiled and tilted his chin up, gesturing toward the back of the group, "Look, we even captured two."

Next to a double-headed cow, two men wrapped in beast skins, looking despondent with their hands chained, were hanging from the cow.

Not far from another cow, hung the equipment they had seized. Aside from a few iron pipe rifles that even rookies wouldn't use, there were surprisingly two assault rifles and a grenade launcher.

Two caravan guards stood by, keeping an eye on them.

Night Ten, swearing with bandages wrapped around his shoulder, said,

"Damn it, I suspect there are Looters in the slums! The moment I stepped out, I just had that feeling!"

Wild Wind said calmly,

"There's no need to doubt. If I were a person from the slums, watching a bunch of fat merchants passing by every day, I would definitely think about skimming a little off them too."

Unlike Night Ten, he had been shot in the thigh, but the other side used steel-core bullets that went straight through his leg, so it wasn't too big of a problem.

Fang Chang nodded in agreement with his two teammates' speculation.

"Indeed, those Looters very likely came from the slums; I could even boldly guess that they had their eyes on us the moment we entered."

Where do all the Looters in Qingquan City come from?

They obviously don't just jump out of stone crevices.

As the largest survivor settlement in the southern part of River Valley Province, Giant Stone City attracts populations from the entire province and even neighboring ones.

Not everyone can flood into the city; there isn't enough space inside for so many people, nor are there enough jobs.

Most people can only set up a shack outside the city, doing jobs the city dwellers are unwilling to do; over time, this formed the slums.

The vast slums are breeding grounds for chaos and crime, not only producing mercenaries, cannon fodder, and scavengers, but also Looters.

It's said that the gangs in the slums even have businesses that launder goods for Looters, and their black market always has some unusual items not commonly seen in the city. Keeping an eye on some seemingly easy targets, the 'fat sheep', is naturally within their capabilities for those people.

Why doesn't Giant Stone City manage this?

This question is very insightful, though a bit unworldly.

Looking at it from Giant Stone City's perspective, the question could be reversed—

Why manage at all?

"Anyway, we made it back safely," Old White looked at Night Ten, "you and Wild Wind go back to the safe haven first to save your progress. He's not too badly hurt, but you need to head to the medical bay for a minor surgery."

Cultivation chambers have the effect of accelerating recovery; for minor wounds with small incisions, even for the Intelligence System, lying down for a few hours would be enough for healing, which coincidentally is also the time to save progress.

As for serious but non-crippling injuries, usually, they only need a day or two in the chamber. If it's over three days, most players choose to save progress first and then heal themselves up.

Getting shot once isn't a big deal; just remove the bullet.

Initially, Old White planned to use alcohol to disinfect Night Ten's wound and, imitating the NPCs, help remove the bullet.

Unfortunately, the bullet was lodged right below the shoulder joint.

Old White tried to pull it out with tweezers, but he couldn't get it free and didn't dare use too much force, for fear of turning a small problem into a big one, so he wrapped it up with bandages instead.

It's no wonder the inexperienced NPCs were made to gawk by their actions.

But it's not surprising.

One was there fumbling with tweezers over a wound, the other impatiently urging to hurry up, and key point, no anesthesia was used.

Such merciless behavior, even amongst Awakeners, would seem rather excessive. By now, several caravan guards were looking at the pair with a bit of admiration.

Night Ten nodded.

"Okay, so what about you and Fang Chang?"

Old White said with a smile,

"We still have to deliver the goods that everyone ordered. Later we need to head over to take care of some business with the Warehouse Manager."

Thanks to Teng Teng's products selling like hotcakes in Giant Stone City, this trip was not in vain, and they made quite a profit.

After some discussion, instead of trading their earned two thousand chips for exoskeletons, they bought a used hydraulic crusher from the auction house.

This device could handle the rough materials of cement and was also able to break down concrete waste blocks. If they had ordered it from the factory, it would have cost at least five thousand chips, so getting it for two thousand chips was quite a steal.

Even though they had a Magnetic Confinement Plasma Cutting Machine Tool that could produce some precision instruments, inert gases used as cutting medium and the fusion batteries for power were not cheap, and the Outpost Base was still very short on heavy equipment.

Turning chips into commodities to sell back to other players was a one-time deal, at most making a profit from the margin, but bringing back production equipment meant a continuous stream of income!

Currently, the demand for building materials at the Outpost Base was skyrocketing, and what was the version answer was obvious.

The team from the Double Oxen Squad decided, after a brief discussion, to add a cement production line on top of their existing brick production line, also producing recycled cement bricks made from concrete rubble.

It's said that the cement factory in Giant Stone City uses concrete slag, which is readily available in the Wasteland. Their technology for the reuse of construction waste materials had already been perfected through practice.

Next time they went to Giant Stone City, Old White planned to look for talents in the talent market, hoping to pick up someone skilled in cement aggregate recycling techniques to hire.

It's said that the office now allowed recruitment on commission. You could apply through Luka or the Warehouse Manager, pay the wages in silver coins, and it was very convenient.

Besides their own purchases, there were also about two thousand chips belonging to other players. Some of the chips had already been exchanged for goods on their behalf, and some were left over.

Like the portion belonging to the wealthy lady Teng Teng.

This included a sewing machine weighing 220 kilograms with a built-in electric box and smart components, and 21 chips.

"Deliver to Vine Cottage?" Night Ten's eyes lit up, and he chuckled, "Take me with you; I want to help out too."

"What help can you be?" Wild Wind rolled his eyes, "Look at yourself, your arm's swollen like crazy."

Night Ten: "Damn it! It doesn't matter in the Game; it doesn't hurt anyway!"

While they were talking, Teng Teng had already arrived at the south gate.

Seeing the commercial team parked next to the unloading spot, she was about to inquire whether her ordered goods had arrived when she saw the bandages wrapped around Wild Wind and Night Ten and couldn't help but ask in a low voice,

"Are you guys okay?"

Before Wild Wind could speak up, Night Ten started wailing,

"Wuwuwu, not okay at all. Got shot in the shoulder, hurts like hell."

Teng Teng: "Ah?! Then, you should hurry to the medical station..."

"Enough with the freaking acting," Old White rolled his eyes at Night Ten, and turning to a puzzled Teng Teng, he took out 21 chips from his pocket and handed them over, "Your stuff is on the back of a Double-headed Cow, weighing over 200 kilograms. You can't carry it, so we'll help deliver it later."

"Thank you! You've been a huge help!"

Teng Teng nodded gratefully but was too shy to accept the chips. Glancing at Wild Wind and Night Ten beside her, she whispered,

"The rest of the chips... I don't need," she said. "Just consider them medical expenses."

"Take them."

Old White firmly pushed them into her hand, chuckling heartily as he said,

"Don't listen to those two fussing, getting hurt in the Game doesn't really hurt at all. Besides, it's us who should be saying thanks. Without your masterpiece, we couldn't have afforded that big device later on."

"But..."

"Our agreed upon reward has already been received, and it is as much as it should be," shook his head Old White, "We don't do the disreputable thing of charging extra."

Hearing him say this, Teng Teng no longer insisted, whispered a thank you, and silently accepted the 21 chips.

However...

All the pretense was taken up by Old White alone, and Night Ten suddenly wasn't happy.

"Damn! Who says it doesn't hurt at all! There's still a bit of sensation, you know?!"

Wild Wind added emotionlessly from behind,

"I object, it's only Night Ten pretending to be in pain, I didn't cry out."

Old White awkwardly smiled, scratching the back of his head,

"Ah, this... I didn't pay much attention, mainly because Night Ten's acting is so overdone. I'm too honest to watch him bully a young girl."

Night Ten: "Get lost! I think you just wanted to show off! Ptui!"

Wild Wind: "+1"

Old White: "???"

Teng Teng discreetly watched the three quarreling people, her cheeks turning slightly warm.

She always felt...

Like their relationship was very close.

So it seems!

Unaware of Teng Teng's unnatural expression, Fang Chang saw her change into a set of light leather armor and curiously asked,

"Are you planning to go out?"

Hearing the voice from nearby, Teng Teng who had been lost in thought suddenly snapped back to reality and blushed as she nodded her head, saying shyly,

"Yes, I'm planning to take a look at Giant Stone City!"

"A mission?"

"Sort of, but mainly for market research!" Teng Teng's eyes sparkled with excitement as she continued, "The cultural features and clothing styles of Giant Stone City are unlike any country in reality. Some things you just can't see from photos alone—I want to see them with my own eyes!"

Fang Chang nodded in agreement,

"Indeed, there's only so much you can include in a guide. Reading all the guides isn't as good as playing it yourself... But how do you plan to get there?"

The road to Giant Stone City was not an easy one.

On their way back, besides facing Looters, they were also targeted by a group of potholing beasts hiding in the sewers.

It wasn't life-threatening, but it was still a tough battle.

Before Teng Teng could answer, a nimble figure darted out from behind her.

"Mercenary Tail at your service!"

Dressed in a bulletproof vest and wearing a steel helmet, Si Si walked over from the side, pushing her helmet up to reveal her eyes.

"Wow! And Si Si!"

Seeing the two enthusiastic figures, Fang Chang was taken aback,

"Are you also going for market research?"

"Exactly! Tail wants to be a Mercenary!"

With that, Tail let out a world-weary sigh, shaking her head, "Damn it, it's all because Ken is useless with his luck, all spent on the lottery! Failed to go to Red River Town, so annoying!"

Si Si glanced at her,

"But what if it's because our presence lowered the team's score?"

Tail immediately retorted,

"How could that be! Tail is also an Awakener, you know!"

Both of them had Awakened half a month ago.

After all, they had been in the Game for some time now and their development was moderate. Their strength was not weak, and with some effort, they could be considered T2 players.

However...

Fang Chang then looked towards the girl with the cat ears by their side.

She must be a new player, right?

"Are you as well?"

The cat ears on her head gently swayed, and the embarrassed Aoao Sesame Paste nodded a little,

"I, I haven't Awakened yet... just a bit more."

"I'm not asking about that. Whether you've Awakened or not isn't really key. What I mean is, are you planning to travel with them?" Fang Chang kindly reminded, "The road to Giant Stone City is quite dangerous, look at those two fools over there, they're in their teens and still managed to get hurt."

Aoao Sesame Paste nodded vigorously,

"It's okay! I, I've been on the Battlefield before!"

Although it was just logging off to report for everyone, it did play a key role!

At least, she was confident that she wouldn't panic.

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Fang Chang smiled, nodded in approval, and said,

"That's good! Full of spirit! Keep it up, girl!"

The Game, after all.

As long as it's fun, no need to overthink.

Even if you die, it's just a three-day OB on the Forum, no big deal, everyone goes through the newbie phase.

Besides, the Manager didn't say newbies can't do missions, right?

As long as you have the determination, anyone can contribute to the revival of the United Human.

"Wait a second, Teng Teng, are you sure it's okay with only this many bodyguards?" Night Ten anxiously said, "Shall I go too? At least I can be a lookout."

Teng Teng repeatedly waved her hands to decline.

"No need, no need, there's no need for all that trouble. You should just focus on healing. We have someone with Perception Type abilities in our team."

Just as Night Ten was about to ask who it was, that sharp voice with a hint of dullness came along with the strong clanging sound of steel colliding from nearby.

"Exactly!!"

Everyone turned to look in that direction and saw an "iron can" covered in steel plates taking meteoric strides towards them.

"Hmph, Perception Type level 12, Awakener Crow at your service! Look at this gear, who would dare say I only pick mushrooms! Hmm?"

The four members of the Bull Horse Squad were bewildered, and so were the caravan guards and watchmen not far away, stunned by her exaggerated appearance.

This breastplate armor...

Must weigh at least 300 kilograms, right?

Her tailgating eyes shone brightly.

"Wow! So impressive!! Si Si, we've won!"

Si Si froze for a moment, fell silent, then muttered to herself in a voice only she could hear.

"...Recycling VM is going to be a hassle."

Old White swallowed and asked cautiously,

"Is this... KV-1? Or Miner Type I?"

From the outside, it was completely indistinguishable!

"KV-1!" Standing proudly with her angular breastplate, Crow bragged, "Building this armor cost me quite a few silver coins! How about it, impressive, right?"

Old White had a subtly odd expression on his face and didn't speak out.

Fang Chang cleared his throat and said,

"My blind guess is Mosquito, only that idiot would make this thing. Didn't he warn you about... the energy issues?"

Crow blinked her eyes.

"Energy? What's that?"

Fang Chang: "..."

Old White: "..."

Wild Wind: "..."

Night Ten anxiously said,

"The battery life! You've driven an electric car before, right? The battery life of a barebones KV-1 Exoskeleton is about one day, and you've directly added 300 kilograms of weight! Will your power last till the afternoon?"

Honestly, this turtle shell is even more of a holdout than the Manager's previous suit!

Don't these people bring their own mind when playing the Game?

Learning what from the NPCs?

"No problem! I'm fully charged!" Crow confidently declared, "A mere twenty kilometers, I can definitely make it!"

"I think you shouldn't be too optimistic about that twenty kilometers," Fang Chang said tactfully, "Twenty kilometers is the straight-line distance, the actual distance can't be calculated."

Old White nodded in agreement with this statement.

"Indeed, it's not like you can fly there. Anyway, from here to Giant Stone City feels no shorter than to Far Creek Town, you'll see for yourself."

"Ah?!" Crow was startled and her expression grew less confident as she whispered, "That far?"

"Yep," Old White silently nodded, "Which is why I didn't wear an Exoskeleton."

Crow paused for a moment then anxiously said,

"So... what do I do?"

Old White: "If you're Strength Type, wearing 300 kilograms of heavy armor and walking isn't a problem since most of the weight is on the Exoskeleton. You just need to turn on the power when you need mobility. If you're of other Types... I don't know, but in any case, I don't recommend it."

Tailgating looked at her, "How about Si Si wears it? She's Body Constitution System!"

Si Si shot her a glance,

"I'm not wearing that kind of thing, no way."

Now, it was too late to change gear on the fly.

After they unloaded the pot-toting machine, the caravan at the door would set off again in no more than two hours.

However...

Crow didn't give up.

Everyone agreed that seeking Boss Xia should be able to salvage the situation.

As Night Ten watched the group head towards the base, he couldn't help but look at Old White.

"Can they make it?"

Old White was silent for a while, then shrugged his shoulders,

"I don't know."

Night Ten hesitated and then said,

"Maybe... I should follow them?"

Wild Wind glanced at him,

"You're not their dad, why are you fussing so much."

"But—"

Fang Chang patted Night Ten's shoulder,

"Don't worry too much. Three Awakeners, they'll be fine."

Even if there's a big problem, it's only three days.

The unexpected touch on the bandaged shoulder made Night Ten shiver,

"Damn! Don't just touch me willy-nilly, my arm is about to swell up!"

Old White rolled his eyes,

"Then why the hell don't you go have surgery?"

"If you keep stalling and your arm ends up useless, we might have to patch you up next!"

Chapter 257: Encounter at the Fifth Ring Road

Giant Rock City gate.

A man clad in full plate armor stood like a statue, his entire demeanor starkly incongruous with his surroundings, attracting frequent sideways glances from passing mercenaries and traveling merchants.

It wasn't just because of his towering height of two and a half meters, but also because of his armor, which was equipped from head to toe, barely leaving a single crack exposed. Even the helmet, welded from steel plates, only had a few sieve-like eye slits.

This guy…

Doesn't he need eyes to see the road?

Two mercenaries, who were idling in the queue at the city gate, chewed the fat.

"I bet his armor couldn't withstand a full magazine from me."

"Shh, keep it down, that guy might be an Awakener."

"So what if he's an Awakener? More Awakeners have died at my hands than Dead Claws!" The mercenary was not at all flustered, for the fifty-meter area at the city gate was also under the jurisdiction of the Militia Group.

Forget about Awakeners.

Even if it were a Chewing Bone Tribe's tank, what of it?

The traction cannons on the great wall could crush any armor.

His companion, clearly not believing a word, snorted and said,

"Stop bragging, you're the one who pissed his pants at the mere sound of a Dead Claw."

"You say that one more time!"

Unconcerned with the surrounding chatter, the armored man paused at the gate for a moment before heading over to the Hotel Wind From Afar, which was across the street.

As for the man in heavy armor, the doorman at the hotel's entrance was not overly surprised. Among the many guests he had seen, this kind of attire was at most conservative and hardly even strange.

Never mind wearing something, even if they wore nothing at all, he wouldn't utter an extra word.

"Welcome, sir. Do you need a room?"

A muffled voice wafted from the armor.

"Is this the 'North Suburb'?"

"'North Suburb'?"

The doorman was taken aback, responding reflexively,

"This is Giant Rock City, certainly not some backwater place."

The man continued to ask,

"'North Suburb', how do I get there?"

Meeting the crimson gaze through the helmet's slit, the doorman's heartbeat skipped a half beat. Originally intending to brush him off casually, his Adam's apple bobbed as he said,

"Go straight down that road in front of you, get on the overpass, then head eastward. Once you see a leaning building, continue north…"

The man nodded and, without so much as a thank you, dragged his cumbersome frame towards the direction of the overpass.

The man didn't seem to worry that the one who had just given him directions might deceive him.

The doorman at the hotel entrance stared intently at the man's retreating figure, muttering under his breath,

"Damn it…"

"Those eyes, just like an Eater's."

…

[The sheep has hit the road.]

At the edge of the Fourth Ring Road.

A man in a beast skin jacket sat in front of an extinguished fire pit, unfolding a crumpled piece of paper in his hands.

He had been toying with this slip of paper for some time now.

His name was Uu Chou, a mercenary, and an Awakener.

In Giant Rock City, awakening was not such a rare occurrence, but it was quite uncommon to see someone who had awakened, like him, still scraping by for a living. Many commercial teams and merchants were eager to recruit Awakeners into their ranks, willing to lavish money to nurture them, providing them with the best weapons and equipment.

In the Wasteland, only the fist is the ultimate assurance. Not only can a strong military force deter petty criminals, but it can also effectively reduce risks and premiums, something the merchants of Giant Stone City are particularly sensitive to.

However, Uu Chou was different from them.

First, he hated living a life constrained by others, and second, his reputation was indeed not very good.

Because two employers died at his hands, causing the middlemen who introduced him to tasks to lose a lot of money, very few people were willing to introduce him to decent, profitable work.

But...

Who cares?

At least he was quite satisfied with his current state of life.

Guarding those cunning merchants, one day's salary was at most 10 chips, but if he were to rob that weak and arrogant wretch, the number could potentially flip a hundred or even a thousand times.

Reputation?

It was worth less than toilet paper.

Nonetheless, Uu Chou did not consider himself a Looter, although he knew quite a few Looters and would occasionally take on work from them.

Like now.

A week ago, no one knew where a batch of Spirit Leaf popped up in Giant Stone City, and a bottle of the diluted liquid selling for 10 chips made many people rich.

Someone had their eye on this piece of fat and gave him an offer.

Kidnap two Blue Jackets from the "North Suburb", don't worry about anything else. In addition to the goods they were transporting to the North Suburb, he'd get an additional 5,000 chips.

Without a second thought, Uu Chou accepted the offer.

To him, these 5,000 chips were practically no different from picking up free money.

After bribing the slum gangs to help keep watch, he then hired about twenty Cannon Fodder from the slums, gave them weapons, taught them how to shoot, and promised them a reward of 50 chips each, on the condition that they capture at least two alive.

50 chips.

For the city folk, that wasn't even a month's wages, but for those survivors scraping by on leftovers and scavenging for a living, these 100 chips could allow them to live comfortably for half a year.

Of course, a team couldn't consist only of Cannon Fodder.

To ensure success, he also sent four of his men to help.

According to the plan, they would act when those people approached the edge of the Fifth Ring Road. If all went well, there should already be a result.

Just at that moment, footsteps came from outside the door.

Uu Chou put away the note he was holding and glanced at the subordinate standing in the doorway.

"Any news?"

Uu Chou was ready to collect his reward.

However, what he didn't expect was that the subordinate standing at the door was hanging his head, not speaking.

That heavy expression on his face vaguely gave Uu Chou a hunch, causing his eyes to narrow slightly.

"They got away?"

Sweat seeped from the man's forehead.

Feeling the snake-like gaze upon him, he spoke up, his voice strained.

"Yes..."

Uu Chou suddenly stood up from his chair.

He strode over to the door, grabbed the man by the collar, and pinned him against the doorframe, staring intently into his eyes.

"There were only eight of them, and you damn took more than twenty people to bet against them, and now you're telling me you let them slip away?"

Feeling the murderous look, the man's face was filled with terror as he explained rapidly.

"It's, it's not entirely my fault, there really were only eight of them, but four of them were Awakeners. Those Cannon Fodder were completely useless; I can't tell you how many times I and the others stressed that we should split into two teams and flank them from the sides, but all they knew was to charge head-on, and when they got hurt, they retreated in swarms..."

He didn't even dare to say, that in less than fifteen minutes, half of them had been killed by the opposition, while the other side, aside from some minor injuries, was practically unscathed.

So much so that he and the other three brothers didn't dare to join in...

"What a bunch of fucking useless trash!"

As expected, you can't rely on these guys!

After throwing aside the collar in his hand, Uu Chou spat out a curse and turned to walk back, picking up the Bumblebee X-2 Assault Rifle that was leaning against the leg of the chair.

"Gather the brothers."

"I'm leading the squad personally this time!"

He didn't believe it.

A bunch of Blue Jackets, what tricks could they possibly concoct!

Right now, Uu Chou was only worried about one thing: those Blue Jackets might just hide back in their holes after making a deal and not come out again.

If that were really the case, who knows how long he would have to wait to wrap up this deal.

...

South entrance of Linghu Wetland Park.

Five people and a bear were escorting a commercial team that had set out from Outpost Base, marching spiritedly in the direction that led deeper into Qingquan City.

Although this protection involved an additional person and a bear compared to last time, Qian Duo, walking among the commercial team, couldn't help twitching his eyelids.

He didn't doubt these Blue Jackets' combat power as he had seen it with his own eyes several times before.

Whether it was the archer or the robust man who could wield a machine gun as if it were a rifle, or even "The Mechanical Hand," their combat strength was top-notch.

However…

The people who had gotten slightly injured in the last battle had changed, and a different group was accompanying them to Giant Stone City this time.

It wasn't that he looked down on them at all.

He just felt like they seemed a bit as if they were on a picnic…

"Dammit! It's Tail's bear…"

"Okay, okay, stop being upset," Sisi patted Tail, comfortingly saying, "How about you ride VM once we collect it, all right?"

"What the hell? Are you already assuming it'll be mine for free?" Crow, who was mounted on the great white bear, protested.

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "Wait, wait a minute, why do I feel like I've become a mount?"

Sisi's expression subtly shifted towards the side.

"I never said that."

Teng Teng, who was walking at the back, said worriedly.

"Crow, don't digress, you're the scout, keep an eye on what's ahead."

Since getting the testing qualification for the Game, Teng Teng had been playing it as a simulation game, either running Vine Cottage every day or visiting the Autumn Grass Autumn Leaf sisters.

This was her first time coming to such a dangerous place.

Looking at a nervous Teng Teng, Crow, positioned atop the bear, boasted proudly.

"Hmph, rest assured, the sense system's intuition is passively triggered! I've tested it several times already!"

Meat Meat: "Don't move around so much... I mean, you've tousled the bear's fur."

"No worries! I'll help you smooth it down!"

As for Crow's suit of tin can armor, Boss Xia didn't have much of a solution either, only managing to craft a leather saddle to fit onto the bear.

To be honest, Boss Xia's crafting skills were strong, and the makeshift DIY product was much more useful than the conscienceless goods Mosquito made.

Crow, mounted on Meat Meat, resembled a gallant female knight, with three hundred kilograms of full plate armor giving a sense of security.

Of course, that was as long as she kept her mouth shut.

The two caravan guards exchanged glances and unanimously turned to the sole normal-looking guard.

Kaia swallowed hard.

"Are you sure they can fight?"

He had already injured both his arms, hoping this wouldn't be his last mission in his career.

Xu Shun nodded solemnly.

"Of course! I've seen it before."

Qian Lai cleared his throat lightly.

"Honestly, I have a bad feeling... The group we encountered before clearly didn't seem like ordinary Looters."

Wang Zhong, who had been silent, nodded.

"Indeed, they seemed like Cannon Fodder called in to make up the numbers."

Xu Shun frowned, puzzled.

"Doesn't that just mean they're all a disorganized mob?"

Qian Lai shook his head.

"A disorganized mob wouldn't take the initiative to open fire on us. They aren't professional Looters, just a bunch of temporary workers. Obviously, someone organized them."

For those who had never been to Giant Stone City, this might be hard to understand, but for them who lived there, such things were commonplace.

Not only Militia Groups and Mercenary Groups would recruit soldiers from the slums; Looters did so as well. And because gangs there often helped Looters fence their goods, it was easy for Looters to find a group of temporary workers for robbery, just by offering them a gun in advance.

Even without providing weapons, as long as the pay was enough, many Scavengers would make their own pipe weapons. This was similar to building a lean-to; for them, it was an essential survival skill.

According to Qian Lai's experience, the attack was more like a probe.

The other side wasn't certain of their strength, so they decided to send in some Cannon Fodder to test their capabilities first. It was hard to say how the other side evaluated their strength and whether they would give up on taking action against them.

He and the boss had suggested resting a few days before setting off again would be better.

But the boss was anxious to exchange the Spirit Leaf for chips, not only had the shipment doubled this time, but he was also given a purchase list worth one hundred thousand chips.

The pot transport machine could no longer satisfy the appetite of the lord of "North Suburb." The person became obsessed with purchasing second-hand machinery from Giant Stone City and wanted to get a bit of everything.

"We can only be more careful."

Glancing at the city ahead that resembled a graveyard, Qian Lai muttered softly.

Hope nothing goes wrong…

...

The city, littered with concrete ruins, was like a maze. There were more than one route from the North Suburb to Giant Stone City. Experienced merchants would usually remember more than ten different paths and would analyze which one to take based on all factors such as weather, temperature, intuition, etc.

For Hunters within the maze, catching a rabbit that has burrowed into the ruins is not an easy task.

However, there are always more solutions than difficulties.

Most Looters would set up an observation point at a high place to monitor one or two blocks they could look down upon and then predict which path their prey might choose based on their direction of movement.

On a high-rise within the fifth-ring road, a Mercenary in a grey coat lay by the broken wall, scanning the nearby streets with his binoculars.

His name was Sand Teeth, one of Uu Chou's trusted subordinates, mainly serving as a sniper and scout in the team.

When he spotted the team in the lens, surprise appeared in his eyes. He immediately picked up the walkie-talkie, saying excitedly,

"Boss, they're on the move!"

After a brief static noise, Uu Chou's incredulous voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Are you sure?"

Those people had just crossed the edge of the fifth ring road that morning, and now, without even spending a whole day, they had set out on the road to Giant Stone City again.

Did these people not plan to rest for a day?

Sand Teeth immediately said.

"I'm sure... that direction, it can only be from the Wetland Park side! There are a total of nine people, including a Double-headed Cow carrying the goods and a white bear, likely their pet. They're heading towards Street 1101, probably planning to cross the commercial complex there."

"These people are different from the ones we encountered before; the four Awakeners aren't in the group!"

Hearing this, a glint of excitement flashed through Uu Chou's eyes.

The commercial complex on Street 1101, that half-collapsed shopping center, was a perfect place to stage a robbery, especially since those four Awakeners weren't in the group, which to him was incredibly good news.

The only pity was that time was too tight—they hadn't expected those people to take that route, and there was no time to set up an ambush in advance.

But that wasn't a big problem!

Their team had twice as many people as the others!

Uu Chou made a split-second decision.

"You circle to their west side and support us from the rooftop! Listen for my gunfire!"

"Roger that!"

Excitement was etched on Sand Teeth's face.

After putting down the walkie-talkie, he was about to stow the binoculars and pick up the sniper rifle from the ground. However, at that moment, he suddenly saw the armored figure riding on the bear looking straight in their direction.

The movement shocked him so much that he nearly dropped the binoculars from his hands. He hurriedly took cover behind a nearby barricade.

A coincidence?

It didn't seem like it...

The movement was too deliberate.

Realizing something, Sand Teeth's face subtly changed.

The one riding on the bear's back had to be an Awakener!

...

"Why do I feel like something is watching me?" Crow, dressed up in her tin can armor, furrowed her brow as she looked at the tall buildings behind her.

"Where?"

Tail quickly lifted the binoculars hanging around her neck and looked in the direction of Crow's gaze, but aside from the stacks of ruins, she saw nothing.

There were too many buildings there.

Eyes could be hiding in any one of the windows.

As the Commercial Team's NPC had said, if it was just one person, it wouldn't be too bad, but a whole team entering here would have no secrets at all.

"A Level 12 Sense System, that means about 18-19 points in Perception," Si Si, who was carrying a submachine gun, murmured as she adjusted the wool cap she was wearing, "Can't ignore that."

"Can't you pinpoint the location?" Teng Teng asked Crow.

Crow helplessly replied,

"My Perception is high, but it's not like I've got a cheat activated."

It was unfortunately too far.

If it were closer, her Talent could have been put to good use.

The group continued to push the Double-headed Cow forward.

The ruins and buildings were getting denser around them, with remnants of cars and billboards everywhere, and even half of a building lying across the street.

There were hiding places everywhere, and the nerves of the group gradually tightened.

With less than two hundred meters to the commercial complex ruins, Qian Lai, who was walking in the middle of the team, signaled everyone to stop and spoke a few words to Xu Shun, who was carrying the rifle.

Xu Shun nodded seriously and approached the players.

"Once we pass the ruins up ahead and travel 1.2 kilometers westward, we'll reach our campsite. For safety's sake, we need to send someone ahead for reconnaissance. Uh, maybe it's better if I go—"

"Let Tail handle the reconnaissance! Tail is of the Agile system!" Tail volunteered enthusiastically, raising her hand, the safety already off on her Sickle Assault Rifle in her hands.

Sesame Paste stepped forward as well, clutching her Pu-9 tightly and speaking nervously,

"I'm, I'm also of the Agile system, I can go with you!"

But just then, Crow, riding on the bear's back, suddenly spoke up.

"Do we have to go this way?"

Xu Shun, focused on the subtitles, paused momentarily before his expression became serious.

"Did you notice something?"

Crow nodded silently, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the ruins two hundred meters ahead, muttering quietly,

"The distance is a little blurry... but I shouldn't be wrong."

"There are people there—"

Before she could finish speaking, a gunshot echoed from between the high-rises in the distance.

Startled by the shot, everyone swiftly took cover behind nearby barricades. However, they quickly realized that no one was hurt, not even a single bullet had come close to them.

"Another group?!"

"The gunshot came from the high-rise buildings directly to our west!"

"Are there others here?"

"Seems like it!"

"Whatever the hell group it is, bring in the cows!" Qian Lai pushed Kaia in a rush, urging him, "Hurry up!"

Those were goods worth hundreds of thousands of chips!

If they were lost, the boss would surely kill him!

"Damn it!"

Kaia clenched his teeth.

Though reason told him it was best not to, he still braced himself and crouching, ran out.

"Hey, don't go, we're not sure if that gunfire was aimed at us."

Si Si shouted after him, but the NPC clearly didn't understand what she was saying.

Tail, who was standing at the entrance of the alley with a rifle, suddenly became sentimentally reflective,

"Maybe this is just life."

Poor working folk.

This game was absurdly realistic in the strangest ways.

"Let's not worry about what it is for now, what should we do?" Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun said tensely, "There are people in those ruins ahead, aren't there?"

Crow on her back nodded, and her heavy voice floated out from the armor,

"And there's not just a few! Wait, they are coming out of the ruins, looks like they are heading our way!"

Even though it was blurry, she could see those figures moving!

Teng Teng nervously looked up,

"Are they Looters?"

"Um, I feel like that's not important right now," Si Si readjusted her wool cap and analyzed, "Even if we imagine they could prove they're friendly, we'd still have to make them lay down their weapons first."

"Don't worry, Tail's got this!" Tail was all fired up as she chambered her rifle and leaned against the cover, "Si Si, we're going in!"

Si Si mustered half her own enthusiasm and also chambered her submachine gun,

"We're going in! Oh, and Ah Wei, don't rush in too fast later. We'll circle around the side... They're probably trying to surround us, we need to break out before that."

"Okey!"

They couldn't let the newbies look down on them!

As Tail and Si Si were ready to face the enemy, Kaia was herding the last cow into a side alley.

Suddenly, a machine gun was mounted in the window of the commercial complex right across the street.

Before anyone could react, flames burst from the bipod, and a barrage of bullets sprayed out, recklessly ricocheting across the ruins.

The Double-headed Cow was shot dead on the spot.

Caught off guard, the Caravan guard herding the cow was also hit in the thigh by a round.

"Fuck!"

Kaia, shot in the leg and sweating bullets from the pain, immediately lay on the ground and clung to a piece of raised concrete debris on the street for cover.

Bullets hit just in front of his cover, kicking up a meter-high cloud of dust. Splintering pebbles rained down on his face, frightening him so much he dared not move an inch.

"Damn it, I'm freaking pinned down!"

"Help me out!"

"Stay down and don't move!"

Another caravan guard, Wang Zhong, made a snap decision and threw a smoke grenade.

Thick smoke quickly spread across the street.

However, the gunfire did not cease. Instead, bursts of three shots each continued to fire towards Kaia's direction, as if intending to pin him down there.

Not daring to move rashly, Kaia pressed his ear hard against the ground and suddenly changed his expression, shouting.

"They're moving in on us!"

"Which direction?"

"What else could it be! Just ahead, in those ruins! At least 10, no, more like 20!"

As he was shouting, those 20 mercenaries split into two groups, advancing on the alleyways 200 meters away.

Uu Chou, leading the charge, was visibly furious, spit flying as he cursed, his rifle already loaded.

"Damn this idiot! I told him to wait for my gunfire! Why the hell did he start firing on his own?"

He had gone to great lengths to beat this bunch to the ruins of the commercial complex.

It was a simple problem that could have been settled with a gun to the head, but now it had become a hard-fought confrontation.

Great.

At least one other Awakener on the other side, and a bear with a steel plate on its chest?

He didn't believe those people were a match for him, but he despised adding unforeseen variables to the plan.

But just then, another gunshot echoed from a distance.

A whizzing noise passed overhead, and the machine gun that was suppressing the street suddenly went silent.

Uu Chou was taken aback, immediately understanding what had happened, and he bellowed out.

"Sniper!"

"Spread out and take cover, watch out for the building to the west!"

...

"Two down."

On the twentieth floor of the high-rise ruins.

Lying next to a floor-to-ceiling window devoid of glass, Night Ten took a deep breath. His right hand, wrapped in a bandage, pulled back the bolt and ejected the hot cartridge.

He had confiscated the sniper rifle from a mercenary in Giant Stone City and had been using it for some time now.

Where the original scope once sat, it had been replaced with a thermal imager.

This valuable piece of equipment had cost him 2400 silver coins from an official website, and it supported 6x magnification, revealing any heat sources exposed outside of cover with nowhere to hide.

With his Perception abilities, it was virtually a divine artifact.

Without any hesitation, seeing that the mercenaries had located him, Night Ten immediately shifted his aim and fired at a Looter dispersing into the ruins.

This shot hit the chest.

The man who fell to the ground didn't die immediately but wailed, begging his teammates for help.

Night Ten quickly worked the bolt again, choosing not to fire a follow-up shot immediately. Instead, he focused intently on a nearby piece of cover, ready to lie in wait.

However, he waited until the man died without anyone coming to his aid.

"Three down..."

Night Ten glanced at the VM next to him, noticing two green dots had dispersed from the alley, while four remained near the caravan, sticking close to the NPCs.

"That must be Tail and the others."

Those two were also experienced players; they definitely knew what to do in such a situation.

"Damn it... I can't hit anything from here."

Night Ten muttered, picking up the sniper rifle and slinging it on his back, drawing the submachine gun and holding it in hand, stepping over a corridor filled with the bodies of Eaters, moved to the safety passage, and quickly descended the building.

Downstairs was parked a Hell Breath.

Although the city roads were difficult for vehicles to navigate, a two-wheeled motorcycle was always more practical than a four-wheeled car.

The "putt-putt" sound of an engine, like that of a tractor, started up.

Night Ten quickly ignited the engine and took the pre-planned route to the southern side of the battlefield at the fastest speed.

There was a building with over a hundred floors, a landmark he and his teammates had explored before. Night Ten even remembered finding quite a few office supplies and printer paper there.

The Eaters below the twentieth floor had been mostly cleared out, and even if new Variants had spread there over the past two months, they wouldn't cause much trouble.

Gunfire continued incessantly in the distance.

Night Ten could vaguely hear the sound of Pu-9 firing, the combat within fifty meters, the situation had obviously reached a fever pitch!

Anxious, he turned off the motorcycle's engine and dumped it on the roadside, climbing along a partially collapsed concrete wall to the second floor in three bounds and two steps, then hurried into the safety passage, moving to the twentieth floor's office area.

Using the butt of his gun to shatter the floor-to-ceiling window, Night Ten lay on the ground, repositioned the sniper rifle, and aimed at the battlefield a half-street away.

Adjusting his breathing, he was about to pull the trigger when suddenly, an alarm went off in his heart, and he snatched up the freshly positioned sniper rifle and moved away from the window.

Almost at the same time, a grenade flew in through the window and landed on the ceiling not far from him, exploding in a burst of fire and light.

The heat wave from the explosion spread, large chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling, but fortunately, Night Ten's reflexes were quick, and he avoided injury.

"MMP!"

How the fuck did they find me?!

He hastily saw that a group of Looters below had split into five individuals, scattering and closing in on his position.

Night Ten, hastily repositioning the sniper rifle, silently cursed this was bad.

At a distance of less than 500 meters, if he tried to descend now, he would certainly run right into them!

Night Ten hurriedly pulled the trigger, but to no avail—the street had too many coverings, and the Looters who had spotted his location easily dodged his shot.

Night Ten hastily worked the bolt of his rifle, mumbling under his breath.

"Damn it, the equipment I just got my hands on hasn't even warmed up yet, can't be falling apart now!"

Come on, Brother Guang.

Five against one is a bit against the spirit of fair play, isn't it?

Have mercy on me!

It's uncertain whether or not the Game Planner Ah Guang heard his prayers, but as Night Ten scrambled to keep shooting, a sudden change occurred.

A figure, covered head to toe in steel armor, appeared in the middle of the battlefield from seemingly nowhere.

The exchange of fire from both sides, Caravan guard and Looter alike, clearly hesitated, thrown by this new arrival.

Tail, hiding behind cover, had his eyes shine bright.

"Si! That armor is awesome!"

Much more so than Crow's!

Sisi's face grew solemn.

"...Ah Wei, don't let your guard down. He might not be here to help us."

Oblivious to the atmosphere around, the person standing in the center of the battlefield paused as he looked left and right, then from under the armor floated a ghostly voice.

"How do I get to 'North Suburb'?."

Chapter 258: Sniping, Rampage, Unknown Identity

"North Suburb?"

Isn't this the North Suburb?

A creepy atmosphere permeated the battlefield.

"Subtitles, subtitles..."

Worried about missing the key plot, Tail muttered as he considered opening VM.

Si Si crouched behind a nearby cover, her frown deepening, the Pu-9 in her hand already aimed at the armored monster.

Something felt off about this guy.

"It seems like it's not human," Crow, clad in a can-like armor, stared at the creature for a while before suddenly speaking.

"Not human?" Si Si blinked in confusion.

What was it then?

At that moment, the group of Looters across them yelled towards the armor standing in the middle of the battlefield.

"Who are you?"

"Are you with those Blue Jackets?"

The armor didn't respond.

Uu Chou muttered a curse under his breath but hesitated to make a move.

He sensed an unusual aura from the figure before him, an unknown fear preventing him from deciding whether to attack.

While his mind raced, his subordinate, crouched behind another cover, didn't think twice and aimed the machine gun.

"MLGB! The boss is talking to you!"

"Wait—"

Uu Chou felt a shock of alarm, just about to stop him, but before he could finish, a burst of fire erupted from the gun.

Bullets whizzed towards the iron clump, striking against the steel and creating a ringing clang; the armor raised its arms in defense.

However—

The firepower was too fierce.

In just a few seconds, the iron lump had been hit by more than twenty bullets.

Though it did not penetrate the steel, the impact was severe, and without uttering a groan, it staggered and fell into a nearby ditch.

Uu Chou: "?"

Si Si: "??"

Tail: "Giao!"

Shocked.

Just like that?!

It fell just like that???

"Fuck your XX, trying to show off!"

The subordinate who fired the shots cursed loudly, spitting triumphantly outside the cover.

Half a sentence still stuck in his belly, Uu Chou quickly recovered, immediately shouting loudly.

"Fire at them!"

Gunshots rang out once more!

Bullets flew chaotically through the air.

Crouching and moving to another cover, Si Si raised her Pu-9 and fired a burst towards the opposite cover, temporarily suppressing the machine gun fire.

"Hand grenade!"

Seizing the opportunity, Crow shouted and threw a hand grenade.

The grenade, with its wooden handle, traced a parabola over a distance of fifty meters and crashed behind a concrete pit.

Boom!

The explosion sent shards of stone and flames flying, forcing the Looters who were about to charge forward, to retreat back hastily.

Although this set of armor made shooting inconvenient, it proved excellent for using throwable weapons. The exoskeleton carried a strength bonus, doubling the grenade toss distance from 20 meters.

However...

Grenades were not her exclusive weapons, and soon the enemies threw two back.

Although the distance was insufficient, exploding five meters from the cover, the shrapnel and shockwave still scraped across the steel armor, catching Crow unawares as she fell backward with a gasp.

"Someone, anyone, pull me up!"

"Damn... this turtle shell is too heavy!"

The shoulder and breastplates were welded too tightly together. She tried to push herself up with both hands, but her butt barely lifted an inch before getting stuck.

This thing really was like a turtle shell!

Crow's face was livid with a killing intent, and she gritted her teeth fiercely.

Damn it!

I'd be a dog to ever trust those swindlers again!

It was proven that equipment not tested in combat often failed at crucial moments.

Especially those sold by "swindlers."

Xu Shun and Wang Zhong returned fire from behind another cover, not understanding what she was yelling about, as they couldn't see the situation in front.

Sesame Paste did understand and hurriedly ran up.

"I'm coming to help you!"

Bullets whizzed past, grazing her cat ears, and she quickly ducked.

Right then, the sound of a sniper rifle rang out again.

With a snap, a Looter, just peeking from cover to advance, took a bullet to the chin; blood and teeth scattered everywhere.

The gunshot startled the surrounding Looters who then scattered to take cover, halting the assault they had just initiated.

Xu Shun and Wang Zhong, stationed by a half-window on the southwest side, were thrilled.

"Reinforcements!"

"That sniper is one of ours!"

Though they didn't know who it was, they were grateful for the timely help that significantly eased their pressure.

Thanks to the deterrent effect of that sniper rifle, the Looters' offensive became much more cautious, afraid to rashly leave their cover to advance.

Si Si put down his Pu-9 and picked up the sickle assault rifle he was carrying on his back, murmuring softly,

"If only I could get a P90 made, these people are wearing bulletproof vests... 9mm pistol bullets just aren't piercing enough."

Tail turned his head in surprise.

"Eh? There's a difference?"

Si Si spoke with a subtlety in his expression.

"It's fine, you've always used that LD-47, which is great."

Tail boasted proudly.

"Of course, I've read the strategy guide! The sickle assault rifle has the most power!"

Si Si: "…"

Was this what they called a fool's luck?

At least knowing to read a strategy guide was much better than not reading one at all.

Uu Chou glanced at the tall building on the southwest side and cursed loudly.

"Would you hurry up?!"

Hearing their leader's urging, the five Looters immediately quickened their pace, moving around the large building's toppled concrete wall to the high-rise where Night Ten was located.

Sensing the killing intent below, Night Ten, seeing no escape, simply stopped running and hid the thermal imager in a drawer of a cubicle.

Over two thousand silver coins worth of equipment!

It didn't matter if a person died, but losing the equipment was a real loss!

Perception-type players did not have strong combat capabilities, barely stronger than the inherently deficient intelligence system, and while intuition might occasionally help them dodge a lethal blow, he couldn't dodge when it mattered.

The perception of killing intent only helped to lock onto an approximate position and distance, from which he could make guesses about the possible direction of an enemy's attack.

Talent was crucial in group battles, especially before entering the battlefield, as it could effectively determine whether the enemy was aware of one's presence.

However…

In the midst of a melee where murderous intentions came from all directions, this talent was of limited use. Once a gun fired, even the blind knew where he was.

After all, he wasn't Old White, whose skills were beyond that of an ordinary person and who also had rich wilderness survival knowledge and experience. Nor was he like Fang Chang and Wild Wind, one with flexible thinking and the other sufficiently calm and rational.

Perhaps…

Coming here alone was a bit hasty.

"MMP! I thought this bastard was powerful!"

Glancing at the heap of iron lying in the mud pit, Night Ten cursed and calculated the time for the mercenaries to ascend the building, then fired another shot out the window.

Just then, a gunshot from a distance startled Night Ten; he initially thought he missed a sniper, but quickly realized no murderous intent was locking onto him and the bullet wasn't aimed at him.

Faint screams came from downstairs.

He approached the window and glanced down; a body lay at the main entrance of the office building.

Fang Chang?!

No…

That guy didn't use a sniper rifle.

The gunshot was not far, about 600 meters away and northwest, sounding like an LD-47j.

Night Ten's eyes lit up.

No matter who it was.

That gunshot must be from an ally!

The Looters were confused by the sound of the gunshot, probably not expecting two snipers to be hidden in such a small spot.

"F**k, will this never end!"

Uu Chou, crouching behind cover, cursed aloud, starting to entertain thoughts of retreating.

He outnumbered the enemy two to one, but in less than half an hour, they had already lost eight men in combat capabilities, while the enemy had only suffered a minor injury.

Especially that damned sniper!

Not only did he suppress his team on the left, forcing him to allocate five men to deal with him, but he also killed one of his top lieutenants!

Uu Chou felt a painful twinge, as if bleeding internally.

However, just as he hesitated about whether to retreat, gunfire suddenly erupted from behind them, pelting down like rain and hitting the ground behind their position.

Caught off guard, a mercenary leaning against the corner of the wall was killed on the spot, and a gunman shooting from behind cover was riddled with bullets, catching everyone by surprise.

The mercenaries at the rear immediately turned their guns to return fire, but the overwhelming cries of attack cast a shadow of fear on everyone's faces.

"Damn!"

"It's their reinforcements!"

The opposite side was in chaos.

Si Si quickly noticed something, a glint of joy flashed in her eyes.

Beside her, tail noticed too and excitedly shouted.

"Wow, reinforcements have arrived!"

Crow exclaimed in surprise.

"Eh?! It takes a few hours from Outpost Base to here, right?"

"It must be from Bet Street," Si Si listened quietly for a while, then nodded in confirmation, "Yes, it should be Bet Street, they're shouting in United Human language."

Reinforcements arrived on the battlefield!

Both NPCs and players were buoyed in spirit.

Wang Zhong and Xu Shun exchanged glances, pulled out smoke grenades, and threw them, preparing to coordinate with the allies to launch a pincer attack on the Looters.

Xu Shun wrapped a bandage around his arm to stop the bleeding, attached a bayonet under the muzzle of his assault rifle, and readied himself for close combat.

And just then, the short-haired girl had already charged out, excitedly shouting something he couldn't understand.

"Wow wow wow! Ula!"

"Ah Wei, wait—"

Watching the tail rush out, Si Si wanted to stop him, but it was too late; the nimble figure dodged the whizzing bullets and disappeared into the smoke pervading the battlefield.

Too fast!

Si Si sighed helplessly and lowered the visor of his helmet.

"Forget it, let's go together."

Seeing two big bosses charging nearby, Sesame Paste nervously looked at Crow.

"Should we go too?"

"Let's go!"

Crow tapped her distinctively angular breastplate and gave her a reassuring look before closing her helmet's visor.

"Stick close to me in a minute, roar!"

Sesame Paste hesitated, then nodded seriously and tightened her grip on the Pu-9.

"Roar, roar!"

By this point, the fight was no longer in question.

Bet Street's guards roughly numbered over thirty, all equipped with automatic weapons, wearing black coats issued universally by Shelter No. 404, having trained at Changjiu Farm.

Although it was their first time on the battlefield, their strength was far from weak.

Before becoming guards, they were experienced hunters, and the area from North Suburb toward the city zone was as familiar to them as their own homes.

Holding an LD-47, Yu Xiong, who led the charge, fired a burst at a Looter behind the enclosing wall.

"Surround them!"

"Don't let these bandits get away!"

Faced with simultaneous attacks from the front and rear, the Looters' advantage quickly turned into a disadvantage, not to mention the snipers pinning down both flanks of their position, leaving them no chance to escape.

Gunsmoke filled the air.

Gunshots were everywhere!

Surrounded and isolated, Uu Chou and his men could only fight individually.

Watching his followers fall one by one, Uu Chou's eyes bulged with rage.

"I'm going to chop off your heads!"

Suddenly, consumed by rage, he bellowed, and his muscles burst forth, puffing up his leather jacket and bulletproof vest.

Hostages?

Missions?

All could go to hell!

Seeing their leader go berserk, his surrounding mercenaries scrambled to get out of the way.

They knew too well that once their boss got like this, he wouldn't recognize anyone, and no one could restrain him.

"Oh, you are the BOSS!"

Rushing to the Looter's ground, Tail's eyes lit up, and she lifted her gun to fire, but unexpectedly, that man quickly grabbed a steel bar protruding from a concrete block, using it to block the incoming bullets.

Chunks of concrete peeled off the block, with full force rifle bullets hitting them, but the man didn't even flinch.

"My giao! That strength is ridiculously over the top!"

20 strength?

No, it could well be 25 or even 30—

What surprised Tail even more was that this nearly half-ton chunk of concrete was suddenly hurled at her by him.

Luckily, she reacted quickly and dodged the deadly blow.

However, the man's actions didn't pause; he yanked a nearby lamppost, roared, and charged at her.

The whistling lamppost smashed into the concrete wall, and with no time to reload, Tail had no choice but to draw her pistol.

Despite firing several shots at him, all were blocked by his bulletproof vest; only one bullet hit his arm, but he acted as if it didn't bother him at all!

"Damn! This BOSS is way too strong!"

Seeing there was no way back, Tail, her back against the wall, had to pick up the rifle hanging around her neck and aim its bayonet at the approaching monster.

"I'm warning you, roar, my bayonet is poisoned!"

Red-eyed Uu Chou couldn't understand or hear anything, caught in a frenzy, all he wanted to do was crush everything he saw.

He glanced at the three-meter-long half-post of a lamppost, swallowed, and quickly looked around for a route to escape.

But there was none.

Urban combat differed from forests; obstacles were everywhere with very little room to maneuver. A few steps back, and there was nowhere to go.

"Damn it."

Everyone here was an Awakener, so why was this guy's ability so bugged!

Was it because his level was higher?

Just as Tail was pulling out a hand grenade ready to fight to the death, a shout rang out from nearby, and armored Crow crashed out of the smoke like a tank.

"Ow ow ow!"

However, the BOSS clearly spotted her and, without even a glance, swung the streetlamp in his hand and struck her squarely on the chest plate.

A dull thud sounded, like a bell tolling.

Tail watched, eyes wide, as Crow, who had just charged out of the fog, was sent flying backward.

Lucky there was a steel plate in the way.

If that had hit a person, wouldn't it have shattered all their bones?!

"Are you alright?"

"Cough cough—I'm, okay... Damn, got stuck."

"?"

The man withdrew the streetlamp, likely planning to deal with Tail first, the biggest threat, and took a step forward. Almost simultaneously, a dense burst of gunfire erupted from the thick fog.

"Ahhhh—!"

Holding a Pu-9 submachine gun, Sesame Paste yelled to overcome the panic while tightly pulling the trigger all the way.

Dozens of bullets emptied in mere seconds; though the shooting was pitiful, at this range a submachine gun was no different from a shotgun.

Uu Chou, his shoulder a bloody mess, roared in pain, and hurled the streetlamp at Sesame Paste.

Just then, a sharp blade suddenly pierced through his chest.

Instantly, blood spurted like a fountain!

Uu Chou's eyes bulged, he retched blood, and as he was about to turn to deal with the person behind him, that bayonet twisted suddenly, stirring a hole right through him.

Awakeners, too, are flesh and blood and couldn't block the soul-sucking pain.

Blood drained from Uu Chou's eyes.

Weakening, he grasped the bayonet, struggled desperately for a moment, but ultimately lost his strength and fell heavily forward onto the ground.

Looking at Si Si behind the man, Tail exclaimed in surprise.

"Si!"

"Oh Ah Wei."

With a hand free, the gasping Si Si greeted her and checked her condition.

"Are you okay?"

"Heh heh, I'm fine, I'm fine," Tail embarrassedly scratched the back of her neck, "although I almost had to respawn!"

"Glad you're okay. Thanks to Ah Wei for drawing fire, but... don't rush in so quickly next time."

The Talent's duration ended.

The overflowing strength gradually faded from her arms, Si Si took a deep breath, puckered her lips into a 'w', and forcefully pulled the bayonet out of the man's back.

Blood came out along with the bayonet.

Staring at the corpse bleeding profusely, Si Si muttered.

"This muscle is too solid."

Strength Type?

Or Constitution?

Or perhaps a completely different system.

Anyway, even with "Equilibrium" activated, she almost couldn't penetrate this guy.

Unfortunately, the Game doesn't display NPC levels, otherwise Si Si guessed that this guy must be at least level 20, or perhaps even level 25.

Although it seemed a bit like cherry picking...

But could this barely be considered leveling up by taking on stronger monsters?

...

Elsewhere, inside the building.

Squatting at the entrance of the corridor, Night Ten aimed his Pu-9 submachine gun toward the nearby emergency exit.

His enemy had lost sight of him, and the intent to kill had disappeared.

However, Night Ten could sense the rapid footsteps coming from downstairs.

"…Only four left?"

His index finger rubbed against the trigger.

Night Ten nervously awaited for his opponent to come upstairs.

Just then, sudden gunshot sounds burst out from inside the emergency stairway, followed by shouts in United Human language and explosions.

When everything subsided, footsteps moved upward again. Seeing the person appearing at the emergency exit, Night Ten's jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"Holy shit! Old White?!"

He hid his gun behind him, and Old White approached with a smile, saying,

"Safety's off, be careful of accidental discharge."

Night Ten sheepishly smiled and put away his gun, walking towards Old White.

"Damn… How did you end up here?"

"Wild Wind told me you didn't go to save your game, so I guessed you probably followed them."

Emerging from behind Old White, Fang Chang glanced at the sniper rifle on his back and quipped with a smile,

"Yo, did you take off the attachments?"

"I didn't want to damage it, plus I don't need the scope at this distance," Night Ten quickly changed the subject, coughing. "Speaking of which, how did you find me? I remember I turned off my coordinate sharing."

Fang Chang said with a laugh,

"It doesn't matter. You definitely followed the Commercial Team. Wild Wind was supposed to come too, but he has classes tomorrow morning, so I told him to go back and rest."

Suddenly remembering that there was still fighting downstairs, Night Ten hurriedly said,

"Right, there's still fighting—"

Old White interrupted with a smile,

"It's already over."

Night Ten paused,

"Over?"

"Yeah," Fang Chang nodded, "Almost as soon as the fight erupted, the guard team from Bet Street started moving this way, they should have arrived by now."

As they spoke, the gunfire outside intensified dramatically, and distant shouts in United Human language could be heard.

The guard numbers from Bet Street weren't many, but that's only relative to the scale of Changjiu Farm.

A group of experienced hunters, well-trained militarily, might not be weaker than those Looters.

Moreover, this was their home turf.

"So… you guys were already here?"

Fang Chang: "Pretty much, we were already observing from nearby by the time you started shooting."

Night Ten: "Damn! Then why didn't you come out?"

Fang Chang chuckled.

"This was giving you a chance to show off, so you wouldn't blame me for stealing your kills again."

Night Ten's face flushed as he retorted,

"That's not showing off! I was just concerned…"

"Understood," Old White patted his shoulder with a smile, "We were also worried about you, so we followed. Originally, Fang Chang and I didn't plan to intervene, but in the end, he couldn't help himself."

Fang Chang cleared his throat.

"It's not that I couldn't hold back, one of the four people who went up earlier is an Awakener, and quite strong at that. I always feel like these people don't seem like Looters."

"Uh-huh," Old White nodded thoughtfully, "I think they might be mercenaries; their combat style is very similar to the group we encountered at the Garden Street Metro Station entrance."

"And they're even stronger, with more people... But their organization is much poorer, not like the last group which split into three teams, coordinated closely, and even had radio contact," Fang Chang pondered for a moment, "Could it be that they're targeting our operation? A gang from the slums?"

Old White said,

"Could you be overthinking it? Maybe Brother Guang just raised the difficulty."

"That's a possibility."

"Right," Night Ten suddenly remembered something and asked, "Who fired that shot just now?"

"That shot?"

Old White and Fang Chang exchanged glances, their expressions peculiar as they turned to him.

"Which shot?" Night Ten asked anxiously.

"The LD-47j! Earlier, there were five Looters—or should I say mercenaries—below my floor, but some mysterious person took a shot and helped me out."

Old White thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I didn't notice, gunshots were everywhere."

Fang Chang spoke, "Speaking of which, should we go down and join them? The fight seems almost over."

Old White looked toward Night Ten.

"You decide."

Night Ten hesitated for a moment, then whispered.

"Uh... I just remembered I haven't saved yet."

Old White: "..."

Fang Chang: "..."

Seeing that his teammates remained silent, Night Ten became anxious.

"Damn! What's with that look on your faces?"

Fang Chang subtly glanced to the side.

"It's nothing."

Old White, blunt as ever, sighed in their faces and turned away.

"That's that."

Night Ten: "???"

A kilometer away, in another block.

A blue power armor quietly stood in the street.

A hyena emerged from the ruins, just shook off the snow from its body, and got startled by this giant, quickly hiding back in its den.

Chu Guang paid no attention to it, just silently watching the floating window projected in his field of view.

The green dots on the map had already surrounded each red dot hidden in the ruins, marking each one with a red cross for confirmed kills or captures.

The battle was over.

All that was left was the mop-up.

At that moment, the main entrance of the nearby bank building echoed with brisk footsteps.

"Done."

Xia Yan, descending the stairs, whistled towards that iron monster, a semi-automatic rifle slung over her shoulder, her face showing ease.

Chu Guang turned off the holographic floating window and praised her.

"Well done."

"Thanks for the praise."

Having not been away for a long time, Xia Yan seemed in high spirits and animatedly said, "Having said that, if you're so worried, why not send someone more reliable?"

Chu Guang: "What do you mean by more reliable people?"

"Like that, uh, I can't remember what it's called, your players' names are just too weird." In reality, Xia Yan didn't know who was more reliable either, but her intuition told her there must be quite a few.

But.

These things can't be decided by intuition.

Guessing what Boss Xia was thinking about, Chu Guang gave a faint smile.

"Mole and Edge, two squads, have already headed to Red River Town, with a total of twenty Awakeners. They're mostly made up of T1 and T2 tier forces from the shelter, and they're facing looters ten to even a hundred times their number."

"Midnight Chicken Killing and another 121 Awakeners are in the Elm District to Far Creek Town area. There, they need to deal with dangers worse than the mutants—monsters and Dead Claws—to firmly hold the northern position, which will protect the fertile land from Elm District to Rhombus Lake. Depending on the situation, they might be sent to Red River Town later."

"What you see is just a player encountering a minor difficulty, but there are more than a dozen much more perilous and important tasks. This route has already been traversed twice by the T0 squad, 2 T2 tier players, a high-ranking perception-type player, with guides, translators, and even a bear. The only risk is possible emergencies."

"They're not weak; they handle difficult problems. Other T2 squads would struggle the same, and get wiped out just the same," Xia Yan exclaimed.

"Do you have that many Awakeners?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yeah, but... not all Awakeners are suited for combat. Our 'players' may have a relatively easier time awakening; they can inherit abilities and experience well, but they still need to train harder to get stronger."

Like Makabazi.

Even though he's a strength type, his basic talent is "Plant Speaker," and the talent he acquired after awakening is just an enhancement of his "Plant Speaker" talent.

Logically, this sounds more like a perception-type talent, but this world is not a real game after all. Perhaps, like the residents of Shelter No. 404, those who intensify only one aspect are the actual anomalies.

As for the fact that those players can "revive," Xia Yan did know a bit about it, but it didn't surprise her too much.

Aren't there plenty of strange things in the Wasteland?

Listening to those mercenaries brag, there are mutants on the East Coast that can revive, capable of being saved even with just a bit of their brain left.

There are even rumors that the lord of Giant Stone City is an immortal old monster, as most people know him as Fang Ming but have no idea what the previous lord was called.

But what does that matter?

These rumors neither prevent those mercenaries from getting up to work tomorrow nor affect that lord's immortality.

The era when someone could be talked to death is long gone.

"So you plan to train them?"

"You can say that."

Chu Guang didn't expect Boss Xia to understand concepts entirely alien to this world like "MMORPG," "players," "planning." Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; doing well within one's capability is enough.

Of course, what Chu Guang really meant to say was, "I'm just a little planner, not the players' daddy. If they can't handle this little difficulty, they might as well go play a puzzle game."

To accommodate most people's gaming experience, he has already set the game's difficulty within a reasonable range using levels and Contribution Points.

Let's be honest, one can't always blame the planner for a death, right?

Earth OL has many more unreasonable elements!

Xia Yan, smiling, said,

"Then why did you come?"

"Because I considered a second possibility," Chu Guang casually said, "The attack that Niu Ma Squad faced seemed more like a test, which is the conclusion Vanus and I reached after discussion. Logically, four Awakeners with zero combat losses, only getting a few injuries, should have made the enemy back off, but plans can't always keep up with changes."

Xia Yan: "You know?"

Chu Guang: "Know what?"

Xia Yan joked with a quip.

"You look like an old father right now."

Have you seen what your own dad looks like?

Just spouting nonsense.

Chu Guang rolled his eyes and ignored the guy as he walked towards the battlefield that had just ended.

"Hey," Xia Yan caught up to him, chattering behind like a curious child, "Didn't you say you weren't going just to join the excitement? Why go after all?"

Chu Guang offhandedly replied, closing his helmet visor.

"There's an iron heap causing a fuss; the guards didn't know how to handle it."

"I'll go see what that thing is."

Chapter 259: The Engineer from the Corporation

In the mud pit.

The iron lump suddenly convulsed as if it had been electrified.

Its hands propped on the ground, and before it could rise, a gun was already pressed against the back of its head.

"Don't move."

Xu Shun watched the figure intently, ready to fire at any moment.

"How do I get to 'North Suburb'?" A muffled voice drifted uninterruptedly from beneath the armor, making one wonder if that was the only sentence it knew.

"What exactly is this thing?" Staring at the person covered in steel plates, Yu Xiong furrowed his brow, "Is he human?"

"I don't know."

Xu Shun crouched down to inspect the person's armor and discovered that the helmet was actually welded to the breastplate.

Not only that, but the joints of the breastplate were riveted with a neat row of hexagonal rivets, making it impossible to find any mechanism to open it.

Then a question arose.

How would they handle defecation?

"Can't take it off." Shaking his head, Xu Shun stood up and after glancing at his VM, said, "Let's leave it to Lord Manager to decide."

If anyone had a way, it would be Lord Manager.

Yu Xiong nodded, summoned two guards to watch the figure, and then went over to the captives.

Four captives in total.

Aside from the six who had escaped, a total of fifteen people had been killed in the melee including their leader—the man named Uu Chou.

After the interrogation, it was learned that these were mercenaries from Giant Stone City, though they were not part of any mercenary group, just temporary workers who couldn't find regular work.

The reasons why they couldn't find work varied.

Yu Xiong wasn't interested in these details, merely instructing that their hands and feet be tied and they be sent to squat by the wall, awaiting the Manager's disposition.

The situation with the players and the guards was relatively optimistic, thanks to timely support, there were only minor injuries.

Including one guy who got shot in the leg.

Luckily, the bullet passed through his leg without hitting any bones or arteries, so the likelihood of him being disabled was low.

However.

With an injury like that, and being an unawakened ordinary person, his career as a mercenary probably had no future.

Emerging from a small alley, Meat Meat, with a face full of shame buried his head, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Sorry, I got scared as soon as I heard gunfire…"

"No worries, no big deal," Si Si patted White Bear's shoulder, trying to comfort him.

Tail, touching his chin, analyzed, "Could it be that something is missing on his back? Last time at the base lab, Meat Meat seemed quite brave."

Si Si was slightly surprised, then thoughtfully nodded in agreement.

"Eh, that might actually be possible."

"Don't lose heart, Meat Meat! This place is just too cramped to show your strength, next time I will definitely ride you!"

Meat Meat, "Wait a minute, I feel like something is off—"

Si Si, "Illusion."

Tail, "Exactly! It must be your imagination!"

Meat Meat, "???"

Elsewhere, with the help of Teng Teng and Sesame Paste, Crow, who got stuck halfway in a wall, finally broke free from that pile of crushed concrete.

"Damn…"

Struggling to remove the helmet stuck on his breastplate, Crow, dizzy and disoriented, muttered, "That hit just now screwed up my network."

"Are you really okay?" Teng Teng asked worriedly as she eyed the almost caved-in breastplate, whispering, "Maybe… you should go back and save your progress."

"No need, no need, don't worry, I'm fine!"

Swinging his head that had taken a thorough beating, Crow put on what she believed to be a reassuring smile and gave a thumbs-up, "Don't worry, Teng Teng, I will definitely get you there safely!"

Teng Teng held her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"How can I not worry with you like this…"

Crow, "Hey! You ungrateful woman, can't you feel a little touched?"

Teng Teng subtly shifted her gaze.

"A little, maybe."

Well, though it's an MMORPG, the feeling of being protected was quite nice.

Watching the two who were clearly close, Sesame Paste whispered, "Speaking of which, who was that person who helped us just now?"

Crow paused.

"Right, now that you mention it, I also remembered."

Teng Teng, "Maybe… Boss Xia?"

Crow looked surprised.

"Boss Xia?!"

"Uhm, just a guess."

Teng Teng quietly pointed towards a nearby street corner.

A blue-painted power armor and a nimble figure were approaching from the end of the street bathed in golden sunlight.

Behind Boss Xia was carried an LD-47s—"Scythe," a semi-automatic sniper rifle.

Cat Ears twitched slightly, and Sesame Paste's face showed surprise.

"Manager?"

"Yeah."

Teng Teng nodded, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"Seems like a plot has been triggered."

…

Meanwhile, Qian Lai, hidden beside the Double-headed Cow, emerged from the alley, brushing off dust from his clothes, just in time to bump into Chu Guang, a major figure from the North Suburb.

Qian Lai's face showed surprise, clearly not expecting to encounter this distinguished individual here.

"Manager… Lord?"

Chu Guang looked at him and said.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay, thanks to your subordinates, otherwise our losses today would have been more than just a cow."

Qian Lai admitted he had been reckless before.

These people were not weak.

Although they seemed unreliable, their insight and combat power were much stronger than he had imagined.

"You should say that to them."

Chu Guang nodded his head and walked toward the armored figure.

Beside the armored person, Xu Shun and two guards watched.

Until Chu Guang walked up, it repeated the same phrase like a broken record, sitting against the wall.

"How to go... 'North Suburb'."

"This is 'North Suburb', and I am the manager here," said Chu Guang, looking down at it. "State your purpose."

The figure in armor reacted to his words and slowly lifted its head while clasping the helmet.

Chu Guang caught a glimpse of crimson through the mesh-like visor.

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion.

He always felt these eyes looked familiar.

At that moment, with a "click," the armored figure detached the helmet from the breastplate.

As Chu Guang clearly saw his face, he was slightly startled.

Xu Shun and the surrounding guards, however, changed color dramatically, swiftly raising their rifles to aim at that rotten head.

"It's a Crawler, sir!"

"Wait!"

Chu Guang raised his hand to stop the guards ready to fire, his eyes curious as he locked onto those crimson eyes and rotten face.

"Your name?"

It was peculiar.

A mucor species Variants speaking human language?

The rotting face breathed lightly, and no rational color was to be seen in those crimson pupils.

Chu Guang was slightly disappointed.

However, just as he was about to give up on this meaningless interaction, the rotting face slowly opened its mouth.

"Ba...Batch."

Seeing this being utter human words stunned the surrounding guards.

Including Xu Shun.

Although Outpost Base had some Variants that could speak, he knew those were the technology of the shelter, pets of Blue Jacket.

But a wild Variants of this type—especially a mucor species spontaneously speaking human words—was something he had never heard of!

"Batch?" Chu Guang stared at him, questioning further, "Your name is Batch?"

The person slowly nodded.

"Yes."

Chu Guang furrowed his brow.

This name...

It sounded somewhat familiar.

"The analysis results are out."

Floor B3 of Shelter No. 404.

Medical laboratory.

Coming out of the lab, Heya, with her silver hair, skillfully passed a VM-modified screen to Chu Guang, displaying a series of test results, including blood tests.

As the most authoritative expert on Variants within the shelter, Heya was likely the only one who could understand what had happened to this "Batch."

However, Chu Guang completely failed to comprehend the contents on the tablet.

"What exactly is his condition?" He feigned understanding for a moment before handing the tablet back to Heya.

Heya patiently explained,

"A 'Mutated Slime Fungus' infection with an erosion rate of 67%. Such cases are quite rare because, according to my research, mucor species Variants should be predatory against other organisms. You remember, right? Crawlers are offspring of the slime fungus."

Chu Guang nodded, indicating he remembered.

"And him?"

Heya: "Symbiosis."

Chu Guang paused slightly.

"...Symbiosis?"

Heya sighed, her hands circling her forehead.

"I'm not keen on explaining basic knowledge... but right now, he is about half human, half converted into slime fungus. Initially, the slime fungus devoured most of his organs, but for some reason, it decided to let him live, morphing into organ-like offspring, taking over his original organs."

Evolutions of the mutated slime fungus could mimic the behavior and characteristics of the consumed beings, like Eaters, Crawlers, Martyrs, even Tyrants.

However, it was rare for it to replace the original organs and form a symbiotic relationship with the host.

Even for Xia Yan, who relished urban legends, this was unheard of.

Chu Guang pinched his brow.

"So, he is left with just a brain?"

"Perhaps three-quarters?" Heya hesitated, then speculated after a moment, "The infection stopped at the cerebellum, and at least half of the spinal cord has been replaced by offspring of the slime fungus."

Chu Guang: "How long can he survive?"

Heya: "Unknown; he might even live on indefinitely."

Chu Guang was taken aback.

"Live indefinitely?!"

Heya nodded.

"Yes... according to my research, the mutated slime fungus has no Hayflick limit, and over time, the organ functions formed by its offspring might further improve, becoming even more powerful than before. Of course, another possibility exists: if these slime funguses 'feel' that the host is no longer necessary, they might decide to consume the remaining brain."

"Wait," Batch, sitting on the scanning bed, slowly lifted his hand covered in steel, speaking in a weak voice, "Is there any hope for me?"

Chu Guang looked at him unexpectedly.

"You're awake?"

He thought this fellow would only be able to speak one sentence.

"I administered an inhibitor, suppressing the activity of the slime fungus invading the nervous system," Heya said, looking at Batch sitting on the scanning bed, "Whether there's hope or not, I'm not sure how to answer that. If you want to return to your original form, it's probably impossible, but if you're willing to undergo mechanical prosthesis, the genetically modified organs could be completely removed and replaced with biomechanical prosthetics."

This was indeed what she had undergone.

Bionic prosthetics not only prolonged life but were also far more reliable than the original biological organs. Yet, Heya knew full well that replacing most parts with technology was not something everyone could accept.

Chu Guang softly coughed.

"There isn't a black box that produces bionic organs in Shelter No. 404… but if you think about it from another angle, aren't the organs in your body a kind of bionic organs as well? Moreover, they can evolve proactively."

Heya looked at Chu Guang, surprised, and after pondering for a while, nodded and spoke.

"Now that you mention it, there really is something to that."

Batch wore a painful expression on his face.

"This feeling is not good at all."

Chu Guang, "Does it hurt?"

Batch shook his head, "Not really, let alone pain, I've lost all sensation; I can't even feel that I'm still alive."

Chu Guang, "What exactly happened to you?"

Batch was silent for a moment, then he sighed softly.

"That's a long story…"

It happened in the winter of Wasteland Era Year 211.

Back in Ideal City, Batch had just received his diploma and was planning a graduation trip when he received a letter from a close friend from afar.

In the letter, Luo Hua described a nice place called Qingquan City in the central part of the Central Continent, in the far west.

There lived a group of nice people from Shelter No. 404, which had just been unsealed. Recently, they had become permanent business partners with a company.

Of course, the most crucial thing was the astonishing delicacies and culture there. Those in Blue Jackets had many cooking methods he had never seen before and could even turn the hard-to-swallow Variant meat into delicious dishes.

In Batch's view, delicacies should be associated with technology. Those Wasteland Wanderers could barely cook food properly, let alone know what delicacy meant or have any sense of culture.

However, the letter still piqued Batch's interest, as he was about to go moldy from boredom in Ideal City. Life here, though orderly and as predictable as code on a holographic screen, lacked essential errors.

Thus, urged by his good friend, he set the destination of his "graduation trip" to the central part of the River Valley Province, stepping into the western wasteland with thoughts of exploring the unknown.

However, what he didn't expect was that this trip was filled with continual surprises from the beginning…

"…My father was a wine merchant; I initially came to the western part of Yunjian Province with the merchant team he sponsored. From then on, I started traveling alone. I hired guards, guides, and a doctor, making thorough preparations, advancing along the tracks of the Pioneer, everything went smoothly as planned, but just as I was passing through Yongdong City, an accident occurred."

"There wasn't a single person there, like a dead city. The survivor settlement that should have appeared on the map, no one knew where they had all gone. Out of caution, we decided to withdraw from the city. However, at that moment, we suddenly encountered an attack by thousands—perhaps tens of thousands of Eaters."

Batch took a deep breath.

"When I was toppled by the Eaters, I thought I was surely dead, but when I woke up later, I found that all the Eaters around, including my teammates, had disappeared… I always thought it was a nightmare, until I found a mirror, and then I realized that the real nightmare had just begun."

Batch's Adam's apple moved, and he continued speaking.

"Since then, I have become like this."

Heya and Chu Guang exchanged a glance, unable to hold back a remark.

"This is too bizarre."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Indeed."

As he heard the first part of the story, Chu Guang had already figured out the identity of this Batch—he was the engineer friend that Luo Hua from the Pioneer wanted to introduce to him.

However, as for the second half of what Batch said, Chu Guang still harbored some doubts.

Accidents where players unfortunately perish in tunnels were not uncommon, but he had never heard of a player being parasitized by a Mucor species Variant.

Just as Heya had said, the first reaction of the mucor's fruit body to captured prey was to consume it directly, turning it into nutrients for spore production.

It was the first time he'd heard of someone being turned into one of their "own" by the mucor.

Batch grimaced wryly, his head bowed as he continued.

"Anyway, after that incident, the Variants seemed to lose interest in me. The mucor species treated me as one of their own, and those mutated hyenas wouldn't bother attacking me unless they were extremely hungry—and even then, they'd only eat a hand...or maybe a leg. But it doesn't matter because I can't feel pain, and the lost limbs would slowly grow back within a week or two, stronger than before. Eventually, the hyenas couldn't bite through me anymore, and I ended up looking like this."

Limb regeneration?!

Regenerating limbs evolving?!

Damn.

That's some impressive ability.

After hearing his story, Chu Guang's face was filled with astonishment.

He would bet that if given the choice, many players would want to swap lives with him. This "Sequence," aside from being ugly, seemed almost invincible, as long as his brain remained intact.

"Are you jealous?"

"Not really…"

"No, I can feel it," Batch shook his head with a bitter expression, continuing, "You don't understand this feeling. Since then, I've never been back to a human Survivor Settlement. And when I see people, I have to hide far away—they simply don't believe I'm human, even if I tell them it was an accident. They would drive me away."

Chu Guang: "...Then this armor you're wearing, it couldn't possibly be self-made, right?"

Batch: "I encountered slave traders when I entered River Valley Province."

Chu Guang: "Slave traders?"

"Yes," Batch nodded. "That guy was the only good person interested in me along the way. He said he wanted to take me to Wandering Swamp to sell to the Academy for research. I thought maybe the Academy could actually figure out what happens to my body; getting sold to them didn't seem too bad, so I went with him."

"That person found a blacksmith to make a set of steel armor for me so I could enter the Survivor Settlement without attracting attention. However...plans never keep up with changes. His slaves revolted for some reason and hanged him from a tree."

"I had no idea how to get to the Academy, and when I asked the slaves, they didn't know either; they just wanted to go home. I had to continue the journey alone. At that moment, I suddenly remembered that Luo Hua told me about a place called Shelter No. 404 in Qingquan City. So, I kept heading west, but as I walked, my physical condition suddenly worsened, and my consciousness started to blur... It's hard to describe that sensation; it felt like there was a rope separating my soul and my body."

Heya interjected.

"That must have been when the mucor entered your nervous system. In a bit, I can perform a minor surgery to stop the mucor from further spreading into your nervous system."

"Thank you," Batch inhaled deeply, his eyes pleading as he looked at Chu Guang, "I ended up remembering only the North Suburb of Qingquan City and then kept walking until I got here… That's my whole story. I don't know what to do now; can you help me?"

"I'll certainly help you; your friend Luo Hua is also my friend, and he has helped me a lot. Besides, the incident happened on your way here—I couldn't just ignore you." Chu Guang then looked at Heya, "Besides replacing bionic organs, is there a way to restore him to his original condition?"

Bionic organs are too expensive.

Switching an eye or a limb would be manageable, but replacing everything from blood vessels to skin—a full set—would be more than most magnates in Ideal City could afford.

Many resources are irreplaceable, much like nuclear fusion; there's a whole dimension of difference between "usable" and "creatable."

Heya shook her head.

"His immune system has been completely replaced by the offspring of mucor. Strictly speaking, it's not that he accepted those mucor; rather, the mucor allowed him to keep his brain and control a body that had turned into a Variant. Rather than replacing bionic organs, I would actually recommend swapping bodies entirely... how about transferring the head into a culture dish first?"

Batch clasped his head in agony.

"I might as well die…"

Heya's eyes lit up, about to persuade him further, when Chu Guang, sensing her intentions, coughed lightly to interrupt her words that were almost at her lips.

"I think a mechanical body might not necessarily be more optimistic than your current situation. For now, just live here for a while; there's nowhere else you could go in your condition."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued.

"By the way, you just mentioned a graduation trip… What was your major?"

Batch: "Materials science engineer."

Chu Guang exclaimed, "Materials science engineer? What specifically did you study?"

Batch's expression became subtly complex.

"Carbon nanomaterials direction... but don't expect too much from my professional ability; I probably know more about liquor and food."

His diploma was faked.

This situation was not uncommon in Ideal City, especially for someone like him who never intended to pursue this profession; there was no need to worry about being exposed.

Batch originally planned to take over his dad's wine business and expand the market outside Yunjian Province after his travels. Now, not only could he not return, he dared not let his dad know he had turned into this monstrosity.

He was sure his dad would not waste money on a mechanical prosthesis that couldn't reproduce and would undoubtedly choose to have another child instead.

"It's okay, everything goes from unskilled to skilled. You just lack some experience, and I can provide you with an internship opportunity," Chu Guang clapped him excitedly on the shoulder. "As for the wine, don't worry, we don't just have grape wine here, there are far more interesting things... Can you still drink in your current state?"

"Of course, my taste is still normal..." Batch said quietly, feeling guilty, "What do you plan to have me do?"

Chu Guang didn't reply but pressed something on the VM, and soon footsteps were heard from outside. Yin Fang walked in.

"Did you need something? I'm quite busy."

Standing at the door, Yin Fang wore a clearly impatient expression.

Recently, his players had recovered many valuable materials from the ruins, and he had been busy analyzing valuable clues from those materials.

This guy was so busy that he even ate in the lab, probably hadn't showered for a while, his hair was messy, and his beard unshaven.

However, Chu Guang didn't mind these details.

"Let me introduce a new colleague. This is Batch, a bit scary-looking, but a good guy."

Yin Fang stared at Batch for a while.

"A Crawler?"

A bitter expression crossed Batch's face.

"It was an accident. Do I really look like a crawler?"

Yin Fang nodded oddly.

"A bit."

Watching Batch sink into despondency, Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"Don't judge a book by its cover... Besides, he's a Class D explorer from the Academy. Aren't you always looking for people from the Academy? He is from the Academy, though it's a thing of the past."

"Hello, Mr. Batch," Yin Fang extended his right hand—a prosthetic from the Academy—graciously. "What's your specialty?"

"Winemaking, and... I know a bit about materials," Batch slowly raised his heavy steel arm, barely managing a handshake, and cautiously added, "but only a little."

Yin Fang's eyes lit up.

"Materials? That's great!"

Chu Guang looked at him.

"Do you have any new discoveries?"

"Absolutely! It's about some materials from Central State Space, some data about aerospace materials that need repairing. I desperately need an expert in materials science, which would greatly accelerate my progress." Yin Fang excitedly looked at Batch. "Can I trust your expertise?"

Batch really wanted to say he couldn't, since he didn't quite believe in his own level, but those expectant eyes made it impossible for him to refuse.

Ever since he became this monster, everyone he met wanted him to stay as far away as possible.

This was the first time someone didn't care about his appearance and openly expressed needing his help...

Batch nodded and cautiously replied.

"Though I'd like to say that winemaking and trading suit me better... I can give it a try."

"That's great!"

Chu Guang clapped the fellow on the shoulder happily.

"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time. Besides work, you can also try those things you're interested in. Meanwhile, we'll do our utmost to find a way to revert you back."

Batch gave a bitter smile.

"Hopefully."

He had planned to use Shelter No. 404 as the starting point for his journey.

But now, it seemed his graduation trip had prematurely ended...

Academy, corporations, army, and the old pops from the shelter... The NPC lineup of Shelter No. 404 was increasingly substantial.

As Chu Guang settled this distant friend, the ten Iron Horse 60 Camels machines purchased from Giant Stone City were finally delivered to the industrial area of Outpost Base.

Eight of them went to Steel Factory No. 81, and two were sent to Goblin Technology.

According to the received tasks.

Steel Factory No. 81 needed to retrofit four of them into large tractors with 60 horsepower within two weeks and fit them with a four-row deep subsoil sower.

Aside from that, the irrigation channels on the north shore of Rhombus Lake and the mechanized mill required for the granary would take up two.

Observing the compact and tightly designed device in front of him, Lone Wolf, helping out at Steel Factory No. 81, showed a surprised expression.

"Is this a pot-carrying machine?"

Brother Ciso and Brother Levin exchanged a glance, puzzled.

"Is there an issue?"

Lone Wolf shook his head.

"No, it's just that these are quite rare."

Pot-carrying machines, consuming vast amounts of timber, were mostly phased out in the seventies, only used in a few rural and remote areas.

In his memory, common ones were 8 to 12 horsepower, rarely above 20, let alone a 60 horsepower one comparable to a fuel engine.

But...

It did fit the Wasteland quite well.

"The wood consumption for this machine must be huge."

Brother Levin chuckled, "No worries, what we have plenty of here is timber. From inside the city to the outskirts, everywhere you look; we chopped a bunch when clearing land, it's good to use some up!"

Brother Ciso added, "Right! But lately, we've also been researching internal combustion engines."

Lone Wolf exclaimed in surprise.

"Do you have oil here?"

Brother Levin: "In theory, there's a type of crop that produces oil."

Brother Ciso: "Right! Although we aren't growing it, the Manager says he could help us borrow some from our neighbors!"

Borrow a bit, not bad.

Lone Wolf looked toward the pot-carrying machine.

"Can I take it apart and study it?"

Brother Levin readily agreed.

"No problem! We intended to dismantle it to study the inside components anyway."

"Right!" Brother Ciso nodded excitedly, "The Manager said it's okay to take it apart, as long as we can put it back together!"

Excitement flickered in Lone Wolf's eyes.

He was curious.

How realistically could this epoch-making MMORPG developer create in detail?

Chapter 260: Tide and Floor B4 Mission!

Lone Wolf had studied it for a long time, but he couldn't figure out how this machine possibly achieved more than 60 horsepower.

It wasn't because the machinery was too complex.

On the contrary, it was because it was "too simple", so simple that he couldn't help but suspect that the game's production team was cutting corners.

The principle of the pot camel engine was actually not difficult. Essentially, it involved boiling water, with the piston movement driving the crankshaft, which in turn drove the flywheel, outputting power.

Referencing engines, ignoring cost-performance, simply wanting to increase power was actually very easy. Increasing the cylinder volume, the number of cylinders, or the pressure inside the cylinders are all feasible methods.

However, what baffled Lone Wolf was that the pot camel engine in front of him was a single cylinder!

Sixty horsepower on a single-cylinder pot camel engine?

That's no joke.

Lone Wolf suddenly said,

"What's the maximum horsepower of a single-cylinder diesel engine?"

Hearing the young professor's question, Brother Levin was taken aback and instinctively replied,

"I've heard of 30 horsepower."

Brother Ciso also added, "I remember there being 35 horsepower."

Lone Wolf nodded.

"About that."

In his memory, there seemed to be 40, 45 horsepower models, but they were not common, the more common being around 40 horsepower.

Agricultural tools don't need such high horsepower, and large equipment with hundreds or thousands of horsepower wouldn't use pot camel engines.

A single cylinder pot camel engine reaching sixty horsepower?

And it only weighs five hundred kilograms?

Lone Wolf couldn't help but shake his head.

"I've never seen something so outrageous."

Brother Ciso chuckled,

"This is my first time seeing it too."

Brother Levin scratched his head and said,

"I don't understand, I couldn't figure it out before when dismantling the army's light truck. The design logic is quite similar, why is their power equipment always slightly more powerful than our replicas?"

Picking up a belt, Lone Wolf held it in his hand and examined it for a while, then suddenly muttered to himself,

"...What is this?"

Brother Levin was taken aback,

"This... is an engine belt, isn't it?"

Brother Ciso also nodded,

"I think so too."

That was an obvious statement.

Lone Wolf of course knew that the item in his hand was a belt, but he couldn't figure out what material it was made of.

"It doesn't look like neoprene..."

Unfortunately, he was neither an expert in materials science nor in engines, he only had a slight understanding because he researched automation design.

"Not just the belt, but also the gaskets, hoses, O-rings… All the rubber components are made of materials I've never seen. Is it a fictional setting?"

Lone Wolf tapped the cylinder casing with a wrench, listening to its clear resonance, an expression of surprise lifting his eyebrows.

"Holy shit! Is this damned thing made of titanium aluminum alloy?"

It didn't quite seem like it.

But it could be something similar.

The more Lone Wolf studied, the more astonished he became.

The game's production team was quite clever; they directly introduced some materials he had never seen before, and designs that normally wouldn't be possible suddenly couldn't be completely ruled out as illogical.

The three pillars of modern technology—energy, materials, information. Just like IC design, many understand it, but not just anyone can produce a chip.

The game production team didn't provide a solution, just a broad direction, the deeper he delved, the more amazed he felt.

Now he somewhat understood why Yan Feng was so obsessed with this game.

"There's something to this!"

Watching Lone Wolf muttering beside the machine, Brother Levin and Brother Ciso exchanged glances, a bizarre expression simultaneously appearing on their faces.

"Should we remind him that this is just a game? Maybe the things he can't understand are just a line of code from Brother Guang."

Although they sometimes take things seriously, they are far from this level of paranoia.

Brother Ciso scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, let's just wait for him to figure it out on his own."

Newcomers, right?

That's normal.

When everyone first got here, there were plenty of things they didn't understand. Spare people under the knife, Brother, was pondering until a month ago what kind of cement they used in those houses in the Wasteland, and how they still hadn't collapsed after two hundred years. Eventually, he just got used to it.

Anyway, there are still seven devices of the same pot machine here.

It'll keep those two busy for a while.

...

Official forum:

[Announcement: Immortal Batch has joined the shelter, coming from the distant Ideal City on the East Coast. He aspires to be a great adventurer, but due to an infection by slime fungus, part of his body has mutated. Currently, he is assisting Dr. Yin Fang with some data processing for the science team.]

[Usually, Batch wears armor and roams around the shelter. If you see a Variant that can talk, please do not harm it.]

[Luka: Sunny Day has persisted for over a month now, and the snow on the ground has mostly melted. The busy farming days are drawing near.]

[Wrench: There's Death Claw activity around Far Creek Town, and three residents unfortunately perished. The danger areas have been marked on the map—please exercise caution!]

[Patch Update: Seasonal system adjustment—the melting snow has raised air humidity. Please make sure to keep warm.]

Pick up trash 99 level: "I giao! I was wondering why I kept getting intermittently disconnected!"

Makabazi: "Hahaha! How embarrassing!"

Crow: "Wuu wuu wuu, is winter ending? Will we still get to see the snowmen piled up by Little Fish? (ó﹏ò｡)"

Elena: "Manager: If this winter doesn't end soon, my granary will be overrun by rats. (facetious)"

Night Ten: "Crow! Have you arrived?"

Teng Teng: "Yes, we just got here tonight. Man, Giant Stone City is really far. It looks like it's just 20 kilometers away on the map, but it actually took us two days to get here."

Tail: "And can you believe they close the city gates at eight sharp! We barely made it, arriving ten minutes before the deadline. (`-д-;)ゞ"

Sesame Paste: "That was really close, just made it by a hair's breadth."

Si Si: "But I must say, the city gate area is bustling at night. Standing under the massive wall, you would never believe we're in the Wasteland."

Tail: "It feels like a big city! ψ(｀∇´)ψ"

Teng Teng: "We plan to rest for tonight and continue exploring the city's secrets tomorrow!"

Night Ten: "Hehe, as long as you've arrived safely."

Fang Chang: "(sideways glance)"

"..."

Two days had passed since the caravan departed.

Two tons of Spirit Leaf had been delivered to Giant Stone City, and Chu Guang found out from Shu Yu that List had paid him his entire 100,000 chips.

It seems that Spirit Leaf is indeed a hot commodity in Giant Stone City; almost as soon as it was delivered to the warehouse, buyers showed up with chips.

To facilitate the trade, Shu Yu had opened an account at the Giant Stone City Bank as instructed by Chu Guang, and the transaction of these 100,000 chips would be completed via bank transfer.

This would be much safer than keeping it in a safe.

Additionally, the owner of the Gray Squirrel Clothing Store recently approached again, hoping to order another batch of art pieces and suggested that it would be nice if the quality of those socks could be slightly lower.

"Lower quality?"

Over the phone, after hearing Shu Yu's report, Chu Guang said curiously, "I've never heard such a strange request before."

Shu Yu: "I found it odd too... but he didn't explain why; he just asked us to think of a way."

"Hmm, that's actually not too hard to manage. The production of Devil Silk is limited, and we have been planning to develop some alternatives targeting the lower-tier market." After a pause, Chu Guang continued, "By the way, how is the recruitment going?"

Shu Yu: "As per your instructions, I have recruited twenty-three employees for both field and office duties. Their salary during the two-month probation period is 40 chips a month, and it increases to 100 chips a month once they are regularized."

The personnel expenses alone amount to 2300 chips, plus 800 for monthly rent, and a budget of 400 chips for miscellaneous expenses, which brings the office's monthly expenses to 3500 chips.

That's no small amount.

Converted into military armament, it could buy nearly thirty rifles.

We really need to find more ways to generate income.

"Are the resumes of the employees ready?"

Shu Yu: "They've been compiled!"

Chu Guang immediately responded.

"Send them over to me for review."

"Very well, sir!"

Having received the resume from Shu Yu, Chu Guang glanced over it briefly.

Strictly speaking, there's no such thing as a resume in the Giant Stone City's talent market. These resumes with photos were merely a simple record taken by Shu Yu during the interviews, as instructed by Chu Guang.

For instance, he asked about the applicant's previous roles, any special skills they might possess, and after making these notes, he combined all the information gleaned to effectively screen out dishonest candidates.

Chu Guang was surprised to find that many of these applicants had worked in factories in Giant Stone City, and one resume particularly caught his eye.

"Once served as a workshop manager in the Giant Stone City Steel Factory... How credible is the information on these resumes?"

Such talent being utilized for internal tasks was indeed an underuse.

Even though the applicant was in his forties, Chu Guang didn't see that as a problem.

Shu Yu cautiously said, "Well... there's no way to verify, and the information on the resume can only serve as a reference. However, I feel his experience in management is quite substantial."

Chu Guang nodded, then continued,

"You can ask him for me to see if he's interested in working at the 'North Suburb' steel factory. We could offer triple his previous salary."

Shu Yu earnestly responded,

"I'll ask him, but... from my observations, local residents are quite resistant to leaving the Giant Wall, apart from the highly mobile mercenaries and those who are extremely poor. Very few accept external work that might require leaving Giant Stone City."

"No worries, just ask. There's no need to push too hard."

Chu Guang paused for a moment, then continued.

"Later, you could frequent the talent market in Giant Stone City more, whether you go yourself or send someone else, or maybe even set up a permanent booth there. Giant Stone City's factories can't absorb all the excess talents, we can help them with that."

In short, it's about mining the corners whenever possible.

Not only talents, but also the second-hand equipment phased out, everything Giant Stone City can't use, 'North Suburb' can take them all.

This way, Giant Stone City shedding employment rates, optimizing the extremely imbalanced talent market, and eliminating excess industrial capacity.

Although it's a slight loss for himself, Chu Guang thought it was not a big issue.

What defines the spirit of internationalism?

Of course, it is sacrificing oneself for the sake of others.

Realizing the manager's intent, Shu Yu smiled knowingly and said,

"I understand, sir."

Chu Guang nodded approvingly.

"Good, as long as you understand me."

Though appearing young, this young man named Shu Yu was unexpectedly capable, saving him a lot of work.

After hanging up the phone, Chu Guang browsed the official website.

Today's forum was as lively as ever.

Mole Squad and Edge Squad had reached Garbage City, encountering a Multilegged Beast den along the way, but fortunately, there was no real danger.

More than twenty Multilegged Beasts were killed; they took the only valuable parts—the gallbladders and skins—and continued on their journey.

There was also a minor incident.

Although the caravan guards all said Multilegged Beast meat was inedible, Old Na, out of curiosity, still grilled a leg to try.

It proved that things from the Wasteland really shouldn't be eaten indiscriminately.

Even with a constitution near twenty points, she ended up vomiting against a tree trunk for half an hour...

Apart from the Mole and Edge squads, other players were also busy with their activities. Brother Springs was on an expedition team's mission, gathering valuable data for Yin Fang, while Trash Lord was hunting in Far Creek Town, trying to break through to Level 10.

There were also life skill players who designed irrigation channels for Lihu. North Shore and a drainage system for Changjiu Farm.

Currently, the engineering team from Spare people under the knife was busy with intensive construction.

The most unexpected for Chu Guang was still the progress made by the one he had sent north, Difficult for the strong.

After dallying along, this Rat-man brother finally led his group of rat brethren successfully to West State City.

Although many rats fell behind on the road, it wasn't a big deal for him.

Upon reaching the destination, Difficult for the strong quickly used his superior boxing skills and unscrupulous tricks to beat the local rats into searching the ground for their teeth, bowing down to him and crowning him as the Rat King of West State.

Having conquered a territory, Difficult for the strong did not stop there and quickly familiarized himself with the terrain around the southern suburbs of West State. He soon began establishing a secure foothold in the Southern Urban District of West State City with the radios, sleeping cabins, storage batteries, and a small generator he brought along.

After establishing contact with the signal tower of the sanctuary, the maps he explored along the way were also synchronized to the server via VM.

According to what Difficult for the strong described in his post, that place could only be described as "desolate" and "miserable."

The ruins were permeated with unfading foul odors, bodies were carelessly discarded on the streets or hung from overpasses and street lights, some with slogans insulting the Resistance strung around their necks, corners were filled with rats, cockroaches, and Hyenas.

The entire city was like Hell!

"...the Ya Clan from the Chewing Bone Tribe had already looted everything possible, leaving only a few survivors who organized a resistance, along with themselves."

"With those Looters' style of not worrying about the next meal after they have eaten the previous one, I reckon they won't last long, but perhaps the strategic minds among the Army did play a role, they began to drive some of the captives to farming, and I heard that as long as they could produce food, they wouldn't be eaten. Those captives are literally working themselves to death in the fields."

"I really can't bear to eat their crops, and the tuber potatoes buried in the ground don't taste good at all. So I told my little brothers to hold back a bit, and we'll feast on the grains once they enter the granary."

"Moreover, the whole city isn't completely under the control of the Chewing Bone Tribe, although they've destroyed all the survivor bases on the surface, they haven't conquered everyone, and there are still some who have survived."

"These people call themselves the Resistance, hiding in sewers and air-raid shelters, waging guerrilla warfare in the ruins, causing quite a bit of trouble for the Looters. Although the Ya Clan dispatched two thousand-team squads to hunt them down, the outcome was barely effective; the environment there is like a maze."

"The leader of the Ya Clan seems to plan on securing their foothold in West State City before continuing to expand southward. I'm trying to make contact with the local survivors; they're few in number, poorly equipped, but have high morale. If we could give them a little help, perhaps they could help hold off the troubles to the north for us."

"Finding them is not too difficult. I now have more than a hundred little brothers; the only thing that troubles me now is... how do I convince them to trust a talking Rat-man? Damn it, why did it have to be a rat! I wish I were a cat!"

The post was a full three pages long.

Chu Guang read through the challenging post and summarized the information.

West State City, although fallen under the iron hooves of the Chewing Bone Tribe, hadn't been completely conquered; there were still many survivors putting up a fierce resistance.

Because West State City had accumulated a large stockpile of looted spoils and slaves, the Ya Clan, planning to use West State City as a base for further southern expansion, couldn't ignore these resistance organizations and had to divert a significant number of forces to deal with them.

It would be a protracted battle.

Before they could resolve their own troubles, they wouldn't be able to spare all their forces to continue moving south.

Looking at the information he had compiled, Chu Guang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Previously, the whole situation in West State City was a dark territory for him; nobody knew when the northern Looters might come again, and he could only predict it might be after the autumn harvest.

Based on the information from Difficult for the Strong, Chu Guang could now be fairly certain that the Chewing Bone Tribe from the north couldn't spare any forces to deal with him for at least the next three months.

After organizing the information in the post, Chu Guang immediately edited two intelligence-gathering missions, setting the publisher as [Difficult for the Strong].

However, Chu Guang didn't send the missions right away but set a timer to release them the next morning.

This would seem less deliberate.

"...Perhaps connecting with the local survivors and supporting their resistance movement would be a good idea."

Chu Guang thoughtfully stroked his chin.

South of Shelter No. 404 is Giant Stone City; the space to expand southwards is small, and with the complex situation in Clear Spring City, expansion could only be northward.

West State City was a good choice.

There were extensive reserves of both manpower and resources there.

Now the only problem was that the number of players was still too small; as strategic depth gradually increased, 1,100 players clearly weren't enough.

"If only we could open up Floor B4!"

It was the planting season, and whether for gardening or brick-moving, people were needed.

Glancing at the time and seeing it was getting late, Chu Guang regretfully turned off the Computer, stood up, and went back to his room to sleep.

That night.

He had a very long dream.

In the dream were many faceless strangers, calling him father, father.

Annoyed by their calls, just as Chu Guang wanted to ask who their mother was, the dream suddenly ended.

As he opened his eyes, feeling the wet heat and stickiness on his back, Chu Guang immediately guessed what had happened.

No surprises.

He had leveled up again.

"...This is really sudden."

Muttering as he sat up from the bed, Chu Guang moved his limbs to adapt to his body after the enhancement.

He felt no change in strength, his thinking speed seemed the same as before, but his reaction speed appeared faster, and his vision slightly improved.

So was this enhancement for agility?

Just as Chu Guang was recalling what exactly he'd done the previous day, a pale blue floating window suddenly appeared in front of him after a long absence.

And the words in that floating window truly made him realize what a surprise really felt like.

[Mission: Tide!]

[Brief: According to air quality monitoring data, the concentration of active "Mutated slime fungus" spores in the air has reached a critical level, with a 97% probability of new lairs forming. This poses a severe test for the survivors of Clear Spring City.]

[Requirement: "The Tide" will arrive within two weeks, resist the invasion of "The Tide," search for and annihilate the lairs north of the Third Ring, and completely remove the crisis of the Tide!]

[Reward: Access to Floor B4 of Shelter No. 404]

[Support Available: "200 Sleeping Cabins" × 2]

After reading the mission from start to finish, Chu Guang stood there stunned.

What timing for trouble.

Chapter 261: The Hunter's Guild! Teng Teng's Artwork!

"""

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Stage 2)

Level: LV.17→LV.18

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 17

Agility: 12→13

Constitution: 16

Perception: 13→14

Intelligence: 15

"""

B3-level infirmary.

Sitting beside the scanning bed, Chu Guang was looking at his Attribute Panel after leveling up, through a tablet passed by Heya.

To his surprise, he didn't expect the level up to add two attribute points.

"…Incredible, your DNA is even more miraculous than I imagined. Is Shelter No. 404 a gene bank for The United Human? How much modified DNA have you stockpiled?"

Sitting opposite him, Heya wore an expression of disbelief and had been ceaselessly talking about her astonishing discoveries since just a while ago.

However, Chu Guang, who was a complete layman in these matters, couldn't understand a word.

"I don't know."

"You don't know??" Heya looked at him in surprise, "Didn't the former Manager of the refuge inform you about the nature of this shelter when transferring authority?"

"That old riddle-monger only told me this is the last hope of human civilization."

Whether he had seen this phrase on a piece of paper or not, Chu Guang couldn't remember, as he often mixed up authentic events from this world with those he imagined to flesh out the "worldview" when composing little stories and background settings for The United Human on the official website.

But does it matter?

Not much.

He was a pragmatist; as long as it was useful, it was good enough.

Regarding the secrets hidden within this refuge and what exactly happened two hundred years ago, Chu Guang admitted he was curious but also understood clearly that it wasn't his top priority.

Zippering up his jacket, Chu Guang stood up from the scanning bed.

"I have to tell you some bad news. Through my authority, I found out that the spore concentration in the air of 'North Suburb' is rising, and something bad will likely happen in two weeks at the latest."

Heya's expression gradually grew solemn.

"About that, I actually have something I want to report to you."

"What is it?"

"Your residents discovered a peculiar phenomenon while exploring the tunnels…" Heya casually picked up a tablet and gently slid her index finger across the screen.

Very quickly, a 15-second video was presented on the tablet in Chu Guang's hands.

It showed a flesh-red room.

At first, Chu Guang thought that the slime on the walls and floors was blood and flesh chunks, but upon closer inspection, he found the reality to be completely different.

Layers of fine flesh-red cilia uniformly adhered to the concrete structures, clumps of flesh-red fruiting bodies the size of fridges attached to the walls, gently pulsating like breathing.

The voices of the players could also be heard in the video.

"Damn…what the hell is this thing?"

"Maybe it's the damn slime fungus."

"Not necessarily…I feel like it's a bit like a trap, look at those cilia, they're like tentacles, just shorter."

"Where's the captain? Quick, take a picture and it'll definitely blow up on the Forum!"

"Snapping more pictures now!"

Chu Guang's brow furrowed slightly, turning to Heya.

"This is?"

"A mycelium carpet formed by the 'Mutated slime fungus'," Heya said seriously, with her arms crossed over her chest, "According to my research, the mutated slime fungus adhering to objects usually appears in three colors: black, brown, and dark green, and they take on the form of spots."

"However, when the thickness exceeds 2mm, it will spawn the fourth state… which you see now."

Chu Guang: "What I mean is, what does it do?"

Heya: "It incubates fruiting bodies."

Chu Guang's expression grew slightly grim.

"So, are you saying those Eaters are all coming out of these kinds of houses?"

He had heard of it.

In addition to the Lairs, there were things called "incubation rooms" scattered around the city that mass-produced spores, imitating the Lair's environment to give life to fruiting bodies. Although not as efficient as the Lairs, when such

And this was also the reason why it seemed that the Mucor species couldn't be eradicated entirely.

"Not just the Eaters, but the Crawlers, Martyrs, Tyrants, etc., that you've found…theoretically, they could all be produced by this thing."

"When I was researching the components of the mycelium carpet, I found that in most cases, the fourth state of slime fungus is quite self-limiting. Normally, it stops expanding after filling a room and starts to increase the thickness of the carpet and the number of incubation units."

"However, under certain specific conditions, this self-limitation will be lifted."

Chu Guang immediately asked.

"What is this specific condition referring to?"

"I don't know," Heya shook her head, "Maybe when the environmental conditions are met, or maybe when it thinks it's necessary to expand the population, the mycelium carpet will reclaim some of the previously released hunting fruiting bodies and rapidly expand the mycelium carpet area in a short time, completely engulfing the original environment, forming larger incubation rooms…and then their color changes to dark red."

Chu Guang's Adam's apple bobbed.

"…The Lair."

Heya nodded.

"That's what I think too."

The increase in spore concentration in the air was one of the key indicators for monitoring the 'Tide'.

However, what Chu Guang didn't understand was, why would the First Generation Manager know about these?

Weren't the mutated slime fungus formed after the Wasteland Era?

According to the initial information Chu Guang received, this shelter had been sealed off for over a century. And the mutated slime fungus seemed to have started spreading after the mini Ice Age at the beginning of the Wasteland Era.

Until death, that First Generation Manager should never have left this shelter, and this was also the reason that person chose to pass on the responsibility and research results to a successor.

Or is it possible...

There were already mutating slime fungi in the pre-war era?

Or perhaps this mutated slime fungus itself was some kind of apocalyptic weapon.

Unaware of the thoughts running through Chu Guang's mind at the moment, Heya looked worried and softly lamented.

"The city's environment is too friendly for slime fungi. Concrete is great at insulation, and when nourished well, sewers, subways, abandoned buildings... these structures are practically natural incubators. They are probably more suited to this city than plants, and this is probably the real reason for the 'Tide'."

"Sometimes, the more I research, the more helpless I feel... Maybe just like what Mr. Saiwen said, this planet might be beyond saving. All we can do is preserve the accomplishments of the previous civilization, carve those and our stories into tombstones, and leave them to its next inheritor."

Mr. Saiwen is the Manager of Shelter No.117.

It is clear that, as a member of the Grave Keeper Sect, she greatly respects that Manager who is firm in his beliefs and benevolent.

""

However, Chu Guang didn't quite agree with her statement.

"I have the exact opposite opinion. I don't care about what happens after I die, nor am I too keen on pondering whether there's any rescue or not,"

Chu Guang said succinctly as He Ya looked at him in surprise.

"But since I am still alive, and standing right here,"

"I have to take charge."

...

On the edge of the Fifth Ring Road.

On the chaotic streets, a sturdy wild boar was swaying its bristles as it crawled out of a shattered display window of a street-side shop.

The snow had melted, and tender shoots were breaking through the crevices in the concrete. As it was searching for delicacies hidden in the soil, a sudden gunshot rang out from afar.

Shot in the head, the wild boar collapsed to the ground, motionless.

"Beautiful!"

Crouching behind a partially collapsed billboard, Li Dog excitedly punched the air.

This was his first time hunting outside.

Previously, the family's hunter had always been his older brother, Niu Li, but a few months ago Niu Li had gone to the factory, so the task had fallen to him.

Not far away, Yu Hu took a deep breath, put away the hunting gun, and urged his companion.

"Hurry and bleed it, or the meat will spoil."

"Alright!"

Li Dog, thrilled, took his dagger over to where the wild boar lay, while Yu Hu, with the hunting gun slung over his shoulder, followed him.

Ever since Brother Chu had driven away the old town mayor's family, every household of hunters had replaced their arms with cheap and useful rifles.

Hunting with these was much easier than with bow and arrows, spears, and slingshots.

Especially when encountering Looters, they wouldn't be completely defenseless.

A few months earlier, owning their own rifles had been beyond their wildest dreams.

"Damn... this boar is pretty heavy, must be at least eighty kilograms!"

"I'll help you."

The two flipped the prey over, and just as Li Dog was about to slit the animal's artery to bleed it, Yu Hu suddenly frowned.

"Wait a second."

Saying this, Yu Hu reached out to push aside the boar's ear, revealing a festering scar at the base of its ear.

The scar was small, only about the length of a pinky finger, hidden behind bristles, easy to overlook if not examined closely.

"What's this?" Li Dog asked curiously.

"Scratched by an Eater, lightly infected..."

Yu Hu used his dagger to part a clump of sparse hair behind the boar's ear, and then pried open the boar's mouth with the dagger to take a closer look at its teeth, muttering as he continued.

"It's too rare."

With the slow speed of the Eaters, catching a wild boar was virtually impossible.

Unless...

Yu Hu swallowed involuntarily.

He had a premonition.

Something bad might be about to happen.

Seeing his cousin had fallen silent, Li Dog thought there was a problem with the prey and quickly spoke up, nervously.

"Can we still sell this game?"

"Of course, it's just a little skin injury, doesn't affect the meat," After examining for a while, Yu Hu urged, "Hurry up and get to work, let's head back early today."

Li Dog immediately nodded, stopped talking, and began to bleed the game.

After they finished processing the game simply, the two men tied the wild boar to a stick, each shouldering an end and trudged nearly ten kilometers to Linghu Wetland Park.

Although the slaughter stands on Bet Street also took game, the price they offered was nowhere near as good as what the Blue Jackets in the park would give.

A big wild boar like this could sell for a hundred silver coins at Outpost Base now, but at the slaughter stands on Bet Street, eighty silver coins were the absolute limit.

Earning an extra twenty or thirty silver coins was no big deal for him, even if it meant walking an extra five kilometers.

...

The time was already three or four in the afternoon, and it would soon be evening.

After winter, the nights became increasingly dangerous, and the two travelers unconsciously quickened their pace.

Walking along the concrete road through the woods, they arrived at the south gate of Outpost Base.

Just as they were about to enter, they saw a line of guards in black coats, carrying rifles on their backs, standing to the west.

A rough count revealed there were about a hundred people.

An azure power armor also stood there, seeming to be inspecting these new recruits.

Yu Hu, who often came here, naturally recognized that blue piece of metal.

It was the Manager's power armor.

"Are we going to war?" Li Dog's face showed a surprised expression, with a hint of excitement in his eyes.

Unlike his older brother Niu Li, he preferred being a soldier to working in a factory.

Those black coats and the Arbitrator's Rifles were just too cool!

Recently, the guards also got helmets and engineer shovels. To him, it seemed like the dream of every man.

"I don't know..." Yu Hu shook his head and said in a low voice, "I just have a feeling something big is going to happen."

They didn't disturb Brother Chu's work.

Yu Hu urged Li Dog to stop looking, and together they took the wild boar to the warehouse.

It wasn't Zhao Shu on duty today, but another guy whose name they didn't know.

Since they were settling with silver coins this time, the procedure was very simple.

After checking that the game had been bled, the guy weighed it, then handed seven silver coins and a banknote worth a hundred to Yu Hu.

"Has the price of meat gone up again?" Yu Hu looked at the banknote and coins in his hand with a surprised expression.

That guy laughed and said, "It has gone up a bit, the market price for a pound of wild boar is now up to six silver coins. Recently the Manager increased the buying and selling prices and storage limits for meat products. If I didn't suck at hunting, I'd want to be a hunter too."

Of course, although the prices of goods had risen quite a bit, so had wages. The daily wage for a warehouse manager was only two silver coins, and if you wanted to eat meat, you had to save up. Now the daily wage has increased to twelve silver coins, enough to buy a kilo of meat in a day.

But starting a fire to cook was too much of a hassle, they used to save money to buy some meat to roast and eat, but now they simply took their money to the market at the north gate to spend.

A bun weighing three liang cost just one silver coin, and two buns with a cup of soy milk or corn juice was enough for a meal, all without spending much at all.

Compared to the life of wandering around before, every day here felt like living like the gods.

After discussing with Li Dog, Yu Hu spent the money on some salt, cloth, soap, and other daily necessities, while also stocking up some bullets.

After purchasing all these items, they still had ten coins leftover.

The two split the money, and after instructing Li Dog to take the goods back, Yu Hu went to the bank to find Little Fish.

Compared to the scrawny girl who was as thin as a reed a few months ago, Little Fish now had not only grown taller but had also filled out, her fair cheeks even sporting a bit of baby fat. Her big, limpid eyes were just as clear and lovely as before, the same as the waters of Rhombus Lake.

Yu Hu was always worried that his sister couldn't handle the important task of doing accounts because she always burnt the green wheat pancakes. In his mind, a person who could manage account books was someone steady and old like Old Charlie.

But now, it seemed his worries were unnecessary.

Although she wasn't skilled in making pancakes, she was surprisingly good at arithmetic.

Could it be because the iron pan was too heavy?

Yu Hu suddenly realized this issue, feeling somewhat ashamed on his face.

He hadn't been aware at all...

"Brother?"

Seeing Yu Hu, Yu Xiaoyu's eyes lit up, and she immediately stood up from behind the counter.

It had been a month since she last saw her brother after the New Year's party.

Yu Hu smiled heartily and said,

"I came on behalf of Mom and Dad to see how you're doing. Everything's been okay, right? No one's been bullying you, have they?"

Xiaoyu nodded vigorously, then shook her head like a bobblehead, her face filled with a happy smile.

"Xiaoyu is doing great! Brother Chu and everyone, they are all really good people!"

Although it was a bit tough at the beginning, she was now quite adept at her job. Everyone was kind and took good care of her.

The only thing that slightly troubled Xiaoyu was that people always sneakily left their change on the table and dashed off, forcing her to consult Xiao Qi and check the surveillance to figure out who had deposited the money.

Especially that big white bear, who was always sneaky when depositing money.

Was it because she was too fierce?

Although Brother Chu told her not to mind it, sometimes Xiaoyu still felt a little guilty.

Seeing his sister's lively and cheerful demeanor, a relieved smile appeared on Yu Hu's face.

"That's good to hear!"

"Just seeing you healthy and well, I can rest easy, sis."

Xiaoyu immediately said,

"How are Mom and Dad doing? And Big Brother, I heard that they encountered Looters near the Fifth Ring the day before yesterday. Nobody got hurt, right?"

Yu Hu replied with a smile, "No, no, don't worry, they're all fine. And your Big Brother's marksmanship is really impressive—I saw him hit a can from 100 meters away with a single shot."

Xiaoyu didn't really understand this distance, but still furrowed her brow and said,

"Even if his marksmanship is good, he shouldn't show off. The folks in the shelter are also very capable, but sometimes they still get hurt. And you too, Second Brother, even if you have a gun, you still shouldn't go to places that are too dangerous."

"I know, I know," Yu Hu scratched the back of his head.

He had come to check on his sister, yet the little one ended up lecturing him.

What places he could go to and what places he couldn't—he, an experienced hunter, surely knew that.

But still, it felt pretty nice to be cared for.

Just then, that azure power armor walked over from the west gate.

Seeing Chu Guang, Yu Hu's eyes brightened, and he greeted him.

"Brother Chu!"

"Yu Hu?" Chu Guang lifted his helmet visor, looking at the young man before him with a smile, "How was today's haul?"

"Heh, not bad, bagged a wild boar over 80 kilograms, got over a hundred silver coins for it," Yu Hu replied with a shy smile, yet his eyes sparkled with pride.

"Good job!" Chu Guang nodded in approval and joked with a smile, "Looks like there'll be roast wild boar at the barbecue stand today."

Yu Hu laughed along, but just then remembered something important and immediately spoke up.

"That's right, Brother Chu."

Chu Guang, "What is it?"

Yu Hu hesitated for a moment before saying, "There's something I have to tell you. When I was hunting today, I felt that the atmosphere inside the Fifth Ring was a bit unusual."

Chu Guang's heart stirred and he asked,

"Did you discover anything?"

Yu Hu nodded.

"Lately, the Variants seem more dangerous than before. The wild boar I bagged today had actually been scratched by an Eater... That'd have been nearly impossible before."

Chu Guang's face showed a contemplative expression.

"That is indeed a problem, I've noticed it as well. Recently, the Eaters and Crawlers in the subways are noticeably more aggressive than before..."

Listening to the conversation between her brother and Brother Chu, Xiaoyu's eyes showed concern, and she couldn't help but say softly,

"Brother, maybe you should switch to a safer job..."

"It's okay, I don't go hunting at night," Yu Hu reassured his sister with a smile, "Those Eaters come out at night, during the day they all hide in their houses."

Chu Guang suddenly interjected,

"That's not necessarily true."

Seeing Yu Hu look over in surprise, Chu Guang continued,

"According to the experts in our shelter, a Tide might break out soon. When that happens, even daytime might not be safe."

A Tide?!

Yu Hu's face showed a slight change.

"Tides...aren't they supposed to happen in the city center?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"That's not entirely accurate. A Tide could occur anywhere, given the right conditions."

Yu Hu swallowed hard.

If someone else had said this to him, he'd surely think they were a fool.

With Giant Stone City bordering the Third Ring, and no Lair beyond it, those Eaters usually head towards crowded places. How could a Tide erupt in the sparsely populated "North Suburb"?

But this was said by Brother Chu.

In his mind, Brother Chu was never one to joke about serious matters.

"By the way, Yu Hu, how have you considered the matter I mentioned to you before?"

Yu Hu was taken aback.

"What matter?"

Chu Guang said with a smile,

"Coming to help me with something after spring."

"I'm willing, of course, I'm willing!" Hearing that it was about this, Yu Hu nodded repeatedly, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly, "But I only know how to hunt... I'm afraid I won't be of much help to you."

"How come?" Chu Guang said laughingly, "A seasoned Hunter and guide is just what we need right now."

After a pause, Chu Guang looked at Yu Hu earnestly and continued,

"The threat of the Tide is looming, and I plan to establish a Hunter's Guild at Outpost Base to unite the local hunters and the refuge's residents who have a talent for hunting. We'll conduct reconnaissance into the city area along the Fifth Ring edge."

"I'm planning for you to be the Guild's first president!"

Yu Hu was stunned for a moment, somewhat at a loss.

"Me, as president? But I've never been—"

"No one's born knowing everything. I see a lot of potential in you," Chu Guang said with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, I'll tell you what work needs to be done and how to do each task specifically. You just need to answer me one question: can you or can't you?"

Compared to others, Yu Hu was the most familiar with the terrain in the "North Suburb." Not only was he an experienced hunter, but also a reliable guide.

Although he didn't seem very smart, he wasn't actually foolish—Chu Guang was confident in his own judgment.

Particularly crucial was the fact that whether it was the hunters from Bet Street or those from other areas nearby, they were all quite familiar with him, and players didn't find him to be a stranger.

To have him undertake the role of this functional NPC couldn't be more fitting!

Brother was still hesitant when Little Fish gently tugged at his sleeve and softly pleaded,

"Bro, just agree to it. Working here is definitely safer than going out hunting, and Mom and Dad will surely be happy about it."

Yu Hu scratched the back of his head, muttering,

"You little girl, you've only been out of the house for a few days and you're already bossing your brother around."

Little Fish spoke with a sense of grievance,

"I'm just worried about you... and Brother Chu thinks you can do the job well, so there's definitely no problem."

Yu Hu patted his sister's head and looked up at Chu Guang with a smile, saying earnestly,

"Since you are willing to trust me with such an important job, I will do my utmost to live up to it!"

Chu Guang watched him approvingly and nodded,

"That's what I've been waiting to hear!"

...

By evening, Yu Hu had returned to Bet Street. He planned to discuss the matter with his father, mother, and elder brother, then come back first thing the next morning.

Chu Guang told him there was no need to rush. It would be fine to sort things out at home and report back within two days.

Dusk slowly descended.

Over at Giant Stone City.

Tail, who had just had a full meal, was touching her slightly bulging belly, burping as she walked out of the restaurant.

"Burp~ Si, there's quite a lot of tasty food here."

"Emmm... I wouldn't say it's delicious, though I feel the snack street at the North Gate is a little better," Si Si glanced at her sidelong, "Ah Wei, you should pay more attention to your image, you know."

Tail spoke nonchalantly,

"What does it matter? Is it a problem if an Awakener has a larger appetite? Besides, it's just in the game, so even if by chance I put on a bit of weight, dying once would fix that."

"Well... although Resurrection Coins have gotten cheaper, I didn't expect you to use them for this."

The two had each eaten a huge bowl of noodles, spending four coins.

Objectively speaking, the one made by that player called Zhang Hai at the North Gate was tastier.

After agreeing unanimously, they concluded that indeed, the people of Giant Stone City lived lives of destitution; the noodles were devoid of any seasoning except salt and vinegar.

Where's the chili?

Is there even a soul to ramen without chili?

Si Si unfolded the piece of paper in her hand, which listed the investigation items she had planned.

By now, she had completed over twenty items, leaving only a few more.

"Next stop, the bar."

"The bar!" Tail's eyes lit up at once, "Oh, there must be lots of mercenaries there, right?"

"In theory, yes," Si Si looked around, "But... this street seems to be full of shops; I don't see any signs that look like a bar."

Brother Fang Chang's guide didn't mention it either.

To leave out such key information didn't seem like his style...

Tail said energetically,

"No problem! It's just the opportunity for us to explore!"

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing."

The two walked along the street for a while, continuing toward the Inner City.

Before long, a large sign came into view.

On the sign was a drawing of a lady with an attractive figure, her back leaning against a beer barrel and holding a mug of beer in her hand, surrounded by colorful neon lights.

Although the painting style was a bit wild, it was undoubtedly meant to depict beer.

"Si! We found it!"

"Emmm... I don't think this is the kind of bar we're looking for."

"What's the difference? Since the game developers created it, it must have its significance!"

"Eh? When you put it that way, it makes sense."

Truthfully, Si Si was also curious to what extent the game was realistic.

Seeing Tail's face full of anticipation, Si Si made a "can't do anything with you" expression and then led Tail over.

The security at the door looked at them in surprise but said nothing, took two coins each as an entrance fee, and let them in.

The bar was lit up with flashing lights and loud music, radiating a wild and explosive atmosphere.

The two, who had never been to a bar, felt mismatched with the setting.

Even Tail, usually so active, felt a bit out of place.

"Si, when in doubt, ask. It's my first time at a bar; how do I act like I'm a regular?"

"I think treating this place more like a cafeteria might feel more natural."

Tail looked at Si Si with surprise, "Huh! Si Si, do you often go to such amazing places?"

"Si Si: Do you think that's likely for someone who spends every night playing games?"

It didn't quite resemble the kind of tavern that adventurers frequented in RPGs.

It was more like a real-life nightclub.

They found a rather inconspicuous spot at the bar and sat down in the corner.

Soon the bartender delivered two beers watered down, Si Si said thank you politely in United Human language, smelled the glass without drinking, and started to survey the surrounding environment.

The lights outside the dance floor were dim; figures were obscured, and nobody was paying attention to them.

Just as Si Si was pondering where to begin her investigation, the music in the tavern suddenly changed.

A host went up on the stage and said a few words with the microphone, followed by a forward-dressed dancer stepping onto the stage.

Excited cheers erupted from around the venue.

The magnitude of the cheer eclipsed the background music!

The dancer on the podium glanced seductively at the audience and began her performance.

However, what was notable wasn't the dance itself.

But her clothes.

Si Si was slightly taken aback, a look of surprise appearing on her face.

That was Teng Teng's...

Before she could comment, Tail next to her jumped up as if discovering a new continent, pulling her excitedly toward the stage.

"My giao! Si, look!"

"Isn't that Teng Teng's work of art?"

Si Si wore a nuanced expression, as though she could already foresee the events of the next few hours unfolding.

"Mmm... I see it."

"It's impressive."

Chapter 262: Alpha 1.1 Version Update! And the New Respawn Point!

"NO!!! I don't believe this! I don't accept it! This isn't real!!!"

Office No. 404 in Stone City, in the newly renovated living room on the third floor.

When she saw the photo Si Si had risked his life to take, Teng Teng let out a brief cry of disillusionment.

After she had thrown down those words, she ran back to her room like a gust of wind and slammed the door shut.

On the wooden coffee table, a kerosene lamp gently flickered, casting long shadows from the mutated fruit and squirrel cookies piled on the iron plate.

The four people sitting at the table looked at each other.

Sesame Paste said with a flushed face, "It actually looks pretty good?"

He had intended to console Teng Teng with that remark.

But it seemed like she had been brewing it for a bit too long.

Si Si grimaced slightly, "Emmm... I can't deny it, but maybe this kind of beauty isn't the effect Teng Teng wanted."

"It seems I'm not the only one who thinks that the clothes are designed very boldly," Crow murmured quietly after staring at the photo for a while, "and here I was seriously reflecting on whether I was being too dirty-minded."

Tail had a sudden thought.

"Could it be that Teng Teng actually has a talent she hasn't discovered in herself?"

Si Si advised.

"You better not say that to her, though."

Tail: "Awoooo!"

Glancing at the tightly closed wooden door, Sesame Paste said with some worry,

"...But really, it's okay?"

Si Si: "Emmm… Are you talking about Teng Teng or Old White and Fang Chang?"

Sesame Paste: "Huh?"

Crow quickly understood Si Si's meaning and waved his hand, "Don't worry, Teng Teng is very generous! She won't hold a grudge!"

Really?

A subtle smile tugged at the corner of Si Si's mouth as he quietly got up from the sofa, stretched and said,

"I'm a bit sleepy, I'm going to log off first."

But it was just a façade.

He wasn't sleepy at all.

He mainly wanted to check out the hot topics on the forum.

Their pre-bedtime chat had ended prematurely.

In the world of the game, it was already nine o'clock at night, and in the real world, it was precisely nine in the morning. Having been lying down since six o'clock the previous evening, it was time to get up and move around a bit.

Sesame Paste picked up a plate of squirrel cookies and stood up.

"I'll bring some to Meat Meat."

Meat Meat, being a "pet," could only stay with the Double-headed Cow, wasn't allowed to roam the streets freely, and couldn't live on the residential streets.

Luckily, this place wasn't far from the storage area; otherwise, it would be too pitiful.

Tail, who had been lying on the table and yawning, had planned to go to sleep but sprang to his feet, his eyes gleaming as he heard about feeding Meat Meat.

"I'll come with you!"

…

Official Forum.

Today was as bustling as ever.

Brother Mole was colorfully narrating anecdotes from his journey in a thread, supplemented with several illustrations he had drawn himself.

When they passed through Garbage City, they encountered a group of mercenaries claiming to be from the Chewing Bone Tribe, not only wielding Army weapons but also possessing a Conqueror tank.

Due to language barriers among other reasons, it wasn't until they had captured these mercenaries that they realized these people were not from the Chewing Bone Tribe after all, but mercenaries in disguise.

The reason they claimed to be from the Chewing Bone Tribe was to extort money from passing commercial teams. And that "Conqueror" tank turned out to be made of wood...

Aside from Brother Mole's entertaining posts, there were other intriguing threads.

Elena and Scrambled Tomatoes were cross-server sharing cooking tips, Makabazi was sharing how he used the "Plant Speaker" Talent to communicate with plants—something so outrageous it made Bored Tiger call it preposterous.

There were also discussions on growing tobacco and corn, debates on how to make piston-driven aircraft engines with simple materials, and exchanges on efficient ways to prepare Black Gold and Polyisobutylene.

Just then, a line of posts suddenly appeared in the forum.

Teng Teng: @"White Horse Passing a Gap@Long Days Ahead@…"

Night Ten: "What's up? Why tag me? If you miss me, just say it. (joking)"

Teng Teng: "Miss you my foot! Show your weapons! (╯‵□′)✄╰ひ╯"

Old White: "?"

Fang Chang: "??"

Wild Wind: "???"

Night Ten: "!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Elena: "Shocked, what have you done to cute Teng Teng? (joking)"

Gnome King Riches: "Shocked, is this a distortion of human nature or a degeneration of morals? (joking)"

Just as everyone was perplexed about this post, guessing what had happened, Crow suddenly appeared.

Crow: "Hahaha, let me show you something good. o(*≧▽≦)ツ (picture) (picture) (picture)"

Crow: "Huh??? It didn't work last time, how did it actually pass the review this time?"

Canyon Escape Mole: "Damn! Isn't this more explicit than what I drew?!"

Debt Giant Eye: "(nosebleed)"

Spring Water Commander: "I gotta ask, is this content available without payment?"

Teng Teng: "You LSPs! This clothing is not meant to be used in this kind of situation, okay? Doesn't it feel weird? (╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻"

Night Ten: "Uh? Although this is an accident, I feel... it unexpectedly seems quite fitting?"

Teng Teng: "Drop dead! (angry)"

Night Ten: "QAQ"

It proved that genuine chatting could never match the enthusiasm evoked by provocative posts.

A few photos instantly increased the number of pre-registered players.

Even more effective than a promotional PV!

Although Crow Boss quickly deleted the post under threats from Teng Teng, thanks to the internet users' quick reflexes, the photos were already saved.

As the forum posts were wildly swamped, the small group at the Cow Horse Club was buzzing as well.

Night Ten: "Damn! Didn't that damned NPC say that Teng Teng's artworks were bought by the nobles of the Inner City? How come it appeared in a nightclub!"

Wild Wind: "I thought about it carefully, that NPC didn't actually say that. (sideways glance)"

Fang Chang: "Blame me, it was my assumption that it sold to the Inner City... I figured mercenaries wouldn't buy such impractical clothing, residents of the outer city couldn't afford it, it could only be bought by the nobles of the Inner City, never thought it would end up in a nightclub, my bad. (awkward)"

Indeed, Fang Chang was to blame, got carried away while writing the strategy, hyped it up too much.

If it weren't for setting such high expectations, the disappointment wouldn't have been as big.

Hopefully, Teng Teng isn't too disheartened.

But actually, think about it.

Soft power needs the support of hard power.

The Stone City has been the top dog in the southern part of the River Valley Province for a century, not just in the North Suburb, even the survivor settlements of the entire River Valley don't look much different from rural villages in their eyes.

Unless these clothes are worn by the merchants of Ideal City.

But Fang Chang always felt, convincing the people of the Stone City Inner City to accept new things might be even more challenging.

Old White: "Major social death scene here, I dare not even comment. (awkward)"

Night Ten: "@Light, Brother Guang, save me! Teng Teng is going to kill someone! Please put out a notice to divert everyone's attention! QAQ"

Light: "Okay. (sideways glance)"

Old White: "!!"

Fang Chang: "!!!"

Quit Smoking: "Damn! Ah Guang, are you his real dad?!"

Wild Wind: "Ah Guang really was lurking. (sideways glance)"

Night Ten: "Ah Guang, boss you're awesome! (excited)"

Quit Smoking: "Come on, you're sucking up too much, I can't even watch!"

Night Ten: "Get lost! How is this sucking up? This is heartfelt gratitude!"

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato: "Ugh ugh ugh!"

Closing the group chat, Chu Guang logged onto the Forum to get a gist of what had happened.

Although it slightly differed from his expected script, how should he put it?

He felt it wasn't entirely a bad thing.

Although Teng Teng's Vine Cottage artworks didn't conquer the hearts of the Inner City people, they at least conquered the nights of the Stone City.

Even the nobles of Stone City Inner City can't live in pomp every night. Even emperors sneak out of the palace for fun sometimes, what more the courtiers?

Usually, they just wouldn't let the commonality know.

Plus those mercenaries and merchants who made a fortune from trade, if the little players' "artworks" could become popular among them, you never know, these commodities might even sell farther away.

It would be a broader market.

And this was a good start.

"Seeing as he called me dad, I'll release the announcement a day earlier."

Watching the Cow Horse team being chased by Teng Teng, Chu Guang couldn't help but chuckle and clicked the mouse.

Just as the forum users and LSPs were avidly sharing the photos taken by Si Si, a notice suddenly popped up.

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta Server Alpha1.1 Version Update Notice.]

There was not the slightest hint of what was coming.

Each update of "Wasteland OL" always caught everyone off guard.

One moment, everyone was exchanging studying materials, and the next, their entire focus was drawn to this significant news.

[Major Updates:

1. The number of players in closed beta increased to 1500.

2. The "Wave system"!

]

[Optimizations:

1. More enriched NPC shops, now opening purchases for neural connection equipment, the basic unmanned scout vehicle requires an intelligence attribute over 15.

2. The game's season shifts to spring, with more vegetation and wildlife, while nights will no longer be safe!

3. Fixed a small number of bugs.

4.…

]

["Wave" system detailed explanation: The suitable environment within city areas will lead to the rapid reproduction of mutated slime fungus; when the spore concentration in the air reaches a certain threshold, it will cause probability-based mutations in stable hatcheries, forming new lairs. It is predicted that the wave will occur within the next two weeks, please prepare yourselves, as this might be the most severe test since the server launch!]

[New NPC joins: Yu Hu from Bet Street will join Shelter No. 404, as an experienced, calm hunter proficient in crafting traps and tracking game.]

[Additionally, the Hunter Guild is officially established, with the first president to be held by Yu Hu, congratulations to hunter players for having their organization now!]

[Developer's Log: Alpha1.1 Version]

Light: "Hello everyone, this new version has not come easily. Actually, we initially planned the version number to be 1.01, but since our potato supplier has been powerful enough, we now have more potatoes… I mean server resources."

"In any case, the new version will bring 400 lucky individuals, the announcement for the internal testing qualifications will be a bit delayed, expected to be made public after tomorrow's launch."

"All staff of the 'Wasteland OL' game production team promises you, although we are still in the early stages of our startup, we will still do our utmost to provide as many gaming experiences to the players in closed beta, and make the game world as complete as possible. The much-awaited public beta version will also arrive at the ultimate stage of game development."

"In fact, we already have a specific timetable, but it involves corporate secrets, so it is not convenient to disclose."

"Next is about the new version's introduction, we have introduced a new concept in the game — the Wave. Although in the early stages of the game, our players mostly regarded the people of Wasteland as their opponents, the real threats are not just those armed with firearms Wasteland Wanderers, but also those terrifying mutant organisms. Having laid dormant all winter, they are now famished, whether the Claws of Death or the slime fungus."

"During the Wave period, the mutated slime fungus will proliferate crazily, high concentrations of spores may even form a fog-like spore cloud in the air. Ingesting too much can lead to respiratory infections, and even partial tissue lesions, it's advised for players with low constitution to wear gas masks when delving into the city areas, and even players with high constitution should not take it lightly."

"Searching and clearing is the only way to end the Wave, we cannot expect them to simply vanish on their own, nor can we stand idly by and watch them destroy the homes we've built with our own hands."

"Therefore, the 'Hunter Guild' is born!"

"Accept the Hunter profession, search for the spore release source, and eliminate potential dangers to receive generous rewards and unlock rare achievements and medals!"

"Information on the Lair, incubation chambers, and mutated slime fungus has been updated in the official website's database. For more details about gameplay, please explore within the Game itself!"

...

The first day the new version went live.

The number of Hunter players doubled instantly.

Apart from the players with lifestyle professions showing little reaction, nearly all combat professional players registered themselves as members of the Hunter Guild by adding the Hunter profession to their profiles.

As President of the Hunter Guild, Yu Hu did not disappoint the players. Using the budget allocated by Chu Guang, he sourced experienced Hunters from Bet Street to teach players hunting and tracking skills and organized them to head to Qingquan City for a search mission.

Over 200 Hunter players formed more than 50 teams, and from Garden Street Metro Station, they spread out carpet-like in three different directions towards the area from the fifth to the fourth ring roads of Qingquan City, searching for the sources of spore releases.

The combat and recovery abilities of the Mucor species Variants directly correlated with the spore density in the air. When the spore cloud reduced ground-level light to a certain degree, even daytime would no longer be safe.

Stopping the 'Tide' in its cradle was not very realistic; most Variants that constituted the 'Tide' came from fully developed Lairs, which were usually located in the city center, the oldest even having over a century of history.

However, if they could locate a mutating incubation chamber and destroy it before it formed a new Lair, it would undoubtedly reduce the spore density in the air significantly, thereby weakening the strength of the 'Tide' and the combat power of the Eaters.

This was Heya's conjecture.

It was also the first task Chu Guang assigned to the Hunter Guild.

As the combat professional players advanced into the urban areas of Qingquan City, the exit of floor B3 of Shelter No. 404 was bustling.

A few Strength Type and Body Constitution System players were dragging pinstcarriages, moving one cultivation chamber after another from the shelter into the tunnel outside the exit.

These cultivation chambers were lined up in front of the gatehouse, and not far from them, a truck that had just been assembled recently was parked.

It was the latest work from Goblin Technology.

Since the respected Manager placed the order, this truck also, fortunately, received a somewhat normal name—"Electric donkey."

True to its name, this was a purely electric truck. From its appearance, it was primarily modeled after the Army's light trucks, only with extended cargo length and the camel engine replaced with batteries and a motor.

The entire vehicle's structure featured a steel driver's cabin and wooden body typical layout, weighing a total of 4.3 tons, with four wheels and nearly a 5-meter-long body. The engine's maximum output power could reach 80 horsepower, with a rated maximum load of 1.8 tons, though overloading up to 3 tons wasn't much of a problem!

Apart from zero emissions, excellent endurance, and minimal noise, the vehicle had outstanding off-road capabilities. Its high chassis design could readily adapt to rugged terrain.

Moreover, the reserved connectors on the truck's front could be used to weld bulletproof plates and machine guns.

The wooden panels on both sides of the cargo space were also designed to open outward, which could easily mount a quad anti-aircraft gun on the truck.

Whenever needed, this medium transport truck could instantly transform into an armed truck!

Not only did it have a dominant appearance and versatile use, but the technical content of this truck was equally high.

Its energy storage component consisted of 102 Series-connected KV-1 model solid hydrogen batteries, totaling 102 kilograms, installed at the rear of the truck, easy to dismantle and replace.

And this was also the first order that List Factory received from the shelter since it started production!

Unlike fuel trucks, electric trucks have a relatively simple structure, with the core technology mainly focused on energy storage; there aren't significant technological challenges in the power components.

Apart from the battery, other components, including the motor, are mostly developed in-house by various workshops and factories in the industrial district.

If one were to point out a single drawback of this truck, it would be the inconvenience of obtaining energy.

Unlike machines that burn wood, the truck uses a "Battery Group No. 102", which is quite expensive, with a production cost of 12,000 silver coins for just one set.

Moreover, outside the shelter, electricity is primarily generated by thermal power, which ultimately still involves burning wood. Before the improvement in the energy structure, the electric truck would actually consume more wood due to the added process of energy conversion.

However, given the ventilation environment inside the tunnel, this choice was unavoidable. After all, it was impossible to bring the wood-burning truck underground.

If they truly did that, they would likely not run for long before everyone succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning.

"How much does this truck cost?"

Silver Sword, who had just set down the cultivation chamber, wiped the sweat off his forehead and couldn't help but wonder aloud as he looked at the nearby truck.

Standing next to him, Silver Daddy chuckled mischievously and said,

"I don't know, but I do know for sure you can't afford it."

Silver Sword: "Damn, why would I buy this thing? I'm just curious, is that not allowed?"

Silver Hand: "I'm more curious about where these cultivation chambers are being sent."

After pondering for a moment, Silver Sword said, "Probably to Shelter No. 117!"

"Shelter No. 117?" Silver Hand asked in surprise, "Why send them there?"

Silver Daddy: "Are you dumb? Besides those 100 or so rooms on level B, does Shelter No. 404 have any space left? If the operator doesn't open a new server, they'll have to shift the resurrection point for new players to other shelters!"

Silver Hand: "Shit, does that mean we're the last batch of players at Shelter No. 404?"

Silver Sword: "Not necessarily, what if they open a fourth floor? That's another 600 brothers... but this game is too realistic, even the resurrection points need to be physically transported by the old players."

Silver Daddy sighed, "Indeed, it's damn realistic... I'm both a player and a dad, and I never had to worry this much in other games."

The moment he said that, both of them rolled their eyes at him.

Thinking about their usernames made them aggravated, so they decided to ignore the jackass for an hour.

...

400 cultivation chambers had been displayed in the tunnel.

The "Electric Donkey" medium transport would deliver these cultivation chambers in eight runs at a pace of 50 each to Shelter No. 117 located below the Garden Street Metro Station.

Thanks to the continuous efforts of the players, the tunnel from Shelter No. 404 to Shelter No. 117 had been completely cleared of mutant creatures and hatcheries.

The entire tunnel, stretching 7 kilometers, would take an hour to walk; however, riding on Iron Horse 60 at an average speed of 30 yards per minute would only take about a dozen minutes.

New players will have Shelter No. 117, located beneath the Garden Street Metro Station, as their resurrection point.

There, a controlled fusion reactor and wireless power supply facilities would provide power to the cultivation chambers.

Shelter No. 117 had comprehensive living facilities, and the underground tunnel connected directly to Shelter No. 404, making transportation very convenient.

Additionally, Outpost Base and Changjiu Farm had been equipped with 200 sleep pods and a public inn that offered lying-down services to accommodate players' offline needs.

As for the management of the newbies, there was no need to worry.

After obtaining the management rights for Shelter No. 117, the entire shelter's management system had been connected to the main server of Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang had granted some of his administrative privileges to Xiao Qi.

With virtually no blind spots in the shelter's camera coverage, as long as something occurred within the signal range of the shelter, Xiao Qi could monitor the situation at any time.

In case of any emergencies, Xiao Qi would notify him immediately.

To ensure foolproof security, Chu Guang even bestowed it with emergency handling authority.

In situations involving moderate to severe violations, Xiao Qi could directly cut off power to specific cultivation chambers as per the management regulations, then report the "malfunction."

The entire process would be completed within 2 to 3 frames, recorded in the shelter management regulations as the "Circuit Breaker Mechanism."

To put it bluntly, it was like pulling the plug.

Having spent the entire morning, with the cooperation of players and NPCs, the four hundred cultivation chambers were finally delivered to Shelter No. 117 and placed in separate rooms.

After completing these tasks, Chu Guang immediately started the synthesis program to generate clones for the players.

These four hundred newbies would log on in three days, half of them as combat professional players and the other half as lifestyle profession players.

The battle against the Variants tested not only the shelter's combat power but also its logistical abilities.

Chu Guang needed not only a large number of combat professional players to fill the front lines but also needed bullets and shells to be continuously delivered to the front.

Only by doing so could the safety of the rear be ensured.

Chu Guang had high hopes for this batch of fresh rookies.

Looking at the door of Shelter No. 117, dressed in the previous manager's power armor, he said with a satisfied smile,

"If nothing unexpected happens, this should be the last batch of players for the B-round tests."

"If the idea of shipping cultivation chambers to other shelters as resurrection points works, we could focus on scouting for shelter information in the future."

Just then, Xiao Qi's voice interrupted his thoughts through the communication channel.

"Master!"

Before Chu Guang could ask what the matter was, Xiao Qi continued,

"The players you sent to scout around the fifth ring road seem to have discovered something incredible..."

Chapter 263: The Prototype of the Lair and the Sample Retrieval

"What is that?"

On the half-collapsed pedestrian overpass.

The Spring Water Commander, wearing a gas mask and clad in heavy cavalry exoskeleton, held a telescope in his hand, his gaze fixed intently on the skyscraper directly opposite.

A gray-green mist filled the street, obscuring the view into the distance.

Even so, he could still see clearly, a faint dark red trace crawling around the middle of the hundred-story building.

According to the VM map marker, this skyscraper was named "New Era Data Center," and nearby, even a subway station was named after it.

Thinking back, this place must have been extraordinarily lively over two hundred years ago.

The three young players standing beside him also took out telescopes and looked toward the high-rise building opposite.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group muttered,

"Looks like it's on the 41st floor."

I Max Black was struck with a thought.

"Could it be the lair?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group turned to the team's rookie.

"You're the Agile system, why don't you go take a look?"

Zhang Hai immediately expressed his displeasure.

"No way! That's clearly a suicide mission! I'm not going, you go if you want."

I Max Black shook his head and sighed,

"This generation's newcomers are too timid."

Zhang Hai rolled his eyes: "You pretentious big bad wolf, you're just one version ahead of me, aren't you embarrassed?"

I Max Black: "#@%!"

The Spring Water Commander opened the VM, compared the description in the database, and read softly.

"The mutated incubator is dark red, the spore release speed is increased, the mucor species variants in the vicinity will spontaneously gather towards the incubator, and a portion of them will enter the incubator voluntarily, serving as nutrients for the expansion of the fungus mat..."

Indeed, there were quite a few Eaters wandering the streets.

Although there was no obvious sign that they were all moving toward the incubator, their presence on the streets in broad daylight was certainly abnormal.

And the surrounding gray-green mist was almost certainly caused by those spores!

A flicker of excitement in his eyes, the Spring Water Commander immediately set a marker on the map and, using the headset around his neck, took a photo of the building.

Photo obtained!

"Done!"

After a short wait, the VM's indicator light flickered slightly, a mission complete stamp appeared in the task bar.

Not just the Spring Water Commander, the other three players in the squad also received the mission complete notification.

"Holy crap, 100 silver coins just for taking a photo?!" Zhang Hai's eyes bulged.

And a hundred points of contribution!

These earnings are too easy!

Although he was a player who dual cultivated in life and combat professions, mainly focusing on setting up a noodle stall near the North Gate.

Today, he had spontaneously picked the Hunter profession after seeing the version update, making a random team, and to his surprise, the mission earnings were so high!

A bowl of noodles was 5 silver coins, after deducting 2 silver coins for cost, he would have to make 34 bowls of noodles to earn this many silver coins!

Upon this busy realization, Zhang Hai couldn't help but lament inwardly.

These combat professional players earn way too much!

Indeed, it was time to raise the prices of noodles!

The rookie players nearby were oblivious, still goofing around,

I Max Black chuckled and said, "Got it, the version answer is a camera!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn, your understanding is quite corporate!"

Zhang Hai looked invigorated as he turned to Old Spring Water.

"Bro, what's next? Are there any follow-up missions?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group had already switched off the safety on their rifle, eying the Eaters wandering the street opposite, eager to move.

"What do you say? Shall we go in and check it out?"

Spring Water shook his head and said,

"The mission didn't specify, only shows that we can opt to stand by here, reinforcements are coming from the Outpost Base... estimated arrival time in one hour."

Zhang Hai: "What? That long?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "That's actually fast, now from the B3 layer tunnel you can move directly to the Garden Street Metro Station, previously just walking to Bet Street took an hour or two!"

The Spring Water Commander checked the task bar.

"There's another resource point search mission nearby, coordinates 230 meters away at an office building, we should have enough time to complete the sideline mission and return to wait, how about that?"

I Max Black: "Ok!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "I have no objections."

Spring Water Commander gestured grandly.

"Then let's move out!"

…

In fact, it didn't even take an hour.

Neither the sideline mission of searching the resource point nor the reinforcements from several kilometers away.

What the Spring Water Commander hadn't expected was the unexpectedly lavish lineup of the reinforcements.

Not only the Manager in his blue power armor but even Miss Heya, who usually never leaves home, had come along.

Standing on the half-collapsed overpass, Heya took one look and confidently made a judgement.

"There's no mistake… the fungus mat has expanded to the exterior of the building, if we let these mucor form continue to expand the fungus mat, in at most a month they will develop into a new lair."

Chu Guang glanced at Heya.

"Is it okay that you are not wearing a gas mask?"

"It's fine," said Heya, her expression unchanged. "For me, this level of spore cloud is just a bit of dust."

Okay.

Bionic organs were truly convenient.

Chu Guang thought to himself that he should get a set when he had the chance.

Standing on the other side of Chu Guang, Vanus, dressed in an orange hazmat suit and wearing a gas mask, was also staring intently at the building ahead.

After a moment of thought, he spoke.

"I suggest demolishing the building."

Chu Guang looked at him and asked,

"Would collapsing the building take care of the incubator?"

"Not necessarily," Vanus said succinctly, "but it will simplify a complex problem!"

"Slime fungus struggles to survive in open spaces. Aside from a few natural caves, it's almost impossible to see Eaters in the wild. The only way to completely eliminate the hidden dangers of slime fungus breeding is to thoroughly clear out this concrete debris."

Vanus paused, then added,

"That's what we did on the western side of the continent!"

Heya looked at him in shock, having never heard of such a crazy thing.

"That's too crazy... Have you considered the potential chain reactions this could cause?"

Demolishing a high-rise building was not as simple as just talking about it.

These were concrete buildings that had survived nuclear blasts and stood firm for two centuries; their robustness could be imagined.

Even if enough dynamite was prepared to completely destroy the load-bearing structures, the falling chunks of reinforced concrete were unlikely to crumble like tofu but were more likely to form a "three-dimensional maze" tens of meters high and hundreds of meters long.

This could potentially make the situation even more complicated!

At least before demolishing the building, safety passages and elevator shafts could directly reach the 41st floor.

As for Heya's astonishment, Vanus remained indifferent.

"First, we perform concentrated demolitions on a block-by-block basis. Second, of course, we won't just walk away after detonating the explosives."

"After the demolition, we will bombard it with heavy artillery, drop incendiary bombs from airships, and send out our clone soldiers... until the infection source is completely destroyed."

"Not just these concrete debris, but also the paralyzed underground transit and drainage systems, we will also demolish and remove them."

Heya couldn't help but say, "Maybe you're just burying the problem out of sight."

Vanus shrugged.

"Maybe so, I'm just providing a solution. This work has been going on for two centuries, and at least in the areas where these strategies have been implemented, the results have been pretty good."

In the Wasteland, there was no need for such high-density housing, and the massive maintenance costs yielded a population concentration effect that was worthless here.

At least in Vanus's eyes, the only difference between these unusable things and garbage was that the latter could still be recycled.

And these high-rise buildings, after recycling the usable resources inside, left nothing but endless trouble.

Heya looked at Chu Guang.

"I do not recommend demolishing the entire building unless you are one hundred percent sure that the demolition will completely eliminate the slime fungi inside, otherwise the complex environment could make the problem even more tricky."

"Anyway, whatever decision you make, please at least provide me with a tube of samples! I need to understand the biological process from the incubator to the lair of these mutated slime fungi. It's crucial! It could help us understand our enemy!"

Chu Guang did not immediately respond to Heya but turned to look at the chief contractor of the Outpost Base, Spare people under the knife.

Among all the players, he was probably the most knowledgeable about engineering.

"How many kilograms of dynamite are needed to demolish such a building?"

Spare people under the knife frowned and thought for a long time before speaking.

"1.1 tons of TNT and 3,500 detonators should suffice."

Chu Guang was slightly moved.

"That much?"

Spare people under the knife said with a wry smile,

"That's a conservative estimate... The actual amount of dynamite needed might be even more."

High-rise buildings hundreds of meters high were common in Qingquan City, especially towards the city center, where entire district areas penetrated the clouds, any of which could easily surpass the world's tallest building if placed in reality.

Of course, Spare people under the knife also admitted that games and reality were incomparable, and only a fool would seek full realism in a virtual world, although most operators would claim so.

However, assuming that the physics engine of Wasteland OL was professional enough, he tentatively analyzed from a professional perspective that if these skyscrapers were to withstand earthquakes and other natural disasters, not only would the strength of the concrete be two grades higher than in reality, but the steel investment would probably be astronomical.

As Spare people under the knife calculated in his heart, Chu Guang was also doing his calculations.

1.1 tons of dynamite could make three thousand 100mm shells!

Too expensive!

And that was just a conservative estimate...

If the explosion resulted in a dangerously unstable building, partially collapsed and left there, it would be like a time bomb.

Conversely, if players were dispatched to specifically clear the mutation incubator located on the 41st floor, the cost might merely be some active substances, a few thousand bullets, and a few liters of fuel.

With this in mind, Chu Guang made his decision and issued the mission through VM.

[Primary Objective: Destroy the slime fungi incubator located on the 41st floor of the New Era Data Center!]

[Secondary Objective: Collect mutated samples!]

After issuing the mission, Chu Guang turned to the small group of players nearby.

"We now have enough evidence to confirm that the spore clouds gathered in this area were released from the 41st floor of the New Era Data Center."

"To prevent further expansion of the fungal mat and to avert a greater threat in this area, we need to completely clear it before the Tide arrives!"

"This task is crucial as it affects whether we can more comfortably face the threat of the Tide, and we have only one week left."

"I need you to solve this problem within a week!"

Hearing the Manager's urgent and serious tone, the faces of the players, including the Spring Water Commander, showed no signs of tension but were filled with excitement.

Time-limited mission?

And it's a main storyline mission!

This is much more interesting than grinding daily tasks and side quests!

"Rest assured, Manager!"

Spring Water Commander excitedly raised his right fist and knocked on the front armor of his Type 6 Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton, "For the revival of the United Human! For the peace of 'North Suburb'! We shall not fail our mission!"

This guy hogged all the good lines, leaving the other players at a loss for words for a moment. The Battlefield Atmosphere Group quickly chimed in behind him.

"I am too!"

I Max Black, Zhang Hai, and those players who followed from Outpost Base, quickly echoed.

"+1!"

"Same here!"

Chu Guang was pleased to see such awareness among the players and a smile of approval appeared on his face.

"Hmm."

"The future of all of us is in your hands!"

…

After the mission was released, the strategic action began quickly!

The operation involved twenty players, with the Spring Water Commander, who had the highest proficiency level in "command" skills, serving as the team leader.

The necessary supplies were quickly transported from the warehouse on Bet Street to the target location using Double-headed Cows.

After obtaining the building blueprints from the science team, Brother Spring Water didn't immediately act but thoroughly observed the surrounding terrain. He divided the twenty players, including himself, into four groups of five (ABCD) and formulated a meticulous combat plan!

"Team A will act as the vanguard, led by the Old Soldier from the Agility system as the team leader, and I Max Black from the Perception system as the deputy. Start from the elevator shaft and go directly to the 43rd floor. Enter the room on the left side of the exit and use dynamite to blow up the floor, pushing down to the 42nd floor—right above the incubator!"

"Your mission is the most critical."

"I need you to deploy explosives right above the lair, blow up the entire ceiling above it, then pour the pre-prepared fuel to physically exterminate the slime fungus in the incubator!"

Hearing the task he was responsible for, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group clenched his fists excitedly.

"Thrilling!"

Spring Water Commander continued looking at the other squads.

"Your missions are also very important."

"Team B will serve as the reserve unit, led by Kakarot, the Strength Type Awakener as the team leader, working in coordination with Team A inside the building."

"If Team A screws up, you're responsible for taking their place."

Kakarot slung a light machine gun over his shoulder and grinned.

"Roger that!"

Spring Water turned to the other players and continued.

"Team C will be the covering team, led by Neighbor Old Wang. Your task is to clear the Variants from outside to inside the building near the elevator, cover the rears for Teams A and B, and after the operation, cover their retreat. Or, in case of an accident, recover their equipment and VM."

"Team D will serve as the support unit. I will personally lead the team, reaching the other building on the east side of the target building, setting up four 20mm anti-tank rifles near the 40th floor, providing you with fire support from outside the battlefield!"

"That's all!"

Spring Water Commander was very satisfied with his plan.

Formulating meticulous action plans was his forte.

However, at that moment, I Max Black suddenly spoke up.

"Wait a second, why are you outside the battlefield again, OB? Aren't you an Awakener too?"

Zhang Hai couldn't help but comment.

"Exactly! You're already wearing power armor, isn't that a bit much?"

The other players also came to their senses.

Right.

How did he manage to put himself in the rear again?

The face of Spring Water Commander flushed, and he retorted.

"What power armor? This is an exoskeleton! Do you even know what an exoskeleton is? And so what if I'm from the Intelligence System, commanding from the rear isn't a problem, right?"

Is there a problem?

Not at all!

A member of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group wearing Miner Type I armor rolled his eyes and chambered his LD-47j rifle with a loaded drum magazine.

"Alright already, stop explaining, let's hurry up."

Having been teammates for so long, he was already used to Old Wang's tendencies.

Complaints aside.

Having a reliable commander was truly reassuring.

Each squad started to move methodically, but Team D encountered a bit of trouble on the way to their support point. However, they still reached their designated location within half an hour.

Commanding his team to set up anti-tank rifles by the floor-to-ceiling windows, Spring Water Commander calmly said over the communication channel.

"Team D is in position! All other teams, commence action!"

Three clear responses came over the channel.

"Roger that!"

The three teams waiting under the sky bridge immediately sprang into action.

The five players of the covering team spread out in front of the group, skillfully raised their rifles, and cleanly shot dead the Eaters blocking their way.

The gunshots on the street quickly drew the attention of other Eaters, and these bloodthirsty beasts swiftly turned toward them, charging like wild dogs.

Gunfire erupted in the streets!

The battle was imminent!

Lurking in the ruins, a Crawler with blood-red eyes locked onto the people on the street, emitting a dangerous growl.

Seizing an opportunity, it growled lowly and suddenly burst out from beneath the debris.

If it had been an ordinary mercenary squad, they would likely have been caught completely off guard by the beast. However, what it faced was not ordinary people, but a group of players with rich combat experience!

Just as that head had just emerged from around the corner of the street, a thunderous roar echoed from the waist of the high-rise building on the due east side.

The 20mm gun muzzle spewed flames, and four thick tracer bullets descended from the sky.

Two high-explosive bombs exploded next to the monster, and two armor-piercing incendiary bombs hit the monster's back and shoulder respectively.

"Crack—!"

A piercing scream echoed through the streets as the newly emerged Crawler stumbled and fell to one side.

Old Soldier seized the opportunity immediately, lifting the rifle in his hand to give the beast a full burst in the head, then freed his right hand and gave a thumbs-up towards the building behind him.

"Well done!"

The coordination of the four squads was in perfect harmony.

In just three minutes, they had cleared hundreds of Eaters from the streets. The three rookies waiting under the pedestrian bridge received their mission and ran forward with the supplies, huffing and puffing.

Delivering supplies once earned 10 Silver Coins and 10 contribution points.

Although they had no chance to shoot, experiencing the atmosphere of the battlefield was quite good.

Whether for profit or fun, this task was much more thrilling than cutting trees!

Looking at the players who had now advanced to the base of the building, Vanus wore a surprised expression and couldn't help saying,

"Are all the residents in your shelters soldiers?"

This wasn't the first time he had this thought.

But the previous few times were only seen through the drone footage on screens, which was far less impressive than being at the scene like this.

Looking at the flickering flames inside the main entrance of the building, Chu Guang spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Some are, some aren't, but that's not important. The battlefield is the best teacher, whether their starting point is 1 or 0, everyone here has a chance to become 10."

Initially, the players also rushed in swarms but soon realized that some "monsters' " AI had morale settings. Dividing into groups to tactically maneuver through the weak points of the defense line proved more effective than a simple charge.

Later on, in addition to tactical maneuvers, they also learned fire support, alternative cover, fragmentation, and encirclement, applying different tactics for different types of enemies.

Here, even the slowest learner, having died once, should know what to do next time.

Vanus's expression became somewhat blank.

He always felt...

How similar is this theory to the Clone Tactics he had studied at the military academy?

What about casualties?

Aren't they considered?

When did Blue Jacket become so formidable!

Vanus was puzzled.

Standing beside him, Heya wasn't too concerned with these details; her beautiful face was filled with excitement, but this had nothing to do with the battle itself; rather, her hypothesis had been confirmed.

"Just as I thought, my guess was right!"

"The increase in spore levels in the air makes the sporophyte more aggressive, and the spore cloud formed reduces the limitation of light on the sporophyte's mobility!"

"Incredible!"

Chu Guang's mind stirred lightly.

"If we use incendiary bombs to clear the spores in the area—"

Vanus shook his head and said,

"That would require a vast amount of fuel, and it's only a temporary solution. Only by extinguishing the source can we fundamentally end the Tide..."

The gunfire in the distance had mostly ceased, and the Variants on the first floor of the building had been completely cleared.

The rookies serving in the logistics team had delivered the second wave of ammunition to the front lines; the three squads that had entered the building had now reached the elevator shaft.

Victory was only two explosions away.

Shifting his gaze away from the VM, Vanus looked up towards the south.

That was the direction of the city center.

Behind the steel jungle, the sky should have been a clear blue, but now it was swallowed by a grey-green cloud, looking like a sea of fog with no visible end.

Pausing for a moment, he continued.

"Otherwise, it's like this; it will come back every couple of years."

...

At the same time, several kilometers away in Giant Stone City, a sharp and piercing alarm sound echoed over the streets, seemingly from the huge walls.

Inside the grocery store, choosing items, Crow was startled by the sudden alarm sound and quickly looked towards the street outside the window.

There was a stir among the pedestrians on the street, many of whom quickened their pace. Several militiamen passed through the street, seemingly shouting something at the pedestrians.

Putting the glass bottle he held back on the shelf, Teng Teng also stood on tiptoes for a better look outside, but it was hard to see clearly, so he whispered,

"What's happening?"

Crow swallowed.

"I don't know."

Standing next to him, Xu Shun was even more nervous, unknowingly placing his hand in his pocket.

Noticing the reactions of several customers, the old lady sitting behind the counter smiled and slowly joined the conversation,

"You guys must be first-timers here."

Standing beside her, Xu Shun nodded and immediately asked,

"What exactly is happening outside? Has something occurred?"

"It is something, but nothing to panic about; just the Tide coming through again... It's not the first time."

The old lady extended her trembling hand, picked up the antique bronze-colored glasses from the table, put them on, then skillfully pulled out three gas masks from underneath the counter and placed them on the table.

Wearing a friendly smile, she continued,

"These gas masks are almost new, a set for only 20 tokens."

"If you don't want to get sick, it's best to buy one and wear it."

Chapter 264: Selling Gas Masks as the Version Answer?!

"The lobby is secure!"

The three squads that burst into the building swiftly took control of the lobby. Group C set up a perimeter outside the elevators and shot the Eaters attracted by the noise inside the lobby.

The newbie responsible for transporting supplies ran in through the main entrance with a backpack filled with ammunition and dynamite.

"Ammunition!"

"Thanks!"

Neighbor Old Wang picked up a backpack, unzipped it to take a look, and casually tossed it to the Battlefield Atmosphere Group waiting by the elevator.

"Brother! It's all on you!"

"OK!"

Old Soldier, wearing heavy gear, effortlessly stuffed the backpack to I Max Black, then walked over to the partially closed elevator doors, grabbing them with both hands.

The output power of the Miner Type I Exoskeleton was maximized.

The rusty door panels creaked under the strain and were quickly forced open just enough to allow one person to enter.

An Agility system player from Group B ducked inside, raised his rifle to check the entrance overhead, and then signaled all clear.

"The passage is clear!"

"Received—"

Old Soldier held his breath, his arms continuously exerted force, causing the elevator doors—and the steel plates welded to his exoskeleton—to tremble.

Seeing that the elevator doors weren't opening, "Kakarot" quickly activated his Strength Type talent to help. With their combined effort, the hefty elevator doors were finally pulled down.

"MMP! This door is too darn solid!" sighed the leader of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, raising an arm to wipe his forehead.

Standing by, I Max Black was still examining the backpack; he opened the zipper and peered inside repeatedly.

"What's all this stuff inside?"

And it's pretty heavy!

Old Soldier chuckled.

"17 kilograms of dynamite, be careful with it."

I Max Black paused.

"17 kilograms... what does that mean?"

"Kakarot": "It's like two rounds of 155."

I Max Black looked confused, clearly not understanding what 155 meant.

However, some players who understood instinctively moved away a bit and cursed under their breath.

Not wasting time, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group patted I Max Black's shoulder, signaled him to stop playing around, and led the squad members into the elevator shaft.

The space inside the elevator shaft was fairly spacious.

The elevator car had probably fallen to a lower floor, but there was no shortage of places to land in the shaft, equipped with backup magrails and steel cables, and even climbing ladders—probably for elevator maintenance.

Old Soldier secured a survival rope made of Devil Silk to a steel cable, pulled on a climbing ladder embedded in the wall to test its sturdiness with his exoskeleton's weight, and then confidently shifted all his weight onto the ladder.

"Our mission is simple, just like the Spring Water Commander said—go straight to the 43rd floor via the elevator shaft, then blow it downward vertically!"

I Max Black swallowed nervously.

"Are we really climbing up?"

Another squad member playfully slapped his shoulder.

"What's there to fear? It won't be tiring! Just a bit troublesome."

The claim that it wouldn't be tiring wasn't exactly accurate.

Lactic acid buildup in the muscles would still make players feel heavy, weak, and sluggish, only the accompanying soreness was blocked.

Still, breaking through vertically from the elevator shaft was much less challenging than fighting all the way up.

Due to the spore cloud, Eaters from nearby streets and even nearby subway stations were attracted to the vicinity of the building.

And those few stairways and corridors leading to the 41st floor were exactly where the spore concentration was highest!

Old Soldier had taken a moment to peek through a safety passage entrance behind the elevator shaft and saw a horrific sight that could only be described as "mountains of corpses and seas of bones."

It truly gave credibility to having a reliable commander for a sense of security!

Climbing the forty-plus floors by hand took a good deal of time.

Those who couldn't continue had to hang from the survival rope to rest for a while before continuing.

By the time Group A safely reached the 43rd floor, it was already four in the afternoon.

They briefly regrouped at the elevator shaft entrance on the 43rd floor.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group installed 300g of dynamite on the elevator doors and continued to move up to the 46th floor before detonating the charges.

Boom—!

A thunderous explosion rang out, blowing the elevator doors outward, with the blast wave sweeping through the shaft.

The five players in Group A quickly descended, burst through the open elevator doors into the 43rd floor of the building, accompanied by deafening roars as crowds of Eaters surged from both sides of the corridor.

"Open fire!!"

Muzzles spat flames!

Gunfire erupted in the corridor, bullets swept through like a violent storm, and Eaters were mowed down one after another.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere, with limbs and body parts scattered all around!

Yet despite the ferocious firepower of the players, the onslaught of the Eater army continued unabated, like a relentless tide!

At that moment, a thunderous explosion sounded from outside the building.

High-explosive bombs penetrated through the shattered windows, exploding in the corridor and instantly bringing down clusters of densely packed Eaters!

"Quick! Move fast!"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group shouted loud, pulling out a grenade and throwing it toward the safety corridor at the end of the hallway.

With a resounding explosion, more Eaters fell!

Group A did not linger. They maintained their firepower while moving, swiftly advancing to the target room.

Rows of graphite-colored glass doors lined the room, dividing the area into different functional sections.

This must be some kind of office area!

Raising their guns to kill the rushing Eaters, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group quickly located the target position on the map, then took out the prepared explosives from the backpack passed by I Max Black, placed them in a circle on the floor, and carefully pulled out the pin.

"3 kilograms of dynamite! That should blow a hole in the ground!"

"Everyone, take cover and shout when you're ready!"

The other four players shouted excitedly.

"Roger!"

They crouched at the corner, placing a table in front of them. The Battlefield Atmosphere Group took out the detonator, and gently squeezed it in their palm.

Boom—!

With a deafening explosion, the blast wave and the scorching blast swept through the entire office area!

The players quickly moved to the center of the explosion.

The concrete and floor tiles had been shattered into fragments, with only a few parts still hanging on the bent rebar skeleton.

Seeing the situation before them, a slight dread seemed to settle in the hearts of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group.

Although they had successfully blown open the downward passage, the destructive effect of the explosion was far below expectations. Three kilograms of dynamite...

In reality, that would have been enough to bring down a small house!

"Damn! How sturdy is this building?" I Max Black couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

Master Craftsman Cai: "It might be difficult to completely collapse the ceiling... Let's have Group B bring up the fuel."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group nodded solemnly.

"Alright."

A brief exchange on the communication channel.

Group A returned to the elevator shaft, secured the winch at the entrance, and threw a rope down the shaft.

The winch turned!

Soon, fifty liters of biomass fuel were hoisted up!

After the fuel was in place, Group A returned to the blast site, quickly descended through the ceiling breach to the 42nd floor.

The situation here was completely different from the 43rd floor!

The spacious office area was filled with brown and dark red sticky mold, with a high concentration of spores in the air. The soles of their shoes felt sticky, like they were stepping on moss.

Visibility here was less than five meters!

And right beneath their feet was a forming lair!

"...Why do I feel like I've crawled into the belly of a Variant?"

I Max Black swallowed his saliva, raised his rifle, and carefully checked every corner of the room with the muzzle.

Ever since they came down from the ceiling, a strong sense of unease had taken hold of him.

However, this sense of crisis assaulted him from all directions, making it impossible for him to determine where the true fatal danger was coming from.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group proficiently placed the explosives on the ground and pulled the safety pin.

"Your intuition is accurate. If you don't want to become excrement of the lair, we better move fast."

The player squatting on the ground collected the test tubes.

"Sample collected!"

Another player spoke up.

"Setting the dynamite!"

The team members worked efficiently and had already completed most of their tasks, with only a few more explosives left to place.

But just then, from a dark corner, came a hissing growl.

Hearing that growl, everyone's spine chilled, and they immediately raised their guns towards the source of the sound.

There was no time to think about what it was, and the Battlefield Atmosphere Group immediately gave the order.

"Fire!"

The muzzles burst into flames!

The flames at the gun muzzles lit up the darkness and fog, as bullets rushed toward the source of the sound.

And at that moment, the players were horrified to discover that the figure in the darkness was a Tyrant!

Its nearly four-meter-tall body was like a rotting deadwood tree, but its thick keratin armor had the protective capability of steel.

The bullets hitting the Tyrant were like stones thrown into a marsh, merely causing ripples.

"Roar...!"

A pained roar came from the Tyrant, which stubbornly withstood the barrage of fire and charged forward with powerful strides, its claws swinging wildly.

Caught off guard, I Max Black immediately took a swipe to the chest.

His bulletproof vest was torn apart!

Old Black grunted, thrown into the air, and shattered the old patio doors, falling outside the building.

"Ah—"

His scream faded away, and vaguely a "chuo!" could be heard.

Group A was down one man!

The players quickly scattered, attempting to use crossfire to divert the Tyrant's attention and stop it from advancing.

Just then, a shout came from the communication channel from the Spring Water Commander.

"What's going on over there!? Did I just see someone fly out?"

Fingers clutching the trigger tightly, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group cursed, "We've encountered a Tyrant! What you just saw was I Max Black! Damn, can you shoot it from there?"

Spring Water Commander: "We can shoot, but we can't see anything over there! The spore concentration is too high!"

Thick clouds of spores, like gel, nearly blocked all vision.

Random shooting only risked hitting a teammate.

In a blink, another player was downed.

In just one minute, Group A had lost two members!

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "MMP! 7mm can't penetrate this thing! At this rate, we'll all be going back to our roots!"

Spring Water suddenly had an idea.

"Quick! Give me a marker!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "A marker?"

"Incendiary bombs! Mark it with incendiary bombs!"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group immediately understood the intention of Spring Water and quickly pulled out a Molotov cocktail from their belt.

"Suppress it!" they shouted to their teammates, seizing the opportunity to hurl the Molotov cocktail at the Tyrant.

The explosive force momentarily restricted the Tyrant's movement as the Molotov cocktail struck it squarely on the forehead.

Flames erupted!

The Tyrant let out a furious roar.

As it struggled to extinguish the flames engulfing it, four armor-piercing incendiary rounds, trailing flames, punched through the windows from outside, three of which harshly blasted into its shoulders and abdomen.

Flames and smoke billowed unceasingly, the three hitting rounds embedding in the beast like fiery nails.

Enraged, the Tyrant rampaged through the office area, attempting to smother the flames, to no avail.

By then, another player responsible for setting up the dynamite had completed placing the last block.

Additionally, barrels of oil intended for clearing out the mutated slime fungus were rolled into the center of the room.

"Prepare to pull out!"

The player yelled, taking the lead to move toward the broken ceiling, clambering up on a table.

"Roger that!"

The other two also replied, promptly retreating towards the broken ceiling.

Back on the 43rd floor, the trio dashed wildly toward the elevator shaft.

Hooking a survival rope onto a steel cable, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group leapt, descending towards the lower floors.

"Hang tight, brothers!"

As these words fell, he firmly gripped the detonator in his hand.

A light click sounded, followed by a deafening explosion as flames fiercely shot up, the shockwave instantly obliterating the concrete between floors 42 and 41!

Flames and heat waves ravaged like a tsunami, engulfing the two levels and even rushed into hallway, pouring into the elevator shaft.

The entire building seemed to tremble!

"Shit!"

"I feel the elevator shaft shaking!"

"Couldn't you have waited a bit to press that?"

Shaken to their core inside the elevator shaft, the group barely avoided falling like dumplings thanks to the securely tied survival rope.

Dressed in an exoskeleton, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group fared slightly better, stabilizing themselves and then offering an awkward smile.

"I was worried the signal might not be so good further down!"

His fellow squad members: "@#%!"

The elevator shaft was filled with the elegant tones of Mandarin.

Meanwhile, at the east side of the building.

The Spring Water Commander, holding binoculars, stood in front of a shattered window, gazing at the smoke-enveloped 41st floor.

Deep red walls caught fire, black smoke replacing the grey-green fog.

Even hundreds of meters away, the intense heat was palpable...

"While it differs slightly from the plan, it should be dead and gone," the Spring Water Commander put down his binoculars.

Destroying it before the lair could form should weaken the Tide's intensity.

However...

The spore clouds gathered around seemed unlikely to dissipate anytime soon.

The Spring Water Commander glanced north, frowning at the endless clouds which seemed to be brewing a storm.

A player lying in front of the window, hearing his words, couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"Can we not jinx it?"

Saying so, he triggered his weapon, firing an extra high-explosive bomb at the 41st floor.

The Spring Water Commander quickly cautioned him.

"Don't use a high-explosive, haven't you heard explosions snuff out fires? Just send a couple more incendiaries to make a point."

Be it additional shots or not, it hardly mattered now.

Against such violent flames, a 20mm incendiary round was like tossing a match into a inferno—completely inaudible.

On the first floor of the building.

Group A regrouped, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group and the two players behind him emerging from the wide-open elevator doors amidst billowing smoke.

The three were blackened all over, looking as though they had just rolled out of a coal mine.

"Kakarot" approached Brother Battlefield and asked excitedly,

"So, how'd it go? Is it done?"

"It's done," replied the Battlefield Atmosphere Group. Though disheveled, his voice held no trace of unsteadiness—it was filled with excitement, "The lair's blown up! Damn, coming down that elevator shaft was one hell of a thrill!"

Hearing this, the two teammates behind could not help but burst out,

"Damn! You got the nerve to say that?"

"Yeah! I nearly fell off because of the shaking!"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group cleared his throat.

"It doesn't matter! We got through, that's what counts!"

"Kakarot" counted the people.

"Why are there only three of you back?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group casually responded, "One fell down, and another stayed up top."

"The one that fell was 'I Max Black,' right? Truly unlucky." Neighbor Old Wang clicked his tongue, "Falling from forty-something floors up—what a sight... it was eye-watering..."

A thought crossed the Battlefield Atmosphere Group's mind.

"Where is he? I'll go take a look!"

"Kakarot" gave him a strange look.

"He's dead through and through, even the VM's broken."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group sheepishly smiled, scratching the back of his head.

"Mainly because I haven't seen one."

Kakarot: "..."

Neighbor Old Wang: "..."

All players: "..."

Is this even something a human should say?

At the same time.

Outside the building.

Standing on the pedestrian bridge, Chu Guang took his eyes off the building emitting billowing smoke and turned to Heya standing beside him.

"Is the problem solved like this?"

Heya stared at the building for a while and slowly nodded.

"It should be solved… The 'Mutated slime fungus' can't withstand high temperatures, and the damage to the incubation room exceeded 90%, which is essentially irreparable."

Vanus stared at the nearly shattered corpses and a pool of blood on the road not far away, and couldn't help but remind him.

"I think I saw something fall just now."

He was sure.

What had fallen seemed to be a person.

But Chu Guang, standing next to him, didn't care and casually replied.

"Just a minor issue, not important."

Just a bit of active material, even if it awakened, it would just be two points.

Is that even a problem?

Obviously not!

Vanus hesitated for a moment.

His worldview and understanding of Blue Jacket had been completely overturned.

And that was the second time today…

…

[Worldwide Announcement: The lair in the New Era Data Building has been cleared, and the intensity of the Tide has been weakened! Let's give a round of applause to the 20 players who participated in the battle!]

Official Forum.

In the past two days, the hottest posts on the official website weren't the award speeches by the newbies but discussions about the upcoming Tide.

Though there were still 10 days left on the official countdown, most players could already visibly feel the changes in Qingquan City.

Gray-green clouds were spreading from the city center outward, and the rotting Walking Corpses lingering in the streets and alleys had become significantly faster and stronger.

The Crawlers that used to move only through tunnels and ruins were now appearing more frequently on the streets.

In just two days, four hunting teams of five people each had been annihilated, all due to being surrounded by Eaters.

Elena: "Listening to you all makes it sound so thrilling, I want to come back. (funny)"

Night Ten: "Isn't Red River Town thrilling? (funny)"

Elena: "It's okay, but it's too desolate here; it's not as fun as Qingquan City."

Gnome King Riches: "Mainly because there's too little to eat here, you know."

Elena: "Get lost! (`Д´*)9"

Makabazi: "Hahaha!"

The gathered numerous mercenaries in Red River Town and the battle against the Snake Tribe from the Chewing Bone Tribe were at a stalemate. Both sides had dug trenches and built fortifications and started a brutal trench war.

It was said the Snake Tribe seemed to be waiting for reinforcement from the Ya Clan, but the Ya Clan's combat power was entirely restrained by the resistance organization in West State City, leaving no time to spare.

Not just that, rumors were circulating that, due to Looter's reign of terror resulting in a large number of corpses, West State City had experienced a rat plague outbreak.

This rumor was confirmed by Difficult for the Strong.

His influence was expanding rapidly, and it even slightly exceeded his control…

These rats were reproducing too quickly!

Fang Chang: "Hasn't West State City experienced the Tide?"

Difficult for the Strong: "No, compared to Qingquan City, West State City is just a larger small county town. Probably because it's located in the hills, the buildings here aren't very tall, and the density of buildings is also not high, but conversely, the vegetation is quite lush. Rats, cockroaches, and Hyenas are common Variants here, as well as Potholing Beasts, Multilegged Beasts…as well as some stuff not seen before."

Old White: "Feels like a satellite town next to a super-first-tier city."

Difficult for the Strong: "You can understand it that way! (grinning)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "We don't have the Tide in Far Creek Town either, but we do have quite a few trees. (@¯ω¯@)"

Tomato and Eggs Stir-Fried: "Pff, there's no Tide in your place, not even Eaters."

Playing Tiger Uninterested: "Hope it doesn't affect the area I leased; I just planted a batch of bell peppers. T.T"

Stop Talking Nonsense: "Don't affect my fishing either! I'm not interested in the Tide; I just want to fish!"

Crow: "Hey, speaking of which, the timing of this Tide… I and Teng Teng were shopping in the store without buying anything, and were forced to spend 40 chips to buy two gas masks... Feel like these chips are even harder to spend than Silver coins._:(´□`」∠):_"

Edge Shoveling: "What?! What kind of masks are so expensive? 40 chips?!"

Teng Teng: "Eh? Did we overpay? (°ー°〃)"

Edge Shoveling: "..."

Debt Giant Eye: "Neighbor Old Bro meant to say he picked up a few plastic bottles from the dump, got some gauze and activated carbon, and made one himself, and it worked incredibly well. (grinning)"

Canyon Running Mole: "Damn!! One mask for twenty chips? I freaking want to come back and do business! If I made thousands of gas masks and took them to Giant Stone City, wouldn't I make a fortune?!"

Wild Wind: "Let's analyze this rationally, it could really make a tidy sum. But one mask for 20 chips...this is purely being slaughtered like a fat sheep, right? (sweat)"

Crow: "!!!"

Teng Teng: "Σ(°△ °|||)"

Actually, just by thinking a bit, you'd know, twenty chips are like an ordinary person's week's income.

Were it actually that expensive, how could normal people afford it?

5–6 chips would be a more reasonable market price, something ordinary people could afford.

Chapter 265: The Business Sense of Mosquitoes and New Players Online!

Early morning.

Niu Li yawned as he walked out of the workers' dormitory.

As usual, he went to the communal washing basin to freshen up, then headed to the factory entrance to pick up two steamed buns, planning to eat them on his feet before getting down to work.

Since Niu Li had joined Steel Factory No. 81 and become a glorious worker, two or three months had already passed by.

Having dealt with the crisis of Chewing Bone Tribe's invasion, the steel factory ramped up production, and he quickly got promoted by the factory manager thanks to his hard work, eagerness to learn, and intelligence.

By now, Niu Li had risen from a menial laborer to a foreman in charge of workers five and six, memorizing the operation guidelines and safety handbook issued by the factory. Not only had his monthly salary doubled, but residents of the refuge had also equipped him with a VM.

It was well known that only core factory employees were entitled to wear VMs and communicate directly with those omnipotent residents of the refuge.

For the Waste Land Wanderers living in this area, the VM worn on the arm was not only a tool for communication but also a symbol of status.

It signified recognition!

If nothing unexpected happened, by next year he might very well be sitting in the workshop director's seat.

In fact, not just Niu Li alone, more and more residents from Bet Street had come here to work recently, with very few still engaging in scavenging and hunting.

It was said that Yu Hu had even become the chairman of the Hunters Guild, right?

But Niu Li didn't envy him.

For one thing, Yu Hu really had some hunting skills, and for another, he was quite satisfied with his current life.

Whatever their jobs were, they all had a bright future!

After finishing the buns in his hand, Niu Li clapped his hands, about to walk towards the factory, when he noticed some commotion at the corner of the street.

It seemed to be a workshop for Goblin Technology?

Compared with the broad entrance of Steel Factory No. 81, that Goblin Technology workshop was indeed just a workshop, whether in terms of its storefront or scale.

"What happened there?" Niu Li stopped a passerby, asking curiously, "Why is it so bustling?"

The local answered,

"It looks like Goblin Technology is opening a new factory and is recruiting. I just went to take a look, they're offering 10 Silver Coins a day, paid monthly!"

10 Silver Coins could buy two kilograms of potatoes or three kilograms of corn... or two bowls of noodles.

Most factories here provided room and board, so the wages could be saved, and earning 10 Silver Coins a day was considered very generous.

However...

That was Goblin Technology.

Most survivors had a poor impression of the place because they always heard deafening noises coming from the factory.

Rumors would often spread—

That there were researching some formidable weapons of mass destruction.

Niu Li noticed that many people had gathered at the factory entrance, yet hardly anyone was applying.

He wasn't surprised at all that Goblin Technology was struggling to recruit...

...

"Damn! Why is no one coming!"

Only eight people had been recruited the entire morning.

Looking at the staff roster in his hand, Mosquito couldn't help but let out a curse.

Why was it that every time Steel Factory No. 81 recruited, people would swarm the entrance, yet every time he tried to recruit, it was all lookie-loos?

Was this fair?

Obviously not!

After much thought, Mosquito could only come up with one reason.

There was no doubt; he must have been "balanced" by Dog Plan.

A newcomer standing by couldn't help but interject,

"Have you ever thought that your wages might be too low?"

The other three players also chimed in.

"That's right, 10 Silver Coins a day... can't believe you came up with that!"

"Yeah, no one would work for that money, not even a dog. I made 10 Silver Coins and 10 Contribution Points just delivering ammo yesterday!"

"Damn capitalist! Be careful or you'll end up hung from a streetlight!"

These four were the new employees Mosquito had recruited, all newcomers who joined the game with Alpha1.1 version, with matching two-character nicknames for their IDs—Deathbringer, Soul Chaser, Kill God, Discourage.

Judging from those IDs, they weren't very old.

But all four claimed to have already graduated, even showing off their diplomas.

"You newbies don't know a damn thing!" Mosquito's face turned red as he glared at the newcomers, defending his miserly practices, "The wages for NPCs... 10 Silver Coins is already a lot, okay? Isn't that what they give at Steel Factory No. 81 next door?"

Honestly, was 10 Silver Coins a trivial amount?

In previous versions, these NPCs made less than 2 Silver Coins a day, and he was already paying generously!

Blame the Manager for being too generous with payouts and task rewards, which led to severe inflation over the past few months.

Back then, newcomers would be glad to earn a mere 10 Silver Coins for a day's hard labor, and jobs paying 5 Copper Coins were snapped up, with 1 Silver Coin bringing sheer joy.

But now?

Jobs paying 10 Silver Coins an hour were considered too low by these newbies.

And they justified their laziness eloquently—

For the same 10 Silver Coins, at least errands for the refuge earned Contribution Points, which could be used to purchase land or high-tech equipment.

Even errands for Long Endurance Farm granted regional reputation. With a high reputation, one could set up shop or hold office in municipal institutions.

Wasn't that more interesting than laboring away?

Every time he heard this logic, Mosquito couldn't help bemoaning the situation.

The newcomers these days truly lacked any spirit of dedication.

If they didn't put in the effort, how could he charge to T0?

How could Goblin Technology become bigger and stronger?

If it weren't for the fact that Chu Guang happened to need the "engine repairing" skills of these four people, Mosquito wouldn't have hired these few extra guys.

Soul Chaser didn't buy Mosquito's bullshit and nonchalantly rolled his eyes.

"How can it be the same? Shelter No. 117's steel factory is an enterprise invested in by the shelter. Besides wages, they even give out gift vouchers."

Kill God chimed in, "Exactly, and I heard that enterprises held by the shelter not only employ you for life, they occasionally throw in pots, pans, and even things like soap, oil, and salt. Work for the shelter for the first half of your life, and for the second half, the shelter supports you."

Discourage added, "I couldn't agree more, capitalists are so hateful!"

Mosquito was instantly frantic upon hearing this.

"Damn it! How much can those gifts be worth?! Also, aren't all those just game settings you're taking seriously?"

All four rolled their eyes in unison.

The gifts aren't worth much.

Well then, damn it, you could at least give them!

Ignoring these rookies who were singing the opposite tune, Mosquito took out a pen and a small notebook and silently did some calculations.

After pondering for a while, he mumbled with the pen in his mouth.

"Raise the NPC's salary to 12 silver coins..."

"Any more and there's nothing left to earn!"

A daily wage of 12 silver coins, a monthly salary of 360 silver, for 20 people, that was 7200 silver coins.

The thought of an increased cost of 7200 silver coins made Mosquito's heart ache.

Damn it!

Why can't we have slavery?

It's the Wasteland, after all; is it so bad to buy a couple of slaves to do the work?

It's not like I'm not feeding them!

In the end, Mosquito still raised the wages.

And indeed, it proved that paying a bit more money did have its uses.

The temps who had been spectating that morning, upon seeing the daily wage increase by 2 silver coins, all came forward to sign up.

Working at Goblin Tech was a bit scary, but when the pay was sufficient, no one cared that much anymore.

Moreover...

No one has ever heard of anyone getting blown to bits, right?

Just before evening, Mosquito, having finally recruited enough workers, breathed a sigh of relief and immediately started arranging production.

The reason for the sudden recruitment was primarily because Goblin Tech had recently opened a new factory.

And the whole story began yesterday, when Mosquito found out on the forum that gas masks were selling at high prices in Giant Stone City and the demand was flourishing!

Even the commoners who only had a few chips for wages would buy one for themselves and their families.

Sharp in business acumen, Mosquito immediately smelled the opportunity to make a fortune.

What's the fundamental need of the Wasteland?

Definitely something that can save your life!

The Tide swept in, and the entire Qingquan City was enveloped in clouds of spores.

Those slime molds and spores couldn't be killed with muscles or bullets.

Not even the Awakeners could withstand the continuous inhalation of harmful substances.

Be it the traders going to Giant Stone City to do business or the locals living there, everyone needed at least one gas mask to ensure their safety.

After spotting this business opportunity, Mosquito was so happy he couldn't stop smiling.

Immediately, he logged into the Game, and overnight, he went to the Manager's assistant to register a subsidiary with the main business of "producing military equipment" and applied for a new factory building.

How much technology could a gas mask involve?

Drill three holes in rubber, insert activated carbon into a plastic bottle for a filter, and two aluminum rings with a piece of glass are all it takes!

Thanks to their neighbor, Changjiu Farm, planting plenty of Cam Trees, rubber was cheap at the shelter – just slightly more expensive than food.

Plastic for the filters was also easy to come by; the most common trash in the Wasteland was plastic bottles. Plus, even without using recycled trash, the industrial area's chemical plants could independently synthesize polyethylene from biomass oil, cheaper than wood.

After careful study, Mosquito calculated that including labor and material costs, a gas mask would cost at most 2 silver coins to produce.

If the production scale increased, the cost could even be reduced below 2 silver coins!

Even if a mask could only sell for 10 coins, it still meant over 100% profit for him!

If he traded the earned chips for specialty goods from Giant Stone City and transported them back, the profit margin would be even more fearsome.

Looking at the bustling workers in the brand new factory, Mosquito couldn't help but brag with a smug grin on his face.

"I'm a damn genius!"

Following right behind him, Mole Brother couldn't help but candidly retort.

"I remember that this idea was mine, right?"

Mosquito casually replied.

"Doesn't matter! I'm the first to do it!"

Mole Brother: "..."

Motherfucker.

This guy's skin is thicker than I thought!

...

Although he's often criticized by other players as a profiteer, one has to admit that Mosquito's initiative and efficiency are absolutely T0 level among all players!

From a post on the Forum to a new factory with a scale of twenty people, this guy took less than 48 hours in total.

While other players were still endlessly arguing over market scale, displaying their drawn designs on the forum, the gas masks made by Goblin Tech were already on the shelves by the north gate.

It was the perfect demonstration that time is indeed money!

The design of the gas masks was incredibly straightforward, or to put it bluntly, it was directly copied from World War II movies.

The cone-shaped silhouette plus two fist-sized flat circular filters looked exactly like the set of a return to the German headquarters, sandwiched between two aluminum rings was a piece of resin lens; it was an imitation of the M38 rubber gas mask!

And because the Wasteland People aren't too picky about quality—as long as it works—Mosquito was simply meeting everyone's needs, using even less material than half of what the M38 rubber gas mask requires!

Mosquito straightforwardly named it the N19.

Since the cost was only half that of the M38, the number was thus, naturally, halved as well.

Although this gas mask was filled with points for criticism, compared to that thing rigged up from trash by Mole Old Brother, it still looked a bit more aesthetically pleasing.

Moreover, available on the shelves along with it were twenty pieces of gray-black protective suits made of synthetic fabric.

While slime and spores didn't have a direct damaging effect on contact, for those players who ventured deep into the infected areas, this kind of protective clothing that covered the whole body without restricting movement was a bit more useful than nothing.

At least it was a tad more useful than a bulletproof vest.

With the players' wallets in mind, Mosquito's pricing was also incredibly "conscientious"—a protective suit was priced at only 80 Silver Coins.

If you choose the mask + protective suit set, a set was just 100 Silver Coins!

One could say it was exceptionally "conscientious."

The sales were handled by a young girl from the Frost Spear Clan, to whom Mosquito didn't offer a base salary but promised a 15% sales commission.

At a set price of 10 Silver Coins per mask, she earned a 1.5 Silver Coin reward for each mask sold.

Eager to make money to support her family, the young girl was full of energy, vigorously hawking her wares as soon as she took her post. Her exotic face and pleasant voice attracted many players to come and watch.

However...

The stand had just opened not long before players started noticing a problem.

Silver Sword: "Wait, why is the set more expensive than buying them separately?!"

Quit Smoking, who was just about to pay, suddenly had a start and retracted the VM he had just extended.

"Damn! It really is!"

"Mosquito has gone crazy with greed!"

"This is too much of a ripoff!"

Seeing everyone so stirred up and reacting so strongly, the Frost Spear Clan girl selling the masks seemed a bit at a loss and looked helplessly toward Mosquito, who was standing by her side.

Having anticipated that people would complain about his pricing, Mosquito casually dug at his ear with his little finger, stepped out from the crowd, and said indifferently.

"What's the fuss about, there's a freebie with the set! Didn't you see it also comes with an engineer shovel and a belt?"

The engineer shovel was a blade head he had ordered from Factory No. 81, assembled with wooden handles wholesale from a woodworker's cabin, costing only 5 Silver Coins.

As for the belt, that thing was even cheaper, made from leftover materials from a leather factory that were used for clothes, with a wholesale price of only 3 Silver Coins a piece.

Running at a loss?

That didn't exist.

At most, he just earned a bit less.

Silver Sword: "Can I just buy the mask and engineer shovel?"

Silver Hand: "I just want the gas mask and the belt!"

Mosquito shook his head like a rattle.

"No sale, no sale, the engineer shovel and belt are freebies, not for individual sale!"

Silver Daddy: "Damn!"

Quit Smoking: "@#￥!"

Despite their grumbling and swearing, enticed by the freebies, many players still took out their VMs to pay. Watching as the gas masks and protective suits were bought up in a frenzy, joy bloomed on Mosquito's face.

What's that about being a life pro gamer?

This is how you do it!

...

The third day after the launch of the Alpha1.1 version.

The countdown for the four hundred helmets finally hit zero, and the little players who had been anticipating it for countless days finally managed to log into the Game.

When they opened their eyes and let the glaring white light imprint on their retinas, almost every face looking up was filled with surprise and shock.

This light!

This wind!

This realistic touch!

And that solemn and grave broadcast!

The shock of being there hit them, from every frame to every decibel, making them feel the budget burning!

And this was just the opening animation...

"Awesome! Who'd have thought I'd play such an awesome game in my lifetime!"

"Isn't this way cooler than that so-called metaverse?!"

"Kids are crying with excitement!"

"Open the door! Let me out!"

"...I have to put on pants to go out? Why wear pants, can I go without them?"

"Is it okay if I take them off once I'm outside?"

The chatter was as relentless as before.

Finally, when the broadcast ended, more than 400 newbies swarmed out of the rooms, squeezing into the square under the guidance of the broadcast.

Unlike Shelter No. 404,

The poorly maintained Shelter No. 117 appeared somewhat old but had slightly more space.

However, these newcomers obviously didn't care about that.

Being one in ten thousand lucky enough to witness the birth of a groundbreaking game was already something to cheer and jump for joy about.

Who cared about which shelter they were born in?

Under the watchful gaze of many hopeful eyes, an azure power Armor strode to the front of all the players.

Its gleaming armor and the hammer that radiated strength instantly focused everyone's attention as it made its entrance.

The visor on the helmet opened.

Chu Guang cleared his throat and solemnly recited the opening lines he had thought up after surveying the players present.

"...It is now the two hundredth year after the apocalypse, and thankfully, we have succeeded in surviving the most difficult times. Standing here means you are luckier than 12 billion people, and now I need you all to quickly recognize the situation and fulfill your declaration under the flag of United Human—to rebuild our homeland!"

"This here is my assistant; its name is Xiao Qi. Any questions about the shelter or anything you don't understand, feel free to ask it."

After the formalities, Chu Guang left the rest of the time to his assistant Xiao Qi and the veteran players beside him.

The threat of the Tide was approaching.

There were places in need of hands everywhere.

Regarding how to play Wasteland OL, these players with wild ideas were much more numerous than any game designer could handle.

All they needed was a little bit of right guidance.

Once they completed the "Pass the Torch" task, those rookies should have a basic understanding of the game's rules and gameplay.

After the opening animation ended.

The rookies scattered in a swarm.

A curious little player, peeking around, approached the Quit Smoking Brother and asked.

"Boss, how do I play this game?"

Hearing someone call him boss made Quit Smoking chuckle with delight, promptly adopting an expert's demeanor as he calmly glanced at the player.

"What's your ID?"

The player giggled and said,

"Corner Old Six! I'm pretty slick with a sniper, quick-scoping, no-scope, you name it. Where can I buy a sniper in this game?"

Quit Smoking looked at him with a caring expression and patiently said,

"First of all, a basic LD-47 assault rifle costs 200 Silver Coins. For a newbie, I recommend a Pu-9 with better control or the bolt-action Opener... Before you think about buying any other gun, check your pockets first."

Corner Old Six felt his pocket and pulled out a coin engraved with an N and F on either side.

"Ugh, I only have 5 Silver Coins... What can that buy?"

Quit Smoking looked at him in surprise.

"The newbie gift pack actually rose to 5 Silver Coins?"

It was only 1 Silver Coin when he started—had it quintupled?

Corner Old Six was stunned.

"Is that a lot?"

Quit Smoking laughed and said, "Just about enough for a bowl of noodles."

Corner Old Six: "..."

Quit Smoking patted him on the shoulder with a weathered air.

"Don't be discouraged, everyone goes through this. First, take on a 'Pass the Torch' task; I'll help you finish the newbie quests. Save up for a VM with 500 Contribution Points and 50 Silver Coins. Without the player interface, everything you do will be inconvenient."

Corner Old Six was shocked.

"What? You have to pay for the game system interface?"

Quit Smoking nodded.

"After all, it's a feature we pressured the developers to create. When this game first launched, it didn't even have a currency for trading."

"Awesome!" Corner Old Six looked at him enviously. "Boss, you must be one of the top players, right?"

Quit Smoking smiled mysteriously.

"Not at all, not at all. The waters are deep in this game. There are many bosses here; I'm just average."

Hearing this, Corner Old Six's eyes lit up.

Just on account of that statement, he must be a boss without a doubt!

"Boss! Can you also take along a brother who wants to play together?"

Quit Smoking said with a smile,

"Sure, I can take up to four. How many are you?"

Corner Old Six chuckled,

"Not many, just four with me!"

What the hell?

Four at once?

Quit Smoking looked at him in surprise and tapped on his VM.

"What are your three friends' IDs?"

"Sniper Bai, Item Carrier, Lost Rookie!"

Not bad.

Just from the IDs, one can tell they're FPS players.

Quit Smoking entered the nicknames on the screen and sent the request. Now they just needed to confirm with Xiao Qi, and the "Pass the Torch" quest would officially begin.

"All set... you guys must've waited in line for quite a while."

Corner Old Six scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile,

"Yeah, we did wait quite some time... I only signed up after seeing the promo photos for the Alpha 1.0 new map, been about a month."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but sigh.

"This game's become so hot lately, reservations are over a hundred thousand!"

Quit Smoking: "..."

Damn it!

Only a month's wait and he's complaining!

The joy from being called boss just a moment ago was suddenly not so sweet.

-

(A bowl of beef noodles, and I squatted in the toilet for half an hour...)

Chapter 266: The Method to Deal with the Tide!

"Boss, save me!"

"Damn it, these Eaters have no fricking honor! Why are they trying to snatch my gear away?!"

"Scram! Stop gnawing on my shield!"

"My clothes! My clothes!"

"Just asking, is this game even legit???"

"Stick close to me! Damn! Don't you guys run away!"

In the subway tunnel, the noisy voices of players echoed.

Old Six from the Strength Type was still trying to stabilize his teammates, but the Agile Backseat Driver had already run off without a trace, leaving the Perception Rookie shivering and the Intelligence Item Carrier making a chase scene right there.

Watching the four newbies being chased around by the Eaters, Quit Smoking felt a headache coming on.

He felt that even if he smoked all night, he couldn't understand how these people got their closed beta qualifications.

Damn!

So annoying!

Looking at these people's IDs, he thought they were more badass.

Seeing that the boss was quiet all along, the Item Carrier urgently sought help.

"Boss! Fire your gun!"

Quit smoking couldn't help but retort.

"Damn, why would you use a gun against Eaters!"

But if he didn't intervene soon, these newbies might not see the sun tomorrow.

Finally, Quit Smoking unlocked the safety and lifted his Sickle Assault Rifle, firing two shots to kill the Eaters surrounding the Item Carrier.

Then, he pulled out his Short Axe and charged, slashing wildly and leading his useless apprentices through a bloody path out of the Eaters' encirclement.

Leaning against the wall and catching his breath, Quit Smoking shook his axe covered in black sticky liquid.

To be honest, these Eaters did feel stronger!

Both their speed and strength had a noticeable difference compared to those he encountered in the tunnel last winter.

Even as a seasoned fighter, he still found it a bit tricky.

However, that didn't stop him from showing off in front of the newbies.

Taking a deep breath and stabilizing his breathing, Quit Smoking calmly said,

"The Eaters' attack patterns are just a few types, grab with hands, lunge to bite. Don't panic if they rush your face, don't get entangled with them, just use a shield bash to knock them off balance, and then smack their heads with whatever you've got... you'll get the knack after a few tries."

Leaning against the tunnel wall and panting heavily, the four post-disaster survival newbies listened to Quit Smoking's gameplay tips, their eyes sparkling.

"Boss is awesome!"

"So strong!"

"Is this T0 combat power?"

"Unbeatable!"

Listening to this group's awkward praise, Quit Smoking coughed.

"Cough... It's not as exaggerated as you say. Don't you guys watch the strategy guides?"

"Yeah! We've been studying them for a long time!" Old Six chuckled, then said, "I'm Strength Type! Frontline damage dealer!"

The other three also raised their hands in unison.

Lost Rookie: "I'm Perception! Professional scout!"

Backseat Driver: "I'm Agility, just missing the sniper!"

Item Carrier: "I'm Intelligence! Planning to go for brainwave machinery after Awakening! Future boss!"

Quit Smoking: "..."

He thought he knew where the problem was.

...

Four hundred players had already left Shelter No. 117, following the old players to the outside world.

Through the VM device linked with the "Pass the Torch" mission, Chu Guang could easily keep track of where the newbies went, what missions they were doing, and who was leading them.

With the "Hummingbird" drone patrolling the sky, he could even shift the camera directly above the players' heads for a look.

Of course, there were a few headstrong players who decided to venture into the Wasteland alone with the 5 silver coins from the newcomer's gift package.

It's a sandbox game after all.

High freedom is part of the game content.

As an excellent designer, Chu Guang wouldn't interfere with each player's specific way of playing.

He just made macro-level decisions and rule judgments to ensure that most individuals stayed on the right track.

A few exceptions didn't matter.

The purpose of rules would become apparent after they acquired property within the game.

Once the newcomers were equipped with God Equip and had made a bunch of brothers or sisters in the game who were closer than those in real life, they would naturally understand that following rules was not for others, but for themselves...

Shelter No. 404.

Having just finished talking with the newbies at the neighboring shelter, Chu Guang, after taking off his power armor, went directly to the B3 level medical laboratory.

When he arrived there, Batch, clad in his tin can outfit, was also present.

Ever since settling in the shelter, he took every chance to wander to the medical lab, inquiring about the latest research progress on the "Mutated slime fungus."

Heya hadn't come out of the analysis room yet, and Chu Guang, looking at Batch sitting in the chair, curiously asked,

"Doesn't Province of Yúnjiānxíng have 'Mutated slime fungus'?"

Batch: "Of course it does, whether it's Cloud-On-City or Cloud-Below-City, it's nearly impossible to completely get rid of them."

Chu Guang: "I heard that the Army dismantles cities to limit the survival space of the fungus."

A gurgling laugh floated out from the tin can.

"Heh, don't believe the nonsense of those fools in the Army. Dismantling those skyscrapers? Even using up all the nuclear reserves of United Human wouldn't achieve that, do they really have that ability?"

Chu Guang gave him a strange look.

"Why would the United Human demolish its own buildings?"

"Who knows what happened two hundred years ago," Batch shrugged. "I heard that during the Prosperity Epoch, there were many corporations."

While they were talking, the alloy door to the sample analysis room opened.

Wearing a white lab coat, Heya walked out from behind the door and handed over a wrist computer modified into a tablet to Chu Guang, who had just come in from outside.

Chu Guang glanced at the screen, full of dense data. Although he recognized every letter and number, he couldn't understand them when they were put together.

But that didn't matter.

If he could understand it, what would he need her for?

"What is this?"

With barely concealed excitement, Heya said animatedly,

"It's a detailed analysis report on the juvenile phase of the lair! Thanks to the samples your residents previously obtained, we now have a more comprehensive understanding of the formation of the lair, which further confirms my hypothesis—these mucors are dominated by some kind of Unified Consciousness Entity, and it's likely that the transmission of information occurs through spores!"

That meant...

Were spores not only reproductive cells but also a medium of information exchange between various mucor species?

Similar to pheromones in insects?

Staring at the tablet, Chu Guang fell silent.

A rather convenient organism.

At that moment, Batch, who had been standing by, suddenly became tense.

"Wait, does that mean the lair issues commands through spores? Could the spores released by the lair control the mucor on me?"

Heya looked at him and said,

"Were you infected outside of Qingquan City?"

Batch nodded nervously.

"...After I got infected, I walked about five to six hundred kilometers west and north before I reached Qingquan City."

Chu Guang said,

"Five or six hundred kilometers should be out of the boundaries of River Valley Province."

Heya spoke in a relaxed tone, "Then there's no need to worry. These mutated slime fungi have strong regional characteristics. They rely on RNA-transcribed proteins to recognize their kind, and only the same species can coordinate with a unified consciousness entity. The 'identification codes' for mucor from different regions are different."

Relieved by this, Batch finally relaxed.

Chu Guang turned to Heya, asking the question he was most concerned about.

"Does this kind of lair have any weaknesses?"

Heya answered straightforwardly,

"The weakness is the same as that of all living organisms—being killed will kill them."

Chu Guang: "…"

That was basically the same as saying nothing.

Heya straightforwardly replied,

"If you want to completely kill them, fire is undoubtedly the best method, followed by dynamite, and strong acids are also a good option, the latter however being too costly. If you're looking for a shortcut, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be one at the moment, unless..."

Chu Guang immediately asked, "Unless?"

"Unless we can manage to obtain samples directly from the central city's lair," Heya said confidently. "According to the model I've built, I estimate that over 80% of the spores are produced by the central city's lair. Other entities including the Eaters, hatcheries, and even new lairs all ultimately originate from that oldest lair at the city center!"

Chu Guang: "…"

What was the difference between that and saying nothing?

The honest Batch, voicing the thoughts he was thinking, muttered,

"...I think we could come to that conclusion even without a model analysis, just by looking."

Heya gave him a glance.

"Eyes can deceive, but data doesn't."

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"You're right, data doesn't lie, but what we most urgently need is a strategy to break the Tide, and we're quickly running out of time."

However, Chu Guang was surprised that, indeed, as Heya had speculated, the mucor had already formed a highly organized beehive society.

They were mimicking not only the physical forms and hunting methods of other creatures in nature, but also more complex societal structures.

Some entities were responsible for reproduction, some for development, others for hunting, and when neccessary, the 'worker bee' Eaters would even sacrifice themselves to expand the fungal mat of the hatcheries.

The citywide spore cloud could even provide a local-network-like service to all mucor species variants in the city, with these variants acting as routers, constantly releasing spores.

There were no shortcuts to destroying them.

After a pause, Chu Guang continued,

"As for the samples of the lair... it's a difficult request, but I will try my best to help."

The Giant Stone City at the edge of the third ring road might have a way.

Previously, Xia Yan had mentioned that some strong mercenary groups were able to penetrate the city center to search for relics of pre-war civilizations.

If he had enough bargaining chips, this issue might be resolved with money.

As Chu Guang was pondering, Batch, sitting next to him, painfully clutched the tin can on his head.

"Damn it... why did I even make this long journey."

He was starting to regret it.

Maybe he should have just, like other classmates who chose a graduation trip, traveled around the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

There was no need to venture so far, nor to aim so high from the start.

Thinking of how his handsome, attractive face had turned into this horrifying look, he was in agony and wanted to die.

It was all Luo Hua's fault, he thought!

Chu Guang glanced at his friend from afar with a strange expression and kindly reminded him,

"You could actually take off the helmet; I think... the people in the shelter won't mind your appearance."

Well, it's almost as if...

the weirder the NPC looks, the more popular they are?

However, after hearing Chu Guang's words, Batch violently shook his head, showing strong resistance.

"I'd rather die than agree!"

At dusk.

The new players, having been played by the game all day, dragged their tired bodies and worn-out gear back to the Outpost Base.

When they set out from Shelter No.117, many of them were carrying Engineer Shovels from the Steel Factory No.81, axes, or shields, javelins, bows and arrows, lances made by the woodworking cabin.

Now, however, practically everyone's equipment had been replaced by random pieces of rebar, clubs, and even bricks.

Some players didn't even make it back.

After spending a few months as Backseat Drivers on the forum, they finally experienced firsthand what a "100 percent realistic" Virtual Reality Game could really be like.

Dropping his battered club on the ground, a newbie whose ID was "Painter" sat down at the south gate, cursing and swearing,

"Damn it, those Eaters are way too strong! Holding a shield and just randomly biting furiously, they almost bit my nose off!"

His close friend, ID "Illustrator," echoed his sentiment,

"Exactly! Weren't Eaters supposed to be beginner monsters? Their strength is ridiculously high!"

The plight of these newbies wasn't an isolated case.

In fact, not only the newbies, but even the Awakened players could clearly feel that the Eaters had gotten much stronger than before.

This boost wasn't just a matter of "monster AI" optimization; it was clear that even their basic stats had increased by a point or two.

Once surrounded, even Strength Type and Constitution Type Awakeners could easily find themselves in peril,
let alone the newbies whose stats had not yet matured.

But complaints aside, no one was disheartened.

If they couldn't handle this level of difficulty, they wouldn't have completed the increasingly ludicrous survey questionnaire, and they wouldn't have had the chance to become one of the lucky players in the closed beta.

The hustle and bustle didn't just surround the south gate unloading area and the north gate market; right in front of the Hunter Guild's cabin, it was equally bustling.

Yu Hu looked puzzled at the Looters whose limbs were tied up.

If he remembered correctly, the mission he posted was supposed to be about searching the area for Mucor species Variants, clearing out Eater hatcheries, and the sources of spore spread.

However...

How did these "players" end up capturing a bunch of living people instead?

He quickly counted around a hundred.

His Hunter Guild didn't have any slave capturing missions.

Watching the guild leader, Spring Water Commander chuckled, "Couldn't find the hatchery, but we did find the Looters' lair."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group remarked in awe, "These guys are seriously tough, hiding under the bridge!"

I Max Black: "It stinks so much!"

Neighbor Old Wang: "Hey, the few I caught were even crazier, their lair was actually on a hanging tower!"

"Kakarot": "Holy crap, aren't they afraid of falling off from that height?!"

Neighbor Old Wang shook his head and poked the nearby Looter with the barrel of his gun, "Don't know, why don't you ask him?"

The Looter being poked with the gun shivered, scared and daring not to dodge to the side.

Other Looters felt the same way.

Besides fear, their faces were mostly confused.

They had originally planned to ignore these broke guys who didn't even have a Double-headed Cow; the fat and greasy Commercial Teams were their actual targets.

But the moment these players saw them, their eyes lit up and they charged without a second thought.

From the players' perspective, it was understandable.

After all, the Variants' combat power had clearly increased, the only ones who stayed the same were these Looters.

Dealing with Looters? The veteran players had plenty of experience with that— from the Blood Hand to Chew-bone, which one hadn't been defeated by them?

Not to mention, these Looters were much plumper than the Eaters; taking down their lair would earn them a pile of Silver coins and also boost their Contribution.

Who would reject walking experience bags?

Besides the captured Looters, there were slaves rescued by the players from their lairs.

Among them were men and women, some with intact limbs, others missing arms or legs, and some even barely alive.

Some of the women were visibly pregnant.

Yu Hu, having never dealt with Looters before, was at a loss for a moment.

Fortunately, the Manager came over at that time.

After understanding the situation, Chu Guang immediately called Guo Niu, who was in charge of the outpost's warehouse, and instructed,

"First take the people to the POW Camp, the guards there know how to identify who are the Looters. After the interrogation, keep the Looters in the POW Camp and send the other rescued survivors to Changjiu Farm."

"If they have other places to go, let them leave; if they wish to stay, settle them in the migrant village, and let Jiu Li find them something to work on."

There were large areas of farmland on the west side of Changjiu Farm that needed plowing.

Besides farming, recently many inns and pubs aimed at traveling merchants had opened near Changjiu Farm, looking to hire cashiers, accountants, chefs, cleaners, and waitstaff.

No matter whether they had any particular skills or not, as long as they wanted to work, there were always job opportunities there.

Guo Niu nodded seriously.

"Okay, sir!"

Following the rates of 50 Silver coins and 50 Contribution points for each captive and 80 Silver coins and 80 Contribution points for a Looter, Chu Guang calculated the players' task rewards.

Watching the jubilant players surge towards the north gate, Yu Hu hung his head in shame and mumbled,

"Sorry, I even failed at this trivial matter."

Chu Guang encouraged him,

"Don't say that; you did quite well. For things like this, you'll get the hang of it after handling it a few more times. If you're really unsure, contacting me or Xiao Qi will do."

Actually, even Chu Guang himself was quite surprised.

He had established the Hunter Guild originally to cope with the impending tide and incidentally enrich the gameplay for hunter players. Unexpectedly, the hunter players hadn't found many incubation rooms, but instead had destroyed many of the Looters' lairs.

The large tract of land in the "North Suburb" was worrying him because it was difficult to cultivate.

Having been able to bring back so many prisoners was also an unexpected bonus.

Clearing his throat, Chu Guang looked at Yu Hu and continued.

"Let's get to the main point, how is the matter I asked you to investigate progressing?"

Yu Hu quickly nodded his head and immediately responded.

"There are results already! I was just about to report to you!"

After a pause, he continued.

"According to the clues collected by our hunter squads sent from the fifth ring to the edge of the fourth ring, a large number of Eaters are moving from the city center towards the suburbs along several expressways out of the city."

"Their speed isn't fast, but their steps are steady. Especially at night, their marching speed is almost twice that of during the day... If they maintain their current speed, the first wave of Eaters may arrive at the 'North Suburb' within two days, with a scale of no less than a hundred thousand!"

A hundred thousand?!

Chu Guang's expression turned slightly solemn.

"Has anything similar happened in the 'North Suburb' before?"

If the scale of the tide was really that immense, the limited strength of the "North Suburb" would be totally inadequate for defense.

Not to mention the few bolt-action rifles in Old Leech's warehouse, even if Brown Farm and the Blood Hand Clan were added together, it wouldn't be enough.

Yu Hu frowned in contemplation for a while and then shook his head.

"I haven't heard of the tide moving north before, though there were a few instances of fog... but that didn't happen every year."

The difficulty of this year's tide had obviously increased.

Could it be due to the population?

Chu Guang's face was serious as he immediately said.

"I need to know the specific route of the tide, do you have a map here?"

Yu Hu immediately nodded.

"Yes, I was just about to bring it to you!"

Saying this, he returned to the wooden cabin of the Hunter Guild, quickly took out a map, and came back out of the cabin.

Back at Chu Guang's side, Yu Hu spread the map in front of him, pointing to the marks he had made on the map.

"Right here!"

On that paper map, a red line and four yellow lines were drawn with a marker.

These two colors of lines respectively indicated the main direction of advance of the "Tide" and the branches traversing various streets of the urban area.

Garden Street Metro Station, located between Bet Street and Brown Farm, was precisely on that red line!

Without a moment's delay, Chu Guang took the map and went directly to the residence of the security team, recalling Wrench, the head of the security team far away at Changjiu Farm, along with his capable subordinates.

The strategy meeting began.

Chu Guang spread the map out on the table.

"…If the tide continues to advance, not only our neighbors will be harmed, Shelter No.117, Outpost Base, and the new industrial area will all face troubles."

"There is a relatively open area at the southern ring road entrance and exit of Garden Street Metro Station. I plan to build a fortification around this area and deploy over 500 troops and heavy weapons."

"If anyone has any good suggestions, feel free to speak now!"

Vanus, focusing on the map, thought for a moment and suddenly spoke.

"I want to know if our opponents include only the Eaters or also the Crawlers and Tyrants?"

Chu Guang responded, "It might be all of them!"

Everyone in the meeting room held their breath in unison.

If it were only the Eaters, it wouldn't be too difficult—the mindless, running, and biting Variants would be mere fodder before artillery, and several heavy machine guns would be enough to grind them into the ground.

However, if the "all-terrain mobile" Crawlers and the "with unfathomable health bars" Tyrants were included, the situation might not be so optimistic.

Add to that the Martyr, a monster that didn't play by any rules, this battle could be a disaster.

Vanus took just half a minute to make a decision.

"One line of defense might not be enough! On the basis of this line, we need at least three kilometers of strategic depth to stop them with multiple lines of defense!"

Wrench's eyebrows were tightly furrowed.

"Three kilometers might not be enough time, even constructing this line before they arrive would be difficult!"

Vanus said nothing but looked towards Chu Guang.

So did everyone else.

As if he was the only hope.

Under everyone's gaze, Chu Guang slowly nodded his head, saying only three words.

"We can make it!"

It's always possible to make it.

It just requires a bit of sacrifice…

Meanwhile, several kilometers away on an elevated bridge.

Within that tide-like moving column, a pair of crimson pupils was staring intently at the northern sky.

That gaze exuded an intimidation not even the Death's Claws could withstand.

It opened its mouth.

The hoarse voice sounded like the wail of a demon.

"Children…"

"Burning…"

"Must… purify…"

In those crimson pupils was written a yearning for slaughter and blood!

Chapter 267: Street No. 65 Blockade Battle!

"Ah Wei, do you have everything with you? We're about to leave the city, think carefully. Did you leave anything behind?"

Giant Stone City gate.

Before lining up to leave the city, Si Si was checking her tail VM and backpack, repeatedly confirming if anything had been left behind.

Her actions and demeanor were very much like that of a worried father.

"Wow! Got everything—wait, where's Meat Meat?" Suddenly, Teng Teng became alert, glancing around keenly, sensing that something was missing from their group.

Teng Teng, who was lined up in the front, turned back to Si Si and Teng Teng in surprise.

"Eh? You guys didn't bring Meat Meat?"

Si Si subtly shifted her gaze away, muttering quietly,

"...Really strange, how can such a big bear have such a low presence?"

It must be because it's too timid.

Sesame Paste, who had also forgotten Meat Meat, blushed, and the cat ears on top of her head shivered with embarrassment.

"I, I'll go get it."

"I'm going too!"

Si Si, anticipating Teng Teng's move, skillfully caught her.

"It's not far to the storage area from here, one person can go. Ah Wei, just stay in line honestly, it's almost our turn."

"Giao!"

Meat Meat had been with the Double-headed Cow these past few days, reportedly scaring all the other animals in the storage area into shivering.

Even after reaching the New Map, it could not explore anywhere, and when leaving, it was nearly forgotten due to its low presence.

That is just too pitiful.

Si Si couldn't help feeling a bit guilty.

After returning to Outpost Base, she would treat it to a few fish.

The line didn't take long.

The guards at the city gate simply checked the wanted posters on the wall, made sure no one leaving was in trouble, and let the group pass.

Xu Shun had planned to set off with them, but due to a last-minute task, he had to move separately.

The group agreed to meet outside the city gate.

They walked out from under the city gate.

Crow stretched contentedly, looking at the sunset hanging on the horizon, her lips curling into a satisfied grin.

"Finally going home!"

She had sold her welded KV-1 Exoskeleton for 200 chips.

Although at a slight loss, it wasn't a big deal.

Thinking about a certain Mosquito who got her stuck to a wall, Crow's eyes twinkled with a hint of charming danger.

She swore.

If she didn't give that sleazy merchant a mushroom-sized fist, she'd write her name backward!

The city gate was bustling.

Merchants were coming and going non-stop, mercenaries looking for work roamed around the square by the gate, and some hawkers were selling odd commodities.

The Militia Group had set up a recruiting post by the city gate, and the queue for enlistment went from the gate all the way into the slums.

The loudspeaker at the entrance to the slums kept repeating the recruitment terms—two chips a day, two rations of nutrient paste.

Enlist, and you'd get a gun, with ammunition supplied at the front line.

Crow looked around curiously when a whistle sounded beside her.

Feeling the gaze on her, Crow instinctively turned her face away.

She saw three men, looking like mercenaries, smiling while watching her.

Seeing Crow look their way, the leader among the mercenaries gave a suggestive whistle.

"Hey, gorgeous."

The two by his side also chimed in.

"Alone?"

"It's tough working for the Tide, why not join us and make a fortune down south?"

The candid looks made Crow quite uncomfortable.

Though she didn't fully understand what these guys were saying, their demeanor was enough to know they were hitting on her, and probably weren't up to any good.

Crow made a shooing gesture, saying impatiently,

"Not interested, go chill where it's cool."

She'd been hit on quite a few times these past days, mostly by mercenaries, occasionally merchants, but none caught her fancy.

Their unruly appearance was one thing, but those ill-intending glances were nauseating, barely stopping short of writing "very bad people" across their foreheads.

What she was really interested in were the mature, sunny, polite, smart, reliable, and righteous big brother types. And not too much of a clown, considering she was a bit of one herself sometimes.

Eh?

Thinking it over, the Manager was basically her ideal type.

Got to hand it to the company behind Wasteland OL; they really knew what they were doing.

Too bad it's just a flat image.

Watching the stunning bosomed beauty ignore them completely, the three mercenaries' faces showed visible annoyance.

Though they didn't understand her dialect, the rejection was as clear as her dismissive attitude.

Their eyes narrowing to slits, the bearded man stepped forward, his tone turning threatening.

"I advise you to think carefully before you speak. This isn't Giant Stone City, and beyond that gate is the wasteland."

"Anything could happen in the wasteland. What do you think?"

No idea what these guys are on about.

Crow rolled her eyes, about to retort in United Human language with an equivalent of "bugger off," when her teammates' voices reached her from the direction of the city gate.

Teng Teng: "Eh? Crow's being hit on again? Why do I feel like it's not the first time..."

Teng Teng muttered dejectedly.

"Damn it, why does no one hit on Teng Teng!"

Teng Teng consoled her.

"Relax, I didn't do anything..."

Teng Teng's gaze fell on the two ponytails, her expression slightly complex.

"If you try to hit on Teng Teng, you'll probably get arrested for being a criminal."

Teng Teng turned around and glared at her, anger revealing her fangs.

"What the hell! Are you looking down on me?"

Si Si cleared her throat.

"Of course not, my expression was improper."

The glances exchanged between the three mercenaries when they saw the people walking in from the entrance were tinged with wariness.

Especially the middle one with the sideburns, the leader of the mercenaries, whose eyes narrowed dangerously.

From these people, he sensed an "aura" of his own kind. However, it was difficult to gauge their exact strength; after all, there were variations of power even among Awakeners!

Standing before the mercenary leader, Tail crossed her arms in front of her chest and sized him up.

"Yo, lad, you've got guts, hitting on our Boss Crow."

The mercenary leader's face remained expressionless but he sneered inwardly as he looked at her crossed arms.

She was full of openings!

His hand moved like lightning toward the revolver on his waist, but it had barely reached halfway when his vision blurred, and a gun was already pressed to his head.

A bead of cold sweat dripped down the mercenary leader's forehead as the wind whispered past his ear.

So fast!

"I'd advise you not to make any sudden moves. Ah Wei has been using guns for less than six months; if it accidentally fires, I can only apologize," said Si Si who had somehow moved up beside them. The pu-9 in her hand was pressed against the back of another mercenary as she spoke casually in the not-so-fluent language of United Human.

"Just so you know, me too."

Though it was an inter-server interaction, communication was surprisingly smooth. Sometimes, simple body language made for more effective communication.

The mercenary leader coughed awkwardly, raising his hands and slowly backing away.

"Don't be nervous, I was just fastening my belt..."

Si Si's gaze was frosty as she watched him.

"Get lost."

The three mercenaries immediately scurried away, not daring to linger a second longer.

Si Si hid her submachine gun under her coat.

The whispers of the people around them filled the air, and the glances they directed at the group were clearly wary.

Those who were initially eager to approach now only dared to watch quietly from a distance.

Feeling the eyes on her, Crow grew nervous.

"Let's hurry up and go, I feel like a lot of people are watching us."

Si Si nodded, scanning the surroundings.

"Let's get out of here."

"I have a feeling something big is about to happen."

List's Commercial Team had left the city, and White bear and Cat Ears were also in the group.

Xu Shun, who had left to handle some business, was likely on his way back as well.

As they spoke, the VM on everyone's arms vibrated simultaneously.

They quickly looked at their devices, and a pop-up message appeared on the screen.

[Worldwide Announcement: The Tide Comes!]

Seeing this message, Si Si paused briefly, muttering to herself.

"This damn crow's mouth of mine..."

It had only been a few seconds, and sure enough, something big had happened...

...

At the Garden Street Metro Station exit.

Players carrying their weapons and ammo were making their way to the surface along the stalled escalator, crossing the broken, jagged streets, marching rapidly southward.

The sky was tinted a dusky yellow; in at most an hour, darkness would fall.

Yet, in the distance, they could still see the grey-green mass of clouds.

"Weren't we promised two weeks? It's only been one week."

"The Tide's come early."

"How thrilling, another group fight!"

The players whispered excitedly among themselves, every face lit with anticipation.

Their opponent this time was the Variants!

The monster siege!

The highlight of MMORPGs!

Missing out on such an exciting event would be a huge loss, so the players engaged in the action had simply taken the entire day off in the real world.

Walking among them, I Max Black, carrying his rifle, suddenly spoke up.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group turned to look at him.

"Did you notice something?"

I Max Black glanced at the leading Spring Water.

"That LYB isn't wearing an Exoskeleton!"

"Ah, you cunning devil," chuckled the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, slinging an arm over his shoulders, "Don't worry, if you're scared, stick with me; I'll cover you!"

I Max Black rolled his eyes unappreciatively and shrugged off his hand.

"Screw you, you're always the first to charge in!"

"The most dangerous place is the safest place! I might charge in quick, but dad here never dies, do I?" responded the Battlefield Atmosphere Group nonchalantly.

Walking at the center of the group and looking at the map, Spring Water Commander wore a deadpan expression.

"Cut the crap; once we start, follow my lead, I'll try to bring you all back."

He hadn't wanted to take on this mission, but while others had volunteered, he'd been drafted in a crisis.

Though he could have refused, who in their right mind would turn down a faction leader-level NPC's exclusive mission?

With the AI's level of realism in this game, refusing to execute missions will unfortunately result in a loss of favorability.

That would really be a big loss!

Unaware of Brother Quanshui's inner trepidation, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Solid!"

Quanshui: "..."

To be honest, he didn't feel solid at all at the moment; in fact, he was panicking.

The 120-player platoon, to put it nicely, was a suicide squad; but bluntly, it was cannon fodder.

Their only mission was to head to the junction of Street No. 65 and Changling Overpass and hold back the advancing tide along the pillars of the overpass, at all costs, until dawn to buy time for the troops in the rear to set up defenses.

Quanshui had studied the map; Street No. 65 was located north of the fifth ring road, running east to west with towering buildings on both sides, the most notable being a bell tower.

Due to the neglected maintenance of surrounding buildings, fallen concrete blocks filled the gaps, making it impassable and acting as a natural barrier.

The 12-lane Changling Overpass intersected vertically with Street No. 65; the junction was a relatively open area and the only passage allowing a large number of people to move through.

By establishing fire points on the upper floors of buildings on both sides of the overpass and sweeping fire at the Eaters behind the rugged obstacles, they could alleviate the pressure on the frontline.

However, this was only theoretical.

Quanshui had never commanded so many people, especially since half of the 120 players were newbies.

Fortunately, the other half were veterans who had been in at least two battles, most of them were Awakeners.

On the way to the battlefield, Quanshui managed to divide the players into three infantry platoons, each consisting of four teams of ten people, and communication devices were distributed to the platoon-level combat units.

In addition to the 120 people heading to the frontline, there was an artillery team of 20 people trailing behind them, carrying six 88mm mortars and 12 boxes totaling 144 shells, heading to an open field 1.2 kilometers away to establish an artillery position.

Due to the high-rise buildings everywhere, which were hundreds to thousands of meters tall, the artillery position could only be constructed on rooftops.

Considering that operating artillery was a technical task, Quanshui felt it would be best not to rely too much on the effectiveness of the mortar support.

It might even take more than a dozen shells just to adjust the trajectory, and anything could happen on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, as Quanshui led the platoon to Street No. 65 to intercept the massive tide, a logistics unit composed of 200 Strength-type players, 20 double-headed cows, and 300 NPCs was moving back and forth between Bet Street and Street No. 68, hastily constructing the first line of defense against the tide.

This logistics unit was led by "Spare people under the knife," the chief architect of Shelter No. 404.

The road conditions within the city were complex; motorbikes could barely be used from the North Suburb to the edge of the fifth ring road, but once deep within the fifth ring road to Street No. 68, they could only rely on double-headed cows and bicycles.

Luckily, thanks to Chu Guang's foresight in transporting building materials to Bet Street, which were stored in the castle's warehouse, the supply line for this battle wouldn't be stretched too long.

The reserves of over a million rounds of ammunition were enough to withstand a battle of regimental scale.

The production capacity in the new industrial area had already been pushed to the limit, with an average daily output of 30,000 rounds of ammunition theoretically squeezable to 50,000 rounds.

The veteran players in the area around Far Creek Town were on their way back; Giant Stone City was also engulfed in the tide and was dispatching troops deep into the Third Ring to suppress the tide.

The longer this war dragged on, the more favorable it would be for Shelter No. 404!

Whether they could hold the tide at Street No. 65 would become the key to winning this battle!

Dusk was settling in.

Night enveloped the streets.

As the sunlight faded, Eaters began to emerge from the storefronts and alleys along the street, crawling over the streets littered with concrete blocks toward the players advancing towards Street No. 65.

But animals are just animals after all; they clearly overestimated their own strength and were soon riddled with bullets, tumbling into the roadside gutters and mud pits.

And those Eaters that managed to rush towards the players were met with armed and vigilant resistance, faring no better in their encounter.

A Strength-type player above level 5 could easily split open an Eater's skull with an axe using just 10 points of strength.

Not to mention the Awakeners!

The Eaters that rushed into the crowd were like sheep entering a wolf pack, and were soon chopped into pieces by a Bow Soldier Shovel and Short Axe, or simply had their skulls crushed by the butt of a gun.

In the shadows, a Crawler measuring two meters in length with a robust physique crawled out of a window of a nearby building, clinging to the wall like a monkey.

Its crimson eyes watched the street intently as it bared its teeth and emitted a dangerous growl.

Seizing an opportunity, it powered its legs and its massive body plunged down like a diving eagle, smashing violently toward the group of players.

Its stretched arm was about to tear the people before it to shreds.

However, at that moment, a whooshing sound of something cutting through the air struck its face with unerring accuracy.

The thrown javelin, like a cannonball, blew its head to pieces.

Without its head, the Crawler fell to the ground with a thud like a kite with its string cut, kicking up clouds of cement debris and dust.

"Holy shit, that was badass!"

"Who the hell brings a javelin?!"

Seeing the surprised looks from everyone, Kakarot chuckled and weighed the javelin in his hand.

"Let's save our ammo, everyone. There are fewer Eaters now, so use fists instead of guns where possible."

The commander from Spring Water also nodded along.

"That's right, try not to waste bullets. We've got a tough fight coming up!"

They passed through three blocks in succession.

Despite numerous small and large battles along the way and the waste of some ammo, fortunately, there were no casualties.

The iconic Bell Tower came into view. Street No. 65 was just ahead!

Looking at the quiet street ahead, the Spring Water commander took a breath of relief, and his tense mood relaxed slightly.

The Tide hadn't reached here yet.

They had arrived just in time!

Without any delay, the Spring Water commander immediately advanced to lead the group, shouting loudly to all the players.

"Team A, move up and lay barbed wire. Use the Engineer Shovel to clear any cover on the road as much as possible! Move out any concrete blocks in the pits, dig deeper where you can, and don't waste time where you can't dig!"

"Team B is responsible for the left residential area, and Team C for the right. I need you to set up fire points along the street, covering every blind spot on the battlefield!"

"We've got only three hours left... If we're quick, we'll encounter the first wave of Eaters before 10 o'clock!"

"Everyone, move out!"

His call was met with high-spirited roars, attracting quite a few Eaters, but this was not necessarily a bad thing.

It was always better to deal with these troubles before the battle began than to be distracted by these "strays" on the battlefield once the fight was underway.

Leading Team B's players to the left side of the battlefield, Kakarot assigned tasks to each squad, clearing out key buildings of Eaters, and personally accompanied a few gunmen to the upper floors.

Team B's supportive weapons included two water-cooled Maxim heavy machine guns, replicated by Ironworks No. 81, weighing 25 kilograms each, firing full-power 7mm rifle rounds with 6 ammo boxes each, totaling 1500 rounds.

In addition, there were 12 20mm Cavalry Guns anti-tank rifles and 2 of the latest 37mm Heavy Cavalry Guns, newly developed and produced by Ironworks No. 81.

While the former could still be barely considered rifles, the latter clearly fell into the category of a cannon.

Without a fixed mount, it seemed that only Awakeners of the Strength type could handle them.

Having deployed the two Maxims on the third floor with the best vantage point, Kakarot, with a 37mm Heavy Cavalry Gun in tow, took out a pair of binoculars, and glanced in the direction of the south.

The shattered Changling Overpass had collapsed into several sections; the long stretches reached hundreds of meters, while the shortest were only left with their piers, standing like isolated islands in the city.

Beyond that, the thick fog obscured everything, as "Kakarot" put down the binoculars and signaled the squad to put on their gas masks.

Not far away, the brothers from Squad A had already pulled up a circle of barbed wire, blocking several side roads on both sides of the overpass.

Although the few strands of wire would hardly stop the Eaters' advance, they should at least manage to restrict their direction of movement somewhat.

A Constitution System player, with the ID "Broken Leg Kevin," who was manning the machine gun, couldn't help asking,

"How many monsters are there ahead..."

Superman Ten Fists, "I don't know... the intelligence reports 100,000, maybe more, or fewer. The fog is too thick to see clearly; who knows how many there really are."

Grave-Sweeping, "Do we have 100,000 bullets?"

After a moment of silence, "Kakarot" answered uncertainly,

"Maybe... the logistics side has promised they'll do everything they can to deliver the ammunition to us, but if they don't..."

Saying that, he patted the short axe hanging at his waist.

"Then we'll use this."

According to the pre-determined plan.

If Squad A fails, Squad B will move from the left flank of the position to the front of the battlefield.

If B Squad also goes down, then C Squad will take over.

The precise number of the impending Eaters was impossible to calculate.

When a large mass of entities gathered together, the gray-green cloud of spores became a seemingly solid mass, completely obscuring what lay within.

The simple defensive fortifications were in place.

Squad A retreated to their positions.

The gray-green fog was approaching, and it was clear that the obstructing humans had been spotted. The pace of the Eaters quickened, and some even began to run.

The low growl of decay and the crunch of footfalls on gravel echoed out from the dense fog!

Seldom at the front line of battle and wearing only cheap gear, the Spring Water Commander, holding a Sickle Assault Rifle in his hand, shouted loudly at the players on the position,

"Brothers!"

"The Tide is closing in!"

"We need to hold our ground for at least twelves hours, do everything we can to stop the Tide from moving North! To buy time for the brothers building a defense behind us!"

"We may not bring back any experience, but glory will stay with us!"

"Everyone —"

"Fire!"

Ratatat—!

The dark barrels of the guns spit out tongues of flame.

The first to open fire were six water-cooled Maxims scattered over the left, center, and right defenses.

The shower of bullets, passing the obstacles beneath the overpass, weaved a net over the fragmented positions, tearing the night apart!

Confronted with the sudden onslaught of steel rain, the lead Eaters were mowed down like wheat.

Blood and gunpowder collide!

The Eaters, fearing not death, pressed forward; the Variants behind stepped over the corpses of those before them and continued their advance.

In just a few minutes' time, the ground was littered with severed limbs, and there wasn't a single intact corpse to be found — it was like the remains that spewed out of a meat grinder.

The dense assault quickly disintegrated.

A few stragglers that slipped through were shot dead by the pinpoint fire of Squad A's players, with no need to waste bullets from a machine gun.

The machine gun barrels smoked, and Broken Leg Kevin, who was perched by a third-floor window, released his tightly pressed trigger and exhaled.

"That was easier than I thought!"

At least the Looters knew to duck or crawl forward on the ground, throwing smoke grenades for cover.

But these Eaters seemed to have no concept of death, charging more bravely than Clones.

However, in the face of the heavy machine gun firepower, such bravery was no different from suicide!

On Squad A's position,

Battlefield Atmosphere Group who shot the last Eater lowered their raised gun barrels.

"The Tide seems to have stopped."

With the cessation of gunfire, the entire street was eerily quiet.

Looking solemnly ahead, the Spring Water Commander slowly nodded.

"The bad news is, the defenses we've been preparing for the past two hours are pretty much wasted."

I Max Black swallowed nervously, "That's just your illusion... They're still moving forward; I can sense them, and there's something terrible with them."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group patted his shoulder, smiling without a hint of fear.

"Don't scare yourself, just get the work done!"

At this moment, a newcomer suddenly asked,

"Come to think of it, why don't the Eaters all attack at once? Why come in waves?"

Another player also frowned.

"Yeah... they only charged for 10 minutes and then stopped."

Not even as enduring as he was.

Standing among the positions, the Spring Water Commander spoke calmly,

"When tens of thousands of units are crammed together, they inevitably slow down. Stepping on each other's heels is especially bad: one falls and the rest follow into chaos. In the limited width of the battlefield, advancing in echelons is the most efficient choice."

"These Eaters may be dumb, but they're not stupid... There must be something that is commanding them!"

Looking at the barbed wire dripping with gore and the ever-thickening fog ahead, the Spring Water Commander couldn't help a faint sense of unease.

That first wave of Variants, not a Tyrant or even a Crawler to be seen.

Using Cannon Fodder to scout, the main force follows...

Are these Variants really just mycelial entities?

The silence lasted for about ten minutes.

Then, from within the gray-green fog, suddenly came a piercing screech.

Everyone tensed, their fingers instinctively resting on the triggers.

I Max Black's heart raced to his throat, that intense sense of crisis rising.

It's coming!

Chapter 268: The Stitched Giant Beast and the Captured Armor

The piercing shriek tore through the gray-green fog, and after a dull thud, a black shadow smashed onto a pile of concrete.

Nearby players immediately aimed their guns at the black mass.

However, before he could make out what it was, he heard a loud explosion, and the black mass instantly shattered into fragments, black viscous fluid and charred pieces of flesh splattering everywhere.

The stench smeared on the gas mask.

The player ducked and dodged, cursing loudly.

"Damn!"

"Martyrs!"

Fortunately, they were far enough away to avoid any casualties.

Yet just then, the eerie scream sounded again, and a dozen or more black shadows drew parabolic arcs through the fog, crashing toward the players' position.

Explosions occurred one after another, the gray-green smoke flickering, black liquid, and chunks of flesh splattering.

Although the damage was low, the range was small, and accuracy was not precise, once there were enough of them, they still caused significant trouble for the players.

One player was killed on the spot, and four others were injured to varying degrees.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was shocked, blurting out instinctively.

"Holy shit! Are they using martyrs as grenades?!"

That thing must weigh at least 20-30 kilograms, right?!

Being able to throw it that far, the thrower must have incredible strength!

The Spring Water Commander made a swift decision and ordered,

"Team A, take cover!"

"Team B, launch the high-explosive bombs!"

The left position fired in unison.

Twelve 20mm high-explosive bombs penetrated the gray-green fog, bursting into orange-yellow flames.

Although visibility was zero, predicting the trajectory based on the parabola was still feasible.

That attack seemed effective, as the number of martyrs flying in the sky was halved instantly.

Then came the second and third volleys, the incessant explosions emanating from the fog, occasionally accompanied by the sounds of martyrs bursting.

The enemy camps were covered with dead and wounded.

Some were killed by the high-explosive bombs, others were killed by their own kind.

Standing on the front line, the Spring Water Commander felt a surge of joy, sensing with his naked eye that, after several rounds of bombardment, the enemy's assault had significantly weakened!

Realizing that continuing this way would eventually lead to their doom, the Variants in the fog no longer hesitated and resumed their assault on the players' position.

Accompanied by a deafening roar, one bulky monster after another charged out of the dense fog.

They were two and a half meters tall, with fat bellies swaying from side to side, necks seemingly fused with chins, appearing from a distance like lumps of walking flesh, reminiscent of ogres from a fantasy world.

Such creatures had never been seen in the North Suburb before, and the players hiding behind the concrete were startled.

"Holy shit, what kind of Variant is this?"

"I've never seen this in the official bestiary."

"Variant version of Mutants?!"

"Warhammer Ogre?!"

"I actually think it resembles the tank from Left 4 Dead..."

"Just replace the muscle with fat."

Behind each of those fatties, swinging their bellies and arms, sprinted Eaters that followed them like little devils.

Good grief.

Did they manage to coordinate a tank infantry?

Although the players were surprised, they did not become distracted, for this was a group fight, and there was no time for idle chat.

After entering shooting range, the heavy machine guns positioned on the rooftops of buildings on both sides opened fire first, unleashing fierce firepower on the running Variants.

Then, players from Class A also tightened their grip on the triggers, spraying bullets at the incoming Variants.

Compared to the Tyrants, which were fully encased in keratin armor, these big-bellied Variants had thick flesh, but not high defensive power. The full-powered 7mm rifle bullets might over-penetrate the Eaters, but they were just right for these targets.

Bursts of black blood mist exploded from the massive chunks of flesh. The tumbling bullet fragments created cavities inside their bodies, directly blowing off their limbs.

The Eaters gathered around them suffered heavy casualties under the machine-gun fire as well. Occasionally, a few high-explosive bombs thrown their way resulted in a scattering of severed limbs and a simultaneous fall of many.

A few big-bellied Variants with Eaters managed to reach the edge of Class A's position, but they quickly realized that the brutal fight had just begun.

The front-line players decisively ceased firing, picked up the spears, short axes, iron-wrapped clubs, and shovels rested on the ground, and turned to greet the Variants' heads.

The players in the back continued firing to support the front line, reducing the pressure from the front.

Those standing at the front were veteran players who, having experienced many versions, not only had panel data much stronger than ordinary people but also had rich combat experience. Dealing with these Variants was quite easy for them.

Even when facing three or even four Eaters at once, they managed them with ease.

The fierce battle lasted for an hour.

Under the crossfire from buildings on both sides, the second wave of the Tide's offensive finally began to weaken, and in the end, only a few scattered Eaters and "Fat Ones" were still assaulting the players' positions.

However, they were close to exhaustion!

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group swung the engineer shovel in their hands, easily splitting open the skull of an Eater, and kicked it over while smoothly pulling out the shovel.

Another two Eaters rushed at him, but he remained unruffled, neatly chopping off the heads of both with a single poke and a cut.

Black blood splattered all over him.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group raised an arm, wiped the black blood off his gas mask, and turned to give I Max Black a sly smile.

"This thing is too useful!"

I Max Black was struggling to pull a bayonet out of an Eater, panting heavily.

"MMP, how many more waves are coming at us?"

"Don't know, it might last all night."

"What the fuck?" I Max Black exclaimed, "Doesn't that mean it's going to be dark again in reality?"

"What are you afraid of? You've only been alive for a few hours."

Hanging the engineer shovel at his waist, the Old Soldier squinted towards the front.

All night? What's that to him?

If he could disable the "Anti-addiction Mechanism," he could fight all day long!

The Tide's offensive paused briefly, leaving only sporadic gunfire on the position.

The players were somewhat fatigued, but their morale remained high.

Up to this point, besides five Class A fatalities and ten injuries, Classes B and C were almost in full condition!

Just then, good news came from the rear.

Over twenty new recruits, carrying ammunition boxes, ran over from the street behind.

"Ammo! Ammo is here!"

The news of the supply arrival relieved many players.

In the previous two rounds of assaults, the attacking Variants numbered at least five to six thousand. Even though everyone was conserving bullets, they still used quite a bit.

Most players had carried only six magazines when they set out, and many now had only one magazine left.

This batch of ammunition came just in time!

Without a chance to rest, Spring Water immediately had the team distribute 14 boxes of ammunition to the B and C classes on both sides of the positions.

Those were the fire support points.

The remaining six boxes of ammunition were distributed to the brothers of Class A.

About 1000~1100 bullets were packed in each ammunition box. Aside from 2000 bullets sent to the two machine guns, the remaining 35 players could only receive around 110 bullets each.

"How come there's so few?" Spring Water asked, frowning.

The Silver Hand, responsible for delivering the ammunition, said helplessly.

"I also wanted to bring more, but the ammunition had to be transported from the rear to the frontline, and this is all the stock from Street No. 68. The Manager had ordered us to send it all here."

Spring Water Commander nodded and continued to ask.

"How's the defense construction going?"

Before Silver Hand could speak, Silver Sword beside him interjected, "The construction progress is already one-third complete! We've made barricades from concrete rubble, strung barbed wire across the streets, and even set up wooden stakes to halt the advance of large Variants."

"The residents of Bet Street and the serfs from Brown Farmhouse have all been mobilized. Many other players are joining continuously—it feels like at least a thousand people have been mobilized!"

"It might be done by morning!"

The North Suburb had reached a critical juncture of life and death, and no one dared to take it lightly.

Hearing that a third of the defenses were completed, Spring Water Commander breathed a sigh of relief, paused for a moment, then walked to the front, looking over the players who had delivered the supplies.

"Who among you knows how to use a gun?"

At these words, everyone's eyes lit up, and twenty hands simultaneously shot up.

"Me, me, me!"

"I know! I rule at FPS games!"

"I've played at a shooting range!"

Spring Water Commander: "..."

They were practically brand new.

However, it wasn't the time to be picky.

Selecting five players who seemed reliable, Spring Water handed out the guns of fallen players to them and after teaching them how to shoot, he cautioned,

"Remember to fire only when you see the monsters!"

"And don't point the gun at our own people."

Holding the rifle, Silver Daddy said excitedly,

"Alright, bro!"

While they were talking, the gray-green fog suddenly contracted then rapidly expanded.

It was like breathing!

The players standing on the defensive line finished their rest and watched the gray-green fog with readiness.

At that moment, a series of muted thuds struck the earth, causing the cracked concrete pavement to tremble slightly, with pebbles trembling off the buildings.

Everyone tensed their nerves.

Then, a dull, long moan, like the whistle of a train, echoed through the broken ruins.

A huge foot as thick as a pillar heavily stamped onto the concrete surface, followed shortly by a massive head emerging from the dense fog.

"Holy shit... What is that?!"

I Max Black's eyes widened, nearly popping out of their sockets as he stared intently ahead.

He felt more shocked today than he had in the past week combined.

Not just him, the faces of other players next to him simultaneously bore expressions of astonishment and disbelief.

Countless chunks of flesh piled up into a five-story-tall hill, with decaying skin stretching from the foot to the head, the ugly face covered with mucus-like mycelial filaments and sticky secretions.

It had no facial features on its head, just a rotten mouth, and another, even larger mouth continuously opening and closing on its belly, emanating a sinister gray-green color.

From time to time, Variants like Eaters fell from the gaping maw, then staggeringly stood up from the ground.

Spring Water Commander's eyes instantly narrowed, and he pressed his hand to the mic at his ear and shouted.

"All squads, attention, the Boss has appeared!"

"Squad B and C, fire! Armor piercing incendiary bullets! Three rounds volley!"

"Suppress it!"

The Sutured Giant Beast stood like a wall blocking the barrage of firepower, with masses of Variants behind it. If this creature got close to their position, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Neat and uniform responses came through the communication channel.

"Received!"

Gunfire roared, 24 anti-tank rifles spat thick tongues of fire!

One by one, armor-piercing incendiary rounds traced orange-yellow arcs through the air, heading straight for the giant beast sewn together from flesh!

Facing the players' concentrated fire, the sewn-together giant beast, with one large and one small mouth buried in fat, emitted a dull roar from its throat.

The Variants huddled around it began to accelerate, sprinting forward.

The third round of the assault officially began!

"Damn it! This Boss's health is way too thick!"

His shoulders ached from the shock.

Kakarot, having set up the 37mm machine gun on the ground, cursed and reloaded the gun with an armor-piercing incendiary round before forcefully pulling the bolt.

Bang—!

The tremendous recoil even sent the dust on the ground flying.

However, the shell smashed into that mountain of flesh, still like a needle poking cotton, eliciting no response at all.

Ignoring the firepower concentrated on itself, that giant composed of flesh still moved forward smoothly.

Crouching at the very front of the battle line, Battlefield Atmosphere Group urgently shouted backward.

"Fuck, Spring Water, think of something fast!

"Shut up, I'm thinking!"

Spring Water's brain whirred rapidly, his gaze intently fixed on the five-story-tall mountain of flesh.

He had seen its head take at least six armor-piercing incendiary hits, which should theoretically have scorched its brains.

Unless…

Its head wasn't its weak point?!

There was no time to hesitate; he decisively ordered,

"Machine gunners and anti-tank riflemen take note! Don't waste bullets on that mountain of flesh!"

"Take those Crawlers down!"

"All 37mm Heavy Cavalry Gunners! Load armor-piercing bullets and target its left leg! Aim for the joints!"

It didn't matter if they couldn't kill it.

At least they had to stop it!

The attack seemed to be effective.

Deployed on high buildings to the sides, heavy weapons furiously fired. The giant whose left knee had been hit with several armor-piercing rounds staggered, lost balance, and heavily fell to the ground.

Rolling dust rose, the resulting air disturbance even swept away the surrounding spore clouds, flattening countless Eaters and Crawlers beneath its massive body.

Machine gun bullets passed over its body, ruthlessly mowing down the Variants behind it.

Anti-tank rifles continued firing, targeting Crawlers and Tyrants to prevent high-threat targets from approaching their position.

The battle situation became intense for a moment.

Just then, Spring Water Commander suddenly heard a voice like heavenly music through the communication channel.

"Support firepower is in position!"

"Hold on!"

In the same moment the voice dropped, a series of loud bangs came from a distance.

Several incendiary rounds soared into the sky, their blinding white light illuminating the night.

Under that intense light, Eaters' movements visibly stiffened, and their advance speed also slowed significantly.

The stitched-together beast on the ground struggled to rise, but just then, four arcs of lightning streaked across the sky.

Many players spotted the anomaly above, raising their heads with surprised expressions on their faces.

"Look up at the sky!"

"Airplanes?!"

Two long shuttle-shaped aircraft flew one after the other, their plasma engines on the wings spraying arcs of fire as they roared across the sky above Qingquan City like shooting stars.

Twelve black warheads were dropped from the bellies of the two aircraft, starting from the giant beast crawling on the ground, sweeping backward.

Boom—

In an instant, flames surged into the sky.

The shockwave of the explosion filled the entire street, and the boiling flames instantly engulfed all the Variants on the street.

The boiling heatwave even reached the players' position, charring the corpses of the Eaters scattered on the ground.

"Is that…"

Staring dumbfounded at the sea of fire before him, the Spring Water Commander swallowed.

"An aircraft from Giant Stone City?"

So powerful!

If only Shelter No. 404 had such formidable firepower!

The fire from the incendiary bombs created a vacuum zone, and the giant beast engulfed in flames struggled for a while before quickly lying motionless on the ground.

The spore clouds were replaced by thick smoke, and the scent of charred meat permeated the street, detectable even from the distant artillery positions.

Cheers of victory erupted around, and players shouted praises like "Awesome" and "666."

"Thanks to the developers for sending these rockets!"

"Damn… that power is too fierce!"

"How many did this wave kill?"

"At least two or three thousand… maybe even four or five thousand."

Their resistance had made the Variants press densely before the position, and this air raid had even cleared away the clouds of spores released by the sub-entities.

However, a bit of confusion still lingered in Spring Water's mind.

Where did this air raid come from?

…

Far away, several kilometers distant at the temporary command center, Chu Guang, clad in power armor, watched the images on the screen and slowly exhaled.

"We finally made it."

Earlier, he had instructed Xu Shun to buy support from Giant Stone City's Militia Group.

Twelve incendiary bombs cost 60,000 chips altogether, no delivery charge for orders over six within Qingquan City.

Great value for money.

Originally, Chu Guang had planned to hire mercenaries to fight, but the distance from Giant Stone City to Street No. 65 was too great, and it wasn't cost-effective.

So, he changed his approach and used the contacts he had gathered from the radio to rent an aircraft from the Militia Group for the bombing run.

Looking at it now.

This money was indeed well spent.

As for where the chips came from?

He certainly couldn't produce that much himself, but he could borrow from List.

List's battery factory and exoskeleton factory had just opened, and he was now tied to the wagon of Shelter No. 404.

Besides, Chu Guang had a good reputation, and there was a large reserve of Spirit Leaf in his warehouse; List wasn't worried about him not paying back the money—in fact, he was eager for him to borrow more.

"The troops at the front line should be able to catch their breath now."

On the front-line positions, sporadic flames burned.

Accumulated corpses piled up into small hills.

From afar, the sounds of mortar fire occasionally came, with 88mm high-explosive bombs landing in the dense gray-green fog in the distance, leaving a trail covered by advancing barrages.

The boss had been wiped out by the air strike.

Only a few stragglers remained, struggling atop the heaps of corpses.

"… Is it over?"

Spring Water Commander slowly eased up inside, perhaps he had overthought the problem, maybe this ambush battle wasn't as difficult as he had imagined.

It was still five or six hours before dawn, and they had already inflicted casualties amounting to one-tenth of the Variants.

However, just then, a burst of intense gunfire suddenly erupted from the right flank. Spring Water Commander sharply turned to look at a nearby building, but in the darkness, he could only see a few flickering lights.

A rushed voice came through the communication channel.

"Left flank is encountering a lot of Crawlers!"

"Us too! Right flank is under attack—damn it!"

"Damn! Where did these bastards come from?!"

Rifle fire and the shrill screams of the Crawlers filled the communication channel as players stationed there engaged in close combat with the Variants invading the building.

From the sounds of it, it was obviously not just one!

A drop of cold sweat trickled down Spring Water Commander's forehead.

Just as he was about to send reinforcements to both flanks, a dark shadow suddenly burst through the dense flames within the thick fog.

Seeing the figure clearly, I Max Black instinctively cried out in surprise.

"Power armor?!"

More accurately, it was power armor engulfed by Mucor species. The rusted armor was packed with dark red flesh pieces in its crevices, and a dark red fungal mat had climbed onto the steel surface from the breastplate to the leg armor.

Steel and flesh organically merged together, forming a bizarre stitched monster. However, surprisingly, its running posture was no different from that of a real person!

The flanks attacked by the Crawlers fired desperately, and two 37mm armor-piercing bullets struck the heavy breastplate, tracing a steep upward trajectory.

They couldn't pierce through!

The eyes of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group widened.

T-10 power armor!

He had seen it on the forum!

It was from the photos Elder Fang took during his first visit to Giant Stone City—this was the armor used by the militia group of Giant Stone City!

Was it captured by the Mucor?

There was no time to think about the reason. Players around him furiously squeezed their triggers, spraying bullets at the power armor, trying to stop its advance.

But those 7mm rounds hitting it seemed like a joke, not even making it pause.

A distance of a hundred meters vanished in an instant.

The power armor charged into the players' position, swinging an arm embedded with a chainsaw, instantly claiming two lives.

I Max Black tried to take a detour, but just as he took a step back, the roaring chainsaw cleaved him in two.

This unfortunate brother had only resurrected a few hours ago, and this time he didn't even manage to cry out "Damn!" before he was physically logged off again.

Seeing the power armor focusing on him, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group knew he couldn't escape. He threw away his rifle with an empty magazine and drew his engineer shovel, charging straight at it.

A chainsaw swung fiercely towards him. The speed alarmed him. Even with his reactive Dodge talent activated, the roaring chainsaw still cut off his right arm.

Blood gushed from his arm!

His consciousness briefly blurred.

Old Soldier struggled to remain conscious, drew his combat dagger with his left hand, and violently stabbed at the side of the power armor filled with dark red Mucor.

"Die, damn you!"

However, the power armor was a step ahead of him, extending its left arm to grab his neck, lifting him up from the ground.

The dagger swiped through the air.

A massive pressure built up in his neck, making it difficult for Old Soldier to breathe, his entire face turned red, feeling like his head was about to explode.

He threw the dagger in his hand at the iron lump covered in Mucor, but it only made a clanging sound and was utterly useless.

This damn thing must have inherited the defense of the power armor. Even 37mm armor-piercing bullets only left a scratch on it, let alone a dagger!

Sterling Silver, brandishing a bayonet, was shouting and charging to help, but before he could get halfway there, a Crawler pounced on him and broke his neck.

"Mama! Old Sword! Ahhh, I'm going all out with you guys!"

When Variants rushed at him, Silver Daddy, whose rifle had jammed, bravely pulled out his short axe and charged forward, but he was quickly overwhelmed by Eaters.

The battlefield was in chaos, gunfire everywhere.

Players clashed with Variants.

Both sides were fearless and brutal; courage and morale had lost their meaning at that moment.

The entire street instantly turned into a bloody meat grinder, pulling in both sides, their lives visibly vanishing.

"Damn..."

He'd been too cocky, and now he was likely done for!

Catching sight of this scene from the corner of his eye, Old Soldier cursed under his breath.

While his consciousness hadn't yet drifted far, he mustered his last strength, reached to his waist with his left hand, and pulled the pin hidden there.

This was a device he had made himself.

But he had never had the chance to use it.

Six grenades simultaneously emitted green smoke.

Staring at the red eyes beneath the iron can, he spat a mouthful of bloody froth onto its face.

"...Go to hell!"

His spit left the iron can momentarily stunned as if it didn't understand what he was trying to do.

Just then, flames erupted in a fiery explosion!

Old Soldier was inevitably blasted into pieces.

The explosion caught the power armor off guard, scattering large chunks of mycelium, but it didn't cause any substantial damage.

Class A's defensive line was breached.

With the collapse of the frontline, the already-struggling flanks quickly fell into a Variant encirclement.

The battle continued.

Everyone fought bravely.

Even though they all knew their deaths were certain.

"...Just as the plot dictated."

A wry smile appeared on Spring Water Commander's face.

The intensity of the fourth wave of attacks had clearly exceeded their capacity to withstand.

In fact, if not for the previous air raid, they might not have survived even the third wave.

He had done his best.

The rest he had to leave to those who came after...

Dropping his rifle with an empty magazine, Spring Water pulled out his pistol and began shooting at the swarming Eaters, intending to fight alongside his teammates until the last moment.

Anyway, there was no possibility of escape.

What could an Intelligence System do?

Hiding was not even worth considering.

According to data updated on the official website, when the air's spore concentration reached a certain level, Mucor species Variants would gain omnidirectional Perception of the area.

Every cloud was their eyes!

After firing an entire magazine, Spring Water Commander silently reloaded.

To his surprise, the Eaters ignored him, not even glancing his way, as they rushed past towards the position behind him or into the buildings on either side of the street.

The fog around him expanded.

He was completely engulfed, visibility reduced to less than five meters!

At that moment, a vague silhouette suddenly appeared straight ahead.

It was a three-meter-tall giant, its dark red flesh hanging like a long skirt along the ground, its face without features stared straight at him, trailing strands of meat-red tentacles like Medusa's hair.

Though not a Perception Variant, Spring Water had a strong feeling.

This creature might be even more dangerous than the giant beast, five stories tall, he'd faced before!

His finger reached his headset, he took a deep breath, and spoke calmly.

"Artillery team… fire at my position."

VM had already marked his location.

It would take about half a minute to adjust the coordinates.

After speaking, Spring Water raised his gun barrel and pulled the trigger at the creature in front of him.

Bang—!

The gun spat flames.

The bullet hit the creature, not even a speck of blood splattered, but he continued firing relentlessly.

It seemed to have caught the creature's attention.

Or maybe it was aimed at him from the start.

Suddenly, a slit opened on the face without features, and a tentacle swiftly pierced through his mask, impaling his right eye.

He didn't have time to react, seeing only a blur before losing connection with his in-game character.

His headset fell to the ground.

The transmission continued.

The creature uttered a hoarse whisper,

"...Embrace evolution."

The unconscious Spring Water stood motionless.

The creature watched him, seemingly puzzled.

After a while, a hint of disappointment appeared in its crimson pupils, and it slowly withdrew its tentacles.

The surrounding Eaters swarmed him, quickly submerging Spring Water standing amid the ruins. He remained motionless as they devoured him.

Silence enveloped the area, only the crunching of their chewing could be heard.

The scene was filled with eerie colors.

Just then, streaks of projectiles whistled through the air from above, with numerous mortar shells covering the area around Spring Water, linking up in a blaze of explosions.

A shell landed nearby, and the Eaters surrounding Spring Water instantly fell.

The explosion-direct hit, resembling a Medusa-like creature, let out a piercing scream as its flesh rolled and darted through the scorching smoke.

The explosions continued relentlessly, the street in chaos, the gunfire inside the buildings had ceased, with only the occasional blast heard now and then.

Scores of kilometers away in a temporary command post, a deadly silence reigned.

The camera cut off due to the explosions, the silence in the air was terrifying.

Vanus couldn't help but glance at Chu Guang.

Though unseen behind the mask, his expression was likely not good.

All 125 people were killed.

Including dozens of Awakeners.

Even with their notable victories, such heavy losses would cast a gloom over the entire shelter.

"...They are true warriors."

Chu Guang nodded slowly.

"Yes."

Construction on the first line of defense had reached 60% completion, expected to be fully completed before dawn.

Although it was still hours away from sunrise, the advancing Tide had markedly paused.

The warriors on Street No. 65 had bought them enough time.

The cultivation chamber, disconnected from the clone, began synthesizing a new vessel.

Meanwhile, as 125 players logged off, the official site of Wasteland OL was buzzing...

Chapter 269: Which Serious Players Remember the Official Names?

"...Though in hindsight it took a while, it all happened so fast in the moment. Through this and that maneuver, I flung a dagger straight at that tin can's faceplate, catching it totally off guard! Seizing the opportunity, I pulled the pin and six grenades exploded in unison, engulfing both me and it in the blast!"

On the forum.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was vividly describing his heroic performance in combat, seemingly unconcerned about his own demise.

Unlike Edge Shoveling.

Brother Edge would be upset for not bringing his teammates back, but Old Soldier seemed indifferent to the death of his good brother I Max Black, only showing interest in researching various ways of dying.

Last time they fought the Chewing Bone Tribe, he rigged all his grenades with a suicide detonator on his clothes, but unfortunately, those Looters were too nimble, and he had no chance to use it.

This time he finally got his chance, which left him dancing with excitement.

However, due to the Battlefield Atmosphere Group's average storytelling ability, he told the story for so long that not only the players but even the Backseat Drivers were confused.

Debt Giant Eye: "What exactly did you mean by this and that?"

Grandpa Ao: "I laughed. I'm just quietly watching your performance."

Escaping Mole of the Gorge: "I have a question—how did you kill it with hand grenades when a 37mm armor-piercing bullet couldn't penetrate its armor?"

Gnome King Riches: "Right, I was about to ask that. Also, what the hell is a 'tin can'? Power armor? Or is it like Batch's riveted breastplate?"

Night Ten: "What's the new monster called again? I'm actually more concerned about that."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! Does no one care about me? Heartless!"

Elena: "Okay, okay, you've worked hard not being able to log in for three days. (Amused)"

Spring Water Commander: "Come on, cut the bull. I saw it all! Your grenades just left a scratch, no damage whatsoever. (Side-eye)"

Makabazi: "Hahaha, so real!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Crap, Spring Water?! You're down here too? (Surprised)"

Spring Water Commander: "Isn't it normal for me to be here? The intensity of the fourth wave was clearly over the top, obviously plot-induced death."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Heh, I thought you L. Y. B. would definitely make it back alive."

Spring Water Commander: "Roll on. (Roll-eyes)"

All 125 players KIA.

Since the beta test of "Wasteland OL" began, there had never been such a tragic battle.

Especially since many people had just gotten their game access and had only experienced what they call "100% real Virtual Reality Game" for half a day before the game got too real for them.

Ghost Catching at the Tombstones: "The reality is indeed real, but it's too damn hard."

Ashes Mixed with Rice: "+1, during the fourth wave attack, at least 20 Crawlers barged into the building we Class C folks were in... how the hell do we fight that?"

Silver Daddy: "Class A's situation was even worse, we got a blood-locking brute! Damn it, if it wasn't for saving my dear son, I wouldn't have died in vain."

Silver Hand: "Get lost, your own noobiness is the real deal, what does that have to do with me!"

Silver Sword: "Exactly! As if without us two, you wouldn't have died in vain."

Silver Daddy: "%#&@!"

I Max Black: "Alright, stop arguing, who's got it worse than me? I just logged on for less than six hours, it wasn't even daylight yet, and I'm already offline again, and to add insult to injury, I got mocked by that dog, Battlefield!"

Edge Shoveling: "Hahaha, to be fair, yours is truly tragic. (Laugh crying)"

Such a large-scale battle was itself a hot topic, and almost everyone had started a thread on the forum. There were those who cried about it and those who cursed.

But more than anything, the discussion revolved around the several new Variants that appeared during the battle, especially that 'tin can'.

The two factory directors from Factory No. 81 kept muttering, how could a 37mm armor-piercing bullet possibly ricochet when it nearly penetrates a hundred meters deep!

"I gotta hit the john," exclaimed Ya Er, "That's just ridiculous!"

Wode's Athlete's Foot Levin commented, "It'd be great if we could get a piece of the armor to study!"

WC's Real Mosquito boasted, "Just wait 'til the fight starts, I'll show you my latest research results. (Grins)"

"Heh," chuckled Ya Er.

"Blowhard," scoffed Wode's Athlete's Foot Levin.

Besides that 'tin can', there were several other Variants that the players had never seen before.

Although the official hadn't updated the Variant encyclopedia in the database or given official names to the new creatures, this naturally couldn't stump the imaginative players.

What's an official name?

Who among serious players remembers official names?

Does anyone still remember what the official names for Skateboard Shoes, Vampire, or OBama are?

After gathering information discussed on the forum, Brother Fang Chang quickly summarized the data cards for the new species and compiled them into a strategy post.

This facilitated discussion and interaction among the players.

"Butcher: Also known as 'Fatty', possesses extremely thick layers of fat, high health points, no armor, strength close to 9, size: L. Threat level falls between Eaters and Crawlers, attack method similar to the Eaters, with a nasty temper. Suspected special ability to throw its comrades, especially dangerous when it's next to a Martyr, who becomes its hand grenade!"

"Plague Giant: Nicknamed 'Meat Mountain', 'Giant'', stitched together from countless pieces of flesh, five stories tall, a face the size of a balcony, legs as thick as bridge piers, but slow-moving. Has a large and a small mouth on its abdomen and head, capable of producing Eaters while on the move. Attributes: ?, Size: EX. Threat level unknown, suspected siege unit, weakness unknown, recommend fire attacks to inflict real damage!"

"Decaying Knight: Originally based on power armor, its rusty armor is covered with fungal mats, possess high health, defense, speed, and strength. Specialized in close combat, suspected level 60, extremely dangerous! Weapons vary, often equipping T-10 model chainsaws. Size XL, nicknamed 'Big Treasure Sword'."

"Queen: Resembles the Medusa from ancient Greek mythology, body covered in dark red fungal mats, tendrils as thick as fingers floating around its head, broad shoulders and a long waist with a skirt-like lower body with no leg structures, suspected of moving by slithering the tendrils under the fungal skirt, leaving a trail of dark red patches on the ground. Attack method unknown, threat level unknown, size: L, nicknamed 'Braids Sister', 'Aunt Flo', suspected to have a strong domination over surrounding Variants, perhaps the 'command tower' of the Tide?"

"…Apart from more forms of the Variants, there are signs that the Mucor Variants under the Tide seem to have gained a degree of 'intelligence'."

"In terms of tactical choice, they don't just charge blindly but launch multiple, dense waves of attack, knowing to expend ammunition through Cannon Fodder first before high-health units push forward together with a massive number of light units, also coordinating with high-mobility units to outflank."

"Although these are not particularly clever tactics, combined with their numerical advantage, they still pose a significant threat!"

"The truly cruel battlefield will probably be in the final showdown!"

"We need more powerful weapons and enough ammunition!"

Street No. 68.

Inside the temporary command center located at a street-front shop, Chu Guang, who just finished the combat meeting, was browsing the "Wasteland OL" official website on his tablet.

Indeed, these players are all talented, their practical experience hidden within those forum discussions.

Some contribute, some argue, and some summarize!

He was wondering what to name those unseen Variants.

Well, there they were, all ready-made.

"How embarrassing," he said with a tired smile as he swiped his index finger and tapped twice, copying and pasting the text from the post into the official website's database.

Seeing dog plan's update, the forum erupted into a cacophony of chatter.

They all meant one thing.

All that content they discussed for so long had once again been freeloaded by dog plan!

Chu Guang's lips curved upwards.

Just then, he heard Xiao Qi's voice.

"Master, it's already two in the morning. You really should get some rest," the voice said, carrying a hint of concern.

Chu Guang put the tablet to one side and rubbed his dry eyes.

"I know."

Tide had a certain level of intelligence and would employ tactics flexibly, so they definitely wouldn't sluggishly wait for the bulk of their forces to bunch up before launching an attack on his position.

Especially after last night's air raid, which was likely to make them wary. Intelligence was the advantage they gained from evolution, as well as their Achilles' heel.

If his guess was right,

There would be a tough battle to fight tomorrow.

...

Six in the morning.

Just as Chu Guang had predicted, roughly two thousand Eaters made their way across the expanse of ruins and reached Street No. 68.

They seemed to be planning to stop the engineers at the front line from continuing the construction of defenses, but, unfortunately, they had already missed their last chance the previous night.

The street had been cleared to make an open space, and large chunks of concrete debris had been moved to the side streets, used to restrict the width of the battlefield.

The onrushing Eaters' army met head-on with the defense lines players had built throughout the night.

Especially as they arrived just at the perfect time, coinciding with the peak period of shift change for players who had been working the night shift; those who hadn't logged off just stayed, ditched their shovels and picks, took up their rifles, and returned to positions behind cover.

In addition to the 600 players online, there were nearly two hundred guards.

The two thousand plus Eaters charging in might have seemed fierce, but facing the sudden burst of steel and fire, they quickly turned into piles of corpses.

By the window.

Makabazi crouched at the window, took a glance outside, and exclaimed in amazement,

"F*ck! Why are all the Eaters coming? What about the big guy we discussed on the Forum for half the night last night... Damn, what's this thing?"

Makabazi was completely stunned as he watched Mosquito and two new players carry a two-meter-long gun barrel and mount into the room.

"Recoilless gun!" Mosquito grinned, "A Carl Gustaf replica! Fires 88x250 mm shells, and for now, I've designed two types: armor-piercing and high-explosive. Penetration of 350 mm homogeneous steel at maximum depth—powerful stuff!"

Counting on his fingers, Makabazi was suddenly shocked.

"Holy sh*t?! Can it pierce a Tiger tank?!"

Mosquito rolled his eyes.

"Duh, the Tiger is an antique from World War II, don't compare it to stuff from a different era, okay?"

Before composite armor came around, projectiles using the "Monroe effect" to damage targets, just toyed with tanks.

Never mind the Tiger tank, even the Ratte would have to kneel.

You didn't even have to go modern.

By the latter stages of World War II, many tanks simply couldn't withstand armor-piercing rounds and essentially stripped bare, which led to the spreading notion that armor was useless and everywhere were lighters with thin skins and heavy filling.

Whether or not you were clothed, one shot would penetrate, so it might as well be without clothing—at least you could run faster.

The principle of armor-piercing rounds isn't complex; through the focusing effect of shaped charges, a high-temperature, high-pressure metal jet is concentrated into a line, enabling internal pressure to focus on one point and penetrate the enemy's armor.

Since centrifugal force would weaken the metal jet's power, bullets normally rely on tail fins for stability and are fired from smoothbore guns.

The advantage of this kind of armor-piercing shell is that its penetration capability does not diminish with distance; whether at 100 m or 1000 m, the penetration depth is pretty much the same. Unlike the 37 mm "Heavy Cavalry Gun," which struggles to penetrate 100 mm at 100 m, and at 1000 m it's practically scraping.

For the fuse aspect, taking advantage of predecessor's experience, Mosquito skipped right over the mechanical fuses from the World War II era and opted for a piezoelectric fuse. That is, attaching a piece of recycled piezoelectric ceramic to the projectile, using the pulse current generated by the piezoelectric response to detonate the detonator, thereby initiating the metal jet.

Compared to Factory No.81, which allocated all its skill points to cannon and material technology, Goblin Technology had put all its skill points into rocket and dynamite technology.

Including propellants and explosive charges, Mosquito had almost evolved to an expert level.

Although many of the formulas were stolen from the internet, Mosquito was somewhat of a prodigy for being able to produce such things in the Wasteland.

Makabazi swallowed his saliva and silently prayed in his heart.

He hoped that in real life, he would stick to selling furniture and not do anything outrageous.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a nearby building.

Vanus, holding a telescope, was gazing at the Bell Tower several kilometers away, and at the bridge pier under it, of which only a silhouette could be seen.

"The spore cloud is spreading to both sides..."

"It seems the Variants are planning to detour."

Chu Guang, fully armed, squinted his eyes.

"Have they tasted sweetness?"

"Perhaps," Vanus pondered for a moment before continuing, "That previous battle might have made them realize we have enough firepower, and a frontal assault on our positions stands little chance of success!"

Chu Guang had already considered the possibility of flanking maneuvers.

The hunter squads composed of Awakeners were scattered on both sides of the front, searching for Crawlers and Tyrants within the region.

In the Wasteland, the options for routes of action were actually quite limited, it turns out, these offspring couldn't penetrate everywhere like their released spores.

In the face of obstacles, the survivors found it troublesome, and so did they.

Apart from Crawlers, Variants like Eaters and Butchers found it difficult to climb over obstacles like cliffs and ruins, and could only use a ladder approach, where the ones in the back stepped on those in front and forcibly squeezed their way upwards.

This also led to their main forces being confined to the main thoroughfare of the Changling Overpass wreckage.

Chu Guang: "The scattered soldiers along the branch roads can be handed over to the Awakeners, I've sent out at least two hundred people to help them prune their branches."

Vanus gave him an unexpected glance.

He was becoming more and more certain that Shelter No. 404 was inhabited by officers from the Human Alliance Era, otherwise, it would be hard to explain their abundant martial virtue.

This scenario was not uncommon.

In the shelters, there were ordinary people as well as elites from various professions.

Even in the earlier years, there were some connections between the Army and them, and some of the equipment was inherited from that prosperous era.

But that was all two hundred years ago.

...

The grey-green cloud mass slowly moved forward, already touching the edge of the defensive line.

Chu Guang instructed the players underneath him to build fires among the ruins, using flame and smoke to disperse the foul-smelling spores.

Although there was no evidence to prove that this would weaken the combat power of the Variants, it would at least provide higher visibility for the frontline soldiers.

Among the gray fog, a rust-stained power armor emerged.

The decaying heavy armor was covered in a dark red fungal carpet, and in its hand, it held a massive chainsaw, advancing with heavy steps.

The chilling aura of murder and oppression came over them; the guards crouching behind the barricades couldn't help swallowing their saliva.

Their instincts told them.

The monster in front of them was very strong!

Only the faces of the players showed eager expressions, a difficult boss meant a challenge, constantly bullying Eaters had no freaking point.

Mosquito had Makabazi move out of the way and, excitedly commanded his newly acquired underling "Death Bringer" to mount the recoilless gun at the window.

"Hurry up! Load the HEAT round!"

Makabazi froze.

"What, what's a HEAT?"

Before Mosquito could speak up, Soul Chaser, standing to the side, said impatiently, "Armor-piercing round! The one with the tube in front – that shell!"

The wooden box was pried open.

The two individuals, one in front and one behind, hoisted the shell and slid it into the back of the cannon.

Makabazi instinctively moved several meters aside, crouching in front of another window, not daring to get too close – he only dared to watch from a distance.

He wasn't afraid of death.

But being killed by his own people – that would be a huge loss!

Mosquito, however, didn't pay him any mind. Excitedly, he forcefully turned the handle on the rear winding gear, closing the activator at the back of the barrel and pulling out the safety pin.

The cannon barrel was aimed at the power armor.

Commanding the life-seizing barrel, Mosquito, standing to the side, picked up the rangefinder telescope and called out softly.

"200 yards reticle!"

"Fire!"

Behind the barrel, thick smoke and sparks sprayed out as the 88 mm caliber shell hurtled forward, stabilized by six tail fins, shooting straight toward the power armor.

Just as the shell was about to hit its target, Mosquito was excitedly clenching his fists when the "Decaying Knight" suddenly raised its right hand, which was holding the chainsaw.

In a flash, too quick for the naked eye!

Everyone saw only a shadow flash by. The incoming, ferocious rocket was split into two by the chainsaw's fierce strike.

Makabazi: "What the f*ck?!"

Soul Chaser: "Are you joking?!"

Death Bringer: "What the hell?!"

Mosquito's eyes bulged in disbelief as he saw his proud creation bisected before him, as if his eyeballs would pop out of their sockets.

What the hell kind of move was that?

Cutting a rocket with a chainsaw?!

Since an armor-piercing round relies on a metal jet to inflict damage and doesn't travel at high velocity, being split in two meant it was effectively a dud, causing no damage whatsoever.

As the crimson gaze locked onto him, Mosquito felt a chill run up his spine.

Although they were two to three hundred meters apart, the distance offered him no sense of security.

"Switch rounds! Quick, damn it, switch rounds!"

Inside the room, the two subordinates fumbled and jammed another shell into the barrel.

Load, aim, fire – all in one go.

The shell, like a javelin, shot toward the power armor, but just like before, it was casually bisected into two halves by the chainsaw.

Shouts came from downstairs.

"Damn, Mosquito, can you do it or not?"

"How come both shots were duds?"

Mosquito shouted back angrily.

"Piss off, were those duds?!"

From beneath the clunky helmet, gray-green smoke trailed out, and the crimson pupils seemed to hold a hint of mockery.

To him, it seemed these humans were utterly helpless.

The hefty armor stepped forward, and from the ruins behind, more Variants began emerging from the gray-green fog.

Decaying Knight raised the one-meter-long chainsaw held in its grasp and swung it forward from a distance, a muffled growl emanating from under the helmet.

The sound seemed to say—

"Slay them all!"

As if responding to the call to charge, the Crawlers behind let out excited howls, their hefty limbs propelling them forward in a frenzied dash.

The imposing Tyrants also began to stride forward, alongside the Eaters, moving with great strides.

The machine guns deployed in nearby buildings opened fire first, rattling madly as they swept across the incoming Tide.

Players and guards crouching behind cover, as if by unspoken agreement, gripped their weapons tightly, their nerves taut.

"Here they come!"

At that moment, a series of sonic booms pierced through the sky.

The Decaying Knight in the midst of the Tide was about to advance when something hit its chest like a truck collision; its body shook violently.

Black blood sprayed out from its back, and large patches of fungal mat fell from its armor as the Decaying Knight looked down at its once-invincible breastplate, the crimson light seeping from the helmet's slits contracting slightly.

The breastplate, equivalent to 400mm of homogenous steel, had been blown clear through!

So fast!

Where did that attack come from?

The crack spread from the hole, revealing swathes of dark red flesh, and Decaying Knight quickly looked up, scanning the horizon for the source of the attack.

But before it could even raise its head, another sonic boom followed sharply.

A long nail pierced directly into its forehead, blasting the helmet – along with its head and shoulder pauldron – to pieces!

The Decaying Knight fell heavily to the ground.

The Tide's momentum noticeably halted, and while the Variants' advance did not stop, their formation was clearly in disarray.

Some force had been governing them until now, and the aura it provided collapsed along with the fall of the power armor!

Chu Guang on the rooftop coolly stowed his Gauss Rifle away.

Two original "Long Nail" fin-stabilized bullets, with a muzzle velocity of Mach 5 and kinetic energy of 140,000 joules, were specifically designed for anti-armor.

Not to mention an aging power armor - even a freshly manufactured new armor wouldn't stand a chance against a single shot.

To be cautious, Chu Guang didn't save his precious original ammunition; he fired once at the chest and a second time at the head to ensure maximum destruction of the mucosal entity inside the armor.

There was another round reserved for the lower body, but it seemed unnecessary now.

From afar, a mournful howl echoed through the gray-green fog, as if venting wrathful emotions.

Chu Guang gazed in that direction, but unfortunately, countless tall buildings made it difficult to determine its exact location and distance.

Was that the "Queen" the players spoke of?

Based on his observations and deductions, the Lair couldn't command every Variant in real-time; otherwise, why would they need to travel from the city center? Just by summoning the Eaters from every building, it would be a terrifying number.

Moreover, it would be indefensible!

In short, the essence of the Tide was not the mucor entities like Eaters or Crawlers, but those "routers" capable of driving mucor entities and providing them with information services.

The Decaying Knight he had just killed was one such "router," its "status" in mucor society probably akin to that of Thousands of leaders.

"And that 'Queen,' might very well be the commander!"

Chu Guang momentarily ignored the voice and looked down at the battlefield below.

He extended his index finger and lightly tapped his helmet.

"Artillery group, start 500 meters in front of our position and progress with a barrage to suppress the street."

"Anti-aircraft cannons, lower your barrels and fire!"

Excited shouts came through the communication channel.

"Roger that!"

The mortar positions were the first to open fire, with a whistling sound soaring across the battlefield and bursting into flames on the ground ahead.

The fire and shrapnel tore out a vacuum zone in the midst of the tide, and this wave of assault was brutally cut into two!

At the same time, the two quadruple anti-aircraft guns on the rooftop began strafing across the entire frontline position.

20mm high-explosive bombs rained down instantly, washing from the frontline of the battlefield to the rear, with shards of blasted rocks even flying into the backs of the players' shelters.

Only a few crippled Crawlers and Tyrants and struggling Eaters remained on the ruins.

The players hunkered down in the forward positions, their pupils shining with a green light as they looked at them, like seeing multiple experience packs with low health.

"For Brother Quanshui's revenge!"

Someone took the lead in shouting, and soon, a chorus of voices followed.

"Kill them!"

"Ula!"

"Aooo aooo aooo!"

The charge whistle blew.

More than five hundred players rushed out of the shelters, brandishing bayonets, engineer shovels, short axes, and mace clubs, and charged over the scorchingly hot rubble.

They employed the most primitive and direct method to spear through the Variants on the ground and chop them into mincemeat.

The black blood and fungal clumps formed a sticky swamp, and the captives from the Army such as Vanus, Vedes, and Kevin, watching from the rooftop, were utterly stunned.

Kevin turned to Vedes and whispered.

"... Are they really 'Blue Jacket'?"

Vedes's Adam's apple moved.

"Perhaps."

On the other side were the young officers of the guard, who, at this moment, were also filled with surging emotions and boiling blood, wishing they could stand alongside the residents of the refuge and fight shoulder to shoulder.

It wasn't just morale that was contagious.

It was also the will and determination to fight.

Chu Guang reached out and gently tapped his helmet, calling softly.

"Xiao Qi."

The vibrant voice came through.

"Here, Master."

Chu Guang, "Did you get that on tape?"

Xiao Qi, "Already edited! Do you want to upload it now?"

Huh?

So considerate?

Chu Guang's face revealed a satisfied smile.

"Upload it."

Recording the players' highlights in the game was also an important part of the planner's job.

Moreover, the recorded videos could also serve as promotional content.

Two joyful tasks together, isn't that double the happiness?

After the battle ended, Chu Guang asked Wrench to tally up the casualties and ammunition usage.

Because of the pre-battle saturation of firepower, the players who rushed in were mostly just finishing off the job, so aside from three minor injuries from twisted ankles, there weren't even any severe injuries.

Over 11,000 bullets were used, along with 66 rounds of 88mm mortar shells and 270 rounds of 20mm high-explosive bombs. The expensive cost was painful, but it was a necessary expense.

Steel and gunpowder had almost washed the entire street clean, piling the killed Variants into small mounds on the ground.

Chu Guang suddenly remembered a report Heya had shown him before.

According to her research, these mucor spores, in addition to organic matter, also had high levels of sulfur, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Thinking of this, Chu Guang pondered.

"It would be nice if these bodies could be utilized."

Not just as active substances.

Even turning them into fertilizer would be good.

Leaving them here to rot, there's a chance that the mucor might come back and recycle them.

Unfortunately, the "mutated slime fungus" is somewhat toxic, and directly burying its spores in the ground does not enhance the soil's fertility; instead, it causes the plants' roots to die and become diseased.

At this juncture, Chu Guang thought that perhaps Giant Stone City and Red River Town both had special techniques for making nutritional paste, and even Eaters were squeezed for their nutrition paste.

If the Variants could be made into nutrition paste, wouldn't it be possible to deactivate the mucor while retaining its nutrients?

Then, by pouring the synthesized nutrition paste into the soil, wouldn't it have an effect similar to that of organic fertilizers...

But then the problem arises again.

Nutrition paste itself is a kind of food...

Realizing this operational blind spot, Chu Guang fell into thought.

So why not directly include the nutrition paste in the recipe?

While Chu Guang contemplated how to make a profit from these Mucor species Variants beyond Resurrection Coins, several kilometers away in the dense fog, a number of Eaters were dragging carcasses into a deserted building, feeding the growing breeding chambers.

The flesh-colored fungal mats had taken on a dark red tinge and had spread beyond the chambers, filling the entire corridor.

Standing at the corridor's window was a tall figure, with crimson pupils staring at the high-rises to the north, tentacles floating behind it trembling slightly.

It was angry.

Cilia on the mycelial mat writhed, seemingly spreading ripples of rage, and the Variants gathering around it growled restlessly.

Murder rose in the fog.

The hoarse voice repeatedly intoned a clear and intense note of anger.

"... Purify..."

...

(Thanks to the alliance master 'Fanxiang' for the reward!!! Yesterday's update was a bit lengthy, and I was in such a hurry to upload it that I didn't get a chance to write a postscript, sorry... Also, I had a nightmare last night where I was rushing to submit a draft, and I accidentally uploaded the outline instead, scaring me awake. But the worst part isn't that I was writing in my dream; it's that I have no recollection of what I wrote T.T...)

Chapter 270: Black Box, Reverse Engineering, and Unexpected Surprises (Thanks "Fan Shang" for the alliance master reward)

Official Forum.

Lethal: "Decaying Knight spotted!"

Soul Chaser: "Old Soldier scraped like a champ!"

Makabazi: "Even Mosquito scraped!"

Quit Smoking: "Manager nailed it with two shots!"

WC There's a Mosquito: "Damn! How could you blame me for scraping? Who knew he was so fast? Using a knife to split a rocket is totally unreasonable! (Freaking out)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn, theoretically, Decaying Knight should be level 60, right? Two shots took down a level 60 boss, what level must the Manager be?!"

Spring Water Commander: "Maybe eighty!"

Edge Water: "Be confident, it's like one of those 'Arthas' faction leaders, is level 100 too outrageous? Not at all!"

Elena: "I think you can compare him to the Human Emperor of the West, never shows off unless he has to, and when he does, it's all flash. (Funny)"

Crow: "Wuwuwu, I didn't get to see the cool Manager show off. (Ｔ▽Ｔ)"

Fang Chang: "Wake up, he's just a paper man."

Crow: "What does it matter! It's better than you guys drooling over Little Fish, isn't it? |･ω･`)"

Fang Chang: "!That's Night Ten, not me."

Night Ten: "Get lost! Did I?"

Teng Teng: "You guys are all messed up. (Side eye)"

Tail: "Aow! Who dares to bully Little Fish, I'll break their legs! ψ(｀∇´)ψ"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "!!! Who wants to bully Little Fish! (Angry)"

Night Ten: "Blazing! Damn Fang Chang, blackening me again! QAQ"

The escaping mole from the canyon: "(Sideways smile)"

Players who went offline brought the battle reports back to the forum, those who didn't go offline also found a place to idle, and in "reality" they joined the forum frenzy.

Since any major game event would pop up in a small window on the official forum, there was no fear of missing out.

Compared to the previous battles, this one saw the heaviest use of high-firepower weaponry ever at Shelter No. 404!

Dozens of Maxim guns firing like crazy, 88mm mortars bombing in turns, and quadruple anti-aircraft guns using high-explosive shells for several rounds of carpet bombing; the Variants storming through the ruins were mowed down like frost-hit rice fields.

This clearly demonstrated how helpless numbers are against firepower.

After the machine guns and shells ceased fire, even the concrete on the ground got sizzling hot!

After several rounds of saturated firepower coverage, the charge whistle sounded, and that immersive shock surged everyone's adrenaline!

Those who experienced it all said, it was incredibly thrilling!

Isn't this a lot more real than the watered-down shells and water guns in "Dirt Car 2042"?

Watching the battle reports on the forum, players who weren't there felt it was a pity.

Especially the 125 brothers who died yesterday, they were green with envy.

Missing out on such an exciting scene was a huge loss!

Silver Daddy: "Damn it! Why three days to respawn?"

Silver Hand: "Why can't we use alt accounts!"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Damn! You still want to use alts! Just be human!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Indeed! We haven't even got the beta access!"

While everyone was feeling regretful, a one-and-a-half-minute video suddenly updated on the official website.

Clean and sharp cuts with explosive BGM, it felt like an epic blockbuster!

It must be said, Xiao Qi's video editing skills are getting better. Wasteland OL's invisible yet tangible benefits are growing ever more appealing, at least 1/10th of the credit should go to him.

Although there are still stubborn folks like Grandpa Ao, adhering to "I haven't seen it, so it doesn't exist" and "My logical deduction equals the world's truth," it didn't stop most bystanders from typing '666' below the video.

"Awesome! Is this the next-gen game?"

"Can the models be this detailed??"

"Feels like a movie without the filter!"

"Be confident, it might just be a movie with a filter."

"Ah, real or not, putting so much effort into a promotional video, even if it's fake, feels worth it!"

"Mobile game giants delight, we've got more material for ads! (Funny)"

...

While the official site was buzzing, on the frontlines on Street No. 68, players and NPCs were clearing the battlefield atop mountains of corpses and seas of bones.

There wasn't much to clean up.

Other than bodies, it was just more bodies, black blood seeping into the soil, rotting flesh emitting foul odors, even through gas masks.

The mucor species and other Variants like Death Claw and Monsters differ; the latter's parts are somewhat useful, their meat even edible when roasted, but the former's parts even Old Na couldn't handle.

Watching rats and roaches scurry from the street corner, the two rookies in gas masks, amazed by the immersive atmosphere of Wasteland OL, walked deeper into the battlefield.

"Say, do the mucor's fruiting bodies rot too?"

"Duh, do mushrooms from your house not spoil?"

"Hey, I've actually never seen that."

The two whispered a few words to each other as they approached a power armor filled with mucor.

The fungal mat on the steel surface had necrosed, and black blood seeped from the gaps in the armor. Its entire head had been shattered, and its chest bore a hole the size of half a fist.

Two rookies marveled at the large hole.

Armor that even a 37mm Heavy Cavalry Gun couldn't penetrate was actually pierced by a single shot from a Gauss Rifle.

The power was too fierce!

The two didn't waste time, they tied up the hulking body with ropes, placed it on a sled, and huffed and puffed as they dragged it back to their position.

[Mission: Recover the "Decaying Knight's" body (Completed)]

[Reward: 15 Silver coins, 10 contributions]

The reward was in hand!

They were one step closer to obtaining the VM!

Looking at the fifteen silver coins in their palms, the two rookies' faces were brimming with joyful smiles.

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before they reached T1!

…

The body of the Decaying Knight was dragged to the Garden Street Metro Station and temporarily stored outside the buffer room of Shelter No.117.

Yin Fang had struggled with the cutter for a long time, but finally managed to disassemble the power armor from the body.

Hera, taking samples from various parts of the large body, continuously took them back to the medical lab for analysis.

Yin Fang handed over the armor fragments removed from the power armor to Batch for research.

As for himself, he started studying the black box disassembled from the inside of the power armor, trying to restore some useful data from it.

That day, the Variants launched two offensives, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, but neither in terms of quality nor quantity did they compare to the battle in the morning.

Vanus believed that these Eaters were probably trying to deplete their ammunition.

Perhaps gaining experience from past battles with Giant Stone City, those mucor species seemed to know that their enemies had ammunition limitations.

However, the Shelter No. 404 of today was no longer what it once was. After multiple battle-tested upgrades, the military industrial capacity of the new industrial sector was nearly at full throttle.

Making tractors might take some time, but making guns and cannons, his little players were quite savvy!

Besides the frontal battlefield's melee, the side battlefield's offensive and defense never ceased either.

Many Crawlers overcome obstacles and shelters, and crawled to the flanks of their position, trying to replicate their earlier progressive victory at Street No. 65.

Unfortunately for them, this time their opponents were not a mixed team of rookies and old players, but rather the Hunter Squads led by the Oxhorse Squad.

In a confrontation of scattered troops against scattered troops, the players still had the upper hand.

Although lacking heavy artillery support, they fully unleashed their individual combat capabilities.

A Level 6 Strength-type player or Level 7 Agility-type or Constitution-type player could essentially match a Crawler evenly.

And if it was a Level 10 Awakener, as long as they were not of the Intelligence or Perception systems, they could easily handle a Crawler one-on-one.

They wouldn't even need to use their guns!

The first day of the battle ended in a draw after minor victories on both the main and side battlefields.

However, even though Shelter No. 404 had secured a phased victory, neither the players nor the guards took it lightly.

The tide coming from the south was incessant, showing no signs of stopping.

Everyone could feel it—a storm was brewing!

A day later.

Shelter No. 117.

Chu Guang gathered his experts for a brief meeting, requesting reports on the latest research progress of the "Decaying Knight."

Hera spoke first.

About the "Decaying Knight's" slice samples, she had conducted a systematic analysis and had already made some initial progress.

"Just a simple explanation will do."

"Firstly, through analyzing the tissue structure of the sporophyte, I found neuronal cells starkly different from the sporophyte's structure on the sample. Comparing DNA, it apparently belongs to an adult male, and the survival time of this cell might have already exceeded a century… This condition is similar to the symbiosis we've observed before, but the mucor in Qingquan City seems to have more thoroughly eroded the nervous system, completely depriving the host of its autonomy."

"You can understand it as having the hard drive and memory changed, leaving only the CPU and half of the graphics card."

Knowing that Chu Guang would not understand too complicated theories, Hera simply used an analogy she thought he might understand.

However, as she spoke this sentence, she did not look at Chu Guang but rather at Batch, who was shivering nearby.

Pausing, Hera shifted her gaze away from the sight of the shaken Batch and looked towards the thoughtful Chu Guang and continued.

"Furthermore, its cystic organs are more exaggerated than other sporophytes, with spore secretion levels reaching hundreds to thousands of times that of a Crawler. For more efficient spore release, it even evolved special organs that transport spores to the surface's fungal mat of sporophytes, releasing them through the filaments at the ends."

"…All signs suggest that your conjecture is highly likely correct. These 'evolutionary bodies' that are obviously abnormal from their kind seem to play a commanding role. They can coordinate different consciousness entities just like nodes in a logistics network. Furthermore, they have formed a strict hierarchy internally, where large nodes dominate smaller ones, and so on."

Chu Guang stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"So, if we destroy these node creatures, will the Tide stop?"

Hera nodded.

"It should be like that… At least it will return them to normal."

Whether they run back to the city center or disband on the spot, it poses much less of a threat than them gathering together.

It's like a hundred Eaters being scattered in an underground parking garage covering several thousand square meters; even a rookie, given some time, could clean them all out.

But if those hundred Eaters formed an organized team and charged up together, without heavy firepower, even Awakeners would find it headache-inducing.

Batch timidly raised his right hand, "…I have a question, if my brain is completely eroded, will I become like this?"

Hera: "We can't rule out that possibility."

The can trembled, and Batch shuddered, not knowing whether he was relieved that he had escaped quickly or if he was frightened by Hera's interested gaze that seemed to trigger a conditioned response.

Chu Guang suddenly had an idea and spoke up.

"If we let Batch sneak into the Variant's lair and shove a 100mm cannon shell weighing three kilograms right next to the Queen..."

Batch looked at Chu Guang with a face full of terror: "Are you trying to get me killed?"

Hera shook her head.

"Besides getting himself killed, there is no meaning in doing that. I should have mentioned before, they rely on weak RNA proteins to recognize their own kind; only the same species can coordinate with a unified consciousness entity, and the recognition codes of the mucor species vary by region. You can imagine what would happen if you throw an ant into another colony's nest."

Two ants from different colonies might not fight if they meet on the road, but if one follows the other into its nest, the fact that it survives would mean thousands of ants went 'blind'.

The same applies to Mucor species Variants, which also belong to beehive societies.

Batch wouldn't be attached by the fruiting bodies wandering the streets, but that doesn't mean he can freely enter the "core areas" like the incubation rooms and the lair.

Especially when encountering self-conscious "evolutionary individuals", being killed on the spot is probably the most likely scenario.

They knew how to maneuver indirectly and launch feint attacks to wear down their opponents, clearly possessing the ability to flexibly handle issues.

At this point, trying to be clever was meaningless.

What a pity.

Chu Guang even thought that, even if he could not deliver the bomb personally, seeing the Queen's location would be good. At worst, he would borrow a few more thousand chips to order an airstrial with incendiary bombs to toast her.

Regrettably, Chu Guang then looked toward Yin Fang.

This "Chief of Shelter No. 404's Scientific Expedition Team and Dean of Academy Branch 404", had been frowning and silent since the meeting started, obviously pondering something.

Chu Guang's intuition told him that he might have discovered something.

"What about you? Did you find anything?"

Yin Fang slowly nodded.

"I found the action recorder of the T-10 power armor."

"Action recorder?" Batch's face showed a surprised expression as he looked over and asked, "Is that thing still working?"

"Of course, T-10 power armor belongs to the Human Alliance Army's land combat forces; the 'black box' is located near the waist," Yin Fang said as he gently placed a thumb-sized, orange box shaped like a nail clipper on the table.

"Although the data is severely damaged... I restored a little bit of fragments."

Chu Guang: "What did you find?"

Yin Fang: "The armor is tagged as T-10: A71C98U. When I was investigating relics in Luo Xia Province, I happened upon this series in an abandoned research facility. If I'm not mistaken, it originally belonged to the 71st Armored Brigade of the Human Alliance and was re-purposed by 'The Post-War Reconstruction Committee' after the Wasteland Era."

The Post-War Reconstruction Committee.

The first time he heard this name, it seemed to be in a holographic image left by Dr. Principle. Various signs indicated that this organization had a significant influence during the early Wasteland Era—about two hundred years ago.

According to clues provided by players, Giant Stone City seemed to be one of the survivors' settlements established by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee.

Even the formidable giant walls were constructed by the Committee.

Chu Guang's brows knit slightly.

Several clues seemed to connect, but a few crucial pieces of the puzzle were missing.

He wanted to know.

What role did Shelter No.404 play in all this?

Yin Fang paused before continuing.

"Two centuries ago, a military operation was launched by the forces to which this armor belonged, targeting a suspected lair in the city center's nuclear crater. The black box didn't record the final outcome of the operation, but it was likely a failure, with remaining data noting why the power armor was scrapped."

Chu Guang: "Why was that?"

"EMP."

Chu Guang was stunned.

But Hera was even more surprised.

"EMP?! Are you saying those Mucors use electromagnetic pulses?"

Yin Fang shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know; who knows about two-hundred-year-old events? Maybe the mutated mucor figured out a way to trigger electromagnetic pulses, or perhaps it was friendly fire... Regardless, according to the black box records, a strong electromagnetic pulse destroyed over thirty percent of electronic components in the power armor 2 hours, 31 minutes, and 17 seconds into the battle, causing the electric arc engine to shut down forcibly."

"The mobility-limited armor was quickly surrounded and completely overrun after running out of ammunition. The erosion began with the gas exchange system, then the life support, and finally the energy system... The entire process lasted twenty years, continuing until the black box's functions ceased."

Batch held his breath.

It took him a long time to speak painfully.

"That's too tragic."

Watching spores gradually cover the optics, and the spores being continuously injected into the body through the life support system, resulting in the ultimate paralysis of the immune functions, turning one into the puppet of the lair.

Maintaining the last neural cells alive in a special way until the body was utterly destroyed was the only way to obtain release.

It was more cruel than death by a thousand cuts.

Yin Fang silently nodded his head.

"What bothers me is these Mucors... They seem to know us very well."

Chu Guang looked at Yin Fang and asked.

"Doesn't the academy have records of where these Mucors came from?"

Yin Fang shook his head.

"Don't know; if there is, it's not something a Level D explorer like me could access."

"Mutated slime fungus, radiation, Variants, Mutants, and Looters all over the place..."

"They didn't know what those madmen had done two hundred years ago to blow up their mother planet into what it looked like now."

"No wonder the East Coast corporations pinned their hopes on the legend of No.0 Shelter; the Academy simply gave up and hid in the Wandering Swamp."

Chu Guang even felt that the fact that the First Generation Manager of Shelter No.404 didn't tell him anything might also be a form of "protection."

"After all, the more one understood about this world, the more it led to despair."

The only people who could optimistically face these challenges were probably those happy players.

Chu Guang took a deep breath.

"Is there anything else to report?"

"I," Batch raised his hand. Seeing everyone looking at him, he nervously continued, "Regarding the materials of that power armor... I've carefully studied its structure."

Chu Guang immediately said.

"Can it be replicated?"

Batch hesitated, then gave a wry smile.

"Porous aluminum magnesium manganese alloy as the structure, alternately filled with boron carbide and silicon carbide, that's just the first layer."

Seeing Chu Guang's expectant look, Yin Fang sighed and turned to Iron Can sitting in the corner.

"He won't understand this complex explanation; you might as well speak plainly."

Chu Guang displeasedly looked at Yin Fang.

"What do you mean by that?"

How could I not understand!

Xiao Qi, who had been quietly peeking at the screen, suddenly chimed in.

"That's right! Are you looking down on the wise and mighty Manager? Master, do you need me to take care of him?"

Chu Guang cleared his throat.

"That won't be necessary."

And what's this "wise and mighty Manager" nonsense? He couldn't recall ever teaching Xiao Qi to address him that way.

Yin Fang rolled his eyes at the camera on the ceiling.

He had wanted to dismantle that "wastebasket" to study it earlier, but Chu Guang didn't agree and strictly forbade him from doing so, so he had abandoned the idea.

Curiosity was one thing, but he wasn't foolish.

However, it seemed that the petty AI had remembered this incident.

Batch quickly smoothed things over and continued.

"The T-10 power armor is pre-war equipment; its armor shell is likely based on 3D printing technology, directly constructed at the atomic level. Our technological gap is too vast, not to mention here, even enterprises cannot produce this."

A mere 40mm of composite armor could provide an equivalent thickness of 400mm homogeneous steel on the vertical plane, adding just a slight angle could it exceed a thousand?

The protection was comparable to modern main battle tanks!

From what he remembered, the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher from the Army could damage the enterprise's power armor, clearly even enterprises didn't have the conditions to replicate these armor plates.

Seeing the disappointed look on Chu Guang's face, Batch continued.

"However, it's not without gains."

"We previously decoded a material called 'A3 alloy' from the Central State Space database, but due to missing data and lack of samples, its exact composition was never confirmed."

Yin Fang looked at him in surprise.

"Could it be…"

"Yes," Batch nodded excitedly, "the missing part should be aluminum magnesium manganese alloy."

Chu Guang immediately asked.

"Is this alloy very strong?"

Yin Fang: "Not just strong, it's extremely strong, and its uses are broad while relatively cheap, from exoskeleton frames to major machinery components."

"To put it in more tangible terms, if the KV-1 Exoskeleton's framework was switched to A3 aerospace aluminum alloy, with no change in weight and only a slight increase in cost, it could double the protective strength, maximum load, and durability."

"It's at least a C-Class technology!"

Not just for exoskeletons, from ground vehicles to airborne drones, all could benefit from this breakthrough.

If this were at the Academy, this merit alone would be enough for him to rise from a Level D explorer to a Level C Researcher.

The only flaw is the risk of ignition in an oxidizing environment.

But as long as it wasn't used extensively or mixed with other materials, it wouldn't be a big problem!

Chu Guang's eyes suddenly brightened.

"Can we make it?"

That was all he cared about!

Batch nodded, his tone much more relaxed than before.

"Compared to the T-10's composite armor, the mass production of the A3 aerospace aluminum alloy wouldn't be too difficult; I should be able to handle it."

Hearing this, Chu Guang's face lit up with joy.

He hadn't expected to recover such good material from that piece of junk!

It was truly a pleasant surprise!

After the meeting, Chu Guang updated some of Hera's research results on the official website, sharing it as an official guide with the players.

Meanwhile, at West Third Ring in Qingquan City,
that dark and silent ruin was ablaze with roaring flames…

Chapter 271: Not Only Garbage Can Be Recycled, But Also Corpses

West Third Ring's streets, the night turned into day under the fiery glow of incendiary bombs, visible even from kilometers away.

On a dilapidated high-rise, sitting beside a broken floor-to-ceiling window, Tail, Sesame Paste, and Si Si gazed at the soaring flames in the distance.

Due to the spore concentration diminishing with altitude, they had chosen to camp on the 50th floor.

Though Variants roamed this building as well, the lack of a hatching room or a lair meant the creatures were scattered throughout various areas of the structure, neither clustering nor blocking staircases, making it relatively easy to ascend through the emergency routes.

It just took some time.

"Wow! What a big fire!" Tail's eyes sparkled, reflecting the boiling inferno.

This was way more exhilarating than watching fireworks!

Sesame Paste: "Is there a war going on over there?"

Si Si: "Probably, the Tide seems to be all-encompassing, not just in 'North Suburb.' Logically, the situation in West Third Ring should be even more intense."

Sesame Paste clasped her hands together.

"Hope the people are okay."

From the moment the sun had set, the sound of explosions had not ceased.

It began with four planes swooping across the sky, followed by rows of fires igniting, completely engulfing the rubble-strewn streets.

The ground forces likely deployed afterward.

Mercenaries from Giant Stone City and the Tide erupted in fierce gunfights amidst the ruins, with tracer bullets occasionally twinkling.

Meat Meat wanted to watch too, but being afraid of heights, she dared not get too close to the edge of the building and could only look from afar.

Crow and Teng Teng were cooking, with several NPCs nearby drooling incessantly, swallowing their saliva continuously.

Apart from the guard named Xu Shun, there were five new employees recruited from Giant Stone City who came back with them, aged between 16 and 20, both male and female.

According to an NPC named Shu Yu from the Office, these new employees were heading to 'North Suburb' for "onboarding training."

Many were leaving the city for the first time and were filled with nervousness.

However, as the aroma wafted from the pot, all uneasy emotions were swiftly diluted.

Although they had left the protection of Giant Stone City, having such delicious food seemed not so bad.

In Giant Stone City, such delicacies were beyond their wildest dreams.

"Time to eat!"

At the sound of mealtime, Tail, who had been sitting on the edge of the building moments ago, immediately crowded around the iron pot over the fire.

"So delicious!"

White bear also came over, curiously looking into the pot.

"What's for dinner?"

Holding a spoon, Crow said with a smug curl of her lip.

"Bird stewed with mushrooms!"

Teng Teng bustled about, handing out bowls and chopsticks.

"We're camping outdoors, so the conditions are a bit rough. Everyone just help yourselves."

Sesame Paste also rushed over excitedly.

"I'll help too!"

Keeping it casual was fine.

Realizing the implication, Xu Shun felt a bit embarrassed.

These residents of the shelter really redefined the idea of eating casually.

But having lived with them for so long, he had grown accustomed to how particular the residents were about their lifestyle.

The group sat around the fire, holding bowls of steaming food, casually discussing their plans for returning to Giant Stone City.

"I've decided!" Declaring her grand plans, Teng Teng's gaze was filled with determination as she said energetically, "Once back at the shelter, I definitely must use my scissors to correct the skewed aesthetics of the NPCs in Giant Stone City!"

Si Si: "Uh, I think... that might not be your issue."

Lovesickness is human nature, after all.

And without understanding the cultural context, it's quite normal for their clothing choices to seem odd.

Tail was equally enthusiastic: "Tail too! Giant Stone City still lacks a Mercenary Guild! How can an MMORPG miss such a crucial institution!"

Crow: "What about Sesame Paste?"

With her cat ears lightly twitching, Sesame Paste was initially shy to speak, but seeing everyone discussing the topic, she let go of her reserve.

"I want to deliver packages!"

Si Si asked curiously: "Why delivery?"

Sesame Paste's eyes shone.

"Don't you think riding a motorcycle to deliver packages looks really cool?"

Are you cosplaying from 'Ci X's Journey'?

It seems 'Wasteland OL' has quite a few 'performance artists,' with officials not selling skins and players doing DIY. Such conservative hobbies aren't common.

Taking on a thoughtful nod, Si Si suggested.

"How about matching it with a 12mm revolver?"

Seeing a kindred spirit, Sesame Paste smiled shyly and opened the bag she carried, which contained a silver revolver.

"Hehe, I've actually already bought one."

The gun was stylish, but its recoil was too strong.

Most times, she still used the Pu-9 more frequently.

Tail, who was a bit late due to eating, lit up.

"Riding a motorcycle to deliver... Got it! Like a delivery boy, right? Definitely looks cool!"

Especially on an empty stomach!

Teng Teng's expression was a bit odd.

"I think you guys might not be on the same channel."

…

While players still enjoyed steaming hot food, the mercenaries fighting Variants in West Third Ring were not so fortunate.

The gunfire continued until the next morning, from the shattered plaza to nearby crumbling buildings, down to commercial streets tens of meters underground, every inch of land was drenched in thick blood.

This included the blood of Variants as well as that of the mercenaries.

Scattered battles were still ongoing.

As the sun rose, it was clear things were coming to an end.

Hauling his rifle out from the rubble, Tommy took off his blood-stained gas mask and threw it away, grabbing a new one but not putting it on immediately.

The lair that had extended into this area was destroyed; although a gray-green fog lingered, a small amount of inhalation wouldn't cause much harm.

He had been in the cramped tunnel all night and now just wanted to breathe in the fresh air outside deeply.

Even if that air was mixed with sand.

At that moment, another mercenary wearing an exoskeleton came cursing from the ruins on the opposite side, holding a broken Male Bee Assault Rifle in his hand.

"Damn...the money I'm making isn't enough to fix my gear, what the hell do you have there?"

His name was Virgil, and like Tommy, he was a mercenary active around Giant Stone City.

A week ago, when the Tide had suddenly erupted, these mercenaries had become highly sought after overnight; even the militia, who had never looked them in the eye before, began to treat them politely.

After all, with something as major as the Tide, they couldn't just rely on those Cannon Fodders at the door. To deal with the Variants, they had to rely on these battle-hardened experts.

"LD-47, Sickle Assault Rifle, something the scavengers from the North Suburb came up with. Powerful, cheap, and easy to maintain. I saw them when I was delivering goods to the North Suburb last time and just picked one up," Tommy glanced at his old buddy and casually asked, "How many casualties did you guys have?"

Virgil replied, "Lost five rookies, the rest are okay except for one unlucky guy who got his leg bitten off by a Crawler."

Tommy clicked his tongue.

"That's really tragic."

Virgil shrugged his shoulders.

"It's already lucky to be alive."

In the mercenary business, losing arms and legs was a common occurrence.

With enough money, one could get a mechanical prosthesis, or use an exoskeleton if that wasn't possible, and if one couldn't even afford an exoskeleton, then it was time to retire early.

As for rookies?

They don't count as mercenaries.

Learning just to flick the safety from the militia, they were nothing but Cannon Fodder thrown into the frontlines.

Only those who survived more than three battles were formally accepted. Until then, not even their names would be remembered.

After all, remembering was pointless; no one was sure if they'd still be alive in two days.

This sort of thing was all too common.

Tommy glanced at the tall building not far behind him, where the militia's temporary headquarters was located.

Two power armors stood motionless at the main gate, not moving their legs at all, making one wonder if these iron clumps could even move anymore.

"It would be nice if they could make a move."

Virgil smiled.

"Forget it, fixing those things is too expensive. The noble lords in the Inner City wouldn't want to get their armors dirty with black blood, let alone take risks themselves."

Every T-10 was a treasure from the pre-war era; even after two centuries, their combat power remained tremendous. The only flaw was their limited number.

It seemed the militia group of Giant Stone City used them more as mascots.

But what puzzled Tommy was, if that was the case, what purpose did these two iron clumps serve by standing there?

To supervise?

Was that necessary?

Not far away, another group of newcomers, walking in disorganized formations, was brought over, accompanied by hundreds of double-headed cows and about twenty to thirty horses.

These animals bore large and small supplies on their backs, containing food and water, as well as ammunition, and even some items that would be considered rare even in the markets of Giant Stone City.

These double-headed cows were led by merchants from Giant Stone City.

Since the mercenaries were paid daily and the amount was substantial, some merchants who could not wait for them to return home would come over to make their first batch of money, while others received orders from the Militia Group to transport supplies from Giant Stone City to the front lines.

This might seem a bit odd.

A group of mercenaries, clad in exoskeletons and streamlined assault rifles, donned clothes made from beast skins, while the merchants transporting their supplies utilized primitive vehicles like ox carts.

But this was unavoidable.

If they didn't make this choice, the Militia Group would have to hire numerous refugees who were troublesome and weak, or use the limited number of quadrupedal mechanical dogs.

Either option would be much more costly than outsourcing.

Virgil patted Tommy on the shoulder.

"Let's go get something to eat."

Tommy shook his head.

"No need, I brought some dry rations."

Ever since the contractor's "military food" upset his stomach, he had lost all faith in the integrity of those so-called "helpers."

Relying on merchants to be ethical?

He might as well expect the Variants themselves to roll back to the city center.

Virgil slapped his arm, not bothering with him any further, and walked alone towards the convoy.

Pulling out a block-shaped piece of green barley cake from his backpack, Tommy stuffed it into his mouth and took a bite before unscrewing his rusty water bottle and taking a sip.

Looking in the direction of the convoy, he shook his head.

Nutrition paste.

Ever since he learned what that stuff was made from, he would rather starve than eat it...

...

While the mercenaries headed towards the convoy to collect supplies, select goods, or spend money for some fun, not far from the convoy a large group of traders haggling with the quartermaster gathered.

The spoils of the front lines were not limited to the mercenaries' necessities of life but also included the trade of war trophies.

War always produced trophies.

In earlier years, Giant Stone City simply hired merchants to haul the bodies of Variants and Cannon Fodders out of the city to prevent them from decomposing at their doorsteps, thereby avoiding plagues and larger waves of infestation.

Later, some clever people discovered that these Eaters and Crawlers, these sticky fungus Variants, were premium "raw materials."

With just a bit more time and cost put into deactivating the fungus, they could be turned into edible nutrition paste!

Although the nutrition paste synthesized in this way wasn't actually nutritious, who cared?

Those who truly cared about nutrition wouldn't eat that stuff anyway.

The slave owners in the south, especially those large farms in Brocade River Province, showed great interest in these products.

They were abundant and cheap, had slightly higher nutritional value than green barley, and could even provide a small amount of protein to give slaves and livestock more strength.

Feeding slaves with green barley, though more cost-effective, would lead to thinner slaves and the extensive planting of green barley would deplete the soil's fertility.

But with nutrition paste, these issues didn't exist.

Not just nutrition paste, but organic fertilizers, bio-oils, food additives, etc., could all be extracted from the bodies of the Variants.

Although the recycling efficiency was generally low, possibly not even reaching 10%, the quantity of these Variants was large enough and the cost was low.

Over time, the technology matured and eventually reached a certain industrial scale, at which point the merchants began to handle the bodies formed by the Tide at Giant Stone City free of charge.

By now, things had changed such that they needed to give Militia chips in reverse to be allowed to transport the bodies away, and the price was increasing every year.

This year was the same.

From the excited expressions and words of those merchants, it was clear they had not come to an agreement with the militia of Giant Stone City.

"50 chips a ton?! Why don't you just rob us?"

"Last year's Tide cost only 20 chips! Don't think we've forgotten!"

"This is outrageous!"

However, the quartermaster couldn't be bothered with them and said impatiently,

"If you can't afford it, get out."

Paying fifty chips a ton for those bodies, using that pricing to buy back this garbage, there would be no profit if they didn't achieve a yield over 30%!

But how could that be possible?

No matter how the merchants, who surrounded the quartermaster, tried all their tricks and promised various benefits, they couldn't persuade him.

Even though they were helpless, they had no choice but to shake their heads and disperse.

One of the departing men even uttered a harsh word—"Let the nobles of the Inner City deal with these troubles themselves," then stormed off angrily.

The militia standing beside barely bothered to react.

As long as he didn't directly disrespect the lord of the city, no one cared what he complained about.

Detwei returned to the caravan furiously.

He had originally hoped to finish the supply trade and then contract for a hundred tons of body disposal

Near the caravan.

A group of merchants dealing in food gathered together, whispering quietly.

"I heard that this year's 'spoils' have been monopolized by Vijia Commerce."

Hearing the name Vijia Commerce, many merchants' faces showed an expression of apprehension.

This commerce was well-known in the commercial circle of Giant Stone City, not only investing in two large farms with an area over 10,000 acres in the south but also operating the largest food processing plant in Giant Stone City, which reportedly held over 50% of the market share in Giant Stone City.

Producing "Tasty Brand Meat Cans" and "Extra Tasty Double-headed Cow Meat Pies," their products not only sold well in Giant Stone City but were also exported to neighboring provinces.

The owner of this commerce was named Wei Jia, but there were rumors that the real owner was someone else, and the front-facing Wei Jia was just a tool for the big figures of the Inner City to make money.

Regardless of whether the rumors were true, small-scale businesses like them couldn't possibly compete with a behemoth like Vijia Commerce.

No wonder the quartermaster was so dismissive of them.

"This is blatant monopolization!"

Detwei couldn't help but ask.

"When did these greedy leeches start meddling in the business of nutrient paste too?"

Nutrient paste.

Arguably the lowest-end commodity of all food with the thinnest profits, especially the inferior nutrient paste synthesized from mucilaginous Variants.

An old merchant with a face full of wrinkles glanced at the back of the caravan and pointed at the guards on horseback and the double-headed cows next to them, loaded with goods.

"I heard that some big shot subcontracted more than half of the front-line logistics orders to them, and they opened a new factory producing nutrient paste just before the year's end... but it doesn't carry the 'Tasty' or 'Extra Tasty' brands."

Another merchant said.

"I remember… is it called 'Massive Quantity'?"

Another nodded.

"Yes, I remember that name, Mr. Hauser's radio even advertised for it!"

Detwei couldn't help but curse.

"Shameful insider trading!"

Other merchants also silently cursed a few times in their hearts.

These shameless slicksters!

Not even willing to give them a sip of soup!

At this moment, one merchant suddenly spoke.

"I heard… has a Tide also erupted up north this year?"

Someone nodded in agreement.

"And it's not small… just the other night, it seems they even purchased incendiary bombs from the Militia Group."

Detwei furrowed his brows and looked at the young merchant who started the topic.

"North? Do you mean 'North Suburb'?"

"I thought that was the Chewing Bone Tribe's territory."

The young merchant who initiated the talk smiled.

"You guys are out of the loop; it's clear you haven't been to North Suburb in a long while! I've got the latest news, I heard that a month ago, the survivors in North Suburb drove the Chewing Bone Tribe away."

The aged merchant with a wrinkled face also nodded.

"Uh-huh… I indeed heard a little rumor that those people also interfered with the war between Red River Town and the Snake Tribe? Just not sure if it's true."

The young merchant unscrewed his water bottle and leisurely took a sip before saying.

"It's not just that."

An interested Detwei promptly asked.

"Go on, please share."

The surrounding new merchants also looked expectantly at the young man.

Merchants venturing north were too few, and fewer still returned from there. One could hardly hear any rumors from the north in bars, and recently the Voice of Giant Stone City radio was busy advertising, hardly reporting anything about that area, so most people's impression of North Suburb remained stuck in last winter.

They had heard that the survivors there had been tormented severely by the harsh winter; they weren't even sure if those people had survived.

Seeing everyone's attention focused on him, the young man smiled slightly and continued at his own pace.

"The Chewing Bone Tribe is their arch-enemy; they naturally had to interfere in the wars targeting the Chewing Bone Tribe. Adding to that, the mine owners of Red River Town were quite willing to buy better weapons for cheaper prices, and they even made a fortune from this."

"These people are smart; they invested the money they earned in the wasteland up north and also bought second-hand equipment from Giant Stone City, making strides in agriculture and industry."

"Not only that, but they also came up with quite a few good inventions… such as a bomb that can fly far without a plane, reportedly causing a lot of trouble for the looters besieging Red River Town. Besides, they also offered mercenaries," Detwei expressed in surprise, "I heard the people in North Suburb are the Blue Jacket? Refuge dwellers? Those people know how to fight?"

This frankly overturned his impression of the Blue Ground Mice.

Those people were willing to come out of warm bedrooms?

"That young merchant continued, "It's not just about fighting; there are good things there too. Have you been to the Night Queen Bar?"

When the Night Queen Bar was mentioned, the conversation suddenly became less formal.

Although these merchants aren't incredibly rich, they have a fair amount of chips in their pockets and, even if they haven't spent money there, they've definitely conducted business there.

Soon someone excitedly interjected.

"Speaking of which, I just remembered, I heard they came out with some fragile silk products recently?"

Gray Squirrel Clothing Store seems to be selling them, I bought a few sets a few days ago to gift to my old lover. But convincing her to wear it took me quite the effort."

"Hahahaha."

Everyone's faces revealed smiles that everyone understood, but the young man who had started the conversation didn't speak again; he just watched everyone chat with a smile.

Detwei wasn't in the mood for idle chat; his mind was on making money.

A tide erupted in the North Suburb?

Are there a lot of farms there?

Maybe...

I should try my luck there.

Detwei felt his palms getting warm and glanced at his colleagues around him, then quietly moved to sit next to the young man.

"Bro, do you have connections?"

Seeing the look on his face, the young man understood what he was thinking and said with a slight smile.

"I, as a person, have also been fortunate to make a small fortune."

Detwei took a careful look at the young man's attire, which clearly wasn't cheap, especially the deer skin used for the holster hanging at his waist.

This was uncommon in Giant Stone City, where most mercenaries and merchants used wild boar and hyena skins.

After all, deer herds don't pass through this area every year, and top-quality reindeer are even rarer, usually bought up by those who really aren't short on money as soon as they appear on the market.

The most critical point was that this guy was young enough.

It was precisely this youth that made Detwei unable to discern his real "strength."

Detwei chuckled, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and handed it over with a voice tinged with flattery.

"My name's Detwei, I've been in the food business in Giant Stone City, dealing with the Militia Group's bodies for over a decade. Honestly, those darn guys are really ungrateful, use me up like a rag and then throw me away. If you're planning to do business with them, you'd better be careful."

The young man didn't refuse the cigarette but didn't light it immediately either; instead, he tucked it behind his ear and said with a smile.

"I'm not in the food business; I deal in gas masks."

"Gas masks? Nice stuff, the profit margins on those are much higher than nutritional paste!" Detwei falsely thumbed up, his eyes shifted, and then he chuckled, "Bro, got any leads for me? I'm quite interested in the tide out in the North Suburb, you know I'm in food sales, so it won't conflict with your business."

The young man said with a smirk.

"How do you know I'm not interested in food sales? Listening to you all this while, it seems quite profitable?"

This guy.

Young in age, but with a big appetite!

Isn't he afraid of biting off more than he can chew?

Detwei muttered to himself, but his face still wore a flattering smile.

"Sure, our line hasn't had a new partner in a long time, I can teach you the trade! Trust me, there's so much stock you can't handle it alone, pulling a brother up, surely won't leave you without benefits!"

The young man deftly pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to Detwei and to the interested merchants eavesdropping nearby.

"My name is Shu Yu, this is my business card."

"The ruler of the North Suburb is considering recycling the 'trash' generated by the Tide, and I just happen to be planning to bring in a batch of goods from the North Suburb."

"If you are interested in the northern market, you can find me at the address on the card."

North Suburb Industrial Zone.

A brand-new facility was cleared up and adorned with a new sign—[Bachi Aluminium Factory]—producing the newly developed A3 type aeronautical aluminum.

Bachi, in his professional field, might not be the most skilled, but he was absolutely adept in management.

He was born into a family of merchants, specializing in alcohol, and he said it was quite a large-scale business.

Given his capabilities, Chu Guang maximized his talents by directly appointing him as the plant manager for the new material.

An entrepreneur with a background in engineering, Chu Guang had high hopes for his future.

"…Shelter No. 404 is a permanent partner of our enterprise, and our silver coins will soon be listed in the Ideal City, even having its own exchange. Never underestimate the value of these coins; they will become the most valuable things in this wasteland."

"Keep up the good work, I can assure you, your career will astonish your father. When others mention your name, you will be one of the greatest entrepreneurs in the wasteland, not just some unknown wine merchant's son."

"They will kindly call you—Boss Ba!"

At the entrance of the industrial zone.

Listening to Chu Guang's grand vision, Bachi couldn't help but remark,

"You might as well say to build another Ideal City in the center of the Central Continent… And my father is not unknown, he has some fame in the Province of Yunjianxing!"

Though only a little!

Chu Guang's eyes lit up, and he snapped his fingers.

"Build another Ideal City in the central area? That's a good idea, I could include it in the next five-year plan."

Bachi: "…"

Is this guy serious?

After a pause, the iron can standing before Chu Guang relaxed his shoulders and continued,

"Your proposal is indeed enchanting, I've dreamed about it before, but now...honestly, I would rather return to being human."

Chu Guang gently patted his shoulder.

"I've always seen you as human, my friend, and there's no falsehood in these words."

"Plus, as you've seen, our team includes not only handsome young men and beautiful women but also Lizards, Bears, and Bionic Beings, and even Rat-men you haven't met... They are all our partners, and we do not judge them differently just because they look different from us."

"As long as they abide by the rules, willing to be useful to society."

These heartfelt words might have moved Bachi.

Chu Guang could feel, through those crimson pupils beneath the iron helmet, a flicker of emotion and hope.

Bachi, regaining his spirit, looked at Chu Guang earnestly and said,

"I admit, I truly feel what you've described here, and no one else but you would accept me in this form."

"I will do everything I can to help you, and I hope you can keep your promise to help me return to normal."

Chu Guang lightly nodded his head.

"I assure you."

Chapter 272: The Person Who Brings Pillows is Here

"Damn!"

"This thing is too handy."

At the edge of the North Fourth Ring.

Inside a partially collapsed building,

Night Ten, squatting by the window, was excitedly fiddling with the tablet in his hands.

Just a short distance in front of him, a quadrotor drone equipped with a camera was buzzing as it hovered outside the window.

This was the latest equipment released by the scientifical research group after the quadruped robots — the "Y-1 Firefly" quadrotor drone.

This drone used A3 aerospace aluminum produced by the Bachi Aluminum Factory; the batteries were solid hydrogen batteries produced by the List Factory; the neural access components were produced by the Black Box at Shelter No. 117; carbon nanocircuit and operating devices were all modified by the versatile wrist-mounted computer "VM."

The price wasn't too expensive, just 1000 silver coins, roughly equivalent to half of a Miner I Exoskeleton.

Since this equipment was independently developed by Shelter No. 404, there was no need to rely on imports, so the purchase threshold was very low, requiring only Contribution Points to reach "Citizen" status.

Thanks to the use of lightweight materials, the drone weighed only 73% of a real-world drone of the same size, yet its protection had increased by 50~70%. Not just that, the long endurance of the solid hydrogen battery allowed it to hover in the air for up to 12 hours.

If obsessed about battery life, users could also choose to add another set of batteries in series to the original battery pack.

This equipment was positioned as a close-range tactical reconnaissance drone, and given that it hinged on neural access equipment, it was recommended for Intelligence System users.

The camera component was made of recycled materials from pre-war surveillance devices, with high resolution that could still clearly see the pebbles on the ground hundreds of meters away.

To sum it all up in one sentence.

This is too cool!

"Awesome, right?" Discourage, standing beside him, wore a proud smile and discussed animatedly.

Night Ten couldn't stop praising it.

"Cool cool!"

That was really awesome!

Proudly, Discourage said,

"Not just this, if you're an Intelligence System user, you can directly control the drone's flight with brain-machine connection, which is much more flexible than manual control and auto-cruise!"

"Damn! Neural access too?" Night Ten looked at him in surprise, "Dude, what do you do in real life?"

Wild Wind, who was standing beside them wearing headphones, said,

"I remember he's an auto mechanic?"

He had heard from Mosquito in the group chat that recently Goblin Technology had hired a few mechanics to work on developing engines.

"That's death-defying in auto mechanic; I'm actually from the electromechanical field." Discourage said with a shy smile.

Night Ten remarked,

"I feel no matter the field, being able to make this thing is already freaking cool."

Laughing, Discourage said,

"It's actually alright; this isn't as exaggerated as you think, besides, I do this for a living in real life."

Wild Wind asked, "Did you write the control program?"

Shaking his head, Discourage answered,

"How could I? I don't know how to code, and besides, the game's programming language is total gibberish, I suspect the game's developers didn't seriously work on this part."

"So, how did you..."

"The control program and the carbon nanocircuit were provided by the group leader of the scientifical research group, Yin Fang!"

Curiously, Night Ten quickly asked,

"What about the battery?"

"The battery uses the solid hydrogen batteries from List Factory! The casing and main structure are made of A3 aerospace aluminum!"

Discourage answered all of Night Ten's curious questions in one go, and as he spoke, he couldn't help expressing his own wonder.

"In the game world, making airplanes is much easier, 24 hours ultra-long endurance, direct control with brain-machine link... I wouldn't even dare to think about it in reality."

In real life, rotor drones mostly use lithium batteries, with normal flight durations around 30 minutes, although they can be made to hover for 2~5 hours, but that would make the battery very bulky.

Or like Perimeter 8 with a "hybrid of oil and electricity," equipped with eight propellers and two fuel tanks, it can also achieve 13 hours.

Usually, for more than 2 hours hovering requirements, they directly switch to gasoline engines, opting for fixed-wing, which is basically out of the category of small drones.

To achieve a 24-hour hover time for a small quadrotor drone is likely only possible in the game world.

Hearing this newcomer's reflections, Wild Wind and Night Ten exchanged glances.

Nice job.

No wonder this equipment was displayed in the NPC store without the brand name of Goblin Technology.

So did Goblin Technology only design the appearance?

Wild Wind: "...So your role was?"

With a slight smile, Discourage's expression was quite proud.

"I copied our company's drone in and modified it!"

Night Ten was stunned.

"Uh... is that really not infringing?"

Grinning, Discourage said, "No worries! Quadrotor drones all look like this, as long as there's no LOGO, it's fine, it might even serve as an advertisement for our company when the game is officially tested."

Even I'm not afraid of losing my job, Night Ten and Wild Wind didn't know what to say._

Night Ten handed the drone control and tablet back to Wild Wind, who already had the neural access device on his head.

The ultimate use of this thing was for reconnaissance.

For example, Perception System users report approximate positions, Intelligence System users operate the drone to pinpoint exact coordinates.

The two tried it a few times, and their coordination was quite seamless, actively extending the scouting range by at least twice.

Seeing his designed drone being so useful, Discourage was visibly pleased, already deep in thoughts about designing an improved version.

"How about adding a bomb dropper underneath? Remote control dropping bombs!"

Night Ten's eyes lit up,

"Sure! I'm in for it!"

Even Wild Wind, wearing his headphones, nodded.

"Indeed, it can also dive and drop bombs... but wouldn't adding a bomb dropper affect the drone's maneuverability?"

Discourage laughed and waved his hand, "Adding just a kilo or two of load won't interfere with anything! Don't worry, leave this to me!"

Night Ten raised his thumb in excitement.

"Brother, you're solid!"

"Hehe, solid as a rock!"

The three were excitedly discussing how to make the drone more formidable when Old White, carrying an ammunition box, came over from the stairwell.

He set the ammunition box down on the ground and looked towards Night Ten and Wild Wind.

"The mission is here, get ready; we're setting out in three minutes."

Upon hearing about the mission, Night Ten immediately stood up in excitement.

"A job?"

Old White said with a smile.

"Our commercial team that was sent to Giant Stone City has returned. Besides six players, the team also includes five office workers and one guard. Our mission is to protect the VIP as they move through the Variant-active area from West Fourth Ring to North Fifth Ring, where a large number of Variants are suspected to be active."

"Protecting the commercial team on their return trip?"

The previously excited Night Ten suddenly shivered and said awkwardly,

"Uh, can I request a temporary leave from the team?"

Fang Chang teased him.

"Scared?"

Night Ten blushed and responded,

"What does this have to do with being scared?"

"Don't worry. According to my observation, Teng Teng isn't that petty. I saw her liking Fang Chang's guide yesterday," Old White patted Night Ten's shoulder and winked, "this is an opportunity for you to show off."

"Get lost, get lost, get lost."

Quit smoking looked around confused, not knowing what was going on.

Discourage, standing nearby, looked towards Wild Wind.

"You guys are heading out on a mission, so I'll take my leave."

Wild Wind, retrieving the drone, took off the headphones he was wearing on his head.

"Do you need me to walk you out?"

"No need, it's just a short walk. Besides, all the monsters on the way have been cleared by you guys, I'll just walk back myself!" Discourage continued with a smile, "But you guys, be careful on your way."

Wild Wind nodded.

"Yeah, you too."

...

Three days had passed since the outbreak of the Tide.

Over these three days, large and small battles continued relentlessly, with players and Variants fighting over the ruins from Street No. 65 to Street No. 68, street by street, building by building.

Perhaps due to the death of the "Decaying Knight", the "Queen" hiding in the ruins was being cautious. Although the Tide's attacks had been continuous, both in intensity and numbers, they had decreased significantly from the first day.

The frontline had reached a stalemate.

Chu Guang could feel that the Tide was trying to wear down his live forces and ammunition through a war of attrition.

Meanwhile, a large number of Crawlers were crossing the ruins and infiltrating towards the flanks of his position.

Of course, Chu Guang wouldn't just watch them get behind him; he decisively dispatched Hunter Squads to clear out those Crawlers trying to breach the defense line.

In this battle, the performance of the Hunter Guild could be described as fruitful. In just three days, they had killed more than two hundred Crawlers and nearly twenty Tyrants!

The Cow and Horse Squad alone had killed 27 Crawlers and 4 Tyrants.

And undoubtedly, the strongest individual player was Garbage King. In such uneven and complex street fighting environments, guns weren't necessarily better than claws.

Especially when dealing with agile Crawlers.

According to VM's statistics, Garbage King, acting alone, had killed 9 Crawlers, seizing the MVP title for the entire field!

Aside from him, other players who had returned from Far Creek Town to support also achieved remarkable combat results.

According to Xiao Qi's statistics, over these three days, players above Level 10 had their average level increased by 0.7, and mid-tier players between Levels 5 and 10 had their levels increased by 1.5.

Even Chu Guang, who was commanding from the rear, had managed to level up.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Stage 2)

Level: LV.18→LV.19

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 17→18

Agility: 13

Constitution: 16

Perception: 14

Intelligence: 15

]

"What would happen if the development progress of the Gene Sequence reached 20%?"

Putting down the tablet in his hand, Chu Guang looked up at Heya, who was sitting across the scanning bed.

However, Heya's response was disappointing.

"I don't know."

Chu Guang frowned, "Is there no way to predict?"

Heya made a helpless gesture.

"The selective expression of DNA touches on the most mysterious areas of life science. Even during the Prosperity Epoch, this was a frontier area of research."

"So we just have to take it step by step?"

Heya nodded.

"Right now, that's the best we can do."

Although it was a tone of regret, Chu Guang always sensed a thrill of excitement in the guy's eyes. It felt like he was used to one strange thing after another, remained unshaken by anything new, and even wanted to press on the accelerator to see what would eventually happen.

Was this guy a guinea pig or what?

But that strength filling his body wasn't too bad either.

Chu Guang stretched his shoulders, put on his shoes, rose from the scanning bed, and handed the tablet back to Heya.

"If there are any new discoveries, let me know at once."

Previously worried about players leveling up faster than him, Chu Guang now wished to level up a bit more slowly.

Letting one or two outstanding players lead and scout ahead would make it easier for him to feel his way as if crossing a river by feeling the stones.

But now, he turned out to be the stepping stone in an unanticipated path, raging forward.

It was just that he couldn't control his own leveling up even if he wanted to.

Chu Guang had recently discovered that sharing experience from players wasn't affected by distance; as long as the overall strength of the players increased, he would grow accordingly.

Even if he stayed inside Shelter No. 117.

Heya, who was oblivious to Chu Guang's thoughts and didn't really care, smiled slightly as she took the tablet.

"No problem!"

"Leave it to me!"

Though he couldn't be fully at ease, Chu Guang had to trust her professionalism.

...

The morning sun rose.

Stepping on the morning dew, the commercial team from Giant Stone City finally arrived at Outpost Base.

The players' emotions were relatively calm, Xu Shun also looked okay, but the few new employees who had returned with them were not as composed and wore expressions of having survived a calamity.

It was truly a close call.

They had almost failed to return…

The world beyond the giant walls was terrifying.

Looking at the paradise before them, several people couldn't understand how these country folks managed to survive in the suburbs.

It was ridiculous!

Seeing Crow appear at the south gate brought joyous expressions to many players' faces.

"Crow Boss is back!"

"Great! We'll have mushroom soup again!"

"Wuu, the price of ramen has risen to 6 silver coins!"

"Barbecue too! From two silver coins for three skewers to three silver coins for two skewers!"

"We can't afford this!"

Ramen and barbecue prices went up?

Crow's eyes lit up.

Fantastic!

Maybe she could raise the price of her mushroom soup too?

Hearing the crowd's remarks, Tail, with a bandage on his head, suddenly patted his belly.

"Ugh, I'm suddenly hungry again."

Right hand bandaged, Sisi looked at Tail helplessly.

"The Tail in the game and the real-world Tail are completely different people."

Tail, with a smug smile, said indifferently,

"What's the difference! The food you eat in the game doesn't fill the stomach in reality, and I've heard that eating more can speed up healing."

Sisi: "I only heard that blood sugar could hinder healing."

Sesame Paste, worried, looked at the chattering two.

"You guys should head to the medical room right away."

Teng Teng nodded in concern.

"You lost a lot of blood last night… it's better not to push yourselves."

"It's no big deal, just a minor injury," Sisi gave them a charming, reliable look and a thumbs-up, "It'll be healed by tomorrow!"

Coincidentally stepping out from the south gate, Midnight Chicken Killing glanced at everyone and curiously asked.

"What about the bear?"

"You mean Meat Meat?"

Fang Chang shifted his gaze away and said meaningfully,

"This time, it finally showed some courage."

On their way back, the party encountered a minor mishap; the number of Variants around the North Fifth Ring was higher than expected. It wasn't just Crawlers, but also Tyrants and Butchers.

Dealing with a Tyrant, Tail, and Sisi sustained minor injuries, but it wasn't serious; a day's rest in the Cultivation Chamber would suffice.

However, the mission exposed a serious issue:

The shelter's capacity for individual anti-armor was still lacking.

The portable rocket launchers, mainly captured and replicated "Iron Fists" from the Army, were being utilized by the players.

These launchers were effective against lighter targets and posed some threat to lighter power armor.

But when facing a Tyrant with "high armor and high health," they still struggled, usually requiring two to three shots to take down one.

Not to mention dealing with monsters like the Decaying Knight.

This served as a reminder to the players with lifestyle jobs—"The shelter needed a portable rocket launcher with greater penetration capacity."

For instance, an RPG.

Mosquito, who had already developed a recoilless gun and armor-piercing bullets, said the problem wasn't big; he had obtained "critical" blueprints and formulas, and Goblin Technology would soon produce a more reliable single soldier anti-armor weapon than the 37mm Heavy Cavalry Gun!

Considering 81 Steel Factory as a competitor, Mosquito Brother, had already set up a FLAG on the Forum, swearing to show the real power of Goblin Technology to those who doubted.

Besides that, Teng Teng and his group's experience last night had served as a warning to the players.

As time progresses, Variants in the Tide would leave the main force and gradually spread to areas outside the battlefield, which Heya referred to as "dispersion effect."

Thanks to Meat Meat's sacrifice, the research on Variants at Shelter No. 404 increased by one.

After learning about last night's events from Xu Shun, Chu Guang ordered him to bring the new employees to Changjiu Farm, handed them over to Luka for settlement, and then headed to the front lines.

Starting from last night, the intense battles between the front lines and the Tide had escalated, with 125 players who died on the first night just being resurrected, only for another 66 to be sent back to the forum.

Some had been resurrected for only a few hours, which was indeed tragic!

The sounds of cannons lasted all night, and the gunfire persisted from dusk 'til dawn.

Chu Guang was fully aware that the key to winning this war did not lie at the front lines but in logistics.

To meet ammunition supplies, he even shut down the production lines for fertilizers.

The sudden Tide completely disrupted his plans.

Chu Guang had originally planned to gradually shift part of the industrial area's capacity to civilian use by the end of spring but who could have anticipated that the spring planting would be disrupted by a sudden outbreak of the Tide?

If the opponent had been the Looters, it would have been another story.

Fighting the Looters not only replenished their prisoners of war but also captured a batch of spoils.

Synchronizing social labor and social wealth, it was truly a win-win.

However, the opponent was the Tide.

The bullets fired left nothing but heaps of corpses, neither prisoners nor booty—utterly a loss-making deal.

This truly gave Chu Guang a headache.

The financial deficit was unresolved.

Even if he won this war, he would end up poor...

...

The war continued.

On the sixth day of the Tide, the battlefield had become unbearably stinky; mutant flies, rats, and cockroaches had become the new trouble.

The players' physical condition was quite good, aside from those specialized in Intelligence and Perception, there was little impact, but the NPCs were suffering.

Some guards with weak immunity even contracted the plague.

Yin Fang had to temporarily abandon the scientific research team's work and set up a mobile medical station at Brown Farm, not far from the front lines, to accommodate those sick coming from the front lines.

Chu Guang converted all his accumulated points into intermediate blind boxes and fortunately drew some antibiotics and antivirals, which helped control the epidemic.

However, this was merely a temporary solution.

To prevent the corpses from continuing to decay and causing a larger-scale epidemic, Chu Guang had no choice but to assign fifty newcomers of the Constitution System and Strength System, dressed in protective suits and gas masks, to transport the corpses from the North Fourth Ring to locations beyond the Fifth Ring for more distant disposal.

Frontline command post.

Chu Guang had summoned the owner of Brown Farm, Brown.

Although Old Brown had no desire to leave the farm and didn't want to see Chu Guang's face, he was clear that he had no authority to refuse.

Without wasting time on pleasantries, Chu Guang, looking at Old Brown, cut straight to the point.

"I heard that Giant Stone City has a way to turn the Eaters into nutrient paste."

"Having traded with Giant Stone City for so long, haven't you thought about making use of the Eaters' corpses?"

Hearing Chu Guang's words, a bitter smile surfaced on Brown's trembling face.

Make use of them?

It was not that simple.

Bowing his head, Brown timidly said.

"My lord, making use of the Eaters' corpses isn't just about setting up a device; it also requires a huge amount of electricity."

"Besides... we have never faced such a massive Tide before."

Even though Eaters were the least prestigious Variants, it's still dangerous to mess with them in numbers; very few survivors would bother them without a pressing need.

Most would only shoot at them when absolutely necessary.

To consider Eaters as industrial raw materials, setting aside technical issues, one must first have enough cheap bullets and electricity.

The former implies sufficient labor and a stable supply chain, the latter a relatively complete industrial setup.

If these two issues were solved, Brown Farm would have been industrialized long ago, and wouldn't need to endure their current predicaments.

Otherwise, it's not worth producing something that costs N tokens to produce a single token, better to just buy from Giant Stone City directly.

Just nutrient paste, it wouldn't justify subsidizing with money.

Brown Farm neither had a sufficiently large market nor the capability to export their products to even more distant places.

Frankly speaking, it was merely a small-scale survivor settlement with just over a hundred people.

Even now, with two to three thousand people gathered in the North Suburb, supported by a massive base technology and "unlimited QE," they had merely managed to ignite the spark of industrialization.

Chu Guang stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"That is a problem."

Perhaps he should have a chat with List.

But that guy was currently entirely focused on replicating the KV-1 Exoskeleton and exploring new markets.

To invest in factories and support his own war, he had already indebted himself heavily to the bank in Giant Stone City.

Chu Guang felt reluctant to press him further.

You can't keep harvesting from the same patch of leeks, nor can you keep shearing the same sheep.

It's beneficial to have a win-win situation, but to keep winning, you needed to nurture them as well.

While Chu Guang was lost in thought and Old Brown trembled, the captain of the guard, Wrench, walked in from outside.

"My lord!"

Chu Guang looked at him.

"What is it?"

Wrench stood at attention and saluted, loyally reporting, "A group of merchants from Giant Stone City is outside. They claim to be your guests and request an audience with you."

Thinking of the call he had received from Book Yu earlier, Chu Guang's eyes suddenly lit up and he said immediately.

"Please show them in!"

Wrench: "Yes, sir!"

Chapter 273 Everywhere is Full of Chips!

"Achoo!"

"Damn it... who's thinking of me now."

North Fourth Ring, frontline.

The sporadic gunfire in the distance made Detwei, standing on the street, tense up his nerves.

He had a habit of sneezing whenever he got nervous.

The situation here was completely different from that on the western front.

The west was a pile of concrete rubble, a wasteland, while the buildings here were scattered like a forest, behind every darkened shop window seemed to hide a pair of crimson eyes.

It was clear that these country bumpkins were facing the Tide for the first time; the architecture and streets here were obviously not weathered by prolonged bombardment.

Without clearing an open area out of the ruins, one would have to fight the Variants in close combat within buildings and alleyways.

The endless stream of Variants attacking like a tide, holding up was nothing short of a miracle.

Detwei tightened the gas mask on his face and pulled out a pocket watch to check the time.

It was already noon.

As the elected representative, he was about to meet the lord of this area, the Manager of Shelter No. 404, on behalf of all merchants interested in this "emerging market" to the north.

Accompanying him were two other business partners and about a dozen bodyguards who had escorted them here.

Truth be told, it wasn't a pleasant job.

Had it not been for the promise that he'd take the lion's share, had it not been for Vijia Commerce's monopoly on all the spoils of the western Battlefield, Detwei would not be willing to stick his neck out and venture into this wild land to explore the market.

Beyond the great wall, law-abiding people were a rare breed, dealing with those one had never met before meant having one's head strapped to their belt.

What if this solitary leader chopped them off in a bad mood?

Such risks might be low, but definitely not nonexistent.

Especially the behavior of these Blue Jackets, always gave him the feeling that someone had taken over the nest.

Were they really Blue Jackets?

Or had they slaughtered all the residents of the shelter and stolen their coats to wear?

While he mulled over these thoughts, a man dressed in black military uniform with a rifle on his back came out from a nearby building.

Looking at Detwei, the man said,

"The Manager has agreed to see you; please follow me."

Detwei breathed a sigh of relief, his face breaking into a friendly smile as he politely said,

"Thank you very much."

After finishing, he signaled to his two partners with a glance and led them towards the building in front of him.

The Blue Jackets' frontline headquarters were located on one of the floors of the skyscraper, where the view was better from above and the signal was clear, plus the spore cloud concentration was lower.

However, the Manager did not receive them at the headquarters but chose to have the meeting on the 20th floor in the office area.

Here, there were ready-made tables and chairs, aged and covered in dust, but still serviceable.

After climbing the stairs and passing through the corridor to the room, the three men immediately saw the Azure Power Armor and their faces showed surprise, which they quickly masked.

Detwei stepped forward first, bowing his head slightly and speaking with respectful tone,

"Honorable Lord of North Suburb, the Manager of Shelter No. 404, please allow me to introduce myself. I am a merchant from Giant Stone City, named Detwei. The two behind me are our business partners, Yang He and Teno."

"On behalf of our partners present and absent, I offer you our highest respect."

Chu Guang looked at the three men standing before him. Although he already knew their purpose, he did not make it explicit.

Revealing one's own needs hastily was taboo; waiting for the other party to make an initial offer or show their hand made it easier to take the initiative.

This was his experience from his previous life.

"Welcome to the North Suburb."

Chu Guang unlocked his helmet visor, his face warm with a gentle smile, and spoke in a relaxed tone,

"You have come at a bad time, we're dealing with the Tide, so we can only entertain you here. Please forgive any lack of hospitality."

"No trouble at all, I'm already very grateful that you could take the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me!" Detwei said with a beaming smile on his face.

This Manager seemed more amiable than he had imagined.

And this eased his mind.

Maybe this business would be much easier than he had thought.

Chu Guang continued looking at him,

"So, friends from afar, what brings you to the North Suburb? Surely you didn't come all the way from Giant Stone City just to exchange pleasantries with me."

Detwei spoke respectfully, "Honorable Manager, we have come to ease your worries."

Chu Guang looked at him with interest.

"Oh? Let's hear it."

Seeing that Chu Guang offered him the chance, Detwei immediately brought out the pitch he had been preparing all along.

"As you may have seen, the streets outside are filled with corpses, and they're rotting and stinking! Now that it's spring, it will only take a week before they turn into breeding grounds for plagues, attracting rats, roaches, and other troubles... In fact, when I arrived here, I found that the situation was already starting to get serious."

Chu Guang remained silent, simply watching him, waiting for him to continue.

Detwei paused for a moment, then continued in a serious tone,

"This situation is not uncommon on the western front and can even be called a tactic of the Tide... We refer to this as the Plague Offensive. Even when the Militia Groups of Giant Stone City win, they get overwhelmed by the plagues and rat infestations that follow the end of the war."

Chu Guang looked at him and said, "So you've come to help me deal with these troubles?"

Detwei immediately said,

"Of course! The Tide is a common enemy of all survivors in Qingquan City, we can't just stand by and watch you guys get into trouble."

"We can offer you affordable and efficient medicines, and besides that... we can also handle those corpses on the battlefield for free."

The former might make a small profit, but not much.

The latter is Detwei's real purpose.

Handling the corpses for free, that's fine.

Chu Guang chuckled inwardly but didn't call him out. Instead, he watched the man before him with interest.

"How do you plan to handle them?"

Seeing that the Manager before him was interested in his proposal, Detwei was overjoyed and continued with a steady voice.

"We'll hire a team of experts from Giant Stone City to collect the corpses, then transport them to the fifth ring and load them onto double-headed cows, and then take them elsewhere for disposal."

Chu Guang asked, "Like to Giant Stone City?"

"Uh, of course! Giant Stone City is a good choice... we would process the bodies a bit, turn them into something useful... after all, both the transportation team and the corpse recycling experts are expensive, and we have to earn a little to subsidize the travel costs. That way, we can also minimize the losses."

Detwei didn't really want to reveal where these corpses ended up, especially not to the man before him. He didn't want him to realize that the corpses of Eaters could be sold for money, although at very low prices.

But Chu Guang had already mentioned Giant Stone City, obviously knowing something. If Detwei continued to play dumb, he would be treating the other as a fool.

All Detwei could do was pray internally that the Manager before him was not familiar with the specific market conditions.

However...

Was that possible?

Chu Guang looked at Detwei, who was blatantly lying, and couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Minimize the losses?

If his men hadn't gone to the front lines to understand the market value, he might have actually been fooled by Detwei.

"No, no, my friend," Chu Guang shook his head, "how can we let a friend suffer such a loss? I will find a way to deal with these bodies myself, you needn't worry about it."

As soon as Detwei heard this, he became anxious and quickly said,

"Please don't say that. For the sake of our friendship, we're willing to show some sincerity and ask you to give us this opportunity."

Chu Guang said earnestly, "But that would make me feel bad. When I feel guilty about something, I have a hard time sleeping."

Having a hard time sleeping, sure.

Detwei almost burst out laughing when he heard this.

That's just too fake!

By now, Detwei knew that this guy understood that these corpses could be turned into bargaining chips. Otherwise, why would he refuse to agree to their offer of dealing with the corpses for free?

Taking a deep breath, Detwei slowly said,

"How about 5 chips per ton?"

Chu Guang replied with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"How can that be okay? It's already costing you enough to take away these troubles for us; how could we in good conscience let you pay us on top of that?"

Sure enough!

He knew!

Detwei's brow twitched violently.

He could now be sure that this man knew perfectly well that the bodies of Variants could be sold, and he probably had a grasp on the prices as well.

Otherwise, this guy wouldn't have assumed that the money would be paid to them by Detwei's side.

Beating around the bush had lost all meaning.

Detwei looked up at Chu Guang and admitted frankly,

"My lord, I confess that we can make a bit of money by dragging these corpses to Giant Stone City, but it's all hard-earned cash. These corpses are certainly not light, and taking them from the battlefield to Giant Stone City costs a fair amount."

"5 chips per ton is the highest price we can offer. The shipping costs we pay per ton are well above that, and if we pay any more we just wouldn't see a profit... I hope you can understand."

"Of course, I understand. I just can't bear to see you lose money," Chu Guang smiled warmly and sincerely, "How about this, then? I can propose an even more sincere offer from our side."

Detwei had a bad feeling, but he still managed a smile and said bravely,

"Please, tell me."

Chu Guang continued.

"You just said you had a way of turning the bodies of Variants into something useful. Then why not do it right here, in the North Suburbs, instead?"

Detwei was stunned.

"Here... in the North Suburbs?"

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded and continued with a smile, "We can produce bullets and shells, so naturally, we can produce nutrient paste and fertilizer too. Instead of dragging raw materials around, why not turn them into lighter, more valuable commodities right at the source before taking them away?"

Detwei's face reddened.

Well, this guy not only knew that the corpses of Variants could be sold for money, but he also knew what those Variant corpses could be turned into.

And then he watched Detwei put on a show for so long...

This cunning Blue Ground Squirrel!

Detwei lowered his head, coughing lightly with embarrassment.

"...Manufacturing equipment worth tens of thousands of chips is too expensive. Starting a factory outside the great walls also involves risks that we need to consider."

Chu Guang nodded slightly.

"I understand. After all, your knowledge of us is still stuck in last winter, so it's only natural to have concerns."

Detwei looked up, hope brimming in his eyes.

"So, you mean you agree..."

"My meaning is, you lack a true understanding of our situation."

Chu Guang looked towards Xu Shun, who was waiting to the side.

"Take these three friends for a tour of our industrial zone. They can stay at the Long Endurance Farm inn tonight where the air is cleaner."

Which places were suitable for a visit and which were not open to the public had already been explained to the guards.

This young guard had always performed well; Chu Guang trusted that he knew what to do.

"Right away, sir!"

Standing to the side, Xu Shun snapped to attention and saluted. He then looked toward Detwei and his party and politely said,

"Please follow me, all three of you."

Detwei looked at Chu Guang with a puzzled face, not understanding the nature of this act.

A tour... of the industrial zone?

This was a completely unexpected addition to the itinerary.

An industrial zone in the North Suburb?

Could a few small workshops even be called an industrial zone?

Chu Guang could guess what Detwei was thinking, but he did not resolve the confusion in his mind.

Some things were futile to explain with words alone.

Actions spoke louder than words.

"I don't like wasting time on arguments that lead nowhere, especially not at this critical juncture."

"I offer you two choices—either buy this waste for twenty chips per ton and take it where you want or consider setting up a factory here. The corpses outside are yours to deal with as you see fit, free of charge. You just need to pay taxes legally."

Looking at Detwei, who stood still, Chu Guang said in a gentle tone,

"There's no need to rush your decision."

"It's fine if you give me an answer tomorrow."

...

For Chu Guang's proposal, Detwei could not think of a single reason to refuse.

Although he did not believe that the rural folk of the North Suburb could comprehend what a fully integrated industrial setup meant, let alone build a so-called industrial zone, it would be foolish to decline a free tour.

Looking is free, after all.

And since I'm already here.

They boarded a truck on the south side of the Garden Street Metro Station and drove along the abandoned highway until they reached the intersection of Street No.76 and Linghu Wetland Park, where the road ahead suddenly became smooth.

A trace of surprise flickered in Detwei's eyes.

But a greater surprise awaited.

The truck continued north and stopped near the abandoned tire factory.

As Detwei and the guard named Xu Shun climbed out of the truck and stepped into the "North Suburb Industrial Zone," he immediately realized how absurdly wrong his initial assumptions were!

The clang of metal was constant, tall chimneys belched smoke, trucks laden with goods traversed the yard, and workers in uniform busily loaded and unloaded at the entrance.

It was like a clock wound tightly.

Everything here was unbelievably orderly.

Three pairs of eyes widened in unison.

Standing next to Detwei, Teno swallowed hard, managing to eke out a word.

"This place..."

"Is this the North Suburb?"

The other partner didn't speak but his eyes were clearly filled with the same shock.

Compared to Giant Stone City's industrial area, this place was undeniably more compact, but he couldn't, for the life of him, see what they were lacking.

"Ahead is List's factory."

"List?!" Detwei looked at Xu Shun in surprise, "He's here too?"

Xu Shun looked back at him, a bit taken aback.

"You know him?"

Detwei cleared his throat and said,

"Not personally... but I've heard of him."

The business circle in Giant Stone City wasn't very big; there were only so many locally well-known merchants, and of course, he knew of capable merchants like List.

Even though List may not know him.

Xu Shun nodded and did not say more.

"Besides the military factories and those involving sensitive technologies, I can take you to see the other factories."

Yang He, who had been silent up to this point, suddenly spoke.

"Would it be possible to see your power station?"

Xu Shun nodded.

"No problem."

Since they were considering setting up a factory, the power supply was undeniably one of their main concerns.

The production line that had been running steadily was most afraid of a sudden power outage, especially if it lasted an entire day, where bad luck could mean the entire assembly line's products would have to be given away for free.

However, after seeing the power station planned by these people, the trio immediately dispelled their concerns in this regard.

The "Blue Jackets" clearly had some real skills.

Not only was the power station's planning faultless in their eyes, but the substations and the rest of the electricity distribution facilities were even more impressive.

This wasn't any kind of advanced technology.

But to plan every single wire and each generator set in such an orderly way was not something just anyone could accomplish.

Glancing at his VM on his arm, Xu Shun cleared his throat and introduced to the three astonished visitors, "Currently, our main power supply comes from thermal power generation, with the vast timberlands in the Elm District to the north and the vegetation in the nearby urban areas providing more than enough for the power station's consumption for a decade or more."

"In addition to that, there are the biogas pools and gas-fired power stations under construction, as well as fuel generators prepared for the Cam Trees."

"In the future, we will consider improving our current energy structure through diversified power generation methods."

Detwei looked at Xu Shun with a slight surprise, "You've also planted Cam Trees?"

There must be at least three or four hundred people working in this Industrial Zone, right?

Where did such a large population come from in the North Suburb?!

Could it be the refugees from the north?

But even if they took in all the refugees... how would they solve the food problem?

So many people have to eat, right?

"The planned area is five thousand mu," Xu Shun glanced at his VM and answered truthfully, "Not just Cam Trees, we've also planted corn, potatoes... and other high-yield crops."

"In a moment, I will take you to the hostel at Changjiu Farm."

"Once we're there, you'll naturally see."

...

If the industry area in the North Suburb had monopolized Detwei's surprise and astonishment for the coming month, then the situation at Changjiu Farm was enough to astound him from the start to the end of the year.

The endless terraces, swathes of seedlings, and the tractors, Double-headed Cows, and refugees tilling the fields.

The level of mechanization wasn't high here, but Detwei could visually feel the pursuit of advanced productive forces and a better life.

This was something he had never seen in other Survivor Settlements.

Of course, what interested Detwei the most was the food here.

The dish that made him stick his tongue out seemed to be called Mapo Tofu, and then there was that stewed pig's trotters with soybeans, potato roasted Double-headed Cow beef...

The flavors were simply unbelievable!

He was in the grain trading business.

He had long coveted the food processing business of Vijia Commerce.

But as much as he envied, without thousands of mu of Farms and thousands of serfs to sweat and bleed for him, he could not afford the expensive land rent, nor did he have the capital to open a large factory spanning dozens of mu in Giant Stone City.

What he needed, he could find right here.

That very night.

Staying in the hostel at Changjiu Farm, lying in the warm bed, Detwei couldn't fall asleep no matter how he tossed and turned, staring motionlessly at the beer on the bedside table as if in a daze

At last, he made up his mind, rummaged a palm-sized communicator from his bag, and dictated an over-a-thousand-word message to send to his partners in Giant Stone City.

He hadn't thought of hogging the opportunity all to himself.

Buying off the two little partners who came with him wouldn't cost much.

Biting the bullet to borrow some funds from the bank, buying equipment and personnel wasn't too difficult.

But he wanted to hit it big.

The opportunity here wasn't just about those bodies and nutrition paste, a few tens of thousands of chips could no longer satisfy his appetite.

To do this, to become the biggest grain supplier in Giant Stone City and even Qingquan City!

If he could leverage the strength of these people, he truly believed he had that chance.

He had even thought of a name for the company.

Detwei Commerce!

The factory would be Detwei Food Processing Plant!

The name was catchy and instantly associated with him; he'd make money and gain fame.

Thinking this, the corners of Detwei's mouth twitched into a smile.

"This sounds much better than those stupid names like 'Good Taste' and 'Especially Good Taste'!"

Click.

Send!

Two light beeps sounded.

A "Delivered" popup appeared on the communicator's screen.

Waiting for his partners' replies, Detwei fiddled with the palm-sized screen with his forefinger, softly re-reading the message he had composed.

[...The situation in the North Suburb is astonishing; the local survivors, with the aid of the Residents of the refuge, have built power stations, water towers, and a relatively complete logistics system. They transport materials by truck, use cement to repair abandoned roads, cast excess steel into rails laid on the ground, and on the wilderness have built new settlements and tilled vast expanses of land into farms...]

[We must admit that the towering walls and ruins have obstructed our view, and our knowledge of this place has remained the same as it was a year ago. Yet in less than half a year, they have achieved what ordinary Survivor Settlements would not have been able to achieve in a decade.]

[My viewpoint is that, while transporting the good stuff here to Giant Stone City would surely make a profit, if we process them right here into nutrition paste and organic fertilizers, we could make far more.]

[Opportunities are everywhere here! Opportunities are chips!]

Chapter 274: Can Be Used as Both Food and Feed

The tide of battle erupted on the tenth day.

Many players noticed that in the last couple of days, there had suddenly been an influx of strange NPCs on the battlefield.

They wore orange hazmat suits with black gas masks on their heads, and never engaged in conversation with anyone. Typically, in groups of two, they carried a stretcher between them, and in groups of three or five, they would move Variant corpses away from the battlefield, keeping busy from morning until sunset.

These NPCs were highly efficient; a pair could transport four hundred to five hundred bodies in a day. It was clear they were old hands at this kind of work.

Some observant players even saw that each of them had a KV-1 Exoskeleton?

Although this was the base model without welded steel plates or mounted weapons, it would still cost 800 silver coins in an NPC shop, the equivalent of four LD-47 rifles.

Players leaning against concrete slope barricades curiously watched these NPCs and whispered among themselves.

"Darn developers, what kind of tricks are they up to now?"

"A new profession, corpse movers?"

"Great, finally, someone's cleaning up these damned things."

"+1, they stink!"

"It's messed up that we can block out pain but not the stench!"

Clearing Variant corpses was no easy task.

Players had exhausted nearly every conceivable method.

At first, they discussed burning the bodies, but reality proved less optimistic than expected. Often, only the surface layer burned to char, and the fire extinguished before it reached the underlying corpses.

This game is bizarrely realistic in the weirdest areas; one Molotov Cocktail would be enough to take out two or three Eaters, but to incinerate them to ash would take more than three cocktails.

Mucosal Entities contained significantly more water than humans, and the steam alone would carry away a lot of heat.

Moreover, fat and fat-like substances weren't easy to ignite, and maintaining a blaze often required a continuous supply of substantial fuel.

If this seems hard to grasp, try cooking a piece of meat from the fridge; even getting it cooked takes a bit of time, never mind reducing it to ashes.

For now, the main method of handling these corpses was to drag them outside the city and bury them, but the speed of removal couldn't keep up with the rate of accumulation.

The bulk of the Tide's assault would typically start at six in the evening and last until six the next morning, relentlessly hitting the players' positions.

Including the Hunter Squads' efforts to search for and eliminate Crawlers in the ruins, on average, each player would kill over thirty Variants daily.

Clearly the number of Variants was far greater than initially estimated.

After all, players were wiping out around twenty to thirty thousand per day, and after ten days of the Tide, there were no signs of it weakening.

Fortunately, owing to factors such as the battlefield's width, the massive number of Variants couldn't fully deploy their numbers; if players faced this many on an open plain, even doubling their ranks might not save them from a challenging fight.

According to posts by players responsible for transporting ammunition to the front lines, ammunition consumption in the last three days had stayed around one hundred thousand rounds per day.

A full-power 7mm bullet weighed nearly 25g, so one hundred thousand rounds amounted to 2.5 tons of ammunition.

To collect the materials required for the ammunition production line, Chu Guang had no choice but to mobilize rookies to dig up the United Human ancestors' graves while directing the arms factories to add two new ammunition production lines that made steel core, steel jacketed bullets.

Compared to copper shell bullets, steel jacketed bullets had their problems—less ductility, no capacity for reloading, potential rusting—but in Chu Guang's view, their single virtue overshadowed any defects: they were cheap.

Since the ammunition was quickly used up on the front lines, considering longevity seemed superfluous, and assembly-line produced bullets didn't need to think about reloading; the recovered casings were just sent to the steel factories to be melted down.

From the eighth day, the front-line situation had entered a phase of attrition.

Loads of ammunition were shipped to the front lines, and batteries of corpses were dragged down from there—mostly Variants, with a few players mixed in.

Initially, it was the rookies moving these bodies, dragging them to the outskirts to be buried, but lately a group of professional NPCs had taken over, and those bodies had vanished without a trace, with no new graves in sight.

Many detail-obsessed players were filled with confusion and curiosity.

Where did the Variant corpses go?

Where?

But their curiosity didn't last long.

Some attentive players engaged in life-skills jobs soon found that, following the Bachi Aluminium Factory, a new NPC factory had opened at the very southern edge of the new industrial district, called the Didivei Food Processing Factory.

The factory mainly produced nutrient paste and organic fertilizer and also supplied sulfur and lime to the fertilizer factory.

Those trucks coming from the front lines.

Seemed to be heading straight there...

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

As soon as he discovered mosquitos on the New Continent, WC couldn't wait to start a thread on the forum,

"Big news! The destination of Eater corpses has been found!"

Si Si: "Where did they go??"

Makabazi: "Hurry up! Don't friggin' keep us in suspense!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Exactly!"

Seeing the thread sparked outrage, Mosquito, who had hoped to let the topic ferment a bit before unveiling the mystery, didn't dare to tease anymore and quickly typed a response.

"The Didivei Food Processing Factory! Located right at the southern end of the industrial area. I saw it with my own eyes; those trucks dragging the bodies went straight in!"

Old White: "Pfft... that name."

Quit smoking: "Damn?! I bought some yesterday! (Alarmed)"

Night Ten: "Damn! You actually bought it?!"

Quit Smoking: "Uh, mainly because it's cheap. A pound of nutrition paste is only 1 Silver Coin and it can make two meals. (awkward)"

Fang Chang: "No way. (laughter with tears)"

Night Ten: "I feel for Quit Smoking, bro... that's too frugal. (covers face)"

Si Si: "Eww... have foodies finally stooped to scavenging off Eaters?"

tail: "Shocking! Is this the decline of morality or the distortion of humanity?"

Quit Smoking: "Damn! Is it weird to save money for gear? I just want to spend Silver Coins on something more useful. Don't you guys plan your expenses when you play 'Game'?"

Wild Wind: "It depends. If you can get satisfaction from virtual food in the game, it means that delicacies are part of the gaming experience provided by the operator. Isn't it putting the cart before the horse to sacrifice part of the gaming experience to get stronger? (sidelong glance)"

tail: "Oh! tail thinks so too! (✪ω✪)"

Elena: "Honestly though, Eaters are the offspring entities of mutated slime fungus, right? Even though they look a bit like mammals, biologically, they should be considered mushrooms, right? So it's not wrong to eat them. What I don't get is why you can't eat them directly, but it's okay when they're made into nutrition paste. (amused)"

Gnome King Riches: "Old Na, what are you trying to do. (amused)"

Elena: "Nothing, just curious. (amused)"

Curious as they were, Old Na in Red River Town had no chance to taste it even if he was curious about the flavor.

However, there were quite a few gamers eager to flirt with death, who took out 1 Silver Coin with curiosity and bought a pound to taste test.

After all, it's cheap.

1 Silver Coin won't buy regret or deception.

Some gamers who enjoyed sharing even posted their taste-testing testimonials on the official website.

An objective assessment says that the nutrition paste made from mutated slime fungus doesn't really taste especially bizarre. And due to its low salt and sugar content, it's nearly tasteless.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad to swallow, but what really torments people is the sandy texture that leaves one at a loss for words.

After eating it, you're always left feeling like there's phlegm stuck in your throat.

And the greenish color fully suppresses any appetite.

Many players finally understood why some NPCs preferred starvation over eating this stuff.

This thing really isn't fit for human consumption!

After posting their taste-testing thoughts, the Forum discussions quickly turned to how to make the nutrition paste less nauseating.

Tomato and Egg Stir-fry: "If you could get a grinder to refine the granules a bit more, the texture might improve."

Crow: "You could add a bit of chocolate and sugar! (≖ᴗ≖)✧"

Teng Teng: "Wait... wouldn't that make it expensive?"

Fang Chang: "+1, the whole thing's backward."

The feature of the nutrition paste is its extreme cheapness.

Those who can afford chocolate wouldn't dream of buying something like nutrition paste.

The topic quickly shifted from "how to make the nutrition paste less nauseating" to "how to make it less distasteful at the lowest cost."

That's when a player with a chemical engineering background popped up.

"How about adding some sweetener?"

"Sodium saccharin? It's cheap enough, but isn't it bad for your health?"

"There's a safe dosage limit, it's safe as long as it's under 5mg per kilogram of body weight... it's the wasteland, what's there to be picky about?"

"Bro's a legend 666!"

"Is this a capitalist?"

"Get in line first, not enough streetlights here. (amused)"

...

As players discussed, Didivei Food Processing Factory, located at the southernmost part of the Industrial Zone, was working overtime.

The size of the factory wasn't small, roughly the size of a soccer field, with one of two warehouses collapsed and the other intact and usable.

Looking at the concrete fragments on the ground, it seemed the place had been cleaned up recently. Many areas were still untidy, but that didn't affect production.

Since visiting the North Suburb Industrial Zone and Long Endurance Farm three days ago, Detwei immediately gathered a group of small-scale grain merchants from Stone City and raised a huge fund of 300,000 chips to purchase a complete set of nutrition paste production equipment. Along with the old set from his own workshop, he hired mercenaries to transport them to the North Suburb.

Land rent in the North Suburb Industrial Zone was cheap; the first two years were rent-free, with the sole costs being utilities and management fees plus a 20% corporate income tax.

Compared with Stone City, these costs were already very low.

Especially since the labor cost here was cheap.

Basic wages for ordinary workers were 10 Silver Coins a day. Considering meals and other costs, the actual monthly cost was about 400 Silver Coins per person. Employing twenty workers amounted to a monthly cost of just 8,000 Silver Coins.

What does 8,000 Silver Coins represent?

To be honest, even Detwei didn't have a precise grasp of that.

The exchange rate provided by the bank was that one chip could be exchanged for 2 Silver Coins, but this was definitely not the market rate. Otherwise, the wages of the workers here would be ridiculously high, with basic daily wages reaching 5 chips.

Moreover, the bank here only provided services for exchanging chips, Dinars, and CR into Silver Coins, without the option to directly exchange Silver Coins back into chips or other currencies.

If one absolutely needed chips, one had to apply as an enterprise, specifying which equipment to purchase, and obtain approval before the exchange could be made.

Here, foreign exchange controls are very strict.

But it's not as harsh as it is in other small survivor settlements in Qingquan City, such as prohibiting residents from privately holding chips or trading with foreign merchants.

Detwei actually doesn't care too much about these.

Even though he couldn't exchange silver coins for chips, he could buy things with silver coins and then transport them to Giant Stone City to sell.

As long as he paid taxes on the products he produced, they could be freely taken out of the country.

Beyond that, Shelter No. 404 provided him with ready-made factory space and a low-interest loan of six hundred thousand silver coins for paying labor, utilities, and a series of other expenses.

It's equivalent to not having to spend a penny to open a factory here!

Equipment and technology are enough!

And it's okay if he incurs losses, as the factories operate under a limited liability system, and debts won't trace back to individuals. At most, the equipment and other assets could be auctioned off.

With such generous conditions, Detwei felt so moved he almost cried!

"... Our factory's daily processing capacity has already reached 100 tons, with a daily output of 10 tons of nutrition paste and 4 tons of organic fertilizer!"

"I guarantee that this figure will at least double or even triple by the end of the month!"

Walking in the spacious factory,

Detwei, beaming with joy, was enthusiastically introducing the production line he got from Giant Stone City to the esteemed Manager beside him.

One could see workers in protective gear throwing corpses of Eaters, Crawlers, and even Butchers, all from the truck into steel-made containers.

Their appearance and the work they were doing made it hard to associate them with food production - it rather looked like they were disposing of bodies.

Once the container was filled with corpses, a worker at the control station operated a crane-like device to hoist the container, moving it to the top of a cylindrical metal tank as thick as a fuel tank.

As the container tilted, one Variant corpse after another fell into the giant metal tank, just like dumping dumplings.

The round hatch sealed shut, the pressure indicator began to rise, and with the roaring buzz, the whole setup began to work.

There were a total of eight such thick metal tanks here!

After being encased, these corpses would go through a 24-hour process of high-temperature drying, deactivation, compression, and other procedures. Then they would be transported through pipes to a workshop on one side of the factory, where a series of complex processes would separate out the effective components.

After this series of pretreatment, the resulting viscous substance looked like globs of green slimes, and it was basically impossible to tell if they had any relation to the "Mutated slime fungus".

Ignoring the smell, it was even kind of cute.

"... One hundred tons is still a bit less, the frontlines kill at least twenty thousand Variants each day, and I hope you can manage to increase the processing capacity to over four hundred tons by the end of the month."

Eyeing the factory equipment with interest, Chu Guang casually mentioned.

"By the way, what about the market? Are the nutrition pastes easy to sell?"

This was Chu Guang's second concern.

With a slight smile and confidence, Detwei said,

"Don't worry about that. Although these devices are not the most advanced, our cost is very cheap! In terms of pricing, we have an absolute advantage that allows us to beat our competitors!"

Beyond cheap production costs, another massive advantage of setting up a factory here over Giant Stone City is the convenience of transportation.

Qingquan City's resources may be rich, but the road conditions are really hard to describe – a kilometer here is harder to traverse than ten kilometers outside the city.

In front of dirt paths that are two to three meters long and cliffs that are four to five meters high, not only wheeled vehicles but even tracked vehicles would be discouraged.

That's why when Giant Stone City's commercial teams trade with surrounding areas, they usually choose double-headed cows or other livestock as means of transportation.

Some inter-regional commercial teams also choose to settle outside the city, then employ local cart teams to communicate with survivor bases in the city.

However, in the North Suburb, this problem is much easier to solve.

This place is essentially a suburb, so once you leave the city, there's a wilderness. Products produced in the factory can be directly loaded onto trucks and pulled away.

"... Currently, my partner has secured an order worth a total of two hundred thousand chips from a farmer in the south. They need a large amount of nutrition paste to feed slaves and livestock, and our price and supply volume are irresistible to them!

"The other party even expressed their willingness to come and pick up the goods, this will be a long-term deal!"

Chu Guang looked at him surprisingly.

"Nutrition paste can be fed to livestock?"

Detwei's face carried a confident smile.

"Of course! If humans can eat nutrition paste, then so can animals, and it's quite high-quality feed! Some farmers would mix it with green wheat and feed it to double-headed cows. Cows fed with this kind of feed are much stronger than those fed with straw and grass!"

Not bad.

Chu Guang nodded, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

He hadn't expected the nutrition paste to have such a wide range of uses.

Even if this food processing factory were ever to mismanage and not be able to repay its loans, eventually going bankrupt, he wouldn't have to worry about making a loss.

Detwei had a similar expression on his face.

Although he had invested a huge sum of three hundred thousand chips all at once, he didn't feel any pain at all, because that money would soon be earned back.

Shelter No. 404's industrial zone offered electricity prices on par with Giant Stone City. Taking all costs together, the cost per ton of nutrition paste was only 200-208 silver coins.

According to the official exchange rate of 1 chip to 2 silver coins, recharging 100 chips would yield one ton of nutrition paste.

Meanwhile, in Giant Stone City, even for the Vijia Commerce, the cost to produce one ton of nutrition paste exceeded 200 chips!

Usually, the retail price of nutrition paste ranges between 1 to 2 chips per kilogram, while the wholesale price starts at one ton, ranging from 300 to 400 chips per ton.

What did that mean?

It meant his costs were only half of what Vijia Commerce's were!

And his profits were more than three times theirs!

The huge bargaining space allowed him to wantonly bring the factory price below the cost line of his competitors!

And what about brand effect?

What brand effect does nutrient paste, a food for livestock, need?

The only requirements from buyers were that it shouldn't kill them and should fill them up, even if you slapped a "special large quantity" label on it, it wouldn't make the nutrient paste sell any better.

No matter how Detwei calculated, this was a surefire profitable deal.

And that was just the profit from the nutrient paste, the leftover waste from the production line could still be turned into organic fertilizer or sold to the chemical plant next door.

Looking at the non-stop operation of the machinery before him and listening to its roaring noise, Detwei felt an overwhelming surge of excitement.

If the Manager wasn't standing right beside him, he might even have been unable to resist cheering for the tirelessly spawning Lair.

"Let the Tide come fiercer!"

...

In fact, even if Detwei did shout out, it wouldn't have mattered. Chu Guang wasn't so petty as to blame him for a few words.

After all, he got rich.

It was normal to be excited.

But no matter how much he earned, he couldn't earn more than Chu Guang.

More than seventy percent of the production costs for Didivei Food Processing Factory, whether for water and electricity or the purchase fee for raw materials, were paid directly to Shelter No. 404.

Not to mention that for every ton of goods produced, a 20% tax had to be paid to the shelter before they could be sold.

And although the wages paid to the workers weren't given directly to the shelter, they would ultimately end up in Chu Guang's hands.

In this economic cycle, not only was employment created and the labor force maintained, but it also boosted the spending power of the residents and generated even more demand.

Chu Guang had lost count of exactly how much he had won.

Anyway, he won big!

...

After inspecting the operation of the food processing factory, Chu Guang didn't stay in the industrial zone for too long but instead went straight to the front line.

The situation at the front had been getting more intense recently.

Over the past week, Chu Guang's focus had been mostly on logistics.

With the plague and fiscal deficit problems solved, he could finally devote all his energy to addressing the Tide issue.

Temporary command post.

Chu Guang gathered the frontline officers and staff for a combat meeting.

Wrench, the head of the security team, was the first to report on the recent combat situation.

Then Vanus, serving as a staff officer, summarized the intelligence and presented his views.

"...The stalemate has continued for ten days, with no sign of the Tide's attack weakening, while the frontline's loss of ammunition and personnel has been increasing continuously."

"There are signs that our enemy has deployed hatching chambers or even a Lair on the front line, possibly around Street No. 65."

Vanus said this as he circled a red circle on the map, encompassing the area around the Bell Tower on Street No. 65.

Although there was no direct evidence that the Lair was there, based on footage captured by drones, most of the Crawlers infiltrating the players' side position appeared to be spreading from there.

Chu Guang frowned slightly.

"So you're saying, the Variants we've been up against recently aren't the ones that came from the city center but are hatched nearby?"

Vanus shook his head.

"It's hard to say, but their continued reluctance to launch a full-scale offensive is quite suspicious, and it's difficult not to think of some unpleasant possibilities."

Wrench suddenly spoke up.

"I don't know if it's right to say this, but these Variants... they give me a feeling... as if they're preparing for something."

After several days of probing, these Variants had become familiar with the players' defense strategy, yet they kept sending in Eaters.

If it wasn't because they lacked intelligence...

Vanus's brow wrinkled.

"Are they buying time?"

Wrench nodded.

"That's what I believe too."

Chu Guang stared at the map for a long while before speaking.

"The front line positions are stable, and we have stocked enough ammunition and equipment in the fifth ring's ammunition depot; now is the best window of opportunity for a counterattack."

Saying this, Chu Guang looked around at the officers and staff.

"No matter what they're preparing for."

"Before they're ready, let's solve this problem once and for all!"

Chapter 275: The Renowned "Death Legion

Outside Changjiu Farm.

Twenty or so people and six double-headed cows loaded with goods were stopped.

The leader seemed to be a Merchant, followed by a few Mercenaries, and the rest, shackled at hands and feet, were likely Slaves.

Staring blankly at everything before him, Sun Shiqi's eyes were filled with bewilderment; he almost thought he was hallucinating.

"Is this... 'North Suburb'?"

A man-high wooden fence twined with barbed wire stood in front of tidy brick-and-wood houses and bustling streets, children playing, vendors selling goods, and elderly farmers heading to the fields.

Most local Residents wore jackets made from Hyena skin, but with the recent warmer weather, many had wrapped their jackets around their waists, and some wealthier individuals had switched to cloth garments.

Looking further afield, large concrete walls and watchtowers loomed, atop which soldiers in black uniforms and carrying rifles stood.

Gazing at the thriving small town, Sun Shiqi took out his map and repeatedly confirmed that he hadn't taken a wrong turn.

Yet, this made it even harder for him to believe his own eyes.

"How strange..."

Sun Shiqi continually muttered to himself.

"How did such a large Survivor Settlement suddenly appear from nowhere?"

Before last winter, he had visited this place twice.

Back then, he was a poor Merchant, leading a double-headed cow through the Wasteland, making a small fortune by trading with the Blue Jacket group in the park.

Having earned his capital, he seized the historical opportunity presented by the ongoing turmoil in the River Valley Province. He sold Slaves from Red River Town to the Brocade River Province in the south, then bought grain and double-headed cows from the farmers there, and slowly started scaling up his business by transporting them back to Garbage City and Red River Town.

Recently, as the Slave Owners of Red River Town and their regular customers took arms against each other on the garbage heap, Sun Shiqi, just back from Brocade River Province, immediately smelled a business opportunity. Without a second thought, he exchanged his grain and excess livestock for Slaves and ore, planning to acquire some "good stuff" in Giant Stone City.

However, what puzzled Sun Shiqi was that he remembered this place being uninhabited wildland last year, filled with weeds and shrubs crowding the dirt slopes and mud pits, with the road out of town being home to a gang of ruthless murderers. Where did this village with a population in the thousands and endless fields come from?

Two guards with rifles stood by the village entrance.

Sun Shiqi stared blankly at them, and the guards, noticing his gaze, looked straight back at him.

The Mercenary beside Sun Shiqi coughed softly and whispered a reminder.

"Boss, it's better not to stare at them too long... I'm worried we won't be able to protect you."

They were only four people.

They could never stand a chance against these men.

Snapping back to reality, Sun Shiqi quickly realized his gaffe and hurriedly put on an apologetic smile, stepping forward to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Friends, we are Merchants from Red River Town, may I ask... where is this?"

"Changjiu Farm."

The on-duty guard pointed proficiently at the sign hanging over the entrance, as if he had answered this question countless times.

"This is the West Gate, the local Residents live in the village over here. You Merchants should go to the North Gate next door, where there is a trade station and lodgings."

Sun Shiqi thanked him and quickly led his team away from there, retracing part of their way back and then heading to the North Gate they were meant to visit.

Compared to the village they saw earlier, this place was even more astonishing.

Not only were the streets wider, but the identical roads were also paved with concrete, and several recently built lodges, pubs, and staging posts lined the streets, all very professionally constructed.

Sun Shiqi headed to the lodge closest to the trade station.

The place was large enough, with a barn in the backyard for tethering livestock, and especially the few individuals lingering at the entrance, clearly out of place with their surroundings, were obviously Merchants here to do business just like him.

The sign at the entrance of the inn was sloppily written with the characters for "Highway," probably implying it was a highway inn.

The waiter at the entrance saw a group of people approaching and enthusiastically led their Double-headed Cow into the barn.

"Are you guests here to dine or to stay?"

"To stay."

Sun Shiqi gave the young man a dinar as a tip, instructed the Mercenaries to watch over the goods in the barn until his return, and then he entered the inn alone.

The interior of the inn looked as spacious as the outside, with wooden stairs and floors that still carried the scent of the forest. A few rows of wooden tables were set up on the first floor, the kitchen was bustling with noise, and a few guests were sitting in a corner eating noodles, which smelled quite appealing.

The old man behind the counter lifted his eyes, squeezing out a comforting smile from his wrinkled face.

"Welcome, guests from afar, are you here to stay or to dine?"

Sun Shiqi stared at him for a while, a look of surprise suddenly appearing in his eyes.

"You are… Hooke from Highway Town?!"

The old man looked at him in surprise.

"You know me?"

Sun Shiqi laughed and said, "Of course I know you, have you forgotten? Last year, I even bought resin from you here… But how come you've started a shop here? Where are your tribespeople?"

"The inn is a joint venture by the people from our town. You're talking about the Cam Tree… I really miss it." His cloudy eyes filled with nostalgia, but letting old Hooke plant trees would definitely not be something he'd do.

The Cam Trees had already been transplanted to the planting area in the west, and a few young fellows from the original town were helping him take care of them.

He had opened this inn in partnership with Night Owl and his own father. Normally, Night Owl would also be here, but the young man couldn't stay put and had insisted on joining the army; he seemed to have been recently assigned to duty in Far Creek Town.

Sun Shiqi looked around, feeling that the environment was quite nice, and the fact that he knew the person running the inn—although it seemed the old man didn't remember him at all.

"Let's stay for one night… How do I pay?"

"One night is 10 Silver Coins, meals are extra."

"Silver Coins?" Sun Shiqi paused, "Can't I pay with dinars or CR?"

"That's also possible, but you'll need to go to a trade post or bank to exchange them for Silver Coins. From here to Far Creek Town is all under the dominion of the esteemed Manager; we wouldn't want to offend him. Having a shop here is a grace from him, not to mention he is our benefactor."

Seeing Sun Shiqi's embarrassment, old Hooke smiled and said, "You don't need to rush with the payment, just settle the bill when you leave."

The Changjiu Farm had been open to the public for less than a month, so naturally, there wouldn't be any guests carrying Silver Coins.

A kilogram of Double-headed Cow meat goes for 7 to 8 Silver Coins, and one cow weighs at least 1200 kilograms; whether selling to the farms or the slaughterhouse, they could exchange for quite a bit of money.

Hooke was not worried about their ability to pay. If they really couldn't pay, he could always help them find a buyer.

Sun Shiqi glanced at the menu on the counter and got a sense of the prices here.

"I'll take five rooms."

Old Hooke, flipping through the ledger, glanced outside.

"Five rooms? Don't you have over forty people out there?"

Sun Shiqi casually responded.

"Those are my slaves."

"Slaves, ah… they indeed wouldn't be suitable for staying inside the inn," old Hooke noted a few connected room numbers in the ledger, "Your rooms are at the very end of the hallway on the second floor. Let me give you a heads up, the 'North Suburb' has a prohibition on slavery."

Sun Shiqi was taken aback for a moment, his expression immediately tensed.

"Prohibition of slavery? Wait… how come I haven't heard of this?"

If slavery was prohibited here, he might have to make some adjustments to his itinerary.

"It's quite normal that you haven't heard of it, considering this is your first time here. The territories managed by the Blue Jackets tend to have some odd regulations. But there's no need to be too nervous; here, it's only forbidden for slaves to linger, illegal detention, violence, and illegal human trafficking. Have you noticed the trade station next door? You can store your slaves there, with a charge of 5 silver coins per person per day, no contact allowed during storage, and you can take them with you when you leave."

"Of course, I'd recommend that you sell your slaves directly to the trade station; they offer a fair price and won't push you to sell if you don't want to. However, I must warn you that slavery isn't acknowledged here, only 'limited ownership' is recognized. So, it's best not to parade your slaves on the streets, nor try to enter the city with them, and definitely don't whip or beat them with rods. If the guards see that, they won't just fine you; they might also lock you up for a couple of days."

The slaves purchased by the trade station are sent to a prisoner-of-war camp to be supervised for a while. However, their status isn't that of prisoners-of-war, but rather 'surveilled persons'.

Once they earn enough money through labor to buy back their freedom, learn at least one skill to make a living, and can proficiently recite the basic laws, they will soon regain their status as free citizens, and might even be assigned to factories or allocated land.

This usually doesn't take long.

It might take about three to four months, or at most a year.

Old Hooke isn't sure why the Manager insists on such a complex procedure, but upon reflection, he thinks it's quite smart.

Most of the merchants on the Wasteland have engaged in the slave trade at some point; a complete prohibition is impractical as people could simply choose not to come here. Simply releasing the slaves upon purchase might lead some to exploit loopholes in the system, such as selling themselves, or their spouses or children.

By loosening without blocking and seeking common ground while preserving differences, centralized supervision serves as a reasonable compromise that at least prevents merchants with slaves from bypassing this place.

Hearing the term 'Manager' before, Sun Shiqi felt puzzled, and hearing Blue Jacket this time only solidified his suspicions.

With a tone of disbelief, he asked.

"This place... belongs to Shelter No. 404?"

"Of course," Old Hooke tossed the key on the counter and gave him a curious look, "It seems you really haven't been around this area for a long time."

After handing over the key, Old Hooke advised him to avoid entering the city for a few days as a Tide was breaking out.

When Sun Shiqi entered earlier, he had indeed heard from a few other merchants that the roads in Qingquan City were not easy these days.

Standing at the back door, Sun Shiqi saw his mercenary talking to a merchant.

Noticing his boss, the mercenary quickly pointed at him.

"Our boss is over there, you should talk to him, I can't make decisions."

Before Sun Shiqi could speak, the merchant approached him with a friendly smile.

"Hello! My name is Zhou Nan, a merchant from Town Of Hope."

There are countless places named Hope, Dawn, Beautiful, Tomorrow on the Wasteland; just hearing this name, Sun Shiqi had no idea where he came from.

But judging by his attire and accent, probably south of Brocade River.

"Sun Shiqi, from the east … What's up?" Sun Shiqi looked at him and said.

Zhou Nan continued.

"We are planning to go to Giant Stone City, but a Tide is currently breaking out there. I've got six guards, and including the two friends I just recruited, we can make up fifteen people. We plan to stick together to go there. If you're also planning on heading that way, we could join forces."

Sun Shiqi asked.

"When are you leaving?"

Zhou Nan replied.

"In three days, or maybe earlier if we gather enough people."

Sun Shiqi thought for a moment and didn't immediately agree.

The situation in the north suburbs of Qingquan City was beyond his expectation. Though the population here was not as large as in Giant Stone City, not as bustling either, the potential displayed here was surprising.

For a merchant, where to make a fortune mattered less.

He decided to explore here a bit first before deciding whether or not to continue to Giant Stone City.

He was here to purchase weapons.

If he could buy what he wanted here, why bother walking an extra twenty kilometers?

Moreover, it involved risking the Tide.

"I plan to take a look before deciding."

The Merchant's reaction to his response was not surprising; the Merchant named Zhou Nan simply shrugged helplessly.

"Alright, friend, I'll probably be around for the next three days. If you're interested, you can find me at the inn next door... just ask for me by name."

Sun Shiqi nodded.

"Alright, I'm staying at the Highway Inn, we can have dinner together tonight."

After saying goodbye,

Sun Shiqi did not waste any time here.

He tossed the key to the longest-serving Mercenary, instructing him to take some worthless packages to the room, and then he took the remaining men and goods to the trade station next door.

This trade station, like the inn on the adjacent street, had just opened recently.

A few residents from the shelters were also here, curiously peeking around and wearing their VMs, talking to people in ways that were utterly confusing.

Sun Shiqi could recognize them instantly—they were the same people from the park, their gestures and actions seemingly cast from the same mold.

Although they did not speak the same language, the locals respected them, and those in the Blue Jackets were polite, although some seemed a bit dull.

Not wasting any time on those with whom he could not communicate, Sun Shiqi went straight to the stall closest to the entrance.

The trader on duty here was a pretty young girl—Sun Shiqi preferred dealing with the young rather than with old-timers weathered by life.

First, it was pleasing to the eye, and second, easier to deceive.

Stopping in front of the stall, Sun Shiqi whistled at the girl in front of him.

"I've got a batch of goods here, but I'd like to see what you have first."

The trader looked up at him.

"From Red River Town?"

Sun Shiqi showed a fleeting look of surprise.

"Yes, how did you know?"

The trader smiled slightly.

"Just a guess. The Slave behind you must surely not be your own catch."

Sun Shiqi coughed twice.

"How could it be..."

Realizing her joke might not be very amusing, the trader did not waste any more words and skillfully passed over a tablet.

"You are here to buy weapons, right? Everything is on here. I solemnly recommend the LD-47 Assault Rifle for only 200 Silver Coins. It's quite handy whether in jungles, deserts, or swamps. The 7X50mm full-power cartridge provides firepower comparable to a machine gun; even the Death Claw would turn away... But I recommend both parties take a step back."

"Additionally, we offer stronger, lighter KV-1 Exoskeletons, 20mm Light Cavalry Gun from the 81 Steel Factory, and 88mm mortars from Goblin Technology. For major clients, we also provide 'Death Scream' rockets and larger caliber 37mm Heavy Cavalry Guns."

Browsing the tablet, Sun Shiqi casually asked, "How does one become a major client of yours?"

The trader smiled.

"Have 1 million Silver Coins in the bank, and they'll give you a black VM that stores and recognizes your identity information. As long as you wear it, and are in a place with a signal, you can use it to make payments."

It sounded somewhat like a bank card from Giant Stone City.

Sun Shiqi quickly ran through the list of goods and silently did the math in his head.

"The price of a slave was around 1000 silver coins, while an LD-47 only needed 200 silver coins, and a 7mm bullet cost 1 silver coin.

This meant that one slave could be exchanged for at least five assault rifles!

However, at Giant Stone City, although the weapons were also cheap, costing only 150 game currency for a Male Bee Assault Rifle, the price of a slave was equally low. According to his past experience, one slave could at most be exchanged for two or maybe three guns.

Ore was the same.

The 2 tons of copper ore and the various sacks of sulfur, tin, nickel, tungsten, molybdenum, and other rare ores would, at most, fetch 2000-3000 game currency at Giant Stone City.

But here, they could be exchanged for at least 8000 silver coins!

Having made this calculation, Sun Shiqi held his breath for a moment; his eyes almost turned the color of silver coins... even though he had never seen what a silver coin looked like.

'I have twenty slaves here as well as cargo filled with six Double-headed Cows,' he proposed, 'name your price.'

The trader asked with a smile.

'The cows are for sale as well?'

Sun Shiqi hurriedly said.

'That's not for sale.'

That was a joke.

Would he sell the cows and then carry the cargo back on his two legs?

Though the price they offered was indeed tempting.

Standing in front of the stall, the trader quickly summoned two employees from the trade station who took the slaves' temperatures, checked their teeth, fingers, and toes, and weighed them.

The goods were treated similarly; after a careful examination and weighing, the trader handed him a list with a quotation.

It totaled 29724 silver coins, surprisingly a thousand more than what Sun Shiqi had estimated himself, giving him a significant delight for quite a while.

'I need a hundred rifles and nine thousand bullets, and the rest can be settled in silver coins...' after handing back the tablet to the trader, Sun Shiqi, eyes glowing with anticipation, said, 'How soon can I see the goods I want?'

Delivering this batch of weapons, capable of arming a hundred-men team, to Red River Town, would undoubtedly make the slave owners there treat him as a benefactor!

He couldn't wait to make another run!

'By tomorrow evening at the latest, and possibly by morning if it's quick,' the trader looked regretfully at the Double-headed Cows behind him before adding, 'Actually sir, since you're from Red River Town, you might consider our "Electric donkey."'

Sun Shiqi paused then asked.

'Electric donkey? What's that?'

The trader explained with a slight smile, 'Produced in the North Suburb Industrial Zone, it's a light truck with a nominal load of 1.8 tons, practically it can handle two or three times that much without any trouble. It can even cross ditches one meter wide easily with rubber tracks on. It's only 50,000 silver coins, great value for its price. Although it can't enter urban areas, it's very convenient for running in the wilderness, it's what we use too.'

'Fifty thousand?!' Sun Shiqi's eyes widened, 'I don't have that kind of money.'

Fifty slaves for a truck?

And that's supposed to be a bargain??

The trader said smilingly.

'Right now, there's a ten percent discount, and if you sell those six Double-headed Cows, you should have enough.'

The ores at Red River Town were cheaper than slaves, with Blue Note's starting at a ton, and most of the cost was in transport.

If he could transport goods by truck, dealing in ores could be more profitable than dealing in slaves!

And without the risk of riots…

However, Sun Shiqi was still sober, he couldn't spend all his possessions on a vehicle; after all, he was a merchant, not a coachman.

Moreover, the truck probably consumed a lot of electricity right?

He didn't know the cost of electricity here, but it wasn't cheap in Red River Town.

'Maybe next time... I need to keep some money for business.'

The trader appeared slightly disappointed but didn't say much and handed over seven 100 Yuan Bills and twenty-four silver coins.

'This is your 724 silver coins in change, please check... Regarding the truck, it was just a suggestion, the choice is yours.'

What a pity.

The highest profit was from selling trucks.

A single Electric Donkey's cost was said to be not even twelve thousand, the steel body and wooden cargo box were cheap, half the cost was in the battery and motor.

If she could sell one, the commission would be two months' basic salary.

Sun Shiqi pocketed the money and was about to leave when suddenly, a disturbance erupted outside the trading station; two groups of mercenaries were arguing.

Both sides had about ten people, cursing harshly, their faces red and necks bulging, even rolling up their sleeves, looking ready to start a fight.

Listening to their argument, it seemed to be about some personal grudges from outside.

Such incidents were common.

Each served their master, and perhaps yesterday they were drinking and boasting together, and tomorrow they would meet in combat in some corner of the Wasteland.

Most often, after the commission was over, it would be treated as if nothing had happened, but it was inevitable that some would fight for fallen comrades or honor.

The triggering factor might just be a look or a taunt.

These people were still rational, despite their noisy bluster that seemed ready for a physical fight, but no one had drawn a gun.

Yet, it was hard to say if they could stay that way.

The four mercenaries brought by Sun Shiqi consciously stood in front of their employer, not due to professional integrity but because only by safely returning him to Red River Town could they receive the rest of the money from the company.

'...Another fight, is it? This is the second this month.'

The young girl standing behind the stall didn't seem worried about any trouble occurring; her habitual composure made Sun Shiqi take another look at her.

'How do you usually handle this?'

The trader calmly said.

'If someone draws a gun, they're in big trouble, if it's just a brawl, the guards will put them in jail to cool off for a couple of days, then fine them.'

'What if they can't pay?'

'Since there's plenty of work here—brickyard, cement factory, even the mill or the neighboring farms—there's always something they can do.'

Sun Shiqi suddenly found the young girl quite interesting.

'What's your name?'

'Frost River.'

'Frost River, huh? That's a nice name... When do you get off work? You told me so much; I'd like to take you out for a meal.'

Frost River said smilingly.

'Bribery can also land you in there, you know, starting at three years.'

Sun Shiqi gave a wry smile.

'I guess I'll pass then.'

He admitted that he was interested in further interaction, although not necessarily to get a discount, but at least to pick up some information that ordinary people might not know."

Doing business, eh?

Profit lies in the disparity of information.

However, her attitude made it clear that she wasn't interested in him, and she had keenly sensed his underlying motives.

Frankly, such professional integrity was surprising.

Remembering the innkeeper's attitude, Sun Shiqi silently noted a clue.

The manager of Shelter No. 404 held immense control here; local residents genuinely respected and appreciated him, upheld his laws, and took pride in maintaining order.

Barring any significant issues, this control was likely to last at least ten years, possibly twenty, until this generation aged and their children grew up.

Frankly, Sun Shiqi wasn't too surprised by these people's attitudes and actions.

The rise and fall of any survivor settlement often started gloriously, even somewhere as godforsaken as Red River Town didn't become a paradise for slave owners overnight.

What really shocked him was that a man... probably named Chu Guang, had achieved all this in just six months.

Even if the shelter stored a vast amount of knowledge and talent, accomplishing this feat was no small task.

Especially in the tumultuous River Valley Province...

He truly wanted to meet him.

Sun Shiqi suddenly recalled their last meeting, when the man had traded him a can of ants and a few bags of game currency for jerky.

How could someone turn such pitiful assets into a thriving survivor settlement?

He even wanted to become the man's disciple if possible.

But he knew, given his current situation, he might not be able to meet him again...

The dispute at the trading post caught the guards' attention; five guards dressed in black military uniforms approached, carrying batons, seemingly intending to warn these reckless provocateurs.

However, those mercenaries, perhaps confident in their numbers, didn't take the guards seriously. What they failed to notice was the residents in blue jackets, their eyes gleaming as they watched.

Their expressions and demeanor suggested they weren't just spectating.

It was almost as if they were encouraging them to start a fight.

The tension at the scene escalated, and just as the mercenaries seemed ready to brawl, traders inside the trading post began to steer clear.

However, just then, a group of soldiers, donned in grey coats and steel helmets, suddenly walked in from outside the trading post.

Automatic rifles slung over their backs, engineer shovels and bayonets covered in alarming streaks of blood hung at their waists, faces obscured by gas masks.

Their formidable presence instantly subdued the atmosphere.

It was in that moment, Sun Shiqi suddenly had a thought.

The munitions he had bought were worth it!

"Heroes are back!" Standing behind a stall, Frost River's eyes sparkled with admiration as Sun Shiqi saw a glimmer of worship in the young girl's eyes.

"…Heroes?"

"Yes!" Frost River nodded emphatically without offering an explanation.

Nearby, the previously noisy mercenaries fell silent at once, their eyes now wary as they watched the group, as docile as sheep.

The mercenary standing next to Sun Shiqi, upon seeing the group in grey coats, also showed a hint of trepidation, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

"…Death Legion."

Sun Shiqi was stunned.

Although aware this was no group to trifle with, it was his first time hearing the name.

"…Death Legion?"

"You just returned from the south to Red River Town, so you might not know…" another mercenary whispered softly, "these guys beat the Chewing Bone Tribe near Deer Head Mountain so bad, they cried for their mothers."

"I saw it with my own eyes, I was there during that battle…" a bearded mercenary nodded, his eyes filled with awe as he spoke, "Twenty of them chased over a hundred Looters all over the hills; that shrill whistle pursued them into the woods, and according to those captured Looters, fighting them was like a nightmare..."

"I heard they are all Awakeners!"

"They're all tough as nails!"

"Didn't realize the Death Legion originated from here..."

Watching the little girl's eyes sparkle and then looking at the imposing group of soldiers nearby, Sun Shiqi couldn't help but swallow.

"How did they get back?"

His neighboring mercenary whispered.

"Perhaps it's because of the Tide."

"…Seems like something big is about to happen."

Reaching the rowdy group, Edge Shoveling removed his gas mask and stared at one man, speaking in imperfect United Human language.

"Heard there's trouble here? Is it you?"

About twenty mercenaries shook their heads in unison, the two who were the most aggressive sheepishly grinned and hooked their arms around each other, pretending to be on friendly terms.

"We were just playing around."

"Old friends catching up..."

Their arms were still forcefully entwined.

Holding their batons, the guards smirked at the troublemakers.

"Catching up? How about changing locations?"

"There's plenty of room at the guard station."

The two mercenaries weren't intimidated by the batons.

However, the group in grey coats beside them was too formidable to ignore, and the blood on their shovels didn't seem to be from beasts...

At that moment, their boss finally rushed over from the inn, attempting to intercede on their behalf, but the guards didn't bother to look his way.

According to the public security regulations, causing unrest would lead to being taken for registration and documentation; it was routine procedure.

First offense warranted a warning: either spend a day detained or pay a fine of 10 Silver Coins; a second offense meant ten days in the cell and a 100 Silver Coin fine.

Despite their great reluctance, the two instigators had no choice but to accompany the guards.

A notification of task completion flashed on the VM.

Just getting back, he had snagged an experience pack and had even shown off a bit, leaving Edge Shoveling feeling quite pleased.

However, this good mood didn't last long.

A greeting from an old friend came from the side.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Fuck, Edge?"

Night Ten: "Huh?! You made it back alive?"

-

(Thanks to "Qu Lin", "Yi Qianbei", and the leader of "Sesame Paste" for their rewards!)

Chapter 276: Did You Move Out All Your Family's Wealth?

"F*ck, what do you mean by I 'came back alive'? Is it that strange for me to come back alive?"

Is this something a person would say?

Taking off the gas mask that hung on his face, Debt Giant Eye, who emerged from behind Edge Old Brother, playfully slapped Night Ten on the shoulder with a smirk.

"Hey, it wasn't easy at all. Several times I thought I was a goner, but somehow I miraculously survived."

Standing to one side, the construction site kid and Brick nodded in agreement.

"It was indeed no easy feat."

Others were playing the game, but their squad was playing with their lives.

They set out as a team of ten, but only half made it back.

In contrast, look at the Mole Squad next to them: they also set out with ten, but came back missing only two, a casualty rate that's like the difference between heaven and earth, making it hard not to comment.

But, complaints aside, people didn't really take it to heart.

It's just a game.

Courting death is the norm.

If you're not a hardcore gamer, there's no need to insist on surviving until the end.

Besides, the death penalty isn't as heavy as it was in the beginning. It's a bit tough being banned from the forum for three days, but the server has been running like this for so long that everyone is used to the rules.

What you really lose is just the experience from a single battle, and not a penny less of the money and Contribution Points from the mission rewards.

The gear you drop? Your teammates will conscientiously collect it for you. At most, you'll lose some ammo and grenades.

"Speaking of which, how come you guys are wearing this outfit now?" Battlefield Atmosphere Group said enviously, eyeing the grey coat on Edge Old Brother.

Edge Old Brother remained silent and turned to look at Big Eyes.

With a grin, he said, "It was my idea. The previous gear was too ugly and lacked any distinguishable features, looking more like Looter than the Looters themselves, always getting mistaken by allies. So I had this sudden spark of inspiration and simply went for the same 'skin' as the Moles. Edge was initially against it, but he ended up finding it 'truly fragrant'."

Edge Rowing retorted stubbornly, "Get lost! You guys forced me into it."

The construction site kid with Brick chimed in with a laugh.

"You know, those Looters have been psychologically scarred by us. They go weak as soon as they see our outfit. Later, we recommended it to the newcomers who came to reinforce us, and now all the good brothers in Red River Town are dressed in this gear!"

Even during the most turbulent waves, Shelter No. 404 never stopped its "support" for its neighbors.

According to the data mentioned by Mole Old Brother in the battle reports, the "garrison" at Red River Town has now increased to 50 people.

All of them were players, except for 10 NPC guards who were stationed there long-term, and they kept regularly replenishing the troops to maintain this number.

Obviously, this fiercely fighting "Death Legion" had completely made a name for itself around Red River Town.

The engineers' shovels and the gleaming bayonets under the barrels hadn't just become the Looters' eternal nightmare, but also the icon of war gods in the eyes of mercenaries and Slave Owners!

Especially that "grey coat," which had a more intimidating presence than even the dark blue coats worn by the Army Centurions!

Local Slave Owners and Business Associations couldn't wait for them to stay in Red River Town forever, even offering Shelter No. 404 a station with fifty acres of land.

Though nothing could grow on that soil, having a station meant putting down roots.

Manager had deployed 40 Cultivation Chambers there, seemingly planning to transform the place into a military outpost.

Currently, any player soldier with a Level of LV8 and Firearms proficiency of Level 3 could apply to experience the New Map and new missions.

However, the number of spots was limited, so even after signing up, there was a queue.

Watching the Old Soldier's envious expression, the on-the-run Mole from the canyon said with an animated smile,

"How about that, not bad for my design taste, huh?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn it! We let this guy get all decked out!"

Before, I also suggested that everyone should get a set of "team uniforms," but that old miser from Spring City was too stingy.

Old Black even liked his post, but that old miser insisted, "Skins that don't add to attack are garbage" and "anyway, when you wear power armor with armor plates, you can't see anything."

And that wasn't the end of it. He even called me a chuunibyo.

What does being a chuunibyo have to do with anything?

It's obviously just being stingy!

Unlike Old Soldier, Night Ten wasn't concerned about what a few people were wearing; he was curiously looking at the trucks behind them.

No need to ask.

They must be loaded with war spoils hauled back from Red River Town.

By a conservative estimate, based on three times overload, those trucks were piled with at least fifty to sixty tons of various ores.

Besides, nearly a hundred slaves followed them back. The nearby NPC merchants all showed envious looks.

One slave could be exchanged for five assault rifles.

They really hit the jackpot!

Night Ten said with envy.

"Is the battle at Red River Town over?"

Mole Old Brother shook his head as he replied.

"Over? It's still a long way to go!"

"The Slave Owners there are too weak in combat power. There's a good number of mercenaries they've hired, with decent individual fighting strength, but their coordination in battle is like a mob, with no synergy."

"Relying on imported shells and weapons, the Allied forces of Red River Town initially had some success, winning several local battles. But their logistics were terrible. Often the ammunition didn't match up, and their firepower was inconsistent. Plus, with low organization, they couldn't hold onto the positions they captured. Often, we'd take a position by day only to lose it back by night."

"Moreover, with Chewing Bone Tribe's numerical superiority and reinforcements continuously arriving from the central provinces, along with numerous Looters rushing over from the eastern neighboring province after hearing rumors of them planning to set up a Looter kingdom, both sides kept fighting over a few mountain heads, repeatedly contesting for those positions along a ten-plus kilometers depth of frontlines."

Weapons like mortars and anti-tank rifles were not unique to Shelter No. 404. Some large and medium Survivor Settlements with industrial production capabilities could also produce them, only differing in cost and performance.

Red River Town didn't only import ammunition from Shelter No. 404. Not to mention the variety of weapons brought by the mercenaries, they even had three different calibers of medium mortars: 80mm, 85mm, and 88mm, in addition to two 105mm cast iron mortars.

Shoddy logistics, uncoordinated command — it's a wonder they've held out this long against the Looters, those rich local warlords.

Night Ten asked curiously.

"So why did you all come back?"

Mole Old Brother rolled his eyes.

"We came back to participate in the event, man. Spending all day reading the forum discussions about the Tide, I felt like we weren't even playing the same game!"

When the New Map first opened and he lucked out getting "experience access," he was quite excited. After all, being the first to try it out isn't an opportunity everyone gets.

Though Red River Town was farther compared to Giant Stone City, as long as he could bring back firsthand information to the players, it was no big deal!

Now, a month had passed, the New Map wasn't that new anymore, and players were already tired of his battle reports, with even Backseat Drivers moving on to discuss the Tide.

A lengthy guide with only triple-digit likes instantly made him feel like an "abandoned player of the version."

He heard that this "Final Battle Plan" was the last event before closing the A-round testing, and he wouldn't miss it for the world!

Elena also chimed in.

"We've been in the New Map long enough; it's time for others to go in and grind."

Gnome King Riches said with a grin.

"Old Na really holds a grudge against those Variants there. Not one arthropod that isn't venomous."

Elena immediately protested.

"Get lost! Do I look like that kind of person?"

Mole Old Brother ignored the two of them and turned to Night Ten, asking, "But what about you, why weren't you with Old Bai Fangzhang and the others today?"

Night Ten smiled and said,

"Well, there's big work to do early tomorrow morning, so we split up this afternoon. Old Bai and the others went to Goblin Technology to buy some new devices they said were available. I planned to go, too, but I heard that there was orange gear here at the trade station, so I rushed over to snag a deal… Unfortunately, I missed out, which really sucks!"

The "orange gear" naturally referred to the "Miner Type I" exoskeleton.

This piece of equipment was imported from Ideal City; its battery used "Metallic Hydrogen," which was a tier higher than "Solid Hydrogen."

Ever since it got sold out in a flash last time, Shelter No. 404's official shop hadn't restocked, and only the commercial teams coming from the east would bring some occasionally; even in Giant Stone City next door, it was hard to come by.

Yesterday, a group of wild peddlers turned up at the trade station with a set, which a Strength Type player happened upon and decisively bought without hesitation. He flaunted it on the forum that very night, causing a big wave of players to come here early in the morning to check it out.

The exoskeleton sold by "wild NPC" merchants was a bit pricey but came without Contribution Points and level restrictions, also allowing secondary trades; it was indeed very tempting.

In short, getting one was a definite win!

However, what intrigued Mole Old Brother wasn't the exoskeleton but the first half of Night Ten's statement.

"Brother Mosquito has some new devices?"

"Yeah, Brother Mosquito was boasting in the group chat yesterday," Night Ten said with a chuckle, "I have to say, that guy is getting more impressive. He managed to produce RPGs after recoilless guns!"

The moment these words were said, it wasn't just Mole Old Brother and the Edge Shoveling group who were surprised; even the Battlefield Atmosphere Group standing nearby looked at him in disbelief.

"RPG?"

"???"

"Holy shit?!"

That truly was getting more impressive!

...

In fact, at this very moment, it wasn't just Old Bai and his team who were making purchases at Goblin Technology; Spring Water, deemed the stingiest by Old Soldier, was also here.

After reflecting on the reasons for their failure in the battle at Street No. 65, Spring Water had some serious thinking to do.

Putting aside plot-related causes, the fact that Crawlers flanked them during the fourth wave of Tide's offense was one thing, but more importantly, they were defeated due to a lack of anti-armor capabilities.

Before the ambush battle, although he had considered the possibility of the developers designing some "over-the-top armored" units as bosses, he instructed the players wielding Cavalry Guns and Heavy Cavalry Guns not to just bring high-explosive rounds but also a couple of magazines of armor-piercing ammo.

But he never imagined the developers could be such bastards.

37mm armor-piercing rounds couldn't even penetrate the armor of the Decaying Knights!

If it wasn't for the high-armor tank units like the Decaying Knights breaking through their front lines, squads B and C might have held out for a bit longer.

Since power armor could get taken over by slime variants and turned into "friendlies," he had reason to believe they would face even more ridiculous things in the future.

But what he didn't expect was that he initially came to buy a recoilless gun, only to find out that Mosquito had even made an RPG-7, a divine tool for street battles!

At the target range outside the industrial area.

Staring at the 400mm steel plate punctured by the armor-piercing bullet, Spring Water Commander's eyes widened considerably, and it took him a while to squeeze out an unrelated sentence.

"... in reality, do you really sell furniture?"

Hearing this, Mosquito beside him chuckled and said,

"Family craft, handcrafted with pride. So, boss, thinking of getting a set? PM me on the forum."

Spring Water Commander: "... Forget it."

I have a feeling that giving this guy my address would be quite dangerous.

I wouldn't want to inadvertently place an order and end up getting shipped a pair of Silver Handcuffs.

Now, that would be a real mess.

Standing to one side, Old White put down the launch tube, smoking with white vapor, his face wearing an expression of both surprise and admiration.

"This firepower's got something!"

But this propellant... smells a bit like Double Stone-2, huh?

It's a bit different from the ethylene glycol of an RPG-7.

The piezoelectric fuse must be a modern upgrade, as the initial velocity is quite a bit faster than that homemade "recoilless gun" from before. The power of the matching armor-piercing bullet is inherited as is; the conical tip of the bullet is embedded with a needle-like trigger, just a poke, and it boasts a penetration depth of up to 400mm!

The power is already rather impressive!

However, thinking of this, Old White suddenly came to a realization.

Where the hell is this an RPG imitation?!

It's clearly modeled after our own Type 69 40mm rocket launcher!

Unaware of Old White's odd look, WC the genuine Mosquito animatedly continued talking.

"Besides the 85mm armor-piercing bullets, we also offer area-damage 85mm high-explosive fragmentation grenades! Only 200 silver coins each, buy five get one launch tube free! Very handy indeed!"

The sale price of 200 silver coins is quite a bit more expensive than Iron Fist.

But for Old White and the rest, it wasn't something they couldn't afford.

Before the start of each battle, Shelter No. 404 would allocate budgets to the teams based on their combat power, funds for purchasing ammunition.

Ammo within the budget didn't require dipping into their own pockets. Some of the longer battles would also receive supplies with reinforcements from behind, and that also didn't cost any money.

The usage of the ammunition budget only affected the battle score, and this was an old tradition present for several versions already.

"… You're getting more and more intense."

Upon hearing Old White's profoundly complimentary remark, WC the genuine Mosquito chuckled with a heh, heh.

"Kidding me? When have the weapons I designed ever let anyone down?"

"I'll just ask one thing, satisfied or not?"

As soon as he said that, the look in everyone's eyes instantly became somewhat complicated.

To say his gear was useless was definitely speaking against their conscience.

But to say it was very useful, sometimes it just disappoints to no end.

Old White subtly shifted his gaze away.

"Half-satisfied, I guess."

Wild Wind nodded in agreement.

"+1, half-satisfied."

Fang Chang, "I'll have to think about the other half, mostly because I'm afraid of making you proud."

Spring Water Commander, "Couldn't agree more."

WC the genuine Mosquito cursed under his breath, "Damn! I ask you one word, and you really have quite the chatter!"

Old White laughed and patted Mosquito on the shoulder.

"Good buddy, the main reason is that your gear hasn't been battle-tested yet, so I can't go around saying too much! How about this, you give me a 50% discount, and I'll purchase 10 armor-piercing and 10 fragmentation rounds from you in one go, help make a name for it!"

WC the genuine Mosquito rolled his eyes.

"Fifty percent?! You might as well ask me to give it to you for free!"

Fang Chang's eyes lit up.

"There's such a good deal?"

WC the genuine Mosquito, "Scram! At most I can do a 10% discount, can't go any cheaper! Any cheaper and I'd be losing money!"

Upon hearing that remark, at least four pairs of eyes rolled.

"I don't believe you for a second!"

Centurion would never believe that guy only made a profit of 20 silver coins on a rocket launcher valued at 200 silver coins.

At the very least, the profit margin had to be 50%!

With the start of the Alpha 1.0 version, silver coins really did inflate quite a bit, but since the trade route to Red River Town had been established, the prices of various metallic and non-metallic raw materials hadn't risen much. Along with the completion of the industrial zone's facilities and increased production capacity, industrial goods hadn't really soared in price.

In the end, after a bit of haggling, the two sides reached a consensus at the price of 180 silver coins per armor-piercing round and 130 silver coins per high-explosive grenade.

The Bull and Horse Squad purchased a total of 25 rocket launcher rounds, and the Spring Water Squad also bought 15, cleaning out Mosquito's inventory and maxing out their firepower!

After settling on the price, the group returned to the Goblin Technology factory, where the newly produced ammunition was stockpiled in the warehouse.

As he walked into the factory, Spring took notice of a pile of wood near the entrance and couldn't help but ask curiously,

"What's that thing?"

Seeing someone take interest in his masterwork, Mosquito chuckled and said,

"The W-1 'Fly Mosquito' Glider! Featuring a wooden body and a pioneering electric structure, the most primitive wood and the most advanced solid hydrogen technology blend perfectly. A proud creation of mine and my apprentices, it's priced at only 3,000 silver coins! What do you think? Isn't it a bargain? Wouldn't you like to buy one?"

Not far away, Discourage, who was fiddling with an engine with a screwdriver, happened to hear this and couldn't help but retort,

"Do you have no shame? I designed that body, Death claimed responsibility for the engine, Soul Chaser hand-carved the blades, and Kill God made the bomb dropper. What the hell did you do?"

If it weren't for Qian Duo's contribution,

He would have gone solo long ago!

Unmoved, Mosquito unabashedly continued to grin,

"I took the best from each of you and integrated it. That's called resource integration."

Discourage: "@#￥%!"

Curiously, Fang Chang approached the pile of wood to take a closer look.

On closer inspection, he did indeed see two wings and what appeared to be a flat structure that was likely the undercarriage.

But using wood for the structure and creating such a scattered and fragmented work… Wouldn't it fall apart in midair?

"…The W-1 isn't bad, but why not call it WC-1?"

Mosquito blushed slightly and admitted,

"Actually, I did originally plan to call it that, but alas, my apprentices lack artistic sense. They said sitting on it would make them want to take a dump, so I dropped the C."

Old White: "Pfft…"

Wild Wind: "I can't even look at this plane straight anymore."

The expression on Spring Water Commander's face was a bit peculiar.

"Am I the only one curious if this thing can actually fly?"

A wooden body paired with a solid hydrogen battery.

He had never seen such an odd combination before.

Wild Wind touched her nose.

"Let's analyze it rationally. The energy density of hydrogen is close to three times that of gasoline. Even though a hydrogen gas tank definitely won't do, solid hydrogen… in theory, should be workable, but that's under ideal conditions."

"It's a game! Let your imagination run wild; don't be so rigid!"

Patting Wild Wind on the shoulder, Mosquito said with a confident smile, "Trust me, my good friend! I guarantee it can absolutely fly! If it doesn't, no charge!"

Wild Wind gave him a glancing look.

"Don't try to persuade me; I'm not flying it."

Old White focused on the motor for a while and frowned.

"But where's the runway? Even if it can fly… it needs a runway for takeoff, right?"

Mosquito smiled slightly,

"Such a revolutionary flying machine naturally doesn't use a traditional runway."

Spring had a vague idea of what was coming, and he swallowed hard.

"Don't tell me it's…"

"Tall buildings! There are kilometer-tall buildings everywhere here!"

Mosquito strode over to the heap of wooden parts, fished out an aluminum control stick that hadn't been fitted yet.

The fervor sparkling in his eyes made everyone around take a step back unconsciously.

Oblivious to the expressions on everyone's faces, Mosquito's voice grew more and more excited.

"According to my calculations, less than a kilometer is enough, eight hundred meters will do!"

"Shut off the engine and dive towards the ground, and when you're two hundred meters above, pull up the control stick and the switch, and you'll become a bolt of lightning!"

Fang Chang's Adam's apple moved.

"…And if it doesn't pull up?"

Mosquito repeated his mantra,

"You'll become a bolt of lightning!"

Old White: "?"

Wild Wind: "??"

Fang Chang: "???"

Spring Water Commander: "…????"

Just asking for clarification.

Is this really equipment a sane person would choose?!

…

At dusk.

Silence enfolded the skies above Qingquan City as the "corpse movers" in gas masks steadily retreated from the battlefield, carrying stretchers piled with bodies.

Meanwhile, just a short distance away on the frontlines, a procession of figures holding rifles, eager for action, continued to arrive from the rear.

Among them were the seasoned warriors of the Death Legion clad in gray coats, the green-jacketed Mountain Corps recalled from Far Creek Town, and a motley crew with distinctive personal styles and an array of gear… but no one doubted their combat prowess.

No matter what gear they used, they were undoubtedly the crème de la crème.

Through continuous battles and endless revivals, they had developed and passed on their own most effective combat tactics—or rather, strategies—to the newcomers they guided.

Each of them represented a banner!

"Are you putting everything you've got into this?" Vanus, standing by the window of a tall building, looked down at the battlefield below in surprise.

The solemn atmosphere of the gun banners was so potent that even the young soldiers of the army would probably only be comparable if they stood in front of them!

Beside him stood Chu Guang, clad in power armor, who simply said,

"This is just the beginning."

Their true battlefield was during the day.

Following the plan he had drawn up himself.

The players would rotate at the defensive line until dawn, and just as the last offensive of the Tide started to wane before the break of dawn, they would launch an all-out counterattack!

"No chance for those bugs to catch their breath!"

Since yesterday, the industrial district had temporarily suspended all export orders, focusing all production capacity on the front lines.

Crates of ammunition were delivered to the front-line ammunition depots, along with two sets of 100KW wood-fired generators and 200 newly produced Sleep Cabins deployed beneath the temporary command center for player saves and offline rest.

Equipment was in short supply.

The rest time allocated to each player's clone was only 4 hours, but this was enough to alleviate their fatigue.

Players signed up for the event had taken leave in advance in the real world.

It didn't matter if some couldn't participate, as "Wasteland OL" was an MMORPG that emphasized leisure, without the need to grind or spend excessively; it never forced players to join server events.

At most, it would offer irresistible rewards during the events.

Watching the sunset gradually disappear in the streets, Chu Guang felt his blood boiling with excitement.

This would be the largest battle in "Wasteland OL" since its launch, with the highest number of participants, the most expansive scale, and the peak of both the variety and quantity of deployed equipment!

Two Hummingbird drones had already been deployed at the edge of the battlefield, their cameras locked onto the battlefield, shrouded in the spore clouds.

"Come on."

Chu Guang clenched his fist gently and exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Let's see what you've really got!"

...

The shadows of the high rises gradually absorbed into the war-torn alleys.

The dense gray-green fog faintly glowed with a blood-red hue, emitting an unsettling, teeth-grinding screech.

Yet, no one's legs were faltering.

After enduring days of battle, even the 400 newbies who had just joined the game in Alpha 1.1 had become competent soldiers.

For them, victory was the only creed.

Death was inconsequential!

Amidst the chirpy noise tinged with excitement, the players at the front line expertly disengaged the safeties on their rifles and took cover behind concrete rubble fortifications.

"All team members in position! Final five minutes!"

"...Repeat, newbies take note, let the Gunman fire first, keep your rifles steady, and only shoot when the Tide gets within fifty meters!"

"Remember! You're no longer rookies; don't use your little toys to pick the Tyrant's teeth! Trust your teammates and their Cavalry Guns! Use the ammunition where it counts!"

"Here they come—prepare for battle!"

A shrill howl sounded through the fog.

Running Eaters surged out of the darkness like a tide, traversing the devastated battlefield, charging towards the players' positions.

At the same time, three flares soared into the sky, clearing away the gloom above the streets.

The Machine Guns deployed inside the buildings roared first, bullets whizzing through the gray-green fog, forming a dense curtain of iron rain.

Following closely were the water-cooled Maxim guns at the very front line, spewing flames and spraying bullets into the Different Species Clusters approaching like a tsunami.

Players fired proficiently, each squad coordinating in silence, clearing the Variants in their respective defense zones.

The first wave of the assault was merely Cannon Fodder.

They were well acquainted with the Variants' tactics.

First, send in swarms of Eaters to deplete their ammunition, then send in high-health and high-mobility units to attempt to break through the line.

Up above the temporary command center, on the rooftop of the skyscraper.

Brother Mosquito and his four apprentices were braving the howling wind, assembling the W-1 "Fly Mosquito" Glider on the rooftop.

After an hour of debate, he had finally convinced his four apprentices to add an X behind the W-1.

The aircraft was fitted with two 100kg aerial bombs, with firepower comparable to the Big Yings' 250-pound bombs, and the weight was roughly the same.

In addition, there were two 7mm small-caliber machine guns mounted inside the cabin.

Although Discourage initially suggested going for the 20mm cannons, after some serious consideration, Mosquito rejected the idea.

The 20mm cannons and their ammunition were too heavy!

With that load, it would be better to carry a couple more aerial bombs!

Besides, those were products from a "friendly competitor."

This was the moment for Goblin Technology to flex its muscles; how could they let the competitor steal the show?

"Hurry up!" Mosquito, holding a pair of binoculars, looked down at the barely visible battlefield and urged his apprentices loudly.

Discourage couldn't help but look up and complain.

"Damn it! Why don't you give us a hand?!"

Mosquito glared at him.

"I'm the pilot! I said I'd take care of flying; what else do you want me to do? Want to switch?!"

Discourage shuddered and fell silent, cursing under his breath.

It wasn't that he feared heights; he just wasn't confident.

Although he was part of the design, the difference between fixed-wing and quadcopter was too significant; he had no confidence about this thing flying at all.

What if the propeller snapped or the wings came apart?

That would be an offering to the heavens!

Mosquito didn't mind embarrassment, but he was still a tad concerned about maintaining his dignity.

"I feel something's not quite right," Mosquito, standing beside the building, suddenly spoke.

"What? What's wrong?" Squinting against the gusting wind, Soul Chaser looked up.

Gripping the binoculars firmly, Mosquito muttered with a frown.

"These gunshots are lasting way too long!"

Had the first wave of attack not ended yet?

It should have been over by now!

He had a sinister premonition.

With Dog plan's character, he would never play by the rules.

As an old player who joined the server from the early versions, Mosquito had long experienced Ah Guang's unpredictable "narrative style."

Just as he felt something was amiss, a conspicuous crimson gleamed through the gray-green fog.

The mortar positions waiting for the next wave of assault suddenly opened fire, and numerous shells whistled into the sky, exploding in a burst of light around that crimson glow.

The gunfire below the building grew more intense, and the fog faintly transmitted cries of pain...

Watching the spore clouds scattered by the shockwave of the explosions and seeing the shape of a monster gradually emerge in the fog, Mosquito, gripping the binoculars, couldn't help but blurt out a beautiful phrase from his hometown.

"What the fuck?!"

"What the hell is that thing?!"

Chapter 277: The Howling Reaper!

On the position.

The shockwave of the explosion scattered the spore cloud lingering over the mountains of corpses and seas of bones, revealing on the street made up of chunks of concrete and twisted rebar, a tank nearly ten meters long and three to five meters wide standing tall!

Crouching behind the blast shelter, "Pick up trash 99 level" widened his unbelieving eyes, rubbing his amber ones with the back of his scaly hand repeatedly.

"What the fuck?!"

He wasn't the only one shocked; so were Quit smoking and Scrambled eggs with tomato crouching not far away.

"A mucor tank?!"

"What the hell is this thing?!"

It was literally a tank.

It had no gun tower, no tracks, and the angular, all-black body had a sci-fi look. However, the dark red slime fungus covering its body, along with the fat tentacles dragging on the ground, made it look like a centipede with a turtle shell on its back.

Chu Guang, standing on a building, furrowed his brows and stared without blinking at the monster appearing in the drone footage, while a cluster of officers around him also showed surprised expressions on their faces.

"...Is that a tank from United Human?" swallowed Vanus.

Chu Guang, clad in power armor, took down the Gauss Rifle from his back and asked casually,

"You seen it before?"

"...I haven't, but it clearly came from the city center."

Chu Guang didn't respond, just silently aimed and then squeezed the trigger.

A flickering arc of electricity flashed in the fork-shaped barrel for an instant, and the "long nail" burst out like lightning, striking the front armor of the tank.

However—

That armor remained unscathed; instead, a nearby concrete wall was blasted apart, revealing its steel skeleton.

It didn't penetrate!

Chu Guang frowned.

This bizarre hit effect gave him the feeling that the "long nail" that struck the tank at five times the speed of sound hadn't even left a scratch.

It was as if it had been deflected by something the moment it touched the armor!

And the "tank's" reaction supported Chu Guang's guess. The tentacles underneath the chassis slowly writhed, dragging the fusion of flesh and steel forward.

Only two hundred meters left from the frontline position!

Chu Guang made a decisive command.

"Anti-aircraft gun position!"

"20mm armor-piercing bullets, target enemy tank—"

"Fire!"

At the same time, two quadruple anti-aircraft guns deployed inside a nearby building quickly lowered their barrels and unleashed a volley.

Eighty 20mm armor-piercing incendiary bullets formed two orange-yellow firestorms in the sky, and the ferociously intersecting fire instantly pounced on the tank!

The thudding impact sounds came intensively from the front and upper side armor; the "slime fungus tank's" advancement was noticeably halted. Yet that densely packed attack still proved ineffective as the shells were all deflected by the thick armor, wildly flying around the battlefield.

One of the spread-out shells whistlingly embedded itself in the concrete pile in front of the blast shelter, startling the lord of trash crouching behind the shelter to tuck in his neck.

"Motherfucker...

"This monster's armor is way too outrageous, isn't it?!"

Crouching next to Quit smoking

"Must be a tank from the pre-war era!" said Wild Wind, his expression serious, not far away.

Night Ten swallowed hard.

"The peak of combat power in the background setting..."

Despite two hundred years of weathering that left slight erosive marks on the armor's surface, it still retained its absolute superiority over modern weapons.

Not to mention a 20mm autocannon.

Even if switched out for a modern tank main gun that could penetrate 1000m, it would likely be tough going, let alone the RPG mounted on his back.

No.

It should be said that it was bound to be tough going!

Night Ten suddenly realized if one referred to the setting of "Wasteland OL," the big fellow in front of them was the "modern tank," right?

Something like the M1 or Leopard 2, in front of it, probably couldn't even rate as antiques like the Panzer IV or T-34, they would at most be like "Reno" or Maxim, coffin boards.

Although it was without a gun tower and shield, it didn't affect its effectiveness.

The mucor hiding inside seemed to be using it as mobile cover, advancing towards the players' positions using the armor's inherent protective strength.

Night Ten had no desire to find out what would happen if it got close, but the sight of those thick tentacles dragging under the chassis made him physically uncomfortable, having seen plenty of study materials.

"Armor-piercing won't work, we need high-explosive rounds," staring straight ahead at the position, Old White, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, "Look at its chassis!"

Night Ten subconsciously looked towards the mucor tank, noticing that although the armor was intact, the tentacles under the armor were clearly damaged.

Even as it continued to advance, its pace couldn't keep up with before.

Obviously, the commander had noticed this too—the quadruple anti-aircraft guns had changed magazines and quickly unleashed a second volley!

The intense barrage of fire peppered the side of the mucor tank, and flames roared as they exploded.

While the shrapnel couldn't scratch the armor, it scraped away much of the mucor on the surface and also nicked the flesh beneath the armor!

The tentacles under the chassis were severely damaged; many that couldn't retract in time were directly blown into two pieces.

Having lost its balance, the mucor tank suddenly dropped on one side, collapsing on the debris-strewn battlefield, immobilized.

Peering out from behind the blast barrier at the scene in front of him, Night Ten excitedly clenched his fist and couldn't help but cheer.

"Well done!"

It seemed that the lair controlling the mucor was smart, but not completely.

That thick "turtle shell" could block shells, but once it lost its mobility, all it could do was helplessly stare at the distant target.

However, the tank covered in fungal growth was not sitting idly by; strands of red fungal blocks that looked like worms wriggled out from the alleys and crawled towards the bloody armor plating, apparently attempting to repair the tentacles that had been blown off or destroyed.

They were attempting to "fix the tracks"!

At the same time, to cover for the "node creature" that had run aground, the Tide launched a new offensive without pause.

Variants swarmed out like a tide from intersections, alleys, and storefronts, charging towards the players' positions.

The beginning of a new offensive.

The machine gunners, who had already been resupplied, steadied their water-cooled Maxims and pulled the triggers.

Tat-tat-tat—!

The machine guns spat out flames, and the whizzing bullets crazily strafed the oncoming Tide.

Sensing the worm-like sub-entities' attempt to repair the mucor tank, the anti-aircraft guns continued to target the ground around the tank with 20mm high-explosive rounds.

One mortar shell after another bombarded down.

Each flash of light claimed countless variants.

Under the dense network of firepower coordinated by the players, the oncoming swarm of Variants fell like rice before a harvester, crop after crop going down.

In the face of absolute firepower, an individual's strength was as insignificant as a grain of sand.

Whether Crawlers or Eaters, they all turned into rolling lumps of flesh and crumbled like tofu dregs.

A few Tyrants covered with keratin armor could withstand the burst of 7mm bullets, but when faced with the larger caliber 20mm Cavalry Guns, or even the 37mm Heavy Cavalry Guns' concentrated fire, their ultimate fate was only one—being crushed into fragments by boiling steel.

Crouching behind an explosion-proof cover, Pick up trash 99 level watched enviously for a while.

His claws couldn't coordinate like human palms; while everyone else was going "tat tat tat" at their targets, he could only watch from the sidelines.

"Damn it!"

"I even want to delete my account and start over!"

Night Ten, changing magazines, found time to tease him.

"Don't do it, man, your attributes are too badass. It'd be such a waste to start over."

Besides, it wasn't possible to create a new account.

There had been inquiries to Brother Guang before, including whether "cloning in advance to save revival time" or "creating a new account" was possible, but the responses were invariably the same two sentences—"The technology doesn't allow it" and "I tried, but unfortunately, it doesn't work."

For such a huge game, the operating team obviously went through a series of meticulous and rigorous simulations, considering all sorts of scenarios before ultimately adopting the current game settings.

Judging by Brother Guang's activity on the forum, he seemed to have a significant say in the planning team. If he said it was impossible, then it definitely was.

Looking at Night Ten, who was being so carefree about it, Pick up trash 99 level rolled his eyes.

"What's the use of badass Light attributes? You think they're badass—I'll trade with you!"

Night Ten chuckled.

"No way, it looks too ugly, and it doesn't have a little brother. I won't trade with you, no way."

"Get lost, get lost, get lost!"

You have a little brother.

But I don't see you putting it to much use?

Pick up trash 99 level was about to retort, but at that moment, something unexpected happened!

He suddenly saw shadows whooshing over from the street right in front, accompanied by a buzzing beeper sound, they crossed over the collapsed rebar concrete wreckage and the flyover, crashing into the floor where the Quadruple Anti-aircraft Gun was located.

Explosions followed one after another from above their heads.

The Anti-aircraft Cannon that had been unleashing firepower just a second before instantly went silent.

Pick up trash 99 level looked up sharply, his amber pupils contracting slightly.

"Martyrs?!"

No—

They didn't seem like Martyrs!

Those were lantern-sized fungal blocks, thrown over by something. Some landed on the Anti-aircraft gun position, others near the front lines.

As they hit the ground, they wasted no time, their bodies sharply contracting halfway before their bellies rapidly expanded as if a chemical reaction occurred. Then they violently exploded into a cloud of grey-green spores.

Although not as powerful as the Martyrs, they were unpredictable!

Caught completely by surprise, many players were injured in the explosions, and some even died on the spot!

"Damn!"

Old White immediately raised his gun barrel and fired a burst overhead.

Turned into sieves by the rifle, several fungal blocks fell to the ground. Quit smoking immediately lay down next to them, but after waiting a while, the blocks didn't explode, so he stood back up.

"What the hell is this?!"

"I don't know..." Staring at the blob on the ground oozing black slime, Fang Chang's expression turned solemn.

Upon closer inspection, this lantern-shaped fungal mass had grown two half-meter-long meaty wings on its sides, fluttering incessantly like the wings of a dragonfly.

These thin wings clearly weren't enough to support its two to three-kilogram body, but they were sufficient for it to adjust its flight direction while gliding on inertia.

Realizing this, a hint of astonishment appeared on Fang Chang's face.

This thing can correct its trajectory too?!

At the same time, from the command center, a shout came through the communication channel from the anti-aircraft gun position.

"We're under enemy artillery counterattack!"

Chu Guang replied calmly.

"How many are left?"

"Three... No, that one's gone too, only me and another teammate remain."

Intermittent explosions could be heard through the communication channel, and the player speaking seemed to be gasping for breath, evidently having sustained nontrivial injuries.

The situation at the other anti-aircraft gun position was the same.

The unexpected long-range firepower caught the players operating the anti-aircraft guns to suppress the slime fungus tanks completely off guard.

Did that lair actually develop "Fire Support Doctrine"?

After hearing their reports, Chu Guang immediately dispatched reinforcements to the anti-aircraft gun positions.

At the same time, one of the two Hummingbird drones remotely controlled by Xiao Qi split off, following the source of that long-range firepower.

The camera on the screen moved rapidly.

Very soon.

The source of the enemy's firepower was exposed to everyone in the command post!

Only about eight hundred meters from the front line position, next to a partially collapsed overpass, stood four trucks.

Just like the previous tank, the bodies of the four trucks were also covered in dark red fungal mats, with the extent of erosion even more excessive; the lifted containers were stuffed full of writhing flesh!

Those lantern-shaped "flying insects" were being launched from those containers!

Chu Guang noticed that continuous streams of Eaters and flesh-red worms crawled into the truck cabins, offering themselves as organic matter and energy to sustain the synthetic organism through self-sacrifice.

As the flesh inside the cabin writhed, a burp-like long moan sounded, and quickly, over twenty more "suicide flying insects" were shot into the sky, drawing parabolic arcs plummeting towards the players' positions.

The insects vibrated their wings in mid-air, seeking their targets.

A hint of surprise emerged in Chu Guang's eyes.

Well, well.

Autocorrecting trajectory in suicide drones?!

And capable of producing and launching at the same time!

Watching the four trucks continuously spewing Variants, a grave expression spread across the faces of everyone in the command post.

"This..."

"Variants have artillery too?!"

Even Vanus, who had seen quite a few things, was equally astonished at this moment.

Clearly, it was his first time witnessing such a bizarre sight.

"That truck... it looks like a mobile drone base station from the Prosperity Epoch, I remember it's something used in the logistics distribution industry."

Vanus had learned a bit about the Prosperity Epoch during his time in the Academy, but for an officer, it wasn't part of the core curriculum; he had merely heard of it.

Furrowing his brow as he stared at the screen, Chu Guang said in a deep voice,

"The 'Mutated slime fungus' controlled by the Lair has an extremely powerful 'mimicry' ability; they can imitate us... or possibly someone else's combat methods."

Elena's research had already confirmed this.

But to his surprise, those slime molds did not just mimic; they had even "assimilated" the relics of pre-war civilizations in an unexpected way.

From "Plague Knights" to "Plague Tanks," all were products of this kind of "fusion concept."

What was chilling was that the mutated slime molds not only formed a highly centralized beehive society but also possessed the ability to identify and solve problems,

Even if these methods seemed somewhat naive!

"Artillery Group A, pay attention, coordinates..., five rounds of bombardment, dense barrage."

Half of the twelve 88mm mortars divided and unleashed their firepower at the coordinates set by Chu Guang.

Some of the shells were intercepted by buildings, crashing inside or on overpasses, but many also landed near the target area.

The sudden artillery strike, although it didn't cause substantial damage to the four trucks, did blow up the Eaters and flesh-red worms queuing up to deliver their heads.

The velocity of the Suicide Flying Insects dropped, and the suppressed Anti-aircraft gun position regained firepower.

Four more players carrying two machine guns rushed to the anti-aircraft position and established a new point of fire, their task changing from suppressing enemy ground units to suppressing suicide flying units.

But this alone was not enough.

Even under the barrage of artillery fire, a large number of Eaters fearlessly surged toward the trucks, turning their flesh and blood into artillery shells.

Chu Guang immediately made a decision.

"Artillery Group A and B, adjust the firing coordinates..., move the barrage southwest, five rounds of bombardment, clear obstacles for the ground troops!"

As the order was issued, Chu Guang immediately edited a mission and sent it to the frontline positions.

Not far from the base of the building,

Old White, who was entrenched behind a blast shelter fighting the Variants, felt a gentle vibration on his VM arm band.

A light blue pop-up window appeared.

[Mission: Advance under cover of the barrage and destroy the enemy artillery position!]

"New mission!"

"Team members! Follow me!"

Old White shouted at the top of his lungs, grabbed a few magazines from the ammo box and attached them to his exoskeleton, then continued firing while rushing towards the flank of the position.

Fang Chang, Pick up trash 99 level, and a group of players followed closely behind him, and soon a ten-person team came from behind to take over their defense zone.

Leaving the center of the battlefield, the temperature of the surrounding air dropped a few degrees.

Night Ten, who had switched to a Submachine Gun, caught up with Old White's pace.

"What's the new mission?"

Old White said concisely,

"Destroy the enemy artillery position!"

Quit smoking, who had several RPGs on his back and was following closely, was stunned.

"Artillery?!"

"The Variants have that kind of thing?!"

Players like Fang Chang and Wild Wind were not too surprised; after all, they had seen plenty of odd things and were no longer easily shocked.

The Mucor species were numerous and diverse; even the Eaters could be categorized into several varieties based on size, speed, and whether they emitted light or not.

According to the "Wasteland OL" Official Website's description set for the mutated slime molds, it wasn't strange for a sub-entity to have long-range support capabilities.

Old White did not answer Quit smoking's confusion but proficiently opened the mission summary in the VM and shared several drone aerial photos with the team members.

Looking at the four trucks in the screen, covered in fungus, Quit smoking couldn't help but swallow and took a while to squeeze out a word.

"Holy shit..."

Pick up trash 99 level, on the other hand, showed no nervousness; seeing the BOSS appear, his face even revealed an eager expression.

He couldn't use his claws and muscles in a frontal battle, but a sneak attack was different.

BOSS fight!

It was time for him to shine!

"How do we get there?"

Old White: "We'll take that small path we discovered earlier!"

They had been working on Hunter Squads missions for the past few days and were well versed in the passageways of the surrounding urban area.

Almost at the same moment as his words fell, a dozen shells landed consecutively on the street eighty meters ahead to their right.

The kicked up stones flew into the windows of the buildings on both sides and even landed at the feet of the people.

Old White's expression turned serious, and he quickened his pace, gesturing for his teammates to keep up.

"Fire support is here!"

"Move quickly!"

The ten players, including Pick up trash 99 level, led by Old White's team, almost represented the server's strongest combat power.

The group set off from the flank of the position, quickly infiltrating behind the Tide under covering fire, and charged towards the enemy's artillery position!

At this moment, on the front of the battlefield, there was a continuous fierce gunfire.

Wave after wave of Variants charged forward, seemingly determined to shred the players' positions into pieces tonight.

Naturally, the players would not fulfill the wishes of these beasts; with strong logistics support, their ferocious firepower did not diminish.

Staring at the tank that had stopped in the center of the battlefield for a long time, Edge Shoveling, crouching behind the blast shelter, was deep in thought.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he spoke out.

"That tank is most likely a Node Creature! We have to find a way to take it down!"

The surrounding gunfire was like firecrackers.

Barely able to hear the team leader's voice, Ken and Qi from the construction site and brick yelled out.

"What? What's a Node Creature?!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Something like a 'Decaying Knight'! A special evolutionary body that can control other sub-entities nearby! I saw discussions about it on the official website."

The Mole, also on the same front, called out.

"Is your information reliable?!"

Edge Shoveling yelled: "It's not reliable! But these Variants are relentless! If we don't deal with it... We're going to be fighting them until daylight!"

The Mole gave Gnome King Riches next to him a look.

The latter set up an RPG, took a deep breath, turned on Thermal Vision, and aimed at the twinkling red glow amid the grayish-green fog.

The trigger was pulled.

With a whoosh, an Armor-piercing Bullet streaked with white smoke sped forward and struck the armor of the tank!

Sparks erupted!

Large chunks of the fungal mat peeled off!

Yet the metal jet of the armor-piercing bullet failed to penetrate the armor!

Not far away, the Spring Water Commander shouted loudly.

"Don't waste your ammo, I've tried it, it's utterly useless!"

Squatting beside him, Old Soldier cursed in frustration.

"This armor is just freaking ridiculous!"

Five RPGs didn't even leave a scratch!

Even a T-72 tank isn't this tough, right!?

For a moment, he couldn't tell whether it was the tank cheating or the armor-piercing bullets being diluted.

The battlefield was at a stalemate.

Just as everyone was at a loss, a piercing screech suddenly came from above.

It sounded like an air raid siren being pulled and was rapidly approaching, much like the beeper on the Death Scream rockets.

A bad premonition surged in his heart, and Edge Shoveling abruptly looked up, his face turning green as he blurted out, "Fuck."

He saw a propeller plane with a wingspan of nearly ten meters falling straight down from the rooftop of a nearby building, heading straight for his position.

Elena swallowed her saliva.

"Is that... a Mosquito?"

That beeper was unmistakably the same model as the Death Scream rockets!

Debt Giant Eye also noticed the situation above and his eyes widened.

Especially when he saw the two thick and large missiles hanging under the belly of the plane, he was instantly stricken with horror.

"What does he want to do?!"

Amidst the piercing noise, a reckless laugh could be faintly heard.

"Hahaha!"

"Your Mosquito grandpa has arrived!"

"Shit—rise for me!"

The plane was plummeting straight down, the control stick pulled to the root of his thigh.

Sitting in the cockpit, Mosquito braced the control stick with both hands, clenched his teeth, and prayed with all his might.

Maybe the "Soul of the Machine" heard his prayers.

With violent shaking of the fuselage and wings, the falling nose of the plane miraculously lifted.

Mosquito felt a thrill of joy, feeling as if his blood was boiling.

Not just from the overload!

But also from the cheering that came from the bottom of his heart!

He had conquered the sky!

Suppressing the violently shaking fuselage and the bloodshot crawling up his eyeballs, Mosquito exerted all his strength to maintain clarity of consciousness, holding the control stick, watching the crosshair drawn on the windshield, inching closer and closer to the silhouette in the fog.

"Human heads—"

"Are mine!"

The moment the crosshair aligned, he fiercely pressed the bombing button.

Two 100kg bombs, loaded with explosives, fell from the sky like thunder, smashing onto the stalled tank!

The blast of fire and smoke shot up into the sky, dispersing the fog and even lifting his plane a few meters higher.

Finally stabilizing the plane, the feeling of overload gradually faded.

Catching a glance at the street boiling with flames in the rearview mirror, Mosquito finally breathed a sigh of relief while holding the control stick.

"...Lucky I chose Agility!"

The propellers began to rev up.

Taking his glider towards a more open airspace.

On the front-line position.

Scorching stones fell like raindrops behind the blast shelter, and the blast wave blew up rocks, sand, and even corpses, almost burying everyone on the front line.

Mole, coughing, climbed up from the ground, picked up the rifle buried under the cement debris, and shook off the dust.

"Shit..."

Edge Shoveling spat out the sand in his mouth, shaking his dizzy head.

"I thought I'd been sacrificed."

Outside the blast shelter, thick smoke billowed.

In the face of pure power and absolute quantity, even the most advanced armor was useless—especially since the center of the explosion occurred at its most fragile top.

The blast wave blasted the mucor inside the armor and the Variants on half a street into fragments, and the remaining Variants were clearly slower due to losing the command of the "Node Creature."

Looking at the chaotic battlefield and those disorganized Variants, I Max Black unconsciously swallowed.

"...Is it over?"

Old Soldier nodded woodenly.

"Should be..."

Even if the armor could withstand.

No creature could survive such an explosion...

Not far away, explosions came from the grey-green fog, the location ought to be the enemy's "artillery position."

The "Suicide Flying Insects" that had been continuously harassing the front line and the anti-aircraft gun position also finally stopped, suggesting that Old White and others who had infiltrated behind the Tide played a role.

Edge Shoveling could feel that the Lair probably thought the same, deciding to set the day of the final battle today, hence from the beginning it brought out its trump cards and the momentum for a desperate battle.

But clearly, the intensity of the players' resistance exceeded its expectations...

The Tide was receding.

Tonight's offense seemed to be ending hastily.

However—

Would the Manager let them off just like that?

As expected, the bugle call for the charge sounded, and Edge Shoveling glanced at the VM on his arm, seeing the task popup flicker, his heart leaped.

Here it comes!

The final battle!

[Mission: The Moment of Decisive Battle!]

[Objective: Destroy the Lair on Street No. 65!]

-

(Happy New Year, everyone! I'm home for the New Year, and there were quite a few visits today, so it's a bit late, sorry...)

Chapter 278: The Lair Falls!

Street No. 65.

Beneath the bell tower covered in sticky mold.

In the center of the mold carpet, the Queen let out a dry, raspy roar.

Panic and anger swept through like a tsunami, sending restless ripples spreading from her tentacle-like hair.

The surrounding Variants let out screeching cries.

Behind her, the Lair continued to produce non-stop, yet those frail "newborns" provided no sense of security.

Especially with the continuous death of the Node Creatures, she had lost control of the front lines—her children were enduring senseless casualties...

Her crimson pupils were filled with confusion.

The relentless attacks had lasted for nearly ten nights, and through the grey-green mist, she could see the withering of life.

Yet she didn't understand.

Those humans...

Why couldn't they be completely exterminated?

Even after so many days of attrition, they still had the strength to launch offensive attacks.

What baffled her the most was that, through the grey-green mist, she sensed a familiar "ripple."

Completely incomprehensible.

Those ants resisting evolution...

Hadn't they already died once?

...

Underneath the collapsed overpass.

A mold-covered truck was slowly retreating, while swarms of Eaters rushed towards Old White and his group hiding inside a building.

Before the truck reached the end of the street, a rocket with a fiery tail chased after it and exploded right on its hood.

The warhead burst violently, sending sparks flying inside the cabin and piercing it with molten metal at high temperature.

The cabin was its weak point.

More precisely, the driver's location.

As the mold in the cabin was destroyed, the truck stalled on the spot, the mold inside the compartment stopped wriggling, and the Eaters previously crawling into the cargo quit coming out.

"Nice!" shouted Night Ten, who was aiming a rifle from a second-floor window.

"Enemy artillery position destroyed!"

Old White, standing at another window, calmly stowed the smoking launcher and glanced at his arm's VM with a flicker of delight in his eyes.

[Mission: The Decisive Moment!]

It's on!

The counter-attack had begun!

Next to him, Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, supporting an LD light machine gun, continued to pull the trigger, shredding the Eaters crawling down from the truck with the tongues of flame from his gun's muzzle.

The destroyed Node Creature allowed the uncontrolled Eaters to continuously rush to their building's base, amongst which a few Crawlers mixed in!

But the Lizard standing guard at the door acted like a guardian deity, preventing the swarming Variants from entering; each swipe of his claws was like stirring up a storm of blood and foul wind.

Tearing the approaching Crawlers in half, the amber pupils in the darkness flickered with excitement and bloodlust.

This alone was not enough—the Trash King, now utterly frenzied, kept slashing while incessantly howling.

"Utterly insane!"

His violent instincts buried deep in his blood were fully unleashed, feeling the intense longing flowing inside his veins.

The parts of his DNA not yet expressed—

Were awakening!

Fang Chang next to him fired an arrow, precisely piercing another Crawler's head, the ensuing explosion shattering half its skull.

His archery had become a gust of wind!

And standing by him, Wild Wind, with a light machine gun braced against his right shoulder, relentlessly mowed down the ascending Eaters.

Although it was difficult for a mechanical arm alone to play to its fullest in combat, paired with the KV-1 Exoskeleton for suppressing fire, it was extremely stable!

To fully adapt to the close-quarters environment of alley fighting, he swapped the bipod under the gun's muzzle for a bayonet, transforming completely into a front-line warrior!

Bodies piled up into small hills.

The artillery position's Eaters had been cleared, with almost all the Variants now rushing up from other areas.

The Tide seemed to be retreating.

However, the Variants withdrawing from the front lines crashed right into their faces.

Watching the swarm of Variants pouring from the street corner, Quit Smoking crouching by the second-floor window changing his magazine, his expression slightly shifted.

He had only two magazines left!

"Old White, the mission is already completed... when do we retreat?"

"Retreat? Out of the question!" Old White shouted excitedly.

"Brothers, hold firm! The signal for a counter-offensive has been blown! Our reinforcements will arrive soon!"

Night Ten turned his head, surprised.

"Reinforcements?"

He hadn't expected this mission to have reinforcements.

This position was already quite far back; a few more steps forward and they would be at Street No. 65's bell tower.

It could be said that the Lair was right underneath their noses!

"Our allies at the front have crushed the Tide! They're on their way here!"

Old White's words had scarcely finished when a piercing screech descended from the sky.

"Take cover!"

At first, everyone thought a rocket was incoming. Old White shouted, and everyone instinctively ducked.

However, they soon realized that it wasn't a rocket headed their way, but something even more terrifying— Mosquito-style gliders.

The sound of rapid gunfire roared like a fabric tearing machine, drawing deadly arced lines across the streets.

The Eaters huddled at the street corner fell like mowed grass.

Looking at the fleeting shadows and the swiftly passing "WX-1," Night Ten's face was filled with utter confusion.

"What the fuck? What is that?"

"Mosquito's glider..." Old White swallowed hard, his eyes equally filled with surprise.

Apparently, he hadn't expected that pile of wooden parts to actually take flight.

He thought Mosquito was just joking!

"Hahaha, this is too damn thrilling!"

Inside the glider, Mosquito's hands gripped the control stick tightly, his face flushed with excitement and adrenaline surging through his body.

Empty shell casings continuously flew out from the cockpit, the roaring guns numbing his legs.

Pity the caliber was a bit too small!

The Maxim, stripped of its water-cooling container, wasn't having any splash effect. If only he had an A-10's 30mm cannon, he could have flipped the whole street upside down!

A dive-bombing run took out swathes of Eaters.

Mosquito suddenly pulled the control stick up.

The glider, howling downward, nearly skimmed past a half-collapsed overpass before it twisted sideways, barely missing a slanted building and passing through the gaps between constructions.

His racing heart gradually calmed down, and Mosquito took a deep breath, stabilizing the aircraft's body and then elevating the altitude.

The plane was a bit tricky to control.

Without a gyroscope, he had to rely on his senses to determine if the craft was balanced.

"Damn it... really should have made a gyroscope and an airspeed tube—flying this way is like flying with your life on the line!"

Muttering to himself, Mosquito took a quick glance at the battlefield below.

The full counterattack had already begun.

Company A, consisting of 120 players, took the lead in the assault. Companies B, C, and D stood by behind Company A, while Companies E and F unfolded at the flanks, aiming to infiltrate both sides of Street No. 65, coordinating a pincer movement with the front forces of ABCD.

In addition, there were four hundred reserve troops standing by at the rear, ready to fill in as soon as heavy casualties occurred on the front.

Despite the city's not-so-small area, there were only a few roads that could actually be passed, making it difficult to fully deploy over a thousand people.

Moving forward in units of one hundred was already the limit of how many the battlefield's width could accommodate.

Moreover, if one aimed to interlace from the complex ruin conditions to the backside of the lair, it required further breaking down the units into groups of ten or even three to five people.

Nonetheless, this was precisely where the players had an advantage.

Even in isolated combat scenarios, the players maintained high spirits and were willing even to sacrifice themselves without hesitation for the collective victory.

If it were mercenaries or the militia of Giant Stone City instead, scattering their teams into the ruins and infiltrating into the belly of the Variants, it wouldn't be much different from sending them to their deaths.

Mosquito swiftly initiated a second round of air strikes after adjusting the direction of his plane.

A VM was now strapped to his thigh, serving as his radar.

From the positions of other players and the flickering gunfire on the streets, he could roughly discern where the battle was most intense and where the Variants were densest.

Then he just swept through them with gunfire!

As Mosquito began his third dive, the players had already completely occupied Street No. 67 and met with the Bull Horse squad under the overpass.

Over twenty heavily modified KV-1 Exoskeletons paved the way at the front, the machine guns in their hands spitting flames as they strode forward.

They were the vanguard of firepower, the mobile ammunition boxes, and a steel wall!

Groups of five or six players followed behind them, some holding rifles, others carrying Iron Fist Rocket Launchers, and also light and heavy cavalry guns for suppressing heavily armored units.

With the support of artillery, armor, and airpower, Company A's offensive was unstoppable!

Additionally, a ten-man team of flamethrowers followed behind Company A.

They wore thick protective gear and gas masks, the flamethrowers on their backs being Mosquito's creation—"Hellfire 1.0."

However, these flamethrowers did not join the frontline battle.

Burning Eaters became even more dangerous; while incendiary bombs were a good choice against dense clusters of Variants, Molotov Cocktails and flamethrowers definitely were not.

The thirty-plus liters of fuel carried on their backs were meant for clearing fixed targets.

Like the lair!

Without the control of the "Node Creature," the Eaters on the street became disorganized, and their overly concentrated numbers turned into a burden, clumping chaotically together.

The street was rendered black with scorched corpses and sludge.

Occasional 88mm shells fell, cooperating with Company A's advance and swiftly recovering a large area between Street No. 68 and Street No. 65.

Some Variants, summoned by the lair, retreated towards the Bell Tower on Street No. 65, but many stayed, moving instinctively toward the nearest player, their movements as rapid as before.

But it was evident to anyone that they were on their last legs!

Street No. 65.

The fungal mat covering the concrete surface quickly turned to charred remains under the flames.

Incubation chambers hidden within the street-side stores were smashed one by one, the players using incendiary bombs and flamethrowers to destroy the pulsating rows of eggs.

Soon, nearly four hundred players from three companies had secured the main thoroughfare of Street No. 65; the burning flames and thick smoke covered the ominous grey-green clouds.

Standing at the front line in his cobalt blue power armor, Chu Guang gripped his Nitrogen-Powered Hammer, surveying around the chaotic battlefield.

The Full Cycle Systems were already activated.

Not a spore, nor even a speck of dust, could pierce his armor.

A Crawler was running towards him, but before it could reach him, it was turned into a sieve by a group of awakened players with their rifles.

Looking at the creature struggling on the ground, Chu Guang casually pulled out the Silver Snake revolver hanging from his waist and with a loud bang, he blew its head off, ending its life.

He felt nostalgic thinking about it.

He remembered, more than half a year ago, when he was just level five, he, along with the complete novices Night Ten and Fang Chang, went to Brown's farm to trade. A Crawler nearly wiped their group out.

As for now...

There was no need for him to act at all.

Putting away his revolver, Chu Guang looked towards the building not far away adorned with a giant clock.

The dark red mold carpet had already climbed up to the third floor, and thick fungus filaments as big as thighs were sticking to the nearby buildings, with the dark hollow windows emanating a terrifying scarlet hue.

That must be the Lair...though it was still young compared to its counterparts in the city center, almost infantile.

It was unimaginable.

In less than two weeks, it had developed to this state. If given a few more weeks, who knows what would happen.

Chu Guang waved his hand, signaling the A squad that had arrived below the building to launch the attack.

Strength-type players lined up, dozens of 20mm light cavalry guns fired in turns, and within a minute, nearly a hundred high-explosive and armor-piercing incendiary rounds were fired, blowing up the six Tyrants guarding the entrance and the mold carpet and concrete walls around them into debris.

Large pieces of rebar were exposed in front of the players.

Chu Guang continued to issue orders, and the eager flamethrower soldiers ignited the caps on their flamethrower nozzles and began to advance under the cover of other players.

Looking at the bodies on the ground, Canyon Escape seemed to mutter to himself.

"Sure enough..."

Hearing his mutter, Edge Shoveling glanced at him.

"Sure enough what?"

Canyon Escape: "The Lair controls the mold not through direct manipulation, but by governing the Node Creatures indirectly. So by taking down those creatures, the Tide naturally diminishes…until its ultimate extinction."

Edge Shoveling: "…Isn't that what I said?"

Canyon Escape coughed dryly.

"I summarized it for you."

"…"

That's some summary.

Edge Shoveling suddenly became speechless, looking towards the bell tower ahead.

That must be the command center of the Tide, the breeding ground of the mold, spreading spores.

A team of ten had already covered the flamethrower soldiers as they charged inside. It wouldn't be long before the whole street would be filled with the smell of roasted mushrooms.

Has it ended—

Huh?

Just as he was thinking this, an explosion sounded from inside the bell tower, and a ten-meter-long tongue of flame burst out of the door.

Burning concrete blocks flew out one after another, and a several meter tall figure emerged from the thick smoke, with flesh-red mold hanging down to the ground like a skirt and numerous tendrils floating behind its head like writhing snakes.

Enemies meet, particularly fierce competition.

Looking at the figure emerging from the thick smoke, the Spring Water Commander's eyes widened with excitement as he pointed and shouted.

"That's it! The Queen!"

"Heavy Infantry, advance with me! Shield wall defense! Strength-type put your guns up, switch to armor-piercing rounds, ready on my command—"

This time, he was wearing the Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton, rigid armor from toe to hair, and there was no way he'd give in easily.

The Queen let out a piercing roar, and from its towering stature, numerous tendrils shot out like lightning, aiming at the players outside the bell tower.

Twenty KV-1 Exoskeletons stepped forward in unison, raising the steel plates in their hands to protect the teammates behind them.

The tendril-like whips came lashing over, striking the steel plates with a dull 'duang' sound!

Many staggered slightly, their feet shifting back an inch, but the tendrils did not cause any real harm.

Standing at the frontline, Spring Water slightly frowned, a hint of doubt arising in his heart.

It feels...

Somewhat weak?

Just then, an ear-piercing screech came from the sky, followed by a series of dense firestorms.

A glider spitting tongues of flame dived, firing bullets from the staircase all the way to the top of the Queen's head.

The 7mm bullets didn't penetrate the keratin armor on the outside of the Queen, but they shredded the tendrils extending from its back into pieces.

Bursts of blood mist and dust exploded!

The dozens of meters long tendrils broke inch by inch, lying on the ground and twisting in agony, dark blood gushing from the breaks like a fountain, quickly soaking the broken steps.

The players preparing for the boss fight were shocked upon seeing this.

What the fuck?!

Is it that weak?

Not just Spring Water and the frontline players prepared for battle, even Chu Guang, who had just raised his Gauss Rifle, was taken aback.

He had thought that since this creature had dared to attack, it must have had some aces up its sleeves, but it turned out to be nothing more than a desperate struggle.

The Queen, hit hard in its weak point, let out a cry of pain and began to move backwards.

The mold attached to the building was also uneasily inching, a slew of crimson eggs falling onto the steps, from which undeveloped offspring continued to emerge.

Some without arms, some without legs, or simply missing the lower half, only heads and mouths hanging from the necks.

They roared and charged at the players.

It seemed to be their final charge.

"Fire!"

Spring Water swung his right hand forward vigorously.

Dozens of rifles and light machine guns unleashed their firepower simultaneously, instantly shredding those Eaters that hadn't fully hatched.

Players wielding heavy and light cavalry guns were about to charge up the stairs over the littered corpses, pursuing the Queen that had retreated into the lair.

But at that moment, a piercing shriek darted in front of them.

Faintly—

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group at the forefront heard a familiar, monstrous cry.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"A head! Mine!"

The glider dove headfirst into the main entrance of the Bell Tower, its propeller spinning at high speed, and its nose crashed directly into the Queen's chest.

The massive inertia pushed the Queen's several-meter-tall body to the ground, dragging it forward for a few meters—her chest churned by the propeller as she let out a pained roar.

However, soon, a sudden explosion enveloped both the glider and the Queen lying on the ground in a blast of fire.

The heatwave from the explosion hit their faces.

A flying piece of wood clunked against the helmet, and I Max Black, clad in a KV-1, finally came to his senses, swallowing instinctively.

"Isn't solid hydrogen supposed to be safe..."

He had heard that the solid hydrogen batteries in the setting weren't made purely from solid hydrogen. They contained some intermediary materials that made the batteries less prone to explode.

That's why, although the energy storage of solid hydrogen was slightly less effective than metallic hydrogen, its applications were more extensive.

The pausing Battlefield Atmosphere Group went silent for a while before giving an uncertain answer.

"...Maybe someone added a detonating cap to the battery?"

Or maybe there was dynamite with a timed fuse inside the engine compartment.

The Old Soldier didn't find it strange, but I Max Black was shocked, his eyes wide open.

"Holy shit...was that really necessary?!"

Even though it was a wooden airplane, wasn't it expensive?

The two Maxim machine guns alone were quite costly; he had seen them in the NPC shop before, each costing thousands of silver coins!

The Spring Water Commander, wearing a "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeleton, walked up from behind and glanced at the smoke-filled hall.

"Is she dead?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group nodded.

"She should be."

"Better go in to make sure," chuckled the Spring Water Commander, slapping his arm. "You're up."

The Old Soldier rolled his eyes but said nothing.

The steel-plated Miner Type I was not weak in protection either, slightly less than the United Human's Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry."

Watching his two teammates calmly discuss the situation, I Max Black couldn't help but say.

"Wait, how come you guys aren't shocked at all?"

The Spring Water Commander and Edge Shoveler exchanged glances, their expressions a bit peculiar.

"It's just a mosquito, after all..."

"Yeah... if the plane were equipped with useful features, that would be strange."

I Max Black: "..."

...

[Worldwide Announcement: "The Queen" was first killed by "WC True to Mosquito"!]

[Since this player chose to make it public, this achievement will be entered into the Hall of Fame!]

[Mission: Decisive Moment (Completed)]

[We have defeated the Tide, victory belongs to us!]

Both online and offline players, at the exact same moment, saw a series of pop-up windows on VM or official websites.

With the "Boss" defeated, this newly formed Lair lost its last barrier protecting it, and was completely exposed to the players.

The distant horizon was already tinged with the pale light of dawn.

Barrels of fuel were brought into the Bell Tower.

The fire swiftly ignited.

The scorching flames boiled inside the Lair, swallowing the egg masses throbbing on the mycelial mat, along with the tendrils transferring nutrients and organic matter.

Amidst the smoky blaze, large chunks of the mycelial mat fell from the walls of the Bell Tower.

Even if the remaining fuel might not be enough to completely burn through these thick mycelial mats, deprived of nourishment, they would soon decay.

Or regress into "harmless" mold patches.

Below the Bell Tower, players let out victorious cheers.

Since the launch of Wasteland OL, this was the first battle on such a large scale—a thousand players.

Many stood in front of the burning Bell Tower, taking photos with their comrades, passing around camera-enabled headphones.

On the streets bathed in morning light, Chu Guang felt a shock much deeper than the players as he looked at the burning Bell Tower.

They had defeated the Tide!

Nothing in this city could threaten their survival, marking that they had truly established a foothold in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

Giant Stone City, situated in the West Third Ring, might be a potential threat, but for now, they had shown no overt hostility.

Perhaps the south held more of their interests.

Chu Guang raised his eyes to the north, his emotions surging within him.

If Giant Stone City and the Grand Canyon had no intention of ending the turmoil in River Valley Province, then it was up to him to resolve it.

At that moment, a pale blue window popped up in Chu Guang's field of vision.

[The Tide will end in 7 days.]

[Congratulations, young Manager…]

Chapter 279: Second Awakening!

[[Worldwide Announcement: The Tide will end within seven days, and task rewards will be sent to player accounts within 24 hours...]]

The bell tower bathed in morning light, acted like a torch lit atop the ruins, incinerating the lair of the "mutated slime fungus."

This battle almost depleted all the ammunition reserves of Shelter No. 404.

Not to mention the 7mm bullets, nearly a thousand rounds of various 20mm armor-piercing, high-explosive, and incendiary shells were used, and 88mm mortar shells were fired relentlessly regardless of cost.

Chu Guang didn't really mind though.

Out with the old, in with the new.

A huge fiscal deficit is certainly worrying, but the military industrial capacity of Shelter No. 404 had reached unprecedented heights, stimulated by "Void Silver coins."

Currently, with sufficient raw material supply, the daily production capacity for 7mm full-power bullets could reach up to 200,000 rounds, weighing nearly 5 tons.

With a large number of "light cavalry guns" being equipped, the No. 81 Steel Factory had achieved mass production of 20mm armor-piercing bullets, significantly reducing production costs and labor.

The two managers of No. 81 Steel Factory are currently researching mass production improvements for the more complex high-explosive and incendiary shells, and it is believed that results will not take long.

Once war breaks out, this will be Shelter No. 404's greatest reliance!

After the battle ended.

NPCs in protective gear went to the battlefield to recover bodies, while the task of guarding and clearing remaining Variants was handed over to the guards, and players gradually left the front lines.

Clones needed to rest.

Many players had fought all night, sustaining only on surging adrenaline withstanding the [Fatigue debuff], and as the emotional high wore off, many started yawning.

Injured players returned to the shelter, while uninjured players found a nearby save point (Sleep Cabin) to log off.

As for players who died or were mortally wounded, they had logged off much earlier.

At this moment, every section of the official website was bustling.

Tail: "Damn... Why did I get assigned to Company C, I didn't even see what the BOSS looked like! (ó﹏ò｡)"

Troop formations were randomly assigned.

To ensure that each wave had sufficient combat power, Chu Guang had Xiao Qi allocate players so that, aside from Company A, which had the highest proportion of Awakeners as the vanguard, the proportion of Awakeners in other companies was the same.

Of course.

The players couldn't possibly know this.

In the eyes of the vast majority, not being assigned to the most thrilling and dangerous front lines was simply bad luck.

Si Si: "It's the participation that counts, we even killed three Tyrants, that's pretty good. (Pat pat)"

WC True Mosquito: "Tyrants are just trivial, I scored two BOSS kills and one first worldwide announcement kill! Hahahaha! So thrilling!"

I Max Black: "MMP! Are you proud of stealing kills?! I was about to go A!"

Makabazi: "Exactly! Too much! I can't watch this!"

Talk Less Bullshit: "Be a decent person!"

WC True Mosquito: "Doesn't matter! A steal is a win! (smirk)"

Mosquito, unsurprisingly, snagged the MVP of the entire battle.

Those two hundred-kilogram air-dropped bombs obliterated the Tide's Node Creature, directly turning the tide of battle!

But that second BOSS, there was indeed a hint of kill-stealing...

There really was no need to crash into it, hence complaints from frontline players.

But would Mosquito care?

Obviously not.

His own plane, he'll crash it if he wants to.

Not to mention, he was already used to it.

Spring Water Commander: "Honestly, I've been thinking, does your plane even have landing gear?"

WC True Mosquito: "How could it not! How else could I have slid down from upstairs? If I hung a bomb beneath, it would've scraped right onto the ground! But then I realized it's pointless, there's no airspeed valve or gyroscope, and it's pitch black down there. Forget not having a runway, even with a runway, I couldn't land, so I thought might as well just crash."

Ward Foot Gas Who Levin: "No offense, but that 7mm peashooter is too weak; why not just use a 20mm cannon? Don't you enjoy the rattling and booming?"

Aye, I Need To Use The Bathroom: "Exactly! Have you considered a 37mm gun? We'll help you modify it! (funny)"

WC True Mosquito: "Roll on, none of your business! I can make a cannon myself!"

Ward Foot Gas Who Levin: "You can make one? I'm dying of laughter."

Aye, I Need To Use The Bathroom: "Exactly! You must be joking!"

WC True Mosquito: "@￥#%!"

Getting a plane airborne is too easy; fast enough and just tilt the nose, it'll go up, and if not, then it won't.

But bringing a high-speed flying plane down is so much harder!

Speed, altitude, angle, and a flat runway, missing any one is a no go, and this wooden plane didn't even have a dashboard.

However, for Mosquito, this less-than-perfect flying experience wasn't entirely a bad thing. Although he crashed a plane, it provided him with invaluable experimental data and flying experience.

Next time, he was confident he could do better.

As for the cost?

Offline for three days only.

No big deal!

The post quickly went off-topic, turning into a verbal battleground between Iron Factory No. 81 and Goblin Technology.

With comments like "The 88mm barrel, that's still my handiwork" and "Only wimps play with a 20mm tiny tube, real men use large-caliber rockets," the bragging got more and more outrageous.

But oddly enough, their arguments were well-founded and thoroughly backed up.

Most people couldn't get a word in edgewise on such topics, so they flocked to other threads. However, Mosquito and the two factory heads, relying solely on their own power, managed to hype up the derailed post to the hot list.

Later, some tech-savvy Backseat Drivers came in to spectate, adding their comments here and there, making the post even more intense.

In a typical forum, the manager would have intervened to keep things calm by now.

But this forum had no such rules.

Thousands of comments piled up without anyone calling a halt, continuing to build layer upon layer until the two major factories ceased fire, yet the thread kept growing.

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Yeah, having strong connections is awesome, you can talk about anything no problem."

Outlaw Maniac Ghegwa: "It's not about being strong or not, this forum's server is a bit dodgy. A tech-savvy buddy of mine spontaneously decided to try and hack into the server for a look, and couldn't even find the door."

Jiawen IV Nidamu: "Even weirder, any complaints related to this website, whether through external or internal channels, vanish without a trace. Even if the staff are too lazy to deal, they'd at least put up a blacklist, right? This site not being blacklisted, I reckon there's definitely someone high up backing it."

Grandpa Ao: "Hehe, keep dreaming! It's just a small-time betting site, at most it's under the jurisdiction of the public security squad, you think the leaders have nothing better to do than come here and shoot the breeze with you? The idea that someone up top is involved is hilarious."

Whether there were people up top or not wasn't something ordinary players could know.

Perhaps there had always been, or perhaps not, or maybe the "100% real Virtual Reality Game" itself was a test field for some mysterious research institution?

Otherwise, it couldn't be explained why the game was filled with domestic players, with players not facing any language barriers among themselves.

Of course, only players who got beta test privileges and those who filled out reservation forms would consider this aspect; but for those purely here for fun and trollish netizens, the biggest debate was whether such a game even existed.

To say it didn't exist, yet the promotional PV was well-made.

To say it existed, it wouldn't still be a mere urban legend circulating in gaming circles, with less discussion than some universe famous for ruthlessly harvesting gamers.

Every time this topic came up, it sparked fiery arguments, kindling frustrations that the world couldn't be as one imagined.

Just as the thread became more skewed, an official announcement suddenly updated at the top of the forum, pushing through all sections.

It was a game PV, posted by Xiao Qi.

Although it lasted only three minutes, it condensed all the thrilling moments of last night's "Tide Battle," capturing every scene from sky to land, without a single dull moment!

Each shot, undeniably, was a piece of art!

Each frame was cinematographic!

Though the gory parts were slightly adjusted technically, it didn't affect the viewers' enjoyment. Whether it was the particle effects of each dust grain or the sharp lines of the blue power armor, everything was so realistic it was beyond criticism.

Many netizens even exclaimed,

If you turn off the filter, it's just like real life!

And this time, Lord Arrogant Brother, exceptionally, posted his second thread of the day within an hour after being metaphorically slapped in the face.

"Hehe, keep dreaming…"

"If that's really the game graphics, I'll live-stream myself eating crap!"

Whether or not it was actual game footage had become irrelevant.

The tense and exciting battlefield, coupled with soul-stirring BGM, heated the blood of not just the Backseat Drivers watching but also the real players who had just logged off, who couldn't wait to dive back in.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Awesome! I made it on TV again! Hahaha!"

Elena: "And this time I wasn't playing a corpse. (Slippery)"

Spring Water Commander: "Good thing I had my gear on! (Gritted teeth)"

Crow: "Hey, why was the video posted by Xiao Qi today? Wasn't it always Ah Guang before?"

Tail: "I'll tag her for you! (≥ω･*)ﾉ@Xiao Qi"

Usually, this planner named Xiao Qi didn't interact with netizens on the forum, and even Tail didn't really expect her to respond.

Yet, at that moment, something unexpected happened.

Xiao Qi: "Ah Guang, well, he's asleep. o(*////▽////*)q"

Crow: "???"

Tail: "?"

Night Ten: "What the heck?! Isn't Ah Guang a lonely single? (Shocked)"

Fang Chang: "Be careful of that playboy, he never even announced it officially on social media, remember to check his mobile phone to see if it's set to private visibility. (Sneaky smile)"

Xiao Qi: "Hehe, don't talk nonsense, we're not what you think.ヾﾞ(@≥◡≤@)ﾉﾞ"

Teng Teng: "So what's your relationship with him? Do you know each other in reality? Have you met his parents yet? (curious)"

Xiao Qi: "He's my master. o(*////▽////*)q"

The post was quiet for a while.

Although it only lasted a short second.

Teng Teng: "Anyway, better call 110 first."

Xiao Qi: "QAQ?"

Players could take off their helmets and get out of bed, but Chu Guang didn't have such a gadget. After staying awake for more than twenty hours, he fell asleep on the bed as soon as he got back to Shelter No. 404.

When he woke up, it was already night.

"...Has my schedule flipped again?"

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Chu Guang, slowly sitting up from the bed, mumbled to himself and glanced at the pool of liquid beneath the bed.

Metabolism acceleration caused heavy sweating, and this time there was significantly more sweat than before, making him feel slightly dehydrated.

With a sense of strength filling his entire body and his mind and vision clearer than ever, Chu Guang even dimly saw a fingerprint sticking on the doorknob.

No surprise at all.

He had leveled up again!

"Previous development progress was 19%."

"...So now should it be 20%?"

Second Awakening!

Chu Guang felt a surge of joy.

Although he was eager to get a medical checkup right away, the sudden increase in bodily functions brought an uncoordinated feeling, forcing him to not rush out of bed immediately.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, he gently moved his fingers and limbs, adapting to the changes happening to his body.

Not to brag.

Now, he even had the confidence that he could dodge a bullet fired directly at him just by relying on his intuition, reflexes, and strength!

Of course.

Such things are better known to oneself, there's no need to go out of the way to try it...

Standing in the elevator, Chu Guang had planned to take a shower first and then go see Heya for a checkup, but just then, a thought struck him.

"Speaking of which... did the mission to unlock Floor B4 get completed?"

Thinking of this, Chu Guang couldn't keep calm anymore.

Last time when unlocking Floor B3, he had retrieved two Black Boxes from the warehouse, solving the problems of players' save issues and insufficient Attribute Panels.

This time he had staved off the Tide, unlocked Floor B4, surely it wouldn't be too much to expect a Black Box that could print power armor?

Besides the Cultivation chamber and the Black Box, there must be other goodies!

However, just as an excited Chu Guang reached out to touch the elevator's touchscreen, a pale blue floating window appeared before him.

[Remaining unlocking time: 6 days 12 hours 13 minutes 6 seconds]

Seeing these words, Chu Guang almost choked with frustration.

Damn it!

Hadn't the Tide already been repelled?

And the mission was completed, wasn't it?

Did they really need to wait until the spore density outside returned to normal to open the door?

Worrying was futile, Chu Guang took a deep breath and pressed the button for Floor B3.

Anyway.

First, figure out the changes in his own body.

...

Medical laboratory.

Heya, coming out from the adjacent analysis room, handed a tablet full of data to Chu Guang, who was sitting on the scanning bed.

"...It's hard to believe, the changes occurring in your body are becoming more and more astonishing. Are you sure you haven't used any drugs or other technological means?"

Chu Guang, taking the tablet, glanced at it briefly before switching to the more concise and intuitive Attribute Panel.

"No, by the way, would this be considered a Second Awakening?"

Heya raised her eyebrows, curiously asking.

"Second Awakening? Is that some kind of professional term? Has anyone conducted similar research?"

Chu Guang casually said: "No, it's just a term conventionally used by Waste Land Wanderers for this phenomenon... I heard it from someone else."

As for whether anyone has researched it, only those who have researched it would know.

There are no academic forums in the Wasteland, where the gap in knowledge and cognition is even wider than the wealth gap. Even in modern society, not everyone can clearly tell the difference between selective gene expression and DNA mutation, let alone the illiterate inhabitants of the Wasteland.

But maybe the Academy would know something about this phenomenon?

However, the Wandering Swamp is too far from here.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Stage 2) → Manager (Stage 3)

Level: LV.19 → LV.20

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 18 → 23

Agility: 13 → 18

Constitution: 16 → 21

Perception: 14 → 19

Intelligence: 15 → 20

]

[-

Talent: 1. Wild Instinct: In extreme conditions, Wild Instinct can be activated, increasing all attributes by 10~15% while fatigue accumulation rate increases by 20~30%.

2. Mind Intimidation: Can exert mental pressure on fully sentient life forms weaker than oneself, weakening their resistance.

3. Swarm Mentality: Able to share 3~15% of the Intelligence attribute with fully sentient life forms weaker than oneself, enhancing their inspiration and thought speed. This effect is influenced by distance, number of people, acceptance, etc., with a maximum range of 10m.

]

After reviewing the attribute panel from top to bottom, a look of surprise crossed Chu Guang's face.

Damn.

An increase of five points in all attributes!

No wonder he felt like Superman when he woke up today.

But what is this last skill?

Does it enlighten people's minds?

With his current Intelligence attribute at 20, the maximum of 15% is only a 3-point increase, but for a normal person with a base intelligence of just five points, isn't that essentially a 60% increase in neural activation?

And if used on a group, that's a guaranteed boost of 0.6 points!

This talent is really Niubi!

But...

How exactly does this work?

While Chu Guang got lost in thoughts, Heya pondered briefly before suddenly speaking.

"The research on the Lair still needs some time, but regarding the evolutionary bodies... I've discovered something quite unusual."

Evolutionary bodies are what the Waste Land Wanderers call Node Creatures.

Although few know what role they play in the Tide, most people can tell that they are distinctly different from the common Variants like Eaters, Crawlers, or even Tyrants.

Whether it's their manner of fighting or their dominance over lesser beings.

They are like the bizarre species in a "Mutated slime fungus."

Chu Guang looked up at Heya and asked curiously,

"What have you found?"

"By comparing samples retrieved from the Decaying Knights, the Queen, discarded Tanks, and Trucks, I've discovered some peculiar DNA fragments in some of their cells..."

Heya moved next to Chu Guang and swiped her index finger lightly across the tablet, quickly switching the screen from the attribute panel to another research report.

"Look familiar?"

Chu Guang noticed the picture in the report, showing two long strains of unfolding DNA, next to which another image depicted structures resembling synapses.

As for those numbers and symbols.

He could be certain.

It was his first time encountering them.

"Just tell me the conclusion."

Heya seemed unsurprised by Chu Guang's request.

"It's still too premature to conclude, but all clues seem to point to one thing."

"Those 'evolutionary bodies' are likely transformed humans!"

Chapter 280: The Trash Lord with Off-the-Charts Data Panel

It was night.

In the area west of the second ring, ceaseless gunfire and cannon fire erupted as mercenaries fought against the swarming Variants under the cover of airstrikes and shelling.

Oddly, the north, which had been turbulent all of last night, was now eerily quiet.

From a distance of several kilometers, the Iron Forest was everywhere. Gunshots were surely inaudible, but the booming of explosions could still faintly be heard.

However, Zhao Yongxu found nothing strange about this.

A group of yokels wielding fire sticks wouldn't stand a chance against the Tide; that would indeed be a wonder.

Presumably, last night's battle had already exhausted all their strength, and by now, they were likely either swallowed by the surging Tide or had tucked their tails and fled.

Gazing at the silent night sky to the north, a hint of contempt flashed in his eyes.

"These idiots."

Not knowing enough to keep their distance was just asking for trouble.

As everyone knew, the Tide advanced towards areas with high population density and fewer Mucor species Variants. Both population increase and mass eradication of the Mucor species accumulated a kind of "hatred value."

Of course, those yokels wouldn't know this.

Their heads, at most, could pack in half a book's worth of "get-rich strategies" from "Voice of Giant Stone City," maybe not even knowing a few words. How much could they possibly understand?

In his view, those people were no different from the beggars at the gates of Giant Stone City; essentially, they were one and the same.

Turning his gaze from the north, Zhao Yongxu, standing by the window of a tall building, shifted his attention to the east.

As an officer of the Militia Group, directly appointed by the city lord as the frontline commander, resolving the threat to the prosperity and stability of Giant Stone City posed by the Tide was indeed his main concern.

Not far away.

Two arcs of light streaked across the night sky.

Following the descent of four black dots, blazing flames engulfed an entire street, drying up every speck of soil.

The vicinity of the entrance to the underground complex was cleared out, creating a vacuum zone, and the mercenaries began advancing.

From the West Third Ring to the West Second Ring, two newly formed lairs on the surface had been destroyed by airstrikes days ago, but three more were hidden within the underground commercial complex.

The mutations in the hatcheries were random and utterly unpredictable. Even after exhaustive searches, some could still slip through the cracks.

Especially when these mutations occurred underground.

The underground spaces and track transit tangled beneath the towering buildings were as dense as a spider web, or a tangled ball of yarn.

It was said that during the distant Prosperity Epoch, only quantum computers could help people find the quickest way home.

Unfortunately, Giant Stone City did not possess such quantum computers for inquiring directions, nor did it have strategic weapons capable of reaching tens, or even hundreds of meters underground.

But it didn't matter.

They had enough Cannon Fodders and ample logistics.

With the support of both indirect and direct firepower, even if a couple of powerful Evolutionary bodies appeared, they wouldn't be a match for them.

Optimistically, they could eliminate an underground lair by tonight.

Pessimistically, it might take just another two days.

Zhao Yongxu quietly waited for good news from the frontline when suddenly, a pilot's voice transmitted through the communication channel.

"Air raid complete, target eliminated… returning to base."

"Well done. Go back and rest, there's no more work for you tonight," he responded.

Just as he uttered these words, a thought struck Zhao Yongxu, and he hastily added,

"Oh right, take a detour to the north on your way back."

"I want to know the situation at the North Fourth Ring."

He didn't need to worry about North Suburb.

He said this purely out of personal curiosity.

The pilot, not overly concerned, succinctly replied.

"Received."

Two arcs of light charted a wide curve in the sky towards the north.

Zhao Yongxu waited momentarily.

Soon, a voice reporting from the communication channel reached him.

"We have reached the airspace above North Fourth Ring, no anomalies discovered."

"And the gunfire?"

"None seen… it's pitch black here."

It seemed not just the artillery fire had ceased; even the gunfire had completely stopped.

Zhao Yongxu chuckled inwardly, "Just as I thought." Yet at that moment, the voice that had paused briefly spoke up again.

"Not just the North Fourth Ring, the Changling Overpass area is quiet as well, no open fire spotted… However, northwards, towards the Fifth Ring area, scattered lights can be seen."

Zhao Yongxu was stunned.

Scattered lights?

The survivors hadn't fled?

Could they have already dealt with the Tide… but how could that be possible!

With a puzzled expression, Zhao Yongxu pressed further.

"What about the Bell Tower on Street No. 65? What's the situation there?"

The communication channel went silent for a while.

Soon, a confident voice replied.

"We are currently over Street No. 65. The bell tower's walls show significant fungal blotches, confirmed to be remnants of a lair…"

"There appears to have been a fierce battle here before, the ground is littered with corpses… but they won."

A cigarette, held between his fingers, fell to the ground.

Zhao Yongxu's eyes widened, full of disbelief.

"Remnants of a lair? Are you sure you're not mistaken?!"

The pilot replied with certainty.

"…I'm positive."

The patrol mission ended, and the aircraft began its return flight.

Zhao Yongxu blankly stared at the northern sky outside the window, falling silent for a long time without uttering a word.

He couldn't figure it out.

Without air support, how had those people managed to eliminate the Variants, which surged like a tide, using only homemade cannons and iron pipe rifles?

After a long silence, he finally squeezed out a half-sentence filled with perplexity.

"...How is that possible!"

...

"Damn, last night's explosion sounded just like thunder… Does anyone know what exactly happened there?"

"Are you talking about the south? I heard it too!"

"It must be the Tide, those Blue Jackets have been dealing with it these past couple of weeks, I heard it's been quite lively on the frontline."

"The Tide? I've been to Qingquan City many times, and this is the first time I've heard of the Tide moving northward."

"Maybe this year is different from previous ones? After all, it wasn't this lively last year."

"Strange, can the Tide even know where there are more people?"

"You clearly lack experience. My uncle, who serves in the Giant Stone City Militia Group, told me that every Eater you kill out there will come back for you in the form of the Tide next spring."

"Stop talking nonsense, if it were as mystical as you say, the survivors in Qingquan City would've been long dead!"

North Gate Street by the trade post of Changjiu Farm, the highway motel was a real hive of bustling activity.

As the sky darkened, the place turned into a tavern frequented by mercenaries, traveling merchants, and Caravan guards.

Some ate meat and drank liquor, others played dice and cards, and some held forth with strangers seated next to them, discussing road sightings and rumors just to earn a pint of beer.

As everyone knows, where there is alcohol, there are stories—though many stories were made up on the spot, occasionally some slightly valuable bits of information would be peppered into the mire of gossip.

Therefore, whether they had jobs or not, mercenaries and traveling merchants liked to sit here to pass the time.

"My men and I need to stay another night."

Sun Shiqi, approaching the bar, woke Old Hooke who was dozing off behind it.

In such a noisy place, it was a wonder he could sleep at all.

Opening his bleary eyes, Old Hooke lifted his eyelids to look at the young man standing at the bar, yawning as he did.

"No problem… Why the sudden decision to stay an extra day? I remember you were in a hurry to return to make a fortune."

"The order got delayed, just my luck…" Sun Shiqi muttered, sitting down at the bar, "Another beer, please, the kind without water mixed in."

Not only his order had stalled; all the military export orders from the entire Changjiu Farm were postponed by a day, stating that the industrial area's inventory had been sent to the frontline.

The girl named Frost River personally came to the motel to apologize to him, noting that the trade post was willing to cover his accommodation fee with 10 silver coins.

Although Sun Shiqi wanted to complain, staying an extra day here cost more than just 10 silver coins—both the mercenaries' wages and their accommodation expenses were on his tab—but seeing the girl's sincere apology, he didn't make it tough for her.

Moreover, even if he had it wouldn't have mattered; it was an unavoidable situation.

The frontlines were at war, and the bullets delivered to the ammunition depots couldn't just be taken back.

Facing a survivor settlement that was unreasonable, it wasn't unheard of to delay deliveries even until the next year; a delay of a day or two wasn't too excessive.

Doing business on the Wasteland meant taking some risks.

"We aren't in Giant Stone City here; we don't sell diluted fake drinks."

While selling, Old Hooke didn't forget to label the neighbors. He shakily walked to a barrel, twisted open the silver faucet, and filled a cup as thick as a man's thigh, thumping it down on the table before returning to the bar.

"5 silver coins."

"Put it on my tab."

Taking the wooden mug, Sun Shiqi peered inside.

Good lord, he couldn't tell if the beer had been watered down, but the foam already filled half the cup.

He realized then that the inn didn't make its real money from the room charges but from what the patrons consumed onsite.

At this rate, a barrel of beer could probably be traded for a cow.

How extortionate!

"How's the situation on the North Loop frontline?"

Old Hooke casually replied.

"It's over."

"Over?" Sun Shiqi showed a surprised expression, doubting his own ears, "Are you talking about the Tide?"

Old Hooke: "What else could it be?"

Restraining the surprise on his face, Sun Shiqi awkwardly laughed and said.

"I just didn't expect it to end so quickly."

Usually, the Tide wouldn't end until late March.

And it wasn't even the end of February yet.

Without further inquiring about the Tide, Sun Shiqi instinctively leaned closer to the mug and sniffed, catching the fragrance of malt.

"Did you brew this yourselves?"

Old Hooke casually replied.

"Malt from Brown Farm and hops, plus the special fermentation techniques of Shelter No. 404, I guarantee, this is a brew you absolutely can't find in the taverns of Giant Stone City."

He read the line so smoothly.

So much so that Sun Shiqi felt like the guy might have memorized it.

But that wasn't what he was concerned about.

Sun Shiqi pointed to the beer barrel behind him, asking curiously.

"How much for one barrel of this beer?"

Old Hooke's eyes brightened, a pleased smile spreading across his wrinkled face.

"Interested? I'll sell it to you for 500 silver coins."

500?!

The barrel could hold at most 50 liters, perhaps only around 40 liters, whether it could even fill a hundred mugs was questionable.

Only a fool would buy it!

Sun Shiqi rolled his eyes, sipped the beer, and chose not to continue the conversation.

He had recently come into a small fortune.

But he was not foolish.

The silky smooth taste made him feel relaxed, just as he was about to inquire about some business intelligence, the wooden door of the inn suddenly opened, and a dusty figure walked in.

Old Hooke looked at the man and skillfully asked,

"Are you here to eat or stay?"

"Neither, I am here to look for someone..."

Noticing Sun Shiqi standing by the bar, Zhou Nan's eyes lit up, and he immediately walked over quickly, "Hey, friend, I've been looking for you!"

Sun Shiqi recognized him; it seemed he stayed at the inn opposite. When he first arrived at Changjiu Farm, this man had invited him to go to Giant Stone City.

"Get him a beer... and two skewers of grilled lizard meat, put it on my tab."

"Alright," Hooke turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Sitting next to Sun Shiqi on the bar stool, the merchant from the south happily said,

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Sun Shiqi looked at him and asked, "What did you need me for?"

"If I had no reason I certainly wouldn't have bothered you." Wearing a smile, Zhou Nan continued, "Here's the thing, we plan to leave for Giant Stone City tomorrow noon. How have you considered the matter I asked you about yesterday?"

Sun Shiqi made a helpless expression.

"My order got delayed; I don't even know if I can deliver it tomorrow. You guys go ahead, I might need to stay here for a day or two."

"That's really too bad," Zhou Nan said regretfully.

Sun Shiqi looked at him curiously and asked, "Have you guys gathered enough people?"

Zhou Nan said with a smile, "Not yet, but I heard the fight near North Fourth Ring has ended; those Blue Jackets took care of the Lair, and even if the tides elsewhere aren't over, at least the 'North Suburb' tide has ended. Now is the best time to go to Giant Stone City! My companions and I studied the map carefully, if we go west along North Fifth Ring, then head north, we can safely reach our destination."

Sun Shiqi looked at him enviously and said,

"…Can I ask what kind of trade you guys are planning to do?"

The trades everyone could get involved in were mostly similar, and Zhou Nan did not particularly try to hide, spiritedly saying,

"Salt and sulfur; those are the best selling items there, especially during this tide period! Oh yes, and also gas masks and devil cloth from the trade station."

At this, Zhou Nan couldn't help but remark,

"The good things here are really plentiful, and they're cheap too! Do you know how much the nutrient paste costs here? The wholesale price per ton is just 299 silver coins!"

299 silver coins...

Is that like 1.5 assault rifles?

Currency in the Wasteland was intricate and varied; even the same currency could be different in value in different areas. Sun Shiqi subconsciously made a conversion in his mind.

But when he realized what this price meant, he was instantly shocked.

"Are you sure?! The price of two assault rifles can buy one ton of nutrient paste?!"

In Giant Stone City, the retail price of nutrient paste was 1 to 2 chips per kilogram, and the wholesale price was 300 to 400 chips per ton.

Converted to Male Bee Assault Rifles, it needed at least two!

And this was under the assumption that the latter's price wasn't cheap either.

Noticing the astonishment on Sun Shiqi's face, Zhou Nan looked at him strangely, as if surprised that someone didn't know about this.

But thinking that this gentleman had only arrived a couple of days ago, Zhou Nan eased up and continued to speak with a smile.

"Isn't it astonishing? I was startled when I first found out too! I suspect that the nutrient paste produced by Didivei Food Processing Factory costs even less than 200 silver coins per ton! If I weren't short of money, I'd consider setting up a factory myself!"

Changjiu Farm's bank offers loans, but not everyone can qualify.

You need to meet two conditions.

Either you have the technology,

Or you have the equipment.

Or, you must have made enough "contribution" to the local economy.

Unfortunately, as a merchant from the south, he had none of those.

Still, that didn't prevent him from transporting the nutrient paste to the south to exchange for food or livestock, then bringing the livestock back to exchange for silver coins.

Zhou Nan spent yesterday researching and found that the demand for livestock here was quite strong—a double-headed cow sold to Changjiu Farm could fetch at least three to four thousand silver coins!

Shipping two to three tons of nutrient paste to the south, he could easily buy one or two double-headed cows from the local farmers and ranchers with the local cash obtained.

Seeing his friend's eager eyes, Zhou Nan chuckled and asked,

"Brother, want to partner up? We could pool some money to start a factory. I've researched it; just get some second-hand equipment from Giant Stone City, and with two hundred thousand chips, we can set up the factory."

Sun Shiqi admitted he was indeed tempted.

But after much hesitation, he finally shook his head.

"...I admit your proposal is tempting, but the trip to Brocade River Province is just too far; back and forth might take half a month."

North Suburb has weapons and food, both of which are what Red River Town, which in return has the needed minerals and manpower, lacks.

Transporting slaves and minerals from Red River Town here, in exchange for rifles and food, then trading them back, would also be very lucrative.

There are many avenues to riches, and he could not monopolize them all—excelling in managing this trade route was the true strategy!

Sun Shiqi had already thought it through.

He planned to save up to buy a few trucks, form a convoy, and corner the business of the copper from here to Red River Town.

The demand for copper here was the strongest, used in laying electrical wires and making bullets, and its price was always stable, offering far greater cost-effectiveness than steel in transportation.

Once he earned a few hundred thousand silver coins, his plan was to buy a piece of land on North Street, firstly constructing a warehouse, then a mill.

With good luck coinciding with the harvest, he could mill the corn and wheat into flour; selling it to Red River Town, Giant Stone City, or Garbage City would net a huge profit.

The unit price of grains wasn't high, but the gross margin was never low— not everyone wears shoes, but everyone needs to eat.

Last year was a cold winter.

This year should be a bountiful one; grain prices would likely be very cheap.

Sun Shiqi indulged in his future plans as Zhou Nan, sitting beside him, was slightly disappointed but said little else, raising his glass instead.

"It's truly such a pity; if we joined forces, we could definitely become the biggest grain merchants in Qingquan City."

"There's nothing to regret; there are plenty of chances to get rich," Sun Shiqi clinked his glass with his, smiling, "I wish you more and more success in your business, Boss Zhou!"

"Ha ha, thanks for your good words, my friend! Cheers to you!"

"Cheers to you!"

The two men—radiant, flush-faced, and jovial—drank glass after glass, engaged in merry conversation.

Old Hooke, sitting behind the bar, listened to their boasts, his wrinkle-covered face full of smiles, occasionally chiming in with supportive comments.

No matter how they made their money, the cost of their drinks was always paid by themselves.

Of course, he was happy that they were drinking more.

In the end, Zhou Nan had to lean on the wall to leave, and Sun Shiqi himself had lain at the bar for half the night before the hotel staff carried him back to his room in the wee hours.

When he woke up early the next morning and saw the bill on the bedside table, Sun Shiqi's groggy head instantly cleared up, and his face turned green.

"220 silver coins?!"

What on earth had he drunk last night?!

...

Official Forum.

Normally, at this time, it would be the peak period for players to come online, with the site usually quite empty, but today it was exceptionally lively.

Quit smoking: "I can't log in!"

I Max Black: "Me too! That's weird."

One post after another popped up, many players at Level 9 discovered with delight upon putting on their helmets that they had finally broken through their bottlenecks!

Especially Junk Man, who had been stuck at Level 9 for almost a month!

He had finally broken through!

Pick up trash 99 level: "Hahaha, awakened! I've finally awakened!"

Looking at the notification in the upper right corner of the official website, Junk Man was so excited tears streamed down his face.

How long had it been since he created his account?

Being one of the first Europeans to enter the game and with an exclusive account for the exalted, should have been thrilling, but he just happened to hit N years' worth of a cold spell.

Plus the debuff from "harder to gain experience"; he had only managed to level up to Level 10 as the A round of testing was almost over.

Seeing those "juniors" awakening one after another, the bitterness was probably only known to him.

It really hadn't been easy!

Night Ten: "OMG, Junk Man awakened?!"

Mole on the run from the valley: "Shocking! Will he turn into a Dead Claw?!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "How could that be? But damn, the power is undeniable. I feel like I could take on a Dead Claw at the west gate! (Baring teeth)"

Fang Chang: "Good brother, show off your attribute panel!"

Tail: "Hurry up! Let me take a look! (｀・ω・´)"

Under the encouragement of everyone, Junk Man ultimately couldn't resist the urge to show off, and he posted his attribute panel in the thread.

[

ID: Pick up trash 99 level

Gene Sequence: Heterogeneity·Lizardman

Level: LV.9→LV.10

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 17→27 (+10)

Agility: 9→14 (+5)

Constitution: 9→14 (+5)

Perception: 9→11 (+2)

Intelligence: 2→3

]

[

Talent:

Cold-blooded (stronger concealment, slow mobility in low temperatures)

Polydactyl (greater stamina, difficulty operating complex machinery)

Physical Regeneration (stronger recovery, difficult to increase gene sequence level)

Boiling Blood (temporarily removes the debuff from "Cold-blooded" and gains a 10%~20% increase in strength and constitution attributes.)

]

The moment the attribute panel was posted, the comment section below the post exploded!

Tail: "?"

Quit smoking: "???"

Night Ten: "OMG?!"

Spring Water Commander: "Did you hack, man?!"

Edge Shoveling: "Damn… these attributes are ridiculous!"

Old White: "Are these strength attributes for real?!"

Youth with brick at the construction site: "Please, planners, nerf him a bit!"

In just a few minutes, everything from "balance has collapsed" to "combat capability has gone bonkers" burst forth.

These people were stopping at nothing to achieve their objectives, as if not making a nerf would halt the operation the second day of the closed test server.

Of course, some people were joking.

But for Pick up trash 99 level, this wasn't a very funny joke.

As everyone began tagging the planners, Junk Man panicked and retorted quickly.

"Damn! I'm bigger in volume than you guys, is it too much if my attributes are a bit higher?"

Less nonsense: "It's too much! High attributes are one thing, but showing off like this is another! (Freaking out)"

Makabazi: "Exactly! Is this what a person should do! (Freaking out)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "???! Wasn't it you guys who asked me to post it?!"

This is too absurd!

Just as Junk Man was handling the barrage of criticisms, a sudden announcement popped up on the official website, which finally relieved him from the encirclement.

Because of this abruptly updated announcement, whether it was players or backseat drivers, everyone was drawn to it.

[Wasteland OL closed test server will start its B-round testing in 6 days, and a brand new version will meet all buddies then, stay tuned!]

Chapter 281: Do You Even Have to Pay for Game Screenshots?!

Outpost Base, West Gate Entrance.

Within a wooden animal pen.

A massive creature lay on the ground, its huge tail coiled into a ball, and its amber pupils lazily drifting around.

Whether Awakeners or ordinary people, any Wasteland Wanderer born and raised on this continent would instinctively feel terror at the sight of this beast and respect from the depths of their heart for the powerhouse capable of overcoming and subjugating it.

As one of the apex predators in the wasteland, the Death Claw was an unequivocal T1 or even T0 level existence in terms of strength, speed, stealth, and size.

It was mighty impressive that a few iron chains and a collar could restrain this thing!

However...

This Death Claw seemed to have been fed into submission and lost much of its ferocity, now replaced by indolence, and its temper wasn't as volatile as before its arrival here.

What good does ferocity do?

Most people here weren't really afraid of it.

Especially that human encased in metal.

Whenever it was feeding time, the man exuded a powerful aura that instilled in it a very real sense of... fear?

While not the brightest, the Death Claw's intelligence was decent by animal standards—smarter than hyenas, Hu wolves, or brown bears at least, its cognition level comparable to that of a young primate.

And because of this, it felt that fear all the more acutely.

Whenever it exhibited unfriendly behavior or even just an attitude, the chilling sensation in its brain froze it up, rendering its limbs stiff and its body trembling.

Conversely, if it behaved compliantly and obediently, the man would reward it with extra rats or hyenas to eat.

Over time, it had figured out a new approach to survival.

Lately, that human had come up with some new tricks; he'd call it "Nicole" each time he fed it. Although it didn't understand the meaning of the call, it noticed that responding would always please the tin can and lead to treats.

Who cares?

Maybe that was the human's name.

Nicole wasn't too bothered about things it couldn't comprehend. Being sated and taking naps had become its sole requirements, having forsaken its wild nature.

Sprawled on the ground, it closed its eyes, intending to sneak in a nap before lunch.

But just then, a noisy group disturbed its sleep.

Nicole opened its eyes to see several Blue Jackets following a little bug, heading towards it with a ruckus.

Garbage Lord, while moving forward, boasted to a few buddies from the Cattlehorse Group.

"...No joke, I feel freakishly strong now! Forget about a measly Death Claw, I could slap a lair to death no problem!"

Night Ten suddenly asked.

"When is the lizards' mating season again?"

Old White thought for a moment and said,

"I think it's in the spring."

Quit smoking asked curiously,

"Do you think the Death Claw might try to court Garbage Lord?"

Tomato & Eggs rubbed his chin pondering,

"It might, given that guy's got hacks."

The group collectively rooted for this unlikely pair, while Garbage Lord clicked his tongue.

"You guys, always so filthy! Can't you keep it classy, even in a game?"

Night Ten said with a smirk,

"Sure, sure, no dick makes a guy tough as nails."

Hit where it hurt, Garbage Lord glared at him angrily,

"Bugger off!"

Garbage Lord wasn't here to mate, of course.

Despite his lizard body, he was still human at heart, and getting up close and personal with reptiles was a bit too exotic for him.

Besides, it wasn't equipped for that.

The Alien sequence, whether for lizards or rats, lacked gender without exception. Perhaps the operators found it too bizarre and simply didn't bother to model those parts.

But to Garbage Lord, this didn't seem like a big deal.

It's just a game.

Being strong was all that mattered, the rest was trivial!

How to prove one's strength?

For a lizard, the most direct way was to earn recognition from one's peers, especially from females of the same species.

The amber pupils looked out from the wooden pen.

Noticing it had caught the creature's attention, Garbage Lord held his breath, staring it down and releasing his own "aura."

The two pairs of eyes, large and small, stared at each other for a good half a minute.

Nicole in the wooden pen wasn't sure if it understood his intention or not, but it snorted a laugh and blew some straws on to Garbage Lord's feet.

The large tail coiled in a different direction, its amber eyes closing indifferently; it was no longer interested.

"Pff—Hahahaha!"

Quit Smoking couldn't hold back a burst of laughter.

While the others didn't laugh, their faces gave away their amusement.

Trash King's face turned red as he made a case for himself.

"It might just be tired."

"Alright alright, let it go Trash King," Fang Chang said, sympathetically patting his tail, "Let's go to Far Creek Town to farm for materials. Be good."

With the help of taste tester Old Na, a way to handle monster meat in tomato and egg stir-fry was recently developed.

By sprinkling some buffalo grass powder during marination, it was possible to eliminate the unpleasant blood smell and make the monster meat less distasteful.

Frying until golden brown on both sides and sprinkling some pine nut wine and chopped goat's horn potato stems not only created a delicacy for the human palate but also provided a "5% Metabolism, 7% Constitution" BUFF.

Because it tasted similar to beef and provided BUFF enhancements, the Hunters' Guild lately saw a surge in the demand for monster hunting.

Wild Wind, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke up.

"I heard that female lizards raise their tails when courting."

Quit Smoking asked, "So you mean it wasn't interested?"

Tomato and Egg Stir-fry asked with interest,

"And what about the male lizards?"

Wild Wind said, "I remember they wag their tails."

The most cultured here is definitely Professor Wind.

Night Ten suddenly grinned mischievously and looked at Trash King.

"Bro, why don't we... give it a try?"

Trash King shouted, "Scram, scram, scram!"

Trying would be awkward.

Not trying would be even more awkward!

Although his attributes were only 3, he wasn't stupid!

Holding his chin, Wild Wind pondered for a moment then suddenly spoke up.

"By the way, there's something that's been on my mind."

He had spent hours yesterday researching lizards and couldn't figure this thing out.

Being the target of Professor Wind's attention always gave Trash King an ominous feeling.

This guy seemed to be picking on him today...

"...What's on your mind?"

"I remember before... didn't you tell me you had four Intelligence points? You hadn't awakened yet, right?" Wild Wind asked, puzzled, "So how come you ended up with less after awakening?"

Quit Smoking looked at Trash King in surprise.

"There's such a thing?"

Trash King coughed awkwardly, subtly shifting his gaze away.

"Don't worry about the details... Weren't we going to Far Creek Town? Let's go, or we'll miss the ride."

"From Level 0 to Level 9 you gain 9 attribute points, and none of them went to Intelligence. I'd feel embarrassed to mention it too," Fang Chang patted Wild Wind's shoulder, sighing, "Try to understand."

Trash King: "&@%￥!"

...

Three days had passed since the end of the Tide.

The spore cloud gathering in "North Suburb" was visibly dissipating, and the morale of the survivors there had reached an all-time high.

This morale boost wasn't particularly noticeable among the players.

After all, in other games like Azeroth, Province of Skies, or the Hailaru Continent, they had saved the world countless times.

One city was just too small for them.

Lair?

Evolutionary body?

They're just Level 10~20 main storyline BOSSes.

However, for the residents of Qingquan City—especially those in the "North Suburb"—overcoming the Tide held a completely different significance.

In the eyes of the majority of Qingquan City's survivors, the Tide was something only Giant Rock City could handle.

When the gray-green mist spread, most people could only choose to avoid the dangerous city districts or reduce their outings, huddled at home praying for the Tide to end soon.

Those Blue Jackets from Shelter No. 404 did what they couldn't even dream of doing, and they handled the Tide even more quickly than Giant Rock City!

Those arrogant folks living behind the Enclosing Wall?

Turns out they're not so impressive after all!

...

Inside Outpost Base, it was as festive as a holiday, adorned with lights and bustling with activity.

With the Spring Festival and the new version of the Game just around the corner, not to mention the recent victory that had yet to be properly celebrated, Chu Guang decided to combine these three events into one celebration, scheduling the festivities for the first day the B-round test went online.

Cooking delicious food was a tradition of Shelter No. 404.

It was the same for this celebration.

Dishes that won approval from players, NPCs, and Managers not only gained entry for the chefs into the exclusive Hall of Fame but also allowed them to see their creations in the NPC stores and earn substantial Activity Points.

Many combat professional players set off to Changjiu Farm early in the morning, queuing for the shuttle to Far Creek Town, eager to bring back some exotic animals.

The lifestyle career players were also busy: some went fishing, others were picking mushrooms, and there were those catching toads in the fields. The entire Forum was filled with a rustic charm.

Especially now that the number of hook-on camera devices had gradually increased. Shelter No. 404 had a stock of 200 devices, and Chu Guang had already opened them up for purchase by players.

With a status of medium citizen and a payment of 500 silver coins, players could unlock the "game screenshot" + "instant communication" function with Xiao Qi, the Manager assistant.

With the headphones, players were not only able to communicate with friends on their VM friend list via long-distance voice chat, but they could also sync "compliant" photos to their Forum accounts.

Many Cloud Players on the Forum had been feasting their eyes as well, coming across a host of magical animals that simply didn't exist in the real world.

Apart from players who hunted for ingredients themselves, some turned their attention to the trade station at Changjiu Farm and the passing merchants.

Exotic merchants would occasionally bring in specialties from nearby provinces, such as dried lizards, canned fruits, and sugar from Brocade River Province to the south, or sabertooth tiger meat, yak milk, and colorful rock salt from the north.

These merchants were quite satisfied with the commodities from Changjiu Farm, particularly the exquisitely made copper-cased bullets, which often cost only two or three magazines to trade for an entire box of goods weighing over a hundred kilograms.

And those bullets were merely mass-produced on assembly lines; the cost, if revealed, could scare the pants off these Wasteland Wanderers.

In addition to food, players hadn't forgotten to freshen up their old homes with new year skins.

Life-profession players active around Outpost Base conscientiously adorned the buildings around Quality Square with new year's paper cutouts that oozed holiday spirit.

Moreover, they even stuck creatively written couplets on the doors of various NPC office points such as the sanatorium, weapon shops, warehouses, banks, and Hunter Guilds.

Standing at the entrance of the weapon shop, Boss Xia's face was a caricature of bewilderment as she looked at the red paper hanging on the door.

"What does this say?" she turned to Chu Guang and asked.

"Meat prices jump, mushroom prices hop, everything keeps rising nonstop. Thank heavens, thank Earth, at least weapon costs have not, Cross-stitch: Version Conscience... Haha, these folks are quite witty."

Reading it, Chu Guang couldn't help but chuckle.

The rhyming was a little awkward,
but it definitely had the style of the players.

If these internet jokers had come up with proper couplets, Chu Guang would've actually been surprised.

"…?"

Xia Yan was utterly confused, but Chu Guang read aloud and figured out the players were implying that the game planner was recklessly dispensing silver coins.

But...

What did this have to do with her?

The shade thrown was at Ah Guang, what did that have to do with her, Xia Yan?

As everyone knows, to accommodate new players' experiences, every online game has a catch-up mechanic, and "value inflation" is just one of many cards in the planners' hands.

However, Chu Guang's reason for minting currency was somewhat different from other game planners; he issued currency according to players' and NPCs' gross domestic product, keeping a balance between different groups' incomes.

Thanks to the unknown computing power of the supercomputer buried beneath Shelter No. 404 and the unlimited VM devices produced by the Black Box,

If not for these two pieces of high-tech and Xiao Qi's help, completing these tasks would have been impossible with just lip service.

Chu Guang had made rough estimates that it would take at least 10% or even 20% of the workforce to be converted to administrative staff to barely maintain the operation of this management system.

Translating to simulation game terminology, Shelter No. 404's "future municipal" technology meant the Manager only needed fewer than 150 middle—or even primary—educated administrative personnel to maintain nearly 2000 residents and 1500 players' "smiles."

Who dared say Shelter No. 404 was without high technology?

The only slight shortfall of this high tech, perhaps less flashy than controlled fusion, was that it was less conspicuously powerful and slightly less prestigious.

Standing beside him, Little Fish curiously studied the couplet.

Chu Guang turned to her and asked with a smile,

"Speaking of which, don't you have Spring Festival?"

Little Fish shook her head vigorously like a small windmill.

"Nuh-uh!"

Chu Guang vaguely recalled a conversation he had with Little Fish before.

On Bet Street, only the former town mayor and his children's birthdays were celebrated with a fair, and mostly it involved summoning the townspeople for unpaid labor while collecting gifts; therefore, no one liked festivals.

Being able to gather joyfully for the same happy occasion, as was the case now, seemed like a dream to Little Fish.

"…In previous years around this time, there'd be bangs and pops constantly from the south. Sometimes, it would last all night," Little Fish tilted her head thinking, then had a lightbulb moment and added, "Like thunder!"

The south... she must be talking about the West Third Ring area?

You couldn't hear it from Linghu Wetland Park, but you should be able to hear the sounds of artillery from there if you were on Bet Street.

Chu Guang curiously continued to ask.

"How long does it usually last?"

"If it's fast, it ends within a week; if it's slow, maybe a month," Little Fish pondered seriously for a moment, then nodded vigorously, affirming, "This year should be late. Little Fish has never seen such a big fog in 'North Suburb'!"

She had been wearing a gas mask every time she left the shelter these past few days.

It had been terribly suffocating for her.

It had never been this severe before.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"It seems the spore spread is regional..."

...

Though the tide had receded early in the "North Suburb," there was still a heap of tasks waiting for Chu Guang.

Since "North Suburb" miraculously resolved the Tide crisis ahead of Giant Stone City, coupled with Chu Guang's active deployments with Shu Yu in Giant Stone City, many of Stone City's merchants were drawn over, leading their double-headed cows to the "North Suburb."

The northern gate of Qingquan City, facing the wilderness, had never been busier.

Especially when those merchants found out that the "art pieces" from the Night Queen Bar were produced right here, they went absolutely insane.

Aside from art pieces that satisfied the LSPs' curiosity, Devil Silk, and Spirit Leaf—these three treasures—there were plenty of other great products available.

For instance, the Didivei nutrition paste was almost bought up by the merchants from Giant Stone City!

With a wholesale price of 299 silver coins per ton based on the current exchange rate—under 150 chips when converted—it was practically like getting it for free buying here compared to the 300 chips per ton factory price from Vijia Commerce.

And it wasn't just the price that was cheap—the quality was none the worse either.

Factory supervisor Detwei initially planned to form his own Commercial Team and haul the goods to sell in Giant Stone City, but soon discovered that this move was entirely unnecessary.

His costs had been compressed to around 140 silver coins per ton, and the orders were backlogged three months in advance. All he had to do was to work at full force to production and he would see a profit of more than double—why fuss about anything else?

With those silver coins, it'd be better to invest in a few more hunting teams to sweep the buildings at the edges of the fifth-ring road. The income from scavenging would completely balance out the ammunition cost.

Just do it, and that would be the end of it!

Such a bountiful profit even had List yearning.

Indeed, Chu Guang's KV-1 Exoskeletons and solid hydrogen batteries were profitable, but their gross profit margin really couldn't compare to something as unassuming as nutrition paste.

Street gangs from the slums near Giant Stone City's gate would buy this stuff, and so would the farmers to the south, in large quantities.

200g was enough to stop hunger, and twice that amount was enough to fill someone up—perfect for feeding slaves and livestock.

Besides art pieces and nutrition paste selling out, there were also Mosquito's gas masks, steel bicycles and helmets from the No. 81 Steel Factory, disinfectants from the chemical plant, and some other cheap yet effective gadgets.

The LD-47 Sickle Assault Rifle wasn't too popular with the merchants of Giant Stone City, but that didn't stop the mercenaries from loving it.

Low failure rate, easy to maintain, and packing enough power.

With affordability as its biggest advantage, it was enough for them to open their wallets, turn chips into silver coins, and then head to Boss Xia's place to spend it.

Besides those bigwigs that were getting fat off their factories, undoubtedly the happiest were those living profession players from North Street.

Previously, the mercenaries who followed List's Commercial Team from Giant Stone City hardly spent anything at their stalls.

However, lately, these mercenaries who came from Giant Stone City suddenly seemed wealthy, flaunting their money in a way that surprised everyone.

Even though the price of noodles had risen from 5 to 6 silver coins, people still paid up.

Mushroom soup at 4 silver coins a bowl was even more popular, being fragrant, rich, satisfying, and delicious. The key was the beautiful proprietress who also had a sweet tongue, ensuring a never-ending queue.

These merchants and mercenaries from afar not only stimulated a wave of consumption but also brought in many fine products produced in Giant Stone City.

The goods these merchants peddled were diverse, ranging from weapons to household necessities.

In fact, as an old, large Survivor Settlement that had industrialized a long time ago, Giant Stone City's industrial ability was significantly stronger than Shelter No. 404.

The development model there was greatly inspired by the Ideal City of enterprises, as could be seen by the "cargo worship" that permeated everything from culture to commodities in the upper echelons of Inner City society.

KV-1 Exoskeletons were designed in the image of the Miner series, and the Hornet X-2 type assault rifle was a copy of the Black Swan G9 assault rifle—they emulated the "legacy inheritors" of the East Coast in many fields.

While Giant Stone City's factories couldn't produce metallic hydrogen, they were capable of producing the next two levels of solid hydrogen; they couldn't produce fusion engines to drive land fortresses but could make engines for boiling water compact and affordable.

Chu Guang admitted that whether in terms of population or industrial capability, the Survivor Settlement in the North Suburb and Giant Stone City had a significant gap. Once the exchange and understanding between the two sides reached a certain level, friction might be inevitable.

However, even if their relations deteriorated to the point of all-out war, it wouldn't happen overnight.

Even if war broke out tomorrow, it wouldn't stop him from shearing their wool today.

To protect local industries and increase exports, Chu Guang had already adjusted the silver coin-to-chip exchange rate from 1:2 to 2:1 when allowing List to set up his factory and had differentiated personal and corporate foreign exchange limits.

This way, players would find that buying KV-1 Exoskeletons from NPC stores was much cheaper than importing them from Giant Stone City.

Similarly, exporting products from North Suburb to Giant Stone City would be much more profitable than just dragging them to the market to be sold.

"I've never seen so many chips."

At the Outpost Base warehouse.

Looking at the pile of colorful chips in the box, Old Charlie let out a heartfelt sigh.

Although he was a Blue Jacket from another shelter, living in Qingquan City for so many years had made him accustomed to the local lifestyle.

Having such a valuable pile right in front of him, it would be impossible to say he wasn't the slightest bit shocked.

Chu Guang smiled faintly and said,

"Doesn't that Old Leech have any?"

Charlie knew who Chu Guang was talking about and replied softly,

"He's just within the realm of being ordinarily wealthy."

Giant Stone City's chips had many denominations, with white being the most common and also the currency that circulated the most outside of Giant Stone City.

Besides that, there were the larger red chips worth 5, the green worth 25, and black worth 100.

Larger denominations of chips were generally only seen in Inner City, but since people there mostly conducted transactions with cards, it was rare to see chips larger than 100 stuffed in someone's pocket for showing off.

They were neither suitable for chump change nor was there anyone able to break them.

He had seen the former town mayor's treasury—three of the same boxes, but mostly filled with cheap white chips.

Unlike this box, where even the black ones were visible.

Chu Guang smiled and asked,

"Is this money enough to be a tycoon in Giant Stone City?"

After considering it for a moment, Charlie gave a precise answer,

"...I've only been there a few times, but if it's the kind of luxury life I'm thinking of, it should be more than enough."

Chu Guang smiled and said nothing.

After a brief pause, he cleared his throat.

"I'm planning to establish a Merchant Guild, organize some Commercial Teams to engage in trade with other Survivor Settlements, expand our influence and map while also finding something for my players...I mean, residents to do."

Old Charlie nodded his head,

"That's a good idea."

Although the second half of the sentence sounded strange, he agreed with the first part.

North Suburb had developed to a stage where just expanding the territory on the map wasn't enough; there simply weren't enough people to cultivate that land.

Not only was it an economic issue but obtaining sufficient regional influence was necessary for North Suburb to attract more people and resources for further development.

Chu Guang looked at Old Charlie and continued,

"You've seen more and been to more places than anyone I know."

"This job, I plan to entrust to you."

Chapter 282: The Path Ahead

"What is Spring Festival?"

"I don't know... It's my first time hearing about it."

"Maybe it's to celebrate the War Tide."

"Possibly."

In the village of the Frost Spear Clan,
inside the chieftain's house,
men sat around the chieftain, conversing about the upcoming celebration, discussing whether they should follow the example of the Blue Jackets and adorn the village with red stickers and banners.

It was said that doing so could bring prosperity and good luck.

Although they didn't understand the principle behind it, since it was the Blue Jackets' experience, there was probably some truth to it.

After all, they were all so intelligent.

Chieftain Frost Spear didn't speak, but he was seriously considering the suggestions of his clan members.

Celebrations were a top priority within the tribe, a lively festival often marked the beginning of population growth; his eldest son, FrostFurnace, had found a good match during the New Year's festival, and his second son, FrostStone, had just come of age and was also at the marrying age.

Half a year ago, to avoid the wars in the north, they had moved here and lost too many of their able-bodied people; now was the time for healing and restoration.

However...

Celebrations would cost a good deal of money.

Unlike the Iron Axe Tribe that ran a textile factory, their neighbors had the advantage of arriving earlier and just happening to hit the good times when trade routes recovered, earning quite a profit from the textile business, and every household in their village built brick houses.

In contrast, most homes on his side were made of a mix of brick and wood.

Chieftain Frost Spear also wanted to lead his people to prosperity, but wishing was useless; action was necessary.

After musing for a moment, he spoke up.

"Let's discuss the festival matters later, there's something more important awaiting our decision now."

The people gathered in front of the chieftain fell silent, awaiting his speech.

Chieftain Frost Spear paused before continuing.

"A few days ago, the Manager summoned me to discuss something; he plans to allocate to us the roughly 1000 acres of wasteland to the north of the brick factory."

"I plan to start a farm."

This was also the intention of the esteemed Manager.

Hunting alone could no longer fully sustain the residents' need for meat, especially eggs and milk, which were hard to come by through hunting.

Residents of the shelter had an astonishing level of fixation on food.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this determination that they managed to claim that large swath of wasteland on Lihu. North Shore before the onset of the spring ploughing.

Upon hearing the chieftain's words, many showed surprised expressions.

A thousand acres!

That equated to land about a kilometer long and six to seven hundred meters wide!

Although it was uncultivated wasteland, the land sat near Rhombus Lake and had an abundant water supply. Moreover, it benefited from the protection of Changjiu Farm and the refuge, obviating fears of large Variants and Looters.

To them, such an unexpected windfall seemed almost like a dream.

"Praise the honorable Manager!"

"Does he truly intend to allocate us that land?"

"Are there any other conditions? I won't agree if it involves selling my family!"

This surprise was so sudden that everyone found it hard to believe.

Chieftain Frost Spear understood their astonishment.

He had felt the same initially.

"There are no conditions; the land is leased to us, we can avoid paying rent for two years, and after that, as long as we can ensure that the farm averages 100 cattle out of the pen every month, we can waive that year's rent for the land. If the monthly average reaches 200, he has also promised to allocate us an even larger farm."

In the Manager's words, this was called "agricultural subsidies."

However, as part of the trade-off, they could not sell their agricultural produce to outside merchants; they could only keep 20% of the products for village collective consumption or retail to nearby local markets, and the remaining 80% had to be sold to Changjiu Farm at warehouse-set purchase prices after verification.

As for what breed of cattle to raise, there were no restrictions—after all, who knew what they could buy?

But Frost Spear had heard from his daughter, Frost River, that down south in Brocade River Province, there were many cattle farm owners, not just double-headed cows for pulling carts but also fast-slaughter meat cattle and high milk-producing dairy cattle.

With the Outpost Base apparently aiming to establish a Merchant Guild, he planned to hire a Commercial Team to try their luck there.

Besides cattle, there were similar subsidy policies for other livestock such as pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese.

An elder, slightly older in years, pondered for a while before speaking.

"But we can't afford to buy cattle..."

"The generous Manager is willing to lend us 500,000 Silver Coins to purchase livestock and feed."

"500,000?!"

The elder was shocked and looked at the chieftain with disbelief, "Is the Manager really willing to lend us so much?!"

Even selling them all wouldn't amass 500,000!

People were whispering among themselves, their faces also showing disbelief.

Frost Spear nodded seriously and said,

"I believe the Manager is not joking with me; he is a very serious man. I've inquired from my daughter, who works at the trade station, that you can buy a cow from the merchants for about 4000 Silver Coins. If you bring some local specialties and go directly to the south to buy, I heard it's even cheaper; you can exchange a cow for five rifles."

Five rifles, even at retail price, would only cost 1000 Silver Coins, and I've heard that you could get a ten percent discount when buying in bulk from the factory.

Frost Spear looked around at everyone and seriously laid out his plan,

"We can all contribute labor to build up this ranch first. I will try to contact the farms in the south to see if we can exchange weapons for one or two hundred cows to bring back. If conditions permit, we can also raise some sheep and pigs."

"With cattle and sheep, our lives will be much better next year!"

Upon hearing the clan leader's words, excitement and longing appeared on everyone's faces.

They already had a stable place to live and could exchange labor for food from the local lord. But if possible, they also wished to become prosperous like the neighboring village and live in houses made entirely of bricks.

However, as optimistic as everyone was they also expressed concern.

"500,000 Silver Coins is too much… If we can't pay it back, I'm afraid the Manager will take it out on us."

"Yes… Even if the Manager doesn't punish us, he might drive us out of here."

A young man working hard for a month could only earn three to four hundred Silver Coins; without eating or drinking, he could barely save up five thousand in a year.

Tens of thousands of Silver Coins.

That was already an astronomical amount to them.

Surely, even for the Manager, several hundred thousand Silver Coins must be a considerable sum.

Seeing the concern on his people's faces, Frost Spear smiled and said,

"I have worried about what you are concerned about too, and the Manager specially instructed me to tell you not to put too much psychological burden on yourselves and to just do your best. If we truly can't pay it back, Changjiu Farm will take over the ranch and the debt, and he won't blame us."

Of course.

No one wanted it to come to that.

Frost Spear was very clear that if he really reached the point of filing for bankruptcy, even though the benevolent Manager might not blame him, he would surely be thoroughly disappointed in his and his people's incompetence.

This money was not a small amount.

If there were similar opportunities in the future, there would definitely be no chance for them.

Frost Spear had already made up his mind to manage this matter well.

Hearing the Manager's promise not to pursue their responsibility, the senior elder finally relaxed his brow.

He said nothing more, just sincerely sighed,

"...Thank the Manager for his benevolence."

For an old man on the brink of death, money didn't matter anymore; watching his children grow up in peace was the greatest blessing.

Looking at those vibrant, hopeful faces, the old man couldn't bear to let them go back to a wandering life.

That life was too hard.

The young people weren't interested in what the elders were discussing, and the village's affairs rarely consulted them.

Instead, with their strong curiosity, they were most interested in celebrations, work, new things, and matters between men and women.

In the next wooden hut,

Frost Night and Frost Snow were eagerly listening to their sister, who had returned from Changjiu Farm, talking excitedly about the things that happened at work.

The work at the trading station was busy; six days a week from seven in the morning to seven at night with only an hour for lunch break.

It cost 2 Silver Coins to take the shuttle bus to the Outpost Base, so to save money, she usually stayed in the employee dormitory at the trading station, only coming back by bus on Saturday night.

Each time she returned, she and her two sisters had endless things to talk about, especially when looked at by those two sparkling eyes; she felt as if all her fatigue was healed.

While listening to her sister's amusing stories and interesting encounters at the trading station, Frost Night, with her hands propping her cheeks, suddenly said,

"When are you planning to bring a brother-in-law home, sister?"

Frost River stroked her little head with a smile,

"I need to have one first."

Sitting on the side, Frost Snow curiously asked,

"Aren't there a lot of people there?"

Frost River made a helpless expression,

"Those are all merchants and mercenaries… It's not like I can choose one of them."

Frost Snow nodded as if understanding but not quite,

"Ah, then forget it."

Merchants, huh.

They weren't exactly from reputable families.

They hadn't had much contact with merchants, but they had some impressions of the profession, none particularly good.

Walking through the desolate Wasteland, few were gentle and upright. Merchants, worried about being robbed by desperate wanderers, often wouldn't trade with them, and the wanderers, wary of the merchants and their guards, rarely approached them voluntarily.

While these people might have some money in their pockets, few envied them. These people were not only rude, seldom bathed, and never stayed put for long.

And mercenaries didn't even need to be mentioned.

There might be good people out there.

But they are few and far between.

In Frost River's eyes, to be her husband, a man must at least have a stable job nearby.

Of course, it would be even better if he were a handsome and suave resident of the refuge.

It's just a pity that those people are really hard to understand.

Frost Night sighed softly and muttered to herself,

"I wish I could go to work, too."

Her older brother FrostFurnace and her second brother FrostStone worked at the Hunter Guild, earning over three hundred silver coins a month, sometimes bringing home some game shared by the guild.

Her brave sister Frost River had taken a job at the trade post; although the base salary wasn't high, it came with two meals a day, and there were commissions on goods sold.

Frost Night also wanted to work, but she wasn't old enough yet.

Even though according to the tribe's custom, at 14 one is considered an adult, the refuge had arbitrarily raised their age of adulthood by two years and required all boys and girls under 16 to receive at least six hours of education in language and arithmetic each day.

Frost Night didn't quite understand why there was such a strange rule. Anyway, as her father had said, last year she was an adult, but this year she was a child again.

"By the way, Outpost Base seems to have recently set up a new Merchant Guild, and they are hiring now." Seeing the look of envy on her sisters' faces, Frost River had an idea and suddenly remembered this.

Immediately, Frost Snow asked with curiosity,

"Are there any requirements?"

Frost River pressed her lips together in thought.

"Field agents need to work for six months a year, requiring extensive wilderness survival experience; those who are married will be given priority. As for office staff, mainly clerks and tellers, about twenty people are needed, with basic literacy and arithmetic skills. Bonus points for being young, attractive, presentable, patient, gentle, and generous..."

"Young and with attractive features, presentable, and patient... and also gentle and generous," the youngest sister Frost Night mumbled to herself, suddenly lighting up and turning towards her second sister, looking her up and down.

Frost Snow's cheeks blushed slightly under her sister's gaze.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"I also think Snow is the most suitable!"

Understanding the little sister's intention, Frost River hugged Frost Snow's shoulder, encouraging her with a smile.

"Why not try it? How will you know if you don't try? And I heard that the Merchant Guild is directly overseen by the Manager himself, on the same level as the Hunter Guild!"

"Excellent performance is sure to be rewarded!"

If it weren't for the fact that she had been working at the trade post for a while and didn't want to change jobs frequently, she would have wanted to try it herself!

Frost Snow's cheeks felt hot.

She thought back to that embarrassing incident at the last New Year's Eve party.

Spurred on by people's encouragement, she, too, had impulsively stepped forward and mustered the courage to invite the Manager to dance.

The respectable Manager was indeed a very kind person, accessible, and even his rejections were so gentle.

Even so, she had still felt dejected for a good while afterward...

"Ah! The Manager will take responsibility!" Frost Night, who only caught half the conversation, looked at Frost Snow in her sister's arms with sparkling eyes and encouraged, "Sister, go for it, you can do it!"

Frost Snow could no longer maintain her composure and, with flushed cheeks, pounced on her sister to tickle her.

"You little devil... what nonsense are you talking about!"

Frost Night giggled uncontrollably.

Their commotion continued until the evening when their oldest and second oldest brothers came back, carrying a wild boar. Only then did the three sisters join their older sister-in-law to help process the game.

That evening, after much thought, Frost Snow finally gathered her courage and filled out an application form at the recruitment point on North Street before eight o'clock.

Perhaps because she wrote well, and compared to other nomads and refugees, didn't seem quite so barbaric, her name appeared on the employment list the next day.

The first batch of publicized names included ten people, all office staff, and she was assigned to the front desk.

The daily wage was 13 silver coins, slightly higher than the Hunter Guild, and the working hours were the same as the bank's, from eight o'clock in the morning till six o'clock at night.

The address of the Merchant Guild was located at Outpost Base, near the North Gate, a three-story building that was already built but had no sign hung up yet.

With emotions of excitement and trepidation, Frost Snow went to the Merchant Guild for induction training, as directed by the recruitment point staff.

However...

When she arrived, she didn't see the Manager.

Aside from her nine colleagues from Bet Street, Changjiu Farm, or the neighboring village, there was only an old man who seemed to have trouble walking.

Old Charlie, with his hands clasped behind his back, surveyed all the eager and excited faces, thought for a moment, and cleared his throat.

Once everyone quieted down, he said in a calm voice,

"Starting today, you are employees of the Merchant Guild."

"The job is simple: open sales channels for our factories and expand unseen territories within our reach."

"I know you may not fully grasp what I'm saying, but don't worry, I'll soon explain the specifics to you."

"Now what I need you to remember is to always keep smiling at work, stay optimistic in the face of difficulties, earnestly complete each task, and make sure every stamp you affix is worthy of your conscience."

"Your performance will be documented on your VM worn on your arm; those who work diligently and are trustworthy will quickly be promoted. But those who take bribes, bend rules for friends, or try to be clever will soon be seen in the correctional camps."

"This is a mission personally entrusted by the Manager, and I hope you understand the weight of these words."

...

The Merchant Guild played a very important role in Chu Guang's layout for the B-Round Test, perhaps even a little more important than the Hunter Guild.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have put Old Charlie in charge of it.

The new mayor of Bet Street was voted in by the town's residents themselves, selected from the candidates nominated by the street office. Those who could be nominated all had management experience and there was a mature system in place there, so it wouldn't have been a big problem to choose anyone.

During his term, Old Charlie had cultivated quite a few talents in management.

Perhaps guessing that one day he would be transferred, he had even arranged for a teacher to take over his literacy class.

At present, the industrial area of Outpost Base had evolved from the single industrial chain model of "centered around the No. 81 Steel Plant, driving development of multiple weapon workshops" to a new model of "multiple pillar industries driving comprehensive development of small and medium-sized factories," thanks to the continuous efforts of players and the indigenous people.

The industrial zone was still expanding northward.

With constant input of external resources and players' high enthusiasm for production, the population of the "North Suburb" alone was no longer sufficient to consume all the products of the industrial zone.

Although external merchants could take away some, the commercial teams from the shelter also needed to raise a flag of their own and take a few steps out.

There were many survivor settlements in the Wasteland.

Many small settlements like Bet Street couldn't even roll their own bullets, still using bow and arrow, steel rebar forks, iron pipe rifles— even smoothbore muskets loaded from the front.

And some slightly larger survivor settlements, due to inadequate inheritance of pre-war legacies, may be incredibly strong in certain areas but have regressed to before the Industrial Revolution or even to the primitive society in others.

Using bioroids to farm, clones as slaves, catapults firing mini nuclear warheads, treating black boxes as miracles to be worshiped... there are too many such things.

The commodities produced by Shelter No. 404 may not be the most advanced, but they definitely offer the best value for money. And when trading outside, they could also indirectly export a bit of good conscience from the "North Suburb," taking advantage of humanity's common yearning for a better life.

In the evening.

After returning from a patrol around the base from Changjiu Farm, Chu Guang happened to see Old Charlie, who had just finished conducting orientation training for the employees, as he passed by the Merchant Guild's entrance.

"How are things?"

"Those between sixteen and twenty-five who have received literacy education, I've chosen whoever was available, probably will recruit thirty or forty." Saying this, Old Charlie sighed softly and complained in a low voice, "We started too late, all the talent has been picked off by other places."

Chu Guang said, "You've worked hard!"

Old Charlie shook his head.

"It's not about being hard working, being able to do something meaningful at the last part of my life is an unexpected surprise for me, someone who has fallen to become a Waste Land Wanderer. Although I don't have much hope, maybe you and we, as well as others, are different."

The old man paused for a while and continued with a teasing tone.

"Everyone is quite disappointed not to see you, I feel many came just for you, aren't you going to show your face?"

Chu Guang replied helplessly.

"Don't look at me as if I'm free; I've been busy since morning, only now at dusk do I have a little time."

Ordinary people just need to worry about their own work.

But as the manager of Shelter No. 404, he had to take care of the affairs of two worlds, constantly switching between planning and NPC identity, trying to address the different demands of two completely different groups as much as possible.

It was like being both mother and father at the same time.

Thanks to those twenty points of intelligence, the players he personally selected were somewhat reassuring, otherwise, Chu Guang doubted whether he could really manage this job.

He was so busy he didn't even have time to gather materials.

"I understand."

Old Charlie nodded slightly, then said, "But forgive my directness, compared to those specific details of how to proceed step by step, you might need to consider the issue of the future path more."

This was said so obscurely that Chu Guang wasn't sure if his understanding was the same as what was intended.

"Like what?"

"You led your people to overcome barbarism, and then defeated the unstoppable tide. In your eyes, this might just be a trivial matter, or something that happened naturally, but I can see the waves it has stirred in people's hearts, the miracles you've created with them."

Old Charlie said quietly.

"From the marketplace of Changjiu Farm to the alleys of Bet Street, people are talking about your accomplishments, they greet others talking about how great Manager is, and feel incredibly lucky, proud, and privileged to live under your protection."

This heavy flattery was so sudden that even someone with a face thicker than the door of the shelter couldn't help but cough lightly.

"Thanks for the compliment."

"You might think I'm just buttering you up, but I am quite serious about this."

Old Charlie paused, his expression becoming serious as he continued.

"Your residents are proud, but also troubled; they do not know how to refer to themselves... The people of Giant Stone City mock them as the rural yokels from the 'North Suburb,' the rats running wild in the ruins. They know they are not that, but they cannot figure out what they actually are."

"Some live in Bet Street, some reside in Outpost Base, others in the industrial zone, or at the village at the west gate of Changjiu Farm... they have never been to a shelter, so they certainly cannot be considered residents of Shelter No. 404."

"When faced with a common crisis, people will naturally unite, but they always need a reason to continue to be united."

Chu Guang thoughtfully said.

"I think I understand what you mean."

The fact was, he had already been contemplating this matter for a long time.

The new version was not only a new edition for the players, but also for the survivors of the "North Suburb," a new page as well.

Old Charlie nodded.

"Whether you plan to be the emperor of an Empire or the president of an Alliance, it would still be best to think of a title or a role for yourself."

"People need a name to unite under, and a legitimate identity. No matter what it is, it's better to have one than none."

"This celebration event is a good opportunity!"

Chapter 283: Floor B4 Unlocked!

Chu Guang had no interest in becoming a feudal lord. The era had changed multiple cycles, and reverting to old ways would just trouble future generations to change it back again.

That was too much trouble.

In the end, it would probably result in heads broken and blood spilled.

If he crowned himself emperor, though players might think it cool, and the indigenous people would have no objections, he'd likely lose the support of conservative residents of refuges like Heya.

80% of United Human's heritage had been inherited by those in Blue Jackets, including many powerful origins of enterprises, all stemmed from the Shelters with early Sequences.

Losing their favor was tantamount to slapping a -80% debuff on tech development for Chu Guang, who played Civilization for tech victories every time and felt uncomfortable in Stars without materialist ideologies.

He didn't plan to tread exactly the same path as United Human either.

Decentralization across all fields required immensely rich computing power resources and a production base. The methods of the Prosperity Epoch might not all work in the Wasteland Era; mimicking without considering context was the last thing to do.

Chu Guang was very clear about what he needed.

He needed centralized power to ensure the smooth execution of every plan, but he also had to carefully manage his relations with the inheritors.

Actually, this wasn't hard.

He could establish an Alliance and then issue a special "Rebuilding Act" in its name, granting himself "necessary" powers for a certain period.

After the launch of the B-round testing, Shelter No. 404 would join Shelter No. 117 in founding a new Alliance under the banner of "reviving United Human and rebuilding order."

The northern suburbs of Qingquan City would be demarcated as the "Restoration Zone," and survivors there would automatically gain resident status.

The Outpost Base, industrial areas, Changjiu Farm, and a large tract of land up to Elm District would also be renamed as new settlements under his code.

This would become the capital of the "Restoration Zone."

As for Chu Guang himself.

He would neither become the emperor of the Empire nor the chief elected by representatives of United Human; however, if necessary, he could appoint either at any time.

Under the support of the Rebuilding Act, the Manager would govern everything within the "Restoration Zone."

And he would be the Manager governing it all.

...

The day before the celebration.

The whole Outpost Base was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers.

Considering the importance of this celebration, Chu Guang had set up a Festival Committee, appointing Teng Teng as the chairperson, Crow as the vice-chairperson, Little Fish as the mascot + budget supervisor, and allocated them a budget of tens of thousands of silver coins.

To encourage players' enthusiasm, Chu Guang also promised that after the celebration, if the satisfaction rating reached 80% or more, a "limited title" would be unlocked; if it reached 90%, it would be recorded as a special achievement in the Hall of Fame.

The news of a limited title instantly stirred excitement among the appointed young players.

Overlooking the festive atmosphere of the base and the bustling young players through the lens of the Hummingbird drone, Chu Guang's face revealed a smile akin to that of a homeroom teacher.

It felt as if he had completely handed over the bulletin board to the students, while he sat in the office drinking tea.

As a group of mature young players, they had learned to worry about the planning of game events on behalf of planners too lazy to arrange them themselves.

How nice...

He glanced at the time below his computer screen, and seeing that it was about time, Chu Guang shut down the computer and stood up to leave the Manager's Office.

Meanwhile, by the elevator on Level B1.

Three young players were skulking around the entrance, seemingly waiting for something.

Coming up from Floor B2, Old Soldier and I Max Black were startled by the sudden appearance of three faces as the elevator doors opened.

I Max Black reacted the most dramatically.

"Holy shit! What are you guys doing playing ghosts here?"

The Silver Sword chuckled and waved them away with his hand.

"Move along, move along, we're busy here, don't obstruct us."

Beside him, Silver Hand also excitedly chimed in.

"Exactly! We're up to something big!"

Piqued by their overly serious expressions, I Max Black asked curiously,

"What big thing?"

Silver Daddy responded with a composed smile, confidently saying,

"Isn't tomorrow the start of the B-round testing and the celebration?"

I Max Black paused before nodding.

"Yeah."

To be precise, the B-round testing would start after the celebration ended.

Silver Daddy continued,

"According to tradition, the shelter unlocks new floors, right?"

I Max Black and Old Soldier exchanged glances, with the latter having a strange expression as he nodded.

"Seems... that's the case."

Old Soldier remembered it was Mole Old Brother's post; the guy serialized "Mole Daily" on the forum, concocting new stuff every few days.

Occasionally without other things to do, he'd make do with NPC details. Though not of much interest to players, cloud gamers loved it.

Before entering the Game, Silver Daddy was also one of Mole Old Brother's top fans, having followed every issue of "Mole Daily," including all comments underneath.

"...According to the Game's background settings, not just Manager NPCs, but all of us residents of Shelter No. 404 come from the deepest part of the Shelter. And whenever a new round of testing starts, the Shelter unlocks a new area."

I Max Black raised his hand.

"I have an objection; the Alpha 1.1 version didn't unlock anything, and 400 new players all came from Shelter No. 117."

"That's a good observation, but you're missing a point," praised Silver Daddy with a nod and the expression of a reclusive expert, "The cultivation chambers of Shelter No. 117 were dragged over from Shelter No. 404, and these chambers were transported up from Level B1 through that freight elevator. So, essentially, Shelter No. 117's players are also people from Shelter No. 404."

He knew this best.

Because they were the ones carrying out the errand missions.

I Max Black resignedly said,

"Okay, so what if it is?"

Who the hell pays attention to this playing a game?

With a slight smile, Silver Daddy said, "There's no space left on Floor B3 and Shelter No. 117 doesn't have any spare rooms. So I can assure you, this version update will definitely unlock new rooms!"

I Max Black wanted to delve further, but Old Soldier, standing beside them, saw through their intent and cut to the chase,

"I get what you mean, you're planning to exploit a bug, right?"

Silver Daddy didn't speak; Silver Hand next to him chuckled and said,

"Smart!"

I Max Black exclaimed, "Holy shit?! You can do that?"

Old Soldier rolled his eyes and, while yawning, looked at Old Black and said,

"Let's get going, no need to waste time with these noobs."

I Max Black looked at him in surprise, "Wait, aren't you curious?"

Silver Sword and Silver Hand also started to clamor,

"Damn! Are you looking down on us, the Silver Family?"

"Although my level isn't as high as yours, I've faced the Tyrant head on!"

"That's right, fortune shifts like the flow of the river... Don't look down on us newbies because we're broke!"

Old Soldier chuckled.

"No, no! I didn't mean that at all. I'm just advising you guys that it's best not to get too smart for your own good. The NPCs in this game are smarter than you think... Anyway, it's no use telling you. Better to learn through experience."

With this ambiguous statement, Old Soldier walked away, hands cradling the back of his head, leaving I Max Black out of curiosity temporarily separated from his team, planning to stay and watch the excitement unfold.

At that moment, the Manager, cradling a robot that looked like a waste bin, walked over from the direction of the main entrance and stood in front of one of the elevators.

The three immediately followed.

Chu Guang, with his 19-point Perception, had already noticed these three but didn't bother with them since he didn't sense any hostility.

Seeing them press in close, Chu Guang gave them a perplexed look,

"What's up?"

Silver Hand replied, "Respected Manager, we are just waiting for the elevator."

Silver Sword chimed in, "Right!"

There was another who didn't speak, but he was presumably tagging along.

Chu Guang nodded, not saying much.

As a refined and amiable man, he obviously wouldn't squabble with players over an elevator. There were more than one elevator here, and he wasn't in a rush to catch this one.

He gave the elevator to these three and went to another to get in line. However, much to his surprise, as soon as he pressed the button, those three squeezed in again.

Even the most patient person would be annoyed. Chu Guang turned to look at them,

"Do you guys need something?"

Silver Hand bowed respectfully,

"Respected Manager, we wish to use the elevator to go down a level."

Silver Sword nodded excitedly, "Exactly!"

Chu Guang: "...?"

Huh?

These guys are quick learners.

Using repeated phrases to end a conversation was a tactic Chu Guang had taught the "NPCs" to get rid of nagging players. He didn't expect players to have picked it up so quickly and use it back on them.

Holding Xiao Qi, Chu Guang couldn't help but laugh internally; however, his face remained expressionless as he hummed noncommittally and said no more.

The three players showed a hint of pleasure on their faces.

This time the NPC didn't change elevators, so they figured the bug must have worked!

But just as they entertained that thought, their vision suddenly went black. With silly smiles still plastered on their faces, they collapsed to the ground, their consciousness leaving this world.

I Max Black, who had been sneaking peeks, was stunned.

Damn.

Disconnected just like that?

Is it really that awesome?

Chu Guang looked towards I Max Black standing nearby.

The latter, trembling, hastily swore with three fingers raised,

"I swear on the name of United Human; I'm not with them. I never thought about exploiting any bugs!"

Heh.

Chu Guang, still cradling the robot, chuckled inwardly but showed no reaction on his face, completely ignoring his words.

As if what happened to these three had nothing to do with him.

"They probably got heatstroke. Could you do me a favor and carry them to the B3-floor plaza?"

The signal light on Xiao Qi flickered in Chu Guang's arms.

A task notification instantly popped up, immediately updated on I Max Black's VM.

I Max Black didn't hesitate for a moment and accepted, nodding like a pecking chicken.

"Leave it to me!"

After saying this, he immediately dragged the three unconscious geniuses to another elevator to get in line.

Chu Guang, who had effortlessly knocked out a few players trying to follow him down in hopes of exploiting a bug and reentered the same elevator, took a deep relaxing breath and extended his index finger to touch the elevator's touch screen.

The Manager's authority had already taken control of this elevator, ensuring no further disturbances.

A pale blue light appeared.

As the countdown reached zero precisely on cue, the button for Floor B4 finally appeared.

A smile flashed through Chu Guang's heart, and without hesitation embodying the spirit of the Exalted, he pressed it.

The elevator began its descent.

After a brief wait, it halted steadily.

With the silver-white alloy doors opening, dry, refreshing air rushed to greet him.

"Still that familiar scent."

Before coming down, Chu Guang had taken a deep breath specifically to compare it with the atmosphere on B4.

He glanced around. This place, like B3 when it had just opened, was immaculately clean, even dustier than a cleanroom in an electronic factory.

However, the difference was...

There were no familiar squares or the four functional divisions of ABCD here, just a straight corridor stretching forward.

Chu Guang looked up and saw a door at the end of the hallway that opened to the side.

Considering the floor plan on the wall, this corridor he was facing should correspond to the horizontal line in the middle of the letter "G".

"Xiao Qi, go scout ahead."

"Okay, Master."

Xiao Qi conscientiously rolled forward on its wheels, long accustomed to its master's caution.

Watching Xiao Qi move towards the end of the corridor, Chu Guang also took a step outside the elevator. However, just then, he suddenly noticed a note lying next to the elevator door.

This was probably the only trash here.

Chu Guang picked it up and read the familiar handwriting.

[To the Manager of Shelter No. 404, my successor:]

[...What creature in this world is more suitable to be the leeks than the players? Do you remember the first thing I told you? You must have experienced the brilliance of my genius by now!

Hahahaha, I, who packaged the whole world into a game, am simply a genius!

Don't worship me!

]

Chu Guang: "..."

Who the hell are you?

Have the guts to leave a name!

To be fair, the invention of this "Morphogenesis Field" device was indeed impressive, a "singularity"-level technology at the very least.

Even the archaeology experts at the Academy couldn't understand it.

Yet this First Generation Manager obviously didn't know how to create a game. From the player interface to the core mechanics, and those rich ancillary economic and contribution systems, even to the current game screenshot feature, he had to figure out and design everything bit by bit.

Chu Guang admitted the guy had some skills, but the brush might not have bristles.

Admiration was out of the question.

Let's say half-dressed at best.

[…Cough cough, enough with the jokes, I am delighted you passed my first test. A person full of grievances, who believes everything is impossible, would never have made it here. And now that you stand here, I, under the nine springs, can finally breathe a sigh of relief and entrust one of my most most most precious treasures to you.]

[Applause for yourself, you deserve this honor! The treasure chest for the brave lies at the end of this maze, not even hidden. Go on, don't stand dumbly in the elevator entrance, you sending the little thing ahead to scout looks really silly. Do you think I, a nearly buried man, would still harm you? They're getting impatient waiting for you.]

[Oh, and seeing as I've helped you so much, could you tell me what year it is now?]

[You don't have to write it on paper and burn it for me, I don't believe in that stuff, let alone this paper won't burn. You can tell me quietly, just keep it between us two.]

The note ended there.

Without a signature.

"It is the year 2341, the 212th year of the Wasteland Era..."

Subconsciously blurting out this sentence, Chu Guang suddenly felt silly and, irritated, crumpled the note into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket, heading toward the end of the corridor.

What a waste of time!

He passed through the open alloy door.

Ahead, the area opened up suddenly.

Sofas were arranged in a semi-circular room.

This seemed to be a reading room, but the shelves against the wall held not a single book or anything else.

The coffee machine at the edge of the hallway was an unexpected surprise; its "retro" look made Chu Guang realize its purpose at a glance.

Yin Fang had always complained to him that Shelter No. 404 was so poor it didn't even have a coffee machine; now the guy could finally shut up.

Regrettably, there were no coffee beans inside, so it seemed this device could only be used as a water dispenser until they could become self-sufficient in coffee beans.

"This must be an area for resting or reading."

The space here was quite large, about half a playground in size. Although there weren't many sofas, the floor could accommodate people; even four or five hundred wouldn't feel crowded.

However, apart from the purpose of napping, after circling around, Chu Guang really couldn't figure out any other reason for this room to exist.

Xiao Qi also expressed confusion.

"But... why can't we see a single book around here?"

"Maybe the people from the Prosperity Epoch had other means of recording information..." Chu Guang casually replied, looking toward the door at the end of the curved hallway, "Let's keep moving forward."

Behind the rest area was the fitness area, where the spacious room showcased some odd-looking fitness equipment and a few massage-chair-like devices.

"This is easier to understand, it should be a place for exercising."

Shelter No. 117 also had similar facilities. Good habits could maintain both physical and mental health.

Chu Guang remembered seeing on the Forum that players of the Strength Type had specifically researched that continuous anaerobic exercise could accumulate the development of Gene Sequences and stimulate the expression of certain DNA specificities.

However, this required great willpower, and the process was more tedious than chopping wood.

Unless it was like I Max Black, who really had no choice in winter, few people kept it up.

Chu Guang didn't study these devices in detail but chose to keep moving back to explore the treasure that the First Generation Manager had left for him.

The fitness area was followed by a large door tightly closed. According to the signs written on the wall, Manager's authorization was needed to unlock it.

Unauthorized entry would trigger alarms.

Chu Guang had already obtained all permissions for Floor B4, so of course he faced no obstructions.

Rows of metal cabinets were displayed in the room, Chu Guang held his breath as he approached, opening a cabinet at random; when he saw what was inside, his face instantly showed amazement.

"Light Cavalry Exoskeleton?!"

A thought flickered in Chu Guang's mind, and he immediately opened the cabinet next to him.

As expected, there was another set!

"Holy shit!"

"We've struck it rich!"

Even though it was a police exoskeleton, it was pre-war equipment after all. The polymer bulletproof plates might not be very durable, but the defense was beyond any doubt. The bullets from regular firearms couldn't penetrate it; if they got damaged, the panels could be replaced.

With a look of ecstasy on his face, Chu Guang couldn't wait to open and check every cabinet in the equipment room.

A total of two hundred sets of Type 5 Light Cavalry Exoskeletons!

And twenty sets of Type 6 Heavy Cavalry!

Apart from that, there were over three hundred palm-sized, flexible rotor, programmable short-range drones that would automatically follow within a 40-meter range, either tailing their owner or an opponent. While they synchronized the camera feed in real-time with the helmet's visor, they could also double as an enforcement recorder!

When not in use, they could be stored for charging on the right shoulder of the exoskeleton, leaving only a section of the camera exposed.

Extremely handy!

Chu Guang studied them closely.

These pieces of equipment stored in the cabinets were far more comprehensive than the Type 5 and Type 6 exoskeletons he had gotten from the Blind Boxes!

With these exoskeletons and drones, he could easily put together a semi-mechanized light infantry company.

Combine that with a few trucks converted into anti-aircraft and recoilless gun vehicles, and one would have all the trappings of a mechanized force!

Xiao Qi moved closer to Chu Guang's leg, curiously swiveling its camera head around.

"I can't believe it's been over two hundred years, and they're still like new."

"Maybe it's because we let in the air when we came in, or maybe it's some special technology... who knows." Chu Guang, clearly smitten, temporarily placed the exoskeleton he had taken out back into the cabinet.

Damn!

Why the hell didn't these treasures come to me earlier!

In addition to the exoskeletons and their matching drones, there were over three hundred batons and explosion-proof shields, as well as fifty "Silver Snake" revolvers, the same model he had found on Floor B2.

Expecting that they might face some ludicrously large monsters after the refuge was opened, all these pistols had large calibers.

However, Chu Guang was slightly surprised that he saw no trace of rifles or submachine guns here.

"Speaking of which... there's something I can't figure out."

Chu Guang stared at the door leading to the gym and rest area, pondering, "Why would the equipment room for storage be located behind the rest and fitness area?"

This layout was odd.

Each floor should theoretically have corresponding functions, Chu Guang couldn't, for the life of him, figure out the connection between this room and the previous two.

Xiao Qi: "Hmm... Maybe these equipments were transferred from somewhere else? Like the equipment rooms on Levels B1 and B3?"

Xiao Qi's suggestion did make Chu Guang think, remembering that there were similar equipment rooms at the two exits of the shelter, located between the buffer room and the gear-shaped metal giant doors.

The cabinets there were slightly larger than here and were currently being rented by players as storage lockers.

Thinking about it...

It was quite possible that these pieces of equipment had been transferred from those two places.

"That makes sense."

Chu Guang looked towards the door at the end of the equipment room.

It was the last unexplored area.

Chu Guang had reason to believe that the item referred to as "treasure" by the First Generation Manager couldn't possibly be the mere two hundred plus exoskeletons.

Using his authority, he unlocked the last door.

Chu Guang, accompanied by Xiao Qi, walked in.

It was a round room, dimly lit inside, but the moment he stepped into the room, a soft light gradually illuminated the entire space.

Four familiar devices were quietly lined up in the room, causing Chu Guang to involuntarily hold his breath.

Black Boxes!

Every Waste Land Wanderer's dream vending machine, a crystallization of pre-war civilization's advanced productive forces and technology!

And there were four of them here!

However, what surprised him most were not the four Black Boxes in the corner of the room but the black cylindrical tower in the center of the room, as thick as a millennium-old tree—or rather, a terminal shaped like a cylinder.

His intuition told him.

The "treasure" mentioned by the First Generation Manager was this thing!

"Xiao Qi…"

The trash can that followed alongside Chu Guang's calf considerately lifted its camera.

"Here, master, do you need me to go up and check it?"

"...No need, wait here for me."

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Chu Guang approached the black column, its ten-meter diameter making him look as small as a leaf.

How to use this thing?

Thinking so, Chu Guang instinctively placed his palm on it—the cold sensation transmitted from the metal-feel outer shell, followed closely by the black shell radiating circles of pale blue ripples.

A holographic image?

Before Chu Guang could comprehend what happened, countless pale blue light particles, like a sky full of stars, sprinkled down from the "canopy" around him, hovering steadily.

His Adam's apple moved, Chu Guang looked around in surprise and confusion.

"…What is this?"

Halfway through his sentence.

Familiar IDs started to appear through the light particles, reflected in his pupils.

What's more, there were corresponding Sequence numbers.

Chu Guang immediately understood what this thing before him was.

"…Is this the 'Morphogenesis Field'?"

Or rather, the tip of the iceberg that was visible.

From the ripple of each light particle, Chu Guang found he could faintly perceive those emotions.

Countless invisible threads crossed the walls of dimensions, linking those flickering mirror Consciousness Entities.

Chu Guang did not understand the Principle behind this.

But he could feel their existence.

"So the Cultivation chamber is just a signal relay... This terminal is the actual port connecting to the 'Different World.'"

"In other words...if the Cultivation chamber is damaged, it won't lead to players being deleted?"

In other words, a respawn point can be set up outside of the safe zone!

Chu Guang thoughtfully operated the screen with his index finger, and a line of pale blue window emerged in front of him.

[Current connected Consciousness Entities: 1500]

[Activated Sequences: 1500]

[Currently available: 3000]

Chapter 284: Tribute to the Ending Alpha Version!

After studying for a while, Chu Guang finally understood the purpose of the pillar-like terminal machine in front of him.

Simply put, it served as an entrance for players to project their consciousness into this world.

It was somewhat equivalent to the "Wasteland OL" server.

The three thousand available gene sequences stored inside could be understood as three thousand "game activation codes."

Once players logged into the game, images of their consciousness entities were cached on this "server." As for the cultivation chamber, apart from providing information services for players, it was more like an information node.

Helmets, players' real bodies, servers, cultivation chambers, and clones, together formed a "field," and an invisible "string" connected these five.

The medium for information transfer was not electromagnetic waves or light signals, and might even involve a method of transmission that was an unknown technology to Chu Guang.

This was also why a power outage in the cultivation chamber would disconnect the players, and each consciousness entity could only control one clone.

Of course, this was merely Chu Guang's conjecture.

The First Generation Manager did not explain the technical principles of these devices to him, nor had he ever explained how he managed to deliver the helmets to the players.

"Three thousand game 'activation codes'... there should be more to unlock, right? Surely there isn't just this little stuff in the entire server," Chu Guang murmured thoughtfully as his index finger slid across the touch screen.

It wasn't that he was greedy.

He was just purely thinking that delivering helmets to players and establishing a strong link between the player and the clone, just to release a few thousand gene sequences?

He didn't believe it.

Waving away the light blue holographic screen, Chu Guang's gaze fell on the four black boxes.

The game activation codes were secured.

Now, only the game accounts were missing.

Without surprise, the answer should be there.

And just as Chu Guang had expected, the largest among those black boxes—

It was used for synthesizing cultivation chambers!

...

"Following the instructions in the manual, sequentially insert iron ingots, aluminum ingots, graphite... and so on, eleven kinds of materials, and add 100L of water. Please ensure a continuous power supply and place the black box in a ventilated spot."

The B3 floor warehouse.

Next to the twenty-square-meter black cube.

Under Yin Fang's direction, three warehouse workers, through a simple and easy-to-understand operating procedure, were inputting materials into the black box.

Although anyone could understand the graphic tutorial, and it didn't matter whether Yin Fang was there or not, Chu Guang always felt a bit more reassured with an expert nearby.

The black box emitted a faint hum.

After a period of waiting, two brand-new cultivation chambers simultaneously rolled out from the delivery conveyor belt and lay quietly on the open space of the warehouse.

Witnessing everything, the three indigenous people's faces showed astonished expressions, as if they had seen a miraculous miracle.

The input was just a pile of metal ingots.

Yet, what came out was a device... well, they didn't even know what these two iron clumps were for, but this didn't stop them being amazed at the transformation before their eyes!

It was utterly inconceivable!

Even more magical than a magic trick!

Thinking about this, the three secretly glanced at Chu Guang, their respectful gaze now mingled with a sort of reverential awe, as if they were beholding a deity.

Truly worthy of being the Manager!

Although they completely didn't understand, they were deeply shocked.

Yin Fang's face also carried an expression of intense interest.

He obviously knew what the black box was, but this didn't prevent him from being curious about what the black box had produced.

The black boxes at the academy either produced exoskeletons, drones, laser guns, or some other obviously single-purpose gadgets.

However, the black box here was different.

Before coming to Qingquan City, he had never seen so many "strangely functional" black boxes.

For example, the two iron boxes right in front of him.

Walking over and touching and looking at the two cultivation chambers, Yin Fang researched for a long time but couldn't figure out what they were actually for.

"Incredible... just how many black boxes do you have?! And what exactly is this iron box? Is it a coffin?"

Chu Guang didn't answer his questions, partly because he didn't know and partly because it was inconvenient to reply.

He glanced at the time on the VM, silently calculated the production speed of the cultivation chambers, yet his heart sank slightly.

"A maximum capacity of 40 units per day, assuming thirty days in a month... a maximum of 1200 players could be released per month."

As for the cost, it caused Chu Guang a faint headache.

The black box he drew came with a fusion battery, so the electricity cost was temporarily ignored, as that couldn't be calculated.

Just considering the cost of materials, it was astonishingly high at 2000 silver coins!

Equivalent to the cost of three sleep cabins!

Steel and aluminum were cheap, copper was barely okay, and the supply was very stable. However, elements like nickel, molybdenum, and other rare metals were not so cheap.

If production was maximized, it would mean an increase in expenses by 80,000 silver coins per day, totaling 2.4 million silver coins a month!

But looking at it from another angle, a single double-headed cow cost three to four thousand or even four to five thousand silver coins, a player could do much more than a double-headed cow.

Even the cheapest bioengineered person cost at least tens of thousands of chips, and the value a player could create far surpassed that of bioengineered people.

Is 2000 silver coins expensive?

Not expensive at all.

Regarding the additional expense of 240W per month...

At first glance, it might seem a lot, and indeed it is quite substantial, but it's not a major issue!

First, this fiscal expenditure is different from other fiscal expenditures. It's not directly invested in the market, so it won't directly cause inflation.

Second, as long as Chu Guang manages to continuously acquire resources from external sources and increase the shelter's fiscal income, with no major fluctuations in the prices of industrial materials, it will be easy to fill this gap.

If there really is no money left, it's also fine to just stop the production lines for a while and then resume them when funds are available again.

"In order to summon more players, Shelter No. 404 needs to strengthen its regional influence and military presence in Red River Town!"

"When the situation allows, consider incorporating Red River Town into the 'New Alliance' as the second Restoration Zone!"

Currently, the shelter maintains a military base in Red River Town, originally just to provide players with some work and earn an extra buck on the side, unexpectedly, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

"...However, now we need to produce the Cultivation Chambers ourselves, and the sealed test qualification distribution mode for B-round testing also needs some adjustments."

Chu Guang thought to himself as he looked at the two Cultivation Chambers in the warehouse.

For example, shift from a one-time large-scale account deployment, to a daily release of 40 accounts per version. Once the current version's 3000 accounts are issued, it stops until he acquires more activation codes to start the next round.

The number of players has gradually increased, now reaching four digits, and maintaining a double-digit growth per day truly aligns more with the shelter's current needs than explosive growth.

This thing, like population, is a burden if increased too much at once. Everyone scrambles desperately. If it doesn't increase at all, no one will fuel the boss's car.

Basic work must always be done.

Tasks below 10 silver coins are too low-yielding for veteran players, but they are still very attractive to new players.

The efficiency of the players is three times that of the indigenous people; even slaves get a break, but players only have eyes for the progress bar!

Most importantly, the newbies are adorable.

Chu Guang really likes them.

Seeing that Chu Guang hadn't responded, Yin Fang made a resigned expression, gave up asking about the functionality of the Cultivation Chamber, and turned to study the other three black boxes.

The second black box, similar to the one found in the B3 level warehouse, was for producing Sleep Cabins, with a daily capacity of 20~24 units, inexpensive to make and maintain, and could scan and record the DNA expression of body cells.

Black boxes aren't unique, and functional overlap isn't rare.

A player can only own one Cultivation Chamber, yet a Sleep Cabin can serve multiple players at different times.

Respawn points suit deployment in the rear, but save points can be directly deployed on the frontline, even right next to ammunition depots.

The production capability of the Sleep Cabin doubling was quite satisfying for Chu Guang, as the future demand for Sleep Cabins by players would definitely exceed that of Cultivation Chambers.

This gadget could replace sleeping bags, becoming an essential artifact for players' home travels, and after enough save points were available, Chu Guang would consider offering Sleep Cabins for purchase to players who had reached Citizen level or above in Contribution Points.

The money earned would be perfect to subsidize the production of the Cultivation Chambers.

The products of the first two black boxes are related to players, but the third black box is slightly different, having essentially nothing to do with players' clones.

Yet its value was no less significant than the previous two; both Yin Fang, who was excitedly amazed, and Chu Guang himself displayed surprised expressions.

"X-4 high-polymer fiber!" Yin Fang, his face full of envy, couldn't help but say, "Damn... you guys have too many good things!"

X-4 high-polymer fiber!

Level B technology!

By simply inputting wood, water, and a large amount of electricity into the black box, X-4 high-polymer fiber can be steadily produced, with carbon dioxide and potentially methane as by-products!

X-4 fibers have a broad range of uses; they can serve as electrostatic-free barrier fabrics in chemical suits, or be crushed to replace ordinary fibers in the production of smokeless gunpowder, increasing the explosive speed of the gunpowder!

This version of smokeless gunpowder, especially suitable for use in shells, rockets, or bullets, was something Outpost Base, with the help of Pioneer, had obtained a bunch of X-4 fiber from a carbon dioxide trap but was quickly depleted as industrialization advanced.

Now, with the capability for autonomous production, the power of the LD-47 series weapons and Light and Heavy Cavalry Guns produced by Facility 81 would undoubtedly rise to a new level!

And it's a stable enhancement!

Chu Guang glanced at Yin Fang, who was full of envy, and asked with interest.

"Can't the Academy produce X-4 fiber?"

"The output is not high, the intermediate processes are complex, and it's expensive!" After giving a three-word assessment, Yin Fang fell into reminiscence and continued, "… I remember I had to save two months' salary to buy a set of X-4 fiber protective gear."

It must be quite expensive if a Level D explorer had to save two months' salary for it.

Chu Guang remembered Yin Fang mentioning that the highest a prospector at the Academy could reach was Level D, capable of leading an independent archaeological team.

Although Level D explorers aren't high in rank and authority, their income is slightly higher than that of Level C researchers not in core labs, and due to often accessing first-hand data, their promotion speed and opportunities also surpass those of same-level researchers.

But this no longer concerned Yin Fang.

Previously, Yin Fang had missed the Academy, but ever since watching videos of Doctor Principle and being appointed by Chu Guang as the dean of Academy No.404 branch, he didn't miss home as much.

Conducting archaeology for others is nothing compared to commanding others to do so.

Here, not only is he the leader of the "Scientific Expedition Group," but he also doesn't have to take the blame for incompetent superiors.

This is too good!

Yin Fang then looked at the last black box, the smallest of the four.

Its length and width were roughly the size of an adult's arm and forearm respectively, and it was only as thick as a palm.

It was also, so far, the smallest device Shelter No. 404 had recovered, even smaller than the one from Shelter No. 117.

It was literally the size of a briefcase!

And its output was quite special.

Following the foolproof pictorial tutorial printed on the black box, the workers inputted 100g of graphite, 10L of water, and a small amount of iron filings among other materials.

After about an hour, a syringe with a capacity of about 10ml slowly emerged from the outlet.

The syringe swayed with a light yellow solution inside.

Yin Fang held it in his hand and examined it closely, curiously saying,

"What is this?"

"Induction Expression Serum..."

He quietly read the small print on the black box as a flash of surprise crossed Chu Guang's eyes.

He probably had already guessed the purpose of this thing.

However, its specific clinical effects still needed to be further verified by professionals.

"Let Heya handle the serum research... That's her area of expertise, and she would probably be very interested."

Having said this, Chu Guang turned to the three warehouse workers standing nearby and continued to instruct.

"From now on, you are responsible for the production of these four black boxes. I will assign some more people to you. You decide how to distribute the tasks, but I have one requirement—ensure three shifts of round-the-clock operation, keeping the machines running 24 hours!"

Seeing such an important task entrusted to them, the three workers, honored and shocked, all showed serious expressions on their faces simultaneously.

"Don't worry, sir!"

"I am willing to swear on my life to ensure the completion of the task you have entrusted!"

"Me too!"

Seeing the loyalty of the three, Chu Guang nodded in approval.

" I believe in you."

Operating the black box didn't require much education.

Even mutants could understand the foolproof tutorial on the black box, let alone workers who had gone through literacy class training.

Such production equipment, designed for the apocalypse, was precise but not delicate; damaging it would still present some difficulty.

And without exception, all the indigenous people who could enter the shelter were recognized as loyal by "VM."

Moreover, with cameras everywhere in the shelter, Xiao Qi would report any issue to him immediately—essentially ensuring foolproof security.

"... Dear listeners, this is your dearest Mr. Hauser. Today, West Third Ring is calm, the temperature at 13°. A light rain has refreshed the air a lot, and we have every reason to believe that the future air will be even better—Tide, gray fog, and that rotten smell will all end before the end of the month!"

"Let's cheer for the lord of the city, for the head of the militia, and for General Zhao Yongxu and his militia who fought bloodily at the front lines, thanks to whom Giant Stone City is so calm today."

"I can't remember whether it's 51 or 54, a very very large number. Including the Variants and Evolutionary bodies they've annihilated, their achievements are simply too numerous to count! Praise be to the city lord!"

"There are no big news today, nothing significant happened in the southern part of River Valley Province... but you all are clamoring to hear about the north, so I will talk briefly about it."

"Thanks to our planes, those country folks there narrowly escaped disaster. But they seem to think it was their own doing and are currently celebrating their victory."

"Our observers saw that they spread blood on their windows and doorsteps, making their homes bloody everywhere... really a bunch of crude folks!"

"If you must go north, it's best to avoid them!"

The hissing static sound and the oily voice uniquely performed in the empty reception room.

Outside the reception room in Outpost Base, it was brightly lit and bustling.

A grand celebration was underway.

A far-away small broadcaster in Giant Stone City had only guessed one-fifth—people here were not just celebrating a hard-won victory.

They were also celebrating the dawn of a great era.

From the square in front of the hospital to the commercial street at the north gate, a dense crowd had formed, and survivors from "North Suburb" gathered from all directions as if on a pilgrimage.

Some were just there to behold the honor of the manager in person, while others heard that big news would be announced tonight, so they cleverly secured places at the front early on.

In addition to local survivors, there were some scavengers who came from other small to medium-sized survivor villages nearby to join in the fun, as well as merchants and mercenaries from even more distant areas.

Sun Shiqi was also mixed in the crowd.

Looking at the sea of people, his eyes widened with surprise, almost popping out of their sockets.

"North Suburb" had never seen so many people before.

Nor had it ever seen so many people gathered together.

He still remembered the last time he was here; the place was so desolate it couldn't even qualify as a small village.

Not to mention those uniformly dressed guards maintaining order at the scene; back then, they couldn't even put together a few iron pipe rifles, having to buy those revolving little pipes from Red River Town!

So much so that Sun Shiqi once suspected these blue jackets were a group of displaced people pretending to be the original inhabitants!

"It's really unbelievable..."

Sun Shiqi, being squeezed until almost suffocating, excitedly muttered to himself.

What a huge market!

"Yeah, it's unbelievable."

A familiar voice came from the side; Sun Shiqi turned his head and surprisingly saw an acquaintance in the crowd.

"You're here too?"

Standing behind his brother FrostFurnace, Frost River curved her lips.

"My home is here, is it strange?"

Her voice carried a hint of pride as she spoke.

Sun Shiqi initially wanted to strike up a conversation with the young girl, but he noticed the robust man standing in front of him staring at him.

That look was clearly filled with suspicion.

Sun Shiqi coughed, his face just sporting a harmless smile, but he had already been pushed to another spot by the crowd.

The crowd gathered here numbered at least two to three thousand people.

Those local survivors who couldn't make it to the scene were gathering either in the town hall of Changjiu Farm or the castle on Bet Street.

There were "TVs" made of VM screens.

Although the screens were not large, compared to the crowded onsite scene, it was actually easier to see clearly.

At the moment, on the square in the center of the crowd.

Chu Guang, dressed in deep blue power armor, stood on the third floor of the patched-up sanatorium, where there was a wall that hadn't been sealed up.

It's usually Xiao Qi who stands here.

If there were nothing else to do, Chu Guang would occasionally come up to keep it company for a while, and spy on what the players were doing with the drones.

Although Outpost Base had already been built up quite impressively, and the commercial street to the north had expanded all the way to the edge of Bull Horse Brick Factory, this sanatorium alone remained as it had been when the service had first begun.

Old White, standing among the crowd, looked up at the sanatorium in front and his face was filled with nostalgia.

"The window on the second floor was fixed by me."

"That's nothing, I fixed the wall on the first floor." Spare people under the knife chuckled.

Initially, Old White was the head of the building team, but later it was taken over by him, a civil engineer; not just the sanatorium, but over half of the buildings in Outpost Base were constructed under his leadership.

Old White laughed softly.

"No big deal! I made the bricks and cement!"

Night Ten said helplessly.

"Do you guys have to compete over this too?"

"That's right," Fang Chang gave them both a sidelong glance, "Even Night Ten thinks you two are childish."

Night Ten suddenly jumped like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on, "Screw off! Who are you calling childish? Jealous because I'm young?"

Quit smoking: "Hahahaha!"

Seeing Night Ten red in the face from arguing, Wild Wind couldn't help but snort, probably laughing.

Standing next to Wild Wind was the [Lone Wolf of the Apocalypse], curiously looking at the power armor, not curious about the celebration, just curious about that device.

"Is that thing really nuclear fusion-powered?"

Wild Wind glanced at him.

"I guess so."

Lone Wolf looked at Wild Wind in surprise.

"I thought you would be more curious than I."

Wild Wind didn't respond to that statement, but Lone Wolf always felt there were unsaid words in his expression.

Not far away, Meat Meat excitedly lifted Tail and Sisi, their massive bodies quite conspicuous in the crowd, but both the indigenous people and the players were used to this huge white bear.

It was said that Meat Meat, which transported ammunition at the front lines, had been awarded a medal by the Manager.

Whenever this anecdote was mentioned, the indigenous people couldn't help but feel sentimental—this was truly a place full of inclusivity, where even a bear could live like a human with enough effort.

"Did you see it? Did you see it?"

"Wow, thanks Meat Meat! You're fantastic!"

"I saw it, I saw it! Oh oh oh, this is too high!"

"Wait, where's Teng Teng? I can't see Teng Teng." Meat Meat looked around anxiously, but soon found her excited face on Crow's shoulder.

Making a human ladder.

Basic operation in FPS games.

The only pity was that the game's models were made too realistically with physical effects and collision volumes too accurate, making it unstable to stand on a teammate's head, and they had to make do by sitting on each other's necks.

Stretching her neck to look forward, usually reserved Teng Teng was exceptionally excited today, her emotions surging.

After all, she personally organized this celebration!

This was way more fun than planning company team-building events!

"How much longer?"

"Just two minutes left... oh oh oh, don't mess up my hair, my hairstyle will get ruined!" Crow looked around nervously.

It was said there were drones filming a PV around, as a commemorative video for the end of the A-round tests, and all logged-in players would be included.

This was a chance to appear in the official CG!

Crow had specifically changed into her favorite clothes.

She didn't want to appear on camera with her hair all messy.

It was now five fifty-eight in the evening.

Only the last two minutes remained until the start of the celebration.

Not just the indigenous people awaited eagerly; all players were also expectantly looking at the Manager on the third floor, and at his side, Xiao Qi.

Intermission CG!

B-round testing!

New gameplay version!

Hurry it up!

-

(Thanks to "Lavochkin" of the Sterling Silver Alliance!!!! You rock! The title is over thirty-five characters, I tried several times but couldn't add it T.T)

Chapter 285 Beta 0.1 Version Update! New Merchant Gameplay and Legion System!

The atmosphere on-site was boiling like fire, and the clamor of voices resembled the raucous waves of the sea.

Standing on the third floor, Chu Guang could see face after face brimming with enthusiasm.

He even felt as if he could touch with the tip of his nose the excitement and desire that hit him square in the face.

Passion surged in his heart.

That emotional resonance spread amongst the crowd.

He believed.

He was not the only one waiting for this moment.

At six in the evening.

The tumultuous voices on the square subsided slightly, and it was at this moment that a solemn and loud voice rang out from above the plaza.

"From the moment the gate opened to the present, nearly two hundred days and nights have passed. From the boundless wasteland to the thousands of acres of good farmland outside the farmsteads, we have managed it all in just half a year."

"In this short span of half a year, we have driven out the Variants, conquered the savagery, and triumphed over the Tide, advancing through gunfire and tilling the barren soil."

"We have accomplished miracles that others deemed impossible, and though there were sacrifices, we did not leave anyone behind."

"Now we have enough reason to believe that we have the courage and the ability to bring order to even further places!"

"Let us cheer for this moment!"

"For ourselves, and for everyone around us!"

"Victory belongs to us!"

"To everyone who has fought for this land!"

The spoken words fell with impact.

Applause thundered.

Cheers echoed through the plaza.

"Long live the Manager!"

"May Shelter No. 404 live on forever!"

"Long live the Human Alliance!"

"Long live Demacia!"

"Emperor of Mankind!"

"To be alive is to—sniffle sniffle, let go of me, let me finish!"

Some shouted grand proclamations and long life, while others said things that were difficult to understand and even baffling, yet their pure emotions were the same.

People were expressing the excitement in their hearts in their own way, releasing their emotional resonance in the cheering.

Waiting for the surging sound waves to subside.

At the end of the opening ceremony, Chu Guang announced the decision of the management of Shelter No. 404—in the setting of "Wasteland OL," the Manager's authority was also granted by the "fictional institution" located at the very bottom of the shelter.

"…According to the collective vote of the management of Shelter No. 404, the shelter will fulfill the mission granted to us by the Human Alliance Era, to join hands with our brethren waiting on the surface, to rebuild a new alliance on the ruins, to reconstruct a new world of equality and prosperity, to rebuild our home!"

In the name of the Alliance, the Human Civilization Revival Unity Front was officially declared established!

To distinguish it from the old Human Alliance, it is abbreviated as "New Alliance" or "New Union."

The vast territory from Qingquan City's North Fifth Ring to the areas around Far Creek Town, spanning the Elm District, will serve as the first Restoration Zone of the New Alliance.

The large tract of land from Outpost Base to Changjiu Farm will be merged and managed under the name of City of Dawn, as the capital of the New Alliance.

As for the legislative work and the construction of systems, these will also be initiated subsequently, which will not be detailed here. There's a lot of detailed and complex work to do, but fortunately, there is also plenty of time for people to have enough time to explore and find their own suitable paths.

This task is like developing an app; you can first release a BUG that functions, and then slowly adjust it, making this BUG acceptable to most people, or at least not too bothersome for the vast majority.

A program that satisfies everyone 100%, even in the era of prosperity with an abundance of resources and productivity, does not exist. Even big data, tested through thousands of trials, occasionally has moments that can raise blood pressure.

But in the end, having something is better than having nothing.

Chaos has persisted for two centuries in River Valley Province, and the people living there have waited too long for this moment.

Even if the majority of the Indigenous People still do not understand the significance of the Alliance or do not yet understand it, it does not prevent them from cheering for its arrival.

They needed a reason to unite.

A reason they could proudly speak aloud.

Standing inside a tin can, Batch rubbed the edge of his helmet with his index finger, looking up with interest at Chu Guang standing on the third-floor balcony of the sanatorium.

"The New Alliance... sounds interesting."

Witnessing the birth of an emerging power makes his journey to the west worthwhile.

On Heya's face, however, there was no change in expression. Her mind was filled with specimens from the Lair, DNA, and the research on the induction serum.

Having been through that farce, she had long seen through the boredom inherent in human nature; she was only interested in things that piqued her interest.

Standing to one side, Yin Fang stroked his nose and mused thoughtfully,

"It's beyond my expectation."

Batch looked at him curiously.

"What expectation?"

"I thought he would crown himself Emperor."

Even though he said it in a teasing tone, Yin Fang was not joking at all.

Shelter No. 404 didn't feel to him like a true shelter, at least not like the ones he had been to before.

Perhaps it was because of faith, or maybe due to personal charisma, the residents here obeyed unconditionally, even adoring him.

As long as that man wished, he could do whatever he wanted. Not just becoming an Emperor, but even more extravagant acts would probably go unopposed.

Indeed, Yin Fang knew Chu Guang well enough to know that the man would rarely consider the means when it came to achieving his goals, always managing to pull off maneuvers that left others gaping.

However, what was puzzling was that he rarely did these things for himself.

People are indeed complicated creatures...

"Long live the New Alliance! Long live the City of Dawn!" Detwei shouted excitedly from the edge of the crowd, his actions even more exaggerated than the locals', drawing sideways glances from those around him.

The owner of Gray Squirrel Clothing Store, Sylvanas Windrunner, glanced at him in surprise. He had come here to restock, and it just so happened that he arrived during the celebration, but he did not expect to see a familiar customer.

"Aren't you from Giant Stone City?"

"What does it matter?" With excitement on his face, Detwei replied nonchalantly, "We're all survivors from Qingquan City, we all live on the same wasteland. What's wrong with my cheering? Nothing at all!"

A person from Giant Stone City?

He didn't remember ever having such a label.

He was a Merchant, one who travels across the Wasteland for trade; he was neither born there nor a retainer of the lord. He would follow whoever could make him rich, and he would take his money wherever he could earn it.

To be tagged as someone from Giant Stone City simply because he often did business there would be a grave mistake!

Not just Detwei thought this way, but List, standing not too far away, also harbored the same thoughts, though his feelings were far more complex than Detwei's.

He had a respectable reputation among the merchants in Giant Stone City, and for over a decade, his only desire was to live in the Inner City.

But recently, this thought had begun to waver.

This was quite inconceivable.

List had been to many places more prosperous than here, like the City of Dawn in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, which was practically paradise.

Yet, he had never once thought about spending his final years there.

The people there cared about things entirely different from his concerns. Even in simple business interactions, he could feel that he was from a different world than them.

If he took his wealth there to live, the most likely outcome would be squandering it all and then shamefully getting kicked out. Those people never thought about including others, and he could never blend into their way of life.

But here it was different, the displaced and the merchants could gain acceptance as long as they followed local laws.

Yes, Giant Stone City was like that too, at least its Outer City was open to everyone, but the vibes he got from the two places were starkly different.

List couldn't quite pinpoint that feeling.

But in any case, it was different.

Xia Yan, standing at the doorway of the weapons store, stared blankly at the azure power armor, lost in thought.

Little Fish, perched on her shoulder, was excitedly swinging her little legs, stretching her neck to look around, and chewing on a plastic stick held in her mouth.

She didn't understand what Brother Chu was talking about.

But everyone seemed very happy.

It must have been something good!

Tail, sitting on Meat Meat's shoulder, looked enviously toward the direction of the weapons store, constantly muttering under her breath.

"Damn it… Why is it Boss Xia carrying Little Fish? Tail also wants to be Little Fish's Mount!"

Si Si looked at her in surprise.

"Ew! Can I call the police?"

During this great moment of celebration shared by Indigenous People and players, a server announcement also simultaneously updated in all the players' VMs.

On the official Forum as well.

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta Version Beta0.1 Update Announcement!]

[Major Updates:

1. The player cap for the closed beta test increases from 1500 to 4500!

2. Map enhancement! The scope expands to the surrounding areas of River Valley Province!]

3. New facility "Merchant Guild" added!

4. New "Legion System" added!

]

[Optimization:

1. A large number of in-game modeling enhancements have been made to improve the climate change system towards a more realistic depiction.

2. More commercial teams from outside the River Valley Province have been added, developing unique local languages and cultural customs for them.

3. Little Fish has grown another 1cm taller.

4. A few bugs have been fixed.

…

]

Still the same old routine.

At the same time the announcement was published, Chu Guang had the post he had prepared earlier released on the official forum by Xiao Qi!

"Developer's Diary: Beta 0.1 Version"

"Hello, everyone, I am your dearest planner, Ah Guang! It's been a while since we've seen each other, but I've been vigilantly watching over all of you on the forum."

"After sacrificing 200 siege lions, our server has finally been rebirthed, and now we are able to accommodate 4,500 players online simultaneously! The helmets are being churned out overtime, and we plan to release 10-40 activation codes and virtual helmets each day, which means that each day after three days, there will be tender and delicious—I mean adorable—newbies joining us!"

"Aren't you excited? Aren't you thrilled? Even though there's a long queue at the gates of the new world, at least now there's a small gap in the door! No need to applaud for us; give your applause to those testers, for they have endured much hardship in the servers… What? You also want to come in and suffer? Just wait a bit longer! There'll be a chance!"

"In short, with the efforts of countless testers, our virtual community has begun to take shape, and Wasteland OL has finally entered its B-round of testing! We promise to complete the closed beta before the launch of 'Give Him Love 6' and 'Interstellar Pie' and will decide based on the actual situation whether to add an intermediate testing phase before open beta."

"Let's talk about this Beta version!"

"In the new version, we will focus more on developing the virtual community itself, enhancing cooperation between players, and between players and NPCs, enriching player career gameplay and choices."

"Traditional quest taking remains the mainstream gameplay, but it's no longer the only choice. You can opt to skip complex tasks and use the money earned from working to register as a globe-trotting merchant at the 'Merchant Guild,' starting your business from scratch and then growing it bit by bit before losing it all again."

"If you don't want to bear all the risks alone, you can also deceive your friends to join your 'black ride' and share some of the costs, in return for a little dividend."

"If you're not interested in doing business or don't have the confidence to haggle with the cunning Waste Land Wanderers in the awkward language of the Human Alliance, you can try hiring NPCs, or being hired by NPCs, to manage your own or others' trade routes, ultimately becoming a local magnate or a widely known Old Lai."

"You can even register to become a busy, fire-fighting caravan guard, leaving aside the hassles of money, focusing on enjoying the journey itself, since death for you is just a three-day cooldown to return to the city."

"And aside from the above, we have prepared brand new content for combat professional players—the exhilarating Legion System!"

"In the new version, the player forces will evolve from conscript troops to standing legions. NPCs will establish one or more standing legions as needed, with some legions open to player participation, mainly aimed at combat professional players who are not interested in command and focus on mainstream task gameplay."

"Of course, in addition to the standing legions established by NPCs, the new version also allows players to establish their own legions. If you have enough confidence in your command art and have proven it to others, you can consider taking an unconventional path."

"Any player with three Silver Medals or more of honor and a Contribution Level at Advanced Citizen can, along with at least two Medium Citizen friends, form an independent 'Legion,' set their own flag and regimental numbers, and recruit other players who trust them and share the same goals to join the team."

"We have designed a special growth pathway for the Legion System, similar to the Proficiency Level system with ten levels, scaling from teams of ten, hundreds, or even thousands. With accumulated military merits, one can get promoted, raising the recruitment cap, gaining larger bases, and receiving more budget."

"It's worth mentioning that although the legions are created for war, their duties are not just to fight. They are also responsible for maintaining order, suppressing rebellion, guarding peace, expelling Variants, fighting the Tide, and building homes."

"In times of peace, legions can choose to partake in mercenary, guard, or weapons testing missions as they see fit, earning funds to purchase and upgrade equipment from the missions. When war breaks out, all legions will automatically respond to the call to arms from the shelter and head to the frontlines to fight."

"We will strengthen the cooperation between lifestyle players and combat professional players, through balanced design that allows both gameplay types to have an equal gaming experience. We will grant player legions more control over the disposal of war spoils, as well as encourage lifestyle players to support the frontlines logistically more and take what they need from the captured spoils."

"Investing in a battle with high chances of victory might be a sure-win deal, but a risky battle can also bring substantial dividends."

"But take note that while player legions can decide on their targets to some extent, they do not have the right to declare war autonomously nor can they declare war on external forces on behalf of the New Alliance."

"As the directly responsible person, the legion commander must strictly constrain their team. The consequences of violating discipline are not just the withdrawal of the flag and regimental numbers—serious violations may even affect whether your account can continue to be used…"

The post was out for less than a minute.

The forum, which had been calm, suddenly exploded.

"F*ck! The B-round test is really starting!"

"D*mn planner, you rock!"

"Ah Guang: Well said, but now your account is gone."

"Hahaha!"

"Why haven't I seen those with the closed beta tag on the forum today?"

"Those with tags are all online right now! Those damn Europeans are probably playing happily in the game, too busy to come here and show off."

"D*mn! Why couldn't they hold the celebration after the new version launches! If they do this, won't I miss the entire Spring Festival event!"

"Calm down, even if the celebration were after the new version, you'd still have to wait three days to enter the game, not to mention there are only at most 40 qualifiers released each day—do you really think you'll be chosen?"

"F*ck! Does it have to be so realistic!"

"Don't say that out loud!"

Ever since the game screenshot function was launched, a tidal wave of high-definition screenshots flooded the forum, with the number of reservations already breaking through six digits, rushing towards seven digits.

With so many people lining up at the same time, only forty slots could be filled each day; inevitably, some would succeed, others would fail.

However, compared to the endless wait before, having accounts released every day at least provided a glimmer of hope.

Unlike the Alpha version, where sometimes several releases would occur in a month and sometimes not even a single account released, it was truly frustrating.

Backseat Drivers were cheering for the arrival of the B-round test. The entire forum's gossip section was bombarded with posts, and only the few sections limited to closed beta testers still hadn't heated up.

But,
it was only a matter of time before they too would come to life.

Online players' VMs also received the news of the game update.

As soon as the celebration began, a long line formed at the save point, all players intending to take a shortcut to log out and join the excitement on the official website.

Those who didn't want to head to the save point had other options; at the festival, beer and corn liquor were supplied in unlimited quantities, with a large cup or bowl available for 5 silver coins.

For veteran players, it was even more convenient. They simply found a spot out of the way to lie down and then used their VMs to ask Xiao Qi to disconnect them.

Since the previous Alpha 1.0 version, there were too many tactical methods for logging out.

Yet not everyone was in a hurry to rush to the official website.

Why bother?

All their friends were in the game.

Wasn't it the same to discuss anywhere else?

At the plaza,
as the Spring Water Commander looked at the server announcement popping up on his VM, he excitedly stroked his chin, saying,

"To have our own base, funded by the official Shelter's allocations, and even recruit players... No level restrictions? Does that mean we can recruit newbies?"

Although his level wasn't very high, he had the highest proficiency level for server-wide command skills.

Edge Shoveling, who was clearly interested as well, met the requirements to establish an independent legion with three Silver Medals and a high-level citizen status, one medal even being the "Special Medal" with a shield emblem.

Debt Giant Eye, standing beside, let out a sly laugh and said,

"How about the name 'Death Legion'?"

"Get lost!"

Although he told him to get lost, it was obvious he was intrigued.

On the other side, the members of the Bull and Horse Team also gathered to discuss.

After reading the server announcement, Quit smoking exclaimed in amazement,

"Awesome! Is this Legion System preparing us for guild gameplay?"

"Most likely," Fang Chang nodded, his face thoughtful, "The information Ah Guang hinted at in the posts was clear, the new version will emphasize more on player cooperation, focusing on community building."

Mole Old Brother, upon hearing this, hesitated to say, "Don't most MMORPGs start steering players towards guild gameplay after level 30 or even 60? The highest level on the server isn't even at LV20 yet, isn't it a bit premature to start warming up now?"

Normally in MMORPGs, by the end of the main questline, players' levels have nearly reached the cap. To add more game content, all that's left is to keep patching up the storyline, releasing expansion packs, corrupting popular characters, and redeeming villains.

But clearly, that wouldn't be enough.

Sylvanas Windrunner can't burn the tree twice.

The strategy for most MMORPGs is to lead players to form communities, binding them to the game with guilds and personal relationships.

Other methods include mentorship and marriage systems.

However, Wasteland OL clearly didn't have this issue.

The content of the Waste World available for exploration was simply too vast, almost like a real existing world. Even if the "Dog plan" didn't update anything, just the existing gameplay would keep players busy for a very long time.

Fang Chang said, "Actually, there's not much difference. In a typical MMORPG, you grind for half a year and you'll hit 50 to 60. The leveling difficulty in Wasteland OL is clearly much higher than traditional MMORPGs, so it makes sense to give high-level players more options."

Old White nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, the server used to have few players and plenty of quests, but now with the increase in player numbers, even the trees near the park aren't sufficient."

It wasn't just the trees.

The trash in the ruins wouldn't respawn once picked up.

To get bigger gains, one would have to venture farther.

It was the same for other professions as well.

After a pause, Fang Chang continued addressing his friends.

"Let's make a prediction. In no more than two versions, the server will definitely open up the Sleep Cabins used for saving games for player purchases, allowing players to establish their own save points and even buy Cultivation chambers to set their own respawn points!"

Night Ten hesitated, asking, "What does that imply?"

Fang Chang replied with just two words.

"Territory!"

Chapter 286: You are already a mature little player, it's time to learn how to protect the Crystal Tower yourself.

Brother Chu found it surprising that though he had guessed the ending, he hadn't predicted the beginning.

There wasn't even the need for two versions; as soon as the Beta0.1 version launched, the Sleep Cabin was listed on the NPC store.

Once a player reached the "Intermediate Citizen" contribution level, they could reserve a purchase in the VM and even have it delivered to their doorstep.

Yes.

To buy a Sleep Cabin, you first needed a piece of land.

Since all land within the Restoration Zone was collectively owned by the New Alliance, it was obviously not feasible to simply encircle a piece of land and claim it as your own.

However, for Intermediate Citizens, this was easy. Most players, upon reaching Intermediate Citizen status, would buy a 50-square-meter plot to manage their small home or store.

Some players registered with business units engaged in life professions could also place Sleep Cabins on commercial or industrial land.

There were still plenty of choices.

Less than half an hour after the announcement of the new version, players had already begun to marvel at the change in the square.

"Sleep Cabin... fuck! 2000 silver coins!?"

"That's like a Miner Type I Exoskeleton!"

"Purchase requires reaching medium citizen contribution level... hiss, ten thousand contribution points! I'm out, I'll just use the public save point."

"Damn… how long would it take to save up that much money?"

"If there are no server activities or faction wars, the average daily income for a Level 10 under normal gameplay can reach 100 silver, though there are those who can grind up to 200, 300+… but those are the pros."

"No worries, just grind it out!"

2000 silver coins might sound like a lot, but for players who genuinely reached Level 10, it wasn't unacceptable.

With the establishment of the Hunter Guild, the proportion of task earnings in players' total income had gradually reduced from the initial 90% to 66%.

Many commissions published by non-core NPCs for the hunting of Variants or building sweeps could even generate a one-time income of 1000+.

These NPCs usually belonged to production units like Didivei Food Processing Factory, List Factory, and Bachi Factory, or they were farmers from farms or traveling merchants.

However, as compared to the former, the latter, with limited economic strength of their own, provided fewer silver coins, mainly offering regional prestige or tangible rewards.

The purpose of the Hunter Guild was probably to audit the content and prizes of commissions and to centralize their publication to players, which was far more efficient than players using clumsy United Human language to individually harass NPCs.

After announcing the start of the celebration, Chu Guang did not immediately descend the stairs but stood by the window on the third floor like an NPC, smiling while watching the players below.

Xiao Qi, trailing beside his calf, quietly raised the camera.

"Master."

The cheerful Chu Guang smiled.

"What's up?"

Xiao Qi spoke softly.

"I hear a lot of players complaining about the Sleep Cabins being too expensive."

Chu Guang spoke calmly.

"Good, they should be expensive."

There were only two Black Boxes manufacturing Sleep Cabins, with a maximum daily capacity of 40 to 48. It was impossible for everyone to own their own Sleep Cabin.

His first priority was ensuring the collective benefit, which meant providing enough Sleep Cabins for public save points to satisfy the needs of most players, especially newcomers for regular saving.

The income from the Sleep Cabins sold could be used to subsidize the production of Cultivation Chambers, recruiting more new players.

In fact, not just the Sleep Cabins, even the Cultivation Chambers, serving as respawn points, were also listed in the NPC store.

However, unlike Sleep Cabins, as tools for synthesizing clones, each game account could only hold one.

Therefore, the so-called purchase wasn't about providing players with a new one, but rather allowing players to take their own Cultivation Chamber out of Shelter No. 404.

At the same time, the Cultivation Chamber was akin to the "Base Crystal" in MOBA games; if destroyed, no matter how strong the game character, they would be done for.

Whether to take the respawn point out of the safe zone.

The choice is yours!

Looking at the price of the Cultivation Chamber in the VM, Mole Old Brother gasped sharply.

"Ten thousand silver coins..."

That's outrageously high!

It's worth a Light Cavalry Exoskeleton!

A Miner Type I could buy five, or a KV-1 twelve and a half!

Zhang Hai leaned over to peek at Mole Old Brother's VM, then looked at his own, his eyes widening immediately: "Wait, why can't I see it on my VM?"

Gnome King Riches scratched his head: "I can see it here too, seems like it only displays for Intermediate Citizens and above... although only High Citizens can buy."

Elena: "Isn't ten thousand silver coins the key point? Ghosts would buy that... manually silly."

Zhang Hai stayed silent, calculating with his fingers.

A bowl of noodles for 6 silver, he earns merely 4 silver, meaning ... 2500 bowls?!

Fuck!

A now more wide-eyed Zhang Hai crunched the numbers.

This would rub his rolling pin bald!

Mole Old Brother stroked his chin, analyzing.

"It's not just about the ten thousand silver coins, there's also maintenance costs. Cultivation Chambers and Sleep Cabins are different, needing to be operational 24 hours a day, 1KW in standby mode and 10KW in operational mode... This electricity isn't necessary within the shelters, but if you take the Cultivation Chamber outside, you'd probably bear the cost yourself."

The battery of the Cultivation Chamber could only store up to seventy-two hours of power.

Elena curiously asked, "What happens if the power goes out?"

"[]

Compared to the profits from clearing new areas, are ten thousand silver coins and a 10KW generator a big deal?

Mole felt he had already guessed the planner's intent.

If it was just for the convenience of saving progress, there was absolutely no need to put a Cultivation Chamber at home, buying a Sleep Cabin to use as a bed would be enough.

This Cultivation Chamber, worth ten thousand, was mainly for those players who planned to go to the New Map to clear new areas, even those planning to station there long-term!

Zhang Hai shook his head and left.

"Ah! Can't provoke, can't afford to provoke!"

It appears this ramen was still priced too cheaply.

Gnome King Riches studied the VM for a while and suddenly noticed the plate in Elena's hand, curiously peeking inside.

"What yummy thing are you eating?"

Snail meat?

It looks oddly fragrant.

Unexpectedly, Old Na occasionally ate some normal food.

"Want a taste?" Elena offered generously with a toothpick.

Gnome King Riches took it, pinched the toothpick, and picked the meat out from the shell, curiously bringing it close for a look.

The milky white flesh looked quite appetizing, sprinkled with some bizarre seasonings, but it still smelled strangely good.

"It tastes a bit weird."

After chewing on the snail meat for a while, Brother Rich pondered with a frown, and gave a fair comment.

"But it's okay."

Elena smiled happily.

"Naturally, would I ever deceive you, bro?"

Gnome King Riches curiously asked, "So what exactly is this thing? It doesn't quite feel like snail meat."

Elena coughed dryly.

"I didn't say it was snail... Don't mind these details."

Gnome King Riches: "No, no, no, I think it's necessary to know."

"Do you really want to know?"

"Hurry up, no more nonsense!"

Seeing Rich's insistence, Elena sheepishly smiled.

"Strictly speaking, it should count as a snail."

Gnome King Riches: "???"

...

The festival continued until after midnight.

And the highlight of the entire festival, apart from the talent show, was the old traditional food competition!

This time, not only players could participate, indigenous people could also sign up for the competition, but compared to the players' wild ideas, indigenous participants who had just had their meal were mostly just there to make up the numbers, with very few daring to sign up.

The top three winners of this food competition were announced, the "Most Popular Dish Among Players" still went to Egg Fry Brother.

200g of Black Ring Snake meat was boiled to remove the stench, then after draining, salt, pepper, and minced garlic were added and sautéed, then simmered with half a liter of water on low heat for half an hour, finally sprinkled with 50g of crushed Deer Tail Grass for enhanced flavor.

Just like his previous Monster Rib dish, Egg Fry Brother didn't keep any secrets and generously shared the recipe, even posting a tutorial on the official website.

As for the food most popular among the indigenous people, it was still the Finger Biscuits made by Crow Boss.

She coated the flour with handmade butter and white sugar, baked it into the shape of bullets, and sprinkled chocolate bought from the Manager at the tip of the "bullet".

Although criticized by many players as "too greasy, not as good as mushroom soup," it was greatly loved by the female NPCs such as Little Fish, Boss Xia, Autumn Grass Autumn Leaf and other girls, as well as the Variant NPC Bachi.

Stuffing the biscuit under his helmet, undying muffled sounds of emotion emerged.

"This is the only time I feel alive!"

And when drunk!

Without any hesitation, he gave it a perfect score of ten!

Heya glanced at this "living specimen."

"Have you ever considered that it might not be you who wants the sweets, but the slime molds living on you?"

The blissful muffled sounds abruptly stopped.

The tin can's silence was heartbreaking.

Sitting nearby, Yin Fang couldn't stand it and sighed helplessly.

"Don't be like this… Brother Ba barely finds a bit of feeling alive."

"Am I the only one who thinks this is too sweet? Feel like my blood's turning syrupy..." Heya muttered, shaking her head. She only had a piece before not touching it again.

She was probably the only NPC who couldn't quite stomach sweets, especially carbohydrates wrapped in fat and sprinkled with thick chocolate sauce.

Chu Guang looked at her strangely.

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

Heya helplessly stated.

"Maybe I'm just more sensitive to sugar; I prefer food with lower metabolic load, higher vitamin content, healthier ingredients."

Chu Guang: "Like what?"

Heya: "Animal organs."

Chu Guang: "..."

Don't cholesterol and protein need metabolizing?

How exactly is that healthier?

Sitting in the judges' seats, Little Fish gazed longingly at the biscuits in front of Heya, too shy to ask for them.

Brother Chu had told her to eat less sugar, mentioning it might affect height growth, and she was already close to her sugar limit for the day, couldn't eat anymore.

Xia Yan, on the other hand, didn't hesitate and happily swapped plates with Heya, blissfully stuffing the biscuits into her mouth.

She had no such mental burdens.

After all, she hardly gained weight no matter what she ate, she was used to it over the years.

As for the food most loved by the Manager, it came as a surprise to all players.

It was just a simple bottle of carbonated water with a bit of sugar, and probably a "unique formula" as well.

Joyful Fat Man's soda?

What's good about this drink anyway!

The indigenous people weren't too surprised, just curious about the magic of the beverage the Manager was holding that had won his favor.

The Manager, clad in azure power armor, stood before them all, pointing at the glass bottle from which he had taken only one sip and said,

"Nuclear Cola!"

"This is the best drink I've ever had!"

Since players and NPCs were present, Chu Guang deliberately raised his voice and repeated it in United Human language.

Only then did the players at the scene suddenly realize it.

Goodness gracious!

The Manager himself promoting products?!

But is the advertisement this aggressive?

Night Ten's eyes widened in the square.

"Can NPCs also win prizes?"

Mosquito wore a regretful expression.

"I should have thought of this sooner... In the Wasteland, anything cheap that brings happiness will sell like hotcakes!"

There were already sugar factories in the industrial zone. By importing red beets from Brown's farm, after simple processes like boiling and drying, white sugar could be extracted at a very low cost.

The cost of this soda was no more than 0.5 silver coins!

If he were to sell it, he could make at least 3 silver coins!

Wild Wind, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

"By the way, who won this prize?"

The people from the cattle and horse group looked at each other.

"I don't know."

"Should we ask on the Forum later?"

It seemed like nobody had already announced plans to bring "fatty's delight" to the Wasteland, and nobody had come forward to claim the prize.

Could it be an easter egg left by the officials?

If it wasn't devised by a player, that was the only explanation.

The celebration continued until the early hours of the morning. After collecting all the event points, players gradually returned to Shelter No. 404 or the save points above ground to log off.

No matter how exciting the game was, the bodies in reality also needed to eat.

As for the indigenous people, they seemed prepared to stay up all night.

Even after all the festivities had ended, many people still spontaneously celebrated this significant day until dawn began to break.

From today onward, the New Alliance was officially established!

The first Restoration Zone stretched from Far Creek Town in the north to the fifth ring of Qingquan City in the south, the edge of Elm District in the west, and the old site of Highway Town in the east.

Covering nearly a thousand square kilometers of land!

At the same time, a new city-state was being built under the name "Dawn" in this savage wasteland. And just like its name, this rising sun was radiating the light of dawn.

"North Suburb" had never been as lively as it was today.

People living here had never felt as excited and thrilled as they did today.

"Let's toast to the establishment of the New Alliance!"

"To the great Manager!"

"Cheers!"

In the northern district of City of Dawn, people staying at Long Endurance Farm were up all night.

In the Highway Town inn, it was noisy with mingling, clinking glasses, and the sound of beer foam almost flipping the ceiling.

To celebrate this great day, Old Hooke generously announced that beer would be free all night and barbecue would be offered at a 20% discount.

Until dawn!

For inn guests only!

Of course, no one was shy about taking advantage of this great deal, and this establishment had made quite a profit from these Wasteland Wanderers.

Many guests, even after joining the festivities, hurried back from the park just for the free beer.

A room full of traders and mercenaries, each completely drunk, lay scattered across the lobby floor.

With so many people drunk, the staff couldn't manage them all, so they simply locked the main door, left someone behind the counter, and let them sleep off their drunkenness in the lobby until they woke up naturally.

The next afternoon.

Sun Shiqi shook his head, which felt as heavy as a chunk of iron, and rose from the table.

It might have been just his imagination, but he felt the beer was easier to get drunk on today than usual; he couldn't hold up after only two trips to the restroom.

"I'll bet... he's mixed something else in the drinks." Apparently, he wasn't the only one who thought so; a customer at the next table muttered.

Sun Shiqi took the bill from the waiter, glanced over it, and his face immediately turned green.

"Weren't the drinks free?"

The waiter said softly,

"Yes, sir, but you ate 6 skewers of grilled squirrel meat and 12 skewers of double-headed cow meat... and a monster rib rack."

Sun Shiqi squinted, confirming the small print on the back of the bill, and slowly came to his senses.

He had indeed ordered those dishes.

Especially that monster rib rack, he had never heard that monster meat was edible.

But to his surprise, that dish alone cost 30 silver coins! With the current exchange rate to chips, that would mean 15 coins!

This is daylight robbery!

He had never eaten such expensive food before!

But perhaps due to a small fortune made from a previous deal, his mindset had seen a slight change, and he wasn't as hurt by the cost as he would have been in the past.

He had had enough of hard days.

When he first started trading, to save money, he had subsisted entirely on nutrient paste, even the mercenary he hired ate better than he did.

Now he finally had money.

It was time to treat himself better.

"Put it on my tab."

The waiter's face sported a pleased smile.

"Alright, please sign here, sir."

Sun Shiqi picked up the pen and casually signed his name before throwing a silver coin as a tip.

Under the gratitude and blessings of the waiter, Sun Shiqi, squinting his eyes, walked out of the inn with his head held high and a brilliant sunshine illuminating his path.

The day to pick up the goods had been postponed time and again, but it finally arrived.

The trade station compensated him with a storage space of 100 square meters right next to the station for two months.

Sun Shiqi was quite satisfied with this compensation.

These people were quite reasonable, at least far more so than the factories in Giant Stone City, which offered no compensation in the event of failing to deliver goods due to unforeseen circumstances.

Tide-like incidents were beyond anyone's control.

It was understandable.

Looking at the young man who was processing the goods delivery with him, Sun Shiqi curiously asked,

"How come there's a different person at the booth today?"

"Frost River is off today; we have one day off each week and can decide which day to take," the young man replied with a smile.

"Alright, wish her a happy holiday for me. I envy you guys, we work all year round." Sun Shiqi casually complimented and then suddenly noticed the trade station was under construction outside.

A group of raggedly dressed people, under the watchful eyes of the guards, worked in pairs to lay heavy steel on the wood and pounded around it.

Those people were probably prisoners of war.

Sun Shiqi clicked his tongue and casually asked,

"What are they doing over there?"

The young man glanced in that direction and said with a smile,

"You mean there? It seems to be called a railway! Recently it has been extended from the industrial area to here. They say all goods will be transported by this thing in the future."

A railway?!

A look of surprise crossed Sun Shiqi's face.

There were plenty of abandoned vehicles on the Wasteland, and steel bars and beams were common, but these rusty scraps obviously couldn't be reused directly; they first needed to be thrown into a furnace for remelting, then go through a series of processes to be turned into useful materials.

This might sound simple, but in truth, it tested the overall industrial capability of a survivor settlement.

If he remembered correctly, a kilometer of railway would require at least a hundred tons of steel.

Had their steel production reached a surplus sufficient for railway construction?

He hadn't noticed this in the past few days!

The young man in front of him seemed to think he was overreacting; back when the industrial area was just relocated, the steel mill had already started producing those tracks.

Although he still didn't know what they were used for, he trusted that the Manager's decision was undoubtedly right.

"Did you gather all this steel from the ruins?"

"About half and half," the young man said, pointing to a booth not far away.

In front of the booth, over twenty double-headed cows crowded. Facing the sales pitch from the staff, the person in charge of the Commercial Team seemed to enter deep thought, clearly tempted.

"An electric donkey for only fifty thousand silver coins, with a 10% discount now. By owning a more advanced and useful vehicle, you can travel faster between Red River Town and the City of Dawn. Today, the demand for steel materials is very strong; why not consider it?"

Sun Shiqi did not respond; his eyes caught the brand on the back of the double-headed cows and a trace of alertness appeared in his gaze.

Horseshoe Iron Commerce Association!

He recognized the symbol.

Red River Town's commerce controlled one-third of the iron ore and one-fifth of the slave trade. Although they didn't own their own mines, their ability to provide a steady "labor force" had fostered good relationships with many slave owners, and salespeople were spread all over the southern part of the River Valley Province.

Thinking this, Sun Shiqi's previously somewhat relaxed mood suddenly gained a sense of urgency.

Nearly a month and a half had passed since the restoration of the trade routes, and clearly, he was not the only one eyeing the lucrative "North Suburb."

More and more people would definitely come here to do business in the future!

He must hurry!

...

Counting the holiday on the second day, the celebration lasted for a full two days.

According to the report organized by Xiao Qi, the total expenditure for the celebration reached 61,231 silver coins. This included, aside from the purchase of food and beverages, the lottery gifts distributed to the players.

Additionally, since some of the prizes were drawn using Chu Guang's own points, they were not counted in the total cost.

However, it would be a grave mistake to think he had made a loss.

The over 60,000 silver coins, although spent, went towards the players and NPCs, who were all his people, so the coins had merely changed form while staying by his side.

Moreover, the advertisement he made at the end almost caused the warehouse doors to be broken by merchants who came after the celebration seeking the "Nuclear Cola" soda.

The only twenty cases in stock were snapped up.

After tasting one bottle, many immediately paid a deposit without a second word. In just one morning, orders were backlogged for a month!

As for whose brilliant idea was this?

Naturally, it was Chu Guang himself.

Long ago, he had made soda himself, but it was only recently, vexed by budget issues, that he thought of using this good for foreign exchange.

Currently, the product was being manufactured by the "Nuclear" soda factory, exclusively owned by the shelter. If not for recalling a certain arrogant riddler, Chu Guang could hardly resist praising himself as a genius.

Of course, these were all minor details.

To truly solve the "budget issue" fundamentally, relying on one or two best-selling products was not enough.

A scientific research team managed by Yin Fang had already locked down a shelter located in the eastern city district.

According to recorded information, that shelter, codenamed 401, had opened fifty years ago.

Considering he had never heard any news about that shelter, Chu Guang had every reason to believe it was abandoned, and the fate of its occupants was unknown.

But being abandoned was not a problem.

As long as the controllable fusion reactor was still operational, and he could find the matching model of fuel rods, he would be able to reuse the site!

Perhaps by sending a few hundred cultivation chambers over.

It also conveniently boosted Shelter No. 404's presence in the eastern part of Qingquan City, preparing for the expansion of the restoration zone.

Besides solving the players' problems, the issues of the indigenous people also needed addressing.

Establishing a new alliance wasn't just a slogan, but a promise.

Currently, the New Alliance's laws were only implemented in the City of Dawn. Besides this city, in the "North Suburb" of Qingquan City and the vast Wasteland outside the city, many small to medium-sized survivor settlements still suffered from Variant and Looter harassment.

In addition, inside the restoration zone, there were some stubborn feudalists who needed to recognize the situation and choose between voluntary and forced compliance.

Chu Guang planned to deal with these historical leftover problems within a month.

However, what Chu Guang did not expect was that the first person to recognize the situation and change was actually his old neighbor, Brown…

Chapter 287: Those who are self-aware usually don't have bad luck, whether they are NPCs or players

"Respected Manager, I am willing to offer my farm to the New Alliance!"

In the meeting room.

Standing before Chu Guang, Old Brown respectfully bowed his head, his wrinkled right hand twitching slightly as he placed it on his left chest to show respect.

Chu Guang looked at him somewhat surprised.

Good grief.

He's that enlightened?

Hearing that Brown wanted to see him, Chu Guang thought he was coming to ask for the grain and biomass oil he had borrowed before, but it turned out that he was coming to surrender.

"Can you tell me what made you suddenly make this decision?"

Of course, because he wanted to stay alive—

But the clever Old Brown naturally wouldn't say that.

With a slightly altered expression, he raised his head solemnly and with a serious look, and spoke in a cadenced voice.

"It was your speech, respected Manager."

Chu Guang carefully recalled his own speech. He couldn't quite remember what he said that day, only remembering that he had made a pitch for his "nuclear soda."

Seeing that Chu Guang didn't say anything, Old Brown continued.

"…Your inspiring speech at the ceremony was a revelation to me, as dull as I am, and made me deeply ashamed of my past actions. To survive, I have done many things I shouldn't have, and I can't claim that my actions were beyond my control, but I hope to lighten my sins this way."

"A new world free from oppression is also what I envision."

As he said this, Old Brown's face was filled with devotion, but his heart was bitter.

In fact, it wasn't just about survival; even if the New Alliance didn't want his farm, he was barely able to keep it running.

During the recent Tide War, Shelter No. 404 had commandeered almost all the biomass oil from his storage, and after the war ended, there was no indication that they planned to return it.

Brown, of course, felt awkward to ask for it.

Without those, let alone running a farm, his head might have already been hanging on the chairs of the Chewing Bone Tribe, not even needing the Tide to act.

But this borrowing of grain and oil had left his storage empty enough for rats to run through.

Yesterday, he had his butler do the calculations, and found that just in the first two months of the year, he had already lost nearly ten thousand chips. The thought of still having to feed over two hundred slaves and more than forty servants gave him a headache as if it was splitting.

And it was just the beginning of the year.

What would happen by the end of the year?

Especially now, with the New Alliance being established, including the area from the North Fifth Ring to Yumu District within the Restoration Zone, and his farm located right within this range.

What was expected had come, after all.

Old Brown was not at all surprised by this result, rather, he felt relieved.

At least he wouldn't be awakened by sounds outside in the middle of the night, no longer living in fear as he greeted the sunrise each morning.

He had had enough of those days!

Before Shelter No. 404 came to liberate the slaves, he volunteered to give his sinful farm to the great Alliance.

And this was the only way he could see to retain his last shred of dignity.

After listening to Old Brown's passionate speech, Chu Guang smiled inwardly, not believing a punctuation mark of his ghost stories.

But this guy being so proactive did save him a lot of time.

"I'm glad you think this way, but we are not unreasonable people; we won't take your farm away from you, it is your property. As long as you are willing to comply with our order and ackn...

paused, seeming a little confused by Chu Guang's words, and timidly said in a low voice.

"Sir, I don't understand what you mean."

He was more afraid of the Alliance Manager being polite and saying something unacceptable than of him taking over his farm.

If the New Alliance took over the farm, it meant he still had a way to live.

He was truly afraid; the last thing he wanted was for this Blue Jacket to verbally reject it and later set up a public trial for him, letting the slaves write his crimes.

That would have been truly done for!

Reading the gradually emerging fear in Old Brown's eyes, Chu Guang guessed what he was thinking and, trying to ease the atmosphere, smiled and said.

"It is exactly what it sounds like. As long as you abide by the Alliance's laws, release all slaves, and employ staff according to our specified minimum wage standards and labor treatment, as well as fulfill the duty to pay taxes, you can gain the protection of the law."

Releasing all the slaves?

Mr. Brown said with a bitter smile.

"Sir, you might as well take my farm. There is land everywhere in the Wasteland, but without slaves, they are just piles of useless dirt; one cannot expect the crops to spring out of the ground by themselves."

People are never satisfied.

It's as if the sky would fall just by giving staff a couple more days off or letting them leave work on time.

Can't plant crops without slaves?

What a joke!

Chu Guang felt it was necessary to settle accounts with him.

"How many slaves do you have?"

Old Brown dared not conceal anything, but he truly wasn't in the habit of counting his slaves daily. He cautiously responded,

"About two hundred or more…"

Chu Guang continued,

"How much land?"

Old Brown continued,

"The actual planting area… is about five hundred acres."

Five hundred acres?

That much?

Chu Guang looked slightly surprised.

He had previously estimated from the map that Brown's farm had a planting area of about one hundred acres, and it turned out to be five times his estimate?

That discrepancy was somewhat outrageous.

However,
that could be figured out later; it wasn't yet time to settle the acreage.

"Two hundred laborers for five hundred acres, don't you think that's a waste?" Looking at the utterly unaware Brown, Chu Guang spoke with grief and indignation.

A waste?

Puzzlement was written all over Brown's face.

He didn't feel the waste at all.

Slaves don't need a salary; just feeding them is enough. The food for the slaves is cheap too; after harvesting the crops, scatter some buckwheat on the ground, or plant some yam in a corner of a wall. That's their food, and whatever's left can be sold cheaply to scavengers.

When slaves can no longer work, they're either sold off or taken away to be dealt with.

"If I were you, I would sell the slaves, use the money to buy a few tractors, along with seeders and harvesters, save some money to build a water tower and irrigation channels for the farm. Barely twenty people are enough for just five hundred acres! Pay them some wages and bonuses, and they will work harder than any slave, even treating the farm as their own home."

"Can't farm without slaves? That kind of thinking is problematic!"

Old Brown was stunned by Chu Guang's words.

After a while, he murmured quietly,

"… Sir, 200 slaves might exchange for at most 200,000 silver coins, is that enough for what you mentioned?"

He hadn't looked into how many silver coins or chips that equipment would cost; he just thought the Manager's calculations were quite arbitrary.

Chu Guang said with a slight smile,

"It might not be enough, but it can't be off by much. Seeing as you are sincerely joining the Alliance, we are willing to provide you with a loan at an interest rate so low it is negligible, to help you upgrade your agricultural tools and get through the initial transition period."

"Don't worry about not being able to repay; we distinguish between personal and corporate debts. This isn't Giant Stone City; bankruptcy won't turn you into a slave here. As long as the accounts are in order, at most your remaining assets would be auctioned off."

Old Brown walked out of the reception room, dizzy and confused, unable to make sense of it all in his head.

He had been prepared to lose the farm, hoping only that the Managers would leave him some assets for retirement, yet he ended up receiving a loan?

And he could even continue to operate his farm.

His heart was filled with perplexity.

Was he actually coming out ahead in all this?

It was outrageous.

For such a self-aware feudal lord, Chu Guang did not make things difficult for him; he even encouraged him a few words and personally escorted him to the door.

Hoarding all wealth in the palm was the conduct of a miser, whereas appropriately allocating resources was what an Alliance Manager should do.

Chu Guang did not need farms but rather needed to ensure the production of food and industrial raw materials within his territory. If Old Brown was willing to embrace the new order proactively, he could certainly offer him a decent end.

If the propaganda tools were properly utilized, Old Brown's deeds might even become an example for those smaller feudal lords outside the Restoration Zone.

Watching the figure disappear at the edge of the park, Chu Guang stroked his chin, pondering.

"…The New Alliance needs its own propaganda department."

Why not take a leaf from the Voice of Boulder City's book and create a radio station for Dawn City?

Chu Guang's eyes lit up, feeling increasingly the necessity of it.

What's the point of good deeds if they remain anonymous?

That's called being a naive person!

He couldn't always let others spout non-facts.

The Waste Land Wanderers from Boulder City and the southern region of Qingquan City had the right to know the truest facet of the New Alliance and Dawn City.

In summary, he also needed to gather some good storytellers to reclaim the long-neglected ground of propaganda!

…

The next day, the working group sent by the New Alliance entered Brown Farm. With the assistance of the guards, they began to liquidate the farm's assets.

The main focus was on the slaves and land.

One was a matter of principle and the other a matter of taxation; both were of utmost importance. As for Old Brown's personal wealth, Chu Guang had no intention of seizing it from him.

As long as it was in the territory of the New Alliance, it didn't matter whose hands it was in.

For the work group that came to transform his domain, Old Brown was quite cooperative, but he was stunned when he saw who the person was.

"Luka… Mr. Luka, hello."

Last winter, when he went to Outpost Base, he didn't recognize this face until he later inquired about the situation at Changjiu Farm and learned that Luka had been a slave who had escaped from his estate.

When Old Brown first heard of this, he was shocked into a cold sweat.

He remembered feeling so furious that he almost executed the guard who had let Luka escape. However, considering it might worsen the situation, he thought better of it and refrained.

Seeing Luka standing in front of him, Old Brown was unnervingly nervous, feeling like a fish on the chopping board.

He even began to regret not packing up and fleeing.

However, Luka did not make things difficult for him and calmly looked at him.

"Hello, Mr. Brown."

"Following the orders of the Manager, I am here to supervise the transformation of the farm. We will take the slaves here to Changjiu Farm for education and reconstruction and compensate you once after evaluation by our commissioner."

"Following this, I need to ensure that every single person here has obtained the status of freedom, remember, every single person. Unlawful restriction of personal freedom is a serious crime; you are now a Citizen of the New Alliance, I hope you keep that in mind."

He had already been reborn, and as far as the past was concerned, Luka had long stopped pursuing it and found it meaningless.

Moreover, this was a task by the Manager, and Luka, who considered himself more loyal than anyone, would definitely not mix personal feelings into it.

Brown nodded like a pecking chicken, his face filled with accommodating smiles.

"I assure you! I will do my utmost to cooperate with your work!"

Luka nodded.

"It's best to be so."

Twenty guards clad in black coats, marching in unison, formed two lines and stepped into Changjiu Farm.

Standing next to the huts, the serfs looked bewilderedly at these people, utterly confused by what was happening before them.

They didn't yet realize that their fates were about to be transformed dramatically.

Meanwhile, the farm guards stationed around the enclosing wall cast envious glances at the rifles on the backs of the guards.

"No wonder they could defeat the people of the Chewing Bone Tribe… with this gear, I feel they could even match up with Boulder City."

Although they had never been to Giant Stone City, the neat and uniform formation, uniforms, and the bright bayonets and rifles on their backs were already the limit of their imagination.

At that moment, someone continued speaking.

"I heard that the strongest ones aren't these guys."

"There are even stronger ones?"

"Those in Blue Jackets are all Awakeners! These ones in black coats are just guards keeping order."

All of them are Awakeners?!

Impossible!

Not many believed this statement.

A hundred or two was acceptable, but all being Awakeners, that was too exaggerated!

After all, awakening required not just effort but also a high talent. Many people could not awaken until their death, while some suddenly did through a life-and-death experience.

"Speaking of which, now that Old Brown has surrendered, what's going to happen to us?"

"Probably we'll just disband right here. If I were the manager for the New Alliance, I wouldn't allow such a large, uncontrolled armed group to exist on my territory."

"But they didn't bother with those mercenaries, did they?"

"It's different, mercenaries are mercenaries, and a Slave Owner's guards are another matter... anyway, there's a difference."

"If it really ends in disbandment, I might just join the army. Whoever I serve, I serve; I can't do anything else anyway."

"Yeah right, with your shabby, crummy look? Passing a physical exam?"

"Heh!"

Listening to his companions' uninhibited laughter around him, Liu Wuyue's face was filled with indignation. He hated those in Blue Jackets for taking over the farm, and hated these people's indifference to the farm's fate, utterly disgraceful to the grace Brown had shown them!

Such disloyalty!

Finally, he couldn't help but curse softly.

"We've given them so many offerings, and now they want to snatch the farm from us? Blood Hand wasn't such a bastard!"

In the past years, he had barely managed to evolve from a slave to a guard, becoming a named person, now finally in a position to lord over those slaves. And someone now tells him, they're free?

What a joke!

He didn't want that!

An older guard looked at him.

"Blood Hand... that pack of wolves didn't stop harrying us, and we gave them far more food than we ever gave to those in Blue Jackets."

Liu Wuyue stubbornly said.

"But at least they didn't take our farm!"

The older guard shrugged.

"Maybe, but what does that have to do with me? That's Old Brown's farm, not yours or mine. Maybe he struck some deal with the New Alliance, maybe money or something else, but whatever it is, it has nothing to do with you or me."

He had a good impression of the New Alliance.

Unlike most of the guards here, who had come from the East as Waste Land Wanderers and not as guards who were promoted from slaves, serving Old Brown was not about loyalty but merely about making a living.

During his journey, he had seen many Slave Owners, but this was the first time he had met idealists willing to give back freedom.

Although he had never met that manager, he was deeply impressed by this adult's kindness.

Perhaps he would join the army later.

Just like the other guards said, serving someone is still serving; besides pulling the trigger, he couldn't do much else, might as well save the bullets for those Looters and Variants.

Liu Wuyue was so angered he couldn't utter a word, as a conflict seemed imminent. Liu Jiuyue, who stood by, quickly stepped up to pull him back.

"Let it go, brother, don't be impulsive."

Fighting in front of the guards wasn't a good idea.

This place was already under the New Alliance's territory.

As the head of the farm guards, Liu Zhengyue also felt conflicted at the moment.

He thought Old Brown was simply intimidated by those in Blue Jackets.

Perhaps the members of the New Alliance never really planned to bother with them, nor did they value their small territory; all of this was the result of Old Brown's presumptuous decisions.

Furthermore, they had always been providing food to those in Blue Jackets – those people wouldn't just abandon them, would they?

But now, it was useless to say anything.

Their master had already gifted the farm to the New Alliance; the only consolation was that they could continue to cultivate this land.

However, there were no longer any slaves to command.

At the grain drying yard.

All 217 slaves were brought here and stood in two rows on the open space, staring blankly around, including at the guards with rifles on their backs.

They didn't know that these people were here to rescue them, nor did they know what was happening beyond the enclosing wall.

They watched as Old Brown walked in front of them.

This man, who had always bossed them around imperiously, today spoke politely and treated them like humans.

"The New Alliance has been formed. Thank God for the great Manager. From now on, you are free! I am no longer your master, and you are no longer anyone's slaves."

"Live well in the new era."

"It's all over now."

After dropping this statement, Old Brown hurried away, soon replaced by a work crew led by Luka, who began their duties with the guards' collaboration.

Many slaves recognized Luka, but the changes in him made them all afraid to acknowledge him.

However, Luka didn't put on any airs; he patiently approached them and preached the Manager's thoughts and will.

And the only personal message he conveyed—

Loyalty!

It was the Manager who saved you, so you must remember and adhere to loyalty!

After hearing this, the initially anxious slaves breathed a sigh of relief.

For the vast majority of them, the notion of loyalty, easily explained in a single word, was far simpler to understand than concepts like equality and rescue.

Seeing that these people finally grasped the Manager's thoughtful intentions, Old Luka's face finally broke into a reassured smile.

Whatever the cost, the outdated relations of production had to be abolished.

In the New Alliance's Restoration Zone, human freedom would be protected by law, fulfilling Chu Guang's promise to those who supported him.

217 serfs and 41 servants were automatically granted the status of wards and sent to Changjiu Farm for rehabilitation lasting from one to six months.

During this period, the New Alliance would provide them with food and educational opportunities, and their obligation was to learn at least one employable skill.

Whether it was operating a sewing machine or engaging in construction, they needed to find a job they could handle.

In addition, they needed to study the laws of the New Alliance and accept new ideologies.

Once rehabilitation was completed, everyone would automatically receive the status of a New Alliance resident and decide their future for themselves.

They could certainly continue to farm.

But not for others – for themselves.

…

Taking over Brown Farm was something Chu Guang had intended to do personally, but due to more pressing matters, he had entrusted it to Old Luka.

Today marked the third day since the formation of the New Alliance. At exactly 8 AM wasteland time, the first batch of Exalted players who received closed beta access finally logged on.

The newly produced Cultivation Chambers, Chu Guang temporarily placed them in Shelter No.117.

As there were no private rooms on Floor B4 suitable for placing Sleep Cabins, and it involved the most central area of the shelter - the control server terminal.

This was a "developer" function, which Chu Guang naturally could not open to the players.

Although Shelter No.404 lacked additional space, Shelter No.117 still had 100 "luxury single rooms" available.

In the bug-fix for Beta 0.1, Chu Guang had converted all 500 rooms in Shelter No.117 into double bedrooms, doubling the population limit of Shelter No.117 to now accommodate a thousand people.

The first batch of players for the B-round testing was provisionally set at forty people.

Meanwhile, the exploration plan for Shelter No.401 and the reactor fuel rods was also underway, currently led by Yin Fang's scientific expedition team.

In the square of Shelter No.117.

At this moment, everything was incredibly noisy.

Most people had put on their helmets just to try it out, never expecting it to actually work.

All their anticipation and nervousness settled in this moment, bursting forth like a gushing spring of joy and excitement, as if reborn!

Blue Jacket muttered, "Hahaha! I'm in! I've finally made it!"

Ice and Fire Brother announced, "Everyone, quiet down and listen up. All of us here are the best of billions, so speak with some backbone!"

"Roar! Let's all toughen up! Is the Dog Planner here? Light a new cigarette for daddy!"

"Damn, brother, you rock!"

Falling Feather kept pinching his face.

"Huh? Doesn't this game have a character customization or gender selection phase?"

Clear Wind stared blankly around.

"The modeling is flawless, not a single crack to slip through, and there are differences in light, shadow effects, and temperature. This game... is too real!"

Dressed in azure power armor, Chu Guang watched quietly with his most loyal guards as these newbies cried, laughed, yelled, and jumped around excitedly.

He was long accustomed to players' artistic displays and understood their excitement, but the guards beside him were still somewhat unaccustomed.

Chu Guang coughed lightly, speaking softly on the communication channel.

"Cryogenic Reawakening Syndrome, hibernation for more than two centuries... It occasionally happens, don't be too surprised."

He had just made up the symptoms, and no one could disprove it anyway.

The guards in exoskeletons, of course, didn't doubt the words of the Manager at all. In their eyes, the Manager's will was the truth, and they nodded loyally.

Not that they showed any surprise on their faces.

Just like in previous versions.

Chu Guang gave these excited new players enough time to celebrate, allowing them to fully vent their excitement and excitement.

Meanwhile, old players planning to do the "Pass the Torch" quest mostly stood at the edges of the hall, observing and critiquing the newbies, making their selections.

Most of them had been through the same process.

And some were even more exaggerated than these newcomers.

Watching the newbies marvel was one of the staple shows of the "Wasteland OL" beta tests.

"These newbies are no good," Tail said with his arms crossed, shaking his head as if he knew better, "No one even took off their pants!"

Si Si gave Tail a side-eye.

"Your comment is dangerous, you know."

Old players accompanying the newbies were mainly between levels 8 to 11, but some who had just passed level 5 also came to take apprentices.

Chu Guang had not strictly restricted the levels for the "Pass the Torch" quest and had not even required combat professional players; the only requirement was to own a VM.

At the same time, with the update to the Legion System in Beta0.1, many old players planning to establish independent legions were also here recruiting.

However, these veterans usually had stricter recruitment criteria than solo players, mainly targeting like-minded hardcore players.

There were many ways to play "Wasteland OL."

Although it targeted hardcore players who could grind, it wasn't "just" for hardcore players.

A too-serious server atmosphere would make the game niche, which is why Chu Guang had always emphasized on the official website that "Wasteland OL" was meant to be a casual "fun-oriented MMORPG."

Holding a wooden board, Debt Giant Eye shouted excitedly, his demeanor reminiscent of an old grandpa picking up kids at a kindergarten gate.

"The Death Legion is recruiting! We have the highest casualties and most medals. We go where it's dangerous! The only requirement is to follow orders in team combat, don't fear death, and experience the most realistic firefighting scenes with Fire Brother!"

Edge Shoveling couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Is that how you advertise?"

Debt Giant Eye chuckled.

"You don't get it! Didn't you see those newbies' eyes light up?"

The young construction worker and Brick raised their hands.

"I stand with Big Eyes! It's better to be clear with the newbies than to have conflicts inside the legion!"

On the other side, Mole Old Brother's "Skeleton Corps" and Spring Water Commander's "Storm Corps" were also recruiting, but both were a tad strict.

Speaking of uniqueness, there certainly was some—the former was focused on German stick equipment, offering an engineer shovel upon joining. The latter promoted individuality, allowing members to wear whatever they desired.

Quite a few newbies had seen Mole Old Brother's posts on the forum, especially the fact that he was an unemployed painter, which attracted some pretty hardcore players to sign up with him.

Apart from Death Legion, the noisiest recruitment undoubtedly belonged to Mosquito Brother.

This guy was the epitome of performance art, standing in the square in his flamethrower trooper gear, shouting at the top of his duck-like voice.

"Burning Corps is recruiting! T0 big shot will have you swaggering and soaring! The corps has air support and artillery, and if you join now, you also get a 10% discount voucher for Goblin Technology! No expiration date!"

Spring Water Commander shouted, "Damn, Mosquito, I thought you were a lifestyle player!"

Canyon Escaping Mole retorted, "Exactly! Why are you joining in the racket over here? And you call that thing an air force?"

Makabazi chimed in, "Yeah! Your crappy plane is less like an air force than my Little Brother Bullshitter's thing!"

Little Brother Bullshitter, "???"

Ignoring everyone's ridicule, Mosquito chuckled and said, "Hehe, who said I was a lifestyle player! Have you ever seen a lifestyle player who's the first to kill a BOSS?"

Standing nearby, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group and I Max Black simultaneously rolled their eyes.

This guy.

He just stole a last hit, and he brags about it every day!

Mosquito coughed.

"Enough nonsense, I'm here to help Old White recruit. We initially planned to name it Ox and Horse Corps, but that sounded too lame. Since we all played Warcraft together before, we renamed it Burning Corps."

So, it was several big shots from Ox and Horse group.

No one else teased Mosquito about duping new players.

Everyone was well aware of the combat prowess of the Ox and Horse squad.

However, it was unexpected for everyone, including Mole and Spring Water, that Old White and his group didn't recruit new players themselves but had Mosquito do it for them.

These damned Europeans, have they received another hidden quest?

Not giving them a cut is just too unfair!

Apart from the newly formed legions, there were also merchant players on the square, trying to attract newbies to join their groups by sweet-talking.

The square was noisy with chatter, leaving newbies baffled to find out that these old players were even busier than them.

Just then, a scream rang out from the crowd.

Unprofessional Anti-League, "Damn! Why is my nose flat?"

Players around turned their heads to look toward the entrance and immediately burst into laughter.

Wow.

A straight-walking...Pigsy?

There was no mistaking that nose and ears!

"Awesome, after Catwoman, now there are pig people too?"

"Pal, can you eat pork?"

"Ugh, the dog planner's wicked sense of humor!"

"HAHAHA, bro, I've seen your doujin!"

Unprofessional Anti-League, "%￥#@!"

Standing in the square, Chu Guang too looked surprised.

Especially after he checked the little player's attribute panel.

[

ID: Unprofessional Anti-League

Gene Sequence: Constitution System

Level: LV.0

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 5

Agility: 3

Constitution: 7

Perception: 5

Intelligence: 5

Talent:

Pigman: Acquires a pig's nose, ears, and tail (Messed up, pigs and humans have a gene similarity of 83%, however, the fusion did not go as smoothly as imagined... Maybe next time I should try with a cat).

Accelerated Recovery: Has a healing speed bonus of 133%~150%, hunger accumulation speed also receives a 200% bonus.

Just like the earlier sesame paste.

This player's gene sequence was not classified as Variant but rather under the Constitution System, with an attribute panel following the standard template of 3 agility and 7 constitution, the rest being baseline values of 5.

It was fortunate, indeed.

After all, the claws of lizards and white bears were somewhat usable, with the most debuff being fingers being a bit uncoordinated.

But pig's hooves...

Other than being braised in soy sauce, Chu Guang really couldn't think of any other use.

"Forget it, I'll leave the specific gameplay to the players themselves."

Chu Guang coughed lightly, walked up to the group of players, skillfully blocked a hand that tried to reach for his chest, and activated his talent "Mind Intimidation," forcing the cheeky player to instinctively back off.

He waited for everyone to quiet down.

Responding to those expectant gazes, Chu Guang solemnly read the opening speech he had redesigned for the Beta version.

"Welcome back to the surface, lucky survivors! I am the manager of Shelter No. 404, and I am also a manager of the Alliance.

"Here, I have two important pieces of news for you. The good news is the war is over, and the bad news is our world has been completely transformed."

"However, things here are not as bad as you might think; thanks to the efforts of your predecessors, they united the indigenous people of the surface, defeated the savages threatening us, and successfully established our first outpost on the wasteland."

"According to the resolutions of the top levels of the United Human, a unified front for the revival of human civilization has been established, and we have formed a new alliance. Soon, restoration zones will spring up like bamboo after rain until we recover everything we lost."

"You are living in this new era, more fortunate than billions of others. After celebrating the joy of rebirth, I need you to quickly understand the current situation and then fulfill your pledge under the flag of United Human—"

"Rebuild our home."

In setting, the players were old popsicles who had been in sleep cabins since the Human Alliance Era.

Although sleep cabins did not have freezing functions.

After speaking in Chinese, Chu Guang recorded it and backed it up on the server.

There will be newcomers joining the game every day, and he cannot be present every day to be a repeat machine.

Later, Chu Guang would instruct a trustworthy guard, wearing Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeleton, to come here in his stead to perform this task—

Replay his recording.

Or repeat the speech he had given.

After the opening animation ended, Chu Guang handed the time over to the veteran players.

In the lively welcoming ceremony, the newcomers found their respective organizations, excitedly holding the starter packs prepared by the manager for them, ready to step into this mysterious wasteland world to experience how realistic this 100% virtual reality game could be.

With the care of veteran players, the record for the fastest death created by Quit Smoking Brother might not be refreshed so soon.

Meanwhile, the server's strongest force, the NiuMa Squad, was gradually approaching the eastern part of Qingquan City—a region rarely ventured by people.

Standing on a half-collapsed skyscraper.

Fang Chang, holding a telescope, looked at the vast forest interspersed among steel and concrete ruins, his face filled with shock.

"This is just too astonishing…"

(Thanks to the alliance leader "Di San Xian Gai Van" for the reward!! This chapter is just shy of 10,000 words, consider it as making up for yesterday. I will make up for the previously owed updates, it's too uncomfortable not having any drafts T.T.)

Chapter 288: Fierce Battle in the Jungle

Greenery climbed over every street, every tall building.

Dense vines and tree roots criss-crossed, skyscrapers tilted in disarray, and concrete walls teemed with cracks and moss.

It was hard to imagine this once was a bustling urban district.

The primeval forest seemed to have merged with the city, although many districts of Qingquan City resembled this scene, none was as staggering as this.

Looking around, each frame resembled a world-famous painting! Every shot appeared as a masterpiece!

Was this the pinnacle of human modeling technology?

Unable to resist, Fang Chang captured the scene with his ear-mounted camera, the sight before him was so stunning that it couldn't help but bring a hint of gravity to his eyes.

How were they going to get across?

The group was only the last kilometer away from their mission location.

Yet this short kilometer, laid out before the undulating rubble, seemed so far out of reach.

"According to the background information... This is one of the core business districts in the East District of Qingquan City, and the giant dome directly in front of us is our target for this trip," said Old White, clad in a Light Cavalry Exoskeleton, while referring to the pre-war map.

Quit Smoking curiously asked,

"What's that over there?"

Wild Wind, "Zoo."

Its full name was "Qingquan City Third Ecological Conservation Park," and its structure was similar to the artificial biospheres they encountered before at the Central Continent Aerospace Experimental Base, except with a different usage.

One was to provide research support for outer space colonization; the other was for the surrounding citizens to enjoy and play.

Technically, the former was certainly more advanced.

But in terms of scale, the latter was much larger.

Night Ten said with a subtle expression, "...I suddenly have a bad feeling."

"So do I, stay alert and be ready for combat," Old White turned off the display screen on his arm and took off a bundle of nylon fiber rope from his waist, tossing it to Wild Wind standing next to him.

"It's time to work."

Work, naturally referred to the Archaeological Group's hidden task.

Actually, it might not be considered hidden; it was only because the task had higher requirements for Job Level, leading to only their group meeting the criteria to take on the mission.

As for the reward of the mission, it was quite generous—if they could lock down the exact location of Shelter No. 401 and successfully control that area, they would receive a total reward of 5000 Silver Coins!

Of course, that was the most optimistic scenario.

Since intelligence on that area was blank and clues about Shelter No. 401 were limited to the possibility of its being beneath the zoo or adjacent subway station, if they scanned the map with a VM only to find that Shelter No. 401 didn't exist, or faced dangers like Dead Claws and had to retreat, they would only get an intelligence reward.

However, Old White thought that wouldn't be much of a problem for them.

He was a man who had "first-killed" the Claw of Death.

Although it was after the Eaters' main force had heavily injured it...

Ropes were thrown down from the half-collapsed high-rise.

Old White skillfully descended the rope to the slope below, after confirming it was safe, the rest of the squad followed suit, descending to the ground one by one.

Quit Smoking, clad in heavy KV-1 armor, held a wood cutter to clear the path in the front, followed by Old White who had already switched off the safety of his LD-47; Night Ten, the Perception System specialist, walked in the center of the group, followed by Fang Chang holding the "Dawn" Compound Bow.

Wild Wind released the Y-1 Firefly Quadrotor UAV and set a follow route on the tablet, maintaining a certain flying height.

The group ventured deeper into the dense forest.

Boots stepped over the moist concrete debris, making creaking noises, and the air was filled with the wetness of the forest, mixed with rustling leaves and the chirping of insects.

Everyone's nerves were on high alert—or rather, they were excited.

The rustling sounds always made them feel as if something was lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

However, the road had been without danger.

Aside from encountering a few Hyenas wandering in search of food, it was just a Python dangling from a branch that gave them a start.

The Python was as thick as a trunk, its silver color creeping from the mouth corners up to the eyes, looking like a clown's painted smile.

Coiled on the branch, it was probably asleep until it opened its eyes and stared, and only then did Night Ten sense its presence, promptly alerting the group.

"What a catch, perfect for soaking in liquor!" With a single cut, Quit Smoking beheaded the snake, joyfully picking it up and stuffing it into the backpack on the back of his KV-1, covering everything in blood.

Disturbed by the smell of the blood, Night Ten stepped aside with disdain.

"Yuck, you've become just like Old Na."

Quit Smoking chuckled.

"Snakes and insects are different, can they be the same?"

Fang Chang curiously asked.

"Is this thing useful?"

Wild Wind broke in, "A rational analysis, alcohol causes protein denaturation and inactivation, snake wine's only use... is that it's useless."

Old White cleared his throat.

"Alright, we're never going to settle this debate... Let's move on."

Collecting materials was also part of hunting monsters.

Some prey could be traded in at the Hunter's Guild or the warehouse for money and Contribution.

Such as the three Hyenas that Fang Chang shot.

However, considering their current high-yield mission, it wouldn't be cost-effective to waste time on dealing with prey, given the long distance to the City of Dawn.

The Bull and Horse team pressed on.

After passing through a large area of undulating dense forest and architectural gaps, the group finally arrived near the moss-covered "giant dome."

Here the streets were relatively spacious; a collapsed high-rise conveniently lay between the zoo and the subway station.

Several skeletons lay beside the metal barriers of the security checkpoint, making everyone instantly on guard.

Old White made a hand gesture to Fang Chang beside him, signaling him to cover, and then pointed to his headset before lowering his body with a rifle in hand, cautiously approaching.

There were blunt force trauma wounds as well as sharp weapon piercings on the chests and heads of several corpses – clearly not the work of wild beasts.

"Judging by the decay... it should be within ten years."

Or possibly twenty.

He was not a professional doctor; he only knew some simple first aid measures like stopping bleeding, bandaging, and sewing up wounds.

"These people were gnawed on by wild beasts after death, there are multiple chew marks on the bones... However, the fatal wounds were from arrows."

Listening to the voice coming through the communication channel, Fang Chang looked towards Old White's direction and frowned slightly.

"Arrows?"

"Yes... I don't see any bullet marks here," Old White searched around and suddenly frowned, picking up a half-buried rusty badge from the ground, "What's this?"

The vegetation was dense, the light here was dark, but with the mottled light, one could still clearly see the outline of a triangular base and flames drawn on it.

Torches?

A hint of surprise appeared on Old White's face.

That was something from several versions ago; back when Shelter No. 117 had just defeated the Chewing Bone Tribe, the NPC store had listed 37 "Torch" Mind Interference Instruments that were snatched from Black Snake, capable of controlling Variants through brainwaves.

Although some players with Intelligence System had developed a pet-centric playstyle, players in combat professions with high intelligence were too few, and most intelligence players followed the life skills profession path, so this playstyle never really had much presence.

If he remembered correctly...

This should be the symbol of the Torch Church.

But why would it appear here?

Just as Old White was puzzled, two whooshing sounds suddenly came from one side, with two arrows aiming straight at his chest and head.

Clang clang!

Despite the arrows' lightning speed, when they struck the Light Cavalry's composite armor and helmet, they only left a shallow scratch.

"Damn!"

Old White, ambushed, jolted in shock and without hesitation, raised his gun barrel and pulled the trigger towards the direction the arrows came from.

Pop pop pop—!

Bullets whizzed through the tree-laden street.

Large chunks of wood splintered in the dark shadows, followed by two piercing screams from within, and soon something fell from the trees.

At the same time, Fang Chang and the others from Night Eleven's group also immediately noticed the situation on Old White's side, promptly setting up their rifles to fire and cover the ambushed Old White.

"Old White! What's happening over there?" Fang Chang rapidly asked.

"I don't know! I didn't see what that thing was... but I think I took down two. Wild Wind, can you see anything?"

Wild Wind, with closed eyes, shook his head and then opened his eyes.

"Visibility is too poor from up high, the drone can't see anything."

Several more whooshes sounded, and arrows continued to shoot out from the shadows, chasing after Old White. At that moment, a Molotov Cocktail was suddenly thrown, and amidst the chaos, flames erupted instantaneously.

"Fuck!"

Engaged on three fronts, Old White swore under his breath, returned fire while rapidly retreating over a dozen meters, and moved behind a collapsed concrete block for cover, vigilantly observing his surroundings.

The lighting here was terrible!

And the opponent was hiding in the dark.

If it was just arrows, he wouldn't be worried.

Though the Light Cavalry exoskeleton was not known for its defensive capabilities, it could still handle a volley of bullets, let alone primitive weaponry.

However, the fear was that the enemy might have other weapons.

Such as Molotov Cocktails...

Old White had long since learned how cunning the hostile NPCs of Wasteland OL could be – even hyenas in this game could circle around for an ambush, targeting weaknesses. Not to mention people.

"Shit, how did I completely fail to spot them?!" Night Ten gripped the Pu-9 Submachine Gun tightly, staring intently at the dense foliage-covered street ahead.

The line of sight here was narrow; sniper rifles were of no use.

Wild Wind spoke calmly: "Maybe the enemy has high concealment attributes, and your passive Perception failed. This kind of thing has happened before, right? Don't rely too much on panel attributes... Besides, what about your Killing Intent Perception?"

Night Ten's brows were deeply furrowed.

"Now I feel it! It's coming from all directions!"

Wild Wind: "..."

Fang Chang made a decisive call.

"Old White, there are too many of them! Retreat!"

"Okay."

Old White swapped the magazine of his rifle and left the cover.

Just at that moment, several small dots of light suddenly appeared in the shadows beneath the dense forest.

Fang Chang swiftly fired an Explosive Arrow towards the sources of light. With a "boom," scattered fragments flew into the forest, and soon several dark figures fell from the trees.

Yet at the same time, fire arrows shot out from the woods, forming a dense, impenetrable net, covering Old White and the members of the covering team retreating behind him.

The fire arrows didn't cause much damage but revealed their exact locations.

"Rawr!!"

Monkey cries echoed from the jungle, shadows swinging with long arms through the forest; Fang Chang's pupils contracted, finally making out who was attacking them.

No—

Not people.

But a troop of monkey-like creatures not more than 1.5 meters tall, with arms that hung down to their ankles!

In their hands were not only bows and arrows but also short spears made of rebars, hammers tied with concrete rocks, and various knives and blades of indeterminate origin.

Night Ten aimed at the approaching monkeys and pulled the trigger. The submachine gun's sudden burst of fire meant that four or five monkeys were knocked from the trees within one breath, crashing heavily to the ground.

However, soon more monkeys emerged from the shadows, baring their bloody canine teeth and brandishing a bizarre array of cold weapons as they closed in on them.

Monkeys?!

Quit smoking aimed and fired his gun, his face etched with disbelief.

"Damn! Monkeys in Wasteland OL can use tools?!"

"Who knows, maybe someone taught them..."

Wild Wind calmly aimed his rifle and picked off the monkeys chasing Old White one by one, covering Old White as he retreated back to their midst.

The sound of gunfire was incessant in the woods.

The flashing muzzle flashes repelled the encirclement of monkeys time and again.

After suffering heavy casualties, the monkeys seemed to finally realize these people were not to be trifled with, and the pace of their attack gradually slowed.

The group fought as they retreated and quickly pulled out of the streets near the zoo, shaking off the pursuit of monkeys near a collapsed commercial plaza.

"I was wondering why there were no Eaters here… turns out a bunch of monkeys have taken over this place!"

Collapsing onto a concrete block, Night Ten took a deep breath and checked the ammunition in his submachine gun.

Two magazines left!

Since it was a scouting mission, considering the low likelihood of encountering large-scale combat, they only brought the standard amount of ammunition needed for regular fights.

If it were just a group of monkeys, it wouldn't be so frightening, but the key point was that these monkeys not only used tools but were also familiar with the terrain, seemingly fearless, and likely mutated.

This situation was getting tricky!

Fang Chang: "We should have called Pick up trash 99 level."

Stowing away the drone in his backpack, Wild Wind caught his breath while casting a glance at Old White.

"Do we continue?"

"...There are too many of them, and we're short on hands, let's retreat for today," Old White said, looking at the iron plate engraved with the Torch in his hand.

Although they hadn't achieved their objective, this mission couldn't quite be called a failure.

At the very least, they had clarified the situation near their target.

And they had also discovered a piece of interesting intel.

Fang Chang sighed, his expression one of regret.

"It would have been nice to capture one… even a dead one."

Just then, Quit smoking, who had been silent all this time, suddenly raised his hand weakly.

"You mean… this?"

Every pair of eyes turned to him, and they saw his backpack wide open, holding a monkey that had breathed its last.

The team from Shelter No. 117 finally got a close look at the monster they had been fighting for nearly half an hour.

This monkey had very long arms, small eyes with dark green pupils, resembling a misshapen potato speckled with tiny green beans. The most striking feature was its teeth—not only were they terrifyingly long, but two elongated canines also protruded over its lips.

The most peculiar aspect was that although the monkey's body was covered in black fur, there was no fur on its back; instead, it bore a layer of black scales, stretching from its neck to the base of its tail.

Night Ten exclaimed in surprise.

"Damn! Nice work, bro, when did you snag this?"

Quit smoking sheepishly chuckled.

"While we were retreating, I happened to stab one to death with a fire spear. It seemed a shame to just throw it away, so I just picked it off and stuffed it in my backpack."

Night Ten couldn't help but praise: "That's really slick! You've made a great contribution!"

Quit smoking: "Hehe."

Fang Chang went over, took the monkey from Quit smoking's hand, and tried to cut its back with a dagger, only to find the skin wasn't breached, his face immediately showing a look of surprise.

"This thing can withstand cuts?"

Wild Wind thoughtfully stroked his chin.

After a long pause, he finally gave an assessment.

"It would make pretty good gloves."

Meanwhile, at the edge of that vine-covered egg-shaped building, atop a tower constructed from wooden planks and steel bars, stood a man clad in a beast skin coat.

His face smeared with dark green mud, he held in his hands a telescope made of human bones with drilled holes, and around his neck hung a garland of vines for camouflage.

The monkeys around him were very reverent... or rather, afraid of him, as if there was something on him that inspired fear in them.

Watching the unwelcome visitors disappear from sight, he cursed under his breath, shooing away the monkeys that had gathered at his feet, and he put away the telescope.

"Useless bunch!"

Two exoskeletons!

And those guns in the hands of the Waste Land Wanderers!

Clearly, they were valuables!

At this thought, a glint of greed flashed in his eyes.

It was a shame they didn't manage to capture those people!

...

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[Monster Compendium Update:

1. Ironback Monkey: Black fur, black scales on the back, active in groups, capable of using basic tools and open flame, proficient in shooting cold arrows, suspected of having night vision abilities, highly mobile in the jungle, recommended for players Level 8 or above to hunt.

2. Silver-Mouthed Snake: Silver-white patterns stretch from the corner of the mouth to the eyes, able to store 120ml of venom at the base of its fangs, venom glands throughout its body, not suitable for consumption.]

[East District of Qingquan City New Intel: The East District of Qingquan City is a primeval forest, the vegetation of which is far denser than other areas for certain reasons.]

[New intel on Shelter No. 401: Torch Church is suspected of being connected to it.]

As the Ox-and-Horse Squad returned, the official website's database was updated with the intelligence they had gathered in the East District of Qingquan City.

A new map!

And new Variants!

Many players were filled with curiosity about that rarely-trodden domain.

Tail: "Got it! The new map is the high-rise building version of the Elm District! (o°ω°o)"

Si Si: "The number of incomprehensible creatures has increased again."

Elena: "Eek! Poison glands all over the body, is it that scary? (funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "What do you want to do, I advise you not to even think about it. (funny)"

Fang Chang: "Regarding the new map, let me share my opinions. Shelter No. 401 in the East District might become the next Novice Village. The progress in strategizing this map is likely to directly affect the speed at which closed beta qualifications are distributed!"

Wild Wind: "Yeah, the game's testing progress follows the main storyline. There's a limit to the shelter's capacity, and once it's reached, United Human's support for the New Alliance will also pause, which is very realistic."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Damn, big shots, go for it! Hurry up! Our happiness depends on you guys! T.T"

Riding a Donkey to the Market: "+1, waaaaa, I want to play too. QAQ"

Fang Chang: "Don't be anxious, guys, we're going all out to strategize the new map!"

Old White: "Academic research teams have increased the task rewards based on the intelligence we've recovered. We're planning to organize another strategizing session, but there are too many Variants active locally. Just a few of us might not be enough. Any brothers willing to join?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Me Me Me, Brother Old White, take me with you! I'm also a member of the Burning Corps! (excited)"

WC really has Mosquitoes: "Need air support? My plane's fixed! You just signal with flares, and leave the rest to me. (wink smile)"

I Max Black: "Damn, that thing can still be fixed?! Wasn't it blown to bits?"

Looter: "Don't listen to his nonsense, our wastrel boss just built a new one, and this time it's equipped with a gyroscope and pitot tube; it should be able to land... (sigh)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Hand up! The Jungle Corps requests to join the fight! (proud)"

Picheng Paratrooper: "Paratrooper One, ready!!!"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Heh heh, we're best at wild battles. (naughty smile)"

Old White: "Solid! You guys are in! (grinning)"

...

Shelter No. 404.

Manager's Office.

Just as the players were chatting all over the Forum, Chu Guang stared at the iron badge with a torch on it that he was holding, equally lost in thought.

"Shelter No. 401 was opened fifty years ago?"

Standing beside him, Yin Fang nodded.

"According to the intelligence we've collected, that seems to be the case."

Chu Guang continued.

"The Torch left Shelter No. 117 twenty years ago... That means they had their eyes on 401 already back then."

"What exactly is stored there?"

If he remembered correctly, the Black Box in Shelter No. 117 mainly contained production of bionic organs, it shouldn't include the so-called "Mind Control Device"; and Heya, who woke up after a twenty-year slumber, had never mentioned anything related to that device.

It was obvious that the Variant control technology held by the Torch Church, which dominated the southern Death Coast, was not taken from Shelter No. 117 but recovered from other shelter facilities.

And that place might very well be Shelter No. 401.

Finding a treasure chest only to learn someone else might have gotten there first twenty years ago wasn't great news for Chu Guang.

Yin Fang shifted his posture, arms crossed, and said somewhat helplessly, "Three-digit shelters are already classified. No public records exist to trace them. And after two centuries, I could only pinpoint its approximate location through some indirect clues."

After a pause, Yin Fang continued.

"However, while investigating Qingquan City's third ecological reserve, I did find some rather interesting things."

Chu Guang: "What things?"

"Out of the twenty biology professors who received admission tickets to Shelter No. 401, seventeen had held academic lectures in that ecological reserve. Although the original papers are no longer accessible, the ticket information confirms that these lectures frequently mentioned something called 'Resonance Theory'."

Chu Guang frowned: "Resonance Theory?"

Meeting someone's expectant gaze, Yin Fang said helplessly.

"Don't look at me like that. It's my first time coming to River Valley Province for archaeology. I've never heard of these baffling things before. But the good news is, we can at least confirm now that Shelter No. 401 is near that ecological reserve."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment.

"It seems we're going to have to take a look."

Yin Fang shrugged: "That was my suggestion too. Anyway, we've confirmed there's something there, why not send your people to check it out?"

Just a bunch of monkeys.

Could they really upset the order?

Not even Tide was a match for these guys in Blue Jackets, as far as Yin Fang was concerned, clearing out a bunch of animals was just a matter of time.

At that moment, footsteps approached from outside the door, quickly followed by a knock.

"Come in."

The door opened.

The person who entered was Heya.

Chu Guang looked up and saw her excited expression, so he curiously asked.

"Did something good happen?"

Without any suspense, Heya exclaimed.

"About that inducible expression serum you asked me to research."

"The results are out!"

-

(A big thank you to the "Little Fatty Winter Hotpot City" alliance leader for the reward!!)

Chapter 289 "Awakening Serum"!

The red brick building next to the Outpost Security Team quarters.

Previously, when the Tide burst, to address the plague brought on by decomposing corpses, this place served as a temporary relief station that sheltered nearby residents showing fever symptoms.

After the Tide subsided and the problems with plagues and spore clouds were resolved, it naturally transitioned into a clinic serving local residents.

Most of the medical staff currently working here were temporaries trained by Heya, mainly recruited from literate refugees. On one hand, they assisted Heya with some necessary experiments targeting the Waste Land Wanderers; on the other, they also handled medical rescue.

If assessed by United Human standards, these medical staff members were clearly not professional, some couldn't even be called quacks, having gotten their positions by watching one or two online classes.

Nevertheless, knowing how to bandage wounds and stop bleeding, they were still much better than those tribal witch doctors who treated illnesses with folk remedies.

People of the Wasteland usually had very low demands for doctors.

Not to mention curing them, as long as one could ensure they didn't die, that was sufficient.

The spacious room housed over fifty wooden single beds, now filled with occupants.

Many of these individuals were core members of the security team, veterans of more than two battles, and some had been following Chu Guang through several versions.

They were lying here, not due to injuries or illness, but because they voluntarily participated in the experiments conducted by the Medical Laboratory of Shelter No. 404, receiving injections of the induced expression serum.

White-coated nurses moved around, inquiring about each person's clinical response, recording vital information and characteristics on a VM.

"Clinical studies show that there's a significant likelihood of awakening between the ages of 15 and 30, after which the probability gradually decreases… these induced differentiation serums have resolved many of my questions," Heya, standing beside Chu Guang as usual, passed a tablet into Chu Guang's hands, excitedly sharing her discoveries.

Chu Guang, as usual, couldn't understand her thesis or those colorful charts, but he still politely browsed the content on the tablet and got straight to the point.

"I'm not interested in those too specialized matters; you can just tell me the conclusion, like what exactly this probability is."

Heya responded, "For the first injection, the probability is 27%, for the second 15%, for the third 9%, and for the fourth, 3%... Of course, these are just theoretical values and differ from statistical probabilities. Currently, the experimental sample size is too small, and the selective expression of genes too uncertain, to provide absolutely accurate data."

An awakening not achieved by the first injection could still attempt a second?

Chu Guang's face showed a slightly surprised expression.

"What about the side effects?"

Heya replied, "After the injection, there will be a continuous fever for 2-3 days, accompanied by muscle weakness, drowsiness, and other symptoms, but it's generally safe. As for other side effects... Besides lowered fertility, so far, no others have been found, but we can't rule out more appearing later, so I don't recommend widespread promotion across society. After all, during the Prosperity Epoch, this stuff was never heard of, most likely it was an unfinished product about which researchers themselves were undecided."

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"You don't need to tell me that."

The production rate of the induced expression serum was very low, around twenty vials a day, and currently, it seems only producible using a Black Box.

Given the Black Box's use of non-renewable cold fusion cells, the hidden costs of each injection are likely much higher than they appear.

Whether from the perspectives of production output, cost, or deeper societal implications, this serum was not suited for mass dissemination.

"By the way, how did the residents of the refuge react after the injection?"

Chu Guang remembered that the very first testers of the reagents were lucky players who had won special prizes at a celebration event; it included twenty individuals, both unawakened and awakened.

After all, players could be revived, and even if something went wrong, one could simply say "sorry, there was a server bug" and probably add some compensation later.

Even offering compensation was already more accountable than most in the industry!

Heya: "According to clinical observations, this serum had very limited effects on the first batch of testers, so limited that it can essentially be ignored."

"My personal hypothesis is that this may relate to the special characteristics inherent in your refuge's residents' DNA. Your DNA already expresses at a high level, with a stable and systematic evolutionary path… That's the most intriguing part to me."

Listening to Heya's explanations, Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

He tried to understand.

The role of this induced expression serum was somewhat like a catalyst that facilitated faster awakening in those with the potential, but it was nearly ineffective in those already awakened.

The clones produced by Shelter No. 404 were quite special because they used genes that had been specifically enhanced, making them poorly compatible with the serum.

Simply put, this serum was mainly to boost the physical functions of the indigenous people, but this enhancement was quite random.

Some felt their strength increase, others only felt quicker reflexes, or both, but neither to a strong degree.

"Understood."

Chu Guang handed the tablet back to Heya and walked inside the ward to the bed closest to the door.

There lay a not-so-old teenager looking straight up at the ceiling as if in a daze.

Chu Guang recognized this individual, a fourteen-year-old boy rescued from the dungeons of the Blood Hand Clan, who had been following him ever since, and was also the youngest member of the security team.

If this were a civilized society from before he traveled through time, this young fellow, barely into puberty, would not even be old enough for high school.

But in the Waste World, where human life was as cheap as weeds, many of his age were already fathers.

"How do you feel?"

Hearing the voice next to him, the boy twisted his neck and the moment he saw Chu Guang's face, his befuddled expression instantly cleared.

"Manager Sir?! Why are you here?"

Hearing this, others in the ward also turned their heads in surprise.

Lu Bei, overwhelmed with joy, hurriedly tried to get out of bed but was stopped by Chu Guang.

"There's no need for formality, just tell me how you feel."

After finishing his statement, Chu Guang glanced at the other people in the hospital room, indicating that they need not concern themselves with him, then he continued to focus on Lu Bei.

Seeing the Manager who had come to visit him, Lu Bei had a flushed, invigorated expression and said,

"Sir, I feel incredibly good right now!"

Chu Guang nodded, looking at him resting in his bed and said seriously,

"Thank you for your contributions to the New Alliance. If you experience any physical discomfort in the future, the Alliance will take care of you for the rest of your life."

Lu Bei nodded slightly while sitting on the bed.

"Please do not say such things, Sir. It's an honor to relieve your burdens! Moreover, I feel much stronger than before! If I face a Looter again... I definitely will not be as disheveled as I once was."

The new year's eve assault had caused heavy losses to the security team, and during that battle, he had also lost an old friend who had taken great care of him.

Chu Guang placed his hand on his shoulder, gently patted it, and consoled him,

"You have already done very well; there is no need to blame yourselves excessively. Moreover, even if you have acquired stronger capabilities, remember never to let your guard down, and never use them for evil deeds."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued,

"I plan to establish a special force, independent of the security team, named the Guards Corps. This squad will consist of Awakeners. Would you like to join?"

Lu Bei straightened his back, clenched his right hand into a fist resting on his left chest, and said fervently,

"I am willing! My life was saved by you, Sir. Even if you asked me to die, I would not hesitate!"

Chu Guang looked at him and nodded gently, saying in a warm voice,

"I will remember your loyalty."

"Now, rest well."

The first batch of serum was entirely injected, with fifty participants in the experiment, only sixteen became Awakeners.

The remaining thirty-four who had not awakened had three more injection opportunities, left to decide for themselves whether to continue with the experiment.

However, none chose to give up.

This opportunity to become stronger was so desirable that if it weren't for dosage limits, they would have wanted to take all four injections at once.

Including four experienced veterans selected from the guards who had already awakened, Chu Guang planned to form this twenty-member group into an independent army corps.

In fact, assembling a corps entirely of Awakeners was not an idea Chu Guang had come up with on the spur of the moment but was something he had been considering since before the beta version was unlocked.

Awakened individuals were rare but not uncommon in the Wastelands. Before acquiring the serum, there were a dozen naturally Awakened among the guards.

However, these naturally Awakened individuals and players who accumulated progress to awaken were different, as their abilities tended to vary widely, and their quality was relatively average, rarely showing the kind of specialization in attribute growth seen in players.

But one thing for sure is that Awakeners possess naturally superior combat strength and battlefield survival capabilities compared to ordinary people.

Equivalent to super soldiers!

Chu Guang planned to select the most loyal warriors from among the guards, inject them with the serum, equip them with 10 sets of "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeletons, 100 sets of Light Cavalry exoskeletons, and corresponding mini-drones—amounting to about half the equipment on Floor B4 to form a "Guards Corps" comprised of Waste Land Wanderers who are Awakeners!

As for the other half of B4's equipment, Chu Guang decided to place it in the NPC stores for Boss Xia to sell to the players who reached the level requirement.

He intended to keep the scale of this Guards Corps around 100-120 people, equivalent to a company's strength.

As a standing force of the New Alliance, they would carry out responsibilities different from those of players on the battlefield, handling tasks that players were either unable to participate in or not interested.

For this corps, Chu Guang only had one requirement.

That was loyalty!

Apart from the Guards Corps, Chu Guang also planned to establish the First and Second Corps of the New Alliance.

Currently, the captaincy of the First Corps was held by Wrench, and the Second Corps were led by Liuding, where the junior officers were mostly veterans from the security team who had participated in more than two battles and had received guidance and training from Vanus.

Not just NPCs, but players could also join.

After all, not all players enjoy the social content of MMORPGs. Many individual players prefer to undertake missions and interact with NPCs, experiencing immersive role-playing, while the existence of other foolish players may disrupt their game immersion.

You ask them to lead a team, and they find it bothersome.

There were many such players on the server. Several players had trained their combat and shooting skills proficiency to level 5, but their command skills proficiency remained at 0.

Why?

Because for players who dislike leading, being in charge is a real nuisance.

Just remembering every ID in the team is hard enough, let alone maintaining good relations with each person and ensuring everyone does their job.

In addition to carrying out the regular duties and responsibilities, the First and Second Corps also had the duty of integrating individual players and newcomers.

As Chu Guang personally visited the hospital to comfort those who had been injected with the "Awakening Serum," twenty fully armed players had already arrived in the East District of Qingquan City.

They split into two groups of ten, all Awakeners.

A military operation jointly planned by the Burning Corps and the Jungle Corps was quietly unfolding...

In a darkened room, the broken floor was covered with moss, two beast skin coats hung in a half-open iron cabinet, and a yellowed booklet lay discarded in the corner—bearing the title "Guide for Visitors to the Third Ecological Preserve of Qingquan City."

This place was the security room of Qingquan City's Third Ecological Preserve, but it had long been without visitors or security personnel, just a group of Looters nesting there.

On the table, a radio was playing classical music from the pre-war era broadcast by "Voice of Giant Stone City."

Legs propped up, sitting behind the table, Tus lazily lit a cigarette and gazed at the thinning mist, squinting slightly.

He could barely remember the last time he experienced such relaxed and pleasant days—perhaps it had been ten years, or maybe even more.

He used to keep a diary, but he couldn't even remember those two characters anymore; after a few tries, he gave up.

At that moment, footsteps echoed from outside the door.

Tus skillfully pulled open the drawer that housed his revolver, only slightly relaxing his eyebrows when he saw it was his trusted aide at the door.

However, he didn't push the drawer back in.

"Boss, the goods for the next trade are ready," said the man in the beast skin jacket, bowing slightly. His muscular, sinewy body appeared strong, but his facial features seemed less than intelligent.

Hearing that the goods were ready, Tus's eyes widened a bit from their squint, and he lowered his legs from the table.

"Take me to see them."

The burly man nodded respectfully.

"Yes, boss."

The two walked one after the other through the corridor and down to the ground floor.

There was a circular corridor here, with a central area as big as a playground. Fiberglass walls connected the floor to the ceiling, completely isolating the space inside from the outside.

Before the war, this place hosted children's favorite exotic animals, but now it served as a prison for slaves held by the looters here.

Tables were set up in the open space. Emaciated, almost naked slaves sat at the tables, their most valuable equipment likely being the two latex gloves they wore.

With hands like straw sticks, they picked up lumps of red fungus from wooden boxes beside them, placed them in petri dishes, and carefully isolated the active ingredients, terrified of making a mistake.

Armed looters holding iron pipe rifles stood guard next to them, watching vigilantly.

It's worth mentioning that these red lumps of fungus were not the "Mutated slime fungus"; there was entirely no relation between them.

The thick red mycelial strands, entangled like noodles and resembling brains at a glance, earned them the names brain fungus or cerebral fungus among the wasteland wanderers.

These fungus types usually grew under trees with higher iron content and were challenging to cultivate artificially because harvesting them triggered the release of potent hallucinogenic red spores, making drugs like "Power Pills" and "Vigorous Spirit," which contained stimulant properties, quite expensive.

Interestingly, these red spores had a mild effect on ironback apes, so these apes occasionally ate them as if they were fruits.

Thanks to the "Blue Jackets" previously stationed here and their so-called "Mind Interference Field," Tus had made a tidy profit by exploiting those apes.

These apes were more useful than the slaves. They not only helped collect materials for drug manufacturing but also helped scavenge around, although the simplest weapons they could handle were bows, spears, and Molotov cocktails.

Otherwise, he wouldn't bother keeping those slaves in the cages. Having the apes make the drugs would save him two barrels of nutrient paste daily.

Tus's men carried out box after box of small white medicine bottles from the "cage," leaving behind two barrels filled with a green viscous liquid. They knocked on the barrels with the butt of their guns.

That clanging sound was like a signal.

Hearing it, the slaves rushed towards the barrels like starving mad dogs, grabbing the unidentified nutrient paste with their hands and stuffing it into their mouths.

The two looters guarding the entrance watched scornfully as the slaves fought over the paste like pigs, then closed the "cage's" large door.

As the leader, or rather, the boss of these looters, Tus had no interest in the slaves; his focus was entirely on the ten boxes before him.

Ten boxes of "Power Pills," totaling fifty kilograms of goods.

Not only mercenaries liked to take shortcuts with these, but the nobles of the inner city of Giant Stone City also consumed them in significant amounts. After all, their effects were immediate, making one stronger in battle and just as effective outside of combat.

The only side effect was bloodshot eyes, which wasn't a big deal as long as one didn't consume an entire bottle at once.

"…The Dagger Gang from Giant Stone City has shown great interest in our goods. They've offered to pay us three thousand chips," said the man with one prosthetic eye in his left socket, bowing respectfully to Tus.

His name was Kun Ke, a fan of Power Pills, but after blowing out an eyeball, he had quit using them.

Hearing the Dagger Gang'soverture, Tus cursed in fury.

"These vampiritic extortionists are getting too brazen! As if I don't know a 1.2g pill sells for 10 chips!"

"Tell them the bottom line is one hundred chips per kilogram, five thousand chips, not a chip less! If they're not interested, we'll find someone else. Also, besides women, food, sugar, soap, and nutrient paste, tell them to bring more guns next time; don't even think about fooling me with those iron pipe guns."

Suddenly, a new alliance had formed up north.

Tus wasn't too concerned initially—Qingquan City was expansive, and just the straight-line distance from the east bank of Rhombus Lake was over twenty kilometers, a route possibly more challenging than mountain trails.

His hideout was nestled deep in the "forests," and most wasteland wanderers, upon seeing the dense vegetation, would naturally detour rather than venture in.

That was why he hadn't worried when the Chewing Bone Tribe attacked; he could simply join them if needed.

However, recent rumors that Brown Farm had been annexed, with a group advocating the abolition of slavery and the expulsion of looters, gave Tus a vague sense of unease.

Abolishing slavery?

Expelling looters?

Were these people full?

And how could they identify who the looters were?

Especially since five uninvited guests had arrived yesterday, outfitted in exoskeletons, which made Tus particularly wary.

These people might well be from the North Suburb!

Considering the possibility of a future confrontation with those deranged Blue Jackets, he felt he couldn't just keep indulging his men in pleasures; he had to think about stockpiling more weapons for self-defense.

If conditions allowed, he even considered arming those monkeys with guns.

Kun Ke nodded solemnly.

"Alright, boss,"

Watching Kun Ke head toward the door, Tus's brow slightly relaxed as he casually picked a bottle of Power Pills from the box and stuffed it into his pocket, preparing to head back to his bedroom for a rest.

However, just then, a sudden explosion roared from outside, shaking the walls and the floor.

The slaves crowded in front of the barrel looked up, their faces fraught with panic, and the Looters guarding the cage doors also showed tense expressions, gripping their rifles tightly.

Stabilizing himself by the hallway railing, Tus angrily glanced around and seized his confidant, bellowing,

"What happened?"

His confidant was completely baffled,
partly by the explosion and partly by the boss's roaring.

"I... I'll go outside and check."

"Go now!"

Tus kicked him in the butt and cursed as he made his way upstairs.

The explosion seemed to initiate a symphony of destruction.

One after another, explosions erupted around the ecological preserve, the trembling from the floor climbing from his shoe soles to his liver.

Even as slow as he was, Tus knew what was happening outside.

Back in the security room he used as an office, he grabbed the walkie-talkie from the table, pressed the button, and shouted loudly,

"Enemy attack!"

"I don't care where you are or what you're doing, grab your gear, get out of your rooms immediately, and prepare to fight!"

"We must not let them take our treasures!"

"Absolutely not!"

The corridors of the ecological preserve were filled with the shrill sound of the broadcast.

The confidant sent to gather intelligence had just pushed open the rooftop door when a shell whizzed by and fell a hundred meters away in the forest.

Boom—!

Flames flickered, lifting a cloud of dense smoke and debris.

Terrified by the blast, the Looter ducked and scurried forward, hugging the curved railing until he reached the wooden and steel tower.

The entire dome-shaped preserve was covered with vegetation, making the camouflaged tower as inconspicuous as a branch in a forest.

The Looter stormed up, about to berate the sentry, only to find a corpse with a gaping head wound lying behind the camouflaged vines.

Chilled to the bone, cold sweat dripped instantly from his forehead.

As he turned to flee, his chest felt like it had hit a truck, and he was slammed to the ground by the sheer force.

"Two of them... Damn! Brother Fang Chang really guessed right," Night Ten, lying on the half-collapsed roof, operated his rifle's bolt and ejected the smoking cartridge.

"Hmm... It's not entirely a guess," holding a telescope, Fang Chang carefully observed the buildings ahead and analyzed, "If it were just spears and iron bars, it would be one thing, but those monkeys have Molotov Cocktails too. The bottles can be scavenged, but surely the fuel wasn't made by the monkeys themselves."

Old White nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and although those monkeys were only active in the forest, they suddenly attacked as we approached the ecological preserve, which felt very deliberate."

Wild Wind didn't speak; he was controlling a drone, helping the players behind him adjust their targeting coordinates.

Due to the dense vegetation below, they couldn't pinpoint the exact position of the Ironback Apes and opted for a barrage tactic.

After sixteen rounds of simultaneous firing,
a total of thirty-two 88mm mortar shells were depleted.

The players responsible for the artillery hid the mortar in a nearby building and switched gear, preparing to advance to the front line.

Meanwhile, the sound of propellers thundered through the sky as a wooden airplane soared into the players' view.

"Mosquito! Damn, Mosquito finally arrived."

Quit Smoking waved excitedly at the sky.

Seeing his teammates, Mosquito grinned, gave a thumbs up, then pulled down his homemade goggles and gripped the joystick to raise the nose of the plane, preparing for a strafing run.

Midnight Chicken Killing, not much for words, brandished a shiny hatchet and a gun with a barrel thicker than a fist, calling his brothers to ready themselves for battle.

The Jungle Corps was equipped with the inexpensive but effective KV-1 Exoskeletons; except for their leader, Midnight Chicken Killing, nearly everyone carried an LD-47 light machine gun, each looking like Rambo.

The Burning Corps mixed various types of soldiers, including heavy infantry serving as mobile shields and ammunition carriers, as well as high-mobility light infantry, and even some non-human players.

Players like Fang Chang and Wild Wind, skilled in utilizing specialized equipment, brought "anti-personnel" Pu-9 Submachine Guns this time, ready for clearing buildings.

Trash King excitedly thrashed his tail against the ground, with steel claws tied to his arms sparking in the cold air.

His amber pupils dilated, and from his opened jaws, a bloodthirsty roar erupted.

"Time for slaughter has come!"

Chapter 290: The First Battle Between the Jungle Corps and the Burning Corps!

"Roar—!"

A long howl pierced through the jungle sky.

Clad in steel armor, Looter leapt down from a half-collapsed building, kicking up dust several meters high, and then, like a cannonball, he plunged into the jungle.

The earth seemed to tremble!

He needed no mechanical aid, the dark green scales covering his muscles were the strongest engines!

And the jungle—

Was his domain!

The oppressive aura from a superior Variant instilled an instinctual fear in the iron-backed apes hanging from the tree branches.

Especially when the blade, glinting with cold light, swept through, claiming several lives within moments, the terrified apes scattered in panic.

Those perched atop the building, Night Ten's men, were dumbstruck.

"Holy shit! A hidden skill?!"

Fang Chang touched his nose, mumbling.

"Battle Roar, with added fear debuff, effective against lower Variants?"

It was natural for the lower tiers on the food chain, potential prey for the Death Claw, to feel terrified.

As for whether it worked on humans...

That depended on how many were there and what equipment they had.

Quit smoking: "Awesome!"

Old White loaded his light machine gun and grinned.

"Let's go, don't let Looter finish off all the creatures by himself. Night Ten will stay here for cover, everyone else follow me!"

Last time he had brought a rifle with only five magazines; this time, he'd hooked up a whopping eight hundred rounds of ammunition to his exoskeleton!

It was finally time for some action!

The players excitedly raised their guns.

"Aw, aw, aw!"

Following Looter's landing was the Jungle Corps led by Midnight Chicken Killing, ten KV-1s stomping on the shattered concrete ground and charging toward the dense forest ahead.

Nine light machine guns unleashed their firepower simultaneously, a hailstorm of bullets poured into the forest ahead.

Midnight Chicken Killing, with a short axe in one hand, cleaved an iron-backed ape rushing towards him in two, then with a pump of his shotgun, he blasted another monkey's chest open, spraying blood and flesh everywhere.

In Far Creek Town's jungle, they had leveled up at least five times; no one knew how to combat in forest terrain better than the fierce men of the Jungle Corps.

The line of ten heavy KV-1 exoskeletons cleaved a bloody path through the forest like a steel axe.

The Burning Corps swiftly followed up.

The initial bombardment from the mortars had already left the iron-backed apes trembling in the forest. Had it not been for the Mind Interference Instrument, they would likely have abandoned their nests in a panic long ago.

The call from the depths of their minds grew stronger, eyes gradually tinted with red. The iron-backed apes, which had been retreating in fear, seemed to dive into madness, steadying their collapsing ranks and surging forward wave after wave.

Bows and javelins greeted the players, mixed with Molotov Cocktails and homemade grenades.

Aside from thrown objects, some apes, armed with short knives, steel rods, and nail hammers, fiercely charged at the ten hulks of the Jungle Corps. They clung to the KV-1 armor, wildly slashing and smashing.

However—

They had clearly picked the wrong opponent.

Among the several corps in the New Alliance, only Brother Chicken's Jungle Corps consisted entirely of strength-type players—sturdy men all.

Moreover, each of them standing here was an "Old Soldier," battle-hardened. How could they be tripped up by these petty tricks?

The muscular men, caught in close combat, were not panicked at all but brandished their short axes.

At that moment, the animals that had lunged at them finally understood the pure terror of facing strength-type players + exoskeletons in close-quarters combat!

The swinging axe blades were like the blades of a meat grinder, and the iron-backed apes that jumped in close were instantly killed or wounded!

The ground was covered in blood and monkey hair!

"These monkeys are tougher than we anticipated."

Standing behind Old White, Fang Chang calmly changed his magazine and supported his comrades involved in close combat with his small-caliber submachine gun.

However…

Seeing their excited looks, was his help a bit superfluous?

Old White looked up at the sky obscured by leaves and joked,

"Let Mosquito take over, so this guy won't later complain that we didn't give him a chance."

"Hehe, here I come!"

Standing in the front row, Quit Smoking excitedly pulled a paper tube the size of a can from the front of his KV-1 exoskeleton, ripped open the pull-tab, and fiercely threw it forward.

The paper tube hit the middle of the monkey crowd, releasing a burst of fire and quickly emitting a large amount of red smoke. The monkeys clearly didn't take it seriously, continuing to shriek and shoot cold arrows and Molotov cocktails at the players.

However, just then, a piercing screech suddenly filled the air.

"Hahahaha—Fries! Your Grandpa Mosquito is here!" Mosquito, his mouth full of wind, excitedly pressed the trigger on the control stick.

Before the monkeys could react, a hail of bullets fell from the sky, accompanied by the whooshing sounds as they passed through the trees. Iron-backed ape archers hiding in the branches were instantly killed or wounded, falling from the trees like dumplings.

"The 7mm gun barrels spewed tongues of flame," Mosquito, not yet fully satisfied, clicked his tongue.

The firepower of these little pipes was indeed too weak!

If only it were a 20mm cannon!

Releasing his finger from the trigger, Mosquito aimed the crosshair engraved on the windshield at the cluster of red smoke, disengaged the safety, and pressed the bomb release button.

One hundred meters!

The two half-meter-long cylinders suspended under the wings detached from the aircraft, lightening its load. At the same time, Mosquito sharply pulled up on the control stick.

The plane roared over the treetops.

The cylinders, set with delayed fuses, exploded with a thunderous roar upon contact with the treetops, igniting a claret-red blaze.

Streams of thick smoke plummeted down, the flames poured into the forest like a waterfall, and in an instant, a sea of fire spread throughout the jungle.

The scorching smoke and heatwaves rose, even distorting the air.

The monkey troop, which a second ago had been ravaged by machine-gun fire, was now engulfed in a sea of fire.

The iron-backed apes, touched by the Mars, struggled desperately and emitted pitiful screams in the sea of fire, but it was completely futile.

The fire grew larger.

Soon, it completely enveloped them.

Until they turned into charred corpses on the ground.

Standing by the window and witnessing this scene, Tus's eyes filled with fear, his body hair stood on end, and he trembled uncontrollably.

An airplane?!

He was certain.

These people had come from "North Suburb."

"Boss, what should we do..." Kun Ke, shivering, looked at the leader.

These people were too fierce.

Their ragtag group was clearly no match for them!

Even taking Power Pills was useless.

Tus was, of course, aware of this. He had a realistic view of his junkie followers' combat power since he was no good either.

However.

If it meant giving up the wealth he held, he would rather die!

Tus clenched his teeth, his mind made up.

"Bring that Sun Zewen in the Blue Jacket to me!"

Hearing the boss's command, Kun Ke quickly nodded, scrambled out the door, and soon brought the person Tus wanted.

"Boss, I've brought the man."

The old man, with disheveled hair and clothes, showed a face full of raw fear and looked tremulously at the villain before him.

Tus looked at Kun Ke and ordered.

"Go guard by the cells, don't let the Blue Jackets break through!"

"Yes, yes!" Leaving the man behind, Kun Ke didn't dare linger, promptly nodded to follow the order, and then rushed out the door again.

Tus watched the door close, reached out, grabbed the old man's collar, and rudely pulled him to his face, spitting as he shouted.

"I don't care what you do, get that whatever field's frequency to a level that can also affect people's brains! Immediately! Right now! Quick!"

Sun Zewen, whose collar was grabbed, widened his eyes, almost bulging out of their sockets.

"Have you gone mad?! You're human too!"

Tus wasted no words, pulled out a revolver, and held it against the old man's head, threatening word by word.

"Do as I say, or I'll blow a hole in your forehead right now!"

The old man's Adam's apple moved, and his pupils filled with fear.

Faced with the threat of death, the old man eventually shakily nodded, his voice filled with despair.

"I'll do it…"

"Take me to the control room."

...

Pupils reflecting roaring flames, Old White's face slowly showed surprise.

"Fuel added with aluminum soap thickener… this guy is really going overboard."

Quit Smoking was dumbfounded, with only two words left in his mouth.

"Fuck…"

Then, the voice of Mosquito came through the communication channel.

Even though the guy's mouth was full of wind, everyone could hear the pride in his tone.

"Brothers, the rest is up to you…oh, I deliberately drifted south by thirty meters, hopefully didn't hit our own troops, right?"

Fang Chang: "No, well done!"

Mosquito: "Heh heh, thanks for the praise! I'm out…shit, I've never landed this thing before, hope nothing goes wrong."

Everyone: "…"

The sound of the propeller gradually faded.

The battle had ended.

The nearby iron-backed gibbons were probably all slain by them, no new ones came charging.

Midnight Chicken Killing swung his axe to shake off the blood, looked up at the sea of fire ahead, and observed the approaching allied troops.

"Leaving it as is okay?"

Wild Wind glanced ahead, nodded, then shook his head.

"Don't worry, the terrain here is complex, sufficiently moist, and there's no wind. It might burn an area, but won't spread too far."

Midnight Chicken Killing nodded, remaining silent.

Garbage Lord, wiping the blood off his steel claws, looked up towards the giant dome-shaped building ahead, his amber pupils alight with excitement.

Those monkeys were too weak, killing them was like mowing the lawn.

Hoping to find a worthy opponent ahead!

The group prepared to move forward.

However, just then, Midnight Chicken Killing suddenly furrowed his brow, leaning back slightly with a hand on his forehead.

Garbage Lord noticed his uneasy demeanor and asked.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

"Felt dizzy for a second, probably just server fluctuations... It's okay." Midnight Chicken Killing shook his head, muttering, "My imagination or what? There's singing in my head."

"No, I heard it too, but it's not singing, more like the noise of electricity… This probably isn't just server fluctuation."

Old White also furrowed his brow, looking towards the Jungle Corps members, seeing everyone appearing somewhat dazed.

"I'm still fine…feeling a bit uncomfortable, but not dazed," Fang Chang, rubbing between his brows, suddenly realized something and quickly looked at Wild Wind.

The latter appeared to realize as well, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"I feel nothing… could it be related to the intelligence attribute?"

Strength-type intelligence attributes are inherently weak, starting at 3 points, usually reaching 5 after awakening—equivalent to a normal adult.

Whereas Agility, Perception, and Constitution, intelligence attributes start mostly at 5, rarely at 4, and after awakening, they generally reach 7.

Wild Wind himself is currently the highest level Intelligence System player on the server, his intelligence attribute over 20, according to the game's settings, his character's brain cell activity amounts to four times that of a normal adult.

After a rational analysis...

Perhaps it is some kind of mental shock DEBUFF, based on intelligence attribute level to determine damage?

Garbage Lord looked confused.

"What are you guys exactly talking about? What daze… I don't feel it."

Fang Chang and Wild Wind exchanged glances.

"Garbage Jun didn't respond, so I guess this thing only targets specific species... Infrasound? Electromagnetic waves? Or... something else."

Fang Chang said, "So you changed the target to humans? No wonder the monkeys didn't retreat."

"Yeah… But humans are clearly more intelligent than monkeys; it won't be that easy to control them," Wild Wind said, gently touching his nose. "However, I'm curious, does this influence not affect the Looters themselves in that building?"

Fang Chang replied, "Not sure, let's summarize. The opponent must possess some kind of regional ability that applies a mental haze debuff to specific life forms within the target area—"

"Enough with the summaries."

Midnight Chicken Killing grumbled irritably and viciously chopped the tree trunk with his axe, then turned to look at the players from the Jungle Corps.

"Brothers, let's smash them! Make that damn noise stop!"

"Kill!"

The burly men wearing the KV-1 Exoskeletons flashed their axes, following Midnight Chicken Killing's lead with a murderous aura as they charged toward the ecological park.

Watching the Jungle men charge towards the dome, the crowd from the Cow and Horse groups was slightly stunned.

That was way too reckless.

Fang Chang looked at Old White.

"We should hurry up and follow... Old White, do you want to fall back first?"

Old White shook his head.

"No need; it's just a minor influence, not a big problem."

Tomato and Eggs nervously stepped half a step aside.

"Damn, you guys are jinxing it and it's freaking me out."

Old White cracked a smile and slung the light machine gun over his shoulder.

"Scared of what? Just do it and it'll be fine!"

"Aw, aw, aw!"

Completely unaffected by the DEBUFF, Garbage Jun excitedly howled and chased after the footsteps of the Jungle Corps, afraid of arriving too late and missing even a sip of the broth.

In reality, there was no FLAG at all.

The ecological park was indeed home to a group of Looters, who at the moment were like madmen, their eyes blood-red, killing anyone they saw.

Regardless of friend or foe!

Close combat ensued.

Bullets whistled chaotically through the corridors and stairwells.

Storming the building was not the strength of the Jungle Corps, but the front armor of the KV-1 Exoskeleton was tough enough.

The Looters were using lead bullets, which, although maximally damaging, relied on the premise that they could penetrate the welded steel plates of the exoskeleton.

Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, Midnight Chicken Killing no longer held back and decisively issued the order to annihilate the Looters to his squad members.

Garbage Jun was even quicker, his two steel claws swift as lightning, creating a bloody mess in the narrow corridors.

From the first floor to the second, the scene was extremely gory with limbs and body parts scattered everywhere.

Fang Chang and Wild Wind, armed with submachine guns, did not join Garbage Jun but quickly moved deeper into the first floor of the ecological park.

According to the map, this area was the exhibition zone of the park, but now the transparent cages housed not animals but slaves bred by the Looters.

Inside the largest cage, tables were laid out, and the ground was littered with a host of people.

From their gaunt, barely clothed appearances, their identities were not hard to discern.

Beside them on those tables lay numerous bottles and pill-splitting tools.

Clearly.

Just before the players assaulted this place, they were under the Looters' surveillance, laboring over the workbenches, vigorously rolling pills.

"Damn, even the cells were converted to cubicles."

That's just inhuman!

Quit Smoking clicked his tongue and was about to step forward, but just then, a Looter hiding in the shadows suddenly charged out like a madman, wielding a pipe rifle.

"Ah ah ah! Die!"

The man had only one eye left, the other pupil blood-red, his appearance crazed as if possessed.

Fang Chang proficiently activated Bullet Time, turned the gun towards the man the moment he showed his face, and pulled the trigger.

Pop, pop, pop—!

The Looter was instantly riddled with bullets.

The casings clinked as they fell to the ground.

Fang Chang pressed down on the smoking barrel of the gun, patted Quit Smoking on the arm, walked to the entrance of the cell, lifted the latch, and pushed open the heavy iron door.

A rotten, fishy smell hit them in the face.

This place, perennially without ventilation, sunlight, or cleaning, smelt as foul as a cesspit; it was hard to imagine what quality the pills made in such an environment could be.

At that moment, a slave with a face covered in wrinkles slightly lifted his eyelids, saw Fang Chang standing at the door, and weakly reached out his hand.

"Save us..."

"Please, help us..." he recognized their identities by the blue jacket Fang Chang wore.

Fang Chang somewhat understood what the old man on the ground was saying, but he remained vigilant as he watched him speak in the non-standard United Human language.

"Where are the Looters?"

The old man probably didn't understand, or maybe he did, but his consciousness wasn't clear.

He continually muttered.

"Stop them... quick..."

Stop?

Fang Chang frowned, feeling a slight headache growing clearer.

Just then, the mental pressure that had been on his head suddenly eased, like clouds dispersed by the wind, gone without a trace.

And the old man in front of him seeking help also suddenly dropped his raised arm to the ground, plunging into unconsciousness.

"What just happened?" Old White, standing outside the cell, looked around with an expression of surprise.

For a moment there, his headache felt explosive, but it quickly dissipated.

Was the Debuff gone?

Tomato and Eggs and Quit Smoking looked equally baffled beside him.

"I don't know..."

Just then, a broadcast sounded overhead.

That raspy voice and excited shouting could only be from Garbage Jun.

"Brothers! Are you all okay?"

"Boss has been controlled by me!"

"If your heads are still hurting, just tell this big brother, and I'll twist his head off!"

…

Outside Changjiu Farm, on a crudely leveled open space, a wooden glider gradually descended, approaching the runway.

The landing gear violently collided with the ground several times, nearly flipping the aircraft over, but it eventually came to a rough halt.

The most surprised were undoubtedly Mosquito's subordinates.

Their eyes were wide open.

"Fuck? This thing actually came down?"

Soul Chaser and Kill God were utterly impressed.

"Holy shit!"

"Awesome!!!"

Discourage was silent for a while, then sighed with emotion.

"It's really awesome that it didn't fall apart."

Though he designed the motor and battery group, if he remembered correctly… his specialty was supposed to be building quadcopter drones.

They should indeed be able to fly.

But he had never thought that Mosquito could actually fly this wreck back.

Climbing out of the open cockpit, with his hair blown into a mess, Mosquito hugged his subordinates, shouting excitedly.

"Hahaha!"

"I did it! I came back alive!"

It was too thrilling!

Landing was even more thrilling than dropping bombs.

Especially at the moment of touchdown, he felt the plane trembled wildly as if cramping, and he thought he'd have to be on death observation in the Forum for three days again.

Standing not far away, watching, Chu Guang also wore a surprised expression.

Being able to fly was nothing special.

But managing to land, that really set one apart.

"…The agile system's answer turns out to be flying a plane."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, felt that it was necessary to encourage Mosquito Brother, so he moved his index finger and sent him an achievement notification.

[Unlocked Achievement: First Soar!]

[Unlock Condition: Successfully take off and safely land for the first time!]

Just flying up didn't count.

Being able to safely land was what made it a complete flight.

Mosquito, receiving the achievement reward, danced with excitement.

In the game, achievements, like medals, could be displayed highlighted on the Forum. In other words, they were something to show off.

Successfully flying back and even getting an achievement?!

What an unexpected delight!

"Damn! There's an achievement?!"

Soul Chaser was also shocked.

"Fucking hell?! You can unlock achievements for this?"

Soul Chaser: "Good buddy! Let me fly it once too!"

Mosquito quickly shielded his plane.

"Scram, scram, scram, damn… do you guys know how many silver coins it takes to build something like this?! Wait until I make a reduced version for you to practice first!"

Discourage: "Fuck! Do you have to be so stingy?"

Death Claw: "Exactly! At least half of this plane is built by us, right?"

Regardless of what his apprentices said, Mosquito wouldn't let them get on.

But stingy as he was, in the end, Mosquito was a decent person, promising to provide materials to create two training planes costing less than 1000 silver coins each for them to play with.

Watching the lively younger players, Chu Guang's face broke into a pleased smile.

A freeloading achievement made them so happy.

They were really easy to please.

"Master!"

Xiao Qi's voice came through the communication channel.

Chu Guang turned his gaze away from the distant "airport" and lightly tapped the side of his helmet.

"What's up?"

"Your players have successfully taken control of Qingquan City's Third Ecological Park."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Well done."

He wasn't surprised by the players' efficiency.

After all, they were players from the T0 and T1 tiers of the server, not only were they powerful individuals, battle-hardened, but also worked harmoniously together.

A few monkeys wouldn't give them a headache.

Xiao Qi continued.

"And also, according to the intelligence feedback from your players, the ecological park is not an uninhabited relic; it hides a hidden Looter den housing about fifty Looters. The local Looters seem to have used some technical method to control the nearby Ironback Apes to collect brain mushrooms used for making drugs—"

"They have that technology?!" Chu Guang's face revealed a surprised expression.

Of course, what surprised Chu Guang more was that this group of Looters had used this technology to pick mushrooms.

"Hmm, besides, your players also rescued 117 slaves from the Looters, most of whom were used as labor for making drugs… some of these people are residents from the shelter."

Residents from the shelter?

Realizing the importance of this matter, Chu Guang's expression became serious.

"Have the Burning Corps and Jungle Corps stay put, assist the rescued slaves, and keep a close watch on those Looter captives."

"Also, have Yin Fang and Heya wait for me at the north gate of the Park."

Xiao Qi replied energetically.

"Yes, master!"

Chapter 291: You've Been Sentenced Too?

When Chu Guang and his group arrived at the Third Ecological Protection Park in Qingquan City, the fire caused by the previous air raid had gradually extinguished.

However, the smell of roasted meat lingering in the air seemed impossible to disperse for a long time.

Ten KV-1 Exoskeletons from the Jungle Corps stood at the entrance of the building.

Seeing the azure power armor approaching from a distance, Midnight Chicken Killing immediately stepped forward, with his right fist rested on his chest, he gave a military salute.

"Respected Manager! The Looter within the area has been eradicated, and the Third Ecological Protection Park is now under your control!"

Brother Killing Chicken's expression was one of utter loyalty.

Players who had a stronger sense of immersion would occasionally do this, of course, some players did it for favorability points and hidden tasks.

"You've done well," Chu Guang, fulfilling his role, nodded approvingly.

Meanwhile, a task completion popup appeared on the VMs of Midnight Chicken Killing and his teammates behind him.

[Task: Raid on the Third Ecological Protection Park in Qingquan City (Completed)]

[Reward: Detailed in the Campaign Settlement List]

Seeing the task rewards displayed in the VM, everyone's faces lit up with surprise.

An income of over 500 silver coins per person!

Such a high return could definitely be considered a windfall.

Indeed, they would have to work on leveling up their Archaeology Group in the future.

With the task completed, Midnight Chicken Killing led his jubilant team members away. There was no need to keep two Army groups there as guards since the hostile units in the area had been cleared.

Chu Guang continued forward with Yin Fang and Heya, walking past streets thick with trees into the vine-entangled ecological protection park.

"Do all zoos from the Human Alliance Era look like this?" Chu Guang glanced at the fully enclosed dome in front of him. He couldn't shake the feeling that it looked more like a stadium than a zoo.

Heya, equally curious, surveyed the surroundings, her interest piqued more by the Wasteland vegetation in the area.

It was completely different from what she had seen in VR devices, even distinct from the upright pine and cypress trees in the North suburb of Qingquan city.

It was as if it came from another world.

"The ones for sightseeing in the city are said to look like this, the large ecological reserves outside the city are another story. After the war broke out, the animals escaped, and the monkeys active in this area probably came from here," Chu Guang explained.

He gave her an unexpected glance.

"Did the monkeys before the war also have scales on their backs?"

Heya replied, "Genetic mutation + natural selection, perhaps the monkeys with scales on their backs managed to survive better here, but how exactly the scales came to be known only to the monkeys."

At that moment, Yin Fang, who had been staring at his tablet without saying a word, suddenly looked up and blurted out.

"I found it."

Chu Guang turned to Yin Fang.

"What did you find?"

Interest painted Yin Fang's face as he continued.

"Information about this ecological protection park, I just restored it from a set of damaged trial records... In 2113, twelve years before the outbreak of the war, an incident or scandal occurred in the Third Ecological Protection Park in Qingquan City that created a sensation throughout the Human Alliance."

Chu Guang's expression turned strange.

"What scandal could there be in a zoo?"

"An unauthorized experiment that jeopardized the lives of twenty-three thousand visitors. The twenty researchers and professors involved were expelled by their academic institutions, the responsible officials were prosecuted, and the entire ecological protection park almost closed down..." Yin Fang swiped his finger across the tablet, excitedly relaying the freshly restored information.

Chu Guang had no interest in occurrences from two hundred years ago.

However, when he heard about the experiment, he arched an eyebrow in interest.

"What was the content of the experiment?"

"It had to do with the Human Alliance's colonies and Resonance Field Theory," Yin Fang turned off the tablet, his excitement palpable as he looked ahead, "It's been more than two hundred years, especially being from before the war, this is as much as we can deduce from the public information, but we'll get to the bottom of it soon."

The entrance to Shelter No. 401 was located in the basement of the ecological protection park, and the players had already marked the entrance location in their VMs.

As for the Mind Interference Field's control room, it was on the third floor of the ecological protection park.

Upon entering the dome-shaped building, the group split up.

Yin Fang went to the entrance of Shelter No. 401, and Chu Guang assigned Wild Wind to follow him, taking responsibility for his safety. In addition, Chu Guang equipped Yin Fang with a Hummingbird drone and instructed Xiao Qi to support him within her capabilities.

As for Chu Guang himself, he went straight to the third floor with Heya.

They had just reached the doorway when they heard the sound of an argument and cursing from inside.

"You bastard! This punch is for my fallen comrades!"

"Enough, calm down... I'm a victim too, you can't blame me for all the people the Looters killed?!"

"Heh, a victim? I spit on that!"

Inside the control room.

Two men past their prime were scuffling, cursing in the incomprehensible language of the Human Alliance.

The one who seemed to be in the wrong, a robust old man in a Blue Jacket, was on the defensive and kept casting nervous glances at the players standing by, as if worried they would intervene.

The other man, in tattered clothes, was furious but visibly ill, and his punches lacked force. After a messy barrage, not a scratch was visible on his opponent, leaving the attacker out of breath instead.

As for the players?

Naturally, they stood by watching the drama unfold.

They couldn't even understand what was being said, let alone intervene.

Wild Wind had left earlier, and among them, Fang Chang was the best with the Human Alliance language, but his so-called proficiency was only relative to the other players—the equivalent of "middle school English" to "broken English."

Tomato Scrambled Eggs looked at his teammates with a complex expression.

"Should we break them up?"

Old White turned to Fang Chang.

The latter pondered for a moment and shook his head.

"Don't act rashly. What if this triggers a storyline?"

Quit Smoking nodded in realization.

"Good point!"

Then let them keep fighting.

After all, neither old man had much combat power, and there was no fear of a fatality.

Just then, the control room door opened, and looking at the power armor that appeared at the door, the eyes of the players in the room instantly lit up.

Here it comes!

Indeed, this had triggered a storyline!

"Stop!"

A thunderous voice came from the doorway, causing the two old men who were exchanging blows to involuntarily halt and turn their attention towards the azure power armor.

One of them, with sparse hair and wearing ragged clothing, clearly recognized the equipment on Chu Guang's body. A glimmer of excitement, even tears, appeared in his murky pupils.

"Mr. Sven... is that you?"

Sven?

Is this old man from Shelter No.117?

Chu Guang's expression subtly changed, and with two light taps of his index finger on the side of his helmet, he unlocked the face mask.

As the helmet lifted to reveal the young face below, the old man froze on the spot.

"...I am the Manager from Shelter No. 404, also the Manager of the New Alliance. You can call me Chu Guang. As for the Sven Vilard you mentioned, he passed away many years ago."

The old man's expression dimmed, his eyes and brows drooping slightly.

"Passed away... of course, it's been so many years."

The old man in the Blue Jacket, still panting heavily, muttered softly.

"The New Alliance? That post-war reconstruction committee? Didn't it fall apart over a century ago?"

Suddenly, Heya popped up from behind Chu Guang, staring at the ragged old man for a moment before exclaiming in shock.

"Zhao Yuan?!"

The old man looked at Heya and hesitated.

"You are... Heya?"

Never expecting to see a fellow refugee from the same shelter after twenty years, Heya nodded excitedly.

"It's me! How did you... end up like this?"

"Natural aging... I wasn't young even twenty years ago, let alone now," the old man's eyes shifted, seemingly guilty.

Chu Guang glanced at Heya, who was rarely seen showing such emotional excitement.

He had thought she would hate these traitors who destroyed her homeland, yet she was unexpectedly magnanimous upon meeting her fellow countryman.

"Do you know him?"

"Yes!"

With her snowy white hair gently swaying, Heya nodded vigorously, excitedly saying, "He and my master were both experts in bionic organ research. I can't believe we're all still alive... By the way."

Heya turned to the old man, her eyes filled with hopeful inquiry.

"Where is Karen? Isn't she with you?"

"She went south... Many followed that guy called Wang Yi," Zhao Yuan's eyes flickered with anger and regret as he muttered to himself, "Those Waste Land Wanderers are no good, should've let them perish on their own! I should've seen that sooner!"

Chu Guang stared at the old man for a while.

"Are you with the Torch Church?"

"The Torch Church? You mean the Torch?" The old man paused, then said softly with his head lowered, "Indeed, I joined the Torch over twenty years ago... and it's the biggest regret of my life."

It seemed that the Torch hadn't yet evolved into a religion at that time, and this old man was unaware of where his former companions had gone or what they had done.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

The man standing before him was likely one of the initial few "rebels" who founded the Torch, and it was their actions that lead to the downfall of Shelter No.117.

Judging by the old man's battered clothing and weathered face, he had suffered much hardship over these twenty years.

Chu Guang turned towards the other old man, taking in the Blue Jacket he wore.

"And you? Are you a survivor from Shelter No.117 too?"

Before the old man could speak, Zhao Yuan glared at him accusingly.

"He is no survivor of Shelter No.117; he's just a dog, one raised by those bandits!"

"Sun Zewen, from Shelter No. 401," regardless of the cursing, disheveled old man, the one in the Blue Jacket cleared his throat and spoke politely, "Respected Manager of Shelter No. 404, and master of the New Alliance... Thank you for extending your aid to us in our time of need."

Disdainful of the man's affectations, Zhao Yuan sneered.

"Mr. Chu Guang, please don't be fooled by his honeyed words; he's clearly an accomplice to those Looters! According to the laws of the Human Alliance, he should be sentenced to at least three hundred years without the possibility of cryosleep for crimes against humanity."

The word in Zhao Yuan's statement seemed to have struck a nerve, and Sun Zewen, who was poised and polite just a second ago, suddenly glared at the old man with rage.

"What's wrong with surviving? Who was it that let those outsiders in? Was it me? I also refuse to acknowledge your accusations. I did nothing except helping them tame a bunch of monkeys."

"Did nothing?" Zhao Yuan looked at him with contempt, "Including that girl they gave you? The age difference spans centuries, how could you even...?"

Sun Zewen's face flushed red, then purple, and he could no longer hold back, eventually choking out,

"I... I had no choice! What do you think would have become of her if I hadn't accepted? And what're centuries... you can't count the years I spent in cryosleep."

Chu Guang listened to the two quarreling with interest, getting a rough idea of what happened. It was then he noticed a body with a tragic death in the corner of the wall and turned to ask the players.

"Who is that person?"

Wagging his tail excitedly, Garbage Duke stepped forward.

"I took him out!"

"He's Tus!"

Although he didn't understand what Chu Guang had just said, Zhao Yuan guessed that the Manager was inquiring about the identity of the deceased and immediately followed up.

"He's the leader of the bandits here, with countless lives on his hands. It can be said that his crimes are so grave he deserves more than death! I ask that you not blame your soldiers."

Chu Guang smiled and said,

"Of course, I won't blame them. In the territories of the New Alliance, our attitude towards Looters has always been zero tolerance."

Hearing this, the old man named Sun Zewen trembled in the shoulders.

"My lord, I—"

Chu Guang looked at him.

"I believe you had no choice in the matter. The laws of the New Alliance will not pursue the past. I don't care what you did before; from the moment I stand here, I hope you can start anew and become someone useful to society, to civilization."

Now was the Wasteland Era, an age even more chaotic than an era of strife. Humanity had even fallen from the top of the food chain—pursuing the past was meaningless now.

Moreover, who on this wasteland was truly good?

Including Zhao Yuan himself.

Chu Guang certainly didn't think the Torch was anything good, but he equally had no desire to delve into what happened in the other shelters.

Sun Zewen bowed his head, trembling, and said,

"Thank you for your mercy."

Zhao Yuan's face still had a trace of indignation and unrest, but he said nothing more.

These people had saved his life.

After all, he had said, he couldn't force them to understand and sympathize with the hardship he had endured.

At that moment, footsteps came from the corridor outside.

Yin Fang, who had returned from Shelter No. 401, held a tablet in his hand and burst into the room like a gust of wind.

"Amazing! You'd never guess what I've found!"

Before Chu Guang could ask what he had discovered, Yin Fang excitedly blurted out,

"A Resonance Field!"

"I've been searching for it for half a year, and I never thought it would be right here!"

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Chu Guang, excitement in his voice,

"We've struck gold!"

...

Everything started over two hundred years ago.

It was around 2111, two years before the scandal that almost closed the zoo. A letter from a distant colony and the samples it brought stirred the entire fields of biology and sociology.

The original letter could no longer be found, but as a professional archaeologist, Yin Fang had pieced together the gist of the letter based on the limited clues.

In a nutshell, the colony was plagued by exoplanetary lifeforms, with frequent organic activities posing a significant threat to the safety of the colonists.

Initially, the colonists used an "infrasound fence" provided by their home planet to drive away the alien lifeforms. However, over time, they found that the seemingly harmless infrasound fence caused serious health issues for the colonists.

Due to the limited scientific research conditions in the colony, the colonists hoped that the academic community on the home planet could extend a helping hand to help them develop a harmless shielding field that would prevent the alien lifeforms from harassing the colony.

After securing the agreement of the relevant departments of the Human Alliance, the colonists sent several samples of extraterrestrial life, and this was the first time the home planet of Human Alliance received biological samples from the colonies.

Before this, biologists of the Human Alliance who wanted to study lifeforms of extrastellar systems had to take the sole monthly immigration flight to visit personally.

As the Human Alliance was just beginning to venture into the Star Sea and not yet skilled in mastering gravity channels, the development of extrasolar colonies was low. Thus, flights to the colonies were basically one-way; it was hard to return once you went.

It goes without saying how precious these samples were.

The samples from the colony and the plea for help quickly gained widespread attention in various circles of the Human Alliance. The research on alternatives to the "infrasound fence" became a hot topic, attracting the participation of numerous scholars.

"Wait... extrasolar colonies?"

Listening to Yin Fang's narrative, Chu Guang rubbed his temples and said with a slight headache, "I always thought the territory of the Human Alliance only extended to the Kuiper Belt."

Heya was also clueless.

She grew up in a shelter and had only seen the sky for the first time a few months ago, let alone known about extrasolar colonies.

Yin Fang spoke patiently,

"That perception isn't wrong after all, going to extrasolar colonies and going to colonies on Mars or the Moon are completely different concepts... But that doesn't concern us. Those places are too far from us, I don't know much more than you do."

Yin Fang coughed lightly, steering the topic back from where Chu Guang had led it astray.

"Continuing from where we left off... the dissection of extraterrestrial lifeforms opened the eyes of the academic world. Reliable evidence suggested that these extraterrestrial lifeforms, over tens or even millions of years of evolution, developed a unique beehive social structure. They work together like ants, each with its duty, selectively expressing their genes as needed by their group, even altering their own genetics."

"Isn't it astonishing? A bunch of Variants who haven't even invented internal combustion engines yet mastered the secrets of evolution; if only I had been born in that era..."

A hint of envy appeared in Yin Fang's eyes as he continued, looking at his tablet,

"Anyway, based on these research findings, the research team from the Biomedical Research Institute of South Gate University brought out their 'Resonance Theory' set and boldly speculated that those extraterrestrial lifeforms were controlled by some Unified Consciousness."

"To prove this conclusion, the team leader found a medical enterprise called Silver Hope, using their resources and connections with the Third Ecological Conservation Park in Qingquan City, hoping to utilize the park's ground and animals to study the Resonance Field."

Chu Guang: "…Did they succeed?"

"More than succeeded," said Yin Fang with admiration, "They were inspired by the extraterrestrial lifeform samples, built upon the Resonance Theory, put forward the Resonance Theory, and designed a set of Mind Interference Devices—they could output specific messages and amplify them exponentially on an individual."

"This message could be as specific as a sentence or as complex as an image, vague like a dream, or simply a pure emotion. The higher the intelligence, the more specific information it could accept but the less impacted it was by it. Conversely, the lower the intelligence, the less specific information it could accept, but it was more significantly influenced."

Chu Guang stroked his chin.

"I see."

The intelligence of a monkey probably fell somewhere between humans and a Hyena?

Possessing a degree of intelligence, capable of understanding simple orders, but not highly intelligent, and thus susceptible to influence by the Mind Interference Device.

The Mind Interference Device designed by Shelter No.401 seemed quite similar to the device used by the Torch Church.

Only the latter seemed to have modified it to some extent, turning the "AOE Skill" into a point-to-point single-target ability.

"...This device is far more reliable than an infrasound fence, not only utilizing less energy, offering more application scenarios, and having fewer side effects, but also affecting only specific life forms, with adjustable frequencies."

"As long as you continuously emit an emotion of fear towards the surrounding exoplanetary creatures, they will conscientiously stay away from the colony. In the field of agriculture and animal husbandry, it can also accelerate the reproduction rate of animals."

"However, the corporation sponsoring them clearly wasn't content with just this accomplishment; they quickly turned their attention to the customers, and so the experiments continued, but with the zoo animals replaced by visitors."

"Various signs showed they were still successful. Although it's difficult for higher minds to be directly influenced by such a device, under the relentless prompting of 'buy it,' the sales of ecological preservation park souvenirs hit an all-time high, with many visitors paying the price of a smart wearable device for a commodity worth no more than a bottle of spring water... This nearly overturned the advertising industry."

Chu Guang stared at Yin Fang with his mouth agape.

"This is possible?"

"People of the Prosperity Epoch were all monsters... whether researchers or merchants," Yin Fang lamented genuinely, "Of course, that corporation was indeed punished into bankruptcy, which is true. Those who treat others like idiots usually don't end up well. All involved were prosecuted, and it's said that the heaviest sentence handed down isn't even over yet."

Sun Zewen, who had been listening quietly by the side, had a face flushed with shame and guilt emerged on his face.

"Stop talking..."

All this information was stored in the deepest part of Shelter No. 401's server. He had never told anyone and had no idea how this guy dug it all up.

Chu Guang looked at the man before him in surprise.

"You were sentenced too?"

Holy shit.

What a talent!

This was his first time meeting an old stick-in-the-mud from the Human Alliance Era.

Responding to Chu Guang's surprised look, Sun Zewen said with a bitter smile,

"I was just a minor researcher... The main responsible parties indeed received heavy sentences, but it didn't go as far as implicating us."

Yin Fang looked at him with interest and said,

"And you even obtained a ticket to enter Shelter No. 401."

Sun Zewen was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, I won't deny that my survival to this point is somewhat related to my research. After all, technology itself is innocent; it can free our fellow colonists from the harassment of extraterrestrial creatures. It's just regrettable... Such a newly born technology has been misused by the wrong people in the wrong place."

"I agree with you, technology itself is neither good nor bad; it's the people using it that need to be regulated," Chu Guang nodded approvingly and paused for a moment before continuing.

"Now it's not just the distant world that suffers from the invasion of Variants, but the very land beneath our feet as well. The New Alliance needs your technology, and I hope you can put it to more meaningful use."

With this device, the control of Variants would no longer depend on enclosing walls, and the farmlands, pasturelands, and villages near the settlements would no longer have to worry about the harassment of the Variants.

However, this technology was not without risks.

Once the frequency was adjusted to match the human brain's compatibility range, it was tantamount to opening Pandora's box.

Although the mental resonance had limited effects on higher-minded creatures, continuous and unceasing emotional input was no different from brainwashing.

And the impact was indiscriminate.

Thinking about how the Torch Church also possessed similar technology, Chu Guang couldn't help but be internally vigilant.

He was a man with principles.

But whether others had any was another matter.

He had to take over the legacy of Shelter No. 401, not just to deal with Variants and the Tide, but also to develop means of counteraction.

"Of course, respected Manager," Sun Zewen said, bowing his head humbly, "It would be my honor to serve the great New Alliance."

To be honest, he didn't care about all this.

The world has already become what it is now; whoever used the knowledge in his head, it was still getting used. At least the man in front of him seemed a lot better than those Looters.

Zhao Yuan, standing aside, had been silent the whole time.

He glanced at Sun Zewen, who had decisively pledged allegiance to a new master, and then at Chu Guang, who wore the ex-Manager's gear, before suddenly speaking up.

"You said the same thing to that person."

Chu Guang, realizing he was being addressed, curiously glanced at him.

"Which person?"

"Wang Yi... the boy we rescued from the Wasteland. We raised him, and because of him, we split twice. Perhaps we never should have opened that door," the old man said, regret flickering through his cloudy eyes as he lowered his head.

Chu Guang remembered that name.

That name marked the beginning of Shelter No. 117's dissolution and was also, a decade later, the leader of the Torch Church—his followers called him "Saint Heir."

Since making contact with the Pioneer, Chu Guang had been collecting information about the various forces on the Wasteland as best as he could, sifting through it to identify useful leads.

"I've been meaning to ask since earlier, after you left Shelter No. 117, did you stay here for a while?"

"Shelter No. 401 offered us an olive branch. Their Mind Interference Device could drive away Variants within a three-kilometer radius, and we initially planned to establish a base here, then relocate the stubborn old folks from Shelter No. 117, to show them up with a beautiful new home... but that Wang Yi, he believed we should continue southward to find that sample of exoplanetary life."

Zhao Yuan's Adam's apple bobbed, his tone heavy.

"We parted ways again... Only three of us, including myself, stayed, while the rest followed Wang Yi to the south. I even suspect that they were all brainwashed by that so-called Resonance Field or Mind Interference Device."

"Don't make false accusations, the Resonance Field doesn't have that function," Sun Zewen, now allied with his new employer, was much bolder than before, and scoffed at the old man, "Haven't you ever considered that it might be your own failing? Like being too gullible?"

Zhao Yuan grew angry again.

"Who are you calling gullible?"

As the two seemed about to argue once more, Chu Guang, his head aching, was about to step in to mediate.

However, just then, Heya suddenly muttered softly.

"Karen... my master is still alive."

The anger in his eyes was gradually replaced by a shade of guilt, and the old man slowly lowered his head, falling silent for a long time before saying,

"I didn't know..."

"But like you, she could live a long time under normal circumstances."

"If nothing unexpected happened, she's probably still out there."

-

(Thank you to the "Falling Feather of the Ji family" for the Sterling Silver alliance reward!! Big shout out to the big boss!!)

Chapter 292: Can Silver Coins Be Exchanged for Money Now?!

"… the ignorant old fool," Chu Guang muttered. "If I had told those Looters that he had several valuable bionic components on him, would he still be alive? He would have been whittled down to nothing by now!"

Watching the figure head downstairs, Professor Sun Zewen hummed to himself as he limped toward his own room.

The Manager of the New Alliance had arranged a new job for him—he could continue his research on Resonance Fields and Mind Interference Devices.

Chu Guang planned to deploy a Psyche Interference Tower near the settlement to drive away mutated hyenas, moles, cockroaches, two-headed dogs, brown bears, Hu wolves, and falcons among other common Variants.

The specific method was to emit emotions of fear through the Resonance Field, either driving the Variants to the players' hunting grounds or at least away from farmlands and villages.

The current problem was that different creatures had their own specific "frequencies." Although he had existing data to reference, specific research for each species was still required.

But before that, he needed to return to his room to pack up his luggage as he had to visit Shelter No. 401 to download data, then head to the New Alliance headquarters—Shelter No. 404—to start his new life.

Yin Fang remained in the control room, touching and examining the terminal that controlled the mind control tower, constantly muttering incredulously.

There was too much here that baffled him.

"… How does this thing work? Simulate brain wave frequencies? No… it doesn't seem related to brain waves… What's the medium for transmitting information?"

Heya was unusually disinterested, biting her lip, her eyes filled with complexity as if she was preoccupied with something.

As for Chu Guang, he was not concerned about his two subordinates at that moment; instead, he was fixated on the tablet in his hand, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The spoils were quite astonishing this time.

One was an old professor who specialized in "Resonance Field Theory" and "Mind Interference Devices."

Although Professor Sun Zewen was obscure in the pre-war era, he was still an old stick who had been frozen over from two hundred years ago.

The other was a researcher in bionics, a bit rigid or naïvely sweet in character, but that didn't impact his expertise in his field.

For Chu Guang, the price paid for all this was merely some Contribution Points and silver coins.

An absolute steal!

The only imperfection was that three other residents of Shelter No. 117 had unfortunately perished, which is why there were three skeletons and an iron plate engraved with a torch at the entrance of the ecological park.

The losses at Shelter No. 401 were equally severe, with only six of the "new generation" residents surviving besides the self-preserving Sun Zewen.

These six had experienced the vilest torments at the hands of the Looters, almost losing their human form, their eyes devoid of any light.

Chu Guang assigned all of them to Professor Sun Zewen as his research assistants.

Residents of the shelter lived much longer than Waste Land Wanderers, and though these people were also not young, they had elite education from the shelter, making their foundation much stronger than that of a typical Waste Land Wanderer.

The technology related to "Resonance Field Theory" and "Mind Interference Devices" must be passed down.

Clearly, Professor Sun Zewen understood this, so he readily accepted the task Chu Guang assigned him.

As for the other 109 slaves who were rescued, most of them were bought from slave traders by Tus. Chu Guang instructed the Ox and Horse Squadron to bring them back to the City of Dawn along with the seized spoils.

Adapting to a new life required time.

Before granting them freedom, Chu Guang first needed to ensure that they were capable of making a living instead of becoming a menace to society.

Fortunately, up until now, the job opportunities provided by the New Alliance far exceeded the labor supply. The series of measures Chu Guang adopted to stimulate the economy had attracted a massive influx of merchants. Rapid expansion was evident in both the primary and the secondary sectors.

Chu Guang had already spoken with Old Luka, who would be responsible for settling these unfortunate people afterward.

Besides tallying the spoils of war, with the assistance of Xiao Qi, Chu Guang had also briefly organized the intelligence collected earlier.

As he suspected, twenty years ago, Torch had been here and copied the research materials related to the resonance field from Shelter No. 401.

The collar worn by Chu Guang's pet, named Nicole, was a device modified based on a similar technological principle.

Although it was impossible to control the Death Claws through the indiscriminate resonance field, it was a different story when tubes were directly inserted into the brain.

Due to ideological and goal divergences, Torch at Shelter No. 401 split into two groups: one part headed south in search of specimens of alien life, while the other stayed to build a home.

Later on, those who stayed, including Professor Zhao Yuan out of pity, rescued a group of refugees who had fled from Giant Stone City—including Tus, whom The Waste King had torn apart.

Then, it was just like the story of 'the Farmer and the Snake.'

The refugees were not at all interested in their ideals; relying on cunning and surprise attacks, they easily subdued the privileged Blue Jackets and used their technology to produce drugs.

This series of events had entirely disheartened Professor Zhao Yuan regarding his faith in the Waste Land Wanderers.

As for the exocolony mentioned by that old icy stick named Sun Zewen...

That was still too remote for the current Chu Guang.

However, Chu Guang still had Xiao Qi update the relevant entries on the official website's setting collection as a supplement to the world view.

...

Ecological Protection Park's underground level.

There was an underground tunnel here that connected to the nearby subway station. Passengers arriving here via rail could directly reach the park through the tunnel.

However, now, like most of the subway tunnels in Qingquan City, this tunnel had turned into a paradise for the Eaters.

At that moment, a beam of light illuminated the dark corridor, and heavy footsteps echoed from the direction of the stairs.

The Eaters lurking in the darkness all turned their gaze to the annoying light, hissing and growling with their rotten mouths.

However, before they could approach, thunderous gunfire erupted in the tunnel.

Sparks leaped through the tunnel, and the Eaters fell one after another. In no time, there were more than twenty bodies on the ground.

With the muzzle still smoking, Chu Guang, clad in power armor, cleanly and efficiently changed the magazine, followed by another round of rapid gunfire.

After the gunfire ceased, he put away the smoking gun and casually spoke to Professor Sun Zewen, who was following behind him.

"Didn't the Looters consider cleaning up this place?"

With his eardrums nearly shattered, Professor Sun Zewen massaged his ears with a pained expression. It took him a while to recover.

"Clean up this place? They wouldn't bother with such ungrateful tasks. Those short-sighted Barbarians only want to earn more plastic chips... I only found out later that the survivors on the wasteland actually use casino chips as money."

Chu Guang, "It's not everyone, just more popular on this side of Qingquan City."

Professor Sun Zewen asked curiously.

"You guys?"

"We certainly have our own money."

The entrance to Shelter No. 401 lay down this hallway, cunningly disguised as a workshop in the pre-war era, bearing a "No Entry for Strangers" sign, separated from the visitors by a locked door.

But now, the door was the least of concerns. Even the fist-thick wall was mostly dismantled, leaving only debris on the ground behind a half-open alloy giant door.

"Over twenty years ago, when the electricity in the shelter was exhausted, we had no choice but to evacuate underground and establish a refuge on the surface... this place has been abandoned since then."

Professor Sun Zewen took the lead, guiding Chu Guang into the shelter.

Since the reactor had shut down, it was pitch black behind the gear-shaped alloy giant door; even the air purification system had entered hibernation, with only a few critical functional devices maintaining minimal energy consumption on emergency power.

Although Yin Fang had visited here before, he had only briefly collected the publicly stored data in the shelter and not explored its interior in detail.

Considering that this place would become a new gathering point for players in the future, Chu Guang felt it necessary to come here himself.

Just as Chu Guang set foot inside the shelter, a pale blue pop-up appeared in his field of view.

"Mission: Restart the fusion reactor of Shelter No. 401"

"Reward: Managerial authority of Shelter No. 401"

Witnessing the pale blue pop-up before his eyes, a look of surprise spread across Chu Guang's face.

Well, well.

He had barely stepped in when he triggered a mission to obtain managerial authority.

Was it that simple?

"Shelter No. 401 has four floors: the first and second floors are residential areas, the third floor is a recreational area, and the fourth floor is a planting area. Theoretically, its maximum shelter capacity is 1600 people, but it can actually accommodate up to 2000."

Chu Guang said somewhat surprised.

"That's one more level than Shelter No. 117."

Professor Sun Zewen nodded.

"Yes, but the budget for Shelter No. 117 is much higher than ours; their per capita living space can even be 40 square meters, while we only have half of that."

Saying this, a trace of emotion crossed the old man's face.

"Unable to tolerate the confined space, many have chosen to undergo cryogenic hibernation... including myself. However, cryogenic hibernation doesn't solve the problem. As our energy reserves gradually fell below critical levels, we had to wake up from hibernation and head to the surface in search of hope before the electricity was completely exhausted."

Chu Guang's expression was subtly complex.

Twenty square meters per person also called confined?

Then his Shelter No. 404 was practically a prison.

However, having so many rooms here indeed helped Chu Guang a lot.

At present, he had transformed Shelter No. 117 into double rooms, increasing the capacity from 500 players to 1000.

With the addition of 2000 "beds" from Shelter No. 401, squeezing another 400 rooms to accommodate the added players of the Beta 0.1 version shouldn't be too difficult!

The current priority was to find fuel rods to restore power here and to inherit the managerial authority of this place.

Following Professor Sun Zewen, Chu Guang took a general tour inside the shelter.

Compared to Shelter No. 117, which emphasized comfort, this place had a somewhat institute-like feel.

The single rooms ranged from 20 to 30 square meters, each with a private bathroom and a fridge, with many holding uneaten, spoiled chocolates and biscuits.

The living conditions here were definitely not lacking.

Even the plantation area's orchard had cocoa and coffee trees planted in it, although, regrettably, these plants had long since died.

However, to Chu Guang's delight, when he reached the back of the plantation area, he stumbled upon an unexpected surprise.

It was a freezer containing seeds of over a dozen types of crops.

Seeds of cocoa and coffee trees were also preserved!

And the quantity stored was not small!

Judging from the blinking pale green signal light, the freezer was still running smoothly.

"Can these seeds still be used?" Chu Guang asked excitedly.

Professor Sun nodded.

"Of course, the seed bank has its own power supply... even if the reactor shuts down, these seeds can be preserved for one to two centuries. In fact, we planted some around the ecopark... only for the looters to take over and let the crops go to waste."

He wasn't aware of the specifics there.

Though the looters granted him a degree of freedom, they didn't allow him to leave the ecopark, let alone venture into the surrounding forests.

Having explored the plantation area on floor B4, Chu Guang had a general understanding of Shelter No. 401.

The two returned to the entrance of the shelter.

Chu Guang glanced at the partially opened alloy giant door, then suddenly asked,

"How many people were there when your door first opened?"

Professor Sun thought for a moment before answering.

"About seven hundred."

Chu Guang expressed surprise.

"It actually decreased?"

Sun Zewen sighed.

"People who didn't want to sleep are all dead now, those who are alive are not optimistic about the future, and very few are willing to reproduce. I heard that while I was sleeping, the Manager broke the black box for producing birth control injections, but it turned out to be useless… Ultimately, the refuge is just too small, there will always be various problems."

Chu Guang asked, "What about the remaining people?"

Sun Zewen replied, "Most of the original residents have died of old age, some of the new generation died in the tide, others because they fell severely ill due to the unsuitable water and soil. Then the incidents that you had already learned about occurred… In the end, there are only seven of us left now, including me."

After a pause, the old man continued,

"The Manager of Shelter No. 404, I have a treasure I plan to offer you."

Chu Guang looked at him curiously.

"What treasure?"

Professor Sun Zewen's face showed a pleased expression.

"A black box! You are the Manager, so you definitely know what that is. I don't need to explain much. One of the black boxes is for making Blue Jackets, the other one is for producing VM. The former's variable-temperature material is a real boon, and the latter has even wider applications. It can be converted into various survival tools and even recycle cabron nano-electronic components."

Chu Guang looked at the old man in astonishment.

"The Looters didn't take those?"

Professor Sun Zewen chuckled mischievously.

"Looters? Those uncouth barbarians don't understand the value of such treasures. I certainly had no reason to tell them about those goodies… but you are different. You are the Manager of the refuge. I believe you can make proper use of our legacy."

"But the problem now is… we had a little incident before, and the black box got locked inside the Manager's Office. To open the Manager's Office door, we first need to restart the reactor."

So, to recover the black box, they first needed to restore the power supply to the refuge?

Chu Guang said cheerfully,

"Thank you for your trust!"

"I promise you, we will make good use of these legacies."

The exploration team was already looking for clues about fuel rods, and Yin Fang had responded to him that there shouldn't be much issue, hopefully sorting it out within a week.

Although Chu Guang already had the black box for producing VM, who would mind having another?

Just like the black box for making Sleep Cabins, such broadly useful devices were naturally the more the merrier.

As for the black box for producing Blue Jackets, it was an unexpected boon for Chu Guang.

The Blue Jacket made from variable temperature material could automatically adjust its breathability and thermal dissipation according to the external environment, allowing the wearer's body temperature to maintain a comfortable range at all times.

From today onwards, players no longer had to worry about their clothes getting more tattered and daring not to wear their "limited edition skin" Blue Jackets for long trips!

…

"Wasteland OL" Official website.

Today's Forum was as lively as ever.

The cause was the Jungle Corps posting their battle video on the forum.

Those men in heavy armor wielding machine guns truly caught the eyes of many players of the same gender, leading to thousands of new players registering, at least half of them listing Strength Type as their first choice in the survey.

In comparison, the Burning Corps was slightly disadvantaged.

Although in terms of single-round combat power, the Burning Corps were clearly superior to the Jungle Corps, the personalized configuration of the Corps made them less recognizable in small-scale battles.

To put it plainly.

Steps in coordinated tank action might be efficient, but they lacked the visual impact of a steel torrent—ten KV-1 Exoskeletons welded with steel plates lined up, just the sight of those machine guns firing was enough to get the blood pumping.

However, although most of the limelight was stolen by the Jungle Corps, the Mosquito's air raid still dazzled many spectators.

Especially the incendiary bomb dropped at the end, which made the two factory heads from the neighboring Factory No. 81 claim it was unscientific.

Kid I Need the Bathroom exclaimed, "Damn! An incendiary bomb?"

Levin's Foot Odor, Who's Levin joked, "Bro, what thickening agent did you use?"

Real WC Mosquito replied jokingly, "Guess! (smirk)"

Soul Chaser explained, "You make aluminum stearate by mixing a sodium stearate solution with aluminum sulfate, thickening fuel is easy! Noob!"

Real WC Mosquito responded, "???"

Lower Your Voice, I'm Boren exclaimed, "Awesome!!! You guys are brutal!"

Lone Wolf of Doomsday suggested, "You guys should prepare a backup at the police station…"

Most of the veteran players' posts revolved around discussing the Legion System updates for the beta round, tactical matches, and gameplay, or they discussed the new map of the Eastern District of Qingquan City.

The entire Eastern District was a pristine forest.

Here, the vegetation density and air humidity were much higher than the north and west of Qingquan City, with a large number of wild Variants active in the collapsed ruins and densely vegetated streets.

Besides the Iron-Back Ape and Silver-Mouthed Snake, Brother Fang Chang summarized a few common monsters, updating his post for other players' reference.

This time not only Brother Fang Chang, but Wild Wind also unprecedentedly wrote a post, uploading photos of Shelter No. 401 he had taken.

Previously, when Yin Fang went to the refuge to recover data, Wild Wind coincidentally received an escort mission, and the photos were taken then.

"… Shelter No. 401, like Shelter No. 404, appears to have a controllable fusion reactor as its power source. However, due to the depletion of energy, the refuge is currently in a state of abandonment."

"I came across a task to find fuel rods in the exploration team, and I still recommend everyone to refresh the exploration team's Job Level when they have time. Although the tasks of the exploration team have long cycles, the rewards for completing a whole task chain are quite generous."

Wild Wind was rather tactful in his wording.

Considering these guys always shouted for a cut, he did not reveal how much they had gathered from Yin Fang.

However, despite knowing the high earnings of exploration team tasks, most players still preferred tasks from the Hunters Guild.

After all, the former often involved traveling many kilometers, venturing into uninhabited and unknown dangerous areas, and collecting those elusive files and data.

Even a minor mistake could lead to a complete wipeout for the entire team.

Without absolute confidence in themselves and their teammates, few non-hardcore players would choose such high-risk, high-reward missions.

As veteran players were sharing their strategies, the newbies from the B-round beta test also took to the Free Talk section where there was no posting threshold, sharing their "beta test feelings."

Falling Feather: "This game is way too hard. (Ｔ▽Ｔ)"

Clear Wind: "Aren't there any simpler monsters? Those howling Eaters are too scary. QAQ"

Sniper Bai: "There are, the roaches are much easier to bully than the Eaters, and they don't make a sound when they pop out, so quiet. (funny)"

Corner Old Six: "Ah, the newbies these days can't take a little hardship! Back in our day, as soon as we entered the game, we were hit with a tide, straight into hell mode."

Quit Smoking: "Dude, cut the bull! Seeing those Eaters chasing you as soon as you entered the game was unbearable!"

Unprofessional Tank: "Damn it! These guys are always on the forum talking about how cute the pigs are, saying they love pigs, but the moment they see me, they either want to pull down my pants or ask for my notebooks, making it impossible for any girls to team up with me! So annoying! ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ"

Difficult for the Strong: "Sob sob, don't mention it, bro. These face-chasers are really something! If you really can't stand it anymore, come to West State City. My house is quite large, and you're welcome to come. I'll take you leveling."

Unprofessional Tank: "Brother! I'm on my way! QAQ"

Elena: "Speed up to where big brother doesn't want. (funny)"

Teng Teng: "I can't even handle this pairing, am I still too young after all? (Ｔ▽Ｔ)"

Crow: "???"

Meow Meow Sesame Paste: "Meow meow meow?"

…

Shelter No.404.

It took Chu Guang the whole morning to move the Manager's Office to the viewing room on Floor B4.

This place not only had ready-made furniture but also an independent shower room, and it was considerably larger and much nicer than the makeshift office he had before.

Since this floor wasn't suitable to be opened to other players anyway, he figured he might as well make use of the space.

Sitting on a comfy sofa, Chu Guang was drinking the soda he endorsed while browsing the official forum to see what new tricks his little players had cooked up.

A week had passed since the Beta test had begun.

Over the past four days, thirty to forty newbies had joined the game daily, raising the server's player count from 1500 to 1620.

"Will we break two thousand in two weeks?"

Chu Guang glanced at the tablet beside him.

It listed last week's expenditures for various departments.

The most striking line was mission expenses.

In the past week, the refuge had paid out nearly 900,000 silver coins in task rewards.

The average daily income per player had also grown to 97 silver coins.

Of course, this number was mostly boosted by players in the T0~T2 tiers; the income growth curve for players below Level 10 was relatively flat.

Chu Guang had also realized.

The inflation caused by handing out money to players wasn't as high as anticipated.

On one hand, players had an internal economic system—A player's earnings would either be spent with another player B or at NPC shops operated collectively by the "Shelter," with only a small portion directly entering the market.

On the other hand, players didn't need to support families or rear children; at most, they had bigger appetites. Alongside everyone's habit of saving, their spending power wasn't as high as imagined.

The storage balance system established by Chu Guang in the early versions effectively stabilized the prices of basic commodities like food and minerals to some extent.

After several rounds of updates and adjustments, this system had matured.

However, expecting one system to solve all problems was unrealistic.

With the continuous increase in number and level of players, new issues gradually emerged.

It took too long for new players to collect a full set of gear; fitting a complete set required grinding for half a month, while old players had so many silver coins that they couldn't spend them all, forcing him to price high-end gear sky-high.

How to give new players enough game experience while encouraging old players to earn more?

Simple.

Build a "reservoir" to hold the excess silver coins.

With that thought, Chu Guang sat upright on the sofa, rattled away on his keyboard, and created a new folder.

[Beta 0.2 Version Update: Silver Coin Trading System]

[Changes: Players earning VM can digitize their silver coin assets, synchronizing them in real-time to their official forum accounts, to trade with other players in the form of digital currency.]

[Note: Backseat Drivers can also participate in trading.]

Of course, this was just a draft, and the specific trading details still needed to be carefully designed. But these were minor issues, with plenty of examples to draw from.

Looking at the document he had edited, a pleased smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

Although he couldn't directly hand out RMB to players working hard, someone else could always do it for him.

Chips, dinar, CR—who cares if they can convert to RMB?

He was not only giving players a reason to earn more diligently but also making them willingly hand over the foreign currency they earned.

As the value of silver coins increased, more valuable "professional" players would likely emerge.

"Complaining about not affording gear?"

"Whining every day for a P2W option?"

"The market's open, go play."

Chapter 293: Beta 0.2 Version! Trading Platform Goes Live!

[Wasteland OL Beta 0.2 Version Update Announcement!]

[Major Update:

1. "Official Silver Coin Trading Platform" launched!

]

[Optimization:

1. New NPC added: Professor Sun Zewen from the pre-war era. As an expert in "Resonance Field Theory" and "Mind Interference Technology," his expertise will help keep the Survivor Settlement in the New Alliance away from Variant disturbances.

2. New NPC added: Zhao Yuan, a survivor from Shelter No.117. As an expert in bionic prosthetics, his arrival fills a gap in this field for the New Alliance.

3. New gathering point unlocked: Shelter No. 401.

4. A few bugs fixed.

…

]

Beta 0.2 version update announcement released!

The official forum for Wasteland OL exploded instantly!

Only a week had passed since the release of Beta 0.1, and the production team had already dropped Beta 0.2!

This caught the players, who were used to Ah Guang's monthly update pace, completely off guard.

When did the Dog plan become so diligent?!

Especially the juicy details released in this update, which shocked all the players and backseat drivers.

Official Silver Coin Trading Platform is live!

Can we now sell Silver Coins for money?!

tail: "Giao! Can I now buy Silver Coins?!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Crow: "Been waiting since the Alpha version, and they finally developed this feature! Thanks, Paw Paw Planner! (Ｔ▽Ｔ)"

Quit smoking: "Official Silver Coin Trading Platform!? Brother Guang is awesome! (broken voice)"

Silver Daddy: "Hahahaha, finally, this feature is here! Silver Family is now buying Silver Coins! $2 each! Buy them fast!"

Elena: "What are you even thinking? (funny)"

Dinosaur Warrior on Face: "Buying Silver, buying Silver, does any big brother want to put up a listing? I'm offering $4!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Do you even have beta access?"

Dinosaur Warrior on Face: "Just look at the trading platform's instructions, it says even without beta access, you can trade!"

King's Domineering Aura: "I'll pay 100 RMB, just to buy a thousand coins! Not for anything else, I just want to support the dream. Either way, it's all about harvesting leeks, at least the PV of Wasteland OL entertained me."

Riding a Donkey to Market: "I'll give 1000!!"

Night Ten: "Damn, are you guys really rolling up like this?!"

Unlike the previous few updates.

This time Ah Guang didn't write any "Developer's Diary" post-update, he just posted a user guide for the official website's Silver Coin trading feature on the forum.

[

1. Silver Coins (NF Coins) can be transferred via forum private messages and can be listed for trade in the [Trading Section] of the forum, priced in any currency or virtual assets, whether digital currency, sovereign national currency, or other forms of assets. As long as both parties agree, even using Q-coin to settle is fine.

2. Wasteland OL operators only provide the trading channel and acknowledge the legality of transactions conducted through official methods, specific payments need to rely on third-party payment tools. It could be a bank card or a Bitcoin wallet, for specifics, see point 4.

3. Silver Coin trading will be conducted as listed trades, with the minimum denomination being one Silver Coin. Players can freely set prices and currency types and provide a clear payment account, which will be displayed categorized in the Trading Section of the forum. Silver Coins in the listing will be temporarily frozen until the listing is voluntarily withdrawn or a deal is made.

4. Once a buyer has purchased Silver Coins, they need to complete the payment promptly. The seller provides the trading account and confirms the reception to be regarded as a concluded deal. If the seller does not resolve the trade or there is a dispute within 24 hours, the paying party can upload a payment certificate, request official intervention for arbitration, after which the officials will verify using "special means" to determine whether the transaction was successful.

5. Players without beta access can also participate in transactions, but only after obtaining beta access and unlocking VM can they sync their forum assets to the game; otherwise, the acquired Silver Coins can only be traded on the forum.

6. A reliability system will be added to the forum account homepage, where behaviors like breaking agreements or shill bidding will deduct reliability points. If the reliability score falls below 80, trading will not be possible. This forum enforces a one-account-per-person system, please cherish your account and refrain from trying any silly smart moves.

7. Transactions will unilaterally charge a 5% trading tax, which will be levied on the listing party only. After completion, the tax will be collected in the form of Silver Coins. For example: if Player A lists one Silver Coin, 1.05 Silver Coins will be actually frozen, after the deal, Player B receives one Silver Coin while 0.05 Silver Coins are taken as the transaction tax by the game officials.

8. …

]

101. Transactions must comply with public order and good morals, and Wasteland OL operators have the final say in interpreting these terms, with firm penalties for violations.

]

The specific trading rules are numerous.

As with user terms in most games, regardless of their utility, everything that can be written down is included.

In fact, most players only need to understand the first seven rules; the rest are supplements and lists of violations.

From a usage standpoint, Wasteland OL's official Silver Coin trading platform merely provides a channel for players to trade virtual assets.

Comparable to the "Silver Coin consignment" feature in other MMOROGs.

The unique aspect of Wasteland OL is the absence of a microtransaction feature and no "point card" system; players decide for themselves what real-world assets to exchange for Silver Coins.

As long as someone is willing to pay.

It seems that the operators of Wasteland OL have no intention of engaging in financial transactions with players, not even charging transaction fees in Silver Coins.

Many onlookers were confused.

Had the game's operators not considered making money?

Letting the players take all the benefits.

Is this something a legitimate company would do?

What shocked the onlookers even more followed.

Less than five minutes after the Beta0.2 version was launched, the first listing quickly appeared at the top of the trading interface.

[Sell order: 1 Silver Coin]

[Price: 1BTC]

Si Si: "…how much is one BTC again? (nervous)"

Wild Wind: "Highs of several thousand US dollars, lows of a few thousand? I'm not that interested, haven't really looked into it. Fang Chang knows more about it, you could ask him."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Crazy! One Silver Coin for one BTC?! Only a fool would buy that!"

Though Professor Yang had never played the game, as a seasoned Backseat Driver, his understanding of the game far surpassed those newbies who had just gotten closed beta access.

Some newbies still haven't figured out what the map of the New Alliance looks like, yet Professor Yang clearly remembers the number of towers and cannons placed North of Far Creek Town in the outskirts.

Whether it's battle reports from major battles or gossip about the Manager and weapon shop owner, he talks about it all with authority.

After all, he's a man who spends 16 hours a day on the forums.

If it weren't for his account not having specific markers, most newbies wouldn't be able to tell if he was really a Backseat Driver.

Those onlookers might not understand the value of a Silver Coin, but Professor Yang certainly did.

It couldn't even buy a bowl of ramen!

To be accurate, it could only buy one-sixth of a bowl!

A newbie who had just started playing, given a new-player gift bag with 5 Silver Coins and can earn 3 to 5 Silver Coins from simple tasks.

One Silver Coin for one BTC?!

What kind of international joke is this!

However—

Something Professor Yang could never have dreamed of happened.

The [Trading] tag suddenly appeared next to the listing. And before everyone could even react, that [Trading] tag turned into [Completed].

The whole process was as smooth as breathing.

It wasn't just Professor Yang.

Countless people were stunned on the spot.

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "What the fuck?! Can't be real!"

Hanging Mutton Selling Dog's Head: "A Silver Coin for one BTC?! Impossible!"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Dark curtain! It must be a scam!"

Grandpa Ao: "No way, no way, does anyone honestly believe game currency can be exchanged for money? I've said it long ago, the game's operators are just harvesting leeks! Now they've hired a shill to help with their harvest. A fully immersive virtual reality game? Ha! My uncle is a VR industry titan, do you think I wouldn't know if such a game exists? Spending some money to shoot a few CG movies and fooling you all, that's just hilarious!"

Although a pet version may arrive late, it never fails to show up.

The Proud Brothers, who had been lying low before, finally seized the opportunity to jump out and start teasing.

However, at this moment, everyone was so shocked by the "One Silver Coin for One BTC" deal that no one had time to care about them.

Since the IDs of the trading parties were anonymously defaulted, only voluntary disclosure by the players would show them on the trading page, so no one knew who the buyer and seller were.

People were speculating about which big shot had offered such a high price to buy one-sixth of a bowl of ramen with BTC worth tens of thousands.

However, it remained unknown whether it was due to being low-key or realizing that they got a bad deal, but that big shot simply refused to show up.

Just then, the seller took the initiative to come forward.

Crow: "Um... The consignment order I just put up was just for fun. Sorry guys, I just wanted to try out the new version's features, I never thought it would actually sell... Big brother, can you reveal your identity? I'll give it back, okay? QAQ"

One Silver Coin sold for tens of thousands!

That's way too much!

Especially since everyone kept mentioning "Dark curtain," "Confused Boss," and "Dog plan hired shills," the kind-hearted Crow really couldn't bear it.

However, what she didn't expect was that it would have been better if she hadn't shown up, as the 'firepower' instantly focused on her as soon as she did.

Quit smoking: "Damn! The lucky winner is Boss Crow?!"

The Silver Sword: "Whaaa! Rich lady, I'm starving!"

Elena: "Pass it on! Boss Crow got taken in by Big Brother! (playful face)"

Fang Chang: "Pass it on! Big Brother is a shill hired by the planners! (sarcastic look)"

WC is really a Mosquito: "What?! Boss Crow was taken in by Dog plan???"

Tail: "Whoa! Si, this game is too realistic! (✪ω✪)

Crow: "Scram! (╯°□°)╯︵┻━┻"

In the end, the mysterious big spender never showed up and rumors became increasingly bizarre, yet none seemed credible.

However, thanks to that incredibly priced Silver Coin, spurred by the allure of real money, countless players followed suit and posted their sell orders, causing a surge of Game Currency into the forums outside the "Game world" and flirting the normally stagnant trading interface with activity.

While some people were jokingly putting up one Silver Coin for the price of a house, most were aiming to make a deal with relatively "normal" prices.

After a series of intense fluctuations, the transaction price of Silver Coins finally stabilized in the range of 50~60 RMB.

Deals above this price range rarely took place, but those below it vanished almost instantly, only to be resold at a higher price, creating a "dynamic equilibrium" through the mutual forces of buying and selling.

Although a few players chose to settle with US Dollars or other currencies and cryptocurrencies, the vast majority still used RMB.

Not only players were buying, but Backseat Drivers were buying even more aggressively.

It was rumored that the more Silver Coins one held, the higher the chance to be selected for beta testing, causing a lot of reservation players without any beta invites to compulsively purchase in hopes of getting one.

Some people were genuinely optimistic about the future appreciation of Wasteland's Silver Coins, or simply didn't think much about it, treating it as a zero-sum game where they could buy low and sell high to make a profit.

There were also a very few people who were simply loaded and bought out of pure whimsy without any particular reason.

One way or another, this wave could definitely be considered a release of inflation.

...

In a corner of the computer lab at a certain university.

Sitting in front of a computer, Ye Wei browsed the official forum of Wasteland OL, itching with temptation.

Seeing the listings of 5 Silver Coins, 10 Silver Coins floating upwards, Ye Wei finally could not resist, and decided to try his luck by hanging 800 Silver Coins for sale.

"One Silver Coin... I'll just set it at 50 bucks."

Ye Wei had just confirmed the set price when he started to feel anxious.

Forty thousand yuan!

Isn't that too much?

800 Silver Coins were equivalent to four LD-47 assault rifles, which Level 10 players would normally need a week to grind out.

Unless deliberately saving money, an average player really couldn't pull out that many Silver Coins. After all, in this game, not only did one have to spend money on equipment, but even taking a shower in the shelter was charged by time.

However, for him, who had been working in "Game" from its launch, these silver coins were just a moderate amount.

Previously, after they had completed the "Shelter No. 401" related task chain, the scientific expedition team paid them a one-time sum of silver coins, which amounted to four figures for each person.

Ye Wei hadn't even thought that such a huge sale order would really be completed, spending tens of thousands before playing in a closed beta test was beyond his imagination.

However, to Ye Wei's surprise, just as he was considering whether to break down the big order, in the blink of an eye, his placed sale order had disappeared.

At the same time, a system notification popped up in the bottom right corner of the forum.

[System: Please re-enter "payment method" and "receiving account" to confirm the transaction.]

Seeing the message sent from the backend, Ye Wei, sitting in front of the computer, felt as if his heart had stopped.

"Holy shit… is this for real?!"

He swallowed unconsciously.

Just like when he first clicked that "YES" that opened the door to a new world, driven by some divine intervention, Ye Wei clicked on the link and entered the account details and transfer information.

This time, he chose to trust again.

There was actually no reason for doubt.

He had played for so long, no one knew better than him that the game genuinely existed.

Moreover…

There wasn't much money in that card.

As soon as he received his living expenses and tuition fees, he transferred it all to his YUEbao.

The backend was silent for a while.

These long five minutes felt like an eternity.

Ye Wei's palms sweated nervously, almost feeling his own heartbeat. This uneasy throbbing was more nerve-racking than facing a tumultuous tide.

The mobile phone placed on the table suddenly lit up.

Almost reflexively, Ye Wei picked up the phone and immediately unlocked the screen.

And at the same time, the bank's message appeared before his eyes.

[...40000.00 yuan has been credited.]

For a moment, Ye Wei even forgot to breathe, without any hesitation, he immediately logged into the banking APP.

Messages might be sent incorrectly.

But the numbers in the account can't be an illusion.

Account balance—

40000.23 yuan!

He was completely stunned.

"Really turned into money…"

Holding the mouse, Ye Wei clicked confirm in a trance-like state.

A small window popped up in the bottom right corner of the webpage.

[Seller (Anonymous): Oh! A hefty sum arrived! Thanks, you've been a huge help! (Sunglasses)]

[(Transaction closed, thank you for your support)]

Thank you—

That's what I should be saying.

Ye Wei swallowed again, looking at the balance on his phone's screen, feeling his whole arm trembling.

His monthly living expenses were only 2000 yuan.

40000 yuan

This hefty sum was equivalent to twenty months of his living expenses!

-

(I woke up late today… didn't finish writing, consider this a half-day off from me QAQ)

Chapter 294 Players Outside the Game

"800 silver coins equals 40,000 yuan, 8,000 silver coins equals 400,000 yuan, 80,000 silver coins equals 4 million yuan… 4 million yuan…"

Alright.

That calculation actually has a big problem.

You don't need a groundbreaking immersive virtual reality RPG game; anyone who has played a couple of phenomenon-level MMORPGs would understand what "G price" really means.

By the time he can casually put up hundreds of thousands of silver coins for sale on the forum, silver coins would have probably lost their value long ago.

But—

If others reach level 20 while he manages to get to level 30 or even level 40, if others wear power armor while he pilots an interstellar battleship and drops power armor from above, what does it matter if silver coins have lost their value?

When others have ten thousand silver coins in their pockets, he might have billions in his.

As long as he stays in the top tier, always ahead of the version, even if silver coins drop to one yuan for 50, he still might not make less than when it was 50 yuan for one silver coin.

If a new version launches, new equipment is released, or a large number of players join the game, the price of silver coins might actually increase.

Currently, Wasteland OL has only 1,600 beta testers, but the number of preregistered users has already surpassed a million. People, relying on exciting game screenshots and CGI videos, have driven the price of silver coins sky-high amidst unscientific cries.

How did we even get here?

Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, everyone will own a helmet and merely closing their eyes will open a second world, pushing human civilization into a new era.

By then, regardless of the price of silver coins, his returns would be far more than just 40,000 yuan, possibly even over 400 million yuan...

This is just the beginning!

Ye Wei felt his heart racing.

This was the first time he'd ever considered going professional.

On the way back from the computer room to his dorm, Ye Wei, loaded with a hefty sum, felt as if he were floating, only remembering at the doorstep that he had forgotten to eat lunch.

"Ah Weh, missing your girl?"

"Get lost."

Ye Wei looked up at his roommate lying on the bed.

That short guy, Sun Gan, was very close to him. They used to play duo matches in games frequently, but he had quit some time ago.

Ordinary games no longer satisfied him.

"Coming to eat?"

His roommate replied with a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, if someone's treating, I'm there."

"I'm treating."

His friend's eyes widened in an instant.

"What the heck? For real?"

He was just joking around.

He hadn't planned on getting out of bed.

Hearing that there was a free meal, the other dorm leader and Brother Liu joined in the fun, cheering him on.

"Ah Weh is the boss!"

"Ye Wei is awesome!"

Ye Wei rolled his eyes.

"Quit your blabbering, get up fast."

The four of them hadn't eaten yet, so they went to the snack street together.

They found a well-rated lakeside fish grill, and Ye Wei casually marked a few items on the menu, which turned out to cost only 200 yuan.

He usually grudged spending 20 yuan on takeout, but now even this seemed cheap.

After all, 200 yuan was only 4 silver coins...

Calm down.

You can't think like that.

Ye Wei took a deep breath, trying to persuade himself to calm down.

Because just then, he suddenly realized that a few hours ago, he had eaten a bowl of noodles that cost 6 silver coins.

That was probably the most expensive bowl he had ever eaten in his life.

Seeing their good buddy alternating between deep breaths and silly grins, the three roommates exchanged looks.

"Feels like Ah Weh is off today; did something go wrong at home?"

"Bro, great minds think alike! I also think Ye Wei probably got dumped!"

"That makes sense, the kid seemed a bit spaced out when he entered; he might really have been dumped."

After a confusing exchange, the dorm leader's gaze gradually firmed, looking at Ye Wei counting fish bones, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Ye Wei looked up, bewildered.

"What?"

The dorm leader spoke seriously.

"Life is long, there's no hurdle that can't be overcome, no person you can't let go. Look on the bright side, brother. If you really want to cry, Brother Liu can lend you a shoulder."

Ye Wei almost choked on a fish bone, and Brother Liu, sitting opposite him, exaggeratedly almost spat out a mouthful of tea.

"Get lost! Lend it yourself! One meal wants me to sell my body… unless it's two meals."

"You jerk! What about the bond of sharing a bed for over a year? Our Ah Weh is struggling, and you can't even help him?"

"Is that really helping?"

"Ugh, ugh, ugh."

Ye Wei watched them in confusion.

"What the hell?"

The dorm leader forced a laugh and said.

"Nothing, we just thought you seemed a bit off, and we were a bit worried about you."

Ye Wei couldn't help but laugh and said.

"No, no, you're mistaken, I just… encountered something good, got a bit carried away, just give me some time to adjust, I'll be alright."

Sun Gan curiously asked.

"What good thing?"

Brother Liu also excitedly pressed.

"Tell us, what's got you so agitated?"

"…"

Ye Wei didn't know how to start.

They had already talked about this topic many times in their dorm, but even if he showed them the official website, none of them believed it.

Show them his bank account balance?

His EQ wasn't that low.

"Imagine, just imagine… if there was an absolutely realistic virtual reality RPG game, how popular would it be?"

The three roommates looked at each other.

"Ye Wei…"

"What?"

"Just imagining, I'm just saying…" Sun Gan weakly said, "If one day you go crazy—oh no, achieve great mastery, could you spare Liu and the dorm leader first when you start killing?"

Liu: "Damn! How malicious!"

"Ah, forget it," knowing it would turn out like this, Ye Wei helplessly shook his head and took a swig of beer, "pretend your dad farted."

In the afternoon, around two.

The group returned to their dorm.

People get sleepy after eating, and when sleepy, don't feel like studying; they decided to play a couple of games before getting to their studies, and even called out to Ye Wei.

Though knowing he was probably not interested, they called out anyway because calling or not is another matter.

Standing on the balcony, Ye Wei pondered back and forth, and ultimately decided to play it safe by first transferring 6000 yuan to his mother's bank card.

Before he could send a WeChat message to explain, his mother's call came through.

"Weiwei, what's with the six thousand yuan?"

Hearing the concerned voice on the other end of the phone, Ye Wei felt a warmth in his heart.

"Mom, recently... I found a part-time job. I paid this semester's tuition with my salary, so I thought I'd send you the tuition you transferred to me."

Ye Wei eventually didn't have the heart to say he earned the money by playing games; he could only find a temporary excuse and explain little by little later.

"Part-time job? What part-time job? Why did you suddenly start working part-time?"

"Electronics tester... Basically, it's just helping to test some new devices," Ye Wei said, his face turning red.

There was a hesitation in the voice from the other end of the phone.

"Testing new devices... Isn't that like being a guinea pig?"

"It's fine, it's very safe, and it's at night... I mean, it doesn't conflict with class times, it won't affect my studies."

That was close!

Almost slipped up!

Ye Wei felt that if he mentioned working at night, his mom would definitely misunderstand something.

The other end of the phone fell silent for a while.

"...Don't overwork yourself. You're at the university to learn more, and our family can easily afford your education."

"Don't worry, mom, part-time work is also a learning experience. I've learned a lot from friends I test with, and besides, I wanted to help lighten the family's load. Jiujiu is taking the college entrance exams in June, and she's studying painting. There'll be a lot to pay for then, like tuition, living expenses, buying paints..."

"That's right, that's right, you don't need to give me living expenses anymore, I have enough money on me…"

After a long explanation,

He finally managed to deal with his mom.

Putting down his mobile phone, Ye Wei took a deep breath, thought for a while, then opened JD.com, picked out a phone around four thousand yuan, and sent the link to his sister.

Jiuju loves pineapple: "?"

Wei: "Do you like it?"

Jiuju loves pineapple: "What are you trying to do? Just to be clear, I only have a little pocket money, okay? I can lend you some if you can't afford meals, but a phone is out of the question. (alert.jpg)"

Wei: "Roll roll roll. Do you think your brother is the type to mooch off others? Forget it, I was going to give it to you directly, but I thought it might distract you from your studies. Let's wait until you get into Huamei."

Jiuju loves pineapple: "NO! Big brother!! I was wrong! QAQ"

Watching his sister's barrage of emojis, the corners of Ye Wei's mouth unwittingly curled up.

How to spend money after making a fortune?

He really hadn't thought much about that.

Though he was a dominant T0 player in "Wasteland OL," given the slow testing progress of "Wasteland OL," he had never expected to make a living off it.

But now, his previous efforts had paid off.

While having fun with his friends, he could now take care of the family's worries and provide them with a better life.

Damn!

This damn operator is playing their sugary tricks again!

Turning off his phone, Ye Wei looked back at his dorm room.

His roommates were playing a three-man team on PUBG, the screen filled with fierce gunfights, continuously shouting "line up your shots," "smoke out."

But to him, those rough graphics from the "second-dimensional era" were no longer attractive.

Looking at the dark helmet on the table, Ye Wei suddenly felt a slight warmth in his heart.

"Thanks, bro."

...

The same world.

Across the distant ocean.

In a dark room in Virginia, only a computer light remained on.

This was the only laptop that wasn't connected to the internet.

The flickering screen displayed only a string of lightly inscribed characters.

"Do not try to be clever."

"Do not think that your rules can solve other people's problems."

"You have your own problems to solve, better mind your own business."

"This is a warning."

It was their only progress in the last six months.

With his left hand, a man with curly hair, looking utterly defeated, was shaking the mouse.

"It's no use... this computer is beyond saving too."

Here was the CIA's special operations office, codenamed "Wasteland," and their target was a "non-existent" yet "accessibly normal" website.

Initially, they discovered this website in a gaming community.

At first, no one took it seriously; they just thought it was a joke among Chinese-speaking netizens.

Until more and more CG graphics were released, a senior agent named Phillip, out of curiosity, tried to find a backdoor to the website and slowly began to realize the severity of the situation.

The website didn't exist.

But it was still accessible.

This abnormal situation made him think he had discovered aliens.

Initially, the Federation did not pay much attention to such trivial issues—after all, managing such things would exhaust their lower-level staff.

However, considering the anomaly was indeed unusual, after several reports up the hierarchy, the CIA finally established a team specifically to handle this case.

For Phillip, who was in charge of the team, this was an excellent opportunity. If he could successfully complete the task, he would definitely gain the minister's appreciation.

Thus, they worked day and night in this dim room for half a year, even taking up the Chinese language, but unfortunately, made no progress.

The opponent's server security was watertight, with not a single flaw, causing headaches for the network security experts Phillip had brought in.

However, the situation finally turned a corner recently.

The opponent had opened up the Game Currency trading in "Beta0.2 version update."

It is well-known that when a system is newly developed, it often contains the most bugs. Weren't the previous version announcements always about fixing bugs?

Phillip had reason to believe that this newly launched "Silver Coin Trading Platform" could be a breakthrough in penetrating the Trojan city wall!

For the success of this operation, Phillip gathered the strongest IT team he could find, asking them to hack into the website's server at any cost and locate the anonymous company.

If possible, it was best to obtain the relevant data from the "Dream System," which would be the key to his success!

They had to try, whether it could be successful or not.

After all, the opponent had always been indifferent, with no response to their frequent probes, possibly because they didn't dare offend the powerful America.

However, what Phillip did not expect was that his attempt, at the cost of one Bitcoin, resulted in the total collapse of the system.

Not only did the opponent wipe out their server, but they also deleted all the data in their servers.

Looking at the room filled with paralyzed computers, Phillip could only feel his heart bleeding, his scalp tingling, and his limbs turning ice cold.

He could almost foresee the furious tirade from his boss.

"147 servers wiped out... it's over."

With hands completely off the keyboard, another IT specialist sitting in front of the computer also gave up the struggle.

"Our opponent is a monster; the frustrating part is not how clever their methods are, but that their technology is beyond my understanding."

"Do you know what I just experienced? I felt like a primitive man defending a city with a stone spear while facing a giant sent by Odin. I'm not even sure if I angered it, but it still reached out for me..." he said, showing the pinky finger of his right hand and babbled incomprehensibly.

"...At most its little pinky, not more than that. And that was already beyond our servers' limits."

Phillip swallowed hard.

"Don't scare yourself..."

He admitted, there might be a gap in the field of information technology between them, but it was only to the extent of a T64 compared to a Leopard 2, not so bad as to be utterly hopeless.

However—

A lack of confidence made him end his sentence with a hint of uncertainty.

Information technology experts shook their heads.

"It's not about scaring ourselves... forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I explained. Frankly, this is an asymmetric confrontation, their victory is inglorious, and my defeat isn't shameful."

With that, he leaned back on the chair, exhausted.

His expression, to some extent, betrayed a sense of resignation.

"Just now I wanted to ask, who turned off the lights."

Glancing at the extinguished light above and then at the extinguished charging indicator on the laptop, he suddenly furrowed his brows.

"Is the power out?"

Now, a power outage seemed trivial.

Phillip took out his mobile phone to check it, no signal.

Just then, his subordinate hurried in from outside, his face a mix of disbelief and horror.

"It's stopped, not just here, but the whole state is out! Damn it, the base station has no signal, and switching to the backup generator takes time. Now the entire department is in chaos. I don't want to connect two things together, but it just happened seconds ago."

Looking at the man who walked in from outside, the room fell dead silent.

A power outage...

And for the entire state.

Compared to the economic losses caused by the statewide power outage, the destruction of over a hundred servers seemed insignificant...

Phillip swallowed hard. Although it was still March weather, the room felt stifling hot.

His mind was a mess.

Even more incomprehensible.

Before, every time the opponent had attacked their network, they seemed "obsequious" and "dare not retaliate." How had they suddenly fought back this time?

Now he realized that previously, the other party wasn't too afraid to offend; they simply couldn't be bothered. This time, not only had they made a move, but they also launched an unrestricted counterattack, pulling the entire state's electrical switches.

Wasn't this too excessive?

The curly-haired man sitting in front of the computer pounded the table in anger.

"This is a terrorist attack!"

Phillip glanced at him hurriedly and coughed lightly.

"Do you have evidence? If not... it's best not to link these two things together."

If they linked these incidents, they would have to issue a formal response. And once they responded formally, as the person in charge, he would be responsible for the losses caused by this failure.

Why bother?

No one had claimed responsibility for this anyways.

The generator restarted, communication was restored, and the room brightened again.

However, the atmosphere in the room was still oppressive.

One agent, pinching the bridge of his nose, spoke with a headache,

"What kind of company is this?"

Phillip wanted to say the same thing.

They have such godly technology, and they use it... to make games?

What's the difference from being reborn and deciding to play DOTA?

Helmets...

It would be great if they could get a hold of one.

A thought crossed Phillip's mind.

If they could trace the Bitcoin wallet that received the transaction, they could at least identify a player's identity. Even if he was across the ocean, and direct contact wasn't feasible, there were too many indirect methods of influencing a citizen from a third-world country—

Wait.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down Phillip's forehead.

Just then, he realized that he might be planning something extremely dangerous.

Getting a helmet wasn't difficult.

But just getting the helmet wouldn't solve any problem.

The cost was an unknown factor.

Those madmen had the capability to paralyze a state's power system within seconds, and his side couldn't even locate the problem, let alone have evidence linking them to the incident.

Perhaps...

He should seriously consider the true meaning of that "warning" and the risk of "dangers" spreading from the federal power system to other systems.

Rethinking his approach, Phillip took a deep breath and looked around at his colleagues in the room.

"Our approach to hacking the server is flawed... I don't doubt our ability to break into their servers, but we don't need to take this risk."

"The level of technological power displayed by the opponent isn't known to be possessed by any organization or agency in our intelligence network, otherwise, they would have used it by now."

"It's also clear that we don't actually have a direct conflict of interests... perhaps a gentler approach would make them see our sincerity."

Although everyone's expressions were somewhat peculiar, no one objected.

"I'm glad we're in agreement."

Phillip breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and continued in a softened tone.

"My previous expression might have been somewhat diplomatic, what I mean is…"

"Why don't we fill out a form first?"

...

The same situation was unfolding elsewhere.

Across the ocean.

An unknown location.

The spacious and bright room was very quiet, with documents piled high on the table and the trash can stuffed with cigarette butts, a few of which had fallen to the ground.

About a dozen people were quietly busy, their dark circles indicating they had been diligently working overtime for several days.

But they should be able to take a day off tomorrow.

Probably fatigued from their consecutive days of labor, only one computer hadn't crashed.

Let's leave it at that.

In fact, rather than figuring out what that "non-existent website" was all about, they were more curious about how those "helmets that shouldn't exist" had appeared in players' hands.

This was far more serious than economic issues.

"Can you find that person?"

"We can, but also can't."

The older officer furrowed his brows.

"What does that mean?"

The younger officer sighed and explained,

"Any information before last April has vanished, without any trace of deletion, but as if it never existed. It's like he emerged out of thin air, like a ghost. Our only clue is that QQ number and a few chat logs up till last April. He has nothing to hide, or rather, he simply doesn't care to."

Another colleague frowned and added,

"He must have his own social connections, right? What about his friends in the account? What about the registered mobile number?"

Compared to "Xiao Qi," who didn't even have a social account, "Ah Guang," the planner, might be their only lead.

The young man paused for a while,

"The strangest part is here."

"We know a lot, but cannot find any workplace of his, nor his parents. We've searched through the archives of Jiangcheng University and the local job market without any record of him; either those records are forged, or they've been tampered with… He has disappeared, never even appearing before us, as if a UFO flew down from the sky and whisked him away along with all traces of his existence."

Yet, in contrast to this eerie phenomenon,

Identifying those players was quite easy.

The website itself was a black curtain, but monitoring group chats always revealed some threads.

Their team was high-level, and the case they were handling was extremely special.

Usually, sensitive matters required procedures for personnel to investigate, but they could directly obtain the necessary information.

"Besides the chat logs, there are also bank transfer details. Although we can't lock down information within the website, we can identify all transfers of the same amount during the same period and conduct vetting. Buying game props isn't illegal, but we can have them cooperate with our investigation... do we need to contact them?"

The silent elderly man suddenly spoke.

"When you mentioned the bank, I was thinking, what if there's a problem with the banking system?"

The young man was slightly stunned and said nervously.

"Bank, the bank? Surely not..."

The old man pondered for a moment before saying, "It's just a hypothesis, our work might unnecessarily burden the comrades at the banking system."

The man with a square face, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

"It's actually unnecessary."

Seeing that everyone turned to look at him.

He continued in an unhurried manner.

"First of all, we have to admit that the opponent's information technology surpasses ours."

The middle-aged man sitting in front of the computer with glasses showed a trace of embarrassment on his face.

"Sorry..."

The square-faced man shook his head.

"It's not your fault. They possess technology we have never heard of, capable of interfering with dreams—using such technology to steal secrets seems almost trivial."

"I even thought about whether it might be aliens trying to understand our civilization level and thinking patterns and then decide whether or not to..."

While saying this, the square-faced man gestured around his neck.

Everyone in the office looked at each other.

But they quickly realized he was joking.

The elder man coughed to lighten the mood.

"No matter what, aliens are just..."

Too far-fetched.

Even if that might be the closest guess to the truth.

"It's just a hypothesis, just a moment ago my colleague informed me that a massive power outage happened on the other side of the ocean in Virginia... and not just in one area, but across the entire state. Their power grid was out for a whole hour, just across the Tomack River from Washington. Their external explanation was that aging circuits caused a system malfunction at the power company, which has been repaired and is now back to normal. But whether that's the whole truth is known only to them."

The square-faced man thought for a moment, then continued.

"They know where we are, even showed their hand. Leaving aside that 'cognitive perception'-based dream system, their achievements in the field of information technology might be at least half a century ahead of us... maybe even more."

"I still maintain the speculation that the operator of this game might be aliens—or should I say an extraterrestrial civilization. This technology does not originate from Earth, and it's not just my view."

No technology can emerge from nowhere without theoretical foundations, yet the existence of that website surpasses their understanding.

Laypeople might not see any difference from a normal website, but to those who really understand, that thing is like a lone singularity.

They are not even in the same dimension.

And that is the crux of the problem.

The veteran detective coughed lightly.

"It seems we need to bring in a comrade from the aerospace system."

Someone at the side made a joke to ease the atmosphere.

"And perhaps increase the budget for the Southern Heavenly Gate project?"

The middle-aged man with glasses sitting at the computer still felt somewhat reluctant.

"This technology could change the world, if we could—"

The square-faced man gave a soft cough.

"Back to the earlier topic, I think intervening proactively is the least wise choice. Others have already stumbled for us; we don't need to fall with them into the river again."

The elderly man furrowed his brow.

"So, we just let it go?"

The square-faced man continued.

"We're unsure of their motive for running this game, unclear on the underlying principles, and even unsure...whether they are even Earthlings."

"However, they clearly understood us and, just a few months after the planner codenamed 'Ah Guang' disappeared, they swiftly launched Wasteland OL, an MMORPG."

"And in group chats, he explained to other netizens that he had changed jobs."

"We assume they come from beyond the Solar System, and this would be our first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. We represent not just our own civilization, and I prefer a cautious approach over the potential consequences of arrogance."

"Why not observe for a longer period?"

"The other side has already shown us the sincerity of their civilization, and we should reciprocate with sincerity while remaining vigilant."

"Regardless of their purpose, the game has just started its B round; perhaps those from the distant worlds are trying to convey some message or metaphor to us through 'Game'—a form of culture we can understand."

"At least for now, this does not signify hostility. And if it means assistance, we might greatly benefit from it."

The elderly man pondered for a long time and nodded.

"It's indeed rude to interrupt someone halfway through speaking; at least let them finish."

The person beside him nodded.

"That's what I think too."

The young person raised his hand.

"I disagree. I worry that external forces might target those players; at the very least, we should protect those 'players'."

The square-faced man did not speak; the elder smiled and shook his head.

"You think too little of our adversaries."

Destroy it if unable to get it?

What kind of third-rate romance TV drama is this?

If the opponents were that foolish, they'd have won already.

As for controlling the players…

There's even less necessity.

The number of reservations had exceeded a million and was still increasing. With the current technologies, we could only tell who had forwarded that link. We had no idea who had visited that website or when, and we certainly had no way of knowing who would receive the helmet next.

There lay a black hole of information absorption, more mysterious than worlds outside the Solar System.

They chose them.

They could choose others too.

The young person sighed.

"It would be great if we could get a helmet."

The square-faced man chuckled and said,

"That thing isn't very useful. I had it analyzed. Its structure is so simple it's puzzling, and we haven't even grasped the fundamental principles, let alone reverse-engineer it. It's better just taken as a joke."

The elder looked at him in surprise.

"Where did you get a helmet?"

The square-faced man sheepishly smiled.

"It's quite a coincidence, I probably found out about it early. Just... filling out a form normally, including age, profession, skills, games played, and some multiple-choice questions that might interest young people, then pressed the YES button."

Honestly, he hadn't played many games, mostly just antique internet games from the old days; he had never imagined he'd actually get in.

The other side seemed not to care at all.

The helmet was simply left at his doorstep.

In fact, he had been playing for a while now.

And this was why the superiors had him join this group from the start.

The elder hesitated.

"You filled out that form?"

"Does it make any difference whether I filled it or not? Unless my record is completely deleted from the system, to them it's just graffiti on a wall."

After a pause, the square-faced man looked at the flickering computer screen.

"I even have a feeling."

"We're having this closed-door meeting here today, and the audience is far more than just us."

Chapter 295: Human Nature Has Changed!

Bull Horse Brick Factory.

Today was even busier than usual.

Although many players had made early reservations, the fact was that less than one-fifth of them actually entered the game. Most just made a reservation and then watched the action.

"Ha ha ha! I just saw a fool list 1 dollar for 5 Silver Coins, and it was gone in an instant."

"Damn! Missed it!"

"Awesome! I just saw a big shot list 800 Silver Coins! It sold for forty thousand!"

"Holy shit!"

"@Dog Management, did you guys do this?"

Newbies definitely couldn't afford that much money.

They hadn't entered the game before, but they often heard the Dog Management boasting and were quite familiar with the in-game situations.

No one came forward to claim the transaction.

The chat quickly scrolled past.

But as they chatted, the management eventually showed up.

Night Ten: "Brothers."

Quit Smoking: "What's up?"

Night Ten: "I'm thinking about going pro."

Quit Smoking: "?"

Old White: "…"

Wild Wind: "…"

Fang Chang: "Squinting."

Night Ten: "WTF! What's with that reaction? After all, I'm the highest 'Perception' level in the entire server. Is it weird that I want to go pro?"

Fang Chang: "No, I just want to ask, which 'casual player' plays online twelve hours a day? (Squinting)"

Quit Smoking: "Hahaha, I wanted to say the same, if that's not considered professional, then what is?"

WC Mosquito: "Great! Full of energy! Come fly a plane with me, it's so cool! (Baring teeth)"

Night Ten: "Buzz off!"

Who Understands 4 8: "Ah, you guys make me so tempted... earning a hundred silver a day, isn't that five thousand a day? Damn! I should've signed up with you guys back then!"

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato: "This price fluctuation is truly crazy. Do you think people are laundering money with this?"

Fang Chang: "Emmm... I don't know about using a keyboard to launder, but laundering in real life requires meeting three conditions at the same time: hard to trace, large transaction volume, and tight control by the market maker. None of these conditions are met."

The platform itself doesn't provide payment tools. Money laundering is not just converting US Dollars to Zimbabwe Dollars; it involves turning illegal income into legal income. In 'Wasteland OL,' anonymity is for players. If A uses the banking system to transfer money to B for buying game equipment that's not anonymous at all.

And concerning the transaction volume, with less than a few million silver coins, the turnover rate nearing 200% doesn't even begin to talk about how much can be laundered, let alone the fact, who in their right mind would use a rigged market to launder money?

Before the Federal Reserve injects money, they check the winds, a game operator can just manipulate data with a flick of a finger, give you a billion Silver Coins, then lock accounts with "suspicious transaction." Might as well go play single-player games with those numbers.

You'd really end up just washing dishes.

Laundering money through game equipment, more fantastical than using US stocks, at least they have large transaction volumes, and foreign investment earnings can legitimately be manipulated.

Game currency is a medium of exchange in the game world, but outside it's just 'game equipment'; something that operators can adjust the issuance of. Today you might convert one million dollars to one million silver coins or an item of game equipment, tomorrow that million might only be worth one hundred dollars.

Unless the game operators cooperate with you.

But use some brain cells to think, why would they cooperate with you when they are guarding a gold mine with over a million prescribes in a Series B funding round?

Clearly, they manage to deliver helmets to players, and the official websites remain accessible, even without official written permission, there's something of an understood consent.

But then again, Scrambled Eggs with Tomato, being a chef, might have a narrower perspective, which is normal. Most people barely understand how to spell laundering, let alone comprehend the specific procedures involved with it.

Fang Chang: "This Beta 0.2 is quite interesting actually. The officials didn't directly set a price for Silver Coins but allowed players to sell freely, even the fees are taken in Silver Coins. It's clear that 'Wasteland OL' isn't planning to make money off this platform. You guys have definitely managed to snatch some benefits, but I wonder if you've considered the motives behind why the officials set it up this way."

Ye Wei, holding his mobile phone, blushed.

To be honest, he hadn't considered these things.

"What is it…"

Fang Chang: "The original purpose of NASDAQ was to regulate the chaotic over-the-counter trading market in America, and to provide financing channels for small businesses. Silver coin offline trading has always been around, just on a small scale and not publicly. As the number of players increases, some will likely develop a trading platform like IGXE outside of forums, what's happening now is essentially the officials doing it themselves. It's safer for players, more transparent in pricing, and easier for officials to regulate."

"In addition to regulating the market, it allows Series A players to cash out some of their gaming profits. Although it sounds a little strange, it truly is the game companies giving us a red envelope."

And the amount inside that red envelope wasn't small.

As long as you weren't foolish enough to list one hundred silver coins for ten cents, when the trading platform first launched, everyone made a bit of money.

Especially Crow.

One Silver Coin for one Bitcoin, who knows which fool got tricked.

Especially since Crow volunteered to return it, yet no one came forward to claim it.

Call it charity then.

WC Mosquito: "Do you think there's a fool who would sell their equipment for Silver Coins? (funny face)"

Fang Chang: "Fools are always around, but there's a common sense here; whether selling your own equipment or playing conservatively in the game, both actions will cause one to fall from their current squad."

"Let's make a prediction—there will be two trends in the future. Game assets will become more transparent, 'Backseat Drivers' will pay more attention to land prices, equipment costs, and economic trends in the New Alliance. They might even use the clues we provide to write tutorials, and indirectly invest in game industries through other players holding their game assets."

The Age of Exploration wasn't experienced by everyone; most just read a few lines in the newspaper, but that didn't stop a physics professor and mint director in London from potentially owning stock in a colonial company.

The Silver Coin trading platform is set up to trade any type of asset.

Besides real-world assets, it also supports trading game world assets. Meanwhile, the method for investing in the game world isn't limited to using Silver Coins but could involve other things.

Like technology.

Though the game is rife with cutting-edge technology, just unhooking a battery from an exoskeleton reveals it's solid hydrogen, the most basic infrastructure like rail and communication is still at a WWII level.

'Wasteland OL,' still in Series B, remains full of potential, all of which constitutes potential markets.

Fang Chang, "The second trend is that maintaining a level advantage will be harder than in the Alpha version. Casual players will play as they wish, but those who are willing to grind will put more silver coins into upgrading levels and combat strength, especially with the newly introduced Merchant System and Legion System! These two systems will be very costly, but the returns will be massive!"

"Beta testing will be a reshuffle; players from the Alpha round will, based on their contributions in that round, cash out part of their profits. Similarly, seeing the profits from Alpha, players in Beta will work even harder to upgrade before the dividends in the C round."

"In summary, those with extra silver coins can sell some to give newcomers a chance and a better gaming experience while improving their own lives."

"But remember not to sell too much, since besides Contribution Points and Sequence Level, silver coins are one of your 'shares' in the game. Overspending can lead to being ousted in Beta and replaced by new shareholders, leaving you out of the dividends in the C round."

"Also, be a bit careful when trading. Even though there are plenty of game equipment trading platforms, and no law specifically prohibits flipping game equipment, and no one cares about small-scale private transfers, for large amounts, it's better to consider the payment method."

"And don't forget about taxes."

Fang Chang said a lot, earnest and heartfelt. Ye Wei always felt that half of it was directed at him, especially the last part.

But he thought this old brother was a bit too concerned.

He wasn't foolish. How could he possibly convert all his silver coins into money?

Even farmers know to save seeds for spring planting, let alone him, who had played games for many years. His understanding of equipment trading rules and real-life cases was miles above some who analyzed recklessly without knowing anything.

Just as Ye Wei was taking out paper currency, figuring out a suitable amount of silver coins to list for sale, he suddenly noticed that someone had mentioned him in a small group chat.

The small group only had four people, and Fang Chang, having just made several posts in the main group, now pinged everyone here.

Ye Wei was just about to ask what's up when Fang Chang's next message in the group chat made him involuntarily hold his breath.

Fang Chang, "Old White and I discussed it, and since the Bull Horse Brick Factory has been operational for now half a year with bonuses, we've never distributed dividends. With the trading platform going live, it's a good time to distribute some."

Dividends!

Ye Wei almost forgot about that.

Old White was the manager of the Bull Horse Brick Factory, but the four of them held equal shares, each owning 5%, summing up to 20%.

Since the shelter owned the remaining 80%, distributing dividends was actually a loss. If they used the earned silver coins to buy equipment and land, they could hire more labor and expand production, which was why they had never distributed silver coins from the early versions of the Alpha test till now.

Thinking of the exclusive tasks completed by the factory and their rewards, Ye Wei was instantly thrilled.

Fang Chang, "... Within two hours, the silver coins should be in the accounts. Although I see long-term value in 'Wasteland OL,' the value of a second life cannot be measured in mundane money, but in the short term, the price of silver coins is definitely going to fall amid fluctuations."

"There are lots of people in the main group, and it's noisy. I didn't speak too directly there, as posting screenshots to the forum doesn't look good. Let's speak more openly here."

"Reserve funds for the development of the Burning Corps."

"The rest, sell."

...

The second day after the launch of Beta 0.2.

After a busy day, just as Zhang Hai laid down with his helmet on at night, he found the sky in the game had completely changed.

Usually, everyone would come to his place to eat noodles upon logging in, but today, they all ran to buy Didivei nutrition paste and the green wheat cakes made by the residents of Bet Street.

A long queue had formed at the door of the NPC shop, with neither the beginning nor the end of the line in sight.

One look and anyone could guess the reason. Looking at the steaming pot and the empty chairs and tables, Zhang Hai couldn't help but lament.

"People are not as sincere as in the old days!"

"These penny pinchers! Is money all you can see?"

Coincidentally, a regular customer who was passing by heard him complain and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Night Ten, "MMP! Have you no shame!"

Elena, "You charge the most, you know!"

Gnome King Riches, "Six silver coins for a bowl of noodles! Why don't you just rob people!"

Fugitive Mole, "Exactly! At least Crow Boss has a big chest and speaks nicely! What do you have?"

Zhang Hai, always quick with a sharp tongue, retorted on the spot.

"How do you know I'm not 'big'? Want to try?"

Night Ten, "Get lost!"

Quit Smoking, "Ugh, ugh, ugh!"

The nutrition paste suddenly lost its appeal.

Watching as the customers left in disgust, Zhang Hai began to regret it. Customers were gods, and he shouldn't have been so quick-lipped in the game.

"This can't go on like this."

Seeing no one coming to buy, and watching the foam churn in the pot, Zhang Hai, desperate, quietly changed the price on the board to five silver coins.

"This should bring in some customers, right?"

However, contrary to his hopes, it didn't work.

Zhang Hai, frowning, rubbed out the freshly written five and, gritting his teeth, wrote a four instead.

100% profit, gone!

It was a huge loss!

His heart felt as if it was bleeding.

But perhaps thanks to the price cut, or maybe the game planners felt pity for him, today there were indeed a few more NPC customers.

Some came to try out the noodles after seeing the price drop, some came for a meal with their kids and wives, and his stall finally saw some faces apart from players.

Watching the curious and tender faces of children following their parents, Zhang Hai couldn't bring himself to skimp on the materials.

Because the price was more affordable than before, his customers increased as the evening progressed, and by the end he was so busy he didn't even have time to rest his feet.

But NPCs never rushed him; after all, they wouldn't understand even if they did.

He was busy until half an hour past mealtime before Zhang Hai could finally take a break.

Though exhausted, watching NPCs devour the noodles he prepared and seeing the silver coins he had earned in the drawer eventually brought a smile to Zhang Hai's tired face.

Maybe...

He should hire an assistant.

He needed to open two branches on the farmhouse side.

The version was changing.

He had to make some changes too.

As Zhang Hai was contemplating the future, a boisterous shouting came from the entrance of his shop.

"Old Zhang! Bring me a bowl of noodles!"

"Get lost, I'm not old!" Zhang Hai didn't even look up as he glared over, "Look at this face of mine, barely twenty!"

Si Si, standing by his side, pulled his tail.

"Ah Wei, that's not polite, and how do you know how old someone is? What if he's a younger brother?"

The tail replied with an air of old wisdom.

"Si, you don't understand. What young person uses their real name as a username, and which young person gets anxious when called old?"

"I'm your daddy."

Zhang Hai chuckled, placing two bowls of noodles on the table.

Tail, who paid at lightning speed, hurriedly sat down, eager to start eating with chopsticks taken from a wooden barrel. However, he cried out just as he was about to begin.

"Giao! Why is there one less piece today?"

Zhang Hai spoke sternly.

"The price dropped, does it surprise you that the quantity reduced?"

Tail replied in a pitiful tone.

"But, but, why does Si Si's bowl have more than mine?"

"Slip of the hand."

"Damn it! You evil capitalist!" Tail sighed and shook his head as he muttered, "Well, considering it's the last bowl of noodles, I won't quibble over it."

Zhang Hai stopped slicing meat and glanced at this lively little girl.

"The last bowl? Are you not playing anymore?"

"How could that be! We're only at Beta0.2!" Tail chuckled, "The game is getting more and more interesting, you know?"

Zhang Hai puzzledly asked, "Then the last bowl of noodles is...?"

"I'm thinking of starting a mercenary guild! The guild needs funds, so I decided to set up a travel arrangement with Si Si!" Tail said, eyes sparkling, "Plus sesame paste and meat dishes! We all agreed to set off tomorrow!"

"Don't talk nonsense."

Si Si gently chastised Tail with her little fist holding chopsticks, clearing her throat calmly amidst Tail's "Ouch" of pain, and continued to explain.

"In short, it's the merchant system... This prodigal woman spent on useless digits, I have to help her make it back."

Zhang Hai sighed deeply and meaningfully, "You all really need to keep it moderate... What's the point of spending recklessly? Isn't it better to simply enjoy the game?"

Tail sulkily responded.

"Retired old men shouldn't speak!"

"Which eye of yours sees me as retired?"

Zhang Hai rolled his eyes, tossing two freshly sliced pieces of beef into her bowl.

"Eat up and get lost!"

…

Three days had passed since Beta0.2 was released, and it wasn't just Bull Horse Squad selling off silver coins.

How to sell?

Obviously, everyone had their own ways to sell.

Although there was no K-line chart for silver coin consignment, the historical asking prices were public and transparent. Just minor adjustments above or below others' prices worked fine, not essentially different from CS:GO skin trading.

If you disliked trouble, you could simply peg one silver coin at one dollar and throw ten to twenty thousand silver coins up for sale.

If you didn't mind the hassle, you could also break them into tens of small orders of 100 silver coins, placed at 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000… and so forth, and wait for buyers. How much you sold depended on your luck.

Though slower, this method maximized the returns.

As massive sell orders emerged, silver coins' prices finally began to fall after reaching an all-time high in transaction volume.

And all this was happening under someone's watchful eye.

"Heh, clever sneaks."

Looking at the backend's transaction records and the spike in reservation numbers, Chu Guang, while sipping his nuclear cola and enjoying the show, smiled.

Elder Fang Chang probably played on U.S. stock markets before, expertly buying low and selling high within a day.

He would throw large orders to drive the price down to single digits, then secretly pick them up with small orders. After a few oscillations, even his friends' silver coins were all sold, and now he was probably counting his money.

Others sent him private messages inquiring about his background, wanting to have a straightforward talk.

A talk?

No way.

What is there to discuss between the "Degenerate Empire" and "Star Indigenous"?

A refuge is at least the last stronghold of the United Human. Chu Guang would be insane to initiate an open and honest proposal for cooperation when the others could completely misinterpret him as an extraterrestrial being or another superior entity.

What does an information field dimensionality reduction attack entail?

Power outage? Internet disruption?

That's kids' stuff.

Xiao Qi could sneeze and upgrade the "Second World" to the "Only Heaven" in a parallel world's Earth with the solution to save the world hidden in the game of an advanced civilization, physically adding these settings to the game's official website. Would you play such a game?

The five righteous would rush to play.

Not choosing the "Transboundary Act" doesn't mean the option doesn't exist, but rather there are more suitable options that better align with his ethical standards.

"Work diligently, and what you deserve will naturally come your way," Chu Guang was a reasonable man, and by working for him, one could obtain compensation.

That compensation could be money in the real world today, status tomorrow, and in the future might even rise to the heights of civilization.

A legacy from a higher civilization.

The beneficiaries were not just individuals.

Thus, if you wanted to enter the game, you had to honestly fill out the form, apply for a "work visa" according to the rules he set, and abide by the local "laws and regulations."

After all, wasn't the New Alliance one of the successors of the United Human? Wasn't the Manager worried about losing face?

As for how Chu Guang viewed fluctuations in the silver coin market?

He simply observed them.

Some were willing to spend hundreds of thousands to buy one silver coin, while others were willing to trade hundreds of thousands of silver coins for one US dollar. What did any of that have to do with him when both were just paper to him?

As long as the players were willing, they could also choose to list ten thousand silver coins for one dollar as a charity, allowing everyone to make money within their own understanding. Moreover, silver coins in the real world were not a currency for buying food, but merely game props.

As for whether it was worth it?

Was exchanging a +999 Dragon Slayer for a property worth it? Were properties worth hundreds of thousands in the metaverse worth it?

When it came to principle, which virtual thing wasn't just paper?

At least in Wasteland OL, silver coins could genuinely buy land that one could freely develop, not just a deceptive paper model.

Thinking it was expensive indicated that one was rational.

And thinking it impossible simply showed a lack of experience.

The New Alliance had developed from a wilderness to its current scale thanks to generations of players who worked diligently. Now that Wasteland OL had successfully reached the Beta stage, Chu Guang would certainly reward those who had helped him.

And this was also the rightful compensation for their hard progress.

However, Fang Chang had only guessed half of it right.

The initial intent of Chu Guang in developing this platform was not to earn worthless paper from a different world, but not solely to distribute dividends to beta testers and regulate off-platform trading either. There were two more profound purposes.

One was to attribute value to the pie-in-the-sky promises made for Wasteland OL, and the other was to redistribute the in-game wealth.

The former would motivate players to tackle missions more zealously and participate more actively in the Legion and Merchant Systems he had planned.

The latter would make the game's economic cycle more reasonable.

A bowl of ramen costing less than 2 silver coins could be sold for 6 silver coins in a region with extremely low taxes and land rent.

That was an exorbitantly high profit!

Such a price was cultivated by high-earning players.

As levels increased and high-level players accumulated too many silver coins, simply buying equipment wasn't enough to spend them all. Indigenous people barely making an income of ten silver coins a day found it hard to afford products "priced by players," especially since their income, no matter how much it grew, could never outpace that of the "immortal" players.

The players had formed their own closed economic loop; in fact, they were essentially the New Alliance's gentry or knights. Without administrative intervention, the risk of inflating the NPC market of their own country would keep accumulating.

How to mitigate this risk?

Establishing official silver coin trading channels and assigning value to silver coins was just the first card Chu Guang played.

The liquidity circulating in the closed loop would partially release out of the game, while another portion would be purchased by players eager to strengthen in the new version, invested in equipment, merchant activities, or elsewhere, entering a healthy cycle.

Those players who jokingly complained, "It's too expensive, I'll take another two bowls," would also start to seriously consider the value of the money they spent and whether their pricing of the products was reasonable.

If a country's citizens have no reverence for their currency, and the gentry hold unimaginable wealth yet fail to utilize it properly, the risks generated are far more than just inflation.

The New Alliance already had over a thousand players, and in the future, more would gain beta-testing eligibility.

The sooner these issues were resolved, the better.

"… The Bull Horse Brick Factory, which has never distributed dividends, finally did, as did the Steel Plant #81. Part of the silver coins sedimented on the balance sheet flowed out of the game, and some went to other players, but most entered the treasury of the New Alliance. Problems of inflation and fiscal deficit were solved together."

"New players could also gain a better game experience, besides grinding for equipment, they could use money to shortcut when the silver coin prices fell, whereas high-ranking players who resolved their livelihood issues could devote more energy to the game."

"Though 'Backseat Drivers' still didn't have beta access, they too gained an indirect opportunity to participate in the game."

"This should probably be considered… never mind, let's not count it." Chu Guang counted on his fingers for a while but eventually gave up.

He lost count of how many times he had already won.

So let's just call it a collective win.

"But Master... why would people who clearly can't enter the game buy game currency?" Xiao Qi was puzzled.

This confusion resembled its own when faced with snails that "clearly were weak yet still insisted on coming closer to probe with their tentacles."

Sipping on his cold drink, Chu Guang casually replied as he sat on the sofa.

"Everyone has their reasons. Some pay money for lessons; others, for dreams. Our job is not to control which leg the players move first while running or which hand they use to wipe their butts, but to ensure that most athletes run on the track and remove rule-breakers from the race."

Those who got the game access were adults, and adults should be responsible for their actions. He was a manager, not a nanny.

A player had spent two hundred thousand to scoop up twenty thousand silver coins, the largest single transaction being four thousand for eight hundred silver coins.

If she spent it all on ramen, she would definitely be at a huge loss.

But what if she bought nutrition paste and shipped it to southern plantations or weapons to Red River Town?

Twenty thousand silver coins were far more than just twenty thousand.

"The price of silver coins seems to have dropped."

"That's normal, it indicates the New Year's bonus is almost over and they should log in and work diligently," Chu Guang stretched lazily and stood up from the sofa.

Xiao Qi asked curiously, "But if the price of silver coins keeps dropping, will people still buy them?"

Chu Guang replied with ease.

"The price will converge in divergence and diverge in convergence. Increased transaction volume marks the beginning of a reversal, while decreased volume signifies the end of a trend, whether exchanging 1 silver coin for a hundred bucks or 100 silver coins for one dollar, to us, it's just a number."

"If it really reaches a point where we need to stabilize the market, boosting it would be too easy. I'd just post an entire set of solid hydrogen technology on the official website, offer ten bespoken 'study abroad' spots, priced at a hundred million silver coins. Guess how much would silver coins be worth then?"

"Think about our initial quest for the 'Magnetic Confinement Plasma Cutting Machine.' We picked so much trash and steamed so many buns for the Pioneer. Now, looking back, see if that trade was worth it."

"One cannot merely look at the surface of problems."

—

(Thanks to "Extra Curry" for the chief sponsorship!!)

Chapter 296 White Bear Knights!

North of Dawn City.

Changjiu Farm Trading Station.

Standing next to a "Electric donkey" truck full of goods, Sisi stroked her chin in thought for a long time before suddenly striking her right fist into the palm of her hand.

"How about Panda Trade Group? We've got both bears and cats."

Meat Meat, who was sitting on the ground, shook her head like a rattle-drum.

"NONO, even so, panda is a bit too far-fetched, isn't it?"

What Sisi didn't expect was that not only Meat Meat but even Tail raised a hand to object.

"Objection plus one! Neither Tail's nor Sisi's name is mentioned!"

Sisi: "Uh, I think if you add your own name it'll be fine, I really don't mind."

Tail spoke seriously with a sense of importance, "How could that work! We must think of a name where everyone gets a spotlight!"

"Umm..." Sesame Paste raised her hand and said softly, "I should say, I'm just working odd jobs... It's okay not to consider me."

Although playing with everyone was joyful, compared to establishing a mercenary guild to become a space pirate and conquer the universe, she still preferred a more leisurely play style.

For example, riding a motorcycle to deliver goods to various Survivor Bases was quite nice.

You could see the different sceneries of this vast world, meet many people you couldn't encounter in real life, and make money.

It's just that the transportation in this game was too expensive. She had to save up a bit.

"Three votes against one? It seems I've lost," Sisi sighed, "Speaking of which, can't we just think of a name while on the road?"

"The importance of ritual, the importance of ritual. You woman, have no sense of romance. If we don't think of a good name before hitting the road, what do we tell Looter when we run into one?" Tail said with an old-fashioned air, suddenly her eyes lighting up, "How about Tail's Adventurers?"

Meat Meat: "Wait, what about me? And you just said everyone should get a spotlight a second ago."

"Ah heh, I forgot."

Sisi cleared her throat lightly.

"Such a hassle... Then let's call it Meat Meat Knights. We take turns riding Meat Meat, we're all knights of Meat Meat. From now on, Meat Meat is the leader, perfectly solving the problem."

The big white bear looked up with a paw, crying and laughing: "Hold on, although, although I don't mind playing the mount, it's still too weird!"

"Exactly, Tail finds it odd too, it's as if Meat Meat is a piece of m[beep beep——]."

With a serious face, she censored an exceedingly dangerous statement and took advantage of Meat Meat's distraction. After a moment of pondering, Tail suddenly lit up and said.

"How about White Bear Knights?"

Perhaps they had been struggling with this issue for too long, or perhaps it sounded quite cool when pronounced, even Meat Meat didn't object this time.

Just like that, the White Bear Knights were officially founded.

Using the remaining money, Sisi bought a "Maxim-II" machine gun.

Different from the Maxim that shone in the Tide, the managers of Factory No.81 adapted the air-cooled design similar to that of the MG42, redesigned the interchangeable barrel according to the combat environment of the Wasteland, and stepped up the caliber to 10mm.

10×100mm machine gun bullets have added X-4 fiber to their propellant, ensuring that a single bullet's penetration is no less than that of a large-caliber 12.7×108mm DShK heavy machine gun bullet.

These are more than adequate for suppressing those tentacle-like multilegged beasts encountered along the way, as well as the vast, high-health, high-attack monsters.

The workers sent by Factory No.81 not only welded them to the roof of the vehicle but also armored it with bulletproof steel plates.

Every time she dealt with the manager of Factory No.81, Sisi couldn't help but marvel inwardly at how increasingly "buffed" the lifestyle players in the Game were becoming.

"And don't forget the rocket launcher!" Tail grunted as he hoisted a wooden box onto the vehicle, which contained three RPG fragmentation and armor-piercing grenades.

An electrically driven armored transport vehicle complete!

The cat ears atop her head twitched slightly as Sesame Paste looked at the cargo-loaded vehicle with some concern.

"Speaking of the electric truck... is the battery life okay?"

There were no charging stations in the Wasteland.

Based on real-world experience, the battery life of electric vehicles didn't seem very long.

Sisi patted her shoulder.

"emmm... considering it's a sci-fi game battery, though I don't know what a solid hydrogen battery is, it can easily make a couple of round trips, so don't worry and use it."

The actual distance to Red River Town from here was within one hundred kilometers; for farther destinations, just preparing a spare battery or a generator would suffice.

Not only were there no charging stations on the Wasteland, but there were also no gas stations. For small-scale transport not involving a tanker truck, a fuel vehicle wasn't actually the best choice. After all, biomass fuel had to go through a series of processing and refinement to become gasoline, but wood that could generate electricity was everywhere.

After the decline of civilization and the end of the severe cold, the first to conquer the cities was the lush vegetation, followed by those mutated slime fungi.

"Be careful on the road," Frost River said softly as she waved from her stand, smiling as she sent her blessings to the adventurers.

This was the third group of residents from the refuge that she had sent off today to form a Commercial Team.

The trading station here had always been frequented by merchants from Red River Town, including large commercial teams like the Horseshoe Iron Business Group.

But recently, the residents of the refuge started to show up more.

They would usually choose to purchase the stable-priced LD-47 rifles and 7mm full-power bullets as trade goods, and Red River Town, being relatively "closer" to Dawn City with its robust demand for weapons, was their first choice for a stop.

Frost River skillfully operated the VM with her index finger, signing off on the purchase order and uploading it. These data would be checked by management staff on the same day and count as her performance for the day.

Meanwhile, once the data was checked, it would automatically sync to the central server of the refuge, where processors lost in calculation would verify it against data submitted by the storage department and production units, managed by AI that was close to complete artificial intelligence.

If even a single bullet was missing, it was possible to check where along the chain it was lost and who was responsible for that part of the process.

The highly AI-centric management mode technically replaced many mid-level managers who required experience, flattening the entire management hierarchy.

Moreover, this system had relatively low professional requirements for front-line workers. They only needed to master the foolproof operating process of the VM, be familiar with the specific job responsibilities, and they could ensure the stable operation of the whole system.

At the same time, managers could access the most authentic "first-hand data" and formulate specific macro strategies based on the most accurate conditions.

At present, the literacy rate of the New Alliance is less than 30%, even after six months of literacy classes and evening school education.

This was also a reform method Chu Guang drew from the "Future City Administration" technology of the Human Alliance.

In the era before the Prosperity Epoch, to complete this system might involve hundreds of programmers working overtime for a year or even longer.

But for Xiao Qi with its near-complete artificial intelligence, it required only a bit of communication time with the Manager.

...

Beta 0.2 version went online on the fourth day.

The number of players participating in the Merchant System had reached 417, while nearly 657 had joined the Legion System. The rest were either players who had already established a fixed genre or were casual, Buddhist-style players and newcomers whose conditions were not yet met.

A game can't have everyone grinding away, but it can make those who can grind do so even more.

Chu Guang was gratified to see that the previously deformed prices had finally returned to normal.

Now, the indigenous people could also enjoy delicacies from a different world, while the life career players, who had been spoiled by combat professional players, were finally stepping out of their comfort zones, upgrading equipment, expanding production, and developing markets as applicable.

The "endgame gear" on display in NPC shops—the Light Cavalry Exoskeleton—sold 40 sets in just three days, and the 50,000-value "Electric donkey" light trucks had 12 transactions.

The number was still rising.

Chu Guang had already arranged for staff to expand the production of "Electric donkey" and had increased investments in Bachi Aluminium Factory and List Factory by increasing loans.

In the future, A3 space aluminum alloy and solid-state hydrogen batteries would be cheaper.

Having resolved the players' issues, Chu Guang could finally free his hands to deal with matters concerning the future of the New Alliance...

The browsing room on floor B4.

Employees wearing VMs carried in boxes of neatly packaged books from outside, and, as per Chu Guang's request, they sorted the books into two main categories—science and social science—as much as possible, and placed them on the empty shelves.

These books came from Shelter No. 401.

After the reactor shut down at Shelter No. 117, the books inside were either taken by the Torch or burned by escaping residents or nearby Waste Land Wanderers.

Fortunately, a significant number of interesting books were found in the recently discovered Shelter No. 401.

Looter was not interested in these things.

Thanks to the negotiations of that old popsicle, Sun Zewen, these quality "fuels" miraculously survived.

At least a portion did.

And it was all the better for it.

These fuels could finally "burn" correctly in the right place.

Currently, the sorting of books was handled by employees of the Merchant Guild.

This was the department with the highest literacy rate in the New Alliance at the moment.

And Old Charlie was in charge.

"Respected Manager, a total of 2,490 books were brought from Shelter No. 401; among them, there are 217 social science books, 332 science books, 641 engineering and application books, and 110 popular science books, biographies, novels..."

"Among them, there are 31 related to agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry, and related to food processing..."

Frost Snow nervously nearly bit her tongue several times.

This was her first time entering the heart of the New Alliance—floor B4 of Shelter No. 404.

It was also the first time she saw the Manager without power armor.

"You're doing well, you've done a very good job," Chu Guang commended with a nod.

Being able to sort these books into general categories was already quite an achievement, he wouldn't demand his subordinates do things beyond their capabilities.

Yet not only had they completed their tasks within a few days, but they had also exceeded expectations by further subdividing the books into more specific fields.

Honestly, even Chu Guang was somewhat taken aback by this.

He had originally planned to scan these books with Xiao Qi's help and categorize them during his free time while reading.

It seemed Old Charlie had been quite concerned and saved him a lot of time.

Chu Guang planned to select some books with relatively low barriers and easy reading difficulty as primary education materials from among them.

This task would likely involve the old man again.

Old Charlie had been a town mayor and a school principal on Bet Street before, and he understood the actual situation of these indigenous people better than any expert.

Chu Guang planned to make him the Education Minister of the New Alliance once the Merchant Guild was on the right track.

Of course, that was if he was still willing to work.

After all, for the Wasteland, the old man was of advanced age.

"Um, that..."

Seeing that the young girl in front of him had more to say, Chu Guang spoke with a gentle tone.

"Is there something else?"

"Mr. Charlie said... to remind you to take care of yourself. You are the Manager of the Alliance; your health is more precious than these books," Frost Snow said softly.

Chu Guang was momentarily startled, then laughed.

"Haha, thank him for his concern for me, and by the way, give him a message from me: I'm still young; this bit of work isn't too much for me."

What a joke.

This new job was much easier than his previous job in sales!

With Xiao Qi's help sorting out spreadsheets and monitoring abnormal data, he could grasp the most accurate data on every aspect of the New Alliance, from industry to economy, just like players from Company P with a "god's-eye view," and even find inspiration from the cultural products of parallel worlds in his spare capacity.

Chu Guang used to work himself half-dead in sales, force himself to drink with clients, and occasionally even face unwanted advances due to his youth and good looks.

He would probably never touch alcohol again in his life.

Unless he encountered a "simpleton" like Luo Hua again, who was terrible at the game but loved to drink, then he might have a sip just to extract some information.

As for usual times?

A bit of sparkling water or mushroom soup would suffice.

However, Frost Snow didn't know what Chu Guang was contemplating; she just felt that the Manager, who worked tirelessly for everyone, was incredibly gentle.

Under his management, everyone had moved into warm brick homes, no longer had to face painful decisions for survival, and didn't have to wander aimlessly in the wilderness.

And it seemed he never did anything for himself.

Not only did they continue to live in burrows left from a previous civilization, but even the abandoned sanatorium where the New Alliance was announced had only undergone simple repairs.

He really wished he could take slightly better care of himself.

A touch of reverence couldn't help but appear in the longing eyes, as the young girl felt embarrassed to disturb his work any further, lowered her head in respect, and turned to help her colleagues sort the books.

It took some time to put all the two thousand books on the shelves, but looking at the room which finally resembled a reading area, Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

In his eyes, these treasures were even more precious than a Black Box.

The Black Box solved immediate problems, but these could solve problems of the future. And compared to the incomplete data collected by survey teams from the ruins' storage devices, each book here could correspond to a specific domain.

"The foundation for science and engineering disciplines is too high, cultural arts are not immediately necessary, so let's start with popular science readings and also settle on the textbooks."

"Education is a plan for a century; the earlier it starts, the better."

"Then comes social science... Using 20 points of Intelligence to outsmart the AI of Stars is too wasteful; I occasionally need to recharge my own knowledge."

"In the future, grassroots managers should undergo specialized study and examinations."

"As for the players..."

As for whether to open it up to the players, Chu Guang pondered for a long time and ultimately decided to adopt a more cautious strategy.

Firstly, "not exposing that this is the real world" is the absolute bottom line.

The First Generation Manager had hinted at this to him many times, and Chu Guang had also gleaned the underlying risks through practice.

Exposing one's own needs in interaction is very dangerous, equivalent to extending one's neck for others to grasp.

Whether it's Backseat Driver or players, there are no shortage of experts in various industries and fields. What they lack is simply the experience of "building the Wasteland." Chu Guang could let people in slowly as needed; there was no point in complicating things for himself for a mere 0.1% BUFF.

The players had already done their best within their capabilities, just like those Indigenous People who helped him organize the books.

What about research into high-end technology?

Who was more suitable than the old popsicle vendors from the Prosperity Epoch and their children and grandchildren to conduct scientific research?

Reclaiming the legacy of the Prosperity Epoch itself did not require so many people; the residents of the refuge were completely adequate. According to Yin Fang's description, the strategy adopted by the Academy was similar.

Most players entered the Game with an entertainment mindset and were not here to learn.

As Wild Wind had joked long ago, if this technology were used by bosses at work, he'd rather just sleep honestly.

Chu Guang would consider exposing players to some technology as the Game progressed as a reward to them, but all within the premise of "not exposing the nature of the world."

This actually wasn't difficult to handle.

Previously, Chu Guang got inspiration from the different strategies taken towards him by various governments; those people seemed to treat this game as the first contact between an extraterrestrial civilization and Earth's.

And it was a contact that was more than neutral.

With limited information, they couldn't explain how the helmets appeared at their doorsteps, nor could they explain the website and the Game server's "godlike" power.

Would it be strange for technology that Earth doesn't understand to appear in a high-level civilization's game?

Of course not.

Chu Guang could even guide them to interpret the "Game" as a "benevolent enlightenment" from an extraterrestrial civilization to Earth's civilization.

They would carefully speculate their limits, reduce meaningless trials, and keep tight-lipped about extraterrestrial matters, treating the "players" who were enlightened by the high civilization as treasures— even as strategic resources to be held in the palm of their hands.

They would even allocate a portion of the budget, covertly inflating the price of silver coins, and, like him, use macro means—either gently or aggressively—to encourage players to apply for "labor visas" to participate in the game of high civilization. They sought to learn well the knowledge and experience in dealing with the apocalypse from our neighbors beyond the Solar System. Then, they would return to build their country and benefit society.

Just like how he spared no expense in encouraging players to work for the Pioneer and strictly constrained them from causing trouble with those they could not afford to offend.

In fact, if Chu Guang were a bit more unscrupulous, he could also lure them like a swindler, saying "this is your dream, and also your future," making them follow his rules in reality as well.

But that would be another path not yet envisioned.

The art of management lies in guiding, not commanding; putting too much force is not a good thing.

Looking at the rows of bookshelves before him, Chu Guang couldn't help but curve his lips into a smile, as if he saw a full deck of playing cards.

"…Should I throw out a bit of bait now?"

Or should I wait until the next round of "closed beta" before the dividend distribution?

As Chu Guang pondered which technology or fundamental scientific knowledge was suitable for baiting, footsteps were heard outside the activity door.

Yin Fang, with a tablet sandwiched under his elbow, walked into the browsing room.

Judging by the expression on his face, Chu Guang anticipated that something good had happened, and he spoke with a pleasant demeanor,

"I guess there's been progress with the fuel rods."

"You should have intentionally guessed wrong to give me a sense of achievement."

Yin Fang joked and handed the tablet to Chu Guang.

"We found refuge-compatible model fuel rods in the underground warehouse of a propulsor assembly factory, with 67% energy remaining. They should last a very long time. Your so-called Legion is on their way back; they'll take care of delivering the goods to Shelter No.401, and then I'll go install... Wait, did you move all the books from Shelter No.401 over here?"

He noticed the bookshelves in the browsing room were crammed with books.

Previously, when he came here, he hadn't seen a single one, and had even suspected that the First Generation Manager here was an uneducated bumpkin.

"It's more convenient this way… Next time, I will pretend to guess wrong. Like, by asking you if you've found your sweetheart or something?" said Chu Guang, playfully teasing.

"Let's not. The relics of the former civilization are more interesting to me."

Although initially a semi-threatening attitude had gotten him into the refuge, over time, Yin Fang had gradually felt that this guy in front of him was actually quite easy-going.

Simply put, he had no airs about him.

Unlike the technical bureaucrats at the Academy who, at first, knew a thing or two about technology, but later turned into arrogant overlords, pointing their noses at others, those like him who actually did the work had little room for promotion.

This guy in front of him was different.

Although completely ignorant of basic knowledge, making one wonder if he had ever received basic education in the refuge, his respectful attitude towards knowledge was quite comforting to Yin Fang.

He glanced at the browsing room, particularly noticing the coffee machine by the wall and said with envy,

"The environment here is too good."

"Do you want to move your office here?"

"No need. I'm not comfortable around others… Can I take a coffee machine? There are so many anyway." Yin Fang had his eye on the coffee machine in the corner last time he was here, but he hadn't had the nerve to ask.

Chu Guang smiled and said,

"The coffee trees have just been planted, what's the point of taking a machine now... Never mind, if you want it, take it."

Yin Fang hugged his favorite machine with a look of sheer joy on his face.

"Thank you so much!"

A coffee machine from the Human Alliance Era remained a piece of rare high-tech in this era; it was capable of automatic drying, roasting, deacidifying, and grinding, and could simulate various processed flavors based on demand.

It was said that during the Prosperity Epoch, large supermarkets of the Human Alliance would supply freshly picked coffee fruits to meet the more personalized needs of customers.

For Yin Fang, owning a high-tech coffee machine was an even more amazing find than uncovering fuel rods for a fusion reactor.

Such privilege was enjoyed only by B-class researchers at the Academy!

Watching Yin Fang's infatuated expression, Chu Guang's own expression became somewhat odd.

He had heard that middle-aged men might pour their emotions into some strange things, like teapots, fishing rods, or even electric plugs.

But this guy was only in his early twenties, right?

"Is coffee really that good?"

"You don't understand, tasting the delights of olden times is one of the precious few pleasures left..." As he stroked the coffee machine, Yin Fang's face showed a rare hint of melancholy, "I've spent my life chasing the remnants of the past civilizations, digging them out of the ruins, and sorting them into categories. I've even dreamt of that era..."

"However, the depressing truth is, the further I go down this path, the clearer it becomes... it's impossible to go back."

Chu Guang fell silent for a moment, said nothing, only patted the guy's shoulder lightly.

"No need to dwell on the past."

"We're still here."

"We are the continuation of those times."

...

In the jungles of East Qingquan City.

The Bull and Horse Squad, fully equipped with exoskeletons, was cautiously progressing along the overgrown streets while escorting fuel rods.

They had just experienced a battle.

A group of Looters stationed near their mission objective not only had refused to surrender but had also opened fire on them.

However, getting rid of those barbarians hadn't taken much effort.

After handing over the rescued captives and the remaining Looters to the NPC soldiers who were changing guard, they continued towards Shelter No. 401 with the boxes containing the fuel rods.

It had to be said, exoskeletons were incredibly useful.

Even for a Strength Type, carrying a hundred-odd kilograms of fuel rods over mountains and through ruins would be exhausting.

But when attached to an exoskeleton, apart from a slight increase in energy consumption, there wasn't the slightest feeling of being burdened with weight.

Walking in the center-front of the team, Quit smoking hesitated for a long time before finally giving in to the urge to speak his mind, which he had been holding back the entire way.

"Guys, I—"

"Alright, stop right there. This mission's earnings will have a 15% deduction from your share, which the four of us will split, okay?" Interrupting him, Old White said helplessly.

He had long noticed the matter heavy on Quit smoking's mind.

Sure enough, after hearing those words, Quit smoking heaved a sigh of relief, and his expression visibly relaxed.

"Thank you."

A ten thousand silver coin Light Cavalry.

Currently, there were only 40 sets available in the server, with another 60 sets hanging in the NPC stores, each account limited to purchasing one set.

His own savings certainly couldn't afford it, after all, he had been playing the game since the "Land Yachting" expansion.

Although back when everyone played the game they would also gift each other with equipment and such, this piece of gear was just too valuable, worth a couple of hundred thousand RMB when converted.

He simply couldn't afford that.

"What's there to thank for," Night Ten replied, rolling her eyes, "We're still counting on you to beef up and be the Main Tank."

"Don't take it too seriously," Fang Chang patted Quit smoking's shoulder, "We just took advantage of being early in the game and got ourselves a bit of a head start. You should be thanking Ah Guang more than us."

Wild Wind:"I agree, don't put too much burden on yourself over the game, and don't bother calculating how much your gear would cost in real money."

Quit smoking sniffed, refrained from any more awkward pleasantries, and simply etched his teammates' care for him deep in his heart.

"Two more kilometers until we reach the safe zone. This mission should unlock a new base which will serve as a Novice Village for the newbies..." Old White pointed on his VM, confirming their location, "Two options, go straight to shortcut through the abandoned theater directly towards Ecopark Station Three, or backtrack the way we came."

Wild Wind touched his nose.

"Normally, taking shortcuts is the standard way to jinx things."

Fang Chang:"Then we better play it safe."

However, just then, Night Ten suddenly tightened her grip on her sniper rifle.

"No need to choose anymore."

The other four immediately went on alert.

Old White looked at her sternly and asked,

"What have you found?"

"Killing intent..." Night Ten swallowed, keeping a cautious watch over their surroundings, "Faint... but I can feel it."

The streets were eerily quiet, with no signs of anything amiss.

Yet Night Ten's instincts were seldom wrong.

Killing intent implied the enemy had already spotted them.

Old White's face turned grim, he gestured for them to spread out, and whispered sharply,

"Prepare for battle!"

—

(Thanks to "Laplace12351131" for the Sterling Silver Alliance!! Awesome!)

Chapter 297: Past, Present, Future

"Prepare for battle!"

As the words fell, the five members of the squad spread out to cover near the surrounding shelters in perfect unison.

Old White charged into a building by the street, kicking open a half-closed door, and placed the rectangular box filled with fuel rods in a safe spot. Then, he loaded his Sickle Assault Rifle and quickly moved to the window.

The movements were fluid and completed in one go.

"Position reached!"

"+1"

"I'm ready too!"

They had practiced such coordination countless times, spreading evenly around the buildings based on the green dots on the VM map, controlling all possible approaches.

Almost no blind spots!

The crew of the Niu Ma Squad nervously awaited the start of the battle.

However, as time passed, the street remained silent.

Still not a sound.

Quit smoking, who stood at the front line with Old White, held his breath and cautiously observed the surroundings.

But besides the gently swaying vines by the windows and the leaves rustling in the breeze, there was no visible movement in the entire street.

Could it be an illusion?

Just as this thought surfaced in their minds, a whizzing sound came from above.

Before anyone could react, something exploded over their heads.

Boom—

Night Ten, hiding behind a half-collapsed concrete wall, was stunned.

"Damn it?! A mortar!"

In fact, mortars were very inefficient in urban combat; the blast from the surrounding cover would severely limit the shrapnel's range.

But as if oblivious to this fact, another three shells were fired at them.

Each of these shells exploded midair, all about twenty meters away from them!

"And they're airburst shells..." Wild Wind frowned, glanced at the VM screen's signal, then quickly scoped the outside from the window, squinting slightly.

Tiny fibers gently floated down from the air, like the fluff on a dandelion.

That was the culprit for signal jamming!

"It's signal-jamming shells!"

Night Ten's curses came from afar.

"Damn it! No wonder the drone isn't responding!"

The latest "Type Five" Light Cavalry Exoskeleton at the NPC shop didn't just come with a helmet visor, it also included a palm-sized mini drone mounted on the shoulder for close-range reconnaissance, which could share the view on one's own or teammates' helmet visors.

But now.

The drone was rendered meaningless.

Not just Night Ten's drone, but Wild Wind's "Y-1 Firefly" quadcopter was also useless.

Old White turned on the speaker in his helmet and shouted.

"Night Ten, find a high ground to spot and take out the observer! Quit Smoking, follow me; we'll find a way to take out their mortar!"

The advantage of not understanding each other's language completely manifested at this moment; they couldn't understand the NPCs, and the NPCs couldn't understand their communication.

"Roger that!"

Quit Smoking was about to get up, but just then, long tongues of flame shot out from a window directly across the street, and bullets rained down like a storm.

Debris exploded off the concrete slope, frightening Quit Smoking, who quickly ducked back behind cover and crouched down amidst the chaotic gunfire.

Seeing his teammate suppressed by fire, Old White immediately raised his rifle and sprayed bullets toward that very window to cover his teammate's movement.

At the same time, intense gunfire also came from the other side of the street.

That was where Wild Wind and Fang Chang were!

Old White's brows furrowed tightly.

These people's combat training was not that of a ragtag team!

At least—

Much more disciplined than those Looters!

"Fire at will!"

Shouting loudly, Old White emptied the last of his magazine into the windows across the street, and after reloading, he began to move out from cover.

The enemy's mortars continued to fire, and soon the area would be completely isolated from the outside world. Night Ten was moving towards a higher position; areas above the twentieth floor should be able to restore communication with the shelter.

Meanwhile, Fang Chang and Wild Wind had engaged the enemy.

A four-man squad approached from their flank, running squarely into them; the glittering muzzle flashes moved through the narrow alleyway, filling the entire street with flying debris.

There was no exchange of words.

Amongst the silence, fierce gunfire erupted.

Shot twice in the chest, fortunately blocked by the bulletproof plate, Fang Chang, gritting his teeth, released his emptied PU-9 Submachine Gun, took hold of the Dawn Composite Bow, and his pupils suddenly narrowed.

Bullet time!

The swirling dust around him suddenly slowed down.

Along with the whole world.

Including himself!

Locking onto a figure in the smoke, he drew the bowstring as fast as he could, and his fingers released.

The bowstring vibrated at a frequency visible to the naked eye, and the powerfully launched three-edged arrow zipped lightning-fast into the smoke.

Simultaneously, bullet time was over!

Whoosh—

The dark silhouette's chest collided squarely with the arrow released by Fang Chang, letting out a muffled groan before collapsing backward onto the ground.

Seeing the pitch-black armor on the person, surprise flickered in Fang Chang's eyes.

Just who were these people?!

…

Dimitri, who dragged his fallen comrade behind cover, holding an assault rifle in his hand, was also filled with surprise.

It wasn't the identities of these people that surprised him—they knew exactly who their targets were. What amazed him was that their equipment and combat awareness far exceeded their expectations.

Pre-war police exoskeletons!

Where did they get these things from!?

But no matter who they were, they weren't escaping from here today!

"The left lung has been pierced! Raven can't hold on much longer!" the medic shouted loudly.

"Hemostatic spray! Quick! Get that wound treated first!"

"These barbarians... they're using bows and arrows?!" A soldier had barely finished speaking when a hail of submachine gun bullets whizzed past his head, causing him to quickly take cover again.

"Don't underestimate them!" Dimitri shouted, "There's something odd about that bow!"

Helmet-assisted aiming?

Or an electronic eye?

That reaction speed was just too fast!

Especially since these people had actually anticipated their ambush beforehand, which caught him completely off guard.

Their exoskeletons were capable of shielding heartbeats and 90% of thermal emissions. Even an Awakener from the Intuition wouldn't be able to detect them from such a great distance, right?!

Dimitri pulled a fragmentation grenade from his waist, but before he could even pull the pin, a whizzing sound followed by an explosion burst overhead almost simultaneously.

Hundreds of steel balls burst from the arrow, sweeping across a cylindrical area and catching those hidden behind cover completely by surprise.

It was lucky that their exoskeletons protected them from the shower of shrapnel, otherwise that single arrow would have been enough to cause significant casualties.

Dimitri did not dare to take their situation lightly. He clenched his fist tightly and signaled to the two combat-ready teammates to spread out to the ruins on both sides, bypassing the enemy's intensive fire zone.

At the same time as this group was deeply shaken, Fang Chang, the one who had shot the arrow, also had a face full of surprise.

He took one of his explosive arrows and wasn't affected?

Well then.

Here comes another!

Without hesitation, he drew another explosive arrow, worth 50 silver coins, placing it upon the bowstring. Fang Chang was ready to draw back and shoot when Wild Wind tapped his shoulder.

"They're encircling us!"

Fang Chang's expression changed subtly, and he made a split-second decision.

"Retreat!"

…

Shelter No. 404's B4 floor viewing room.

The digital screen on the wall simulated the flames of a fireplace, emitting comforting crackling sounds.

The ambience here was indeed nice.

The only downside was that it made it easy to forget the difference between day and night.

Chu Guang did not go outside for inspection today, but instead sat on the soft sofa, flipping through a scientific popularization book taken from the bookshelf.

The book was titled "Past, Present, Future."

Though most of the content was only superficially narrated, it still broadened Chu Guang's horizons.

"As early as the 20th year of the Prosperity Epoch, the Research Ships of the Human Alliance had finished exploring all the planets in the Solar System and initiated the South Gate Two exploration project."

"By the 30th year of the Prosperity Epoch, the South Gate Two exploration project had been preliminarily completed, and the Human Alliance's first Colony Ship successfully set sail…"

"South Gate Two is 4.24 light-years from Earth, isn't it?"

"Is this mastering superluminal travel?"

Chu Guang's face looked strange as he paused on a line in the book.

"… Gravity Link?"

According to the description in the book, during the Era of Prosperity, physicists of the Human Alliance discovered a "Gravity Link" between two massive celestial bodies.

Aerospace engineers referred to it as a "gravity corridor."

Though in the classical mode of motion, spacecraft would require hundreds or even thousands of years to travel from the Solar System to other star systems, but by using the gravity corridor, a spacecraft could 'jump' between two massive star systems in a relatively short time.

Generally speaking, the time taken for a jump was directly proportional to the mass of the spacecraft and the distance between celestial bodies and inversely proportional to the mass of the celestial bodies, with a specific formula facilitating calculations.

According to this formula, jumping from the Solar System to the South Gate Two System would be faster than jumping between Earth and Mars.

Yes, there were many gravity corridors.

They could exist between star systems, between planets within a star system, and even between star clusters. However, due to the issue of jump points, nearly 99.99% of these corridors were impractical despite their existence.

Fortunately, the physicists of the Human Alliance resolved this issue. They not only calculated the method to determine the route of a gravity corridor but also derived a formula to calculate jump points, making "hyperspace travel" using gravity corridors achievable for human civilization.

This discovery also laid the foundation for the continuing Prosperity Epoch.

Controlled fusion resolved the energy problem, and the discovery of gravity corridors made colonization beyond the Solar System possible, simultaneously addressing issues of material and living space.

Human civilization thus reached its first "ascension," taking the inaugural step from being interstellar natives towards becoming masters of the cosmic ocean.

To be honest, this popular science book makes this segment read like a thrilling novel.

Perhaps considering that the audience is children, that colony ship heading to South Gate Two is practically depicted as a paradise on Earth.

As for now...

It's more like the aftermath of a failed tribulation.

Not only is the power utterly dissipated, but the Human Alliance has been completely eradicated as well.

Chu Guang now somewhat understands how Yin Fang must have felt.

The more he learned, the more dejected he felt.

"Damn..."

"If only I had traveled back a hundred years earlier!"

When you don't know, you ask—Is it too late for fake alcohol now?

According to the book "The Past, The Present, The Future," if one traveled back to the early or even mid Era of Prosperity, barring an attempt at "time travel" or "wanting a peek into the future" in a sleep cabin and courting death, one might never witness the collapse of the flourishing world.

Chu Guang flipped to the next page.

Regrettably, this popular science book does not delve into the "Gravity Link" in detail, just as most popular science books on parallel worlds would not paste the complete derivation of relativity; rather, they broadly summarize it as "seeking shortcuts through hyperspace."

Chu Guang had some understanding of hyperspace, literally meaning a multidimensional space.

And this was the most surprising aspect for him.

In "modern physics," force is usually explained as the collision process between the particles that make up matter and the particles that transmit force. Within this framework, the four fundamental forces, aside from gravity, can be consistently explained and calculated and are compatible with experimental results.

This is known as the "Standard Model."

And it is the cornerstone of modern physics.

Yet this model is not perfect, just as Newton's classical mechanics cannot explain the motion laws of massive celestial bodies, this model also has its temporal limitations—it cannot perfectly accommodate gravity.

Hence, "string theory" was proposed. Within this conjectured theoretical framework, the three fundamental forces are explained as open strings, while gravity is explained as a closed string.

Based on this assumption, gravity could traverse all dimensions.

Could the physics of the two worlds be connected?

Though it's only a conclusion from two sets of theories.

Staring at the lines of description in his hands, Chu Guang suddenly thought of those recordings he unlocked on Floor B2, particularly the sections about the Morphogenesis Field.

"...If star clusters can have Gravity Links between them, could there be similar links between universes?"

Chu Guang was unsure of the mass of the universe; it was like oil reserves, which seemed to "increase with better exploration technology."

But assuming that the mass and the distance between two universes were both infinite, Chu Guang tried plugging them into that simplified formula mentioned in the popular science book and deduced that the mass of a spacecraft 'm' was infinitesimal.

In other words, according to the "Gravity Link" theory, even if such a link existed between two parallel worlds, it would not allow even a single quark to pass through.

But what about particles with "zero rest mass"?

Like photons.

The transmission of information requires a medium, and the exchange of carriers means that the transmission of information becomes possible. As to what this medium is specifically, probably only physicists from the Human Alliance Era could answer.

"The Morphogenesis Field connecting parallel worlds might just be based on a similar theory."

"But how are parallel worlds located, anyway?"

Chu Guang gently closed his eyes, digesting the knowledge he had just absorbed.

The 20 points in intelligence were slightly helpful.

If he weren't a Manager, perhaps he could have become a world-renowned physicist on the Earth of a parallel world.

At the very least, the content of this book alone, if he were to update it to the official data bank, could be enough to shake up the physics community of the parallel world.

He might even nab a Nobel Prize.

But that's an ideal situation.

The Earth of the parallel world does not have the capacity to verify these theories, and the superficial descriptions in the popular science book are insufficient as rigorous scientific conclusions; they could at most serve as a "correct direction."

As for himself, he'd likely be seen as a "high civilization" messenger, and this popular science book would likely be seen as evidence of "high civilization's benign enlightenment of Earth civilization."

Then came the question.

How much should this book sell for in silver coins?

Thinking of Brother Wild Wind from the server, a smile couldn't help but curl the corners of Chu Guang's mouth.

"Keep on upgrading."

"When you guys help me revive the United Human, I'll give you the title of Earth's chief physical scientist to enjoy, and maybe throw in a couple of Nobel Prizes, how about that?"

Of course.

If you can't bear it, don't blame your brother.

Just as Chu Guang was smirking and turning another page, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly came from the side.

"Master."

"What's up?"

"Your Burning Corps' signal has disappeared from the map."

What the fuck?!

Startled, Chu Guang quickly closed the book he was holding and tossed it aside, picking up the tablet on the desk without a word and opening the map.

Five green dots had vanished from the East District of Qingquan City.

"System!"

A pale blue window appeared before him, and Chu Guang instantly switched to the player list. Seeing a few players' online icons, he slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was just the radio communication that had been cut off, not the Morphogenesis Field!

The clones were still alive!

It must be some kind of signal interference device that had blocked their signals.

Although there was a possibility of an accident, the safety of the fuel rods was vital to whether Shelter No. 401 could be operated, and no accidents could be allowed to occur.

It took only a second to make a decision; Chu Guang tapped his index finger lightly on the tablet, sending out the "pre-edited" task commands.

"Let Mosquito's plane go take a look!"

Xiao Qi's voice came, full of vigor.

"Okay!"

At the same time, on the runway north of the City of Dawn, a wooden plane with its propellers turning slowly taxied out of the hangar door.

Mosquito, who had just been teaching a few apprentices how to operate a glider a minute ago, jumped into his own cockpit without a word and buckled his flight cap made of dog skin on his head.

The two machine guns on the plane had been upgraded from 7mm small pipes to the 10mm Maxim-II, turning the entire wooden glider from a reconnaissance aircraft into a ground attack aircraft.

Mosquito painted shark's teeth on the nose of the plane with paint, making the entire nose look like a shark with its gaping maw wide open.

Although the paint job didn't add to its combat effectiveness, it sure looked cool.

See who would dare to say again that he scrapes the ground like a pissing dog!

"You guys keep practicing! Just don't take them into the sky, anything else goes!"

The four training aircraft weren't equipped with weapons, so it would be useless even if they went up.

However, as soon as they heard that, the four apprentices immediately showed their displeasure.

Soul Chaser: "Fuck!"

Soul Chaser: "You're hogging it all for yourself again!"

Kill God: "Get down and let me fly!"

Discourage: "%￥#@!"

"Buzz off, you think you can do a real mission? Go get a license in real life first!"

Soul Chaser: "Do you even have a license?!"

Mosquito didn't bother to reply. He just smirked, pushed the throttle to the bottom, the moment it hit takeoff speed, he pulled the control stick and also lowered the wind goggles of his helmet.

The mission was simple.

Patrol the East District of Qingquan City at low altitude and search for Old White's signal.

If an accident was discovered, provide support.

If safety was confirmed, scout out their advance direction before the energy runs out.

Intuition told Mosquito that when such missions pop up, you can usually ignore the second scenario. No need to think about it; it's almost certainly the real deal!

The entire squad had vanished from the map.

The enemy forces were likely formidable!

Blood surged through his veins. Although they were still more than ten kilometers away, Mosquito's index finger already touched the safety switch of the fire button.

"My brothers!"

"Wait for me!"

...

East District of Qingquan City.

Gunshots crackled like firecrackers.

Leaving Quit smoking behind to pin down the machine gun on the opposite side, Old White planned to first take out that annoying mortar.

But only after reaching the position did he realize that things were far from as simple as he had thought.

He saw a heavy exoskeleton standing in the center of the residential complex's flowerbed, with two armored arms propped against the ground, in a sprinting posture, as the mortar tube on its back fired continuously.

With every shot, dust would fly from the ground.

This, what the hell, wasn't a mortar.

It was clearly an exoskeleton version of a self-propelled gun, damn it!

The three exoskeleton soldiers guarding around the "self-propelled gun" immediately noticed Old White the moment he appeared. Without a word, they raised their rifles and sprayed bullets at him.

Barely missing being swept by a burst of fire, Old White, hiding behind the residential building, immediately poked his rifle out from cover to return fire.

However, the opposition was clearly no pushover. Three assault rifles fired simultaneously, the fierce firepower pushing him back into cover.

The three soldiers in exoskeleton armor didn't stop there. They spread out in a triangle formation, providing covering fire and advancing towards him.

Looking at the cracks on the bulletproof panel of his left arm, Old White gritted his teeth and swapped magazines, beginning to move toward a half-collapsed building nearby.

The entire area had no signal, probably because the dust from the jamming grenades had blown over; he didn't even know if his teammates were dead or alive.

But fortunately, the heavy exoskeleton's mortar tube had ceased firing, so perhaps the pressure on Fang Chang and the others had lessened a bit.

"Damn it... where the hell did these people come from!?"

Could it be that Fang Chang's market crash had attracted the planners' attention?

Surely not, right?!

It's not only them cutting the leeks.

As Old White was pondering in bewilderment, a gunshot sounded in the distance.

One of the three exoskeleton soldiers in pursuit, attempting to move sideways, was shot, the armor cracked open, and his body nearly stumbled to the ground.

His teammate immediately pulled him into nearby cover. Pressed by the threat of the sniper rifle, they dared not come out of cover, only managing to maneuver through the narrow view of the rubble.

"Nice!"

Old White rejoiced inwardly and did not miss this rare opportunity, firing back a burst, suppressing those attempting a flanking maneuver.

Both sides fell into a standoff!

They relied on their cover and shot coldly at each other.

However, what made Old White's heart sink was that the "self-propelled gun" had begun firing again.

And this shell landed just ten meters to his side!

Left with no choice, Old White had to abandon suppressing those three exoskeleton soldiers and retreated to the building across the street from the residential area.

Crouched behind cover, Wu Lun replaced his magazine and, gritting his teeth, took his two teammates and followed up.

The toughness of the enemy exceeded his expectations!

There was still no word from Dimitri; someone had actually bypassed their front line and penetrated to the mortar position six hundred meters away from the firefight zone.

Wu Lun lightly tapped his finger on the exoskeleton's helmet and came up with a plan, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Give up! You're already surrounded!"

"We won't kill you, just hand over the Black Box you stole from us!"

The voice echoed through the streets.

Old White, wielding a submachine gun, frowned.

What is this guy talking about?

His proficiency in the United Human language was not as good as Fang Chang's, just enough to spit out a few words. Sometimes he was fine if they spoke slowly, but he would get lost if they spoke quickly.

However, misunderstanding aside, he couldn't let himself seem weak in spirit.

Old White copied the pronunciation from across the street and returned the sentence verbatim.

"Surrender! You're already surrounded!"

Wu Lun: "???"

We're surrounded, sure.

Is this guy hallucinating?

However, just as he was thinking this, a sharp screech suddenly pierced the air.

Wu Lun turned his head sharply, only to see a "Shark" with its mouth wide open swooping down toward their mortar position behind them.

A flash of fear crossed his eyes as he shouted out.

"Ted! Get out of the way!"

Ted, wearing a heavy exoskeleton, had obviously also noticed the anomaly in the sky and quickly withdrew his arms planted in the ground.

But it was too late!

Two 10mm machine guns erupted from the Shark's gaping mouth with tongues of fire!

"Rat-a-tat-tat! Die!"

Mosquito, providing gunfire through his mouth while shaking in the cockpit, excitedly pulled the trigger to the limit, aiming at the exoskeleton carrying the cannon barrel and firing indiscriminately.

Though covered with bulletproof panels, an exoskeleton is still an exoskeleton, and even with additional panels, it couldn't withstand the torrent of fire from a fixed-wing aircraft.

Facing a wild spray of 10mm machine gun fire, in just a few seconds, the heavy exoskeleton turned into a sieve.

Ammunition boxes and batteries instantly sparked half a meter high flames, and the man, without even a chance to scream, was blown to pieces along with his armor.

The aircraft pulled up to regain altitude, heading toward the sky.

"Damn it!"

Staring hard at the aircraft, Wu Lun's eyes filled with bloodshot veins.

His teeth nearly cracked with rage as his finger pressed the trigger to the limit, emptying the entire magazine until the aircraft disappeared from sight.

The other two teammates did the same.

Anger almost made them lose their senses.

However, as the team leader, Wu Lun quickly regained his composure thanks to the remnants of his sanity.

They had air support!

Though it was just a laughable propeller airplane, those two heavy machine guns were no joke. Their equipment was not advanced enough to defy common sense.

Here, in the River Valley Province far from Death Coast, right at the enemy's doorstep, the opposing side had near limitless supplies and reinforcements, whereas his own side had none.

Thinking of the man's earlier shout, Wu Lun's heart sank a bit more.

Maybe that person wasn't joking.

Their reinforcements had really encircled them!

They had only one chance!

If they couldn't capture anyone, they would have to resort to Plan B and keep heading north, seeking help from the Looters they had once sponsored.

With no time to hesitate, Wu Lun immediately pulled out a signal gun from his waist and fired a flare into the sky to alert his teammates ahead.

Then he turned to the two teammates beside him and ordered,

"Retreat!"

…

The battle was over.

The enemy had abandoned their position and retreated further into the ruins.

Mosquito circled in the sky a few more times, ultimately not finding a second opportunity to dive, and started to head back after confirming the safety of his own people.

Quitting smoking took the box containing the fuel rods and met up with Wild Wind and Fang Chang, then moved to reinforce in the direction of the signal flare.

Here they met Old White.

"What the hell?! Are you okay?" Fang Chang asked with a look of surprise on his face at the sight of Old White's shattered bulletproof vest.

"Don't worry too much, got hit by seven or eight bullets," Old White said, removing the drooping vest and reflecting, "If this were real life, I'd probably be gone by now."

Wild Wind coughed lightly.

"No need to guess, have a little confidence."

Quitting smoking asked nervously,

"Should we chase them?"

Old White shook his head.

"Chase what, the mission is important. Call Night Ten back, we need to get going too... It would be trouble if they had reinforcements!"

How to chase?

Their VM signal still hadn't come back, and the enemy had already pulled back into the ruins.

They couldn't just leave the fuel rods here.

Looking at the suicide-bombed heavy exoskeleton nearby, Fang Chang walked over, yanking the charred body out of the armor.

After rummaging on the body, Fang Chang's hand suddenly paused and he pulled out a necklace with a charred dog tag attached from inside the collar.

It bore the symbol of a Torch.

"Did you find something?" Old White came over and asked.

"Yeah."

Fang Chang nodded, showing the dog tag in his hand.

"The Torch's emblem... with his name engraved on it, though I don't recognize these letters."

Looking at the burned remains of the heavy exoskeleton, Old White took a signal flare from his waist, pulled the ring, and dropped it beside the remains.

The flare emitted billowing red smoke.

"Let the NPCs handle this."

Old White patted Fang Chang on the shoulder.

"Let's go."

Chapter 298: Legion System Upgrade!

Northern Runway of Dawn City.

A wooden airplane wobbled down onto the runway, bouncing up and down several times before finally coming to a stop.

Looking at the speedometer dial that had returned to zero, Mosquito Brother let out a slow sigh of relief, his heart finally settling down.

"Damn..."

Finally, it landed!

There were two bullet holes in the belly and five in the wings, and that was after he risked disassembly by executing barrel roll maneuvers during the ascent.

Are these hostile NPCs from Tarkov's men's team?

Rifle strafing with such accuracy is ridiculously unbelievable!

Definitely cheating!

Tossing his hat into the cockpit, Mosquito Brother used his hands to vault out, inspecting his craft. Eyeing the glaring holes and cracks, his heart ached.

Since both the wings and the fuselage of the airplane were made of wood, their defensive capability was virtually nonexistent; a bullet would create a hole upon contact.

One projectile had even whizzed past an electrical wire, nearly causing the left battery to start smoking.

However, it was also lucky that the wings were wooden.

Because the bullets' kinetic energy was excessive, they over-penetrated, thus not causing severe structural damage to the wings.

Mosquito Brother had circled in the sky for a while, noting the leaking cabin and cracked wings only when he was returning, but by then he was only a few kilometers from the runway.

It was frantic, but nothing too problematic!

Four apprentices gathered around.

Death Claw glanced at the bullet holes on the airplane, exclaiming in surprise,

"What the hell? Did you use this wreck of a plane to fight against dogs?"

"I got shot a few times while fetching the fries, but it's nothing serious... Can this airplane still be fixed?" he stroked the text on the wing, speaking with heartache.

Discourage stepped forward, looked at the wing for a moment, and shook his head.

"Can't fix this, both the fuselage and the wings... just redo it."

Soul Chaser patted Mosquito Brother's shoulder, consoling him,

"No worries, since it's made of wood, it won't cost much. The battery, motor, and machine guns are all still intact… and so are you."

"That's true..."

But it would have been nice not to have gotten shot.

After deducting the money for replacing the wings, this mission rounded off to barely making any profit, his only consolation being the contribution points and flight proficiency.

Mosquito Brother sighed deeply, mourning the lost silver coins.

"So annoying!"

…

On the outskirts of Qingquan City in the East.

Led by Lu Bei, twenty soldiers dressed in light cavalry exoskeletons, belonging to the Guards Corps of the indigenous people, were rapidly heading towards the area where red smoke was rising to provide support.

As the elite of the New Alliance Regular Army, everyone here had survived two battles.

After undergoing transformations with induced expression serum, their physical attributes greatly surpassed those of ordinary people.

However, unlike the "specification" enhancements of clones, naturally Awakened individuals had more balanced attributes across at least three areas.

Only a few with exceptional innate talent or those especially lucky experimentees excelled in a particular attribute.

Such individuals typically took on special roles within the squad.

For example, Agile Awakeners, due to their superior eyesight and reaction speeds, generally served as sniper riflemen; Strength Type Awakeners mainly handled ammunition carrying and firepower support; Body Constitution Awakeners usually positioned themselves relatively at the forefront, among others.

These roles were deduced through countless player deaths and "official forum discussions."

As they approached the discarded heavy exoskeleton in the center of the flower bed, Lu Bei stepped forward to check a charred corpse beside it, tapping on the helmet.

"… Report, we've found a damaged exoskeleton near the flare! Friendly forces have withdrawn from the target area, request further instructions!"

Sitting on the sofa in the viewing room, Chu Guang, after hearing the frontline soldier's report, pondered for a moment before ordering,

"Recover the wreckage, don't miss a single piece!"

Lu Bei, "Yes!"

Hearing that crisp, powerful response, Chu Guang ended the communication, turning his gaze toward the snow-white tablet beside him, his eyebrows raising with intrigue.

"Anti-drone?"

These people had something interesting.

A few minutes ago, he had redirected the Hummingbird drone stationed near Shelter No. 401 to the frontline, trying to track the unknown armed forces fleeing towards the ruins.

However, once they left the battlefield, they immediately noticed the drone following them.

One individual pulled out a boxy long gun, likely an anti-drone electromagnetic weapon, and aimed it at his Hummingbird.

Then, the connection between the drone and the control terminal was severed.

Despite the disconnection, the Hummingbird drone, being a pre-war product with substantial anti-invasion capabilities, immediately activated its protective mechanism. The control components autonomously cut off the communication functions, entering radio silence and using camera recognition to follow the original path back to base.

The only regret was losing track of that group.

Chu Guang could only deduce from their fleeing direction that they headed north.

"They belong to the Torch."

Tapping lightly on the table with his index finger, Chu Guang pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Xiao Qi, is there a way to hack their exoskeletons?"

Xiao Qi was silent for a while before responding softly.

"Master, the chips used in their exoskeletons are very likely replicas of pre-war chips. If the operating system was written by them, that would be manageable..."

"But if it directly uses a pre-war operating system, then it's difficult."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"I see."

While unexpected, it wasn't incomprehensible.

Spear and shield are never isolated; since there are means to invade, there must also be armor capable of defending against such invasions.

In the early days of the Human Alliance Era, even before entering the Prosperity Epoch, machine learning technology had already become quite widespread. Rather than manually writing every piece of code, people preferred to build an AI algorithm that could learn like a human and automatically adapt to various application scenarios.

This was akin to automation in the programming field.

With the advent of quantum computers, traditional encryption methods almost became obsolete. Human computing power evolved from two isolated "points" of 0 and 1 into an infinitely extending "line," and naturally, corresponding encryption measures would emerge.

In the Prosperity Epoch, even the most basic anti-invasion plugins had the flexible ability to recognize and judge.

They were like the human immune system, capable of recognizing unknown viruses and forming specific antibodies. They ensured deliveries always reached customers hands accurately, and likewise, ensured missiles would hit the enemy's head precisely.

Although Xiao Qi approached the level of a "complete artificial intelligence," it was still a general-purpose AI.

Its characteristic was that it could do anything but that didn't mean it excelled in everything.

Creating useful applications, flexibly meeting various user needs, and even providing mental support and encouragement—all these were within its capabilities. But in specific areas, its abilities did not exceed those of an AI specializing in that field.

If the maximum level is 5 and the average is 3, then its hacking ability would probably be around 1 or 2, and maybe it could reach 3 with a boost in computing power.

However, despite not being a professional hacker, the shelter still did not need to worry about electronic warfare invasions.

The shelter's servers, equipped with defensive plugins combined with the server's own computing power, had an anti-invasion capability that could reach MAX, equivalent to the ceiling of the current era.

Thus, even with weak offensive capabilities, no one could hack the shelter's security system through hacking.

As for the anti-invasion and invasion capabilities of various countries on Earth of the parallel world?

Optimistically, it would be about 0.1, rounding up to virtually non-existent. After all, it is not from the same era, discussing the combat power between a cavalry and a tank makes no sense.

Yet, out of 7.5 billion people, at least 3.5 billion rely on information technology to a degree of 90% or even higher, with the market value of related industries surpassing several trillion dollars indirectly affecting areas like transportation, logistics, finance, industry, and agriculture. Many people would struggle to live without the internet.

It is precisely because of this that information warfare can form "effective deterrence."

If regressing back to the era of World War I or even the distant Age of Exploration, the deterrence of electronic warfare would be significantly limited—sending a broadcast in hopes of attracting a traitor might not even be heard.

As for why his own Manager System could take control of other shelters whose "anti-invasion capabilities were also maxed out"?

Chu Guang tended to believe it was due to backdoors left in the design rather than Xiao Qi achieving it through illegal hacking methods.

For example...

In the programming of the Human Federation Shelter, there was a hidden line of code that stated: "Once a manager dies or actively relinquishes their duties, managers of other shelters will automatically gain the manager's authority of this shelter when certain conditions are met."

The drone's view reappeared on the screen, and the Hummingbird drone that had returned to the assembly point was back under control of the terminal.

Xiao Qi: "Master, shall we continue to follow?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"The people have gone too far, following them wouldn't mean much."

Xiao Qi: "Whimper..."

Hearing the pitiful, self-reproaching voice, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"It's okay, it's not your fault. Having probed the enemy's reality is already enough."

Besides, he could probably guess where they intended to go.

North.

Most likely to seek out people from the Chew-bone Tribe, certainly not to make contact with the distant Grand Canyon.

Earlier, from those looters' trucks, Chu Guang had seized quite a number of neural connection devices from the Torch Church, enough to prove the Chew-bone Tribe was backed by the Torch Church.

These rats can't escape!

Chu Guang picked up the tablet from the table and stuffed it into his pocket, then stood up from the couch.

"Call Yin Fang for me, have him wait for me at the elevator door."

Xiao Qi: "Right away, Master. Are you planning to go out?"

"Yes," Adjusting his collar in front of the mirror, Chu Guang nodded, "I plan to make a trip to Shelter No. 401."

...

Qingquan City, East District.

A Death Claw, five meters long with a collar around its neck, was rapidly running across the ruins, carrying one person and one piece of iron.

"Why aren't we driving?"

"Car tires can't pass through these ruins; this is the fastest mode of transport."

"I'd rather go slower, didn't we walk slowly last time?"

"Enough talk, my time is precious."

The two mounted on the Death Claw heard an unhappy purr from Nicole beneath them, but the deep-seated deterrence made it dare not act up, forcing it to vent its frustration on the concrete chunks underfoot.

Sitting astride the back of the Death Claw, Chu Guang felt like a knight in heavy armor.

Too bad.

This dumb lizard had no wings.

"How about we fit it with a mechanical prosthesis when we get a chance?"

As Chu Guang's thoughts drifted, the two of them had already arrived near Ecological Park No. 3. The natural intimidation of the Claw of Death scared away groups of monkeys nearby.

No Variants dared to come close on the road.

As for the Eaters, it wasn't their time to be active during the day.

At the ticket inspection post near Ecological Park No. 3, two soldiers carrying rifles greeted Chu Guang with a look of awe and with their right fists pressed against their chests, they gave a military salute.

"Truly befitting of the Manager! To use the Claw of Death as a mount, there could hardly be a second person on the Wasteland!"

"Respected Manager!"

Carrying a coffin-like box and wearing a battle-damaged exoskeleton, Old White stepped forward and spoke respectfully, "We've brought the fuel rods you requested!"

"Good job, put them here."

Chu Guang nodded approvingly and hopped down from the back of the Claw of Death, offering a hand to Yin Fang who was sitting in front of him.

Finally touching the ground, Yin Fang, who was almost rattled apart, nearly lost his balance and took a tumble.

Nicole snorted loudly, apparently in mockery, but after being chastised by Chu Guang, the lizard quickly calmed down and sadly rested its head on the ground.

Old White looked at it with surprise.

Was this the same Claw of Death that almost wiped them all out?

How did it end up as the Manager's mount?

"Your task is complete now, and on behalf of the Alliance, I thank you for your contribution!"

"Go back and rest up well!"

Chu Guang simulated swiping his finger in the air and settled the task for Yin Fang and the other members of Oxhorse Squad.

As the numbers flickered on the VM settlement interface, smiles of surprise appeared on the faces of the five players.

The final link in the task chain, besides the basic profit of 1300 silver coins and over 500 contribution points per person, there was also a side reward of 1200 silver coins and 200 contribution points.

This was absolutely exhilarating!

Seeing the players' excited expressions, a smile also appeared on Chu Guang's face.

Tens of thousands of silver coins for a fuel rod.

His little players were just too useful!

If they were willing to sell their earned silver coins cheaply to life profession players for investment in production and expansion of exports, that would be even better.

Or to go out and buy some good things and bring them back.

Of course.

How to play the game was their own affair.

For the moment, Chu Guang's task was to cultivate growth soil for fresh newbies, allowing more players the chance to come here and work for him.

Chu Guang opened the box to check inside, closed it and carried it in his hand, then looked toward Yin Fang, who had just climbed off Nicole's back.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

Having been jostled all the way, Yin Fang's calves were still trembling as he spoke with a pained expression.

"No problem… just let me catch my breath first, I almost fell apart on the way here."

Nicole forcefully snorted, as if to say "weak."

But it wasn't long before it received a lesson from Chu Guang's hand and humbly lay prostrate on the ground, its head drooping, not daring to move.

"Once the underground metro is connected, it will be more convenient."

Chu Guang replied offhandedly to Yin Fang, pulled half of a skinned hyena from his armored pack, tossed it to Nicole as a snack, and continued issuing commands through his neural connection equipment, ordering it to wait there for his return.

After completing these tasks, Chu Guang, accompanied by Yin Fang and carrying the fuel rod, headed toward the subway station.

Nicole, delighted, gnawed messily at the half hyena on the ground, making happy gnashing and crunching noises, while the two NPC soldiers nearby watched it nervously, instinctively tightening their grip on their rifles.

The jingling and banging of the iron chain always gave them a feeling of insecurity, as if any second the creature might break free and pounce on them.

However, the Claw of Death seemed to have no such plans and, after finishing the bone, curled its tail into a circle and lay down at the door, drifting off to sleep.

This creature had been completely tamed.

Watching the Manager walk away, Night Ten glanced again at the balance on the VM, swallowing his saliva.

"If this were converted into RMB…"

Even with a falling price.

It would still amount to several tens of thousands!

"Can't you aim a little higher," Fang Chang laughed and patted his shoulder, "Why not swap it for some special products and take them to Giant Stone City to trade for chips, wouldn't upgrading your equipment be awesome?"

Life profession players were always buying silver coins on the Forum.

Forming a commercial team to expand production required spending money, either earning it from NPCs or buying from combat professional players through golden plays.

Previously, Fang Chang had taken advantage of the downturn to collect quite a bit.

After this task, he planned to purchase some goods with his buddies and transport them to Giant Stone City, using the earned chips to buy some equipment.

Trade routes were just starting to recover and selling anything now was profitable.

Once the trade routes became developed and information disparities reduced in the future, profits wouldn't be as substantial as they are now.

The game's economic system was influenced by supply and demand, incredibly realistic.

Night Ten sheepishly scratched his head and chuckled heh heh.

"I just subconsciously counted... right, when are we going to Giant Stone City?"

"Let's go tomorrow. We've almost completed all the tasks." As Old White was checking his VM, he suddenly noticed a small red dot on the Legion System icon.

Curious, he clicked on it and was surprised to find that the original LV0 level indicator had changed to LV1.

Not only that, but an attribute panel had also appeared.

[ID: Burning Corps]

[Legion Level: LV2 (+1 assignable point)]

[

Scale: 2 (each level +10 recruitment cap)

Logistics: 2 (each level +10 logistics points)

]

[Doctrine: (Unselected)]

Previously, the Legion System's page seemed to have just a list and a level, and now there's even an attribute panel.

Was this a soft update?

Old White scratched the back of his head and said after looking at it for a long time, not understanding what these attributes meant.

"It seems our legion has upgraded."

Hearing this, Quit Smoking immediately came over excitedly.

"The legion upgraded? Let me see!"

"Yeah, the LV2 legion's recruitment cap has increased to 20 people, and we've also gotten an assignable point... but I still haven't figured out what this attribute panel means."

Scale was understandable, probably referring to the recruitment cap, and logistics likely referred to the budget? However, he didn't quite understand these logistics points.

Previously, the expenditure on ammunition was budgeted with silver coins.

Could it be that the logistics of the Legion System will be separated from the Economic System in the future?

There were also the selectable doctrines that seemed to require points to upgrade.

Old White quickly browsed and saw that there were several major categories, including light infantry doctrine, mobile warfare doctrine, superior firepower doctrine, and more.

Additionally, there were more specific areas mainly providing strategic level BUFF bonuses.

For example, selecting the Human Sea Assault under light infantry doctrine increased the recruitment cap by +100%.

After selecting this branch, each [scale point]added to the recruitment cap directly increased from 10 to 20, reaching a hundred-man team by LV5!

Of course, that's provided they could recruit that many players.

Staring at the legion level, Quit Smoking suddenly remembered something and said,

"Wait, wasn't this a scientific research team mission?"

Fang Chang knew what he was asking and nodded,

"In team missions, if four or more members of the squad are from the same legion, the mission completion will earn a certain percentage of legion merits based on contribution points."

Merit points were also the experience needed for legion upgrades.

Quit Smoking hesitated.

"Holy shit! So, in the future, with more people, couldn't we farm experience?!"

Upgrade later and throw all the skill points in [Scale], a legion of hundreds of people, teams of four doing missions, those legion merits would rapidly increase!

Fang Chang said with a subtle expression,

"That's the theory; after all, quantity is a form of power, but there's a variation in rewards between missions. The rewards for a T0 ladder team might be an order of magnitude different from those for a T3 team, so overall efficiency might not be high."

After pausing, Fang Chang continued looking at Old White, who was wondering how to assign the points.

"Let's not rush to assign points, wait for the update announcement, and I'll study it then."

Old White turned off the interface and chuckled.

"That's what I was thinking too!"

...

Meanwhile, in the northern part of Qingquan City.

Dimitri breathed a sigh of relief as he moved further away from New Alliance territory, continuing northward with the remaining seven subordinates.

The Snake Tribe was engaged in battle with Red River Town, and the only ones who could spare manpower to help them reclaim the Black Box were the Ya Clan stationed in West State City.

No one knew what had happened, but since stationing in West State City, the Looter's southward movement had stopped.

Just then, a group of figures suddenly appeared from the north, running right into them.

Dimitri instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon, but relaxed when he saw their shabby attire.

Just a bunch of refugees.

"Should we kill them? They've seen us."

Wu Lun had already flicked off the safety, squeezing the question through his teeth.

"There's no need for unnecessary complications; let them have seen us, we're already here," Dimitri glanced at him and said soothingly, "I know Ted's death upset you, but killing these people won't bring back the dead."

"We need to conserve ammunition; they're not worth it."

Having let the group of refugees pass, Dimitri narrowed his eyes looking in the direction they were headed.

Waiting.

He would come back!

Chapter 299: Northern Expedition Plan

Dimitri left with his people.

The group continued north, heading towards West State City.

As the warriors clad in jet-black exoskeletons disappeared into the distance, the man hiding among the refugees let out a sigh of relief and withdrew his hand from the tattered cloak.

Encountering strangers in the Wasteland was never good; sometimes, a conflict could be sparked by a mere glance.

Most of the time, both parties consciously avoided each other. But if one side stopped, or even took the initiative to come closer...

What might happen next was anyone's guess.

Especially since he sensed a murderous intent from those people.

They seemed to have recently suffered a defeat, and even had a fleeting thought of taking out their frustration on him.

The leader of the refugee group clearly realized this as well, and after the unwelcome visitors had walked away, he immediately moved to the front of the line and shouted.

"City of Dawn is just ahead!"

"There, we'll find shelter from the wind and rain, warm beds... and there's hot water and food. Just hold on a little longer, everyone. We need to move quickly and try to arrive before dark."

The disheveled man muttered softly to himself.

"Will they really share their food with us?"

The woman carrying a child looked worried.

"How much farther do we have to go..."

Faced with those gazes, the leader was silent for a while before he said,

"They promised in the broadcast."

"Anyway, we have to try."

...

Shelter No. 404.

Night Ten got out of the Sleep Cabin after bathing in his single room, expertly logged out of the Game.

When he opened his eyes again and took off his helmet, he found himself staring at the ceiling of his dorm room.

The entire process happened in the blink of an eye.

Now, his "ID" was Ye Wei, not the strongest Perception-type player in "Wasteland OL," but an ordinary student at Jiangcheng University.

Amidst the chorus of his roommates' snoring, Ye Wei sat up on his bed, got out with a flip, quickly washed up, and stuffed his textbooks into his satchel.

He had an early class to attend soon.

Even though he had decided to play professionally, he didn't plan to completely abandon his studies.

After all, he managed to get into a prestigious university after much effort, and he was determined to make good on his hard work.

After playing "Wasteland OL" for so long, Ye Wei had long gotten used to the role-switching between reality and the virtual world.

In the past, whenever he passed by the window, he would look out suspiciously; now, he could only sigh at how peaceful things were.

"Ah Weh, save me a seat."

The sleepy voice came from above; Ye Wei looked up to see Brother Liu actually awake and said in surprise,

"Huh? Brother Liu woke up so early."

"Damn it... the water tap's stuttering was like machine-gun fire; how could I not wake up," Brother Liu yawned, turned over in bed and said, "I'm done for, I need to sleep a bit more."

The others were still snoring heavily, sleeping sweetly.

Ye Wei, with his shoes on, said helplessly,

"There's nothing I can do about the air bubbles in the water pipes; I opened it very slightly... If you're unhappy with your sleep quality, why not try making a reservation like me? It can at least help you get a good sleep, and it doesn't cost you money."

Brother Liu shuddered on the bed like he had PTSD, shaking his head,

"No way, no way, good brother. I really don't have that wisdom root, can't practice your qigong."

"Heh heh!"

If you don't believe me, your loss!

Ye Wei stopped talking, casually picked up three books from his roommates' desks, stuffed them into his bag, and then went out to the cafeteria.

A whole day of classes in the daytime.

He also had "a long trip" in the evening.

Ye Wei and Fang Chang had agreed to pool together forty thousand silver coins to purchase some specialties from the City of Dawn and transport them to Giant Stone City to exchange for chips.

Steel Factory No. 81 and Goblin Technology had both commissioned them to purchase second-hand devices and were willing to settle in silver coins at an exchange rate of 1 chip for 3 silver coins.

This exchange rate included the cost for a 50% transportation fee.

The specific method was for the squad to first go to the Giant Stone City, then get the auction list for the following day from the auction house, take a picture, log off, and send it to the private chat window on the forum, so the two commissioning parties could decide what to bid on, what the acceptable price was, and how to proceed with the auction.

With this back-and-forth, a conservative estimate was more than double the profit.

Thinking of this, Ye Wei, who always drank two yuan worth of plain soy milk, indulged in a three-yuan black sesame drink, swapping the two-yuan plain buns for three-yuan sauce meat buns.

He took a bite, and it was all delicious.

So satisfying!

Walking and eating, Ye Wei thought about taking a look at the forum in the classroom, and just then, his mobile phone vibrated in his pocket.

Taking a look, the message was from his younger sister.

Jiujiu: "Bro, is this the game you're playing?"

Jiujiu: "[Link]"

The bun and mobile phone almost dropped to the ground together; Ye Wei quickly freed his hand and typed a reply.

"Where did you get this link???"

Jiujiu: "From the group. O.o"

Night Ten: "Back off now, kids shouldn't be playing."

Jiujiu: "You're the kid! I'm an adult! (angry)"

Ye Wei cursed inwardly; his words seemed to have had the opposite effect.

This dude was definitely going to fill out the form!

The thought of his own ID made Ye Wei panic.

Wouldn't this be social death on the spot?

"Jiujiu, cough, listen to your big bro here, the Game is too deep, you can't handle it, and it's extremely unfriendly to newbies. You should focus on your studies instead."

Jiujiu: "Oh."

Ye Wei: "..."

Damn!

Ye Wei was in a frenzy, scratching his head and feeling helpless.

Maybe...

Ask Brother Guang for a favor and get a name change card?

But that didn't feel right.

As he was about to reach the classroom, Ye Wei took a deep breath to calm down.

Calm down.

After the Beta0.2 version, the number of reserved players spiked, with a million-strong army queuing up. With the release of just 30-40 activation codes a day, the chance of squeezing in was infinitesimal.

She'd probably give up after lining up for a while.

Having realized this, Ye Wei finally relaxed, chucked his bag onto a block of four connected seats in the middle of the classroom, and logged into the official website of "Wasteland OL" with his mobile phone.

Seven o'clock on the dot.

Brother Guang's update announcement was finally released.

But to his surprise, they even received a Worldwide Announcement.

[Worldwide Announcement: Congratulations to "Burning Corps" for becoming the beta server's first Level 2 Army! (Since the Legion Commander chose to publicly disclose the achievement, it will be recorded in the Hall of Fame as a group honor)]

Spring Water Commander: "Damn! So fast?"

Edge Shoveling: "Did they open some kind of box?"

Tail: "Eek! The White Bear Knights just got to Red River Town! Someone's already Level 2! !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si: "Ah Wei, wake up, we're not an Army, we're a Commercial Team registered with the Merchant Guild."

Tail: "Awoo, I got confused. _(:3 」∠)_"

Fang Chang: "Get lost, being good at fighting means cheating? This is called strength! (proud)"

Makabazi: "No justice anymore, the Legion System is too strong, life profession players are struggling, wuuu, please, planners, nerf it!"

Canyon running mole: "Crap! You're harming others without benefiting yourself!"

As much as they envied it, the mole's Skeleton Corps was also close to Level 2, just two missions away. Although they didn't manage to get into the Hall of Fame, the budget provided at Level 2 was still very tempting.

However—

Perhaps in response to the cries of life profession players, the dog plan suddenly released a "Beta0.21 Update Patch."

Upon seeing "Adjustment to the Legion System gameplay mechanics" in bold, the mole had a foreboding feeling.

[Adjustment details:

1. The Army now has an additional attributes interface, mainly "Scale" and "Logistics". Each level up synchronizes the growth of these two attributes by 1 point, e.g., Level 2 corresponds to a scale and logistics of 2 each.

2. Each point of Scale corresponds to 10 [Recruitment Limit], and 1 point of Logistics corresponds to 10 [Logistics Points]. Recruitment Limit determines the number of players that can be recruited, and Logistics Points can be exchanged for military gear. For example: Consuming 1 logistics point can exchange for a "Conscript Soldier Set", which includes an LD-47 rifle and 120 rounds of 7mm ammunition. Consuming 2 logistics points can exchange for a "Support Soldier Set", which includes an LD-47j light machine gun and 500 rounds of 7mm machine gun bullets.

3. The armament and ammunition exchanged with logistics points will be borne by the New Alliance, with the weapons normally stored in the Armory, transported to the front by the supply troops during war, and managed and allocated by the quartermaster NPC. "Army equipment" is not to be used outside of wartime or for special missions.

4. Each level up provides one point, which can be freely distributed between "Scale" and "Logistics", or spent to improve "Doctrine".

5. Doctrine represents the developmental tendencies of the Army. Players proficient in large-scale combat can choose "Light Infantry Doctrine" in the Vanguard, gaining a "100% scale bonus" and leading your teammates in a human wave attack. Or choose the Special Forces, gaining a "50% reduction in Light Infantry equipment point cost" BUFF, leading your teammates to triumph.

Players adept at blitzkriegs can choose the "Mobile Warfare Doctrine"'s Armored Spearhead, gaining a "-50% cost for armored unit points" BUFF. Or choose a more prudent Infantry-Tank Cooperation, distributing the point discount to light weapons.

The "Firepower Advantage" Doctrine is divided into Suppressive Fire and Combined Arms, recommended to keep skill points in "Logistics", for more artillery and ammo boxes, since "Scale" is not as useful for you.

6. Level 2, Level 10, and Level 20 Armies each unlock a Doctrine slot. Each Army can carry a limited number of Doctrines, and players can mix and match according to their needs. But remember, once a major Doctrine is chosen, you cannot select branches from other major categories. Whether charging to the frontlines or staying back as an artillery support, you must make a choice.

]

Ye Wei read the update announcement from start to finish, grasping the content of the update.

Simply put, the dog plan wanted players to make trade-offs in the gameplay in order to maximize their advantages.

But that Armored Spearhead...

Did they have tanks?

Ye Wei looked through the official website's database with a nuanced expression.

The only "armored units" that the New Alliance had at present were a few trucks mounted with Quadruple Anti-aircraft Guns.

Or could it be that they would have them later?

Of course, these were all minor details. After all, it was still the beta stage, and it was not unusual for the developers not to have made them yet.

What really caught Ye Wei's attention was the new point system.

Previously, they would fight with the bullets provided before, and after those were used up, they would use their own. After battles, the settlement interface would give a 20% profit to players as compensation for equipment wear.

However, this update made a change to a gameplay mechanic: separating personal gear from Army gear.

"…Army gear can be exchanged for points and managed by the New Alliance-appointed quartermaster responsible for the Armory and restocking."

"Are they separating personal gear from Army gear?"

They could no longer use the campaign surplus ammunition for tasks outside of the campaign.

A look of surprise crossed Ye Wei's face, and he immediately switched to the forum area of the official site.

Sure enough, everyone was discussing this matter.

Elena: "Although there were many updates, to sum it up in one sentence, it would be, 'The army is not allowed to engage in commerce.' (Sly)"

Gnome King Riches: "However, they can take on other occupations besides their primary roles, but they can't use the public's weapons and armor. (Sly)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Hahaha, two emergencies, make way for the brother upfront."

Mole on the run from the canyon: "All set! Let me summarize the changes real quick; there are two main points this time. One is that the control of logistics has been centralized with budget allocations now managed through centralized procurement and uniform distribution. The other is the separation of army equipment and personal equipment. Equipment purchased at supply points will be stored in specified armories, guarded and checked by quartermaster NPCs, and can only be used under specific circumstances!"

"The equipment exchanged with points is bound to the army and cannot be traded; normal wear and tear will be replenished, and malicious damage requires double compensation, judged by AI."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Damn it! Silver coins have been changed to point awards? Epic nerf to the Legion System! (Horrified)"

Mole on the run from the canyon: "Actually, it's not nerfed; it's just that there are more people on the server now and the loopholes in the rules have been closed."

In the past, when budgets were allocated, players could freely manage military expenses and purchase equipment themselves. When there were fewer players, it was fine, but now with more people on the server, there's inevitably room for power rent-seeking.

For instance, the army and a player might arrange for a kickback deal, where money would slip from military funds into personal accounts.

Now that military funds have been converted into points, with procurement, logistics, and weapon maintenance all collectively managed by the alliance, players can no longer turn military funds into private profits.

For those who never intended to be crafty, this change wasn't a nerf at all. Rather, because logistics have been AI-managed, players can focus more on the front line.

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Crap! With so many restrictions, who would want to play with the Legion System? I'd rather run my own business than fight on the front line, wouldn't I?"

Ye Wei laughed when he read that comment and couldn't help but reply with a tease.

"I blindly guess your last name is Liu. (Sly)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "?"

Mole on the run from the canyon: "Aren't you the one without closed beta access? You can't even get into the game, what right do you have to speak for us? (Sly)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "I meant hypothetically! If I were in the game, that's how I would play it! Ah, you lucky ones! It's just that you have better luck than me; if I were in, I would've reached max level and fully geared up by now!"

Fang Chang suddenly popped up.

"In times of war, it is every citizen's duty to fight for the alliance. To abandon one's duty is to forfeit everything, and that 'everything' includes all in-game property. Don't always think you're smart, and don't always assume you can speak for others. There's more to your life than just being slippery; there's really no need to be like this even in a game. (Rolling eyes)"

Mole on the run from the canyon: "Agree with Brother Fang Chang, and besides, the gameplay adjustment doesn't affect the profits of the Legion System. The rewards of battles are reflected in the settlement interface; population, resources, land, etc., are all possible. Let me add a bit of trivia—silver coins are just one form of currency within the new alliance. The alliance keeps a clearer record of your contributions than you do. (Sly)"

Professor Yang remained silent.

But he still didn't understand.

Why is it that despite such a major update that took away the autonomy of the army logistics, these T0 and T1 players didn't seem upset at all?

Instead, it was him, a backseat driver without even closed beta access, who was advocating for their "injustices".

Don't they want to earn more?

Silver coins can be exchanged for real money!

Ye Wei probably guessed what this guy was thinking, although he didn't agree. The guy might have some cleverness and even be a bit troublesome, but his worldview wasn't on par with one of his students.

Suppose a loophole appeared in the rules, and someone exploited it for profit. If you didn't exploit it, you'd be at a loss, you'd be eliminated from the competition. Therefore, even if you know that exploiting these loopholes harms the interests of the collective, individuals might still make choices that are least favorable to the collective for the "individual optimum".

When everyone is trapped in a prisoner's dilemma, there would be no real winners, and it would surely end in a lose-lose situation.

For players of the Alpha test round, the new alliance was a utopia they built with hard work, brick by brick, on a desolate wasteland. The game meant much more to them than just a game, and they saw far beyond just a few silver coins.

Even without any rewards, they would willingly pick up rifles and gallantly lay down their lives to protect the land under their feet.

Losing some equipment and experience...

Is surely better than a server reset.

...

Shelter No. 401.

After a busy afternoon, Master Yin finally replaced the fuel rods and restarted the shelter's reactor.

With the air purification system back in operation, light returned to the shelter, and Chu Guang finally received the task completion notification.

[Managerial Authority for Shelter No. 401 acquired.]

"All done… Speaking of managerial authority, what are you planning to do with it?" Yin Fang looked at Chu Guang, "The previous manager here died, and if they left no will, it would generally default to the surviving residents in the order of their ID numbers—"

Just as Yin Fang was advising Chu Guang, he outstretched his hand, lightly waved it to extinguish the light overhead, then with another light wave, he switched it back on.

Yin Fang was left staring in astonishment.

"... When did you get that?"

"Your reaction is as if it's your first time seeing me use managerial authority in another shelter. Wasn't it the same in Shelter No.117?" Chu Guang looked at him strangely instead.

Yin Fang's expression turned a bit weird.

"Wasn't it because of the last manager's will in Shelter No. 117... Never mind, it's not that important anyway."

Giving up on probing into minor details, Yin Fang followed Chu Guang to the manager's office to recover the Black Box there.

The manager's office of Shelter No. 401 was completely different from that of Shelter No.117.

The decor here was minimalist, making it seem more like a lab or archive room than an office.

The moment Yin Fang entered, he set his sights on the shiny, blocky coffee machine on the desk. He looked as thrilled as if he'd discovered a new continent, eagerly cradling it in his arms.

"The KW-8241T model! I've seen this in magazines! I can't believe it's actually here!"

"Magazines?"

Yin Fang rambled on excitedly.

"Of course, pre-war magazines. This model of coffee machine, unlike the KW-8241, has four additional special roasting techniques and is aesthetically designed in an academic style for researchers! Look at its sci-fi silhouette; laymen wouldn't even be able to find where the water comes out! Oops, it seems to be slightly malfunctioning, but it's no big deal, it should work fine with a little fixing... Can I take it with me?"

He then looked over with hopeful eyes.

"... Suit yourself."

Chu Guang gave him a sidelong glance.

After all, he had no interest in collecting such things.

If he wanted it, then let him take it.

...

A coffee machine wouldn't take up much weight, so after Chu Guang had collected the black box, he returned to the surface with Yin Fang.

Shelter No. 401 had restarted.

Once he returned, he would arrange for the logistics department staff to clean up the place and install the newly produced Sleep Cabins in each room.

The newly revived Shelter No. 401 would serve as the Novice Village for the B-round testing batch of novices, accommodating at least a thousand new players.

As for the planting area within the shelter, Chu Guang planned to use it for breeding, supplying high-quality Seeds for the vast farmlands to the west side of Changjiu Farm.

Sitting on Nicole's back on the way back to Shelter No. 404, Chu Guang activated the information transmission function of his power armor helmet and took the opportunity to glance at the Forum.

The pale blue display was directly projected onto his retina, and Chu Guang picked a few familiar IDs to read their posts.

Players had their interpretations of the Beta 0.21 version changes, and they all had their views.

However, regardless of their opinions, the reform of the Legion System was imperative.

The New Alliance was a united collective that needed united Soldiers, not a group of Military Factions fighting for themselves.

Taking back the logistical authority into the central Alliance and having a dedicated logistics department handle it was the first part of Chu Guang's military reform plan.

He would later introduce more measures to ensure cooperation among the various legions and improve the gaming experience for players who chose the Legion System.

What surprised Chu Guang was the post by the Spring Water Commander.

The guy rarely wrote strategy guides, but this time he wrote quite a lot.

In addition to a detailed analysis of the various doctrines within the Legion System, this old hand also asserted at the end of his post that the adjustments in Beta 0.21 version were a preparation for a new expansion.

And the content of the expansion?

It likely had to do with the "Northern Expedition"!

After reading the post from beginning to end, a smile curved the corners of Chu Guang's mouth.

"Pretty clever."

Although it was an obvious matter.

...

The following day.

North of the Dawn City.

Beside the neatly paved airport runway stood the barracks of the New Alliance.

Currently stationed here were the reorganized First and Second Corps, as well as the Guards Corps wearing light and heavy exoskeletons.

Unlike the players, these Soldiers not only wore uniform military uniforms, but their weapons were also uniformly equipped.

Standing next to Chu Guang, Vanus said with some pride.

"How is it?"

Looking at the rows of flag-bearing guns on the parade ground, Chu Guang in his power armor nodded approvingly, not stingy with his praise.

"Very good!"

There were a total of 397 Soldiers standing here.

Under the training of former legion officers like Vanus, their physical fitness and combat will had changed drastically compared to several months ago.

Some even had Awakenings.

As a standing Army, these Indigenous Soldiers' main task was defense, but that didn't mean Chu Guang would relax his demands on them.

Threats in the Wasteland went far beyond the Looters.

Especially after the encounter with the Torch, Chu Guang realized this point even more profoundly.

The players might be powerful and have the "undying" advantage, but the construction of a standing Army couldn't be neglected because of this.

Players couldn't be online 24 hours a day.

There were always things players couldn't do.

And those things could only be done by the people of this world.

After the inspection was over.

Chu Guang took the opportunity while everyone was present to hold a combat meeting.

In addition to the commanders of the First and Second Corps, senior members of the New Alliance, including Luka from the logistics department, also participated.

Not wasting time with pleasantries, Chu Guang went straight to the point.

"The armed forces of Torch ambushed our convoy transporting fuel rods, and the remaining forces fled north. There are only eight of them, but their equipment is sophisticated, and they are well-trained. If left alone, they could unite with the Chewing Bone Tribe and cause us significant trouble this fall."

"At present, the Snake Tribe and Red River Town are at a stalemate in their war and temporarily cannot deal with us. If I were them, it's highly probable that I would choose the Ya Clan, currently resting in West State City, as surrogates to incite them to move south, continuing last year's abruptly halted campaign."

"Since this battle is inevitable, let's fight it on their territory."

The officers in the barracks all looked excited, clenching their fists involuntarily.

Especially Wrench.

In the offensive early this year, the guard force at Changjiu Farm suffered heavy losses, with many of his brothers falling in that campaign.

Yet those cunning scumbags saw the defeat of Black Snake and turned tail to run!

He had been waiting for this moment for too long!

Watching his subordinates fired up with fighting spirit, Chu Guang placed his hands on the map and continued in a serious tone.

"The Northern Expedition will start next month, with the goal of completely expelling the Ya Clan entrenched in West State City!"

"Before the Northern Expedition begins, we need to prepare at least 30 aircraft, 50 trucks, five million rounds of ammunition and shells—and extend our railway to Far Creek Town!"

"This war will thoroughly change the landscape of the southern part of the River Valley Province, and it's not just about our own fate. I hope you all overcome all difficulties and go all out to complete the preparations."

"Since the Grand Canyon and Giant Stone City are unwilling to deal with those damn dogs—"

Chu Guang's right fist fell on the map, his eyes determined.

"Then we will!"

Chapter 300: If All Else Fails, Imagine Yourself as a Missile

North of Dawn City.

A group of refugees appeared in the patrol team's view.

In fact, the on-duty sentinels had spotted them as they passed through Far Creek Town; with so many people, it was impossible to cross through the forest — they had to take the main road.

Though refugees had been joining Dawn City sporadically, a procession of over three hundred was rare.

Not willing to take any chances, the patrol team leader, carrying a Mediator's Rifle, approached with five squad members and shouted from a distance of fifty meters.

"Who are you?"

As he shouted, he scrutinized the group.

The team consisted of men and women, old people, and children… They didn't seem to be looters, but he couldn't completely let his guard down either.

The leader of the group stepped forward a few paces.

"We're survivors from West State City, the looters destroyed our homes… You said on the radio broadcasts that you would take in those who are homeless, we have nowhere else to go, please let us in."

West State City? "Are there still living people there besides the looters?" a patrol team guard muttered under his breath.

Another guard whispered.

"It does sound strange. Maybe the Ya Clan doesn't have enough manpower to control the entire city… Aren't there resistance organizations there?"

The patrol team leader was also puzzled, but he still reported the situation to his superior through the communicator on his ear.

He didn't wait long.

The superior quickly issued instructions to take them in.

After receiving the order, the patrol team leader raised his voice.

"We're willing to take you in, but you must agree to surrender any weapons you have."

There was a stir among the refugee group.

Hesitation was apparent in some of their eyes.

Giving up their weapons meant putting their lives in someone else's hands.

However, the leader of the group agreed resolutely, without a second of hesitation.

"No problem!"

"As long as you can guarantee our safety."

Their weapons, mere iron pipe rifles compared to the more advanced equipment of the guards which looked more like fire pokers, were practically useless anyway.

The patrol team leader nodded.

"That's assured."

"The New Alliance will shelter every resident who abides by the order."

"Please follow me."

...

The "Home of the Refugees" was located on the northwestern side of Dawn City, close to the western side of the farms and not far from the northern trade station and the commercial street.

Assigned as a dormitory-style apartment for placing refugees, the living space per person here wasn't large; each room had four beds crammed into it.

But no one complained.

A shelter from the wind and rain, clean beds, and bedding, each room even having a window, was paradise for the homeless refugees!

Most times, finding a barn with straw bedding was difficult enough; they couldn't even begin to dream of having a house to sleep in.

The staff at the Home of the Refugees hadn't expected the patrol team to bring back so many people.

Over three hundred hungry refugees made the staff busy tallying numbers, cooking, and assigning dormitories.

Due to the lack of staff, some workers from the logistics division at the nearby trade station were temporarily drafted to help care for the elderly, women, and children.

"There, there."

Watching a child curled up asleep in his mother's arms, Frost River touched his head and handed a bottle of milk to his mother, gently saying,

"Take this."

It was her dinner originally.

But it wasn't a big deal for her to miss one bottle.

Tears sparkled in the woman's eyes as she shakily reached out to take it.

"Thank you."

Frost River curved her lips in a small smile.

"No need to thank me, we were also taken in by the management back then."

Though the conditions weren't as good as they are now.

As she was about to tend to others without disturbing the sleeping child, the woman suddenly reached out with her frail hand, grasping her arm.

"Wait, wait a moment, on the road just now... we encountered a group of people, they wore black armor, there were eight of them. I don't know if they belong to you, but they didn't give me a good feeling."

Black armor?

Frost River looked at her surprised and said earnestly.

"I'll report this to the guard team."

The refugees soon received the promised hot water and food. Though just a bowl of green wheat porridge, it was far better than the roots and bark they had been eating on the road.

The soup even had a meaty scent!

Everyone was devouring it eagerly.

Once they had finished, Luka would take someone to register their identities, and depending on their abilities, introduce or arrange suitable work for them.

Beside the apartment was the security office.

The refugee leader sat in a visiting room's sofa, his face filled with apprehension.

Just ten minutes ago, he was brought here and informed by the on-duty guards that the manager of the New Alliance wanted to have a chat with him.

Then the door opened.

A figure in azure power armor walked in.

He recognized immediately this person as the manager of the New Alliance. The man was so startled he barely started to rise, possibly even bow, but Chu Guang raised his hand to stop him.

"No need for formalities, just sit, I'm only here to understand the situation."

Having just finished a meeting to confirm the plans for a northern expedition, Chu Guang came to see the refugees.

Honestly speaking,

After seeing their conditions, Chu Guang was even more resolved about the northern expedition.

It wasn't completely out of kindness or soft-heartedness.

From a strategic perspective, with Giant Stone City to the south, it was too difficult to expand in that direction; the New Alliance could only increase its strategic depth by moving north.

If those looters were allowed to continue their pillaging, the entire central part of River Valley Province might become deserted.

No matter how fertile the land might be, someone needs to go and cultivate it.

The guard on duty brought Chu Guang a metal stool, for which Chu Guang nodded in thanks and sat opposite the man, getting straight to the point.

"The guard must have informed you of my identity, so I won't bother introducing myself. What's your name?"

The man replied respectfully.

"My name is Zebra, sir."

Chu Guang slightly curled the corners of his mouth, his expression somewhat odd.

Sensing the subtle change in the manager's expression, the man hurriedly continued.

"Please, feel free to give me a name!"

Chu Guang said casually.

"Alright... Let's go with Ma Ban then."

This person had no remarkable features, neither tall nor short, the type that gets lost in a crowd, so Chu Guang didn't know what name would be appropriate and simply reversed the order of his original name.

Unexpectedly, this guy seemed to really like his new name, his face lighting up with joy as he said.

"Thank you, sir!"

Chu Guang gave a slight cough.

"Let's leave the small talk for now, tell me about the situation in West State City."

Ma Ban sat upright on the sofa, his expression growing serious.

"Which aspect would you like to know about?"

Chu Guang inquired.

"How many Looters there are, how many survivors."

"Looters... Are you referring to the Ya Clan? There are quite a few, I'm afraid," Ma Ban said with a heavy expression. "At the start of the year, there were only ten thousand-member squads, but after the snow melted, many Looters from neighboring provinces joined them. Now, there are probably twenty to thirty thousand."

Chu Guang nodded.

This number was similar to what he had heard from his "troublesome brother."

The capability of the Chewing Bone Tribe to raise an army of over ten thousand on the Wasteland was not to be underestimated.

Especially since these people had not only taken over equipment and command personnel from the Legion's Expeditionary Army but had also received support from the Torch Church.

This battle would not be easy.

Ma Ban paused, then continued.

"As for the survivors... there should also be quite a few. I know of about four to five thousand, but there are probably more."

"That many?" Chu Guang looked at him in surprise. "How did so many of you avoid capture by the Looters?"

Ma Ban explained.

"The underground transit network of West State City connects the underground commercial streets and residential areas. We are familiar with the terrain there and have used the subway to cope with the Looters. Though their firepower is much stronger than ours, they've only destroyed our homes on the surface. The underground world is still under our control..."

Only then did Chu Guang remember that West State City was a small city nestled by the mountains and rivers, lacking high-density housing and not afflicted by the release of the "Mutated slime fungus" or lairs.

Instead, there were other Variants.

"Since you've been able to cope with the Looters, why did you suddenly decide to leave?"

Ma Ban's face showed a trace of bitterness.

"Because of the plague... No one wants to leave their homeland, but a rat plague erupted there. We ran out of food, and our neighbors had no spare grains to lend us. We had no choice but to leave."

A plague?

Chu Guang's expression grew intricate.

Was this strong man hiding something from him?

If he remembered correctly, he had instructed him to raid the Looters' granary, not to harass the local survivors.

Of course, it was also possible that he was reading too much into this.

The accumulation of corpses alone could lead to rodents, insects, and plagues. Even without this big rat, the Master of Difficulties, West State City's rats and cockroaches would still proliferate.

He couldn't blame all the misdeeds of rats on him.

Except this guy hadn't mentioned this on the forum at all...

Just then, Chu Guang was struck by a thought.

"Did you hear our broadcast?"

Previously, when the New Alliance was established, he had set up a radio station to promote the New Alliance's refugee accommodation policy, but there hadn't been much response.

Not many survivor settlements had radios, and even if they did, not everyone could hear them.

For instance, Old Leech's castle had a radio, but he definitely wouldn't play it aloud for all the survivors to hear.

A large influx of immigrants attracted by the "Voice of the Alliance" like this was a first.

"Yes," Ma Ban nodded, his voice full of gratitude. "Your broadcast gave us the resolve to leave. Although we were initially skeptical about it being another trap by the Looters, we had no other choice... Thank you for fulfilling your promise."

"You're welcome, I always fulfill my promises," Chu Guang paused, then continued, "Do you understand radio communications?"

Ma Ban immediately replied.

"A bit."

Chu Guang continued to inquire.

"Can you read and write?"

Ma Ban: "I can read and write."

Perfect.

Chu Guang's face broke into a pleased smile, nodding in approval.

"Excellent!"

Chu Guang now needed a capable local, someone to unite members of the Resistance organization in West State City, coordinating with the New Alliance's military operation scheduled for the next month.

However, he couldn't yet discuss the northern campaign with outsiders.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then decided to first assess his capability. He spoke up.

"In a while, I'll have someone from logistics contact you, and you cooperate with them to complete the registration of new resident's identity information."

Hearing this, a surge of excitement washed over Ma Ban.

My goodness.

Was he about to be promoted?

Excited, Ma Ban quickly nodded.

"I will definitely do my utmost to cooperate!"

Chu Guang rose from his chair, smiled, and said.

"Good. I look forward to your performance!"

...

Official Forum:

[Update Landmarks:

East Plantation (Special Produce: Brain Fungus, Power Pills): The Psyche Interference Tower has been restarted; hunting is prohibited within a three-kilometer radius of the Iron Back Apes in the third ecological protection garden, offenders will be fined 100 silver coins.

Shelter No. 401: (Recommended for new players: Eaters, Wild boar, Gray Monkey) (No Hunting: Iron Back Apes within a three-kilometer range, offenders fined 100 silver coins.)

]

[Alliance Trends:

"Home of the Refugees" has taken in 397 refugees from West State City.

The New Alliance seized the production device for Variable Temperature Jackets; now available for purchase at NPC stores.

The "Northern Expedition Plan" will start within 30 days! Target: Western Province!

]

[Today's Recommended Recipes: Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, Salt Roasted Bird Wings]

Tail: "Yikes! Did the map update just after Tail left?!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si: "Northern Expedition Plan... are they releasing a new expansion?"

Falling Feather: "I just got my VM! This is too thrilling!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Hahaha, it's rising! (excited)"

Kid Talking Nonsense: "What what, what's rising?"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Silver coins! As everyone knows, when new maps or expansions are released, the trading prices for game currency always go up! Variable Temperature Jackets sound Niubi! And with the upcoming battle, the price of silver coins will definitely surge. (proud)"

Kid Talking Nonsense: "Nah, I thought water prices had gone up, scared me into reading the announcement again. (grumbling)"

Makabazi: "Relieved, it doesn't affect my farming!"

Wild Wind: "I don't know how to comment, but a Variable Temperature Jacket... that's actually just a Blue Jacket, right?"

Elena: "Got it, no need to worry about beginner's gear failing anymore when going out, so does it mean a bear market for Vine Cottage? (sarcastic)"

Gnome King Riches: "Dump Vine Cottage stocks! (sarcastic)"

Teng Teng: "Wait, you guys buy the clothes I make, just because there's no other choice? QAQ"

Night Ten: "Not at all! The clothes Teng Teng makes look awesome! Last time at Giant Stone City, Brother Fang Chang stared at them for ages. (sarcastic)"

Elena: "I think you all are crazy, but I have no evidence. (sarcastic)"

Teng Teng: "(*・ω・)✄╰ひ╯"

Fang Chang: "(too scared to talk.jpg)"

Although it wasn't an update announcement, the announcement still sparked a lot of discussion among players.

The Blue Jacket is actually available for purchase now!

As one of the newbie benefits, the self-adjusting temperature and breathable Blue Jacket is the only piece of black technology accessible to players during the newbie period.

Unless under extremely cold or hot conditions, one Blue Jacket is enough to meet a newbie's needs for clothing.

However, this item was previously limited; each person could only have three sets, irreparable when damaged, and not repurchasable.

As a result, most players wouldn't dare to wear their Blue Jacket on long trips or to fights, always changing before a fight.

Back when there was no cotton, everyone draped in beast skin looked more like Looters than the Looters themselves.

As for the Psyche Interference Tower, that got even more interesting.

Reading the description of the device, it seemed to be able to impose mental suggestions on Variants of a specific psychic frequency, transmitting negative emotions to drive them away. The lower the intelligence of the Variant, the stronger the effect, and the higher the intelligence, the more emotions they could comprehend.

I mean, this thing is basically a divine artifact!

Since it could use emotions of fear to drive the monsters out of the safe zone, couldn't it also use emotions of joy to gather them in a specific area?

Damn.

Just by reversing the operation of the Psyche Interference Tower, grinding for monsters would be so much easier!

Who knows, it might even be possible to instill impure psychological suggestions in the Variants, accelerating the reproduction rate of specific populations!

Besides "Blue Jacket is available for purchase" and "Psyche Interference Tower," the topics discussed by the players were mainly focused on the Northern Expedition.

It was obvious to anyone with eyes.

A new expansion pack was coming!

Spring Water Commander, "Hahahaha! I freaking knew it! The major changes in the Legion System were indeed paving the way for the new expansion pack! (proud)"

I Max Black, "Niubi, niubi, that's really niubi."

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "Speaking of which, Old White, what doctrine did you guys choose?"

Old White, "Light Infantry."

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "Damn, I thought you would go for Motorization! (Surprised)"

Fang Chang, "You still lack understanding of the version. The Legion System standardizes the Alliance's equipment, but it doesn't limit private equipment. In other words, we can buy our rifles with Silver Coins and pay for our own ammunition."

Edge Shoveling, "Damn, what's the point of your logistics then?"

Fang Chang, "It's useful, who said it isn't! For example, under the 'Special Operations' branch of the Light Infantry doctrine, equipment costs for light infantry are reduced by 50%. Understand what a discount means? For 25 logistics points, you can exchange for a 'Light Cavalry' kit that includes a Type Five Exoskeleton! Although it can only be used in wartime or on special missions, there are no restrictions by Contribution Level, and the equipment wear is covered by the Alliance."

Of course, if the equipment breaks, there is a replenishment time, and the more high-end the gear, the slower it replenishes, so it's better to take care of what you have.

Death doesn't matter, it only takes three days.

But if the equipment breaks, it affects the Battle Rating.

Which, in other words, means losing money.

Old White, "Besides the Light Cavalry kit, the Heavy Cavalry kit also falls under Light Infantry tags, originally costing 200 logistics points, but after the discount, it's just 100 points. To buy it in the store requires an advanced citizen plus 100,000 Silver! Using logistics points is much cheaper than buying with Silver Coins! (grinning)"

Every level up in the Legion adds 1 scale and 1 logistics, which equates to 10 people and 10 points; you can exchange for a set of Light Cavalry Exoskeleton by the time you reach Level 3.

Every ten levels is a phase, from F phase to E phase there's an extra reward of 10 skill points, tossing all into logistics effectively gives you an additional 100 logistics points, instantly enough for a set of "Heavy Cavalry".

Leveling up the Legion is much easier than personal Sequence Levels, as Fang Chang researched the experience curve, which mostly rises at phase-up points.

By the time the Northern Expedition starts, as long as you're not too lazy, advancing to Level 10 and ranking up to a Level E Legion shouldn't be too difficult.

In short, the "Special Operations" under the Light Infantry Doctrine, in contrast to "Human Sea Assault," is designed for smaller legions planning to go the elite route.

But if players are willing to partially fund their own military expenses, buy their own ammunition and basic equipment, and forcibly increase the size of their legion, the game officials won't interfere.

As long as it reduces casualties and achieves greater victories, covering the costs out of their own pocket, this path might not be less profitable for the players who choose it.

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "Man, rich people, scary scary... I'll just honestly go with Motorized Warfare."

Debt Giant Eye, "Human Sea right line is the real deal! Devil's twenty-five steps! A real man should fight with bayonets! (joking)"

Edge Shoveling, "Roll roll roll, don't stir things up, let me think before deciding."

WC There Are Mosquitoes, "Hahaha! Do you even have to think? If it were me, I'd definitely blindly choose 'Firepower Advantage'! Old White, I'm applying to leave the squad, I want to go solo!"

Old White, "Approved."

WC There Are Mosquitoes, "Damn! So merciless! You're not even trying to keep me!"

Old White, "Keep you for what, you're not even on the front lines, following us restricts your performance, it's pretty good for you to support from behind. (smirking)"

Wild Wind: "Agreed!"

Mosquito: "Goblin Corps is recruiting pilots and gunners! Agile system players preferred for pilots, no restrictions for gunners, private message to sign up!"

Falling Feather: "Me me me! Can a LV3 newbie like me join?"

Mosquito: "No problem! I'll teach you everything! (grinning with bared teeth)"

...

Mosquito was not joking.

The next day, on the runway near the military camp, stood about a hundred newbies. Although many were nervous and left after walking around, most of them stayed.

Mosquito counted the numbers.

A total of 71 people.

Out of which, fifty came to be pilots of the Agile system, and the rest were there for gunnery.

Not bad!

Very spirited!

Mosquito looked at these rookies excitedly and cleared his throat to announce.

"Those who have flown before, stand on the left. Those who haven't, stand on the right."

A newbie raised his hand.

"Coach! Does a glider count?"

"I've done parachuting!"

"I've played War Thunder!"

Pleased with the way the newbies addressed him, Mosquito chuckled and said,

"Let me restate, those who have flown before, stand on the left. Those who haven't, stand on the right, and those who have in games, stand in the middle!"

The crowd shuffled again.

After a bit of a mess, a few still stood on the left, but the right side was completely empty.

Mosquito nodded in satisfaction.

Having flown in games counted as experience, too. Even just 0.1 experience is better than none, at least they'd avoid some common-sense mistakes.

Like causing an "offline" due to overload.

Or landing with missiles to save ammo.

What?

Can they fly it back?

Is that important to the Goblin Corps?

He would naturally provide the most complete equipment for those who knew how to fly, "high players," and try to cut corners on the planes for the newbies, aiming to minimize the losses from crashes.

If all else failed, he could always add a parachute to the batteries and motors.

Just enjoy and then ask the army to retrieve them.

"No matter if you know how or not, I'll start from scratch. This isn't a jet. It's actually not hard to fly, the hard part is flying it back."

"But no big deal!"

"If you're really dumb, just imagine yourself as a missile! I believe after dying a few times, even if you strapped a dog to the control stick, it'd learn how to fly!"

The newbies' faces glimmered with excitement.

Imagine themselves as missiles?

That sounds thrilling!

Standing aside, Soul Chaser quietly cautioned,

"The new corps can only recruit ten people, right?"

Along with Soul Chaser, Kill God, and Discourage, their newly formed Goblin Corps already had five members. Due to the limit, they could only recruit five more.

Mosquito rolled his eyes upon hearing this.

"Don't be so rigid. Ten within the formation only, others just can't use the corps system's equipment. Who said we couldn't recruit reservists? Isn't a month enough for our corps to reach LV10? Just slowly pull people in when the level is high enough!"

What?

You can do that?

Soul Chaser was stunned.

This interpretation of the version was incredible.

LV10 might be a stretch.

But Mosquito felt, being a half T0 player himself, reaching LV7 or LV8 shouldn't be a problem! Upgrading a corps wasn't as hard as personal levels; teaming up for high-contribution missions made leveling easy.

Mosquito was brimming with confidence in his own capabilities and financial resources.

And just yesterday, he had received an advance payment for an order to produce thirty planes!

The New Alliance military wanted him to improve the WX-2 model planes to increase their altitude and range, ensuring they could provide effective support to a battlefield 100 kilometers away for at least ten minutes.

Ten minutes?

They were underestimating him!

The solid hydrogen batteries in this game were almost like cheats.

Traditional batteries have the oxidant packed inside, but this thing directly uses oxygen from the air, replacing the whole "positive electrode of the battery" with a membrane, allowing all the saved space to be filled with reductant. Hydrogen, the reductant, had an energy density nearly 2.7 times that of gasoline or diesel!

A not-so-cold knowledge, in reality, batteries' energy density couldn't even come close to gas, lagging an entire order of magnitude behind.

But in "Wasteland OL," it was a whole different story. Batteries produced by NPC factories far outperformed fuel!

Hence, Goblin Technology planes charted a path totally unimagined in reality.

"An order for thirty planes is too conservative! First, let's order a hundred motors and a thousand battery packs!"

Standing beside, Discourage was shocked.

"What!?"

"Was the advance payment that much?!"

Mosquito chuckled.

"Who said it has to be the advance payment? Can't I use my own money?"

Childish!

Once the planes were built, orders would surely come.

Soul Chaser gave a thumbs up in admiration.

"Niubi!"

This was simply too rich!

Basking in the admiration of his followers, Mosquito proudly said, "The glider's payload is too small, from here to the southernmost end of West State City is a hundred kilometers!"

"Small planes aren't enough; we should go big!"

Chapter 301 War Preparation

During 1942, a German pilot had to go through a training period of six months, as well as two months of studying aviation subjects before he'd get the chance to enter A/B Level Flight Training Schools and train on light aircraft.

After accumulating over a hundred hours of flight time, the pilot could finally receive his pilot's license and his Flying Wings Medal.

And after that, they still needed to go to a Level C Flight Training School for training on various models of aircraft before they could fly twin-engine fighters or reconnaissance planes to the front lines.

However, as the war situation grew tense and shortages in fuel and aircraft became a problem, this quickly changed. Once Little Beard listened to Goring's report, he simply ordered the dissolution of the Level C Flight Schools, and subsequently, the light aircraft of the B-level schools were replaced by gliders.

It was said that by the end of the war, the average training time for a German pilot before heading to the front lines was only 160 hours.

160 hours, that's still a bit much.

In Mosquito's view, 80 hours of training was entirely sufficient; the remaining 80 hours could be spent training over the enemy's heads.

It also saved some bullets and electricity.

Gliders weren't particularly fast.

As long as you stayed calm and followed the method he taught, there wouldn't be any problem!

It took a whole morning for Mosquito to explain the basics of flying to his little disciples.

A few players who had either flown gliders in real life or played flight simulators from time to time would even chirp in with a comment or two.

To deepen their understanding, Mosquito dragged his only four training machines out of the hangar to let each of the aspiring players who wished to soar the skies with him sit inside while he explained the flying operations one by one.

Although many people were confused when they first came into contact with these things, as long as you stomped the power to the max, the speed crossed the white line, pulling up on the control stick was enough, right?

For ground attacks, align the scale line with the target, and for strafing runs, use tracer bullets to correct the trajectory.

Sounds pretty simple.

Mosquito talked till he was parched and tongue-tied after a whole morning.

At this moment, two muddy-faced little players walked over from outside the airfield.

Mosquito glanced at them and recognized them.

One was Makabazi, the other was Going Up the Mountain to Fight Tigers; the two of them were farming players, busy in the fields every day, and it was said that they had even leveled their farming to 5.

Though the reward for reaching Level 10 in farming was tempting, there were not many players who really had the perseverance to toil in the fields.

As for players who played "Wasteland OL" as a farming simulator like these two, they were even rarer.

Just about to ask what they wanted, Makabazi raised his hand with a beaming smile.

"Coach! Can we train with you too?"

Going Up the Mountain to Fight Tigers: "Good brother! Take us with you!"

"Sure thing, I never turn away those who come!" Mosquito chuckled, naturally not refusing newcomers offering themselves up, but he still found it slightly odd, "I mean, don't you two busy yourselves in the fields all day? What made you think of learning to fly planes."

And they were Strength Types at that.

What the hell does a Strength Type need with flying a plane?

Isn't it better to go to the artillery teams to fire cannons?

Faced with Mosquito Brother's curious gaze, Going Up the Mountain to Fight Tigers chuckled and said.

"We plan to buy a plane to spread pesticides!"

Makabazi nodded excitedly, "Same here!"

Mosquito was stunned for a moment, just about to mock these guys for using his invention for such unambitious purposes, but quickly remembered that in reality, gliders were indeed used to spread pesticides...

Scratching the back of his head, Mosquito held back the words on the tip of his tongue.

"Alright then... teaching it is by the way."

Makabazi happily hugged his shoulder.

"Thanks, brother!"

"Damn it! Can you wash your hands before taking advantage of me! I'm covered in mud now!"

Mosquito, breaking free, dusted the mud off himself and rolled his eyes at the grinning Makabazi, "What do you guys want to learn? Just flying? Or do you want to practice other subjects too?"

Makabazi: "What other subjects do you have?"

Mosquito: "There's plenty, ground attack subjects include low-altitude strafing, trajectory correction, diving and bombing—"

Before Mosquito could finish, Going Up the Mountain to Fight Tigers eagerly nodded and said, "Learn! Learn this too!"

Makabazi looked at him oddly: "We're not going to the front lines, what do we need that for?"

Going Up the Mountain to Fight Tigers excitedly said, "Who says we can't use it if we're not at the front? It's useful for spreading pesticides! And if wild boars or any other Variants run into our fields, we can't chase them on foot, just hop in the plane and hammer them!"

Makabazi was completely blown away.

"Holy shit! Awesome!"

It wasn't just the Makabrother who was blown away, but also Mosquito, who was standing nearby. A second ago, he thought they lacked ambition; now, it seems he underestimated them.

Mosquito surprisedly grabbed Tiger Brother's shoulder, not minding the mud, and excitedly patted it a few times.

"For your dedication, I'll definitely take you as my disciple! Don't worry, brother, I'll train both of you to be ace pilots!"

Tiger Brother smiled shyly, self-consciously scratching the back of his head.

"Actually, there's no need to go that far, it's not necessary to be ace pilots, ordinary pilots are fine for us."

Mosquito chuckled.

"How can that be, everyone who graduates from me must have what others have!"

"Every student who graduates from my training is an ace pilot. Our diploma is nothing less than an ace pilot certificate!"

"Rest assured, each of you will have a certificate by then!"

Makabazi: "Holy shit! Is that even possible?!"

Going Up the Mountain to Beat a Tiger: "6666!"

"Keep it down, keep it down, hehe."

Looking at his two new apprentices, Mosquito's face was brimming with a smile.

He hadn't expected there to be so many eager learners in the Game.

He had a plan now.

It seemed that no one in the Game had started a training institution yet. At the military schools and literacy classes, it was NPCs lecturing to NPCs, and with the language barrier, not many players went there to join in.

However, to become a hardcore player, you had to learn some skills!

Since everyone was overlooking this market, then he might as well be the first one to break the ice!

In the future, the graduates from his program would all be "ace pilots," and he would be the principal of the ace pilots!

...

After the morning training session ended, Mosquito dismissed the team and took his four senior apprentice brothers to various places, looking for strong teams to carry them.

During this time, everyone was rushing to level up their Army ranks, teaming up for high-contribution missions, trying to get to Level 10 before the release of the new expansion pack and upgrade from Phase F to Phase E.

They also took the opportunity to get their team coordination down.

This Game was different from other MMORPGs, there were no real pay-to-win items, nor were there any invincible Dragon Slayer Swords that hit for 999 or Undying Armor with +99% vampirism. While levels and equipment had raised the upper and lower limits of the players' combat power, they didn't mean invincibility.

Even with the max level Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton, a chest hit from a HEAT round would send you straight back home. Even powerful Awakeners would lie down if hit in the head.

Reportedly, in the pre-war era, there was shield technology, and they even developed different types of shields for different kinds of weapons.

Like the nitrogen shield on the Manager's hammer, which could effectively weaken and even block bullets, explosive fragments, and throwing objects.

But that was, after all, NPC gear.

As everyone knows, NPC gear is for display, and by the time you can buy it in the shop, it might already be a few updates behind.

Therefore, for players who planned to go to the frontlines, synergizing with teammates was more important than merely increasing one's Sequence Level.

As for lone wolf players who didn't like fixed teams and weren't interested in socialization, there were still places to go.

The gates of the First and Second Corps were open to all players above Level 5, and many solo players chose the NPC Legions, although they usually kept a low profile.

Although the NPC Legion focused on defense, they also issued missions to reinforce the frontlines and transport supplies during war times, and completing these missions would still earn merits and medals.

If you discovered your command talent during battles, after the campaign ended, you could leave with your teammates and the merits you had accumulated to establish your own Army.

Chu Guang had devised a way to promote gaming experience for every type of player he had screened.

Managing indigenous people with indigenous methods, and managing players with players' methods, had always been his steadfast approach.

The preparation for the northern expedition was not only for combat professional players; lifestyle players were also actively preparing for the upcoming expansion pack in their own ways...

...

At the edge of Red River Town.

A truck loaded with goods slowly passed through the wooden outpost outside the Enclosing Wall of the Horseshoe Iron Commerce Association's area.

Red River Town was different from Qingquan City; there was no unified large survivor settlement here. Mine owners and business association bosses each staked out their own territory and minded their own business.

However, most outside merchants and mercenaries still preferred to stay with the business association bosses, rather than the local Slave Owners.

Although both were equally unscrupulous, people were more fearful of waking up in the middle of the night with collars and shackles than being fleeced by unscrupulous business owners.

Few people visited the Slave Owners' areas; the entrances of the major business associations were always busy with visitors.

Over time, they gradually developed into waystations and with an increase in the permanent population, eventually into what they are today.

"Horseshoe Town" was considered one of the larger survivor settlements around Red River Town and the closest to Qingquan City.

Yet, it was fundamentally different from the typical survivor settlements.

Most small and medium-sized settlements tended to be exclusive, with varying degrees of exclusivity.

However, here, the external population accounted for 80% or more of the total population!

Sitting in the driver's seat, Si Si kept observing the passersby.

Just by looking at their clothes, skin color, and demeanor, you couldn't tell who were locals and who had come from other places to trade.

As Si Si sized up the NPCs, the NPCs standing on both sides of the road also sized them up.

Especially the truck and the goods piled on it, which drew side glances from many mercenaries and traveling merchants.

"Why doesn't that truck have a chimney?"

"Probably runs on batteries."

"An electric truck?! What happens if it runs out of power on the road?"

"For short trips, it should be no problem... I recognize this thing, it's called an 'Electric donkey', something those Blue Jackets from the North suburb of Qingquan city came up with."

"Those from the Blue Ground Squirrel shelter? No wonder they look so soft and tender."

"Wait, you said Electric donkey?! The one that costs fifty thousand Silver coins?"

"That should be the one!"

Fifty thousand Silver coins!

Mercenaries who had been to the City of Dawn unanimously held their breath, many with looks of envy on their faces.

In the North suburb of Qingquan city, 200 silver coins could exchange for an assault rifle!

That much money was enough to arm a hundred-person team!

Even more envious—and indeed covetous—was the fact that behind that truck there was a whole load of light and heavy weapons and ammunition, worth at least twice as much as the truck, if not more.

What made it even more unbelievable was that the two occupants in the driver and passenger seats of this fully loaded truck were two young girls?

Though female mercenaries weren't uncommon in the Wasteland, they were entirely different from these two.

How on earth did these people make it here safely!

"I, I feel like a lot of people are staring at us," whispered Sesame Paste, tightening her helmet that hid her cat ears, from the passenger seat.

"Relax, let them look if they want. This is a safe zone, we just need to keep to our own path."

Si Si, who was holding the steering wheel, glanced outside the window.

Meat Meat might not be high in Sequence Level or renowned for her combat power, but her formidable size was still quite intimidating.

Even the Awakeners had to walk around in the presence of a large White bear clad in heavy armor.

Furthermore, with the 10mm caliber "Maxim II" mounted on top of the vehicle, and with Tail who couldn't keep her hands still and always loved to aim about carelessly, they had more than enough deterrence for any would-be malefactors.

Their journey had been relatively smooth.

For the most part, when encountering others on the same road, they would usually give them a wide berth.

The only threat they encountered was a pack of Hu Wolves that tried to approach them under the cover of night.

At that time, only Tail and Meat Meat were online, and the situation was indeed a bit dangerous.

But luckily Tail reacted quickly, climbing on top of the vehicle while Meat Meat bared her teeth at the leading wolves, grasping the machine gun and spraying bullets.

After leaving behind a dozen or so bodies, the wolf pack swiftly scampered away.

To be honest, wolf meat really tasted bad.

No matter how it was cooked, there was a fishy taste.

Later, they sold these game animals to a purchasing station in Garbage City, exchanged some supplies from the local vendors, and then continued on their way.

"Wow wow wow! Is this Red River Town?"

"It's completely different from Giant Stone City! Nobody seems to be afraid of me."

Starting from passing the checkpoint, Tail and Meat Meat were excitedly looking around.

Square mud-brick homes lined the streets, while stalls along the road were crowded with vendors hawking their commodities; mercenaries carrying weapons shuttled through the narrow streets, and traveling traders talked animatedly, haggling with customers as they led their wares by ropes.

Sometimes, at the other end of the rope, there would be machinery with caterpillar tracks; other times, oxen draped with burlap sacks, or sometimes, people—possibly bionic humans too.

Everything here was full of novelty for her.

The team behind Wasteland OL wasn't making a game!

They had created an almost real world!

This was too nice!

Listening to Meat Meat's comments on the communication channel, Si Si's smile became slightly awkward.

"Uh, I think they're actually scared, but they don't really dare to bother us… How about you hang a rope around your neck and lead yourself?"

Meat Meat protested immediately.

"Wait a minute, wouldn't that be too strange? At least get someone else to lead me, right?"

Sesame Paste: "...?"

Si Si: "...?"

The only one who didn't notice what was wrong with that statement was Tail, still on the rooftop indulging in the joy of unlocking a new map.

"Si! By the way, this place is called Red River Town, but why haven't we seen a river on our way here?!"

Si Si: "Maybe there was one before the war?"

Tail: "Oh! That makes sense! By the way, I heard there are lots of bugs here, including those super long ones that are dozens of meters!"

"Bugs, bugs?! Where?!"

The nervous Sesame Paste clutched the revolver under her seat, searching outside the window, but saw nothing.

Tail: "Not here, silly, I read it on the forums where everyone was talking about it!"

Si Si: "Wow! That's impressive."

Tail: "Dang! Si Si, you're so dismissive!"

"As I'm driving right now, these streets are too narrow... just wait a moment," Si Si said, placating the exuberant Tail with a tone used for pacifying children. However, Si Si's thoughts couldn't help but drift to the official website.

Apparently, if one headed west out of River Valley Province and entered Luo Xia Province, then further west would be an endless Desert Sea.

That sounded much more magnificent than this place.

"I'll have to go see it sometime."

Horseshoe Town's trade station was not far from the main gate.

Si Si parked the truck next to the unloading area, jumped down from the vehicle after opening the door, and spoke a few sentences in imperfect United Human language to a workstation attendant nearby. Soon, a few workers came over to help them unload the goods from the truck.

The man responsible for settling the goods was wearing a leather jacket, a brown scarf around his neck, and a rolled cigarette in his mouth.

Si Si noticed that his left arm was a mechanical prosthesis, but judging from the mottled rust, it seemed to have been used for a long time.

Before approaching the cargo, the man consciously extinguished his cigarette and tucked it back into his pocket, apparently planning to continue smoking later.

"LD-47 rifles, 88mm mortars, 20mm light cavalry guns, and KV-1 Exoskeletons with ammunition—are all things we urgently need. But before we give you a quote, I need to know what you want. Slaves? Mines? Spot goods? Or vouchers?"

VM translated a part of the keywords.

Combining her own understanding and strategies from the official website, Si Si roughly understood what he was saying and replied in a succinct tone.

"Mines, spot goods."

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have a price list?"

Si Si didn't speak but pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket and handed it to him.

Before departing from the City of Dawn, she had browsed other players' posts on the Forum and learned about the local prices in advance, calculating the materials she planned to purchase and creating a list.

She felt it would be more efficient to do this than picking through goods on-site, bargaining with locals who spoke a mixture of United Human and dialects while running the risk of being taken for a novice and severely overcharged or causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

After taking the list and glancing at it, the man's brow furrowed slightly.

"Copper, nickel, zinc, and sulfur are no problem, but for platinum... we don't have it in stock. You might have to wait until tomorrow. Or I can settle the platinum part with vouchers, and you can use them to pick up the goods from the nearby mine."

Si Si frowned and thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"Deliver the other goods as spot goods, and send the platinum to the military base of the New Alliance."

The man looked at her with surprise in his eyes.

"You are from the New Alliance?"

Si Si replied tersely.

"Yes."

With a hint of wariness in his eyes, the man did not say much and took the list, signaling his workers to start loading the goods onto the truck.

Getting back to the truck, Si Si spoke to her teammates.

"There's been a change of plans. They're out of platinum stock, so we'll have to stay here for the night."

"Are we staying here?" Tail asked with sparkling eyes.

"Of course, we'll go back to the nearby save point... Besides, could you even sleep here? It's so noisy." Si Si said helplessly.

Tail began scrolling through the map on the VM, seemingly unaware of where their military base was located.

Sesame Paste curiously asked.

"What's the platinum for?"

Si Si casually replied, "It's an order from the chemical plant. It should be a catalyst for acid production, probably to expand the production capacity of nitric acid."

"Acid production?"

Si Si explained, "For making smokeless gunpowder."

Meat Meat looked at Si Si in amazement.

"You know about this stuff?"

Si Si's expression was somewhat subtle.

"emmm... Initially, I didn't."

"This Game teaches you everything as you play."

...

At the same time.

In the center of Horseshoe Town, at the headquarters of the Business Association.

The man in the office looked at the inventory list handed over by his subordinate and furrowed his brows slightly.

"Sulfur, copper... and platinum, all running low in stock?"

The subordinate standing in front of the desk nodded.

"Yes, most were bought by Commercial Teams coming from Qingquan City."

Thinking for a moment, the man stood up and walked over to the wall, pondering over the map for a long time.

His gaze settled on West State City to the north of Qingquan City, and a flash of excitement suddenly crossed his eyes as he subconsciously clenched his fist.

"This is great!"

The New Alliance was planning to make a move against the Chewing Bone Tribe!

If they succeeded in taking West State City, the Snake Tribe stationed in Tianshui City would be caught in a pincer and forced into a passive situation.

This would also significantly reduce the pressure on Red River Town.

Of course, he saw much more than just that.

If the War Machine in the North suburb of Qingquan City were to start up fully, they would make a killing!

"My lord?" The subordinate spoke up, watching his back.

Turning his attention away from the map, the man did not explain anything to his subordinate but gave a brief instruction.

"Increase the stock of sulfur and copper, go ahead."

Containing his excitement, the man returned to his desk and took out the communicator from the drawer, calling the Mine Owner who had been supplying them for a long time.

"My friend."

"The opportunity to get rich has come!"

Chapter 302 This Clearly Isn't Human's Doing

If Wu Lun hadn't been certain he hadn't grabbed the wrong map, he would have almost thought he'd gone the wrong way.

He fell silent for a while before saying with an unsure tone,

"...Is this West State?"

"It should be." Dimitri nodded, squinting as he surveyed the distance, "The southern suburbs of West State City, it should have been called Qingstone County before the war."

Mountains encircled the county town on its east and west sides, nested under the ridges, surrounded by exuberant vegetation and dense trees.

There were no skyscrapers here, only gardens, row houses, and villas. It was evident that those who lived here before the war pursued a certain quality of life.

To the east, there was a highway and a maglev train station connecting West State and Clearspring, only now these infrastructures had long been overtaken by wildly growing vegetation, morphing into mounds of concrete debris and wreckage.

Within the convenience of the Prosperity Epoch, this was just an inconspicuous little county town, but now it had become the southern gate of West State City.

Clearly, the Ya clan stationed in West State City had also realized this. If they couldn't deal with their southern neighbors, they at least needed to secure their own gateway.

Surveying with binoculars, Wu Lun noticed that there were quite a few Looters stationed here, at least one or two thousand-team squads.

Not only that, but they had also fortified their positions.

Half-collapsed row houses and villas had their gaps sealed off with wood and aluminum sheets, concrete buildings over three floors were transformed into bunkers and gun towers, and the streets were filled with barricades made of concrete blocks and wooden stakes. Every window seemed to harbor hidden outposts, whether overt or covert.

The entire town had been turned into a fortress.

Dimitri couldn't help but be impressed by this rabble's capabilities.

"How do we contact them?"

"With this."

Wu Lun replied concisely, pulling out a signal gun and fired into the sky.

A red flare soared upward.

It wasn't long before they saw a dozen figures approaching them.

These people were dressed in beast skins, many even bare-chested, giving off an uncivilized appearance, yet without exception, they all wielded the weapons of civilized people—either automatic or bolt-action rifles.

Warily eyeing this group of soldiers clad in jet-black exoskeletons, the leading Centurion scrutinized the foremost Wu Lun and cautiously asked,

"Who are you?"

His helmet's visor facing him, Wu Lun took out an iron card proving his identity and shook it, responding impassively,

"Torch."

Torch?

The Looters following the Centurion started murmuring among themselves, each face showing surprise, as they whispered to one another.

A look of surprise was also plastered on the Centurion's face, but it quickly turned to elation.

"Please follow me."

After the two groups merged, the procession set back on the road.

The Centurion led the way in front, quickly taking Wu Lun, Dimitri, and their party through the checkpoint at the entrance to the county town.

However, after entering the fortress, Dimitri immediately retracted his previous appraisal of these "allies."

The sanitation here was appalling; it was like a trash heap.

The street was permeated with the stench of decay, corpses and excrement were dumped carelessly, fist-sized rats roamed freely as if they owned the place.

Dimitri lowered his voice, whispering in the communication channel,

"This place might have a plague outbreak."

Wu Lun's gaze swept through the streets as he replied softly,

"That's obvious."

Noticing Wu Lun's gaze lingering on a corner of the wall, the guiding Centurion chuckled obsequiously,

"Don't mind it, they're just a few rats… We're almost there."

The Ya clan's command center was situated on the west side of the county town, in the Qing Stone Department Store, a cylindrical building five stories high that stood out against the rest of the town.

In terms of concealment, using this as the command center was definitely not a good idea, but the building's exterior wall featured a large number of steel structures, and it even had two underground commercial areas and a garage leading straight to the surface, which from a defensive standpoint, made it the most suitable choice.

In the department store's first floor, Wu Lun and Dimitri met the highest commander here—Lion Tooth.

"Welcome! Friends from afar! I am the Thousands of leaders of the Ya Clan, Lion Tooth. You can consider this place your home."

Lion Tooth came forward beaming with pleasure, spreading his arms for a hug with the allies, but seeing their nonresponse, he awkwardly shifted to a handshake.

Wu Lun extended his hand to meet his.

"Wu Lun, Apostle of the Saint Heir."

"Best wishes to the Saint Heir for good health, please pass on my greetings…" Sensing an unfavorable undertone in the man's eyes before him, Lion Tooth quickly ceased his awkward greeting, and with a slight cough, hastily moved on, "So, Apostle, I must inquire what brought you all this way?"

Not taking offense to his rudeness, as it was not the time to create additional issues, Wu Lun stated plainly,

"Blue Jacket from the northern suburbs of Qingquan City took something of ours; I need you to help us retrieve it."

"They took… something of yours? From Death Coast? That's quite far." Lion Tooth looked puzzled as he continued, "May I ask what it is?"

"A box and a set of power armor. What we need is the former, as for the latter, you may take it."

Power armor!

A momentary flash of greed appeared in Lion Tooth's eyes, but he quickly calmed down.

"They have power armor?"

"Yes," detecting the hesitance in the eyes of the Looter before him, Wu Lun continued, "Don't worry, that power armor doesn't have a shield, it's just a durable sitting duck. If it shows up on the battlefield, leave it to us to handle."

Upon hearing this, Lion Tooth finally relaxed, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.

"Excellent, my friend. Although we've caught a few Monsters and bears with the equipment you provided, power armor… I had no confidence of handling that."

"What you need to worry about isn't the power armor, but the fact that these Blue Jackets have planes."

"Planes?!"

Those Blue Jackets have an airplane?!

Could it be that Giant Stone City sold it to them?

Lion Tooth's eyes were filled with astonishment, his face full of disbelief.

Impossible...

That thing, just like power armor, is a treasure no matter which Survivor Settlement it's in, a heritage from before the war.

What's more, the people from Giant Stone City got that batch of equipment from the hands of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee.

"Yes, that's right," seeing the astonished look on Lion Tooth, Wu Lun almost squeezed the words through his teeth, "Although it's just a laughable propeller plane, it's still mounted with two machine guns. You'd best be careful."

Lion Tooth was utterly dumbfounded.

He had no idea what a propeller plane was, but if these people weren't joking, the group of Blue Jackets in the North Suburbs of Qingquan City could be more troublesome than he had imagined.

"Thank you for the warning. I'll discuss countermeasures with my staff later...how to reinforce our defensive positions."

"Reinforce your defensive positions? How much more can you reinforce? This place is already becoming a turtle shell," Dmitri said in surprise as he stood by, "Are you still planning to keep moving south?"

"Of course, we want to. This piece of fat is already at our lips, but we didn't expect the situation in West State City to be so thorny."

With a helpless expression on his face, Lion Tooth continued speaking.

"The survivors here are no match for us, but they cunningly hid in the subway, playing guerrilla with us, relying on their familiarity with the terrain. Plus, there's been an outbreak of rat plague here recently. The rats are gnawing everywhere like mad. We even have to keep our shoes in cabinets when we sleep... we simply don't have the spare energy to continue heading south."

Wu Lun looked visibly upset.

"How long will it take for you to settle these troubles?"

Lion Tooth replied with uncertainty.

"We should be able to by the end of this winter."

"Too long!" Wu Lun shook his head, "We can't wait that long! Those Blue Jackets are absorbing the nearby vagrants. Once they get a firm foothold there, they will become increasingly difficult to deal with! Your only chance is to focus all your efforts on wiping them out now, you can't wait until winter."

A trace of displeasure crossed Lion Tooth's face.

After all, their relationship was that of allies, not of a superior and subordinate. His respectful attitude was due to the missionaries of the Torch Church being able to control Variants, and those charging monsters, brown bears, and even the Claws of Death had helped them solve many troublesome opponents.

In exchange, the Chewing Bone Tribe allowed them to preach on their territory, spreading their beliefs to looters in the River Valley Province and even beyond.

However, this didn't mean he had to follow their commands.

Wait until winter?

What a joke.

What was there to fear from a bunch of vagrants?

He admitted that the combat power of those wolf coats was indeed strong, but they were ultimately limited in number.

In just these few months, the looters who had come to join them had already doubled the size of the Ya Clan.

By autumn, their tens of thousands of soldiers would march side by side, and they could drown those Blue Ground Squirrels in a spit!

"We have our own plan. I can't just send my men to their deaths because you're looking for a damn box. Winter is just a few months past. Their wheat has only sprouted a little green. What are we supposed to eat if we attack now, grass?"

"Besides, Black Snake has already fallen into their hands. I can't deal with those people on my own. If you're in a hurry, go talk to our leader. Lord Jin Ya is in West State City, and the command for me to be stationed here came from him. Only he has the authority to command me!"

The negotiation failed.

Lion Tooth firmly rejected the Torch Church apostles' suggestion to immediately head south. He would continue to reinforce the fortifications here, and together with his staff, they would make the entire county as impregnable as a fortress.

But this Centurion also indicated that if he received orders from the leader, he would send a hundred team to support them.

A hundred team...

Wu Lun just smirked when he heard this proposal.

What could a hundred barbarians do?

They would be cannon fodder on the battlefield, and they seemed to be completely unaware of it.

However, after learning that these people were incapacitated by orders in their hands, Wu Lun knew he probably had to meet their leader in order to persuade them to continue south.

After coming out of the department store, Dmitri glanced at his teammate.

"Shall we go to the city area now?"

"Uh-huh," Wu Lun nodded, drawing an imaginary line in the air with his index finger, "It's just over thirty kilometers from here to West State. If we advance along the corridor beneath the ridge... if we're fast, we should get there by tomorrow evening."

Stepping on and killing a rat that scurried to his feet, Wu Lun wiped his shoe disdainfully, his furrowed brow squeezed into a knot.

These damned rats...

Where the hell did they come from?

...

Where the hell did these rats come from?

Difficult for the Strong was also utterly baffled.

He admitted that he might have played a small part in speeding up the process, but that was about it.

To be fair, rats and cockroaches were already abundant on the wasteland, any dirty corner could become their breeding ground.

Those unattended bodies, and the lack of sufficient predators, were the root of the rat plague.

Compared to Mutant Cockroaches, rats, being mammals, were slightly less prolific, but they were smarter and more combative, quickly becoming the true masters of West State City.

They moved in packs, gnawing at everything they encountered, above and beneath the ground. Looters and survivors alike were helpless against them.

Difficult for the Strong hadn't failed to try to discipline his ranks, to tighten the regimentation, but he found what he thought was simply not working.

Firstly, the language was different.

Secondly, rats are inherently cunning and have no sense of loyalty.

Even those little brothers he had subdued were not always obedient, and evasiveness was all too common.

The generator for burning wood hummed as it turned, the wires next to it having been patched up several times already.

These damned rats always gnawed at the wires while he slept. Several had been electrocuted, not learning their lesson, luckily the radio and hibernation pods were undamaged; otherwise, that would really be a loss.

The most loyal turned out to be the female rats.

Under the difficult circumstances of "artificial intervention," rats had gained more than enough food and space to survive, and they queued up to breed, frantically expanding the scale of their population.

Yet their affectionate looks were somewhat frightening to the strong.

Thank God!

It didn't have that thing.

For the first time, he had the thought that not having it was actually not bad...

"Respected Manager... the rat plague in West State City isn't my doing!"

Under the ruins lay the nest.

Standing next to the radio, the one facing difficulty twitched nervously upon hearing the Manager's inquiry.

Although he had been reporting back on the situation in West State City, he had selectively concealed the rat plague, both on the Forum and over phone calls.

He wasn't afraid of other NPCs, but the Manager was, after all, the Manager.

That fella had GM authority in its settings, capable of physical punishments for illegal in-game behavior.

Who wouldn't panic at that?

And who the hell knows what kind of punishment logic the AI has.

Ah Guang had stressed to him on the Forum more than once that the closed beta server had a lot of issues. If GMs revoke your closed beta privileges, there's no channel for a manual appeal to unblock it; the reclaimed privileges will be inherited by new players.

A serious voice came over the phone.

"I don't mean to blame you, I just hope you'll tell the truth about the situation there."

The strong one knew he ultimately couldn't keep it hidden. After some hesitation, he chose to confess honestly, spilling all the previously concealed information.

Following the vivid description from the one facing challenges, Chu Guang found himself between laughter and tears.

This guy really is something, thinking up artificial breeding.

No, should say he's a rat talent.

After all, it wasn't humans doing it.

"… Manager?"

Seeing that there was no response from the phone, he felt even more uneasy.

"… Ahem, no worries, I'm just a bit surprised. Give me a moment to think."

Time ticked by, each second stretching out like a year for the one in difficulty.

At last, the Manager on the other end of the phone spoke again.

"… You did quite well. The rat plague has delayed the Ya Clan's southward advance, buying us precious time for development. However, you indeed failed to control your subordinates, and an indiscriminate plague has severely impacted the local survivors' resistance movement."

With a dejected face, the strong one lamented.

"It's really not my fault, I tried to give them orders, and they all seemed to obey me... One thing to my face, another behind my back."

"I know, which is why I'm not blaming you, but I'm also unable to commend you publicly," Chu Guang paused, then continued, "The New Alliance will remember your contribution, but won't acknowledge your achievements. We will reward you in a different way, do you understand what I mean?"

Phew.

Scared the crap outta me.

That's it?

The one facing challenges let out a sigh of relief.

Whether commended or not, it didn't matter; he didn't understand what NPCs said anyway. It had no effect on task rewards or his posturing on the Forum.

Plus, it sounded like he might've triggered a hidden task?

Rather than feeling any disappointment, he became excited, swearing with an eager voice.

"Don't worry, respected Manager. I will keep silent about what I've done! Where there is Light, there must be shadow. I am willing to be the sharp blade beneath your cloak, sweeping away any obstacles that stand in our way!"

Chu Guang's toes nearly curled through the floor with embarrassment.

But to accommodate the players' experience, he endured, playing along with the act, and solemnly wrapped up the scene.

"… I'm glad you feel that way, starting now, I need you to gather intelligence about what lies ahead on our path. Mark the enemy's ammo depots, firepoints, command centers, troop gathering areas, and any tunnels and trenches on the map as clearly as possible, to support our ground troops and air forces in clearing out the Looters entrenched locally."

"Can you handle these tasks?"

The strong one exclaimed excitedly, "Leave it to me with confidence! I can manage this small task!"

"Hm, I look forward to your good news!" After delegating these tasks, Chu Guang hurriedly hung up the call.

Communication ended.

The strong one issued a sigh of relief, and his previously furrowed face was now brimming with joy.

It's a rise!

It must've gone up!

Just by the tone of the Manager's last few words, the favorability must've skyrocketed!

The rats crowded around him chirped excitedly; even though they didn't know why their boss was ecstatic, their plump bellies were surely filled with mischief.

Turning to face his minions, eager to show off, the challenged one straightened up and shrilled his call.

"Come on, everybody, gather your brothers."

"We're off with your Rat Grandpa to stir up trouble!"

…

Though rats can't speak, the one undergoing challenges had his ways.

Having lived with the rats for so long, he had figured out their habits and methods of exchanging information.

These cunning rats might not strictly carry out his suicidal commands, but scouting for him was no issue.

Dangerous places meant more people, places rich with metal hinted at possible weapon or ammo stores – after pinpointing their rough locations, he'd personally go for a sniff.

Even if not every venture yielded valuable intel, he succeeded at least six times out of ten.

Upon discovering high-value targets, he wouldn't act immediately but would mark them on the map with VM before quietly slipping away.

At this time, stirring up the snake by hitting the grass would only put the enemy on their guard.

By the time war broke out, the planes and artillery of the New Alliance would give these Looters a great surprise.

Unaware of what was happening right beneath him, Lion Tooth, with the assistance of staff officer Bernie, further fortified the positions in Qingstone County.

They hid fixed machine guns on the rooftops of buildings, using water tanks, distribution boxes, ventilation ducts, and other facilities as cover, and installed powerful searchlights on some roofs to scan the nearby airspace and mountainous areas at night.

Of course, these ideas were not Lion Tooth's own.

But his team included staff from the Army.

Although Lion Tooth didn't think that the Blue Jackets would dare to come looking for trouble on their own, Black Snake's tragic death was a lesson thoroughly learned.

Even if there was just a 1% chance, he would nip it in the bud!

…

Early April.

A whole week had passed since the high-level meeting regarding the Northern Expedition plan.

City of Dawn operated like a pump in motion, crazily absorbing resources from all directions along the opened trade routes.

Steel and aluminum were the main items in demand.

Not only were they needed for manufacturing light and heavy equipment, but the railway under construction was also a black hole of resources, seemingly bottomless.

One steel plant was no longer sufficient to meet the expansion needs of the New Alliance. To satisfy the steel demand of the growing industrial zone, not only had Steel Factory No.81 set up a branch, but Chu Guang had signed an administrative document instructing the logistics department to establish the New Alliance's first steel plant.

This was also the first steel plant managed by NPCs and collectively controlled by the Alliance.

Unlike Factory No.81, which mainly produced military equipment,

Steel Factory No.1 primarily supplied steel for infrastructure construction, with some of its equipment processed by machine tools and some purchased from Giant Stone City. The technical staff comprised professional players with life skills occupations, as well as unemployed engineers hired from Giant Stone City.

As for the A3 aviation aluminum produced by Bachi Aluminum Factory, most of it was supplied to the production line of "Electric Donkeys," while the remaining capacity was practically devoured by List Factory for producing more durable KV-1 Exoskeletons.

Before the war began, Chu Guang needed enough trucks to deliver supplies and troops to the front and use KV-1 Exoskeletons to ensure the players' mobility and combat capabilities.

By the end of the month, the number of players could reach 2500+, but the combat professionals who would actually go to the front lines were about 1500 or so.

The disparity in numbers could only be compensated for with mobility and firepower.

Besides steel and aluminum, copper and sulfur were the second-largest resources in demand by the New Alliance.

Copper was primarily used for manufacturing bullets and laying electrical networks; that goes without saying.

Artillery shells could be made of steel, but bullets were best made of copper, which not only preserved better, but also performed excellently in shooting, effectively reducing the rate of jamming and barrel wear compared to steel-cased ammunition.

Electricity was even more critical; both Exoskeletons, trucks, and the players' save points needed the support of the electrical systems.

The main use for sulfur was to make sulfuric acid.

That's not just related to one production line; from steel plants to chemical plants, there aren't many industrial chains that can operate without it.

As the war machine powered up, the industrial zone's capacity constantly expanded, and almost every resource demand sharply rose.

It was around this time that Old Charlie, the president of the Merchant Guild, brought Chu Guang some bad news...

"Although you've likely noticed something from the inventory data, just to be safe, I still have to tell you that our industrial scale is expanding faster than anticipated, and the copper and sulfur mines produced by surrounding Survivor Settlements have already experienced price hikes due to our purchases."

In the base's reception room,

After hearing Old Charlie's report, Chu Guang thought for a moment, then raised his head.

"How much did it increase?"

"Copper prices in Red River Town went up by twenty percent, the sulfur price at least thirty percent. These are the latest numbers."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"That's more or less consistent with the information I have."

Last night, players had discussed this matter on the Forum, not only about copper and sulfur mines; some rare metals were outright out of stock.

Chu Guang had, in fact, anticipated this situation.

The vouchers issued by the Red River Town mine were essentially a form of futures. This trading model was designed not only to facilitate their purchase of commodities from other survivors but also to coordinate the mine's output.

In other words, they wouldn't produce a bunch of ores they didn't need and stockpile them in their warehouses; they determined production for the next quarter based on the vouchers issued in the previous one.

If someone suddenly needed a large amount of spot goods, a price hike was natural.

However...

This rate of price increase was somewhat abrupt.

The Northern Expedition had only been underway for a week, and no matter how rapidly the demand increased, Chu Guang did not believe that Red River Town's warehouses lacked even this small reserve.

Chu Guang had reason to suspect that someone, guessing something through certain information, was playing a game of hoarding and reluctant selling with him.

Old Charlie had also evidently guessed what might be the case, saying in a not so direct way.

"Our resources are in others' control, and this problem's impact will become increasingly apparent. Either we can open up more trade routes, reducing reliance on a single source of raw materials, or I can have my own sources of raw materials to solve part of our resource needs."

"I was thinking the same, in fact, one of the purposes of this Northern Expedition is to solve the raw material issue."

Chu Guang nodded, looking at the map on the wall.

"The exploratory team of the New Alliance has investigated the information on Qingstone County. To the west of it, the former Qing Shi Geological Park is a mining area of Qing Shi Mining Company, with an underlying porphyry copper molybdenum deposit estimated to be at least one million tons in reserve."

Charlie's face showed surprise.

"It hasn't been mined?"

"It has, but only a small part; according to the records, the mine was shut down early in the Prosperity Epoch due to cost issues and later converted into a geological park, with a practice base and geological research institute adjacent to it."

With a faint smile, Chu Guang continued.

"In fact, it's not just the copper molybdenum deposit; according to the analysis of our exploratory team's personnel, there are numerous identified but undeveloped resources in the surrounding area. As long as we take control of West State City, the resources issue will naturally sort itself out."

"But what about the current problem? Even if we take over Qingstone County, mining will take time—"

As these words left his mouth, a glimmer of realization suddenly appeared in Old Charlie's eyes.

"I see..."

"I think I understand your point now."

Chapter 303: Who Needs a Knife to Harvest Leeks?

Sim felt he was simply a genius.

He deduced his neighbor's next move just from some data on paper.

Upon discovering the situation, he immediately arranged for his salesmen to go to the nearby mines and massively purchase inventories of copper ore, sulfur, and other war materials.

Currently, the Horseshoe Iron Business Group's warehouse had already stored 200 tons of copper material, and according to his calculations, the full-power ammunition produced by the New Alliance needed about 16 to 17 tons of copper.

To fight a local battle, millions of rounds of ammunition were needed, and to take down West State City, they would need tens of millions of rounds at the very least.

After all, the Looter was no fool.

These men, under the training of Army instructors, had learned to dig trenches and crouch in shelters. They had fought with Red River Town and the Snake Tribe for a few months and had already experienced how difficult those people were to deal with.

Since Horseshoe Iron Business Group raised the inventory reserve line, increased the purchase of copper mines and other materials, and reduced the shipment volume, the copper price in Red River Town had already risen by twenty percent, and the price of sulfur had even risen by more than thirty percent.

And this was just the beginning.

He was still in the phase of sweeping goods, and once he finished, filled the warehouse with copper ore, and pinched off the source of shipments, using the time difference of the mines increasing production, there would be no problem in doubling or tripling the copper price in a short period.

Of course.

He couldn't handle this business alone.

The business group didn't have the right to issue notes, and those who could issue notes were mine owners, while they were just dealers caught between slave owners and merchants.

To hike the price of copper mines, he had to win over one or two influential mine owners to cooperate with him.

To Sim, this was easy.

He had always maintained a good relationship with the nearby mine owners, and besides, this wasn't their first time cooperating.

…

In the Horseshoe Iron Business Group's conference hall.

After listening to Sim's proposal, a man dressed in luxurious attire slightly hesitated and furrowed his brows.

"...This idea indeed sounds good, but isn't it a bit improper?"

The man speaking was named Dennis, who held considerable sway in Red River Town and even within the Mining Association, backed by his 500 fierce thugs and the gold mine of a garbage mountain.

He admitted that the pie Sim had drawn for him was indeed tempting; even just a twenty to thirty percent increase would already be enough for him to make a fortune.

However, he still had some concerns.

The Chewing Bone Tribe was a common enemy to all survivors.

If the New Alliance planned to attack the Chewing Bone Tribe, it would be an absolutely beneficial thing for Red River Town, both strategically and business-wise.

If West State City was taken over by the New Alliance, the Snake Tribe would find themselves sitting with their other half directly in the line of fire from those Blue Jacket men, and the pressure on Red River Town would be much less.

Although Sim's offer was enticing, Dennis instinctively felt that backstabbing "allies" at this time was somewhat unsportsmanlike.

Yet…

Sim didn't think so.

"My dear friend, please don't think of this as a betrayal. Price increases are market behavior. Considering their buying pattern, the price of copper going up is just a matter of time. Would you increase production without a price increase? We are just helping to press the accelerator."

Dennis: "So you're saying they should thank you?"

Sim said with a smile, "Of course."

Dennis always felt his arguments were skewed, but he could not think of a counterargument.

"What do you need me to do?"

"It's simple. When necessary, you just have to issue a notice with us to reduce production, whether it's a mining disaster or equipment malfunction, just reduce the issuance volume of next quarter's tickets, but keep the production as it is."

Nervously gripping the arms of his chair, Dennis said,

"What if no one buys what's produced?"

The issuance of tickets was meant to avoid this issue.

Spot trading had too many uncertainties. Before the ticket system, everyone just randomly mined a bunch of garbage which no one would buy, living meal to meal.

It was only after the merchants of Red River Town invented tickets, stuffing them into the pockets of passing merchants with Red Notes and Blue Notes, that they gradually began living better lives.

That was why, for the ticket trading model, these slave owners were actually more sensitive than those big merchants who made a fortune from tickets.

Knowing what his counterpart was worried about, Sim gave him a confident smile.

"Don't worry, my friend. Imagine if the New Alliance goes to war with the Chewing Bone Tribe tomorrow. Would you still need to worry about selling the copper they produce? Once the war machine starts, there's no reason for it to stop. We're just hoping for a 'more reasonable' price for it to sell at."

"You don't need to bear any risk, and you can take the lion's share of the profits. There's no need to worry about unable to sell either. We're willing to serve you!"

Hearing the last sentence, Dennis finally relaxed, and his expression eased.

He picked up the pipe on the table and stood up from his chair.

"Then let's do as you say."

He didn't want to think about the complex issues, and he couldn't figure them out anyway.

The reason Red River Town had these business groups was exactly because these scheming guys helped them sell their worthless garbage for better prices.

His bionic organs, his android partner, even the equipment of his thugs, the mining devices of the slaves, and those mercenaries fighting brutally on the frontlines… all were bought with money.

As for what money was?

His understanding was those Red and Blue Notes, the Dinar of the Army, and Cr of the businesses, although his instinct told him this was just on the surface, really figuring it out was too complicated.

Dennis knew he didn't have the brain for it; better to let those who understood worry about it.

He just needed to know he could earn more.

Watching Dennis nod in agreement, Sim stood up ecstatically and extended his right hand.

"To a fruitful cooperation!"

"Cheers to our partnership!"

After ushering out the mine owner.

Back in his office, Sim couldn't hold it in any longer and laughed uproariously.

"Hahaha!"

Each time he dealt with those mine owners, it was the happiest moment of his life.

Although he only shared some soup with them, they always nodded with full belief when he said, "You guys can take the lion's share."

"Copper, sulfur... shame that they can produce steel and aluminum themselves."

Suppressing his laughter, Sim walked to the wall and gazed at the map for a moment, then continued thoughtfully.

"I had actually thought they would expand westward."

To the south of the New Alliance was Giant Stone City, and to the east lay nearly a hundred kilometers of desolate, waterless wasteland.

The benefits of moving west were obviously greater than going north.

After all, Qingquan City was located in the middle of the plains in the southern River Valley Province, with lakes and rivers to the west, primarily plains and forests, and only a few hills.

But going north would be like plunging straight into the mountains.

Why bother?

What treasures could there possibly be there?

At that moment, a knock at the office door interrupted Sim's thoughts.

"Come in."

The door opened.

His subordinate, Engert, walked in with a list in his hand.

"Boss, today's inventory numbers are in; our copper stock has grown to 500 tons!"

"Excellent!"

A bright smile spread across Sim's face, a major step closer to his plan of 1000 tons.

"By the way, boss... our commercial team heading to the City of Dawn heard a rumor there that I think you might be interested in,"

Sim: "What rumor?"

Engert hesitated for a moment, then whispered,

"They heard from people in the tavern that in the mountains to the north of Far Creek Town, they've discovered a copper mine with reserves of a million tons."

Sim froze for a moment, then laughed scornfully.

"Bullshit!"

Those cunning Blue Ground Squirrels were quite clever; they realized someone was buying up the same goods as they had increased the price by 20%.

But this kind of retaliation was rather childish.

Could it be possible that the New Alliance had really discovered a copper mine with reserves of a million tons?

Of course!

But the possibility was too slim, and the timing too coincidental!

Why discover it now, just when copper prices were rising?

And a million tons at that, it would have to be a major vein.

They're fooling ghosts!

If they had really discovered such a large deposit, with their demand for copper, they would have built a road there immediately and set up an outpost there...

Wait.

A road?!

Sim's expression shifted slightly, and he returned to examining the railway lines on the map.

According to information collected by his commercial teams, the New Alliance had been laying railroad tracks northward, currently extending from the industrial zone of the City of Dawn to the edge of Elm District.

He had always wondered why the New Alliance had taken the unpleasant route north.

Now, he vaguely guessed their intention.

If that rumor was true...

"Is this rumor reliable? Are there any other clues?"

Seeing his boss's grim expression, Engert quickly shook his head.

"There aren't any more!"

With his arms crossed, back turned to his subordinate, and eyes fixed on the map, Sim bit his thumb, his mind racing.

After a while, he calmed down.

Even if they discovered a copper mine, what of it?

It would always take time to start mining.

Turning back to his subordinate, Sim immediately ordered,

"Tell our commercial teams to keep an eye out for news in this area; I need more intelligence!"

Engert quickly nodded.

"Yes!"

...

"Have you heard? They've found a copper mine in Far Creek Town!"

"Really? Is that true?"

"I don't know! I heard it from a drunkard in the tavern of Highway Town! Those people said that the Blue Jackets had geological data from the Human Alliance Era, and they had discovered the copper mine in Far Creek Town long ago, but kept quiet about it until recently when they couldn't hide it anymore!"

"I think it makes sense...Why else would they keep laying the railroad tracks northward? Is there anything worth transporting up there?"

"By the way, has anyone been to Far Creek Town?"

"Why go there? There's not even a post station, and beyond Far Creek Town to the north is Chew-bone, with New Alliance soldiers stationed there. Wandering around there carelessly, you might be mistaken for a scout of the Looters and get caught, causing a hassle having to explain everything."

City of Dawn.

The entrance to the trading post.

A group of merchants waiting for goods delivery stood in line, chatting and bragging.

They were all merchants who had come from Red River Town, each dealing in different commodities.

As they were chatting, an "Electric Donkey" drove into the trading post.

Seeing the cylindrical devices being unloaded from the train car, many knowledgeable people expressed shock in their eyes.

"Multi-cylinder hydraulic crusher?"

"I've seen this before, imported by Giant Stone City, heard even second-hand equipment costs 20,000 chips."

"...It seems to be true."

Next to the truck bearing the Horseshoe Iron Business Group's crest, the Commercial Team captain's face was slightly grave.

That night, he reported the news to the steward of the business group.

In fact, there was no need for him to report.

Within a few days, the news of the major copper mine discovery at Far Creek Town had spread to Red River Town along the trade routes.

As one of the major buyers of copper from Red River Town, the discovery of copper by the New Alliance was a bolt from the blue for those major mine owners who depended on exporting copper to exchange for bullets, shells, and other industrial goods.

Previously, during the surge in Qingquan City, the New Alliance had increased its procurement of copper, profiting significantly from the trade, with some powerful mine owners taking the opportunity to increase production.

If the price of copper were to fluctuate significantly in the future, even plummet...

Whether or not production is reduced next quarter, the priority for those mine owners now is to take advantage of the "artificially high" copper prices to offload their stock as much as possible.

Yes.

It looked like the New Alliance was gearing up for war, but the war hadn't started yet.

War was anticipated, and so was the discovery of copper.

These were clues analyzed based on limited intelligence; they were not explicitly stated in documents.

The increase in copper procurement could be interpreted as boosting munitions reserves, or it could be seen as expanding electrical infrastructure—the uses for nitric and sulfuric acid extend beyond just making shells, including steel pickling and other industries too.

Every argument has its pros and cons.

However, one thing was highly probable.

If the New Alliance really had discovered copper...

Perhaps war matters would have to be put on hold.

Red River Town did not have just one business group nor just one mine.

When prices had risen previously, many tacitly followed Horseshoe Iron Business Group in hoarding goods, and now they were tacitly lowering their copper reserves and dumping copper on the market.

When the increase in copper supply significantly exceeded the growth in demand, the resultant outcome was clear.

Sim quickly discovered in horror that he hadn't even managed to backstab his neighbor before his own people had first stabbed him in the back.

The senseless fire-sale had knocked the prices he had worked so hard to inflate back down again.

The warehouses of Horseshoe Iron Business Group were now full of copper.

All because of that perhaps non-existent copper mine, the mine owners and business group heads of Red River Town had turned into fools.

Yes.

They were fools.

At least in Sim's eyes, these people were only slightly smarter than donkeys, nothing more.

"These stupid things, can they not just wait!"

"So what if they have a copper mine? I'll assume they do! Can copper ingots just grow out of the ground tomorrow?"

The office was filled with angry shouts.

Engert, standing aside, held his breath, not daring to inhale.

After finally venting enough, Sim turned to him and spoke deliberately.

"How much budget do we have left?"

Engert replied hastily.

"Without affecting other operations... We can purchase about 700 tons," Engert cautiously looked at his boss, "Originally, it was only a bit over 400 tons, but since the copper price has dropped recently, we can buy more now..."

700 tons!

Compared to the nearly ten thousand tons released by those imbeciles, it was simply a drop in the bucket!

Furious to the point of nearly vomiting blood, Sim took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Besides these purchasing budgets, he no longer had enough tickets to buy more copper ore from the mine owners.

Borrow someone else's ticket to buy?

No matter how much he borrowed, it wouldn't be enough!

Plus, even if he could borrow, he couldn't possibly absorb all the surplus goods coming out of other business groups and mine warehouses by himself.

If he really did so, his downfall would be from a farmer cutting leeks to being the leek that got chopped.

Who was most worried about the drop in copper prices?

It had to be the person who bought it with multiple times leverage.

Once other business groups figured out he was hoarding a warehouse full of copper ore with a huge debt on his back, they would definitely laugh crazily and decisively sell him even more copper ore.

Actually, there's no need for multiple times; as long as 80% of the copper in the market ended up in his hands, regardless of whether he leveraged 80% or 800%, he would definitely become the ultimate bearer.

"These damn Blue Ground Squirrels!"

Sim had spent a long time unable to figure out how to curse the people in the "North Suburb," finally squeezing out this phrase through clenched teeth.

To this moment, he still firmly believed that the New Alliance would definitely make a move against the Chewing Bone Tribe.

But what use was his belief alone?

Could a market be swayed by one person's perception?

"Boss," Engert cautiously said, "are we buying more?"

"Buy your mother!"

Sim couldn't help but curse.

Seeing his flustered subordinate, he took a deep breath and controlled his temper.

"Keep the inventory reserve level unchanged…"

Engert hesitated, "And those copper ingots in the warehouse?"

Sim gritted his teeth and said,

"Keep them!"

He was in the business of making big money.

Let those foolish donkeys sell if they wish to, he wouldn't make a move even if the copper prices fell to the same level as iron ore.

A war would break out sooner or later!

And prices would rebound eventually!

...

"Don't you want to get rich with your brothers?"

"Don't blame me for not helping you, buy now or you'll miss out!"

Observing the report sending from the military base at Red River Town, Chu Guang couldn't help but laugh.

The news he released had worked indeed, but he never anticipated it would be so effective.

Copper ore prices had dropped by 37%!

Supply had quadrupled!

And this was on top of the basis from two weeks ago, the effect of the smoke bombs had far exceeded Chu Guang's initial expectations.

His original intention was to hope for prices to "return to rationality," but when the mining owners and business heads heard about the New Alliance's copper finding, they rushed to lower their own copper reserve lines, not only following him to sweep the market of copper ore but also filling the New Alliance's commercial team with cheap copper ore.

Because copper ore generally existed in the form of sulfides, the price of sulfur was also affected.

Considering that in the future their big customers might not buy these two materials from them, adjusting the inventory while they could sell at a good price was the most prudent choice.

But once the selling started, emotions, rather than logic, might dominate the market.

Later it wasn't just the major business groups that were selling, the merchant teams arriving at Red River Town also chose to wait and see if they could get even cheaper prices.

And large consumers of copper ore like the New Alliance naturally became the biggest winners.

Sure, taking down Red River Town was also an option and wouldn't be very difficult.

Sneaky as he could be, Chu Guang could just issue a task, directing the players supporting Red River Town to turn their guns against the surrounding NPCs and tear a hole in the defenses, allowing the Snake Clan's Looters to storm in, and then sending his own troops to clean up the mess.

A battalion would suffice.

The only risk was the Ya Clan getting the news from the Snake Clan and seizing the chance to head south to take advantage, and possibly performing a surrounding maneuver.

After all, this wasn't a turn-based game; when you make your move, the odds of others standing idle were slim.

But that was also the problem.

Since it wasn't a turn-based game, the war still had to consider the methods and causes for the targeted war participants.

This reason fell into two categories: internal and external.

Internally, the justification of liberating the slaves was enough, residents of the New Alliance genuinely supported him, and for the players, it was just content for an expansion pack.

Using the planner's tool to issue a "declaration of war," he wouldn't even need to explain – the best aspect of players was here, just spinning the story if it needed an explanation, or using the settings if it didn't.

If a Filial Son of Lorderon could slay his father with a sword, why couldn't I, a Manager having a bad day, deceitfully stab an ally? No alliance was signed, that's reasonable!

But externally, this rationale was hard to argue.

From Giant Stone City to Garbage City, to other far-flung survivor settlements, though all opposed the Looters, none were against slavery; some acknowledged its legality, others allowed trading but not arbitrary execution.

Many of the slaves at the Red River Town mine were captives captured by other survivor settlements.

Using slave liberation as a pretext for war against them wouldn't be any better than skipping that excuse altogether and attacking without a word – confusion might minimize the expansion impact.

Using emancipation as a war pretext might incur a "diplomatic penalty debuff" that could be higher than that of the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Certain things require a specific cultural soil; advanced cultures pair with advanced ideas, whether at Shelter No.117 or Shelter No.401, their ultimate downfall boiled down to one thing — failing to consider the actual situation of Wasteland or, even if considered, unable to let go of the demeanor of civilized folk.

What they thought was good might not be seen the same by others.

They could foresee events ten years away, but those under their management might only wish to live in the present.

Just like Boss Xia, who previously always liked to slack off — although Chu Guang often teased her, he never really kicked her out.

He wasn't born a manager, having lived at the bottom, he understood exactly what it felt like to be in her position.

Not everything was about right or wrong.

In fact, the obedient and sensible demeanor of Little Fish sometimes painfully touched his heart.

Looking at the Manager whose face was filled with optimism, Old Charlie still appeared somewhat worried.

The decline in raw material prices was certainly something to be happy about.

But if it fell too rapidly, they would ultimately harm themselves.

"I must remind you, the drop in copper and sulfur prices is due to the release of inventory, not an increase in production capacity. If those mine owners reduce production because of this, the prices of copper ore could rise even higher in a few months."

"You're right, so ultimately, we still have to rely on ourselves to solve the supply of raw materials."

Chu Guang set down the report in his hands and looked toward Old Charlie, who was standing across the desk.

"According to data feedback from the logistics department, we have already stored 700 tons of copper, with about 1200 tons on the way, these resources will suffice for our consumption over the next three months!"

Based on the current production efficiency of the industrial district, producing one million bullets required 16.7 tons of copper.

Just manufacturing bullets, those 1200 tons of copper would allow the production of over 71 million rounds.

Attacking West State City wouldn't need nearly that much ammunition; not even half would be used.

Initially, he had planned to prepare five million rounds of ammunition, then continue production during the course of the conflict.

He estimated that total ammunition consumption by the end of the war would not exceed ten million rounds.

"...You're really not leaving any way out for yourself."

Seeing the surprised face of the elderly man, Chu Guang smiled faintly, stood up, walked to the wall, and quietly spoke while gazing at the map filled with pin markings.

"I will liberate the Western Province from the Chewing Bone Tribe within a month."

"Our mining team will bring the equipment along with the shells we are sending to the front line."

"After that, whether our neighbors' copper and sulfur are expensive or cheap, it won't matter to us anymore."

"Since we won't be buying from them in the future."

Chapter 304: Only When You're Full Can You Go to the Front Line

[Frost Snow at the Merchant Guild Reception: Recently, the trading price of copper ore at Red River Town has fluctuated significantly, affected by an increased supply. The copper and sulfur reserves of the New Alliance are already nearing their storage limits, reducing the buying price by 10% and the supply price by 6%. Please, merchant players, pay attention to the risks.]

[Charlie, President of the Merchant Guild: Friendly reminder, the Merchant Guild provides hireable NPCs with a trading level of 3 or above, who can help you get better prices in trades. If you're not confident in your negotiation and language skills, we suggest hiring one or two NPC companions.]

[NPC companions holding VM will be great helpers on your journey; some excel in combat, while others are skilled in hunting or medical services. Their abilities can grow along with you during your travels. However, serious injuries or death will cause them to leave your team permanently, so please be sure to keep them safe!]

Online forum.

Today was as bustling as ever.

The first batch of commercial teams returning from Red River Town had started coming back one after another, thanks to the guide written by Mole Old Brother, these pioneer players made a pretty penny.

As the trading was done early, they didn't even feel the fluctuation in prices before they had already converted their cargo into silver coins.

Tail: "Eh??? Did copper prices go up?"

Si Si: "Emmm… It seems like it doesn't really affect us, we were already on our way back when you guys started discussing the price increase."

Actually, she had foreseen this situation and had been urging Tail to set off early, although they still got delayed because of some issues with their team name.

Fortunately, they had left at the right time, just before the rise in copper prices, and by the time they woke up the next day, the price had already gone up.

Now thinking back on it, Si Si couldn't help but feel relieved.

Thank goodness she had insisted on settling in cash back then. If they had given her vouchers or waited until the next day to settle, their trip to Red River Town would have earned them at least 10% to 20% less.

Makabazi: "Spill it! How much did you guys make?"

Tail: "Not much, just a few hundred thousand or so! Heh, another big step forward towards the Mercenary Guild's dream! (proud)"

The message was sent.

The post exploded instantly.

Silver Daddy: "Hiss..."

Quit Smoking: "A few hundred thousand?! Are we talking RMB or silver coins?!"

Si Si: "Cough… Tail is messing around, don't believe her."

Edge Shoveling: "For a moment, I actually couldn't tell which was more absurd."

Valley on the Run Mole: "Wait a minute, where did Tail get so many silver coins!?"

Tail: "Ehehe, that's a girl's secret! (ゝω·)☆"

Valley on the Run Mole: "Ehehe my foot! Come on, spill it! (frantic)"

Debt Giant Eye: "This must be some shady PY trade behind the scenes!"

Less Bull: "PY trade?! Where?!"

Makabazi: "Pass it on! Tail is not clean!"

Lost Rookie: "Wuwuwu, rich lady is hungry, I don't mind!"

Tail: "?!Σ(ﾟДﾟ;)"

In the end, no one could figure out where Tail's silver coins had come from.

After all, this guy just seemed like an ordinary sand sculpture internet friend, totally lacking the aura of a cash player.

Si Si, Sesame Paste, and Meat Meat did know the reality, but they didn't spread it around, and after being privately lectured by her besties, Tail sulkily slipped away from the post.

Compared to the first batch of players who almost picked up money, the second batch found things a bit more difficult.

Many players arrived at Red River Town to find that copper prices had begun to roller-coaster, and many spent more than 1000 Blue Notes extra for a ton of copper in just one day.

However, some were incredibly lucky and happened to arrive during a massive sell-off in various major mining districts.

Up until a few hours before the official website announcement, almost all trading stations except the one in Horseshoe Town were selling copper ore at nearly rock-bottom prices.

Investment must be cautious, as many green rookies were taught a lesson by the NPCs.

The economic system of "Wasteland OL" is not simply about buying low and selling high, especially when the copper prices suddenly fell, many felt an invisible hand influencing everything.

Mole Old Brother in the canyon: "Actually, I've always suspected that someone was stockpiling goods before the expansion pack started, I figured copper and sulfur would definitely go up in price if there was going to be a war."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Buddy, why didn't you buy some? (grinning with teeth showing)"

Mole Old Brother in the canyon: "Well, I wanted to, but you can't play this game well without tens of millions of silver coins."

Copper prices are nearly ten times that of iron prices, and because it is more suitable for manufacturing bullets than steel, it's particularly hard to find in the wasteland.

The market price for a 100-kilogram pure steel breastplate is 100 Silver Coins, but if it's pure copper, it's 1000 Silver Coins... although no one uses copper for armor.

By that calculation, a ton of copper would be ten thousand silver coins, and NPC warehouses start at a hundred tons, now supposedly reaching thousands of tons.

Ten million silver coins!

All the silver coins in the pockets of all the players on the server combined wouldn't amount to that!

The game has a loan feature, but it can only be applied for under the name of a company for "production and business purposes," and if the use of funds is deemed against regulations or suspected of interest transmission in the accounts, fines could lead to bankruptcy.

Not a Professional Opposer: "Damn, now that you mention it, did the NPCs drive up the price?"

Elena: "The NPCs in this game are something else, they even know how to fleece the players. (facetious)"

The fluctuations in the trading price of copper ore, although just a minor episode before the expansion pack, truly made many people envious of these newfound fortunes.

Especially now with the official Silver Coin consignment platform, not only players but also backseat drivers can participate in trade.

Seeing all the forum posts predicting whether the silver prices would rise or fall with the new expansion pack, Ye Wei played on his mobile phone in the classroom with a helpless expression on his face.

Mainly because the topics discussed by these people were becoming increasingly esoteric, and he was beginning to feel lost.

"You guys discuss this every day on the forum, aren't you tired?"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "You don't understand! This is also a form of fun! (proud)"

Ye Wei: …

Oh boy.

He was completely unaware that he had been turned into one of the figurative chives by Ah Guang.

There is a backseat driver player called "Working Class Warrior" who hasn't even entered the game yet, but his account already has ten thousand silver coins.

However, the clever thing about this guy compared to other backseat driver players is his flexible application of the rule "any form of virtual assets can participate in transactions."

He contacted players with beta access through the trading platform and registered a company, investing money and technology, letting players with beta access hold shares on his behalf. They produced a DC to AC inverter, and he managed to turn "Wasteland OL" into a business simulation game.

Although it's not a highly technical commodity, it unexpectedly sold quite well and secured a number of orders from downstream manufacturers.

While players can't physically access the game, the official website acknowledges the right to freely dispose of "unbound" assets within the game — as long as they don't exploit loopholes for malicious money farming.

Ye Wei thought carefully, although Ah Guang often made empty promises, he was actually quite friendly towards the players.

Other game companies treated players like family, but Brother Guang treated them like brothers. He never harvested their "crops" and even distributed benefits from the backseat drivers' "crops" to them.

Thinking of this, Ye Wei was moved to tears.

Such planning was too conscientious!

"Achoo!"

Chu Guang sneezed.

"Got a cold?"

Xia Yan, standing beside him, glanced at him.

"No, I guess someone is talking behind my back about how handsome I am," Chu Guang muttered as he rubbed his nose.

It must be the pollen.

Xia Yan gave him a look and, seeing it wasn't a cold, didn't concern herself further.

Today was the first weekend of April and also her first day off of the month.

As the number of players gradually increased, the workload at the weapon store became busier. Some heartless boss finally had a change of heart, assigned a few more people to help her, and she finally got one day off every week.

Today, she didn't have to work and could blatantly slack off.

Xia Yan had originally planned to curl up on the sofa in the lounge and read novels all day, but she was lured out by Chu Guang with a phrase, "I'll take you to see a treasure."

Unusually, that guy didn't wear his signature deep blue power armor and even left his blue jacket at home, slipping out very low-key.

Xia Yan was somewhat embarrassed at first, wondering what treasure this guy was secretly planning to show her, but when they reached the destination, she was stunned.

Next to the refugee village, a tall red brick mill stood, and beyond the muddy ridges nearby, there was an endless expanse of lush greenery.

Residents nearby were busy in the fields, thick-bodied double-headed cows were there, and several clunking tractors drove on the road, their boxes full of bulging sacks.

This was the north of City of Dawn, the west side of Long Endurance Farm.

The scenery was nice, but...

Was this the treasure he was talking about?

Xia Yan blinked, her expression slightly confused.

Alright.

She admitted, this endless farmland was indeed spectacular to behold.

It just wasn't quite the romantic outing she had imagined.

She had thought he might take her for a walk by the lake or to dig for bird eggs in the woods.

But just then, Xia Yan suddenly remembered that just three months ago, this place had still been a barren land filled with bushes and rocks.

Turning into what it was now in just three months was simply unbelievable.

Following behind Chu Guang, Little Fish, who had been curiously looking around, suddenly showed an expression as if she'd discovered a new continent and excitedly pointed ahead.

"Look at all the green wheat!"

"Hahaha!"

Chu Guang laughed as he ruffled her hair and kindly explained,

"That's not green wheat, it's wheat. The bread made from wheat flour is much tastier than those dry green wheat breads!"

Little Fish unconsciously swallowed and looked up at him with anticipation,

"Really?"

Chu Guang nodded with a smile.

"Absolutely! Not just flatbread, but wheat flour can also be made into bread, steamed buns, dumplings, and noodles... There are just so many ways to eat it."

After entering April, the wheat would enter the heading and flowering stage. During this phase, the young ears of wheat would begin to differentiate and grow rapidly.

It was necessary to ensure there was enough water in the fields, and also to fertilize and protect against pests.

If these issues were not handled well, the wheat not only would the leaves turn yellow and the tips dry out, it might even age prematurely.

Without any exaggeration, whether the work during this stage was done properly directly determined the grain yield in July and August.

Currently, whether it was refugees or players, whether it was contracted fields or resettlement fields or collective farming fields, everyone was using seeds cultivated by Shelter No.117's plantation.

Even though these seeds already had excellent genetics, getting a better yield still required some careful tending.

Previously bought from Giant Stone City, Chu Guang had allocated at least half of the camels to the irrigation channels to solve the water supply issue.

The fertilizer issue was slightly easier to resolve, as there was a lot of animal dung near Rhombus Lake, all of which were natural high-quality fertilizers that could be used directly with minor processing.

Regarding pesticides, the most widely used in Long Endurance Farm was a type of organophosphate produced by the nearby industrial zone's chemical plant.

It is said that during the Prosperity Epoch, the large plantations used integrated planting technology that included a subsonic wave extermination device.

Although being exposed to a high-intensity subsonic environment for a long time could severely impact human health, the farmers of that era did not need to work in the fields like those of the New Alliance, as they used intelligent wearable devices for one-click sowing, so the issue of affecting health didn't exist.

The New Alliance didn't have this condition.

Currently, they could only opt for more primitive pesticides to control pests.

"What about over there?" Little Fish, excitedly on her tiptoes, looked toward another part of the field.

Chu Guang followed her gaze and said with a smile,

"Over there, that's chives."

Chives were also a great thing, unlike other vegetables, which only grew one or two seasons a year; chives could be eaten all year round.

Most importantly, chives grew fast, maturing in just over 20 days, with early spring chives being the most tender and fragrant.

After discovering chive seeds in Shelter No.117, he immediately had them planted.

Thinking of scrambled eggs with chives and dumplings filled with chive and pork, Chu Guang unconsciously swallowed, already contemplating the official web's recommended recipes for tomorrow.

Just as his thoughts drifted, Old Luka, the person in charge of the farm, came towards him, looking at him with a surprised expression and said,

"Manager? What brings you here?"

These days, being busy with farm work, he almost stayed in the fields every day, almost having moved his bed over.

Chu Guang looked at Old Luka and smiled,

"I'm just casually checking things out, don't mind me. By the way, how's the farm's yield this month?"

When Old Luka mentioned this, a look of joy immediately surfaced on his face.

"3000 mu of vegetable fields and 5000 mu of early-maturing potato fields are already being harvested!"

"Thanks to the harvester that the residents came up with, we attached the machine to the front of the tractor and just watched as it chugged forward, quickly filling up the baskets with crops!"

As he said this, he couldn't help but express his admiration.

"That harvester is simply too useful; not only does it harvest the crops, but it also plows the land all over again! We don't even need to till the soil anew; we can just scatter the new seeds and start planting!"

Hearing Old Luka talk so excitedly, Chu Guang's face also showed a happy expression.

"That's great!"

The variety of vegetables is wide, mainly consisting of fast-maturing leafy greens like cabbage and baby bok choy, typically ready for harvest within 20 to 30 days.

The only downside is that these vegetables don't last long in storage; they're primarily used to improve our meals.

But those potatoes are incredibly useful; not only are they nutritious and can substitute for grain, but they also yield well.

Although they planted an early-maturing variety that matures in 60 days, and it was just the end of January when they planted it, each mu still produced about two to three thousand kilograms of potatoes.

Adding that up for the 5000 mu, that's at least 5000 tons of potatoes!

Those 5000 tons of potatoes could be said to have resolved the immediate crisis for the New Alliance.

Players eat a lot, and the awakened strength-type livestock even more so; a single meal for them could equal the intake of three or four adult residents, and could even stretch to five if they weren't being modest.

With these 5000 tons of potatoes, Chu Guang no longer had to worry while looking at the grain inventory lists, whether his players were steaming, frying, or inventing new ways to prepare them.

The only problem with potatoes is their high water content—about 70% water—making them difficult to store in large quantities for long periods unless they're dehydrated or turned into powder.

But then, they wouldn't be suitable for seeds.

Plus, the continuous cropping debuff makes few countries consider it as a main staple.

However, in times of food scarcity, relying on potatoes for emergency relief is quite effective.

Using high-yield potatoes and short-cycle vegetables to meet the nutritional needs of the New Alliance residents in spring and summer, and holding off until the main crops like wheat, rice, and corn are harvested in July and August, was a top-priority task assigned by Chu Guang to the logistics department of the New Alliance.

Only when the grain stores of the New Alliance were fully stocked could he accommodate more NPCs and recruit more players.

Only then could they truly start to live better lives.

"… Always remember what I told you before, don't keep planting the same crop in the same field, you can plant spring corn after potatoes, and after leafy greens, you can switch to rice; alternate between dry and wet crops."

Even though Chu Guang knew that Old Luka had written down everything he said in his notebook, he couldn't help but remind him again.

Old Luka responded with a smile.

"Sir, rest assured, I definitely won't forget what you've instructed! Actually, when I used to work at Brown Farm, after a crop cycle, we typically scattered some green barley seeds, the kind that matures in one or two months. We kept half of the harvest for ourselves to eat and the other half for feeding the livestock, and the remaining straw was burned and mixed into the soil as fertilizer."

"That should count as crop rotation too!"

Chu Guang slightly coughed and said.

"Green barley… let's not plant that on a large scale anymore. Although it grows fast, its yield is too low and it affects the production of wheat fields, which only harms us at this stage with no visible benefits."

The most crucial point was that it tasted bad.

No matter how long you boiled it, you couldn't get rid of the taste of oxalic acid, and the pancakes made from it were dry and crumbly. Chu Guang always suspected that it reacted with the alkali used to leaven the dough, resulting in the formation of calcium salts or something else.

Since they had enough arable land, Chu Guang would prefer his residents and players to eat better.

As for green barley and other Wasteland crops like goat horn potatoes, they were good for aiding refugees, supplying POW camps, and feeding livestock in the tribes' pastures.

He had heard from the Frost Spear Tribe that double-headed cows fed with green barley not only grew meat faster but also produced more milk than those fed on grass.

Growing a little in the pastures was still acceptable.

Old Luka nodded earnestly.

"I'll remember."

After not disturbing Old Luka's work and letting him go about his business, Chu Guang took a walk around the edge of the fields.

Enjoying the sight of the flourishing chive shoots, Chu Guang's lips involuntarily curled into a smile.

This prosperous scene was eternally delightful.

If only autumn could come sooner.

By then, the scenery at Rhombus Lake's north shore would surely be even more spectacular.

Following behind Chu Guang, Xia Yan asked curiously.

"Is this how you spend your holidays?"

Chu Guang joked with a smile.

"What holidays do I have, as if anyone takes turns with me?"

Little Fish looked at him worriedly.

"Brother Chu, you also need to rest, don't overdo it."

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Don't worry, although I don't have holidays, I'm not working 24 hours a day; I still manage to carve out time for rest and collecting materials."

However, he had been indeed very busy recently, squeezing out time to visit here amidst his packed schedule.

The day for the northern expedition was getting closer.

On one hand, he needed to discuss and develop specific attack plans with the staff, and on the other hand, he had to coordinate the production in the industrial zone and develop the economy of the New Alliance.

Although Xiao Qi helped him a lot, it wasn't possible to replace him in handling everything.

Using AI to assist in management was an experience from the Human Alliance Era, but leaving decision-making entirely to AI was an unprecedented path.

Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang in amazement and didn't speak.

Seeing Xia Yan fix her gaze on his face without moving, Chu Guang subconsciously touched the tip of his nose.

"Is there something on my face?"

Xia Yan shook her head.

"No, I just found it a bit surprising… How long are we going to stay here?"

Guessing that she wasn't interested in farming, Chu Guang said with a smile.

"Stopping here was just on the way… Let's go; I'm planning to show you something interesting on North Street of Changjiu Farm."

"Speaking of which, it has developed into a place bigger than the market at the north gate of our base. Let's go browse around there."

Upon hearing about shopping, Xia Yan immediately perked up, and all signs of fatigue vanished.

"I need to buy clothes!"

"Buy them!"

Chu Guang laughed.

"Anyway, I gave you all my salary."

"Don't ask me how you want to spend it."

"…Our town to the south, Far Creek Town, discovered a copper mine? And it's a huge vein with a million-ton capacity?"

In the department store center of Qingstone County.

Lion Tooth, slouching in his chair, had an expression of surprise instantly spread across his stark features as he listened to the report from his subordinate.

A copper mine?

Far Creek Town?

Is that even possible?

"Are you sure the information is accurate?"

Last year during the heavy snow, he stayed in Far Creek Town for several months and didn't find any copper mine. How could those fellows in Blue Jackets discover it just by passing through?

That's too coincidental!

Of course, it could also be that his subordinates lacked the necessary discernment.

As the boss, he was well aware of how foolish his men could be.

The Looter kneeling on one knee at the bottom of the stairs hesitated for a moment before saying,

"I'm not sure… but I heard that the whole City of Dawn is talking about it, and it has even spread to Red River Town."

Hearing this, Lion Tooth's expression became unsettled.

A copper mine.

That was a copper mine.

Even if he was naive, he knew that copper bullets worked better than iron bullets, whether for bolt-action rifles or automatic rifles.

And most critically, copper smelting was much easier than steel smelting.

The Chewing Bone Tribe had always been distressed by their inability to scale up steel production, even though they had taken over a large quantity of military hardware. Relying on others' leftovers was definitely not sustainable.

They had enough equipment for now, but they should at least be making their own bullets, right?

In fact, the Chewing Bone Tribe had tried to address their supply issues, but unfortunately, there were too few educated people in the tribe.

Even though some capable Looters, Corrupted Mercenaries, and Bounty Hunters had joined them from neighboring provinces, developing industry wasn't something you could solve with just a few people and some blueprints.

Technology required educated individuals, and industrialization was based on such people, which, ironically, conflicted with the Chewing Bone Tribe's "organizational philosophy."

They aimed to establish a nation of Looters, not a civilized nation, and other Looters joined them with exactly this intent.

For this reason,

Whether it was the Ya Clan, the Snake Clan, or other clans, their industrial development was notably malformed.

They managed factories the way they managed slaves—using large furnaces for steelmaking on one hand and primitive forging techniques on anvils on the other, trying to compensate for quality with sheer quantity.

Lion Tooth didn't care to ponder how bullets were made, but he knew the tribe needed copper.

A one-million-ton copper mine, and discovered so swiftly, suggested that the mining difficulty wouldn't be too high.

At this thought, a hint of greed glimmered in Lion Tooth's eyes.

The Looters had a rule about spoils of war: whoever conquered, owned. If he could seize that southern copper mine, his deed would not only elevate him to Ten Thousand Leader but also earn him his own clan banner.

Noticing the greed in Lion Tooth's eyes, Bernie, the advisor standing by, frowned and whispered a warning,

"This could well be a trap."

Lion Tooth furrowed his brows.

"A trap?"

Bernie nodded.

"It's possible... Those Blue Jackets might be deliberately spreading this news to lure us out of Qingstone County."

Lion Tooth chuckled.

"Those Blue Jackets? Even if they lure us out, what can they do?"

Bernie shook his head.

"Clearly, they are not the same as they were a few months ago. Didn't those wizards from Death Coast tell you? They even have airplanes now."

Pausing, he continued earnestly,

"A few months ago, without those resources, they managed to rout the Black Snake, who were far better equipped. It would be wise for us to exercise caution."

Hearing this, Lion Tooth calmed down.

Though greedy, he wasn't foolish.

The Black Snake's gear was far superior, even possessing a powerful tank, but they still hadn't managed to dislodge the thorn on the north side of Clear Spring City.

Still, he thought,

It was a copper mine!

Seeing that Lion Tooth still couldn't let go of the copper mine, Bernie said sternly,

"Our immediate priority should be to verify the accuracy of this intel. I suggest we dispatch a scouting party to investigate."

"No matter what, we need to first confirm its existence and location before making further plans."

"That makes sense! We need to clear up the situation first!"

Nodding in agreement, Lion Tooth glanced at his subordinates, then casually pointed to a burly man with a broad face to his left.

"Tonglou, your name has 'copper' in it, so you should know about this stuff. Take a team there to check it out and report back to me immediately with any findings!"

The man named Tonglou was taken aback, his face filled with confusion.

His name might contain 'copper,' but he knew nothing about copper mines.

What did a copper mine even look like?

However, this was a direct order from the Ten Thousand Leader, so he dared not ask or say more, hurriedly lowering his head and responding,

"Yes, sir!"

Chapter 305: Expansion Pack Launch! Target Western Province!

Tonglou felt that Lord Shiya was simply giving him a hard time.

He was indeed born by the side of a furnace, but whether that furnace was made of copper, he really wasn't sure.

Like many of the tribe members who couldn't identify their parents, the elders of the tribe casually picked a name they saw and gave it to him, and that was his name.

However, no matter what, this was an order from Lord Shiya.

Not daring to neglect the task, he immediately called his brothers after he stepped back, went back to the room to grab their tools, carried their long and short spears past the checkpoint, and entered the forest south of Qing Shi County.

A group of ten men.

Following their leader out, all the Looters were excited.

But since that retreat, they had been digging pits and building houses here, or watching the slaves doing the same, bored to the point of rusting away.

"Boss, where are we heading?"

"South!"

One dark-faced, burly man said excitedly,

"Are we finally moving south?"

Tonglou glared at him.

"Are you a pig? What difference is there between us going with so few people and hanging ourselves on an electric pole?"

The Looters thought there was some truth to this and nodded as they exchanged glances.

As the staff officer had said, activities require meticulous planning; otherwise, the end would be like the Black Snake next door, whose body hung on the gallows for a whole month till the spring came and it stank, and it wasn't known where it was eventually thrown away.

"South! Those Blue Ground Mice have found a copper mine; we can't let them mine under our noses. Lord Shiya wants to teach them a lesson, but first, we have to help him figure out where the copper mine is!"

Tonglou stopped in his tracks and looked back at his men.

"Does anyone know what a copper mine looks like? Features, shape… anything? I need some clues."

The Looters looked at each other blankly.

Tonglou's face was filled with disappointment; these idiots were as dull as he had expected.

But just then, a big brother raised his hand.

"I seem to remember! The town we took over before had two steel bars laid on the mountain... then they put the carts on the steel bars."

"I remember too, that thing's called iron tracks!"

"Good!" Tonglou nodded in satisfaction and tossed the monocular hanging from his waist to the knowledgeable fellow, "Later, we're going up the mountain! You take this and find it!"

Although Tonglou looked rough, he was quite meticulous with his tasks.

Not daring to get too close to those refuge residents' outposts, he took his brothers to the north of Far Creek Town and then detoured for over twenty miles of mountain roads to the east.

He found a mountaintop with a fairly good view and then took his men to stealthily approach it.

Fortunately, there were no outposts from Far Creek Town here; perhaps those wearing Blue Jackets also felt it was too far, and supplying it would be difficult.

The Looter, as thin as a monkey, lay on a high spot and looked around Far Creek Town with the telescope; suddenly he exclaimed in surprise,

"I see it! I see it!"

Upon hearing this, Tonglou immediately asked,

"What do you see?"

The Looter excitedly said,

"The railway! Those Blue Ground Squirrels are building a railway above the town!"

Tonglou was both shocked and delighted, hurried forward, took the telescope, and looked in the direction the junior pointed, indeed seeing two iron tracks to the south of the town.

The tracks stretched from the edge of the forest, straight into the town, seeming to head toward the town center.

Although he didn't see where the copper mine was, those two tracks couldn't be wrong!

Just to be sure, Tonglou then passed the telescope to others nearby and had each of his juniors take a look.

After taking the telescope, the Looters each expressed that they had seen similar things when they had previously raided the town.

Seeing his subordinates' earnest expressions, Tonglou's heart sank slightly.

Those wearing Blue Jackets were indeed mining at Far Creek Town!

He must report this news to the thousands of leaders immediately!

"Withdraw!"

With a wave of his hand, Tonglou took his juniors and quickly withdrew from the mountaintop.

...

"...so they really found the copper mine?"

Qing Shi County Department Store.

After listening to his subordinate's report, Lion Tooth sat up straight in his chair, gripping the armrests, his eyes brimming with surprise and delight.

Facing the inquiry of Thousands of Leaders, Copper Furnace energetically declared.

"There's no mistake! Several of my brothers have seen it, after a single glance, they all said that the stuff those Blue Jackets fixed looked exactly the same as what they had seen in the previous town!"

Standing next to Lion Tooth, Bernie frowned and continued to question Copper Furnace.

"Where's the copper mine? Is the location confirmed?"

More than its existence, he was more concerned about its specific whereabouts.

Copper Furnace replied.

"It should be inside the town... There are people hunting in the forest, gunshots every few days; we can't get too close, so we can't see the exact location."

Inside the town?

Something's not right.

Bernie, utterly puzzled, stared at that scout and interrogated him repeatedly.

"Are you sure you didn't get it wrong? Is it really a copper mine?"

Copper Furnace was full of confusion.

Why's this staff officer making such a fuss!

People used to respect this guy a few months ago; after all, the leader said they would help them win wars. But as months passed, not only was there no victory, but they hadn't even laid eyes on those Blue Jackets, just digging holes everywhere.

Moreover, after Far Creek Town, they ran back to Qing Shi County to dig.

What's the use of that?

In the end, guns are still needed to kill people.

Copper Furnace mulled it over and came to one conclusion.

Cowardly!

This staff officer is just too cowardly!

No wonder the Legion suffered defeat up north; he'd heard that over a hundred thousand men were wiped out.

If he were in command, millions charging together would have even drowned the Grand Canyon in spit, despite its numerous heads and arms.

"I definitely wouldn't have seen it wrong, I used binoculars, how could I be mistaken! If you don't believe me, come with me, or I'll call my brothers here and you can ask each of them."

Bernie was about to respond when, beside him, Lion Tooth erupted into hearty laughter.

"Not bad! Who would have thought that those Ground Squirrels would find us a copper mine in Far Creek Town! Let's not act rashly; we'll wait for them to open up the mine, then catch them completely off guard!"

Bernie frowned and said, "I think we should be more cautious."

"Hahaha, it's not important!"

Patting the chair with his right hand, Lion Tooth looked towards his trusted aide standing on his right.

"Iron Teeth, you go to West State City later for me, take a message to the leader. Tell him we've discovered a copper mine in Far Creek Town, but those Blue Jackets are tough to deal with; we need reinforcements!"

The burly man with human teeth strung on his beast skin coat stepped forward.

"Yes, my lord!"

...

North Street of Dawn City.

Rows of houses with shiny brick-red tiles neatly lined both sides of the street. There were shops selling pots, pans, kitchenware, hardware, vegetables, dry goods, and imported goods brought in by Commercial Teams. Every day here, you could see something you had never seen before.

Pedestrians in a variety of clothing browsed the stalls, picking and choosing.

Among these people were merchants from afar, Caravan guards, temporary hired Mercenaries, many locals, and routinely patrolling guards. Occasionally, a Y-1 quadcopter drone slowly glided overhead—those were Xiao Qi's eyes, and also Chu Guang's eyes.

The time was noon, the busiest moment on the street.

Though the buildings here were not as tall as those in Giant Stone City and lacked its imposing walls, the bustle was no less than that beside Giant Stone City's warehouse district.

As the "permanent partner" of the enterprise listed in the white list by Ideal City, almost every Commercial Team passing north from Qingquan City, whether from Ideal City or not, would stop here to have a look, replenish fresh water or trade goods for supplies.

Finding a "Lawful Neutral" or better Survivor Base on the Wasteland is no easy feat. Apart from desperate refugees and penniless folk who risk everything to make a deal, few dare to approach an unfamiliar Survivor Settlement.

Who knows whether the meat floating in the bowl served up is pork or human?

Being recognized by Ideal City at least means they're not a cutthroat inn.

The most comfortable are probably those lifestyle players; while they might not stand out with cutting-edge technology here, their "Different World Delicacies" are especially popular here.

At the entrance of Hai Ji Ramen House, a long line had formed, and behind the stall were three Indigenous People: one pulling noodles, one boiling noodles, and another handling the money.

Plain noodles were 2 Silver coins a bowl; beef noodles, 4 Silver coins, and it took less than five minutes to serve. The fair price and generous portions were popular with the locals, and some players also queued up alongside NPCs at the door.

Chu Guang was very happy to see that people from two different worlds, even with different styles, had integrated well under his management.

Although there were still many issues to resolve in the B-round closed beta, there would undoubtedly be new problems and challenges to face in the future.

But this was a good start.

Following beside Chu Guang, Xia Yan looked around excitedly, like a child in an amusement park. To her, this place was far more interesting than the farmlands.

On the other hand, Little Fish was well-behaved like a big sister, always holding Xia Yan's hand.

Although she was just as curious about everything around her, those unfamiliar faces instinctively made her tense.

Her father had said that they couldn't easily trust those outsiders, that among them were many swindlers and bandits—except for Brother Chu and the residents of the refuge.

But still, unfamiliar strangers were not to be trusted—who knew where they got their coats from?

Those who wandered around in such chaos were likely tainted with something unpleasant.

"They have ramen here too?" Xia Yan exclaimed excitedly, like discovering a New Continent, as she looked at the roadside ramen restaurant.

The place was quite bustling.

She wasn't very hungry at first, but seeing the long queue, she suddenly felt a bit peckish.

"That must be a branch opened by Zhang Hai, right? Didn't you want to buy clothes?" Chu Guang said with a smile.

Xia Yan looked over pathetically.

"I'm hungry."

Little Fish also swallowed saliva but was too shy to speak.

Seeing her so conscientious, Chu Guang joked.

"If you're hungry go and eat, are you waiting for me to treat you?"

That pathetic expression instantly burst into a smile.

"You said it!"

"If I remember correctly, I should have used a questioning tone."

"Let's go, let's go, it's not expensive," Xia Yan said, laughing and cajoling as she pulled Chu Guang's arm forward, "I'll treat for dinner!"

The three of them lined up.

It was half an hour later when they entered the noodle shop.

They sat down at a corner table, and Little Fish was about to secretly pay, but Chu Guang beat her to it.

"I'll pay."

"I said this meal was on me."

After paying with VM, Chu Guang returned to the table and happened to overhear someone at the next table boasting.

"... For authentic ramen, you still have to go to North Street in the south of the city; the beef here is sliced too thick, the knife skills are a bit lacking."

"There's a North Street there too?"

"Haha, you don't understand, huh? Back then, there was no City of Dawn; North Street referred to the market in Wetland Park. A lot of the branches here came from there!" said the man with obvious pride, having come here many times before.

The diners next to him looked envious; they had only recently learned of this place.

"The nearby survivor settlement has only about three or four thousand people, right?... It's amazing that it can be this bustling."

"Permanent residents are less than five thousand, but there's a lot of transient population. I've seen many mercenaries from Giant Stone City coming here seeking work, sitting in the inn next to the trade station all day, nursing a bottle of beer for an entire day."

Someone nearby voiced their concern.

"Then the public security here might be a big problem."

"No way," the regular patron responded leisurely, "Just take a look at the city gate of the farm; the bullet holes on that wall are dense, and the road was repaired after filling the trenches. Don't be fooled by the polite faces around here; the local customs are fierce. Last time a drunk guy caused a scene, and before the patrolling guards could react, he got taken down by a few Blue Jackets."

Someone added a comment.

"I heard that quite a few of those Blue Jackets are Awakeners."

The man nodded and continued his spiel.

"That's true. Their Awakenings are a bit different from ours; I heard it has something to do with the food they eat. Just so happens a couple of us brothers are here these days. Eat more, maybe you'll awaken too!"

"Makes sense, big brother."

"Another bowl, please!"

Chu Guang, listening halfway through, nearly choked on his noodles.

Xia Yan gave him a curious glance.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing...just thought of something amusing. But let's save that until after we take care of the trouble up north."

Chu Guang cleared his throat, wanting to find some tissue paper, only to realize that such "luxuries" weren't provided here.

Fortunately, Little Fish quickly noticed his embarrassment and generously handed him a handkerchief.

"Use mine!"

"Thank you, you've been a great help… I'll buy a new one to repay you when we get back."

Seeing that she had been helpful, Little Fish revealed a happy smile.

"No need to thank me! Little Fish has many oh, all bought with the pocket money you gave me!"

Chu Guang corrected her.

"That's called a salary, the compensation for labor… By the way, who taught you that?"

Little Fish answered honestly with wide eyes.

"My second brother said it. He told me not to send that little bit of money home anymore, that he and big brother make enough to support the family and said I should just keep it for spending."

Chu Guang: "..."

Forget it.

He would have a good talk with her brother some other time.

After the group had eaten their fill, they continued to stroll through the streets.

The eateries here weren't just ramen shops, there were also baozi vendors, dumpling houses, and Chu Guang even spotted a Sichuan restaurant.

Most of the farms had recently begun harvesting, and the indigenous people's allotment lands had also been producing goods, so the market had seen an increase in vegetables that weren't available before.

Varieties like green peppers and garlic sprouts had started to appear on people's tables. By mid-to-late May, garlic would also hit the shelves, making fried dishes in restaurants even more fragrant.

Chu Guang didn't forget his promise and took Boss Xia to buy clothes.

It was then that he was surprised to find that Vine Cottage had also opened a branch here.

However, Teng Teng herself wasn't there; instead, a young girl from the Iron Axe Tribe stood at the counter.

The reason Chu Guang could tell her identity at a glance was mainly because her wheatish complexion was strikingly similar to the Autumn Grass Autumn Leaf sisters.

She wore a leather jacket that highlighted her figure while maintaining flexibility, with a diagonal belt that could be used to hold magazines and a sidearm.

There was no doubt, this had to be Teng Teng's work, with both women's and men's styles displayed on the shelves next to her.

There were many female mercenaries in the wasteland, and cannon fodder in this era was not gender-specific.

However, Chu Guang still wondered if mercenaries, other than players, would consider whether their gear looked good while also being practical.

But when Chu Guang saw the shining eyes of Boss Xia, he immediately dismissed that thought.

It seemed his doubt was a bit redundant.

The people of the wasteland knew better than him, the Manager, what they needed. He would just take care of his responsibilities and leave the rest to them to decide.

Xia Yan seemed to recognize the sales clerk, greeted her with a smile, and took Little Fish inside to try on clothes.

Chu Guang didn't join the bustle, mainly because it wasn't appropriate, so he decided to wander around the vicinity by himself.

However, he didn't get far before he spotted an acquaintance nearby.

"Eh? Manager sir?" Crow, who was vending at a stall, was surprised to see Chu Guang, recognizing him at a glance.

Chu Guang was equally surprised to see her.

"What are you doing here?"

Crow blinked.

"I've been here these days, duck... The mushrooms near the park have been picked clean, so I can only go to Elm District now."

Chu Guang asked curiously.

"Why don't you hire someone to help you?"

Crow laughed awkwardly.

"Mainly because other people can't tell which ones are toxic, and I can't force anyone to take a bite, so I have to demonstrate it myself."

It wasn't really that people couldn't tell, but with some unfamiliar mushrooms, it was hard for ordinary people to be sure they were edible, so they just decided not to eat them, to be safe.

For instance, Elm District had a type of pointy-headed, green mushroom that both players and indigenous people assumed to be poisonous, but they were actually non-toxic.

It wasn't until Crow performed her stunt of eating a big mushroom raw in front of everyone that people finally realized it was safe to eat when even a Perception player could eat it without getting sick.

Whether it tasted good was another matter altogether.

Speaking of which, there was a little sidetrack.

Since the mushroom looked poisonous but surprisingly wasn't lethal, Heya had become curious and decided to study it.

In the end, she found that this mushroom could secrete a PBP substrate analog, which, when combined with PBP receptors, interfered with bacterial cell wall synthesis.

This might sound complicated, but in simpler terms, it was something similar to penicillin.

Because of this, Chu Guang awarded Crow with a special achievement and gave Elena an assignment to research how to artificially cultivate and extract antibiotics on a large scale when she had the time.

Although players generally don't consume many medicinal products, the demand for antibiotics was still quite high in fields such as surgical modification and disease prevention.

Now that there were more people, they couldn't rely solely on their own points for subsidies. Compared to a blind box for 10 points, Chu Guang would prefer to exchange more high-tech equipment to keep up appearances.

Wandering around the stall, Chu Guang spotted something interesting.

A perfectly round red umbrella top with a flat, short white stem, dotted with round white spots—it screamed deadly poison at first glance.

"Is this not poisonous either?" Chu Guang asked Crow with suspicion.

"That duck—that can't be eaten! And you wouldn't be able to eat it anyway!" Crow shook her head like a rattle drum.

Chu Guang felt the same.

He had just noticed that under the white stem was a fastener, which seemed to be a button or hairpin made out of a mushroom.

However...

How could this mushroom be so hard?

Chu Guang picked up one the size of an egg and squeezed it; it had a somewhat rubbery feel, was very light, and seemed dehydrated, yet it didn't feel shriveled at all.

Could it be a type of mushroom that produces resin or rubber?

Chu Guang was puzzled.

The creatures in this world really didn't play by the rules.

"This mushroom is too tough to bite, but it's not poisonous. I discovered it by accident and made decorative items out of it. Hehe, it's quite cute being so small... Look, you can wear it on your head like this."

Saying so, Crow demonstrated by clipping the tiny mushroom onto her hair.

The little mushroom looked as if it was growing out of her head.

Honestly, it was quite cute.

However, this scene was caught by the surrounding players.

"Giao! Crow Boss has a mushroom growing on her head!"

"Looks like that thing's a decorative item... Will someone really buy it for 5 silver coins?"

"Damn! 250 bucks! Is it a luxury item?!"

"Your understanding of the silver coin market and luxury goods has left me not knowing from which angle to even comment."

"Wait... that customer is the Manager?!"

"Damn! He took off his power armor and I didn't even recognize him! To be fair, he is pretty handsome!"

"Spread the word! Crow is acting cute to the Manager!"

"What?! Crow Boss is seducing the Manager?!"

"Is this game even serious?!"

Crow, who was selling, originally didn't plan to pay attention to them, mostly because she was used to it. But these damned customers exaggerated more and more, and her face gradually turned red.

Finally, she couldn't help it anymore, furiously picked up a clump of mushrooms, and threw them.

"Get lost, get lost! Which eye of yours saw me me me... doing that thing!"

She really didn't have the nerve to say those two words.

The little player who got hit was ecstatic as if he had won a prize; he let out a strange cry of "Mine!" picked up the mushroom, and ran off.

Crow, trying to calm her chaotic breathing and taking a deep breath, suddenly realized there were still customers around, so she quickly put on a "friendly and affable" smile.

Not wanting to let down her effort, Chu Guang silently left five silver coins on the stall and walked away with the mushroom, not knowing what it was used for…

…

The night was falling, and the sky turned a dim yellow.

It had been a day full of crazy fun.

Little Fish, sitting on the bench outside the barbecue stand, was so tired that she lay on Xia Yan's lap and fell asleep before the owner could serve up the skewers.

Looking at the peaceful sleeping face, Xia Yan unconsciously stretched out his hand and gently touched her black, fluffy hair, finally understanding why everyone loved her so much.

Suddenly remembering something, Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang sitting opposite him.

"So what is the treasure, exactly?"

Chu Guang said carelessly.

"Haven't I already shown it to you?"

Xia Yan paused for a moment, then realizing what he meant, gave him a white look and said.

"That's a sly answer."

"You're just too slow to react."

Chu Guang laughed carelessly.

To him,
everything here was his treasure,
be it the endless fields to the west of Changjiu Farm or the increasingly bustling streets north of Dawn City.

This place certainly couldn't compare to its glory from over two centuries ago, but to the survivors of the Wasteland, it was a haven worth far more than any number of Black Boxes.

That rare tranquility.

Here, at least, one could switch off the safety on their rifle.

The kebabs seasoned with cumin were served on the table, and Little Fish, who had fallen asleep on Boss Xia's lap, seemed to smell the aroma and twitched her little nose.

But perhaps she was too exhausted, and she didn't wake up immediately.

Xia Yan took advantage of the young girl's slumber to order herself a cup of her favorite beer, while Chu Guang drank sparkling water, as nuclear cola was nearly becoming Dawn City's trendiest drink.

"Speaking of which, aren't you worried about running into danger coming out here all by yourself?" Xia Yan asked casually as she picked up a skewer of meat from the plate and began eating.

"Drones in the sky identify every unfamiliar face that enters the patrol zone and plan the patrol routes for the patrol teams accordingly."

Chu Guang smiled lightly.

"As for the people who live here, I trust them, just as they trust me. If one day they wished me dead, that would mean I really need to reflect on my own issues."

Of course, Chu Guang's ultimate reliance was his 21 Constitution, 19 Perception, and 18 Agility, along with his carbon nano protection suit.

That was more reliable than any bodyguards.

He could take on Crawlers on his own even before Awakening; there was no reason he'd be weaker after Awakening.

Wiping the skewer stick, Xia Yan joked,

"That's true, they look at you as if they were looking at their god. I've noticed that our kebabs always have a bit more meat on them than others."

Chu Guang made an exasperated face.

"That's why I actually prefer doing business with the players."

The players sometimes called him rather exaggerated names, and they would always add some nonsensical titles, but they did it more for fun or for the so-called favorability, not out of genuine worship.

That's why he didn't carry as much baggage when dealing with players; it didn't matter if he occasionally tricked them or made a harmless joke.

They would get excited like children, then shout things like "NPCs can harvest us like leeks!" or "Yay! Another step closer to open beta!"

Staring into the distance with its dim lighting, Xia Yan seemed lost in thought.

All of a sudden, as if she had made up her mind, she spoke up.

"That serum, could you give me one?"

Chu Guang glanced at her.

"What do you need that stuff for?"

Xia Yan looked down at Little Fish lying on her lap and gently stroked her hair.

"I'm starting to feel… more and more useless."

Chu Guang, who was sipping his happy water, almost choked and coughed twice to cover his lapse.

"You've finally realized… I mean, you've finally realized you've been too lazy?"

Xia Yan, unusually quiet, didn't retort and muttered softly,

"I can still fight… you've seen it, my marksmanship is actually not bad, and I can modify weapons myself. It's not my fault I can't Awaken. What can I do? I was born this way. When those militiamen threw their guns to us, I nearly failed to catch them, and my hair is still a noticeable red. I've thought about shaving it off completely many times, but every time I look at it, I am reminded of my mother, and I can't bear to do it."

Sniffling, she stubbornly looked away.

"Sorry, I've been talking nonsense."

Chu Guang remained silent for a while, then after a moment of contemplation, he said,

"Actually, it's not just strong people who can find their meaning in life, and Awakening isn't the sole criteria to judge someone's strength. Fists can solve some problems, but not all problems can be solved with fists."

Xia Yan looked at him, confused.

Honestly, she didn't quite understand what he meant; she just suddenly felt that the man in front of her was a bit like her... father?

No.

That would be a strange and rude thing to say.

She had never seen her father, nor did she want to know where that bastard who left her mother had died in some gutter. But she had once fantasized that if someone could tell her how to navigate the future, that would be nice.

Although she admitted that if there really was such a person by her side lecturing her with big principles, she definitely wouldn't listen to him.

Every time Little Fish told her, "My old man said this and that," Xia Yan couldn't help but roll her eyes on the surface, but deep down, she was actually a bit envious.

Family, huh.

I don't know which Tide it started with,
but all she had left was a gun.

After taking a sip of beer, Xia Yan muttered,

"Do the refuges still teach you guys this?"

It's an interesting question.

Chu Guang pondered seriously for a moment, then gave an uncertain answer.

"I don't know."

Xia Yan looked at him in surprise.

"Don't know?"

"Yep."

Chu Guang nodded, saying calmly,

"Just like you have many questions to ask me, I have many questions to ask the person who left everything to me."

"For example, why he would choose to trust someone who doesn't even belong here, why he wouldn't do these things himself, and why a man who died over a hundred years ago would know me so well... I believe he has hidden the answers in some corner of the Maze. As long as I prove myself to be the person he's waiting for, he will gradually reveal all the answers to me."

Xia Yan said "Oh" while drinking her beer.

She didn't quite understand, and it wasn't the answer she was looking for.

Suddenly, Chu Guang remembered something and pulled a mushroom out of his pocket, placing it gently on the table.

"Here, this is for you."

He really couldn't figure out a use for it.

Those 5 silver coins were not to be wasted.

Looking at the mushroom on the table, Xia Yan's expression grew odd.

"What is this... for?"

First off, eliminate eating.

No one would eat a red mushroom covered in white spots.

"Bend your head over."

"?"

Before Xia Yan could react, the mushroom was placed on top of her head.

Chu Guang eyed her for a moment, then couldn't hold back a laugh.

"Haha, it actually suits you."

A big mushroom on top of a little one.

It's just not very noticeable due to the color.

Xia Yan touched the top of her head, realizing there seemed to be a mushroom there—and it was crooked. She immediately glared at Chu Guang.

"Did you put a mushroom on my head?"

"Don't like it? Then give it back."

Chu Guang hadn't reached out before Xia Yan quickly dodged backward.

"What's done is done! You already gave it to me, and now it's mine!"

Unable to hold back, Chu Guang laughed out loud.

What a saying.

Where had she learned that phrase, and she even said it in Mandarin.

"That's not how you use that phrase."

Xia Yan made a goofy face, focusing on the beer and the roast meat on the table, and ignored him.

Perhaps she had been woken up by Boss Xia's earlier movement, Little Fish rubbed her eyes, sitting up groggily.

"Eh? Is it cooked already?"

Xia Yan handed her a skewer.

"It's been ready for a while, eat up."

"Ao."

Rubbing away the drool at the corner of her mouth, still half asleep, Little Fish smelled the food near her mouth and took a bite.

Xia Yan was feeding her with a smiling face, but when she saw the mouth-rubbing action, her expression suddenly changed, and she quickly bowed her head.

Her face turned the color of liver in the blink of an eye.

Chu Guang guessed what was up, and his own expression also became a little awkwardly embarrassed.

Out of consideration to comfort her, he coughed lightly and said,

"It's fine... no one can see at night."

"You, you..."

"Me?"

"Please, just stop talking..."

"..."

Looking at Boss Xia whose voice had thinned to a mosquito buzz, Chu Guang ultimately chose to shut his mouth, not to bring up the matter again.

...

That evening.

The official website was bustling again.

Chu Guang found that these players were pretty bored; they even took photos of him having a barbecue.

Haven't they ever seen a handsome man before?

I Max Black: "Shocking! Boss Xia has a mushroom growing on her head!"

Elena: "The mushroom was bought by Manager from Crow! (funny)"

Teng Teng: "Wuwuwu, I suddenly feel so relieved although I personally prefer the pairing of Manager X Hunter Boy. o(*///▽///*)o"

Makabazi: "Hold on! The relationships are a bit confused, why is there a Crow between Boss Xia and Manager, I need to sort this out!"

Crow: "Sort what out! What's it got to do with me! I'm just an extra selling mushrooms! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "┬─┬ノ('-'ノ）"

"..."

Chu Guang: "Xiao Qi..."

It seemed Xiao Qi guessed that Chu Guang was looking for it, its voice quietly drifted over.

"Master?"

Chu Guang: "Didn't I tell you to filter out my photos?"

All the photos of him on the official website were taken by himself or by Xiao Qi, in short, they all highlighted his positive image.

After all, if he let the players take candid shots, who knows what bizarre expressions they might capture.

This had been the case for Boss Xia before.

Xiao Qi: "But, but that photo doesn't have your face in it, you're just shown from behind... shall I delete it? QAQ"

Chu Guang sighed.

"… Leave it, it's already posted."

He thought Xiao Qi must have done it on purpose.

But now was not the time to discuss these things.

Just then, Chu Guang received a report from logistics that all war supplies were ready. Thanks to falling resource prices and abundant supply, the New Alliance's industrial zone not only completed production tasks but even exceeded expectations.

Seven million rounds of ammunition and tens of thousands of shells of various calibers were ready to go, and the production lines were still running continuously.

The pilots trained by Mosquito had also successfully mastered takeoff, firing, and bombing, just waiting for his command to win the skies over West State City for him.

Yesterday, he had reviewed the achievements of the Farm party.

Tomorrow, it would be time to review the results of this military reform.

Whether the high morale, low organization players can adapt to battalion-scale combat under the coordination of the Legion System, was also one of the core content of this Beta round of testing.

At the same time, it also pertained to whether the New Alliance could truly stand firm on Wasteland.

Only by breaking through to the north could they gain resources and space for development, as well as strategic depth to deal with powerful neighbors.

Chu Guang dragged the prepared briefing document out of the new folder and pasted it onto the official website's backend.

Pressing the confirmation button, the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile.

"It's time to deal with the trouble to the north."

"Hope you're all ready."

-

(Don't laugh, even after checking twice post-completion, there are sometimes still typos, but I'll quickly correct them once you point them out in the chapters. T.T

I've uploaded this as I pack up to head home for the New Year, also wishing everyone a Happy Spring Festival in advance, and may all your wishes come true! Love you all!)

Chapter 306: The Blade Unsheathed! (Happy New Year!)

West State City, Quaternary District.

Among the ruins of broken walls and remnants, wooden walkways and bridges sprawled, and fierce faces lurked in watchtowers mingled with concrete blocks and steel rebar.

They carried rifles on their backs and dangled teeth and bones of people or beasts on their bodies as symbols of bravery and barbarism.

This area was the closest district of West State City to West State Lake.

Due to the perennial neglect of water facilities, the surplus lake water had flooded into the city district, transforming half of the Quaternary District into a marshland.

This newly formed river spread from the low-lying areas of the city district, expanding northward and flowing into the Tianshui River to the east.

The main camp of the Ya Clan was located on the north bank of this river.

The flooded streets served as a natural barrier, and variants like the Crack Claw Crabs that thrived in humid environments built nests in abundance nearby.

These looters used wooden walkways to connect buildings, reinforce the ruins, and constructed a camp into a fortress surrounded by river water.

Some spacious buildings were converted into workshops for producing weapons and ammunition, where ragged slaves sat at workbenches wielding simple tools to clink and clang against rough workpieces.

As for those broad rooftops, they were transformed into plantations growing green wheat, sheep horn potatoes, or beans for cooking meat.

In fact, although these looters were uneducated and reluctant to use their brains, it didn't mean they were foolish.

Whether it was their chieftain or the staff of their legions, they were well aware of the immense numbers related to the daily consumption of food, drink, defecation, and ammunition required for an army of tens of thousands.

Solving the supply problem couldn't rely solely on a few merchants who handled their spoils of war.

Some tribespeople skilled in production were promoted to "artisans." These individuals designed transport rafts, water-wheel generators, and simple pulleys for the Ya Clan, utilizing the river to complete the logistics of a dispersed industrial area.

In return, they were allowed to choose three slaves to keep by their side, and their children did not have to be sent to the clan's "child-care rooms" but could be raised by themselves.

However, despite these measures, the resources of the Ya Clan remained scarce.

The city lacked neither steel nor aluminum, but copper, which was relatively easier to process, had been nearly depleted a century ago.

They could only seek out unexcavated copper cables, also risking encounters with the Resistance organization's guerrilla forces.

Those goblins hiding in sewer trenches were like phantoms; although poorly armed, they always managed to cause significant trouble upon their emergence.

That's why, once members of these Resistance organizations were captured, what awaited them were usually inhumane tortures and sufferings.

Inside the main camp of the Ya Clan.

Looking at the man kneeling on one knee beneath the steps, the man seated on a chair made of human bones lightly furrowed his brow.

His name was Skull Breaker · Golden Tooth, the former was a title he bestowed upon himself, and the latter his given name.

His two-meter tall figure and shoulders as wide as truck tires made him look like a small mountain. His dark skin faintly emitted a green glow, and his mouth sported two golden teeth.

He was the chieftain of the Ya Clan, the leader of the Chewing Bone Tribe, with tens of thousands under his command.

Some said he was a descendant of both mutants and humans.

But in fact, humans violated by mutants could only give birth to mutants; there were no instances of mixed-blood between the two.

"... Far Creek Town has discovered a copper mine?"

The kneeling Iron Teeth reported in a deep voice.

"Yes, respected Chieftain."

Golden Tooth continued to question.

"Why didn't you find it while you were there?"

Iron Teeth hesitated for a moment then said,

"I don't know, Chieftain... We don't recognize what copper mines look like, but our scouts have discovered that the Blue Ground Mice from Qingquan City are mining copper!"

Murmurs filled the room.

Many looters' eyes sparkled with excitement.

At this moment, a strong man with broad shoulders and a robust build stepped forward. Ignoring the kneeling Iron Teeth, he faced Golden Tooth with both hands cupped in a fist salute.

"Chieftain, please allow me to lead my men into battle! Within ten days, I assure you that Far Creek Town will be under your Y
flag!"

His name was Bear Tooth.

As he spoke these words, a hint of pride curved the corners of his mouth.

The Chieftain had originally assigned the task of moving south to Lion Tooth, but that fellow continually disappointed the Chieftain, even failing to advance into Qingquan City and spending a winter in Far Creek Town without firing a shot before shamefully retreating. Now, he was hiding in Qingstone County, digging holes.

Such a cowardly Thousands of leaders, truly a disgrace to the clan!

If it were him leading the charge, not to mention the "North Suburb" Blue Ground Squirrels, even the legendary Giant Stone City wouldn't last a single round in front of his fierce army!

This wasn't just Bear Tooth's own thought.

Seeing this, the other Thousands of leaders also stepped forward to volunteer, expressing their willingness to lead their troops and fight for the clan!

Golden Tooth remained silent.

He stared at Iron Teeth, who was kneeling on one knee, and after a moment of thought, he slowly spoke.

"I'll give you five hundred men. Take a message to Lion Tooth from me. Within a week, I want to see the Ya Clan's flag planted on the land of Far Creek Town."

Iron Teeth lowered his head and accepted the command.

"Yes!"

After the meeting.

Standing beside Golden Tooth, a man with a prominent bridge on his nose slightly nodded and said,

"The copper mine is probably just a decoy... Far Creek Town is on the front line. Even if there really is a copper mine there, the survivors from the suburb wouldn't dare to exploit it flamboyantly."

His name was Dylon, once a Ten Thousand Leader in the Expeditionary Army. After the Army's collapse, he led the remnants to join the Chewing Bone Tribe, and after being received by Golden Tooth, was appointed as military advisor and served as the seer in the tribe.

Hearing the military advisor's insight, Golden Tooth, who was sitting upright, smiled faintly.

"I know. Lion Tooth probably wants to use the copper mine as an excuse to ask us for reinforcements. I might as well just send them five hundred men."

"The reinforcements have arrived, and if they don't fight, they won't have an excuse anymore."

Once Far Creek Town was captured, the northern gate of Qingquan City would be under the control of the Ya Clan. Regardless of whether there was a copper mine or not, at least the fertile land stretching ten thousand acres south of the Elm District was in sight.

Lately, more and more Looters had come to West State City to join them, and the tribal population had ballooned to over thirty thousand. The little food that the slaves cultivated was no longer enough to feed everyone.

Moreover, with the outbreak of the plague in West State City, Golden Tooth had been worrying about food these days.

Although now was not the best time to move southward, they could first take Far Creek Town and then use the security of the suburb as leverage to demand tributes from those in Blue Jackets, addressing their immediate crisis.

By the time of the autumn harvest, he would order a major invasion into the north suburb of Qingquan, completely taking over the local survivors' bountiful grain silos.

Thinking this, a cruel smile appeared on Golden Tooth's face.

This move,

This move was about fattening the sheep before the slaughter!

...

Just as Iron Teeth led five hundred reinforcements towards Qingstone County, a "Server Announcement" suddenly updated on the official website of "Wasteland OL".

[Expansion Pack: "Blade Unsheathed" officially launches!]

[Introduction: Chaos is spreading through the River Valley, with the Ya Clan in West State City plotting to continue moving south. We will eliminate the threat before they make their move.]

[Instructions:

1. All "Armies" please sign in at the rally point before the event starts, and head to the front lines after the war mobilization ends.

2. "Points" earned during the expansion pack will determine player's earnings at the end of the battle campaign and can be used in the post-expansion pack lottery draw.

3. "Life profession players" will also earn points when completing orders or other tasks with the expansion pack label, in addition to Contribution Points and Silver coin.

4. …

Expansion pack released!

Chu Guang proficiently pinned the announcement to the top.

Almost the instant the post went live, the official forum, which the second before was still gossiping about the Manager and Boss Xia, instantly shifted its focus to the newly updated expansion pack!

Tail: "Eh, eh, eh?! An expansion pack update? Weren't we just talking about the Boss's topics a moment ago? (*/ω＼*)"

Quit smoking: "Northern Expedition! Finally, it's here haha! These days I've been grinding my army's level till I'm about to split!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "My great axe is already starving and thirsty!"

Edge Shoveling: "Death Legion ready!!!"

Tail: "Oh! White Bear Knights charge! ψ(｀∇´)ψ"

Old White: "The Burning Corps have arrived at Far Creek Town! See you all in the game! (grinning)"

Mole Old Brother: "Damn! How are you guys so fast?! Where are the brothers from the Skeleton Division?! Assemble!"

Spring Water Commander: "Hahahaha, it's time to show our real skills. (proud)"

WC Real Mosquito: "Ace pilots of the Goblin Corps! Log in!!! (voice cracks)"

"..."

The responses flurried below the announcement.

Players who had signed in through the forum donned their helmets and logged into the game.

Through the Administrator System's player list interface, Chu Guang could clearly see the number of players online skyrocketing!

A smile unconsciously formed on his face, and Chu Guang nodded contentedly.

Excellent!

This time he had specifically not announced it in advance, just to test whether players could log in and join the battle in an organized manner in an emergency.

Now, it seemed their enthusiasm for the new expansion pack was even stronger than he had anticipated.

According to the plan he had formulated with his staff and officers, the first stage of the offense would secure Qingshi Town, eighty kilometers from Far Creek Town, consolidate the local defenses, and build artillery positions, before launching the full-scale offensive against the Ya Clan stationed in West State City.

After shutting down the official backstage, Chu Guang rose from the sofa.

"Xiao Qi."

A spirited voice came from beside him.

"Here! Master."

Chu Guang immediately gave an order.

"Deploy two Hummingbird drones to Far Creek Town, and once the frontline command post is established, immediately move the drones to Qingstone County!"

"Also, notify all departments to proceed according to plan!"

Xiao Qi: "Received!"

Leaving the browsing room.

Chu Guang stepped onto the elevator and headed straight to Level B1, entering the equipment room, where he put on the azure power armor.

The heavy breastplate exuded a chilling glint. Chu Guang reached out and grabbed the bulky warhammer, hanging it next to the Gauss rifle.

Taking a deep breath, Chu Guang felt his blood boil.

All the plans and deployments had been completed over the past month and a half, and he had now put all his chips on the table.

Now, he would set out with their soldiers.

This battle would decide the future of the Alliance!

...

Five in the morning.

The quietness of the north of City of Dawn was shattered by the booming sound of an iron beast.

A steel beast slowly exited from the industrial area along the railroad tracks, pulling behind it a series of wooden cargo boxes built on steel chassis.

Gray smoke continuously billowed from the towering chimneys, reciprocating pistons and rods driving this enormous contraption forward. Accompanying the clangor of steel collisions, this hundred-meter-long giant soon burrowed into the edge of the Elm District, disappearing over the horizon.

Windows along North Street of Dawn City were pushed open.

Disturbed from their sleep, traders, mercenaries, and local residents sleepily stood by their windows looking north, wondering what had just occurred.

Many, still dressed only in their nightwear, stepped out of their homes.

"What was that noise just now?"

"Didn't you see? A huge vehicle, as wide as half a road, came out of the industrial area and headed north along those tracks!"

"A train?! Was that a train?"

People exchanged surprised glances, discussing among themselves in bewilderment.

The railway of Dawn City had been constructed some time ago.

Yet for many living here, it was their first time seeing what a train looked like.

Especially for those survivors coming from small places, those thick, long chimneys and large vehicles were indeed curiosities.

Many stood on tiptoes looking north, hoping to get a clearer view, but they could no longer see it.

The mercenary clad in a leather jacket murmured and conversed with his companion.

"Where is it heading?"

"North seems to be the New Alliance's outpost in Far Creek Town, and beyond that is Western Province City!"

"Western Province City... Isn't that Chewing Bone Tribe's territory?"

Chewing Bone Tribe!

Hearing this name, many first-time visitors to the City of Dawn revealed surprised expressions on their faces.

They were not surprised by the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Waste Land Wanderers coming to River Valley Province to do business had mostly heard of the infamous cannibals who didn't spit out bones.

However, what they hadn't anticipated was that the New Alliance would actually provoke those devils!

"Have they gone mad?!" a merchant from the Eastern Provinces couldn't help exclaiming, voicing the sentiments of many travelers.

Picking a fight with the Chewing Bone Tribe.

In their view, this was not a smart decision at all!

However, not everyone thought this way.

Unfortunately, this statement was overheard by Old Hooke standing at the inn's entrance.

Looking at the uninformed outsiders, the old man scoffed.

"Mad? We've waited too long for this day!"

Standing by, Sun Shiqi couldn't help but swallow hard.

"...Do you even know what you're up against? The Ya Clan stationed in Western Province City had at least thirty thousand people just a month ago!"

Old Hooke had yet to speak.

The lad taking care of the Double-headed Cow by their side had already lifted his chin, proudly looking in the direction the train had disappeared.

"So what?"

"Under the leadership of the Manager, our Alliance is invincible!"

"With just one command from him, all of us could pick up our guns and head to the frontline right now! Never mind thirty thousand, even three hundred thousand or three million!"

Watching the young man's face filled with loyalty, Sun Shiqi's Adam's apple moved, leaving him speechless.

Old Hooke watched him and softly said,

"Those people have already destroyed many people's homes once, and we won't let them do it a second time. Not just the survivors from Highway Town, everyone here is willing to bleed dry for this land that sheltered them..."

"You don't have homes, you wouldn't understand."

Sun Shiqi argued,

"Who says I don't? I was just about to build one here."

Old Hooke smiled and remained silent.

The two mercenaries standing beside Sun Shiqi exchanged glances and shook their heads, murmuring.

"Mad!"

"...Everyone here is crazy!"

The entire City of Dawn was abuzz about the train heading towards Far Creek Town.

Many had even spotted fully armed soldiers and exoskeleton warriors in several of the train's cars.

Clearly, they were not heading out to mine!

At the same time, in a room on the third floor of an inn, half a wire quietly stretched out, accompanied by rhythmic radio waves. A telegram was sent to the Horseshoe Iron Business Group's station in Red River Town.

In the headquarters' office.

Having read the telegram from his subordinate, Sim's face momentarily lit up with joy as if long parched from drought and drenched by a sweet rain, and he burst forth into a mad, skyward laughter.

"The fight has begun! Hahaha!"

"I knew I was right!"

"Finally, the fight has begun!"

The so-called copper mine was indeed a deceptive lure!

Once the war machine of the New Alliance kicked into gear, the demand for resources surged like a flood in all directions!

Their industrialization speed was astonishing, but they couldn't conjure the raw materials for industry out of thin air; those urgently needed resources had to be purchased from them!

Sim's face was filled with ecstatic delight.

His stockpiled copper mines finally had a chance of being rescued!

...

A train from the industrial district to Far Creek Town drew the attention of various powers, all awaiting the next move of this young Survivor Settlement.

On one side was the New Alliance, with a permanent population of less than six thousand, on the other side, the battle-hardened Looter Tribe with thirty thousand members.

Apart from the residents of the New Alliance, hardly anyone believed they had the slightest chance of winning.

Red River Town's assessment of the war's direction was that the New Alliance could maintain the front line between Far Creek Town and Qingstone County by leveraging their equipment and logistics advantages, whereas the council of Garbage City thought they might lose a potential trading partner.

As for Giant Stone City.

Aside from radio host Mr. Hauser's wildly speculative comments, the real power holders seemed to have barely paid any attention to the matter.

Whether it was the Chewing Bone Tribe or the New Alliance, it was a northern affair.

And the north was too distant from their core interests to be of concern.

Chu Guang had no time to care what they thought.

The war had already begun.

The first and second corps along with war supplies had already departed with the train to Far Creek Town.

There, they would establish simple frontline positions, preparing safe ammunition depots and saving points for the players.

They were the shield of the entire war, responsible for the security of rear positions and supply lines.

At the same time, over twenty armies composed of players had already assembled at the entrance to the barracks next to the airport.

Their codes and sizes varied.

Some had thirty soldiers equipped with twelve 88mm mortars, while the remaining eighteen each carried an ammunition box, apparently planning to plow through the enemy positions before charging.

Others were fully staffed armies of a hundred, without a single cannon, all equipped with "conscript kits."

Before the battle even began, their rifles were already fixed with bayonets, their waists tied with hand grenades and Molotov Cocktails, making their intentions clear.

As for the Burning Corps that took a special operations route, their arrangement was standard, with the front twenty being all Awakeners plus Type Five and Type Six exoskeletons, maximizing individual combat strength.

The remaining eighty slots were left for the reserves, a mix of newbies and experts, with the army commander paying out of pocket for weapons and equipment, while logistics were entirely focused on the blades (exoskeletons).

As for the Skeleton Corps led by Mole Old Brother, although their setup was novel, it was still reasonable; fifty good brothers each equipped with a conscript kit, with all the logistics points invested in two four-linked anti-aircraft trucks.

The trucks' heads and doors were reinforced with welded steel plates, leaving just a slit for an observation window, apparently planning to adopt a "infantry-tank cooperation" strategy.

Spring Water Commander's Storm Corps was conventionally structured, one company, three platoons, three squads, led by his old teammates, each squad configured with assaulters, support soldiers, and squad shooters, each performing their respective roles, balanced firepower, most resembling an NPC legion.

Midnight Chicken Killing's Jungle Corps, similar in approach to the Burning Corps, also took the special operations route, but they didn't spend valuable logistics points on high-end equipment, instead considering quality while keeping costs in mind.

From the army commander to the soldiers below, all were uniformly equipped with KV-1 exoskeletons and welded steel, camouflaged in green, each armed with an LD-47j light machine gun, a completely different style from the "knight + squire" tactic of the Burning Corps.

Additionally, there were other independent legions, while high in rank, hadn't recruited enough players and had vacancies in their structure.

As a young emerging armed force, they needed to prove their strength to other players through battle achievements and medals.

Chu Guang had granted the players sufficient autonomy to find their own teammates, explore tactics that suited them, and learn from their deaths to maximize their combat potential.

After all, dying once only meant three days.

If one death didn't reveal the problem, then they would die twice.

This unique mode of combat wasn't suitable for any army composed of living beings, but it was perfect for the players.

They were summoned spirits.

For them, death was merely a return...

...

Outside the military camp, the parade ground was a forest of gun banners.

Chu Guang, wearing powered armor, walked to the very front of the team.

The noisy surroundings quieted down slightly.

Looking into those eyes burning with battle desire and spirit, Chu Guang activated the armor's loudspeaker and spoke in a calm and steady voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted to see you all here."

"Your courage is truly inspiring."

He paused, scanning the gathered players.

"From the day that great door opened, we ignited fires in the darkness, we drove away beasts with swords, we forged swords into plowshares to rebuild our homes, we dispelled ignorance with civilization—yet, the threat of barbarism still lingers around us, never far away."

"Chaos continues to ravage the north, our neighbors still struggle on the brink of death."

"The beasts in human skin are sharpening their teeth and sucking blood, right before our eyes, with their greedy sights set on our towns and fields!"

Chu Guang raised his voice.

He drew out his warhammer and slammed the handle hard against the ground.

"They will not succeed!"

"We will not stop fighting against barbarism!"

"Today, now, from here, we will take the offensive, before they can extend those dirty claws, we will sever them with axes!"

"Even if outnumbered!"

"Even if a thousand face thirty thousand!"

"We will never retreat! Never negotiate! Never compromise!"

"Until we erase them from the map, until they flee in the sound of our gunfire, raising their hands over their heads begging for mercy—"

"Advance!"

"Advance!"

"Advance!!!"

Such high battle spirit, just like the roar echoing through the camp.

Chu Guang could feel the blood boiling in his veins.

Not just him, the players standing on the training field could feel that surge of exhilarating tension too.

The offensive on New Year's Eve was vivid in their minds.

Many of their partners who had built homes together were left behind that night.

The blood feud had to be cleansed with the enemies' blood.

At this moment, they had waited far too long!

Each cry of "advance" was a response to the call of war.

After speaking all he had to say in three minutes, Chu Guang decisively waved his right hand forward.

1,137 combat professional players quickly boarded the fifty trucks parked outside the training ground.

The inspection was over, and the next stop was the front line!

Meanwhile, at a nearby airport.

A group of players wearing pilot's hats left the barracks, rushed into the hangar, and swiftly boarded their own numbered vehicles.

This included 50 W-2 "Mosquito-style" ground attack planes painted with shark faces and fitted with twin 10mm heavy machine guns, and 70 "Moth" gliders carrying 7mm small pipes.

The former were piloted by twenty players who had mastered flying and landing techniques.

The latter, as a "low-cost" version of the former, were piloted by thirty pre-service, not yet proficient players.

Until the end, Mosquito was not able to raise the Goblin Corps to LV8, allowing all "Ace Pilots" to mix in and just barely missing LV5.

But does that matter?

Obviously not!

Non-staff personnel used non-regulated equipment, and staff used regulated equipment.

Those 70 "Moth" gliders, which hadn't cost the Alliance a penny, were all bought out of his own pocket!

The reason?

No reason!

He was willing!

"Check your ammo and batteries!"

Excited, Mosquito jumped onto his mount and checked his equipment, never stopping to chatter non-stop.

"Our allies have already headed to the front! These speedy bastards, their wheels are smoking! But even if they're fast, they can't be faster than us!"

"We, the Goblin Corps, will reach the battlefield before anyone else! The MVP will definitely be ours!"

Hastily putting on his pilot's cap, Falling Feather spoke nervously, "Coach! If there are no ground troops to guide the air raid, what if we can't see anyone?"

This was his first time on a battlefield.

Before, he'd been throwing wood at circles drawn on the ground and firing machine guns at stationary targets. About to take to the sky, he was panicked.

However, Mosquito's response did not reassure him at all.

"What?! Can't see anyone? Is that a question my ace pilot should ask??"

"???"

Falling Feather was a bit confused by the question.

He didn't know if it was a question an ace pilot should ask.

But was it a normal response?

In another plane nearby,

ID is called Clear Wind, a short-haired girl, barely awake, squinted her eyes and held the joystick, shaking her head as she recited a poem.

"Blue blood dyes the sky, though spring has passed beauty remains, heaven and earth turn red."

The morning glow was rising from the horizon, somewhat fitting the scene.

However, Falling Feather was just baffled.

Was she already dictating her last words?

Up the Hill Tiger looked at the joystick in his hand, his face puzzled.

He hadn't remembered wrong.

He'd learned to fly a plane to make it easier to spray pesticides.

"Wait, why are we, who just farm, also causing a ruckus here?"

In another plane, Makabazi laughed and pulled down his windscreen.

"Who cares!"

"There are more planes than people, let's enjoy the rush!"

Hearing his comrades' clamor, Mosquito laughed heartily and also pulled down his windscreen and started his mount's engine.

"Remember what I taught you. When you dive, turn on the beeper, drop the bomb right over their heads! Then open fire, pull up, dive, and fire again!"

"Also, secure your VM tightly on your thigh! That's your radar, as well as your eyes!"

Raising his voice, he shouted piercingly over the roar of the propellers.

"Brothers! On the runway! Stomp the throttle to the floor—"

"Take off!!"

...

To the north of Far Creek Town.

Tonglou lay atop a hill with binoculars, looking at a nearby town.

It was peaceful.

The town in the morning fog was as quiet as a graveyard.

However, just then, an Iron beast, puffing clouds of smoke, was slowly approaching Far Creek Town from the direction of Qingquan City.

A Looter spotted it, excitedly pointing at the colossal object and whispered loudly,

"Boss! Look, a train!"

"I know!" Tonglou grumbled back, continuing his observation with the binoculars.

He didn't know why.

Looking at the smoke-chuffing train, he felt something was off, but it was too far, and the visibility was too poor to see clearly what was in the train.

The excited Looter whispered to each other,

"Say, this train is much bigger than the ones we've seen before!"

"Hey, now that you mention it, it really is!"

"Could it be they found a major ore seam? So they need a big train to transport it!"

"Hahaha, makes sense!"

Just then, as the train rounded a bend, exposing its side,

Tonglou did not miss the opportunity.

However, when he clearly saw the fully armed figures inside the carriage, his face instantly changed.

Soldiers?!

Weren't they supposed to be here to mine? What were soldiers doing here!

And there were many of them!

Almost at the same time, a whirring sound came from the sky, and several black dots emerged from the morning mist between the mountains.

The learned Looter excitedly pointed, showing off his knowledge.

"Boss! Look, airplanes!"

"Shut up! I know! Everyone, get down!" Without time to ponder where the planes had come from, Tonglou shouted in fear, signaling his team to scatter.

The planes roared overhead.

Tonglou, diving into the bushes, pressed his face to the ground, daring not to move.

Fortunately, the planes weren't targeting them, nor did they notice the few "rats" hiding in the bushes.

Dozens of planes flew directly north.

That was the direction of Qingstone County, also the station of the Lion Tooth Thousand Team!

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Tonglou's face went completely pale.

Even an idiot like him realized, there was no copper mine in Far Creek Town at all. The so-called copper mine was just a smokescreen released by those Blue Ground Mice, and the railways had been built from the beginning to transport supplies to the front line.

As for their plans...

That was obvious.

Getting up from the ground, Tonglou didn't care about the mud on him, urging his brothers to rise, and shouted urgently and angrily.

"Quick! Run! We need to get back fast!"

"Report this to Lord Shiya!"

"Yes, yes!" The surrounding Looters nodded in panic, rushing down the hill.

However—

It was clearly too late.

Just as Tonglou finished speaking, from the direction the train had come, trucks loaded with rolling dust charged north.

They didn't stop at Far Creek Town at all but passed directly through the western side of the town, heading straight for Qingstone Town to the north.

Tonglou could no longer count how many trucks there were.

His intuition told him that it was at least the force of a thousand-man team. No matter how fast he ran, he couldn't be faster than those sitting on the trucks.

Thinking this, despair washed over Tonglou's face.

At the same time, fifty-two planes had already reached the battlefield…

-

(Thanks to "Confused Wind" for rewarding the alliance leader!!)

Chapter 307: Fire at The Coordinates of Lao Zi!

"Who says only those standing in the light can be heroes?"

Humming a tuneless song, the obese rat shook the iron can in its hand, pouring fuel onto the deserted rooftop, toned toned toned.

Since unlocking the "Hidden Profession" and becoming the razor under the cloak of the Manager, Difficult for the Strong felt rejuvenated, as if he had found his purpose once again.

Indeed, compared to showing off on the front lines, causing trouble in unseen places suited his gaming style better.

Who cares if no one knows?

It's enough that the Manager knows.

After realizing this, Difficult for the Strong felt that at least half of the credit for the rat plague in West State City belonged to him.

"Human stuff, Die! Die!"

Cackling wickedly, he shook the fuel can in his hand until the last drop of fuel was gone.

Having completed all this, he straightened up, looked around to see if anyone had noticed him, and quickly slipped away from the rooftop following the safe route scouted out by his minions.

A group of mutant rats with iron cans strapped to their backs excitedly followed behind.

These iron cans on their backs, of course, were not made by Difficult for the Strong himself but were instead dropped by Mosquito Brother in the jungle three kilometers outside of Qing Shi County at night, and he had gone there to retrieve them based on the marks on VM.

The cans, tied together with rope and filled with biomass fuel thickened and intensified with additives, fell with parachutes.

Although many cans were ripped by tree branches or simply smashed and leaked on the ground, the vast majority survived.

In a month and a half, relying on his familiarity with the terrain and his compact physique, Difficult for the Strong continuously transported more than 2100 iron cans to the hiding spots in Qing Shi County, carrying nearly 11.2 tons of mixed fuel!

And last night, while everyone was offline, he received the mission to dump the thickened fuel on the rooftops at the weaker defensive sectors on the north side of the Looter.

The attack on Qing Shi County was to commence at dawn, and he knew this news earlier than any player.

With the help of his minions, Difficult for the Strong had already completed most of his mission.

Although these rat minions were a bit dumb and couldn't handle dumping the fuel themselves, they could at least understand the "follow the boss" command.

In fact, they had no idea what Difficult for the Strong wanted to do or what use the smelly, viscous liquid had, but moving as a group excited them immensely.

Even the humans who could crush them with a footstep would reflexively panic at their sight.

This made them feel as if they had conquered the city.

And the fattest one who had gathered them—it was their king!

...

"What's that smell?"

North side of Qing Shi County.

The half-collapsed five-story roof was packed with logs and concrete, and the battered buildings were tightly stuffed with trash from the wasteland, leaving only a water-cooled light machine gun mounted in a narrow firing slot.

Standing at the entrance to the machine gun bunker, Black Wind sniffed and murmured with a frown.

"Why does it smell so bad!"

From the start, he had noticed a strange odor.

Clearly, he wasn't the only one who had smelled it.

Feng Si, crouching by the machine gun, also wrinkled his nose.

"Hiss... I smell it too."

This was the outpost on the north side of Qingstone County.

Not far from them was the only road leading to West State City from Qingstone County—although it could hardly be called a road anymore due to its dilapidation.

Their strategist, Bernie, must have had a grudge against trees in his past life, as he had been mobilizing them to cut trees and fortify bunkers for months.

Not only had they deployed a massive amount of firepower on the side closest to Far Creek Town, but they had also engaged in civil engineering near West State City to the north.

He even suggested to Lord Lion Tooth that they allocate about a hundred slaves to repair the tattered road.

According to the strategist, land is dead, people are alive, the enemy might not attack from the closest position, they might detour to their flank or even rear. Solid defenses and open supply lines could help them gain more initiative on the battlefield.

However, to tell the truth, Black Wind doubted whether the enemy really had the guts to come to them.

They had an entire thousand-team stationed here, and the equipment they took over from the army was not limited to a few rifles but also included more than ten 100mm artillery guns and trucks for towing artillery.

Not only that, tens of thousands were stationed behind them in West State City. Should they be attacked here, a massive reinforcement could reach the frontline within a day at the latest.

Nevertheless, that faint stench always kept Black Wind uneasy.

"I'm going out to take a look."

Leaving this statement behind, he casually picked up the "Opener" rifle leaning against the door and followed the pungent smell.

He walked downstairs to the street.

A breeze happened to brush against his face.

Judging that the smell came from the rooftop of the building next door, Black Wind cautiously chambered his rifle and approached carefully.

He lowered his steps as he climbed the stairs.

However, when he reached the rooftop and pushed open the half-closed door, he saw a scene that he would never forget in his life.

There was a fat rat, standing about half a man's height, humming an out-of-tune song while shaking a tin can up and down, splattering the dark fuel everywhere.

The scene was utterly terrifying.

The rat not only spoke human language but was even singing.

That absurd scene made Black Wind doubt if he was hallucinating; he stood stunned on the spot, even forgetting his actions.

The fat rat did not notice him.

However, the "little rats" surrounding the fat rat immediately noticed the unexpected visitor, baring their fangs and hissing fiercely at him.

Difficult for the Strong noticed the commotion behind him, turned around, his round eyes meeting the gaze of the looter at the door.

A smile that he thought would ease the awkwardness appeared on his face, and the rat, without hesitation, threw away the tin can and swiftly drew the pistol strapped to his waistband.

However, that looter was clearly not to be trifled with, as he quickly recovered from his surprise and even faster than Difficult for the Strong, he pulled the trigger.

Bang—!

The gunshot rang out on the rooftop.

Difficult for the Strong grunted, his chest pierced by a rifle bullet, and he fell backward next to the rusted water tank.

But this shot did not deprive him of his ability to fight; he aimed his pistol at the entrance of the rooftop and fired three shots, forcing the looter who was about to rush up, back down.

Bullets whizzed just above his head, and Black Wind felt his body hair stand on end, completely unable to understand what was happening.

A mutant rat half his height was horrifying enough, and it not only spoke human words but was also pouring fuel on the ground?!

Even pulling out a pistol and shooting at him?!

He hadn't used any drugs last night!

At that moment, a teammate from the neighboring building must have heard the gunfire and yelled over.

"Brother, what's happening over there!?"

While shooting at the fat rat hiding behind the cover, Black Wind shouted back in terror.

"A rat! A half-human-high rat! Damn! It's actually firing at me!"

"Rat?!"

His teammate was obviously taken off guard and fell silent for a moment.

Knowing he couldn't explain everything, Black Wind gritted his teeth and continued shooting, hoping the patrol would hear the gunfire and come to support him quickly.

Although the rat didn't have the "Matching Hands and Feet" DEBUFF, using human weapons was still somewhat awkward for it.

Feeling death approach as his life swiftly drained away, Difficult for the strong sensed his blood gushing out with every breath from his belly.

"Damn! This Constitution attribute isn't helping at all, damn it!"

"Forget it, my respawn CD is only 24 hours anyway..."

After firing the last bullet in his magazine, Difficult made a harsh decision, dropped the unstable pistol, and trembled as he fetched a matchbox.

A small flame flickered at his fingertips.

It was a weak flame.

However, at the sight of that flicker of light, whether it was the trembling rat underlings nearby or the looters crouched at the hallway entrance, all displayed ghost-hitting levels of terror on their faces.

"No!" Black Wind screamed in alarm.

But the fat rat had already thrown the match onto the ground, rising into sharp laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha! Human stuff—"

"Die!"

The fire roared to life, engulfing the fat rat completely.

Standing amidst the flames, screaming shrilly, Difficult had emerged like a demon from hell, and the raging blaze next to him instantly turned the entire rooftop into a purgatory.

The surging flames followed the fuel on the ground and the damp tracks left by the rats, quickly spreading and igniting every iron can on the rats' backs.

The flaming rats screamed and struggled crazily, leaping and running away. Before they were burned to death, they spread the flames toward nearby buildings.

The constant gunfire and billowing smoke soon drew the attention of a nearby patrol, and a ten—person team rapidly came to assist.

Black Wind, clutching his rifle, fled awkwardly from the smoke just as he bumped into a Centurion who grabbed him by the collar.

"What's going on with this fire!"

Faced with that murderous gaze, Black Wind stuttered.

"A rat, a half-human-high rat, it was pouring fuel upstairs, and after I spotted it, it lit the match…"

Hearing this disjointed narrative, the Centurion was taken aback, then shouted furiously.

"Do you think I'm stupid?!"

This wasn't the time for talking.

The Centurion released Black Wind's collar, ordered his men to watch the suspected arsonist, and directed the others to immediately extinguish the fire.

Qing Shi County had no lakes or rivers, so their water supply was mainly dependent on purified rainwater and several wells. If they allowed the fire to continue to spread, the entire southern part of Qing Shi County could become a blaze!

However, at that moment, the sky suddenly squealed.

Before the Centurion could process what was happening, a torrent of bullets roared in, shattering the concrete pavement underfoot into rubble!

Cement fragments thrown by the bullets wreaked havoc on the street corner, and a broken concrete wall was directly bombed into a skeletal frame of steel.

Black Wind, who had timely thrown himself to the ground, narrowly avoided the disaster. However, his buddy beside him wasn't so lucky—he lost half of his body to three 10mm cannon rounds!

Looking up at the "Sky Fire" descending from heaven, the rats that had survived the fire now halted their escape.

In their eyes, the flames falling from the sky were their leader's masterstroke, and those invincible humans were fleeing in all directions under the might of the Big Horn Rat.

They didn't feel betrayed by their leader at all; the fear in their eyes turned into admiration.

Too cool!

...

The roar of the cannon faded.

With his eardrums nearly shattered, Black Wind struggled to climb out from the rubble.

But what entered his sights froze his breath in the aftermath.

The Centurion who had grabbed his collar had been turned into mincemeat by the barrage from above. Several of his looter companions were also killed instantly under the machine gun fire.

Near Black Wind, a looter with a rifle lay on the ground, his lower half a bloody mess, his mouth only emitting unintelligible whimpers and wails.

Limbs and body parts were strewn everywhere.

And all of this happened in just the blink of an eye.

Fear reflected in Black Wind's eyes, the rifle in his hands trembling uncontrollably, his legs involuntarily shaking.

Sparks continually fell from the burning rooftop, the fire already spreading to the streets below. A booming explosion echoed from afar.

It was unclear whether an ammunition depot ignited by the great fire exploded or a bomb was dropped from a plane.

Black Wind raised his head, gazing blankly into the sky.

Planes circled like mosquitoes, spitting fire from their noses, strafing around the conflagration.

With each dive, countless lives were reaped.

"... Devil."

Talking rats, fiery flying crosses, and those ghostly shrieks...

All of this seemed very much like him

Muttering in terror, Black Wind didn't even have time to ponder who their enemy was before he moved his lead—weighted legs toward the direction of the Machine Gun Bunker.

Not far on a nearby rooftop, a water—cooled machine gun spat flames, frantically strafing the sky, venting its futile fire.

Not long after, a fighter plane roared past above the fire point and immediately a rocket smashed straight into the building, spewing flames.

The explosion sent a fiery blaze into the sky.

The scorching shock wave and the chest of Black Wind collided in full, blowing him away as he was about to go and support his teammates.

When he wiped the blood and debris from his face and struggled to climb out of the debris, the five-story building nearby, equipped with a machine gun bunker, had been reduced to three and a half stories.

And the machine gun bunker, built of concrete and logs, was blown up without a trace left.

Witnessing everything before him, Black Wind could no longer contain the fear in his heart and ran out like mad. He didn't know where to go; he just wanted to be a bit farther from that street.

And a similar scene
was unfolding everywhere in Qing Shi County with the arrival of the goblin legion combat aircraft group...

"Free fire!"

"Repeat, free fire!"

Bullets whizzed past behind him and, thrilled with the surge of adrenaline, Mosquito shouted loudly as he maneuvered the control stick to make barrel roll evasive maneuvers.

He had figured it out.

The Looter's machine guns were indeed powerful and fast, but their accuracy in aerial shooting was abysmally poor.

Without tracer bullets to correct their trajectories, these Looters, inexperienced in anti-air warfare, could only spray bullets into the sky based on guesswork.

With just a few simple dodging moves, he could shake off the gunfire chasing his wing and then turn to attack and engage the firepower pursuing his teammate.

The tranquil morning was disturbed by noisy gunfire, with bullets filling the sky, turning the entirety of Qing Shi County into a lit powder keg.

The fuel previously dumped on the rooftops by Difficult for the Strong had all been ignited by tracer bullets mixed with magnesium-aluminum powder and phenolic resin.

The southern part of Qing Shi County turned into a sea of fire, and those Looters who couldn't escape were burned to death in their beds, the burning streets splitting the battlefield like walls of fire.

The Looters quickly found themselves in a dilemma.

If they chose to extinguish the fire, they would have to mobilize a large workforce, yet, once people gathered, they would inevitably be targeted by the circling planes.

But if they let the fire spread, the supplies stored in the south would soon turn to ashes in the inferno.

Inside the department store building.

Lord Lion Tooth, supporting himself on the table, rose from the floor, seizing the messenger who had just run in with a mix of shock and anger.

"Where the hell did those planes come from?!"

"I don't know... those planes came from the south... there were fifty, no, fifty-two planes, they didn't signal before opening fire on us."

The Looter, stared down by his chief, was terrified and struggled to form a complete sentence even after stuttering for a long time.

Just half a minute ago, two rockets hit the building, and the deafening roar nearly made everyone here lose their hearing.

Luckily, this pre-war building was sturdy enough that the two rockets only scratched off some cement and did not cause obvious damage to the structure.

Still, it was frightening enough.

"Fifty-two planes?! Are you sure?"

Hearing the messenger's report of the battle, Bernie's face was full of amazement.

The Looter swallowed saliva and nodded quickly.

"I'm sure! I counted carefully!"

A heavy feeling sank in Bernie's heart.

A month and a half ago, after hearing the reports brought by a few apostles from the Torch Church, he thought at most those Blue Jackets had a couple of planes.

But he never expected dozens would come all at once...

Although they were old propeller planes, for the Chewing Bone Tribe, which lacked anti-air firepower, that firepower descending from the sky was undoubtedly deadly.

Bernie could guess with his toes that the enemy's ground troops were probably already on their way. Far Creek Town had virtually no copper mines, and that railway leading to Far Creek Town was clearly built with their demise in mind!

Previously, Bernie would have advised Lord Lion Tooth to retreat, abandon the position to preserve their strength, and wait for the main forces to concentrate and crush the enemy with a mass assault.

However, with planes in the equation...

Regardless of the direction they withdrew, it would be suicidal.

Lord Lion Tooth looked anxiously at his councilor.

"What do we do?!"

Bernie gritted his teeth and said.

"There's no need to panic! They've just gained a bit of aerial superiority, but the ground still belongs to us. Without ground troop assistance, their planes can hardly cause us significant damage."

"The Blue Coats are clearly on the way here, but they chose to strike with planes first, probably due to limited numbers, so they aim to create chaos with planes to create opportunities for their ground troops. We must not fall into disarray ourselves!"

Although momentarily panicked, Lord Lion Tooth, a veteran of countless battles, quickly regained his composure.

Watching Lord Lion Tooth calm down, Bernie gave his suggestion with a grave voice.

"Instruct your men to find nearby cover for shelter, remembering not to leave their cover to fire at the planes! All ground machine gun positions no matter the caliber should swivel their muzzles for antiaircraft firing!"

Although it wasn't an ideal solution, there was no better option at this moment.

If they let those planes unload their ammunition and fly away, only to return with full loads in coordination with the ground troops, that would truly be fatal!

The opponent had only propeller planes.

Bullets with a caliber over 7mm were enough to cause effective damage to them!

"Also, you need to immediately assign a thousand-team to do their utmost to keep the fire under control in the south, preserving our scattered ammunition depots and firepower points in other areas! At the same time, inform the thousand-team on the north defense line to prepare for the enemy!"

"At less than twenty kilometers from here to West State City, our main army must have already noticed."

"Just hold on until reinforcements arrive, and victory will be ours!"

"Brothers, spread out!"

Suddenly, bullets from the ground became dense.

Almost all machine gun positions raised their muzzles aiming at the sky, causing significant trouble for the dive-bombing gliders.

Mosquito made a snap decision, ordering the flight squadron to disperse, prioritizing strategically marked targets on the VM map as primary offensive objectives, and eliminating enemy forces as a secondary goal, each fighting their own battle.

The dispersing maneuver definitely worked, as the net of gunfire striking towards the sky was dispersed along with the spreading flight squadron.

Even so, two unlucky pilots were swept by machine-gun fire during their dive.

One W-2 snapped its wing mid-air and crashed directly into the rooftop machine-gun bunker. The cockpit of another "Moth" was riddled with bullet holes, and though the plane was still flying, the VMs had been shot out.

Watching the two smoking planes, Mosquito felt the pain but couldn't help mourning silently for his ace pilots.

"Good brothers!"

"I will avenge you!"

The fighter squadron continued to suffer losses, with planes occasionally falling from the sky, yet none fled or parachuted out.

Everyone was seeing red.

Both the pilots in the sky and the infantry on the ground.

Hiding in the ruins, the Looters were not satisfied just wasting machine gun bullets; many even lifted their rifles and fired into the sky, regardless of whether they could hit their targets.

The wings were eventually hit by several bullets, a 7mm machine-gun bullet even penetrated the cockpit, grazing past Mosquito's left leg.

With a glance at the VM strapped to his leg, Mosquito calmly gripped the control stick, lowered the flight altitude, and shook off the concentrated fire.

As the altitude decreased, the gunfire from behind abruptly lessened.

Ignoring the light machine gun firing at his tail, Mosquito sped towards the ammo depot marked on the map without hesitation.

The moment the sights aligned, he skillfully pressed the bomb release button.

A 100kg aerial bomb detached from the fuselage and plunged straight into the half-collapsed concrete wall.

With the explosion, followed by a brief delay, sparks soared tens of meters into the air.

Almost at the moment Mosquito pulled up the nose, the crackling sound of ammunition cooking off echoed down the street, lively like a festival.

The fleeing Looters were instantly swallowed by the thick smoke and shrapnel, leaving countless dead and injured.

"Hahaha! Happy New Year!"

A hint of excitement finally spread across his tense face. Mosquito, having dropped his last aerial bomb, continued to target the artillery positions on the southern side of the map.

Two 100mm cannons were hidden under a wooden shelter.

The Looters seemed to know they had planes, camouflaging many strategic locations with trash or makeshift covers.

However, they didn't know that the New Alliance's eyes were not only active in the sky but also hid a sharp pair within the ruins on the ground.

Over the past month and a half, a certain "rat" had already scouted their positions thoroughly.

Where the ammunition depots were, where they slept, where the fire points were, and even the command post hidden in the department store—all marked categorically on the map.

Though there was no one at the artillery position, Mosquito still lowered his altitude and launched a barrage of 10mm cannon fire, giving the hidden artillery position a hot wash, just to prevent anyone from operating the cannons during the ground troop's assault.

After strafing, as Mosquito was about to pull up the nose, a thick tongue of flame suddenly sprayed from the dark windows nearby.

Da da da—!

The left wing splintered, cutting into two from the center, and the W-2 ground attack plane, skimming the rooftops, instantly lost balance.

"Damn it!"

Mosquito managed to curse aloud just in time before the belly of his plane intimately collided with the terrace below, tumbling side over side into the half-collapsed two-story building across.

The impact buzzed Mosquito's head, knocking him offline, and it took ten minutes of reconnecting before he could log back into the game.

When he opened his blurry eyes, he found his plane stuck on the exterior wall of a building, with the rear half swinging in the air while the front half had drilled into the wall.

A twisted steel rebar had pierced through the nose of the plane, splitting the propeller and motor into two halves, conveniently stopping at the lever's position.

It was lucky it stopped.

Had it moved an inch further, he wouldn't have had to exert the effort to reconnect and would have just headed back to the Forum to wait for the battle report.

He had really screwed up this time.

"Damn... this is too thrilling," Mosquito gasped for air, but the thick smoke around him choked him so badly that tears almost squeezed out of his eyes.

A large fire was burning around him.

According to the map, his current location should be at the southernmost side of Qingstone County, right behind the Chewing Bone Tribe's position!

And the formidable VM wasn't far away, on a rooftop nearby..

Wiping the sand and blood off his face, Mosquito, knowing full well he had drawn a lot of hatred, didn't waste a second. In a panicked flurry, he pulled out a Pu-9 submachine gun from beneath his seat, threw it into the building in front of him, then reached out to grab the exposed rebar on the wall and crawled out of the ravaged cockpit.

Almost the moment he crawled out of the cockpit, bullets whizzed over from one side of the street, scaring him so much that he didn't even dare look back but immediately dashed toward the collapsed staircase.

Covered in dirt, Mosquito quickly turned into a small alley, but just as he was about to break into a run, he realized after only a few steps that it was a dead end.

His face turned green. Mosquito was about to turn back when he discovered that the Looters had already reached the entrance of the alley.

It looked like there was a whole hundred-man team coming to kill him.

Upon spotting him, a lone pilot, almost all nearby Looters surrounded him.

It seemed they weren't planning to just kill him outright but threw smoke into the alley and advanced on him using cover.

Mosquito swiftly emptied one magazine and frantically searched himself for another but found none, falling into despair.

"Fuck! You guys should be putting out the fire! What's the use of all these people chasing me, a pilot?!"

However, the Looters couldn't understand a word he was saying.

And Mosquito guessed that even if they did understand, they wouldn't listen to him, anyway.

Gazing at the distorted, sneering faces behind the dense smoke, Mosquito involuntarily shuddered, recalling some of the manga he had seen.

"Forget it, forget it, I'm done for… See you in the Forum later."

Pulling out a dagger from his pocket, Mosquito prepared for his last stand.

Just then, a series of loud explosions erupted in the distance, their earth-shaking roars clearly audible even miles away.

The Looters blocking the alley entrance were clearly startled by the sounds, even pausing their advance.

Mosquito paused for a moment, glanced at the time on the VM, and a gleam of madness flashed across his face.

There was no mistake!

That was the sound of rockets!

The ground forces' offensive had begun!

Without any hesitation, Mosquito pressed his hand to his headset, using all his strength, and yelled excitedly.

"Goblin Corps Artillery Group!"

"Fire at my coordinates!"

Chapter 308: Great Victory at Qingstone County!

Less than twenty minutes after the air raid, the northern urban area of Qing Shi County had already turned into a sea of fire.

The survivors from the northern suburbs of Qingquan City seemed to have tampered with their fortifications; the aircraft, their propellers spinning wildly, strafed the rooftops of buildings, and soon, the buildings flared up like lighters.

Fire was everywhere in the city.

The scorching heatwave and thick smoke completely blocked their retreat to the south.

Woken by the earth-shattering explosions, Lord Shiya had just gotten out of bed when he received the command from the messenger— he was to immediately lead his men to fight the fire.

It was an order directly from Lord Shiya, and he dared not delay. He quickly called over his men who were firing rifles into the air and rushed towards the fires in the south.

However, to his surprise, just as he and his men hurriedly arrived at the scene, an airplane crashed right before his eyes.

And it crashed less than fifty meters away on the street!

Lord Shiya was stunned at that moment, and quickly realized what had happened, then a surge of rage shot up to his forehead.

Thinking of his brothers who perished in the air raid and the raging inferno all around, he no longer cared about the firefighting mission. Without a second thought, he led his entire hundred-man team toward the crash site.

A hundred against one, whether it was a full-grown man or just a mouse—even a cockroach couldn't slip away under his watch!

And indeed, it was the case.

The unfortunate pilot, running around like a headless fly, was quickly cornered in a dead-end alley.

Staring at the wretched figure screaming in the alley, a sinister grin spread across Lord Shiya's lips, and his eyes gleamed with cruelty.

He stopped a subordinate who was setting up a rocket launcher and, instead, took out a smoke grenade. He smirked and hurled it into the alley.

Then, he waved his hand forward.

"Capture him alive for me!"

Lord Shiya swore.

If he caught that guy, he would make that damned pilot regret coming into this world.

He would try every cruel torture he had heard of or seen on that man, until he squeezed out all the information. Then he would slice off his flesh piece by piece, throwing it into the frying pan right before his eyes.

Excitedly licking his lips, Lord Shiya hadn't yet decided where to start when a piercing shriek came from behind his head.

He whirled around, and his gaze met the overwhelming rain of fire.

The wailing sound, like that of a church organ, rendered the concrete fortifications as mere paper, easily blown sky-high by the relentless destructive force.

There was no time to drop down.

Even dropping down offered no shelter.

Fear and panic flashed across Lord Shiya's eyes.

And then the next second, he and his entire hundred-man team, along with the street beneath them, were blasted into the air!

At that moment, in the sky.

Piloting his battered glider, Falling Feather reached to lift his windshield and stretched his neck to look outside.

This glance made him click his tongue inadvertently.

"Man…"

This firepower…

Was absolutely brutal!

Within a radius of six hundred meters, at least fifty 130mm rockets had fallen.

The instantaneous delivery of saturating firepower even drew a silent circle in the midst of the roaring flames.

He had intended to pick up Mosquito Coach.

It seemed now that there was no need…

In the air, ace pilots momentarily forgot to dive, and the noisy gunfire on the ground paused in unison for a few seconds.

The world seemed to have hit the pause button, with only the scalding smoke drifting quietly.

At the same time, on the second floor of the department store.

Looking northwards through the reinforced window, Lord Shiya's face was blank, and his companion Bernie, standing beside him, was equally astonished.

The explosion, almost piercing through the eardrums, made him think for a moment that a tactical nuclear bomb had been used.

What kind of opponent were they facing…

Swallowing hard, Bernie comforted the Lord Shiya standing next to him, and himself.

"It's fine... This level of firepower can't last."

"We only have one hundred-man team and two fire points in the south. As long as they weren't all clustered together and got hit directly, at most we'll lose thirty percent… forty percent at most."

The reloading of rocket artillery was incredibly cumbersome; ten seconds of launch and ten minutes of loading were normal, and they were costly. If they could exchange twenty or thirty lives for nearly fifty enemy rockets, it was undoubtedly worth it.

In fact, Bernie's judgment wasn't wrong.

But what he didn't know was that the hundred-man team, sent by Lord Shiya to fight the fire, hadn't dispersed in the ruins but had all rushed to block the lone pilot.

Lacking sufficient radio equipment, they didn't even know that the previous barrage had wiped out one of their platoons...

In the southern part of Qing Shi County.

At the junction of the forest and the urban area.

Standing on a partially collapsed overpass, Chu Guang, wearing powered armor, was overlooking the entire battlefield through two Hummingbird drones.

Fifteen minutes earlier, the First Army Corps and a player-formed vanguard had reached the frontlines, setting up a temporary command post and a radio station, bringing a ten-kilometer radius under their communication range.

At the same time, the Gnome Soldiers Artillery Group's ten self-propelled rocket artillery vehicles had completed their deployment and had delivered a round of saturating firepower onto Qing Shi County.

"Stunning firepower…"

Holding binoculars, Vanus, standing beside him, had surprise written all over his face.

Although he had helped plan the combat, the firepower of the New Alliance's rocket artillery far exceeded his expectations.

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Recognize the fortifications up ahead?"

After pondering for a moment, Vanus said.

"…It looks like the style of the 210,000 people in the Expeditionary Army; they're good at digging trenches, building bridges, and frontline fortifications."

"It seems we're about to meet some old friends soon."

Vanus laughed wryly, without responding to the comment.

"The saturation fire coverage has ended, and the enemy probably hasn't recovered from our bombardment yet," he suggested. "I recommend we proceed to the next step of the plan now."

"That's exactly what I intended."

Idle chatter ended.

Chu Guang stretched out his index finger to lightly tap on the side of his helmet, calling up the holographic screen.

He paused, then issued the order with a calm voice.

"Xiao Qi, update Battle Plan Number 2 on the VM of each army corps!"

A lively voice came through his earpiece.

"Alright, Master!"

As his words fell, Chu Guang grabbed the warhammer hanging behind him, and cleanly pointed it forward under the eager gazes of the surrounding players.

"The fortress of the Chewing Bone Tribe is just ahead, let's go smash their gateway."

"Advance, all forces—forward!"

Unable to contain their excitement, the players responded with shouts that split the skies as they received the attack order.

"For the Alliance!"

"Long live the City of Dawn!"

"Manager is awesome!"

"Demacia!"

"Roar!"

The slogans, neat yet varied, echoed across the battlefield as the battle to liberate Qing Shi County officially commenced.

Under the cover of supporting fire, players followed their respective army corps leaders forward, some even excitedly blowing their homemade bugles.

Before the action began, the command center of the New Alliance had devised Battle Plans 1, 2, and 3 based on intelligence gathered in advance.

These plans detailed the specific steps for each army corps, and the commanders would decide which plan to implement based on the actual situation on the ground.

In the battle, different sizes of army corps would undertake different battlefield tasks, and the scoring rules would be differentiated according to the type of task.

Some teams were responsible for assaulting strategic facilities, others for pushing the front line and capturing points, generally, highly mobile teams were responsible for flanking and envelopment, while teams with strong breakthrough capabilities were tasked with storming positions.

As for the tactical choices of each player under an army corps, those would be decided through consultations between the corps commanders and their squad members.

After so many battles, players capable of serving as corps commanders were highly trusted veteran players.

They knew better than anyone how to maximize the potential of their squads, and the fact that their squad members had been playing with them for many versions was proof of their charisma or organizational skills.

The size of the army corps could determine its upper limit, but whether it could recruit enough members depended on the players' efforts.

Whether by leading their teammates joyfully or paying their real-life salaries, as long as it didn't affect the server rules, Chu Guang wouldn't interfere.

Returning to the front lines.

Located at the edge of the county, the printing factory served as the first line of defense for the Chewing Bone Tribe in the southern part of Qing Shi County and was the first nail in the players' path.

Iron Hand led a hundred-man team ordered to defend that area. They had pre-deployed two 12mm heavy machine guns and two 60mm mortars there and had slaves dig nearly a kilometer of trenches. At the forefront of the trench, they deployed barbed wire and spiked wooden stakes.

In addition, twenty Iron Fist rocket launchers and ten 7mm light machine guns were distributed among the trenches. A frontal assault would undoubtedly be a hard fight. Crossfire raining down from rooftops and trenches would be a nightmare for the infantry.

Of course, Chu Guang wouldn't let the players recklessly rush in and get slaughtered.

Before the assault on the area began, four 100kg air-dropped bombs and twenty-four 100mm howitzer shells had fallen on Iron Hand's hundred-man position.

The first round hadn't even started when Lion Tooth's mortar positions inside the print factory and the heavy machine guns on the roof were promptly annihilated by the New Alliance's long-range firepower.

After a round of firepower coverage, the originally intact concrete factory building was now on the verge of collapse after the relentless bombardment.

However, before the Looters hiding inside could recover from the bombardment, another round of dense mortar shells fell on their heads.

"Damn! Will these people ever stop?"

Spitting out a mouthful of bloody sand, Iron Hand, wearing a baseball helmet, pressed his head tightly against the ground, his heart filled with shock and fear.

Before fleeing to the Chewing Bone Tribe, he had been a boxer in underground fights. Although he had often fought fiercely with others, he had never seen anything like this!

Previously, following Lion Tooth around the central part of River Valley Province to loot and plunder, they occasionally encountered some tough nuts to crack. But those survivors merely pushed out a few homemade cannons or bought some from major forces.

The former had good power but poor accuracy—they looked fierce but hit nothing. The latter, though accurate, would run out of ammunition after firing, usually leaving them staring blankly after one or two charges, enough to rout those unprepared softshells.

Unlike these maniacs...

They threw shells over their heads as if the shells cost nothing while planes circled above their positions, strafing round after round.

Listening to the roaring sound of the gunfire, Iron Hand felt his teeth chatter, his hands trembling uncontrollably as he held his gun.

He was an Awakener.

Yet the power flowing through his veins could not bring him any sense of security!

"Boss! How long till reinforcements arrive?"

"Where's our artillery?"

Our artillery?

Listening to his subordinates' terrified shouts, Iron Hand's face twisted into a miserable, bitter smile.

Although he didn't know the situation behind him, looking at the planes buzzing chaotically above, he could guess with his toes what the state of their artillery positions must be.

Especially after that last round of rocket cover, he had completely given up any hope for supporting fire.

At that moment, the New Alliance's mortar bombardment of their position stopped, but Iron Hand's wildly pounding heart rose to his throat.

He knew what the end of the shelling meant.

Trying to expel the fear from his chest with his voice, Iron Hand, clutching his helmet, let out a hysterical roar.

"Prepare to fight!!"

The mortars launched a round of smoke grenades, and the battlefront was instantly enveloped in thick smoke.

The light machine gunners poked their heads out of the trenches again, but as these Looters disengaged their safeties, ready to fire, they were horrified to see two armored trucks, welded with steel plates, leading the charge out of the smoke.

The light machine guns spat out flames, and bullets pelted the trucks like rain, leaving only egg-sized dents in the steel plates.

Ignoring the barrage of bullets, the trucks slightly veered to the right, exposing their side to the Looters' position.

Immediately, the Looters in the trenches were terrified to see two quadruple anti-aircraft guns standing straight, aimed directly at them.

"Gunner, load high-explosive!"

Leading the infantry following behind, Brother Mole, beaming with excitement, slapped the side of the vehicle, shouting at the player seated at the gun.

"Aim for their machine guns and fire, give it to them!"

Simultaneously, two leveled quadruple anti-aircraft guns unleashed long tongues of flames!

Bang, bang, bang—!

Accompanied by the roaring of machine guns, hundreds of 20mm high-explosive bombs were instantly unleashed above the Looter's heads. The principal shooter next to the light machine gun was killed instantly, the rampant shrapnel and explosive flames turned the serpentine trench into a literal hell.

The man operating the light machine gun, Iron Hand, was blown up on the spot, half his head flying out of the trench. His deputy, squatting next to him, was so frightened that his legs went weak, completely losing his will to fight.

One Looter summoned his courage, bearing the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher trying to retaliate, but the three-hundred-meter distance was just outside his firing range.

New Alliance had replicated the Iron Fist of the Army frequently, even producing several extended versions. They were all too familiar with the specifications of this device.

The rocket, dragging its tail flame, only flew about two hundred and fifty meters before it feebly fell to the ground. Since the terminal fuse did not activate, it didn't even displace a clump of turf.

"Brothers! Charge!"

Seeing the Looter's defensive line begin to collapse, Brother Mole excitedly blew the whistle, leading the charge of the Skeleton Corps under the cover of two quadruple anti-aircraft guns.

Aside from the six vehicle crew members + gunner who did not move, forty-four infantrymen each carried an LD-47 processed engineer shovel.

Only the Gnome King Riches held a modified semi-automatic with an extended barrel, replacing the two-foot tripod with bayonets, charging forward while excitedly shouting "Ula".

Rotating bombardments had already brought the morals of those entrenched in the printing factory to the brink of collapse. With the commander's death and the shrill whistle sounding, they could no longer hold back their fear and ignored the strict orders to hold the line. They abandoned their positions to flee backward.

Of course, Brother Mole wouldn't give them a chance to regroup. The two quadruple anti-aircraft guns crazily strafed the Looters fleeing the trench.

Soon, only severed limbs lay scattered between the trench and the printing factory in the open space; not even a single complete body could be found.

"Surrender your weapons—not... good, hands on your head and squat."

As Elena jumped into the trench and raised her gun to aim at a Looter, she saw that he had already dropped his weapon. She refrained from firing and instead signaled for him to put his hands on his head and squat.

Capturing prisoners scored higher than killing.

The scores were equivalent to Contribution Points and money.

Their mission was to capture the printing factory, which had now been accomplished. There was no need to waste bullets unnecessarily.

Not far away, Brother Mole had already led people into the factory building, and the battle was nearing its end.

Only then did Elena notice that the soil in the trench beneath her feet had been moistened into mud by blood. She was stepping on half of a corpse, its shape unrecognizable.

"Hisss... this is too bloody." Elena couldn't help but smack her lips.

Before they had even approached, the three teams of ten stationed there couldn't even muster up one full team.

At that moment, Gnome King Riches limped into the trench, swearing.

"Damn it, I didn't even fire a single shot and it's over. I also caught one in the leg, wonder which bastard did it!"

Saying this, he glared at the prisoner.

"Was it you?"

The prisoner trembled fiercely, unable to understand what was said and dared not speak out, only burying his head even lower.

Gnome King Riches didn't trouble a surrendered prisoner, pulling out a bandage from his bag to give himself a quick patch-up.

"The battle seems about to end." Elena looked towards the north side of the trench, where the town lay.

Edge's Death Legion had already launched a charge, engaging in street fighting with Looters positioned in the abandoned residential area.

Heavy exoskeletons couldn't be utilized due to the narrow terrains, their "half-open armored vehicles" also couldn't enter the ruins, so the clean-up task was left to the light infantry.

From the intense gunfire, it was evident how fierce the fighting was over there. Looters hiding in stairwells and alleyways were like trapped beasts, finding and dispatching them all was no easy task.

However, Elena wasn't worried about them.

As one of the few Level 10 Corps of the New Alliance, the Death Legion had a combat power that was definitely T1 level, featuring many high-ranking players from the full server.

The reason why the team seemed a bit bloated was mainly to accommodate the newcomers who wanted to follow the group, hence they had chosen the most "cost-effective" human sea assault approach.

The regulations of different corps varied, some only recruited acquaintances, some only accepted Strength Types or Awakeners, while others didn't care about the sequence or level, as long as everyone was having fun.

The Death Legion belonged to the latter; besides requiring members not to fear death and to follow commands during an attack, there were no other demands, and members were free to come and go outside of battles.

At this moment, Brother Mole, covered in mud and blood and holding an assault rifle, approached, his face beaming with excitement from the direction of the printing house.

"…The printing house has been taken! The new task is to reorganize on-site while keeping a watchful eye on the southern gate leading to Qing Shi County for our allies!"

King Riches of the Gnomes, who had just bandaged his thigh, asked excitedly.

"Have the war scores come out yet?"

"Not that fast, every battle is settled a day later," Brother Mole, sitting at the edge of the trench, gasped for air and continued with a he-he laugh, "but I feel this time the MVP is definitely secured!"

In less than five minutes, they had taken the first line of defense, fifty people had completely wiped out a hundred-member squadron and even captured twelve!

And not a single player had fallen!

It was simply textbook "infantry and tank coordination" tactic, no wonder he had his team practice digging trenches in the North Suburb so many times!

If even this didn't earn them the MVP, it would only mean that the allies had messed something up.

While the three were chatting and slacking off, those muscular brutes in shiny green armor, led by Midnight Killing Chicken, had also pushed into the urban area.

According to battle plan number 2, if the airstrikes and artillery bombardment didn't cause the department center to collapse, the command post's blitz mission was to be jointly undertaken by the Jungle Corps and the Storm Corps.

As for the Burning Corps, they should have already inserted into the southern part of the battlefield by now, guarding against enemy reinforcements and cutting off Lord Lion Tooth's thousand-team's retreat.

Those guys were the real tough ones, some of the highest combat power holders in the server were among them, and even when faced with encirclement from enemy reinforcements and Lord Lion Tooth's thousand team, they were confident enough to handle it calmly.

However, Brother Mole estimated they likely wouldn't encounter any reinforcements.

There were twenty kilometers from the northernmost part of Qingshi County to West State City, and even if the enemy quickly reacted, assembling reinforcements would take time.

A mere thousand troops obviously couldn't hold out that long.

"…The Jungle Corps has started advancing, it looks like the second line of defense has been taken by the Death Legion," Brother Mole glanced at his VM, noting that the advance was nearly half an hour ahead of schedule.

King Riches of the Gnomes looked up at the sky.

"Speaking of which, our planes are beginning to return."

Elena remarked with a nuanced expression.

"Can they land safely?"

"Haha, I doubt it!"

Just when people from the Skeleton Corps had completed all their tasks, the Jungle Corps and Storm Corps deeply inside the city had already engaged the enemy.

The two teams split into two different directions of attack and launched fierce attacks on the Looter's position in a pincer movement.

"Madness! Complete madness!"

Standing at the very frontline of the battlefield, wearing a KV-1 Exoskeleton, Midnight Killing Chicken carried an LD-47j light machine gun in his hand, excitedly shouting as he pushed forward while furiously firing at Looters behind the roadblock.

Side by side with him were the Strength Type creatures, one by one in the same style as their corps leader, spraying bullets as if they cost nothing.

The players in the back, also wearing exoskeletons, dismounted the shoulder armor and arm guards and hung them in front of their chests, throwing grenades over the human wall, blasting the Looters suppressed behind covers into the air.

In fact, bullets really cost nothing; they only affected the battle rating.

But was that even a problem for Brother Killing Chicken?

He and his comrades never really cared about such things.

All they wanted was to have fun!

On the other hand, the Storm Corps was making smooth progress as well.

Under the command of Brother Quanshui, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, led by I Max Black, who belonged to the Perception Type, stormed ahead and broke through an entire hundred-man team of Looters.

Beaten back step by step, the Looters were forced to release their trump card, a Mutant Brown Bear that had not yet been tamed with the Mind Interference Device.

However, before the brown bear could even let out a roar, it was pinned against the wall by a gigantic White Bear clad in heavy steel armor.

"Roar—!"

Meat Meat, who had pinned the Mutant Brown Bear to the wall, roared at its face, though he still seemed a bit hesitant and uneasy.

The pinned brown bear, likely confused as to why this creature was white and wearing armor, simply froze and didn't resist further.

Meat Meat looked anxiously at his teammates.

"What do I do next?!"

Tail stepped closer to the big bear pressed against the wall, stroked his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds, and then suddenly said,

"It might be in love with you."

Meat Meat nearly choked on his own spit.

"Pff! How is that possible! How did you come up with such a weird conclusion!"

Tail: "Doesn't it seem plausible?"

Sesame Paste wore a bemused expression,

"It seems like there's a logical gap everywhere…"

"Emmm… Anyway, it has surrendered. We don't kill prisoners of war," Sisi contemplated the tamed brown bear for a moment and nodded, "Decided, it will now be the second mount for the Meat Meat Knights!"

Meat Meat: "Wait, what is Meat Meat Knights?! And why is there suddenly a brown bear added when it was supposed to be the White Bear Knights?!"

Sesame Paste: "Huh? I thought the logical gap was about the mount."

Sisi subtly averted her gaze.

"After all, white bears are so rare here..."

Tail completely changed the subject and excitedly gave a thumbs-up,

"Wow! Meat Meat, well done! Capturing a big guy, let's see who still calls us just the Atmosphere Group!"

Although registered with the Merchant Guild as the White Bear Knights, it had nothing to do with the concept of knights or corps.

But that wasn't important.

Long ago, Tail and Sisi had already been mixing in Brother Quanshui's team, and had straightforwardly dragged Sesame Paste and Meat Meat into the fray too.

The three wore Light Cavalry Exoskeletons worth ten thousand silver coins, and Meat Meat's gear was also purchased with money earned from past trading.

Even though the gear was bought with their own money, it didn't stop Tail from leading the charge at the forefront.

Not far away.

The Battlefield veterans had already stormed into a department store, where gunfire erupted frequently, occasionally accompanied by grenades exploding.

The battle seemed fiercely intense.

Shiya didn't surrender and continued resisting stubbornly with his Personal Body Guard. However, as the gunfire neared deeper inside, that so-called resistance was clearly a dying struggle.

Soon, the Jungle Corps, launching an offense along the main street, had also successfully crushed the Looters' defenses along the highway, chasing the fleeing troops right to the base of the building.

The Jungle Corps successfully rendezvoused with the Storm Corps.

After negotiation between the two corps leaders, they decided to dispatch a ten-man team from the Jungle Corps into the building for support, while the rest guarded the building's various entrances and exits.

Limited space inside meant limited troops could be deployed.

This game's collision volume was extremely realistic; there was no such thing as clipping through models.

Firing with gun barrels passing through teammates wasn't possible here; crowding too many people in one spot would only be a hindrance.

"...it looks like the battle is over."

In the southern part of Qingshi County, beside road wreckage.

Accessing cameras worn by players from his console, Chu Guang switched to the first-person view of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, watching as this veteran kicked open the tightly shut iron door and led the charge into Shiya's hideout, pinning a group of Looter leaders against tables and walls.

"Nobody move!"

"Hands on your heads!"

The video was noisy.

The signal inside the building was poor, causing frequent image freezing and severe shaking.

However, it didn't stop Chu Guang from enjoying the defeated and resigned expressions on the Looters' faces.

After this battle, the route from Qingquan City to West State City would be completely open, with nothing more to impede his advance.

The New Alliance's railway, along with the supply convoy, would soon reach the frontline. As the continuous supplies arrived from the rear, he would use heavy artillery to show the Chew-bone Tribe Looters where they really belonged.

"Three hours ahead of the battle plan... Your residents' combat power is simply unbelievable."

Vanus couldn't help but express his genuine surprise after viewing the images Chu Guang shared on VM.

Even a military formed by reserve officers might not do better than them.

Perhaps next time he draws up a battle plan, he can consider some more aggressive strategies to maximize their strengths.

Looking up at the sky, Vanus continued,

"We've ended the campaign before noon, and the headquarters of the Ya Clan in West State City probably hasn't received the news yet."

"That's perfect."

Chu Guang smiled lightly,

"We can push the front line another ten kilometers forward."

The copper mines lay to the west of Qing Shi County, inside United Human's Geological Park. To ensure stable production, maintaining the front line at the northern part of Qing Shi County wasn't enough; they needed to push further.

He had studied the map. Ten kilometers north of Qing Shi County was a mountain hollow, perfectly suitable for establishing defenses on the high ground to the south.

Vanus hesitated,

"Isn't this too aggressive? If their response is swift enough, they might not leave us much time to dig fortifications."

Chu Guang shook his head, speaking casually,

"That's exactly what we need to catch them off guard!"

Chapter 309: Cleaning the Battlefield and Ambush

"What's that sound?"

"You heard it too?"

"Sounds like something exploded."

"And not just one!"

About twenty kilometers away.

Iron Teeth had just left West State City, leading five hundred reinforcements towards Qing Shi County. However, they hadn't gone far when they heard a faint rumbling from the south.

The noise echoed in the valley like rolling thunder, earth-shattering, even the soil beneath his feet seemed to tremble under the force of the thunder.

The Looters following behind Iron Teeth began whispering among themselves, quietly speculating about the source of the sound.

Iron Teeth's expression shifted slightly.

Sensing something was amiss, he immediately crouched down and pressed his ear to the ground, listening intently. His expression grew darker and darker.

Cannon fire!

They must be fighting up ahead!

Iron Teeth was surprised, and it was inconceivable to him that the survivors from the North Suburb of Qingquan had dared to leave the enclosing wall and come to Qing Shi County to provoke them.

But now was not the time to think about that.

He had to rush back immediately and give his boss a hand!

With that thought, Iron Teeth rose quietly from the ground without alarming anyone. He then turned to the group of Looters armed with rifles and shouted.

"Everyone, quicken your pace!"

"We need to reach Qing Shi County before noon!"

"Run! Hurry!"

...

North of Qing Shi County.

The roadblocks and walls had been charred black, and since there was nothing left to burn, the fire started to die down.

The Looters at the southern defense line fled northward in panic, unaware that the Burning Corps had already flanked them from behind, with a hundred players lying in wait.

As the Looters appeared in sight, close to a hundred players ambushed on both sides of the street opened fire simultaneously—the crisscrossing bullets created a deadly rain across the street.

There was absolutely nowhere to hide.

In just a few breaths, hundreds of bodies lay on the ground.

Seeing that resistance was futile, the remaining Looters completely lost their will to fight. They either dropped their weapons and surrendered or turned to flee into the shadows beneath the wreckage.

They clearly couldn't escape.

In the alley behind them, a Lizard, clawing at the steel with its claws, waited for them...

The battle was over.

Fang Chang had captured a prisoner, and after asking a few quick questions in the substandard language of United Human, he learned that they had blocked two hundred-man squads.

But now, only about twenty or so were still alive...

He ordered the prisoners to cover their heads and face the wall in a line. Fang Chang unlatched the mask of his Exoskeleton Helmet and walked towards Old White, speaking as he moved.

"…Twenty-three in total, and some are hiding in the residential buildings in the urban district, not sure exactly where. They're probably planning to guerrilla fight us, or maybe looking for a chance to escape."

Old White smirked.

"They can't hide. Leave it to the Perception guys."

Night Ten, shouldering a sniper rifle, complained.

"I only feel useful at times like this."

The friendly forces on the front line were too aggressive; the escaping Looters were practically running right into their gunfire, rendering his sniper rifle almost useless. The number of kills in this battle was probably even lower than that of Wild Wind of the Intelligence type.

"Don't say that," Old White laughed and patted Night Ten on the shoulder, "We've got something big for you to handle in a bit."

At the mention of a big task, Night Ten immediately perked up.

"What is it?"

Old White: "Our Mosquito Brother is still alive, but he seems to be buried. The Manager asked us to go see if we can still save him."

If they can't save him, then they'll finish the job.

Better dead early to reset the cooldown.

When Night Ten heard Mosquito was still alive, he was stunned.

"Holy shit! Is that guy seriously that tough?"

The Lizard standing beside him chuckled and slapped his arm.

"Let's go and find out."

One could only imagine how wretched Mosquito Brother looked now.

He couldn't wait to see that bearish appearance.

During the battle, the VM would show the positions of friendly forces; even if it entered an area with poor signal, it would mark the last known coordinates of the players on the map.

Once the approximate location was determined, handling the rest was easier.

As the player with the highest perception across the server, Night Ten quickly found where Mosquito was buried.

Two concrete blocks, each as tall as a man, had perfectly formed a triangle that shielded Mosquito from the falling debris.

His luck was genuinely impressive; almost no intact walls were left on either side of the alley, but he who hid within had survived.

Dressed in the Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton, Old White, and the garbage-clad Iron Clad moved forward, clamped onto the several-ton concrete block, and violently heaved, lifting it slightly.

Large chunks of rubble rolled out through the gap.

Old White's other hand reached for Mosquito, who was buried under the debris, and pulled him out before he could be buried alive by the small stones.

"Damn... you guys finally came. I was shaking people up on the forum for ages, not even a ghost showed up." With his right hand on the wall, Mosquito, barely surviving the ordeal, didn't care about the mud and sand on his body and greedily breathed in the fresh air.

But soon, he was choked by the sand in his mouth.

Listening to his complaints, Old White laughed and patted his back.

"Alright, just be secretly happy you're still alive. Trying to shake people up on the forum at this time, you'd have a ghost if anyone actually came!"

Standing at the entrance of the alley, Night Ten approached and couldn't help but tease Mosquito.

"I thought you bragged about how smoothly you pilot airplanes. So how did you crash?"

Mosquito sighed, "Ah, no choice! Horses stumble, and people make mistakes. But your nose sure is sharp; it even dug me out."

Hearing that Mosquito Brother not only wasn't thankful for saving him a Resurrection Coin but was even teasing his rescuer, Night Ten immediately cheekily retorted.

"Of course! My dog nose is especially accurate at smelling out crap."

Garbage Junior couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, clutching his stomach from the laughter, although his hoarse laugh sounded worse than crying,

Fang Chang turned away his eyes in pain, and Wild Wind coughed from behind.

"…You two should stop hurting each other."

"Damn, your mouth is really poisonous."

Mosquito grit his teeth for a while, then looked at Old White.

"How's the battle going?"

Old White asked with a smile.

"It's over. The Skeleton Corps took over the printing factory first, the Death Legion cleared the second line of defense, the Jungle Corps and Storm Corps met at the enemy's headquarters. Leaders like Lion Tooth and the other Raiders were all captured alive, leaving only a few scattered soldiers hiding in the ruins of the county town, unable to hold out much longer. The NPC Legion has entered the battlefield and is currently tallying the spoils."

While they were talking, the signal light inside the helmet flickered, and Old White lifted his arm to check the VM and saw a new mission update on the screen.

[ Mission: Meet up with the allied forces at the city exit highway (Distance: 271m), head to the southern highlands of Pine Forest Gully in the north of Qing Shi County (Distance: 9.7km300m), and establish a defense line to intercept the reinforcements of the Chewing Bone Tribe.]

[Available reinforcements: 2 light trucks, ammunition...]

With a serious expression, Old White immediately opened the communication channel and started rallying the Burning Corps warriors.

"Attention all members, the mission has been updated in your task bars, everyone head to the map pinpoint location to assemble. We leave in three minutes!"

Hearing Old White's words, Mosquito suddenly perked up.

"Is there work?"

Night Ten rolled his eyes, "What's it to you? You're not even in our corps."

Mosquito responded with a cheeky smile.

"That's not how you should put it, the saying goes 'once a father...' I mean I've been with the corps, so I'm one of you. Be a good brother and take me along, can't I be a war correspondent?"

Without further ado, Old White casually tossed him a Ripper Rifle he had picked up.

"Depart in three minutes, pick the bullets from next door yourself and return them to the supply station afterwards."

Mosquito, taking the rifle, pulled the bolt and checked the mechanism, finding it still usable, he excitedly said.

"Alright!"

Although he wasn't officially in the corps and couldn't receive the mission, Brother Mosquito clearly didn't mind.

Playing the game,
it's all about having fun.

The support unit they were to rendezvous with was a small LV3 corps called the Sterling Silver Corps, with a maximum capacity of 30 people, but they've only recruited 20.

Approaching Old White, Silver Sword gave an exaggerated military salute.

"Twenty privates from the Sterling Silver Corps reporting for duty!"

Mosquito, surprised to see them, exclaimed,

"Hey, it's you guys?"

Standing by, Silver Hand, somewhat embarrassed, chuckled.

"Hey, hey, good to see you again."

Fang Chang looked at their IDs on the VM and couldn't help but tease, "You're really fixated on 'silver,' aren't you?"

Silver Daddy sighed.

"No choice, we actually wanted to call it the 'Old Daddy Corps' initially... but the name didn't pass the verification."

Fang Chang: "..."

Wild Wind: "..."

Good grief.

If they had really gone with that name, 50% of the casualties would probably have been from friendly fire.

Mosquito laughed and patted the newcomer's shoulder.

"Not bad, not bad, quite ambitious! I've got you covered from now on!"

"Alright, enough talking, now that everyone's here, let's get moving," Old White looked over at Silver Sword and continued, "According to the mission assigned by HQ, we need to go ten kilometers away to establish a defensive line to intercept the enemy forces, the trench digging work... you guys all good?"

"Don't worry, brother," Silver Sword drew out an Engineer Shovel, beaming with enthusiasm, "Mixing it up—oops, I mean, digging is our specialty!"

Old White: "..."

Meanwhile,

Near Qing Shi County's department store building.

As the battle had concluded, except for players assigned to patrol should go and check in at the checkpoint, the majority of players were relaxing.

Midnight Chicken Killing was fiddling with a double-barreled shotgun he had snatched from a Raider, considering whether to auction it later as a collector's item.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was posting with the prisoners, asking I Max Black to help take their photos. The latter, clearly impatient, was rolling his eyes.

Brother Quanshui, captain of the Storm Corps, was asking each member about remaining ammunition, tallying the consumption and quietly calculating scores.

Aside from some dedicated grinders, ordinary people hardly understood this enjoyment, but Quanshui always seemed tirelessly enthusiastic about it.

And Tail?

He was currently lying in Si Si's arms.

"Woo woo woo, Si! It's ignoring me!"

Gently stroking Tail's head, Si Si comforted him in a coddling tone.

"Oh... well, it prefers Meat Meat."

"What the hell! Hey, you, scoot over a bit, stop nudging me with your nose!" Meat Meat pushed away the bear's nose with her paws, trying to shoo it away.

Seeing the rejection, the bear looked woefully dejected as it crawled aside, but within seconds, it sneakily crept back.

Its behavior was just like that of a bootlicker.

Oh no, it should be a bear licker!

Unable to watch any further, Si Si sighed, "Speaking of which, Meat Meat, look at how pitiful it is, why not... just keep it?"

Meat Meat crossed her arms and vehemently shook her head.

"NO! I refuse!"

With the cat ears on her head gently moving, Sesame Paste suddenly had an idea, her eyes lighting up,

"Come to think of it, we haven't named it yet."

As soon as the topic of naming came up, Tail immediately crawled out of Si Si's arms, excitedly raising his hand.

"How about 'Xiao Hei'?"

Si Si responded with a nuanced expression.

"It's a brown bear… not black at all."

Considering it only looked black because it was dirty from being confined for a long time, a clean-up by the river might actually make it look pretty good.

Sesame Paste tilted her head.

"Then… how about 'Big Brown'?"

Si Si sighed.

"That sounds even weirder."

As expected, expecting these lovely teammates to come up with a normal and pleasant name was too difficult.

Unfortunately, the game didn't even have a function for generating random names.

"How about... Teddy?"

Eventually,

Everyone unanimously agreed with the name Si Si had chosen. Teddy bear was also brown, and although this one seemed a bit "larger," it was close enough.

And Meat Meat hoped that by naming it, it would become a bit more gentlemanly and not constantly lick its fur with its tongue.

To avoid harming others, especially the irreversible damage to NPCs, Tail planned to buy a psychic interference collar for it upon return.

Although the NPC store was out of stock, there were surely some among the spoils of war they had obtained.

If not, they could still collect from other players who had purchased one before.

The only regret was that the mental connection required the intelligence attribute, and there were no intelligence-type players in the group, so taming this thing would probably require the help of Teng Teng or Brother Quanshui.

"I'm really jealous," looking at the brown bear being petted in turns, I Max Black said enviously.

Damnit!

He also wanted to be affectionate with girls.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group chuckled and hooked his shoulder.

"What, you also want to find a bear? Brother will help you."

"Get lost!"

Not far away, at the entrance of a department store building.

Two muscle-bound men, dressed in KV-1 exoskeletons, were escorting Lion Tooth, who was tightly bound, out of the building—one on each side.

Their two-meter height and hundred kilograms of weight made them as imposing as bears, but now they looked like dead dogs being chased.

He had been shot twice in the chest, and his head was wrapped in a bandage, his fierce face expressionless. Even while being subdued, he was not well-behaved, his eyes constantly scouring left and right for a chance to escape.

However, with two strength-type players watching him, finding such an opportunity would indeed be a stroke of luck. Though a leader of a thousand and an Awakener, he was just a bandit leader after all.

Upon seeing the azure power armor appear before him, despair flashed across Lion Tooth's eyes. Guessing his fate, his expression became resigned.

Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"So, you are Lion Tooth."

Lion Tooth squinted.

"And you are Chu Guang."

Seeing that arrogant yet powerless attitude, Lu Bei, standing beside Chu Guang, clenched the rifle in his hands, but Chu Guang raised his hand to stop him.

Watching Lion Tooth, Chu Guang spoke calmly,

"You will be judged and then receive the punishment you deserve."

Judgment?

Lion Tooth smirked coldly at the corner of his mouth.

These self-proclaimed civilized folks just wanted to humiliate him in their so-called court. He was all too aware of the survivors' methods.

"Suit yourself, but old man has lived merrily enough for half a life anyway."

Chu Guang nodded.

Good.

If that's the case, you presumably will have no grievances when you are hung from the city gates.

Surrendering before the battle may spare one's life; resistance will not be forgiven. This was the rule he had set after the establishment of the New Alliance, but it only applied to those insignificant minions.

After all, they could still claim they were compelled by circumstances or coerced by others, and the New Alliance needed prisoners as labor to do the dirty and tiring work that ordinary people were unwilling to do.

But for someone like Lion Tooth, a leader of a thousand, there was no excuse for absolution.

As the "chief" of the Looter, the only way to survive was to have a sudden change of heart before the battle began and surrender with his troops.

As for now?

It's too late to say anything.

Chu Guang looked at the guard dressed in the exoskeleton and issued an order.

"Take him away."

The guard placed his right fist on his chest to acknowledge the command.

"Yes!"

Lion Tooth clearly knew his end was near; he threw back his head and laughed loudly a few times. However, after taking a few punches, he quickly quieted down.

After settling the tasks of two Strength-type players, Chu Guang, along with Lu Bei and the remaining thirty guards, headed to the point marked with shackles on the VM map.

Before the war, the location had been a middle school with a 2000-square-meter temporary shelter underground, but now, it had turned into a dungeon where the Lion Tooth Tribe detained slaves.

For the Chewing Bone Tribe, slaves were both a food reserve and a labor force; they kept the strong and fertile ones and left the fate of the others to whim.

Chu Guang firmly grasped the door lock with his thick gloves, exerted a gentle force, and the lock twisted like a pretzel and then snapped into several pieces.

Tossing the broken lock aside, Chu Guang pushed open the rusty iron door. Before he even entered, a stench of rot and decay hit him in the face.

In the darkness, pairs of lifeless eyes looked towards him standing at the entrance of the dungeon.

Behind the rows of iron bars were men, women, and even children—old people were notably absent, presumably having been disposed of.

Most of the prisoners were naked, with many wearing only a piece of tattered cloth; scars crawling across their exposed skin like centipedes.

Some even had their arms and legs amputated, lying motionless on the ground, dead or alive unknown.

It was unimaginable what inhuman tortures they had endured.

The faces of the slaves, met with the sudden intruder, showed neither panic nor joy; their expressions were numb and blank.

Chu Guang scanned the room until his gaze finally settled on one person.

There were no whip marks on his body, only an assortment of bizarre tattoos.

The sight of the power armor staring directly at him sparked panic in the man's eyes. Unable to bear the fear, he pulled out a hand grenade from beneath some straw and, screaming, charged to die together with his captors.

"Ah, ah, ah! I'm going down with you!"

However, fast as he was, he was no match for the guards personally selected by Chu Guang.

As he rose, bullet holes burst open in his forehead and chest in an instant, and the pulled hand grenade fell from his hands.

"Sir, be careful!"

Lu Bei was taken aback and moved to shield his superior, only to find the Manager had already grabbed the grenade with faster reflexes.

He then squeezed hard.

The grenade, the size of a soda can, crumpled like a plastic bottle with its cap popped, in the iron grip of that powerful hand.

The crushed grenade went off with a dull thud, like a firecracker not fully ignited.

Watching some sparks leaking between his fingers, Chu Guang casually shook his hand, flicking off the debris and scrap metal as if dusting off ash.

Silence fell in the dungeon.

Including Lu Bei, all the guards were stunned by the scene.

Except for a few who had been with Chu Guang for a while, most of the guard soldiers were witnessing their superior's prowess for the first time.

Although part of it was due to the equipment, the courage and audacity to simply pick up and "snuff out" a grenade were beyond what ordinary people could compare...

Chu Guang, however, paid no mind to the worshipful gazes and instructed,

"... This guy must be in charge of the dungeon. Later on, pay attention to anyone without injuries – then let the others identify them."

Thinking of escaping punishment by hiding among the slaves?

Huh.

Do you think I'm blind?

"Yes, sir."

Lu Bei glanced around the dungeon at the slaves, his eyes burning with rage while he unconsciously clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"These beasts..."

The inhumane scene before him reminded him of his own experiences in the Blood Hand Clan dungeon.

Those memories were like hell...

Chu Guang looked at the young man but offered no words of comfort.

The war between the New Alliance and the Chewing Bone Tribe had just begun, and the maggots residing in the United Human corpses were not limited to the Chewing Bones.

The tragedy that occurred on their homeworld was merely the tip of the iceberg.

He would see much more brutal events in the future.

After a pause, Chu Guang slowly continued speaking.

"Besides that, I need you to tally up the number of people rescued, their names, and where they come from... if they can still remember. If you can't figure it out, don't force it, use a numbering system temporarily."

"In a while, I'll provide you with fifty trucks, and you will be responsible for taking these people to the north of Dawn City. The rest will be left to Old Luka, who will take care of settling these poor souls."

"After you've finished this task, I need you to pull fifty truckloads of building materials from the warehouse. The specific list will be sent to your VM later, and the logistical staff will be waiting for you at the northern warehouse."

"The war has just started. We need to rebuild the defense line in the north of Qingstone County to prepare for the counterattack of the Chewing Bone Tribe."

They had only wiped out one 'thousand team'.

The Looters stationed in West State City numbered in the tens of thousands, each equipped with machine guns and artillery, and possibly even more sophisticated gear obtained from the Army.

Only solid defense lines and reliable logistics can help the New Alliance win the entire war. When it comes to attrition and endurance, no one can rival the "players."

Lu Bei saluted with his right fist to his chest, taking command solemnly.

"Yes!"

He handed over the situation here to the Guards Corps.

Chu Guang then contacted Heya, who was currently investigating the lair samples in the medical lab, through Xiao Qi. He ordered her to swiftly lead a medical team from the south of Dawn City to set up a temporary makeshift disease control center at the Home of the Refugees in the north.

Though reluctant to leave the lab, Heya understood the urgency and rolled her eyes as she left the bunker under Xiao Qi's urging.

The sanitation in the dungeon was poor.

At least five hundred people were crammed into a 2000-square-meter space.

Considering the health of these slaves, poor handling could likely trigger a flu or even a more severe epidemic.

Fortunately, Dawn City's reserves of medicine were still adequate, and with Heya, an accomplished biology expert, simple disease control was trivial for her.

At noon.

The Second Corps, led by Liuding, arrived near the Qingstone County First Middle School, accompanying them were fifty trucks filled with ammunition, supplies, and mining equipment.

The mining operation for copper would commence within two days.

A life-professional player with experience in geological exploration had already been dispatched by the exploration team, accompanied by two NPC soldiers, to the nearby People's Geological Park for field surveys.

Since the mine was partially excavated and the geological park maintained the old mining equipment from the early days of United Human, identifying the exact location of the ore veins would not be difficult.

As equipment and manpower arrived, production would soon resume.

With the help of fifty strength-type newcomers, the 120 soldiers of the Second Corps quickly finished unloading the supplies from the trucks.

The trucks and drivers were then handed over to the Guards Corps. Led by Lu Bei with 20 Guards and 671 rescued survivors, they headed toward the north of Dawn City.

Considering that the ongoing war would likely result in more survivors being liberated.

After some thought, on Luka's suggestion, Chu Guang decided to establish a temporary settlement point at the front lines in Qingstone County.

The location was tentatively set in the department store previously occupied by Lion Tooth.

The lobby of the department store was spacious enough, and the walls, reinforced with a large amount of steel, withstood the bombing of a 100kg aerial bomb, making it quite safe.

The second and third floors could be transformed into temporary save points, facilitating the combat professional players to log in and out and save their progress.

Not far from the department store was an underground parking garage.

Here lay the equipment and supplies seized from the Looters.

After completing the inventory of the supplies, Liuding walked up to Chu Guang and saluted him before reporting loudly.

"Inventory of seized supplies complete! Light weapons include 811 bolt-action rifles, 312 automatic rifles, 377 submachine guns, 27 light and heavy machine guns, 37 tons of ammunition, and a number of hand grenades and mortar shells."

"As for vehicles, the armies have seized a total of 12 transport trucks, 5 machine gun pickups, and 1200 liters of fuel."

"In terms of food, we've seized nearly a thousand tons of green wheat and goat horn potatoes, along with 300 cubic meters of nutrient paste and a large amount of unidentified dried meat."

"Additionally, there are nearly 300 cubic meters of cement and 400 cubic meters of sand, along with a large amount of steel reinforcement, which appears to be newly produced."

Hearing this, a trace of surprise appeared on Chu Guang's face.

Well, well.

They planned to repair the Turtle Shell thoroughly.

But to be fair, with the Looters' level of architectural skill, managing to construct fortifications like this was already commendable.

According to the intelligence gathered by Difficult for the Strong, there are numerous water tanks and wells scattered around Qingstone County, the ammunition depots are connected by clear roads, and the defensive works and roadblocks do not interfere with each other.

Typical Looters might just dig mines or build earthen walls, not caring much about where or how to dig.

It's no wonder that this army could dominate a part of the Western Province of the Central Continent when even a few crippled deserters could guide the Looters to this extent.

Chu Guang made a mental note of these details, then turned his attention to Liuding standing nearby.

"The construction of the frontline fortifications will be handled by your Second Corps. I will provide you with an additional 200 manpower. Make sure the Northern Defense Area is completed within 48 hours."

"Yes!" Liuding bowed with his fists, and immediately summoned his subordinates to get to work.

It was now one o'clock in the afternoon.

Chu Guang estimated that even if the Looters of the Chewing Bone Tribe were foolish, they should have reacted by now.

Given the organizational level and discipline of the Looters, it was nearly impossible for an army of ten thousand to assemble in just one day.

Even with ready ammunition and weapons, it took time to move them from the warehouse and distribute them to the soldiers.

Rushing forward without any preparation, blindly charging forward, is called rush in the Game, but in reality, it was like lining up to be slaughtered.

Chu Guang could even boldly speculate that the Ya Clan stationed in West State City likely never expected the New Alliance to launch a brigade-level offensive in the early days of April, a time for spring farming, and managed to take the southern gate of West State City in less than a morning.

"We have at least 72 hours..."

Staring at the holographic map displayed inside his helmet, Chu Guang pondered while locking his gaze about ten kilometers to the north of Qingstone County, in the Pine forest valley.

The markers for one large and one small corps had already arrived at the coordinates he had set half an hour ago; they should now be digging trenches along the contour lines.

This place was the midpoint between Qingstone County and the West State City district, with the dense vegetation of the flanking mountains, the valley between them seemed like a gateway to Hell.

If an artillery position were set up here, the range of 100mm artillery would be just enough to cover the Southern Urban District of West State City.

"... if we can hold the Chewing Bone Tribe at Pine Forest Valley for three days, we can stabilize the front at the north of Qingstone County."

"If we can hold out until the seventh day, we could push the artillery right into the faces of the Ya Clan!"

Just then, the two corps' icons on the map subtly flashed red and simultaneously popped up the [Enemy Contact] icon.

Subsequently, a marker for an unknown number of troops appeared on the map.

The Burning Corps, currently setting up defenses at the front, had spotted the enemy, but no engagement had occurred yet, indicating that the enemy was likely unaware of their presence.

Chu Guang furrowed his brow slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Reinforcements from the Ya Clan?

"So soon?"

Chapter 310: Achieving Fame through a Single Battle!

North of Qingstone County.

A remote wilderness far from the urban district saw a group of about a hundred people hurriedly making their way northward.

The mountain road to the north was exceptionally rugged, with terrain that rose and fell, and the path was littered everywhere with debris of rock and concrete, with only the remnants of a highway that could barely be recognized.

Barely two kilometers out of the county town, this pockmarked concrete remnant twisted away towards a mountain path.

The players did not follow the highway but moved in a straight line.

Since most of the trade routes through the River Valley Province ran from the Eastern Provinces to the Western Provinces, this mountain trail was hardly traveled, and the journey was flanked by lush vegetation with birds and beasts darting through the woods.

In the midst of heading towards their mission destination, the group encountered three multilegged beasts.

These writhing creatures, with tentacles thrashing about, were like chunks of flesh roughly stitched together, their slimy, rotting skin making them resemble mounds of sludge from a distance.

If they didn't open their mouthful of sharp teeth, few would remember that these creatures could devour an entire double-headed cow.

To prevent gunfire from revealing their position, orders were given for all to disable their safeties. Upon the discovery of the two multilegged beasts, Bow and Arrow, under guidance, shot them down one by one with arrows.

The journey was delayed a bit, and by the time the Burning Corps and the Silver Corps arrived at their mission target, the sun was already high in the sky.

It was now one o'clock in the afternoon.

Over the gentle slope ahead, one could see the valley stretching between two hill slopes.

This was Pine Forest Pass.

It was said that in the early days of the Prosperity Epoch, this place had been a barren land.

Later, with the breakthrough in controllable nuclear fusion technology, the Human Alliance overcame the bottleneck in energy supply. With excess funds and nowhere to spend them, large-scale landscape transformation projects were approved to stimulate the economy and protect the environment, resulting in the growth of vast pine forests on this land.

But now, there were no traces of human habitation to be seen.

"...This is tough ground to dig through."

Prodding the ground with an engineer shovel, Silver Sword looked at the turf before him with an expression of vexation.

The location was good, but there were too many shrubs and bushes on the slope, and further down there was a large pine forest.

Digging trenches wasn't as simple as just scraping out a couple of ditches; the depth and width had to be just right, and even the shape needed attention. Otherwise, the finished trench would become a target for the artillery, and those crouching inside could either be shredded by shrapnel or killed by the concussion wave.

Walking beside him, Night Ten couldn't help but add,

"...Setting up defenses here will make transporting supplies difficult, and we've encountered more variants on the way here than at Far Creek Town."

"No matter how difficult it is, this is the best location. We have the terrain, and we have the visibility..."

Standing on the slope, Old White took a look around with binoculars, determined the starting and ending points of the trench to be dug, and then turned to Silver Sword, who was leading the team.

"Do your best to dig. Our people will help as well."

After speaking, Old White turned to Night Ten.

"I'm counting on you for reconnaissance."

Guessing that Old White would send him out to be the lookout, Night Ten conscientiously shouldered his sniper rifle.

"Ah, with my perception abilities, this is indeed the work I'm tasked with... Wild Wind, come with me for a bit; it's too boring to sit in a hole alone."

"Okay."

Wild Wind nodded, without a word, he slung the drone backpack on, and followed Night Ten down the slope.

The task assignments were completed.

Huffing and puffing, the group started their laborious task.

This game was hard-core in that way; digging couldn't be done by just holding down the left mouse button, but had to be done with each shovel.

Fortunately, in this game, the sense of fatigue was not as real as in life, and since everyone was a genetically-enhanced clone, no one felt tired.

Watching the defensive fortifications take shape bit by bit through collective effort was quite gratifying.

Especially considering that these trenches would help them take down quite a few more enemies, everyone dug with even more gusto.

The Silver Corps only had twenty people, and to speed up the construction progress, Old White lent them half of his men, while the rest were scattered around for defense.

Walking on the reverse slope of the gentle hill, Fang Chang was squatting on the ground, studying a map on his VM.

Seeing Fang Chang frowning deeply at the map for a long time, Old White went over and asked.

"How's it going? Did you figure anything out?"

"Hmm, building the position here really does carry a great risk," Fang Chang said, rubbing his chin with his index finger, and casually picked up a branch from the ground to draw a sketch in the dirt.

"...Our current location is only 10 kilometers away from the north side of West State City, which just happens to be between West State City and Qingstone County. The Ya Clan could simply place a few 100mm cannons at home and easily hit us on the head."

The maximum range of the 100mm cannon is about 15 kilometers. Previously, the Army's thousand-team had used the same model of cannons to bombard the Pioneer's base - which is now Changjiu Farm.

Regarding the capabilities, range, and various parameters of that model of cannon, they knew too well.

"Do they have radios?" Mosquito, who came over to watch, touched his chin and asked curiously.

Indirect fire is different from direct fire; without frontline troops to help correct the fall of the shells, firing would be no different from not firing at all.

Fang Chang said.

"Radios are not exactly rare technology; the question is how many they have. They even have cannons, so they certainly can scratch together a radio station. Now we have a more serious issue on our hands. If their frontline troops call for artillery support... relying on just a few trenches is likely insufficient; we must use wood to reinforce these trenches, as well as dig tunnels and anti-cannon holes within them."

Old White, also aware of the issue, said seriously.

"I'll arrange for two teams of ten to go chop wood immediately."

Fang Chang nodded and replied.

"Good, make it quick. Ten kilometers of mountain road... even if slow, it's just an hour or two's worth of time."

While they were speaking, Night Ten's voice came through the communication channel.

"...A Looter squad is moving straight toward our position! The numbers are probably around two to three hundred... no, could well be around five to six hundred."

Five to six hundred people!

Old White's expression tightened slightly.

"Any equipment? Do they have vehicles?"

Night Ten paused for a moment before replying.

"...No vehicles in sight, nor any sounds heard; they're moving in a straight line, seemingly planning to cross through the forest! They'll reach your position in a quarter of an hour at the latest."

Hearing that there were no vehicles, the people present breathed a sigh of relief. Old White tapped twice on his exoskeleton helmet and switched to the squad leader's voice channel.

"All squads, pay attention. A group of Looters is approaching us, roughly the size of five hundred teams, expected to arrive within a quarter of an hour."

"I need you to immediately take your squad to the designated area on the map, we will confront them on this hillside!"

All squad leaders: "Received!"

At the same time as the order was issued, Old White opened the tactical map and placed the position of each squad along the contour lines.

Although they were using a map from 200 years ago and the landscape had somewhat changed since then, it wasn't a big issue.

Those who could lead were all veteran players, and everyone had strong adaptability.

Almost a hundred players from the Burning Corps quickly divided into ten squads, and under the leadership of the squad leaders, they dispersed along a battle line nearly one kilometer wide.

As for Junk Lord, his tactics were as before; he took the lead to sneak into the pine forest ahead and concealed those bloodthirsty pupils and steel claws.

The excavation of the trenches halted for the time being.

The Silver Corps temporarily retreated from its position.

Watching those agile and orderly leaders, Silver Sword said enviously.

"Damn, are these guys all ex-military?"

Silver Hand's expression was subtle.

"Do you think there's any difference between them and those who are still serving?"

"Hisss... now that you mention it, you have a point. Feels like by playing this game, you end up learning just about everything."

Silver Daddy shook his head and quipped, "I've noticed that the traditional studio's playstyle doesn't quite cut it in this game; we need to change our approach too."

Upon hearing this, both Silver Hand and Silver Sword simultaneously rolled their eyes.

Isn't this just stating the obvious?

Even backseat players knew this...

The leaders on the hill had already set up their defenses and stopped chatting.

Right then and there, Iron Teeth whizzing back in a hurry had no idea that his group's movements had already been exposed under the scope of a certain scout.

He couldn't care about that now.

After the intense barrage of gunfire earlier, there had been no more sounds from the south.

In this situation, either the enemy had run out of ammunition or they were preparing to charge.

Iron Teeth was anxious like an ant on a hot pan.

Originally, in his plan, this 20-kilometer march should have been completed in two or three hours.

But they hadn't marched far before the 500-man troop had stretched out like a string of sausage, starting and stopping so much that it took until one in the afternoon to cover only half the distance.

The remaining ten kilometers would probably take another one or two hours to cover.

Seeing these guys still dawdling, Iron Teeth couldn't help but shout.

"Move your damn asses faster!"

"If any of you is holding back the rest, I swear I'll personally lash him twenty times!"

That sentence had a bit of an effect.

But just a bit.

Those Looters following him didn't recognize this new commander.

Before being assigned to the Lion Tooth's command, they had their own groups and leaders.

Although this group appeared to be a team, they were more like a collection of big and small tribes gathered together. What united them was not discipline or belief, but personal prestige or, rather, strength.

Unless tamed like wild beasts, it was hard to expect any high degree of organization from them.

"Identify the enemy commander... should be the one with the loudest voice."

Lying on the roadside ruins on the side of the hill, Night Ten had already locked the shouting man in the crowd in his scope.

With too many obstacles in the pine forest and the distance too great for a guaranteed hit, he wouldn't fire rashly.

"The target is marked."

Wild Wind, wearing headphones, had his eyes closed.

Through the neural interface device, his consciousness was connected to the quadrotor drone floating in the sky, looking down on the forest below through the camera.

A red square had been marked over Iron Teeth's head.

The same marker appeared on the exoskeleton helmet visor of his teammates.

Oblivious to what was happening, Iron Teeth, in a hurry to reach their destination, led his men out of the pine forest.

It was just as they emerged from the forest that his heart suddenly contracted, sensing that something was amiss.

Something glittered on the haystack on the nearby hillside, catching his eye.

However, by the time he realized there was a problem, it was already too late.

A gunshot rang out from the hill behind him to the left, and the severe pain in his thigh caused him to lose balance and fall.

The Looters hadn't even reacted when sudden bursts of gunfire sprung from the hillside ahead.

"Open fire!" Old White, lying on the hillside, was the first to pull the trigger, shouting loudly.

More than seventy automatic rifles and more than twenty light machine guns fired at once, their bullets whizzing through the air like dense raindrops!

The Looters, caught in the hail of bullets, were like tiny boats in a storm, tossed about by the orange-yellow trajectory of the bullets, falling dead or wounded in moments.

Taken completely by surprise, everyone had not expected an ambush here, let alone to decipher who the attackers were.

Wasn't it Qingstone County up ahead?

Wasn't that Lion Tooth Clan territory?

Why were they firing upon their own people?

They couldn't figure out who had hit them, and they certainly couldn't guess that it was the survivors from the north suburbs of Qingquan City.

After all, that place was too far, at least a hundred kilometers from here.

Moreover, even if there was a fight, it should have been they who were hitting the others, not the other way around.

"Cease fire! Damn it, cease fire! We are reinforcements sent by Lord Jin Ya! Fuck! These are friendly troops!"

"Fire! Fire!"

A Looter had just yelled when he was unable to return fire and took two bullets in the chest, collapsing silently to the ground.

The rest retreated while firing back, but they were getting hit and couldn't even raise their heads.

"Don't fight them head-on! Retreat back into the woods!"

"Ah! My arm!"

"Shit!"

Gunshots echoed through the valley.

The battle had turned into a one-sided slaughter.

The Looters at the base of the hill scrambled for the forest like their lives depended on it, with the occasional simpleton firing back at the hill only to be quickly turned into a sieve by the high-ground assault.

Less than thirty percent of the Looters made it into the forest.

But their nightmare was just beginning.

Unable to contain himself any longer, the Garbage King let out a bloodthirsty roar and his powerfully muscled legs suddenly propelled him toward the fleeing crowd like a cannonball.

"Die, wastes of space!"

Two steel claws flashed like lightning; a mere flick of the wrist, and a pair of heads dropped to the ground.

Those amber eyes staring at them sent the fleeing Looters' souls nearly flying from their bodies.

Claws of Death?! And with steel welded to them?

It wasn't just the claws that had steel welded on them; there were steel plates hanging on its chest, thighs, and head—steel guarded every vital area.

Overcoming the fear in his heart, a Looter aimed his PU-9 at the huge lizard, screaming as he pulled the trigger.

But after unloading a whole clip, he hadn't done any damage; instead, the lizard caught up with him and split him and his gun in two with one swipe of its claw.

Another Looter brought out an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher, but just as he mounted it on his shoulder, his head exploded from a bullet that came from afar.

"Ah! Monster!"

"Help! Someone help me!"

"Get out of my way, don't block my path!"

Screams filled the forest.

Unable to contain their fear any longer, the Looters, initially retreating together, lost all coordination and morale, dispersing frantically in a mad dash.

"Tch, not a single good fighter among them."

Flicking the blood off his claws, the Garbage King arrogantly glanced at the scattering Looters, howled, and chased after them, tail flicking behind.

Seeing that the timing was right, Old White, lying prone on the hilltop, made a fist gesture to the other squad leaders and then swung his arm vigorously forward.

"Charge, brothers!"

"Don't let this vermin escape!"

...

A basin of cold water splashed on his face, and Iron Teeth slowly opened his blurry eyes.

The damp and cold air, mixed with the stench of the sewers, was unbearable.

The direct light made it impossible for him to lift his head; all he could do was stare at his thigh wrapped in bandages and his arm shackled to the chair armrest.

The environment was vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where this was.

Then, a voice came from the front.

"Iron Teeth, direct descendant of the Ya Clan, Centurion under Lion Tooth."

Hearing someone say his name, Iron Teeth instinctively lifted his head.

Against the glaring white light, he saw an azure power armor.

He squinted slightly.

"...Who are you? No... who are you all?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Didn't you just come to us at the beginning of this year to forage, and you've forgotten after only 4 months?"

Iron Teeth paused.

The next second, a look of incredulous surprise spread across his face.

"You... you are the survivors from the north suburb of Qingquan City?"

How could the survivors from the north suburb of Qingquan City appear between West State City and Qing Shi County?

Could it be...

Iron Teeth finally recognized what this place was — it was precisely their slave dungeon.

The face revealed under the searchlight gradually grew a trace of fear.

It seemed he finally realized his current predicament.

Chu Guang did not plan to waste words explaining anything to a mere underling, nor did he bother to scare him with threats.

Gazing at the face full of fear before him, Chu Guang succinctly said,

"Who we are is none of your business; I ask you a question, you give me an answer."

"Of course, I will ask others the same question."

"If you don't want to die, you'd better tell me the truth."

...

North of the Dawn City.

Fifty trucks slowly stopped at the northwest side of the Changjiu Farm; a group of ragged people descended from the vehicles and, under the escort of the guards, timidly walked towards the tents not far away.

Several tables were placed at the entrance of the tents, with medical staff in protective suits sitting behind them, and a large pot was supported in the middle.

Smellling the tantalizing aroma coming from the pot, not only the survivors were enticed, but even the guards who had come down from the trucks couldn't help swallowing their saliva.

Watching the approaching guards, contemplating they had likely not eaten, the cook weighed the spoon in the pot and said with a smile,

"Guys, want a bowl? I just had one, and it was delicious!"

While it was only barley porridge meant for relief aid, the bottom of the pot generally had some fat scraps to render oil, making it rather fragrant after stewing for a long time.

Lu Bei shook his head.

"No, I'll just have some dry food on the road later. Are there any cakes here?"

"There are cakes, but the taste of those barley cakes..."

"That's fine, give me one."

Although Lu Bei was also very hungry, he had not forgotten the task the Manager had entrusted to him.

Taking the cake wrapped in paper from the cook, Lu Bei walked past the open space with the large pot, towards the front of the tent.

Old Luka was standing there waiting for him.

Saluting, Lu Bei handed over the list he was holding.

"This is the list of survivors... a total of 671 people, only eighty percent of whom know their names, and less than half remember where they came from."

Taking the list from the hands of the young man before him, Old Luka glanced over it and nodded.

"The rest you can leave to me; go protect the Manager."

Hearing Old Luka's words, Lu Bei's expression grew slightly embarrassed.

Protecting the Manager, sure.

The scene of detonating a hand grenade in the dungeon left a profound impression on him,
so much so that he couldn't help but wonder if the Guards were actually the Manager's personal escort, or if that was just what they believed...

The survivors rescued from Qing Shi County were temporarily managed by the logistics department, and while Heya and the medical staff led the measurement of temperatures and health checks for these people, the residents of North Street also witnessed the scene.

Onlookers discussed fervently amongst themselves, engaging in conversations with those around them.

"Why has the truck that left this morning returned already?"

"And who are these people getting off the truck? Where did they come from?"

"Their attire looks a bit like slaves..."

"Slaves?! From the Chewing Bone Tribe?! Have our people taken over West State City?"

"That's impossible!"

"It must be Qingstone County... I remember there was a thousand team stationed there, it's likely they've taken down Qingstone County!"

Compared to the conquest of West State City, the capture of Qingstone County seemed slightly more believable to the people.

Yet even so, their faces still showed surprise— even disbelief.

Old Hooke, who ran the inn, had an expression full of astonishment as well.

That was a force of a thousand!

There was no heavy snow to assist them this time, and it was even enemy territory they were fighting in.

In just one morning, the soldiers of the New Alliance not only crushed the well-prepared Lion Tooth Tribe on the front lines but even dragged the spoils of war back from the front...

Even though he knew that the men in blue jackets had strong combat power, he was still shocked by their speed.

Not just the local residents, but Sun Shiqi, the merchant who came from outside, felt the same way.

When those dozen trucks returned, he was haggling with a tradesman at the trade station, and upon hearing the commotion outside, many in the queue went out to see what the fuss was about.

Sun Shiqi also craned his neck to peer outside, and after realizing what had happened, a trace of surprise crossed his face.

"Is the battle over already?"

But it seemed that what the trucks had brought back were not soldiers, but a group of people of unknown identity.

They appeared to be liberated slaves.

Standing behind the counter, Frost River spoke with a smile and a pleasant voice.

"Our Manager has said that he will not cease the war with the Looters unless those pests disappear from the map."

Disappear from the map?

Which map?

The United Human's map or the New Alliance's map?

Sun Shiqi was skeptical in his heart, but he didn't say much.

He was here for business, not to create trouble.

"Is that so? My respects to him, truly a great ideal. To witness the birth of such a leader, endowed with both virtue and capability, is an honor in my life. To be honest, I hate those Looters as much as you do; those people never play by the rules... Speaking of which, can we get a cheaper price on bullets? I'm planning to buy more to fight those accursed Looters."

Frost River retained a beaming expression.

"Oh no, this is already the biggest discount."

Seeing that his forced flattery didn't get him anywhere, Sun Shiqi reluctantly pulled out his bank card.

"Alright... charge it."

...

Red River Town.

The headquarters of the Horseshoe Iron Commerce Association, the chairman's office.

Looking at the telegraph report sent from the north of Dawn City, Sim's face was filled with disbelief.

Just this morning he had received a telegraph reporting that the New Alliance had declared war on the Ya Clan.

Yet, by the afternoon, trucks laden with spoils of war had returned from the front line?

Was there a problem with the telegraph, or his own eyes?

Sim couldn't quite tell for a moment.

"The Alliance Army has presumably taken down Qingstone County, the Centurion of the Lion Tooth Clan was captured, and is being escorted by the Manager's Guards to the Dawn City Prison, the trial is set to commence soon..."

It was too fast!

Laying the telegraph on the desk, Sim, who paced to the window and pinched the bridge of his nose, was deep in thought.

War broke out as he had expected, yet the pace of its progress exceeded his imagination.

It was of course a good thing that their neighbors gave the Chewing Bone Tribe a sound thrashing.

With Red River Town also at war with the Chewing Bone Tribe, any advantage the New Alliance gained against the Ya Clan tightened the Snake Tribe's sphincter in Tianshui City.

And the Horseshoe Iron Business Group could seize the opportunity to make a fortune from the war.

However, what Sim hadn't expected was that their neighbors would be so unreasonably strong; Lion Tooth, who had fought all the way from the central part of He Gu Province to the South, hadn't even held out for a day against their assault...

"...To annihilate a thousand team in half a day, especially during a siege battle."

Gazing out the window at the continuous stream of merchants and travelers on the street, Sim fell into deep thought.

Perhaps.

He needed to reassess the strength of this powerful neighbor...

...

It wasn't only Sim reassessing the strength of this formidable neighbor.

When Dennis's "old friend" heard the news that the New Alliance had taken over Qingstone County in less than half a day, he had silently ended the "alliance" with the Horseshoe Iron Business Group in his heart.

On the other side, the council of Garbage City urgently convened a meeting to discuss whether to establish diplomatic relations with this suddenly emerging formidable neighbor and what Giant Stone City's attitude towards this event might be.

As for Giant Stone City?

There seemed to be no reaction.

Whether it was the Chewing Bone Tribe or the New Alliance rising in the "North Suburb", the city lord living inside the massive wall didn't seem to care much.

Perhaps there were more important matters for them to attend to...

However, while the upper echelons of Giant Stone City might be indifferent to the New Alliance and the Chewing Bone Tribe, that didn't stop the rumors among the common people in the markets.

People were amazed by this epic victory, and couldn't help but be curious about this young, rising power.

Undoubtedly, this textbook victory had thoroughly established the New Alliance's reputation...

At the same time, in the four new areas of West State City.

After listening to his subordinate's report, Skull Breaker·Golden Tooth initially thought he had heard wrong.

Not until he had his subordinate repeat the account did his face, dark and turning greenish, slowly grow grim.

"Worthless!"

"A thousand men, hiding in the county town, with fortifications built over four months, and they couldn't even hold out for a morning!"

His fist heavily struck the armrest of his chair, causing the flames in another basin to shake violently.

The hall was terrifyingly silent.

No one spoke.

The apostle from the Torch Church, clad in an exoskeleton, was simply too lazy to comment, while the wary centurions didn't dare breathe aloud, fearing the leader's wrath.

Golden Tooth clenched his teeth tightly, feeling as if his heart were bleeding.

A whole thousand team!

The leading Lion Tooth was even his direct subordinate.

Now, not only had Qingstone County been lost, but the five hundred reinforcements he'd sent there had been wasted along with it.

Even if he didn't lament the loss of those lives, he still grieved over the lost equipment.

"...I swear, I'm going to crush the skulls of these Blue Ground Squirrels, skin them for my sofa, and turn their bones into a toilet!"

His roaring voice echoed through the hall.

After the chief was done venting, the adjutant Dylon, standing to one side, lightly coughed.

Although he was curious about what a toilet made from bones might look like, it was clearly not the time to discuss that.

"...Qingstone County is only 20 kilometers away from us, the Blue Jackets from the North Suburb have already pushed the front line right under our noses, and it took them less than half a day."

"No matter how they did it, their strength has already exceeded our expectations... It's definitely not something one or two aircraft could accomplish. They must have at least ten or even dozens of planes, and they would also need to have at least one motorized centurion and more than twenty pieces of artillery, to possibly take over Qingstone County in such a short time."

To be honest, even that would be difficult.

Dylon didn't know Lion Tooth, but Bernie, who stood beside Lion Tooth, used to be an officer under his command.

He was well aware of that person's strength,
especially his ability to construct fortifications.

With Bernie's level of skill, he should be able to hold out against a hastily assembled motorized unit.

Even without air supremacy, holding their ground for ten days to half a month should be no problem.

Unless...

Someone had completely figured out their positions.

This thought made Dylon's gaze flicker slightly, and a hint of alertness sprang up in his heart.

The biggest variables were those relics of the old civilization scattered across the Wasteland.

And as the direct offspring of the old civilization, the shelters were undoubtedly the most likely to experience sudden changes.

If the enemy possessed some sort of reconnaissance technology left over from the Human Alliance Era, this war would be difficult to fight...

Gold Tooth looked at his staff officer.

"Do you have any good suggestions?"

Dylon pondered for a moment and then said,

"My suggestion is to concentrate our forces and support firepower, and launch a high-density, high-intensity offensive against them while they have yet to establish a firm foothold in Qingstone County!"

"They've already developed complete industrial capabilities, and if this war turns into a war of attrition, the situation will likely turn unfavorable for us."

Wu Lun, who had been silent all along, suddenly interjected.

"My thoughts are the same as the former Army officer here. To be honest, it's not that I'm eager to recover the Black Box; rather, I worry about whether you'll be able to win if this drags on."

There was a hint of sarcasm in that voice,
or perhaps blame.

After all, he had been urging these people to send troops a month and a half ago.

But these people procrastinated time and again, and now that even their front teeth had been smashed, they finally realized they could throw a punch.

However, telling the harsh truth always breeds resentment.

The moment Wu Lun's words ended, a number of unfriendly gazes immediately turned his way.

Gold Tooth's expression turned somewhat gloomy too.

But this man was a distinguished guest of the Torch Church, not one of his subordinates, so he couldn't say much.

The Chewing Bone Tribe needed the spiritual interference equipment provided by the Torch Church, and the rampaging Variants on the battlefield were their trump card; he had even used those pieces of equipment to form a special unit.

Anyone else who said that would have been chopped by him by now, but he couldn't touch this man, nor did he have the right to.

"There's no need for so many brothers."

Bear Tooth, a man of imposing stature, stepped forward, his face full of disdain.

With a respectful fist and cupped hands, he looked at Gold Tooth sitting on the chair and said in a deep voice,

"I am willing to relieve the leader of his worries. Just give me ten days, and I will present the heads of those Ground Squirrels to you!"

At that, Wu Lun couldn't help but laugh.

"You're just sending your men to their deaths."

Enraged by the laughter, Bear Tooth turned towards him, narrowing his ferocious eyes dangerously.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean nothing," Wu Lun said, facing the menacing look with indifference, and continued calmly, "Never mind Qingstone County, if you can even remove the thorn stuck in your front teeth at Songlin Gully, I'll take my hat off to you."

Bear Tooth was provoked to laughter and was about to speak harsh words, but the leader sitting in the chair interrupted him.

"Enough, shut the fuck up!"

Irritated, Gold Tooth slapped the armrest of the chair and, after pondering for a moment with his finger pressed against his forehead, waved his finger forward.

"... I'll give you ten days to take down that whatever Songlin Gully and, while you're at it, capture some of those Blue Jackets."

Seeing his chance to perform, Bear Tooth was elated and nodded obediently.

"As you command, leader!"

Chapter 311: Forging Strategic Depth Through Battle

Dawn City Prison.

Sitting in a dark cell, Bernie's face was etched with exhaustion and despair.

He could understand the failure of the expedition to the Grand Canyon. They had indeed underestimated the strength of the Grand Canyon, and even more so, the capabilities of the Holy Shield System.

Even after two centuries, the sky-darkening shield was still not something their artillery could penetrate. Their clone army launched a fearless charge, yet it still failed to alter the course of the battle.

Under the intense firepower of the Grand Canyon, their ten thousand troops were annihilated.

However, what Bernie couldn't understand was why, aside from not conquering the Grand Canyon, even a plain survivor settlement proved so difficult to breach.

At that moment, footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the prison.

Bernie looked up and saw a familiar face, which made him freeze for a moment.

"…Vanus?"

Vanus sighed.

"So, it was you… How is Dylon?"

Hearing his superior's name, a bitter smile appeared on Bernie's face.

"No wonder… Seeing you here answers some of my questions."

Knowing that this guy likely attributed the victory to himself, Vanus shook his head.

"It has nothing to do with me. I simply followed the standard procedures and strategies. However, their performance exceeded my expectations."

Bernie fell silent for a while.

"I remember you were ordered to intercept the Pioneer."

Vanus nodded.

"Yes."

Bernie did not ask about the outcome.

Because there was no need to.

The man was standing here without shackles on his hands, even wearing a VM similar to those of the Blue Jackets, no doubt his whole being had transformed into one of them.

Seeing that Bernie remained quiet, Vanus walked over to the cell window and continued, unprompted.

"During my captivity, I was sent to a brick factory to work. Initially, I thought they intended to humiliate me by this, but eventually, I found out that wasn't the case."

"I worked alongside nearby survivors. They taught me how to make mud bricks, how to fire them into blocks, and how to build houses with those bricks…"

Vanus paused briefly.

"I still remember that coworker, who excitedly told me about finally having his own house through his hard work, planning to bring his family over after the winter. I remember the color of his hopeful eyes… It was something I had never seen in my domain."

"At first, I didn't understand what that color in his eyes meant. It was only later that I realized, it was hope for the future."

"They chose a path drastically different from ours, a path where even the lowest wasteland wanderer could attain equality and dignity. The people here are willing to sacrifice everything for the land beneath their feet, even their last drop of blood."

"You were facing a group of warriors with faith, who clearly knew what they were fighting for. Do you still think you only suffered a few tactical missteps?"

Bernie swallowed hard.

After a long thoughtful silence, he managed a bitter smile and said,

"So you came here just to mock your old friend?"

"No."

Vanus turned to look at him.

"To be precise, it's an invitation."

…

As night fell,
the players gradually logged off, and the official forum of "Wasteland OL" was buzzing with excitement.

The epic victory earlier had exhilarated many players, who vividly described the event on the forum.

Previously, players could only narrate their bragging through text without much solid content, leaving the backseat drivers to imagine the scenarios. Although they spoke arrogantly, they secretly envied but weren't deeply moved. It mostly depended on the official promotional videos to stave off their hunger.

Now it was different.

Since the development of paid features like "game screenshot" and "squad voice," players no longer needed to type to boast—sharing images was enough.

Of course, considering harmony and love, blood would be replaced with pink paint, and R16 and some sensitive images would be restricted.

After all, without the helmet, there's no "dream filter." Dreaming of breaking arms and legs might not scare someone, but seeing it in real life might lead to wetting themselves.

Pick up trash 99 level:"…Just as I said, it happened quickly—Looter pointed his gun at me, and I instantly slid, taking down two of them! Not to brag, but a hundred heads in ten minutes is doable. Alien sequence is damn strong! (grinning)"

Proud Brothers:"LMAO, is that all? Proud to boast about a hundred heads in ten minutes? Ever heard of Dragon Group? Normal I guess, kiddo, if you haven't—it's where my bro is from. He told me, even the weakest link in their group can run through a whole squad with just a dagger in ten minutes."

Pick up trash 99 level:"(sweaty soybean)"

Night Ten:"Err, Dragon snipers? I actually have that. (joking)"

Elena:"Curious to ask, is your brother nicknamed Shura, always lifting his mouth's corner at ninety degrees before he strikes? (joking)"

Gnome King Riches:"Ministry of Foreign Affairs: I advise you not to talk trash here. This isn't the internal network. (joking)"

As usual.

Every time there's a major event or update on the official website, Proud Brothers would pop up with a sarcastic joke when everyone was showing off, and then immediately disappear from the forum, ignoring any mentions, just like a ground squirrel.

Both regular players and backseat drivers had grown accustomed to it; nobody really took it to heart.

Soon, Junk Collector continued sharing his heroic deeds, but just then, the battle report and settlement information from Qingstone County's great victory suddenly appeared on the official website.

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn? Was it that fast this time?!"

Quit smoking: "The planners are awesome!"

Usually, the battle reports wouldn't be available until the next day, but this time, unprecedentedly, they were released the same evening.

To everyone's surprise, the highest score on the battlefield was achieved by the Storm Corps.

As the legions that first broke through the inner city defenses and penetrated the enemy headquarters, Storm Corps, despite fierce resistance from the enemy, captured Lion Tooth and several bandit leaders, earning plenty of additional points.

However, this wasn't the decisive factor.

What really determined their significant lead in war points was their lightning-fast advancement during the street fights with Looters in the city area.

Brother Spring Water, with his exceptional leadership, led his team to wipe out two hundred-man squads successively, taking only half the expected time to breach all defensive lines from the south of Qingstone County to the enemy headquarters.

To put it bluntly, the outstanding performance of the Storm Corps in this battle allowed the campaign to end at least an hour earlier.

Considering casualties and ammunition consumption, the command center awarded them 23,000 points!

The second place went to Brother Mole's Skeleton Corps for their excellent performance in siege battles, followed by the Death Legion.

The latter, despite having a high kill count and clearing hidden threats in stairways and alleys, had their overall score lowered due to nearly thirty percent battle damage.

As for Mosquito's Goblin Corps, they ranked fourth.

Undeniably, the rockets they launched and the ensuing airstrikes heavily devastated the Lion Tooth tribe stationed in Qingstone County.

However, the Goblin Corps also suffered significant losses.

The players who managed to successfully fly the plane back were less than thirty percent…

As for the Burning Corps, because the ambush battle at Pine Forest Valley wasn't settled together with Qingstone County's siege but was treated as two separate battles, it ended up in fifth place.

WC Real Mosquito: "Damn! Our squad had so many kills! Why am I not the MVP!（frantic）"

Spring Water Commander: "That's what you don't get, fighting isn't about scalp collection, how could you count by kills. If we really counted by kills, who would you talk to about digging trenches and holding positions, everyone would rush forward to score kills, and nobody would care about the rear.（smug）"

Night Ten: "You used too much ammunition, a single round of your rockets literally sends logistics straight to heaven.（amused）"

Canyon on the Run Mole: "Exactly! What's the use of just counting kills, I took down the first line of defense myself!"

Edge Shoveling: "Speaking of which, how many of your planes flew back?"

WC Real Mosquito: "Does any good brother know when the battle rewards will be credited, hehe."

Quit smoking: "Damn! That topic shift was too abrupt!"

Falling Feather: "These planes are too hard to pilot. T.T"

Edge Shoveling: "Man, everyone says I'm a rogue driver, who really is the rogue driver here!"

Property Chicken Killer: "Hmm, our Jungle Corps' ammunition consumption also seems a bit high, scratching head."

The ranking of battlefield scores is only for reference.

The battle rewards will be calculated for each legion based on their performance in various mission stages through a fixed formula.

The server will directly distribute a basic reward containing a large number of silver coins and contribution points to players based on their legion's total score.

Legion commanders can also reward outstanding players in combat with 1st to 3rd class merit, allowing them to receive an additional 50 to 150% on top of the original rewards.

The number of merits that can be awarded during a battle is tied to the legion's score in the battle. As for who specifically receives the awards, Chu Guang has delegated the decision-making power to the legion commanders.

Under the current system, there are no costs associated with players joining or leaving legions.

Legions that clearly distribute rewards and punishments naturally become more valiant in battle, while those that can't even manage that will gradually marginalize.

Allowing legion commanders to handle internal affairs within the legion is both a power granted by Chu Guang and a test of their organizational abilities.

As legions grow in scale, they start as company-level units, but with increased player numbers and level progression, outstanding legions will quickly evolve into battalion-level, regimental-level, and even multi-division corps.

Chu Guang will update the version as needed.

Whether or not players can adapt to the version is up to them.

Of course, in addition to the merits determined by each legion internally, this campaign, like usual, will see medals awarded to players by Shelter officials.

Even though in the current version, the main body of the war consists of various legions, individual power is also not to be underestimated.

As the first legion-scale group battle since the opening of "Wasteland OL," this campaign produced 375 whiteboard medals and 12 special medals.

These special honors come with substantial additional rewards and are granted by the shelter to individuals who performed exceptionally in the campaign.

For instance, Difficult for the strong.

As an underground operative active behind enemy lines, Brother Difficult's provided intelligence and chaos created at the enemy's rear were crucial to winning the war.

He also received the server's sole gold "Eagle Eye Medal" for these efforts.

Difficult for the strong: "Hahaha, who dares to call my sequence useless now! Strong as hell! (smug)"

Night Ten: "What's the use, ordinary people can't even choose this sequence. (amused)"

Quit smoking: "Speaking of which, what about your little brother?"

Difficult for the strong: "No problem! Anyway, tomorrow I will be alive again, and I'll fake my death after returning! (evil laugh)"

...

Refuge Medical Laboratory.

Chu Guang, who sat up from the scanning bed, saw the updated attribute panel through the tablet.

He had sweated profusely last night and had come straight to Heya's place after getting up.

Sure enough.

Due to the players' outstanding performance in the battle, he had leveled up again.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Third stage)

Level: LV.20→LV.22

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 23→25

Agility: 18

Constitution: 21

Perception: 19→20

Intelligence: 20

]

"...This time the sequence development progress actually increased by 2%."

Sitting in a chair opposite Chu Guang, Heya lightly flicked her silver-white hair, curiously sizing him up.

"By now, I'm used to seeing weird things, but the only thing that confuses me is the principle behind the growth of your sequence progress."

"Isn't this the topic I taught you?" Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under her direct gaze, Chu Guang casually picked up the jacket on the bedside and put it on.

Heya nodded her head and continued.

"Well, I have a few guesses so far, but none of them have enough evidence yet."

"Just tell me the most probable one."

"The Lair."

Chu Guang's hand froze while pulling the zipper, and he gave her a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?"

"When I was researching the Lair, I got this inspiration. Don't you think your evolutionary pattern is somewhat similar to the Lair?"

Heya continued with interest.

"The Lair releases specific evolutionary bodies that integrate surrounding offspring entities; the offspring entities evolve through the process of devouring, and as the command tower for the offspring entities, The Lair grows from the evolutionary process of its offspring... Although this analogy is a bit far-fetched."

Chu Guang: "...I think it's more than just a little far-fetched."

"Sure, after all, my understanding of the morphogenesis field technology is completely blank," Heya shrugged helplessly, "If only you could get more detailed information."

Chu Guang: "I hope so too. I'll let you know as soon as there is any news."

As a "Singularity level" technology stored in Shelter No. 404, so far the information he held about the morphogenesis field was only a fragment of audio that contained a few words.

There are many possibilities that could be guessed, but until there is sufficient rigorous evidence, they can only be conjectures.

Just like Schrödinger's cat.

Only after opening the box can the situation inside the box be known.

As for now.

Lacking sufficient clues, curiosity is futile.

After leaving the medical laboratory, Chu Guang returned to the browsing room, got himself a bottle of milk from the fridge, and sat on the sofa to log into the official website of "Wasteland OL."

As he expected.

For the first large-scale battle of "Wasteland OL," the players were as excited as 200-pound kids, the forum was as lively as the New Year's celebration.

Especially after Xiao Qi uploaded the edited battle footage, from the sky to the ground, and then to the narrow buildings, the rendered details were almost as real as an actual battlefield!

Players had already had their thrill in the game, and Backseat Drivers had their thrill as well.

The hesitant onlookers could not contain their boredom and spent a precious ten minutes of their lives filling out a form.

Although only about 30 new accounts were released each day, what if they got lucky?

Driven by emotion, the number of pre-registered players surged significantly.

However, compared to the huge base of pre-registered players, the increase in the five figures was not so obvious anymore.

"This is way more thrilling than 2042!"

"Enough said, even if it's just cutting leeks, I accept it. When will the gold entrance be opened? I'll start by spending 50 cents!"

"Thousands of players PVE simultaneously, what a pity there's no PVP mode, it would definitely be more thrilling."

"Quit dreaming about PVP, there's only one faction to join for now. But the game's AI is pretty awesome, playing PVE isn't much different."

"+1, such impressive technology used for gaming is totally wasted. (sarcastic)"

Ignoring the less informative comments, Chu Guang scrolled down and noticed that many players were discussing the battle scoring mechanism and the formula for calculating battle earnings.

Although he had never publicly disclosed these details, players were still able to deduce certain patterns from the available information.

Take Brother Fang Chang for instance.

Less than two hours after the update went live, strategies about the new Legion System and battle earnings were already popping up on the forums.

"...To cut a long story short, two key points. One concerning the legions, the other about the players in the Legion System."

"Many must have noticed in this battle that the points added to the Legion System not only decide the development path of the legions but also define the tasks they might receive in specific battles."

"For example, legions with higher armor are more likely to trigger siege tasks. Those with higher mobility are more likely to trigger flanking missions. Players who opt for the support route almost never go to the front line; they either fly planes or offer artillery support from the back."

"The war scores are mainly determined by the performance at each stage, different types of tasks have different KPIs. For instance, speed of breakthrough for siege tasks, casualties for street fighting tasks, and precision of firepower for support tasks, and so on..."

"After the Beta version, the division of work among the legions will be clearer, and the score calculation will be closer to reality. Capturing significant targets, intercepting vital intelligence, or eliminating enemy forces other than intelligence units in encounters will not be included in the stage assessment but will be considered as bonus points, directly added to the final score."

"In a nutshell, as long as you complete your combat tasks with the standard amount of ammunition within the stipulated time, you can achieve a high war score."

"At the same time, the basic income players earn during the battle will also mainly depend on this score."

"To gain higher earnings, you need to secure higher scores for your team. And for those who perform exceptionally in battle, the legion commander can, with the authority they hold, grant them an additional 50%, 100%, or 150% of rewards."

"While the legion commander can decide whom to award based on their subjective judgment, the number of honors they can give out is linked to the scores on the battlefield."

"In other words, if the rewards and punishments are not clear, the cohesion of the legion will decline, making it difficult to obtain higher war scores in battle, thereby entering a vicious cycle where profits and numbers continuously drop."

"Strongly advise all legions to establish a proper reward and punishment system quickly. As the level of the legion rises, the number of players it can accommodate will also increase. Eventually, it might be possible for the players to command an army group themselves, and the earlier the structure is established, the lesser the resistance to change."

"Additionally, it's also advisable for rookies to consider not just the ranking of a legion but also how well-defined its rules are and the other members' opinions of their own legion when choosing a legion to join!"

Not bad.

Brother Fang Chang truly understands me as always.

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

When designing the legion system, his primary intent was to encourage players to gather with others who shared their gaming style and then build a suitable organizational structure based on this, maximizing the combat effectiveness of this unique group.

As for what this system is called, those are just minor details.

He couldn't possibly design a unique growth path for every player, but players could DIY their favorite tactics within the rules.

And if they couldn't find the fun, they could always hand their helmet over to someone who could and have themselves a good sleep in bed.

Besides discussing the legion system itself, many players also focused on the economic aspects beyond the war.

Take the Canyon Fleeing Mole, for instance.

This fellow outright claimed in a post that the New Alliance was about to experience a construction boom.

And his reasoning was simple.

"Qingstone County is at least 80 kilometers from the City of Dawn, right? How much cement, steel, sand, and asphalt would it take to build roads and railways to there? No need to think about it, the demand for these bulk commodities is bound to skyrocket! Setting up a sand quarry and a biomass oil refinery in Far Creek Town would definitely make a killing!"

Tail: "Wow! Awesome! Si Si, take notes! (✪ω✪)"

Si Si: "Noted, noted."

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Damn! You freeloaders, at least share some profits with me! (frantic)"

Chu Guang read the post from start to finish, feeling impressed and silently giving it a star.

With such clever little players, how can the United Human not be reclaimed?

Of course, all the things Brother Mole mentioned in his post had already crossed his mind.

After conquering the Western Province, it wasn't just about extending roads and railways there; Chu Guang planned to move heavy industry there as well.

The location of the City of Dawn was too close to Giant Stone City, a strong neighbor. Developing heavy industry right under their nose posed too great a risk.

The New Alliance needed enough strategic depth to cope with potential threats.

Once the war was over, Chu Guang planned to establish a new settlement in West State City to shelter the local survivors and gradually transition the heavy industry of City of Dawn northward.

West State City, surrounded by mountains and near lakes and rivers, had ample mining resources identified, and most importantly, there was no "mutated slime fungus," making it much easier to develop heavy industry than in Qingquan City.

As for the City of Dawn, it would serve as a base for light industry, agriculture, and commerce, producing essential goods and various consumer products needed by residents of the New Alliance.

However, to turn these plans from blueprints to reality, the first step was to deal with the Ya Clan stationed in West State City...

Chu Guang closed the official website, preparing to leave the browsing room for the surface.

Just then, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Master! Your players stationed in the Pine Forest Valley are under artillery fire!"

At the sound of this, Chu Guang's expression slightly stiffened.

Here it comes!

"Notify all members of the Burning Corps to log in immediately!"

Xiao Qi's voice was as enthusiastic as ever.

"Right away!"

Chapter 312 Of Course We Fly There!

"Boom—!"

Early in the morning.

Artillery shells fell one after another, kicking up billowing dust from the central to southern parts of the pine forest.

Watching the smoke billow from the highlands two kilometers away, Bear Tooth holding a telescope in his hand, coldly chuckled and waved his hand forward.

The eager Centurion waiting by the side immediately chambered his rifle and called his brothers to move forward.

"Brothers, follow me!"

A crowd of Looters, rifles in hand, excitedly howled.

"Chop off their heads!"

"Awoooo!"

Though he shouted the loudest, the Centurion did not charge to the front line but cleverly let a few of his deputies, each leading a squad, take the lead.

A group of about 120 people was divided into three echelons—left, center, and right—each consisting of four squads of ten, moving forward quickly under the cover of the pine trees.

According to previous intelligence, a Claw of Death lurked within the pine forest, and brothers stationed at the northern outpost had heard its roar.

Everyone widened their eyes, both because their artillery had blown the enemy's positions sky high and because they did not dare to lower their guard.

At the same time, on the battlefield just plowed by artillery fire, two little players slowly poked their heads out of a trench.

"Damn... my ears are almost deafened." The player nicknamed Silver Sword cursed and spat out the dirt-filled saliva.

Crouching nearby, Silver Daddy stretched his neck to peek outside, his mouth non-stop.

"How many did they fire just now? Did you count?"

Silver Sword thought for a moment.

"Not sure... about twenty?"

Silver Daddy pursed his lips.

"Tsk, paupers!"

They stopped fire after just 20 shots.

As if they could drop two hundred!

Weaklings!

The previous round of bombardment, though fierce, hadn't much affected the players on duty at the position.

Thanks to Brother Fang Chang's godlike foresight, he had anticipated that the Ya Clan would dishonorably shell their position; therefore, everyone had dug anti-cannon holes in the trenches in advance.

When the first shell fell in the forest in front of the position, the players crouched in the trenches immediately hid in the holes.

By the time those Looters had corrected their artillery fire to hit their position, there was no one left in the trenches.

Those anti-cannon holes, dug into the trenches, were five to six meters deep, and their walls and ceilings were reinforced with logs as thick as thighs. Despite the thunderous bombardment outside, it caused no actual harm to the players inside.

After all, the 100mm artillery was still too weak.

Doubling the caliber and charge might make a difference.

Meanwhile, players from the Burning Corps seated around the edges of the anti-cannon hole and resting, one by one opened their eyes, waking up from sleep.

Startled by those suddenly opened eyes, Silver Hand, squatting at the entrance of the hole, exclaimed in surprise.

"Dang, you guys logged on so quickly? I was about to go down and call you."

Fang Chang shook his groggy head, looking at the dust on his lap, immediately understanding what had happened, and calmly asked.

"What's the situation outside now?"

Silver Hand quickly replied.

"The enemy showered us with dozens of shells, about seven or eight landed on our position, but we hid just in time, no casualties!"

"Having shells hit our position accurately, there must be Looter observers nearby..." Swiftly making a judgment, Old White immediately looked towards Night Ten to his side, "Night Ten, go check the nearby mountain, and also see if anyone's coming from our north."

Night Ten, having removed his helmet visor, already consciously grabbed the sniper rifle and backpack off the ground.

"Roger that! Wild Wind, let's go."

"Hmm."

Wild Wind, as always of few words, nodded, picked up the rifle and drone backpack resting next to him, and bent down as he moved toward the hole's entrance.

The two left the anti-cannon hole.

Fang Chang moved to the observation port and glanced outside.

"... the bombardment has stopped, the enemy is likely planning to charge."

The slope's pine forest was silent, morning light filtering through the tree cracks. If not for those shell craters emitting wisps of heat, few would associate this place with a battlefield.

However, even though Fang Chang was not a Perception-type player, looking through the nearly covered observation port, he could sense the lurking murderous intent.

Without hesitation, Old White tapped twice quickly on the VM, switching the communication channel to team voice, and shouted.

"Everyone, immediately to battle positions!"

"Prepare to face the enemy!"

Players who had just logged into the game instantly climbed out of the anti-canon holes and rushed into the trenches, rapidly readying their rifles and light machine guns.

At the same time, the Looter's hundred-man team, crossing through the woods, finally reached the edge of the pine forest!

Both sides caught sight of each other.

The Centurion at the bottom of the hill had no time to wonder why, despite several rounds of high-explosive shelling towards the highlands, so many people were still standing in the trenches before him.

Now, there was only one thing he could do—

"Fire! Everyone, open fire!"

Yelling loudly, the Centurion decisively lay down behind a thigh-thick pine tree, firing his rifle towards the highlands while urging the squad leader next to him to press forward.

Players stationed on the high grounds would not let them succeed, and Old White was the first to pull the trigger, firing the first shot in the defense battle of Pine Forest Gully.

"Free fire! I repeat, free fire!"

"All squad members, hit them hard!"

The battle was on!

As soon as the Looters charged to the bottom of the hill, they were driven back by the sloping fire from the highlands.

Seeing the fierce firepower on the high ground, the Looters were forced to halt their charge, diving into craters left by previous bombardments and using fallen pine trees and rocks as cover to exchange intense fire with the players on the high ground.

Gunfire erupted all around the slope.

The battle situation was incredibly tense!

Seeing that the high ground ahead had been under attack for a long time, Bear Tooth, standing two kilometers away on the northern slope, became anxious and couldn't help but curse.

"These idiots aren't eating their wheaties!"

Standing next to Bear Tooth, Tu Men, serving as a staff officer, held binoculars and observed the distant position with furrowed brows.

The firepower was too dense!

There were probably a hundred people crouching in the trenches; about a dozen light machine guns pinned down those on the slope below, making it impossible for them to raise their heads, as if the position had not been bombarded at all.

"…Those guys must have dug anti-cannon holes in the trenches."

Tu Men couldn't understand.

No matter how he calculated, the other side had only 18 hours to build defensive works.

Even if they dug non-stop, just excavating the trenches in such a short time was challenging enough. Yet they had done more than that; they had even dug shelters against the bombardment.

Even real ground squirrels couldn't match that speed.

Putting down the binoculars, Tu Men looked at the Centurion standing beside him and spoke with a grave expression.

"The enemy has rich experience in field combat. This battle might not be easy!"

Hearing the staff officer's evaluation, a flash of annoyance crossed Bear Tooth's eyes.

Especially when he thought of the mocking look from the Apostle of the Torch Church, it made him furious.

Difficult to fight?

He couldn't believe it!

Looking towards the mortar that had just been set up not far behind him, Bear Tooth shouted his orders.

"Mortar team, listen up!"

"Target the high ground ahead, smash it for me!"

Following several thuds of mortar fire, numerous mortar shells arced into the sky, landing heavily on the southern slope of the pine forest.

Explosions ensued one after another, and the high ground on the southern side of the pine forest momentarily filled with dust.

Unexpectedly, these Looters were tactless enough not to care about their comrades who were still charging, even bombing their own people.

Those crouching in the trenches were caught off-guard, all ducking behind cover to avoid the rampant shrapnel.

Feeling the shrapnel whizzing over his head, Fang Chang shouted to Old White,

"There are too many people in the trench, keep three squads of ten each! Let the others retreat to the anti-cannon holes for now. Any man down out there, another takes his place!"

"Alright!"

Old White, clearly realizing the problem too, immediately issued commands to the squads through the command channel.

Twenty light machine guns remained on the position, with two men by each gun – one firing, one supplying ammunition. The rest crouched at the entrance of the dugouts, ready to rush out and replace their fallen comrades.

As the deployment adjusted, the intensity of fire on the position slightly diminished, but the efficiency significantly increased.

And the Looters down the slope fared much worse.

The mortar shells coming from behind them had no accuracy at all; less than half of them landed on the high ground.

As for the other half...

Either they fell too far or landed on their own people's faces.

With enemy machine guns on the slope ahead and friendly mortars bombarding from behind, caught in the middle, they were in a dire plight, uncertain whether to advance or retreat.

In less than ten minutes, half of the hundred-man team was wiped out!

"Motherfucker! You can bomb, can't you…"

Mosquito, lying in the trench, muttered angrily as he fiddled with the VM screen, setting the coordinates for a bombardment on the northern slope of the Pine Forest Gully.

Pine Forest Gully was about ten kilometers from Qing Shi County, almost reaching his 130mm rockets' maximum range.

But that wasn't a big problem!

The Goblin Corps' rocket artillery was mounted on electric donkey trucks, and after capturing Qing Shi County, they had stationed near the department store camp.

At the beginning of the battle, he had already ordered his artillery group to drive the trucks equipped with launch tubes to an open space in the northern suburbs of Qing Shi County for deployment.

Now, his gunners had reached their positions, ready to launch a counter-bombardment on the enemy's mortar positions at any moment!

"Goblin Corps artillery group, attention! Bombardment coordinates updated – commence a salvo of rockets—"

"Bomb the hell out of them!"

After a few minutes of waiting, a wooing sound swiftly passed overhead, like an organ being played.

Accompanied by the screech of the beeper, thick trails of rocket exhaust tore through the quiet twilight, raining down like droplets on the northern part of Pine Forest Gully.

Fifty rockets suddenly poured down!

Although these rockets lacked accuracy, their sheer number made up for this flaw.

The deafening roar silenced the northern mortar position instantly, and smoke billowed across the northern high ground.

In less than half a minute, dozens were killed by the barrage of rocket fire, and nearly a hundred were injured.

The smoked-ridden battlefield was full of screams and chaos, with countless Looters losing limbs, a scene resembling hell itself.

Struggling to rise from the muddy ground, Bear Tooth, ignoring the dirt on his face that spelled shock, exclaimed,

"What the hell was that?!"

He had never seen such a terrifying weapon before.

Countless missiles almost obscured the sky, one of which had landed less than twenty meters away from him, the blast wave knocking him to the ground.

He had never been so close to death.

For a moment, he even felt like he had lost the ability to breathe.

Perhaps he shouldn't have been so full of bravado...

"Rocket artillery... damn, they've managed to deploy that!"

Not far from Bear Tooth, Tu Men also appeared disheveled, but as someone who had seen the world, his reaction was relatively composed.

Glancing at the devastated position behind him, Tu Men's spirits plummeted.

Lacking defensive fortifications and cover, this sudden, all-out fire strike cost them at least a hundred-man team's combat power.

Thankfully, he had held back and not allowed the rest of the troops to follow, or the losses would have been even more severe...

"The enemy's support firepower is likely superior to ours. We need vehicle support... otherwise, if we keep fighting like this, even a thousand more men wouldn't be enough."

"Get your men to pull back!"

Although he hated to admit it, the facts were right before his eyes.

"Damn ground squirrels... if you have the guts, come down from the highlands and fight me face-to-face like a man!"

Bear Tooth cursed shakily as he pulled out a signal gun from his waist, loaded it with a green signal flare, and fired it into the sky.

As the green light ascended, the Centurion commanding the front line saw the flare and finally breathed a sigh of relief, shouting for the Looter surrounding him to retreat.

"Old White, they're retreating! What do you say, chase them?"

As Quit Smoking, propping up his machine gun, excitedly shouted upon seeing the Looter starting to retreat, he looked towards Old White.

Old White, frowning deeply at the slope below, shook his head.

"Hold your ground!"

Compared to the five hundred men they had stopped yesterday, these men were clearly much tougher. At least they knew to seek cover and advance in dispersed groups, instead of charging head-on into their gunfire.

It seemed the difficulty of the checkpoint was gradually increasing…

However, just then, Old White suddenly noticed Trash Lord rubbing his hands eagerly at the entrance of the anti-cannon hole, and an idea struck him, appending a phrase to his previous command.

"Except for Trash Lord."

Upon hearing this, the eager Pick Up Trash 99 Level immediately crawled out from the anti-cannon hole.

"Hahaha! Finally my turn! Brothers, cover me!"

Having said this, the heavily armored Lizard threw back his head excitedly and bellowed, leaping out of the trench without any delay and racing towards the pine forest down the hillside.

Seeing the big Lizard leap from the trench, the Thousands of Leaders and the Military Staff on the opposite position were stunned.

"…What was that just now?" Bear Tooth swallowed hard and said.

Tu Men, staring hard at the edge of the pine forest, spoke with difficulty.

"It looks a bit like the Claw of Death... but smaller."

If this creature reached their rear, the hundred-man team they had sent to seize the high ground might not return alive.

Bear Tooth didn't dare hesitate, hurriedly pushing the Centurion standing next to him, urging him to issue orders.

"Quick! Lead your men up!"

"Cover our men as they fall back!"

With Iron Fist Rocket Launchers and heavy rifles for hunting large Variants, a hundred-man team set off toward the slope, albeit reluctantly.

Yet, they were still a step too late.

Trash Lord, bursting into the crowd like a rampaging tank, took multiple lives with each swipe of his steel claws.

When the reinforcements, running down the hill, finally caught up with the fleeing allies, the hundred-man team sent to capture the high ground had been reduced to just over ten men.

Encountering the Looter reinforcements, Trash Lord didn't linger for a fight; he instantly ceased the pursuit and turned to vanish into the pine forest behind him.

The first encounter between the Bear Tooth Tribe and the Burning Corps thus descended into history.

The Centurion-led team of Looters initiated the attack, leaving behind more than a hundred bodies, with only about ten managing to escape back to the northern position.

The previous round of rocket artillery not only caused more than a hundred casualties but also completely intimidated the arrogant Bear Tooth Tribe, who had boasted they would take over Qingstone County within ten days.

It wasn't just Qingstone County.

Merely securing a highland on the north side of Qingstone County had cost them nearly twenty percent of their forces...

After weighing the pros and cons, Bear Tooth heeded his staff's advice, abandoned the position on the north side of the pine forest valley, and retreated five kilometers towards West State City, leaving only two hundred-strong teams to build trenches and blast shelters at the original site.

On the player's side, they too had suffered seventeen casualties, half of whom had been carried off by the enemy's mortars.

Discovering the Looter's withdrawal from the northern position, the players, led by the Army Commander, immediately set to work reinforcing their own position without even taking the time to celebrate the victory.

It was clear that the enemy would not let this rest.

No one knew when the next round of artillery would come.

Meanwhile, as Old White was digging trenches with his comrades, he soon received a new mission through VM—hold the southern highland position in Pine Valley for at least 48 hours.

Supplies would arrive within two hours, including ten 10mm heavy machine guns and a mortar squad composed of twenty NPC's.

After 48 hours, the Death Legion would replace them.

...

Qingstone County.

Temporary command center.

Looking at the battle reports coming simultaneously from the front lines and the logistics department, Chu Guang felt a mix of joy and anxiety.

The war had only started 24 hours earlier, and his players had already destroyed one hundred fifty 130mm rockets, 400 100mm howitzers, and dozens of 100kg aerial bombs and planes making bombing runs.

In addition, they used nearly 31 tons of basic ammunition — including 670,000 rounds of 7mm full-power rifle and machine gun bullets.

As for the rewards given to the players for their missions?

Those were trivial.

Even calculating an average campaign reward of 1000 silver coins per person, the money distributed barely exceeded one million silver coins. With the silver coin consignment platform functioning as a "secondary market," some players would exchange silver coins for real money to improve their lives, while a large number of user-booked players would help him to absorb this inflation.

However, spent bullets were not something you could put on credit.

This might be the biggest difference between the virtual economy and the real economy.

Although he had made ample preparations before the war, Chu Guang still acutely felt how costly warfare could be.

Of course, the results obtained under the advantage of firepower were also quite astonishing.

A thousand-strong Army had wiped out an entire thousand-strong troop of the Ya Clan in less than half a day, and the Burning Corps stationed in Pine Valley had managed to fend off a regiment trying to seize the high grounds with just a company's worth of troops.

Moreover, the equipment seized from Lion Tooth and the copper mine that was resuming production had also allowed him to somewhat recover.

As Chu Guang silently calculated his expenses, the officers inside the command center discussed the next battle strategy.

Currently speaking was Wrench.

With the experience gained from several battles, although he still lacked in frontline combat knowledge, his strategic insight had greatly improved compared to his days in the guard.

Normally, it would have been Vanus speaking at this juncture, but now he was also able to contribute his insights based on the intelligence feedback from the frontline troops.

"…Pine forest is the only way from Qingstone County to West State City, and as long as the commander of the Ya Clan is not incompetent, they will spare no expense to take this strategic location."

"Currently, the thousand team of the Ya Clan has been repelled by our troops, but I believe it won't be long before a fiercer second wave arrives!"

"I think so too."

Standing beside them, Vanus stared at the map and slowly nodded.

"… If we allow the Ya Clan to occupy the high ground on the south side of the Pine forest, their 100mm cannons would be able to reach into Qingstone County."

"If we have the capability to hold it, my suggestion is to send more troops and do everything possible to secure this position!"

Though Vanus had thought the strategy to "push the frontline northward by ten kilometers" too aggressive until this morning, the war report sent from the front lines by the Burning Corps dissipated all of his concerns.

The strength of this elite corps was far greater than he had imagined!

If each one of these men could take on ten enemies, it was possible they might indeed create a miracle, transforming the impossible into reality.

As he listened to the officers discussing, Chu Guang, who sat at the command table, suddenly spoke.

"How many people do you think we need?"

Vanus thought for a moment and said,

"The terrain of Pine forest can accommodate forces up to three thousand team in strength, to hold off an advance of three thousand... at least a thousand men conservatively."

Chu Guang asked,

"What about more aggressively?"

Vanus was silent for a moment.

"Five hundred."

It was then that Bernie, who had been quiet all this while, suddenly spoke up.

"Five hundred might not be enough, I know your infantry are strong, but the Ya Clan has tanks. They have suffered a defeat at your hands once and won't make the same mistake again."

Everyone turned to look at him at once.

This man had once been a leader of a thousand in the Expeditionary Army's 210,000 people team; after following his superior in defecting to the Chewing Bone Tribe, he joined under Lion Tooth as an advisor.

As a result of Vanus's persuasion, he now, as a war prisoner working towards redemption, was temporarily serving as "military operations consultant" for the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Even though Bernie's position was rather sensitive, Chu Guang didn't ignore the intelligence he provided and instead looked at him, asking,

"How many tanks do they have?"

Bernie shook his head, "I don't know the exact number… If it's just the equipment taken over from our side, it's about twelve, but if we include what they've bought elsewhere, it's hard to say."

"Bought?" Chu Guang slightly frowned, "There's someone selling tanks to them?"

Bernie gave a bitter smile.

"Not just tanks, but also replacement parts, repair tools, fuel, and artillery shells... You don't believe those barbarians can be self-sufficient, do you?"

Chu Guang: "Go on."

Bernie paused for a moment then continued,

"…As far as I know, in the northern part of River Valley Province, there's a place called 'Bugra,' claiming themselves as Bugra Free State, where most residents are bounty hunters, mercenaries, or thieves... and the merchants who launder their spoils and factory owners who pay for these stolen goods. These people are not picky about buyers or sellers, naturally, they conduct business with the Looters too, and due to the proximity to the Grand Canyon, they even manage to get some rare items from the Wasteland."

Chu Guang slightly surprised, admitted,

"I thought the Chewing Bone Tribe would just rob everything they encountered."

Bernie made a helpless gesture.

"They are indeed doing so, even aiming to establish a kingdom for the Looters in the River Valley Province. However, nothing is absolute; they must trade the treasures they rob, so not everyone is a target for them. For example, Red River Town was once their second largest market for disposing of stolen goods. However, the towering heap of refuse there was too tempting, and it also happened to block the eastward advance of the Snake Tribe... so both sides quickly separated after a brief partnership."

"As for the Bugra Free State... it's too close to the Grand Canyon; the Chewing Bone Tribe doesn't dare provoke those tough ones there, they are constantly moving south."

No wonder.

Chu Guang nodded slightly, deep in thought.

He had been curious about how those Looters managed to drive tanks all the way here from the north. Even with fuel, if a part broke down along the way, it had to be repaired, right?

Equipment cut off from logistical support was a non-renewable resource.

This was also one reason why Giant Stone City would rather pay a hoard of Cannon Fodder to deal with the Tide rather than deploy their power armor.

Regarding this trading partner of the Chewing Bone Tribe, Chu Guang was not very worried. Those people were in business, not charity.

Without sufficient war trophies and without profitable industries, even with trade routes, it was still just a facade.

And the tanks?

Chu Guang was even less concerned about that.

Afraid of a 100 kg aircraft missile?

Even if the Legion left their coffins sturdy, the people inside were still made of flesh. A hundred-kilogram aircraft missile dropped down would blast even fungi to bits, let alone a few rookie tankers.

Chu Guang hoped they would bring out their tanks sooner. Those machines were of the same nature as the power armor of Giant Stone City—the fewer there were, the better.

"…The longer this battle drags on, the more advantageous it is for us, the Ya Clan might have the numbers, but their logistical state is not on our level!"

"We just need to exert all our strength to constrain them at our positions, use the fortified line and artillery to deplete their manpower and supplies—the final victory will undoubtedly be ours!"

Liuding, who had been staring at the map, suddenly sighed.

"It would be nice if we could send a squad to infiltrate their rear... Even if we don't engage them head-on, just causing some trouble in conjunction with the local resistance would be good."

Of course, he was just speaking hypothetically.

Infiltrating the enemy's rear was easy to say, but in reality, it was incredibly difficult.

It essentially required a group of soldiers to continue fighting while cut off from supplies and deeply surrounded.

Without securing a significant advantage first, this kind of risky plan was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

However, Chu Guang's eyes lit up when he heard this.

"That's a good idea!"

Bernie shook his head with a frown.

"That's difficult… based on my understanding of the terrain in this area, Pine forest is the only road from Qingstone County to West State City. Unless we circumvent through Tianshui, but that's Snake Tribe territory."

Vanus also cast a doubtful look at Chu Guang.

"How do you plan to get the troops across?"

Chu Guang stood up and looked at the map, smiling slightly.

"Obviously, we fly them over!"

Chapter 313 Although there's no transport plane, a glider will do too

From the northern to the southern parts of River Valley Province, Bear Tooth had followed Lord Jin Ya conquering countless Survivor Bases, yet never had they encountered such tough resistance.

Especially that barrage of rockets, which truly terrified him, causing him to retreat 5 kilometers and still not recover.

A group of nearly a thousand people stopped in a hollow between hills.

The dense vegetation was conducive to concealment, while the nearby slopes provided open views and were easy to defend and hard to attack—it was an excellent place to set up camp.

Seeing Bear Tooth terrified, Tu Men sighed inwardly and stepped forward to console him.

"You need not panic, those rockets, although powerful, are not very accurate, and their effective range is shorter than our 100mm artillery. From our current position, they can't reach you at all."

"As long as we dig trenches and build anti-cannon holes and tunnels in the position, even the most powerful rockets can't hurt anyone inside."

Underestimating the resistance of the enemy was his mistake.

Initially, Tu Men thought that since the soldiers of the New Alliance had taken the southern slope of Pine Forest Gorge less than 24 hours ago, they could at most dig a few trenches; after the artillery bombarded them, a wave of infantry would charge, and they would manage to plant the flag. It was unnecessary to waste time digging trenches in the position.

The real hard fight should have been in the suburbs of Qingstone County.

However, what he did not expect was that the resistance of the enemy far exceeded his expectations. By the time he realized the situation was dire, the enemy had already retaliated from their attack, hitting his positions with indirect fire.

It totally stunned them.

Bear Tooth, gasping for breath, cursed.

"Damn it... the intelligence was wrong! They have more than just one thousand-team! There are thousands of people just on the heights in front of us!"

Tu Men gave a wry smile.

"That's not necessarily the case... From the density of their fire, there should only be about two or three hundred people there, but they have ample ammunition, probably carrying excessive supplies, as their machine guns haven't stopped."

"Regardless, this is no longer an opponent we can handle!"

Having said this, Bear Tooth immediately called over a signalman, snatched the walkie-talkie from his chest, and reported the situation here to the rear.

"Those damned Ground Mice have fierce fire! As soon as our men charged, they called for support, and in a few minutes, they bombarded our position with at least 1000 shells! Luckily, I didn't send everyone up!"

"There are definitely more than just one squad stationed there, at least a thousand-team! Report our situation here to the leader; we need reinforcements!"

After a bout of spitting and shouting into the walkie-talkie, Bear Tooth threw it back to his subordinate.

Looking at the Thousands of leaders, Tu Men standing beside him suggested.

"Waiting here isn't solving anything; why don't we send two hundred-teams back to the positions we just evacuated and dig out the trenches? Once the reinforcements arrive, we can immediately launch the next offensive. Without defense works, we have nowhere to hide from their shells."

Tu Men paused for a moment, then continued.

"The soldiers of the New Alliance are probably fortifying shelters in Qingstone County right now. The longer this drags on, the worse it is for us... We have no time to waste."

Bear Tooth thought about it and felt that his advisor made some sense.

That idiot Lion Tooth had dallied in Qingstone County for four months; the defense works he'd built had benefited those annoying Ground Mice.

If it dragged on for too long, even if he managed to capture Qingstone Town, he feared he would have few brothers left.

At this moment, his mind was still on the copper mine in Far Creek Town.

To take down that copper mine, he needed a good number of men.

"Alright, do as you suggested!"

After saying this, Bear Tooth called over a Centurion.

"You, take men back to the hill we just left and dig out the trench for me! If you can't dig a trench that can fit three thousand men in three days, I'll hang you!"

The Centurion knew well how ruthless Bear Tooth could be, not sparing even his own people or the enemy. Although extremely reluctant, he dared not disobey and could only reluctantly take the order.

"Understood! Boss!"

...

Pine Forest Gorge.

Not far from the southern slope, Night Ten perched with a sniper rifle on a ridge, looked through his eight-power scope at the northern hillside two kilometers away, and a hint of surprise flicked across his eyes.

"Yikes! Those bandits actually came back?"

And they started digging trenches on the hill!

Wild Wind, holding binoculars, analyzed calmly.

"It looks like they've realized they can't take down this highland quickly."

"Well, that's good news, we've never been afraid of a war of attrition; it's them who can't afford it," Night Ten chuckled and fired a shot towards the opposite side.

"Can you hit them from this distance?"

Night Ten pulled back the rifle bolt, ejecting the smoking shell.

"Nope!"

Wild Wind: "Then why the hell did you shoot?"

Night Ten grinned and responded.

"Doesn't matter, they can't spot us from this far away; just trying to scare them a bit."

Wild Wind shot him a sidelong glance while holding the binoculars.

"Be careful, you might get shelled later."

Just as Night Ten was about to take a second shot, he shivered.

"Shit, they wouldn't be that petty."

Wild Wind responded noncommittally.

"Don't know, ask them."

Two kilometers was a bit far to actually hit someone, but scaring them was still feasible.

The bullet whizzed and hit the opposite slope, kicking up a cloud of dust that startled a nearby Looter who was working.

Thinking it was the opposition's shot, he babbled an alarm, and a group took cover near an escarpment, readying themselves.

The rocket Mosquito had launched, had turned them into skittish birds, jumpy at the slightest stir.

Night Ten had waited for a while but didn't see those people emerge from behind the counter slope, and couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Are they really that timid?"

Wild Wind, holding a telescope, frowned slightly.

"They're probably planning to dig a trench from the reverse slope first..."

Unsure of the sniper's position, those people didn't dare to show themselves, but the digging continued.

Wild Wind even noticed that a group of Looters had split off to chop down nearby trees to use as supports for the tunnels.

These Looters were starting to get smart!

Meanwhile, on the frontline position, Old White and Fang Chang, also holding telescopes, had noticed the situation on the opposite hill.

"...Once they finish the trenches, they'll probably launch the next offensive."

"Then let's help them loosen the soil."

Old White's lips curled into a mischievous smile, and he gestured to the brothers behind him; the player immediately understood and jogged to the back of the position.

Just half an hour ago, the New Alliance's logistics troops had crossed mountains to deliver ammunition to the frontline, including 7mm bullets, two 88mm mortars and eight boxes of mortar shells.

Due to the absence of complete roads along the way, the speed of vehicle transport was very slow, and the supply transportation was mostly done on foot.

However, with the widespread use of the KV-1 Exoskeleton, the New Alliance soldiers had strong individual transport capabilities.

Particularly strength-type players who could carry three times their weight over long distances without any problems; the only real issues were charging and eating.

But those were minor problems.

Once the road from Qingstone County to Pine forest is cleared, logistics could be handed over to trucks by the New Alliance.

With the arrival of support weapons and supplies, players quickly built a makeshift mortar position using shovels and sandbags filled with soil.

It was just in time.

Old White calculated the target range and immediately issued an order.

"Mortar team, pay attention! 2.1 kilometers ahead, one round of artillery fire!"

Two crisp booms echoed from the back of the position.

Soon after, two plumes of thick smoke burst on the hillside north of Pine Forest, and the Looters who were digging trenches immediately lay flat on the ground.

Fang Chang held the telescope, observing where the shells had landed.

"It's a bit off, shot another hundred meters ahead should do it."

Old White continued to issue orders.

"Correct the shot a hundred meters forward, fire six rounds of dispersed shots, smash it!"

The mortar position continued firing.

This time, the shells landed directly on the opposite hill.

The Looters, who were constructing fortifications, were hit directly and immediately lay flat on the ground, not daring to raise their heads, only able to cling to their heads and roll down the slope.

After six rounds of artillery were fired.

Old White ordered a ceasefire.

From the Hill now shrouded in smoke, no one could be seen.

"They must have retreated," Fang Chang observed through the telescope for a while and clicked his tongue, "Say normally, what should be done when being shelled while digging trenches?"

"In a skirmish, it's usually optimal to dig a few isolated dugouts first, then dig in a perpendicular way, connecting the dugouts. Or just start from the bottom of the slope and dig upwards, spreading the trench to both sides once reaching the high ground..."

Watching the position two kilometers away, Old White squinted his eyes, "We'll shell them every few minutes, then surprise them after dark by charging!"

Fang Chang's eyes lit up.

"Good idea, they would never expect us to come out of the trenches!"

That initial cover with rocket shells had already shown the Ya Clan their firepower, they probably wouldn't dare to send a large force before the front-line trenches were finished.

At most, two to three hundred people could crouch on the opposite hill, with Trash-Lord leading, charging back and forth wouldn't be a problem!

Old White snickered.

"Then bring a couple of Dynamite with us, bury them in their trenches, and give them a surprise when they dig there again!"

"Hahaha! Blow up their latrines!"

Evil laughter wafted through the trench.

Their giggling sounded just like a villain's.

Just as the two were secretly discussing their night operation, Old White's VM screen on his arm suddenly flashed.

"Message from the command center... Let me see, damn!"

Seeing Old White's reaction, Fang Chang quickly asked.

"What's wrong?"

"The mission's changed... The Death Legion is coming to relieve us at the frontline in two hours." Old White said this with a pained expression.

They had agreed to hold here for another 48 hours, but the relieving orders came before noon was even over.

He strongly suspected, because they were performing too outstandingly, they got targeted by a Dog Planner.

Fang Chang's expression was odd.

"What about us?"

"The command center wants us to return to the City of Dawn to regroup... said there's a tougher, more exciting task waiting for us tonight."

Glancing at the opposite position, regret filled Old White's face.

"The night raid will have to be left to Brother Edge and the others."

West State City.

Four New Area, inside the main tent of the Ya Clan.

Listening to his subordinate's report on the front-line situation, Golden Tooth sat on a human bone chair, his black and green face clouded with worry.

He hadn't expected to lose two hundred men in just one morning, and even more unexpected was the number of cannons the Blue Ground Mice had equipped.

He was well aware of his subordinates' tendency to exaggerate; a thousand shells within minutes was clearly an overstatement.

The actual situation was probably around one or two hundred shells.

Nevertheless, it was enough for him to take seriously.

Tapping his index finger lightly on the chair, he said in a deep voice,

"Send in the tanks."

Unlike the Snake Clan, the Ya Clan's tanks were not distributed among various thousand-man teams but were organized as the leader's personal guards forming an independent tank brigade, taking orders directly from the leader.

These big machines were costly, not only to use but also prone to malfunctions; he would not risk deploying tanks to the frontline unless absolutely necessary.

But now, there was no choice.

Standing to one side, Dylon spoke softly,

"The New Alliance has planes, rushing the tanks to the front isn't a good idea. Even if the armor on the front of Conqueror 10 is strong, the top is a defensive blind spot. Before we send out planes, we need to address the air defense issue..."

Golden Tooth said gravely,

"So, do you have any better ideas?"

Dylon pondered,

"We need anti-air weapons. Can we import some from the Bugra Free State? Something like anti-aircraft guns, maybe?"

The Expeditionary Army did have some air defense weapons for combat against the Grand Canyon air force, but those were scarce and often specially targeted by the Grand Canyon's artillery and aircraft, leaving few intact.

Dylon vaguely remembered that when the Expeditionary Army initially began to crumble, everyone was looking out for themselves, and a batch of supplies containing air defense equipment was sold off to the Bugra Free State by a Ten Thousand Leader.

Although he didn't know how much Dinar the guy had made, it likely wasn't expensive.

If they could buy some back, it should be more than enough to cope with those small planes.

However...

Sitting next to him, Golden Tooth quickly dismissed the idea,

"We're out of money."

Dylon paused, looking at him and asking,

"What about the 2 million Dinar we had?"

Golden Tooth coughed, his voice dull as he said,

"There are too many expenses, it's all been spent... Let's drop this subject. Can we solve this problem ourselves? It's not a solution always expecting others to help."

Why did he become a Looter?

Surely not just to save up money for trading.

The treasures he looted, he had exchanged some for weapons, and he splurged the rest on his pleasures.

Those slaves locked up in his dungeons were as thin as scarecrows, suitable only as labor and emergency rations; the somewhat attractive ones were mostly worn out from misuse. As the leader of the Ya Clan, he certainly wouldn't stoop to picking leftovers from his subordinates, damaging his dignity aside; he couldn't stomach it.

As for pleasures, naturally, the biogenetic beings that never broke however rough they were handled, and the specially bred clones suit his taste more.

As for the survivors in the North Suburb?

He had never taken those scavenging ragpickers seriously, which is why he had only sent a thousand-team to deal with them.

Golden Tooth admitted he had misjudged strategically, but regretting it now was pointless; the money spent wasn't going to return.

As for looting it back, that seemed unrealistic, especially at this critical moment.

Standing to one side, Dylon watched him with wide-open eyes, feeling his brain throb in pain.

Spent it all?!

That was 2 million Dinar!

Even if the Dinar in the River Valley Province wasn't worth much, it shouldn't have been squandered so quickly!

Standing silently throughout, Wu Lun couldn't help but hold his forehead, gaining a new understanding of his ally's foolishness.

If it weren't for the fact that collaborating with the Chewing Bone Tribe was ordained by the Saint Heir, he'd have started questioning the point of supporting such an incompetent ally.

Seeing his strategist fall silent, Golden Tooth knew his spending was a bit outrageous, so he coughed and said,

"Don't panic, my friend, in two more months when the weather heats up, we can have the slaves cultivate Spirit Leaf to sell to those shrewd merchants. That stuff is worth more than Dinar."

"Two months?! We can't possibly fight them that long!"

Dylon took a deep breath and continued,

"Buying equipment is not gonna work for now... If it comes to it, let's just get a few trucks and string together four 12mm heavy machine guns, weld them into a unit; it should manage somehow."

"This war can't drag on; their industrial capacity probably exceeds my expectation! If they stabilize their foothold in Qingstone County, driving them out later will be tough."

"As soon as our anti-aircraft trucks are ready, we should proceed alongside the tank units to the front line, concentrating our forces to launch an offensive against the New Alliance's positions! Even if it costs a few tanks, we must chew through their lines! This is the optimal strategy!"

Hearing his strategist's suggestion, Golden Tooth furrowed his brow.

Especially at the mention of potentially losing a few tanks, the thought already pained him without even having sent them yet.

Those tanks were his treasures.

He'd rather lose more Cannon Fodder than allow one scratch on his precious assets. Human life was cheap in Wasteland, but some things money can't buy.

"Are those kind of anti-aircraft trucks... reliable?"

Dylon, hearing this, nearly burst an artery in frustration.

"Who the hell is responsible for this?!"

Standing to the side, Wu Lun sighed, interjected.

"… The propeller airplanes of the New Alliance fly very slow; as long as the density of the fire net is sufficient, it's not difficult to shoot them down during their dive."

"I think your staff's suggestion is good, the longer this battle drags on, the worse it is for you."

Seeing that the apostle from the Torch Church also expressed agreement, although Jin Ya still had some hesitations in his heart, he knew he had to make a decision.

He pondered for a long time.

Right hand slamming on the armrest of the chair, Jin Ya made a decision.

"Let's do as you said!"

...

81 Steel Factory.

In the center of the brand-new workshop rested a large airplane nearly twenty meters long with a wingspan of nearly thirty meters.

Near-vertical fuselage and straight wings were neatly lined with rows of rivets. The wings were cantilever monoplanes, with two symmetrical electric motors installed on the leading edge.

As for the tail, it consisted of a cantilevered horizontal stabilizer and a single vertical stabilizer, with an entrance to the fuselage at the rear close to the tail.

The entire airplane's body and wings were constructed from A3 aerospace aluminum, costing a substantial sum.

Compared to the wooden gliders produced by Goblin Technology, this airplane indeed looked more like an airplane…

From the outside, Chu Guang could roughly tell that this thing was probably a replica of the WWII era C-47 twin-propeller transport plane.

Of course, there were still quite some differences.

Perhaps worried about the power of the electric motors being insufficient, the players at the 81 Steel Factory had added an extra motor and propeller to the front of the nose, modifying the original twin-propeller design into a tri-propeller setup.

The airplane had no weapons installed, and even the cockpit only contained bare wires and a bare seat.

However, this did not prevent the players at the 81 Steel Factory from having high hopes for this large airplane, even giving it a name already—

H-1 "Dragonfly" General Purpose Airplane!

Standing in the workshop, Chu Guang walked around the airplane, nodding in approval, and asked the two players standing nearby,

"Can this plane fly?"

The expressions of Brother Ciso and Brother Levin were somewhat peculiar.

Eventually, Brother Levin coughed and explained,

"Respected Manager, this airplane… it's still in the testing stage and might not be able to be deployed anytime soon."

Ever since their business rival Goblin Technology had come up with the glider, they had been contemplating making an airplane as well.

However, since they had started late in this aspect, the more capable players had been poached by Goblin Technology and invested in the 'W series' flight craft improvement projects, leaving them with limited talent, so the progress had not been very fast.

The prototype parked in the workshop had been their results of more than two months, and they had just finished wiring and installing the power system; it still needed more time before it could be truly deployed.

Although somewhat regrettable, Chu Guang didn't say much.

After all, rushing these things was useless.

To have achieved this much in such a short time, his players had done quite well.

"How soon can it be deployed?"

Faced with the Manager's inquiry, Brother Ciso hesitated for a moment.

"Within a month shouldn't be a problem… possibly even half a month if quick, but that depends on the test flight results."

One month.

Should be in time.

At that moment, Chu Guang suddenly had an idea, and he asked,

"Is there a way to install a 37mm gun on the side of the airplane?"

Both Brother Ciso and Brother Levin's eyes lit up simultaneously.

"Install a 37mm gun on the side? Are you considering a design similar to an aerial gunboat?"

"We hadn't considered this in the original design of this aircraft, but given the high structural strength of the A3 aluminum… I think it shouldn't be a large problem; we can try!"

Chu Guang nodded.

"If a 37mm cannon doesn't hold up, switching to a 20mm is also feasible. In a month, our ground troops should be able to push into the urban area of West State City."

"The city's complex terrain and numerous shelters limit the efficiency of bombardment and dive bombing; we need a support weapon that is both efficient and precise to clear away the ground troops of the Ya Clan and assist our ground forces in completing the final cleanup."

"Please do research more on the specifics of the design."

At that moment, Chu Guang received a message from Xiao Qi, the Burning Corps had already changed to trains from the front line and were regrouping at the gates of the military camp north of the City of Dawn.

Leaving the 81 Steel Factory, Chu Guang headed straight to the military camp.

As soon as Vanus saw Chu Guang, he immediately approached.

"How is it? Can that transport plane be used?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Not for now, but it won't affect us."

Vanus was puzzled and didn't quite understand what he meant.

How would they fly over without a transport plane?

Chu Guang didn't explain, but instead, he looked towards the nearby airport and the group of several pilots regrouped there.

Surviving and bringing the planes back had already proven their capabilities.

After a pause, Chu Guang continued,

"Even without a transport plane, gliders will also do."

If necessary, they could just fly multiple trips!

Chapter 314: Warrior Action!

Late at night.

West State City, draped in silence, resembled a dead city, except for the sparse lights flickering in District Four, where the lake had overflowed.

Inside a crudely built sentry post, Grey Dog, wrapped in beast skin, yawned and tossed a damp log into the fire pit before languidly strolling over to a lookout hole.

Although the weather had grown warmer in April, the air in West State City remained chillingly damp.

Especially in District Four.

The entire district was submerged in water.

Not far off, in the streets, the water glistened, dark blobs floated on the surface, indiscernible whether they were rotting wood tangled in algae or the shells of Crack Claw Crabs.

Despite the numerous unchanging aspects of life here, it remained the prime location for setting up camp.

The backflow of lake water paralyzed all the underground facilities in the area, eliminating worries about the elusive Guerrilla Team.

Moreover, the Crack Claw Crabs active in this region were the nemesis of all living creatures, rendering anyone unfamiliar with the area utterly immobilized.

So...

What exactly was the point of him standing guard?

Watching the silent, deserted streets, Grey Dog yawned again, reminiscing about his time previously spent in the central part of the River Valley Province.

Those days were probably his most carefree.

They had swept through relentlessly, turning everything in their path to scorched earth, decimating and plundering everything, doing whatever they desired to the captured slaves... No one could stop them, and no one was their match.

However, since their push southward, misfortune had continuously beset them.

First, they stumbled in Qingquan City, followed shortly by grim news from Qingstone County. Not only was their southward advance blocked, but they were even pushed back by a group of Blue Ground Mice.

Maybe seeing hope in those Blue Ground Mice, the recent guerrilla attacks had become more frequent.

Those survivors hiding underground, like rats, were attacking their patrols using homemade pipes and crossbows, throwing cans filled with Black Powder into their bullet and Dynamite manufacturing workshops and garages.

Grey Dog was slightly distracted when, suddenly, the sound of a creaking door echoed from downstairs.

Hearing the movement below, the looter instinctively tightened his grip on his submachine gun and called out into the dark corridor.

"Who!"

"It's me, coming to change guard!" responded a voice from the gloomy staircase as a thin, monkey-like man approached.

Relieved it was an ally, Grey Dog relaxed.

"Change guard? Isn't it another two hours?"

The man responded.

"Orders from Lord Jin Ya, starting tonight, six-hour shifts reduced to four; one shift a day changed to two."

Grey Dog was dumbfounded.

He was initially glad to hear about the shift change, eager to return to his bed, but now someone was telling him he still had another four hours to stand.

"So you're saying... I have one more shift?"

The clearly also unwilling man replied gruffly.

"Yes, it's probably some rotten idea from Dylon, suggesting we increase our guard against steal-aways by expanding night patrols from the surroundings of District Four to the entire city."

He had respected that man a few months ago, but that was months ago. Their forces had been invincible a few months ago, but now?

Like a sick old dog, they were curled up in a rubbish heap. He hated the damp air here, the endless attacks, and especially those filthy rats.

Thinking carefully, even without that man's suggestions, they could easily thrash those settlements of survivors blocking their path.

If not for that damn caution, they should have moved into the houses of those Blue Ground Mice in the "North Suburb" last winter.

Grey Dog was astonished.

"Ambush? We are twenty kilometers away from the front line."

Separated by the Pine Forest Pass, how did they plan to get here?

Surely they weren't planning to tunnel through.

"Don't know; orders are orders," the man said irritably, stuffing a wrinkled map into Grey Dog's arms, "Stop asking and get moving! If you delay until the change of guard departs, you'll end up going alone!"

Despite a million reluctances, Grey Dog took the map and, holding his submachine gun, hurried downstairs.

His shift position was outside District Four; they needed to take a raft out and perform patrol duties along the way.

Many survivors took advantage of the darkness to look for food, and the guerrilla forces mostly became active around this time. Walking alone at night was akin to suicide.

The raft was already waiting downstairs.

As Grey Dog boarded the raft with his nine brothers, they began their journey. When passing an alleyway, he finally saw clearly what was floating there.

It was a billboard entangled in algae.

Grey Dog couldn't understand the writing, but the long shape eerily resembled a coffin.

Spooked by the thought, he shifted his gaze away from the billboard and began chatting intermittently with his raft-mates.

Meanwhile, unnoticed by anyone, several hard-to-spot dark spots briefly flickered with the glimmering water lights in the smelly ditch.

An air force formation, consisting of twenty-five aircraft, had already arrived right above their heads...

...

In the night sky.

Holding the control stick, Mosquito, piloting the W-2 ground attack aircraft, shouted excitedly into the communications channel.

"This is the Goblin Corps Air Force. Package delivered to the target zone overhead. Ready to commence action anytime!"

At an altitude of three thousand meters, plus the high-altitude air currents, there was no need to worry about being heard by those below as long as they did not open fire or drop bombs.

At this moment, Night Ten, secured tightly to the back of the pilot's seat by nylon ties, had almost lost all sensation in his ears and cheeks due to the whooshing airflow outside the cockpit.

His entire being was numb.

Otherwise, he would certainly have protested to Mosquito about being referred to as cargo.

In fact, Night Ten's current situation was indeed no different from cargo.

The W-2 glider was a single-seat aircraft with no spare seats for passengers.

However, this wasn't a problem for the "fully realistic Virtual Reality Game."

There was just enough space left between the rear of the cabin and the pilot's seat to cram in one person, still allowing for take-off.

Players themselves didn't press F to enter the airplane; even without a seat in the cabin, they could still create a spot for themselves.

As for why Night Ten was here?

Well, that's a long story.

This morning, they were still passionately shooting at the Looter in the frontline trenches. They planned to hold their positions for 48 hours, but before noon, they were called back to the rear and tasked with a special mission.

At first, Night Ten was excited, thinking their standout performance in the battle had triggered a hidden mission, until he heard the specifics of the task.

According to the combat plan formulated by the headquarters, they needed to board the Goblin Corps' gliders, parachute into the urban area of West State City, and destroy enemy strategic facilities to buy time for the frontline troops.

Their equipment had already been pre-dropped in air boxes which included disassembled locators from VM, searchable even in offline mode.

Although the Rat Brothers had previously built a makeshift communications tower in West State City, it had been without power for over a month due to being relocated to Qingstone County.

They needed to establish a new outpost using the radio in the parachuting box or repair the Rat Brothers' communication tower.

Since it was an airborne operation behind enemy lines, the risk factor was very high, and they could only carry small arms and a few support weapons, with equipment like Type 5 and 6 exoskeletons being restricted.

However, they were not alone; there would be nightly air drops of supplies.

Thanks to the popularity of silk stockings in Giant Stone City, the New Alliance's chemical plants had long mastered the technology of "producing nylon from biomass oil," solving the parachute material issue.

Previously, while Goblin Technology was developing gliders, they had actually produced a batch of parachutes, but because planes were more valuable than people, they did not distribute them to the troops.

But here was the problem.

Night Ten had never parachuted before!

Right now, he was panicking.

As is well known, parachuting untrained and alone is extremely dangerous, akin to slipping while playing Russian roulette and shooting oneself in the head twice.

Especially parachuting at night, when it's impossible to see the ground clearly; the ways to die are indeed plentiful.

But if asked whether he could jump or not?

Well, of course, he could.

The biggest challenges in parachuting were folding the parachute and landing. Opening the chute and controlling body balance, while difficult under particular conditions and requiring calm, were not as hard as imagined if one did not encounter severe weather.

Having an expert player fold the parachute solved fifty percent of the problems.

As for the remaining fifty percent?

Just be more careful next time.

The mission code name was "Warrior." All players from the Burning Corps were to participate, and the Goblin Corps' Air Force formation would drop them in batches.

Night Ten felt that changing the word "Warrior" to "Freeloader" would not be out of place at all.

Within the communication channel, the noisy static buzzed incessantly.

Then the Manager's voice came through.

"...proceed as planned!"

"Roger!"

The communication channel switched to all-team voice, and Mosquito excitedly continued shouting.

"Burning Corps brothers, our flight has arrived; remember your mission! Remember to open your parachute before crashing and splattering!"

"Little Fish will pray for your safety, Lord Manager will remember your loyalty, best of luck!"

"Now, jump——!"

From behind the cockpit of the glider, black dots were dropped one by one, like seagulls dropping poop while circling the harbor.

The comparison might not be quite right, but it was vivid enough.

If the parachute malfunctioned, the shape of the fall from over three thousand meters high would not look much prettier than a seagull's poop.

After releasing the nylon straps around his legs, waist, and shoulders, Night Ten grabbed the edge of the cabin, feeling his legs trembling.

Sitting in front, Mosquito couldn't help but urge him.

"F*ck! Just jump, dammit! If you dilly-dally any longer, I'll run out of fuel!"

Night Ten couldn't help but retort.

"Your electric plane doesn't use any damn fuel!"

"Out of electricity works too, hurry up! Stop whining, I need to go back for another trip!"

Night Ten swallowed.

"Last question... what if the parachute doesn't open?"

Hearing this, Mosquito laughed and cheekily said.

"No worries, you'll be fine in three days!"

"Damn!"

Seeing the guy still hesitating, Mosquito got impatient.

"I'll give you ten seconds. If you don't jump, I'll help you."

"F*ck, don't mess around!"

"Ten, nine..."

Mosquito began to count down.

Seeing his teammates had jumped, Night Ten couldn't stay cowardly any longer; he gritted his teeth, braced himself, and leaped out toward the outside of the cabin.

The moment his body left the cabin, he felt his heart stop.

But that was merely a momentary feeling.

As the reference objects passed by his side and he began to freefall, the primal fear dissipated instantly.

Night Ten felt like he had become a bird.

Fair is fair, the feeling was quite exhilarating, even if his eardrums were bothering him and felt like they had exploded.

The Looters had no radar nor high-altitude searchlights; although they couldn't see the situation on the ground, the people on the ground couldn't see them either.

Silently counting in his head, Night Ten suddenly pulled on the shoulder rope, and with a soft puff sound, a huge lifting force grabbed his back.

Simultaneously, his descending speed rapidly reduced...

The handle to control the parachute's direction was right by the parachute cord, but with only two hours of theoretical training, Night Ten had no idea how to use it. He adjusted the direction by feel, nervously praying in his heart.

Perhaps the Dog planner heard his prayers.

His luck was not too bad; he landed on the roof of a three-story villa's garage. Had he veered slightly to the side, he might have crashed into a wall.

His feet solidly hit the ground; Night Ten stumbled, almost falling off the garage roof. Grimacing in pain, he stabilized himself, cut the parachute cords with his dagger, carefully avoided the rusty shed by the garage door, and slid down the side.

"Safe landing... damn, that scared the hell out of me."

It was a close call!

Having confirmed the safety of his surroundings, Night Ten immediately checked his equipment.

Apart from the VM strapped to his arm, he now only had a Pu-9 submachine gun, two 9mm magazines, and a few pieces of dry food and a water bottle.

As for his sniper rifle and other equipment, they were all packed in the airdrop box.

Just as Night Ten was about to check the location of the airdrop box and his teammates through the VM, there was a rustling noise nearby.

Due to the constant buzzing in his ears, the sound had almost reached him before he heard it.

Realizing what was happening, Night Ten had a jolt through his body and immediately pointed his gun in that direction, safety off.

"Don't shoot, it's me! Old White."

Old White called out in a low voice.

Hearing Old White's voice, Night Ten's pounding heart finally calmed a bit, and he leaned against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fuck... I almost got scared to death too."

"Relax, don't be so tense," Old White chuckled and walked over, patting him on the shoulder, "Come on, the airdrop box is nearby. Let's recover the equipment and radio first, then join up with Fang Chang and the others."

After saying that, Old White took the lead.

Though Night Ten wanted to rest a bit more before moving, he was aware that they were deep in the territory of the Chewing Bone Tribe now, and it wasn't the time to rest.

The two moved along the edge of the ruins, cautiously guarding against dangers that lurked in the dark. Soon, they arrived at the entrance of an abandoned residential area.

The street opposite was deathly quiet.

Not a single sound, not even the noise of a rat gnawing could be heard.

Old White didn't immediately cross, but carefully observed the street situation.

Looking over to Old White, who had ducked down next to him to catch his breath, Night Ten finally regained his energy and asked in a low voice.

"Speaking of which, how did you land so quickly?"

Old White casually replied.

"...You were dawdling. I was on the ground waiting for ages before you came down."

Night Ten curiously asked.

"Why aren't you panicked at all?"

"To say I'm not panicked isn't quite true; after all, it's someone else's pack. But it doesn't matter in the game, since dying here isn't real death."

Seeing Night Ten still picking at his ear, Old White paused and then said, "If your ears feel blocked, you might try holding your nose and exhaling forcefully, but don't make any noise."

"I'll give it a try..."

Night Ten, uncomfortable from the blocked ears, immediately tried Old White's method, pinching his nose and blowing.

At first, he couldn't find the knack for it and tried for a long time without success, but when he got it right, his eardrums suddenly felt as if they were popped open by the air.

"...What the fuck?! It actually worked?"

Now that his hearing was back to normal, Night Ten looked at Old White in surprise.

"Have you done this before?"

"Sort of... Cut the chatter and keep up."

While they were talking, Old White had already checked the safety of the street, gave Night Ten a signal, and was the first to dash out from the cover towards the other side.

Without hesitation, Night Ten immediately followed.

The two were quickly moving towards the direction of the airdrop box, but just then, rapid gunfire erupted from a nearby street.

"Pu-9 sounds!"

Old White's heart tightened and he cursed under his breath, immediately taking Night Ten with him into a building nearby.

From a distance came chaotic shouting followed by intense gunfire, and soon a green signal flare rose into the sky.

Night Ten took a deep breath and skillfully merged his consciousness with the surrounding environment, perceiving the faint vibrations.

"About twenty people... about four hundred to five hundred meters away!"

This was the limit of his active perception distance.

Matching the signals on the VM map, Old White frowned.

"It's the Smoking Quitting Brother! They must have run into a patrol!"

Their landing spot was eight kilometers north of Section Four, based on the information provided by the Difficult for the Strong Brother, the Ya Clan's night patrol wasn't supposed to roam this far.

Had there been a change in the patrol?

Night Ten looked at Old White.

"Should we go help them?"

"First to the airdrop box. We have to recover the equipment and radio before the Looters' reinforcements arrive!" Old White made a decision in three seconds.

It was now early morning, pitch dark outside, and rushing to rescue without restoring communication wasn't wise.

Just looking at the blinking marks on the map, they didn't even know how many teammates were still alive.

The urgent task now was to head to the airdrop box, retrieve their equipment, and then deploy the radio high up to restore communication with this area and the headquarters.

As for the Smoking Quitting Brother...

Old White decided to trust his teammates.

"Alright!"

Night Ten nodded and immediately followed Old White, stepping over the debris as they left the abandoned building.

As they moved swiftly away from the firefight area, the entire neighborhood had turned into a chaotic mess.

Holding a submachine gun, Grey Dog sprayed bullets into a narrow alley up ahead, his face filled with panic.

Minutes before.

While heading to change shift, Grey Dog was wondering how the Blue Ground Mice could ambush them, but before they reached the changeover spot, he saw a dark shadow fall from the sky and slam into the ground with a thud.

There were only two flashlights in the entire squad, and the rest were holding torches; beyond a short distance, it was pitch dark.

Hearing that noise, everyone was startled, and Grey Dog quickly shone his flashlight there, only to see a pile of flesh.

On the cracked concrete road, red and white were scattered about, barely recognizable as human.

Grey Dog, who had been relatively calm, was instantly dumbfounded, unclear about what had happened.

However, he had no time left to think.

Almost at the instant the flashlight came on, the alley right across erupted with rapid gunfire.

Sparks darted across the street, catching them off guard with this sudden strafing. The man in the lead was riddled with bullets and fell instantly, while the others immediately dropped their torches and sought cover to return fire.

The street was in chaos.

Not just from the gunfire.

But also from the shouts of teammates.

"Damn it, I got shot in the arm!"

"That's the sound of a Pu-9! Those aren't guerrillas!"

"The New Alliance?! How is that possible?! Have the Blue Jackets really made it here?!"

Who were the attackers?

Where did the people across come from?!

Rumors abounded, and the patrol team was like frightened birds.

"Quick! Call for reinforcements!"

Hearing the captain's panicked shouts from inside a storefront, Grey Dog, despite also being terrified, mustered the courage to crawl over, picked up the signal gun the captain had thrown, and fired it straight up.

With a long "whoosh," the flare, shining green, soared into the sky.

Though the faint light was not enough to illuminate the street, it somewhat restored the morale of the surrounding men.

Meanwhile, stationed two kilometers away, the camp noticed the signal flare and immediately dispatched a truck, with a hundred men armed with rifles and guns, rushing toward the area of the gunfire.

Not only were Grey Dog and Looter beside him dumbfounded, but Quit Smoking in the opposite alley was as well.

He was originally planning to meet up with nearby teammates, had just met "Lost Rookie," and was about to look for "Corner Old Six" when he stumbled upon the Looter's patrol.

Quit Smoking immediately felt something was off. The calmness of Brother Old Six was too suspicious; the Looter's patrol was nearly stepping on their faces, yet their coordinates were fixed in the middle of the road, motionless.

However…

By the time he sensed something amiss, it was already too late.

The flashlight from across was suddenly directed at them, and the rookie beside him, thinking their position had been exposed, didn't think twice before pulling the trigger, sending a burst across.

The sound of the gun, akin to an old typewriter, ignited the street's powder keg.

Caught off guard for a moment, the other side soon recovered and took cover, exchanging fire with them.

"Are you insane! We only have four magazines combined!"

After being pulled back and yelled at by Quit Smoking, the Lost Rookie gradually realized the mess he had made, nervously speaking,

"So, what do we do now..."

Quit Smoking didn't reply but pulled the pin of a hand grenade, counted down, and threw it, forcing the Looters about to leave cover to retreat.

Then he quickly raised his gun and swept across the storefront windows, knocking down Looters who had nearly reached the alley entrance.

The scene was chaotic.

Using the light from the torches dropped on the street, he finally saw clearly the mess of bodies on the street and couldn't help but click his tongue.

What a sight.

Their heads were blown off!

Recalling the harrowing experience when parachuting in earlier, Quit Smoking could roughly guess what Brother Old Six had encountered a few minutes ago.

Either his parachute hadn't opened,

Or he opened it too late...

"What else can we do," Quit Smoking cussed as he changed his magazine, "let's just retreat!"

Heading to the rendezvous point was out of the question.

Luring the Looters there wouldn't only sabotage himself but also his teammates. Even if they were capable fighters, they couldn't handle one against ten.

Now, all they could do was to escape as far as possible from the drop area to draw the Looters away.

Only after their teammates retrieved the air-dropped box and set up the radio to restore communications in the area would they have a chance to organize effective resistance or even call for air support.

In fact, the players who engaged in the firefight with the Looters were not the only ones.

About three kilometers from them, near the ruins of a power plant, two unlucky fellows had deviated from their course while descending, landing directly near a watchtower belonging to the Ya Clan in the southern part of the city.

Both sides were bewildered.

And both instinctively pulled their triggers.

At that moment, the Goblin Corps Air Force formation had just returned to the north of the Dawn City.

Standing at the edge of the airfield, Chu Guang, who was scrolling through the player list, paused briefly.

"Another one dead?"

The first batch of parachuting players totaled 22, and now only 14 remained online, with a survival rate of just 63%.

However, the one who just died...

Didn't seem like he died from a failed parachute.

Since the connection to the Morphogenesis Field was not based on electromagnetic waves, even without restored communications, Chu Guang still could keep track of the players' general directions and login status.

The survival rate was highest among Agile system players, followed by Body Constitution System, then Perception.

Staring at the quiet northern night sky, Chu Guang muttered to himself.

"Probably started fighting."

Though it happened a bit earlier than expected, it didn't really matter.

The objective of this operation was to create chaos for the Ya Clan, regardless of the methods and means.

West State City must be in total disarray by now.

For the Looters stationed there, tonight was destined to be an unforgettable night.

Not far away, under the guidance of lights, Goblin Corps planes gradually landed on the runway.

Turning his gaze from the north, Chu Guang looked to Wrench standing beside him and ordered,

"Get the ground crew and the airborne soldiers of Echelon No.2 ready for another round of air-drops in half an hour!"

Wrench snapped to attention and answered crisply,

"Yes!"

Chapter 315: The Sleepless Night of the Ya Clan

"Boss, boss, I'm out of bullets!"

"You still got a magazine left, don't you???"

"I-I-I used them all up."

"%￥@#!"

Seeing the Looters closing in, Quit smoking, low on ammunition, didn't dare to linger in combat, and began retreating while shooting and dragging along Lost Rookie, the dead weight.

Luckily for them, it seemed they weren't the only ones to run into a patrol team.

As they fled south, gunshots rang out from a residential area two streets over.

Silently praying for his teammates, Quit smoking took advantage of the Looters' diverted attention due to the gunshots and, pulling Lost Rookie beside him, turned tail and ran.

After taking many turns and twists, they finally shook off their pursuers.

Crossing a street cluttered with vehicle wreckage, the two ducked into the ruins by the road.

From the scattered stretcher debris and various odd pieces of discarded equipment, it was evident that this had once been a hospital.

What specific department it was is anybody's guess.

Slumping into a corner, Quit smoking exhaled deeply and removed the magazine from his submachine gun to check it, finding only four bullets left including the one in the chamber.

His recently eased mind plunged back down into the abyss.

"This is seriously out of bullets and out of luck..."

Out of breath, Lost Rookie asked,

"Boss... where are we now?"

Quit smoking lifted his VM and checked the map.

"According to this pre-war map, it should be West State City's Fourth Hospital, next to it are the Xinsin District Elementary School and the Water Conservancy Bureau..."

Lost Rookie was stunned.

"Xinsin District?! But weren't we running south?"

Quit smoking replied, resigned,

"Don't ask me, this is my first time in this godforsaken place."

In the rush of escaping for his life, Quit smoking remembered running south initially, but after several turns, he no longer remembered the direction.

At least they had escaped.

However, with all this commotion, the enemy wouldn't let them off so easily.

Fearing the Looters' patrol might come searching soon, they didn't dare to linger and decided to move on after a short rest, planning to head to the nearest rendezvous point to regroup with their teammates and discuss their next moves.

They made it to the enclosing wall of the hospital's backyard.

Stepping on to the lid of a garbage can, Quit smoking reached up to the top of the wall.

Just as he was preparing to vault over, he saw a few lights leaking through the leaves across the alley near the elementary school gymnasium.

He immediately paused, crouching down and gesturing to his teammate that there were people ahead, then lay flat on top of the wall to have a closer look.

And what he saw nearly gave him a heart attack.

This was no ordinary school.

It was a fortress!

Circular barbed wire topped the concrete wall and defensive structures like those found on artillery towers were fixed on the rooftops of the guardhouse, the corner of the wall, and the main and auxiliary teaching buildings. Behind the windows, there loomed a heavy machine gun plated with welded steel!

The Looters had constructed makeshift cover out of wood and concrete blocks, topped with brush and branches for camouflage, blending the entire fortress with the tree-laden surroundings. The area was pitch black, and Quit smoking nearly missed it!

The source of light that caught Quit smoking's attention came from the sports hall of the teaching building.

It seemed the brick wall and iron gate on the left side of the gymnasium were added later, and not very tightly built, offering Quit smoking the perfect angle to see inside.

If looking from above, one would probably see nothing!

"Boss, there's lots of people inside…" whispered Lost Rookie, who also lay beside him on the wall, nervously, "This place must house a hundred-man team!"

Quit smoking rolled his eyes.

"I'm not blind!"

It wasn't just people.

Several empty trucks were parked on the open space.

The whole school, which had been converted into a military base, had lights on only at the gymnasium. Intuition told Quit smoking that something was definitely hidden there.

Could it be the Looters' factory?

But why would they put a factory outside Xinsin District?

There wasn't a nearby vantage point to get a clear view inside.

As Quit smoking puzzled over this, the doors of the gym were pulled open, and a truck drove out.

Upon viewing that truck, the two peeking over the wall cursed in unison.

The truck was outfitted with a quadruple anti-aircraft machine gun on its back.

"Holy shit, an anti-aircraft truck!"

"These Looters can do this too?!"

Quit smoking, equipped with a headset, hurriedly took several photos of the anti-aircraft truck as it left the building, uploading them to his VM.

But then the problem arose.

His VM was offline, and even if he took the photos, only he could see them.

Does he need to find a place to go offline and upload them to the official website?

But online players couldn't see the message either.

Just as Quit smoking was worrying about how to share this astonishing discovery with other players, the top-right corner of the VM screen suddenly displayed a "Signal Access" icon.

Upon seeing this, both of them were simultaneously overjoyed.

"Here it comes!"

The signal had arrived!

...

"Done!"

Atop the half-collapsed apartment building.

Old White, who had finally managed to set up the makeshift radio after much fiddling, let out a sigh of relief.

There had been a minor glitch with the radio just before, thankfully it wasn't serious, just a loose battery connector that probably occurred when it hit the ground too hard.

After pondering for a moment, he quickly fixed it.

Once the radio was operational, Old White hid it between an abandoned water tank and a wall on the rooftop, leaving only a nearly two-meter-long antenna exposed.

This portable radio, designed by the scientific research team, was very convenient. It came equipped with solid hydrogen battery packs for extremely long endurance and could serve as a temporary signal relay to provide information support to frontline troops. It was easy to use whether dropped in a supply crate or attached to the back of a truck.

With communication restored within a ten-kilometer radius, Old White immediately switched to team voice chat.

"...All team members, pay attention, the radio setup is complete. After confirming safety, please head to Collection Point C immediately!"

"Team members within five hundred meters of me, get to me right away. I've got thirty LD-47s, eight thousand rounds of ammo, and various support weapons here."

"After we gear up, let's blast the hell out of them!"

He disconnected the communication.

Old White then looked up at the sky.

The second airdrop had started, soon more than twenty brothers would join them.

If they landed safely, that is.

At that moment, a communication request came through VM.

Seeing that it was a message from Quit smoking, Old White immediately pressed the accept button and asked.

"Where are you now?"

Quit smoking kept his voice very low on the other end of the line.

"I'm on the edge of the Fourth New District... this place is called West State City Fourth Hospital."

Old White was taken aback but instinctively glanced at the map on VM.

"Damn, how did you get there?!"

"Cough cough, the situation was too chaotic at the time... forget how I got here for now, we've discovered a Looter factory!"

Old White: "...A factory?"

"Yes! A factory, there's no mistake! I can't see the specifics from here, but I saw a truck leaving the building, with a quad anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on the back, looks like it's modified from a 12mm heavy machine gun! Why not bomb them?"

Shit?

An anti-aircraft truck?

Old White was initially stunned but immediately said.

"Send me the coordinates!"

Quit smoking: "Already marked on the map!"

Old White confirmed the position on the map and set a fire support request icon at the coordinates.

The New Alliance didn't have strategic bombers, but with enough numbers, even close air support could have a strategic bombing effect.

For such heavily defended strategic facilities, as paratroopers, they just had to mark them on the map.

The rest was up to the air force.

"Coordinates confirmed... get to the nearest collection point as quickly as you can, I'm calling in the air raid right now!"

Quit smoking said excitedly.

"Roger that!"

The hit rate of night bombings was quite pitiful; getting too close could easily lead to friendly fire.

Knowing well the dismal accuracy of the Goblin Corps, Quit smoking quickly led his companion to evacuate from the hospital after ending the call.

However, they didn't go far, instead hiding in a resident building with a relatively clear view about four or five hundred meters away.

From here, they couldn't see clearly into the school, but they could still see the main bishop's building and the earth cannon tower on top.

Meanwhile, after hanging up the communication, Old White immediately reported the intel about the anti-aircraft truck and the possible factory facilities to the rear command.

Following the second airdrop, the Goblin Corps' flight formations quickly returned to base, and within less than an hour, they were back in the air.

This time, however, Mosquito and his team didn't bring a third wave of paratroopers.

Instead, they brought a total of 24 100kg aerial bombs!

"Coach! It's too dark down there, I can't see anything!" Falling Feather, who was supporting the control stick, cried out in an exasperated and amused tone while looking at the pitch-black city sector.

Not to mention seeing the situation on the ground.

If he didn't use the VM map as a radar, he wouldn't have been able to see even the airplanes in front of him very clearly.

At that moment, Mosquito's voice came through the communication channel.

"No problem! We'll slow down and fly in formation shortly, and when you hear my gunfire, that's the signal to drop the bombs!"

Falling Feather was puzzled.

"What?! Can we really do that?"

The radio channel crackled with a drake-like strange laughter.

"Hahaha, don't know if it'll work, but we'll find out by trying! Brothers, get ready to engage the enemy, disengage bomb safeties. Don't just stare at the bomb release lever—keep an eye on the tail of the plane in front of you. Everyone, listen to grandpa count down soon!"

Due to the low altitude of the flying formation, less than three hundred meters from the ground, the dense sound of the propellers quickly attracted the attention of the Looters in the city.

Noticing the planes, whether it was the patrol teams or the sentries hidden on rooftops, they panickedly shone their flashlights towards the sky.

However, their flashlight beams were too weak, resembling mere toothpicks to the W-2 ground attack aircraft flying in the sky.

In such a short time, the Looters barely had time to react and could only fire wildly into the sky with the weapons at hand.

Bullets whistled past fiercely, and Mosquito chuckled, glancing at the VM strapped to his thigh, and once again confirmed the coordinates, distance, and airspeed.

Even before takeoff, when the ground crew had helped them load the bombs, he had already roughly calculated the bombing angle, distance, altitude, and airspeed, and even marked the gauge with chalk. All he had to do was press the release button when in position.

Hit rate?

Did that matter?

A hundred-kilogram aerial bomb, 82% of its weight being the warhead. With such an extreme explosive load factor, over twenty planes in formation dropping bombs en-masse, even if only one hit, that would be enough!

The power was far greater than a rocket.

Mosquito's only regret now was that nuclear materials were too difficult to obtain; otherwise, he was quite curious to experience what dropping a nuclear bomb felt like.

After all, there was no need to be polite with the Looters.

These things couldn't even be called human, just beasts that looked like humans. It wouldn't be just in Game; even in reality, he wouldn't feel a shred of guilt.

The Looters on the ground sprayed bullets into the sky like mad, using every weapon available—rifles, machine guns—to desperately stop the planes from bombing the factory.

But due to the absence of tracer bullets and searchlights, they didn't even know if they hit their targets. Instead, their firing gave away their positions.

Using the sparse muzzle flashes, Mosquito confirmed the rough direction of the bombing target by the density of the ground fire.

All preparation for bombing was complete!

Mosquito opened the speed brake and beeper, and the twenty-four "W-2" ground attack aircraft began to slow down together, the long, mournful sound of the horn echoing throughout the night sky.

Hearing that Grim Reaper-like sound, the Looters on the ground panicked and fled.

"Three, two, one—"

"Smash them for me!" Originally, Mosquito wanted to shout 'start the fight,' but he held back at the last second.

Twenty-four aerial bombs fell from the sky, dropping like dumplings onto the Looters' factory.

In an instant, the explosion's fire and smoke engulfed houses, gun towers, roadblocks, checkpoints, and trucks parked by the wall—even the Enclosing Wall itself.

The Looters who couldn't escape were thrown more than ten meters away by the blast before they could even scream.

And those who tried to drive the trucks away fared even worse, not even getting the engines started before being blown to smithereens by the bombs falling from the sky.

The stadium that had been converted into a factory also turned to ruins in the explosion; Looters around it were either dead or injured, and those who could, ran for their lives...

"Awesome!"

Watching the devastated factory from afar, Quit smoking, holding binoculars, couldn't help but mutter praise in a low voice.

Beside him, the Lost Rookie also couldn't contain his excitement.

"Holy cow! That was thrilling."

"Hehe, the more exciting part is still to come."

Having put the binoculars back in his pocket, Quit smoking excitedly patted the Rookie's shoulder.

"Let's go meet up with Old White and the others; don't want to keep them waiting!"

"Once we get our equipment, we'll continue wreaking havoc!"

...

Inside the main tent of the Ya Clan.

Watching the successive battle reports—or rather, the bad news—Golden Tooth furiously punched the armrest of his chair, reducing the skull to dust!

"These despicable, shameless Ground Squirrels!"

"When I catch them, I'm going to personally gouge out their eyes, cut off their tongues, bury them in a mouse cage with just their heads sticking out until the rats chew off all their flesh, and then turn them into oil lamps!"

From the wee hours, the whole of West State City hadn't had a moment of peace.

First came reports from sentries and patrol teams under attack, some sighting one or two people, others engaging squads of ten, and yet more exaggerated reports claimed attacks by hundred-man teams, totaling a thousand people in all!

Had he not just gotten an update from Bear Tooth a few hours ago about the front line, he would have almost thought Blue Jacket had reached his doorstep!

Signal flares shot wildly through the sky, gunfire was heard everywhere in the city, and two reinforcing teams even almost fought each other, mistaking friends for enemies.

And it wasn't over yet.

Just ten minutes ago, a group of planes suddenly raided their garage and conversion factory on the edge of the Fourth New District, dropping dozens of bombs from the sky and obliterating one of their production lines.

And this added insult to injury to the already dire supply situation of the Ya Clan!

Angry roars echoed in the hall.

The numerous Thousands of leaders standing on both sides of the hall kept silent as the grave, afraid to breathe too loudly, lest the fury turn upon them.

Even Wu Lun from Death Coast cringed after hearing the brutal punishments listed.

To be honest, these people weren't that great at fighting, but they sure had a variety of ways to torment their enemies. The one and a half months he had been there had truly been an eye-opener.

The cruelest torture known by the Torch Church was nothing more than putting someone in a cage with the Claws of Death for a blood sacrifice. Although no intact body could be found when the cage was opened, death only took a second or two.

Golden Tooth was seething with anger, his clenched fists trembling in rage.

The only people in the hall who remained somewhat composed, aside from Wu Lun of the Torch Church, were Dylon, standing next to Golden Tooth.

"Attacks occurred simultaneously across various areas within the city, indicating the assailants are definitely not Guerrilla Teams based on their firepower and organizational skills. Combined with the prior air attack, as expected..." Dylon's face was serious.

Golden Tooth cursed.

"Where did these vermin come from?"

Dylon said in a deep voice,

"Eighty percent sure it's from heaven."

Golden Tooth was stunned.

"Heaven?!"

Dylon nodded, his expression solemn.

"Paratroopers... I didn't think they'd even prepare an airborne division!"

Most of the Army's paratroopers were elite soldiers recruited from the youth forces, and those who were capable of executing behind-enemy-lines operations were the elite of the elite.

Besides mastering skilled parachuting techniques, they also needed a wealth of combat experience, exceptional wilderness survival capabilities, and the will to fight with their backs against the wall.

Landing less than half an hour ago, utterly scattered in their organization, they swiftly formed up and launched several attacks on the various posts throughout the city...

Such high combat standards were almost inconceivable, even to the battle-hardened Dylon.

Who exactly were these people?

Could Giant Stone City be involved in the war?

Seeing that the conversation among these people didn't seem to lead anywhere after a long discussion, Wu Lun sneered, let down his crossed arms, and walked towards the hall's door.

Golden Tooth, sitting in the chair, saw this and asked him,

"What are you going to do?"

Wu Lun casually replied,

"I'm going to help you pull those Blue Ground Squirrels out of their Rat Holes."

He and his men couldn't play too big a role on the front line, but they were more than capable of dealing with those so-called "elite" soldiers.

Wu Lun had a premonition.

He would see that person again.

This time, he swore to avenge his fallen brothers!

...

Forum official website.

Wasteland time, four in the morning; real-world time, four in the afternoon. There was still an hour left until peak online hours, and at this moment, the forum was bustling with excitement.

Just two hours ago, 82 players from the Burning Corps used gliders to parachute into West State City in batches.

Although fewer than fifty brothers successfully landed and rushed to the rendezvous point, this didn't prevent Operation Warrior from proceeding.

According to Old White, they dodged Looter's encirclement and laid down a radio to organize a counter-attack while hiding.

Those Looters had never imagined they would drop from the sky and had no experience in dealing with airborne operations. Four or five hundred-man teams became disorganized, with just a few dozen men leading them by the nose all over the city.

While many players were sacrificed during the escape from the pursuers, the strategic achievement was nothing short of incredible.

Not only did they inflict nearly fifty casualties on the Looters, but they also destroyed a factory used by the Looters to modify anti-aircraft trucks.

Especially the latter, which could delay the Looters' offensive plan by at least two weeks, or even a month.

In addition, the Burning Corps under the cover of night managed to recover sixteen airdrop containers before dawn!

These included a hundred rifles, 27,000 rounds of ammunition, ten RPG Rocket Launchers, three mortar guns, and a number of grenades and support weapon munitions.

This equipment was more than enough to arm a hundred-man team!

Subsequent weapons and ammunition would continue to be parachuted to the battlefield without interruption.

Currently, the Burning Corps has split all supplies into two batches, one hidden in the basement of a commercial plaza 5.5 kilometers away from District Four, and the other in the apartment building where the radio was placed.

The remaining thirty or so players were divided into two teams. Aside from the players who were on shift and monitoring online, the rest had logged off to eat.

When night fell, they would pull off another big one!

Tail: "Giao! Tail wants to parachute too! T.T"

Gully-running Mole: "Damn! Green with envy!"

Elena: "Envy won't help, we can't just throw our armored trucks in there. (funny)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "I'm from the Burning Corps too! Why didn't you take me! Angry! (frustrated)"

WC truly has Mosquitoes: "You're too fat, bro. Your plane couldn't fit you!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn it! Tell me honestly, do I look fat?"

Corner old six: "Damn it! Who packed my parachute! I nearly broke the rope without it opening! Smacked right on my head! QAQ"

Sniper Bai: "Crying, same for me, the chute wouldn't open no matter what!"

WC truly has Mosquitoes: "Stop bullshitting! I checked every single parachute pack, it's absolutely impossible for there to be a problem with the parachutes. Don't blame me every time something goes wrong! Night jumps are prone to accidents, if you don't have the skill, don't open your chute at a low altitude! If you don't trust it, next time pack it yourself!"

Corner old six: "Big bro, I was wrong! QAQ"

Sniper Bai: "Don't be like that, boss! Help a kid out! TAT"

Crow: "Ha ha ha ha! Noob! Ha ha ha ha! Wimp! o(*≧▽≦)ツ"

Night Ten: "Dying of laughter!"

The forum was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

The players who had successfully landed were bragging and exaggerating their stories, describing how they had broken through enemy encirclements and finally met up with their teammates.

The players who hadn't landed successfully were also busy, but their posts were of a completely different style.

Seeing the players so excited, Chu Guang also genuinely felt happy for them.

At this moment, he held two combat reports in his hands.

It wasn't just the Burning Corps that achieved remarkable results.

A few hours ago, around three o'clock in the morning, the Death Legion at the Pine Forest front line also secured impressive victories...

Chapter 316: Not Penetrating Enough? Make Up For It With Equivalent!

"Damn! These bandits sure run fast!"

Debt Giant Eye pulled his bayonet from the corpse of a Looter and, standing on top of the trench, looked towards the slope below.

On the hillside, dozens of bodies lay askew, alongside rifles and shovels discarded by the fleeing Looters.

This place was the high ground on the north side of the Pine Forest and also the position of the Bear Tooth thousand team.

Just minutes ago, like usual, the Death Legion had rained mortars on the Looters who were hiding and digging holes there.

The Looters, harassed by the New Alliance's mortars all day long, had grown accustomed to lounging in their half-finished trenches, waiting for the bombardment to cease before resuming their digging.

However, what they didn't expect was that this time, when they lifted their heads, they would be met with gleaming bayonets.

The Looters, busy with their fortifications, never dreamed that the New Alliance, with so few men, would dare to counter-attack their positions!

Even more surprising to them, as soon as the opposing mortars stopped, those men immediately charged up.

In short, by the time they snapped out of it, it was too late.

Charging calls and battle cries almost simultaneously followed the still-smoking bomb craters and rushed onto their faces.

And at this time, many of the Looters still held shovels in their hands; the rifles dropped on the ground had not even been loaded.

Work Site Lad and Brick were the first to jump into the trenches, firing their automatic rifles in a burst of relentless gunfire that stirred a whirlwind of blood in the confined space.

The Looters sent to dig were merely third-line forces of the tribes.

Though they had followed Bear Tooth from the north of River Valley Province, slaughtering their way to the south, they usually chased after others.

They had never seen such fierce fighting!

Especially when they saw the Centurion, an Awakener, get stabbed by several bayonets on the spot like a sieve, the morale of the remaining two hundred or so men instantly collapsed. They couldn't muster the courage to resist and, one after another, cursed for not having been born with an extra pair of legs, and fled in panic toward the forest below the mountain.

In less than ten minutes, the battle was over.

"Kakarot" lifted his binoculars and glanced to the north, where the routed Looters had entered the forest on the northern side of the high ground.

"…The reinforcement will probably come in a bit. According to the air force's intelligence, Bear Tooth seems to be stationed about five kilometers away, in the mountain hollow to the north," said Debt Giant Eye with a grin.

"Do they still have a thousand men?"

"I don't know. These Looters have weird formations. A team of ten might have twenty people, and a thousand team might not exactly be a thousand."

Work Site Lad and Brick looked to Edge Shoveling at their side.

"Boss, what do you think?"

Edge Shoveling said with a smile, "What's there to think about? Bury the dynamite!"

"The brothers in the Burning Corps want to blow up all of these beasts' latrines! We can't fail to live up to the high expectations of our allies."

Saying this, he suddenly remembered something and quickly added, "Right, collect all the rifles, shovels, the carts they used for hauling soil, and even the bags they used for carrying dirt, and take them all back. We're confiscating everything!"

Hearing this, everyone's faces revealed a sinister smile.

"Alright!"

After burying the TNT in the Looters' trenches, old Edge quickly led his men back to the southern mountaintop, entering the anti-cannon hole without a further word, before the enemy reinforcements could arrive.

After waiting for a full hour, the opposing artillery finally made a belated entrance and showered their position with several rounds of 100mm cannons.

By the time the shells landed on the players' positions, aside from a few who were still taking turns on watch, the other players had already logged off and were lying down.

Some had even finished their dinner in real life.

The Looters who had previously abandoned their positions to flee came back to the high ground, emboldened by the cannonades and threatened by Bear Tooth.

Yet to their dumbfounded surprise, not only had the people from the New Alliance taken away their discarded weapons and ammunition, but they had also dragged off the shovels, carts, and even the bags for carrying soil.

The entire position had been stripped bare, and the corpses had been piled up, doused with fuel, and burned, leaving not a single trace behind for them.

Who was the real looter after all?!

Lacking tools, they could only wait for supplies to be delivered from the rear while stubbornly sourcing materials on the spot, or simply resorting to digging with their hands.

And when the Looters returned to the trenches, as a series of explosions rang out, their nightmare truly began…

…

North of City of Dawn.

In the weapons testing ground.

A scrapped Conqueror No. 10 tank was now stationary at the center of the open space.

The twisted steel was deformed, only three pairs of road wheels remained, with a huge hole blown out on the bottom plate, leaving the tank's body pitch-black.

Previously, the Black Snake thousand team had driven this tank to "North Suburb" to cause trouble but had been destroyed on the spot by a "crawler" four-legged robot carrying explosives that blew up its ammo rack and fuel tank.

Afterward, the tank was dragged into the industrial area for repeated disassembly and study, squeezed dry of its last bit of value, and then thrown into the weapon testing grounds as a target.

At this moment, Chu Guang stood with Vanus at the edge of the target range, inspecting the latest anti-armor weapons developed by Goblin Technology.

According to battle reports from the front, the Looters had begun to wise up and were contemplating retrofitting light trucks into anti-aircraft cards.

Although Goblin Corps' air force had already blown up the Looters' factories with the help of the Burning Corps, Chu Guang did not believe they would put all their eggs in one basket.

The Looters would definitely be more cautious in the future.

`They even decided to move the factory from the surface to underground.

The Looters had clearly realized that without reliable air defense weapons, their tanks would be nothing more than live targets once they reached the front lines.

And without the protection of armor units, they would have to suffer manifold casualties to wrestle Qingstone County back from the hands of the New Alliance.

Before the Ya Clan's tanks could be dispatched to the front lines, the New Alliance needed more effective anti-armor measures to deal with the ever-changing battlefield.

"Equipment Number One begins testing."

"Roger!"

Upon hearing the Manager's order, Mosquito waved his hand, and a player with the ID Kill God immediately jogged to the edge of the target range.

Squatting behind a shooting parapet made of sandbags, Kill God skillfully took out a recoilless gun tube from a box and completed the setup by unfolding the tripod.

Load, aim, safety off...

The entire sequence of movements was smooth and uninterrupted, performed in one breath.

With a loud bang, a cloud of smoke and the armor-piercing projectile shot out of the launch tube, dragging a tail of smoke towards the tank a hundred meters away.

The instant the projectile hit, the left side of the tank burst into sparks and thick smoke.

"Hit effective!"

Waiting nearby, Soul Chaser first shouted out loud and then immediately ran forward to check, followed by an excited cry.

"Pierced it! It's pierced through!"

Other lifestyle occupation players who were watching couldn't help but shout out in excitement.

"Awesome!!"

"666!"

"This is just too brutal!"

Many of these players were newbies who had only joined in the Beta version and were recruited into Goblin Technology because of Mosquito Brother's boasting on the Forum.

They had always heard Mosquito bragging, and now they were finally witnessing it with their own eyes.

Of course, there were also veteran players who were unimpressed.

"What's the big deal about blowing up a piece of junk?"

"This tank looks like it's about T72 level."

"That's an exaggeration, at best it's at the level of the peak of World War II, I didn't even see reactive armor, an RPG could penetrate it in a minute."

"Nonsense, does a Tiger have this defense? That's obviously composite armor, okay!"

Two newbie players started arguing about the tank's capabilities.

But this was just a minor episode.

Chu Guang, standing on the side, looked at the wreckage of the Conqueror No. 10 nearby, his face bearing a satisfied smile.

However, out of respect for his own dignified persona, his smile was not very obvious when many people were around.

Only one person had a heavy expression on his face in the whole shooting range.

That was Vanus.

Once a Centurion in the army, he knew better than anyone else the true strength of the Conqueror No. 10 tank.

He shook his head and poured cold water on the situation.

"It's useless."

"This is the twelfth experiment."

"Even if it penetrated, it doesn't prove anything."

Even though he couldn't understand what those people were shouting, their expressions of ecstasy didn't need to be understood. He could guess with his toes what those people were happy about.

A scrapped tank.

It took twelve shots to penetrate, and it was the side armor that was pierced.

If the infantry and vehicle-mounted machine guns around the tank were not mere decorations, such an opportunity to fire would never be possible on an actual battlefield.

Mosquito clearly realized this problem, too.

After the excitement passed, he scratched his head in bewilderment.

"It doesn't make sense..."

"This armor is too tough!"

On par with the T72?

But the T72 wasn't this tough.

Before the improved model, the side armor was about 80mm thick.

Moreover, they were using hollow-charge armor-piercing bullets.

Without NERA, ERA, or slat armor on the side, not just the old T72, but also the M1 and Leopard 2 would have to back off, especially the Leopard 2 with its ammunition racks inside the hull—if a pencil-sized hole was punctured on the front left, bad luck could mean getting your head blown off.

To increase penetration, Mosquito even sacrificed effective range by increasing the weight of the warhead in the Mark III projectile by a whopping 1.5 times while maintaining the same propellant, resulting in the range being a pitiful 150m. However, the maximum vertical penetration had reached an astonishing 400mm!

Looking at the side armor of the Conqueror No. 10 tank, it couldn't possibly be that thick, nor did it have reactive armor on the outside.

Mosquito, after much thought, could only come up with two possibilities.

`Definitely a bug!

Anyway, it couldn't possibly be my own fault!

Listening to Mosquito's mumbling and grumbling, Chu Guang relayed his confusion to Vanus standing beside him.

After hearing Mosquito's perplexity, the latter succinctly provided an answer.

"…The main battle tanks of the Army are Conqueror No.5 Light Tanks, which deal with common mutant creatures or survivor settlements, and usually don't have very thick armor. The Conqueror No.10 Heavy Tank, on the other hand, was designed from the outset to counter entities like the Grand Canyon and corporations with a certain industrial capacity as hypothetical enemies."

"Composite armor, positive pressure NBC protection system, low reliance on electronic components, sustained combat performance… These were the focal points of the design."

"Especially the armor; the body armor of the Conqueror No. 10 has a layer of special ceramic and fiber between two layers of homogeneous steel, which is also protected by a lightweight, high-temperature resistant porous material on the surface. A typical armor-piercing bullet's metal jet, after penetrating the first layer of homogeneous steel, will spread along the surface of the second layer in the inner cladding, causing the jet to quickly lose focus."

"Simply discussing the thickness of the armor is meaningless, as the metal jet from an armor-piercing bullet can't breach the second layer. If you're dealing with an undamaged original Conqueror No. 10, ten shots of armor-piercing bullets might not do the trick. You might as well go for hard-core armor-piercing, which might have a better chance of penetration."

As is well known, once a metal jet loses focus, it's like attaching a showerhead to the nozzle of a water gun—the armor-piercing ability plummets to zero.

Defeating the opponent with a sufficient number and relatively cheap cost has always been the Army's strategic thinking. The existence of the Conqueror No. 10 tank isn't to surpass the Grand Canyon's armor in performance but to increase the enemy's destruction cost.

If any infantry could take down a tank with a shot from a recoilless gun, the concept of an armored torrent would become meaningless.

Being able to breach on the twelfth shot was largely because the tank had already been used as a target here countless times.

It could well be that the metal jet from the armor-piercing bullets had filled up the "guiding gaps" on the surface of the cladding!

Chu Guang wasn't discouraged by Vanus's answer, and simply smiled faintly.

"No problem, if we can't handle Conqueror No. 10, bullying the light and medium vehicles is still no issue. Besides, if the armor-piercing bullet strategy doesn't work, we have other methods."

Vanus curiously asked.

"Oh? Like what?"

Chu Guang looked towards Mosquito.

"Let's start testing the second equipment."

Seeing that the Manager was talking to him, Mosquito quickly nodded.

"Right away!"

It was within reason that the customer wasn't satisfied with the power of Equipment No. 1; he himself wasn't very satisfied with it either.

But that didn't matter.

He had designed two countermeasures for Conqueror No. 10, using bigger, more penetrating consecutive armor-piercing bombs was just one of them.

If that didn't work, then explode it!

The range's tank wreckage couldn't withstand a second round, so Mosquito took Chu Guang and Vanus to the testing ground for Weapon No. 2.

Bare land held a reinforced concrete fortification, imitating the shape of a tank with a simulated structure of the body and road wheels.

Vanus didn't say anything after seeing this.

However, when his gaze fell on the aluminum alloy support behind the shooting shelter, and the six-rotor drone mounted on the support, he was stunned.

"This is…"

Before Chu Guang could speak, Mosquito, standing beside him, started explaining excitedly.

"This is the second equipment 'Spring Knife' suicidal drone, created by Goblin Technology specifically to counter tanks—though I prefer to call it the 'Flying Anti-everything IED'!"

Vanus looked puzzled.

Even after reading the simultaneous translation on VM, he didn't understand what the guy was talking about.

But Mosquito wasn't really speaking for his benefit.

The only one with authority to make decisions and place orders for weaponry was the Manager standing next to him.

All he needed was to keep him happy!

"…The six-rotor structure ensures its maneuverability! Powered by solid hydrogen batteries for long endurance! Thanks to its aerodynamic design, it can fold its rotors after locking onto a target and glide without power! We've improved the drone's motor output, which can even carry a maximum load of 15 kilograms!"

"A 15-kilogram payload! Hehe, if it's all used to carry mixed explosives, its blast power can even rival two consecutive 155mm!"

"We've designed two types of warheads for the Spring Knife, which can be mounted on the top of the drone or hung underneath for a diving attack. Since the rotors can be folded, our Spring Knife can not only take off and land on flat ground but also be launched by catapult or airdropped."

"To sum it up in one sentence, this thing can counter both armor and infantry, and it's super useful!"

The drone was roughly like an enlarged version of the Y-1 Firefly, the motors produced by the List factory, carbon-nanotube design by the scientific research team, and the control program a masterpiece of Xiao Qi.

As for Goblin Technology's accomplishments, they mainly lay in the aerodynamic design and warhead design.

Compared to the portable drones that could fit in a backpack, this "Spring Knife" looked more like the agricultural drones commonly seen in farming.

Finally finishing the translation on VM, Vanus looked at Chu Guang with a strange expression.

"So… this thing is essentially a drone strapped with a remote-controlled bomb?"

Chu Guang was quite pleased with the design and chuckled.

"Is there a problem?"

After a moment of silence, Vanus gave an uncertain answer.

"Not necessarily, only the requirements are extremely stringent."

"How stringent?"

Vanus replied solemnly.

"Only in specific situations can the explosive force be concentrated on the armor. If you just drop the bomb… a 10-kilogram warhead probably won't be enough."

The shockwave from a typical explosive diffuses in all directions, and to achieve armor penetration, the kinetic energy produced by the explosion must be transmitted to the armor surface as much as possible.

And the contact area needs to be as small as possible.

If you just throw the bomb on top, ten kilograms of dynamite might only scrape off a bit of paint, unless it's a metallic hydrogen-type beast with a detonation velocity of 24,000 meters per second.

As for the "Solid Hydrogen" independently produced by the New Alliance?

It's far less powerful.

Chu Guang didn't mind Vanus's skepticism, he just smiled happily.

"So, as long as specific conditions are met, a ten-kilogram warhead can also incapacitate the Conqueror No. 10, right?"

Vanus nodded.

"The only weak point of the Conqueror No. 10 is its undercarriage, which is the thinnest part of the tank's armor. However, you can't expect to be so lucky every time to disrupt the tracks while the surrounding infantry aren't paying attention and stuff the explosive under the chassis."

Chu Guang didn't speak but waved his hand to signal that Mosquito could start.

Seeing the Manager's gesture, Mosquito immediately ran excitedly to the launcher and shooed away Kill God, who was preparing to operate it for him.

How could he let someone else have the chance to show off in front of the faction leader NPC?

"Move aside, let me do it!"

Kill God immediately became unhappy.

"Damn it! Didn't we agree that I would do the testing?"

Mosquito shamelessly continued.

"I told you to test the armor-piercing bullet, not the spring knife. Listen to me, brother, this equipment is difficult to operate, I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it. Let me do it!"

"@#%￥!"

This isn't a fixed-wing, there's no difficulty to operate!

Kill God cursed and walked away.

Having shooed away the little brother standing next to the launcher, Mosquito directly connected the six-rotor drone using VM, synchronizing the camera's view onto the screen.

Target locked!

Flight path set!

Launch!

With the press of a button, the drone on the launcher shot out like an arrow released from a bow, bouncing off the launcher.

The propellers roared, everyone watched as the drone raced along the ground, flying out hundreds of meters in an instant, diving straight under the crotch of the concrete tank.

With a loud boom, the explosion sent flames skyward, and a thick plume of smoke shot up twenty to thirty meters high, the force of the blast actually lifted the concrete assault vehicle off the ground and tore it to pieces!

As the dust settled,

Only a crater about ten meters wide was left on the ground, with concrete debris scattered all around.

Even the steel reinforcement within the concrete was blasted to bits, not a single whole piece to be found.

The onlookers all dodged the falling soil and stone.

Vanus, standing next to Chu Guang, was stunned motionless, completely baffled.

A drone carrying a remote-controlled bomb to sneak under a tank's crotch?

You can do that?

No matter how you look at it, the cost of drones and remote-controlled bombs is much cheaper than anti-tank missiles.

"Beautiful!"

Chu Guang, clenching his fists, couldn't help but shout in approval.

Although the target was made of concrete, such tremendous power would make it nearly impossible for a real tank to emerge intact from the explosion's thick smoke.

Looking toward Mosquito walking this way, Chu Guang cleared his throat and said in a serious tone,

"I'm very satisfied with option number two. It would be better if it had even stronger mobility!"

"I plan to purchase a hundred units, to be completed within a month. Can you do it?"

Upon hearing this, Mosquito immediately patted his chest, guaranteeing,

"Don't worry, respected Manager, Goblin Technology never disappoints its clients!"

Chu Guang looked at Vanus, his smile tinged with a hint of showing off.

"How about that? Is the power sufficient?"

Vanus's Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes wide as he nodded,

"…Perhaps? If your drones can fly over without getting shot down."

The thing's power is great, but after all, it can't match the speed of missiles and artillery shells, and the noise of the propellers is a big issue.

However, in terms of sheer power, even he could find no fault.

After all, if he were in a tank, he certainly wouldn't want to get hit by one of these under his butt.

After all, even if the tank could withstand it, the people inside couldn't!

Chu Guang looked at the concrete rubble not far away, his face beaming with pleasure.

"Don't worry about that problem. By the end of the month, we should have at least a hundred spring knives, and our enemies have at most twenty to thirty tanks."

"Even if we exchange ten drones for one of their tanks."

"It's definitely us who come out on top!"

Chapter 317 The Flying Knife that Descends from the Sky

What's the best method to test the performance of a weapon?

Of course, it's real combat.

Paper data and performance in real combat are completely different concepts; an excellent performance on the shooting range is not as good as taking it to the battlefield for some practice.

The Burning Corps, positioned at the front line, soon received the first major operation mission after the launch of the Warrior operation...

In the dead of night.

Northern urban area of West State City.

A group of Looters carrying rifles was cautiously walking on the pitch-black streets, their flashlights carefully sweeping on both sides of the street.

Every now and then, they shone their lights overhead.

The continuous days of attacks had left the entire tribe in a state of panic.

The local survivors who had formed a guerrilla team were already troublesome enough, and now a group of uninvited guests had arrived in West State City.

These people not only had sophisticated weapons and formidable firepower but were also well-trained and possessed extraordinary physical fitness, and many even exhibited characteristics clearly belonging to the Awakeners.

These paratroopers moved through the desolate city district like ghosts, launching surprise attacks on isolated patrol teams or fixed checkpoints, sentries, and gun towers.

Moreover, their tactics were quite cunning; as soon as they were caught in a stand-off, they would immediately retreat, giving no chance for pursuit.

What particularly troubled the Looters was that the attacks weren't taking place in the same district; they could even happen simultaneously in both the southern and northern parts of the city.

This was a headache for the Looters who lacked radio equipment.

Due to the lack of sufficient communication devices to distribute to every ten-man team, they could only use signal flares to report the approximate location of the attacks.

And once multiple facilities were attacked at the same time, the sky was filled with flares, and the area echoed with the sound of alarms being triggered.

As for which areas had more or fewer people, what equipment the enemy had, they had no idea. The hundred-man teams and even the thousand-man teams responsible for the defense area were often caught in the awkward situation of not knowing where to send reinforcements.

But this wasn't even what troubled the Looters the most.

What really killed them was that these sneaky Blue Jackets appeared inexhaustible.

Occasionally, the Looters managed to kill one or two attackers, but there was never a decrease in the number of assailants.

Just how many paratroopers did these Blue Jackets have?!

Did they have so many planes for training?

All these questions became a curse weighing on the minds of Golden Tooth and the other Ya Clan's higher-ups.

This included Wu Lun, who previously boasted to Golden Tooth, swearing to root out those ground squirrels.

In the past week, he had led his men to kill at least eleven paratroopers from the New Alliance, and one time even wiped out a four-man squad.

However, eerily enough...

The people he had killed three days ago, he saw again today.

"...Could they be twins?"

Wu Lun moved his gun barrel, still smoking blue smoke, away from the body, frowning as he stared intently at the face on the ground, the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed.

Could they be clones?

That wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

After all, clones weren't a rare thing these days.

But to train clones to act like normal people wasn't easy, let alone train them into well-disciplined soldiers.

Wu Lun noticed the vital signs monitor on the man's arm, removed it, and with two light taps on the right side of his exoskeleton helmet, he said,

"Hack into the VM system."

A window was projected onto the lens of his helmet.

[Processing...]

The New Alliance's Blue Jackets didn't just reset the vital signs monitor's system and modify this device into a wrist computer, but they also rewrote the system with their own coded language.

However.

Hacking a mere terminal was nothing for his combat support AI equipped with an "A-level hacking plugin."

Handing over the hacking operation to the AI, Wu Lun quietly waited a few seconds.

During this time, both the VM screen and his helmet's lens simultaneously popped up with two messages.

[Unauthorized access detected, DNA verification failed.]

[System deleted.]

Looking at the Chinese characters that appeared on the VM screen, Wu Lun was startled for a moment.

"...What's this written?"

...

500 meters away, in a residential building.

Three small players crouched quietly at the edge of the rooftop, peering through binoculars at the body of Corner Old Six and the exoskeleton soldiers by his side.

Lost Rookie exclaimed softly, "Damn... Customs guys group!"

Item Carrier smacked his lips, "Tsk tsk, he got KO'd as soon as he landed, Old Six is so unlucky..."

Lost Rookie: "So unlucky +1, didn't even grab a gun before getting wiped by the boss party."

"We've failed to rendezvous... side mission canceled, let's do the main mission," Sniper Bai said as he quietly retreated from the edge of the building after seeing the icon disappear on the VM.

Lost Rookie, holding his semi-automatic, reluctantly looked at the group of "elite monsters" on the distant street.

"Damn, I really want to sneak in a shot."

Item Carrier nodded in agreement.

"Their exoskeletons look very expensive, must be worth quite a few silver coins!"

Sniper Bai rolled his eyes.

"Quit dreaming, the mission is more important."

There were only two missions tonight, one side mission and one main mission.

The side mission was to recover teammates who had parachuted into the battlefield, but it was unexpected that Old Six was so unlucky, not only did he land right on the street, but he also ran into a patrolling boss party – he didn't even touch a gun before he was killed.

As for the main mission, it was to attack any of the Looter outposts located on the northern side, causing chaos in the northern urban area.

The main force of the Burning Corps was going to strike at a munitions depot in the southern part of West State City with a thousand-man caliber arsenal at dawn.

And their task was to create as much chaos as possible in the north before the main force made their move, to tie down the Looter's reinforcement troops.

Summing it up in one sentence, make a scene!

The bigger the ruckus, the better.

Of course, try not to run into that squad from before.

With the little gear they had on them, thinking of going head-to-head with those exoskeleton soldiers armed to the teeth was a bit of wishful thinking.

If a real fight broke out, the enemy could easily shoot them in the chest and head; without full protective armor, high stats would still mean certain death.

The three men quietly retreated downstairs.

About a kilometer in the opposite direction of the exoskeleton soldiers, they quickly found an outpost of the Ya Clan.

To limit the guerrilla team's operating area, the Ya Clan had set up checkpoints at the entrances of various roads in West State City.

A Looter was standing inside the guardhouse, with a homemade cigarette hanging from his mouth.

Two others stood to the left and right of the barricade, yakking away. Another sat by the fire, skewering some unidentifiable meat, occasionally throwing in a comment.

Seeing this, Sniper Bai immediately signaled for his teammates to stop and, without a second word, took the RPG rocket launcher off his back, loaded it with a high-explosive grenade, aimed at the barricade, and pulled the trigger.

There was a whoosh.

A trail of white smoke streaked past, and an RPG slammed directly into the roadblock.

"Boom—!"

The two Looters standing by the barricade hadn't even reacted before the explosion's shockwave blew them away.

The shrill wail of shrapnel whizzed around erratically, scratching streaks across the concrete ground and walls.

"Rocket launcher!"

The Looter in the guardhouse ducked to avoid the debris flying in through the window, panicked, pulled out a signal gun, and fired a shot into the sky.

The Looter by the fire pit crawled into the ruins, heedless of the blood on his face, and poked out his rifle to fire wildly outside.

Bullets whipped into a display case meters away from the players.

Seeing the green flare rise, Sniper Bai grinned, put the smoking launcher tube back into his backpack while chambering his rifle.

"Mission accomplished!"

"Brothers, free fire!"

"Just get it done!"

...

Rat-tat-tat—!

Gunfire echoed throughout the streets littered with rubble and remains, shattering the city's quiet.

Having taken out an outpost, the trio didn't linger. Before reinforcements arrived, they continued toward the next target on the map.

Meanwhile, a W-2 ground attack plane, painted with a shark's head, had silently flown over West State City.

It wasn't carrying missiles under its body, but a "Spring Knife" with its rotors folded inward.

Confirming the course and distance once again through the VM, Mosquito, wearing a pilot's cap and goggles, skillfully unlocked the bomb release's safety and shouted.

"Hey hey hey, this is Mosquito, respond if you receive!"

A noisy voice came through the communication channel.

"...Burning Corps received, I'm Old White... we've reached the target site, ready to move at any time."

"Okay!"

As Mosquito responded, he pressed the bomber's button, chuckled, and said, "…The drone's online, control transfer complete, have fun!"

The "Spring Knife" detached from the bomber, gliding powerlessly towards the target airspace.

At the same time, in the Southern Urban District of West State City, in a dark alleyway.

Wild Wind, wearing headphones and sitting on the ground, looked up at Old White who stood at the entrance of the alley.

"...Connected."

The drone's camera view had synced to his VM.

Old White nodded, flashed an OK sign, and ended the communication with Mosquito.

Right then, a big grey rat, a meter long, burst out of the other end of the alley with a few followers.

Old White squatted down.

Stopping in his tracks, Difficult for the Strong stood up, and excitedly reported the situation he'd investigated while sneaking in, with his uniquely raspy, sharp voice.

"I've checked it out!"

"The tank is still parked in the northeast corner of the underground garage, the position hasn't changed! There are two anti-aircraft trucks parked near it, probably just driven in today!"

Old White gave a thumbs up.

"Thanks, bro."

Difficult for the Strong chuckled.

"Don't mention it! There are a lot of people inside, it'll be a good show soon!"

Standing up from the ground, Old White chambered his rifle cleanly and signaled to Fang Chang and Wild Wind in the alley.

"Prepare to move!"

"Received!"

After a brief reply, Wild Wind tapped his headphones twice, then slowly closed his eyes, syncing his consciousness with the gliding drone's view and unfolding its six rotors.

The control circuit of the Spring Knife drone and the Y-1 Firefly were of the same model, and even the operating software was identical.

It could be operated through a VM touch screen or through a neural connection device, with the assistance of a communication base station for immersive connection.

After one last check of the information on the VM, Old White turned off the screen and led the way out of the alley.

[Task 1: Destroy the ammunition depot located in the "Television Station" in the southern urban district.]

[Task 2: Use the "Spring Knife" experimental self-destruct drone to destroy a Conqueror No. 10 tank and photograph the wreckage.]

Located in the south of West State City, the old TV station had a total of three buildings and a two-story underground garage, housing 200-300 Looters and 20-40 artisans serving the Ya Clan.

This was a camp of the Ya Clan outside the Four New Districts, led by a Centurion called "Wind Howl," and it was also his domain.

According to the information from Brother Difficult for the Strong, midnight was when the camp's defenses were most lax throughout the day, especially between twelve and twelve-thirty.

Sentries due for shift change hardly paid attention to patrolling.

The camp's ammunition depot was located in the basement of the building on the west side of the TV station, with a Conqueror No. 10 in the middle of maintenance parked right in the eastern side of the underground garage.

The two missions coincidentally aligned.

The operation officially began.

Old White, leading Fang Chang, swiftly advanced along the pitch-dark streets toward the direction of the television station.

Perched atop a building, Night Ten, with an LD-47j semi-automatic equipped with a makeshift silencer, quickly eliminated two sentries stationed at the front gate of the television station and within a wooden watchtower, covering Old White and Fang Chang as they approached the television station's enclosing wall.

They scaled the wall.

Dodging the campfires within the compound, the duo pressed against the wall and moved quickly. However, just as they were about to turn a corner, the leisurely sound of footsteps came from the right front.

Old White quickly gestured for Fang Chang to stop, then signaled two fingers and made a fist with his left hand.

Fang Chang instantly understood, drawing an arrow from his quiver and notching it to his bow, quietly moving behind a wooden box on the left.

Old White, meanwhile, abandoned his rifle and drew his dagger, creeping up to the corner of the wall, signaling to Fang Chang behind cover.

'OK?'

'OK.'

Hidden in the shadows, Fang Chang held his breath, counting down in his head as he drew the bowstring.

'Bullet time—'

'Now!'

The moment two Looters appeared around the corner, Fang Chang released the bowstring, and Old White lurking at the corner of the wall also moved simultaneously.

Whizz—

The sharp whir of slicing air was fleeting; the Looter on the left was pierced through the throat by an arrow, eyes wide in a choked gasp as blood gushed, collapsing backward.

The man on the right was even less prepared, only hearing the twang of the bowstring before a large hand stretched from the shadows, smothered his mouth, and slit his throat.

The hand loosened its grip on the dagger.

Old White, taking advantage of the motion, dragged the Looter struck in the throat by an arrow as he fell backward, laying the two bodies quietly in the corner.

Making an OK gesture to Fang Chang, Old White regained his grip on the rifle slung over his shoulder, signaling to continue forward.

Sticking to the wall, they crept deeper into the compound, where the sentry standing directly above them on the roof had already been taken out by Night Ten from a distance. The camp was as silent as if it were haunted.

Especially the atmosphere here.

A bloodthirsty scent permeated the entire camp. On the wooden utility poles and windows, hung or nailed bodies could be seen everywhere.

Some had even begun to rot and stink.

Most of these individuals were local survivors.

After executing the captured survivors, the Looters would drain their blood and smear it on the walls in graffiti or strange symbols, cursing and intimidating those survivors hiding underground and the guerrillas from the resistance organization.

But in reality, this method was futile.

The bloody oppression only spurred the determination of the local survivors to fight to the death, resolved to battle the man-eating beasts with black powder, bows and arrows, and spears.

Under Night Ten's cover, the two of them coordinated tacitly, silently taking out five patrolling sentries as they made their way to the west side of the television station building.

The ammunition depot was hidden on the underground level of the west side building, its iron doors locked tight; the only key was placed in the drawer of the security room.

It was a pity that the size of the member from the Difficult for the Strong brotherhood was slightly too large; otherwise, they could have directly infiltrated the security room and stolen the key while the guard dozed off.

Lowering their footsteps, Old White crept into the guard room—skilled in silent steps and backstabs—he slit the throat of the sleeping Looter, then pocketed the keys from the drawer.

They unlocked the door and entered successfully.

The two shone flashlights around and took in the state of the ammo depot, simultaneously widening their eyes in disbelief.

"Fuck…"

"These bandits are living the good life."

Ripper Rifles lined the walls like firewood sticks, roughly counted there were at least a thousand. By NPC store retail prices of 100 silver coins each, just these rifles were worth 100,000 silver.

But there was more—many rooms were filled with boxes and bundles of ammunition, individual bullets shining with an orange and silver sheen under the flashlight's glow.

Among them were purchased Copper Shell Bullets as well as homemade steel-shell bullets, and even reloaded bullets processed by slaves and artisans.

From corridor to cubicle, the less than 500 square meters of space was stuffed to the brim with an array of weapons!

Old White did a rough calculation; the weapons, ammunition, and other military supplies added up to at least worth a million!

"...Dammit, they even have 100mm shells here." Standing at the end of a corridor by a room, Fang Chang looked at the orange-yellow shells on the ammo rack and couldn't help but smack his tongue.

This was such a windfall!

Old White: "Guess it's for the Conqueror No. 10, a bit shorter than the ones we captured in Qingstone County."

The Conqueror No. 10 tank had many types of turrets, each corresponding to different caliber sizes, mostly 100mm.

Regret showed on Fang Chang's face.

"It's a pity we can't steal them out!"

"Haha, stop dreaming—do you think this game still has storage space?" Old White took out the pre-packaged dynamite from his backpack, gave half to Fang Chang, "Let's get to work quickly, fast in, fast out."

Having taken photos of all the ammunition in the depot, destroying specific targets would yield considerably higher mission rewards compared to vague ones.

They placed the dynamite under the ammo boxes, Old White and Fang Chang both set delayed fuses, then immediately withdrew from the ammo depot. They got out of the TV station along the original path before the Looter patrol could switch shifts.

After confirming his teammates had left and the targets on the way to the garage had been cleared, the drone controlled by Wild Wind began to lower its altitude, hurtled toward the entrance of the underground garage, and raced straight to the tanks in the northeastern corner along a preplanned route.

The whirring of the six rotors quickly drew the attention of the Looters, but by the time the drone had zoomed into the garage, intercepting it was impossible.

The drone, flying low, rapidly darted beneath a tank's chassis. Its 15-kilogram warhead exploded instantaneously, the magnesium-aluminum powder-enhanced blast was comparable to two 155mm shells, especially in a confined space like an underground garage.

The violent shockwave not only scrapped the several-ton tank on the spot but also blasted the two anti-aircraft trucks parked beside it and the responding patrol team into fragments—causing a quarter of the garage to collapse, leaving a gaping crater on the ground.

The Looters in the camp were blown to a stupor, scrambling out of bed, they dashed out of the dorms located in the main building without even having time to put on their clothes.

A crowd rushed towards the ammo depot.

But before they could reach the guard room, a brilliant flash of light ignited right before their eyes.

The power of this explosion was several times that of the previous; the entire western building seemed to have been blown away.

The detonating ammunition crackled like firecrackers, even thrown up into the air by the explosive shockwaves, turning the dead of night into as bright as day with their snapping and popping.

In an instant, the camp was engulfed in death and injuries\\; cries of pain and despair filled the air.

Standing amidst the ruins, the Centurion's face was etched with despair.

Thinking of Lord Jin Ya's cruel methods and those chilling punishments, his hand trembled as he drew his pistol and stuffed the barrel into his mouth.

The bang that followed, in the heated night, seemed so trivial that nobody even took notice...

"The power of that is way too fierce!" Having recorded the explosion, Night Ten, who was lying at the edge of the rooftop, couldn't help but exclaim.

The scorching air current even reached him.

It was laced with a stench of something burnt...

Before, when reading discussions about explosive mixtures on the forum, Night Ten hadn't had a concrete sense of it, but now he had a deep understanding of how egregious these folks were.

Hopefully, they would spend their excess time and energy in the Game rather than causing trouble in reality...

Having saved the video through VM, Night Ten put away his semi-automatic rifle and immediately left the building, hurrying to the rendezvous point, eight hundred meters away.

Old White and his group were already waiting for him there.

"Speaking of which, how do we handle the photo confirmation of the strike?" Suddenly thinking of a critical matter, Night Ten turned to Old White and asked.

Fang Chang glanced at the green dots on the VM map.

"...Difficult for the strong to go there and take photos, let's return to the operation base and wait for his message."

The entire camp was now in shambles; it was unlikely anyone would notice a fat rat sneaking into the ruins caused by the explosion.

A rat plague had already erupted in West State City.

Rats startled by the explosion scurrying around the ruins were too common, and even if someone did notice him at this critical moment, they would probably ignore him.

But this time, they had poked the hornet's nest.

The Jinya Faction, enraged, dispatched not one but five thousand teams and issued a deadly order to the Thousands of leaders responsible for patrolling the Southern Urban District that night—

If they couldn't clear the New Alliance paratroopers from West State City by the end of the month, they'd turn him into a human stick and toss him into the lake to feed the crabs!

All the Looters in West State City were acting like maniacs.

The size of the patrols increased from tens to hundreds, and what was originally a main thoroughfare patrol became a carpet-style search building by building, floor by floor.

However, the players weren't panicked at all, quite the opposite; they were excited.

What did this mean?

It meant their enemies were desperate!

Feedback fueled motivation. They'd intensify their efforts next time; after annihilating a battalion of the Chewing Bone Tribe this time, the goal for the next was to wipe out a division.

But that said, the original operation base in the abandoned shopping center was clearly no longer safe, and the radios deployed on the roof of the apartment building also had to be moved to the east.

After discussing it with other team leaders in the group, Old White made a decision at once, instructing each team leader to take their teammates and split into smaller units, in teams of eight, groups of four, heading out separately into the ruins of the urban area, alleys, and underground transportation network.

Just as the guerrilla war between the Burning Corps and the Chewing Bone Tribe heated up, Chu Guang received a battle report from the front line and immediately convened a strategy meeting.

"Two pieces of good news!"

"The day before yesterday, in the early hours of the morning, our Spring Knife, guided by ground troops, successfully destroyed the Conqueror No. 10 tank located in the abandoned bunkers in the southern part of West State City."

"From the photos of the blast debris, the damage to the tank's chassis was severe, the structure was clearly deformed, and two sets of road wheels had fallen off the vehicle."

"Practice has proven that a fifteen-kilogram combat load is enough to destroy the chassis of the Conqueror No. 10 tank! The tactical idea of suicide drones is also viable!"

"Our intelligence personnel have recovered parts of the drone wreckage from the explosion site."

"Due to the short duration of the attack, most of the direct witnesses died in the explosion, and the attention of the enemy forces was diverted by the ammunition depot explosion, so it is highly probable that our enemies are still unclear about what weapon destroyed their tank."

Upon hearing this, joy spread across the faces of the officers present.

The fact that new equipment could counter enemy tanks was even more delightful than capturing Qingstone County and annihilating the Lion Tooth's thousand team.

It meant they had another strong card to play.

And it was an ace!

Chu Guang was equally pleased.

Unlike the other officers present, he was thinking more about future ramifications.

Being able to destroy the Conqueror No. 10 tank meant not only that the New Alliance had gained the initiative to engage the Chewing Bone Tribe in a decisive battle, but also that they now had the strength to contend with the armored onslaught of an Army.

Of course, Chu Guang was also aware that if they were ever to come into direct conflict with the Army, they would face more than just tanks...

Vanus looked at Chu Guang, his intuition telling him that the Manager probably had more to say.

"These are two pieces of news?"

"Count it as one."

Pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts, Chu Guang continued.

"The second piece of news... which I think is good news."

"The Chewing Bone Tribe has changed their deployment, sent more soldiers to the front lines, and dug anti-explosion bunkers and vehicle shelters in a valley five kilometers from Pine forest. Our planes have spotted their trucks and anti-aircraft vehicles, but no tanks."

"In addition, a large number of slaves were sent to the front line. From aerial photos, they were seen with a small number of modified excavators, bulldozers, and other construction equipment."

"A conservative estimate puts the number there at five thousand!"

Five thousand!

Hearing this number, many officers in the room adopted grave expressions, including Vanus.

The number of registered permanent residents in the New Alliance barely surpassed five thousand, and that included many old people, children, and women.

The enemy's numbers were overwhelming!

Vanus frowned but was thinking about another matter.

"It's very much like the operational style of the 21st Ten thousand troops... The commander is likely to be Dylon. Those anti-cannon holes and anti-aircraft cannons deployed on the high ground are probably in preparation for the tanks moving to the front line."

The Ten Thousand Leader of the 21st Ten thousand troops!

That guy was not easy to deal with!

Vanus could even guess his plan.

Nothing more than to use terrain and fortifications to preserve armored units, concentrating forces and armored advantages, and breaking through New Alliance's defense line with the protection of anti-aircraft vehicles.

Anti-aircraft vehicles couldn't stop all planes, especially when unprepared.

It looked like the Looters were ready to sacrifice some tanks and determined to storm New Alliance's position, even at the cost of significant casualties.

Clearly, the continuous casualties and losses had made them frantic.

"...Whether it's Dylon, Golden Tooth, or anyone else, my intuition tells me that the moment for a savage showdown is upon us. Our enemies have begun to realize that if the standoff continues, they have only one way to go—death... However, the fact that they've only discovered this now is a little late."

Placing his hands on the table, Chu Guang looked around at the officers standing in the tent and spoke in a clear and decisive tone.

"We will intercept the armor divisions of the Ya Clan at Pine forest."

"That will be their graveyard!"

Chapter 318: This Game Company's Business is Too Extensive!

"Fuck... Have these bastards gone mad?"

In a half-collapsed residential building.

Standing in an open-top bathroom missing its ceiling, Night Ten, holding binoculars, gaped in disbelief at the street three hundred meters away.

It was five in the morning, the sun had not yet risen, but there was already a hint of light in the sky.

He saw about fifty Looters huddled close to a truck welded with steel plates, on top of which was mounted—not one but exactly four machine guns!

It seemed that the 12mm heavy machine guns weren't enough, so the Looters from the Ya Clan had strung together lighter machine guns as well, using wire, steel rods, and screws.

This reminded Night Ten of the quad-mounted Maxims he had once seen in the movies; the two seemed eerily similar in design.

The only difference was one used water cooling, the other a slightly more advanced air cooling.

However, intuition told Night Ten that these Looters probably didn't learn this from films but copied the Skeleton Corps' quad-mounted anti-aircraft weapons.

"7mm machine guns for anti-aircraft... What a 'brilliant' idea," Fang Chang couldn't help but scoff.

Sitting beside him, munching on a flatbread, Old White chuckled and said,

"Don't you joke, if these things have enough ammo, the density of their fire might actually be terrifying. For a wooden plane like Mosquito Brother's, it would take less than half a second to be brought down from the sky."

Wild Wind touched the bridge of his nose and said,

"...Speaking of which, we probably really hurt them that night."

As the patrol disappeared around the street corner, Night Ten, who had put down his binoculars, sighed and said,

"That's true, but now that they're all banding together, it's a bit of a problem."

The Game's AI was incredibly clever.

Not only did it reap the players like leeks, but it also adjusted the AI's strategies in real-time based on the players' actions. The Looters, who used to just stare dumbly at planes, had now managed to DIY their own anti-aircraft weapons.

What's that called again?

Right!

Machine learning!

Truly, as the world's only fully immersive virtual reality online game, the AI technology was incredibly powerful, no doubt about it.

While eating his bread, Old White said calmly,

"No rush; the Ya Clan is currently redeploying troops to the front line. We just need to keep an eye on their tanks."

At present, the Burning Corps had spread out into the urban areas, and their four-person squads were still a bit strained to confront the Looters' hundred-man teams head-on.

But that was okay.

They could call in air strikes.

Normally the Looters' tanks hid in underground garages, but now they were all transferring to the front lines. They didn't need to go in and face the tanks directly; as long as they could lock onto a rough location of the tanks, the players flying planes would naturally give them a surprise.

In just a week, the Burning Corps had already called in air strikes that took out four Conqueror No. 10 tanks, and though one wasn't completely destroyed, it was still paralyzed.

Without logistical support, given the Barbarians' limited skills, they might manage to fix a track, but a damaged engine or fuel pipe was practically as good as scrapped.

"It looks like there won't be any tanks passing by this street today," Fang Chang said, glancing at the time on his VM. The dawn was already showing a touch of daybreak on the horizon.

Old White tossed the wrapping from his bread and rose to his feet with his rifle from the floor.

"Let's find a safe spot to log off."

As they were speaking, a light creak suddenly came from downstairs.

The four of them immediately became alert.

Old White swiftly moved to the entrance of the living room, poking out half his body to cover the stairs. Wild Wind then released the "Firefly" drone, which sailed through the broken ceilings, descending outside the residential building.

Night Ten said in a low voice, "I didn't sense any killing intent... The other party probably hasn't spotted us, or they're unsure of our exact location."

"Searching..." Wild Wind, who was operating the drone, suddenly paused, stunned.

There, in the window below, was a boy with a youthful, dirt-smudged face, hard to distinguish by gender. Wild Wind could only guess that he wasn't very old; even considering malnutrition's impact on development, he was probably no more than seven or eight years old.

His wide black eyes stared motionlessly at the drone outside the window, his pupils etched with a mix of unease, nervousness, and curiosity.

He probably thought he was well-hidden, little did he know the camera could clearly see everything inside the room.

"Looks like a local survivor... a kid," said Wild Wind, syncing the drone's feed to his teammates' VMs.

Fang Chang cautiously asked,

"Anyone else around? Or weapons?"

The Looters had no shortage of child soldiers, and he didn't let his guard down just because the figure was a child.

Wild Wind shook his head.

"No signs... I have yet to see a Looter that skinny."

"Alert dismissed."

At least for now...

Relieved, Old White stowed his rifle and turned off the safety.

Some aspects of the Game were made a little too real.

Even with the dream filter removing most sensory stimuli that exceeded tolerances, players with strong immersion could still feel mental discomfort from crossing the line.

Like seeing Looters throw living people into boiling oil...

If he could help it, he'd rather not have to confront someone younger than himself in combat.

Patting Fang Chang on the shoulder, Old White said,

"Let's go, time to move."

Dawn had broken.

The Looters' tanks weren't likely to venture out in daylight. There was no point in staying put any longer; better to log off and surf the official forum for a bit.

But now, with all the players online from six in the evening until midnight, these were the hours that belonged to the Backseat Drivers.

This night after night of battles had completely thrown off their daily routines...

As they approached the stairwell.

Old White suddenly remembered something.

"Right, we haven't collected the airdrop crate from last night yet. Let's pick it up before logging off."

Night Ten asked curiously,

"Didn't you say there was no rush to collect it?"

Old White didn't answer that question but took out a big bag of green wheat cakes remaining in his backpack and placed it on the floor.

"I changed my mind."

Fang Chang sighed,

"You really shouldn't take the game too seriously. According to the settings, there are at least five or six thousand survivors in this city. Those airdrop supplies barely scratch the surface. If you really want to pull them out of their miserable lives, it's better to get rid of Looter sooner."

Old White laughed.

"I know. Just consider this to be for my personal satisfaction."

The group left.

Hearing the sound from the floor above disappearing,
the boy tiptoed upstairs to see if the soldiers from the New Alliance had left any garbage behind that could be scavenged.

For instance, things like spent casings could be traded for food at the resistance organization's base.

However, the boy didn't hold much hope for finding casings.

These people hadn't fired a single shot all of the previous night. If there were any casings left, that would be truly bizarre.

Ever since that gang of Looters had arrived, survivor settlements were successively destroyed. Survivors either were captured as slaves or hid underground. Without any farmland, they could only grow some fungi that didn't require much light or go outside to find wild green wheat and goat's horn potatoes, or even resort to eating dirt and chewing on bark.

Originally, they could still scrape by like this, but trouble struck when Qingquan City For survivors in the Western Province City suffered a plague outbreak. The mushroom fields yielded less, and wild crops like green wheat and goat's horn potatoes nearly disappeared from Western Province City. The resistance organization's bases faced an unprecedented survival crisis.

People were able to get very little relief food before, but now even nutrient paste had to be traded for by picking up trash.

The boy had wanted to join the guerrilla team, which reportedly provided meals, but he was too young. They didn't consider him at all, so he had to pick garbage on the streets with a burlap sack.

Fortunately, the soldiers from the New Alliance gradually joined the battlefield lately. These troops not only had better equipment than the guerrillas but also had wasteful habits.

These soldiers never bothered to pick up casings dropped on the ground, let alone instances when a surprise skirmish occurred and half-eaten rations weren't put away but carelessly thrown away.

The guerrilla team had encouraged them to collect casings from the ground; twenty copper casings could be traded for 100g of nutrient paste. Sometimes, the boy couldn't help but wish he could join the New Alliance.

People from the New Alliance didn't even want casings that fell on the ground, so their homes must be filled with endless garbage.

Having ascended the stairs, the boy was about to sneak into the next room.

It was then that he caught a whiff of a tempting aroma.

Following the scent, the boy found it and saw the green wheat cakes on the floor. His dark eyes widened instantly. Overcome by hunger, he pounced and stuffed a piece into his mouth.

The sensation of bliss spread across his lips and teeth. An incredulous expression bloomed across his waxy-yellow face.

He couldn't describe the flavor, having never eaten such delicious green wheat cakes before... were these actually green wheat cakes? Why was there a smell of fat and absolutely no sour taste of grass!

How was this done?

Were these people messengers of the Great Antler God?!

Having finally swallowed the food in his mouth, the boy covetously eyed the bag of green wheat cakes on the floor but refrained from eating more. He carefully packed them into his burlap sack.

"I need to get back before dawn."

If he stayed out too long, his sister would worry...

Silently thanking these generous people, the boy carefully stored the rest of the wheat cakes and, like a rabbit, squeezed through the small cracks and darted out of the apartment.

He had no idea why the soldiers of the New Alliance had left these tasty treats behind.

Just like how, at this very moment, he didn't realize four pairs of eyes were following him from behind.

"Say... is it really okay to be tracking a kid?" Night Ten said with a weird expression.

Fang Chang didn't directly address that question.

Or rather, he didn't answer from the angle Night Ten was asking from.

"Let's make a bold assumption—if the behavioral logic of an NPC is to go out to gather food, then after collecting enough, what would be his next step?"

Night Ten paused.

"... Bringing the food back home?"

"Correct!" Fang Chang snapped his fingers silently, a smile on his lips, "Just follow him, and we'll find his home."

Night Ten held his forehead.

"I'm telling you... you wouldn't actually go through a scavenger's belongings, would you?"

Wild Wind also pitched in.

"I'm against this behavior. It's not worth feeling guilty for a few silver coins."

Fang Chang coughed.

"When the hell did I say I would go through someone else's belongings? Am I that despicable?! I'm just purely curious about where he lives. Aren't you curious too?"

Night Ten and Wild Wind exchanged glances.

"Weren't they supposed to be living underground?"

"Hmm... the official background information stated that the survivors of Western Province City hide underground from the Chewing Bone Tribe's Looters, and they established a resistance organization and a guerrilla team."

Fang Chang exclaimed in frustration,

"Exactly! You both know they've set up a resistance organization. Thinking rationally, if there's an organization, shouldn't there be a fixed base? A survivor settlement is right beneath our feet, and we've been in this new map for more than half a month without knowing where it is! Aren't you curious what it looks like?"

Wild Wind was slightly stunned.

"Thinking rationally... that does make sense."

"Hey, I just wanted to casually do a good deed," Old White said with a scratch of the back of his head, in frustration, "Alright, what you're saying makes sense too."

If they could connect with the local resistance organization, it would definitely help them.

It was strange, they'd been here for more than half a month, and the local resistance organization had never gotten in touch with them.

Was it because the program was set up to require players to discover it themselves?

"Are we going back to collect the supply drop box later?" Night Ten asked.

"No, it's about to get light. We'll collect it when it's dark again... Let's go meet the local resistance organization first," said Old White as he reached out and snatched two packs of green wheat biscuits from Fang Chang's tactical pouch. "Let me have two packs."

"Damn! Take them from my backpack, why don't you? I hang them in front of my chest to block bullets," Fang Chang reflexively dodged to the side, covering his chest with both hands.

Old White couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"Like this could block any bullets!"

Night Ten: "Hahaha!"

Wild Wind coughed dryly.

"Don't lose track of the kid... Let's go."

The group followed the boy, crossing two streets and walking about two kilometers to a half-collapsed subway station entrance.

The boy stopped at the entrance, carefully looked around, then slipped inside.

Fang Chang and the others followed him through the subway's ticket barrier, entering the dark tunnel from the platform.

There was an abundance of rats here, a dark mass teeming in the derelict carriages, and they weren't afraid of humans, even baring their teeth at them.

The boy pulled out a steel bar and swung it wildly a few times to scare off the rats, then immediately dashed deeper into the tunnel.

"These can't all be Mosquito's little brothers, can they?" Night Ten muttered quietly behind him.

"You're thinking too highly of him... Forget the rats, just don't lose sight of the kid." Fang Chang had a hunch they were almost there.

The boy stopped in front of a green-painted iron door and rhythmically knocked a few times.

It didn't take long for the door to swiftly open.

The boy darted through, vanishing from the tunnel as if he had never been there.

"… That must be the entrance to West State City's underground survivor settlement!" Excitement filled Fang Chang's face.

New Map!

A hot forum post with over 100k likes was in the bag!

Old White stroked his chin.

"I'm thinking about how we should greet them. Do we just knock on the door directly? Or should we start with a 'hello'?"

Wild Wind pondered.

"I think it might be better to introduce ourselves first."

While Old White and Wild Wind were discussing how to greet the others, Night Ten's expression changed subtly, and he gripped his semi-automatic rifle.

"Someone's coming!"

His speech had barely ended when the sound of footsteps came from the back of the tunnel.

A group of disheveled men in simple clothing appeared near the subway platform, their backs carrying iron pipe rifles, hands holding woven bags that seemed to suggest a poor day's scavenging.

When they locked eyes with Old White's group, the men were visibly startled, then began to shout in panic, cocking their iron pipe rifles.

The tension escalated rapidly.

Finger resting on the safety, Old White glanced at the weapons in those men's hands and shot Fang Chang a knowing look.

Understanding the cue, Fang Chang stepped forward, lowering his gun muzzle, and shouted in the imperfectly learned language of the United Human.

"We are paratroopers from the New Alliance! We come in peace, hoping you'll stay calm!"

Paratroopers from the New Alliance?!

Weren't they fighting the Looters?

What are they doing here?

The group at the tunnel entrance clearly froze, not expecting to find people from the New Alliance here.

Keeping their weapons aimed, the leader shouted nervously.

"… How can we believe you!"

Fang Chang was concise.

"The fact that we let you stand is our greatest sign of sincerity. If you keep aiming at us, don't blame us for what happens."

"Stop!"

The green-painted door opened.

A man in a leather jacket stepped out.

Two guards wielding automatic rifles stood by his side, and behind him followed a boy, holding a bag with a nervous expression, watching the four people in the middle of the tunnel.

Old White glanced at the boy, then at the man in the leather jacket. His face, chiseled as if cut from stone, with piercing eyes, easily reminded one of the Hu Wolves common in the Wasteland.

A tough one.

Both in experience and strength.

Old White made his assessment.

While he was sizing up the man, the man, in turn, appraised him with a wary gaze.

"I am Wu Chengyi, mayor of Town Of Hope, and leader of the Guerrilla Team. May I know your name?" the man introduced himself.

"Old White." Old White, unsure of how to translate "White Horse Passing a Gap" into the language of United Human, went with the nickname others gave him.

Wu Chengyi didn't find the obviously fake name odd.

Any name goes in the Wasteland.

What you're called isn't important.

"Are you people from the New Alliance?"

Old White, not fluent in the language of United Human, looked at Fang Chang for help. He could take a guess using expressions and demeanor in context, but normal conversation was a bit of a stretch for him.

'How should I reply?'

'I've got this.'

Fang Chang, noticing his best buddy's embarrassment, took over the conversation. Using the translation feature of his VM, he began to speak.

"Yes, we are loyal to the New Alliance, loyal to the Manager, fighting for the revival of civilization. At present, we are at war with the Chewing Bone Tribe... we heard that you are too, so we thought that the enemy of our enemy might become a friend, which is why we came uninvited."

The enemy of one's enemy is a friend, huh...

That's not necessarily the case in the Wasteland.

If the enemy of one's enemy was evenly matched with oneself, they might become friends. But if there was a huge disparity in strength, they could also end up as spoils of war.

The vast majority of survivors in West State City had a favorable view of the New Alliance, even holding some unrealistic aspirations, but Wu Chengyi was very clear that there was no free lunch in this world.

As the leader of a resistance organization, he had to consider many things. Trusting strangers too easily before understanding their motives was extremely dangerous.

Wu Chengyi stared at Fang Chang and continued,

"The last question, what do you think of us?"

"What do we think?"

Fang Chang was slightly stunned, then understood what the man before him was asking and after pondering for a moment, he said,

"You are a group of... brave people, you at least haven't surrendered. Of course, that's only my opinion. If you want to know what the Manager thinks, why not ask him directly?"

Wu Chengyi was taken aback.

"You can contact him?"

Fang Chang gave him a strange look.

"Of course, our radio can communicate with the rear at any time."

Hearing this, expressions of joy surfaced on the faces of those around.

After a brief exchange with the guards beside him in a low voice, Wu Chengyi signaled the guerrilla team members to put away their guns.

He walked over to where the players were standing and extended his right hand.

"Thank you for offering us help, and please forgive our caution. We have witnessed too many of our compatriots' deaths over the past six months, making it difficult for us to trust any stranger easily."

Fang Chang shook his hand.

"Understood."

After a pause, Wu Chengyi continued,

"Regarding your earlier suggestion, I have considered it."

"Please allow me to speak to your Manager."

...

New Alliance Barracks.

Sitting in the command room, Chu Guang was looking at the report sent from Qingstone County.

The survey of the copper molybdenum deposit had been completed, the construction equipment had arrived, and the mining and smelting of copper ore were underway.

As of last weekend, the New Alliance had become self-sufficient in industrial raw materials such as copper, molybdenum, and sulfur.

The railway for transportation had also been laid from Far Creek Town to Qingstone County.

Chu Guang had taken special note these days of the comments on the forum from those "life occupation players sent to explore the mines in the Geological Park."

Based on the photos they had shot and the discussions among backseat drivers, the mining equipment left over from the early days of the Human Alliance Era had shocked everyone.

Especially in terms of industrial design.

Although more than three hundred years had passed and those antiquities displayed as mining equipment were long inoperative, the design approach of some devices still offered significant inspiration.

That kind of enlightenment coming from a professional field was far more impactful for those few geology enthusiasts than things like solid hydrogen or X-4 fibers.

All the players involved in the survey couldn't help but marvel.

This game company's business scope is just too broad!

"Master, there's news from the Burning Corps you sent to West State City," came Xiao Qi's voice by his ear.

Putting down the report from the logistics department, Chu Guang asked casually,

"What's the news?"

Xiao Qi continued,

"Your players have made contact with the local survivors. A man claiming to be the leader of the resistance organization wishes to speak with you."

The resistance organization of West State City?

Frankly, in his original plan, he had considered using the local survivors' power to deal with the Ya Clan.

But that was several versions ago.

With the cards in his hand now, there was no need to foster local resistance, as making them too strong could affect their later incorporation.

However, since they had taken the initiative to contact him...

This might be a good opportunity.

Tapping his index finger lightly on the table, Chu Guang pondered for a while and then spoke,

"Set up a time to talk to them."

"Alrighty, Master!"

As an assistant, Xiao Qi was as reliable as ever today. As soon as the words were spoken, he immediately set about arranging a time for the phone conference.

Picking up the tablet again, Chu Guang flipped to the last document.

[West State City Industrial Zone Development Plan (Draft)]

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang added a line to the title.

[... and the New Restoration Zone and Survivor Settlement Reconstruction Plan]

There were many survivors in West State City, plus captives from the Looters. City of Dawn could not possibly absorb them all at once due to its population capacity.

The best method would be to create a new settlement, to localize those survivors.

He was planning to transfer heavy industry from Qingquan City to West State City, which was farther away from Giant Stone City.

Looking at the document in hand, Chu Guang nodded satisfactorily.

"This pie..."

"The players and indigenous people should both like it."

Chapter 319: Why Not Simply Cooperate More Thoroughly?

Real World.

Somewhere.

Following the staff member's lead, Gao Jianhui entered a spacious room. The decoration here was somewhat monotonous, like a room hastily arranged, with the only furniture being a bookshelf, a coffee table, and two sofas.

A young man with glasses was sitting on the sofa and immediately stood up upon seeing him, speaking courteously.

"Hello, Academician Gao! Please take a seat."

Gao Jianhui didn't refuse and sat down on the sofa opposite the young man, sizing him up. He had no recollection of him, which suggested they weren't from the same system.

Last night around eight o'clock, he received an invitation from a well-known domestic academic institution. However, when he arrived at the destination early in the morning, instead of seeing any guidance for an academic lecture, he was invited into a private car.

"We've conducted a thorough investigation and learned that you are an expert in the field of rock mechanics and mining engineering. We've taken the liberty of asking you to come here—"

"What's with all the secrecy, the car service and the non-disclosure agreement," he coughed lightly, cutting off the lengthy preamble. Academician Gao spoke concisely, "You can just tell me directly what the matter is."

The man politely said.

"It's just standard procedure. Please, forgive the inconvenience."

"May I smoke a cigarette?"

"Of course, feel free."

Gao Jianhui took a lighter out of his pocket, lit a cigarette for himself, and narrowed his eyes slightly at the laptop on the coffee table.

Just as he was about to ask what this was about, the bespectacled young man stood up, took hold of the mouse, and opened a folder of photos, then politely said.

"Please look at this."

"This is…"

The word had barely left his mouth when his eyebrows lightly furrowed, and he let out a softexclamation. His right hand, holding the cigarette, took control of the mouse and scrolled down unconsciously, his expression becoming increasingly surprised.

A vertical shaft combined with a ramp system?

This was the first time he had seen a main transport system designed like this.

Of course, what surprised him wasn't just the main transport system.

The entire cross-section of the mine didn't look like a mine at all, but rather like a finely structured instrument. Each section had a clear function and could work closely together.

However…

The issue with this design proposal was also clear—it was too idealistic!

Many of the concepts within the design were simply unachievable with current technology.

24-hour continuous mining wasn't hard, unmanned mining wasn't impossible, but an intelligent mining system like this that could sync the excavation face with the mining system, completely independent of human management...

He dared to assert that there wasn't a single mine in the world that could achieve this.

After a long while, Academician Gao looked up to the man sitting opposite him, his interest now mixed with a hint of seriousness.

"... Where did you get these photos from?"

The young man didn't immediately answer the question.

"Before answering this question, I'd like to hear your opinion on these photos."

Gao Jianhui thought for a moment and gave his assessment.

"A very unique design, if I'm not mistaken, the entire mine could have implemented a complete set of intelligent mining systems, similar in design philosophy to Sweden's Kiruna iron mine... However, you can't tell much just by the shape, are there more photos?"

A look of helplessness appeared on the face of the bespectacled man.

"Sorry, these are all the photos we have for now... Can you tell me more about the similarities, specifically where they manifest?"

"Intelligent systems," Gao Jianhui immediately said.

The man promptly asked.

"Intelligent systems? Could you be more specific?"

Gao Jianhui thought for a while before answering.

"The Kiruna mine is famous not only for its high-grade iron ore but also for its intelligent mining system, including drilling, charging, loading, transporting, lifting... All operational procedures can be achieved through remote control. The entire mine requires very few workers to complete all production processes."

"Besides, it's not only about intelligence. Their research in deep mining at one thousand meters, as well as their experiences in tackling problems like increased ground pressure, higher rock temperatures, mine hoisting, drainage, support, ventilation, backfilling, and environmental protection, are also quite worth learning from."

The man listened intently, taking notes the whole time.

After the old academician finished, he continued to ask about the part that most concerned him.

"And this photo of... the mine shaft?"

Gao Jianhui leaned back against the sofa, his tone neutral.

"I can only discuss the areas I know about. I can't say anything about this stuff in your photo—it's completely out of my field of research. Assuming that such a device could operate successfully, we would have to solve at least a hundred problems that we don't yet have solutions for. Do you know what that means?"

The bespectacled man swallowed.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that this photo is likely fabricated or created using movie CG technology."

Hearing Academician Gao's response, the man paused, then let out a chuckle.

"Indeed… we can't rule out that possibility."

Gao Jianhui paused for a moment before continuing.

"I'm not familiar with your work, but from my point of view, a lot of the assumptions here seem rather impractical. Let me put it this way, the whole building is constructed on a series of 'assumptions' that are suspended and unresolved, like the patterns carved on a gold bracelet. It's not the patterns that are valuable, but the gold, so that's why I asked if you had more photos or information."

"If we could figure out how to solve those suspended problems, we wouldn't even need this design. Just solving one of the technical difficulties would greatly enhance our current mining process."

"For example, one of the challenges my students are currently facing in the deep-filling mining project is how to reduce the friction resistance in the filling material delivery pipes. If that could be solved, we'd see significant improvements in energy consumption and efficiency in our filling mining."

"As for what you're asking about the meaning of this, I can't give you a straightforward answer, but let me speculate boldly. If we could mine another kilometer deeper and reduce the mining costs by five or six tenths, utilizing those inaccessible ore deposits..."

"Can you guess whether we would find iron ore deposits with higher grades than those in Australia or South America right beneath our feet? Can you imagine the impact this would have on the local economy, national finance, and industrial structure?"

"It's not just for our own use, truly. If we could create this mining system, I see no problems with exporting it!"

The notion of resource reserves is relative, which might actually increase as mining and exploration technologies evolve.

The higher the density of a substance, the more likely it is to gather downward during magmatic activities and rock formation. Therefore, the resources closer to the Earth's core are richer. Comparatively, the resources at the planet's surface are mere trifles.

Looking at the increasingly excited expression of the young man, Gao Jianhui flicked ash into the ashtray and teased with a smile,

"When did you guys get so idle? Dreaming during the day with an old man."

He had probably guessed the identity and position of the person before him but didn't expect them to seek his expertise.

Whatever the case, his research and national security still seemed far apart.

The people working next door in geology and geographic information might be more relevant.

Suppressing his excitement, the bespectacled man coughed lightly and didn't respond. Instead, he gently closed his laptop.

"…Regarding the case we are currently handling, I am sorry that I cannot disclose more. This involves the highest level of secrecy. Thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule to assist us, and now, please allow me to escort you back."

"Understood."

Gao Jianhui stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray and waved a hand.

"You can just call me directly if you have any other questions. It's very nerve-wracking this way."

The bespectacled man nodded and was about to rise to open the door for the academician.

However, at that moment, he seemed to remember something. He tore off a piece of paper from a nearby notebook, wrote down a series of letters, and handed it to the elderly man.

Gao Jianhui took it and glanced over it.

"What is this?"

"A website address."

The bespectacled man smiled and said, "Though I can't reveal more details about our case, these photos were all found in the discussion section of this website."

And there was no stopping it.

The entire website was like a Black Box, revealing only the information it was willing to release. Any attempt to open it had proved futile; blocking the website would require shutting down the entire internet.

Currently, the most likely speculation is that this website and the game "Wasteland OL" are some form of outreach or assessment of human civilization by a higher civilization.

Considering the advanced technologies displayed in the game, far surpassing—even detaching from—the current level of civilization on Earth, the case was already categorized as "Third Contact."

As for what this "Civilization X" aims to achieve by contacting humans in the Solar System is yet to be further researched.

But for now, at least, the contact appears to be neutral or more favorable.

Considering the need to prevent widespread panic, they decided to temporarily contain the news of extraterrestrial civilization and maintain observation with a cautious attitude.

"A website?"

Interesting.

Academician Gao raised his eyebrows and slipped the piece of paper into his pocket.

I'll have a look when I have time.

...

Wasteland.

West State City.

Having put down the communicator, Wu Chengyi leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat burdened.

Just minutes ago, he had made contact with the Manager of the New Alliance using communication equipment provided by the Burning Corps.

The other party didn't beat around the bush but stated the New Alliance's position directly—

The New Alliance would incorporate West State City into the Restoration Zone and construct a Survivor Settlement near West State Lake to shelter slaves freed from the Looters and survivors willing to join the New Alliance.

It felt more like an announcement than a discussion.

Thinking back to the man's words on the phone, Wu Chengyi looked at the notebook in his hands.

The scribbles there were what he had just jotted down.

[West State City Industrial Development Plan, and the Preliminary Plan for the New Restoration Zone and Survivor Settlement].

To him,

It sounded very much like a big pie in the sky.

The war with the Ya Clan is still unresolved, and here the New Alliance is discussing the future with them.

Wu Chengyi had to admit, though.

The pie sure smelled good.

"Get my deputy… and the other senior members of the resistance organization here," Wu Chengyi said as he tossed the notebook onto the table and instructed his assistant.

The assistant nodded and immediately left the office.

After a while, more than a dozen people came in from outside.

Among those standing here were administrative officials from the Town Of Hope and army officers from the Guerrilla Team.

Those present exchanged glances and whispered in hushed conversations, not understanding why the mayor had called them here.

Surveying the people in the room, Wu Chengyi slowly began to speak.

"Ten minutes ago, I made contact with the Manager of the New Alliance."

This sentence dropped like a bomb amongst the crowd. People's faces registered shock upon hearing these words.

Not waiting for his subordinates to ask questions, Wu Chengyi continued.

"Overall, the conversation went fairly smoothly. The New Alliance extended an olive branch to us and promised to provide aid worth 500,000 Silver Coins, including the food and medicine we are desperately in need of, as well as weapons... These supplies will be delivered by airdrop."

He didn't know what 500,000 Silver Coins meant.

But an automatic rifle cost 200 Silver Coins, and one kilogram of green wheat only needed 1-2 Silver Coins... This was the reference provided to him by the Manager named Chu Guang.

With this aid, they would undoubtedly be able to get through the current difficulties more smoothly, and solve the food shortage and disease problems caused by the plague.

At least to some extent.

The terms could be considered quite generous, even unbelievably so. Yet, it was precisely because of this, that it felt abnormal.

"I want to know if this is a free offer?" The adjutant standing by Wu Chengyi's side cautiously asked.

"Of course not."

Wu Chengyi paused for a moment and continued.

"After the War ends, the New Alliance will incorporate West State City into the Restoration Zone."

The room fell into silence for a moment.

Everyone looked at each other.

Although they did not know what a Restoration Zone was, from the sound of it... did the New Alliance intend to include this place within their territory?

Or to put it more bluntly, to annex it.

Wu Chengyi kept speaking.

"The New Alliance plans to turn West State City into their heavy industrial base in the future. He promised me that after the War ends, any survivor who wishes to join them can gain the status and equal legal rights of a New Alliance Resident, similar to those of City of Dawn Residents... including the right to education and participation in city government staff selection, and so on. If they do not wish to join the New Alliance, they will not interfere in any way, as long as we do not hinder their work."

The adjutant next to him pressed on with more questions.

"What about us?"

Wu Chengyi replied.

"They acknowledge the heroic performance of the Guerrilla Team in resisting the Ya Clan. If we wish, they would incorporate us into their ranks. Of course, if we prefer a different way of life, they will also consider giving us a severance payment for us to decide on our own whether to stay or leave."

Upon hearing this, the high-ranking members of the Guerrilla Team heaved a sigh of relief, their expressions relaxing slightly.

The fact that the New Alliance was willing to welcome them into their ranks, rather than confiscate their weapons, at least suggested that they were seen as part of their own. And the promise of a severance payment was something that could serve as a settlement for those who had risked their lives for them.

However, not everyone was so optimistic.

A high-ranking member of the Resistance organization slightly furrowed his brow.

"This sounds like charity."

Wu Chengyi smiled.

"Do we even need to 'sound like'?"

Actually, receiving charity wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Wu Chengyi was well aware that they were no different from beggars right now, and there was no point in fussing over trivial matters.

The adjutant looked at him and asked.

"What do you plan to do?"

Wu Chengyi didn't speak, but lit a homemade cigarette.

"I haven't decided yet..."

"I've called you all here to get your thoughts on the matter."

At this point, the previously silent logistics director suddenly spoke up.

"I think joining the New Alliance isn't a bad thing... in fact, I'd say it's our only option."

Everyone looked at him.

Including Wu Chengyi.

The logistics director paused for a moment before continuing.

"There are at least tens of thousands of survivors who have been captured by the Ya Clan... This includes not only our compatriots but also those people the Looters have taken from the central part of the River Valley Province. If the New Alliance takes their spoils of War home after the conflict ends, our situation could worsen compared to what it is now."

A huge number of starving people.

Plus the rampant plague.

If they were to take in those rescued compatriots, they would be overwhelmed by the food crisis.

And if they ignored those people, no matter what reasons they used to explain to those survivors who supported them, they would lose the legitimacy of their governance...

Staring at the burnt-out cigarette in his hand, Wu Chengyi sank into deep thought.

After a long while, he spoke up.

"You're right."

...

Chu Guang had originally thought that the guerrilla team captain named Wu Chengyi would certainly struggle for a week before accepting his proposal.

However, what surprised him was that he received a response call that very evening.

"I have a better suggestion," Wu Chengyi said as soon as the call connected.

Hearing the voice on the other end of the phone, Chu Guang, who was reviewing documents, stopped what he was doing and raised his eyebrows with interest.

"Oh?"

"After discussing with other members of the resistance organization, we unanimously believe that West State City would have a brighter future under the leadership of the New Alliance. You need people and space, and we want to live with dignity. Since you are willing to accept us, why not cooperate even more thoroughly?"

There was a pause before Wu Chengyi spoke again in a serious tone,

"This is our unanimous decision."

"Please allow us to join your cause!"

Hearing this, Chu Guang was taken aback for a moment.

Truth be told, he was a bit surprised.

He had considered the various problems that might arise from forcefully annexing West State City, which is why he had offered a relatively mild plan designed to replicate the development model of the City of Dawn and attract locals with the allure of civilization, willingly contributing to an unbreakable alliance.

And here he was.

It seemed that the other party was even more eager to join than he was, and ironically, he was the one playing hard to get?

Suppressing his meaningful expression, Chu Guang, who was sitting on the couch, cleared his throat and responded to the resistance organization leader's proposal,

Or rather, request:

"Welcome!"

...

The next morning.

West State City, an abandoned underground mall connected to the subway tunnels.

Survivors, dressed in tatters and with numb expressions, trudged back from the dark subway doors, carrying shriveled bags.

The daytime of West State City belonged to the Looters.

Only when the night fell completely could they safely go out to scavenge.

Before going back to sleep, the Scavengers needed to visit the warehouse to exchange materials, trading the trash they picked up the night before for nutrient paste or exchanging caught prey for a few necessities and medicines.

By prey, they mainly meant rats.

For these Scavengers, this was nearly their only source of meat.

And as to why nearly...

It's probably better not to delve too deeply during these extraordinary times.

As usual, today's harvest was still pathetically small, and the skirmishes between the New Alliance and the Chewing Bone Tribe patrol were less frequent, meaning it was hard to recover spent casings left by both sides.

The Looters' tanks were mostly taken to the front lines, and trucks wielding machine guns rumbled off, swathes of Looters heading south.

It looked like the war was nearing its conclusion.

Under the continuous strategic bombardment of the New Alliance, both the spirit and the bodies of the Chewing Bone Tribe were on the brink.

Even the garbage picking Scavengers could feel that the Looters were being driven mad...

Nevertheless, for the New Alliance to win this war was still not an easy task.

There were simply too many Looters.

Discussions about when the war would end were popular in Town Of Hope. People queuing at the warehouse door chattered eagerly about when the New Alliance would drive the Looters away and what they planned to do after the war ended.

Whenever these matters were discussed, even the most disheartened found the courage to hold on a little longer.

Beyond family, that was probably the only belief that kept them going.

Just then, the sound of a broadcast suddenly came from above.

"After high-level research by the Survivor Resistance Movement Organization of West State City, as of the date of this announcement, Town Of Hope is officially incorporated into the human civilization's unified front for revival, becoming part of the New Alliance collective..."

The content of the announcement was lengthy.

Including the official transfer of administrative powers, resident status of the New Alliance, and future arrangements for the guerrilla team, and so on.

The Mayor, Mr. Wu, spoke for a good half hour before stopping.

Nevertheless, the Scavengers standing at the warehouse door, as well as those residents huddled in their shacks enduring hunger, didn't listen to the rest of his words at all.

They did not even fully process the first sentence of the broadcast.

Conversations ceased as people exchanged glances and expressions, their faces spontaneously showing surprise, joy, astonishment, doubt... and disbelief.

Joining the New Alliance?

This... indeed sounded like good news.

But had this guy really woken up?!

Chapter 320: An Unexpected Harvest!

Next to the warehouse.

Survivors carrying tote bags looked at each other, exchanging looks of surprise and bewilderment.

"Join the New Alliance?"

"…Are they serious?"

"The mayor's voice didn't sound like he had drunk too much either."

"Shh… Don't talk nonsense about that, be careful that those armed people hear you."

No one disliked the decision.

It was just a bit unbelievable.

The New Alliance actually willing to take in these scavengers who picked through trash?

It sounded too fanciful!

They thought it over, and West State City didn't seem to have anything that would be of interest to those people.

Here, apart from a graveyard-like expanse of concrete ruins, there was only the ever-flooding West State Lake. The lake not only turned the entire eastern bank into swampland but also backflowed into the low-lying urban areas, making it hard to find a piece of land fit for farming.

As for trade value, it was almost zero.

Ordinary merchants would never come here, and River Valley Province had only two plains strips in the north and south; in-between were either mountains or rivers. Even without the Looters, few would come here. Until last year, they lived almost completely cut off from the world.

"Do you think this might be a pipe dream the mayor is painting for us?" a thin middle-aged man whispered.

"…It's very possible," a slightly shorter old man swallowed his saliva, "Anyway, if I were the leader of the New Alliance, I definitely wouldn't invite a bunch of beggars into my home."

Although Wu Chengyi spoke earnestly on the broadcast, almost no survivor believed what he said.

However, unlike those survivors, the soldiers of the Guerrilla Team were well aware that their leader never joked.

Especially not about such serious matters.

"So… from now on are we soldiers of the New Alliance?"

At the entrance to the settlement, the sentry from the Guerrilla Team who had listened to the broadcast from start to finish had a peculiar look on his face.

His name was Liao Feng, and before joining the Guerrilla Team, he came from a survivor settlement called Good Weather Cooperative.

When the Chewing Bone Tribe attacked West State City, theirs was the first to fall; out of a village of thousands, less than fifty people lived to escape.

Towards those from the outside world, he instinctively distrusted them. Whether they were the Looter of the Chewing Bone Tribe or that so-called Alliance.

"…Probably?" the man with the hunting bow on his back had also listened to the broadcast and replied uncertainly.

His name was Hunting Bow, and just like Liao Feng, he was a member of the West State City resistance organization, only he did not come from Good Weather Cooperative but from another survivor settlement.

In the broadcast just minutes ago, Wu Chengyi seemed to mention something about the Guerrilla Team.

Afterward, the New Alliance would send officers to train them and provide them with new equipment.

And their status would change from a ragtag force to officially becoming the New Alliance Third Corps, taking part in the final battle against the Chewing Bone Tribe…

"Do you think joining that what's-it-called Alliance is really a good thing?" Liao Feng looked at him and said.

Hunting Bow was silent for a while, then shook his head.

"Don't know, but I feel… it can't be a bad thing."

How much worse could it get, anyway?

Forget weapons and equipment, they were already so poor they couldn't even keep up with nutritional paste.

Previously, the soldiers of the Guerrilla Team would get a share of goat-horn tubers and green oatmeal porridge, and even eat a bit of meat occasionally. Now everyone was uniformly given nutritional paste.

The state of the logistics spoke volumes.

At this time, a man wearing Hyena leather boots and a beard approached them.

Seeing their immediate superior, the two stopped talking.

"I need someone to show our allies around the area," Wang Sijie stopped at the entrance to the settlement and scanned the on-duty crowd, "Is anyone willing to volunteer, step forward."

The others looked at each other.

No one moved.

About this suddenly emerged ally, they were utterly in the dark. They neither knew the personality of those people nor understood their taboos.

Capable of fighting off those Looters in the city, those people were undoubtedly tough characters.

What if they offended them?

Nobody wanted to be that scapegoat.

When Wang Sijie saw no one stepping forward, he was about to call names.

At this moment, Hunting Bow stepped out.

"I'll go."

Liao Feng, standing aside, sneaked a surprised glance at him; he hadn't expected this guy to be so brave, voluntarily taking on this thankless task.

Wang Sijie nodded in satisfaction and gestured.

"Follow me."

…

A fairly clean single room.

Old White, lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes without any warning, and sat up with a flip from the bed.

It was six in the evening.

After checking the current time on the VM, Old White was about to meet up with his teammates when he suddenly discovered a long list of tasks on the screen.

"Mission 1: Inspect the Town of Hope, carry the VM and video equipment to complete a full map search."

"Mission 2 (side): Write a 200-word report, elaborating on the local survivors' situation from aspects of economy, culture, politics, education, etc."

"Mission 3 (side): Look for NPCs with special talents or identities."

"Mission 4 (side): …"

The rewards for the tasks were very generous, not just silver coins, contribution points, but also regional reputation for the new map.

Staring at the long list of missions on the VM, Old White's face, filled with bewilderment, couldn't help but show a hint of oddness.

Especially the second mission.

Goodness, even the map descriptions were left for players to write.

Shouldn't this kind of work be for the planners?

That's just too lazy!

However, the task was actually manageable; Fang Chang loved doing this kind of work, so he would probably be happy to take it on.

As for the third one...

Old White stared at the mission interface for a long time, unable to figure out any clues, and finally gave up with a shake of his head.

"Forget it... never mind."

The survivor settlement had just over five thousand residents.

In any case, triggering more dialogues might help find some clues.

After a quick check of his equipment, Old White pushed open the room door, walked through the narrow corridor, and headed to the rest area's lobby to meet with his teammates.

The environment here was quite rudimentary, the air quality was poor, but even so, this was already the best room in the Town of Hope.

The vast majority of survivors were crammed in the basement commercial complex's shops or even the corridors, separated by curtains or simply huddled together.

Not to mention private rooms, they didn't even have decent beds.

Since yesterday morning, when they followed that little boy and discovered the survivors' hideout in West State City, the Bull and Horse Squad had settled down here.

Compared to sleeping in the ruins, logging off here was undoubtedly much safer; at least they didn't have to arrange turns for someone to log on and "guard the bodies."

Out of respect and even caution towards the strength of the New Alliance, these residents of the resistance organization treated them with a lot of respect.

Unless the Looters found this place, there was no need to worry about safety concerns while logged off here.

When Old White arrived in the rest area's lobby, Fang Chang, Night Ten, and Wild Wind were already there for a while.

Looking around, Old White noticed not only his close brothers but also two unfamiliar NPCs standing there.

"...I am Wang Sijie, captain of the resistance organization's guerrilla team in West State City. The person next to me is Hunting Bow, a soldier under my command. He will serve as your guide during your stay in the Town of Hope." Seeing that everyone had arrived, Wang Sijie introduced himself briefly and introduced the guerrilla soldier standing beside him to everyone.

When it came to his introduction, the man with a bow on his back immediately took over the conversation.

"Welcome, friends from the City of Dawn... You can come to me with any problems you encounter here, and I will do my best to help you solve them."

Fang Chang smiled and said.

"There's no need for such courtesy, just show us around."

"I have another task to attend to in a bit, so I will not bother you all." After patting Hunting Bow on the shoulder, Wang Sijie left a "leave it to you" and turned away from the lobby.

Watching the guerrilla captain leave, Night Ten whispered.

"I thought they would arrange a young lady to be our guide."

Wild Wind gave him a sidelong glance.

"Let's analyze rationally, at this level of living standard in the survivor settlement, even if they assigned you a young lady, the chances of her meeting your aesthetic standards are—"

Night Ten immediately covered his mouth.

"Okay, I don't want to hear your nonsense."

Wild Wind: "..."

Hunting Bow looked at the whispering pair with a puzzled face, not understanding what they were saying.

Fortunately, his superior had previously briefed him on language issues, so his reaction was rather calm, and he said in a serious tone.

"I will take you around the area... please follow me."

He was about to lead the way when the man who also had a bow on his back stopped him.

"Wait a second," Fang Chang took out a pack of wheat biscuits from his pocket and handed them to him, "this is your payment."

The pack of wheat biscuits weighed about half a pound.

Hunting Bow was initially startled when he received the paper package, but soon he realized what it was, and his face immediately burst into a joyful expression.

"We don't need payment..." Though he said that, he made no move to give the item back.

Fang Chang looked at him, smiled, and said.

"Don't be so formal, we don't expect people to work for us for nothing."

In the City of Dawn, one silver coin could buy two such wheat biscuits, let alone the fact that air-dropped supplies don't cost money.

A little kindness as payment could secure the loyalty of a guide and plant the idea in the locals' minds that "working for the people of the New Alliance comes with benefits."

Such a deal was incredibly worthwhile!

Gratefully stashing the paper package away, Hunting Bow carefully placed it in his inner pocket, planning to bring it home after work to share with his family.

He took a deep breath and looked at Fang Chang.

"Thank you for your generosity!"

Fang Chang nodded.

"Take us around, please. Our Manager wants to understand the situation here."

Hunting Bow immediately said.

"No problem, please follow me!"

Thanks to that piece of barley bread, the guide named Hunting Bow seemed much warmer.

After learning that Fang Chang and his group wanted to understand the real living conditions of the residents of Town Of Hope, he immediately led them through several corridors to the residential area on Level B1 of the commercial complex.

As soon as they stepped into this area, Old White was struck by a foul smell.

The narrow corridors and stairs were almost completely blocked with haphazardly piled trash, and in less than five hundred square meters of space, there were six or seven hundred people lying haphazardly. Centipede-like, twisted ventilation pipes crawled along the ceiling of the corridor, but cockroaches and rats had already nested in them.

And this was just one corner of this "small town."

The sanitary condition was very bad, although the problems here weren't limited to sanitation alone. Due to a lack of nutrition, fuel, and warm equipment, people fainted from hunger every day, even starved to death.

As for those bodies...

Most likely, they would be dragged to the nutrient paste synthesis device and turned into green pasty substances along with other plant fibers and animal, insect carcasses.

Faces gaunt and pale were hidden in the dark, people curled up on heaps of trash that were cruder than shanties, like sewer rats.

They carefully observed these strangers who stood out amidst their surroundings with curious eyes, whispering about their identities.

"They... are from the New Alliance?"

"Could it be that the town mayor wasn't joking?"

"Thank God... we're finally saved."

Voices spread like waves.

As the local residents were sizing up the group behind Hunting Bow, the Ox-Horse Squad was doing the same to them.

Walking behind Wild Wind, Night Ten involuntarily held his breath.

It wasn't just because of the suffocating smell, but also because of the shockingly horrific scenes before him.

This place was simply hell...

Last time he saw such a disaster was in the dungeons of Qingstone County.

"...Those damn Bandits," Night Ten couldn't help but curse softly under his breath, "Go to hell."

Fang Chang and Wild Wind didn't speak, one treating this place as a Game, the other ordinarily taciturn; Old White, walking at the front, seemed heavy-hearted as if he were pondering some worries.

Noticing the expressions on everyone's faces, Hunting Bow explained.

"This is where ordinary residents live. We're short on supplies, and it's already a struggle to maintain the status quo... My superior didn't want me to bring you here; he told me to avoid this area on Level B1 as much as possible and to show you the best side of us. But if you want to see the most real conditions, there's nothing more real than here."

Fang Chang looked at him and asked.

"Leading us here won't cause you any trouble, will it?"

Hunting Bow smiled apologetically and said.

"How could it? Please don't worry about me. My superior said to follow your orders, and if he asks about this, I'll say that you insisted on coming."

Old White glanced around and said in broken Human Alliance language.

"You've concentrated so many people here; won't the Looters find this place?"

Hunting Bow continued.

"That's not a concern. The surface entrance has collapsed completely, and we've sealed the direct entrance from the subway station. The only way to get in here from the outside is through a hidden door in the subway tunnel."

At that moment, Old White suddenly had a thought and whispered a few words about the VM mission to Fang Chang.

Fang Chang paused for a moment, then looked at Hunting Bow and asked.

"Speaking of which, do you have people here who have special talents?"

"Special talents?" Hunting Bow was taken aback, "What kind of talents are you referring to?"

Fang Chang tried to clarify, "In terms of skills, whether it's blacksmithing or craftsmanship, just someone skilled!"

Hunting Bow paused and then replied.

"Just skilled... that seems like a very low threshold. Most survivors from Lagrange Building are artisans; many people who lived near the TV station could sing or forge. There are quite a few survivors from the Fourth New District settlement who are good at fishing, stealing Split Claw Crab Eggs..."

Fang Chang silently noted this information and then inquired further.

"What about the others? Like the residents of the refuges?"

"The residents of the refuges? There is a refuge in West State City, but right after Ya Clan arrived here, they locked the door..."

Fang Chang's heart leaped with joy and he immediately asked.

"What's the number of that refuge? Do you know its exact location?"

"I believe it's 101? I'm not sure of the exact location, but I do remember the camp they built on the surface; it's on..."

Hunting Bow scratched the back of his head as he relayed the address to Fang Chang.

However, just at that moment, a disheveled man suddenly scurried forward, tumbling and crawling to the feet of the group.

Everyone was momentarily startled, not yet understanding what had happened when the man looked up at them with eyes filled with pleading and said.

"You are from the New Alliance, aren't you? Please, help me!"

"What are you doing?! Get your hands off—"

Hunting Bow was just about to shoo him away but was stopped by Old White.

Reaching out, Old White lifted the disheveled man up from the ground and looked at him, asking.

"Get up and tell me your name."

"My name is... Wang Zhong." The man said incoherently.

"Alright, Wang Zhong, what kind of trouble have you encountered?"

The man, who had just regained his breath, immediately became agitated again.

"My wife has contracted a serious illness, and she won't last long without antibiotics... please, can you spare me some medicine and food?"

Seeing the man's pitiful state, Old White couldn't bear to help. Standing by his side, Fang Chang immediately guessed what he was about to do and stopped his hand reaching for the backpack.

"Everyone here needs medicine and food, if you help him, soon there will be a second, and a third person."

Old White looked at Fang Chang.

"So we just leave him be?"

Fang Chang said calmly,

"Of course not, we will report the situation here truthfully to the Manager, and it'll be up to him to decide how to assist the local survivors."

Pausing for a moment, he continued to Old White,

"There are over five thousand people here, with just the supplies we have on us, we simply can't help them all."

Old White fell into silence.

Reason told him that Fang Chang was right, but emotionally, it was hard for him to accept.

If there's someone to blame, it's that this Game is made too realistically.

At that moment, the man named Wang Zhong suddenly spoke up.

"I won't just take your stuff for nothing... I just heard in the broadcast that you're planning to build a Survivor Settlement here, right?"

Old White was still looking at the VM for the translation.

Understanding what had been said, Fang Chang immediately looked at the man.

"Yes, do you have any good suggestions?"

Seeing a chance, Wang Zhong swallowed and continued, "No, but I know... beneath West State City there's a spare controllable fusion reactor."

The moment these words were spoken, Fang Chang's expression became very serious, and he stared into the man's eyes asking,

"Are you serious?"

Wang Zhong nodded vigorously, swearing an oath.

"I swear on my life! Those Blue Jackets... that is, the residents of Shelter 101, they said it themselves. The reactor was a civil defense facility built during the Human Alliance Era, specifically for the underground transit network, and it's said the output power can reach GM Level. They were trying to repair the reactor and have already succeeded in fixing half of it!"

Struggling to understand him with the aid of the translation tool, Fang Chang quickly asked,

"How do you know this?"

Wang Zhong promptly replied,

"Because I am a resident of Camp 101! They hired some locals to pick up trash, construct buildings, move stuff, take care of their living needs... basically, do the work they didn't want to. I work in the kitchen, they talked about this during meals, they even joked that once they fixed the reactor, all the survivors in West State City wouldn't have to worry about electricity anymore."

If this reactor really exists, then this wasn't a joke.

A GM Level power output, compared horizontally to reality, just the output of this single reactor could outdo the total power output of many small countries' electric grids!

Meeting the electricity needs of tens of thousands of survivors is more than sufficient.

Fang Chang looked excitedly toward the Hunting Bow standing beside him.

Although the Hunting Bow appeared confused about what Wang Zhong had shared, after hesitating for a moment, he nodded.

"He's telling the truth... Camp 101 really did hire some Waste Land Wanderers who live nearby, letting them reside in their camp. But that reactor thing, I'm not sure about..."

Controllable fusion reactor!

Everyone exchanged glances, and excitement appeared on their faces in unison.

The New Alliance, though currently possessing sophisticated energy storage methods like solid hydrogen, still relied on backward means of producing power, almost primitive.

If they could take control of this controllable fusion reactor, the impact on the industrial capability of the New Alliance would undoubtedly be enormous!

Suppressing the excitement in his voice, Fang Chang looked at the man and asked,

"Do you know where that reactor is located?"

Wang Zhong nodded nervously.

"I can take you there... but you have to cure my wife. And... I need food, enough to keep my family alive."

Fang Chang smiled and said,

"Don't worry about that! Tonight, a batch of supplies will arrive here; whether it's food or medicine, your reasonable requests will be satisfied!"

Leaving that statement, Fang Chang, in front of Wang Zhong, turned to the Hunting Bow and said,

"The information he has is critical; I need you to ensure the safety of him and his family."

Town of Hope had already joined the New Alliance.

If these members of the Resistance organization are not foolish, they will certainly take my words seriously.

Sure enough, after those words were spoken, the Hunting Bow's expression became serious, and he said earnestly,

"No problem, leave it to me!"

Fang Chang nodded, then continued,

"Additionally, please help us spread the word in the town, if anyone has similar information, no matter how big or small, please be sure to tell us!"

"Once the value of the information is confirmed, the Alliance will reward handsomely!"

Chapter 321: Parachuting into Management and the Maiden Flight of the H-1!

"West State City discovered the relics of a controlled fusion reactor?"

Upon receiving this news from Chu Guang, Yin Fang's face immediately showed a look of surprise.

Chu Guang nodded his head.

"We have already secured information from knowledgeable sources and the approximate location of the reactor—there's a high likelihood the intelligence is reliable."

Reining in his surprise, Yin Fang pondered for a moment before speaking.

"...A backup reactor for the underground transport network; this indeed is alarming news. Even if the reactor is intact, having not been started for over two hundred years, it won't be easy to repair."

"And what about the most crucial issue—the fuel you plan on securing?"

Conventional fusion reactors and those in refuges have fundamental differences. These are not only manifested in the size of the fuel rods but also in the entire design philosophy of the setup.

One is a standby for public facilities, the other is the energy core for permanent fortifications; the former pursues energy efficiency, while the latter aims for durability.

Even if the reactor in the refuge has been shut down for over a century, or even two, it can still be restarted once the fuel rods are inserted.

But conventional reactors...

It's highly likely they will not be able to restart after being shut down for decades.

Beyond restarting the reactor, another more pressing issue is the fuel for the reactor.

80% of the controlled fusion reactors on Human Alliance territory use the completely safe third-generation controlled fusion technology—fusion reactions achieved with two helium-3 nuclei. This process releases a large amount of energy without generating any neutrons.

However, the problem is...

To mine helium-3 on a large scale, there are only two choices.

Either go to Mercury or the Moon.

For the New Alliance at its current stage, either option is somewhat impractical.

After listening to Yin Fang's concerns, Chu Guang thought for a moment before saying,

"Don't worry about repairing the reactor. According to the information obtained from the frontline, Shelter No. 101 in West State City has started work on repairing the reactor. Clearly, those residents of the refuge possess the technical expertise to repair the reactor... or perhaps they themselves are experts in the field."

Yin Fang nodded his head.

"That's a reasonable assumption."

Pausing for a bit, Chu Guang continued to say,

"For the same reasons, we shouldn't worry too much about the fuel. Since they believe it's necessary to repair the reactor, they likely have the fuel needed to start it up, or at least... they must have the coordinates for the fuel."

Yin Fang's eyes brightened.

"That makes sense. If they can't solve the fuel problem, repairing the reactor would be futile. If I were them, I certainly wouldn't bother."

"So, the key now is to get in touch with Shelter No. 101," Chu Guang's face softened with a smile, "If we drive out the Looters from West State City and properly settle the local survivors, we should be able to gain their trust."

Although the doors of Shelter No. 101 had been closed again, the residents would probably still maintain surveillance capabilities on the surface to determine when to open next.

It's just unknown how exactly they are conducting their observations, as every refuge has vastly different circumstances.

Just as Chu Guang was pondering how to approach them, Yin Fang suddenly threw a wet blanket.

"...That said, I think it's better that you don't get too optimistic."

Chu Guang looked at him.

"Why?"

Yin Fang shrugged and continued to explain,

"Anyone who's dealt with the Blue Jackets will know they are a group of stubborn people who are difficult to communicate with. If they judge that the current surface conditions are not suitable for rebuilding their homes, they might just crawl into a Sleep Cabin and lie flat until the next century comes around to work."

Realizing he had cast too wide a net with his criticism, implicating his own boss, Yin Fang quickly added,

"Of course, I'm not talking about you... You're the exception."

Hearing this, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile wryly.

"No worries, even if you did include me, I wouldn't mind."

Pausing for a moment, he continued,

"Difficulty in communication is indeed a problem, but we still have to give it a try."

After all, that was a controlled fusion reactor.

Even if the remaining fuel reserves could only last twenty years, or even ten years, it would still save the New Alliance a substantial amount of development time.

The players from the old era and the Blue Jackets with their core technology could solve some of the development problems in their respective areas of expertise.

But to achieve a leapfrog in development, they would still have to rely on the legacy of the Human Alliance Era.

After leaving the office of the exploratory team, Chu Guang took the elevator to Floor B4 of the refuge and sat down on the sofa in the viewing room.

In ten minutes' time, Chu Guang edited a document about the reinforcement plan on his Computer and issued instructions to various departments.

"The first batch of relief supplies will mainly consist of food, medicine, and a small amount of weapons. The airdrop plan will be executed by the H-1 'Dragonfly' project team from Factory No.81."

"In addition, the New Alliance will set up interim Offices in Hope Town of West State City to complete population census, household registration, supply distribution, and survivor assistance."

It wasn't just supplies that needed to be air-dropped, but also a few management staff. Since Hope Town had become part of the Alliance, the Alliance naturally couldn't neglect them.

Including the training of the Guerrilla Team, rebuilding the management system, taking over logistical tasks, and so on... These operations would commence alongside the delivery of relief supplies.

As for the choice of staff for the Office.

Chu Guang thought for a moment.

This person would best have a good understanding of West State City and some experience in resettling and managing refugees.

Most importantly, they must firmly stand with the New Alliance and not be swayed by the local pre-existing network of relationships.

Combining these elements, Chu Guang suddenly thought of a suitable candidate.

...

North of the City of Dawn.

Home of the Refugees Apartment.

Since they took in over six hundred survivors from Qingstone County, the already limited space here became even more cramped, packed to the brim with people.

To resolve the issue of the staff shortage, the logistics department recruited a group of literate survivors with some managerial experience from among the refugees to serve as co-management staff.

As the leader of the West State City refugees, Ma Ban naturally joined the ranks of co-management personnel and was selected for talent development.

Ma Ban always worked diligently.

Not only because many of the refugees adopted here were his compatriots, but also because he was eager to integrate into the New Alliance through this work.

They were a group of people with no home to return to.

The New Alliance, willing to take them in, was their sole reliance.

Even if the Chewing Bone Tribe was defeated, they couldn't possibly return to live in West State City; there was no longer a place for them there.

However, what Ma Ban hadn't expected was that he had been in the position of co-management staff at the Home of the Refugees for less than two months when he received a transfer order from the logistics department.

And it was concerning his hometown.

"…You want me to be the director of the Alliance's office in Hope Town?" After listening to Old Luka's words, Ma Ban was completely stunned.

Looking at a surprised Ma Ban, Old Luka nodded, speaking in a serious tone.

"This is the Manager's intention."

Ma Ban couldn't help but ask.

"I understand it's the Manager's order, but why… me?"

Luka continued to speak.

"The Manager said, you are well acquainted with the situation in West State City, he needs a management official familiar with the local circumstances to represent the New Alliance and commence work there."

Hearing this, a bitter smile crept onto Ma Ban's face.

"I am indeed familiar with the situation in West State City, but… my relationship with the West State City resistance organization is anything but friendly."

If the relationship had been good, he wouldn't have had to lead his people southward to wander.

Seeing through Ma Ban's concerns, Old Charlie continued to speak.

"You needn't worry about that, from now on you represent the New Alliance, not you and your tribespeople. We will send someone to assist you with your work; you need only follow our orders and take care of the rescue and settlement of survivors."

Hearing that the New Alliance would send someone to help him, Ma Ban finally breathed a sigh of relief in his mind.

Understanding was one thing, but if the people there didn't cooperate with him, understanding their situation would be pointless.

Now only one last question remained.

"The roads to West State City are sealed off by now, how should I get back?"

Previously, although Lion Tooth was in Qingstone County, the road from West State City to Qingquan City wasn't completely shut down; slipping through the forest outside the county town in the dark wasn't an issue.

But now it was impossible.

Pine forest valley had become the front line, both sides were riddled with trenches, and trying to sneak past the eyes of the Looters was like a pipe dream.

Old Luka smiled and said.

"Don't worry about that, we've prepared an airplane for you."

"An airplane?"

Ma Ban paused, a foreboding feeling suddenly arising in his heart.

It didn't keep him uneasy for long.

As Old Luka's next words came out, his premonition quickly turned into reality.

"That's right, you'll be aboard the New Alliance's latest equipment, the H-1, arriving above West State City. The elite of the Guards Corps will accompany you as you parachute down."

Hearing this, Ma Ban was completely flummoxed.

"Wait, I've never parachuted—"

As if anticipating what he would say, Old Luka gave him a reassuring smile and comfortingly patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, the Guards Corps are the Manager's trusted men, all professionally trained paratroopers. You won't need to worry about the landing; just obey the orders, then with your luggage and appointment letter in hand, you can depart!"

Ma Ban: "???"

...

Late at night.

The airport north of City of Dawn.

A nearly twenty-meter long propeller plane slowly moved onto the runway.

Compared to the average five or six-meter long "little sparrows" in the hangar, this behemoth named H-1 "Dragonfly" clearly looked more like a genuine airplane.

Three electric motors provided it with ample power, and the A3 aeronautical aluminum alloy hull allowed it to remain lightweight while offering better defense against light weapons fire.

Although it was less maneuverable than Goblin Technology's W-2, it boasted superior cruising speed and endurance for long-distance flights.

It could easily handle long-distance transport or strategic bombing missions.

Even installing a 37mm cannon on the side of the fuselage to provide close air support for ground troops, as per the Manager's request, was a breeze for it.

"Brothers, let the little flies of Goblin Technology see what professionalism is! What a real airplane looks like!"

"Ow ow ow!"

At the airport, the players from Factory No.81 voiced their enthusiastic cheers and assigned the only one among them who had real-life airplane experience to pilot the craft.

As for the co-pilot, it was none other than one of the factory bosses—[Husoil Brother, I need to use Ciso].

The H-1 "Dragonfly" was a dual-seated airplane; though it could theoretically fly solo, it was best to balance the weight by placing something in the co-pilot's seat.

Although Bun Brother had never flown a plane, sitting in the co-pilot seat to make up the numbers was not a problem.

"Big brother, are you sure you can handle this?"

Wearing a pilot's cap and strapped into the co-pilot seat, Ciso Brother asked nervously while fastening his safety belt.

The H-1's cost and man-hours were more than ten times that of the W-2, especially since this aircraft was the only prototype from Factory No.81.

Although they had already conducted numerous tests before to ensure that this big fellow could take off, it was still their first time heading to the front lines on a mission, and he couldn't help but be nervous.

"Don't ask me if I can do it or not, if you can't handle it remember to yell 'stop.'" With a heh heh and a smile, Looter gripped the control stick and stomped the throttle to the floor, "Buckle up!"

A massive thrust came from behind, catching Husoil Brother off guard as he was pressed into his seat.

"Dammit, I'm just asking out of curiosity, where in the hell have you flown before?"

"2042!"

"?"

"Hahaha, just kidding... ahem, actually it's War Thunder."

"???"

Husoil Brother's muscles tensed up as he fixed his eyes on the speedometer, watching the plane accelerate to its max.

Accompanied by the roaring of the propellers, the landing gear left the ground as the "Dragonfly," with its wings outstretched, tilted its large head and finally climbed steadily into the sky.

Watching the ground growing distant outside the cockpit, Husoil Brother's racing heart finally eased a bit, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Flying a plane feels pretty simple."

Of course, mainly because this guy actually knew a thing or two.

As for having flown in War Thunder, that was probably a load of crap.

Bun Brother snickered.

"Right? Why don't you take over for a while?"

Saying so, he let go of the control stick.

The body of the aircraft tilted slightly, scaring the recently relieved Husoil Brother into hurriedly grabbing the welded handrail in the cockpit and exclaiming in alarm.

"Damn it! Don't mess around."

"Hahaha, don't be nervous, I'm just joking." Snorting through his snubby nose, Bun chuckled and grabbed the control stick, lightly guiding and deftly straightening the tilted aircraft back into position.

Husoil Brother glared at him fiercely.

MMP!

Next time I let you fly, I'll take your last name!

To be honest, the material of this aircraft is really solid, damn it, it's such a waste to use it on a propeller plane!" Holding the control stick, Bun Brother continued his endless chatter.

Ignoring him, Husoil Brother reached out and turned on the communication switch.

Clearing his throat, he said solemnly, "This is Dragonfly, we have successfully taken off... How far are you from the target?"

Amid a burst of static, a familiar voice came through the communication channel.

"We're already here, just waiting on you... How about you? How much longer?"

"We're on the way now, should be about twenty minutes."

"No rush, be safe."

"Roger that, we'll be careful!"

The tension wasn't just in Husoil Brother who was sitting in the copilot's seat, but also in Ma Ban, who was strapped into a seat inside the cabin.

Feeling the vibrations of the seat beneath him, every cell in his body trembled, especially since the body of the aircraft had tilted momentarily, nearly scaring his soul away.

Not only was it his first time parachuting, but it was also his first time on a plane.

From the moment he had boarded the aircraft, he was utterly panicked.

"I have this feeling that the plane's going to fall apart!"

"Relax a bit, it'll be over soon, it's not that bad," Lu Bei, seated beside him, said calmly, even offering him some consolation.

However, instead of comforting Ma Ban, the statement only made him more nervous.

What do you mean 'it'll be over soon'?! Are you talking about the parachuting?

Besides the two of them, there were four others on the plane.

The flight was not only delivering supplies to Hope Town but also bringing along three Awakeners from the Guards Corps and three logistical staff.

The Guards soldiers had been trained to parachute at the airstrip a month ago, and now the training was paying off.

Tandem parachuting, one of the training exercises, generally posed no significant problems as long as the person strapped on didn't thrash around.

Ma Ban's thoughts were in disarray.

Just then, an alarm bell rang through the cabin, and his nerves instantly tightened.

"What's happening?!"

"Don't panic, we're almost in position," said Lu Bei as he tossed a nylon buckle to him, "take this; I'll strap you to me in a bit."

Ma Ban stared at the sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, who didn't look very reliable in his eyes, like just a child.

"How, how do I get strapped?"

Lu Bei patiently instructed, "Turn your back to me, and leave the rest to me."

...

In the night sky.

An aircraft nearly twenty meters in length flew over West State City, using the cover of darkness to drop a string of parachutes.

Under the veil of night, soldiers from the Guerrilla Team, led by four players, quietly approached the crate.

Carefully scanning their surroundings, Night Ten signaled to the others behind him.

"Safe."

Members of the Guerrilla Team emerged from the darkness, swarming towards the airdropped crate and dragged it into a nearby alley.

Upon seeing the packages of dried food inside the crate, faces lit up with surprise and even excitement.

Jerusalem artichokes!

And roasted barley cakes!

Many hadn't eaten anything but a chunk of nutrition paste since noon, and at the sight of this food, they were already swallowing saliva.

Night Ten also had a look of surprise on his face.

But he wasn't surprised at the contents of the crate; he was surprised by its size.

"Mosquito's planes can carry this much stuff now?"

The crate was a meter in length and width.

It didn't look like something Mosquito's small plane could accommodate.

Old White looked up at the sky.

"It doesn't seem like Mosquito's plane... The one that docked with us just now was Brother Ciso. I've heard that Factory No.81 is also making planes, could be some new equipment we've not seen before."

Night Ten exclaimed with surprise.

"Damn, I didn't see them showing off on the Forum."

Old White chuckled and said.

"Who knows, maybe they want to save a big surprise."

Standing next to the ecstatic Guerrilla Team members, Fang Chang addressed the crowd.

"You guys should transport the supplies back first, we still need to pick up a few people."

The leading Guerrilla Team member, restraining the excitement on his face, looked at him and said.

"Only a few of you, is it okay? I'll bring some people with you!"

"No need," Fang Chang patted the submachine gun hanging on his chest and said with a smile, "The few of us are enough, just wait for us at the subway station entrance!"

Though still a bit worried, the leading member of the Guerrilla Team nodded his head.

"Then be careful on your own."

...

The moment Ma Ban's feet left the cabin, his heart felt like it had frozen, and it wasn't until his feet touched the ground that his frantic heartbeat returned to his chest.

While floating in the air, he thought more than once about what would happen if the parachute didn't open, or if the Looters happened to see their parachutes.

Fortunately, none of that happened...

Sitting on the ground, Ma Ban gasped for breath, lying flat. It was the first time he felt this way—being on the ground felt so incredibly good.

After undoing the nylon clasps, Lu Bei, who was over a decade younger, used a dagger to cut the parachute cords and patted him on the shoulder.

"Get up quickly, it'll be trouble if the Looters' patrol comes this way."

At the mention of Looters, Ma Ban's just relaxed mood immediately tensed up, and he jumped off the ground with a start.

"What should we do now?"

"Head to the rally point marked on the map and meet up with the others," Lu Bei calmly said, taking out the Pu-9 submachine gun, "A small team from the Burning Corps is already waiting for us there."

The entire airdrop operation was thrilling, yet without mishap.

Six people, in groups of three, all landed safely.

Seeing these NPCs looking bedraggled but otherwise unhurt, Night Ten couldn't help but smack his tongue.

"How come none of them got hurt?"

Even after so many parachute jumps, there were still unfortunate kids in the corps who died from various accidents.

Wild Wind casually replied.

"Maybe it's because they only have one life, so they train more seriously."

Night Ten suddenly said.

"Fuck, that makes sense!"

Thinking about it, it really did.

If the game were a little harsher, with sequence levels being reset upon death, maybe those fools who insist on pulling their chutes at the last second would be a bit more cautious...

Overnight.

The New Alliance airdropped nearly 12 tons of food, as well as much-needed antibiotics, weapons, and ammunition to West State City.

And with these supplies, three soldiers from the Guards Corps and three logistics officers also arrived.

Not disappointing the Manager's expectations, Ma Ban took the lead in establishing the Alliance Office as soon as he arrived in Hope Town and took over the warehouse and refugee relief work.

Seeing old acquaintances and New Alliance people standing together, Wu Chengyi and others in the management level of Hope Town, though surprised, didn't say anything.

There had been some issues between them due to the migration, but it was a helpless move for survival; they weren't quite enemies.

Instead, seeing that the survivors from West State City could also be reused by the Alliance, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed that the Manager hadn't lied to them.

The person in charge of coordinating with Ma Ban was Yang Duo from the logistics department of the Resistance organization.

Considering he was one of the earliest officials to support joining the Alliance in the management, Wu Chengyi felt that assigning him this duty would encounter less resistance.

Of course, the key was that they had a bit of a relationship.

Although it was just a bit...

-

(37.6 degrees, a bit of a fever, took some medicine and feel a little better, probably the flu. Didn't have Tangyuan for this year's Lantern Festival, only had medicine… you'd say I've exhausted myself. I don't usually take days off unless I really can't hold on. T.T)

Chapter 322: It seems even the heavens are on our side!

In a cluttered room at the corner of the underground commercial complex.

With the help of two assistants and a few soldiers from the Guerrilla Team, Ma Ban quickly cleared out the room, which was less than twenty square meters.

He borrowed three sets of tables and chairs and three beds from the warehouse, found a piece of wood to write on, and hung it on the door. Once the sign reading "Alliance Office at Hope Town" was in place, it was officially established.

Work had just begun, and everything was starting simple.

Ma Ban had been prepared for the spare conditions here, after all, just a few months ago, he and his compatriots had lived here for some time.

Standing at the door of the office, Yang Duo, the logistics chief of Hope Town, looked somewhat embarrassed.

On one hand, they really couldn't offer much to welcome this manager who had parachuted in from the New Alliance; on the other hand, he really didn't know how to face the man.

"Ban... cough, Mr. Ma, long time no see."

"Long time no see." With no intention of small talk, Ma Ban answered succinctly.

Mulling over those four words for a long time, Yang Duo couldn't figure out the thoughts of this man, so he cautiously spoke.

"...I'm very sorry about the relocation, but as you know the situation back then, we just didn't have more food to go around. If we didn't send some people away, all of us would have starved to death."

To send away was a euphemism.

More accurately, it should be called exile.

Crossing the occupied zones of the Looters to head south was almost a death sentence. And whether the New Alliance would fulfill their promises broadcasted was an uncertainty.

However, Yang Duo didn't lie about one thing.

They really couldn't support that many people with their food supply.

It wasn't just Ma Ban and his clansmen who were exiled, but also about twelve hundred others, mainly from the survivor settlements north of West State City.

The whereabouts of these people are still unknown until today; whether they are alive or dead is unclear.

In terms of results, less than thirty percent of those who set out successfully reached the City of Dawn.

Ma Ban gave him a glance, knowing that this guy must have misunderstood something, and so he said candidly,

"Understood, I hold no resentment towards you. Besides, we've been doing quite well in the City of Dawn. Not only were we provided with food and shelter, but they even arranged work for us. There, your background is of no consequence; as long as you prove your capabilities and loyalty to the Alliance, you can be put to good use... Where's that thing I asked for?"

"It's here." Yang Duo gave an awkward smile, hastily handing over the notebook he was holding.

This was the ledger of Hope Town's warehouse.

It recorded the ingress and egress of every item, including food, reclaimed materials, and weapon inventories, among others.

Without wasting time on reminiscing, Ma Ban took the ledger from his hands and skimmed through it briefly.

Afterward, he would input these data into a VM, then hand it over to the inventory management personnel sent by the New Alliance.

Once incorporated into the New Alliance's storage system, every ingress and egress of the warehouse's supplies would be audited by AI, including "which link saw a shortage of what" and "which items would run short in how many days"... all this information could be seen at a glance.

Having experienced the strength of this system while working as a co-management staff at the Home of the Refugees, Ma Ban had already decided before taking office that the first thing he would do upon arrival was to connect Hope Town's warehouse to the "network".

While scanning the ledger with the camera on his headset, Ma Ban casually inquired about the warehouse's status.

"How many people are left in Hope Town now, and how much food is consumed daily?"

At Ma Ban's query, Yang Duo quickly answered.

"The total population is 5,731 people, with able-bodied adults making up thirty percent, and the rest are elderly, children, and women. Based on the daily ration of 300g per adult, the daily consumption would be—"

"1,719.3 kilograms... nearly two tons of food."

After flipping through the ledger from front to back, looking at the less than five tons of food stockpile and the pitiful daily intake of less than a hundred kilograms, Ma Ban couldn't help frowning.

"How have you been holding up until now?"

Upon hearing this, a bitter expression crossed Yang Duo's face.

"You only left here a couple of months ago... do you still need to ask?"

Ma Ban was silent for a moment before returning the ledger to him.

"The Alliance's aid will continue for some time; we'll try to ensure a daily supply of 2 tons of food until the new settlement is on the right track."

"Also, the sanitation problem must be addressed as soon as possible, and it must be treated as a top-priority task! This issue cannot be delayed, or diseases and rodent infestations will become more and more severe, possibly even leading to more serious epidemics, by which time no amount of medicine will be sufficient."

"I need you to mobilize everyone in town who can work immediately. I will arrange work for them, plan a large cleanup of the temporary shelters area by area, and clear more habitable areas from the ruins of the commercial complex, while re-planning the different areas of the shelter."

"The practice of cramming hundreds of people into one room must stop immediately; it's simply a breeding ground for diseases!"

"As for picking up trash... it can be put on hold for now. The priority is to solve the survivors' living conditions; all other matters take a backseat."

Yang Duo stared blankly at the man standing before him.

He had only been away for two months, yet the man before him seemed to have changed entirely, to the point that he was almost unrecognizable.

Ma Ban paused for a moment before continuing.

"Finally, those who were unfortunate enough to perish..."

"Just find a place to bury them."

Once the mobilization order was issued, the survivors of the Town of Hope quickly sprang into action.

Of course, it wasn't the military town chief's call to arms that infused them with the enthusiasm to engage wholeheartedly in the cleanup effort, but rather the prospect of receiving an extra food ration.

Although it was only a green wheat cake weighing less than 150 grams, it represented a substantial reward for survivors who had sustained themselves on nutrition paste up until now.

Ma Ban divided the mobilized survivors into groups of ten, assigning areas of responsibility and division of labor for each sector.

The first stage's objective was to remove all excrement and other metabolic waste from the corridors and rooms; the second stage was to disinfect various areas of the shelter.

This was not merely to tackle hygiene issues.

It was also meant to rekindle the survivors' courage to live on, to dissolve the barriers between them, and to rebuild their sense of unity.

Having once served as a co-management staff member at Home of the Refugees, Ma Ban was acutely aware that the worse and more oppressive the living conditions, the less you could afford to let people idle.

Thanks to his previous work experience at Home of the Refugees, he handled the related issues with practiced ease, and the work quickly got back on track.

Meanwhile, as Ma Ban's work progressed smoothly, Lu Bei successfully took over command of the Guerrilla Team from the Resistance organization.

However...

The situation here was worse than Lu Bei had imagined.

Out of the 671 members of the Guerrilla Team, less than half could actually form a combat force. Even among those soldiers who were fit for combat, most were in poor health.

Beyond that, their equipment was also problematic.

The weapons in storage were mostly crudely made iron pipe rifles, with ammunition typically being reloads using Black Powder as the propellant.

This kind of ammunition had a surprisingly high rate of jamming and was extremely prone to blowing up the barrel due to accumulated dirt. Many had lost fingers while making bullets, and this had become the main reason for non-combat attrition in the Guerrilla Team, other than disease.

The next evening, Lu Bei reported what he had learned to Chu Guang in the City of Dawn, honestly and in detail.

"...The situation here is worse than we anticipated, not just their health condition but also the nearly non-existent logistics. The iron pipe rifles they use cannot form an effective combat force. Non-combat attrition due to weapon malfunctions and shortage of supplies has even surpassed the casualties inflicted by the Looters."

"If we want them to be effective in combat, at the very least, we need six hundred rifles and a million rounds of ammunition."

Upon hearing Lu Bei's report, Chu Guang pondered for a moment before speaking.

"From now on, halt all raiding activities. Weapons will be delivered shortly, and I need you to do everything possible to teach them how to fight, and to fight as an organized unit, in the shortest possible time."

"The day of our decisive battle with the Looters is drawing near, and I need them to be ready to work with the Burning Corps to cut off the Ya Clan's retreat to the north when the time comes."

Lu Bei answered crisply.

"Yes!"

After the communication ended.

Chu Guang looked at the document that lay on the table.

This was a report sent from the front line.

The Ya Clan had transported all their armored units from West State City to Pine forest.

And according to the footage captured by unmanned drones and Vanus's understanding of Dylon himself, the Looters stationed at the northern positions of Pine forest had completed all preparations for the decisive battle.

The reason they had yet to act was likely that they were waiting for an opportunity.

For instance...

A heavy rain.

Water accumulation and mud would cause certain problems for the advancement of tanks, but the impact on propeller planes would be obviously much greater.

The propeller planes of the New Alliance relied mainly on visual observation to drop bombs and open fire; weather conditions that could affect the efficiency of aerial combat could not be ignored.

Clearly, the enemy had also noticed this and chose to wait for the right moment to strike.

After several consecutive defeats, the Looters had become much more cautious in their tactics. It would not be surprising if Vanus was correct, and they had replaced the frontline commander.

They would no longer be facing those blockheaded bandits, but Dylon himself—a former Ten Thousand Leader of the Army.

While Chu Guang was wary of the enemy's personnel changes, he wasn't overly concerned.

Even as the enemy fortified their defenses, his players were not idle. The southern defense lines of Pine forest were now covered with a dense network of trenches and an abundance of steel anti-tank Czech hedgehogs.

These anti-tank Czech hedgehogs were made of three L-shaped metal bars connected by rivets and bolts. When assembled, they resembled a three-dimensional triplicate cross, and even if directly hit by artillery, they were difficult to completely destroy.

This anti-tank device, known as the "Czech hedgehog," had once filled the beaches of Normandy and the streets of Moscow.

Steel Factory No. 81 produced 500 anti-tank caltrops in less than a week, and sent them to the front lines by rail.

Although these 500 anti-tank caltrops were not enough to fill a kilometer-long front, in combination with digging pits and some other anti-tank traps, causing some trouble for the enemy tanks was not an issue.

Furthermore, his little players had prepared a bunch of surprises for the Chew-bone Tribe's Looters.

Even Vanus couldn't help but be astounded by the bizarre brainstorming of these ideas—

Could this really have been thought up by humans?

"…it's been cloudy these past few days, but I just don't know when this rain will finally come."

"The day of the decisive battle is drawing ever closer."

Staring at the mountainous pile of documents on the desk, Chu Guang leaned back on the sofa, his index finger gently massaging his fatigue-soured brows.

All the preparatory work had been completed.

The Burning Corps had already secured enough preparation time for the front line, and the other armies had also successfully used this time to turn the southern defenses of the Pine forest into an impenetrable fortress.

However…

The fact that the enemy wanted to wait for a torrential rain before starting this decisive battle was unexpected for Chu Guang.

Originally, according to his assumptions, the enemy would have launched an intensive offensive against the New Alliance's position as soon as they completed their preparations.

And that time would likely be at the end of the month.

Yet, to Chu Guang's surprise, this newly appointed commander was more cautious than he had anticipated, and did not charge in hastily.

Especially given the cloudy weather in recent days.

The Goblin Corps' pilots, mostly novices, had never experienced combat in the rain. If the Ya Clan really waited for this torrential rain, it would undoubtedly add a great deal of uncertainty to the battle.

Moreover, these Looters had prepared a bunch of bizarre anti-aircraft weapons.

If only there were some way to force them out of their anti-cannon holes…

Chu Guang sat reflecting with his eyes closed, and just then, a thought struck him, and he sat up abruptly from the sofa.

He had just come up with a good idea.

Although it was a bit risky, it was still better than letting the opponent take the initiative.

With a slight smile on his lips, Chu Guang, holding the mouse, said softly,

"Since you guys are being so cautious…"

"Then I'll just give you a little push!"

…

Pine forest valley's northern defensive position.

From the high ground to the forest at the base of the mountain, the nearly two-kilometer-deep defense was crawling with crisscrossing trenches and dense shell craters.

The standoff had already lasted for more than half a month.

In this half month, the New Alliance had fired at least a thousand shells towards the Ya Clan's position. Just ten minutes ago, the New Alliance's rocket artillery had launched a barrage against the Ya Clan's position.

However, this barrage hadn't caused much damage to the Looters stationed here.

A week earlier, they had already dug enough trenches and anti-cannon holes, so aside from the occasional few unlucky ones killed by the blasts, most of them would have taken cover in the holes before the second round of shelling began.

Compared to intense artillery coverage, these Looters huddled in the trenches were actually more fearful of the New Alliance's mortars.

Those Blue Ground Squirrels were extremely sly; they would fire a shell unexpectedly while they were patrolling their position, catching them completely off guard.

Standing on a position that had been plowed over and over by artillery, Dylon, binoculars in hand, looked south with a furrowed brow.

"Anti-tank caltrops…"

Hearing this, Bear Tooth was taken aback.

"What's that?"

Dylon didn't speak, and Tu Men, standing beside him, took over the conversation.

"A type of fortification to hinder tank advancement… I hadn't expected their steel production to be surplus to such an extent."

Hearing it was just some defensive works, Bear Tooth's face immediately showed a hint of disdain.

"Heh, fortifications? No matter how sturdy they are, in front of our treads, they're nothing but rubbish!"

His confidence was not without reason.

On their way from killing through the central part of River Valley Province to the south, the Ya Clan had encountered over a hundred battles, both large and small.

No matter which battle it was, the moment they deployed those iron behemoths, despair etched deeply onto the faces of their opponents.

No matter the shelter, it was as good as paper mâché in front of a 100mm main cannon.

All they needed to do was one thing, which was to fire while advancing, shooting down those disorganized survivors, watching those cowardly trash scatter like underdeveloped cockroaches.

And now, not only had they mobilized tanks, but they had also gathered all the tanks from the entire tribe! They had even equipped each tank with an additional two modified anti-aircraft trucks!

Thinking a few steel bars would stop them was pure fantasy!

Dylon didn't refute Bear Tooth's words.

Although he thought those driving the tanks were like baboons that found rifles, barely utilizing half of the Conqueror No. 10's prowess, the equipment's performance was sufficient to cover this shortfall.

They had prepared twenty-seven tanks for this battle, nearly fifty anti-aircraft trucks, and five thousand light infantry.

This battle would completely crush the New Alliance's forces deployed in the north, and soon the industrial zone of the City of Dawn would fall into their hands.

At that time, they would completely clear the obstacles heading south, and the plains of the southern part of the River Valley Province would fall into the hands of the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Now, only a torrential downpour was missing...

"A few anti-tank obstacles are nothing to fear, even if they bury a ring of anti-tank mines at the foot of the mountain, it won't stop our armored spearhead from penetrating their defenses. I'm just worried that they have other cards up their sleeve..."

Saying this, Dylon handed the binoculars to Tu Men standing beside him.

Looking at his subordinate, he continued.

"Send two scouting teams to check it out in a bit, mark the locations of the anti-tank obstacles, they will be needed when we make our battle plans."

"The day of the decisive battle is approaching; it could be today, it could be tomorrow. From now on, we must be doubly careful with every step!"

Tu Men, taking the binoculars, stood at attention and said solemnly.

"Yes!"

Dylon nodded and turned to walk towards the trenches.

But at that moment, he suddenly felt a cool touch on the tip of his nose.

Dylon instinctively lifted his head, only to see large raindrops falling one after another from the sky, hitting the brim of his hat and his shoulders.

The weather in May changes on a whim.

The raindrops became denser and denser, and within a minute, a heavy downpour began over the position.

A look of surprise appeared on Dylon's face, which quickly turned into wild joy.

Rain!

The rain had finally come!

Standing beside him, Bear Tooth reacted even more vehemently, the burly man opening his arms wide, lifting his face to the sky and laughing loudly.

It was as if he was celebrating the torrential rain.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"It seems even the heavens are on our side!"

After the excitement,

He looked towards Dylon, ignoring the rain on his face, and shouted excitedly.

"What are we waiting for! While that bunch of Blue Ground Squirrels' planes turn into rain-drenched flies, let's drive our tanks up to their faces and grind their front teeth to rubble!"

Dylon didn't speak, but stared intently at the sky, his thoughts racing.

Judging by the thickness of the clouds, the rain wouldn't stop anytime soon if it started.

With the ground not yet turned into a mud puddle by the rain, now was indeed the perfect time to launch an offensive...

Although the plan was important, sometimes the opportunity was more critical than the plan.

Without further hesitation, Dylon immediately took off the walkie-talkie on his shoulder and pressed the button.

At the same time, five kilometers away in a mountain hollow, that same voice amplified through the loudspeakers echoed above the heads of the busy Looters.

"All units, attention! Activate battle plan number one, everyone take your "weapons" and head to your battle positions to assemble!"

"Get all our tanks, armored vehicles... all operable vehicles out!"

"The time for battle has arrived!"

"It's time to give those damned Ground Squirrels a severe lesson!!"

...

(Thanks to the grand patrons "Giant Chunk of Ice" and "Adventurer's Beginning" for their rewards!!)

Chapter 323: The Rainbow That Pierces Through the Clouds

The rainstorm poured heavily.

Five kilometers south of the Pine Valley, tanks passed through the gates one by one and headed towards the frontline in the south, escorted by Looter infantry.

According to the battle plan formulated by Dylon, they would take advantage of the rainy day to strike at the New Alliance's defense line.

When that time came, the New Alliance's planes would surely launch desperate attacks on their armored groups, yet in the disturbance of the raging storm, such aircraft were barely worth mentioning.

The Quadruple Anti-aircraft Gun was already aimed at the sky, ready for anything from 7mm to 12mm.

Opening the hatch, Bagro poked half of his body out from the tank's turret while the gunner sitting at his feet immediately complained.

"Hey, you're letting the rain in!"

"It's just a bit of water…"

Ignoring the guy, Bagro clenched a telescope and glanced at the southern sky, furrowing his brow with worry.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

It was too bright in the distance.

Although he couldn't pinpoint exactly what felt off, it just felt different from usual rainfall.

"What could possibly be wrong?" the driver laughed, "We just need to roll over their trenches, and they'll scatter like sewer roaches."

"If only it were that simple," Bagro said half-jokingly with a forced laugh and climbed back into the tank.

On second thought, maybe it was true.

No matter what tricks the opponent played, in front of the tracks of a tank, any conspiracy was a joke.

Bagro grabbed the intercom hanging inside the turret and shouted to the other tanks in the formation.

"Speed up!"

"We need to cover our infantry and take their high ground before the storm ends!"

Ya Clan's tanks were usually driven by an Army tank driver, with Looter-trained drivers, gunners, and loaders as crew.

Of course, not every tank was like this.

Twenty-seven tanks were divided into five echelons, advancing in an arrowhead formation.

Between each arrowhead, other than the equipped Quadruple Anti-aircraft trucks, there followed an over-strength hundred team.

Bagro led a squad of seven tanks, serving as the attacking vanguard. Right now, a hundred team followed them, commanded by a Looter named Vabu, the Centurion.

This Awakener, who possessed Barbarian lineage, had once been a Bounty Hunter active in what was called "Bugra Free State," the city of sin. Fueled by his desire for blood and loot, he had voluntarily joined the Chewing Bone Tribe.

And so did most of his subordinates.

They were fiercer and more brutal than the typical Looters. Some of them had been gladiators in arenas, some had been private soldiers of Slave Owners, and even guards for Commercial Teams. While their reasons for joining the Ya Clan varied, their inherent craving was the same.

Being captured by them wouldn't be much better than falling into the hands of other Looters. In fact, many of the torturous ways the tribe's people used on their captives were learned from these outsiders.

Singing a war chant, Vabu and his troops advanced in the rain.

However, at that moment, a loud 'Duang' sounded beside them, splashing mud several meters high and startling the advancing crowd, who instinctively dove to the side.

The singing abruptly ceased.

Yet, the expected explosion did not occur.

Furious, Vabu got up from the ground, wiped the mud off his face, and strode toward the mud pit created by some object, casually grabbing a person by the arm.

"What just happened?!"

The grabbed Looter said nervously.

"Something fell from the sky."

"Nonsense, I'm not blind, I'm asking what that thing was that fell!" Vabu shoved the man hard, causing him to stagger, then pointed his thick finger at the mud pit, "Go take a look for yourself."

What good could come from something that fell from the sky?

He dared not get too close for a look.

Just in case it exploded the moment he approached, that would indeed be terrible luck.

"Yes, yes!"

Although the Looter was scared, he dared not resist and jogged over to the mud pit. There, he saw a bent steel pipe—or something similar—stuck in the mud.

Out of curiosity, he squatted down and touched it, but quickly withdrew his hand as if he had been shocked.

"Hisss—"

So cold!

It nearly froze off a layer of skin from his fingers!

Vabu bellowed in his gruff voice.

"What is that thing?"

"I don't know, just a tin can, about this big, empty inside…" the Looter stood up to reply, gesturing the approximate size with his hands.

Although Vabu did not understand very clearly, he was somewhat relieved.

He had thought it might be a bomb dropped by a New Alliance aircraft, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

And come to think of it, where would an aircraft come from in the sky?

Dropping bombs from the clouds?

What a stroke of luck it would be to actually hit someone!

Vabu yelled out, mustering the scattered troops to regroup.

"Perhaps it's a dud rocket, whatever it is, let's not mind it for now. Stick a tree branch next to it to warn those behind to keep clear, and let's continue moving onward! Towards victory!"

...

Above the clouds.

An H-1 "Dragonfly" General Aircraft was soaring, towing a trail of what seemed like fairy mist, floating above the milky clouds.

On closer inspection, a layer of white frost had formed on the aircraft's tail.

Standing at the open rear cargo door, dressed in thick cotton clothing and tethered with a rope, Brother Ciso was holding onto an aluminum alloy ammunition rack fixed on the cabin's rail.

This device was originally meant for holding 37mm shells, but at this moment, it was stuffed with steel cylinders, each one meter long.

These high-pressure steel cylinders were secured with iron wire, with their openings released, continuously pouring out a white solid-liquid mixture into the cabin exterior.

In layman's terms, this substance was dry ice!

And that was the source of the white mist!

In fact, the production of dry ice is quite simple: by pressurizing a container to liquefy the carbon dioxide or air inside, then cooling it followed by depressurizing, it rapidly absorbs a vast amount of heat causing the carbon dioxide inside a second container to rapidly condense into snow-like solid.

The entire process involves no chemical reactions, purely a physical one. Generally, those capable of manufacturing high-pressure steel cylinders can produce dry ice.

Not certain of the specific requirements for the amount of dry ice needed for artificial precipitation—whether ten kilograms or a hundred—they decided to carry three times the upper recommended limit—that is, three hundred kilograms—and flew several rounds over the entire airspace.

"Done..., success depends on human effort but is determined by the heavens."

As the last bit of dry ice was poured out, Brother Ciso forcefully turned the winch, closed the hatch, took a deep breath, removed his gloves, and stuffed them into his pocket.

Brother Levin stepped forward to check the ammunition rack, his eyebrows suddenly knit together.

"What's missing one?"

Brother Ciso, who was resting, looked up.

"Missing one what?"

"Damn! What else could it be, a high-pressure gas cylinder!"

Brother Ciso was stunned for a moment.

"Huh?"

"Huh your head!" Brother Levin couldn't help but snap, "Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on it so it wouldn't fall off? How could it still have fallen off?"

Brother Ciso rolled his eyes: "How could I see it, the fog was so thick just now! Besides, wasn't it you who tied the cylinder?"

Brother Levin said with a worried face.

"What do we do if the enemy picks it up?"

Brother Ciso comforted him.

"Forget about it! The dry ice inside is all gone anyway. Even if they pick it up, they might not realize what it's used for."

That seemed to make sense.

Brother Levin was somewhat relieved.

At that moment, the non-professional reverse barman in the cockpit called out.

"What are you guys arguing about? Is the dry ice finished? Do we need to run another lap?"

Back in his seat, Brother Levin fastened his seatbelt and shouted.

"It's done, let's head back."

"Okay."

The aircraft tilted to one side.

The H-1 Dragonfly turned and began to head back.

For this "Heavy Storm Plan," the New Alliance's Combat Command had developed two strategies: one was to shoot silver iodide with rockets, and the other was to spray dry ice from planes.

If neither worked—

Then neither worked.

In this world, there's nothing that must happen, and nothing that can't happen.

Maybe the swath of dark clouds would show no sign, maybe the heavy rain would pour down lonely, or maybe the enemy wasn't waiting for a change in the weather at all... These possibilities could not be discounted.

Every plan was only built on speculation with limited intelligence.

Chu Guang didn't have a hundred percent certainty that, upon seeing this storm, the enemy would choose to go "All in" with all their assets.

However, from the images captured by the low-flying drones, Chu Guang knew he had bet correctly.

Twenty-seven Conqueror No. 10 tanks poured out of the bomb shelters, followed by fifty modified anti-aircraft trucks.

The 100mm artillery deployed in the rear began bombarding the New Alliance's positions, unleashing hundreds of shells in just a few minutes.

It seemed like a reprisal for the earlier rocket fire, but in reality, it was covering the advance of the main force.

The Ya Clan had bet everything they had.

And the New Alliance had already made preparations.

Players hunkered down at the front line were rubbing their hands together, ready for the fight!

...

Inside the anti-cannon hole.

Listening to the deafening explosions outside, Debt Giant Eye, sitting against the wall, couldn't help but exclaim.

"Gosh... when did these bandits get so rich?"

Previously, the Ya Clan's artillery strikes were sporadic, firing a few rounds and then stopping.

Not like this time, firing round after round, continuing for ten minutes without showing any signs of stopping.

Due to the rain, some water had seeped into the anti-cannon hole, but fortunately, the players had previously considered the weather's impact and had dug drainage ditches in the trenches and holes, although the torrential rain was a bit severe, it didn't affect too much.

Lying next to the observation port in the anti-cannon hole, Edge Shoveling, supporting himself on the edge of the scope, suddenly spoke excitedly.

"Enemy tanks appearing on the opposite hill! A total of seven!"

Here they come!

Those Looters really couldn't sit still!

"Seven? Wasn't it twenty-seven?" Brick, holding his rifle, counted on his fingers.

Debt Giant Eye rolled his eyes.

"Are you dumb? Twenty-seven is the total number of tanks. The enemy isn't stupid, why would they squeeze all their tanks together and send them over here? Not to mention the traffic jam that would cause, the infantry couldn't even keep up."

Brick nodded in realization.

"That makes sense!"

Debt Giant Eye had already put on the headset connected to the neural connection device, eager to begin.

"Should we deploy the drones?"

Edge Shoveling spoke in a deep voice.

"No rush! Wait until all their tanks enter the range, then attack! We'll try to annihilate them in one go, not giving them a chance to retreat!"

Debt Giant Eye exclaimed excitedly: "Got it!"

Stationed on the high ground on the south side of Pine Valley was the Death Legion.

After nearly a month of continuous combat, the Death Legion's level had risen to LV21, and their maximum number of personnel had increased to 300.

Raising the legion's level was much easier than increasing personal sequence levels, especially now during wartime, which was a good time to accumulate merits.

As the first line of defense in the northern part of Blue Stone County, the high ground on the south side of Pine Valley was the best place to intercept the enemy armored forces.

The command from headquarters was to destroy the enemy tanks at all costs, preventing the Ya Clan's Looters from charging up the highland.

Edge Shoveling's plan was even more aggressive.

He not only wanted to stop those iron coffins charging wildly here—he also wanted to ensure that the Looters charging with the tanks would stay here too!

Opening the VM, Edge Shoveling placed the coordinates for support fire on the map and pressed the communication button to shout loudly.

"...This is the Death Legion calling for artillery support, coordinates in the central area of Pine Valley, cover fire five rounds!"

A calm voice came through the communication channel.

"Command center received, bombardment instructions have been relayed."

Communication ended.

The sounds of artillery at the position gradually ceased.

The enemy's tank units had already advanced within range of engagement.

Edge Shoveling switched the communication channel to the team's voice channel and looked back at his comrades.

"Everyone, pay attention, immediately grab your machine guns and anti-tank weapons and rush to battle positions!"

"The enemy tanks are already within a stone's throw, but victory will eventually be ours!"

"Let the forest at the foot of the mountain become their graveyard!"

The response was a neat but discordant chorus of voices.

"Received!"

"Let's beat the shit out of them!"

"Roar roar roar!"

At the same time, the alarms were sounding off at the airport north of Dawn City.

"Board the plane—!"

Following Mosquito's command, the Goblin Corps' flight team players hurriedly ran and boarded their respective vehicles.

Fifty W-2 ground attack planes one after another rolled out from the hangar onto the runway.

Those upright 10mm cannons and the iconic 100 kg air-to-ground missiles, even a heavy rain couldn't hide that chilling glint.

Sitting in the plane, Mosquito donned his pilot's cap and checked the weapon system and instruments, while giving a glance in the direction of the big guy parked not far away.

H-1, a three-propeller aircraft, Factory No. 81's latest product.

He heard that the bastards next door even specifically named this thing "Dragonfly," mocking him obviously.

But to be honest, compared to that twenty-meter long fuselage, his tiny plane indeed resembled a fly.

However, Mosquito didn't feel envious.

So what if it's big?

Flying high, it's just a big coffin.

Air battles, speed is king!

"Heh, just you wait!"

Mosquito had already made up his mind.

When his W-3 came out, it would be named "Frog Style!"

Mocking me?

Dream on!

At this moment, the team's voice channel was noisy.

"Coach! Are you sure this crappy— I mean, this plane can really fly in the rain?" Falling Feather, sitting in the cockpit, shouted nervously.

"No worries! I've made it waterproof!" Mosquito casually replied.

"But, but if the battery gets shot..."

Hearing this stupid question, Mosquito chuckled.

"Be confident, even in perfect sunny weather, if your battery gets hit by a burst, it's all over."

Falling Feather: "Damn!"

Mosquito muted the voice channel of all teammates, cutting off the incessant chatter.

He cleared his throat and with his duck-like voice, bellowed.

"Stop overthinking! Follow me and floor the ignition; just do it! Ollie give!"

The propeller chopped through the fine raindrops.

Mosquito, with the ignition floored, gripped the control stick, and as the speed reached the threshold, he pulled up the nose of the plane.

One after another, W-2 ground attack planes took off, dashing towards the airspace over Pine Valley to the north.

Upon reaching the predetermined altitude, Mosquito accessed the allied forces' channel via VM.

"…This is Mosquito! We're on our way! What's the situation at the front line?"

Noise filled the communication channel.

Every so often, the roar of explosions came through.

Hearing the chaotic sounds, Mosquito clicked his tongue.

Man, the fight had already started!

After a bout of chaotic noises, a quick response came from Edge Shoveling.

"…This is the Death Legion! The enemy tanks have entered range and are opening fire on us! Damn, how long till you guys arrive?!"

"Almost there!"

"Give me a specific time!" Edge Shoveling bellowed.

"Twenty minutes! We are speeding ahead!" Mosquito shouted as he floored the ignition, "Hold on!"

...

South Side Position of Pine Valley.

Tanks at the base of the high ground raised their gun barrels, continuously bombarding the high ground above, suppressing the firepower there.

The Ya Clan's armored spearhead had all moved onto the battlefield.

The first echelon chose to attack the position directly from the front while the second and third echelons spread out to both sides, preparing to assault from three different directions simultaneously.

The New Alliance's artillery fire also arrived at the battlefield at the same time.

100mm shells fell from the sky, stirring up dust in the forest and causing significant casualties among the advancing Looter troops.

However, these shells were far too weak against the Conqueror No. 10, as the explosion's fragments and blast wave only managed to scratch the armor.

Anti-tank obstacles placed at the edge of the forest, although limiting the tank's routes, were obviously insufficient to fully stop heavy tanks like Conqueror No. 10.

However, players stationed there had prepared other surprises for these tanks…

A tank moved along the edge of the forest, covering a Looter squad of ten, heading toward the left flank of the New Alliance position.

As the vanguard of the assault, they aimed to rush up the high ground first and take over the trenches dug by the New Alliance there.

Right then, from the muddy ground not far from the tank, a paneled turf suddenly flipped open, and a person covered in mud jumped out.

Wrapped around his waist was a ring of Dynamite, his body smeared with mud, appearing like a ghastly demon from the marsh. The surrounding Looters were dumbfounded, completely clueless about what was happening.

The first to react was the leading Centurion, who quickly raised his submachine gun.

However, by the time he pulled the trigger, it was already too late.

The man looked at the tank, his eyes gleaming as if he had spotted treasure, and without a second thought, he pulled the pin from the dynamite and hurled himself fearlessly at the tank's tracks.

His mouth, filled with mud and water, didn't forget to shout excitedly.

"Mother pinch cow—!"

Boom—!

The explosion sent a fireball soaring into the sky!

Caught off guard, the ten-man team following next to the tank fell like cut wheat, suffering heavy casualties and deaths!

The tank, serving as cover, also had its face smeared with flying bits of flesh and gunpowder residue.

Accompanied by a creaking sound, the right track rolled off the load wheel, and the tank, midway in its movement, tilted and slammed directly into a tree trunk.

Watching the instant annihilation of the ten-man squad and the stranded tank, Vabu, supervising the battle from behind, was stunned and couldn't help but curse loudly.

"Damn it! What the hell just popped out of the ground?!"

A young subordinate clutching his rifle spoke tremblingly.

"It, it seemed like a person."

"A person?!" Vabu's eyes widened, his face filled with confusion.

Are these people out of their minds?!

The attacked tank adjusted its posture, turning the front towards the high ground. The hatch on the turret opened, and the commander, coughing, poked half of his head out from the turret and yelled at the infantry behind him.

"Our track is broken—"

He didn't finish his words, as bullets whizzed down from the hillside, scaring the commander back into the turret.

The armor clanged loudly as it was scraped by bullets, and the enraged tank immediately rotated its turret, its coaxial machine guns firing towards the hillside, and its main gun fired a 100mm high-explosive bomb up there.

However, the people there had already moved, and the shot, apart from chewing off a layer of turf, hit nothing.

Half out of the turret, Bagro shielded the back of his head with the hatch and shouted loudly at Vabu, trailing behind the tank.

"Vabu, have your men watch their steps! Those Blue Jackets have dug tunnels under the high ground! Afraid there are quite a few people hiding in there!"

Hearing the shout from the armor formation commander Bagro, Vabu reacted immediately, yanking his voice to yell at his teammates.

"Everyone watch your steps!"

"Anything suspicious, stab it with a bayonet!"

Not only one tank was stranded, but soon people continuously popped up from the ground, rushing recklessly to the adjacent tanks.

The first echelon's seven tanks quickly stranded five, and the remaining two didn't dare to charge forward, only stopping in place to provide cover for their teammates.

The Looters, following the tanks to the foot of the high ground, could only stick tightly behind the cover, enduring the sweeping fire from machine guns above and the relentless shelling from mortars.

Standing on the northern highland, Dylon held binoculars, his brow furrowed tightly as he stared ahead.

In just ten short minutes, the infantry following the tanks had reduced by forty percent, and tanks from the first echelon sequentially broke tracks.

The New Alliance knew they couldn't penetrate the armor of the Conqueror No. 10, so they targeted the relatively fragile tracks, even resorting to suicide attacks.

Their combat will was astonishing.

But to hope that such childlike tactics could stop his armored spearhead was too naive.

He had twenty-seven tanks, fifty anti-aircraft trucks, and even five thousand-team squads ready at the positions.

Once they broke through the southern highland position of Pine Valley, his armored forces would directly pierce into Blue Stone County City Area and even possibly capture Far Creek Town, only twenty kilometers north of City of Dawn in one fell swoop.

At that time, the New Alliance would have no strategic points left to defend!

Picking up the radio, Dylon ordered in a deep voice.

"Fourth and fifth echelons, follow up, assault along the route of the first echelon!"

After speaking, he looked towards Bear Tooth standing nearby.

"Prepare for the second round of offense! Have your infantry keep up!"

Bear Tooth nodded excitedly and took the command.

"Alright!"

The ten tanks waiting on the northern highland started to move, accompanied by twenty anti-aircraft trucks and five hundred-team squads.

A surge of murderous intent permeated through the rain.

Dylon narrowed his eyes slightly.

He could almost see the image of the New Alliance's positions being crushed under tank tracks.

But just then, the droplet sliding off his hat brim suddenly stopped.

Dylon was slightly stunned, then raised his head to look at the sky, his pupils shrinking sharply.

Through the thick clouds that were torn apart like cotton, only a thin veil-like cloud remained, even revealing the blue clear sky behind it.

That faintly visible azure seemed like a crack etched onto a stone slate.

Dylon thought he could see a rainbow in the distant...

A quiet discussion from his subordinates came from beside.

"Why has the rain stopped?"

"It only rained for an hour..."

"The heavy rain stopped so suddenly..."

"Usually, there's a strong wind with heavy rain, but there's no wind today."

The cold liquid traced across Dylon's forehead.

He couldn't tell if it was cold sweat or raindrops.

Artificial rain...

It was artificial rain!

He had fought in the north and the Grand Canyon for a whole year, seen all sorts of tactics, but encountering such a bizarre strategy was a first for him. The enemy had anticipated his plans and even countered him with rain...

He was too careless!

In the distance, within that fragment of rainbow, Dylon saw specks, forming a tidy formation emerging from the edge of the clouds, diving towards the position below.

A trace of fear written in his eyes, the relaxed expression no longer visible on his face, he yanked the radio and shouted loudly.

"Anti-aircraft squad! Watch your heads!"

"Enemy planes incoming!!"

-

(Note: It seems I've been contagiously influenced through the internet... Starting from the upper respiratory infection, moving down to the throat, then to the bronchial tubes, before finally beginning to cough. However, my updates have not stopped, I feel proud, no one say I'm cutting it short, it's really not short. T.T)

Chapter 324: Never Retreat!

"Team A, follow me up! B and C, flank! Keep your targets on lock, even if you have only one dive, drop those aerial bombs before you die!"

"For the Alliance!"

"Charge!"

Shouting loudly, Mosquito unlocked the communication channels for the entire squad, and the frequency was instantly filled with the excited shouts of the players.

"Aoooo!"

Fifty W-2 ground attack aircraft tilted their fuselages and split into three groups, three directions, diving towards the ground.

10mm cannons spewed tongues of fire.

Those propeller aircraft, with their gun flashes spiraling, descended like cavalry from the heavens, bringing a deadly rain from the sky.

Caught off guard by the rain-like bullets, the Looters following the tanks scrambled, desperate to flee towards the forest ahead.

Meanwhile, the tank commanders leading the fourth and fifth squads roared nearly madly,

"Advance! Full speed ahead!"

"Anyone who dares to retreat—"

"I'll kill him with my own hands!"

This was the correct choice.

Against dive-bombing aircraft, stopping or retreating was the most foolish option.

Only by using the speed of the downhill rush into the pine forest could they hope for a slim chance of survival.

The ten tanks rushing to the front line had their engines at maximum power. The first Looter to reach the forest threw a smoke grenade, giving cover for the tanks behind.

The battlefield was engulfed in smoke.

Meanwhile, fifty quad-linked anti-aircraft vehicles accompanying the tank squadron to the front also shot tongues of fire into the sky.

The machine guns on these anti-aircraft vehicles varied in calibers. Although the original plan by Dylon was for all fifty trucks to use 12mm heavy machine guns, due to the Burning Corps's airborne operations damaging many of the modification production lines, a large portion of the quad anti-aircraft guns ended up using 7mm small caliber guns.

Regardless, with 50x4 machine guns firing at the same time, the firepower was quite ferocious.

Bullets rushing from the ground to the sky were like reverse snowflakes; within moments, two gliders caught fire, hastily dropped their aerial bombs, and crashed into the forest.

"Fuck... these bastards actually managed to make tracer bullets!"

With two bullet holes through the cockpit, barely missing his thigh, Mosquito cursed as he flipped the aircraft, dodging the tracking anti-aircraft guns while looking for an opportunity to dive.

These Looters seemed to have learned from their last experience, this time adding copper salts to a few bullets! Every so often, a miserable green tracer shot from the ground toward the sky.

Though limited by the production technique and quantity, producing weak and sparse tracers, it was enough to help the gunners correct their shooting trajectories.

"I'm going all out against you guys!"

Falling Feather, with the cockpit turned over by a burst of bullets, stopped dodging altogether, stomped the throttle to the max, and directly dove toward the nearest tank.

Seeing the oncoming aircraft, that tank commander visibly panicked, immediately diving back into the turret, urging the driver to evade.

But it was too late.

The riddled aircraft burst into flames, but just a second before the battery exploded, an aerial bomb detached from the fuselage.

That massive bomb almost followed the remnants of the aircraft, striking the turret of the Conqueror No. 10, accompanied by a deafening explosion. The exploding dust and splattered mud were thrown into the air, tens of meters high.

A quad-linked anti-aircraft vehicle, being too close, had its engine instantly paralyzed; the driver and co-driver were killed by the shockwave shattering their internal organs, bleeding from their mouths and noses.

As for that tank?

The turret's connection to the hull was visibly dented. Although it wasn't blown away or caught fire, the crew inside were clearly beyond dead.

[Congratulations to the player "Falling Feather" for achieving the first tank kill in this battle.]

[As the player has chosen to make the achievement public, it will be recorded under the "Pine Valley Battle" entries...]

"Good brother! See you in three days!"

Watching a line of text float on the VM, Mosquito mourned his apprentice for a few seconds, then took a deep breath, turned on the beeper, and pushed forward the control stick.

"I'm going all out too!"

Aircraft after aircraft turned their course, plunging straight towards the ground below.

Not shot down.

But diving.

The shrill screeching sounded like a blown horn; whether tanks or infantry, they fled desperately. In the eyes of those Looters, those flame-spewing planes seemed no longer mere aircraft, but the reaper's sickle.

The anti-aircraft gunfire could not stop them.

Often, one plane would explode, and very soon, a second would take advantage of a gap in the firepower net and charge through, crashing into them regardless of everything...

"Have they gone mad?" Watching the successive fighter planes, Bear Tooth on the northern high ground wrote fear all over his face.

Just a few minutes had passed, and five tanks were scrapped, the remaining five tanks recklessly rushed into the pine forest.

Although they temporarily avoided the crisis, they found themselves in a difficult and embarrassing situation.

The continuous casualties weren't limited to the Conqueror No. 10 tanks but also to their quad-linked anti-aircraft vehicles. Those bloodshot-eyed planes no longer limited themselves to tanks, instead diving toward any target they could attack.

And it was almost a suicidal dive!

Dylon furrowed his brow.

Compared to the opponent's reckless attack methods, what concerned him more was their almost irrational tactical choice.

Honestly, when the rain had just stopped earlier, his heart nearly stopped for two seconds. Because he expected that the opponent's pilots would not sortie in stormy weather, their anti-aircraft units were almost dispersed and deployed on the northern high ground, waiting for an opportunity.

Once those aircraft made the first, second, and third squads, totaling seventeen tanks, their attack targets, the two-kilometer interval of anti-aircraft firepower would hardly form an effective deterrent, undoubtedly resulting in heavy losses on his side.

Dylon pondered that if he were in command, he would order the air force to prioritize those tanks that had lost their mobility due to breaks in their tracks, hunt them down, and exit the battlefield before the anti-aircraft units arrived, waiting for an opportunity for a second air raid.

However...

The planes of the New Alliance, on the contrary, concentrated their firepower on the advancing fourth and fifth squads in a break from convention.

It was almost like charging straight into the face of the anti-aircraft vehicles.

These moth-to-flame type attacks could be described as "minimally effective", with many planes turning into sieves on their dive.

Although they lost a good number of anti-aircraft trucks, compared to the precious tanks, those losses were negligible.

As long as they could exhaust all the New Alliance's planes, what did it matter if their anti-aircraft trucks were all wiped out? Those anti-air weapons were intended for planes after all...

Dylon frowned.

"I'd like to know what they're really up to."

Tu Men probably guessed what his superior was thinking and, after a moment's thought, spoke up.

"Perhaps in their eyes, those tanks that had lost their mobility were not worth considering? Seeing our deployment, they must have guessed our intentions. Once our fourth and fifth echelons join the first echelon, exploiting a point of attack would definitely tear an opening in their defense line."

"That makes sense, but it also doesn't," Dylon said gravely, "compared to the fourth and fifth echelons, the second and third echelons posed a much greater threat flanking. After all, from their perspective, Pine Valley is definitely indefensible; exhausting our tanks would be the optimal solution."

Unless...

The New Alliance thought they could block them with just a few trenches.

Dylon smirked.

Quite ambitious.

And not afraid of biting off more than they can chew!

Bear Tooth listened blankly to their conversation, not understanding a word.

Optimal solution?

The enemy's planes were already nearly wiped out, and with their numbers, just spitting at the mountain would be enough to drown the opposition!

Dylon raised his binoculars, observing the high ground to the south.

Although the assault team suffered heavy casualties under machine gun fire, the enemy was clearly in the same situation, continuously being shredded by machine guns, or blown high by the tanks' 100mm main cannons.

The soldiers from the New Alliance brought out recoilless guns, yet ordinary armor-piercing bullets couldn't even scratch the Conqueror No. 10's armor, let alone stop its advance for a second.

Watching the sparks fly off the tank armor, and with only about twenty meters to cover, Dylon's lips curled into a cold smile.

"It's over."

After his infantry followed the tanks into the trenches, a massacre awaited the enemy defenders!

As he spoke, Dylon was about to lower his binoculars, but just then, a dark shadow suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

More accurately, it was a flurry.

A flurry of six-rotor drones took off vertically from the trenches; after a brief hover, they burst forth like arrows released from a bow.

The moment he clearly saw that drone, Dylon's pupils dilated sharply, a sudden ominous premonition arising within him.

As if confirming his suspicion, the drones, as if guided, swarmed towards the tanks below and above the slope.

The tank closest to the trench bore the brunt; the co-axial machine gun's fire couldn't keep up with the speed of the drones, especially in such a short time, it was impossible to react.

One of the drones effortlessly slipped under the "skirt" of a tank.

The crew hadn't even realized what had happened.

The Looters advancing with the tank were in the same situation.

Just as they were about to crouch down and see what had gotten under the tank, a blinding light burst before their eyes.

Without time to think, the scorching shockwave hit them like a heavy hammer, sending broken bodies and flesh flying like kites without strings from the soaring flames and thick smoke.

The hot blood splattered over the face of a Looter down the slope.

The Looters crawling down the slope were petrified by the scene and, for a moment, even forgot to move forward.

"What in the world was that?!"

With his chin pressed to the ground, Vabu raised an eye to watch the slope, terror written all over his face, unresponsive to the gravel hitting his face and scalp.

He saw only a dark shadow, almost flush with the ground, slipping under the chassis of the tank that was almost reaching the trench.

Following that, the ear-shattering explosion and the rising flames engulfed the tank and the ten-men team behind it...

The scrapped turret and load-bearing wheels tumbled down the slope.

The soil mound beneath the tank was blasted into a deep pit, revealing the wooden stakes of the reinforced earthwork.

And the drones did not stop, soon the second, third... also targeted the fragile undercarriage of Conqueror No. 10, instantly gutting three more tanks.

Hundreds of rotor drones scrambled in the air, their buzzing like the howling of a swarm of bees.

"Fire with the machine guns!"

"Shoot down those drones!"

"Otherwise, we're all dead!"

Seeing the armor formation of the right-side position virtually annihilated, Bagro, commanding the first echelon, had his eyes bulging, nearly splitting at the seams.

The coaxial machine guns of the seven tanks fired in unison, and nearby Looters wielding submachine guns, automatic rifles, and light machine guns also fired together, suddenly weaving a dense fire-web on the position.

If it had been quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns firing, maybe, just maybe, they could have stopped these small aircraft.

However, trying to intercept high-speed drones on a battlefield filled with dust and whizzing bullets, using just a few rifles, was nothing short of a fool's dream.

Let alone, besides the drones, there were allies crawling up the slope...

The armored spearhead on the right side was completely pulverized, then it was the left side, and in just a few moments, nearly ten tanks were blown into scrap, and those Looters charging with the tanks also suffered immediate and severe casualties.

In the blink of an eye, the three-pronged assault on the New Alliance's defense line was reduced to just the middle spearhead.

And even that one had its leg broken.

Seeing the swarm of drones charging towards him, Bagro made a split-second decision to climb out of the tank and rolled and crawled towards the forest behind.

Almost simultaneously, the hot blast and shrapnel struck his back, and he blacked out without even managing to groan…

The seven tanks of the first echelon were quickly rendered useless, with no chance to escape.

Seeing the dire situation, the fourth and fifth echelon tanks quickly retreated; however, treads were no match for drones, especially since they were trapped in the pine forest.

The retreating tanks were quickly caught up by the drones, and explosions lit up the pine forest, scattering the Looters who had charged with the tanks in all directions.

In the chaos, in addition to those blown to pieces, many were grazed by stray bullets in a panicked spray of fire…

In the distance, on the high ground to the north.

The binoculars slipped from Dylon's hands.

Staring at the battlefield draped in heavy smoke and the iron coffins reduced to scrap metal, a hint of despair slowly crept onto his expressionless face.

Twenty-seven tanks obliterated…

Over half of the fifty anti-aircraft vehicles destroyed, and the infantry advancing with the armored units suffered countless casualties.

The losses in this battle far exceeded his expectations!

The only silver lining was that the fifty enemy gliders were completely wiped out, and the swarm of drones was expended… if those were all that the New Alliance had left.

"…What should we do now?" Tu Men asked the commander nervously.

Dylon's Adam's apple bobbed as he swiftly regained his composure.

"Order the artillery and the third thousand team to get ready… The New Alliance's resistance is at its last gasp. We can't let the sacrifice of the vanguard be in vain."

Thinking about it from another angle, the enemy had played all their cards.

Although their own casualties were heavy, the enemy must have also suffered greatly!

With a trembling voice, Dylon issued the order.

"At least, we must take down this highland!"

"Yes…"

Tu Men swallowed, moved his stiff neck, and quickly nodded.

Even during the battles at the Grand Canyon in the north, he had never seen such a terrifying expression on this man's face.

Even then, the situation they faced had been far more severe than it was now…

…

On the New Alliance's position.

Looking down at the chaotic battlefield below, the construction site youngster named Brick, with blood streaming down his forehead, excitedly punched the trench.

"Hahaha! Nicely done!"

The nearly twenty points of strength almost punched a hole in the wooden stakes.

What a pity.

In such a bullet-raining positional battle, raw strength wasn't very useful; if it had been hand-to-hand combat, he could have taken down a ten-man team by himself.

Lying nearby, the washing machine couldn't help but feel exhilarated as well.

"This time it's really satisfying."

Six months ago, in the battle against the Chewing Bone Tribe, the only decent equipment they could muster were the inhumane Mosquito rockets and the 20mm "Cavalry Gun" from Factory No. 81. Their firepower was completely suppressed by these natives who had inherited the Army's legacy.

The only tank they managed to destroy was by exploiting the cover of heavy snow and the explosive power of the metallic hydrogen battery for a surprise victory.

Unlike now, with machine gun bullets relentlessly firing, swarms of drones rushing above the ground, propeller-driven planes bombing from the sky, and the continuous barrage from 100mm cannons…

They had never fought such a well-equipped battle!

"Damn, you guys had fun; I almost passed out…" Debt Giant Eye, wearing headphones, climbed out from the anti-cannon hole, his head spinning, muttering under his breath.

Operating five drones simultaneously put a significant strain on his brain.

It felt like having five eyes and thirty hands, each part mounted on different spots.

Controlling the all-directional rotor drones was much more difficult than handling four-legged "crawlers." Even though Xiao Qi's operating system simplified the controls, without sufficient "brain capacity," it was tough to manage.

However, no one noticed Big Eyes' quiet complaint.

Firstly, almost everyone had been deafened by the cannon fire, and secondly, the whole position was engulfed in an uproar of joy.

Without shouting, no one would hear what was being said.

"Twenty-seven tanks wiped out, the Looters below the slope almost completely annihilated…" Edge Shoveling, holding the binoculars, his face full of excitement, "Good heavens, we just wiped out at least a thousand-team!"

Plus half an armored battalion!

At this point, whether or not the position could be held was irrelevant.

Even if the Ya Clan took the high ground on the southern side of Pine Valley, without armored support, they would completely lose the capability to attack Qingstone County.

Unless they were willing to commit nearly ten thousand troops and accept several times to a dozen times the casualties.

Yet…

Even if their leaders had the guts, did those soft Looters have the courage to follow through?

High casualties inevitably led to high war weariness.

After all, they were neither clones produced every three years nor had they undergone any form of psychological castration or similar black-tech enhancements, and the mere pretense of their involvement in the war was for plundering.

Only consecutive victories and spoils of war could unite a group of unorganized, undisciplined ruffians. Once those victories ceased, what seemed like a solid fortress would soon disintegrate into scattered sand…

A notification flashed on the VM screen strapped to his arm.

[Mission: Hold the South Side Position of Pine Valley (Completed)]

[Briefing: Soldiers, you have blocked the Ya Clan's tanks with your bodies and thwarted their arrogant plans! Our enemies have lost all their tanks, and without armor protection, they are like wolves deprived of their canine teeth, unable to threaten our land any further.

You have gloriously accomplished your mission. The New Alliance counterattack will begin in two hours, please return to the rear for rest...

]

[Sub-mission 1 (Optional): Destroy the supply, move to the assembly point for rest.]

[Reward: "Silver Shield" Medal, war score determined by the number of survivors.]

[Sub-mission 2 (Optional): Fight to the last moment.]

[Reward: "Gold Shield" Medal, war score determined by the number of kills.]

Watching the text flicker on the VM screen, Edge Shoveling cracked a dry smile.

He seemed to have already obtained a Silver Shield before.

No one has yet unlocked the Golden Shield achievement.

A fighting spirit gradually ignited in his eyes, Edge Shoveling switched the voice to the command channel, and shouted loudly,

"Report casualties, each squad!"

A uniform voice came through the headset.

"A1 team has 3 left! 7 dead!"

"A2 team has 4 left, 6 down!"

"..."

Out of thirty teams, ten were completely wiped out and the others were mostly understaffed.

During the previous firefight with Looters, the position turned into a meat grinder, men at the front fell, those in the anti-cannon holes immediately took their places. The mortar position alone had been replaced by three batches of men, and numerous corpses, twisted and contorted, lay beside the machine guns.

Among them were enemies and friends alike.

"102 left..."

Edge Shoveling couldn't help but be astonished after counting the numbers.

Originally, there were 300 people in the Army, 198 were lost, just shy of two-thirds reduction in their numbers. Although many were still alive, they were barely able to make a sound.

Like the players with Body Constitution System, even with intestines spilling out, they wouldn't die immediately, and could even push them back in and keep shooting.

"This is truly turning into a deathmobile..."

He quietly started computing the remaining supplies.

Edge Shoveling pondered for a moment, switched to all-channel audio, stood on the top of the dirt pit of the anti-cannon hole, and shouted toward his brothers in the Army.

"Brothers! We have completed our mission!"

"Now, the command has given us two options, one is to abandon the position, destroy the supplies, and head toward the evacuation point to regroup."

"Or—"

He paused, glancing at his comrades.

"Fight to the last moment!"

This question seemed somewhat superfluous...

It's a full ten kilometers back from here, running back on two legs wouldn't be faster than dying.

Death penalty?

Just three days.

Sequence progress?

Experience from one battle isn't enough to level up.

In "Wasteland OL," unlike traditional MMORPGs, Sequence Level isn't everything in the game, it even accounts for a very small part of it. Including Contribution Points, silver coins, regional reputation, Job Level, Proficiency level... even the unseen favorability can be factors that increase combat strength.

Beyond character level, in this near-perfectly realistic virtual world, there are more worthy pursuits.

Players aiming for a survival rate wouldn't be standing here initially.

Since they chose to stand together on the same front, it was because of shared values.

They had an almost similar understanding of the game—

Death!

It's the norm in this game!

"Screw the retreat! Whoever wants to retreat, let them retreat!"

Someone shouted first, and soon there was a chorus of voices across the position. Pair after pair of pupils filled with burning fighting spirit; not a single person showed fear or hesitation.

"Fight those damned things to the end!"

"Never retreat!"

"Ultimate battle!!!"

"Offer loyalty to the Manager!"

"Wait, you just mentioned loyalty!"

"Ooh!"

The players successively put on gas masks, fixed bayonets to their rifles, and those without rifles took out engineer shovels, placing them within easy reach.

Deafening roars echoed over the position, causing the over two thousand Looters progressing through the pine forest to shudder.

Bear Tooth, personally commanding the battle, raised his head toward the high ground that was blasted beyond recognition and for some reason, felt a trace of dread.

Even though the enemy was on their last legs, the two thousand men behind him could drown them with just their spit...

He glanced at the wing fragments stuck in the mud and the nearby tank wreckage and shattered corpses. The burly man couldn't help but mutter,

"What are these ground squirrels shouting about..."

His confidant nervously said,

"No, I don't know..."

He couldn't understand what those people were shouting nor did he doubt their ability to take this battlefield that had been plowed over by artillery time and again.

But intuition told him, those people wouldn't let them charge easily...

A hundred men?

Two hundred?

Or perhaps leave even more bodies behind...

Either way, this was going to be a tough fight!

-

(Feeling a bit better after my fever, I found it odd, my vision is usually quite good, but it worsens with a cold, adding astigmatism... confusing.)

Chapter 325: Great Victory at Pine Forest Pass!

When Dillon finally stood on the southern high ground of the pine forest, an hour had already passed.

Having smoked an entire cigarette, he still couldn't understand how the New Alliance, with fewer than two hundred people, had managed to hold out for a full hour under the siege of two thousand-strong teams.

What astonished him even more was that not a single prisoner had been captured.

The resistance from the soldiers of the New Alliance was exceptionally fierce. Many times their troops had already breached the trenches, only to be repelled by the enemy's desperate counter-fire.

These soldiers seemed to possess endless strength and courage, fighting with bayonets, rifle butts, engineer shovels, or even rocks picked up at random when they ran out of bullets.

Killing one New Alliance soldier often cost them five—or even more—casualties.

And this was when the enemy was nearly out of ammunition and supplies.

As for taking prisoners, that was impossible.

Those indefatigable warriors would always save the last hand grenade for themselves, using it in the final seconds of their lives—as a blaze of glory—even though they could have thrown it.

Even from the enemy's perspective, Dillon had to admit that these were formidable opponents.

"We've found five hundred... I mean two hundred seventy bodies," said Bear Tooth, bending over nervously as he spoke to the silent commander.

He had thought about inflating the number a bit—after all, that was an old tribal tradition—but Dillon had demanded that they drag every single body out into the open, which made embellishment difficult.

Dillon didn't say anything, just silently lit a second cigarette from a matchbox.

Standing by, Tu Men didn't dare speak up. He conscientiously began taking stock of their own casualties and, while crossing the trenches, sent for a Centurion to come over and ordered some men to search the trenches for any remaining explosives or mines.

They had been tricked by the Blue Ground Squirrels before, and the experience had left them thoroughly scared.

If the artillery barrage came and they found explosives stuffed inside their anti-cannon holes... that would be a complete disaster.

It took some time to tally the casualties.

Returning to Dillon's side, Tu Men subconsciously saluted in the military fashion of their army, reporting with a serious expression,

"...there are 7 anti-aircraft trucks left."

Dillon didn't look at him and continued,

"And the casualties?"

"2,410 casualties... 3,122 still able to move."

Hearing this number, Dillon's heart sank.

Only a little over three thousand men left...

The casualties were nearly half!

The losses from this battle had far exceeded his expectations.

If it had been an hour earlier, Dillon would have immediately ordered a brief rest for his troops before moving rapidly toward Qingstone County to destroy the New Alliance's artillery positions and take the railway, aiming to reach the north suburb of Qingquan City in one fell swoop.

But now...

Facing the devastated battlefield before him, he couldn't maintain his former optimism.

The enemy had inflicted a standstill with less than three hundred casualties against their armored column and five thousand-strong teams...

What further price would they have to pay in Qingstone County?

A serious expression appeared on Dillon's face.

Attack, and they have a thirty percent chance of victory.

Not attack, and they could preserve their strength, but he would surely be doomed.

Before the plan began, he had promised Golden Tooth that at the cost of ten tanks, they could take the City of Dawn.

But now...

Forget about the City of Dawn.

They hadn't even seen a glimpse of Qingstone County.

"We can't explain this to the chief..." Standing next to Dillon, Bear Tooth said in a low voice, "He'll be furious and will likely send us to be fed to the Hyenas."

Dillon gave him a look.

"Good that you know."

Bear Tooth said fearfully,

"So, what should we do?"

Dillon answered decisively,

"Keep moving south."

Bear Tooth looked at him in astonishment, exclaiming,

"Are you insane?! Keep moving south?! Just this high ground alone cost us over eight hundred bodies, what do we have left to attack Qingstone County with!"

"Fortitude."

Dillon stared at him, pausing deliberately before continuing,

"If you want to live, this is the only way. Or you can go back alone and tell Golden Tooth everything about what happened here."

Hearing this, Bear Tooth immediately shut his mouth, though inwardly he was full of regrets.

If only he hadn't promised that much initially.

Conquer Qingstone County in ten days?

Now, he just wanted to stay as far away from those demons as possible.

Watching Bear Tooth, who looked as if he were constipated, Dillon paused before speaking again.

"Think optimistically, we still have a chance."

"Those fifty planes are probably their last resource… We've suffered great losses, but so have they. Use your brain and think about it; if they had enough manpower, why would they only station three hundred men on this highland?"

"This..." Bear Tooth was stunned.

That was something he had not considered.

"Gather the ammunition; we leave in half an hour."

Dillon cast one last glance at the simple, brawny man, shook his head without a word, and walked toward the rear logistical team gathering the spoils of war.

Although the soldiers of the New Alliance had tried to destroy their remaining supplies before their defenses collapsed, they had still managed to capture a portion.

This includes twelve mortars and several shells, as well as over a dozen 20mm large-caliber anti-tank rifles and rocket launchers similar to "Iron Fist".

The reserve forces on the north highlands had all moved to the south highlands, and he planned to set off immediately after taking inventory of the spoils of war.

However, it was at that moment that a loud explosion suddenly rang out across the battlefield.

Startled by the noise, though it was dozens of meters away, his highly strung nerves reflexively made him jump into the nearby trench.

"What happened?!"

The explosion seemed only a prelude to the crisis.

Yet before he could react, accompanied by the sound of piercing air from the sky, a flickering light and explosions successively erupted on the battlefield.

The Looters, who were counting the spoils, were caught off guard. The flying shrapnel instantly killed a group of people, and the rest desperately rolled into the trenches to avoid the same fate.

The truck parked next to the trench was not so lucky: shells falling from the sky went straight for it. Two hit the quad-mounted 12mm machine guns in the cargo hold, and another struck the cab, instantly carrying away the crew and gunner.

Artillery?!

No—

This power was somewhat

Dylon was shocked and suddenly looked up, only to see a hovering cross through the low, dense clouds.

The shells were coming from there!

"Damn... How does the New Alliance still have planes?!"

"Weren't their 'Sparrows' already shot down?!"

"And what's the deal with that plane? How can it fly sideways and shoot at the same time?!"

The Looters who had jumped into the trench with him also noticed the situation overhead and were crowding toward the edges of the trench in panic.

The plane hovering overhead made them feel extremely unsafe.

Especially with the trails of tracer bullets raining down from the sky.

Except for the fully enclosed anti-cannon holes, there were almost no blind spots on the entire battlefield!

With sweat streaming down his forehead, Dylon made a snap decision and grabbed the walkie-talkie, shouting,

"Scatter the vehicles!"

"Anti-air squad, shoot at the sky!"

The supply trucks dispersed to evade, and the caught-off-guard anti-aircraft trucks finally came to their senses, turned their guns, and began counterattacking.

However, due to the lack of early warning radar, the previous sneak attack had already taken out three anti-aircraft vehicles, leaving only four of the Ya Clan's anti-aircraft vehicles.

At least half of those remaining were only equipped with 7mm-caliber quadruple small tubes.

7mm bullets on anti-aircraft fire, relying on firing speed and firepower, could somewhat intercept small planes diving into close range, but once the shooting distance exceeded one kilometer, the bullets drifted as if performing Brownian motion.

It was not just about hitting the target; the bullets lacked any deterrence.

Unless luck struck and damaged the propeller.

Facing the plane circling at an altitude of a thousand meters, only the 12mm medium-caliber machine guns could somewhat function.

Yet there were too few of them, and before they could be effective, the aerial gunboat circling in the sky specifically targeted them, breaking the weapons and cockpits with several armor-piercing incendiary bombs.

Dylon raised his binoculars, quickly looking towards the sky.

He saw a moderately sized "door" open on the side of the plane, and two dark barrels extending from the side of the fuselage.

Seeing this, he was dumbfounded.

Putting guns on the side of the plane?

Can you really play that way?!

...

"Bang bang bang—!"

Hot shell casings ejected from the fuselage, followed by several short bursts of gunfire. The reversing quad-mounted anti-aircraft vehicles were penetrated by armor-piercing incendiary bombs falling from the sky and soon bursts of flames indicating their demise rose.

It was probably hit in the ammunition box.

The area around the anti-aircraft truck erupted with pops and crackles of light, like firecrackers going off. Nearby Looters dove headfirst into the trenches, frantically fleeing toward the anti-cannon holes.

"Beautiful—!"

Watching the Looters running for cover through the optical sight, Ice and Fire Brother excitedly swung his fist.

The power of the twin-mounted 37mm ground-attack guns was not to be underestimated!

Although it had less firepower than the quad-mounted 20mm guns, its lethality and armor-piercing capability were much stronger by more than just a notch.

Not to mention a few anti-aircraft trucks.

Even against a Sherman, he was confident he could hit it!

As the last anti-aircraft vehicle was put out of action, the Ya Clan's front-line forces completely lost all their air defense capabilities.

Without armored units and anti-aircraft weapons for protection, the remaining more than three thousand infantry were like fish on a chopping block.

There wasn't a trench on the southern highlands large enough to hold three thousand people; the Death Legion had only three hundred soldiers, and the fortifications they dug could at most accommodate a thousand men.

The only thirty anti-cannon holes were quickly filled.

The remaining Looters either fled toward the pine forest down the northern slope or could only lie in the trenches or under the armor, praying.

Watching the dense crowd of people, Ice and Fire Brother let out a cruel smile and without hesitation pulled the trigger, sweeping the last half magazine of armor-piercing incendiary bullets out.

A series of continuous booms was followed by shells trailing orange flames from the sky, hitting the ground and sending up clouds of dust.

The running Looters quickly fell like cut wheat.

Standing by, Brother Ciso heard the gunfire and couldn't resist saying,

"Move over, let me have a go."

Brother Fire, who was happily shooting, was not willing to give up his spot. His half face was almost stuck to the optical sight, and without turning his head, he said,

"What can you do with your Strength type from this height? Can you even aim properly? Stop blabbering and start reloading! Bring some high-explosive!"

"F**k, do you think this is like ordering food?!"

Although he cursed, Brother Ciso still did as told.

After all, he was his own hired weapons tester.

After all, the battlefield performance of new equipment determined the earnings of the test mission and the orders for new equipment.

In unstable high-altitude air currents without a fire control system, the ability to take down seven anti-aircraft vehicles with 120 armor-piercing incendiary rounds was already quite impressive.

Brother Ciso quickly replaced the ammunition for the twin-mounted 37mm ground attack cannons and walked to the nose of the aircraft, tapping on the cockpit door and calling out,

"Bun Brother, the anti-aircraft fire is sorted out, come down a bit closer."

Sitting in the cabin, the pig-headed man complained,

"My ID is named 'Anti-Bun Professional,' you can call me Anti-Bun or Not Professional, but why call me Bun?!"

"Okay, Bun Brother."

"%￥#@!"

The plane began to descend from one kilometer above the ground to about five to six hundred meters, the left gun position aiming at the ground, continuing to circle counterclockwise.

Firing from this range posed almost no difficulty.

Brother Fire, sitting at the gun position, was already familiar with the trajectory and switched directly to burst mode, targeting wherever there were more people.

The fire rained down from above, leaving almost no dead angles for escape.

Anti-Bun Professional adjusted the joystick angle, grunted as he bent down, picked up a steel bar gathered near the airport, and secured the joystick firmly, then leaned back in his seat and switched to spectator mode.

In the settings, New Alliance's small drones could provide players on specific battlefields with a fixed, non-draggable zoomed view.

It was said that veteran players had seen the drone, a small metal sphere, but he had never seen it himself and took it as just a background setting.

Strings of orange-yellow tracers fell from the sky, exploding on the ground in an intense flurry of dust and light, the impact areas splattered with blood and flesh.

Watching the destruction through the VM, Bun Brother felt a burst of envy.

"Damn… those high-explosive bombs do smash delightfully."

If we didn't score at least 200/0 KD from the opposing AA personnel going down this round, we'd just be scrubbing toes.

A KD of 300 was barely passable, given the amount of ammunition we had. Once those routed troops pushed into the pine forest downhill, it wouldn't be so easy to collect heads.

After firing empty over a dozen magazines, Brother Fire, still unsatisfied, said,

"37mm is still too small. If you guys could mount a 105mm cannon on here, I'd blast their woods away!"

Hearing this picky comment, Brother Ciso couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"You're dreaming."

That wouldn't be easy!

The large-caliber cannons currently used by the New Alliance were mainly captured or replicated 100mm cannons.

Whether it was modifying the 100mm cannons to reduce recoil and chamber pressure for aircraft or designing a special large-caliber aircraft cannon, both would take time.

Moreover, weapon deployment was dictated by battlefield demands and real conditions.

Without a reliable fire control system and aircraft that could guarantee hitting exactly the targeted area, an overcharged large-caliber aircraft cannon would be less effective than a sufficiently powerful small-caliber one.

The latter not only could carry more ammunition, but crucially, if one shot missed, a barrage could follow. It allowed continuous shooting while adjusting the trajectory using tracer bullets to specifically target enemies behind cover.

As for destroying fixed installations, the dive-bombing Mosquitoes produced by the neighboring factory were sufficient, economic, and effective.

When the New Alliance had money, their H-1 universal aircraft could be slightly modified to convert into a horizontal bomber for carpet bombing.

Wouldn't that be much more appealing than any large-caliber aircraft cannon?

"How many rounds do we still have?"

"I brought 1200 rounds spare, just fire away," Brother Ciso casually responded while loading.

Hearing this, Brother Fire was startled.

"Holy crap?! That many?!"

Smirking, Brother Ciso glanced at the rows of aluminum alloy ammunition racks beside him, his eyebrows proudly arched.

"What did you think?"

"Did you think our maximum payload of over ten tons was just for show?"

...

While the H-1 aerial gunboat was unleashing a barrage, harvesting the looters fleeing from the southern highlands, Chu Guang, clad in power armor, was leading nearly a thousand players to the edge of the battlefield.

The entire operational plan was divided into three stages.

The first stage involved the Goblin Corps' air squad taking advantage of a break in the artificial rainfall to strike the tanks and anti-aircraft trucks behind the Ya Clan's front lines.

Ideally, all tanks would be completely destroyed, but if not, it wasn't a big deal; forcing the remaining tanks into the forest, reducing the enemy's anti-aircraft firepower by more than half, would be sufficient to consider the mission accomplished.

The second stage was conducted by the Death Legion's Intelligence System players, who controlled drones equipped with IEDs to launch surprise attacks on the tanks at extremely close range.

Since six-rotor drones were extremely fragile, even rifles could easily shoot them down, this phase required enemy armored units to come close enough, surrounding infantry to suffer substantial casualties, and disengage from dense fire protection...

As for the third stage, the counterattack phase, it was likely the opposition had already taken the high ground. They would face two choices: either continue southward to push into Qingstone County in one go or expand their installations while resting and continuing forward steadily.

Regardless of their choice, Factory No.81-produced aerial gunboats would timely arrive above their heads. Facing the bombardment from above, looters on the high ground would be instantly split into two groups—some would hide in limited defensive facilities, while others would flee down the slope.

Or just lie down and await death.

By this point, the fight held no surprises.

In fact, according to the command center's operational plan, once the second stage was completed, the highland defense could be abandoned.

Unless there were tanks that hadn't exploded, necessitating a charge to break their tracks.

If this had been an ordinary troop formation, Chu Guang would have unequivocally issued a death order for all highland soldiers to retreat.

But since it was players, considering gameplay, Chu Guang ultimately offered the Death Legion two choices.

Return to the rear for rest or stay and face the challenge.

What if?

What if Edge, leading a few hundred survivors, annihilated thousands of opponents?

The possibility of such an event was small, but it wasn't entirely impossible. Otherwise, where would the historical records of epic victories come from?

Even a failure wouldn't be a loss.

Each death would make those undying players stronger.

Observing the entire battlefield through the Hummingbird drones deployed above, Chu Guang surveyed all the combative movements.

Only in the corner of the high ground on the south side,

Bodies, incomplete and disfigured, were scattered haphazardly on the ground.

Even though the Looters had stripped them of their helmets, gas masks, VMs, and even their clothes, Chu Guang could still recognize who they were.

"The Alliance will remember your sacrifice."

'—Afterward, I will have Xiao Qi upload the edited combat footage to the official website.'

Mourning for a second for the small players who couldn't log into the Game and could only post on the Forum for three days, Chu Guang slowly raised the warhammer in his hand and swung it forward violently.

The sound, amplified by loudspeakers, echoed around the edges of the forest.

"All forces—"

"Advance!"

Twelve 100mm shells landed simultaneously on the high ground, towering columns of smoke rose from the ground, and the scorching air currents boiled over the position.

At the same time, the charge sounded.

Numerous Army Corps, large and small, launched their attacks, the players, unable to wait any longer, charged towards the high ground in the distance with deafening war cries for a thousand-man scale assault.

Leading the charge up the high ground was still the Skeleton Corps, which followed the "Mobile Warfare Doctrine." The originally single armored truck of the entire corps had now turned into six.

Apart from two trucks carrying Quad 20mm cannons, there were also two trucks equipped with the latest product from Factory No. 81—an 88mm low-pressure smoothbore cannon.

Though the production line of this barrel was converted from that of an 88mm mortar, the former and the latter were entirely different things.

As for the remaining two trucks, they were armored troop carriers, each with a 10mm heavy machine gun welded on top, nominally carrying 12 people each.

But in reality, squeezing in 20 people was not a problem.

"Don't worry about those infantry cats in the trenches! Our target is those fleeing heads to the north!"

"Brothers of the Skeleton Corps, hold tight, drivers floor the throtle, armored units, don't stop, keep charging forward!"

"Let's drive straight to the high land in the north and collect heads!"

Sitting in the co-driver's seat of the armored troop carrier, Mole, wearing a headset, opened the all-team voice chat and shouted excitedly.

After charging up the high ground, the Skeleton Corps immediately entered race mode, ignoring the Looters crouching in the trenches.

On the troop carrier, the heavy machine gun stuttered continuously, and under the cover of fire suppression, the six armored trucks broke through the high ground in less than two minutes.

In the pine forest below the high ground, there was a path cleared by artillery, which was also the main route previously advanced by the Ya Clan's tank forces.

Tank and anti-aircraft vehicles that were scrapped were anchored on the roadside or leaned against the roadside pine forest. Mole, sitting in the co-driver's seat, looked out the window at the pile of scrap metal, feeling a pang of regret.

"...It's such a pity that they exploded."

It would be great if I could get one!

While the Skeleton Corps was charging over the high ground, other player groups like the Jungle Corps and Storm Corps also successively charged up the high ground.

Less than an hour after taking the southern high ground, these Looters simply had no time to dig trenches facing the south. They had never anticipated that those Blue Ground Mice would dare to leave their defensive fortifications in Qingstone County and launch an attack on them.

Especially with the aerial gunboats and the continuous suppression from 100mm guns, the stunned Looters didn't even realize that the New Alliance troops had already charged up.

And by the time they did realize it, the faster players had almost reached the edge of the trenches.

The bloody trench melee raised the curtain on battle.

Only a thousand Looters remained in the trenches.

Facing an equal number of players, who boasted superior physical and equipment advantages, these villains—who had just endured a bloody battle—were virtually scrubbed back and forth in the trenches.

Facing the powerful firepower advantage of the LD-47 assault rifles, the Looters who were only equipped with half submachine guns and automatic rifles were quickly forced into the few remaining anti-cannon holes.

At that point, the flamethrowers previously prepared to resist the Tide were once again put to use...

"Don't go into the hole! Let me handle this!"

Wearing a green-painted KV-1 Exoskeleton and carrying a hundred-kilogram fuel tank, a Picheng Paratrooper scurried over.

Smirking at his comrades from the Jungle Corps beside him, the Brother swaggered to the entrance of the anti-cannon hole, ready to begin his task.

"People inside, do you surrender?" holding a large-caliber shotgun, Midnight Chicken Killing shouted down into the trench hole.

No response.

Midnight Chicken Killing wasted no more words and simply gave a gesture.

Though capturing prisoners scored points, time was also precious. It was best if they were willing to surrender; if not, there was no need to waste everyone's time.

The teammate with the flamethrower, without a second word, pulled the trigger, and a thick stream of fire burst from the nozzle, quickly shooting into the hole.

"Ah, Ahhh!"

Screams of agony echoed from inside the anti-cannon hole.

Within seconds, all was silent.

Watching stick figures run out from the hole, the Ground Model standing aside suddenly remembered something and spoke up.

"Wait, the warning you shouted just now seemed to be in Mandarin."

Midnight Chicken Killing paused, then realized those NPCs wouldn't understand.

"Oh right... why didn't you say that earlier?"

"Whatever, if they can't understand, that's on them. Next hole." The Picheng Paratrooper, only looking for fun, grinned and, carrying the fire-spitting nozzle, headed towards the next anti-cannon hole.

The whole position was permeated with the stench of barbecued meat, and corpses were everywhere.

When Chu Guang, clad in powered armor, stepped onto the high ground, the battle at Pine Forest Pass was almost over, with only sporadic gunfire from the Skeleton Corps at the north side high ground still audible.

Faced with the pincer tactic and continuous casualties, those Looters who fled into the pine forest began to throw down their weapons and surrender one after another.

In fact, even without surrendering, the few remaining of them could not survive several rounds of machine gun fire.

The armored trucks of the Skeleton Corps had already cut off their escape routes and leveled the quadruple anti-aircraft cannon in front ready for them.

Those who emerged from the forest holding weapons were met with bursts of high-explosive shells until they completely gave up resistance.

The H-1 air gunboats, out of ammunition, began to return.

The various corps, having completed their occupation tasks, also began to tally their own casualties and prisoners.

In just ten minutes, the New Alliance had retaken the southern highlands of Pine Forest Pass and almost completely annihilated the Looters occupying this area.

After this battle, the Ya Clan had completely lost all their assets to continue resisting the New Alliance.

A great victory in this battle!

Chapter 326: The Mountain of Spoils of War

The icy bayonet slapped his face twice.

Lying on the ground pretending to be dead, Vabu knew he couldn't hide anymore and finally opened his eyes reluctantly.

"Don't shoot..."

He slowly moved his arms to either side of his head, palms up to show he was unarmed.

The soldier holding the rifle didn't waste words, just kicked away the rifle beside him and coldly said,

"Get up."

Vabu honestly complied, quickly scrambling up from the ground, hands clasped behind his head, following the soldier towards the New Alliance position.

A few hours earlier, a drone had flipped Chief Bagro's tank. Vabu, who had been charging with the armored convoy, was knocked unconscious on the spot.

Many of his comrades were dead or seriously injured, the few surviving were missing arms and legs, wailing and howling.

He was relatively lucky.

Maybe it was because of the Awakening, he only suffered some superficial skin injuries. By the time Bear Tooth led a thousand troops to launch an assault on the high ground, he had already regained consciousness.

However, Vabu didn't immediately get up from the ground.

Especially seeing his comrades tumble down the hill one by one, fearing being pushed to the front line, he simply closed his eyes again and pretended to be unconscious.

With his eyes closed, he inadvertently fell asleep. When he woke up again, the comrades who had been bravely storming up the hill were now scrambling to flee back down...

With the bayonet pointed at him and his hands over his head, Vabu finally stepped onto the insurmountable high ground, but as a prisoner.

There were quite a few people stationed here.

The New Alliance had fortified the position—some prisoners were sent to dig artillery pits, while others trembled in fear, squatting in the pockmarked open spaces.

Seeing those people digging, a shiver ran through Vabu.

Was the New Alliance planning to bury them?

But then he thought it over, that didn't make sense, after all, if they were to bury them, it wouldn't be on the high ground but rather at the foot of the slope.

The northern hill was also aglow with campfires, indicating that the New Alliance's main force had already occupied there.

Stealing a glance behind him, Vabu couldn't help feeling a sense of despair, regretting why he had believed those rumors and joined the Chewing Bone Tribe.

There was neither endless wine and meat here, nor charming female prisoners or countless treasures.

Over the past six months, he had only seen rat droppings on the ground, rotting wood in the ditches, and hard-to-swallow green wheat and goat-horn potatoes... All of which, in the Bugra Free State, were garbage only slaves and scavengers would eat.

He had come to make a fortune, not to be cannon fodder.

Had he known it was this bad here, he wouldn't have come at all!

"Go squat over there."

Hearing the voice behind him, Vabu, interrupted in his thoughts, didn't dare resist and walked obediently over to squat next to other prisoners.

There, he saw many familiar faces.

A fellow Looter from the Bugra Free State looked at him in surprise and whispered,

"...Vabu? You're still alive?"

Vabu responded in a low, bedraggled voice,

"I was knocked out by the blast and just woke up... What exactly happened to you guys?"

The man's face showed a bitter expression.

"We took the high ground, but suffered heavy losses, and the New Alliance quickly launched a counterattack... people were everywhere on the mountain."

For ten minutes, he recounted the events of the battlefield, including the "cannon" flying overhead and the trenches filled with the smell of roasting meat...

Vabu listened, breaking out in a cold sweat.

At that moment, an officer suddenly approached.

The person telling the story immediately shut his mouth, and the others also stopped whispering among themselves.

Chu Guang saw an officer conversing with a soldier guarding prisoners, and soon a soldier strode swiftly up to the prisoners.

"We need two prisoners for a task assigned directly by the Manager," said the soldier. "Good performance may lead to sentence reduction. Is anyone willing to volunteer?"

The prisoners looked at each other, none daring to step forward, instead shrinking back timidly, fearing that this special task involved being put into the pot or having organs harvested.

After all, they were capable of such things themselves.

Vabu was equally terrified, but the possibility of a reduced sentence made him swallow his spit and cautiously raise his hand.

"I..."

The officer next to the soldier looked at him.

"Name."

"Vabu," Vabu quickly replied.

"From the direct lineage of Golden Tooth?"

"No..." said Vabu nervously, "I come from the Bugra Free State, I was previously a bounty hunter."

The officer nodded, said nothing, scribbled something on his notebook, then gestured cleanly.

"Come with me."

Although the battle had ended before noon, cleaning up the battlefield continued until sunset.

Not all looters had simply raised their hands and surrendered; some were hiding in the pine forest, or even pretending to be dead beneath the bodies.

Chu Guang assigned the battlefield cleanup task to the Second Corps and some other troops of players under LV5.

These army units were mostly newly established, not even having reached their full recruitment quota, but some of them included potentially promising players.

Whether or not they were currently useful, they were still worth cultivating.

As for the main army units, Chu Guang took them up the northern mountainside where they modified looter positions, and incidentally took over the supplies stored there.

The whole battle resulted in the capture of thirty trucks, including the supplies loaded inside them.

These trucks, standard-issue transport vehicles of the Expeditionary Army, were powered by a central high-power camel engine, slightly superior to New Alliance's independently-developed "Electric Donkeys" in terms of load and all-terrain capabilities, also having lower operational costs but poorer mobility and noisier operation.

These trucks were suitable for large-scale, long-distance transport, such as cross-province merchant travel; Chu Guang planned to distribute half to the Merchant Guild and convert the rest to strategic reserves after repairs.

Apart from the trucks, Chu Guang was most pleasantly surprised by the twenty-seven Conqueror tanks—ten of which could still be repaired!

And from the wreckage of the others, they could salvage towers or engines unless affected by major incidents like ammunition rack explosions or ruptured fuel lines causing fires.

As for the captured weapons such as "Opener" rifles, "Falcon" assault rifles, Pu-9 submachine guns, Iron Fist rocket launchers, and various light and heavy machine guns including 60mm mortars—the infantry equipment was filling up two warehouses.

This was enough to arm half a division, and all these were now stocked in the New Alliance Armory.

Although players were generally reluctant to use these mixed-brand equipment with hard-to-find ammunition, selling it as trade goods to survivor settlements in the Eastern Provinces was an excellent option.

After all, not everyone favored high-tech corporate products.

Some simple, durable, and powerful equipment that could be maintained easily was far more useful than high-tech weapons depending on logistics...

Temporary camp.

At the entrance of the cave-like warehouse.

Looking at the small mountains of rifles and boxes of ammunition, and the Strength-type players bustling in and out loading the spoils of war, Chu Guang couldn't help feeling a profound sense of gratitude.

"Thank the gifts of nature!"

This was more than just a great victory.

It was an absolute windfall!

"...It looks like they plan to head directly south after taking down the Pine Forest Pass with an all-out effort right to our doorstep. No matter how you calculate it, with their firepower and personnel arrangement, these supplies are clearly not meant for just two or three localized battles."

Following behind Chu Guang, Vanus also had a face filled with surprise; the quantity of equipment, ammunition, and other supplies here far exceeded his expectations.

Piling up so much material at the front line, it could only mean their ambitions are significant.

However, before he could finish speaking, Vanus's raised eyebrows furrowed.

"...But rather than saying I'm surprised, it's more like something unexpected."

"Unexpected?" Chu Guang turned to him, asking curiously.

"Yes."

Vanus nodded his head, walked to the warehouse door, picked up a rifle from the ground that had a golden eagle embossed on its stock, and fiddled with it in his hands as he continued.

"'Falcon' assault rifle... the 21st Ten Thousand Troops couldn't possibly have this."

It wasn't only the 21st Ten Thousand Troops that didn't have them.

The thousand team he used to lead didn't either.

The army wouldn't issue automatic rifles to clones because that was purely a waste; they would at most issue Pu-9 submachine guns or shotguns to some suicide squads in city battles or trench wars, but often they wouldn't provide them with many bullets.

After all, clones, replenished every three years, were merely expendable; their survival time on the battlefield was just 10 minutes, and there was no need to equip them with excessive ammunition.

As for fire suppression, it could be left to special machine gunners.

"...The core strength of the army is the citizens who have received military training, who join the youth army and head to the very front lines of the battlefield before becoming junior officers. And this type of rifle with a golden eagle on the stock is the standard issue of the youth army, also a proof of their identity."

Looking at the rifle in his hand, Vanus's expression was somewhat nostalgic as he set it aside. Although he became an officer right after graduation without any service in the youth army, he too received one when he was awarded his first medal.

"The 21st Ten Thousand Troops couldn't possibly have this kind of weapon; their main task on the battlefield is to fill lines, and constructing fortifications and trench warfare are their special skills," Chu Guang said thoughtfully.

"Maybe besides the 21st Ten Thousand Troops, there are other deserters who have defected to the Chewing Bone Tribe? Like a thousand team from the youth army?"

Or it could have been bought from somewhere like the Bugra Free State.

It's said that in the late stages of the war, a large amount of the army's equipment flowed into there. Some of it was sold off as war trophies by the people of the Grand Canyon, and some was sold by the army's own logistic officers.

As for making it themselves, that possibility was very slim.

After all, the golden logo doesn't add damage to bullets.

Even if replicating, there was no need to replicate such unnecessary details.

"Not ruling out that possibility, although my gut tells me it's very slim," Vanus pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, "Speaking of which... where is their commander?"

Chu Guang wore a somewhat subtle expression.

"...Dead."

"Dead?" Vanus was stunned.

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, his left side of the brain was blown away, and over twenty shell fragments were found on his body... It must have been a 37mm high-explosive bomb that fell into the trench. Turns out that Bear Tooth was captured, along with his subordinate, a man called Tu Men, who was previously a centurion of the 21st Ten Thousand Troops."

Chu Guang found it rather absurd talking about this.

Previously, the centurions and others he caught couldn't reveal anything crucial; he had originally thought of capturing someone of high rank for more information, but unexpectedly, they were wiped out by a stray shell.

He even considered making him a transport team leader.

After all, he had brought so much war bounty...

After listening to Chu Guang, Vanus's face was filled with bewilderment.

Or rather, confusion.

A man who had once deserted, dying on a battlefield not his own, he pondered long and hard but couldn't understand what Dylon was really after.

Chu Guang also didn't understand why that idiot didn't hide in an anti-cannon hole, but compared to such trivial matters, he now had more important things to consider.

"Let's not worry about where these weapons came from for now, but regarding the next step in our plan, I'd like to hear your suggestions,"

Vanus knew what Chu Guang was asking about and took a moment to ponder before answering.

"Although we have annihilated five thousand of the Ya Clan's men, there remain more than twenty thousand Looters in West State City. The terrain from Area Four to the southern part of the city is complex, making it difficult to exploit our mobility advantage. It's not a good idea to push the front line directly into the city and engage the Looters in a street battle."

"My suggestion is to move the artillery positions from Qingstone County to a hollow five kilometers north of Pine Forest Valley, where they've prepared anti-cannon fortifications for us."

"If we can solve the problem with artillery, there's no need to send in troops. This war could be over in no more than two weeks."

In the end, those guys are nothing but a bunch of Looters.

They gather together simply to form a group to rob others, releasing their animal instincts on this civility-collapsed Wasteland planet.

Of the more than thirty thousand Looters stationed in West State City, at least two-thirds came 'flocking to the fame.'

What holds their cohesion isn't faith, culture, or traditions, and it certainly isn't blood relations.

Once they can't keep winning, the morale naturally dissipates.

Not to mention facing severe setbacks on the battlefield, enduring constant casualties, and seeing no hope of victory.

A "Looter's Kingdom"?

That's nothing but a pipe dream.

Probably only Skull Breaker·Golden Tooth himself would believe it.

After hearing Vanus's plan, Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

Because he had the same thought.

"It seems we are on the same page."

He paused, then continued,

"However, just that isn't enough, we need to bombard them not only strategically but also psychologically."

"Such as?" Vanus asked with interest.

"In addition to missiles and artillery shells, there are flyers and broadcasts," Chu Guang said with a faint smile, "We need to bombard more than just those filthy Goblins. We must also grab them by the ears and tell them—the unbeaten record of the Chewing Bone tribe has ended in our hands, we have crushed their most elite troops on the battlefield, facing us, they stand no chance!"

"… But we are an army of civilization, we won't indulge in meaningless slaughter. We need manpower to rebuild the Wasteland, and we need help managing the prisoners of war. As long as they bring the flyers to us, or go to the local Guerrilla Team and surrender, we will give them a chance to start anew. And that's also their last and only chance."

Goblin? What is that?

Vanus was stunned for a moment, not catching on immediately.

However, the idea of air-dropping flyers and setting up broadcasts in the city did light up his eyes. Having once served as a Centurion in the Army, he immediately saw the intent behind this move.

Those flyers would not only crush the morale of the defending troops but also disintegrate their organization, plunging the Looters into a pit of suspicion and despair as the siege approaches.

They would have to endure strikes from the New Alliance while dealing with broadcasts set up by the Guerrilla Team in the city, control the pervasive rumors, and check for 'Letters of Surrender' hidden in their own pockets.

It might not even take two weeks.

They would see those Looters fleeing en masse or even surrendering…

The more he thought about it, the more brilliant he found the idea, and Vanus couldn't help but praise it.

"This is a good idea… However, most of the Looters are illiterate, you might have to put some thought into making them understand what you've written on those papers."

Chu Guang smiled and shook his head.

"No need for any superfluous words."

"Some simple symbols will suffice."

If a problem can be solved with artillery, surely there's no need for troops, but artillery does cost money.

Anyway, the war is already nearing its end, it's naturally better to save where possible—printing flyers is better than printing money.

After this war, there will indeed be a lot more places where money will be needed…

-

(The nucleic acid test delayed me a bit, the latter half isn't written. Four cases just popped up here in Wuchang where I just got over a fever, leaving me really anxious...)

Chapter 327: Cheers to the Victory of the Alliance!

"Let's toast to victory!"

"Hahaha, cheers!"

"Long live the Alliance!!"

North Street of Dawn City, situated next to a trade station, a highway inn.

Outside, the sky had not completely darkened yet, but inside the inn's ground floor, filled with tables and chairs, the aroma of beer and the boisterous noise had already begun to swell.

Victory news spread its wings and flew back from the frontline to Dawn City, located far in the north suburb of Qingquan City.

Thanks to the square's loudspeaker and the small screen behind the counter, the drunkards sitting here were not the last to hear the news.

Whether merchants, travelers, caravan guards, or mercenaries, upon hearing that the army of the New Alliance had defeated the Chewing Bone Tribe on the frontlines, everyone could not help but inwardly cheer for the Manager clad in powered armor.

For a long time, the Chewing Bone Tribe had been a name that made numerous Wasteland Wanderers' faces pale with fear.

Spreading from the northern center to the south, they marched like a plague, scorching the earth wherever they went, erasing hundreds of Survivor Bases from the map without anyone being able to stop them.

But now, they had finally met their match and been decked by the Alliance's Iron Fist, knocking their teeth out.

"One battle wiped out twenty-seven tanks! Great Antler God above, how many soldiers did they mobilize?!"

"I don't really understand, that thing… the tank… *hic*, is it powerful?" a drunken mercenary asked as he leaned over the counter, belching.

"Powerful? Haha, are you kidding me? That thing is a monster, a fortress moving on land! It's not something ordinary people can deal with! I'd rather face a Death Claw, at least my gun would give me a bit of a safety net."

The mercenary sitting next to him started to boast about his experiences while working for the people of the Grand Canyon in the north, attracting the attention of many.

Naturally, this included Sun Shiqi who was sitting in the tavern.

Three days ago, he had transported 6 tons of copper ingots, 2 tons of chromium, 1 ton of cobalt and nickel... and a hefty load of sulfur and phosphorus from Red River Town.

However, what surprised Sun Shiqi was that the copper and sulfur, the stocks he was most optimistic about, nearly made him lose all the money he had earned from the other goods.

It seemed like the New Alliance really had discovered a copper mine. Overnight, the second largest copper importer from the Southern River Province had become an exporter?

Although they had not started exporting the ore yet, it was clear they had already halted major imports of copper ingots.

Plus, with the price of platinum metals, used as industrial catalysts, quickly dropping, it seemed to indicate that the war was drawing to an end.

His intuition told him that the market in Dawn City might be changing.

As per tradition, after the war, the New Alliance would swiftly convert some of the military production lines to civilian use, changing lines producing dynamite into ones producing fertilizer and soap, with the most prominent indicator being the cessation of capacity expansion for basic industrial raw materials like nitric and sulfuric acid.

Not rushing into his next deal, these days Sun Shiqi spent every evening sitting on the ground floor of the highway inn, ordering a plate of fried potato fries and a beer, although he had already bought his own property in Dawn City.

"To have defeated the Chewing Bone Tribe on the frontlines… It seems there's nothing that can stop the rise of the New Alliance now."

Sitting across from Sun Shiqi, Zhou Nan, staring at the small screen on the counter with a reflective expression, spoke.

Hearing this, Sun Shiqi chuckled.

"Isn't that inevitable?"

Inevitable?

Zhou Nan gave him a sidelong glance.

Stop fucking boasting!

When the New Alliance had just announced their northern campaign two months ago, you damn well didn't say that!

But actually, it was inevitable.

Back then, no one thought the New Alliance could win, except the Blue Jackets themselves and the residents who viewed the Manager as a deity.

One side had 30,000 troops inheriting the equipment and even the command structure of the Army Expeditionary Forces, and the other was a burgeoning survivor settlement with a total population of barely 5,000 and only one harvest of crops under their belt.

No one could have imagined the New Alliance would actually win.

And win so thoroughly.

An armored hundred-man team composed of twenty-seven tanks, and a large number of anti-aircraft cannons, commanded by Dylon.

With those small planes dropping bombs in dives, how could they win?

But, talking about this now was after the fact.

Considering he had treated to this round of drinks, Zhou Nan held back from criticizing Sun Shiqi and silently sipped his flavorful beer.

As for Sun Shiqi, he continued to chatter non-stop, dreaming about the future.

"...In the future, River Valley Province will be divided into three parts, Giant Stone City will occupy the south, Grand Canyon will occupy the north, and New Alliance will fill the central region's void."

"This place is literally covered in gold! No, this place is worth more than gold!"

Unlike most survivor settlements, the New Alliance had a peculiar fixation with land.

Although the total permanent population of Dawn City was barely five to six thousand, they had already pushed the boundary to West State City.

Yes, the war had not even ended yet, those Blue Jackets had already included Hope Town of West State City into their territory, they even provided food aid to the residents there.

In Sun Shiqi's view, this was simply too strange.

However, it was a good thing for him.

If the New Alliance was willing to undertake the development of the uninhabited areas up north and provide refuge for those displaced migrants and herders, he was more than happy to provide them with shovels or other tools.

At this moment, Sun Shiqi suddenly thought of something and said to his drinking buddy sitting across him,

"I remember you once said you also came from Town of Hope, right?"

Zhou Nan was momentarily stunned, then he couldn't help but laugh,

"My friend, there are more survivor settlements named 'Town of Hope' than those named after the four seasons or rivers and mountains, I did indeed come from a Town of Hope … but the one in Brocade River Province. We don't have Chewing Bone Tribe over there, the only headaches are the mutants and countless mutant insects."

Apart from that, there were Cult Members on the southern Death Coast and pirates who had scattered inland from the southern coastal provinces.

But these weren't really big problems.

After all, the locals had long found a balance between chaos and death over the years.

Speaking of this, Zhou Nan couldn't help feeling sentimental.

"… Anyway, thanks to the New Alliance standing in the way, otherwise next year at this time we would be having headaches dodging the Chewing Bone Tribe heading south past Giant Stone City."

"Indeed, thanks to them," watching the beer bubbles in his glass, Sun Shiqi also sighed mixed with emotions, "otherwise, I would probably still be a small-time peddler…"

It wasn't just him who should be thankful for this victory.

The whole Red River Town's merchants, mine owners, and Business Association owed that Manager a word of thanks.

The inability of the Snake Tribe to commit their full strength against Red River Town was largely due to the restraint by the New Alliance.

Now that West State City had been taken by the New Alliance, even if the Snake Tribe didn't want to save their own people, they had to end the siege of Red River Town.

The war was finally about to end.

The two laughed and clinked their glasses, offering heartfelt toasts,

"To the great Alliance!"

"To the wise and mighty Manager!"

"May he live long!"

…

Outside the roadside inn.

In a corner of the neighboring street market, an old man wrapped in a scarf and cloak sat at a street corner stall. The faded, old pipe he smoked added a touch of mystery to his wrinkled face.

In front of him lay a carpet made from camel skin, upon which were placed some strange little wooden pieces.

A mutant camel with two humps merged into one dozed off to the side, its features crammed together in a frightening array.

However, on the Wasteland, this appearance as a Variant was rather common.

"… Just two silver coins, write down his name on the tag, and the Spirit of the Sand Sea will ensure his safe return."

Lifting half-lowered eyelids, the old man glanced at the girl standing in front of his stall with a face full of worry, quietly thinking that his dinner was secured.

"… But can it work without sand here?" the girl asked quietly.

The old man solemnly assured her,

"Of course, it's not a problem. Long, long ago, the boundless Desert Sea covered the entire central part of the Central Continent, spreading over thousands of kilometers. Including the plains you mentioned, nearby mountains, and lakes were all territories of the Spirit of the Sand Sea… At that time, there was no Great Antler God, only the vast yellow sands that galloped across this land."

Watching the babbling old man, Frost Snow hesitated for a moment at the stall, and thinking it was only a matter of two silver coins, she reached for her wallet.

Unlike other residents celebrating the victory,
she was more worried about the safety of the Manager.

Since half a month ago, she had rarely seen that official sitting in the library to work; the occasional documents or reclaimed books sent by the Merchant Guild were handled by that stump-like little robot.

She later learned from colleagues that the Manager had gone to the front lines.

Although there were continuous good news from the front lines, bullets were blind, and the commander named Dylon on the opposing side was killed by a stray bullet on the battlefield.

She hoped he would be more cautious for his safety…

Watching the girl pull out her wallet, the old man's eyes nearly closed with a smile, but just then, a fair arm reached out from the side.

"Hey… you don't really believe that, do you?" Frost River looked at her sister, who had already pulled out her wallet, in surprise, "Just writing a name guarantees safety, there's no such good deal."

Facing her sister's surprised gaze, Frost Snow's face turned red, and she murmured softly,

"It's just two silver coins…"

"This young lady, some words should not be spoken carelessly," seeing his cooked duck ready to fly away, the old man glared at the woman who had disrupted his business, saying ominously, "It's better to believe something exists rather than not. If something happens, don't blame me for not warning you."

Seeing the old man actually threaten her, Frost River looked at him with a smiling expression,

"Don't try that with me; our Manager has said, materialist warriors don't worship supernatural beings, it's better to use the money to support people instead of worshipping spirits."

With that, she ignored the old man whose eyes bulged like lamps and turned to her sister.

"If you have a sweetheart on the front lines, instead of praying for his safety here, you'd better buy him a bouquet of flowers when he returns triumphant from the front lines."

Frost Snow's face was flushed with embarrassment, not because of what her sister had said, but because the crowd of onlookers around them was growing.

It made her quite uncomfortable.

She reached out and tugged at her sister's sleeve, whispering,

"Okay, okay, I know it's no use, and you don't need to argue with others… I just won't buy it."

After that, she pulled on her sister's sleeve and dashed out of the crowd, only stopping at the other end of the market.

Stopping in her tracks, before Frost Snow could catch her breath, her sister poked her waist excitedly from behind.

"Come clean, whose name were you planning to write? Let me see which lucky guy it is."

With her face still flushed from running, Frost Snow hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't resist her sister's persistent questioning and said softly,

"…I said you can't make fun of me."

With eyes sparkling with a gossip-hungry gleam, Frost River, who had just been declaring herself a "materialist warrior who does not believe in ghosts," immediately raised three fingers and swore earnestly,

"I, Frost River, swear to heaven! I absolutely won't laugh at my smart, cute, beautiful, and generous sister, and I absolutely won't tell a third person!"

"…"

Frost Snow gave her sister an annoyed look.

Hesitating for a moment, the secret-bearer in her finally leaned in close to her sister's ear and quietly revealed the name she had intended to write.

Frost River blinked after hearing it, then stared at her sister with wide eyes,

Her expression was even more exaggerated than when she saw her sister giving money to a charlatan.

"You haven't given up?"

Frost Snow blushed and said,

"You, you promised you wouldn't make fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you…" Frost River sighed, shaking her head like a rattling drum, "It's a lost cause."

Frost Snow looked at her sister with a complicated expression and then let out a soft sigh after a moment.

"I didn't say it had to lead to anything… I just hope that he, being so far at the frontlines, remains safe. Don't you wish for that too?"

Frost River nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed…"

She couldn't imagine what the City of Dawn would be like without that person; perhaps the oasis itself wouldn't have existed from the start.

The Blue Jackets, who were loyal only to the Manager, would likely leave, either returning underground or moving elsewhere.

The displaced people surely wouldn't just stay put in their collective dormitories waiting for an uncertain resettlement; they would do everything they could to move to the nearby city. The prisoners of war would not stay quiet either; they would seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break their chains.

The various armies would probably continue to adhere to loyalty, even inheriting the Manager's legacy of reviving the United Human with a strong military leader, using harsher measures to quell the chaos… but that often lays the groundwork for even greater disorder.

As for those merchants with no loyalty at all, they never truly belonged here. They would do everything possible under the guise of a free market to extract all the value from the residents, until even the silver coins themselves became worthless.

Working at the trading station, she knew very well what sort of character these Wasteland Wanderers had. They had not only flexible moral standards and professional ethics but flexible identities too.

Perhaps elsewhere they were slave hunters or even bandits, but here, regardless of their past, they behaved in strict compliance with the law.

It was practically a miracle.

After much thought, Frost River nodded.

"…If something were to happen to him, everyone would be heartbroken."

Upon hearing this, Frost Snow suddenly reacted as if someone had stepped on her tail, quickly covering her sister's mouth with her hands.

"Tch, tch, tch, what a bad omen you're speaking of! If father heard this, he would spank your butt so hard!"

"Mmm—hmm! What does it matter, I'm not speaking recklessly in front of father."

Breaking free from her sister's hands, Frost River dodged playfully while grinning cheekily,

"Besides, the Manager himself said if someone mentions his name behind his back, one shouldn't make the atmosphere so serious—names are meant to be used by others."

"You sound like a parrot, always 'the Manager this, the Manager that,'" Frost Snow said breathlessly, her cheeks red.

She, who did clerical work at the Merchant Guild, naturally couldn't outrun her sister who worked at the trading station, and soon had to support herself on her knees, gasping for breath.

Frost River paused to look at her, blinking.

"Huh? Are you jealous? Don't worry, your sister is someone who prefers to live a peaceful life. I won't daydream, my future husband should simply be—"

"Ghost, I'm not jealous at all!!"

Watching the playful and laughing sisters, Crow, sitting on the stairs outside the branch of Vine Cottage, rested her cheeks in her hands with an envious expression,

"I wish I had a sister too."

Or a brother would do.

Although it would be a pity not to buy him cute dresses, having someone to play games with wouldn't be bad either. For someone who usually stayed indoors all year round like her, finding someone to communicate with in real life was too difficult.

Damn...

She actually started to envy the NPCs in the game!

Sitting beside her and sipping sparkling water, Teng Teng had a completely different sentiment.

"Recently, there aren't many familiar faces in the City of Dawn."

Most of the customers in the store these past two months have been NPCs.

Although business wasn't affected much, and she designed plenty of regular clothing styles, the lack of those peculiar custom orders made her feel as if her creativity and talent had lost their purpose.

Compared to the conservatively dressed NPCs, it was indeed the players' bizarre and quirky ideas that really caught her eye.

Of course, it would be nice if they were a bit more serious.

Crow comforted her friend and said,

"After all, everyone is on the front lines."

Teng Teng glanced at her.

"Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to be a combat professional player? Why are you so free?"

She had thought Crow would join tail and the others at the front lines, but this time, she hadn't joined the fray.

It seemed the fall she took last time was a lesson learned.

"Humph, don't be fooled by my seemingly idle appearance," Crow smirked proudly, "I've recently made a small fortune."

"Oh?" Teng Teng curiously looked at Crow as she released the straw she was biting, "What quest?"

Crow boasted.

"I had discovered that greenish-blue mushroom before, right? Later, I sent it to the refuge's medical lab for testing, and that white-haired NPC miss discovered it contained a substance similar to penicillin."

Teng Teng nodded, realizing,

"Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember... It was updated in the official encyclopedia afterward, called Penicillinium and Green Pine Mushroom? So it was you who discovered it."

"What do you mean 'so it was me?' There was a Worldwide Announcement, okay!" Crow protested dissatisfiedly, cleared her throat, and continued excitedly, "Anyway, later I took on a hidden quest from the refuge for collecting 20 tons of Green Pine Mushrooms for the survivor settlements in West State City."

"20 tons?!" Teng Teng looked at her in astonishment, "Is there even that much?"

"Of course, duck," Crow said with an upturned lip,

"Everyone thought that kind of mushroom was poisonous before and didn't pick it. But with so many orders, I definitely couldn't handle it alone. Luckily, the Merchant Guild's miss was thoughtful enough to help me with registering a company, and I hired about ten Indigenous People. Finally, I completed the quest."

"Not bad, not bad, our Crow has finally walked this path; no need to pick mushrooms yourself to earn Silver coins," Teng Teng said approvingly, nodding.

Crow thought for a moment and said,

"Emmm… that's true, but compared to worrying about a bunch of things, I still prefer the feeling of exploring alone."

This game always uncovered new things she hadn't seen before.

As for Silver coins, she didn't care about them as much anymore.

"Are you flaunting in Versailles now?"

Teng Teng gave her a look and stretched lazily, looking up at the sky,

"Everyone's working so hard; looks like I also need to step it up for the new version."

Crow playfully slapped her friend's shoulder.

"Don't be too competitive; playing games isn't about becoming anything; the experience itself is quite fun. Oh, by the way, there's a fireworks show in the square later to celebrate the victory, and I heard they're bringing sugarcane from Luo Xia Province."

"Sugarcane?" Teng Teng asked curiously, "Isn't that already available?"

There was a time, before the trade routes were open, when sugar was cheaper than salt. After all, the Brown Farm grew sugar beets, and with a little improvement in the process, they could produce pure sugar, but salt in the Inland Area still mainly relied on imports.

Crow laughed,

"No, it's not that sugarcane, it's sugarcane sand, as in the sand from the desert, probably a local delicacy from Luo Xia Province. I saw it on the Forum… they said Little Fish discovered it."

As they were speaking, fireworks began to rise into the sky.

Time had crept up on them silently.

Hearing of an unseen snack, Teng Teng's face instantly showed interest, and she jumped up from the step.

"Come on, take me to see it."

Among the brilliant fireworks, the people living in the rear sent their blessings to the distant front lines.

Sun Shiqi staggered out of the tavern, looked up at the splendid fireworks, paused for a few seconds, then muttered quietly,

"Green... it must be copper sulfate."

Zhou Nan, who was supporting him, also muttered quietly,

"What a waste… Are these people so wealthy now that they use surplus Dynamite for fireworks?"

"It seems the war is truly ending."

As the people of the City of Dawn celebrated the victory at the front, the Looters in distant West State City were enduring a torment as bitter as fire...

Chapter 328 Artillery Bombardment and Psychological Warfare

At 9 PM.

At this time, the Ya Clan's patrol team was in the midst of changing shifts.

"This place is up to you now."

The fatigued Grey Dog yawned as usual, hoisted his rifle on his back, descended the stairs to board a raft, and headed to the outpost on the outskirts of Sector Four to change guard.

Life had not been easy for them recently.

It seemed that the New Alliance's airborne troops had made contact with the local guerrilla team, and the sound of gunfire in the eastern region was becoming more frequent.

He could clearly feel that the guerrillas' combat effectiveness and firepower had improved significantly compared to before.

Previously, those rats only dared to take potshots at them with pipe rifles, but now they had progressed to spraying bullets at them from windows with automatic rifles.

Some even started using rocket launchers…

It was impossible to guard against!

Those airborne troops weren't sitting idle either. In addition to training the guerrillas, they were also planning attacks, and the scale was growing day by day.

Although the apostles of the Torch Church were able to occasionally kill a batch, these men would quickly emerge again from other places.

Grey Dog even had a kind of illusion.

It seemed like their numbers increased the more they fought?

Due to a large number of armored forces and heavy artillery being redeployed to the front lines, the Ya Clan was quite passive in facing guerrilla attacks.

They had been forced to abandon a large number of checkpoints and outposts in the eastern urban district, effectively losing control over it.

Even though the patrol team had been increased to more than a hundred people, they only dared to patrol there during the day.

"I hope we don't run into their paratroopers today..."

Boarding the raft, Grey Dog prayed silently in his heart and sat down next to other Looters.

The night was exceptionally quiet.

As the raft was about to leave Sector Four, it started to rain from the sky. Seeing this sudden rain, many breathed a sigh of relief.

It was well known that the New Alliance's planes appeared only on sunny days.

Although rainy days were annoying, at least there was no need to worry about the sky.

"How much longer will this war last?"

"It should be over soon," the tattooed man flipped his rifle upside down, resting it on the ground as he looked at the rain above and said, "Our Centurion said the offensive would start when the heavy rain falls."

"The heavier this rain, the closer their end."

The New Alliance's planes would be weakened during rain.

Usually, they needed only one tank to take down a survivor base of a thousand people. Now with so many tanks sent to the front lines, and with the one known as Lord Dylon, the God of War commanding, victory seemed as easy as breathing.

With this thought in mind, those who were harassed by guerrillas and paratroopers found some solace. Although the process was tough, victory would make it all worth it.

It was said that Qingquan City's "North Suburb" was a fertile land flowing with milk and honey, filled with endless treasures and inexhaustible food.

As Grey Dog fantasized about the good days ahead, a sudden "whoosh" came from above his head. Before the people could react to what had happened, a six-story building meters away exploded into thick smoke.

Chunks of concrete were blasted into the air, splashing into the waterlogged streets and creating a series of splashes and ripples. Amidst the exclamations and curses, everyone ducked to avoid the debris.

A Crack Claw Crab, disturbed by the explosion, issued a grinding roar similar to the gnashing of teeth. It frantically scrambled around the shallow waters, agitated.

In the chaos, the Looters' raft veered off to the side of the road.

"Damn!"

"Artillery shell?!"

"Motherf*cker, are those gunners asleep? How did they fire artillery shells here?" A Looter with a face full of horizontal scars cursed loudly.

Beside him, another shivering Looter said.

"No... I don't think it would be so inaccurate as to veer off here."

As if to confirm his guess,

Another shell quickly landed, but this time it was farther from them, about a hundred or two hundred meters behind them.

Looking at the pitch-black water surface, Grey Dog tensely suggested,

"Let's find a place to take cover first... there are quite a few Crack Claw Crabs here."

This suggestion was unanimously agreed upon.

Tying the ragged raft to the side of the road, everyone hurried into a nearby half-collapsed building for shelter and rushed up to the second floor.

Outside, explosions continued, with artillery shells falling one after another, the distant ones hundreds of meters away and the nearest ones on the street right beneath their feet.

Listening to the thunderous sound of explosions, pairs of eyes hidden in the darkness displayed fright and confusion.

No one knew what exactly was happening.

They were at least twenty to thirty kilometers away from Qingstone County, with nearly thirty tanks and five thousand-team troops in between.

All they wanted to know was where these artillery shells were coming from?!

...

And it wasn't just the patrol teams scattered throughout various parts of the urban area enduring the agony of the cannonade. It included the goons finding entertainment in the cells…

Even their bosses and leaders.

"Where are these artillery shells coming from!?"

Inside the reinforced concrete and steel bunker, roars echoed.

Since the entire Fourth New Area was submerged in water, the anti-cannon bunkers were mostly constructed inside half-collapsed buildings rather than being buried underground.

Hiding in the dark and damp artillery tower, Golden Tooth's face, which was blackish-green, was now filled with fury and horror.

Just minutes ago, he was still curled up in his cozy blanket, toying with a "toy" he had traded for dinars from a merchant in the Bugra Free State.

However, before he could really get into it, a shell landed in the stinking trench not far from his window.

Soon, the sound of artillery followed one after another.

The deafening blasts scared him out of bed, and without even remembering to grab his coat, he dragged his body—weighing over two hundred kilograms—to this place.

Also hiding in this artillery tower were his close confidants and trusted followers.

Everyone's face bore the same expression of unsettled fear, unsure of what to do next.

Grabbing one of his confidants by the hand, Golden Tooth bellowed in his face.

"Go to the south side and check what the hell is happening!"

"Yes, yes!" The confidant quickly nodded his head, scampering out with a combination of rolling and crawling.

Watching the figure disappear at the doorway, Golden Tooth gradually managed to calm down, urging himself to be cool-headed… although his beady green eyes still spun with unsettled fear and suspicion.

After accepting clothing from a subordinate's hands and getting dressed, he found a sturdy chair to sit on and started to ponder over what exactly was going on.

Honestly, when the shells first began to fall, his immediate thought was not of the New Alliance, but that the frontline troops had betrayed him.

That was his greatest concern.

Although the Army's commanders had won him many victories, and Golden Tooth admitted that without Dylon's help, he couldn't have had such a smooth winning streak, he still never dared hand over command to those men, fearing that they would break from his control.

Even someone as dim-witted as he could sense it.

The bond that united the officers of the Army was far tighter than the one between himself and his Thousands of leaders and Centurions.

That kind of loyalty, he had never seen on the faces of his own people.

Should that Dylon take command, just by replacing the Centurions and Thousands of leaders with his own former subordinates, usurping him would be a matter of minutes.

After all, the Looters believed in the law of the jungle, with respect given to the strongest. Not to mention that two-thirds of the Ya Clan were outsiders who had joined them halfway through, with absolutely no loyalty to him.

However…

This thought remained in Golden Tooth's mind for only two seconds.

He quickly realized that the frontline forces he had sent to Pine Forest Gully hadn't been equipped with indirect firepower like 100mm cannons.

This left only two possibilities.

Either the New Alliance had come up with some super artillery capable of effectively striking targets twenty—or even thirty—kilometers away.

Or they had pushed their artillery positions to Pine Forest Gully, or even to the north side of it…

Whichever it was, it was undoubtedly bad news for him.

As hours of agonizing waiting went by, if not for the occasional sounds of artillery and the heavy burden on his mind, Golden Tooth sitting in his chair might have succumbed to sleep.

Just then, finally, the sound of footsteps came from outside—the confidant he had sent to gather intelligence rushed in.

Seeing the confidant's expression and the way he dodged his gaze, Golden Tooth's heart suddenly clenched, already vaguely guessing something.

But he still didn't expect…

The reality was far worse than he had imagined…

"Pine Forest Gully has been taken by the New Alliance?!"

How is that possible?!

After hearing the confidant's report, Golden Tooth abruptly stood up from his chair, wishing he could grab the man's collar and ask again.

"What about the five thousand teams stationed there?!"

The confidant touched his forehead to the ground, his voice quivered as he spoke.

"They're all gone…"

The chair let out a strained creak.

Slumping back into his chair, Golden Tooth's bulging eyes momentarily flashed with terror, doubt, disbelief… a series of complex emotions almost too difficult to describe.

Twenty-seven tanks!

Fifty anti-aircraft vehicles!

That was nearly the entire fortune of the Ya Clan!

To fight those little planes, Golden Tooth had all the 10mm heavy machine guns that could be linked together given to the Tribe's artisans for modifications.

Now, someone was telling him, all that was...

Gone?

"..."

Faced with this grim reality, Golden Tooth fell into a lasting silence, baffled.

He still remembered how, before the departure, Dylon had assured him, pledging that at most it would cost ten tanks to take the industrial area and fields of City of Dawn.

Trading limited equipment for limitless supplies, it was supposed to be a deal with guaranteed profits.

Yet now, to hell with City of Dawn, they hadn't even caught a glimpse of Qingstone County, and shells were already falling into their nest!

Golden Tooth's clenched teeth began to grind audibly; his chest heaved incrementally, and through gritted teeth, a string of resentful curses leaked out.

"This bunch of inept failures good for nothing but ruining everything!"

"Where is Dylon?!"

"Where is that idiot now?"

"Tell him to roll over and see me!"

Listening to the string of roars that sounded like thunder, the trusted aide kneeling on one knee trembled violently, not daring to breathe heavily for fear of incurring wrath, his voice trembling with speed.

"Sm-small doesn't know... We were near the depression on the north side of the pine forest ravine when we saw the New Alliance's Army. They have set up artillery there, and many people are stationed. There are also patrolling scouts in the nearby woods."

"Thinking that you were still waiting for us to return with the news, we didn't dare to take the risk of getting too close, so we thought about scavenging for fleeing soldiers who had escaped back, but we didn't find a single one."

Hearing this, Golden Tooth, who was furious beyond containment, suddenly felt a pang of fear.

A drop of cold sweat slid unconsciously from his forehead, extinguishing a bit of the blazing anger in his chest.

Not a single one made it back?!

This meant that in a short amount of time, the New Alliance had utterly annihilated his entire five thousand teams...

And under the protection of countless armors, no less.

The centurions and confidants surrounding him exchanged glances of shock and amazement in the silence.

At this point, a centurion spoke up.

"The fourth new district is a part of Ze Country; the underground area is all flooded. There's no way to build anti-cannon holes here, and the surface shelters can't withstand continuous bombing... I suggest moving a bit further north."

"North? Are you suggesting we fight with the guerrilla teams for the burrows?"

"The guerrilla teams are on the east!"

"What's the difference? The underground tunnels in this city are all the same; they know the terrain there, and if we hide in them, it's a dead end! Moreover, how can more than twenty thousand people hide?!"

Suddenly someone chimed in.

"Or... let's just retreat northward. There's not much left to gain in West State City anyway, so we might as well leave this rotten place to the New Alliance."

Hearing this, many people's faces showed agreement.

"That makes sense..."

"Indeed, other than rats and the unending captures of guerrilla teams, there are ceaseless paratroopers."

"...and aerial bombardment."

"We might as well move eastward and join forces with the Snake Tribe and head to the eastern provinces..."

Some people remained silent and cautiously looked at their leader.

However, just then, Golden Tooth suddenly slammed his hand down on the table.

"Enough!"

"Shut your mouths!"

"Anyone who mentions retreat again, I'll cut out his tongue and feed it to the dogs!"

The room fell silent.

As Golden Tooth watched his subordinates shut up, he slowly calmed his inner rage and heavy breathing.

He admitted that he didn't have Dylon's command abilities, but that didn't mean he was stupid.

Retreat?

There was no possibility of retreat!

Not to mention that all the spoils and slaves would have to be abandoned here. Once he retreated, it would amount to an admission of the Ya Clan's defeat.

The members of the other clans who had been drawn by his reputation would soon abandon him and go their separate ways, or return from whence they came.

Once they crossed The Tributary of Tianshui, of the twenty thousand people, at most just over ten thousand would survive. Either way, casualties would occur, so it would be better to reduce numbers on the battlefield, to fight a decisive battle with the New Alliance!

He still had over twenty thousand people.

If it really came down to street fighting, he might not lose!

Looking at his subordinates who dared not speak, Golden Tooth roared out his orders.

"Spread your troops around the city, and watch every window, every building like a hawk! Since those despicable, shameless Ground Squirrels dare to come knocking, let them come and have a try!"

"As for the artillery and bombing... Let them waste their ammunition as they please. I want to see just how many shells they actually have!"

Nobody dared to resist, let alone speak up.

Even if they were inwardly complaining, they could only lower their heads and accept the orders at this moment.

Watching the figures gradually leave and disappear through the door, Golden Tooth slowly relaxed his tensed muscles and shoulders, leaning back in his chair.

Looking up at the ceiling trembling under the bombardment, a hint of madness crossed his face.

Come on then!

Let's see!

Who has more men, whose blades are quicker!

...

"The fireworks are really quite beautiful..."

Atop a half-collapsed high-rise.

Fang Chang, holding a telescope in his hands, was currently standing in the rain looking westward, a faint smile on his face.

Old White, not far from his side, was checking the map, keeping in touch with the Goblin Corps' artillery team through a VM and an earpiece equipped with a camera.

"Correct the artillery landing point 500 meters to the northwest... Don't worry, it's all recorded; we'll send it to you after we log off."

This afternoon, the New Alliance had advanced their artillery troops from Qingstone County to a depression five kilometers north of Pine Forest Ravine, bringing the entire southern and western districts of West State City within the range of indirect fire.

The artillery bombardment began at nine o'clock sharp.

The Goblin Corps' artillery unit, in cooperation with the Burning Corps, launched round after round of firepower strikes on the key outposts and defensive structures that the Ya Clan had built in the Four New Zones.

However, shelling was a very tedious affair.

Especially since the "Hummingbird" wasn't deployed yet, it wasn't just the explosions that were not visible—even the sound of artillery shells exploding couldn't be heard.

To know the effect of the hit, one either had to listen to players at the front line describe it over the radio, or wait until they logged off to have their buddies upload videos to the official website.

"These Looters are quite smart, to actually know to put out the lights," Night Ten said, somewhat surprised as he watched the lights extinguish in the distance.

Old White answered briefly.

"It's normal, indirect gunfire at such long ranges requires frontline troops to guide, report the artillery coordinates and bomb impact points, and continuously correct the firing elements. They can guess that we're reporting coordinates nearby, but they just don't know where we are."

It would be better to say.

These people actually just realized this now.

It seems Dylon's defeat has had a considerable impact on the "staff officers'" prestige within the tribe.

Normally, by the time the first artillery shell had landed, they should have realized the problem and extinguished all the visible fires at the positions.

"Stop talking and get to work," Wild Wind, laden with a bunch of wires and loudspeakers, patted Night Ten on the shoulder, "come and give me a hand."

...

A camp a dozen kilometers away.

Players standing near the 100mm cannons were discussing targets for the next round of bombardments.

In the past few hours, they had fired more than a dozen rounds, pouring almost two hundred 100mm shrapnel shells towards the Four New Zones.

At the same time, not far from the artillery positions, in a tent, a prisoner of war wearing headphones sat nervously in front of a recording device, reading from the script in his hands.

"…I am Vab, a Centurion under Bear Tooth, from the Bugra Free State. I had a proper job, became muddle-headed for a moment, blinded by greed, and was duped into coming here."

"I repent for the sins I have committed in the past, and I hope that those who, like me, come from the Bugra Free State or other regions, can wake up in time... ahead, there's neither the fertile land where milk and honey flow, only rivers of blood and mountains of corpses."

"Wake up, how long have we stayed in West State City? How many brothers have died in utterly meaningless battles? We sleep with rats, cut meat from corpses to fill our bellies... How long has it been since we've had a decent lunch? How much longer will we be deceived by that fat pig sitting on a pile of human bones?"

Reading this,

Vab felt more and more aggrieved.

Back in the Bugra Free State, he had at least two drinks in three days, but ever since he came to West State City, not to mention drinks, he nearly lost his humanity in the struggle to survive.

Emotion overwhelmed him, and he raised his voice uncontrollably.

"…Looters of West State City, the grand army of the New Alliance has already descended upon your doorstep, last night's artillery fire was the final ultimatum!"

"Your Chief of Staff, Dylon, has been killed, the Thousands of leaders like Bear Tooth have surrendered. Before the planes and artillery of the New Alliance, you stand no chance. The outcome of this war has been predetermined, surrender is your only way out!"

"The New Alliance does not kill prisoners of war, and treats those who surrender willingly with preferential treatment. As long as you hold this leaflet, whether you find the local Guerrilla Team or come directly to the New Alliance's patrols in the south, the Alliance pledges on its reputation that we will ensure your safety."

"If there are those who remain deluded—"

"Then pay for your sins with death!"

After reading the script in his hands,

Vab, trembling with fear, turned around and looked toward the azure power armor standing at the entrance of the tent.

"Respected lord, I've finished reading the script you gave me... may I ask if you have any other orders? Your most loyal Slave is willing to serve you."

That face was covered in fawning and flattery.

However, Chu Guang paid him no heed but turned to the soldier standing on the side and said briefly,

"Take him down and watch him."

The soldier saluted solemnly,

"Yes, sir!"

There was also a tank commander for whom Chu Guang prepared a script, mainly to be read to those former military officers in the Army.

Once the news of Dylon's grievous defeat in the Pine Forest Pass spreads, the status of those officers in the Chewing Bone Tribe would surely plummet.

These people were also targets for defection.

Even if they didn't defect, it would at least serve as a warning to them.

After the H-1 airplane flies over and drops the leaflets tomorrow, the dozen or so loudspeakers deployed by the Burning Corps near the Four New Zones would broadcast the surrender recordings continuously during the intervals between artillery fire.

After Vab was taken away, a man wrapped in bandages was brought in.

His name was Bagro, a tank commander. Surprisingly, this guy had jumped out before his tank was destroyed.

Of course, what surprised Chu Guang even more was that this fellow was not one of Dylon's subordinates, nor did he belong to the 21st Ten thousand troops.

But he came from the 14th Ten thousand troops of the Army's Expeditionary Army—a Corps constructed of armored units with tanks and armored personnel carriers.

Looking at the recording device, Bagro guessed what the man in the power armor intended for him to do, so he said straightforwardly,

"Do I go off script or read from it?"

Chu Guang pointed to the table with his chin.

"The script is there, you could improvise first, then read the script again. But before that, I want to ask you something."

Bagro stopped heading toward the recording device.

"What's that?"

Chu Guang looked at him with keen interest.

"Did you all plan this together?"

Chapter 329: Troops at the City Gates

Upon hearing Chu Guang's words, Bagro was stunned for two seconds and hesitantly spoke,

"What do you mean by 'had arranged'...?"

Chu Guang continued to inquire.

"Most of the prisoners of war we have captured from the Army come from the 210,000 people in the Expeditionary Army, that is, the subordinates of a man called Dylon, the Ten Thousand Leader. They claim to have joined the Chewing Bone Tribe following their superiors... So are you one of Dylon's subordinates as well?"

Bagro shook his head as he replied,

"I used to be part of the 140,000-man troop..."

"I know," Chu Guang looked into his eyes, cutting straight to the point, "What I'm curious about is how you ended up becoming a tank commander for the Ya clan."

It seemed he was falling into a memory.

Bagro paused for a moment before beginning to speak,

"It was probably the year before last. The 140,000-man troop I was in suffered heavy losses during combat with the Grand Canyon. I nearly thought I was dead for sure, but I was lucky enough to survive..."

"You indeed were fortunate, just get to the main point," said Chu Guang, glancing at the bandages on the man's body as he continued,

"…I didn't return to regroup with the Expeditionary Army, I couldn't really go back, so I ended up in the Bugra Free State on the south side of the Grand Canyon. There I managed to find work repairing machinery, barely making enough to sustain myself. However, one day while I was drinking in a tavern, I bumped into my former superior, who said he had a new job opportunity for me."

"Driving a tank for the Looters?"

Bagro fell silent for a while but ultimately chose to be truthful,

"He told me he had a friend who acquired a batch of tanks but couldn't find professional drivers. If I was interested in returning to the old trade and training a group of professional drivers for them, they were willing to pay a lump sum of 50,000 dinars. There would be additional rewards for attending missions, and there might even be a chance to go home."

Chu Guang slightly raised his eyebrows,

"And then you went to Golden Tooth's place?"

Bagro shook his head, saying helplessly,

"That happened later... At first, he introduced me to a famous local arms dealer named 'Flintstone'. I thought I would end up with a job training instructors and acting as a bodyguard, but unexpectedly, they sold me along with the tanks to the Chewing Bone Tribe."

Chu Guang teased,

"So, you're a victim too, huh?"

"I have no intention to defend myself, reasons are irrelevant, aren't they?" Bagro spoke calmly, "I have lost, losing to you as well as to my own arrogance... Now I'm just your captive, that's all."

This guy's got character.

Chu Guang didn't fully believe the man's story and wasn't particularly concerned whether he had joined the Looters voluntarily or had been forced into it.

However, from his story, Chu Guang did catch two pieces of information that concerned him.

[The relationship between the arms dealer in Bugra Free State and the Chewing Bone Tribe might not be as simple as just business dealings; the latter seems to be supported by the former.]

And—

[The Army is very likely involved!]

Chu Guang had heard about Bugra Free State quite a while ago, supposedly a survivor settlement near the Grand Canyon in the north, where a group of merchants handled stolen goods for the Looters and occasionally sold them some quality items.

At that time, Chu Guang didn't pay much attention to this, since transactions like these were common in the Wasteland, and even Red River Town had dealings with the Chewing Bone Tribe before.

But now, it seems this matter may not be as "innocent" as he had thought.

Chu Guang casually noted down this lead and looked at Bagro as he continued to ask,

"One last question, what's the name of your superior? What's his rank?"

Although these were two questions, Bagro still responded truthfully,

"Condra, the Ten Thousand Leader of the 140,000-man troop of the Expeditionary Army... roughly the same rank as Dylon."

Condra, huh?

Chu Guang mused,

"Got it."

Bagro looked at the recording device nearby, and then back at Chu Guang, hesitantly asking,

"Can I... start now?"

Chu Guang turned off the projection on the inside of his helmet's visor and nodded,

"Begin."

...

The next day.

Golden Tooth, who had been tormented by the New Alliance's bombardment all night long, finally awaited the morning sun after enduring the agonizing experience.

The heavy rain had subsided a little, and the sky was clearing.

Golden Tooth had the streets in the Southern Urban District filled with barriers to stop vehicles, disbanding the thousand troops into smaller groups among the half-collapsed ruins and alleys, preparing to fight a decisive battle against the New Alliance's soldiers marching into the city.

However—

The anticipated battle that Golden Tooth and his subordinates fantasized about didn't happen.

Once the New Alliance troops pushed the front line to the suburbs south of West State City, they halted their advance and simply began digging trenches right under their noses.

Unable to tolerate the construction of fortifications right at his doorstep, Golden Tooth immediately mobilized a thousand-man reserve force to intervene and also to test the reality of the New Alliance's situation.

But—

The despairing situation quickly unfolded.

The thousand-man troop had barely emerged from the urban area and hadn't even reached the New Alliance's position when they were subjected to fierce fire.

Two quadruple anti-aircraft trucks had been hidden on either side of the ruins beneath the highway bridge to the south of the city since late last night. Their cannons were covered with camouflage cloths and aimed northward toward the urban area.

As those men entered the range of sight, Brother Mole didn't immediately order them to open fire. Instead, he allowed them to move closer.

Once they approached within roughly 400 meters, the men finally noticed something off in front. Only then did Brother Mole put down his binoculars, excitedly giving the command loudly,

"Hit them hard for me!"

The two quadruple anti-aircraft guns fired simultaneously, unleashing a storm of bullets.

The volley of "bang bang bang—," like a curse of doom, spread out the high-explosive fire in the sky.

Under the crossfire coverage, the thousand-man troop that had come out of the city to engage in battle suffered huge casualties in an instant, pinned down behind cover, unable to move.

"Ah, my leg!" A Looter missing part of his lower leg lay behind a pile of rubble, clutching his knee and letting out a pained howl.

At that moment, several mortar shells successively landed on their position, instantly compounding their dire situation.

A Centurion nearby had blood-red eyes, flickering with anger and panic. Although he desperately wanted to decapitate those Blue Ground Squirrels and turn their heads into drinking vessels, the fear of death ultimately prevailed.

He shouted frantically behind him,

"Boss, their firepower is too fierce!"

"Without the protection of a tank... we can't break through at all!"

His implication was clear—

Retreat.

However, their Thousands of Leaders clearly had no intention of retreating, and Lord Jin Ya's orders left him with no way out...

"Everyone spread out, crawl forward! Their ammo is limited, once we get within two hundred meters, victory will be ours!" the Looter Thousands of Leaders commanding on the front line bellowed with madness, "Their mortars have us targeted; move if you don't want to die!"

"Anyone who dares to retreat—"

"I'll kill him on the spot!"

Hearing this, almost all of the Looters' eyes filled with despair.

In front was the muzzle of the New Alliance, and behind was that of their own. They were sandwiched between, with death seemingly certain either way.

Under the constant urging and threat from the Thousands of Leaders, the Looters on the ground began to push forward in despair.

Gazing at the position ahead, Gnome King Riches, standing behind a half-destroyed bridge pier, called out to Brother Mole, who was commanding the shooting,

"They're only 250 meters away from us now."

Elena, standing beneath the bridge pier, exclaimed in surprise,

"These fellows are crawling pretty fast."

The maximum range of the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher was about this distance; if they crawled another fifty or sixty meters forward, the Looters could begin to fight back.

Bullets were already whizzing this way, striking the welded steel plates on the truck with a loud clang.

Condra, the deserting Mole, put down his binoculars and waved his right hand backward.

"Retreat!"

The two Anti-aircraft cards began to pull back.

Two trucks deployed in the rear slowly raised their barrels, which they had been carrying on their backs, and aimed at the advancing Looters, firing two 88mm high-explosive bombs with a bang.

The shockwave and billowing dust from the explosions took over the suppressing fire from the Anti-aircraft cannon, temporarily holding back the Looters' advance.

Just then, a hundred and fifty burly men from the Jungle Corps burst into the battlefield.

Just as the Looters, relieved to see the Anti-aircraft cannons finally leaving, weren't even excited yet, the concentrated machine gun fire pinned down those who were just about to stand up and charge.

Welded with steel plates, the KV-1 Exoskeleton took the lead. The men, each armed with an LD-47j light machine gun, provided even more firepower than before!

Looking at the situation ahead, the desperate expression finally surfaced on the face of the Thousands of Leaders who were commanding on the front line.

These people...

were complete devils!

Perhaps having seen the tragic front line, a flare rose from the rear. Watching the two green lights ascend into the sky, the Thousands of Leaders finally heaved a sigh of relief and shouted to their brothers on the front line,

"Retreat!!"

The Looters, who had almost crawled up to the enemy's muzzle, cursed inwardly upon hearing this, but retreating was still a good thing.

The Looters in the rear opened fire to cover their brothers as they pulled back.

Just then, a silver cross, silently soaring above them, suddenly unleashed a ferocious barrage of gunfire.

Facing this sudden storm from the heavens, not only were the thousand troops who went out to fight stunned, but the defending soldiers squatting in the city were also left dumbfounded.

What the hell is this?!

Before, the Alliance's airplanes, though they had often defecated over their heads, were made of wood. These gliders, they could still shoot them down with a couple of bursts from their rifles, especially when they dived. They had even managed to down one or two before.

But the plane that came this time was different from the past; it never even showed any intention of coming down, firing directly from outside their range.

What's the point of fighting then?!

Confused by the relentless gunfire from all directions, the thousand troops who went out to fight could no longer maintain their morale and fled back in complete disarray.

What was a team of 1121 when they left the city couldn't even muster up two hundred-person teams when they returned—and not a single one of those who survived was unscathed.

Seeing the beaten and disheveled survivors, the Looters lurking in the shelters and behind the windows involuntarily swallowed hard, a wave of panic surging through them.

Facing such a terrifying enemy...

Did they really stand a chance?

Just then, a Transport plane flew over their heads, and the Looters squatting in the streets scattered into the alleys, while those by the windows hurriedly ducked down for cover.

The sound of the Alliance's propellers had become a fear etched into their DNA.

But they soon unexpectedly discovered that what was dropped this time was not bombs but leaflets that fluttered down like snowflakes...

"What's this?" Gingerly picking up a piece of paper from the ground, Grey Dog unfolded it and took a look.

The paper was crudely made, with a line of text on the front and a picture on the back.

He was illiterate and couldn't understand the meaning of the words, but he could clearly see the pictures. One depicted corpses strewn haphazardly with a number next to it, likely the count of those killed. The backdrop seemed to be the Pine forest.

Another depicted groups of prisoners receiving food in front of a large pot with bowls in hand.

Additionally, a few black and white Photos were printed below.

He recognized Dylon in one of them; there was a cross drawn over his likeness, next to it were Lion Tooth, Bear Tooth... the others were likely Thousands of Leaders, but he didn't recognize them.

These must be prisoners...

A flash of realization and complexity crossed Grey Dog's eyes.

At that moment, a soft murmur came from beside him,

"Being a prisoner of the Alliance ensures your life... Using this leaflet to surrender voluntarily grants you the possibility of being promoted to a supervisor in the POW camp."

Grey Dog looked to the side, where a small man muttered to himself, holding a leaflet.

Noticing Grey Dog's gaze, the man clearly panicked and hurriedly hid the flyer.

Grey Dog didn't say anything, however, just walked past as if nothing had happened and casually draped an arm around the man's shoulder.

"What's written on this paper?"

The man answered tremblingly,

"Nothing, nothing... it's just about surrender."

Grey Dog instinctively pressed on, "Doesn't it say how to surrender? Just walk over with the flyer? What if you get shot?"

The man glanced at Grey Dog in surprise, then quickly looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he spoke rapidly and quietly.

"Just raise the flyer... don't carry weapons on you. The soldiers of the New Alliance and the people from the Guerrilla Team won't shoot; you don't want to fight anymore either, right? We could go together—"

"That's enough, don't say anymore," Grey Dog hastily cut him off and glared at him threateningly, "Let's pretend today's incident didn't happen. You didn't say anything, I didn't ask anything, got it?"

The man nodded tensely.

Grey Dog patted his shoulder and returned to his spot. As for the flyer, he discreetly tucked it into his pocket.

He didn't know why he had asked these questions.

He had never considered surrendering.

However, after seeing the tragic state of the friends who went out to fight, he ultimately didn't have the courage to throw away the flyer...

He considered it a fallback plan.

Grey Dog reassured himself with this thought and put the matter aside for now.

But at that moment, a broadcast suddenly sounded throughout the city.

"The looters of West State City, the great army of the New Alliance is at the gates, and last night's artillery fire was the final notice!"

The booming voice echoed above the city.

Listening to the deafening broadcast, the looters looked at each other, all seeing perplexity in each other's eyes.

Especially when they heard that the invincible Dylon was dead, their prideful tanks completely destroyed...

This was more despairing than the artillery fire that lasted the entire night yesterday.

...

"These despicable cowards! Vermin! Cockroaches! Timid as mice!"

The fact that the New Alliance didn't enter the city, but air-dropped flyers encouraging surrender was something Golden Tooth had never expected.

What he had expected even less was that they also set up a broadcast right under their noses, beckoning those of weak will to surrender.

Surrender?

The word did not exist in Chewing Bone Tribe!

"These filthy moles, to resort to such despicable and low means!"

Having torn the flyer in his hand into snowflake-like tatters, venting his rage, Golden Tooth turned to his subordinates who didn't dare utter a sound.

"After you go down, check everyone!"

"If any coward dares to hide a flyer or talk about what's said in the broadcast, skin them and hang it on the window!"

"And—watch your defensive areas closely. If they set up another broadcast, tear it down immediately!"

Everyone nodded, heads bowed, not daring to speak out of turn. They simply accepted the orders.

"Yes..."

Walking out of the room, they carried dark clouds on their faces, not wanting to linger and hurriedly walked towards the outside of the tower.

"The chief has gone mad…"

Rock Tooth glanced back at the door, swallowing quietly as he muttered.

Cloud Tooth, standing beside him, heard this and out of fear quickly made a hushing gesture with his index finger, then looked around cautiously.

"Shush... Don't talk nonsense. Do you want to die?!"

Rock Tooth shrank his neck and immediately shut his mouth.

Previously, their chief had been brutal, but compared to now, he was like a small witch before a great wizard. Last night, someone had been hacked to death in their bed just for mentioning retreat; their body hung from the chandelier with a sign labeling them a coward around their neck.

Now, the entire tribe, whether core, branch, or outside members, whether the underlings or the leaders, all lived under an atmosphere of terror...

When Dylon was still alive, they could try to persuade him, but now, the guy was closed off to everyone's opinions.

The thought of running away suddenly surfaced in Rock Tooth's mind, and even he was shocked by the idea.

He had fought all the way from River Valley Province Northern Part to here, a seasoned veteran, yet this was the first time he'd had such cowardly thoughts...

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

As the war drew to a close, more and more battle recordings and screenshots were released, and the forum buzz grew more intense by the day.

Armies took turns showing off their accomplishments, much to the delight of the players, even those Backseat Drivers who hadn't gotten closed test privileges.

"Awesome! They even brought out the Stuka!"

"That's no ghost's Stuka, it's a diving human bomb, okay?"

"Gunboat! An aerial gunboat!"

"It looks like a C-47, kinda like a TB-3... but it's electric, what kind of battery can match the energy density of fuel?! And that aluminum material is impressive, the recoil of the 37mm cannon isn't small either, but it's rapid-fire."

"Haha, I heard it's supposed to be solid hydrogen."

"A fuel cell-powered propeller plane?! Awesome!"

"If it's solid hydrogen, why not just go for an electric hairdryer? (laughing jokingly)"

"I think to save costs. In yesterday's battle, it seemed like they only fired a round of rockets, and then it was mainly heavy artillery bombardment."

"I think before developing planes, we need to prioritize tanks. How about an electric T-72?"

"Solid hydrogen brand lighter? Maybe we should stick to fuel, it's safer. (laughing jokingly)"

Backseat Drivers were mostly focused on the unscientific equipment and the speculative technology that was almost impossible to achieve in real life.

As for the players...

Their main focus was on the game's gameplay and strategy.

For example, the escaping Mole from the canyon even started a thread to brag that the flyers persuading defections dropped by the New Alliance planes were his artwork!

However, everyone clearly didn't care about his drawing skills, especially when it came to things other than his manga.

The thread quickly veered off-topic.

Difficult for the strong, "Speaking of flyers, I actually found an easter egg."

Canyon Mole on the Run, "What easter egg?"

Difficult for the strong, "Heh heh, I thought it was a shame some flyers fell in places where no one would find them. Worried that the Looters wouldn't notice, I secretly picked some up and stuffed them into their sleeping quarters. In the afternoon, I wanted to go back and check the effect of the persuasion to surrender, but I didn't see anyone who surrendered. Instead, all five people in the room were hanging outside the window."

Fang Chang, "What the fuck!?"

Night Ten, "6666!"

Crow, "Wait, why were they hanging outside the window? Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)"

Makabazi, "Do you even have to ask? If you were their boss and saw your guys trying to run away, wouldn't you do something about it?"

Crow, "That's so tragic..."

Stop Bickering, "What's so tragic about that? You would be in a worse position if they caught you."

Elena, "Not necessarily, for Crow, it might not be tragic at all. Round it up and it's as good as not tragic at all. (funny)"

Crow, "Roll out of here! (#｀д′)✄╰ひ╯"

Canyon Mole on the Run, "Ah, those Rat Brothers are really ruthless."

Gnome King Riches, "Ya Clan, that's just too cruel. (funny)"

Difficult for the strong, "??? What do you mean cruel! I was just being kind! Where are your manners?"

Edge Shoveling, "Alas, death is preferable to dishonor. You've already snuck into their houses, give them a quick end."

Difficult for the strong, "I freaking wish I could, but I just can't beat them! T.T"

Pick up trash 99 level, "Hahahaha!"

"..."

At night.

Chu Guang, sitting inside the tent resting, was browsing the Forum through VM.

Seeing his own players vividly describing one clever tactic after another, he couldn't help but inwardly sigh.

"...This is way too cruel!"

Stuffing flyers under pillows and into pockets wasn't even the most sly tactic.

There were those who waited for prey next to buildings with loudspeakers installed or even set up tripwire grenades in the corridors...

To steady the faltering morale, the Looters had to endure casualties while risking venturing into weakly controlled urban areas to dismantle the loudspeakers tied to walls, hidden in the wreckage of abandoned buses, or installed on rooftops.

But they soon realized it was all in vain.

The local guerrilla fighters were far more familiar with the terrain outside the four new districts than they were. Often, as soon as the Looters dismantled a speaker in the north, a new one in the south was set up.

It was like playing whack-a-mole—attending to one issue only to neglect another.

The roaming Burning Corps and local guerrillas only needed one loudspeaker to keep an entire hundred-man squad busy for half a day.

The Looters in the city had not had a moment's rest all day...

In the communications channel.

Ma Ban, stationed in Town of Hope, was reporting the progress of his work to Chu Guang as usual and took the opportunity to report on the defection situation.

"...As of now, we have received over a hundred prisoners on our side. I was worried about Looters' spies infiltrating, so I didn't take them to Town of Hope but settled them in an abandoned subway station in the eastern urban district, currently guarded by the guerrillas."

After a pause, Ma Ban continued to ask.

"Should we keep these people?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly and said, "Keep them, we've said no dufus prisoners, can't go back on our word. Besides, there's some use for them, those prisoners have to be managed by someone."

Once dead, they're just a shovelful of dirt, but alive, they can be used like batteries, consuming very little food with minimum living standards.

There were still plenty of resources to be developed around West State City, and someone had to take care of the dirty work that ordinary people shunned.

By the time the war ended, there would probably be more prisoners of war than the New Alliance population, and it wasn't realistic for the NPC Corps to manage tens of thousands of people with just a few men.

Early surrenderers would act as supervisors, and latecomers would be laborers; by then, he would only need to select a few guards to keep an eye on those supervisors.

The earliest surrendering prisoners naturally stood in opposition to those captured on the battlefield. To prove their loyalty and "distinctiveness," they would eagerly show off themselves and proactively distance themselves from other prisoners of war.

Guessing the Manager's intentions, Ma Ban said with a knowing smile,

"I understand what you mean!"

Chu Guang nodded his head.

"Good to know, anything else?"

"There's one last thing," after a pause, Ma Ban continued, "Today, among the surrendered prisoners... one of them brought a verbal message."

A message?

Sitting up straighter in his chair, Chu Guang was intrigued.

"Whose message?"

"A Centurion named Rock Tooth," Ma Ban said cautiously, "The Messenger claims to be a confidant of Rock Tooth, and they are responsible for the western defense line of the four new districts."

Chu Guang glanced at the map.

The western side of the four new districts bordered the West State Lake, an area of submerged shallows and marshes - treacherous terrain that was easy to defend but hard to attack. Therefore, the Ya Clan wouldn't deploy too many forces there.

But they would definitely assign trusted people to that area.

A thought flickered through Chu Guang's mind.

"What else did he say?"

Ma Ban continued,

"The Messenger said their Centurion wants to surrender to us and was asking if we could give him a way out..."

Chapter 330: Decapitation Strike!

West State City, Fourth New Zone.

Inside a low-lying ruin submerged in water sat a bomb shelter reinforced with concrete.

Rock Tooth read the crumpled piece of paper from start to finish and then looked up at his trusted confidant standing before him.

"Did someone from the New Alliance give you this letter? Are you sure it wasn't someone from the Guerrilla Team?"

"I can swear on my life, Lord."

The confidant, standing before Rock Tooth, continued with conviction.

"The director of the Alliance's Hope Town Office personally handed this letter to me... Before he left, he even repeated the contents of the letter to me twice, saying that it was the will of the Alliance Managers and if you couldn't read, I had to make sure to read it out to you."

"...You've done well."

Rock Tooth finally let his guard down, carefully folded the note, and slipped it into his pocket.

After pondering for a long time, he looked at his confidant and commanded,

"Go and call all my Centurions, no matter what mission they are on, tell them to come see me immediately!"

The confidant nodded earnestly.

"Yes!"

After the confidant left, Rock Tooth sat down in his chair and waited in silence.

Soon after,

Footsteps could be heard faintly at the door.

One by one, burly men covered in beast skin cloaks and muscular torsos walked in.

They wore teeth necklaces symbolizing their rank, their faces ugly like demons, their bodies reeking.

Standing firmly before Rock Tooth, the men bowed with their hands clasped.

"Lord."

"You called for us?"

Rock Tooth scanned his most loyal subordinates and slowly asked.

"Do you trust me?"

The men exchanged glances, unsure of what their leader was getting at today.

But since he'd asked such a question, they couldn't exactly say they didn't trust him, so they professed their loyalty.

"Of course!"

"You're our leader, who else would we trust?"

"That's right! I don't know much about higher principles, but my loyalty to you is as clear as day and night!"

Seeing the men swear their loyalty so fervently, Rock Tooth continued,

"What if I asked you to die?"

Since it wasn't really about dying, the men didn't hesitate and assured him.

"Boss, what are you saying? My life is already yours!"

"Yes, not to mention dying—if you told me to jump into a pot of boiling oil, I'd do it without a frown!"

"Exactly! Not just jumping into a pot of oil, but even if it meant using my life to clog the guns of the Blue Ground Mice, I wouldn't flinch!"

Very good.

All brave and loyal men, truly worthy of being my chosen subordinates.

Watching the men eagerly swearing oaths, Rock Tooth nodded with satisfaction.

"Your hearts are in the right place, and that's enough for me. If you truly recognize me as your leader, naturally I cannot let you down. You won't die; I will lead us to survive."

With that, he turned to his confidant.

"Go close the door and stand guard at it. No one is allowed near, violators will be killed."

The confidant nodded, accepting the order.

"Yes!"

The people in the room looked at each other, their instincts telling them that today was somehow different. Their leader suddenly asking for their loyalty—it probably wasn't just for his entertainment.

The door closed with a heavy thud.

Rock Tooth rose from his chair, his gaze sweeping over the men, his expression growing increasingly stern.

"The forces of the New Alliance have already arrived on our doorstep, and yet our chief is lashing out, slaughtering his most loyal followers."

"He has gone completely mad. If we do not do something, we will all die!"

With these words, the men finally understood what their leader was planning to discuss with them.

What a situation.

"They want to drag us into a rebellion!"

Glancing around at the various expressions of the centurions, Rock Tooth continued to speak.

"I'm not afraid of death, for death is but a return to the embrace of Mother Earth, but if you see me as your big brother, naturally I cannot watch you throw away your lives for a foolish madman."

"Of course, if anyone doesn't want to follow me, I won't force them. There's the door. Pretend as if today I said nothing, and you heard nothing."

As if they hadn't heard anything.

If someone said 'no,' and actually made it out of that door, that would be a miracle!

The centurions hurried to declare their positions, one after another.

"Boss, just tell us what to do."

"No matter what you plan, we're with you!"

"Exactly! Worse comes to worst, we'll just leave and start fresh. Claiming a mountain is surely better than staying here!"

Rock Tooth nodded.

"Then I'll speak."

He paused, then continued.

"I plan to lead you all to surrender to the New Alliance!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the room fell silent in an instant, as if one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone's faces were marked with surprise.

Surrender to the New Alliance?!

Had Golden Tooth gone mad, or had their own leader lost his mind?

The war had progressed to such an extent that countless had died on both sides. Take the paratroopers in the city, for instance; in this past month alone, at least five to six hundred had died at their hands.

Although the broadcasts from the New Alliance said they would treat those who surrendered willingly well, who could guarantee they wouldn't turn their backs on them after the war ended?

No one would stand up for them then.

Hearing of their execution, the survivors would only clap in excitement.

"Boss, I believe you... but, why surrender to the New Alliance?"

"Can they really spare us?"

"Maybe we should just run... Head north, follow the Tianshui east or west; we'll always find a place to go."

Rock Tooth had anticipated such reactions from his subordinates and smiled nonchalantly.

"Run? With over a thousand men, what will we eat on the road? Flee with those slaves? Or perhaps ask our dear leader for some supplies before we set off?"

Everyone fell silent.

Rock Tooth didn't stop, looking at them he continued.

"Unless you plan to leave those thousand brothers behind and let them fend for themselves."

They didn't care about the lives of the small fry, but if they abandoned their brothers, wouldn't they become a naked commander?

Then, forget about finding a mountain to live freely; encountering just a couple of Variants on the road could cost them their lives.

The group's expressions became hesitant. Running away indeed wasn't a good idea, at least not for those who wore shoes.

But surrender...

Would their end really be better than if they ran away?

A centurion cautiously asked.

"But boss, even if we surrender to the New Alliance... the best outcome would still be as their slaves, which is no better than running away."

Rock Tooth looked at him and said,

"The New Alliance needs manpower to guard prisoners. As long as we are willing to cooperate with them and end this war, which is already determined, they will entrust this task to us, who know the times."

"Afterward, although we may not be as carefree as now, we could still be in charge of a hundred or a thousand men. That's far better than running to the woods where there's no village in front or shop behind."

Hearing this, those who had been worried finally let go of their concerns.

At least to the New Alliance, they were of value.

This was far more reassuring than any so-called promises.

"Boss, just tell us what to do."

"We'll follow you!"

Rock Tooth nodded.

"Don't speak of today's conversation with anyone. Each of you go down and prepare as I instructed."

"In three days, at midnight, take action! At that time, the New Alliance's planes will work with the ground troops to launch a feint attack on the Southern Urban District. And we, located in the west, will be responsible for opening a gap in the western defensive area to let the New Alliance's men in."

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes as Rock Tooth said coldly,

"After meeting up with the New Alliance's troops, we'll head straight for Golden Tooth's lair!"

"Catch that stupid pig alive!"

...

Three days had flashed by in an instant.

The relentless bombardment and propaganda leaflet offensives had plunged the entire morale of the Ya clan into a nadir.

There were continuous deserters abandoning their positions to flee north, or taking leaflets over to the east to surrender to the guerrillas.

No matter how furiously Jin Ya ordered the search for those who privately hoarded "surrender coupons," he couldn't stop more runners from emerging.

Especially those "renowned" Looters.

As collateral branches at best, not even considered part of the main family, they were distrusted from the start.

Ever since the emergence of a traitor, their superiors would rather search them twice a day, and check their rooms three times daily.

Anyone found secretly holding onto "surrender coupons," whether on their person or hidden in their room, was executed without mercy, hung from the window.

A series of nearly insane crackdowns led to a growing number of deserters.

The most extreme incident was the disappearance of an entire hundred-member team after they set out...

Faced with this dire situation, even the most loyal and resolute warriors in the tribe couldn't help but feel a sense of despair deep within.

Perhaps...

They truly had no way out.

In the dim concrete bunker, Jin Ya stared at the map with a gloomy expression.

This was the temporary headquarters of the Ya clan, and at the moment, there were only two people standing in it.

One was Jin Ya himself, and the other was one of his trusted lieutenants—"Fox Tooth."

As a direct descendant of the Ya clan, this seemingly fragile man lacked physical prowess, but he more than compensated with his intellect.

Ever since Dylon's defeat, Jin Ya could no longer trust those strategists.

The Chief Guard Fox Tooth, standing aside, spoke softly.

"Why don't we ask other clans for help... Even if they could send some weapons over, it would be helpful; the brothers don't even have the materials to repair their guns."

Listening to his subordinate's suggestion, Jin Ya remained silent.

Ask for help?

Who could they ask?

The Snake Tribe advancing eastward was already deeply mired in the quagmire of Red River Town, unable to lift a finger to help.

The Bear Tribe advancing westward had reached Luo Xia Province, hundreds of kilometers away, with countless mountains and rivers in between.

Jin Ya was fully aware that although his clan led the tribe and he was the king, there was no hierarchical relationship between clans, and he had no authority to command those that were not affiliated with his own.

"How much ammunition do we have left?"

Fox Tooth asked in a low voice.

"Considering our current rate of consumption... I'm afraid it will only last two months."

Jin Ya fell into a lengthy silence.

Just as he was about to say something, a barrage of artillery fire came from outside.

He had become nearly accustomed to the New Alliance's bombardment over the past few days, so he wasn't panic-stricken.

However, unlike before when the New Alliance bombarded with artillery, pausing between shots, this time there were more than a dozen guns firing together, clearly a more intense level of firepower.

"Listening to the direction and distance of the sound, they're probably bombarding the southern urban district..." Fox Tooth's face changed slightly as he spoke softly, "The New Alliance must be planning to assault the city under cover of darkness!"

Jin Ya placed his fist on the map, a cruel smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"They finally couldn't hold back anymore!"

Street fighting!

That's what his people were best at!

Looking at Fox Tooth, Jin Ya immediately issued an order.

"Take your men to the city's south immediately! You must hold back the New Alliance there!"

Fox Tooth acknowledged the command.

"Yes!"

After leaving the headquarters, Fox Tooth immediately gathered his brothers.

Over a thousand fully armed elites streamed through the streets flooded with lake waters, marching toward the thundering southern district of the city to reinforce the thousand team stationed there.

However, at this moment, what the two of them didn't know was that while the New Alliance was pounding the southern district, rafts were making their way through the marshes on the eastern shore of West State Lake, drifting toward the submerged western side of the Four New District...

Crouched on a raft, gazing toward the silent darkness ahead, Night Ten turned his head and whispered,

"Do you think we can trust those Looters?"

"I don't know," Fang Chang shook his head.

"What if they suddenly change their mind?" Night Ten couldn't help but ask again.

"How else to deal with it, just wait for three days," Old White patted his shoulder and grinned, "Keep a close watch in a bit, we're counting on your killing intent perception!"

Night Ten: "Damn, really playing with our lives."

Fang Chang: "Don't worry about it, the chances of them turning on us are slim. At this point, anyone can tell that there's little suspense left in this war. It's just a matter of losing sooner or later. If they keep on fighting, at most, they'll last another week or two."

"Exactly," Wild Wind nodded and said calmly, "From the moment they hesitated, they were already losing."

While they were talking, a light appeared in the reeds ahead.

Old White waved his hand to signal the player rowing the boat to speed up, and a line of rafts moved towards the light.

Twenty rafts carrying 140 players from the Burning Corps, equivalent to the force of an enhanced company.

Each of these players was a veteran who had entered the game in the Alpha round. At the very least, they had experienced the Tide of Beasts, and they were all Awakeners, the core force of the New Alliance!

The marshland in front of them was teeming with poisonous insects and wild animals, even extremely dangerous Variants such as Crack Claw Crabs and Battleship Shrimp. Scattered ruins on the water surface concealed 7mm machine guns.

To break through here, they would have to face fire from all sides and the besieged Variants that were disturbed.

But now.

This west gate, usually easy to defend and hard to attack, was completely unguarded, open to the New Alliance...

Waiting to meet the Burning Corps was a Centurion.

He brought along a dozen of his confidants; each of them had a white cloth wrapped around their arm.

"I'm here to lead you in... I hope you'll keep your word and give us a way out when it's all over," the Centurion said, keeping his eyes fixed on the guns in the players' hands.

Even as an Awakener, he had to admit that these people were very strong!

So strong that any one of them could match him in combat.

As for the man in charge, his strength was inscrutable!

Old White didn't say a word; instead, he looked to Fang Chang, the best with Union language on their side.

Fang Chang got the hint and initiated the plot.

"We've always been like this."

Hearing this promise, the Centurion nodded and without wasting any time, waved his hand to signal his men to row the rafts and lead the way.

The entire fourth section was submerged in water, with even the shallow parts deep enough to reach the waist; the raft was the most reliable means of transportation.

Most Variants wouldn't take an interest in wood floating on the water. Unless we provoked them, we didn't have to worry about suddenly losing our legs while walking through the water.

Looking at a Crack Claw Crab floating on the water's surface, Night Ten whispered,

"...The Crack Claw Crabs here seem different from the ones in our place; they're smaller and have pointier shells."

Scrambled Eggs and Tomato was quite interested, snapping several photos.

"I've heard there are quite a few mutant lobsters here; I'll have to study them once the new map is unlocked."

Quit smoking murmured excitedly.

"Looks like we're in for a treat!"

The Raiders leading the way naturally didn't know what these players were discussing.

If they understood Chinese, they would indeed be surprised.

A treat?

Who's the treat for, really.

Not getting dragged into the water by the Crack Claw Crabs and Battleship Shrimp and gnawed on would be lucky enough, who would provoke these things willingly.

The meat of the Crack Claw Crab was indeed tender and juicy, and the crab roe was top-notch delicious, but you have to be alive to enjoy it.

Regular rifle bullets couldn't penetrate the shell at all, but only provoked the monsters. As for using rocket launchers against crabs, it's always strictly prohibited in the tribes...

After taking photos, Scrambled Eggs and Tomato had already started discussing quietly with Quit smoking how best to cook them.

In such a serious situation, having the mood to discuss whether to steam or braise only proves they're gamers...

The group continued to forge ahead.

More rafts joined them along the way, and soon they had gathered over forty rafts, nearly four hundred people.

Rock Tooth's forces would also join the battle to help the Burning Corps disarm Jin Ya's Personal Body Guard.

This was both to prove his loyalty to the New Alliance and to ensure the rebellion was foolproof.

After all, if it failed, the New Alliance would merely lose a hundred-man team, but his fate would be miserable.

Without even thinking about it, with Jin Ya's brutal methods, he would surely torture him and his men with the most cruel means possible.

The Ya Clan's command center was located in the central part of the fourth section, hidden inside a reinforced concrete ruin.

From the western defense line to the central area, the path was clear.

Rock Tooth's own defense zone didn't need to be mentioned; he had already arranged it in advance, and the shift that day was all his confidants, who let them pass without a word.

And as for the inner defense zones, those lackeys seeing it was Rock Tooth's Centurion, didn't bother to question much, nor did they bother to count how many people were on the rafts and how many guns were hidden.

In fact, there was no way to do a check.

Because of the threat posed by the New Alliance's planes, all outposts dared not light lamps, leaving the entire Four New District pitch-black.

Standing on the roof of the three-story building and looking down, one could only see the pitch-black water surface and the wooden rafts.

As for what was on the rafts, one would have to go downstairs and walk up to see clearly.

"Damn, this is thrilling..."

Watching those gun barrels so close at hand, Garbage Jun, draped in a cloak, felt his palms start to sweat slightly.

It wasn't because he was scared.

But because of the excitement.

He felt the bloodthirst and the instincts of a wild beast coursing through his veins, and in his amber-colored pupils, excitement burned.

The DNA was triggered!

The last 200 meters to the command center were all that was left, and that building marked on the VM map had come into everyone's view.

Even facing the sequential bombardment of heavy artillery and missiles, the building, with its layers of reinforced concrete fortifications, remained steadfast. The nearby ruins had been transformed into a series of gun towers, which could be used for anti-aircraft defense as well as mutual support.

And at that moment, the Burning Corps group was separated from the command center by nothing more than a wooden fence gate.

"Assaulting from the front doesn't look easy, the layout here seems simple, but every street has at least three points of fire, it would be hard to advance without armored vehicles... Whoever planned these defenses is a master," Old White remarked, silently amazed after looking at the surroundings.

This game company really does have a wealth of talent.

Such attention to detail on even small levels, not to mention the larger battles.

The planning team must include many insiders!

Stopping in front of the fence gate, the Centurion stepped onto the front of the raft and shouted toward the sentry post situated on the right-side ruins.

"Open the gate!"

A head peeked out beside the mounted machine gun on the sentry post.

"Who are you!"

The Centurion continued to shout.

"We are members of Lord Rock Tooth's team, sent by the leader to switch guard duty!"

Suspicion arose in the eyes of the man on sentry duty: "Switching guard? I hadn't heard anything about that."

The guards here were Golden Tooth's personal bodyguards, unlike the small fry they'd encountered before; these folks were not so easily fooled.

Noticing something off about the rafts floating on the water, the raider sentry's expression grew more sour, and his 7mm machine gun was now pointed at the surface of the water.

"Stand still there, I'm going to check with Lord Jin Ya!"

The atmosphere grew tense.

The complexion of the Centurion standing at the head of the raft changed subtly, sensing that they were about to be discovered.

Feeling the gradually approaching killing intent, Night Ten became instantly alert and made eye contact with Fang Chang.

'Make your move!'

Accustomed to working in silent agreement, Fang Chang instantly understood Night Ten's look, knowing that they might have been found out.

The corner of his black cloak lifted slightly, and the cold gleam hidden in the shadow aimed at the machine gunner on the gun tower.

The bowstring trembled, and with a "whoosh" sound of piercing the air, an arrow instantly struck the sentry's head beside the machine gun, toppling him backward.

The sudden turn of events shocked everyone, both the loyal followers of Rock Tooth and the raider sentries on the surrounding buildings...

Except for the players on the rafts.

Seeing Fang Chang had moved, Old White no longer bothered to hide, immediately lifted the black cloth covering the raft, and grabbing the LD-47 that was hidden underneath, he swept a salvo towards the buildings.

"Open fire!"

Gunshots erupted over the water's surface; the players standing on the rafts picked up their weapons, some of them jumped into the water immediately, pushing the rafts towards the fence gate.

"RPG—!"

Quit Smoking, carrying the rocket launcher, yelled excitedly and aimed at the fence gate in front, pulling the trigger.

A trail of white smoke shot out, and the fence gate blocking the street was instantly blown to smithereens.

Gunfire filled the street.

Forty rafts accelerated forward, passing the floating wooden debris, and charged toward the Ya Clan's command center at full speed.

"Brothers, follow me upstream! The Boss is up ahead!"

Bullets whooshed chaotically around him; Old White, pushing the raft forward, shouted loudly.

"Whether we can take the MVP depends on this team fight!"

"Roar, roar, roar!" Garbage Jun, who couldn't contain himself any longer, threw off his cloak, revealing the claws hidden in the darkness, and let out a liberating roar to the sky.

Seeing the approach of the Claw of Death like a shell heading their way, a look of horror crossed the faces of the raiders guarding the gun towers.

The Claw of Death!

How can the New Alliance possess a Mind Interference Device?!

"Caim for the collar on its neck!" The Looter Centurion, crouching behind the cover, shouted in horror.

A Looter next to him, trembling as he supported the machine gun, cried out.

"Big brother, that Lizard doesn't have a collar around its neck..."

The Centurion's eyes widened instantly.

"What?!"

Not only was there no collar, but the Lizard also had a heavy steel plate hanging on its chest and steel claws tied to its hands.

It charged through the ruins like a tank capable of climbing walls, and the Looter standing in its way, one after another, were like paper mache blood bags, completely unable to stop it.

In less than half a minute, a gun tower had already fallen. Not to mention the sound of gunfire and flashing muzzles, even screams and wails couldn't be heard anymore.

Night Ten couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Damn... Playing this character wouldn't give you psychological trauma?"

"Do you think he looks like he has any psychological trauma," Old White slapped his shoulder, "stop dawdling, remember your mission, and keep up."

Night Ten nodded, no longer hesitating, and with his sniper rifle strapped on, he jogged towards the gun tower.

Then Old White turned to look at the players behind him.

"All teams, pay attention!"

"Proceed as planned!"

With eyes gleaming with excitement, the team leaders answered in unison over the communication channel.

"Yes!"

Two Strength-type players, under the cover of eight team members, pushed a raft loaded with a whopping 200 kilograms of Dynamite towards the outer wall of the headquarters.

Meanwhile, the remaining one hundred and thirty players, in teams of ten, with three to four teams grouped together, spread out in multiple directions to clear the Looters in the headquarters and to surround the building.

Rock Tooth's subordinates followed the players in storming the headquarters, quickly taking control of the nearby gun towers, and preventing reinforcements from the thousand teams in the other defense sectors.

Simultaneously, an H-1 Air Gunboat, modified with a twin 37mm cannon, arrived over the four new districts and entered a hovering state.

Coordinated with the Burning Corps's thrown red smoke grenades and reported coordinates, the suspended cannon barrels immediately unleashed furious fire upon the Looters hiding in the ruins.

The interior of the headquarters flickered with fire, and relentless explosion sounds echoed, like firecrackers during new year's celebration.

As the sound of gunfire approached, Golden Tooth, crouching in the headquarters, finally showed a hint of panic on his face.

Just then, the door was pushed open.

He grabbed the Chief Guard who ran in from outside and shouted at him.

"What's going on outside?"

Faced with that dark greenish face, panic was written all over the Chief Guard's face as he stammered.

"The, the people of the New Alliance... they've broken in!"

Broken in?!

Golden Tooth was frantic and angry.

"How is that possible! I've just sent Fox Tooth to reinforce the front lines, how could it be so fast—"

"No, not from the south, those people came in from the Western Gate, by the sound of gunfire, I'm afraid there's a thousand!" The Chief Guard, whose collar was being grasped, said in panic, "Lord, now's not the time to discuss this, this place is no longer safe, you must retreat quickly!"

The west?

If he remembered correctly that was Rock Tooth's defense sector.

Golden Tooth was momentarily stunned, his facial muscles instantly squeezed into a knot due to anger.

A thousand nearly approaching undetected was impossible unless someone betrayed him!

But he never expected that it would be his own direct subordinate, Rock Tooth, whom he had placed in the western line.

"This cutthroat bastard! A coward without guts!"

His teeth gritted with a cracking sound, Golden Tooth squeezed out half a sentence through his teeth and angrily let go of the Chief Guard's collar.

"Retreat! Take me to the north side!"

The Chief Guard immediately nodded and signaled to the guards nearby, escorting Golden Tooth out of the headquarters.

The enemy had already made it to his headquarters.

If he didn't leave now, he was afraid he'd be finished right here. The flares had already shot up into the sky, and other Centurions were leading people to reinforce this place. As long as he could survive tonight, there was still hope...

Golden Tooth swore in his heart that once he caught Rock Tooth, he would skin the traitor's scalp to make into insoles.

Some people went through the hallway, retreating toward the back door of the headquarters.

However, at that moment, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted from one side of the corridor; flying debris and billowing smoke rolled in from outside.

Caught completely off guard, the four guards staggered to regain their stance, only to be riddled into sieves by the bullets coming straight at them.

Looking at the soldiers filing in from the smoke and dust, terror covered the Chief Guard's face; he had forgotten to shoot.

They blasted open the outer wall of the command center!

"Surrender!"

"You're surrounded!"

Faced with those dark gun barrels, Golden Tooth's eyes flashed with a hint of panic, but that panic was quickly replaced by ferocity and madness.

"Never! You won't catch me!"

"That's not up to you!" Fang Chang smirked, pulled back the bowstring, and aimed at his leg.

However, before the bowstring was fully drawn, a sudden burst of gunfire erupted from the other end of the corridor.

Caught off guard, three players fell to the ground instantly, and Fang Chang, who had been shot in the arm, rolled quickly to take cover behind a partially collapsed wall.

Seeing the three fallen bodies, Wu Lun, clad in exoskeleton armor, curved his lips into a cold smile.

And Golden Tooth, upon seeing Wu Lun, a twisted joy suddenly spread across his face.

"Apostle... Lord Apostle save me!"

Lord Apostle?

No one had ever seen such a devoted expression on this man's face.

"What a waste... We gave you so much help, and you've turned this sure win into such a mess," Wu Lun coldly looked at him. He bit his teeth and signaled to the three men by his side, "Bring him over."

Despite a million reluctances, despite a million scornful thoughts, this man before him was an ally of The Church.

He was just an Apostle and had no right to question the Saint Heir's decision.

The Ya Clan was still barely holding the frontline. If Golden Tooth died or was captured, not only would the city's Looters crumble into disarray, but the Chewing Bone Tribe and its clans would also split.

By then, not only would the mission to retrieve the Black Box be jeopardized, but The Church's plans in River Valley Province would also fall apart!

He had to get this fool out no matter what!

Intense gunfire broke out inside the command center.

With the aid of exoskeleton equipment as well as tactical helmet's built-in assisted aiming and night vision, The Church's Apostle managed to repel the players who had breached the command center.

Since it was an infiltration mission, players didn't carry expensive equipment such as light or heavy cavalry exoskeletons, and in just two minutes, they had left behind more than a dozen bodies.

"Damn... Are those guys cheating?!" Corner Old Six, with two holes in his leg and crouching in a corner, cursed as he changed magazines.

"Where's the RPG?! Bring out the RPG!" the Lost Rookie bellowed.

Sniper Bai was shocked, "What the fuck, weren't we supposed to capture them alive?!"

"If they're going to run, what's the point of capturing them alive? Just take the body and settle it! It won't make much of a difference in points anyway!" the Item Carrier took down the RPG flying on his back, shouldered it, and was about to fire, but a hand grenade was indeed thrown behind their cover.

What the fuck?!

The four little players were stunned for a moment, not having time to curse, and were instantly engulfed by the explosion's shrapnel and flames.

Four more players killed in action.

At this point, Old White's voice came over the communication channel.

"Fang Chang, what's your situation there?"

"Fuck..."

Looking at the blood gushing from his shoulder, Fang Chang bandaged himself with a tourniquet and cursed.

"There's an expert on the other side! I think I saw an exoskeleton... It could be the guys we ran into in East District, Qingquan City!"

Why bother?

The entire command center was surrounded by them, and an aerial gunboat was circling overhead, with two 37mm cannons at the ready.

Any resistance was nothing but a last-ditch struggle.

But hearing about the exoskeleton, Old White's face changed instantly, and he remembered the previous encounter in East District, Qingquan City.

If it were those guys...

With the current way of fighting, it really might be difficult to wrap things up!

Not daring to be careless, Old White immediately connected the communication channel to the aerial gunboat and requested air support.

"...This is Burning Corps, we've run into some trouble, requesting a Spring Knife for clean-up."

After a brief pause, a succinct and clear reply came through the channel.

"...H-1 Air Gunboat received, the Spring Knife is en route, watch your heads."

"Roger that!"

Ending the communication, Old White gestured to Wild Wind and pointed at a nearby entrance.

The latter immediately understood, taking out a headset-shaped neural connection device from his backpack and putting it on his head.

At the same time, the H-1 Air Gunboat circling in the sky released an inconspicuous black spot from its cabin.

Under the cover of night, the black dot hurtled toward the ground and sprang open six rotors like a Spring Knife just before reaching the target area.

The roar of the propellers sounded, and the high-speed gliding drone, like an arrow released from the string, drilled into the concrete wall blasted open by explosives.

At this very moment, Wu Lun was leading three squad members in a fierce battle with the invading Burning Corps, covering Golden Tooth while retreating towards the back door of headquarters. He was completely unaware that danger was approaching.

"**How much longer until your reinforcements arrive? You expect me to hold off a division with just three people?"** Wu Lun shouted, grabbing Golden Tooth by the collar.

"They're already on their way here, should be quick!" Feeling equally desperate, Golden Tooth overlooked the rudeness and spoke with a shaken voice.

Wu Lun let go of his collar and continued firing down the hallway behind them.

After suffering over a dozen casualties, the assault from the New Alliance suddenly decreased significantly, easing the pressure quite a bit.

It seems they don't have many people either...

Thinking so, Wu Lun let out a slight sigh of relief.

However, at that very moment, a buzzing noise resembling a swarm of bees emerged from the darkness, and a sudden premonition of crisis overwhelmed Wu Lun's heart.

Being an experienced man, he quickly realized the danger and frantically issued an order.

"Drones!"

"Shoot them down!"

Four rifles opened fire at once, creating an orange-yellow net in the pitch-black hallway.

Six rotors were instantly ruined, but the drone, speeding close to the ground, continued on its momentum and crashed right in front of their cover.

Wu Lun's face changed dramatically, shouting loudly.

"Get down—"

In the narrow corridor, a fiery explosion burst forth.

15 kilograms of high explosives not only blew the concrete wall away but even melted the steel with its scorching blast wave.

The heat made the floor scorching hot.

Fang Chang, who had injured his shoulder, walked in with Quit Smoking and a bunch of players through the broken wall.

"Damn... that's some serious firepower." Quit Smoking poked at the helmet fragments on the ground, unable to help but click his tongue in amazement.

"Too bad we didn't capture anyone alive."

Digging through the rubble, Fang Chang uncovered half of a body that was blown to pieces. After searching for a while, he finally found a head connected to a shoulder under the concrete debris.

Turning back towards the Centurion who had come in with them, Fang Chang spoke in the not quite standard language of the United Human.

"Is this the guy?"

Looking at the unrecognizably disfigured Golden Tooth, the Centurion involuntarily held his breath, stiffly nodding his head.

"It's him."

Even if there was nothing left but a shoulder and a head or even if he was burned to ashes, he could still identify the man.

However, he never imagined that the once invincible Looter King, the leader of the Chewing Bone Tribe, would meet such a tragic end.

Looking at the unflinching man in front of him, the Centurion's Adam's apple moved, and a deep-seated fear was etched into his eyes.

These guys...

Are downright devils!

Thankfully, the war had ended, and he didn't have to face them on the battlefield...

Ignoring the NPC's changing expression, Quit Smoking, who was holding a submachine gun, stepped forward and looked over the half-body for a moment.

"Ts, if we want to hang this guy up, we're gonna need to fix him up a body."

"There's no need for us to worry about that."

Receiving a sack from a teammate, Fang Chang shoved all the recyclable parts into it.

If this were in the real world, the stuff in his hands would probably have scared him pissless.

However, Wasteland OL is based on the principle of dream-based virtual reality technology. The brain's defense mechanism and the game's sensory filter settings significantly block out excessive stimuli.

It's much like how seeing a zombie in a dream wouldn't necessarily wake you up immediately, unless the zombie caught up and bit you.

Some braver souls might even need to be bitten for a while before waking up.

Having collected the mission materials, Fang Chang dusted off his hands and lightly tapped on the VM twice.

"Golden Tooth has been killed... requesting further instructions."

After a brief wait, that familiar voice came through the communication channel.

"You've done well."

There was a tone of satisfaction and a hint of relief in the Manager's voice as he continued.

"Your bravery and loyalty have left a profound impression; this moment will go down in the history of the Alliance."

At the same time, a series of announcements popped up on the VM screen.

[Worldwide Announcement: Expansion pack BOSS "Skull Breaker·Golden Tooth" has been killed by the "Burning Corps"!]

[Worldwide Announcement: The expansion pack "Blades Unsheathed" will enter the reward settlement phase in 24 hours, where points earned will be available to exchange for expansion-limited rewards, titles, and lottery entries. Players with unfinished tasks should make use of the remaining time...]

[Worldwide Announcement: Since the leader of the "Burning Corps" has chosen to disclose the achievement, it will be recorded in the Hall of Fame!]

Chapter 331: Occupying Western Province!

Gunshots continuously resounded from the east.

Chu Guang, standing beside a wooden raft, muttered as he looked up at the "flame" flickering incessantly in the night sky.

"...Has it not ended yet?"

Had something gone awry?

Just as he was becoming frustrated, a wooden raft drifted from the eastern alley toward him.

Seeing the man standing on the raft, who was indeed one of his Centurions, Chu Guang's heart leapt to his throat.

The raft reached the shore.

Without waiting for his trusted subordinate to steady himself, Chu Guang grabbed his shoulders, urgently asking,

"How did it go? Who won?"

"The New Alliance won... they've taken over the headquarters," the Centurion immediately replied.

"And Golden Tooth?" Chu Guang pressed on, "What about him? Was he captured?"

The Centurion swallowed.

"He's dead!"

Chu Guang: "Are you sure?!"

The Centurion nodded vigorously, his voice tense.

"Sure! I saw it with my own eyes! A cannonball from the New Alliance went through a hole in the wall, then there was an explosion... Not only Golden Tooth, but several Apostles from the Torch Church were killed!"

Hearing this, Chu Guang finally relaxed and couldn't help but clench his fists.

"Excellent."

Seeing the joy on Chu Guang's face, the Centurion who had seen Golden Tooth's body wore a complex expression.

That tyrant was dead.

The war had finally ended.

However, it ended with their defeat.

Although the New Alliance had promised that their treatment would be different from ordinary prisoners, it didn't change the fact that they were captives.

As for what the future held...

Probably only heaven knew.

Noticing the complex look on his subordinate's face, Chu Guang realized that showing too much happiness might be inappropriate at this time.

So, he coughed and patted the Centurion's shoulder.

"Don't be too sad. It's all that fool's fault for following Dylon's terrible advice, throwing all the tanks into a critical gamble, leading our tribe to the abyss. The failure isn't on us."

"Moreover, the Manager of the New Alliance told me in a letter that surrendering is only half a loss, so we've only lost half."

"That's not a bad outcome, so stand tall. Now we are going to take over those prisoners... there's no shame in this."

...

Upon learning of Golden Tooth's death, Chu Guang immediately led over a thousand of his followers from the west side defense region to the headquarters, coordinating with the Burning Corps to take control of the nearby streets' checkpoints and guard posts.

Though it meant turning their guns against their friends, they had no other choice by then.

To demonstrate his loyalty to the New Alliance, Chu Guang didn't hesitate to order his tribe to fire on their brothers, even rushing to the frontline to supervise the battle personally.

Initially, his followers hesitated, but as casualties occurred, they got swept up in the fervor, setting aside their internal conflicts.

They were Looters.

They didn't have moral constraints or psychological burdens.

Attaching to the powerful was just part of the law of the jungle.

"Chu Guang, have you gone mad?!"

Cloud Tooth, prompting his men to advance, saw Chu Guang behind opposite cover amidst blazing flames, his face showing a nearly insane expression.

Facing his former comrade, Chu Guang felt slightly awkward, but it only lasted half a second.

"Arguing is pointless, everything now is that fool's own doing... surrender! Golden Tooth is dead!"

"Already... dead?"

Shock and disbelief flashed across Cloud Tooth's eyes, quickly replaced by deep hatred and anger as he bellowed,

"Never!"

Chu Guang no longer masked his feelings, wholly shedding his restraint, raising his machine gun and firing across the street at the other cover, fiercely shouting,

"Then go to hell!"

The New Alliance soldiers triggered a smoke grenade, throwing it vigorously.

The red smoke crossed nearly a hundred meters, landing squarely on Cloud Tooth's position.

Before the Looters could react, a rain of fire descended from the sky, blowing them and their cover skyward.

Watching the thick smoke rise ahead, Chu Guang silently mourned his former comrades for half a second, then clenched his fist tightly and harshly said,

"Well done!"

Don't blame me, brothers, rest in peace.

It's out of my hands...

With Cloud Tooth's death, the morale of his thousand team instantly plummeted.

Facing the fierce firepower of the New Alliance and Chu Guang's troops, the remaining Looters quickly fell into disarray.

At this moment, a broadcast rang out around the surrounding urban area.

"I am the Manager of the Alliance."

"Looters of the Ya Clan, your headquarters has been occupied, Skull Breaker·Golden Tooth was killed by our soldiers while trying to escape."

"Your defeat is certain, surrender is your only way out!"

"We do not kill prisoners, but will show no mercy to those who resist!"

Golden Tooth...

Dead?

The Looters heading toward the headquarters showed confusion and fear on their faces.

When they heard of Golden Tooth's death, it felt as if the entire sky had collapsed.

From the Thousands of leaders to the rifle-toting lackeys, everyone fell into confusion, not knowing what to do.

In the southern frontline of the urban area, standing beside Monkey Fang, a strategist from the Army softly sighed.

"...Surrender, we've already lost."

Monkey Fang's face twisted with anger as he grabbed his collar.

"Shut your mouth! Who do you think brought us to this point today?"

"Is it because of Dylon?" the strategist asked with a sarcastic tone. "Indeed it was his fault... relying on you all was the most foolish decision of his life. If you want to kill me, just do it, because you don't have much time left."

Monkey Fang stared at him with murderous eyes for a long time, but eventually, he let go of the grip he had on the man's collar.

"...What should I do?"

"Take your men and surrender. The New Alliance's bombardment of the Southern Urban District is clearly a feint; their main force is on the west side. If you surrender before they enter the city, it will be more sincere than waiting for them to break in."

Monkey Fang swallowed hard and spoke nervously,

"But, but we don't have flyers; I burned all the flyers we found."

Lord Jin Ya had ordered that anyone secretly keeping flyers would be executed; Monkey Fang dared not disobey and would search his subordinates' pockets several times a day to ensure there were no traitors in his team.

Hearing this naive statement, the strategist only scoffed.

"What are you talking about, foolishly? Do you really think your subordinates are that obedient? I bet if you just declare the war over, they can produce over a thousand surrender tickets on the spot."

Monkey Fang's face turned alternating shades of pale and flushed, his fists clenched and unclenched tightly.

After a fierce internal struggle, the desire to survive prevailed.

Under his command, over a thousand Looters from the Southern Urban District came out of their hiding places with their hands on their heads, walking batch by batch toward the New Alliance's position.

At this very moment, at the position of the New Alliance, the Skeleton Corps was guarding the front line of the trench.

"I mean, they surrendered just like that?!"

That's too cowardly!

Holding a telescope, Mole, watching the group of Looters walking towards them with hands on their heads, couldn't help but curse under his breath,

"After all, NPCs only have one life, not shameful, not shameful."

Holding a wooden meal box, Elena was chewing slowly and spoke lazily.

Seeing him eating so deliciously, Gnome King Riches standing next to her couldn't help but swallow and glanced at his meal box.

"What's that?"

A dark shell covered with leaves that probably were spices.

At least it looked cooked.

"Shellfish shrimp, I caught them by the lake, want one?" Elena generously offered him a toothpick.

Though hesitant, hearing that it was shrimp, Gnome King Riches relaxed his guard a bit and skewered a shrimp ball as thick as a thumb.

The shape of the shellfish shrimp was quite unique; he stared for a long while and couldn't see the head or the pincers, hesitated for a moment, and then finally threw it into his mouth.

Hmmm...

The taste was unexpectedly okay?

Just a bit fishy, smelled like the river.

Watching his good brother crunching away, Elena reminded him,

"Remember to spit out the shell, it's tough to chew, quite painful."

"Painful? Why did it break the moment I bit it?" Gnome King Riches, who was still chewing, was startled.

Elena also froze for a moment, her expression suddenly a little awkward.

"Uh... are you sure you're eating shrimp?"

Gnome King Riches was dumbfounded, and his chewing jaw stopped.

"Holy shit, there's something else in your bowl?"

Elena glanced subtly around.

"...No worries, maybe a few snails got mixed in, not a big deal."

"Ugh!" Before he could finish, Gnome King Riches, leaning on the car door, began to vomit.

Putting down his telescope, Mole glanced at Riches.

"...Daring to steal food from Old Na's bowl, you really must have an iron head."

Upon hearing this, Elena holding the meal box immediately objected, "Damn! You say that as if the food I eat isn't human food."

In the chasm, the escaping Mole retorted, "Which normal human would roast iron worms!"

"What iron worms, that's mantis legs! And not all mantis have iron worms!"

While the two bickered, the Looters with their hands on their heads had already reached the front of the New Alliance's position.

Liuding, clad in exoskeleton, led a fully-armed hundred-strong team forward and took custody of these captives in batches.

All Looters above the rank of centurion were kept separately and imprisoned within the position.

The rest were placed in front of the trenches, squatting down with their heads in their hands, waiting to be sent to the newly built POW camp in Qingstone County.

At the same time, at the temporary command post of the New Alliance.

Looking at the VM screen, Chu Guang's face, which had been tense, finally relaxed into a smile.

"It's over."

Vanus looked at him, surprised.

"The command post broken down?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, although there were some deviations in the plan, and we didn't capture Jin Ya alive, recovering his body serves the same purpose."

The Ya Clan could maintain an army of tens of thousands largely due to the personal prestige and bloody authoritarian rule of the chief.

Once Jin Ya himself was dead, whether killed in battle or from illness or natural causes, the tribe would quickly disintegrate.

Unless a new strong leader emerged to take charge.

But under such circumstances, that possibility was almost nil.

And with the fall of the Ya Clan, the Chewing Bone Tribe that swept across the River Valley Province would also come to an utter end...

"In less than two months, you destroyed a Looter Tribe nearly 30,000 strong... you've created a miracle," Vanus couldn't help but remark.

Chu Guang smiled modestly.

"The miracle wasn't created by me, but by the people of the New Alliance."

Vanus looked at him, pensive, and nodded after a moment.

"So that's how it is."

If that was the case...

Victory was indeed within reason.

...

Sporadic gunfire continued throughout the night.

As news of Jin Ya's death spread, Looters hearing the broadcast gradually emerged from their shelters, raising their hands high, surrendering in an organized manner.

A hint of dawn crept across the sky.

The main urban areas gradually fell silent from gunfire, and West State City finally welcomed a peaceful dawn.

Chu Guang, clad in powered armor, squinted at the twilight from a distance and turned to Liuding standing by his side.

"A new settlement, how about calling it Dawn City? Or do you have a better idea?"

Liuding thought for a long time, but lacking any real culture, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Good name!"

Chu Guang laughed heartily and waved his right hand forward.

"Advance!"

The First Army Corps stood by at their original position.

The Second Corps and other player corps such as Death and Jungle began to advance.

The resistance within the urban area had largely ended, but not everyone had surrendered willingly.

Despite a series of defeats and brutally oppressive tactics pushing the Ya Clan to the brink of endurance, there were still some die-hard loyalists willing to fight for their tribe until the last moment.

"These despicable cowards! They've betrayed their own flag and promises!"

"Surrender? Hahaha, dream on!"

"Fox Tooth" roared in anger at the forces under Rock Tooth, retreating and fighting alongside the remnants into an abandoned commercial center.

Since the defending troops in the southern urban district had surrendered on the spot, he was immediately put in a disadvantageous position upon heading to reinforce the southern front.

Facing isolation without support, more and more of his men began to drop behind and flee.

By now, he couldn't even muster three hundred-man teams.

Fortunately, the abandoned commercial center's underground parking housed an ammunition depot.

Inside were military supplies and provisions for the southern front, enough to last a considerable time. The solid foundation and above-ground structures could withstand bombings and shelling well.

To seize this ammunition depot, personnel would have to be sent in.

As Chu Guang pondered which corps to assign this task to, a captive he had brought along as a guide suddenly stepped forward, cupping his hands in salute.

"Supreme and most high Manager, if you are willing to trust me, please leave this stubborn fool to me! I am willing to lead my men into the underground parking to capture this ammunition depot and offer it to you!"

As he spoke, Monkey Fang's eyes were filled with flattery and ingratiation.

Given the option, he would rather not go to the mines to labor.

On the Wasteland, even being Cannon Fodder was better than hard labor.

The former at least had a chance to enjoy spoils of war and an opportunity for a turnaround, while the latter was pure drudgery, with the only fate being to work oneself to death in the mines.

Chu Guang initially wanted to tell him to stay out of the way, but upon reconsidering, saw this as a potentially good opportunity.

The war was over, and he no longer needed Cannon Fodder, but he did need people to manage prisoners of war.

At present, the only reliable individuals he had were Rock Tooth and his subordinates.

These men had surrendered and aimed their guns at their own, making it impossible for them to be in the same place as other prisoners.

However, as they were all from the same faction, employing them exclusively as overseers was improper.

To prevent a too-solid middle layer forming in the POW camp, it was necessary to support a "second in command" to check Rock Tooth.

Thinking this, Chu Guang looked toward Liuding standing beside him.

"The thousand-man team that surrendered last night, are they still at our position?"

Liuding nodded and replied.

"Yes, they are currently held by the First Army Corps."

Chu Guang then turned his attention to Monkey Fang.

"I will send an army corps to support you. I hope to see results before nightfall."

Monkey Fang was ecstatic.

"Thank you for your trust! I promise to bring you 'Fox Tooth's' head!"

"Try to capture him alive if possible," Chu Guang instructed before waving him off.

Monkey Fang's troops had already assembled at the entrance of the underground garage. The hundred men who formed the vanguard were equipped with captured PU-9 submachine guns, each receiving two magazines distributed by the logistics personnel.

Eager to prove himself, Monkey Fang volunteered to lead the charge himself.

Chu Guang nodded in approval and also instructed his quartermaster to give the suicide squad an additional offensive grenade.

At the same time, three hundred players from the Death Legion also received the task to clear up remaining enemies.

The expansion pack would enter the scoring phase in 24 hours; this was the last chance to earn points.

The players who received the missions rubbed their hands together in excitement, while those who didn't showed envious expressions.

"Dammit! We are also trained in infantry combat, why aren't we going?"

"Exactly! It's a dark curtain!"

"There must be some unspeakable py deal behind this!"

"Get lost, what py deal? This is about letting the professionals handle it! You don't know jack!" Debt Giant Eye said with a smirk on his face, already shouldering a flamethrower borrowed from the Lin Army Corps.

Walking to the front of the team, Edge Shoveling yelled out,

"Brothers, switch to submachine guns and flamethrowers; those with bayonets, mount them; those without, carry your shovels, ready to enter the tunnels!"

The members of Death Legion let out excited cries.

"Ao ao ao!"

Watching their overwhelming fighting spirit, the paratroopers preparing to lead the charge swallowed nervously.

To be so excited about a potentially deadly street fight.

Were these people all mad?

"Let's leave this place to them; we'll continue moving forward."

Chu Guang ordered a few NPC supervisors from the Second Corps and waved his hand, leading the main force deeper into the urban area.

The temporary placement area for the prisoners of war was set up at the former site of the Civic Square in the southern part of the new district.

There was a large open space here with no obstacles for cover. The theater on the north side of the square had a good view, and a single machine gun was enough to hold the entire square.

Throughout the night, prisoners were brought here continuously.

Their casualties were not very severe; apart from a few who resisted desperately, many were captured by the guerrilla team while trying to escape north or surrendered systematically with their superiors.

Initially, Rock Tooth had them tied up with ropes.

Later, as there were too many people and not enough rope, they simply stripped off their beast skin jackets, tearing them into strips of leather to use as makeshift ropes and bandages.

The weather in May was bearable, but if it had been a few months earlier, many might have frozen to death.

By dawn, the entire square was packed with people squatting, nearly filling the whole open space.

Rock Tooth and his subordinates stood around the square, rifles at the ready, in groups of ten, vigilantly watching the crouched prisoners.

Using their peripheral vision to stealthily watch those traitors with white cloths wrapped around their arms, the prisoners, goblin-like in appearance, all had eyes flashing with hate.

However, upon seeing the soldiers of the New Alliance, that hate all turned to dread and fear.

They were truly frightened!

"...Respected and supreme Manager, your most loyal servant, Rock Tooth, welcomes your arrival!"

Upon seeing the power armor at the front of the procession, Rock Tooth immediately recognized Chu Guang's identity, hurriedly put on a flattering smile, and went forward to greet him.

Chu Guang glanced at the crowd of people filling the square.

"How many prisoners are there?"

"21,708 people!" Rock Tooth immediately replied.

"Are you sure about that number?"

"Uh, approximately... there might be a difference of around one or two hundred," Rock Tooth said, sweating profusely.

Chu Guang smiled faintly but did not make things difficult for him.

In fact, he had already directed the Hummingbird drone to hover above the square, having Xiao Qi count for him.

A total of 21,573 people, with some statistical errors, but the errors were not significant.

Some of these POWs were direct descendants of the Ya Clan, while others were from the Eastern Provinces or the Bugra Free State.

Before paying off their sins, Chu Guang had no intention of letting them go home.

"...Having so many people gathered here is a risk; I suggest transporting them in batches back to Qingstone County for custody," Liuding advised in a low voice, coming up beside Chu Guang.

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said,

"The POW camp in Qingstone County probably can't accommodate so many people; our initial estimate was between eight thousand and ten thousand prisoners, we didn't build that many houses."

The number of prisoners far exceeded their expectations.

He never expected them to surrender so quickly, without even encountering a decent resistance.

"Then, perhaps..." a flicker of ruthlessness passed through Liuding's eyes.

Rock Tooth, standing to one side, didn't dare to make a sound, standing there trembling with fear.

Chu Guang gently shook his head.

"There's no need; the mine in Qingstone County needs people, and Dawn City also needs people. Send some to Qingstone County, and the rest can stay where they are and build their own POW camp."

So many people were indeed a risk, but they also represented an opportunity.

To catch up with those wasteland forces that had developed over a century, stability could not be their only priority.

Looking at Rock Tooth standing to one side, Chu Guang continued.

"Besides these prisoners, what about those slaves you captured? And the craftsmen who made weapons for you, where are they now?"

Rock Tooth nervously said,

"Those slaves and craftsmen are scattered in the cells in the new district... I've arranged for people to watch them."

"How many people?"

Rock Tooth hesitated, obviously not yet having had time to count.

"About... just over ten thousand."

"Ten thousand?" Liuding was taken aback, frowning, "Why so many?"

Rock Tooth nervously clamped his mouth shut, not daring to speak.

In fact, at their peak, they had nearly fifty thousand prisoners and thirty-five thousand members.

But then they faced famine, rodent infestations, disease, plus the cessation of warfare and the failure of land reclamation, many slaves died.

That left just over ten thousand.

"There are over five thousand people registered in Town of Hope... plus these over ten thousand slaves, if we give them all resident status, our food reserves might not handle the burden," the accompanying quartermaster adviser whispered.

Chu Guang fell silent for a while.

"Now it's the end of May; by holding out until the July harvest of wheat and early rice, we should be able to sustain them. Opening the trade routes to the south, we could buy food from the farmers in Brocade River Province using copper mines and sulfur..."

If the situation became urgent, using nutrient paste to bridge the gap was also allowed.

Pausing briefly, Chu Guang continued.

"...As for residential status, we promised to issue it to every survivor in Town of Hope; just do what we said before. As for those liberated slaves, initially issue them the status of supervised identities by the standards of refugees."

Supervised identities are a buffer between refugees and residents, with limited residential rights.

Normally, incoming refugees are given supervised identities. Only after a period of learning and work, mastering a basic living skill, they could change their registration information and obtain a residence permit.

This method could minimize the societal impact and burden from incoming populations.

The quartermaster quickly noted down the Manager's orders.

"What about those craftsmen?"

Chu Guang: "Keep them confined, but separate from other prisoners."

The quartermaster nodded.

"Yes!"

Chu Guang then turned to Rock Tooth.

"Take me to that Golden Tooth's palace; let's see what treasures that guy has hidden."

Upon seeing that the Manager had stopped his rigorous inquiries, Rock Tooth finally breathed a sigh of relief, immediately nodding and bowing energetically.

"Right away! I'll take you there!"

The group marched imposingly toward the new district.

Meanwhile, a series of victorious messages, as if given wings, flew back from the front line to City of Dawn. They swept through the town square broadcasts, reaching everyone's ears.

The New Alliance has taken over West State City!

Skull Breaker·Golden Tooth executed!

The Ya Clan utterly annihilated, over twenty thousand Looters captured, nearly ten thousand slaves liberated!

Each piece of news alone was enough to astonish those who enjoyed such spectacles for an entire day.

At the entrance to the trading post.

Merchants leading double-headed cows, mercenaries, and travelers with their backpacks all paused in their steps, exchanging surprised glances.

"Golden Tooth is dead...?"

"They're serious?!"

"If the Ya Clan is really done for... The Chewing Bone Tribe must be close to its end too," a rifle-bearing mercenary said in surprise, staring at the broadcast.

"Finally over! It's been nearly two years since I've been to a pub in Bugra to see my old flame... Hope she still remembers me," his companion couldn't help but say.

"Hahaha, those bone-chewing hyenas are finally going to hell! Praise the grand Alliance, praise the Federation's Manager! Tianshui will remember his deeds!" a tired merchant shouted excitedly, drawing sidelong glances from the bystanders.

It was clear the group of Looters had made him suffer great losses.

"Thank the omnipotent Great Antler God, this land has finally welcomed its master..." a traveler disguised as an old man devoutly knelt on the ground and prayed.

Sim, who was far away in the headquarters of Red River Town Horseshoe Iron Business Group, heard about West State City through the telegram and stood petrified behind his desk.

After a long while, like a stunned bird, he finally came to his senses and squeezed out half a sentence questioning his own life.

"...Could it be a fake?"

Chapter 332: Even if it's twenty thousand pigs, it would take a while to catch them, right?

Even 20,000 pigs running into the city would take a while to round up.

Moreover, what about people?

Red River Town and the Snake Tribe had been fighting up north for nearly half a year, and the amount spent on mercenaries and military purchases could have bought a mine.

Yet, even so, they had gained no advantage over the looters.

The news reached more than just Sim, it also reached other business leaders and mine owners in Red River Town.

Soon, this significant news spread throughout Red River Town…

In the Mining Association's meeting hall.

It had been several minutes since the Association's President announced the meeting's topic.

The individuals seated at the meeting table looked at each other, and for a long time, no one spoke.

Unable to stand the eerie atmosphere in the meeting room, a mine owner hooked his index finger around his collar, loosening it, and broke the silence with a hesitant voice.

"…Is the news reliable?"

The President of the Association nodded complexly.

"…It should be reliable, as they would hardly smack their own faces with a lie that could be easily exposed."

Validating the truth of this news is too easy—sending someone to check if West State City has indeed been taken over will suffice.

Moreover, there's no need to falsify information.

Announcing a victory in the war early would not bring any tangible advantages to the New Alliance.

Whispers began to fill the meeting room, and people started discussing quietly.

"…I think we need to reconsider our relationship with the New Alliance."

"Should we establish an office there?"

"But under whose name… Should each of us do it individually, or should it be under the Mining Association?"

"I think both are necessary, even if we don't consider their military power, they are an important trading partner."

The war had deeply shaken them.

From the lightning attack on Qingstone County to the battle in Pine Forest... Given the intelligence currently have, every battle the New Alliance fought against the Chewing Bone Tribe, whether offensive or defensive, ended in crushing victory.

Although it was possible they exaggerated their victories and hid their own casualties, the power they demonstrated was impressive enough.

A nascent survivor force with no more than ten thousand people.

In just two months, they managed to defeat the Looter Tribe with 30000 soldiers and 27 tanks!

Such terrifying power made them very daunting!

Moreover, unlike Giant Stone City, an old survivor force that had ceased expanding.

This newly sprung New Alliance didn't just possess enormous potential for warfare, but indeed expanded its territory.

Initially, they owned only a park, then northern "North Suburb" of Clear Spring City, and now they had expanded to the shore of West State Lake over a hundred kilometers north of Clear Spring City.

Where would they head next?

Continue north?

Or to the east…

While everyone was discussing how to handle their relationship with the New Alliance, someone suddenly stood up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if my memory serves right, today's topic is supposed to be about our future relations with the New Alliance. Yet until now, what I have heard is all about how we should appease our neighbor… Do you truly believe that we can coexist peacefully with the New Alliance?"

Seeing everyone looking towards him, Sim paused, then continued.

"You must not forget, the first thing they did after taking down West State City was to announce the liberation of the looters' slaves!"

Faces filled with surprise, while those, like Sim, who were privy to more detailed information remained silent.

The meeting table soon buzzed with noisy discussions.

Liberating slaves…

This was a sensitive topic indeed for Red River Town.

The "mines" of Red River Town were not traditional mines, but rather mountains of tightly packed, buried garbage. Since the landfill data was lost in the war, it's unknown what might be dug up next, leading to frequent mining accidents.

They could not hire free people to mine these hills—it wasn't a matter of how much it cost, but rather that the return was not worth the investment.

Red River Town could not function without slaves; that was a consensus among all mine owners and business leaders.

If the Blue Note was for coordinating mining capacities to help miners get better prices for their ore, then the Red Note issued for buying slaves was to facilitate all major mining fields to get a stable labor supply…

A business leader raised his hand to object.

"…Your information isn't accurate; I heard they gave those slaves the status of 'wards', which clearly does not mean they were entirely freed."

His name was Andrew, the leader of the Gray Rhino Chamber of Commerce, mainly dealing in imports—be it weapons, food, or feed for slaves.

Sim knew the same tidbit of information as he had set up an office in City of Dawn, but he wasn't particularly concerned.

The only business involving slaves in Gray Rhino's operations was just nutritional paste.

Andrew raising an objection was completely expected, and Sim confidently continued.

"Does nitpicking over terminology matter? Whether they're called wards, managers, or any other new term they come up with… it can't mask what they're actually doing."

"Now they've liberated the slaves of West State City. What if one day they come to liberate the slaves we have? Mr. Mudis, from the Foggy Mountain Mine, would you be willing to grant freedom to the slaves in your mine?"

The bald man shifted his gaze away.

Sim no longer looked at him, instead turning to another man—his strategic ally, Dennis from Black Stone Mine.

"…Is it still you, my dear Mr. Dennis?"

"I don't think it's necessary… Some slaves are originally Looters or Clones, or synthetic beings about to be scrapped. Moreover, even on their own territories, they just buy the slaves from the Slave Owners, without forcing them to hand over the slaves."

Dennis spoke with slight hesitation, but his tense expression betrayed his inner anxiety.

Seeing through his thoughts, Sim continued forcefully.

"All your assumptions are based on what you think 'isn't necessary'. Just a year ago, the Chewing Bone Tribe was still trading with us, and didn't they turn their backs on us just like that?"

A business association executive couldn't help but speak out.

"What should we do then? Are we supposed to oppose them?"

Sim immediately responded.

"Of course not, with our current strength, opposing them is of no benefit, but we must recognize one thing—getting too close to these Blue Jackets is extremely dangerous, we should at least remain vigilant."

"We need to first unite and establish an organization more centralized than the Mining Association. It should take on more responsibilities, not just issue Red and Blue Tickets, but also manage the creation of a standing army, handle relations with other Survivor Settlements, decide who to do business with, how to conduct it, and how to manage our own settlements."

"After that, we should strengthen ties with neighboring Survivor Settlements and lessen our dependence on the New Alliance… both in terms of weapons and military."

Pausing for a moment, Sim raised his voice and forcefully knocked on the Table twice.

"Gentlemen, the alarm has been rung, and River Valley Province is facing a transformation unseen in a century, the old methods no longer apply."

"Whether you like it or not, if we don't want to be eliminated by this world, we must look forward."

"I'm done speaking."

As Sim's last words fell, the conference table erupted into noise.

Some people supported it, others opposed.

However, oddly enough, the ones supporting "the establishment of a more centralized management institution" were mostly the mine owners.

Conversely, it was the business association executives, Sim's peers, who opposed him this time.

The assembly held steadfastly to their own opinions, moving from initial debate to nearly coming to blows.

"A more centralized institution? How much more centralization is needed? Do we find someone to take over and manage all our businesses?"

"I think Sim makes sense!"

"That makes sense my ass! Isn't it good for everyone to handle their own affairs?"

"Of course it's not good! You don't care who those pieces of junk are sold to, but I need to ensure that the junk I sell doesn't come back as bullets!"

"So who should lead this new institution? I only care about this!"

The president of the Mining Association was banging on the table; however, everyone was arguing so fiercely, no one paid attention to what he was saying.

The meeting was forced to pause.

After the meeting, a few business association executives gathered together, whispering.

"What's gotten into Sim? Why is he suddenly representing the interests of mine owners?"

"He must have taken a heavy loss. I heard he had stockpiled a batch of copper ore… thousands of tons all stuck in hand."

At this moment, Andrew, the executive of the Gray Rhino Chamber of Commerce, suddenly spoke.

"I have a rumor here, but it's not necessarily reliable."

The other executives immediately looked at him with interest.

They might not care about other people's news, but news from Mr. Andrew always brought them business opportunities.

"What's the rumor?"

Andrew lowered his voice.

"The New Alliance has discovered a copper mine in Qingstone County, and it looks like they've been mining it for a while."

This news was huge.

Surprise and even shock appeared on everyone's faces.

"A copper mine?!"

"How did you know?"

Faced with everyone's questions, Andrew spoke softly.

"It's not hard to guess… The trains heading to Qingstone County aren't coming back empty, you can always find some copper-bearing slag near the tracks. Moreover, according to my salesperson's assessment, the grade of that copper mine is not low."

Hearing this, everyone's faces changed significantly.

The New Alliance had found a copper mine!

No wonder they suddenly announced a northern expedition!

No wonder this war has been going on for two months with almost no fluctuation in the prices of copper and sulfur!

No wonder Sim's reaction was so intense, both wanting to establish a more centralized institution and seeking to rally neighbors to guard against the threat of the New Alliance's rise.

Thinking of the thousands of tons of copper stored in Horseshoe Iron Business Group's warehouse, the fellow business association executives mourned for their peer in silence for a second.

This was truly too tragic.

…

As for how to handle relations with the New Alliance, the business association executives and mine owners in Red River Town were at odds.

A similar scene was also unfolding in the council hall of Garbage City.

The council members were furiously debating whether to establish diplomatic relations with the New Alliance and what kind of diplomatic relations to establish.

Everything happened too suddenly.

A month ago, they were discussing increasing armaments, how to handle the crisis of the Chewing Bone Tribe moving south, and most importantly, how to persuade Giant Stone City to join the war.

Now suddenly, someone told them that Lord Jin Ya had died and the war was over.

This was undoubtedly a joyous occasion…

Yet the powerful war potential shown by the New Alliance made them apprehensive while they were pleased…

…

Outside of Giant Stone City.

City Hall.

Looking at the report jointly submitted by several major business owners, the Mayor of City Hall pinched his brow with a slight headache.

"It seems that the situation in the 'North Suburb' might have exceeded our expectations… Although they were responding to the Chewing Bone Tribe, the speed of their military expansion is worrisome."

The secretary standing beside him said softly.

"Indeed—airplanes, artillery, and rockets… Although they lack tactical nuclear bombs, the power is not much less."

The destructive effect does not necessarily have to involve high technology.

A pound of iron and a pound of cotton weigh the same, and a sufficient quantity of black powder—even flour—can produce a formidable force.

Of course, he could see that what truly worried the factory owners in the city was not the guns and cannons of the New Alliance but that the burgeoning productivity of the 'North Suburb' was taking away their profits.

In Giant Stone City, the retail price of nutritional paste was 1-2 chips per kilogram, the wholesale price was 300-400 chips per ton, and the production cost was about 450.

But in City of Dawn, the figure was only 200 silver coins, even the exchange rate between silver coins and chips had been tightly locked at 2:1 by the New Alliance Bank.

Other products might be okay, but nutritional paste has no technical content, no brand effect, no quality difference—it's purely feed.

Now, the entire nutritional paste market in Giant Stone City had almost been taken over by Didiwei brand nutritional paste.

The New Alliance not only manipulated the exchange rate but even used fiscal subsidies to support industry and trade.

That's what the factory owners in Giant Stone City detested the most!

The Mayor of City Hall pondered for a long time.

"…We really should discuss security issues with them, especially now that their war has just ended."

The secretary said softly.

"What we can do is limited… I suggest reporting this matter to Lord Mayor."

"Lord Mayor…"

The mayor of the City Hall gave a bitter smile.

That person didn't care about these things.

Unless those unpredictable Blue Jackets intervened in the affairs of Qingquan City Center or got involved in corporate or military-related issues.

But such a possibility was too small…

…

The news of the New Alliance liberating West State City stirred the entire Southern River Province.

At this moment, the man caught in the storm followed Rock Tooth to Lord Jin Ya's "palace."

Actually, from Chu Guang's perspective, this place was more like a pigsty rather than a palace.

A five-story villa ruin reinforced with wood and concrete, the enclosing wall and gate decorated with parts from humans or Variants, and even the head of a death creature hung on the main wall of the hall.

Inside that head was a human skull.

Even standing here, even clad in power armor, Chu Guang could feel his SAN points rapidly decreasing.

On the other hand, Rock Tooth appeared entirely unfazed.

This also affirmed Chu Guang's thought that these Looters were certainly not human.

It would be better not to use the methods of a Manager on them…

"Lord Jin Ya lived here?"

Rock Tooth's face had a flattering smile.

"This is his living room; his treasures are all upstairs. Please follow me, my lord!"

Saying this, he led Chu Guang and a group of close guards upstairs to a door.

Apparently to accommodate Jin Ya's size, the door had been widened.

From the moment he crossed the threshold, Chu Guang smelled a pungent odor and couldn't help frowning.

Before him was a massive bed, about 5 meters wide, and a dozen pale bodies were tied there.

They were beautiful, curvaceous, fair-skinned, and their hair didn't show any signs of dryness—they didn't look like survivors from the Wasteland nor like people from shelters.

From the bruises, scars, and stains on the floor, it wasn't hard to imagine the torment they had previously endured.

And the experiences of those slaves locked in the dungeons were even more imaginable.

Seeing the people at the door, a flicker of fear passed through the girls' eyes and the iron chains on their ankles clinked.

"…These are high-quality goods that Lord Jin Ya bought from the Bugra Free State, nothing like those foul-smelling slaves. Hehe, now they are all yours—" Feeling the killing intent from the side, Rock Tooth immediately shut his mouth.

Chu Guang looked at him meaningfully but didn't blame Jin Ya's deeds on him.

Turning to the close guards beside him, Chu Guang said.

"Find them some clothes to wear."

The close guards standing beside him saluted.

"Yes!"

A task was issued, and several female players nearby were called to help. Chu Guang instructed Rock Tooth to continue searching in the villa.

According to information disclosed by other captives, Golden Tooth had previously acquired 2 million dinars from the Army, and the money wasn't entirely spent on weapons.

Buying a dozen clone slaves couldn't cost that much. Chu Guang wanted to find out what else this guy had purchased.

They reached the villa's basement, which had been converted into a warehouse.

Chu Guang forcefully wrenched the lock off the door and pushed open the half-hanging iron door to enter.

The warehouse was not very large, only about fifty or sixty square meters, and it was filled with assorted items.

To Chu Guang's surprise, among the miscellaneous items was a device that looked like high-tech equipment.

After studying it for a long time without understanding what the device was for, Chu Guang could only take a few photos and return to the surface to call Yin Fang.

"I've discovered some interesting things here in West State City; I've sent you the photos..."

"Check them for me right now, help me figure out what that device is."

...

In the eastern part of West State City, on streets piled with concrete debris and car wrecks,

Under the protection of the third Army soldiers, Ma Ban, Wu Chengyi, and other high-ranking members of the Resistance organization slowly emerged from the abandoned subway station entrance.

With sunlight hitting his face, Wu Chengyi instinctively raised his hand, squinting his eyes.

Looking at the familiar streets, this rugged man's tear ducts suddenly loosened.

When was the last time he had basked in the sunlight?

He almost couldn't remember.

Standing next to him, Yang Duo felt the same, his voice choked up.

"The Ya Clan... those Looters, have they really been driven away?"

Ma Ban replied,

"To be precise, they were captured."

After a long silence, Yang Duo bowed his head and spoke softly,

"Thank you..."

"If you should thank anyone, it should be those who deserve it... I was also saved by them."

Saying this, Ma Ban smiled reassuringly and patted his arm, "Don't keep your head down, go call everyone else up."

"The war is over."

Yang Duo returned to the subway

It wasn't long before the residents of Town of Hope began streaming gradually out of the subway station, carrying large and small bundles.

Some came empty-handed, seemingly intending to leave those dark days behind underground.

Of course, it might also be because they had nothing left to carry.

Facing the long-absent sunlight, people breathed deeply, many even weeping and embracing each other, crying out loud.

Watching this scene, Ma Ban felt a stirring in his heart but didn't forget the task the Manager had assigned to him.

There were still many tasks waiting for him to handle, and now was not the time for sentimentality.

After they had finished counting everyone to make sure no one was left behind, Ma Ban led these survivors, under the protection of the third Army, to the southern suburbs of West State City.

Beside the remnants of an overpass, there was a relatively open and level open space, which, being less infested with rats than the urban area, was more suitable for a new residential area for the survivor settlement.

The New Alliance's trenches and positions were nearby, manned by soldiers from the first Army.

Although the Ya Clan was already defeated, the threats on the Wasteland went beyond the Looters, and the Variants that roamed the area also needed to be guarded against.

Seeing the flag of the New Alliance, the residents of Town of Hope immediately swarmed up, surrounding the patrolling sentries at the positions, anxiously asking,

"What about those captured by the Chewing Bone Tribe? Are they here?"

"My father, he was captured by the Ya Clan, possibly kept in the Looter's dungeon... can I go check? He must still be alive!"

"I got separated from my wife, let me take a look in the dungeon... please!"

The surrounded sentry was at a loss for what to do.

Seeing the chaotic scene, Ma Ban and Wu Chengyi felt their scalps tingle and wanted to maintain order, but the scene was too chaotic, and no one could hear their shouts.

Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, Wrench immediately stepped forward, turned on the loudspeaker on his helmet, and shouted to the crowd.

"Quiet!"

The noisy voices died down a bit.

People instinctively stopped their commotion and looked towards the man in the exoskeleton.

Seeing the Army leader come out to take charge, the surrounded sentry finally breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing his tense nerves.

Surveying the gathered survivors, Wrench spoke in a loud voice,

"I know many of you have been separated from your loved ones in the chaos a year ago, and I understand your urgent desire to reunite with them, but things need to proceed step by step."

"The resistance of the Ya Clan is mostly subdued, but there are still a few stubborn elements resisting in the city. I believe none of you wish to fall at the last moment before dawn, becoming a target for those gangsters, or even their food."

The emotions of the survivors finally stabilized.

Wrench paused, and continued in a more soothing tone,

"…As long as your loved ones are still alive, they'll soon be back with you. What you need to do now is follow the arrangements, wait patiently, and build your homes."

"How you celebrate your reunion is up to you. But before that, you should at least prepare a place for you and your family, somewhere to shelter from the wind and rain."

Chapter 333: The Fuel Rods Hidden in the Basement

The gunfire and explosions in the underground garage had finally ceased.

A man, draped in beast skin and wearing a string of teeth around his neck, was dragged out of the garage entrance by two junior players, one on each side.

Even though he was covered in blood and his hands were bound, he was still chattering away nonstop.

However, it was unfortunate that his efforts were in vain, as the surrounding players couldn't understand a word he was saying.

As a war criminal, he would be sent to the City of Dawn to face trial under the laws of the New Alliance.

After that, the gallows of justice awaited him.

Apart from Fox Tooth, a total of 282 stubborn Looter's were killed.

It wasn't that no one wanted to surrender; there simply was no opportunity to do so.

The cruel street fighting was like a rolling meat grinder, especially in pitch-dark environments like the underground garage. Capturing prisoners was out of the question, let alone avoiding friendly fire; no one was holding back.

Both the Death Legion and the vanguard Ape Tooth Tribe had suffered significant casualties.

Looking at his subordinates coming out of the underground garage dirty and disheveled, Monkey Fang's face was full of pain.

That brutal bout of street fighting had reduced his tribe by twenty percent, leaving behind 200 bodies...

But seeing Fox Tooth's miserable fate, the pang in his heart instantly disappeared.

It was a necessary sacrifice.

It was all worth it...

Unlike the conflicted Monkey Fang and the Cannon Fodder's who barely survived.

The players who came out of the underground garage, though they too had suffered casualties, sported a completely different demeanor.

"Sprayers are the best!"

"Indeed! Too strong in street fighting!"

"The LD-47 is a bit weak in close combat, it over-penetrates unequipped Looters."

"It's actually not bad, right? A sweep usually does the job, if not with one shot, then two."

"Let's get Mosquito to make us a sprayer, damn, the captured guns are too hard to reload ammo for!"

"+10086."

The surviving players excitedly exchanged their battlefield experiences and quickly reached a consensus on one thing.

The New Alliance needed to add a shotgun to the standard equipment for trench clearing and underground bunkers!

And chlorine gas bombs.

Although inhumane, it didn't matter in the Game; whatever worked best was the way to go.

After all, without it, their gas masks were just an ornament, utterly useless.

While the players were boasting, a Picheng paratrooper from the Jungle Corps approached and asked a buddy,

"Where's Big Eyes? Why didn't he come out with you guys?"

At the mention of Big Eyes, everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Big Eyes?"

"Hahaha!"

"You mean that Simpleton who roasted himself? Hahahaha, stop, let me laugh for a while."

Watching a construction worker and a bricklayer laughing to the point of crouching on the ground, the Picheng paratrooper was momentarily stunned, then his expression changed.

"Fuck!"

"My flamethrower!"

The players who had initially restrained their laughter, burst out laughing upon hearing this...

While the Picheng brother mourned his flamethrower, soldiers from the Second Corps were busily moving war trophies and slaves from the Fourth New Area to the southern part of the city.

When Yin Fang saw the photos sent by Chu Guang, he dropped a "Don't touch anything," and then hurried over from Shelter No. 404 in Qingquan City.

With no direct transport, he first took a train, then hitched a ride on a truck transporting building materials in Qingstone County, finally arriving in West State just before dark.

At the edge of the Four New Area, at the entrance to the only villa area not submerged by the lake.

Without waiting for the raft to dock steadily, Yin Fang jumped off.

The air was filled with a foul stench, flies buzzed beside the road, and the whole area resembled rotting flesh soaked in a sewage ditch.

Seeing the bloody graffiti and totems made of human bones around him, Yin Fang shivered subconsciously and couldn't help but complain.

"...Can people really live in a place like this?"

"You've seen Looter's before," Chu Guang, standing beside him, had already turned on the air circulation system in his power armor, utterly ignoring the pungent smell around.

"I have indeed seen them, but now I have a new understanding..." Enviously glancing at Chu Guang's power armor, Yin Fang coughed lightly and continued, "Where's that thing?"

"Follow me."

Leaving these words behind, Chu Guang led the way, taking Yin Fang back to Golden Tooth's villa, and went straight to the basement warehouse.

The war trophies inside the villa had been moved out, but this basement warehouse remained untouched.

Scattered parts filled the warehouse, and half-dismantled bionic robots and some quirky gadgets were visible.

However, the most eye-catching thing was undoubtedly the device in the center of the warehouse, resembling a gas cylinder.

Its outer shell was orange, and its material was indiscernible; Chu Guang had studied it for a long time and still couldn't understand its purpose.

However, upon seeing it, Yin Fang's face instantly lit up with joy.

"The storage tank for fuel rods! Exactly! Thank God, I'm glad you didn't mess with this thing!"

Fuel rod storage tank?!

Hearing these words, Chu Guang froze for a moment, then nervously said.

"Will it explode?"

"Explode? What are you thinking? It's not easy to trigger a fusion reaction, not to mention this is fuel from a third-generation reactor. It's safe from any angle... and, of course, extremely valuable."

Yin Fang stepped forward, crouched in front of the device that looked like a gas cylinder, found the interface, and connected a VM-modified touchpad.

After some operations, the screen lit up.

"103.9 kilograms... unbelievable!" Yin Fang's voice trembled with excitement as he looked at the characters and numbers on the touchpad.

"103 kilograms of what?" Chu Guang reflexively asked.

"Helium-3! 103 kilograms of Helium-3!" Yin Fang excitedly stood up and looked back at Chu Guang, "We're rich!"

Hearing what Yin Fang said, Chu Guang instinctively held his breath.

Although he had no concept of over a hundred kilograms of Helium-3, he understood the implication of getting rich from Yin Fang's words.

He swallowed and continued,

"100 kilograms of Helium-3... what does that mean?"

"What does it mean?" Yin Fang took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and said, "Well, let me put it this way, a slightly better reactor can generate about 1 billion degrees of electricity from one kilogram of Helium-3! What do you think that means?"

"A billion?!"

One ton of coal can generate about 3000 degrees of electricity.

So a billion degrees of electricity... 330 thousand tons of coal?

100 kilograms of Helium-3 equals about 33 million tons of coal?

Of course, this analogy isn't accurate, but it serves as an easy reference.

Looking at the gas cylinder in front of him... no, it should be said, the fuel rod, Chu Guang felt dizzy.

Happiness came too suddenly.

He didn't know what expression to make.

Yin Fang also felt the same, caressing the gas cylinder, his face betraying a hint of obsession.

"Such rich, pure Helium-3, I've been a prospector for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen such. Getting some Helium-3 is really hard, and the lunar flights have been stopped for over 200 years... Where did this great stuff come from?"

As he spoke, Yin Fang looked expectantly at Chu Guang, clearly hoping to get an answer from him.

Unfortunately, Chu Guang didn't know how to answer.

"...Asking me is useless, I also want to know where this came from," Chu Guang said with a strange expression on his face.

Based on intelligence gathered from captives, the Ya Clan mainly trades with the Bugra Free State.

There, backed by the Grand Canyon and located at the transportation hub of the northern plains of River Valley Province, theoretically anyone could conduct trade, and it was difficult to pinpoint who the specific seller was.

But, coming back to it, what was a Looter doing buying this stuff...

At that moment, Chu Guang noticed a pamphlet scattered nearby, so he reached out and picked it up.

The cover of the pamphlet read— "Galaxy Hunting."

What is this?

After reading the title, Chu Guang paused, then flipped through it, his brows slightly furrowed.

"..."

Comics?

And it was a mecha-themed one at that.

Glancing at the bionic parts scattered on the ground, and the iron frame leaning against the wall, Chu Guang suddenly realized something, his expression subtly changing.

Holy moly.

Are they planning to build a Gundam?!

On closer inspection, that iron frame wasn't some kind of container, but clearly a mechanical leg and arm laid horizontally.

Only, because of its overly abstract craftsmanship, he hadn't recognized it at first.

Thinking this, an image came to mind for Chu Guang.

A scruffy man, holding a pre-war era comic book, standing in front of a poorly evolved baboon, peddling his scavenged junk—

"Brother, I see that you have an extraordinary skeletal structure. Here's a secret martial arts manual. Since we are fated to meet, I'll sell it to you for 1 million Dinar."

All one could say was that one dared to sell, and the other dared to believe.

"What's up?" Seeing Chu Guang staring intently at the corner, Yin Fang curiously asked.

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Nothing..."

Since some people worship the Black Box as a deity, misinterpreting a pre-war comic book as a "Black Tech Guidebook" wasn't too strange.

Looking again at the orange gas cylinder, Yin Fang enviously said,

"100 kilograms of Helium-3... If at the Academy, they would even trade Class A technology data for it."

Chu Guang: "Impossible trade, compared to the Class A technology we can't use for now, I need energy more."

Yin Fang nodded, "Exactly, I wouldn't advise you to sell it either. Given your current manufacturing standards, producing Class D technology is already a miracle, better be practical."

Higher technical content means higher costs, more complex processes, and a more extensive industrial chain.

For the New Alliance at this moment, the first priority is to develop productive forces, and only then consider high-end technology.

Technologies like solid Hydrogen, which are Class D, just might be more practical than Class A technologies like Metallic Hydrogen.

But what Chu Guang really wanted to complain about was, who says it's a miracle that the New Alliance can produce Class D technology?

According to the Academy's classification standards for pre-war technology, A3 aerospace aluminum should be considered Class C technology.

In other words, the industrial capability of the New Alliance has already reached the production of Class C technology!

Although only one type.

"This storage tank must have been removed from the fuel rod... Although I don't know which fool did it, luckily all the parts are here and it shouldn't be a problem to assemble,"

Yin Fang continued, looking at the scattered materials around him.

"Now what's left to do is to find a way to find that reactor, and Shelter No. 404... I must say, I won't be fixing that thing, I'm just a prospector, not a nuclear engineer."

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"Don't worry about it, I've already arranged for someone to look for it."

"Really? That's great."

Yin Fang sighed in relief.

His biggest headache on ordinary days was that this manager, whenever faced with a technical issue, regardless of whether it was his field of expertise or not, would always dump the problem on him to figure out.

What could he do?

Even within the same language, reading and writing are two entirely different concepts, let alone something complex and systematic like a controlled fusion reactor.

"...Putting the fuel rod back together will probably take some time, could you find some people to help me move these parts out of here?" Yin Fang pinched his nose and wrinkled his brow as he looked around, "The odor here is too strong, I don't want to work in this haunted place."

It wasn't just the smell.

This environment is like a haunted house, where setting up a stall at the door could directly collect admission tickets for business; no normal person would want to stay here longer.

"No problem."

Chu Guang nodded, flicking his index finger lightly and casually opening the map. He randomly selected a batch of lucky players from the nearby small players and issued a task to help move the items.

Ten people were needed in total, and the task completion would grant 10 silver, 10 contributions, and 50 points.

The task popup had just appeared and was snapped up in an instant.

Chu Guang suspected that these guys didn't even read the content of the task and just accepted it without a word.

He opened the task details to check.

Well, 9 out of 10 were from the agile system.

That was too quick!

"...People will come to help you shortly, I have some things to do, so I won't stay any longer."

As soon as he finished speaking, a pale blue popup suddenly appeared in front of Chu Guang.

[Task: Recover the VM of the manager of Shelter No. 404 (Device serial number, DNA verification record must match the information registered in the database)]

[Reward: 3500 DNA sequences.]

3500 "activation codes"!

When Chu Guang saw the last line of the task reward, he clenched his fists excitedly.

The 3000 activation codes given when opening Floor B4 were almost running out.

With these additional 3500 DNA sequences, the player cap in "Wasteland OL" would increase from 3500 to 7000!

That's a doubling!

Thinking of this, Chu Guang couldn't help saying,

"Digging up graves is indeed the correct way to gain strength!"

However, this excitement did not last long, just half a minute later, Chu Guang had calmed down.

Based on the current intelligence, Shelter No. 404 was clearly not an abandoned, ownerless relic but an operational refuge.

That is to say, their manager was still alive.

Then the problem arose.

How to politely borrow his "vital signs monitor" from a still-living manager.

This device, in a sense, is like a person's black box.

It not only holds DNA information but also likely contains work logs and the user's personal privacy, akin to the 21st-century smartphone.

Chu Guang put himself in the other's shoes and thought, if someone wanted to borrow his phone, he would be 100% reluctant. Even if the data inside were deleted, there would always be ways to restore it.

This task might not be so simple...

...

In a pitch-black tunnel, a group of people holding flashlights searched as they advanced.

Two hours ago, the Bugra small squad received the follow-up task for the[Fusion Reactor], following the NPC Wang Zhong to find the entrance to Shelter No. 404.

Also accompanying them was Lu Bei from the Guards Corps, representing the New Alliance in negotiations with Shelter No. 404.

Five players spread out around, protecting the two NPCs at the center of the team.

But this task was unexpectedly simple, hardly encountering any serious threats along the way.

The most dangerous variant they encountered was just a multilegged beast that had somehow run in.

For the most part, they encountered mutant rats and cockroaches...

Especially the former.

The entire West State City had almost become a rat's paradise.

These little creatures were very weak in combat; a grenade could kill a group of them.

If they encountered any alone, they didn't even need to shoot; close combat alone was enough to deal with them easily.

Kicking a mutant rat's body aside, Night Ten said with a resigned expression,

"We should have brought Difficult for the strong with us."

Quit smoking scratched his head and said,

"Even if we brought him, it'd be useless. By the time he's tamed the entire tunnel of rats, we would have had enough time to clear the entire map twice."

Difficult for the strong had shared a strategy on the official website before, to tame a mutant rat, one first needed to beat it barehanded until it showed its belly in defeat.

Similarly, theoretically, players of the Claw of Death could also tame a Claw of Death.

The premise was to subdue the opponent.

They didn't understand the conversation of the others, so Wang Zhong, who was leading the way, thought they were getting impatient and hurriedly said,

"We're almost there, just up ahead!"

Walking beside him, Lu Bei reassured him,

"No rush, take your time to remember the way, try not to get lost."

"Rest assured, sir, I have walked this route many times; I could find it even with my eyes closed!" Wang Zhong declared with confidence.

The group continued onward and finally reached their destination.

Wang Zhong stopped in front of an iron door and knocked on it.

There was no response from behind the door.

Wang Zhong looked a bit anxious and knocked again.

Watching the NPC's movements, Night Ten whispered in a lowered voice,

"Should we just blow the door open?"

Hearing this, Fang Chang coughed lightly and said,

"This damn task has a 'unique' tag, with failing it dropping our faction's favor. I'd advise against causing trouble."

Quit smoking scratched his head,

"I kind of think Night Ten has a point. Haven't all the residents of the refuge just hidden inside? This isn't even the entrance to the refuge, how could there still be—"

Before he could finish, the iron door suddenly creaked and opened a crack.

A face peeked through the gap.

Seeing Wang Zhong at the door, the man was startled and said unexpectedly,

"Wang Zhong? You're still alive?!"

Wang Zhong smiled excitedly,

"What are you talking about? 'Still alive?' Are you chatting with a dead man?"

"Sorry… I misspoke," the man lowered his head and after a moment of silence, he asked, "Why are you here?"

Wang Zhong cheerfully replied,

"I came to bring you good news; the Barbarians have been handled!"

"They've been… handled?"

The man's face showed surprise, as if he was struggling to believe it.

At that moment, he noticed the group of strangers beside Wang Zhong and his expression immediately became cautious.

"Who are these people…?"

"Lu Bei, commander of the New Alliance Guards," Lu Bei stepped forward and saluted as he introduced himself.

Following suit, Wang Zhong added,

"They are the ones who helped us drive out the Looters and even cured my wife's illness. They're now helping us rebuild our home. Also, the leader of the New Alliance is the manager of Shelter No. 404, so don't worry, they are good people!"

Wang Zhong was sincere with his words.

Before the people of the New Alliance came, they had been barely surviving meal-to-meal.

Ever since the New Alliance arrived, not a single person in their community had died from starvation.

However...

That was just his feeling.

Watching the soldier beside Wang Zhong, the man standing behind the door was full of skepticism, not seeming to believe what he said and he didn't continue talking.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

At that moment, Fang Chang suddenly stepped forward with a friendly smile, attempting to greet him in awkward United Human language,

"…We are residents of Shelter No. 404, from the same era as you, and are pleased to meet our kin again…"

Fang Chang had crafted his words carefully in his mind, but still stumbled through them.

Old White, standing nearby, couldn't help but cover his face, and Wild Wind, who hadn't spoken up till now, sighed.

They were already skeptical of whether he was from the refuge, yet he had to flaunt his half-baked United Human language.

If you can't speak properly, better keep your mouth shut!

Night Ten muttered under his breath,

"…We should have worn our new outfits."

Wild Wind nodded,

"We indeed took it for granted."

Perhaps due to inadequate charm attributes, they unexpectedly failed to trigger the story.

However, at that moment, a miracle happened.

The man stared at Fang Chang for a while longer, and for some unknown reason, he believed the fanciful tale.

"…You do look like them, even though you're not wearing blue jackets."

"Them?" Fang Chang was slightly stunned.

"Of course, the residents of the refuge," the man opened the door wider, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Terri, a resident of Camp 101, an employee hired by Shelter 101…"

"And a protected person."

——

(Thanks to the alliance leader "Lin Mei Mei Ya" for the reward!!)

Chapter 334: Infrastructure Maniac

As the Oxen and Horses Squad followed Terri's lead, heading towards Camp 101 located deep underground, the construction of the new settlement was also in full swing.

With a wooden board inscribed with "Dawn City" hung on a half-collapsed concrete bridge pier, the construction plan for the second survivor settlement of the New Alliance was officially announced!

Well before the battle at Pine Forest Pass had started, the logistics department of the New Alliance had prepared a contingency plan for the expansion of the new settlement under the Manager's instruction.

A large amount of construction materials had been sent to the warehouses in Qingstone County by rail beforehand, and almost as soon as Chu Guang announced the victory in the war, these materials were loaded onto trucks, which set off to the front lines before dawn had fully broken.

The materials included two thousand steel axes, sixteen hundred spades, and a vast number of human-powered transportation tools such as trolley carts, tricycles, and two-wheeled hand carts.

Accompanying these materials, more than three hundred construction workers also arrived.

Many of these people were NPCs who had participated in the construction of Outpost Base in the early days, and others were life-profession players with relevant work experience.

They had rich construction experience and had been tested in practice, contributing their sweat and toil to the construction of City of Dawn.

Although pioneering was hard work, when the Alliance needed them, they still appeared here without hesitation.

Either due to loyalty

Or the guidance of a mission...

...

The truck stopped at the entrance of the camp.

Before the truck had even stopped moving, Spare people under the knife jumped down from the vehicle, loudly calling out and saying,

"Get off, get off, brothers, it's time to work!"

"The expansion pack will end tonight, now's the chance to earn some points, hurry up and seize the time!"

"Ollie give!" responded the crowd energetically. Strength Type players were the first to jump off the truck, heading to the trucks transporting materials.

Under Brother Knife's leadership, they unloaded the cargo from the trucks, methodically stacking it in preparation to distribute tools shortly.

Although in reality, no one even wanted to sweep the ground, in the Game, every single one transformed into Aryan supermen, each person wishing they could do the work of two oxen.

Especially upon hearing that the construction tasks also had achievements that could be unlocked, satisfying the requirements could even allow players to be commemorated on the city monument, as heroes of Dawn City alongside those players who had performed outstandingly on the battlefield, the Strength Type energizer bunnies immediately got hyped.

Tired?

That just didn't exist.

This damn Game might include sweating, panting, arm stiffness, or even clumsiness, but it never felt "uncomfortable."

Extreme pain sensations would be blocked, and fatigue was nothing if it didn't reach the point of fainting.

Under Brother Knife's orders, a group of players was bustling and having a blast.

Seeing this scene, the NPCs nearby couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration, which also inspired them.

If even those "pampered" Blue Jackets were working so hard, what reason did they have to slack off? How could they face themselves if they slacked off?

With this thought, everyone spontaneously rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

Fifty trucks, with everyone working together, unloaded all the materials in less than half an hour.

The trucks continued towards Qingstone County, ready for their second trip.

At the same time, on another side of the construction site.

Substituting as the Governor of Dawn City, Ma Ban met with the leader of the construction team by the remnants of a highway bridge and explained the situation here.

"...There are 5,731 residents on the register, and nearly ten thousand freed slaves will be arriving gradually."

"What's urgent now is that we need to prepare enough housing for these people."

This construction team leader was named Rudi, who had been a Centurion under Vanus and had been released early due to good behavior during rehabilitation labor.

After regaining his freedom, this former Army junior officer did not embark on the journey home but chose to stay, fighting for a greater cause and ideal, beginning another life as a resident of the New Alliance.

Rudi: "What about the POWs?"

Ma Ban: "They're still in the city."

There were more than twenty thousand prisoners of war, and it would take time to process these people, plus organizing them to build the POW camps meant that they might not be needed in the short term.

After understanding the situation, Rudi stared at the map for a moment before immediately saying,

"I've got a general understanding of the situation here, and construction materials will arrive before noon. What we need to do now is to clear a construction site as soon as possible. How many available hands do we have now?"

Ma Ban replied precisely,

"Excluding the wounded, the sick, pregnant women, and children under 12... we can mobilize roughly more than 4,000 people."

Rudi nodded and said,

"That's enough. I need them to gather here immediately, and I will arrange specific tasks for them."

"Leave it to me!"

Leaving behind this phrase, Ma Ban immediately found Wu Chengyi and others, and with the help of the former leadership of the Resistance organization, mobilized the survivors.

The crowd slowly gathered on the clearing next to the remnants of the highway bridge, including soldiers from The Third Army of the Alliance, young people carrying their baggage, and even children with immature faces, and frail, bent old people.

Almost everyone's face bore the pallor of malnutrition, which had improved a lot compared to a month ago. They may not be brimming with energy, but at least there were no signs of bewilderment and confusion.

Looking at the crowd of people before him, Rudi picked up the megaphone and spoke in a loud voice,

"Time is precious, so I'll keep this short. We need to prepare 1,000 sets of emergency housing before nightfall!"

"I need you to lend me your strength!"

Hearing this, the people looked at each other.

Prepare 1,000 sets of housing before nightfall?

Was this guy serious?

Among the survivors, almost everyone harbored doubt in their hearts about this whimsical idea as they began murmuring to one another.

Without explaining anything, Rudi simply rallied the crowd and then immediately assigned tasks to everyone.

The 4,000 people were divided into over 300 groups of varying sizes, each led by a foreman, who got straight to work on the construction of the settlement.

With the concerted effort of everyone, the survivors of Dawn City soon cleared the land around the trenches and transported concrete debris and large chunks of waste outside the camp using tippers, tricycles, flatbeds, and other transport tools.

As the open space was cleared, aluminum sheets and aluminum alloy frames were dragged over by tricycles and flatbeds.

Looking at the materials and tools piled up in the open space, the thin man's face was full of confusion.

"What is this stuff?"

His name was Liu Dali, a farmer before joining the Chewing Bone Tribe.

After his home burned down, and his wife and children were gone, he joined a guerrilla team and was now a soldier in the New Alliance Third Corps.

Not just he, but several other survivors standing next to him were equally clueless, exchanging puzzled glances.

At that moment, a foreman from the reconstruction team approached them and cleared their confusion.

"All these are building materials for constructing houses. Assemble them, and you've got a place to live. We have four tasks in our group; I'll teach you how to do it soon, and you'll learn quickly."

"Building materials?" Liu Dali was startled.

A fellow villager standing beside him was equally puzzled and commented,

"Can these things really be used to build houses?"

Even if they were making a shack, just having aluminum alloy sheets wouldn't be enough.

In the face of everyone's doubtful gazes, the foreman smiled slightly proudly and said,

"These things can not only build houses, they have many other uses. Quit talking and come help."

While speaking, he tossed gloves to everyone, instructing carefully, "Remember to wear these when you work. Don't hurt yourself."

"We have four tasks in our group. Let's work hard and strive to finish by 6 PM! Our team leader said that if we complete all tasks before 6 PM, everyone in the group will get a reward!"

The moment they heard there were rewards, everyone's curiosity was immediately piqued.

"What reward?"

"Crabmeat patties! One for each person!"

Meat!

Upon hearing about the reward, everyone was instantly excited, and without a second thought, they put on gloves and began to work under the foreman's direction.

The same incentive might not stir many hearts in City of Dawn,
but here in the famine-stricken Western Province, even a piece of green barley cake could be considered a delicacy.

Hearing that there was meat to eat, people's eyes nearly glowed green with desire, wishing they had more hands than they were born with.

Two aluminum sheets stood upright on the ground with a strut in between, the connection secured with screws and nuts.

Then came the third, the fourth...

As the aluminum panels were pieced together one by one, Liu Dali was surprised to find that without his realizing it, a large box-like structure had emerged before everyone's eyes.

The "box" wasn't small in area, covering a full 20 square meters, with a ceiling height just over three meters.

The bunk beds were stacked, with doors and windows; one room had six beds and did not feel crowded at all. In fact, the space was almost too generous.

Looking at the fruits of their labor before him, Liu Dali felt something stir within himself.

Ever since his home was destroyed and he lost his loved ones, he had been living in a daze, taking life one day at a time.

But now, looking at the house before him, a sense of feeling he had not experienced for a long time emerged within him.

He did not know how to describe that feeling or where it came from, but he could feel its real presence.

It was as if...

A flicker of light had ignited in the darkness.

"Don't just stand there," the foreman patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "We still have three tasks left. Let's push on and try to finish another one before lunch!"

Hearing the foreman's voice, Liu Dali snapped back to reality, subdued his excitement, and nodded vigorously.

"You got it!"

It wasn't just Liu Dali's group that completed their first set of tasks.

Nearly all construction crews on the site were working their hardest.

After the initial 300 sets of prefabricated pieces were assembled, the second batch of materials was quickly delivered to the camp storage area by truck.

By noon, the previously barren land was now lined with nearly 500 container-style houses.

Although these houses were simple, they had all the bare essentials and there were no issues of sheltering from wind and rain.

As for insulation, it was only the end of May.

The River Valley Province was about to enter the hottest three months of the year, so it was too early to worry about that problem.

Looking at the impressive scene before them, many couldn't believe their own eyes.

Especially Yang Duo, who had once served as the warehouse manager in Town Of Hope, felt more than just surprise.

It was astonishment!

In his mind, even emergency shacks needed to be started by gathering metal sheets, steel bars, and concrete blocks from the city. Without three to five days, it was impossible to house 5,000 people under a roof.

However, the construction scheme of the New Alliance completely overturned his understanding.

Prefabricated housing parts produced on assembly lines were delivered to the front lines by trucks, then assembled on-site by workers.

Even ordinary people with no construction experience could complete the assembly of an entire house under the guidance of base-level construction personnel.

The whole process took less than three hours.

For those skilled, it even took just two hours.

It was as fast as copy-paste.

With such immense infrastructure, industrial, and mobilization capabilities, it was no wonder they had won the war!

"These houses... how much do they cost?" Wu Chengyi, who stood to one side, couldn't help but ask softly.

Ma Ban pondered for a moment before giving a rough estimate.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I've heard that the average cost is about 300 silver coins, and the external selling price is 500 silver coins... which is equivalent to 2.5 automatic rifles."

Upon hearing this, the people around them all let out exclamations of astonishment.

It was said that the average monthly income of the people of the New Alliance was about 400 silver coins; didn't that mean one could buy a house with just a month's salary?

This was outrageously cheap.

Watching everyone's expressions, a hint of pride surfaced on Ma Ban's face.

Although he had joined the New Alliance only a few months ago, this did not prevent him from feeling proud of the Alliance's achievements.

"A house for 300 silver coins means 1000 would cost 300,000... Isn't it a bit too wasteful to have only six people living in such a large house?" Yang Duo's expression was somewhat uneasy.

Although everyone was now part of one family, after all, they had just joined this large family.

Coming in and immediately spending so much of someone else's money made him somewhat uneasy.

Seeing his thoughts, Ma Ban didn't make any elaboration but simply smiled and spoke softly.

"This is mainly for sanitary considerations; too high a living density can easily lead to infectious diseases. The Manager directly instructed me that even during special periods, we must ensure that the living space per person is above two square meters and each dormitory cannot exceed six people."

"Not only that, but that person also instructed me emergency houses can only be used as a transition and should not be depended upon in the long term. Within three months, we have to make sure every family in Dawn City gets their own house!"

Wu Chengyi and Yang Duo exchanged glances, seeing excitement in each other's eyes.

If it were before, when they were still living in underground tunnels, if Ma Ban said this to them, no one would take it to heart and would think he was just daydreaming.

But now...

Almost no one doubted whether it could be done.

Not far away, in a tent that had been temporarily set up, large pots were erected. The enticing smell of food wafted out from the pots, and almost everyone could not help but swallow their saliva.

While various construction crews were busy, the old, weak, women, and children who could not engage in heavy physical labor also kept busy, preparing lunch under the guidance of logistics personnel. Kids carrying lunch boxes and water bottles shuttled around the construction site, delivering lunch to each crew.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

By six o'clock in the evening, not only did the construction crews miraculously complete 1000 emergency houses, but they even exceeded their task, constructing public facilities like toilets and water storage tanks, which were originally planned for the next day.

The camp was bustling with activity.

People gathered together, sitting around fire pits made of stones.

The firelight reflected the smiling faces of everyone, as they ate bowls of food, chit-chatting, boasting, or discussing future plans.

Tonight's dinner was exceptionally delicious.

Especially the tasty, juicy crab cakes.

The survivors from the Town of Hope had never eaten such delicious food!

Watching his men devour their food, the foreman chuckled and boastfully said,

"Wait until you have a chance to go see Dawn City; after going there, you'll know what paradise on earth is like."

One of the hardworking survivors looked up, his mouth still full of food, and mumbled,

"I've heard there, you can eat as many crab cakes as you want!"

The foreman laughed.

"Crab cakes? There are far more delicious things than crab cakes!"

Liu Dali swallowed saliva.

"Like what?"

Watching the anticipatory and hopeful eyes surrounding him, the foreman's vanity swelled greatly as he continued, languidly,

"Like the noodles that cost 4 silver coins a bowl, the spicy rice that's 3 silver coins a bowl, 2 silver coin buns, various skewers on sticks, vegetables fried in a big wok, and more expensive are the charcoal-grilled monster ribs..."

As he talked, he cursed under his breath and with a longing look said, "Damn it, let's stop talking about it, I just got full and now I'm hungry again!"

Seeing the boss stop talking, the crowd immediately grew anxious.

"Don't stop now."

"Keep talking, will you?"

"What exactly are these noodles?"

"And buns."

"It's too much trouble to explain, I could talk for days and it wouldn't compare to seeing it with your own eyes."

Packing away his bowl, the foreman patted his pants, stood up from the ground, and encouraged the brothers sitting by the fire,

"Keep up the good work."

"City of Dawn wasn't built in a day, and neither was Dawn City. Whatever they have there, we'll eventually have here too!"

Nearby, by the fire pit.

The one known as Spare people under the knife, sitting cross-legged on the ground, looked at the pop-up window that appeared on the VM screen, showing a relieved smile as he finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Mission accomplished!"

[Task: Complete 1000 emergency buildings (Completed)]

[Achievement Challenge "Construction Maniac": Complete the task by 6 PM (Achieved)]

Although the task had been completed half an hour ago, inspection took a little more time.

This game always manages to be surprisingly realistic in strange places.

"...heard the prize pool is fat this time, hope to draw some good stuff," Makabazi said expectantly, sitting next to Spare people under the knife.

He didn't have any flying missions these past couple of days, and there wasn't much work at the farm, so he simply came to the front to grind for points.

"What's the grand prize again?"

"They haven't announced it yet, don't they always reveal it after the expansion pack settlement?" Putting away his VM, Makabazi suddenly thought of something and turned to ask Spare people under the knife next to him, "By the way, are you also in construction in real life?"

He remembered this guy had been a construction team leader for quite some time now, and seemed to have unlocked the title "Chief Architect of the New Alliance".

Spare people under the knife replied casually, "Kind of."

Makabazi cupped his hands in admiration.

"The big boss!"

No doubt about it, those who build houses are big bosses!

Spare people under the knife responded with an amused and frustrated look, "Big boss my ass, I'm just an idle guy at my workplace. Otherwise, how could I spend all day in the game?"

Makabazi curiously continued, "But speaking of which, don't you get tired of doing the same work in the game?"

Spare people under the knife thought for a moment, then smiled and said.

"Tired... I don't feel it. To tell the truth, even though I do this in real life, it's not like they would let me design a whole city, right? And some of the crazy ideas I can't use in real life actually have a market here. Anyway, I'm quite enjoying myself."

Makabazi couldn't help but admire him deeply.

"Awesome! That's what makes a big boss – a different level altogether!"

Spare people under the knife coughed lightly.

"I've already said, I'm not a big boss."

"Such humility from the big boss!"

Makabazi glanced up at the sky, got up from the ground, patted the dirt off his pants, and sighed, "This corporate slave has to go to work now. Gotta leave first."

Spare people under the knife said with a smile.

"Go ahead, I'll be logging off soon too. See you on the official website."

"See you on the official website!"

Saying so, Makabazi looked at Spare people under the knife with envy.

"Ah, I wish I could afford to be as idle as you."

Spare people under the knife: "..."

...

At the military camp next to Dawn City.

Chu Guang, sitting inside the barracks, was browsing through the logistics department's report via his VM.

The construction of Dawn City was going smoothly; the construction team had completed a thousand emergency houses in just one day.

The New Alliance was highly electrified, with many tools relying on the power grid.

Although they had seized a batch of wood-burning trucks from the Looters, the majority of the New Alliance's trucks were their own "electric donkeys."

This electric truck was handy, but it couldn't work for long periods away from the power grid.

The players' save points were also major electricity consumers. Without generators on the front lines, power supply still depended on the truck batteries.

"If only we could get the reactor fixed quickly."

After reading the logistics department's report from start to finish, Chu Guang pondered for a moment, reached out to put on his headset, and said.

"Xiao Qi."

An energetic voice came through.

"I'm here, master."

Chu Guang said, "Inform Luka to ready five wood-powered generators to be sent over here as soon as possible, they should be over 100KW of power each."

Xiao Qi enthusiastically responded, "Received! Leave it to me!"

Communication ended.

Chu Guang was about to stand up to grab something to eat outside.

Just then, a communication request popup window suddenly appeared at the top of the VM screen.

Seeing that it was a call from Lu Bei, Chu Guang didn't hesitate, immediately hit the answer button, and skipped the pleasantries to get straight to the point.

"How are things on your end?"

"Have you met the residents of Shelter 101?"

Chapter 335: The Utopia Hidden in the Tunnel

Spending approximately 10 minutes, Lu Bei reported the day's work to Chu Guang.

"…Under the guidance of a doorkeeper named Terri, we entered Camp 101 and were received by the local survivors."

"It's a camp hidden deep in the subway tunnels, housing around two to three hundred people. The locals live in square barracks, and around the camp are distributed greenhouses, generators and water purifiers, as well as biogas pools."

"Their situation is completely different from that of Town Of Hope. They've fully achieved self-sufficiency in materials and manage everything in an orderly fashion through scientific methods."

"That doorkeeper named Terri—but when I visited their greenhouses, I saw many hydroponic boxes growing rice, potatoes, as well as tomatoes, cucumbers... There were also carbon-fixing devices or something of the sort, where they synthesize a portion of the carbon dioxide into starch and glucose to balance the carbon dioxide content in the air."

"In short, the situation there is quite astonishing. The locals call themselves 'the protected,' but they are not residents of the refuge; rather, they're Waste Land Wanderers assisted by the residents of the refuge."

"The main door of Shelter 101 is located at the deepest part of the camp. The residents of the shelter have taught them knowledge, and their mission is to report the outside situation to the residents of the refuge."

"According to them, their camp was originally on the surface, but later, to avoid the war, the residents of the refuge lent them the material transfer area at the entrance, which led to the current establishment of their camp."

"During our conversations, I could feel that they have a profound affection for the residents of the refuge. For them, Shelter 101 is like Sacred Land, and the residents living there are more like teachers."

After listening to Lu Bei's report, Chu Guang looked at the notes he had casually written down and pondered for a long time, nodding thoughtfully.

"…I see."

He probably understood.

Simply put, Camp 101 is essentially the "spokesperson" supported by Shelter 101 on the surface.

These spokespersons, enlightened by the residents of the shelter, have gained knowledge not available in the wasteland, even some pre-war production methods and tools.

While enjoying the convenience brought by the achievements of pre-war civilization, they also bear the duty of "guarding the gate" for the refuge.

It must be said that this is a smart practice.

Compared to the refuges Chu Guang had encountered thus far, such as numbers 117 and 401, which failed due to the cultural restraint and arrogance of civilized people, the residents of Shelter 101, in their Blue Jackets, adopted a more cautious strategy—choosing worthy people to cultivate, enlightening the oblivious Waste Land Wanderers, teaching them to use utensils and books, getting them to learn mathematics and physics, to see the world from a rational viewpoint.

This not only ensured their education and professional skill levels but also ensured they shared similar worldviews, values, and ideologies with those of the Shelter 101 residents.

Through this method, the residents of Shelter 101 only had to pay a minuscule cost to collect the intelligence and resources they needed and also avoided the troubles that direct contact with the local survivors might bring.

Camp 101 was both the seed they sowed on the surface and their buffer zone with the wasteland.

Should they fail, they could always retract underground and reset the clock to 20, 50, or even 100 years later before trying again.

However, if successful, this seed would grow into a towering tree, establishing a stable and enlightened government on the wasteland...

Their historical mission would then be completed.

"…I didn't meet any residents of Shelter 101," Lu Bei carefully put this statement last, "The elder of Camp 101 told me that they wouldn't suggest the residents open the doors until they can confirm that the world outside is safe. Even though I tried to explain…we have already driven those Looters away, they just wouldn't believe me."

"After insisting, they took me to the main door of Shelter 101, where the residents completely ignored my explanations and told me to communicate with the people of Camp 101."

At this point, Lu Bei felt utterly frustrated.

He felt like a football, being kicked back and forth by both parties.

These people really don't know what's good for them!

Hearing the young man's complaint, Chu Guang immediately guessed what he was thinking and said with a smile,

"They're not worried about the Looters, they're worried about us."

Lu Bei paused.

"Worried... about us? But why would they worry about us?"

Chu Guang explained patiently,

"Looters can also wear Blue Jackets, and even carry our VMs, vital signs monitors are not particularly advanced technology, nor are they exclusive to the refuge."

"The first time we meet, they can only rely on their intuition to judge whether we come with good intentions, but ultimately they need to use their eyes to confirm whether what we claim and what we are doing are consistent."

"This world isn't black and white; those who drive away Looters aren't necessarily just allies of justice, they could also be another group of Looters. Their vigilance makes sense."

"That's why I repeatedly reminded you before you set out to be cautious when expressing our intentions, not to rush the other party into making a decision, to give them a little more patience, and if they hesitate, you could suggest that they come and see us for themselves."

After some thought, Lu Bei on the phone said as if struck by a realization,

"I understand, so we should invite some of their representatives to come take a look at our settlement."

Indeed, a student who is willing to learn.

Seeing the young man catch on, Chu Guang smiled and nodded in approval,

"Invite several people over, remember this is not a demand, but an invitation. We need electrical engineers here, as well as hydraulic engineers."

"You could even tell them that I plan to build a dam on the west and southwest sides of the Fourth District, to divert the overflowing lake water north into the Tributary of Tianshui, to irrigate the nearby land... It will be a long-term project, and we need their help."

Promising potential benefits is also part of the art of management; the New Alliance needs to find common ground with local survivors.

While water projects aren't the first priority in the construction of Dawn City, as the settlement grows, it was something that would eventually need to be addressed.

Lu Bei said excitedly,

"I understand!"

Chu Guang nodded in approval,

"Understood? Then go."

Chu Guang had always been very satisfied with this diligent and loyal young man and had been deliberately nurturing him.

For example, assigning him this task was meant as an opportunity for growth.

As for ability and birth, these were never issues; Chu Guang never believed in theories about bloodlines.

Placed in the right position, a person naturally grows.

Core members of the New Alliance, those who truly carried an aura, were in fact only Yin Fang, Heya, and Old Charlie; most of the rest were born Waste Land Wanderers.

Take Luka, for instance; he started as nothing more than a serf who worked the land, completely unfamiliar with logistics management, yet now he was able to manage the work entrusted to him in an orderly fashion.

And Chu Guang's envoy to Giant Stone City, Shu Yu, was initially just a refugee.

Including Chu Guang himself, back in the Alpha 0.1 version when the game just started, he didn't even have a dog and almost got gnawed on by one. Now, he seems to have everything.

After hanging up the call, Chu Guang was too lazy to go out to eat and instead rummaged a can of braised pork from his luggage. He browsed the forums on his VM while eating the canned meat with some steamed buns for dinner.

The official website today was as bustling as ever.

Coincidentally, while he was eating dinner, his little players were also having a meal.

It's just they were having breakfast due to the time difference.

Tail: "Wuwuwu… Tail already ate in the game, why do I have to eat again in reality! QAQ"

Si Si: "Isn't that a given…"

Tail: "Chilled to the bone! Why don't they develop a cultivation chamber that you can just lie in without having to worry about anything else! Eating, brushing teeth, bathing, going to the toilet is all too troublesome! (ノ｀Д)ノ"

Si Si: "Uh, are you talking about the kind with tubes... I think I'll pass."

Tail: "?"

Ah ah sesame paste: "Though what you say is true, even if such cultivation chambers existed, the anti-addiction system wouldn't allow 24-hour online availability, right? (˘•ω•˘)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Aha... Hahaha..."

"..."

That's some serious addiction.

As he looked at the discussion in the post, Chu Guang was at a loss for words, unsure of how to comment.

He wasn't responsible for the Morphogenesis Field equipment, and as for the cultivation chamber… there might be some, but it wasn't really important whether they existed or not. The helmet was already adequate. If you wake up needing to urinate, just go to the toilet and come back. Finding a spot to lie down and log out was basic practice for the players.

Although the cultivation chambers could make the players more focused on the game world, he still hoped his little players would eat well and live well in reality.

Even if it is the only fully immersive virtual reality game in the world, you shouldn't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

After closing the post, Chu Guang continued to browse the forum.

The majority of players were focused on the expansion pack's settlement and the rewards pool for the lottery tonight, but some were turning their attention to West State City, the newly unlocked map.

Like Brother Fang Chang, for instance.

Just like when he went to Giant Stone City before, upon reaching Camp 101, Fang Chang immediately conducted a detailed survey of the area and updated his findings on the official website without reservation.

"Shocking! A high-tech town hidden inside a tunnel! Observations from Camp 101!"

Seeing this title, Chu Guang clicked in immediately.

Embarrassingly, as a game designer, he was the last one to know about the new map's information.

Unlike other games where dog designers divulge insider information to top-tier players.

Like Lu Bei, Fang Chang first provided a detailed explanation of the background of Camp 101, combining the translator with his understanding.

However, different from Lu Bei, Fang Chang's narrative was from the player's perspective, which meant both his narrative style and focal points were different.

"… The technological level of Camp 101 is very high, and in the setting, they are a group of Wasteland people who have been educated in shelters. They possess both the characteristics of Blue Jacket and Wasteland people, and I even suspect that they are actually offspring from a mix of Blue Jacket and Wasteland people."

"According to what they say themselves, Shelter 101 residents only send out a few people from the inside when necessary. Sometimes it's to collect resources, sometimes to gather samples from the Wasteland, or to collect data, but usually they don't stay out for too long."

"They have no money, not even the concept of property; instead, they have various points and a living standard determined by one's job type and contribution to their position."

"For example, a regular employee would be entitled to a standard unit of living supplies, those in technical jobs get some consumer goods on top of the standard unit, plus regular KPI assessments to decide the ratio of additional supplies..."

"Of course, all this information is what I've gathered from narrative dialogues, it might not be accurate. Compared to Town of Hope, this place is more like a paradise formed by a 'few lucky ones.'"

"There are some special technologies here; they can make drones very small and even turn carbon dioxide into food. It's still unclear how they do it, but one thing's for sure - without money, Camp 101 probably can't trade as freely as Giant Stone City can."

"However, this does not mean they have no need for trade. Things like energy, food, and freshwater are extremely precious locally. Although we also need these, we can afford to trade some of our surplus with them."

"My guess is that trade with Camp 101 will probably take a more official form. For example, lifestyle players who run factories could hire highly educated engineers from Camp 101 to produce products that were previously unavailable to the New Alliance on a larger scale. Or perhaps they might open a new NPC store here and exchange high-tech products with us for resources."

Mole on the run in the canyon: "So, does that mean Camp 101 isn't a map for players?"

Fang Chang: "You can say that, mainly because this map doesn't even have a store."

Night Ten: "Brother Fang Chang seems pretty disappointed, there isn't even a bar where the clothes keep coming off. (Funny)"

Fang Chang: "Roll, roll, roll, when the hell did I ever go to that kind of bar?"

Makabazi: "Hahaha! Busted, bro!"

Teng Teng: "You guys are really too dirty. |･ω･`)"

Mole on the run in the canyon: "What about the quests? Stop distracting! Does the new map come with any quests?"

Fang Chang: "I didn't see any, the VM signal is pretty bad here... Besides, newly unlocked maps don't usually trigger quests, right?"

Wild Wind: "But, to be fair, the cultural level of people here is really not ordinary, they even have their own schools. Out of curiosity, I took a look, and they are actually teaching advanced mathematics."

Pick up trash 99 level: "What?! They even have a university?"

Night Ten: "Pff, you're too bored."

Wild Wind: "No, just curious... What surprised me even more is that the students in class are quite young. Normally, unless they are special talents, we don't recommend exposing them to professional content too early."

Crow: "Quite young... How young?"

Wild Wind: "About 12 years old."

Night Ten: "What the heck!?"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Awesome!"

Old White: "Twelve years old... I can't even remember if I was in middle school or sixth grade then. (Crying laughing)"

Elena: "12-year-olds studying calculus, what are they learning at 16? Rocket science? (Funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "If I give them my calculus homework, does that count as exploiting the developer's computing power? (Funny)"

Night Ten: "You're so naughty. (Funny)"

Yeah I need the toilet: "6666! @Warts athlete's foot whoever Levin haha, my thesis is settled!"

A chorus of engineering and science players shout in professional agreement.

Some math gamers on the cloud suggested that there's no need to let middlemen make a profit from arbitrage—they're posting homework on the forum directly for one silver coin per problem, at a fair price, no deception for old or young.

When they've amassed enough silver coins, they plan to upload their academic research topics into the game and have NPCs "ghostwrite" it for them.

As Chu Guang scrolled to the bottom of the post, he couldn't help but marvel at how his little gamers were truly a bunch of geniuses to think of having NPCs help with homework and papers.

Look at the extent of your aspirations; even in dreams, you're so cautious.

If there really were such an amazing game, why bother ghostwriting papers? Wouldn't it be better to just copy the technology for solid hydrogen?

However, it was clear that governments around the world had not divulged the "true identity" of the operators of Wasteland OL, and there even seemed to be deliberate efforts to conceal relevant clues.

After all, revealing such incomprehensible affairs as "extraterrestrial civilizations", besides causing unnecessary panic, would bring no benefits and might instead provoke some unknown entity.

But the cautious stance of government institutions had actually helped Chu Guang a lot.

Even if people on forums always shared spine-chilling "ghost stories", such as Wasteland OL being a real world, everyone just laughed it off and didn't take it seriously.

Experiments like the double-slit interference and measuring the gravitational constant are child's play that anyone can do; slightly more complex experiments are just slightly more obscure.

Not to mention, Wasteland OL has claimed in its "promotion" that the game is based on the Dream System and is constructed by players' subconscious minds and cognition.

Everything that a player sees in the game is what their subconscious believes they should see.

Logically speaking, a person inside a box can imagine whatever they want about the world outside the box but can't use the rules inside the box to prove the existence of the outside world.

The only way to prove the world outside of the cooperation exists is to open the box.

Of course, Chu Guang wouldn't do that.

Whether it's firsthand truth or secondhand truth, knowing too much is not a good thing.

But, when circumstances allow, he will try to open up the secondhand truth in a relatively mild way to help his players gain more benefits in real life.

This includes not only money and honor.

It can even be status.

After scrolling through the post from top to bottom, having given it some thought, Chu Guang made a judgment.

"... Brother Fang Chang's suggestion makes some sense; the social situation at Camp 101 resembles a miniature utopia. Thus, it should engage in more official forms of exchange."

"But it's not just about introducing skilled labor; we also have to bring in as much educational talent as possible."

Combining the "research reports" from Lu Bei and Brother Fang Chang, the New Alliance has a comprehensive understanding of Camp 101.

The only thing that puzzled Chu Guang was how this "small but beautiful" utopian society managed to exist in the Wasteland.

But that's not the main issue.

The main point is that there are many worthy technologies to be introduced there, which is exactly what the New Alliance needs.

With his finger sliding across the VM screen, Chu Guang spoke up.

"Xiao Qi, sort out the clues on the memo for me, and update the information about Camp 101 in the official database."

"Sure thing, master!" Xiao Qi's energetic response came through Chu Guang's earpiece.

Chu Guang nodded, glanced at the time, and seeing that it was almost 8 o'clock, continued.

"Right, and there's the DLC settlement; have you finished on your end?"

"Uh..."

That energetic voice suddenly became a bit subtle.

"Xiao Qi has finished... But master, are you sure this is really okay?"

Chu Guang was momentarily taken aback.

"What do you mean..."

Xiao Qi didn't answer but silently sent over the settlement table.

Seeing the prominent string of numbers on the table, Chu Guang nearly choked on his own saliva.

"A hundred million?! Are you sure you didn't add an extra zero?!"

Xiao Qi replied aggrievedly.

"How could I... Besides, master, the previous few battles also included points in the reward settlements, and with the war going on for so long, the players' average scores are almost up to 40,000..."

Chu Guang hastily exclaimed.

"But that's only..."

He cut himself off midsentence as he suddenly stopped.

The battle had gone on for two months, with new players joining the pit every day; the number of players was no longer the initial 1600 or so.

The player count in the server had now reached nearly 3000.

And it wasn't just front-line players who could earn points; players engaged in production work at the rear also had their share.

A message popped up on the screen.

[QAQ]

Chu Guang: "..."

Xiao Qi spoke softly, "Should we... dilute the prize pool a bit?"

As per tradition, each point corresponds to a value of 0.05 silver coins.

100 points for a draw, and while some can win an exoskeleton worth 2000 silver coins, others might only get a discount coupon or a lollipop.

If the total points amount to one billion, to ensure the drop rate, the total cost of the prize pool must be 5 million silver coins.

Lower than this number, the drop rate would be diluted.

In Chu Guang's expectations, the total points issued at the end of this DLC should have been around 20 million, with the cost of the prize pool controllable at 1 million silver coins.

But it jumped fivefold.

"I was negligent... this war is far too costly," Chu Guang said with a wry smile as he opened the System interface and glanced at the points he had saved.

Since the last Tide ended, aside from occasionally drawing a basic or intermediate Blind Box, he had mostly saved his points. Now, he had only about 1500 points.

15 advanced Blind Boxes...

Originally, he wanted to save up for 20 to draw all at once, but now it seemed impossible to save that much.

Hopefully, he'd get something good.

Otherwise, he'd have to find a way to fleece the newcomers again...

...

At the same time, at the Management Center of Camp 101, the air purifier made a soft whirring noise.

The white-haired old man sat in a chair, with his eyes slightly closed in deep thought, looking as if he had fallen asleep.

His name was Hoene, and he was the Mayor of Camp 101, responsible for all the camp's affairs and the appointment of various officials.

Half an hour ago, the New Alliance's representative offered them an invitation to visit the settlement.

Camp 101 didn't have an official specifically in charge of foreign affairs. The largest force they had ever encountered was the Chewing Bone Tribe.

As for survivor communities like the "Good Weather Cooperative" and "Happy Home," which had dozens or hundreds of members, they didn't need to go out of their way to make contact.

The tradition of Camp 101 was to have experts handle specific problems; however, what troubled Hoene was that he could not find someone to consult about this matter, so he had to call in all the officials.

Slowly opening his eyes, he looked around at the many officials seated before him.

"What do you think?"

Seeing the Mayor look in his direction, the Education Official hesitated for a moment before responding uncertainly.

"He's a very polite young man."

This comment was met with agreement from many.

Although the four bodyguards were a bit too curious and even accidentally entered their classrooms, that envoy named Lu Bei was indeed very polite.

This was also what puzzled them most.

Those who seemed most like residents of a refuge behaved beyond their understanding.

Hoene sighed softly.

"I am not asking for your opinion of that child. What I want to know is, what do you think of the New Alliance?"

The Security Official thought for a moment and said.

"They are very powerful. It took them only two months to end the war."

During the time when the battle was raging outside, Camp 101 was not completely oblivious; they had been watching secretly.

This included using cameras installed on the surface and deploying short-range drones.

The New Alliance's weapons were not particularly high-tech, but they had plenty in supply.

Overwhelming firepower and continuous aerial strikes helped them win the war.

If he had to give an evaluation, it would be one thing.

This survivor force is strong!

The Production Official murmured, "...but they use child labor. That child must be a soldier, right?"

The Education Official responded, "That's common in survivor settlements outside. After all, their average lifespan is only 35 years. We can't expect them to wait until they are over 40 to take on key positions like we do."

Terri, who stood to one side, suddenly spoke up, "Perhaps they sent a young person to express goodwill."

Although he was not an official, as the "Doorkeeper" of Camp 101, his status was not low.

He had a good first impression of Lu Bei.

Most Awakeners from the wasteland tended to be haughty, but the youth was unusually polite.

Them not sending an aggressive representative to showcase their dominance at least showed they were open to friendly relations.

This statement received agreement from many present.

"I think we should go visit their settlement, not just their Dawn City, but also their capital... that place called the City of Dawn."

"Indeed, it would be best if we could meet their Manager. Each refuge is different..."

After much contemplation, Hoene spoke.

"That's what I think too. We can't isolate ourselves forever, and certainly, we can't hide underground forever... what's more, they have expanded their territory to our doorstep."

The group murmured quietly among themselves.

At this moment, the Education Official spoke up.

"But the question is... who should we send?"

Hoene thought for a moment and said slowly.

"They sent us a child; we'll reciprocate by sending a child as well."

The Security Official hesitated, "Isn't that... too dangerous?"

"Of course, we won't send just one person for such a matter. Industry, economy, population... We have too little intelligence and too much to investigate."

The Production Official nodded.

"My suggestion as well, at least we should send two to three experts."

The Security Official frowned.

"But what about safety? The dangers outside aren't just Looters... don't forget how much we've sacrificed previously to collect samples from the nearby forest."

There's not enough manpower...

With his index finger pressing against his temple and leaning back in his chair, Hoene pondered for a long time before making a decision.

"I will request my superior to arrange a bodyguard for him."

Chapter 336: The Dog Plan Strikes Again to Harvest Leeks!

"…we met the people from Shelter No. 404."

In the center of a pristine white room, Hoene's face was filled with devotion.

"Oh?"

As if coming from the ether, a gentle voice rose at his ear.

"What kind of people are they?"

Hoene answered respectfully,

"They are a very special group… my experience does not help me make a more specific judgment. They extended an invitation, and I would like to send a few people to visit them."

"That's a good idea, you need to maintain communication with other survivors. Have you decided who to send?"

The voice carried a hint of approval.

A joyous expression momentarily graced Hoene's weathered face as he continued respectfully,

"Not yet, but we plan to choose one student and two engineers."

The voice that seemed to come from the depths sunk into contemplation.

After about two to three minutes, it continued,

"Let Pai go."

To his mentor's words, Hoene felt a hint of surprise but said nothing.

"I will heed your teachings."

The elder spoke respectfully, paused for a moment, then continued with his thoughts,

"The capital of the New Alliance is over 100 kilometers from us; for safety, I'd like to request a bodyguard."

"Approved. The doors open at 6 AM tomorrow." The voice from the ether quickly responded.

Hoene slightly bowed his head.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Go prepare well," the voice continued, "I too need to pick a suitable gift for our neighbors."

The communication ended.

Once the voice had departed, Hoene slowly raised his hands, his index fingers fumbling near his temples before he removed the VR glasses he wore on his head.

The pure white light faded from around him.

At that moment, he was standing in the management center of the camp.

The doors of the Shelter did not open easily.

For significant discussions like these, he would sit in his office and communicate with the Manager using VR devices.

After pondering for a moment, Hoene pressed a button on the touch screen on his desk.

Looking at the icon indicating that communication was connecting, he slowly started speaking,

"Ask Aven to come to the management center."

"I have important matters to discuss with him."

…

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

The settlement of the "Blade Unsheathed" expansion is in full swing.

The battle had raged for two months, and virtually all players had reaped substantial rewards, amassing a large pool of points waiting to be spent.

Even before the settlement began, numerous people had already posted screenshots on the official website, bragging about their point balances.

Ice and Fire Brother: "Damn, 100,000 points?!"

Fight it out with you: "Did you open something?!"

Falling Feather: "Jealous? Earned it with my life. (Proud)"

100,000 points wasn't even the most remarkable, a certain fat Mole had even scored 120,000 points.

The most eye-catching were probably the Burning Corps, with an average near 80,000 points.

Even the less visible Sterling Silver Corps, a third-tier legion, had an average score above 30,000.

It must be said, the Legion System truly is the father of the version; for individual players to secure high points, they must carve a different path like the "Difficult for the Strong" method.

However, with the Legion System, as long as there is a leader in the group, and the rest aren't excessively idle or disobedient to commands to the point of being kicked out, the yield is basically guaranteed.

Though points cannot be converted to Silver Coins, missions that reward points usually also offer Silver Coins or Contribution.

This shows how much "War Treasures" they distributed!

Less Bull BS: "This time, the average score might be around 20,000."

There actually are Mosquitoes in the WC: "Be confident, I think at least 40,000. (Proud)"

Mole on the Run in the Canyon: "Suddenly feeling anxious…"

Makabazi: "What's there to be anxious about? Isn't it good to have more?"

Mole on the Run in the Canyon: "Not that… You can't just look at the surface of the problem, more points mean more people in the prize draw. Given the design of this game's lottery system, it's not the explosion rate that's fixed but the pool of prizes…"

Less Bull BS: "Hold up, can you speak human?"

Mole on the Run in the Canyon: "In human terms, it means the prize pool might be diluted."

Construction Youth and Bricks: "Damn?!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Is it that dogged?!"

Fang Chang: "Your surprise looks like you're playing this game for the first time. (Sly smile)"

As players fervently discussed, Ah Guang's ID suddenly appeared on the forum.

Seeing the planner's ID, not just the players perked up, but also the Backseat Drivers, spies from various countries and companies, and the silly netizens straightened up.

"Hello everyone, I'm your most beloved planner, Ah Guang. First, allow me to represent all the developers and wish everyone a happy Children's Day!"

"To celebrate the holiday, and to keep our programmers from anxiety, our attacking lions designed an automated banana-feeding machine… sadly, we're out of type 5 batteries here, and there's no supermarket, so we had to solve this ourselves."

"Fortunately, our attacking lions are reliable enough not only to make a battery but also to solve some interesting issues. Hint: it involves a layer of film. Everyone decided it'd be a shame not to use it to make some money for snacks, so we decided to sell it to the highest bidder!"

"So, the auction starts in three days, starting bid—1 million Silver Coins!"

"Back to the main point, with June arriving, 'Wasteland OL's' closed beta server will soon enter the hot summer, rainfall will increase, and urban and forest areas will become more dangerous; crawling and arthropod animals are entering a strong period… probably no player has explored the southern hemisphere yet, so this statement isn't wrong."

"Also, thank you all for your continued support. The expansion ended successfully, and we gained valuable experimental data! Thanks to this data, we've taken a big step closer to the open beta!"

"The boss says we've won big, and I believe it's not just us, you guys are the same! Isn't it exciting to see all those zeros in your account? Aren't you happy? Haha, I'm as happy as you are!"

"To thank everyone for your support, we've prepared rich prizes! Starting now, the point lottery and achievement exchange activities officially begin!"

"Let's celebrate this victory!"

As soon as the post was made, the official website unlocked the lottery system, and the forum instantly erupted in celebration.

100 points per draw, 10,000 points for a 100 consecutive draws!

Although this game stingily has no setting for giving 20 free draws on a 100 consecutive draw, with everyone averaging 40,000 points, drawing them all at once would still be very thrilling!

As players were busy scratching tickets and Backseat Drivers joyously watched, the intelligence systems of various countries were also busy, with some peering through screens and others holding meetings, in a flurry of activity.

After more than two months without posting, Ah Guang reentered their sights.

For those who had been busy for months without any progress, there was nothing more exciting than this!

"Type 5 batteries out of stock... An organization with mature quantum computing technology is out of Type 5 batteries?"

"That's nonsense!"

"There must be some hidden clues in this... What is Ah Guang hinting at?"

"Lock down all areas within a 5-kilometer radius that do not have a supermarket!"

"Is that on a global scale? That would be too many..."

Somewhere.

Listening to the discussion of his colleagues, the square-faced man sighed and closed his notebook.

"Is there a possibility... that this person is just spouting nonsense?"

Everyone in the conference room was momentarily stunned.

The man in the police uniform was the first to recover, tapping his index finger on the table.

"We cannot rule out that possibility!"

Without sufficient evidence, any possibility exists.

Various signs indicated that the man whose existence had been erased seemed unaware that he had been abducted by an extraterrestrial civilization, or perhaps he was aware but indifferent and had fully accepted his new job.

At this moment, the elderly man sitting at the table suddenly spoke.

"What do you think the 'membrane' is?"

The square-faced man was slightly startled.

"Membrane...?"

The old man nodded.

"Didn't they say they had solved some interesting problems?"

Saying this, he looked at the others in the room and continued to ask.

"Do we have any experts on batteries here?"

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads.

The man in the green shirt frowned and spoke.

"Batteries... Our unit purchases batteries from cooperative units, so I'm not very familiar with this part."

Just then, a consultant from the chemical sector suddenly spoke up.

"Could he be referring to the SEI membrane?"

The square-faced man immediately asked.

"What is that?"

The consultant explained.

"It's actually not something rare... Simply put, it's a solid electrolyte interface, essentially a passivation layer that covers the surface of the electrode material, approximately 100 nanometers thick. For example, in lithium batteries, a good SEI membrane can prevent solvent molecules from co-intercalating, allowing lithium ions to pass through smoothly and embed themselves, thus inhibiting the formation of lithium dendrites."

The old man sitting at the conference table looked confused.

"Lithium... what?"

He didn't quite catch that.

Anticipating this reaction, the consultant sighed and continued to explain.

"Simply put, it's a technical challenge that lithium batteries face. When lithium ions reduce, they form dendritic metallic lithium that continuously consumes the electrolyte during the charge and discharge cycles, leading to irreversible lithium metal deposits, reducing coulombic efficiency... and might even pose safety hazards due to contact between the positive and negative electrodes."

The Moli company in the 1980s went bankrupt due to this issue, later acquired by the electrical giant NEC at the time, but still has not overcome the technical challenges of lithium metal anode batteries.

The mainstream method in the industry is to use carbon-based materials for electrodes, sacrificing battery capacity to ensure safety.

Although the energy density of lithium anode material is tempting, no one wants to carry a bomb on them, or sit on a rocket.

The old man was still pondering, but the square-faced man seemed to understand and nodded thoughtfully.

"So, by solving the issue with that 'membrane,' we can increase the energy density of the batteries?"

A bitter smile appeared on the consultant's face.

"You could understand it that way... However, I must emphasize that lithium dendrites are just one of the technical challenges in lithium battery research, and the artificial SEI membrane is only one of the current academic solutions proposed for this issue."

"As for whether it's useful or how to use it... these are points of contention. Currently, the main research directions are building houses and walls; maybe both approaches are right, maybe neither."

A curious colleague sitting nearby asked, "What do you mean by neither being correct?"

The consultant responded concisely.

"It means that not all problems will definitely have a standard answer."

The old man suddenly spoke up.

"This 'membrane'... approximately how much could it increase the energy density of batteries?"

The consultant took a sip of tea, moistened his throat, and continued.

"...That depends on what battery you're comparing it to. According to the white paper we published on the development of power batteries, the target for 2025 is to reach 400Wh/kg and by 2030, 500Wh/kg. I don't know much about batteries, but these data should be based on opinions from academic and industry experts."

"If we could replace the graphite anode in lithium batteries with pure lithium, the energy density could theoretically increase by an order of magnitude."

"An order of magnitude?!" The man in the police uniform showed a look of astonishment.

Not just him, everyone in the conference room showed similar expressions of surprise.

Just hearing the numbers didn't mean much.

But once they had a point of reference for comparison, they immediately understood the value of this technology.

The consultant continued.

"Roughly around one to two thousand, which is about an order of magnitude, but as for the exact amount... you'd better ask someone knowledgeable in the industry."

The man in the green shirt suddenly stood up.

"I'm going to make a call to my unit."

The old man sitting at the conference table nodded, his expression serious.

"Go ahead."

At the same time, a similar scene was playing out in various parts of the real world globally.

This developers' log of less than a thousand words had been analyzed over and over again by various organizations' intelligence agencies, not even sparing the punctuation marks.

Most intelligence agencies came to the same speculation—this might be a signal of enlightenment released by an extraterrestrial civilization.

As is well-known, one of the three pillars of modern technology is energy.

If this mysterious website truly possessed technology far beyond that of the current era, it could undoubtedly provide favorable evidence for the theory of "third kind of encounter."

After all, no technology can exist without the support of a scientific research system; it cannot just appear out of nowhere.

While players were busy with their lotteries, the silver coin consignment platform had already quietly heated up.

Although it was unknown what "Wasteland OL" official website planned to auction in three days, it was always good to prepare in advance.

"Foreign exchange," the kind of thing you can't think of just when you need it.

The daily trading volume on the platform is just so limited, it's not even a matter of whether it's a buyer's market or a seller's market, it's that there simply aren't enough silver coins in the pool to be bought.

Players need silver coins to upgrade their devices, to eat, sleep, and even to bathe.

Yes.

According to the intelligence they gathered from snooping on the official website, this damn game even charges for bathing.

"Shit… do these lucky bastards even know what they're doing?"

Fang Chang, arms crossed, couldn't help but swear with envy as he stared at the string of numbers on the computer screen.

Just half an hour ago, their project team received a batch of funds.

Though the money wasn't exactly in their pockets, it was "within a reasonable range" to improve their work environment and living conditions.

A portion of these funds came from official institutional grants.

But even more came from giants whose positions were aligned with the official institutions.

After all, official agencies themselves don't produce anything, and even if they got the technology, it's useless without businesses or individuals to register patents, expand production, create monopolies, and snatch up others' cake.

This was the rule of the game in the real world.

"They better never find out!"

"Indeed, truths like these, the fewer who know, the better… otherwise, where would we get such cheap silver coins?" the intelligence officer standing beside him teased with a laugh.

The colleague next by clenched their fists, cheering and urging in front of the computer screen.

"Buy now, dammit, why can't this trading volume increase? They're not selling even for 8 US dollars per silver coin?!"

The trader sitting at the computer analyzed gravely.

"It's probably not a matter of price… Players with US dollar and cryptocurrency accounts make up too small a proportion! There's a barrier to foreign exchange transactions, and many people might just avoid the hassle and filter out less commonly used currencies."

"It's not just that, some dense small trades clearly don't seem like player activities… They're more like speculators who haven't directly participated in the game."

"In other words, we didn't get any of those big orders over 1000 silver coins!"

Not only players could participate in the silver coin trading platform, but Backseat Drivers could trade just the same, even indirectly joining in the game's investments through protocol holdings.

When the silver coin trading platform was first launched, many people hoarded a bunch of silver coins.

Now that there's suddenly a large buy order, those retail investors who aren't clear on the situation promptly cash out and exit.

Thanks to these people for their contributions of cheap chips.

The real auction would be in three days, and as it approached, the competition would intensify, and the price of silver coins might become even more exaggerated…

The intelligence officer standing beside spoke gravely.

"We still need to figure out a way to get a clean RMB account with funding!"

Damn, why is this so troublesome?!

Phillip couldn't help but kick the table.

"Fuck!"

…

One thing Phillip's colleague guessed right was that most accounts selling on the silver coin trading platform indeed belonged to Backseat Drivers.

As for why players didn't join in, it wasn't entirely an account issue.

Ultimately, everyone was busy scratching off lottery cards and simply didn't notice.

Many points magnates went directly for 10 sets of 100 consecutive draws, and the computer screens twinkled with golden light all over.

Every prize had its corresponding card.

Even skipping the lottery animation and reviewing each prize one by one took quite some time.

Not to mention taking screenshots of the grand prizes to show off on the forum, or cursing the Dog Planned for drawing trash in small chat groups.

Closed beta player discussion board.

Many had already posted screenshots, sharing their joy of winning with everyone.

"Wait, what the hell is a military armament gift pack? Who got one?"

"The description says it's varying amounts of weaponry supplies, usable for trading with other NPC forces, or you can sell them to newbies or use them yourself… So it's basically war loot, right?"

"I understand all that, but why do I need to draw twice after just one draw?"

"I also got… a Ripper Rifle?"

"What is this, a Russian nesting doll?!"

"Hahaha, I got ten!"

"Awesome!!"

The Ripper Rifle was the standard weapon of Army Cannon Fodder, known for its long and hard barrel, with a bayonet attached, it nearly reached two meters in length.

It also had another name on the forum, called dead fish thrust.

This equipment, aside from saving bullets and not jamming often, really had no other advantages.

In actual trench warfare, the more compactly designed assault rifles like the LD-47 were more practical; using long weapons wasn't necessarily an advantage.

However, due to their abundance, the Ripper Rifle's ammunition was much easier to find than the corporate "Black Swan," making this weapon quite popular in many Survivor Settlements.

After all, not every Survivor Settlement could massively equip automatic rifles.

Selling these military supplies in the New Alliance wouldn't fetch a high price, but if taken to a farther Survivor Settlement for sale, and then dragging back local specials to the New Alliance, one could make a good amount of money.

Overall, this "military armament gift pack" was much better than any consolation prize.

Of course, the new tricks hatched by Dog Planned were just appetizers; what the players truly focused on were the top prizes in the reward pool.

Not everyone had the chance to become Exalted, but getting a whiff of that aura was nice too.

After all, it was a closed beta.

The main focus was testing, so it was normal if the equipment was lacking.

Once the game officially launched, everyone would eventually get to play!

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the first Exalted of this expansion pack's lottery event finally emerged.

Spring Water Commander: "Holy shit! Destroyer Type I Exoskeleton! It carries a 120mm caliber mortar on its back… Holy shit?! This gear is freaking awesome!"

Probably overwhelmed by excitement, Brother Spring Water forgot to keep it low-key this time.

Not only did he endlessly brag but also posted screenshots and his award-winning speech, sharing the joy of becoming Exalted with everyone.

However...

Not everyone shared in the joy.

The post exploded instantly.

Edge Shoveling: "Holy shit! Why the hell is it always you!"

Mole on the run: "Damn Exalted! Go die!"

Quit smoking: "Dark curtain! It's absolutely a dark curtain!"

Spring Water Commander: "A dark curtain my ass! I fucking spent 120,000 points, why wouldn't I hit it on 1200 draws, bro!"

However, this statement clearly couldn't convince everyone.

The laid-back crowd didn't care all that much.

Silver Daddy: "Gross, how can that old dog Coin score 120,000 points when I only have 30,000?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Woo woo woo, this defies all reason! Begging the developers to nerf it!"

Neighbor Old Wang: "Supported! I wholeheartedly support!"

The Spring Water Commander immediately panicked, hurriedly deleting the post, but it was already too late.

Screenshots of the equipment were uploaded all over the official website.

According to the information displayed in the screenshots, the Destroyer Type I Exoskeleton was even bulkier than the Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" Exoskeleton, practically on par with power armor.

Different from the Type 6 Exoskeleton, the Destroyer Type I's armor emphasized protection not from light weapons but from explosive shards and shockwaves.

Specifically, the inside of the armor was filled with a thick layer of cushioning material, making it look quite bulky.

The 120mm mortar on its back required a hands-on-ground stance like taking a run-up when deploying and it couldn't move.

With an automatic reloading system, theoretically, as long as there were enough shells, deploying just one could deliver massive firepower to the target area in a short time.

Basically, it was an "all-terrain" self-propelled mortar that could enter narrow lanes.

Truly a perfect weapon for street fights!

However, due to its cumbersome nature, with a bulky chemical energy battery and external ammo rack, it wasn't suitable for direct battlefield confrontation.

To put it bluntly, this thing was full of flaws, and it would be quite embarrassing if someone got too close.

Players from the Storm Corps all said, letting that old dog Coin get such doggy equipment might just let him "dog" his way into heaven.

But to give credit where it's due,
providing close-range fire support before an offense could indeed be extremely advantageous.

The reward pool contained more than just this piece of equipment.

This time, the game officials prepared ten grand prizes, and half of them were previously unseen.

As for the exoskeleton equipped with a mortar, it couldn't really be considered the ultimate piece.

After all, such equipment was only useful in specific situations, and the ammunition was also an issue.

If you talked about overall combat capability, it might not be more effective than the Type 5 Light Cavalry.

"Plasma Knife! Awesome! I'm changing my class to Force Warrior right now!"

"Magnetic Slingshot... What's the use of this thing? Is it for shooting birds?"

"Portable flying backpack... I'm just asking, are they planning on making me a target in the sky?"

"Hahaha, you could discuss with the guy above, you be the bird."

"..."

In the school's computer lab.

While browsing the posts on the official forum, Ye Wei was incredibly envious.

Damn!

He had also saved up over a hundred thousand points, yet why couldn't he ever win an SSSR?

It must have been balanced by those damn planners!

But actually, it didn't matter much.

One should not be too greedy.

His earnings in the expansion far exceeded those points, and even if it really was balanced, there was nothing to complain about.

The development of the new map, Dawn City, had just commenced, and the Bull Horse Brick Factory's orders were backed up until the end of the year; they were now frantically expanding production.

Not just bricks, but also cement, were within their business scope.

Although numerous competitors trying to steal business had also sprung up in City of Dawn recently, in terms of scale, they simply couldn't compare with their "Shelter-controlled" businesses.

Escaping from the beta players' section, Ye Wei spent some time on the gossip section, wanting to see what the Backseat Drivers were discussing.

But when he saw the first post, he laughed.

"...Silver Coin price increase?"

What a joke!

It wasn't that Silver Coin prices hadn't risen before, but they generally rose when a new expansion or new gameplay had just launched, not possibly at the end of an expansion.

The surplus profit from the expansion was just being resolved, everyone's pockets were stuffed with Silver Coins, and without the need to change equipment temporarily, even the wealthy wouldn't be spending their money at this time.

There was no point!

Not to mention that after the previous few battles and crazy cash spewing from expansions, several rich tycoons day-by-day shipped out goods to "improve life," the transaction price of Silver Coin had almost dropped to single digits just days before.

"Hehe, I would be eager to see how high it could climb."

Out of curiosity, Ye Wei casually opened the Silver Coin trading platform to take a look.

And he was stunned.

"What the heck?!"

8 US Dollars per Silver Coin?!

He checked several times to confirm, and the listings were buy orders, not sell orders.

And there wasn't just one.

A whole ten buy orders, each for a hundred thousand Silver Coins, lined up with a one-dollar increment!

The topmost order was already 40% fulfilled; the 7-dollar and 6-dollar buy orders hadn't started transacting since the highest-priced buy order hadn't been satisfied yet.

Not just in US Dollars, RMB, Euros, and other currencies were also listed.

The offers were outrageous!

It was as if overnight, the market had returned to the early days when the Silver Coin trading platform had just launched.

"Have these people gone mad?!"

Seeing that 52RMB order, Ye Wei's heart rate sped up, his palm sweating as he gripped the mouse.

His first instinct was to cash in now!

To sell off while he could!

After this village, there wouldn't be this shop!

However, this thought lingered in his mind for only half a minute before he calmed down.

There was something fishy about this!

The entire trading platform was completely sealed by buy orders; not a single sell order was in sight.

Who in the world was throwing around money like this?

After taking a deep breath, Ye Wei resisted the urge to sell, grabbed his mobile phone from the table, and rapidly tapped the screen to send a message to his buddies in the Bull Horse group.

"Quick!"

"Check the Silver Coin trading platform!!!"

Chapter 337: The Unfathomable Ah Guang

The message was sent to the group chat.

The chat went silent for a moment.

Suddenly, everyone began to chime in.

Old White: "Yanqing's Olympic bid was successful."

Fang Chang: "3G wings are too fast, huh?"

Wild Wind: "Are you a GG or an MM?"

Night Ten: "Damn! Are you guys even listening?"

MMP!

Seeing the chance to make a fortune, I thought of you guys first.

Ye Wei, clutching his mobile phone, was both frustrated and amused. Just as he was about to type an explanation, another message from Brother Fang Chang popped up.

Fang Chang: "No, it's just that the group has been discussing for a while. Your sudden comment caught me off guard."

Ye Wei: ???

What?

Has there been a discussion for half a day?

Ye Wei paused and quickly slid his index finger up the screen, indeed seeing messages about the sudden spike in the price of silver coins.

Damn it.

Am I the only one out of the loop?

Ye Wei's expression was somewhat subtle.

Originally wanted to show off to the brothers.

Now this is awkward.

Fang Chang: "Just give us the conclusion, these buyers popping up on the official website, they probably have significant backgrounds."

Quit smoking: "What do you mean, explain."

Fang Chang: "Do I need to explain? Would any normal person spend a billion to buy a bunch of numbers?"

And it's not just one person.

It's a group of people, as if they've agreed to pool together and buy!

Not to mention other currencies.

Just in the RMB trading area, there's a tycoon throwing out a billion, breaking down 2 million silver coins into 20 orders, neatly filling the price range of 55~45.

Although the orders are anonymous, making it impossible to tell if they're placed by the same person, the amounts don't lie.

Placing an order on the silver coin trading platform isn't just about entering a number.

You need to have the funds verified.

Pick up trash 99 level: "Have these people gone mad? (Confused)"

There are really mosquitoes in WC: "Damn, I'm starting to suspect these are game officials' dummy accounts!"

Fang Chang: "We can't rule out that possibility, but it's unlikely. Normal, slightly larger companies with a decent number of players don't bother with these micromanagement tactics, let alone a game company with millions of followers, cutting-edge technology, and devices you can use for free."

Quit smoking: "Then what do you think they're up to?"

Fang Chang: "I guess it has something to do with that auction."

Ye Wei, staring at his mobile screen, paused before typing.

"...Auction?"

Fang Chang didn't explain further but instead sent Ah Guang's post to the group chat.

And, worried his good brother might miss it, he even highlighted it for him.

Looking at the text circled in red, Ye Wei was baffled.

Night Ten: "Holy... This is just Ah Guang's usual bullshit, right?!"

Isn't bullshitting in posts what Ah Guang always does?

The old players all know that, right?

How could there really be an auction...

And what would they auction?

An automatic banana feeder?

Fang Chang: "That's true, but some might take it seriously."

Ye Wei poked the screen and typed back.

"This... how could anyone take it seriously?"

Fang Chang: "Like batteries, for example."

"Batteries?!"

Doesn't Ah Guang work at the game company?

Ye Wei was puzzled.

Fang Chang: "Let me make an assumption, guys, how many years ahead do you think that helmet is compared to our current 5G smartphones?"

Wild Wind: "...There's no comparison, right?"

Fang Chang: "Exactly! There is no comparison, it's as if these two things belong to different eras. And this is precisely the issue! An organization with mysterious technology suddenly announces they intend to auction an unheard-of technology... If you happen to work in the related field, wouldn't you be interested?"

Ye Wei, fixated on his mobile screen, was stunned.

Now that you mention it...

It kinda makes sense.

Although Ah Guang often teases about their company's potato servers, how could this "completely immersive virtual reality game" that can hold thousands of players online at the same time run on a potato server?

Forget potato servers...

Even Tianhe-X might not be enough, right?

It might even be the legendary quantum computer.

And not the experimental one in labs, but a mature supercomputing array made of multiple quantum processors!

Ye Wei felt his head buzzing.

His imagination wasn't enough.

Pick up trash 99 level: "Holy... the more you talk, the more I think our game was made by aliens. (shaking in fear.jpg)"

Quit smoking: "Should we just tag Ah Guang and ask? (Nervous)"

Old White: "Ah Guang won't respond to questions about the game, and besides, his account hasn't been online for a long time, it's no use tagging him."

Quit smoking: "But I still don't get it, if they really needed money... why go through all this trouble, they'd make a killing just by going public, right?"

Pre-sales, then produce trash, isn't that how the industry operates?

On the contrary, isn't this secretive approach a bit weird?

Fang Chang: "Yeah, it is strange. My guess is... maybe all of what Ah Guang said is true, their server really can only handle a few thousand people online at the same time."

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato, who had been silent, suddenly chimed in.

"If what Ah Guang says is true, then those programmers who died..."

The group fell silent for a while.

Old White: "Cough, alright, you guys stop telling ghost stories... We're discussing silver coin prices here, how did the subject change to Ah Guang. Let's not talk about Ah Guang for now, tell me about your plans."

Dream on.

Ye Wei was most interested in this topic, typing with a grin he couldn't hide.

"Buy a house! Isn't that obvious?"

He had it all figured out.

Housing in Jiang City wasn't expensive, and second-hand homes were even cheaper. Taking advantage of the high demand for silver coins, he intended to cash in two or three million first, buy a place near the school, and then purchase another for his parents.

Then he'd have one publicly and one privately. When someone asked him how much his property management fee was, he could just pull out two keys—"Which one are you asking about, junior sister?"

Though it was a bit tacky.

But that's not important!

Showing off is all about feeling good yourself.

Noticing the weird looks from his buddy beside him, Ye Wei quickly realized he was getting carried away again, cleared his throat, and moderated his exaggerated smile.

Messages whizzed up the mobile phone screen.

Quit Smoking: "Tycoon!"

Pick up Trash 99 Level: "666!"

Fang Chang: "That's a valid approach, improving one's life is reasonable. However, when it comes to large-sum transfers, you must be very careful about security."

Looking at the messages on his screen, Ye Wei paused.

"Being careful means..."

Fang Chang: "A few hundred thousand, or even one or two million doesn't matter, it's small fry and no one will care about you. Some small business turnovers can reach this level, as long as you pay your taxes legally and aren't involved in criminal cases, the bank would at most call to ask if you're interested in their products."

"But once the amount reaches tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, you have to consider the transaction counterpart and method carefully."

Anonymity and safety are always relative concepts, not absolute.

Abnormal activity in a personal account will automatically raise the bank's scrutiny. And if that incoming money is in foreign currency, then it's not just an issue of taxes anymore.

And that's not all.

What Fang Chang was most worried about wasn't the money, but the identities behind those backers.

If it was just a normal company, that would be one thing.

But it would be problematic if it wasn't just companies involved, and if the situation was more complicated.

Fang Chang even had a feeling.

That in some place out of sight, another "Game" was unfolding.

Perhaps this "Game" had already gone several rounds; the players had reached a preliminary consensus and were tacitly maintaining a seemingly stable balance.

There Really Are Mosquitoes WC: "Hey, if that thing's really that great, why don't we join forces and just gather up some silver coins to snag it?(smirk)"

Although it sounded somewhat far-fetched, it was actually feasible.

The owners of Bull Horse Brick Factory and Goblin Technology, as well as a bunch of early version players, were all in this group.

1 Million Silver Coins might be expensive, but everyone could chip in if they gritted their teeth.

Even forget 1 million, pulling in a few more people to gather 2 million wasn't a problem.

The key was that there were only so many silver coins available on the trading platform; by turning off the tap, they could effectively "corner the market."

No matter how much outside capital there was, they could only watch helplessly on the trading platform. As long as the official website didn't disclose the buyer's identity, no one would know who ended up with the merchandise.

Fang Chang: "I know what the hell you're thinking, and while I admit it's one option, I sure as shit don't want to be that target. Besides, even if someone gave me battery designs or whatever, I'd still be clueless. Playing the 'Game' is my main gig, I don't have the energy or time for anything else."

Old White: "Haha, what kind of loser talk is that... But I can't really say much about you. My advice is the same as Fang Chang's, just cash in a bit of silver to improve your life, Wasteland OL is just in beta testing now, cashing out early is a big loss."

There Really Are Mosquitoes WC: "Sheesh, you guys with no ambition... Starting a company doesn't conflict with playing the game!"

Cornering the market isn't something one person can do alone; it requires everyone working together to ensure all the chips are on their side.

To be honest, Mosquito was quite interested in what Ah Guang was auctioning off.

Not because he expected it to be "valuable," but because he was... a bit mischievous.

What if it turned out to be something good?

Buying it to take a look wouldn't be too much, would it?

If it proved useless, he could always add a zero and sell it off.

The auction was still three days away, and people on the official website were already offering a billion for silver coins,

If they wanted it that bad, they could take a billion, saving Ah Guang the transaction fee.

But, upon second thought, Mosquito realized Fang Chang had a point.

Recklessly getting involved in unfamiliar situations was indeed not a wise choice.

"...Never mind, never mind, you make sense. The more I think about it, the more complicated it seems, better to observe first."

Fang Chang: "I'm glad you're thinking this way. By the way, I have a proposal."

Quit Smoking: "What proposal?"

Fang Chang: "Night Ten just mentioned buying a property and it reminded me, we'll probably have more opportunities to cash out silver coins in the future, and frequent personal transactions are still risky. Why don't we just register a company, transfer from personal to business, and then from business back to personal? This adds a step, but makes paying taxes and staying within regulations much smoother."

Seeing the message on the screen, Ye Wei's eyes lit up and he quickly agreed by typing.

"That's a brilliant idea!"

Being a landlord has none of the cachet of being a shareholder!

Of course, he wasn't just trying to show off.

He simply thought that explaining income as an individual and dealing with the tax service was too much of a hassle.

He still had to attend school, make bricks in Wasteland, and maintain his own social life and activities in reality.

Just like Fang Chang said, it was better to register a company and have professionals take care of these matters for them.

Pick up Trash 99 Level: "But what kind of company do we register?"

Fang Chang: "Actually, that's easy to figure out, just fill in the template based on typical power-leveling services and game studios. There's Information Technology services, E-commerce, many options."

Quit Smoking: "Damn, we can do that?"

Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: "Eh... won't that be a problem in terms of business scope?"

Fang Chang: "It depends on the location, the same regulation can be applied differently in different places, it's pretty relaxed where we are."

"If you guys think it's fine, I can take care of it, that's OK too!"

Compared to discussing how to spend money, it seemed that a shared venture sparked more enthusiasm for discussion.

The group started earnestly discussing, with a mix of serious and less serious topics.

The topic quickly went from the company's business scope to the amorous affairs portrayed in the old online gaming narratives.

Looking at the messages on his mobile phone, Ye Wei suddenly thought of something and typed.

"Speaking of which, what shall we call our company?"

Surely it won't still be Bull Horse, right...

I still want to show off with a business card.

The group fell silent for a moment.

Fang Chang: "Is that even a question? (sidelong glance)"

Wild Wind: "Indeed."

Old White: "Has this guy's account been hacked?"

Quit Smoking: "Hahahaha!"

Ye Wei: '...'

Chu!

...

Camp 101.

Aven was flipping through the materials in his hands.

As the archive manager of the camp, his main task was to organize and classify the knowledge given to them by the "mentors," and to select the appropriate parts to be handed over to the production department or the education department, to serve as guidance for production materials or teaching materials.

This job was not easy.

The so-called science and technology was not just a few sheets of paper, nor was it a string of data.

It was an entire "system."

In the distant era of the Human Alliance, hundreds of millions of researchers and related professionals jointly supported the scientific research system of the Alliance.

Some were responsible for gathering, some for analysis, some for proof, some for pointing out the direction, some for questioning, some for summarizing, some for managing...

That was blood and flesh made up of hundreds of millions of cells.

And so-called technology was but the hair that grew from this flesh.

What about now?

All they could do was to collect the giant's sweat hairs and wrap them around themselves for warmth.

Not to mention him...

Even that legendary "Academy"— what about it?

Many of them were bona fide old popsicles from that era.

But even so, the legacy of the Alliance was still vanishing every second, and all they could do was to save as much as possible within their capacity.

Aven believed his work was meaningful; after all, as long as one was alive, there was hope.

It was okay not to make starships; they could start from the most basic screws.

However, as he aged, this work became more and more difficult for him.

In fact, this work was not supposed to be done by him alone.

But given Camp 101's small population, many people had to take on multiple roles.

Like himself.

He was both the archive manager and a school professor, and occasionally when the production department encountered insoluble problems, they had to bother him, someone who knew a little about everything, for help.

They had thought about hiring more people, but ordinary Waste Land Wanderers were simply not adequate, at most capable of helping them cook, clean, or collect some rubbish...

After pondering for a moment, Aven stuffed the last stack of printed papers into the folder.

Just then, a knocking sound came from outside the door.

He knew who it was from the sound and spoke.

"Come in."

The door opened.

A pleasant voice drifted in with the wind.

"Master, were you looking for me?"

Standing at the door was Pai.

She was not particularly tall, wearing a blue-striped white jacket, her light golden hair hanging past her chin, and her nose and eyebrows had a touch of heroism; her eyes were the blue of the sea... even though Aven had never seen the sea.

Maybe because her eyes and the Blue Jacket were the same color, she had been doted on by the forerunners of the shelter since she was very young. They even gave her a precious bionic chip, which endowed her with a memory and computing abilities far beyond ordinary people.

It was said that even the Black Box could not produce such a thing, and even before the war, it was valuable, with one less each time it was used.

Thanks to this, at just 16 years of age, she had mastered multiple professional skills such as mechanical engineering, microelectronics engineering, and astrophysics.

According to the standards of the Academy, her professional level was already sufficient to qualify as a Class D researcher or prospector, and the gap between her and higher-level researchers was merely experience.

After all, experience could not be simply acquired through learning.

Listening to that lively voice, Aven sighed softly and looked at the girl at the door, correcting her formally.

"It's 'Teacher.'"

Pai pouted.

"Alright, Teacher!"

Why so serious?

But remembering what the educational affairs officer had said to her earlier, she still tried to be patient.

This would make her seem a bit more prudent, cute, mature—especially more reliable!

Looking at Pai at the door, Aven's expression was complicated.

This child was his most proud student, not only smart but also diligent.

However, she had many shortcomings.

Like being restless, lacking a sense of awe, and unable to endure tedious work...

The "treasure" bestowed on her by the forerunners had spared her from the troubles of contemplation, but many qualities, including patience, were to be attained amidst those troubles.

Aven really could not imagine her sitting quietly at a table, sorting through materials like he did.

It looked like he would have to postpone his retirement age again...

"The school should have told you that starting from tomorrow, you will represent the visiting group and go on a visit to the City of Dawn, the capital of the New Alliance."

Pai stood up straight, full of enthusiasm.

"Don't worry, Teacher! I will definitely bring back a beautiful agreement!"

Aven smiled and said.

"That won't be necessary; your main task is to show friendliness and then to inspect the local cultural landscape and social environment... When you return, I need you to write an investigation report."

"Ah? Isn't that just being a mascot..." Pai looked a bit disappointed.

When the educational affairs officer talked to her about this, she thought she was being sent as a diplomat to represent everyone in Camp 101 and the forerunners of Shelter 101 to sign an equal and friendly cooperation agreement with the New Alliance and Shelter No. 404.

That's it?

Although it's nice to take a trip, she wanted to do more for everyone.

Especially something more meaningful.

Anticipating what his student would say, Aven explained gently.

"Before communication, the first thing to do is to understand; don't underestimate this work. Your survey report will help us more accurately assess our neighbors, which is crucial."

This statement lightened Pai's mood somewhat.

Especially the last part, "crucial."

"Don't worry, Teacher! I promise I'll count every screw in their settlement!"

Seeing Pai regain her spirits, Aven nodded in approval.

"You don't need to go to that extent, just have polite conversations with them... Go and prepare, we leave early tomorrow."

"Sir yes, sir!" Pai happily saluted with her index finger, hopping and skipping away.

Listening to the joyful sounds coming from outside the door, Aven shook his head with a smile and stuffed the folder of documents into the drawer.

He believed that Hoene wouldn't place all his hopes on just one person.

There were others accompanying her.

Compared to the inspection itself, showing respect and courtesy was actually more important.

In plain terms, the only expectation he had of her was for her to be an industrious mascot.

Everyone had their own work to do.

Doing one's own job well was enough.

...

The next morning.

In the camp of Dawn City.

Where the land had once been barren, now sat square shipping container dormitories.

By the standards of City of Dawn, the living conditions here were undoubtedly modest, but they were much better than the shanties most survivors built for themselves.

With the combined efforts of the aid construction team and the local survivors, the nearby land had almost been completely leveled.

Having addressed the issue of temporary accommodation, the construction team's leader, Rudi, didn't rush to build houses but instead started digging tunnels in the ground.

These tunnels weren't trenches but the future sewage system of Dawn City.

With June's rainy season approaching, it would pose many challenges to construction, so the sooner the drainage problem was addressed, the better.

What comforted Chu Guang was that deep friendships had formed between the workers of the aid construction team and the local survivors through their labor.

To put it in the words of Company P's players — [Mainstream Attractiveness +50%, Stability +10].

Although much remained uncertain in the days to come, this was undoubtedly a good start.

Standing at the entrance of the tent,

Chu Guang was directing Xiao Qi, operating a drone in the sky from their screens.

At that moment, Yin Fang came by.

"Here are the documents you asked for."

He pulled out a storage card, the size of a thumb, from his pocket and handed it to Chu Guang.

Most of the carbon-based electronic materials in the New Alliance were made from parts taken off from VMs.

This storage card was no exception.

Chu Guang took the card and casually slipped it into his pocket.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it, but may I ask what you need this for? We haven't used lithium batteries for a long time," Yin Fang asked with interest, his curiosity piqued.

He remembered that it was before the northern campaign, in the browsing room on Floor B4, when Chu Guang had a long heart-to-heart talk with him, and they ended up discussing lithium batteries.

He found it odd at the time.

Although lithium was in demand during the Prosperity Epoch, it was rarely used in batteries.

After all, compared to the "pure" and environmentally-friendly hydrogen batteries, the old-fashioned kind had virtually no advantage. They were just the most appropriate choice for that era.

As their conversation went on, he mentioned a membrane material used at the time to restrict the growth of lithium dendrites, and Chu Guang became interested, insisting that he arrange for him the related literature and production processes.

But afterward, the matter was dropped.

So much time had passed that he had almost forgotten about it.

Hearing Yin Fang's curious question, Chu Guang didn't go into detail, merely smiling lightly.

"It has its proper use in the right place; just consider it a personal interest of mine."

Faced with this evasive explanation, Yin Fang showed a helpless look on his face.

What difference does such an explanation make from saying nothing at all?

However, he wasn't really that concerned.

Prosperity Epoch materials might be niche, but they weren't complex.

If he had been asked to arrange related materials for a Class C technology like solid hydrogen batteries—even though the New Alliance could already produce them—the process would have still taken 100 man-hours or more.

But an old relic from history...

Even non-professional science books could provide some clues; one just had to follow the trail and find them.

In any case, the expedition had plenty of "warriors" who dared to charge into any ruins.

He himself was never so brash when he worked as a prospector.

Training a professional researcher was indeed difficult...

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I was just asking casually. But speaking of which, how did Camp 101 respond to you? Did you make any progress with the reactor issue?"

"Repairing the reactor is a systemic project, they need to understand me before we can deepen our cooperation."

"That makes sense," Yin Fang nodded thoughtfully, "once it's repaired, maintaining the stable operation of the reactor... those Waste Land Wanderers you found are not up for that work."

Chu Guang laughed and said,

"That's for sure; everyone has their limits to their abilities. Take me, for example... If you asked me to research that thing, I would probably be at a total loss."

Yin Fang: "Really? I thought you had a talent for it."

"Is that so?" Chu Guang said with interest.

This was the first he'd heard of that talent for himself.

Yin Fang spoke with certainty: "Of course, it's true! Not everyone at the Academy is engaged in research. There is a severe lack of managers who respect knowledge and researchers there. I heard it wasn't like this in the past."

As he spoke, he sighed sorrowfully, seemingly reminiscing about a dismal past.

Chu Guang joked to comfort him,

"Maybe it's because your place has too many talents. So come over to my side soon. We don't have many people here, and even fewer smart ones, so it's easy to fool them."

Yin Fang laughed out loud.

"I almost believed you!"

Few smart people?

Easy to fool?

That was the funniest joke he'd heard all day.

While they were speaking, Chu Guang's VM on his arm vibrated lightly; it was a message from Xiao Qi.

Chu Guang looked at his arm and his eyebrows rose slightly.

"They're almost here."

That was quicker than expected.

He heard that the personnel accompanying included engineers as well as bodyguards from Shelter 101.

Yin Fang asked,

"They? Who?"

"The delegation from Camp 101."

Turning off the screen, Chu Guang looked at Yin Fang and said casually,

"Since you're here anyway, let's go together."

Chapter 338: Even the Exalted Have Their Off Days

"I swear! Why the hell is it a second-hand item?!"

Near Dawn City's military camp, beside the armory.

Spring Water Commander finally saw the "grand prize" he had drawn and was utterly dumbfounded on the spot.

The hefty cannon emitted a chilling glint.

But no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like it had been repainted.

Not just the cannon, but other parts of the exoskeleton were the same. Although repaired, you could still see conspicuous bullet marks on that black exoskeleton.

The battery module and ammunition rack had clearly been replaced, and the helmet was completely mismatched, probably remanufactured from aluminum alloy.

Oh boy!

Not just second-hand.

It was a heavily repaired battle-damaged version!

Realizing this, Spring Water's good mood vanished in an instant.

The only comfort he found was that the 120mm mortar and the automatic loading system still worked. Luckily so, otherwise he would have had to bring an assistant to help him load the ammo.

That would be like taking off your pants to fart.

Seeing Spring Water looking like he was about to burst into tears, the little players who came by hoping to absorb some of his luck exploded into raucous laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Dying of laughter!"

"Poor Brother Shui, that knife coming straight at him and he couldn't dodge it in the end."

"Wuu wuu wuu, thank the planners! They've finally nerfed this piece of crap!"

"#%@&!"

Fuming, Spring Water's face turned red as he cursed and dragged along the Battlefield Atmosphere Group and Old Black, who were trying not to laugh themselves sick, to test the cannon in the forest.

Although the Looters of West State City had been dealt with, a multitude of Variants still roamed the forest.

These Variants bred rapidly and might have spread from other regions.

Usually, when there were many people around, these Variants wouldn't come near and would even actively keep a distance.

However, as soon as they found someone alone, they would cunningly approach, waiting for a chance to strike.

The First Army Corps and Second Army Corps conducted regular patrols to prevent Variants from attacking the survivor construction sites and lumberjacks.

But relying on just two corps to protect the safety of five or six thousand people was clearly insufficient.

Today, early in the morning, the quartermaster issued a vast number of hunting missions, covering almost all the possible Variants in the vicinity of Dawn City.

Including monsters, Multilegged Beasts, Mutant Brown Bears, Claws of Death, Crack Claw Crabs, Battleship Shrimps, Blackwater Snakes, and so on.

On one hand, hunting helped reduce their numbers.

On the other hand, it provided some game to improve everyone's meals.

One of the most significant contributions of the New Alliance to the Wasteland might be bringing over cooking methods from the Different World.

Many Variants that were previously inedible or unpalatable had now become delicacies.

You could still hunt some game near Dawn City.

Over by City of Dawn, larger Variants had almost disappeared.

The three walked through the forest for a while when I Max Black suddenly stopped, raising his hand to signal the others to halt.

Spring Water Commander, seeing this, excitedly asked,

"What's the situation?"

I Max Black closed his eyes and frowned, waiting quietly for a while before whispering,

"About 500 meters from us... should be slightly to the east, probably a monster."

Spring Water Commander couldn't help but retort,

"What do you mean, probably? You're awakened, can't you report more precisely?"

"Fuck! I'm not a radar!" I Max Black muttered under his breath.

The Spring Water Commander looked toward the nearby Battlefield Atmosphere Group.

"Old Soldier, go check it out, but don't start anything. I'll cover you with a barrage, then you can move in."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was speechless.

"Seriously, a barrage for just one monster? Do we really need to bring out the artillery?"

Would the money from the mission even cover the cost of the shells?

120mm mortar shells must be more expensive than 88mm ones.

"You don't understand! This is called being cautious!" the Spring Water Commander said assertively.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group rolled his eyes and moved forward with his rifle to scout.

The Spring Water Commander planted his hands on the ground and drove the support column into the earth, sticking his butt out as the cannon barrel rose high.

I Max Black watched with a baffled expression.

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he always thought the thing looked like a Squirtle.

This thought was dangerous—he had a low threshold for laughter, and he almost burst out laughing.

"Pfft—Hahaha..."

The Spring Water Commander ignored him and kept his eyes fixed on the vm on the ground.

After a short wait, a line of text came through.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: [It's a monster, and an adult one at that, looks to be around six or seven hundred kilograms.]

At the same time the message was sent, the monster's coordinates were also marked on the map.

Seeing the message, the Spring Water Commander immediately perked up, adjusted the cannon behind him, and excitedly started talking to himself.

"32 degrees north-east, straight-line distance 671 meters—fire!"

As he finished speaking, the long cannon boomed, and the large shell soared high before crashing down heavily.

It wasn't over with just one; before the sound of the explosion reached them, the Spring Water Commander fired two more rounds.

"Boom—!!"

The shell hit the ground, and three consecutive heavy artillery blasts roared, their fiery wrath blooming in the forest.

The monster hadn't even realized what had happened before it was engulfed by the shrapnel and flames.

"Holy shit..." I Max Black, watching from the side, had a face full of astonishment.

Even from 500 meters away, although invisible, the explosion had clearly disturbed the entire nearby forest...

Feeling the trembling earth and the hot breeze slowly blowing, the Spring Water Commander felt a surge of excitement.

This power!

It was freaking awesome!

"If only I had a drone! Right, I'm from the Intelligence System, how the fuck did I forget to bring a drone out here!"

Curses came over the communication channel.

"Fuck! Could you give a warning before firing? Lucky I'm fast, or I'd have been gone too!"

Spring Water Commander: "Hahaha! Bro, is this equipment awesome or what? Wait for me; I'll come over to check the kill radius."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "??? Are you even listening to me?"

He pulled up the stakes he had driven into the ground.

The Spring Water Guy picked up the vm from the ground, excitedly walking toward the coordinates of the bombardment.

Judging by the shrapnel stuck in the surrounding trees, the kill radius of this shell was nearly 30 meters!

As for the monster near the center of the explosion, not only was an arm blown off, but it was also riddled with shrapnel, dead beyond doubt.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group walked up, took a look, and realized he didn't even need to finish it off.

Clicking his tongue, he couldn't help feeling a mix of astonishment and envy.

The power was truly undeniable!

At the moment three novice players were testing new equipment in the forest, a delegation from Camp 101, which was exiting the city from the southern suburbs of West State City, coincidentally heard an explosion emanating from the forest.

"What was that sound just now?"

A man over fifty lifted his head, his face marked with surprise.

His name was Button, an environmental engineer who specialized in water resources as well.

Upon hearing that the New Alliance planned to build a dam in Sector Four to control the flooding of West State Lake, he immediately applied to join the delegation.

If the flooding issues of West State Lake could be resolved, the vast expanse of black soil on its northeast side could be transformed into fertile farmland.

He had thought of this long ago.

However, unfortunately, back then there were hundreds of survivor communities in West State City, which simply couldn't unite.

Later, when the Chewing Bone Tribe attacked the area, the project was completely shelved.

Now, West State finally had a visionary leader who, sharing the same idea, focused on the flooding of West State Lake, which made him incredibly happy.

"It sounds like an explosion..." another electrical engineer named Yuan Feng frowned.

"An explosion?"

"Hasn't the war ended?"

The delegation was abuzz with this revelation, exchanging astonished looks.

Seeing this, Lu Bei quickly stepped forward to reassure everyone.

"Please don't worry, it might be our soldiers... or it could be hunters hunting. Though the Looters have been eradicated, there are still many Variants active nearby! But rest assured, our soldiers will do everything to keep you safe!"

Stretching his neck and looking southward, Pai curiously asked,

"Why would they use a cannon for hunting? Shouldn't they be using hunting guns?"

Lu Bei scratched his head, unsure how to answer this question.

Pai, excited, continued,

"Can I go take a look?"

"No," before Lu Bei could respond, Button standing beside him immediately chastised in a low voice, "The forest is too dangerous, and we aren't here for a leisurely outing."

"Okay... I get it," Pai responded, sticking out his tongue and drawing out his words.

A person standing beside them, draped in a white cloak, hadn't spoken from the start. The shadow under their hood obscured their facial features, and their indifferent expressions made it impossible to determine their gender.

Fang Chang, walking beside the group, was observing this particular NPC.

This NPC gave him an unusual feeling.

Different from the rest of the delegation.

He had personally seen this individual emerge from that door.

At that moment, Night Ten suddenly spoke up.

"I feel it might not even be human."

Wild Wind: "...Good thing it doesn't understand what you're saying."

Old White nodded in agreement, "I used to think language barriers were problematic, but now I think it's a blessing that the settings include language barriers, or else it would be so much more troublesome."

Fang Chang: "Indeed."

The more realistic the AI, the smaller the mind, yet most players are unbridled in their boisterous comments.

Culture is like a photo—adding a filter isn't a bad thing, it's good for you, good for me, good for everyone.

Night Ten: "Damn, I was just saying... You guys are way too careful about NPCs!"

"No choice," Fang Chang sighed sadly, "Who made the game this realistic? The happiness of our latter half of our lives depends on it."

Old White made a helpless gesture: "...Whether it's happy or not, just losing favorability from failing hidden tasks is frustrating enough."

Sequence Level means combat power, Contribution Level implies social status, but experienced players know that both are just the surface; the biggest variable in the game is actually the hidden "favorability."

"This favorability can be understood as a form of 'recognition'."

"Especially for faction leaders, if their favorability is high, they can always trigger some main storyline missions."

"And the rewards from these missions tend to far exceed those of regular missions."

"So why do so many people bestow a bunch of titles upon the Manager? Employ various tactics to flatter? Is it because they are idle?"

"Of course not!"

"It's just a game, not a real person, let alone one that can make money, so it's not embarrassing!"

"A group of people was discussing this when another group came towards them from the front."

"They saw a set of azure power armor, surrounded by a dozen guards, walking toward them."

"Upon seeing the Manager, Lu Bei's eyes lit up, and he excitedly went up to greet him."

"Manager Sir!"

"Since participating in the airborne operation, he had been training new recruits from the Third Army Corps behind enemy lines, and after the war ended, he immediately took Wang Zhong to Camp 101."

"Now that the mission was over, he could finally return to the Manager's side."

"Looking at the loyal young face, Chu Guang, who had removed his helmet visor, smiled and nodded. He then turned to look at the representatives from Camp 101."

"The visiting delegation consisted of six people."

"For a survivor settlement with a total population of only two or three hundred, that was quite a number."

"It was evident that they placed significant importance on their relationship with them."

"But what really delighted Chu Guang was the knowledge these people possessed."

"This excited him more than the Black Box."

"The elderly man at the front was about to speak when Pai stepped forward, raising her index finger in salute."

"Respected Manager Sir, we come from Camp 101, my name is Pai, representing the visiting delegation."

"She had thought up this script the night before."

"It would be a pity not to say it."

"Seeing her gesture, Chu Guang was slightly surprised."

"He had seen this military salute before, in the books at Shelter No.117."

"If he remembered correctly..."

"Wasn't it the salute of the Human Alliance Fleet?"

Thinking of this, Chu Guang jokingly said,

"Nice to meet you, recruit of the fleet, but we have no more ships. The last mission the organization gave you, is to rebuild our homeland, waiting for the day we set sail again."

"Having seen all sorts of performance art from players every day, he was no longer surprised by any bizarre behavior."

"However, what he didn't expect was for the young girl to puff out her chest and crisply say,"

"Yes! I guarantee to complete the mission!"

"Huh?"

"Did the signals actually match up?"

"Watching Pai 'play around' there, Button turned to Chu Guang and said anxiously,"

"Respected Manager Sir, please forgive her impudence."

"Chu Guang laughed."

"Don't be so nervous; you're not my soldiers, and we aren't at war now, no need to salute me."

"Saying this, he put on a serious face and extended his right hand."

"My name is Chu Guang, and my friends often call me Dawn. Feel free to do so."

"Watching the towering iron hand before him, the old man hesitated slightly and gently shook it."

"Button, environmental engineer from Camp 101. I heard your plans to treat the lake water, so I volunteered to come here. This is Pai beside me; she's a student of the most learned person in our camp..."

"Not just Pai."

Button introduced everyone accompanying him, including a silent bodyguard in a cloak.

However, he didn't go into much detail about that person, merely mentioning his name was Tianqin and that his responsibility was everyone's safety.

Chu Guang didn't really mind, his eyes brightening up after hearing the old man's introduction.

"So, you're an expert in hydrology?"

Button said with a smile.

"I wouldn't say expert, but hydrological engineering is indeed within my specialization. I've researched the data on West State Lake before; this lake is a product of the environmental transformation plan during the Human Alliance Era in Central Continent..."

Once he started talking about his field, Button couldn't stop, rambling on from the origins of the plan to the founding of West State City.

Seeing that his explanations were endless, Chu Guang quickly seized an opportunity to steer the conversation back.

"This is something we can elaborate on! However, this isn't the place to chat, please follow me back to the camp!"

"We've prepared a temporary resting spot for you, and tomorrow I will accompany you to Dawn City, and we can discuss it in detail on the road!"

Button nodded excitedly.

"No problem!"

The group continued their journey.

On the way back, Pai kept hovering around Chu Guang, her big eyes filled with curiosity.

Or, to be more precise, around the power armor he wore.

"Is this the legendary power armor?"

"Yes," Chu Guang replied in a gentle tone.

"Wearing such a big chunk of metal all the time, doesn't it tire you out?" Before Chu Guang could answer, an excited Pai said, "Can I touch it when you're not wearing it?"

This guy seemed to have endless energy, filled with curiosity about everything he saw.

Chu Guang wasn't annoyed, instead, he became interested in her area of expertise.

"I heard your teacher is quite impressive?"

"Of course! My master manages the entire camp's archives! He knows everything!" Pai proudly puffed up her chest.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully, then asked.

"What about you?"

"I'm super awesome too! But unlike my master, I mainly study mechanics..."

As she spoke, something suddenly occurred to her, and she immediately ran to the cloaked bodyguard, rummaging through his backpack, and pulled out a doll.

The doll was tiny, only about the size of two palms, dressed in a blue-striped white onesie.

Its golden hair and blue pupils were probably modeled after herself, but the facial features were utterly different, exquisitely refined, giving off a gentle vibe.

She handed it over generously, saying in a pleasant voice.

"This is for you! A gift from Ambassador Pai, hoping we can continue to interact peacefully and friendly!"

Listening from the side, Button's forehead sprouted a black line, pinching his brow with a somewhat headache.

Although there was indeed a part about exchanging gifts, this clearly wasn't the right time for it.

Watching Pai's earnest expression and the doll in her hands, Chu Guang couldn't help but curl his lips, about to laughingly say that he appreciatively got the gesture.

However, just at that moment, he suddenly heard Xiao Qi's whisper in his ear.

'Wuu wuu wuu, master~'

This unexpected act of coquetry made Chu Guang's skin crawl.

Yikes!

Where did this guy download this voice pack from?

Just as he was about to ask what it was up to, Xiao Qi continued in a pitiful tone.

'Can you give it to me?'

Chu Guang was stunned for a moment.

"What do you need this for?"

Seeing Pai's expectant look and being unable to withstand Xiao Qi's pleading, Chu Guang finally reached out and took the doll.

"Thank you."

A happy smile appeared on Pai's face.

"You're welcome! It was short notice, and I didn't have time to prepare any other gifts, so please don't mind."

It's only polite to reciprocate.

It was evident that the doll meant a lot to her.

Chu Guang thought for a moment and waved his hand upward.

A hummingbird drone, the size of a fist, floated down and steadily landed on his hand, folding its thin, cicada-wing-like propellers.

Staring at the silver-white metallic sphere, Pai's eyes widened in surprise.

"Is this a Hummingbird?!"

A product of the Human Alliance Era!

Due to its compact size, it could freely maneuver through tight spaces and capture images from all angles without dead zones. It was said that many people from that era used this device for live streaming.

"It seems I've met someone who knows her stuff."

Chu Guang smiled and placed the silver-white metallic sphere in her hands.

In the advanced blind boxes, the Hummingbird drone was a rare prize unassociated with weapons.

As for this Hummingbird, it was the prize Chu Guang drew from a blind box last night, and he had even drawn two of them.

Giving one as a gift wasn't a big deal.

Every Hummingbird flying over the New Alliance had defensive plugins installed, preventing them from being controlled by hostile forces even if hijacked or forced to land.

These safety codes were embedded into the core logic of the operating system, ensuring within the signal coverage of the New Alliance; they wouldn't go places they shouldn't or be used for actions against the New Alliance.

Giving a drone was certainly better than giving a weapon.

Pai, receiving the Hummingbird, was overjoyed and repeatedly thanked him, then went off playing with the drone.

Looking at the doll in his hand, Chu Guang's facial expression was a mixture of confusion and amusement; he ultimately stuffed it into his backpack.

This scene was noticed by nearby players, who started whispering among themselves.

"What's that doll?"

"An action figure?"

"Holy moly, even the Manager has this hobby!"

"This has to be shared!"

Wild Wind, who hadn't participated in the conversation, coughed.

"... I think it'd be better if you kept your voices down. Other NPCs might not understand us, but it seems like our camp leader can."

Night Ten immediately shut his mouth.

...

After returning to the camp, the two sides exchanged gifts.

The gift from Camp 101 was a holographic computer pen.

Once activated, the port's holographic imaging device would emit an azure beam of light, displaying a pale blue holographic screen within the beam.

Button personally demonstrated to Chu Guang how to operate it.

Even Chu Guang, who had seen plenty of high-tech gadgets, was amazed and happily accepted the gift.

He had wanted a portable holographic computer ever since the Pioneer's arrival, but hadn't had the chance until now.

Now, his wish was finally fulfilled.

Camp 101 demonstrated their technology to the New Alliance, and Chu Guang, in return, was not stingy and gave a generous reply.

This reciprocal gift included 100 crab meat pies, 100 nuclear cola sodas, ten bags of coffee beans, various pastries and delicacies, ten rolls of Devil Silk, and ten lengths of Devil cloth, among other things.

Anyway, apart from the Spirit Leaf and nutrient paste, Chu Guang had stuffed the representative specialties into a huge gift package, filling up an entire truck.

For a survivor settlement with a population of two to three hundred, this was undoubtedly a grand gift.

When they saw the gifts loaded on the truck, everyone in the visiting group wore expressions of surprise.

"This... isn't this too precious?" Button said somewhat sheepishly.

Chu Guang smiled and replied,

"These are common items in the New Alliance, and not as precious as you imagine. Please, accept them."

It was the first meeting, and naturally, he had to give more.

Otherwise, how would he create a shocking effect?

As for the meaning, it was naturally to showcase the prosperous culture and bountiful products of the New Alliance!

And as for the use?

The uses were too great!

How else would he get others to willingly work?

To facilitate communication, at the end of the meeting, Chu Guang also gave Button 100 hundred-yuan banknotes.

Looking at the puzzled old man, he patiently explained,

"In the New Alliance, everyone needs to pay for purchases, even the manager. You can use these silver coins as an activity fund."

Though still puzzled about how to use them, Button nodded respectfully.

"Thank you for your care."

After settling the visiting group, Chu Guang returned to his own tent.

Yin Fang followed him.

Seeing that there were no others around, he stepped forward and lowered his voice.

"That Tianqin, is a bionic person."

At these words, Chu Guang was slightly startled.

"Bionic person?"

Yin Fang nodded solemnly.

"Believe me, I wouldn't make a mistake."

Working as a frontline prospector for the academy, he had absolute confidence in his own judgment and instinct. From the moment they had met, he had kept an eye on that individual.

Chu Guang looked surprised.

Having been in the Waste World so long, he had often heard rumors about bionic people but had never seen one in reality.

"A bionic person... is there a problem?"

"No problem, but we need to be careful," Yin Fang said seriously, "If it's a companion type bionic person, they are mostly harmless, but it obviously isn't that type."

"But if it's designed as a combat bionic person, depending on its capabilities, it could potentially be more dangerous than the Claw of Death!"

Regardless of breed or model, the combat power and power armor of the Claw of Death approximately belonged to the same tier in the Wasteland.

The former excelled at one-on-one battles and was suited for complex terrain, while the latter possessed stronger comprehensive abilities and could adapt well to any battlefield environment.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully, taking this piece of advice to heart.

He didn't believe Camp 101 had a reason to offend him, but being careful was always wise.

After giving his update, Yin Fang went back to fix the fuel rod.

Having shed his power armor, Chu Guang was about to open his VM to check how his currency recycling plan was progressing.

However, just then, the backpack he had thrown aside suddenly trembled, and a doll crawled out of it.

Seeing this, Chu Guang was startled, and he drew the handgun from his pocket.

"Wuwuwu, Master," the doll, with an aggrieved expression, faced the gun, "Are you going to kill Xiao Qi?"

Hearing the familiar voice pack, Chu Guang lowered his gun, dumbfounded, and stared at it.

"What the hell?!"

"I'm not a ghost; I'm Xiao Qi," said the doll sitting on the table and blinking.

Chu Guang: "..."

Seeing Chu Guang silent, Xiao Qi cautiously said,

"Master, are you angry?"

"No."

Chu Guang sighed and put away his gun.

Pinching the bridge of his nose to gather his thoughts, he decided to start with the most concerning issue.

"What's the situation with this doll?"

"It's a bionics learning robot. Its body is equipped with precision electromechanical components and rare bionic control components. Apart from being a bit small, it's almost indistinguishable from a real person!"

The doll, sitting on the table, happily looked towards Chu Guang, its eyes shining brightly as it spoke.

Its lively facial expressions, if not observed closely, indeed looked almost like a real person's.

"…Of course, its control program is much cruder than the peripherals. Even the basic general-use AI template used can't replicate facial expressions, so Xiao Qi just rewrote its operating system."

"From now on! This body belongs to Xiao Qi, and Master, you can treat it as Xiao Qi too! Hehe."

Looking at the triumphant Xiao Qi, Chu Guang showed a surprised expression.

Thinking back, Yin Fang hadn't even realized that this doll was a bionics learning robot?

That girl named Pai was something…

Of course, it might also be because Yin Fang's attention was fully on Tianqin at that time.

Chu Guang seriously looked at Xiao Qi and asked,

"Are you sure it's safe?"

Hearing this question, Xiao Qi proudly said,

"Don't worry, Master! Xiao Qi not only carefully checked it twice but also rewrote the underlying logic controlling the motor! You can always trust Xiao Qi!"

Chu Guang somewhat relaxed but soon felt embarrassed for worrying that a girl might be scheming against him.

Clearing his throat, he changed the subject.

"…What's the use of this thing?"

Xiao Qi, hands on hips, boastfully replied,

"Humph, it's very useful. From now on, Master can take Xiao Qi along on trips!"

Most crucially, it finally had its own legs!

No more bothering Boss Xia even for climbing a simple step!

"Even without this thing, aren't you always by my side?" Chu Guang asked, puzzled, looking at the doll sitting on the table.

His VM was always networked with the shelter, and he rarely left the coverage range of the shelter's signal.

Whenever he needed it, it would appear by his side.

"It's not the same!" Xiao Qi shook its head like a rattle drum, very sure of itself.

Though not knowing exactly what was different, Chu Guang tentatively believed its words.

After all, such a palm-sized thing wouldn't be a hindrance to carry around, and it might come in handy as an ace in the hole at a critical moment.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the tent, followed by Ma Ban's voice.

"Sir, a group of people has arrived outside our camp!"

Chu Guang slightly frowned.

Standing up to go to the door, he pulled back the tent curtain and asked Ma Ban.

"Who?"

Ma Ban continued quickly,

"They claim to be from the Bugra Free State in the north, employed by the 'Firestone' Group!"

Chapter 339: Due to server network fluctuations, the silver coin trading platform is temporarily suspended for one day

Spacious tent.

The man dressed in extravagant attire paced back and forth within the tent, a hint of seriousness etched between his brows, as if wrestling with something.

At that moment, footsteps were heard from outside.

He, upon hearing the motion, promptly put a radiant smile on his face and stepped forward to greet whoever was at the tent's entrance.

Almost at the same time, Chu Guang appeared at the entrance of the tent.

"Xavier! A salesman from the Firestone Group! It's a pleasure to meet you, esteemed Leader of the Alliance!" he introduced himself with an enthusiastic, even extravagant voice, while quietly scrutinizing the man who had just appeared at the door.

Just like the rumors described, the leader of the New Alliance had a pair of deep obsidian eyes, handsome and young.

Most importantly, it was said that he had come from a shelter.

Such backgrounds weren't rare in the Wasteland, although most leaders of Survivor Settlements were natives of the Wasteland; few of those settlements grew significantly large, populations exceeding ten thousand were unusual.

The real powers, such as corporations and academies, or even the Army in the west of the continent and the charlatans at the South Death Coast... their origins were more or less connected to shelters.

Yet what surprised him was that this man was an Awakener.

What had this guy been through?

"Chu Guang, Manager."

Chu Guang wasn't particularly moved by Xavier's enthusiasm, only giving a brief introduction of himself.

After all, he was an arms dealer who sold weapons to the Chewing Bone Tribe; it would be odd for him to show a jovial disposition.

Realizing his mistake in addressing him, Xavier's expression turned a bit awkward.

However, being a seasoned businessman who had traded far and wide, his skin was naturally thick, and he quickly adjusted himself.

"Sorry, it was my mistake to rely on empiricism... Pleased to meet you, Manager of the Alliance."

Chu Guang looked at him and went straight to the point.

"State your purpose."

Xavier bowed slightly.

"Our group's leader, Mr. Sigma, entrusted me to bring you congratulations, celebrating your triumph in this war and heralding an enlightened ruler for West State City!"

Congratulations were fine.

With one significant customer less, shouldn't he be crying instead?

But the war was over, and now was the time for development.

Chu Guang didn't want any complications, so he refrained from teasing his northern neighbor and simply said, with a half-smile,

"Also, send my regards to him."

"I will convey your regards!" Relieved inside, Xavier cleared his throat and continued, "Furthermore, in addition to congratulating you on your victory, Mr. Sigma instructed me before departure to redeem someone from you."

"Who?"

"Dylon, the Ten Thousand Leader from the 21st Ten Thousand Troops of the Army!"

"Oh, that one..." Chu Guang's expression became somewhat subtle as he recalled the name.

"Yes," not realizing anything had transpired, Xavier continued trying to persuade, "After all, the war has ended for you, and you have no direct grudges with the Army. That man is useless to you, so why not trade him for some ransom? We can pay... half a million dinars for him, what do you think?"

500,000 dinars.

It certainly wasn't a small sum.

Chu Guang was quite surprised – he hadn't expected that they would spend so much to redeem Dylon.

If that guy was still alive, he wouldn't mind exchanging him for some ransom, but unfortunately...

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid I cannot comply with your request."

Xavier was taken aback, clearly not expecting Chu Guang to refuse, and said anxiously.

"Do you think it's too little? According to the standard for a Ten Thousand Leader, this price is already very fair—"

"Because he's already dead," Chu Guang interrupted him, speaking indifferently.

"Dead?!" Hearing this, Xavier was greatly shocked, his complexion changing again and again.

Chu Guang was unfazed.

"That's right, on the battlefield bullets do not have eyes, anything can happen, isn't that normal? Since he chose to squat in the same trench with those Looters, he should have anticipated this day."

At this point, Chu Guang regarded Xavier with a scrutinizing gaze, "I'm quite curious as to why you would redeem him?"

"…That was Mr. Sigma's order, he didn't tell me more details," Xavier said, feigning composure, but his nervous expression had already given him away.

It was clear that he wasn't completely in the dark.

Chu Guang gave a faint smile and did not continue to press him.

If the other party didn't want to talk, asking more would be futile. One couldn't just capture and interrogate a messenger.

That would be lacking in vision.

"If you're here for Dylon, this trip is doomed to have been in vain."

Xavier forced a strained smile onto his face.

"How could that be… just having the honor to meet you in person means this trip wasn't in vain."

He paused, then continued.

"Mr. Sigma also instructed me on a third matter, now that the trade routes between the north and south are restored…"

"We hope to sign a trade agreement with you!"

…

Outside the tent.

The visiting group's resting area.

Button had gone to the nearby construction site, toured the drainage system of Dawn City, and had been shaking his head since he returned.

"…There's a major problem with their construction plan. It might not be apparent now, but with the summer rainfall in West State City from previous years, by July it's bound to be a disaster!"

"…Is it really that serious? I've never heard about the Survivor Settlement in West State City getting flooded," Yuan Feng expressed with hesitant skepticism.

They were here to visit, not to nitpick someone else's home. Although he trusted Button's professional expertise in environmental engineering, he did not approve of causing unnecessary issues.

"A settlement of five thousand or even ten thousand people can't be compared to one with only two or three hundred, can it? Unless they plan on resigning themselves to soaking in water."

Eventually unable to hold back, Button slapped his thigh and stood up.

"I have to see their Manager again! I have to make this clear to them!"

Out of respect for the significant gift they had received, it would be both emotionally and rationally unacceptable to ignore what he had seen.

He could just spend a little time helping them redesign the plan.

After all, it wouldn't be that difficult.

Button headed toward the Manager's tent, while the rest of the visiting group continued to discuss their findings in Dawn City.

The ability to erect 1000 emergency shelters in a single day was indeed a marvel of the New Alliance's production efficiency.

However, strong production capacity did not equate to advanced productive forces.

Objectively speaking, there were considerable issues with the design and safety of those aluminum houses, which did not seem to be the work of a shelter.

The hills around West State City cut down the wind, so it would be fine for temporary use.

But over time, problems would certainly emerge.

The group debated vociferously, with only one "mascot" not participating.

The energetic Pai was now playing with her new toy, thoroughly enjoying herself in the barracks.

She quickly mastered the trick to controlling the drone and, using her portable tablet, programmed a simple control interface to connect the drone to her VR glasses.

The thin, cicada-wing-like propellers trembled, and the silver-white sphere shot into the sky.

Through the perspective of the drone, Pai gazed down at the vast lands of West State City, her face filled with wonder and amazement.

"It's unbelievable!"

Unfortunately, the Hummingbird drone had average endurance; given its fist-sized volume, one could imagine the limit of its battery capacity.

After bringing the drone down, Pai took off her glasses with a sense of longing still in her eyes and couldn't help but harbor a touch of yearning.

"Tianqin, what do you think the City of Dawn will look like?"

Seated in the chair, Tianqin didn't respond, as quiet as a wooden figure.

Pai stared at its cloak, suddenly struck by a thread of curiosity.

Come to think of it, she had never seen what it looked like.

When it emerged from those giant doors, it was already draped in a cloak that covered its entire body, never interacting with anyone else.

Such a beautiful name it had too...

Pai whispered.

"May I take a look?"

Tianqin didn't speak.

Pai continued in a low voice.

"…If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."

Still no response.

Summoning her courage, Pai carefully reached out and gently lifted a corner of the thin cloak.

Contrary to its starry-sounding name, beneath the shadow lay a face plain and unremarkable, like a mannequin in a dilapidated shop window.

The only difference was that its eyes moved and were staring straight at her.

"Is there something you need?"

That was the first thing Tianqin had said since leaving the shelter.

Pai swallowed nervously, shook her head, and quickly withdrew her hand.

Looking at the face once again covered by the cloak, she said in a somewhat guilty whisper,

"I'm sorry…"

Tianqin looked at her, seemingly puzzled by something.

After a moment, it spoke earnestly,

"There is no need to apologize; you haven't done anything that requires an apology."

At these words, Pai, who had been tense, relaxed and a happy smile spread across her face.

"I'm glad you're not angry with me."

Angry?

Tianqin looked at her and said nothing.

Yet another thing it didn't understand…

…

Elsewhere.

After meeting with the representative of the Firestone Group, Chu Guang returned to his tent.

The negotiations with the Firestone Group were unsuccessful.

Although Chu Guang wasn't opposed to putting aside conflicts for the time being, the "trade agreement" proposed by the other party made him roll his eyes.

Zero tariffs, exploration rights, and mining rights.

As if they were living in a dream!

Just those three demands alone crossed his bottom line, and he saw no tangible benefits in the myriad of conditions and promises they offered.

To put it simply, what was there to gain from trading with the Bugra Free State?

A bunch of armaments?

The New Alliance wasn't short on weapons, to begin with, and there were no wars to fight recently.

The immediate priority was to shift the surplus military production capacity to civilian use, ensuring the food supply and reserves for the settlement.

From this perspective, doing business with the farm owners to the south clearly made more sense than dealing with the arms dealers to the north.

"…As such, let's discuss a more official trade agreement once we have built enough trust between us," Chu Guang flatly rejected Xavier's request after hearing their demands.

And Xavier had no more to say, expressing regret before taking his leave.

Chu Guang could sense that the other party wasn't very sincere about this trade agreement.

Especially after hearing of Dylon's death, this feeling became even more apparent.

The Ya Clan was destroyed, and the disintegration of the Chewing Bone Tribe was only a matter of time.

However, too many mysteries still clung to this rotting corpse.

How could a looting group garner the support of both the Torch Church and the Army?

There were certainly secrets here that he did not yet understand.

Unfortunately, since Golden Tooth and Dylon were dead, he could only try to investigate through other prisoners of war…

At the entrance to the tent.

Chu Guang happened to see Button waiting there and quickly resumed his friendly demeanor, smiling warmly.

"What can I do for you, friend from Camp 101?"

The elderly man didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

"The drainage system in Dawn City needs to be redesigned; following the current construction plan, this place will undoubtedly turn into a pond by July!"

Turn into a pond?

Was that an exaggeration?

Upon hearing this, surprise crossed Chu Guang's face, and he immediately took it seriously.

"Could you elaborate?"

"I came here precisely to discuss this matter with you!"

Button did not hold back and shared his findings with Chu Guang, including the past precipitation data for West State City and aspects of the drainage system's design that had been overlooked.

After listening carefully to his suggestions, Chu Guang discreetly sent a task to the Alliance's chief designer, "Spare people under the knife."

Much of the New Alliance's city planning was done by players, and while 21st-century design concepts were sufficient for the Wasteland, it was inevitable that some mistakes would occur due to direct application.

Interacting more with the experts from the Wasteland would not only be greatly beneficial for the future development of the New Alliance but would also help the players in their personal growth.

"The design of the drainage system certainly can't be neglected! Would you mind discussing the specific improvements with our designers?"

Unexpectedly honored by Chu Guang's valuation of his opinion, Button's face showed joy amidst the surprise, and he promptly assured, thumping his chest.

"No problem! I'll stay here for the next few days. I'll help you think of a way, see if we can improve the design plan."

Chu Guang was delighted at the offer.

"That would be fantastic, thank you so much for your help!"

Button grinned sheepishly, "It's no trouble, just a small matter. As for the visiting delegation, I'll have to trouble you to look after them!"

Chu Guang replied with a smile, "Of course! Leave that to me!"

…

At the work site in Dawn City.

The sewer construction was halted.

Squatting on a concrete block, Spare people under the knife stared at the blueprint filled with circles and dots, so intently that he was nearly scratching his scalp raw.

He had just received a task; the Manager called him over and introduced an old man who was said to be a researcher in environmental engineering.

At first, Spare people under the knife didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just another scene in the game.

However, what he didn't expect was, right after the Manager had introduced the old man to him, the old man started scrutinizing his blueprint, bombarding him with non-stop pointers and comments.

VM solved the communication problem.

Someone critiquing his blueprint made Spare people under the knife immediately displeased, and he quickly got into an argument with the old man.

However, after arguing for a while, he suddenly began to realize that the other party might actually be making some sense.

And not just a little sense.

This was quite embarrassing...

Makabazi, passing by, couldn't help but approach out of curiosity.

"What's wrong, brother?"

Spare people under the knife sighed.

"I don't get it..."

He recounted what had just happened to Makabazi.

Makabazi scratched his head, looking utterly puzzled as he said.

"So basically... an NPC thought there was something wrong with your design plan? And now the sewer construction has been halted?"

"Yes." Spare people under the knife nodded earnestly.

Makabazi was astonished.

"Holy shit, what does an NPC know?"

"Not... This NPC is different from the others, he said something substantial," sighed Spare people under the knife.

In the course of their conversation, he even felt as if he had gone back to his time in the classroom.

Whether it was design concepts or design approaches, the academic and professional level displayed by the other party made him doubt whether the person standing in front of him was really an NPC, or a "professor" in disguise.

It made him nostalgic.

How many years had it been since he started working?

Although in the fields of civil and urban planning, he couldn't exactly be called a master, and he hadn't engaged in frontline work for some time, there was absolutely no question about his experience.

The more Spare people under the knife thought about it, the more bewildered he felt.

A game company.

Do they really need to be so professional, even about something so minor?

Makabazi scratched his head again.

"What do we do now?"

He had absolutely no clue about design or construction; he wasn't even in this field in reality. As a Strength Type, all he knew was that great strength led to miracles.

Anyway, with so many gaming overlords around, he didn't need to think about too much.

"Nothing much to do, let's just modify it according to his method for now," sighed Spare people under the knife, patting his trousers as he stood up. "Gather the heads of the support construction team for a meeting."

"I have a new work assignment."

...

The next morning, at dawn.

In the North Suburb of Qingquan City.

Amidst the drumbeat of the band and the cheers of the people, a train laden with victory and glory, trailing its long whistle, arrived at the station north of the City of Dawn.

People holding flower baskets tossed petals at the train, celebrating the triumphant return of the soldiers.

The boys chased each other around the edges of the crowd, laughing and playing, taking turns playing the noble Soldiers and the evil Looters in their war games.

The roaring sound of the train made for a perfect accompaniment.

Although the real battlefield was far crueler than any script they could imagine.

The girls mostly stood beside their parents, eyes full of curiosity and yearning as they watched the train.

Frost River, standing beside her father, tugged at Frost Snow's sleeve and whispered, her mouth curving into a smile.

"... Do you feel your heartbeat speeding up?"

Frost Snow's face turned red, and she glared at her sister, but her eyes did not stray from that train.

The youngest, Frost Night, blinked her eyes, not quite understanding what her elder sisters were discussing.

The guards of the City of Dawn formed a long line beside the railway, maintaining order at the scene, asking the crowd to keep a little distance from the tracks to prevent accidents.

However, this could not restrain the wave-like enthusiasm of the residents of the City of Dawn.

The war had ended!

It was undoubtedly an epic victory!

Those barbaric Barbarians could no longer threaten the peace and prosperity of the City of Dawn.

Praise the Alliance!

Praise the Manager!

Thanks to those brave warriors who ventured out, they cut down the evil with their swords—

Each and every one of them was a hero!

Standing in the train's engine room, looking out at the joyful faces outside the window, Chu Guang couldn't help but reveal a gratified smile on his face.

He gently patted the train driver's chair.

"Slow it down a bit; let our soldiers enjoy the joy of victory a little longer."

The train driver nodded with a smile.

"Alright, sir!"

The prolonged whistle sounded, and the train gradually slowed down.

Meanwhile, in the other bustling carriages behind...

"Woohoo, is this the capital of the New Alliance?" Pai, pressing her face against the window, eyes brimming with excitement, wished she could stick her head out fully.

Seeing this, Yuan Feng quickly reached out to pull the restless girl back and scolded her.

"Behave yourself! Have you forgotten what your teacher told you? You represent the image of all residents of Camp 101... Do you want to embarrass everyone?"

Pai sulked, pouting her mouth, and sneakily glanced aside.

"It's not just me..."

Indeed, it wasn't just her.

Compared to the players' behavior, she could already be considered relatively restrained.

For instance, a certain tail, not only pressed his face against the window, but even squished his nose out of shape.

"My Giao! Little Fish! Wah, my cute Little Fish, you must have missed Tail so much!"

Sitting nearby, Si Si sighed softly.

"Ah Wei, wake up, your Little Fish is obviously going to greet the Manager, right?"

"I don't care! I just want to kiss Little Fish!" Tail yelled out.

Hearing this, White bear, sitting opposite the two, immediately got upset, his eyebrows raised... although it wasn't very obvious.

"Shut up! Little Fish is clearly mine!"

Tail was startled.

"Ew! You ungrateful Meat Meat, how could you do this to Teddy!?"

"What the heck is Teddy? Stop randomly pairing me up, geez!"

"Stop fighting, guys... maybe split it half and half?"

The ill-at-ease cat overhead swayed as Sesame Paste tried to soothe the squabble between the human and the bear.

Sitting next to them, Si Si sighed, a look of helplessness on her face as she reminded them,

"... I get how you all feel, but going against an NPC's wishes or harboring ill intentions toward them can get you kicked offline, you know."

At that moment, a gentle electronic sound filled the carriage.

It wasn't United Human language.

It was Mandarin.

"Dear players, hello. The train is about to arrive. The residents of the New Alliance are eagerly waiting to welcome our triumphant return. I hope everyone will be mindful of their words and actions, and avoid being too extravagant, as to not tarnish our group's image."

"Due to the one account per person rule, accounts that have been socially death-knelled cannot be deregistered, so please try to act like a normal person, at least while you're going through the story!

Immediately, Tail stopped pressing his face against the train window.

"Eh? Was that the planner's voice just now?"

Si Si glanced up at the speaker on the train's ceiling.

"... Who knows."

The train arrived at the station.

Flowers.

Applause.

And cheers!

All surged forth like a tidal wave!

Feeling that effusive welcoming, the players who stepped out of the carriage momentarily felt dazed.

It was as if...

They were real heroes.

No, it wasn't as if, it was more like they truly were!

They had protected a part of the world!

That sense of honor and spiritual satisfaction, never felt before in any other game, sprouted in their hearts like budding seeds.

This deep, soulful feeling of achievement was something cold numbers and the bland text of a game completion notice couldn't rival.

Staring at the flowers forcibly stuffed into their hands, the construction site lad and the brick-lover muttered in a daze,

"This game is too realistic..."

"Thank you!"

Elena gratefully accepted the flowers from the little girl with a smile and a polite thanks.

Watching the blushing girl disappear into the crowd, he looked at the flowers in his hand before curiously sniffing one up close.

Ultimately, he couldn't resist and plucked a petal to taste it.

Emmm...

Not bad?

Peeping this from the side, the mole who narrowly escaped the canyon gave Old Na a surprised look.

"Ew! Are you not letting even flowers go?"

As if it were only natural, Elena responded,

"What if it gives you a buff?"

How would you know if you never tried?

Isn't that how they found out monster meat gave Constitution buffs?

The mole couldn't help but make a snarky comment.

"There's no freaking BUFF!"

That guy must be insane!

On the Flower-bordered train platform, Chu Guang emerged with a smile on his face as he looked at Boss Xia, Little Fish, Yu Hu, Old Charlie, Luka, and everyone else.

"I'm back."

"Congratulations on your triumphant return, honorable Manager, We've prepared a banquet to celebrate your victory," Old Charlie said reverently.

"It's good to see you safe and sound," Little Fish sighed with relief as she looked at the unscathed Chu Guang.

Clasping the pale-yellow flowers in her hand, the shy girl ultimately couldn't bring herself to give them to him.

"Thank you."

Seeing the supportive crowd, Chu Guang smiled and nodded.

His hands were almost too full to hold any more, but he still reached out to gather everyone's flowers.

He'd plant them near the sanatorium when he got back.

Observing the blue armor scattered with colorful petals, Xia Yan whispered,

"Don't you get hot wearing that metal monstrosity every day? Summer's almost here."

Chu Guang smiled slightly, a bit smug as he said,

"That's what you don't get. This armor has built-in climate control, warm in winter, and cool in summer. Want to try it on?"

Xia Yan's face reddened.

"You... stop talking nonsense."

Chu Guang: "...?"

He racked his brain but couldn't figure out what was wrong with that comment.

The listener must be the one with the issue.

The triumph celebration continued from day into noon.

And the celebratory banquet and revelry lasted well into the evening.

The amount of fine wine and food consumed today probably added up to tons.

Even Old Luka, a proponent of frugality, couldn't say much on this occasion.

They were celebrating a shared victory.

After tonight, those gathered for survival would stand even more united than the day before.

As the night deepened, the enthusiastic players began to log off one by one.

But the lively atmosphere was far from over, it was simply transferred to the official forum online.

While they were enjoying themselves in the game, those outside the game were busy too.

The market for Silver coins had heated up.

Astonishing buy orders kept appearing, and mysterious big spenders, as if possessed, were throwing money around to buy up Silver coins from the hands of players.

Witnessing the price showing signs of irrationality, the game officials finally intervened.

And they released not one, but two public announcements.

[Due to server network fluctuations, the Silver coin trading platform will temporarily close for one day]

[Special event: The special war trophy auction event officially begins!]

[(Details Link)]

Chapter 340: The Auction with Undercurrents!

"Fuck!"

In the real world, somewhere.

Watching the two lines of announcements pop up on the official website, the trader sitting in front of the computer couldn't help but curse.

Seeing his colleagues all turn to look at him, he coughed to cover his embarrassment and spoke quickly.

"The market is temporarily suspended... we can't trade anymore."

The words set off a storm.

"Can't trade?!"

"What's going on?!"

"Is there a problem with the funds?"

"How can there be a screw-up at a critical time like this!"

The office was filled with an uproar, and an older man sitting at another desk immediately stood up, asking anxiously,

"Why can't we trade? What exactly is going on?"

The trader pushed back his chair, leaning his head against the cushion, massaging his temples with a headache.

"The official site says it's server network fluctuations... in any case, you can currently place or withdraw orders, but trades can no longer be executed."

Everyone: "..."

Server network fluctuations, huh?

What a lame excuse!

If the servers across the entire Earth were fluctuating, the Wasteland OL website would hardly be affected.

The square-faced man coughed.

"...That does seem like something he would do."

'He' referred, of course, to Ah Guang.

Over the past six months, they had almost collected and organized every single post Ah Guang had made on the forum, every word, even every punctuation mark.

All of this was to not miss any critical information.

Like this auction.

If they missed this clue and let their competitors buy the technology.

Then they would really suffer a huge loss!

Getting up from his office chair, the trader paused before continuing,

"However, although the bad news is that trading is suspended, the good news is... the auction has been brought forward to now."

There was quiet murmuring among the people in the office.

The old man asked with a frown,

"Is that really good news?"

"Of course it is," the trader said matter-of-factly, "We have the first-mover advantage. Although we're unsure of the number of our opponents' bids and how much they have bought, judging from the proportion of our transaction volume in the total volume, our advantage is considerable!"

Hearing this, everyone finally relaxed their brows.

The old man who had stood up earlier also breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down.

After the meeting yesterday, he immediately went to Academician Liu Yiping at the Huake Material Technology and Engineering Research Institute and thoroughly sought advice about lithium batteries and lithium dendrites.

To understand the ins and outs, he had made several pages of notes!

According to Academician Liu Yiping, although solving the lithium dendrites issue in the short term was unlikely, once it could be overcome, the impact on the domestic new energy industry, and even the country's energy strategy, would be staggering.

Even the usually cautious Academician Liu used the exaggerated term "staggering."

The importance of this could be imagined!

No matter what, they had to win this auction!

The square-faced man gave a light cough.

"Let's not count our chickens before they... what I mean is, let's not speak too soon. What are the rules for the auction?"

The trader touched his nose, staring at the computer screen.

"...The rules are the same as for other auctions, the highest bidder wins, and each bid increase must be no less than 1%. However, as the transaction is completed on the other party's platform, with silver coins as the designated trading currency, the bid cannot exceed the account limit."

How many silver coins each account held was anonymous, but it was transparent to the operators of Wasteland OL.

In other words, inflating the bid price was impossible; the account balance was the limit of the bid.

The square-faced man frowned.

"... In other words, we can't initially report a high price and wait to gather enough before the delivery date."

The trader nodded.

"Yes, according to the rules, delivery will take place immediately after the auction is completed... this is actually good news for us. Our bid only needs to be one 'minimum bid increment' higher than the second-highest bid to win the auction."

The old man promptly asked.

"When does the auction start?"

The trader looked at the screen.

"It has already begun!"

More than just begun.

The competition from all sides had even entered a fever pitch!

An anonymous account took the lead with a starting bid of 1 million silver coins, followed by a second account that didn't hesitate to raise the price directly to 2 million silver coins. Then, the bidding war began in increments of 100,000.

According to public information, before the silver coin trading platform suspended trading, the highest transaction price for silver coins had already approached 600!

The average transaction price for the day was pulled directly from 50 to 80!

Based on the average price, those 2 million silver coins equaled 160 million!

It was madness!

However, everyone in the room was clear that compared to the value of the auction item itself, this bid of over 100 million was likely just a fraction.

A single painting could sell for several billion, let alone a key technology that could change an entire industry?

The reason there wasn't an extra zero was simply that there was only so much currency available in the market.

Now, there were about 3,000 players in the game, and if you counted an average of ten thousand silver coins per person, it would only add up to 30 million.

Considering a few high-rollers with industries within the game, doubling the "total circulation of currency" to 60 million was already impressive.

Plus, there's a large community of Backseat Drivers participating in the trading, diverting some of the silver coins, as well as the competitors on the trading platform making their moves.

Even though they went all out to buy, they managed to grab only about 10% of the chips in a single day.

Don't be fooled by the 10% figure; it seems small.

As a non-issuer of the currency, holding 10% of the total circulation of the coin — nearly 6 million silver coins — was already a quite aggressive silver-buying strategy!

If the end result turned out to be an e-card with [Thank you for your patronage], everyone in the room would have to take responsibility.

In a sense, their fate was already tied to Wasteland OL.

Although most of them had never entered the game...

Staring at the laptop on his knees, the square-faced man clenched his fists, his palms seemingly sweating.

He was also a closed beta player.

Brother Guang never scammed his own people.

He believed Brother Guang wouldn't scam him!

Time ticked by, and the auction price quickly rose to 3 million silver coins, with the pace of the bids slowing down.

The trader, who had been lying in wait, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

"…4 million should be their limit," he said.

"The minimum increase must not be less than 1%. We just need to bump the price directly to 4 million. Considering the 40 thousand increments, we're nearly guaranteed to win."

As he spoke, his index finger tapped on the keyboard, entering a string of numbers.

After carefully checking those zeros, he hit enter.

It was like hitting the pause button on time.

The moment the bid was sent, the auction window went still as if it had been paused, and not a single new bid popped up.

Then, the notification blinking every 3 minutes started.

[4 million once!]

[4 million twice!]

[…Sold!]

After a silence of a full 9 minutes, the office erupted with excited cheers.

"We did it!"

"Hahaha! We won!"

"Well done!"

The square-faced man finally relaxed his furrowed brows, releasing and then tightening his fist again.

Even the usually composed man couldn't help but join his colleagues in a cheer of approval.

The old man, moved by excitement, walked over to the trader and leaned in close to the computer.

"Where's the item? That membrane… how will they deliver it to me?"

It was obvious they had won the auction; there was hardly any suspense.

The vast majority of players traded in RMB; it would have been a real surprise if they had lost.

But the critical question now was, where was the item they had auctioned for?

The office quieted down.

The square-faced man suddenly stood up with a whoosh, tossing his laptop on the sofa, and hurried to the office door to pull it open.

The floor was empty, nothing there.

And thankfully so.

Having the helmet delivered right to his doorstep had been unnerving enough.

If it could be delivered here, that would be just too terrifying!

The reactions of others were different; they all gathered around the computer, staring at the screen with anxiety.

Soon, a notification popped up.

The trader said excitedly,

"…The other party has initiated a data transfer request!"

"Quick, hit that confirm button!" urged the old man, excitedly. "Don't hit the wrong one!"

"I know!"

It was clearly impossible to hit the wrong button.

The hand holding the mouse was trembling but couldn't possibly mistake the close button in the top right corner.

The transfer of 10 GB of data didn't take long to complete, and to their surprise, it came down as a rar-formatted archive.

The storage form of the data wasn't important, as the decompression was completed quickly.

Looking at the pile of documents lying in the folder, everyone gathered around the computer involuntarily held their breath.

"…Improved artificial SEI membrane!"

"Not just research papers… even the manufacturing processes are included!"

The old man standing in front of the computer said eagerly.

"Quick! Send the data to Huake Material Engineering Research Institute right away!"

The man in the green shirt nodded solemnly, replying crisply,

"Yes!"

An assistant also pulled out his phone, which had been turned off, from his pocket.

"I'll go outside and call Academician Liu Yiping!"

The old man quickly responded,

"Let me talk to Academician Liu!"

"I just consulted with him yesterday about that lithium dendrite issue. I can explain it more clearly to him."

Because of that 10 GB of data, the office sprang into action both inside and out.

This technology critical to the national energy strategy naturally couldn't be sent via cloud storage or email.

Soon after, a series of cars with white plates left the compound one after another, heading in different directions.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean,
in the office of a certain project team at the CIA,

Phillip watched helplessly as that auction item was snatched away by a mysterious buyer and swore, kicking the table.

"Fudge!"

It was the third time he'd done this today.

The leg of the table was almost broken from his kicking, yet it did nothing to ease the frustration in his heart.

4 million silver coins.

Where on Earth did such a huge bid come from!

"There's just not enough time, and to make things worse, there was an unexpected trading suspension... A single day doesn't leave any room for maneuvering," lamented the trader sitting in front of the computer, his expression one of agony.

He had been working overtime for nearly 24 hours, and now he was faced with such a crappy situation, which had left him thoroughly exhausted in both body and spirit.

His colleague sitting beside him shook his head.

"...We've almost bought up all the chips from the speculators. No matter how much we push up the price, it's useless without transaction volume."

"The battle is over before we've even run out of ammo... Shit, I've never dealt with such a frustrating deal!" the trader said, scratching his head.

"The most fucked up thing is that it's not just us placing orders in dollars! Someone's competing with us in the same market for the chips!"

"Damn it, can't these bastards wait a bit? We'd be selling to them after the auction ends anyway! Why are we competing with our own people?"

A chorus of complaints filled the office.

Twenty-four hours of work for such an outcome was more than anyone could accept.

The trader turned to Phillip, who was in charge of this case.

"What do we do now? The auction is over, and we've spent a fortune on a pile of useless paper... Should we sell it all off once trading resumes?"

Phillip's face was grim as he crossed his arms and pondered for a long time before suddenly speaking up.

"No need to rush into selling... the auction might not be a one-time event."

Spending tens of millions of dollars on a pile of worthless paper could get anyone fired, even if they had a powerful backer.

Not winning this auction was at most a tactical defeat.

But if he chose to cut losses now and dump the silver coins, it would be the same as admitting a strategic failure.

Even if he reduced economic losses for his financiers and superiors, it wouldn't save his career.

Now he had only one way forward, which was to prove that the string of numbers in the account was not worthless.

How to prove it?

Simple.

All it would take was for the buyer who won the auction item to post their "buyer show."

Whether voluntarily or otherwise, as long as his superiors and financiers saw that silver coins could indeed buy valuable items and that they simply did not win due to insufficient high-level support, he wouldn't demote for a tactical loss. Instead, he could gain even greater support from headquarters!

The truly valuable items couldn't be hidden.

By keeping an eye on related industry news, it was always possible to find clues.

With this thought, Phillip gradually calmed down and regained his confidence.

A single defeat meant nothing.

They still had 3 million silver coins in their account!

There might be a chance in the next auction.

"...But when is the next time? That website has no new announcements," the trader said softly.

Everyone in the office exchanged glances, murmuring amongst themselves.

"When the next time is, is not important!"

Phillip raised his voice, interrupting the whispering crowd.

"...What's important is that we should establish a regular mechanism for purchasing silver coins."

"Not only must we not sell the chips in our hands, but we also need to continue buying at the right prices to ensure we have enough reserves of silver coins in our accounts."

"This way, when there's another such opportunity, we won't be caught off guard like today!"

As he spoke, he changed his tone.

"So, after all... the reason for this defeat isn't that we didn't try hard enough, but rather the support from headquarters wasn't strong enough!

"If they had heeded our advice and started buying silver coins a month ago, none of this would have happened today!"

Looking around the office, his voice was resolute, even passionate.

"Gentlemen, this is a gift from an extraterrestrial civilization, and the frantic bidding is proof of that. The value behind it is far beyond what money can measure! And it's not only us who've realized this!"

"I will immediately write a report, make proposals to our headquarters, and fight for the support of Congress to increase our budget!"

"No matter what, we absolutely cannot fall behind others in this competition!"

The office buzzed with noisy discussions, and the expressions on people's faces varied.

Some nodded in agreement, while others thought he had gone mad.

Staking his career and even his entire professional future on something so uncertain.

Not to mention them, Phillip himself felt he must have gone mad!

Similar scenes were unfolding around the globe.

It wasn't only intelligence agencies watching this auction, but also industry giants with vested interests.

This included darlings of the new energy industry as well as the behemoths who sold oil and natural gas.

Although the auctioned item's final price was less than a piece of art in their homes, it could potentially move markets worth hundreds of billions or even trillions.

It could even completely transform an industry!

At the very least, they needed to figure out what exactly the auctioned item was?

Who bought it?

And how they intended to use it?

Intelligence agencies of different countries were working overtime like ants on a hot pan.

Everyone was racking their brains to investigate the identity of that mysterious buyer.

And that mysterious buyer wasn't idle either, equally working overtime, attempting to restore that mysterious thin film in the laboratory...

...

Meanwhile, in the Waste World.

The Dawn City Square, decked out in lights, had completely embraced the night.

As the clock struck twelve, the stalls supplying beer and delicacies began to close up one after another.

Those who had their fill of drinks stumbled home arm in arm, while those who had passed out lay simply on the pavement, waiting for the guards to drag them to the police station to sober up.

Just by looking here, where was the slightest sign of a Wasteland!

This was simply paradise!

Not far from the square, in the banquet hall, the clinking of glasses and plates gradually came to an end.

Gazing at the banquet table that looked like a typhoon had swept over it, Chu Guang hummed a little tune he couldn't remember where he heard, enjoying the afterglow of the party's end.

And the last bit of good times.

Looking at his laid-back appearance now, no one could link him to the "puppet master" stirring storms in another world.

"Master, the auction has ended," Xiao Qi whispered in his ear.

Chu Guang replied in a casual tone.

"Ah, got it."

After waiting for a while without a follow-up, Xiao Qi curiously asked.

"Eh? Aren't you curious about who got that item in the end?"

Chu Guang smiled.

"What's there to be curious about? I know exactly how many silver coins they have in their pockets, better than they themselves do."

Kidding.

Ever since the Alpha 0.1 version, he had developed a good habit of "auditing" the players' warehouses.

Now that it was the Beta version, the digital management of the New Alliance had deepened further; there was no reason to discard such an excellent tradition.

This wave not only directly retrieved 4 million silver coins but also indirectly locked up at least 30 million silver coins in liquidity.

By locking up a portion of the excess liquidity, more could be released to industries in need of funds.

Otherwise, inflation would occur.

If you really don't understand, you could think of the silver coins in the Backseat Drivers' pockets as fixed deposits without interest.

The New Alliance's treasury gained 4 million silver coins, and the League Central Bank had an extra 30 million silver coins' credit balance.

The former could be used to invest in public services, build new settlements, and offset the fiscal deficit caused by war, while the latter could offer loans to businesses in need of funds, helping the supply side to expand production.

Whether it's businesses run by players or NPCs.

As for the ordinary players whose pockets were emptied, they didn't lose out either.

They could spend RMB or US dollars in the Real World and also work harder on quests to earn silver coins.

Whether it's the New Alliance, the players, or even the Backseat Drivers who didn't participate in the game, all benefited.

Because no one really lost.

So, of course, this round was a win-win situation!

As for how many times they won specifically, Chu Guang was too lazy to count for now; he just wanted to enjoy the banquet.

It had been a long time since he had relaxed like this.

Ever since announcing the start of the Northern Expedition two months ago, he hadn't had a moment's rest.

Now, the tight string in his brain had finally relaxed a bit.

As for troublesome matters.

They could wait until tonight was over.

Watching the last player staggeringly leave the banquet, Chu Guang raised his glass to his retreating figure.

"Enjoy to your heart's content!"

"Honor belongs to you!"

"This is the reward you deserve!"

Don't blame me for pausing the silver coin trading platform.

It's for your own protection.

After taking a shallow sip of the wine in his glass, Chu Guang put the glass aside.

If it weren't for today's special occasion, he wouldn't drink at all.

The clumsy and alcohol-loving Boss Xia was already slumped over the table, grinning in a silly smile.

Little Fish was eating the cake on her plate with a blissful expression, nibbling away happily.

Sitting beside her, Pai wasn't quite as ladylike.

Tasting such lavish delicacies for the first time, her mouth was covered in cream and chocolate crumbs, and before swallowing what was in her mouth, she excitedly exclaimed.

"Oh, oh, oh! What is this? Damn, this is so delicious!"

Little Fish slightly curled her lips in pride.

"Cream! And chocolate! Desserts are a specialty of the City of Dawn!"

"What about that one, that one?" Pai, holding a fork, looked eagerly at another dish on the table.

"That's a charcoal-grilled deer leg... but it's best not to eat grilled meat with cake, it's too rich!"

Although Little Fish was seriously imparting her experience of tasting delicacies, Pai wasn't listening and couldn't wait to stuff a large piece of carved meat into her mouth.

Struggling to swallow the delicious food.

Rubbing her slightly bulging belly, perhaps finally unable to eat more, Pai finally put down the cutlery she held in her hand and leaned back in her chair.

"Wuwu, I don't understand, why do you have so much delicious food!"

Little Fish asked curiously.

"Don't you have any where you're from?"

Earlier, when the two were chatting, she learned that Camp 101 was a place similar to Bet Street.

However, they didn't have an exploitative old town mayor there; instead, they had many people even more knowledgeable than Grandpa Charlie. They invented many useful things and led a peaceful life.

To be honest, Little Fish was a tad envious.

Especially when she heard that from a very young age, there would be someone to teach them to write and do arithmetic, and when they got slightly older, they could learn even more impressive knowledge.

It was an experience she had never had.

If it weren't for Brother Chu, she would probably still be worrying about how to carry the cumbersome iron pot to the stove and wouldn't have learned so many interesting things.

"Ah," speaking of home, Pai sighed, "although synthetic food is edible... don't expect too much from its taste."

"Is it a nutrition paste?" Little Fish asked curiously.

"It's not as bad as nutrition paste... We do live a bit better than the average Survivor Settlement, but energy and resources are still not plentiful."

As they talked, Pai suddenly remembered the large gift the Manager had given them.

That truck seemed to be loaded with a lot of delicious food!

Thinking that the people in the camp could also share these tasty delights, Pai felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey, indescribably happy.

Her master was right.

Sharing with others makes even the simplest food taste delicious.

Not to mention such fine cuisine!

Stealing a glance at the Manager who was leaning back in his chair, pretending to sleep and nearly dozing off, Pai made up her mind.

As a representative of the visiting group, she was determined to sign a beautiful agreement to take back home!

So that everyone could enjoy such delicious feasts at every meal!

Chapter 341: Is It Really a Game Made by Aliens?!

"Have you met that Manager?"

"Yes."

In the wilderness north of West State City, distant wolf howls could faintly be heard.

Standing beside a simply constructed tent, Xavier held a mobile phone in his hands, his expression filled with respect.

The person he was talking to at this moment was none other than the uncrowned king of Bugra Free State and the president and chairman of the Firestone Group, Sigma.

After briefly inquiring about the Manager's situation, Sigma continued to ask about the matter that concerned him most.

"What about Dylon?"

Xavier replied with a heavy tone,

"Dylon... is dead."

A brief silence fell over the communication channel.

Sigma slowly asked,

"How did he die?"

Xavier truthfully responded,

"The people of the New Alliance said he died on the battlefield and was buried on the spot near the pine forest..."

While speaking these words, Xavier's mood was filled with tension.

Although the Grand Canyon was the suzerain of Bugra Free State, the Army was the main trading partner of the Firestone Group.

He didn't know what agreement the boss had reached with the Army, but his instinct told him that Dylon's identity was not simple.

Fortunately, the boss was a reasonable man and did not vent his anger on him.

After taking a moment to calm his emotions, the voice from the other end of the communication channel continued to ask,

"... the trade agreement?"

Xavier responded with shame,

"We couldn't reach an agreement... They only agreed to give us certain tariff concessions, and that only for non-military products. As for exploration and mining rights, they don't plan to discuss those with us."

"How strong are they?"

That voice carried a hint of sharpness, like a blade revealing its edge.

Xavier's heart trembled slightly, and he instinctively lowered his voice, cautiously stating,

"They have about two thousand-man teams. The number isn't large, but their individual strength is very strong. Another point is the weapons; their equipment isn't very advanced, but they have sufficient quantities, and the designs are quite special... The Ya Clan didn't lose unjustly."

The other end of the communication channel fell silent for a while.

It seemed to sink into thought.

After a long while, his boss slowly began to speak.

"I understand. Come back first; I have other tasks for you."

Xavier breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully said,

"As you command."

…

Three days had passed since the auction ended.

Real World.

In a laboratory of the Huake Material Technology and Engineering Research Institute, work was occurring overtime.

"... How... how is this even possible?"

Staring at the image on the computer screen, Academician Liu Yiping's face was filled with disbelief.

A flexible artificial SEI film, less than 100 nanometers thick, appeared like a magically constructed barrier.

Indeed.

That series of miraculous properties, it was just like magic.

Its mechanical strength was extraordinarily high, and it had high stability and a single ion channel.

The open metal sites with high electronegativity and affinity for sulfates in the coordination polymer channels could effectively improve the transfer number of Li+ in the composite material film and the conductivity of individual ion channels.

This brilliantly ingenious design allowed it to effectively suppress secondary reactions, regulate the deposition pattern of Li+ on the anode, effectively inhibit the growth of lithium dendrites, and thus maintain the stability of the battery's anode and cathode.

It was simply unbelievable!

"... Professor, the data analysis from the charge-discharge cycle group has come out." A researcher wearing glasses approached, his face also bearing a ghostly expression.

Turning his gaze from the screen, Professor Liu Yiping looked at his student and immediately said,

"Bring it here, let me see!"

"It's here..." The researcher handed over a USB drive.

Three days were, of course, not enough for the entire research team to go through all the documents.

However, it was enough for them to use the most advanced equipment in the laboratory to reproduce the "404 artificial SEI film" according to the method provided in the data.

After producing the film, the next step was to test the film's performance.

The research enthusiasts in the project team quickly made a simple lithium battery model using a lithium sheet as the anode.

These materials were not hard to obtain, as the laboratory was rich in electrochemical-related stuff.

After disassembling the battery that had completed its cycles and transferring it under non-air conditions to the observation area using in-situ transfer boxes, they quickly obtained 3D images of the sample surface under the scanning electron microscope and 2D projections under the transmission electron microscope.

And all this, just to gather more information about that film.

It might sound simple to talk about all this work, but it had actually taken quite a lot of their time.

During these three days, his research team did nothing else but focus all their efforts on those 10 GB of data.

In fact, after getting such results, there was no need to continue their previous project...

"...how on earth did they achieve it?"

The researcher standing by did not speak, but it was clear that he too wanted to ask this question.

Three days ago, when they had first received the documentation, everyone on the project thought it was a joke.

An unresolved issue in the academic world.

Even at the last academic conference, they were discussing potentially viable directions and whether it was still worth pursuing lithium batteries.

Now, suddenly, someone claimed to have found the definitive answer.

And they did so using an approach that no one else had tried.

This seemed utterly implausible, too uncanny to be anything but an April Fool's Day joke.

It wasn't even a question of possibility anymore; logically, it simply didn't make sense.

Using existing technology to design a product based on specific needs, be it weapons or cups, keeping it a secret wasn't difficult.

However, frontier research was entirely different.

It wasn't a matter of whether it was publicly disclosed or not; such work simply couldn't be done behind closed doors.

Since the 20th century, scientific research had become a systematic endeavor.

An individual's role within the system was less like that of a CPU, and more like a wafer on the CPU.

Except for occasional geniuses in mathematics who could draft and construct in isolation, achieving congruence upon stepping out, most research fields had become akin to "army maneuvers."

Though teams might hold back periodic results to gain a lead in their field, unleashing a major breakthrough in doing so, it was generally impossible to keep peers from knowing what each was working on.

"...On page 27 of document number 13, there is a detailed reaction mechanism described, but we haven't observed it on our equipment."

"Is it that you can't observe it, or that you didn't observe it?" Old Liu asked with meticulous diction.

The researcher hesitated, then slowly said,

"To be precise... it's the former. Our equipment can observe the deposition process of lithium dendrites in the control group, but how Li+ passes through that membrane layer... we can't track its path and might need to design an experimental method specifically for this membrane material."

"By ourselves, this would probably take a long time... unless we can find the research team that presented these results."

"But it's too strange, I just reviewed the records from the last two academic conferences, and I couldn't find any discussion about this line of research; the only similarities... upon closer inspection, are vastly different."

At that moment, a researcher sitting at the neighboring table suddenly sighed.

"Wonder which mastermind unexpectedly dropped this bomb."

"Are there such masters left in the field of materials science?"

"I counted on my fingers but can't figure out who it could be..."

"So, what do we do next? Do we continue with the previous projects?"

"I guess we'll have to change our approach... The industrial sector will take a while to fully digest this material, let alone pose new questions."

"Ah... three years of busywork, luckily I finished my thesis years ago."

"It's not entirely wasted effort; some of the stage achievements are quite interesting. But as for the SEI film... there really is no further path."

Listening to the students' discussions, Professor Liu Yiping remained silent, his mind equally filled with thoughts.

At that moment, the phone on the table rang.

He picked up the mobile phone and walked outside.

As soon as the call connected, an urgent voice came from the other end.

"Old Liu, what's the result?"

Liu Yiping responded,

"The membrane has been successfully created."

Hearing this, the voice on the other end grew visibly excited.

"Is it effective?"

Liu Yiping remarked, "It's not just effective... it's absolutely astonishing."

Strictly speaking, even the current mainstream lithium-ion batteries could benefit from this technology.

And designing a new battery specifically for a pure lithium anode wouldn't be technically difficult.

The electrolyte, cathode materials, and separators, all components in the supply chain, are readily available.

Basically, it would mean modifying the cathode supply chain and adding an additional "coating" production line based on the existing supply chain to quickly implement this technology.

He could even imagine the ecstatic expressions that would appear on his industry friends' faces upon learning about this technology.

It would definitely be spectacular.

The elderly voice continued to inquire, "What about the costs? Is industrialization difficult?"

Liu Yiping quickly replied,

"The specific cost is a matter for the industrial sector; laboratory preparation and industrial production are different. However, having looked over the process flow provided in the documents, from what I understand of the industrial sector, it shouldn't be difficult to produce."

"That's great! Hahaha, you really worked hard this time!" The voice on the phone expressed significant joy.

"You're welcome, it's my duty," Liu paused briefly before suddenly saying, "By the way... I have a request, I'm not sure if it's appropriate to ask."

The elderly voice immediately responded,

"Please go ahead! I'll help if I can!"

"If possible, I would like to meet the team that produced these documents, or even just their leader," Liu stalled on the complex technical details and continued, "There's a lot I want to learn from them."

The industry is interested in the membrane, but he was intrigued by how it was created and what inspired them to think in such a manner.

To understand phenomena and their underlying principles.

Copying homework takes little time, but understanding it thoroughly and grasping the methodology is not nearly as simple.

For a scientific researcher in pursuit of truth, results, methodology, and thought process are all indispensable.

In three days, they had only understood half of the documentation.

The remainder might take three months or even three years to fully comprehend.

Academic progress is not just about accumulating outcomes but also about improving tools and methodologies while achieving results.

He wanted to have a serious talk with the person who'd defeated them.

Academically, one learns from those who excel; he believed that this meeting would be extraordinarily beneficial.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a while.

"Old Liu... if it were anything else, I'd let it go, but I'm afraid I can't help you with this matter."

Academician Liu hesitated for a moment before speaking earnestly.

"Can you give me a reason?"

There was a sigh from the other end of the phone.

"...After reviewing those materials, how do you feel?"

Academician Liu responded directly.

"Incredible."

The old man pressed further.

"How incredible?"

Academician Liu paused for a moment and then, with a light cough, he said,

"...I hope you won't laugh at me when I say this."

With a laugh, the old man responded.

"Go on, your opinion is very important to us."

After a brief hesitation, Academician Liu finally voiced the most genuine thought in his mind,
though in a joking tone.

"...It's as if aliens were involved."

There was silence on the phone for a while.

Academician Liu felt a subtle embarrassment.

Just as he was about to say something to alleviate the awkwardness, a soft sigh came through the phone.

"...It's hard to explain over the phone, and I was planning to come over anyway; wait for me for a bit."

With that, the line went dead.

Academician Liu, holding his mobile phone, was stunned for a moment, his expression gradually growing odd.

Could it really be the work of aliens?

That's too far-fetched...

...

"...It seems we aren't the only ones who feel this way! Academician Liu also thinks that these technologies don't seem like they were developed by a research team on Earth."

"Come to think of it, that's what Academician Gao said last time we consulted him."

"It looks like our initial speculation was correct."

"I never imagined that first contact would happen in this way; it's absolutely unbelievable!"

Somewhere in an office, the discussion was fervent.

The head of the special project group had just received a call from Academician Liu and had already gone to the Huake Academy.

According to the old team leader, the "reverse engineering" of some membrane material was going smoothly, and the cost was within an acceptable range, meaning the product would be seen soon.

Hearing this news, everyone in the project group was pleased; it showed that their work was producing results.

"By the way, any news from Academician Gao?" a colleague suddenly asked.

The colleague sitting next to him joined the conversation.

"Academician Gao? Do you mean the mining expert we consulted before?"

"Yes, didn't Old Li give him access to the website? I wonder if he's checked it yet."

"I didn't ask. It's a bit difficult to inquire about such things."

At this point, one of the staff members spoke up.

"I think our strategy is still too conservative. We should propose to the higher-ups that we take control of the players."

This was indeed one of the options.

However, his proposal did not receive much support.

Someone quickly retorted.

"I oppose that—have you considered the risks?"

"What risks would there be if we do our job well?" the man argued back, "And don't you think it would be more efficient this way?"

"I don't think so at all. What you consider efficient is merely your assumption. Besides, the people trust their organization, and the organization trusts its people. What does it mean to control people? Do you distrust the organization, or do you distrust the people? Such a mindset is severely problematic!"

More than just problematic, it was downright reactionary!

However, considering that this comrade meant well and had spoken out of urgency, the colleague who opposed his view didn't press the issue too hard.

Just as the office was about to dive into that often-repeated debate, a man with a square face coughed lightly, interrupting the argument.

"...Alright, let's not revisit settled issues. The instruction from above is to be cautious and maintain the status quo. The team leader and I share this view."

"Hastily intervening in the game process not only commits the mistakes of amateurs directing experts and interfering with doctrines but also risks uncontrollable outcomes."

"Since the current rules are in our favor, our job is not to change the rules and upset our own playing field, but to uphold the rules and maintain our advantage."

After glancing at his colleagues, the square-faced man continued.

"Let's talk about something practical. This 'technology transfer' actually exposed our lack of preparation."

"The platform for currency exchange had opened quite a while ago, and the other side had given us plenty of preparation time, but at that time, no one took it seriously enough, leading to a last-minute rush to buy, which embarrassingly failed and allowed speculators who entered early to make a profit."

Ideally, this transaction should have been completed by a state-owned enterprise with a national backing, so that the technology could be immediately put to use after its introduction.

However, the timeline was too rushed.

In such a short time span, there was simply no way to coordinate with the specific companies.

They could only deal with the urgent matters first, acquiring the technology and then deciding how to use it, specifically which unit and who the person in charge would be.

The issues involved were too many.

The man wearing glasses nodded.

"Indeed, we can't always be scrambling at the last minute, especially with this precedent set. Next time news is released, the speculators active on the trading platform will definitely drive up the prices."

The staff member who had earlier suggested controlling the players sighed and said,

"If it were just more expensive, that would be one thing. Money can solve problems that money can create. I'm worried about situations like the last temporary suspension. You can't buy in even if you have the money."

The trader who had operated the transactions also nodded in agreement,

"Exactly, and with that kind of rushed increment, even a blind man could see who was buying. If I were a speculator, I would not be able to resist coming in to make a cut."

If it was a slow accumulation, no one would be able to tell who was buying.

But with the stance yesterday, they didn't even need to use a calculator to figure out how many cards the other party had in their hands.

"We currently have a reserve of 2 million silver coins, which is still too low. My suggestion is to establish a 'Technology Import Fund' by drawing a few professional traders from the financial system for long-term, stable increments."

"Are we establishing a foreign currency reserve?" his colleague at the next desk joked.

The trader smiled and replied,

"Why not? Although we don't know what they need, they have the technology we require. If you think of the players as labor exports, we should also pay these workers who help us earn 'foreign currency.'"

The square-faced man's eyes lit up.

"That makes sense. This is a good suggestion. I will include it in the report to the higher-ups!"

Seeing his opinion valued, the trader began to speak more,

"Let's talk more about not just establishing a routine currency buying mechanism but also clarifying the methods of currency conversion. For example, the money for importing technology cannot always come from national funds. We need to encourage companies benefiting from the technology to allocate a portion of their profits to buy technology, thus creating a virtuous cycle."

On the surface, the money spent on buying silver coins was given to the players, but in fact, it was the companies acquiring the technology who benefitted.

This could be managed once or twice, but doing so in the long term would definitely pose problems.

Frequent micro-management would elicit disapprovals both from the higher-ups and the community.

The group exchanged ideas rapidly, the square-faced man meticulously took notes, soon filling several pages, his pen almost smoking from the speed.

The specific details of this "Extraterrestrial Civilization Technology Import Fund" would still need to be discussed in detail with other departments before a decision was made, but the general direction was already set.

Looking at his full notebook, the square-faced man felt a pang of appreciation, and suddenly a peculiar thought struck him.

Was Ah Guang's work typically like this?

Monitoring the forum, taking notes, and then playing the Game.

If it really was like this, it seemed that being the planner behind Wasteland OL was no easy task...

...

While governmental departments in various countries were meeting to discuss strategies, the official forum of Wasteland OL was bustling.

"Wuwuwu, Brother Guang, when will your Silver Exchange open again?"

"Damn! It's been locked for three days. Surely the network fluctuation can't last this long?"

"I'm crying, if they don't open trading soon, I won't be able to keep the pot boiling at home! QAQ"

"Lol, I almost believed you!"

On the day just after the expansion pack ended, nearly every player who had silver coins in their pockets, as long as they weren't too greedy to sell or too itchy to try high sell-low buy maneuvers like some simpletons, made a fortune from that wave.

Can't keep the pot boiling?

That's not even a concern.

Even the new players who recently joined the game with only a few hundred silver coins took advantage of the price surge to make a thousand or two.

Even though this meant they had to go back into the game and toil away, it was all worth it!

The war was over; it was time for recovery and to bolster the triumph through hard work and production—how could they spend money on pleasures?

For the Alliance!

Ollie give!

Watching the official forum, Chu Guang was gratified to see that his young players, just off the front lines, were immediately off to the construction sites.

They even bragged about their experience by sharing it on the forum.

And it was indeed something to brag about.

Back when closed testing access wasn't valuable, now even a helmet could fetch at least a million, and much more at the higher end.

Of course, "going to the construction site" was just a metaphor.

There were still many ways to earn money in Wasteland OL.

Though many Strength-type players were literally moving bricks on construction sites, even more players took their spoils of war to places like Red River Town, trading in nearby Survivor Settlements.

To keep his players busy, Chu Guang, despite all the dissenting opinions, under the astonished gazes of Old Charlie, Luka, and other logistics officers, approved a budget of 200 million silver coins for an infrastructure plan!

This plan included the railroads of the New Alliance and the development of Dawn City. Resources would be preferentially directed to enterprises operated by the players, then to those operated by NPCs.

Surely, his players would appreciate his generosity!

As for the Silver Exchange which was closed due to "network fluctuations," Chu Guang was not rushing to reopen it.

On one hand, the players currently didn't have spare change, and those who were

Chapter 342 Revolution

"Wow, wow, wow! You actually have so many great things here!"

Floor B4 Viewing Room.

Gazing at the shelves filled with numerous books, Pai's eyes sparkled, resembling sapphires lit by a torch.

Standing next to Pai, Little Fish said in a very soft voice,

"Brother Chu said you can freely read anything, but you can't take them out of the sanctuary, and make sure not to damage them."

It was 8 PM, and she had changed from her work uniform to loose-fitting home clothes. Her tied-up ponytail was also let down, her smooth hair draped over her shoulders, making her look like the girl next door.

Incidentally, both outfits were designed by Vine Cottage.

"Don't worry!" Pai joyfully continued as he took a heavy encyclopedia from the shelf, heavier than his own head, "I will take good care of it!"

Standing behind them, Chu Guang, intrigued, asked a question as he watched Pai take the encyclopedia,

"Don't you have these where you're from?"

"We do! But not this many!"

Pai gestured on the shelf with his left hand and continued,

"My master's bookshelf at home is about half this size. It holds the books he picked up in the Wasteland, along with some broken storages. He has spent half his lifetime trying to fix them, but so far, he's only achieved a little."

Chu Guang, quite surprised, said, "It seems your master is a respectable scholar."

"Of course!" Pai proudly tilted up his nose, "That old man knows a lot!"

"..."

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"...You might suggest to your teacher to teach more students, so he could relax a bit."

Pai sighed, looking helpless,

"I've always suggested that, but it's just too hard to get any students... Our camp is alright, but in other Survivor Settlements outside many can't even have enough food."

It seemed this young girl wasn't entirely unaware of the ways of the world, which somewhat surprised Chu Guang.

"You could bring him here to see what it's like; we have managed to solve basic food and shelter issues here."

Like acting as a Minister of Education or something.

Although this sentence was said in a half-joking tone, after hearing it, Pai's eyes brightened and she excitedly said,

"Hey, that's right, you have so much good food here, surely you don't lack people who have had their fill. Once I return, I'll suggest this to my master to recruit some strong hands!"

Fed and bursting... well,
this fellow really speaks his mind.

Chu Guang almost choked on his saliva and coughed, turning to look at Little Fish beside him.

"... You play with her for a while; take her wherever she wants to go,"

the core area of the sanctuary, that is, the control terminal at the very depths of Floor B4.

However, only Chu Guang had the access to that area; a normal person couldn't even enter the equipment room in front, at best they could reach the gym behind the viewing room.

Little Fish obediently nodded.

"And what about you?"

Chu Guang glanced at the time on his VM.

"Heya has asked me to come to the medical lab for a check-up; I plan on going there soon."

For the past two months, he had mostly been at the frontline, and even the three days since he returned had been spent busily addressing various matters.

Though his Gene Sequence advanced several times during that period, his attribute panel hadn't been updated.

Only this morning, dripping with sweat as he rose from his bed, did Chu Guang realize it had been a while since his last health examination.

Medical Laboratory.

Heya, wearing a white lab coat, had been waiting for a while.

Seeing Chu Guang come through the swing door, without any useless talk, she patted the scanning bed that resembled an operating table.

"Quick, lie down."

Being looked at with those eager eyes, Chu Guang always felt like he had become a lab rat.

But it wasn't the first time.

He had long gotten used to it.

The scan data was produced, and the updated attribute panel quickly appeared on the VM.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Third stage)

Level: LV.22→LV.27

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 25

Agility: 18→20

Constitution: 21→22

Perception: 20→21

Intelligence: 20→24

]

The Sequence progress increased by 5 percentage points, which on the Attribute Panel, meant an upgrade of 5 levels.

However, what surprised Chu Guang the most was not that, but the fact that his attributes had grown by 8 points!

"Intelligence grew by 4 points! Goodness ... it's almost catching up with strength!"

However, the fact that his strength attribute hadn't increased at all was unexpected for Chu Guang.

Was it because he was commanding from the back?

Although the increased speed of his brain's computations was indeed more helpful to him than muscle growth.

"Incredible... I'm becoming more and more interested in your body."

Staring at the tablet in her hands, Heya wore a look of disbelief and muttered incomprehensible words.

To be honest, if she didn't speak, her face, which looked like it was from a 3D region, was quite beautiful.

No wonder her unobtrusive presence had surprisingly high popularity on the forums.

However, that was only if she didn't speak...

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"...Please don't say such misleading things."

Heya's eyes widened.

"Misleading? No, I'm serious! Do you remember what I told you before? Your DNA shows traits similar to the lair's – they can modify their own DNA actively based on the sub-entities' evolution in the environment, expressing traits that better adapt to the environment! It's unbelievable!"

...

Seeing Heya completely absorbed in her own world, Chu Guang silently put on his coat.

Yet, just as he was about to sneak out of the medical laboratory, Heya suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Wait, wait a minute... I have something else to ask you!"

Chu Guang: "...What is it?"

Heya spoke excitedly.

"Samples! My lab needs more samples of the 'mutated slime fungus'!"

"You previously locked the permissions of the area within the third ring road of Qingquan City, preventing me from posting tasks in that region and I couldn't find you! Without more samples, the research on the 'mutated slime fungus' can't continue, I haven't had any new progress for a whole month!"

Being stared at with that fervent gaze, Chu Guang reluctantly tapped twice on his VM.

"Alright, alright, I'll unlock it for you..."

Happy to let go, Heya's expression finally returned to normal.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now…" Before Chu Guang could finish, Heya had already turned and passed through the swing door to the adjacent sample analysis room.

Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left as well.

Actually, even if Heya hadn't mentioned it, he had planned to lift the task posting restrictions for the second to third rings in a couple of days.

"Wasteland OL" never restricted players from exploring the map's edge, the exploratory areas comparable to planets, and the outer space currently in production were all part of his grand designs.

However, although there were no restrictions on the players' active zones, Chu Guang had always limited the NPCs' permissions.

Especially the range of task postings.

Apart from the Merchant Guild, no other units could issue tasks to players that were too far from the New Alliance's signal range.

Certain overly dangerous areas were not allowed in the regular task list.

However, after the battle in West State City, among the players, many had already undergone their Second Awakening and reached the third stage.

For instance, the Niu Ma Squad; the area within the third ring road of Qingquan City was no longer too dangerous for them.

The restrictions on tasks involving the central urban area could be gradually lifted, but the task acceptance level had to be set at LV20 or higher.

Though death wasn't a big deal for players, as a Manager, Chu Guang still hoped to avoid some meaningless deaths.

This way, their deaths could hold more value.

...

Sky Water City.

The tent of the Snake Clan's leader.

Seeing the subordinates kneeling below, the leader of the Snake Clan's eyes widened with veins popping.

"Golden Tooth is dead?!"

The person kneeling trembled as he spoke.

"Dead... I heard he was betrayed by his own people, blown up in an anti-cannon hole, only half of his body left."

"The people of the New Alliance hung his corpse at the north gate of the City of Dawn for public display, along with more than ten thousand leaders... Apart from three to five who surrendered voluntarily, the rest were all hanged."

"Most of the 20,000+ forces of the Ya Clan have been captured, some are said to have been sent to mines, others dig soil by the lake in West State City."

"Now the entire Western Province... that is our west, is already the New Alliance's territory."

...

Listening to his subordinate's report, the leader of the Snake Clan had a face filled with fear and confusion.

Half a month ago, Golden Tooth had still sent him messages, ranting about how he shouldn't worry, waiting for him to take Qingquan City and meet with him in Red River Town.

Initially, he had not been worried at all.

The Ya Clan was the leader of the Chewing Bone Tribe, and Golden Tooth's forces had nearly 30 tanks and over 30,000 men, his military strength and equipment were more than three times his own.

In contrast to the New Alliance, which was just a small village with a total population of no more than ten thousand.

Even if a pig was sitting there commanding, how could it end up so disastrously?

Looking at the map hanging on the wall, a look of grim despair gradually emerged on the solemn face of the Snake Clan's leader.

West State City was less than 20 kilometers away from here, they only needed to follow the tributaries of Tianshui, pushing the cannons slightly forward, not even too far, to be able to drop the cannonballs directly over their heads.

The advisor standing beside him spoke softly.

"…The south has been under prolonged attack without success, and now a problem has emerged in the west. We can no longer stay here."

"Then where can we go? Are you suggesting we raid the north again?" the leader of the Snake Tribe said irritably.

The advisor remained silent for a while before sighing softly.

"The mine owners of Red River Town have united. Even if we concentrate all our forces and throw everything into taking that place, we would be greatly weakened in the battle against them, ultimately letting the New Alliance reap the benefits."

"…Let's head east, following the flow of Tianshui. Although the most fertile soil is now beyond our reach, the Eastern Provinces can still provide a refuge. Let's retreat now while the New Alliance is still preoccupied."

"Otherwise, we might find ourselves caught between two fronts."

The leader of the Snake Tribe fell silent.

Despite his great reluctance, he had to admit that this might be the only way out…

Red River Town.

Terrain in the southern part of Deer Horn Mountain.

The frontline commander, standing beside the anti-cannon hole with binoculars in hand, gazed at the repeatedly contested hilltop, a look of surprise gradually appearing in his eyes.

"…The Looter are retreating."

The adjutant standing next to him paused, then hastily asked,

"They're retreating? What's going on?"

"I'm not sure…"

The commander shook his head and handed the binoculars to his adjutant, "Take a look for yourself."

After accepting the binoculars, the adjutant closely observed the opposing hilltop for a while and indeed found no one there.

On closer inspection, several bayonets, still stuck in sticks, were visible outside the trenches.

Lowering the binoculars, he looked at the commander with a puzzled expression.

"…Could it be a trap?"

"Send a reconnaissance team to check it out," the commander said thoughtfully after a long pause, "Also, report this situation to the headquarters of the Mining Industry Association."

The adjutant nodded and immediately responded,

"I'll arrange it now!"

The term "Mining Industry Association" had become historical, although most locals had not yet adapted to the change.

Since the news of a major victory at Pine Gorge spread, the mine owners and business association leaders in Red River Town had been arguing almost twice a day, surrounding the association every few days, and every day seemed like the end.

Of course, it wasn't really going to end—real trouble often came quietly, perhaps with a brief resurgence at the final moment.

Despite the arguments, it was clear to everyone that their relationships were interdependent.

In this world enveloped by death and despair, no one could truly walk away from each other.

During the heated arguments, those previously irreconcilable issues surprisingly found resolution.

The merchants agreed to reduce the number of mercenaries, instead establishing a well-trained standing army, with the mine owners covering 70% of the military expenses while they would only cover 30%.

In exchange, the mine owners made more concessions on the issue of establishing a "more centralized management organization" and allowed the business associations running the various survivor settlements to have more seats in this organization.

After all, places with more free people tended to have more educated populations.

However, this also meant that the main residential areas of Red River Town would have to bear more public expenses than the large mines.

At the same time, all major mines and business associations had to contribute 10% of their profits as tax revenue to this unified organization.

From then on, Red River Town was officially renamed the Red River Alliance, no longer using its historical name.

Although always wary of the expansion of the New Alliance, they eventually became the very thing they despised…

The next day, early morning.

Chu Guang, who was inspecting work at the Merchant Guild, happened to receive a call from the New Alliance military base in Red River Town.

From Xu Shun, the person in charge of the military base, he learned about recent events in Red River Town. Surprised, he was somewhat bemused.

Good grief.

Red River Town turned into Red River Alliance?

Chu Guang had never expected that the epic victory at Pine Gorge by the New Alliance would cause such a sensation, even unintentionally promoting transformation among the survivor forces in Red River Town.

Perhaps envious of the achievements of the New Alliance, they simply copied his homework.

But not entirely.

Just selectively.

"…The Snake Tribe has already retreated, and they've submitted a written request asking us to reduce our troops in the Red River Alliance. They won't need mercenaries for a long time to come."

Listening to Xu Shun's report during the call, Chu Guang quietly thought for a while before speaking.

"Tell them we will plan to withdraw our troops after the threat from the Chewing Bone Tribe is completely eliminated, but not now."

"The Ya Clan has been eliminated, but there are still two others unresolved, and the Looter could come back at any time. Now is not the time to discuss this."

"Assure them that we won't interfere in their internal affairs, but we must ensure the safety of our residents who engage in production and business activities there."

Thinking about sending away his players just because the Looter were driven away?

Does he look like someone who can be summoned and dismissed at will?

Dream on!

In reality, the New Alliance couldn't possibly abandon its military presence in Red River Town.

Currently, it takes three days at least to travel from City of Dawn to there. If the military base were dismantled, it would mean players couldn't save their progress or receive quests in Red River Town, and it might also mean that his players could be exploited by others.

This was something Chu Guang couldn't accept under any circumstances.

On the other end of the communication channel, Xu Shun rendered a military salute and crisply responded,

"Yes!"

After the call ended, Chu Guang looked towards Old Charlie, who was standing quietly to the side, waiting.

Clearing his throat, he continued,

"There's a minor issue in Red River Town, but it's nothing major... what were we discussing just now?"

"We were talking about our neighbors to the south."

Old Charlie spoke in a calm tone, patiently picking up the topic that had been interrupted by the phone call.

"According to the information from the office you set up in Giant Stone City, the City Hall of Giant Stone City recently introduced a bill that requires weapon shops and vendors in Giant Stone City to stop selling the LD-47 series weapons."

"Clearly, they've realized that we are taking their market share."

The LD-47 was powerful and inexpensive, which made it popular among mercenaries.

Previously, its sales were poor, simply because the ammunition was hard to come by.

But now, as bullets from the New Alliance became increasingly cheaper, particularly after the copper mines in Qingstone County had started operation, slashing wholesale prices by half,
a trend towards vast profit margins meant that more and more traders preferred to import the cost-effective bullets produced by the New Alliance, causing a significant drop in sales data for the "Hornet" series assault rifles produced by the Giant Stone City Military Factory.

Chu Guang furrowed his brows in thought for a moment, then suddenly had a whimsical idea.

"What if we change its name? Like from LD to AK?"

Old Charlie paused, then responded with a wry smile,

"Do you think they are fools?"

Chu Guang smiled sheepishly.

"You're right."

Changing the name to continue selling was indeed only likely to fool the foolish.

Those traders who wanted to continue doing business in Giant Stone City had to listen not only to the municipal government of the outer city but also to the factory owners.

Watching the Manager lost in thought, Old Charlie paused, then continued,

"Actually, losing this portion of the trade share isn't a big deal. Mercenary groups that have a need will naturally come to our territory to make purchases. The slums and black markets outside the city, which are beyond the control of the outer city's municipal government, also have access to our products."

"The real concern should be the shifting attitude of our neighbors towards us; our development has started alerting them."

Chu Guang nodded slightly with a somewhat solemn expression.

"Indeed, that is an issue."

The rapid industrialization accomplished by the New Alliance partly relied on small-scale players bringing production experience from the real world and partly on advanced tools provided by the Pioneer.

However, trade with Giant Stone City was also an indispensable part.

For instance, the production lines for solid hydrogen batteries and the KV-1 Exoskeletons and a significant number had been introduced from the second-hand equipment auctions in Giant Stone City.

Furthermore, a large number of engineers hired by the List Factory were also from the talent market in Giant Stone City.

Besides the products themselves, these enterprises from Giant Stone City helped foster a whole host of derivative industries.

Like advanced electrodes, control components, micro motors, and so forth.

Some of these components were exported back to Giant Stone City, while others were consumed by the domestic enterprises of the New Alliance.

Objectively speaking, these had significantly contributed to the industrial development of the New Alliance.

If the relationship with Giant Stone City continued to deteriorate, it was certain to impact the industrialization of the New Alliance.

Naturally, it wouldn't be without impact on Giant Stone City itself.

For example, the A3 type composite aluminum from the Bachi Aluminium Factory was also frequently imported by factories in Giant Stone City.

As the New Alliance developed, it had also mastered some "core technologies."

Chu Guang looked at Old Charlie and asked,

"Do you have any good suggestions?"

Old Charlie continued,

"It's quite unlikely that we will directly clash with them, but such a possibility does exist. The New Alliance is no longer just the small village it once was; our expansion has already triggered the alertness of our neighbors. In the long term, we still need to pay attention to our relations with them."

"For instance, we can send out diplomats for more official exchanges with our neighbors. Not only Giant Stone City but also Red River Town and even farther places like Garbage City... We don't necessarily need them to stay friendly, but at least we need to prevent them from uniting against us."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"You make a good point, this issue does indeed require circumspect handling."

Previously, diplomatic affairs had always been managed by the Merchant Guild.

After all, at that time, the New Alliance was too small, and its relationship with other settlements was merely about trade, and even the tariffs were only set up two months ago.

Now things were different.

The population of the New Alliance had grown beyond ten thousand, and its territory had expanded north to West State City. Logistics no longer simply consisted of a few workshops and warehouses, and naturally, the relationships with neighbors couldn't remain mere trade exchanges as before.

This involved geopolitical safety and strategic needs.

Actually, not merely diplomacy but also a range of sectors including economy, industry, transportation, energy, trade, education, and more, needed dedicated departments for management and not just his direct instruction every time.

Although Little Qi's help made things easy, he could, if willing, allow a player on the front lines to move their machine-gun position forward by five meters.

Taking advantage of the victorious Northern Expedition, Chu Guang planned to implement the second reform of the New Alliance's management.

The last reform involved the guards, this time it would be domestic affairs.

The bloated Logistics Department would be split, Chu Guang would further clarify the responsibilities of each department and the tasks they were in charge of.

This way, he could also reduce micro-management and lighten his own burden.

Noticing the Manager's train of thought, Old Charlie smiled slightly, nodding respectfully and softly said,

"It seems you've realized it."

"Just now you asked me for suggestions, my suggestion is, now is the right time to do it."

Chapter 343: Pai, with a Photographic Memory

Official Forum.

[Update Announcement: The New Alliance Logistics Department will be restructured into 12 departments: industry, economy, transportation, energy, trade, diplomacy, education, military, etc.]

[Some NPC positions will be adjusted, players please be aware and identify correctly!]

Tail: "Ooooh, is this a sign of a new expansion pack coming? Let me have a look! (✪ω✪)"

Quit smoking: "Wait a second, does this have anything to do with us?"

Edge Shoveling: "Seems like it doesn't!"

Spring Water Commander: "NPCs don't seem to have been players to begin with, have they?"

Spring Water Commander: "...uh, I think I just said something pointless."

Canyon Escaping Mole: "So what exactly did this update change??"

Debt Giant Eye: "Damn it! This guy made another useless update!"

Construction Site Boy and Bricks: "Open up the Silver Exchange alreadyyyy!!"

Makabazi: "Seconded! I want to sell silver!!"

Teng Teng: "Pfft..."

Another day of dashed hopes.

Four days after the expansion pack ended, the silver coin trading platform was still not open. The Beta0.3 version of Heaven was still brewing, without a single piece of news up to now.

Rumors were rife on the forum.

Some said Ah Guang had cashed in on the crowd and fled, that the silver coin trading platform would never open again, and that even the forum would shut down after a while.

Others said that couldn't possibly be true, how could Ah Guang run after cashing in on the crowd?

Of course, he'd continue cashing in!

Ye Wei felt that there was something very wrong with what they were saying.

Anyone who'd really been in the game would know, Brother Guang never ripped off the players. He was dedicated to developing the game, not only didn't he profit from the players, but he even looked out for their welfare.

It's just that sometimes the AI was too cunning, and NPCs might not play by the book.

But such trivial matters weren't really significant, in fact, they were one of the features of Wasteland OL.

If NPCs were like simpletons, now that would be boring.

The silver coin trading platform would definitely open.

And it should be within the next few days.

However, every time Ye Wei thought about this, he felt a chill in his heart.

Just after he had sold his silver coins, when their price continued to rise, he actually felt a bit of regret, thinking he should have waited to sell, which might have earned him tens or even hundreds of thousands more.

But the moment he saw the silver coin trading platform suspended, all regrets vanished like smoke, replaced by relief.

Good thing I sold early.

A few hours later and I wouldn't have been able to sell at all.

Thinking of the 5 million lying in his bank account made his heartbeat quicken uncontrollably.

5 million!

He had never seen so much money in his life!

"Ah Wei, what cool things are you looking at?" The voice of his roommate came from behind, Sun Gan who had just come back from playing basketball outside, curiously leaned over.

"Browsing the forum."

"Damn! What year is it, and you're still on BBS, can't you get into something for young people?"

"You should just watch short videos." Old Liu interjected.

"+1." The dorm head agreed as well.

Ye Wei rolled his eyes and put his phone away.

"You guys don't know jack."

Old Liu couldn't help but say,

"Ah Wei, no offense... but if there really was such a thing as a fully immersive virtual reality game, why can't I find anything about it on short video platforms?"

The dorm head also raised his hand.

"+1, I can't find it on Weibo either."

Ye Wei replied without hesitation: "Maybe it's being throttled, after all, the PV, even with filters, is R18."

This topic had been discussed in the group before.

They could share the PV in WeChat moments, in QQ zone, in chat groups, but it could not be posted on short video or Weibo platforms, at least not on the larger platforms.

You could find it if you used a VPN, but it didn't generate much buzz on foreign networks.

Mainly because the official website was all in Chinese, and it was filled with a lot of bad jokes that translators just couldn't translate, making it very hard for international friends to understand.

Of course, although there were very few international fans, there were still some.

However, what Ye Wei hadn't expected was that the whole dormitory would erupt in excitement when he casually mentioned it!

"R18? Awesome!"

"666!"

"Damn, so you've been lurking under the covers every night getting freaky!"

Seeing everyone teasing and joking around, Ye Wei blushed and retorted,

"Get lost, I'm talking about the R18 stuff like gore and violence, what does that have to do with... with that!"

Sun Gan playfully patted his shoulder,

"It's fine, we all get it, it's understandable for young people. Don't worry, we'll keep your secret!"

Ye Wei rolled his eyes.

"Cut the crap, I'm logging in soon, by the way, have you checked the link I sent you?"

Sun Gan was confused: "Link?"

Ye Wei: "The game reservation page!"

Sun Gan suddenly remembered: "Oh, that, I took a look... that thing, asking a bunch of questions, it was like they were checking for leaks or something."

Old Liu interjected: "+1, that site didn't look like a legit site at all, I closed it in a hurry!"

Ye Wei said impatiently: "Don't worry about that, just fill it out if it's asking you to, would I lead you astray?"

But it's probably too late to fill it out now.

Back when he could still see the number of reserved players, Ye Wei specifically took a look and found that the figure was already higher than the balance in his bank account.

Ignoring the clowns in his dorm, he tossed his phone on the table to charge, climbed into bed, put on his helmet, and logged into the game as Night Ten.

The three guys in the dorm looked at each other, bewildered.

"...I'm kind of believing him now, what do we do?"

"Every day, at six in the evening, he puts on his helmet on time, and if he doesn't have class in the morning, he can sleep until noon. It's hard not to believe him."

"An immersive R18 Game is okay..."

"Cough, I'm going to fill out a form... mainly to criticize it."

"I almost believed that crap!"

...

North Street in Southern Dawn City.

Today, as always, is bustling early in the morning.

After the Northern Expedition ended, a large number of players left the front lines and returned to the area around Dawn City. Every day in front of the meat stalls, you could see fresh game, catches of fish, or newly picked mushrooms.

Especially recently.

With the opening of the north-south railway transport routes, the markets of Dawn City have been flooded with Battleship Shrimp from the Western Province lakes.

This kind of freshwater shrimp that has a shell harder than steel and a body longer than an arm is generally something no survivor would eat.

But these clever players developed four ways to cook them: braised, steamed, stir-fried, and garlic flavored, turning something no one ate into a delicacy.

They even didn't spare the "baby" Battleship Shrimp, which the Life Profession players turned into crawfish the size of fists, earning rave reviews from the NPCs.

Due to the skyrocketing price of silver coins, everyone's enthusiasm for making money also rose with the tide.

NPC shop equipment too cheap?

Don't want to buy a house because the public save points are too convenient?

Too many silver coins and nowhere to spend them?

Not a problem at all!

There are so many little leeks lining up outside to buy, and when players think about how the earned silver coins translate into money, they work even harder at their jobs!

At the entrance of Hai Ji Ramen House.

Zhang Hai, standing beside a large pot, was shouting loudly.

"Selling ramen here, 4 silver coins a bowl!"

Just as Silver Daddy, who had just entered, heard this, he couldn't help but complain.

"Damn! A thousand bucks a bowl, are you robbing people?"

Zhang Hai glared.

"Damn, that's too much, brother. Who calculates it like that?"

What kind of logic is it to calculate by the highest price?

At least average it out!

"It's not important!" Silver Daddy chuckled and threw four silver coins on the table, "North Street business is booming, you must have made quite a bit, brother."

Zhang Hai, while lowering the noodles into the pot, said nonchalantly.

"Talking about money is so vulgar! Mainly, I just love the feel of kneading dough."

The young worker from the construction site who happened to hear this almost spat out his food and angrily threw down his chopsticks.

"Damn! You've just ruined my appetite."

"I want a refund!"

Zhang Hai rolled his eyes and retorted without courtesy.

"Dream on!"

Just then, a pleasant voice floated over.

"Old man, six bowls of noodles!"

Seeing Tails slap a bunch of silver coins on the table, the players sitting nearby eating noodles were instantly shocked.

"Holy crap!"

"Si... Six bowls!?"

"Rich lady!!!"

"Alright!" Seeing the business coming, Zhang Hai immediately got spirited and stopped bickering with the customers. He tore a chunk of dough from the work surface and began his performance.

Pai curiously looked around.

Her gaze landed on the flying noodles, and her eyes immediately sparkled.

"Wow, what's that!"

"Ramen!" Tails said proudly, "Hmm-hmm, when it comes to the delicacies of the New Alliance, you can't miss this!"

Pai stared intently at the noodles, her eyes shining brightly.

"Lamian? Impressive!"

Big Eyes, surprised, glanced between Tails and Pai.

"Eh? Can you understand what the NPC is saying?"

"I think it's just a coincidence..." Staring at the translation on the VM, Si Si said with a subtle expression, "Is it possible that they're both talking about their own thing and actually don't understand what the other is saying?"

The cat ears atop her head gently swayed as Sesame Paste said enviously, "In some sense, that's a pretty impressive ability too."

Tails puffed out her chest and said with pride.

"Oh yes! That's right! Please continue to praise me!"

Game time, six in the morning.

The trio and one bear had just logged on when they received a commission from the Manager himself, hoping they could act as a guard for the delegation from Camp 101 and accompany Little Fish and Pai on a tour in the City of Dawn.

The identity of Pai, the new NPC, had been discussed on the forum before.

According to the Bull Horse team's information, she was said to be a very remarkable "Puppet Master," skilled at creating exquisite figurines.

And she was also the representative of Camp 101's delegation!

A mission of such significance, and an opportunity to establish a deep friendship with a special NPC – no player would miss that.

Especially knowing that Little Fish was also in the team, Tails agreed without a second thought, immediately taking the mission on behalf of the White Bear Knights.

The six bowls of ramen were quickly served on the table.

Little Fish patiently taught Pai how to use chopsticks.

She thought it would take a lot of time, but unexpectedly, the other person learned it instantly and even used them more skilled than she did.

"So this is it! What a convenient tool!" Looking at the two sticks in her hands, Pai exclaimed excitedly, "How did you come up with this?"

"It's something Brother Chu brought from the Refuge." Little Fish looked on enviously as Pai got the hang of it right away.

She had spent a long time getting used to this unique eating utensil.

"Your Refuge is amazing to have so many interesting things." Pai's face showed envy as well, but for entirely different reasons.

"Of course! Brother Chu is awesome," Little Fish unconsciously smiled proudly, and then something occurred to her, continuing, "By the way, where are you planning to go after this?"

"The industrial district!" Pai's eyes gleamed brightly.

"Industrial zone?"

Pai nodded vigorously.

"Yeah! Is that not okay?"

It wasn't that it wasn't okay...

But isn't shopping usually done in commercial districts or the like?

Little Fish, although somewhat puzzled in her mind, remembered Brother Chu's previous instructions and didn't say much, just nodded.

"Alright, if you want to see it."

...

The group arrived at the industrial zone.

The first thing that caught their eye was the "infamous" Goblin Technology.

According to other life profession players, there were always explosions coming from inside now and then, and occasionally one could even hear a scream or two.

Although there was definitely some exaggeration involved, and maybe even some smearing by competitors, it didn't stop gossip from spreading.

Later, somehow these rumors reached the ears of the NPCs, so that almost no Waste Land Wanderers were willing to come here to work.

Most of those who worked here were players, especially rookie players new to the game, who were no strangers to sacrificing themselves for the sake of technology.

Considering the shining image of the New Alliance, Si Si planned to quietly skirt around this "Blood and Sweat Factory," but before she knew it, Pai had already snuck in out of curiosity.

In the center of the open space in the factory.

Mosquito and several apprentices were huddled around a blackboard, muttering and discussing something.

Not far from them, two dismantled W-1 and W-2 gliders and a heap of parts custom-ordered from other factories were parked.

The earlier battle in Pine Forest had seen the W series attack aircraft perform spectacularly in the battlefield, yet it also revealed many issues.

One was poor maneuverability, and the other was that the shell was too fragile.

During ground dives, a 7mm pipe could turn the aircraft into a sieve, and the Looters managed to trade one for one with their makeshift anti-aircraft machine guns.

Bullying the Looters with gliders might be sufficient, but facing a survivor force like Giant Stone City, such low-speed planes wouldn't even be worth watching no matter how many there were.

Therefore, the Manager had placed a new order with Goblin Technology.

They were asked to produce a more sturdy, faster, and better air combat fighter plane, to reduce pilot casualty rates.

Honestly, Mosquito didn't see the need.

Why bother with defenses for human-shaped missiles?

Better to carry a couple more air-to-air missiles with that load.

What? You're up against Giant Stone City's black-tech planes?

And you don't even know their power principle or what weapons they carry?

Then why fight at all?

Might as well surrender!

Staring at the sketch on the blackboard, Soul Chaser scratched his head and said, "Propeller planes just can't get the speed up, why don't we go straight to jet planes?"

"Or just build one with a steel shell!" Death's Eyes brightened up, "If we can't win, we can go ram them! Shave them with the tail!"

"Soul Chaser, "Don't understand, just asking, are you talking about the MiG-25?"

"Kill God," "Hahaha, the mighty flying brick! I like it!"

Mosquito rolled his eyes standing aside.

"You guys are really dreamers."

Jet planes?

Thinking of making a MiG?

It's not that simple!

It's not a question of whether we have the technology, but the supporting industry simply isn't up to the task. It's not like every single part of the aircraft can be ground using high-precision plasma cutting machines.

Not to mention how much time and material that'd require, even if you really did grind them out, the cost would be something they could never afford.

What they needed to consider was how to maximize use of the limited advantages they had.

Looking at the rough concept diagram on the blackboard, Mosquito said with a headache.

"...How about we just do what I said and make a human-shaped AA round, and skip worrying about EMP and signal hijacking?"

Just as he was feeling irritated, a stranger's voice came from the side.

"Oh! Is this your plane? It looks so retro!" Examining the airplane hull laid out in the open space, Pai said with a face full of curiosity.

Mosquito turned and saw a young girl with light golden hair standing next to his dismantled W-2 ground attack plane.

If it were any other time, he wouldn't mind wasting time showing off.

But he clearly wasn't in the mood now.

"Scram, scram, scram, let the adults work, don't get in the way with your child's play."

His United Human language was not exactly fluent, but he often dealt with NPCs, so everyday communication wasn't a problem.

Most life players were like this.

Pai looked at him discontentedly.

"Who says I'm a child! I'm already sixteen years old this year!"

Mosquito dug his ear, laughed heh-heh, and said.

"Sixteen? You haven't even graduated from middle school, have you?"

Pai tilted her head.

"Chuzhong?"

These people always had some difficult words in their speech.

"Anyway, this isn't a place for children, go back and find your mother. Go on, if you don't leave I'm calling the guard." Mosquito gestured as if shooing away a mosquito.

This guy...

Seeing herself underestimated, Pai's eyebrows shot up.

Just as she was about to leave, her gaze fell on the blackboard next to her, and her expression suddenly became more intrigued.

"Are you planning to atomize kerosene and spray it out to ignite?"

"What else?" Mosquito responded without thinking.

"Heh, no—thing—just—that—"

Drawing out her words, Pai stared at the blackboard for a moment, memorizing the densely packed content, then turned and walked away.

Mosquito watched the girl's back in a daze, confused by her last words.

At that moment, the Discourage who had been standing nearby suddenly spoke up.

"That NPC...seems to be Pai?"

Soul Chaser looked at him strangely.

"π?"

Discourage shook his head.

"Haven't you seen the discussion on the official website? She seems to be from Camp 101."

…

[Quest: Delve into Hell]

[Briefing: "Mutated slime fungus" is one of the core threats faced by survivors in the Wasteland. To understand their origins and countermeasures, the Refuge Medical Laboratory needs more samples. Attention: Strong electromagnetic interference detected in the area, electronic devices may malfunction, and air support is not available for this mission.]

[Primary Objective: Head to the city center between the Second and Third Ring Roads to collect slime fungus samples at sampling points 1, 2, and 3 on the map.]

[Secondary Objective: We have lost a reconnaissance plane in the city center area. If possible, please retrieve the pilot's VM (Player ID: Falling Feather).]

[Quest Giver: Heya]

[Minimum Level Required: L.20]

[Required Team Size: 4-8 people]

[Quest Danger Level: ?]

[Recommended Equipment: Gas mask, protective suit, compass, paper map, and other low-electronic devices.]

"Danger level with a question mark, huh?"

Looks like they're up for some trouble.

At the save point north of the Dawn City, Night Ten stood in front of the storage box, staring in surprise at the quest pop-up on his VM.

A few minutes earlier, Old White had formed a team and shared the quest from the medical laboratory to their VMs.

Quickly gearing up with the necessary equipment, Night Ten checked the map for the rally coordinates and immediately rushed to meet up with his teammates.

The rally point was at the airport next to the military camp in the northern part of the city.

Due to the complex road conditions within the city and high Variant activity, to save time and ammunition, New Alliance's "Dragonfly" transport plane would drop them and supplies near the Fifth Ring Road, from where they would parachute into the target area.

Just like back in West State City.

He arrived at the rally point.

Night Ten found that his four teammates had been waiting there for quite a while.

Including Old White, who was on the front line, everyone had tacitly left their exoskeletons behind and only brought affordable and durable light equipment.

Everyone's expression was relaxed, even casual.

After all, those standing here were no strangers to parachuting.

Although the situation in Qingquan City was far more complex than in West State City and the danger level of the quest was quite dubious, the quest was not about fighting a boss but just collecting a few samples.

For the strongest squad in the entire server, this clearly wasn't a big deal.

"…the business license for the company we registered has already come through; it's registered in Shanghai."

"From now on, trades can go through the company's account, which will then pay individuals in the form of a technical service fee. I've consulted with a game studio owner I know, and that's basically how they operate; it saves a lot of trouble."

Leaning against the side of the hangar.

Fang Chang talked about real-world matters with his teammates.

Funds obtained through the silver coin trading platform would go directly to the company account. After deducting personal income tax and 5% operational costs, the money would then be paid to the players.

The contract signed between the enterprise and the players is one of cooperation, not labor.

Since the portion of the money paid to the players is part of the enterprise's operating costs, the retained 5% can only be counted as profit after deducting a series of other costs; therefore, there is no issue of double taxing the same money.

Considering the different policies across regions, despite an extra intermediate link, the cost is not much higher than peer-to-peer transfers.

Plus, it avoids the hassle of explaining where the income came from.

Everyone held a share of stocks, being both shareholders and workers.

Considering the growing number of players in the future, they could also offer their services to other players in need, charging a nominal 5% service fee or so.

After all, their core business was in the game.

They never intended to rely on this 'Bull Horse Brick Factory' to make money.

After hearing Fang Chang's words, Night Ten expressed surprise.

"That fast?"

Fang Chang smiled and said, "I used an accounting service firm, there's a lot of companies doing this kind of business in Shanghai, and they can also provide registered addresses. However, I'll still rent an office later and hire a professional accountant because I'm not quite comfortable using someone else's financial system with such a large amount of funds."

The most critical issue was safety.

Whether it was financial safety or information security.

Quit Smoking looked impressed.

"Brother, you're awesome!"

"What's so awesome about that? It's not something very difficult." Fang Chang said with a wry smile, pausing for a moment before continuing, "Actually, I've been pondering a question these past few days."

Quit Smoking asked curiously, "What question?"

Fang Chang said seriously, "That auction… I wonder what that item, sold for 4 million silver coins, really was."

4 million silver coins.

According to the exchange rate of 80 RMB per silver coin before the trading halt, that's equivalent to more than three hundred million!

Such a large sum was unlikely to come from an individual player in the game. After all, even the Bull Horse Brick Factory would have difficulty coming up with such an amount of "cash" all at once.

More puzzling was the silence of the mysterious buyer after winning the auction; there were no brags on the forums, nor had they boasted to anyone.

The officials hadn't disclosed what the auctioned item was, leaving the spectators to just watch the bid soar and then—bang, the gavel struck, and all was silent.

This series of abnormal operations made it hard not to speculate.

No wonder Mosquito was interested.

Honestly, he was starting to get curious, too.

Night Ten asked with interest.

"What do you think it could be?"

Fang Chang pondered for two seconds and provided an ambiguous answer.

"Maybe something more valuable than money."

He was unsure if his guess was correct, but had been keeping an eye on the news for the past few days.

"?," Night Someone looked at his good buddy, confused.

What could be more valuable than money?

At that moment, a shout came from the runway nearby.

"Damn! How much longer are you guys going to dawdle? Are we going or what?"

Seeing the pilot urging them on, Old White shook off his thoughtful expression and smiled, patting his teammates on the shoulder.

"Let's go, we can talk more on the plane."

Chapter 344: The Ground is Full of 'Evolutionary Bodies

Over Qingquan City.

A "Dragonfly" transport plane was circling along the edge of the Fifth Ring.

Gazing out of the cabin at the endless yellow-green fog, Bun Brother unconsciously clicked his tongue, surprise rising in his eyes.

The spore clouds gathered in the city center resembled a waterfall cascading from the clouds, looking from afar like a giant tree with lush branches.

The towering trunk devoured the earth, its sprawling branches invaded the sky.

Were there really weapons in existence that could destroy this thing?

Even if it were a nuclear bomb...

A faint chill crept up his gaze, and Bun Brother shook his head and picked up the walkie-talkie slung over his shoulder, shouting,

"Are you guys ready?"

Accompanied by the crackling sound of electric current, Old White's intermittent voice came through the headset.

"OK."

The signal had already begun to fluctuate unstably, intuition told Bun Brother that without anti-electromagnetic interference equipment, this was the limit to which the plane could approach.

He pulled the control lever beside him.

With a bout of unstable trembling, the locked tailgate of the plane slowly lowered, and the turbulent airflow rolled into the cabin.

"Cabin door opening—"

"Good luck to you all!"

Simultaneously, Old White standing at the cabin door gestured to his teammates behind him, braving the howling airflow, and stepped out first.

The camera pulled back to reveal several black dots separating from the plane, racing towards the direction of Qingquan City Center. Soon after, six parachutes bloomed above the Third Ring.

After landing, the team quickly gathered towards the direction of the airdropped supplies, reclaiming ammo and support equipment like RPG rocket launchers stored there.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

In Boulder City, situated on the edge of the West Third Ring within the radar station on the giant wall, the duty operator had already spotted the plane hovering at the border of the Third Ring.

"An unidentified flying object is approaching our airspace!" exclaimed the operator at the radar control terminal, who was the first to spot the red dot on the screen.

Far from being nervous, he shouted out excitedly.

The radar station was instantly bustling.

The staff there largely shared his mood.

They had not seen any other Survivor Forces' aircraft appear within the radar warning area for too long.

"Damn, I'm sure! It's those scavengers from the North Suburb!" an operator cursed excitedly.

"They haven't responded to our communications!"

"Could it be that they don't have radio equipment capable of receiving signals?"

"Ha, maybe!"

As he spoke, his colleague next to him had already manned the anti-air system, aiming a rapid-fire cannon at the slow-moving silver "big bird."

The computer had already calculated the lead pursuit circle based on the plane's motion parameters.

He only needed to press the fire button, and the silver big bird would turn into a ball of fire.

"The target has entered our firing range!"

"Should we shoot it down?"

Unlike the excited operators in the radar station, the station chief, charged with managing the radar facility, appeared much more cautious.

"Wait a little longer."

The plane did not continue towards Boulder City but soon turned around, heading back towards the north suburb of Qingquan City.

The weapon operator's expression was slightly disappointed.

He had been sitting on the cold bench for nearly ten years, and the wall's air defense systems had never been used.

One staff member grumbled indignantly.

"This is a provocation against us!"

"Whether it's a provocation is for the city lord to decide," interrupted the chief of the radar station, looking towards his deputy, "report this incident immediately!"

His deputy nodded.

"Yes!"

...

South Third Ring of Qingquan City.

The Cattle and Horse Squad of five, who safely landed, successfully rendezvoused near the airdrop box and retrieved the weapons stored inside.

However, everyone's expression was far from optimistic.

The situation here was far worse than they had imagined.

It could even be said...

It was completely unexpected.

A dark red fungal mat almost covered every building, every elevated bridge, and every corner of the streets.

Ferocious Eaters and those more fierce than the Eaters, the Mucor species, aimlessly wandered the broken streets.

What was most troublesome was not just these threats, but the intricate and complex terrain that significantly increased the danger.

High towers penetrating the clouds were interconnected by tunnels, turning this place truly into an "Iron Forest."

As they parachuted down earlier, Night Ten almost got caught on a pedestrian bridge.

Fortunately, he was lucky, as his parachute passed through the middle of the broken bridge, allowing him to land safely and reunify with his teammates.

"Holy shit... so this is what the city center of Qingquan City looks like."

On the fiftieth floor of a kilometer-tall building, Night Ten, wearing a gas mask, stood by the damaged wall, holding binoculars looking in the direction of the crash site.

The crashed W-1 Mosquito-style glider was stuck on the facade of the high-rise opposite them, its front half embedded into the wall.

Falling Feather should be inside.

Night Ten glanced down at his feet.

Below him was an abyss, the dense spore clouds resembled water in a pool of poison, with a very limited visible area.

Due to the spore clouds gathered in the city center, visibility was less than two hundred meters.

In reality, due to the countless rubble and reinforced concrete, the actual visibility was even less than half of that number.

This was much more thrilling than the Tide.*/

"You haven't explored this place before?" Quit Smoking asked nervously.

Wild Wind shook his head.

"No one has ever mentioned coming here."

Fang Chang also mentioned, "There's no mission here, and you can't save your progress. Even if you come here, there's no point."

One couldn't go far without high-value equipment, and with it, one had to consider the risks.

The game didn't restrict players' specific gameplay, but it also emphasized that everyone was an adult and needed to be responsible for their own choices.

Earlier, they had indeed tried to set out from Giant Stone City and explore towards the depths of the three-ring route.

However, along the way, the combat power of the variants they encountered grew increasingly stronger, and after wasting a ton of bullets with no gain, they eventually gave up.

Closely observing the situation along their path, Night Ten's expression grew heavier, and he lowered his voice.

"...There are quite a number of evolutionary bodies here!"

On hearing the word "evolutionary bodies," everyone's expression immediately turned serious.

"Decaying Knight?" Old White said with a grave tone.

Night Ten shook his head, didn't speak but gently pointed towards the high-rise outside, linking to another building's concrete overpass.

There lay the wreckage of several cargo drones, nearly a hundred by a rough count, with packets from two hundred years ago and boxes scattered nearby.

The dark-red shells looked as though they had rusted, but a closer observation through a telescope revealed that what clung to the surfaces of those drones was not rust at all.

It was the horrifyingly eye-catching "Mutated slime fungus"!

"Those things... I can sense that they are alive," paused Night Ten, then added in a low voice, "and probably won't be easy to deal with!"

Wild Wind frowned.

"Should we bypass them?"

"The situation below isn't any better, have you forgotten what we saw while coming up?" Old White took out the RPG rocket launcher from behind, loaded a high-explosive grenade, and signaled to Quit Smoking, who was carrying a machine gun, "We can only try."

Bypassing was impossible.

The stealth difficulty in the game was extraordinarily high, especially for those mutated slime fungi. With spore clouds around, their heads were like search antennas installed.

Get slightly close, and they'd aggressively charge at you.

The best strategy was to choose a relatively safe path, lure out the monsters within the area, eliminate them, and then proceed.

Seeing Old White readying the RPG, the other squad members tacitly moved to their respective combat positions and turned off the safety on their weapons.

"I'm ready."

"I'm good to go on this side too."

"+1"

"..."

The team coordinated very well, having not teamed up for the first time and already having undergone countless battlefield trials.

Seeing his teammates ready, Old White took the lead in pulling the trigger.

Tail flame blasting!

A high-explosive grenade boomed in the middle of the dense drone swarm!

With the immediate explosion of blaze and heavy smoke, a large number of drones were sent flying by the blast wave and shrapnel, cascading downwards.

Quit Smoking, who set up the machine gun not far away, also triggered it instantly, unleashing fierce firepower on the area ahead.

The barrage of 10mm bullets formed an orange-yellow hail of fire in the air, savagely reaping the startled rising swarm of drones.

"Holy shit... These things can actually fly?" Fang Chang, who was firing a rifle, questioned in astonishment.

After two hundred years, unless it's nuclear-powered, even the most durable chemical batteries couldn't last that long!

Clearly, the mutated slime fungus had replaced the drones' batteries, becoming the new power source, and in a peculiar way, they even drove the propellers, turning part of the fungal mat into the propellers themselves.

However—

In the face of absolute firepower, none of these mattered, as swarms of drones, with thick smoke trailing behind, were massively harvested by bullets.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

However, just then, an unexpected mutation happened!

The drones knocked down by the high-explosive grenades didn't all crash to the ground and shatter; some of the surviving little fellows shakily flew up again.

Simultaneously, more drones floated out from the overpass and even from the opposite building, starting to flank from both sides.

The squad behind cover immediately found themselves in dire straits.

"Damn it! Are there that many?!" Quit Smoking cursed as he emptied an entire drum magazine and hurriedly reloaded.

At that moment, Wild Wind, busy pulling the trigger and unleashing firepower, suddenly spoke.

"Is there a possibility?"

Fang Chang asked, "What are you trying to say?"

"The mimicry ability of mutated slime fungus, it's not just mimicking individual drones but the entire swarm itself..." After a pause, Wild Wind continued, "In simple terms, what's attacking us isn't just a single package, but an entire delivery locker."

Night Ten was shocked.

"Holy crap! Don't jinx it!"

"It's not really a jinx, as long as we find the 'drone hive' controlling these little guys, we should presumably be able to disorganize them..."

As Quit Smoking's machine gun resumed firing, Wild Wind took out a drone tied with an IED from his backpack, preparing to control it to fly to the opposite building.

VM turned on.

Neural-interface device worn on the head.

However, just at that moment, Wild Wind's expression suddenly stiffened.

Noticing the change in his expression, Night Ten quickly asked.

"What's going on?"

Wild Wind, holding the headset tightly, glanced at the VM screen placed in front of him and said gravely.

"I can't connect..."

This was bizarre.

There was supposed to be a little signal left!

"%￥#@!"

Night Ten cursed, knocking off the empty magazine from his rifle.

Now, no one could be relied on.

To survive, they had to go all out and shoot down all the drones in sight!

However, just then, a drone suddenly broke through the barrage of fire, passing through the broken wall on the side of the building and charging towards Night Ten.

A sudden alarm rose in his heart!

Night Ten reflexively released the magazine he was holding and drew a Ten-Husband Long Pistol from his gun belt.

However—

Even with an early warning of danger, his hand was ultimately still a step too slow.

The drone, covered in a dark red fungal carpet, crashed forward, and its tendrils shot out from under its body as fast as lightning, fiercely striking at his face.

Night Ten only managed to catch a glimpse of a shadow flashing before his consciousness plunged into boundless darkness.

A pale blue pop-up window appeared.

[Connection Lost]

At the same time, in another world.

Jiangcheng University, a boys' dormitory, where a sudden scream erupted.

"Chuo!"

Hearing the noise from the bed, the guys sitting below playing PUBG were dumbfounded, even stopping their gunfire.

What's going on?

The dorm room was dead silent.

Sun Gan turned his head to look at the bed behind him, about to ask what had happened when Ah Weh's voice drifted from above.

"Sorry... just had a bit of an accident."

Ye Wei, sitting on the bed, stared at the helmet in his hands as his chest rose and fell slowly.

The three roommates exchanged looks.

Although they didn't know what had happened, it was good that he was alright.

"Pfft... minor issue, nothing serious."

"We don't mind, just take care of your health..."

"Seriously, playing an R18 game and shouting so loud, we can't help but worry for you, buddy."

Ye Wei: "..."

Damn it!

These wretched things!

Ye Wei rolled his eyes and tossed the helmet beside his pillow.

He got up, supported himself on the ladder to get down from the bed, then went to the balcony to wash his face. Leaning on the railing, he pulled out his mobile phone and checked a small group chat.

"Anyone here?" he sent a message.

After a good while with no reply,

Ye Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

It looked like everyone else was fine, and he was the only one who had messed up.

However, the thought that he wouldn't be able to log in for the next three days depressed him.

Good lord.

The withdrawal symptoms had already started!

Just as Ye Wei was about to close the QQ group and check the official website to see what new nonsense the developers had come up with, a message suddenly popped up in the group.

Ah Guang: "Yes, what happened?"

Surprised by the suddenly resurrected ID, Night Ten was shocked.

What the hell?

Dog plan!

"Brother Guang?!"

"You're still alive??"

Realizing his way of asking might be a bit awkward, Ye Wei hurriedly deleted the message, quickly typing a follow-up underneath.

"Uh, I mean, you actually remembered your account password."

Ah Guang: "..."

Embarrassed, Ye Wei sent a dog emoji to ease the atmosphere.

But the ever magnanimous Brother Guang didn't dwell on such trivialities and soon shifted the topic.

Ah Guang: "How's the situation on your end? Did you encounter the enemy?"

Isn't this knowingly asking?

However, rare as it was to chat with the developer, Ye Wei still replied honestly.

"Yeah, we just landed not long ago and immediately ran into Variants. The situation inside the West Third Ring is worse than we expected—ground, air, and underground... The complex traffic is like a maze. Paper maps and compasses were utterly useless, and in the end, we could only rely on VM and weak signals to determine our positions."

"And then there are Variants... Here, it's not just Eaters, Crawlers, and Tyrants, but also lots of ancient machines active in this area."

Ah Guang: "Ancient machines?"

Ye Wei continued typing.

"It's the Evolutionary bodies! Like the ones previously featured in the Tide expansion pack, covered in mucor, power armor, tanks, autonomous robots, etc... all sorts of peculiar things."

"Also, drones! We encountered a massive swarm on our way to the crash site, dense like locusts."

Ah Guang: "Can you explain in detail about those evolutionary bodies?"

After a few seconds, he added.

"I mainly want to understand the situation of the new map from the players' perspective."

Although it felt a bit odd, Ye Wei didn't think much of it. He continued to scratch his phone screen, sharing his experiences within the West Third Ring with Ah Guang in detail.

After a while, Ah Guang replied.

"Got it, roughly understand now."

After laying the groundwork for so long, Ye Wei immediately typed his next message.

"Brother Guang, isn't the difficulty inside West Third Ring too high? Our gear can't keep up, and it's hard to proceed with just a few light weapons."

"Strongly suggest the weapon shop stocks up on power armor!"

Too many high-level monsters!

This level design is simply unreasonable!

However—

Ah Guang seemed not inclined to take his suggestion.

"I can't do much about the difficulty level, the Game content is partially generated by the server itself and partially added by players, we are only responsible for maintaining server operations and handling violations... My condolences."

"I have some matters to attend to, so I'm logging off now, we'll chat later."

The automatically generated Game content is still okay.

What sort of nurturing behavior is this?

Looking at the two messages on the screen, Ye Wei had a helpless expression on his face.

Whether he believed it or not, Ah Guang didn't plan to continue explaining; after asking what he wanted, he ruthlessly went offline.

He was the only one left in the group.

Continuing to wait was pointless, so the lonely and bored Ye Wei sighed, closed the group chat window, and logged onto the forum.

The forum was bustling at this hour.

The speed of the messages flooding the gossip section was overwhelming; almost every refresh completely changed the posts on the homepage.

At that moment, Ye Wei suddenly noticed, to his surprise, that Ah Guang had stealthily posted a new announcement while he wasn't looking?

Curious, he clicked to have a look and was stunned on the spot.

[Map Information Update: Qingquan City Center]

[Map Overview: The center area of Qingquan City has completely fallen under the erosion of the slime fungus, and a large amount of equipment from the Prosperity Epoch has been assimilated by the sub-entities of the "Mutated slime fungus," forming structurally unique evolutionary bodies...]

[Recommended Exploration Level: LV.25 and above]

[Map Tip 1: Collect evolutionary body remains and exchange them for high rewards at the scientific research group!]

[...]

The recommended exploration level and map tips were fine.

But that section in "Map Overview"...

Why does it look so familiar??

...

Waste World.

Dawn City Industrial Zone, near the Bachi Aluminium Factory train platform.

Workers were busily operating crane devices, loading large disassembled equipment onto cargo train pallets.

The New Alliance's industrial zone was migrating northward.

This work would be conducted simultaneously with the construction of Dawn City.

Eventually, Dawn City's industrial zone would transition to a light industry base primarily producing consumer goods.

Heavy industries, including steel, weapons, and heavy equipment production, would move to Dawn City in the north.

After listening to Little Fish's explanation, Pai curiously asked,

"Why are you moving north?"

Little Fish said helplessly,

"Because we're too close to our neighbors."

Pai delved deeper,

"Don't you get along with them?"

Touching her chin, she thought for a moment before answering,

"Um... it's hard to say whether it's good or bad. According to Brother Chu, we're too close to each other, and it's dangerous for both."

Of course, there were also factors such as being closer to raw material sources and having a larger population up north, but explaining all that in detail was too complicated and Little Fish didn't fully understand it herself, so she simply left it out.

"Alright."

Pai tentatively accepted this explanation and set aside this trivial matter for the time being, continuing her scavenging near the material pile area.

Watching her actions, Little Fish couldn't help but ask out of curiosity,

"What are you looking for?"

"Some raw materials!"

"Raw materials?"

"Don't worry about it, it won't harm you guys!"

Watching Pai's confident demeanor, Little Fish tilted her head in confusion, still very curious but ultimately refraining from asking further.

"Alright… can I help you?"

"Really? That would be great!" Pai's eyes lit up as she gestured the size of a cup with her hands, "First, I need a bottle of crude oil, any type will do... about this much should be enough!"

To give that impolite fellow a serious lesson.

This was a necessary material!

"Crude, crude oil?" Little Fish hesitated, then asked softly, "Can it be biomass crude oil?"

Pai stroked her chin, thinking for a moment,

"Biomass crude oil... a bit tricky, but it will do!"

"Anyway, let's get a bottle first and see!"

...

Elsewhere.

In the nursing home within Linghu Wetland Park, Southern Dawn City.

Having just gotten an update on the city center situation from Night Ten, Chu Guang was planning to continue working on the unfinished reform plan and the Beta0.3 version update.

However, as he stared at a new folder on the screen, considering what a suitable title would be, an unexpected phone call suddenly came through.

Seeing the communication request from "New Union's Office in Stone City", Chu Guang paused his work and pressed the answer button.

Soon, Shu Yu's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Five minutes ago, someone from Stone City Hall visited me here."

People from the City Hall?

A hint of surprise appeared in Chu Guang's eyes.

"What did they say?"

Shu Yu continued,

"Regarding trade and security issues..."

"The head of the City Hall would like to speak with you over the phone."

Chapter 345: You Shall Be the Lord of the City of Dawn!

"Hello, Mr. Dulon, esteemed Manager of Stone City Hall, I am the City Lord of City of Dawn—"

"Luka."

Sanctuary B4 Layer, viewing room.

Wearing formal attire, Luka sat on the sofa.

On the coffee table in front of him, there was a holographic computer pen; light blue beams interlaced above the table, forming a three-dimensional conical image.

Through that light blue cone, one could see the bay window of the Stone City Hall Manager's office and the Manager seated at his desk.

"City Lord of City of Dawn..." Dulon frowned slightly, "Where is your Manager?"

If the information was correct, he remembered that the supreme authority of the Alliance should indeed be the Manager.

What was this City Lord of City of Dawn?

And this Luka...

That weatherbeaten old face, rather than a city lord, he seemed more like a farmer to him.

What on earth was the New Alliance's Manager up to?

He was somewhat baffled.

Unconcerned with the attitude shift of Mr. Dulon, Luka continued in a mild tone, as instructed by the Manager.

"Our Manager is currently inspecting Dawn City and may not be able to return to Qingquan City for some time. Given the suboptimal communication conditions there and to show respect and importance to you, he has entrusted me to conduct this phone conversation."

"The Manager particularly instructed me when he was explaining this matter, that Stone City is a neighbour—and a friend—of the Alliance and that I must demonstrate our friendliness during the negotiations."

To these high-minded words, a barely noticeable disapproval crossed Dulon's face.

Friend?

Did Stone City need such a thing?

He originally wanted to say, "Since your Manager isn't here, we should probably wait until he returns to continue," but considering this might take a long time, he swallowed the sentence.

He didn't care; he could simply wait, but the tasks assigned by the City Lord of the Giant Stone City could not.

Dulon was certain that if the New Alliance's planes appeared again in the airspace of Stone City, the anti-aircraft cannons would definitely open fire.

If this friction escalated into war, he was sure the North Suburb would turn into scorched earth, and the emerging Militia Group would seal the Blue Ground Mice forever within the Turtle Shell using steel and concrete; but the outskirts of Stone City would undoubtedly suffer great damage.

Perhaps Mr. Fang Ming didn't care what it turned into, just as the Inner City had never cared about the lives of the residents of the Outer City.

However, Dulon couldn't afford to be indifferent.

Not because he was kind-hearted.

But because he was well aware that the nobles of the Inner City were his masters, but the factory owners and Business Association bigwigs of the Outer City were his foundation.

"Since you consider us friends, I hope your planes will no longer appear in the airspace of a friend's home. Your planes have shown up on our radar, and this time our soldiers showed restraint, but next time may be different," Luka said, looking at him.

"That is a reasonable request; I would like to know the boundaries of your airspace?" Dulon stated outright.

"The airspace within five loops around Qingquan City is ours, delineated by the loop highways."

"That's impossible," Luka shook his head, "City of Dawn also has territory within Qingquan City's fifth loop. We will respect your security needs, but it must be without compromising our own safety."

Dulon's voice grew louder.

"Mr. Luka, let me be frank: this is what our City Lord demands. Do you understand the meaning of the word 'demand'?"

Luka smiled faintly.

"Of course, I understand. However, our Manager has said that if we compromise on the airspace issue today, tomorrow we'll have to make concessions on territorial issues. We can guarantee that our flying ships will not enter the western area of Qingquan City's loop line, and that's the limit."

Dulon lightly raised his eyebrows,

As if he had heard something amusing, he said with a smile,

"Territory? What use would I have for your run-down place?"

Desire for those one or two thousand acres of land?

Covet those few broken houses?

That would indeed be underestimating them.

Luka replied in a tone neither warm nor cold,

"Our place might be run-down, but we're quite satisfied with our homeland."

Dulon's tone took on a trace of mockery.

"You don't think, just because you've beaten a few primitives with fire sticks, that you're qualified to negotiate terms with us?"

Unexpectedly to Dulon,
that old man before him actually nodded.

Which even made Dulon question whether he had seen incorrectly.

"Of course, I have no doubt we are qualified."

Gazing evenly at the Manager of the City Hall, Luka naturally continued, "In fact, I'm negotiating terms with 'you' right now, aren't I?"

As he spoke, he heavily emphasized the word "you."

Dulon narrowed his eyes slightly.

He suddenly wasn't so sure anymore.

"What do you mean?"

Luka stated calmly,

"It means nothing special; your Army is strong, but we're not weak either. Stone City might be able to defeat us in a head-on battle, but we can ensure that our opponent will pay a heavy price."

"And that cost will definitely include 'you'."

These words deeply stung Dulon.

The Inner City's disregard for the Outer City had a long history that was known to all, and he was no exception. He had no doubt that, should a war break out, they would become cannon fodder.

Just like every Tide.

But what then?

Does it need a Waste Land Wanderer like you to remind me?

Dulon sat up straight, laughing angrily.

"Are you threatening me?"

The atmosphere at the negotiating table instantaneously froze.

Luka's heart was equally tense.

However, he didn't let it show on his face.

Before the negotiations began, the Manager had instructed him that under no circumstances should he show cowardice or panic; he must keep his composure at all times.

The other party was powerful, and from their standpoint, "coercion by force" would be a convenient option since security issues were a "pain point" for the majority of Survivor Settlements.

Although Giant Stone City was Ideal City's sycophantic bootlicker, they weren't so affluent as to be bloated with excess; thus, they lacked any so-called moral squeamishness.

Skirting dangerously close to the opponent's bottom line was risky, but appearing too weak was equally lethal.

The key was to grip their pain points and stop before inflicting pain, willingly sacrificing some demands to find a mutually acceptable range.

That was the essence of negotiation.

Looking at Dulon, Luka slowly began to speak.

"Of course not, respected Minister, we sincerely hope that we can continue to coexist peacefully and amicably. This world has already witnessed enough tragedies—Variants, 'mutated slime fungi,' Mutants, heretics, and Looters... The spark of civilization gasps for breath under the shroud of barbarism, living in such times, we really, really do not wish to take that final step."

Luka paused before continuing.

"... But sometimes, despite our extreme reluctance, we must let others know that we were not raised in fear, that the land we have cultivated was not given to us out of charity."

"Therefore, rather than a threat, I would prefer that you interpret my previous remarks as a response to the threat of war."

Dulon's eyes had narrowed to slits as he stared intently at the holographic image of Luka.

He was thinking.

And weighing his options.

The conversation had lapsed into silence.

Luka waited patiently.

It was then that Dulon suddenly blurted out something irrelevant to the negotiation itself.

"Did you come up with these words yourself, or did your Manager tell you to say them?"

Luka replied without hesitation.

"Does it make a difference? The will of the Manager is the will of the Alliance, and it is also my will."

Dulon didn't say anything, but stared at the old man thoughtfully for a while.

After what felt like half a minute, he slowly spoke.

"I do not agree with your sophistry about the 'threat of war.'"

His tone shifted as he continued.

"But I acknowledge your other point—that there are already enough tragedies in this world, and there is no need to add senseless sorrow."

"For the sake of our future relations, I think we need to have an honest discussion."

Hearing these words, Luka finally relaxed and a smile appeared on his face.

"That's exactly what I think."

...

Though their arrogant attitude had not changed, their willingness to solve problems through dialogue was at least a good start.

What followed was the haggling.

Dulon considered this his forte, having been a Merchant before he became the Minister of Stone City Hall.

What he didn't expect was that the other party's ability to be stubborn and unreasonable was not inferior to his own.

At least not as easy to fool as he had thought.

"... The area of the southern third ring of Clear Spring City belongs to our airspace, and we need it to counter the Tide! Moreover, our air force has taken some of the pressure off you, which is to your benefit as well!"

"Your air force? Ha, with those paper planes? You might as well just hire our planes, you've hired them before anyway. I can give you a discount."

"Yes, we are paper planes, so why should you worry about us threatening your security? Is your heart so small that you can't even accommodate paper planes?"

"... South four to South five ring road, this is our bottom line! I also need you to promise that the New Alliance's borders won't expand further south."

"We can stop expanding southwards, but in exchange, I demand that you stop the ban on the sale of New Alliance commodities. We haven't banned the sale of your products, have we?"

"The last one is impossible; the prohibition on LD-47 comes from the 'Giant Stone City Military Industrial Complex,' and I can only promise not to add to the import and export restrictions list outside of 'military industries.'"

These conditions had met the expectations of the negotiation, but Luka still feigned difficulty as he nodded.

"That will do, we'll maintain the status quo then."

Dulon breathed a sigh of relief, his taut expression finally easing into a smile.

"I'm glad we've reached an agreement."

Verbal agreements are not worth the paper they're written on.

The two sides would later sign a specific agreement.

As for the place of signing, Dulon asked for it to be at the Stone City Hall and invited him to visit Giant Stone City.

Luka, following the Manager's instructions, did not insist on the small matter of the signing location and readily accepted his request.

In addition to airspace and trade issues, the two parties discussed cooperation in multiple areas and reached a consensus.

After the communication ended, Luka reached out to turn off the holographic computer; it felt as though he had shed a weight of a million pounds, and he leaned back on the sofa to take a deep breath.

"Nicely done!"

Hearing praises from the viewing room's entrance, Luka immediately stood up, respectfully placing his right fist over his left chest.

"Manager."

"No need for formalities, have a seat."

He gestured for Luka to sit.

Chu Guang sat on the opposite sofa, looking at him with satisfaction.

To be honest, when he first rescued him, he hadn't thought too much about it; it was purely a random act of kindness.

He also needed someone obedient to help manage the warehouse and incidentally gather some information he was not privy to, so he bribed the Farm guard with a chip.

At that time, Chu Guang didn't have high expectations for him.

If things went as usual, his biggest achievement in life would probably be managing the storage for the Outpost Base of the New Alliance.

Just like Guo Niu, Guo Ma, and other serfs who had been liberated and joined the New Alliance early on.

However, Old Luka's performance at work had far exceeded Chu Guang's expectations.

Not just loyalty, but also a precise understanding of his commands, coupled with a hardworking and diligent nature, went far beyond Chu Guang's initial assumptions.

Although he, a serf by birth, lacked some flexibility, this flaw was negligible compared to other Waste Land Wanderers.

Now it seemed that the chip he had invested was well worth it.

"Later, I'll need you to make a trip to Giant Stone City."

"It's no trouble at all, serving you is my honor," said Luka respectfully.

Chu Guang smiled.

After a pause, he put on a serious expression and continued,

"Additionally, after you return from Giant Stone City with the agreement symbolizing friendship, you'll become the City Lord of the City of Dawn."

Upon hearing this, Luka was stunned.

City Lord of Dawn City?

Wasn't that just a title used for negotiation purposes?

Luka said with earnest fear.

"My lord, but I—"

Knowing what he intended to say, Chu Guang cut him off.

"Alright, I've already decided! I've seen your capabilities, and there's no one more suitable for this position than you."

Changjiu Farm had always been managed by Luka anyway.

As for his origins,

Chu Guang saw it as a non-issue.

Rather, it could become a banner for publicity.

In the New Alliance, equality was not just a slogan. As long as one could prove their competence and loyalty to the Alliance, even the humblest origins could lead to becoming the lord of a settlement.

Indeed.

Chu Guang was becoming more satisfied with his arrangement.

Later, he would take the time to write an impassioned press release and hand it over to the Alliance radio station for promotion.

Although still concerned about his ability to shoulder such a significant responsibility, seeing the Manager's unwavering choice of him, Old Luka said nothing more, silently keeping his gratitude in his heart.

He took a moment to calm his breathing then looked at the Manager and said earnestly,

"Sir... there's something I don't quite understand, may I ask about it?"

"What is it."

"Why is Giant Stone City so fixated on Qingquan City's airspace?" There was a hint of confusion in Luka's eyes, "They clearly don't take our planes seriously at all."

That inherent disdain was something they could not hide.

The City Hall Secretary even described the Alliance's aircraft as "paper planes."

Although angered, Luka had to admit, their arrogance was not unwarranted.

Giant Stone City's aircraft might not be much when compared to enterprises, but they were after all products of the pre-war era. It was clear to anyone with eyes that those science fiction-esque behemoths and the Alliance's small planes were simply not in the same league.

"It's good that you've thought about this,"

Chu Guang nodded approvingly at the increasingly insightful Old Luka, "The reason is actually very simple, because you're right, they truly don't care about the airspace."

Luka was taken aback.

He didn't quite get the meaning of that remark.

Chu Guang didn't explain right away but instead gently pressed the holographic computer pen.

The city map of Qingquan City was projected into a pale blue cone of light, with the edge of the three-ring line flashing with intermittent green dots.

"Because the center of Qingquan City is their real interest."

"Mutated slime fungus, evolutionary bodies, ancient battlefields, and equipment left over from the pre-war era... A single piece cannot restore the whole puzzle, but numerous pieces piled together can always restore something useful."

A look of surprise appeared on Luka's face.

"If that's the case, then the Tide might be..."

Chu Guang nodded.

"For them, it might not be a disaster at all."

"Our researchers have been studying the evolutionary bodies that spread to the North Suburb during the last Tide, both from a biological and an engineering perspective. However, we started too late, and even though we have excellent researchers, we're still far behind them."

Watching Luka's face light up with realization, Chu Guang went on slowly,

"Just like you said, they don't care about our planes because those things are less than a nuisance to them."

"Their true purpose is probably to limit our access to their treasure."

...

Meanwhile, at the Stone City Hall.

Dulon hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief.

At the same time as feeling a weight lifted, a smug smile twisted at the corners of his mouth.

The New Alliance's planes would no longer enter their core area of interest, and the respected City Lord would surely be pleased with this outcome.

The import restrictions on LD series weapons remained unchanged, and trade between them would not be affected; the military-industrial complex wouldn't nag at him.

As for areas outside the military-industry?

What did that have to do with him?

Moreover, trade itself is beneficial for both sides. Giant Stone City could purchase cheaper consumer goods and industrial raw materials, which wasn't a bad thing at all.

In Dulon's eyes, he had simply offered a bit of honey and in return obtained an outcome that pleased all parties involved.

Thinking this, he couldn't help but internally compliment himself,

I'm a genius!

Previously, sitting in the City Hall of Giant Stone City, there wasn't a single worthy opponent throughout the entire Southern River Valley Province, and the Grand Canyon to the north was too far; none paid the other any mind.

Spending his days in the City Hall office, either stamping documents or dozing off, hardly anyone took him seriously.

Now at last there were those who could showcase his brilliance!

At that moment, a voice from one side interrupted his train of thought.

"Mr. Manager."

"What is it?" Dulon asked with a pleasant expression, looking at his deputy Jaeger.

"I don't understand why we have to waste so many words with a bunch of Scavengers," Jaeger said with a hint of displeasure on his face. "Their population isn't even larger than that of our slums."

The city gates were crowded with people trying to get into the city.

Even the waste discharged from the city could sustain tens of thousands of people.

The very idea of negotiating with them was unpleasant to him.

Dulon had guessed what was on his mind and had already thought of a way to answer the question.

"Their strength is inferior to ours, but they are not as weak as we imagine. Do you remember the look in that guy's eyes just now?"

Jaeger chuckled lightly.

"Can a look kill someone?"

Dulon spoke in a mild tone.

"No, but it won't be easy to make them submit. What's wrong with solving the problem through negotiation? If we really start fighting, we will be the Cannon Fodder again."

"Moreover, the City Lord's order was to keep their planes away from the fourth ring of Clear Spring City. We not only completed the task but went beyond it."

He patted his deputy on the shoulder and continued with enthusiasm.

"Cheer up a bit, don't look so glum."

...

Qingquan City, on the edge of the South Third Ring.

The slanting sunset elongated the shadow of the overpass piers.

With dusk about to fall, the Eaters wandering around became increasingly agitated and more aggressive.

A street store not far from the overpass.

Edge Shoveling, squatting behind a shop window with an assault rifle in hand, watched the street outside the cover cautiously.

Aside from him, there were nine teammates hidden nearby.

The Variant corpses strewn across the street and the dense bullet holes in the wall told the story of a fierce battle that had taken place earlier.

Four hours before, he and his teammates received orders to head to the edge of the South Third Ring of Clear Spring City on foot to meet up with the Guo Niu and Guo Ma teams retreating from the "New Map."

After a fierce firefight, they had cleared the street of Variants.

As dusk approached, though, more and more Variants were spreading from nearby buildings onto the streets, and it was hard to say how long the current quiet would last.

The young construction worker, leaning on a machine gun, suddenly muttered.

"We're not going to lose out for nothing again, are we?"

Hearing this, "Kakarot" gave him a stern look.

"Don't jinx it!"

Debt Giant Eye exchanged a glance with Edge Shoveling.

"How much longer?"

Just as Edge Shoveling was about to reply, a noise suddenly came from the corner of the street.

Everyone tensed up instantly, aiming their weapons in that direction.

Just then, a familiar voice came through.

"It's me, hold your fire."

Seeing the figure at the street corner, Edge Shoveling was slightly stunned, and a look of surprise flashed across his face.

"Holy shit! Old Bai?"

"How did you end up like this?"

At that moment, the best way to describe Old Bai was disheveled.

He carried a bundle made from a parachute in his left hand and a blood-stained rifle in his right. Not only was his protective suit gone, but his body was also covered in mud and his bulletproof vest bore a nearly burnt-through hole.

He looked like he'd rolled out of hell itself.

Faced with everyone's astonished gazes, Old Bai gave a wry smile.

"...Ran into some problems."

That's an understatement, isn't it?!

The others exchanged glances.

Putting aside Quit Smoking for a moment, Old Bai Fang Chang and their crew were among the top fighters on the server.

What situation was it that even these guys found so troublesome?

Debt Giant Eye swallowed hard.

"...What about the others?"

Old Bai didn't speak.

At that moment, Fang Chang's voice came from behind him.

"They're dead."

With a heavy expression on his face, Fang Chang looked almost as battered as Old Bai, covered in dust and grime.

He'd probably lost his rifle because he now carried a mechanical arm tied with VM, the bloody stump of a shoulder dangling from it, which was a shocking sight.

Edge Shoveling recognized this person.

It seemed to be Wild Wind's arm...

"No matter what, we've still completed the mission."

Old Bai dropped the bloody bundle on the ground, wiped the mud and sweat from his forehead with his arm, and said, "This stuff... I need you guys to carry it for me, I really don't have the strength anymore."

"What's this supposed to be?"

The young construction worker, Zuan, walked up and curiously uncovered the parcel to see a bunch of odd parts and dark red fungal blocks inside.

Many of these tentacled blocks were still slowly wriggling as if they were freshly cut meat.

"Remnants of an Evolutionary body, who knows what it is."

Leaning against an old car's hood, Fang Chang watched the construction worker fiddle with the fungus inside the parcel and kindly warned.

"You might not want to casually sift through things with your hands... our Smoking Quitting Brother died like that."

Chapter 346 Aviation Fuel is a Big Problem

Official Forum.

Members of the Bull and Horse Squad who had logged off early were chatting on the idle talk board.

It all started with Night Ten's brother posting a reply under the official website announcement, which was accidentally seen by an acquaintance. To defend himself from accusations of free-feeding, claiming it was due to an absurdly difficult map design, he opened a thread in the idle talk section to describe just how dangerous the situation had been.

While Night Ten was in the middle of describing how thousands of drones had them trapped in a building, and how he fought a retreating battle to cover his teammates' escape, Wild Wind's ID suddenly popped up in the thread.

Wild Wind, "I was just wondering if you'd be too bored coming down by yourself, but now I see you've been blowing your own horn on the official site. (side-eye)"

The Dinosaur Warrior turned dark, "Hahahaha! I knew it was fake!"

Rebel with a small cause, "I knew it all along! Not a single trustworthy word from these Europeans!"

The replies filled with raucous laughter flooded the screen.

Although at this time, ninety percent of the people flooding the forum had never entered the game, that didn't stop them from jeering.

These damn Exalted!

Take my spear!

Of course, Night Ten wouldn't pay attention to the backseat drivers' ridicule, and with a flick of his index finger, he changed the display settings to "View Replies from Closed Beta Players Only."

This was a new feature developed by Brother Guang in the last few versions.

The world instantly became peaceful.

Pretending nothing had happened, Night Ten continued typing.

"What the fuck?! Wild Wind? You came down too?"

Wild Wind, "After we collected Falling Feather's VM, we prepared to go back the way we came, but when leaving the building, we encountered a large number of evolutionary bodies..."

Wild Wind briefly described the situation at that time.

They hadn't been away from the building for long when a dozen double-legged robots parasitized by mucosal entities set their sights on them.

Although the weapons systems of these robots had been paralyzed, the "mutated slime fungus" had endowed them with new weapons—tentacles.

Then there were also "snails" that treated magnetic levitation train carriages as their shells blocking the road, and "mud monsters" uglier than Zacks filling up the entire alley.

Compared to that, what Eaters and Crawlers? Utterly weak!

Just like those "mucosal version drones."

Most of the mucosal entity's combat modes can be summed up in three stages: "Charge at the target," "Close-quarters brawl," and "Eating organs tearing."

Some evolutionary bodies with maternal characteristics could assimilate "heretics" by injecting spores into them, turning them into their own units.

A very small number of Variants relied on "corrosive liquids" or "self-detonation" to damage targets, but such Variants tended to exist in the form of traps and had poor mobility.

These combat methods might seem primitive, but it was this very primitiveness that caused great trouble for squads venturing deep into the third ring.

The vitality of mucor species Variants was outrageously tenacious, their HP more than a zero higher than that of players.

After merging with high-tech products from the Era of Prosperity, these "evolutionary bodies" had gained strong defensive capabilities and modes of mobility that transcended ordinary beings.

And this also resulted in these evolutionary bodies each being as strong as a Source Force Warrior, their combat power outrageously high.

"Anyway, lucky for us that we didn't encounter any Decaying Knights in power armor, we immediately headed to the evacuation point after retrieving the mission props."

"But an accident still happened on the way back, the mobility of the Intelligence System indeed is a bit weak... well, that's basically the situation."

Compared to Night Ten's exaggerated narrative style, Physical Professor tended to be more credible when he spoke. However, when it came to his own specific cause of death, Wild Wind just glossed over it with a light touch, unwilling to elaborate.

Falling Feather, "Cries, that's too tragic."

Night Ten, "Then your mechanical hand..."

Wild Wind, "I had Fang Zhang chop off my arm."

Night Ten, "Awesome!"

While it was a basic operation, being able to calmly talk about such things in a way was also a sign of strength...

Just then, Quit Smoking's ID suddenly popped up.

The big guy, "Wow, you guys have been chatting for hundreds of floors now, not bad!"

Night Ten, "Fuck! How come you, a Body Constitution System guy, are also down here?"

Quit Smoking, "Ah, don't even mention it. I stupidly touched a corpse, and before it had completely cooled down, it suddenly sprang over, and I instantly died!"

Wild Wind, "..."

Quit Smoking, "Cough, don't worry... Old White and Fang Zhang should be fine, we were already not far from the evacuation point at that time."

Wild Wind, "Well, I don't ask for much... just for someone to survive."

Wild Wind, usually a man of few words, couldn't help but pray for his teammates this time.

Experience and such were trivial, but their equipment absolutely could not blow up.

Frugality is a trait shared by every "Wasteland OL" player.

It's not that players don't want to waste resources, it's just that they don't have the conditions.

For mass-produced goods like the LD-47 assault rifle, it's fine to just buy another if it breaks, but for some weapons with the prefix[Rare]or even[Special], one wouldn't know where to buy another if they exploded!

In the words of the Dog plan, deciding whether or not to use high-value equipment considering the risk of the mission was also part of the game.

The thread quickly went off track.

Seeing that the whole server's T0 combat power was so miserably abused by the Variants inside the third ring, the players in the thread and the backseat drivers started a new debate.

Whether the future of the version lies in "genetic enhancement" or "mechanical ascension"...

...

Just as the discussion in the post was heating up, the two surviving members of the Bull and Horse Squad finally returned to City of Dawn, escorted by their team mates from Edge.

The harvest this time was quite astonishing.

Not only did the Bull and Horse Squad bring back the missing pilot's VM and the tissue samples of the mutated mucosal species from inside Qingquan City's third ring road, but they also brought back a large number of evolutionary body catalogs and relics!

Especially the latter.

They could not only enrich the setting collection on the "Wasteland OL" official website and feed Backseat Drivers more cakes, but they also provided a wealth of research material for the archaeology team.

The relics of those evolutionary bodies were like living fossils.

With their bodies, they recorded the shapes and working methods of the high-tech products from the Era of Prosperity.

For the New Alliance, which relied entirely on archaeology for scientific research, the help was no doubt immense!

Since Yin Fang was in West State City working on fuel rods and couldn't come back for the time being, Chu Guang sent these samples to the medical laboratory to let Heya research in the meantime.

On Yin Fang's side, Chu Guang asked him to help analyze the pilot's VM data.

Regarding Falling Feather's crash, Chu Guang always felt something was amiss.

Especially according to the pilot's description on the Forum, it further confirmed his suspicion.

The glider didn't crash due to an accident.

It was shot down by something...

Without a long wait, Yin Fang quickly completed the analysis of the data.

In the communication channel, he began to speak.

"You guessed it right, your little airplane was indeed shot down, and it was taken down by an EMP or similar weapon."

EMP?!

The wooden glider?

Chu Guang's expression was filled with weirdness.

Speaking of which.

The structure of the airplane made by Mosquito was already as simple as it could get.

Apart from the battery and a few instrument panels, which had a bit of technological essence, the degree of electronic elements in other parts was almost close to 0.

As is well known, in the absence of countermeasures against Electromagnetic Pulses, the smaller the electronic devices are constructed, the more powerful the killing effect of the EMP will be.

For something as thick as a brick, like the "big brother" phones and old-fashioned radios, the effect of Electromagnetic Pulses is quite limited.

Not to mention the wooden airplane designed by Mosquito.

"Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

"I'm certain, very certain. If I could get something wrong that's written in the 'black box,' then I may as well have lived these twenty-plus years for nothing."

After a pause, Yin Fang continued, "Although it sounds strange, the data traces from the VM indicate that the time of the Electromagnetic Pulse and the strong impact almost coincide."

"A reasonable speculation is that the Electromagnetic Pulse caused the signal location component in the VM to malfunction, and due to low environmental visibility, the pilot lost judgment of direction and ended up crashing."

"...That does make sense." A solemn look crossed Chu Guang's face.

If the crash was caused by an EMP attack, only two possibilities remained.

Either the evolutionary bodies within the third ring road or the steel friends from Giant Stone City gave him a rocket boost.

The latter possibility was very small.

Using Electromagnetic Pulse weapons against modern equipment was like using a nuclear bomb as fireworks.

And it might not even work.

But if it was the evolutionary bodies...

Chu Guang couldn't imagine how those mutated mucosal species managed it.

Seeing that Chu Guang didn't speak, Yin Fang continued with his own thoughts.

"...Honestly, I'm starting to have more respect for those annoying mucors. Whether it's the parasites on Batch's body or the power armors and tanks that appeared in the Tide, their learning and environmental adaptation abilities even give me a feeling..."

Here, Yin Fang hesitated for a while, seemingly pondering which words to use.

Chu Guang could probably guess what he wanted to say, but he still asked.

"A feeling of what?"

"A feeling...that they are more suited to this planet than we are."

He paused for a moment before continuing in an uncertain tone.

"Haven't you noticed? While we are doing archaeology, they're also doing archaeology, albeit in a completely different way than us, but in fact, they are indeed drawing nutrients from our ancestors."

"The first generation of evolutionary bodies still relied on external objects to strengthen themselves. Like the Decaying Knight we encountered before, whose strength came from the armor that wrapped it. Although a bit hard to deal with, the number of power armors is limited; taking down one means one less to contend with."

"However, by the second generation, they no longer needed external objects but were able to evolve their own knockoff versions of 'power armor,' and reproduce on a large scale... You should know what I'm talking about."

Chu Guang pondered.

"You mean 'Tyrants'?"

That name that made numerous Waste Land Wanderers pale with fear.

In a one-on-one situation, even Awakeners would find it troublesome. Common 7mm bullets could hardly inflict effective damage, at medium and long distances they could still use large-caliber light and heavy "Cavalry Guns," but up close there were hardly any particularly effective means.

Yin Fang on the other end of the communication channel nodded.

"Exactly!"

According to previous research from the medical laboratory, Tyrants could be considered as two individual entities.

The inner entities were roughly shaped like undergrown Eaters, while the external ones had self-healing keratin armor.

Although the imitation was rather crude, many similarities could prove that the Tyrant had evolved from the "Decaying Knight" blueprint.

"… the Tyrant is the most typical example, we can find connections among ethology, sociology, and biology between the Decaying Knight and the Tyrant."

"This vast 'beehive' has evolved tens of thousands of evolutionary bodies to fulfill the division of labor in their society. Their imitation of us is clumsy, but it's just now; historical experience tells us that the development of anything progresses from maturity to immaturity."

"I don't even dare to assume what it will be like in a century, what the third-generation evolutionary bodies will look like."

"Unlike the Mutants who have given up on humanity, they are becoming us, assimilating us, and trying to replace us."

Yin Fang sighed softly.

"This is the most chilling part…"

…

Dawn City Industrial Zone, the factory of Goblin Technology.

Mosquito, sitting amongst a pile of parts and a blackboard, along with his four self-taught "apprentices," was still losing hair over the task assigned by the Manager.

To break the limits of speed, the first issue to tackle was the engine problem.

The ideal situation would be to go straight to jet propulsion.

However, even the simplest jet propulsion would require parts like the compressor, combustion chamber, and turbine.

The temperature of the fan blades and compressor blades was not too demanding, allowing the use of A3 aluminum alloy, but the turbine blades needed more attention.

Operating temperatures over a thousand degrees would significantly reduce the strength of steel and titanium, so nickel was the only option.

However, even single-crystal nickel alloys risk melting under high heat, hence blades often had tiny internal channels and holes cast into them.

This was a complex technology, demanding not only extremely specific material requirements but also casting technology.

Fortunately, Factory No.81 had indicated they could possibly find a way to solve the engine blade issue.

Getting a MiG engine was unrealistic, but producing something akin to the grandfather of the MiG – "Ta183" – was worth a try.

A sufficient number of long-range jet missiles—or rather jet airplanes—could at least procure a slight air advantage for the New Alliance.

Help from friendly businesses was undoubtedly good news for Goblin Technology.

Being able to craft the blades would at least halve the trouble they faced with jet propulsion engines.

However…

Mosquito hadn't had the chance to celebrate when he immediately realized a problem more severe than the engine.

They had no fuel!

There were many choices for aviation fuel in reality.

But this was the Wasteland.

The New Alliance's oil was mainly dependent on the Kham Tree Plantation's production, but this biomass oil was too "light," lacking the highly branched isoparaffins required.

Using it as an industrial raw material was no problem, as the New Alliance's industrial demand for isoparaffins wasn't too severe. For general fuel purposes, it was acceptable, as even without processing, it could be lit with a simple vaporizer.

But aviation fuel was not so easily fooled.

The critical component of aviation kerosene was the highly branched isoparaffins, followed by issues like sulfur content and impurities.

Even with lowered demands for calorific value and density of the fuel, there was no existing technology to refine biomass oil into aviation fuel.

That's because, in reality, the "Kham Tree" species didn't even exist, so there was nowhere to copy homework from.

Biomass oil was at the forefront of energy conservation and emission reduction research, replete with "phase results" and proliferate PPTs, but no one had heard of a company that could replace oilfields with oil crops while also solving carbon emissions and industrial raw materials.

Oil grown from the ground?

Could such a good thing even exist?!

If it really existed in reality,

The whole world would go mad!

Just as everyone was racking their brains without finding a solution, Soul Chaser suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence.

"What if… we try solid fuel? Like burning coal?"

Sitting beside him, Fatal's eyes suddenly lit up.

"You mean the Lippisch P13A?"

Kill God said excitedly.

"Awesome, brother! I've seen that thing!"

Though it was in the Game.

Sitting aside, Discourage shook his head, picking up a piece of chalk from the ground.

"Cut the crap, isn't that an air pulse engine?"

Drawing a simple diagram in the remaining space on the board, it seemed slightly simpler than a turbojet.

But only a bit.

"This thing is still a concept to this day, although it's resurfaced for research, herald as a breakthrough for N times the speed of sound flight. Yet the heat barrier issue has never been solved, and the insufficient calorific value of the fuel is another major problem. As for the P13A… that thing was just a paper plane, never saw battle, and whether it has ever been made remains a mystery."

Mosquito glanced at him curiously.

"Aren't you working at the drone factory?"

Discourage embarrassedly grinned.

"Heh, just a hobby… what's wrong with that, your family runs a furniture factory too, right?"

Mosquito rolled his eyes.

"I really do own a furniture factory."

Discourage couldn't help laughing and said,

"I didn't say you weren't."

Though the problem was still unresolved, the atmosphere of the discussion had become more lively.

Everyone was chipping in with ideas, one after another. Even if many were impractical brainstorms, it was certainly better than watching time slip by in silence.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

Mosquito got up, walked over, and opened it, but standing at the door was an NPC guard.

Seeing the black uniform, Mosquito was taken aback and blurted out in United Human language without thinking,

"It wasn't us."

The guard was also taken aback and said, confused,

"What... wasn't you?"

Noticing the puzzled expression on the guard's face, Mosquito coughed awkwardly.

"Nothing... just a habit, heh heh."

Every time the guards came knocking, it was never good news; either something had blown up or something had caught fire.

He was almost conditioned to respond that way.

The guard eyed Mosquito suspiciously for a moment but said nothing and professionally handed over the package he was holding.

"Someone asked me to bring this package for you."

"A package for me? Who?" Mosquito took the package, completely baffled.

"A little girl, about this tall..." The guard used his hand to gesture her height, about one meter fifty-six, with golden hair, "She didn't leave a name, just asked me to deliver this package to Goblin Technology."

Mosquito immediately guessed who it was and said, realizing,

"Oh oh oh, is it that Pai? Thanks!"

"You're welcome."

After the package was delivered, the guard didn't linger. He left upon completing the task assigned by the Manager.

The door closed.

Mosquito, holding the package, returned to his disciples with a smug look.

A gift from an NPC!

This was, of course, the time to show off!

The four beasts indeed noticed what was in his hands, and Kill God was the first to approach, asking curiously,

"What's that you're holding?"

Mosquito grinned.

"Remember the girl from yesterday?"

Soul Chaser exclaimed in surprise,

"Pai?"

Mosquito shook the package in his hand proudly,

"A gift for me."

Upon hearing this, everyone was first stunned, then shocked.

"Holy shit?"

"You beast!"

Mosquito rolled his eyes,

"Get lost! Can't it be that she admires my profound knowledge and wants me as her mentor?"

Kill God gagged,

"I'm gonna puke."

Ignoring him, Mosquito opened the package.

However, when he saw what was inside, he froze for a moment.

Inside the package was a glass bottle filled with a transparent liquid.

Holding it in his hand and examining it for a while, Mosquito's expression was one of confusion,

"What the heck is this?"

Soul Chaser rolled his eyes,

"Weren't you deep in knowledge?"

"Must be some sort of quest prop from an NPC... why don't you take a sip?" Discourage suggested teasingly.

To be honest, Mosquito did consider it.

But before drinking, it's always prudent to give it a sniff.

However, as soon as he unscrewed the cap and brought it close to his nose, the stench that wafted up made his eyebrows scrunch up instantly.

"Holy shit!"

What on earth smelled so foul!

Chapter 347: The Technology that Changed the World!

"The smell of phenolic compounds...it's a bit like kerosene but not exactly," Mosquito stated uncertainly after sniffing it for a while.

Standing to the side, Soul Chaser suddenly spoke up,

"Could it be Hydrazine 50?"

"There's no ammonia smell, so it shouldn't be."

Mosquito shook his head and quickly screwed the cap back on.

Phenolic compounds are easily oxidized in an air environment.

He couldn't determine the component for now and could only roughly deduce by the viscosity and smell of the liquid that it might be something similar to kerosene.

But then again, this little bottle was a bit heavy—

Wait.

Oil?!

Holding the glass bottle, Mosquito suddenly froze, standing in place with a blank expression, as if his brain had crashed.

"Did you glitch?"

Seeing Mosquito's dumbfounded face, Discourage waved his hand in front of him, only to find that he seemed to have disconnected, showing no response at all.

"Could there be a bug with this prop?"

Kill God muttered curiously and reached to take the glass bottle.

However, before his hand touched the bottle, Mosquito jerked as if electrified and snapped back to his senses, rushing into a nearby factory without another word.

Although he was from the Agile system, Mosquito had never been seen running so fast.

Watching Brother Mosquito's sudden actions, everyone was dumbfounded.

"What's with him?"

"Possessed?"

"Can't be."

Soul Chaser, who had a bit of a professional and chemical relation, vaguely sensed something and his expression turned intriguing.

"Fuel..."

"Fuel?" Discourage frowned.

"Mm," Soul Chaser nodded lightly and continued, "And likely the kind we've been looking for."

...

In the fields north of the City of Dawn.

Sitting beneath a mill, Pai gazed at the tender green fields in the distance, holding a bowl of shaved ice and enjoying the breeze, comfortably squinting his eyes.

People were leading double-headed cows, walking on rural trails, or carrying farming tools working in the fields. Under the shade of trees, children ran around and played, and in the distance was the rumbling of tractors.

This was a scene he had never witnessed in West State City.

Hard to imagine, the war had only just ended a few days ago…

Sitting on the adjacent steps, Little Fish also relaxed, swinging her legs and happily scooping the shaved ice on her knees.

Perhaps because she ate too quickly out of greed, she couldn't help but close her eyes tightly, letting out a "woo woo" sound.

"Damn...my health bar is empty," said WhiteBear sitting not far away, with an expression that would easily confuse bears.

"Ahaha…" Cat Girl, wearing a relaxed smile, gently stroked White Bear's fur.

Today was another peaceful day.

But speaking of which, the war had only ended less than a week ago.

If it weren't for being in the game, it'd be impossible for everyone to have a relaxed vacation like now.

Sitting nearby, Tail, touching her chin, looked quite clever as she wrinkled her nose.

Suddenly, she spoke,

"This doesn't make scientific sense."

"Hmm?" Si Si glanced at her.

Tail quickly turned her head towards Si Si, her eyes sparkling,

"Don't you think? Ah Wei's Little Fish is getting cuter and cuter!"

"You... your words are becoming more and more hazardous, meow."

Silently shifting her gaze away from her friend, Si Si looked at the distant Little Fish, suddenly understanding why Tail had made such a comment.

She remembered when she first met Little Fish, that kind and well-mannered little girl, her hair had a noticeable hint of dry yellow.

As a medical student, she knew well; it was a sign of zinc deficiency.

Now, that head of hair had become enviably black and shiny.

"...probably due to improved nutritional status, given that she's still growing," Si Si said thoughtfully.

In the game setting during the Prosperity Epoch, the citizens of the United Human had adopted gene modification technology and applied it extensively to medical beauty and other fields.

As long as the nutrition was sufficient, normally, people's appearances were all above standard, especially the residents of the shelters.

So much so that she'd become somewhat numb to seeing handsome men and beautiful women in reality.

"Oh! So, does that mean she will grow up?" Tail asked excitedly.

Si Si paused slightly and nodded.

"She should...probably."

NPCs would grow over time.

If this logic holds true, does that mean one could eventually see Little Fish grow into a mature lady by playing long enough?

Ah, this...

It's way too realistic.

"That, that means Tail too?!"

"Uh, if she keeps from dying?" Looking at Tail's expectant face, Si Si nodded again, but her tone carried a hint of uncertainty.

Upon hearing this, Tail deflated like a burst balloon.

Looking at the slowly turning windmill above her head, she sighed deeply.

"Damn! This is too hard."

Si Si: "..."

In the fields, a chorus of frogs and cicadas filled the air.

The air in the June valley was already carrying a hint of heat.

Thanks to a new invention, the factories of the New Alliance had created a differential refrigeration machine for artificial rainfall, and later the chemical plants produced the refrigerant "Difluoromethane."

Thanks to this invention,

Industrial areas of the New Alliance were now able to independently produce fridges.

Although it would be some time before these appliances entered every household, clever players had already brought numerous cold delicacies into the game.

Like shaved ice topped with fruit syrup, milk-flavored popsicles, and ice-lollies... A myriad of cold delicacies emerged on the streets north of the City of Dawn, dazzling the traveling merchants and wanderers coming to this area.

It wasn't that these things weren't available elsewhere,
but rarely were they as "complete" as here.

What amazed them most was that these were delicacies even ordinary people could enjoy!

This was the most incredible part...

"...Brother Chu said that in two months, this place will be even more spectacular," Little Fish said happily, taking another bite, her headache from the cold beginning to subside.

By then, the plains north of Rhombus Lake would turn into a vast sea of golden waves.

Listening to Little Fish, a look of longing appeared in Pai's aqua blue eyes, though it quickly turned to melancholy.

"Two months, huh... That's quite a long wait."

Even though it had only been two days, she had already fallen in love with this place.

Here, there was an endless variety of food, endless landscapes to see, endless stories to hear, endless books to read, and interesting people of all sorts.

Of course, the folks at Camp 101 were also good people, but everyone was engrossed in their own interesting things.

No one had ever, like today, spent a leisurely afternoon with her.

Friendship.

This word, which she had only seen in books, turned out to be so beautiful.

Yet, the thought of her imminent return made Pai feel the troubles of a holiday coming to an end.

Seeing the somewhat melancholic Pai, Little Fish cocked her head.

"The two months will fly by."

"Um... That's true."

Staring at the shaved ice in her hands, Pai fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking up.

"Little Fish."

Little Fish blinked.

"Hmm?"

Pai, resolute, spoke up.

"Do you want to... go to school?"

"School?" Little Fish tilted her head, "You mean night school? Brother Chu said they can't teach me much there anymore."

Night school mainly taught arithmetic and United Human language, aiming to eradicate illiteracy; they didn't teach complicated subjects. Under Brother Chu's guidance, she had self-learned algebra, geometry, and statistics.

According to Brother Chu, she was now qualified to go to school and teach the children.

Pai shook her head, looking at her seriously.

"Not that kind of school, but one where you learn more advanced knowledge."

She had visited the night schools of the New Alliance; the curriculum there matched, at most, three class periods of Camp 101's school.

Here, not only was the industry lagging, but education standards were also a major concern.

Looking at the earnest Pai, confusion appeared on Little Fish's face.

"More advanced knowledge is..."

"The kind that makes the windmills above our heads spin faster, makes the cars in the fields go further, allows people not to sit in cars but on the sofas in their living rooms, enjoying cool air while tilling millions of acres of good fields, and then spending an entire day with family..."

Pai described the things she had seen in VR images.

From the farmlands to the factories, then to the squares and parks, theaters and schools of people.

Although she had never truly seen that era, neither had the folks at Camp 101, but her master had told her that as long as they passed on the information about that era, people would one day recall their past pride and reclaim what they had lost.

Little Fish, sitting beside her, listened intently.

Though it sounded like a dream to her, she was at the age of dreaming, and her face couldn't help but show a hint of longing.

"It sounds so powerful..."

"Right? Though our knowledge is a tiny part of it, it's still powerful!" Pai said with a slight pride, continuing as if she were an elder, "As long as you study hard, that day won't be far away."

"But... can I really do it?" Little Fish whispered.

"You definitely can! Trust me!" Pai gently reached out and touched her forehead, "I can feel... you have a rare quality, similar to those residents of the shelters, yet fundamentally different."

Little Fish: "...Quality?"

Pai nodded.

"Have you noticed that you have a special talent for language and mathematics?"

"Brother Chu did praise me, saying I learn fast..."

Blushing as Pai touched her head, Little Fish shyly backed away and continued quietly, "But how did you know?"

"That's the quality I'm talking about!"

Pai looked at her, continuing seriously.

"Our camp occasionally recruits young people with unusual brain structures. What ordinary people take a minute to think about, they grasp in a second. What takes others a year to learn, they master in a month!"

"We teach them knowledge to help them develop their talents, just like the forerunners of Shelter 101 once extended a helping hand to our parents."

Even without the help of the 'Enlightenment Chip', they had achieved remarkable mental levels through their natural talents.

"They refer to their situation as—"

"Awakeners!"

Little Fish gasped, eyes bright with surprise and confusion.

Me...

Possess the qualities of an Awakener?

To be honest, she wasn't overly ambitious about her abilities; she was already content with her current life.

As for studying.

Partly, it was for fun.

Partly because Brother Chu had told her that it could help everyone, and she genuinely wanted to assist him and lighten his workload.

If she could learn even more powerful knowledge…

Seeing Little Fish still hesitating, Pai couldn't help but feel a little impatient.

However, just as she was about to put in more effort to persuade Little Fish, a suspicious scream came from not far away.

"Boss!!! Please accept my knees!"

"Eh—?! What is this?!"

Pai, startled by the sudden appearance of the strange person lunging at her thigh, reflexively jumped to the side, completely failing to understand what the person was saying.

It wasn't until White Bear held the person down that she could see clearly that it was the rude individual she had encountered yesterday in the industrial area.

"Damn! Are you trying to kill me?! Let go of me, I have made contributions to the Alliance, I have bled for the Manager!" Mosquito, pinned down by one of Meat Meat's paws, grimaced and yelled.

"You, you, don't move around so indiscriminately... behave!" Meat Meat, somewhat flustered by Mosquito's squirming, accidentally sat down entirely on him, causing Mosquito to instantly roll his eyes.

"Oh oh! The pervert has been subdued! Leave the rest to Tail with confidence!" Tail gave a clean thumbs up, his face breaking into a smile he deemed super cool.

Little Fish looked utterly bewildered, having no clue about the situation.

"Anyway, even if it's attempted crime, it's worth at least 15 days," Si Si said coldly, looking down at Mosquito on the ground with a scheming smile on his face, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Watching Mosquito, who was having trouble breathing properly, Sesame Paste stepped forward worriedly.

"Could there be some kind of misunderstanding? Let's let him up first."

Even if he were convicted, that would be a matter for the guards to handle.

Realizing that Mosquito was about to go offline, Meat Meat quickly removed his paws from him.

"Cough cough... Thank you, I was about to die with injustice." Mosquito breathed in the fresh air deeply, looking gratefully at the kind cat woman.

However, what struck him deeply was the way Sesame Paste subtly moved back a bit.

"... I never said you were wronged."

"Damn it! Okay... I apologize first, sorry! My behavior earlier was indeed impulsive! It must have troubled you! I did not mean to offend, I just wanted to express... my shock."

Mosquito took a deep breath and sincerely expressed his apology to the startled Pai, using the awkward language of the United Human.

After listening to Mosquito's explanation, Pai finally understood what had happened and nodded in realization.

"No worries, no worries, the generous do not dwell on the mistakes of others!"

"But yeah, although I understand that your admiration for me is beyond words, please try not to do things that lead to misunderstandings next time, ao!"

Though she said this with a magnanimous attitude, the tip of her nose that involuntarily turned up betrayed her pride.

Meat Meat scratched his head with his bear paw.

"So that's what it was."

"Emmm… Although the behavior is still quite perverted, such an explanation is passable," Si Si nodded.

In the game, everyone might indeed act more openly, just like Tail, who in reality is a quiet girl, but has an unfathomable stock of emojis.

But since the person involved had forgiven him, let it be.

Everyone's expressions relaxed, except for Ah Wei, who clicked his tongue regretfully, seeming disappointed at not being able to play the cop this time.

Gratefully looking at Pai, Mosquito continued with excitement in his voice.

"I have a request! Can you help me?"

"Mmm! Go ahead," Pai nodded proudly.

She loved feeling like a teacher the most.

Just when everyone let down their guard, Mosquito Brother pulled out an empty glass bottle and stared at her eagerly, his speech filled with excitement.

"That... Holy Water! Can you give me a little more?"

"Huh?"

Tail tilted her head, not understanding.

Si Si, standing beside her, paused for two seconds and stared at the translation on the VM before silently pressing the shortcut button on the top right corner.

"... Anyway, let's call the police first."

...

Proud Brothers Group Chat.

To take care of their good brother still soaking in the cultivation chamber, Old White and Fang Chang specifically went offline to report the latest developments in the game.

Fang Chang, "We just received a mission published by the Manager, the objective is to escort NPC Luka to Giant Stone City to sign a friendly agreement with the mayor of Giant Stone City Hall. If nothing goes wrong, this mission should be related to the next version."

The main storyline of Wasteland OL primarily progresses through "player behavior," suspected planned "special events," and faction leaders' "exclusive missions."

Although all interested players can view the complete storyline, and the official website updates the content in real-time, chances to participate in the main storyline as a plot-driver are rare.

Many missions are unique.

And that's also why most players are eager to farm contributions and "affection points."

④Who Doesn't Understand Science, "Just asking, why don't you guys just take down Giant Stone City? (curious)"

Lord Arrogant Brother had heard about the game while still in the group and had been following its progress, he just hadn't bothered to pre-register.

This scenario wasn't uncommon.

Not everyone loves money, let alone games.

He prefers listening to group friends boast rather than playing games.

Old White, "Forgetting war invites danger, being warlike ensures destruction. It's time for farming and adventuring now, we've been fighting in alley battles for nearly two months, time for a rest. (grinning teeth)"

Fang Chang, "Yeah, from the background of the game, it's also hard to start a fight, the New Alliance is kind of a law-abiding faction, Giant Stone City is probably neutral, Looter and Mutant tribe are more like chaos."

"Considering the situation in the Wasteland, the spark of civilization could extinguish at any moment, it's not impossible for the law-abiding and neutral factions to erupt in a faction war, but the chances are very slim. Unless the planners really have no work left, substitute the Manager's hammer with a sword, or stir up some big news."

Big Eyes Mosquito, "Son of Lordaeron is still okay. (funny)"

Night Ten, "Huh? Why did you come down too? Exploded again?"

Big Eyes Mosquito, "Buzz off! I just came down to take a big break. (rolling eyes)"

Telling others that he got banned for two hours due to player's report of improper behavior towards NPCs was, of course, something he was embarrassed to mention.

With photos and recordings as evidence, Mosquito Brother simply accepted the punishment.

After all, it's just two hours, just enough time to have some late-night snacks and think about how to sweet-talk that fuel formula over.

No way around it, that fuel was simply too awesome!

Stable, strong thermal stability, doesn't freeze in low temperatures and has excellent fluidity, suitable density and high calorific value!

It doesn't even produce much carbon deposit and slag ... the drawbacks are almost negligible, and the benefits are too numerous to count on both hands.

If that's not black technology, then what is?

It's totally awesome!

As for why Mosquito Brother went offline, no one asked much, after all, similar situations had happened once or twice before.

Fang Chang continued typing.

"…In short, that's the basic situation. We're setting off in an hour, I'll be back online soon, and we'll get in touch once we reach Giant Stone City."

Quit Smoking: "I'm so jealous! TAT"

Wild Wind: "Make sure to record it."

Old White: "No problem! Brothers, just rest well these next couple of days. (grinding teeth)"

"Damn!"

It's so frustrating not being able to play the game!

After sending a reply, Ye Wei rolled his eyes and threw his phone on the table.

However, just then, a message suddenly popped up on the screen, and he had no choice but to pick up his phone again.

"Bro, consider this ready-made flat in Luzhou Mansion? (grinding teeth)"

The sender was a real estate agent he had just added that afternoon.

Immediately following, five photos were sent over.

Ye Wei glanced at them; the environment indeed looked nice, the only downside being its location by the river, slightly far from the school.

But that wasn't a problem.

If necessary, he could just stay at school from Monday to Friday and stay off campus on the weekends.

Ye Wei drafted a reply and sent it back.

"Okay."

Probably a mass message, the sender paused for a while.

A few seconds later, another message came in.

"Uh, bro, what do you mean?"

The agent was a bit unsure.

It wasn't that he was bad at his job, but he had just checked this client's social media profiles, and honestly, the client was quite low-key.

He seemed totally like a student!

"I'll go for a viewing tomorrow morning." Ye Wei didn't want to explain and replied succinctly, then turned off the message notifications.

To relieve the "withdrawal symptoms," he switched his phone screen on and off several times but eventually restrained himself from logging onto the official forum and casually opened Weibo, which he hadn't logged into for months.

He intended to watch some funny videos to pass the time, but just then, upon opening the trending list, he realized that the top spot was not about some celebrities' trivial family matters as usual.

In fact, three consecutive posts were about the same thing.

"…A major breakthrough in lithium battery technology?"

He muttered softly, curiosity burgeoning in his heart, prompting him to click and take a look.

The first thing that appeared was a video from a central news network.

"Recently, Huake Material Technology and Engineering Research Institute has made a groundbreaking advancement in research on 'lithium dendrites issues,' which, according to industry experts, has been a major bottleneck hindering the research on lithium anode batteries…"

The voiceover ended, and the camera shifted.

Facing the interviewer, Academician Liu Yiping spoke with deep emotion.

"I feel embarrassed to say that we've only made a small contribution; we genuinely don't deserve such an honor! The major progress was mainly possible thanks to the help from our collaborating units and the full support of society and the nation…"

Academician Liu's wording was humble and precise; he roughly introduced the areas involved in the research from a scientific perspective.

After interviewing Academician Liu, the reporter then turned the camera to someone from the industry—a well-known battery company's Chief Manufacturing Officer.

Unlike Academician Liu's modest stability.

The industrialist's demeanor was restrained on camera, but the excitement was clearly visible on his flushed face.

It was as if he had just won a bet on the national soccer team.

"…This will become a milestone event in the new energy industry! Without exaggeration, our lives will change dramatically because of this!"

Although Ye Wei couldn't quite understand what he was talking about.

Based on the man's expressions, he could somewhat fathom the shock this new technology delivered to the industry.

The video was too long, and Ye Wei didn't watch all of it, but he directly scrolled down to the comment section.

To his surprise.

Hundreds of thousands of comments and over a million likes were gathered on a piece of news related to the scientific field.

"Awesome!"

"6666!"

"Holy shit, does this mean I can charge my phone once a week now?!"

"My home's new energy vehicle's battery is only 200Wh/kg… Does breaking three digits mean 1000Wh/kg?!"

"Be confident, it should be at least 1000! (grinding teeth)"

"Just a small contribution, huh? The boss is too humble! T.T"

"By the way, which is the collaborating unit? It feels so mysterious!"

"+1, they didn't even show up in the interview."

"+10000, any that don't show their face, just assume it's the relevant authorities. (funny)"

While scrolling through the comment section of the news, Ye Wei was equally filled with emotions.

He had not expected a world-changing revolution to not appear with grandeur.

Instead, on a rather ordinary night, as he took off his headset and picked up his phone, people's lives were silently changing.

By the time everyone realized it.

The future had arrived.

After reading an analysis by a renowned influencer about how the thin artificial SEI film would impact national energy strategy and the global energy landscape, Ye Wei couldn't help but exclaim.

"Awesome!"

These big shots were too powerful!

Although he rarely followed trending news and his major had nothing to do with batteries, hearing about the country making significant advances in scientific research inevitably made him feel proud and prouder.

Science and technology are primary productive forces.

Advanced production technology is the wealth of the whole society.

The moment society's production capacity completes its qualitative change through quantitative accumulation, every individual in the society will embrace a whole new version.

Unfortunately, he wasn't cut out for research.

All he could do was give a thumbs-up to those silent contributors.

Chapter 348: Walk on Others' Paths, Leaving No Paths for Them

Ye Wei had no idea.

As he lamented how awesome the "big shots" were, at that very moment, these same "big shots" were hardly any calmer than he was.

"There's always a bigger mountain, there's always someone better..."

"Indeed, I have to admit it."

"Ah... it feels like the past decade of experiments was all for nothing."

Huake Academy, Institute for Materials Technology and Engineering.

In Academician Liu Yiping's office.

The researchers sitting in front of the desk, each one holding a mobile phone, were scrolling with a thoughtful expression, swiping up with their thumbs.

The events of the past few days felt like a dream to them.

Up until a week ago, they were so busy they wished they could split into two.

Now, however, everyone had suddenly become idle and even had time to browse social media.

It wasn't just them.

This was also the current state for the vast majority of the project groups engaged in similar research.

The emergence of the 404 artificial SEI film had an impact on the entire industry that could be described as "game-changing."

A thousand charge-discharge cycles with virtually no loss in capacity!

Not a single dendritic lithium structure could be seen on the anode!

The results were so shocking that they suspected for a while that there was a malfunction in the experimental equipment.

Only after more and more repeated experiments yielded the same results did they start to gradually believe that it wasn't their eyes or the equipment that were faulty, but the world itself was too real...

Maybe there really are geniuses in this world.

Even without participating in the research system, even without any interaction or discussion with peers, they could silently come up with extraordinary research results.

"... Today's news really has no substance, I've been scrolling through social media for almost two hours, and haven't found a single useful clue."

The doctoral student wearing glasses couldn't help but complain.

His name was Lin Shengyu, a student of Academician Liu Yiping, who had been exploring the future of lithium batteries with Old Liu since his master's degree.

"Still searching for that 'cooperation unit'?" A fellow student teased with a smile.

"Yes," Lin Shengyu nodded, counter-questioning, "Aren't you curious?"

"Curious, of course, but what's the use of just being curious? We don't even know who the cooperation unit is, how do you expect others to know?" the fellow student chuckled.

It was indeed embarrassing.

The entire internet was heatedly discussing that mysterious cooperating unit, yet they themselves, caught in the middle of it, had no idea who it was.

Another fellow student also chimed in.

"Give it up. If Old Liu isn't willing to talk, what do you think those journalists could possibly know?"

Lin Shengyu remained silent, his eyes still fixed firmly on his phone screen, clearly not convinced.

The students beside him had already started discussing other topics.

"Now that the lithium dendrite issue is resolved, what should we research next?"

"Cathode materials? Electrolytes? Separators?"

"I don't know. We'll have to wait for Old Liu to return to decide."

"Speaking of which, where is Old Liu? Haven't seen him these past few days."

"Considering the big developments in the field, he's probably at a meeting."

Just because the lithium dendrite problem was solved didn't mean they had nothing left to do.

In fact, there were still a pile of tasks waiting for them.

As bottlenecks were broken, the transition of lithium anode batteries from the laboratory to everyday life had become a possibility, and a whole new technological path lay before everyone.

What to use for the cathode?

What to use for the electrolyte?

What to research and how to research it... all these questions and more needed further discussion.

The technology was changing not just the industry, but also them as researchers.

Only those at the forefront had the right to decide how to pave the way to the future.

They used to be the followers.

Now, the initiative to choose the path forward lay in their hands.

They would determine the future of the new energy industry, and the whole world was waiting for their answer.

But despite that, one question still lingered in everyone's minds.

That artificial SEI film...

Where did it come from?

...

"Old Liu has been quite busy these days."

"Hahaha, isn't that for certain! With such a big event in the lithium battery industry, if he doesn't take charge, we surely can't trouble our distant friends to do so."

"Academician Liu Yiping still adheres too strongly to principles, he won't even let his name be associated."

"There is reason in his actions, after all, any secret is temporary, the matter cannot be kept secret forever, it will eventually be made public."

In another part of the same world, the same matter was being discussed.

The people sitting in the office all had dark circles under their eyes, but each face displayed distinct excitement and joy.

In fact, on the issue of "alien civilization," the higher-ups had issued instructions for cautious observation, but there were always controversies regarding certain details.

For instance, the "Enlightenment Faction" believed that the alien civilization was enlightening human civilization through "Game," a cultural form comprehensible to them, ultimately leading humanity towards the stars.

On the other hand, the "Intervention Faction" believed that the alien civilization was trying to meddle in human affairs, influencing the historical process of human civilization with their own will, to achieve unspeakable aims.

The two viewpoints were actually quite similar.

The difference merely lay in, one being above neutral, the other below.

Of course, aside from the mainstream viewpoints, there were also some fringe views like the "Jungle Faction" and the "Breeding Faction."

However, as the discussion had not evolved into a society-wide debate, the controversies were still dominated by "Enlightenment" and "Intervention."

The people in the task force were mostly from the "Enlightenment Faction," not just because some of them had participated in that game, but also because they were consistently updating the game's versions.

This breakthrough in lithium battery technology related not only to the national energy strategy and the safety of energy use but also allowed the "Enlightenment Faction" to have more say in alien civilization affairs.

"I've actually been pondering a question," the man in the police uniform suddenly spoke.

"What question?" the square-faced man asked with a smile.

The man in the police uniform slowly said, "I work in criminal investigation, and I might pay more attention to a suspect's motive... I really can't understand for what reason they would help us."

"Perhaps to let the 'Enlightenment Faction's' opinions become mainstream within our ranks?" the man with glasses joked.

The square-faced man pondered for a moment and replied,

"I wouldn't rule out that possibility, but I feel it's not the main purpose."

"What do you think is the main purpose?" The old man cast a curious look at him.

Being the only one in the office to have received a beta testing qualification for "Wasteland OL," he was probably the most authoritative on "Wasteland OL" among everyone there.

"We've discussed this issue a long time ago; the alien civilization possibly wants to bring us some kind of revelation through cultural forms we can understand,"

The man in the green shirt's expression gradually became serious.

"Are you referring to... a third world war?"

The atmosphere in the office grew tense upon hearing the term "third world war."

In fact, before the "Enlightenment Faction" became influential, there were quite a few supporters of the "Premonition Faction." This faction believed that the alien civilization was revealing to them the human future three hundred years later.

However, predicting the future, with its mystic undertones and lacking scientific basis, never gained the upper hand.

The square-faced man shook his head.

"That should not be it. I think rather than predicting a war, they may be more inclined to show that in a fourth major war, we would fight with club sticks... Isn't this what our players do in the game?"

After cracking a joke to lighten the mood, he paused and then continued speaking.

"Earth has over seven billion people and more than two hundred countries and regions. Even if we ignore the different voices within each country, our civilization can still produce over two hundred distinct voices. If I were an alien civilization's diplomat, I would probably go insane."

"Before advancing to the galaxy, we should form a unified community of shared destiny. We can have different opinions internally, but when facing external civilizations, we must ensure our voices are unified."

"The enlightenment I understand, technological support is just one means of 'Enlightenment,' not the ultimate goal. Maybe 'they' hope to help us achieve a civilizational union through this method."

Everyone in the office instinctively looked at each other.

The old man slightly frowned.

"This interpretation is quite interesting... If it's really as you say, then the significance of this matter is extraordinary."

"It's just a hypothesis. Our official interactions with 'them' have not yet begun; all our speculations are just our unilateral interpretations, and all the assumptions we are making now are merely precautionary."

After a brief pause, the square-faced man continued with a serious expression.

"Regarding this issue, I've already communicated with my superiors. We will soon establish a separate Scientific Development Foundation, responsible for technology induction-related matters."

"This includes establishing a 'Silver Coin' reserve and a regular purchasing mechanism, setting rules for technology induction, guiding social forces to take initiative, and actively participating in this proposition beneficial for both the country and the people."

"No matter what choices we ultimately make, we only have one thing to do: maintain our advantages!"

Acting on an emergency basis once or twice is permissible, but it cannot be the norm, as continuous benefit transfers will only create a massive and lethargic Leviathan, seeding trouble for the future. Moreover, keeping secrets is one way to maintain a technological advantage, but true advantages are never sustained by secrecy alone.

These words might be unpleasant, but they are lessons from history.

As rulemakers, they needed to ensure the rules were as perfect as possible, minimizing the space for power rent-seeking, ensuring the personal safety of those players who introduced technology to the community, and strictly preventing a few malicious individuals from undermining the community's interests and image by exploiting their power, status, and specious doctrines to fulfill their personal desires, even channeling benefits abroad.

"Fortunately, I've noticed a special company recently appeared in Shanghai whose business scope exactly matches our area of interest."

"That certainly sounds like a good start."

"You mean that... Cattle something company?" said the old man with some regret. "I've heard of them, but it's a pity they only do intermediary services."

If a part of the players with outstanding capabilities could actively repurchase technology, that would be ideal.

In that case, they wouldn't need to make things so complicated—just send a few "certificates of merit" to the company and let the local people judge for themselves. That would directly resolve the matter.

Short of people?

Short of land?

Short of money?

For a company that truly holds "core technologies," are these even issues?

A loan of one hundred billion plus an order of two hundred billion, even if you tied a dog to the chairman's seat, as long as it sits properly, it could still soar to the sky.

A vast reserve of talent and complete industrial support—the societal scarcity has never been about a few pieces of paper or a string of digits, but the "actual soil that can be irrigated."

"There's nothing to regret, specialization is key, and people's energy is limited. They've chosen what they're better at, and I support them," said the square-faced man with a smile.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the office nodded in agreement, showing their approval.

No wonder he's a man recognized by an extraterrestrial civilization and obtained the beta testing qualification!

His words indeed had substance!

At that moment, a bespectacled colleague, suddenly curious, asked.

"Speaking of which, how are you doing in the game? What level have you reached?"

Many were curious about this and turned their eyes toward the square-faced man.

Faced with his colleagues' gazes, the square-faced man's expression became a bit complicated, and he coughed.

"Didn't I say, specialization is key..."

"People's energy is limited."

...

Waste World.

At the south entrance of Lihu Wetland Park, ten fully armed players had assembled.

Apart from Old White and Fang Chang leading the team, the other eight players were elite members of the Burning Corps, each with T3 and even T2 capabilities.

They were not only well-equipped but had also experienced the ordeals of war numerous times and had rich experience in wasteland warfare and urban combat.

Before the gathering, they had been briefed by Old White about the mission, and everyone's face bore an eager expression.

Surveying the well-equipped and high-spirited players, Chu Guang nodded in approval.

Not bad.

For once, the pre-game animation showed everyone actually dressed properly.

"Xiao Qi, take a picture for them."

A spirited voice came from beside him.

"Okay!"

While Xiao Qi took the opportunity to photograph the players, Chu Guang organized his thoughts for a moment and slowly started speaking.

"I salute you, warriors of the Alliance, for your brave charge has allowed us to end the war so swiftly."

"Now, as the chaos from the north has settled, the Alliance needs time to recuperate. For the sake of long-lasting prosperity and stability, and for those who have survived, I need you to represent the Alliance and bring friendship and peace to our neighbors."

"Remember, on this trip, you represent the entire Alliance."

"How our neighbors perceive their relationship with us will depend on your every word and action."

Players' individual actions are hard to control.

However, when players form a collective, they naturally look out for the gameplay experience of others in the group and consciously regulate themselves and their peers.

As the player-specific cutscene concluded, Chu Guang turned to Old Luka and added one final piece of advice.

"Be sure to stay safe on the road."

"Don't worry, sir, I will keep your instructions in mind. But please take care of yourself—don't overwork. Even the most important work is not as important as your health." Old Luka's face wore a sincere expression as he spoke.

It wasn't flattery or mere politeness, but rather a sincere statement from the heart.

While others might not be fully aware of what the Manager had done for the Alliance, Luka, as an executor of orders, knew very well how much effort Chu Guang had put into this Alliance.

From the start of the Northern Expedition until now, except for resting briefly during the Triumph ceremony, he had hardly taken a day off.

If possible, Luka genuinely hoped that the Manager would consider his own well-being a bit more.

Looking at the elderly man who was still worried about him before departure, Chu Guang smiled and nodded.

"My health is fine, don't worry about me... Let's set off, the sooner we leave, the sooner we'll return."

"Yes."

Luka placed his right fist over his left chest in a respectful salute and then led several accompanying personnel, following the players towards the south.

As he watched the team leave, Charlie, standing beside Chu Guang, suddenly spoke up.

"This journey, I'm afraid, won't be peaceful."

Although he didn't agree with such flag-setting behavior, Chu Guang still responded.

"What's your opinion."

Old Charlie proceeded cautiously,

"Although the factory owners in Giant Stone City are reluctant to engage in direct conflict with us, it's clear they don't want the authorities to get too close to us."

Most of the merchants who came to invest in the New Alliance were either traders from Giant Stone City or owners of small to medium-sized factories experiencing difficulties.

The commodities they produced in the New Alliance significantly undercut the vested interests of those large factories and business associations in Giant Stone City.

Chu Guang was very aware of these matters and knew he had been quite cunning in trade matters,

For instance, through administrative intervention, he controlled the exchange rate between silver coins and chips at 2:1, intentionally increasing the profit from exports.

Furthermore, he dumped low-value-added light industrial products and used the "Awakeners Mercenaries," keen on doing missions, to plunder chips from Giant Stone City, using the foreign exchange earned to buy second-hand equipment from local factories and hire engineers and workers, thus upgrading his own industries.

A prime example was the KV-1 Exoskeleton.

Although this device was a product from the Giant Stone City Military Factory, currently, more than half of the KV-1 Exoskeletons in Southern River Province were produced by the New Alliance's List Factory.

Another example was the New Alliance's LD-47 assault rifle, which not only encroached on the market share of the "Hornet" assault rifle in Southern River Province but even found its way back onto the shelves of weapon stores in Giant Stone City.

Now in Giant Stone City, aside from those traders and mercenaries who seized historical opportunities and made a fortune from the rise of the New Alliance, almost no factory owner had a good impression of them.

Chu Guang even dared to assert,

As long as Mr. Hauser threw in a few provocative words on the radio, it wouldn't be long before even the ordinary citizens of Giant Stone City would start complaining that residents of the New Alliance were stealing their job opportunities.

"…You mean, they might take action along the way?" After hearing Old Charlie's words, Chu Guang said thoughtfully.

"We can't rule out that possibility, though it's a crude method," Old Charlie replied earnestly, "Giant Stone City is never short of mercenaries, and most of those factory owners and business association leaders have their own private armies. Kidnapping or hijacking would undoubtedly be the most direct methods if they wish to obstruct the treaty signing."

Chu Guang nodded seriously.

"I'll have my soldiers be more vigilant."

Even though this journey was fraught with risks, the task still needed to be done.

After seeing off Luka, Chu Guang returned alone to the shelter and proceeded to the viewing room on floor B4, continuing to refine the New Alliance's reform plan and Heaven's Beta0.3 version.

Just then, Xiao Qi, sitting on the table, suddenly spoke up.

"Master, there's been new progress on that matter you're interested in."

Chu Guang, hands on the keyboard, asked subconsciously,

"Which matter?"

"The 10G of data you asked me to translate for you!"

Hearing this, Chu Guang's face finally showed a flash of realization.

He had been busy with domestic affairs in recent days and hadn't paid much attention to news from the real world.

"Have they already developed that lithium battery?"

That quick?

Xiao Qi nodded, speaking happily,

"Yes! And it even made the news! Should I open the silver coin trading platform?"

Looking at the webpage on the computer screen, Chu Guang pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"Open it."

Originally, he had planned to launch it next month, synchronized with the release of Beta0.3, but the pace of developments on the other side had surprised him.

Thinking this, Chu Guang's expression showed a bit of regret.

It's a pity that "closed beta qualification" slots were running low.

Otherwise, taking advantage of this wave, he could have harvested another large batch of hard-working "little leeks"…

Chapter 349: The Undercurrents of Giant Stone City

"Good morning, dear viewers. I'm your beloved Mr. Hauser! Before the news break, please allow me to offer the highest tribute to our great city leader!"

"Today, Qingquan City remains calm and quiet. Out of fear of us, those primitives who tattoo pythons on their faces have started fleeing east! Such a pity—if they had come here, I'd have loved to interview these mindless fools… Heading south? What were they thinking!"

"Not just the Looter, but also our neighbors from the north, those scrambling in the Tide, fear our mighty military power. Lately, they've been fighting like thugs and are now licking their wounds in the sewers."

"What a pitiable bunch, tsk tsk. But recently, their heads finally cleared up, and they sent their city leader—the one from City of Dawn—to our city hall to negotiate."

"It seems they finally realized that on the Wasteland, survival means aligning with the strong!"

In some obscure bar, an old radio sat on the counter, its dusty speakers blaring with a thrilling voice.

"Voice of Giant Stone City" was always the favorite show among the citizens of Giant Stone City, since there were only a few signals available on the Wasteland.

The channel played pre-war classical music 24 hours a day, occasionally interrupting with Mr. Hauser's news or "Riches Guide," satisfying the citizens' need for entertainment and providing dreamers with fodder for their imaginations.

However—

Not everyone was pleased with that shrill, duck-like voice.

Especially those who were discontented with their lives.

"Why won't this annoying pest shut his beak?"

After gulping down some beer that was even lighter than water, the man in the brown leather jacket muttered under his breath, his beard bristling with irritation at the corners of his lips.

His name was Spielberg.

In Giant Stone City, it was an insignificant name.

And Mr. Spielberg's job was as insignificant as his name, just an ordinary worker at a canning factory.

As for why he was drinking here at this hour…

It was because he was about to lose his job.

In Giant Stone City, canned goods weren't exactly hot commodities; the nobility wouldn't eat them, and ordinary residents couldn't afford them.

Only some large commercial teams and mercenary groups would buy cans to improve their meals and boost morale.

For those individual mercenaries, they preferred taking short-day jobs nearby, making do with dry rations for two or three days. Though they could afford more, they preferred to spend their money on alcohol and women.

Due to low profit margins and limited production scale, giants in the food processing industry, including Vijia Commerce, hardly cared for the canning business.

Only two small factories in all of Giant Stone City produced canned food, offering just two types: double-headed cow and Hyena meat.

However…

Recently, the shelves in Giant Stone City's stores saw the sudden appearance of "instant noodles" and "sausage."

The former, as the name suggests, was a type of noodle deep-fried and sold in paper cups; just tear off the lid, pour hot water, and it's ready in five minutes—or it could be eaten without water.

The latter, it wasn't clear what kind of meat it was, but it had a starchy texture, and perhaps because of the salt, it was unexpectedly tasty?

Anyway, Spielberg had never seen such weird food before, and he didn't have to think twice to know it must be from their neighbors next door.

Since the introduction of instant noodles and sausages to Giant Stone City, their canned goods were completely unsellable. When their boss finally realized the severity of the problem, the cannery was on the verge of closing.

The boss had given everyone leave, asking them to wait at home for further notice.

Spielberg knew very well that though it was officially a leave, it wasn't much different from being fired.

The cannery's closure was just a matter of time; as soon as the machinery could be sold for some money, that fat-brained guy would definitely sell it without hesitation.

Now, Spielberg was left with only two options.

Either become a mercenary or caravan guard, or try his luck in the "North Suburb."

The threat from the north had recently been alleviated, and the trade routes to the northern part of River Valley Province had been restored. All the big commercial teams and mercenary groups were recruiting; no experience needed, just being able to carry a gun was enough.

As for the "North Suburb," it seemed like there was always high demand for workers there, though it was said that they paid not with chips but their own "silver coins"?

But whichever option he considered, Spielberg found it hard to decide.

After all, even if he was poor, he had a shelter from the storm in Giant Stone City.

Yet leaving the Stone City meant entering a barbaric world where man eats man.

He had heard on the radio, outside Stone City there were no law-abiding people; those uncivilized barbarians would capture civilized men and throw them into boiling oil.

Just thinking about that made him too frightened to sleep all night.

That was terrifying!

…

The worry for the future of Giant Stone City wasn't reserved only for small characters like Spielberg.

Since hearing that Stone City Hall would sign the "Friendly Cooperation Agreement" with the New Alliance, Wei Jia had been losing sleep night after night.

He didn't care what rifles or cans were displayed on the shelves of Giant Stone City's stores, but the existence of Didivei nutrition paste had already posed a severe threat to Vijia Commerce's business.

The low prices had even broken his cost line.

Without exaggeration, he could shut down his factory, import nutrition paste from the "North Suburb", and sell it to the south, and he'd make more than he did manufacturing it himself!

This was simply too outrageous!

Were those country bumpkins running factories as a charity?

"The group at the city hall are nothing but a bunch of pigs! No... calling them pigs would be a compliment to them!"

In the opulent room,

Wei Jia, sitting at the long table, couldn't help but burst out cursing.

This was the reception room of Vijia Commerce, and those seated here were all big business owners.

Though these were all people of status, they did not need to care about their image here.

Because everyone was frustrated with the results provided by the city hall.

"The funniest thing is... these swine even have the audacity to show off that so-called friendly agreement, thinking they've done something great," said the man in the high-collar shirt, his face showing clear anger.

His name was Jonah, and he ran the largest cotton mill in Giant Stone City; his cotton fabric and cotton clothes and shirts not only occupied more than 60% of Stone City's market share but were also exported to Brocade River and Falling Leaves provinces.

Since the beginning of the year, those country bumpkins in the "North Suburb" had also begun producing cotton fabric and clothing.

Initially, he hadn't taken them seriously, considering a factory or two was not worth worrying over.

However, it didn't take long for him to realize just how ridiculously wrong he had been.

In just half a year, the clothing produced by the New Alliance first took over the bars of Stone City, then conquered the willing-to-spend mercenaries through these bars, and eventually took over the entire outer city.

They produced both durable gun bags, bulletproof vests, and backpacks, as well as less durable outerwear or clothes.

And those long socks that could be worn as trousers… he remembered they were called "black silk"?

Of course, they weren't necessarily black; there were also white and other colors, even transparent ones.

Not limited to socks alone.

These indecent guys, how did they come up with these decadent items?

Jonah was very annoyed.

Especially annoying for him was that, although reason told him those items were the reason his wallet was thinning, he just couldn't restrain his eyes and hands.

Another owner who ran an alcohol business said equally annoyed,

"And that 'Nuclear-Cola'... ever since that thing appeared, our distillery's orders plummeted by 10%! It's crazy! What's so good about sugary water!"

As several big shots continued to speak, the conversation at the meeting table completely opened up.

Everyone began to complain indignantly.

"They've been plundering our trade for a whole half a year now, yet the city hall does nothing!"

"I really can't understand why we're even talking to them. We have artillery, we have aircraft, we have power armor, and thousands of mercenaries and tens of thousands in reserves. Why should we even negotiate?"

"Even if we don't send out the Militia Group, just throwing some chips out there, we could easily crush those grasshoppers!"

Watching the boiling voices in front of the conference table, Wei Jia's face was expressionless.

Originally, he had organized today's meeting to discuss strategies together, but unexpectedly it turned into a grievance session.

Everyone was venting the frustration of the past six months, yet no one could come up with a concrete strategy.

However, he did not stop them.

Sometimes emotions too are a weapon.

After letting emotions brew for a moment, Wei Jia placed his hands on the table and slowly stood up from his chair.

Surveying everyone with a glance, he began to speak.

"I've always been unable to figure out how they managed to lower their costs so dramatically."

Hearing this, the people sitting at the conference table quieted down.

After a pause, Wei Jia continued,

"Especially since I've had it investigated, the New Alliance requires all factories to have workers work no more than 12 hours a day, with a minimum hourly wage of 1 Silver Coin. If someone works the full 12 hours, they must be paid at least 12 Silver Coins a day, which, when converted to chips, would need 6 coins! That's almost three times what we pay our workers!"

"There's a problem with that statement, ordinary people can't just freely exchange Silver Coins for chips, they can only swap chips for Silver Coins,"

expressed a factory owner with some dissatisfaction.

It sounded as if he was being miserly.

To speak truthfully, he had already fed those people to their fill, and not only had he not put them in shackles, but he had even paid them wages.

Wasn't that kind enough?

If electricity and maintenance costs weren't so expensive, he would have replaced the workers on the assembly line with those capable and efficient androids long ago!

Another factory owner nodded and said,

"I've also heard that they have something called 'mandatory conversion'? The profits from exports are converted into the local currency, which are the silver coins. Only when needed can they be exchanged for foreign currency at the bank."

"That's too much of a scam!"

"No wonder... a friend of mine who went there to open a factory complained to me that it was truly a scam, and that he hardly made any money. He warned me never to go there."

Everyone discussed it animatedly.

However, just then, Wei Jia interrupted them.

"...That being said, that money is real, isn't it?"

Everyone fell silent.

Looking at the silent crowd, he continued,

"If those silver coins were just trash, I believe that even if they gave more, those workers wouldn't accept them, and the factories would have definitely fled."

Hearing this, the factory owners sitting around fell silent, looking at Wei Jia somewhat confusedly, not understanding why he was defending the New Alliance.

Wasn't this the time for everyone to curse that cunning Blue Ground Squirrel?

Saying all this nonsense, proving that they aren't exploiting workers, proving that the silver coins aren't trash—what, it means our management skills are lacking?

Who are they looking down on!

Seeing that the time was just about right, Wei Jia continued,

"I found out later what the real issue was."

"According to research by my salespeople, with the New Alliance, payroll expenses can be deducted from taxes. I've done the math, and ensuring work efficiency per unit of time, although wage costs rise, the actual expenditure turns out to be lower."

This effectively meant part of the fiscal revenue obtained from the factories was being indirectly subsidized to the workers through tax returns.

As the spending power of ordinary people increased, the New Alliance's light industry absorbed business like a sponge soaked with water.

And those factories operated by the Blue Jackets were even more outrageous, using a completely different system.

Because of language barriers and cultural differences, he still hadn't figured it out.

But that wasn't the point.

The real point was, these people were playing dirty!

After a pause, Wei Jia's face took on an angry expression, gradually raising his voice,

"Not just that, they also manipulate the exchange rate, setting the silver coin to chip rate at 2:1 forcefully. This isn't competition at all; our consumer goods can't even enter their market!"

"As you see, our factories aren't outcompeted because we aren't diligent or our production methods are outdated, but rather the opposite, we are too honest and our competitors are too cunning!"

"They use wicked means to snatch the chips from our hands, watching our factories go bankrupt, and then throw out loads of chips to loot the wealth we accumulated over two centuries!"

"From the very beginning, we weren't competing in a fair arena but had fallen into their trap!"

After this speech, many faces revealed expressions of sudden realization, as if waking from a dream.

It couldn't be blamed on them for not thinking of this, the key was that they had never encountered such a thing before.

Ideal City?

The goods there were indeed good, but too few reached the Southern River Province, one or two rare items weren't really a threat, and the other party didn't value their goods much.

Before the rise of the New Alliance, they dominated industrialization in the entire Southern River Province; places like Bet Street and Brown Farm, those survivor settlements, couldn't even compare to competitors; at most, they were like young sprouts.

As for the southern farmers, they were merely targets for their factories to exploit.

But now, a catfish had quietly slipped into this clear pond.

They faintly felt something was amiss, feeling the comfortably warm water suddenly cool, feeling powerless.

A factory with no visible advantages, relying solely on second-hand equipment and those workers they had dismissed, produced a large amount of cheap and practical "alternative products," seizing the market that originally belonged to them.

Only after hearing Wei Jia's words did they truly realize what was happening.

Good grief!

The other side, with these "little tricks," had been shearing their wool for a full half a year!

Now, the city hall was cleverly signing a so-called Friendly Cooperation Agreement, talking about expanding trade scale and strengthening civil exchanges, watching as they were nearly sold out without even realizing it.

Of course, that was before; now they had realized the problem.

"Can you tolerate this?!"

The people at the meeting table couldn't sit still any longer.

Jonah, who had been silent since the beginning, stood up abruptly and angrily slammed his fist on the table.

"We must clarify this situation with Duron!",

"Either reduce the taxes in the industrial zone or impose taxes on the commodities of the New Alliance!"

"It's not just about the taxes! It's also about the exchange rates!"

Wei Jia seized the opportunity to continue.

"Besides taxes and exchange rates, we also need to expand the list of banned sales, specifying what they can buy and what they cannot buy! How they should purchase the allowed items!"

"If our city hall isn't protecting our interests, then what use is it to us?"

"We should unite! Pressure those with minds full of garbage! If our chief doesn't respond to our demands—"

He elongated his tone, glanced around at his allies with a resolute voice, and continued.

"We'll give the employees a holiday!"

As his words fell, they resonated powerfully.

The voices supporting him surged like a torrent.

"Support!"

"Strong support!"

"Count me in!"

Seeing the indignantly filled people, Wei Jia had a confident smile on his face.

He couldn't believe it.

This contract, he would sabotage!

...

Qingquan City, on the edge of the North Fourth Ring.

In the ruins-strewn city area, a group moved slowly along the cracked concrete surface.

Soldiers wearing exoskeletons scattered around, cautiously watching the shadows.

Now that it was summer, the lush vegetation and accumulated water among the ruins complicated the situation in the city area.

The "Wasteland OL" seasonal change system was as realistic as ever, though it seemed like a basic operation for various AAA titles.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…," murmured Fang Chang, scanning the surroundings with his rifle ready.

Old White quipped beside him.

"Since when did you join the Perception class?"

Fang Chang rolled his eyes.

"What does that have to do with the Perception class? You think it's normal for nothing to happen on such an important mission?"

"You make a good point," Old White nodded thoughtfully, "But you know, without Night Ten, it feels like something's missing."

It wasn't just Night Ten who was absent.

Wild Wind and Quit Smoking were also gone; it suddenly seemed a lot less fun.

Thinking this, a strange expression appeared on Old White's face.

If this weren't a game, those three might never come back...

At that moment, a voice from the communication channel reached them, from the scouting team he had sent ahead.

"...500 meters ahead, encountered unidentified armed force, approximately twenty in number, armed with automatic rifles and other light weapons, with one heavy machine gun spotted."

Just then, Old White stopped abruptly, his expression turning fierce.

Noticing the change on Old White's face, Fang Chang looked at him questioningly.

"Something up?"

Grasping his right fist, Old White smoothly chambered his rifle.

"Work's here."

-

(Today, after hanging the last bag of water, I won't have to go to the hospital tomorrow T.T)

Chapter 350: The Duel Between Awakeners!

"Boss, do you think they'll come this way?" The muscular man with a steel stud on his nose excitedly asked as he repeatedly stroked his tape-wrapped rifle with his index finger.

"They definitely will..."

In the middle of an abandoned building overgrown with moss and vines, the man in a leather jacket held binoculars, staring unblinkingly at the street ahead.

His name was Black, living outside the Giant Wall in the slums, and he was a Bounty Hunter who fought for his employers.

He was also an Awakener.

Although he lived in the slums, it wasn't because of poverty.

For an Awakener, moving to the Inner City was no big deal; no Mercenary Group would refuse an Awakener's membership, provided the ability wasn't especially useless.

However, Black had no interest in living a life bound by others' rules. To others, that Giant Wall marked the boundary between savagery and civilization, but to him, it was nothing more than a useless concrete cage, only for cowards who needed others to protect them.

The true strong relied solely on their own fists.

The previous evening, he had received a mission from a client at the Pirate Bay Tavern.

The employer didn't want to reveal his name, but he was generous; he had paid Black an advance of a chip worth 1000, with the promise of two more upon completion.

Such large denomination chips seldom circulated in the market, they were typically used by the Inner City's Nobles. Normal shops couldn't make change for them, and they had to be exchanged at a bank.

When Black saw the advance, his eyes almost lit up with chips of various colors, and he took the job without a second thought.

Though generally speaking, the more valuable the reward, the more dangerous the mission, he wasn't overly concerned.

Firstly, he had absolute confidence in his own abilities, and secondly, the content of the mission didn't sound particularly difficult.

The New Alliance's delegation was on its way to Giant Stone City, and for the city's future, the mysterious employer wanted him to ambush these envoys halfway.

He didn't need to kill everyone, just launch a sudden attack to teach those North Suburb yokels a profound lesson—to learn courtesy and humble manners and to take their so-called friendly cooperation agreement and roll back to wherever they came from.

Black licked the corner of his mouth with excitement, but as time passed, his eyes suddenly took on an unnatural look.

"…Something isn't right."

Why haven't they reached the ambush circle yet?

Could they have been discovered beforehand?

That shouldn't be possible.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered a rumor from the Pirate Bay Tavern.

A mysterious "Intuition system" Awakener was rumored to have made a fool of a group of mercenaries in the North Suburb.

Black's expression gradually turned grave.

If the rumors were true, maybe they had already been discovered.

"Everyone prepare for battle."

He muttered a low command and signaled to his brothers nearby, then picked up the RPG launcher from the ground and loaded a high-explosive grenade into it.

He had bought this thing from a weapons shop.

Though its explosive and armor-piercing capabilities didn't match those produced by the Giant Stone City Military Industrial Complex, it was still better than the Iron Fist, which was small yet potent.

The key was it was cheap and reloadable, and even though its accuracy at medium distances wasn't great, not everyone needed the device.

Just like not everyone needed to face Evolutionary bodies.

His brothers nearby were also ready, chambering their submachine guns and automatic rifles. The heavy machine gunner, stationed in the building, also clicked the bolt into place with a snap.

On the quiet street, murderous intent was thick.

Although the fight hadn't started, it was as if one could already smell the scent of blood.

Black waited silently, adjusting the rhythm of his breathing.

However, just then, from a window 200 meters away from him, suddenly came the sound of a massive explosion.

Boom—!

He suddenly looked over there and saw a figure thrown out of the window, screaming tragically with a prolonged sound as it smashed into a meat mush on the sloping concrete bridge.

That was the direction of the heavy machine gun position!

The one thrown down just now was his partner!

Black's eyes instantly filled with a trace of blood, and his pupils spelled out rage and horror.

"Damn it! Luther!!"

How had he been found?!

But now there was no time to think about this question. Without a second word, he lifted the launch tube and pulled the trigger towards that window.

With a whoosh, a white tail flame darted toward the diagonally opposite window.

The blast wave and flames surged out from that pitch-black ruin, even charring the moss on the wall.

At the same time, Black revved up his voice, his eyes bloodshot as he yelled loudly.

"Kill them for me!"

On the other side, an agility system player shook his head and got up from the ground in the window that had been hit by an RPG.

His ID was "Killer Dagger," and he entered the Game in the Alpha 0.5 version. Since both "Killer" and "Dagger" were awkward to pronounce, his buddies who knew him well simply called him Kill Dagger.

As a Level 15 agility system player, his talent was to convert half of his reflex nerves into environmental perception.

Although in the current version, the perception system was slowly showing a trend of inheriting the position of the intelligence system's younger brother, for stealth players, this talent was just right!

The bulletproof panels of the composite material of the Light Cavalry Exoskeleton blocked most of the shrapnel, but the blast wave still shook his internal organs as if they were nearly displaced.

However, since he couldn't feel pain, he was more concerned about his equipment and the trophies that flew away.

"Damn it—my original armor!"

And that heavy machine gun!

He was about to confiscate it when a rocket launcher came flying and blew everything away.

Definitely a plot kill!

Targeted by the dog planner!

While he was cursing, Old White's voice came through the communication channel.

"...How's the situation over there?"

"I'm fine... The enemy has heavy firepower."

"Do you need support?"

"No need, no need," Kill Dagger chuckled, "Leave it to us!"

The scouting team consisted of three people besides him, including "Kidney Fighter" and "All the Good Names Were Taken by Dogs."

One was a strength type, and the other was a perception type, both Level 15 and 14, respectively, and, like him, old players who entered the Game in the Alpha 0.5 version.

Before joining the Burning Corps, the three of them had already teamed up to brush maps and do quests.

Touching near his helmet twice, Kill Dagger moved towards the half-collapsed staircase while communicating with his teammates.

"Kidney, dog thing, what's the situation over there?"

A response came quickly to his ear.

"...The outer defense has been removed, moving up the building. What about your side? I think I just heard something explode."

"Ate a rocket, no big deal... I'm on my way to the support position, expected to arrive in one minute."

"Roger that, be safe."

"Quick battle, quick decision!"

Gunshots rang out, and flashes of gunfire flickered in the ruins.

Releasing the small drones from their shoulders, two players clad in exoskeletons carrying rifles pressed on, going 'tat-tat-tat' all the way, nimbly weaving through the broken concrete rubble.

The Light Cavalry Exoskeleton showcased unparalleled mobility in urban terrain, especially among the complex landscape of ruins where ordinary people couldn't reach, those wearing light exoskeletons could easily climb up.

Screams of subordinates echoed from downstairs continually.

As the gunfire grew closer, Black's eyes filled with fear and rage.

Eventually, all emotions turned into a roar as his muscles began to swell outward like entwined pythons, his eyes bloodshot and emitting a terrifying red.

"I'm going all out!!"

A steel syringe was jammed into his thigh. Black, who had just roared in anger, left his cover and, grabbing a rust-covered steel plate, charged toward the flickering muzzle flashes at the end of the corridor.

Every cell in his body swelled to its limit, and he charged like a berserk tank. With each stride, the corridor tiles wailed in distress.

Bullets hitting the steel plate left only small dents; the authoritative 7mm rounds couldn't penetrate!

At such a close distance, there was no time to use a rocket launcher, and the scout team wouldn't carry that thing anyway.

"Holy shit! Has this guy lost his mind?!"

The dog-faced man appeared surprised, but after playing the game for so long, there was nothing he hadn't seen.

Even without a glance his way, the Kidney Fighter next to him put down his assault rifle and, letting out a low snarl, drew his engineer shovel.

"Berserk!"

His strength surged, and instead of retreating, he charged toward the muscular behemoth.

Surprise flickered across the face layered with flesh, but it quickly turned into a contemptuous, arrogant laugh.

"You want to die—I'll grant your wish!!" Black roared and charged forward with the steel plate leading the way.

Exoskeletons?

Drones?

Those precious toys were nothing before pure strength!

His muscles were the strongest engine!

Thud!!!

Metal collided with metal, ringing out a sonorous roar.

However, the man before him was not sent flying as Black had anticipated.

The steel plate he held was like hitting a wall—it just slightly wobbled and then stood firm apart from a slight tremor.

A look of surprise crossed Black's face, but it was quickly replaced by renewed anger.

He violently lifted the steel plate and pulled out a nail hammer hidden inside it, swinging fiercely at the exoskeleton-clad head.

The clang of metal rang out again.

The man was holding an iron shovel, completely at odds with his high-tech armor, and impressively parried the blow!

Shock and fear filled Black, especially as a tingling sensation spread from the heel of his hand.

"Ha ha! Nicely done!"

The man shouted words Black didn't understand. Swinging the shovel in an arc, he violently aimed a blow at Black's head.

Black desperately raised his nail hammer to block, resulting in two clanging sounds as the impact forced him to step back.

The man seemed tireless, his engineer shovel waving like a windmill.

Even as the steel deformed from the battering, it relentlessly targeted Black's face without a break.

Black was scared, his face revealing a hint of terror.

Even if he was slow to realize, at this moment, he clearly recognized that the man before him was an Awakener!

And his strength was in no way inferior to his!

With the support of the exoskeleton, the combined power of muscles and mechanics in combat was like a fierce storm.

Far from showing any signs of fatigue, the man became more vigorous as the fight continued.

His bodily functions were on the brink of their limits.

Black could no longer parry and fell back, he plopped down on his knees and raised his arms in surrender.

"I surrender!"

The few underlings who had survived behind him were stunned on the spot, exchanging glances. But seeing that their boss had surrendered, they ultimately laid down their weapons.

Staring at the kneeling checkpoint BOSS, that player named "Kidney Fighter" was slightly startled, and the raised engineer shovel paused midair.

He was having a blast fighting.

Why did he surrender so suddenly?

Get up and keep it up!

Kneeling on the ground, Black trembled, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. The look in the eyes of the man before him instilled an instinctual unease.

However, he truly could not continue fighting.

At that moment, both players heard the panting voice of a teammate in their ears.

"Damn, I finally made it... I've arrived at the support location. Which floor are you guys on? Why has the gunfire stopped? Is everyone okay?"

"...It's already over, the BOSS surrendered," Dog Thing said with a nuanced expression, "You can go down now."

Kill Dagger: "%￥#@!"

...

Not far away atop a tall building, a woman covered in alloy stood still.

The black visor and helmet concealed her entire head, revealing her gender only through her silhouette.

At first glance, it seemed like she was wearing an exoskeleton but a closer look would reveal that the helmet and visor were non-removable components, directly grown onto her neck.

She had no name, only an X-16 designation, which was marked on her left chest and the processor embedded within her thoracic cavity.

A small and delicate electronic sparrow landed on her shoulder, and a string of dark green characters flashed across its lively black eyes.

X-16 silently nodded, her pitch-black visor looking straight ahead as she spoke in a cold electronic voice.

"...The bait has been captured."

"Should we initiate Plan B?"

An answer came through the communication channel.

"No need, come back."

X-16 nodded her head.

"Yes."

Not long after her voice fell, the figure on the rooftop had silently departed.

As if she had never been there...

...

Elsewhere.

Black and his five disheartened subordinates, under the watch of three exoskeleton-clad players, hands on their heads, walked out of the riddled abandoned building.

When Black saw the seven soldiers standing next to the envoy, a hint of despair could not help but appear on his face.

Until a few seconds ago, he naively believed that the three people he had just encountered were already the strongest force of the New Alliance envoy.

However, the seven soldiers before him, adorning exoskeletons, radiated an aura not at all inferior to those three, especially the one standing at the forefront—their strength was unfathomable!

At this moment, he finally realized how foolish it was to take on this mission.

The confiscated weapons were gathered together.

Looking at the RPG launcher on the ground, a hint of surprise crossed Old White's face.

"Where did you get the rocket launcher?"

He used the language of the United Human to ask this.

Black answered cautiously.

"... You can buy such things in the slums' black market."

In fact, Giant Stone City's weapon shops also had them, but they only occupied a small space on the shelf, consisting of a tiny launching tube.

Explosives over 50 grams in quantity were not allowed inside the giant walls, and after payment, one had to pick up the goods at a trade station outside the walls.

It seemed that all survivor settlements on the Wasteland followed this rule.

Luka walked over, looked down at Black crouched on the ground with his hands over his head, and said in a deep voice,

"Who sent you?"

Seeing the plot trigger, the players nearby watched this scene with interest.

"I don't know..."

Black stammered, his eyes darting to the unfriendly gazes around him as he quickly explained, "I really don't know, I... I was just paid to do the job. My contact is a regular at Pirate Bay Tavern; his name is Bit... You can ask the bartender there; they all know that person."

"Paid to do the job?" Luka frowned as he stared at him, "What job were these people asking you to do? How much did they pay you?"

"My contact just told me to ambush you here with my men, and then he gave me... a down payment of 1000 chips," Black said, his face pleading and obsequious, "I'm willing to give up all my possessions to you, just spare me."

Old Luka didn't pay much attention to this bounty hunter's pleas, his face betraying a hint of seriousness.

Although he had anticipated that this trip wouldn't be uneventful, to avoid complications, he had deliberately scheduled the contract signing soon, leaving no time for those with malicious intent to prepare.

Yet, they had still become a target.

Old White cast an inquiring look at Luka.

"What do we do with these prisoners?"

Luka considered for a moment before speaking.

"Leave it to the Manager to handle."

After saying this, he displayed his VM, setting coordinates on the map, and then turned to Old White.

"The Guards Corps will send someone to retrieve the prisoners. Please arrange for two people to wait here for a while."

Old White nodded, looking at two Agility system players beside him.

"The NPC responsible for the prisoners' custody is on their way here. You two stay and guard for a bit. Follow us after the handover is complete."

Both nodded in agreement.

"Okay!"

"No problem!"

...

The prisoners and the loot were left behind as two were tasked to guard them, and the group continued on their way.

Shying away from these little difficulties would play right into their enemies' hands.

Old Luka made a firm decision in his mind that regardless of what happened, he must bring the agreement back with him.

At the same time, within a very industrial-looking building in the outer city of Giant Stone City.

A man in formal attire sat in an office, quietly scrutinizing a holographic image projected on the surface of his desk.

Though it was an office, the room didn't bear a hint of minimalism.

The entire room was designed to the standard of a presidential suite in an inner city hotel.

From the table in front of him to the bed in the adjoining room, every piece of furniture was an imported good of ideal origin.

His name was Yibers, the chairman of the Huge Rock Military Industry.

As the underground emperor of the outer city, he alone possessed the financial means to enjoy all this.

And he alone was worthy of such comforts.

Standing beside the man, his slightly aged secretary spoke softly.

"... Their strength is surprising."

Yibers nodded, his expression emotionless.

"Yes, they must have mastered some technique to induce awakenings."

"And the strength displayed by those awakenings isn't weak."

Although it's not easy to induce awakenings, it's also not an impossible task.

When a species is faced with an existential crisis, there will always be one or two abnormally strong individuals who emerge.

Coupled with the achievements in genetic engineering from the Human Alliance Era, this special situation became infinitely amplified, leading to what's known as "Awakening"—the most mainstream viewpoint.

Without resorting to any technology, some survivor settlements could naturally produce Awakeners.

And with some technological intervention, inducing individuals with the potential to awaken was also feasible.

Though this would come with a series of risks, including reproductive isolation.

Yibers was aware of such technologies; he even knew over a dozen awakening induction methodologies.

Huge Rock Military Industry mastered two of those. Acquiring another wouldn't make much difference.

They would periodically produce a batch of clone babies, select a few with awakening potential for focused training, and send those without potential to orphanages in the slums or dispose of them.

The selection process wasn't 100% accurate, but as long as the overall quality rate exceeded 80%, it was sufficient for them.

To Huge Rock Military Industry, Awakeners were merely a "high-cost performance, low-output" piece of equipment. Their military capabilities didn't depend on just one or two pieces of equipment but on the entire system.

However...

What gave Yibers cause for concern was,

The New Alliance had too many of these high-cost performance pieces of equipment.

The secretary beside him evidently shared his thoughts.

"... If their regular soldiers all possess the combat power of Awakeners, we might need to deploy the Militia Group to handle them."

Based on the intelligence they had gathered, the New Alliance had an Awakeners Corps of about 1000 to 3000 individuals, and this was the confidence behind their declaration of a northern campaign.

Even though their high-tech equipment was limited, sometimes quantity was a formidable force.

"... Moreover, there's something off about these people."

Yibers casually inquired.

"In what way do you mean?"

"In every sense," the secretary paused for a moment before clearly continuing, "They don't seem like normal people, nor do they seem like clones, but rather like special entities somewhere in between."

"I suggest we increase our interactions with them to figure out exactly what's going on."

Strange occurrences were not uncommon on the Wasteland, but this matter happened right at their doorstep.

After pondering for a while, Yibers slowly nodded.

"You're right, it is necessary to look into this."

The respectful secretary said, "Would you like me to arrange a meeting with the city hall manager for you?"

"There's no need; I spoke to him on the phone last night. Things are moving in the direction we want."

"Even so," the secretary continued, "Mr. Dulon seems to be running into some trouble."

Yibers' eyelids lifted slightly.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Workers have surrounded the city hall. They are dissatisfied with the results of the negotiations between Dulon and the New Alliance and are demanding to renegotiate."

Yibers paused, then let out a snort of laughter.

"Interesting."

...

Long, long ago, Giant Stone City was not a city, nor could it even be called a Survivor Settlement—it was merely a building.

Like other survivors in the apocalypse, those living there struggled through the end times with great difficulty.

However, at that time, a group of people arrived and told the inhabitants of the building—

"We will build high walls for you, grant you swords, seeds, and torches."

"However, the unreliable Alliance is crumbling, and our lifespans are as fragile as candles in the wind."

"For the future of us all, please hold onto the last spark."

"Until the end—"

Over time, more and more people gathered around the "flame."

The more people there were, the higher the flames soared. Though they were not a fraction as prosperous as the era of prosperity, they still retained a hint of warmth.

Gradually, the original building and the surrounding blocks became the Inner City, and the buffer zone between the Inner City and the colossal walls developed into the Outer City.

Now, even the vast Outer City can't accommodate everyone. Those who cannot enter behind the giant walls set up shanties outside the walls or dispersed to the surrounding areas, forming villages like Bet Street.

Of course, bad luck might mean getting caught by slavers and sold to places like Brown's farm.

"...Or, simply becoming food for Mutants, Looters, and Variants."

After listening to Xia Yan's recount of "history," Chu Guang spoke thoughtfully.

"That group of people... were they called the Post-War Reconstruction Committee?"

He had watched Doctor Principle's holographic images over and over, where Giant Stone City was never mentioned, but the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, this mysterious organization, was mentioned several times.

Two centuries ago, the Wasteland should have had none of these major powers like corporations, armies, and academies, and The Torch Church only emerged a decade or two ago.

To be able to build such towering walls on the ruins, it seemed only one possibility existed.

"As for that, I don't know. There are other versions of the story, but that's all I know..."

Sitting on the lounge sofa in the browsing room, Xia Yan cradled a cup of hot milk with cocoa, sipping gently.

She didn't know why Chu Guang suddenly became interested in a story from 200 years ago, but she happened to have heard a bit about it.

Given the chocolate's sake, she didn't mind chatting with him for a while.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully and pressed a few keys on the keyboard.

Curious, Xia Yan watched Chu Guang, who was meticulously staring at the computer, casually resting his biomimetic prosthetic leg on another well-shaped leg.

"Are you writing a diary?"

"Diary?" Chu Guang was slightly startled and then laughed, "Why would you think that?"

Xia Yan blinked.

"Because it feels like you're always writing."

Pausing his hands, Chu Guang spoke after a moment of thought.

"…Well, rather than a diary, it's more like I'm weaving dreams."

Xia Yan rolled her eyes helplessly.

"There you go speaking cryptically again."

Chu Guang just smiled faintly, without responding.

Everything he said was true, but he rarely completed a sentence.

In that regard, politics and sales were really similar.

Just that the items sold were different.

After completing the world-building in the settings collection, Chu Guang logged onto the official forum to take a glance.

It wasn't time to log off yet. Players were all in the game, but the forum was buzzing as usual.

Two hours ago, the Silver coin trading platform reopened. The trading price had gone through dozens of rollercoaster rides, causing the onlookers to exclaim that it was absurd.

"Holy shit! It broke a hundred!"

"Awesome!"

"How did it fall to single digits?!"

"The big shots, give us some power! If everyone stops selling, we'll shoot the Silver coins to the sky!"

"Dammit! Who is selling off?!"

Because the idle chat section forbade discussion on such topics, similar posts flooded the trading section.

While the masses cared about the price, Chu Guang was flipping through the information of those large transactions in the background.

Without even needing Xiao Qi's computing power, he could roughly figure out, based on capital flows, that major powers in reality were consciously accumulating the Air coins he had issued.

They even hired professional traders.

"…Looks like this battery has quite the charge."

A smile crept onto Chu Guang's face.

If they decided to mistake him for an extraterrestrial civilization and took Wasteland OL as some sort of enlightening fable, then let them continue with their misunderstandings.

It wasn't a bad thing.

Compensating those who work is only fair.

Although he couldn't go to that world, he still hoped his little players could have a slightly better life.

Just then, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly drifted over.

"Master."

Already almost PTSD from this assistant AI's habit of reporting only bad news, Chu Guang anxiously looked toward the doll sitting at the corner of the table.

"What's wrong?"

Xiao Qi, stared at so intently, showed a bashful expression and a timid smile.

However, that did not make the bad news any better.

"You only have two closed beta access slots left, Master."

Chu Guang paused.

"Only two left? Didn't I say to reduce the distribution when the closed beta access was almost gone?"

Xiao Qi protested with a hurt tone, "I've been doing as you instructed... I already reduced the distribution to 10 a day last week, and reduced it a bit more this week, but there are only so many."

Although it also wanted to help Chu Guang recruit more players, there was a hard "recruitment cap," and it couldn't do anything about it.

Chu Guang said nothing for the day, and Xiao Qi spoke softly.

"Should I change it to one per day?"

Or perhaps distribute one Gold coin a day, collecting 10 to exchange for a discount coupon for a helmet.

Xia Yan tilted her head, not understanding what Chu Guang and the figurine on the table were talking about.

"That won't be necessary. Just distribute the last two."

Looking at the tasks in his work journal, Chu Guang massaged his temples with some headache.

"…Looks like I'll need to schedule contact with Shelter 101 sooner rather than later."

To cheer up that Pai, he specifically sent the obedient, sensible, and cute Little Fish to be her "exclusive customer service."

He wondered how she was doing on her end...

—

(Thanks to "czhang59" for the generous rewards!!!)

Chapter 351 Studying Abroad?

As Chu Guang pondered how to find a breakthrough in the standoff with Pai, Pai was also racking her brains, thinking of ways to snatch Little Fish from Chu Guang's grasp.

Of course, the phrase "snatch from his grasp" was clearly not accurate.

Little Fish was a free person, not someone's property.

Yet, what frustrated Pai was that her good friend was excellent in every way except for being utterly indecisive!

She didn't know what that guy named Chu Guang had fed to her Little Fish to have her parroting "Brother Chu says" like a broken record all day long.

Even so, Pai still wanted to bring Little Fish to Camp 101.

There, with real schools and a group of knowledgeable teachers, she could develop her potential.

Pai was certain that she wouldn't bet on the wrong horse—Little Fish's talent was extremely rare among the survivors of the Wasteland, and could even be described as one in ten thousand.

This talent had already manifested in language and arithmetic, like an unpolished jade. Without exaggeration, her innate talent was in no way inferior to her own, despite not having a chip.

However, her current environment limited her potential—there was no space here for her to maximize her abilities.

Pai couldn't bear to see her good friend miss this valuable opportunity.

In a few years, she would miss her prime learning period, and while that wouldn't mean fading into mediocrity, missing this chance would mean having to put in exponentially more effort.

As she thought, Pai unconsciously took the elevator to Floor B4 and headed towards the browsing room.

However, perhaps because she wasn't watching where she was going,
she rounded a corner and collided full-on with Xia Yan, who was coming out of a door.

"Ouch."

After a brief cry of pain, Pai clutched her nose.

Looking at the little girl teary-eyed up to her chest, Xia Yan quickly showed concern.

"Sorry, are you alright?"

Pai, rubbing her nose, muttered,

"Ow... I'm fine, I should be the one apologizing; sorry for not looking where I was going."

Huh?

This kid was quite polite.

Xia Yan had just thought this when she noticed the girl was still rubbing her nose with her right hand.

Feeling half a shade of red wash over her face, she couldn't help but mutter quietly to herself.

"...Is it really that exaggerated."

She had grown a bit taller recently.

"Hm?" Hearing the sister before her say something, Pai lifted her head.

Being watched by those tear-soaked big eyes, Xia Yan gave a light cough to change the subject.

"You are... Pai, right? Is there something you need here?"

"It's Pai! I... want to meet with your Manager!" Pai still hesitated, but spurred on by the question, she ultimately made up her mind.

"That guy... I mean, the respected Mr. Manager is busy right now, if it's not something particularly important, you can tell me,"

Treating Pai like a playful child, Xia Yan spoke in a tone one uses to cajole kids.

Though she actually didn't know how to coddle children.

Seeing herself being underestimated, Pai frowned sternly and said,

"It's very important! It concerns my good friend's future!"

Her good friend's future?

Xia Yan was about to express her confusion but before she could, a nimble figure slid past her and slipped into the browsing room.

When Pai entered the browsing room, Chu Guang was on a call with Luka,
inquiring about the condition of the diplomatic party.

"...How are things over there? Any casualties? Do you need me to send more help?"

Although the New Alliance had previously sent personnel to Giant Stone City, this was the first formal diplomatic visit.

"We are doing well; casualties were all on the attacker's side. Please don't worry about us, sir."

Detecting the Manager's concern, Luka's voice carried a trace of emotion.

After reporting the situation, he continued,

"I've interrogated the attackers; they claim to have taken their orders from a man named Bit at the Pirate Bay Tavern, hired by an employer who wishes to remain anonymous."

"According to their description, this person was quite generous, quite unlike the penny-pinching merchants, giving them 1000 chips as a deposit. Considering the middleman's cut, the actual payment is probably even higher."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then slowly began to speak.

"Alright... I understand the situation. I'll arrange for someone to continue investigating the mastermind behind the attack on you."

Although he had anticipated such a scenario, he didn't expect the opponent to act so decisively.

Some force was trying to prevent the New Alliance from signing a friendly treaty with Giant Stone City—this incident served as a wake-up call.

"Besides, you must be careful on the road, and even after reaching Giant Stone City, don't let your guard down. Someone is trying to sabotage our relationship with our neighbors, and I fear their methods won't be limited to ambushes on the road."

Luka said earnestly.

"I have that feeling too... I always have this bad premonition that the real trouble is still ahead of us and we'll encounter it after we arrive at Giant Stone City."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Staying vigilant is the right thing to do."

"Once we reach our destination, you go first to our Office in Giant Stone City and catch up with Shu Yu about the local situation, then head to the city hall to negotiate the agreement."

Luka replied respectfully.

"Yes, my lord."

After delegating some tasks, Chu Guang hung up the phone and took off his headset, placing it on the table.

He paused for a moment, then spoke in a gentle voice.

"I'm done with my work, is there anything you would like to talk to me about?"

Hearing Chu Guang's voice, Pai, who was hiding behind the bookshelf at the door, realized she had been discovered and emerged from behind the shelf, her face red.

She had an embarrassed look on her face.

"I, I didn't mean to eavesdrop... Ah no, actually, I didn't hear anything clearly, I'm sorry!"

Observing Pai with her head bowed, Chu Guang smiled.

"I know, don't worry about it."

Of course, he knew the girl had come to his place, and knew it even before she stepped into the elevator.

Every inch of space in the Shelter was under his control; even the floor tiles obeyed him, let alone the elevator.

If he wanted, he could even make the faucets in the public restrooms talk.

But he would not do something so trivial.

If it were a call that was meant to be confidential, she wouldn't have been able to come down in the elevator, much less walk over here.

Although Chu Guang said not to worry, Pai still had a regretful expression on her face.

Even though she was used to being free-spirited, she understood that eavesdropping on someone's conversation was very wrong.

Despite knowing that it wasn't intentional, not knocking on the door was indeed her mistake.

At this moment, Xia Yan walked into the reading room from outside.

Catching a glimpse of Pai next to her and looking back at Chu Guang, she seemed to understand something.

A trace of cunning that was difficult to detect flashed in her eyes. In an apologetic tone, she said,

"I'm sorry, I didn't stop her... It's my dereliction of duty."

Not bad.

She understands me quite well.

Chu Guang gave Boss Xia an approving look, then gently shook his head and continued along her line of thought.

"It's okay, although I was discussing very important matters with my confidant, Ms. Pai from Camp 101 is our friend. I believe that even if she heard anything, she would not disclose what I just said to others... Can I trust you, Pai?"

Using such cleverness to make someone owe you a favor isn't really a good thing to do.

Especially when the other person is much younger than you.

However, now clearly wasn't the time to be scrupulous about the means.

Standing at the door, Pai's cheeks burned red, wishing she could find a crack in the floor to crawl into.

The last thing she wanted was to cause trouble for others, and she hated being in anyone's debt.

However, listening to the first part of what Chu Guang said, she felt as if she had heard some unbelievable secret and had brought a huge problem to her friends.

Although she completely did not understand the conversation on the phone, listening was still listening.

At this thought, Pai couldn't help but feel regret. If she had left immediately or reminded Chu Guang of her presence instead of instinctively hiding behind the shelf, she wouldn't be in this predicament now!

"I... I will just delete that memory from my brain!"

"There's no need for that, like I said, I trust you."

Chu Guang cleared his throat, quickly stopping the flustered Pai.

Speaking of deleting memories from the brain, is that something even possible?

But now wasn't the time to discuss that.

In order not to appear too intentional, Chu Guang did not rush to reveal his own needs.

Watching the silent Pai, he casually changed the subject, throwing the conversation back to her gracefully.

"It seems you have something to discuss with me, may I know what it is?"

Pai, feeling inwardly guilty, had completely lost her earlier boldness. She stole a glance at Chu Guang and said in a small voice.

"I... I want to take Little Fish back to Camp 101."

Take Little Fish away?

Hearing these words, Chu Guang was momentarily taken aback, looking at her with a strange expression.

"You want to take Little Fish to Camp 101... Shouldn't you ask for her own opinion first?"

And her parents or her brother.

"Why ask me?"

Pai muttered sulkily and softly.

"I did ask... but she said that although she wants to visit there, she prefers to stay and help you. I was thinking, if you could help me persuade her... Is my request too much?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment before asking.

"May I ask why you want to take her to your place?"

Pai said earnestly.

"I want to take her to school! We have real schools where she can learn a lot of knowledge that's not available here!"

"Her mental talent is the most impressive I've seen in anyone. It would be a waste of her abilities to stay here when she could be getting a higher education!"

"The most impressive... Even more so than your teachers?" Xia Yan's face showed surprise.

Pai shook his head and continued seriously.

"Talent and knowledge are two different things... even within the realm of mental ability, there are stark differences when you get into specific fields. At the very least, when it comes to mathematics, her talent is indeed the most outstanding I've seen."

Suddenly thinking of something, Pai's eyes lit up as he continued.

"Right, in your terms, she has the traits of an Awakener!"

An Awakener?!

... Little Fish?

Xia Yan was stunned, her eyes wide open like a goldfish.

She couldn't connect Little Fish with the identity of an Awakener.

Chu Guang, sitting on the sofa beside them, was equally surprised but didn't show it on his face; instead, he fell into deep thought.

He had indeed felt that Little Fish learned things very quickly.

Especially her spatial imagination and computational abilities, which even he found astonishing.

Because of this, Chu Guang had specifically asked Heya to give Little Fish a physical examination.

However, what puzzled him was that although her intelligence attribute was slightly higher than average, it wasn't exorbitantly so.

Seeing that Chu Guang wasn't speaking, Pai grew anxious and sped up his speech.

"... I don't want to see her waste her talent when she could be achieving great things on a bigger stage."

"Besides, if she learns a lot of impressive knowledge, that would be helpful to you as well, right?"

Chu Guang looked at Pai.

"Calm down. I certainly agree with what you're saying, but this first requires the consent of the person involved."

He paused before continuing.

"I'll help persuade Little Fish and her parents. If she's inclined that way, I will fully support her."

Hearing this promise, a joyful expression appeared on Pai's face.

"Thank you!"

Watching the girl's happiness, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Don't mention it. She's young, and if she can have better development in your place, I would naturally want her to learn as much as she can while she's young."

After a short pause, he went on to say.

"Speaking of which, you'll be heading back in a few days, right?"

Pai nodded excitedly.

"Yes, I need to report back to my teacher on the visit... ah, don't worry, I'll have plenty of good things to say!"

Seeing that Pai had misunderstood him, Chu Guang gently shook his head.

"It's not necessary to just say good things; just tell him the true situation here. However, I do have a favor to ask of you."

Eager to repay the favor, Pai looked at him intently and said.

"Just tell me what it is, and I'll do my best if I can help!"

"Do you know the Manager of Shelter No. 404 well?" Chu Guang asked.

"The Manager?" Pai's eyes brightened as she nodded, "Of course I know him well, we have a great relationship... What do you need?"

"That's great," Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief, showing a relieved smile, "I'd like to borrow something from your Manager."

"Borrow something? Leave it to me! The Manager is a very good man; he will definitely lend it to you!" Pai patted her chest confidently and then asked curiously, "Oh, what do you want to borrow?"

"A VM, a Vital Signs Monitor," Chu Guang pointed to the wrist-mounted computer on his arm, "it's this device."

"A VM? I'll try my best..." Pai agreed verbally, tilting her head unconsciously.

A screen worn on the arm?

Just to borrow it, it shouldn't be too difficult, right?

After all, he's an approachable guy.

But that being said, does the Manager really have one of these?

She had absolutely no recollection of such a thing...

...

After Pai left,
only Chu Guang and Xia Yan remained in the browsing room.

As she watched the buoyant figure disappear through the door, Xia Yan's expression grew slightly complicated.

She wasn't sure if it was the youth, luck, or talent of Little Fish that she envied, or if it was simply a sense of regret over her own past fate.

At his age, she was struggling just to stay alive.

The greatest kindness fortune had shown her was perhaps allowing her to snatch her life from the jaws of a Crawler, but at the cost of survival, she had also lost a leg.

Xia Yan knew she was somewhat envious of Little Fish.

She could do exactly what she was interested in, and she just happened to have a talent for it.

Whenever she needed help the most, someone would always appear to lend her a hand, or to tell her the best choice.

"When we play poker, everyone gets different cards, but it doesn't mean that you'll lose just because you got bad ones."

Hearing the voice that came from behind her, Xia Yan turned her head and gave Chu Guang a blank look.

"Don't always try to teach me life lessons like an old man... you're not my dad."

"I was just saying," Chu Guang replied with a smile, paused for a moment, and then continued, "May I ask you something?"

"It's rare to hear the word 'please' from you," teased Xia Yan, "What is it? What do you want me to do?"

Chu Guang went on.

"Study abroad with Little Fish."

Xia Yan was stunned, seemingly not expecting Chu Guang to suddenly propose this.

"Study abroad? What's that..."

Chu Guang said, "It means learning, going to study things we don't have here, or things that aren't good enough."

"But..."

Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, Chu Guang continued.

"I've taught you addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, geometry, algebra, and reading and writing, but I can't help with the harder stuff; I'm not cut out for that. If you want to make further progress, you need to gain it on your own."

"It's never too late to learn, especially since you're not really that old. You would be just entering university in my hometown."

Xia Yan said quietly,

"But... what can I learn?"

Chu Guang replied with a smile,

"Anything is fine; it's up to what you like. Didn't you enjoy tinkering with those machines? There are quite a few experts in that field over there."

"Remember to learn as many skills as you can and bring them back."

Shelter No. 404 had acquired a Magnetic Confinement Plasma Cutting Machine Tool a long time ago, capable of processing on an atomic scale.

However, up to now, this tool had only been used to make some very basic parts.

No one had been able to truly harness the full potential of that high-precision industrial mother machine.

"...Of course, this is still up to your willingness. I won't force you if you're not inclined."

Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang with a dazed expression.

After a while, her eyes stopped wavering and began to show resolution.

"I'm willing."

Although she didn't quite understand what she could do with no particular talent, deep down, she harbored a faint desire to become stronger.

This might be an opportunity.

She felt she should seize it.

Seeing Boss Xia, who had finally decided to take this step, Chu Guang nodded with approval.

"I'll arrange for someone else to take care of the weapon shop; I'll settle your salary for this month in advance."

"Although there will be no salary afterward, I will still give you a regular amount of money for living expenses."

"Money without working..." Xia Yan looked somewhat abashed.

Although she hadn't been a stranger to slacking off at work, she had still done her part.

It felt strange to be paid without working.

"I won't see you starve, will I? Or do you have a habit of saving money?"

After a joke and a brief pause, Chu Guang became serious again and continued, "This funding will be provided by the newly established Education Department. You can think of it as... a scholarship for study abroad."

Bringing in technology that other advanced Survivor Settlements did not have was part of Chu Guang's plan for the field of education, just as important as Archaeology.

The approach wasn't limited to inviting teachers to start schools or actively sending people to study.

That wasn't feasible yet.

When conditions allowed it in the future, he would send people to Ideal City or even the Academy to work or study.

Looking at Xia Yan, whose expression was touched, Chu Guang continued,

"Prepare yourself over the next few days."

-

(The trouble with having too many characters is that sometimes the protagonist's share gets squeezed out. The plot for Giant Stone City is only half-written and couldn't be included in this chapter... T.T)

Chapter 352: Why Don't You Lend Me Some Chips

"We're here, hahaha! We've finally made it!"

The towering ramparts of Giant Stone City had finally come into the sight of the men, and the man wrapped in a white robe cheered with joy.

As Old Luka walked on the triple-ring overpass, his face finally relaxed with a semblance of breaking through the clouds into sunlight.

The journey had taken them a full two days.

Apart from that fellow named Black they encountered at the start, they had faced at least three groups of attackers along the way.

Of course, the last two groups were just small fry, not only was their weaponry shoddy, but their morale was low, and after being riddled with a couple of bursts of gunfire, they quickly scattered like birds and beasts.

As for the man in the white robe beside them, he was someone they had rescued from the clutches of the last group of Looters.

His name was Hal, hailing from Falling Leaves Province, according to him, he was a prince of the Lion Tribe, the heir of the Oasis, a follower of the Spirit of the Sand Sea.

When asked why a prince and an heir had traveled all the way to the southern part of Qingquan City, only to be captive by a bunch of thugs wielding firesticks, he embarrassingly admitted,

"…Our Kingdom has many princes. We must do something to prove that we possess the courage and quality to govern the Kingdom."

A young diplomat inquired curiously,

"Like what?"

Hal spoke with a natural flow,

"Like bringing back something not found in the desert. It's our tradition. Whoever brings back the most expensive thing is eligible to become a candidate for the throne."

Another older diplomat asked,

"Did you find it?"

Hal's expression held a subtle sense of embarrassment, and he coughed lightly,

"…I've only just arrived at Giant Stone City. Trust me, I'm sure to find something."

Forget finding anything valuable, he lost his guards and all his Dinars.

If it weren't for this group of kind people, he might have already found his end in a boiling pot.

Just like that unlucky sod they were locked in the same cage with.

He even began to regret not heading south towards Brocade River Province with his brother, insisting on going to this Giant Stone City.

The local customs here were far more fierce than he could have ever imagined, completely different from the endless Desert Sea. Skyscrapers everywhere, behind every window seemed to hide a gun.

The two diplomats following Luka glanced at each other.

As survivors living in the Qingquan City area, the concepts of a throne and a prince were completely foreign to them.

If they were to compare these Managers to kings, then this guy… was probably the son of the Lion Kingdom's Manager?

With that thought, envy couldn't help but surface on the faces of the people.

They truly wished their Manager would have a few more...

"Respected sir, do you need a guard?" Hal, looking at Luka, who had not spoken, asked respectfully.

His intuition for reading the room told him that this old man must be the highest-ranking among all present.

Luka gave him a strange look, not knowing where the guy's confidence came from.

However, Luka eventually decided to spare this young man some dignity and responded in a brief and concise manner,

"No need, what's the matter?"

Hal's face showed an awkward expression, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke up.

"I've been robbed of my money and have nowhere to go... Could you give me a job?"

Luka asked,

"What can you do?"

"I can brew tea, play musical instruments, write poetry, and paint, and of course… I can also shoot. Just give me a revolver or a rifle, and I can hit a plastic bottle over 100 meters away!"

Hal said confidently, yet nearby Dog Brother and Dagger Brother couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Hitting a plastic bottle over 100 meters was not bad.

But with that revolver's accuracy, hitting a person at a hundred meters would be quite a feat.

"If we don't help him, he might not even be able to afford the entry tax,"

whispered an older diplomat in a hushed tone, close to Luka's ear.

"If he truly knows how to play music and paint, his status shouldn't be low… It wouldn't be bad to lend him a hand."

That was indeed the case.

Although the New Alliance hadn't yet established diplomatic relations with the survivors from other provinces, it was only a matter of time.

It's always good to make more friends when you're often out and about.

Luka nodded and turned to the unfortunate young man,

"I just happen to be short of someone to do clerical work. You can follow me for now."

Hal expressed his surprise and gratitude,

"Thank you so much! By the way, I also know twelve artistic fonts—"

Luka coughed lightly.

"That's not necessary; just write things clearly and neatly."

The group continued on their way, and before long, they arrived at the base of the towering ramparts.

The signboard of the Hotel Wind from Afar hung across the giant gates on the skyscraper, with various merchants and travelers bustling about in the plaza before the gates. Occasionally, one could see metallic or silicone-enhanced prosthetic limbs, or machines with antennae plugged into their head caps.

Poorly dressed civilians stood by the road, holding wooden signs as they waited for work to come to them.

The stark disparity in living standards, year after year, was all the same here.

Hal looked around excitedly, everything here filled him with a sense of novelty.

But for those players who had visited countless times, it was all old hat; they were accustomed to the people and the goings-on here.

"A new mission triggered," Old White said, his eyebrow raised in slight surprise as he looked down at his VM on the arm.

"What mission? Let me see," Fang Chang came over to look.

On the screen were the words,

[Mission: Head to Pirate Bay Tavern and find Bit to inquire about the employer's related information]

Old White stared at the mission for a while.

"It should be the follow-up mission for that muscular guy named Black… I've synced it to the team now."

"Tavern? Brother Fang Chang is familiar with this place," Kill Dagger said with a playful smile.

"Boss, when are you going to write us a guide to the pleasures of the night? We've been waiting for a long time!" Dog Brother chimed in teasingly.

"Scram, scram, scram, I'm pure as can be, unlike you dirty demons who only think about 'art' all day."

Watching his teasing teammates, Fang Chang rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Old White, however, didn't join in the mockery and just smiled.

"What do you say? After we deliver the NPC to the destination, should we head to Pirate Bay Tavern to ask around?"

Fang Chang sighed.

"Do you think this is the kind of thing where you can just walk into a tavern and shout out to get the information?"

Old White asked curiously.

"Then what do you suggest?"

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully for a moment, Fang Chang's gaze fell upon the poor residents holding signs nearby, his eyes flickering slightly.

"...Black lives in the slums; we start by finding where he lives. Whether he has any surviving family or not, there are bound to be friends who knew him. Through his friends, we should be able to find out exactly who this Bit person is."

"Is it that complicated?" Kill Dagger asked, puzzled.

"This game really does require some brainpower," Old White said with a smile, "Let's do as Fang Chang says and get into the city first."

They paid the entrance tax.

The group stored any prohibited explosives and passed through the towering city gates.

Regarding their exoskeletons, the guards at the city gate didn't say much. After all, in Giant Stone City, such gear wasn't rare enough to warrant constant attention.

Following the Manager's instructions, Luka was headed to the Alliance's office in Giant Stone City, but as soon as they hit the streets, they sensed something off in the atmosphere.

At the entrance to the warehouse district, a sea of people stretched as far as the eye could see.

Wearing linen shirts and hyena skin coats, the angry citizens were gathered together, holding wooden signs and shouting disorganized but loud slogans as they advanced towards the heart of the outer city.

"Refuse unequal trade!"

"Give us back our jobs!"

"Get the New Alliance's stuff out of Giant Stone City!"

"We want bread, not nutrition paste!"

"The backstabbers should roll out of the Giant Walls!"

The tumultuous atmosphere was like a boiling heat wave, scorching alike a branding iron under the June sun.

Guards at the edge of the crowd were at a loss, their batons already ineffective in controlling the masses.

The militia loyal to the city's lord were simply watching the spectacle.

As long as it didn't escalate into gunfire, they had no intention of getting involved.

Hal, visiting Giant Stone City for the first time, stretched his neck excitedly to gaze at the surging crowd.

"Are they celebrating a festival?"

The diplomat beside him looked grave.

"...Do you think they look like they're celebrating?"

"Good point... who are they shouting to get out?"

Luka glanced at him and ignored him, instead turning to the diplomat beside him.

"Let's move quickly; it's best not to stay on the streets too long."

Everyone nodded and hurried along.

The players following the NPC were curious and wanted to get a closer look, but the mission was crucial.

"...This is strange," Kill Dagger muttered quietly, "It wasn't like this last time we were here."

"To think that what had to come, has come," Fang Chang said thoughtfully as he watched the swelling crowd.

"What was bound to come?" Dog Brother asked curiously.

Fang Chang replied, "Didn't you see? They're protesting that we sold them things too cheaply."

Too cheap?

A bit confused, Dog Brother asked.

"Ah... we gave them good things for cheap, what do they have to complain about?"

"Under normal circumstances, trading ten tubes of nutrition paste for a loaf of bread is reasonable, but suddenly someone comes along willing to offer a thousand tubes of nutrition paste for a toaster, making both the nutrition paste and bread businesses unprofitable."

"Even if the bread is cheap, it's those with the resources who benefit. For the average survivor, without work, they can't afford it, and they'd be happy? That would be clever indeed."

The factories in City of Dawn had taken the jobs of the residents of Giant Stone City, and recently the outer city's town hall had even planned to expand trade with the New Alliance.

Already on the brink of poverty, the outer city residents finally erupted.

But...

Was the real problem the cheapness of the New Alliance's goods?

The essence of the crisis was the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few; once money stopped circulating, it lost its function in the market.

The residents of Giant Stone City had no means to consume, factories reduced production, jobs decreased, residents became poorer, and entered a cycle of mutual loss.

The influx of external industrial goods merely accelerated this process.

The simplest method was colonialism.

Whether through economic or military colonization, the surplus of goods could be sold to medium and small-sized Survivor Settlements like Bet Street and Brown Farm, exchanging them for industrial raw materials and keeping the original chain functioning.

Unfortunately, the New Alliance was not only unwilling to be a colony of Giant Stone City but even liberated some of the Survivor Settlements colonized by Giant Stone City's economy, exporting industrial goods back into their markets.

The economic crisis of Giant Stone City had started a long time ago.

But in the Wasteland, an economic crisis is trivial compared to survival, so no one had noticed, nor did they have the leisure to care.

The inner city nobles didn't care how the "providers" of the outer city schemed against each other, and in the eyes of their lord, all was ants except for things truly worth his attention.

Moreover, even amidst the clutches of poverty and unemployment, the residents here were still luckier than the residents of Bet Street and the serfs of Brown Farm a year ago.

Only recently had these wretched souls found an object for their anger.

With this in mind, Fang Chang couldn't help but wear a look of interest.

It wasn't that he was cold-blooded.

For a pure player like him, NPCs were merely data and weren't worth sympathy.

What he hadn't expected was the unexpectedly realistic economic system of the game.

They had not only developed a supply and demand relationship, but even restored the means of production.

How great.

It seemed that the public beta release was another step closer!

A group of people arrived at the office located on the edge of the warehouse district.

By the time they got there, they found a large crowd gathered at the entrance, with several guards maintaining order.

From the chaotic scene, it was clear that something unpleasant must have happened earlier.

Shuyu, who was in charge of the office operations, had received news of the visiting group's arrival early on and had come out to greet them from inside.

"You've finally arrived safely, I was worried that something might have happened to you on the way," Shuyu said with a relieved smile, albeit a tired one.

It was obvious he had been harried by the recent events at this location.

Looking at the trash and rocks on the ground, as well as the shattered glass, Luka frowned and led the crowd through to join Shuyu.

"What exactly is happening here?"

Shuyu followed his gaze to the glass fragments scattered on the ground, and a hint of helplessness appeared on his face.

"Most of the factories in the industrial area have given the workers days off, and the residents who lost their income took to the streets... City Hall sent some guards, but as you can see, that large a crowd isn't something one or two guards can handle."

"You weren't hurt, were you?" Luka asked with concern.

"No," Shuyu shook his head, "we have quite a few 'players' living here and City Hall dispatched more guards to maintain order, so security isn't a big issue... However, at this critical time, it's still best not to go out without good reason."

The fear was that during such chaos, someone might try something sneaky.

Like firing a shot in the middle of the crowd.

With the proliferation of weapons in the Wasteland, such an incident wouldn't be surprising at all.

The so-called order was only relative safety; absolute safety didn't even exist in Ideal City, let alone here.

Having said this, Shuyu paused for a moment, glanced at the guard beside him, and continued.

"The situation here is not something that can be explained in a few words. Anyway, let's go inside to talk."

...

After they had delivered the NPCs to their destination, the players went their separate ways to attend to their own affairs.

Old White took two brothers out to the shantytown beyond the Giant Wall,
while Fang Chang took off his equipment, changed into casual clothes, and mingled into the protesting crowd.

There were some matters he was interested in investigating.

In his own words—"participating in such special events might trigger hidden quests."

As for Old Luka, after comforting the office staff on behalf of the Manager, he followed Shuyu to the lounge on the third floor.

A young maid came over and poured a cup of hot tea for each of them.

Shuyu took a slow sip, hoping to talk about something to ease the mood, but then saw Luka sitting there unmoved, and couldn't help but smile bitterly as he put down his teacup.

After a pause, he started speaking.

"Last night, a warehouse in the industrial area caught fire."

"Fire?"

Seeing Luka's surprised look, Shuyu nodded.

"Yes, the 1000 tons of Didivei nutrition paste stored there was destroyed... That stuff doesn't tolerate high temperatures, and it was pretty much all ruined."

1000 tons of nutrition paste, calculated at the wholesale cost, was worth close to 100,000 to 200,000 chips.

If sold at retail price, it would often add a zero to the wholesale price.

Luka's heart tightened slightly.

"Is it serious?"

"The warehouse was insured, so they will cover some of the losses, but it is unclear how much they will pay out," Shuyu continued in a serious tone.

"You must have seen it on your way into the city, the protests against us are escalating. These conflicts are not something that has built up over one or two days, but have erupted altogether in the past few days."

"I'm worried... The recent events might affect our negotiation of a friendly cooperation treaty with City Hall."

"To avoid any further complications, I suggest we'd be better off signing the contract as soon as possible."

Hearing Shuyu's advice, Luka pondered for a moment before speaking.

"The Manager said that a treaty is just a piece of paper, and unless we solve the problem at its core, even if we come back with a beautiful agreement, they could tear up that piece of paper at any time."

Shuyu pressed his temples with a headache.

"The problem you're talking about is unsolvable... Do you know what those people are shouting for? They keep demanding City Hall impose a 100% special tax on us, redistributing the collected taxes to the unemployed poor."

"Not only that, they also demand that we keep all our chips in their bank, use a bookkeeping-style exchange, let the market determine the exchange rate, and that all chips must be used according to their stipulated methods."

In short.

They wanted the commodities of the New Alliance to be unprofitable in Giant Stone City, and even to deindustrialize and transform us into a big farm and mine.

The residents of City of Dawn also needed jobs.

Such a treaty was impossible for anyone to sign.

Those protesting people and the factory owners behind them apparently never intended to solve the problem but rather aimed to propose demands that were impossible to meet, just to flip the table.

If they couldn't beat us.

Then they would stop playing the game.

"Of course, there is a way to solve it," Luka said earnestly, "I came here specifically for this purpose."

Shuyu looked at him with a somewhat astonished expression, not understanding what method he could have in mind.

As he was about to ask curiously, there was a knock on the door.

The maid who had served them tea earlier walked in again.

"Sir, the City Hall Manager is currently downstairs; should I invite him up?"

Shuyu was startled, not recalling such an arrangement for today.

"Did he...make an appointment?"

The maid shook her head.

"No, he claimed he was just passing by while inspecting the warehouse district fire scene."

Shu Yu looked at Luka, who nodded, and then turned back to the maid.

"Please lead Mr. Hall to the reception room on the second floor."

The other party was already downstairs; they couldn't just turn him away at the door.

"Alright, sir."

The maid bowed slightly and turned to leave the lounge.

"...What are you planning to do? This guy definitely didn't just happen by; he was likely driven out by those survivors surrounding the city hall... I bet he's not here to make peace."

Shu Yu spoke in a lowered voice.

However, just then, he noticed that Old Luka's face bore no sign of nervousness at all.

A flicker of realization crossed his eyes, and Shu Yu immediately caught on.

"...Has the Manager already told you what to do?"

Old Luka didn't reply but gave him a reassuring smile and rose from the couch.

"Let's go, let's meet this Mr. Hall."

...

Inside the reception room.

Duron's face was etched with the anxiety and irritation of sleep deprivation.

He couldn't understand.

He had just signed a beautiful agreement and returned, not only having made the New Alliance give up on the airspace demands over Qingquan City but also opening the market in "North Suburb" without any cost.

He thought everyone would cheer for his wisdom.

However, except for the City Lord and Huge Rock Military Industry, who had no complaints, residents of the outer city and other factory owners nearly scolded him viciously.

Duron was utterly baffled.

Giant Stone City's factories had both technology and plenty of manpower, without the myriad restrictions of 12-hour work limits or minimum wage standards—how could they fear a few small workshops by Scavengers?

They could dump cheap industrial goods, so why don't you also dump back?

Nothing was acceptable; what did these insatiable Vampires want after all?

Duron began to wish that the city hall had a Militia Group.

No need to be as strong as the City Lord's men, just slightly more combat power than the mercs would have spared him the trouble of such difficult negotiations.

These people were unwilling to give him his due rights or money; what did they expect him to do?

Then, footsteps approached from outside the reception room, followed by three knocks on the door before it opened.

Seeing the familiar face he had seen in the holographic image, Duron stood up politely and cleared his throat to greet him.

"Hello... Mr. City Lord."

He was a little uneasy saying that, as in Giant Stone City, City Lord was a title exclusive to that great person.

"Hello, Mr. Duron, no need for formality, please take a seat..." Luka smiled, a gesture to ease the mood, as he sat down opposite Duron, "Actually, it's fine to address each other by our names."

"These are trivial matters," Duron said, sitting back down, dismissing the previous politeness with a wave, "Let's cut to the chase. I know it's abrupt, but we need to renegotiate our agreement..."

Luka was not surprised by Duron's proposal but still furrowed his brow slightly.

"This isn't what we agreed on."

"Because the situation now is not the same as it was," Duron pressed on, staring at him, "You've seen the situation outside. If I can't bring back an agreement that satisfies them, they'll tear me and the agreement to shreds, and it won't be me who's sitting here talking to you next time."

"So everything we talked about before is voided?" Luka asked calmly.

"Only regarding the trade part, there's nothing to discuss about airspace and borders... that's the City Lord's requirement."

Duron spoke diplomatically, yet his firm stance did not waver.

Luka nodded.

"We can understand your predicament."

Seeing the unexpected concession from the other side, Duron felt a rush of joy and relief, finally allowing a smile to form on his face.

"That's great... rest assured, I am not unreasonable. In exchange for your compromise, we will take extra care of you on security issues, after all, we are now friends. This includes leasing aircraft and more powerful weapons... I will do my best within the scope of my authority to get you some favorable deals."

Shu Yu looked incredulously at Old Luka.

He remembered exactly what the demands of those people were.

With a confident expression, Duron took a list from his assistant and laid it on the table in front.

"We've listed some of the residents' demands which I believe are quite reasonable. We need to discuss the specifics, but I hope the negotiation will follow this framework."

In his view, the other party had already softened its stance, and the deal was virtually in hand.

However, things did not progress as smoothly as he had imagined.

Luka only glanced at the list on the table, then his gaze returned to Duron.

"We can feel your sincere desire to resolve this matter, but clearly, this is not a way to solve the problem."

Duron looked puzzled at Luka, slowly furrowing his brow.

"...What do you mean?"

"Taxing our commodities heavily, demanding us to keep the money we earn in your pocket, spending it the way you want—no dog would enter into such a deal."

As Duron looked shocked, Luka shook his head and continued.

"Signing this agreement makes no difference. If I were to sign it, there would be no trade at all between the New Alliance and Giant Stone City in silver coins, and if there was, it would definitely be through the black market."

"...Then do you have a better idea?" Duron asked, frowning.

Luka nodded affirmatively.

"Of course, our respected Manager has a far better proposal."

Although Duron's instincts told him that these cunning Blue Jackets were probably conniving something, he decided to hear them out first.

"...What proposal?"

Sensing the fish about to bite, Luka showed a steady smile on his face.

"Your factories and residents are unhappy because the former need a market to make profits, and the latter need jobs to support their families."

"If so..."

"Why don't you lend us some chips?"

Chapter 353: These Days, The Debtor is the Boss

"Borrow some chips?"

"Sorry, I didn't quite understand what you mean..."

Duron looked at Luka with a puzzled face, "Why would lending you some chips... solve the problem?"

Aren't we discussing the issue of trade?

If it were as an additional condition for negotiations, he might consider it.

However, the person in front of him said that all they needed was a loan to solve this problem.

Duron even doubted if he had heard right.

With a look of bewilderment, Duron listened as Luka cleared his throat, quoting the Manager's words.

"You're complaining that we haven't spent our chips in the 'right' places, right? That's because we have no money, we obviously have to be frugal with our spending, but if you're willing to lend us some, that would change things."

Seeing that the man in front of him still didn't grasp the Manager's brilliant idea, Luka patiently continued.

"We have just liberated West State City, and we are building Dawn City to accommodate the survivors there."

"We need at least ten thousand houses, a large amount of food, cotton textiles, soap for cleaning, and other consumer goods... Aren't these precisely the things you want us to buy?"

"Of course, we are capable of filling these gaps by ourselves, but if we only rely on ourselves, it might take a year or two, or even longer, for the people there to live a self-sufficient life. However... with your help, that would be different."

Duron's eyes widened.

"So you mean... let us lend you the chips, and then you use our chips to buy things from us?"

"Exactly." Luka nodded as if it were the most natural thing, just as the Manager had told him.

"Do you think this is reasonable?" Duron couldn't help asking.

"Why wouldn't it be reasonable? Your factories would have orders, workers would have jobs, and the chips we borrow will ultimately be returned to you. The money can be kept in your accounts as you said, handled as bookkeeping transactions, the chips might not even need to leave your bank."

Luka's logical response left Duron speechless.

So that means...

It seems flawless?

At least, he couldn't think of a reason to object off the top of his head.

According to the residents' requested deal, trade between them would definitely come to a halt, with neither side benefiting.

But if they could follow the plan proposed by this current Mayor of the City of Dawn, Giant Stone City would gain access to a huge market.

The factory's profits and the workers' jobs would be secured, and the money lent to the New Alliance wouldn't just disappear... No one would suffer a loss; it seemed everyone would win.

But this was too strange!

After wrestling with his thoughts for a while, Duron finally found what seemed to be a point he could question.

"...But how can you assure us you will pay back the money?"

Luka asked.

"Are you questioning our ability to repay?"

Duron subtly nodded.

"I must speak frankly... so far, you've only existed for half a year, even the Chewing Bone Tribe has been around longer than you."

Giant Stone City Bank often charged high-interest rates on loans to merchants because, after all, many people starting businesses beyond the Giant Wall would disappear along the way.

He indeed had reason to suspect whether this suspicious-seeming alliance could last.

Luka was not surprised by Duron's skepticism.

Before setting out, the Manager had told him that unless the other party was a complete gambler, they would certainly be concerned about the risks.

The future was unpredictable, and one's judgment of risk wouldn't change with a few words.

However, the fear of the unknown could be overcome.

The simplest method was to offer convincing incentives!

10% profit wouldn't make them overlook the risks, so offer 100% profit.

Luka looked at Duron.

"But they have become history."

"What about you?"

"We defeated the Tide, defeated the Mutants, defeated the Army, defeated the Looter, won the friendship of Ideal City, and became permanent partners with corporations. In just half a year, we've gone from a small village to a settlement with a population in the tens of thousands. Why don't you imagine what North Suburb will look like a year from now?"

"Hmm." Duron hummed noncommittally through his nose, yet a hint of relaxation appeared in his eyes.

Luka didn't stop, continuing to speak fluently.

"Long ago, in North Suburb, there was an insignificant little village called Bet Street. Under the exploitation of the Slave Owners, the survivors there wouldn't use a bar of soap even once a year. But now, beside every household's water basin, you can see one..."

"This is just a small example, but I think it's quite representative. Our Alliance is dedicated to improving our residents' quality of life."

"Beyond the livelihood industry, we also value agriculture. In half a year's time, we've cultivated 30,000 acres of fertile land. And in our full plans, this number will double within two years."

"Apart from agriculture, we value trade as well. We plan to connect Qingquan City with The Tributary of Tianshui by rail, securing the trade route to the Grand Canyon. We also plan to build a dock on the South Bank of Tianshui, so that in the future, merchant teams heading to the East won't need to lead their Double-headed Cows but can instead watch the mountains on both sides, drift down by boat, and head directly to the East Coast outlets."

"Why not boldly envision what a huge market this would be."

In fact, the last comment was entirely superfluous.

Old Luka didn't need to remind him at all.

Sitting at the table, Duron was breathlessly captivated.

From the mention of opening the trade route to the Grand Canyon, his right hand under the table clenched into a fist, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together, the tension giving way to poorly concealed excitement and agitation.

Of course, he realized there were a few too many pies in the sky in those words, and quite a bit of bluster from the fellow in front of him.

Even if he wasn't an accountant, having served as the Mayor for so many years, he still had a keen eye.

Frankly, he was tempted.

If managed properly, he might become Giant Stone City's most outstanding Mayor in history!

Without any hesitation, he reached over and snatched the list from the table, crumpled it up, and tossed it into the waste bin beside him.

Not only that, but his demeanor also underwent a 180-degree change, the confrontational expression on his face turning into a friendly smile.

"I was hasty, dear friend... let's talk again, how much of a loan do you need?"

"Two hundred million."

"Two... how much?!" Hearing this staggering number, Duron's eyes bulged.

"Two billion chips."

Luka repeated it once more, unexpectedly looking at the minister before him, murmuring as if to himself.

"I had thought, after hearing what I just said, you would be eager for me to borrow more."

"Do you even understand the concept of two billion chips?!"

Luka: "Of course I do. Every decision our Manager makes is carefully considered on the basis of our relationship. In the words of that esteemed person, this is the only win-win solution."

Duron opened his mouth, and it took him a while to recover from his surprise.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he rose from the conference table.

"...I need to discuss this with my staff."

In his tenure, he had never encountered such an odd situation.

It wasn't just the staff; he also needed the opinions of the other factions outside the city.

Watching Minister Duron rise from his seat, Luka's expression slightly relaxed.

The Manager had told him that as long as the other party didn't reject the proposal outright, it meant he was already tempted.

"Remember to discuss this with your bank manager as well."

"Just say… giving us this loan could save his client's life."

The discussion was over.

It ended sooner than anticipated.

Watching the meeting room door close, Shu Yu, who had been silent the entire time, took a deep breath and looked at Luka, who sat not far away.

"Just to be safe, let me ask first… Does the Manager truly intend to repay this money?"

"Of course," Old Luka answered without a doubt.

How could the great Manager behave like Old Lai?

In his memory, every word spoken by that person had been fulfilled.

Whether it was freeing the slaves, moving them into houses with roofs, or ensuring they were well-fed and clothed.

He had never gone back on his word.

Shu Yu was stunned for a few seconds, sitting in silence.

It wasn't that he didn't believe the Manager; he felt his imagination was somewhat lacking.

That was two billion…

A single assault rifle only cost 150 chips; most residents of Giant Stone City made around 100 in a month, the commercial turnover between the two sides was less than a million last month.

A loan of two billion chips…

How long would it take to repay that?

...

Shu Yu wasn't the only one shocked.

After hearing Chu Guang's plan, the Merchant Guild chairman, Old Charlie, too was left speechless.

He thought the two billion silver coin infrastructure project approved last time was already crazy enough.

However, to his surprise, in less than a month, the Manager had done something even more insane than printing money.

Two billion chips…

Old Charlie, the former mayor of Bet Street, had saved a lifetime's worth of chips and had just over a hundred thousand.

By that calculation, were two billion chips the equivalent of two thousand Bet Streets?

After a long silence, Old Charlie cautiously asked almost the same question.

"Do you plan to repay this money?"

His instinct was that the Manager might default on the loan.

His rationality told him it wasn't a good idea.

Yet the answer given by the Manager took him by surprise.

Chu Guang replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Of course, I'm going to repay it. Do I look like someone who borrows money without repaying it?"

Paying back loans is a matter of course.

Otherwise, how could one borrow more money?

Old Charlie didn't know that Chu Guang standing before him was already thinking about borrowing another amount.

After opening his mouth for quite a while, he finally couldn't help but ask.

"...Have you thought about how you'll repay it?"

Chu Guang spoke unhurriedly.

"The loan will be structured over an 80-year period. I will repay them a portion every year, and this amount won't exceed five million."

Earning five million chips within a year wasn't very difficult for the New Alliance.

"No collateral?"

"What's there to collateralize? We're right here, we're not going anywhere."

"What about the interest?"

"No more than 2%. Any higher, and I wouldn't even bother negotiating."

Hearing this, Old Charlie involuntarily furrowed his brows.

If he initially thought Chu Guang was crazy,

Now he was gradually beginning to think maybe Giant Stone City had gone mad.

"...How could they possibly agree to these terms?"

Chu Guang confidently said.

"They will agree because lending the money to us is much safer than to those 'merchants, who might never come back' and 'factories that could go bankrupt at any time,' and certainly more reliable than those residents who definitely can't repay it."

"We're borrowing two billion because that's all we need at this stage. Trust me, in a few months, as soon as we ask, they'll be eager to bring us even more money."

Can sovereign debt and personal debt be the same?

Is the repayment capacity of the New Alliance comparable to that of ordinary survivors?

It wouldn't take long for the city hall and bank of Giant Stone City to discover just how smart a decision it was to lend money to the New Alliance!

Like morphine, the stimulation of the economy by flooding it with money is significant.

Not only does it work quickly and powerfully, but its effects are almost immediate—the only downside is that it's addictive, and overuse leads to tolerance.

It sounds like opium.

And in fact, it is.

But what's being over-issued are chips, not silver coins, so why does it matter so much to the New Alliance?

The exchange rate will definitely be affected, but by then the purchasing power of the money will have changed too, he could just adjust the exchange rate.

When the chips depreciate, the debt he owes will also shrink, and the future's two billion chips may only be worth twenty million now.

Although this is a win-win solution, Chu Guang had never discussed with the people of Giant Stone City how many times each of them would win.

Chu Guang didn't tell them either.

The seemingly win-win plan actually hid a huge risk beyond the risk of the debt itself.

However, he had no obligation to proactively warn about the risk.

Who would start off by announcing the downsides when introducing their own product?

Besides, it's not something that's guaranteed to happen.

"...How do you plan to use this money?" Old Charlie asked after a moment of silence.

Chu Guang replied concisely.

"It's simple, I'll use those chips to mobilize the factories of Giant Stone City to help us build our city-state."

The first step was to get those stagnant small and medium-sized factories in Giant Stone City, plus the wealthy but low-status new merchants, to come to the City of Dawn with technology, equipment, and skilled workers to set up their factories.

Now the first step is complete.

The industrial products produced by the New Alliance not only supplied Giant Stone City in reverse but even exacerbated their own problems.

Next comes the second step.

He would offer a slice of seemingly delicious cake, while using debt, employment, and a high-growth market to tie the banks, city hall, and factories of Giant Stone City firmly to the chariot of the New Alliance.

The ideal scenario would be that by the time the people of Giant Stone City realize they were crawling from a small puddle into an invisible, bottomless pit, the cost of climbing out would be so heavy that it would be unacceptable to most.

Of course, accomplishing this task would not be easy—it had to be done subtly and carefully.

But if it succeeded.

It would achieve what guns and artillery could not...

...

On the streets of Giant Stone City.

The protest lasted until evening.

Fang Chang, who was blending in with the crowd, followed the protesting crowd in a big loop around the outer city.

Once the crowd finally dispersed, he set his sights on a few who were the loudest and carried the biggest placards, trailing them into a dark alley.

Two burly men stood to the left and right, with a well-dressed, seemingly high-status man in the middle.

Fang Chang could tell the man held some status because the previously most aggressive leaders completely changed their expressions in front of him.

Their faces wearing gratifying smiles, they thanked him profusely while accepting the fist-sized bags from the man's hands.

Those bulging bags obviously contained chips.

"...This is your compensation, I'll call you when needed," Alec said dismissively as he casually lit a cigarette after handing out the money.

"Thank you, sir!"

They thanked him obsequiously, with Maiken eagerly opening the money bag.

However, after counting it, his expression quickly turned unnatural.

"Why are there only twenty …"

They had agreed on fifty.

This was too much!

"You expect more for just walking around the streets, enough to earn a week's wages?" Alec said dismissively, gesturing for him to leave.

"Just go."

As if you're the only ones that need money.

Doesn't the boss need to make some too?

Thinking of the gracefully dancing girls in the Night Queen Bar, Alec felt a fiery excitement.

Having made a small fortune, maybe he could go there for a drink and relax.

With a sour expression, Maiken had no choice but to swallow his pride, cognizant of the two strongmen beside Alec. Being merely a can factory worker, he could never stand up to such a powerful figure…

Fang Chang, lurking in the shadows, captured this scene with an interesting expression on his face.

Although he was well aware of the reality of Wasteland OL, he didn't expect such details to be crafted.

His conjecture was correct.

The protest against the New Alliance indeed had an invisible hand exacerbating things behind the scenes.

Almost at the same time as the photos were saved, a pale blue pop-up window appeared on the VM screen.

[Mission (Side Quest): Investigate the Warehouse Arson Mastermind]

"...A warehouse arson case?"

What was that about?

Confused, excitement surfaced in Fang Chang's eyes.

He hadn't expected to trigger a hidden mission just by following them out of curiosity.

This was an unexpected delight!

The instigators of the protest clutched their pockets and left the alley surreptitiously.

The three men who had been handing out money stayed in place for a while, chatting and laughing as if they were discussing something.

After about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, they finally reached a consensus and left in another direction.

Fang Chang followed them unhurriedly, trailing behind them all the way to the most fashionable street near the Inner City.

As soon as they entered the street, the entire city's style changed.

The dazzling neon lights twinkled on both sides of the street, and the pedestrians were mostly graceful ladies, mercenaries with expensive artificial bodies, or well-dressed merchants, even nobles from the Inner City.

Their aura was clearly different from ordinary people.

Compared to the outside world, this place didn't seem like the Wasteland at all but rather like a miniature Cyberpunk Street.

Especially since recently, the New Alliance's "cultural export" to Giant Stone City had added a few dashes of "fashion" to the originally rustic clothing style here.

Fang Chang was not unfamiliar with this place.

As a professional gamer, he was an expert when it comes to exploring maps.

However, what surprised him was that these three men did not take him to the lair of some behind-the-scenes villain but instead stopped at the entrance of the Night Queen Bar.

Fang Chang had a slightly strange expression on his face, but he still followed them inside.

Loud music poured into his ears.

Passing through the swaying lights and the crowded crowd, he quickly relocated the three men at a booth near the bar.

Beer had already been placed on the table in the middle of the sofa.

The man who had given money to those troublemakers was now holding a dancer who laughed uncontrollably.

The two men sitting on the adjacent sofa both had looks of obvious envy in their eyes.

But envy was all they could afford.

Fang Chang sat down quietly at the bar, ordered the cheapest drink, pretending to be a patron here to watch the show, yet his gaze kept unconsciously moving towards the direction of the booth.

The noise here was loud.

He couldn't understand what those people were talking about, but he could record it and listen to it several times when he got back.

Just as he was getting into it, a strange voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Are you here for a drink..."

"Or looking for someone?"

...

Outside Giant Stone City.

Slums.

Disguised, Old White took Kill Dagger and That Dog along with him to ask around, and finally found the doorstep to Black's home.

Unlike the surrounding shacks, the entire house was built of bricks and cement.

It seemed even in the slums, there were distinctions between the wealthy and the poor.

"...You guys need to be careful; this is Dagger Gang territory, and they don't allow others to cause trouble on their turf," whispered the hunched old man, feeling compelled to say a bit more for the sake of those two chips.

"The gangs still have such rules?" Kill Dagger lifted his eyebrows in surprise as he looked at the translation on his VM.

The gangs in the slums seemed to be no different from the Looters, often making guest appearances with each other; this wasn't news anymore.

That Dog said with a smile.

"Isn't there a saying, 'If you exile a group of criminals to a deserted island, they will most likely form a new country'?"

Ignoring those two clowns running off topic, Old White nodded at the old man in front of him.

"Thanks for the warning. It's getting late; you best head home."

The old man nodded shakily, hunched over, and turned to walk away.

Looking at the house in front of him, Old White knocked on the door, thinking there wouldn't be anyone inside, but to his surprise, there were footsteps behind the door.

The woman who opened the door had a mature charm about her, with light-colored hair and clothing and makeup that did not match a poor woman; her expression was slightly indolent.

However, seeing the people at the door, her still-pretty face immediately became alert.

These people were clearly not residents nearby, they didn't even look like they were from Giant Stone City.

Her first thought was that these people were here for revenge.

"...Who are you?"

Old White said politely.

"We want to inquire about someone."

The woman said nervously.

"Are you here looking for Black? He's not here."

Old White did not answer her question but continued to ask.

"What's your relationship with him?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, carefully responding.

"Friend... we just met last week."

Kill Dagger and That Dog, standing beside Old White, gave each other a look, and whispered to one another.

"Do you believe it?"

"I don't!"

The woman couldn't understand what the two were talking about, her face gradually showing signs of panic and fear.

"...Who exactly are you? What do you want with that guy?"

"It doesn't matter who we are, just answer my questions truthfully, and we won't trouble you," Old White continued, pulling a 100 value chip from his pocket and waved it in front of her.

"We might even pay you for it."

Seeing that chip, the eyes previously filled with panic now flashed a hint of greed.

Old White mused to himself that perhaps they truly had just met last week.

Glancing around to make sure no one was noticing them, she stepped aside to open the door, her tone considerably softer.

"...Come in and we'll talk."

Chapter 354: Darkness Within the Giant Wall

The voice was very close.

Even amidst the noisy music, Fang Chang could tell that the words were directed at him.

His facial expression unconsciously turned serious, and he quickly turned his head, spotting the girl sitting next to the bar.

Illuminated by the dim light, a head of unruly green short hair came into view.

Even in Giant Stone City, such a striking hair color was extremely rare.

She wasn't tall, her figure slender, with messy bangs revealing a pair of mismatched eyes, the left clearly somewhat distorted—probably a prosthetic or electronic eye. Her delicate nose and chin seemed surgically enhanced or perhaps products of technology.

Fang Chang's gaze moved down to her left shoulder where large metal components were visible, somewhat similar in style to Brother Gale.

However, Brother Gale's metal arm was a handiwork of the Pioneer, evidently much more high-end than what she sported.

The girl, unconcerned with Fang Chang's "straightforward" stare, continued in a casual tone.

"If you are interested in the three people at table 12, I can help you gather information about them."

Table 12 was indeed where the group Fang Chang was tracking was seated.

"What is your name?"

"Dolly… your accent is strange—are you from another province?" The girl looked at Fang Chang, her eyebrows arching with a hint of curiosity.

Dolly?

What a strange name.

"Fang Chang," he paused before continuing, "It doesn't matter where I'm from… Regarding your earlier suggestion, how do you plan to gather information?"

"That dancer, I know her. Her name is Nicosi, she's one of the top performers here," Dolly pointed to the dancer sitting at a booth, unabashedly adding, "You give me a tip, and I can ask her anything for you, even her measurements."

"That won't be necessary."

Fang Chang rummaged in his pocket for a while before pulling out the smallest chip he had and flicked it into her hand with his thumb.

Dolly clapped her hands to catch it, using the light to clear the numbers and the color that matched her hair, and her right eye immediately showed a hint of surprise.

"… The boss is really generous."

A 25-point chip.

That would take about two weeks of work at the factory to earn.

Dolly's expression became flirtatiously interested as she sized up the handsome and cultured-looking man before her.

"What do you want to know?"

"What identities those three hold, what they did today, and…" Fang Chang's mind raced, "also check if they know about the warehouse fire last night."

A flicker of surprise crossed Dolly's eyes, especially at the last part, her gaze becoming slightly cautious.

"You shouldn't ask like that, asking that way… even a fool could guess who sent you."

Struggling with the convoluted jargon of United Human was too difficult; Fang Chang simply stopped pretending and said with a smile.

"It's alright, today I only spoke this sentence to you… scared?"

Scared?

Dolly raised an eyebrow, stood up from the barstool.

Her slender body twisted, quickly moving through the crowd and reaching the side of booth 12.

She leaned her elbow onto the sofa's backrest, whispered into the dancer's ear, and naturally started joking and laughing as if with an old friend, blending into the atmosphere.

Watching her chatting and laughing with the dancer, Fang Chang's forefinger rubbed the rim of his glass, his heart tensing.

He suddenly felt that trusting a stranger might have been reckless.

What if she betrayed him?

Or… should he have paid a deposit first?

As he was lost in his thoughts, someone tapped his shoulder.

Turning his head, he saw the girl named Dolly already sitting beside him.

"Did you ask around?"

Dolly crooked her finger, signaling him to lean closer, her thin red lips almost touching as she whispered.

"The young man sitting in the middle is named Alec, head of the security team at Vijia Commerce. His sister, Sophie, is Vijia's lover and works as an accountant at the canning factory owned by Vijia. Today he got lucky and made a small fortune."

"What kind of fortune?"

"He didn't specify, but he kept boasting that he could make the influential and privileged officials suffer by just flapping his lips and give them a headache bad enough to ruin their meals for a day," Dolly's eyes twinkled slightly. "My guess is that his boss gave him some money to incite the workers to surround the town hall… And he likely skimmed a bit off the top of those funds."

Meaning a strike?

But why strike against his own work?

Fang Chang was curious, feeling he might have missed some crucial clue.

However, the task didn't require him to delve into these trivial matters.

Identifying those people was sufficient.

"What about last night's fire?" Fang Chang continued, asking about what he was most concerned about.

"It's a delicate matter to inquire about, but he did tell my friend that he was sorry he couldn't come here last night because something happened…" Dolly said these words with a touch of teasing, yet it was unclear what she was mocking.

"Thank you, the information you provided is invaluable." Fang Chang extended his index finger, gently swiped on the VM that appeared from his sleeve, and saved the recording.

[Mission (Side Quest) Completed]

[Reward: 120 Silver Coins, 100 Contribution Points, 500 points of "Giant Stone City" regional reputation...]

[Trigger Mission (Side Quest): Gather Intelligence, Write Press Release]

[Mission Requirements: …]

Seeing the pop-up on the screen, Fang Chang raised his eyebrows with interest.

Write an article?

He was familiar with that.

"Don't mention it, I hope you'll frequent my business, as generous clients like you are rare." The girl curved her lips, exuberantly continuing, "Regardless of the secrets, as long as you bring the people here, I can pry anything out of their mouths."

Hearing this, Fang Chang chuckled and turned off the VM screen.

Wasteland OL had always harbored three unresolved mysteries: how deep was Shelter No. 404, how big exactly was Crow, and when exactly was Looter planning the public test release.

It was a pity that Ah Guang wasn't in the game.

Otherwise, he would have really liked to bring his good brother here for a drink and to inquire about some insider information that ordinary people didn't know.

"My questions are all asked, but I have a few personal questions."

"Go ahead."

The business for the day was done, and the girl wasn't in a hurry to scout for the next target. She leaned her chin on her hand, watching him with interest.

"Your eyes are very distinct."

Dolly smiled with a quip.

"This come-on line is a bit too contrived… Plus, it sounds fake."

Normal people wouldn't find her eye, which resembled that of a bionic, appealing.

However, she clearly misunderstood.

The "distinct" that this man spoke of was meant literally.

"No, I'm genuinely curious, where did you get your eyes and mechanical arm?" Fang Chang inquired with interest.

Getting an electronic eye and a mechanical arm was just plain cool, wasn't it?

Especially since he used a bow.

He'd bet real places did such prosthesis enhancements, but it wasn't just him who would be interested; other players would likely be the same.

As Fang Chang looked at her eagerly, Dolly paused for a moment, her expression gradually turning sour.

"Your order was finished, this counts as a second question."

She had intended to dismiss the man in front of her with that remark, but to her surprise, a 50-value chip spun and landed on the table.

Dolly's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth but didn't say a word for a long while.

"…Are you serious?"

"It seems I gave too much," Fang Chang joked.

He suddenly found this NPC quite interesting.

"It's too late!" Dolly swiftly reached out and pocketed the chip.

Fang Chang watched her, then continued.

"Now that you've taken the money, aren't you going to reveal some of your secrets to me?"

Dolly was silent for a moment then gestured to the bartender, wiggled two fingers, and pointed at the top line of the drink menu.

Soon, two blood-red cocktails were placed on the bar.

"…Two 'Dragon Bloods,' enjoy."

That pungent alcohol aroma made Fang Chang recall his apartment in the suburbs of Shanghai, that unlicensed black bar in the back alleys.

The taste of adulterated fake alcohol was really the same.

After all, the Night Queen was one of the top bars on this street—the people's living standard in the Wasteland was indeed worrisome.

Or was it just supposed to taste like this?

Fang Chang intended to pay,

Yet the girl had already beaten him to it, handing the bartender the 50-value chip she'd received earlier.

With the 40 chips in change tucked into her pocket, Dolly picked up her own glass and lightly clinked it against the one in front of Fang Chang, then took a sip of the spicy "Dragon Blood."

"This isn't exactly a secret… You've heard of Awakening, right?"

"Of course," Fang Chang replied, feeling a bit puzzled.

What did mechanical prosthesis have to do with Awakening?

Seeing his confusion, Dolly continued.

"Huge Rock Military Industry produces a serum called 'Dragon Blood,' the same name as this cocktail. There's a certain chance of Awakening if injected…"

"Of course, not everyone is qualified to get a Dragon Blood injection—it's said to be quite expensive. Year after year, during the Tide, Huge Rock Military Industry helps the Militia Group recruit mercenaries and conducts simple medical checks on candidates, one of which tests the compatibility with Dragon Blood."

"If you pass, you have a chance to get an injection for free. And if you successfully Awake and show exceptional qualities, you might become an employee of Huge Rock Military Industry and live a life without worry about food or clothing."

Fang Chang looked at her in surprise.

"Did you Awaken?"

"No," setting down her glass, a shadow crossed Dolly's eyes, "just passing the medical check doesn't mean you'll definitely Awake. The success rate of Dragon Blood is 50%, there's a 40% chance of no reaction…"

"And the remaining 10% cause irreversible damage to the body… According to those bastards, this is also a form of Awakening, only it's like a mutation, and not all mutations are beneficial."

Fang Chang's Adam's apple bobbed; he suddenly understood why this girl was so resistant to the topic.

Clearly, her arm and left eye were lost to that "Dragon Blood"…

The New Alliance also had serums that could induce Awakening, but their success rate was a mystery and you had to have certain potential to use them. However, that potential was hard to accurately measure.

Those drugs were useless for players; they were supposed to be props for enhancing NPC levels per the setup.

Fang Chang's understanding was that players and NPCs operated within completely different power systems.

Thus, their evolutionary paths were entirely distinct.

However…

Although the Awakening probability of that serum from the New Alliance was not high, he had not heard of anyone suffering side effects.

Could even an extra dose or two be tried?

"I seem to have asked a question that upset you."

"No worries, I know you're not interested in that 'Dragon Blood,' considering someone wealthy like you wouldn't really need it anyway," Dolly said with a self-deprecating laugh, tapping her left arm with her right index finger.

"My left eye and this arm were fitted by Huge Rock Military Industry. The bank in Giant Stone City generously provided me with a loan; I have to pay them back 50 chips every month until I turn 40. Yet this damn thing isn't as good as I imagined, malfunctioning every now and then, and it shuts down if I don't pay on time. Sometimes I think... that I should have just died."

Fang Chang was silent for a while.

"Sorry to have brought up such a sad memory."

Although he wanted to sympathize with the girl in front of him, well, how should he put it?

Disabled, deeply indebted, and seemingly an orphan too...

It just felt like a bit too much.

"There's no need for your sympathy," the girl said with a twisted smirk, tapping his cup with her index finger, "If you really feel sorry, just have a drink with me."

...

The slums.

Old White and two players followed the woman into Black's house.

The place wasn't opulent, but it was much better compared to the shacks in the slums.

There were empty bottles crammed next to the shoe cabinet at the entryway, and a cardboard box on the floor exposed recycled bullet casings.

"My name is Mary, what's yours?"

"Old White," he replied, giving a glance to the Perception-affiliated Kill dagger to check the second floor.

Dog Brother moved next to the adjacent storeroom, according to someone's testimony, and found a locked safe in a moldy ammunition box.

Also according to someone's testimony, it contained unspent earnest money.

"Old... White? That's quite a rare name."

The woman was surprised but didn't say much else.

She took a candle from the shelf, lit it on an aluminum tray and brought it over to the low wooden table in the living room, adding some dim light to the dark house.

Unlike inside the giant walls, the slums had no electricity; those who could afford it used candles or kerosene lamps for lighting, and most people just went to sleep as soon as it got dark.

After all, there were no guards here, and nearby gangs only cared to prevent trouble at their doorsteps, not to check the name of every corpse.

This was truly the Land Without a Master, and those living here were like wild weeds, regrowing with each breeze.

The numbers killed by murder and accidents paled in comparison to those who froze or starved to death each year, or those lost while scavenging in the Wasteland.

Sitting on the couch, Mary looked at the sitting Old White across from her, seemingly hesitating on how to start a conversation.

Old White didn't waste time, turned on the VM's translation function, connected his earpiece, and then spoke.

"Your friend accepted a job he shouldn't have."

"Is he still alive?"

"He's alive, but he'll probably spend the rest of his life in jail."

"Jail?"

A flicker of confusion crossed the woman's eyes, but she didn't dwell on the matter.

It was clear she didn't particularly care about Black's ultimate fate.

The man would occasionally bring home some money, but he never spent much on her.

If she lost this meal ticket, she would need to quickly plan for tomorrow.

This wasn't uncommon in the slums; not everyone could muster the courage to face hell directly. Depending on the strong was also an option.

"Go ahead and ask any questions."

She crossed her legs and leaned back on the worn-out sofa, looking at Old White sitting across from her.

Old White didn't beat around the bush and placed the hundred-value chip next to the candle.

"What did he tell you before he left?"

Mary pinched the chip between two fingers and parted her red lips.

"He said we were going to get rich, that a generous patron had given him a hefty sum as an advance payment. He also said that he had deposited the money in the bank and would take me to live inside the giant walls once the job was done."

"When she said this, there was no longing in her eyes; after all, she had heard those words so many times that her ears could have developed calluses."

"The guy simply couldn't save money, and he absolutely couldn't stand life in the city."

"However, the man in front of her now seemed to present an opportunity for a better life."

"Did he mention who the client was?" Old White continued to ask.

"A man named Bit, an old acquaintance of his, living in an apartment on 71st Street in Giant Stone City. The rent there isn't cheap, I heard it's 2,000 chips a month." As Mary said this, a hint of envy appeared in her eyes.

"Have you met this Bit?"

"Of course, he's nothing like the crude Black; he is a polite man, not only well-mannered but also with a clear and clean gaze, known to do business for some big shot in the city. If only that guy could learn from him, then we wouldn't have to live in a sewage drain."

Mary could not help but complain, while Old White silently noted this clue.

It seemed that Black hadn't entirely told the truth.

He and this Bit were not mere acquaintances, nor had they met at the Pirate Bay Tavern.

Besides, Old White sent a message to Fang Chang in the city, asking him to check out the apartment on 71st Street.

However, what was unexpected was that Fang Chang, the bastard, didn't reply to his message?

It doesn't look like he logged off...

Old White's expression turned somewhat strange.

After waiting a while, he guessed Fang Chang must be occupied with something, so he sent the message to another team member who was still online.

The reply came quickly this time.

[Kidney Fighter: Received! I'm heading there now!]

[Old White: First confirm the target location and be careful not to startle the snake by beating the grass.]

[Kidney Fighter: Understood!]

He hoped he truly understood.

Pulling his index finger back from the screen, Old White looked at the woman sitting across from the candlelight.

"…Do you know what kind of business Bit is involved in?"

"He seemed to have mentioned…" Placing her index finger against her chin, Mary pondered for a while, "Weapons? I remember he said the farmers in the south need heavy machine guns to deal with the tough-skinned mutants, and large-caliber weapons are very popular there."

A look of surprise appeared in Old White's eyes.

Were they attacked by arms dealers?

That was the least likely possibility.

"…Could it be Huge Rock Military Industry?"

Kill Dagger, coming down from the second floor, happened to overhear.

Looking at the translation on VM, he exchanged glances with Dog Brother, who was just stepping out from the next door.

"This is serious… but, logically, it doesn't make sense," mumbled Dog Brother, confused, "I heard that the New Alliance made concessions in their negotiations with Giant Stone City over arms deals, didn't they?"

Kill Dagger subtly nodded.

"…I heard so too."

The New Alliance's weapons no longer entered the market of Giant Stone City, while City of Dawn didn't ban weapons from Giant Stone City.

In exchange, Giant Stone City opened other market areas and mutually provided tariff concessions with City of Dawn.

Anyone would have a reason to hold a grudge against them, except the arms dealers of Giant Stone City.

He couldn't help thinking that it would be great if Brother Fang Chang were here.

That guy's convoluted ways of thinking could definitely produce an array of skewed theories.

"…Who is that big shot? Huge Rock Military Industry?" Old White didn't interrupt but kept questioning the woman in front of him.

Mary looked perplexed.

"I don't know… maybe?"

Time ticked away second by second, and before I knew it, a part of the candle had burned away.

According to the information listed on the VM, Old White asked many more questions, and it had gotten completely dark outside the window.

"…I've already understood the basic situation, thank you for your cooperation," Old White touched the VM, turning off the faint light of the screen.

"Is it over already?" Mary's expression was slightly disappointed.

Old White nodded.

"Yes, if needed, I'll contact you again."

Not willing to give up just yet, she didn't get up to see him out. Instead, her gaze drifted towards the window.

"You see, it's already dark outside, and after seven o'clock, entering the city requires double the entrance tax… If you don't mind, you could stay here for the night and leave when it's light."

Her voice seemed to carry a certain hint or perhaps an invitation.

Old White was slightly stunned.

This game…

Is it really suitable for all ages?

His intuition told him that, at this point, choosing yes or no wouldn't affect the game's later plot.

Just like the choices he had made in "Witcher 3."

But…

Would there be a black screen skip here?

At that moment, a knock on the door from outside broke the suddenly suggestive atmosphere in the living room.

"…It's probably that bastard friend of mine again; I'll go check."

Hearing the noise outside, Mary muttered and got up from the sofa.

Then, she suddenly noticed Old White sitting on the sofa and said in a slightly embarrassed, quiet voice.

"…Uh, could you please keep quiet?"

Though Black probably wouldn't be coming back, if she couldn't leave here immediately, she still had to preserve some dignity.

This would also make it easier for her to find another place.

Old White nodded in understanding, gave a look to his teammates not far away, signaling them to step aside.

Mary breathed a sigh of relief, twisting her graceful body, and walked reluctantly to the door.

The sound of the door handle turning was heard, then the door creaked open, appearing very quiet in the flickering candlelight.

Voices could be heard from the doorway, but they were not very clear.

Old White took a deep breath, calming himself down.

But just then, a loud "bang" made him reflexively leap up from the sofa while gripping the submachine gun hidden under his clothes.

The gunfire was not just one shot.

When he reached the doorway, Mary was already lying in a pool of blood, her body riddled with bullet holes, the entrance blood-soaked.

The two men standing by the door were stunned, clearly not expecting someone else to be in the room.

The man holding the PU-9 submachine gun immediately aimed the smoking muzzle at Old White.

However, Old White was quicker, his thrown dagger piercing directly through the man's forehead.

The huge kinetic force raised the muzzle, and a burst of shots scattered across the ceiling.

Old White took a quick step forward, grabbing both the dead man with the dagger in his head and the one still alive, pulling them into the room and kicking the door closed.

The corridor was pitch black, the floor sticky with blood.

The man whose neck was seized was thoroughly terrified, his shaking voice trembling.

"Don't, don't kill me… I was just following orders. If I had known you were still alive, I definitely wouldn't have meddled.",

He clearly mistook Old White for Black.

Hearing the gunfire, Kill Dagger and Dog Brother also rushed out from the room, their faces filled with astonishment upon seeing the two bodies on the ground.

"What's going on?!"

"Old White, are you okay?"

Why did they suddenly start fighting?

"It's nothing."

Old White pinned the man to the ground, aiming the submachine gun at the back of his head.

"You, you're not Black?" The man's voice trembled as he pleaded, his words incoherent, "Don't... don't kill me, please. It's too dark at the door, I didn't see anything."

"Who sent you?" Old White asked sternly.

The man spoke shakily.

"Our boss... he said, an Awakener living on our street messed things up and offended someone we shouldn't have. He sent us here to clean up..."

The street outside was silent.

Every household had their doors and windows locked, and not a soul came out to watch the commotion.

Old White noticed the tattoo on the man's neck he was pressing down.

The design resembled a dagger.

He didn't care about any gangs, and he certainly didn't take the Dagger Gang to heart.

He had killed at least a three-digit number of more barbaric and vicious Looters in West State City.

What genuinely surprised him was that huge military group's dominance over the entire city...

Both inside and outside of the giant wall.

Every part seemed to revolve around a core hidden beneath the surface.

Those people could manipulate lives like chess pieces, dictating the fate of individuals and even groups at will.

And they did it without any concealment.

Old White suddenly realized that perhaps there was no real sense of order here.

Or perhaps civilization.

The lights inside the giant wall were bright. Perhaps it was even darker than the Wasteland outside...

Hearing no response from behind him, the man might have misunderstood, thinking the person behind him was weighing whether it was worth offending the Dagger Gang for a woman.

Thinking this, he lowered his voice smartly.

"… friend, the lighting here is poor; I didn't see your face. If you let me go, I'll say the unlucky guy who shot at you was stabbed by that woman... Our boss won't interfere with this."

"… But if both of us end up accounted for here, this won't just end like that."

Old White didn't quite understand the first part, but he understood the latter.

He chuckled.

"Wow... being threatened."

Old White grabbed the man, turned his face toward himself, and said with a smile.

"Now you can see clearly."

The man's face turned pale, his eyes filled with terror.

Just as he thought he was about to be executed, he was thrown to the ground.

"It's time to withdraw."

Old White did not look at the man again.

He made a sign to his teammate and walked out of the blood-stench-filled building.

At that moment, his VM on his arm flickered.

[Kidney Fighter: I've reached the destination but the apartment is cordoned off by security... there's a big crowd, they say there's been a murder.]

Old White wasn't particularly surprised and typed back a message.

[People are probably dead already; come back, and we'll meet at the save point later.]

[Kidney Fighter: OK]

Glancing at the icon of Brother Fang Chang, who hadn't yet responded, Old White couldn't help but worry.

He'd ask offline later.

…

After Old White and his group left, inside Black's home.

The man who unexpectedly survived struggled to his feet from the ground.

He felt that aside from his pants, which were warm, everything else on him was cold.

"Damn it..."

He cursed, channeling his fear into a dirty word, and limped towards the door.

The door opened.

A cool breeze touched his face.

For a moment, he felt good to be alive.

Right then, he caught sight of a group of people.

Seeing the leader of that group, a look of surprise flashed in the man's eyes, and he promptly put on an ingratiating smile, hurrying forward.

"… Lord West, what brings you here?"

The man before him was the boss's right-hand man and also the head of this street.

West glanced at the door behind him, his brow furrowing.

"What happened?"

The man immediately recounted the recent events truthfully, even embellishing a bit.

West listened quietly, then suddenly asked.

"Do you remember what that man looked like?"

"I remember! Of course, I remember!"

The man nodded eagerly, excitement flashing in his eyes, and said fiercely, "I'd recognize that face even if it were burnt to ashes. Just let me see him again, and I could definitely identify him!"

West nodded, glanced at his subordinates beside him, then turned and left.

The peaceful night was shattered by a gunshot.

Not long after, Black's house caught fire, engulfing three bodies.

Meanwhile...

The city hall in the outer city.

The conference room was brightly lit.

Duron was animatedly explaining his genius plan involving a two-billion chip loan to his staff.

Deputy Director Jaeger looked puzzled.

He didn't understand what had gotten into the man before him, nor did he know what the Ground Squirrels had fed the guy.

However, he couldn't find any immediate fault in the plan.

Such a thing had never happened before.

Sitting at the table, the bank president, Melvin, continually furrowed and then relaxed his brows.

He harbored doubts but couldn't overlook the enticing opportunity.

A loan of two billion chips, although not without risks, was far safer than lending money to merchants and mercenaries.

After a long while, he nodded.

"… Although there has never been a precedent."

"It does seem like a good idea."

Chapter 355: Is There a Possibility That You Actually Used the Server's Computing Power for Free?

Sanctuary B4 Layer of Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang, seated on the sofa in the browsing room, was flipping through the intelligence Xiao Qi had helped compile on his laptop.

Based on the information gathered by the players, he had all but confirmed that last night's arson and the force surrounding the city hall in broad daylight were orchestrated by Giant Stone City's largest food supplier—Vijia Commerce.

The photos and recorded content captured by Fang Chang would serve as pivotal evidence.

When to play this card, however, required careful consideration of timing.

The radio and broadcasting stations of Giant Stone City would not publicize these matters, and doing so now would not garner much sympathy for the New Alliance.

At this critical juncture, even if Duron knew that Vijia Commerce had played him, inciting those residents to surround the city hall, he would likely say nothing.

After all, they had a common threat to confront.

But after the friendly agreement was signed, the situation would be different.

Once the two billion chips were deposited, the relationship between the New Alliance and both the civilian and official sectors of Giant Stone City would mend with the surge of job opportunities, and the New Alliance would become an esteemed guest of Stone City Hall; anyone who destroyed this relationship would be shunned.

Chu Guang would choose a less sensitive time to set up a branch of the New Alliance's newspaper in Giant Stone City and then publish those tidbits as the headline story.

By then, he could smoothly have the ambassador throw a fit, logically exclude Vijia Commerce from the procurement list, and none of Giant Stone City's powers would object.

After all, Vijia Commerce was merely a stick stirring the pot in the overall situation—not worth too much of Chu Guang's attention; leaving it to the NPC and players to resolve would be enough.

What truly concerned Chu Guang was that Huge Rock Military Industry.

Even though it hadn't been involved in the negotiations from the start, and had not even shown face, that City Hall Chief Duron prioritized its interests above all.

All the gears seemed to revolve around it.

Everything else was negotiable.

But when it came to matters involving Huge Rock Military Industry and the city lord, there was absolutely no room for negotiation.

The so-called big shots in the Outer City, whether they were the chiefs of City Hall, the bank president, business tycoons, big factory owners, or the gang leaders in the slums, meant nothing before that military industrial complex.

They were like screws and gears around an engine, being swept along by an enormous force.

The only piece of intelligence Chu Guang had about that military group was that it seemed its chairman was called Yibers.

Public information about that man was scarce; he almost never appeared in public and was known only as a guest of honor of the city lord. Although he lived in the Outer City, even the nobles of the Inner City respected his power.

"They possess a certain serum that can induce awakening... It's called Dragon Blood."

"Although the chances of awakening are higher than those made by Heya, the effects are more domineering, and the basic adverse reactions could cause vomiting or diarrhea, severe adverse reactions might even lead to disability."

"Besides that, they also have the technological capability to produce bionic prosthetics autonomously..."

Chu Guang closed his eyes, meditating and pondering in quietude.

All his plans, up to this point, had only encountered one variable.

That was the mastermind behind the attack on the New Alliance envoy—unexpectedly, it was Huge Rock Military Industry.

In his view, he had already conceded a significant share of the cake to them.

Anybody could have reason to oppose that friendly cooperation agreement, except Huge Rock Military Industry had no substantial interest.

Unless...

Their perception of interest differed from his own understanding.

Chu Guang opened his eyes and murmured contemplatively.

"...A probe?"

Just then, a call suddenly came in.

He pressed the accept button and picked up the headset from the table to wear.

On the other end of the line was Luka.

His voice carried obvious excitement but also a hint of indecision.

"...They've agreed to our proposal but have made an additional condition."

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow.

"What condition?"

On the other end of the communication channel, Luka continued.

"...It's from City Hall, they're requesting that we provide a procurement list in advance when using the loan and only after approval will they disburse the funds."

"Is that all?" Chu Guang's brow relaxed slightly, and he leaned back on the sofa, laughing as he said, "No problem, let them add it in."

Seeing Manager Chu Guang agree so readily, Luka hesitated and then asked.

"...But is this really okay?"

Without a second thought, Chu Guang said.

"Why wouldn't it be okay? We're not doing anything shady."

Bulk purchases couldn't possibly be stocked on the shelves of a store; they would obviously first place orders with factories.

When the orders are placed, if City Hall doesn't sign off, the factories can't get the money from the bank, and they will be the ones to ultimately incur the loss.

Chu Guang knew what Stone City Hall was worried about; they feared he would misuse the funds.

For example, buying up all the nutritional paste in town in one go, or outright purchasing those bankrupt factories.

But if they thought he would do that, then their vision was simply too limited.

Seeing Luka still seemed to have reservations, Chu Guang, intent on nurturing him, continued.

"Great endeavors are seldom achieved through sneaky tricks. Winning once or twice may work with underhanded tactics, but if we want to keep winning, we must use as many overt strategies as possible."

"When we complete the second step of our plan, the vested interests in Giant Stone City's wealth will gradually become dependent on us."

"And the third step?" Luka, curious, asked the question he'd always wanted to ask but never had.

Regarding this last step, Chu Guang had certainly considered it.

And that was a long time ago, when the New Alliance and City of Dawn were just established.

"The third step is their residents."

Luka was slightly stunned.

"Residents?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, whether it's the hundreds of thousands inside the giant wall or the tens of thousands outside. Those survivors who have been overlooked for a long time, we'll let them have a good time for a while, we'll take them to face the darkness when problems come to light, we'll unite them, break down the invisible giant wall, and permanently end the chaos in the south of the River Valley."

Even though production methods had advanced to the point where many tasks no longer required humans, even convenient "production" of people through genetic and mechanical modification of the human body,
the main body of civilization was still people.

"...I hope you can remember and tell the people around you that the Human Revival United Front is not a survivor settlement, nor a company or an army."

"We are an alliance, one born from the ruins."

"At the same time, it is an alliance belonging to all survivors."

...

Official forum.

Today, as always, was bustling.

As the construction of Dawn City was in full swing, the restless Death Legion and Skeleton Corps continued to march eastward, reaching the nearby Tian. Water City.

The stationed Snake Tribe had already retreated, but a small number of Looter deserters remained in the area, engaging in street fights with the slaves who took advantage of the chaos to escape.

With the support of aerial firepower from the Goblin Corps, the Death Legion and Skeleton Corps effortlessly dissolved the Looter's resistance.

Out of fear that the Chewing Bone Tribe might return and of Looter retaliation, the local survivors expressed their desire to accompany these conquerors who had defeated the Looters.

Edge Shoveling and the Escaping Moles in the canyon reported the local situation to the quartermaster NPC, and soon received tasks to set up temporary relief stations and escort survivors to West State City.

It is expected that over ten thousand survivors will arrive in Dawn City within the next month.

The originally just enough housing was suddenly not so sufficient anymore.

Edge Shoveling posted photos of the local survivors on the forum, with their LD-47 and scarves looking very much like summer interns in SyrL.

Some mischievous Mole even photoshopped the image, blurring the faces and adding a line to the photo — [Skeleton Corps hiring, 50,000 per day, no different from the usual chicken dinner, if interested, PM, working as happy as playing chicken!]

Quit smoking: "6666!"

Tail: "Whoa! Count Tail in too! (｀∀´)Ψ"

Edge Shoveling: "Damn it! You blurred my face and that's fine, but why did you hang your corps' emblem up there??"

Debt Giant Eye: "Hahaha, this damn Mole is too bad! (Funny)"

Rebellion Teen: "50,000 a day is decent, no clue, where do I sign up?"

Dinosaur Warrior: "I don't want the pay, just give me a helmet, please. T.T"

"..."

Ever since the northern expedition victory and the new map opened, there have been more and more tasks to do.

Aside from armies battling Looters and hunter players pursuing large Variants, players keen on trading were also busy, running their routes with helmets at night and sharing anecdotes from their journeys on the forum during the day.

The northern expedition yielded a lot of cheap war spoils, which were of little interest to the New Alliance, but for those small survivor settlements without industrial capabilities, these were treasures.

Carrying war spoils collected from other players, commercial teams started traveling far to the east along the plains, selling these "tools of civilization" to the needy survivor settlements.

Due to the eastward collapse of the Snake Tribe, the demand for weapons in the Eastern Provinces surged, with many survivor settlements willing to exchange food, ores, or other treasures for these items.

More tradeable survivor settlements appeared on the map, with not only players interacting, but the official forum also updating in real time with information about those settlements.

And because of this, many players complained in small groups that the dog planners were too lazy.

A completed map without even a simple introduction was provided, and even the descriptions of survivor settlements were just copied and pasted from player posts.

So lazy—it's outrageous!

Of course, the gameplay of trading and army combat was primarily aimed at higher-level hardcore players.

Few people could survive alone in the wasteland where language barriers exist, far from save points, out of reach of the supply chain and communication range, for a week.

Whether it's for war or commerce, moving in groups is the only option.

However, those who possess the capital, business acumen, and organizational talent are indeed in the minority.

For most players, daily life still revolves around conventional tasks within the framework of the Game System.

Since the silver coin trading platform reopened, brick-moving has become a happy thing.

The Strength Type, who can work like they have two arms, with 200% efficiency in moving bricks, immediately became the top choice for countless burdened players, reclaiming the throne of the hot topic of the version.

One silver coin could be exchanged for thirty or forty bucks, and there were big buyers purchasing daily.

Wasn't this much better than real-life brick moving!

The only pity was that there were too few helmets.

The most infuriating was that the doggy operators also engaged in "hunger marketing," releasing the last two helmets three days prior, stopping the issuance of beta access cards at 4500.

No one knew who those two lucky dogs were; they didn't even come to the forum to show off!

Absolutely hateful!

In addition to sharing experiences in trading and brick moving, many players working on the Dawn City worksite also shared the recent progress of construction.

Thanks to the collective efforts of players and NPCs, they had dug out the framework of the entire drainage system for the survivor settlement according to the new construction plan.

The planned Dawn City could accommodate at least a hundred thousand permanent residents.

If everything went smoothly, they could finish this work before the rainy season.

Spare people under the knife: "...That NPC who came from Camp 101 was pretty awesome. That old man helped us redesign the sewage construction plan. I pondered over the construction drawing for a long time and couldn't find a single fault! Especially compared to the one I did before, which seemed flawed no matter how I looked at it."

"Ah, I never thought that after years of civil engineering, I'd get schooled in the game, it's just absurd!"

Night Ten, "Is there a possibility that you actually mooched off the operator's server power and coincidentally solved a real-world problem that hadn't been resolved? (¬‿¬)"

Spare people under the knife, "Er, I've been thinking, is this really a problem that computational power can solve?"

Elena, "The New Alliance leads the world in science and technology! (¬‿¬)"

Gnome King Riches, "Speaking of which, why has Night Ten been on the forum every day these past few days? (¬‿¬)"

There are actually mosquitoes in WC, "What else could it be, a free stint in jail. (smirk)"

Night Ten, "Piss off, I was heroically sacrificed! (anger)"

Makabazi, "Hahahaha, dying of laughter!"

Night Ten, "@#%&%!"

After being mocked by the forum again, Ye Wei rolled his eyes, closed the web page, and switched over to the group chat.

Today was his last day "in jail"; he'd be able to log back on tonight.

During these three days, a lot had happened both inside and outside the Game.

In the game, Fang Chang and the others had gone to Giant Stone City to participate in border and trade negotiations with the New Alliance.

As for real-life events, there were even more.

Aside from a succession of major news stories, a ton of things had happened just around him.

First off, Niubi Company was officially registered, solving the issue of large-scale Silver Coin transactions.

Then there was Ye Wei himself.

The apartment he bought by the river, the paperwork came through: a 126-square-meter medium-sized unit with a large living room window and balcony overlooking the river, furnished and fully equipped, all paid in full for 5 million.

He still remembered the dumbfounded expressions on the agent's and the landlord's faces when he made the payment.

Since it was a nearly new second-hand property, he hired cleaners and bought some clothes and bedding from a shopping mall. He moved in without even bringing his luggage.

Today was the weekend and he got up early, lounging on the living room sofa, browsing forums and checking messages in the group chat.

Normally, at this time, Old White and Fang Chang would have logged off, but today they took a while longer, not popping up until noon.

In the Niubi group chat.

As soon as Old White appeared, he called out.

"Fang Chang, where the hell did you go? Why didn't you reply to me in the game?"

Killer Dagger, "And you didn't return to the save point!"

All the good names were taken by dogs, "Fess up, did you go do something naughty?"

These two were newcomers who had recently been added to the group.

Along with the Kidney Fighter and other players from the Burning Corps, all who had joined the group during the previous expansion.

Quit smoking, "What? Fang Chang went off to do something shady? Like what? Tell us!"

There are actually mosquitoes in WC, "Hahaha, now that you mention it, I'm all excited! (smirk)"

Of course, it wasn't just Mosquito who got excited. The whole group exploded in a frenzy of speculation.

That included Ye Wei, who also joined in the ribbing with a message.

As things got more and more ridiculous, Fang Chang, who was lurking, probably couldn't hold back any longer and finally bubbled up in the group.

"F*ck, I just logged off to smoke a cig. What the hell are you guys blabbering about?"

Old White, "A cigarette after the deed?! (smirk)"

Fang Chang, "Scram, vulgar!"

There are actually mosquitoes in WC, "I heard your last location was the Night Queen Bar. Come clean, did you go there to do something naughty! (smirk)"

The flood of messages was overwhelming.

Fang Chang simply pretended not to see them and started talking shop in the group.

"...Enough chit-chat, this time I mainly validated three conjectures about 'Wasteland OL'."

"One is about the trigger mechanism for hidden quests. According to what the faction currently needs, actively gathering related information has a certain probability to trigger hidden quests."

"For example, the side quest I am currently on, collecting information about the warehouse district arson case and the organizers of the protest, was triggered by following a key target."

Old White, "Is the quest reward generous?"

Fang Chang, "It's higher than standard quests, especially the regional reputation reward."

Pick up trash 99 level, "What about the second conjecture?"

Fang Chang, "...Regarding bionics, although you can buy some basic bionic prosthetics at Giant Stone City's weapon shops, their performance is quite lousy, and their work efficiency is even worse than the original limbs."

"I saw the guard next to that NPC named List, his installed parts were clearly much more powerful. I was thinking, maybe Giant Stone City has a place akin to a black market where you can buy equipment not available on the market."

There are actually mosquitoes in WC, "Did you find where that black market is? (curious)"

Fang Chang, "Hmm, there's a private clinic in the outer city. A new NPC I met gave me a business card, telling me to go see someone with some chips. He could get me some 'good stuff' that's not easy to come by. They say not only Giant Rock Military Industry-made bionics but also androids, and other items not for public sale. I plan to check it out tomorrow."

As soon as this message was sent, the group exploded.

Giant Rock Military Industry-made bionics were one thing, but androids too.

That was seriously amazing!

Quit smoking, "Holy shit, awesome!"

Old White, "6666!"

Tomato Fried Eggs, "Such a major update without an announcement, doesn't seem like Ah Guang's style. (surprised)"

There are actually mosquitoes in WC, "Maybe Ah Guang hasn't finished this part of the update, and it got discovered early. You're done for, wait for the ban. (smirk)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn! Be honest, did you sell your arse to the planner?"

Fang Chang: "Scram, it's bad enough you're blackening my name, would Brother Guang even do something like that! (Angry) (Angry)"

As Ye Wei looked at the stream of messages on his phone screen, he couldn't help feeling a mix of emotions.

For a moment, he didn't know whether to admire the game's realism, which even had something like the black market, or to admire Brother Fang Chang's awesomeness for even finding such a thing.

"Right, weren't there supposed to be three guesses? What's the third one?"

Seeing this message, the other members of the chat group immediately came to the same realization.

Indeed.

They had only heard the second piece of gossip.

What about the third?

Faced with the follow-up questions from the group members, this time Fang Chang fell silent.

Just when Ye Wei thought he was organizing his thoughts, a message suddenly popped out.

Fang Chang: "Ah... I'm ashamed to say, I just realized that it might be better to leave this topic for another time."

Night Ten: "???"

What does 'another time' mean?

Is this even something a person does?

However, this time, no matter how everyone mentioned him, Fang Chang would no longer pop up.

Hating people who only tell half a story more than anything, Ye Wei felt like a million ants were crawling inside him and couldn't help but flip through his contacts, wanting to make a call right there and then to get the full story.

Just then, a WeChat message popped up at the top of his phone screen.

Ye Wei instinctively clicked on it and saw that it was from his younger sister.

Jiujiu loves pineapple: "Big bro, I've finished my exams!!"

Finished exams?

Ye Wei was stunned for a moment, glanced at the date, and only then realized that today was June 9th.

Damn!

With so much having happened these past few days, he had completely forgotten about his little sister's high school exams!

Remembering the promise he had made, Ye Wei immediately opened up the online shopping app and paid for the smartphone he had previously placed in the shopping cart.

It was now a couple of hundred cheaper than just a few months ago.

But at that moment, Ye Wei suddenly remembered a news article he had read before.

If he waited another two months, couldn't he buy a phone with an even more amazing battery life?

Never mind... it's bought now.

If necessary, he could simply replace it later.

Looking at the successful payment screen, Ye Wei shook his head, closed the shopping app, switched back to WeChat, and replied to his little sister.

"How did the exams go?"

Jiujiu loves pineapple: "Hehe, I nailed it! (Proud)"

'Nailed it' probably means there were no issues.

A relieved smile spread across Ye Wei's face – this was the best news he had heard all day.

He was just about to tell her about the phone.

However, his recent lack of practice with typing meant that he was only halfway through typing his response when a barrage of messages came in dinging.

"By the way, big bro, since I'm on holiday and have nothing to do, why don't I come over to Jiang City to hang out with you!"

"I also want to look around nearby to see if there's any summer job I can do! (Proud)"

"What do you think about working in a milk tea shop? (Expectant)"

Ye Wei couldn't help but laugh as he typed his response.

"You little rascal, why do you need a summer job? Just enjoy your holiday! You won't have it this easy in the future!"

Jiujiu loves pineapple: "This is called accumulating life experience! What do you know, dumbass!"

"Plus, I'm already an adult, what's with calling me little rascal, how old are you, grandpa? (Rolling eyes)"

Ye Wei replied: "I'm not going to argue with you. Oh right, your desired university is also in Jiang City, right? You might as well bring your luggage along, you can temporarily store it at my place."

Jiujiu loves pineapple: "At your place? You sure you have enough space? (Skeptical)"

Seeing this message, a smile unconsciously appeared on Ye Wei's face.

Come to think of it, in the busy past few days, he hadn't yet told his family about the apartment he bought.

He suddenly began to look forward to the expression on his little sister's face...

"Just bring it over, and I'll surprise you when you get here."

Jiujiu loves pineapple: "Really? Well, then I'll really bring it!"

"By the way, since we're talking surprises, I have one for you too!"

"Hehe, just wait and see! (Mischievous)"

Ye Wei froze for a moment, his expression suddenly turning strange.

He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but when he saw the word 'surprise', he didn't feel any anticipation; instead, he had a bad feeling.

Hopefully, it was just in his head.

After all, real life isn't a game.

He shouldn't have such high perception anyway...

Chapter 356: You provide the technology, we provide the manpower, this is of course a win-win situation.

5 p.m.

Fang Changping lay on the bed, put on his helmet, and re-entered the game. When he opened his eyes again, he was met with a concrete gray ceiling.

Below him was a worn single bed.

He shifted his heavy head and a faint scent wafted from the squished pillow into his nose. The only drawback was the mix of machine oil in it.

He turned his face and saw the girl sitting beside the bed.

She was holding a screwdriver, tinkering with the parts of her left arm, unsure if she was changing the battery or the oil.

This game was always strangely realistic in unexpected places.

"You awake?" Dolly glanced at him as she noticed the movement on the bed.

Right now, she wore a washed-out sleeveless T-shirt. In the light of dawn shining through the window, he could vaguely see her fair skin, which made Fang Chang unsure where to rest his gaze.

"Uh-huh."

Seeing the man's embarrassment, Dolly mischievously chuckled and teased, "You were sleeping so deeply, shouting wouldn't wake you."

Fang Chang touched his nose, a bit embarrassed.

"Actually, I usually... don't handle liquor like this. Let's drink again next time."

Dolly laughed. "It's okay, I'm not making fun of you."

Fang Chang: "..."

Damn!

That was the annoying part of this cursed game.

Drinking too much caused frequent disconnections; one blackout and it crashed, without a way to reconnect.

He couldn't remember what had happened last night, only recalled seeing something in the pitch dark, yet seeing nothing.

Later, failing to log in, he went to the balcony to smoke and ended up feuding online with fellow group members.

Thinking about how he had been unconscious all night...

Fang Chang's expression subtly changed, and he instinctively reached for his belt.

It wasn't that he was worried the girl had done something to him; was he someone that feared taking a loss?

It's mainly the fear of missing a kidney...

Watching Fang Chang fumbling around his waist, Dolly teased him and then continued, "Don't worry, I didn't touch your stuff."

Of course, Fang Chang wouldn't say what he was actually searching for. He coughed dryly to shift the subject. "Where are we?"

"My place."

Though he expected it, a hint of surprise still surfaced in Fang Chang's eyes.

Misunderstanding the meaning in his eyes, Dolly casually said, "Is it too shabby?"

Fang Chang glanced around. The less than 15 square meter single room was stuffed with many things.

There were not many pretty clothes, and mechanical parts and tooling equipment were placed beside pots and jars in the corner. "Do you need a bathroom, too? You might have to go outside for that," Dolly said as she saw him looking around.

Fang Chang shook his head.

"No... actually, by Wasteland standards, this place isn't bad."

The space within the giant barrier was limited, and definitely couldn't compare with the sparsely populated "North Suburb."

A proud smile tugged at the corners of Dolly's mouth. "Exactly, it shelters from the wind and rain, doesn't require squeezing with others, and the rent is only 52 chips a month. I really like it here. When I have time, I want to get a succulent and put it by the window."

Listening to her chatter, Fang Chang felt his hearing wasn't quite up to the task, but he still made an educated guess based on his experience communicating with international friends. "Succulent?"

"Yeah, a plant with really thick leaves, said to absorb radiation," Dolly spoke with conviction as if she truly believed it.

The matter of absorbing radiation...

Fang Chang looked a bit dubiously.

It wasn't that he wanted to argue; he truly doubted such a capability. If that plant really could do that, why not just plant a couple next to the reactor?

But then again, in Wasteland OL, he hardly ever considered radiation. According to the official website settings, although residual radiation was an issue, it wasn't the main problem here.

Compared to slime molds, looters, mutants... there were many things far deadlier than radiation.

While Fang Chang was lost in his thoughts, the girl curiously looked at him.

"You don't believe it?"

Fang Chang gently shook his head.

"No... actually, we have the same saying where I'm from."

"Oh, seems like you don't believe it," Dolly remarked and then shifted her gaze away, continuing to work on almost completing the mechanical arm.

Watching the green short-haired profile, a sudden compassion stirred within Fang Chang.

He didn't know where this emotion came from.

Although he enjoyed the game just as much, being a professional player, he always regarded NPCs as mere data and rarely felt affection for any character.

That was probably the biggest difference between him and people like Old White and Edge.

His adam's apple bobbed, and almost impulsively, Fang Chang spoke, "Have you ever thought about... living in a different environment?"

"Change the environment? Isn't it all the same?" she said nonchalantly, discarding the screwdriver in her hand, her profile and voice carrying a maturity that didn't match her age.

Fang Chang didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"Don't you have any dreams? Like… something you want to do?"

"Something I want to do?" Dolly pondered seriously for a moment and said, "Does opening a bar count?"

"…I thought you would say you'd like to open a coffee shop or a flower shop."

"Coffee shop? Flower shop? Are there such shops in Giant Stone City?" Dolly was confused.

"No, it's just that back in my hometown, I always hear drunk girls saying that… Can you come with me later to find that doctor who sells bionic prosthetics?" Fang Chang sighed, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a token.

However, just as he spoke, he realized that the last token in his pocket was white, with a big "1" written on its face value, and his expression turned awkward.

Watching the drastic change in his expression, Dolly couldn't help but chuckle.

Reaching out, she took the token and flicked it with her thumb, tossing it into the iron box on the table.

"No problem, I'm free later anyway."

"Considering how gentlemanly you were last night, I'll hang out with you for a bit."

…

City of Dawn.

Shelter No. 404, a narrow single room burst with a hissing sound of air escaping, followed by loud yells.

"Damn, I finally came back to life."

Night Ten, sitting up from the cultivation chamber, picked up the Blue Jacket hanging at the head of the chamber, put it on, hit the communal showers, and then headed to B2 floor's square.

It was peak time for logging in, so by the time he got there, the square was crowded.

Including his acquaintances, Wild Wind, Quit Smoking, and Mosquito were also there.

After greeting everyone in the morning, Night Ten noticed Mosquito looking sneakily and couldn't help but ask curiously,

"What are you up to?"

"Go away, go away, don't interrupt my serious business."

Before Night Ten could roll his eyes, Quit Smoking had already beaten him to the punch with a complaint.

"Man, what serious business could you possibly have?"

"…He's probably squatting for that NPC called Pai, I've heard him mention her before," Wild Wind said expressionlessly, watching Mosquito with a slightly weird look in his eyes.

Although players occasionally got put in the penalty box for hacking, it seemed he was the only one with the same reason?

At least in the friends list, he was the only one.

Seeing Mosquito socially dying again, the surrounding players jumped into the conversation.

"...I remember now! Last time, I heard Tail say that this guy got caught red-handed."

"I heard he leaps at people!"

"And he didn't even touch them!"

"So embarrassing!"

Quit Smoking looked at Mosquito in surprise.

"Holy cow, bro, are you even right in the head?"

Mosquito's face turned the color of liver, and he retorted,

"Buzz off! I was just… trying to figure out what that oil is and how it's made."

Without professional analysis equipment, he could only roughly infer that the bottle of fuel contained some recognizable alkanes and alkenes, but the rest was clear as mud to him.

These days, he had been looking for the NPC called Pai, but the girl seemed to have been scared off by him and never showed up again.

Mosquito couldn't help but regret.

Maybe he should have been a bit more restrained back then.

The topic in the square blew over like a gust of wind and then switched to something else.

Seeing it was getting late, everyone started discussing where to go and level up next.

Night Ten turned to Wild Wind.

"Where are we heading? Meeting up in Giant Stone City?"

Wild Wind glanced at his right hand.

"I need to attach my arm first."

This feeble strength always made him feel like something was missing.

Just then, Night Ten suddenly remembered something crucial.

"Speaking of… don't you have to remove an arm to attach that thing?"

Wild Wind nodded.

"Yeah."

As if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Night Ten gave a weird look at his right hand.

"So what are you going to do with the arm you take off?"

Wild Wind flinched.

He hadn't considered this question.

After being silent for a while, he said with a subtly delicate expression,

"…Maybe I'll bury it somewhere."

…

Floor B4 consultation room.

Chu Guang, sitting in front of the computer, leaned back on the sofa and stretched languidly.

"I finally got it done."

Sitting on the desk, Xiao Qi excitedly raised two thumb-sized thumbs up, cheering him on.

"Master is awesome!"

Chu Guang gave it a tired look.

"Thanks for the compliment, it would be nice if you could help me out a bit more."

Although this little guy could help him convey each order accurately to the right department, some creative tasks were still beyond its capabilities.

Especially in the design of rules.

Chu Guang had read in the history of United Human that during the early Prosperity Epoch, "AI-ism" once flourished on this planet.

Its followers believed that the root cause of problems in the relations of production and distribution systems lay in the ugliness of human nature.

Human happiness inherently required deriving benefits from the suffering of others, and the only solution was to establish a society governed by AI, where artificial intelligence replaced all administrative departments.

However, this movement declined by the middle of the Prosperity Epoch, and historians had given many assessments, some objective views including "insufficient hardware and software conditions" and "extreme prosperity of material goods led people to prefer maintaining the status quo" among others.

Chu Guang had reservations about these perspectives, but he still managed to glean some lessons from historical experience.

That was never to let tools replace thinking, hands replace brains. Never expect a perfect method that could solve all future problems.

Looking at the nearly 5mb text file on the computer screen, Chu Guang's face relaxed.

The newly established Alliance Management Organization consisted of 12 departments, covering fields from production to economy, to transportation, logistics, and resident life.

He had also made detailed designs for the basic strategy and policy routes for each department.

Of course, it wasn't that he made them up out of thin air, nor did he copy the experiences from another world completely.

For example, when establishing the education department, Chu Guang referred more to suggestions from parents, teachers, and students rather than the wild ideas players posted on the forum.

For residents of Wasteland with an average lifespan of only 35 years, many had already lived half their statistically significant life by age 17.

But for players living in peaceful times, this age meant the good days were still ahead, and they had to patiently wait to disable the anti-addiction system.

If a one-size-fits-all approach were taken at this time, adjusting the minimum age for work and mandatory education time to the standards of developed planets, the educational level of the Alliance might improve, but less affluent families could be impoverished by education.

Chu Guang took a moderate approach, gradually raising the minimum age for work and the duration of mandatory education, and allocated some funds to subsidize students with excellent academic performance.

This was what was called a scholarship.

Whether it was adults in night schools or full-time school students, as long as they performed excellently, they could receive a subsidy.

Although this money was not enough to afford them a wealthy life, it was sufficient to help with household expenses.

Education was just one of the many issues he considered, and this long-term investment would need to be evaluated for returns in the future.

Chu Guang still invested the most energy in the industrial department, which was directly related to production.

In other departments, he mostly guided the routes and basic frameworks, but when it came to specific production issues, he even made detailed plans for each stage of production capacity, after consulting experts from various industries.

Although not all problems could be solved by developing the productive forces, at least it could solve 99% of the current issues.

Thanks to the two billion silver coins earmarked for the infrastructure plan and two billion in loan chips, he now could do a lot of things.

"...speaking of which, I still need to draw up a procurement list later."

Chu Guang pinched the bridge of his nose, pondering for a moment before turning to Xiao Qi, who was sitting in the corner of the desk, and instructed.

"Tell Old Charlie for me, ask him to wait for me at two in the afternoon at the Merchant Guild's office."

"Okay, master," seeing the tired expression on Chu Guang's face, Xiao Qi said with a bit of worry, "Although it might sound a bit naggy, do take care of your health."

Chu Guang laughed and rubbed Xiao Qi's head with his index finger, revealing a reassuring smile on his face.

"I will be careful."

At that moment, a gust of wind blew at the doorway of the browsing room.

Watching Chu Guang fiddling with the doll on the table, Pai proudly curled her lips.

"How about it? Do you like the gift I gave you?"

"Thank you for your gift. It's very relaxing and has added a lot of fun to my tedious daily work," Chu Guang joked, "What about the drone I gave you? Do you still like it?"

"It's absolutely fantastic!" Pai nodded in satisfaction, boasting, "I've modified it a bit, and now it flies even faster!"

Chu Guang looked at her with slight surprise, not expecting this young girl to have such a skill.

But his surprise was only momentary.

Unlike "Camp No. 404," which focuses heavily on industry and military, the "Camp 101" guided by Shelter 101 probably allocated all their "skill points" on education and archaeology.

Especially since this guy was not only extraordinarily talented but also used ancient black technology from the pre-war era.

If ability and talent could be quantified, she might be on the same level as Heya from Shelter 401.

"Um..." Looking around, Pai suddenly became a bit shy and whispered, "About Little Fish... have you talked to her?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, I've spoken to her family, and she herself is very willing to continue her education. If you have no objections, I hope to send a few more people to your place for an exchange."

Little Fish was a very sensible kid. Chu Guang remembered that when he mentioned this to her, she thought about it for a moment and then nodded obediently.

He could feel that she was reluctant to leave everyone in the shelter, but he could also see her deep desire for growth and strength within.

She wanted to be able to help everyone more, not just sit at the counter and count money.

The New Alliance's numbers were increasing, and the bank had to consider not only balancing the accounts strictly but also how to utilize the invisible hand to make each silver coin serve its intended purpose.

This involved a lot of knowledge she was unfamiliar with. Although she had summarized some experience from practice, she still needed systematic study.

Including some mathematical methods and knowledge of sociology.

If there were professional guidance, she could avoid some detours.

As for Little Fish's family, although they were initially very worried, upon hearing Chu Guang's promise to ensure her safety, both her parents and her brother were reassured.

The wise and martial Manager always kept his word.

No one in the "North Suburb" doubted this, either NPC or players.

Hearing Chu Guang's words, Pai was so excited she almost jumped up and, patting her chest, she guaranteed,

"Don't worry, I've already discussed this matter with my master, and everyone is very happy. They even told me to bring back more local specialties when I return, hehe... especially chocolate and coffee! Oh, and that meat bun that oozes juice when you bite into it! It's simply delicious!"

Chu Guang said with a smile,

"That's easy, when I go back, I'll send you a truckload of local specialties!"

Chu Guang thought Pai would happily agree.

However, to his surprise, the young girl shook her head solemnly and refused the gift.

"Although this offer is very tempting, we cannot just take advantage of your generosity."

"My master said that reciprocity is the long-term strategy for interacting with others, so we must offer you some help as well," she said with all seriousness.

Chu Guang looked surprised as she continued,

"However, we don't have money, nor do we have spare resources to share with you. It would be great if you could provide a plan."

Hearing this, Chu Guang couldn't help but be delighted as he had been waiting for these very words.

The New Alliance was rich in resources, and the creativity and ingenious ideas from the players were endless, ensuring there would always be a few things to cater to the tastes of these scholars, engineers, and archaeologists.

It didn't matter if they weren't interested in silks or artworks.

There was still a whole lot of delicacies, wasn't there?

Besides the dazzling array of consumer goods, there were research specimens needed by Camp 101 and the shelters behind them.

Even monsters as formidable as the Claw of Death could be procured by his brave little players, provided the silver coins and contribution points were right.

Chu Guang, with a hearty laugh, said,

"That's easy to manage! Although we do not implement a rationing system, we do pay those who labor."

"How about this? Send a few engineers over to our side to help us improve our production methods, and in exchange, we'll give you silver coins!"

"Whatever you like, you don't need to consult me. Just buy it directly from our store with silver coins!"

Pai wrinkled her cute little nose, pondering.

"Um... that does sound good. But... everyone has their jobs to do, and it might be difficult to spare any hands."

"Especially now that the Looter is gone, we plan to move the camp back to the surface, and there's just too much to be busy with."

Every person in the camp had their designated position, and their "score," which dictated their living standards, was determined by their position.

After listening to Pai's concerns, Chu Guang patiently said,

"This is an easy problem to solve. Our people can help you build the camp, supply the materials needed for your daily lives, and even cook for you, which alone would save you a lot of manpower."

"In this way, you could focus more on the things you are good at and interested in, and all you'd need to do is dedicate some of the saved time to us to help us live a better life."

"You can understand this as a kind of... complementing each other's strengths. Tell this to your master; he will surely understand the concept I am trying to convey."

Previously, Camp 101 had also tried to recruit some local survivors, but the cooperation was limited, merely at a menial level.

Chu Guang believed that once the residents of Camp 101 fully understood the situation of the New Alliance, they would definitely see the appeal of his proposal.

Pai touched her chin, appearing to be contemplating, and nodded somewhat understandingly.

She rarely concerned herself with these matters, as what Chu Guang was suggesting was beyond her area of expertise.

However, writing down a full sentence was not a difficult task for her.

"I will pass your suggestion on to the folks at the camp... Oh, right."

Suddenly remembering something, Pai took out a stack of papers filled with dense symbols from her pocket and handed it to Chu Guang.

Chu Guang took it, puzzled, flipping through it. He recognized each character but didn't understand any of it.

"...What is this?"

Pai subtly looked to the side, somewhat embarrassedly.

"It's the ratios of the components of that fuel and the synthesis pathway, although it's nothing particularly amazing... but it did take me some time to figure out."

At this, her nose twitched slightly.

"There was an impolite fellow who underestimated me before, now he should realize how shallow his knowledge was."

It was, after all, an age of showing off and proving oneself. Being underestimated, she naturally couldn't help but want to prove herself.

Though the chemical power engine was considered an antique, given her understanding of mechanics and aerospace, concocting a high-efficiency fuel wasn't a difficult task for her.

Chu Guang looked at the data in his hands, amazed by this unexpected gain.

What surprised him even more was that this young girl had given such valuable information to him without any reservations.

"I... will pass it on to him."

Having Xiao Qi translate it shouldn't be too hard; difficult technical terms could also be handled by Yin Fang.

Pai nodded, satisfied.

However, she soon remembered not to let that impolite fellow get it too easily and added another line.

"Right, don't let him get it too easily either, just show him one page at a time."

With that, Pai spoke assuredly,

"My master said, you can't just copy the answers; you have to work your brain and think about how the answers came about!"

Good grief.

This was really torturous.

Chu Guang smiled wryly and nodded, placing the document in front of Xiao Qi.

"Alright... I promise not to let him get it too easily."

With this promise, Pai finally walked away satisfied.

Watching her joyful figure disappear at the viewing room door, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental.

Compared to dealing with the relationships with Giant Stone City,
interacting with these lovely people indeed made him feel more relaxed and happy.

However, as a manager, he could not base his decisions on personal preferences on who to break off or form ties with; many times, he had to make judgments based on the collective interest.

Suddenly, he found himself missing those "crew members" on the Pioneer.

It had been half a year, and he wondered whether they had achieved their dreams.

Noticing the expression on Chu Guang's face, Xiao Qi, who sat with the document, curiously asked,

"Master, what are you thinking about?"

Chu Guang, retracting his gaze from the door, casually said,

"I'm thinking, that might truly be Utopia."

Except that place was too small.

Smaller even than the shelters behind them, only able to accommodate two to three hundred people.

Compared to the entire Wasteland, such a glimmer was not even a flame...

Chapter 357: Now I'm Really Socially Dead

"Clinic Grey, welcome!"

The sudden voice from the shadows startled Fang Chang, almost making him draw his gun.

Upon closer inspection, the speaker was a mannequin in the window display.

It had a plain face with two red stones for eyes and two wooden slats pasted carelessly for a mouth, resembling an aged puppet hidden in a dark, damp corner.

Standing beside him, Dolly chuckled and joked,

"You're not the first to be startled."

Fang Chang pulled his hand out of his pocket, saying with a blank expression,

"...Has the owner of this clinic never considered that such a sign could scare away his customers?"

"Usually, his customers don't mind this little scare..."

Dolly patted his shoulder and walked ahead, "Come with me."

This inconspicuous alley was located on the edge of the west district of Giant Stone City, far from the busiest districts, yet somewhat close to the industrial area of Giant Stone City.

The waste fumes from the factories made the air here smell terrible. Most of those living here were local workers or poor folks doing simple jobs for the nearby factories.

Following the girl's lead, Fang Chang stepped into the clinic nestled in the dark, narrow alley.

Perhaps because it was daytime, there wasn't much business, and the place looked rather deserted.

Dolly led him straight through the narrow reception hall, to a room hidden down the corridor.

A greasy curtain hung at the entrance of the room, exuding an oil smell that was distinctly uncharacteristic of a clinic.

Fang Chang's expression turned somewhat odd.

"...I thought commodities not circulating in the market would be hidden in more secretive places."

"Isn't this secretive enough?"

Dolly casually retorted and reached out to lift the curtain.

Just as Fang Chang had suspected, the so-called "Black Market" was right here.

What surprised him, though, was that the items you wouldn't find in a normal shop were so blatantly displayed on the shelves, lined up in a neat row.

The variety of prosthetic limbs was diverse, ranging from poorly carved wooden knock-offs to bionic parts that were almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

In a cabinet against the wall, Fang Chang even spotted a life-sized mannequin that looked almost exactly like a real person.

Its hollow eyes seemed as though they could suck away a soul, if such a thing truly existed in this world.

That thing must be a bionic clone.

Fang Chang stepped forward to have a closer look, but as soon as he glanced at the price tag, he immediately dismissed the idea of buying one to study.

50,000 chips...

That was the equivalent to a full Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton!

He'd have to be crazy to spend so much money on something that seemed to have no apparent use.

"If you're looking for a bed companion, I've heard clones offer a better cost-performance ratio," said Dolly, arms folded, whistling lightly with a playful tone.

"...I never thought about it like that, can you be a bit more subtle?"

Turning his gaze away from the transparent cabinet, Fang Chang looked towards the shelf opposite.

The prices here were much more reasonable; the most expensive was just over 6,000, while the cheaper ones were mostly in the three figures.

He noticed that the more precise components were actually more expensive. For instance, electronic eyes were mostly above 5,000, while mechanical arms and legs were relatively cheaper.

It was then that he noticed a strange shelf.

Different from the other shelves, the bionic limbs displayed here simply didn't seem right.

For example, one of the arms ended not in fingers, but in a cannon barrel large enough to fit an entire fist, and given the mechanical components next to it, it looked like a self-loading hand cannon.

Fang Chang seriously doubted whether, assuming someone fired this thing, it would hit the target at all; the shooter's shoulder blade would definitely be done for.

Perhaps there were other matching parts?

In addition, there were arms equipped with foldable mantis knives and prosthetic legs connected to jet thrusters.

From both their shape and function, these items did not seem like they were intended for the average person.

They were naturally designed to serve on the battlefield.

Curiosity gleamed in Fang Chang's eyes as he blurted out a question.

"Where do these devices come from?"

Dolly had yet to respond when a stranger's voice suddenly came from the side.

"The sources are quite diversified, some are picked up, some are accidental surplus stocks, and most commodities have been processed. As long as you're not too ostentatious, there won't be any problems... As for where exactly they come from, I advise that you'd better not delve too deeply into that."

Fang Chang looked towards the direction of the voice, only to see a middle-aged man with a balding head standing beside the curtain.

He wore a turquoise long coat with a pair of scissors hanging from his pocket, coated with blood that had not completely dried, as if he had just emerged from an operating room.

"... Are you Grey?" asked Fang Chang.

The middle-aged man nodded, sizing him up with some interest.

"Yes, and you? How should I address you?"

"Fang Chang."

"Fang Chang... an odd name," Grey examined him for a while, then suddenly his eyes lit with realization, and he said, "Are you a resident of the shelter?"

Fang Chang didn't conceal the truth.

"Is there a problem?"

Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, Dolly coughed once, speaking up for Fang Chang with a tone of indignation.

"... Don't you think it's rude to pry into a customer's background?"

"Sorry, I've spoken out of turn..."

Grey chuckled, his gaze shifting subtly between Dolly and Fang Chang as he discreetly steered away from the previous topic.

"Back to the point, which type of bionic organ are you interested in? You don't look like someone with a missing arm or leg... Are you looking to become bigger? Or stronger?"

"I'm more interested in power," Fang Chang glanced at the shelves beside him, "like these."

Surprise flashed in Grey's eyes, his voice involuntarily tinged with excitement.

"Oh? These? It seems you know your stuff; these are indeed fine goods."

"Would you mind giving me an introduction?" asked Fang Chang.

Smiling, Grey said.

"An introduction? Their functions are written all over them. Do you still need me to explain? The mercenary groups sponsored by Huge Rock Military Industry all use these gizmos. Just one surgical procedure can transform a rookie, who couldn't even wave a chicken, into someone with combat power rivaling a battle-hardened old soldier."

"No need to worry about power; if they're displayed here, that's the best proof of their value."

Mercenary groups sponsored by Huge Rock Military Industry?

A hint of surprise appeared in Fang Chang's eyes, and he couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Is it common for this kind of equipment to be deployed among mercenary groups sponsored by Huge Rock Military Industry?"

Grey replied, "It's decent. Lord Yibers, who is rich and powerful, never skimps on such investments. Compared to Dragon Blood, bionic prosthetics directly enhance combat power much more. A jet propulsion system combined with a Mantis Knife and 30mm hand cannon, even the Claw of Death would have to give you a wide berth... Of course, that's in theory. I wouldn't mind if you insisted on taking on such a hot-tempered creature as your adversary."

It sounded good in theory.

Fang Chang thought about it—apart from Junk King and that guy who drew the Plasma Knife, there probably weren't many people enthusiastic about close-quarters combat.

So far in the game, there had been no emergence of "absolutely reliable" shields capable of effectively resisting projectile damage.

No matter how amazing your combat skills were, they couldn't compare to a direct hit from a 20mm high-explosive bomb.

Fang Chang asked, "... Are all these recycled from the battlefield?"

"Usually they are, with the occasional inclusion of newer models, but that's not common since they are not cheap."

As he spoke, Grey's eyebrows lifted, and he looked at Fang Chang with a touch of suspicion in his eyes.

"Hey, are you here to buy items, or to snoop around?"

Fang Chang didn't answer his question. Instead, he glanced at the shelf in front of him and pointed.

"I'll take everything you have here."

The room fell silent in an instant.

Dolly was staring at Fang Chang, her eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Have you lost your mind?! Buying so much... do you have any idea how many chips this is going to cost?"

Getting an AI core alone could put together two bionic people.

Maybe even with some to spare!

Grey was equally shocked, his facial expression even more exaggerated than Dolly's.

"27 pieces of equipment, a total of 56,671 chips... I don't do credit here."

"I wasn't planning on buying on credit," Fang Chang took out a card and gave it a light flick, "Can I swipe this?"

Or should I go to the bank to draw the chips out first?"

...

Obviously, swiping the card was out of the question.

After all, the goods being sold here were somewhat questionable in their origins. Fang Chang went to the bank to withdraw the money, then returned to the clinic.

As one of the first players to explore the Giant Stone City map, he and his buddies had been doing business in Giant Stone City a long time ago.

A while back, the equipment for burning bricks and cement at the Bull Horse Brick Factory was imported from here.

Fang Chang still remembered that the first guide to trading in Giant Stone City on the forum was written by him.

The most profitable were undoubtedly the Spirit Leaves, followed by commodities like Blue Umbrella Mushrooms, and so on.

Apart from these high-priced goods, there were also some thin-profit but high-volume items.

For instance, importing a crate of nuclear cola and selling it in Giant Stone City could earn a profit of 0.5 chips per bottle.

Although the general public couldn't afford this beverage, as a substitute for alcoholic drinks, this cheap drink that provided a temporary sense of happiness was quite popular among the mercenaries.

Later, the method of mixing cola with alcohol brought back to Giant Stone City by mercenaries from the City of Dawn bars significantly boosted nuclear cola sales.

Others might run out of chips, but this problem was non-existent for the Bull Horse squad.

Their current account in Giant Stone City had about a hundred thousand chips in reserve.

This money had little to do with the brick factory business; it was mainly earned through the Merchant System.

Fang Chang discussed with Old White and quickly reached an agreement on purchasing the bionic equipment.

Whether it actually worked or not was set aside for the moment; first, they would buy a batch to take a look.

Even if they couldn't use them in the end, they could sell them to other players or donate them to the exploration group in exchange for Contribution Points.

There would definitely be someone interested in these items.

"...So this is what a chip with a face value of 10,000 looks like."

Looking at the chip with a crown pattern on the edge, Dolly muttered softly.

Her eyes were filled with astonishment, the events unfolding before her had exceeded her comprehension.

She had initially thought this guy was just a bit generous for spending so much on her, coupled with not being the brightest, but she didn't expect him to quietly pull out such an astronomical amount.

Suddenly, Dolly realized she couldn't quite see through the man before her.

What kind of person could casually produce such a large number of chips...

Unlike Dolly, who was dumbfounded, Grey's demeanor changed instantly upon seeing this vast sum of money. His eyes turned fiery, and he became much more enthusiastic.

He respectfully counted the chips twice, then scanned them with a money-counting machine.

After confirming there was no issue, he looked at Fang Chang with an ingratiating smile on his face.

"Do you need my help with installation? I can offer surgical services for free."

In Grey's eyes, the man before him had become the leader of some mercenary group.

After all, a normal person wouldn't buy so many bionic limbs; only a mercenary group would have such needs.

And the mercenary group that could afford tens of thousands of chips to replace their subordinate's bionic bodies, without exception, were all powerful forces.

"No need, just pack them up for me, I've arranged for someone to come and transport them, there's no need for you to worry about the rest," Fang Chang handed him a business card, "If you get more good stuff like this, you can find me through the address and contact information on this card."

"Equipment other than bionic prosthetics is also acceptable, as long as it's a weapon, especially those related to Huge Rock Military Industry."

"For sure! Hehe." Clinic Grey happily took the business card, glanced at it briefly, and surprise instantly filled his eyes.

The Alliance Office in Boulder City?

Is he really from the "North Suburb"?!

...

27 bionic prosthetics filled 6 cases; although each was not very large, they could not be carried away by one person.

Fang Chang hired an NPC from the Office and had the cases moved back to the save point area first.

After being busy the whole day and with the sky already darkening, Fang Chang took Dolly out for dinner and then walked her back near her home.

Standing at the entrance of the apartment, Dolly stared at the man in front of her for quite some time, uncertainty surfacing in her eyes.

"...Who exactly are you?"

Fang Chang did not speak but simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a chip with a face value of 25, smiling as he handed it to her.

"The chip from this morning was just a deposit. Thank you for accompanying me the entire day."

Just a few hours before, he had unlocked a new "hidden quest"—recycling black equipment from Huge Rock Military Industry that wasn't for public sale.

The New Alliance needed these equipment to gauge the strength of this neighbor right outside their door.

Just from the description of the quest, one could tell the importance of this mission.

It was definitely more important than the previous two missions he had triggered.

It seemed that Boulder City's Black Market system wasn't unfinished; rather, it was waiting for players to actively trigger it.

He hadn't expected the completion level of the Game world to be higher than he imagined.

Fang Chang couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion; he had thought he'd stumbled upon content that the planners hadn't finished, but now it appeared that Ah Guang had everything laid out perfectly, even corresponding quests, professions, and gameplay.

It was just that no one had triggered them yet.

According to the brief of this "hidden quest," the Alliance's Manager did not want a large group of players to flock and bother the Black Market Merchant, causing the route that brought in these dubious equipment to be blocked.

Therefore, the Manager specially granted him the secret profession of a "Black Market Buyer in Giant Stone City."

This profession did not have a level requirement, nor did it take up a profession slot; it could only be triggered by hidden quests and had the "special operating rights" to import bionic prosthetics into Stone City and sell them in the City of Dawn.

Having such a result was beyond Fang Chang's expectations.

Although the NPC in front of him did not deserve the fawning that would be suitable if she were the Manager, he still found himself involuntarily saying thank you.

"...You're welcome."

Dolly didn't reject the green, oily chip in her hand and silently put it away.

After a long while, she said softly.

"We'll see each other again... Right?"

"Of course, I still have a lot of things I plan to ask you," Fang Chang said with a smile.

Although he had considered convincing this gal to live in the "North Suburb," having a local "informant" familiar with the area wasn't bad either.

He still had much to explore about Boulder City.

"Mm... Okay, promise! You take care as well," Dolly responded with a pleased smile, her short green hair shining brilliantly in the sunset.

"You too, take care."

It was quite nice to have an NPC friend.

Watching the petite figure disappear at the entrance of the apartment building, Fang Chang smiled and waved, then turned and walked towards the other end of the street.

...

Meanwhile, in the East District of Qingquan City.

At the entrance of a subway station covered in moss and vines, a clueless commotion suddenly erupted, startling a squirrel on a nearby tree, which fell to the ground and squeaked in frustration.

However, the man did not pay any heed and continued to babble idiotically.

"Wow! Wow! Wow!"

This tree!

This light!

And this wind coming right at me!

It's totally awesome, okay?

Staring dumbfounded at the forest in the midst of summer before him, Lin Shengyu looked around in astonishment.

He looked exactly like an idiot who just got out of the hospital.

Moreover, it was the kind who had given up on treatment.

As for why he was here, it started on a sunny and breezy afternoon.

Since the boss was out at a meeting and had not decided on a new research direction, him being a brick-moving researcher had no work to do, so he went online to scavenge for games and happened to learn about those urban legends of "Wasteland OL."

In fact, although it was called an urban legend, quite a few people knew about it; however, whether it was official throttling or some other reason, there was seldom any related coverage or public discussion on other platforms.

Out of curiosity, he took a precious 20 minutes out of his life to seriously fill out the reservation form.

At first, nothing happened, he pondered over it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

However, it wasn't long before he picked up a mysterious package containing a helmet by his front door when he came home from the research institute one day.

At that moment, his emotions were simply indescribable.

Especially when he put on the helmet, that mysterious countdown that could be seen even with his eyes closed almost overturned his view of the world and cognition.

But all the surprise and shock now seemed pale and insignificant at this moment.

He was standing in a completely fictional world!

With his own two feet!

While Lin Shengyu was making a fuss and looking around, other players around him were also curiously sizing him up.

"Is this the so-called 'Exalted'?"

"How come he looks so silly?"

"Let's move on, move on, curiosity satisfied, have to get up in a bit."

At this time, a player carrying a hunting gun in the left hand and dragging a dead monkey with the right came forward and struck up a conversation.

"Bro, how come you're alone?"

Lin Shengyu: "...Alone?"

Elena asked curiously.

"Yeah, doesn't the Exalted usually have a pair?"

Lin Shengyu was confused, feeling completely unable to keep up with the conversation.

"Exalted?"

Elena stared at him with a puzzled face for a while.

"Don't you ever go on the forum?"

Playing MMORPGs without going to forums to brag is like missing out on half the fun.

With 24 hours in a day, he wished he could spend 12 hours in the game and the other 12 being silly on forums.

"Forum? What era is it, who still plays with that thing?" Lin Shengyu laughed helplessly.

Elena scratched her head.

"Alright... What's your ID? Let's add each other as friends."

"GoGoDa!"

"GoGoDa? That's a pretty unique name," Elena paused.

"Cough… just picked it randomly, just picked it randomly, don't take it to heart," Lin Shengyu said with a bashful smile.

He actually wanted to go by GooGooChicken, but the ID was already taken, so he ended up with this name.

It's said that this game relies mainly on voice communication.

The thought of everyone calling him 'brother' in the game and praising him for being 'big' made him somewhat embarrassed.

"By the way, bro... how do I play this game?"

Elena scratched her head.

"You play however you want to play, hunting, fishing, moving bricks or even playing with mud… anything goes as long as you don't break the rules. But you're a newbie, I suggest you take the 'Pass the Torch' quest, find someone reliable to familiarize you with the gameplay and also get VM."

As everyone knows, VM is the core of this game, without VM you can hardly do anything.

There's a designated Novice Instructor in the shelter, it used to be personally handled by the Manager, but now it has been changed to an officer from the New Alliance Guard.

Through that NPC's VM, you can trigger the 'Pass the Torch' quest and look for a high-level ally.

Or you can directly trigger it by finding a player you like in the scene.

The server environment of "Wasteland OL" has always been good, everyone's a decent person.

Especially towards newbies, they are super friendly!

Lin Shengyu said with a smile.

"Pass the Torch quest, huh? I took that one. My master seems to be called 'WC Mosquito'? He said he will come here tomorrow to pick me up and take me to the main city, advised me to stay put."

Upon hearing that ID, Elena was instantly shocked.

"Holy crap, Mosquito?!"

"Uh, what's wrong?"

"Nothing..." Elena looked at this fellow with sympathy, silently mourning for him for two seconds.

Why did he have to choose such a problematic guy?

While it's true that the equipment produced by Goblin Technology has an OK reputation, working for Goblin Technology is a whole different story.

Quite a few people hadn't had the chance to experience the full content of the game before they got to experience reincarnation and prison.

Out of sympathy, Elena paused for a moment and then said,

"If you're planning to go to the main city, why not come with me? I'm heading back now and it's on my way."

"But..." Lin Shengyu hesitated, he had been warned by Mosquito that the Wasteland was dangerous and that newbies should not venture out alone.

There are no real safe zones here, even at your doorstep, there is the risk of losing everything for free.

"Let's go, let's go, no buts, can I even scam you? Shelter No.117 is not a place for newbies to level up. I'll take you to City of Dawn, there's plenty of good stuff there and save points." Elena patted his shoulder, urging, "By the way, you must be hungry since you just got into the game, right? My treat to a big meal."

"Really?! I'm so embarrassed!" Lin Shengyu's eyes lit up, feeling quite empty in his stomach.

Elena said generously.

"What's the big deal, we are all Exalted, don't be shy. By the way, is there anything you don't eat?"

Lin Shengyu chuckled.

"Nope, nope, I eat everything, I'll leave it up to you!"

Upon hearing this, Elena's eyes shined bright.

"Really? You sure?"

"Absolutely! Whether it's sour, salty, sweet, or spicy, there's nothing I can't eat!" Lin Shengyu said, patting his chest.

He wasn't just boasting.

Often accompanying his supervisor on trips and attending conferences all over the world, what hadn't he eaten?

A good stomach.

Is very important for research work as well.

It seemed that his Exalted friend was also a kindred spirit, and Elena happily looped her arm through his shoulder.

"Brother, that's what I was waiting to hear! Let's go, let's get some wild game!"

"Let's go, let's go!"

Watching the two walking arm in arm, the players around them all looked on with sympathetic eyes.

What kind of amazing luck must one have to step on two landmines on their first day in the game?

Or maybe it's that he used up all his luck in life just to draw that game helmet...

"…That's a bit too much of a sacrifice," Wang Fugui, shouldering a hunting gun, sighed and took a bite of his hardtack.

The escaping mole made a subtle nod at the canyon.

"Indeed."

I just hope nothing happens to him.

...

The game world had just entered night, while the real world was at early dawn.

Sitting up in bed, Ye Wei took off his helmet, let out a deep breath, and looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table.

It was 7 o'clock in the morning.

Usually, he would play until nine or ten o'clock the next morning if he didn't have class the following day before logging off.

However, he had to go pick up his little sister from the station soon, so he logged off early.

By the way, he, Junk Lord, and Wild Wind had just been on a mission to clear out the underground tunnels.

There were masses of mucosal entities there, including a so-called human tank, the Tyrant.

According to Brother Fang Chang's prediction, the center of Qingquan City might become a hot spot in the next version.

Training against mucosal entities as opponents was also a way of getting used to the next version in advance.

But no matter how fun the game is, or how much money it can make, it's not as important as family.

After eating a bowl of hot dry noodles for 0.1 Silver Coin downstairs, Ye Wei pulled off a free napkin to wipe his mouth, then took a taxi to the high-speed rail station.

The whole trip cost less than 1 Silver Coin.

Standing in the crowd at the bustling station plaza, Ye Wei couldn't help but reflect.

Living expenses were cheaper in reality.

Just then, a voice carried over from a distance, snapping him back from his daydream.

"Big bro!"

Ye Wei turned his face and saw a cute little girl waving at him in the crowd.

She wore ordinary jeans and a T-shirt, with sports shoes on her feet, and a suitcase nearly half her height in each hand; her swinging ponytail was like a squirrel's tail.

Ye Wei hurried over and took a look at the suitcase and said,

"Why did you bring so much stuff with you?"

Seeing that her brother was completely unaware, gasping for breath from running over, Ye Jiu shoved the suitcase into his hands.

"Didn't you tell me to bring them? Stop staring and give me a hand!"

This guy.

He's really let loose as soon as he left home.

Ye Wei rolled his eyes, not bothering to argue, and took the two suitcases from her.

On the way to the taxi, he weighed them and found them quite heavy, wondering what was packed inside.

Having lain in bed day after day, he almost couldn't lift the suitcases into the taxi trunk.

Luckily, the driver helped him out.

Sitting next to Ye Wei, Ye Jiu snickered and said in a low voice,

"Big bro, have you been playing games every day lately? You look so frail."

Ye Wei gave his second eye roll of the day.

"Buzz off."

Ye Jiu looked wronged and said,

"You're telling me to buzz off as soon as I get here, is that how you treat your own sister?"

Ye Wei looked at her seriously and said,

"Enough nonsense, what's this surprise you've got for me?"

He had been thinking about this for days and was so anxious he could hardly sleep.

Though he usually didn't sleep much anyway.

Seeing her brother's eager expression, Ye Jiu gave a mysterious smile.

"Humph, you'll know soon enough!"

They soon arrived at their destination.

The car stopped outside the gate of a high-end community.

Jumping out of the car, Ye Jiu looked curiously around.

"Did a rich woman take you in?"

Ye Wei, pulling out the suitcases from the trunk, nearly choked on his own saliva when he heard this.

"What's going on in that little head of yours all day long?"

The taxi driver remained silent, but his expression was clearly holding back a laugh.

Ye Jiu smiled timidly and said nonchalantly,

"I'm just worried about you, big bro."

"So why are you renting a place outside? Got a girlfriend? Living together already? How old? A classmate? Or an older sister who's working? Is it a rich girl? Can she provide for me too?"

She fired off a stream of curious questions, but only the first one stuck in Ye Wei's ears.

Renting?

Grasping his chance to show off, he laughed confidently, stable as an old dog,

"I bought it."

He expected his little sister to be so surprised she'd be speechless.

But to his surprise, not only did she not show any shock, she even imitated him and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, right, don't want to say, then forget it!"

Ye Wei was stunned for a moment and hurriedly said,

"I'm telling the truth, I really bought it!"

Ye Jiu gave him a caring glance.

"Ah yes, yes, sure."

Ye Wei: "..."

Damn it!

The lobby was no place to chat idly, so Ye Wei, lugging two large suitcases, huffed and puffed his way to the elevator.

The little one in the elevator couldn't stop fidgeting, peeking around, undecided whether she was looking forward to seeing her brother's new home or to the surprise... or rather shock, she was about to spring on him.

Ye Wei felt extremely anxious.

At the door, he took out the keys to unlock it, and found two new slippers in the entryway.

He had gone downstairs to buy these yesterday.

Just as he was about to call Jiujiu to put them on, he saw the little girl already squatting eagerly next to the suitcase, opening it.

"What are you looking for?"

Jiujiu didn't answer him, but suddenly stood up with a big object in her arms from beside the suitcase.

"Here, take this!"

Seeing the thing Jiujiu shoved at him, Ye Wei was completely stunned.

Damn!

A game helmet?!

"...Where did you get this???"

Chapter 358: The Alliance Should Have Its Own Channels of Communication

"Of course I filled out the form! I did it two or three months ago and have been waiting for a long time!" Ye Wei said proudly, looking at his shocked brother.

Hearing this, Ye Jiu's expression turned a bit weird.

Two or three months and calling it a long time...

So many people on the forum have been waiting nearly a year without getting in.

Though, the game didn't distribute qualifications based on the reservation time anyway.

"It seems like it can be used today, no need to thank me, it's a gift!"

"…A gift works."

Ye Wei held the helmet in his hands, his face a mixture of laughter and tears.

Just then, a strange thought suddenly crossed his mind.

What if he wore his little sister's helmet...

"Have you registered an account?"

Ye Jiu shook her head and said,

"No, I don't play games; this is for you to enjoy."

Ye Wei looked at her strangely.

Really?

Logically, anyone who could complete that form must be somewhat internet-addicted and have played at least a game or two.

But now was not the time to discuss this.

With a bit of trepidation, Ye Wei took a deep breath and strapped the helmet onto his head.

Darkness enveloped him.

In the prolonged silence where no light could be seen,

Ye Wei moved his hand to adjust the helmet, but quickly realized it was pointless.

"…"

Ye Jiu, oblivious to her brother's thoughts, asked excitedly,

"Did you connect?"

"…No."

Ye Wei silently removed the helmet.

He now finally understood why his roommates looked at him with weird gazes.

After all, what you can't see, you can't see.

Unless you're the owner of the helmet, no one else wearing it would see anything – not the mysterious countdown, nor the connect button.

What surprised him, though, was that even as a beta tester, using someone else's helmet resulted in nothing visible.

The device seemed to be bound to some unknown entity.

"…Ah, you can't see it either," Ye Jiu's face fell a bit, "Mom thought this thing was a rice cooker inner pot."

"Jiujiu," Ye Wei looked at his sister seriously, "there's something I've actually… been hiding from you."

Ye Jiu looked at him strangely for a while before slowly speaking.

"…Bro, have you really been kept by a rich woman?"

Ignoring her interruption, Ye Wei turned and went back to his room, returning shortly with another helmet.

Seeing the helmet in her brother's hands, Ye Jiu's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait… you have a helmet too?!"

"Yeah," Ye Wei nodded slowly, "I was one of the earliest beta testers."

Ye Jiu was speechless from surprise.

After a long while, she said quietly,

"…I saw everyone discussing that game and wanted to surprise you. I didn't expect that you'd already have one."

Ye Wei's face was a mixture of emotions.

He sighed and said with an experienced tone,

"That game is too vast, even at my age, I sometimes can't control myself. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd go fill out the reservation form… I didn't expect you to fill it out and even get selected."

That pretentious look was too annoying.

Ye Jiu glared at him and snatched her helmet back.

"Cut it out with the 'my age' thing, stop being so pretentious!"

"If I can't play, fine, I'll play by myself!"

She had even thought of giving the helmet to this guy.

A good deed gone wrong.

Too vast? Can't control oneself?

She wanted to see just how vast this game was!

Expecting his sister's reaction, Ye Wei continued patiently,

"I haven't finished talking, don't get agitated yet."

"Later on, I thought about it more, you're not a child anymore. You should take charge of your own life and be responsible for your decisions."

"Moreover, this game is different from others. It doesn't just contain elements of entertainment, but other things as well… It might be an opportunity for you."

This game had already changed the lives of many players.

He himself was a living example.

"Opportunity?" Ye Jiu tilted her head, confused, "What are you talking about?"

Ye Wei did not elaborate further on the topic but pointed to the helmet in her hand.

"Just try it on and you'll see."

Ye Jiu sat down on the sofa with a skeptical look on his face, following his older brother's gesture. He then doubtfully fastened the helmet on his head.

The countdown that was there originally had now been replaced with a simple option, "Enter the Game."

"Do you see that option? Just click it."

Ye Wei gave him a prompt, but Jiujiu didn't respond. It looked like he was already in the game.

As expected, he was probably waking up from the cultivation chamber in Shelter No.117.

And odds were, he was too excited, marveling at "this light, this water, this air."

Watching newbies' reactions after entering the game was a staple of Wasteland OL.

Ye Wei didn't join the game but sat opposite him on the sofa.

He really wanted to capture the dumbfounded look on his buddy's face, but his game character was currently in the City of Dawn, quite a distance from Shelter No.117.

Not to mention, it was night in the game world now, not a good time to travel.

Watching his sister sitting across, Ye Wei picked up a cup from the table and took a sip of water.

At this moment, his expression suddenly turned weird.

Speaking of…

According to the game's official site, wearing the helmet equated to sleep, deep sleep to be exact.

That meant, unless something wakeful happened, you wouldn't wake from the dream, right?

Thinking about it, playing games in the living room was really a risky affair.

He wasn't someone who loved pranks, especially not those juvenile ones like 'make the floor wet to look like someone peed their pants.'

But this guy, well, he might.

With that thought, Ye Wei shivered involuntarily and silently made up his mind.

From now on, he'd definitely lock the door when playing games…

...

About half an hour had passed, around lunchtime, and Ye Wei was about to order some take-out.

That's when an excited shout came from the opposite sofa.

"Oh oh oh! It's incredible! Is that NPC in the hall a real person or a virtual character? That armor looks cool! Is it called an exoskeleton? What level do I have to be to equip it?"

Before Ye Wei could sort out the questions, Ye Jiu eagerly continued.

"Right, right, what's your ID, big bro? I need to enter the master's ID for that Flame Transmission task! He gave me a long list to pick from, but I can't find your name!"

"Who uses their real name as a screen name," Ye Wei said with a smile, "look up Night Ten, that's what I use in the game."

"Night Ten? What does that ID mean?"

Hearing this, Ye Wei nearly choked on his spit and coughed twice.

"It's nothing... Everyone calls me that, I just got used to it."

While saying this, his expression was stiff and he broke out in a cold sweat.

The origin of that ID was a long story.

Of course, he couldn't tell his sister that it came from a group chat known as 'Cattle and Horses,' where the nickname used to be "Public Enemy of Girls Night Ten" and now it was "Get Up Ten Times a Night".

No matter which ID it was, neither was appropriate to openly discuss.

But then again…

Who would tell real-life acquaintances about their online aliases!

He was just grateful that he hadn't fully used his real name when registering his account.

Otherwise, he would have been absolutely ruined socially today!

Ye Jiu stared at her brother suspiciously for a while, feeling that things weren't that simple.

But she didn't ask further.

After all, the "fully immersive virtual reality game" had given her such a strong sensorial impact that even after taking a long time to catch her breath, she was still sitting on the sofa, hardly able to shake off the astonishment.

Even though she wasn't particularly fond of games, she couldn't help but immerse herself in that entirely different fictional world and completely transformed into the shape of the helmet.

She was eager to return to the game.

Eager to experience all of the game's content!

Ye Jiu's eyes sparkled as she thrust the helmet into Ye Wei's hands without another word.

"Big bro! Hurry and log in and guide me!"

Seeing his little sister who had already put on the helmet by herself, Ye Wei's face was stunned.

Goodness…

Her addiction was even greater than his.

...

The Waste World.

Alliance Office in Boulder City.

Luka was organizing manpower to move several boxes containing biomechanical prostheses out of Boulder City.

Boulder City had strict controls on goods entering the city, but was less stringent about checks leaving the city.

Having each person carry one piece of luggage and making multiple trips, it was easy to get the goods out.

Recycling Huge Rock Military Industry's high-tech equipment from the black market was just one of the Alliance's strategies against Boulder City.

As the lord of the City of Dawn, Old Luka's primary focus was still on trade negotiations with the city hall.

Recently, the city hall hinted that the New Alliance planned to import goods worth 200 million chips from the industrial district.

Factory owners and business association bosses, who were previously causing trouble, immediately stopped their quarrels and started to wait and see.

And those workers who had lost their jobs due to the factory shutdown, although their lives hadn't improved immediately, with the loss of backstage support, were temporarily unable to cause any disturbances.

Although I didn't know how long this tacit agreement could last, it should continue for some time.

…

The radio on the coffee table in the lounge was emitting a noisy sound.

Mr. Hauser eloquently praised the greatness of the lord of the city and took the opportunity to commend the wise decision of Mr. Dulon at the end.

"… If we distribute the chips to everyone, the price of nutrient paste would skyrocket, and nobody would benefit!"

"But if we lend the chips to our neighbors, it's different—two hundred million chips will create tens of thousands of job opportunities! It will save hundreds of thousands of families! We'll get jobs and the chance to provide for ourselves!"

"What a wonderful thing!"

Sitting in front of the radio.

Hal from the Lion Tribe in Luo Xia Province was curiously fiddling with this speaking machine.

"It's incredible… Is there a person living inside this metal box?"

Sitting on the sofa nearby sipping tea, Shu Yu shifted his gaze from the procurement list he had been studying and curiously looked towards him.

"I also find it incredible. You told me that in your father's palace, there are hundreds of bionic maid servants… Why can you accept bionic beings but not a simple thing like a radio?"

The technology involved in the former was clearly much higher than that of the latter, which was an obvious fact.

However, Hal confidently asserted.

"That's different, isn't it? Bionic people are still people, and it's not strange for people to talk."

Shu Yu paused.

He even stopped moving the teacup in his hand.

Although he felt that there was something wrong with that statement, he momentarily didn't know how to refute it.

Seeing Shu Yu not speaking, the ever-talkative Hal excitedly continued.

"Do you think my father would pass the throne to me if I brought a radio home?"

"… I think it would be best if you didn't do that," Shu Yu cautiously advised in a soft voice, concerned about staining the table as he set down his teacup.

He had called the Manager last night.

Apart from discussing the procurement list, he also casually mentioned this fellow.

The advice from the Manager, similar to Old Luka's, was that no matter how likely this fellow was to inherit the throne, making a few more friends was always a good thing.

Anyway, hiring an extra clerk wouldn't cost much of the budget.

Even if he didn't end up becoming the king, returning to his tribe to be a carefree royal was only beneficial and had no downsides for the New Alliance.

The area of Luo Xia Province was several times larger than that of River Valley Province, stretching for thousands of kilometers across the central part of the Central Plains Continent, connected to mountains and grasslands.

The oases left from the Human Alliance Era housed several feudal kingdoms and were the transportation hubs for east-west trade.

The Lion Tribe was one of the relatively less xenophobic and strong tribes among them.

These details were also gathered by the New Alliance from past merchants.

"Headache… What kinds of things are truly priceless? Must I really go to the eastern Ideal City?"

Hal turned off the radio with a distressed face and looked across at Shu Yu.

"My friend, can you give me some advice?"

"How could I possibly know? I've never met your father," Shu Yu gave him a helpless look and continued, "But if you ask me…Instead of figuring out what is priceless, why not consider what your father likes?"

Hal asked blankly.

"Likes?"

Shu Yu nodded.

"Yes, whether something is valuable is a subjective judgment, after all. For example, if he values trade, you could take ten times the usual amount of money you carry when you leave home and bring it back; he'd surely respect you for that."

"If he values the military, you just need to prove your bravery, like by decapitating a few more Death Claws and bringing home some warriors who have shared life and death experiences with you."

Hal's expression showed he was deep in thought.

"I understand… so you mean, cater to his preferences?"

Shu Yu casually said, "You could see it that way; it would be easier."

Hal, looking distressed, said, "But my father doesn't like merchants or soldiers; he just loves to lurk among women and throws parties every few days."

Shu Yu sighed.

"Then bring home a beautiful daughter-in-law… prove your charm."

This tribe was beyond saving.

But when he thought about it, where in the world wasn't this the case?

In fact, procreating was comparatively a healthier hobby.

However, what Shu Yu didn't expect was that, after a round of thinking, this prince named Hal showed a look of sudden enlightenment.

"My friend… you are a genius! Your words have opened my eyes. Come be my advisor! When I become king, you'll be a minister of the Lion Tribe!"

Shu Yu smiled as he watched him.

"My loyalty belongs only to the great Manager; please don't joke about such things."

Minister?

He wasn't interested.

Not even the glittering temptations of Boulder City could corrupt him, let alone a tribe in a remote area.

Hal closed his mouth.

He had merely spoken casually, not really hoping to persuade this young man to return with him and help him vie for the throne; in fact, he hadn't even made up his mind about wanting it.

At that moment, the door of the lounge opened, and Luka entered from outside.

"The Manager just sent a message, hoping we would start a branch of 'Voice of the Alliance' in Boulder City."

Shu Yu looked up at Luka, somewhat puzzled.

"Doesn't the broadcast signal from 'North Suburb' cover here? Why start a separate branch?"

Luka relayed the Manager's words verbatim.

"Because this branch mainly reports local news from Boulder City, the staff and journalists we hire are primarily locals. Of course, we'll sprinkle in some of our own content amid these reports while subtly correcting the biased coverage from the Voice of Boulder City,"

"However, these are not convenient for us to speak about directly, they need to be voiced in their own local tone."

"It's not just broadcasting, we also want to do print media and sell our ideas through the newspapers to them."

A look of surprise appeared on Shu Yu's face, especially after hearing Luka's last remark. He couldn't help but speak out,

"Having control over our own channels of communication is indeed important, but using newspapers as a propaganda tool... would people here really be willing to pay for that?"

Most of Boulder City's residents earn less than 100 chips a month, which equates to about three chips a day.

That money is just enough for them to cover their daily expenses.

Even if we set the price of the newspapers at the lowest, one chip per copy, few people could afford to buy them.

As for the mercenaries,
although they have money, their literacy rates are even lower than those of factory workers.

After all, the latter, though poor, usually live within the Giant Wall, most of them have complete families and are somewhat invested in education to ensure their children can work in factories in the future.

There are newspapers in Boulder City, but usually only the relatively affluent citizens buy them.

Here, the market for print media is quite limited, and it's tough for an external newspaper to break into it.

If it's for propaganda purposes, this clearly isn't a good idea.

Facing Shu Yu's puzzled look, Luka confidently said,

"People will buy it, our newspaper is geared towards the ordinary residents of Boulder City. The Manager suggests we can employ a subscription model, where they only need to pay one chip per month to receive a full month's newspapers."

Shu Yu frowned,

"In that case, ordinary people could certainly afford it, but the cost pressure on us would be rather significant, wouldn't it?"

Paying just one chip per month is equivalent to the retail price of one kilogram of nutrient paste.

That's almost like giving it away.

Luka nodded,

"There will definitely be pressure at the beginning, but it will improve once the subscription numbers rise."

Shu Yu furrowed his brow, but soon a look of realization dawned on his face.

However, sitting next to him, Hal was still confused and curiously asked,

"Why would having more sales lessen the cost pressure? Shouldn't it be greater?"

"…Because we can publish advertisements in the newspaper. Those who can afford to buy newspapers usually wouldn't stint on spending on bread and clothing and might even seek better quality," Shu Yu patiently explained to Hal, admiration rising in his eyes.

The Manager sure thought of everything!

Seeing Shu Yu explain for him, Luka smiled slightly and continued,

"…At the initial stage of promotion, we could cooperate with local civilian taverns frequented by residents and supply them with free newspapers for a month."

"We can also collaborate with some top-notch factories, like, trade ten empty nuclear cola bottles for one newspaper."

Shu Yu couldn't help but praise,

"That's a great idea!"

Nuclear cola is well-known in the taverns of Boulder City.

And those unemployed workers have enough time to collect those items.

It's a win-win for both the factories and the newspaper.

"Our relations with Boulder City have recently eased, it's the perfect time to do this."

"Of course, to achieve our long-term goals, we need a brilliant mind that excels in the use of words..."

At this, Luka paused.

Both men's gazes fell on Hal spontaneously.

Being skilled with words was unquestionable.

His main talent lied in chatting, and secondly in using twelve different artistic fonts to write rhymed but insubstantial verse.

But being brilliant-minded…

Might the requirements be too high for him?

"Why are you guys... looking at me like that?" Hal asked nervously, feeling a tad guilty.

He had an ominous premonition.

Luka didn't keep looking at him or even responded to his question but instead turned to Shu Yu.

"What do you think?"

"...I don't know, our talent in this area is scarce. If I were to write the newspaper, I would make the news very precise, but apart from our own people, I doubt many would want to read through it."

In the realm of public opinion, their rivals weren't the factories of Boulder City, nor the city council.

But rather that blustering Hauser and the group he represented.

In front of slick rhetoric and shamelessly thick-skinned tactics, even the most flawless truth made concessions.

Likewise, individuals with those two qualities, or rather the rascals, were remarkably rare in the New Alliance.

The alliance's news industry was just starting; most news personnel were still strictly reading from scripts, some only having attended night school for six months.

The "wanjia" from the shelter might have this talent, but they don't speak the language of United Human, even basic communication requires translation tools.

Strictly speaking, Hal wasn't like that either, as his polite upbringing was far from the image of a scoundrel.

But this wasn't his home after all.

Perhaps letting go a little wouldn't be a problem?

At least his eloquence and writing skills were trustworthy; the rest were matters of experience, which could be honed on the job.

Faced with Old Luka's concerned look, Shu Yu's expression was also hesitant, but ultimately, he nodded.

"The Manager told us not to be overly concerned with a person's origin, background, or lineage... Setting aside his lack of brilliance and experience, he truly is the most suitable candidate."

"I think it's worth a try."

Chapter 359 "Survivor's Daily

Street 97 was located in the west area of Giant Stone City where sewage flowed openly, air pollution was rampant, and clusters of dilapidated tube buildings crowded together, often criticized by nearby residents as "the crow's nest."

Due to its proximity to the giant wall, residents could only enjoy the sunlight in the morning and at noon.

By dusk, the streets would be enveloped in the shadow of the giant wall.

Objectively speaking, if one could overlook the lack of sunlight, life here was still much better than in the slums outside the wall.

Most of the people living here were workers from nearby factories.

Except for local residents, few people wanted to come close to this area.

There were almost no entertainment activities, and hardly anyone would open a shop among a group of paupers.

Those with jobs needed to work sixteen hours and would go straight to sleep when they got home; those without jobs, even if they idled away an entire day, wouldn't spend a coin from their pocket.

But there were exceptions.

At the border with the industrial area, there was a bar named "Walnut Tavern." Its iconic sign was a pile of empty walnut wooden barrels at the entrance.

These barrels were not big and could be used as tables or stools, and even for dealing with sanitary issues.

When workers finished their day's work and passed by, they would occasionally pull out a chip given by the foreman, drink a large, cheap draft beer, forget the day's troubles, and then head home.

Some unemployed workers would also spend their entire day here.

Though financially embarrassed, it was still better to smell the beer or inhale some second-hand smoke.

After all, it was better than sitting at home listening to a nagging old wife lamenting how life was unbearable.

Since hardly any mercenaries came here, foreign travelers and merchants wouldn't come close to the west area,

Over time, this place had become a club for the workers of Giant Stone City.

They did more than just drink; they also gathered in groups to discuss household matters or listen to gossip,

Especially gossip from the factory district.

What people looked forward to the most was hearing about factories that were short on workers, but such news hadn't surfaced for a long time.

Suddenly, a scruffy unemployed worker spoke up,

"…why don't we become mercenaries?"

A co-worker, who had been fired from the canning factory like him, glanced at him.

"Have you ever touched a gun?"

"No, but I heard it's not hard. Turn off the safety, aim the muzzle, then pull the trigger to shoot the hot metal fragments into a corpse-eater's brain," the scruffy worker demonstrated the shooting action with a broom by the barrel, "Look, it's that simple."

Everyone burst into laughter.

"The Tide won't be coming until next year; now it's summer, and your likely opponents are the Looters."

"I heard that List's Commercial Team is hiring; they're planning to open a new trade route from here to the Grand Canyon."

"The Grand Canyon, huh… I heard it's at the farthest north of River Valley Province."

"It's really far."

By the door beam, a group of workers gathered, taking turns puffing on a nearly finished cigarette stub.

Spielberg couldn't help but take an extra puff and, realizing everyone was staring at him, quickly passed the cigarette to the next friend.

Taking a puff from the cigarette stub, Pike, with his arm wrapped in a bandage, suddenly spoke,

"Speaking of which, have we seen Kent lately?"

"I don't know, last time he led us in surrounding the town hall, seeing those well-dressed bastards scared pale was damn satisfying!"

"It'd be nice to do that again."

Since they had nothing else to do, causing a stir on the streets might even bring them some benefits.

At that moment, the portly bar owner, holding a large wooden frame, came out from the junk room beside the bar.

His name was Tang, a very short word in United Human language with only one syllable.

Seeing this group of idle paupers, Tang couldn't help but complain,

"How long do you plan to loiter here? If you have no money, can't you go find some work?"

The worker smoking laughed and said,

"We'd like to work too. Do you need a janitor or bartender here? Someone to run errands?"

Tang chuckled and said unapologetically,

"Why would I hire big men who have neither tits nor ass to do menial work?"

Another burly man raised his hand, smiling cheekily,

"Then are you hiring a wife? I'd like to sign up."

"Get lost," Tang cursed.

Recently, Walnut Tavern was also struggling.

The number of paupers was increasing, and they even had to share cigarette stubs, not to mention spending chips on drinks.

Spielberg suddenly noticed that the old girl who helped with pouring drinks and the young boy who did odd jobs had been fired.

Now, even the physical work was done by the owner himself.

At this time in the past, the fat pig was always dozing off lazily behind the bar.

At this moment, Spielberg noticed the wooden frame he was holding and the stack of papers inside it, and curiously asked.

"What is this?"

"Survivor's Daily." Tang moved it into the bar with a grunt.

Survivor's Daily?

Everyone exchanged glances; none of them had ever heard the name.

Of course, it might be because they didn't read newspapers.

Although most workers were literate, they essentially recognized just a few characters—enough to understand device handbooks and job postings.

Workers who could afford newspapers didn't have time to read them.

Reading newspapers was a pastime reserved for high-ups seated in offices.

"How much is this thing?"

"It's free, you can take a look, but you can't take it away," Tang said impatiently.

These newspapers were provided for free by the Survivor's Daily newspaper office, accompanied by a crate of Nuclear Cola each month.

Since it didn't take up much space and could entertain the drinkers, following the principle of never missing out on a freebie, he brought it back.

"For free?!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Good deals like this existed?

What surprised them even more was that such words were coming from Tang, the tight-fisted miser.

Spielberg stepped forward, took a newspaper from the wooden frame, and unfolded it in his hands.

Pike, who was smoking, also threw away the cigarette butt that had finally burned out and curiously gathered around to watch.

"..."

"The city hall's negotiations with the New Alliance authorities went smoothly, and a two hundred million aid loan will aim for a win-win for both sides... What is 'win-win'?"

"I just want to smash the New Alliance's factory into pieces! Throw their junk out of the giant wall!"

"But being their debtor doesn't seem too bad... The Kate Textile Factory is resuming work, according to the newspaper, because they received an order worth a million chips."

"Alyssa has lost a Southland shorthair cat; if anyone sees it, please contact the address on the newspaper, reward of 25 chips... Alyssa... that name sounds familiar."

"I remember now... it's the little daughter of the bank president, Melvin!"

There were no entertainment industries or celebrities in Giant Stone City; the feature performer of Night Queen Bar and the relatives of high officials were the main subjects of gossip for most ordinary people.

As for the bank president, Melvin, everyone naturally knew him, considering there was only one bank in Giant Stone City.

Hearing the name of this important person, everyone quickly snapped to attention, their eyes filled with envy.

"... It's the banker's daughter."

"Whoever could marry her wouldn't have worries in the next life."

"Stop dreaming; it's not even dark yet."

"25 chips for a cat... That's enough to buy 25 kilograms of nutrient paste! Are these people too rich with nowhere to spend their money?"

"You don't get it, I think it's a bargain!"

"Ah, it must be nice to have money..."

The crowd around the newspaper was abuzz with chatter.

Although the reward of 25 chips was tempting, no one actually took action to find it.

Giant Stone City was so large, where would they even start looking for a cat?

Not to mention, it was uncertain whether the cat was still within the giant walls.

The crowd excitedly discussed the gossip, but Spielberg's attention was caught by the last line on the newspaper.

"We aim to create a newspaper that serves all survivors. If you are reading this at a public newspaper stand, please leave your valuable suggestions on it, which we will refer to after collection."

A newspaper that serves all survivors?

Hah.

That was rare indeed.

Although everyone was a survivor living on the same Wasteland, Spielberg faintly felt that people were different.

Some were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, while others lived like cockroaches from birth.

Take Miss Alyssa, for instance.

What did the Wasteland matter to her?

She probably hadn't even seen nutrient paste, let alone tasted it.

After hesitating for a moment, Spielberg borrowed a pen from the bar owner and wrote at the bottom of the newspaper.

"We are really interested in what the city hall is doing."

"The banker's daughter's cat depresses me; when I still had a job, 25 chips were my ten days' wages."

"... It would be nice if you could publish more information about jobs."

"I wish you a pleasant life."

After writing this, he returned the pen to the bar owner.

Just then, Spielberg suddenly remembered something mentioned in the newspaper—that ten empty cola bottles could be exchanged for a newspaper to take home.

He couldn't help but think, maybe once it was completely dark, he should head over to the bar street and pick up empty Coke bottles.

Swapping them for a newspaper to bring back for his son to learn to read wouldn't seem like a total waste of a day...

...

Such thoughts were not unique to Spielberg.

These past few days around the taverns In Boulder City, the number of "Scavengers" collecting empty bottles had increased.

10 empty Coke bottles could be exchanged for a copy of "Survivor's Daily", even if they weren't used for reading but rather to line tabletops or to spread upon beds.

As for where this "Survivor's Daily" had come from, no one seemed interested.

After all, it had only recently launched its first issue, and its notability was incredibly low,
so low that the factory owners, the business association heads, and the city hall officials in Boulder City would never notice...

That night.

Bank manager Melvin returned to his luxurious home on the inner edge, his demeanor vibrant.

The negotiations with the City of Dawn had gone well, and the opposing party had presented an impressive procurement list, including a large batch of building materials, textiles, and food.

It would create at least 50,000 jobs in Boulder City and solve hunger for nearly 100,000 people.

By this time next year, Boulder City's GDP was sure to hit a new high!

The interest paid by the New Alliance and the raw materials flowing in from the "North Suburb" would revive the factories in the industrial district!

What pleased Melvin most was that recently, many factories had also started taking loans from him.

Where some borrowed money for consumption, others were willing to borrow to expand production—his bank could make money from both ends.

And almost without the risk of bad debts!

Boulder City had entered a new cycle, and he felt as though he could already see the dawn of economic recovery!

"You seem to be in a good mood today, did something good happen?" his wife asked as she took his coat.

"Of course," Melvin said animatedly, "after dragging on for so many days, the negotiations have finally concluded. The New Alliance's representative signed the agreement, and our relationship with the New Alliance is set to enter a new chapter!"

Though the negotiations had been full of twists and turns, thanks to his witty performance at the negotiation table where he firmly held the pacing, he had eventually forced the New Alliance's representative to make concessions, allowing both parties to reach an agreement.

"But... is lending money to those yokels really okay?" his wife asked, looking worried.

In her eyes, those outside The Wall were either crude mercenaries, sloppy scavengers, or thieving looters.

She found it hard to trust them.

Even them merely looking her way made her skin crawl and physically uncomfortable.

Melvin's face bore a confident smile.

"What could go wrong? They have copper mines, farms, and vast forests... I actually wish those yokels would borrow a bit more."

"Debt will turn them into our slaves, which is far more effective than shackles."

At that moment, he suddenly noticed the newspaper on the table.

Surprisingly, the front page headline announced the successful progress of the negotiations.

Melvin curiously raised an eyebrow.

The negotiations had just concluded today, and it was only two hours ago that the New Alliance's representative reluctantly signed the loan agreement, and neither party had yet made an official announcement.

How did this obscure newspaper guess that the deal would definitely succeed today?

Right on target.

It couldn't possibly have been printed a few hours ago.

"What's this?"

"Survivor's Daily."

Alyssa, sitting on the couch gently stroking her cat, lifted her head at her father's question and responded softly.

"Do we subscribe to this paper?" Melvin asked, perplexed.

Alyssa gently shook her head.

"No, but I find it quite interesting... Remember when I lost a cat recently?"

Melvin couldn't recall which one; his daughter had too many cats.

Seeing her father seemingly forget about it, Alyssa continued gently.

"That time you told me you had instructed the butler to post a notice at the bar, and that it wouldn't be long before a mercenary would bring it back."

"It seems that happened... what happened after that?" Melvin asked, his expression slightly embarrassed.

It appeared that the cat hadn't been found, and he had prematurely promised his daughter.

But the considerate Alyssa didn't blame him and continued in a soft tone.

"After that, the mercenary didn't show up, but this newspaper, through the notice at the bar, contacted me. They offered to publish an ad for free to help find the cat. All I had to do was write them a thank you letter once little Black was found."

Melvin chuckled after hearing this.

Was this an attempt to leverage his daughter's fame to boost the paper's visibility?

These folks had quite the business acumen.

In Boulder City's upper-class society, his daughter's name was worth much more than a few chips.

However, such a small matter wasn't worth his attention; he simply showed concern for his daughter for a moment.

"If only we could find it."

"Yeah."

Alyssa stroked the kitten in her arms, her eyes filled with worry, "I'm really worried it might be hungry."

At the same time,

Not far from the warehouse district, a standalone building had a sign that read "Voice of the Alliance."

From that brand-new nail, it was evident that the sign had just been hung up.

Contrary to the quiet entrance, the newspaper office inside was bustling with activity.

Especially for Hal, who was the president of the newspaper, he had been busy from morning until dusk without a rest, wishing he could clone himself.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

Since the newspaper had just been established and was short-staffed, he had to multitask, responsible not only for the content and layout of the newspaper but also for handling relations with the outside world.

The reason for this started three days ago in the afternoon.

Per the Manager's instructions, the New Alliance needed its own channel of communication.

However, due to a lack of manpower at the New Union's Office in Stone City, Shu Yu and Luka discussed it, and this significant task fell to Hal.

The trust from the New Alliance flattered Hal.

Although he wanted to repay these people for saving and sheltering him and to prove his capabilities, he had never run a newspaper and didn't even know what a newspaper really entailed.

Fortunately, Shu Yu didn't just dump all the work on him. He went to the talent market and found some employees who had worked at the "Voice of Giant Stone City," which made his job busy but manageable.

"Survivor's Daily" was their first product, mainly distributed on the outskirts of Giant Stone City.

They printed 1200 copies for the first issue, distributed in relatively low-budget pubs, grocery shops, and mobile vendors.

These newspapers were printed in a local printing plant in Giant Stone City, and with a print run under ten thousand, the production cost per copy was about 0.5 chips.

If labor, rent, and utilities were included, their total expenses for the day reached thousands of chips.

As for income, that was not a concern for now.

The newspapers were essentially provided for free to their partners.

Each newspaper had a retail price of one chip, and if sold, after deducting the partners' profits, they could only recover the cost of printing the newspapers.

To promote these newspapers, they also gave away fifty-six crates of nuclear cola!

But all these efforts were worth it.

Upstairs in the meeting room of the newspaper office, Hal gathered the six editors they had and discussed the suggestions left by readers on the newspapers to plan the content for the next issue.

Suddenly, the door to the meeting room was pushed open, and a rushed staff member entered.

"Good news! 600 out of the 1200 newspapers have been sold!"

Hearing this, many faces around the meeting table relaxed, showing signs of happiness.

Being able to sell half under conditions where reading was free was quite an accomplishment for a new newspaper with no prior reputation.

At least it meant there was nothing wrong with their content.

The staff member paused for a moment before continuing.

"...But the bad news is, we didn't earn a penny; we only recovered 120 chips and over three thousand empty bottles."

Hearing this latter part, the editors around the table exchanged glances.

"...Maybe we can make some money by selling these bottles," one editor suggested in a low voice, looking at the chairman of the newspaper.

It's not easy to find a job these days.

Especially since newspapers are not essential commodities.

He was really worried that he might lose the job he had finally found.

Seeing the concern in everyone's eyes, Hal stood up at the meeting table and reassured everyone with an enthusiastic voice,

"Don't worry about the losses; making a profit isn't our goal! We only need to do one thing right now, and that is to make a name for ourselves quickly!"

"I've carefully reviewed the feedback, and the name 'Survivor's Daily' is still too vague, the content not specific enough!"

"The people sitting in offices aren't interested in which factory's production line is short of workers, and the workers of Giant Stone City don't care what the star of the Night Queen is wearing today."

"I think aside from 'Survivor's Daily', we should establish 'Worker Report', 'Citizen Post', 'Playboy Post', etc., targeting different customer groups with different content!"

"Since the 'Voice of Giant Stone City' has taken over the upper echelon of Stone City, let's venture into territories they have never touched and open up new battlefields!"

While saying these words, Hal felt every cell in his body boiling, his eyes gleaming with excitement and ambition.

If this plan could be implemented, the newspapers he founded would occupy every minute of the Giant Stone City residents' spare time, his written words read repeatedly by hundreds of thousands of people.

And he would become the "uncrowned king" of this city!

It had been so long since he had experienced something this exciting.

As he painted this stunning vision, faces around the room showed amazement.

An editor couldn't help but ask,

"Do we have that much budget?"

Hal confidently responded,

"There'll be a way! Didn't our boss say so? The Alliance won't skimp on investing in the cultural industry!"

"Besides, we've just obtained a loan of 200 million chips; we've got to spend that money somewhere, right?"

Chapter 360: This is a Precious Mission Prop

Giant Stone City's East Gate.

Next to the trade station's unloading point, crates and bales of goods piled up like small hills.

Standing next to a stack of grain, a topless laborer with a filthy rag slung over his shoulder reached out to push the solid sacks, a look of surprise in his eyes.

"Is this the batch from yesterday?"

Henry remembered it clearly.

Yesterday morning, he had just unloaded this batch from the back of a double-headed cow, not expecting to have to load it back on so soon.

A fellow worker next to him, grinning through his teeth, said,

"Yeah, it's grain from the farms to the south, smells as good as freshly aired clothes."

After June began, the weather here just kept getting hotter, and a bottle of ice-cold nuclear cola would be perfect.

But with their income, they couldn't afford such luxuries.

"Where are these goods going?" a dark-skinned young boy curiously asked as he approached.

Henry remembered his name, which seemed to be Hang, living in the nearby slums, not sure if he was thirteen or twelve but definitely young.

The trade station was different from other places, many of its employees came from the slums beyond the giant city walls.

It was said these people demanded less salary, satisfied with a token and two scoops of sticky nutrient paste a day.

Honestly, Henry didn't like these slum kids, for there were always people willing to endure a lower standard of living, causing their wages to keep dropping.

One token might be enough for him alone, but he had a whole family to feed!

"Send it to our neighbors," Henry said coldly.

An unloading worker nearby couldn't help but complain.

"Damn it... With all this grain, why won't those profiteers sell it to us a bit cheaper?"

If a kilogram of bread cost one token, they could afford it, but usually, it only bought a piece of rock-hard green barley cake.

Just then, the steward of the trade station walked over, overhearing the complaints of these paupers and rolled his eyes without thinking.

"Keep dreaming!"

"You expect the grain grown in the fields to be cheap like nutrient paste? Stop your yammering and get back to work, or you won't even afford the nutrient paste!"

Prompted by the steward, the cluster of complaining unloaders quickly dispersed and got back to work, not daring to say another word.

Despite their bellyful of grievances and dissatisfaction, jobs were hard to come by these days. If they were fired, their whole family would go hungry...

...

Not only food needed transport.

There were also bundles of cotton, parts and tools needed for construction, as well as lighting equipment and generators.

The total value of these goods reached 500,000 tokens, and they weighed a staggering 450 tons.

With 10 such trips a month, the trade volume would reach 5 million, amounting to 60 million a year.

If the shipping costs were also considered, spending 200 million tokens wasn't that extravagant...

Meanwhile, not far from the trade station, several fully armed players also assembled.

Old White, wearing an exoskeleton and carrying a rifle, glanced in the direction of the slums.

It was calm there.

Faces expressionless, common and unremarkable, showing no signs of the murder that had occurred a few days ago.

Nor could one feel that someone was casting a malevolent gaze this way.

Old White breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Just as he expected, that so-called Dagger Gang didn't dare come to trouble them.

Their alliance was young, not comparable in scale to Giant Stone City, which had led for two hundred years, nor to the military industrial giants and lords sitting atop the giant walls.

But in front of a few Looter gangs, they were still considered a giant elephant.

The two parties were not even of the same dimension.

Naturally, the other side was aware of this and wouldn't trouble him just for the life of one of their lesser members.

Of course, it was also possible that he was overthinking it, perhaps there just wasn't a continuation of that storyline in the Game's program.

As Old White was lost in his thoughts, a Guard NPC from the Office approached him and stopped in front of him, saying,

"The trading station is loading the goods onto the vehicles; we need to wait a bit."

Old White was not very proficient in United Human language, so he simply nodded and replied concisely,

"No problem, waiting a bit won't hurt."

Meanwhile, the nearby trading station was bustling with activity.

Bare-chested loaders shuttled between piles of supplies and the caravan, heaving cargo onto the backs of Double-headed Cows and securing it.

These cows, with two heads each, were docile and physically robust, a single one weighing five to six hundred kilograms, and mutants could even reach an astonishing one ton, as massive as a hippopotamus.

Most importantly, these animals were not picky eaters and had an "Iron Stomach" as tough as that of mutated hyenas, and they grew relatively fast, which made them widely used as a means of transport in the Wasteland.

Where tires and treads could not go, these cows could walk with ease.

Although slow, they were stable, and during a fight, they could even serve as a barricade.

Players were no longer surprised by these creatures; Frost Pike Ranch in the "North Suburb" raised them.

However, what surprised the players this time was that these Double-headed Cows were not only larger but also wore metallic devices.

They looked like exoskeletons.

"Damn, even cows have exoskeletons now?" Kill dagger said in surprise as he looked at the caravan not too far away.

Standing nearby, Dog Brother followed his gaze and watched the cows for a while before saying,

"That's a Non-powered exoskeleton, right?"

"What's a Non-powered exoskeleton?" Kill dagger asked curiously.

Kidney Fighter, standing nearby, explained,

"It's one without a power source or motors, kind of like a cart with wheels, allowing you to offload some of the cargo's weight onto the ground."

"Why not just go for mechanical cows?"

Dog Brother rolled his eyes,

"Might as well transport by rocket."

Kidney Fighter casually said, "Because the transport cost for a mechanical cow isn't just a bunch of grass for a hundred kilometers, it would need spare parts replacement and regular oiling... that's my guess."

This explanation seemed acceptable to Kill dagger.

But to equip Double-headed Cows with Non-powered exoskeletons was indeed taking the expression "make the best use of everything" to the extreme.

It didn't take too long to load the goods.

Old White raised his arm to look at it, and a popup window appeared on the VM screen.

The escort mission has started.

They needed to deliver the goods to the "North Suburb" within 48 hours and ensure the safety of personnel and materials.

"The goods are all loaded up."

"Where's Fang Chang?" Kill dagger looked around and noticed someone was missing.

Old White casually said, "He's got some things to take care of and needs to stay here for a while. Let's hit the road."

Dog Brother howled,

"Damn, that guy's hogging all the good stuff again!"

"Exactly! He's been acting solo these days, he must be up to no good!"

Hearing his teammates' complaints, Old White laughed heartily.

"Never mind him, he has his own matters to handle; he'll be back once he's done."

Looking at the caravan behind him, he made a swift forward gesture with his hand.

"Let's set off!"

The team started moving.

Escorting over two hundred double-headed cows and several hundred tons of supplies, the group embarked on their grand journey to North Suburb under the gaze of the Waste Land Wanderers.

The escort team comprised not only a few players from the Burning Corps but also two local mercenary groups from Giant Stone City, totaling over a hundred people.

Such a commercial team usually made the Looters steer well clear.

They wouldn't even dare to glance over here, let alone approach and probe.

It was said that the New Alliance also planned to renovate the subway tunnel from Giant Stone City to the North Suburb, sealing all side passages and reducing a journey that previously took two days to less than one.

If they laid cables and arranged a few electric trains to run through the tunnel, it might only take two to three hours for a round trip!

Normally, the straight-line distance from Giant Stone City to Bet Street was only about ten kilometers, and extending it to Linghu Wetland Park was only about fourteen or fifteen kilometers.

However, this project had not yet been negotiated.

The Stone City Hall was not very willing to spend the money. Duron gave a substantial reason: they couldn't spend the civilian taxes from the outer city beyond the huge walls.

Although the New Alliance indicated they could repair the tunnel themselves and manage its operation, such a massive project would cost a fortune.

With the current financial status of the New Alliance, they couldn't afford it and would have to get a loan from the Giant Stone City Bank.

Even though Mr. Melvin, the bank president, claimed to look forward to the New Alliance borrowing another billion, he was nervous about the two billion he had just loaned out without seeing any results yet. He planned to wait and see the outcomes first.

Chu Guang didn't urge him.

Fleecing such a venture had to be done slowly and steadily.

The ideal scenario would be that after his first borrowed sum was spent, Giant Stone City would happen to face its first round of inflation, causing the prices of "bulk commodities" whose prices were set in that currency to start skyrocketing.

But if he overextended their production capacity, it wouldn't be his debt shrinking—it would be the newly borrowed money...

...

On the northwest side of Dawn City, stood the granary of North Suburb.

Standing beside the soaring mill, Chu Guang inspected the condition of the fields, accompanied by Old Charlie.

After a series of reforms and personnel changes, Charlie had stepped down from the Merchant Guild and was appointed as the Minister of the Economic Department in the Alliance.

The vacated role of president of the Merchant Guild was then occupied by the former head of the trading station.

This was also Old Charlie's own suggestion.

The staff at the trade station often dealt with merchants from the wasteland; especially those managers promoted from the grassroots were not only familiar with the temperaments and trading processes of those Waste Land Wanderers, managing relations with them almost effortlessly.

Having the head of the trade station manage the Merchant Guild was more than appropriate!

The Merchant Guild primarily served players but was not solely for players.

This agency was more like a service-oriented department, acting as a bridge between players and NPCs in the trade sector.

Meanwhile, the Economic Department was more responsible for devising macroeconomic strategies, serving the entire Alliance, making it significantly more crucial.

Although it only had one office with staff so few they could be counted on one hand, this department's role within the Alliance was set to become increasingly important.

The reform of the administrative layers of the Alliance was finally complete, and lately, Chu Guang had some rare spare time.

When not too busy, he liked to stroll near the farm, relax, and check the growth of the crops in the fields.

Sometimes he would come alone, and other times he would bring others along.

The most spectacular sight was the rice paddy; the crops in the field were thriving, with thick green stalks already sprouting tender yellow shoots.

With improved seeds cultivated by CNC planting towers, coupled with fertilizers produced by chemical plants, and the hard work of the small players and survivors, this year's harvest was expected to be very successful.

They might even break a thousand kilograms per mu in the first year!

Currently, the cultivable land of the New Alliance had grown from 30,000 to 40,000 mu, more than half of which was the high-yielding corn and rice.

Just two more months.

By August, the grains harvested from this fertile land will fill the Alliance's granaries to the brim!

Looking at the endless farmland, a smile that resembled his father's appeared on Chu Guang's face.

How wonderful!

However...

These alone are clearly not enough.

"I originally thought that the initial plan of 30,000 mu was completely sufficient, but I didn't expect that plans couldn't keep up with changes."

Ideally, 1-2 mu of land could sustain one survivor, and 3 mu could sustain one player.

According to the population of Dawn City, the initial 30,000 mu planned by Chu Guang should have been enough.

Moreover, in the "To Forge Swords into Ploughshares" expansion, players actually reclaimed 5,000 mu more land than he had originally planned.

In Chu Guang's vision, the crops harvested from these lands would not only sate the stomachs of the New Alliance's residents but would also leave a surplus.

However, earlier this year, he couldn't have anticipated that by mid-year, the permanent population of the New Alliance had increased several-fold, from three thousand to nearly thirty thousand...

This didn't even count the food-consuming players and the over twenty thousand slaves in the POW Camp.

Due to the dramatic population fluctuations, the New Alliance's granaries oscillated between being sufficient and insufficient, just like Schrödinger's cat.

"Our population growth has indeed been rapid... The rate far exceeds our arable land area," Old Charlie remarked with a hint of worry as he walked beside Chu Guang.

Having more people is certainly good; in the Wasteland, population itself is a precious asset.

But this is also a double-edged sword.

People can only work when they are fed, understand decency when clothed, remain loyal when they have a house to sleep in, and only when they form families they begin to think about the future of the next generation.

If the needs of rapid population growth aren't met, the excess population could instead become a burden.

"There's no way around it; we can't just ignore those people," Chu Guang said concisely and casually as he looked at the survivors laboring in the distant fields.

He had once lived on Bet Street for no short time.

To him, those survivors were living beings, not just numbers.

That was why so many people were willing to offer their loyalty to the Alliance from the bottom of their hearts.

Actually, if you look on the bright side, there are still many solutions.

He had many cards to play.

"...35,000 mu of arable land is far from enough, we need to cultivate more fields. Before the sowing of the winter wheat begins, we must ensure that the arable land area is expanded to 50,000 mu, and reach 100,000 mu before next spring's plowing," Chu Guang continued after a moment of thought.

"Besides that, we must also mobilize the POWs to cultivate the land from the east of Western Lake to the south bank of Tianshui. The terrain there is a bit rugged, but the soil is fertile. Once the dike on the east bank of Western Lake is completed, getting together 100,000 mu of arable land should not be a problem."

"Until we achieve complete self-sufficiency in food, we can only try to import as much as possible from the southern farmers. As for trade-related issues, you and the Trade and Foreign Affairs Departments need to pay more attention."

Old Charlie nodded seriously.

"I'll keep an eye on it."

Fortunately, the industrial products of the New Alliance were quite popular in the south.

Especially the LD-47 rifles and various large-caliber weapons, which were perfect for dealing with the mutants active in the Brocade River Province.

Those green-skinned muscle-bound brutes had strong recovery abilities and ferocious close-combat capabilities; they seemed unaffected even after taking several shots, but even so, they couldn't withstand the gunfire from the 7mm full-power bullets and the 20mm high-explosive rounds fired from "cavalry guns."

Recently, many farmers had sent their servants to purchase some propeller planes to take back.

But piloting those planes required certain skills.

The farmers' plan was to send a group of loyal servants over to learn, and once they mastered it, to fly the planes back themselves.

Of course, they would pay tuition with grains.

The profit from selling planes was much higher than from selling rifles, even though they were just propeller planes, they could still fly.

One plane could exchange for the food for a thousand or two thousand people without any problems.

Having finished discussing future plans, Chu Guang looked at Old Charlie and continued with a smile.

"Let's talk about something happy."

"Today in the morning, Luka called me to say that the supplies we imported for 500,000 chips have already shipped. This includes the food and cotton fabric we need, the devices for building electrical grids, and construction tools, among other things."

"Two days from now, he will arrive at the 'North Suburb' with these 450 tons of supplies, and thereafter, every three days, a large batch of new supplies will be delivered to us."

"With these goods, our construction site in Dawn City will be twice as effective. Maybe in less than two years, even before the end of this year, our new settlement will be on the right track!"

Watching the clearly delighted Manager, Old Charlie squeezed out a smile on his face too, but his smile was somewhat bitter.

Is this really good news?

500,000 chips...

In just one day, they had spent the lifetime savings of five Old Leeches.

And all this money has to be repaid...

Giant Stone City.

A mansion close to the Inner City.

Sitting on a luxurious chair, Alyssa was idly playing with a black shorthair cat in her lap with her slender index finger.

Listening to the purring of the cat in her arms, her slightly curled eyelashes formed a gentle crescent moon.

Standing next to her chair were two bodyguards and a servant.

One of the bodyguards, whose eye sockets contained metallic-looking electronic eyes, was staring intently at the stranger in the room.

Despite being intently watched by three pairs of eyes, Fang Chang didn't mind.

NPCs, after all.

It was a perfectly normal thing for them to gaze intently at players when triggering a scenario, wasn't it?

What he was more concerned about was the girl sitting in the chair.

She was wearing an expensive-looking dress, her deep brown hair neatly tied back exposing her fair neck.

Unlike Dolly, she had an indescribable quality about her, as if she didn't belong to this world.

It wasn't strange when you think about it.

After all, no matter which window you looked out from within this mansion, you couldn't see a trace of the wasteland.

Looking at the young girl sitting on the chair, Fang Chang thought to himself that the game development team really should add a couple more chicken legs to the modeler's lunch box.

To integrate three completely different artistic styles on the same map, and to achieve such a seamless transition of scenes without any sense of discord.

What is the ninth art?

This is what the ninth art should be!

"Thank you, Mr. Mercenary."

"I thought I'd never see my little Black again."

Her melodious voice brought Fang Chang back to the present. He turned his eyes back and politely responded,

"Not at all. It's my honor to ease your worries."

Lately, his proficiency in United Human language had grown, and abiding by the principle of speaking more if capable, he added a few more words.

However—

Perhaps his expression wasn't clear enough, or there was a problem with his grammar.

Both the bodyguards and the servant next to NPC Alyssa were staring at him, dumbfounded.

Alyssa visibly paused too.

After regaining her composure, she couldn't help but smile and then, with her melodious voice, she suggested,

"Maybe you meant to say something else."

"Anyway, thanks to your help, I was able to find little Black."

When that obscure little newspaper approached her two days ago, Alyssa had not been very hopeful.

However, to her surprise, they had actually found her lost little Black.

Out of curiosity, she had her servant bring this mercenary before her.

Not quite what she expected.

She had imagined that mercenaries were usually rough men with beards and more scars than wrinkles, but the person who came in was a neatly presented young man.

After staring at Fang Chang for a while, Alyssa asked with interest,

"Could you tell me how you did it?"

Fang Chang's expression was a bit peculiar.

Of course, he couldn't say that he spent 200 silver coins to get some fat Rat Gang member to help find this silly cat that had jumped halfway up a giant wall.

Of course, it wasn't all the merciless brother's merit; Dolly had also helped him a lot in these past two days.

The little black cat, black as a coal, for some reason was somewhat afraid of him but not so much of Dolly.

Was it the smell of motor oil that was too strong?

Regardless, this task, personally entrusted to him by the director of the Alliance office, was finally completed.

The total reward was 25 chips.

Without considering Contribution Points and regional reputation, just from a monetary perspective, he was at a loss.

"It's a long story..."

"... Seeing as it's not convenient to share the secret, I won't press further."

Alyssa didn't persist. After soothing the cat in her arms for a while, she gently placed it aside.

Turning her gaze back to the man standing in front of her, she suddenly blinked mischievously.

"As an exchange, could you tell me about the world beyond the great wall?"

"The world beyond the wall..."

Fang Chang found himself puzzled, showing a troubled expression, "That's quite a broad topic, where should I even start?"

Alyssa suggested,

"Why don't you start with your own story? For example... where are you from?"

"North Suburb," Fang Chang answered truthfully.

On hearing this response, a hint of surprise appeared in Alyssa's eyes.

"You are a resident of the North Suburb?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"Hmm, nothing, it's just that I've heard my father mention that place a lot recently."

Alyssa lightly shook her head, her eyes filled with clear curiosity, "Can you tell me what that place is like?"

"It's hard to describe, but if I had to, it's not wealthy, but it is a place full of hope..."

Fang Chang organized his thoughts briefly and described the situation there with his limited vocabulary.

He thought that the girl wouldn't be interested, but to his surprise, she listened very earnestly.

After about fifteen minutes, Alyssa closed her eyes, pondered for a while, and then a smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you for talking with me for so long."

"Not at all... Oh, by the way, could you please write a thank-you letter?" Suddenly remembering that NPC named Hal had asked him to do something, Fang Chang quickly added another line.

That was close.

He had almost forgotten the main task.

"No problem, I've already written it," Alyssa smiled and nodded to a servant beside her.

The slightly aged servant stepped forward and handed a letter to Fang Chang from his breast pocket.

Fang Chang accepted the letter from his hand, politely declined the invitation for afternoon tea, thanked him, and then left the luxurious mansion under the "escort" of two bodyguards.

Turning two streets, he met Dolly who was embracing her arms under a streetlamp.

The green-haired girl was kicking a bottle cap on the ground to pass the boring time.

Seeing Fang Chang approach from around the corner, she immediately stopped and approached him, asking,

"Did you give Little Black to her?"

"Yes, did you grow attached to it in just half a day?" Fang Chang teased as he looked at her.

Dolly raised an eyebrow.

"How could that be, I... just asked casually."

Fang Chang laughed and said,

"I believe you."

He could feel that the young girl actually quite liked the clingy Little Black.

But she also knew well that it was someone else's pet. Not to mention, she couldn't even take care of herself, so a picky eater like that animal would only suffer with her.

"Hey."

"What is it?"

"That daughter of the bank manager, is she pretty?" asked Dolly curiously.

Fang Chang casually replied,

"Quite pretty, she's a dignified and elegant girl."

Dolly gave a little sniffle, seeming satisfied with her curiosity, though her expression was somewhat intriguing.

"...Speaking of which, are you also interested in a commission for 25 chips?"

"Chips aren't my goal, I need this letter." Fang Chang lightly shook the envelope clutched in his fingers and tucked it back into his pocket.

25 chips were only part of the task reward.

If it were just for money, he wouldn't have accepted the commission.

But explaining this to NPCs was too troublesome.

It wasn't like no one had tried, but they couldn't even comprehend what the Game was, and outright saying that your world is just a "game" seemed too rude.

Maybe that was part of the setting too.

"A letter?"

"Yes, a valuable quest prop."

"…?"

Without explaining to the confused Dolly, Fang Chang led her straight to the newspaper office.

Handing this letter to NPC Hal at the newspaper would mean the task was complete.

Although he didn't know what use this new NPC named Hal had, building a good rapport always made sense.

Watching Fang Chang in a good mood, Dolly, who followed behind him, displayed a complex expression.

She still didn't understand why this man, who could casually dish out over 50,000 chips, was interested in a mere commission of 25 chips.

Was it because he liked cats?

That seemed unlikely.

Or maybe…

He was hoping to use Little Black to get close to the daughter of the Giant Stone City bank manager, aiming to become Mr. Melvin's son-in-law and thus leap into the world of the wealthy.

At that thought, Dolly's expression turned from complex to contemptuous.

She snorted coldly,

"...Dream on."

"Hm? What did you just say?"

"Nothing."

Dropping that remark, Dolly turned her face to one side, now leaving Fang Chang completely baffled.

Both arrived at the newspaper office.

The room was noisy, every face bore dark circles, but everyone was enthusiastic.

Even excited.

After hearing Hal's plan, the higher-ups of the Alliance immediately granted them a monthly budget of 200,000 chips.

200,000 chips—every month!

When the editors who had once worked under Mr. Hauser heard the news, they were so excited they almost forgot to breathe.

Voice of Giant Stone City couldn't make that much money in a year!

And yet their boss was willing to disburse such a vast sum every month to sponsor their ventures without seeing any return.

With that money, there was so much they could do!

While the people inside the newspaper office were discussing their next steps, the office door opened.

Seeing Fang Chang returning with the thank-you letter, Hal's face instantly lit up, and he quickly took the letter.

"Great, you're back, my friend! We were just discussing the layout for the next issue, and you've come at just the right time!"

"I don't quite understand, finding the bank manager's daughter's cat... what does that have to do with your paper?" asked Fang Chang, observing Hal holding the envelope like a treasured possession.

Before Hal could respond, an editor nearby animatedly spoke for him,

"We plan to set aside a page in the paper specifically for commissions. What better way to attract those in need than to let them see the results?"

Another balding editor leaned in and added,

"Exactly, and I'm sure those mercenaries who never cared about news will start buying our paper from now on!"

"Why don't we start a 'Mercenary Paper'?" another editor chimed in.

Hal's eyes brightened, and he snapped his fingers.

"That's a great idea!"

Fang Chang coughed.

"If I may suggest... why not serialize a novel in the paper? Update it with 500 words every three days, breaking off at the most critical part each time. I guarantee your paper will sell out."

Hearing this, Hal was briefly stunned.

Then, he suddenly realized, his face immediately showing ecstatic joy.

"That's an excellent idea! Friend, why don't you come work at the newspaper?"

"I'd rather not..." Fang Chang coughed, suddenly feeling like he had perhaps given a bad suggestion.

But...

He was actually quite curious to see what kind of novel NPCs would serialize.

Just then, his gaze fell on a help-wanted ad nearby, and an idea sparked in his mind.

"Are you short-staffed here?"

Seeing Fang Chang showing signs of changing his mind, an exhilarated Hal immediately nodded.

"Of course, we need reporters, editors, we're short of everything... it would be great if you could help us!"

"Ahem, I'm not really cut out for this line of work, but I can recommend an expert to you. There's nothing in the Giant Stone City she doesn't know, and even if she doesn't know, I believe she'd find a way…"

Saying this, Fang Chang looked toward the office door, where the short-haired girl stood with her arms crossed, looking utterly unoccupied.

"What do you think of her?"

Chapter 361: The Daily Lives of Players and Messages from the Corporation

Holding the roughly made press ID in her hand, Dolly walked out of the newspaper office with a bewildered expression.

Ten minutes ago, she had completed her joining formalities with Hal's help and was then told to report here promptly at 7 am tomorrow.

Everything had happened so suddenly that she hadn't fully recovered yet.

Looking at Brother Fang Chang walking half a step ahead of her, she suddenly looked up and asked.

"…Wait, why do I have to be a journalist?"

Faced with the girl's question, Brother Fang answered casually.

"Because I think you're pretty good at digging up information."

"But… I've never done this kind of work before," Dolly said, looking somewhat uneasy.

In her view, she got this job purely through his favoritism.

What if she messed it up?

Wait a second…

Dolly's heart suddenly skipped a beat as she pieced together the events of the day.

Could it be…

The reason he took on that commission of 25 chips wasn't to get close to the bank manager's daughter but because of Hal's favor, to help me land this job…

When this abrupt thought flashed through her mind, her brain felt like a boiling kettle.

A hot blankness.

"Isn't everything a first time? The first time I used a Bow and Arrow, I almost missed a Hyena that wasn't even moving."

Brother Fang didn't notice the changes in the young girl's thoughts and continued with a smile.

"…Besides, didn't you say it's all the same anywhere in the world? Why not change the environment and try, maybe life will give a different answer."

"With a stable job, you'll also have time to pursue some healthy hobbies… like growing succulents? That's how the word is pronounced, right?"

His United Human language was still not very proficient; often, what he meant and what others heard were two completely different things.

But with enough time spent together, guessing what he meant shouldn't be too difficult.

Brother Fang believed that this young girl must understand the meaning behind his words.

The newspaper salary was based on New Alliance standards, minimum wage 1 Silver Coin an hour, 12 hours a day that's 12 Silver Coins. Converted into chips, that's 180 chips a month.

That was almost twice the income of working in the Boulder City Factory!

This money was enough for her to pay off a 50 chips monthly loan and cover 52 chips for rent.

After the trial period was over, her salary would increase. If she gathered important news, there would be an additional bonus.

However, Hal's description of "important news" was pretty vague, just mentioning it as "things people care about."

Clearly, the rookie president himself wasn't quite sure what people were concerned about.

No newspaper had ever been designed for common people outside the city.

Everyone was exploring.

Whether it was the newspaper or its employees.

But right now, Dolly wasn't thinking about work, Brother Fang's description of future life, or the succulent that hadn't been placed in front of the window yet.

Dolly stared blankly at Brother Fang for a while, listening to him talking vividly in imperfect United Human language, and suddenly a mischievous smile appeared on her face.

"I get it now, you don't want me working at the bar, do you? Worried about me getting hit on?"

Without waiting for the stunned Brother Fang to speak, she continued on her own.

"Don't worry, other than weird people like you, no one would find the smell of engine oil on me appealing."

Brother Fang watched her, dumbfounded for a while, and then said with a mixture of laughter and tears.

"Did you listen to anything I just said?"

If he had to admit, seeing this young girl working in a bar did indeed worry him.

After all, the bars on that street were not exactly reputable places.

But that clearly wasn't the main reason.

Of all the people he knew, it seemed like only Night Ten, that bratty kid, had the potential to be a tween fanatic.

For someone his age, of course, a big boost would better suit his taste.

However, Dolly didn't care about Brother Fang's reaction.

With a slight smirk, she walked behind him, stretching out her hands and pushing on the back of the guy in front.

"Let's go!"

"Go… where?"

"Obviously to eat, to celebrate my new job! Aren't we having a drink together?"

With a radiant smile, Dolly spoke cheerfully.

"I'm treating! Let's not dawdle, I know a really good restaurant!"

Watching the girl walk briskly ahead, Brother Fang was slightly stunned, a smile inevitably spreading across his face.

It seemed he had done something good.

Cheerful as well, he joked with the NPC before him.

"Then I won't hold back."

Dolly chuckled mischievously.

"Please don't, it's a really cheap place anyway!"

…

At the same time, North of Dawn City.

In Elm District, which players considered a monster-hunting hotspot, an explosion of fire shot into the sky.

A Multilegged Beast flailing its tentacles was shattered into pieces by an RPG's high-explosive grenade and thunderously fell at the edge of the forest, raising a cloud of dust.

Standing far away as a spectator, Jiujiu clapped her hands excitedly, cheering.

"Whoa, Big bro, you're amazing!"

Her ID and Internet handle were the same, named "Jiujiu Loves Pineapple," and she was fortunate enough to have secured the last Intelligence System sequence in the current version without any "summoning accidents" like turning into a rat or something else.

Lowering the smoking launcher in his hand, Night Ten arrogantly raised his eyebrows.

"Basic skills, nothing fancy."

The explosion attracted other nearby players.

Many newcomers who hadn't awoken yet saw him using an RPG to hunt monsters and exclaimed in disbelief.

"Damn, using high-explosive bombs on wild beasts… and he even used two, has he gone mad?"

"The materials disappeared along with the monster."

"Such a waste! It'd be a miracle to break even!"

"Speaking of which, who is that female player?"

"Never seen her before, a new face."

"Holy shit, wait, could it be Exalted?!"

Holding a hoe and standing next to the farmland, Makabazi couldn't help but sigh and complain.

"Damn Europeans! A blatant dark curtain! Is this a distortion of human nature or—"

Up Mountain to Beat Tigers couldn't take it anymore and rolled her eyes.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Aren't you also a closed beta player?"

Makabazi was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized and broke into a silly grin.

"Oh right, I am too... Hahaha! Then it's all good!"

Tiger: "..."

Ignoring the cries of the salty fish, Night Ten was about to brag a bit when he noticed his little sister standing about ten meters away, keeping her distance and just clapping.

"Damn! Don't just watch, help out!"

Jiujiu said with a wronged look.

"But, that monster is so ugly... And those tentacles look so scary, can we switch to another spot to grind mobs?"

Night Ten said irritably.

"This is already the most suitable spot for newbies to grind mobs. What's there to be scared of, you need to kill it to get stronger!"

Jiujiu pouted defiantly.

"But aren't we in the same team? If you grind, I should get experience too, right?"

Watching the chatty siblings, Wild Wind sighed and explained.

"…There's no such rule. All we can do is pull you back when you're in danger to protect your experience gains for the day. As for gaining experience, you need to participate in the fight."

It's been almost three days since Jiujiu logged in, and by all accounts, she should have been at LV3 by now.

However, due to Night Ten's overprotection, always intervening, it conversely hindered her experience gains.

This is where the game gets its realism.

If you just stand in the backlining and observing, after all, while you can scrape together the monetary and points rewards from quests, there would be no advancement in the "experience points" sequence.

Unless you're in the Perception System.

Being the only sequence that can leech experience, the Perception System allows for slight growth just by locating enemies with the mind.

These are the lessons they'd learned starting from the alpha 0.1 version, and despite many versions upgrades, these core settings hadn't changed.

Of course, Wild Wind felt, part of the reason might be that compared to the Beta version, the alpha was not as harsh.

When they first entered the game, there were no Ripper Rifles or PU-9 submachine guns; a bolt-action iron pipe rifle was enough to graduate.

T1 tier players even used axes and lances to fight, needing the Manager to personally handle a small group of mercenaries.

Assault rifles?

Rocket launchers?

What are those?

Facing death every day, their leveling speed was naturally much faster.

Jiujiu nodded, seemingly understanding.

Although she didn't quite get it, it sounded impressive.

Especially since her game avatar was 5 centimeters taller than her real self, giving her an almost model-like stature.

Just that alone was awesome, right?

This game is simply fantastic!

The only regret was that face customization wasn't possible, so she couldn't show off her artistic skills.

"So, do you guys usually play games together?" Jiujiu asked curiously, her gaze shifting between her brother and the player said to be a physics professor.

Wild Wind nodded.

"We've been in a group together for a long time."

"Group?" Jiujiu's eyes brightened, eagerly asking, "Can you add me?"

"No problem, once we log off—"

"No! NO! We can't let her join!" Before Wild Wind could finish, Night Ten let out a miserable scream not far away.

Watching her brother's strong reaction, Jiujiu frowned.

"Why can't I join?"

Night Ten obviously couldn't mention the ID issue, scratching his head anxiously trying to persuade her.

"Jiujiu... listen, our group is all adults, and people speak without much filter—"

"Pretty racy, right?" Jiujiu didn't wait for her brother to finish, her eyes sparkling, "It's okay, I'll just look and not talk!"

Crap!

Night Ten raised his right hand to cover his face.

As he watched Night Ten's constipated expression, Wild Wind cleared his throat.

"It's not that exaggerated... we hardly ever share risqué images actually."

Night Ten glared at him fiercely.

"Think about your own ID before you say that!"

Wild Wind was taken aback, his expressionless face suddenly flushed, he cleared his throat again and turned his face away.

"…That was just playing on a joke."

"ID?" Jiujiu asked curiously. "Isn't it Wild Wind?"

"…It's better for kids not to ask too much," Wild Wind coughed, looking at a corpse billowing with blue smoke beside them, changing the subject, "The leveling efficiency is too low, this won't do."

Night Ten sighed.

"If only Brother Fang Chang was here, he's full of bad ideas."

"Indeed," Wild Wind agreed, pondering for a moment before suddenly speaking, "But... I do have a suggestion."

"What suggestion?"

"Besides combat, the Intelligence System allows for careers in lifestyle… I heard your sister is into drawing in real life?" Wild Wind looked at Night Ten, "Why not let Teng Teng guide her?"

At that suggestion, Night Ten, who was previously rather loud, softened his voice instantly.

"Ah... This isn't too good, right? I've already taken up the task of passing the torch, and now I'm letting someone else mentor my apprentice..."

"It doesn't matter, we often help each other anyway."

"But..."

Watching the elder brother suddenly becoming somewhat shy, Jiujiu's eyes sparked with mischief as she adopted a pitiful tone.

"Brother, I've suddenly become quite interested in lifestyle professions too..."

You're interested in lifestyle professions, really?

Night Ten couldn't help but roll his eyes, not buying her act.

However, he could not resist his sister's pleas and sighed with a headache.

"Alright... I'll ask around for you."

Jiujiu excitedly made a victory sign.

"Yay! Brother, you're the best!"

"Then later you help me take out the trash."

"Hehe, no problem! I'll do it once I'm offline!"

Watching the playful siblings, a smile couldn't help but appear on Wild Wind's face.

Being young is great.

...

"Achoo!"

Vine Cottage, Wetland Park's old shop.

Teng Teng sneezed behind the counter, rubbed his little nose, and muttered softly, "Who's cursing me now."

Seeing Little Fish worriedly looking over the counter, Teng Teng straightened her petite frame, her gentle and kind smile rising above the counter.

"...Your ordered clothes are ready. I'll get them for you now."

Little Fish's face broke into a joyful smile.

"Thank you!"

"...You're welcome. I should be thanking you for always supporting our family business."

After retrieving a package of clothes from the back, Teng Teng, with a gentle smile, handed them to Little Fish.

"Boss Xia's clothes are ready too, please take them to her as well."

"Okay!"

Watching Little Fish take the clothes, Teng Teng suddenly remembered she hadn't seen her at the bank for a long time and asked curiously.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen you at the bank recently. Why is that?"

"Little Fish is going to study abroad!"

"Study... abroad?" Teng Teng looked at her in surprise. "In Giant Stone City?"

They have universities in the wasteland?

That's incredible.

"No," Little Fish shook her head crisply, "it's in Camp 101 in West State City! Brother Chu said I could learn a lot of great knowledge there so I can help everyone more when I come back."

Looking at the sensible young girl, Teng Teng couldn't help but reach out and fondly ruffle her hair.

"You've always been a great help to everyone, whether it's now or in the future... Go on, be careful out there."

She suddenly felt like a worried old mother, although with her small stature almost being surpassed by Little Fish, it felt rather incongruous.

This game is just so frustrating.

Not being able to add a couple of centimeters from real life to here is so annoying!

But Little Fish didn't mind; she and the locals were really good friends.

She looked at Teng Teng earnestly.

"Okay! Little Fish will be careful! Teng Teng, you be careful too!"

"Of course, I will. See you next time."

Watching the young girl walk to the door, Teng Teng smiled and waved gently in farewell.

Next time they met, Little Fish might be taller than her.

But then again, did NPCs with nearly human-level intelligence notice that their world was virtual, and that these players were actually immortal?

A strange thought suddenly crossed Teng Teng's mind.

Maybe Little Fish did know; they were a group of people with immortal bodies.

Even if their heads were chopped off or they were blown to pieces by shellfire, they would just climb out of their cultivation chambers three days later as if nothing had happened.

Yet even so, she would still treat them as her best friends, healing everyone with her warm smile, cheering for them, and worrying about their safety...

Was this something a game setting could achieve?

Teng Teng rubbed her chin and muttered quietly.

"...That's strange."

Though it wasn't really a matter of great importance.

...

"I... I'm leaving now."

At dusk.

At the train station platform, Xia Yan stood by the train door with a complex expression.

The usual carefree, openly lazy Boss Xia was now feeling sentimental.

Watching her unlike herself, Chu Guang cracked a joke.

"It's just over a hundred kilometers; you're not gone for good. Why the sentimentality?"

Xia Yan frowned, about to say something, but then heard him suddenly change his tone.

"Be careful on the road. It's fine to slack off at work, but don't slack off while studying."

"Oh... got it, such a nag." Although she complained, her heart warmed.

Being looked after this way didn't seem too bad.

"Slacking off?" Standing next to Boss Xia, Little Fish tilted her head, confusion apparent in her bright eyes.

Chu Guang coughed lightly and explained.

"It means being lazy."

"?"

Little Fish, tilting her head, was clearly more confused and didn't understand why touching herself was considered being lazy.

However, there was no time to explain now, as the train had already sounded its whistle.

The doors closed.

Pai, leaning against the train window, excitedly waved at Chu Guang standing on the platform.

"Goodbye, Mr. Manager of Shelter No. 404! I'll take good care of Little Fish!"

Chu Guang smiled and said,

"I trust you, and don't forget our agreement."

Pai energetically gave a thumbs up, her eyes expressing reliability.

"Leave it to me with confidence!"

Watching Pai who had stuck half her body out of the window, Little Fish, sitting opposite, curiously raised her head and asked,

"What did you agree on with Brother Chu?"

"Heh heh, it's a secret!"

Pai ducked back inside from the window, her voice low but her face unable to hide her smugness.

The manager of Shelter 101 is a "Forerunner," and by that logic, so is the manager of Shelter No. 404.

Being involved in the "Forerunners'" affairs gave her a feeling of helping "grown-ups."

Even if it was just running errands.

Little Fish nodded somewhat understandingly, not pursuing further questions. However, Boss Xia, sitting with arms crossed nearby, frequently cast cautious glances this way.

The train began to move forward.

On the platform outside the carriage.

Watching the chimney spewing white smoke disappearing into the distance, Chu Guang smiled and waved farewell to every reluctant face on the train.

There were thirty students heading to Camp 101 to study, half of whom were elites who had emerged from various fields within the New Alliance, aged between 16 and 30.

The remaining part of the students, aged between 14 and 16, were excellently performing students selected from full-time schools.

When conditions permitted, more people would arrive successively.

Regarding this matter, Chu Guang had already discussed it over the phone with the mayor of Camp 101.

When Hoene, the old man, heard that Chu Guang was willing to pay a tuition of 10,000 silver coins for each student per year, he merely pondered briefly before agreeing to this proposal.

They clearly had some understanding of the New Alliance's pricing, and they had a clear concept of the purchasing power of 10,000 silver coins.

After witnessing the abundance of products in the New Alliance, their attitudes had shifted from their initial wariness.

As for whether this tuition was too excessive?

Obviously, that wasn't the case.

Not to mention that Chu Guang had just taken a 200 million chips loan from the Giant Stone City Bank, and a continuous flow of goods and consumer products were streaming from Giant Stone City to the North Suburb of Qingquan city. Even without substantial financial support, he would squeeze out this money from the Alliance's fiscal budget.

Education is a long-term investment, whether it's basic or higher education.

A single lithium battery technology could help him recoup 3 million silver coins, the 300,000 silver coins scattered would aid the New Alliance far more than one antique-level technique.

Besides talent cultivation, there was also the introduction of talents and technologies.

In fact, these activities were already underway.

The drainage system of Dawn City was redesigned by that old man named Button.

The electrical engineer, Yuan Feng, who had visited City of Dawn with Pai, also planned to stay and help them plan the construction of the electrical grid from Dawn City to City of Dawn, preparing for the repair of a controllable fusion reactor.

All work was progressing methodically.

Whether it was the construction of Dawn City or the New Alliance's arrangements in Giant Stone City.

As the chimney disappeared into the forest's edge, Chu Guang withdrew his gaze.

"Are you not going back with them?"

The faceless android quietly stood on the platform, still looking northward.

Chu Guang remembered its name was Tianqin, originally from Shelter 101, serving as Pai's guard.

Of course, it might also be to protect the chip in the girl's brain.

After all, once a chip was used, one less was available, far more valuable than the ordinary wrist-worn computers like VM.

Hearing the voice nearby, Tianqin turned its head, replying with a flat electronic tone,

"Mr. Manager asked me to stay here, observe, and protect if necessary."

Surprise flickered in Chu Guang's eyes.

"So you can speak."

Tianqin nodded.

"If I hinder your work, please tell me, and I will leave on my own."

Chu Guang: "That won't be necessary; just do as you please, but try not to scare ordinary people."

Tianqin nodded again, adjusted the brim of its hood, and concealed its face in the shadow.

Chu Guang did not inquire further, walking away from the station with his guard in tow.

After all, there was nothing to hide here; let it Obscurely Behold (OB) if it wished.

Just as an animated statue added to his territory, occasionally it could even watch over his home.

If this guy had truly intended harm, it would have acted by now.

Regardless, the likelihood of shelters clashing with each other was exceedingly low.

Intuition told Chu Guang that this fellow's strength might be formidable, especially since it never seemed to recharge.

According to the intelligence gathered and arranged by Elder Fang, Huge Rock Military Industry likely possessed a secret army composed of Awakeners and modified humans, disguised as mercenaries hidden within the city.

Just as he sent players into Giant Stone City, this broken-down troop, hiding in shadows, might well infiltrate right under his nose.

This scenario was not impossible.

However, that wasn't a consideration for the moment.

This morning, Chu Guang had received a message from afar.

Later on, a commercial team from Ideal City was expected to arrive in North Suburb of Qingquan city.

Accompanying them would be reinforcements sent by The Enterprise faction to the west.

They would make a brief stop here and then follow the footsteps of Pioneer into the western deserts.

Shelter No. 404 was The Enterprise's "permanent partner," and both sides had established profound friendship during their brief cooperation.

As the saying goes, isn't it a delight to have friends coming from afar?

As Shelter's Manager, Chu Guang naturally had to prepare for welcoming these friends from a long journey.

And perhaps seize any opportunity to deepen cooperation…

Chapter 362: Friends from Afar

"Are you a glutton or what?!"

Staring at the mess on the table, Dolly's eyes widened in shock.

A lizard meat skewer, as long as a forearm and thick as two fingers, crammed full of tails charred to a ruddy finish, valued at three chips.

She was already full after eating just one, yet this guy had polished off a whole four skewers!

Dolly's gaze inevitably shifted downward.

She wanted to figure out where on Earth all the food this guy ate had gone?!

"Aren't you the one who told me to make myself at home?"

Fang Chang calmly wiped his mouth with a napkin, appreciating the expression on her face for a moment.

After some thought, he went on to criticize.

"The taste is indeed average, nowhere near as good as back home."

It seemed the lizard meat was imported from the south, where he had heard that there were farms raising edible lizards.

There was also crocodile meat, which chewed much like chicken.

But then again, the cost of living here was really steep, such a simple dinner had already run up a bill of twenty chips.

Fang Chang couldn't help thinking that opening an old street barbecue joint in Giant Stone City could be quite profitable.

Although most of the residents here couldn't afford to splurge, the mercenaries certainly could.

Looking at the pile of wooden skewers on the plate, the corner of Dolly's mouth twitched as she reluctantly reached into her pocket.

However, Fang Chang had already tossed a green chip worth twenty-five into the waiter's tray.

"...Bring me two more beers and another lizard skewer, and keep the change."

"...Yes, sir." The waiter rolled his eyes inwardly as he looked at the green chip on the platter.

Keep the change indeed.

There wasn't any change to give back in the first place!

Seeing Fang Chang picking up the tab, Dolly was stunned.

After quite a while, when the beer and skewers arrived, she muttered softly.

"Weren't you my guest... why did you pay for it?"

"Once I get my first paycheck, I'll treat you then. You better save your chips for rent and loan repayment," Fang Chang said as he sipped the beer, which tasted as weak as water, and teased Dolly, who pouted, "Besides, treating me with the chips I gave you doesn't seem right. I feel like I'm losing out."

"But, but it's what I earned!" Dolly protested with a flushed face. "How can that be considered using your chips?"

Fang Chang couldn't help but laugh at her amusing reaction.

"Right, right."

He never thought that one day, he'd become friends with a string of data.

But putting that aside, it was quite an interesting experience...

...

North outskirts of Qingquan City.

At the entrance and exit of the provincial highway, a dense crowd of figures was slowly approaching from the distance.

Rather than a commercial team, they looked more like a military convoy.

The man leading them was clad in light gray power armor, heavy steel, and composite materials armored him from toes to teeth.

The Gauss rifle he held in his hand was like a greatsword laid across his chest.

The hundred or so people following him, aside from the twenty power armors, were all wearing "Pioneer" exoskeletons and carrying "Black Swan" assault rifles.

Unlike the crew of the Pioneer, they were a corporate army, real soldiers.

Judging by the bullet holes and scratches on their vehicles and armor, their journey had been anything but smooth, and they'd seen their fair share of intense battles, not just one or two.

At that moment, the man at the front raised his right hand, and the thick formation came to a slow stop.

A short distance ahead of him stood an azure power armor.

The man fixated on the power armor for a while.

If he remembered correctly, this model was called "Supervisor," a police-type armor from the Human Alliance Era.

Behind the azure power armor were dozens of soldiers clad in "Type Five" exoskeletons, also a police-type armor from the Human Alliance Era.

Such equipment was generally only seen in shelters.

The man was about to say something.

But the power armor in front of him took the initiative to lift its helmet visor, speaking out with a resounding voice.

"Welcome, friends from the East Coast. I am the Manager of Shelter No. 404 and also the manager of the New Alliance. You can call me by my name, Chu Guang, or by my code name, Dawn."

Seeing the visor lifted on the other side, the man at the front tapped twice on the side of his helmet, opening his own visor as a gesture of sincerity.

Just as Chu Guang had expected, there was a robust face beneath the helmet.

Younger than he had imagined; he looked to be just in his early twenties.

"Yun Song, captain of Assault Team No. 26 of the corporate army," the man introduced himself.

"We've left from the Ideal City to reinforce the Pioneer in the Western Desert. Our intentions have been communicated to you over the channel."

"We need to resupply and rest here for a few days before we continue our journey."

Captain Yun Song, whose speech was very direct and uncompromising, had a distinct military style, completely different from the engineers Chu Guang had dealt with before.

Chu Guang glanced at the followers behind him, soldiers armed to the teeth, numbering about one hundred and twenty or thirty.

The remaining thirty or fifty people were probably logistical personnel, only a few of whom carried pistols or similar self-defense weapons.

In addition, there were nearly ten semi-wheeled and semi-tracked vehicles, probably loaded with supplies.

And those twenty or thirty double-headed cows and mutated donkeys carrying cargo didn't seem to have come from Ideal City. They were probably picked up along the way.

Unchanged in demeanor, Chu Guang still wore a smile as warm as the spring breeze.

"Welcome, the doors of the Alliance are always open to its friends!"

"This isn't the place for conversation. We've prepared a banquet to provide a warm reception for you."

"Please follow me."

The "Long Endurance Farm" built by the Pioneer for Shelter No. 404, had an exchange condition: to provide a resting place for the employees and troops of the corporation when their reinforcements passed through the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

Seeing that the Manager before him was fulfilling the agreement, Yun Song's eyebrows relaxed slightly, and a smile spread across his tense face.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

With an ever-present smile on his face, Chu Guang replied calmly.

"We are friends. It is only right to lend a hand to a friend in trouble!"

…

City of Dawn did not prohibit Waste Land Wanderers carrying weapons from entering, but there were requirements for the scale of the armed personnel and the types of weapons.

For example, regular mercenary groups and caravan guards could enter and leave freely, but armed forces exceeding 50 people had to register in advance before entering.

Additional ammunition and explosives had to be left at the trading station next to North Street and could not be brought into City of Dawn. They could be taken away upon departure.

Carried weapons wouldn't have their magazines checked, but the safety must not be disengaged arbitrarily, especially on the streets, where the muzzle must always be pointed downward.

Drones patrolled the skies above City of Dawn.

Any violations would trigger the launch of the guard team within 10 minutes, and depending on the threat level, nearby players would receive an arrest mission.

For these soldiers who came from afar, in terms of numbers, equipment, and nature, they had obviously exceeded the ordinary scope and naturally couldn't be treated like a regular mercenary group during the entry process.

However, as the corporation was a partner of the New Alliance, Chu Guang generously granted them the permission for military transit.

The garrison was selected next to the airport.

With the 2nd Army being moved to patrol West State City, there were plenty of available barracks.

Upon reaching the entrance of the barracks, many of the soldiers' faces showed signs of relief.

Clearly, they had endured much hardship on the way.

A surprised look spread across Yun Song's face as he repeatedly compared with the tablet in his hand.

The screen displayed photos taken by the Pioneer.

The barren land was once nothing but a concrete enclosing wall, with a few barracks made of foam material.

Yet everything before him was unrelated to the photos in his hands.

Row upon row of tidy barracks sat on the open space, with several wooden hangars next to the straight runway, 100 mm cannons standing tall, and not far off, a reinforced communication tower.

Looking southwest, one could see the brightly lit night. Although the full scope of the survivor settlement couldn't be seen, from the flickering outline alone, it was clear that it was a thriving settlement with a population of perhaps no less than ten thousand.

The strong contrast left Yun Song stunned in place, and he couldn't help but turn to Chu Guang and ask.

"This place... is it really Long Endurance Farm?"

He suspected he might have gone to the wrong place.

Anticipating his astonishment, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"That's a name from history now; it's called City of Dawn these days."

"As for the farm, it's just a corner to the northwest of City of Dawn. We transformed the barren land north of the lake into farmland. If you had come here half a year earlier, you could still see the track marks left by the Pioneer on the land."

"But now, it has been covered by a vast expanse of rice and corn fields."

Yun Song didn't speak, but the amazement in his heart was clearly etched on his face.

Such an event would not be surprising around Ideal City.

Due to trade with the corporation, many survivor settlements in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng had also developed very well.

Especially those around Cloud-On-City and Cloud-Below-City, which became opulent thanks to the extensive trade routes and the remnants of pre-war civilization.

Yet such a miracle had occurred deep inland in the wilderness!

It was utterly inconceivable!

However, now was not the time to discuss such matters.

With a composed expression, Yun Song looked towards Chu Guang and earnestly said.

"We have 20 wounded among our team. Before settling us, can you provide resting beds for them first?"

"Wounded?" Chu Guang asked in slight surprise.

Yun Song nodded, his face grave as he spoke.

"When we passed by Yongdong City, we were ambushed by a group of mucosal entities disguised as survivors... Four brothers remain there forever, and another 20 suffered varying degrees of infection during the battle."

"Their symptoms are very rare. In addition to being irritable and aggressive, they also have increased appetite, drowsiness, and uncontrollable violent behavior."

"Without the professional medical equipment and personnel to handle their conditions and no cryogenic hibernation devices to alleviate their pain, we can only periodically inject them with sedatives."

"Continuing on the road with them is a burden, and it's dangerous for them. We plan to leave them here temporarily."

"In July, a corporate caravan will return from the west, and they will take our wounded back to Ideal City. We will need to trouble you to look after them for a while… Of course, we will pay you for your service."

Listening to the words of the assault team captain before him, Chu Guang's expression also slightly changed.

Disguised as survivors, slime molds?

Had the Lair in Yongdong City developed to that extent?

What surprised Chu Guang even more was that even this group of professional soldiers, armed to the teeth with high-tech equipment, had been caught off guard by the mucosal entities there.

If he remembered correctly, Batch, who opened an aluminum factory in the "North Suburb," seemed to have been parasitized in that very Yongdong City too.

"I will have my doctor look at you guys," Chu Guang said seriously.

Although he didn't hold much hope for the small clinic here, Yun Song still nodded his head.

"Thanks for the trouble."

...

The welcoming banquet was held in the army barracks, and these big-headed soldiers weren't fussy about the dining environment.

Instead, after so many days of living exposed to the elements, just having a table to eat at already made them feel delighted.

Not to mention the rumors about delicacies.

When they first crossed the border of River Valley Province, many were filled with expectation.

And now, that expectation had indeed not been let down.

Over twenty round tables were set up in the open space, with the center of each table cut out to accommodate a large pot.

Stones were piled up underneath the pot, with blazing charcoal fire burning inside. The boiling pot churned with froth, and the air was filled with enticing aromas from the steam, causing everyone sitting at the tables to constantly swallow their saliva.

Thin slices of meat and various meatballs were placed in wooden racks on the tables, alongside sliced cabbage, water-droplet laden bean sprouts, mushrooms, tofu chunks, instant noodles, and more.

Eyes darting between the pot and the ingredients on the table, a corporate soldier sitting there couldn't contain his curiosity and asked,

"...What is this? How do we eat it?"

"Hotpot, it's quite a common way of eating here. Just like this, you put the ingredients in and cook them, then scoop them out to eat," Lu Bei said with a smile as he demonstrated.

He picked up a slice of beef as thin as paper with his chopsticks, swished it in the pot a couple of times, and then dipped it into a sauce plate before popping it into his mouth.

Seeing how deliciously he ate, the other soldiers around the round table started to follow suit with great enthusiasm.

The two groups ate and talked, and the atmosphere was as lively as the steam rising from the pot.

At first, everyone was somewhat reserved.

But after a few slices of beef accompanied by beer were consumed, they quickly warmed up to each other, and the conversation flowed more freely.

Looking at these ravenous men, the nearby Guards Corps soldier, eating at the same table, couldn't resist asking,

"Say, don't you guys have hotpot where you're from?"

He had heard that Ideal City was a very affluent place, purported to be the closest to the Prosperity Epoch utopia on this wasteland.

In comparison, their neighbor Giant Stone City seemed as insignificant as a speck of dust on a diamond.

Despite the exaggerations in the rumors, seeing these famished fellows, it was hard for Lu Bei to picture just how affluent that place could be.

A few corporate soldiers exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.

"No idea, I'm a Level F employee."

"I'm actually Level E, and I should be promoted to D after I get back."

"The defense department's pay grade goes up by a half, but the Cr they give can only buy some basic food."

"We don't really care much about the methods of cooking, but protein and fat are not too scarce."

"The restaurant processes the food and serves it up, and the flavors are generally not as potent as this."

At that moment, a corporate soldier who had been busily stuffing his face without joining the conversation, couldn't help but raise his head and let out an envious swear.

"Damn... do you guys eat like this every day?"

Lu Bei smiled shyly.

"Not really every day... just occasionally."

Who could handle eating hotpot every day, after all?

Even if one's stomach could withstand it, the rear end certainly couldn't.

There were plenty of good things in North Street of Dawn City, and the New Alliance treated its soldiers quite well, so they didn't have to fixate on eating the same thing voraciously.

Hearing this from their allies, the envious corporate soldiers seemed to finally find some balance in their hearts.

As expected.

Such delicious food wasn't something one could afford to eat every day...

...

Due to the urgency of time and the inability to prepare dinner for more than two hundred people, Chu Guang had a stroke of insight and simply invited them to have hotpot.

This kind of food that can be cooked while being eaten is not too troublesome to prepare, and it could even be cut while eating, plus the hotpot base was pre-made.

As for arranging for the soldiers of the Guards Corps to dine with the corporate soldiers who had come from far away, that too was Chu Guang's arrangement.

The main reason for doing so was to foster friendship between the two sides and to dispel any wariness.

Of course, there was another reason, which was to borrow their prestige.

Long ago, Chu Guang had heard that the nobles and rich merchants of Giant Stone City were the corporate's number one "bootlickers." The entire industrial system of the outer city, even the layout of some city blocks, were modeled and improved upon that of the corporate.

Commodities from Ideal City, especially high-tech products, often sold at astronomical prices in the inner city of Giant Stone City.

If it weren't for the reluctance to lose the benefits in the city and the distance being too great, those nobles would probably have run off to the East Coast to enjoy their blessings by now.

Thinking this, Chu Guang, sitting at the dining table, couldn't help but reveal a meaningful smile.

"If this photo appears on the front page of 'Survivor's Daily' tomorrow, I wonder what those nobles from the Inner City will think."

"The corporate delegation arrived at the 'North Suburb' with the 26th Assault Team of the Army Department, to engage in a friendly exchange with the Alliance Guards."

He even came up with a headline for the new newspaper.

"What is this noodle made of?" As he dropped another block of instant noodles into the hotpot, the deputy officer of the assault team couldn't help but ask.

In the Ideal City, noodles were commonplace, but this was the first time he had seen fried noodles.

Although the idea of deep-fried carbs sounded extremely unhealthy, the taste turned out to be unexpectedly addictive.

Especially after boiling it in a spicy hotpot, the flavor was simply fantastic!

Perhaps it was because he was hungry from the journey, but from the first bite until now, he hadn't stopped eating.

This was already his third bowl!

"...It's a type of convenience food that can be cooked in a hotpot or just by adding hot water. You came in such a rush—if you had informed us a day or two earlier, we could have prepared a more sumptuous meal," said Chu Guang, smiling.

It was noticeable that the corporate didn't allocate much budget for this visit.

Even the logistics were outsourced to merchants from the Wasteland.

The man sitting to the right of Yun Song was the merchant accompanying the military; his name was He Ding, and he claimed to be a merchant wandering the Wasteland.

However, being in charge of the logistics for a long journey, he didn't seem to be just any ordinary merchant.

"...To keep adding food to the hotpot while eating, I've never seen such an odd way of eating."

The merchant named He Ding chewed his food slowly with a curious expression on his face.

It seemed as if he had discovered a business opportunity.

"Is this not common elsewhere?" Chu Guang casually asked.

"There are similar things, but the flavors are not so intense..." After taking a sip of beer, He Ding suddenly changed the subject and looked at Chu Guang, "May I inquire about the recipe for the seasoning? Of course, I am willing to pay for it."

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"It's no secret. If you're interested, you can have a chat with the chef later."

He Ding shook his head, saying in a joking tone.

"In my many years of doing business, the first experience I learned is that free things are the most expensive. I'd rather have the opportunity to pay for goods directly."

Chu Guang looked at him with slight surprise.

It seemed this guy wasn't easy to fool.

But that made sense.

Most of the crew members aboard the 'Pioneer' were engineers; it was normal for them not to be good at business.

This guy was a bona fide merchant and clearly had extensive dealings with survivor settlements outside of Ideal City.

The tricks that usually worked without a hitch for Chu Guang probably wouldn't be as effective on him.

Chu Guang readily said, "No problem! But let's talk about this after the party is over."

He Ding smiled.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity. In fact, I'm quite interested not just in the hotpot, but also in the instant noodle cakes."

"Although they don't seem to be high in nutritional value, I guess they're not difficult to preserve and can provide a large amount of calories. If combined with some dehydrated vegetables, they might be quite popular with mercenaries and commercial teams."

Not bad.

This guy has something!

Chu Guang's look of surprise towards him grew.

It wasn't something very difficult to think of.

But being able to sniff out a business opportunity from a bowl of noodles before the meal was even over, this guy was indeed not simple.

Chu Guang laughed heartily.

"You've got it!"

"Our instant noodles are actually most popular among mercenaries, followed by long-distance commercial teams."

He Ding was intrigued.

"Can you tell me more?"

"No problem!"

Chu Guang found that he got along quite well with this guy, especially when they talked about investing in factories, expanding sales channels, and entering the market of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

But just then, Chu Guang suddenly noticed that the team leader named Yun Song seemed somewhat distracted while eating, so he asked with concern.

"Is it not to your taste?"

"No, your food is delicious, thank you for your hospitality," Yun Song sighed, staring at the bottle on the table with a hint of worry in his eyes, "I'm just a little concerned about those injured brothers."

Chu Guang could sense his feelings at the moment, but didn't know what to say, only offering some words of comfort.

"Don't worry, our hospitals here may not have the conditions that you have, but our doctors and biologists are absolutely professional. Especially when it comes to research on the Lair and Mucosal Entities, we've been dealing with those things long ago."

As he was speaking, a flash from his VM on his arm caught his attention, and a pop-up message appeared on the screen.

Chu Guang tapped to open it and saw that the message was sent from Heya.

[The inhibitor has been injected, the patient's condition is stable.]

With a slight surprise raising his eyebrow, Chu Guang's face immediately brightened with a pleasant smile.

"...We were just talking about good news, and here it comes."

---

(Thanks to "一叶落而知天下秋丶" for the generous rewards!!!)

Chapter 363: You guys are so generous!

"How do you feel now?"

"Thank you... I feel much better."

When Shen Rui woke from his coma, he lifted his head and saw a woman in a white lab coat standing in the hospital room, with a rare shock of white hair.

He then looked at his left hand and saw that under the rolled-up sleeve was flesh full of meaty red folds, like some kind of rotting matter.

Seeing this, his pupils contracted slightly and he involuntarily held his breath.

Standing outside the hospital room window and looking in, several players who hadn't logged off were whispering to each other without any thought of the chaos.

"Is this a man from the corporation?"

"He looks sickly."

"Probably like that Batch, got bitten by Eaters on the way here."

"Damn, a Kylin Arm?"

"It looks pretty cool, though."

"F*ck, where can I get one of these?"

"What are you planning?"

"To get a set, of course! Heh, it'd be great if they could extend tentacles out like a few dozen meters, just like in Hunting Prototypes!"

"Holy shit, you've got some weird tastes!"

Luckily, the patients inside the room couldn't hear, nor understand, what those idiots outside were saying.

Otherwise, their already settled blood pressure would skyrocket again.

Looking at the tablet in her hand, Heya's eyes flickered with excitement and curiosity as she spoke rapidly.

"Erosion degree 11%, mutated slime fungus has replaced your left arm, and thankfully, only the left arm. Your condition is considered mild. I've injected you with an inhibitor, which can prevent the fungus from spreading further... and from replacing your brain."

"Can it be cured?"

Although he was doubtful of the medical facilities here, the word "inhibitor" ignited hope in the man lying in the bed, as if clutching at a lifeline.

No one wants a mass that doesn't belong to them growing on their body, especially when that mass is alive.

However, Heya's next words plunged him into the depths of despair.

"It can't be cured."

"Each Lair adopts different evolutionary strategies, and we have no knowledge of the situation in Yongdong City."

"You now have two options, to replace it with a bio-engineered limb, or... to see if a doctor can help you after you return to your place."

Heya actually hoped he would choose the former, as it would give her a fascinating sample.

Recently, the New Alliance got a batch of bio-mechanical prosthetics from Giant Stone City, and their quality was passable.

But the man on the bed didn't even think before promptly choosing the latter.

"No need, thank you."

With an awkward smile, Shen Rui shifted the weight of his head back onto the pillow.

Even if he were to get a bio-engineered limb, he wouldn't do it outside of Ideal City.

Just then, the door to the hospital opened, and an officer from the Assault Team walked in hastily with Chu Guang's company.

"How are things here?"

Before Heya could reply, Yun Song immediately went to Shen Rui, who had just woken up, and asked urgently and seriously.

"Do you feel better? Have you noticed any discomfort? Or allergic reactions, perhaps?"

Shen Rui stared at his left hand for a while, then glanced at his unchanged right hand, as if comparing them.

"I feel much better than yesterday, but part of my body seems like it doesn't belong to me."

"Anything else?" Yun Song pressed.

"There's not much else, aside from my left hand still getting used to it. There are no major issues, and I even have the confidence to return to the battlefield!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang quickly advised against it.

"How could you, your wounds have only just healed, you need to recover!"

How could they let the duck at their lips fly away?

Are the ICU and the special medicines the same price?

According to the contract negotiated with the captain of the corporate Assault Team, when the corporate Commercial Team passes by next month, they would settle the expenses for these patients.

Rather than these penniless soldiers who also had missions to attend to, it was the cargo-laden teams returning home that had more to offer.

Although Heya found it strange why Chu Guang wanted to keep these burdens, she still nodded in agreement at his meaningful look.

"That's what I suggested too. Stabilizing the condition requires inhibitors, and producing inhibitors requires the Mucosal Entity as a component."

"We previously had only one patient, so the stock of prepared medicine is not ample. Without enough medicine, relying on your own immunity, it's difficult to prevent the fungus from further encroaching."

Yun Song had a somber expression on his face.

"Isn't there a cure?"

"Not at the moment," Heya shook her head, "In fact, I only started researching this thing this year... There was none of this stuff in the Shelter where I was born."

"I suggest they stay here for observation for a period; maybe there will be some progress."

At present, this seemed the best approach.

Indeed, being parasitized by the mutated slime fungus wasn't completely bad. Optimistically thinking, at least one's recovery and metabolism would improve, and pain sensitivity would be dulled.

In essence, part of the body's tissue would have toughness comparable to Mutants.

Or, it could be regarded as a "biological prosthetic" with self-repairing abilities.

But using a living organism as a prosthetic was psychologically unacceptable to most people.

Having left the hospital room...

Yun Song stopped and turned to Chu Guang, speaking somewhat apologetically.

"Thank you for taking care of those injured."

"It's no trouble, just lending a helping hand."

Chu Guang smiled, and after a brief pause, he continued, "Speaking of which, I didn't ask during dinner, but is something wrong with the Pioneer?"

Upon hearing this question, Yun Song fell silent, seemingly hesitating whether or not to share the situation.

Seeing this reaction from him, Chu Guang guessed it probably wasn't a secret that fundamentally couldn't be disclosed, so he continued.

"The crew of the Pioneer are our important partners, and our residents would like to know if they are safe. This is very important to us."

Looking at the Manager's serious expression, Yun Song remained silent for a while, then sighed softly.

"To be honest, our Pioneer did indeed encounter some trouble while delving deep into the desert. They deployed the 'Migrant Birds,' sent the last message to our enterprise, and after that, we lost contact."

"After learning they were in trouble, we immediately dispatched reinforcements to the west and searched for their signal along the way. Unfortunately, we found nothing. They seem to have disappeared..."

"We conjecture two possibilities: one is that their communication equipment has malfunctioned, and the other is that the region has strong signal interference. In either case, it seems that only by continuing westward and deeper into the desert might we find new leads."

Spanning thousands of kilometers from Luo Xia Province to the furthest eastern coast, the journey crosses numerous colossal city clusters and ancient battlefields.

Without satellite and communication network support, it is very difficult for the messages launched from the Pioneer to be directly transmitted back to Ideal City.

Outer space, as part of the ancient battlefield, is now covered by irregularly moving debris and automated weapons, making the launch and stable operation of satellites nearly impossible.

This is also why most survivor forces, even those possessing the technology to launch satellites, seldom use it.

The "Migrant Bird" system, on the other hand, is a disposable communication tool designed by enterprises for merchants and long-distance teams.

Its characteristics include being lightweight, having a simple launch mechanism, and effectively being an inexpensive long endurance drone that can orbit the planet at low altitudes. By evading ground radar searches, it can carry stored information back within the communication range of Ideal City and release it.

Chu Guang had heard Luo Hua mention this system before and had even been tempted to introduce it.

However, because the "Migrant Bird" was set to fly only towards Ideal City, and since there was no precedent for exporting this system to other survivor forces, he abandoned the idea after inquiring.

"Can you tell us what the trouble is?" Chu Guang sensed that the person in front of him probably knew something of the details.

And indeed, Yun Song's next sentence confirmed his guess.

"Army!"

A shadow crossed Yun Song's eyes.

"Those guys with their prominent noses, like crows clutching rotten flesh in their beaks, want to peck at anything they see. Our conjecture is that the survivors or a commercial team from Luo Xia Province saw our land fortress and leaked the news to the Army."

At this point, the captain of the assault team couldn't help but let out a string of curses.

"200 years, it's always the same. They take an interest in No.0 Shelter only when we decide to search for it."

"What exactly is in that No.0 Shelter?" asked Chu Guang, driven by curiosity.

Although he didn't expect this leading soldier to be able to answer questions that even Lu Yang, the highest officer of the Pioneer, could not answer, he wanted to hear another perspective.

Yun Song shook his head.

"I don't know. Maybe it's some super weapon, or some unfinished technology. Who knows who said it, but it's rumored to be something that could revive civilization... To be honest, I think it could just be an error that got out of hand."

"It wouldn't be the first time. Treasures praised by wanderers of the Wasteland turn out to be just a water purifier. The life in Ideal City is already good enough, so what if we don't go looking for No.0 Shelter? Even during the most prosperous times, it was all about three meals a day."

Although his conviction to reinforce his allies hadn't wavered in the slightest, he clearly didn't believe the rumors about No.0 Shelter.

This story had been circulating for 200 years.

Hoping that a shelter could solve all problems, the world wouldn't have turned out this way from the start.

Realizing he had digressed, Yun Song no longer shared his views on the rumor and steered the conversation back on track.

"I've gone off-topic, no matter what the legend says, I need to clean up the mess for the brothers on the Pioneer. If they can still continue, we'll give them a hand. If they've suffered heavy losses, we'll take them home."

"Since the creatures of the West Coast have started itching for a fight again, it's time to settle both new and old accounts!"

When he said this, a hint of obvious hatred flickered in Yun Song's eyes.

Chu Guang couldn't help but ponder in his mind.

It seemed that the relationship between the corporations and the Army was indeed not harmonious, and it wasn't just a matter of mutual dislike; there was probably some historical grudges involved.

He had no intention to get involved in the feud between the two "Degenerate Empires," but currying favor with the corporations clearly yielded more benefits.

Both the corporations and the Army were far enough away that being taken out by the other side was very unlikely.

After all, Qingquan City was not the Grand Canyon; cities covered in "Mutated slime fungus" were not uncommon in the Wasteland, and no one would send an Expeditionary Army to pick up a rotten stone.

Therefore, Chu Guang only pondered for two seconds before speaking in a generous tone.

"A friend's trouble is our trouble, please feel free to tell me where we can lend a hand."

Yun Song gratefully glanced at Chu Guang.

"That's exactly what I was about to discuss! We've used up too much ammunition on the way and are in urgent need of bullets, as well as light and heavy anti-armor weapons. For the latter, we're not picky, as long as the infantry can carry them, they are simple to operate, and have certain accuracy and range, that's enough!"

A smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"That's easy, the last thing we're short of here are weapons, but the bullets... that might be a bit tricky."

"Is it a caliber mismatch?" Yun Song asked, frowning.

"Yes, our rifles use 7mm full-power rounds; the case length and primer caps don't match with your G9 'Black Swan'. It's too late to start a new production line now, unless you're willing to stay here for half a month before departing."

"Half a month... that's too long," Yun Song said, troubled.

"That's the quickest scenario already. Building a new production line requires quite a bit of preparation, especially to produce completely new products."

Seeing Yun Song deep in thought, Chu Guang empathically made a suggestion.

"So, I have a proposal for you, you could try our LD-47 rifles."

Yun Song was startled for a moment.

"LD-47?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, it's a weapon that has been tested in combat, and we just used it to win a battle. Although the opponents weren't part of an Army formation, they were still pseudo-soldiers led by Army officers and using Army standard equipment."

"While the accuracy of this equipment isn't high, and it has a simple receiver structure with limited attachment options, its redeeming feature is its ample firepower and low malfunction rate. It performs well in the desert environment, and many commercial teams coming from the west like our weapons."

Yun Song, still frowning, said: "But... our aiming assist plugins are only compatible with the G9 assault rifles. Using non-standard equipment might have a significant impact on the soldiers' combat power."

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang wore a look of helplessness.

Do these people not know how to fight without cheats?

But when I think about it, it makes sense.

Day in and day out, they've used auto-aim hacks; if one day the hacks suddenly got banned, anyone could see the stark difference in skill.

Facing the concerns of the assault team captain, Chu Guang patiently said,

"Combat power doesn't necessarily have to be reflected solely in weapon precision, firepower superiority is also an advantage. Now that you can obtain logistical support from us, there's no need to conserve ammo, and in fact, your combat effectiveness won't be affected."

"Moreover, this is just a backup option. Aside from temporarily using our weapons, you can also leave some logistics personnel with us to help construct the ammunition production line for the G9 'Black Swan' assault rifles."

"Though our industrial base here lags behind, we're rich in resources, and producing a few bullets is no problem at all. Once we have a supply of bullets that match the specifications, we will immediately dispatch armed transport teams to your coordinates. Then, switching back to your original equipment will also be seamless!"

After hearing Chu Guang's proposal, Yun Song was visibly stunned.

Not because the proposal was too fanciful, but because he hadn't expected their allies to be so considerate.

Not only were they willing to lend their weapons to them but also prepared to set up a factory for them. As soon as the new bullets were produced, they'd deliver them right away.

What kind of divine teammate was this!

"Thank you!" Yun Song said with a grateful face, "You are really too generous!"

Although He Ding was in charge of logistics, Yun Song couldn't think of a reason to refuse the Manager's proposal.

To hesitate even for a second would be to distrust their ally, to fail to appreciate their generosity!

Chu Guang felt a bit embarrassed, especially hearing his own generosity being praised.

"I've said it, no need for such courtesy," Chu Guang smiled and continued, "If you need it, our soldiers can even join you in the same trenches!"

No wars had broken out recently, and many players were getting restless. It would be good for them to accompany an old friend from the Alliance for a stroll.

Bringing back some sympathy money would also help support the background operations, which would be beneficial for everyone.

But perhaps it was his own generosity that made Yun Song ultimately too embarrassed to accept, and he shook his head.

"No, that won't be necessary. This is a grudge between us and the Army. If those people find out that you guys have joined this war, it might bring trouble to you."

He paused, then continued earnestly,

"As for the weapon production, I will discuss it with our logistics personnel. However, we can't let you do us such a big favor for nothing."

"On the way here to River Valley Province, although we encountered many troubles, we also lucked into capturing a lot of war spoils. Besides that, when we set out, we brought some trade goods for bartering supplies."

"I will give you a list; pick whatever you like from it!"

A pick of anything? There's such a good deal?

Chu Guang's face showed joy.

But he wasn't swept away by his excitement, he still understood the principle of longevity.

With He Ding around, someone would surely block such obviously unreasonable terms.

What he needed to do now was to make the rules of trade more favorable to the Alliance, based on a win-win situation.

"Wouldn't you be at too much of a disadvantage then? We're not the kind to take advantage of our friends."

Chu Guang paused for a moment, then suggested,

"Here's what we'll do: I will assess your goods according to our needs and provide you with a fair price in silver coins. You can use the silver coins to purchase whatever supplies you need from our market."

"And if you get more spoils of war in the future, you can also continue to bring them here to sell."

Hearing Chu Guang's suggestion, Yun Song didn't hesitate and immediately agreed.

"No problem!"

...

Transporting a ton of dry food from Ideal City to the hands of Assault Team No.26 was undoubtedly uneconomical.

And Cr paper money had some purchasing power only in a few coastal provinces; in the central area of the Central Continent, it wasn't even as useful as the Army's Dinar, which at least was made of gold.

For businesses, there were two solutions.

One was to carry the production line with you, so wherever you end up, you can eat the food from your homeland, drink genuine coffee and tea, and show off the "light of civilization" to the barbarians in the west.

The Pioneer was born out of this concept.

Not only were they looking for No.0 Shelter, but Lu Yang and others didn't stint on extending a helping hand to the Waste Land Wanderers along the way. While traveling, they were also earning a reputation and pioneering commercial routes for the business.

Even for a company with Ideal City, it's not easy to build a nuclear-powered land fortress.

Such things are only for one's own children to use.

As for soldiers like Yun Song, naturally, they wouldn't have access to such fine things.

This is where the second solution comes into play—outsourcing logistics to a "trustworthy" merchant.

Before the Expeditionary Army set out, in addition to preparing ammunition and basic materials for them, businesses also allocated a budget for them to buy trade goods in the local markets.

These goods typically have "high value-added" features, such as powerful antibiotics that work upon injection, bionic limbs that perfectly replace the original, and high-tech products that most survivor settlements couldn't produce.

The accompanying merchant was responsible for managing these goods, exchanging as much ammunition, necessities, and consumer goods as possible with the surviving settlements they passed, while also ensuring team morale in collaboration with the captain.

Especially the latter was important.

While most of the time business's professional soldiers were more polite and had more "quality" than the mercenaries, but only when their bellies were full.

If their military pay couldn't be spent, and they had to make do with nutrition paste, it's uncertain towards whom the guns would point.

Of course, in exchange for risking their lives, the businesses provided the merchants with considerable benefits.

The Expeditionary Army would sacrifice a bit of "efficiency," securing the completion of the mission while also offering protection to the accompanying merchant and his goods.

This was more dependable than any insurance.

Soldiers armed to the teeth with high-tech equipment were nearly invincible unless they encountered "beings beyond cognition."

And even then, they had the highest survival rate!

That's why banks in Ideal City were more willing to offer lower-interest loans to merchants following the Expeditionary Army.

He Ding was such a merchant, and this was not his first time collaborating with enterprise people.

He had never traveled this deeply into the heart of the Central Continent before, heading westward.

And, as expected, it would be the most memorable experience for him.

"…I may have underestimated you, esteemed Manager."

He was holding a list in his hand, and when He Ding handed it back to Chu Guang, he sighed.

"Is that a compliment?" asked Chu Guang with a smile.

"It is, I suppose. After all, we hardly ever do business with 'silver coins'. Seeing how happily you were chatting with our captain, I should have been wary, but I didn't realize I was still being negligent."

He Ding gave Chu Guang a meaningful look, clearly seeing through his intentions.

The New Alliance didn't have enough Cr reserves; if transactions were made with silver coins, it meant they could get their hands on goods at a "cheaper" price.

Conversely, their pockets would be filled with a bunch of inexplicable paper waste.

He was not worried that those silver coins couldn't buy anything; his concern was that the local currency could "only" be used within the New Alliance to purchase items priced in silver coins.

Clearly, his captain hadn't considered what they would do when they withdrew from the area.

Could they really expect to exchange silver coins for Cr to take with them?

In the end, they would either leave with a pile of useless paper or a heap of wood and ores that they had no idea where to use.

Or perhaps…

Stay and invest locally?

Chu Guang still wore a pleasant smile on his face, not in the least embarrassed by He Ding seeing through his plan.

"This is good for us, isn't it?"

"Of course, I won't deny it."

He Ding simply smiled and said no more.

Although the other party had played smart, there wasn't really any reason for him to complain.

Whether from the standpoint of a logistics officer or his own viewpoint.

He had risked his life to accompany the corporate soldiers on a distant trip, not for charity.

But to make a fortune.

Since the other party was willing to take care of a lot of logistical trouble for him and even promised a personal benefit,
why bother to expose him?

…

The next day, the streets of Giant Stone City were bustling, with groups of people gathering to chat animatedly.

"…The corporate visitation team has arrived at the 'North Suburb'?"

"Really?!"

"It should be true. There are photos!"

"Photos? Where?"

"In the paper, of course! Go and see for yourself!"

The corporate people coming to Qingquan City was big news.

Although many of them had never been to the East Coast, they had heard of that Ideal City.

And precisely because they had never been there, the news filled many with curiosity.

As for how the news spread, it started with the recently popular Survivor's Daily.

A chip for a newspaper wasn't cheap.

But unlike other papers in Giant Stone City, this one didn't operate on a subscription + mailbox delivery model, it was sold right in front of pubs and grocery stores. Even the poor who couldn't afford to buy a paper could stand at the entrance and flip through to catch up on the city's happenings.

Since the cooperating pubs and shops had already received a benefit from the newspaper office, the shop owners didn't shoo away those who only looked without buying.

After all, so many people gathered and talking made the place seem livelier.

These days, with the economy in distress, it was increasingly rare to see such bustling activity.

Of course, even more surprised than the onlooking public were the city government's Mayor Duron, the President of Giant Stone City Bank Melvin, and a host of other business and factory owners like Wei Jia.

Especially when they saw the photo and accompanying text on the front page of the Survivor's Daily, they were so shocked they couldn't believe their own eyes.

The corporate visitation team arrives at the North suburb of Qingquan City!

Accompanying soldiers and the Alliance Guards Corps initiate a joint operation?

The visiting delegation's highest official reaffirms enduring friendship with the Alliance??

And extends the most cordial greetings to the Alliance's Manager???

"Bullshit!"

With his eyes bulging like large chips, Melvin stared at the newspaper in his hands, his expression a portrait of utter confusion.

Unlike others, he was a man who had seen the world.

In his youth, he had traveled with a commercial team to the East Coast and witnessed the prosperity of Ideal City.

That place was the closest thing to heaven on the Wasteland, resembling the Prosperity Epoch.

Even Giant Stone City, despite its size, seemed like nothing but a slum in comparison to the grand city.

The enterprise had many friendly partners on the East Coast, offering trade privileges and selling effective equipment, but he had never heard of those proud people taking such good care of anyone.

Melvin swallowed hard, unsure of what expression to wear or how to describe his feelings at that moment.

Envy? Jealousy? Resentment? Unease?

Probably all of them…

But disbelief was the most overwhelming.

Instinctively, he didn't believe the nonsense printed on the paper, nor could he fathom it.

But that photo…

It didn't look fake either!

Chapter 364: Affordability is One of the Advantages of Our Weapons

"…a corporate expedition team appeared in the 'North Suburb'?"

Boulder Military Industrial Building, Chairman's office.

Seated behind the desk, Yibers, having heard the report from his subordinates, was filled with surprise.

Unlike Melvin and Duron, he certainly didn't need something like the Survivor's Daily to get information about the 'North Suburb'. He had learned the previous evening from spies disguised as mercenaries and caravan guards that a group suspected of being from Ideal City had appeared there.

After a night of investigation, he was now certain that these people were professional soldiers of the corporation.

"…why would corporate people show up here?" A hint of apprehension flashed in Yibers' eyes.

Unlike the nobles of the Inner City, his attitude towards the corporation was more of respectful distance.

Based on past experience, getting involved with that behemoth was unlikely to bring anything good.

Especially since last year, when the corporation and the Army had clashed in the 'North Suburb', heaven knows why they had come this time.

Standing next to him, the old secretary seemed to have reached the same conclusion, speaking slowly.

"Could it be related to last year's Pioneer incident?"

"That's what I was thinking."

Rubbing his forehead with his index finger, Yibers pondered for a long time before suddenly speaking.

"Anyway, we need to find out what they are here for."

The old secretary asked.

"Do we need to report this to the city lord?"

Yibers replied concisely.

"Just make a routine report."

Whether to report or not didn't really make a difference.

He had his own intelligence network, and the enlightened and imposing city lord certainly had his.

However, as the most loyal servant to that lord, it was his duty to report this information as soon as he was aware of it.

Regardless of whether the city lord was already aware or not.

It was his duty...

…

As the news of the corporation's "visiting delegation" spread, the entire Qingquan City was buzzing with excitement.

Especially the shop owners of Giant Stone City, factory owners, and the nobles of the Inner City, who cast envious and even jealous glances towards the 'North Suburb'.

Why should those damned country bumpkins gain the fellowship of the corporation?

Of course, more than envy, what really mattered to them was the business opportunity hidden in this news.

That was a delegation from Ideal City!

Even a single commodity brought here could fetch an unimaginably high price.

The civilians of Giant Stone City might not have the purchasing power, but the nobles of the Inner City definitely had money.

Their industries spread throughout Giant Stone City, they were not lacking money to spend, only places to spend it.

Whether it was bionic prostheses to enhance physical abilities or serums to delay aging, both were enough to drive the entire Inner City mad...

While Qingquan City was lively, West State City, a hundred kilometers away, was just as bustling.

However, the nature of the excitement was completely different...

Next to a crudely constructed platform, piles of supplies in boxes and bundles formed small mountains.

Looking at that mountain-like pile of supplies, whether it was the work team leaders or the survivors from Dawn City, everyone had an expression of surprise written all over their faces.

"170 tons of grain, 81 tons of 'ramshorn' potatoes, 1000 cotton work clothes, 1000 pairs of rubber-soled boots, 11 boxes of medical gauze and alcohol…"

Holding the cargo list handed over by the train conductor, Rudi, murmuring softly, had a face full of surprise, unable to believe his own eyes.

The supplies listed were exactly what they needed the most.

Especially, the work clothes and waterproof shoes.

It had been raining continuously for several days before, and the terrain of the northern construction site was lower, almost soaked in puddles.

Without pumps to remove water, the workers could only descend into the pit carrying iron buckets.

Ordinary straw shoes, wooden shoes, and shoes made from tree bark were not waterproof at all, and the number of plastic waterproof shoes was limited, causing many people's feet to be soaked and ruined.

Not to mention, medical gauze and alcohol were essential for a construction site where bumps and bruises were common.

Without disinfectant and bandages, even a small wound could become inflamed and septic, turning into a serious problem.

As for food, it was always precious on the Wasteland at any time.

One might endure a shortage of other things, but not working on an empty stomach.

Dawn City had 30,000 people; 251 tons of grain, along with the game and fish caught by the residents of the shelter, would be enough for two weeks' expenses!

After a while, he swallowed and said,

"… Did we find some pre-war reserves?"

Before becoming the captain of the reconstruction team, he had been a Centurion under Vanus, following the Army for several years in campaigns to the north and south. In his memory, such abundant supplies were hard to come by even in some of the wealthier survivor settlements.

Perhaps the New Alliance could produce such supplies, but definitely not in such a short period of time.

Watching Rudi, who looked stunned, the train manager said with a smile,

"What found them? We bought these from Giant Stone City! Oh, and please tell the people in the storeroom for me that there will be another batch of supplies arriving in three days. Tell them it's best to expand the warehouse to avoid a rush then."

Rudi, coming back to his senses, nodded seriously,

"I'll go and tell them right away!"

As the supplies were stored,
news of the shipment also spread among the survivors.

Lunchtime.

A few foremen and workers from the reconstruction team squatted together, holding bowls and eating while gossiping about the rumors they had heard from others.

"… I heard! The supplies were imported from Giant Stone City!"

"Not just living supplies, but also generators and distribution devices… probably for setting up electric grids!"

"That must cost a lot of coins, right?"

"That's for sure… at least a few hundred thousand."

"Hundreds of thousands? More like a few million!"

Hearing that these supplies cost so much money, many showed a contemplative expression, momentarily lost in thought.

Especially those survivors who had grown up in Clear Spring City.

Itinerants had little concept of the purchasing power of coins, but they knew what those coins could buy.

Let alone hundreds of thousands of coins, a triple-digit number of coins was already a staggering amount to them, and a five-digit amount was simply beyond the reach of ordinary people.

In their minds, only the former town mayor of Bet Street and Old Brown from the Brown Farm could afford such amounts of coins.

But those miserly cheapskates would never spend coins on others.

They would rather clasp every coin tightly in their hands, not even willing to spend a bit more on themselves.

For them, the biggest ambition in life was to save enough coins to move into the Giant Barrier, push their way into high society there, and spend their latter years in luxury and wealth.

If all else failed, buying a few buildings on the fringes of the Inner City to become a landlord wasn't a bad choice either.

They could only think of that benevolent Manager who would willingly spend coins generously on ordinary people like them…

…

Meanwhile, in the East District of West State City, on an abandoned street,
a group of survivors methodically moved their belongings out of a collapsed subway station, piling them in the open space not far from the station.

A little farther away, over thirty container houses stood, and several camps extracted from underground tunnels.

The construction site the reconstruction team was in charge of included not only Dawn City but also Camp 101 located in the East District of West State City.

With the Chewing Bone Tribe now extinct, West State City had regained its former tranquility, and the residents of Camp 101 were moving back to the surface, handing back the buffer zone at the shelter's entrance to the "Pioneers."

Chu Guang had promised to help the residents of Camp 101 rebuild their homes.

A week earlier, the Alliance's workers had arrived here.

There were 200 personnel involved in the construction.

Among them, 20 were foremen from City of Dawn, and the other 180 were survivors from Dawn City.

In addition, there was a patrol team from the 2nd Army, responsible for the security around the camp.

After all, mutated hyenas, rats, cockroaches, flies as big as washbasins, and blood-sucking worms longer than one's arm—the endlessly emerging Variants, would not leave with the Looters.

Especially since the onset of summer, the activity of Variants in the ruins had more than doubled compared to two months earlier.

Fortunately, a group of enthusiastic players had turned them into food ingredients, preventing these Variants from becoming overwhelmingly unbearable…

Considering their future, after consulting Chu Guang's advice, Camp 101 finally decided to build the new camp near the old site of West State University, close to Shelter 101.

The area was relatively flat.

Though the buildings were heavily damaged, it was actually an advantage; at least it wouldn't be too difficult to demolish.

On the Wasteland, demolishing buildings was much more troublesome than constructing them.

Some buildings appeared to be on the verge of collapse, as if a push could bring them down, but in reality, they could withstand a few 100kg aerial bombs and remain unscathed.

Especially in "Wasteland OL", destroyed buildings would not turn into ash and disappear like in other RTS games; they were likely to lie across the ground forming a wall.

Large building debris simply couldn't be moved and had to be broken into smaller pieces for transport.

This was also why City of Dawn and Dawn City were both built in suburbs with lower building densities.

According to the planned blueprint, the first phase of Camp 101 covered an area of 30 acres, centered on the old site of the West State University Library and spreading outward.

After all phases of the construction were complete, the entire camp would essentially cover the core area of the former Western Province University, spanning an astonishing 500 acres.

Although the camp's mayor, Hoene, couldn't help but laugh and cry, saying that they didn't need that much space, Chu Guang still generously mapped out this grand vision.

Not needed?

He, of course, knew that this small village of only two or three hundred people didn't need so much land.

But he and Hoene were considering different problems.

In Chu Guang's view, that place was the future "National University" of the Alliance, a sacred land for academic exchanges and technological research.

A mere 500 acres.

He even thought it was too small!

However, you have to eat your rice one bite at a time.

For now, the number of students Camp 101 could accommodate was around three to five hundred, which was about the limit.

The thirty acres planned for the first phase were completely sufficient, and building two five-story classroom buildings would be fine.

After nearly a week of construction, this brand-new camp had already begun to take shape.

Although the classroom buildings were nowhere in sight, rows of square barracks stood tall in the open space.

The space here was much more spacious than underground—they didn't need to squeeze all the buildings together, and each barracks could afford a not-insignificant area as private space.

Children were frolicking, chasing each other around the camp.

Not far away, the construction site was bustling, and a concrete building, whose purpose was unknown, was already half-built.

To prevent Variants from breaking into the camp, an outer wall of wire mesh had been pulled up and reinforced with steel bars driven into the ground.

Standing at the entrance of the brand-new camp, Pai's eyes widened in surprise, her mouth agape as if she could fit an egg in it.

She had been away from home for less than two weeks, yet everyone had already moved from underground to above ground!

That was too fast!

"Pai?"

Seeing the little girl standing at the camp entrance, Terri showed a gentle smile, "You're back?"

Hearing the "Doorkeeper's" voice, Pai immediately snapped back from her surprise, her face also displaying a proud expression as she puffed out her chest and said,

"Yeah! Mission successfully completed!"

Although her face was full of pride, those big eyes couldn't help but curiously look around.

"So this is our new home?"

Terri nodded and said with a smile,

"Yes, originally we planned to take two months to move from underground to above ground, but the progress was smoother than expected. Thanks to those kind-hearted people, we managed to do so much in just one week."

Of course, they were also thankful for defeating that group of bloodthirsty Looters.

No one liked to huddle underground, enduring the dampness, darkness, and hard-to-swallow food.

For him, there was nothing more pleasing than watching the children run in the sunshine.

As he spoke, Terri noticed the thirty young people behind Pai and said with a smile,

"You must be students from the New Alliance?"

Walking at the front of the group, Xia Yan nodded crisply and said,

"Yes, the Manager sent us to find a teacher named Aven. Could you tell us where he is?"

Although that's what she said, she didn't look like any student at the moment; she was completely dressed like a Wasteland Mercenary.

Wearing a resistant leather jacket over her shirt, her pockets stuffed with bulging magazines, and an LD-47 assault rifle hanging on her back.

Terri wasn't bothered.

Being used to dealing with Wasteland Wanderers, he wasn't surprised at all and maintained his mild expression.

"Aven is still underground, organizing materials in the document library. He'll probably come up in a few days. He is Pai's teacher, and I think Pai could take you to him."

Pai enthusiastically nodded, giving Xia Yan and Little Fish a reassuring look.

"Yeah! Leave it to me! I have to go underground anyway!"

She hadn't forgotten her agreement with Chu Guang to negotiate the borrowing of a VM with the manager of Shelter 101.

Terri nodded with a smile,

"I'll leave it to you then."

"But before you go underground, you might want to settle your luggage first."

"We've prepared dormitories for you next to the campus in the camp… Please follow me."

...

Though Camp 101 had barely started construction less than two weeks ago, and, despite it already being inhabitable, conditions were still somewhat simple.

Even so, the local residents still prepared dormitories for two people per room for these students from the New Alliance.

The relationship between the two was in the honeymoon phase, and the New Alliance was not stingy with their support; naturally, they were also not stingy with the care they could provide within their capabilities.

While Boss Xia and his group were busy packing their luggage, Chu Guang in City of Dawn was also busy.

First was the addition of production lines for ammunition, weapons, and accessories.

Although this was primarily the responsibility of the industrial district's workforce and the industrial department's officials, introducing the support team to them and arranging work still took time.

After these tasks were completed, Chu Guang then took Yun Song to the shooting range to demonstrate the Alliance's weapons.

Including the LD series assault rifles, the 20mm light cavalry gun, the 37mm heavy cavalry gun, and the 60mm mortar, among others.

And the easy-to-carry and versatile RPG Rocket Launcher!

Especially the latter, although it struggled against heavy vehicles and lacked automatic tracking and laser guidance—allowing only for visual targeting—it was completely sufficient to deal with light to medium armor and vehicles at medium to close range!

Switching to fragmentation high-explosive grenades, it was perfect against unarmored infantry!

After testing a few shots, Yun Song immediately joyfully purchased 120 launchers, along with 500 armor-piercing rounds and 700 high-explosive grenades!

Although chemical armor-piercing rounds have significantly less penetration compared to plasma rounds and railguns, they didn't always encounter foes that warranted the use of plasma armor-piercing rounds.

And as Chu Guang said, a sufficient quantity is also an advantage.

With this batch of weapons, a platoon of his light infantry was instantly transformed into an "anti-tank platoon"!

With the help of exoskeletons, carrying a few more high-explosive grenades was not an issue at all!

Of course, the biggest reason for Yun Song's prompt order was that all these weapons were priced in silver coins, and his logistic officer had secured a good price with the trade goods they brought.

Therefore, he didn't feel a bit of pain while purchasing.

Looking at the smoke spewing from the launcher and the targets shattered into pieces in the distance, Yun Song said with a delighted expression on his face.

"Is it really okay to sell these to us for 100 silver coins each? Isn't that too cheap?"

Chu Guang met someone who thought his products were too cheap for the first time and couldn't help but laugh and said,

"Being affordable is one of the strengths of our weapons."

Seeing his friend finally appreciate the charm of Goblin technology, Chu Guang sincerely felt happy for him.

The vast stockpile of weapons produced by the Northern Expedition had finally found someone to take them off his hands.

But speaking of which.

Wearing this technologically loaded power armor, yet carrying an antiquated rocket launcher on the shoulder.

This combination looked quite peculiar.

Looking at the launcher he carried on his shoulder, Chu Guang said somewhat regretfully,

"It's a pity we don't have uranium or plutonium... otherwise, we could make some more powerful tactical nuclear bombs."

Power armor paired with a tactical nuclear bomb launcher.

That would make more sense!

However, the fellow carrying the launcher hadn't thought that much.

Compared to the style, what mattered more to him was its utility.

Clearly, he found this weapon to his liking.

"Ha ha, there's no need for that! For general threats, conventional weapons are powerful enough," Yun Song looked at Chu Guang and said with a laugh, "Thanks, brother! I really like your weapons!"

"Don't mention it, we've also gained quite a bit," Chu Guang smiled and said.

Just the Miner I model exoskeletons equipped with metallic hydrogen batteries, retailing for 4000 CR, he had purchased a full 100 sets.

Not only that, but also two hundred one-kilogram metallic hydrogen batteries; this stuff was excellent whether used for storing energy or as explosives.

Purchasing these goods, Chu Guang spent less than 1 million silver coins in total.

Even if transported to Giant Stone City, these goods were worth far more than 1 million chips!

Besides these typical items, there was also a bunch of items that weren't so easy to acquire.

For example, a bionic kidney produced by Ideal City.

Just one of those could sell for 500,000 chips in Giant Stone City!

And Chu Guang only spent 270,000 silver coins, negotiated the trade price with He Ding, and directly purchased five from the refuge's officials.

Although he didn't necessarily need them, as trade goods to resell to the merchants coming from Giant Stone City to the North Suburb, they were quite excellent.

Apart from the goods from Ideal City, there were also the spoils of war obtained by the soldiers along the way.

Honestly, Chu Guang didn't have high hopes for those spoils of war initially.

After all, the situation in the Eastern Provinces wasn't much better than in River Valley Province—who could expect anything good?

Yet, reality turned out to be beyond his expectations...

-

(The latter half has not been finished... today's short, I'll admit to that mistake T.T)

Chapter 365 Beta 0.3 Version Update!

Controllable fusion fuel rod!

And it was made by Central State Space, matching the dimensions of the refuge's reactor!

Corporate expeditionary team's camp, a temporary warehouse.

Looking at the familiar fuel rod in the center of the spoils, Chu Guang's face briefly lit up with an expression of surprise.

He hadn't expected to come across such an excellent item!

"...We got it from an abandoned Central State Space research institute. Originally, we intended to search for supplies, but unexpectedly, we found this thing." Standing beside Chu Guang, logistics officer He Ding said with a slight smile.

Chu Guang didn't reply but quickly walked forward and pulled a data cable from his VM to connect it to the reactor.

"Xiao Qi, help me check how much electricity is left."

The response came energetically through the earpiece.

"Received!"

As a stream of data scrolled past on the VM screen, the remaining energy percentage soon appeared in the pop-up dialog box.

63%!

Seeing this number, the surprise in Chu Guang's eyes grew even more discernible.

In the Wasteland, 200 years after the apocalypse, finding a fuel rod with over 50% energy left was harder than reaching the sky.

What's the use of this thing?

The utility was incredibly vast!

With the fuel rod, it meant he could restart the abandoned refuges, and that also meant he could open more branches, preparing more Novice Villages for his little leeks—no, his players!

"It seems you are quite satisfied with this item," He Ding said smilingly.

Chu Guang composed himself and calmly disconnected the data cable.

"The energy has depleted by 37%, but it's still okay."

He Ding was almost choked by this comment, and as he was about to say something, the manager quickly moved past the topic.

"Are these exoskeletons?"

Seeing Chu Guang looking towards the pile of tattered objects behind the fuel rod, He Ding coughed dryly and nodded.

"Yes... we got them from some attackers."

The exoskeletons were obviously damaged, but not completely ruined; they were still fixable.

For the irreparable ones, they had dismantled the valuable parts and high-end electronic components.

From the appearance and labels, the exoskeleton models were mostly "Round Shield" and "Firestone."

The former was equipment from the Grand Canyon, characterized by its thick, hard armor, while the latter was a lighter imitation version designed and produced by the Firestone Group from Bugra Free State.

"Did you run into people from the Grand Canyon?" Chu Guang asked with a hint of surprise.

He Ding shook his head.

"Their combat skills were poor, just a bunch of looters who happened to have the same equipment. I guess they bought these pieces from the Bugra Free State, which is a famous black market in the Central Region, isn't it? I've heard they trade everything."

Chu Guang looked intrigued and asked,

"Seems like you know quite a bit about this place."

He Ding said matter-of-factly,

"Isn't it common sense to investigate the local situation before setting off? Unfortunately, there's little information about you all. I only heard this was a farmstead, so I brought some miner's exoskeletons, but arriving here, I found the actual situation completely different."

"Six months ago, this was indeed a farm, and it still is now. There's nothing wrong with your information…" Looking at the things in the warehouse, Chu Guang remarked admiringly, "Didn't expect you all to have picked up so many good things along the way."

This didn't look like a rescue mission.

It more resembled a treasure hunt.

"That's natural, our team has limited carrying capacity; we wouldn't haul anything unless it was valuable."

He Ding quipped and continued,

"In fact, aside from these exoskeletons, the most common were rudimentary KV-1s… of course, the most numerous were looters with iron pipe rifles, but they generally wouldn't approach and waste our bullets when they saw our equipment. They would hide far away, waiting to clean up the battlefield after we left."

Chu Guang roughly estimated the value of these goods; although not as good as what they brought from Ideal City, it was still pretty decent.

About 30 sets of "Round Shield" and over 100 sets of "Firestone" could likely be repaired.

Unlike the "Miner" series, these exoskeletons were designed for combat, probably intended to match the "Pioneer" models worn by the corporate soldiers.

As a local force capable of holding back the army and corporate expansion efforts, the equipment from Grand Canyon had notable features worth learning from.

Considering the repair costs, Chu Guang estimated these items in the warehouse were worth 1.5 million silver coins.

In the New Alliance store, this amount could buy 1500 tons of nutrient paste or 375 tons of corn.

Of course, these were retail prices, and buying or selling wholesale would be a different matter.

"Is this all the stuff?"

Chu Guang asked casually, just to make sure, but unexpectedly, there was indeed more.

"Of course, there's more. There's a special piece of loot we stored in the nearby warehouse… come with me."

Saying this, He Ding turned towards the door.

At this showstopper tactic, Chu Guang rolled his eyes behind him but nonetheless followed.

The door to another warehouse opened.

When Chu Guang laid eyes on the hunk of metal standing in the middle of the warehouse, his eyes quickly flashed with astonishment which soon turned into excitement.

"Fuck…"

Power armor!

It was actually power armor!

The protruding alloy breastplate emitted a chilling cold light; the silvery-gray armor shell faintly displayed faded numbers and digital camouflage paint.

There was a neat crack running from its left shoulder down to the armpit as if it had been slashed by something.

And on its right shoulder, there was a line from the United Space Army—

[——Doomed]

Chu Guang: ?

Shouldn't it normally be "Victorious"?

Not noticing the subtle change in Chu Guang's expression, He Ding stood by, proudly explaining.

"The OD-10 power armor, codenamed 'Dragon Cavalry'! It is the standard issue equipment for the United Space Army's orbital airborne troops. From the name, you should guess what it's used for."

The power armor issued by the United Army came in two main types, one for ground battles and the other for space and aerial combat.

The former emphasized firepower and armor protection, the latter stressed lightweight design and maneuverability.

After all, the latter's role often involved riding in drop pods, quickly breaking through ground fire from high orbit to deploy; larger size and weight would be disadvantageous.

The OD-10 "Dragon Cavalry" belonged to the latter.

Compared to the heavily armored T-10 "Champion" power armor, its lightweight design made it appear less bulky.

Nevertheless, its thick armor was not something that could be easily penetrated by ordinary light weapons.

At least armor-piercing bullets would be required!

After highlighting the advantages, He Ding slowed his speech and volume, then continued.

"But don't rush into excitement, like those exoskeletons, except for the main structure, the micro reactor, and the fusion battery which are in good condition, other parts are either aged or broken—"

"No problem, as long as the reactor is fine!" Chu Guang said indifferently.

He Ding gave Chu Guang a surprised look, not expecting him to be so knowledgeable.

But then, it made sense.

After all, he was the leader of the Blue Jackets, perhaps even an old-timer from 200 years ago.

His knowledge of power armor wasn't surprising.

"…That's right, the most valuable parts, the micro reactor and fusion battery, still work; other areas can be fixed quite easily. Including that tear, just welding a steel plate over it is entirely feasible."

"Anyway, this thing isn't meant for a tank duel, I suppose you wouldn't be doing that."

Power armor was a general term for all nuclear-powered individual combat gear.

The biggest difference between power armor and exoskeletons lied in the power source.

Exoskeletons mostly used chemical energy batteries, while power armor was powered by nuclear fusion batteries, thereby allowing for sturdier armor and more powerful weapons.

That's why it's called "a tank that can enter alleys," "an APC that can climb buildings."

So, the armor damage didn't really matter; as long as the most valuable micro reactor wasn't damaged, and the fusion battery plugged inside it was intact, everything would be manageable!

Does it look broken?

Can that be called broken?

That's called the marks of history!

Craft a bizarre and convoluted story around it, and effortlessly sell it for millions of silver coins!

Chu Guang did not plan to use this for himself.

The suite of bright blue power armor he wore better represented his status as a Manager.

Moreover, the protective performance of his police power armor wasn't bad, its protection against light weapons might even be stronger than the "Dragon Cavalry," it just fell short in mobility and firepower. Since he wasn't on the front line of the battlefield, he wouldn't need those.

Additionally, his suit of power armor was virtually brand new, without even a scratch, so switching to a second-hand battle-damaged one seemed unnecessary.

Better to leave it for his beloved players!

"Where did you find this thing?" Coming back from his excitement, Chu Guang looked at He Ding and asked.

"That's a long story."

He Ding's eyes drifted into remembrance, his tone complex, perhaps wistful.

"We were tracking a message from Pioneer when we stumbled upon a distress signal. The person sending the signal claimed to be a resident of the refuge, captured by a band of Looters, who demanded he repair this antiquated armor they had found somewhere."

"Of course, he couldn't fix it, but cleverly deceived those Looters, coaxing them to help gather parts to 'fix the power armor,' which he used to assemble a radio and send out the coordinates and a distress signal from the Looters' den."

"Typically, that would be useless, but since we saw it, we couldn't just watch civilized people thrown into a boiling pot by barbarians."

"Since we were passing the refuge anyway, our captain planned to bring that unfortunate guy here. It didn't take much effort to deal with those Looters armed with pipe rifles; however… regrettably, we couldn't save him, only this power armor."

Having said this, He Ding's expression turned rather regretful, clicking his tongue.

"He was hung at the entrance of the Looters' den; by the time we found him, he had been dead for several days. Who knows what he did to anger those Looters—you wouldn't want to know what his body had become… If only he could have held on for another two or three days, we actually meant to bring him here."

"…" Chu Guang was dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

But the regret was definite.

Residents of the refuge often received higher education, whether they were old-timers from 200 years ago or the newer generation.

Heya and those residents of Shelter No.117 were prime examples, each being excellent "biologists" who had made outstanding contributions in their research on "mutated slime fungus."

Allowing such people to be used by uncivilized barbarians was a loss to all humanity!

Thinking the Manager was mourning the deceased, He Ding didn't continue on this topic but returned to discussing the power armor.

"Including this power armor and the previous spoils of war… if you're interested, I can sell it all to you for 1.5 million silver coins."

Hearing this number, Chu Guang, without a moment of surprise, almost instinctively spoke out.

"Deal!"

The asking price for the items in the warehouse earlier was exactly this figure.

Thinking this way, getting the power armor was like getting it for free!

Why hesitate?

"Don't rush," He Ding said with a smile, implying something, "This is a friendship price."

Seeing the expression on his face, Chu Guang immediately understood the meaning and his face also showed a curious smile.

"So... how can I earn your friendship?"

He Ding glanced at the door and lowered his voice as he continued.

"I've invested in a food processing factory in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, dedicated to providing easy-to-carry self-heating meals and a variety of canned foods for the province and mercenaries. However... not everyone can afford what we produce, it would be nice to have a fast-food product that's cost-effective, easy to cook, can be stored for a long time, and also tastes good."

"Supply issues can't be neglected, it's not just about survival but also about morale."

"Let's be honest, I'm quite interested in your instant noodle cakes. You mentioned they can be stored for a long time, are inexpensive, and don't require preservatives, which seems far more interesting than compressed biscuits... including that hot pot recipe, I would like to learn it."

Seeing the unabashed eagerness in his eyes, Chu Guang was slightly startled but almost laughed.

Is this like trading instant noodles for power armor?

However, he didn't let his disrespectful expression show and instead pretended to ponder for a long while.

"...Is our friendship going to be a one-time thing, or long-term?"

Hearing this, He Ding immediately assured.

"Of course, long-term. Neither of us are greedy people. Long-lasting business is sustainable, isn't it?"

Hearing this, Chu Guang smiled.

"No problem! As soon as the sun rises tomorrow, I'll have someone take you to our factory for a tour!"

Of course, he didn't believe a mere promise held much weight, especially when made by a profit-seeking merchant.

But as an excellent salesman, he couldn't let his customer feel shortchanged.

After all, whether it's instant noodle cakes or hot pot base, they might need some contemplation, but they're definitely not complex matters.

I hope Mr. He Ding won't be too surprised when visiting the factory tomorrow...

...

To help these friends who had come from afar resolve their troubles, Chu Guang had been busy from sunrise until sunset, barely resting all day.

However, the day's gains were quite rewarding.

Besides the pre-war power armor, the exoskeletons from the Grand Canyon, and the fuel rod with 63% remaining energy, He Ding also persuaded Yun Song to leave 5 logistics personnel to help build the G9 assault rifle components and ammunition production line.

This meant that not only did Chu Guang get all the spoils of war from Ideal City to the River Valley Province, but the spoils obtained by Yun Song's group before they returned to Ideal City would also be sent to the New Alliance first to be exchanged for silver coins.

With these spoils of war, Chu Guang could sell them to players for silver coins recovery or to neighbors to earn foreign exchange.

As for the "aided construction" of the weapons and ammunition production line, it was like finding free money!

Besides, these distant friends would also pay a daily medical fee of 500 silver coins for 20 injured personnel.

This cost included regular injections of inhibitors and three meals a day.

Until they were picked up by their own people.

10,000 silver a day, 300,000 a month, Chu Guang wished they could stay here for a year.

Though that was impossible...

After dinner, Chu Guang returned to the shelter alone.

Boss Xia and Little Fish had gone to school, Yin Fang was in West State City, and Heya was cloistered all day in the medical lab; Chu Guang looked around the empty browsing room, feeling it was oddly quiet.

Just then, a pleasant sound drifted from an ornament on the table.

"Master, if you feel lonely, Xiao Qi can keep you company."

Chu Guang replied mechanically.

"Okay."

Xiao Qi: "Woowoo, that's so perfunctory!"

Chu Guang: "Then... okay then?"

Xiao Qi: "Hehe, it sounds fake, but it feels much better!"

Chu Guang: "…"

Although being easily pacified is somewhat a plus, isn't this guy a bit too much for an AI?

Looking at the figurine posing shyly covering its face, Chu Guang resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sat down at his retro-styled laptop.

I haven't played games in a long time.

Thinking about whether to relax for a while, his hand unconsciously clicked on the forum.

Sure enough, in his subconscious, Wasteland OL, the game he designed, seemed a bit more fun to him.

Although the war had ended, and the Alliance had entered a stable development period, he hadn't introduced any new activities in the game for a while, but players had unexpectedly uncovered many fun aspects he hadn't imagined.

Some followed the commercial teams on adventures to the distant Brocade River Province, bringing back views of the southern jungles and basin plains to the forum, others visited the legendary city of sin in the north, Bugra Free State.

Some players even started dating random NPCs.

However, Chu Guang was quite skeptical about how long they could last, given their completely different language, cultural backgrounds, and mindsets.

As for whether they would reveal the secrets of the game, Chu Guang wasn't worried at all.

Whenever any player asked him about it, his response was frankly admitting—"This is undoubtedly a completely real world," and he took the opportunity to remind the players to watch their behavior and others' opinions of them, hinting that "favorability" might affect the triggering of quests.

It's funny, the more he emphasized it, the less people took his words seriously.

After all, as long as they still needed a helmet to log into the game, it was impossible to convince others who also had to wear helmets to enter the game.

The speculated truth wasn't important, and something that only one or two people believed in, whether true or false, wouldn't affect anything.

Just like last night, today's forum had remained as lively as ever.

Apart from those minor posts, the commercial team from the company had, unsurprisingly, become the hottest topic on the forum these past two days.

The last time Pioneer passed through Qingquan City, many players had made a small fortune by seizing the "historical opportunity," making those who missed the opportunity and newcomers to the game envious.

Now that the company's people were here again, although not the same group, it did not dampen the players' enthusiasm.

The silver coins were practically walking into their pockets.

How could they let this opportunity slip away?

Mr. Bamboo Shoot at the village mouth, "Mommy, open this shady shop for so long, finally wait for a wave of fat sheep!"

Construction boy and brick, "Bros, let's go for xiaolongbao, hotpot, and grilled crayfish!（Triumphant）"

Makabazi, "Damn! I went to their camp during the day and peeked, why do the arrivals from Dragon Land seem so poor this time!"

Elena, "It doesn't matter if they are poor, they're still from the East Coast, don't act like a mosquito isn't meat! （Funny）"

King Riches, "I don't know why, when others say this, I don't feel anything, but when you say it, my stomach churns. （Funny）"

Tail, "Oh! Pass it on quickly! Old Na is gonna feast on the mosquito! Ψ(｀∀´)Ψ"

Teng Teng, "(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)"

There really are mosquitos in WC, "Are you persecuting me too????"

Crow, "You ducks, can't you be nicer to friends? Less schemes, more sincerity, and still make a fortune. (@´ω｀@)"

Debt Giant Eye, "You have the nerve! 100Cr for mushroom soup!"

Cylinder Washing Machine, "That's right! You're the blackest, you know!"

Crow, "That, that was a misunderstanding, Duck! How long are you going to remember it! QAQ"

Watching those cunning little players coming up with all sorts of shady ideas, Chu Guang couldn't help but show a fond fatherly smile on his face.

True to the sprouts he had raised.

Not only would they contribute their strength when he needed it, but they also actively helped him fleece others.

However, fleecing had its own rules.

This time, he had already helped the players preemptively negotiate the rules of the trade and determined the currency for transactions.

The players no longer had to struggle to earn foreign exchange.

They could just take advantage of the local market and earn the silver coins from those NPC's hands just as well!

Once those NPCs started running low on silver coins, the Captain named Yun Song would naturally bring the good things from the East Coast or the spoils from the Looter to trade for money.

If they really ran out of money, Chu Guang would introduce them to some high-rewarding, player-handled commissions, or have them call home for money.

As long as it didn't conflict with their own tasks and the risk wasn't too high, he believed they wouldn't mind helping their allies.

Thus, the players would make silver coins, the company's commercial team would solve their logistics issues, and the New Alliance would gain commodities and economic prosperity from the Ideal City.

Of course, this was a win-win situation!

Thinking of this, a pleased smile floated across Chu Guang's face, and he clicked his mouse twice, opening a previously created folder.

Inside lay the Beta0.3 version update announcement.

Originally, as soon as Brother Fang Chang unlocked the Black Market, he had planned to release this document.

But unexpectedly, the plan couldn't keep up with changes, as the sudden visit by the company made the original update announcement seem outdated.

In the new version, players would have more development routes and equipment options. Meanwhile, the forces to which the players belonged would engage in more frequent exchanges with other forces in the Wasteland.

Just as he once told Luka, they were no longer just a small village or a survivor settlement.

They were an alliance composed of countless survivors!

After spending some time editing, Chu Guang updated the modified announcement on the forum.

[Beta0.3 Version Update Announcement: Added a large amount of high-tech equipment and bionic prosthetics!]

[New equipment: "Round Shield" exoskeleton, featuring light weapon defense comparable to Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeleton, designed for war and suitable for most battlefield environments in the Wasteland... priced at 30,000 silver coins!]

["Firestone" exoskeleton, a lightweight version of the Type Five "Light Calvary" exoskeleton, part of the "Round Shield" series, offering higher mobility and longer endurance... priced at 15,000 silver!]

[New NPC "Logistics Officer Heding": From the Ideal City, Heding, logistics officer of the commercial team. He isn't driven by any grand ideals; he just wants to make money, so please don't waste his time.]

[New NPC "Captain Yun Song of Commercial Team": Captain of the Company's 26th Assault Team, a professional soldier, has embarked from the East Coast to assist Pioneer in the Western Desert.]

[New NPC "...": ...]

[VM Event Store sells high-quality bionic prosthetics and organs for a limited time, transactions available with silver coins, hurry while stocks last! ]

[Note: Bionic organs from Ideal City could fetch a good price in Giant Stone City, whether as trade goods or for personal use. But beware of the equipment drop mechanism, if a character dies unexpectedly, make sure to have teammates help recover and book surgery in time.]

[New Contribution Point Level: "Knight"]

[Once contribution points reach 100,000, one can advance from "High-Level Citizen" to "Apprentice Knight." After reaching "Knight," players can purchase and own a set of power armor in the NPC store, permitted land ownership will increase from 500 square meters to 1000 square meters.]

[...]

Looking at the contents of the update announcement, Chu Guang nodded satisfactorily.

"Pioneer has run into trouble, might have to mobilize the player army, 'Pioneering' system will have to wait for the next version..."

"Beta0.3 will just have to do for now."

There was quite a bit in this update.

Shouldn't hear anyone saying he was slacking anymore.

Chapter 366 After all, it's something from Ideal City, expensive also has its reasons

[7. Fixed minor bugs…]

Finished reading the update announcement.

Ye Wei roughly distilled the contents of the announcement. Put simply, even more bionic prosthetics have gone live.

Some imported from Giant Stone City.

And some from Ideal City.

On top of that, they've rolled out a new, higher-ranking "Apprentice Knight" title.

Given Ah Guang's ways, one didn't even need to think about it; he'd definitely come up with "Intermediate Knight," "Senior Knight" in the near future.

Is this trying to emulate the Iron Brothers Association or what?

But honestly, titles like that don't really matter—they're just like Penguin's membership ranks, merely eye-catchers.

Even if you get a "Duke" or "Emperor" title in the game, what of it?

You're not actually an emperor.

The key is what kind of perks Ah Guang gives.

"1000 square meters of land and the rights to purchase power armor… Holy shit!"

"When did Dog Guang become so generous!?"

After reading the benefits of the new Contribution Levels, Ye Wei, sitting in front of the computer, was completely stunned.

He was so eager to stand up on the spot, roll back to his bedroom, put on his helmet, and take a look at the power armor updated in the NPC shop.

However, seeing the requirement of one hundred thousand Contribution Points, he felt deflated and leaned back in his computer chair.

A hundred thousand...

That's double the threshold of being an "Intermediate Citizen!"

How long would he need to grind for that?

Ye Wei remembered his Contribution Points were about 80k, which was already among the top in the entire game. Old White might be slightly higher than him, but not by much.

This meant that if he wanted to reach the knight title threshold, he'd essentially have to grind out two more Intermediate Citizens (10k Contribution Points).

[On my knees begging Brother Guang to implement a feature to exchange silver coins for Contribution Points! QAQ]

Although he knew such a balance-breaking feature would never appear in Wasteland OL, Ye Wei still typed out these words and posted them in the comments section beneath the update announcement.

To his surprise, it instantly received a hundred likes.

Ye Wei was shocked.

Well, damn.

Complaining is one thing.

But do you all have that many silver coins too?

At that moment, from the living room outside his study, a shouting voice drifted in.

"Big bro, it's lunchtime! Time to order takeout!"

"Right away, right away."

"What are you watching?"

Quietly slipping into the study and walking up behind big brother, Ye Jiu curiously leaned in to look at the screen but didn't see anything she shouldn't have.

It seemed to be just an ordinary webpage.

"They just updated to Beta 0.3 version… Don't you follow the forum?" Ye Wei said casually.

"What's there to follow about that?" Ye Jiu wondered.

"…Nevermind, it's better you don't."

Although he wanted to say that the forum is where the real Wasteland OL is at, thinking of the weird and bizarre chat content, he suddenly felt it was good that his little sister had no interest in that forum.

"Big bro."

"What?"

"Why can't we log in during the day?" Suddenly talking about the game, Ye Jiu, who had finally resolved not to think about in-game matters, felt her cravings piqued again and spoke in a pitiful tone.

"Because game characters also need to sleep."

That setting wasn't problematic.

Though already an adult, Ye Wei also felt that limiting the online time wasn't a bad thing. After all, if everyone could stay online 24/7, the game would turn into a contest between grinders.

"Damn it..."

Ye Wei gave his sister a puzzled look.

"Since when do you not play games?"

Ye Jiu blinked.

"Huh? Did I ever say that?"

Looking at his feigning-ignorance sister, Ye Wei rolled his eyes.

"…Right, you never said that."

At this point, he didn't feel like arguing with his little sister; all he wanted to do was wait for Brother Fang Chang's breakdown of the update.

Come to think of it, Fang Chang has been all mysterious recently, only going online in the afternoon. It's unknown what he's up to in the game.

Ye Wei picked up his mobile phone to check the beef and horse group chat.

Just in time.

He had just clicked in, and Fang Chang's messages popped up, two in a row.

"Beta 0.3 version is out! Just saw the update!"

"Holy shit! Power armor! Brother Guang is awesome!"

Ye Wei wasn't the only one squatting in the group chat.

However, it seems the group's focal point was not on the game.

Wild Wind: "Twelve o'clock."

Quit smoking: "Wasn't it eleven-thirty yesterday?"

Old White: "Surprising, usually this guy is the first to show up when the version updates, but today he ended up being the last to know. (smirk)"

Killer Dagger: "Brother Fang Chang, how is the situation on the Zhiyuan Star battlefront?"

WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "When are you planning to get married? (joking)"

All the Good Names Are Taken by Dogs: "Have you thought of a name for the kid yet? (joking)"

Fang Chang: "???"

"Scram! I'm just doing quests in Giant Stone City, what the heck are all of you thinking?"

That makes sense for doing quests.

Ye Wei had a look of an auntie's amused smile on his face and sent over a joking emoticon.

"I almost believed you!"

Fang Chang didn't seem to want to dwell on this topic and quickly switched the subject.

"I just took a glance at the posts on the Forum... let's just get to the conclusion, the focus of this update seems to be on the interaction between the Alliance and various factions."

Quit Smoking: "Interaction?"

Tomatoes and Eggs: "Is this interaction you're speaking of serious? (smirking)"

WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "In-depth? (joking)"

Fang Chang: "Roll, roll, roll, you dirty old perverts! I'm talking about serious stuff, and your minds are in the gutter! Anyway, after the 'Northern Expedition' ended and the main threats in the region were cleared, it's unlikely the Alliance will engage in external military actions for a while. The mainstream gameplay will shift to life-profession players and trade competition."

Old White: "Are combat professional players once again the unlucky ones in this version? (curious)"

Fang Chang: "Not exactly, while combat professional players might have moved away from the center stage, they've still gotten quite a boost in the new version. The NPC shops have not only released a wide range of bionic limb equipment, but they've also put power armor on the shelves."

"And correspondingly, there are more dangerous new maps. For example, the city center area we explored before, where the evolutionary bodies are hard to defeat relying solely on Awakeners' powers. But if you pair up with bionic limbs and high-level exoskeleton equipment, the situation is completely different."

"However, compared to the previous version's large-scale group battles, the new version might emphasize more on squad cooperation and individual adventures. This could be challenging for players who overly rely on gear and don't pay attention to leveling up regularly; they will need some time to adjust to the new version."

"Right now, I'm about 20,000 Contribution Points shy of the 100,000 mark. My advice is to take on high-contribution quests to quickly pump up your Contribution Level to Apprentice Knight. Reaching the Contribution Level just satisfies the purchase requirement; whether the store has stock is another matter."

"Don't forget the Type Five Exoskeleton; plenty of players meet the purchase criteria, but can't buy it due to lack of stock in the store..."

As his fingers tapped the screen, Fang Chang, lying on his bed, was mapping out his thoughts on the new version and typing them into his mobile phone.

He penned a good one or two thousand words.

Seeing that the attention of the group chat had finally shifted from himself to the new version, Fang Chang heaved a sigh of relief and tossed the phone aside.

Every time he logged off, it took him a few minutes to adjust to the differences between offline and online.

Especially recently.

The "withdrawal symptoms" seemed to worsen.

His gaze unconsciously fell on the helmet on the nightstand, and a strange thought suddenly sprung up in Fang Chang's mind.

If only the operator with the name he didn't know would be willing to disassemble the in-game AI and sell it separately.

That might be even more popular than the game...

"Bionic companion, huh?"

"Even though it's kind of lame in the game, in real life... it would be nice to actually buy a robot that takes care of your daily life."

Not only could it help with household chores, but it would also be pleasant to look at.

But he probably wouldn't see it in his lifetime.

Grinning and shaking his head, Fang Chang cast aside these impractical thoughts and decided to forget about the game for a while.

Sitting up from the bed, he glanced at the midday sunlight outside the window and muttered softly.

"Dawn breaks at around six in the evening over in the Wasteland."

"Better go out for a walk..."

...

In the world of Wasteland, on Floor B4 of the Shelter.

Chu Guang, sitting in front of the computer, browsed the comments players left on the update section, his face adorned with a gleeful smile.

Many players showed great interest in the prosthetic modification function introduced in the new version.

Some planned to get themselves a Mantis Knife, others intended to install a grenade launcher on their arm, and there were those who wanted to attach rocket pods to their shoulders.

It had to be said that these players' imaginations were extraordinary, though it might cost them quite a few Resurrection Coins.

Besides, there were some less decent ideas that Chu Guang saw but chose to ignore selectively.

At that moment, a communication request suddenly flashed on his VM.

Seeing that the call was from Boss Xia, Chu Guang reached out and pressed the answer button, and her fiery red hair soon appeared on the screen.

Different from her usual mercenary attire, Xia Yan now wore a breezy T-shirt and was sprawled on a soft duvet.

VM itself didn't have a video call feature; it required an external device, so the camera must have been placed near the pillow.

Because it was her first time using this feature, Xia Yan wasn't very proficient, her face too close to the camera and almost filling the entire screen.

"Are you trying to show me your nostrils?" Chu Guang joked while capturing a screenshot, planning to tease her with it later.

Xia Yan blushed and immediately moved further away from the camera.

After she repositioned her face from in front of the camera, Chu Guang finally got a clear view of her living quarters.

The video showed a double dorm room, about twenty square meters in size—neither big nor small—with a compact layout and even an independent bathroom.

Clothes belonging to Little Fish hung on the clothes rack; the two must be roommates.

Clearly, this wasn't one of the New Alliance's production of those container-style houses. Chu Guang guessed it was likely Shelter 101's own barracks.

Seeing this, Chu Guang felt somewhat relieved.

It seemed that the annual fee of ten thousand was not spent in vain, and his support for them wasn't for nothing.

"How do you like the new environment? Are you getting used to the life there?"

"It's okay, I guess. It can't compare to life inside the Shelter, but it's not too bad. I'm not picky about where I live, but the food seems so scarce... It's much quieter than City of Dawn."

Looking at Xia Yan's sullen expression, Chu Guang couldn't help but laugh.

"It will get better. We'll open a few shops at Camp 101 after a while, and then you'll have a proper place to spend your living allowance."

"Really?" Xia Yan's eyes lit up, and she swallowed eagerly, asking excitedly, "Can you bring the barbecue stand over too?"

"We will have one... but don't just think about eating. You're not there for a field cookout," Chu Guang said, laughing, "By the way, what courses did you choose?"

"Mechanical Engineering!" Xia Yan said proudly, perking up her lips while lying in front of the pillow, "I'm best at modifying machinery. I'm planning to pursue that path!"

"Can you understand it?" Chu Guang asked curiously.

"Classes don't start until tomorrow! I just picked up a textbook today... But to be honest, those things look really tough; I stared at them for a long time and still didn't get it," Xia Yan said, a hint of vexation crossing her face.

Despite her resolve to become stronger, she lacked confidence, uncertain that she could master all the complex matters at hand.

After all, she had neither the talent of Little Fish, nor the advantage of youth. Her proficiency was due to her early exposure to firearms and various mechanical components.

However, in the face of higher education, her practical skills and experience hardly counted for anything.

"…There's definitely a difference between professional knowledge and experience gleaned from practice. Struggling is normal, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it."

"You speak as if you know what you're talking about," Xia Yan rolled her eyes, unable to help herself, yet the trustful look and encouraging words still warmed her heart.

"If I understood this stuff, would I need you to learn it?" Chu Guang said with a smile. "By the way, where's Little Fish? How come I haven't seen her?"

"She's asleep already. That little girl was muttering about you just now, wanted to call you, but was afraid of interrupting your work," Xia Yan said in a bantering tone.

"Then why didn't you turn off the light?"

Chu Guang's voice was involuntarily softer, but he quickly noticed that she was wearing headphones.

"It's fine. We're used to sleeping with the light on in the shelter," Xia Yan said nonchalantly.

"..."

This person really acts as if electricity is free.

But considering the power consumption of the cultivation chamber, Chu Guang didn't care about the energy use that much anymore.

Seeing that Chu Guang wasn't responding, Xia Yan continued.

"She's chosen math and economic management, both subjects seem quite unpopular. Pai's master plans to teach her personally."

At this point, Xia Yan suddenly remembered something.

"Oh right, I almost forgot, Pai had a piece of good news for you."

Chu Guang immediately perked up upon hearing this.

"There's a result regarding the VM matter?"

Xia Yan nodded.

"Yeah, the manager of Shelter No. 404 agreed quite readily, but he did put forward a condition."

Chu Guang immediately asked.

"What condition?"

Xia Yan said.

"The person wants to meet you."

...

At the entrance to Shelter No. 404.

The barracks once situated here were now reduced to a handful.

Apart from the production and research facilities, which still needed a bit more time to be moved, most people couldn't wait to return to the surface.

As the manager of the archive, Aven would likely be the last to leave.

Before returning to the surface, he had to organize the materials in the archive meticulously, ensuring that there wouldn't be chaos in the new location.

Luckily, he had recently taken on an apprentice, which should lighten his workload considerably.

Of course, before that, there was another pressing matter...

Inside the archive.

The gray-haired old man sat quietly at his desk, leafing through the "Observation Diary" written by his apprentice.

Due to the abundance of abstract sketches mixed in, understanding it fully required some time.

Seemingly aware of this, Pai, standing nearby, wasn't idle; she animatedly described her observations in the City of Dawn.

Including how its people transformed trash into steel, whittled wood into furniture, and extracted fuel from plants...

After quite the monologue, she made her final summary.

"In short, although it's quite backward, it's an interesting place! Unlike other Waste Land Wanderers, they don't just adapt to the Wasteland; they're also transforming the land beneath their feet!"

"I heard that a year ago it was a barren wasteland, but now it has endless fields and even a huge train station and trains... Little Fish showed me photos from before, it's just unbelievable!"

Watching her apprentice gesticulate, Aven teased with a smile.

"Have you been bought over by a bowl of shaved ice?"

"No way! But but, the shaved ice with syrup is super delicious! It's an amazing taste! And it's not just the shaved ice, there are so many things I've never seen before!" Pai explained, eyes sparkling.

Still at the age where pleasure-seeking prevails.

But it's precisely because of this that through her perspective, Aven also managed to see things that ordinary people might not notice.

Perhaps this was also why the forerunners intended to send her there.

Aven smiled, putting down the rather incomprehensible "Observation Diary."

"Is that so? I guess I'll try it sometime."

"Sure! I'll take you there!" Pai said excitedly, already looking forward to sharing her treasure trove of discoveries with her master.

"In a little while, I need to finish my work first..."

He paused, then continued, "Could you tell me about their manager? What kind of person is he?"

"Um..."

Upon hearing this question, Pai touched her chin, pondering as if struggling to describe.

Just then, her eyes lit up and she began to speak.

"It's hard to sum up in a few words... but I think he's very approachable."

"Approachable?"

"Yeah!" Pai nodded, cheerfully adding, "Even though he's a manager, he's completely different from our managers... How do I put it? He doesn't have that distant vibe."

That distant vibe...

Aven paused slightly, his face then adopting a contemplative expression.

Although the description was abstract, he understood what his student meant.

The people of Sanctuary B4 Layer often called themselves "Tutors," yet the residents of Camp No. 101 seldom referred to themselves as students. Instead, they were more content to be known as "those under protection," regarding the denizens of Shelter No. 404 as "forerunners" and "masters," among other titles.

The emotions this connoted were not merely gratitude for enlightenment and protection, but also a sort of reverence.

It wasn't just an adoration for knowledge, but also a worship of status and the like...

This reverence, almost religious in nature, inevitably created a sense of distance.

Even though he could feel the forerunners were trying hard to avoid this, and even though he recognized the problem, he still couldn't escape from convention.

"...No wonder the Forerunner wanted to talk to him," Aven murmured softly.

He suddenly became increasingly curious about that man.

He'd pay him a visit some other day.

...

The following day.

After returning from Giant Stone City, Luka gave his inauguration speech at Changjiu Farm, swearing loyalty to the Alliance and officially taking on the role of mayor of Dawn City.

For the residents of Dawn City, this wasn't something extraordinary; they had been familiar with Old Luka for a long time.

However, for the merchants and mercenaries who had come from other places, this was indeed big news.

After all, Old Luka's background was no secret; many had heard that he used to be a serf at the Brown Farm.

That evening.

In a tavern on North Street.

A group of merchants from Giant Stone City, gathered around a wooden table, drank and animatedly discussed the day's events.

"I heard the new mayor of Dawn City used to be a serf."

"A serf? Can he manage such a large settlement?"

"Who knows? But I'm not optimistic about him. What does a farmer know? Can he even make sense of the ledgers?"

"But after all, he was appointed by those Blue Jackets... those smart people surely wouldn't make a mistake, would they?"

"Ha! Smart people? Would smart people end up as Ground Squirrels? Look at the mess they've made here; don't think too highly of them. They're just a bunch of cowards hiding in burrows," a bearded merchant belched as he spoke.

"Shh... keep it down, this isn't Giant Stone City."

Noticing the unfriendly glances from around, the young merchant sitting beside him quickly pulled his drunk companion back, signaling him to shut his mouth.

They were here for business, not trouble.

In the corner of the tavern, Sun Shiqi listened to the group's discussions with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Seeing the expression on his face, Zhou Nan, sitting across from him, could not help but say with a smile,

"Haven't you heard about this?"

"Uh... I just got back from the south," Sun Shiqi nodded.

Half a month ago, he had taken a truckload of military hardware, which he'd bought cheap, to Brocade River Province and traded with the farm owners there for a hundred tons of grain, arriving in Dawn City only this afternoon, just missing the mayor's inaugural speech.

However, he did know about Luka.

It seemed that, a long time ago, the old man had been working for the manager of Shelter No. 404.

First as a warehouse manager, then as the operator of Changjiu Farm, and he seemed to have been responsible for the reorganization of Brown Farm as well; his resume was without issue.

What he hadn't expected was that the manager would have the audacity to actually place a man who had once been a serf, a "lower-class person," in the position of mayor.

And the mayor of the capital of the New Alliance, no less—Dawn City.

He himself had no prejudices; in fact, he somewhat admired the decision, given he was also a survivor from humble beginnings, who last autumn was still trading in junk.

Even if it was just for show, they certainly did it well.

At least better than the mine owner and the Business Association chairmen who ran the Red River Alliance.

Watching the merchants from Giant Stone City pay their bill and leave, Sun Shiqi suddenly thought of something and spoke up.

"By the way, it seems like there have been a lot of merchants coming here from Giant Stone City recently."

Not just here.

He had seen many at the trading posts as well.

While merchants from Giant Stone City had visited in the past, they weren't as common as they were now, where you could find those snooty folks sitting in just about any tavern, their nostrils flared as if they owned the sky.

"Because of those two-hundred-million Silver coins of loan," Zhou Nan said with a smile, "you probably haven't heard... A few days ago, Giant Stone City Bank loaned the New Alliance a large sum of money, as compensation for the Alliance giving up the airspace over Qingquan City."

He had heard there was more to it.

But that's all he knew.

"Two hundred million?!" Sun Shiqi's eyes widened in shock, "Has Giant Stone City Bank gone mad?"

"I don't know about mad, but that's the reality," taking a swig of cold beer, Zhou Nan said with a teasing tone, "Yesterday, Haus from 'Voice of Giant Stone City' was mocking on the broadcast, saying that now the entire Industrial sector of Giant Stone City is serving Dawn City, willingly becoming servants to a bunch of country bumpkins... Although they look down on their poor neighbors from the 'North Suburb,' their actions are quite submissive."

Sun Shiqi couldn't help but laugh.

"Understandable—who would fight Silver coins?"

Zhou Nan said with a nostalgic expression.

"Exactly... The market here is unimaginably broad, especially since people from corporations have started coming here recently. Although I don't know what they plan to do, the goods they bring from Ideal City have turned the nobles of the Inner City green with envy."

At these words, Sun Shiqi couldn't help but be intrigued.

"Do you have a way to get your hands on those things?"

Regrettably, Zhou Nan shook his head.

"I wish I had that connection. I've tried, but those corporate people simply won't do business with us... and who knows what kind of perks those Blue Jackets have given them, the goods they're bringing are completely monopolized by the sanctuary."

"Can we buy from the sanctuary then?" Sun Shiqi quickly asked.

"You can, but it won't be cheap," Zhou Nan nodded, "What I've gathered is that a Bionic Kidney costs 600,000 Silver coins."

"600,000 Silver coins?!" Sun Shiqi's eyes widened in shock once more, "Are they mad?!"

"After all, it's something from Ideal City, it makes sense that it's expensive. Think about the Inner City nobles flush with chips and nowhere to spend them—you won't find it pricey then. A perfect liver and kidney could give you twenty more years of life, and you wouldn't have to worry about alcohol and debauchery draining your health... I'm considering getting one for myself as well." As he said this, Zhou Nan's face was filled with envy.

A single trade could bring in profits well over double.

Such business was just too good!

"...What I'd really like to know is what the corporations are actually getting from the New Alliance." Sun Shiqi's face was also filled with envy, but even more so with curiosity.

Even with the "friendly cooperation partner" label, those coming from corporations seemed a bit too generous towards the New Alliance.

Zhou Nan just shrugged his shoulders.

"Who knows? Maybe it's some incredible weapons or a Black Box worth a fortune?"

"I'm not imaginative enough; that's all I can think of."

Chapter 367: Invitation from Manager of Shelter 101

"Just... this?"

Staring dumbfounded at the production equipment before him, confusion and bafflement were clearly written across He Ding's face.

The flour was fed into the mixer in the proper ratios, going through a series of processes like maturation, pressing, cutting, steaming, chopping, and deep-frying, ultimately resulting in blocks of golden-brown noodles.

What surprised him wasn't the efficiency of the production line or the magic of its production process, but the exact opposite...

That's it?

"...These noodle cakes, the residents of the refuge rarely buy them, we usually sell them to the mercenaries of Giant Stone City, and their commercial teams. Especially the commercial teams, they often purchase in large quantities, buying twenty boxes at a time or something like that. Not only do they eat them on the road, but they also trade the leftovers to local merchants."

Standing next to He Ding, Wang Yan was introducing his factory while observing the expressions on the face of the man beside him.

He was the factory manager of the instant noodles factory.

It was the Manager who personally assigned him the task of showing this visitor from Ideal City around the Alliance's instant noodles factory.

As a "star enterprise" on par with nuclear cola, this factory, held by the refuge, generated a substantial amount of foreign exchange income for the Alliance.

Wang Yan didn't understand why the Manager would want to showcase the technology for producing instant noodles to others, but this wasn't something he should worry about.

What he couldn't understand was, why would a merchant from the legendary heaven-like Ideal City be interested in their factory?

Where was the aloof demeanor of "civilized people"?

It was truly baffling.

Staying stunned for a long time, He Ding finally came back to his senses and quickly turned his eyes to Factory Manager Wang standing by.

"Just deep-fried the flour? Haven't you added anything else?"

Wang Yan was taken aback, nodded, and then shook his head.

"No, no, all the equipment is just this. Do salt and water count as adding something else?"

He Ding stared blankly at him.

He had thought that the miraculous noodle cake must be produced through some very complicated process, or may even have considered the possibility that it was made by a Black Box, but he never expected the production process and the raw materials used to be so simple.

But on further thought, there really seemed no necessity to add anything else.

Carbohydrates would dehydrate after being deep-fried, and the high osmotic pressure of heavy salt and oil made it nearly impossible for microbes to survive. Simply seal it in plastic to isolate it from the oxygen and moisture in the air, and it should be easy to prevent the food from spoiling...

However, what confounded He Ding was this.

It seemed such an obvious principle, so why hadn't anyone thought of it?

It took a long time before he shifted his gaze from the factory manager and looked back at the production equipment before him.

"...How long can these produced noodle cakes be preserved?"

Wang Yan immediately said.

"If they're plastic sealed, they can be preserved for six months, no problem! They can still be eaten after six months, but the taste won't be as good."

In fact, he didn't know if they could really be preserved for six months, since their production line had only been operating for two months.

They only really started selling out after the campaign to the North ended, and the "six-month shelf life" was something the Manager himself had mentioned.

However, He Ding didn't doubt it.

Six months...

He Ding silently calculated in his heart.

Most merchants don't spend more than this number on a single trip. After all, traveling for too long is costly in terms of both the economic and time investment.

A six-month shelf life was absolutely sufficient!

After all, this product wasn't meant as a food reserve, but as a kind of pre-made food that was convenient to carry and cook, and cheap to buy.

It didn't even need to be very healthy.

As long as it could keep the morale of the commercial teams and expeditions high, there would be plenty of commercial teams and mercenary groups willing to pay for it.

This was much tastier than those freeze-dried vegetables!

Or he could combine the two, packaging instant noodle cakes and freeze-dried vegetables together.

With this thought, He Ding looked at the blocks of golden-brown noodle cakes waiting to be plastic sealed, his eyes blazing with fervor.

In his eyes, those noodle cakes had already turned into stacks of cash!

He Ding could hardly wait.

He wished he could fly back to Province of Yúnjiānxíng right now, to embark on his grand business plan!

...

While He Ding was fantasizing about making a fortune in Province of Yúnjiānxíng with these instant noodles, Chu Guang was sitting on a train headed to West State City.

Last night, Xia Yan's call told him that the Manager of Shelter 101 was willing to hand over the VM but wanted to meet with him in exchange.

This request wasn't too excessive, and Chu Guang didn't think the other party had any reason to harm him.

After all, it was his side that had made that presumptuous request.

For those 3500 beta test slots, he could only make a trip in person.

The dense forests whizzed by the window, and after rushing past a wilderness riddled with bomb craters, the sign for Qingstone County suddenly appeared, and the scene outside the window opened up.

The copper ore was piled into small mountains, and people bustled about the station front.

There were merchants from City of Dawn coming here to survey the market and purchase ores, as well as players with VMs and rifles heading into the forest.

Looking at the busy station, Chu Guang felt a bit lost in thought.

Two months ago, he stood on a broken bridge not too far away, and he could still vaguely hear the echoes of propeller vibrations and cannon fire in his ears.

And now, this place had become a renowned copper ore production base, and along with it, City of Dawn had also risen, becoming the largest copper and molybdenum ore trading center in the southern part of River Valley Province.

They had built a railway.

And they were planning to build another electrical grid.

Connecting the power systems of Dawn City and City of Dawn would create an even greater miracle on this extinguished land the moment the controlled fusion reactor ignited.

"There have been quite a few changes here."

Sitting opposite Chu Guang, Jiu Li said respectfully.

"After all, you have come here."

Chu Guang smiled and corrected him.

"Not me."

"Us."

Time changed not only things.

But also people.

A year ago, this burly man wasn't called "Jiu Li" but went simply by the character "Li."

To evade the war calamity of the Chewing Bone Tribe, he led his people to flee all the way to the "North Suburb" of Qingquan City.

At the time, half jokingly and half considering the realistic needs of survival, the refuge had to unite all the Waste Land Wanderers it could, and so Chu Guang gave him a more powerful sounding name and appointed him as the Steward of the Refugee Camp, responsible for settling the refugees who came to the Alliance from other places.

And Jiu Li did not disappoint Chu Guang's expectations. In cooperation with Luka, the person-in-charge of Changjiu Farm at that time, he managed the refugee camp with the limited supplies and balanced the contradictions between different tribes well.

Although minor frictions occasionally occurred, no major problems had arisen.

After more than half a year of hard work, the initial belligerence had faded from him, replaced by steadiness.

And this was also one of the aspects Chu Guang most appreciated about him.

The survivors of Dawn City needed a leader who could sympathize with the hardships of the refugees and had rich pioneering experience. He needed to consider the overall interests of the Alliance, but he could not neglect the demands of the local survivors, as unity was the foundation of the Alliance's existence.

The original management of Town Of Hope was clearly not suitable, whether it was Wu Chengyi, who had once been the mayor, or Yang Duo, who was in charge of the warehouse, as they were better suited to carrying out specific tasks.

As for Ma Ban, who was parachuted into West State City, his appointment was more of an emergency takeover of Town Of Hope.

As for the construction work, there was still a lack of experience.

He himself also explicitly expressed in the work report that he felt incapable, finding the nearly thirty thousand survivors who needed to be settled a daunting task.

Chu Guang planned to transfer him back to the City of Dawn to take over Jiu Li's job as the person-in-charge of the Refugee Camp, as a talent reserve for the third Survivor Settlement.

Looking at Jiu Li sitting opposite him, Chu Guang gave some earnest instructions.

"... You need to solidify our relationship with the local survivors, and I have only one requirement for you, which is to treat everyone equally."

"Perform the law of the Alliance as stipulated."

Jiu Li, with a solemn expression, replied firmly.

"Yes, sir!"

...

The train arrived at the station.

Unlike City of Dawn, Dawn City's station had only a wooden board standing as a sign.

Apart from the piles of materials being stored, the area was surrounded by rain-sodden mud and uncompletely removed concrete rubble.

If you looked a bit further north, you could even see the trenches previously dug by players—now these trenches had turned into drainage tunnels.

Everything here was in disrepair.

However, it was commendable that on the east side of those trenches, a settlement outline could already be seen. Having completed the construction of the drainage system, survivors began to pour concrete into the foundations, preparing to build the streets and houses of Dawn City that would provide shelter from wind and rain.

Considering the limited land resources, the housing in Dawn City would mainly consist of medium-density five-story apartment buildings, complemented by standalone cottages.

In addition, there were also plots of land open for purchase by players, who could freely decide what kind of buildings to construct.

As long as it wasn't too indecent or affected other players' senses and gaming experience, the planners wouldn't intervene too much.

"Respected Manager, Dawn City welcomes you!" Standing beside the wooden sign at the station, Ma Ban said with a respectful demeanor.

Standing by his side were Wu Chengyi, Yang Duo, and a group of former leaders of the resistance organization of West State City and Town Of Hope.

Of course, they had now joined and pledged loyalty to the Alliance, serving as civil affairs officers in departments such as civil affairs and storage management in Dawn City.

Chu Guang nodded slightly to indicate that everyone need not be overly formal.

"I'm here mainly to handle the related affairs of Camp 101. You can continue your work at your own pace; there's no need for a grand reception for me."

With that, Chu Guang turned his gaze to Jiu Li, standing to the side, and after briefly introducing his identity and work, he left the place in his charge.

Chu Guang himself, however, went to the military camp directly opposite Dawn City.

The Second Corps of the Alliance was stationed there, led by Liuding, responsible for the security of the station, railway, and the nearby Dawn City.

At the same time, the fuel rod seized by the Alliance from Golden Tooth was preserved in this military camp, with Yin Fang in charge of the repair work.

Half a month had passed since that day.

Two days ago, Chu Guang had heard from Yin Fang over the phone that there had been progress, and he happened to be en route to check it out.

Following the soldiers of the Second Corps, Chu Guang arrived at the warehouse where the fuel rod was stored. This building was easy to recognize because it was the only concrete structure in the entire military camp.

All other tents were kept far away from it.

Even though controlled fusion was theoretically very safe, and helium-3 would not pose any safety risk even if it leaked, and a single fuel rod could not initiate the energy-consuming fusion reaction, people instinctively wanted to stay away from it.

Looking at the two soldiers beside him who were clearly nervous, Chu Guang chuckled and said,

"You don't need to be so tense; maybe you should go back, just escorting me here is fine."

Hearing Chu Guang's words, the pair clearly misunderstood his intentions. One of the soldiers straightened up and said solemnly,

"Sir, we're not afraid of death; we're just worried that thing might threaten your safety. Please allow us to stay by your side!"

His thoughts were simple.

If something unexpected happened, at least he had to get the Manager out.

"I'm not questioning your loyalty, but that thing isn't as terrifying as you imagine," Chu Guang patted the soldier's shoulder gently, "Wait for me at the door."

The soldier hesitated for a moment.

But after all, it was the Manager's order, so he and his companion stood together and performed a neat military salute.

"Yes!"

Without lingering at the door, Chu Guang pushed it open and walked in.

He saw the completed fuel rod assembly standing in the center of the room cluttered with parts.

Standing beside the fuel rods, Yin Fang held a tablet with a data cable attached, his index finger rubbing his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

Hearing the noise at the door, he turned his face to look and immediately a touch of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"What kind of wind blew you here?"

"I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd check in on your progress," Chu Guang said with a smile, casting an appreciative glance at the fuel rods in the center of the room. "It looks like you've got it handled."

Yin Fang lifted his eyebrows proudly.

"That's right, as you see. Even though that idiot nearly dismantled the fuel rods, luckily all the parts could still be found... You've come at just the right time, I reassembled all the parts yesterday, and today you show up."

From his exuberant expression, Chu Guang could tell that he was equally pleased with the masterpiece he had completed over the past half-month.

Tossing the VM-modified tablet computer onto the table, Yin Fang continued with pride.

"I checked it again today, and basically ruled out any hardware or software faults. Now, I'm just waiting to fix the reactor and can slot this thing in anytime... How is your communication with the engineers at Camp 101?"

Chu Guang smiled and nodded.

"They are already preparing for this task. Barring any unexpected issues, the reactor should be able to restart shortly after the power grid in Dawn City is completed."

Chu Guang had discussed this matter with the Mayor of Camp 101, Hoene, long ago.

As soon as the Alliance's construction crew arrived at Camp 101, they had sent engineers and, with the help of players, found the emergency reactor buried deep in a subway tunnel.

Although the work schedule was uncertain, according to those engineers, it shouldn't take long.

Neither the war two hundred years ago nor the one two months ago had caused any harm to the reactor. It was only outdated because some old parts needed replacing.

Chu Guang wasn't too rushed about it.

After all, Dawn City lacked not only a power grid but even a few completed houses, and the factories that had been moved over were very few.

Completing the construction of the power grid and the industrial relocation plan by the end of the year, and integrating the repaired reactors into the grid, would be quite an achievement.

"It seems you already have a plan, so I won't worry about it."

With a pause in his work, Yin Fang said with a contented expression.

"I plan to go back to the shelter tomorrow morning... By the way, are those samples brought back from the city center still there?"

As he said this, an unmistakable excitement gleamed in his eyes.

He had been interested in the "specimens" brought out of Qingquan City Center by the Cow and Horse Squad for a long time.

In Yin Fang's eyes, those were the living fossils left by the pre-war civilization!

Invaluable treasures!

Not only were their structures well preserved, but even their "modes of operation" had been maintained in a biotic form by the slime mold.

To an "archaeologist" who had spent his life digging up pre-war civilization's legacies, the attraction was self-explanatory!

Watching the fervent look in Yin Fang's eyes, Chu Guang couldn't help but laugh.

"They're all still there. Heya just extracted the slime mold tissue from the evolutionary bodies; nothing else has been touched."

"But I bet when you get back to the shelter, you won't be interested in that pile of scrap iron—"

"That's impossible!" Yin Fang shook his head, speaking without hesitation, "Scrap iron? Do you know what those things mean?"

Looking at his firmly convinced face, Chu Guang simply smiled calmly and continued.

"Recently a group from 'North Suburb' brought in a set of OD-10 'Dragon Cavalry' power armor. Aside from a significant crack in the left arm, the whole structure is well intact, and even the reactor and batteries are undamaged—"

"Where is it!?"

Before he could finish, Yin Fang interrupted him, his eagerness evident in his gaze.

The last time Chu Guang saw that expression on his face was when they found the holographic recording of Doctor Principle.

"It's in the shelter..."

Before Chu Guang could finish, Yin Fang grabbed his coat from the table, throwing it over his shoulders as he hurriedly made for the warehouse door.

"Look after the fuel rod, get someone to... No, just lock the door, and don't let those clumsy laypeople outside mess with it!"

"I can't wait until tomorrow; I'm heading back to the shelter now!"

Watching that quickly disappearing figure at the door, Chu Guang was stunned for a long while before he regained his senses, a trace of amusement in his eyes.

Although he had anticipated that Yin Fang would be excessively excited to hear the news, such an exaggerated reaction was unexpected.

A repairable power armor is certainly valuable.

But...

Is it really that exaggerated?

Approaching the warehouse door, Chu Guang looked towards the distance and noticed the man had already run out of sight, most likely heading straight for the train station.

The two soldiers on duty at the door also gazed in the direction of the base, murmuring quietly.

"I told you, that thing has radiation..."

"Look at that guy; he must have gone mad."

The misunderstanding seemed to have deepened for some bizarre reason...

But no matter, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Chu Guang cleared his throat gently.

Seeing the Manager standing at the door, the two soldiers immediately shut their mouths and straightened up, pressing their hands tightly against the seams of their trousers.

Chu Guang did not scold them for slacking off but simply instructed,

"Find someone to lock this door."

"Without my order, no one is to come near."

Relieved, both men simultaneously gave a military salute.

"Yes!"

...

While Yin Fang took on the role of supervisor, urging the station's workers to hurry up and unload, a long queue had formed outside the entrance of The First Hospital of Dawn City.

Most of those in the line were players.

To the residents of the New Alliance, this was an absolutely unusual sight.

It was common knowledge that residents of the refuge never went to the hospital; minor injuries and illnesses were cured after a stint in the Cultivation Chamber, and by the next day, they were generally healed.

As for severe injuries and terminal illnesses...

They seemed to recover after a couple of days as well.

And indeed, that was the case.

These queuing players were not there to seek medical treatment but to undergo cybernetic augmentation surgeries.

They couldn't afford the high-end merchandise produced by Ideal City, but some wealthy players could still afford the bionics manufactured in Giant Stone City, valued at several thousand chips.

Although Yin Fang had been absent from the refuge for half a month, he was not the only one capable of performing augmentation surgeries.

Take, for example, this surgeon from Shelter No.117, working in the operating room.

Though a bit old and shaky, he had a background as a biologist, had dissected numerous animal specimens, and had received medical training.

After all, replacing arms and legs wasn't the same as implanting chips into the brain; these "simple" surgeries were not difficult for him.

The surgical equipment purchased from Giant Stone City might not compare to the professional gear of Shelter No.117, but it was sufficient for use.

Looking at the stream of surgical requests refreshing in the VM, the old man in a surgical cap sighed and couldn't help but complain.

"I don't understand why you would want to remove your own healthy arm and replace it with... this thing?"

On the mobile stand beside the operating table lay a mechanical arm that was ninety percent new.

While it had all the joints a normal arm should have, the blades folded inside the forearm were indeed bizarre.

Even if it was to enhance combat power, this form of "self-mutilation" seemed too extreme.

Nevertheless, the refuge resident ignored him and, having already willingly climbed onto the operating table, lay down and looked at him with anticipation.

His expression was even slightly impatient.

Madness!

"I hope you would cherish your bodies a bit more; after all, they were given to you by your parents..."

Seeing that communication was impossible, the old man sighed, picked up a scalpel from the tray, and turned to the assistant helping him.

"Go and close the door."

...

Outside the hospital.

L Trash, wagging his tail, looked enviously at the long line of people and his brothers who had gotten new equipment.

"Damn it... why can't I switch?"

Passing by, Elena heard his complaint and couldn't help but stop and mockingly say,

"Maybe it's because your Intelligence attribute isn't high enough?"

L Trash immediately retorted,

"Damn it! My Intelligence... it isn't low either!"

"Not low? Isn't it just 3 points?"

"%￥#@!"

L Trash was fuming but powerless.

Posting a screenshot of his Attribute Panel on the Forum was the biggest mistake of his life.

Standing next to Old Na, a newbie named 'Giggle' stared at the never-ending entrance to the hospital and suddenly had a strange thought.

"What about the parts they've replaced?"

L Trash sneered, seizing the opportunity for a quick comeback.

"Usually, we'd find a spot where Old Na can't see and bury them."

"Get lost," Elena rolled her eyes. "I'll admit my curiosity might be strong, but I'd never go as far as to eat that sort of thing!"

"What a waste…"

Giggle suddenly let out a sigh.

"According to game mechanics, once you reach Level 10, you're considered one of the Awakeners, and Awakeners should be pretty Niubi, right?"

Elena glanced at him.

"What are you trying to do? You can't roast that stuff—"

"Of course it's for selling for money, what a shame to roast it," Giggle said regretfully, "After all, they are parts of an Awakener. Arms and hands aside... eyes, liver, kidneys, they must be worth something, right?"

L Trash was taken aback.

Elena was also taken aback, staring at the newbie in disbelief.

Holy shit!

Wasn't that a bit too fucking extreme?!

Chapter 368 "Method

"Sell the parts we replace?"

When he heard Old Na's suggestion on the phone, Fang Chang was completely stunned.

What kind of bizarre behavior was this??

"…That's right! Anyway, if we don't sell it, we'll just end up burying it, such a waste! Think about it, after all, they're organs of Awakeners, being three times more expensive than those of a normal person isn't too much, right?"

On the phone, Elena vividly described the business plan she learned from some newbie.

Leaning on the sofa, Fang Chang pressed his index finger against his forehead and pondered for a while before saying,

"But… for organ transplants, don't we have to consider compatibility?"

Elena giggled and said,

"I know, but it's not real life, it's the Game, and they've even created bionic organs, so they should be able to resolve rejection issues, right?"

Fang Chang: "…"

Fuck?

Now that you mention it…

That does seem to make some sense?

He had prematurely brought his real-life experiences into consideration.

However, after all, this is the Game world, and the setting is the year 2341.

A future even further away than 2077…

Maybe compatibility really isn't an issue?

Three days to resurrect once.

Making twenty to thirty thousand silver coins each time.

What kind of business could be so profitable?

The only limitation, perhaps, is that there aren't enough tycoons in Giant Stone City.

The more Fang Chang thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, so he decided to talk to the black market merchant who sold bionic prosthetics. Right then, he said on the phone,

"I'll ask around and see."

Elena excitedly said, "Alright! I'll have them freeze the kidneys first!"

The phone call ended.

Fang Chang got up from the sofa, left the Alliance Office in Giant Stone City without another word, and headed to the residential area on the edge of the industrial district.

The familiar alleys.

Mannequins hidden in the shadows of shop windows, as usual, scared the unlucky ones who accidentally passed by, but Fang Chang was already accustomed to their tricks, and he walked straight into the suspicious clinic without a second glance.

Lifting the curtain, he entered the farthest room and saw the balding middle-aged doctor pacing back and forth, seemingly troubled by something.

When he saw Fang Chang come in, Grey West's eyes lit up instantly, and he promptly showed a warmth different from before, hurrying over to greet him.

"You've come at just the right time, my friend."

Fang Chang looked at him curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing much, just saying hello," Grey West said with an embarrassed smile, glancing behind Fang Chang as he asked, "What about that girl, what's her name? Why didn't she come with you?"

"It's work time now, she has her own job to do…" Seeing Grey West clearly had something to say, Fang Chang cut to the chase and asked, "Just tell me what's going on."

Seeing his thoughts exposed, Grey West no longer beat around the bush and chuckled before speaking.

"I have an inappropriate request to trouble you with."

Anticipating a quest trigger, Fang Chang asked.

"What's the request?"

"Didn't the corporate delegation just visit North Suburb? One of my big clients wants a bionic kidney produced by Ideal City, but he has no way to get it."

As he spoke, Grey West's eyes shone eagerly.

"Do you have a way to get that?"

"Bionic prosthetics from Ideal City… that stuff isn't cheap," Fang Chang recalled glancing at the price, a kidney would cost 600,000 silver coins.

Just from a cost-benefit perspective, it's completely not worth it, at least 50% of that price is "brand premium".

But Grey West didn't care at all, still looking at him with eager eyes.

"I know, but aren't you a Resident of the refuge? Don't you guys have an internal discount?"

"How could we have such a thing." Fang Chang rolled his eyes.

An internal discount, as if.

They should count their blessings that the game's planners don't charge them extra!

To deal with end-game value inflation and prevent the economic gap between players from becoming too great, the planners were willing to do anything it takes.

But objectively speaking, this wasn't entirely a bad thing.

After all, if not for these actions, with everyone's warehouse stacked with tens of millions of units of silver coins, it wouldn't make the game more fun, it would just render the silver coins completely meaningless.

"Alright… even if it's not cheap, give me a quote."

"One million silver coins," Fang Chang said without even a change in his expression.

"One million?!" Grey West's eyes bulged, looking at him in disbelief, "Are you joking?"

Expecting such a reaction, Fang Chang continued.

"Don't get excited, I'm talking about silver coins, you just need to pay me 500,000 chips."

Grey West calmed down.

Five hundred thousand chips...

Thinking about it, it wasn't unacceptable.

After all, a bionic liver produced by Giant Stone City would cost up to twenty million chips.

A bionic liver produced by Ideal City...

Being delivered across a vast expanse of Wasteland, a 50-times price hike actually seemed cheap by comparison.

Even at one million chips, it's likely someone would be interested.

With that thought, he no longer hesitated and nodded his head emphatically.

"Deal!"

"But I have a condition, cash on delivery, I want to see the goods before I make the payment!"

The prompt agreement made Fang Chang wonder if the price he had set was too low.

However, having already agreed, it wouldn't be right for him to go back on his word.

He could always raise the price next time.

"No problem. By the way, I have another proposal, are you interested?" Fang Chang asked.

"What proposal?" Grey West looked at him and asked.

A smile appeared on Fang Chang's face as he explained the purpose of his visit.

"The bionic prosthetics produced by Ideal City are expensive, not affordable for everyone. I also have a batch of... uh, Awakeners' organs, would that interest you?"

"Awakeners' organs?" Grey West was stunned for a moment, watching the man in front of him with an odd expression.

"Exactly, whether it's eyes, livers, kidneys... or whatever, I have ways to acquire them. They might not compare to bionic prosthetics, but they are absolutely natural."

Grey West sighed, interrupting Fang Chang.

"That stuff won't fetch a good price."

Fang Chang frowned.

"Why not?"

Grey West replied succinctly.

"While solving the problem of rejection isn't difficult, people who can afford bionic bodies would never consider using living parts. Humans are a precise machine, yet the parts in this machine do not serve efficiency."

"Moreover, producing living organs is much simpler than creating bionic ones, just create a mentally castrated clone and harvest at will; it's not troublesome at all."

Grey West commented nonchalantly with a shocking statement.

In fact, this wasn't really something unusual.

The things forbidden in the Prosperity Epoch could be done in the Wasteland Era. Cloning itself was not a complex technology, and both slave trading and organ dealing had long formed a mature industry chain in Giant Stone City.

Fang Chang stared blankly at the guy.

He suddenly realized.

This Game wasn't just playing with players.

The NPCs were brutal too.

Seeing that Fang Chang remained silent, Grey West paused before continuing,

"...However, if you can get hands on some kidneys with strong metabolic functions or eyes with exceptional optical abilities, I would be willing to buy them. Might be of interest to some Mercenaries... though the price might disappoint you."

Fang Chang immediately asked.

"How much will you give?"

"For a kidney..."

Grey West indicated with two fingers.

"2000 chips seems reasonable."

"2000?!" Fang Chang exclaimed, looking at him, suddenly cautious, "You're not trying to con me, are you?"

Grey West laughed.

"Conning? Then go sell to someone else, see if anyone else is willing to buy."

He clearly wasn't as enthusiastic about the parts of Awakeners as he had been earlier.

Seeing that the guy didn't seem to be lying, Fang Chang didn't say much more.

Mainly because he didn't know anyone else who would buy this stuff.

Forget it.

Even a mosquito's weight in flesh is still flesh.

2000 chips could be exchanged for 4000 silver coins, and when converted to RMB, at least another zero could be added.

Logging off for two days could earn 4000 silver.

There ought to be some body constitution brothers willing to cooperate.

"I'll get the bionic liver produced by Ideal City for you, as well as the organs of the Awakeners. Get your chips ready, we'll have the cash on delivery in a week."

"No problem, by the way, how many parts of Awakeners do you have?" Grey West asked crisply.

Fang Chang smiled faintly.

"As many as you want, this will be an ongoing business."

Grey West was stunned, staring blankly at the man in front of him, his eyes filled with indescribable weirdness.

He had expected just one or two, so hadn't taken it seriously, but he didn't expect this guy to offer as many as needed.

And he planned on a long-term cooperation?

Were Awakeners some kind of leeks growing in fields?

Where on earth could he find so many Awakeners?!

"Then prepare 20 kidneys for me first," Grey West joked.

He thought the man before him would have a hard time with the request, but to his surprise, the man agreed without hesitation.

"No problem."

"Just twenty, that'll be easy!"

...

"Isn't this a bit too much?"

Browsing through the forum via VM, Chu Guang's face revealed a bemused expression.

Well done.

These people had already started to solicit "parts" on the forums.

Of course, it was the parts in the Game.

Transactions that violate the laws and regulations of users' localities are also forbidden from being discussed on the forums.

"Master, should we remove the post? (°⌓°)" A small window popped up at the top of the VM screen, the message was from Xiao Qi.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and replied.

"No need."

Selling one's own parts was within the rules, anyway, death penalties were borne by the players themselves.

Of course, this operation was limited to players who could respawn; ordinary residents were prohibited from such actions.

The shelter's active materials were no longer in such short supply. Just ten Eaters could provide a unit of active material, and after level 10, it just doubled.

However, even though Chu Guang rarely interfered directly with the players' game progress, preferring to focus on rule-making, he still spent some time keeping an eye on what players were doing.

On the one hand, it satisfied his own curiosity.

On the other hand, he wanted to see if there were any loopholes in the rules so he could promptly fix any exploits.

He might not always know what the NPCs were up to, but as far as the players' activities were concerned, he could say he knew them like the back of his hand.

Even without using the "backdoors" in the vm and many peripherals, he could trace relevant clues from posts on the official website.

Although not every player visited the forum, those with a strong presence could hardly resist the temptation to show off there.

Chu Guang shut off the screen and turned his gaze forward; they had arrived at their destination.

The gates of Shelter No. 101 were just ahead, the gear-like giant doors identical to those of Shelter No. 404.

At that moment, following beside Chu Guang were ten soldiers from the Guards Corps.

And there was Hoene, the mayor of Camp 101.

However, Hoene did not lead him to the giant doors but took him to a tent not far away and handed him a pair of glasses.

These glasses looked a bit like AR glasses, but the dark lenses were completely opaque to light.

Chu Guang took the glasses and examined them before looking at the old man called Hoene.

"Can I just put these glasses on?"

Hoene nodded respectfully.

"Yes, esteemed Manager, sir."

Chu Guang then turned to Lu Bei, who was standing steadfastly by his side.

"You wait for me at the door."

Lu Bei was momentarily taken aback and hesitated slightly.

"But sir..."

Sitting down on a chair nearby, Chu Guang was not inclined to explain.

"That's an order."

Lu Bei fell silent for a while and ultimately saluted military-style before turning and leaving the tent.

As he also left the room, Hoene glanced at the young man and said softly,

"Don't worry, it's just a VR headset, we would never do anything to threaten the security of you Managers."

Lu Bei said nothing.

He too believed it unlikely that these people would do anything harmful to the Manager.

He simply couldn't trust this unseen person—the Manager of Shelter No. 101.

The soldier standing next to him felt the same.

His face was stiff as he spoke in a rigid tone,

"It had better be."

If anything were to happen to the Manager, he swore he would level this place.

So what if it was a shelter?

Can't blow the door open?

Then blow up the entire tunnel and seal this place with concrete!

...

After the door closed,

Chu Guang fiddled with the glasses for a while and then placed them on his nose bridge.

Surprisingly, no images appeared on the dark lenses.

Instead, the moment he closed his eyes, colorful ripples spread from his brow across his surroundings, pulling his senses and a vast amount of information into unity.

After only a moment of disorientation, when Chu Guang opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a completely different world.

Birds were chirping amongst fragrant flowers, trees provided ample shade, and people walked and laughed along a path paved with red bricks.

There stood a statue in the distance, but since it was back-facing him, he couldn't see its face.

This place seemed to be a park.

Chu Guang stared blankly at everything before him, murmuring to himself as if in a dream,

"...What is this?"

Just then, a voice came from behind him.

"Welcome to Shelter No. 101."

Hearing this, Chu Guang immediately turned around, only to see a stranger standing there.

The man was of average height and subtly thin, with a face that would blend unnoticed into a crowd, yet his smile possessed a unique warmth.

Most distinctive were his eyes, deep as the ocean, seemingly with the power to see through everything.

He was holding a girl's hand who appeared to be his daughter.

However, she only inherited his eye color, not the jet-black lustre of his hair.

Chu Guang suddenly felt the girl looked somewhat familiar, but only slightly so.

"Daddy?" the girl looked up at the man beside her and said in a crisp voice, "Is he your friend?"

"In a manner of speaking."

The man lightly patted the girl's hand and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Go to your mother and tell her I'll be there soon."

The girl nodded, sensibly let go of her father's hand, and ran towards the crowd.

As Chu Guang watched her figure vanish into the crowd, he frowned subconsciously.

"Is it alright to let a child walk alone like that?"

The man seemed to hear something amusing and chuckled.

"There's no need to worry; there are no crimes here."

A contemplative expression crossed Chu Guang's face as he suddenly stamped his right foot.

The tingling sensation from the sole of his foot, along with the unmoving red brick, everything felt as real as it could be.

Nevertheless, he could still sense a slight discordance.

Because if this had been reality, with his strength, the floor tile under his foot would have already shattered.

"Is this the virtual world?"

A look of admiration appeared on the man's face.

"It's just like you, I was just wondering how many seconds it would take for you to realize."

Hearing this seemingly meaningful statement, Chu Guang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.

"You seem to know me?"

The man nodded, saying cheerfully.

"Hmm... although I've only known you for a few seconds, it's really good to see you."

Chu Guang didn't understand what was so good about it.

And that man obviously didn't explain the meaning of his words, but continued to say on his own.

"Let me introduce myself, you can call me... Method, this is the signature I most commonly use in my papers, and it's how my friends always refer to me."

Method?

Chu Guang frowned slightly, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Wait...

Could it be the "Method" from the Academy?

He remembered that a long time ago, Yin Fang had told him about the three founders of the Academy: Principle, Method, and Conclusion.

Previously, in that abandoned virtual image, he had met Doctor Principle. In his memory, the man was an optimistic idealist who later went to the River Valley Province Northern Part and participated in the formation of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee...

Quite something.

He hadn't yet visited the Wandering Swamp, but he had already met two of the founders of the Academy.

However, what Chu Guang couldn't figure out was...

"Why would the founder of the Academy be here?"

"The Academy... such a nostalgic name."

Those azure pupils seemed to fall into a reminiscence of the past, but soon, it was submerged in a light smile.

"However, I'm not that great. The Academy wasn't founded by me; it already existed in the distant Prosperity Epoch, I just devoted a little bit of time to help my friends rebuild it in the new world."

"As for why I'm here..."

Doctor Method paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating how to answer.

"The question is a bit strange, but I can feel what you want to ask. Simply put, not all shelters were activated during the three-year war; some began operating after the war ended."

Chu Guang thoughtfully said.

"So, you mean to say... you came here after founding the Academy?"

"Sort of, but that was all a very long time ago, I almost forgot about it until you mentioned it."

With that, the man switched to a cheerful tone.

"I'm very grateful that you took the time out of your busy schedule to satisfy the curiosity of an insignificant person like me. My confusion was answered the moment I saw you."

"My VM has already been given to Hoene, he will hand it over to you later."

Chu Guang watched him silently, then suddenly spoke.

"On the contrary to you, my confusion has only increased since I met you."

Doctor Method smiled gently and replied courteously.

"It would be my honor to clarify your doubts. You may ask me anything that's puzzling you."

Chu Guang smiled.

"Really? Then I have a lot of things I'd like to ask, such as... who is our enemy?"

This was a question he had pondered for over a year, ever since he first woke up.

"Enemy..." Doctor Method thought for a while about this question, "Two centuries ago, we did have some disagreements with our kin from South Gate Two, but I don't see them as our enemies."

As expected.

A look of realization flashed in Chu Guang's eyes.

The books gathered from Shelter No. 117 had mentioned methods of "spacecraft jumping between massive celestial bodies," clearly indicating that the people of the Prosperity Epoch had mastered the technology related to FTL engines.

The Mind Interference Technology preserved in Shelter No. 117 also came from exchanges with the colonies.

Various signs pointed to the fact that long before the Prosperity Epoch, the United Human had already stepped beyond the Solar System and had at least established one colony.

Doctor Method's statement corroborated some of his speculation.

But what he hadn't expected was that the war would break out between the homeworld and a colony?

He had thought it would involve extraterrestrial civilizations, like how over-expansion might have alerted the "Degenerate Empire."

However, what surprised Chu Guang the most wasn't these events, but the reaction of the man before him.

Letting war obliterate an era.

Chu Guang always felt that he seemed a bit too calm.

"... even though your world has become like this?"

Doctor Method nodded, speaking in a casual tone.

"Yes, the war was merely the final reckoning. The seeds of conflict and dissent had been sown long ago and it made no difference whether they sprouted today or tomorrow. There are many complex reasons involved, none of which can be explained in just a few words."

"We tried to prevent it, including my respected mentor, many people made great efforts during their lives."

"But in the face of history's course, the power of one or two individuals seems far too insignificant."

"Upon realizing that everything was irreparable, the only thing we could do was to preserve as many seeds as possible for future generations, leaving behind a glimmer of hope in the midst of the irreparable."

"... or rather, leaving behind a possibility for the future."

The voice was soft, as if drifting from a faraway place yet right before him.

Observing his "passive" attitude, Chu Guang couldn't help but say.

"Haven't you ever thought about making a change?"

As if anticipating Chu Guang's words, Doctor Method smiled again.

"How do you know I haven't done anything?"

Chapter 369: The Complexity of Humans Lies Herein

Leaving the virtual world was simple.

All that was needed was a touch to the temples to take off the glasses.

In casual conversation with Dr. Method, Chu Guang learned that the residents of Shelter No. 404 had abandoned their flesh and uploaded their consciousness to the virtual world, embracing a higher form of evolution.

And with that, they had been reborn.

"...Our world originally had only 6,000 people, and now it has a population of 3 billion, most of whom were born from complex self-evolving algorithms. We only need to consume a tiny amount of insignificant resources to meet all material and spiritual needs."

Sitting on a bench in the park, the man's gaze passed over the bustling crowd.

The city's outline was visible in the distance.

"I spent my life savings here, storing enough resources in the shelter to maintain the world's smooth operation for a thousand years or even longer."

"But one day it will vanish."

Upon hearing Chu Guang say this, Dr. Method smiled faintly and asked in a light voice.

"Yes, but what is eternal anyway?"

"The indestructible Alliance lasted only a little more than a century, and our time of prosperity wasn't even longer than our time of decline."

"Here, we can anticipate the day the world will be destroyed and calmly welcome our final fate before the apocalypse arrives. I don't think that's a bad thing."

Saying this, he rose from the bench and smiled at Chu Guang who sat beside him.

"Thank you for staying with me so long, but now I must go to find my wife and daughter. If you are interested in our world, you can walk around."

"This world is vast and will never bore you. Of course, if you like it here, you are welcome to stay."

That last sentence didn't sound like a joke.

Chu Guang hesitated for a half-second, but that was all.

"No need, there are many people waiting for me over there."

He admitted this place was beautiful.

Clean sunlight, air, and water, endless resources sustaining a population of 3 billion.

This was the real "Game world."

And a perfect Utopia.

There were no Variants, no Looters and Mutants, and even the concept of exploitation didn't exist.

However, it was precisely because of this that Chu Guang feared he would indulge in this beautiful yet fictitious dream.

Rising from the bench, he raised his index finger to touch his temple, feeling for a transparent protrusion.

According to Dr. Method, all he had to do was take it off to leave this place.

However, as Chu Guang was about to do just that, he suddenly thought of something and blurted out.

"If I choose to stay, wouldn't the experiment of that professor you mentioned be a failure?"

If he remembered rightly,
after his death, Shelter No. 404 would activate its shutdown procedure, and the Morphological formation field device would cease to operate, waiting for the right time to reactivate.

Maybe it would be ten years later, or a century, or even further in the future.

"It doesn't matter, since you've made it this far, you are certain to refuse," the man's face suddenly revealed a cunning smile, "just take that as polite talk."

That smile caused Chu Guang to roll his eyes.

He did want to be unpredictable, but if he really did so, it might play right into this man's hands.

"You can keep dreaming in daylight for the rest of your life."

Watching the figure fading away, the doctor waved his hand with a smile.

"Thanks for your good words."

...

Vivid colors separated from consciousness, and the dark lenses came into view.

Chu Guang took off the glasses and placed them on the table beside him, then stood up and walked to the door.

The door opened.

Seeing Chu Guang at the door, the soldiers waiting there finally breathed a sigh of relief.

So did Hoene, standing to one side.

He reached into his sleeve, took off the VM strapped to his arm, and handed it to Chu Guang at the door.

"The Forerunner asked me to give this to you."

"Thank you."

After a brief courtesy, Chu Guang took the wrist computer.

And almost the moment his index finger touched it, a pale blue popup appeared before his eyes.

[Mission: Retrieve the Manager's VM from Shelter No. 101 (Completed)]

[Reward: 3,500 Gene Sequences]

Looking at the popup that appeared before him, a hint of joy surfaced in Chu Guang's eyes as he tapped his earpiece.

"Xiao Qi."

At the sound of his voice, Xiao Qi's voice came through.

"I am here, master."

Chu Guang immediately commanded.

"Restart player recruitment!"

Xiao Qi: "Received!"

After a crisp response, the long-paused beta test qualification distribution finally restarted.

Still at the rate of 20 accounts per day.

This time he would focus more on recruiting some players with ideas and creativity, enriching the diversity of the player community while ensuring a position of neutrality or better.

3,500 Gene Sequences was enough to last until the end of the year. Considering the abundance of food after autumn and the gradually increasing food import quota, this rate of beta test distribution was just right.

Soon, a fresh batch of new players would enter the fray.

Great!

Chu Guang looked at the VM in his hand.

This was probably the easiest task he had received from the "Manager's Work Log."

At first, when he saw the mission reward, Chu Guang thought the task would be very difficult.

Turned out, the manager of Shelter No. 101 just wanted to see him, having no other plans or schemes.

For Chu Guang, it was like going through a CG cutscene.

Suddenly thinking of something, Chu Guang turned to Hoene, who was standing beside him, and asked out of curiosity.

"Do you usually communicate this way too?"

Hoene nodded gently.

"Yes, after all, opening the door once requires a lot of energy, it's more energy-efficient through the virtual reality system."

Chu Guang asked.

"Haven't you thought about staying there?"

"Staying... there?"

A blank look crossed Hoene's eyes, "Do you mean the pure white room? But there's nothing there, right?"

A trace of strangeness surfaced in Chu Guang's eyes.

Well, great.

It turned out that the residents of Camp 101 had never really been to that world.

But on second thought, it made sense.

Unless one had a resolute mind, after seeing the prosperity of that world, it would probably be difficult to maintain one's true nature.

After all, a person's life lasts no more than a hundred years, if one could obtain a thousand years of peace, there really wasn't much worth clinging to in the physical body.

Seeing Chu Guang's expression was a bit peculiar, Hoene couldn't help but ask.

"Is there a problem?"

"Nothing, it's all good," Chu Guang casually replied, quickly ending the conversation.

Hoene looked at him blankly. Though puzzled, he didn't continue to probe.

It wasn't, after all, a matter of importance.

"It seems you've had a pleasant talk with our Forerunners... May I ask if there is anything else you need?"

"No, thank you for your hospitality."

Taking one last look at the gear-shaped door seemingly fixed in space, Chu Guang then turned his attention to Lu Bei and the other soldiers of the Guards Corps.

"Let's go."

...

After leaving Shelter 101, Chu Guang returned to the surface.

He first visited Xia Yan and Little Fish, along with the other students, then took a turn at the construction site in Dawn City, and finally returned to the base of the Second Corps.

As he crossed the threshold of the military camp, a group of young players were carrying back a deer with three antlers from the direction of the forest.

They brought the game to the campfire, preparing to cook it into a wild delicacy.

Noticing the Manager, the players' eyes lit up, their expressions like those who had discovered a rare animal, immediately turning their gaze toward Chu Guang.

One player, with a stronger sense of role-playing, clapped his hands, stood up, and jogged over to Chu Guang, respectfully saying,

"Respected Manager, we've just caught a deer and were about to roast it!"

"If you don't mind, we have extra space here!"

Chu Guang, who happened to be hungry, said with a smile,

"Then I won't be polite!"

The player's face showed surprise, clearly not expecting Chu Guang to agree so readily.

However, the surprise soon turned to delight, and he excitedly nodded,

"Alright!"

Seeing their companion bring the Manager back, a group of players immediately pulled him aside.

"Damn, why'd you bring the NPC over here?"

The player scratched his head with an embarrassed smile,

"Heh, wasn't I just thinking about getting a good impression rating, what if it unlocks a hidden quest, wouldn't that be a fortune!"

"Hiss... you make a good point."

"I'd better put some serious effort into it!"

Listening to the players' murmurs about their favorability with him, Chu Guang couldn't help but suppress a chuckle.

However, watching them busily handle the game, he didn't laugh out loud after all.

The game took more than an hour to process.

This included skinning and removing excess fat, as well as sprinkling with the Shelter's special spices.

To hang the game over the charcoal fire, the group of young players was bustling with joy.

As the sun set, Chu Guang finally got to taste the wild game the players had roasted.

The rich fragrance spread between his lips and teeth, a pity there was no beer here, or it would have been even better.

Holding the deer leg in his hand, Chu Guang couldn't help feeling somewhat emotional.

Rather than saying he couldn't bear to leave this world, it was more accurate to say he couldn't bear to leave those hardworking and brave companions.

"Thank you, it's delicious, feels like it's driven away the fatigue of the whole day... if you opened a barbecue restaurant, it would definitely be a hit," Chu Guang joked.

The player who had pulled him here earlier, once again stood out, loyally stating,

"You're welcome!"

"It's our honor to serve you!"

The small group of players gathered around the fire, all looked at Chu Guang with expectant faces, their eyes shining with the light of hopeful futures.

Their expressions seemed to be calling out.

It went up!

The favorability!

Definitely went up!

...

A night without words.

The next morning, as the sun rose, Chu Guang boarded the train back to Dawn City, concluding his visit to Dawn City and Camp 101.

Aside from the 3,500 beta testing spots, another gain from the trip was that Chu Guang finally had an answer to his confusion about the origins of the Wasteland.

The Doomsday War that occurred 200 years ago was between the United Human's mother star and colonies.

And the motive for the outbreak of war didn't seem to be for independence or purely economic benefits.

After all, if it were for those two goals, it would have been hard to fight to such an extent.

This kind of fight aiming at the complete annihilation of the opponent was just like a slaughter between two different species.

And there might be some hidden reasons behind this that he still didn't understand...

"History is a cycle, but it usually doesn't repeat itself simply."

Sitting on the train, while organizing his notes, Chu Guang wrote this sentence at the very end of this chapter —

About Camp 101.

...

Shelter No. 404.

In warehouse B2, Yin Fang stood in front of a piece of power armor, fixing armor made of A3 aeronautical aluminum onto the damaged cut with assistance from two engineers.

The entire armor's surface was polished to a certain degree, looking brand new, and the shell was painted with a fresh urban camouflage.

Different from the "battle-damaged style" exoskeleton that Clear Spring had lucked into, when repairing this "Dragon Cavalry," Yin Fang clearly invested more effort, striving to restore it to the most perfect condition, rather than just making do with a "good enough" attitude.

That's why when Chu Guang saw this piece of power armor, he almost didn't recognize it.

"You're back? I was about to report good news to you!"

Watching Chu Guang approach from the door, Yin Fang stopped his work and went to greet him, his face animated with excitement.

"The condition of this power armor is simply perfect! Not only are the reactor and batteries good, but even the tactical helmet's holographic image is intact! How much did you spend to get this?"

"If I say I didn't spend a dime, you definitely wouldn't believe it," Chu Guang joked.

Yin Fang laughed and said, "Why would I not? At most, I would say, 'It's just like you.'"

What the heck?

Do I look like someone who would freeload?

Chu Guang rolled his eyes, too lazy to explain, and directly ended the topic.

"I met your revered ancestor."

"What?"

Yin Fang was taken aback by the sudden statement.

Chu Guang didn't pause and continued speaking.

"That Dr. Method."

"Method...?"

Yin Fang came to his senses, looking at Chu Guang with a face full of shock, momentarily unsure of what expression to make.

"Wait... You met Dr. Method? Where? Was it like before, a holographic image, or—"'

"At Shelter 101," Chu Guang interrupted his incoherent words, saying, "He's the Manager there."

The air fell into an awkward silence for a moment.

Yin Fang took a deep breath, calming himself down.

He sorted out his jumbled thoughts, pinched the bridge of his nose, and after a moment asked.

"What kind of person is he?"

Chu Guang thought for a bit and said.

"To be honest, he's not exactly likable, but that's just from my perspective. Maybe those of you from the Academy have a different opinion."

Yin Fang's expression became somewhat peculiar.

"The Academy's archive has records about him; they describe him as a pessimistic realist. Incredible... to think he's actually at Shelter 101. I always thought he was buried in the Wandering Swamp."

As he said this, his tone suddenly changed.

"Why didn't you invite him out? Although he doesn't hold as much presence as the other two founders in the Academy, there are still not a few scholars who follow him. If he were to call upon them, he might sway many of the Academy's researchers to join you."

Looking at the weird expression on Yin Fang's face, Chu Guang wore a helpless look.

He had indeed thought about this.

He had even considered coaxing a few engineers from there to help out with work.

After all, if the students they taught were so capable, the skills they possessed themselves must also be strong.

However...

"He and the residents of Shelter 101... have chosen to live in another form, uploading their consciousness to computers. In short, coming out of that door is not very likely."

Yin Fang paused, then after a moment of thought, muttered.

"Hmm... that does sound like his style, though it's not entirely the same as in the books."

Chu Guang, curious, asked.

"In what way?"

Yin Fang's eyes fell into reminiscence.

"The book 'Origin of the Academy' describes him as someone who would always say discouraging things at inappropriate times, and he wouldn't hesitate to bluntly suggest to students without qualifications to change their career paths. He was like a cold stone, not giving joy nor having the interest to actively do anything for others... but he actually did a lot of unnecessary things, didn't he?"

"Like that Camp 101. If he decided to spend the rest of his life in a different form, there was really no need to go through the effort of teaching those Waste Land Wanderers arithmetic and literacy, let alone offering them protection."

This was indeed an interesting perspective.

Before abandoning his flesh and blood, that man must have tried all sorts of things.

And when he resolved to draw a close to his journey, he must have had no lingering attachment to the real world.

From this standpoint, the creation of Camp 101 was indeed superfluous.

Watching Yin Fang lost in thought, Chu Guang pondered for a while, then said slowly.

"Perhaps the complexity of people lies precisely in this."

...

On the edge of the West Fifth Ring of Qingquan City.

Walking on the broken streets with a large box on his back, Killer Dagger felt equally complex.

Initially, when Fang Chang brought up this "money-making" bug, his first reaction was excitement, almost willing to offer his own heart on the spot for the Alliance's foreign reserves.

However, when the cold box was on his back, his mood suddenly weighed heavy.

"I always feel there's something odd about this business..."

Blame could only be cast on the game being too realistic.

If it were just a texture or a string of numbers in a backpack, he'd bet he wouldn't be having these second thoughts.

Fang Chang, walking beside him, glanced at him, guessing what was on his mind.

"You could think of it from a different angle. If it weren't for us, the ones stripped of parts would be unarmed survivors, the poor in the slums, or scavengers lost on the Wasteland."

"Not everyone can afford bionic organs worth thousands or tens of thousands of chips. To survive, they would resort to any means, so in fact, we are sacrificing ourselves to benefit others."

Killer Dagger stared at him, dumbfounded.

Of course, he knew this reasoning wasn't sound, but for the moment, he couldn't think of a rebuttal.

Right.

The parts were taken from clones; they hadn't deceived any non-respawnable NPCs.

Who was losing out?

It seemed to be the shelters.

After all, according to the settings, cultivating clones in the chambers required a lot of electricity, while the shelters only charged them for "vital substances."

Old White, walking beside them, teased.

"Your twisted logic is really something."

Unperturbed, Fang Chang replied.

"No, I'm just normally playing a game. It's rather those who bring real-world rules into the game who are strange. Would you feel guilty for killing a civilian in GTA5, or for pushing the nuclear button in Civilization 6?"

After a moment of thought, Old White answered.

"Not guilty, but pushing the nuclear button does tend to make me feel empty."

After all, when you start seeing mushrooms all over the map, it's pretty much the end of the game.

The meeting place for the deal was set on the edge of the West Fifth Ring of Qingquan City.

The straight-line distance from City of Dawn was further than that to Giant Stone City, but the actual route was shorter.

Medium-density residences filled the suburbs, and the Alliance's players had explored this area, but because of the low return rate, the exploration wasn't as thorough as that of the jungle in the East District.

The buyer of the Awakeners' parts was not Dr. Greys' clinic, but a client of Greys—a man named Edmond.

He used to be Dr. Greys' assistant before the boss of the Dagger Gang, Jeff, took a liking to him and made him Jeff's personal doctor for a while.

Maybe it was because the pay was too little, or for some other reason, but later on, Edmond broke away from the Dagger Gang and set out on his own in the Wasteland, opening a hospital.

Although he never gave his hospital a name, the mercenaries who knew the place still habitually referred to it as Edmund's Clinic or Edmund's Ranch.

As for why it had that nickname, it was unknown.

Anyway, the nobles of the Inner City wouldn't fancy weak flesh and blood, and even mechanical replacements full of the smell of machine oil couldn't catch their eye; only the clean and hygienic bionic prosthetics were their pursuit.

Therefore, the users of these parts were mostly mercenaries, bounty hunters, and even Looters who lived by the knife.

People who often faced bullets wouldn't think of getting themselves expensive parts—cheap and durable was the name of the game.

After all, you never knew when you might be hit by an EMP grenade, and electronics could become a burden.

The parts of Awakeners might not be enough to turn them into Awakeners, but they certainly met the criteria of durability.

Two thousand chips were a huge sum for the average people of Giant Stone City, but for some capable mercenaries, it wasn't an unbearable price.

"The Golden Dune Cinema... is just ahead."

Night Ten took a look at the map and locked his gaze on a relatively taller ruin nearby, "I'll go over there and set up the gun for you."

"I'll go with him," said Wild Wind, glancing at Night Ten before following.

After all, doing business in the ruleless "dark area" required extra caution.

"Mhm, stay safe."

Watching the two disappear around the corner, Fang Chang at the head of the group waved his hand forward.

"Move on."

The group of over twenty players continued forward.

The abandoned cinema was at the other end of the street, its half-collapsed ruins had been transformed into a fortress.

All the interactive holographic horror movies that were shown here 200 years ago were nothing compared to the reality of today, 200 years later.

Because people really died here.

And not just a few.

Kidney Fighter stared at the building for a while, then suddenly muttered.

"Why do I feel like this is a Looter's den?"

Fang Chang didn't speak, but his brows furrowed slightly.

Now that it was mentioned, it really did have that kind of vibe.

The bloodied stakes and the pieces of flesh and limbs hanging from the stakes instinctively reminded him of the Blood Hand Clan they had encountered several versions back.

However, that's also what made the game most troublesome.

Looters didn't write the word on their faces, there was no defined standard.

While the players were sizing up the building in front of them, pairs of eyes hidden inside the building were also sizing them up.

At that moment, the door opened.

A bare-chested burly man with four underlings walked out.

He exuded a strong smell of blood, one that could even be seen with the naked eye.

Stopping about twenty meters from Fang Chang, he tilted his chin up.

"Where's the stuff?"

"It's here," Fang Chang glanced at the boxes carried by several players beside him, then looked at him, "Are you that Edmond?"

"Dr. Edmond is performing surgery; I'm his apprentice. You can call me Iron Thorn."

The burly man grinned and looked toward his subordinate.

The skinny man understood, immediately grabbed two cases, opened the locks, and showed Fang Chang the series of 25-value, greenish chips inside.

Fang Chang made no move but glanced at the building not too far away, where he could see a machine gun casting a sinister cold light in the shadow of the window.

Noticing his gaze, the burly man known as Iron Thorn chuckled and said,

"Don't mind that. We're very trustworthy. After all, only those who keep their word can do long-term business, right?"

"All the chips are here; do you want to count them?"

Fang Chang nodded and stepped forward.

However, just then, his eyes moved beyond the burly man's shoulder, and he saw a series of oval iron cages displayed inside the gate.

The cages contained both men and women, mostly under thirty, some even younger than twenty.

Their hair was unkempt and dirty, their faces too grimy to see clearly, and most were draped in nothing but a piece of tattered cloth; some were even stark naked.

Similar scenes he had witnessed in the Blood Hand Clan's stronghold came to mind.

The only difference was that these people were not locked in dark, damp dungeons because what was needed from them were healthy "parts."

Meeting those desperate gazes, Fang Chang felt his heart shrink slightly.

What kind of people was he doing business with, after all?

He stopped, his legs feeling as if they had been filled with lead, and shifted his gaze back to the man's face in front of him.

"Who are those people?"

"Those?"

Iron Thorn appeared momentarily stunned, glanced back at the iron cages behind him, then turned with an easy smile as if nothing mattered,

"Oh that… They're just Scavengers, and some who owe gambling debts were sent here, or they're the defective products from the clone factories."

"But they're in luck. Our clients are more interested in the parts from the Awakeners. Before we find buyers, they get to live a little longer."

That matter-of-fact tone and expression, treating people as commodities, caused many players to feel physically ill.

Old White shifted his gaze awkwardly.

His feelings about Wasteland OL were somewhere between "cut the crap" and "long way to go."

Simply put, he didn't regard the game as a complete world, nor did he entirely immerse himself in the gaming mentality.

Therefore, he wouldn't judge other players' in-game actions with his own moral standards, nor would he let the game affect his real-life emotions.

But if asked to come again next time, he thought he would most likely decline.

Staring at the man in front of him and the chips in the case, Fang Chang fell silent for a while, then he seemed to have an epiphany and sighed,

"If this were 'Stars,' I wouldn't feel any guilt for packing an entire planet's worth of living people into cans."

"But in some games, just taking a can from an old man's house can make me feel conflicted for half a day."

The burly man was taken aback, staring at Fang Chang with furrowed brows.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He couldn't understand a word this guy was saying; it didn't seem like any language he knew.

He just had a feeling that something was slightly off about the atmosphere around Fang Chang.

Fang Chang did not respond to him, nor did he care about his fidgeting, continuing to mutter incomprehensively to himself.

"It's nothing."

"I just suddenly feel… doing business with people like you might make me lose my appetite tonight."

Standing behind Fang Chang, Old White, who had a complex expression earlier, finally revealed a gratified smile.

"Haha, I knew you'd say that!"

Chapter 370: Bloody Chips

As soon as Old White finished speaking, the index finger of his right hand had already flicked the safety off the rifle.

All the players from the Burning Corps beside him did the same.

The undisguised murderous intent caused Iron Thorn, the strong man, to slightly narrow his eyes.

"Hey, wait, is there some kind of misunderstanding?"

Sweat seeped from his forehead as he raised both hands, stepping backward while trying to defuse the high-tension atmosphere. He didn't know what had offended this man, but his instincts told him it was extremely dangerous.

"No."

This time, Iron Thorn finally understood what the man in front of him was saying.

And in his eyes, a deep fear was permanently etched.

"...The Alliance never negotiates with Looters, nor does deals with them. Every penny you make could turn into bullets aimed at civilized people."

Fang Chang took the Dawn Longbow off his back and fitted an arrow to the bowstring.

"So, the deal is off."

"If you believe in fists, then let's talk with fists!"

"You sure talk too much!" Iron Thorn, having backed to a safe distance, shouted loudly with fierce lights shining in his eyes, "Fire at these bastards! Kill them all!"

However—

The symphony of machine guns did not sound.

Instead, a gunshot, abrupt as thunder, cut short his premature gloating.

Nearby, from a window, the man manning the machine gun's head exploded into a mist of blood, and he collapsed to the ground.

At the same time, the assault rifles held horizontally in the hands of the players were already unanimously aimed in his direction.

"Fire!"

Old White crisply gave the command to open fire and simultaneously pulled the trigger.

Tut-tut-tut—!

Barrels spitting long tongues of fire, streams of orange-yellow bullets burst forth, utterly shredding the quiet of the street.

Iron Thorn and several of his henchmen were instantly riddled with bullets, collapsing to the ground before they could even groan.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, leaving the gunmen hired by Edmond completely unable to react, caught off guard by the sudden barrage.

Nevertheless, they were quick to respond.

From the windows of the movie theater on the second floor, rifle barrels quickly poked out. The gunmen lurking there started firing back at the players below.

However, they were up against the Alliance's T0 ladder team.

On the battlefields of West State City, these players had already faced countless trials of steel, fire, and death—who were these mere brutes to withstand them?

Whether it was tactics, fighting will, or proficiency in street fighting, the parties were not even close to the same level.

The players skillfully spread out, quickly pinpointing the key firing positions around the movie theater and in a well-coordinated move, returned fire with alternating coverage.

Although there were a good hundred gunmen inside the movie theater, faced with the assault of just over twenty players, they were initially suppressed to the point of being unable to raise their heads!

Not to mention the snipers lying on nearby high buildings, systematically picking off any gunman who dared stick out their head.

Even if not every gunshot took a life, the fear of unknown death hovering overhead brought immense psychological pressure.

Two gunmen, crouched by the door, tried to close the reinforced door.

But just then, an arrow—"swoosh"—pierced into the door and exploded in an instant.

Shrapnel from the blast scattered in every direction, immediately killing the two gunmen guarding the door.

Simultaneously, a drone folded its rotors, gliding down from high above before zooming into a second-floor window of the movie theater with the buzzing sound like beating wings of a hornet.

A thunderous explosion boomed.

Orange-red flames rolled out of the dark windows, blasting a vast amount of sand and dust high into the air, dragging with it pebbles and chunks of cement that fell from the half-collapsed exterior wall.

On the first floor Open Space, Slaves curled up in iron cages, trembling and clearly perturbed.

And from the windows on the second floor, the gun muzzles once hidden there were now completely silent.

The relatively confined space only acted to amplify the effect of the blast wave from the explosion.

The "Spring Knife" that came from above was far more powerful than any of the gunmen had anticipated. Most, even if not instantly killed, were stunned by the blast.

"Prepare to assault!"

Seizing the opportunity, Old White raised his left fist, made a crisp gesture forward, and took the lead in advancing.

Three team members immediately followed him, swiftly launching an attack at the front door.

The other four, four-man squads did the same, spreading out and advancing like a tack heading straight on.

The main door was quickly breached.

Next up were the stairs.

The clanging exchanges of gunfire broke from bottom to top, with the attempting blockers being successively killed and rolling down from the top of the stairs.

Pushed on to the second floor.

Old White, holding his rifle level, issued a sweeping-clear command to the squads, then proceeded forward with his own team.

The five teams that entered the second floor divided into three directions, meticulously searching each corridor, each theater, each seat, and every nook and cranny.

A gunman, supporting himself against the wall, staggered towards the emergency exit, only to encounter a group of aimed rifles.

Kill Dagger, clutching his rifle, yelled loudly.

"Drop your weapons!"

However, the gunman ignored him and even tried to return fire.

Seeing that persuasion was futile, Kill Dagger did not hesitate to pull his trigger, sending a spray of bullets and dispatching the man.

Watching the body lying in a pool of blood and the rifle barrel emitting blue smoke, Kill Dagger muttered a curse.

"Damn, I used the United Human language this time!"

Captives could, after all, be exchanged for Contribution Points and silver coins.

The bodies could only accumulate some active substance.

"Maybe he was deafened by the spring knife just now," the Kidney Fighter suddenly said.

"Uh, that kind of makes sense."

On the other side, having completed the clearing of the northern area, Fang Chang raised his forefinger to his earpiece and reported the here.

At the same time, reports from other squads began to echo on the communication channel.

"Western room is cleared."

"Eastern room is cleared."

"The hallway is under control."

"Operation room found... Three doctors on the scene, one suspected to be Edmond."

"Wait there for me."

With that, Fang Chang opened the VM to confirm the location on the map and immediately headed toward the operation room.

When he arrived at the destination, a tall, thin man was holding up his hands, having retreated from the side of the operating table to the corner.

He was wearing an apron stained with blood and grease, similar to what chefs wear.

Beside him stood a man and a woman, dressed the same, presumably his assistants, both wearing looks of horror on their faces.

The recent explosion and a series of gunshots had nearly scared them shitless.

On the operating table lay a boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, with a fairly muscular physique, as if he often engaged in physical labor.

But now, his breathing was very weak, akin to a flickering candle in the wind.

Fang Chang noticed a fresh incision on the boy's left abdomen.

Feeling the increasingly intense murderous intent in everyone's eyes, Edmond stammered,

"I, I'm not the one who tied him up here..."

"So, he volunteered?" Fang Chang asked sarcastically.

"I paid money!"

"How much?"

"50... No, not just 50, I also paid 300 as a tribute to Mr. West, who is the second-in-command of the Dagger Gang, and this lad lives on his street."

Fang Chang had heard of the Dagger Gang, but only just heard of them.

However, now was not the time to discuss this.

He looked at the boy lying on the operating table and then at the man in front of him.

"What's his condition?"

Edmond nervously said,

"The, the operation had a complication... that bomb you guys threw, my hand shook."

Fang Chang inquired,

"Can he be saved?"

The expression on Edmond's face looked uneasy.

"Yes, there is a chance... but we'd probably need to transplant a pair of kidneys."

Watching the translation on the VM, Old White said nothing.

He glanced at his teammate, took a briefcase from the latter, and placed it on a metal stand next to the operating table.

Under Edmond's astonished gaze, Fang Chang stared at the man and continued,

"Install them."

"And then we'll discuss your issue."

Having sneakily glanced at the briefcase, a flash of pain crossed Edmond's eyes.

It was supposed to be his!

But, the cold barrel of the gun left him with no courage to voice that he thought these men were untrustful; he could only curse at them silently in his mind.

Swallowing nervously, he nodded.

"Okay, okay..."

...

The operation went relatively smoothly.

The boy's breathing gradually stabilized.

Although the effects of the anesthesia had not fully worn off, he was slowly regaining consciousness.

Edmond and his two assistants were escorted outside the operation room by Old White and his men.

Looking at the boy lying on the operation table, Fang Chang spoke,

"What's your name?"

His cracked lips moved slightly.

"Hang..."

A one-syllable name, quite common in The Wasteland.

Fang Chang, often gathering information in taverns, had even met people named Table and Chair.

"And your parents?"

"They are… by the Giant Wall."

It must be the slums.

Having grasped the general situation, Fang Chang paused and then continued in a softer tone.

"We will send you back, don't talk about our affairs to anyone, this is for your own good."

Although the parts from Awakeners hadn't reached a price that would drive people insane, it was a different story when those parts appeared on a child.

Edmond and his assistant would be sent to a POW camp, and unless he voluntarily told others, no one would know about the Awakener parts in his body.

Not even about the surgery.

"Thank you…" the boy said, his eyes filled with confusion.

He didn't understand why these people were doing this.

When he was working odd jobs at the trade station before, people seemed to wish they would die.

Yet just when he was about to leave this world, someone reached out and pulled him back.

Watching the figure disappear at the door of the operating room, the boy rested the back of his head on the pillow, staring blankly at the ceiling, muttering under his breath.

Such strange people…

...

After leaving the operating room and standing by the door, Fang Chang looked at Edmond in the hallway.

With that look, Edmond's heart leaped to his throat, and he said nervously,

"I've already saved that boy…"

Fang Chang replied ungraciously,

"That's your duty."

Edmond's expression froze, and after a while, he said in a low and subservient tone,

"Do you want money? My chips and everything here are yours, just please let me live—"

Fang Chang cut him off and said bluntly,

"Of course we will take away your ill-gotten gains, those are our spoils of war."

Hearing this righteous statement, Edmond almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

But just then, a sudden fear appeared in his eyes,

"Are you... from the New Alliance?"

Fang Chang gave him a strange look,

"Didn't Grey West tell you?"

"He didn't mention it… He just told me that there was a seller offering parts of Awakeners, asked if I was interested. He said that if I paid him, he would introduce me to that seller."

Speaking tremblingly, a hint of regret suddenly appeared in Edmond's eyes.

"That damn beast, I knew he was not up to any good!"

Several players exchanged weird glances.

Calling someone else a beast was quite the beast himself.

"I'm not interested in your personal vendettas."

Cutting off Edmond's murmuring, Fang Chang addressed him, "You, your assistant, and a few other surrendered Looters will be sent to where you belong, to face trial there."

Edmond protested,

"Wait, this is not the New Alliance's territory, by what right do you apply the Alliance's law to judge me—"

Fang Chang glanced at him,

"We don't like the look of you, is that reason enough?"

"Or there's a gun on the ground over there, go pick it up, and we can communicate in a different way."

Edmond, his face stiff, looked at Fang Chang, his calves slightly warming up, eventually swallowing the words he had prepared to say.

That reason was indeed flawless.

After all, this was the Wasteland.

The Land Without a Master.

He could arbitrarily decide the life and death of others.

And others could likewise freely decide which standards to use against him.

That was perfectly reasonable.

...

Edmond and his men would be sent to the City of Dawn's court, to face trial there.

The photos taken by the players at the scene, along with the recordings from the action recorder, would be enough to keep these beasts in the POW camp for the rest of their lives.

On the first floor of the cinema.

In an open courtyard reinforced with trash and concrete,
the players smashed open the rusted chains on the cage with the butts of their rifles, releasing the survivors inside.

Clad in ragged garments and emaciated, the survivors stood disoriented in the center of the open space.

Seeing the rifles in the players' hands, fear filled many of their eyes, uncertain of what would happen next.

Noticing the fear in their eyes, Old White stepped forward and spoke in not-so-fluent United Human language,

"You are free."

"Go back, go reunite with your families."

"No matter the reasons you were locked up here, don't make foolish choices anymore."

Soon after his words fell, it took a while before the survivors seemed to come back to life, exchanging glances and whispering quietly to each other.

Almost everyone's eyes were filled with surprise.

They had thought they were merely moving from the pockets of one group of thugs to the pockets of another, but unexpectedly, these people had set them free.

A ragged man staggered forward a few steps.

He timidly raised his head, looking up at his benefactor.

"Can you tell me... your name?"

Old White replied with a hearty smile.

"My name is not worth mentioning. There are many of us here… We all come from the Alliance in the 'North Suburb.'"

Alliance...

The man bowed his head.

He chewed over the word repeatedly, and it seemed as though a light flickered in his cloudy pupils.

"…Thank you."

He bowed deeply and walked towards the gate, leaving the place.

Some people followed him, heading towards the Wasteland beyond the gate.

However, some stayed behind.

Old White quickly counted and found that quite a few had stayed—over fifty.

"Aren't you leaving?"

Upon hearing this, people exchanged glances.

One of them stepped forward, his eyes downcast.

"We… have no home. Please allow us to follow your lead."

Hearing this request, Old White's face showed hesitation.

In a typical RPG game, if he accepted, he would have to become their leader, responsible not just for their food and shelter but also for their toilet needs.

Managing a group of NPCs was much more troublesome than managing players.

"You don't have to follow me; you should live your own lives. However… if you have nowhere else to go, you can come back to the Alliance with us."

"There are many people there like you, and they will help you start anew."

The expressions on people's faces were initially blank.

However, upon hearing the latter part, a gleam of hope for a new life sparked in their eyes.

There were a few who remained unresponsive throughout; likely they were clones without complete mental capacities.

Old White had seen such entities before in the den of the Blood Hand Clan.

Dealing with these guys was a tricky problem.

But he wasn't planning to bother with it.

He was here to play the game.

Showing off was fun, but thinking about the aftermath was too troublesome.

Those issues were better left to the esteemed Manager!

…

Although the deal was canceled, the players surprisingly found that their gains from this transaction had exceeded their expectations.

The chips scavenged from the basement piled up into a small mountain.

Though each chip wasn't worth much, the total surprisingly reached up to 180,000!

Their only investment had been several magazines and one "Spring Knife."

It was a pity they hadn't brought the RPG; it would have been even cheaper.

Looking at the mountain of chips, Killer Dagger couldn't help exclaiming,

"Black on black crime truly is the most freaking profitable."

"What do you mean, black on black crime!"

Fang Chang rolled his eyes, refuting his statement. "It's clearly the hammer of justice!"

"We confiscated their chips to upgrade our equipment, then used the upgraded equipment to save more survivors. This is clearly a just act, and you freaking call it black on black crime? Have some shame?"

Killer Dagger was taken aback.

Holy shit?

That makes sense!

Listening to Fang Chang's nonsensical talk, Old White laughed and said teasingly,

"Alright, cut the crap. Playing games is about having fun, what use is spouting great principles? How should we divide these chips? Give an idea."

"Same as the last loot, split it evenly, what else?"

Upon hearing Fang Chang's suggestion, Old White snapped his fingers.

"Okay, let's do as you said. When Night Ten and Wild Wind return, we'll each take a bag."

Hearing this, the players immediately cheered.

"Boss is awesome!"

"666!"

"We're freaking rich!"

With an equal distribution, each person would get over 8,000 chips, equaling 16,000 silver coins!

What kind of mission would pay so much?

Such a huge sum.

It could be said they struck it rich overnight!

Chapter 371 Power and Duty

Clinic Grey.

Atop the long white table lay an opened silver briefcase.

Inside the briefcase rested a jar about half the length of a forearm, in which a completely transparent kidney was soaked in a dark green solution.

It was made of an unknown flexible material, and its exquisitely delicate structure made one marvel at the advanced civilization capable of crafting such a meticulous miracle.

And yet, this "miracle," embodying thousands of research achievements, was but a speck of dust fallen from a great era.

Fascination written all over his face, Grey traced a bony forefinger across the surface of the jar, muttering softly to himself.

"BIO-166..."

"What?"

"The code for this item..."

Grey, intoxicated, sighed in admiration, "A bionic organ from Ideal City, a crystallization of mechanical engineering and biology. It's the most perfect substitute for a biological organ, so flawless it's like a work of art... even if it's just a replica."

All the wonders of Ideal City were mere copies of the Human Alliance Era.

Yet, even so, to the many survivor settlements of the Wasteland Era, those replicated miracles were still an insurmountable chasm.

Just as Grey was indulging in the beauty of the artifact before him, Fang Chang, who stood beside the long white table, was lost in thought.

After watching the balding middle-aged man for a while, he suddenly spoke up.

"Aren't you going to ask about Edmond?"

He had heard of the "Butcher" named Edmond, who was once an apprentice of Grey, seen by the Dagger Gang's boss, Jeff, during an operation and later went to work for them.

The guy had referred the business to him, and he, in turn, had sent Edmond off to the New Alliance's POW camp, for a reward of 100 silver coins and 200 contribution points.

Fang Chang didn't believe this guy knew nothing about what happened to his apprentice.

However, when Fang Chang mentioned Edmond, Grey merely curled his lip and dismissively responded,

"What's the use of asking about him? Does he have anything to do with our deal today?"

Fang Chang's expression turned odd.

But seeing Grey's smirk, a sudden glimmer of understanding crossed his eyes.

"...Did you do it on purpose?"

The New Alliance and the Looters were bitter enemies, a well-known fact in Qingquan City.

It was no exaggeration to say the alliance itself was born from the conflict between Shelter No. 404 and the Looters.

Given such a backdrop, the odds of this transaction succeeding were less than one in ten.

If one were to benefit from Edmond's clinic closing, it would undoubtedly be Clinic Grey.

Without those inexpensive "raw" parts, mercenaries who accidentally blew up their gonads would have no choice but to opt for the pricier bionic organs.

Can't afford it?

There's always someone who can.

Even if just one-tenth of Edmond's clients were taken and milked for 500% profit, this guy would be rolling in money.

High-value bionic organs are the real cash cows!

Cloning extraction?

That's just an unsavory way to save money.

"I don't understand what you're saying... but I believe in one thing, and that's if you always walk by the river, you're bound to get your shoes wet. Doing business with Looters, you either get killed by them or become one yourself."

"So, I only deal with safe clients, in safe places, making safe deals."

Grey chuckled softly, closing the silver briefcase and tucking it away in a drawer beneath the table.

Then, from who knows where, he produced a gold-plated storage box, gently setting it before Fang Chang.

"Here are 500,000 chips, go ahead and count them."

Stacked neatly inside the storage box were 50 black-and-white plastic chips, their edges embossed with a crown-like pattern.

Their dark, shiny luster was as if brand new, without even the slightest hint of fingerprints or dandruff visible.

Fang Chang took the storage box, quickly counted through it, and suddenly spoke up.

"Suddenly I'm curious, how much will you make on this flip?"

Grey smiled faintly.

"That's a trade secret. Besides, why ask me? You've made quite a bit yourself... haven't you?"

Fang Chang smiled without rebuttal.

Indeed.

500,000 chips, converted into silver coins, amounted to one million, while the cost was merely 600,000 silver.

Even though he and a few good brothers had pooled together the 600,000 silver, each person would get a substantial share.

This was wealth far beyond what ordinary players could obtain through quests...

Weighing the heft of less than half a pound in his hand, Fang Chang couldn't help but entertain a peculiar thought.

If the silver coin trading platform was akin to the stock exchange, could his savings make him a shareholder of Wasteland OL?

Even if just in spirit.

"If you need more bionic organs, you can contact me."

Grey said with a smile.

"I will, but I shouldn't need to for a while. Lately, a batch of bionic organs from Ideal City suddenly appeared in the Inner City. The price I've heard is also about 500,000 chips each... I'm beginning to wonder if that mysterious seller is you."

"So far, I've only sold to you."

NPCs trade among themselves, too, and Fang Chang was not surprised, only a bit curious—just who could swing such a big deal?

List?

Or that Detwei who runs the nutrition paste business?

Or perhaps…

The Manager?

But it seemed unlikely to be the Manager.

Fang Chang thought it over and could not associate that respected man with a shrewd merchant.

It was not that the NPC lacked business acumen, but purely because his character settings didn't quite match. Besides, with so many talents in the Alliance, that "dignitary" had no need to involve himself in these matters personally.

"Really? It doesn't matter anyway."

Grey chuckled, "I didn't sign any exclusive deal with you, who you sell to is your choice, plus my clients will eventually come to me for the transplant surgeries…anything else? If not, I suggest you head to the bank first. It's not wise to carry so many chips on you, there are plenty of pickpockets in Giant Stone City."

Fang Chang smiled faintly.

Pickpockets were not a concern.

As an Agility system player at the third stage of Gene Sequence, it was unlikely that a pickpocket capable of stealing from him had even been born.

It wasn't overconfidence.

If they really had the skill, they wouldn't need to be pickpockets; they could just join a Commercial Team or a Mercenary Group, what wouldn't they have access to?

After putting away the storage box, Fang Chang was ready to leave.

But just then, he suddenly thought of something, stopped in his tracks, and spoke up.

"…Right, let's make a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Grey raised his eyebrow.

"The next time you have business competitors, you don't need to beat around the bush, just tell me directly… You know what kind of competitors I'm talking about."

The New Alliance forbade players from "privately" invading survivor settlement neutral or above, but this did not include the dens of the Looters.

Although the criteria for "Looter" was flexible, as long as you provide "sufficient evidence" to the great Manager's assistant, there was a chance to obtain permission for "legitimate bandit-elimination" and unlock the "Unlimited War" option.

The types of evidence included, but were not limited to, videos, photos, recordings, etc., and the assessment would also take into account the level of civilization in the area and the strength of the evidence.

If the conditions were inadequate, it would usually trigger a follow-up investigation mission to verify the situation further… Due to the vast array of related issues, this would typically be a quite complicated process.

But if someone could help them pinpoint the target, things would be much easier.

Especially the "Edmund's Clinic" location, its spoils of war far exceeded those of typical Looter dens. Upholding justice and making money at the same time, equivalent to winning twice.

Wasn't that perfect?

Watching Fang Chang with interest, an enigmatic smile suddenly appeared on Grey's face.

"Finally, found a quick way to earn money, huh?"

"But I still have a piece of advice for you: when you try to take something away from the night, don't forget—the night is also staring back at you."

Fang Chang wore a dismissive expression.

A joke.

He couldn't die.

"You just need to tell me if you are interested or not."

"Of course I'm interested, I wish you could take out all the competitors who have gone astray for me."

Grey extended his right hand, smiling as he spoke.

"Here's to a successful partnership."

…

"What happened next?"

"After that, my friends took those homeless people to the Alliance, where the Home of the Refugees took them in…"

In a small tavern in Giant Stone City.

Fang Chang sprinkled some cumin that Old White had brought along over his skewered Lizard tail, while casually talking to Dolly about things that had happened a few days before.

Perhaps it was because he had been eating these things recently, but he found that he was unexpectedly able to accept these rough dark delicacies.

Maybe, when he got back to City of Dawn, he could share tips on tasting the delicacies of a Different World with Old Na.

Sitting across the wooden table, Dolly listened intently.

Her face showed deep interest, her legs gently swinging under the table, her right hand holding a brand-new pen scribbling quickly on her pocket-sized notebook.

Although she had not been on the job for long and hadn't even passed the probation period, this girl was becoming more and more like a journalist in demeanor and action.

"Would going there make any difference?"

"Hmm, hard to say," Fang Chang thought for a moment and said, "The Alliance also has poor people, but we will give them food so they won't starve to death, we will teach them livelihood skills, give them a chance to choose how they want to live."

"As to whether they want to integrate into our society, or how to integrate, they can decide for themselves. If they feel uncomfortable they can leave, and whenever they want to return, they are always welcome to come back."

After talking until he was parched, Fang Chang took a long drink of chilly beer.

Looking at Dolly who was hastily taking notes, he couldn't help but tease her.

"It looks like you've adapted well to your new life."

The corners of her lips slightly turned up, Dolly tossed away the pencil in her hand, leaned back in the chair comfortably stretching, and cheerfully said,

"It's alright, although it was a bit tiring at first, once I got used to it, I found it quite interesting."

"The work hours are flexible, no need to work overnight, and I get to hear a lot of interesting gossip... of course, the key point is that the pay isn't bad."

Watching her cheerful expression, Fang Chang truly felt happy for her.

Flipping through her notes and suddenly sitting up straight from leaning on the chair, Dolly looked curiously at Fang Chang sitting across from her.

"Actually... about what you just mentioned, I have another question."

"Which one?"

"I seem to have heard of Edmund's Clinic somewhere before; it's said that some mercenaries and bounty hunters who can't afford the bionic body replacement or want to save money go there for surgery."

"That's pretty much in line with what I know," Fang Chang nodded.

"Um... what about the mercenaries who need to replace prostheses?" Dolly cocked her head, "There will always be people who get injured by accident, and even if you eliminate Edmund's Clinic, people will just find another place to start a new one, won't they?"

Equality, though a beautiful ideal, most of the time, the price of life is different.

Where there's someone willing to pay the chips, there will be someone willing to engage in that trade.

The mechanically engineered prosthesis produced in Giant Stone City, even the cheapest one, cost a couple of thousand chips, and for some finely crafted bionic organs and the like, five digits was the norm.

By comparison, the lives of clones and slaves are much cheaper, and if they are scavengers or other civilians who were captured, the cost can even be negligible.

As long as the people on the Wasteland are still struggling to survive, this market will not disappear.

After putting down his wine glass, Fang Chang pondered for a long time before he slowly opened his mouth and said,

"Of course, we've considered this issue, so we've decided to address this part of the demand."

"It just needs a different approach."

After leaving Clinic Grey that day, he went to the Forum's closed beta player exchange section and started a post. While disclosing a bug that could be exploited for money, he also discussed the issue with other players who had obtained closed beta access.

After listening to their experiences at the Golden Dune Cinema, the majority of players developed a similar mindset to his.

While it seemed to be a 'win-win' trade—after all, players wouldn't actually die—exploiting this bug for money made them feel uneasy about their conscience.

Especially since many players had become good friends with NPCs in the Game.

Setting aside players who had not yet entered the Game.

At least for the closed beta players, many could no longer treat NPCs as mere data.

But rather, as another form of life.

Taking other players' opinions into account, Old White intended to communicate with the Alliance's First Hospital to have the parts replaced with bionic prostheses collected and preserved for survivors who truly needed them.

As for the cost, a reasonable fee would be charged.

In addition, some severely injured players could donate their parts before they repaired themselves.

Of course, this would follow the principle of voluntariness.

Players could choose whether to sign an organ donation agreement.

And for players who did sign up, when they or their friends need replacement parts, they could be given priority for surgery.

This certainly wasn't a profitable move, but as Brother Guang said, they weren't just developing a game, but building a Virtual Community.

Silver coins were not everything in this game, and beyond mere profit, there were many other things worth exploring in this world.

Fang Chang felt that the scope could actually be broader.

They weren't just building a community, but a society.

Including himself, the players who had obtained the closed beta access were already dependent on those extra 12 hours every day.

This place was their second world and had effectively become their second home.

Especially as the first group of players to enter the Game, they had followed the game's progress and accumulated a lot of resources and wealth—both in and out of the game.

By both emotion and reason, they had an obligation and responsibility to make this place better.

Not to make it into a jungle, extract profits from it like cancer cells, and then flee elsewhere to continue their exploitation.

"Our Alliance will make the practice of attacking Looter dens routine, making those 'slaughter-survivor' Looter dens harder to survive."

"...At the same time, we would also supply cheaper, replaceable parts through 'technology of the refuges', making the business unprofitable."

Fang Chang explained to the NPCs, in a way they could understand, the decision he and the other residents of the refuge had made.

Dolly looked at him with surprise, her bright right eye filled with astonishment.

"I didn't expect you to be quite so responsible."

Fang Chang smiled faintly.

"You only just noticed?"

Although he hadn't always been that way.

With her index finger rubbing her chin, Dolly pondered for a long time.

Suddenly, she snapped her fingers.

"Got it!"

"Got what?"

"Tomorrow's headline for Survivor's Daily is set! I plan to write about your deeds and have it published in the newspaper!" Dolly said, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

The headline in an NPC newspaper?

While it didn't sound as appealing as the Hall of Fame on the "Wasteland OL" Official Website, it still sounded like an interesting experience.

Just what he needed, as he was also learning the United Human language; he might as well buy a copy to check it out.

"How about you treat me to this meal, considering it'll be the headline?" Fang Chang joked.

"No problem—"

Dolly was about to slap her chest in agreement, but just then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the pile of wooden sticks on the plate.

Her uplifting smile instantly stiffened, and her voice weakened embarrassingly as Dolly continued, blushing,

"Let, let's put it on a tab... I'll pay you as soon as I get my salary."

"I'll remember that!"

Looking at the embarrassed Dolly, Fang Chang laughed cheerfully and casually took out a few chips, tossing them onto the tray in the server's hand.

"Check, please. Keep the change."

Watching the chips spinning on the tray, the server recognized the familiar face and couldn't help but roll their eyes secretly.

It's this guy again.

But come to think of it, this guy sure can eat...

Glancing at the pile of wooden sticks left on the plate and then eyeing the seemingly civilized young man, the server clicked their tongue in their mind.

Appearances can be deceptive...

...

Shelter No. 404, Floor B4's viewing room.

Chu Guang, sitting on the couch, was holding a copy of the freshly printed Survivor's Daily.

The page unfolded before him featured the latest headline of Survivor's Daily—an article about Edmund's Clinic.

The newspaper selectively displayed several photos taken by players at Edmund's Clinic.

Images of bodies discarded carelessly, and survivors locked in cages like lambs waiting for the slaughter, were startling; the shocking imagery jolted both the viewers' eyes and their hearts.

The residents of the Outskirts certainly knew of the harshness of the Wasteland, after all, their separation from the outside world was nothing more than a door.

Yet, it was the existence of that great wall that allowed them to avoid daily contact with things not of their world.

Even though Voice of Giant Stone City often spoke of the miseries beyond the wall in jest and sarcasm, along with flattery toward the city lord,
it could be said they were not so much trying to please a lord who could care less about them but more to cater to their audience.

Such as Survivor's Daily exposing the crude truth right under people's noses, it was indeed a first in these past dozen years.

It was for this reason that the matter caused a huge sensation in Giant Stone City's outskirts and swiftly became a hot topic of discussion.

More interestingly, there were significant opinions divided among the residents of Giant Stone City regarding the same issue.

For the general residents, they were more concerned about the survivors locked in those cages.

After all, they weren't just people from the slums; some were residents from the outskirts.

No matter what reasons those poor people ended up in the bloody slaughterhouse, it created a slight crack in the fantasy of the great wall for others in a similar position.

The supposedly unbreakable wall wasn't as indestructible as imagined, and eternal isolation couldn't truly keep them away from the Wasteland.

However, the ultimate outcome could still be called greatly satisfying.

The evil Looter's nest was destroyed, and the survivors were reunited with their families at home.

Though the unbreakable wall wasn't completely reliable, the seemingly unbreakable Alliance seemed to have played a bit of a role.

For the mercenaries, though, this wasn't such good news.

It meant they had to face greater risks to fulfill their commissions, having to pay more chips for expensive and not necessarily effective mechanical prosthetics after being injured.

Of course, the paper also mentioned at the end that Alliance's First Hospital was exploring alternative solutions with the aid of Shelter No. 404.

It suggested that mercenaries in need of treatment should try their luck in the City of Dawn.

Sitting straight-legged in front of the coffee table, the puppet manipulated by Xiao Qi admired Chu Guang with a look of adoration.

"You truly are the master!"

"You had figured out that your players would do this, hadn't you?"

Used to his assistant's flattery, Chu Guang simply smiled faintly and turned the page of the newspaper, speaking in a casual tone.

"I'm not as clairvoyant as you think; human behavior simply cannot be predicted so easily."

"But I admit, they did make a choice that pleases me."

No matter how rigorous the rules, there would always be loopholes, especially with the increasing number of players in the server, Chu Guang was well aware that he couldn't, like before, personally plan every player's game trajectory.

Besides, there was no need to do so.

The players were also a part of Wasteland OL; of course, they could participate in the creation of game rules and explore the future path together.

Chu Guang was more eager to see the players take initiative and spontaneously improve the "game content" and maintain the "server order."

This was their right.

And their duty.

Flipping to the last page, Chu Guang closed the finished newspaper and placed it on the coffee table next to Xiao Qi, preparing to browse the forum on his laptop.

Just then, a knock came from outside the viewing room.

"Come in."

The alloy door opened.

The person who came in was Yin Fang.

Seeing the excited expression, Chu Guang guessed that something good must have happened, and considering this guy had been busy fixing the power armor, he blurted out.

"Is the 'Dragon Cavalry' fixed?"

"No, it's close, though, just a few more days," Yin Fang said, sitting on the couch opposite Chu Guang with a pleased mood, "But I've got another piece of good news for you."

Chu Guang asked with interest,

"What good news?"

"Based on the clues collected by the exploratory team, we've pinpointed an abandoned refuge... Although the refuge is old, the data is new, and according to the access logs, we're likely the first to discover its coordinates—you know what this means."

Pulling out the VM-modified tablet, Yin Fang tapped the screen a couple of times with expertise before handing the tablet to Chu Guang.

"Its number is 79, located in Rui Valley City, about one hundred and fifty kilometers from here, right on the border between River Valley Province and Luo Xia Province."

With an excited expression on his face, Yin Fang continued,

"A two-digit numbered refuge—you know what that implies!"

Chapter 372: The Man Who Always Gets Drunk to Unconsciousness by You

A camp of roughly a hundred people, where rows of tents lined the border.

The crackling of a burning campfire.

Beside the "Electric Donkey" truck, a short-haired girl with hair up to her shoulders sat cross-legged on the ground, fiddling with the wrist-mounted computer in her hands.

Passing travelers often cast glances their way, because the combination of three women and two bears was indeed a rare sight here.

Especially since they were three young and pretty ladies.

That fair and delicate skin with lovely features would not only make young men's hearts flutter but even the rugged female mercenaries couldn't help but take a second look.

However, the thick-barreled machine gun welded atop the truck and the iron wires and bloodstains hanging from the front bumper served as a deterrent to many ill-intentioned onlookers.

After the business was done and the money was tucked into pockets, what kind of fun couldn't be found?

This was the Wasteland.

No one was foolish enough to joke with their own life.

"Damn it... Why is there a communication range setting? Shouldn't the player system be accessible from anywhere?" Tail said with a sigh of frustration, looking at the VM screen's top right corner.

"You, asking this question as if it's your first day in the Game." The white bear rolled its eyes, sitting next to her.

Hearing this, Tail's mouth curled upward in a sly retort.

"Meat Meat, that's where you lack intelligence. If we complain a bit more in the game, what if the planners hear us? Maybe they'll change that setting."

"Eh? Can it work that way?" Meat Meat blinked, startled.

Sesame Paste chuckled subtly, "Ahaha... I guess that's not going to happen."

"Be more confident, it probably can be removed."

Calmly maintaining the rifle in hand, Si Si skillfully fitted the last piece together, lifted the barrel, and aimed it toward the distant forest, "...even 'BabyBus' can't make every baby happy. Taking every suggestion to heart would only end up making the game a mess."

Teddy, sitting to one side, yawned and curled up in the shadow behind the truck.

Being a real bear, it couldn't understand what the people were talking about and just felt sleepy.

If possible, it would, of course, like to snuggle up closer to Meat Meat, but each inadvertent approach would earn it a swat, and over time it no longer dared.

Nevertheless, following these humans wasn't too bad, certainly better than the iron cage it used to live in, plus there was meat to eat every day.

It had grown accustomed to its current life.

Gazing at the crackling fire, Sesame Paste's cat ears perked slightly with obvious anticipation.

"Speaking of which, how long will it take for us to see the desert?"

Si Si pulled out a paper map and glanced at it, her index finger rubbing her chin in thought.

"I don't know, the border of the desert keeps shifting. The further west we go, the less useful the pre-war maps become... But we're already on the edge of Rui Valley City, so we should be close."

At this very moment, they were staying at a survivor settlement called Karting Post Station.

As for why they were here?

That's a long story.

A week ago, Pai returned to Camp 101, and with her guard duty completed and restless Tail suddenly expressing "a desire to realize Si Si's dream of seeing the desert," she decided to make the next stop of the White Bear Knights' journey the No.9 Oasis in Luoxia Province.

Although the strange wording was a bit beyond criticism, Si Si was still slightly moved that Tail actually remembered something she had said before.

So, they packed a few boxes of Devil Silk and artistic designs by Teng Teng, as well as some goods that might be more valuable in the desert, and set out on their westward journey.

After a week of trekking, they finally arrived at the border between Valley Province and Luoxia Province.

This was a place called Rui Valley City, with towering mountains to the north, forests to the east, and flat plains to the south, with collapsed houses and debris covering the wilderness.

Since this was the western exit of the South Corridor of the River Valley Province, there were a steady stream of commercial teams here, and the edge of the forest was dotted with survivor settlements.

For instance, Karting Post Station, where they stayed, was the largest nearby survivor settlement. Most of the passing commercial teams would choose to stop here, so they followed suit.

Most of the people here lived in tents, subsisting on grazing and hunting, and they grew a small amount of green wheat, gnarled potatoes, and a kind of fruit tree that didn't require much watering.

In addition to the locals' tents, at least sixty percent of the tents belonged to outside traders.

The local people had no currency of their own, mostly bartering or trading with pure gold Dinars.

Here, neither chips nor CR nor silver coins were accepted.

However, Si Si was surprised to find that the instant noodles they brought from City of Dawn could actually be used as money here.

One packet of instant noodles was equivalent to two Dinars—that's nearly 10 grams of gold.

If she could take that gold into reality, she'd be rich!

While Si Si and Sesame Paste were still studying the map, Meat Meat had already started to doze off.

Just then, Tail, who was fiddling with her VM, suddenly let out an excited cry.

"We've got signal!"

"Signal?"

Si Si was slightly startled, instinctively tapping to open her own VM, only to find no change in the top right corner.

"How come I don't have it?" Sesame Paste was equally puzzled, staring at her VM.

"It's not the shelter's signal, it's in the friend list!" Tail said excitedly, "It's Brother Quanshui!"

The VM was not only able to connect with the shelter system's servers but could also establish a peer-to-peer connection between two devices, although some functionalities would be limited and the communication distance relatively restricted.

Only when within a 3~5 kilometer range would a very weak signal appear.

Huddling closer to Tail's VM for a look, Si Si's face suddenly showed a look of surprise.

"Spring Water Commander? What's he doing here?"

If she remembered correctly, wasn't that guy off to Qingquan City center to grind for the archaeology team level?

From Qingquan City to here was at least 150 kilometers. It had taken them a week to get here.

At that moment, a communication request popped up in the list, and Tail immediately pressed the connect button.

"Yi-yi-yi? Can you hear me?"

Amidst the noisy static, a familiar voice came through.

"...Ah Wei, are you in Rui Valley City right now?"

"Yeah."

"I'm above your heads."

"My Giao?!"

Teng Teng looked up, but the sky was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

Quanshui did not pause, and continued speaking rapidly.

"150 kilometers is already nearing the flight range limit, I'll keep it short. Earlier today, our Corps unlocked a mission released by the Archaeology team regarding Shelter No.79, which is near your location—"

"Eh?! Right near us??"

"Yep, I'll explain the specifics once we meet. In a little while we'll drop the airdropped supplies somewhere just north of you, under cover of the night, hopefully unnoticed. Tomorrow morning, you'll use the coordinates to retrieve the airdrop."

"What's inside the supply box? Food?" Teng Teng asked excitedly.

"It's communication equipment! I need you to set up a communication base station in the southern suburbs of Rui Valley City and then stand by there, waiting for further instructions..."

"Wait a minute, we have our own things to deal with here." Si Si, sitting beside him, frowned slightly and interrupted Quanshui Commander gently.

It would take at least a week to get here from Qingquan City, and who knows how long it would drag on after the mission ends.

Unlocking the shelter mission is tempting indeed, but the overall benefits might not be much more than their current trading margins. If they had been told a week earlier, she would definitely have taken Teng Teng along to participate, but now they had already reached the edges of the Falling Leaves Province.

She liked to have everything planned out neatly and disliked deviations from the plan.

Although their relationship with Quanshui was quite good, it was only on the level of normal friends.

Only a sudden emergency or Ah Wei could make her abandon the plans they had already made.

Sighs could be heard through the communication channel.

"I know it's a big inconvenience to ask of you, but this mission is really important, not just for the Storm Corps but for the Alliance too... You're the only ones I can turn to now, can you do me this favor?"

"Si... Brother Quanshui is asking us like this; let's give them a hand!" Teng Teng grabbed Si Si's sleeve, eyes shining with excitement.

Mainly, she was curious about what exactly was inside Shelter No.79.

It was a two-digit shelter!

This was a first since the game launched!

Si Si, seeing right through Teng Teng's thoughts, made a resigned face.

"Alright... for the Alliance's sake."

Shelter No.401 was nearing saturation, Shelter No.404 and Shelter No.117 were already full, and Shelter No.101 discovered in West State City was privately owned. The new players had nowhere to go.

Taking over Shelter No.79 might persuade the officials to release more beta testing slots, and the server would be busier too.

Hearing this, Quanshui Commander breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, he had an alternative plan which was to air-drop a few paratroopers over to establish an outpost, but the effect would certainly not be as good as having Si Si and Teng Teng nearby.

As players who entered the game early, their combat power, although not quite on par with the top-tier players, was considered among the best on the server.

Besides setting up the outpost, he also needed their help with some reconnaissance missions.

"Appreciate it greatly! We plan to head out early tomorrow morning... Oh, by the way, do you need anything brought over? We could bring it along en route."

Upon hearing this, Si Si suddenly had an idea and spoke up.

"Just bring me a truckload of instant noodles and cola."

"A truckload of instant noodles?!"

Commander Quanshui was stunned, awkwardly saying, "Uh, our supply team only has six 'Electric Donkeys' available; they need to carry a lot of supplies and construction materials, so the space is limited. Plus, the cost of a truckload of noodles... I might have trouble fronting that myself."

A pack of instant noodles costs two silver coins, a box of 24 packets sells wholesale for 40 silver, and a truckload would be at least five to six hundred boxes, at least 20,000 silver coins in total.

His total assets were certainly more than 20,000, but to get 20,000 silver coins in "cash" on hand was not necessarily possible.

However, at this moment, the generous Teng Teng sitting beside him said,

"No problem, I'll transfer the silver coins to you after I log off! Including the money for the truck!"

Goodness me!

So a truckload of instant noodles meant the truck plus the noodles.

Faced with such a rich statement, Commander Quanshui didn't quite know how to respond.

"Well, okay... I'm about to leave the communication range, so we'll talk more after logging off. Also, remember to retrieve the airdrop."

"Okie dokie! Leave it to Ah Wei!"

The call ended.

Teng Teng curiously looked towards Si Si.

"Si, why are we buying so much instant noodles?"

Meat Meat and Sesame Paste were equally puzzled; they had plenty of provisions, more than enough.

Observing a few desert merchants nearby slurping up their instant noodles, as if they wished to lick their plates clean, a knowing smile appeared on Si Si's face.

"Emmm... how should I put it?"

"I just have a feeling that those things might sell really well in the Falling Leaves Province."

Might even pass for money.

Perhaps noticing her gaze, a few men with white turbans whispered among themselves.

It seemed they reached a consensus.

Two of the young men stood up and walked towards her.

Noticing the two, Si Si silently slipped her hand into her pocket, gripping the hidden handgun.

"Don't be nervous... we mean no harm; my name is Kaliman, from the Lion Kingdom of Oasis No.9." The young man in the lead raised his hands, signaling that he was unarmed.

However, Si Si did not remove her hand from her pocket, and watched them indifferently, speaking in not quite fluent United Human language.

"Do you need something?"

Kaliman took a deep breath and said,

"…Excuse me for asking, are you merchants from Qingquan City?"

Si Si nodded her head.

"Yes."

Seeing her nod, Kaliman and his companion exchanged glances, their faces lighting up with joy.

Just as Si Si wondered what was making the two so happy, the man named Kaliman continued,

"Before we left the desert, we ran into an injured traveler. He was badly hurt and delirious. By the time we found him, he was barely breathing. Following the teachings of the Spirit of the Desert, we couldn't just leave him there, but we also had our own affairs to deal with…"

Si Si immediately asked,

"Is he from North Suburb?"

Kaliman shook his head.

"We don't know about that… however, when he regained consciousness, he only asked us to take him to Qingquan City, to find a man named Chu Guang in North Suburb."

Hearing the Manager's name, Tail's face showed a look of surprise.

"Oh! He's an acquaintance of the Manager!"

Si Si also snapped back to attention and quickly asked,

"Did he say his own name?"

Kaliman looked hesitant, then after a while said,

"It seemed like Luo something… Luo Hua?"

Luo Hua?

Si Si fell into deep thought.

It seemed she had heard this name somewhere before…

…

It was eight o'clock at night on North Street of the City of Dawn.

Although the night had already fallen, the street was still bustling with people coming and going.

Zhang Hai Ramen Shop.

Sitting at the table near the entrance, slurping his noodles, Su Ming couldn't help but let out a heartfelt sigh.

"To be honest, I'm kind of reluctant to leave this place."

He was a soldier of the Enterprise 26th Strike Team, serving as a squad shooter in his team.

Following the Strike Team leader Yun Song all the way from the East Coast's Province of Yúnjiānxíng to the central part of the continent, this was the first time he had felt like staying a bit longer somewhere outside of Ideal City.

His companion across the table teased him,

"Are you attached to the food here, or is it something else?"

"It's both!" Su Ming laughed heartily as he finished off the soup in his bowl.

Happy days are always fleeting.

They could only stay in the City of Dawn for three days, and today was already the last one; they would be on their way tomorrow morning.

Thus, this was also his last dinner here.

If he had to choose between Ideal City and the City of Dawn, Su Ming was sure he would undoubtedly choose Ideal City.

And he was certain that anyone who had been to Ideal City would make the same choice.

Yet, the delicacies here were also hard to part with.

If only he could open a ramen shop in Ideal City.

Su Ming couldn't help but entertain the idea.

But that was a thought for if he lived to make it back…

"Damn, I suddenly envy Old Shen a little," said his companion suddenly.

Su Ming knew who he was referring to, that Shen Feng who had been unlucky enough to have an arm infested by spore fungus.

However, at present, it was hard to say who was luckier.

They had to venture deep into the western desert, while that guy could comfortably stay here for a month and then head home with a commercial team passing by.

An inhibitor had stopped the spores from spreading, and aside from some inconvenience in using his hand, it barely affected daily life.

Thinking of that guy, Su Ming couldn't help but say bitterly,

"You wouldn't envy him if you saw his arm."

"That's also true," said his companion across the table with a sigh, "I've never seen anyone with those symptoms, and I reckon even Ideal City might not have a good solution for it."

Another companion nodded in agreement.

"He'll probably end up getting an amputation…"

At that, everyone fell silent, their mood becoming complicated.

No one knew what dangers lay ahead.

They didn't even know if the people they were supposed to rescue were still alive…

…

The next day.

On the Northeast side of Dawn City near the airport, a neat row of ten half-track trucks was parked outside the military barracks.

The trucks were loaded with ammunition and supplies, some of which were produced by the New Alliance, and a significant part had been imported from Giant Stone City.

As for the spoils of war originally loaded on the trucks, as well as the premium goods brought from Ideal City, they had all been left in the City of Dawn's warehouse.

Millions of silver coins were enough to last this team, which numbered less than two hundred, for a very long time.

Twenty shining power armors and over a hundred soldiers in exoskeletons had gathered beside the convoy.

Their backs bore the LD-47 series rifles, whose wooden stocks contrasted with their sci-fi-styled armor, creating a somewhat jarring appearance; however, they themselves didn't see it that way.

After three days of practice, they had become generally familiar with this simplistic and retro weapon design.

Before the ammunition production line was complete, these served as an excellent substitute.

Standing at the front of the team,

Commander Yun Song stepped forward, looked at Chu Guang with a solemn tone, and said,

"Thank you for your hospitality, but our comrades are waiting for us ahead, we must continue on our journey… till we meet again!"

"You're welcome; the Alliance's doors are always open to its friends. We look forward to welcoming you back anytime," Chu Guang replied with a friendly smile on his face, extending his right fist, "Safe travels!"

"You too!"

Yun Song bumped fists with Chu Guang, then turned crisply and led his subordinates off towards the west.

He Ding followed in the team.

Although he wanted to stay, as a merchant accompanying the army, he had to move with the team.

However, for the sake of "cooperation" with Chu Guang, he left behind his own apprentice.

Besides his apprentice, five logistics personnel also stayed. They would be responsible for assisting the New Alliance in building the production lines for G9 assault rifle ammunition and parts.

This task would continue until the end of the month.

Watching the departure of Enterprise's team, Chu Guang turned back to the barracks, casting his eyes upon the fully armed Spring Water Commander.

He wore the Destroyer Type I Exoskeleton he had previously drawn, with a stubby 120mm automatic-loading mortar protruding behind him.

Not far behind him, two hundred players of the Storm Corps were ready to depart.

They were to escort the Alliance's pioneers to Rui Valley City, 150 kilometers away, to establish an outpost there.

Shelter No. 79 was not only significant for the New Alliance archaeologically, but it could also serve as a Novice Village.

After seizing that shelter, Chu Guang planned to send 3,000 cultivation chambers there in batches, turning it into the third Survivor Settlement of the Alliance.

Since the birth of the Legion System, this was probably the first time he had entrusted the task of "expanding and settling new territories for the Alliance" to players.

With a hopeful look at the eager Spring Water Commander, Chu Guang said in a serious tone,

"Rui Valley City is located at the junction of River Valley Province and Luo Xia Province, and holds great strategic and economic significance."

"We need to establish an outpost there to lay the foundation for developing that Wasteland. Your mission is not only to explore Shelter No. 79 but also to unite the local survivors and bring the spark of civilization to that place!"

"That will be our next settlement."

"I plan to entrust this task to you in full. I hope you will consider every decision you make seriously."

To develop a new settlement!

And entrusted entirely to him!

Upon hearing this, the Spring Water Commander immediately became excited and stiffly saluted.

"Rest assured and entrust it to me, dear Manager. I promise you, I will complete the task perfectly!"

"I will be watching you."

Chu Guang nodded, tapped his right fist on the breastplate in return salute, and said,

"Go."

Under the lead of Brother Quanshui, the morale of the Storm Corps was high as they set off on their journey.

Glancing at the trucks behind them, Chu Guang suddenly noticed an extra one, seemingly owned by the players themselves.

The truck was loaded with boxes of instant noodles, easily tens of thousands of packs.

Seeing this, Chu Guang's expression turned rather odd.

What were these players doing with so many instant noodles?

He hadn't seen them eating any before…

But Chu Guang didn't think too much of it; after all, according to the rules he had set, apart from the supplies managed by the headquarters, players were free to bring whatever additional things they wanted.

About two hours later, the two hundred players of the Storm Corps had left the signal range of the New Alliance, and one by one, small green dots disappeared from the map.

Although their signals were gone from the map, Chu Guang could still sense the presence of those players through the "Shelter System" based on Morphogenesis Field technology.

"… Wish you all a safe journey, warriors of the Alliance."

Just as Chu Guang was about to close the map, four small green dots suddenly lit up near Rui Valley City, 150 kilometers away.

Surprised by the four green dots on the screen, Chu Guang couldn't help but show a hint of astonishment.

"That was fast."

The previous night, he had sent a "Dragonfly" transport plane to Rui Valley City, stuffing communication equipment into an airdrop box and dropping it over.

It seemed his players had successfully recovered the airdrop box and set up a simple communication base station.

Restoring communications meant he could issue remote orders, stay informed about the local situation in real-time, and more conveniently command his players.

Thinking this, a pleased smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

Worthy of the players he had personally nurtured.

Their excellent self-management was as reassuring as ever.

Opening the mission editor.

Chu Guang accessed the pre-set template, ready to assign a few exploration tasks to those exceptional players, when the voice of Xiao Qi suddenly came to his ear.

"Master!"

"Your players have found a crew member from the Pioneer near Rui Valley City, and that person is seriously injured…"

The finger suspended in mid-air hesitated.

Without waiting for Xiao Qi to finish, Chu Guang immediately inquired,

"What is that person's name?"

"His name is Luo Hua, the man you used to knock out with drinks!"

Chapter 373 Actually, You Can Keep Your Opinion

"Is this really all it takes?"

At the peak of the mountains to the northwest of Rui Valley City, Sesame Paste looked up at the six balloons drifting up into the sky, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

It always felt...

This thing was a bit different from the "communication station" she had in mind.

Standing by her side, Tail didn't seem worried at all, heaving herself off the ground with a grunt and clapping her hands in a job well done.

"Ooh, no worries at all! Tail followed the instructions to a tee for every step!"

The so-called communication station was, in fact, a box the size of a washing machine, accompanied by six hydrogen balloons connected by a thin rope.

The way it worked was as simple and easy to understand as its structure.

Find an open, relatively high spot, release the signal relay tethered to balloons into the sky and don't forget to turn on the power, then the whole equipment would start functioning.

Inside the device were two metallic hydrogen batteries built-in, sufficient to maintain its rated power for at least a week even when disconnected from the power grid, providing information services for VMs within a 10 to 20-kilometer radius.

Although the device's bandwidth wasn't very wide, it was enough to handle map updates and mission reception for maps with a thousand people on them.

After all, players couldn't possibly use VMs to scroll through short videos in the game.

As an alternative to satellites, this gadget shared a similar ingenuity with balloon WiFi – it was incredibly handy.

The one thing to be mindful of was the risk of being struck by lightning on rainy days, and flying too high could attract Looters or other curious creatures.

But these were all minor issues.

As a temporary means of communication, the entire setup would provide 1 to 3 weeks of service, which was more than enough. No one expected it to work indefinitely.

The Alliance's communication system mainly relied on fiber-optic cables, power cables, large signal towers, and countless smaller stations.

These facilities were to be constructed by professionals.

"Let's go, let's head back to camp and meet up with Si Si and Meat Meat!" Tail confirmed the signal was good and put away her VM, reaching down to pick up a backpack thrown on the ground.

It was filled with some climbing gear.

After all, it took her quite an effort to haul that metal box up here.

"But... is it really okay to just leave it here like this?"

Worriedly glancing at the six balloons that had drifted far away in the sky, Sesame Paste couldn't quite let go.

"Relax, this is the Wasteland; there aren't that many people around. And since it took us Awakeners with Agility systems so long to climb up here, there shouldn't be any problems!"

Tail gave her companion a convincing expression, making a well-reasoned argument.

"Besides, even if it breaks, it's no big deal. I'm confident our revered Manager will just send a plane to drop another one!"

...

While Tail and Sesame Paste were setting up the communication station, Si Si was standing in a tent, watching the man named Luo Hua lying on the bed.

The NPC's current state was too grim to be described merely as "dreadful."

His body was wrapped in bandages, almost to the extent of being mummified, with each weak breath seeming like it might be his last.

Had he suffered such severe injuries in the real world, it probably would have been time to prepare for the worst, but this was the Game world after all, and key story characters shouldn't be so easy to leave.

Si Si guessed that he must have some cybernetic parts installed to keep him hanging on by a thread.

The cybernetic parts from Ideal City, one costs hundreds of thousands!

If he's okay, then that's fine.

But in case something does happen...

It would be a waste not to...

At this very moment, Kaliman, also in the tent, didn't realize what "evil" thoughts this beautiful girl beside him was harboring, but thought her downcast eyes were out of sorrow for their companion's predicament.

He sighed softly and spoke in a comforting tone.

"He has a good Constitution and is recovering quite fast. An ordinary person with such serious injuries would have probably returned to the embrace of the Spirit of the Sand Sea by now."

Si Si nodded.

"Mmm..."

Seeing her silent, Kaliman felt a pang of pity, but he couldn't find any more words to console her.

Musing for a moment,

He suddenly spoke as if having made a decision, slowly beginning,

"The prophet tells us that one day our world will return to the embrace of the Spirit of the Sand Sea, and the armies that gallop across the universe will bring down the final judgment at the end of days. However, before the eternal calm and Silence arrives, we must abide by mercy and not abandon any comrades who fall into quicksand, regardless of gender, whether they are free people or slaves... That is the only way to lighten our sins."

Si Si gave him a blank look, not understanding what this NPC was rambling about suddenly.

However, Kaliman did not stop, continuing to explain,

"We set out from Oasis 9 to head to the great wall in the Southern River Province, and we should not have delayed this long on the road, but when he cast his pleading gaze upon us, we could not stand idly by and watch him get swallowed by the sands."

Si Si: "Uh, thanks."

"I'm ashamed to say, I really don't deserve your thanks," Kaliman said with a complex expression, "because just last night, my companions and I were discussing the idea of leaving him with you... After all, we've left the Desert Sea, and we no longer have any obligation to carry him with us. The road ahead is difficult to travel, and with his injuries, he is nothing but a burden."

Si Si was just about to say it was no problem, that they could leave him to her, but this man didn't give her a chance to speak and made the decision on his own, his face resolute.

"But now, I've changed my mind."

"Outside the Desert Sea lies a barbaric land, filled with dangerous beasts and bloodthirsty barbarians, far from the embrace of the great existences... I cannot hand this trouble over to a group of ladies incapable of even trussing a chicken, it goes against my beliefs!"

Si Si stared dumbfounded at the guy.

It took her a while before she spoke in not-so-fluent United Human language.

"…Actually, it would have been fine even if you didn't change your mind."

However…

Perhaps her way of expressing herself was too indirect; this fellow called Kaliman was completely immersed in his own world.

"There's no need to feel embarrassed, I'm just carrying out the teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea! I will leave half of my guards and accompany you on your journey."

"Until you return safely to your homeland."

His gentle gaze sent chills down Si Si's spine and raised goosebumps all over her body.

Just as she was about to say something, the VM strapped to her arm vibrated suddenly.

A light-blue pop-up window was flashing on the screen, a communication request from the Manager, interrupting the words she had just organized in her mind.

"I'll go and discuss the subsequent itinerary with my companions."

With a gentlemanly bow, Kaliman turned and left the tent, leaving only the unconscious Luo Hua and the bemused Si Si behind.

"Forget it... I'll explain later."

She couldn't exactly leave the Manager's call hanging.

After all, compared to the uncertain wild NPCs, the faction leader's favor was far more important.

Si Si brushed back her hair, put on the headset, and pressed the connect button; a calm and handsome face soon appeared on the VM screen.

"Respected Manager, sir, I was delayed for a moment, what can I help you with?"

"Where is Luo Hua?"

"He's here."

She wasn't surprised at how the Manager came to know of the situation; she adjusted her headset so that the camera was pointing at the bed nearby.

Seeing the man wrapped up like a zongzi still breathing, Chu Guang let out a sigh of relief and slowly asked.

"How is his condition?"

Si Si shook her head.

"Hard to say, he has a severe fever, and he still hasn't regained consciousness. I suggest letting him rest here for a few days until his condition stabilizes."

In his current condition, continuing the journey, he might die on the way.

Their truck was equipped with some basic medical supplies, including hemostatic bandages, syringes, IV bags, saline solution, glucose, and antibiotics, among other things.

Although most players would choose to respawn decisively after being severely injured, long-distance travel was different from moving around the respawn point, and the cost of death was too high.

They had to save him if possible.

Hearing Si Si's suggestion, Chu Guang slowly nodded.

He remembered that this player worked in a hospital in the real world, not in any hot specialty, but she should still have basic medical knowledge.

"Then let's do as you suggest, let him rest here for a while."

"Let me know if you need anything, I appreciate you taking care of him during this time. And please, let me know the moment he wakes up!"

Si Si gave a thumbs up to the camera.

"Oh, leave it to me!"

Though she wasn't any impressive doctor, she would do her best.

After the communication ended, a light-blue pop-up window floated on the VM screen, and Si Si's face showed surprise upon seeing the task that had been triggered.

"2000 silver coins and 1000 Contribution Points?!"

That much?

Usually, at the level range of Level 10 to Level 20, task rewards would barely be in the hundreds. Single rewards of 1000 silver coins were quite rare.

Especially the 1000 Contribution Points.

That was unbelievably generous.

However, her face didn't show any surprise, instead, she touched her chin and fell into thought.

"…Looks like there might be follow-up tasks."

She had a feeling that the journey had become more troublesome...

...

At the entrance of the tent, four guards armed to the teeth were on duty.

Previously, Kaliman who left here had disappeared without a trace, probably conferring with his companions.

Watching Si Si walk outside through the curtain door, Meat Meat, who was squatting beside the truck, immediately approached with a face full of concern and asked,

"How's the NPC's condition?"

Out of concern for frightening the patient, she thoughtfully didn't go in, and instead, stayed by the side of the truck.

"He hasn't woken up yet. By the way, we just received a signal. The Manager ordered us to take care of that NPC, and there will probably be other tasks triggered after he wakes up."

"I got it too, and the reward is actually 2000 silver coins!" Meat Meat said excitedly.

"The more generous the reward, the more complicated the trouble we could encounter. The cargo we are hauling is worth at least 200,000 silver coins... Honestly, I don't want any unexpected complications, but we can't just ignore him either."

Si Si sighed with some headaches and said to Meat Meat,

"I'll go get some hot water. Do you remember where the medical kit is?"

"It's in the truck, I know the spot!" Meat Meat enthusiastically patted her chest with her bear claw, "Leave it to me!"

"Then I'm counting on you."

Taking off the water bottle hanging by the truck, Si Si headed towards the direction of the well. However, she hadn't gone far when a strange sensation suddenly crept up on her.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Si Si scanned her surroundings, but apart from rows of tents, there was not a single person in sight.

And therein lay the abnormality.

There is no real safe zone in the Wasteland, and certainly not a place like the Karting Post Station, with its mere hundred-odd permanent residents.

The tents were still there, but the people were gone, not even someone left to watch the luggage. This place's security was obviously not at the level where things don't get lost or stolen.

That being said,

There was only one possibility...

Her expression unchanged, Si Si was about to turn back the way she came.

But she had barely taken a step backward when a rustling of footsteps came from behind the row of tents.

A group of people wearing black cloaks had cut off all her paths of escape.

"It's quite obvious they came for me..."

When she saw that task reward earlier, she had an ominous premonition that something bad might happen.

Only, she didn't expect it to come so quickly.

Silently cursing the "dog designers" in her mind, Si Si completely gave up the idea of fleeing. As she put her right hand in her pocket, she counted the number of people around her.

The number wasn't great, just eleven.

However, Si Si was well aware that those standing in the open were probably just a part, and there was likely another group at a distance, pointing guns in this direction.

The man closest to her was likely the leader of this group, his high-bridged nose quite similar to some people in the POW Camp.

The other ten were the same.

Their identities were self-evident.

She could guess with her toes.

"Are you from the Army?"

"Your reactions are very sharp, commendable," the man at the front said, casting an approving glance at the girl in front of him, "But unfortunately, it's a little too late."

The dark muzzles under their cloaks were showing intermittently, and Si Si quietly glanced at their weapons – they were all standard Pu-9s.

This submachine gun, firing 9mm subsonic rounds, could unleash massive firepower at close-range targets in a short time.

Because of its high firing rate and low recoil, this weapon, although standard issue for the Army, also had reproductions in many Survivor Settlements.

However, this weapon still has a fatal flaw.

It's too weak in penetration!

Although the vast kinetic energy could still cause effective harm, against some of the larger Variants, this "small pipe" couldn't even break through their defenses.

Si Si was well aware of the performance of this weapon.

After all, she had used it herself not infrequently.

"I would advise you not to act rashly. Even Awakeners can't stop bullets," the man said with a smile.

"Oh, what do you want?"

"Bring out Luo Hua, hand him over to us."

"What if I refuse?"

His smile unchanged, the man's eyes suddenly grew colder.

"That would be the worst outcome. We don't want to slaughter indiscriminately, but if you force us to do so, we won't be merciful."

Si Si suddenly laughed.

"Since when has the Army started being so reasonable?"

The man lifted his chin slightly.

"We always convince with reason. Now, slowly take your hand out of your pocket and then squat down with your head in your hands."

"Or we can put a few holes in you first."

It seemed they were probably looking to capture someone alive...

And they must have been short on manpower; otherwise, there would have been no need to wait for him to be alone, when they could have just gone for it at the right moment.

As Si Si pondered this silently, she silently drew her right hand out of her pocket.

None of those present noticed the light silver ring that had appeared around her right wrist.

Embedded within the silver ring were six magnetic projectiles, each less than 5mm in diameter. Once activated, the projectiles would hover around the bracelet and fire according to preset attack commands.

Its name was the Magnetic Slingshot.

Because its maximum effective range was only 20 meters, and because the projectile's caliber was so small, it was considered a piece of equipment that was more flash than substance.

At the end of the last update, she had been lucky enough to draw this piece of equipment, but soon found it to be even more useless than she had imagined, so she had never used it in real combat.

However...

It turned out to be quite useful today.

"It looks like a few ribs are going to break..." Si Si murmured in her heart, preparing to hit the ground as she waited for the bracelet to automatically lock onto the nearest target.

Seeing her open palm empty of any weapons, the man's face broke into a pleased smile.

"Good, now squat down—"

Before his words could finish, a series of sharp whistling sounds tore through the air in all directions.

A warning flashed in the man's mind, and he almost reflexively threw himself to the ground.

And that searing sensation almost simultaneously grazed over the top of his head, even scorching his scalp.

What was that?!

Watching five of his brothers topple to the ground, blood holes stamped on their foreheads, his eyes instantly filled with a bloody red as he roared an order.

"Fire! Kill her!"

There was no need for orders—

Almost the very instant the anomaly occurred, his soldiers had already pulled the triggers.

Five PU-9 submachine guns spat out tongues of flame, unleashing fierce firepower in an instant!

Si Si, hit by several bullets, grunted, taking advantage of a brief gap in the encirclement to burst into a nearby tent, ignoring everything else.

9mm bullets failed to penetrate the Devil Silk bulletproof vest, but even so, the massive kinetic energy still broke several of her ribs.

Thankfully, the overwhelming pain was blocked by the helmet.

Otherwise, even an Awakener with the Body Constitution System, known for their incredible resilience and recovery abilities, would have been knocked unconscious by the pain of that instant.

The bullets that were chasing her footsteps almost burrowed into the tent.

"Damn—"

"Missed one!"

That crappy piece of equipment was indeed unreliable...

Without time to hesitate, Si Si decisively pulled out a dagger, slashed a slit in the back of the tent, and kept running without stopping.

Getting up from the ground, the man with the prominent nasal bridge stared at the tent riddled with bullets, completely dumbfounded.

Hit by over a dozen shots and still acting as if nothing happened.

Is this even human?!

It must be fake!

But—

There was no time to hesitate now.

"Chase after her!" He roared, picking up a submachine gun from the ground and signaling his men to follow.

However, at that moment, deafening roars came from one side.

A white bear with a steel plate hanging on its chest suddenly broke into everyone's line of sight.

The man looked sharply in that direction, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and a hint of panic washed over his face.

What scared him was not the clawing and gnashing white bear, but the row of tents flattened by wheels, and the truck barreling straight toward them.

The mounted heavy machine gun on the roof of the truck was already aimed straight at them.

"Si Si—hold on!"

"We're here to help you!!"

-

(Thank you "Spirit" for the chief patron's reward! To be honest, I feel quite ashamed as I write this thank you... Recently, my writing speed has really dropped, not even reaching 1000 words per hour. Sometimes I want to work hard to write out the plot I have in mind, but it always feels a bit off... Sorry, guys.)

Chapter 374: Army and Steel Heart!

The long barrel of the gun spewed out flames, and in the blink of an eye, two soldiers were torn apart.

The explosive roar of the gunpowder nearly shattered Halec's eardrums as he awkwardly scrambled for cover behind some debris. Just as he was about to set up his gun to return fire, he saw one of his brothers crash into the swooping claws.

Flesh flew everywhere!

The white bear seemed just as shocked by its own ferocious momentum as the soldiers wrapped in black cloaks were.

"Scatter!!"

Halec watched in horror as two more of his brothers were mercilessly cut down by machine gun fire. Enraged, he lifted his gun and sprayed a burst of bullets towards the truck's front.

The bullets struck the welded steel plate at the front of the machine gun, clanging uselessly and leaving only a trail of sparking fireworks and pockmarked indentations.

"Giao!"

Tail instinctively ducked his head, nimbly dodging the incoming bullets and steadying the machine gun without any sign of panic.

It was Sesame Paste, seated at the driver's position, who was startled by the rat-a-tat gunfire.

"Yah!!"

She instinctively buried her head under the steering wheel, her foot welded to the gas pedal.

Staring at the oncoming truck and the impenetrable steel plate, Halec, holding a submachine gun, felt a surge of despair wash over him.

Especially when he saw that thick barrel atop the vehicle aiming straight at him.

For a moment, his heartbeat seemed to freeze.

However—

What ultimately knocked him unconscious was not the oncoming bullets.

But rather the truck's front that crashed straight into his chest.

In the final instant before his consciousness faded, he vaguely heard someone shouting something.

Although he couldn't understand it at all...

"Ah Wei! Leave one alive!"

"Roger! Got it!"

...

Cold water splashed on his face.

Halec woke from his unconsciousness to find himself facing the dark muzzle of a gun.

"We always persuade with reason, so you'd best not make any sudden moves."

Si Si returned these words to the guy lying on the ground, only to see him looking at her as though she were a monster.

Emmm...

She touched her chin with her left hand.

Was she really that frightening?

She was quite satisfied with her in-game character, though.

"You scared me to death... We suddenly received a mission, saying you were in trouble, so we rushed over immediately. Just now, seeing you shot so many times, Tail and I thought you were dead." Sesame Paste came down from the truck, looking worried as she approached.

"It's all thanks to the bulletproof vest, though I did break a few ribs."

Si Si spoke as if it was nothing.

Although she felt that her condition was probably not as simple as just a few broken ribs.

But to think that such severe internal and external injuries had already recovered by thirty to forty percent.

Choosing the Body Constitution System had been in anticipation of such scenarios, and now it seemed to be the correct decision.

Pain beyond a certain limit would be blocked out, which was probably one of the most convenient features of this game, akin to having an in-built sedative and painkiller.

Otherwise, no matter how high she stacked her constitution points, it would be useless if she couldn't handle the pain.

"You really are Si Si! That line you just delivered was super cool!" Tail said with eyes sparkling.

Meat Meat looked at her worriedly.

"Are you really okay? You were shot so many times..."

"It's nothing."

Si Si showed a soft smile on her face.

"... Thanks to your timely arrival, I might have been captured if I were alone."

"Especially Meat Meat, you were very brave!"

"What are you talking about… When I see a friend in trouble, how could I possibly shrink back?"

Lifting his cumbersome bear paw, the shy Meat Meat scratched the back of his head in embarrassment,
resulting in blood smeared all over his head.

The sentimental atmosphere turned somewhat bizarrely bloody.

At that moment, however, an untimely voice suddenly steered the conversation in a strange direction.

"Giao! Captured?! Will it turn into something like in those doujins?!"

Sesame Paste looked bewildered: "Doujin?"

Looking at someone whose eyes were sparkling, Si Si sighed helplessly.

"You should watch less of that stuff, Ah Wei."

"!!! Have you installed surveillance in my house?"

"Yikes, you woman… you're no simple one."

The sound of gunfire and commotion drew nearby people, and the first to hurry over was Kaliman and his guard.

Although the head of the guard was strongly against getting involved in the disputes of the Waste Land Wanderers, recalling that just a few minutes earlier he had promised to protect these people, he still bit the bullet and led his men over.

By the time he arrived, however, the battle had already ended.

The Waste Land Wanderers, draped in black cloaks, lay in disarray on the ground, their deaths anything but peaceful.

The impact of 10mm caliber machine guns on human bodies was more than mere bullet holes; the flesh and limbs ripped apart by the tremendous kinetic energy were scattered around the wreckage of the tents, making him, who had left the desert for the first time, feel like his stomach was churning, and his complexion turned slightly pale.

"What happened here..."

The head of the guard with a beard on his face stepped forward and squatted on the ground.

He reached out his index finger, touching the face of one of the corpses, his expression suddenly grave.

"Members of the Army..."

On the wasteland, people of all skin and hair colors can be found, but only the Army people had that protruding bridge on their noses.

There were theories that they used ancient human DNA, and others that they had modified their genes to distinguish their noble bloodline from others.

The Army...

Kaliman muttered these two words in his mouth, anger and hatred flickering in his eyes.

At this time, the commercial Teams and mercenaries stationed nearby also rushed back.

Seeing the disastrous scene all over the ground, a merchant's face instantly showed a pained expression.

"Damn it, what have you all done! My tents, my bags, my luggage... all ruined by you."

Looking at the truck parked next to the tent, a few rifled-carrying mercenaries gathered around.

"It's just a few tents..." Si Si threw a few Dinars on the ground, "Is that enough?"

This small amount of money was clearly not enough, and the merchant wanted to say more, but was gently pulled by the guard beside him.

"Those three girls are Awakeners… If we really start fighting, we're likely to suffer heavy losses."

The merchant's face turned red, he held back his anger, but in the end, he swallowed it, picked up the gold coins from the ground, and walked away without saying a word.

The nearby residents looked over from a distance, watching the commotion.

To the north of Karting Post Station were the camps of the merchants and travelers; as long as bullets didn't fly into their homes, no one cared about a few dead Waste Land Wanderers.

However, clashes as fierce as what happened today hadn't been seen in many years.

Just as the crowd was abuzz with speculation, a man past fifty years old stepped out from among them.

His skin was darkened, his face crisscrossed with wrinkles, giving him the appearance of a man weathered by hardship, but his frame was still robust.

The dozen or so strong men following him dressed similarly, each carrying a revolver rifle on their back.

After taking a glance at the bodies on the ground and the man lying there, then another glance at the three people and the bear next to the truck, the elderly man slowly furrowed his brow and said.

"I'm Mudka, the village elder here."

"Si Si, and over there are Ah Wei, Sesame Paste, and Meat Meat."

Si Si took the opportunity to introduce her companions, although she felt that the old man in front of her didn't care what they were called.

Indeed, that was the case. The old man didn't inquire where they were from, but he directly stated.

"This is a safe zone. You've broken our rules here. You need to compensate the residents and their cattle and sheep that were frightened by your actions."

Si Si said expressionlessly,

"Oh? Since it's a safe zone, why didn't I see you step in before they started?"

"I came over after hearing gunfire. No matter what, driving through the camp, crushing tents and belongings, firing your machine guns...that was too much."

Tail, who only half-understood, protested discontentedly.

"Hey, I didn't harm any innocent people—"

Si Si cut off Tail's explanation, staring at the old man, and spoke deliberately, word by word.

"This is a matter between the Alliance and the Army. Are you sure you want to get involved?"

It was clear to her that the old man was trying to extort something from them.

If she hadn't thrown those few Dinar earlier, they might not have gotten into this mess.

Sure enough, the attitude of the old man changed immediately upon hearing the word "Alliance."

In his fierce and cunning gaze, there was an addition of evident wariness and suspicion.

He had, of course, heard of the Alliance and the rumors from the East.

The newly risen Alliance had blocked the Chewing Bone Tribe's advance southward, ending a year of chaos in the River Valley Province.

Before that, the towering mega walls were the only beacon of light within hundreds of miles.

"...You are with the Alliance?"

Si Si looked at him and answered,

"Yes."

The elder's facial expression stiffened slightly, affecting the several strong men beside him too.

He indeed had the thought of extorting something from these young girls—after all, the truck had plenty of good stuff on it, and the compensation he was asking for was arguably justifiable.

But now, the situation was different...

Listening to their conversation, the onlookers exchanged astonished looks.

And their whispers began to spread among the crowd with those looks.

"The Alliance? They're actually people from the Alliance."

"It's said that the warriors of the Alliance are brave enough to take on ten foes each, and with just over a thousand men, they razed the Chewing Bone Tribe."

"No wonder..."

The strength of the Alliance definitely could not match that of the Army, but after all, they were neighbors.

The Army and this place, separated by half a continent, are located on the far West Coast.

"This could become very tricky... From the Alliance to here, at the slowest it's a week, but at the fastest, it might be just two or three days," a middle-aged man whispered as he lowered his head beside the elder.

Making an imperceptible grunt, Mudka kept his unwavering gaze fixed on the young woman in front of him.

After some time, he began to speak slowly,

"...We have no interest in meddling in your disputes, but we also hope you won't disturb our way of life."

With that, he waved his withered right hand and, taking the clan members beside him, turned and walked away.

He didn't mention compensation any further.

Lying on the ground, Halec's gaze moved back and forth over the three people and the bear.

He hadn't heard of the Alliance and had no interest in understanding what it was. At this moment, his mind was racing, contemplating how he would extract himself from the situation he was in.

However, when his eyes rested on the dark muzzle of the gun, his shoulders, tense yet slack, succumbed to resignation, and he abandoned any thought of actively trying to escape.

The power displayed by the other party had exceeded his understanding.

Whether it was the woman who had been shot by a high-velocity bullet and seemed unharmed or the mysterious weapon that had instantly killed five of his brothers.

To this point, he didn't even know what that thing was.

Perhaps...

There truly had been some earth-shattering changes in the River Valley Province.

"Are you sure you want to make an enemy of the Army?"

Halec lowered his voice, invoking the name of the Army in an attempt to intimidate them into releasing him.

Si Si looked down at him.

"Even if we didn't have that intention, would trouble not find us anyway?"

While saying this, she shook the gun muzzle.

"Don't waste my time, what's your name?"

"Halec..."

"What do you want with Luo Hua?"

The man's face darkened slightly, his lips pulling into a faintly mocking smile.

"Heh, you'd like—"

Bang!

The sudden gun report startled all the onlookers.

Naturally, the one who felt the gunpowder smell most keenly was the one lying on the ground.

The bullet blasted into the ground beside his ear, splattering his half-face with mud.

Staring at the smoking muzzle and those merciless eyes, Halec felt a bone-chilling coldness.

"I was about to say..." Halec's voice, brash a second ago, became a stutter in the next—it was not fear but an instinctual response.

"Then hurry up." Turning on the voice recording function of her vm, Si Si urged impatiently.

"...Corporate, Corporate people."

"Of course, I know the guy you're chasing is a Corporate Employee. What else?"

Halec swallowed hard and continued to speak quickly.

"...That moving fortress, it broke into the desert. Our servants heard they were looking for some treasure there. Whatever it is, we can't let them take it off our land."

"Servant?" Tail tilted his head.

"Falcon," Kaliman, with a face full of gloom, standing aside, interjected, "The kingdom that rules Oasis No. 2... A bunch of craven cowards, abandoning their dignity and faith, pledging their souls to the barbarians from the Land Without a Master."

Tail: "?"

Si Si sighed, pressing her slightly aching brow,

"So it means a Servant Country?"

Kaliman's face stiffened as he nodded.

"...Yes."

Si Si fell into thought.

Combining the discussions from the forum and the information officially released on the website, she had roughly understood the whole story.

In short, a vassal of the Army discovered the Pioneer, and then reported the information about the Pioneer to the Army.

To prevent the Enterprise from taking control of No.0 Shelter, the Army had presumably sent an expeditionary force of unknown size to the desert, working with the locals to trap that moving fortress.

Although the Pioneer was armed with powerful firepower, even the most advanced technology cannot create something out of nothing.

At least the necessities like electricity and ore couldn't just appear out of thin air.

What Halec said next confirmed her guess.

"... We surrounded them while the Pioneer was searching for supplies, and they had no choice but to retreat to the ruins with their fuel rods. Those power armors were strong, but they were few in number, and we quickly managed to divide and encircle them. Some fled into the desert, some were cornered in the ruins, and a few were trapped inside the fortress."

Si Si immediately asked.

"Have you already taken control of the Pioneer?"

Halec replied.

"The battle is over, taking control is just a matter of time, but what we want is not a pile of scrap. They set a passcode for the engine room, we can't get in from the outside, and if we force our way through, the remaining nuclear fuel will be injected into the self-destruct unit... then it would all be for nothing."

"Does Luo Hua know the passcode?"

"...I don't know, but he seems to be a key figure on the Pioneer, likely to have some clues about No.0 Shelter... The General ordered me to capture him before he could rendezvous with the reinforcements from the Enterprise. If we can't capture him alive, then bringing back his head will do."

"Reinforcements..."

Ah Wei stroked his chin, a thoughtful look on his face, "It's not simple; they actually knew the Enterprise sent reinforcements."

Sesame Paste said with a subtle expression.

"... er, does this still need guessing?"

Gazing at Halec lying on the ground, Si Si continued.

"Tell me the number of your unit, the name of your superior, and how many of you were sent to the desert."

"Iron Heart..."

"What?"

"My unit," Halec swallowed his saliva, whispering low, "Iron Heart Battalion... the 29th Marine Division, our commander is the Ten Thousand Leader McCullen."

"How far are they from here?"

"Right here."

"Here?!""

Si Si was stunned.

Including Ah Wei, Sesame Paste, Meat Meat, and Kaliman with his guards, everyone stood frozen in place.

Just as Si Si was about to question further, she noticed a sudden change in the expression of Halec, who had a look of fear just a second ago; a hint of fervor now sparkled in his eyes.

He was staring straight at her.

However, his pupils weren't focused on her face, but rather on the back of her head.

A bad premonition slowly surfaced in Si Si's eyes.

"Right behind you... just turn around and you'll see," Halec said with a smile on his face.

No matter what he was so smug about, Si Si was very clear, this was not a "look, a flying saucer" trick.

Since a moment ago, the onlookers began to shift their gaze away from the scene to the distant sky.

And now, those unfamiliar faces all simultaneously bore expressions of confusion, hesitation, and panic.

"What on earth is that?"

"A whale, is it a whale?"

"By the Great Antler God..." some of the herders knelt to the ground, their foreheads pressed firmly against it.

Many mercenaries were bewildered, but there were some far-sighted merchants who recognized the creature.

"Airship... it's the Army's airship!"

Staring toward the northwest of Rui Valley City, Kaliman's eyes widened, his pupils shimmering with bewilderment and fear.

And the guards standing by his side couldn't help but grip their guns tighter.

That towering steel emerged from beneath the clouds, like an iceberg surfacing from the sea. Its wings, stretching out on both sides like the wings of a Peng, and the rows of whirling propellers cutting through the mist, resembled the canines of a wild beast.

So this is what the legion's airship looks like...

He had often heard rumors about it, but this was the first time he saw it.

It was like a giant whale flying in the sky... although he had only seen such an animal in photos.

Several players were also dumbstruck.

Especially Si Si.

Rather than where the airship came from, she was more curious about how that steel monster managed to fly.

The shell, full of metallic texture, didn't look like it was just a layer of painted canvas. This most definitely wasn't the kind of airship seen in reality.

And if it were an airship made of alloy, even if made from aluminum alloy, even if the thickest part of its armor was only 10 millimeters, its weight would still be hundreds or even thousands of tons.

And how on earth was such an unscientific creation propelled by a row of parallel propellers?

Si Si felt like her common sense was being challenged, her brain momentarily crashing.

This wasn't the first time, though...

Lying on the ground, Halec enjoyed watching their stunned faces and said in a sinister tone,

"Now's your last chance to surrender and submit..."

Bang—!

A gunshot cut him off.

Halec painfully clutched his left ear and curled up on the ground.

Putting away the smoking pistol, Si Si adjusted her headset and took a photo of the sky.

However, just as she opened VM and was about to sync the photo to her official account, she discovered she had lost her connection.

The signal's gone?

Just then, Tail, who was also craning her neck looking northward, suddenly changed complexion and exclaimed.

"Giao! My balloon!"

Seeing the disappeared signal on the VM, Sesame Paste said with a wry smile,

"I told you... not to let it float too far, but you insisted on climbing to the top of the mountain."

"I, I just thought the signal would be better..." Tail said in a soft voice, evidently feeling guilty, "And the manual said we should find a higher place."

"But that was way too high!"

"It's fine... The Manager will surely drop another one for us," Tail patted Sesame Paste's shoulder, but her uncertain tone seemed more like reassuring herself than others.

She wouldn't have to compensate for it, would she?

Surely... not, right?

"Ah... We finally made it to the hot search." Meat Meat sighed and sat down on the ground.

"Wuwu... Damn, my heart hurts."

Unlike the NPCs who were afraid of the legion, they had no fear of any legion.

Whether it was the Looter, the legion, or the mutants and other Variants that were hardly human, they were just monsters with higher levels.

Instead, they were more eager to spread this fresh news to the Forum.

The "Dog planner" is up to new tricks!

Unfortunately...

The photo would have to be posted later.

...

Steel Heart.

The bridge dangled beneath the airship, and the man in luxurious attire slightly lifted his chin, overlooking through the floor-to-ceiling windows the mountains, city ruins, vast forests, and plains, as well as the handsome face reflected on the glass.

His name was McCullen, captain of the Steel Heart airship, belonging to the Eastern Legion, holding the rank of Ten Thousand Leader.

Although the rank of Ten Thousand Leader did not literally mean commanding ten thousand people, there was no doubt he stood above tens of thousands.

At the heart of the entire airship was an unfinished Allied Sky Army Guard Ship, featuring a power room with a fusion reactor and a Deflection Shield Generation Unit specifically designed against "kinetic energy weapons."

Although most of the technologies had become indecipherable, and those deciphered were hard to replicate, that did not impede its continued use.

Even if it was in another form.

In short, this airship embodied the pinnacle of pre-war civilization technology and mechanical expertise of the legion.

It could not only serve as an aircraft carrier in the sky but could also directly engage in the front lines once the enemy lost air supremacy, raining down tons of dynamite upon the enemy's heads.

Few forces on the entire wasteland could withstand them.

Aside from those rats hiding in the swamps, the dung beetles beneath the Holy Shield, and the cockroaches curled up on the East Coast... other ants wouldn't dare to look up even if they had the ability to bring down the airship.

No one knew how many airships the legion possessed, nor did anyone know how much undiminished armory remained from two hundred years ago.

Except for the all-commanding Marshal himself.

"Esteemed General, right beneath your feet lies Rui Valley City! Just beyond that plain is the South Corridor of the River Valley Province, its Western Gate wide open before you!" Standing beside General McCullen, the adjutant spoke respectfully.

However, this flattery seemed to have missed the mark.

"I don't need you to educate me on the history of this insignificant land. What you need to tell me is where those cockroaches that crawled over from the East Coast have gotten to."

General McCullen spoke deliberately, yet there was a clear tone of impatience in his voice.

He was supposed to be enjoying the services of his servants at Oasis No. 2, but a piece of intelligence from Bugra Free State had led his superiors to assign him here to intercept reinforcements the corporate troops had sent from the East Coast.

Speaking of superiors, that old fox called Griffin was only a half-rank above him, with just one more star on the insignia of a Ten Thousand Leader.

But there was no choice, even half a star ranked higher than his own.

Moreover, the man was the Legion Leader of the Eastern Legion, appointed personally as the frontline commander.

No matter whether it was piloting airships or Universe Battleships, he had to obey that commander's orders.

Every time he thought of this, McCullen felt infuriated.

The Pioneer had been taken down, and the remaining crew trapped within the remnants of a civilization without supply or reinforcements were bound to surrender sooner or later.

The spoils were about to be divided, yet he had been sidetracked to this godforsaken place.

For just a corporate employee.

Was it really that important?

"...Griffin's ambition is not small; he likely wants to take this opportunity to bring the entirety of Luo Xia Province under the Eastern Legion's sphere of influence," the officer standing by his side remarked quietly.

Such talk seemed like wishful thinking.

The Great Desert stood between Luo Xia Province and the legions' core territory.

The so-called Great Desert was not just a place name—it was a life-forbidden zone stretching thousands of kilometers.

The legion simply could not govern Luo Xia Province, an enclave so far from their core interests.

Were it not for the Grand Canyon, they would have no need to keep any vassals.

Although every year the Falcon Kingdom contributed a wealth of treasure to them, every general in the Eastern Legion knew all too well that compared to their investments in that pliant kingdom, the king's tributes of Dinars and slaves were insignificant.

However...

The tragic defeat of the Expeditionary Army and the death of General Kras finally made some legion higher-ups realize that hoping to take down the Grand Canyon, which had once caused the corporations great losses, within a few months was a naive thought.

They needed to invest more strength, build more reliable logistics, perfect the supply lines, and mobilize a massive workforce to shine the Centurions' shoes—whether from their own or the servant countries.

In a nutshell, they needed to strengthen their grip on the East.

There were many methods to choose from.

For instance...

He supported that honest and simple king to become the emperor.

"...so you purposefully sent us away to hog all the glory for yourself."

Thinking about Griffin's arrogant face, General McCullen narrowed his eyes slightly, a thought suddenly stirring in his heart.

Looking toward the wilderness in the southeast, the corners of his mouth curled into a cruel arc.

"It's a blasphemy to our ancestors' legacy to let these barbarians who drink blood and eat raw meat linger here. In my opinion, the Army's frontier should expand another 500 kilometers to the east."

"We are fully capable of that!"

The aides and staff beside him simultaneously showed expressions of surprise.

"...Throwing a wrench in the works is not a good idea. I think we should defeat the Enterprise's reinforcements as quickly as possible and then return to Oasis No. 2."

General McCullen said expressionlessly.

"What's the point of going back? That old fox will definitely find another excuse to send us away. Once we have breached the South Corridor, the Southern Gate of the Grand Canyon will be wide open to us. Not to mention the Legion Leader, even the Marshal himself won't be able to ignore our contribution."

"But..."

"There are no buts."

He cut off the staff officer's words, McCullen looked up at the panoramic window ahead, his face gradually breaking into a pleased smile.

"Let's bring true order and civilization to these savages!"

Almost the moment his words fell, the airship suddenly tilted two degrees to the right, the connecting parts emitting a creaking buzz.

It was only a slight movement.

Yet at this moment, McCullen's attention was focused entirely on the handsome face in the floor-to-ceiling window.

Caught off guard, he almost had a close encounter with the handrail next to his nose.

Fortunately, his quick-witted aide grabbed him, preventing a fall.

"Sir, are you alright?"

Picking up his hat from the ground, McCullen cursed furiously.

"What in the world just happened? Which idiot is piloting this ship?"

"Maybe it was just turbulence..."

Faced with McCullen's roar, the aide spoke tremulously.

However, before he could finish, a soldier hurried into the bridge from outside, reporting nervously.

"Captain! Our right propeller seems to have snagged on something!"

"Send someone to fix it immediately!" McCullen barked.

"Yes!" The soldier stood at attention, saluted, and quickly rushed off.

McCullen grumbled and returned to his seat.

His fellow officers exchanged glances, all shutting their mouths tight, not daring to make a sound, afraid of becoming the target of his ire.

Not triggering the deflection shields meant that the object wasn't fast, perhaps just a bird that wasn't paying attention; the problem shouldn't be serious...

But to be honest, that jolt just now was not a good sign.

"The guy I sent to the ground... what was his name, Halec? Any news from him?"

Hearing the captain's question, the aide nearby promptly responded.

"Not yet, but his last report said he had locked onto that commercial team... We should have news soon."

McCullen's mood improved slightly.

Capture that corporate employee and deal with the reinforcements sent by the Enterprise faction, one problem after another resolved and he would also have time to attend to his own matters.

While the Steel Heart was busy checking for malfunctions, Chu Guang, over a hundred and fifty kilometers away, was looking baffledly at his VM.

Where was the signal?

Just moments ago it was full, and he was deeply engrossed in peering at the screen.

How did it suddenly disappear?

Chapter 375: Dog Plan Is Up to Something New Again?

Above the clear skies, a W-2 Mosquito attack aircraft skimmed the edge of the clouds, heading towards Rui Valley City.

About 30 kilometers behind it, a "Dragonfly" transport plane with "Hydrogen balloon" communication system in tow followed.

Tail had guessed rightly, the esteemed Manager would of course not neglect his little players, generously sending over the second communication device.

Generous indeed,

Yet such "high-technology density" equipment was not cheap for the Alliance either.

Before dropping the second air-dropped box, Chu Guang needed to first figure out exactly what had happened on the previous, failed communication base, in order to avoid having the new one meet the same fate.

Sending in the Army would be too slow, without a road network there's no speeding, and even if the Storm Legion was equipped with the most basic exoskeletons, they could only cover 30 kilometers per day.

The player corps had strong combat power and were bolstered by a "Morale Lock" aura, but their discipline would plummet in a straight line due to "boredom", so expecting them to forced-march over a hundred kilometers was unrealistic.

Therefore—

The air force had to be troubled.

"This is Falling Feather… I'm nearing the target airspace, currently searching for ground signals."

Glancing at the VM strapped to his thigh and watching Rui Valley City draw closer, Falling Feather pushed down on his control stick, manoeuvering his steed out of the clouds.

As per the mission requirements, he needed to establish contact with players on the ground, to understand what went wrong with the communication station, and report back to the "Dragonfly" transport plane bringing up the rear, snapping a few photos along the way.

The mission was an easy one.

So much so that he couldn't help but yawn.

However, just as he was about to contact the ground players, a dark shadow at the far end of the sky drew his attention.

"What the f**k…"

"What is that??"

The magnificent Iron Airship was like a Peng spreading its wings.

The sight was not only shocking for its pure metallic shell but also for the dazzling array of weapons all over it.

It was unimaginable how such a behemoth could float in midair.

Even more unimaginable was the propulsion coming from a long row of propellers arranged in parallel.

The two concepts, primitive and advanced, miraculously coexisted.

Falling Feather's eyes widened, his face a picture of astonishment. He couldn't believe his own eyes.

Soon, all the shock transformed into intense excitement and awe in an instant.

So freaking awesome!

But—

It seemed to be having some trouble.

Faintly, Falling Feather saw flickers of flames on one of the propellers on the wing of the airship.

It seemed to have caught fire.

Just as he was thinking of flying closer for a better look, he suddenly noticed one of the hefty cannons on top of the airship slowly turning its angle, aiming straight at him.

That caliber.

It must be at least 100 millimeters!

The moment he locked eyes with the cannon barrel, Falling Feather's face changed instantly.

"Holy shit!"

No time to hesitate.

He immediately jerked the control stick, trying to fly beneath the airship.

At the same time, he switched the communication channel to the "Dragonfly" transport plane 30 kilometers behind, reporting the situation at the front.

"Airship! An unidentified armed airship spotted above Rui Valley City, suspected—"

He hadn't finished the last few words when an orange flame cut through his thoughts.

He didn't even hear the sound of the cannon firing when the blue popup of[Connection Disconnected]cast into an abyss of darkness.

Slowly taking off the helmet.

Sitting on the bed in his bedroom, Falling Feather looked around in a daze, taking a good long while to come to his senses.

Damn it!

They opened fire without warning.

That's completely lacking in martial ethics!

…

"Airship?!"

"Wait, suspected what?"

"Hello? Brother, are you still alive?"

Above the clear skies.

Sitting in the cockpit, Backseat Driver kept checking in with Falling Feather ahead, repeatedly asking about the situation in front.

However, that voice cut off in mid-sentence never answered.

Listening to the static on the communication channel, Backseat Driver gradually realized the situation might be more severe than he had imagined.

With this in mind, he no longer hesitated and, while pulling back on the throttle, he also tilted the control stick to the left, guiding the plane into an arc in the air, returning to the airport north of the City of Dawn.

A transport plane made entirely of A3 aluminum alloy and fitted with a full set of instruments, equipped with three engines, it's far more valuable than the shoddy W-2.

Sitting in the rear cabin, Ice and Fire Brother called out.

"…Why are we turning? Aren't we supposed to be going to Rui Valley City?"

"The situation has changed… Falling Feather said he saw an airship."

"An airship?!"

Ice and Fire Brother was a bit baffled.

What was there to fear about those antiques, almost extinct since World War I?

Too bad the 37mm cannon was on another "Dragonfly."

Given the angle, he even was confident he could use the gunboat to take that thing down.

"I'm not sure… I have a feeling it's not just a simple airship. It was able to shoot down Falling Feather the instant he noticed it, so it must've been aware of us for a while."

"You mean that airship has radar?" Ice and Fire Brother said, surprised.

Backseat Driver thought for a moment and said.

"It probably does, a radar isn't that complicated. If even an airship has it, it can't be the Looter… but, I reckon it doesn't have guided weapons, probably anti-aircraft cannons or something else."

After all, if they had missiles, they probably would have been shot down by the enemy before even coming into view.

World War I flight technology, World War II fire control systems… What sort of industrial trash is this?

But even if it's industrial trash, it's not something their dilapidated transport plane could handle.

At least give him a "Primary Trainer Six."

No need for AA shells, two 7.62 aviation machine guns would be enough… as long as nothing unexpected happened.

Without any hesitation, Backseat Driver pushed the throttle to the max and decided to zip away with full power…

...

Onboard the Iron Heart.

Inside the bridge.

Looking at the clump of black waste on the table, General McCullen, after a brief moment of astonishment, quickly had a hint of anger in his eyes.

"What the hell is this?"

"General Sir, this was tangled in our propeller. It was hanging underneath a hydrogen balloon, seems to be a line…"

Standing in front of General McCullen, the engineer wearing a high-altitude work suit bowed his head nervously, and quickly spat out his explanation.

A technical officer attached to the army stepped forward half a step and pinched a small clump between his index finger and thumb, staring and pondering for a long time.

"…It contains carbon and silicon, kind of like optical fiber."

This stuff is pretty common on the Wasteland, and you can see it in nearly every concrete building.

It's said that in the distant Prosperity Epoch, humans were creatures that would die if they didn't talk, with everyone's body covered in loudspeakers, and every wall plastered with radios or similar devices.

These optical fibers, made from a carbon-silicon composite material, were as fine as hairs and covered cities like capillaries, forming a vast and complex information matrix.

Although this technology has been systematically lost, those hair-thin "ropes" have survived just like those concrete debris.

It was light enough and more robust than the average rope, but its strength was inferior to metal wire, and it wasn't heat-resistant, so scavengers didn't usually bother collecting it.

Of course, that's not absolute.

Some survivor settlements use it to convey information, although this is not common.

"…It must be someone who tied this sort of fiber to a hydrogen balloon, and by chance, our propeller snagged it."

"An electrical short caused the hydrogen that got into the engine to ignite, setting fire to the oil on the transmission shaft."

The navigator surmised based on his own experience.

However, the standing adjutant was not satisfied with his explanation.

"By chance? I don't think it was by chance. Who would just put up balloons into the sky for no reason? This is clearly a deliberate and malicious trap!"

"I think so too, it must be an anti-air balloon…" the staff officer speculated, "We've encountered similar things in the survivor settlements to the west before."

But the anti-air balloons they'd seen were much larger than the one they encountered just now, and what connected between the balloons was a sturdier steel wire.

It makes sense then that their radar and spotters completely missed that balloon.

"Are there any similar objects nearby?" General McCullen looked at the navigator with a stern face and asked.

The navigator hurriedly shook his head and said,

"No more, I had the observer carefully confirm it; in the nearby airspace, there was only this one!"

Hearing this, McLenn's face couldn't help but turn a bit unpleasant.

Only this one balloon nearby, and it just so happened to collide right with the engine of his own airship.

For a moment, he didn't know whether to complain about the balloon being precisely placed, or to complain about his airship receiving it well.

"Regardless, this trap appeared on our route, and the person who set it not only knew we were coming but also predicted our course..."

With his index finger on his chin, the staff officer wore a serious expression and continued speaking at a measured pace.

"Although the trap itself is not very ingenious, to be able to cause us such trouble with such low-cost tactics... We cannot underestimate the strength of these people."

McLenn asked in a deep voice,

"Who do you think did it?"

The staff officer pondered for a moment before saying,

"The Grand Canyon is too far from here, and the Bugra Free State has our informants... The only nearby force capable of doing this is Giant Stone City. But I cannot make a definitive statement; after all, corporate reinforcements have also reached this vicinity, and it could well be those people's doing."

As for the Survivor Forces of Luo Xia Province, he completely neglected them.

Those desert dwellers, although not on good terms with them, mostly dared not speak their anger.

There were very few who dared to rebel against them, and they simply lacked the ability to manage such a thing.

After all, analyzing flight paths was far too mystical.

Constant real-time monitoring of their location would be required, along with monitoring atmospheric currents, and even so, only a few potential routes could be predicted.

In fact, rather than a premeditated plot, he also wondered if it could be coincidence.

However, if you explained it as a coincidence, it made no sense why a deserted mountain would have a string of hydrogen balloons with no apparent meaning.

"Giant Stone City... I remember it's survivors of the previous civilization."

The aide de camp pulled out a notebook from his bosom, flipped through a few pages, and muttered as he continued,

"According to reliable intelligence, the Post-War Reconstruction Committee helped them build a wall and gave them some weapons to combat the 'Tide'... It's said that tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, live there. Their settlement is not too far from here, only 150 kilometers... but why would they target us?"

"Maybe they wanted to warn us to stay away from them? But this is a very small probability."

The staff officer shared a hypothesis, though he himself felt it was unlikely.

Such a foolish act was less a warning and more like a provocation.

Apart from wasting a bit of their time, it was without any deterrent effect.

It would only provoke them.

"These rats that only dare to hide in the gutters."

McLenn let out a cold snort.

"Whoever did this had better pray I don't find out... I swear, I'll make that person regret being born into this world."

Once he caught that person, he would strip them naked and hang them underneath the airship until they froze into an icicle before tossing them down.

After dropping this fierce threat, McLenn turned towards the engineer standing to the side, shivering.

"How long will the repairs take?"

"One week... no, three days, give me three days and I should be able to handle it!" the engineer said, sweating profusely.

Hearing it would take three days, a look of impatience flashed across McLenn's face.

However, he knew that hurrying was useless.

There was no high-altitude port here that could help them quickly replace the damaged parts.

To make repairs, they would have to lower the altitude and throw down the airship's anchor chain.

Then, they'd extend a rig through the hatch door, dangling the engineer outside like fishing with a pole, carefully dismantling the broken parts and replacing them with new ones.

Alternatively, they could choose not to repair and shut down one of the engines symmetrically on the left wing.

The remaining propellers would still be able to propel the airship, but missing two engines would reduce its speed by a full twenty percent, and its maneuverability and stability would also suffer.

The reduced maneuverability was acceptable, as such a huge vessel was never meant to dodge attacks with agility.

However, McLenn couldn't endure travelling in turbulence.

Especially since he could imagine that if he returned with a damaged propeller hanging, that old fox Griffin would surely mock him.

Even if it wasn't a very serious loss.

Standing by, the staff officer softly offered a suggestion.

"Our intelligence is several years old and likely outdated."

"We need to repair the engine anyway, so I suggest we set up camp here and send out a ground force to scout the nearby area. After gathering more information, we can then make the next decision."

The aide also chimed in and said,

"That's what I think as well; I suggest we capture some of the local Indigenous People and interrogate them. Perhaps we can find out who did this!"

McLennan wore a stern face as he slowly nodded.

"Let's do it that way."

Just as these words fell, a crew member sitting in front of the bridge console suddenly spoke up.

"Report! An unidentified flying object has entered our radar's detection zone!"

"What is it?"

Having just had one of his propellers damaged, McLennan was a bit on edge and almost reflexively asked.

"It appears... to be a propeller plane," said the crew member, his tone uncertain.

Hearing it was a propeller plane, McLennan relaxed and impatiently said offhandedly,

"Make it go away."

"The other party is not responding."

"Then shoot it down."

"Yes!"

A crewman immediately picked up the phone on the console and relayed the firing parameters to the operator in the weapons control room.

Soon, a cannon shot was heard overhead.

The thick gun barrel spewed flames, accompanied by a slight tremor in the airship; a burst of fire exploded in the distance.

"Hit the target!"

"Confirmed destruction! The target is falling!"

Crew members sitting at the console reported one after another; even though it was just shooting down a propeller plane, there really wasn't anything to celebrate.

Holding binoculars, McLennan quickly saw beneath the distant clouds a plane with broken wings spurting flames, plummeting straight into the city below.

Although he was not sure of any connection between this plane and the balloon, the flash of flames still provided him considerable relief.

"Send some people to check it out later," said McLennan expressionlessly.

The aide standing beside him snapped to attention and saluted.

"Yes!"

Then he looked at the staff officer next to him.

"You're in charge of anchoring and deploying the ground camp."

"Also, report to me immediately with any news from Marine Corps No.29 that's searching for corporate employees."

The staff officer responded, "Understood."

Putting away the binoculars, McLennan turned and left the bridge.

At this moment, he was unaware that the pilot of the plane he had just ordered to be shot down had gone to another world and, with an excited heart, was uploading photos of his "Iron Heart" to the official forum of a certain game.

Falling Feather: "Brothers! Look what I've found!!!"

"(Photo), (Photo), (Photo)…"

The photos were almost taken subconsciously a moment before being shot down.

Fortunately, before the onboard communication device was destroyed, these data were transmitted back to the signal tower north of the Dawn City and successfully synced to his photo album.

Although at this time, the vast majority of players were in the game, the enthusiasm of the backseat drivers for discussions about the new version was no less than that of the exalted ones who had secured closed beta access.

The post was quickly flooded with comments.

"Holy shit? Another expansion?! (Shocked)"

"Iron Airship! That cannon is freaking awesome!"

"Crying… Damn it, damn dog plan, you launch an expansion before even starting the internal test?!"

"Bro, do you not want your closed beta access anymore? (Sly)"

"Plan boss is awesome! (Cracked voice)"

In less than a minute, the post had over a hundred floors of comments, and soon after, the entire forum was boiling with excitement.

From the insignia on the airship and the size of the cannon, many backseat drivers guessed that this airship might be the Army's doing.

As for how that iron clunker floated into the air, the hot debates on the forum were also varied.

Some said it was anti-gravity, others speculated it might be some kind of special lightweight material, and still others suggested it might be unknown technology based on gas molecule manipulation, just like the Manager's hammer.

Whatever it was, one thing was certain: it was surely some kind of 'black technology' that didn't exist in reality, and there wasn't even a hint of it as yet.

Almost everyone was looking forward to this "brand new version" and what new tricks the dog plan had come up with.

Everyone, that is, except for the planners themselves...

In the shelter on Floor B4.

Looking at the several photos on his laptop, Chu Guang, who was sitting on the sofa, was far from joyful; instead, his face was a picture of utter bafflement and confusion.

"...What the hell is this?"

Chapter 376: Feint, Probe, and Shield!

Nearly five hundred meters long, its body was almost equivalent to two "Hindenburg" airships. And even the longest aircraft carrier from another world was just a little brother in front of this behemoth.

A 400mm short-barreled mortar, 12 100mm secondary guns, and 144 20~30mm anti-aircraft guns together comprised its firepower system.

The barrels decorated its massive body like a hedgehog, ensuring at least twenty anti-aircraft cannons would greet any attack from any angle.

In addition, there were those 7mm caliber machine guns hidden behind firing ports and what appeared to be hangars for carrying aircraft.

An airship?

This thing was simply like a flying "air battleship"!

Chu Guang had no doubts that it not only stockpiled a generous supply of ammunition and provisions but was certainly also equipped with a sufficient number of soldiers and crew members.

Otherwise, what was the point of such a large volume?

There must be something on it.

Looking at photos exchanged with the lives of players, Chu Guang was lost in thought.

He wondered if Giant Stone City could win against this unreasonable monster.

"Peaceful options can be basically ruled out... the enemy launched a pre-emptive strike destroying our communication devices, sent ground troops to attack our players, and immediately opened fire to shoot down our aircraft once they were in range."

"Their response was swift, and they acted decisively; they're likely prepared with a corresponding invasion plan," said Chu Guang as he stared at the computer screen, involuntarily furrowing his brows and speaking to himself with a heavy tone.

"Tricky to deal with..."

Instead of saying 'tricky to deal with,'

It'd be more accurate to say there was no chance of winning at all.

With the Alliance's current equipment, taking out a Looter force would be easy, but compared to a power that had long existed in the Wasteland, they were still too green.

Players could be resurrected, true, but man-power was only a part of war; without sufficient weapons, ammunition, and supplies, even numerous lives were given in vain.

People could hide in shelters, but production lines for weapons couldn't. Factories, farms, mines... none of these could be moved.

Chu Guang wouldn't forget how his players had to rely on the iron pipe rifles handmade by Boss Xia and how many casualties they suffered to barely take down an equal number of Looters.

Therefore, he could not let that thing fly over the City of Dawn no matter what.

Xiao Qi was watching Chu Guang's face intently, sitting on the table without saying a word. Seeming hesitant about something, it started to speak but then paused.

"Master..."

Planning his next move, Chu Guang casually responded.

"What is it?"

"It just feels like it has more cannons on it than the planes in your hangar."

Chu Guang's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"...You don't need to remind me."

"Hmm... Xiao Qi isn't trying to mock you, but as your assistant, I must remind you if you're heading into a dead end. If all else fails... hiding in the shelters is also an option, isn't it? The Administrator System hasn't set a deadline for you to complete a certain task, right?"

Xiao Qi's voice was very soft.

It unusually didn't use the strange voice pack downloaded from another world's internet but instead used the initial, monotone electronic voice it had when they first met.

However, to Chu Guang's surprise, that theoretically emotionless voice somehow conveyed an unusual sentiment.

Rather than a "suggestion,"

It sounded more like—

A plea?

Chu Guang didn't think it was his imagination or sentimentality, but it was precisely this that left him a bit puzzled.

He had never put himself in danger nor abandoned this "wastebasket," but it seemed to always lack a sense of security.

Nevertheless.

Chu Guang still didn't plan to consider that last card.

It was easy to close that door.

But outside that door, there were already too many things he couldn't let go of.

"We won't lose."

"But..."

"The analysis of data on paper doesn't determine the final outcome. We have many cards in hand; it's far from the time to think about giving up."

Watching Xiao Qi, who seemed to want to say more, Chu Guang stretched out his index finger and gently rubbed the top of its head, his confident smile clearing the gravity between his brows.

"Trust me."

Xiao Qi stopped persuading.

After five or six minutes, it spoke up quietly.

"So... what do you plan to do?"

"Winning this war alone is not easy; we don't even know how many cards the opponent holds. The pressing matter is to figure out the extent of the airship's anti-air defense capabilities and their weaknesses, and then we can think about tactics,"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and then continued.

"Additionally, we must do everything possible to tether our neighbors to our chariot."

...

Rui Valley City.

The massive "Steel Heart" gently lowered its altitude, casting a shadow from the air like a curtain, almost covering half the city district and the surrounding woods.

Approaching a five to six hundred meter range for a low-altitude hover, four thick anchor chains were thrown down from the airship, smashing into the ground below like cannonballs.

Anchor chains deployed.

With complete stability, a lift platform suspended by chains was lowered from the belly of the airship.

Soldiers clad in black cloaks marched down in neat formations.

They were well-trained with sharp eyes and top-notch equipment; in terms of presence and combat skills, they were clearly superior to the regular clone troops of the Army, and it was visibly so.

The signature black robes and the compact structure of the "Warrior" assault rifles in their hands highlighted their noble status—

They belonged to the Legion Airborne Combat Team.

Steel which conquered the skies.

And they, to conquer the ground.

"Move the supplies from the lift down, we need to establish a surface outpost before nightfall! If you don't want to sleep in the forest, then move your ass!" bellowed the man in the black exoskeleton at the front of the formation, urging his soldiers to unload the materials from the lift.

His name was Rachel, and he was a Thousand Leader, responsible for the surface camp construction and conducting searches and patrols of the nearby areas.

Logistics personnel arrived at the surface with the second batch of supplies, quickly getting involved with the construction of the camp.

Apart from shovels and other tools, they also deployed two small diggers to the ground to work on earthmoving operations.

At the same time, two light armored track vehicles were also positioned.

The 20mm quadruple anti-aircraft guns mounted on the tracked vehicles could supplement the anti-air defense firepower and provide mid-range support fire for the infantry.

It wasn't just to intimidate the nearby Wasteland Wanderers.

At the same time, it was to deal with dangerous Variants.

"Damn, finally can get off the airship and get some fresh air..." The man in the black military uniform walked over to Rachel's side, squinting his eyes in good spirits.

He was the logistic officer of the "Steel Heart," named Finod, and he graduated from the same military academy as Rachel and, very coincidentally, ended up on the same airship.

It's just that one went to logistics, and the other went to the airborne combat team.

"Speaking of which, why did they also bring down the excavator?"

"We need to stay here for at least three days; the enemy is in the dark, and we are in the light. Although there's not much to fear from a bunch of savages, being more prepared never hurts... These were the exact words given to me by the staff, telling us to construct according to the standards of a third-level fortification. Anyway, you all be careful too."

"I will."

Rachel lit a cigarette, squinting as he watched the construction workers bustling around the camp, his thoughts, however, drifted back to the distant desert.

To be precise, to the oasis there.

It's no exaggeration to say that life there was downright heavenly.

Not only was there an unlimited supply of fresh and delicious fruits, but also girls with curvaceous figures; even the life of a king couldn't compare to theirs.

And here, apart from the damp air and poisonous plants, were the dangerous Variants and the Waste Land Wanderers as cunning as foxes...

At this time, an officer from the staff department descended to the surface following the lift.

He walked straight up to Rachel and spoke directly.

"Where's Halec? Why hasn't there been any news from that guy?"

Rachel shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know; we've launched the signal flares. He should have returned by now... unless something unexpected happened."

He tended to believe this guess.

Without reason.

Purely a soldier's intuition.

The officer frowned and spoke decisively.

"We must find him."

Rachel asked.

"Can you confirm his approximate location?"

The officer flipped through the documents in his hands.

"The last report of his operational plan was yesterday morning when he was entering River Valley Province from Sunset Province, tracking a Commercial Team."

"Commercial Team?"

"The Commercial Team has a target we need to capture."

"Alright, a Commercial Team... I'm thinking, they can't go far without a water source, whether it's camels or Double-headed Cows, they need to drink their fill to travel."

Rachel pondered for a moment and looked back, his gaze settling on a stern-faced man.

"Vito, take some brothers and inquire at the nearby Survivor Settlement."

This guy was his most elite scout, skilled at using sniper rifles and traps; both his wits and eye for detail were impeccable.

Though he completely trusted him, Rachel still added an extra word of caution.

"Remember, report back to me immediately if you find out anything."

"Yes!"

With an expressionless military salute, the man named Vito quickly led his team towards the south.

The staff officer looked at Rachel.

"How soon can you get me information?"

"Not sure, but whether there's news or not, I'll contact you before evening."

The officer nodded and said nothing more, turning to go back up the lift, as if he couldn't bear to stay on the surface for another moment.

Rachel never quite understood these people; he, on the other hand, quite enjoyed the feeling of his feet on the ground.

At this moment, standing beside him, Finod suddenly said.

"Do you think that Halec might have run into someone from the enterprise?"

Rachel narrowed his eyes.

"Hard to say, but I'd hope so. The quicker we finish, the sooner we can return."

"That's probably a bit difficult."

"What do you mean?"

Finod looked around and then spoke in a softer voice.

"It seems our Captain isn't satisfied with just intercepting enterprise reinforcements... I've heard that he plans to conquer River Valley Province."

"Conquer... River Valley?"

The cigarette fell unconsciously to the ground, and Rachel opened his mouth in surprise.

This plan was indeed a bit fanciful.

He didn't doubt the capabilities of the Steel Heart and General McLennan, but it was quite unclear what the purpose of doing this was.

This place was tens of thousands of miles away from the territory of the Army.

Seeing his shocked expression, Finod said in a low voice.

"I was just as surprised, but this is the Captain's decision. You'd better give up any idea of leaving here any time soon... And don't tell anyone, and especially don't tell anyone it was me who told you."

Rachel composed himself.

"I'll keep it under wraps."

The extinguished cigarette butt lay on the ground, and Rachel glanced at it with a hint of regret before stepping on it to snuff it out.

Thinking of the task given by the staff, he was about to take a few people for a walk around the camp when, at that moment, the air raid alarm sounded in the sky.

The piercing siren startled everyone.

Rachel's face also showed a hint of surprise, but now was not the time for hesitation.

Even though he didn't think anyone could pose a threat to the Steel Heart, he still carried out his duty, ordering his men loudly.

"Air raid!"

"Find cover! Quick!"

Soldiers and construction workers within the camp ran swiftly, dropping behind cover.

Series of dense cannon fire came from above, and Rachel could tell they were salvos from the 100mm secondary guns.

Lying behind an unfinished blast shelter, he took out a telescope and glanced at the distant sky. Through the gap in the treetops, he could barely make out a spot.

Beneath the clear sky, streaks of orange flames lined up, and the thick smoke from the explosions formed an impenetrable wall.

However, still, 5 planes billowing black smoke broke through the first round of salvos with expert flying skills.

Their fate was already sealed.

The enemy seemed to realize this too and simply gave up the pointless evasive maneuvers, charging straight towards the airship, and before the second round of anti-aircraft firepower could arrive, they emptied all the rockets mounted on their wings.

The planes were blown to bits without any surprises, but those dozen or so rockets, trailing thin plumes, headed towards the airship.

Rachel had a strange feeling.

She always thought that the rockets fired from those planes seemed more significant than the planes themselves…

However, it was only a little significant.

In front of the Iron Heart, such attacks were laughably ineffective, like toothpicks against an elephant.

Completely ignoring the dozen or so rockets, after destroying the remaining five planes, the airship stopped firing and let the rockets hit itself.

The rockets were about to strike.

Yet, at the moment they came within 20 to 50 meters, they acted as if they'd hit an invisible wall of air.

Most were deflected off course; a few exploded on the spot.

Scattered fragments didn't harm the airship at all; the fortress in the sky didn't flinch, and only a layer of thin smoke slowly wafted towards the airship before being blown away by the air currents.

The players hanging from parachutes were full of astonishment in their eyes.

"…It can't be fake."

The latest Goblin Technology developed airborne rocket that couldn't even inflict a scratch.

Was that thing just now a shield?

But…

Although the explosives were deflected and the fragments did no harm, the thick smoke from the rocket's explosion was blown onto the airship.

Blood seeped from his abdomen, and though he was almost fatally wounded, it didn't stop him from thinking.

"Does this mean only low-speed objects can approach?"

Looking at the anti-aircraft gun pointed at him but not firing, the player pondered for a moment, detached his VM and camera-equipped headset, and tied them to the parachute.

Then he drew out his dagger, decisively cut the parachute cords, and let the wind carry away the parachute as he free-fell towards the forest.

The VM could always be found by other players.

Bringing back intelligence would make it worth it.

They hadn't expected to return when they took off.

Anyway, with his condition, he most likely wouldn't survive, and being revived only to be thrown in prison was worse; better to end himself now and move on to the next round.

Elsewhere, beneath the airship, in the unfinished camp, cheers and victorious whistle rose.

Rachel also stood up from behind the blast shelter, put away her binoculars, and dusted off the exoskeleton armor on her breastplate.

At that moment, a voice came through her headset.

"How are the casualties in the camp?"

The communication was from the airship's staff.

"None… What just happened?"

Without even counting, Rachel confidently answered, knowing well her subordinates wouldn't be felled by a mere bit of falling dust.

"Thirty airplanes approached us."

"Airplanes?" A hint of surprise flickered in Rachel's eyes.

"Just a bunch of grasshoppers learning to fly, not worth the concern… I have a task for you. We've discovered a parachute in the forest to the south; send someone to retrieve it," the staff officer ordered.

"That pilot seemed to have chosen suicide," Rachel reminded.

Although not entirely clear, she indeed saw the pilot cut the parachute cords.

The officer continued.

"I know, but before he died, he hung something on the parachute; we need to find out what it is."

Rachel sighed with impatience.

"Alright… I'll find it."

...

Karting Post Station.

Next to the chaotic campsite, nomads knelt and prayed, some dealing with the bodies on the ground. The village chief of Mudka clutched a faded pipe, puffing away with a furrowed brow full of worry.

Merchants sensing danger quickly packed their belongings, preparing to leave this troublesome place, their haste resembling that of refugees.

Undecided mercenaries gathered together, chattering about the situation.

"Why has the Army come here?"

"Don't know… I always thought they were fighting up north."

"Are you talking about the Expeditionary Army? Weren't they wiped out last year, or where did the Chewing Bone Tribe come from?"

"Those crawling cockroaches… Nothing good ever happens when they're around."

Tail played with the VM in hand, attempting to translate some valuable clues from the conversations, but unfortunately heard nothing substantial.

At that moment, Si Si came back from the direction of the well.

"Ah Wei, we're setting off now."

She carried a water jug in each hand, with a pair strapped over her shoulders, a stark contrast to her slender frame.

She seemed indifferent, hanging the hefty jugs onto the truck.

"Uh? I thought we were waiting here for Brother Quanshui and the others," the burly White Bear, who was removing his armor, asked in confusion.

"Yes, but we can't stay here any longer."

Meat Meat tilted her head, not quite understanding.

Si Si gestured with her chin to a nearby tent.

People there were watching them.

But the moment they exchanged glances, those people swiftly looked away.

"So what you mean is, they might betray us," Sesame Paste mused.

"After seeing that airship, most people would think so; I can't imagine anything that could hurt it."

After a pause, Si Si continued.

"Besides, even if they don't actively betray us, the Army will definitely come here asking about missing soldiers… A few dinars would be enough to bribe them."

As soon as she finished speaking.

A series of artillery fire erupted in the distance, creating another commotion in the camp.

This was already the second time today… But unlike the previous instance from two hours before, several rounds were fired in succession this time.

Looking in the direction where the airship was unleashing its firepower, Si Si's brow furrowed with a hint of unease.

More promptly than her.

Tail, craning his neck to look into the distance, was the first to spot the black dots emerging from the thick smoke, exclaiming in shock.

"Giao! That looks like our plane!"

"Uh-huh... I guessed as much," Si Si turned to the VM screen, where thirty IDs appeared on the nearby player list.

But almost instantly, only five remained online.

"Wait," Tail's expression changed abruptly, "doesn't this mean… someone has already taken the new version of the intelligence to the official network?"

Si Si was taken aback and hadn't yet come to her senses.

However, Meat Meat seemed to have caught on and showed a look of disappointment, though it wasn't very obvious due to his thick fur.

"Damn it... we found it first."

"Is now really the time to be saying that?" The cat ears on her head shook uneasily, and Sesame Paste urged with a wry smile, "We should hurry up and discuss where to go next."

Even without that airship, after the commotion earlier, it wasn't suitable for them to stay here any longer.

After discussing for a while, the group decided to move to the forest area east of Rui Valley City.

It was a valley, easy to hide in, and maintained a safe distance of twenty kilometers from the airship.

They would wait there for the Storm Corps, who were on their way, until they received new orders.

They also planned to recover the pilot's dropped VM as they passed through the southern suburbs of Rui Valley City.

If they could find it...

...

Having determined their next destination, everyone stopped wasting time and hurriedly packed up.

Pointing a gun at Halec, who was tied up like a rice dumpling, Si Si secured him to the back of the "Electric Donkey" truck.

Seeing his pale, bluish face, she roughly guessed what he was afraid of and gave him a faint smile.

"Don't worry; the roads here are bad, so we can't drive fast. But if you intentionally dawdle, you'll bear the consequences."

Halec's Adam's apple bobbed, and he kept his mouth shut out of fear.

At first sight of that airship, he had indeed fantasized that these people might be scared enough by the might of the Army to release him.

But now, he had abandoned all such fantasies.

These people were all crazy...

They didn't care about the consequences of their actions at all.

Satisfied with the expression on the captive's face, Si Si added an extra knot to the rope.

Having finished this task, she was about to carry the severely injured and unconscious Luo Hua onto the truck with Tail, when the NPC named Kaliman approached with his dozen guards.

Stopping what she was doing, Si Si eyed the approaching group and was about to ask what they wanted when Kaliman, who was at the front, took the initiative to speak.

"Are you planning to return to Qingquan City?"

Before Si Si could reply, he continued to offer an invitation.

"We could travel together."

"No need." Si Si didn't even think about it before decisively refusing the invitation to travel together.

Kaliman hesitated for a moment.

"Do you doubt me?"

Si Si spoke plainly.

"Not at all, there's just no need. Besides, we've known each other for less than 24 hours; I have no reason to trust you."

Kaliman fell silent for a moment, then nodded his head.

"I understand... My apologies for being forward. With your capabilities, you indeed do not need us."

He had only witnessed the latter half of the previous battle, but it didn't prevent him from reevaluating the seemingly frail girl in front of him.

She was an Awakener.

He didn't give up, though.

After taking a deep breath, he carefully considered his words, then spoke again.

"I apologize for selectively hiding my identity out of safety concerns; please allow me to introduce myself properly. I indeed come from Oasis No. 9 of the Lion Kingdom, but I am not merely a merchant—I am the king's son."

"What?" Si Si was startled.

Tail, who was standing beside her, had her eyes light up.

"Whoa, a prince! So you must have lots of wives, right?"

"In reality, it's not as impressive as you think."

Despite not understanding what the short-haired girl meant, Kaliman guessed what she was thinking from the surprised expression on her face.

He smiled bitterly and continued.

"My father has many children, and I am just one of them. Besides, I've already voluntarily given up my right to take part in the trials and to succeed the throne. Now I am merely a subject."

He paused before continuing.

"However, even though I've given up the throne, my loyalty to the kingdom remains clear as a diamond; the Spirit of the Sand Sea can testify to my oath."

Si Si looked at him doubtfully.

"Why are you telling us this?"

If it had been a day earlier, she might have listened to this guy's story with great interest, but their journey had already been spoiled.

At least temporarily spoiled.

Kaliman looked at her seriously.

"We have a common enemy, and we need your help!"

A look of surprise spread across Si Si's face.

Was she getting involved in the main storyline now?

Just then, a short cough suddenly came from the truck, interrupting her thoughts.

Hearing the cough, Sesame Paste, who was closest, immediately ran over and agilely climbed into the truck.

Looking at the injured NPC on the stretcher, she asked with concern in her not-so-fluent United Human language.

"Are you okay?"

"Chu Guang... cough... where am I?"

His voice was weak as he spoke with dry, cracked lips, like a flickering candle in the wind.

Fortunately, thanks to the two bags of glucose and saline solution Si Si had hung for him, his condition was much better than it was yesterday.

"This is Rui Valley City, 150 kilometers away from Qingquan City. We planned to bring you back once your condition had stabilized..."

Luo Hua didn't speak; his gaze shifted from the unfamiliar face in front of him and slowly landed on the VM on her arm.

Seeming to recognize the device, he relaxed a bit.

Then, he suddenly clenched his teeth, lifted his heavy arm, and unraveled the bandages wrapped around his abdomen.

Blood seeped out faintly.

"Hey, don't move around..."

Startled by his sudden movement, Sesame Paste quickly tried to stop him, but as soon as she touched his hand, she realized she was holding a bloodstained card.

"... We found it."

"Found it? What did you find?" A stunned Sesame Paste asked subconsciously.

He didn't explain.

Instead, with a voice growing fainter, he spoke on his own.

"Give this... to him."

Chapter 377: Murderous Intent in the Dark

"Sir... I'm just a merchant, could there be some misunderstanding between us?"

Looking at the dark muzzle of the gun in front of him, Jeppe sat paralyzed on the ground, not daring to take a deep breath, tremblingly pleading.

However, the man with a cold expression standing in front of him was unmoved, playing with a Pu-9 Submachine Gun he had picked up, and said in an indifferent tone,

"Where does this gun come from."

Hearing this question, Jeppe was internally crying out in anguish, but he didn't dare to hide anything and truthfully revealed the reality.

He had guessed the identity of these people.

They, like the group of black-clad figures this morning, all came from that absurdly large airship, all from that damned Army!

"I, I found it."

"Where did you find it?"

"To the east, about five or six kilometers that way, along the edge of the forest, there's a place called Karting Post... This morning, a group of people dressed somewhat like you had a conflict with some others and then started fighting... Right, I heard from other mercenaries, they seemed to be from the Alliance."

Jeppe spoke tremblingly, but the face of the man with a cold expression standing in front of him grew increasingly grim.

"...Alliance."

He, new to River Valley Province, had never heard this name before; it likely belonged to a regional power that had risen in recent years.

Such incidents were not unusual.

Humans naturally liked to band together for warmth.

However, regardless of what the Alliance was, they had now not only provoked the Army but also killed crew members aboard the Steel Heart.

The last Survivor Settlement that did this not only had their leader hanged from the Steel Heart's airspeed stack but the men, women, and children of the settlement were captured and taken as slaves aboard the airship.

In the end, when the airship docked, barely one-tenth of them who were sold to the mines survived, most dying en route, with a variety of causes.

While there might be officers who restrained their men to treat captives well, it definitely wasn't General McCullen they respected. The barbarians standing in front of them only had two outcomes: submission or obliteration.

A cruel smile cracked on Vito's stern face.

He didn't care about that Halec; a weakling who couldn't even defeat a few natives didn't deserve sympathy. What pleased him was that there was fresh fun to be had.

Frightened by that twisted expression, Jeppe shivered and said,

"I, I don't know those people, I just happened to be passing by..."

"How many of them were there?"

"Three, three people..."

"Three?"

"And, and there was a talking bear! And one that didn't talk... They were driving an armed vehicle, it looked like they were planning to go to Luo Xia Province, but after that incident, they didn't continue westward but instead turned back... Yes! I remember! They went east! If you follow the edge of the forest eastward, you should be able to find them!"

As if clutching at a lifesaver, Jeppe blurted out haphazardly, spilling all the information he knew.

Vito quietly pondered.

A talking bear...

He had never heard of such a bizarre occurrence, but this was the Wasteland, after all, where anything could happen. It must have been that bear that dealt with Halec and his brothers.

Behind Vito, a muscular brute stepped half a step forward and said in a dull voice,

"It could well be some trap set by those folks, the ones who damaged our airship."

The brute had two bloodstained short axes hanging from his waist, carrying a hunting gun with the barrel sawed off on his back.

Although he could easily end his opponent's life with bullets, he preferred the exhilaration of cleaving an enemy's skull with the axes.

"We can't rule out that possibility." Vito calmly pondered for a moment and said slowly in a measured tone, "We must make them pay."

Another gaunt man said,

"What do you mean?"

"First, report the information to Lord Rachel, then continue tracking to the east... The wounded from the Corporate might very well be in their hands as well."

After a pause, Vito continued,

"If we can catch both the culprits who damaged our airship and that Corporate Employee, General McCullen might personally reward us."

While the three black-cloaked Army men were discussing, Jeppe glanced at the scattered goods and the double-headed cow bleeding nearby, and his heart ached.

Today really was a supremely unlucky day.

He had first been blasted out of his tent by a bunch of Army men with broken noses, followed by a group that started a brawl next to his goods.

He hadn't even had time to comprehend what was happening when a truck with a machine gun welded to it came barreling through and blew away his tent.

Those people were somewhat reasonable, compensating him with three Dinars.

Although the money was nowhere near enough to cover his losses, it made him feel a bit better.

Years of wandering the Wasteland told him that he shouldn't stay long in this place. So without much thought, he immediately packed up and left that troubled land.

But, fatally, he picked up the weapons and personal belongings from a few corpses along the way.

And it was these items that brought him to the brink of death.

The three cloaked black figures caught up to him, first blowing away the head of the mercenary leader he had hired, then a muscled freak rushed forward and with a couple of bangs from his axes, knocked down the remaining two guards.

He even felt that

These three people in front of him were fiercer than the twenty or so he had seen in the camp put together.

These people were not only Awakeners but were also very likely to have undergone physical modification surgery or something similar—he distinctly remembered that muscular hunk getting shot, and now he was acting as if nothing happened, not even bothering to use a bandage!

The three seemed to have reached an agreement and were preparing to leave.

Jeppe let out a sigh of relief, thinking he was finally saved.

However, just as he had that thought, the man with the stern expression aimed his Pu-9 Submachine Gun at him.

"My, my lord?"

Jeppe's heart leaped to his throat as he began pleading for mercy in a panic, but before he could finish his plea, the staccato burst of gunfire turned him into a sieve.

Looking at the Waste Land Wanderer lying in a pool of blood, Vito casually tossed aside the submachine gun he had picked up.

The muscular hunk glanced at the goods scattered all around and the fallen double-headed cow, clucking his tongue in slight regret.

"What a waste."

"Don't waste time. The mission is what matters."

Without wasting another word,

Vito and his team members hastened towards the east.

...

"Deflection Shield?!"

Camp 101.

Seeing the photo on the screen and after listening to Chu Guang's description, Pai exclaimed with wide eyes, blurting out this word that was somewhat foreign to Chu Guang.

It took her a long while to digest the shock in her heart before she spoke softly,

"Just how did you all manage to provoke such a monster..."

Chu Guang sighed, saying with a headache,

"It's not that we provoked them; they came straight for us. This is the Wasteland, where trouble finds you even if you do nothing."

Thirty W-2 Attack Aircraft.

None survived!

Those fifteen rockets were the pilots' last form of defiance.

Though they ultimately failed to inflict any damage on the airship, thanks to the players' sacrifice, the shelter gained valuable intelligence.

If it turned out that their weapons couldn't penetrate the enemy's defenses only when they laid all their chips on the table, that would be a real disaster.

Now, at least, he had time to think of a counter-strategy.

However, as it stands, the shield technology was beyond Chu Guang's comprehension, as well as the players' sphere of knowledge.

Up to this moment, Mosquito was still complaining about the unscientific nature of the shields, frantically tagging him on the Forum, demanding that the new version's BOSS be nerfed.

Chu Guang certainly wished to.

But he was not a real planner, and this world was not a real game—there was no console for him to use.

Most of the prizes drawn from the shelter were "non-lethal weapons", with the occasional piece of powerful-looking equipment that was only suitable for personal self-defense and was often inferior to weapons DIYed by players in large-scale war.

After much thought, his only option was to seek help from his friends at Camp 101.

Hearing Pai use the word "monster", Chu Guang's expression slowly turned grave.

"That deflecting shield, is it tough to deal with?"

"Umm... where should I start?"

Pai pondered seriously for a moment, then continued,

"Deflection shields were standard on every starship during the Human Alliance Era, mainly to defend against meteorite impacts and kinetic energy weapons and chemical propulsion missiles fired by some illegally modified armed transport ships. The principle of the shield is based on gravitational field-related effects, and the efficiency of deflection is mainly related to the momentum and direction of the flying object."

"...What does that mean?" Chu Guang asked somewhat tediously.

Pai continued,

"In simple terms, faster objects with smaller angles of incidence gain greater deflection forces in the direction of the shield plane, and the shield's effect on changing the vector direction is more pronounced."

Chu Guang asked directly,

"Is there a way to break through it?"

The Pai on the screen nodded,

"Of course, there is; the deflection shield is not omnipotent. For example, it's almost ineffective against particle weapons, including but not limited to neutron bombs or optical weapons!"

"Then there are some large mass, low-speed objects that can effectively penetrate the shield's defense... but such weapons are usually ineffective in actual combat, as most ships are equipped with at least a point defense cannon or a railgun as a supplement to the shield system."

"However, the simplest and most brutal method is actually kinetic energy weapons."

"Kinetic energy weapons?" Chu Guang paused, hesitating, "Didn't you just say... that the shield's deflection effect on high-speed objects would be substantial?"

Pai blinked, continuing as if it were obvious,

"Yeah, but energy is conserved, you know."

"The deflection shield's interference with flying objects consumes a lot of energy, and the cost of launching a mass bomb using an electromagnetic accelerator is much cheaper than deflecting one."

"If it sustains concentrated fire over a short period, it might not only drain the shield capacitors but could also cause the shield generator to overheat, thus physically breaking through the shield's defense... Ah, but this approach might not be of reference value to you."

It seemed she remembered something and changed her tone,

"If the airship's power supply came from a fusion reactor, your munitions would likely run out before the shield capacitors... I remember you're still using chemical energy munitions, right?"

Chu Guang: "..."

Then what the hell was the point of speaking?

Taking a deep breath, Chu Guang said to Pai, who was on the screen,

"Thank you for the intelligence; at least now we have a clearer understanding of what we're facing."

The gratitude seemed well-received as Pai's lips curled up proudly, and she said generously,

"Think nothing of it! If there's anything else you don't understand, just ask me!"

Watching Pai buzz with happiness for being helpful, Chu Guang couldn't help but be infected by her optimism, and a smile spread across his face.

"Yeah, I will."

After the communication ended,

Chu Guang pondered for a moment then called Shu Yu, who was far away in Giant Stone City, and cut to the chase.

"I want tomorrow's 'Survivor's Daily' to have the Army's airship taking up the entire front page."

Upon hearing the Manager's order, Shu Yu was stunned, confusion evident in his eyes.

"Army... Army's airship?"

Although photos of the Steel Heart had gone viral on the official website of Wasteland OL, few residents of the New Alliance knew anything about it.

After all, NPCs couldn't access the official website, and Chu Guang was the only one in the game who could log onto the official website.

Therefore, when he heard the Manager's words, his feeling was not so much shock as a complete bewilderment over the situation.

Chu Guang knew he probably didn't understand the situation right now, so he didn't wait for him to ask and continued directly,

"I'll explain the specific situation to you later, including photos of the airship and its weapons, and so forth..."

"However, these are not the key points."

"The key is that we must make the survivors in Giant Stone City realize that there's a barbaric threat worse than the Chewing Bone Tribe advancing towards Qingquan City. The Giant Wall can stop the Tide, but it certainly can't stop a 400mm howitzer."

"If they don't plan to do something, when the airship arrives at their doorstep, they might as well wash their necks and wait for death."

"Of course, the most crucial thing is that we need their city hall, banks, factories, etc., as well as the nobles and the city lord inside the Inner City to know."

"The neighbor who borrowed two billion chips from them, the one making their lives better, is now in trouble!"

...

Late into the night.

In the eastern outskirts of Rui Valley City, about twenty kilometers from the "Steel Heart", a cargo-laden "Electric Donkey" was parked in a valley.

Here, one could barely see the airship, let alone be seen by it, making it an excellent camping spot.

The relatively rugged terrain and thick vegetation could also well conceal the campfire.

The White Bear Knights decided to camp here, while Kaliman continued on his journey with his guards to seek help in Qingquan City.

Si Si ultimately declined his request to travel together, after all, she couldn't verify his identity and had no plans to return to "North Suburb."

They were to wait here for a rendezvous with the Storm Corps, establish an operational base, and then decide on the next move—whether to deal with the Army that emerged en route first or to find an opportunity to enter Shelter No.79.

In fact, Si Si was more inclined toward the latter.

What if something hidden inside could counter the airships, a secret weapon of sorts?

The likelihood was slim, but one could hope.

As a professional planner, Ah Guang wouldn't randomly include two unrelated elements in the same version.

Even if it's more realistic, after all, this is a game.

Sitting by the campfire enclosed by rocks, Sesame Paste fiddled with the silver card in her hand, her face lit by the firelight showing visible confusion.

"What exactly is this thing for?"

After handing her the card, Luo Hua had passed out again, not giving her a chance to ask for clarity.

"Could it be some kind of key?"

Meat Meat, sitting in front of the campfire with his head tilted, muttered in his honest voice.

"I remember... the Pioneer was supposed to be searching for No.0 Shelter in the desert, that's what's written in the setting collection on the official website."

"But why would he give us something so valuable?" Sesame Paste wondered.

"Maybe because we're their friends?" Meat Meat said uncertainly, "Keeping it with us is surely better than letting the Army get it."

"…I have a different opinion."

Flipping through her notebook and organizing the intelligence, Si Si suddenly joined the conversation,

"It's possible that the Corporate Employee only wanted to drag us into their conflict with the Army, anyway, even if the key is with us, we won't have the chance to use it. And if they ask for it back, our Manager would surely return it to them."

The campfire crackled softly.

Sesame Paste and Meat Meat exchanged glances, whispering,

"I think it's not that complicated... He probably just didn't have anyone else to rely on, so he chose us, the only people he could trust."

She preferred to think it wasn't so complex.

Meat Meat, sitting beside her, also firmly nodded his fluffy head in agreement,

"I think so too... they seemed like pretty nice people to me."

As for Teddy, he couldn't understand what his owners were discussing and just dumbly licked his own paws.

Si Si didn't refute her teammates' views, and her gaze never left the notebook in her hands.

"Emmm... perhaps, I'm just proposing a hypothesis."

Humans themselves are complex creatures with many possible motives; it's actually the simpler-minded individuals who are rare.

Besides, whether that card is a key remains uncertain.

The only clue they possessed was that the Pioneer had found something extraordinary in the desert, and it was likely the legendary No.0 Shelter that could end all suffering and reboot the Prosperity Epoch.

However, she still maintained her skepticism.

Not about whether they had really found it.

But did that kind of convenient thing really exist?

Even within the Game...

Looking at the notebook in Si Si's hands, Meat Meat curiously asked,

"By the way, what have you written in your notebook?"

She often saw Si Si writing something on it.

"Some intelligence I've gathered."

"Including the setting about the Luo Xia Province mentioned by that guy who claims to be a prince, and the rumors I've heard from mercenaries and merchants... I'll organize it and post it in the forum later."

This information was definitely more shocking than a few photos of airships.

There might even be a chance to be included in the official setting collection, like those who often write guides.

"I admire the bigwigs who write guides; I can't even do travel guides well..." Sesame Paste said enviously, looking at Si Si.

Meat Meat nodded her head in agreement, expressing her thoughts,

"+1, I feel like the real Si Si must be a very reliable type."

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise, Si Si gave a light cough and said,

"That's not the case at all; the real me is quite a hassle."

Sesame Paste looked at her in surprise.

"Eh? Really?"

Meat Meat also showed a surprised expression.

"I can't imagine that at all!"

"It's normal. Take Ah Wei, for example. You might think she's not very smart in the Game, but in reality..."

Si Si hesitated for a moment.

Seeing her gradually awkward expression, Meat Meat, who sniffed out the scent of gossip, immediately asked curiously,

"In reality, she is?"

Si Si unconsciously shifted her gaze away.

"Emmm... Although she's not very smart either, at least she's quite reserved."

Sesame Paste couldn't hold back and giggled, while Meat Meat touched her head in confusion.

She could imagine what it meant to not be smart.

But reserved...

She couldn't imagine that at all.

Si Si flipped a page in her notebook and continued, pondering,

"Actually, I feel, rather than saying the Virtual world's image is a projection of one's real personality, it's more like the person one wishes to become... Maybe because I'm not so reliable in reality, that's why I wanted to try living differently in this 'second life'."

"Uh, now that you mention it, I think I can relate a little. In reality... I'm actually slightly socially anxious, but in the Game, it's not so bad."

With a shy smile on her face and her cat ears swaying comfortably, Sesame Paste, sitting under a tree hugging her knees, embarrassedly tucked her chin into her arms.

Every time the conversation turned to real life, she felt somewhat awkward, so she quickly changed the subject.

"Speaking of which... where's the tail? Why hasn't she returned yet?"

"She went to collect the VM the pilot dropped; she should be back soon..."

Si Si closed her notebook and opened the VM screen, intending to check how far Ah Wei was from there.

However, at that moment, a strong sense of impending danger suddenly surged through her heart.

It felt as if she was being targeted by some dangerous beast.

Clearly, it wasn't just her who noticed.

The cat ears, which had previously been swaying gently, now perked up. Sitting across the campfire, Sesame Paste clenched the Pu-9 Submachine Gun and Dagger already in hand.

"I thought I heard something just now..." she whispered, her pupils focused, scanning the dark forest.

Without any hesitation, Si Si put a pot on top of the campfire, quickly extinguishing the fire.

At the same time—

Six magnetically bound bullets already floated by her side, alert to the approaching malice.

"Be confident..."

"Seems like it can be removed."

Chapter 378: The War has Begun

The glow of the campfire disappeared.

The dark forest returned to silence.

Vito, crawling on a pile of rubble, shifted his right eye away from the scope of the sniper rifle, a fleeting look of surprise flashing across his brows.

Had they been spotted?

His eyes narrowed slightly.

He decisively put away the sniper rifle and, lifting his index finger to his ear, whispered to the two hunters approaching.

"Vito, Xiu, pay attention...the target is an Awakener with suspected enhanced hearing and vision. They've entered a state of alert, be careful."

Two responses came through the earpiece.

"Understood."

"Received."

After giving the command, Vito didn't hesitate to pull out the signal gun holstered at his waist and fired a shot into the sky.

A red flare flickered as it ascended, hanging in the night sky like a crimson lantern.

Five kilometers away, a patrol on a search mission would immediately come to reinforce them upon seeing their signal.

At this moment, Vito's earpiece transmitted Walter's voice. The muscular fellow spoke with a teasing tone.

"Do we really need to call for reinforcements? It's just three little girls, plus a half-dead casualty and a couple of dumb bears."

In his view, his captain was being overly cautious.

He admitted that the defeat of Marine Corps No.29 was a cautionary tale, but it was unnecessary to scare themselves.

Those poor souls who had their heads blown off were just a bunch of new recruits with less than two years of service—neither their abilities nor their experience was on the same level as their elite Marine Corps team.

Hearing his teammate's jest, Vito simply responded indifferently.

"Better safe than sorry."

Whether the enemy was old, young, a child, or a woman, he would never take a living adversary lightly.

He paused for a moment before adding.

"Also, I only saw two, not three as reported."

Low laughter and the grinding sound of bone came over the communication channel.

"That's perfect, Xiu and I can take one each."

Xiu, who had been silent all along, spoke impatiently.

"Stop the chatter, let's get this done and go back."

Walter clenched his fist and grinned.

"Alright!"

...

As the campfire went out, the campsite was shrouded in darkness.

Eyes gradually adapting to the dark, Sesame Paste hunkered down behind a tree trunk, holding her breath, alert and focused, she listened to the wind passing through the forest and the whispers hidden within it.

Her Level 10 Awakening didn't endow her with particularly powerful abilities, but it did grant her unparalleled hearing—within a hundred meters, not a single rustle could escape her ears.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The enemy didn't launch an immediate offensive.

Just when she thought the standoff would continue, a bang sounded from afar, and a red signal flare rose into the sky.

The faint light scattered through the trees from the sky, and as Tail looked up at the red flare above, his expression shifted ever so slightly.

Almost simultaneously, a loud roar suddenly tore through the quiet of the forest. Accompanied by heavy footsteps, a towering figure came crashing toward the direction of the camp.

At two and a half meters tall, the figure was as muscular as a bull, but what was truly astonishing was its exaggerated running speed—the creature had closed in on the edge of the camp in just a few breaths.

Sesame Paste was the first to pull the trigger. Amid the flash of gunfire, dozens of bullets poured out, creating a dense web of fire in the forest, which did nothing to halt his charge.

"It can't be real, can it?!"

Without a moment to be shocked, she quickly changed the emptied magazine.

In the brief moment Sesame Paste ceased fire, Tail, who had been aiming coolly, finally saw his target enter attack range.

The magnetic slingshot, charged and ready, was suddenly launched, directing concentrated fire at his face. However, what followed left Tail wide-eyed with surprise.

The man raised his thick left arm and not only withstood the six magnetic-accelerated projectiles but did not slow his running pace in the slightest.

This guy—

Could he be a Mutant?!

"Haha! Useless—!"

With a defiant laugh, Walter fiercely hurled the short axe held in his right hand.

In an instant, the flying short axe was about to hit Tail's chest when the steel-armored White Bear roared and, with a swipe of its paw, knocked the incoming axe away, then, with its legs powering forward, charged into the fray.

As the White Bear charged at him, Walter was far from panicked; instead, he unwaveringly met it head-on, engaging Meat Meat in close combat.

"Are you the bear that can talk?"

Being stared at by those ghastly green eyes, although Meat Meat felt incredibly anxious, she managed to emit an intimidating roar at him.

Walter smirked and suddenly exerted force with his arms. His muscles bulged like wriggling earthworms, forcing Meat Meat back half a step.

Feeling the pressure surge, Meat Meat cried out in panic.

"This guy is so strong... don't just stand there watching, come help me!"

"You're too close to him, I can't get a clear shot... and why did you charge at him in the first place?" Sesame Paste, holding her gun, was stuck between laughter and tears, unable to fire at the tangled figures.

The issue was, Meat Meat was just too big.

At this distance, if she were to fire, their teammate was more likely to become a sieve before the enemy.

"I, I, I, I don't know, I just went for it," Meat Meat stammered, as the force against her paw grew stronger, and she was on the verge of tears.

She admitted that seeing her friend in danger had made her rush in without thinking, but who would've guessed this guy would be so strong.

The opponents she had encountered before had all been smacked away by her with a single swipe, but this fellow was now overpowering her with pure physical strength.

Is this still a human being?!

It was then that Tail suddenly spoke.

"Sesame Paste, take Luo Hua and run east. Run as far as you can, and if worse comes to worst, hide him. At the minimum, bring back the card."

Sesame Paste was stunned for a moment.

"But—"

"Please."

Without any further explanation, Tail swiftly pulled out the dagger strapped to her thigh and rushed in to help. Yet someone—or rather, some bear—was a step faster than her.

Seeing Meat Meat in danger, Teddy, the bear almost domesticated to the point of losing its wild nature, finally let loose a long-absent roar of fury.

Seeing another Mutant Brown Bear rushing toward him, Walter's previously overjoyed expression finally showed a hint of panic.

"Xiu! What the hell are you dallying for!" He bellowed urgently and angrily.

Through the communication channel, a calm voice replied at its own pace.

"I'm just worried about ruining your fun," he said.

As his words fell, a piercing chill flashed in the darkness, followed immediately by the whooshing sound of something cutting through the air.

Struck by an arrow in the back, Teddy let out a pained roar, but he still charged toward Walter, who was in a standoff with Meat Meat.

Holding a short crossbow in his hands, Xiu showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The poison he had smeared on the arrow was enough to bring down an elephant; how could this brown bear act as though nothing was wrong?

Just as he was about to fire another arrow, a tongue of fire suddenly leaped from the darkness, and bullets rained down on his now-exposed position.

"Damn it!"

He dove behind nearby cover, discarding the short crossbow and drawing the assault rifle slung across his chest.

However, as he was about to raise his gun to return fire, the whooshing chill forced him to abandon shooting and instead swing the butt of his rifle at the person who had charged in close.

The rifle butt made intimate contact with the dagger and unsurprisingly knocked it flying.

Yet, Xiu had no time to feel elated. The girl in front of him somehow produced two more daggers, one in forward grip and the other in reverse, and with two swift slashes, aimed straight for his vitals.

Frightened, he stumbled backward.

Not giving him a chance to catch his breath, Sisi quickly closed the distance, the dagger in her right hand thrust forward with a fierce stab.

As the dagger seemed destined for his throat, a gunshot suddenly rang out from the woods.

The massive kinetic energy hit her in the abdomen. Sisi grunted and uncontrollably fell backward, crashing into a tree trunk behind her.

The intense dizziness nearly made her lose connection then and there.

Sniper!

Roughly pinpointing the direction of the shot, she let go of the dagger in her left hand, pulled a smoke grenade off her bulletproof vest, and threw it, preventing the sniper from taking another shot and from threatening her teammates.

Smoke filled the air.

But a second and a third gunshot still sounded; though the bullets weren't aimed at her, her heart sank further.

She thought of Sesame Paste, who was retreating with Luo Hua.

Nevertheless—

At this moment, she couldn't afford to worry about others.

Battling her wavering consciousness, Sisi mustered all her strength and threw the dagger in her right hand at the approaching figure.

But unfortunately—

The person merely tilted his head slightly and dodged with ease, aiming the gun barrel at her as she was about to draw her pistol.

"You're strong, but still too green," said the gaunt man, chin nodding toward the man grappling with the bear. "I've never seen anyone last more than a week in his hands," he mocked.

The mutant brown bear ultimately lay sprawled on the ground.

Sisi didn't speak, just glared at him fiercely.

"Heh, it seems you're not ready to face reality," Xiu's face twisted into a cruel smile. "Someone needs to help you."

He took a step forward, but at that moment, three muffled thumps echoed faintly from a distance.

Before he could regain his senses, the forest not far behind him exploded with three deafening blasts.

Heat waves drifted gently through the forest on the evening breeze.

Xiu was taken aback, his face a mix of bewilderment and confusion.

What happened?!

Si Si was equally baffled.

However, the three booming explosions seemed to come from the same direction as the earlier sniper rifle shots. Almost at the same time, a familiar voice came from beyond the smoke screen.

"Die, bastards!!!"

A figure as swift as lightning burst through the smoke enveloping the forest, charging onto the battlefield alongside the fiery blast from a gun muzzle.

Xiu's pupils contracted violently, and he caught a glimpse of a girl holding an assault rifle out of the corner of his eye.

But at such a close distance, even if he saw her, he had no time to react.

Bullets rained down like a torrent, a mist of blood exploded from his body, and before he could even cry out, he was mowed down to the ground by the fierce gunfire.

"Si! Are you okay?" Tail rushed out from the smoke, hurrying over to where Si Si leaned against a tree.

"I'm fine, Tail, you came just in time! Thumbs up for you!"

A pale smile squeezed onto Si Si's face as he gave her a thumbs up.

However, Tail did not pick up the conversation and was instead startled by Si Si's blood-soaked clothes.

"Giao! How did you get so badly wounded!"

The bulletproof vest had been pierced.

Blood had almost completely dyed the entire garment red.

Yet Si Si did not care, because this game had no pain blocking mechanism, and the fight would be over once he bandaged up with some gauze.

"It's a minor issue, didn't hit any bones. I'm a Body Constitution System user, these little wounds will mostly recover by tomorrow... stop wasting time, hurry up and help Meat Meat—"

"Xiu!"

Through the dispersing smoke, Walter finally saw his fallen comrade, his eyes instantly filling with blood-red rage.

He let out a roar, forcefully breaking away from his scuffle with Meat Meat, and charged towards Tail and Si Si.

He was almost upon them.

Just then, suddenly a "whoosh" sound was heard.

An RPG with a thick tail flame streaked out from the darkness and hit the burly man's left shoulder head-on!

It was an armor-piercing bullet.

The explosive metal jet was like a blazing spear of light, mercilessly piercing into his left shoulder and bursting out from the right side of his body.

Flesh was scorched and evaporated by the thousands-degree heat.

Even for a pure-blooded Mutant, it was impossible to regenerate half a burned body in such a short time.

Walter let out a pained roar, but it quickly faded, and his huge body plunged to the ground with a dull thud.

Holding a smoking launcher, Sesame Paste's chest heaved violently, her heart pounding as if it was about to jump out of her throat.

"Sesame Paste?!"

Meat Meat looked at her in surprise.

"You didn't retreat with Luo Hua?"

Sesame Paste whispered.

"I...couldn't leave you behind."

"Thanks, but even so... our mission is probably screwed."

Si Si looked up at the slowly descending red flare into the forest and sighed quietly to himself.

So be it.

"Game, the key is that everyone has fun."

After all, they had tried their best.

What really made her feel regret was the cargo that Tail had lost.

After all, dying meant being out for three days, but losing goods worth over a hundred thousand silver coins would take a long time to earn back.

However, at this moment, Tail said with an optimistic face,

"Don't worry, our reinforcements have arrived!"

"Our... reinforcements?"

Sisi chuckled bitterly, just about to scoff at the idea that there would be such a thing, but at that moment, she suddenly remembered something and quickly opened the VM strapped to her arm.

Sure enough, in that pitch-black map,
a series of blinking green dots shined with hope!

"Um!"

Tail nodded excitedly, not stopping for a second as he continued, "It's Brother Quanshui and the others! That was really close just now, I almost got hit by that sniper."

It turned out that the earlier gunshots were aimed at Tail, who was rushing to their aid.

A trace of realization floated in Sisi's eyes.

As for the explosion...

It was probably the Spring Water Commander's 120mm heavy mortar.

If she remembered correctly, its name should be "Destroyer"—that exoskeleton that looked like a Squirtle.

But none of that was the point.

She couldn't understand why the Storm Corps would appear here?!

They... had just officially set out yesterday, right?

Marching 150 kilometers across the Wasteland would take at least five days, even at the fastest pace; how could it be possible that they arrived from Qingquan City to Rui Valley City in less than forty-eight hours?

As they spoke, a dense firefight broke out in the distance.

The Army squad that rushed over after seeing the flare to reinforce them collided head-on with the elite of the Storm Corps, and the two sides immediately unleashed a fierce exchange of fire!

Immediately after, three ear-deafening explosions sounded.

Faced with the players' fierce firepower, the reinforcing Army squad quickly suffered heavy losses, and after leaving behind twenty to thirty bodies, they fled westward in complete disarray.

The distant gunfire gradually subsided, and the Storm Corps players chose not to pursue.

After bandaging her wounds with a bandage, Sisi soon saw a group of people approaching from afar.

There were about twenty of them, and judging by the Type 5 Light Cavalry Exoskeleton they wore, these were the elites of the Storm Corps.

The one leading the group was a veteran player from the Battlefield Atmosphere Group within the Storm Corps, and also a tough player who had entered the game in the early versions.

Looking at her familiar teammates, Sisi said in a daze,

"How did you guys get here?"

"Of course we ran over."

"...Ran?"

"Yeah."

Rifle slung over his shoulder, the Old Soldier cracked a smile and cursed.

"That bastard Quanshui is out of his mind again. He created a separate squad for the players equipped with 'Light Cavalry' and said that cavalry should look like cavalry. Then he had us pair up, two to a team, taking turns being mounts, one runs while the other goes AFK, and we did forced marches for thirty continuous hours... Damn, my exoskeleton's almost out of battery."

Sisi was stunned.

Taking turns being mounts, what the hell was that?!

She tried to imagine the scene in her head but felt her imagination was insufficient.

Though theoretically, with the performance of the "Type 5" Light Cavalry Exoskeleton, such an operation was indeed feasible.

It just seemed somewhat inhumane.

"...Where's I Max Black who often follows you?"

The Old Soldier laughed.

"Oh, him? He went to help Quanshui correct their firepower!"

"His awakening ability is unexpectedly useful in guiding artillery fire. He can not only broadly lock onto the general direction of the gunshots but can also predict where the shells will land. That old bugger who was sniping us from his hiding spot just now has already been blasted away by our 120mm shells!"

Tail raised his thumb.

"Whoa! Thanks, brother, that was really close just now!"

"Hahaha, don't mention it!" The Old Soldier said with a laugh, "You guys did pretty well too, to hold out for so long."

Tail boasted with a triumphant expression, "Just kidding, my Sisi is super brave! Of course, Tail is too!"

Sisi coughed lightly, changing the subject.

"Speaking of which, did you guys just abandon your supply train?"

"Pretty much. There are only 23 sets of Light Cavalry. Except for Quanshui who uses his own Destroyer, the other players are equipped with KV-1s, which have too little battery life... By the way, why didn't you guys wear your exoskeletons?"

"Who brings those when trading... But speaking of which, you guys didn't bring any supplies at all."

"No worries, aren't you guys here?" said the Battlefield Atmosphere Group with a cheeky laugh, "Brother Quanshui said that he had a feeling when he flew back that day that you guys would definitely encounter trouble, and he kept urging us to hurry along. After rescuing the rich lady, we'll just freeload off you."

"..."

Tail said enthusiastically.

"Oh! Make yourselves at home, I brought lots of delicious things!"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group laughed and said, "Haha, just kidding. We won't take advantage of your supplies for nothing. Just calculate the cost at the market price for us, the Army's fund Manager will reimburse it."

Sisi sighed.

"Let's not talk about such formalities for now... With all this commotion, it's time for us to move. Tail, could you please pack up the luggage?"

"Okay!"

Tail went over to the truck, and Sesame Paste also went to help.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group glanced at the bandage wrapped around Sisi's waist.

"Are you okay?"

Standing nearby, "Kakarot" interjected.

"I'm Strength Type, I can carry you!"

Upon hearing this, the injured Kevin immediately protested.

"Hey, aren't you my mount?"

"Kakarot" rolled their eyes.

"Get lost! Who the hell is your mount!"

"It's okay... I can manage on my own."

Taking a deep breath, Sisi picked up the dropped rifle to use as a crutch and, leaning on the trunk, stood up. Just as she was about to head back to the truck, she suddenly saw Meat Meat sitting silently in the corner of the camp, head drooping down.

"Meat Meat?"

The broad back didn't respond.

Glancing downwards, Tail gazed at the Mutant Brown Bear lying on the ground and momentarily hesitated, before falling silent.

Walking behind Meat Meat, she placed her hand on that fuzzy shoulder.

Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer.

The broad shoulders shivered gently as Meat Meat, head drooping, said with a choked voice,

"Teddy... it has no heartbeat anymore."

Although she had originally kept that silly, dumb bear in the Army as a joke, after traveling together for so long, she had already considered it a companion.

The others from the White Bear Knights felt the same.

The Open Space fell silent for a while.

Sesame Paste secretly wiped her eyes. Even Tail, usually the most optimistic and boisterous, was now voiceless, silently bowing his head.

The surrounding players also kept their silence.

Most of them were old players who had obtained the closed beta qualification with the Alpha version and understood that feeling of someone from their memories never returning.

The most realistic, yet worst, setting of the Game might be that NPCs can't be resurrected.

Players could be reborn with their memories, no matter how they die, they never really die, always having the chance to start over, always able to see the sun three days later.

However, the NPCs that accompanied them only had one life.

Sometimes, those memories were more like a curse, also the only pain that the helmet couldn't block.

That's why they always rushed to the frontline.

Old Soldier scratched his head.

Although he didn't want to be talkative at this time and wasn't good at comforting others, they had to leave.

"Brother Quanshui said to meet up with you as soon as possible and then move immediately... The enemy might hit us with area firepower, and we don't have much time left," he said.

Tail nodded silently.

Gently patting that fuzzy back, he said softly,

"Let's take it with us."

Meat Meat nodded complicatedly.

"Mhm..."

...

Steel Heart.

An officer sprinted through the corridor, a frantic expression as he charged into the bridge.

The door swung open.

His voice trembling, he shouted loudly,

"Report! Marine Corps No. 29 and 31 have both been completely annihilated! Someone intercepted our ground forces sent to the eastern suburbs for parachute recovery!"

Their first day in the River Valley Province.

And they had already suffered such a devastating loss.

"A bunch of waste!"

General McLennan cursed furiously and, almost roaring, ordered the crewman at the console,

"Load the 400mm main gun!"

"Turn those mongrels into shreds!"

He knew those people must have run away.

No one would be foolish enough to stand still and let themselves be shelled.

But he still had to do it.

Not for anything else.

He wanted those ants to feel the wrath rising from hell with their eyes, their ears, and their souls; he wanted them to tremble in front of the artillery fire, kneeling on the ground regretting their stupid decision.

No one could stop the Army!

No one could stop him!

The crew at the console responded loudly,

"Yes!"

...

In the silent night sky, a flare flickered, a thick column of air surged towards the sky, followed by thunderous cannon fire that shattered the clouds.

That night, all of Rui Valley City's Waste Land Wanderers, whether they were survivors or Looters, heard that earth-shattering boom.

The shell fell twenty kilometers away, in a forest-covered valley.

The crimson firelight swallowed, billowing smoke surged skywards, and the scattering shattered rocks and the spread of the shockwave swept through the entire forest.

Standing many kilometers away on the hillside, the Spring Water Commander handed the binoculars to Old Soldier standing by his side,

"A normal mortar can't fire that far; it's mostly rocket-assisted... Judging from the shape of the gas column and the damage area, the warhead should be a cloud burst bomb."

The legendary sub-nuclear weapon.

It could instantly consume all the oxygen in an entire area.

After a pause, he continued,

"The War has begun."

Old Soldier didn't speak.

It wasn't until much later that he suddenly spoke as if coming out of a trance,

"Holy shit, that's some serious power!"

"Why don't we get one too?"

Hearing this, the Spring Water Commander rolled his eyes.

"What's the use without air supremacy, become a live target for someone to shoot?"

Old Soldier was stunned for a moment.

"What do we do then?"

He was good at charging, but that was all.

If you asked him how to fight a battle, he'd be clueless.

The Spring Water Commander chuckled and calmly said,

"Do what we need to do, we can still fight without air supremacy, just differently."

What's the fun in bullying a bunch of monkeys playing with fire sticks?

This is a real Battlefield!

Looking at the persistent smoke that wouldn't dissipate, excitement rather than fear flickered in the eyes of Quanshui.

It was time to show off some real skills!

Chapter 379: That Airship, It Must Be Quite Valuable, Right?

Eighty kilometers east of Rui Valley City.

The camp of the enterprise expedition team.

The distant rumbling of thunder made the soldiers from the East Coast stop their work and look westward.

"What's that sound?"

"Is it thundering?"

"Doesn't seem like it..."

"Sounds like something exploded."

"It's strange, when I was in the City of Dawn, I specifically asked the commercial team from the west, and I didn't hear about any wars going on nearby."

The soldiers whispered among themselves.

In the middle of the camp, at the entrance of a tent.

Standing next to the captain Yun Song, the logistics officer He Ding looked slightly tense. Being someone who often traveled far and wide, his intuition for danger was extremely sharp.

He was very clear that the sound was definitely not thunder.

"Was that a nuclear bomb just now?"

Yun Song's eyebrows knitted slightly.

"I'm not sure."

Nuclear bombs weren't really that scary, they were just weapons with a high cost-performance ratio, and there were plenty of weapons on the Wasteland with even greater power.

What really concerned him was the power that the sound implied.

Based on his experience, the explosion's yield was at least ten tons.

Whether it was a nuclear weapon or not, that power was enough to put them on alert.

However, what was strange was that, according to the intelligence they gathered in the City of Dawn, there shouldn't be any other regional powers from Qingquan City to the east until the Falling Leaves Province.

At most, there were some scattered small survivor settlements.

Although not few in number, they clearly did not have the capability to manufacture such weapons.

He Ding spoke in a low voice.

"I suggest we change our direction of advance. Before we enter the Falling Leaves Province, it's better to avoid getting involved in regional conflicts..."

Yun Song pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"Hmm."

...

On the northwest side of Rui Valley City.

The camp directly below the Steel Heart.

Sitting in the tent, Rachel's complexion was as gloomy as the clouds outside the tent.

Especially upon hearing that his most capable hunter, Vito, had died on the battlefield and had died ignominiously under enemy artillery, he clenched his fists angrily.

"These damned bugs who hide and skulk..."

Once he caught those guys, he swore he would torture them with the cruelest methods until they bled dry and gasped their last breath.

At that moment, the tent flap was lifted.

The guard who entered performed a military salute, interrupting his thoughts.

"Sir, there's an officer from the Airship Staff outside."

Upon hearing this, Rachel's expression stiffened slightly, and it took him a good three to five seconds before he finally spoke.

"Let him in."

"Yes!"

Watching the guard turn and leave, Rachel sighed softly after a long contemplation and slowly relaxed his taut shoulders.

The parachute was not found.

The half-dead enterprise employee had escaped too.

Not only that, but his side had lost two marine squads in a row, as well as a scouting team composed of three Awakeners.

At this time, for the Airship Staff to send someone over, it was obvious what they intended to do.

The tent flap was lifted again.

An officer in a crisp uniform walked in from the outside.

Rachel noticed that this was someone he had just met during the day.

However, unlike when he saw him during the day, the officer's face and demeanor were much more serious now.

Knowing that the officer was most likely here to hold him accountable, Rachel didn't speak, quietly closing his mouth, waiting for him to speak his piece.

However, to Rachel's surprise, he did not receive the demotion he was expecting.

Instead, he heard an unexpected assignment...

"General McLlen has appointed you to be the commander of the ground forces; tomorrow morning we will deploy more troops to the ground."

"The troops will be under your full command until the deployment order is revoked."

Upon hearing what the officer before him said, Rachel's eyes immediately showed a clear surprise.

Seeming to have noticed his astonishment, the officer from the Airship Staff continued to speak.

"According to the Staff's assessment, the enterprise employee we are pursuing is suspected to have joined forces with the enterprise's reinforcements. Various signs indicate that the unidentified armed forces that ambushed our patrol tonight are from the enterprise!"

"The losses of the 29th and 31st Marine Squads are not your fault; it was our deficiency in regional intelligence that led to this accident."

"Captain McLlen demands that you perform well and use the enemy's blood to wash away this disgrace, avenging the brothers who died tonight!"

Surprise receded from his gaze, Rachel took a deep breath and said earnestly.

"I will."

"Prove it with your actions; the Captain awaits your news."

Dropping those words, the officer from the Airship Staff didn't linger, turning crisply and leaving the tent.

Rachel stared straight at the tent flap, gripping his fists tightly, then slowly releasing them, his eyes sparkling with combativeness as he chewed over the words he had just heard.

As if he wanted to crush them and swallow them down.

"I will!"

...

The seething wildfire burned all night until the night waned and gradually extinguished.

However, the fury of the Army had not subsided; the annihilation of the two marine squads had the Steel Heart on the highest level of alert.

And the thunderous sound of the guns kept the survivors in the vicinity of Rui Valley City sleepless through the night.

In the early morning.

The disturbance was far from over.

The "Steel Heart" airship continued to deploy military equipment to the ground, deploying an entire thousand-man team, while the fortifications under construction followed the standards for three thousand-man teams.

Dozens of marine teams were dispatched to the eastern suburbs to search, looking for those three girls who kept two bears and the mortar position that fired at their patrol last night.

According to the soldiers who escaped, their attackers consisted of at least a hundred-man team, equipped with highly mechanized exoskeletons.

No doubt about it.

That was corporate reinforcement!

However, General Mclen wasn't worried—at all. What did it matter if they were corporate reinforcements?

Just a bunch of weaklings.

It was time to catch them all in one go!

Simultaneously, under the guidance of the airship staff, the marine commander Rachel began sending out "armed negotiators" to the surrounding areas.

Leveraging the intimidation of last night's cannonade, it was time to convey General Mclen's intentions to the nearby survivor settlements—

Submit or perish!

...

On the other side, in the eastern part of Rui Valley City.

About five kilometers away from the center of the explosion, in the mountainous area, over twenty players of the Storm Corps were resting.

The sky was not yet fully bright, and a gray dim light loomed in the distance.

Although some suggested camping further away, Brother Quanshui said that seemingly dangerous places were actually the safest.

Come daylight, the Army would likely send people eastward to search, but they would probably not focus near the blast area.

Besides, the terrain here was high, providing an open view.

Even in the event of trouble, they could move quickly.

After more than thirty continuous hours of forced marching, having fought a battle with the Army patrol afterward, even if people were made of iron, their equipment couldn't hold out.

Most players' exoskeletons had run out of power.

Fortunately, the truck driven by Tail had a wood-fired generator.

The removed exoskeletons were lined up in a long queue next to the truck.

"Kakarot," leading a few Strength-type players, went to the nearby forest to cut down trees, while several Agility-type players began preparing food for everyone.

Meat Meat took Teddy, who would not wake again, up the nearby mountains, intending to find a spot away from scavengers to bury him.

Tail and Sesame Paste accompanied her.

Si Si wanted to follow, but her injuries were too severe, so she had to stay at the camp.

She found a secluded corner and performed minor surgery on herself with the medical tools from the vehicle to remove the bullets lodged in her body.

Since she was not very skilled, it ended up a bloody mess, but after some fiddling, she managed to get the job done.

"Fixed!"

Si Si exhaled deeply as she looked at the deformed bullet clamped in the tweezers, casually tossing it into an aluminum box to keep it as a memento.

Although the regeneration rate of a Body Constitution System player far surpassed that of an average person, it wasn't to the degree of mutants where "wounds healed at a visible rate."

Simple suturing could make the wound heal faster; Si Si figured that by this time tomorrow, she would probably be able to join her comrades in battle again.

After stitching up the wound, she opened a new box of bandages to apply, admiring her handiwork satisfactorily before heading back to the truck.

Breakfast was still a while away; "Kakarot" and his team had just returned with firewood for the stove and generator.

The other players sat in a circle, most yawning from exhaustion.

Only Brother Quanshui, standing in the center, was enthusiastically explaining his battle plan to the others.

"...The airship can store a lot of supplies, but even their supplies are not unlimited! With an Army of thousands, not to mention the food they boast every day, just the shit they take could fill a truck!"

I Max Black burst out, "Fuck, can you not talk about this before we eat?"

The Spring Water Commander said with a smile,

"Just an example!"

"The 'Steel Heart' has dropped anchor; if they plan to stay for as long as a month, they will definitely gather resources on-site and get supplies locally—as much by buying with Dinar as by forcing it."

"And that's an opportunity for us!"

He looked at the players intently and continued,

"We need to differentiate between those who were bought by them and those who were coerced by them, and then attract those who can be attracted!"

Si Si pondered for a moment and said,

"But how many survivor settlements dare to resist the Army?"

The Spring Water Commander said with a smile,

"We don't need them to resist openly; we can fight the tough battles."

"All we need is their small help within their reach!"

Even if it's just telling us the positions of the Army patrols.

Even if it's just a tip-off about when their supply confiscation convoy arrives.

Old Soldier's eyes lit up with understanding,

"I get it, you're talking about guerrilla warfare, right?"

"Exactly!"

The Spring Water Commander said with approving eyes, continuing,

"The Army's people are likely to contact the nearby survivor settlements during the day, so we'll do the opposite and go at night!"

"When everyone has finished eating, log off and recover, and we will continue discussing the specific battle plan in the group chat."

With that, he turned his eyes to Si Si and said with a smile,

"Good buddy, could you guard the bodies?"

Si Si replied with a smile,

"No problem, and Ah Wei and I will help watch over things."

She had laid down in the truck for a while earlier, and her fatigue values had gone down; she wasn't very sleepy now and thought she could sleep in shifts with Tail and the others later.

Brother Quanshui gave a fist salute and said with a smile,

"Thanks then!"

...

Those players who arrived in Rui Valley City with Brother Quanshui were mostly full-time players.

Even if a few weren't full-time, they also had relatively flexible time; otherwise, they couldn't afford to pull off the impressive feat of a continuous thirty-hour long rush.

After a hearty meal, everyone agreed on a time to log in and then found a spot where they wouldn't be in the way to lie down and log out of the game.

As for equipment and game characters, Si Si took care of them.

Members of the White Bear Knights were originally part of the Storm Corps, and they've been playing together for several versions already; there was naturally no issue of trust.

After logging off.

The Spring Water Commander used the @all function in the Storm Corps' guild group chat to divide the twenty or so team members who arrived first into three groups.

Group A consisted mainly of Agile system and Perception-type players, responsible for scouting the nearby terrain; Group B was made up of players who could engage in simple communication with NPCs, tasked with gathering information about nearby survivor settlements.

As for Group C, it included players from the Battlefield Atmosphere Group and others who liked to engage in gun battles, continuing to head west, responsible for searching for and ambushing the Army's patrol teams.

The number of people killed wasn't the key point.

The main goal was to cause strategic confusion in the enemy's view by frequent harassment, leading them to misjudge our own position and numbers.

Regarding the task of searching for the entrance to Shelter No.79, Spring Water planned to assign it to Tail and her team once they logged back in.

On one hand, he felt that Tail seemed quite interested in treasure hunting, and on the other hand, it was because they weren't equipped with high-level gear, making high-frequency combat maneuvers quite challenging.

In this game, wearing an Exoskeleton and not wearing one were completely different styles of play.

It had nothing to do with ability, purely a matter of suitability.

...

When the morning sun shone on the Earth of River Valley Province, and in Giant Stone City located at the edge of Qingquan City's third ring road, it was a moment of peace and tranquillity.

Even the main cannon with a caliber of 400mm, powerful as it was, couldn't possibly send shockwaves this far.

Unless—

Someone intended to fuel the fire.

"Extra! Extra!"

Running through the streets and alleys of Giant Stone City, the newspaper boys carrying canvas bags delivered the specially printed papers both to bars and grocery stores in partnership with the Survivor's Daily, and stuffed them into customers' windows and door cracks as well.

The specially printed paper had only one page.

And the photo printed on the page was a continuation of that morning's headline story.

A massive crater imprinted in the valley, the world-destroying shockwave swept across the entire forest, the fiery red blaze like a boiling mushroom cloud.

Beneath the picture, there was a line of thought-provoking text—

[Steel Heart's 400mm main cannon! Just six shots could level the entire Inner City!]

This was, of course, an exaggerated metaphor.

But with such a comparison, the previously clueless bystanders suddenly realized the terrifying power of the weapon.

Gray Squirrel Clothing Store.

Sitting behind the counter, Sieur was leaning back on a chair, his furry arms resting over his bulging belly, holding a still-warm newspaper in his hands.

He subscribed to the Survivor's Daily mainly to look at ads to keep up with the latest fashion trends from the City of Dawn.

However, he also found the occasional news stories published there quite interesting.

Mr. Hauser's broadcasts were exciting, but the guy's voice was like Spirit Leaf, purely stimulating with no substance.

The Survivor's Daily was different, with a diverse spread of news, not only covering events in Giant Stone City but occasionally reporting on the outside world as well.

"...Rui Valley City, I feel like I've heard of it somewhere."

Hearing Sieur's quiet mumble, Luo Bo, an old friend browsing in his store, casually responded.

"Of course you've heard of it; it's at the southeast corner of River Valley Province, the Western Gate leading to the South corridor, most commercial teams passing through Giant Stone City would go by there."

"That's the place!"

A hint of surprise appeared in Sieur's eyes as he sat up straight from his chair, "That's really strange, the Army actually went there... Shouldn't they be up north causing trouble in the Grand Canyon?"

"Army?!"

Rubbing the "art piece", Game's index finger stopped, and he shifted his gaze away from the mannequin's leg to look back at Blue Jacket, who was sitting behind the counter, and couldn't help asking,

"What nonsense are you talking about, what does the army want here?"

He was running the most famous bar in Giant Stone City, the Night Queen, which was not only a notorious den of iniquity but also a hub of information where all sorts thronged.

Not just the nobles from the Inner City would come here for fun; wealthy mercenaries were also happy to contribute their chips to him.

Apart from the White Shark of the Pirate Bay bar, no one had more up-to-date news than he did.

"Stuff from this morning, take a look."

Blue Jacket passed the newspaper and the just-arrived extra edition to his old friend, "The photos can't be fake, right?"

Game grabbed the newspaper and skimmed through it hastily, his eyes quickly widening to the size of chips.

"The Steel Heart? Hold on, I think I've heard of this thing!"

Blue Jacket looked at him quizzically.

"Where did you hear about it?"

With a face full of disbelief, Game spoke rapidly,

"From the Commercial Team that came from the west! Just two months ago! They said, the army settled in the oasis where the sunset, and there was a steel fortress floating above their heads... Damn it, I thought that guy was bullshitting!"

The 400mm main cannon that burns everything...

The caliber was big enough to fit a person inside!

Imagining that scene, Game couldn't help but shrink his neck.

He truly couldn't bear to think further about what it would look like for that behemoth to fly to their doorstep.

"Don't worry too much, the city lord surely won't let it fly over here." Watching his exaggerated reaction, Blue Jacket's expression was a bit strange, but he still offered reassuring words.

"That's not for sure... Last year, whether it was the army or some corporation, they dropped a nuclear bomb in the Elm District to the north, and in the end, it still fizzled out." Game couldn't help but complain.

Hopefully, someone would take care of this.

Right, aren't there a bunch of busybodies in the north?

West State City is about a hundred kilometers away from here, and Rui Valley City might be a bit farther, but not by much.

After all, Giant Stone City has a massive wall with plenty of fixed weapons installed on it, while those people have nothing and have planted a large field; they're bound to do something, right?

Compared to the detestable army, of course, the country bumpkins are a bit more lovable.

A trace of worry unconsciously crossed Game's face.

Could they win?

...

It wasn't just Game who harbored similar concerns.

Almost every Waste Land Wanderer holding the Survivor's Daily had the same thoughts as him.

Not everyone cared about the fate of the country bumpkins in the North Suburbs.

But they wouldn't naively think that the Steel Heart's range was just short of a dozen kilometers and would coincidentally spare them.

At this moment, the city hall of Giant Stone City was bustling with activity.

The city hall chief, Duron, had already convened three meetings in a row, bringing not only bank personnel but also summoning the president of the Survivor's Daily newspaper.

While it couldn't be said to be in total chaos, it was certainly in a flurry.

Unlike those ordinary residents.

Their concern wasn't just about the safety of the Survivor Settlement, they were even more worried about the two billion chips they had just loaned out!

What does two billion represent?

There are roughly five hundred thousand residents in the outer city of Giant Stone City, not considering mercenaries and commercial teams involved in trading. The average income per resident is about 100 chips.

In other words, even if all the laborers of Giant Stone City worked screws to the point of smoking, it would take them three to four months to earn that much money!

Yes, the money wasn't in the Alliance's hands, but was placed in a supervised account at Giant Stone City Bank. But the problem was that the Alliance had already taken those chips to place orders with their factories and commercial teams!

Almost every factory in Giant Stone City was busy taking out loans, hiring, and expanding production, all for those two billion chips.

The furnaces of industry blazed fiercely. Such a boom had never been seen before!

Neither the bank of Giant Stone City nor the city hall, having tasted just a little bit of success, wanted to see the signs of "economic recovery" snuffed out.

This simply could not happen!

"That idiot Jaeger even proposed terminating the loans. How could such a big deal be stopped just like that! Thank goodness the city hall director was on my side..."

After a whole day of meetings, Melvin returned home, exhausted, handing his coat to his wife while he rambled on with his complaints.

He broke his back every day to make sure those poor debtors could pay him back on time.

His wife took the coat and kissed him, gently consoling him.

"You might need to rest for a few days."

"Darling, I'd like to, but there's a mountain of troubles..."

Melvin sighed and slumped into the soft sofa.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed the newspaper on the coffee table. His eyebrows, which had relaxed a bit, knitted together once more.

"Survivor's Daily... have we subscribed to this thing, too?"

He rubbed his temples. Just the sight of this newspaper gave Melvin a headache.

"I subscribed to it. I saw so many things I've never seen before, like nutrition paste. They say it's food for the Waste Land Wanderers..." Sitting next to her father, Alyssa blinked curiously, "Can we buy some? I want to see what it's like."

"You wouldn't be interested in that stuff. It's like... it's like fermented vomit, only slightly better than the hard-to-swallow tree bark." Melvin conjured up a vivid analogy.

He felt disgusted himself, which should quell his daughter's curiosity.

Alyssa: "Tree bark?"

"Yeah, if you're too lazy to even cough up a single chip, that's all you can nibble on. But the nutrition paste is cheap enough, usually selling for only... why am I even telling you this," Melvin patted his daughter's head affectionately, "You don't need to know all this."

One of his sons had moved to the Inner City, another went with a reliable commercial team to the East Coast, and the other two daughters were already married. She was the only bit of his heart left.

His wife frowned.

"...Just don't bring that stuff into the house."

"I know," Melvin said, smiling as he hugged his wife's shoulder, "I was just educating our little girl on some..."

"Some unnecessary knowledge," his wife fixed her gaze on her husband with a slightly reproachful tone, "You spoil Alyssa too much. I never agreed with her subscribing to that kind of newspaper. With so many books in our library at home, why would she want to read the vulgar writings of a bunch of Waste Land Wanderers."

Melvin chuckled dryly.

"I'll talk to her about it."

He wasn't exactly fond of Survivor's Daily either, mainly because he didn't think those "non-professionals" could write anything worthwhile.

Though his office had a subscription, it was only for his secretary to glance over.

But this time, the headline of Survivor's Daily was beyond his expectations.

The Army's airships had flown to River Valley Province. If it weren't for that weirdo who ran over from the neighboring province to write articles, they would probably still be in the dark.

Just like the last time the Pioneer arrived here. A tactical nuclear bomb had already detonated, and their esteemed lord of the city only sent someone to take a look afterward, arriving fashionably late.

Alyssa stared into her father's eyes and suddenly spoke thoughtfully.

"...You know, we can't truly isolate ourselves from the Wasteland. The prosperity of Ideal City is enviable, but after all, we are not them."

Melvin looked at his daughter in surprise, not expecting to hear such words from her.

"Where did you hear that?"

"From the newspaper, but I think it makes a lot of sense."

Looking at his daughter who was gazing up at him, Melvin pondered for a moment before speaking.

"You're right, not only do I know it, Duron knows it too, and even that Uncle Jaeger... that one who doesn't seem too smart knows it. But there are many, many complex reasons for it, and this issue has been around for a long time."

Alyssa blinked.

"If it has been around for so long, why not start to change it from now?"

Melvin rubbed his daughter's little head and smiled amusingly, speaking in a gentle tone.

"Because our abilities are limited, each generation has its own work. All I can do is to provide a slightly better life for you, so you don't have to sell your soul for tomorrow's lunch like those Wasteland Wanderers, or fight over a bottle of diluted beer."

He did not intend to break the tacit understanding that had been in place for two centuries.

The source of Giant Stone City's prosperity was the same as that of Ideal City; after all, they were following a corporate path, albeit with some modifications.

They had a powerful armed force and, just like the corporations, did not get involved in the affairs of the Wasteland, only making sure that others did not come to make trouble at home.

Throughout the whole Southern River Valley Province, and even the neighboring Brocade River Province, survivors, whether they were Slave Owners or merchants, regarded them as a model.

Just like they looked up to the Utopia on the East Coast.

However, now trouble had still come knocking.

The Army's airships had already flown to their doorstep, and those with the high-bridged noses were as barbaric, rude, and openly displayed their canine teeth as the rumors claimed.

He had no doubt that those people would covet the prosperity of Giant Stone City.

Thinking of this, Melvin felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Even as the wealthiest man in the city, he had no way to persuade the great city owner to send out the Army to do something for everyone's benefit.

After all, when it came right down to it, he too was just a beneficiary of the rules.

That person, the rule-maker, was the one who was truly in control.

That man, age unknown, was colder, more obstinate, and more elusive than anyone he had ever known combined.

Melvin couldn't help but fantasize.

If there were a perfect solution that could shield them from that trouble, or drive that airship away, that would be great.

And just then, a perfect... or rather, a mad idea suddenly emerged in his mind.

If lending those Blue Jackets a sum of money could save those factories on the verge of bankruptcy, why not lend them another sum for military expenses and encourage them to go to war?

That airship...

It must be quite valuable, right?

And given their "nice guy" personalities, seeing the gaunt survivors of the area, they surely couldn't just stand by and do nothing. They would end up building roads and houses for them.

"Rui Valley City, the western exit of the southern corridor... The potential there is much greater than West State City."

Muttering softly to himself, Melvin's eyes grew brighter, and he suddenly stood up from the sofa with a look of exhilaration.

"Dad?" Alyssa tilted her head, not understanding what was going on with him.

Melvin laughed heartily, wishing he could pick up his daughter and give her a kiss.

"My Alyssa, you're absolutely right—we do need a little change after all, at least a bit of a compromise..."

Chapter 380: The Weakness of the Iron Heart

On the mountaintop.

Beside a bulging mound of earth, Meat Meat stuck a crooked wooden sign into the ground.

The following words were written on it, in the language of this world.

"He stepped forward for his companions, writing a legend of courage with his life."

"—Teddy"

Besides this name, the signatures of all members of the White Bear Knights were present below.

There were many memories about it, but she could not write too many flowery phrases, and it was beyond her to summarize them in a few words.

"I hope in your next life, you'll visit our world..."

"By the way, if you get to choose, try to pick the one with dark circles around its eyes... They have the most comfortable lives."

Reaching out her bear paw, Meat Meat gently touched the raised mound of earth and mumbled softly to herself before slowly standing up from before the gravestone.

The breeze blew gently, swaying her white fur and the grass beside her.

The morning sun in the distance had already risen, casting a shimmering golden hue through the forest.

She wanted to sing a song before leaving but couldn't remember which one it should be.

Staring at the epitaph on the wooden sign and touching her chin, her tail pondered for a while and suddenly spotted a loophole.

"Wait."

"If we write our names too, won't people think we are also buried below?"

"Yikes, don't start telling ghost stories at a time like this!" Meat Meat, who had been sorrowful just moments ago, said with a cry of laughter.

"Um... It does feel a bit weird." Sesame Paste expressed subtly, finger to her lips, "it's like... setting a huge flag."

Tail suddenly put on a sinister face and lowered her voice sneakily.

"Speaking of ghost stories, have you heard about that one... A girl attended her friend's funeral one day and suddenly found her own name on the tombstone—"

"Enough, enough, please stop!"

Meat Meat covered Tail's mouth, and the latter let out strange squeals.

The playful noise helped reduce some of the sorrow.

Turning back to glance at the crudely made gravestone, Sesame Paste gently knelt down and planted a small flower brought from the base of the mountain next to it.

Since this is a fully realistic Virtual Reality Game.

I suppose, after some years, colorful flowers might cover this entire hillside.

As long as the server doesn't roll back...

Standing up from the ground, she looked toward her companions with a smile on her face.

"It's time to go."

And like always brimming with energy, Tail, who had wriggled away from Meat Meat, energetically waved a fist.

"Whoa! Let's go!"

...

Because of a newspaper, the entirety of Giant Stone City was in turmoil.

And Hal, the instigator behind all this, was currently exuding charisma—or rather, looked quite pleased with himself.

"Print more! Print 20,000 more copies of yesterday's issue! Now our readers are not just idlers in taverns or unemployed wanderers in the streets, but also well-dressed citizens and nobles living in the Inner City!"

He sat by the office window, holding a bottle of champagne, slightly tipsy from drinking early in the morning, and issued orders to the editorial team with a strong smell of alcohol.

Yes, a bottle.

And a large one at that.

But it was all worth it.

Just two days ago, the circulation of "Survivor's Daily" was hovering around 6,000, yet with yesterday's headline, newspapers were sold out instantly.

Moreover, the subscription count had doubled, and now the whole city was listening to what he said.

This Haus?

Just a whining loser on the radio who couldn't scare anyone; he didn't take him seriously at all!

Shifting his gaze away from the employees, Hal looked towards Fang Chang standing in the editorial office, his face bursting with a radiant smile.

"My dear friend, those two photos you brought were just perfect! Why don't you join our newspaper as a journalist? From my years of experience, I can tell you are a genius in this field!"

Years of experience, indeed...

Fang Chang remembered that a month ago, this guy was still a well-mannered member of the Royal Family.

In just a few weeks' time, he'd degraded into this no-nonsense, blabbering figure.

He didn't know whether to criticize the newspaper for spoiling people or this city that smelled of copper.

Clearing his throat lightly, Fang Chang responded.

"Perhaps you should thank our Manager... At most, I am just a tool for transporting."

"Ha ha, of course, he deserves thanks too—allow me to offer my respect to the Manager, second only to the esteemed Spirit of the Sand Sea!"

As he said this, Hal blew another puff into the bottle.

Fang Chang felt that the respect wasn't sincere but merely an excuse to drink more.

However...

He didn't seem to be mocking the stance either.

Just like how there are always people bringing up Thunder Bluff, but players who truly love tauren are few and far between.

He was the first to call someone "Respected Manager" when the game began, and now it has become a customary phrase among players to enhance immersion.

As for respect?

There might be some admiration, for indeed, it's hard to find someone so upright and selfless in the real world—perhaps only in history books under 'the master's thesis'.

But to say heartfelt respect for a character in a game? It seems not quite right.

"Salute to the Manager!"

Fang Chang briefly said, clinking his glass against his bottle with a smile, took a light sip, and set it aside.

"Is it really good for you guys to be drinking this early in the morning?" murmured Dolly, arms crossed.

Everyone in the editorial department was diligently working.

It was one thing for Fang Chang; he wasn't from the newspaper and just came by occasionally "to do tasks."

But this Hal...

He was supposed to be the president, right?

"It's fine! Even drunk, I can still write exquisite sentences in 12 different sorts..." Hal burped, found a chair with a wobble, and sat down, "I've figured it out, this war is an opportunity! The future 'Survivor's Daily' won't just be for Giant Stone City, it will become the bestselling newspaper of the entire River Valley Province, even the entire Wasteland!"

Fang Chang cracked a joke.

"Growth and prosperity, and reaching new heights, right?"

Hal's eyes lit up, snapping his fingers with his right hand.

"Exactly!"

"It might be tough; there isn't even a unified currency in the wasteland."

Hal laughed, "Ha-ha, such issues will eventually be resolved by someone, I believe it will happen."

Watching him talk nonsense, Fang Chang chuckled and shook his head, planning to leave with Dolly.

Just then, Hal suddenly spoke.

"I don't quite understand."

"What don't you understand?"

Watching Fang Chang pause, Hal continued.

"That book Yu and I talked about... it's crucial for our defeat of the Army."

"He's absolutely right, is there a problem?"

"It's no small issue. Why would the respected Manager think that a newspaper could solve the problem? Here, what ordinary survivors say doesn't really matter, does it? They're barely even able to eat."

This place is much like his hometown.

The kingdom in the Luo Xia Province, where all power belongs solely to the supreme king.

And here, all power belongs to that unseen landlord.

So what if the Army's airship gave the city-folk a scare?

Even with everyone trembling before the 400mm main cannon, doesn't the landlord remain silent?

"Yes." Fang Chang didn't deny it.

Hal curiously asked.

"What's the point of spreading such a message then? Of course, this is just my personal curiosity... they love a spectacle, and regardless of the Manager's guidance, I'd still continue with the reports."

"The point is mobilization."

"Mobilization?"

"Yes, we are fighting a war that concerns life and death, and not just our own. Although we can't influence the landlord's decisions, we can inspire those who want to survive to do something while it's not too late."

"Whether they are loading workers at trading depots, assembly line workers, mercenaries who earn their living by risking their lives, or factory owners, bankers, or whatever else... Giant Stone City certainly has its owner, but ultimately, it's made up of these people."

Watching the inebriated newspaper president, Fang Chang paused for a moment before continuing.

"The city is like a rusted machine; we need to get it moving, any bit helps, any awakening counts..."

"And that is the meaning of mobilization."

Hal thought for a moment, a contemplative expression crossing his drunk face.

"I see..."

"I think I understand what you are planning to do."

Exiting the newspaper office.

Fang Chang noticed Dolly walking beside him, looking at him with curious eyes.

"What is it?"

"How do you know so much?"

As she spoke, her tone was indistinguishable between surprise and admiration, perhaps a bit of both.

"It might be because I come from a refuge?" Fang Chang said in a half-joking tone.

"A refuge, huh..." Arms folded behind her head, Dolly gazed at the sky, lost in thought.

Then, as if struck by a thought, she looked at him and asked.

"Knowing all this, don't you think those of us outside the refuge are foolish?"

Fang Chang paused, then laughed.

"How could that be?"

Rather than denying, he greatly admired the Waste Land Wanderers who managed to survive optimistically through 200 years after the decline of civilization.

Browsing with a filter was one thing, but actually living in this world…

He felt he would likely go insane.

It wasn't that his psychological resilience was lacking, but he had a clear understanding of his own capacities.

Forget about war, the apocalypse, or the wasteland; the mere fact that money couldn't buy necessities would likely drive his SAN values to plummet.

Dolly stared into his eyes for a while, then her lips suddenly curled up slightly.

"Ow, that's good then."

Her emerald green hair swayed lightly, and with that cryptic comment, she briskly walked ahead.

"?"

Watching the suddenly cheerful girl, Fang Chang couldn't help but fall into thought.

Was she so happy just to be called clever?

That seemed too easy to please.

…

City of Dawn, Army Command.

A wooden command desk held a frontline battle report that Xiao Qi had helped organize.

Since a stable communication network hadn't yet been established, Chu Guang could only keep up with frontline developments through the official forum.

The "communication network" based on the Morphogenesis Field operated entirely in a completely unrelated parallel world, ensuring connectivity under any circumstances.

"…After marching for over thirty hours straight and dispersing to infiltrate the defense zones, crossing fifteen kilometers to conduct five successive raids and annihilating numbers approaching a fully enlisted hundred-man team… Are you sure this is just a twenty-person squad?"

What was essential was that only a few had suffered non-fatal injuries and none had died!

Vanus's face was filled with astonishment.

Honestly, he didn't quite believe it.

Padding the battle reports could be said to be a fundamental operation for frontline troops, and he was well aware of this.

However, this was also understandable.

After all, the battlefield changed rapidly; if someone fell and wasn't carried away within three minutes, it was counted as a kill, if they were taken away, it counted as an injury. It wasn't like someone was timing with a stopwatch and binoculars how many seconds an enemy combatant didn't get up.

As an excellent commander, the first skill to possess was the ability to discern the authenticity of the intelligence sent from the front line, and based on nebulous information, estimate the overall situation to command those "who might still be alive" and execute orders "that might be achievable."

If his subordinates brought him such a battle report or spoke to him like that over the radio, his first reaction would surely be that the person was talking nonsense.

However—

This battle report was personally brought by the Manager.

This man was not one to be naive about warfare; he had earlier charged into battle wielding a Nitrogen-Powered Hammer and had even led a charge.

As the Alliance grew, he gradually moved behind the scenes after leaving behind a myriad of incredible legends.

If Vanus were to assess him, this man would surely rank among the likes of Kras and General Griffin if born in an army, at least.

The reason he wasn't ranked higher, as a Legion Leader or the supreme Marshal, was simply because ordinary people could only rise to the position of a general by their capabilities.

Vanus wasn't the only one astonished.

Including the array of officers at command, everyone exhibited disbelief upon seeing the fabulously unbelievable battle report.

"…To be precise, so far only more than twenty have arrived, with over a hundred more people and logistics support en route, expected to arrive within three days."

Saying this, a hint of emotion unconsciously appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"Don't say you can't believe it, I was just as shocked when I first received this battle report… but I can confirm its authenticity is beyond doubt."

The players discussing the war situations on the forums would "verify" each other, and the battle report Xiao Qi helped him organize was the final verified result.

It was also the result closest to the truth.

Seeing that the Manager had spoken, the officers no longer doubted the authenticity of the battle report from the frontline.

Instead, they began discussing strategies.

"…According to frontline information, the Iron Heart seems to have a suspected engine malfunction, visible repair scaffolds on the outer hull, and construction workers in the midst of repairs."

"At the same time, they have also expanded their ground deployment, dispatching about a thousand troops, apparently planning to use Rui Valley City as a long-term base."

"However, their methods are not sophisticated, still relying on the old approach of armed threat, sending soldiers to extort nearby Survivor Settlements, demanding contributions of food, livestock, and labor to the airship, all the while using Dinars to buy off mercenaries and Looters as auxiliary troops… This has also caused considerable dissent among the local survivors."

Looking at the map hanging on the frame, Chu Guang continued.

"I've discussed with the frontline commander, and his thoughts mostly align with mine."

"In the first phase of the battle, we aim to strategically unite the local survivors and tactically wear down the enemy's living forces through guerrilla tactics."

"If we achieve the goal of reducing the enemy forces by more than 20% in this first phase, we may force them to withdraw from the area… or alternatively, adopt a more aggressive strategy!"

At this, Chu Guang paused, scanning the commanders gathered in the command room.

"If it's the latter case, the battlefield would likely extend beyond 150 kilometers, and we need to prepare for the worst. At the same time, before the final battle, we must find a way to effectively shoot down that airship!"

Chu Guang suddenly looked toward Vanus, who was deep in thought.

"Do you know Captain McCullen well?"

Vanus was momentarily stunned, then let out a bitter smile.

"I'm only a leader of a thousand… Moreover, from the Clone Army."

"To sit as a captain before the age of 40, that man has a limitless future in the army… There's no need for him to bother with a minor figure like me."

Though famously known throughout the Wasteland for its vast Clone armies, the status of officers commanding Cannon Fodder troops was mediocre at best.

Especially for air fortresses like the "Iron Heart," which belonged to a system distinctly différent from the Army.

Even if they met, McCullen probably wouldn't give him a second glance.

Chu Guang nodded slightly and didn't say much.

"Seems like we can give up on the option of negotiation."

Although he never harbored such illusions.

"The key issue is that troublesome deflection shield," the leader of the First Army Corps, Wrench, said with a furrowed brow, "If we use a very slow-moving bomb and drop it on them..."

Vanus shook his head.

"If it were as simple as you say, they wouldn't even be able to fly out of their own doorstep, let alone fly from the West Coast to here."

"The anti-aircraft machine guns spread across the fuselage can intercept any slow-moving targets, not to mention the armor-piercing effect of explosives in open areas... might only damage its engines."

Those connected rows of propellers are not technically complex, and damaging a few wouldn't be difficult.

However, even if those were destroyed, the worst it would be like a bicycle getting a flat tire or a tank losing a track — it wouldn't cause any substantial damage.

"Doesn't this thing have any weaknesses?" Wrench couldn't help but ask.

Vanus was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"Of course, there is a weakness."

Chu Guang immediately asked,

"Where?"

"The belly."

Vanus pointed at the photo, directly underneath the airship.

"...This here is the bomb bay, compared to other parts, this area has the least density of firepower. I've heard that survivors once caused quite a bit of trouble using dense clusters of balloons. Though ultimately, the survivor settlement was leveled."

A silence fell over the command center.

An officer from the staff thought for a moment and then said,

"Weakness in the belly... If we place anti-aircraft guns directly underneath and fire, could we inflict effective damage on that airship?"

Vanus shook his head.

"I'm not sure about that, but I think their ground troops and observers on the airship aren't blind."

The officer from the First Army Corps clenched his fist.

"Let's figure out a way to develop vertically launched landing crafts! We could ambush from right underneath them and jab up like raiding a bird's nest! We have the strongest light infantry, and if they storm into that fortress, they'll knock it out in minutes!"

Vanus sighed without responding.

He didn't even need to refute this time, as even Wrench standing nearby couldn't help but retort.

"What if they drop bombs downwards?"

"Exactly! And what is a vertical-launch landing craft anyway? I haven't even heard of such a thing!"

As the officers debated vociferously, Chu Guang also fell into contemplation.

Just then, a phone call suddenly came through to him.

"I'll take this call."

Leaving these words behind, Chu Guang turned and walked outside, leaving the discussion to the other officers in the command center.

The call was from Luka.

As soon as he appeared on the VM screen, he eagerly began,

"Sir, Giant Stone City's City Hall summoned our office head this morning!"

"Duron?"

"Yes!"

"What did he say?"

Facing the Manager's inquiry, Luka said meaningfully,

"He said a lot... for example, he asked if we needed help. And he mentioned that since we helped them bear part of the Tide at the beginning of the year, they have plenty of armory stocks left over... If we're interested, they are willing to sell it to us at 50% off."

Although undeniably this was good news, the offer was so generous it made it hard for him to decide, suspecting there might be a catch.

Thus, after he received the news, he immediately called Chu Guang.

Chu Guang was also stunned for a moment and then subconsciously asked.

"Is it 50% off the market price or the cost price?"

"50% off the procurement cost... and Duron even said that if we don't have enough money, they can lend us a loan specifically for purchasing armory."

What the hell?

There's such a good deal?

Surprise filled Chu Guang's face.

Although it was his idea to pull Giant Stone City into the alliance's chariot, this was progressing too fast.

It seems that the 400mm main cannon had left a significant impact on the civilization living inside the giant walls, making them forego profit.

Without any hesitation, Chu Guang immediately said,

"Have them send it over quickly! I'll take as much as they have, the faster the better!"

"Also, remind them that just weapons for dealing with the Tide aren't enough, we can manufacture rifles and cannons ourselves, we need weapons that can actually damage that airship!"

At that moment, recalling the conversation of the officers, Chu Guang unapologetically added.

"Especially high-altitude landing equipment!"

"If they can help our people board that airship, even better!"

Chapter 381 "Scorched Earth

Giant Stone City.

At the Eastern Gate trade station, double-headed cows laden with large and small packages were lined up from the city gate all the way to the opposite elevated highway bridge.

Weapons worth fifty million chips would be delivered to the North Suburb of Qingquan City within a week.

This included ten thousand Male Bee Assault Rifles, ten thousand sets of bulletproof vests, helmets, and other protective gear, as well as 3000 KV-1/2 type exoskeletons.

Besides light arms, there were also an assortment of light and heavy machine guns, including 80mm mortars, among others.

It was no exaggeration to say that with sufficient manpower, these weapons could arm an entire infantry division!

Facing the threat from the Army, the town hall of Giant Stone City had nearly opened the gates of its armory. These weapons, prepared for the Tide, were all sent to the North Suburb.

What particularly delighted Chu Guang was that Giant Stone City had also sent over incendiary bombs and high-explosive bomb heads intended to counter the Tide.

These warheads were mainly carried by aircraft and launched either by laser guidance or unguided, typically used to clear mucosal entities in the area.

Effective against mucosal, naturally effective against people as well!

With some slight modifications, these warheads could be mounted on rocket vehicles by Goblin Technology, giving a massive fire projection over a short duration to the Army's positions.

The power was undoubtedly immense.

Back when he was contending with the Tide, Chu Guang had once spent tens of thousands of chips on air strikes, well aware of the potent physical annihilation effect!

As for how to board the airship...

Huge Rock Military Industry's response was that they had some good ideas but needed some time.

In the Human Alliance Era, there certainly were space-air landing crafts, but those were usually intended for space stations and large starships. As for atmospheric space-air landing crafts...

There had only ever been dropping from high orbit to the ground, never the reverse.

That would be an outdated "antique" like a rocket, wouldn't it?

However, Chu Guang was not in a rush.

Faced with such a colossal entity as the Army, he did not expect the war to conclude quickly.

But unexpectedly, just as he was vexed about how to penetrate the defenses of that airship, Goblin Technology gave him a pleasant surprise...

...

North of the City of Dawn, at the shooting range.

What lay before Chu Guang now was an aluminum container as thick as a thigh and as long as an arm, somewhat resembling the oxygen tanks carried by divers, equipped with several connecting rings around it, suggesting it could be used by multiple people.

Chu Guang stared at it wondering for a long while but could not figure it out, so he straightforwardly asked.

"This... Could you tell me how to use it?"

Mosquito chuckled proudly and said.

"Of course! I was just about to introduce you to the latest pride of our Goblin Technology! I call it—'three-dimensional maneuver gear'!"

Hearing this phrase, Chu Guang nearly lost his composure and coughed, saying.

"Could you change the name?"

Mosquito looked puzzledly at the Manager.

Although he didn't understand what was wrong with the name, he racked his brain slightly and thought of another.

"Err, how about 'Vaulting Monkey'?"

"..."

With a resigned sigh, Chu Guang continued.

"Just tell me about its functions first."

Mosquito immediately nodded, eagerly saying.

"Alrighty!"

The structure of the equipment was straightforward, primarily consisting of a launcher with a built-in winch and a "rocket" carrying a rope.

Its working principle was very similar to that of a recoilless gun.

The only differences were slight adjustments in the amount of propellant and tail flame temperature, and the rocket was tethered by a rope made of Devil Silk.

The equipment was disposable and had a maximum effective range of 700 meters.

An impact detonator was installed at the front of the projectile, which upon hitting the target, would trigger a secondary explosion, using focused energy to drive the hook into the target.

Then, the winch inside the canister would start spinning, pulling the user from the ground toward a high-altitude target under the motor's drive.

It functioned like a large claw launcher.

However, since it accelerated continuously like a rocket, its launching distance far exceeded that of typical claws, and because the claw's flight speed wasn't very fast, the effect of deflection shields was minimized.

After talking till he was out of breath, Mosquito paused and suggested.

"Talking about it isn't as good as practicing. Let me just demonstrate it for you!"

Chu Guang thought that made sense, especially since he was confused, so he nodded.

"Okay, do it here?"

"Of course not, we need to go south and find a tall enough building, and..."

Mosquito glanced around the shooting range, his eyes locking onto a recently recruited apprentice.

"Giggle, come over here, I have a glorious task for you!"

Feeling uneasy by Mosquito's gaze, Giggle instinctively sensed something was off.

"What are you planning?"

"To test the Alliance's new equipment!" Mosquito chuckled, "This is a chance to impress the great Manager, seize it well!"

Hearing this, Giggle was immediately unhappy.

"Damn, I just revived two days ago! You want to send me down again, change someone—"

"600 Silver Coins!"

"Deal!"

When he said those two words, he didn't even furrow his brows and ran towards the "3D maneuver device" with a face full of joy.

You couldn't tell that just seconds ago, he had a displeased look on his face.

Chu Guang, standing aside, was dumbfounded.

Goodness me.

What kind of capitalist was this?

Glancing at the overjoyed newbie, Chu Guang hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Is it okay for an Intelligence System player?"

Mosquito chuckled and patted his chest, saying,

"Don't worry, Manager, I assure you! The equipment from Goblin Technology can be used normally even by Intelligence System players!"

Seeing his confident expression, Chu Guang always had a bad premonition.

The group left the shooting range and headed to the northern part of Qingquan City, where they found a fairly sturdy hundred-story building.

Giggles hooked the nylon buckle strapped to his body onto the large Vaulting Monkey device and then carried it on his back in a squatting position.

"…The reason for this posture is mainly to let the canister touch the ground to stabilize the launch angle."

"No need to explain to me," Chu Guang coughed lightly and said, "Just get started."

"Roger that!"

Looking at the hundreds of meters high building, Mosquito took a glance through his binoculars at the rooftop and then said,

"Elevation angle 79°, target due south—"

"Fire!"

With his command, the device on Giggles' back let out a boom sound.

A slim rocket shot out from the canister, dragging a white trail of gas and rope towards the sky.

Aside from having a smaller caliber, it was really just like the launch method of an RPG!

Chu Guang gaped as he looked up, seeing the rocket slam straight into the rooftop of the building and burst into a cloud of dust upon impact, driving the hook claw inside into the building's façade.

A rope made of Devil Silk tightly connected the building to the ground.

It actually...

Worked!?

Shock filled Chu Guang's eyes, mainly because he had not expected such a purely imagined piece of equipment to actually function.

Holding the binoculars, Mosquito shouted excitedly.

"Hit confirmed! Prepare for landing!"

"Okay, Master!"

Although he was initially a bit scared, seeing that the equipment wasn't as bad as he had imagined, Giggles' face gradually showed some anticipation.

However—

Just as he pressed the switch, an accident finally happened.

The winch suddenly powered on, pulling him towards the rooftop and also dragging him forward.

"Ah—!"

Giggles let out a short scream, then like a pendulum hanging in midair, he and the launcher smacked against the wall.

The incident happened too suddenly.

So much so that there was no time to react.

Looking up at the bloodied launch tube being dragged to the rooftop and the shocking mark it left on the wall, Chu Guang felt not the slightest ripple in his heart, but rather a sense of inevitability.

Perhaps in his mental expectation, he never really hoped that Goblin Technology's products would succeed on the first try.

"Um… my bad, this thing is still better suited for vertical launches, not really for angled launches. I made a basic mistake," Mosquito said with an embarrassed expression, "But I assure you, this design idea is absolutely sound!"

"Once our player gets close to that metal clunker, the rest will be much easier! Whether climbing in through the bomb bay or using a cutter to make a slit in its body to drill in, it'll all be easily manageable!"

Watching Mosquito confidently diagramming on the spot, Chu Guang nodded slightly with a nuanced expression.

"I believe you."

Whether he believed it or not, aside from this bad idea, he temporarily had no other better options.

The road to success is always twisted, and hoping to achieve everything in one step seemed a bit unrealistic.

However, Chu Guang still hoped that Mosquito Brother would use a dummy next time.

Goblin Technology's weapons hardly ever let him down.

But this method of development was a bit too costly…

…

Since that imposing airship had unleashed apocalyptic flames upon the Earth, three days had passed.

And the survivors living nearby had spent these three days in constant anxiety.

The Army roamed around levying food, causing widespread grumbling.

Fortunately, a group of soldiers in exoskeletons emerged to teach those beasts a lesson, sending the patrol and transport teams fleeing in disarray, which served as some relief for them.

These soldiers usually operated in groups of four, selecting isolated patrol teams to attack.

They occasionally interacted with the locals, but not much, mainly to replenish fresh water and inquire about the Army's movements.

The soldiers claimed to be from a corporation, but their Human Alliance language was not very fluent, and the grammar was quite strange.

The local survivors didn't think too much of it.

Maybe that's just how people from the East Coast talk, they reasoned, having never been there themselves…

At dusk.

The north gate of Karting Post Station welcomed a group of uninvited guests.

Seeing the troop of soldiers clad in black robes, armed to the teeth at the gate, Village Chief Mudka's mood instantly sank to its lowest depths.

Yesterday, the Army had just come here, leading away five cows and a thousand kilograms of green wheat.

I didn't expect them to come back today.

Moreover, the number was ten times that of yesterday, with well over 200 people arriving...

Although I guessed that nothing good was going to happen, the elderly man still moved his lead-filled legs and braced himself to go forward.

"Sir... I am the village chief here, we met yesterday."

His face, crisscrossed with wrinkles, was filled with a servile smile, yet the leading officer didn't look at him.

Scanning the camp, Coleway narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke in a calm voice.

"Yesterday, one of our patrol teams was attacked nearby."

Upon hearing this, the old man immediately broke out in cold sweat.

Indeed, he had heard gunshots last night, but they were quite far from here, at least three or four kilometers away.

Such things were not uncommon in the Wasteland; it might either be two groups of Wasteland Wanderers clashing or running into Variants active in the forests – either way, he didn't take it seriously.

"Well, that has nothing to do with us... it must have been done by the corporation, I think I saw those guys in exoskeletons!"

Those people had said that when they encountered danger, they could blame it all on them; after all, they wouldn't care that much.

Mudka would not hesitate; he immediately revealed their identities.

Uninterested in the information, Coleway continued, expressionless.

"Regardless of whether it has anything to do with you, this area has now become a war zone."

"Before we dig out those bugs and deal with them, you need to relocate with us to a designated campsite."

As soon as he finished speaking, a stir broke out among the crowd, and the faces of the survivors standing by the camp showed expressions of surprise, astonishment, and even panic.

"Relocate?" Mudka stared blankly at the officer, his voice trembling, "But, but why—"

Coleway interrupted him mercilessly.

"There is no why. This is an order."

"We are protecting you and expect you to be grateful."

This was a plan devised by General McLellan.

The Army would build a large campsite near Falling Leaf Ridge on the northwest side of Rui Valley City to accommodate survivors within a hundred-mile radius.

That place, a meeting point of mountains, forests, and plains with abundant water resources, was planned to accommodate 100,000 people.

Once everything was prepared, they would move eastward, demolishing survivor settlements along the way and relocating the conquered people and spoils of war to this site.

By controlling the southern corridor's western exit, they would effectively chokepoint the connection between Luo Xia Province and the Eastern Provinces.

General McLellan's ambition was not content with being commanded by General Griffin, and catching a runaway corporate employee or blocking reinforcements from the East Coast were hardly significant achievements.

He intended to expand the Army's influence 500 kilometers further east, laying the groundwork for the Army's next expedition.

Since there were no vassals worth supporting in the area, they might as well create one themselves.

This wouldn't be difficult for them.

They didn't need to worry about how so many people would survive; humans were like weeds on the ground which, no matter how harsh the conditions, simply lowered their living standards and moral boundaries to ensure that some would continue to survive.

They would cultivate some obedient people to lead these survivors in farming, scavenging, and working.

Those pushed to the forefront as leaders, in order not to be hanged by the slaves, would have to try their utmost to please those holding the guns.

As masters of these servants, they didn't need to do anything and could instead more efficiently collect supplies from them.

It was a win-win situation.

Mudka trembled with fear, unable to utter a word.

Instead, a young man next to him stepped forward, gathering courage to speak.

"We don't need your protection; we've been living here for many years... and it's always been fine."

Coleway had no interest in wasting words with such trivial figures and didn't even look at him, just glanced at his watch, and then at Mudka.

"You have one hour to pack your belongings."

"Anything not taken, I will burn for you."

...

The next morning.

Three small players arrived at the entrance of Karting Post Station.

The closely packed tents that used to fill the camp were now gone, leaving only a mess behind.

From the wooden gate at the entrance to the center of the camp, the ground was strewn with torn cloth and broken wooden crates.

Anything that could be taken had been taken; anything that couldn't was burned.

The entire camp showed no signs of ever having been inhabited.

"Damn... these bastards are really ruthless."

Looking at the scene before him, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group could not help but click their tongues.

Both "I Max Black" and "Kakarot" following him had similarly shocked expressions on their faces.

"Is this the legendary scorched earth tactic?"

"Goodness... they really didn't leave anything behind."

"But it doesn't seem like there was any fighting here; I don't see any blood."

Unaware of this, the camps they had passed before were the same.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group pondered for a moment and then said,

"Let's search the vicinity first."

The other two players nodded.

"Roger that."

Maintaining radio silence, the three set a designated meeting place and time, then dispersed in different directions, cautiously exploring deeper into the camp.

At this moment, their attire made them indistinguishable from the scavengers commonly seen in the wasteland—all wore straw hats and draped patched rags, effectively concealing the exoskeletons and equipment attached underneath.

Forests, mountains, and urban areas provided convenient concealment, but the survivor settlements were mostly located on the plains at the forest edges, and were likely under close surveillance by observers aboard the "Steel Heart." No matter how one might disguise themselves, unless the observers were blind, they could not completely miss exoskeletons moving across the plains.

The outfits, though unsightly, helped them evade the gaze from above.

Even though the army didn't care about injuring civilians, they wouldn't waste rockets on a few passing scavengers.

If that were to happen, two more airships wouldn't be enough.

Ignoring the airship drifting in the distance, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group picked through the camp, occasionally pocketing some charred charcoal into their sacks.

Firstly, it made them look the part, and secondly, they could use the charcoal to cook instant noodles later.

Their purpose for visiting this survivor's residence was twofold: to gather information about the army and to fill their water bottles.

Unfortunately, neither goal was achievable now.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group noticed that the camp's only two wells had been filled with rubbish.

Sealing the water sources effectively ruined the village.

"No bodies found."

"Kakarot" returned from nearby and continued, "The army has taken everyone from here—men, women, old people, children… and their double-headed cows."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group nodded thoughtfully.

"It seems they're getting desperate…"

Within three days, they had launched more than 12 raids following their plan, targeting weak patrol teams and ensuring each raid lasted no longer than three minutes.

No matter the outcome, they would retreat immediately after three minutes, never getting bogged down or giving the enemy a chance to call for fire support.

This combat method was very effective.

In fact, the majority of ten-man squads couldn't last three minutes against their four-man team of players.

Ammunition consumption?

That was never a problem. When their LD-47 ammunition ran out, they simply used weapons scavenged from the army.

Though the "Blade" assault rifles from the Marine Corps weren't as well-made as the army's "Falcon," their firepower was comparable.

With this "war-funding-war" strategy, they not only depleted the army's manpower but also saw their ammunition and firepower increase.

Faced with continuous guerrilla harassment, the army was forced to reduce their patrol areas and increase the size of each patrol team.

But he didn't expect that the army would go as far as dismantling the settlements in their jurisdiction.

These tactics by the "Steel Heart" were almost identical to those adopted by the Chewing Bone Tribe in the West State City during the academy days.

"I Max Black" couldn't help asking.

"Where would those survivors be taken?"

"Kakarot" shook his head.

"I don't know, but I think they wouldn't take them to the airships. Probably to some sort of internment camp, making them work or go to nearby urban areas to collect supplies."

The army was somewhat different from the looters; at least they didn't resort to cannibalism.

Hearing "Kakarot's" speculation, "I Max Black" faltered.

"Are the survivors that submissive?"

"Kakarot" rolled his eyes. "Setting aside traders and mercenaries, local survivors have families, and making them comply isn't so straightforward."

Whether it's using food or other means as leverage or hiring looters and mercenaries as foremen, he could think of more than ten ways off the top of his head.

Not to mention those "professionals".

The simplest method was like what they saw: just tearing down the survivors' homes.

With no home to return to and not wanting to sleep in the wild, at risk of becoming variants' feces, they had no choice but to stay within the army-controlled camps.

Survivors capable of living alone in the wild were, after all, a minority.

Most people cut off from a stable survivor settlement would meet an end not much better than losing their freedom.

"This might be an opportunity for us," murmured the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, stroking his chin. "If we find the camp where they're holding the survivors, we might be able to sneak in and cause some trouble."

"Kakarot's" eyes lit up.

"That's a good idea."

Didn't expect this brute to occasionally come up with a couple of decent ideas.

"I Max Black" hesitated briefly, then spoke cautiously.

"I suggest we head back to the base twenty kilometers out, report this situation to Brother Quanshui."

"And… our supply team should have arrived today; we should head back and regroup."

"That makes sense," the Old Soldier pondered momentarily, then spoke. "Here's the plan... you and 'Kakarot' head back first and take my exoskeleton as well. I'll follow their trail a bit more; once I've pinpointed the camp, I'll head back and meet up with you."

While the tracks were still fresh, it shouldn't be hard to follow.

Wait any longer, like until it rains, and it wouldn't be so easy.

"I Max Black" was momentarily hesitant, but finally nodded.

"Be careful."

The Old Soldier flashed a cheeky smile, giving his buddies a reassuring look.

"Worry not, what level I'm at, don't you know?"

"I Max Black" showed a subtle expression, and "Kakarot" simply rolled his eyes.

"Stop your damn bragging, get your gear off and scram."

The Old Soldier chuckled.

"We can't strip here, can we?"

Saying so, he glanced at the small grove nearby.

"Give me a moment."

Chapter 382: Codename Pangolin?

Exoskeletons are convenient to wear, but not so convenient to take off.

The Old Soldier in the small woods struggled for a while before he finally removed all his gear and handed it over to "Kakarot."

"Bro, I entrust you with my clothes!"

Now, he was only wearing a tattered sack and carrying another, looking even more like a scavenger than actual scavengers, prompting Old Black to almost dig out his wallet.

"Kakarot" straightforwardly reached out his hand.

"What about the VM? Hand it over too."

"Damn! How will I mark my location without the VM?"

"Are you stupid? Can't you just log off and mark it on the official website?" "Kakarot" rolled his eyes, "Besides proving that you're a resident of the shelter, does that thing have any other use?"

"Oh… right, I can log off and report the location."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group suddenly realized this and decisively removed the VM from his arm, stuffing it into "Kakarot's" hands.

Old Black stared at him with a peculiar expression until his figure disappeared into the woods.

"Is this guy really okay?"

"Kakarot" grinned and patted his shoulder.

"Who cares if he's okay? As long as the gear is fine. Let's go, we should get moving too!"

…

The party split into two groups.

"Kakarot" and I Max Black returned to the Storm Corps' camp in the east, while the Old Soldier followed the survivors' tracks alone towards the northwest.

The journey was not peaceful.

Perhaps it was his deceptive outfit or because he was alone; even mutated hyenas dared to try their luck with him.

Luckily, he had broken past the LV20 barrier and reached the Third stage of the Gene Sequence.

Even without firearms, he easily killed two hyenas that leaped at him with his nimble skills and improvised weapons, and scared away the last one.

"Damn, knew I should have kept a dagger on me!" Looking at his bloodied and furry hands, the Old Soldier discarded the broken tree branch, cursing under his breath.

Only then did he realize that walking alone in the Wasteland without a weapon seemed stranger than carrying one.

But now, it was too late to think about that.

He picked up a stick, sharpened it into a spear with a rock, and continued following the tracks on the ground.

After walking about ten kilometers, having started in the morning and it now being midday, he finally crossed the dense forest and entered a relatively open area.

Not far away, the sound of trickling water caught his attention.

"Water source!"

"It should be right ahead!"

It's well known that the vicinity of a water source is the best camping spot, especially the larger the group, the better to choose an upstream area.

Realizing that the Army was camping nearby, the Old Soldier was no longer in a hurry. He walked directly to the side of the stream, intending to clean the sticky blood off his hands and wash his face.

However, just as he was about to splash water on his face, he suddenly paused.

"Tsck… my game character is too handsome; getting closer will definitely expose me."

This won't do.

With a flicker of his eyes, the Old Soldier decided to smear mud all over his face and after rubbing it in, he looked at the water, finally nodding in satisfaction.

That's more like it...

But it smelled kind of weird.

Not lingering by the stream, the Old Soldier, armed with his stick, headed upstream to locate the exact position of the camp and find a landmark before leaving.

However, what he didn't expect was to run into several soldiers armed with rifles and draped in black robes before he reached the camp.

The other party noticed him as well, looking straight in his direction.

His heart jumped to his throat. "This is bad," the Old Soldier thought, clenching the stick in his palm.

But—

The elite monsters in front of him seemed confused by his outfit and did not immediately trigger combat, but warily raised their gun barrels aiming at him.

"Stop right there!"

The Old Soldier obediently halted, and without waiting for them to tell him to drop his weapon, he threw away the sharpened stick he was holding.

The soldier continued, staring at him.

"Who are you?"

"I, I…"

As the Old Soldier started to reply, his lack of proficiency in the United Human language had him searching his mind for words, perspiration almost breaking out.

But—

It was precisely his reaction that made the other side lower their guard.

Looking disdainfully at the petrified Wasteland Wanderer, contempt filled the soldier's eyes.

"A scavenger?"

The Old Soldier's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly.

"Yes! Yes!"

"Where did that blood on you come from?"

The Old Soldier shook the hemp sack he was holding, slowly reached inside, and pulled out the bloody, mutilated body of a mutated hyena.

Seeing the tree branch stuck in the hyena's neck, a few soldiers exchanged glances, their eyebrows and words filled with mockery.

"I've always said, survivors here are just like monkeys."

"Tsk tsk, not even proper weapons, still fighting Variants bare-handed."

"It's a wonder they survive."

"They'll thank us, at least we brought them civilization!"

The leading soldier did not speak but also stopped doubting, lowered the gun pointed in his hands, pointed at the ground by his foot, then pointed at the woods behind him.

"Throw all your stuff here, and walk forward."

Old Soldier, although slightly confused, understood the gestures and couldn't help but experience mixed emotions.

What the hell should I do?

He was just planning to take a look and leave but ended up being caught as if he were a Scavenger.

Those soldiers clearly had no intention of letting him go.

Old Soldier hesitated for half a second, then obediently set down what he was carrying and obediently walked towards the direction the soldier had pointed.

After moving forward about five to six hundred meters, a spacious camp entrance appeared before his eyes.

The camp was situated with hills closely to the north and a stream flowing from a mountain ravine not far to the east.

The entire camp was large in scale but the facilities were severely lacking; there was only a row of wooden fence walls and a few scattered wooden watchtowers, along with a few dozen tents.

Soldiers draped in black robes stood guard and patrolled nearby, too many to count, but likely not less than two companies of a hundred each.

The center of the camp was crowded with survivors who had been driven there. Their numbers were uncountable, but he estimated there might not be fewer than five thousand.

Without them being clustered together, Old Soldier couldn't have imagined that such a sizable number of survivors lived in the small Rui Valley City.

Unlike him, with empty hands, here everyone carried bags big and small, their faces painted with confusion, fear, or a vacant expression.

Most had been brought to this unfamiliar place without explanation, standing among folks they had never met before.

Before Old Soldier could collect his thoughts, a soldier nudged him carelessly with the barrel of a gun toward the back of the line at the camp's entrance.

There was a table at the entrance where an officer sat. He held a pen, scribbling on paper, and indiscriminately tossed a tag marked with a number to the survivor standing at the table.

Finally, it was Old Soldier's turn.

The officer tapped the table with his pen and seeing the man's befuddled non-response finally spoke impatiently.

"Name."

Old Soldier understood this everyday phrase but naturally, he wouldn't give his game ID; that would be too weird.

In his anxiety, he blurted out.

"Pangolin... Pangolin."

The officer said nothing, scribbled something on the paper, then tossed the tag to Old Soldier. Most Waste Land Wanderers are illiterate, and using animals or even furniture as names wasn't uncommon.

Old Soldier suspected that the officer hadn't really listened to him, but he didn't linger at the door. After a glance at the number on the tag, he walked deeper into the camp.

A group of people stood aimlessly in the open space.

He didn't know where to go.

Just as he felt lost, a survivor, who looked similar to him, suddenly approached.

"Buddy, where are you from?"

Old Soldier gave a random reply.

"…Bet Street."

The man looked puzzled.

"Bet Street? Never heard of it."

"It's a bit far from here… I just got unlucky and was caught," Old Soldier wanted to express, but lacking vocabulary, stumbled through his explanation, leaving the other man utterly confused, likely thinking he had a stutter.

"Really? You're really unlucky… though I'm not much better."

The man sighed before continuing.

"My name's Li Ba, I'm from Ten Trees Village... Those guys in black robes drove us here without a word."

"I... am Pangolin." Old Soldier quickly turned to his most pressing concern, "What do those people plan to do with us?"

"I don't know."

Li Ba's face wore a noticeable frown.

"They didn't say anything; after arriving here, they confiscated our food and Double-headed Cows, saying it was for centralized management, then just left us here, telling us to wait…"

As they spoke, a man with a prominent nasal bridge, followed by a line of soldiers, approached the front of all the survivors.

His gaze was like a Vulture's, and merely making eye contact seemed to silence the previously noisy crowd like cold water had been poured over them.

He surveyed all the survivors once, then Coleway slightly raised his chin and spoke in a commanding tone.

"Effective immediately, the area around Rui Valley City is designated as a war zone due to conflict between the Army and corporations. However, do not worry, the Army will provide you protection until the war ends."

"In return for sparing you from bloodshed, you are required to contribute sweat and labor as repayment for our benevolence!"

No one dared to protest.

Nor did anyone dare to make a sound.

All faces were filled with unease, only Old Soldier, mingling in the crowd, bore a perplexed expression.

Good lord.

These Army folks actually believe they are fighting against corporate forces.

No wonder they had fixed the engine but didn't move forward, it seems they plan to block the corporate reinforcements here…

Coleway paused briefly, then continued.

"My name is Coleway, responsible for every major and minor matter here."

"Standing next to me is Mr. Finod, the logistics officer. He will assign work to you, allocate living areas, and arrange the daily tasks you must complete."

The man named Finod wore a warm smile, in stark contrast to Coleway's authoritative demeanor.

This made him appear easy to get along with, yet Old Soldier could sense the undeniable arrogance hidden in his gaze.

Clearly, he didn't regard the Waste Land Wanderers before him as people, but rather as a pile of resources or consumables or something similar.

Coleway looked at Finod.

"Would you like to add anything?"

Finod, still smiling, replied.

"You go ahead, it's just those things."

Coleway nodded, once again turned to the survivors in the camp, and raised his voice.

"Don't think about slacking off. Everyone here has to work, no exceptions! Slackers who don't complete tasks won't get food, nor any sympathy."

"Furthermore, for residents who perform exceptionally well, we will not only improve their treatment but also give them generous rewards, such as... appointing them as Centurion."

He paused, staring at pairs of murky eyes, the corners of his mouth slightly raised in a faint sneer.

"Or even as a Senior Centurion!"

Eastern part of Rui Valley City.

After marching for five whole days, the supply convoy and over a hundred players had finally rendezvoused successfully with Brother Quanshui and his group who had arrived earlier in Rui Valley City.

The supplies filling five entire trucks resolved the supply issue of the Storm Corps.

The NPCs arriving with the players were divided into two groups, one returning to the City of Dawn to continue transporting materials, and the other staying at the camp to help the players fortify positions using the construction materials to reinforce tunnels, artillery shelters, and other fixed fortifications.

It was nearing dusk.

Glancing at the time on his VM, the Spring Water Commander looked toward I Max Black and asked,

"Where is that damn Battlefield guy? Why hasn't he returned yet?"

I Max Black answered helplessly,

"How would I know? He just said he'd try to return before dark."

"I doubt it," Kakarot, with his arms folded, shook his head, "A distance of twenty to thirty kilometers, without an exoskeleton, would take hours to run. Even if he found that camp before noon, he probably won't make it back until tomorrow."

The Spring Water Commander nodded.

"You're right, let's not worry about him for now."

Kakarot looked at Quanshui and asked,

"What about us? What do we do now?"

The Spring Water Commander, knowing he was asking about the strategy to deal with the Army, pondered for a moment before speaking,

"Well... it's tough. They've herded all the local residents into one place; we certainly can't go around hunting scavengers who are out gathering resources."

It wasn't entirely about avoiding sensitive moral issues, the key was that such actions were extremely inefficient and would completely drive the local residents towards the Army side.

Suddenly, an idea struck the Spring Water Commander, and he looked up to say,

"Right, those destroyed camps, did you manage to take photos?"

Kakarot nodded.

"I did... what about them?"

The Spring Water Commander continued,

"Later, you take some people to contact the nearby survivor settlements, show them the photos taken during the day, and persuade them to leave their villages and seek refuge elsewhere."

Kakarot hesitated slightly,

"Will they listen to us?"

Escaping was no trivial matter.

Merely based on a few photos, convincing the locals to leave their ancestral homes seemed rather far-fetched.

The Spring Water Commander said decisively,

"Tell them, 150 kilometers from here in Qingquan City, there's a place called City of Dawn that's willing to provide them shelter. Once we end the war with the Army, they can return to their homes."

"No matter what they ultimately decide, we just do what we can."

Swaying as many as possible was better than letting them become forced labor for the Army.

After assigning the tasks, the Spring Water Commander immediately went to the side of the supply convoy, found the responsible NPC, and handed him a locked iron box.

The box was light, containing only a card.

That card was personally handed to him by Sesame Paste before setting out to explore the entrance to Shelter No.79.

It was said to be an important mission prop that might change the course of the battle, and he was asked to make sure it was delivered into the hands of the Manager.

The Spring Water Commander himself definitely couldn't leave the front line, and every player in the corps had specific tasks assigned, so he could only entrust these NPC soldiers.

Although they were logistics personnel, their loyalty was equally beyond doubt.

Or rather than calling it loyalty, it had become more of a belief.

"We have a specially injured person here; I need you to take him back to the City of Dawn... and this box, please make sure it reaches the Manager's hands!"

Hearing the instructions of the Spring Water Commander, the logistics officer nodded solemnly, took the box with his right fist pressed to his chest.

"Mission guaranteed!"

The Spring Water Commander nodded back at him, touched his right fist to his chest as well, a way of returning the salute.

"For the Alliance!"

...

Official Forum.

Today was as bustling as always.

The news here was far more sensational than that of the Survivor's Daily, with Storm Corps players bringing firsthand battle reports every few days.

Including where they had ambushed an Army patrol team, how many they killed, and how much equipment they seized—the spectacle was thrilling for the spectators.

Of course,
the most thrilling to the players and backseat drivers was the information brought back by Brother Battlefield...

"Breaking news! The Army has established a new base near Falling Leaf Ridge on the northwest side of Rui Valley City, called the Falling Leaf Camp!"

Spring Water Commander: "Damn, you finally showed up!"

I Max Black: "We thought you had died out there."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Hehe, there was a little mishap. I was just planning to take a peek and leave, but coincidentally bumped into an Army patrol... In any case, by the time I came to my senses, I was inside that camp."

The Old Soldier didn't dare mention that he was peeling potatoes all afternoon, which was embarrassingly trivial.

Fortunately, the Army men did not discover his Awakener identity or suspect that this mute who couldn't speak properly.

Instead, a kitchen staff NPC highly praised his potato peeling speed, saying he did the work of three laborers, and moved him from the communal dormitory where the laborers stayed to a four-person room adjacent to the kitchen, now solely in charge of peeling potatoes.

Kakarot: "Damn?!"

Leg-broken Kevin: "There's such a good thing?!"

Night Ten: "Damn... I just gotta say damn."

Backseat Driver Mole: "How many people are inside?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Not many, not many, just about five or six thousand I guess, mostly locals snatched up from the nearby survivor settlements by the Army."

Debt Giant Eye: "I don't get it, what's the Army trying to do by gathering those survivors?"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "That's because you don't understand, population is a resource in itself, zero maintenance cost, no technical content, one bowl of rice works for half a day, what machine could be as good as a human?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Pretty much, the Army organized some people to go hunting, some to scavenge, others to plant horned potatoes and feed the cows... Most of the resources produced here are supplied to that airship, and the survivors only get nutrient paste. Damn, that stuff tastes absolutely awful, feels like there's gravel or sawdust mixed in."

Elena: "You sure that's sawdust, not bone fragments or something?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! Stop it, I'm gonna puke!"

Gnome King Riches: "Look on the bright side, brother, it's just a hypothesis, maybe it's wild fruits, tree bark, or something from the Variants."

Backseat Driver Mole: "Seems like the Army has big plans."

Fang Chang: "I get that feeling too... Looks like they plan to support a local force as their chess piece in River Valley Province, just like what they did in Sunset Province."

Teng Teng: "Sunset Province? 0.0"

Fang Chang: "Yeah, I discussed this with Hal, the newspaper president from Sunset Province—Sunset Province's Falcon Kingdom is a servant nation to the Army east of the Great Desert."

Spring Water Commander: "Regardless, the Army has already responded to our guerrilla tactics, we also need to adjust our strategies accordingly."

Edge Shoveling: "Speaking of Giant Stone City, any reactions there?"

Fang Chang: "Of course, but I can't really tell if it's a surge of war sentiment or just plain panic. Anyway, after that day, I saw a lot of weapons being sent to 'North Suburb', the Alliance's top brass probably reached some sort of agreement with the upper echelons of Giant Stone City… that's my guess."

Edge Shoveling: "Man, if those corporate guys had left a couple days later."

Before long, the post was buried under thousands of replies.

Especially after hearing that an officer named Coleway promised that those who contributed significantly could be appointed as Centurions and even higher, many eager onlookers on the forum were egging Old Soldier to perform well, hoping to snag the position of a "pseudo-army leader."

Sitting in front of the computer, Chu Guang was equally surprised.

Damn.

Was this infiltrating into the Army?

"Xiao Qi."

"What's up, master?" Xiao Qi tilted her head while sitting on the table.

"Can you interface the mission page with the official forum accounts?" Chu Guang pondered for a moment and described his idea, "Basically, let players confirm their missions outside the game, through their official website accounts."

He had wanted to do this before but didn't see the need then, plus he had been too busy and had forgotten about it.

After hearing Chu Guang's request, Xiao Qi immediately nodded her head energetically.

"No problem! It's quite simple, leave it to Xiao Qi!"

Linking the two already developed systems was indeed easy for her, it just needed some data synchronization on the server.

It took less than a minute, the software update was completed.

Now, players could not only check their mission progress on the official website but could even accept new missions there.

With his right hand on the mouse, Chu Guang scrolled through Xiao Qi's creation, a slight smile appearing on his face.

Not bad.

The players got convenience, and he got the convenience of utilizing the players, undoubtedly a win-win modificationouncil.

The boss is a genius!

...

Meanwhile, in a bedroom in a parallel world.

Sitting in front of the computer with a silly smile and watching the replies rapidly increase, someone suddenly sat upright in their chair and exclaimed,

"Holy shit? This works?!"

Just then, Battlefield Atmosphere Group suddenly noticed a little red dot had appeared in the user information section at the upper right corner of the official website.

Curious, he clicked it open and, to his surprise, found a list of missions!

"When was this updated?"

Old Soldier, utterly baffled at first, but after a few clicks, his confusion quickly turned into sheer joy.

Before this darned game, leaving the VM system meant you couldn't even do the quests.

But now, Dog Plan finally compromised on realism, allowing players not just to view their mission progress on the official website but also to view newly triggered missions!

That's insanely cool!

[Mission 1: Infiltrate Fallen Leaf Camp, gather intelligence on Army movements, reward determined by the value and accuracy of the information.]

[Mission 2 (Optional): Blend into the management of Fallen Leaf Camp, gain the Army's trust.]

[Mission 3 (Optional): …]

Watching the series of fresh and thrilling missions, Old Soldier couldn't wait any longer; he excitedly dashed to the forum to start a new thread sharing the good news.

"Folks! Dog Plan updated!!!"

...

As all players on the forum were throwing out lousy ideas to help him refine his undercover persona, Chu Guang felt he didn't need to worry too much.

Placing a mole inside the Army's camp was just an experiment; the outcome of the war would ultimately be decided on the battlefield.

Chu Guang never put his hopes for victory on any particular piece of equipment or one or two individuals, but he also didn't rule out the possibility that Old Soldier might bring him an unexpected surprise.

Who knows?

What if he became a pseudo-army leader and successfully gained the Army's trust?

Although the chances were almost nil, it wasn't entirely impossible.

Anyway, with Brother Quanshui in command at the frontlines, Chu Guang had already designated Rui Valley City as a war zone and entrusted him with all matters big and small within this war zone.

Previous battles had proven this player's capabilities in command and organization, so Chu Guang believed he should be able to plan every machine gun position without needing to worry too much.

On his end, all that was needed was to manage logistic support and ensure ample ammunition supply at the frontlines, and naturally, he would get a satisfactory report.

More importantly, Chu Guang was focused on another team carrying out a mission.

Three days ago, the White Bear Knights had set out from Action Camp and delved into Rui Valley City District, searching for the entrance to Shelter No.79.

Based on Si Si's continuously updated posts on the forum, their "treasure-hunting operation" seemed to be making some new progress…

Chapter 383: The Root of Chaos

The desolate streets were littered with uncollected trash, and abandoned vehicles lay across the weed-infested roads, with blotches on the metal lampposts making it hard to tell whether they were rust or bloodstains.

Damaged storefronts were a common sight here, where bionic models incapacitated were still draped in scraps of fabric from the trendiest styles two hundred years ago, yet not a single person could be seen.

This place had never been bombarded by heavy weaponry, and the main structures of most buildings remained intact.

But, in the end, it had been abandoned.

"…It should be just ahead." Sesame Paste held a map, leading the group, matched it against the surrounding architecture.

According to the scientific expedition team's data, the entrance to Shelter No.79 was located at 79 Xiangling Street, East District, Rui Valley City, within a municipal library.

As for the specific entrance, the details weren't spelled out in the limited text, only mentioning that residents who reached the evacuation zone should follow the arrangements of the Manager and enter the shelter under the guidance of security personnel.

This was probably a safety consideration.

Walking beside Sesame Paste, the broad Meat Meat looked around curiously, murmuring softly,

"What a pity…"

"A pity?" Tail, sitting on her shoulder, tilted his head.

"I always feel like the city is still good, it's just that the people are gone."

"That's true," Tail rubbed his chin as if pondering, "Why didn't everyone return after the war ended?"

Si Si thought for a moment.

"Emmm… Maybe it's because the people are gone?"

Meat Meat: "…"

Sesame Paste: "Ah… haha."

Although it was just a repetition of what Meat Meat said, Si Si didn't think it was a pointless remark.

As she had seen upon entering the city, it wasn't the war itself that devastated this city, but the chaos brought about by the war.

The scarcity of various resources, including food, water, electricity, and fuel, had turned this place into a jungle of steel more brutal than natural forests.

Particularly in the third year of the war, which led the planet into a mini ice age that lasted half a century.

And after most people had evacuated the city, Variants quickly took over, nesting in buildings, moving through ruins, hunting in the dark.

Wasteland Wanderers walking here would never know whether opening a door would unleash a cockroach larger than their leg or hordes of blood-sucking rats.

Or perhaps—

Something even more horrific.

"Shh…"

Cat Ears on her head moved lightly, and Sesame Paste made a gesture for silence, signaling her companions to quiet down.

Treading lightly, she reached the crossroads at the end of the street and crouched by a car door looking towards the left corner.

Instantly, she held her breath at the massive creature that entered her field of vision.

Claw of death!

Its body, nearly six meters tall and covered in dark green scales, lay across the street with its tail coiled in front of it.

By sheer size, this beast was significantly larger than the one at the entrance of Shelter No.

404, "Nicole", with even sharper claws, likely a different species.

Its heavy breathing blew the bushes beside it wildly, and the dull purring sound suggested it was asleep.

Glancing at the two mangled bodies beside its claws, Sesame Paste's expression stiffened slightly.

She wasn't sure if a single RPG could really inflict effective damage on this creature.

If the surprise attack failed, they could be wiped out in an instant.

Creeping back, she returned to her companions and spoke nervously.

"It's a Dead Claw… It's blocking the library entrance."

Si Si, stroking her chin, spoke gravely.

"No wonder we haven't seen any other Variants around."

Meat Meat asked anxiously,

"Then… what should we do?"

"It's ok, there's not just this one path," Si Si pulled out a paper map, staring at it thoughtfully for a moment, "The risk of a frontal assault is too high… Let's circle around to the library's rear garage and climb over the wall from there."

The Claw of Death had an unusually high instinct for danger.

She had personally seen a Claw of Death that was asleep one second, the next, it leaped up and slapped away an incoming RPG rocket.

Well, that rocket was her own shot.

Afterward, both she and Tail had been instantly killed by the rushing Claw of Death, an event from several versions ago.

Such a brutally powerful creature could not be measured with common sense.

If they were near City of Dawn, they would have called for an airstrike. Unfortunately, they were in Rui Valley City, far from any save or respawn points.

Even a slight risk had to be avoided.

The group changed direction, skirting along the neighboring street, rounded to a parking lot at the back of the municipal library.

However, what Si Si hadn't anticipated was that this area wasn't as deserted as it appeared from the outside—it was actually hiding a Survivor Settlement!

There were two to three hundred residents living here, forming a village of respectable size.

Right under the watchful eye of the Claw of Death!

"Halt!"

Standing on the reinforced enclosing wall made of steel bars and wooden planks, a man in a studded jacket called down to the people outside the wall in a low voice.

He clenched a hunting gun in his hand, his eyes fixed on the densely furred white bear and the chain of bullets and light machine gun the bear was carrying on its back, his expression flickering with tension and unease.

Although it was only three women standing outside the wall.

But he was not naive enough to think that women who could tame such a strong beast and walk alone on the wasteland would be easy to deal with.

"Don't be nervous, we have no hostility," Si Si glanced at the hunting gun in the man's hand and then at the iron pipes held by the survivors behind him, not taking them too seriously.

After resupplying, she had changed into a new bulletproof vest.

Those iron pipe rifles, with their Brownian motion-like bullets, posed no threat to her.

"Who are you people? An army? Or a corporation?" The man on the enclosing wall asked nervously, looking at her.

"Neither, we are Waste Land Wanderers from Qingquan City next door."

The survivors standing behind the man exchanged surprised looks.

"Qingquan City?"

"I went there when I was young... There's a Giant Stone City there, they use plastic as money, and you could buy mint-scented soap."

"Really?"

"True! I heard you can eat three meals a day for a day's work there!"

"Is that so?!"

Listening to the murmurs behind him, the man stared doubtfully at Si Si but eventually, he put down his gun and hostility.

"The army indeed doesn't seem to have women... It doesn't matter who you are as long as you're not those guys."

After a pause, the man gave a brief self-introduction.

"My name is Wu Tao, a hunter from Xiangling Town... and the town's mayor."

"What has happened here?" Si Si asked, looking at him.

"A lot has happened, you really shouldn't have come at this time... Do you see that airship to the northwest?"

Si Si nodded.

Not to mention seeing it.

A few days ago, they had fought with people who came down from it.

"Did the army come here?"

"Not just came here," Wu Tao curled his lips, "Just the day before yesterday, those bandits, over a hundred of them, said something about a corporate army nearby burning, killing, and plundering, and they wanted us to move to their camp for their protection... That's a bunch of nonsense."

"We have been living here for over a century, let alone a corporation, even if mutants came, we wouldn't go anywhere! And then those scoundrels started setting fires..."

The man cursed as he spoke.

Si Si continued to ask with a frown.

"What happened after that?"

"After that, that creature showed up..."

Wu Tao glanced nervously behind him, though his gaze was not on the library behind him but over the roof of that building.

Si Si knew what he was referring to, and she said somewhat surprised.

"That Claw of Death?"

Wu Tao nodded complexly.

"Yes, although I don't know where it came from, thanks to that creature, the army left a few corpses behind, and the rest ran away."

Si Si: "Aren't you afraid of that Claw of Death..."

"Afraid, of course, but the airship is still there, and we worry the army might come back."

Wu Tao sighed, his voice helpless, "Watching it clean up those corpses, we threw some mutated hyenas and rats at it. It's not picky, it settled right down at the door of the library... We don't know how long it will stay, but a few days of peace is still peace. None of the people we sent to gather information from the army have come back, it's hard not to wonder if they ran into trouble."

Si Si figured that the army probably didn't want to use a 400mm cannon on that beast, otherwise even the Claw of Death wouldn't withstand a "hit from military weapons."

"Our story is finished, now it's your turn."

Wu Tao stared at Si Si, continuing to ask, "Since you're neither an army nor a corporation nor look like merchants... so what do you want here?"

"We're looking for Shelter No. 79." Si Si didn't hide her intentions, stating them outright.

She thought this man in front of her would know something, but to her surprise, upon hearing the word 'shelter,' all he had was a baffled expression on his face.

That expression clearly wasn't feigned but a subconscious reaction.

It was not just him, even the young survivors behind him had the same clueless looks on their faces.

"Shelter... there's no such shelter around here." Wu Tao looked at Si Si strangely, "This is Xiangling Town, this building is the Municipal Library, who would build a shelter inside a library, could you be mistaken?"

"Eh?! It's not here?" Tail exclaimed, pulling out the map and repeatedly confirming that the coordinates and street numbers were correct.

Si Si slightly furrowed her brow.

"I can't believe it... we came here based on reliable information."

"I wouldn't know about that, I've lived here since I was a child, nearly thirty years," Wu Tao said, shaking his head, "It's a pity that a few days ago, our Mayor packed up and ran off with a west-bound Commercial Team, otherwise you might have been able to ask him and maybe he'd know something."

"I can't believe it's not here..." Sesame Paste's face showed a troubled expression.

Si Si, not willing to give up, asked,

"Could we go in and take a look?"

"You can, but you'll have to leave your weapons behind," Wu Tao, eyeing the assault rifle in her hand, said cautiously, "We can't possibly allow you to enter our houses with that thing."

Si Si didn't respond but tossed a hefty bag of gold coins onto the Enclosing Wall.

"That's unrealistic, let's do it another way. Here are 100 Dinars. We won't use any of your food or water, we just need a room that can house people. We'll leave first thing in the morning and won't cause any disturbance."

She had found the money bag on an Army Soldier, and rummaging through containers and searching bodies could be considered an excellent tradition among players.

Although the Army's presence was annoying, those gleaming gold coins, one of the two major "currencies" in the Wasteland, were somehow irresistible.

As Wu Tao gazed at the money bag hanging on the Enclosing Wall, he swallowed, exchanging glances with the other Residents behind him.

"Should we let them in?"

"It's only for one day... There shouldn't be any problems."

"What's there to fear? It's just three little girls... maybe plus a Bear."

"Right, that Bear! We can't let that beast in."

Wu Tao looked toward the group outside the wall.

"No problem... but your pet will scare our residents; it'll have to stay outside."

"She's not a pet, she's our companion," Si Si corrected him, continuing, "But no matter, we weren't planning for everyone to come in anyway."

With that, she turned to her companions behind her, smoothly switching languages.

"Meat Meat, Ah Wei, could you guys wait for us outside? Sesame Paste and I will take a look inside. It might take a bit, but we should be able to come out before eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

"I always feel like those people aren't lying," Sesame Paste hesitated, "Could our intelligence have been wrong? Perhaps Shelter No. 79 truly isn't here."

"No matter if it is here or not, the last clue pointed to this place. According to common RPG Game norms, the key to entering the next instance is likely here; let's just go in and have a look for now."

A shelter might not have only one entrance; Shelter No. 404 had two, one connecting to the subway, the other to a sanatorium in the Park.

Perhaps Shelter No. 79, located by the library's gate, hadn't been used since it was closed, and the residents might have left through another exit.

Of course, this was just her speculation.

She simply felt that the designers wouldn't create a meaningless scenario.

"Oh! No problem!" Tail nodded energetically, thumping his chest, "Leave it to Tail!"

Meat Meat said worriedly,

"If you encounter danger, remember to shout loudly for help."

Si Si smiled, gently patting the fuzzy head.

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems."

...

The reinforced Enclosing Wall had no door, only a ladder let down from the wall allowed entry.

Entering the unfamiliar Survivor Settlement, Sesame Paste looked slightly tense, but upon seeing the old people and children in the camp, she felt somewhat relieved.

With the presence of elderly and children, it at least indicated that this place wasn't a Looter's den or a Slave trader's Farm. The people here might not be as open as in City of Dawn, but they at least possessed basic moral standards.

Following Wu Tao's steps, they walked through a parking lot filled with household trash and supermarket shopping carts, entering the library through the back door.

The library space was quite spacious, with concrete structures on all sides, like a Castle. In the center was a hundred-meter-wide courtyard, with a dome crisscrossed with steel beams, which originally would have held large glass panels.

The library's layout with ample light allowed the local residents to plant many crops there.

Moreover, around the courtyard, clothes hung on lines and freshly washed garments dangled from the continuous corridors, with rows of shacks made from metal sheets or wooden planks scattered around.

Although privacy was certainly an issue, residents didn't seem to mind.

Sesame Paste looked curiously left and right, quite intrigued by the lifestyles of the residents here, who in return scrutinized her, especially the cat ears on her head.

They had seen many oddities.

But ears positioned atop the head was a first for them.

Wu Tao, carrying a hunting gun, walked ahead and relayed to Si Si about their life here over the past hundred years and what resources their settlement needed.

This woman had mentioned she came from Qingquan City.

Although he had never been there, he had heard that survivor settlements in big cities tend to be wealthy, and they also had Giant Stone City where one could buy anything.

If they were to pass by there next time, they could bring more soap and fertilizer, which they could exchange with local game or some specialty crops.

Though now wasn't the time for business, he was the Mayor here now and needed to consider not just immediate concerns.

He believed that one day the Army would leave this godforsaken poor place, and then the people here could live as they always had.

That was also why he accepted the bag of gold coins.

"We've lived here since around the fiftieth year of the Wasteland Era. My grandfather told me this library dates back quite a bit, even traceable to the early period of the Human Alliance Era... Why would you think there might be a shelter hidden underneath here? There isn't even a basement."

"No worries, even if there isn't, it's fine; consider it indulging our curiosity," Si Si looked around, "By the way, are the books here still intact?"

Wu Tao said,

"Most are gone, but some are well-preserved. Following ancestral instructions, all the mayors preserved the surviving books on the shelves on the second floor. Although the last mayor ran away, I will probably persist."

Si Si suddenly became interested.

"Can you take me to see them?"

Wu Tao nodded.

"No problem, but you cannot take them with you or damage them. I'm not joking. If you do something bad to those books, bad luck will quickly find you... Similar incidents have happened before."

"I can swear on my life," Si Si blinked and said, "I will cherish those books as much as I cherish life."

Perhaps moved by her sincerity, Wu Tao froze for a few seconds.

Coming back to himself, he coughed lightly and said,

"That's perhaps an exaggeration..."

"Since you've said that, come with me."

...

Wu Tao took the two upstairs and left them there.

Gazing at the rows of aluminum alloy bookshelves and a dazzling array of books, Sesame Paste's face was filled with hesitation.

"Could the clues to Shelter No.79 be hidden in these books?"

Si Si shook her head.

"I don't know, but these books are probably the only information remaining from the calamity two centuries ago… Maybe we'll find something."

She casually took down a book and flipped through it, but her expression quickly stiffened.

Although she could handle daily conversations in Human Alliance language and recognize some of the characters, she was far from able to read normally.

The camera did have a simultaneous translation feature.

But in offline mode, the amount of text it could translate was quite limited.

Just as she was feeling perplexed, a strange voice suddenly floated from behind the bookshelf in front of her.

"I don't understand why you are so persistent in looking for Shelter No.79. The residents here have already told you, the shelter isn't here."

"Besides, the shelter isn't a treasury, there is nothing valuable hidden there, and even if you go, you'll come back disappointed."

The voice carried a rasp, like sandpaper scraping across a wall, startling the two in the room.

"Who?" Sesame Paste nervously grabbed her gun.

Si Si reacted more directly, darting behind the bookshelf, but instead of seeing the source of the voice, she saw a retro-radio, crudely made.

With a hint of surprise in her eyes, she quickly looked around, searching for a camera in the room, but didn't see anything.

"Stop looking around, I'm not here, and moreover, my presence is not important." The person in the radio jovially laughed and continued in a jesting tone, "It's better to focus on my question. What if I am the security program for the gate? Your suspicious behavior just now is enough for me to lock the gates."

"Si..." Coming to Si Si's side and noticing the radio on the table, Sesame Paste nervously glanced at her companion.

She couldn't understand what the radio was saying.

But the voice gave her a bad feeling.

"Leave it to me..."

Giving her a reassuring look, Si Si turned to the radio and continued,

"We are here on the orders of the Manager."

"Manager…" the radio crackled, thoughtfully continuing, "are you residents of the shelter?"

"Yes," Si Si nodded, her voice sincere, "we come from Shelter No. 404 in Qingquan City... Do you know anything about Shelter No.79? It's very important to us."

"Hmm, very important… What do you intend to do with it?" the radio said in a slick voice.

Si Si spoke earnestly,

"If the people inside are still there, we'll help them; if they're gone, we will continue their unfinished work… to revive our civilization."

The radio let out a chuckle, grating like fingernails snapping on a chalkboard, making someone's teeth tingle.

Sesame Paste nervously took a step back, Si Si slightly furrowed her brow.

But it didn't last long.

The laughter turned into a light sigh,

"If what you seek is knowledge, the books beside you are enough for a lifetime of study. If you come here with naïve ideals of reviving civilization, then you really shouldn't have come."

Before Si Si could speak, it continued,

"Shelter No.79 isn't what you imagine; it was never meant to shelter anyone from the beginning."

Si Si felt there was an implication in its words.

Swallowing her saliva, she asked earnestly.

"What kind of place is it, then?"

"It's the root of chaos."

That raspy voice seemed to be lost in distant memories but eventually turned into a helpless light laugh,

"At least half of the savagery on this land can be traced back to here."

Chapter 384: Shelter No.79!

"Shit!?"

In the meal hall of the Fallen Leaf Camp, staring at the mountain of potatoes in front of him, an Old Soldier with a Small Blade gawked, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.

Is this meant for feeding pigs?!

How many tons of potatoes do these guys eat in a day?!

However...

The cook who had assigned him the task didn't seem to care about his facial expression at all, simply commanding,

"You... are called Pangolin right? These potatoes are your work for today, and by this evening I hope to see them all washed and peeled."

"If the work isn't done, you'll suffer the consequences."

With those words, the cook disappeared to who knows where.

Looking at the Small Blade in his hands and then at the three thin Survivors beside him, Old Soldier felt a surge of tearful helplessness.

"How long in the hell am I supposed to peel until?"

Yesterday he was bragging on the official website that he had finished the work of three people in half a day, but logging in today, yesterday's work volume had become today's standard, and even doubled.

This is just like sheering a fat sheep ruthlessly.

And there's no task reward!

Compared to the people in the Army, our respected Manager is practically a living Buddha!

Wait...

Can these scumbags even be mentioned in the same breath as the Manager?

The more Old Soldier thought about it, the angrier he got, clutching the Small Blade, nearly chasing after that arrogant fat pig to poke a hole in its butt.

However, considering the hidden task he unlocked last night on the official website and the generous reward that accompanied it, he ultimately took a deep breath and endured it.

A true man can bend and stretch.

For the almighty Manager... I'll endure!

"We need to improve the tools; with this knife, we wouldn't finish peeling by tomorrow this time," Old Soldier said to the three Apprentices behind him, gesturing with his hands and speaking in broken United Human language.

The three Apprentices looked at each other, only half understanding, their faces filled with confusion.

Old Soldier sighed, picked an Apprentice who seemed slightly brighter, and sent him to the scavenger's dump to find some metal plates.

With the components and tools in hand, he used flint to grind a hole in the middle of the metal plates, then bound them with wire, producing four rudimentary peeling knives.

They looked somewhat like razors.

Though not fully automated, they were much faster than using a Dagger to peel.

With his patient guidance, the three Apprentices quickly learned how to peel potatoes more efficiently.

This time, Old Soldier was wise not to show off hastily everywhere; instead, he squatted beside the three Apprentices and practiced sham work while lazily chatting.

Looking at his relaxed demeanor, an Apprentice asked in admiration,

"Bro, do you peel potatoes often?"

"No, what's up?"

"It's just... you seem pretty skilled, and the tool you improved works really well."

Old Soldier chuckled.

"That's nothing, we all peel like that back home; I just learned from someone else."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of longing on the Apprentices' faces grew even stronger.

In the Wasteland, crops with a growing cycle longer than two months aren't something ordinary people can afford.

Most Survivor Settlements plant a type of wheat, not because people like its unique oxalic acid taste, but because other crops can't even reach maturity, either raided by Looters or devastated by Variants.

In times of turmoil, people tend to grow crops with short cycles and low demands for soil, fertility, and labor—this is true in every world.

With nothing better to do, Old Soldier used his broken United Human language to tell the Apprentices about life over in the Alliance—naturally, without mentioning the Alliance and the City of Dawn, he still referred to it as Bet Street.

After talking until he was parched, Old Soldier paused and suddenly noticed a dark line of Residents standing on the open space outside the meal hall.

"What's going on over there?"

An Apprentice squatting beside him quickly answered,

"I heard the Army is recruiting..."

"Recruiting?"

"Yes, strong-bodied Survivors or those with special abilities can sign up; they say that once you join the Army, you can eat potatoes and beef."

While speaking, the Apprentice's face showed obvious envy, clearly tempted.

Perhaps thinking of possibly being used as Cannon Fodder on the front line, he ultimately didn't muster the courage to try his luck.

Old Soldier looked at the guy oddly as he threw the peeled potatoes he'd been working on into a nearby box.

Aren't those Double-headed Cows and potatoes...

supposedly from your own homes?

Just as Old Soldier was pondering whether to try his luck at the recruiting site while peeling potatoes, Coleway, standing in the center of the camp, was looking at the roster handed to him by his subordinates.

In four days, they had gathered 7,400 Survivors, emptying nearly seventeen Survivor Settlements.

Among them, the largest Settlement even boasted a thousand people, and within their camp was even a cast iron cannon.

However...

In the face of a 400mm main cannon, that thing was just a toy—especially after the local people heard rumors that "an Iron Airship destroyed an entire hundred-person team from the Enterprise with just one cannon shot", they couldn't muster the courage to resist and obediently packed up to move here.

They had already set up a wood-fired generator in the middle of the camp to power the nutrient paste synthesizer, and later planned to install several smelting furnaces to recycle the garbage scavengers collected from the city into useful metal castings, producing Ripper Rifles and ammunition.

The mission General McLennan gave him was to train a thousand-man team composed of locals within two months, to join their land-air-sea team in combat , laying the foundation for taking the southern plains of River Valley Province into their domain.

Standing next to Coleway, logistics officer Finod squinted at the lineup of Survivors and the gradually forming scales of the camp and said,

"We need to speed up our efforts... The people from the Enterprise have noticed our movements; our patrols have come up empty several times."

Coleway: "I have already reported the issue to Mr. Rachel, and we will increase the number of patrol teams..."

"There's another matter."

"What is it?"

"I heard that in the survivor settlement at No. 79 Xiangling Street, there appeared a 'Claw of Death' as tall as a two-story building… Is that correct?"

Coleway recalled the incident and nodded.

"Yes, that's true. I reported the situation there to Mr. Rachel. Considering it's just a small enclave with two or three hundred people, and those locals might not survive the encounter with the 'Claw of Death,' I had my subordinates remove the settlement from our maps… Any issues?"

He wasn't afraid of the creature, he just felt it wasn't worth it to waste his subordinates' lives and precious ammunition to slaughter a beast.

The air-ground team was limited in number and couldn't be replenished from the rear, and these days the corporate guerrilla teams were headache enough.

Finod said with a pleasant expression.

"No problem, missing two or three hundred people is no big deal. However, General McCullen is very interested in that beast. He saw it from the bridge and has been mumbling about wanting to hang its head on the prow of the 'Iron Heart' and show it to General Griffin."

Coleway looked at Finod in surprise, speechless for a moment.

Finod's smile remained unchanged, still speaking in a gentle tone.

"Could you do me a favor?"

If it were possible to decline, that certainly would be best, but this was a command from General McCullen.

Despite a thousand reluctances, Coleway could only numbly nod his head.

"Alright…"

…

"…This library doesn't have a basement, does it?"

In the dim tunnel.

Si Si held a flashlight and looked around; the place felt like a bomb shelter, although she had never actually seen a real one.

Sesame Paste walked beside her, holding a radio, with cat ears alert and eyes looking around.

At that moment, the usually quiet radio suddenly emitted a chilling laugh, startling her almost enough to drop it.

"…Who did you hear that from?"

"The local residents."

"Haha… What do they know."

That was also true.

Si Si thoughtfully nodded, not bothering to question further on this trivial matter.

If everyone could find the entrance to the shelter, it would undoubtedly be a torment for both those inside and outside.

Whether on a physical or a mental level.

The two continued forward along the dark tunnel, which grew progressively wider, from initially only allowing four people abreast to now being as wide as a two-lane road.

Looking at the side passages beside the tunnel, Si Si became more convinced of her earlier guess.

Shelter No. 79 must have more than one entrance.

And the number of people it accommodates is far more than just a thousand!

The elevator hidden behind the shelves on the second floor of the library was just one of the entrances through this tunnel.

As for how they found that entrance, it started half an hour ago.

Half an hour earlier, they had found a radio on the second floor of the library, which, receiving broadcasts from an unknown source, claimed to be from the manager of Shelter No. 79 and advised them with an indefinable tone of self-mockery or self-reproach to leave this place of trouble quickly.

Si Si harbored reservations about his claims.

But for now, it seemed this guy was the only one who knew the entrance to Shelter No.79.

She thought it would take some effort to gain the manager's trust, but surprisingly, she barely had to persuade him at all, convincing the man with her rudimentary Human United language to let them see Shelter No.79.

Honestly,

Such effortless persuasion made Si Si almost disbelieve her own effectiveness.

Could it be…

Her hidden charisma stats were actually quite high?

Thinking this, Si Si's face took on a subtle expression.

Then, the radio suddenly spoke up.

"By the way, I forgot to ask, what is Shelter No. 404 about?"

"Just a normal refuge?"

"Oh, I see…"

"What's up?"

"Nothing, I am just making sure there's no interference with other friends' work… Haha."

That smile sounded somewhat profound.

But Si Si didn't dwell on it.

After all, this old radio, even when silent, was constantly emitting electrical static noise.

"By the way, how should we address you?"

"Just call me Manager."

"But we already have a manager; we need to distinguish between you two."

The voice pondered for a while.

"Sorry, I've been alone for so long that I haven't used my name in ages, just give me a moment. You can call me Yong."

Si Si was slightly surprised but didn't comment further, merely nodding.

Most NPCs in the game had peculiar names, encompassing their manager, who always went by the code name "Dawn," only occasionally using "Chu Guang."

However, from this guy's words, he seemed to be an old monster who had lived from the pre-war era until now…

The task was becoming more intriguing.

Walking alongside, Sesame Paste, completely unable to understand their conversation, asked with some anxiety.

"How much longer until we arrive?"

Si Si relayed her question once again, and the radio quickly responded.

"It's right ahead . . . but before that, I hope you are mentally prepared. As I've said, there's never been any protection for survivors here."

"I'm prepared."

As a guide NPC of the instance, he was a bit too talkative.

As Si Si thought this, a cog-shaped alloy giant door finally appeared at the end of the tunnel.

The number 79, printed right in the middle of the cog, hadn't faded even after two centuries.

Excitement flashed in the eyes of both individuals.

Mission accomplished!

They had found the entrance to Shelter No. 79!

"It's a pity Tail isn't here . . . Should we call her over?"

"It would waste too much time to go back and forth; we've finally made it this far. Let's see what it looks like inside . . ."

Suppressing the excitement in her voice, Si Si looked at the radio in Sesame Paste's hand and asked in United Human language.

" . . . How do we get in?"

Just as her words fell, the pebbles on the ground suddenly shook lightly.

A tremor, like an earthquake, reverberated from underneath as the massive cog rolled slowly to one side.

Gazing at the straight corridor behind the giant door and the spacious buffer room resembling a playground, Si Si's eyes widened in surprise.

The area right in front of her was easily ten times bigger than Shelter No. 404 . . .

However, what surprised her even more was still to come.

As she and Sesame Paste crossed the wide buffer room and reached the door at the end of the hallway, tall floor-to-ceiling windows rapidly came into their view.

Behind those floor-to-ceiling windows completely overturned their understanding of shelters.

Buildings, square and neatly aligned like rulers, spread throughout an exceptionally vast area, extending to the bottomless underground.

Steep passageways connected these square buildings.

They resembled blocks connected to one another, piled up and interconnected, maximizing the use of space in a manner acceptable to human aesthetics.

At this moment, they were standing at the highest point of this "underground city" . . .

Si Si's eyes widened and she instinctively reached for her earpiece, her fingertips completely sticking to the shutter of her headset.

Standing next to her, Sesame Paste was so stunned that her eyes were wide open, and her mouth was agape as if she could fit an egg in it.

"Is this . . . really a shelter?"

"Welcome to Rui Valley City 2.0," a cheerful voice floated from the radio, "It's been a very long time since we had any new guests."

As the voice died away, a pair of eyes beneath cat ears suddenly flashed a hint of alertness.

Sesame Paste quickly drew the 12mm caliber revolver holstered at her waist, her thumb proficiently pressing down the hammer.

It was a pistol she had long ago bought from the Manager, mainly used to deal with large Variants.

She aimed at the door behind which a tiger, significantly larger than usual, was peering through the glass, emitting a dangerous growl.

Its teeth were flipped outward over its lips, sharp like daggers!

Its claws scratched at the door, and its teeth ground against the door frame, its eyes filled with impatience as if it was starving.

The moment their eyes met, her biological instincts caused all her hairs to stand on end.

Si Si, sensing the dangerous air as well, swallowed hard and with a "click" chambered her assault rifle, aiming at the door. She asked the radio.

"What . . . exactly is going on here?"

Why are there Variants in the shelter?!

The radio let out a long sigh.

"That's why I told you to be prepared . . . as you see, this city has fallen."

"Fallen . . ."

"Yes."

Leaning against Sesame Paste, the old radio sounded like it was recounting a past incident with a very light tone.

"The people here once had a brief but prosperous time, but the giant door could block war and radiation, but not the people's longing for the outside world and freedom . . . I tried to persuade them to wait a bit longer, wait for the radioactive dust to settle from the sky, wait for the ice freezing the earth to melt, and then, together, we'd venture into the outside world, but . . ."

"But?"

"They couldn't wait, they clamored to leave, and I couldn't persuade them . . ."

The voice on the radio carried a hint of mockery, but it quickly changed to one of resignation.

"Let's not talk about those old times, I believe you're not interested. Anyway, because that outside door was frequently opened and closed, there's no difference between here and the outside world . . . it's even worse."

"Our original intent was to help the mutated creatures outside return to normal, but who would have thought some fools, not satisfied with just leaving themselves, also took out creatures carrying unfinished genetic prototypes, leading to those mutated freaks everywhere outside."

Si Si frowned.

"Do you mean . . . are all the Variants outside from here?"

The radio briefly replied.

"Probably, I'd guess at least half. As for the rest, you'll have to ask the other shelters . . . God knows what they've been up to."

It paused for a moment, its tone carrying a hint of deep remorse.

"Of course, we tried to make amends. Before the last crisis, we were continuously searching for a way to control the spread of the genetic prototypes. In fact, this great work was almost completed . . . unfortunately, at the last moment, the only uncorrupted research area also fell."

Si Si declared enthusiastically.

"We are willing to continue the work you didn't finish! Restoring the ecology of this planet is also part of our mission to revive the United Human enterprise!"

Any significant research findings discovered on the Wasteland, whether encrypted data or sample entities, could be exchanged for substantial rewards with the NPC, Yin Fang of the Survey Corps.

Such a large shelter.

The research inside must definitely be worth a lot of rewards, right?

Unaware of her thoughts at the moment, a gratified voice came from the radio.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, it seems I wasn't wrong to trust you so much."

After a brief pause, it continued.

"There is a silver building in the city center, quite noticeable from where you are, that's the research area of this shelter. All our research findings are stored there, including our experimental data and the serum samples we have completed."

Si Si: "Serum?"

"It's a serum that can reverse mutations. We've only completed the one for the Claw of Death... because they are the most dangerous."

The moment Si Si heard these words, she was stunned.

"Can such a thing really be done?"

Reversing mutations that had already occurred...

It sounded like a flight of fancy.

However, the radio spoke in a confident tone.

"Of course, it can be done. It's not very difficult to manage. That said, if you are really willing to take over our cause, you might as well take those things outside. Since you come from a shelter, you should know how to use them."

"Of course, the variants here are tough to deal with, including more than one Claw of Death here. You can go back and prepare first, and then come back when you're ready."

"I was indeed planning to do that..." Si Si glanced at the tiger outside the door.

She indeed needed to make some preparations.

When she entered Xiangling Town previously, to show sincerity, she and Sesame Paste only carried basic defensive weapons.

With just the little ammunition on hand, they probably wouldn't be able to handle the monsters behind the door.

She definitely needed to call everyone together!

...

During the peak period of logging off for the day.

The official forum was set ablaze by a post again.

"Big News! Shelter No. 79 Unveiled! Hidden in the Underground City of Rui Valley City!"

Quit Smoking: "Damn! An underground city?!"

Tail: "Hmm! The monsters inside are super tough! There are lots and lots of Trash Older Brother! (✪ω✪)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "???"

I Max Black: "666! Isn't this way cooler than that shabby map of Old Soldier?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn, you didn't say that yesterday!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "This scale... wouldn't it be reasonable to release another hundred thousand activation codes?"

Elena: "Tsk, newbie village for farming the Claw of Death, this is way more thrilling than farming little monkeys at Shelter No. 117. (funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "And it's right in your face. (funny)"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Let me in!!! The dog planner won't give me a helmet, reported! (crazy)"

Old White: "(jaw_drop.jpg)"

Si Si: "So that's pretty much it about Shelter No. 79... Since there's no network here, we can only upload the photos after we return to the base of the Storm Corps in a few days."

"Additionally, we've learned that the shelter holds a huge reserve of nuclear energy. And according to the manager himself, named Yong's, it has more than enough to run for another three centuries. The serum in the central research area of that underground city seems to be able to reverse mutations?"

Crow: "Wait, doesn't that mean Meat Meat can become human again? (excited)"

Teng Teng: "(expectant) (expectant)"

Meat Meat: "Hold on, I am human! (╯°Д°)╯"

"Although I'm indeed not human in the game."

"No, wait! Saying it like that feels weird too!"

After posting three messages, Meat Meat became confused. However, due to the players' anticipation for the new map, her comments were soon overwhelmed by a flood of replies.

Reading the post from start to finish, a planner sitting in front of the computer also showed a surprised expression.

"...Reverse mutation?!"

What kind of black technology is this?

At that moment, Chu Guang was just as surprised as the player named Si Si.

Fortunately, he had an expert to consult.

Without hesitation, Chu Guang immediately got up and went to level B3, finding Heya busy in the laboratory.

After listening to his inquiry, Heya paused in her work, clearly showing a surprised expression.

"...Are you sure? Reverse mutation?"

Chu Guang spoke with careful phrasing.

"I can't guarantee the accuracy of the source, but I can confirm I didn't hear it wrong... But tell me, are you also surprised?"

"Rather than surprised, it's more like... I don't quite understand the purpose of the research project."

Touching her chin lightly with her index finger, Heya looked thoughtful.

"The mutations of organisms in the wasteland might not exclude human factors, but most are actually the result of natural selection. Only the species with stronger survival capabilities can continue to exist on this planet with such extreme ecological environments, and this is the fundamental reason for the current situation."

"Without changing the environment itself, changing the traits of one or two creatures has no significance. These individuals who cannot adapt to the current environment will quickly be eliminated, and their traits can't be passed down."

Pausing, she continued.

"Moreover, evolution is a continuous process. To what stage exactly does that serum intend to revert the mutations that have already occurred?"

"Is he lying then?" Chu Guang, who also realized the logical inconsistency, wrinkled his brows slightly, "The research results stored in Shelter No.79 are not as straightforward as he confessed."

Heya said teasingly: "I was thinking the same thing. Your residents were probably deceived, they can indeed be quite naive sometimes... Speaking of which, couldn't Yin Fang find any information about Shelter No.79, not even the manager's name?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Couldn't find any. The shelters and the Black Box are like blind boxes from the outside."

Heya crossed her arms and tilted her head, not quite understanding what a blind box was.

Chu Guang did not explain, his mind racing.

He couldn't assert that "Yong's" was lying, but it was highly likely that he concealed part of the truth, and the purpose was to get his players to take the serum stored in the shelter outside.

There could be many motives for doing this, but guessing was pointless without knowing what the serum was.

However, what puzzled Chu Guang was, why didn't he do it himself?

Just lock the shelter's door, cut off the power, and in a few days, the creatures inside would die of asphyxiation.

Even if some were tough enough to survive, it would just be a matter of waiting a few more days.

Either that person didn't have complete access rights.

Or for some reason, he did not wish for the variants in the shelter to die out…

Chapter 385: Wait for Me to Rally People on the Forum

Shelter No. 79—

Or rather, Underground City No. 79.

The flash of gun muzzles lit up as it moved rapidly from the entrance of the shelter along the wide corridor toward the nearest building.

The elevators were long out of order, forcing movements through a stairway in the safety passage.

Hundreds of meters high, the corridors were covered in moss, but the most lethal were the mutated creatures roaming through them.

It wasn't just one building like this.

Every building here was the same.

Fortunately, they didn't have to fight their way from the top floor down to the surface; they could move between the buildings via the sky bridges.

The Manager called Yong had already planned the most recent route of action for them, downloading it to the vm; all they had to do was progress forward along the path of the contagion.

Even so, achieving a "clear" was far from easy.

Even if they didn't actively seek trouble with those Variants, the Variants would actively find them.

"My gosh! What on earth are these things?!"

Watching the multilegged Alien charging, Tail, who rode on Meat Meat's back, was startled and clung to the machine gun, fingers tightly gripping the trigger.

A trail of orange-yellow bullets tore the Alien apart; however, more quickly surged forward.

Meat Meat roared and with a mighty swipe of its steel armor-like bear claws, sent two of the onrushing beasts flying off into the abyss beside the corridor.

Si Si and Sesame Paste were holding rifles, filling in the gaps in firepower.

Shell casings from the rifle barrels continuously clinked against the alloy floor, utterly muted by the roaring gunfire; in mere moments, the trio had fired hundreds of rounds.

Luckily, this game did not have a mechanism for infinite spawn.

Facing the overwhelming firepower of the White Bear Knights, the surge of attacks eventually weakened.

The group finally broke through the encirclement of Aliens and rushed into the building at the end of the corridor.

The area inside was spacious, easily the size of three or four basketball courts; directly opposite the semi-arched front desk was a row of seats, which likely was once a registration area or similar.

The doors closed vigorously.

Leaning against the cold metal door, Si Si propped her rifle aside, let out a breath, and slowly sat down.

Her face was slightly pale, her chest rising and falling gently.

Standing beside her, Sesame Paste also steadied her breathing, her index finger pulling loose the soaked collar sticking to her neck.

"It's spiders…"

"Yeah…" Si Si gasped for air, hardened her resolve and nodded, "While it makes sense for arthropods to adapt better in narrow terrains... if possible, I really don't want to deal with these creatures."

From the entrance of the shelter to their current location, they had roughly made 3% progress.

First, they had taken down two saber-toothed tigers, and then faced a group of Giant Wolf Spiders as tall as their waists.

They hadn't yet encountered a Claw of Death, although they did see one through bulletproof glass.

That Claw of Death was not very large, but still a bit bigger than Trash King.

"Eh? Si is actually afraid of spiders!" Tail lit up, eyes sparkling as she turned to look.

Si Si shifted her gaze subtly.

"...Actually, it's okay if it's just arthropods, but if it's a fuzzy arthropod... I really can't handle that."

If only the game helmet could block this kind of sensation.

Unfortunately...

A game still in closed beta testing couldn't be expected to be perfect like a officially released game.

"Hehe."

"...You better not play pranks, Ah Wei."

"Not at all, would Tail do that?"

"emmm…"

"Wah, my Si actually hesitated!"

A smile spread across Si Si's face as she was about to say something, but just then, a slight creaking noise suddenly came from the distance.

Like stepping on the dusty floor.

Si Si's heart tightened, and she reached for her rifle immediately, but almost simultaneously, three whooshing sounds rang out.

Three sharp whizzes were heard, and before she could rise from the ground, she grunted and collapsed to the side, pulling the trigger towards the direction of the sound.

The thunderous gunfire echoed in the vast room.

At the same time, Tail and Sesame Paste swiftly responded, skillfully dodging the incoming arrows and raising their guns to fire back at their unwelcome visitors outside the showcase.

A series of pained screams quickly followed.

Those shooting the arrows were frightened by the fire-sticks, shrieking incomprehensibly as they scattered behind walls, chairs, and counters to escape.

"Humans...?!"

Seeing the faces emerge from the darkness, a look of surprise appeared in Si Si's eyes.

However, these people were not speaking the language of the United Human.

To be more precise, their sounds were more like the howls of wild beasts than a language.

Seeing Si Si on the ground, Tail immediately rushed over, her face full of concern.

"Si! Are you alright?!"

"I'm okay…"

Two arrows lodged in her chest, but the bulletproof vest had protected her; she barely felt anything.

The more problematic issuebjergvkb was the arrow stuck in her shoulder...

Si Si grasped the arrow shaft and gently moved it, quickly giving up on pulling it out and instead broke it in half.

Seeing Si Si supporting herself on the hunting gun and standing up from the ground, Sesame Paste said worriedly.

"…Maybe we should retreat for now."

The shelter wasn't something that could be conquered in a day anyway.

Tail and Meat Meat nodded in agreement.

"Tail thinks so too!"

"+1."

"Well, let's head back to the entrance of the shelter for now..." Si Si nodded at her worried friends.

At that moment, her gaze suddenly fell on the body that had fallen to the ground with a gunshot wound.

Feeling curious, she walked over and crouched down to examine him.

The man was dressed in clothes made of leaves and vines, his skin pale and sickly white, as if he hadn't seen sunlight for a long time. His eye sockets were deep red, his pupils filled with blood vessels, and his features were similar to humans, but his arms were slightly longer, and his nails sharp.

Si Si furrowed her brows slightly and stretched her index finger across the man's chest, carefully searching for a while before withdrawing her hand.

"Did you find anything?" Meat Meat, who followed behind her, leaned forward curiously.

"...26 ribs."

"26 ribs?" Tail looked bewildered.

"Normal people have 24... This guy must not be human, at least not the same kind as us," Si Si said as she rose from the ground, dusting off her hands, "Let's bring one back to study."

...

The group retraced their steps, returning to the door that connected to the shelter, a room with a view overlooking the entire underground city.

They had left an old radio at the entrance of the room.

Sesame Paste went up to pick it up.

Apparently seeing the fight they had just had, the radio emitted a word of praise.

"Not bad, you all are stronger than I imagined."

"It seems I wasn't wrong about you."

Hearing this, Sesame Paste displayed a shy smile... Although she only roughly understood, she could subtly feel the tone of admiration in that sentence.

Tail, less modest, happily curled her lips.

"Wow! Tail is awesome!"

"Haha, impressive indeed, but you still need to keep it up..." The cheerful laughter came from the radio, yet the voice seemed somewhat profound.

Si Si suddenly spoke up.

"Why would there be people inside?"

The radio answered nonchalantly.

"They are just savages degenerated into animals... Don't worry about it, you can treat them like monkeys."

Pausing for a moment, it subtly changed the topic.

"It's getting late... Instead of those savages, I suggest you'd better deal with your wounds sooner."

The time in the game was nearing evening.

Unknowingly, they had spent a whole day in Shelter No.79.

The milky light pouring from the dome was slowly receding, the underground city outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was gradually being swallowed by darkness.

It seemed this place had more than just steel jungles; it also had day and night cycles.

If this fortress hadn't fallen...

"...If it's the end of the world, it would be nice to live in a place like this," standing at the doorway of the buffer room, Sesame Paste suddenly felt a bit sentimental as she looked back at the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Yeah."

"Why did the people here run away?"

"Who knows, maybe they ate too much."

Si Si said casually, but the corners of her eyes subtly glanced at the radio in Sesame Paste's arms.

She always felt there was more to it.

After pondering for a moment, Si Si spoke in United Human language.

"This isn't a solution, we are short on personnel... Would you mind if we call more people over?"

The radio answered nonchalantly.

"I don't mind. What's there to mind about?"

He couldn't wait for more people to come help.

However, what he understood by "calling more people" wasn't quite what Si Si meant.

A smile curling at her lips, Si Si continued.

"Then I'm relieved."

...

The elevator slowly ascended.

It stopped at the second floor of Rui Valley City Municipal Library.

Passing through rows of bookshelves, Si Si reached the door and opened it, finding Wu Tao, the town chief of Xiangling Street, standing at the doorway with several strong survivors.

The weapons in their hands were varied, consisting of iron pipe rifles, hoes, short axes, and meat-cutting knives.

Earlier when Si Si and Sesame Paste had gone back to call their teammates, they hadn't returned empty-handed; they had also killed and brought back the ugly saber-toothed tiger at the door.

When the hideous mutant was carried out from a second-floor room of the library, the survivors of Xiangling town were terrified.

Compared to the tiger with teeth longer than daggers, the large white bear named Meat Meat seemed innocently charming and endearing.

Once Si Si offered to help them eradicate the Variants under the library, the local residents no longer rejected their access to the settlement and even voluntarily built a stronger ladder to help Meat Meat climb over the enclosing wall.

Before Si Si could speak, Wu Tao, who stood at the door, quickly asked,

"How is the situation down there?"

Si Si said with a stern face,

"It's terrible! There's an alien nest right beneath your feet!"

"An alien nest?!"

The air became deathly still.

A hint of fear gradually appeared on Wu Tao's face.

Including him, everyone behind him had expressions of horror, exchanging uncertain and apprehensive glances.

"Moreover, it's not just Variants, there's also a group of completely uncommunicable… Wild men. We brought back a body, it's over there."

Saying so, she glanced behind her, signaling Meat Meat to place the body they brought from Shelter No. 79 on the ground.

Staring fixedly at the corpse on the ground, Wu Tao swallowed hard, then his gaze moved to her shoulder.

There was a broken arrow stuck in it.

"Your injury…"

"Don't worry, I'm about to take care of it…" Si Si continued with a calm expression, "Shelter No. 79 has fallen, but we can't ignore it. We'll clean out the monsters below, might have to stay here a few more days."

There were many entry points into Shelter No. 79, but most were now damaged due to disrepair.

Previously, she and Tail explored underground, and the only easily accessible entry now was this elevator on the second floor of the library.

Hearing this, Wu Tao didn't hesitate at all and quickly nodded,

"It's fine, you can stay as long as you want!"

Si Si's face showed a pleased smile.

"Mm, rest assured, with us here, those Variants won't harm you."

She paused, then continued,

"However, just our strength may not be enough, our companions will come here in a few days to help us… Could you prepare a few more rooms for us?"

Wu Tao hesitated for a moment and then asked,

"How many people are you…?"

"About thirty or forty?"

It could possibly be one or two hundred.

Si Si gave a conservative number mainly because she was also unsure how many could be gathered.

Even so, upon hearing this number, Wu Tao, standing in front of her, still showed a look of astonishment.

"…Are you a mercenary group?"

He added quietly with a wary tone,

"We can't afford to pay you."

Si Si smiled warmly,

"That's okay, we don't take money."

Not taking money?

Such good fortune?!

Hearing her words, the residents gathered at the door all showed expressions of surprise, skepticism, and even disbelief.

Wu Tao's expression was equally as dynamic, unable to think of a reason to refuse or even understand what these people wanted.

After exchanging glances and whispering with a few survivors beside him, he finally looked at Si Si and slowly nodded.

"We can lend you the second floor, we'll move the books to a room on the third floor, this place… please take care of it."

…

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

Every day, during peak disconnection times, the forum was buzzing.

Especially in recent days.

As frontline battle reports and new map information were released gradually, the enthusiasm in player discussions grew daily.

At this moment, a special post suddenly popped up.

Si Si: "Looking for team members for clearing Shelter No. 79! Requirements: Level 10 or above, equipment unrestricted, interested friends PM quickly!"

Edge Shoveling: "Me me me!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Hands up!"

Neighbor Old Wang: "Wait, isn't Shelter No. 79 in Rui Valley City!? That's a straight distance of one hundred and fifty kilometers… Isn't that too far?"

Si Si: "You can just parachute from a position about one hundred and twenty kilometers away."

Neighbor Old Wang: "Fuck, right, we can take a plane over!"

Giao Sesame Paste: "Um, if you are planning to parachute over, could you bring us some ammunition? We're running low… really appreciate it guys. QAQ"

Fang Chang: "Although I probably can't make it there, might still be good to discuss the profit distribution before forming the team."

Si Si: "Oh, don't worry, we've already considered that! Since the level profits and clearing duration are uncertain, we plan to provide a fixed income of 10 silver coins per level to every team member, simply put, 120 silver coins for one day at level 12. Weapons are on your own, but we can reimburse for ammunition, death compensation 300 silver. 20% of the final dungeon profit as a bonus, distributed to participating players according to their contribution ratio!"

Mole on the Run: "…Awesome, aren't you worried about making a loss?"

Quit Smoking: "Fuck! Rich lady!"

Si Si: "You're disappointed, I am not. (´ｰ∀ｰ`)"

Dragging the mouse and browsing through the forum posts, Chu Guang, sitting in the shelter and peering at the screen, wore a face full of interest.

"Pretty impressive."

According to the numerical system he designed, a Level 10 player, if they chose a task with a moderate risk level, could earn between 80 and 100 silver coins per day.

A daily salary of 10 silver coins per level was quite reasonable, and it should attract a decent number of players between Level 10 and Level 15.

As for making a loss?

From a player's perspective, there indeed existed such a risk.

But being the boss of these diligent little players, how could Chu Guang let them suffer losses?

Once they cleared the level, he would calculate a relatively reasonable profit based on their total expenses and the difficulty of the level, paying them an amount that would make other players envious without affecting the balance.

And himself? He didn't even need to worry about the specific strategy process, just a click of the mouse and a few keystrokes could earn him a shelter without any effort.

Thinking this, a smile couldn't help but appear on Chu Guang's face.

Indeed, he had trained his players well.

Not only could they fight wars for him, but they also could open new bases and he didn't even have to worry about the initial investments.

Truly perfect.

...

While Si Si was recruiting people on the forum, at the Rui Valley City Public Library's second floor, the room with the elevator, thanks to the bustling survivors of Xiangling town, was emptied under their efforts.

All the bookshelves and books had been moved to the third floor, leaving nothing but the bare floor and the luggage brought by the White Bear Knights.

Perhaps it was out of consideration for the serum, or maybe it was for the safety of those books.

The manager named "Yong's" didn't say a word, tacitly allowing them to turn the elevator entrance into a temporary camp.

The night gradually deepened.

Si Si and Sesame Paste, curled in their sleeping bags, had gone offline, while Tail and Meat Meat sat beside their sleeping bags, guarding the early part of the night.

With nothing to do, Tail, unable to stay idle, started yawning out of boredom. But sitting next to her, Meat Meat was still spirited, stretching her not-so-obvious neck and looking around.

"What's Meat Meat looking at?" Tail asked curiously upon seeing her constantly looking around.

"Hmm, nothing much, just a bit curious," Meat Meat murmured softly, "Say... is there a camera from the manager in this room?"

"Yeah, didn't you know?"

"Not that I just found out, but doesn't it mean... he's watching us while we sleep?"

Tail looked at Meat Meat in surprise.

"Giao! Now that you mention it, it feels kind of weird!"

Meat Meat said with a laugh and a cry, "Don't make it sound like I'm the weird one... Don't you find it strange to have a camera watching you sleep?"

Tail seriously thought about this issue for a moment and then nodded.

"Um... it would indeed be strange in real life, but this is just a game, right? And we aren't changing clothes here."

If you really think about it, isn't the entire "Wasteland OL" filled with the "cameras" of the operators?

It's not NPCs watching but real-life IT developers and site engineers.

Otherwise, how could the dog planners use closed beta players' gaming behavior to refine the game content?

Thinking of this, Tail's expression suddenly changed slightly.

Wait!

If that's the case...

The weird songs she sang while showering, weren't they all heard by the dog planners?!

"Giao!"

Seeing Tail's suddenly flushed face, Meat Meat, sitting beside her, was puzzled.

"What's wrong with you..."

It was the first time she saw him blushing.

And it spread from his face all the way to his ears.

"Nothing... nothing much."

The twitching brow and the forcibly smiling expression were as stiff as stiff could be, his knees nervously rubbing against each other, clearly looking troubled from any angle.

Just as Meat Meat was about to probe further out of curiosity, suddenly a loud "boom" came from outside, shaking the floor and walls.

The awkward atmosphere was instantly swept away.

Both the person and the bear immediately sprang up from the ground.

"From the south! The sound is coming from the south... This place has too narrow a view, I can't see anything!"

Meat Meat moved up to the window boarded with wooden planks, trying to peek outside through the cracks in the window, but unfortunately, the view was completely blocked by the plants and buildings outside.

Seeing Meat Meat completely leaning against the window, Tail immediately spoke.

"Meat Meat! You stay here guarding Si Si and Sesame Paste, I will go upstairs to check it out!"

"Roger that!" Meat Meat quickly responded.

A distant angry roar followed by the disturbance of the cannonade caused the creature known as The Claw of Death to go berserk, unleashing a bloodbath.

Gunshots resounded throughout the area.

Tail, grabbing her rifle, rushed out and dashed up to the third floor, bumping into Wu Tao who was coming in a panic.

He had a hunting gun slung on his back, his eyes full of alarm.

Tail grabbed him and spoke in an imperfect United Human language, pausing at every syllable.

"Outside, what, happened?"

"Army, army!"

The hunter, who had just become the town's mayor a few days ago, stammered in a disjointed voice filled with panic, "Those soldiers in black robes! They are back!"

Chapter 386: Overwhelm with Numbers!

The street directly south of the library was as noisy as firecrackers, with the sound of gunshots mixing with the screams of injured soldiers and the fierce roars of the Claw of Death, creating complete chaos.

The entire street had turned into a bloody meat grinder.

The cramped street did not allow for much maneuvering, so the soldiers could only fill in wave after wave in small teams of ten and groups of five.

Faced with the thoroughly enraged Claw of Death, their bulletproof armor plates were useless, and their 7mm rifles might as well have been fire pokers.

In contrast, the Claw of Death, nearly two stories tall,
swung its half-meter-long claws lightly, cleaving a man in half diagonally, his organs and flesh scattering all over the ground.

The hell-like scene turned the surrounding soldiers pale, their stomachs churning.

"Suppress it with firepower! Don't be afraid!"

"Damn it, didn't the artillery already blast it to pieces?!"

"Shit... our bullets can't pierce it!"

"It's not that we can't pierce it, it's that its wounds heal too quickly!"

"Ah—!"

Another soldier was torn in half for not dodging in time.

Watching his continuously falling men, Coleway, clad in an exoskeleton, stood on the rooftop gritting his teeth, feeling as if his heart was bleeding.

Standing next to Coleway, his assistant, also in an exoskeleton, swallowed hard and said with difficulty,

"Sir... why don't we just use artillery to blast it to the sky?"

Sending infantry to face the Claw of Death...

To him, this was madness!

Hunting and war are two entirely different concepts, especially against an unreasonably strong monster like the Claw of Death; even battle-hardened soldiers were ineffective.

Coleway's face turned solemn, and he said nothing.

He certainly knew that hunting and war were different concepts; against such a monster, a 100mm cannon would be more effective than a rifle, as three rounds of 100mm indirect fire would be enough to overturn the entire street.

However—

General McClenn wanted that creature's head, not a pile of crushed meat.

At this moment, a soldier, blood oozing from his forehead, ran down from the front lines and stood in front of Coleway, saluting.

"Sir! More than half of our squad is dead!"

"The brothers can't hold out much longer!"

The assistant also advised,

"If we keep fighting like this, even if we use up all the remaining men, we might still not be able to get that beast's head."

They had brought only a hundred-man team.

Although it should have been enough in theory, nobody expected the Claw of Death to be so hard to deal with! A 100mm cannon had blasted it at close range, seemingly crippling it, but within a few minutes, the wounds had largely healed.

Is this thing still made of carbon-based life?

Coleway also realized that continuing this way would do nothing but increase casualties without any real results.

They needed infantry cannons, Iron Fist rocket launchers, anti-armor weapons effective against mutants, and... local cannon fodder.

Gnashing his teeth, he gave the order.

"Retreat!"

...

On the library's rooftop, next to the railing, a person and a bear crouched stealthily behind cover, watching the firefight happening on the nearby street.

"Go, Big Trash Buddy!" Tail, eyes gleaming, clenched his fist, cheering excitedly in a hushed tone for the Claw of Death on the neighboring street.

Beside him, Meat Meat, concernedly watching the besieged Claw of Death, whispered,

"Should we help it?"

It seems like it can't hold on much longer.

However, Tail flatly rejected her suggestion, speaking sternly,

"Meat Meat, this is a duel among men! It's better if we don't interfere."

A group ganging up on one, how is that a duel!

Watching Ah Wei blatantly lying, Meat Meat couldn't help but secretly complain in her mind.

But thinking about it, helping really wasn't a good idea.

If it were just a ten-man squad, they could have handled it, but what came was a hundred-man team, with indirect fire support.

If the enemy genuinely closed in at full force, they would be overrun in no time.

Plus, the worst part was, if the battlefield wasn't cleaned up properly and someone escaped back, letting the command center on the Iron Heart know there were suspected corporate people here, what awaited them might be a 400mm cannon cleansing.

Even if they could escape, the local survivors would suffer because of them.

Although Meat Meat didn't think Ah Wei had considered as much as she did, she had to admit, staying silent and observing was the best choice at this moment.

So...

She decided to support this "Big Trash Buddy" in spirit.

As if responding to their expectations, the massive Claw of Death let out a piercing roar, shaking the leaves on the trees below.

Faced with the indestructible monster, the soldiers finally couldn't withstand it any longer, leaving their narrow cover and beginning to retreat in an organized fashion.

As the last soldier clad in a black robe withdrew from the street, the hundred-man team waiting in the distance also retreated.

Amber pupils glaring fiercely at the retreating black-robed soldiers, the "Big Trash Buddy" didn't pursue them. Instead, he staggered in the opposite direction, his tail dripping blood as he retreated.

Watching the majestic figure disappear into the night, Tail excitedly pumped his fist.

"Way to go, Big Trash Buddy!"

Meat Meat: "Trash Buddy would cry if he heard that..."

...

Fortunately, last night's battle turned out to be a false alarm, as the Army was injured fighting the Claw of Death and fled in a disheveled state, disappearing into the unknown.

Standing at the third-floor window, Wu Tao's face was etched with worry, his thoughts tangled as he smoked one cigarette after another.

Outside were the Army's men, and beneath his feet lived a group of bloodthirsty Variants, rumored to be joined by cannibalistic Wild Men…

He had hardly slept at all last night.

At that moment, Wang Xu, carrying a pipe rifle, approached.

This middle-aged man, over thirty, a well-known Hunter from Xiangling Town, now appeared tired and disheartened, dark bags under his eyes.

He hadn't slept at all, having spent the entire night standing guard on the rooftop.

"Old Wu."

Wu Tao turned to face the approaching Wang Xu, snuffed out his cigarette, and tucked it back into his patched pocket.

"What is it?"

After a moment's silence, Wang Xu spoke.

"How about… we move away?"

"Move away?" Wu Tao gave a bitter smile, "Where could we possibly go?"

"Anywhere is better than staying here," Wang Xu said resolutely. "We can't pin our safety on a beast, especially now that it's disappeared. Who knows when the Army will return, possibly to take their frustrations out on us… What will you do then?"

Hearing this, Wu Tao fell silent, unsure how to respond.

Perhaps, as suggested, moving away from this troubled place was indeed the wise choice.

Yet talk was cheap—how could it be so simple in practice?

They had lived here for a century, and while life was hard, they at least still had a home.

Leaving would mean wandering the Wasteland, and who knew what greater terrors lay ahead.

It could well be worse than their current predicament.

Wu Tao's brows furrowed with premature worry; he gazed out at the ruin-strewn streets and eventually sighed.

"Let me think…"

Just as Wang Xu was about to say something, a person ran indoors hurriedly. It was the gatekeeper of the settlement, panic written all over his face.

"Old Wu, there are people outside!"

People again?!

Upon hearing this, Wu Tao tensed up momentarily but then calmed down, recalling the talk of reinforcements mentioned by a few outsiders before.

"People? Where?"

"The gatekeeper replied anxiously.

"By the garage's enclosing wall to the north, about twenty of them… each armed with an automatic rifle, similar in style to those three outsiders!"

Wu Tao's heart stirred, and he immediately responded.

"Tell them to wait for a few minutes!"

"Okay!"

The gatekeeper nodded hurriedly and left the room.

Wu Tao didn't linger either; he followed out the door, but instead of going outside the library, he went to the second floor, searching for the three outsiders who had arrived the day before.

After knocking three times and hearing a "Come in," he pushed the door open.

But before he could step inside, a strong stench of blood wafted to his nose.

A long table, dragged from who knows where, was covered with a plastic sheet, upon which lay a gruesomely disemboweled corpse.

Nearby, a metal tray held bloody organs and several bones, clearly disassembled from somewhere.

Seeing Si Si holding a fine scalpel, Wu Tao's breath froze, his expression stiff as if he had seen a ghost.

Si Si looked unconcernedly toward the door.

"Is there something?"

Swallowing hard, Wu Tao stammered.

"Outside, there's a group of people… Their guns, they look similar to yours."

A hint of surprise flickered in Si Si's eyes.

So soon?

He tossed the scalpel into the tray, took off his plastic gloves and cloth mask, and quickly said.

"Take me there."

"Okay… " Wu Tao, pale-faced and nodding like a pecking chicken, weak-kneed, headed towards the door.

While descending the stairs, he almost lost his footing and nearly fell, fortunately grabbing the handrail just in time to steady himself.

Si Si, following behind, looked at his back with a peculiar expression.

Just dissection of a specimen…

Was it worth being so scared?

…

At the library's north side, by the garage wall.

Seeing Si Si appear atop the wall, the leading figure of the group, Big Eyes Brother, waved his arm and joked.

"Yo, rich lady thunder!"

"I keep telling you I'm not…"

Si Si said helplessly, looking beyond him to the familiar faces around, surprise dawning in his eyes.

There were twenty-five players in attendance, all from the Death Legion.

The highest-ranked among them was surely Edging Brother, the team leader who had broken through the Level 20 barrier. Though his Sequence was Perception, his overall combat ability was by no means weak—a solid T1 squad player.

The rest, mostly above Level 10 and primarily Strength and Agility types with Constitution and Intelligence types in support, were all central pillars of the Alliance's combat strength.

What surprised her wasn't the arrival of so many big shots.

Rather, it was that the person she shook up on the Forum last night had arrived early this morning.

"Could it be that too many people have come?" Edge Shoveling said with a smile.

"How could that be," Si Si, having regained her composure, grinned and continued, "Thanks for showing up."

"Haha, don't mention it, we mainly came for the excitement of the New Map, and we were planning to come to this area in a couple of days anyway," Edge Shoveling laughed heartily, "Oh right, there are about a hundred more brothers coming. If the convoy fills up, remember to give me a heads-up."

"There's no such thing, the more the merrier. Shelter No.79 is like an underground city, bigger than all the shelters in the Alliance combined; just a few of us can't explore it all."

After a pause, Si Si continued.

"Don't stand outside, come in and let's talk."

The survivor on gate duty lowered the ladder.

Over twenty players from the Death Legion crossed the Enclosing Wall and quickly entered the Survivor Settlement known as Xiangling Town.

Faced with this group of unexpected visitors, the survivors living there displayed worried expressions on their faces.

Although they seemed quite friendly, the weapons in their hands were anything but.

However, the players didn't disturb them and headed straight for the "instance" entrance on the second floor of the library.

Along the way, Edge Shoveling and Si Si briefly explained how they had arrived here.

Around two or three in the morning, Bun Brother flew them in a "Dragonfly" Transport plane and dropped them along with airdrop boxes twenty kilometers from Rui Valley City.

Since the Northern Expedition, not only the players from the Burning Corps but most players from the Alliance had learned to parachute in constant practice.

Now in the entire New Alliance, all the corps above the T2 echelon were almost rapid reaction forces, averaging out to "Special Forces."

Whether it was hunting or fighting, all was a piece of cake!

Edge Shoveling: "Originally, Brother Killing Chicken and the others were planning to come too, but last night they received another task and the whole corps was sent to the front lines to support Brother Quanshui."

Si Si: "Rui Valley City is getting more lively."

Edge Shoveling said with a smile, "Yeah. And I heard from Old White and others, the planner seems to have hinted in the group that the next version will push the front line to the neighboring Luo Xia Province, by then this place will be our bridgehead for advancing west."

Si Si: "Let's talk about the next version when it comes, the pressing matter is to clear Shelter No.79. The corps came over last night, who knows when they might come again. If they find out there's a shelter hidden here, it'll be trouble."

Looking at Si Si's furrowed brow, Edge Shoveling said with a smile.

"Not to worry much about the corps."

Si Si looked at him in surprise.

"Oh?"

Edge Shoveling continued.

"Just before logging in, Brother Battlefield was telling us in the group that the corps seems to be planning to pull together a team of locals from the Fallen Leaf Camp to deal with that Claw of Death, saying that whoever drags back the Dead Claw's head will get a title of a slave and a Centurion."

Hearing this information, Si Si looked astonished.

The head of the Claw of Death?

That thing...

Does it have any special use?

And from his words, it seemed the corps was set on getting that Dead Claw, determined not to give up until their goal was achieved.

Why wouldn't there be a concern then?

"So what's next..."

"What next? Why would there be a 'what next'?" Edge Shoveling said with a laugh, "Our Brother Battlefield heard there was such a good deal and mixed right into that team. The corps even issued him a rifle... although it's an Opener that requires manual operation."

"Ah, he's not peeling potatoes anymore?"

"He stopped. He said he's been peeling potatoes by day and night. The Dog Planner's tasks were just too damn unreasonable. He decided to do what a man should do," Debt Giant Eye, joining the conversation, chuckled, "We were still joking with him yesterday, saying once he becomes a pseudo-army leader, he should recruit us too."

That's possible?!

Si Si was stunned on the spot.

After a moment of deliberation, she hesitated.

"But that way... wouldn't you end up facing Brother Quanshui and his folks?"

Edge Shoveling said with a laugh.

"No problem, we've discussed it with the people from the Storm Corps. If it ever comes to a clash, we'll just set a regular meeting time to practice and take it as a drill."

After all, players wouldn't really die, as long as they don't lose their equipment, it's no loss.

Just go easy on them, hand some "credit" to the good brothers, and before long all the officers on the opposite side are one of their own.

When the battle comes, it's up to them to call the shots.

"... Anyway, we have our people on the other side. If the corps make any big move, he will inform us ahead of time in the group or on the official website, and we just focus on clearing Shelter No.79."

Si Si looked at these guys, astounded.

This move is just too slick...

...

Second floor of the library.

When they opened the door and entered, like Wu Tao, Edge Shoveling was startled by the grotesque corpse on the Table.

"Holy crap... what in the world is this?"

Si Si replied in a casual tone.

"The Wild Man we encountered in Shelter No.79... I was a bit curious, so I brought it back and dissected it."

The Youth at the Work Site swallowed his saliva, hesitantly yet curiously leaning forward to take a look, then turned back to ask Si Si.

"Any discoveries?"

Si Si's expression suddenly turned subtly complex.

"Um... how should I put this, it has two more ribs than a normal person, sturdier leg bones, and the distribution of muscle groups in its body and the structure of its brain are quite bizarre. Rather than saying it's a Wild Man, it's more like... this guy is a hybrid of a human and some kind of animal."

"Damn... is it that sinister?" I Max Black said, stunned.

Edge Shoveling furrowed his brow slightly.

"Are you sure?"

"Not sure, I'm just a small doctor in pathology, don't be too hard on me..." Si Si sighed and suddenly noticed Ah Wei squatting in the corner.

"Ah Wei, what are you doing?"

"I'm greeting the Manager at Shelter No.79! Hey, hello, are you there, are you there? Mr. NPC, we are going to disturb you again today."

Listening to the crackling electrical sound, Ah Wei patted the radio and muttered, making a final effort to wake it up.

"Strange... it was fine yesterday."

Meat Meat lifted a bear paw and scratched the back of her head.

"Could it be broken?"

The expression on Sesame Paste's face showed some trouble.

"Do we still need to bring it?"

Si Si said, "I think it's better to bring it along."

Ah Wei stroked his chin and nodded solemnly.

"Ah Wei also thinks that perhaps the Manager just overslept?"

"Emmm... It's not completely impossible."

Although the likelihood was small...

Si Si felt it was more likely due to some other delay, given the game's setup that Managers are always busy.

However, no matter what, such a critical mission prop was better kept at hand in case there was any urgent need for communication...

...

"Brothers, charge!"

"Aooo!"

Gunfire continued incessantly inside Shelter No.79. Regardless of whether there were rallying cries, Death Legion's tactics were as always fierce and brutal.

With the addition of over twenty good brothers, the speed of the level conquest significantly increased.

Wolf spiders higher than shins swarmed toward the players, but facing the dense barrage of fire, they fell to the unseen abyss like dumplings being dropped.

Even if occasionally one or two slipped through the overlapping crossfire, guns and bayonets would smash into them face-first, and the outcome was unchanged.

Building after building was rapidly seized from the shelter entrance to the central research area, with almost no significant resistance encountered.

It was only when creatures like the Claw of Death and other dangerous Variants started appearing halfway to the central research area that the progress of the conquest gradually slowed.

However, what puzzled Si Si was that Yong's, who had helped them open the door of Shelter No.79, hadn't contacted them all day.

As if he had disappeared.

Si Si didn't think much of it and continued leading her group to conquer the shelter.

That evening, the Army came again but didn't get too close, just took a distant look and left.

The players took their game out of the shelter and made a fire on the open space outside the library. The aroma of the roasting meat soon spread throughout Xiangling Town, tempting the local survivors greatly.

Time quickly passed, three days went by.

Later, more players from the Death Legion arrived, and the number of players stationed in Xiangling Town exceeded a hundred.

Just when everyone had almost forgotten about the radio and the self-proclaimed Manager, Yong's, on the morning of the fourth day, a hoarse voice suddenly echoed from the radio after a long absence.

"...How many people have you brought?!"

Sitting in the room, Si Si, munching on her rations, was startled by the sudden voice, almost dropping her biscuit.

"About a hundred... what's up?"

Si Si was about to continue asking what he had been doing these days, but the person on the radio didn't give her a chance to ask.

"Do you really need so many people?! I mean... with so many people, what if the library's books get damaged?"

The voice sounded somewhat anxious.

Si Si reassured him.

"Don't worry, we cherish knowledge and won't damage anything here. Plus, we've already moved those books to an empty room on the third floor... including the living survivors there, we will do our utmost to ensure their safety."

... The radio fell silent for a long time, sinking into a prolonged silence.

Si Si felt a bit perplexed.

Isn't it better to have more people?

These three days, their speed of conquering the shelter was almost several times faster than the first day. According to her estimation, it would take at most three more days to successfully extract the serum.

Although she could understand the nervousness of having many strangers in one's home, Si Si always felt his concerns were somewhat excessive.

And...

"By the way, why does your voice sound a bit odd?"

"Odd?"

"Yeah," Si Si nodded and after reflecting for a moment said, "It sounds... raspier than before."

Two coughs came from the radio.

"I've got a bit of a cold... a small issue."

Si Si said, "Oh, are you okay? Do you need cold medicine? Or you can tell us your location, and while we're searching for the serum, we can take you out—"

The radio cut her off.

"No need, I'm quite safe here, and whatever happens to me doesn't matter. The serum in the research area, please ensure it's taken out, for the sake of... for the sake of the people still alive in this world!"

"Don't get worked up, we'll succeed very soon."

Although she delivered these reassuring words, Si Si's expression grew increasingly strange.

Maybe it was her illusion.

But she always felt this guy's voice... sounded a bit hollow.

Was everything really okay?

Chapter 387: Good Brother, Lend Me Your Head!

On the southwest side of Rui Valley City, a motley crowd stood in a ragged formation, led by ten soldiers draped in black robes, they moved toward the northeastern district.

These irregularly dressed militiamen were mostly local survivors: among them were scavengers, hunters, and even farmers and herders.

In the Army, such troops composed of occupied area survivors or "non-core population" were commonly called the Retinue Army.

Unlike the well-equipped Army soldiers, they not only wore malnourishment on their faces, resembling skinny sticks, but their equipment was also shabby, even worse than some of the slightly stronger Looters.

Each person was only given a Ripper Rifle and before heading into battle, they would be provided with either fifteen or thirty reserve rounds. Once the bullets ran out, they either had to pick up from fallen comrades or engage in bayonet combat.

Before this, they hadn't even received any professional training; at most, they had only fought a few mutated cockroaches and rats.

But in fact, there was really no need for such training.

In the eyes of the Army soldiers, these people were just cheap cannon fodder recruited to consume enemy ammunition.

No one expected them to return alive; in fact, it might be better if they died.

Of course, this was the opinion of most people in the Army.

Those who were labeled as cannon fodder, however, did not see themselves this way.

The Army promised them, survive three battles and become "one of us," with the chance to be promoted to Centurion. Survive six battles, and one might become a full Centurion.

Besides, there was a "shortcut."

That was the head of a Claw of Death!

As long as one could chop off the head of that beast, not only would they become a Centurion, but they would also be rewarded with ten slaves!

Hearing such good news, many who had enlisted in the Retinue Army volunteered to join the hunting squad.

Although the notoriety of the Claw of Death was terrifying, after all, few survivors had really seen it, and even fewer had seen it and lived to tell the tale.

In the imaginations of most survivors, with artillery support and various anti-armor weapons, it would be much easier to face a beast that just needed a solid effort to be killed than to clash with the elite troops of enterprises in the jungle.

After all, the latter were the ones who had beaten the regular army that trained them into a daze, and if they truly faced those guys, one might get sent to meet the Great Antler God without even seeing the enemy...

Li Ba was utterly fascinated by the rifle in his hands, his face full of infatuation.

He had never touched a rifle made with such fine craftsmanship.

In Ten Trees Village, the double-barreled shotgun belonging to the old Hunter next door was already considered a serious weapon in his eyes.

He had always dreamt of owning one.

Brother Battlefield, carrying the rifle, glanced at Li Ba and wanted to scoff, "It's just a piece of junk used by cannon fodder, what's there to fuss about?" But his poor command of spoken language left him unable to voice the thought, so he just swallowed it back down.

However, just as he looked away, that NPC called Li Ba suddenly took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"Bro, you're from Bet Street, right?"

"Yes."

"Are there Dead Claws over there?"

His face was filled with trepidation and nervousness. Apart from these negative emotions, Brother Battlefield unexpectedly saw a glint of excitement.

He was someone who had never been on a battlefield, probably harboring some unrealistic fantasies.

Brother Battlefield replied tersely.

"Yes."

Li Ba: "Awesome! Have you seen one?"

Hearing this, a smile curled up at the corner of Brother Battlefield's mouth.

"Heh, more than just seen."

They were everywhere—outside the Shelter there was a large one, inside there was a smaller one. Near the nuclear bomb crater of Elm District, a couple of Dead Claws would occasionally roam around.

He had long grown accustomed to them.

But Li Ba's eyes lit up immediately, asking further.

"Are the Dead Claws tough?"

"Pretty average, they can smack someone's head off with a palm and rip intestines out of the stomach with a claw."

Li Ba's face turned slightly pale.

"Really?"

Brother Battlefield chuckled.

"I'm kidding, why don't you try for yourself later?"

Li Ba didn't say anything.

Seeing him looking scared, Brother Battlefield didn't continue to tease him and spoke with a consoling laugh.

"Don't worry, we probably won't see that guy today."

Li Ba was taken aback.

"Why?"

"Intuition."

Of course, Brother Battlefield wouldn't tell him that he had already leaked today's plan to his good brothers in the Storm Corps.

Xiangling town was the entrance to Shelter No.79.

Before any progress was made in taking over Shelter No.79, they wouldn't let the Army take care of that BOSS-guarding the door.

Looking up at the sunlight creeping over the treetops, Brother Battlefield murmured to himself,

"It should be soon."

Almost the moment his words fell, an explosion suddenly came from the housing area ahead.

A trail of light flashed, and thick bullet-proof armor burst into shrapnel. One of the black-robed soldiers, like a kite with its string cut, was catapulted outward, his upper body blown into a bloody mess.

Brother Battlefield's eyes instantly widened with surprise.

Well, damn.

Anti-material rifle against humans!

That's real punishment!

The sound was all too familiar to him, unmistakably the Alliance's 20mm "light cavalry gun", which could use armor-piercing, high-explosive, and incendiary rounds.

This weapon was pretty effective against both infantry and variants, four of them linked together could serve as anti-aircraft machine guns, and when individually dismantled, they could be used as sniper rifles.

In short, it was very handy.

"Ambush!"

"Everyone, spread out! Find cover to hide!"

"Quick!"

Although caught off guard, those cloaked soldiers were, after all, well-trained aeromarine troops, reacting instantly when attacked.

The officer in the black cloak let out a roar, leading the three surviving subordinates to the nearest cover, while those survivors who made up the faux army quickly came to their senses and sought nearby shelters.

However, their opponents were obviously no pushovers.

Almost the instant those thunderous gunshots rang out, the machine guns positioned in the windows spit out roaring flames.

7mm bullets poured down like rain, instantly creating a maelstrom of blood and flesh on the street directly opposite.

Those soldiers who couldn't hide in time fell like cut wheat, paying the price with more than a dozen casualties in an instant. Those who made it to the cover were still pinned down by fierce firepower, unable to so much as lift their heads.

At the first sound of gunfire, Li Ba was completely dumbfounded.

He didn't even know how he had made it behind cover, only hearing the bullets whizzing past, sparks, stone chips, and cement fragments scattering in all directions.

Clutching his rifle tightly, he sat leaning against the broken concrete wall, his pale lips trembling nonstop, yet he didn't say a word.

Right at his feet, three meters away on the street, a mutilated body lay there, undoubtedly dead, yet its legs were still thrashing about.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group, who had let go of the grip on Li Ba's collar and dragged this fellow into cover, glanced at the bodies littering the street.

Although these fallen cannon fodders were also victims of the Army's invasion, the Alliance's soldiers didn't show any mercy for that reason.

This was a battlefield.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I... I..."

Li Ba's face turned ashen, opening and closing his mouth, his complexion suddenly turning the color of liver.

"Take deep breaths, calm down, don't suffocate yourself to death before getting shot… that would be too embarrassing."

He slapped the guy's shoulder hard, looking at that completely terrified expression, the Old Soldier sighed and comforted him with a few clumsy phrases in United Human language.

Then, he grabbed the Ripper Rifle lying aside, pulled back the bolt, and loaded it.

Right then, a fury-filled shout came from an alley not far away.

"Advance—!"

"All of you, push forward for me!"

"I'll see who the hell is being a coward hiding behind cover, I'll personally execute him!"

There was the violent roar of the machine gun ahead and the bellowing of the overseer behind.

"Ah!!!"

Finally, unable to bear the pressure, a survivor rushed out of the cover like a madman, screaming out his fear, wielding his rifle as he charged towards the tall building directly ahead.

Yet before he could take two steps, a burst of blood mist exploded from his body, and his screaming stopped abruptly. Without even having time to let out a cry, he fell straight down on the blood-soaked street.

The survivors who were about to rush out from cover were petrified by this scene, their legs heavy as if filled with lead, unable to move.

The officer behind the cover, looking at the fountain-like spraying corpse, was furiously cursed on the spot.

"Are you a damn pig?!"

"I told you to go around! Who the hell told you to charge their gun's aim head-on!"

Unfortunately, the dead can't speak, and that mutilated body obviously wouldn't pay attention to him.

However, with that vivid example, the other cannon fodder learned their lesson and buried their heads, hugging the cover and advancing forward in a flanking maneuver from the sides.

However, since they hadn't received proper training, these cannon fodders could barely adapt their bodies to the battlefield, their combat proficiency remained virtually nonexistent.

Everyone swarmed into the alley and quickly became entangled like headless flies.

The distant machine gun paused for a second or two, and these rookies, who had less than 24 hours of training, didn't even know which direction to run.

But the Old Soldier knew.

"Time to go."

He took Li Ba by the arm and pulled him off the ground, leading this faint-hearted coward to an alley where the machine gun fire couldn't reach.

Staying in place was certain death.

The Army wouldn't hesitate to execute them as deserters, making an example out of them.

Moreover, as someone who was doubly duplicitous, hoping to gain the enemy's trust by merely surviving to the end was impossible.

Last night, the Old Soldier discussed this with his buddies in the chat group.

According to Brother Quanshui's plan, the Storm Corps would ambush based on his intel, and intercept the hunting team the Army sent to Xiangling town.

And after foiling the Army's plans for the day, he would get the chance to pick up a head.

Almost at the moment the Old Soldier rounded into the alley on the south side, three 100mm artillery shells hit the residential area not far ahead with precision.

Billowing smoke exploded in an instant, with the scorching blast and plume of smoke shooting up tens of meters high, blasting three huge craters in the previously intact concrete walls.

The spattering stones frightened the faux army soldiers nearby, who prostrated themselves on the ground, with heads pressed tightly to the earth, daring not to move.

Amidst the roar of artillery, the officer's shouting could vaguely be heard.

"Get up! Don't stop! Everyone, move forward!"

"Root out those scumbags who ambushed us from that building!"

However, the effectiveness of this shouting wasn't very significant.

One reason was the distance was too great to hear clearly, and another was that many people hadn't recovered from the shock of the artillery, lying on the ground and daring not to move.

This time, Li Ba refused to go forward no matter what, and the Old Soldier didn't continue with this burden, charging alone through the scorching smoke into the building that had been bombarded.

Damaged stairs above coughed lightly.

The previous round of heavy artillery had not killed the player hiding in the concrete building, but the sound made it clear that he was seriously injured.

"Kakarot?"

Old Soldier tentatively shouted up the staircase and waited quite a while before he heard a response.

"I'm Old Ghost! Damn it... those sons of bitches went straight for the artillery, completely disregarding martial ethics."

Old Ghost, a nickname for "Catch Ghosts," was also a member of the Storm Corps. Old Soldier knew immediately who was upstairs and jokingly teased.

"Artillery barrages are basic training, aren't they?"

After a pause, he urged again.

"Stop with the chatter, hurry up. Are you going to handle it yourself, or do I need to come up and lend a hand?"

A snickering laugh came from the top of the stairs.

"It would be too boring to just let you have the head."

Game rules prohibited malicious PK, and resolving in-game conflicts via "non-submission for arbitration" would result in equal penalties for both parties. Almost no one would risk their closed beta qualifications as a joke, and those bold enough to joke around were often kicked out of the server even before they completed the "Pass the Torch" mission.

However, the rules only prohibited "malice." Mission requirements or special circumstances were not prohibited.

Always hearing Brother Quanshui brag about how formidable Brother Battlefield's combat power was, Old Ghost wanted to take this opportunity to test his skills.

Old Soldier was momentarily taken aback and just as he saw the trap wire as thin as a hair at the entrance of the staircase, he looked up, smiled, and said.

Little guy.

Trying to play hard to get with me.

"Alright, how about a little skirmish?"

A hearty laugh echoed from above.

"Ha ha, that's exactly what I was thinking!"

"Come on! Let's have a thrilling fight!"

...

One was a Level 15 Strength Type, and the other a Level 22 Agile system.

Whether it was panel data or combat experience, Battlefield Atmosphere Group had a complete advantage and had no reason to lose.

Not to mention Old Ghost had been internally injured by the previous barrage of artillery shells.

He won the PK without any suspense, but Battlefield Old still left some face for his good brother, letting him choose his way to die after the fight.

"Say it, how do you want to be finished off?"

Lying in the pool of blood, Catch Ghost panted heavily, watching Battlefield Atmosphere Group juggle a Small Blade and chuckled.

"Cough cough... the Alliance has no cowards! Let those foreigners witness my bravery!"

Battlefield Old came to an understanding and nodded.

"Got it, I'll make sure to add a few more holes for you."

"Thanks a lot! Oh, and make sure to disfigure my face!"

After giving his last words,

Old Ghost rolled his eyes and logged off voluntarily.

Watching his motionless good brother lying on the ground, Battlefield Old, holding the Small Blade in reverse, sighed softly and moved forward.

"Good brother, sorry about this."

...

Even though he knew it was a game, even though there'd be no real death, even though there were so many 'even thoughs,' it indeed felt creepy to actually do it.

But—

Everything was for the Alliance.

With that thought, his heart felt much more at ease.

While praying for Old Black in his heart, Battlefield Old dragged the bloody "mission prop" back and turned in the mission.

Seeing Battlefield Atmosphere Group covered in blood coming out of the ruins, not only were the survivors being forced forward stunned, but even the four surviving Army Soldiers were taken aback.

"... just this one."

Dropping the body and the remains of the weapons on the ground, Battlefield Atmosphere Group spoke to the dazed officer in front of him, his words sparing.

The officer finally snapped out of it, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, taking a long time to squeeze out a few stiff words.

"Very good..."

Who the hell...

What's this guy's background?

After the battle ended, the casualties were tallied.

Out of a team of 121, 31 died, including an Airborne Marine.

The hunt hadn't even started, and casualties had already exceeded expectations. After reporting the situation to their superiors, the remaining four Army Soldiers led the people back to Fallen Leaf Camp.

Just back at camp, Battlefield Atmosphere Group was still thinking whether the leading officer would steal his "credit," but he soon realized his worry was unnecessary.

Having barely rested in the camp, Battlefield Old was summoned by an Army Soldier to Coleway's tent.

This sergeant with three stripes was the highest-ranking official in Fallen Leaf Camp. From the conversation between Army Soldiers, it seemed this person was a direct subordinate of Rachel, someone with no ordinary status.

Inside the tent.

Coleway stared at the man covered in blood in front of him and slowly said.

"Name."

Fully immersed in his role, Battlefield Atmosphere Group stood up straight and replied proficiently.

"Pangolin!"

The military officer before him didn't speak, just staring intently at him with sharp eyes scanning back and forth over his body, pondering something unknown in his mind.

Old Soldier couldn't help but murmur to himself.

Could it be that this big-nosed fellow has taken a liking to me?

Surely not...

Just as he was considering whether to reveal his hidden dagger, Coleway, standing before him, suddenly showed a look of appreciation and slowly nodded his head.

"Not bad!"

Having just been through a major battle without any sign of disarray, he charged single-handedly into the artillery-covered area and took down one of the company's Elite Awakeners with only a Ripper Rifle. His combat power was truly astonishing...

What surprised Coleway especially was that this man showed no sign of cowardice in the face of his probing.

This guy is talented!

The only pity was that the man's identity was that of a native and not of noble blood from the Army. Otherwise, he would have unhesitatingly recommended this warrior to his superior, Rachel.

With a hint of regret in his eyes, Coleway slightly lifted his chin and continued to speak.

"Starting from today, I appoint you as the Centurion of the Retinue Army."

Fuck?

A surge of joy instantly rose in the heart of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group.

I'm an officer already?!

Without any hesitation, he immediately stood straight and responded.

"Yes, sir!"

Coleway nodded his head approvingly.

"Perform well, I have my eye on you!"

...

Old Soldier's undercover plan went unexpectedly smooth.

After sacrificing an Awakener, he not only became a fake Centurion but even unexpectedly earned the appreciation of Coleway, the "BOSS" of Fallen Leaf Camp.

Meanwhile, while the White Bear Knights and Death Legion's players were busy trying to conquer Shelter No.79, the logistics transport team that had taken Luo Hua back from Rui Valley City finally returned to the North Suburb of Qingquan City.

Looking at Luo Hua on the stretcher, wrapped like a mummy, Chu Guang couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows and immediately ordered.

"Quick, take him to the shelter!"

The medical team immediately took over the injured from the logistics troops and rushed towards the shelter with the stretcher.

Chu Guang followed them back to the shelter as well.

Although there were hospitals on the surface, both the professional level of the doctors and the medical conditions were clearly inferior to those in the shelter.

In the B3 medical room.

Heya conducted a comprehensive examination on Luo Hua, who lay on the scanning bed, and quickly organized the scan results on a tablet.

"The left arm is completely necrotic; I'm afraid amputation is necessary..." After she finished, she looked at Yin Fang, who stood by and said, "Surgery, this is your area of expertise."

Yin Fang didn't speak but turned his gaze to Chu Guang, waiting for him to make a decision.

He was the only one familiar with this patient.

After a mere half-second of thought, Chu Guang quickly nodded his head.

"Cut it off, replace it with a cybernetic limb."

Yin Fang continued to ask.

"Which kind?"

Chu Guang said without hesitation.

"The one bought from the company, of course."

The cybernetic limbs he had imported from He Ding had not all been sold off in Giant Stone City. After all, such luxury items were prized for their rarity; selling too many at once devalues them.

Yin Fang looked at Chu Guang in surprise.

Who would have thought this guy could be so magnanimous?

But he didn't say anything else, escorted Chu Guang and Heya out of the medical room, and then immediately began the surgery.

Outside the medical room.

Heya, with her arms crossed, curiously looked at Chu Guang and asked.

"Your friend?"

"Yes."

"His injuries are really severe..."

Looking toward the tightly closed door, Heya spoke with a somewhat emotional tone.

"I found at least twenty bullet fragments in his body. He's only alive now thanks to the cybernetic organs inside him."

Chu Guang didn't say anything but took out a silver card from his pocket.

The card was covered with blood, yet the blood lipids had not congealed on it. Chu Guang stared at it for a while and slightly furrowed his brow.

Noticing the object in his hands, Heya, standing next to him, raised an eyebrow and suddenly spoke.

"I think I've seen this before."

Chu Guang immediately looked at her.

"Where did you see it?"

"I can't remember exactly where, but this thing... it's actually a shelter door card, right? I remember it has more functions than just opening doors; it can also assign some privileges to the card," Heya looked at Chu Guang strangely, "Don't you have them here?"

"...We're more economical, and we don't need them."

He made a casual excuse and Chu Guang looked at the card in his hand, deep in thought.

A key to No.0 Shelter?

They really found it...

Chapter 388: Silence

Shelter No. 404's medical room.

Luo Hua opened his eyes on the scanning bed, his gaze met with a silvery-white ceiling. He tried to sit up but found the effects of the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet, leaving his body unresponsive.

Except for his left hand—

Looking at the biomechanical prosthetic in front of him, he couldn't help but swallow.

At that moment, a strange voice came from the side.

"Yo, awake?"

Luo Hua slowly moved his neck, looking towards a strange man standing by the window. Just as he was about to ask where he was, he suddenly noticed fine threads, like strands of hair, floating around the man's arm.

He recognized that object—it was a "scalpel" used for minimally invasive surgery on neurons, commonly seen with large medical devices used for prosthetic modification surgeries.

Only those obsessed with Prosperous Epoch Technology to the point of near-paranoia would equip such things on a biomechanical prosthetic...

Swallowing, Luo Hua managed to squeeze out a question.

"Are you from the Academy?"

"Yes, the branch of Shelter No. 404, I'm the Director here."

Yin Fang made a light joke to ease the atmosphere, a trick Chu Guang had once taught him, as he retracted the hair-like surgical tools into the port inside his forearm.

Looking at the man lying on the scanning bed, he smiled faintly and spoke.

"Welcome to Shelter No. 404, besides being the director of the Academy's branch, I'm also the head of this place's scientific expedition team. By the way, the biomechanical organs in your body are quite interesting, I just opened them to take a look. You wouldn't mind, right?"

Luo Hua replied with a bitter smile.

"…Would it matter if I did?"

"It really wouldn't, it's already done," commented Yin Fang humorously, then continued, "My name is Yin Fang, if there's any issue with your parts, you can come to me for repairs."

"Luo Hua… employee of the Silver Wing Group," Luo Hua looked around in surprise, "This… is Shelter No. 404?"

Yin Fang slightly raised his eyebrows.

"Right, have you not been here before?"

"I have…but"

He had no recollection of this room.

Luo Hua blankly stared at the ceiling.

Just then, he suddenly remembered something and immediately said to Yin Fang standing next to the scanning bed.

"Where's your manager?"

"Right outside the door, should I call him in?"

Luo Hua nodded, just about to say "Please do" when the door to the medical room swung open.

A man and a woman entered.

The woman with silver long hair was unfamiliar to him, but the person standing next to her, he knew all too well.

"Chu Guang…"

Chu Guang nodded with a smile.

"We meet again."

Compared to a year ago when they first met, the young man lying on the bed had aged considerably, his face bearing the marks of hardships. If it weren't for Yin Fang having shaved his beard, his look might have held a more artistic flair.

A trace of excitement flickered through Luo Hua's eyes as he struggled to sit up from the scanning bed, but Chu Guang raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't get excited, you can talk while lying down. We've just woken you up, let's not have you passing out in the middle of our conversation."

Chu Guang smiled, then continued with concern.

"How do you feel? Any better?"

"Much better," Luo Hua swallowed, then immediately said, "We found it!"

"No.0 Shelter?" asked Chu Guang thoughtfully.

"Yes!" Luo Hua exclaimed, "It's in the Great Desert… we found the entrance!"

"What does it look like?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Chu Guang looked at him surprised, "Didn't you go in?"

A bitter expression appeared on Luo Hua's face.

"To be precise, we almost did…"

"Because of the Army?" Chu Guang pondered.

Luo Hua nodded somberly.

"We successfully found the coordinates of No.0 Shelter and obtained the key to enter the shelter from a key figure… the one you're holding."

Chu Guang glanced at the silver card in his hand, deep in thought.

Resting on the scanning bed, Luo Hua paused for a moment before continuing.

"They are tougher than expected… even though we had power armor, their combat power is not weak, and the Falcon Kingdom in Oasis No. 2, closest to the Great Desert, is their vassal."

"Facing an onslaught of soldiers like a tide, we had to abandon the Pioneer, some of us hid in the temporary shelters near the base of the space elevator."

Chu Guang was momentarily stunned.

"…Space elevator?!"

"Yes, didn't you know?"

When Luo Hua saw Chu Guang slowly nod, he continued.

"The remnants of the Human Alliance Era space elevator are near the equator in the central part of the Great Desert… That thing collapsed two hundred years ago, and pieces of it are scattered across the Great Desert; the furthest piece even fell on the East Coast. But that's not the point, the point is No.0 Shelter is nearby!"

Taking a deep breath, he looked earnestly at Chu Guang.

"Lu Yang… our team leader told me to head east at all costs, to ensure that the card doesn't fall into the Army's hands."

"That is our last hope to end all suffering on this land."

Pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, Chu Guang took a moment to digest this enormous amount of information.

"I will do my utmost to help you, but currently, the Army's aircraft have reached right under our noses. Without dealing with them, our people will have to detour a great distance south to enter Falling Leaves Province… Do you have any way to contact the eastern coast?"

A look of anxiety crossed Luo Hua's eyes.

"We've already reported the situation to the enterprise, haven't they arrived yet?"

Hearing this, Chu Guang's expression became subtly complex.

"We have arrived, but there are only a little over a hundred people... Are you sure that's enough?"

Luo Hua was clearly stunned.

"Only a little over a hundred... How could there only be a little over a hundred?!"

Watching Luo Hua's eyes gradually fill with urgency and disbelief, Chu Guang silently nodded and continued speaking.

"That's the reality. Assault Team No.26 has arrived, comprising just over a hundred people, led by Yun Song. Although they have twenty power armors, there is a severe lack of heavy weapons... Honestly, I don't think that few people will be adequate."

This was also one of the reasons he hadn't called those people back to help deal with Steel Heart; those hundred-odd people weren't really useful for much, better to have them assist in the west.

What he needed was more substantial support.

Whether it's weapons or technology, he wanted as much as possible.

Luo Hua clenched his teeth and said,

"One assault team is definitely not enough! Not to mention the two ten-thousand strong armies deployed by the Army in the west side of Sunset Province, the standing army of the Falcon Kingdom alone is around a hundred thousand! Even with twenty power armors... it's impossible to deal with so many people."

Chu Guang sighed.

"That's what I think too."

Especially after witnessing the power of that 400mm main gun, he became even more convinced of this.

To be honest, he even wondered if something had gone wrong on the East Coast, otherwise why had so few reinforcements come.

However, now was clearly not the time to discuss these matters.

After a pause, Chu Guang asked,

"Don't you have some large transport planes or airships or something?"

A troubled expression appeared on Luo Hua's face.

"We do have them, but just the distance to the East Coast is nearly three thousand kilometers... This distance is already far beyond the maximum range of our 'Electric Eel.'"

The "Electric Eel" was a dual-engine transporter equipped by the Enterprise faction, capable of switching between fixed-wing and vertical takeoff and landing, with a maximum range of only five hundred kilometers.

Otherwise, Yun Song and his team wouldn't have traveled by land.

All this time, the Enterprise faction only had Ideal City as a survivor settlement, and they only maintained trade with other settlements of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng; they had neither the need for ultra-long-distance deployment and combat nor overseas military bases, and therefore, they had never developed technology for large aircraft.

Starting to develop this now wasn't impossible, given their advanced power technologies and energy storage technologies, designing a practical device wouldn't be too hard for them.

However, whether they could catch up with the current crisis was a problem.

Luo Hua fell into deep thought.

After a long while, he spoke.

"Anyway, we need to find a way to contact the Enterprise... I have to tell the people over there about the situation here!"

Chu Guang asked.

"Do you still have 'Migrant Bird'?"

"That big guy... How could I possibly carry it with me," Luo Hua coughed dryly and continued, "But apart from Migrant Bird... there's actually another emergency method."

Chu Guang immediately asked.

"What method?"

Standing aside all this while and silent, Yin Fang suddenly chimed in.

"Is it the orbital satellite again?"

A surprised look appeared on Luo Hua's face, and he nodded.

"...How did you know?"

An intriguing look appeared on Yin Fang's face, with a barely detectable hint of sarcasm.

"It's not the first time you guys have done this."

Chu Guang's brow furrowed slightly, a bit confused.

"Orbital satellite? What do you mean? Isn't near-Earth orbit filled with space junk—"

"Because outer space orbits are filled with space junk, there's always one or two things that can still be used, right?"

Lowering his crossed arms, Yin Fang continued with a mocking tone,

"If some data is uploaded to one of the functioning satellites, and then use the leftover fuel to guide the satellite to fall near the East Coast, whoever finds the satellite just needs a crowbar or axe to break open that lump of iron like cracking a coconut shell, and see what's written inside... such burn-the-bridge actions, only they would do it."

Chu Guang was stunned.

Damn?

Can it really be done like this?

Not just Chu Guang, Heya standing to the side also had a dumbfounded look.

Finally catching the sarcastic undertones in those words, Luo Hua's face flushed as he said,

"We're not using it to make phone calls; it's just an emergency measure."

Chu Guang couldn't help but say,

"But why... why must the satellite be made to fall? Can't it just serve as a signal relay?"

Yin Fang shook his head.

"You're thinking too simply. First off, the satellites that can be utilized through this method aren't low-orbit communication satellites, but rather a type of research satellite that lasts longer and is more reliable in quality, generally referred to as... T-series satellites."

"These types of satellites are usually in higher, wider synchronous orbits, remaining relatively stationary to the ground and have contact only with the research facility directly below them... and the method of contact isn't radio waves, but rather narrower-scope lasers."

Chu Guang: "Lasers?!"

Yin Fang nodded, stating succinctly,

"Correct. When information needs to be exchanged, the ground research facility sends up a beam of light, and then a beam of light comes down from above, which you can generally understand as hitting a coin-sized transmitter from thirty-six thousand kilometers away with a pistol... This method of communication is very secure; aside from the research facility linked to the satellite, it's virtually impossible to contact that satellite from elsewhere or to ascertain the satellite's specific coordinates."

"Usually, if the ground communication base station loses connection with the satellite, these satellites will enter a dormant state until they are awakened again. Thus, theoretically, these satellites generally have leftover energy, and that leftover energy should at least be sufficient for one orbital transition."

Chu Guang thoughtfully said,

"So we just need to find a ground base station that can make contact with one of these satellites, write the data into the satellite, and then guide the satellite to fall..."

"Yes, hence these people burning their boats; the way those on the East Coast utilize the relics of the pre-war civilization is destructively, with no understanding of sustainable utilization. Dropping a research satellite worth tens of millions just to send a message, tsk tsk…"

Yin Fang's tone was laced with sarcasm as he clicked his tongue.

Although the remark was aimed at the Enterprise and not at Luo Hua lying there, it still caused the latter's face to turn red.

"Are we not discussing the Army's problems here? Or do you have a better method?"

Yin Fang bluntly stated.

"No, but do you know where to find that kind of research facility?"

"Of course! There's one in the South of River Valley Province, I remember the coordinates!" Luo Hua looked at Chu Guang and earnestly said, "It's a research institute, about seventy kilometers from Qingquan City... The materials inside should be useful to you, could I trouble you to send someone over?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"No problem."

That was easy for him.

A distance of seventy kilometers was less than an hour's flight for the "Dragonfly" transport plane, just a few parachutes dropped over would do.

As for crashing a satellite...

After all, it wasn't his satellite.

Getting the materials from the research institute was enough.

The urgent task now was to get The Enterprise faction to send more reinforcements, and of course, it'd be better if they could send more weapons.

The airport in the north of the City of Dawn was spacious enough for any large transport plane to land.

Luo Hua's eyes filled with gratitude.

"Thank you."

Chu Guang grinned and said.

"Don't mention it, the Army is our common enemy."

"Just rest and heal, and leave the rest to us. Speaking of which, I've got hold of a few barrels of fine liquor, we'll celebrate once you're all healed."

Luo Hua weakly smiled.

"Ha ha... That will have to wait a while."

His tense shoulders finally relaxed as he leaned back on the scanning bed, a relieved expression finally spread across his face.

Though his companions were still in crisis far in the Great Desert, Chu Guang's supportive stance gave him hope.

Heya, standing with her arms crossed at the door, suddenly spoke up.

"Now that the surgery is finished... can we arrange for him to be transferred? This place is not meant for recovery."

Although it was called a medical room, it had long been used by her as a laboratory, and the only scanning bed in the entire Alliance was an essential research tool.

Luo Hua's face showed an embarrassed expression.

"I am sorry for the disruption."

Chu Guang smiled.

"How could it be? But this place really isn't suitable for recovery, I will arrange for someone to transfer you to a better environment in a friendlier ward."

After saying that, he called in the medical staff waiting at the door and instructed them to transfer Luo Hua to the ground-based Alliance's First Hospital.

The wards there were spacious, a few wounded members of Enterprise factions previously left also resided there.

Regarding the medical expenses...

It would be too distant to mention those.

Yin Fang, standing beside with arms crossed, murmured under his breath as the medical staff moved the patient outside the medical room.

"I knew it..."

"These guys from the East Coast definitely have a treasure map!"

...

That evening.

A transport plane took off from the north of the City of Dawn, carrying twenty-five players from the Burning Corps, flying towards the research facility seventy kilometers to the east.

At the same time, in Rui Valley City, one hundred and fifty kilometers west of the City of Dawn, the White Bear Knights and the Death Legion's siege on Shelter No. 79 had also entered its final phase.

The main route to the central research area had been cleared.

Though Variants and "Wildmen" continued to swarm from other areas, the attack wasn't as intense as the first few days.

After all, the Variants active in this shelter were not those controlled by the "hive mind"

of mucosal entities.

Their attacks on players were more out of motives to protect their territory and hunt, without the cooperation between different groups or forming a massive "Tide."

"Mother... this guy is quite strong!"

Flicking the blood off his engineer shovel, the construction site youth and Zuan looked at the shambles inside the room, clicked their tongues, and firmly grasped the assault rifle hung across their chests, changing the magazine.

The spacious hall was littered with bodies numbering forty to fifty, primitive weapons like lances and bows scattered across the floor along with smoking shell casings.

A fierce encounter had just occurred here.

Their opponents were a group of wildmen who seemed to have been lying in ambush nearby, launching a sudden attack as the players entered the room.

Their skin was sickly pale, but their limbs were surprisingly robust, their strength attributes probably around 13 to 15, equivalent to level of a first awakening.

More than that, their speed was extremely fast, their resilience frighteningly strong, and the skillful muscle coordination was almost beast-like.

Or more precisely, they were beasts, with almost none of their internal organs resembling those of humans, just happened to look somewhat human.

Fortunately, these wildmen only used bows and spears.

Otherwise, they'd have been tough to handle.

"We're at the last 'checkpoint' to the research area, up ahead seems to be the lair of the Claw of Death, and our ammunition is running low..."

Shouldering his rifle, Edge Shoveling stepped forward to the group from the White Bear Knights and continued,

"I suggest we continue the siege tomorrow."

"Tail agrees! Phew, I'm almost dead tired!"

Tail, leaning against the wall, gasped for air, wiping his forehead with his arm, smearing blood rather than wiping away sweat.

Similarly breathless, Si Si glanced at the remaining magazines and nodded.

"Yeah... let's continue tomorrow."

Night had fallen in Shelter No. 79.

She looked around the area and continued,

"There are plenty of rooms here, since the creatures are cleared out, why not explore a bit more before we head back?"

This building was the last one before the research area, seemingly an administrative building. While exploring other areas, she had found some interesting clues.

Before leaving, she planned to verify those.

Hearing Si Si's suggestion, Edge Shoveling readily agreed.

"Alright, let's gather in an hour."

"OK."

After reaching an agreement, the players dispersed to search the room.

The tail, which had been too tired just a moment ago, sprang up from the ground with a swoosh and disappeared somewhere with Meat Meat.

Having a clear goal in mind, Si Si glanced at the floorplan and headed straight through the lobby to the upstairs office area.

Unexpectedly, this area wasn't occupied by Variants.

The entire corridor was eerily quiet.

Especially surprising to Si Si was that, unlike the previous areas they had passed through, the doors here were all wide open.

"Oh, an unexpected discovery..."

She picked the nearest room and after carefully confirming it was safe, she cautiously entered with her rifle in hand.

The office had a futuristic feel.

The furniture inside looked quite stylish and the room, nearly twenty square meters in size, extravagantly housed only two tables.

Approaching the nearest table, Si Si glanced at the cluttered surface and casually pulled open the right drawer.

Inside, there were some personal items, a work card, and a thumb-sized storage device.

The interface of the storage device was compatible with the VM.

"Is this...a USB drive?"

A trace of interest sparked in her eyes as she examined it for a while, then plugged it into the VM.

A dim signal light flickered, and a pale blue dialog box quickly appeared before her, automatically translated into her readable language by the VM's built-in translation program.

[Shelter No. 79 Research Log]

[Experiment Log: 2129/February/7]

[Experiment Log: …]

The last entry was dated July 8, 2178.

Speaking of which...

Was 2129 the first year of the Wasteland Era?

Index finger gently rubbing her chin, Si Si's eyes grew increasingly interested as she opened the first log on the list.

[2129/February/7: Sleep Cabin opened, and it wasn't joyful kin waking us up, but the shelter's program, indicating we had reached the worst possible outcome, with the outside world destroyed, this place is our last home...Damn, it sounds like a dream, but the rubidium atomic clock never lies.]

[I will remember this day of despair and hope; we shall fulfill the promise made three years ago... But can such a far-fetched thing really be done?]

"...Far-fetched thing?"

She muttered softly, her brow furrowing slightly.

Yong had mentioned that Shelter No. 79 was conducting research on "restoring mutated creatures to their pre-mutation state."

But were there Variants in the first year of the Wasteland Era?

She vaguely remembered the official setting collections mentioning that Variants appeared massively after the half-century-long Little Ice Age?

"So...what was actually being conducted here?"

She wouldn't take every word of an NPC as truth; in fact, she had always had doubts about Yong's identity.

Since it was a fully realistic virtual reality game, NPCs lying was also a possibility, right?

However, just as she was about to turn to the next log, the alloy door behind her suddenly shut, cutting off the only exit.

Si Si's face slightly changed as she immediately rushed over and rammed her shoulder against the door, only to find it immovable.

Without hesitation, she stepped back a few steps, lifted her assault rifle hanging at her chest, and pulled the trigger at the alloy door.

"Bang bang," two thunderous gunshots echoed in the room. Sparks leaped towards the ceiling, yet the surface of that door remained unmarked by a single bullet.

She took a deep breath, walked up to the door to fumble around for a while, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted,

"Ah Wei!"

"Can you hear me?"

No response.

She pressed her ear against it and couldn't hear any sound from outside.

"Tsk, the soundproofing is too strong."

Tsking, Si Si gave up the futile attempt and moved her ear away from the door.

In the shelter, the Manager's authority was absolute—she was truly experiencing the implications of this setting.

A pinnacle of technology from the Human Alliance Era, it wasn't something her old-fashioned assault rifle could penetrate.

Probably, even using all the grenades she had wouldn't help much.

As long as the Shelter's Manager was willing,
he could even lock this door until the next century.

Just then, Si Si suddenly noticed that the air vent overhead had gone silent, seemingly no longer functioning.

Realizing the implication, she muttered softly,

"Planning to silence me..."

That guy must have harbored the intent to kill all along.

Otherwise, he could have locked the door before she even entered.

"A normal adult consumes 0.75 kilograms of oxygen a day... A twenty-square-meter room with about three meters in height makes sixty cubic meters of air."

CO2 poisoning occurs when oxygen content drops below 10%.

"That means... it could support life for about five days."

Considering the metabolic rate of Awakeners, maybe just two or three days would be it.

Glancing at the VM screen with the log, a subtle smirk suddenly formed at the corner of Si Si's mouth.

The time left for herself was perhaps...

a bit too generous.

-

(Thanks to the leaders "My name is Wang Laoji," "NightChicK3n," and "Little Dimple Accompaniment" for the generous rewards!!!)

Chapter 389 "Orbital Drift Bottle

"The path to eternity inevitably involves sacrifice; you are not the only one who has given their life for this."

"You are a clever girl, but unfortunately, curiosity has harmed you. Faced with survival and the truth, you chose the least important one."

"Goodbye, don't blame me."

"Everything is natural selection."

"Sleep peacefully before the New World arrives..."

It would be a good dream.

Although the process is a bit painful...

Crows flocked to the cracked remains of broken walls, as the sunset stretched their rough, harsh squawks and the shadows of their claws.

It stood in the middle of the street, gazing at the dimming yellow in the distance, muttering words that seemed to comfort someone.

Its amber pupils slightly shifted, focusing as if they penetrated through the burning clouds to a place beyond its field of vision.

After a long while, it withdrew its gaze from the distance, satisfied.

However, just as it turned to leave, it locked eyes with a group of people at the end of the street.

They were a group of ragged beggars, wearing tattered clothes, pulling iron chains in their hands, and carrying rifles with bayonets on their backs.

Its amber pupils stared at them, its nostril-like snout exhaling a hiss, a disdainful expression on the face of the Claw of Death.

These ignorant ants...

Meanwhile, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group standing opposite was filled with excitement, whispering commands to their subordinates.

"Follow my orders, throw the iron chain on it, regardless of whether you hit or miss, immediately run to the building next door..."

"Don't hesitate, hesitating means giving in for free."

Watching the massive body charging like a tank, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group tightened their grip on the iron chains, roaring with a high will to fight.

"Let's go, brothers—"

"Just do it!"

Although he didn't know what "Let's go" meant, Li Ba shouted to vent his fear, cheering up every trembling cell in his body.

"Ao ao ao!"

...

While Old Soldier, who had just become a Centurion, was courageously matching wits and strength against the Claw of Death with his men, the official forum of another world was bustling with activity.

"Decrypting Shelter No.79 Information, Manager is the Ultimate Villain?! (I traded my life for this, leave a like please QAQ)"

After logging off, Si Si compiled all the clues he had gathered from the "Experiment Log" into this post.

"December 30, 2169, the 40th year of the Wasteland Era is about to end. Although many things have happened this year, fortunately, our experiment is still ongoing."

"But on this special day, I don't want to write too much about the experiments. Instead, I plan to write a story about 'us,' lest one day I develop Alzheimer's and forget all about our past."

"Shelter No.79 was established in 2120, five years before the Doomsday War broke out. This shelter, marked as 'T' in the United Human Perpetual Construction Sequence, was designated as a research-type shelter. Its function was not to shelter residents but to preserve a special research facility for extreme post-war scenarios."

"Based on unreliable assumptions about human nature, the Post-War Reconstruction Committee's vision might fail, and our legacy might not transform into a new Heaven but instead become a tool for the exploitation of the many by the few, or even a barrier to the revival of civilization."

"If our civilization regressed back to the feudal era or even earlier tribal times, what we would need is not steam engines or heavy machine guns, but a king who could lead us through the darkness and into a new world."

"He had to be powerful enough to embody all great strength in himself, ideally possessing an almost endless lifespan to accompany his people through the years, ensuring ideals never fade. He would sacrifice himself after rebuilding Utopia, returning everything to the people who trusted him."

"Although this was merely a hypothetical proposition, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, we should attempt it if conditions allowed."

"The 79th plan thus came into being."

"As one of tens of thousands of contingency plans, the goal here was to create a 'Manager' with perfect capabilities and morality after 120 years of isolation, who would lead his people in rebuilding our civilization on the surface."

"A total of one hundred thousand researchers participated in this plan. We entered the shelter in the first year of the war and awoke from it on the tenth winter after the war ended, working methodically under the guidance of the Manager."

"The plan initially progressed smoothly without the scrutiny and obstruction of the 'Science and Technology Ethics Committee,' and we quickly achieved phased progress. Sadly, in the fortieth year of the Wasteland Era, our plan ultimately encountered an unexpected event."

"The ice age was coming to an end, expected to completely conclude in ten years, which was fifty years sooner than the computer's calculations had anticipated. Coinciding with the death of the First Generation Manager and the transition between the old and the new, not only did the newer generation of residents begin to doubt the 'plan,' but even we, the earliest researchers to enter the shelter, debated whether to continue this plan."

"As planned, we selected the second Manager from the new generation of residents, entrusting the future power to him. However, unexpectedly, this charismatic young leader, an opposer of the 79th plan, completely changed his stance and became a firm supporter of the 79th plan within a few months of obtaining authority in the shelter."

"Not only that, but he adopted a more radical experimental strategy, demanding that we not be limited by the forms of life and means of experimentation. Numerous clones were used in experiments, and for efficiency, we even modified the genes of the clones, creating distinctly different sub-species."

"I have an uneasy feeling about this, but it seems too late to say this now..."

"June 11, 2178, it seems to have cleared up outside, the damn snow has finally stopped!"

"June 29, 2178, he must have gone mad..."

"July 8, 2178, many people have died for that crazy plan. I will probably die soon too, but I feel no sorrow in my heart. Even if none of this had happened, my life was already nearing its end. And before the final moment arrives, we had done all we could, even if not every action was foolproof."

"Perhaps as he said, all was the natural selection."

"I hope that when I wake up next time, our world will have transformed anew, and I will have the fortune to gaze upon the new Heaven..."

"The above is merely the perspective of an ordinary researcher."

"The log shown in the VM is machine-translated; I've roughly organized it, and the key information should be in those logs between June and July 2178. I will gradually move the original texts to the forum, and if there are any missed clues, please help me find them."

The post was released less than three minutes ago.

The comment section instantly piled up with a hundred replies with players and backseat drivers furiously discussing.

However, the substantive replies were only a few.

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "We thought you had gotten lost, been walking around that building for ages."

Sesame Paste moan: "... That's terrifying."

Tail: "Wuuu, my Si Si died so tragically! Damn it... I'm going to set fire to his shelter! (;｀O´)o"

Escaping Mole from the canyon: "It's futile, though. The Manager's authority in the shelter is absolute. Even if you manage to bring tools for arson... I don't believe they don't have fire extinguishers there. (sideways glance)"

Tail: "!!!"

Si Si: "Hmm, I thought so too, no point in exposing ourselves now. Better act like nothing's happening and surprise it in the end."

The most unrealistic aspect of this Game is probably the ability to step "outside."

Even though NPCs are putting a lot of effort into playing their roles, unfortunately, they have no idea that there's something called "Forum" in another world.

Yong would never imagine that the secret he tried so desperately to keep has already been completely leaked…

Edge Shoveling: "From what we know so far, was Shelter No.79's ultimate goal to nurture a morally flawless and immortal monarch? But in the end, did all sorts of issues cause the experiment to deviate?"

Crow: "Immortality is one thing... but how do you measure moral perfection? _(:з」∠)"

Elena: "Like Plato's 'Philosopher-King'? (jokingly)"

Edge Shoveling: "So the experiment failed, huh."

Fang Chang: "It might not necessarily be a failure; just think back to what year it is now. (side-eye)"

Edge Shoveling: "The year 2341."

Edge Shoveling: "Wait, wait! If Yong is the second generation Manager mentioned in the experiment logs, does that mean the experiment was successful?!"

Fang Chang: "That's very likely, and rather than focusing on that unknown serum, I suggest you find the manager of Shelter No.79."

Sesame Paste: "But, a manager has absolute authority in a shelter, even if we find him... that wouldn't make a difference, right?"

Fang Chang: "That 'Yong' might not even be in the shelter. Otherwise, why wouldn't he get the serum himself instead of relying on a group of unpredictable outsiders?"

Sesame Paste: "Right... The manager's control over the shelter is absolute; he must have a reason he can't return, thus needing strangers to help."

Li Ba: "Wow, that makes sense! !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si: "Emmm… although that's what I think too, I still suggest we stick to the plan and get ahold of the serum first."

Fang Chang: "Yes, that's also an option but be careful not to let someone steal the serum… That's the only bargaining chip you guys hold."

Edge Shoveling: "Ha-ha, no worries there! We've got over a hundred Awakeners stationed right here; it couldn't possibly be stolen! (grinning)"

Si Si: "You just jinxed us with that flag you set. (side-eye)"

Debt Giant Eye: "But, who exactly is this Yong?"

Makabazi: "From what you're discussing, I feel like everyone in Xiangling Town is a suspect…I mean, the radio was found in the library, right?"

While players were discussing all at once, Trashlord suddenly appeared in the comment section.

"Actually, I was just wondering..."

"What if that guy is not even human?"

…

The night was deep.

70 kilometers from Qingquan City, in the wilderness, 25 fully armed soldiers were advancing along a deserted highway.

This location was once a small town, but now it lay in ruin, with segments of concrete roads flanked by heaps of collapsed houses and construction debris.

The nearest survivor settlement is Garbage City, with a population running into the hundreds of thousands—though that had nothing to do with their mission today.

Their target for today was the hidden, abandoned research facility in the town.

They stopped walking.

Old White gazed into the distance at the research facility, comparing it to the photos on the VM screen and joked.

"It looks nothing like it did two centuries ago."

Blood-streaked and flesh-speckled wooden fences surrounded the facility's enclosing wall. Fist-sized mutated flies buzzed around sharp wooden stakes, and corner-hiding rats gnawed on leftovers, occasionally looking up at the wall.

Even the Looters wouldn't keep their lairs so filthy, allowing themselves to be smothered by pestilence and rot.

Clearly, the creatures living here were not human but something else...

"Mutants."

Wild Wind, eyes closed, suddenly blurted out three words.

He controlled his quad-rotor drone through a neural interface device, which was now flying above the research facility, streaming the footage live to every squad member's VM nearby.

On the roof of the facility, two burly mutants with dark green skin stood by the railing.

Beside them sat a burning metal barrel, their hands gripping unknown animal limbs, chomping in large bites, and conversing in deep, booming voices.

They resembled the orcs from medieval Warhammer, bloodthirsty and hairy.

Everything here was identical to what players had encountered in the early versions of the mutant tribes.

The difference was, whilst the mutants were the same, the players standing here were no longer the newbies they once were.

"Mutants, well, there's no need for niceties then," Night Ten, loading a sniper with an anti-material armor-piercing incendiary bullet, chuckled and said, "Let's get straight to the action."

In survivor settlements, they would need to confirm identities, deciding whether diplomacy or eviction was the appropriate approach.

But with mutants, there were no such considerations.

Sending these beasts to hell, that was their rightful job.

Old White looked solemnly at Wild Wind.

"Numbers, positions."

"Two on the roof, one in the west side corner, two in the north side garage, one by the oil barrel, three by the window on the second floor… these are all I can see." Wild Wind, merging his consciousness with the drone, calmly called out the positions and marked each target with red dots on the VM map.

After confirming the enemy's details, Old White crisply motioned a hand signal.

Upon receiving the command, the players following him immediately split into three squads.

One squad, led by Night Ten, moved to a hill west of the facility. Another moved to the left of the main entrance of the research institute. The rest, led personally by Old White, charged toward the main entrance.

The mutants had sharp eyesight, and their animal instincts quickly alerted them to abnormalities in the dark.

But by the time they sensed the imminent danger, it was already too late.

"Fire!"

At Old White's command, a series of explosions erupted from the west side of the research facility.

Six "Heavy Cavalry Guns" simultaneously spewed flames, six thick tracer rounds streaking toward the top floor of the facility like lightning, completely tearing through the silence of the night.

In front of the 37mm armor-piercing incendiary bullets, the robust bodies of the mutants were like paper; some were pierced straight through immediately, while others had bullets lodge inside their flesh.

The scorching magnesium aluminum spewed sparks, turning flesh into char, and the mutants writhed on the ground screaming, their dark green faces twisted in agony.

Without the slightest pity or hesitation, Old White led his squad swiftly into the facility, their assault rifles relentlessly spitting fire, turning any mutant trying to rush them into sieves.

After breaking through the first line of defense, the players waiting by the doorway followed closely, entering the facility and maneuvering to its rear, clearing every inch of space between the enclosing wall and the main building.

From the west side, gunshots resembling cannon-fire could be heard as they shredded mutants trying to return fire from near the windows with large-caliber incendiary bullets.

The battle was a massacre, devoid of any suspense.

Despite their strong bodies and decent iron pipe rifles and axes, these mutants were clearly no match for these battle-hardened "Old Soldiers."

In less than 20 minutes, the elite of the Burning Corps had cleared all the mutants from the building and rescued over ten prisoners in the basement who had not yet been "eaten."

Among the rescued were men and women, the oldest in their thirties and the youngest perhaps only about ten.

From their clothes, some looked like traders, others like villagers from nearby settlements.

When first rescued, they curled up in the corners of the rooms, their lifeless eyes devoid of any sparkle; though alive, they seemed no different from the dead.

It was only after their shackles were unlocked that a flicker of vitality returned to their lifeless eyes.

"...It's over; we've cleared the mutants here. You're safe now."

"Thank you... thank you!"

A survivor was just rising from the ground, trembling as he tried to kneel, but Old White quickly steadied him with a hand.

"No need to thank us; we are soldiers of the Alliance. If you have nowhere to go, head east to the North Suburb of Qingquan City. The people there will take you in."

His United Human language wasn't great.

But he'd memorized that line long ago.

"Alliance..." The survivor's face wore a bewildered expression, but he kept muttering the word as if to etch it into his memory.

"Yes," Old White said with an encouraging smile, "we are trying to establish a society different from others there. If you are tired of life in the Wasteland, you could try your luck there."

After escorting the group of survivors outside, he returned to the facility.

Tomato Scrambled Eggs gave him a teasing smile.

"Not bad, Alliance's first image ambassador," he said.

Old White smiled.

"You wouldn't understand; this is called accumulating good karma."

The Manager always watched over his residents, and loyal acts could increase the likelihood of better equipment drops and triggering hidden quests.

Although there was no concrete evidence to support this rumor, believing it a bit couldn't hurt.

Many residents of the Alliance had benefited from their deeds and regarded them as heroes.

The NPCs in this game were quite different from those in other open-world games; even if it wasn't saving the world, just performing a small good deed, NPCs would remember it for a long time.

Those people were genuinely thankful.

Curious, Quit Smoking asked, "So, how far are you from reaching 100,000 contribution points?"

Old White replied, "After this task, it should be just about there."

"Awesome!" Night Ten gave a thumbs up, looking impressed, "We're all doing the same tasks, so how come your contribution points shoot up so fast?"

Old White gave an embarrassed smile.

"Maybe it's just accumulation."

Tomato Scrambled Eggs joked, "Bro, when you get your power armor, let me touch it, hehe."

"Sure," Old White said, "Do you want me to take it off for you to touch, or do you want to touch it while I'm wearing it?"

Quit Smoking stared at Old White in astonishment, his expression as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Fuck, when did you become as flirtatious as Night Eleven!"

"I'm always the target," Night Ten rolled his eyes and urged, "Stop wasting time and get on with the mission."

They had parachuted in from far away, not to sightsee.

The group split up.

One party went to the laser emission unit at the research facility to physically open the rusted launch bay doors.

Another group headed to the control room on the third floor of the facility.

Fortunately, the backup generator still had some power left, so they didn't need to prepare a generator to charge the capacitors of the laser emission unit.

Standing before the console, Old White opened the VM screen and verified the current task.

[Task: Orbital Message in a Bottle]

[Description: Our war with the army is at a stalemate. Although we've successfully made them think they're fighting a corporation, it's hard to say how long this bluff will hold. We need support from the East Coast, and first, they need to know that an old friend is in trouble. We must dismantle a satellite, out of necessity.]

[Requirement: Activate the research facility's laser emission unit, establish communication with the research satellite in geostationary orbit above, and complete data transfer.]

The method to activate the laser emission unit was listed under the task panel.

They just needed to plug the data interface into the console and then release a communications balloon.

The rest would be handled by the remote operation of the NPCs at the shelter.

Watching Old White plug the data interface into the console, Night Ten, curious, asked.

"Are we using the satellite as a message in a bottle now?"

This is too extravagant.

Wild Wind stared at the console screen for a while before suddenly speaking, "What I'm more curious about is how it manages to establish contact through the laser and synchronous orbit satellites."

This technology is ridiculously advanced.

But compared to controlled nuclear fusion, maybe it's not so incomprehensible?

Old White didn't think so deeply and laughed, "Who cares, who knows what will happen in over 100 years, you can't expect Brother Guang to conjure one up in reality, can you?"

Wild Wind's expression became subtly nuanced.

A 99.99…% realistic Virtual Reality Game and a laser communication technology spanning 36,000 kilometers—it's hard to say which is more challenging to achieve.

The progress bar on the console screen completed.

Suddenly, a beam as thick as an arm shot out from the central emitter in the research institute.

It was hard to define the color of the light; its color was as fleeting as its existence, intermittently showing faint red and purple outlines.

The beam of light pierced through the clouds and entered the boundless depths of space.

Stepping onto the roof of the research institute,

Wild Wind looked up at the sky where the light flickered on and off and muttered,

"If I were part of the army, I'd definitely fire a shot here."

Old White chuckled, "What are you thinking? We're over 200 kilometers away from that airship, what kind of artillery could reach that far?"

200 kilometers.

That would require a tactical missile.

I heard Goblin Technology is researching short-range missiles, no idea how that's going though.

Mosquito never spouts anything reliable from his mouth, no matter how many times you ask, it's always 'soon, soon.'

Though there's a forced aspect, one has to admit, the New Alliance's technology tree is incredibly skewed.

"…You do have a point."

Wild Wind tapped his chin thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on the beam of light, yet his mind pondered on other matters.

Under the Tyndall effect, the beam was visible even from a great distance.

Was it the same 200 years ago?

Or is it because the equipment is old and deteriorated, with unstable output power, that such pronounced scattering and clutter are observed?

However, only the people from 200 years ago would know about that…

"Signal transmission completed... confirmation that the satellite is leaving its orbit," Old White confirmed the mission progress through VM, pressed something on his headset, and repeated the command to his squad members.

Night Ten asked curiously,

"Will we see a shooting star soon?"

"Maybe on the East Coast, but probably not here…" Old White smiled, picked up the rifle leaning next to him, and patted his teammate's shoulder, "Mission complete, it's time to withdraw."

I heard the scientific expedition found quite a few interesting things from the data they recovered.

Might as well ask about it when we get back.

…

Meanwhile, on board the Iron Heart,

General McCullen stood on the bridge listening to his subordinate's report.

The prey he obsessed over was still dodging around in the urban areas of Rui Valley City.

But to his relief, his dim-witted subordinates had finally made some progress.

With the help of an experienced local hunter, they had successfully hung two iron chains on the body of the Claw of Death.

Of course, that wouldn't hurt the beast, but it would certainly trouble it significantly.

According to the hunter, these chains would function like harpoons on a whale; the creature's claws were too long to remove them.

As long as enough debris was tangled on its body to limit its movements and prevent it from hunting, forcing it to flee tirelessly, it would eventually collapse from exhaustion, ready for them to butcher.

This strategy of continuous assault to weaken a far stronger opponent and then concentrate power for a fatal blow seemed not only applicable to hunting but to the battlefield as well.

General McCullen suddenly grew curious about that native hunter.

Just then, through the floor-to-ceiling windows in front of him, a faint red light barely managed to seep through.

Catching that anomaly out of the corner of his eye, General McCullen squinted.

Yet when he looked closely, the outside was pitch black, nothing to be seen.

"Did you see that light?"

Hearing General McCullen's voice, his adjutant was slightly startled, his face a picture of confusion.

"Light…?"

Glancing at his adjutant's perplexed expression, General McCullen withdrew his gaze,

"...Never mind."

Perhaps it was an illusion.

For some reason, he had a bad feeling,
as if something sinister was brewing just beyond his line of sight…

-

(Thanks to "Only Wish for a Thousand Cities Painted White,", "Stars Aplenty and Ever-Changing,", [Unnamed], "KAWABUNGA," and "Joy Meets Heaven" for their contributions! I'm astounded by the surge of over twenty contributors yesterday. I'll keep typing to express my gratitude in the chapters of tomorrow or the next day! Big shots are awesome!)

Chapter 390 Ideal City

Red glares flickered.

A meteor streaked across the sky, falling sharply into a field on the easternmost part of the Central Plains Continent.

That muffled sound could be heard even hundreds of meters away, let alone by Wang Dashan, who was working in the field with his tractor.

"What the hell was that?"

Startled by the sound, the unkempt man jumped down from his tractor and pulled out the hunting gun hanging beside the driver's cabin, shoving a cartridge into the chamber as he walked toward the direction of the noise.

This place was at the remote border of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, the neglected northwest corner to top it all.

Usually, no one would visit this impoverished spot, not even merchants who deemed this place too poor in opportunity; they preferred to go further ahead to the neighboring province to try their luck.

But there were always exceptions.

Last month, he had spotted several mutants—likely deserters scattered by corporate patrol teams.

Those hideous creatures were so revolting that even a glimpse from afar was enough to make him feel sick.

It was a crater about ten meters wide, as if blasted by artillery.

Looking at the ruined crops, Wang Dashan felt a pang in his heart but still cautiously approached.

There seemed to be something in the crater.

He glanced at the Geiger counter on his wrist, confirming radiation levels were normal before leaning over for a closer look.

In the crater lay a silver metallic sphere, steaming faintly, its intense heat even evaporating the moisture in the soil.

"What in the world is this?"

Staring at the metal sphere in the hole, Wang Dashan studied it for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

Pressing the communicator hanging on his shoulder, he reported the situation to the guard in the village.

Before long, the headlights of a vehicle appeared at the edge of the field, and the guard, clad in an exoskeleton suit, jumped down from the vehicle, striding toward him.

"What happened?"

No sooner had the guard spoken than he noticed the crater in front, shining his flashlight into it, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Standing aside, Wang Dashan quickly chimed in.

"I was working in the field just now when I suddenly heard a loud noise and came over to check... and then I found this thing in the field."

The guard continued to inquire.

"Did you see where it fell from?"

Wang Dashan pointed at the sky above.

"Heaven."

"Heaven?"

Surprise showed on the guard's face as he looked up at the sky, then back at the metal sphere, and it was as though something dawned on him, a flash of realization in his eyes.

"You wait here; I'll call the company--"

The guard was cut off mid-sentence.

Before Wang Dashan had the chance to respond, he saw a dark shadow approaching from afar.

It was the company's plane.

The black fuselage, about ten meters wide and birdlike, with two drum-style engines that rotated slowly, shifted from jetting blue arcs rearwards to blowing downwards.

The downdraft flattened the wheat in the field as the plane landed smoothly in the middle of it.

As the hatch opened, six soldiers wearing exoskeleton suits emerged one by one.

One of them, carrying a large case taller than himself, walked straight into the crater, picked up the silver sphere, and put it into the case.

"Hey, hold on, you've ruined my—"

As he watched them take the object and start to leave, Wang Dashan, holding his hunting gun, mustered his courage and shouted after them.

But before he could finish, a banknote was stuffed into his hand, silencing his protest.

The exoskeleton-clad soldier looked at him and asked succinctly.

"Is that enough?"

"Enough, enough, heh heh..."

Looking at the banknote in his hand, Wang Dashan's righteous indignation turned instantly to a smile of joy as he politely watched the soldiers head back to the plane.

100Cr.

That could not only pay for the crushed wheat but also be more than enough to buy the entire season's crops from his field.

The guard cast an envious glance at the man before returning to his vehicle.

If only he had found it first, some of that money would have been his.

Working for the company was guaranteed to pay off; this had almost become common knowledge in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

Although these people weren't exactly generous, they were never stingy with their compensation...

...

If one were to speak of a place in the Wasteland where one could admire the last gleams of the United Human, it would, without a doubt, be the "Ideal City," the Utopia on the East Coast.

Layers upon layers of concrete and steel frames extended from the ground all the way into the sky; standing on the surface and looking up, one could not even see the end at a glance.

The neon light pollution, flickering and blinding, was this city's most iconic portrayal; even from tens of kilometers away, one could see the holographic images projected on the outermost buildings.

No matter how bustling the place they came from, any Waste Land Wanderer who arrived here would look around, eyes wide as saucers, bewildered by the flashing lights and the intricate network of traffic.

Maglev trains shuttled between the high-rises, much like schools of fish navigating through seaweed.

Only a select few "big fish" could swim to the highest point to enjoy the first light of early dawn...

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, the man quietly watched the view outside, as if admiring a fish tank in his living room.

His name was Luo Yong, and he was one of the core members of the Silver Wing Group's board of directors, holding 17% of the shares.

"Emergency communication methods... It seems that our Pioneer spacecraft really ran into trouble." The guest sitting on the sofa took an interested look at his wine glass then casually remarked.

His name was Kang Le, and he was one of the core members of the Kang Mao Group's board of directors.

Unlike the Silver Wing Group, which mainly dealt with heavy engineering equipment manufacturing, Kang Mao Group's business scope primarily included auxiliary equipment and medical devices.

Although the two men were drinking buddies, the topics they discussed whenever they gathered had nothing to do with the liquor.

"Mhm."

"I heard your son is on that Pioneer spacecraft?"

"Yes."

Seeing how composed the other man was, Kang Le raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Aren't you worried?"

"You have a cloning custom service, right? Just clone another one." Luo Yong spoke in an indifferent tone, his voice as calm as ever, betraying no emotion.

Kang Le raised his eyebrows again, surprised, giving him another look as if he hadn't expected such a response.

Shifting his gaze away from the silhouette at the window, he spoke with a light smile.

"... We can clone cells, but we can't clone memories, let alone souls."

"Do you still believe in that stuff?"

"It's not about belief; it's an abstract expression. To me, humans represent a concept that differentiates from objects, and flesh and blood are merely carriers of this concept. Creating the vessel is easy; we've been able to do that for a long time, even better than nature can produce, yet we still can't transfer abstract thoughts from one vessel to another..."

Kang Le rambled on, but Luo Yong, standing at the window, didn't want to listen, focusing intently on the scene outside.

Not far away, an "Electric Eel" transport plane slowly passed through the crowded buildings, landing on the helipad atop a building.

He saw several soldiers carrying a box, quickly entering the building.

Soon, the satellite contained in the box would be taken to a specialized technical department for dismantling, to download the data inside.

Although he had not yet read the data stored in that satellite, Luo Yong could already guess what was written in it.

That kind of emergency communication method would only be used in the direst of circumstances.

The fact that the satellite had left its orbit and fallen here was, in itself, very telling...

"I'm not interested in your theories."

Turning his gaze back from the window, Luo Yong interrupted Kang Le's monologue.

Looking seriously at the man seated on the sofa, he continued,

"No.0 Shelter is the faith of the residents of Ideal City. After two centuries... we finally found it. Just by unlocking that door, we can end all the chaos on the Wasteland, and return this land to that great era."

Kang Le was momentarily stunned, then, as if he'd heard a hilarious joke, he burst into laughter.

He shook his head and put his wine glass back on the table.

"... You mock my belief in souls, yet you believe in an even more unreliable legend."

Luo Yong corrected him,

"It's not a legend, but a conclusion drawn from rigorous and precise calculations."

Kang Le's attitude remained unchanged.

"Calculations... Ha, if such technology to foretell the future really existed, would those buried in their graves have foreseen becoming what we are today?"

"The future that can be calculated is not the future per se, but probable possibilities. Isn't our existence the best proof?"

Ideal City was built upon the No.6 Shelter; everything here, in a strict sense, was a product of the "Fortress" project.

Unable to refute this, Kang Le fell silent for a while, then spoke in a very soft voice,

"... Let's assume for a moment that No.0 Shelter really has the power to clear up the chaos of the Wasteland like a sweeping wind, who can guarantee it won't affect our current prosperity?"

If the Pioneer spacecraft had only gone for a casual excursion, it would have been fine.

Whether spreading corporate ideologies, sowing the seeds of civilization, or flaunting prosperity and power... all these would greatly benefit the company.

After all, trading with a bunch of Primitive Men, you'd at most get a few shells or beast skins.

But sell mining exoskeletons and drilling machines to the Waste Land Wanderers, show those wanderers the beautiful life in Ideal City, and when their Commercial Team passes by again, they'd be able to trade wagonloads of ore for mere paper bills.

Setting off for ideals is just a slogan; even if they returned empty-handed, no one would blame them.

Yet, nobody expected that those naive youngsters would really find No.0 Shelter.

That's why the attitudes of the major groups that originally supported the expedition had begun to waver.

The only one steadfastly supporting the expedition was the Silver Wing Group.

It wasn't for some grand ideal, the main reason was that the Pioneer was built from their investment.

That land fortress didn't just embody their hard work, the crew members aboard were the elite backbone trained by the Company.

Not to mention others.

His son was on that fortress...

Though he'd say that if you died you could just be reborn, that was just talk.

Technology could solve many problems, however, not all troubles could be solved by technology.

Luo Yong looked at Kang Le, who was sitting on the sofa, and said seriously,

"...I didn't expect to convince you by reasoning, let's talk about terms."

Without asking what the terms were, Kang Le fixed his gaze on him.

"Oh? What do you want me to help you with?"

"In another two hours, the data analysis should be complete..."

Luo Yong flicked open his sleeve with his index finger and glanced at his watch, "We will submit the proposal to expand the reinforcement scale at noon today; we've already gained the support of the Chang Ge Group, and we're just one vote short... I hope you can persuade the board of directors of the Kang Mao Group to support our proposal during the supreme corporate board meeting."

The Chang Ge Group was the largest arms dealer in the Ideal City.

Kang Le was not at all surprised that the Silver Wing Group had won the support of those guys.

Those arms dealers would love nothing more than a blazing war outside, and their favorite daily activity was to slash prices on their products to promote sales while clamoring that the corporate armament funds were overburdened and demanding an increase in the size of the assault teams.

Although there were tens of thousands of subsidiaries, each subsidiary that held shares of the parent company had voting rights on major decisions, but since the vast majority of shares were held by five giants, when a proposal was supported by three giants, there would be no suspense about its passage.

Conversely, if three giants opposed it, a proposal would never pass no matter what.

Kang Le pondered, this guy turned to him most likely because he was rebuffed by the other two.

It made sense, the "Endpoint" Group, which focused on smart business, and the "Ideal" Group, which focused on public utilities and urban construction, did not care about affairs on the Wasteland at all.

The only ones that could potentially be persuaded...

Seemed to be just his side.

"Expand the scale of reinforcements... Kang Mao Group can accept support in terms of equipment and economics, that's all we can accept. I don't know what agreement you've reached with the Chang Ge Group, but the assault team is already big enough, you don't want to see those war maniacs get bigger, do you?"

Luo Yong's expression remained unchanged as he spoke.

"Our agreement with them has nothing to do with expanding the assault team's size; it's about other areas."

Kang Le stared at him for a while, then slowly nodded.

"Alright, I can help you, but I'm just a shareholder on the board of directors of the Kang Mao Group. You can't expect me to convince the others with just my words."

Luo Yong said nothing, waiting for him to continue to state his terms.

After a pause, Kang Le continued.

"If you're willing to compromise on the proposal for bionic people to participate in public affairs... I think they should agree to your request."

Hearing this demand, Luo Yong breathed a sigh of relief. His tense expression finally eased into a smile.

"Deal."

...

Distant River Valley Province.

The horizon finally revealed a hint of dawn, and residents of the City of Dawn one by one pushed open their windows and stepped out of their homes, ready to greet a new day.

But at this moment, someone inside Shelter No. 404 hadn't slept all night and was still excitedly sitting in front of a uniquely designed computer.

"...Unbelievable, guess what I found in those data?!"

Not looking at Yin Fang, whose eye bags were deeper than a panda's, Chu Guang absentmindedly replied.

"What?"

"The order for the Lagrange Space Station docking bay renovation project!" Yin Fang's face lit up with joy as he rapidly continued, "I knew it, any research institution that can own an independent scientific satellite is definitely not simple!"

The Lagrange Space Station wasn't bad.

That was indeed quite far.

With the Army closing in step by step, Chu Guang couldn't think about such distant matters for the time being.

Compared to the distant space technology, he was more concerned about the reinforcements from the East Coast.

Still, he made a casual joke.

"So you plan to complete the order for them?"

Hearing that, Yin Fang couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Are you joking? That's an order from over 200 years ago! By the end of 2125, before the outbreak of the War, the design work was already 50% complete..."

Chu Guang: "And then?"

"...Then, they planned to replace the astronomical telescope on the 41st connecting arm with a two-kilometer long mass accelerator. And then, we discovered some recoverable technology in the inventory."

"This includes 12 electromagnetic control-related technologies, as well as 4 key gas molecule manipulation technologies, out of which 5 reached Level E standards, 3 technologies reached Level D standards, and 2 reached C-Class standards!"

Good lord, C-Class technology!

And there were two of them!?

With a look of surprise on his face, Chu Guang, who was initially indifferent, suddenly sat upright on the sofa.

At present, the New Alliance only had two C-Class technologies, one was Solid Hydrogen, and the other was A3 aerospace aluminum alloy.

The reserve of high-end technologies had doubled, a gain that far exceeded his expectations.

Technology was the foundation of the Alliance's development.

For Chu Guang, recovering new technology was even more exciting than seeing an increasing number of players break through LV20.

"Can you tell me more about that C-Class technology?"

"I was about to do that."

Yin Fang's face showed a proud expression as he cleared his throat and continued.

"One is the synthetic pathway for N10- azide Anions used in ejection buffer airbags... This stuff is similar to Solid Hydrogen, with a very high energy density. But unlike Solid Hydrogen, the azide compound is naturally unstable and is more suited for bombs than batteries."

"Another is about nitrogen molecule control... Using a gas manipulation field to form a gas shield, your hammer uses similar technology, so you should be familiar with it. However, this thing consumes a lot of energy; without a portable fusion reactor, it can only be used for a short time with chemical batteries and capacitors."

Chu Guang said, smiling,

"No problem! The residents of my shelter won't mind! By the way, what's the technology related to electromagnetic control?"

"That's, well, related to mass accelerators, simply put, a railgun. You won't be able to use it for now... Hmm, but maybe not."

Saying this, Yin Fang suddenly paused for a moment, then shifted the topic and continued.

"Once the fusion reactor in West State City is reignited, setting up some mass accelerators as anti-aircraft cannons shouldn't be a problem."

"The necessary materials are not too difficult to come by, and that thing is way more useful than your cannon."

Railguns!

Thinking about the electromagnetic Point Defense System on the Pioneer that could even intercept shells, Chu Guang was immediately excited.

"Can you mount a mass accelerator on a tank?"

As if guessing he would ask this,

Almost at the same moment Chu Guang spoke, Yin Fang shook his head and said,

"Forget it, unless you can get your hands on the technology to miniaturize electromagnetic guns... These devices are electromagnetic guns meant for space stations, needing to be paired with fusion reactors. Even if you scale it down, there's no way you can fit it in a vehicle."

Nuclear Fusion again...

"Alright, forget I asked."

Subduing his excitement, Chu Guang let out a slightly regretful sigh.

If only the Alliance could produce its own fusion reactors.

But right now, even thinking about this seemed pointless.

More critical than the fusion technology itself was the nuclear fuel required for fusion.

The nearest Helium-3 Collection Station to him was 380,000 kilometers away, on the Moon.

Seeing Chu Guang's still unsatisfied expression, Yin Fang couldn't help but tease him.

"Be content, two C-Class technologies! At the Academy, that merit would be enough for a Class D explorer to be promoted to C-Class."

"No, I'm not dissatisfied; I'm just wondering when our reinforcements will arrive."

"Then you should ask the Company's people, but I advise you not to get your hopes up; those folks might not be very cooperative." Yin Fang's expression was subtly complex as he spoke.

Observing that subtle expression, Chu Guang suddenly thought of something and asked,

"Speaking of which, I've always been curious."

"About what?"

"The relationship between the Academy and the Company doesn't seem very good?"

Yin Fang pondered seriously for a moment.

"That's true to some extent, although I personally don't dislike the Company's people, but we indeed have significant disagreements with them on some matters."

"Is it because of their exploration of the ruins?" Chu Guang said thoughtfully.

Yin Fang scoffed lightly.

"That's just the surface. How they use the ruins is their prerogative... Ultimately, what's disappointing is that they possess these precious legacies but show no ambition. Whether it's territory or knowledge, you'll find that they aren't so eager. Wealth? Perhaps, but I think rather than a thirst for wealth, it's more a greed for enjoyment."

"You can see they decorate their homes beautifully; the luxury there is almost no different from the Prosperity Epoch, with many Waste Land Wanderers and old ice pops dreaming of living there for a lifetime. But in my view, that's a place farthest from the Prosperity Epoch."

"The Prosperity Epoch left behind many things, whether used fusion batteries or the garbage that can be recycled and the Black Boxes that can turn waste into treasure... But all of these things will eventually run out, if not today, then tomorrow."

"Once we finish cataloging the leftover technologies of the former civilization, we will immediately start exploring new topics, seeking methods to restore the ecosystem of this planet to its pre-War state."

"And they, they're just squandering the already limited legacy."

Here, Yin Fang paused for a moment.

"Of course, the Company does have some respectable individuals, and searching for No.0 Shelter is a good idea... I recall the Academy also sent an exploration team into the desert."

Chu Guang was slightly stunned.

"The Academy looked for No.0 Shelter?"

"That was many years ago," Yin Fang sighed, "I only remember that exploration team disappeared into the wilderness... After that, no one ever mentioned it again."

-

(Thanks for the tips from "ぶ摯ぐ愛﹍ぇ," "Angel of Lingbo," "DevilMayCry5," "ぉ蝴蝶ぁ," "云无冬," "云之崖"!)

Chapter 391 Embrace Evolution

"I'm sorry about your friend, it's unfortunate... I only inherited partial authority, otherwise I could have helped you find her."

From the old radio, the low and hoarse voice was still the same, but the intermittent gasping sounded like anew injury.

It wasn't just that.

Amid the noisy static, there seemed to be more clinks and clatters of metal than before.

According to Yong's Clan, many things happened during the transfer of management authority in Shelter No.79, and due to the years of disrepair, many of the room's security systems were malfunctioning.

In short, trespassing in unauthorized areas could trigger the alarm system, resulting in the doors locking automatically.

Having been lost for so long without news, they were likely facing more danger than good luck.

If it weren't for seeing the post Si Si shared on the forum, they might have really believed his nonsense.

"Let's set aside our friend's issue for now... Are you really okay?" Si Si whispered, holding the radio in her arms.

"I'm fine... Some little mice got into the office, but I've dealt with them."

His forced tone sounded somewhat insincere.

After coughing twice, he suddenly realized something and continued speaking.

"...Wait, what do you mean set aside your friend's issue? Did you even listen to what I just said? She might have encountered misfortune…"

"We heard you," Tail responded, his face showing deep sorrow as real tears welled up in his eyes, "We will miss Si Si!"

"Me too!" Meat Meat raised his hand, though his face remained stern.

It didn't seem like mourning, rather it was more like making a vow.

Si Si gave a troubled expression, helplessly nodding with a mix of laughter and tears.

"I too... will miss Miss Si Si."

Not being able to log in for three days was indeed tough, but to say it was sad... not really.

If a good friend went AFK, of course she would feel a bit lonely and sad.

However, with Si Si furiously posting extracts from the experimentation logs of Shelter No.79 on the forum each day once offline, she couldn't feel any sadness but had to restrain herself from laughing out loud.

"..."

There was a quiet flow of static from the radio, she could almost feel the bewildered silence.

Suddenly, she felt somewhat sympathetic towards NPCs.

Just like a Dungeon Master in a murder mystery game cafe.

Though they tried their best to play their roles, expecting players to do the same was obviously impossible...

During that silent moment, the three reached the end of the tunnel, where the entrance to the instance was located.

The continuous gunfire had faded far into the distance, and the Death Legion had pushed the progress to the final stage.

The building in front of the research area had completely turned into a lair of the Claw of Death, with its shed skin and excrement everywhere, completely taking its shape.

Before the players intruded, the ecological environment of Underground City No. 79 had always been in dynamic equilibrium.

As the top of the food chain, no creature had ever intruded into the lair of the Claw of Death.

Now, this balance was utterly shattered.

Strength Type players, wearing steel-plated KV-1 power armor, led the front line, wielding chainsaws to prevent the Claw of Death from flanking.

Following closely were players with assault rifles, their ferocious firepower suffocating the Claw of Death mercilessly.

Orange-yellow trajectories created impenetrable nets in the narrow corridoor, where only roars and screams could escape through.

Players in the back set up 20mm light cavalry guns, seizing opportunities to fire armor-piercing incendiary rounds.

With the players' perfect coordination, the roles of hunter and prey completely reversed.

"Brothers, let's push harder!"

"Charge!"

"Ollie!"

"Hey, can we change to a more flavorful slogan?"

"? What slogan could be more flavorful than those?"

"?? Two slogans?"

Blood sprayed across the corridoor, the air mixed with the smell of charred flesh and the pungent smell of gunpowder.

Exhausted individuals carried the wounded from the front lines, soon replaced by another wave of eager new players.

Less than 20 meters from the front line, a group of players who had just come from the front sat on the ground.

Staring at two chest scars almost deep enough to show bone, Construction Youth and Brick busily bandaged themselves while cursing.

"Damn... I was almost done for."

Sitting next to him, the Drum Washing Machine wiped his sweat and commented,

"How many of these Dead Claws are even here?"

"Who knows..." Construction Youth with Brick muttered, "But it's good that the space here is narrow, big monsters can't move freely. If it were like other games with clipping through models, it'd be absolutely unplayable! And more than the Dead Claws, I find those Wildmen even more troublesome!"

It was completely different from encountering them in the wild.

Here, adult Dead Claws were merely meat on a cutting board, while juvenile Dead Claws were actually more dangerous.

From his countless hunting experiences, Multilegged Beasts here might pose an even greater challenge.

Those creatures, covered in tentacles, were incredibly resilient; even face-first into a burst from a rifle, they could still lively scramble forward.

For creatures like the Claw of Death, "hexagonal warriors", the most suited terrains were jungles and cities.

Especially cities.

Adult Claw of Death could hunt down Evolutionary Bodies, capable of wiping out teams of Awakeners...

Sitting and catching his breath, Debt Giant Eye suddenly spoke.

"I just realized... this place would make a perfect fish pond."

The construction site boy and Brick were stunned for a moment.

"Pond? What do you mean?"

"It means fishing!"

Seeing his good brother still confused, Debt Giant Eye took a deep breath and continued.

"Aren't there soul interference devices for sale at the respawn point? Those gadgets can be used to tame Variants. We used to run into Dead Claws outside, either we couldn't beat them or we let them get away. Here, there won't be that problem—there are only two ends to a corridor, absolutely no place to run... heh heh."

Hearing these words, the players sitting nearby were all stunned.

"Holy shit! You think this is Pokémon or something?"

"Dude... the Intelligence System is on the rise again?"

"Man, it's unfair," Edge Shoveling sighed, "every system gets a boost but not the Perception System... how is that fair?!"

Roller Washing Machine couldn't help but add,

"I agree, ever since the Spring Knife got introduced, the Intelligence System has been ridiculous. Everyone else, whether they use guns or knives, has to charge into battle, but that guy never goes to the front line. Creeping around in the back, putting out DPS that's not even low."

"Should just nerf it."

As everyone clamored to nerf it, Debt Giant Eye couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"You guys, really have the nerve to complain? Which system in the entire Alpha version was the worst? It's only been strong for a few versions... What's wrong with letting me enjoy it a bit?"

Can't you just wish your brother well?

The construction site boy and Brick stared at the ceiling, muttering to himself, "Should just nerf it, please, oh almighty developer."

Debt Giant Eye: "@#%@!"

Although it was just a joke mentioned in passing, upon closer consideration, using this place as a breeding base for Claw of Death seemed quite intriguing.

The pet system gameplay has long existed, but never became mainstream.

The main reason being, raising a pet costs too much, and once dead, pets couldn't be revived.

Raising a Claw of Death is less practical than raising a Strength-Type beast, which at least is cheaper, and if it dies, it's not too heartbreaking since it'll be bouncing around again in three days.

But if there was a stable pond full of SSSR, that would be an entirely different story.

A Claw of Death with its own combat instincts is far stronger than a drone that requires real-time control.

Just as these veterans were tossing around rotten ideas, the folks from the White Bear Knights approached from the cleared corridor.

Tail, who was riding on the shoulder of Meat Meat, waved from afar.

"Hey, brothers, how's the progress on the quest?"

Edge Shoveling looked up and replied.

"Just a bit left, probably won't last until evening, should be done by noon."

"Not bad, not bad," Tail nodded in satisfaction, "keep it up, lads! Once we get the serum, let's feed it to Meat Meat first!"

"Eh?! Wait a minute, why should I drink it?"

Tail's eyes sparkled as he spoke.

"Doesn't Meat Meat want to become human? Don't worry Meat Meat, you're so pretty as a bear, after you become human, you'll definitely be a beautiful woman!"

"It might even have white fur!"

Suddenly a player chimed in, causing Roller Washing Machine, who was drinking water, to spit it out.

"Holy crap, now that you mention it… I suddenly think Meat Meat is pretty good-looking."

"Right?" Tail said proudly, "Our Meat Meat is so pretty, I have her photos."

At these words, the beasts immediately got excited.

"Holy moly."

"In real life? For real?"

"Come on, bro, share a bit!"

"Wait, is that the point! Also, we're not even sure what that serum does! And shouldn't serum be injected..." Meat Meat said, laughing and crying.

Tail pondered for a moment, then suddenly sighed.

"Damn it! Si Si is gone... Meat Meat's comeback skills just aren't on the same level."

Meat Meat: "Are you an M or something..."

Holding the radio, Sesame Paste chuckled weakly.

"Ha... haha... I feel like I can't keep up with the young folk anymore."

Since the players were communicating in Mandarin the whole time, Yong's on the other end of the radio didn't understand what they were saying, feeling that they were perhaps too optimistic.

This place is the Dead Claw nest.

At least be a bit serious!

But...

Their combat power was indeed flawless, the mercenaries and indigenous people he had tricked into coming here hadn't even made it through the entrance where the mutant spider's den was, let alone pushed all the way here.

At that moment, a shrill howl suddenly came from the direction of the staircase.

Everyone stopped their conversations and looked toward the stairs.

Then, a raspy voice suddenly came through the silent radio.

"Mother of Dead Claw..."

There seemed to be a hint of wariness in that voice.

Barely understanding this phrase, Sesame Paste immediately asked.

"What's that?"

"...Dead Claw is a matriarchal society, the female Claws of Death are often much larger than the males, and they live longer. Downstairs several rooms have been turned into hatching nests by the Mother of Dead Claw, but no worries... these big ones won't come out, the widest corridor here can't even accommodate them."

"And how did they get in there?" Tail curiously asked.

"Of course, they crawled in before they got that big..." a cough came from the radio, "Forget about those things. You don't need to go downstairs. Just cross the corridor in front, and you'll find the door to the research area. The door is open, you can head straight in, and I'll tell you how to get the serum!"

They all exchanged looks.

Everyone standing there had been spoiled, already aware that this guy was lying.

Not letting them go downstairs...

Was there something down there?

"Rather than saying there's something there, could it be because it's out of his control?" Sesame Paste suddenly spoke up, "I actually think his previous statement wasn't so much a lie, but a concealment of part of the truth..."

Meat Meat paused and said, "Are you suggesting... his authority isn't complete?"

With his index finger on his chin, Sesame Paste gently nodded.

"Yes, either the authority isn't complete, or that area occupied by Variants is indeed damaged due to long-term disrepair. Otherwise, he could simply cut off that section, couldn't he? Most of the doors we passed along the way... were closed, right?"

Including the corridor from where Si Si had disappeared.

When they went there again, all the doors that had previously been open were now closed.

The biggest difference from other areas there was that it was not occupied by Variants.

A possibility suddenly occurred to Sesame Paste.

Could it be because Yong's, as a Manager, had lost control of that area, leading to its occupation by Variants?

So to speak, that might be the only place in the Shelter where one can hide from his incomplete control...

"Sss..."

As he uttered these words, Tail glanced at Edge Shoveling and gave a thumbs up.

"It's all on you downstairs now!"

Edge Shoveling, understanding the hint, slung his rifle over his shoulder and smiled heartily.

"OK."

"What are you talking about?" A hoarse voice from the radio broadcast a vague sense of unease, unable to pinpoint what was wrong.

Those people always communicated in a language he couldn't understand, confusing him completely.

What dialect was this?

He had lived so many years and this was the first time he had heard it.

Tail: "We're discussing the battle plan!"

"Plan... alright, having a plan is good, but the most dangerous area has already been cleared by you, there shouldn't be any dangers ahead. Go ahead... get the serum and leave this troublesome place as soon as possible."

The voice in the radio carried a slight urgency.

The long-coveted treasure was right before his eyes.

He couldn't wait any longer...

...

The White Bear Knights moved through the cleared corridor towards the research area.

Players from the Death Legion were spread out near the main entrance of the research area to prevent Variants from streaming in from other areas.

Unintentionally drawing near the staircase, Edge Shovelling opened his Perception tentacles toward that dark passage, merging his consciousness into the darkness, sensing the barely detectable fluctuations through the faint currents.

"The sound of a heartbeat."

Muttering under his breath, he confirmed the target's location, chambered his held rifle, and walked downstairs.

Downstairs was a pitch-dark hall, with load-bearing columns standing tall, devoid of any lighting.

The moment he stepped on the last stair, he immediately sensed the gaze that had been stuck on the back of his head disappear.

However, as Edge Shoveling continued to follow the trace he sensed, the feeling of being watched suddenly returned.

He stopped in his tracks.

Sensing a powerful presence approaching, Edge Shoveling gripped his assault rifle tightly, his eyes meticulously searching every inch of the dark corners.

And just then, his gaze suddenly met a pair of amber pupils.

It was a Claw of Death as immense as a dragon.

Its body, tens of meters long, sprawled on the ground, its shoulders flush with the ceiling, its most conspicuous feature being the outrageously long horns on its head... In the River Valley Province, ordinary Claws of Death did not possess this trait.

The air froze for a full thirty seconds.

Enveloped by the hot, stinking breath, a low, husky voice drifted out from a mouth big enough to fit a cow's head.

"Strange, to still see living people here... How did you get here? Did that guy let you in?"

Hearing the Claw of Death speak, the confusion on Edge Shoveling's face instantly turned to astonishment.

"Holy shit, Trash King?!"

"'Trash King'?"

Those amber pupils stared intently at him.

It clearly didn't understand what he was saying, but it read his facial expression.

"... Have you met other talking Claws of Death?"

Edge Shoveling quickly nodded his head.

Although he didn't know why this creature could speak human language, it seemed he had triggered a hidden plotline of the level?

Taking a deep breath, he tried to speak in the awkwardly accented language of the United Humans.

"... We have one in our Shelter too."

This Claw of Death seemed to know quite a bit about Shelters and slowly began to speak.

"Which Shelter are you from?"

"Number 404."

"404..."

The amber pupils narrowed slightly, and the Claw of Death pondered for a moment.

Edge Shoveling felt that its gaze seemed somewhat vacant, and seeing that it had not spoken for a long time, he promptly asked,

"Are you that Yong's?"

"Yong's... What is that? However, the name does sound somewhat familiar."

Suddenly, as if it had remembered something, the Claw of Death exhaled a breath through its nostrils.

"I remember now, that experiment... heh, it has been so many years, yet there are still people who remember that thing."

Edge Shoveling: "Experiment?"

The Claw of Death slowly began to speak,

"The immortal emperor... His name—or rather, his code name was Yong's. But that crazy plan already failed, and you have seen what it has turned into outside."

Edge Shoveling had already read about this plan in the experimental logs uploaded to the Forum by Si Si, so it was not foreign to him.

However, what puzzled him was the identity of the person before him.

He was not that Yong's, and clearly not the Manager either, but he seemed to know everything about it all.

"How should I address you?"

After a prolonged silence, it slowly began to speak,

"A name? It's been so long since I used that, I've even forgotten what it was... Anyway, since I've ended up like this, call me Dead Claw or Mother of Dead Claw, whatever you prefer."

Unable to assert whether he had truly forgotten or simply did not wish to mention it, Edge Shoveling gave up on probing further and took a deep breath before continuing,

"Then I'll change the question... Could you tell me what happened here?"

"What happened here... That's a good question. Since you know about that 'Yong's,' you must know about the experiments being conducted in Shelter No.79, right?"

Seeing the person before him nod, the Mother of Dead Claw slowly began to speak,

"Good, then I don't need to start from the beginning..."

"After the First Generation Manager died, we adjusted the experimental approach and adopted a more aggressive strategy, transforming the perimeter area of the shelter into a research zone. We captured mutated creatures from the Wasteland to modify their genes, then released them into the research zone to simulate even harsher Wasteland environments."

"This place is a natural testing ground, and theoretically, cameras could cover every corner inside the shelter. We were able to completely observe the entire process of the experiment. After completing these preliminary tasks, we began to clone the unfinished experimental bodies on a large scale and deployed them to the research area, recording their survival rates, lifespan, and other indicators. From these, we selected the most optimal individuals for improvements before repeating the experiments..."

"And during this process, not only the clones evolved, the mutated creatures we captured from the outside world also evolved more rapidly under natural selection..."

Standing aside and watching the VM subtitles, Edge Shoveling couldn't help but swallow hard.

What kind of mass extinction was this?

The Mother of Dead Claw did not stop and continued,

"We obtained many excellent samples... However, it was troubling that, although they approached physical perfection, they remained quite far from the 'eternity' we envisioned. Moreover, more and more experimental data indicated that, as this planet moves into a new era, the performance of humans under natural selection was not as good as several other alternative plans… Not to mention birthing a new civilization; perhaps in a few thousand years, there wouldn't even be a trace of humans on this planet."

"We heard that some shelters were researching subtypes of humans. It is said that the envisaged new humans had a resilience to extreme environments that even exceeded cockroaches. Although we don't know if they succeeded, their research approach indeed inspired us. If we aren't fixated on the form of life, our civilization can actually continue in another form... on the bodies of other intelligent species."

"Later, we adjusted our experimental approach for the second time, no longer focusing solely on clones, but expanding the options to include all species in the entire research zone. Soon, an excellent sample stood out..."

Edge Shoveling swallowed hard.

"…The Claw of Death?"

"Yes," her heavy eyelids blinked, Mother of Dead Claw continued, "It possesses enormous vitality and unmatched physical functions. Even power armor seems slightly inferior in front of a fully developed Claw of Death... And most importantly, it only requires periodic injections of a specially formulated serum, and theoretically, it could live forever."

"Although, from today's perspective, this might seem a bit hard to accept, who's to say what the situation will be several decades from now? When our civilization enters a new era, when everyone has embraced evolution, the 'people' of that time probably won't mind what their emperor looks like, and our mission will also be accomplished in another form... The new age will sing of our achievements."

"By the third year of the plan, we had successfully cultivated almost perfect samples that could serve as new vessels for our consciousness. Through neuro-transplant surgeries, we managed to transfer part of the residents' consciousness into these eternal bodies."

"However, unfortunately, our experiment had a slight deviation. Those samples were too smart, smart enough that they became indistinguishable. Although we had accepted them, they were not very willing to accept us."

"Due to an error, part of the experimental subjects broke through regional constraints, and some even escaped to the outside, including mutant creatures and those marginalized clones... You must have seen those things in the Wasteland."

The source of the Variants was here?!

This was a remarkable discovery.

Edge Shoveling immediately asked,

"Those Dead Claws outside... did they all run off from here?"

Mother of Dead Claw continued,

"Mostly, yes. Actually, not only the Dead Claws, in the early days, most Variants on the Wasteland had very frail bodily functions. Once the improved experimental subjects escaped from here, it wouldn't take long for them to replace the naturally mutated Variants... including the byproducts of the experiments, including the clones we initially cultivated."

"Clones?" Edge Shoveling was slightly startled, "You mean... the wild men in this shelter?"

Mother of Dead Claw said in a calm tone,

"Yes, they took the genes from here, including the tribal culture formed during the experiments. It's been over a century now, you might not see a pureblood 'wild man,' but you should be able to spot some individuals who are different from ordinary people, especially among the chiefs of some primitive tribes."

"They often possess unusual physiques and even show traits of Variantization to some extent... Do you think those abilities are naturally given to them?"

Then, Mother of Dead Claw grinned, the curve of her mouth seemingly self-mocking.

"However, their ability to become leaders, to carry strong genes forward in the brutal jungle... That also counts as a result of natural selection."

Edge Shoveling held his breath.

He suddenly thought of several bosses he had encountered in previous versions.

Including the "Bear" of the Blood Hand Clan.

And the "Golden Tooth" of the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Their bloodline and the culture within their blood, everything originated here.

"I thought it was an 'Awakening'…"

Mother of Dead Claw emitted a dull laugh.

"Awakening? Heh, is that what you call that phenomenon?"

Edge Shoveling stared at him and suddenly said,

"Are you a researcher here?"

"Researcher... kind of, I indeed participated in the experiments."

After a long silence, Mother of Dead Claw shook her long antlers on her head and suddenly said in a half-joking tone,

"No need to pretend anymore, after all this talk, you must have guessed... I am the Manager here."

"Although some also call me the Great Antler God."

Chapter 392: Blood Battle in the Mist

"giao! Great Antler God?!"

Walking down the corridor of the serum storage, Tail, with earphones on, couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

At this moment, Meat Meat and Sesame Paste's faces were also full of surprise, although the former's expression wasn't as obvious.

Since Edge had his microphone on and the signal wasn't blocked, the subtitles translated were soon synchronously transmitted to all nearby VMs.

Not just them.

Including the brothers from the Death Legion.

At this moment, all players active nearby had completely gone through the storyline triggered by Edge.

"No wonder… that guy said half of the chaos in this land originated from here," Meat Meat muttered quietly.

Through genetic engineering, the process of natural selection was artificially accelerated, breeding Variants far beyond the general standard…

And not just Variants.

Including those maintaining tribal lives as Looters.

Not all of them were descendants of clones produced by Shelter No. 79's experiments, but a part clearly had genes that flowed from here.

They had robust physiques, some organs developing differently from common people, and even showed beast-like traits under specific conditions…

That wasn't an Awakening.

It was—

"Genetic contamination…" Sesame Paste whispered, holding a radio.

Suddenly, Tail spotted a blind spot and spoke up.

"Wait… the Mother of Dead Claw said she herself was the Manager of Shelter No. 79, then who was that guy in the radio?"

Meat Meat: "Yong's?"

Tail tilted her head.

"But wasn't that plan a failure?"

Sesame Paste pondered for a moment and said,

"Maybe… The Manager of Shelter No. 79 thought it was a failure, but someone else didn't consider the experiment failed? After all, didn't the Mother of Dead Claw say that some of the test subjects had escaped outside…"

In terms of results, they indeed hadn't bred an immortal and morally perfect "Emperor", but it wasn't without gains.

They successfully broke through the barrier of 23 pairs of chromosomes, transplanting human consciousness onto some more powerful existence, thus breaking the limits humans could reach.

And that is exactly what they meant by "power that transcends forms of life."

That guy who called himself "Yong's" clearly believed from the bottom of his heart that the experiment was successful.

He had embraced evolution entirely and completely accepted his current form, believing himself to be the ultimate form of Shelter No. 79's plan.

The trio almost subconsciously thought of the Dead Claw outside.

That Dead Claw regarded Xiangling town as its territory, keeping the survivors there corralled in the library, overseeing the relics of pre-war civilization and the entrance to Shelter No. 79.

On their way to the research area, they stumbled upon the corpses of mercenaries and bounty hunters.

From their attire and weapons, they were clearly not from this place, but rather appeared as Waste Land Wanderers from outside.

Obviously, over the past century, they were not the first group of survivors lured here, nor were they the first ones to help that guy get the serum.

All the clues connected together, and the truth finally surfaced.

Meat Meat spoke as if suddenly realizing,

"No wonder he needs others to help him get the serum… Such a large body, he indeed can't fit in here."

The entire shelter was designed for human inhabitants, with no channels or rooms prepared for the Dead Claw.

The Mother of Dead Claw, who claimed to be the Great Antler God, was the best example; the endlessly expanding entity could only lie motionless inside.

It couldn't even obtain food for itself, instead relying on the help of its smaller, younger kin… It was really unclear who was keeping whom.

For some reason, Meat Meat's mind suddenly conjured an eye-watering image, and she quickly shook her head to drive that scene away.

Tail frowned, stroking her chin in thought.

"But... the Manager is still alive, right? How did he get the Manager's authority?"

Sesame Paste shook her head.

"I don't know, perhaps through deceit, coercion, or some mechanism of authority transfer we don't understand… In any case, whatever the method was, he clearly got the authority to Shelter's gate, only then did he have a chance to run out of here."

And not just the shelter's gate authority.

But the authority for all rooms from the research area to the shelter's gate.

The shelter's Manager's authority seemed fragmented, and not entirely in the hands of the Manager.

After a pause, Sesame Paste looked at the repository holding the serum in front of her, her expression complex as she continued,

"I even have a feeling that maybe the experiments here never ended; natural selection is still ongoing, including us… and those mercenaries who died a long time ago are all part of an ongoing experiment."

"And the reason that 'Yong's' is so desperate for the serum is not just because he needs it to prolong his life, but also because he needs to use the experimental results here… to use that serum, which condensed numerous experimental conclusions, to become stronger."

Meat Meat: "Hiss… That might actually be possible."

"Wow!" Tail's eyes sparkled as she said, "That's awesome! Are you a detective in real life, Sesame Paste?"

With two pairs of admiring eyes looking at her, Sesame Paste's cheeks blushed slightly, and her cat ears twitched in embarrassment.

"I, I... am just a regular teacher."

There were already this many clues.

Anyone under normal circumstances would think of it…

Standing at the laboratory gate, the two people and one bear talked openly.

Although the radio was held in Sesame Paste's arms, Yong's couldn't understand their language, so he couldn't understand what they were saying.

And since a while ago, the voice from the radio had disappeared, and even the clanging sounds of metal collisions could no longer be heard.

"What do we do now? Take the serum out?" Tail asked, stroking his chin.

Meat Meat muttered, "That two-story tall Dead Claw is definitely waiting for us outside... The Army's hundred-man team had already been driven away by it. If we went out now, it would probably be a tight squeeze."

That creature was almost immortal.

Even if it was blasted by a 100mm cannon at close range, it jumped around as if nothing had happened. Even when bullets concentrated on its head, it still managed to survive thanks to its strong recovery ability and tenacity.

At that moment, Sesame Paste's eyes shifted slightly.

"...I do have an idea."

Tail didn't even ask but immediately raised his thumb.

"Oh! Let's do just as you say!"

Meat Meat: "...?"

...

The laboratory stored a whole box of serum, a total of 26 doses, which seemed to be produced by some sort of automated equipment.

As Sesame Paste had guessed, this experimental facility was still operational and had been working according to a preset experimental process for a century.

Under the observation of automated experimental equipment, they extracted evolution factors from the victors who had emerged from natural selection and purified them to synthesize serums that induce mutations.

Through conversations with Manager of Shelter No.79, players had already learned the purpose of these serums.

They were not meant to reverse the mutations that had occurred, but to push the already mutated individuals to evolve further towards more extreme, environmentally adaptive directions, eventually creating entities that surpassed natural horror.

That is—

The King of Dead Claw!

Dog plan did not name the BOSS wandering outside; players could only use their creativity to come up with a name.

At that moment, Debt Giant Eye suddenly blurted out an idea.

"Speaking of... what would happen if we gave Garbage Lord a shot?"

The Drum Washing Machine was stunned.

"I don't know, why don't we lure it over and try?"

Construction Youth and Brick excitedly said.

"That's a great idea! I'll call him on the Forum once we get back!"

Edge Shoveling coughed and patted his brothers on the shoulder.

"We've got the serum... we should pull out now."

After obtaining the serum, players gradually withdrew from Shelter No.79 and returned to the municipal library located at Xiangling Street No.79.

Placing the radio on the table.

Tail exchanged a glance with Meat Meat and Sesame Paste, cleared his throat forcefully, and put on a serious face to turn on the power.

It was like performing some kind of religious ceremony.

"Dear Mr. Yong, we have successfully obtained the serum!"

After a brief burst of static.

A hoarse and low voice came from the radio.

"Really?!"

Although the voice was tired, it could not hide the surge of almost overflowing excitement.

"Oh! Really!"

Tail nodded vigorously in response to that hint of excitement, then continued, "By the way, how should we use that serum? Should we just catch a Variant and inject it?"

"Cough cough... Of course, it's not used that way; this serum only works on Dead Claw," the voice from the radio said immediately, seemingly worried these people would waste the serum.

"Ah? Is that so?" Tail made a disappointed face, "But... how are we supposed to capture Dead Claw?"

The voice in the radio patiently said.

"Dead Claw... is indeed tough to deal with, but you don't have to worry about that, I know an expert in the field, he can make the wild Dead Claw behave and willingly accept the treatment."

Sesame Paste suddenly mused and asked.

"But if the mutation that has already occurred is reversed... wouldn't the degenerated Dead Claw quickly be eliminated by natural selection? How can we ensure the traits passed on?"

"Don't worry, the change in traits won't happen instantly, but will gradually accumulate over the process of inheritance... It will be a slow process."

Seemingly at a loss for words, Mr. Yong bungled for a while before awkwardly ending the topic.

"The technology involved is too complex to explain in a few words... You don't need to understand so much, just do as I say, please... Consider it a favor for the people who are still alive in this world."

That line again.

Tail, Sesame Paste, and Meat Meat looked at each other.

Although it was the same order, they clearly felt the change in this guy's attitude.

After learning that the serum had been taken out of the shelter, this guy didn't even bother to come up with a careful excuse anymore.

Perhaps in his view, snatching that box of serum from their hands was not a difficult task.

However, maybe considering the potential risk of the serum being damaged, he still tried to deceive them to get the serum from their hands.

If Si Si hadn't brought the diary to the official website, they might really have been kept in the dark...

"Oh, no problem! What should we do?" Tail blinked and asked.

The voice from the radio continued.

"I'll give you coordinates... You can find the man I mentioned there; he will tell you how to use those serums."

Thinking of the plan Sesame Paste mentioned earlier, Tail asked excitedly, "Now?"

Mr. Yong said patiently.

"Of course not now, my friend doesn't want to risk being spotted by that airship, let's wait for the day after tomorrow."

"The fog should settle in by the next morning… Just bring the serum then."

Upon learning that the serum had successfully been moved outside the shelter, Yong's, who had been urging them to hurry, no longer seemed so anxious.

The two days passed quickly.

At the appointed time, members of the White Bear Knights followed the radio's directions and took the serum to the meeting point.

However, to everyone's surprise, what awaited them there was not a human but rather a Death Claw that had just passed its juvenile phase.

Its limbs were completely bitten off, and even its tail was halved – it lay on the ground, its raspy breaths sounding like mournful howls.

Tail unconsciously gripped her assault rifle tightly and raised the muzzle, aiming at the wild creature.

But just then, the radio nestled in Sesame Paste's arms suddenly spoke.

"Don't worry, that guy is harmless, and now that he's like this, he no longer has the strength to bite you…"

Accompanied by a teeth-gnashing laugh, the voice no longer hid its excitement and cruelty.

Pretending not to notice anything amiss, Sesame Paste inhaled the cold air deeply and then asked seriously,

"What about your friend?"

"He um… might not be able to make it because of some issues, but no worries, having you here is just the same," Yong's replied with a feigned cheerful tone.

Clearly, the residents of the shelter were much easier to deceive than those cunning Waste Land Wanderers.

Previously, to lure mercenaries and bounty hunters into helping him retrieve the serum from inside the shelter, he had resorted to kidnapping, death threats, and promises of rewards.

Now, he merely used the "saving the world" excuse.

Expecting a few vials of serum to save the world…

Only the residents of the shelter would believe such a fairy tale.

Sesame Paste asked earnestly.

"What's next? What do you need us to do?"

"Hmm… Let me think. First, take the box over there, then pull out the serum in the top-left corner, and give that creature an injection. Any spot will do."

Ordinary needles couldn't pierce through the scales of a Death Claw.

But clearly, that didn't include the one lying across the street.

That unfortunate creature had its eyes gouged out, its limbs and tail bitten off – it was left with barely half a life, its faint breath flickering like a candle in the wind, seemingly ready to leave this world at any second.

Clearly, Yong's did not fully trust them.

Perhaps the ease with which she obtained the serum had made him suspicious, leading him to bring in an unknown creature to "test the poison."

But she had not planned to poison it anyway.

With the immune and healing capabilities of a Death Claw, it would likely require a lethal dose to actually kill it.

"… I'll do it."

After giving Tail and Meat Meat a reassuring look, Sesame Paste pretended not to know and placed the radio on the ground, taking the box and stepping forward.

From the silver-white box, she extracted a serum, targeted the blood-soaked half-shoulder, and with a burst of courage, jabbed the needle in.

As the plunger pushed down, a raspy scream echoed almost instantaneously.

The injected Death Claw, like being electrified, bounced off the ground and then lost balance, crashing back down.

It was like a last flicker of light before death; it writhed on the ground like a worm, spraying blood everywhere.

In less than a minute, the Death Claw suddenly stiffened on the ground, curled up, ceased breathing and heartbeat, and did not move again.

Witnessing the bloody scene, Sesame Paste shivered, unable to help but step back.

"What, what happened?"

"Ha ha ha... Nothing, that's perfect!"

He dropped this fragmented sentence and the voice then disappeared from the radio.

Almost simultaneously, a towering figure emerged from the morning fog in the distance, draped in iron chains, treading with heavy, steady steps.

Feeling the overwhelming pressure, the two humans and one bear widened their eyes.

"I giao… Super-sized trash lord," Tail muttered under her breath, glancing at a distant high-rise building before quickly averting her gaze.

Standing next to her, Meat Meat tensed up, already assuming a defensive stance.

"Another brood mother?"

"Eh?! How could you tell it's a brood mother?"

Meat Meat's face flushed slightly.

"Just look..."

The two-story tall Death Claw didn't take her guard seriously, merely casting a casual glance at her.

All of a sudden, it spoke.

"…Not all living beings can withstand the blessings of evolution; that little one's potential was completely depleted, and it's normal that it died."

It looked down at the two humans and a bear standing in the middle of the street, its decayed lips splitting into a cruel smile and then speaking,

"There's no need to panic… I won't harm you, after all, you've done me a huge favor."

Sesame Paste swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she said,

"Are you… Yong's?"

Although she had guessed it.

But seeing such a massive creature speak human words was still somewhat unbelievable.

"It seems you are quite surprised,"

Pleased with the expression on the girl's face, Yong's couldn't be bothered to weave those lame excuses anymore and commanded,

"Continue."

"Now, inject me with the serum. After that, I'll need your help with something else, to kill the creature in Shelter No.79, it's right below the room at the entrance of the research area... Once it's done, I'll pay you."

Its authority was not complete.

Part of it was still held by the Manager of Shelter No.79. Only by killing that guy could it gain full authority and completely control every inch of Shelter No.79.

Looking up at the huge creature, Sesame Paste swallowed hard.

"The reward is..."

"Evolution."

Said casually, Yong's smiled down at her, his breath blowing the grass leaves that stuck out of the concrete pavement to sway from side to side.

"Don't you want to be like me? To possess extraordinary and saintly power. You could retain your own will and become the most powerful beings on this planet. You could even reproduce your own kind and become their 'Ancestors'..."

Sesame Paste's expression stiffened, and she said nothing.

Tail, standing not far away, suddenly shivered.

"Uh, sorry... I still think bears are cuter."

Meat Meat also nodded subtly with a complicated expression.

"Um... suddenly it feels quite nice to be a bear."

As per typical RPG scenarios, this should be where a choice diverges, and choosing to embrace evolution could lead down a completely different main storyline.

But if this was a game still in beta, entering an unfinished side quest due to a bug might just kick you out...

"How should I inject you?" asked Sesame Paste cautiously. "The syringe for the serum... It can't possibly pierce through your scales, right?"

"That's simple."

Pleased with the submissive attitude of the girl in front of him, it lowered its towering head slightly and moved closer to her face.

Then, it slowly opened its huge, gaping mouth.

The stench filled the air, and it was clear that ever since it had become a Variant, it had never brushed its teeth.

As she stared at the forked tongue wriggling and the pulsating capillaries, Sesame Paste holding the serum felt all the hairs on her body stand on end, and her blood seemed to freeze.

However...

There was no more appropriate chance than now.

In the moment Yong's lowered his guard, she suddenly flicked out two shortened-fuse grenades from her pocket and violently threw them into its mouth.

As the foreign objects entered its mouth, the creature's basin-sized pupils momentarily filled with shock and terror.

Not waiting to watch the explosion, Sesame Paste agilely ducked behind a nearby decrepit car.

Almost at the same time, a loud boom echoed.

The burst of flames wildly sprayed, with chunks of flesh and broken teeth sticking to the walls and wrecked cars on both sides of the street, sizzling as they burnt.

Sesame Paste cautiously peeked her head out from the cover.

She saw the head, which looked like rotting wood, its entire lower jaw shattered and bloodied...

"Did it work?"

Excitement gleamed in her eyes, but the excitement didn't last for more than two seconds before it turned to gravity as the huge body slowly shifted.

The bloody wound, crawling with worms, was healing at a visible rate.

Although she had thought it was a long shot to take down a boss of this level with just two grenades,
what she hadn't expected was that its recovery speed completely shattered her understanding— even a fatal blow to the head, with shrapnel embedded in its brain, it could still regenerate perfectly, not even giving her time for a follow-up strike...

Was this thing still a carbon-based life form?!

"Very well..."

As the last inch of the wound sewed itself shut, Yong's gently shook his head, the iron chains on its body clanging, and turned to look at Sesame Paste hiding behind the decrepit car.

It spoke deliberately.

"The path to transcendence lies before you; I gave you a chance, yet you stupidly chose to reject it..."

It stretched out its claw.

The half-meter-long curled blades, like five scythes, the visible murderous intent permeated through the dense morning fog, filling the entire street in an instant.

At the same time, the tumult of distant, wailing cries boiled over.

Those were the howls of the Claw of Death.

As most people know, summoning minions is a common skill among most stage bosses, and it obviously didn't come here alone.

Its nest was nearby, and there clearly were other of its kind that it had bred nearby.

"I will kill you all in the most brutal way... including your kind."

"Goodbye—"

Before its words were complete, light flashed through the fog, and a thunderous cannon sound rolled from afar.

A 37mm armor-piercing incendiary launched by the Heavy Cavalry Gun traveled a distance of a kilometer, striking it solidly on the rear, making the massive body sway as if kicked.

It also made it emit a pained howl.

"Wow! Tail, that was awesome!" Tail excitedly punched the air.

Visibility less than a hundred meters.

A shot calculated solely based on teammates' coordinates and still hit!

Though it's a pity it didn't hit a vital part...

Breathing slightly, a calm voice simultaneously came through the earpiece.

"Plan B—"

"Get out of the way!"

-

(The final chapter about Shelter No.79's storyline will be done before 4 PM. Thanks to "Contralight_Zengxian," "&Jianxin," "Not Like a Dandelion's Dandelion," "Not Black Nor White," "Lin Pinyu," "ruesparrow," "Jiyu Hongjun" for the grand rewards!!!)

Chapter 393: Inheritance of Authority (Second Update!)

Above the sky.

The Iron Heart airship.

The cannon below the pod slowly shifted its angle, locking onto that dense, white fog.

Meanwhile, inside the pod, the main gunner held a piece of paper delivered by a messenger and issued orders to the assistant gunner.

"Adjust artillery parameters..."

"Shooting elements set!"

"Load the high-explosive bomb."

"Prepare—"

"Fire!"

The lanyard was simultaneously pulled back, and three neat cannon shots roared, flames and smoke rolling neatly into the thick fog.

Standing next to the observation hole, a sergeant with a binocular around his neck looked out and could not see where the shells had landed.

He heard only three muffled rumbles slowly drifting over, unable to see even the light of the explosions.

"...The fog is too thick here; I can't see anything."

The main gunner pressed the walkie-talkie hanging on his shoulder and, after a long while, shouted to his teammates.

"Confirm hit! Cease fire."

"Roger."

The smoking shell casings were ejected from the barrel, and a sergeant dragged them with a cart, throwing them into a wooden box in the corner of the room.

The observer walked up to the main gunner and asked.

"Sir, do we have any operations planned today?"

The main gunner replied.

"None."

The observer, curious, continued.

"Then what are we shooting at?"

The main gunner glanced at the piece of paper in his hand, casually tossing it into the trash bin next to him.

"General McCullen's targeted prey."

The assistant gunner, intrigued, interjected.

"That big fellow as tall as a two-story building?"

"What else?" The main gunner chuckled, "Aside from that guy, what else could be worth our boss's persistent attention?"

The observer looked outside, chuckling.

"Such dense fog, sure picks its days."

As everyone knows, rainy and foggy weather are absolutely not suitable for hunting. Not only does visibility suffer, scopes fog up, and perception is diminished by the environment, but the accuracy and reliability of weapons are also affected.

For the Variants accustomed to the jungle, however, this is not a problem.

Especially the Dead Claws.

The moist environment makes them even more dangerous.

"That native said, the most dangerous places are the safest... Whatever, today's work is done anyway," said the main gunner indifferently, taking off his gloves and throwing them aside.

Three 100mm cannons were the only reinforcements they had promised to the hunting team; they didn't need to worry whether they were effective.

Their only task was to fire the shells according to the coordinates provided by the front line.

At this very moment, a few kilometers away from the airship in the city district, the street struck by the three 100mm cannon shots was a complete mess.

The cracked concrete surface resembled plowed muddy soil, its debris and cracked stones scattered all over.

Flames and wisps of hot air rose together, and in the center of the explosion, the Dead Claw let out a pitiful roar.

Its eyes were blinded by shrapnel, its spine penetrated by an armor-piercing bullet, its flesh charred... Even though all these wounds were healing rapidly, the cumulative damage completely enraged it.

The serum, shattered by the artillery fire...

But, that no longer mattered.

Since the passage from the shelter to the research area had been cleared, the spent serum would continue to be produced; it would obtain more from the lab through others.

And these people in front of it...

No, these ants.

It wanted them dead!

"I'll tear you apart!"

"I'll rip out your eyes, your intestines... and feed them to the dogs!"

The vicious curses resonated with that pitiful howl in the thick fog, as several hunched figures emerged from the haze.

Some stood on the street, others climbed on rooftops or broken ruins, rubbing their blade-like claws and sharp teeth, their amber pupils filled with a thirst for flesh, inching closer to the group of White Bear Knights at the other end of the street.

These were its offspring.

Although their size was not only a bit smaller than the mother entity, they were still bigger than the garbage lords of level fifteen or so.

"giao… being targeted by a bunch of garbage lords!" Tail's face showed neither fear nor, even excitement.

Meat Meat, bemused, spoke.

"Why are you suddenly excited?"

"Facing a powerful enemy… don't you find it thrilling?!" Tail said excitedly, "Don't worry, Meat Meat, we've been spotted too!"

It was clear they were not alone here; before they went to the meeting, the Death Legion had already set out first to ambush near the target.

Almost at the very moment the Dead Claws revealed themselves, roughly two to three hundred figures simultaneously emerged from the dense fog.

They wore gas masks on their chests, an engineer shovel strapped to their waists, and their assault rifles were fitted with bayonets.

Yong's eyes narrowed slightly.

Two hundred and seventy people...

More than half were Awakeners...

A flash of wariness crossed those amber pupils but was quickly dismissed by a sniff of disdain.

So what!

It had surpassed the limits of life.

Every cell in its body was a crystallization of the highest life science technology before the war.

It was the immortal king, an entity that could stand at the top of the food chain with just its flesh body, and it would eventually become the dominator of this planet!

Be it humans, mutants, or those foul-smelling myxomycetes… they would all ultimately bow at its feet!

"Lowly ants…"

It rubbed its claw-like palms and let out a roar from its blood-drenched mouth.

"Tear them apart!!"

A piercing scream washed over the players like a tide.

Looking at the incoming Death Claws, everyone's faces were filled with soaring fighting spirit, blood seemingly burning in their chests.

Not one showed fear.

Nor did anyone retreat.

A sharp whistle cut through the mist, bestowing an unstoppable BUFF on all the players present.

For the Death Legion, the charge was the ultimate tactic.

It was also the tactic they were most adept at!

"Brothers! Charge!"

"Demacia!"

"Roar—!"

Scalding metal clashed with flesh, and gunfire echoed through the streets.

No need to aim.

After firing the last bullet in the magazine, the charging player didn't stop; instead, they charged forward with bayonets, racing towards the Death Claws ahead.

Two waves collided, merging into a meat grinder, flesh flying chaotically.

Amazement filled those amber eyes.

Even unbelievably so.

Not long ago, it had clashed with a hundred soldiers of the army. At that time, it had casually reaped a few lives, and those people had retreated in disarray.

But these people…

They seemed utterly oblivious to death, with no intention of retreating even a step.

If bullets ran out, they used bayonets, engineer shovels, even rocks and steel bars picked up from the ground… Such a barbaric method of fighting instilled fear even in the eyes of beasts, hesitating and shivering in the midst of the battle.

These people…

Were simply lunatics!

As more of their kids died in the fight, Yong finally couldn't hold back a roar and charged towards the fearless ants.

A more bloody fight…

Had just begun.

…

An hour later, when quietness returned to the streets.

The rising dawn shone in the distance, and perhaps soon, the fog that enveloped the street would dissipate…

Fight for life Yong lay panting in the middle of the street.

Its body was wrapped in iron chains, and bloodied all over, resembling Prometheus bound to a rock.

Though its aim was not to bring light and heat to the world but pure malice and darkness.

As it had said, half of the chaos on this land stemmed from it, and it was the one who had fully opened Pandora's box.

Its wounds no longer healed, just as the players had discussed on the forum—its regenerative capabilities had limits.

Continuous damage rapidly depleted its biotic energy, and without replenishment from food, it would soon breach the limit of recovery.

As the players fired one hot metal shard after another into its body, it eventually collapsed.

Though the players had also suffered significant losses.

But what team fight doesn't have casualties?

As per the pre-agreed rules, every fallen player would receive at least 300 silver coins as compensation—equivalent to three days' worth of earnings.

Those who had died were probably already bragging about it on the forum.

And it really was something to boast about.

That was the Death Claw, as tall as a two-story building…

Since the beta server had been launched, this was the first time they had encountered one.

"Speaking of which… I forgot to ask, what exactly was Plan B?"

Panting heavily, Debt Giant Eye sitting on an old car, wiped the blood from his forehead and looked at the young construction worker and Brick beside him.

The young construction worker and Brick hadn't even had a chance to reply.

Edge Shoveling, sitting nearby, chuckled and answered for them.

"Plan B… was to have no plan."

The young construction worker and Brick nodded.

"That's right, what do we need a plan for? Just dive in and fight!"

If the Drum Washing Machine were here, he would have chimed in as well, but unfortunately his head was nowhere to be found.

According to what they had discussed with Tail before.

If the sneak attack didn't kill Yong, everyone would just gang up and join the melee… This was their Plan B.

Truth be told, the Old Soldier thought Plan A was completely unnecessary.

Before officially triggering the BOSS battle, such a level boss was definitely locked by blood, how could it possibly be killed by a sneak attack?

In the end, they would have to fight anyway.

Might as well start with a group fight from the beginning.

Debt Giant Eye said with mixed emotions.

"This is too reckless."

Edge Shoveling grinned and clapped his shoulder.

"What else can we do? We've used every possible means… If you really want to determine a victor, you have to show your true skills in the end."

Saying this, he looked towards the fog-filled sky in the distance, squinting slightly.

That place was where the "Iron Heart" floated.

Even in front of that huge object, the Mother of Dead Claw, which was only as big as a two-story building, appeared as just a slightly larger grasshopper.

The barbarians crossing the desert were the real threat they had to face...

Seeing Tail, Sesame Paste, and a blood-soaked White bear approaching him, Yong's finally showed a trace of panic in his eyes.

The creature, which now lay gasping on the ground, had lost its arrogance and wildness. A pleading tone crept into its hoarse voice.

"Please, spare me, and I can make you stronger... Don't you desire greater strength?"

That moment, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side.

"Strength comes in many forms... We just have different understandings of it."

Turning his stiff neck, Yong's strained to look in the direction of the voice. The moment his gaze met with that person, his amber pupils shrank violently.

"You didn't die?!" Yong's couldn't help but cry out in shock.

Three days ago, Yong's had watched this woman, after reading the last experimental journal, put the gun to her temple and pull the trigger.

There was a flash of gunfire, a wall was sprayed with brain matter and blood. Yong's even felt a bit of pity for a second or two.

Yet now, the person who should have been dead was standing in front of him again...

Yong's eyes became blank, but Si Si didn't plan to waste time explaining. She just smiled faintly.

"Disappointed? But you don't need to worry about those troubles anymore... It's over."

After parachuting down and rushing over twenty kilometers, she was terribly worn out by the long-distance trek.

But fortunately, she made it in time.

"Oh! It's all yours, Si!" Tail gave a thumbs up, his eyes gleaming, "Give it the final blow!"

Si Si smiled and made a casual hand gesture.

"Oh, thanks Ah Wei."

Tail curled his lips smugly and said,

"No problem! Just remember to not mess up its head! I promised Brother Battlefield I'd give him this guy's dog head!"

As payment for those three 100mm cannons.

Thanks to that round of cannon fire cover, they at least drained half of the boss's health bar.

"Rest assured... I'll bring its head down intact."

Watching Si Si, axe in hand, step by step approaching, Yong's eyes filled with terror as his enormous body desperately tried to struggle free.

However, those iron chains hanging off junk cars and street lamps had him securely bound.

"Please... don't do this."

"No need to thank me... this axe is specially prepared for you!"

With that, she hoisted the axe high above her head with a hearty swing, chopping down on his thick neck, down and down again.

Initially, Yong's screamed and begged, but later there were no sounds, only the dull thuds of the bludgeon hacking through flesh.

Hot blood splattered all over the street.

The scene was almost akin to a slaughterhouse.

Watching from a distance, Debt Giant Eye couldn't help but shrink his neck.

"Damn, is it that bloody?"

The construction youth and the brick stared wide-eyed and suddenly blurted out,

"Love it, love it."

Edge Shoveling: "..."

Debt Giant Eye: "???"

...

[Mission: Kill Yong's (Completed)]

[Mission: Gain Access to Shelter No.79 (In Progress)]

[Mission: ...]

The VM screen flashed with pale blue pop-ups indicating mission completion.

Looking at the head she had finally chopped off, Si Si threw the bloody axe aside and shook her sore right hand.

"This guy's neck was pretty tough."

Tail, standing beside her, nodded earnestly.

"Hmm, took quite a while."

Meat Meat and Sesame Paste had a look of mixed amusement and discomfort on their faces, mentally paying respects to the unfortunate creature for a few seconds.

But nobody sympathized with it.

It might have done some good deeds, but compared to the evil it committed over this century, those were hardly worth mentioning.

Moreover, this creature couldn't be considered human anymore; they weren't about to extend their sympathy to an enemy who had attacked their comrades.

However, coming back to the point, although Yong's cunningly manipulated them, the materials dropped from its body were quite likable.

Like the skin of Dead Claw, especially suitable for making backpacks and leather goods. Paired with Devil Silk, it could even create top-tier protective gear, sturdier than Kefla Material!

The only drawback was its difficult mass production.

But once they got the access to Shelter No.79, that wouldn't be a problem anymore.

With enough Mind Interference Instruments, not just making backpacks from Dead Claw's skin, even forming a "Dead Claw Knights" wouldn't be an issue!

Players began to clear the battlefield.

At this time, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group slowly came over from afar.

After calling for the Army's bombardment, he had stayed back to observe; now that the fight was over, it was finally his turn to emerge.

Glancing over the street smeared with fresh blood and watching Brother Edge drag half a body to the roadside, he couldn't help clicking his tongue.

"Damn, how many of you died?"

Edge Shoveling casually replied,

"Haven't counted yet, around a hundred... What's up?"

"Nothing much, just a bit impressed," said Old Soldier emotionally, "Your casualties are consistently high…"

Edge Shoveling smiled sheepishly.

"Cough, we're a bit reckless… But no big deal, winning is what matters."

Players who pursue survival rates wouldn't join the Death Legion, just like diners who crave steak wouldn't go to a hot pot restaurant.

Although the levels of players in the Death Legion are generally not very high, with only a few T1 players reaching LV20, even Brother Quanshui has given a considerable high rating to their alley-fighting ability.

Even in reality, these individuals are absolutely experts in alley fighting, with combat instincts honed through countless deaths, though these can't be quantified by attribute points, no one doubts their combat power.

"Where's the head?" Old Soldier stretched out his hand.

"Don't worry, I've kept it for you." Edge Shoveling pointed to a trash can beside the road, which leaned against a bundle of sacks containing Yong's head.

That Claw of Death's head, with its neck, was as large as a cow, and even when drained of blood, weighed a hundred kilograms.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group walked up, loosened the tightly tied hemp rope, took a look, and expressed satisfaction,

"Not bad at all, no effort was needed to find what was hard to find."

"You figure out how to get it back yourself, we won't help you," Edge Shoveling said with a laugh, "Speaking of which, carrying this guy's head, could it get me a Centurion or what?"

Old Soldier chuckled and said,

"That's a given."

More than just a Centurion!

There are other rewards as well!

It's just unfortunate that the mission rewards are in Dinars.

At present, there's no official exchange rate between Dinars and Silver coins; it might stabilize after the Army map opens up.

"Speaking of which, where are your squad members?"

"Oh, I ditched them halfway… Having them around makes it inconvenient for me to make up stories," said the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, his eyes shifting as he continued with a playful grin, "Why don't you guys come back with me, claim to be fellow townsmen from Bet Street."

"Going there with so many people at once, do you take the NPC for a fool?", Edge Shoveling rolled his eyes and continued, "Let's take it slow, I'll sneak a few people into your place tomorrow to check the situation, if it's clear, then I'll bring more in."

"Alright, then I won't waste time here."

Having lifted the Dead Claw's head onto his shoulders, Old Soldier bid farewell and turned to walk into the already thinning fog.

Edge Shoveling looked at the battlefield that had been cleaned up in the distance and shouted to his teammates.

"Brothers, time to retreat."

Debt Giant Eye, who had already packed up his equipment, walked over.

"Where to now?"

Edge Shoveling thought for a moment and said,

"Let's head to Xiangling Town first."

They needed to find a place to stash the spoils of war before the fog cleared, to sync with Old Soldier's return act.

If that airship saw the corpses and the messy battlefield, it'd be tough for Old Soldier to explain how he got the head, even if he made up a intricate story.

...

Xiangling Town.

In the central courtyard of the municipal library, bodies of the Claws of Death lay neatly arranged, including the one whose head was missing…

All in the family.

Standing nearby, Wu Tao and Wang Xu wore faces full of astonishment.

It wasn't just them.

Every survivor in Xiangling town couldn't help but hold their breath and widen their eyes.

Seventeen Claws of Death!

And that two-story high mother!

Staring at the headless creature, Wu Tao swallowed hard and said with difficulty,

"That Dead Claw... is it dead?"

Knowing which one he was referring to, Si Si, who was scrolling through her VM, casually nodded.

"Oh, it's dead."

At that moment, she was drenched in blood from head to toe, a shocking sight of red, completely transformed into a blood person.

When she first returned, she had even frightened the children in the village to tears.

The surrounding survivors exchanged glances, their faces showing mixed emotions.

"It's dead... Well, if it's dead, it's dead," Wu Tao sighed, his face full of worry, "It won't be long before the Army comes here again."

He hadn't expected that man-eating Variant to become their guardian angel, protecting the village for a lifetime.

But he had fantasized that those barbaric soldiers would be deterred by the formidable presence of that big guy and wouldn't dare to come here and disturb them again.

Feeling somewhat guilty, Sesame Paste softly suggested,

"This place will soon turn into a battlefield. I recommend you all move away as soon as possible."

"That's right!" Tail nodded earnestly, "You can go to the City of Dawn, where everyone is really nice! The respected Manager will take you in!"

"Is that so, thank you for your kindness," Wu Tao sighed and continued, troubled, "But this has been our home, we have lived here for over a century... It's sudden for you to ask us to move now."

At that moment, Si Si, who was fiddling with her VM, suddenly spoke up.

"Actually, there is another way..."

Although somewhat scared of this blood-covered crazy woman, Wu Tao's instincts told him that she might really have a good idea.

So, he gathered his courage and asked,

"What, what solution?"

"Move to Shelter No.79, we've cleared a few buildings, and it can easily accommodate two to three hundred people. If you really don't want to leave your hometown, you could temporarily hide there and come back to live here after the war ends."

"Oh, we could initially hide in Shelter No.79!" Tail showed a realization, nodding while stroking his chin, "Well, we are probably going to build a new Survivor Settlement here anyway, maybe there's no need to move to the City of Dawn."

Sesame Paste hesitantly said, "But... we don't have access to Shelter No.79, right?"

Hearing this, Si Si, her face smeared with blood, suddenly showed a subtle expression.

"Uh, about that, I was just going to say... I'm not sure how, but it seems like I've obtained some of that guy's permissions."

Saying that, she extended her VM.

On the screen was the surveillance footage of a room in Shelter No.79, and in the corner of the room, a body with a blown-off head lay there.

That body was none other than herself...

-

(Hereby presenting two updates. The episode at Shelter No.79 is over, up next is the much-awaited loot counting! It's a bit faster than expected, and isn't it nice of me not to split this into two chapters? Lastly, thanks to "Fang Teacher," "21912," "As You Say," "Caretaker's Alt," "No Reply," and "Spring Rain Returns" for their generous donations! I haven't had lunch yet, I'm exhausted, going to sleep before I write more...)

Chapter 394: An SSSR Mount, Isn't It Reasonable to Sell by Weight?

"You already have the gate access rights... oh, by that, it means the 'traitors' outside are all dead now."

The rotting corpse-like figure emitted a laugh that sounded like sandpaper scraping a wall.

Crawling in the hall, the Mother of Dead Claw looked at the group of players standing before her and spoke with an easy tone.

Surprisingly, though she used the word "traitor" to refer to Yong's, her voice betrayed little hatred for the betrayal.

She had been alive for over a century, maybe even longer. Over the long years, she had witnessed too much birth and death, and had long since reconciled with the past.

Tail tilted his head, not quite understanding, and asked,

"Traitor?"

"That's something from over a century ago, about our past... enough to make a TV series of several hundred hours. You wouldn't be interested," the Mother of Dead Claw said in an even tone.

"If you mean that guy who called himself Yong's... I indeed killed it," Si Si glanced at the VM on her arm and continued speaking.

"Also, by the time I realized it, the Manager's access had already come to me... I want to know, is this access bound to the VM?"

After she had killed Yong's, a special signal suddenly appeared in the top right corner of her VM; selecting and connecting to it unlocked the function to connect to the shelter system.

That included opening and closing corridor doors.

That included adjusting the ventilation system in various areas.

And that also included the cameras in each room.

It was just like the console in an RPG Game, to the extent that she once thought she'd discovered a bug in the Game, unintentionally unlocking "Developer mode."

However, after some experimentation, she quickly realized that this authority wasn't as magical as she'd imagined.

At least it wasn't at the level of a bug.

Complex functions were difficult to fully execute through the VM; perhaps it required a terminal device with a more abundant UI or auxiliary smart devices.

Otherwise, even if you had the access rights, only a few of the simplest operations were possible.

Furthermore, the access could be transferred.

Combining this with the task in the taskbar, "Obtain access rights of Shelter No.79," it seemed once she had the complete access rights, Mr. Dawn would likely take the Manager access away.

After all, in the setting, the shelter was a communal respawn point for the players, from this point of view, it was unlikely they would allow a player to hold onto the shelter's managerial power.

But this peculiar experience still felt quite entertaining for her.

In response to the girl's question, the Mother of Dead Claw replied with a casual tone.

"Strictly speaking, the access rights of a shelter are associated with life characteristics, and only life characteristics that pass multiple elements of cross-verification are the real key... The VM is merely your terminal to connect to the shelter system."

"VM, bionic chips... Hardware capable of recognizing life characteristics can all serve as carriers to connect to the shelter system."

"I see," Si Si nodded thoughtfully and continued, "So... does the shelter's access get inherited by the person who kills the Manager?"

The Mother of Dead Claw smiled and said.

"You misunderstand the rules, the correct explanation is, if the life signal of the access holder disappears from within the signal collection range and no successor is designated, the Manager's access is inherited by the closest terminal device holder."

"Your VM is one of the terminals; it records your life characteristics, even though you're not on Shelter No.79's registration list... By principle, you belong to the residents of the shelter."

The rules sounded somewhat convoluted.

However, Si Si still tried to understand it.

To put it simply, if there's no designated successor, whoever's VM is closest before death inherits the access...

What kind of Big Escape rule is this?

Seeing the odd expression in Si Si's eyes, the Mother of Dead Claw gave a faint smile and continued nonchalantly.

"I know what you want to say, such rules certainly have loopholes. If there is no designated successor, the scenario you mentioned happens... The Manager's access will be inherited by the person who killed him."

"The original shelter Manager designated me as the next Manager at the last moment of his life, but perhaps out of distrust for me or for other reasons, he did not transfer all the access to me. Instead, he split the access into many parts and established rules for inheritance."

"He wanted us to decide our own fate, including whether or not to continue our experiments."

"The irony is, though he made many preparations for the future, in the end, it turned out to be entirely meaningless. The very thing he was most worried about still happened; before we could cultivate a morally perfect leader, we first obtained the ability to spawn demons..."

At this, the Mother of Dead Claw paused for a moment, then continued in a softer voice.

"I will transfer the shelter's access rights to you... but before that, could you fulfill one small wish of mine?"

Although there was a more direct method, like simply killing it, the task didn't require them to take care of this creature as well.

Si Si asked straightforwardly.

"What wish?"

If it wasn't too much trouble, she could fulfill it.

"I want to meet your Manager, just to satisfy my curiosity, a video call is fine too... You can do that, right?"

Si Si nodded.

"That's a reasonable request, I'll convey it to him."

...

"A Death Claw two floors tall... It's unbelievable, you actually slaughtered such a remarkable creature? I mean, before you slaughtered it... couldn't you let me study it first?"

Shelter No. 404.

The library on Floor B4—or rather, Chu Guang's office.

When Hera heard about the events in Shelter No.79, her eyes widened in amazement.

Only her reason for being shocked seemed somewhat different from that of an ordinary woman her age.

Patiently listening to the complaints of the "Alliance's Chief Biologist," Chu Guang closed the file he had just finished organizing and sighed.

"Aren't the evolutionary bodies in Qingquan City enough for you to study?"

While the players were tackling Shelter No.79, Chu Guang, as the planner, had not been idle either.

Although he wasn't on the frontlines, he was keeping up with the players' progress.

Including the experimental logs recovered by the players, the strategy posts compiled by them on the Forum, and their analysis of the storyline and speculation about the experimental accidents, he had Xiao Qi help organize them into files, both electronic and paper, which were archived in the servers and library of Shelter No. 404.

Although the plan ultimately failed, after all, it was an attempt by the people of that era to preserve their civilization.

Once it all comes to an end and the declining civilization enters a new era, he would send these archives and records to the museum for posterity to evaluate.

Her direct response to Chu Guang's statement was,

"Of course it's not enough! The mutation of slime fungus is not an isolated process but the collective result of interactions with the external environment. Evolutionary bodies are just a subset of the entire vast system. To understand the whole system, we need more clues..."

Listening to Heya's endless chatter, Chu Guang pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling slightly headachy.

Ever since he had come to this world,

He had increasingly felt that his nine years of compulsory education and 3+4 years of higher education were no longer sufficient.

"Sorry, I didn't quite understand...could you simplify that a bit?"

She stopped mid-speech, and after a light sigh and a pause, Heya continued,

"...In short, research on non-mycorrhizal variants can promote mutual understanding with the research on mutated slime fungus... Do you understand now?"

Although he was still somewhat confused, it was a marked improvement from before.

Looking at Chu Guang, who was nodding thoughtfully, Heya couldn't resist adding another complaint.

"...However, such a perfect research specimen, a living fossil who had lived for over a century, was right in front of you, and you actually killed it."

Such a waste!

That's simply a crime against nature!

Looking at Heya, who was visibly outraged, Chu Guang gave a faint smile and continued,

"That creature was too dangerous. Keeping it might have been of some use, but we couldn't bear the risk of it getting out of control, so I ordered it to be dealt with."

After a pause, he added,

"As for the research specimen you mentioned, there's no worry about that. We just took out the uncontrollable mother, but there is another one in Shelter No. 79."

Heya's eyes instantly brightened like a lamp, and she leaned heavily on the table,

"Really?!"

Seeing Heya's intense gaze, Chu Guang shifted back slightly and nodded lightly,

"Mmm... Moreover, its identity was beyond my expectation. I never thought the Great Antler God actually existed; I always thought that was just a myth."

The Manager of Shelter No. 79 had become the spiritual pillar of the Wasteland Wanderers of River Valley Province.

Although this sounded strange, it wasn't hard to understand.

In the eyes of the studied clones, those researchers who could "transfer their consciousness into the body of a Death Claw" and could arbitrarily control their life and death, weren't they equivalent to gods?

The "gods" tried to create an "emperor" among them, continually bringing down disasters to weed out the weaker individuals, and allowing those who passed the environmental selection to continue to breed, propelling the steady evolution of their species... If you used a religious narrative style, this wicked experiment could totally be interpreted as a myth.

Later, some clones and experimental subjects escaped with that "Yong" character, naturally carrying this memory and their genetic traits with them, transmitting them generation after generation...

Thinking of this, Chu Guang's expression suddenly took on a strange twist.

Since the legend of the "Great Antler God" could be traced back to an experiment in a shelter...

Could Luo Xia Province's "Spirit of the Sand Sea" also be related to some unknown secret experiment?

The more Chu Guang thought about it, the more possible it seemed.

It seemed necessary to organize a group of folklorists to collect the strange and curious folklore of the wasteland.

Perhaps behind some casual clue, there might be an unimaginably big fish hidden.

As Chu Guang contemplated where to place this new NPC, possibly in a small tavern, Heya was staring intently at him, continuing,

"...I plan to make a trip to Shelter No.79! Have you secured the access rights there? Give me authorization!"

Chu Guang: "I haven't completely secured them yet, but it's just a matter of going through the process... I'll go with you, as I have some business to attend to there as well."

Heya said with a slight smile, "Good! By the way, after you've dealt with the things there, what do you plan to do with that shelter?"

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and replied,

"...I haven't decided yet, I'll have to see what useful things are there before deciding."

Heya cheerfully said,

"If you haven't figured out how to manage it, you can give it to me as a lab. Besides the Death Claws, there are also quite a few other Variants there that are excellent research materials! I've recently trained a few competent researchers, and I plan to send them there for internships..."

Hearing this suggestion, Chu Guang's eyes lit up.

"That's not a bad idea, I'll consider it!"

Although the specifics of Shelter No. 79 were still unknown, according to what Yong had said, the energy stored there was enough to keep the shelter running for 5 centuries.

Compared to the paltry energy reserves of Shelter No. 404, the reserves of Shelter No. 79 could be described as "incomprehensibly rich."

Shutting down the facility would allow for the recovery of the nuclear fuel, while if the shelter continued to operate, it could serve as a facility for biological research and a respawn point for players.

It's a choice between "Energy coins +10086" and "Sociology +10, Respawn point +1."

After only a brief consideration, Chu Guang unhesitatingly chose the latter.

He still had a fuel rod in his possession which he hadn't used, so he wasn't really short on fuel rods for the shelters.

But the research facilities in the shelter, along with respawn points to recruit more players, were exactly what he needed!

Not only that, but the Death Claw of Death bred in Shelter No. 79 could also serve as a fine "biological transportation vehicle."

Good for travel, good for fighting, and particularly durable – indeed, quite a useful tool!

Combining the related technology recovered from Shelter No. 401, the Blue Jackets rescued by players from the East District of Qingquan City had successfully reverse-engineered the Torch Church's "Mind Interference Device," and the "Neural Connection Device" could be produced using the Black Box recovered from Shelter No. 117.

While mass production was impossible, limited production was not a big issue.

Strapping one onto the neck of a Death Claw would not pose a problem for training it as a mount!

The "Nicole" tied in the park was the perfect example—every time Chu Guang visited the East District of Qingquan City, he would ride it, even while wearing his power armor.

It was already proven that the Death Claw of Death could be tamed by technological means.

With the research data on the Death Claw of Death preserved in Shelter No. 79, perhaps he could get Heya to help with research on a larger lizard more suitable for riding.

Thinking of this, a meaningful smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

This powerful and unbalancing "SSSR mount"...

Would selling it for 50,000 silver coins be too cheap?

Indeed, it seemed better to sell it by weight!

...

Rui Valley City, Fallen Leaf Camp.

When the Battlefield Atmosphere Group dragged a wooden board with the head of the Claw of Death back to the camp in the twilight's dying glow, every soldier on gate duty and every survivor inside the camp was shocked.

He was covered in blood, like a devil that crawled out of hell, his right hand clutched a hemp rope slung over his shoulder, his left hand holding a bloody axe—this one he'd bought from Si Si for 20 silver coins at a steep price.

He tossed both the axe and the rope on the ground and looked nonchalantly at the sentries poised at the entrance, speaking offhandedly,

"Dead Claw—"

"I killed it!"

He wanted to say something cool, but his command of the United Human language was too poor, and he only knew a few phrases.

Murmuring and whispers spread at the entrance.

The soldiers clad in black robes looked at him suspiciously, clearly not believing their eyes.

But the Old Soldier didn't care about their looks.

Before returning, he intentionally found a mutated hyena, threw away his weapon, and fought the beast barehanded, getting his fair share of scrapes and bruises.

He didn't need to craft a perfect lie, just needed to play the part of a strong, silent man, and make it look good enough.

As for the rest,
people would naturally fill in the gaps for him.

Not far from the camp, survivors had gathered at the gate, throwing curious glances his way.

Expressions varied from one person to the next, some envious, some jealous, and some even whistled, unable to resist cheering him on.

That was a monster that even a legion's hundred-man squad couldn't handle.

And now it had been taken down by a Waste Land Wanderer born the same as them!

In the crowd not far away, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group saw many familiar faces.

Including the apprentice who had peeled potatoes with him, the squad member who had gotten lost, and the only one whose name he recalled, Li Ba.

At this moment, likely noticing the commotion at the gate, the camp's person in charge, Coleway, emerged.

"What are you all gathering around here for? Is all the work done?"

At the crack of a whip, the survivors blocking the gate scattered.

Carrying a whip, Coleway walked up to the gate and saw the blood-soaked "Pangolin," then glanced at the head on the wooden board. An expression of surprise crossed his face.

That calf-sized head was just too shocking, especially the hideous face, which must have endured too much pain than life could bear before dying.

The gate fell silent for a full five minutes.

As if hit with a petrification spell, Coleway finally gathered his wits and stared intently at the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, squeezing out a sentence from his throat.

"Did you do this?"

The Old Soldier nodded coolly and confidently.

"That's right!"

Although it wasn't all his doing, he had contributed to the DPS!

Round it up a bit, and it's not wrong to say it was his doing.

Though Coleway had his doubts, seeing the man drenched in blood, he really couldn't think of any reason to question him. Still, he couldn't believe that the monster that cost him so many men had been taken down by the native in front of him.

"I will report your achievement, you go to the river next to us and wash the blood off your body..."

Speaking thus, Coleway turned to one of the sentries, nodding toward the hunter.

"Give him a bar of soap."

The rifle-toting sentry snapped to attention and saluted.

"Yes sir!"

...

It took only a few minutes to smear the blood on himself, but over an hour to wash it off. The Old Soldier discovered it was quite the hassle and yet unavoidable.

He had hacked at his neck wildly, mangling the scales as if chewed by a dog. It would have been suspicious if there were no bloodstains at all!

At last, having scrubbed off the sticky blood, the sky was completely dark.

As he walked toward the camp, the Old Soldier organized his thoughts, considering how he would boast later.

Just then, a soldier clad in a black robe approached him.

"You're the Pangolin."

The Old Soldier paused for a couple of seconds before responding.

"Yes... what's up?"

The black-robed soldier continued.

"Come with me."

While the Old Soldier was puzzled, there was no use overthinking at this moment, so he followed the man.

Watching the soldier lead him away from the camp, towards the depths of the forest, the Old Soldier couldn't help but feel suspicious.

That Coleway...

He wouldn't be trying to keep the glory all to himself, would he?

Surely he wouldn't be that despicable!

Lost in his thoughts, the flicker of campfires emerged ahead, revealing another camp beyond the tree line.

Unlike Fallen Leaf Camp, everyone here, whether on guard duty or patrolling, was a soldier wearing a black robe and heavy bulletproof armor.

Undoubtedly—

This was the base of the Army's Space Marine Corps!

With a mix of shock and awe, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group followed the soldier forward, passing the guards at the entrance to the campsite and silently taking note of the defenses.

Soon the two reached the center of the camp, where an elevator stood waiting.

"Get on."

Upon hearing the soldier in the black cloak's voice, the Old Soldier obediently stepped onto the elevator, his heart so excited that he mentally exclaimed holy sh*t.

What a big shot!

Was he being invited into the "Crystal Tower"?!

Before he had much time to contemplate, the elevator started.

Pulled by several iron chains, the platform slowly rose, inching closer to the towering steel fortress until it entered completely.

At the end of the elevator was a large hall, unbelievably spacious, with an overall arrangement similar to the U-shaped ports where submarines docked, and the several rolling shutter doors next to it were probably garages.

The Old Soldier looked around in amazement, wishing he could capture everything he saw and share his shock with netizens on the forum straight away.

Regretfully, he did not even have a VM, let alone a camera.

Two soldiers came over and searched him, patting him down thoroughly from head to toe before allowing him to pass through the airlock of the buffer room.

After going through several doors and corridors, he was led to a room laid with red carpet and opulently decorated.

There were quite a few people standing there.

And only one was seated.

That person's identity was undoubtedly the one the legions' soldiers referred to as the Captain of Iron Heart—General Mclen.

The Old Soldier stealthily sized him up.

The man appeared to be just over forty, with sharp facial features, a prominent nose bridge, a robust and imposing figure, and eyes like an eagle hunting chicks, still maintaining his physical fitness despite his high position.

He might well be an Awakener!

While the Old Soldier was discreetly observing the man seated in the chair, that man was also sizing him up.

With a hint of interest in his eyes, General Mclen spoke.

"Are you Pangolin?"

"Yes, sir."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group gave a response while secretly thinking.

What if he pulled off an assassination like Jing Ke against King Qin and decapitated the man before him—would the expansion pack end before it even started?

But...

That would be somewhat difficult.

Although an Awakener himself, he certainly wasn't faster than a bullet.

Within seven steps, guns were fast and accurate, not to mention that there were at least a dozen guns hidden here that could riddle him with bullets in a few seconds.

If only he had an exoskeleton...

General Mclen stared at the earnest, mute, and reticent native hunter before him and continued with interest.

"Tell me, how did you kill that monster."

"…Your artillery wounded it, I trapped it with a snare, gouged out its eyes, bled it, and then chopped off its head," responded the Battlefield Atmosphere Group in the clumsy language of United Human.

The narration was crude, but General Mclen hadn't expected a barbarian from the wild lands to speak eloquently like a minstrel anyway.

Nodding approvingly, he said.

"Not bad, a true Warrior."

"From today, you are the first Centurion of the Retinue Army, and your men will be promoted to Centurions… You may go back later and tell them the good news."

Speaking indifferently, General Mclen then turned his attention to the side.

"Additionally, the rewards I mentioned."

As he finished speaking, a soldier walked in, holding an iron chain and leading 10 slaves.

Barefoot and wearing simple dresses, their hair colors, heights, and builds varied, with facial features that could pass for pretty.

Their exotic faces clearly did not belong to survivors from nearby but seemed more like those brought in by the legion from other places.

Like from the desert.

The Old Soldier was momentarily stunned, greatly shocked.

He had thought the game designers would reward him with 10 robust men, never expecting to be tested with such enticing bait.

Was this a cost-free experience?

General Mclen watched with satisfaction the bumpkin-like expression on the native's face.

He didn't mind if his subordinates were greedy or lustful; in fact, people with flaws were often easier to manage.

If somebody showed no interest in wealth or lust, he'd be suspicious of their ulterior motives.

After all, such a person could only be one of two types: either a saint completely detached from base desires or someone with ambitions far beyond ordinary mortals.

"I am a man of my word; they are yours."

Seeing Coleway signalling to him, the Old Soldier quickly bowed his head and responded robustly.

"Thank you, sir!"

The meeting lasted merely ten minutes.

Although General Mclen was intrigued by the native hunter who had slain the Claw of Death, this was just a small diversion on his military campaign.

If that native truly possessed the Talent for leading troops in battle, he wouldn't mind promoting him to be the Leader of the Thousands of the Retinue Army.

After letting "Pangolin" leave, General Mclen turned to Coleway, his eyes showing a trace of appreciation.

"It seems not all natives here are wastes; occasionally, we see a capable individual or two."

"Unearth more of this kind of talent."

"We need to cultivate our own forces in the Southern River Province, and these individuals are good seedlings worth nurturing."

Coleway bowed his head and accepted the order respectfully.

"Yes!"

-

(Thank you to "Golden Legend Bear Shiny", "Rain Often Light", "Three Joys Twice Happy", "Peerless Little Swordsman", "Clear Mayfly", "Chen Ci Old Tune", "Evil is Also Cold" for their leader-tier rewards!!!)

Chapter 395 "Wolf Cavalry" Plan and "Pangolin" Hundred-Person Team!

Official Website:

[Worldwide Announcement: The world-class BOSS "Yong's" was killed by Si Si, Tail, Meat Meat, Sesame Paste, Edge Shoveling, Battlefield Atmosphere Group... and many other players. This achievement will be recorded in the "Wasteland OL" Hall of Fame.]

[Announcement: Shelter No. 79 unlocked!]

[Shelter No. 79: Located in the underground city of Rui Valley City, it's a research facility that has fallen. Endless Variants hide in every corner of this three-dimensional maze, where risk and opportunity coexist...]

[The eligibility cap for closed testing has increased from 5000 to 8000, and new closed testing players will be born in Shelter No. 79.]

[Now you can apply for a respawn point transfer: Pay 100 silver coins for moving costs and shelter room swap fees, and you can relocate your respawn point to a shelter that is not yet full. (Current available shelters: 404 (full), 117 (full), 401, 79)]

[Major update to the Pet System! You can now make a reservation to purchase Variants such as Claw of Death, Red-eyed Wolf Spider, and Split-tooth Tiger in Shelter No. 79! Some of these Variants can be used as mounts! For more details, please check in-game!]

[Heya: The ecosystem of Shelter No. 79 is astonishing, a century of evolution has turned this place into an environment more extreme and harsh than most urban ruins on the wasteland... Unbelievable, would anyone like to be my lab rat? Generous rewards, please apply through VM!]

[Yin Fang: The study of implanting bionic prosthetics into the bodies of Variants is very successful, you can not only replace your arms with Mantis Knives but even give a couple to your pet... However, it's better to choose smarter Variants, otherwise, there might be a mismatch in intelligence.]

[Ma Ban: We plan to build a new Survivor Settlement in Rui Valley City to house the displaced survivors... Currently, the war is not over, and the new site will be temporarily set up outside the underground shelters of Shelter No. 79.]

[Today's recommended recipes: Braised Eggplant, Chicken Stew with Mushrooms]

Following the conquest of Shelter No. 79, a bunch of content was updated on the "Wasteland OL" official website.

This gameplay, where game content progresses in sync with player conquests, is a fresh experience for most players.

Although open-world themed games are not rare, there are scarcely any MMORPGs where players' decisions can permanently affect the game world.

It feels like participating in the game's development while playing the game.

One game, twice the fun, and it's not even asking for money, you can even earn some!

This game is just too consciencious!

However, even though the developers are this conscientious and have updated a heap of various things, today's focus on the forum for players and Backseat Drivers isn't them.

It's not even about the White Bear Knights and the Death Legion who took down the "World BOSS."

But rather, the Old Soldier, who snagged the last "head"...

"Wasteland OL" Forum.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Brothers!!! I'm back haha!"

Quit smoking: "Damn! This damn thing finally showed up!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Been waiting for you!"

Neighbor Old Mole fleeing the valley: "Heard you went to the boss with the head of Death Claw to get your rewards?"

Elena: "And they gave you ten beauties too! (Amused)"

Gnome King Riches: "Really?? (Amused)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Cough, first of all... of course, this is true, but am I the kind of person who covets beauty? Obviously not!"

Debt Giant Eye: "I almost believed that!"

"Kakarot: "Damn, they really gave it?!""

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "First off, I didn't do anything, okay? But honestly, our planners are pretty generous. The game is made very realistically and quite fairly, Selling it for 99999 doesn't seem too much (shy)."

Dinosaur Warrior: "What?! Dude, I only get 10 bucks a week for pocket money... and I'm a student, can I get it for free? T.T"

Grandpa Ao: "Laughing, no way, no way, people still live on pocket money these days? What can that little money do! Grandpa gets eight zeros just in New Year's money every year, not to mention stock dividends, investment returns, and even bank interest is more than that!"

Elena: "Case closed, found the reason why Proud Brothers didn't get the beta test qualifications. (funny)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "I'll say it again, kids shouldn't play this game! No more fooling around, thanks to that Dead Claw's head, I'm now a Centurion, but I only have ten soldiers under my command... Any good brothers want to join me in plotting big things! (grinning)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Me me me! Good brother, look at me!"

Neighbor Old Wang: "I'm coming!!!"

Kakarot: "Damn, Spring Water! I freaking want to defect!"

Spring Water Commander: "Rely on you, doubting Thomas! Can't you withstand the test?"

Grave Ghost Catcher: "What do you mean can't withstand the test! I just want... to challenge my weakness. (shy)"

Teng Teng: "You guys... are too naughty."

Crow: "┐('～`; )┌"

Although the players were very eager to sign up, even the Backseat Drivers joined in the fun, Battlefield Old Soldier actually only recruited about a hundred in the end.

As agreed initially, those who infiltrated the Retinue Army were brothers from the Death Legion, specializing in light and melee weapons, with the proficiency and price of the weapons being inversely proportional.

After all, with such high casualty rates, using high-tech equipment was too wasteful and not cost-effective. A rifle and an engineer shovel would do, die and go back to the Forum for a restart.

As for Edge Shoveling, the army commander, he didn't join them.

People with a strong moral sense can't play undercover roles. He was aware of his own character flaws, so he stayed at Shelter No.79 instead.

Moreover, he had another mission.

The Alliance Army Command issued him new instructions, hoping to combine the technology and resources of Shelter No.79 to develop tactics for the Variants and light infantry to work together.

Namely, the "Wolf Cavalry" project!

This project required maximizing the mobility of the Variants and the independent combat capabilities of Death Legion soldiers, combining the two to create a light cavalry capable of "all-terrain assault operations!"

This might sound far-fetched, but it could actually find a market in the wasteland.

With unreliable roads and railway networks, flat tires and track breakages were common, and one wrong move, someone could jack up the front of their vehicle with a bent anti-tank tree.

Compared to wheeled and tracked vehicles, Variants that could agilely maneuver through dense urban and ruin forests were a more suitable pick.

Especially the Claw of Death.

As a "knock-off" of the Crawler, the Claw of Death's mobility and stamina were so impeccable that it was hard to fault.

The only downside was its large appetite.

However, the Variants' food could be handled through hunting and gnawing on enemies' corpses, and as long as they weren't stationed long-term, the stress on logistics might not be as big as imagined.

The Manager attached great importance to this plan, not only allocating a hundred sets of neural connection equipment but also assigning Goblin Technology to provide "technical support."

Although Edge Shoveling thought the latter was somewhat redundant, Mosquito Brother became excited upon hearing this news and even offered to pay out of his pocket to support their plan, so he didn't say much more.

Fallen Leaf Camp.

A group of ragged Scavengers arrived at the entrance, dressed in tattered clothes, carrying clubs and steel rebars, and they weren't registered.

It's not uncommon for survivors to voluntarily come here since being a dog for the army at least meant getting fed, but groups coming together like this was a first.

And this time there were over twenty of them.

The patrolling sentry spotted them immediately and stopped them, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Where are you from?"

"Bet Street!" Debt Giant Eye, leaning on a wooden stick, stumbled over his words, "A fellow villager became an officer, we've come to join him."

The sentry was taken aback.

The recently promoted local seemed to be that Pangolin, and if he remembered correctly, that guy had only been promoted the day before yesterday...

Did the news travel that fast?

His eyes filled with suspicion, just as the sentry was about to ask more questions, a man dressed in Retinue Army's uniform ran from the camp entrance over here.

"They're fellows from my hometown."

The sentry stared at him for a while, then said no more and put away his rifle.

"Take them to get registered."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group said with a theatrical tone.

"That's what I was planning to do."

Though he was "just" a local, he was after all a Centurion appointed by General Mclen, which gave him a higher status than the average soldier.

The soldiers with their noses in the air looked down on him but didn't want to stir trouble and sure enough, they didn't make things difficult any further and returned to patrolling.

Following the Battlefield Atmosphere Group into the Fallen Leaf Camp, all the players looked around curiously, their faces showing they hadn't seen much of the world.

"Damn, the conditions here feel even worse than the POW Camp near City of Dawn."

"About the same, they let them build their own houses."

Debt Giant Eye's eyes rolled as he leaned in mischievously and asked.

"By the way, Pangolin, where are your ten wives?"

Hearing this, Battlefield Atmosphere Group almost choked on his own spit and coughed out a retort, "Shut up! What wives! I've said I didn't do anything bad... I later had them help with the laundry."

The Retinue Army would issue two sets of linen uniforms, and with daily drills or patrol missions, it was troublesome not to have them washed.

He simply had all his subordinates' clothes sent to them for washing, giving them some work to do.

As for sleeping...

Well,
mostly because there was no joy in sleeping together; he logged off the moment he closed his eyes, and having a stranger beside him just made him feel insecure.

Plus, he always felt like "OP" was watching a live stream beside him.

Still, to avoid unfriendly rumors, he had the women's tents set up right next to his.

Just in case he overslept.

Quickly changing the subject, Old Soldier urged, "Stop staring and asking all sorts of questions, I'm going to take you to get your dog tags soon... By the way, have you guys thought of what stage names you want?"

Debt Giant Eye eagerly said, "I'm Big Eyes!"

Work-site Youth and Brick followed, "I'm Brick!"

The other players reported their names one by one.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group said with a headache, "...Damn, what kind of names are those, no creativity at all."

Debt Giant Eye rolled his eyes, "Come on, it's much better than your damn Pangolin!"

Work-site Youth and Brick, "Exactly! At least my name is easier to remember than yours!"

Neighbor Old Wang excitedly asked, "Enough nonsense. Hey Battlefield, where are we picking heads today?"

Old Soldier looked up at the sky.

"This afternoon, I've arranged a fake match with Brother Springs last night... Later we'll pick up a few heads and get you guys promoted to Centurions."

They all exchanged glances and chuckled.

"Alright!"

…

After leading his good brothers to receive their "dog tags" and equipment, Old Soldier then took them to his subordinates, introducing them to Li Ba and other Centurions of the Retinue Army.

From that moment, they officially joined the Retinue Army's "Pangolin" Hundred-Man Team, becoming distinguished senior double agents of the Alliance.

The players were extremely excited about their new undercover identities.

Especially because that afternoon, they were embarking on their first mission as undercover agents—following Old Soldier on patrol in the West District!

With the exception of the NPCs, all players knew well what was coming and were ready to hit their allies hard.

After a long trek, the Pangolin Hundred-Man Team finally reached the agreed upon location, and just as expected, they were ambushed by the "Company" squad.

Bullets whizzed through the air, scaring Li Ba and the fake army into lying flat on the ground, sticking their heads down, not daring to move.

However, these men were different...

Not only did they show no fear, they didn't even bother to take cover, but rather charged forward howling, grabbing their guns. Their beast-like tactics actually managed to drive the Company's Guerrilla Team away.

Lying on the ground, Li Ba's head buzzed.

Could it be that the Company is actually very weak?

He could no longer understand.

Not just him, the other Centurions felt the same. They just felt like they laid on the ground, sprayed bullets around in blind faith, and then they won.

"Damn, can't you guys act a bit more realistic?" Old Soldier couldn't help but kick Big Eyes' butt as he watched the fleeing friendly forces.

Big Eyes was confused.

"Huh?"

"That's how we fight normally."

Old Soldier: "..."

When Coleway and his reinforcements arrived, the fight had already ended.

Seeing the escaping enemy soldiers and the few bodies left on the ground, a satisfied smile spread across the officer's face.

They had been harassed by the enemy's guerrilla team for so long.

This time, they had finally exhaled in relief!

Looking at those ferocious fake army soldiers, Coleway squinted his eyes and said proudly to his adjutant next to him.

"We've found a treasure!"

...

Evening.

After returning to camp.

Coleway approached the Centurion named Pangolin, patted him on the shoulder, and said with satisfaction,

"Well done! The people from your village fight bravely. Our army needs warriors like this... By the way, what's the name of that village?"

Old Soldier said loyally.

"Bet Street!"

Coleway thought for a moment.

"Bet Street... where is that settlement located?"

Old Soldier made up a story.

"It's at the border between Brocade River Province and River Valley Province, in the mountains! Our village has quite a few people. Do you want me to call them here?"

Coleway's face immediately lit up with a smile.

"That would be great! Call them all! Also, tell your villagers that the army never stints on rewarding the brave!"

"From today, each of you will receive half a pound of potatoes and five Dinars as a reward!"

Old Soldier's face immediately showed excitement.

That was exactly what he had been waiting for!

Standing upright and at attention, he responded at once.

"Yes, sir! I'll send word back immediately!"

Potatoes and Dinars were just trivial.

The key was that he had successfully gained the trust of these big-noses!

In a few days, he could arrange for more of his good brothers to come in and join him undercover!

...

Shelter No. 79.

Riding Nicole day and night, Chu Guang and Heya finally arrived in the East District of Rui Valley City and came to the city library at 79 Xiangling Street.

"My back... is nearly broken."

After climbing down from Nicole, Heya's legs buckled, and she had to lean against the wall for a good while before she recovered.

Casting a glance at this frail female, Nicole showed her teeth in a snort, seemingly mocking.

The intelligence of the Claw of Death was now close to that of a human infant, but the wild nature of the beast made it hard to tame like a dog.

However, technology had ways to solve this issue.

Chu Guang merely looked at it, and it obediently laid its head on the ground, as tame as a Husky that had been scolded.

After Heya had recuperated, Chu Guang led Nicole forward, crossing the rubble wall that had been blasted open.

The entire library had been emptied.

Including the books.

After the local residents evacuated, the army might have made a visit here but found no one. They set a fire and left.

They probably didn't realize that the residents were hiding underground. The fire had been crudely done, only blackening the main hall before it was hastily put out.

On the second floor, Chu Guang found the elevator hidden behind a bookshelf and took Nicole and Heya underground, moving along the underground bunker quickly. Soon, they saw the huge alloy gear.

The spacious buffer zone and ready room of Shelter No. 79 had now become a camp for the refugees. The residents were stripping the skin of the Dead Claw to make leather and wrapping the players' game with salt to preserve it.

In exchange for helping process the game, players shared some supplies with them, including instant noodles, bottled water, and soap.

These three items were valuable commodities in any survivors' settlement, even more so than currency.

With the players' aid, these survivors were not living too poorly, certainly much better than those at the Fallen Leaf Camp.

To avoid disturbing these unfortunate people, Chu Guang tied Nicole at the entrance of the shelter and instructed it not to harm anyone. Then, he and Heya passed through the shelter's main gate.

The player called "Si Si" was waiting at the entrance of the buffer room, alongside the tail, Sesame Paste, and Meat Meat from the White Bear Knights.

Upon seeing the azure power armor, she and the deeply involved players respectfully bowed.

"Respected Manager, sir, we have obtained the access rights to Shelter No. 79."

Looking at the young girl in front of him, Chu Guang approvingly nodded.

"You all did well, thanks to your efforts, we have taken a big step forward in reviving civilization."

Si Si smiled slightly, about to say some scene-setting words to gain favor, when Tail suddenly cleared his throat and broke into the conversation with a robust voice.

"You're welcome, serving you is an honor for the White Bear Knights! As a reward for the mission... can you reward us with ten women in maid outfits—Oof!"

"Sorry, my companion accidentally hurt her head in the battle with 'Yong's'..." Glancing at Tail struggling in Meat Meat's belly, Si Si looked back at Chu Guang with a slightly apologetic expression and continued, "Please forgive her rudeness."

Although he knew that fellow's head was fine, just the typical unseriousness of players, Chu Guang still followed the character design and showed a concerned expression to cater to the players' sense of immersion.

"Is she really alright?"

"No worries, we'll take her to the hospital…" Si Si quickly nodded, suddenly remembering something important, he hastily raised the VM, "Right, about the mission... I'm transferring the Administrator's authority to you."

With that, the mission at Shelter No.79 was entirely complete. The reward of hundreds of thousands of silver coins and enormous Contribution Points made the members of the White Bear Knights jump for joy,
including the young girl whose head had been injured by the Claw of Death.

After retrieving the Administrator's authority from Si Si, Chu Guang noticed that the Shelter System had updated the information regarding Shelter No.79.

With the help of Assistant Xiao Qi, he could now control every building and every room in the entire underground city—as well as every life residing here.

Searching through the shelter's various facilities, Chu Guang discovered many interesting things.

For instance, there were 500 sets of Type Five "Light Cavalry" police exoskeletons and 50 sets of Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry", along with a plethora of riot gear in the Equipment Storage directly below the Central Research Area.

These items were almost ninety percent new, including accompanying small reconnaissance drones, most of which had never been used—it seemed they never had the opportunity.

In addition to that, there were a lot of professional experimental devices stored inside the Central Research Area, as well as twelve uniquely functional "Black Boxes"!

Now, these treasures belonged to the Alliance.

Chu Guang would arrange for the logistics personnel to recover them.

But before that, he intended to visit the original owner of this place.

The Mother of Dead Claw.

Or in other words, the Great Antler God celebrated by countless nomads and Wasteland Wanderers…

…

Footsteps echoed in the room as the resting Mother of Dead Claw slightly lifted her eyelids, looking towards the flickering light in the darkness.

Her amber pupils subtly contracted, she merely glanced at the azure power armor, then guessed this person's identity.

"...Are you the Administrator of Shelter No. 404?"

"Chu Guang." He introduced himself succinctly and observed her up and down.

This creature's size was even bigger than 'Yong's', no wonder it was trapped here unable to move.

"Chu Guang…"

Murmuring the name, the Mother of Dead Claw stared at him for a while, then slowly said,

"This is the first time I've heard of the 404 designation… Can you tell me what your shelter's plan is?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

Her amber pupils contracted slightly again, the Mother of Dead Claw's voice carrying a clear surprise, obviously startled by this response.

Chu Guang: "I only know my mission is to lead my residents to rebuild our home on the surface... Aren't all the shelters with three-digit numbers like this?"

Including Shelter No. 117 and Shelter No. 401.

Chu Guang had read their Administrator's Logs, which, although also had some additional work, mainly revolved around the grand theme of rebuilding civilization.

On the contrary, places like Shelter No.79, created for research, were rare.

"I see..."

The Mother of Dead Claw pondered for a long time, then suddenly sighed softly.

Though her obsidian-hard features didn't reveal much emotion, Chu Guang unexpectedly discerned a trace of relief from her sigh.

"My mentor, the First Generation Administrator of this place, told me before his passing that the failure of Plan 79 was actually a part of the calculated results. Even though we didn't succeed, our sacrifices were not in vain... all shelters will eventually face destruction, but on rotting corpses, tender green sprouts will always emerge."

Chu Guang voiced the only confusion in his mind,

"Was the experimental goal of Shelter No. 79 to cultivate an immortal emperor?"

He had been curious about this during the players' walkthroughs.

Seeming to anticipate his question, the sprawling Mother of Dead Claw curved her lips,

"Yes and no..."

"Knowing the unreliability of human nature, how could we not foresee what happened today? Of course... only now have I come to understand these things."

"In those days, most of the researchers involved were merely informed that we were cultivating an immortal emperor who would accompany our civilization through dark times and eventually return everything to his subjects... however, that wasn't the entirety of Plan 79."

"The unmentioned part of the experiment logs is that when the emperor's soul begins to decay, when he is consumed by arrogance, when he refuses to fulfill his duties, those loyal to him will make the choice for him, end him along with the dark feudal era, and ultimately complete the historical cycle... and the seeds of civilization will reignite in these wastelands."

"I once asked my mentor puzzledly, what was the point of doing this, why not teach our residents advanced theories and technologies from the beginning, but he replied that theories and science can be learned, but courage cannot."

"It might sound funny, but I pondered for a century and couldn't understand the use of such a thing. But after seeing you and your residents, my confusion was answered."

"Even if our homes turn to ruins, even if our glories are forgotten by later generations, as long as they carry bravery in their hearts… they will eventually reclaim all that we have lost."

"Without a doubt, you are the most suitable inheritors... I hope that what you inherit is not only our properties but also our lessons."

Chu Guang slowly nodded.

"I believe that is also part of your legacy, after everything ends, I will send it to a museum."

The aging giant beast smiled faintly, lowering her rotted-wood-like eyelids.

"Is that so..."

"Thank you."

-

(Thanks to "Vila0205," "Scribe Hua," "Light Sigh Sheng Ge," "Fragment of Wing's Condor" for the grandmaster rewards!!!)

Chapter 396: Twelve Black Boxes and the Messenger from the Desert

Just as Chu Guang was conversing with the Mother of Dead Claw, Heya stood by silently.

When their exchange had concluded, she finally seized the opportunity to jump into the conversation, took a deep breath, and stepped forward to introduce herself.

"Hello, I am a researcher from the Alliance, from Shelter No. 117, mainly engaged in life science research..."

Seeing those amber-colored pupils looking at her, Heya's face showed hints of embarrassment as she quickly continued speaking.

"The condition of your body is very... surprising. I will... uh, draw a little blood from you regularly, of course, primarily for your health—"

"It's for experiments, isn't it? It doesn't really matter; this body was never solely mine anyway—it's the crystallization of wisdom from tens of thousands of researchers over several generations," the Mother of Dead Claw said with a faint smile, unconcerned. "If you need it, take it."

Heya breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly continued.

"...Thank you, I won't hurt you."

Although she couldn't wait to unravel the mysteries of this being's body before coming here, treating an intelligent creature that could speak human language as an experiment still complicated her feelings somewhat.

It was great that the other party was willing to cooperate.

Shifting her gaze from Heya, the Mother of Dead Claw looked towards Chu Guang.

"If I continue to inject the serum, my body will keep growing and, theoretically, I could live on indefinitely... but this space can no longer contain me. I plan to stop the injections, and theoretically, this body has 47 years left in its lifespan."

"Now that the traitors are dead and the authority of Shelter No. 79 has been transferred to you, my confusion has been resolved, and I am willing to accompany you for another 47 years. Once you have reaped the results of my body's research, I plan to live out the last bit of my life like a normal living being."

Chu Guang nodded.

"That is your freedom."

The Mother of Dead Claw smiled.

"What about you? What are you planning to do next?"

Chu Guang glanced around.

"I plan to take a look around here for a while and check out the Black Boxes in your warehouse."

That was the main point.

Twelve Black Boxes.

There were more than he had seen in the entire past year combined.

"Black Boxes..."

A look of realization crossed the Mother of Dead Claw's face as if recalling something from a long time ago. "Speaking of which, there are several Black Boxes stored here... How many was it again?"

Chu Guang: "Twelve, I just confirmed through the cameras... Didn't you use them?"

"Maybe a long, long time ago, when I was still human. As for now, they're useless to me, but I still remember their functions..." said the Mother of Dead Claw with a light smile, "If you don't mind, I can introduce them to you."

Chu Guang nodded.

"That would be appreciated."

...

The functions of the Black Box were clearly stated in the user manual.

Not only were the Black Boxes foolproof, but so was the user manual.

After all, the entire design of the system was predicated on the worst-case scenario where "the survivors of the Wasteland Era had completely forgotten about literature and the original culture," so that even monkeys or gorillas could figure out how to use it.

From this perspective, the introduction seemed somewhat superfluous.

However, since the former Manager here had volunteered to act as a "product introducer," Chu Guang naturally would not decline.

A bionic chip was installed in its brain, which, just like VM, could serve as a terminal to connect to the shelter system.

Chu Guang gave it a Hummingbird drone and then followed it, along with Heya, to the shelter's warehouse.

The Variants on the way to the warehouse had been cleared away.

Moving down the staircase to the bottom-most floor of the building, Chu Guang soon saw the twelve Black Boxes of varying sizes in a room of several hundred square meters.

The smallest was no larger than a briefcase, light enough to be lifted with one hand.

And the largest one couldn't just be called a box—it occupied a quarter of the room on its own, essentially a detachable workshop!

What shocked Chu Guang the most was indeed the largest one.

Once he had read the description in the user manual, he couldn't help but exclaim.

"... A portable reactor?!"

The Hummingbird drone gently floated next to that Black Box, and the sound of wood decaying came through from VM.

"That's right, precisely the 'Hippo-2' portable reactor, one version more advanced than the 'Hippo-1' outfitting your power armor."

"Typically, such reactors are used in power armor, but it's not unheard of to install them in ground vehicles and low-flying aircraft."

Chu Guang involuntarily swallowed, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

The core component of power armor was its portable reactor.

Thanks to the portable reactor, it allowed users to traverse any terrain effortlessly, clad in heavy armor comparable to a tank, and could be used as a platform for various weapons, above and below the ground.

"Didn't you ever think of putting it to use?"

The Mother of Dead Claw smiled faintly.

"Putting it to use, you say... it's not that simple. What do you plan to do with it? Magically conjure non-existent nuclear fuel out of thin air? Even if the Black Box that produces nuclear batteries were right in front of you, without helium-3, it would just be a decoration."

"In my view, this is actually the least useful Black Box here."

The energy utilization efficiency of the portable reactor was far lower than the fixed reactor in the shelter. It wouldn't be cost-effective to dismantle the latter's fuel rods for use in the former.

Shelter No. 79 didn't need power armor at all in its first fifty years.

After the end of the Little Ice Age, power armor gradually lost its significance for them.

Extremely powerful life forms could still prove formidable opponents to mechanical ones.

Take the "Yong's" for example.

It was somewhat difficult to take it down with just one suit of power armor; in the end, the players managed to kill it through sustained damage and human wave tactics.

From this perspective, there was some truth to what they said.

Cooling down from the excitement, Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"...Indeed, not being able to get nuclear fuel is a big problem."

"If the Earth-Moon route can't be restored, or if we can't get hold of pre-war nuclear fuel reserves, I advise you to put it aside for now... look at other things instead."

The Hummingbird drone floated next to a row of black boxes and began introducing them as if displaying treasured possessions.

"This one is a fire extinguisher... there's not much to say about it, but the coolant inside is quite interesting. You could make the fire extinguisher and then disassemble it to extract the coolant. It can most certainly be used in chemical engines and is quite convenient."

"Over there are the 'Champion' brand coffee beans, which can be synthesized to mimic those that only grow at altitudes of 1500 meters. Actually, with such a name, you should already know which company sponsored this..."

Chu Guang stroked his chin with interest.

"Yin Fang should be interested in this."

Heya's expression turned a bit odd as she spoke in a teasing tone.

"You all sure know how to enjoy yourselves."

A light chuckle came through the VM.

"It's not exactly enjoyment; most of the researchers here simply have a habit of consuming caffeine. I think coffee and tea are normal hobbies... although it may seem odd to produce them from a black box."

"The black box next to it, although sponsored by the same company, is not so normal. Its ingredients not only include caffeine but also have a mild addictiveness similar to alcohol... 'Champion' brand injections, just one shot and you're excited for 12 hours. To avoid affecting sleep, we usually use it in the morning."

Chu Guang made a weird face and said, "...Actually, this is a kind of stimulant, isn't it?"

He picked up the handbook and flipped through it. In addition to instructions for operating the black box, Chu Guang found an additional line that seemed like a slogan—

[Use Champion, to help you become the champion.]

"..."

Good heavens.

Quite the slogan indeed!

The Mother of Dead Claw said softly, "You could understand it that way. We use it primarily to maintain 100% concentration during work. But after becoming Dead Claw, we no longer need it."

"For that dosage, it metabolizes in a single breath."

The warehouse had a limited supply of materials.

Chu Guang walked over to the black box and, following the instructions from the handbook, inserted 57g of charcoal, 20g of sugar, and 500ml of water, among other things, and then switched on the intake and power.

To be honest, operating this thing felt a bit like alchemy.

But you just had to push the start button; there was no need for hand seals and incantations—unless the operator was very particular about the ritual aspect.

The device soon activated.

A few minutes later, a syringe injector about the length of a middle finger quietly lay at the black box's output chute.

Heya immediately stepped forward, took it, and examined it curiously in her hands before, without hesitation, jabbing it into her own arm.

After feeling its effects for a moment with her eyes closed, she spoke.

"There's a slight increase in various bodily functions... To put it in terms you'd understand, there's an all-attribute boost of 4~20%, lasting 6~12 hours."

All of a sudden, noticing that Chu Guang was staring straight at her, Heya paused and said somewhat sheepishly,

"...Why are you looking at me like that?"

Chu Guang replied, puzzled, "I just didn't expect you to give yourself a shot... Are you sure it's okay to experiment on yourself like this?"

Heya looked blank for a moment and said as if it were obvious,

"It doesn't matter... I can metabolize it even if there is a problem."

Chu Guang: "..."

Well, alright.

Kidneys enhanced by high technology really are impressive.

Honestly, Chu Guang was a bit envious, but the thought of installing strange parts in his own body always gave him an unnatural feeling.

And a Constitution of over twenty wasn't bad either—it's possible he might even awaken to some incredible abilities later on.

Bionic organs and the like can wait until old age!

Not paying attention to their conversation, the hovering drone continued to the next black box.

"There are just these two black boxes sponsored by 'Champion'. That stimulant... let's just call it a stimulant, it might be somewhat useful for you."

"Variable-temperature Blue Jackets... Your shelter should have these already, after all, it's a standard feature for most shelters. There's not much to say about that. And then there's the 'Asteroid Brand' canned meat; again, there's not much to say. While it can supplement protein, the cans contain synthesized meat, and the taste is the same for each can. Eating too much of it can be nauseating, so you probably won't like it..."

"That might not necessarily be the case. It's the Wasteland Era now, and just having a bite of meat is considered good. My residents aren't picky eaters." Picking up the manual, Chu Guang flipped through it with interest, growing more surprised as he went.

Five cans synthesized in one minute!

If one is fast enough, that's 5000+ a day. Based on each can's net content of 480g, the daily meat production is equivalent to...

2400 kilograms?!

The moment he calculated this number, Chu Guang was astonished.

That's enough meat to match ten cows!

Using a black box that occupies less than ten square meters of space, they replaced a ranch with an annual output of 3,650 cows, encompassing the entire production chain including slaughter, sterilization, and canning.

This black technology is indeed a bit impressive.

"…Heh, I know what you're thinking, but I still have to remind you that the black box consumes nonrenewable nuclear energy. Whether it's drawing power from the shelter or from a nuclear battery, the energy isn't unlimited. You can consider it as a supplement to your food sources, but it's best not to rely on it completely, otherwise, there will come a time when you'll be facing hunger," the Mother of Dead Claw said, pausing for a moment.

"What I'd like to introduce to you next is this black box… 'Quirky' Biscuits. There's something interesting about this item."

Chu Guang approached the black box, suspended by the drone, examined the unit closely for a moment, and tried to activate the machine. Watching the packaged bags lying at the discharge port, he asked with interest.

"Do these biscuits have something special about them?"

The Mother of Dead Claw chuckled and said,

"They sure do have something special… you can try one."

Chu Guang glanced instinctively at Heya.

Without needing his hint, Heya had already walked curiously to the side of the black box's discharge port, picked up a biscuit, unwrapped it, and tossed one into her mouth.

After chewing for a while, her face showed a look of surprise. She tossed another piece into her mouth and muttered,

"…Strange taste."

Chu Guang raised his eyebrows slightly and also stuffed a piece into his mouth. A subtle sweetness spread through his taste buds, seemingly just ordinary cane sugar. And what's more, due to some chemical reaction, although the biscuit wasn't hard, it had a very noticeable grainy texture.

Overall, it had a strange taste, but surprisingly, it made one want another piece.

"…Just an ordinary dessert, right?" Chu Guang gave a brief evaluation and stuffed another biscuit into his mouth.

"Is what you taste a dessert?" Heya spoke thoughtfully.

Confused by her sceptical tone, just as Chu Guang was about to inquire, the Mother of Dead Claw slowly began to speak.

"'Quirky' Biscuits… It's one of the few luxury items here, and everyone tastes something different."

With a look of interest on her face, Heya savored it for a moment and then spoke thoughtfully,

"So that's how it is, it promotes the secretion of brain pheromones, creating the illusion through the taste and touch receptors that one is eating their favorite food, right?"

The Mother of Dead Claw responded, "I'm not too keen on calling it an illusion, but in hard times, it has indeed brought us a lot of comfort… For us, many delicacies that have disappeared can only be remembered in this way."

Simulating one's favorite food, huh?

This sounded less like tasting delicacies and more like tasting "memories."

Chu Guang looked at Heya.

"Speaking of which, what taste did you get?"

Heya answered without hesitation,

"Liver, kind of like the taste and texture of foie gras. I didn't expect the texture could also be recreated."

Chu Guang: "…"

Biscuits that taste like foie gras...

That's a unique preference indeed.

Heya suddenly turned curious and looked at him.

"What about you?"

Chu Guang pondered seriously for a while before responding with an uncertain voice after a long pause.

"Um… perhaps it's a lollipop."

Thinking about it, that grainy texture really did resemble the feeling of a crushed lollipop.

Heya was taken aback.

Seeing her looking at him with surprise, Chu Guang hesitated and asked,

"What's wrong?"

Heya's gaze drifted to the side.

"Nothing… it's just, your taste seems surprisingly ordinary? I thought that a special being… I mean an Awakener like you would have different preferences from ordinary people."

What an odd thing to say.

Chu Guang chuckled and made a playful remark,

"That means I'm easily content. In these hard times, I think that's a rather good trait to have."

"That may be true… but I haven't seen you eating candy often," Heya said, her face still showing a bit of confusion.

If she remembered correctly, the shelter was stocked with plenty of that stuff, so much so that he not only displayed it in the store to sell to other residents but occasionally even handed it out to the nearby children, making her wonder if there was a black box producing lollipops hidden somewhere in the shelter.

In response to Heya's question, Chu Guang made a helpless gesture.

"Don't ask me, I have no idea… If you're curious, why not take a few samples back for research?"

These biscuits might sell really well in the Ideal City.

Interesting laughter came from the VM system.

"Heh, don't worry too much about that question… what you used to like might not be what you like now, and the taste you get can vary with your mood."

"I hope it brings you happiness, not confusion."

"Young Manager."

…

In addition to producing portable reactors, low-temperature fire extinguishers, variable temperature Blue Jackets, Champion brand coffee beans and stimulants, "Asteroid" brand synthetic meat cans, and "Quirky" brand biscuits, there were also several black boxes that produced various household items.

Although everything has its significance, in Chu Guang's view, the most valuable item was unquestionably the "Hippo-2" portable nuclear reactor and the "Champion" injection produced by the Black Box.

Though nuclear fuel was difficult to obtain, Yin Fang could help think of a solution. With the portable reactor, the Alliance now had the prospect of producing power armor independently!

And not just power armor.

As long as the fuel was sorted, a nuclear-powered tank was entirely feasible!

Who said a railgun couldn't be mounted on a vehicle?

This was exactly what they needed!

As for the "Champion" injection, Chu Guang planned to sell it to his players.

A buff that enhanced all attributes, and it lasted for 12 hours too.

One for just 50 silver, that wasn't too expensive, was it?

...

As Chu Guang was contentedly admiring his spoils of war, a group of special visitors arrived at the southern end of Linghu Wetland Park in Qingquan City.

They led mutant camels, numbering about twenty people, all wrapped in long robes and headscarves to protect against the sand.

Watching the Commercial Team approaching, the two guards at the entrance exchanged glances. One of them stepped forward and addressed the person in the lead.

"The area ahead is the territory of the Alliance Guard, if you wish to go to the commercial district, you'll need to enter from the north gate of the Wetland Park."

Removing his headscarf, Kaliman stepped forward and spoke respectfully.

"We are envoys from the Lion Kingdom, from the Falling Leaves Province... I would like to meet with your Manager."

"Envoys from the Lion Kingdom?"

Carrying a rifle, Xu Shun approached the man, examining the unfamiliar face before speaking.

"Do you have anything that can prove your identity?"

"This is an appointment letter personally written by His Majesty." Kaliman pulled out a silk scroll from within his clothes and handed it over to the young guard facing him.

Xu Shun noted that the material of the scroll was crafted from Devil Silk and could well have been traded from their location.

However, that was beside the point.

Unfurling the scroll, Xu Shun glanced over it briefly.

The content was roughly that the King of the Lion Kingdom had decreed full authority to this man named Kaliman, a prince, to handle all diplomatic affairs involving the Lion Kingdom and Oasis No.9.

Regardless of whether the kingdom still existed...

Xu Shun frowned slightly, rolled up the scroll, and returned it to the prince before him.

"...We have not established diplomatic relations with your kingdom, so we cannot verify the authenticity of this appointment letter, but I have notified the Lord of the City of Dawn, and he will meet with you later."

"What about your Manager?" Kaliman asked, somewhat anxiously.

Before coming here, he had heard that the highest leader of the Alliance was the Manager, not some city lord.

"That person naturally has his own business to attend to and cannot meet visitors at all hours, but I will report your request to him," Xu Shun answered without revealing Chu Guang's schedule, "Now, please come with me."

Since the establishment of the City of Dawn, countless Wasteland Wanderers had claimed to represent powers and requested audiences, among whom were certainly fraudsters.

Xu Shun did not entirely believe this man before him, but still reported his matter via VM to the Manager's assistant and settled his guards next to the Guard's station, then took him to the Merchant Guild's reception room where a Servant poured him a cup of tea.

After an anxious wait in the reception room for an hour, Kaliman finally met Luka, the Lord of the City of Dawn.

Unlike the bureaucracy he had met in the Giant Stone City's municipal building,
the silver-haired elderly man before him seemed to have an aura of the earth about him, and his calloused hands did not resemble those of a civil official.

Could it be he came from a military background?

While speculating in his mind, Kaliman rose from his seat and performed a courtly bow of the Lion Kingdom.

"Respected Lord of the City of Dawn—"

"Please dispense with the formalities, have a seat, my friend from afar."

After inviting Kaliman to sit, Luka took the seat opposite him on the sofa, sizing up the somewhat younger man before him.

"My name is Luka, and I am the city's lord. I've already heard about your situation from our Guard captain, and I also understand that you've come from the direction of Giant Stone City?"

Kaliman nodded slightly.

"Yes, we stopped there first."

Luka continued calmly,

"Did you meet their city lord?"

Kaliman hesitated for a moment but eventually shook his head, answering honestly,

"No... "

The expression clearly showed disappointment.

However, this was within Luka's expectations.

The Alliance had recently set up a foreign ministry after all, while Giant Stone City didn't even have a department to manage outside affairs and was reluctant to deal with matters beyond the colossal wall.

If it wasn't for the loan of two billion chips, if it wasn't for that 400mm main cannon with power comparable to nuclear weapons, they probably wouldn't be too concerned with that airship nearly crashing into them...

Without being surprised by Kaliman's response, Luka nodded understandingly and continued,

"The Manager often teaches us to seek common ground despite differences. Although we have different cultures, ideals, and beliefs, I don't think that will be an obstacle to our understanding of each other... Can you tell me the purpose of your visit?"

Kaliman took a deep breath and looked earnestly at Luka.

"The Falcon Kingdom has betrayed the oaths they swore in front of the Spirit of the Sand Sea. They have annexed our neighbors with the backing of their Army, and they are attempting to spread fires of war across the entire desert... "

"We cannot withstand the might of the Army alone; we need your help!"

Chapter 397 Soaring Clouds!

North of Dawn City Airport.

Barely half a month after his resurrection, Falling Feather was being nudged forward by Mosquito, a pilot's cap freshly retrieved from Vine Cottage in hand.

"What's with the secrecy... Where the hell are you taking me?"

Mosquito, pushing from behind, chuckled and urged him on.

"Stop asking questions. I've got a treasure to show you!"

If it weren't for that comment, Falling Feather might have been less alert, but Mosquito Brother's sleazy tone instantly put him on guard.

What kind of 'treasure' could this cheapskate possibly have for him?

He was sure Mosquito was scheming to use him as a guinea pig again!

And indeed, that's exactly what was happening.

The direction Mosquito was leading him toward was the Alliance's hangar.

Seeing the two approaching from afar, the security guards on duty at the entrance of the airport immediately snapped to attention, saluted them militarily, and let them pass.

Both Mosquito and Falling Feather were faces they knew too well.

Especially the latter.

They often saw him take off but rarely saw him bring a plane back. Yet, a few days later, he'd reappear at the airport, alive and kicking.

Surviving a plane explosion to return was far more badass than simply bringing a plane back in one piece!

Falling Feather, oblivious to the NPCs' adulating gazes, followed an enthusiastic Mosquito into the hangar with doors firmly shut.

Inside, the hangar lights came on.

The moment his eyes made sense of the plane parked inside, his face froze in astonishment, then he couldn't help but blurt out.

"Holy shit! Damn!"

The sleek, silver-white fuselage!

The twin-jet engines!

That sci-fi-esque design looked straight out of an aircraft model show, particularly dreamy was the forward-swept wing—

But just as he noticed those wings, Falling Feather snapped back to reality.

"This thing can actually fly???"

It was no secret that, in real life, forward-swept wings were a fairly avant-garde concept, widely considered for sixth-generation fighters.

Aircraft with forward-swept wings produced greater lift, had a higher lift-to-drag ratio, lower stall speed, and exceptional low-speed handling—especially since they didn't suffer from the wingtip stalling issues of swept-wing aircraft. This meant a significant increase in maneuverability!

Take the SU-47 for example, equipped with a coupled canard and forward-swept wing layout; it could even perform a "Cobra" maneuver with a 120-degree angle of attack at speeds close to Mach 1!

Of course, aside from its high maneuverability and cool factor, forward-swept wings have obvious drawbacks.

The most significant is the high demand on materials.

If the materials aren't up to par, performing maneuvers at high speeds could risk breaking the wings or, worse, disintegrating the fuselage.

There's a reason why swept-wing designs remain mainstream—when it comes to war machines, "advanced" isn't the top priority.

Stability is.

Putting forward-swept or swept wings aside, is this thing a jet fighter?!

Falling Feather didn't believe for a second that Mosquito would equip it with a matching flight control system.

No—

Whether this thing even had a flight control system was the question! Odds were the only piece of electronic hardware it had was the pitot tube on its nose.

Watching the dumbfounded expression on his guinea pig's face, Mosquito let out a sly chuckle and unsurprisingly responded.

"No idea."

Falling Feather: "..."

Seeing his speechless look, Mosquito cleared his throat and began introducing his company's latest groundbreaking product.

"Relax, I've considered all the issues you're worried about. The entire airframe is made from A3 aerospace aluminum—that stuff is used on spacecraft, so you don't need to worry about its reliability or strength!"

"And that's not all—the plane's exterior is coated with a radar-reflecting paint developed with the help of Camp 101, so on the enemy radar, you'll probably appear no bigger than a sparrow. I won't even start on the aviation fuel… Basically, this baby is loaded with top-notch tech, and I spent quite a bit of money to make it a reality!"

And this was the highest-tech product ever developed by Goblin Technology to date!

Seeing that Falling Feather remained silent, Mosquito grinned and teased.

"Wanna take it for a spin?"

Falling Feather swallowed hard.

To say he wasn't interested would be a lie.

But the cost of flying once was too steep.

"Eight hundred... per flight."

"Damn! You're ripping me off… but deal!" Though his face feigned pain, Mosquito internally rejoiced.

That amount of money wouldn't even fill up the plane's fuel tank.

Paying eight hundred silver coins to recruit a fearless Awakener as a guinea pig was an outright bargain!

...

After agreeing to Mosquito's terms, Falling Leaves took up the "Equipment Test" mission released by Goblin Technology on the VM as per his suggestion.

"Mission: First Flight of the Jet Plane!"

"Requirement: Traverse the Iron Heart's anti-aircraft fire net."

After registering a company, players could release missions that met the audit standards based on their own business scope and nature.

This was one of the features that set Wasteland OL apart from other MMORPGs.

Looking at Falling Leaves, who put on his newly purchased pilot cap and sat in the cockpit with a tragic expression, Mosquito patted the cockpit cover and reassured him,

"Don't worry, this big guy isn't just my own achievement—it's the culmination of the wisdom of all Goblin Technology members! Guaranteed nothing will go wrong!"

He then glanced at Kill God, who stood by, eager to try.

"Introduce our warrior to our new product!"

Kill God walked forward with a hey hey laugh.

"Alrighty!"

Falling Leaves took a deep breath, strapped the VM to his thigh, and while listening to Kill God's explanation, familiarized himself with the cockpit's various instruments and control elements.

Out of habit, he subconsciously looked for the ejection seat switch, only to find that it didn't exist at all—the whole seat was welded fixedly within the cockpit.

Well, damn.

This wasn't a fighter plane at all.

It was clearly a "kamikaze plane"…

Pity there wasn't a military court in this game, or else he definitely could send whoever designed this thing there.

Unaware of Falling Leaves' strange expression, Kill God, having finished introducing the dashboard, continued enthusiastically to introduce the plane's weapon system.

"…The main weapons are the twin-mounted autocannons at the front of the nose, capable of firing 20mm armor-piercing incendiary bullets or high-explosive bombs, effective against both ground and air targets. However, we currently only have 300 rounds in reserve, so it's recommended to use the weapons safety and trigger button sparingly—don't hold down the fire button."

Falling Leaves couldn't help but interject, "What about the missiles? It's a jet plane, and you don't even have a guided weapon?"

Kill God: "Uh, we don't have guided weapons, but you can equip a Spring Knife, and also unguided rockets! However, those are designed for the W-2 ground attack aircraft. Of course, if you want to use them, we can fit them for you—"

Before he could finish, Falling Leaves promptly refused.

"Thanks, but no need!"

The Spring Knife was too slow, mainly relying on diving to gain speed, and required ground operator coordination—using that thing to target something in the air was wishful thinking.

After introducing all the functions of the various dashboard instruments, Kill God proceeded to point to the push-pull handle beside his right leg.

"…The handle beside your right leg is the afterburner valve, also the soul of this plane. Pushing it all the way will boost the engine output to maximum!"

"We don't have exact data on how much it will accelerate, just that it's extremely fast! So fast that we had to design this control valve just for it! However, we found during testing that pushing the afterburner valve to the max caused the engine blades to show signs of melting… The function is not yet fully tuned, so if you can avoid using it, please refrain from doing so for now."

No supersonic wind tunnel test.

Nor a fly-by-wire control computer...

What the hell is this, a powerhouse brick?!

Falling Leaves: "You could at least fix the bugs before releasing it, right?"

"It's too late."

Kill God looked at him seriously and continued,

"We also wanted to make it more perfect before presenting it, but the airships opposite have already mounted their cannon barrels right at our doorstep… We can only ask you to test its performance on the battlefield now."

"Please, try your best to bring it back!"

That serious gaze was truly hard to refuse...

Well, forget it; I know how to fly, anyway.

If I really die, it's just a three-day affair.

Falling Leaves took a deep breath and turned on the avionics system power.

"I'll do my best."

...

Up in the clear sky,

The Iron Heart quietly floated.

The towering steel fortress was as stable as a mountain suspended in the air, but inside the hidden observation deck at the front of the airship, there was a frenzy.

"...An unidentified flying object is approaching from a bearing of 116°, estimated distance approximately 10 to 15 kilometers, and we can see a column of air that is tens of meters long!"

"Speed close to mach one, it's heading straight for us!"

"The targeting system is severely out of focus; I can't see clearly what it is, it looks like a missile!"

"The radar's not reacting! It's confirmed to be an anti-radar device!"

For a flying object reaching mach speeds, whether it's 10 kilometers or 15, it wouldn't take a minute.

The window left for them to shoot was even shorter, less than twenty seconds!

Without any time to be surprised, the soldiers in the observation deck immediately reported the situation to the weapon operators and raised the alert level to 2.

Although it was uncertain what that thing was, since it dared to challenge the authority of the Iron Heart, it must have been prepared for death.

12 100mm secondary cannons and 144 medium caliber anti-aircraft guns all aimed at the 90° to 180° wide-angle airspace.

They weren't targeting a single point.

But an entire space—

"Fire!"

Following a roar in the communication channel, all anti-air weapons with their firing angles ready unleashed their fury, almost simultaneously.

Strings of orange-yellow trajectories burst forth from the airship, forming an impenetrable web in the sky, covering the area in the direction of the unidentified flying object.

In the instant when they were about to approach the target's nearby airspace.

The dense curtain exploded with a bang, and the smoke, flames, and shrapnel from the explosions formed a dark cloud that blocked out the sun in the blink of an eye!

The Iron Heart had no guided weapons.

Not because they lacked guided technology.

But because it simply was not needed!

A sufficient number of shells could make up for any lack in accuracy, and their proud barrage was enough to tear apart anything that came close!

Even if it were a fly.

It absolutely could not penetrate that layered "net"!

However—

Something unexpected happened to the soldiers on the airship.

The silver streak that should have fallen, like a dolphin leaping out of water, actually pierced through the wall-like thick black cloud!

"What is that thing!?"

The main gunner in the forward gun bay exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide.

He watched helplessly as the silver pillar shot past overhead, leaving only a fleeting spark in its wake.

A stream of aircraft guns poured onto the airship, and although deflected flawlessly by the deflection shield, the insult was severe.

Watching the speeding shadow through the screen, General McCullen in the bridge had a flash of anger in his eyes.

"Is that a plane from the Company?"

The adjutant beside him swallowed.

"Probably..."

"From the East Coast to here?!"

"Sir, I don't know..." the adjutant said, trembling.

He only knew that the Company's technology was strong.

But how strong, he did not know.

The Central Continent's East and West coasts span over ten thousand kilometers, and a single phrase could change tenfold within ten miles.

Let alone across such a vast expanse of land.

The staff officer standing by looked solemn.

"A plane with a range of three thousand kilometers... If it really is the Company's plane, their strength must not be underestimated."

"But their weapons are weaker than imagined, they didn't even scratch our paint," the adjutant swallowed, stubbornly adding, "doesn't seem all that impressive..."

...

"Damn it...

"That was freaking thrilling!"

Adjusting his disordered breathing, Falling Feather glanced back at the impenetrable explosion cloud and the gradually receding airship, slowly releasing his tightly-held throttle.

The speedometer's needle was stuck at the far right end, quivering madly; the airspeed meter's function had been distorted half a minute ago.

He did not know how fast he had been in that instant, but judging from experience, it was at least Mach 3!

He had died at the hands of that airship once before.

The strong premonition of death made him subconsciously decide to accelerate, and it turned out to be the correct decision.

If he hadn't pushed the throttle to the limit at the last moment, he would have been blasted into a sieve by the shrapnel, not even leaving remains...

The black and red gradually faded from his view, and the clear sky also slowly returned to clarity, not just leaving behind the explosion's smoke, but also the blackout from the acceleration overload.

Falling Feather moved the control stick in his hand to begin the return journey.

He could feel that it wasn't just blackout; for a moment, it even felt like his eyeballs were about to be pulled out of their sockets.

Luckily—

The constitution of an Awakener was not weak, even for an Agility system player, the constitution attribute was still two points above the baseline of 5.

If it had been in reality, he probably would have been dead after that burst...

Regardless, he had succeeded.

His heart pounding wildly, Falling Feather took another deep breath to calm his excited spirits.

Next, it was time to fly the plane back...

...

Compared to surviving that dense barrage of gunfire, Falling Feather felt it was more miraculous that he managed to land the jet plane without a flight control system smoothly on the Dawn City's northern airport.

Especially when approaching the ground for a while, the fuselage shook as if it had cramped.

It wasn't until he had stopped on the runway and steadied himself on the ladder to come down that he discovered the rear blades of the left engine had melted and deformed.

But these were all minor issues now.

The final speed test result was that after he pushed the afterburner valve to the max, the peak speed had nearly reached 3.7 Mach!

Looking at the aircraft that had been his seat for less than an hour with a complex gaze, Falling Feather found it hard to imagine how the darn thing could fly at 3.7 Mach without disintegrating...

At the same time, beside the airport.

Two players from Goblin Technology were muttering and exchanging thoughts.

One was an Intelligence System player and the other an Agility system player, both newcomers lured in by Mosquito Brother during the Beta version. However, it wasn't so much that Mosquito Brother had lured them in as they had volunteered and actively joined Goblin Technology.

"I didn't expect the forward-swept wing design to be the one shining bright and hot in the Game first."

"Yeah."

"But judging by the Game's restoration of the physics system, I feel it could completely provide references for real-world research."

"Yeah."

"What a pity, there's lack of everything here, the conditions are worse than Africa... It would be nice if we could get a supersonic wind tunnel."

"That makes sense."

The Agility system player rolled his eyes.

"...Don't just agree with me, give some advice."

The Intelligence System player sighed.

"No advice, I completely agree, it's just that I am wondering… The 20mm aircraft guns were totally useless, I wonder if dropping low-speed bombs on the airship could break through that anti-Newtonian mechanics shield."

The anti-Newtonian mechanics shield was the name given to that thing by players because its effects were really hard to explain with science.

If it were just metallic bullet heads that was a different story.

It could be explained by the Meissner effect.

But non-metallic, irregular bodies, and even the aerodynamic shock waves generated by explosions all being "deviated," that was a bit outrageous.

Only a fictional setting could explain it.

The Agility system player replied.

"A target too large would be intercepted by the aircraft's guns, if it's small... even if it can break through the Deflection Shield, the blast shockwave would be weakened by the arched armor, and it wouldn't hurt the inside of the airship at all."

The Intelligence System player said helplessly.

"So we still have to rely on ground troops after all... I always feel like something is very wrong with that device designed by Mosquito Brother, can humans really withstand that kind of pull?"

"You just don't understand, this is, after all, a game, not everything can be the same as reality..." The Agility system player standing aside grinned, "Humans may not be able to, but those monsters from the Strength Type and Body Constitution System can."

A monster that can carry a ton, can it even be called a human?

Let alone a ton, even over five hundred kilograms, that would be enough to challenge a world record, right?

...

Although they still couldn't do anything to the airship, the new jet aircraft developed by Goblin Technology had managed to secure a certain advantage for the Alliance.

As the Alliance's first "indigenously developed" next-generation aircraft, its battlefield role was to vie for air supremacy, scout the battlefield, and provide medium-range rapid strikes.

As for general low-value targets like Variants and Looters, "Mosquito-style" ground attack aircraft and "Dragonfly" gunships, which had a longer loiter time, were better choices.

The group of players at Goblin Technology had high hopes for it.

And unusually, Mosquito Brother didn't give it a peculiar name, but instead opened a voting thread on the Forum and adopted the popular opinion, naming it "Soaring Clouds"!

Although a "Soaring Clouds" couldn't handle the heavily armored and heavily defended Iron Heart, the Iron Heart likewise couldn't handle the absurdly fast "Soaring Clouds."

Breaking through the 3 Mach limit speed was terrifying.

Particularly since no one knew what was installed on the plane, the radar arrays on the airship couldn't detect it and could only rely on visual searches.

By the time the airship's Observers spotted the approaching Lingyun Fighter, they often had less than half a minute left to prepare their firepower.

Just as the barrage went out in one round, the plane had already sped off with a push of the throttle.

It was like a fly flying beside a giant, impossible to hit, yet impossible to ignore, annoying the airship's Gunners to no end.

While over at the Storm Corps, there were cheers.

In coordination with the hundred-man "Pangolin" team's intelligence, the swift "Soaring Clouds" often managed to deliver an unexpected blow to the Army's ground forces and key facilities.

Previously, it had always been the Storm Corps taking unilateral blows; now that each side was bombing their own, it was certainly a significant improvement.

As the frontline situation gradually clarified, players discussing the battlefield on the Forum grew more and more joyful day by day, with all sorts of cunning strategies emerging constantly.

However, Chu Guang, in the role of the Manager, wasn't feeling too optimistic at this moment.

The reinforcements from the East Coast hadn't arrived yet, but trouble had already come from the West...

If he had to say which known power on this land was the most troublesome, it was undoubtedly the Army from the West Coast.

They were not only ambitious but also saw everything around them as Barbarians, nearly impossible to resolve differences with through the exchange of interest or negotiation.

Now that the Pioneer's crew's whereabouts were unknown, it seemed that the No.0 Shelter had become the focal point of the storm, the Army had invaded the Sunset Province, and it appeared to be brewing a second Expedition.

As for the southern part of the River Valley Province...

It lacked the "Holy Shield's" protection.

Chapter 398: Luring the Snake Out of the Hole

The communication channel buzzed with a busy signal accompanied by the sound of electricity.

Chu Guang pressed a finger to his temple, a hint of exhaustion in his posture as he sat in the office of Shelter No.79's Manager and disconnected the video call from the City of Dawn.

It had been three days since he acquired the authority over Shelter No.79.

In order to establish a resurrection point and a temporary base at Shelter No.79, Chu Guang stayed at the front line to arrange work for these past few days, without riding back on Nicole.

Just ten minutes ago, his little player finally set up a temporary communication station in the Rui Valley City District.

And at last, Chu Guang managed to establish contact with the rear, learning from Luka about the matters concerning Kaliman and the news of the Army's invasion of the Luo Xia Province.

Of course, he understood the principle of mutual dependence.

Once the Army captured the Luo Xia Province, the South Corridor of the River Valley Province would become the front line of the battle against the Grand Canyon.

By that time, the path from the City of Dawn to Dawn City, and even the entire Southern River Valley Province, would become a battlefield.

And all the wealth created by the players and the Alliance residents over the past year would vanish into thin air amidst the war.

If it weren't for the Iron Heart having arrived at their doorstep, thousands of Alliance players would have already become mercenaries, rushing to the front lines to fight against the Army.

Just as Chu Guang was about to discuss a strategy with Vanus, the communication that had just been restored for less than ten minutes was suddenly severed.

Footsteps approached from the corridor outside.

Before the doorbell rang, Chu Guang opened the active door of his office, and, as expected, saw a head of silver-white long hair.

Standing at the doorway of the office, Heya complained with a gloomy face.

"I was just transferring data back to the Alliance's server from here, and suddenly, the speed just dropped... What exactly happened?"

Chu Guang didn't immediately answer; instead, he glanced at the VM and saw the light blue pop-up flashing with reports from players.

[Tail: Giao! We've come under enemy cannon fire!]

[Tail: Commander! The balloon's flown away! Σ(ﾟДﾟ;)]

From these two messages, he roughly understood what had just happened.

With a sigh, he closed the pop-up and briefly answered Heya's question.

"It seems the signal source has been located... The Army's airship opened fire on our newly deployed temporary communication equipment with a few shots."

Putting aside her complaining demeanor, Heya asked with a worried face,

"Ah? Then... is everyone alright?"

"There are still messages coming through, so they should be fine."

There were many bunkers in the city district, and unless something like a cloud burst bomb, a sub-nuclear weapon, was used, the damage from bombardment was limited.

For the Steel Heart, this place was still far from the supply lines, "behind enemy lines," so to speak; they wouldn't waste their shells in random bombings without feeling the pinch.

Anticipating that the enemy would likely send ground troops to assess the damage, Chu Guang issued new orders to the players carrying out tasks, to evacuate from the vicinity of the shelling area.

Although long-distance communication had not been restored, short-distance communication was still unproblematic.

The faint signals were difficult to pinpoint, and at most, the enemy would know there were people there but would find it hard to judge their exact location.

"As long as no one's hurt, that's good..."

Scratching the back of her head, Heya felt awkward to press further, so she changed the subject and started talking about something else.

"...By the way, while searching the server of this shelter, I stumbled upon something interesting. You might be interested."

"What is it?" Chu Guang lifted an eyebrow with curiosity.

Xiao Qi had just connected to this place for less than ten minutes before the connection was severed. He had not yet conducted a full scan of the server in this refuge shelter.

This shelter had already brought him plenty of surprises.

So when he heard Heya describe her discovery as "interesting," his interest was immediately piqued.

Seeing the expression on Chu Guang's face, the corners of Heya's mouth curled up in a smug smile as she continued in a pleasant tone.

"I found a set of exoskeleton blueprints designed for the Claw of Death in the private database of a researcher with the ID A-7274. Although the project wasn't included in the shelter's research topic catalog, the completeness of the blueprints was surprisingly high, almost ready for acceptance... I'll send it straight to you."

As she spoke, Heya stretched out her index finger and tapped twice on the screen of her VM, quickly sharing the data with Chu Guang's VM.

Chu Guang opened the file and saw a 3D model that included all the parameters of various parts. It contained hundreds of components, with a complexity level somewhere between "Miner Type I" and "Type Five."

Handing this blueprint to Xiao Qi, who could make a prototype with a magnetic confinement cutting machine, wouldn't be difficult. As for industrial mass production, omitting some configurations, replicating a stripped-down version should not be very difficult either.

Although this equipment was still on paper, the designer had given it a name very fitting for the identity of the Claws of Svan—

Hunter!

Looking at Chu Guang, who was visibly intrigued, Heya, standing to one side, continued.

"… The growth of the Dead Claw's body is rapid; they can develop from cubs to a height of 1.5 meters in a year and reach 2~2.5 meters after five months, entering adulthood."

"Therefore, the design focus of this exoskeleton was placed on the adaptability of the equipment, reinforcing the extendability of each structure. Adult individuals with spine lengths between 2~4 meters could complete the wearing process. However, correspondingly, the coverage area of the exoskeleton armor is slightly lacking, only protecting the wearer's head and chest."

"My guess is that the researchers here probably considered that after transplanting consciousness into the bodies of the Death Claws, it would be difficult to operate tools originally designed for the human body, thus they designed a set of exoskeletons specifically for the Death Claws."

The reason why the plan was abandoned was also easy to understand.

Even without Heya mentioning it, Chu Guang could probably guess.

Just look at the Mother of Dead Claw outside.

As long as the serum is injected, growth does not stop. No matter how perfect the equipment design, at most, it can only accompany them for a decade or even just a few years.

Compared to an endless lifespan, this amount of time is just the duration of a sneeze.

Due to different growth rates of various tissues and bones, the idea of scaling up the exoskeleton proportionally is unworkable; there would need to be a redesign for different stages of life.

Therefore, the idea of mechanical augmentation was simply abandoned.

"Not bad... This equipment will be perfect for our Wolf Cavalry," Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction as he archived the blueprint, planning to send it to Xiao Qi once communication was restored.

"Wolf Cavalry?"

"A project that the army is currently researching. We plan to build a cavalry unit capable of quick mobility... although talking about this in 2341 might seem a bit outdated, we want to give it a try," Chu Guang casually replied, "Don't worry about it, leave the matters of war to us. You don't have to concern yourself with this."

Heya nodded, seemingly half-understanding.

She didn't really understand matters of war.

But in her heart, she was clear that if the Alliance lost, she would not be able to focus on her research interests like she can now.

"Anyway, it's good if I can be of help. I'm heading back to the lab now, you guys... keep it up."

Reaching the door, she stopped, suddenly joking in a teasing tone.

"By the way, that sentence earlier, it sounded quite reassuring."

She didn't wait for his response.

Her light footsteps soon faded away down the corridor.

...

Rui Valley City District.

The Spring Water Commander, crouching on the rooftop of a residential building, held binoculars, looking at the billowing smoke that was gradually dissipating in the distance.

He was lying next to the abandoned water tank, with the staircase room diagonally opposite him, and his current position was just out of direct sight of the airship.

Crouched beside him was Ghost from the grave, also holding a pair of binoculars and staring in the same direction as Brother Quanshui.

A few days ago, he was taken out by an Old Soldier. He only parachuted back in these last two days.

Although the Old Soldier said on the Forum that he had "obliterated any trace" of him, out of an abundance of caution, he still stayed away from the front line, following the Spring Water Commander.

Based on past experience, sticking to this old scrounger's side meant nothing bad would happen.

The only downside was that it was a bit boring; unless absolutely necessary, this guy almost never showed up on the front line.

And even if he did show up, he hardly ever engaged in combat.

Take now, for instance.

Never mind an exoskeleton.

The guy didn't even bring a gun.

Laying there and utterly bored, Ghost crouched by the grave couldn't help but ask,

"Are you sure the Army's men will come?"

Spring Water thought for a moment and replied,

"There's more than an 80% chance."

"Then why isn't there any sign of them?"

Annoyed by the question, Spring Water gave him a glare,

"Do you think people can get here without taking any time? Stop rushing it, just wait."

No sooner had he spoken than there was indeed some movement on the distant street.

A squad of armed Soldiers cautiously advanced toward the explosion area, taking cover from each other as they burst through the collapsed Enclosing Wall.

Leading the way, naturally, were the Attendants with mixed equipment, while Soldiers in black cloaks pressed from behind, urging the Cannon Fodders to advance into the building debris.

Seeing the sneaky figures, Old Ghost's face suddenly showed surprise, and he muttered in astonishment,

"...Damn, the Army's men really did come."

"Such a strong signal, if I were the commander on the other side, I would also send someone to check it out."

They must have mistaken that communication base for their Command Post.

Musing silently, Spring Water kept his eyes glued to that squad of soldiers on the distant street, carefully observing their equipment and personnel arrangement.

According to his reconnaissance over these days, he had pretty much figured out the Army's attendance pattern.

If it was a regular mission, Space Marines would send out a small team of ten or so, working in conjunction with a hundred-man Attendant team.

The former was usually responsible for supervising and support, while the latter handled charging, clearing buildings, scouting, and covering the rear... in short, all the tasks with a high rate of death.

And if it was an operation against Guerrilla Teams, they would often send three or more hundred-man teams of Regular Army, working with five or more hundred-man teams of Attendants.

According to Old Soldier's intelligence, the number of survivors at the Fallen Leaf Camp had nearly reached twenty thousand, and the size of the Attendant forces had also expanded from the initial five hundred to two thousand.

If it weren't for the unestablished organization system of Fallen Leaf Camp's Attendants, the Army would have loved to distribute Openers to every single able-bodied young man.

Due to the lack of capable lackeys, the promotion speed of lower-ranking officers in the Attendant Army was like riding a rocket.

Incidentally, the Old Soldier was now the strongest contender for Thousands of leaders.

After all, he was personally promoted to Centurion by General Mclen, he had hunted the Claw of Death, and he was the only one who had fought and won directly against the enterprise's Guerrilla Teams.

Those players who had snuck in with him mostly ended up at positions like Centurion of the lower-level officers.

Confirming that Old Soldier was not among these people, Ghost, crouched by the grave, said eagerly,

"Should we give them a surprise?"

"We're too close to the airship here and their cannons are most likely already trained on this city district," the Spring Water Commander looked up at the sky and after a moment's thought, continued, "Let's wait for the darkness."

Just then, a good idea suddenly came to him.

He had heard that the brothers from the Death Legion had recently captured quite a few Waste Land Wanderers, and they had also gotten some new gear made with the help of Goblin Technology.

It was just the right time to give them a chance to test their mettle...

...

Deep in the night.

A team of Soldiers in black cloaks advanced in the dark.

About ten hours earlier, they had destroyed a communication post located within the city district, and as soon as dusk fell, a new high-powered signal source was located within the city.

Without any hesitation.

As soon as the coordinates were sent to the artillery, the standby artillery team immediately fired three rounds of 100mm cannons, altogether nine shells, giving the signal source area a thorough washdown.

Putting up this radio station at the risk of being bombed, the other side clearly had some important communication with the rear to carry out.

Whether it was to request reinforcements or report frontline news, they had no intention of giving the other side the chance to speak.

Rachel transmitted the Command Post's orders to the Fallen Leaf Camp side.

Soon a hundred-man team composed of Waste Land Wanderers assembled and, merging with the ten-man team from the Space Marines, set off grandiosely to the city district cloaked by night.

"Why don't we just meet them with artillery... Do we really have to go over and take a look?"

As the black-cloaked Soldier kept a vigilant eye on the pitch-dark buildings around them while advancing, he couldn't help but ask his superior in a low voice.

Entering the city after dark was not a good idea.

Any window here could hide a gun barrel.

The officer walking in the center of the group repeated the orders expressionlessly.

"The cannons have already fired a round, the signal source was weakened, but not completely interrupted; it is suspected to be reinforced by an anti-explosive shelter. We need to go over and see what was just bombed and if there's anyone still alive there."

As he spoke, the officer looked to a side at the Pangolin.

"Take some men and scout ahead."

"Yes!"

As a Cannon Fodder with professional integrity, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group crisply responded and conscientiously led the way.

Not only that, he also brought along a few of his trusted men, including the one called Li Ba who spoke up first.

"You, follow me!"

The ones called out to lead looked sour but still reluctantly followed behind the "Pangolin."

Seeing their expressions, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group smiled to himself, yet he didn't offer an explanation.

There was simply no need for an explanation; in a moment, those people would naturally be thankful to him.

As for the others.

They would need all the luck they could get.

In war, some are bound to die.

With his men following close behind, the Old Soldier quickly approached the building that had just been subjected to an artillery bombardment.

It appeared to have once been a shopping mall with a height of only five stories; its reinforced concrete dome, once entwined with emerald vines, had now collapsed along with the broken rebar.

Looking at the open-air market, Li Ba, who was following beside him, gripped his rifle tightly as his legs wouldn't stop shaking.

He swallowed and nervously glanced at the Centurion beside him—the tough guy known as Pangolin.

"…Are we going in?"

The Old Soldier couldn't be bothered to explain and just said briefly,

"Just stick close to me later."

Li Ba immediately nodded.

Although he couldn't put his finger on the specific reason, his instincts told him that as long as he stuck close to this guy, he would survive.

After passing through the security checkpoint at the main entrance and entering the interior of the mall, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group shouldered their weapons and looked around apprehensively, clicking their tongues.

"Damn… those big-nosed guys are pretty accurate with their bombing."

The previous barrages of shells had almost all passed through the dome of the mall accurately, landing right in the middle of the spacious atrium, blasting the area to smithereens.

The intelligence that the Storm Corps had paid with their lives to confirm allowed in determining the location of radio signals, but the exact precision wasn't clear.

Now, the Old Soldier was almost certain that those big-nosed guys' targeting technology could pinpoint a spot on the map for radio signals of a specific power range within twenty kilometers.

Heading toward the center of the explosion, the Old Soldier searched carefully and soon found a backpack that had fallen from the fifth floor amongst a pile of scattered shopping carts.

The backpack was made of ordinary canvas, containing a radio transceiver and a solid hydrogen battery; additionally, a walkie-talkie was taped to it, repeating a prerecorded message in a faint, intermittent voice.

This was the source of the signal.

It was also the radio decoy prepared by Brother Quanshui.

Leaning in to take a look, Li Ba, who was following him closely, couldn't help but ask,

"What are they saying on it?"

Although the walkie-talkie kept talking, he couldn't understand a word.

The Old Soldier casually replied,

"I don't know."

As a double agent for the Alliance, of course, he understood that the walkie-talkie was playing one of Teacher Zhao's comic dialogues; "Selling Crutches" had just finished, and now "Just Kidding" started.

The only thing he wasn't sure about was whether the Iron Heart could actually listen in on the specifics of the radio transmission.

If they could, he could almost picture the scene.

A group of electronic warfare officers sitting in front of a table, listening to the comic dialogue intently, racking their brains to analyze any intelligence that might be hidden within.

No...

After all, he was a double agent for the Alliance; he couldn't afford to lose composure now.

The Old Soldier, who could barely contain himself, covered the laugh that slipped out with a cough, took off the walkie-talkie hanging from his shoulder, and relayed the lines he had memorized long ago,

"The first floor is secure; an enemy radio transceiver has been discovered... it's in a backpack, looks like it fell from above, do we continue to search upstairs?"

The officer outside on guard duty quickly sent the expected response,

"Continue the search!"

"Received!"

The corner of his mouth lifted in a slight arc as the Old Soldier cut off the communication and turned to look at his trusted aides behind him. He cleared his throat and ordered,

"Start the search from the second floor. Check every nook and cranny carefully, and don't miss any suspicious clues!"

"Move out!"

As the Old Soldier was leading his aides towards the second floor for exploration, outside the shopping mall on the street was a blanket of silence.

Seeing that there was no sign of movement inside the building, the officer standing outside could probably guess that the people inside were either dead or had already retreated.

Realizing that there probably wouldn't be a battle tonight, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with a match.

The sharp smoke wafted through his nostrils.

He was just about to glance at the time on his wristwatch,

But at that moment, he caught sight of a pair of amber-colored pupils hiding in the darkness, with the help of the moonlight spilling onto the street.

A hissing whimper floated over.

The creature crouched on the wall stared straight at him, its amber pupils filled with a thirst for slaughter and blood.

The officer's face went pale in an instant as the cigarette with its burning ember dropped from his rigid lips, shattering the ash.

Especially when he realized it was not just a pair.

But a swarm—

"Dead Claws!"

The officer bellowed, reaching for his rifle and firing the first shot.

"Prepare for battle—!"

Almost as soon as his words ended, the Dead Claws dangling from walls and rooftops howled as they rushed toward the soldiers guarding the street outside the mall.

The previous tranquility of the street was torn asunder by gunfire that cracked like firecrackers, illuminating faces twisted with fear in flashes of gunshot flare.

What terrified them wasn't just the Dead Claws.

But the fact that there were people riding on the backs of these Dead Claws!

Those people had not only barbarically tied themselves to the backs of the Dead Claws, but the weapons in their hands were also varied.

Some had rifles, some had flamethrowers, and some appeared to be grenade launchers or something similar.

Before colliding with the Dead Claws, the soldiers guarding the street were already thrown into disarray by a preemptive round of grenades and hand bombs.

And in just a few breaths' time, this group of "wall-walking" cavalry was already upon them, their scorching breaths blowing onto their faces.

And from this moment—

The soldiers of the Army truly understood what was meant by sheer terror and cruelty.

The bloodthirsty beasts were nearly invincible in close-quarters combat. Often, just a swipe of their claws would bring a storm of blood and scatter severed limbs and bodies.

Both the Waste Land Wanderers of the Retinue Army and the soldiers enshrouded in black robes were being harvested wildly amid their fear of death, utterly unable to put up effective resistance and fleeing into the buildings in panic.

Those inside the mall clearly heard the commotion outside.

Looking out at the chaos on the street through the window, Li Ba's face was filled with fear. His rifle aimed at a charging cavalryman, yet he couldn't muster the courage to pull the trigger.

At that moment, a hand reached from the side, grabbing his rifle barrel and gently pulling it back from the window.

Li Ba turned his head to see it was his own Centurion, his face showing a look of surprise.

"Don't shoot and draw those monsters here. We are no match for them..." Making a gesture for silence, the Old Soldier glanced outside and said in a low voice, "You hide here well. I'll figure out a way to rescue our officer..."

The streets were in chaos.

Gunshots had filled the air not so long ago; now, there were only screams of agony and the horrifying sight of severed limbs and blood.

The methods of these beasts were particularly savage.

To savor living prey, they would hardly kill their quarry, instead swiftly moving to the next target once their current one had completely lost the ability to fight back.

As close quarters combat had already ensued, the airships hovering overhead could only watch in frustration, utterly unable to offer support.

In a mere two minutes, the retinue army's hundred-man squad had suffered heavy casualties, and the army's ten-man team was nearly annihilated.

Seeing no more targets to ambush in the street, the wall-climbing cavalry withdrew from the battlefield as swiftly as they had appeared.

Watching the ghostly shadows scatter into the darkness, the officer who had been dragged into the shopping mall by an attendant was still visibly shaken.

Panting heavily, he looked down at the bloodstain on his chest, then turned with gratitude to the centurion known as Pangolin and managed to squeeze out a word.

"Thank you…"

The Old Soldier said nothing.

Mainly for fear of giving himself away.

Finally regaining some strength, the officer took a deep breath and made a calm decision.

"We need to evacuate from here…"

The Old Soldier glanced at the wailing soldiers and attendants outside, and asked in a low voice.

"What about the wounded?"

A flicker of compassion crossed the officer's eyes, but it was quickly supplanted by severity.

"They...are already dead."

He had not expected the corporation to be capable of using Variants in combat, a stark and disconcerting departure from their intelligence reports.

Especially when he could not be sure how many Claws of Death, like the one just now, were hidden in the city district. Under such circumstances, command couldn't possibly approve reinforcements.

Hearing the officer's response, the Old Soldier sighed inwardly.

A shame indeed...

...

After the remnants of the ground forces evacuated, the Iron Heart bombarded the city district with area fire for more than ten minutes.

General McCullen stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bridge, his eyes fixed on the city district illuminated by artillery fire, his expressionless face rife with gloom.

He always had an illusion.

The longer they stayed here, the more corporate soldiers they killed, their adversaries seemed to grow stronger instead of weaker.

First, there were planes faster than artillery shells, now, cavalry charging on Dead Claws; the enemy's tactics were becoming increasingly absurd, while their own advantage was fading away...

Just how many reinforcements had the corporation sent here?

Or was his intelligence flawed from the very beginning…

A staff officer reported in a grave voice beside him.

"That signal source...seems to be a bait set by the other side."

"Just now, we detected more signal sources in the city district, each from different areas and on different frequencies... We can hear their communications, but we can't decipher the language they're using."

General McCullen was about to speak.

However, at that moment, an officer approached the bridge's entrance.

"Report! A communication request from General Griffin!"

McCullen said expressionlessly.

"Patch it through to the conference room, have him wait for me for two minutes."

"Yes!" The officer responded and briskly left the bridge.

Handing over command to his deputy, McCullen then left the bridge and headed to the conference room upstairs.

In the conference room sat a table, in the center of which was a silver machine. As General McCullen nodded, the officer at the door immediately left the room.

The ceiling light went out.

The conference room plunged into darkness.

However, pale blue particles of light began to rise from the device in the center of the table, reilluminating the space. Soon, a man in his forties or fifties appeared in the holographic image.

His nose was prominent, his features stern, his presence like that of a male lion, yet his eyes were as shrewd as a fox's.

Looking at the face in the holographic image, a flicker of annoyance flashed in McCullen's eyes,

But since that guy had one more star on his shoulder than himself, he still saluted first, waiting for the other to return the salute before starting patiently.

"What is it."

"Cheer up, it's good news," the man in the holographic image smiled faintly and continued without a hint of emotion, "The Legion Leader has adjusted our deployment in Sunset Province, and we are now officially involved in the war between the Falcon Kingdom and the desert kings."

As a member of the main warring faction, this was indeed a cause for celebration.

Only by expanding of the army's territory could one achieve honors and accumulate fortune. War was the only way to plunder more wealth, land, and slaves.

However, at this moment, McCullen's face showed little joy.

Clearly, the major credit had already been snatched up by the man before him, and by the time he returned, he would likely not even have a sip of the spoils left.

As if understanding the captain's expression, Griffin continued in a soothing tone.

"I was planning to wait for your return before starting the next phase, but we were unexpectedly attacked by corporate reinforcements... Before the desert dwellers receive support from the East Coast, we had to strike first. Of course, I believe you've heard about this from other sources."

Clearing his throat, the man in the holographic image went on.

"I am now ordering you to execute a new command, to set off immediately for Desert No. 9, to support the ground forces of the Falcon Kingdom! I hope you haven't completely wasted your ammunition and that you have at least two tough battles left before you return to port to resupply."

"Corporate reinforcements?!"

McCullen, completely ignoring the latter half of what Griffin said, was visibly surprised at the first half—

Or rather incredulous!

Any semblance of composure broke as he slammed his hands on the table, raising his voice in disbelief.

"That's impossible!"

"We've firmly held corporate reinforcements at bay in the southern River Valley Province, and our airships have blockaded this plain continuously! I am certain that not a single team...not even a Commercial Team has entered the desert from here since early this month."

"Moreover, if you have encountered corporate reinforcements, then who are we fighting against?!"

A light chuckle came through the communications channel.

The sound was tinged with an irritating mockery.

"Who knows."

"Perhaps it's the locals."

-

(I'll have to be offline for two days... I have to go again, funny how the doctor already recognizes me.)

Chapter 399: The Time Has Come to Test Mobilization Capability

While the Iron Heart unleashed its fury on the deserted district, the official game forum was bustling with activity in another world.

Almost immediately after logging off, the Death Legion's players couldn't wait to share the firsthand battle reports from the frontline on the official website.

Besides reporting the results of the battle, these pioneers who first tasted the "crab" also shared their practical experience and test thoughts on the "Wolf Cavalry" tactics.

Yuye Shisanlang: "Damn, that felt good!"

Midnight With an Umbrella, No Knife: "666!"

Sheep Again Package: "Garbage Lord is freaking awesome! (voice crack)"

Laplace: "No exaggeration, no bias, our Garbage Lord is pretty much flawless except for not being the brightest bulb!"

Mama, You Wouldn't Either: "Can't get any better! There's no mount more perfect than Garbage Lord!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "???"

Edge Shoveling: "Cough cough, it's okay to call him that in private, but let's be a little more respectful in Garbage Lord's presence."

Tail: "Damn it, Tail wants to raise one too! QAQ"

Si Si: "Ah Tail, aren't you riding Meat Meat anymore?"

Tail: "Only kids would have to choose, Ah Tail of course wants them all! ψ(｀∇´)ψ"

To date, Shelter No.79 has installed 17 Claws of Death with mind interference devices, and almost all have been assigned to the Death Legion.

In last night's ambush, almost all seventeen Wolf Cavalry had been deployed, and the results they achieved were quite gratifying—living up to the Manager's expectations.

Twenty cavalry against a hundred-man squad and ten Army elites.

The battle lasted less than three minutes from the exchange of fire to the end, and the opponents had barely formed an effective resistance before they were routed by the Wolf Cavalry's charge.

Practice had proved that this outdated cavalry tactic, though seemingly unreliable, when combined with new era biological technology and tactical concepts, had an unexpected chemistry-like miraculous effect on the Wasteland.

The high melee and mobility of the Claw of Death, coupled with the players' mid-close range firepower, created an "Orc-Unity" fighting style that was almost invincible in rugged terrain—especially in urban settings!

Especially against unarmored, less mobile soft targets, those infantry relying on cover to shoot were practically live targets for the hunting Claws of Death.

Of course, while the DPS of the Claw of Death was high, the role of the players on the battlefield was equally undeniable.

For example, in last night's ambush.

It wasn't just the Claws of Death that performed well, but also the light weapons designed for the "Wolf Cavalry" by Goblin Technology.

The most outstanding performances undoubtedly belonged to two models: the LD-50 carbine and the "Whirlwind" grenade launcher!

The former, at first glance, resembled the AK-74U, but it was an improvement on the LD-47 rifle, using the same 7mm full-power cartridges, yet its overall structure was more compact than that of the assault rifle with slightly better power and stability than a submachine gun.

Its design concept was not for cavalry to fire from the back of the Claw of Death to kill enemies, but to allow them to dismount and enter buildings with the mighty melee and sensitive smell of the Claw of Death to clear out any remaining enemies.

However, practice showed that firing from atop the Claw of Death, although less than ideal in output, was not unfeasible.

At least for level 20 Agility system players, as long as they timed their shots correctly and were familiar with their weapons, they could hit targets behind cover while on the move.

At the same time, the Wolf Cavalry hardly had any need to dismount for combat, recharging their rounds and retreating was the most efficient tactic.

As for clearing out remaining enemies in buildings.

That could be left to the other infantry of the Death Legion who were all street-fighting experts and good at using cheap weapons to save on costs.

As for the other equipment crafted for the Wolf Cavalry—the "Whirlwind" grenade launcher—it was a Goblin Technology replica of the real-world MGL revolver grenade launcher.

The thing looked like an oversized revolver.

Its revolver-style chamber allowed for the quick firing of multiple grenades, unleashing vast firepower to suppress and cover the cavalry as they quickly broke through the defenses.

Being the world's most produced 40mm grenade launcher, the MGL is akin to the AK among grenade launchers, the RPG among rocket launchers, well-liked by paramilitary forces for its reliability and output capacity. The replicas, therefore, are as numerous as cattle, prompting Mosquito to unhesitatingly add it to his product list.

For ease of mass production, Mosquito Brother made certain modifications to the weapon, such as the most notable alteration of reducing the caliber from 40mm to 37mm.

However, even though the caliber of the weapon was reduced by 3mm, its power was by no means small—on the contrary, it was even stronger!

After all, a weapon's power cannot just be measured by the caliber—it also depends on the charge.

The New Alliance Scientific Expedition Team's unlocking of the N10- anionic salt azido compound had perfectly replaced the previously used black gold and TNT in the explosive charge of the shell.

This high-performance explosive saved a lot of space in the warhead's charge area, allowing more steel pellets and shrapnel to be crammed in.

Not just fragmentary grenades.

Goblin Technology had developed a special type of arrow-shaped ammunition for the "Whirlwind" grenade launcher.

Its structure was similar to a shotgun, but instead of the typical steel pellets, it was loaded with slender steel needles!

This kind of specialty bullet had extremely strong close-range armor-piercing capabilities, specifically targeting the hard armor of the Legion soldiers and the bulletproof lining they inserted into their armor.

Although the 7mm full-power rounds of the LD-47 rifle packed a massive amount of kinetic energy and fierce power, their armor-piercing performance was actually not outstanding.

Especially against hard armor, if the bullet fragmented, its armor-piercing capability would be greatly reduced. It could cause internal injuries but had difficulty killing outright.

However, this "arrow-shaped armor-piercing bullet" didn't have that problem.

When the "Wolf Cavalry" from the Death Legion launched their first charge, the leading five Wolf Cavalry had used this custom ammunition, turning several heavily armored Legion soldiers into porcupines.

The Wolf Cavalry who followed used high-explosive grenades against the unarmored targets like the Retinue Army, delivering a round of covering fire.

It was precisely because of this that when Claw of death charged at those people's faces, the entire hundred-man team had almost lost the ability to resist and could only be slaughtered unilaterally...

WC Really Have Mosquitos: "Ah, what a pity! There are too many shelters in the urban area, which don't show the power of explosives! If it was trench warfare, the damage from my grenade launcher would definitely be more terrifying!"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Trench warfare is still okay, but are you treating this as fighting little kids? (sidelong glance)"

Makabazi: "Hey, only after encountering the Army did I realize that compared to these well-trained regular forces, the Chewing Bone Tribe is just a little brother."

Quit Bullshitting: "Wait, have you actually gone to the front line??"

Makabazi: "It's not important. My crops went to the front line, which means I went to the front line. (smirk)"

Quit Bullshitting: "What the fuck?! That counts?"

Rolling Drum Washing Machine: "Speaking of which, it'd be great if we could get a shield. I just realized when I got home that both of my legs were shot."

Elena: "Should we steal the Manager's hammer? I remember that hammer can activate a shield, and it's pretty awesome too. (smirk)"

Gnome King Riches: "Actually, there's no need to steal it. If you guys work hard to get our Manager to upgrade to god-tier equipment, once he gets bored with the hammer, you guys should be able to use it, right? (smirk)"

Rolling Drum Washing Machine: "Now that you mention it, I feel like I'm picking up trash."

Fang Chang: "Isn't picking up trash the essence of the Game? (smirk)"

But having said that, not everyone could pick up equipment used by a Manager.

Such unique, historically significant weapons would fetch sky-high prices at auctions, no matter how good they were.

For instance, the hunting gun from the "Blood Hand Clan BOSS" that Mosquito got hold of earlier, even though it was rusted to the point of falling apart, still started at a five-figure value.

Just as the players were side-tracking to discuss how much the Manager's hammer was worth, an announcement suddenly popped up on the official website.

[System Announcement: The expansion pack "Sands of Thousand Miles" will launch after the world-class BOSS "Iron Heart" airship is shot down.]

"Fuck?!"

"Awesome!"

After the message came out.

The official forum exploded in an instant.

Another expansion pack in less than two months!

Aren't the updates coming a bit too frequently?!

...

Rui Valley City, West district.

The Spring Water Commander, hiding on a rooftop, clutched his binoculars, staring intently at the airship above, and suddenly muttered softly,

"…Something is off."

I Max Black, standing by, asked curiously.

"What's off?"

After pondering for a moment, the Spring Water Commander said,

"Look at that elevator. Yesterday it was full going down, empty going up. Today, it's full going back up, empty coming down... don't you think that's strange?"

And that wasn't all.

Spring Water had also noticed that several pieces of engineering equipment previously deployed on the ground were gradually being moved from the surface to the sky.

Normally, constructing defensive works is a planned, continuous process, and it made no sense to withdraw the equipment after only a month of deployment.

Unless.

The other side plans to move their position.

Spring Water Commander frowned, suddenly remembering the announcement posted on the official forum last night.

The new expansion pack would launch after the "Iron Heart" was shot down.

If the other side planned to withdraw...

Would the expansion pack still launch?

Putting down the binoculars, Spring Water Commander turned to I Max Black and said,

"Notify the others... log off and hold a combat meeting."

"OK!" I Max Black immediately nodded and headed downstairs.

Although the Army could precisely locate the source of radio signals within twenty kilometers, there were always more solutions than problems.

Previously, the Storm Corps players deployed a large number of manually activated "disposable" radios in the city, which allowed the front-line troops to maintain radio silence while unilaterally delivering orders.

As for confirming whether the orders were carried out, it was simple: just log off and shout in the group chat.

The Legion System in "Wasteland OL" was in fact a variant of the Guild system, and naturally, guilds had "groups" like these.

To make this out-of-game play more efficient, Spring Water specifically created a dispatcher role in the Army, responsible for conveying the front-line players' feedback from the group chat into the game.

He guessed that everyone must have logged off by now.

Spring Water retracted his binoculars and cautiously retreated inside the building, finding a quiet corner to lie down and logged out of the game.

He picked up his mobile phone and glanced at the WeChat group.

He was just about to communicate his findings with his teammates, when he saw his mole in the enemy camp, "Pangolin," excitedly reporting the latest movements of the Army to his brothers in the group.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Breaking news! Those big-nosed guys are planning to retreat!"

"Kakarot": "Evacuation?!"

Graveyard Ghost Catcher: "What's happening???"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "According to the sentries at the entrance of Fallen Leaf Camp, General Griffin has summoned them to head to Oasis No. 9 in Sunset Province; they plan to evacuate within a week... However, Captain McCullen seems reluctant to give up the outpost they established in the Southern River Valley Province and is planning to leave some ground troops to hold the position."

I Max Black: "Damn, are they just going to walk away like that?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "I'm not sure about that, but from what I heard from the black-robed soldiers discussing, it seems that General McCullen lost his temper last night... Those big-nosed guys have finally realized that they were battling not corporations, but the local natives instead."

It took nearly a month of effort to realize they had been matching wits with thin air, as the corporate reinforcements had already slipped into the desert right under their noses.

Although he hadn't witnessed it personally, Old Soldier could imagine that General McCullen must be fuming by now.

However...

The other players were more concerned about something else.

I Max Black: "Fuck? They figured out it was us?"

"Kakarot": "Impossible, right? We didn't blow our cover, did we?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Well, they haven't realized it's us yet, our Alliance's reputation around Rui Valley City is still too low. Those soldiers in power armor... they seem to have mistaken it for Giant Stone City."

Speaking of which, he had a part to play in this.

Old Soldier remembered that Coleway came to him asking who the strongest local power was, and he answered without hesitation that it was Giant Stone City.

Furthermore, he exaggerated by saying that the nobles of Jushi Inner City were all bootlickers to the corporations and even had their organs replaced with Ideal City products.

That statement was not wrong.

Ever since Brother Fang Chang opened the bionic prosthesis market in Giant Stone City, many nobles in the Inner City had started using high-end goods from the East Coast.

"Kakarot": "Pfft..."

Spring Water Commander: "I see, that makes sense now."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Sense about what?"

Spring Water Commander: "Since they've realized that corporate reinforcements have entered the desert, they were likely called back for defense. General Griffin, I suppose, must be something like a commandant of the Army stationed in Sunset Province. Otherwise, I don't believe that McCullen wouldn't try to pound Giant Stone City with a few salvos before leaving."

Although they had gained a certain advantage recently, he was very clear that this small advantage was far from enough to force the Army to retreat and cut their losses.

Unless the other party had changed their deployment.

From this perspective, the friendly forces that penetrated deep into the desert must have had some impact; otherwise, the Steel Heart wouldn't have rushed back for reinforcement.

He originally thought those twenty power armors wouldn't be of much use.

Now it seemed he had underestimated the power of technology.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Say, if that world-class BOSS gets away... can we still launch our new expansion pack?"

I Max Black: "What the fuck?! You didn't mention this, and I almost forgot, isn't the condition for launching the new expansion pack to destroy that airship?"

The messages in the group instantly flooded the screen.

They had discussed the server announcement all day yesterday, and it hadn't even been 24 hours, were they now being told that the expansion pack might be gone?!

Spring Water Commander: "This is also my biggest concern. For now, let's not consider the planners playing us for fools. I speculate there are two possibilities, one is that the expansion pack will be delayed, and the other is that the missed Steel Heart becomes one of the new expansion pack's BOSSes."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "If it's the latter... does that mean there's no impact?"

Spring Water Commander: "No, the latter is the worst-case scenario."

I Max Black: "Huh?"

Spring Water Commander: "Think about it, if an airship is already so difficult to deal with, what happens when it returns to merge with the main forces, after sorting out the trouble in the desert, and comes back? Won't the difficulty skyrocket from hell to nightmare?"

The troops aboard the Steel Heart were mostly composed of light infantry and light armor. The likes of heavy equipment, such as Conqueror series tanks, hadn't been encountered yet.

Not to mention the various support-capable infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled guns, and the clone light infantry adept at human sea assaults.

Spring Water believed the army must possess these things.

Once the Steel Heart was allowed to return and merge with the army's ground forces, forming an integrated air-ground combat system, the boost in combat power would be anything but simple arithmetic like "1+1=2".

By then, the Alliance would face not merely a battleship flying in the sky, but a true "Army"!

Seeing that no one spoke in the group, Spring Water Commander continued typing.

"The most fatal part is, if the addition of the Steel Heart changes the situation on the western front, we will most likely have to face the direct threat from the Army."

"This is the last chance, and the only chance. We must keep it here before it retreats from the River Valley Province."

"At all costs!"

If they lost,
the server would reset.

And everything they had gained from the game would be taken back with the server's closure.

Although most players approached the game with a relaxed attitude, the fact was that their fate had already been tied to this "world".

Even if they mockingly complained about the dog planners being inhuman, most players wouldn't deny that they obtained many indispensable things from Wasteland OL.

Be it friendship, love, money, knowledge, status, or something else.

At this moment,
every player in the group got serious.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Do we have any good methods?"

After a moment of silence, Spring Water Commander typed.

"Yes."

"But we can't do it with just the few of us!"

"I need cooperation from other armies... No, not just the players from the army system, but also those individual players who haven't joined any armies, even the lifestyle profession players. We need at least five thousand people to ensure our plan unfolds smoothly."

Kakarot: "Five thousand people... The server for Wasteland OL only has about five thousand people, right?"

Grave Catching Ghost: "Including newbies, we might scrape together just over five thousand, but newbies who have just joined the game struggle to even kill a cockroach... I think it's doubtful."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "And we have at most one week's time..."

Watching the messages continually popping up in the group, Spring Water Commander moved his thumb and continued typing.

"Yes."

"The time has come to test our mobilization capabilities."

-

(I feel much better today, I'll go for another shot this afternoon then I don't need to go anymore... I feel if I crossed over to the wasteland, I probably wouldn't last a chapter before being gone.)

Chapter 340: To the Front Line!

"…I believe this is our last chance."

"If we cannot keep it in the River Valley Province, waiting for the airship to return to port and resupply, and meet with the local ground forces, we will face a crisis several times greater than the current situation."

Shelter No. 79, Manager's Office.

Apart from Chu Guang, there were a dozen other people standing here.

Several days ago, Chu Guang had issued an order from Qingquan City to Rui Valley City to move the headquarters to the front line.

In addition to staff officers like Vanus, including Wrench from the First Army Corps, had also moved here.

At that moment, Chu Guang was holding a handwritten combat plan; having finished reading the introduction, he turned to the general contents.

The entire plan had twenty-four pages, written by the commander of the Storm Corps known as Spring Water Commander. It was objectively very well written, with detailed planning both macroscopically and microscopically.

The plan divided the battle into three phases, including air combat, ground combat, and the final landing battle.

It detailed what objectives needed to be achieved in each phase, how many personnel and weapons were required, and what to do if progress was smooth or if there were difficulties, with a detailed description in every phase of the combat plan.

Of course, this plan wasn't completed in a day.

For a while, Chu Guang had noticed that ever since the Storm Corps arrived at Rui Valley City, from the moment that 400mm main gun had fired, the player known as Spring Water Commander had been observing that airship.

Including its observation range, firepower accuracy, firing interval time, turret rotation speed, and reconnaissance efficiency at different distances.

These combat parameters were now listed as the basis in this combat plan, and every phase of the plan was tactically designed based on the weaknesses reflected by these data.

However, even with such a detailed plan, the player called Spring Water Commander still mentioned at the end of the plan—

"Our strength is vastly inferior to the enemy, our chances of victory are less than twenty percent, and the same strategy will be hard to apply twice; we only have one chance!"

"Since the fate of victory rests on this one effort, there is no need to reserve our strength."

"Suggest a general mobilization!"

Turning to the last page of the plan, Chu Guang casually handed it to Vanus standing beside him.

"What do you think?"

Vanus took the plan and flipped through it, spending slightly more time than Chu Guang and pondered for a moment before giving an objective evaluation.

"It's well written, albeit a bit modest. In my view… there might be a thirty percent chance of success."

As a clone and a leader of a thousand in an army corps, he had never been aboard an airship, and the detailed combat parameters of the airship were classified.

He could only analyze it based on the several public battle reports from the past, which should be about seventy percent accurate.

The only advantage the New Alliance had was probably in intelligence.

After the Chewing Bone Tribe dispersed, the intelligence network in the southern part of River Valley Province was virtually blank.

There may be spies for the corps in the Bugra Free State to the north, but it's too far from here; trade routes with the north had only just started, and because of the rapid growth, a lot of the intelligence, even if it could get to the corps through the Bugra Free State, were outdated by several months.

Wrench, standing beside, asked with a frown.

"Only thirty percent?"

Vanus nodded and spoke with precision.

"Yes… in my experience, battles involving the Iron Heart mostly represent asymmetric warfare, or as we call it, suppression battles. Considering this… they may not have experience in electronic warfare, but it's also possible they simply lack the experience."

"Forgive my frankness, but this is a huge gamble."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment.

"You're betting that they have not encountered this type of combat method before, correct?"

Vanus nodded.

"Yes, it's a crazy plan, I do not recommend you adopt it. However, I must admire your corps commander, studying all parameters of the Iron Heart so thoroughly in just one month."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

Capability is one aspect, but what's crucial is the exceptionally strong ability to share information through "Morphogenesis Field" technology.

Every player or backseat driver on the forum, regardless of their professional expertise and influence, could propose their analytical conclusions based on the intelligence collected in the game, and the players in the game would validate which conclusions were most reliable.

While the alliance's weaponry might be at the standards of World War II or the Cold War era, their information technology might even surpass the Human Alliance Era.

After all, that "Morphogenesis Field," which current technology couldn't block or interfere with, seemed to have been developed after entering the Wasteland Era by the First Generation Manager of Shelter No. 404.

Additionally, there was the verification of information.

That was acquired by the players of the Storm Corps at the cost of their lives…

Taking the plan back from Vanus, Chu Guang stared at it for about five minutes and then suddenly spoke.

"I plan to adopt this plan."

Hearing this, a hint of surprise appeared on Vanus' face as he looked at Chu Guang, who had considered carefully.

"Are you… sure?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Vanus couldn't help continuing.

"I don't want to dampen spirits, but implementing this plan will require a huge manpower!"

"Even if there are not ten thousand people on that airship, it still represents a force of ten thousand... If we want to implement this battle plan within a week, at the most conservative estimate, we need to mobilize at least seven thousand people within three days."

"Three days… Is that feasible?"

This was not solely his concern.

A look of worry appeared on the faces of several other staff officers as well.

This wasn't about being cowardly, but purely a strategic consideration; setting the decisive battle within a week was too hasty.

War is not chess, where moving piece A can decide the winner and loser.

Such a major battle should also be prepared for at least a month to ensure coordination between various troops and orderly progress of plans.

Their previous decisive battle with the Chewing Bone Tribe had taken a month and a half to commence.

Chu Guang smiled faintly and answered without hesitation.

"We have enough time. Three days are completely sufficient for mobilization; it's not a problem for us!"

He believed in his players.

Not because of the authority the shelter gave him, but because this was not a game for him alone.

The Alliance wasn't someone's personal alliance; it belonged to everyone who had shed blood and sweat for this land. When the Alliance faced a life-or-death threat, everyone would step up, whether they were farmers, fishermen, or traders.

It wasn't just for profit.

It was to protect "our world."

Mobilization in a week? Unnecessary.

One minute was enough.

"…Apart from mobilization, I plan to deploy some mercenaries alongside the regular army. Conservatively, I estimate that the number of combatants could reach ten thousand!"

He closed the battle plan he had been holding, placed it on the desk beside him, and looked at the various officers standing in the office.

As he gazed into their eyes, brimming with a fighting spirit, he paused briefly and continued.

"How long the trenches should be dug and where to place the machine guns are tactical details I'm not specialized in, but there's a phrase in this plan that I strongly agree with."

"If we don't keep it here, we will face even greater troubles later."

"It must stay here."

"And it absolutely will!"

Forget about a thirty percent chance of success.

Even if there was just a one percent chance of victory,
he would still give it a try!

…

After the war meeting ended, Chu Guang used a disposable, temporary communication device to send Xiao Qi, who was far away in the shelter, the work arrangements for the next phase.

Included in this information packet of less than 10mb were today's official website updates, complete mobilization details, and specific plans for recruiting mercenaries.

The latter part of the content, mainly aimed at NPCs, would be translated by Xiao Qi from Chinese to United Human language, accurately conveying the orders to the specific departments and individuals.

In fact, even without his mobilization, players had already gradually ceased their ongoing work and began gathering toward Rui Valley City for the new expansion.

Meanwhile, it was daytime in the real world.

The Spring Water Commander had started a casual discussion thread in the Army Corps communication section of the forum, posted the battle plans, and tagged the leaders of various corps.

Observing the IDs of various big players in the post, the Spring Water Commander felt somewhat nervous while typing and phrasing his words.

It might be said that commanding abilities and organizational skills are two different concepts.

The former is about strategy and tactics, while the latter is more about interpersonal savvy.

He probably got the closed beta access the same time as I Max Black, making his qualifications slightly lighter compared to those who had the closed beta access early and had their chests adorned with limited edition medals.

In real-world terms, it was akin to a brigade commander leading a regimental commander.

In another MMORPG, just persuading these big brothers to cooperate would take a lot of talking.

Fortunately, however, the server atmosphere in "Wasteland OL" had always been pleasant.

It was also thanks to the Dog Planner being a good person and not inciting comparison and rivalry among players for KPIs; whether one played hard or not, "Wasteland OL" always provided a decent gaming experience. T0, T1, and T2 players often became friends rather than rivals like in some MMORPG guild ecosystems—big brothers, princesses, and bootlickers.

If the strategy guide was well-written, whether you were a newcomer or a big player, even the backseat drivers would courteously drop likes and share appreciation.

Old White: "I think the battle plan you wrote is pretty good, just needed a bit more confidence. (Grinning)"

Night Ten: "Exactly, what two percent success chance, clearly the advantage is ours! (Amused)"

Fang Chang: "Professional matters indeed need professionals, counting on you, brother. (Smirk)"

Wild Wind: "+1"

Spring Water Commander: "Cough cough, thanks for the compliments, everyone… This is actually my first time commanding such a large-scale group battle."

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Haha, no worries, Rommel was only a lieutenant in his first battle too! After this fight, you could surely be a division commander. (Amused)"

Edge Shoveling: "Death Legion is in! Leave the most dangerous place to us!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Jungle Corps is also in! (Proud)"

WC Real Mosquito: "Ace pilot applying for battle deployment! (Dog)"

Looking at line after line of responses on the screen, the Spring Water Commander took a deep breath, touched by the support, and typed a reply.

"Thank you! Thanks everyone for the support!"

"The decisive battle will start within a week; I will assign tasks to each corps based on your gear setup and preferred combat environments… I hope you all trust me to lead in this group battle, I promise not to betray your trust!"

Old White: "Cut the formalities, we're all good brothers in the Alliance, just tell us where we need to go, and leave the rest to us! (Grinning)"

Edge Shoveling: "Charge!!!"

…

The following morning.

The tranquility of the outer districts of Giant Stone City was disrupted by loud and enthusiastic hawking.

"New issue! New issue!"

"Stalemate at the front lines, the Alliance has initiated a total mobilization, now recruiting mercenaries to participate in battle, generous compensation, rare opportunity!"

The newsboy shouted as he distributed newspapers to newsstands, pubs, and grocery stores, or stuffed them into customer's mailboxes.

In front of an unopened pub, a large crowd gathered around a freshly printed newspaper, chattering excitedly.

"Alliance recruiting mercenaries, fifty chips or 100 silver coins per day!"

"Damn… that's half a month's pay for me!"

A man with oil stains on his clothes gasped in astonishment; by his attire, he was likely a worker from a nearby machinery factory.

Upon hearing such a generous reward, many faces showed intrigued expressions, and a mercenary standing nearby couldn't help but say,

"Do the country bumpkins from the 'North Suburb' have that much money?"

A fellow nearby heard him and joined the conversation,

"I heard that the Giant Stone City Bank loaned them quite a bit, and those tokens are all stored in the bank, so they shouldn't have to worry about not being able to pay out the rewards."

Indeed, money borrowed is spent without heartache; the New Alliance's reward was almost double what Giant Stone City paid for the Tide.

Moreover, 100 Silver coins a day was just the base price for an individual mercenary. If a well-trained Mercenary Group signed up, the price offered would probably be even higher.

Hearing his colleague's words, the mercenary was immediately tempted and quickly turned to the server sitting at the entrance of the tavern and asked,

"How do I sign up?"

The server, with a sneeze, replied impatiently,

"Didn't you read the paper? Just take the newspaper and report to the mercenary recruitment point south of the City of Dawn... they'll provide you with clothes and weapons."

"Give me one!"

Without any hesitation, the mercenary immediately pulled out his wallet, tossed a token into the server's hand, and stuffed a newspaper into his pocket from the stand.

He was not alone in his decision.

That very day, more than three thousand mercenaries took the newspaper and headed to the direction of the 'North Suburb'.

Bullets, although blind, might not be more dangerous than Variants. For these mercenaries, who licked blood off their blades, it was about selling their services to the highest bidder.

Besides these daring souls, the streets and alleys of Giant Stone City were also abuzz discussing the front-line situation.

Various signs indicated that the deadlock would soon end, and a decisive battle was brewing, about 150 kilometers away, in Rui Valley City...

While Giant Stone City's residents were heatedly discussing the news in the papers, the offices of Survivor's Daily were also bustling.

Editors, busy organizing materials and layout, wished they could bury their heads in piles of paper.

Except for one person—

That person was the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Hal.

Different from the previous days,

Seated by the window, he clenched a cigarette between his lips, a look of deep worry on his face, with numerous cigarette butts scattered around his chair, his eyes losing their light.

Although the newspaper's sales were soaring, at this moment, he was utterly disheartened.

Just a few days ago, his brother Kaliman had come to Giant Stone City to visit him and brought news from the Luo Xia Province.

The Falcon Kingdom had instigated a full-scale war against the desert kings with the support of the army, and the raging war had reached the Lion Kingdom's area at the 9th Oasis...

And that was last month's news.

Such a significant family crisis had Hal anxious like ants on a hot pan. He wanted to send a reporter to Luo Xia Province, but nobody was willing to take on such a bitter task.

Venturing into the desert was risky enough, not to mention a warzone—no amount of salary was worth it without life to spend it.

Just when he was at his wit's end, salvation suddenly appeared...

"I'm heading to the front lines. The Alliance is likely to push into the desert. Once I get to the 9th Oasis, I'll see what I can find about your family's situation."

Fang Chang, without any pleasantries, walked into the newspaper office and straight to the point, addressed Hal sitting by the window.

He was carrying a backpack half his height and had an LD-47 assault rifle for defense hung beside him, with all his equipment and baggage ready.

At Fang Chang's words, Hal was stunned, until the cigarette burning close to his lips dropped onto his trousers, making him abruptly stand from his chair.

He hurried over to Fang Chang, gripping his hand excitedly.

"Thank you! Sorry, I don't know what else to say besides thank you!"

Seeing Hal's genuinely grateful face, Fang Chang joked,

"Don't mention it, but war correspondents aren't easy to be—remember to give me double the payment."

Hal, thrilled, responded,

"Triple! I'll give you my salary, too!"

Fang Chang cleared his throat,

"That won't be necessary..."

He was just making a joke.

After messing around with biomechanical parts for so long and opening up the market for the Alliance in Giant Stone City, he really wasn't lacking that bit of money.

Hal was about to say something touching when a surprised voice suddenly interrupted from the side.

"Wait, what do you mean? You're going to the frontlines?!"

Fang Chang turned towards the source of the voice and saw under a tuft of emerald hair, a pair of eyes wide with astonishment staring straight at him.

Noticing Dolly's expression, Hal coughed lightly, attempting to speak on Fang Chang's behalf,

"People are eager for the truth; someone brave must step forward to go to places where most do not wish to—"

"Stop with the pretentious talk. You're just worried about your own family situation and too scared to go back yourself, so you're throwing the trouble onto someone else, right?"

Dolly stared at him, hitting the nail on the head.

"That's private interest masquerading as public service!"

It went quiet in the office,
even the sounds of flipping papers ceased.

Feeling the many gazes around him, Hal, looking embarrassed, tried to defend himself,

"I, too, am part of 'people'... I admit, I'm indeed afraid to go back, and I don't have the means, but to say this is private interest under the guise of public service, I disagree. The residents of Giant Stone City would be interested in what's happening in Sunset Province, and I'm also considering it from the newspaper's perspective."

Dolly didn't listen to his excuses but turned to look directly at Fang Chang.

"Are you going to the frontlines?"

Fang Chang nodded,

"Yes."

Her beautiful eyes welled up with obvious reluctance and worry.

She lowered her chin, her voice carrying a barely noticeable plea.

"Can I not go..."

Hearing this, Fang Chang smiled and gently ruffled her hair.

"If I don't go, this place will become the front line."

If the Army were to storm in, they wouldn't differentiate between residents of Dawn City or Giant Stone City, or who belonged to the Alliance.

They would loot everything they could and burn what they couldn't, turning the dispossessed into slaves...

Just like what they had done at the Fallen Leaf Camp.

Feeling the warmth brushing through her hair, Dolly's cheeks heated slightly, but she did not shy away.

She bit her lip gently, and ultimately did not try to dissuade him any further, only murmuring in a very light, soft voice,

"Next month, I get my salary, and I promised to treat you to a meal... you must come back safe and sound."

Fang Chang, hearing this, couldn't help but smile.

He could be sure, of course, that he wouldn't come to harm.

As long as the Alliance continued to exist, no matter how many times he faced death, he would always wake up three days later to see the sunrise on the fourth day.

However,

He wasn't about to make insensitive jokes on this special occasion.

Gazing into her eyes, he responded in a soft, solemn voice,

"I promise."

...

Whether combat professional players or lifestyle professional players, regardless of their level or job, everyone received the server-wide mobilization notice and responded to the call to arms.

At the same time, at the farm north of the City of Dawn.

Makabazi jumped down from the smoking tractor, looked toward an old farmer not far away carrying a hoe, and shouted in not quite standard United Human language,

"Old man! Please look after the crops for me these few days. I'm leaving the tractor keys here."

He didn't know the NPC's name.

But having farmed together so long, everyone was familiar with each other. Many nearby farmers even learned how to drive a tractor from his "tiger brother."

By now, Makabazi's farming level had reached level 6, just four levels away from his dream of owning a manor.

Money was a trivial matter, but he couldn't neglect the crops in the field.

The old farmer didn't know his name either, but he was no stranger to this peculiar fellow.

Although he was a noble resident of the refuge, he tirelessly did the rough work alongside them,

And more so, he treasured the field's crops as if they were his life.

Once, a Multilegged Beast had wandered here from the Elm District. Whereas others ran at the sight of the monster, he charged at it with a howl, wielding his hoe to fight it off—it was him who actually drove the Variant away.

It was hard to imagine what could make him leave his crops unattended and not return for several days.

Watching the young man, the old man couldn't help but call out,

"Where are you going?"

Dusting off his equipment, Makabazi threw his backpack over his shoulder and replied without turning back, smiling,

"To the front lines!"

The old farmer holding the hoe was stunned, asking subconsciously,

"And when will you be back?"

"If we win, I'll be back!"

Without waiting for the old man's response, Makabazi, humming a tune, headed for the entrance of the farm where he met [Up the Mountain to Fight Tigers].

Glancing at his burlap bag and the magazine hanging from his backpack, Tiger, with his hands in his pockets, teased with a laugh,

"Why bring so much stuff, we're taking a plane, aren't we? We'll be back in a moment, right?"

It was said that propeller planes wouldn't last two seconds in front of those iron beasts.

Claiming to be back in a moment was a bit exaggerated.

Three days were still needed.

Makabazi chuckled.

"Someone else will fly the plane; we're going to drive something nice this time!"

Intrigued by this, Tiger curiously asked,

"What nice thing?"

Makabazi lifted his chin, his eyebrows dancing with excitement as he announced,

"A tank!"

At the mention of the word, Tiger was momentarily stunned, then, fully realizing what was said, he was shocked,

"Holy shit, have you ever driven that thing?!"

And also, wait a minute.

Since when did the Alliance have tanks?!

But Makabazi, without explaining, chuckled and said, "No! But it doesn't matter! I heard from the manager of Factory No.81 that it's similar to driving a tractor!"

Tiger couldn't help but burst out,

"That's a hell of a difference, you know?"

Makabazi patted his good friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry, it's not as hard as you think... I'll finagle a Strength Type beast to be the loader. You just drive and step on the gas as hard as you can!"

Chapter 341 Burn!

July was a rainy season.

Although the River Valley Province was situated inland, and the rainclouds had diminished considerably by the time the monsoon winds carried them here, it was still inevitable to experience several torrential downpours at this time of the year.

Just like now, it had been scorching just a second ago, but in the blink of an eye, the sky was now covered with thick, dark clouds...

"... Enemy traces discovered to the southeast, with a scale of over a thousand team! Their equipment mainly consists of light weapons, complemented by several different models of modified exoskeletons; no armor or transport vehicles have been spotted!"

Inside the tent.

A reconnaissance soldier knelt on one knee, reporting the intelligence gathered.

Sitting inside the tent, Rachel quietly listened to the subordinate's report and the corners of her unperturbed mouth suddenly curled into a cold smirk.

Finod, standing behind her with hands clasped, spoke thoughtfully in a low voice.

"I never expected that the natives have been entangled with us for over half a month..."

No matter how numerous the reinforcements sent by the Enterprise faction were, they couldn't possibly keep coming in endlessly.

Especially those rudimentary arms, they made him even more certain; these were the locals living here, most likely coming from some nearby, larger Survivor Settlement.

And the lord or town chief there happened to be an ignorant fool.

"What on earth are they after?" Finod still couldn't quite understand.

Was it for CR?

They had indeed found enterprise weapons on the bodies of those soldiers, such as the G9 assault rifle.

But just for that bit of money, opposing the Army was really not very smart.

They would crush these natives into a pile of dregs just as easily as crushing an ant.

Only those who surrendered intelligently from the beginning could receive their mercy and become slaves of the great Army.

As for those who resisted stubbornly,

Death was the only thing waiting for them.

"Maybe they've been bought over by the enterprise people, maybe they've lost their minds... No matter what, their arrival is timely."

Rachel stood up from her chair.

A cruel smile split her lips, and a chilling murderous aura radiated from her, cooling the hot air in the tent several degrees.

General Mclen had previously issued an order to change deployment, suddenly moving to Oasis 9, and she had been worried about missing the chance to avenge her fallen brothers.

Now, this opportunity had come knocking on its own.

She would show these natives

What it means to court death!

"Vito, Walter..."

Murmuring those names, she picked up the jet-black helmet from the table and slowly placed it on her head.

"... I will avenge you."

...

In the mountainous area of the west district of Rui Valley City.

Here lay the artillery position that the New Alliance had been preparing for a month.

More than twenty "Storm" rocket launchers and thirty replicated 100mm cannons were spread across the range of hills, each with at least a five-hundred-meter interval.

Next to each rocket launcher and cannon, separate shelters for personnel, ammunition, and artillery positions were excavated to ensure the maximum safety of personnel and equipment in the event of retaliatory firepower.

Of course, even with such thorough preparation, Yang Shu was well aware.

He had only one chance.

"... The enemy's retaliatory firepower will reach our heads within half a minute!"

"We are the first cannon, and the brothers on the other hills are all waiting for our signal! We cannot fail under any circumstances; I need you to stay calm at all times, and whatever happens, follow my command!"

"Do you all understand!"

Walking at the front of the column.

Yang Shu looked at the gunners under his command, making the final pre-battle mobilization.

The line of gunners stood with high morale, heads held high, chests out, responding with a resounding voice.

"Understood!"

Gazing at those slightly youthful but immensely resolute faces, Yang Shu nodded in satisfaction.

He seemed to see his own past in their expressions.

Half a year earlier, a bowl of hot green barley porridge had ended his wandering. He decided to follow the Manager's steps and join the Alliance's Army to fend off the Chewing Bone Tribe's invasion.

During the following six months, he marched north with the northern expedition Army, participated in several battles to liberate West State City, and ultimately drove those cannibalistic Looters from the river.

Though he had been enlisted for less than a year and even learned how to fire artillery on the battlefield alongside other Old Soldiers, his combat experience had grown to be on par with veterans after several battles. Now, he had even become the captain of the First Army Corps' Eleventh Artillery Squad.

As orders for action were given, everyone sprang into motion.

The entire artillery position operated like an ignited engine, with each part moving in an orderly fashion.

Yang Shu walked alone to the observer's post, took out his binoculars to glance in the command center's direction, waiting for the signal.

The first group's 100mm cannons would fire smoke barrages near the Steel fortress according to their signals, interfering with the airships' visual observation.

As their second signal of gunfire sounded, a group of gunners would immediately launch a second round of barrages, projecting shells laced with chaff near the Iron Heart to explode and form a jamming cloud.

The widespread reflection of radar waves by the chaff could deceive radars, creating a "cloud" and thereby shielding the airborne troops as they penetrated the enemy's anti-aircraft defenses.

These two shots were crucial.

Intuition would determine whether their paratroopers could successfully reach their enemy's heads.

After completing these tasks, he would need to quickly take his brothers and retreat to the nearby anti-cannon hole, waiting for the enemy's area fire to cease.

Reminiscing about the battle plan, Yang Shu felt his palms sweat.

If the enemy's counterfire consisted of 100mm cannons, they had a high chance of survival.

However, if it were 400mm barrage rockets...

With the sub-nuclear weapon-level power, their chances of survival were less than twenty percent.

Yet, even knowing this, there was no fear in his heart.

Compared to the Warriors charging on the front lines, their battle station was relatively safe.

Besides, it was just one life.

Nothing to fear.

Had it not been for those who extended a helping hand to him, his life would have concluded half a year ago.

The clouds in the sky grew denser and denser.

Yang Shu looked up at the heavens just as a raindrop fell precisely onto his stubble, trickling down his neck and into his collar.

Feeling the chill on his nape, he frowned slightly and muttered under his breath,

"...It's going to rain."

"It's starting to rain... Seems like even the heavens aren't always on our side."

Not far from the artillery position was the command center.

Standing behind a boulder, "Kakarot" held his assault rifle and looked toward the direction of the airships, curling his lips and musing mockingly.

Rain would affect the accuracy of radars.

But it would also shorten the duration of the smoke and jamming shells.

Especially the impact of rain on airplane maneuverability was a severe test for the Alliance, which primarily used propeller planes in combat.

While the heavy rain affected both sides, it was more pronounced for the attacking party.

However, they no longer had the time to delay their battle plan.

It was uncertain when this rain would stop, and undoubtedly, that airship on the opposite side would have retreated within two days.

Holding his binoculars, the demeanor of Spring Water Commander remained unchanging. He spoke with a calm, meticulous voice,

"Sunny and low wind speeds are naturally the best conditions."

"However, there are ways to fight in the rain, too."

He was certainly aware that July was the rainy season and would naturally have taken the current situation into account.

Putting down his binoculars.

He tapped twice on the side of his helmet with his index finger, closed the visor of his Exoskeleton Helmet and gave a crisp, clear command.

"Activate Plan B!"

Operation codename—

Whale Fall!

Standing nearby, I Max Black excitedly straightened up his back, and with a feeling of deep engagement, he stood straight and saluted.

"Yes!"

...

"It's going to pour down soon..."

Dawn City Airport.

Looking at the raindrops sliding off the hatch, Falling Feather glanced at the VM strapped to his thigh and muttered to himself while reaching out to turn off the avionics equipment's power.

Rainy weather.

Then the corresponding plan would be Plan B from the combat strategy.

The ground artillery would still fire their covering barrage, but the advancement sequence would have to be slightly adjusted.

If it were a sunny day, the Alliance's aircraft would operate around the jamming clouds, and the ground troops would initiate the attack first, serving as bait to attract enemy fire.

In rainy weather, the effectiveness of the jamming clouds would be weakened, so it would rely on the extreme speed, Mach 3 jet plane beneath him, to serve as the main bait.

Actually, the tactical concept had no changes, just the order of operations.

At this point, a pale blue popup appeared on the VM's screen.

[ECM connected]

The moment he saw these words, Falling Feather breathed a sigh of relief and raised his index finger, tapping his headset twice as he said,

"The electronic jamming pod has been activated! Confirmed to be running normally!"

There are two main approaches to radar jamming: using chaff to reflect radar echoes and "active illumination". Specifically, it means detecting radar signals and then actively sending back either random or structured radar signals to the enemy radar.

The former is like smoke grenades that can hide the exact location of a target, but the downside is that it has a short duration and can easily burn out.

The latter is like the enemy spotlighting you, and you shine a flashlight into their eyes, blinding them, or causing them to misjudge the size and scale of the target.

For instance, the electronic jamming pod hanging from his wing utilized the latter strategy, capable of simulating the radar signals of six hundred Mosquito-style fighter planes.

This was the latest equipment designed by the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team for the Alliance Air Force, specifically targeting the radar system of the Iron Heart.

Regrettably, the preparation time for this decisive battle was too rush.

Otherwise, they could have applied anti-radar stealth coating to every plane and organized several more "electronic warfare planes" to jam the enemy's firepower.

But reality wasn't filled with so many what-ifs.

They had already used every method available, even if those methods might not necessarily be effective, but if they could even gain an extra second of time.

The operation would have that much more chance of success...

The voice from the command center came through the communication channel.

"Command center received... ready to move into combat positions."

"Understood!"

As he replied, Falling Feather had already driven the plane onto the runway and pushed the fuel control valve to the maximum.

The roar of the engines gradually came from behind him.

Although he couldn't see it, he could imagine the jet of flame, vaporizing the rainwater on the runway and propelling him forward at increasing speed.

The aircraft left the runway, charging towards the sky filled with dark clouds.

Pulling his gaze from the receding ground, Falling Feather, with his back tightly against the seat, took a deep breath, flexed his fingers gripping the joystick, and a boiling fighting spirit gradually ignited in his pupils.

Come on!

It's time to show real skill!

At that moment, by the runway of North Airport of Dawn City,

Watching that arc of fire pierce into the curtain of rain, seated in the "Dragonfly" transport plane, the non-professional Anti-Mantou smacked his lips enviously.

"Damn, I also want to fly that thing!"

A slow propeller plane like this one, aimless as a target, could never be as thrilling as flying a jet.

Because the microphone wasn't turned off, Mosquito's teasing voice came through the communication channel soon after.

"Haha, that thing is a prototype, there's only one made for now, so you'll just have to wait."

"Well then, I'll be waiting."

Glancing behind at the cargo hold, he saw that the paratroopers had already boarded. He pulled on the valve beside him and closed the hatch.

The signal light blinked.

He took the intercom hanging nearby, started up his vehicle, and spoke into the communication channel.

"Soaring Clouds One has taken off!"

"We should be moving out too."

...

At the same time, in the Western District of Rui Valley City.

Having detected enemy ground targets approaching, Rachel led three thousand-team units from the Marine Corps and two thousand Waste Land Wanderers as the attendant army. Guided by the observation cabin of the airship, they searched forward toward the target area.

The elite "Pangolin" hundred-team was also supposed to strike together, but due to heavy casualties on the last mission, they were "luckily" left behind.

Fallen Leaf Camp.

Coleway called Pangolin into the tent and said,

"We've received orders from above; we'll be leaving Fallen Leaf Camp the day after tomorrow to return to the desert."

Although he had already heard about this news, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group pretended to hear it for the first time, feigning surprise before making a reluctant and troubled expression.

"Are you leaving then?"

It was indeed tough for him.

Not being able to go to the frontline with Rachel just then meant that he had lost an opportunity to cause trouble.

Although such uncertainties were expected, to have worked so hard and not get a 'kill' made him feel as though his efforts had been in vain.

"We'll be back by the end of August at the latest."

Looking at the fierce soldier before him, Coleway continued, "General Mclen has been watching your loyalty, and your bravery and devotion are clear to all of us. From today, you're the head commander of the Fallen Leaf Camp's attendant army. The formal appointment will be delivered here tomorrow."

Tomorrow, huh...

Just a day late.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group sighed silently to himself, thinking he probably wouldn't receive the appointment, but still made a respectful face, bowing his head and feigning gratitude.

"Thank you for your promotion, sir."

Looking at the seemingly honest flatterer before him, Coleway nodded in satisfaction.

"Work hard."

"The Army never skimps on rewards for the loyal. I hope that when we return next time, I see a well-trained army."

"Don't disappoint me."

The old soldier on the battlefield was pondering what words of loyalty to say when suddenly, a thunderous explosion sounded from afar.

Initially, Coleway thought it was thunder coming from the sky, but he quickly realized his mistake—it was the sound of an explosion.

And—

It wasn't just one.

Regaining his senses, Coleway's face paled slightly as he stood up abruptly from his chair and grabbed the intercom on the table, bellowing,

"Enemy attack!"

"Prepare for battle!"

...

Almost simultaneously with the bombardment, the Steel Heart had sounded the second-level alert, bustling from the observation deck to the gun positions.

Although that round of bombardment had not damaged the Steel Heart, the smoke generated by the explosions significantly hampered the observation deck monitoring ground conditions.

Ten minutes earlier.

They had just observed traces of enemy unit activity to the southeast.

However, just as they were about to search carefully, a barrage of artillery suddenly exploded about 500 meters to the east of the airship.

The billowing smoke obstructed the view from the observation deck, but fortunately, they had noted the general direction from which the gunfire had come.

"...Have these natives gone mad? They actually dared to fire at us?" The loader, while stuffing shells into the cannon, exclaimed in disbelief.

Those people should have realized that such a degree of artillery barrage would be completely useless against the Iron Heart.

Rather than panic, it would be more accurate to say they were utterly bewildered.

Standing next to the observation port, the assistant gunner locked onto the smoke and frowned as he said.

"It's a smoke round!"

"…A laughable trick."

The officer standing behind the artillery positions sneered coldly, glanced at the note handed over by a messenger, grabbed the communications device on the side, and shouted an order.

"Artillery positions in the front three zones, prepare to fire! Bearing 112 degrees, elevation angle 27 degrees… five-volley salvo!"

"Fire!"

Twelve thunderous blasts resonated, followed by twelve tracers piercing the smoke, howling towards the Alliance artillery positions.

Flashes from explosions flickered atop the ridges, quickly followed by another round of artillery, blanketing the target area like rain!

One could see patches of flickering flames arrayed on mountains over twenty kilometers away, as plumes of thick smoke rose from beneath the curtain of rain, instantly turning the enemy artillery positions into a sea of smoke.

At this moment, inside the observation cabin.

The observer squatting in front of the sighting system exclaimed excitedly.

"Direct hit confirmed!"

The people in the observation cabin showed delight, but before they could high-five to celebrate, the message reported from the radar room caused everyone's faces to change in an instant.

600 fighter jets were circling to their rear from due north at two times the speed of sound!

Without the slightest hesitation, the observer immediately adjusted the optical sights, locking onto the bearings of the 600 jets based on information provided by the radar operator.

No matter how he zoomed in or strained his pupils and lenses, he couldn't see the silhouettes of the 600 jets through the veil of rain.

"Can you see them?"

"Damn it… I can't see a thing!"

Generally, under good weather conditions, the maximum visual range can reach 9~20 kilometers. However, in rainy weather, this distance may be reduced by more than half.

Even so, even if those 600 jets were flying at top speed and the weather severely impacted visual observations, shouldn't he at least be able to see their exhaust trails?

The observer standing in front of the sighting system couldn't help but doubt his existence.

Was it a problem with the radar?

Or was it a problem with his eyes…

…

Inside the bridge.

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, General McCullen's face showed an expression of disbelief.

"600 fighter jets… How is that possible?!"

It wasn't just him; almost all the officers standing on the bridge wore the same look of disbelief.

After pondering for a moment, the staff officer spoke solemnly.

"Could it be their method of deception?"

600 planes…

And all at twice the speed of sound.

No matter how you look at it, that number is just too exaggerated!

Staring at the flashing signals on the radar, General McCullen's expression changed unpredictably, but his mind was racing.

Of course, he also thought that this might be a ruse by the natives.

But what would be the point?

Even if they successfully diverted the firepower of the Iron Heart, they couldn't possibly breach the absolute defense of the deflection shield.

Over the past half month, those natives had tried every method they could.

Whether it was bombardments from the sky, artillery, or rockets… all kinds of attacks had proven meaningless in the face of their Steel Heart.

The officer at the radar terminal shouted.

"They've circled to our southwest, the signal source is enlarging… They're approaching us!"

General McCullen made a decisive command.

"Whether it's a decoy or not, get the anti-aircraft fire ready, shoot those flies down for me!"

"Yes!"

The barrels had long been locked onto the cruising trajectory of those six hundred planes. As the order to fire was given, streaks of orange-yellow flames burst from the gun muzzles, racing toward the target swarm depicted on radar.

However, what was surprising was that the six hundred planes continued to fly in formation, neither scattering nor taking evasive maneuvers, simply crashing into the barrage full-on.

Looking out the bridge's floor-to-ceiling windows at the wall-like, dense smoke from the explosions, General McCullen squinted his eyes slightly.

Did we hit them?

The signals had indeed vanished from the radar.

But this success seemed a bit too easy.

At that moment, fluctuating signals suddenly appeared on the radar.

It seemed that the ground artillery hadn't been completely wiped out; they were still firing around the airship, only what they were launching didn't seem to be smoke grenades.

Instead, they were jamming shells.

A look of surprise flashed in McCullen's eyes.

Knowing to use metal strips to interfere with radar, it seemed these natives had a trick or two up their sleeves. However, they had still underestimated the radar of the Iron Heart.

This level of interference, they could burn through in a minute.

And...

The coordination of these natives was still a bit weak.

Those six hundred planes had already been destroyed, and now, even if they fired jamming shells, it was too late; it would only continue to expose the positions of their ground artillery.

While McCullen was thinking this, twenty-two faint signal sources suddenly appeared to the direct south of the airship.

They were very close, within ten kilometers of the airship, almost appearing suddenly, and they were flying above the cloud layer.

The moment he saw this chain of signals, General McCullen was momentarily stunned, then he quickly realized.

"Prepare starboard gunners' firepower!"

"Those six hundred planes were the decoy! Aim for the targets to the south!"

...

At the same time the Iron Heart was turning its guns, above the thick clouds.

Holding the joystick, the unprofessional counter-manipulator stared at the VM on his thigh while silently counting down in his mind.

It would take about 17 seconds for the cannons to turn to 110 degrees...

The ground artillery had begun launching chaff decoys for their cover, yet he was well aware that this level of interference would not last long before being burned through by the opposing radar.

There wasn't even a need to burn through it.

The dense fire was enough to shred them along with the jam clouds.

Tracer rounds had begun to pierce the clouds in the distance, exploding into black smoke balls in the sky.

Deadly shrapnel scratched past propellers and wings, the sounds of metal colliding continuously reached them, and the plane's body began to shake violently.

Judging the time was about right, the unprofessional counter-manipulator calmly grabbed the communicator hanging next to him and switched to the cabin's broadcast system.

"This flight has now reached its destination, we will crash in 10 seconds..."

"The remaining one kilometer, depends on you!"

As the words fell, the rear cabin door slowly opened, and the high-speed airflow rushed into the cabin with it.

The sound in the communication channel was disrupted by the wind, yet from those intermittent words, he could still make out an unyielding heroism.

"Roger that!"

"Leave it to us!"

The airborne troops of the Burning Corps stepped out of the cabin in succession.

Watching the tracers slice through the clouds and the cockpit glass illuminated by the bursts of flames, the unprofessional counter-manipulator's lips curled into a smile.

Mission accomplished.

But, probably not making it back.

Thinking this, he switched the communication channel and called out to headquarters.

"This is Flight Squad B... Our mission is completed, but the enemy's artillery has locked onto us; we're unable to return."

"Let's take our paratrooper brothers on their final journey before we're shot down!"

There was no response in the communication channel.

They realized non-professionally that it was probably due to a few electromagnetic interference bombs mixed in with the artillery fire, disrupting their communication.

But...

It didn't matter anymore.

They threw the communicator aside and pressed the button next to the control stick; thick black smoke began to billow from the rear of the transport plane.

At the same time, with both hands gripping the control stick, they shouted at the riddled cockpit.

"Flight formation B!"

"Smoke up—charge—!"

Even though they couldn't hear the shout,
the moment they saw the smoke screen, the 21 "Dragonfly" transport planes flying alongside immediately understood the intent and dove, leaving their own trails of smoke.

Orange and yellow tracer fire danced in the sky, nearly illuminating the entire heavens; without cloud cover for protection, the transport planes were quickly engulfed by flames.

Yet their sacrifice was not in vain.

The rolling black smoke, along with the kamikaze dive, fell from the sky like a flying waterfall, forming a collapsing wall of smoke.

The observer standing next to the aiming system stared intently, eyes wide open, focusing on the sky lit up by artillery fire.

He was sure that those sitting ducks wouldn't escape.

But what he couldn't believe was that those people had no intention of running away; they were charging straight towards them.

Then, he saw parachutes pass through the dense smoke.

Like dandelions floating amidst a fire,
their lives were burning away at a visibly rapid pace.

However, even so, the whirlwind of artillery and bullets couldn't change the direction of their burning commitment.

Witnessing the parachutes floating down from the sky, the gunner behind the 100mm anti-aircraft cannon was filled with disbelief, murmuring as if in a dream.

"...Have these people gone mad?!"

Parachutes...

Parachutes, of all things!

These natives actually planned to board their steel fortress with these ridiculous contraptions.

Even if a few of them were lucky enough to get through their web of fire and board their airships, what then?

Even with five thousand-team forces deployed on the ground, there were still three thousand-team forces on standby in the airship.

Dozens, hundreds of ants...

They would be shredded by their firepower in minutes.

Inside the bridge,

General McCullen's face was also filled with astonishment as he watched the airborne troops forcefully land.

Although he didn't know what kind of confidence these people had to forcibly board his airship with so few men, at this moment, he couldn't take it lightly no matter what.

Those natives had paid such a heavy price to send these men to his doorstep, surely not just to accompany him in watching fireworks.

Suddenly snapping back to reality, General McCullen bellowed an order.

"Adjust the engine orientation! Aim it at the sky!"

The aide-de-camp quickly came to his senses and took the command.

"Yes, sir!"

With the order given, the engines unfolding on either side of the airship slowly turned direction, the propellers pointing straight up.

The engines started, and the propellers began to spin.

A huge airflow blew from below, gently pushing the airship downward while also scattering the parachutes in all directions.

Seeing their brothers from the Burning Corps fall into peril, "Soaring Clouds," which had already left the battlefield, suddenly turned back.

Now, having discarded the electronic jamming pod,
it approached the target silently and swiftly like a dagger hidden in the night.

"""...The speed at which the raindrops fall is 30 to 60 yards."""

Clutching the control stick with both hands, Falling Feather locked his gaze onto the row of engines on the right side of the airship, muttering softly to himself.

"The trigger limit for the Deflection Shield should be around 60 yards."

"Just need to decelerate at the moment of approaching the edge of the shield..."

"I should be able to get in!"

Although it was his first time attempting such a haphazard maneuver,
the forward-swept wing aircraft...

should be able to do it!

Counting down the time to approach the shield in his mind, Falling Feather clenched his teeth hard, rapidly pulled up the control stick as he pushed the throttle!

The nose of the aircraft abruptly lifted.

The tail momentarily swung to the front.

It was in that instant, enduring the nearly unconscious acceleration, that Falling Feather violently pushed down the afterburner valve next to his right leg.

In the engine, the flickering arc of fire resembled a mere flame, yet at that moment, an intense light ignited within the engine.

The aircraft's velocity plunged abruptly, as its violently shaking forward-swept wings were shredded into pieces by the high-speed airflow.

Without even time to let out a sound, Falling Feather felt a blackout before his eyes, as he disconnected from the Game.

The unbalanced body of the craft tumbled like a fallen leaf, continuing forward, but instead of being pushed aside by the Deflection Shield, it got sucked along with the broken wings into the propellers on the right flank of the airship.

A roaring blaze broke the right wing of the airship, and in an instant, the unbalanced airship tilted.

Night Ten, who had finally stabilized his parachute, stared at the explosion in astonishment, his eyes widening.

"Holy shit?!"

A Cobra maneuver?!

He wasn't the only one surprised.

The soldiers and officers aboard the Steel Heart were also shocked.

They hadn't even seen how the aircraft had managed to get close.

All they saw was it decelerating in the last moment, crossing the shield, and turning itself into a bullet that crashed into their right wing.

With the right side losing power, to prevent capsizing, the Steel Heart had to shut down the engines on the left side, lessening the pressure on the paratroopers landing.

However, the threat of death had not yet passed.

Even though they had entered into the blind spot of the 100mm anti-aircraft cannon and even though the enemy's propellers had been forced to shut down, there were still a dozen 10mm machine guns aiming at them from every direction.

The exoskeleton offered a certain degree of ballistic protection, but it didn't mean they were immune to bullets.

Having crossed the limit of the Deflection Shield, a surging tide of gunfire assaulted them.

Of the more than 500 paratroopers, over half had already been wounded or killed.

Many were shot to ribbons in the sky, drifting toward the ground, or getting caught on the hedgehog-like protruding gun barrels outside the airship.

Staring at the flickering gunfire and the final thirty meters, Old White pulled out the dagger hanging in front of his Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton and roared a charge command into the nearly paralyzed communication device.

"Even if our flesh burns out before we land—"

"We must sprinkle the burning embers into their eyes!"

"Cut the parachute cords!"

As his words ended, he swung the blade in his hand, severing the parachute tangled on the exoskeleton, breaking through the surging hail of bullets.

The distance of thirty meters disappeared in a flash.

His feet landed heavily on the top of the airship, denting the seemingly impregnable armor with two deep impressions.

Clearly.

It was not as unbeatable as it seemed.

"Target the 400mm main cannon!"

Pulling out the rifle slung on his back, he shouted into the communication channel.

"Everyone who can still move—"

"Keep moving forward!"

""

Chapter 402: Time to Counterattack!

The clouds resembled boiling flames, black and red intertwined, as if the entire sky was ablaze.

Bullets danced across the sky, seemingly unable to halt the descent of the dark curtain, while billowing smoke had already swallowed a corner of the majestic castle.

Although the flames seemed as faint as a speck of dust,
they still shattered the myth of the shield being unbreakable.

With the burst of fire from the right wing exploding, the armies on the ground revealed expressions of astonishment, their eyes filled with disbelief.

And a hint of unease.

"...What happened?"

"Why is the engine failing again?"

"Something seemed to have hit us just now..."

"That's impossible! The deflection shield is absolute, nothing could break through it!"

"Was that a parachute? Or am I seeing things..."

"Are those maniacs planning to board the 'Iron Heart'?"

"What can that handful of people do... at most a couple hundred-team units."

Although one side's engine had failed, no one was worried about the situation escalating.

Being the least technically complicated component on the "Iron Heart," and particularly prone to issues on the connected row of engines on the wing, its breakdown was not a cause for alarm.

The most stocked item in their airship's inventory was the propeller blade.

However, the plan for redeployment would likely have to be postponed for a couple of weeks...

Similarly looking in the direction of the "Iron Heart," Rachel opened his mouth slightly in surprise.

From the moment turbulence had erupted in the air, the airship's observation cabin had stopped caring about their side.

He didn't know what the natives had done.

But looking at the airship losing balance, he gathered that he couldn't count on aerial support for a while.

At least until that airship stabilized.

But...

It didn't matter anymore.

Turning his gaze from the airship, Rachel looked towards a ruined area two kilometers ahead, squinting slightly.

It was a deserted town.

The pockmarked soil was strewn with broken walls and pillars, and small villas in the style of the countryside were covered with vines and moss, showing the wear of years.

The town was eerily quiet, no sign of movement, yet beneath this seemingly calm surface, a violent undercurrent was brewing.

Standing beside him,
his right-hand, also clad in a "jet-black exoskeleton," held a telescope, carefully scanning the area before speaking with certainty.

"Defensive shelters... quite rudimentary, they probably didn't have time to prepare properly."

About an hour ago, the observation cabin of the "Iron Heart" had spotted an unidentified thousand-team unit approaching from the southeast, seemingly intending to enter the Rui Valley City District.

Considering that the local guerrilla team was active in the Rui Valley City District, the officers aboard the "Iron Heart" immediately concluded that this force was meant to reinforce the guerrillas.

General McLellan certainly wouldn't allow this force to slip into the city under his watch, so he immediately issued orders to the Marine Corps, instructing Rachel to intercept this unit before it could enter the city.

Compared to the small forces that had attacked them earlier, a thousand-strong armed unit undoubtedly counted as a big fish.

Although they were just an ant before the Army,

Rachel did not relax her vigilance because of the enemy's insignificance. Upon receiving the orders, she immediately led three thousand-member teams and over 2000 Retinue Soldiers, flanking from three directions, to surround the thousand-man armed force coming to reinforce the Guerrilla Team in the city.

The plan proceeded smoothly.

With the help of aerial reconnaissance, they successfully blocked the team's advance and forced them to abandon entering Rui Valley City District, retreating southward.

Rachel certainly wasn't going to let this big fish slip away and immediately mobilized the armored troops to cut off their escape routes, driving them to the edge of the forest.

Realizing escape was impossible, these natives simply gave up fleeing and instead hid in a small town in the southern suburbs of Rui Valley City, planning to make a last stand using the limited cover available against the pursuing Army.

5000 against 1000.

Plus, there was support from armored units.

Although the firefight hadn't officially started, the victor was already apparent.

Large raindrops slid off the helmet visors, and the adjutant's lips curled into a slightly mocking smile.

"It's a pity we can't bomb them first; otherwise, the fight could be over within ten minutes."

"It doesn't matter."

Rachel said coolly, removing the radio from her shoulder and speaking in an icy voice,

"All units, free fire!"

"First and second thousand-member teams suppress the west and east sides."

"First Armored Squadron, coordinate with the third thousand-member team to attack from the north!"

The communication channel reverberated with crisp responses.

"Yes!"

The war machine started.

Twenty Mosquito-style wheeled armored personnel carriers first revved their engines, with the twin 45mm guns on the turrets aimed at the town, forming an arrowhead formation, rolling forward at a steady pace.

At the same time, the third thousand-member team dispatched two hundred-member teams, breaking into twenty squads, closely following behind the armored personnel carriers, pushing forward together.

Each team consisted of two gunners carrying machine guns, wearing heavy bulletproof armor, supported by eight soldiers in basic protective gear.

Additionally, thirty "Hyena" light armored vehicles also started their engines, splitting into two groups to cover the flanks of the wheeled APC formation.

The quad 10mm machine guns mounted on their turrets exuded a chilling gleam, much like the teeth of a hyena.

Moreover, nearly five hundred Retinue Soldiers were pushed to the front line.

These Waste Land Wanderers held Ripper Rifles, with bayonets already attached, their eyes half excited, half fearful.

The rest felt tense and confused.

As a cannon fodder unit, they would launch the first assault under the cover of the Hyena light armored vehicles.

However, unlike the regular troops protected by vehicles,
the light vehicles accompanying them would not advance into the town with them, only providing fire support from the perimeter.

If they dared to flee...

Those long, thick gun barrels would not hesitate to turn towards them.

Watching the small town now thoroughly surrounded, Rachel slightly narrowed her eyes, a hint of pleasure gradually emerging in her pupils filled with murderous intent.

This pleasure was not derived from the killing itself, but from the correction of a mistake.

Undoubtedly.

Those barbarians resisting order were indeed the root of all chaos and evil.

They rudely possessed a heritage that wasn't theirs, squandering unearned benefits with their meager lives, struggling to survive like cockroaches and rats.

Mutants, Waste Land Wanderers, and the Variants... all these barbarians were essentially the same.

Only by driving this filthy blood off this land without a trace could the ground be purified.

Only then could the great people of Weilante rebuild Heaven on this planet.

And venture into even more distant worlds to expand their territories.

The first armored squadron was just 1 kilometer away from the town, and the "Scorpion" armored personnel carriers, arranged in a spearhead formation, had begun to unleash fearsome firepower from their twin 45mm guns.

Driven by heavy machine guns, the retinue soldiers pushed to the front lines shrieked madly, trying to dispel the fear in their hearts, charging at the town like ferocious wolves under the whizzing bullets overhead.

Meanwhile, behind the ruins, flashes of stubborn resistance from gunfire began to flicker.

However, facing the sweep of heavy machine guns and artillery shells, those bursts of gunfire were like candles swaying in a storm, teetering on the verge of being extinguished...

The town's outer defenses had been shattered.

Of the 500 retinue soldiers, only just over 100 remained.

These Waste Land Wanderer's combat power was quite pathetic, but as cannon fodder, their performance was much better than that of the Clone Infantry, often bursting out with miraculous strength driven by their will to survive.

Watching the natives' defenses continuously shrink under the crush of firepower, Rachel's cruel smile grew even more evident, her face gradually taking on a hint of fanaticism—

Or perhaps, insanity.

"Soldiers! Advance!"

"With your bullets, bayonets, daggers, and teeth... rip open these filthy vermin! Use the cruelest methods to slaughter them!"

"Then use their blood to lubricate our tires! Let those barbarians understand the consequences of defiance!"

...

West District of Rui Valley City.

Hidden inside the mountain region, the artillery position was now a scene of rolling thick smoke and total disarray.

Perhaps saving its better-targeted, slow-loading 400mm bore-fired rockets for more valuable targets, the enemy used 100mm aircraft cannons instead.

However, the counterfire came faster than anticipated, catching everyone off guard.

Coughing, Yang Shu crawled out of the bunker and wiped the ash off his face. Looking around at the patchy, black-and-white position, he finally spotted a half-buried hand.

Joy surged in his heart as he stumbled forward, hoping to unearth his buried comrade.

But when he grabbed the hand, intending to pull with force, he ended up pulling out just half of the arm.

Staring at the half-severed hand in his hand, Yang Shu went blank for a few seconds before silently removing his coat and wrapping it up.

A cough came from nearby.

Hearing movement in the debris, he quickly walked towards the sound and finally found a living person this time.

The face was buried in the dirt, half of it scorched black, but the lips were still moving, still breathing weakly.

He recognized the face—it was the young man called Furnace, like him, a refugee who had escaped from the north.

Seeing the captain's face, those colorless pupils suddenly brightened a bit.

"Captain..."

"Don't move! I'll get you out!"

Yang Shu moved the stones from his body and then brought over a shovel.

Watching the captain anxiously digging, the buried young man coughed, spitting out the mud in his mouth.

"Captain, our artillery..."

"Blasted by those bastards! Damn, they were pretty accurate... Forget that thing for now!"

"Captain..."

"What the hell is wrong now!"

"I... I can't feel my legs..."

Yang Shu's grip on the shovel faltered.

He gritted his teeth, continuing to dig.

"I'll buy you a new pair!"

Furnace forced a smile.

He knew the captain couldn't afford it, as it wasn't cheap.

But he didn't contradict him.

"Captain, did... did we win?"

Yang Shu glanced back at the burning sky, the rolling thick smoke at the edge of the airships, and the streaks of tracer bullets occasionally piercing the sky.

He was unsure of the situation there.

But he had no doubt in his heart.

"... We definitely will!"

At the same time, at the end of his gaze, behind the waterfall of smoke, the cruel and bloody carnage was just beginning.

Muzzle flashes danced on the steel-covered decks like bursts of flashing lightning.

The pouring rain washed away thick blood and fragmented flesh, with crimson and broken armor tumbling towards the abyss-like distant ground.

Yet—

Despite ongoing casualties, nothing stopped those who were still alive from pushing forward.

The hatch, the size of a manhole cover, was pushed open, and soldiers in heavy armor climbed up the dome via ladders, trying to stop the Burning Corps from reaching the heavy gun barrel.

But as soon as one of them showed his head, a streak of arrowlight pierced through his skull, sending him back inside the airship with the pouring rain.

Holding an assault rifle, Night Ten looked at Fang Chang in surprise.

"Damn, you brought 'Dawn' too?"

"What else? Save it for Chinese New Year?"

Fang Chang chuckled, but his movements remained swift; a high-explosive arrow precisely pinned the hand that was securing the hatch.

The painful scream was swept away by the high-altitude winds.

The drop back inside the airship brought the high-explosive arrow with a delayed fuse along, quickly exploding, killing and wounding many below the ladder, and a hot air burst pushed upwards, shaking the round hatch.

At that moment, Old White's voice came through the communication channel, mixed with rapid gunfire sounds.

"Don't get tangled with those infantry!"

"Keep moving forward!"

Fang Chang's expression turned serious, and he immediately responded.

"Roger that!"

Only a few hundred soldiers managed to land.

There were still countless airship marines and crew members aboard, too many for just their small number to kill.

Their target was not to occupy the entire airship.

Instead, they aimed to destroy the artillery position on this airship!

Under Old White's command, the Burning Corps quickly split into two groups. One group, led by Wild Wind, headed to the artillery area at the front of the airship, directly targeting the twelve ground-support cannons located squarely in front of the airship.

The other group was personally led by Old White, rushing directly towards the 400mm main cannon that stood erect like a chimney!

The group swiftly advanced to the side of the cannon barrel, and as they stared at the towering barrel, Night Ten couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Damn, such a huge barrel—I feel like a person could crawl inside!"

Old White's mind raced, and he looked towards Fang Chang who was wearing a light cavalry exoskeleton.

"You lead a team to advance through the barrel, while I take the rest through the hatch!"

Fang Chang immediately nodded.

"I'll give it a try!"

With those words, he climbed onto the barrel, shouldered his way to check the fit, found it just spacious enough, and then immediately gestured to the squad behind him. Without hesitation, they crawled in.

Such large caliber cannons are generally not loaded with ammunition to prevent sympathetic detonation. Ammunition would only be loaded when ready to fire.

As the ten-man squad entered, gunfire soon erupted from beneath the cannon.

There was no time to check the situation inside.

Old White immediately signaled for others to deploy thermite, burning big holes through the dome of the airship.

The armor of the Iron Heart was not merely a thin layer of metal. Beneath that steel exterior, alloy frameworks served as structural supports.

These steel structures were exceptionally sturdy, likely even able to resist a "Spring Knife."

Old White quickly changed his approach, leading his men towards the nearest hatch and affixing the thermite.

With a flash of white light, the hatch blew open.

He then threw a smoke bomb and, clad in a heavy cavalry exoskeleton, Old White tucked his assault rifle under his arm and was the first to leap into the smoky haze of bullets and gunfire, leading the charge into the corridor directly below.

Over a hundred soldiers of the Burning Corps followed one by one, quickly dispersing in groups of four.

A corridor battle, more bloody and brutal than street fighting, soon began.

The combat distance did not exceed ten meters.

Both sides used the corridor as a battlefield, relying on rooms on either side, doors, and corners of the corridor as cover in a fierce fight for every inch of space.

Corpses were everywhere in the corridor, the acrid smell of gunpowder masking the stench of charred flesh, with life ticking away by the second.

In the ear-splitting gunfire, everyone was seeing red,
whether they were players from the Burning Corps or soldiers of the Army!

Breaking a bloody path through the corridor, Old White, accompanied by Night Ten, quickly advanced to the door of the 400mm main cannon chamber.

Without a word, the two took positions on either side of the door. Reading Old White's expression, Night Ten pulled out a shock grenade from his chest, ready to breach the door.

At that moment, two knocks sounded at the door.

Old White was slightly stunned but immediately reached out to pull the door open.

There stood Fang Chang, covered in blood.

His exoskeleton was shattered and on the verge of collapse. The composite material of his breastplate was pocked with countless bullet holes—it was unclear whether it was the man supporting the exoskeleton or the exoskeleton supporting the man.

Leaning against the wall with his left hand, he held an LD-47 assault rifle in his right, blood dripping down the downward-facing muzzle onto the ground.

Despite his ghostly appearance, his expression remained calm, even managing to squeeze a faint smile from his face.

Before Old White could ask what had happened, an explosion erupted not far in front of him, sweeping a hot blast of air and dust out of the door.

Fang Chang coughed, steadying his breathing as he spoke.

"The ammunition depot isn't here… After entering the gun chamber, I only saw the sighting system and the loading device. My team and I killed the gunner, then we affixed thermite to the loader, which should be destroyed by now."

He was the only one still standing there; clearly, the team members who had gone down with him had all perished.

However, upon hearing his words, Old White's tense nerves relaxed slightly.

According to the battle plan, if they found the 400mm main gun's ammunition depot, they would use the bombs there to distract the personnel on the airship or destroy the airship depending on the situation.

If not found, they at least had to destroy the gun barrel at all costs to cripple the Army's aerial support firepower!

Now, this objective was obviously close to completion.

With the loss of the 400mm main gun, the Iron Heart's ground firepower would be reduced by more than half!

"Nicely done!"

Looking at the blood-covered Fang Chang, Old White grinned and teased.

"I was worried that after hanging out with that little girlfriend of yours for so long, you might have gotten rusty… seems I was worried for nothing."

"You think too much."

Wiping the blood off his face, Fang Chang also gave a faint smile, adjusting his breathing while setting the record straight.

"And I should have said, we're not in that kind of relationship."

Old White looked at him with a face full of surprise.

"Really?"

Night Ten chuckled and squinted mischievously.

"You don't get it, they enjoy the ambiguous vibes."

"Get lost."

Fang Chang rolled his eyes, not wanting to waste words with this guy.

Just as he was about to say something, the gunfire that had died down earlier resumed, with bullets whizzing in from one side of the corridor.

The group returned fire while retreating to the inside of the 400mm main gun chamber.

"Damn… these big-nosed guys are ruthless, just wiped out one team, and immediately another takes their place."

Even as an opponent, Fang Chang had to admit that in terms of combat will, these people were undeniably strong.

If it were a group of Looters, they probably would have slaughtered their way through the entire airship by now.

They wouldn't be trapped here.

A jumble of shouting came from the corridor outside.

Listening to the content, it seemed like a call for surrender.

"You are already surrounded!"

"General McCullen promises, as long as you lay down your weapons and surrender, he will allow you to leave alive."

The noise outside was chaotic, and Old White, only catching bits and pieces, turned to Fang Chang.

"What are they blabbering about?"

Fang Chang casually said,

"They're trying to make us surrender."

Old White was stunned for a moment, then looked towards the door and cursed.

"Negotiate surrender? Haha, fuck that, did I climb all this way just to surrender? Tell him to eat shit!"

After cursing, Old White realized the other party didn't understand, so he quickly looked at Fang Chang.

"Translate for them!"

Fang Chang sighed, clearly reluctant to translate such nonsense but did it anyway.

The army outside was momentarily stunned by the insult, but quickly recovered, unleashing a stream of shouts and curses in return.

Even Fang Chang couldn't understand what they were saying now. Seeing his teammates looking at him, he shrugged helplessly.

"Probably some West Coast dialect..."

Night Ten sighed.

"What if they get desperate and throw grenades or bombs here without any honor?"

Fang Chang chuckled.

"It doesn't matter, this is their crystal tower. If they plan to blow up the 400mm main cannon anyway, let them blast away."

"Haha, exactly! Let them blast if they want to!" Old White laughed heartily, grinned, and continued, "The 400mm main cannon is already disabled, our mission is done! Now all we need to do is hold on as best as we can and wait for backup..."

Taking a gentle breath, he focused his gaze on a door leading to a corridor nearby, his index finger rubbing the trigger.

"The rest... is up to Wild Wind!"

...

Several kilometers away from the artillery position, in the command center.

I Max Black, serving as a messenger, jogged back to Brother Quanshui's side and saluted with utmost sincerity.

"Report!"

"The feint team failed to reach the Southern Urban District for defense! They executed Plan 3 and have retreated to a small town beside the South Suburb 417 Highway!"

The Spring Water Commander, holding a telescope, nodded.

"I understand."

Originally, the mixed thousand team led by Silver Corps and two other corps was to head to the Southern Urban District of Rui Valley City, defending based on previously constructed fortifications.

While the bait tied down the enemy's main forces, the Death Legion scattered across the district and three mercenary-led thousand teams would launch a full assault, using anti-tank weapons to destroy enemy armor, and forcing the enemy forces out of the district.

Then, the Skeleton Corps with its armored units would coordinate with the Goblin Corps' aerial assault squad to deliver a fatal blow to the retreating army.

As for the Jungle Corps, they were to execute the "air-support" final operation.

However, expecting every part of a plan to be executed perfectly was unimaginable.

The battlefield situation changed in the blink of an eye.

As they played their cards, the opponent was also making moves.

According to the plan beforehand, if the feint team failed to arrive, they could only retreat to "417 town," and the focus on the ground battlefield would have to shift from the Southern Urban District to the southern suburbs.

As one of the alternative plans, the town also had defense fortifications secretly prepared.

However, compared to the positions prepared within the city, those in the town were merely "pitiful."

Due to the presence of airships, large-scale constructions were impossible in the town with little cover, and they could only work at night, barely managing to prepare some simple foxholes and sandbags, not to mention connecting underground tunnels.

Standing next to the Spring Water Commander, "Kakarot" frowned and said.

"There are at least three thousand teams surrounding the feint team; they might not hold out for long..."

The mixed thousand team mainly consisted of lifestyle-based players with combat experience and individual players.

Among them, although there were Awakeners and veterans who had participated in more than six battles, their overall combat power was quite limited compared to the Alliance's regular army.

Even though their morale was high, they were prepared to fight to the last man.

Spring Water Commander furrowed his brow, holding a pair of binoculars and gazing toward the vague outline of the south. He suddenly spoke.

"How many guns do we still have?"

"Report! The artillery position is completely overrun! Only the last twenty unexposed rocket artillery remain!" Even in the dire situation, I Max Black's salute remained spirited.

"What about the planes?" Spring Water Commander asked calmly.

I Max Black immediately answered, "The Dragonfly transport planes are completely overrun, but the Mosquito Attack Squadron of the Goblin Corps is still at full strength!"

Looking at the pensive Spring Water, "Kakarot," standing nearby, couldn't help but speak.

"The enemy is equipped with a large number of quad anti-aircraft machine guns, and those aren't the makeshift ones from the Chewing Bone Tribe. If we leave it to the Goblin Corps, we might only have one chance... How about I take a team to support them?"

The Storm Corps still had over 300 people lying in wait in the jungle, ready to support any spot.

However, throwing these few men into the fray would be like a drop in the bucket, and they would be consumed by the enemy in no time.

It would not only fail to alleviate the pressure on the feint group but might also result in becoming passive.

It was impossible to order an early attack by the Death Legion.

If they launched a general assault before the enemy's artillery position was crippled, once the enemy's support fire recovered, all targets exposed outside their shelters would become live targets.

"It's not time yet!"

Spring Water Commander looked toward the direction of the Iron Heart, his usually calm demeanor now betraying a hint of anxiety.

Originally, he had expected that after breaking the defensive line, half of the troops could land on the dome of the Iron Heart.

However, after the paratroopers jumped, they had suffered more than half casualties before even landing, and it was doubtful that even two hundred teams could be assembled successfully.

Even though he had already prepared for the worst and had maximized his expectations of the enemy's combat power, the fire limit of the Iron Heart still exceeded his expectations.

Especially since, eventually, they had resorted to the audacious move of aiming the engines toward the sky.

If it weren't for Falling Feather's last-minute judgment, the forcibly landing Burning Corps would likely have been wholly overrun.

Although he had no doubts about the combat power of those titans, the outcome in the air had undoubtedly become the biggest variable on the entire battlefield.

His thoughts raced, and just as Spring Water was pondering the countermeasures, a string of fire suddenly flashed through the sky.

There, at the forward lower part of the airship, suddenly burst into a ball of fire engulfing twelve forward-pointing barrels.

At the same time, a thin wisp of red smoke, almost at the same exact moment, drifted from the 400mm main gun's barrel.

Despite the massive black fog and pouring rain, that wisp of red smoke appeared as faint as a candle flickering in a storm, yet the people on the ground could still distinctly see it.

Staring blankly at that patch of sky, "Kakarot" muttered.

"Fuck, awesome!"

Did it actually get blown up?!

Similarly noticing that flame blossoming in the sky, Spring Water's face cleared of clouds, his eyes instantly gleaming with joy.

It worked!

Not just that—

It was even quicker than planned.

Without any hesitation, he immediately ordered.

"Rocket artillery positions fire immediately! Target the armored cluster on the north side of the town!"

"Also, notify Brother Edge!"

"The moment to counterattack has come!"

Chapter 403: Glory After a Bloodbath

Town No. 417.

The booming of artillery and gunfire was relentless.

The "Scorpion" armored personnel carriers, advancing in an arrowhead formation, continued firing. Before their paired 45mm guns, the rows of ruined houses and broken tiles within the town were as fragile as paper-mâché.

At the same time, the "Hyena" armored vehicles, flanking to the sides, also sustained their barrage, with their quad-barreled machine guns spewing fire serpents that wove a deadly web through the sky.

The already precarious remnants of walls and ruins quickly crumbled under the alternating fire of high-explosive and armor-piercing bullets, falling to the ground and shattering into piles of dirt and dust.

However, the players defending the town showed no signs of retreating; they rallied around the few remaining strongpoints in a stubborn resistance.

Of the 500 Retinue Soldiers first sent to the front lines, over 80% had been killed or wounded. The remaining 20% were pinned down behind the destroyed obstacles by relentless machine-gun fire.

But soon,
another five hundred Waste Land Wanderers were pressed to the front of the battle line, charging in groups of a hundred with the support of the rear fire—

Or rather, under the coercion of it.

Officers at the rear, holding megaphones, let out roar-like shouts.

"Charge!"

"Or die—!"

Under that suffocating atmosphere, the Cannon Fodder pushed to the front lines could hardly spare a thought for anything else and could only rush forward clutching their weapons.

"Ah—!"

At least compared to the tall and thick cannon barrels behind them, the enemies hiding in the rubble seemed somewhat easier to deal with.

A distance of less than three hundred meters could be crossed if they gritted their teeth and stormed through.

However, they soon paid the price for such thinking.

Despite suffering tremendous casualties, the players still held their ground unwaveringly, wave after wave rushing to fill the gaps in the front lines.

Even if they left behind dozens of bodies, even if they were engulfed by artillery fire countless times, the outer machine gun positions continued to operate.

Assaulted by machine gun fire, each meter the Retinue Soldiers advanced cost them more than a dozen lives.

The muddy path leading to Town No. 471 was smeared red with blood and then diluted by rain. Amidst the hail of bullets, no complete human form was visible, just chunks of flesh squirming to either push forward or escape backward.

The Supervisory team fired from behind to kill the deserters, forcing the Cannon Fodder to continue their advance, wearing down the trapped enemy's ammunition in the town.

Under the fierce offensive, the siege had turned into a cruel execution by firing squad.

It seemed as though they felt the enemy's supplies were sufficiently depleted; the "Scorpion" APCs serving as the tip of the assault started moving forward, with the first five vehicles starting their engines.

However, just as those five "Scorpion" APCs closed to within two hundred meters of the town, several RPGs emerged like locusts from the town.

Armor-piercing rounds that could penetrate 300mm of armor might struggle against Conqueror tanks, but against these lightly armored, content-rich vehicles, they proved unexpectedly effective.

Three APCs were penetrated, smoke billowing as they faltered, one hit directly in the neck. The high-temperature metal stream ignited the ammunition box beneath the turret, and the explosion's flames and hot air instantly blew the turret skyward, knocking down the heavy armor soldiers who followed close behind.

Seeing this, the Centurion in command of the armored

"First echelon, pull back!"

"Covering fire, be alert! The enemy has anti-armor capability!"

The captain's orders were hardly needed.

Seeing their comrades' gruesome fate, the two surviving APCs didn't think of anything else, quickly reversing back.

The Army soldiers who had followed the APCs lost the protection of their mobile cover and were pinned down behind the armored wreckage by the firepower from within the town, with no chance to move!

The Retinue Soldiers, who had made it half the distance to their target, tried to dispatch two small teams to support them but were quickly met with two more RPGs emerging from the town.

This time it was high-explosive grenades.

The shockwave and shrapnel from the explosion instantly blew two soldiers away. The rest, if not dead, were mostly injured and lay flat on the ground.

"Beautiful!"

The End-of-the-world Lone Wolf excitedly pumped his fist, about to carry ammo to the guy with the RPG launcher when a sound like a sweeping hurricane rushed past him.

Dozens of high-explosive shells detonated at once; he and the RPG-wielding player were blown to pieces before they could even grunt.

However—

Soon a new anti-tank team took their place, hunkering down behind cover, preparing for a second surprise attack.

Rachel's eyes, fixed intently on that town two kilometers away, narrowed to slits.

Truth be told, the tenacity of these people came as a surprise to her.

In her initial estimation, the battle would have been over within ten minutes, but they had stubbornly survived one ten-minute period after another.

Now, nearly half an hour later, they still hadn't managed to take down the outermost buildings of the town.

She glanced at the pale-faced Retinue Soldiers next to her and a flicker of contempt crossed her eyes.

These weaklings.

Not as good as clone soldiers.

Seeing Rachel's signalling eyes, the deputy standing beside her shouted loudly into the communicator.

"Advance the Retinue Army on the west and east sides!"

"Even if it means death, push forward into death!"

Under the officer's orders, the attacks from the western and eastern positions also began.

As the sound of gunfire spread from the north side of the town to both the east and west, the town of 417, which was at the eye of the storm, had effectively turned into a meat grinder.

Screams and wails rose one after the other.

However, they seemed insignificant amidst the explosions of gunpowder.

The casualties were already over half, and the players were forced to contract their defensive line, while the Retinue Soldiers advancing under artillery cover finally breached the town they had longed to enter.

But.

Hell had just begun...

...

The half-collapsed three-story western-style house, with half of its northwest wall blown off, exposing the steel skeletal frame.

"Damn it! I feel like I'm surrounded by a whole division!" Swearing, the rascal huddled below the window, changing his magazine.

"How many of us are left?"

With a bandage wrapped around his head and crouching on the other side of the barricade, Zhang Hai asked with furrowed brows.

"About four hundred..."

It was impossible to confirm casualties in this situation.

Even effective command was difficult to achieve.

They could only fight by squad, depending on pre-prepared cover from allies in the town, and following the established battle plan.

Fortunately, not all the solo players were novices to battle; the old soldiers with their high morale ensured that, even when dispersed, each squad would not fall into disarray.

Thinking he had retired, yet he still got pulled into such stimulating work, truly exhausting...

Thank goodness he had a young body in the game.

And it was even the most agile type.

"It seems like we won't be able to hold on." The rascal muttered as he grimaced, "Their firepower is just too intense."

Zhang Hai didn't respond, but took a deep breath, glanced out the window at the smoke-filled streets, and the dozen or so figures emerging from the smoke.

"Hold on!"

Dropping those words, he leaned his rifle out from behind cover and swiftly pulled the trigger.

The three people in the lead were instantly killed; the remaining soldiers quickly sought cover and returned fire towards the upper windows.

Gritting his teeth, the rascal picked up the rocket launcher's firing tube, loaded it with a high-explosive grenade, and leaned out the window.

"I'm done playing defense with you guys!!!"

A rocket trailing fire shot out of the window, but almost immediately, three bullets struck his chest, one piercing his left shoulder.

An explosion roared from the street below.

There was no time to confirm casualties on the other side; Zhang Hai grabbed the shot rascal and dragged him towards the stairs.

"Are you insane?!"

"Cough cough... I'm fine."

The rascal coughed twice, forcing a smile and acting tough, but before he could finish speaking, a rocket came through the window, the blast wave pushing Zhang Hai forward, almost sending him tumbling down the stairs.

But he didn't let go.

Once downstairs, he checked the rascal's wounds and found that two bullets had been stopped by the bulletproof vest, only one had penetrated his shoulder.

"Can you still move?"

The rascal coughed heavily from the smoke and managed to squeeze out a word.

"Yeah..."

"Then get up and walk on your own!"

Zhang Hai pulled him to his feet and then opened the communication channel. Without caring if there was a response, he shouted.

"Everyone, retreat to the third defensive line!"

"Prepare for the final battle—!"

The third defensive line was at the town's hospital, the only five-story building in the vicinity. Due to the integrity of the enclosing wall structure and the vegetation planted in the courtyard, allied forces had reinforced it heavily.

At the same time, that was also the last line of defense...

On the other side, Crow and Teng Teng's squad was also engaging the enemy, exchanging fire with the soldiers of the Army.

Perhaps having realized that they were women, the ten-man team attacking their zone seemed intent on capturing them alive and had thus refrained from pulling out the heavy weapons at the start.

But it didn't take long for them to pay the price for their recklessness.

A Spring Knife drone circled behind them through the ruins, and the explosion's thick smoke and flames swallowed the entire street in an instant.

The people on the street were clearly dead beyond any doubt.

Resting the gun and aiming out the window, Crow's lips curled up in pride, although she wasn't the main DPS, but that didn't stop her from showing off to the newbie beside her.

"...Jiujiu, don't be scared. Big sister will protect you!"

However, listening to her show off, Jiujiu responded indifferently.

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Crow was taken aback.

"Eh? You're not scared?"

Teng Teng, wearing the neural connection device in the corner of the room, slightly curved her lips and said,

"You shouldn't underestimate the newbies nowadays."

Vine Cottage had already been left in the care of the hired NPC young girl.

Like other life-profession players, she was also incorporated into the mixed thousand team, and she was in the same squad as Crow.

Compared to raids and airborne operations, the difficulty of defense was somewhat lower.

But as it turned out, it was only slightly lower.

Jiujiu's eyes shifted, and suddenly she spoke up.

"By the way, Sister Teng Teng."

"What's up?"

"What do you think of my brother?"

"Your brother?" Teng Teng paused for a moment, then after pondering for a while, she realized and said, "Oh, Night Ten..."

"Yep, yep!" Jiujiu eagerly nodded her little head, the spirit of gossip burning in her eyes.

Seeing right through what the little girl was thinking, Teng Teng sighed helplessly.

"Isn't that guy just a kid?"

Jiujiu froze for a brief moment, then suddenly let out a chuckle.

Crow glanced at her curiously.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing much, my brother always thinks I'm a kid, huh... What's that saying? Well, this is just karma."

Jiujiu nodded her little head in satisfaction, but before she could finish speaking, an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher round slammed into the wall in front of her.

The explosion, smoke, and flames engulfed her instantly, and even Crow, who was a little further away, was nearly swept up by the blast.

Watching the pile of debris buried by chunks of stone, Teng Teng froze for a moment, her breath catching for half a second.

The person who was just talking and laughing with her was now unrecognizable even in death the next second...

"...Is this what war is?"

"Cough, cough... Don't zone out, duck!"

Before she could react, Crow, staggering to her feet from the ground, had already scooped her up under her arm and was retreating through the rubble to the rear.

Teng Teng herself wasn't dazed but used the neural connection device to link her consciousness to a Crawling robot hidden on the street.

It was the last one left.

She had wanted to buy more, but the shop's goods don't refresh indefinitely, she had to leave some for other Intelligence System players as well.

A ten-man team rushed forward, and when they saw Teng Teng and Crow retreating, the following Army soldiers noticeably quickened their pace.

But before they could get close, a violent explosion came from the side, and smoke and flames from the alley swallowed everyone.

With a sigh of relief, Teng Teng, clutched by Crow, pulled out her index finger and pinched the slightly sore glabella.

"...That should have taken them down."

Annihilating two ten-person teams was already a significant accomplishment; she should be able to get a decent evaluation after the battle was over.

Feeling the resistance pressing against her face, Teng Teng struggled to twist her neck and looked up at Crow with a slightly dissatisfied expression.

"By the way... Can you put me down now?"

...

When the two received the order to retreat to the hospital in the center of the town, other players defending different areas also gradually fell back to this location.

Except for those who couldn't leave or stayed behind to cover the retreat, out of an original full-strength thousand-member team, only less than fifty people remained.

The sporadic sound of gunfire in the distance was sinking into silence, interrupted occasionally by the explosion of a hand grenade, heralding the death of the last member of the squad.

Zhang Hai was organizing the remaining people to set up defenses.

"This is the last line of defense... we've done our best."

Someone with a bandage wrapped around their shoulder swallowed saliva and spoke.

"So, have we completed our mission?"

"Probably."

Glancing at the retinue soldiers swarming towards the hospital walls from outside the enclosing wall, Zhang Hai continued, "We've held them off for almost an hour... that should be enough."

That kid named Spring Water did a good command job.

But, as usual, plans can't keep up with changes.

That airship's functions were too overpowered, capable of both scouting and shelling, and even had a "damage-free shield," making it really tough to deal with.

Everyone tacitly prepared themselves for a desperate fight.

At this moment, piercing shrieks suddenly came from the sky, and streaks of white smoke crisscrossed the heavens, plummeting down to the north of the town.

A rain of fire falling from the sky!

There was no time to dodge; the armored companies and the thousand-team from the air force personnel carrier, moving inside the town, were immediately engulfed in a boiling sea of flames.

Watching the rain of fire coming down from the heavens, a look of surprise appeared on the faces of those guarding inside the hospital, but it soon turned into jubilation and excitement.

"Hahaha! Reinforcements!"

"Our reinforcements have arrived!"

Gazing at the rolling thick smoke and boiling sea of fire in the distance outside the window, Zhang Hai excitedly lifted his rifle and shouted to the people behind the cover.

"Prepare to counterattack!"

...

The smoke-filled battlefield, the land that had been scarred by rocket fire, looked as though it had been gnawed by dogs.

Tank after tank and armored vehicle were belching black smoke or spurting out sparks. Of the almost full-strength armored team, only eight vehicles survived.

Vehicle crew members limped as they evacuated the chariots, some just crawling out from under the cars.

However, those infantry exposed outside the cover were not so lucky.

Whether it was heavy infantry or light infantry, most were blasted apart by the rocket barrage, with flesh torn and separated from bone.

From the northern side of the town to the outer perimeter, there was no explosion-resistant cover to hide behind.

As the soldiers lucky enough to have survived the explosion moaned in pain, five sets of tracks suddenly burst out of the billowing smoke.

"Damn it! Tanks!"

As the tanks charged forward, the faces of the retinue soldiers showed pure terror.

Although the tanks looked primitive and seemed unrelated to the word 'technology,' their hard steel armor and towering gun turrets and coaxial machine guns were not for show.

Bullets and shells weaved through the smoky battlefield, with still-mobile soldiers scrambling and rolling in retreat—including the few surviving wheeled vehicles.

Not giving them a chance to turn their turrets, the armored force entering the battlefield from the north had already commenced the reaping!

"Hahahaha! Finally, it's my turn to take the stage! Tiger, step on the gas to the death! Damn... four wheels running faster than my five pairs of load-bearing wheels, we'll see who's faster now!"

Sitting right under the turret, Makabazi's eyes were glued to the aiming scope, his right hand tightly gripping the firing trigger.

"Fire!"

With an excited shout, an 88mm low-pressure gun spat out flames; a shell was flung out and accurately hit the retreating 'Scorpion' armored personnel carrier.

The side armor, less than 30mm thick, was instantly penetrated, and flames burst out from atop the carrier's turret.

Makabazi shouted excitedly.

"Enemy vehicle destroyed! Quick! Load another round!"

"Already loading! Stop f*cking rushing me!"

The strength-type player squatting at Makabazi's feet rolled his eyes, but his hands didn't stop moving as he jammed another shell into the cannon.

Deafening cannon roars sounded.

Soon, another personnel carrier was destroyed.

The eight remaining vehicles of the retinue army were quickly reaped by the alliance tanks, exploding into a heap of scrap metal amid the flash of detonating ammo racks.

These five tanks were the latest masterpieces of Factory No.81; since they were the alliance's first self-developed tracked tanks, they were named "Car No.1."

Although the name wasn't as catchy as Goblin Technology, the technology behind Factory No.81 was solid.

The tilted armor, relatively modern gun tower layout, and classic five-pair load-bearing wheels, you wouldn't notice at a glance that this thing was actually a replica of the BMP-1.

In order to reduce new production lines, the 100mm low-pressure gun was changed to 88mm, but thanks to the application of the Alliance's latest mastered N10 azide compounds, the penetration ability was not reduced at all, but actually improved.

The only drawback was the thirty-meter safe distance, which would be somewhat difficult in close combat, but tanks rarely had the opportunity to get face-to-face in general.

As for the slow initial velocity of the shell, that was not an issue at all.

No matter how slowly the shells flew, they were still faster than wheels running on the ground.

The armored squadron of the Army had been completely destroyed, and twenty armored trucks with quad-mounted anti-aircraft cannons burst out from one side of the highway, starting to race and strafe towards the direction of the first thousand team's retreat.

The voice of Mole Old Brother came over the communication channel.

"Tank squadron, keep moving forward!"

"Cut straight through their northern positions! Make it to the back of the western positions and cover the infantry of the Death Legion's attack!"

Makabazi, who received the order, shouted excitedly.

"Roger that!"

The battlefield moved from the city district to the suburbs, and the vanguard of the attack shifted from the Death Legion to the Skeleton Corps.

Crossing from the north side of a muddy small town, 5 tanks and 20 armored trucks followed an arched trajectory, swiftly advancing to the west side of the town, brutally bisecting the first and second thousand teams of the Legion Airborne Combat Team.

Meanwhile, the Wolf Cavalry of the Death Legion followed closely in the tracks of the Skeleton Corps, launching a second round of charges.

Watching the fiery battlefield, Rachel, who propped himself up with his rifle from the ground, his face was etched with a look of startled unrest.

When he saw that burst of flame on the airship, a sense of ominous premonition arose in his heart.

His premonition quickly became a reality as the woeful wailing sound descended upon his troops' heads like a plague of locusts.

Just one round of rocket artillery coverage and over half of his troops were killed or wounded, and most of those who survived were injured and unable to continue fighting.

And it wasn't over yet.

The opposing armored forces rolled through the billowing smoke, and the chaotic gunfire and flying stray bullets made him almost lose his sense of direction.

He no longer had time to think about where those people came from.

Amidst the noisy communication channels, Rachel roared, trying to gather the remnants of his troops to turn the tide.

However, it seemed to be too late.

Piercing whistles came from all directions, tormenting his eardrums and nerves that were on the verge of collapse.

And the loud military bugles.

Swift figures pierced through the smoke; it seemed to be the Claw of Death, and the cavaliers riding on the back of the Claw of Death!

Those barbarian cavaliers were shouting slogans he couldn't understand, waving huge "revolvers" in their hands, lobbing grenades behind their lines, and charging over like a tsunami.

Through the boiling sea of smoke, he saw an azure power armor.

The person was holding a hammer, and the Claw of Death beneath him was covered with an angular exoskeleton, distinct from head to toe from the other cavaliers.

That person didn't charge forward but just quietly observed him, as if he had been targeted long before. The Claw of Death beneath him was the same, those amber pupils radiated a bloodthirsty glow, as if it couldn't wait to feast.

Rachel swallowed his saliva and tightened his grip on the rifle, which couldn't provide him much security.

He felt a power piercing through his soul, traveling through his armor and chest, gripping the hot, pulsating heart.

That power didn't seem to come from the amber pupils but rather the power armor.

Or perhaps, the person hidden within the armor.

A flicker of fear passed through Rachel's eyes but only for a moment; the fear was quickly dispelled by a determined look.

From the moment the rocket grenades fell like rain, he knew he had lost.

But—

He would not surrender.

Gripping the rifle in his hands, Rachel aimed at the man riding on the back of the Claw of Death, unleashing the last of his madness with a roar.

"Come on!"

"The Legion Airborne Combat Team has no cowards!"

The moment he pulled the trigger, the bullets flew like rain, and the sudden burst of firepower wove a scorching net in the air.

However—

The bullets aimed at the man's chest seemed to hit an invisible wall.

They didn't even leave a scratch on the azure armor; the bullets he fired were scattered by an unseen storm.

Provoked by the muzzle flash, the poised Nicole let out a roar, her strong hind legs violently powering a charge forward, like a cannonball.

Rachel's eyes were filled with utter madness as he threw away his rifle, now empty of bullets, and drew his saber, which he seldom used, rushing towards the Death Knight charging directly at him.

"Go to hell—!"

There was no clashing of metal.

His blade didn't even touch the fingernail of the Claw of Death before a massive gust of wind slammed into his chest.

The Nitrogen-Powered Hammer, swept up from below, shattered his defense without a hint of suspense; his black breastplate instantly turned into pieces, scattering as he was blown backward.

The explosion of nitrogen not only pierced through his armor but also shattered his internal organs.

Rachel spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, and like a cannonball, he flew out over ten meters and crashed heavily onto the wreckage of an armored personnel carrier, falling to the ground motionless.

Nicole exhaled through her nostrils and shook her neck, her amber eyes filled with a hint of pity.

It was rare for her to hunt with her master, and yet she never expected this prey to be so weak, flying away before even touching her claw.

However.

She quite liked the armor her master had prepared for her; she felt an endless surge of strength throughout her body.

Dismissing the now lifeless Rachel from her gaze, Chu Guang, who was riding on Nicole's back, raised his warhammer above his head.

Through the loudspeaker of the power armor, his voice thundered across the wilderness, echoing on the battlefield, filled with gunpowder smoke.

"Soldiers! Advance!"

"Chop off the heads of those beasts! Use their blood to water our land! By next year, the fertile soil will bloom with flowers—"

"And we shall honor the immortal souls with victory and glory!"

"Advance!!!"

His roaring command ignited the entire battlefield.

A chorus of rallying cries rose from all around, responding to his call.

"Charge!"

"Kill—!"

"For the hidden Little Fish and Boss Xia!"

"For the dog planners!"

"Long live the Manager!!"

"Demacia!!!"

The cavalry's charge had ended, and the Death Legion's infantry began their march to victory, spurred on by the sound of whistles and the bugle's call.

Three mercenary units led by the Storm Corps burst from the edge of the forest, intercepting the retreating Second and Third thousand teams.

Looking at the azure armor galloping across the battlefield, many of the mercenaries from Giant Stone City were astonished.

"Is that... the Manager of the Alliance?!"

"The blue power armor! That's him! I saw him at the celebration earlier this year!"

The Manager of the Alliance was actually standing with them!

And even charging to the front...

To them, it was simply unimaginable.

In past fights against the Tide, let alone the lord of the city who never showed himself, they had never even seen the militia group's leader.

At most, an officer in impenetrable power armor would find a safe spot to sit while watching them march to their deaths.

That towering figure planted seeds in the hearts of many.

Although they were unclear what it was, and why their own blood boiled as if scorched red-hot, even the most fearful mercenaries now roared with unstoppable fervor, joining the players in rushing towards the retreating army.

The battle line stretching for several kilometers was engulfed in thick smoke.

First torn apart by the Death Legion's Wolf Cavalry, and then gnawed at from all sides by the infantry, the Legion Airborne Combat Team had suffered over half casualties, and the fully deployed Retinue Army had been decisively defeated.

Without the protection of armored units, enduring constant losses, and with the command structure in disarray due to the death of their frontline commander in the chaos...

The Legion Airborne Combat Team surrounding the small town finally faced a complete collapse, fleeing towards the airship's landing zone.

That was their only hope for survival.

If they could retreat to the defensive positions, those who lived might have a chance to reorganize their defenses.

However, at this moment, they were unaware that while their main force was engaged, the Jungle Corps had taken advantage of the forcibly landed airship, making their way from Rui Valley City District, cutting straight beneath it to the camp.

500 Strength-type brutes wearing KV-1 exoskeletons suddenly struck, releasing fierce gunfire with their light and heavy machine guns, quickly catching the two hundred-strong units in the living quarters off guard.

Chaos reigned aboard the Steel Heart.

The gun turret at the front had been completely destroyed, and everyone on the airship was preoccupied with their own survival, unable to provide any early warning.

Listening to the relentless gunfire within the camp, the officer in charge was etched with panic.

He grabbed the adjutant and bellowed his question.

"What about Fallen Leaf Camp? Why hasn't Coleway arrived yet?"

The adjutant's face was etched with panic as he stammered his reply.

"Sir... The Waste Land Wanderers have mutinied!"

"Damn it... these treacherous bastards!"

There was no time for shock or anger; the officer hastily ordered the organization of defenses, but before they could mount an effective resistance, the second volley of rockets fell upon them.

Lacking support from airborne firepower and without counter-battery guns to suppress the opposing rocket artillery, their camp quickly turned into a sea of flames.

The outermost defenses collapsed swiftly. Under the command of Midnight Chicken Killing, the Jungle Corps took less than ten minutes to capture the entire camp.

And the casualties sustained were merely around a dozen.

Carrying a machine gun, a Picheng Paratrooper approached Midnight Chicken Killing and said,

"... The retreating soldiers from the Legion Airborne Combat Team will arrive in 20 minutes, with an estimated thousand-team strength!"

"Leave them to Mosquito Brother!"

Looking up at the airship overhead, Midnight Chicken Killing took off the silver-white metal cylinder that resembled an oxygen tank from his back and slammed it to the ground.

The pointed top aimed straight at the airship above.

He pulled a nylon buckle from his exoskeleton and hooked it onto the metal cylinder.

Others did the same.

Seeing that everyone was ready to ascend, Midnight Chicken Killing called out crisply,

"Launch!"

At his command, the camp was engulfed in billowing plumes of detonation mist.

Sturdy arrows, like harpoons shot into the sky, ignited after soaring upward, dragging ropes of Devil Silk and trailing white smoke as they headed towards the belly of the airship.

Covering a distance of four to five hundred meters, the arrows that finally reached the airship's shield were almost spent.

Yet, the moment the arrowheads made contact with the airship, the tips burst open, driving steel hooks deep into the airship's armor.

After a tug on the rope, ensuring that all was secure,

Midnight Chicken Killing looked up to the heavens and roared.

"To the Manager, we offer our hearts!"

"Invasion!"

With his shout, the winch inside the canister began to spin, pulling him upwards into the sky.

It wasn't just him – several figures clad in exoskeleton armor also rose into the air, pulled by the ropes towards the skies.

The soldiers on the airship were too entangled with the Burning Corps to pay attention to these men.

Standing on the bridge, overlooking the ground below, General Mclen's expression shifted from urgency to shock, and then to complete astonishment.

These barbarians...

They had gone mad!

Violent shaking came from beneath the airship, and General Mclen hastily grabbed the handrail beside him, nearly falling to the floor.

Then, an enlisted man in exoskeleton armor rushed in, panic-stricken, and reported,

"...Report! The enemy has occupied our landing pods!"

He was interrupted before he could finish as another soldier, stumbling in from the corridor outside, barged in.

"They have taken control of our garage! And they have activated two of our Scorpion tanks parked there... They are firing 45mm cannons at us! We need reinforcements!"

General Mclen's face turned slightly pale.

First, a wing was destroyed, then the gun bay right in front was blown apart, and after that, the frontline troops suffered a heavy blow.

If watching Rachel's troops get bombed allowed him to barely maintain his composure, appointing Rachel's deputy to take over the frontline command and retreat, it was at the news of the enemy occupying the airship's landing pods that he finally felt an unwarranted sense of panic.

"...These barbarians."

His lips twitched as he chewed on the word as if he could grind those people to dust with his teeth alone.

The adjutant beside him took a deep breath and looked at the staff officer beside him.

The staff officer understood his gaze.

After a brief exchange of looks, the staff officer approached General Mclen and whispered,

"General, for your safety, I suggest you retreat for the time being."

"Retreat?"

General McClane stared at his staff officer in disbelief, and, after struggling with the decision, he finally relaxed his tense shoulders.

The Iron Heart could be lost.

But no matter what, the captain of the army couldn't fall into the hands of the barbarians.

That would be the shame of the entire army.

Clamping his teeth, he glanced outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the smoke-filled land and eventually nodded his noble head.

"...Proceed to the escape pod."

His aide let out a sigh of relief and crisply responded,

"Yes!"

...

A long shuttle-shaped craft launched from the rear of the airship, streaking away toward the west like a shooting star, unnoticed by all.

The Jungle Corps that had broken into the airship divided into two teams; one headed straight forward to support the Burning Corps' brothers and surrounded the soldiers of their army.

The other, led by Midnight Chicken Killing, followed a route secretly marked by Old Soldier, fighting all the way to the airship's command area and storming into the bridge.

The floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Rui Valley City was tantalizingly close.

However, the officers who should have been there were nowhere to be seen.

The ten-person squad stationed here was quickly wiped out, and Midnight Chicken Killing, toting a heavy machine gun, stepped forward to search around the bridge, grumbling and cursing,

"Damn it, they let them get away..."

"They got away, but at least we took down this airship."

Standing next to Brother Chicken, a Picheng Paratrooper took down the flag they had prepared earlier and chuckled, "Come on, let's decorate this big guy a bit."

...

Outside the bridge's floor-to-ceiling windows, the Alliance's flag was hung, a nearly five-meter-long banner flapping loudly in the wind.

With the Iron Heart captured, the Goblin Corps' aerial squadron took off from the airport north of City of Dawn, swooping down on the retreating Legion Airborne Combat Team.

Facing the barrage of rockets and the constant dive-bombing of propeller planes, the morale of the already heavily injured soldiers of the army was on the brink of collapse.

And upon seeing the fall of the Iron Heart, they finally lost their last bit of courage and surrendered en masse.

Chu Guang, riding on Nicole's back, looked up at the distant sky, a smile spreading across his face.

"It seems like the rain is about to stop..."

Nicole exhaled softly, which served as a response.

In the midst of the far-off clouds shattered by artillery fire, a beam of light pierced through the heavy rain and struck the earth, with a hint of a colorful outline faintly shimmering around it.

It looked like a rainbow.

Meanwhile, at the command center in the western district of Rui Valley City, Commander Quan removed the visor of his helmet and saw the same beam of light descending from the clouds.

Just moments ago, he had received the front-line report from the various corps.

The Skeleton Corps, Death Legion, Storm Corps, and three thousand-strong teams composed of mercenaries had completely crushed the remaining resistance of the army and captured the surrendering soldiers.

The Jungle Corps and Burning Corps had successfully seized control of the Iron Heart.

Including the mixed thousand team that held out until the end.

All of the corps had perfectly achieved the final military objective.

Though the casualties were heavy, and several second and third-tier corps had been wiped out entirely,
they had ultimately triumphed over an adversary that seemed nearly impossible to defeat.

And this land had finally welcomed the dawn of peace.

Standing next to him, "Kakarot" was carrying a rifle, his mouth corners twisting into a smile.

"The timing of this rain stopping couldn't be better."

Commander Quan nodded slightly.

"Yes…"

"Speaking of which, we didn't make it to the front lines again, did we?" Kakarot ribbed.

Hearing this, Quan smiled sheepishly.

"You caught me again. Are you going to give me a hard time about it?"

"Hahaha, of course not, winning is all that matters! We're not the only ones playing it safe... there's another who didn't get a chance to be on the front line."

Kakarot laughed heartily and patted him on the shoulder.

"Anyway... nice command!"

Chapter 404: The Finale of the Battle (Long Chapter)

The fuel was depleted, the long shuttle-shaped escape pod's engines died, and parachutes opened up both at the top and tail, dragging it down into a sandy expanse.

Radiation Scorpions, half the size of a person, scattered in fear at the disturbance, leaving only a few confused Yellow Beetles swaying their antennae.

The hissing of a leak filled the air as the hatch cracked open slightly.

Several Guard Soldiers wielding submachine guns were the first to crawl out, crouching on the ground and keeping watch.

After confirming the safety outside, one of them immediately returned to the escape pod to signal their comrades inside to fully open the hatch.

Soon, with the support of two Guard Soldiers, a beleaguered General Mclen limped out from the escape pod.

This so-called escape pod was essentially a giant "rocket," with a few parachutes as its slowing devices, naturally offering a less than pleasant riding experience.

Although Mclen had ridden in it a few times during drills, he never imagined he would use one himself one day.

"These damned natives… maggots…"

He constantly cursed under his breath, his stormy eyes scanning the sky in worry that an airplane might catch up.

Fortunately, though, the Alliance's planes did not pursue him, clear skies stretched for miles around, indicating one thing clearly.

This was Sunset Province.

Besides him and several Guard Soldiers, the escape pod also carried over twenty senior officers including his adjutant and staff.

This was about the maximum capacity the escape pod could hold.

The remaining fuel wasn't enough to help them fly the thousands of kilometers back to the military base, though they were already a couple hundred kilometers from the River Valley Province.

During his time in the escape pod, he had learned through communication channels that the Iron Heart had completely fallen... and almost within less than ten minutes after his departure.

Thinking of this made him shiver involuntarily.

He dared not think about how rudely he would be treated if he fell into the hands of those barbarians who consumed raw flesh and blood.

At the same time, he also learned from the frontline troops that those barbarians not only captured his airship but also hung a flag on its bridge.

That flag appeared to belong to the Alliance.

Yes.

Now, he finally understood the identity of his adversary.

Opposing the Army was not just Giant Stone City, a single Survivor Settlement, but a complete "Alliance" consisting of all the Survivor Settlements in the Southern River Province.

"...these mongrels."

Mclen almost crushed his teeth, squeezing the words out between gritted teeth.

He swore.

He would come back.

He would make those people pay for their stupidity with their foul blood and wash away this disgrace...

...

No matter how furiously Mclen raged, it could not change his awkward and pathetic situation or the outcome of the Legion's complete operational collapse in the River Valley Province.

Fallen Leaf Camp.

An incessant gunfire lasted nearly an hour.

Soldiers clad in black robes and bullet-proof armor and guards dressed in counterfeit military uniforms engaged in fierce firefights between tents.

An hour ago, led by Debt Giant Eye, Construction Site Youth, and Brick among others from the Death Legion and Storm Corps veterans, over two hundred Retinue Soldiers swiftly captured five ammunition and weapon depots in Fallen Leaf Camp.

After seizing control of the ammunition depots, Big Eyes immediately threw weapons to the Retinue Soldiers who were still in shock.

"The Army burned our homes! They enslaved our brothers, sisters, wives, and children! Today, they again want to send us to the frontline as cannon fodder!"

"We'll use our fists and rifle barrels to tell them, we are people, not animals bred by these Hyenas!"

"If you have any dignity left, even a little—"

"Take up arms, follow me!"

Honestly, this mobilization was hastily prepared, and Big Eyes' speech in United Human language was mediocre at best; most people didn't understand clearly.

Yet, amidst the deafening gunfire and chaos, most were moved by the impassioned voice and instinctively caught the rifles and magazines thrown their way.

The rebels rolled up their sleeves past their elbows to distinguish friend from foe and engaged in fierce shootouts with the black-robed soldiers who came to suppress them.

The most loyal Cannon Fodder were sent to the frontlines, leaving behind these three thousand-plus untrained soldiers who had only handled rifles for a few days or who were naturally at odds with the Army, yet had submitted to the Army's tyranny only to don this uniform.

The Army soldiers stationed in Fallen Leaf Camp numbered over five hundred, but there were over a hundred Awakeners mixed in the camp.

More than that, most of these players were promoted junior officers, who, upon hearing gunfire, immediately led their subordinates to switch sides.

Coleway's troops quickly fell into disarray.

Especially after the forward gun compartment of the airship was destroyed and the Alliance flag appeared on the bridge, the black-robed soldiers became utterly hopeless.

In the chaos, Coleway, armored in an exoskeleton, held a rifle and led around ten of his Guard Soldiers towards the camp's west gate.

However, before he could reach the gate, over half of his guards had fallen, leaving only four to protect him.

Watching the sparks fly across the sky and the flickering flames within the camp, a trace of despair emerged on Coleway's face.

He couldn't understand how the Retinue Soldiers, who just yesterday were fiercely battling those natives, had suddenly turned their rifles and fierce gazes against them.

Especially those junior officers, each of them had in their hands the lives of several, even a dozen, indigenous soldiers. In turning their coats, did they not fear being captured and held accountable by the enemy?

And when had these people colluded?

Usually, there was no sign of them whispering to each other!

Just then, a fierce soldier from the Retinue Army, armed with a Ripper Rifle, charged alone to his side.

Coleway instinctively looked at his arm, saw that the sleeve was not rolled up, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, signaling to a few of the tense personal guards not to open fire.

Fortunately, this one had not betrayed him.

Having just carved a bloody path out of the mountains of corpses and seas of bones, the Old Soldier, breathing heavily, said to Coleway,

"Sir, those traitors who do more harm than good have betrayed the army! My people were unfortunate and fell while suppressing those traitors."

"Under no circumstances must you fall into the hands of those barbarians. I will cover you, please retreat at once!"

He had memorized this line, which was crafted for him by Fang Chang, word for word.

Originally, he had planned to stir trouble with Big Eyes and give Coleway a surprise. However, he was tasked last night with a new mission from the Forum.

The Manager required him to continue acting undercover and to ensure Coleway's safe retreat to the army's military base in Luo Xia Province.

There was no choice, as military orders were absolute, and the rantings would have to wait.

But then again, the army's defeat was inevitable, with numerous Centurion and Ten-man squads surrendering en masse. There were already enough captured officers; one or two less would not make a difference.

Better to let a few small fish escape and bait bigger ones later.

"These are turncoats and traitors…" Coleway gritted his teeth and somehow managed to squeeze out these words, looking at the Pangolin still standing by his side, feeling a wave of emotion.

Even if everyone else had betrayed him.

There were still one or two loyal folks steadfastly at his side.

He swore.

If he were fortunate to survive, he would never betray this shining loyalty.

"Cover me!"

Seeing that Coleway was not suspicious, the Old Soldier relaxed and loyally said,

"Yes, sir!"

...

Shortly after Coleway's escape, the Skeleton Corps' armored division swiftly reached the south gate of the Fallen Leaf Camp.

Upon seeing the imposing quad-mounted machine guns, the fifty-plus sentries guarding the gate immediately dropped their weapons and surrendered.

They had wanted to surrender all along.

But they did not want to surrender to the false army with rolled-up sleeves.

After all, they were dogs fed by their own hands; psychologically and physiologically, they could not accept this humiliation.

However, the outcome was virtually the same.

With limited infantry numbers, the Skeleton Corps disarmed these gatekeepers and made them squat by the wall in a line, monitored by the emerged Retinue Soldiers.

Seeing the inevitable, many of the Retinue Soldiers still resisting alongside the army also began to turn their coats.

In the end, over fifty black-robed soldiers of the Army, including junior officers like the Centurion and those who had fled from the marine corps camp, were surrounded and driven up Falling Leaf Ridge by the Rebels.

Although the majority of the Army troops had already surrendered en masse, there were still those who resisted tenaciously.

But it changed nothing.

On Mole's command, five tanks parked on the gentle slope, lined up along the edge of the Fallen Leaf Camp.

Aimed at the enemy's last position atop the hill, Makabazi shouted to the loader at his feet,

"High-explosive bomb!"

"Received!"

The Strength-type player yelled, pulled out the armor-piercing round from the breach, and then grabbed a shell marked HE from the ammo rack, stuffing it in and forcefully closing the breach.

"Loaded!"

"Fire!"

With resounding blasts, 88mm high-explosive rounds traced parabolas through the air, landing on the crest of Fallen Leaf Ridge and exploding into billowing smoke.

At the same time, players wielding submachine guns, led by their squad leaders, orderly maneuvered through the smoke-filled camp and rushed towards the direction of Fallen Leaf Ridge.

Standing by the truck, Mole raised binoculars and glanced at the hillside being suppressed by artillery fire.

There were no preemptive defensive structures there.

The army people probably never imagined that one day they would be disgracefully pushed back against the hills.

"Tank formations alternate fire, maintain suppression, cover the infantry as they advance to the hilltop!"

Excited shouts transmitted through the communication channel.

"Roger that!"

The Alliance's flag fluttered at a height of hundreds of meters, and with the fall of Fallen Leaf Camp, there was no suspense left in the outcome.

Now it was time to clean up the battlefield.

Glancing at the trembling survivors, all huddled and cowering, Mole saw Debt Giant Eye and the construction site youngster with bricks, leading a group from the direction of the camp entrance.

The faces of those pseudo-army soldiers were filled with unease.

It was not difficult to guess the identities of these men,
who as of yesterday, were still exchanging fire with them.

However, they did not trouble them, nor did they even confiscate their weapons but merely pointed them in a direction to help guard the prisoners of the Army at the wall.

As for the players who had arrived with them, they did not leave but stayed behind.

"You came right on time, the group on the mountain is yours to handle, don't blame us for not leaving you some soup," Giant Eye said with a playful grin.

Standing next to Mole, Irina glanced behind him and asked curiously,

"Where's your Pangolin?"

The construction site youngster with bricks replied with a smile,

"The Alliance double agent has a new task, this time it's to cover Cowell's retreat."

"Coleway?" remembering a serialized post by the Old Soldier on the forum, Mole immediately recalled the name, "The highest officer of Fallen Leaf Camp?"

"That's him."

Seeing Giant Eye nod, Mole looked regretful.

"Damn! That was a big fish that got away."

Debt Giant Eye said with a laugh, "You call that a big fish? Just a few small leaders, the real big fish are on the airship."

Mole sighed.

"Enough chit-chat, let's clean up the battlefield."

The sound of gunfire from the distant mountaintop had stopped.

The Skeleton Corps' infantry had already charged up, leading several prisoners down the mountain.

The appearance of one prisoner, seemingly unlike the usual small fry, suggested he might be a high-ranking officer.

Mole glanced around and then suddenly looked at the driver's seat of the armored truck beside him and ordered,

"Fugui, keep heading west to find the Old Soldier."

The yawning Gnome King Fugui rolled his eyes,

"Fuck you, why not call me Gnome King?"

"Get moving, while he's still in range, scare him with a burst, and when he fires back, pretend your engine has been hit and yank the steering wheel like this."

Mole gestured with his hand.

Gnome King Fugui saw the gesture, started the truck and said,

"OK, got it."

The armored truck, dragging a quad-barrel machine gun, restarted and pulled out of the formation, heading west to increase the difficulty for the Pangolin.

Mole waved his hand and led the rest deep into Fallen Leaf Camp to tally the captured spoils of war with his brothers.

The Army had left quite a lot of supplies in the camp.

Including generators, nutrient paste synthesizers, a large amount of military supplies, several workbenches and tools for processing scrap, and enough weapons and ammunition to arm half a division.

Without a logistical supply line, the Army could only produce the required ammunition and chemicals by scavenging locally.

In a makeshift workshop, one could even see gun barrels and bullets that had just been machined, and even 100mm shells that had not had time to be loaded with explosives.

Among those prisoners, there must be some of the Army's technicians; otherwise, these Wasteland Wanderers and Mutants couldn't manage such complex tasks alone.

As Mole inspected the ammunition depot, Debt Giant Eye and the construction site boss headed to the tent of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group.

That was where the officers of the Army and the Retinue Army were stationed.

Including those officers' personal belongings, slaves, and some other valuable items, they were generally kept there.

Scavenging the spoils of war.

Naturally, it started with their good brothers' tents.

Debt Giant Eye and the construction site boss exchanged smiles and walked towards the tent.

Maybe it was their overly lewd laughter, or maybe it was the blood-stained bayonet that was too intimidating, but as the Chaotic Army pushed in from outside, the faces of the women hiding in the tents were filled with bewilderment and panic.

One of the girls, slightly shorter and with light brown hair, suddenly showed a look of despair in her struggling eyes.

Since she could remember, the instructors of the Army had told them that it was an honor to serve as the Army's dogs, and if they fell into the hands of those Wasteland Wanderers and Mutants, these weak and frail poor things wouldn't even have the chance to be whipped, either being abused to death or skinned and tossed into boiling oil.

Previously, when General McCullen gave her and others to that "native" Pangolin, her heart was so nervous she thought she might be cooked and eaten.

However, during the half-month they spent together, she gradually realized that he was not as barbaric or evil as she had imagined, even treating them better than the Army's people did.

He not only refrained from forcing them to do unwilling acts but even took into account their physical strength, only allowing them to do manageable tasks like laundry.

To prevent them from being harassed by other refugees and Wasteland Wanderers, he even specifically placed their tents next to his own.

At that time, she even had an unexpected thought in her heart—being a servant to that native lord didn't seem so bad.

However...

That person never returned.

Clearly, he had fought bravely to the last moment and had been killed by these "rebels."

Rather than being captured by these devils, she thought...

She watched as two people entered the tent. A determined look appeared on her face as she quietly picked up the shaving blade from the table, planning to end her own life.

Big Eyes, who was joking with the construction worker, noticed the young girl's action and was startled.

Without enough time to understand the situation, he quickly stepped forward and grabbed the girl's arm, prying the blade from her hand.

"Have you lost your mind?"

The girl who was yelled at seemed terrified.

Her lips were white from biting them, and her eyes, wide with horror, stared blankly at the man in front of her.

"Uh, I've heard this called Stockholm Syndrome... but it doesn't quite fit," the youth from the construction site chimed in, "Anyway, don't expect your basic United Human language to make her understand. Leave it to the NPCs from the logistics management."

The Alliance had places like shelters.

These places were similar to refugee camps, mainly for sheltering and educating slaves redeemed from slavers, as well as the pitiful ones rescued from the Looters.

Most of these people had had their ability to function in a normal society destroyed by continuous torment, making it difficult for them, both mentally and physically, to adapt to new lives.

Before letting these "supervisees" re-enter society, the Alliance would assign instructors to indoctrinate them, teach them to read and understand newspapers, and after they had acquired at least one survival skill, register them with new resident identities so that they could begin new lives.

These people had not been tortured, but had lived as slaves from birth, with no sense of longing for freedom in their eyes.

"This game is really damn troublesome..."

Officers knowing to surrender when defeated while those Cannon Fodders nearly bleed dry, yet the most loyal turned out to be a slave...

Of course, that loyalty might not necessarily be to the Army.

Big Eyes sighed.

Although he was an Intelligence System player, he didn't like to think about such complex issues.

Letting go of her arm, he tossed the blood-stained blade aside, ignoring the blood dripping from his hand, and took out a piece of paper from his chest, handing it to the girl who was intent on dying.

"This is... something the Pangolin wrote for you guys, take it."

The girl looked confused at the piece of paper in her hand.

Clearly, she couldn't read.

Debt Giant Eye reluctantly took the paper back, cleared his throat, and read in not quite standard United Human language,

"Dawn City's hotel is hiring a laundry worker, recommended by the Road Town Inn, old man Hooke there is a good person. When the Looters came, we reached out to help them."

"There are no slaves or oppression on the Alliance's land; we have established our own country there, under our flag we vow never to submit to barbarians."

"Therefore, you shouldn't submit to me either."

"You have learned skills to earn a living, you can—and should—go there to live a normal person's life."

Debt Giant Eye, combining his own understanding, slightly refined the phrasing to make it less difficult to understand.

The women in the tent looked at each other.

The girl with light brown hair kept her head down, silent for a long time.

Debt Giant Eye and the construction worker casually collected some personal items from the Old Soldier, planning to bring them back to Dawn City.

As the two were about to leave, the girl with light brown hair suddenly raised her head and courageously stepped forward to stop them.

"My name is Lisa."

Debt Giant Eye and the construction worker stopped in their tracks, staring blankly at the girl, not understanding what she was planning to do next.

She bit her lips softly and continued in United Human language,

"If he... if he is still around, please tell him."

"I will wait for him."

Debt Giant Eye and the youth from the construction site exchanged glances.

"What did she say? I spaced out there."

"Uh, she apparently said her name is Lisa? That she's waiting for the Pangolin."

"Damn, that's bold!"

Seeing Debt Giant Eye's astonished face, the youth from the construction site blurted out.

"What kind of bold?"

Debt Giant Eye gave him a look and rolled his eyes.

"Can you not crack such mood-killing jokes?"

The youth from the construction site said sheepishly,

"I... was actually wondering, is it a double-headed cow or the regular kind?"

"..."

...

After the war on the western front had subsided, Chu Guang entered the Fallen Leaf Camp and announced to the local survivors the defeat of the Army and the victory of the Alliance.

The area around Rui Valley City was incorporated into the Restoration Zone, and Fallen Leaf Camp was to be renamed Falling Leaves City, becoming part of the Alliance.

The survivors who were captured by the Army could freely decide whether to stay or leave, and those who chose to stay, the Alliance would help them rebuild their homes on the ruins… These efforts would proceed alongside the advancement of the front lines.

As for the captive soldiers from the Retinue Army, the Alliance pardoned them for the crimes committed while working for the Army during the war.

Although a small portion had voluntarily joined the Army, the majority had been coerced into becoming cannon fodder.

To hold them accountable would be somewhat damaging to morale.

Of course, if any survivor were to identify someone who had used their position in the Retinue to commit serious crimes, they would still not escape punishment.

As before, the Alliance would build a POW camp near Falling Leaves City to detain prisoners of war.

They would repay their war crimes through labor, compensating those who had been displaced because of them.

While Chu Guang was busy leading his small group of players cleaning up the western battlefield, the northern border of the Alliance was stirring.

North of West State City.

At the edge where the Tributary of Tianshui met a stretch of desolate mountains, a thousand-man force was marching southward at a leisurely pace.

The group included a dozen three-wheeled motorcycles and six-wheeled trucks, carrying various light and heavy machine guns, mortars, and anti-armor rocket launchers.

Though these people were armed only with infantry weapons, their firepower was not to be underestimated.

Their motley attire made it clear that these individuals were mercenaries.

In River Valley Province, only Giant Stone City and Bugra Free State could organize such a ragtag group into a thousand team.

From the direction they were moving, it was apparent they were from the latter.

Walking beside Hader, a man wearing a leather felt hat looked toward the southern mountains and jokingly said,

"Isn't it a bit inopportune for us to intervene now?"

With a slight curl of his lips, Haberd, shouldering a rifle, responded lazily,

"Being too cautious will never make us rich."

Haberd was a name with some notoriety in Bugra Free State, both the man himself and the mercenary group named after him.

Just days ago, a mysterious employer had approached him through an intermediary, hoping he would attack Dawn City from the north.

Haberd initially refused without hesitation, as this was practically a suicide mission, and no amount of payment was worth it without life to spend it.

However, the employer quickly offered an additional piece of information.

The Army would adjust their deployments in the desert, and the airships from Rui Valley City would be recalled to support the battle at Oasis No. 9 in the Sunset Province.

Meanwhile, the Alliance's forces would surely be tied up on the western front, leaving the northern defenses vulnerable, making an invasion of Dawn City face little resistance.

Besides providing this information, the employer also offered to support them with a batch of weapons and increased the original remuneration from 1 million dinars to 1.2 million.

1.2 million dinars was no small sum.

Even if it were divided evenly, everyone would get over a thousand… though considering the costs, Haberd would not distribute it that way.

Apart from the bounty, the employer had told him he could dispose of any captured spoils as he saw fit.

Long ago, Haberd had heard that Dawn City had gathered thirty to forty thousand survivors and was hoarding aid supplies worth several million chips.

With someone funding and equipping them, and all spoils for his taking, Haberd could see no reason to refuse such generous terms.

The troops reached the banks of the tributary of Tianshui.

Seeing Tianshui so close at hand, Haberd immediately ordered,

"Prepare to cross the river!"

After entering the rainy season, Tianshui was more turbulent than usual, and the river at this tributary was noticeably wider, at least one kilometer across at its narrowest point.

But Haberd was prepared for this.

Although his brothers had never fought a water battle, it didn't mean he couldn't read the weather.

Twenty inflatable rafts, each the size of two double beds, were launched, each equipped with four paddles.

Over a thousand men were divided into two groups; two hundred, led by Haberd himself, began crossing the river on the inflatable rafts, while the remaining men stayed ashore to keep watch.

Standing at the front of the raft, Haberd looked at the southern shore of the Tributary of Tianshui and his brothers earnestly paddling, his eyes lighting up with a mix of excitement and cruelty.

Since the Alliance was too preoccupied to pay attention here…

It might be good to stay a few extra days in Dawn City.

Though the appearances of the refugees certainly couldn't compare to the dancers in the taverns of Bugra Free State, he wouldn't dare mess around in the city.

Outside, however, there weren't so many restrictions.

As myriad thoughts ran through Haberd's mind, his vanguard was just fifty meters from the shore.

At that moment, on the lush fringe of the nearby riverbank, a figure suddenly appeared.

Judging by the slimness of the shoulders, it was probably a woman, draped in a hooded cloak, with the hood casting a shadow that concealed her entire face.

Hubbard squinted slightly.

His instinct for danger made him sense a dangerous aura emanating from that person.

He cleared his throat and shouted loudly,

"Hey, girl by the shore, this is no place for a picnic. The big boss is busy today and has no time to play with you."

The person did not respond.

Hubbard's expression turned cold, and he signaled to his brothers while his hand reached for the automatic rifle hung on the inflating raft.

"Prepare for battle..."

His decision was resolute.

And indeed, his judgment was correct.

However...

It seemed a tad too late.

Almost at the moment he gave the command, they were only thirty meters away from the riverbank, and the person on the shore moved at the same time.

And—

The speed was unbelievably fast!

It was almost inhuman.

Hubbard saw her legs slightly bent and then, like a cannonball, she leaped into the air, covering a distance of over twenty meters to land on the foremost inflatable raft.

The massive impact almost bent the raft in half, throwing the mercenaries standing on it into the rapidly flowing river as they screamed in terror.

The instant Hubbard saw this, his pupils constricted sharply.

Before he could react, that swift figure had already jumped to the next raft, with two streaks of white light shooting from her sleeves.

From the fleeting afterimages, he barely made out—they were daggers!

There was no time to defend, and instantly, two mercenaries who had just raised their gun barrels were killed, and before their bodies hit the water, she had already slashed the throats of another two.

The twin slender daggers in her hands flew up and down, tearing the raft beneath her like a spiraling propeller, like a whirling saw blade.

The adjutant squatting next to Hubbard was written with panic, attempting to aim with the light machine gun in his hands at the agile figure.

However, she was too close to their allies!

He couldn't aim, nor could he open fire.

"Damn... I can't target it!"

A fierce glint passed through Hubbard's eyes as he roared,

"Don't engage her in close combat, push those close into the river! The rest open fire! Suppress her!"

Tat-tat-tat—!

The mounted machine gun finally spit out flames, and the adjutant, urged by Hubbard, pulled the trigger before his comrades had fully jumped off.

Bullets swarmed toward the raft like locusts!

Within that dense barrage, two mercenaries who couldn't jump in time were instantly killed, with only less than five managing to jump into the river.

Even though they couldn't swim.

After clearing one raft, she moved relentlessly to the next without a hint of fatigue.

In just five minutes, half of the twenty inflatable rafts had sunk, and the mercenaries in the water were mostly dead or injured, swept downstream by the fierce Tianshui, while only a few swimmers frantically dog-paddled toward the north in terror.

Seeing the situation on the river, the mercenaries waiting on the shore could only watch anxiously; even with mortars and machine guns ready, they couldn't help at all.

She was too close to their comrades.

A mortar shot might not take her down but could likely kill their boss first.

Watching his subordinates continue to fall, Hubbard was frantic, his eyes reddened. Seeing that shadow getting closer, he finally couldn't hold back anymore and shouted,

"Retreat! Everyone fall back!"

Upon receiving the retreat order, the mercenaries immediately grabbed the oars, straining to paddle in the opposite direction.

However, she had no intention of letting them go and chased directly after them.

One of the mercenaries pulled out an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher stored in a box, aimed at the person on the raft, and squeezed the trigger.

A trail of white smoke whizzed past.

But almost at the same time, a small quadcopter drone plunged straight down from the sky, positioning itself between him and the target.

The explosion thundered!

The rocket collided head-on with the drone, also detonating the explosives on the drone. The secondary explosion instantly engulfed two more rafts, blasting the mercenary who had fired the rocket into the air.

The chaotic airflow spread over the river surface, pushing the surrounding rafts outward, and also lifted the hood off her head.

Hubbard's eyes narrowed slightly.

It was a face with bland features, and slightly abstract contours, like a mannequin in a clothing store window.

Realizing what it was, he screamed in shock.

"Bionic human!"

"Are you from the corporation?!"

The man didn't answer, and while the shockwave from the explosion hadn't pushed the raft too far, he exerted force in his legs again and leapt like a cannonball towards the vessel where Haberd was.

At the same time, it was the last vessel!

Seeing the man charging at him, Haberd roared, the veins under his muscles writhing like earthworms, causing all his muscles to swell.

Immediately after, he simply threw away his rifle and drew the two daggers strapped to his thigh, facing the man head-on.

Clang clang—!

Two metallic collisions echoed, the immense force making his palms tingle.

Standing on the raft, the bionic human took a half step back, his plain features showing no emotion, yet seemingly revealing a hint of surprise.

At least, that's how Haberd saw it.

"Don't underestimate me... I'm an Awakener, after all," his eyes burning with the will to fight, he positioned his daggers in front of him, adjusting his breathing, trying to stabilize his shaky center of gravity.

Through his clenched teeth, he spat out a provocative remark.

"Repulsive monster... I'm going to dismantle you into parts."

"You talk too much."

An emotionless electronic tone floated over, marking the first and only sentence it spoke after initiating the action.

The two dagger-like blades in its hands spun again.

Like the propellers of a fighter plane.

Haberd's pupils dilated as he tried to discern the trajectory of the blades, but his eyes gradually failed to capture it.

The bionic human at the bow moved again.

This time, it was faster than before.

Watching the fake face rushing towards him, Haberd's muscles surged as he roared and swung his blade fiercely, but the swinging through the air made his heart sink.

So fast!

That was the last thought flashing through his mind.

The slightly sidestepped bionic human easily dodged his full-force strike, its agile steps already half an inch behind his heels, the fluttering daggers just a flicker as they casually sliced open the back of his neck.

There, was the nerve center.

Because it avoided the arteries, no blood spewed.

Haberd's eyes widened as he tried to twist his head back, but his body was already uncontrollable, falling stiffly onto the raft.

The bionic standing on the raft, flicking off the bloodstained dagger, glanced across the river and then turned and jumped into the river.

Finally snapping back to reality, the mercenaries on the river bank began pressing their triggers, unleashing fierce firepower towards where the shadow had disappeared.

Bullets rained down, splashing chunks of water on the river surface.

Followed by two mortar shells plunging into the river, the blast of water columns shot up several meters.

However, the shadow had already vanished, leaving only the chaotic river and puddles of light red blood...

The mercenaries' faces were filled with horror.

"Devil..."

"What was that thing?!"

"Was it an Awakener?"

"No... Is that thing still human?"

It was a completely one-sided slaughter.

Although on land they were a hundred percent confident they could destroy that thing, on the turbulent river water... unless it was an Awakener with enhanced reflexes, let alone aiming, maintaining balance was a challenge.

Rifles don't have "steady."

A man with a goatee swallowed and looked toward his comrades.

"The boss is dead."

He was a Centurion of Haberd's Mercenary Group.

But now Haberd was dead.

He would probably lead his brothers and register a new mercenary group under his own name.

The Centurion beside him nodded grimly.

"Uh..."

The man with the goatee continued.

"So... what do we do now?"

They only brought twenty rafts and had no more equipment to cross the river, and even if they did, as long as that ghostly thing was still there, crossing was impossible.

Completing the mission had become impossible.

A slightly older Centurion gritted his teeth, his tone heavy as he spoke,

"Let's retreat..."

After symbolically firing several rounds of mortar across the river to vent their anger and perhaps to mourn their deceased leader, the gathered mercenaries saw that no one else was coming up from the river. They hesitated for a moment but eventually retreated en masse.

Meanwhile, a bit downstream, a bionic person emerged from the water, shook off the droplets, and walked steadily ashore.

"Well done! The master will thank you!"

The doll riding on Xia Yan's shoulder swayed its little legs, its tranquil and beautiful face voicing a sincere compliment.

Having been on the sidelines, Xia Yan felt she should say something too, so she laughed awkwardly and said,

"Looks like we didn't even need to intervene..."

She carried an LD-47s sniper rifle on her back.

Although she hadn't fought in a long time and was not an Awakener, her skills hadn't gotten rusty—at least that's what she believed.

However...

Xiao Qi had a comment to make,

"You should remove the word 'we,' Xiao Qi did take action!"

Hearing this, Xia Yan's eyebrows twitched fiercely as she glared at the creature sitting on her shoulder.

"You little thing, be careful or I might throw you into the river!"

Controlling the doll, Xiao Qi bent its mouth corners,

"No empty threats, go ahead and throw if you dare."

Seeing its smug look, Xia Yan grimaced, pulled it off her shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. However, she dared not actually throw it into the river.

After all, unlike that trash bin,

Pai had made this doll.

Over the many days they'd spent together, she had already become friends with that little blue-eyed girl.

Xiao Qi clearly knew this, and while being squeezed, it simply disconnected from the doll and played dead.

Tianqin flicked the blood and water droplets off his dagger, looking at the manipulated doll as he responded with his unrestrained electronic voice,

"Thanks, the support was timely."

Seeing Tianqin looking her way made Xia Yan feel a bit embarrassed, and she carefully placed Xiao Qi back on her shoulder.

Reconnecting, Xiao Qi arrogantly swung its legs and continued,

"You're welcome... and here I thought the bionics in the shelter couldn't strike living beings."

"Normally, that's true. But Dr. Method modified my service terms add certain conditions, such as when the shelter or listed personnel are in danger, I can use necessary force,"

Tianqin's eyes flickered slightly as he continued expressionlessly.

"You're no different, right?"

Xiao Qi proudly lifted its lips.

"Of course, those despicable fellows dared to plot against Xiao Qi's master. I had to teach them a lesson!"

About half a month ago, its master had told it that the Alliance's Northern Border might be attacked.

Later, when it went to Rui Valley City, its master seemed to have reached some agreement with the manager of Shelter 101 and had sent Tianqin here.

Seeing how concerned Chu Guang was about the security here, Xiao Qi had two drones fly to the edge of Dawn City, tagging along the Xia Yan who had been studying there.

It wasn't exactly necessary to drag her along.

But with the master out of communication range, it was somewhat boring to be alone, so it called upon the "servant" who often carried it up and down the stairs.

Also, to show off its beautiful new body to this fool.

Listening to the two AIs converse, Xia Yan felt she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

At that moment, she suddenly noticed the noticeable marks and cracks on Tianqin, and worriedly spoke up,

"You're hurt."

Tianqin's pupils flickered slightly, replying seriously,

"Minor issue, just some superficial damage. The moving parts and control components are still intact, it doesn't affect my functions."

That might have been the longest sentence she'd ever said.

Xia Yan said with sparkling eyes,

"What I mean is, I can help you fix it."

She had just learned the skill recently and was worried she wouldn't have a chance to practice it.

Faced with those hopeful eyes, Tianqin paused briefly, then looked away,

"That's... not necessary."

Chapter 405: The Reward for the Warrior is Not Just Spoils of War, but Also Applause and Flowers

On the bridge of the Iron Heart.

Beside a chair skewed to one side lay documents they hadn't managed to burn, and the console connected to the radar had its screen smashed. However, the computer case was still intact; repairing it wouldn't be too difficult.

It was clear that those people fled in such a haste and disarray that they didn't even have time to completely destroy everything here.

Thanks to their oversight.

The Iron Heart could nearly fall completely intact into the hands of the Alliance.

"There's been a sighting of a thousand troops to the north of Dawn City, suspected mercenaries… but they've already been dealt with by Xiao Qi!"

"Master, you can rest easy now!"

Standing at the forefront of the bridge, by the floor-to-ceiling window, Chu Guang quietly listened to Xiao Qi's report about the situation in the northern territories of the Alliance, his lips curling into a smile of relief.

"Well done."

After the battle, communication between Rui Valley City and City of Dawn had been restored, particularly the airborne signals were exceptionally clear, and he could finally have a direct conversation with Xiao Qi, without having to worry about losing connection.

Long ago, probably right after the Northern Expedition had ended, Chu Guang had already started to guard against threats from the north.

Whether it was investigating the origin of the arms supplied to the Chewing Bone Tribe or through contact with the emissaries of the "Firestone" group, it all indicated that the Army had an intelligence network in the Bugra Free State and had murky dealings with the locals.

According to the testimony of the officers who had surrendered under Dylon's command, the Ten Thousand Leader of the Fourteenth Ten Thousand Troops, Condra, was in the Bugra Free State.

Chu Guang could even assert that the turmoil sweeping across River Valley Province caused by the Chewing Bone Tribe was the handiwork of this intelligence network, possibly aiming to establish a vassal in the River Valley Province, akin to the Falcon Kingdom.

Clearly, the Army had not given up due to the failure of one expedition, including their military movements in Luo Xia Province; they all hinted at preparations for the next expedition.

The main forces of the Alliance being tied up in the west by the Iron Heart had made it strange if the Army's intelligence network in the Bugra Free State had not made a move.

And after hearing Xiao Qi's report, the stone that had been weighing on Chu Guang's heart had finally landed on the ground.

The downpour outside the window had ceased.

Gazing at the rickety twilight and the land on the brink of nightfall, Chu Guang's thoughts couldn't help but fly off toward the land bathed in the glow of dusk, hundreds of kilometers away.

Although only a blurry outline was visible, he could feel the storm brewing there.

Regardless, he had now finished the fight at his doorstep; Iron Heart would remain forever in River Valley Province, and for the time being, the Army would no longer covet the land beneath his feet.

With the help of Yun Song and Assault Team No.26, the allied forces of the Four Kingdoms should be able to hold on for a while.

And before the grand army marched to Luo Xia Province, he could take a brief respite, pausing to marvel at the rainbow after the storm...

At that moment, the sound of footsteps approaching from outside interrupted Chu Guang's thoughts.

Lu Bei, wearing the Type Five "Light Cavalry" exoskeleton, stood at the door, his right fist pressed against his scarred and cracked breastplate, speaking with respectful tone.

"Sir, I have brought the person you requested!"

In the eyes of the young man as he reported, there shone not just respect, but also evident admiration.

As part of Chu Guang's Personal Body Guard, the Guard Corps had also partaken in the encirclement of the first thousand Airborne Marine Troops in the previous battle.

The figure who had ridden atop the Claw of Death, charging with a warhammer raised high, was deeply etched in his mind.

Although his presence on the front lines didn't affect the greatness of the man in charge, in that moment, the formidable silhouette bathed in holy light seemed to have been elevated.

He was certain that he wasn't the only one to feel that way.

Withdrawing his gaze from the window, Chu Guang turned around to face the doorway.

There stood a man with a pale complexion and a prominent nose beside Lu Bei.

Physically, he was far from the large stature of the ground combat officers and appeared more like a civilian or technical staff member.

And indeed, that was the case.

According to the information provided by Old Soldier and the testimonies of the captives, this man was named Finod and served as the logistical commander of the Iron Heart, holding the rank of a Centurion.

Although he did not lead troops, the stars on his epaulettes totaled two more than Vanus's.

When the fighting had started, he'd been at the Marine Corps garrison, and afterward, the camp was attacked by the Jungle Corps, forcing a retreat to the Fallen Leaf Camp a kilometer away.

He missed General McCullen's escape pod and then missed Coleway's last transportation; ultimately, he ran smack into the Skeleton Corps's armored formation.

The fact he surrendered alive was, in some sense, quite an accomplishment.

Seeing Chu Guang looking at him, Finod swallowed hard, trying to conjure up a strained smile on his face, taking the initiative to speak.

"I... can pay a ransom."

Hearing this, Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Five million dinars."

Upon hearing this astronomical figure, Finod's already pale and greenish face turned even paler as his voice trembled, attempting to haggle.

"I, I'm just a Thousands of leaders... isn't five million too much?"

Chu Guang replied offhandedly,

"Then make it six million dinars."

Hearing the figure of six million, Finod immediately closed his mouth and stopped talking.

He had guessed that this person in front of him had no intention of letting him go; the ransom amount was completely arbitrary.

Six million dinars...

That amount of money was enough to equip three thousand team!

Although the position of logistics officer did indeed bring him some occupational conveniences, even if he had ten thousand times the courage, he wouldn't dare be so corrupt.

Finod swallowed his saliva, his eyes gradually filled with a hint of fear.

Is this guy planning to make an example of me simply because he didn't catch any bigger fish?

As his mind wandered with wild thoughts, Finod felt his legs go weak.

It wasn't that he was afraid of death.

He just wasn't mentally prepared to die loyally for the marshal...

Chu Guang glanced at the man and asked with interest,

"You've become a logistics officer, and you can't come up with this amount of money?"

Finod said bitterly,

"Sir, do you know what five million dinars mean?"

"I don't know, and I'm not interested. Moreover, your ransom is six million. If you can't pay, then work earnestly, hoping for a more lenient treatment," Chu Guang said with a faint smile as he saw a glimmer of hope reignite on the face filled with despair, then he asked, "Can you operate an airship?"

Finod nodded nervously,

"I know a little... I roughly know how to get it moving."

"That's enough," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "I'll be watching here; you operate it. The destination is Qingquan City. If there's any deviation, you probably don't need me to spell out the consequences."

Upon hearing these words, Finod's face instantly twisted into a bitter melon, and he stammered in a trembling voice.

"Sir..."

"What is it?"

"The left wing of the airship has been dismantled by you guys... now only the tail power remains," Finod said with a bitter expression, "Not to mention heading to Qingquan City, even pulling up the anchor chain now carries the risk of drifting away..."

Oh, right.

The wing seemed to be broken.

Chu Guang admitted that he may have gotten a little too excited; after all, capturing such a huge device was hard not to get thrilled about.

Just inventorying the loot clearly would probably take days.

Chu Guang believed not only himself but also the players who had defeated the first world-class BOSS in "Wasteland OL" were probably ecstatic at the moment.

Once the loot was fully inventoried and the battle settlement list was produced, he would share the joy of victory thoroughly with his beloved players.

After a light cough, Chu Guang looked at Finod with a troubled expression and said,

"Well, of course I knew it couldn't be operated; I was just seeing if you had any ulterior motives... I'm satisfied with your performance. The ransom can be reduced by 100,000 dinars; it's now 5.9 million."

Finod gave a bitter smile and said nothing.

Chu Guang composed his facial expression and continued speaking.

"Take me around here to have a look."

Finod let out a sigh of relief, bowed his head respectfully, and said,

"Yes."

...

After the Jungle Corps and the Burning Corps took control of the airship, they coerced the remaining crew to lower the airship's altitude.

Now, the Iron Heart was only one hundred meters above the ground.

Except for players on a mission, most players gathered below the Iron Heart, standing next to the anchor chain to take photos as souvenirs.

After all, this was the first world-class BOSS in "Wasteland OL."

And it was the server's first ten-thousand-player battle.

It definitely deserved a proper commemoration!

Especially seeing the alliance flag hanging on the Iron Heart, for all you know, this airship might become the new meeting point for the alliance.

Take a photo and a group picture now; later on, you can boast to the newbies—"Look at this, your Novice Village was conquered by yours truly!"

While the players were busy preparing material to brag about after logging off, Chu Guang, leading the Guards Corps, was taking over various areas of the airship from the Jungle Corps.

There were about five hundred prisoners from the crew.

Most of these crew members were non-combat personnel, primarily responsible for correcting firepower, operating radar, charting courses, and tasks such as driving and repairing the ship.

Understanding how to pilot this airship and how its logistic system operated was indispensable, and these people's help was crucial.

For prisoners willing to cooperate, Chu Guang didn't treat them too harshly; he handed them all over to the logistics department and arranged for people to learn how to steer the airship from them.

If they performed well, their sentences could be reduced.

Frankly speaking, given the size of the alliance at present, there were certain difficulties in fully assimilating the behemoth that was the Iron Heart.

Although the Iron Heart was an aerial unit, its mode of combat was more akin to that of a navy than an air force.

Regrettably, within the alliance's territory, there were only two lakes, and there was no such thing as a navy.

A range of personnel, including the captain, could only be temporarily promoted from the reserve officers within the army and air force systems.

Under Finod's guidance, Chu Guang arrived at the ammunition depot of the Iron Heart.

A steel vault door with a thickness of twenty millimeters stretched across the end of the corridor, requiring both a password and a key to enter.

"The code is 4731."

After entering the password, Finod took out the key to open the door, then respectfully handed the key back to Chu Guang.

Chu Guang took the key and casually pocketed it, glanced inside the door, and was soon taken aback by the astonishing sight.

The ammunition racks, several meters tall, were crammed with shells thicker than a leg, and folded mechanical arms stood next to the racks, their bases fixed on T-shaped rails.

Chu Guang, looking at the warehouse full of ammunition, suddenly asked on a whim.

"Are all the airship ammunition depots in the same location?"

Finod respectfully answered.

"Of course not, sir. Each nuclear-powered airship of the corps is designed specifically around its 'Shield Core,' and each 'Shield Core' has different preservation conditions... Moreover, this is one of the corps' topmost secrets."

"Including myself, I only knew the specific locations of various compartments of the Iron Heart after I started my post. Many junior officers, until their service ends and they leave the airship, may not know the exact locations of the ammunition and power compartments."

That so-called Shield Core probably referred to the remnants of a Human Alliance Era escort ship.

Chu Guang nodded to show he understood and didn't continue to inquire into this fruitless matter; instead, he turned his attention to the reputation of the ammunition inventory.

With the help of the former logistics chief officer of the Iron Heart, Chu Guang did a rough tally.

The loot was indeed quite gratifying.

In total, there were fifty 400mm rocket-boosted shells in the ammunition depot, each weighing close to 1.5 tons, composed of two types of warheads: cloud burst bombs and conventional bombs.

These "sub-nuclear weapons," which General McCullen had not yet managed to use, were now all spoils of war for the alliance.

Not just the main gun's ammunition, but also nearly ten thousand 100mm shells and millions of bullets of various models and calibers, stored in different compartments.

During combat, these ammunitions would be transported to various fighting positions through mechanical arms and fixed rails, and depending on the type of ammunition, some would be manually loaded while others would be automatically loaded by machinery.

In addition to this, Chu Guang also found 500 medium-range 500kg air-to-ground missiles and 70 large 1000kg air-to-ground missiles in the ammunition depot!

The power of these weapons might be even greater than that of the 400mm main guns!

After all, a large part of the weight of the 400mm rocket-boosted shells was allocated to the propellant, while most of the weight of these 900kg air-to-ground missiles was in the warhead!

A typical cloud burst bomb's yield was over 8 tons; by comparison, the yield of these missiles might well be up to 20 tons.

According to Finod, the logistics chief, these air-to-ground missiles were mainly used to counteract sturdy fixed fortifications and underground bunkers.

Looking at that full row of ammunition racks, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel a tinge of relief inside.

It was a close call getting ahold of this airship.

If that shield had flown at someone's face while activated, I'm afraid that apart from the people in the shelter, very few on the surface would have survived...

The spoils of war weren't limited to the ammunition on the airship, but also included military supplies stored in the warehouse—500 tons of canned beef and almost 1700 tons of compressed biscuits, pickled vegetables, and various other supplies—enough to last an army of ten thousand for a whole year.

Even in a small-sized cold storage room, Chu Guang found ice cream and milk ice lollies preserved in freezers.

Looking at the desserts in the freezer, a trace of surprise appeared in Chu Guang's eyes as he made a teasing remark.

"You all seem to be living quite comfortably."

Finod smiled awkwardly and didn't know what to say in response.

Chu Guang turned to Lu Bei, who was standing beside him, and said with a smile,

"Call a few brothers over in a bit and move all these popsicles and ice lollies down. We'll share them with the soldiers during dinner."

"They're labeled 'Centurion's Special Supply' on the top, so they must taste pretty good. Let everyone try them and see what they're like."

After all, he is still a child and can't resist the temptation of food.

The moment Lu Bei heard about eating, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

However, he quickly realized his lapse in manners and promptly stood up straight to give a military salute.

"Yes, Sir!"

Seeing the excited look on Lu Bei's face, Chu Guang smiled and didn't say anything else.

Ice cream wasn't anything particularly rare in the City of Dawn; however, this was the frontline, and it wasn't easy to get a bite of something cold here.

Now was the height of the sweltering summer, and having just gone through a major battle, both players and indigenous people were nearing their physical limits.

At this time, getting an ice lolly to cool off would be a delightful treat.

Although there weren't as many ice lollies as there were cans of beef, several freezers were still packed full, enough for everyone to get one.

Upon hearing Chu Guang's "share," the soldiers of the Guards Corps were all smiles, all except for Finod, who wore a look of regret.

No one knew better than him, the logistics officer, just how expensive those white-as-mutton-fat-jade ice lollies were.

Just the milk used to make these ice lollies was far from cheap goods, but rather it came from the high mountain pastures by the Sorate River, held by the army, with each barrel valued at over ten thousand dinars. Ordinary civilians neither had the privilege nor the means to purchase it.

Although the freezer was labeled "Centurion's Special Supply," because this place was too far from the core territory of the army, it had long been supplied only to officers above the rank of Thousands of leaders.

To give these away to the servants was sheer extravagance!

But Finod didn't say anything.

After all, how to handle the spoils of war was the prerogative of the man before him, and he was merely a captive...

...

Apart from ammunition and military supplies, the airship also carried some as-yet-unemployed construction vehicles and manufacturing equipment.

Chu Guang planned to hand those over to the logistics department.

Beyond those immovable goods, in the lower cabin of the airship, slaves of the army were housed.

To Chu Guang's surprise, although the living conditions for these slaves couldn't be considered great, they were unexpectedly not too harsh.

Inside a shared sleeping area of close to two to three hundred square meters, there were about a hundred triple bunk beds crammed in. The beds were so close together that there was just enough room to fit two feet in between.''

One side of the shared space led to a communal bathroom, with no privacy partitions, and an open room hung with rows of showerheads.

In a corner of the room lay a few bars of soap.

Compared to the Looter's dungeon that made one physically ill, this place seemed relatively more civilized, barely reaching the standard of a prison.

However, the things that had happened here could not be considered civilized.

Seeing Chu Guang and Finod walk into the room, the slaves' faces were covered in confusion and anxiety.

Even though this place hadn't turned into a battlefield, and they were long used to the deafening gunfire and explosions outside, they still sensed something unusual from Finod's expression and the attire of the people beside him.

Chu Guang noticed that while making eye contact with him, though there was fear in their eyes, they did not shyly look away.

Even though most of them were only clad in a thin piece of clothing that barely covered their bodies.

Standing beside Chu Guang, Finod coughed softly and said in a servile tone,

"Sir, most of these slaves are of low birth, and some are even Waste Land Wanderers that those roughnecks have abducted from the Wasteland. I believe they won't interest you..."

In his view, these were the spoils of war that should be given to the servants, unlike the invaluable ice cream in the freezer.

Chu Guang looked at him with a bit of surprise.

"You categorize slaves into different levels?"

Finod: "Well, not exactly levels, but centurions and above usually have their own rooms, and those above the rank of thousand leader even have additional chambers. Those places are not just for storing war trophies, but they often serve as quarters for their servants too…"

"Including yourself?"

Seeing Chu Guang's somewhat amused expression, Finod's face turned slightly awkward as he stiffly continued.

"Of course… I cannot deny it, but compared to my tastes, I believe you will find General McCullen's collection much more interesting."

Chu Guang's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Take me there."

Finod immediately replied with respect.

"Yes, my lord."

General McCullen's chamber was located at the very end of the airship, not far from the entrance to the escape pods. A few soldiers from the Guards Corps were busy cleaning up blood and bodies from the floor.

There had been a fierce exchange of fire here before, as the walls of the corridor were riddled with bullet marks—a testament to the brutality of the battle.

Upon seeing Chu Guang and his entourage approaching, the two standing at the door immediately saluted.

"Manager!"

Chu Guang nodded at them, signaling for them to continue, then he casually let the pale-faced Finod lead the way.

They quickly arrived at General McCullen's room.

The space here was quite spacious, a stark contrast to the cramped crew quarters.

Interestingly enough, Chu Guang actually saw Yong's head here.

The ugly skull was the size of a double-headed cow and seemed to have been treated with formalin or a similar substance, having been turned into a specimen.

However, it seemed that General McCullen probably wouldn't have the chance to hang this oddity on the bow of the Steel Heart.

Besides Yong's head, there were piles of pretty stones, gold and silver utensils studded with diamonds, as well as some high-tech-looking devices whose purpose was totally unknown.

According to Finod, whenever General McCullen conquered a survivor settlement, he would select a few of the most valuable trophies to add to his collection.

Some were made by the indigenous people themselves, and others were salvaged from pre-war relics.

Chu Guang wasn't particularly interested in these treasures and didn't understand them well, but the nobles of Giant Stone City's inner city would probably find them intriguing.

He planned to let Yin Fang pick out some valuable items from them once they were transported back, and find a few familiar merchants to help sell the rest.

General McCullen's private collection.

If brought to the auction in Giant Stone City, it should fetch a fair amount of chips.

Next to the room storing the treasures was a bedroom. As Chu Guang pushed open the door and entered, he found a woman standing inside.

She was in her early twenties and wore a luxurious long dress. Whether it was her looks or the temperament in her expression, she was noticeably different from the slaves Chu Guang had seen in the lower deck cabins.

However…

The panic and bewilderment written in her eyes seemed all too similar.

Standing beside Chu Guang, Finod respectfully introduced her.

"This lady has no ordinary status, she is one of the consorts of the Falcon Kingdom… her name is Teresa, the daughter of a certain influential noble."

Chu Guang looked at him in surprise.

"You've even taken their queen captive?"

Finod explained in a low voice: "This shouldn't be considered as taking by force; the king of Falcon Kingdom offered her willingly to General McCullen."

Teresa's face was pale as she bit her lip without speaking, her gaze shifting back and forth between Chu Guang and Finod, trying to understand the situation.

Chu Guang stared at her for a while, pondering how to deal with her.

Just then, an idea struck him, and he spoke up.

"Hello, Miss Teresa."

Seeing the person clad in azure power armor addressing her, Teresa said nervously.

"Hello… may I know who you are?"

Chu Guang continued.

"The Manager of the Alliance."

"The... Alliance?"

Teresa's face showed a subconscious sense of bewilderment.

However, she quickly realized that her ignorance could be taken as an offense, and hurriedly bowed her head in sincere trepidation.

"Sorry, I... I didn't mean to offend, it's just that I have never been to such a distant place, and I don't understand the situation here at all..."

"No need to be nervous, we're not that petty," Chu Guang smiled faintly and continued, "And you are a victim of the war, we won't make things difficult for you."

Teresa looked at him blankly, then turned to look at Finod.

Finod did not know what Chu Guang was planning, but being a smart man, he consciously shut his mouth, silently pretending he did not exist.

Seeing that she did not speak, Chu Guang guessed she might still be completely in the dark about the current situation, so he spoke up.

"You may not have figured out the situation yet, but to put it simply, we have defeated the Army, and this airship has now been occupied by the Alliance."

Confirming from Finod's expression that this was not a joke, Teresa looked tensely at the man in front of her and asked with a trembling voice.

"What about me..."

"You are free now."

Before she could be relieved, Chu Guang continued.

"However, your identity is special, and we might soon be at war with your country, so we cannot release you directly. After all, you wouldn't want to travel thousands of kilometers home alone and then be captured by us as an enemy, would you?"

Teresa's lips lightly pursed, and a multitude of thoughts flashed through her eyes for an instant, and finally, she slowly nodded her head, submissively saying.

"What do you... need me to do?"

There was a faint hint of alluring, beguiling purity in that gesture.

However, she had clearly misunderstood.

Joking.

Hanging out on the Forum with a bunch of handsome men and beautiful women every day, what kind of big waves had Chu Guang not seen?

He didn't care about her little trick at all and went straight to the point.

"Do you have any offspring?"

Teresa's face turned slightly red as she gently shook her head.

"No..."

Chu Guang's expression showed a hint of disappointment.

Seeing how young the princess was, he had hoped that she might have a son who was one or two years old. It now seemed she was too young for that.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang continued.

"Can you read and write?"

Teresa immediately nodded.

"I can read and write... including poetry and music composition."

"Being literate is good enough."

Chu Guang nodded and then said.

"The military action of the Army in Rui Valley City has caused many local survivors to be displaced. The Home of the Refugees of the Alliance needs manpower, and I will arrange for you to work there."

Teresa's face was filled with confusion, and she asked in a low voice after a long pause.

"May I ask, what specifically... do you need me to do?"

"Somebody will teach you. What you need to do is help people here rebuild their homes and learn how to rebuild."

With that, Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"You'll make use of this knowledge."

...

The administrative divisions of the Human Alliance Era were outrageously large, with the area of River Valley Province being large enough, and the area of Luo Xia Province being several times that of River Valley.

The Falcon Kingdom and the core territories of the Alliance were separated by thousands of kilometers. Even if there were one person per kilometer, it would take a 'thousand team' to fill that space.

Direct occupation of the Falcon Kingdom was not practical.

With a population of less than one hundred thousand, the Alliance simply didn't have the capacity to control an exclave a thousand kilometers away, which was a burden for both sides.

Not to mention, their cultural concepts were entirely different.

The best solution was to prop up a puppet government, ensure a smooth power transition, then gradually enhance the Alliance's economic and cultural influence locally, and annex it into the Alliance at an appropriate time... if necessary.

It was a bit of a pity not to get "legitimacy."

But...

It didn't matter anymore.

After all, it was a last-minute bad idea, and Chu Guang hadn't expected it to be of any real use in the end.

He preferred the idea of a military cleanup of the Falcon Kingdom's Royal Family after their defeat, to disarm the area, and then hand it over to the Lion Kingdom for trusteeship.

An indirect vassal was also an option.

It's just that this approach also came with its risks and uncertainties...

...

In the North of Dawn City.

With the Goblin Corps' flight squadron's full return, news of victory was also brought back from the front line.

Outside the wire fence of the airport, residents of Dawn City stood packed.

Flowers thrown vigorously into the air drifted from outside the airport all the way to the runway, alongside the applause and cheers of the people.

Although it was already nighttime, people's enthusiasm did not wane in the least.

Amid the cheers of the residents of Dawn City, players from the Goblin Corps began to land on the airport runway one after the other.

The main force's homecoming would be in a few days.

The joy of victory could only be tasted by them in advance.

The aircraft slowly entered the brightly lit hangar, and Feng Qing, descending from the plane, looked at the two lines of poetry etched under the hatch and sighed with a slight regret.

"What a pity…"

She had been ready to die gloriously; she even wrote a poem.

But she didn't expect to make it back alive.

At this moment, a curious head popped up next to her, peering at the two lines of poetry on the hatch and mumbling them out loud.

"Autumn Shura Field, spirited steeds race with divine wind, pursuit arrows fly like locusts... Awesome, did you write this?"

Her ID was Gui Gui, an Agility System player like Feng Qing and Falling Feather, belonging to the same batch that entered Game, previously participating in the air raid on Qingshi Town and the battle at Pine Forest Valley.

Her piloting skills weren't outstanding, managing just enough to bring the plane back.

However, the ability to bring back a beaten-up Mosquito plane, in a sense, was also pretty Niubi.

Hearing that voice, Feng Qing's face flushed crimson like liver, and she hurriedly pounced to pull the other player away, babbling incoherently.

"No, it's not mine... Stop reading it!"

Meanwhile, in the sky outside the hangar.

The show-off Mosquito, who was reluctant to land, performed a flying display, overestimated the quality of its own product, and nearly buckled the wings. It then landed obediently.

Residents awaiting at the airport offered flowers to these victorious warriors.

Tonight, all through the night until the Sun rose tomorrow, every restaurant and tavern in Dawn City would offer free meals to these warriors who returned safely.

At this moment, in the lobby of the Highway Inn, the clinking of glasses and the sound of celebration echoed, as people raised their toasts to the hard-fought victory.

Not all were residents of Dawn City; there were also traders from Giant Stone City, the Red River Alliance, Garbage City, or even farther places who had come here.

Due to the war, they had stayed here for several days.

Now, it was all finally over.

"Long live the Alliance!"

"To victory, a toast!"

"May the Manager live forever!"

At that point, someone called out, laughing.

"Hahaha, our Manager is still young, wish him many sons and blessings instead of a long life!"

The inn's lobby was filled with cheerful laughter.

Old Hooke, sitting behind the bar, also started to laugh.

At that moment, the clerk standing to the side couldn't help but sigh.

"The war is about to end... In a few days, this place probably won't be as bustling."

Due to the war in the west, a large number of commercial teams traveling from the Eastern Provinces to the west had been forced to stay in the City of Dawn.

Despite the fierce battlefront and the war's drain on resources, the big inns in the City of Dawn were thriving.

Perhaps it was to drown their sorrows in alcohol, but beer, in particular, was selling well.

But now that the war was over, those commercial teams were probably beginning to think about packing up and hitting the road again.

"How could it be?"

Old Hooke gave a faint smile, squinting at the lively lobby, and said in a casual tone.

"The triumphal ceremonies and celebrations are just in these few days, and many people are waiting to witness that person's honor. They'll probably stay a few more days, right?"

After all, a win is a win.

Once the celebration was over, business at the inn might indeed not be as hot as it is now, but that would only be temporary.

Once those traveling commercial teams and merchants carried the heroic deeds and tales of courage from here to farther away places...

This place would only become more lively than it is now.

...

At the same time, several kilometers away in Giant Stone City.

Unlike the residents of the City of Dawn, the people here were still living in yesterday's news, unaware of the situation on the frontline.

The first to receive the good news from the frontline was the Survivor's Daily newspaper office.

Backed by Alliance funding, Hal not only got the first-hand battle reports but even got his hands on the casualty list.

"...A casualty list?! Let me see!"

Watching the whirring fax machine, Dolly, who heard that the casualty list had arrived, immediately rushed over, her face full of anxiety.

"It seems like he was in the Burning Corps!"

Hal, standing next to the fax machine, beat her to it, snatching the still-warm firsthand document into his hands.

"Don't worry... I'll help you look. The Burning Corps, right? There was mention of news about that corps... Hiss..."

Hal scanned the paper for a moment and then involuntarily sucked in a breath of cold air.

Seeing the subtle expression on his face, Dolly became even more anxious and quickly pressed him.

"What is it?"

Hal's expression was a bit awkward as he hid the fax behind him.

"Uh, it's better if you don't look—"

Before he could finish, he suddenly took a punch to the stomach.

The clash of metal and flesh made Hal gasp in pain, clenching his teeth grimly as he crouched down, clutching his belly.

"You... are you a barbarian?!"

Actually, hitting the boss!

Although, considering their mutual friend, he probably couldn't really fire her...

Dolly didn't care about that guy at all, snatching the fax from him and swiftly locating the Burning Corps' line.

It was also at the instant she saw those lines of text that her right eye slightly contracted, and her youthful face instantly lost all color,
turning deathly pale.

[The Burning Corps had a total of 500 men participate in the airdrop landing combat against the Steel Heart. They wiped out a total of 751 enemies.]

[The battle ended in a Pyrrhic victory.]

[Only one survivor.]

...

(Thanks for the crown rewards from "pk52" and "Shen Chao_Ye Mao kull"!!!)

Chapter 406 Preview of the New Expansion Pack and Communication from the East Coast

"I saw two infantry rushing over, and just before I knew it, I slid into a tackle. At the same time, I swung my claw and 'crack' went their armor—split right down the middle into two pieces!"

Beside the bonfire,
sitting on the ground, the "Pick up trash 99 level" was vividly describing his heroic deeds on the battlefield. A group of second-hand recruits from the Death Legion sat around him, their eyes sparkling as they listened to him boast.

Although his exoskeleton hadn't arrived yet, it didn't seem to affect the Trash Older Brother's ability to dominate with his nimble mouth and tongue.

"Damn!"

"Big Boss is awesome!"

"Awesome, awesome, Boss, can I ride next time too?"

Trash Older Brother casually stroked his nose with his claw, floating in his smugness.

"Next time for sure!"

Due to factors including his weight, body size, and the "hands and feet tied" debuff, Trash Older Brother didn't participate in the airdrop; instead, he charged on the front lines with the Death Legion.

And he even served as a mount for Old Soldier Edge.

Although Trash Older Brother initially refused, seeing other Claws of Death obediently lying down, he too got curious about what it felt like to be ridden, so he gave in.

However, even though his body in the game was a lizard, his mind was still human, leading to a fighting style that remained very human-like and made him feel awkward in various ways as a mount.

For instance, even though a "forelimbs forward, tail raised" posture would suit his body, he couldn't help but straighten up and curl his tail.

This made the person riding on his back quite uncomfortable, forced to lie flat like they were climbing a rock.

After listening to this guy's boasting for a long time, Old Soldier Edge couldn't help but complain.

"You, with your damn tackle, knocked me to the ground."

Debt Giant Eyes, sitting nearby, laughed teasingly.

"Why does Trash Older Brother always like to slide tackle?"

Elena replied in a joking tone,

"Maybe he's envious of others' crotches."

"Hahaha!"

Laughter erupted around them.

Trash Older Brother's face turned red, though it wasn't very noticeable.

"It's just... that... wasn't included in this setting. If it was, mine would definitely be bigger than yours!"

The young worker and Brick Eyes lit up.

"I believe that; I've seen it in mods for other games."

Debt Giant Eyes said, "Brother, let me borrow that line."

Awoken by the laughter, Nicole, who was napping on the ground, opened one eye and saw the noisy little figure, her nose letting out a "tsk" sound.

Too weak.

And not even armored.

She curled her robust tail and laid her head next to the exoskeleton that exuded a scent of blood, changing her position and going back to sleep.

Having had enough fun, Old Soldier Edge sighed,

"Ahh... I really should just ride my own mount. Apart from the riding experience feeling weird, the vibe is also strange. Although this guy's a eunuch, underneath it all he's still a man... This is the last time, brother. Next time, charge by yourself."

Trash Older Brother couldn't help but burst out,

"You freaking! Who insisted on riding me?"

Laughter erupted again beside the fire.

Not far from another campfire,

Crow, who had been eavesdropping on those players, covered her stomach with laughter, and Teng Teng, sitting next to her, couldn't help but curve her mouth, poking at the fire with a stick.

Dinner was beef stew with potatoes, both the beef and potatoes were army provisions captured from army camps.

The army and the Looters are different; they don't eat people, at most they turn them into soap. The beef in the storage could be somewhat trusted.

This was guaranteed by Old Soldier, who got the meat by raiding double-headed cows from traders and folks nearby.

At that moment, Night Ten, holding a foam box, staggered over from the airship.

The Light Cavalry Exoskeleton had turned into bandages, and his current state made him look like a half-finished mummy.

It was a miracle he could walk without a cane.

"The Manager said we get an extra meal!"

"Manager's food?!" Crow dusted off her hands, standing up with anticipation, "What is it, a duck?"

Often serving as a taste tester, no one knew better than her how many delicacies the Manager "hid."

"Hehe, ice cream! Seized from the airship!"

Night Ten opened the box, handed one to her, and glanced at Teng Teng, somewhat embarrassed, he gave her the biggest one.

"Thanks."

Though she effortlessly took it, there wasn't the slightest hint of discomfort from her.

Although she's only five feet in the game, she's definitely not that in reality.

Night Ten, struggling to find a topic, blurted out,

"That... where's my sister? The one named Jiujiu."

Teng Teng took a moment to consider how to describe her, but before she could start, Crow unguardedly blurted out,

"Dead... Ah, it was too sudden. I just sensed something was wrong when a rocket launcher whizzed past, and the whole wall blew up... and then, she was shattered too."

Nibbling her ice cream, Teng Teng rubbed her temple with a headache and mumbled a bit indecipherably,

"...you didn't have to describe it in such detail to the family."

Night Ten was indeed taken aback, but he wasn't too sad, just a bit embarrassed as he waved his hands.

"No worries, no worries. Looks like taking care of that little girl... caused you some trouble."

"Not at all. She's actually very capable and brave. You should trust her more. And since she managed to get a closed beta slot, she must be at least 18 years old. You shouldn't always treat her like a child."

Although Teng Teng spoke teasingly, she couldn't help but lecture a bit more.

But Night Ten didn't find it nagging. He just scratched his head, looking more like a student being punished, nothing like his usual demeanor.

Realizing she was lecturing again, Teng Teng caught herself and shifted the conversation.

"Speaking of which, where's Old White? Haven't seen them anywhere."

Night Ten sighed and made a helpless gesture.

"Dead."

Both Teng Teng and Crow involuntarily gasped.

"Dead?"

"Old White... I remember he's supposed to be professional, right?"

In this game, players of any profession exist, but no one hangs it on their lips and emphasizes it daily. She just vaguely remembered hearing someone say that Old White had been a soldier.

Though he had already switched careers.

"Hey... anyone playing this game for a few months can hardly be called an amateur."

Night Ten smiled helplessly and sat down next to the campfire.

"And don't underestimate the other side... those soldiers in black robes aren't weak, whether it's their equipment, training, or physique. Fighting them is somewhat tricky."

In peacetime, even with maximum training time, it was impossible to wake up to the sight of death hanging over one's head like in this game.

He remembered Old White telling him not to put too much faith in so-called professionalism and not to be overconfident about it. After all, professionalism is a relative concept, not an absolute one.

A non-swimmer thrown into a wild river who flaps around a few times and survives without being washed away or eaten by fish can also count as a swimmer.

Even a professionally trained swimmer wouldn't brazenly claim that no river could kill them.

Surviving such a deadly battle was a bragging right, but dying in one was no surprise.

Night Ten felt it was a surprise that he had survived.

Perception-type Awakeners, when enhanced to the Third Order of Sequence—after the Second Awakening, often had combat power inferior to those of the Strength, Agility, and Constitution types.

Especially at extreme firefight distances where there's no time to prepare, just like Crow said, high perception could predict danger but it didn't mean she could avoid it.

Before parachuting, Night Ten hadn't thought he would come down from that airship alive, since his specialty was mid-to-long-range sniping.

The people sitting around the campfire talked about what happened during the fight, lamenting how things could have been better so their teammate wouldn't have died.

However, no one was too upset about it.

Since revival was possible, death was not a taboo topic for the players. After all, they could see each other again three days later, maybe even sooner.

Of course…

Everyone tacitly avoided the topic of NPCs.

War definitely had casualties.

Different from them.

Those people, once dead, truly wouldn't appear again…

Squatting next to a foam box Night Ten had brought over, Debt Giant Eye dangled a popsicle in his mouth, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"Fuck, this thing is actually pretty good! Can I have another?"

Night Ten gestured dismissively.

"Scram, scram, scram, just order some takeout offline, this is a trophy, one per person! I have to distribute to others too."

Brother Quanshui, also standing and biting into a popsicle, couldn't help but lament.

"Damn, even popsicles, fuck, these big-nosed guys live too damn well..."

The construction site youth with a brick chuckled.

"What's the big deal, it's ours now, isn't it?"

…

The night gradually deepened.

Apart from players assigned patrol duties, those settled in at the camp began logging off one after another.

And as these offline players took the news of the battle back to another world, the forum was as lively as a festival.

The settlement of battle rewards would be delayed until the spoils were tallied, but bringing down such an airship would surely be a substantial sum.

Manager's rewards never disappointed them.

They just hoped that when the flood of rewards came, the silver coins wouldn't plummet too harshly.

Although the rewards hadn't arrived yet, the scores for the battle were already in.

The highest group score went to the Burning Corps.

Whether it was destroying the ammunition depot or capturing the 400mm main cannon, they played a decisive role in the battle; and as the enemy completely lost their long-range firepower, the Alliance's rocket artillery could finally deliver a steady output till the end.

The best pilot was Falling Feather.

Whether it was the difficulty of flying or the mission's difficulty, his performance in the battle was witnessed by all players.

Especially that last extreme deceleration Cobra maneuver - not only did it amaze the players, but it even left the enemy and ally NPCs stunned.

Of course, this included the transport plane pilots like the Pigman Brothers, who were equally excellent. Without their smoky rapid advances providing cover, the Burning Corps' airborne forces would not only have suffered over fifty percent casualties, but also would have had a hard time even getting twenty percent of their troops safely to the ground.

As for the best commander, there was no suspense.

While drafting a detailed battle plan, he managed to command both the air and ground, maximizing the efficiency of the support artillery. Naturally, the honor went to Commander Spring Water.

Due to the battle involving over ten thousand participants, each performing different tasks and fighting at various battle positions, the Game Official no longer set an "MVP for the whole field."

Instead, each corps selected their own MVP, based on the players' performances in regional battles and task completion efficiency, to decide who would get additional reward bonuses.

This was similar to the previous battle at Pine Forest Gorge.

For the mixed thousand teams and NPC legions' MVPs, the Game Official decided based on scores.

Tail: "Oh! Finally finished, it was so tough! Though I didn't get the MVP, it was still nice! (*´ﾟ∀ﾟ｀)ﾉ"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "It was tough for me, okay! QAQ"

Si Si: "Oh, Meat Meat, you worked hard, carrying Ah Wei that far. Next time, remember not to run so fast; we couldn't keep up."

Sesame Paste: "Hahaha… Meat Meat seemed terrified, but he's doing much better than before."

Since the corps leader served as the chief commander and couldn't take care of the frontline, the best fighter from the Old Soldiers had gone "pangolin", so the Storm Corps' role on the battlefield became more of a guard unit, hence they weren't as prominent as the other corps.

However, their accomplishments were also remarkable.

Of course, the most outstanding performance undoubtedly came from the Burning Corps.

With less than two hundred men landing safely, facing an enemy ten times their size and familiar with the terrain, achieving nearly a 1:3 casualty rate was brutally effective.

Especially fighting to the last man.

Their high morale and combat spirit completely baffled the enemy and allowed the Jungle Corps to rapidly assault the lower cabins of the airships.

After seeing the official battle reports and the battle footage uploaded by Night Ten, the mindless spectators on the forums shouted praises, declaring it more thrilling than a Hollywood blockbuster!

Of course, quarreling was inevitable.

Lord Arrogant Brother: "500 people only killed 751? Heh, and they dare call themselves elite? My uncle was on a mission in the Golden Triangle, just four people in his squad wiped out an entire village! Killed close to a thousand. It left Southeast Asia trembling, and later, with unclaimed bodies, no one spoke of it again; those who know, know."

Night Ten: "Is your uncle Iron Man or Batman? (joking)"

Elena: "Good thing your uncle went to the Golden Triangle and not the Wa State; not even special forces would survive, the Buddha would be missing a relic. (joking)"

Gnome King Riches: "Mike Tyson would have ended up as a Teddy there. (joking)"

There Are Indeed Mosquitoes: "Brother Guang, please, just give the Proud Brothers a chance, they've been on the waiting list for a year now! T.T"

Old White: "What do you want to do with our favorite on this forum? (sideways smile)"

Wild Wind: "Brother Guang says: Little kids shouldn't play this game, wait a bit longer."

Quit smoking: "Hahahahaha."

The forum was filled with a cheery atmosphere, but alas, Proud Brothers was still the same as before, showing off and then running away, never giving anyone a chance to retort.

Fang Chang, "Speaking of which, Old White, what happened to you?"

Old White, "Isn't it normal? It's just a shame about the gear, sigh... huge losses."

Edge Shoveling, "What's there to fear, Army gear is kept in the Alliance's reserve, separate from personal gear. (grinning)"

Wild Wind, "That might be true, but whether there are reserves is another matter. (glancing sideways)"

Edge Shoveling, "Uh, yeah, seems like it. Your exoskeletons aren't cheap."

Fang Chang, "It's not even about money anymore, it's all about the refresh chance and fate. Speaking of which, Old White, did your contribution break ten thousand?"

Old White, "Yeah, it should have after this battle."

Spring Water Commander, "Awesome! Bro, let me touch that Dragon Cavalry when you get it."

Old White, "What's so rare about that, it's not even original gear, just a battle-damaged version; I think it might not even be as useful as the exoskeleton."

Edge Shoveling, "Damn! Don't give it to me!"

Night Ten, "That's too mundane!"

Old White didn't think he was bragging Versailles-style.

If it were really useful, would the Manager go without wearing it?

The other players also had an idea, but still, it was the first full power armor server-wide and they couldn't help but feel envious and genuinely impressed.

The systems for Contribution Points and Silver Coins are entirely different.

At smaller base values, the Contribution Points rewarded by missions could be more than the Silver Coin awards, but as levels increase, although the Silver Coins rewarded by missions rise, the Contribution Points hardly increase.

Rewards over four digits in Contribution Points are usually only available in wars or upon discovering special relics.

One hundred thousand Contribution Points—that's a six-digit number.

Even for someone who had played from the server launch until now, that was pretty amazing.

Such honor was even more dazzling than a medal.

A true hero of the Alliance.

As the players were discussing, Ah Guang, the planner's ID and post suddenly popped up on the forum.

And it was highlighted and pinned on the homepage.

Ah Guang, "Thanks everyone for the support of the expansion pack event! Our server has safely passed the most dangerous moment, and the triumph celebration and award ceremony prepared for the warriors will be held in 5 days! At the same time, the new expansion pack 'Endless Sand' will also be launched, please look forward to it! (grinning)"

"Additionally, to commemorate yet another victory of our alliance and the server's first ten thousand-man battle, the 'Wasteland OL' operational team unanimously decided to erect a monument beside the Fallen Leaf Camp near Falling Leaf Ridge!"

"Until the end of the operation, any player who died in action may leave their name on the memorial."

"However, considering the realism of the Game and to care for other players' immersion, there will be restrictions on the length and format of the names on the monument; special characters, emojis, and numbers are not allowed. This name will be recorded as a 'Memorial Title' and won't be usable as a game nickname anymore."

"Moreover, you cannot write other players' nicknames on the monument, and if you use your own nickname, you renounce that nickname."

"The battle reward settlement will be completed within a day, and the points raffle event will celebrate in 5 days."

"Let's toast to victory! Although drinking in broad daylight doesn't quite seem right. (laugh)"

After the post was made.

The comments section below instantly boiled over.

A monument!

And it's going to be in the new player village that's yet to be publicly tested?!

Sounds...

Rather interesting!

Quit Smoking, "Wait, what does 'not usable as a game nickname anymore' mean?"

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "It means if you use your real name on the wall, you can't use that game name anymore, and no other new players can register that nickname, it's basically a dead name."

Fang Chang, "Got it! It's a rename card! And it's a Golden Legend! (amused)"

Quit Smoking, "What what what?"

Fang Chang, "Literally! If you leave your name on the wall, you'd have to pick a new one for yourself, right? You can't say you're on the wall but still alive, can you?"

Debt Giant Eye, "Damn, that's possible?!"

Tail, "Wow!!! That sounds fun, can I use my real name? (✪ω✪)"

Fang Chang, "Uh, although I don't recommend exposing your privacy in the game, there are so many people with the same name in real life, and it's not like it's your social security number, so it probably doesn't matter."

Construction Boy and Brick, "Just asking, is it too late to die now? T.T"

Old White, "Forget it, wait for next time. Besides, I think dying hardly gives you a chance to get on the wall. (grinning)"

Quit Smoking, "Awesome!! The game actually introduced a name change card!"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level, "Decided, my name will be Wu X Zu."

Night Ten, "Dude! Aren't you afraid of being sued for infringement! (amused)"

Everyone was discussing the monument.

Since the game's launch, people had been suggesting a nickname changing feature, though it was never implemented by the administrators.

Now that feature was available, but it seemed no one really wanted to change their nickname.

Although many nicknames were chosen for a bit of fun, like "Makabazi" and "Don't Bullshit Me," they still carried some sentimental value after being used for a while.

With Xiao Qi's help, Chu Guang quickly compiled the list everyone submitted.

However, upon seeing the list, his eyebrows couldn't help but twitch repeatedly.

Li Lei, Han Meimei... these were relatively normal.

Using celebrity names might involve personal rights issues, but since a different world isn't governed by Earth's laws, turning a blind eye to it wasn't too bad.

As for names like Old Six, Old Eight, and weird ones like Ultraman or Ollie, those were a bit too much, prompting Chu Guang to have Xiao Qi stamp them as "Failing Review" and send them back for those jokers to rewrite.

Busy well into the late night.

Chu Guang finally came up with a more detailed list.

2,934 "fallen" residents of the refuge, including their life stories, brave performances in battle, and cause of death.

This list would serve as news material to be published in the 'Survivor Daily', 'City of Dawn Daily', and other media under the Alliance's flag, and edited for broadcast on stations like 'Voice of the Alliance.'

At the same time, this was also the proof the Alliance would offer neighbors and allies when asking for compensation.

Chu Guang thought that Giant Stone City might not be willing to pay up easily.

But considering long-term benefits, businesses on the East Coast would still likely contribute something.

After all, having an ally who could "really step up when needed" and "win after stepping up" was something one would surely want to reciprocate.

It couldn't let people lose heart.

Besides the players, three thousand-man teams composed of mercenaries, the First Army Corps, and the Guards Corps also suffered significant casualties.

Especially the artillery squadron of the First Army Corps.

The alliance had deployed 30, 100mm cannons on the eastern artillery positions, and almost all were annihilated, with the artillery regiment reducing its personnel by sixty percent.

The loss of the equipment was regrettable, though many had been seized from the Chewing Bone Tribe.

What pained Chu Guang the most were the soldiers who had perished, many of whom had been with him for a long time; some were even promoted from the original guard corps.

However, in this world, there is never a perfect solution.

War has always been like this.

Were it not for the "Morphogenesis Field" technology within Shelter No. 404 that could project a player's consciousness into a new body, even an exhilarating victory would be overshadowed by the heavy casualties…

…

While Chu Guang was tallying the casualties, the captured army engineers were working under the lights on the airship's wings, using cranes to lift the broken wings and insert them into the reinforced joints.

These repairs were only seen as emergency measures; the durability of the refurbished wings certainly couldn't compare to new ones.

However, replacing the entire wings would have to wait until returning to City of Dawn.

The army's engineers had promised Chu Guang that they would fix it within five days, at least making the airship operational and ensuring a cruising speed of 20 knots.

A cruising speed of 20 knots meant a five-hour journey back to City of Dawn.

If repaired within five days, catching up with the triumph celebration in five days' time wouldn't be difficult.

Chu Guang intended to ride the airship back.

As for other players, they could freely decide whether to take the airship, travel alone, or find someone to accompany them.

Outside the bridge's floor-to-ceiling windows.

The night-shrouded ground was left with only occasional lights, the distant horizon already faintly tinged with a gray outline.

Without realizing it, they had busied through the entire night, and it was almost dawn outside.

Sitting next to a control terminal, Chu Guang stifled his fatigue and yawned as he connected a VM under Xiao Qi's guidance.

"Can you control it?"

The voice of Xiao Qi came from within the VM.

"Woo woo… sorry, Master. The level of electronic integration here is too low, I can only connect to the radar and shield systems. I am able to adjust the power output of the energy system, but it seems that shifting gears needs to be done manually…"

Though it was an expected issue, Chu Guang still sighed.

"It's okay, just connect to the radar and shields for now."

Xiao Qi energetically replied, "Okay!"

Once the systems were connected,

Chu Guang quickly checked the "Steel Heart's" radar and discovered it was much more advanced than he had imagined.

As a mobile radar station, its detection limit could reach 1200 kilometers, although at that distance, the signal was already very fuzzy, good only for detecting larger targets while small aircraft would be of no effect.

However, for the Wasteland, this was already impressive.

Accompanying the shift of the monsoon, naturally ionized clouds formed massive clutter to swamp the radar signals.

Radiation, while not the primary threat nor the main cause of the Wasteland, did not mean its impact on the planet was nonexistent.

Besides the environmental effects themselves, other factors, such as out-of-control satellites in low orbit and jamming devices, reduced the "effective detection radius" of the Steel Heart's radar to only 100-150 kilometers.

To further improve this figure wouldn't be too difficult, one would simply need to convert a gun bay into a "radar array."

However, the necessity of such a move seemed minimal.

Most survivor forces on the Wasteland, lacking not just beyond-visual-range strike capability but even aircraft as well, the Steel Heart only needed to be wary of some unexpected black technologies.

While Chu Guang was interestedly fiddling with the radar, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly came again from the VM.

"Master, the airship's communication system has received an unidentified communication request, coming from the due east ... Shall I connect?"

The east?

Chu Guang paused for a moment, then his heart immediately leapt as he said,

"Connect immediately!"

Communication connected.

Accompanied by the noisy sounds of electricity, intermittent conversation sounds came from the other end of the communication channel.

The quality of the signal on the opposite side was quite poor, and it was unclear what was being used as the signal node, but Chu Guang still managed to make out the words.

"...This is Enterprise."

"If you have any respect left for the ancient covenants, immediately cease the invasion against our allies and release the Pioneer and its crew. Otherwise, this will be regarded as a declaration of war, and we will respond mercilessly with war."

Ancient covenants?

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brows, the diplomatic phrasing hinting at something unusual.

It seemed that something he was unaware of had transpired two centuries ago.

However, that was not the main point.

When he heard the latter part of the sentence, despite his seriousness, his tightly locked brows couldn't help but show a hint of amusement.

Regarded as a declaration of war?

They were already nearly blinded with rage, how could that not be considered formal combat?

Yet, it was unexpected that the magnates of the East Coast would refer to themselves as allies.

There had been no alliance, strictly speaking, the coalition led by Shelter No. 404 was merely Enterprise's permanent partner.

Regardless of the reason, at least in the face of the army's threat, they indeed regarded themselves as allies on the same front, deterring the army.

Even if just verbally.

Chu Guang, looking at the screen featuring Xiao Qi, asked,

"Can we respond to their signal?"

Xiao Qi considerately said,

"Yes, you can, Master. Just speak directly, and I'll record it and send it for you!"

Watching the signal light brighten on the upper left corner of the tablet, Chu Guang cleared his throat and began with a solemn and clear voice.

"…This is the Alliance; you are one step too late."

"To prevent further escalation of the conflict, we were compelled to launch a preemptive attack, and the airship has been captured by us."

Only the sizzling of electricity remained on the other side of the communication channel.

It was unclear whether they were confused or had not heard.

Chu Guang glanced at the screen and, seeing that Xiao Qi had popped up an emoticon doing an okay gesture, knew that the other side had probably heard.

After a moment of brewing emotions, he continued with a slightly heavy tone.

"However, we paid a heavy price for this, with thousands of lives lost."

"Even if not for us, who were unwillingly drawn into this conflict, not for the survivors from Falling Leaves and River Valley provinces—"

"If you can hear our voices, now while you still can, please send reinforcements immediately!"

Chapter 407: People Infected by Heroes

"Bro, the views just hit a million!!!"

In the real world, at a flat near the banks of Jiang City's river,

Ye Jiu, wearing a breezy little T-shirt, had her legs propped up high, lounging in a reverse-leaning position on the soft living room sofa.

In her hands, she held the latest model long-life tablet, her face was filled with excitement, occasionally letting out a euphoric shout.

You wouldn't guess from her lively demeanor that just a few hours ago, this girl had died.

About five hours earlier, her older brother had edited the combat footage into a 5-minute video clip and uploaded it to the Forum.

It included not only his perspective, but also those of other players in the group.

The smokescreen descending from the sky, the fire raining down, the entire clouds in the sky seemed to be ablaze. Especially from the first-person perspective facing the gunfire and barrage; the tracers freely crisscrossed, making one's blood surge and heart pound just by watching.

Especially after the landing, the bombing of the front gun bays and the close-range "alley fight" inside the airship got her blood boiling.

Isn't this way more intense than "Boruto"?

This five-minute video essentially became a recruiting ad for the Burning Corps, with the comment section below flooded with "big boss, take me with you" and "pleading for closed beta access."

If it weren't for the short time she had been in the game and the slow upgrade pace of the game, plus the relatively high threshold to join the Burning Corps, she would have signed up in a heartbeat!

"Bro! If this was on B Site, you'd be famous by now!"

Ye Wei, who had just returned from picking up takeout, changed his shoes and casually responded to Jiujiu's shouting.

"Posting it elsewhere runs a risk with moderation. Just let it sit on the Forum."

Sharing the joy of the game with the sand sculpture netizens on the Forum is routine for closed beta players. As for fame outside the game, Night Ten isn't really interested.

Moreover, as Brother Fang Chang would say, it's better to keep a low profile; stepping out typically invites various troubles.

Besides, this video isn't suitable for wider distribution. Even with filters, it's rated R, and wouldn't pass moderation on other platforms.

Moreover, there seems to be a limit on coverage of "Wasteland OL" within the country. Though discussions in groups are largely unaffected, it's nearly impossible to find related feeds on social media platforms like micro-blogging and short video media, and formal reports are nonexistent.

A hint of disappointment surfaced on Ye Jiu's face.

"Eh, that's too bad…"

"What's there to regret, can views add to your attack power?" Ye Wei laughed as he set down the takeout on the table. "It's almost six, I'm going online. I put the keys and some change in the shoe cabinet by the door. If you want to go out, remember to lock the door. If you buy snacks, pick up some for me too."

"It's too hot, not going!"

As she spoke, Ye Jiu's eyes suddenly darted around, she climbed off the sofa, hands propped on the backrest, and sneakily grinned.

"Speaking of which, bro."

Ye Wei looked at her with a resigned expression.

"What now."

Ye Jiu blinked and said,

"When you put on the helmet, you can't feel anything happening outside, right?"

"Not necessarily. Any noise that can wake you from sleep can also pull you out of the game. But connecting is pretty fast," Ye Wei glanced at her, seeing the sneaky smile grow cautious, "Just to let you know, I always lock the door when I game."

"Darn! What about trust between people?" Ye Jiu complained loudly.

"Heh!"

Just kidding.

They were born of the same mother; how could he not guess her little schemes?

Ye Wei chuckled, though he would never mention the thought he'd once had about drawing a tortoise on her forehead.

He turned and went back to his room, shutting the door behind him and intentionally making the lock's clicking sound loud.

Watching the firmly shut door, Ye Jiu rolled her eyes in exasperation and listlessly lay back on the sofa, continuing to watch the drama unfold on her tablet.

Time passed by seconds and minutes, and the sky outside the window grew darker.

Seeing that the number of closed beta players watering the Forum had halved, Ye Jiu suddenly felt an anxiousness, feeling uncomfortable no matter how she sat.

Finally unable to bear it, she reached for her helmet and put it on, but instead of a lush new world, all she saw was darkness devoid of light.

In that pitch-black center, a faint blue countdown appeared.

[Time remaining until resurrection: 57 hours, 23 minutes, and 11 seconds.]

Ye Jiu couldn't help but clench her fist.

Darn it!

It had been so long since she died, yet there were still 57 hours left, the time passing so slowly!

Was this what Crow Boss meant by interrupting her reaction?!

Stupid game!

Such a long resurrection time was way too much!

Jiujiu, unable to sit still, felt a wave of gloom as she stared blankly into the blackness.

Suddenly, a strange thought emerged in her mind.

"Do people also experience this after death?"

In a pitch-black room, awaiting the resurrection countdown…

She took off the helmet, feeling the draft of cool air from the air conditioner, and stared at the helmet in her hands deep in thought for a long time before finally shaking her head in resignation.

The question was too profound.

Besides, it seemed a bit too early for her, having just graduated…

…

Waste World.

The dawn rose from where the sea met the sky, and Ideal City, located on the East Coast, finally greeted the first light of dawn on this wasteland.

At the same time, a video eerily similar to the one circulated on the "Wasteland OL" Forum also appeared in the streets and alleys of Ideal City.

A cafe with cyberpunk decor.

Several men in crisp suits sat in front of a holographic projection device, watching images projected within a pale blue cube and exclaiming in amazement from time to time.

"Shh…"

"…Almost three thousand people died in that battle, that's just too tragic."

"Those people in black robes are from the Army, right?"

"Are those even humans? They're like beasts…"

"Iron Heart, wasn't that modified from an escort ship from the Human Alliance Era?"

"Exactly, and it was a poor modification..."

"Iron Heart appearing east of the Great Desert, the West Coasters really have some nerve, what are they up to?"

"Even more incredible is that the Waste Land Wanderers actually shot down that thing!"

Compared to the video made by Night Ten, the version edited by Xiao Qi focused more on the overall battlefield, capturing the whole battle from start to finish.

Since it was intended as a documentary rather than a game promotional CG, it not only highlighted the bravery of the various Army troops but also emphasized the savagery of the Army and the casualties suffered by the alliances.

And the hard-won victory!

A battlefield with tens of thousands of participants.

With over a thousand action cameras and Hummingbird drones on standby throughout, the footage available for editing was overwhelmingly abundant.

Considering the high tolerance for gruesome images among the wasteland's people, the video only had a simple filter applied and was not censored.

As a result, the shock experienced by the citizens of Ideal City, along with the harsh reality of blood and brutality that confronted them, was not only more intense than that felt by the players on the forum but even surpassed that of many players who had fully participated in that battle…

As the survivor settlement closest to the pre-war era, the degree of information technology in Ideal City was the most advanced on the entire wasteland.

Local residents used clothes, glasses, wristbands, and various other smart wearable devices, and even bionic chips implanted in their cerebral cortex, all of which could serve as mediums for receiving information, connecting to a local network called "Endpoint Cloud."

This was a micro local area network, primarily serving the residents of Ideal City.

On the interconnected Endpoint Cloud, any news with "viral elements" could quickly spread to every corner of the city under the enhancement of algorithms.

Within just one morning rush hour, the Battle of Rui Valley City between the Alliance and the Army became the hottest topic in Ideal City.

The video was provided by a corporate friendly partner, allegedly uploaded privately by a liaison officer.

However, alternative rumors circulated that it was intentionally leaked by a senior executive within the company to pave the way for corporate intervention in the continental Central Region's affairs.

Regardless of the speculation, it no longer mattered.

Now, the "Endpoint Cloud" was seething with outrage.

Although the residents of Ideal City despised war, nobody was against spending some money to teach those greedy wolves a lesson.

In corporate circles, whether or not the employees supported a decision did not affect the major shareholders' choices, but propaganda and mobilization were still essential.

If an individual could be compared to a gear in a vast machine, then propaganda and mobilization were its lubricant.

Even without it, the machine could still operate, but the wear and tear and energy consumption would greatly increase the operating costs.

People needed to know where the bullets they produced were sent and who would wear the clothes and bandages they made.

In a just war, even a worker on the assembly line would screw the bolts faster.

Kang Mao Group Building, an office styled in understated luxury.

Kang Le, sitting at his desk, toyed with a wine glass he had gotten from an old friend, Luo Yong, while listening to his secretary's report.

"…Endpoint Group will vote in favor of our Proposal No. 771, but in exchange, they want us to take on more responsibilities in aid."

"How much more exactly?"

"At least thirty percent."

Upon hearing the secretary's answer, Kang Le just smiled faintly.

"Heh, they sure are greedy."

The secretary standing in front of his desk was not human but rather a bionic person produced by the Kang Le Group. Named Galaxy, model C-100, it was used as an office assistant and health consultant.

Although the entire Ideal City was discussing the western front's battle situation, Kang Le was unconcerned about how the Waste Land Wanderers and the Army fared on the front lines, nor did he care about the fate of the crew aboard Pioneer.

That was a mess Silver Wing Group needed to worry about, and they should be the ones in over their heads.

Compared to that, he was more concerned about the Proposal No. 771 being pursued by Kang Mao Group—"Allowing Bionic Humans to Participate in Public Affairs."

Currently, the public utilities and construction development in Ideal City were within the scope of business of Ideal Group. The municipal system's digital services, on the other hand, were provided by Endpoint Group, which specialized in manufacturing intelligent equipment and cloud services.

If bionic humans were allowed to participate in public affairs, it would mean that the Kang Mao Group, engaged in medical devices and bionic engineering, could carve out a slice of the business that originally belonged to Ideal Group and Endpoint Group.

Naturally, the shareholders of Endpoint Group and Ideal Group would not agree with this, especially the latter whose objections were particularly strong.

So much so that its shareholders even proclaimed at the board meeting, "Today we allow bionic people to participate in public affairs, tomorrow could we also be granting them citizenship rights?"—this kind of strong and unreasonable argument.

The progress in promoting Proposal No. 771 had not been smooth, and aside from the support from Kang Mao Group, the other four major competitors mostly held a reserved opinion.

However, recently there seemed to be a glimmer of change.

The exploration program of Silver Wing Group encountered setbacks, forcing the corporation into direct conflict with the Army, and thus had to make concessions on non-core interests in exchange for the support of Kang Mao Group in the reinforcement proposal.

Additionally, owing to the favor given to the arms dealers of Chang Ge Group, Kang Mao Group now held at least three votes. The previously almost impossible to pass Proposal No. 771 now no longer seemed uncertain.

Seeing that opposing it had become meaningless, Endpoint Group now came forward mentioning the affair of Proposal No. 771, apparently to curry favor on one hand and likely save some money on the other.

Standing in front of the desk, Galaxy spoke in a gentle human voice.

"...Actually, we don't need to bother with them, we already have more than half of the votes, the passing of Proposal No. 771 is no longer uncertain."

Kang Le just smiled lightly.

"Though that's true, isn't a 4:1 resounding victory more gratifying than a close win of 3:2?"

Galaxy's pupils flickered slightly, he analyzed and calculated for a few seconds, then spoke.

"If we secure four votes, I believe Ideal Group would probably abstain, and the final result wouldn't be 4:1, but 4:0."

Hearing this, Kang Le laughed out loud.

Leaning back in his chair, he spoke contentedly.

"That's interesting, the more you talk about it, the more I'm looking forward to seeing the frustrated faces of those old fossils."

Galaxy looked slightly puzzled at his boss.

"But, what purpose does this serve?"

"The meaning lies in showing our unity."

With corners of his mouth turning up slightly, Kang Le stood up from the chair, spiritedly continuing.

"Moreover, concerning Endpoint Group's request, I don't see it as a bad thing; on the contrary, it could be an opportunity for us… an opportunity to demonstrate our technological strength."

Looking at his facial expression, surprise flickered in Galaxy's eyes.

"Are you planning to send bionic humans into combat?"

"Why not?"

Picking up the bottle on the desk, the man filled an empty wine glass with red wine.

Swirling the blood-like liquid gently, and looking at his reflection on the glass wall, a faint smile curled up the corners of his mouth.

"Having living people participate in war is far too barbaric, this is not the way of civilized people…we should have done this a long time ago."

Galaxy thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

"The correct judgment, according to the calculation results, this can reduce casualties by more than 74% and also presents the highest chance of victory... So, how many units do you plan to deploy? I will calculate the estimated cost based on the results."

"The specific aid plan is still under discussion, but we have already made a commitment to our allies to send the first wave of a forerunner team, including the first batch of reinforcements and supplies, within five days. Subsequent aid will arrive continuously over a month."

Pausing for a moment, Kang Le narrowed his pleasantly comfortable eyes, and continued speaking in a relaxed voice.

"West is No.0 Shelter, north is the Grand Canyon… The chairman of Chang Ge Group was right:我们应该在南部 River Valley Province增加our影响力. However, their plan to devour this piece of cake alone is a bit too greedy."

Galaxy nodded knowingly, softly suggesting.

"Based on your needs, apart from mass-produced bionic humans, I recommend deploying 'Frost,' the A-130 model is our latest developed combat bionic human, equipped with an information processing chip that is compatible with a variety of weapons."

Turning his chair away from it, Kang Le casually said.

"That's acceptable."

...

In comparison to the extremely affluent Ideal City, the standard of living for residents in Giant Stone City was undeniably much poorer, naturally, they couldn't afford those high-end intelligent wearable devices, nor were there any network service providers.

However, although the medium for broadcasting information switched from holographic screens to paper, it didn't affect people from experiencing the relentless bravery from the text.

And from it, they received almost the same impact and emotion.

Thanks to Hal's writing skills, and thanks to the Alliance's support for the news industry.

With the follow-up reports of the Survivor's Daily, the feats of various armies of the Alliance were also spread throughout the streets, and those valiant.names became the heroes frequently mentioned by the people.

Especially that leap from a nearly kilometer-high sky.

Stories about the Burning Corps could be heard in pub endforeach day.

"It's brutal..."

"I wouldn't take such a dangerous job no matter how much money they offered!"

"There's no choice, someone has to sacrifice; the firepower of Iron Heart was just too fierce! I heard people say that the Burning Corps had already suffered more than half casualties before they even landed, and if it weren't for a plane that suddenly attacked, destroying the airship's engine, they might have been wiped out before hitting the ground."

"That pilot's name... did you hear about it?"

"I know, I've read the newspaper! It seems to be called… Laughing River?"

"The newspaper had his photo; he looked like a gentle and easygoing man."

"Ah…"

Although the war had ended two days ago, the discussion's intensity hadn't declined.

At a small roadside tavern, a few men with bare torsos sat around a table, drinking and lamenting the fierce battlefront conditions.

Thanks to those heroes.

They were able to sit here leisurely drinking watered-down beer after a day's work, without having to worry about the floating steel fortress in the sky for tomorrow.

However—

Not everyone was enjoying the clear skies after the clouds had dispersed.

From that heated atmosphere, Dolly only felt suffocated.

Every word floating from people's mouths, whether light or harsh and low, felt like salt on her wounds.

Like a burning iron.

Sitting in a corner of the tavern, she took a deep breath, left the chips and untouched glass on the table, and hastily escaped under the puzzled gaze of the owner.

The next day.

Survivor's Daily newspaper office was bustling as usual.

Editors, who were busy writing and arranging pages, almost wanted to bury their heads in the mountains of paper.

As they had first-hand information from the front lines, all the subsidiary publications under the newspaper were selling out just like the main issue.

Despite the newspapers being printed daily, they still couldn't satisfy people's appetites.

Now it wasn't just the residents of the outer city.

Even the noble lords of the inner city were eyeing their newspapers, even sending servants to the doorstep of the newspaper office just to know about the front line a second earlier than others.

And the current situation of the Iron Heart.

Hal also wanted to know how the Alliance planned to handle the Iron Heart seized from the Army, but the message sent from the Alliance Office in Stone City didn't mention anything about the Iron Heart.

He didn't even know if that airship was still operational.

That must be a secret within the Alliance, and Hal felt it awkward to inquire further.

Also, these two days, he had been trying to get news about Fang Chang, even asking Shu Yu, the head of the Alliance Office in Stone City.

Unfortunately, there was no news from Shu Yu either, who only mentioned he would inform him as soon as there was any.

As Hal was worrying, a letter suddenly floated onto his desk.

After glancing at the few lines on the envelope, his expression slightly froze, and he looked up at Dolly standing in front of the desk.

This was probably the first resignation letter he had received since taking office.

And it was from the newspaper's "star reporter."

"You're resigning?"

Dolly slowly nodded, her slightly hoarse voice breaking the silence.

"I plan to go… to the City of Dawn."

Hal knew why, but still tried to retain her.

"I'm trying to get the news for you… Can't you wait patiently for a while?"

Dolly didn't speak, but her face said it all.

Seeing that she had no intention of changing her mind, Hal sighed, put the resignation letter into the drawer, and said softly,

"I'll keep this letter for you… We'll decide when you come back. If you need travel money, I can advance you next month's salary—"

"No need."

Dolly gently shook her head, beneath her swaying green short hair, a tear tracked down from the corner of her right eye.

Though not very noticeable, it was still heartbreaking to see.

The newspaper office was silent, not even the sound of flipping papers could be heard.

The editors here knew that young man from the shelter, an intelligent lad whose optimism and positivity influenced many and he was always helpful.

They had never imagined that one day he would become a part of the news material of the newspaper.

Only one survivor out of five hundred…

The odds were indeed too slim.

Watching the petite figure disappear through the door, a look of sorrow spread across Hal's face, he sighed and pulled out the strong liquor from the drawer.

Although it wasn't time to drink during the day, he still unscrewed the cap,

Muttering softly to himself in his mouth,

"War… this damned war."

He felt like writing a poem again.

Chapter 408: Triumph! Among the Celebrating Players

"My dear friend, you do not know how much I miss you. Although the burning red clouds engulfed your body, your voice and smile still linger in my mind..."

Survivor's Daily newsroom.

Hal, sitting on a small stool by the window, held a half-empty bottle of liquor and burped while composing poems with twisted syntax.

Usually, no one bothered with him.

In the eyes of most employees in the newsroom, this guy just wanted an excuse to drink during the day. Sucking up to him brought no benefits and would only result in being dragged into endless conversations all day, hindering the completion of that day's tasks.

"Did your lover die?"

"Lover? *hic* Superficial! It is written for my best friend..." Hal burped midway through his speech and suddenly froze.

Someone was standing at the entrance of the newsroom.

A backpack was strapped to his back along with an assault rifle hanging beside it, looking exactly like it had when he left from here a week ago, without a single trace of injury.

Hal was shocked.

Not just him, the entire newsroom staff was taken aback, stopping the rustling of pages and pens.

The entire newsroom fell silent.

"Fang, Fang Chang!"

Overcome with emotion, Hal stood up from the stool, set down the liquor bottle on the wooden windowsill, and hurried to the office door.

Seeing the tear-streaked face, Fang Chang felt a bit embarrassed.

"This wouldn't be written for—"

"It was written for you! Spirit of the Sand Sea above! When I saw that horrific war report, I, I thought you had been lost!" Grasping his shoulders, Hal shook him vigorously, his voice filled with an incoherent excitement, "It's great, you're still here!"

Fang Chang coughed lightly.

"Thank you for caring so much about me..."

Such emotions were a bit too overwhelming.

About four days ago, he indeed died aboard the Iron Heart. However, after 72 hours, he woke up in a single room on level B2 of Shelter No. 404.

After waking up, Fang Chang didn't linger; he took some basic belongings and immediately headed towards Giant Stone City.

The journey usually takes a commercial team two days.

But since Fang Chang was alone and belonged to the Agile system, he only spent a day and a night to reach the towering city walls.

The journey, however, was unbearably difficult.

After the onset of summer, Variants in the city areas had become more active.

In the corner of the office, a new female reporter, face filled with shock, watched the almost embracing duo and whispered to a colleague.

"Who is that guy?"

"Fang Chang, the Editor-in-Chief's friend, a resident from the nearby refuge, he's from the 'North Suburb' of the Alliance."

"The Alliance? Then he must be—"

"Yes, over a week ago he received a mobilization order and then went back to the 'North Suburb' to fight. And I heard he's not just from the Alliance, but also a member of the Burning Corps..."

In all of Giant Stone City, no one was unaware of the name of the Burning Corps or the stories about them.

As the colleague spoke, the young female reporter's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Fang Chang standing by the door.

Suddenly, she stood up swiftly, grabbed her notebook, rushed to the door, and with an excited look said,

"Excuse me, hello!"

Fang Chang looked at her, a face he hadn't seen before, and asked puzzlingly,

"You are...?"

"My name is Rose, a reporter from the Survivor's Daily, I just started yesterday!" She extended her hand for a shake, and the enthusiastic young reporter continued, "May I ask, are you a soldier of the Burning Corps?"

"Yes..."

"Were you part of the airborne operation that day?"

Watching Rose continuously inching closer, Fang Chang instinctively stepped back.

"Um..."

Hal inhaled sharply, amazed at the man before him, gripping his shoulders tighter.

"Spirit of the Sand Sea above, you, you survived!"

And not a single injury on you?!

Noting the astonishment in his eyes, Fang Chang coughed lightly, subtly shifting his gaze away, and continued,

"...Ah, that day was truly brutal. Luckily, the goddess of fortune was on my side. Don't be fooled by my appearance; I actually did get pretty badly injured."

Saying so, Fang Chang glanced at the hands on his shoulders.

Seeing where his gaze fell, Hal quickly removed his hands, apologizing,

"I didn't realize you were—"

"It's okay."

Looking at Fang Chang standing by the doorway, Hal said with a reflective expression,

"I heard at the time that only one person from the Burning Corps survived, that really scared me... I'm sorry, it seems a bit inappropriate to say that."

After all, those were his comrades who had died.

"It's okay..." Fang Chang continued vaguely, "I don't want to talk about this right now... please understand."

Hal nodded, not pushing the heavy topic further.

Fang Chang breathed a sigh of relief.

According to the Player's Handbook, to prevent NPC AI algorithms from malfunctioning, players must not "proactively discuss off-game topics" with NPCs before the official public test begins.

Off-game topics include the Different World, resurrection mechanisms at shelters, and so forth.

Unlike other rules, the criteria for this rule are vague; however, the penalties are severe and involve eligibility for closed testing.

Some NPCs, like the Manager and the nurse from the medical office, actually know they can be revived, and some non-core NPCs have heard rumors, though many of these are far-fetched and not consistent.

No seasoned player who had even learned the game's language would risk their eligibility for closed testing by openly verifying or clarifying these rumors in public, and naturally, he would not do such a foolish thing.

It was best to respectfully adhere to the convention and avoid this topic before the public test starts.

However, he would need to give Night Ten a heads-up afterwards to avoid blowing his cover and wasting time making up excuses.

"Excuse me... May I interview you, Mr. Hero?" Looking at Fang Chang, who had been released by the Manager, Rose said nervously, "You don't have to answer if you find the topic offensive."

"About that day... I don't really have much to say. Let the alliance's news be the authority," Fang Chang said as he suddenly came back to his senses looking at the new reporter before him.

Just moments ago, he was wondering if Dolly had gone out to do some interviews, but seeing the newcomer looking so idle, it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Where is Dolly? Didn't she come to work today?" Fang Chang looked towards Hal, "I was just about to ask why suddenly there's a new person here?"

Facing his friend's gaze, Hal responded awkwardly, with some hesitation.

"She… she left yesterday."

"What?!" Fang Chang exclaimed in surprise.

Hal slowly nodded.

"Yes... You might not know, but the victorious news from the front line had reached here almost on the same night. Although we didn't get the detailed casualty list, the information we got was that only one person survived from the Burning Corps. You don't know how desperate she was..."

Fang Chang sharply inhaled a breath of cold air and immediately asked.

"Where is she now?"

Hal looked away as he spoke.

"Yesterday morning, she submitted her resignation letter, saying she was going to Dawn City to find you. I tried to persuade her to wait, but she insisted on leaving. We couldn't be without a reporter, so I had to hire someone else... Of course! I haven't approved her resignation; her letter is still here. She can come back to work anytime."

Fang Chang fell silent for a moment and sighed.

"This is my fault."

Thinking to surprise Dolly, he had immediately gone to Stone City the moment he was resurrected, but ended up just missing her...

Saying that, Fang Chang tightened his grip on the backpack on his shoulder and turned to leave.

Seeing his reaction, Hal asked impulsively,

"Where are you going?

"Going back."

With that, Fang Chang had already disappeared at the entrance of the newspaper office.

Standing beside a stunned Manager, Rose's eyes sparkled as she furiously scribbled on her notebook, excitedly babbling,

"Is this love?"

The hero boarding the Iron Heart, and his young wife eagerly awaiting his return… Wait.

Rose quickly looked at the Manager.

"Are they lovers, or are they already...?"

Saying this, she excitedly snapped her fountain pen closed, her face filled with anticipation.

Hal glanced at the notebook in Rose's hand, which was filled with hurriedly written notes. He blushed after reading a couple of lines and cleared his throat.

"...We are not that kind of newspaper."

...

The war had ended on the fifth day.

The Iron Heart, floating above Rui Valley City, had its broken wing swiftly repaired.

Though not aesthetically pleasing, it did not hinder its participation in the triumphal celebration.

Standing at the bridge's panoramic window, Chu Guang gazed at the distant clear sky and the rising sun, his expression one of leisurely pleasure.

At this moment, he felt as if the entire earth was under his feet; mountains, rivers, jungles, and plains all within his view.

Is this the feeling of standing on a starship?

He would have to get an even bigger one some day!

All the players who planned on showing off with him on the return journey had already boarded, aside from the task masters who planned to stay in Shelter No. 79 and Fallen Leaf Camp to take on missions.

Full of ambition, Chu Guang issued a command with high spirits.

"Set sail! Cast off!!"

An untimely reminder came from Xiao Qi.

"Master, the Iron Heart doesn't have sails."

Chu Guang laughed heartily.

"It doesn't matter! If I say there are, then there are."

This AI was usually smart but somewhat lacking in emotional intelligence.

Look how clever Finod was, not daring to make a sound, just meekly acknowledging with a "yes" and then silently getting busy.

The captive engineers, mostly technical staff, seldom had the chance to pilot airships. Amidst their frantic handling of the equipment, thankfully, they did not cause any mishaps and managed to retract the anchor laying on the ground, activating the airship's engines.

Finod heaved a sigh of relief, grateful his head was still attached, and looked eagerly toward Chu Guang standing by the panoramic window.

Unfortunately, the Manager's attention wasn't on him at that moment; he didn't even bring up the matter of reducing the ransom.

Finod tried to remind him.

"Respected Manager, our cruising speed can reach about 20 knots. We should be arriving at Qingquan City by noon."

Chu Guang responded with a cheerful laugh.

"Good."

Finod waited for a while, but seeing no further response, closed his mouth feeling slighted.

The reinforced steel wings gently vibrated, and under the propulsion of nuclear energy, the old-fashioned propellers began to spin.

With the whistling and buzzing sounds, the majestic Steel Fortress began to advance eastward!

Its massive body traversing the wastelands, its sharply angled armor bathed in the dawn's golden hue, startled numerous wild variants who, seeing the dazzling spectacle above, scurried back into their caves and fled in all directions.

Standing in front of the bridge's terminal.

Chu Guang had Xiao Qi connect the communication system to the speakers throughout the cabin, picked up the intercom on the table, cleared his throat loudly, and announced,

"This flight will head to Qingquan City—"

"Let us return home with victory and glory!"

After repeating it once in United Human language, he repeated it again in Mandarin, and quickly he heard the thunderous cheers.

"Wowowow! We can go home now!"

"Mosquito?! Weren't you back home already?"

"What does it matter! Can't I parachute over and then go back again?!"

"Damn, are you crazy!"

"Lucky draw! Lucky draw! I want to have a lucky draw! Damn Spring, if I'm still the Exalted this time, I'm going to kill him!"

"???"

"Giao! Meat Meat, you're blocking the window!"

"Teng Teng! Quick, look at the ducks! The dawn of daybreak merges with the never-ending night on Earth, this game really fills every frame with love, wuwuwu, it's simply beautiful!"

"Wuwuwu—"

That brief and muffled sob was unidentified, but it sounded like it was surrounded by happiness… Surely now, tears of emotion filled their eyes.

Chu Guang laughed heartily, suddenly feeling like drinking something.

However, just as he was about to open a bottle of General McClen's reserve, he heard the anxious voice of Xiao Qi.

"Master! There are four unknown targets approaching on radar."

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow lightly.

"Oh?"

Who dares spoil his mood this audaciously!

Without any hesitation, Chu Guang commanded,

"Prepare the anti-aircraft guns!"

The anti-aircraft guns on the top of the airship began to turn. The barrels, akin to the spines of a hedgehog, aimed at aircraft flying twenty kilometers away.

Although the ground support artillery in the pod required manual operation, the twelve 100mm and 144 20-30mm anti-aircraft guns were equipped with automatic fire control systems.

Just yesterday, Xiao Qi had mastered control of the fire system, securely locking onto the airspace in front of the airship.

Chu Guang said calmly,

"Alert range 10 kilometers. If they do not connect to our communications voluntarily, don't ask me, just shoot them down!"

Xiao Qi: "Received!"

At this point in time, Chu Guang could guess where these people came from using his feet.

The red dots on the radar were approaching, and just at 15 kilometers, they suddenly stopped. At the same time, a communication request came through the channel.

After a glance at the screen, Chu Guang ordered,

"Connect."

The communication was quickly established.

A calm voice came from the other end.

"This is the Giant Stone City Militia Group. I am the captain of the militia squadron... Lihua, may I come up and talk to you?"

This name seemed familiar as if he had heard it long ago when the Pioneer first arrived.

But Chu Guang had forgotten from whom he'd heard it.

Perhaps it was Luo Hua, or perhaps it was someone else.

Chu Guang thought for a moment and then spoke,

"You may."

From afar, an aircraft resembling a dolphin approached.

It featured a broad nose and a slender fuselage, with two engines, one in front and one behind at the bottom, ejecting enchanting pale blue fire arcs, propelling the aircraft slowly through the shield of Iron Heart and hovering under the belly of the airship.

The hatch slowly opened.

The vertical take-off aircraft, with the incoming airflow, rose into the cabin.

Standing inside the U-shaped harbor-configured landing bay, Chu Guang watched the sci-fi-feeling aircraft stabilize, and then a man in an exoskeleton walked down.

Together with him, three bodyguards, also in exoskeletons and armed, stood beside the aircraft.

Lu Bei, expressionless, stood next to Chu Guang, gripping his weapon tightly, watching those people intently.

If they had any ill intentions towards the Manager, he would not hesitate to act.

However, the man did not look at him but signaled his subordinates to stay next to the vertical take-off aircraft and approached Chu Guang alone.

"Let me reintroduce myself, my name—"

"Lihua," Chu Guang extended his right hand, shaking briefly before letting go, and continued, "I am the Manager of the Alliance, state your purpose."

Lihua hesitated for a moment.

Because Chu Guang had spoken what he intended to say.

Regaining his composure, Lihua continued,

"...I am here to communicate on behalf of the lord of the city. If your airship continues forward, it will enter our anti-air defense identification zone."

Chu Guang looked at him unperturbed.

"According to the contract, we have ceded all airspace within the northern part of the fourth ring and the other directions within five rings of Qingquan City, and we promise to abide by the agreement."

Lihua furrowed his brows slightly.

"Your cannon's range is at least 20 kilometers."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Maybe 40 kilometers, maybe 100 kilometers, who knows?"

Lihua narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Aren't you afraid of accidental discharges?"

Hearing the threat in that voice, Lu Bei's expression turned cold, and he took a half step forward.

Seeing the young man's movement, the three bodyguards standing by the plane immediately tensed, their fingers subconsciously reaching to the safeties on their weapons.

The atmosphere inside the landing bay was tense.

Watching Lihua with a wary look in his eyes, Chu Guang spoke in a calm tone.

"When has the Alliance ever been afraid?"

Sensing a prickly challenge from the man before him, Lihua lowered his voice, softening his tone slightly.

"If you insist on passing through, I need to report to the city lord..."

"Don't worry, you report to yours, I'll go my way."

The Alliance would negotiate with anyone.

But it would not become subordinate to anyone.

As a manager of the Alliance, he had no obligation to be dictated by anyone.

The power armor's face shield closed, Chu Guang turned around, his profile facing Lu Bei and other soldiers from the Guards Corps.

"See them off."

"Yes!"

Taking the command briskly, Lu Bei gazed at the man named Lihua in front of him and spoke in an uncompromising tone.

"Sir, please return."

Lihua stared at him for a moment, then looked at the power armor heading towards the door and the fully armed soldiers by its side.

He had no doubt that if he said a word of objection, he would instantly be thrown out by these menacing soldiers.

Grinding his teeth, he turned away.

"Let's go!"

The VTOL aircraft's engines reignited, taking Lihua and his three bodyguards away from the airship, passing through the deflection shield, and heading back toward Giant Stone City.

Along with them, three more aircraft returned.

Watching the signals fading on the radar, Chu Guang felt contemplative.

Indeed.

Equality only existed within the range of artillery, an equivalent force was the prerequisite for dialogue.

He knew very well, had he not ordered Xiao Qi to aim the anti-aircraft cannon at them, these allies forced to fight alongside him wouldn't have sincerely come to negotiate...

The Lord of Giant Stone City might feel fortunate now; those "servants" he disregarded indeed had some foresight, presumptuously establishing diplomatic relations with the Alliance.

Chu Guang would honor his promises; Alliance aircraft would not enter Qingquan City's airspace, and the economic and cultural exchanges between the two sides would proceed indefinitely while he continued to repay the interest... after all, credit was more precious than gold.

Both in the long term and in the immediate sense, a peaceful and stable Giant Stone City was more beneficial to the Alliance.

He was to bring a new order to this land.

Not chaos.

He returned to the bridge.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, Chu Guang looked towards the east, where the gradually clearer outline of the city could be seen.

He could almost hear the cheers of the people.

A smile curled up at the corner of his mouth as he ordered.

"Continue forward!"

And then came Xiao Qi's enthusiastic voice.

"Alright!"

...

The majestic Steel Heart finally arrived at the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

But the corps' emblem had been removed, the flag had been broken, replaced by the alliance flag hanging under the bridge—

The several-meter-long banner fluttered in the wind, rustling amidst the cheers of the people.

Giant Stone City's radar closely followed the arrival of the colossal structure, watching helplessly as it approached the suburbs and descended, powerless to act.

The city lord had issued an order—

Let it pass.

There was no choice; while Giant Stone City's anti-aircraft guns and missiles were ready for battle, the 400mm main cannon was aimed in this direction.

God knows if the apocalyptic sub-nuclear weapons were loaded.

No one doubted whether those country folk in the suburbs would dare to fire, as they had even dared to beat the corps' people, and not just once but twice and a half...

On the radar station atop Giant Stone City,

An officer sitting at the terminal connected to the radar pinched the bridge of his nose, silently praying that no incidents would occur.

At least not today, during his shift...

Just then, footsteps sounded at the door, and a soldier walked in and saluted sharply.

"Report, sir! A message from the Alliance Embassy, informing us that at eight o'clock tonight, there will be a fireworks display at the northern suburbs of Qingquan City, and for us not to be alarmed."

The implication was clear.

They hadn't bothered to ask for permission.

The officer's blood pressure surged to his forehead in an instant upon hearing the report, and he swiftly rose from his chair, grabbing the soldier by the collar.

"A fireworks display?!"

"You damn well better not tell me they plan to use that airship—"

With a nervous look at his temperamental superior, the soldier swallowed hard and stammered out,

"I—I don't know, they didn't specify..."

All the high levels of Giant Stone City were in utter chaos.

Meanwhile, tens of kilometers away, the City of Dawn was as lively as a festival, even more so than the New Year.

Young girls holding baskets tossed freshly picked flowers into the air, which floated up along with the streamers hung from the eaves.

To the strong beats and music, the airship gently lowered its altitude, turned off its engines, and dropped its anchor.

A square concrete platform covered with a red carpet.

Armed guards stood in a line, maintaining order at the scene.

The elevator slowly descended, landing on the platform covered with a red carpet.

As an azure power armor stepped onto the carpet, followed by a procession of tall, imposing figures entering the field of vision, the atmosphere at the scene reached its climax.

The people cheered and shouted, venting their excitement and emotion.

"Long live the Manager!"

"Long live the Alliance!"

"For the great Alliance!"

Amidst the cheers, Chu Guang smiled and waved his hand.

Those eyes, filled with admiration and reverence, were to him the most shining treasure.

Once the clamor briefly subsided,

Looking around at those familiar faces, Chu Guang cleared his throat, activated the power armor's loudspeaker, and spoke in a grave and clear voice.

"Today, we made history, we defeated the enemies thought to be invincible, we rescued our oppressed brethren."

"This hard-won victory and honor belongs to us all!"

"Whether it's the soldiers fighting bravely at the front, the farmers laboring in the fields, or the workers sweating at the factories and construction sites—those who contributed their strength in their own ways..."

"This is a victory we all won together, unity has brought us from having nothing to this day, and the name that should be celebrated isn't just mine—"

"Cheer for the victory!"

"For our tomorrow—"

"For us!"

The thunderous cheers and applause once again echoed through the square.

Chu Guang signaled to Luka, the mayor of Dawn City standing by, who announced the schedule for the celebration and the start of the awards ceremony.

Thanks to prior warnings, the players were all dressed decently, including the ever-troublesome Tail and Mosquito.

The ceremony for the honored dead would be held tomorrow.

Today, there was only need to drink fine wine, sing loudly, and cheer in triumph—

Let not sorrow tarnish the hard-won peace.

In a corner of the crowd.

Watching the figure descending from the airship, Frost Snow's tranquil face blushed a faint red, her eyes intently focused in that direction.

Standing beside her, Frost River saw her sister's hands turn red from clapping and teasingly joked about the simple young girl.

"Smitten with some young man, are you? Need me to buy you flowers?"

Her cheeks turned instantly redder.

With an annoyed glare at her teasing sister, Frost Snow hastily looked around, seeing no one paying attention, before sheepishly whispering,

"I... am not worthy of that great person."

It wasn't out of inferiority or modesty.

She knew very well that the great person belonged to everyone living here, including her brothers, sisters, father, mother, and grandfather...

She didn't yearn for those intense, torch-like eyes to linger on her.

Just to stand silently in the crowd, watching him return safely was enough.

Seeing the expression on her face, Frost River guessed the young girl was still harboring that impractical dream, and sighed softly.

"You... never mind."

Everyone had their time for dreaming and moving themselves.

Including herself.

It was human nature.

Some things simply couldn't be conveyed in words; with age, more interaction with people, and a bit more maturity, she would understand naturally.

In the center of the square.

One by one, valiant warriors stepped before the azure power armor, receiving special medals handed personally by the Manager.

Among them were residents of the refuge, as well as the indigenous people of this land.

If they were players, apart from the physical medal, they would also receive a digital version of the medal to display on their forum account pages, and additional Contribution Points as a reward.

After receiving their medals, under the watchful eyes of admiration, they would walk towards the crowd below the platform.

Just as they did when they had set off to battle from among the people.

Affected by the fervent atmosphere and shining honor weren't just the spectating residents of Dawn City.

But also those who came from places like Dawn City, Giant Stone City, and even from further places like Red River Alliance, Garbage City, and other survivor settlements, along with the east-to-west traveling merchants and travelers.

Looking at the Iron Heart bathed in the harsh sun, standing on the edge of the crowd, Zhou Nan remarked with a sense of amazement,

"This is really something big."

In his hand, he held a cola-flavored ice lolly bought from a vendor, a testament to the mind-boggling creativity of those in Blue Jackets.

Every time he came from Brocade River Province, he would encounter another novelty that often turned out profitable for him.

Standing next to him, Sun Shiqi squinted his eyes and suddenly said,

"The Alliance has secured the Western Gate leading to Sunset Province through the southern corridor of the River Valley Province; the trade routes will probably thrive even more than now. Based on their usual practices, they'll likely restore the pre-war highways and lay down railroads... There will be a strong demand for steel and cement by then."

After a pause, he continued,

"I'm planning to invest in a steel mill in Qingstone County."

Zhou Nan glanced at him in surprise.

He knew this drinking buddy had bought some property here and had even ventured into a few businesses, but he hadn't expected him to consider starting a steel mill.

That was a heavy asset, not easily moved.

If something went wrong, years of effort could be wasted.

"Aren't you worried about being affected by wars if the Army and Alliance clashed?"

"What's there to fear?"

"Gazing at the azure power armor and that steel fortress flying in the sky, Sun Shiqi curved his lips into a confident smile."

"There's no other survivor settlement I've been to that makes me feel as secure as this place."

"…I didn't expect to have a part in this."

After returning from the crowded square to the commercial street in the north, Teng Teng gazed at the gleaming medal on his chest for the tenth time, his lips uncontrollably curving upwards.

At the center of the medal was a gear, just like the door of the shelter, engraved with the meaningful number 79, representing the recently incorporated Shelter No. 79.

The digital version of the medal was also synchronized in the VM; after selecting it, the description read just like during the Alpha phase—"We march from here."

Although he hadn't been on the frontline for a long while, joining the others for team battles occasionally was quite fun.

Before realizing, he arrived at the door of the elegantly decorated boutique; just as Teng Teng saw the open door, a striking figure rushed out.

"Teng Teng!!!"

"Oof—"

Teng Teng had just arrived home and had yet to say a word when a breath-stealing dark silhouette collided into a tight embrace with her.

Damn—

This cursed height.

Teng Teng's eyes rolled back, about to disconnect, but fortunately, Crow by his side swiftly came to help, grabbing hold of the teary-eyed shop assistant.

"Ah! Quick, let go! Teng Teng can't breathe!"

"!!!"

You actually knew!

Having finally wriggled free from his own shop employee's embrace, Teng Teng cleared his throat forcefully, glaring at the person as he complained.

"Do you want me to die?"

Three days have been tough enough!

The scolded shop assistant girl, head bowed, kept apologizing.

Her name was Hua Hua; she had long, sleek black hair and wheat-colored skin, wearing a British-style classic maid's long dress.

This was a work uniform Teng Teng had designed for her out of personal interest, feeling it suited her slightly bashful character.

As for other players complaining about the impractically long skirt, she didn't plan on bothering with those old filthies who didn't understand art.

Like many of the City of Dawn's residents, Hua Hua was a refugee from another area, originally named Catalanya.

Since translating it into Chinese sounded odd, Teng Teng had given her a nickname.

This kind of situation wasn't rare in the Wasteland.

Homeless refugees gladly accepted the names locals bestowed on them, which usually implied a paternalistic acceptance.

Let alone names from residents of the refuge.

"Sorry, I'm just too excited … You left a note behind and then left, I was worried you'd encounter danger on the frontline …"

The tears hanging on her eyelashes made it difficult to stay annoyed. Teng Teng sighed, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

"I've worried you, but it's okay, I'm fine to some extent—"

However, before he could finish his comforting words, they were interrupted by Crow pounding his chest beside them.

"Exactly! Don't worry, Hua Hua, I'm here! Although Teng Teng is slightly less capable in combat, I'll take care of her!"

Unaware of the full story, Hua Hua quickly bowed.

"Thank you for bringing our boss back home."

Teng Teng: "..."

This guy.

Doesn't even blush a bit.

…

The entire afternoon, the City of Dawn basked in the festive atmosphere.

As the award ceremony concluded, the lively crowd gradually moved from the square to the commercial street, bringing a prosperity greater than usual.

Route Town Inn.

The lobby was filled with clinks of glasses, the foam of the beer and the spittle of loud conversations nearly hitting the ceiling, as the surviving indigenous people immersively enjoyed the sensation of being alive.

Among them were soldiers from the First Army Corps, mercenaries who fought alongside the Alliance, and residents of the refuge.

Old White and Wild Wind, who had resurrected two days earlier, finally reunited with Night Ten, who had returned with the airship in the game.

The three brothers sat at the bar in the lobby, voraciously chewing on roast meat and guzzling aromatic beer.

Today's beer and food were free.

Everyone was prepared to come in upright and leave horizontally.

"Damn it! Where's that damn Fang Chang?"

Watching the restless Night Ten, Wild Wind, slightly tipsy, belched out loud.

"Why do you even ask such a… lame question?"

"Exactly!" Old White also laughed, "That guy just crawled out of the cultivation chamber, picked up his bag, and ran off to Giant Stone City … What do you think he's up to?"

That guy must have calculated everything.

When slipping into the 400mm main cannon, he didn't even frown, probably had settled on dying early and returning home.

Night Ten couldn't help but curse.

"F**k! What a bros before hoes guy!"

"Burp—I'm done."

One second before just being tipsy, Wild Wind suddenly thudded, his forehead making intimate contact with the bar, apparently disconnecting.

"HAHAHA! What a wimp!"

Night Ten let out an odd laugh, but before he could relish the moment for two seconds, he slid off the stool. Luckily, Old White quickly grabbed him, saving the war hero the embarrassment of crawling under the table.

"These noobs."

Night Ten settled at the bar, and Old White, picking up his glass again, sighed helplessly, feeling as lonely as the snow.

However, with the metabolic rates of the Intelligence System and the Perception System, character attributes dictated certain facts, so it wasn't really their fault.

To truly enjoy drinking one had to be with Quit Smoking and Old Na, players of the Body Constitution System who metabolized alcohol quickly, needing the restroom after a couple of drinks, yet seeming unaffected even after more than a dozen glasses.

But they too had their own matters, and currently, it was unknown where they were out enjoying themselves.

Watching the joy written on everyone's faces, Old Hooke standing behind the bar couldn't help but be infected by their optimism, a smile appearing on his face.

While wiping the glasses, he spoke.

"It's really good to see you all. That news had quite shocked me."

Night Ten and Wild Wind were almost at their limit with drinking and were currently struggling with the internet connection.

Taking a break to burp, Old White said tipsily,

"Ah, indeed, we lost many brothers... especially those who did the parachute jump."

Old Hooke poured himself a beer and clinked glasses with Old White, who was sitting at the bar.

"Let's not talk about that, I shouldn't have brought it up today... I hope you all drink merrily."

Old White laughed heartily.

"Ah! Of course!"

At that moment, a figure entered through the door.

She wore a simple long dress, her face filled with anxiety and unease, seemingly unable to adapt to the lively atmosphere.

A guard in a black uniform followed her.

Old Hooke recognized the guard as a young man from a nearby village, but the young woman was unfamiliar to him and didn't seem like someone from around here.

"Would you like to join us for a drink, Officer?" Old Hooke asked with a smile.

The young guard quickly shook his head.

"I'm on duty, perhaps after my shift late at night."

Old Hooke then turned to the young woman beside him.

"And who might this be?"

"I," the girl said nervously, cutting off the guard before he could speak, "my name is Lisa... Is there someone here called 'Pangolin'?"

As she spoke, she quickly scanned the lively lobby, a hint of disappointment soon crossing her face.

Clearly, she hadn't found the person she was looking for.

Hearing the name Pangolin stunned Old White for a moment.

Putting down his glass and turning around on his stool, he looked at the slightly gaunt girl and asked,

"The Pangolin you mentioned is—"

"Do you know him?" Lisa interjected eagerly before he could finish.

Old White scratched his head.

"He's gone far away. Do you have urgent business with him? I can deliver a message."

It wasn't a big deal.

He could just send a private message on the forum.

Lisa was silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice,

"Will he come back?"

Seeing the expression on her face, Old White guessed something, paused for a moment, then nodded seriously,

"Definitely, but I'm not sure how long it will be."

Lisa bit her lip gently.

"I'll wait for him."

Leaving these words behind, she left the inn with the guard.

No more was mentioned about delivering the message. Old White turned back to the bar and continued his drinking.

This wasn't a matter for outsiders, nor was it appropriate to meddle.

From her demeanor, it was clear she had something personal to say to Old Soldier; it was better not to meddle insensitively.

Old Hooke glanced at the door.

"From the Restoration Zone?"

Old White hummed in acknowledgment.

Old Hooke sighed.

"A life of hardship..."

...

As night fell, the bustling square was left with only sparse figures, most people having moved on to the commercial street at the North of the city.

A petite figure zigzagged through the crowd, searched for a long time, and finally, disheartened, slumped her shoulders and headed toward the stagecoach station.

Standing next to a two-headed cow carriage, a merchant yawned while counting his goods, preparing to set off early the next morning for Luo Xia Province.

A young girl approached and stopped in front of him.

Catching a glimpse of her light green hair, the merchant focused on her electronic eye, guessing she must be wealthy, and courteously asked,

"Can I help you, miss?"

A hoarse voice drifted over,

"How much to Rui Valley City?"

Hearing the potential for business, the merchant's mood immediately brightened, and he quickly replied,

"500 Dinar! Or 100 Silver coins, 300Cr... No chips, I'm not heading to Giant Stone City next, but I'll accept whatever payment you prefer!"

Dolly widened her eyes, unable to help exclaiming,

"Five hundred Dinar?! You're extorting me!"

The merchant merely shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"You can also go on your own."

Dolly clenched her teeth.

To leave Giant Stone City and to hire a reliable commercial team to Dawn City, she had spent quite a bit of money and only 50 chips were left in her pocket.

Apparently having heard the conversation between the two, a group of people dressed like mercenaries suddenly came over, the leader amongst them smiling and striking up a conversation.

"Hey, friend, are you heading to Sunset Province? We are on the same path, want to join us? It's just 10 Dinar per person."

The merchant sneered.

"Heh, no need."

The mercenary didn't mind and looked towards Dolly, but the moment his gaze landed on her face, a flicker of greed that was hard to detect crossed his eyes.

Sharply sensing the flicker in his gaze, a hint of alertness quickly crossed Dolly's eyes as she took a step back.

"No need... I'll ask others."

Seeing the cooked duck about to fly away, the man couldn't help feeling anxious and was about to step forward when a strange voice suddenly floated from behind.

"That's too expensive, 10 Dinar. Beautiful lady, I don't charge—"

Hearing someone daring to snatch his business, the mercenary immediately narrowed his eyes, about to turn around to see which unfortunate soul it was.

However, at that moment, a breeze just happened to brush past his collar and over his neck, instantly cooling his boiling temper.

So fast!

He didn't even see what it was, as the voice brushed past him.

"— in exchange, just accompany me to watch a fireworks display."

A familiar voice drifted into his ears along with the evening breeze.

Looking at that longed-for smile, Dolly's eyes widened slightly, hardly believing her own eyes.

"Fang..."

"I'm back, sorry to have kept you waiting—"

A surge of hot emotions and tears came forth, and she couldn't hold back anymore.

Before she could finish speaking, Fang Chang felt a breeze come by, imprinting a light soft touch between his lips.

For a moment, his brain seemed to crash, a blank space forming.

But, he did not disconnect.

His eyes slightly widened, then slowly closed.

He felt hot tears the size of beans, rolling down to his lips, carrying a hint of saltiness.

'Sorry.'

'I've made you wait.'

'I've worried you.'

There were many things he wanted to say.

But at this moment, they all seemed superfluous.

He slowly dropped his teasing expression and open arms, embracing the person in his arms.

Fireworks burst in the sky.

Fireworks splendidly scattered across the sky, resembling the fire-rains that flew towards the heavens like locusts that night.

But if necessary, he would do it ten more times.

Even if there were no rewards...

...

Not far away in the square.

Tail, riding on Meat Meat's shoulders, made a binocular gesture with both hands, excitedly watching the fireworks in the sky.

"Wow! Si Si! Meat Meat! Sesame Paste! Look at the airship launching fireworks!"

Clusters of flames rushed towards the sky, their vivid colors spreading across the sky and illuminating the dark night and her eyes, reflecting the twinkling lights.

Si Si glanced at her watch, thoughtfully touching her chin.

"Hmm, it's about 2 minutes early..."

It's really obsessive-compulsive.

Sesame Paste, smiling, hugged her shoulders from behind.

"Well... as long as it looks good, don't mind those details."

At this moment.

The anti-aircraft cannons on top of the airship pointed straight up into the sky, continuously unleashing intense firepower, not to shoot down any aircraft.

But to send blessings to the people looking up at the sky.

Holding a wine glass, Chu Guang stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows looking at the ground illuminated by fireworks, a gentle smile appearing at the corners of his lips.

Xiao Qi's voice, tinged with regret, came to his ears.

"Wuu, master, I can't see anything from here... Maybe you should go down."

That was a fireworks display it had prepared diligently for a long time.

However, the bridge was located in the belly of the airship, utterly invisible from the sky.

Chu Guang smiled lightly, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the land illuminated by fireworks, saying in a very soft voice.

"How could I not see?"

The most beautiful view was already in his sight.

It was those faces looking up at the night sky, gleaming brightly.

He clinked his glass gently against the window, a clear 'ding' mingling with the whistling wind outside.

"To an unbreakable alliance, cheers."

Enjoy the festival.

And the serene evening breeze.

All of this, you have earned with your blood and sweat.

Chapter 409: "Dividing the Spoils" and Rewarding Merits!

Giant Stone City.

In the meeting room on the third floor of the city hall, the long conference table was eerily silent, with only the occasional falling ash from a cigarette and the perpetual scent of nicotine hanging in the air.

The Army had left.

Or rather, it had fled with its tail between its legs and would likely be too preoccupied to pay attention to River Valley Province for quite some time.

This should have been a cause for celebration.

However...

The people sitting at the conference table could not feel any joy.

At the moment, the atmosphere in the meeting room was so heavy that it felt less like a meeting and more like a funeral.

The only thing that seemed out of place in this funeral-like atmosphere was probably the brown shirt that Duron wore inside out beneath his black coat.

It was only when he sat down here that he realized his mistake, but it was too late to change, so he kept fidgeting with the collar of his coat.

The meeting had gone on from late into the night until dawn.

Struggling to keep his heavy eyelids open, Duron once again glanced quietly at the people in front of him, trying to read any change of stance from their expressions.

Still, there was not a single clue.

To ease the rigid atmosphere at the conference table, he cleared his throat and spoke in a tactful tone.

"…At least, he didn't lie to us."

Seeing that no one interrupted him, Duron continued.

"Last night, not a single bullet… not even a shell casing fell on our giant wall, and those projectiles they fired, without a doubt, were just fireworks."

"I think we don't need to overreact. The Alliance is a friendly neighbor; they've always cared about our relationship."

While saying this, Duron took a very humble stance and adopted an inquiring tone. After all, there were few people sitting here whose status was lower than his.

Apart from Melvin, the manager of Giant Stone City Bank, and Jaeger, the deputy manager who always disagreed with him, the rest were either nobles from the Inner City or officers from the Militia Group… and these latter people were the real power brokers of Giant Stone City.

Compared to them, he was more like the lord's servant, a butler managing the "non-core business."

A few people at the conference table exchanged glances, whispering softly to each other.

A few Inner City nobles' expressions relaxed a bit, thinking there might be some truth to his words. After all, the Alliance had never deliberately provoked them and had sold them many interesting trinkets, enriching both their days and nights.

The man in the Militia Group's uniform was the only one still stern-faced, his expression unchanging as he stared at Duron and responded with a disdainful snort.

"Oh? So we should thank them now?"

His name was Wallace, the chief of the first thousand team of the Giant Stone City Militia Group, a veteran noble from the Inner City, and also the most difficult hardliner to deal with.

Although isolationism was a consensus among the residents of Giant Stone City's Inner City, how to be isolated and the method of isolation were topics up for discussion.

"You misunderstand, that's not what I mean."

Duron sighed softly, looking at this military lord with a headache, and continued.

"We should look at the problem objectively. That airship… or rather, that 400mm main cannon, it's better for it to be in the Alliance's hands than the Army's, isn't it? Even if the people from the North Suburb are a bunch of country bumpkins playing with Crack Claw Crabs, they are the comparatively civilized kind."

The officer narrowed his eyes slightly, speaking in a chilly tone.

"Are you saying I'm not being objective?"

Duron: "…"

Seeing the meeting was once again at an impasse, Melvin, sitting in a corner of the long table, coughed lightly and spoke, aiming to smooth things over.

"I think what the manager meant to say is that, compared to half a month ago, our situation has improved a lot. There's no need to look so gloomy."

Seeing his ally speak up, Duron promptly added to his point.

"That's exactly what I mean."

Sitting next to Wallace, an officer responsible for city defense suddenly remarked with emotion.

"Automated anti-air defenses, over a hundred cannons… Great Antler God above, how did they break through that thing?"

Last night at 7:58 PM, the Alliance set off fireworks for an hour and two minutes, and the anti-aircraft cannons and missiles on the giant wall were also loaded and on standby all night.

If those dense fireworks had been replaced with shells fitted with proximity fuses, not a single aircraft in Giant Stone City would have been able to take off successfully.

After all, those VTOL fighters, even if they could switch to fixed-wing mode, would need over ten kilometers just to accelerate.

Before that happened, bringing them down would not require cutting-edge technology – just a broadside salvo would be enough.

Without a doubt, those hicks from the North Suburb were using the guise of a celebration to show off their pathetic muscles.

Thinking of this, the officer could not help but grind his teeth and curse internally.

Just because they were lucky enough to win one battle against the Army, now they're strutting around in front of us.

This smug appearance…

They were just asking for a beating!

"I still hold the same view," Wallace stated emotionlessly, "we should tighten the aid to them! Immediately!"

Duron sighed.

"Such as?"

Wallace replied without hesitation.

"Suspend loans! Halt trade with the north!"

Duron wasn't at all surprised by his answer; these heads of the Militia Group didn't understand the first thing about the economy's hardships.

He was just about to say something.

However, before he could open his mouth, a well-dressed man had already spoken the words he intended to say.

"Following that is unrealistic; everything you eat, wear, and use... all comes from the trade between us and other survivor settlements."

Duron glanced at the man; he recognized him. His name was Sid, a well-known noble in the Inner City, and also the major behind-the-scenes shareholder of Vijia Commerce.

This guy's properties weren't limited to Vijia Commerce, and even less so to Giant Stone City. He had stakes in farms in the south and the mercenary groups raised there, his family wealth had reached a level that was hard to calculate in chips.

At the same time, Duron also noticed the devil silk fabric of his clothing and the leather shoes made from Claw of Death leather he was stepping on.

In a sense, what he said was indeed correct; his living expenses really came from trade with the outside.

As soon as Sid's words fell, another noble of no less status immediately began to speak.

"Exactly, and halting trade with any one party is simply not feasible! Once outside the great wall, those commercial teams won't let you know where they've gone. Even if you close the northern gate, even if you leave only one gate to the south, as long as there's profit in 'North Suburb,' they'll take a big detour and run over there."

Wallace's eyebrows twitched.

His stance was still firm, but he might have realized that his words hadn't gone through his brain, so he changed his position slightly, making a small concession.

"Never mind trade, at least that loan must be stopped!"

He knew that money was in the Giant Stone City Bank.

Stopping the loan would be easy; just a few finger taps could freeze hundreds of millions of chips.

The nobles didn't seem to have any objections; after all, the Alliance's wallet had nothing to do with them, but as a smile was about to appear on Wallace's face, the bank manager Melvin suddenly cleared his throat and spoke up.

"About that... I have something to say too."

Seeing everyone looking at him, he continued.

"Those loans, rather than calling them aid to them, it's better to call them aid to ourselves. The residents of Giant Stone City can't afford to buy our goods; if we halt the loans to the Alliance, over half of the factories would shut down because of that."

Hearing this, Sid quickly spoke up.

"That won't do! The loan can't stop!"

A multitude of nobles echoed and nodded, expressing opinions almost identical to each other.

"That's right!"

"The idea of stopping loans is simply stupid! Our factories have already started up; if we stop their loans, who will pay the workers?!"

"We can't stop until those yokels have settled their accounts!"

Seeing that his side was garnering more and more allies, Melvin breathed a sigh of relief and continued to strike while the iron was hot.

"That's what I think too. The economy, which had been stagnant for a century, is finally showing signs of revival; we can't let it be interrupted... at least not now."

An officer sitting next to Wallace couldn't help clenching his fists and rebuked.

"Are we just going to watch them grow stronger?"

Duron said softly.

"About that I must clarify, their power is indeed growing, but we are also getting stronger."

"Not to speak of others, but consider the three thousand mercenaries hired to the front lines for war, minus the dead, at least one to two thousand have returned... They are soldiers who have seen battle, not the kind of battle against slimy mold, but intense combat of firepower against firepower. We could completely recruit them and train them as junior military officers!"

He had always dreamed that the city hall could have its own armed forces; this was undoubtedly the best opportunity.

Seeing Wallace deep in thought, Duron felt a tinge of joy in his heart, but before he could rejoice, his ally Melvin suddenly betrayed him.

"As for expanding the army... I actually believe there is no need for that; as long as we maintain the capability to mutually destroy with our neighbors, it's sufficient. They're economically dependent on us, and it's going to be even moreso in the future, and those loans are like chains around their necks... This is more effective than expanding the army."

A joke.

An expansion of the army would mean increased taxes; the city hall didn't care, but he couldn't afford not to care.

The residents of the outer city were almost squeezed dry, barely able to extract any more resources, and it was only because the number of jobs had increased recently that the situation had slightly improved.

It was clear where the money for the army expansion would come from.

Ignoring Duron's frantic glances, Melvin continued.

"If our city lord has no plans for territorial expansion, maintaining such a large army would become a burden for us."

The nobles seated around the conference table nodded one after another.

Most of them had businesses set up in the city; expanding the army would inevitably lead to increased taxes, thereby raising their operating costs.

At least on this matter, their position and that of the Giant Stone City Bank were aligned.

Wallace furrowed his brows.

He could disregard Duron and that bank manager Melvin's views, but he could not ignore the nobles seated here.

Two centuries of intermarriages, making the power structure of the Inner City complex and challenging.

Especially the established nobles, many of them weren't just paying for "tickets" into the Inner City, they had been there from the start in the first building.

Some maintained the operations of the city lord's "core business," some managed assets of distant worlds, and even the city lord would listen to their views.

At least selectively.

At this moment, Melvin cleared his throat gently and mediated again.

"Actually, there's no need to worry too much. Our neighbors are quite trustworthy..."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"Just yesterday, the subordinate sent by that Manager brought us 12 boxes of treasures. Those were General McCullen's collection, and my team of professional appraisers valued them between 8 to 9.6 million chips... This money will serve as an advance payment for the interest due over the next three years."

Before his words had even finished, he saw the nobles' eyes light up with anticipation.

Especially the shareholders of the Giant Stone City Bank.

Although these treasures were going into the bank's treasury, and they had no direct connection with them, these treasures would soon appear at the auction.

For them, chips were just numbers; the money spent was the only way to preserve value forever, whether it was purchasing real estate, rare metals, or imported goods from Ideal City or precious items from the era before the war.

The collection of the Army Captain...

Surely, it would not disappoint them.

The atmosphere around the conference table suddenly livened up, with excited whispering and many a face, now completely devoid of sleepiness, catching Duron and Wallace, who sat at the table, somewhat off guard.

"I didn't expect those country bumpkins to be so generous."

"It's not generosity, it's the interest they ought to pay us!"

A noble remarked.

"War... it really brings in money damn fast."

Watching the excitedly conversing nobles, Melvin breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on his face.

It looked like this card was played at just the right time...

...

If there was someone who couldn't accept the termination of financial cooperation with the Alliance, it was undoubtedly Giant Stone City Bank.

The bankruptcy of Giant Stone City's factories, though it would leave the Inner City nobles uncomfortably struggling to find their next meal, and potentially lead to a period of hardship, would not be fatal.

However, Melvin was different.

His bank was not just the creditor of the Alliance, but also provided loans to the factories of Giant Stone City, which allowed those factory owners to expand production.

If the Alliance's loans were frozen, those factories would fail to collect their debts and, in turn, be unable to pay him back, creating a wave of bad debt that would instantly trigger a systemic risk.

That is, liquidity would dry up.

Those cunning country bumpkins in the North Suburb had snatched the loans and immediately secured a multitude of orders with Giant Stone City's factories, with production tasks even scheduled into the next year.

Melvin now realized why the Alliance's representatives agreed so readily to sign the contract, including various inequitable terms like the exclusion from cash transactions, the scope of chip usage, and setting up of supervised accounts.

It turned out these guys had planned from the start to tie him to their chariot.

Without a doubt, he was the richest man in the city, but his money was not all his own; a significant part belonged to others entrusted to his care.

This included Outer City residents, Inner City nobles, and even the City Lord. Besides private accounts, there were the City Hall's tax revenues and the Militia Group's military funds, amongst others.

If something went wrong...

It wasn't a matter that could be fixed by burning a few account books or the death of a few people.

Thinking of the series of consequences, Melvin was not only racked with a headache but couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

Never having visited to the Alliance, he found himself forced to become halfway an Alliance person and even had to withstand pressure from the Inner City for the Alliance...

And yet, he couldn't quit.

Because the benefits they offered were far too substantial...

After the meeting ended, he finally returned home.

Sitting on the soft sofa, Melvin rubbed his tired eyes and couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"These cunning skunks..."

Alyssa, reading the newspaper, tilted her head.

"Daddy?"

"It's nothing... my sweet girl," Melvin immediately switched to a gentle expression, fondly ruffling his daughter's fluffy hair, "Daddy's just a bit tired, a little rest will do."

Alyssa blinked her bright eyes and said astutely.

"Is it because of the war?"

"Not exactly, but it's somewhat related..." Melvin sighed, speaking wearily to himself, "The most ideal scenario is that the Alliance, with our money, battles the Army to mutual destruction, allowing us to deal with the Alliance who'd then need us, all the while making them act according to our demands."

"But there was an unexpected turn of events, they acquired airships," Alyssa mused as she looked at the newspaper.

Glancing at the paper in her hands, Melvin nodded with a smile.

"That's right... they got their hands on airships and set off fireworks to tell us that they'd fixed those contraptions, and even got the hang of them... these cunning little foxes."

"Weren't they skunks?"

"Cough," Melvin cleared his throat, "don't mimic Daddy's words... Anyway, why am I talking about all this boring stuff."

He didn't want his darling little girl to think about such tiresome matters; both his sons were outstanding individuals, one well-versed in the business of the Inner City and the other traveling in Ideal City. He could entrust the future of his family to them with peace of mind.

Melvin yawned.

"It's getting late, your music teacher will be arriving soon... You'd better put away the newspaper, or your mother will see it, and she'll be displeased again."

Alyssa made a resigned expression and set the newspaper aside.

"Alright..."

Her voice was filled with reluctance,

And she drew out the last syllable very long...

...

Before dawn broke over the Wasteland.

The night's festivities had drawn to a close, yet the buzz on the Forum continued unabated.

And naturally, it all began with the notice released by the Dog Plan Ah Guang.

"The rewards for the 'Battle of Rui Valley City' have been distributed, and a limited-time draw event has started, please exchange your points for prizes in time!"

"The 'Dressing the Desert' expansion pack is officially launched, and to solidify the fruits of victory, we will aid our neighbors and drive the chaotic and plague-spreading armies to the west of the desert!"

"Expeditionary Army recruitment has begun! (Note: Only combat professions are counted, life-skill players need not worry, there will be exclusive expansion pack related missions released later.)"

Tail: "Awooo! Golden Legend! (✪ω✪)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "!!! What did you draw?"

Tail: "Hang on, let me check it out first before I tell you! (•̀ω•́)✧"

Quit smoking: "???"

Si Si: "Wow, it's just like Ah Wei, the first floor is more important than the lucky draw! (￣▽￣)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Crying, damn it, I'm in Falling Leaves Province... I can't even get the prizes I drew."

I Max Black: "No worries Pangolin, we'll use them on your behalf for now! (sly)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Beat it! Don't touch them! I'll use them when I get back! (angry)"

Quit smoking: "Where's Fang Chang! The new expansion is out!"

Elena: "Where's the analysis? The commentary? Why hasn't it come out yet? Haven't they fed you enough? (sly)"

Crow: "It's time for the cloud planner to get to work!"

Canyon escape Mole: "Damn... don't tell me this guy won the jackpot and is too scared to show up!"

Spring Water Commander: "(shivering.jpg)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Crap! The dog coin exalted ones are here! (angry)"

Youth with brick at the construction site: "Spill what you drew! (angry)"

Spring Water Commander: "Cough cough... a lollipop."

Youth with brick at the construction site: "Hahaha! Noob!"

Teng Teng: "You... you actually believed what he said. (sideways glance)"

Night Ten: "Damn it, that dog Fang Chang has truly disappeared... Screw it, I'm not waiting, in a few more minutes it's time, see you all online bros!"

Old White: "See online. (grinning teeth)"

Wild Wind: "(sideways smile)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Awoo awoo awoo!!! Gather at the entrance of sewer mission 117! Departure on time at seven o'clock, come quickly to level up your sequence!"

"..."

Watching the playful little players on the forum, Chu Guang also felt genuinely happy for them.

Although he had spent a lot this time, the Alliance had spent the budget of an entire year in just one month, his little players had gained a lot.

The majority of players' rewards were above 2000 silver coins, enough to buy a Miner Type I Exoskeleton, and many players with outstanding contributions even received rewards over 20,000 silver coins.

Excluding the cost of ammunition, supplies, weapon damage, logistics losses, and so on, just the "direct rewards" given to the players for this battle amounted to thirty million silver coins!

This did not even count the cost of the lottery.

The price of silver on the official website's trading platform was also fluctuating rapidly, but Chu Guang wasn't too concerned.

The Silver Exchange was not a casino, nor was it a financial product.

It was a channel for "financing" for the closed beta of Wasteland OL and its players, or in other words, a tool he used to "pay wages and subsidies" to the players.

Once the transaction volume shrinks to an appropriate position and most speculators exit the market, he will release some technologies that are not too difficult to digest for the 21st century.

Alternative plans include aviation fuel, laser components for igniting controlled fusion, and so on... all of which are technologies from before the Prosperity Epoch.

As for how to properly use these technologies, that's not something for him to worry about. He believes there's no need for his concern.

Chu Guang also discovered it all of a sudden.

Although his "business skills" were a bit rusty at the beginning, after spending more time in the manager's seat, he became increasingly adept at handling these affairs.

Moreover, the points he had saved up from the last expansion pack finally came in handy.

Aside from the trivial items from the basic blind boxes and intermediate blind boxes, most of the equipment from the advanced blind boxes was put up as lottery prizes on the official website.

Chu Guang divided the rewards into three "prize pools."

The first-tier prize pool mainly consisted of the spoils confiscated from the armies, as well as basic weapons produced by the Alliance, light weapons aided by the Giant Stone City Army, etc., with values ranging from 1 to 500 silver coins.

The second-tier prize pool was mainly composed of relatively expensive equipment, including weapon accessories and exoskeletons, valued between 500 and 2000 silver coins.

The third-tier prize pool was mostly made up of prizes that Chu Guang himself obtained from blind boxes, as well as good stuff obtained from Ideal City and so on.

The quality of these pieces of equipment was quite decent, and Chu Guang believed his little players could fully leverage their creativity and use these items to their greatest potential in the right situations.

As for Chu Guang himself, his need for equipment wasn't that great.

Not to mention that he seldom had the chance to be on the front lines, his God Equip was already near full set. If he were to get another axe, wouldn't he go from "Karl Franz" to "Hill Dwarf"?

That would be too lame!

Now even Nicole was wearing an exoskeleton, and Chu Guang was confident he could single-handedly take down a tank on the front lines.

That wasn't an exaggeration at all.

After all, that Nitrogen-Powered Hammer was designed for busting bunkers and counter-armor.

Furthermore, besides the high-tech equipment from these blind boxes, what excited Chu Guang even more was the change that happened to himself.

Since returning from the front lines,
his level had finally broken through to level 30!

Chapter 410 Funeral and Distant Visitors

"Dog Spring Water, give me your life!"

"Damn! I've drawn so many times... why can't I hit it once?! Let go of me! I've made contributions to the Alliance! I want to see the Manager!"

"Come on, lend me a hand!"

"Left leg is all yours!"

"???"

"Wow, wow, wow! This eyepiece is so cool! All the little figures are glowing! Tsk, it's a pity it doesn't have X-ray vision!"

"Ah, Ah Wei, don't run! Let me take a look!"

"No, no, you have a big head! You'll stretch it out and ruin it!"

Above Shelter No. 404, in the sanatorium's entrance plaza, it was as lively as a festival. Players who logged in all received their prizes.

Including Dog Spring Water's Portable Shield Backpack.

Including Tail's thermal imaging eyepiece.

There were also a series of other novel gadgets.

Spring Springs, who was carried by his good brothers to a large tree, screamed miserably, repeatedly calling for "Dog Battlefield" and "Where is my son?".

Unfortunately, his brave subordinate had already followed the Army to the desert, and by now, he might have turned into the shape of the Army.

Wearing boxy glasses and laughing with a "hehehe," Tail was chased all over the plaza by Meat Meat, while Si Si and Sesame Paste sat leisurely at the edge of the plaza, watching.

"That eyepiece... should be connected to a helmet, isn't it strange to just use rubber bands to tie it up?" Si Si said with slight concern.

The cat ears on her head shook gently, and Sesame Paste smiled shyly.

"Well... don't mind these details."

On the edge of the plaza.

Old White held a short axe in his hands and scratched the back of his head with his left hand.

"How am I supposed to use this thing?"

The handle of the axe was orange-red.

The edge of the axe didn't look sharp, in fact, it seemed quite blunt. Instead, the reflective side, bright as a mirror, showed a bewildered face.

Brother Killing Chicken curiously came over to take a look. Seeing that the axe was so blunt it could almost be used as a hammer, he lost interest and walked away.

Confusion was written all over Old White's face.

This...

Is it just a fireman's axe?

"Why don't you try chopping something with it?" Night Ten, standing beside him, didn't understand what was special about this gadget either.

As Wild Wind was about to share his opinion after pondering for a moment, a familiar and reliable voice suddenly came from the side.

"Thermal Cutting Axe."

"Although it's used for firefighting, it's different from an ordinary fireman's axe. It can compress gas on the blade edge, forming a directed jet of cutting flame at high speed upon impact with the target."

"The charging port is located at the lower end of the axe handle, and two inches above is a button, holding it down can charge the capacitor."

Equipment that appeared in the game could generally be found in the official online database, and the equipment from the refuge came with detailed information.

Even if there was only one item.

Before logging into the game, Fang Chang had already reviewed the new equipment added to the lottery, so he had a general understanding of these weapons.

After all, the weapons in the shelter were designed before the war and were not exclusive to players. Since they appeared in the hands of players, they could naturally appear in the hands of other forces.

However...

What surprised everyone was not what Fang Chang said, but his presence.

"Physical penetration, it's definitely a Black Cutter—Holy shit! Fang Chang!?"

Seeing Fang Chang approaching from the direction of the base gate, Night Ten's eyes widened, and even Wild Wind showed a surprised expression on his face.

"Did you just wake up?"

"Mm... sorry I'm a bit late, I was just looking at the update content."

Fang Chang's face was marked with dark circles, probably from a lack of sleep. Unlike usual, he also wore a windproof scarf around his neck.

There weren't any sandstorms to block, given that the place was surrounded by trees.

"Aren't you hot?"

"I'm okay."

A rare hint of red appeared on that calm face.

After a slight cough, Fang Chang awkwardly changed the subject, putting on a serious face and asking, "...My matters aside, what did you all draw?"

"A big sniper!" Night Ten grinned, his tone a bit showy, "Type 15 'Python' Gauss Rifle! I finally got lucky!"

Fang Chang looked at him a bit surprised.

"So you were the one who got that gun... why didn't you bring it out?"

Night Ten smiled sheepishly.

"It's useless to bring it to the city today."

Wild Wind chuckled softly, teasingly saying,

"Mainly because the ammo isn't easy to get, right?"

Night Ten scratched his head.

"Ammo is a small problem, mainly it's the barrel..."

Unlike the Manager's barrel-less design of the Type 20 'Stinger' Gauss Rifle, the Type 15 is a long-range Gauss Rifle with a barrel and rifling.

Due to the bullets being spun by the rifling and the initial velocity being very high, the wear and load on the barrel are far greater than those of light weapons.

However, compared to the Type 20's "fin-stabilized bullets," the bullets of the Type 15 are much cheaper and can even be crafted by hand at the weapon store's workbench.

Most of the Gauss Rifles produced by enterprises also adopt a similar "with barrel" design and are made with a detachable barrel for easy replacement, mostly for cost and on-site material considerations.

Fang Chang nodded in understanding.

"...I've looked at the data for your weapon. A fully charged capacitor can accelerate a 65g 7mm bullet to Mach 5. It has excellent lethality for long and ultra-long-ranged targets, which should come in handy after going to the desert map."

Making a fair assessment of Night Ten's weapon, he then turned to Wild Wind.

"And you?"

Wild Wind answered.

"Alpha Dog."

Fang Chang was slightly stunned.

"What?"

Wild Wind continued.

"A mechanical dog, that's the name he gave it."

"Mechanical dog... the A-1 Ground Weapon Platform?" Fang Chang nodded in realization.

That weapon he had also seen on the official website.

Its appearance was that of a four-legged robot with a length of 1.5 meters, with a conventional load capacity of up to 2.7 tons, and could serve as a mobile supply station, a field signal repeater, or even a "charging pile" for drones.

At the same time, it could also be used as a fire support platform, equipped with 12 mm machine guns, 40 mm grenade launchers, and smoke launchers, among other things.

Whether it was for individual adventures or group raids, this gadget was incredibly useful—truly a God Equip tailor-made for Intelligence System players.

Fang Chang thought of over six application scenarios in just 5 seconds, and as far as he knew, only one of these had been released server-wide.

Old White looked at Fang Chang.

"What about you?"

Fang Chang smiled and said,

"Powered Wing Suit flyer! I'm planning to go to the refuge and get one. The instructions say it can be carried in a backpack or disassembled into a fixed-wing drone, but if you put this thing on, you can't wear heavy exoskeleton armor... and I've never tried wing suit flying before, so I'll need some practice."

Night Ten: "Damn, that's awesome!"

Wild Wind: "It does match nicely with your Bow and Arrow."

"It's okay," Fang Chang modestly replied, then turned to look at Old White, "Speaking of which, Old White, have your Contribution Points reached knight level?"

"Yeah, 100,125 points, just got the knight title!" Old White said with a grin, "That power armor was pretty expensive, cost me 1 million silver coins."

Hearing this, the surrounding people all envied him.

The first power armor on the server!

The ceiling for combat power on the server had been raised once again.

Fang Chang couldn't help but roll his eyes: "You're lucky you could even buy one for a million silver coins, be content with that."

Night Ten couldn't resist making a remark.

"That's too much like Versailles!"

Old White sheepishly smiled.

To tell the truth, he did worry at first that there might be defects in the item, but once he actually put on the power armor, he instantly understood why the Manager always wore it and was reluctant to take it off.

Though it looked bulky, it was actually more agile than he had imagined, and when running at full power, he could hardly feel any weight at all.

Not only that, but the comfort level of the armor was also quite meticulous with a built-in air purification system and air conditioning. Its portable reactor and fuel rods powering it had lifespans measured in years and months, so there was no need to worry about endurance.

Such perfect equipment was clearly worth more than 1 million silver coins; even if another zero were added at the end, the nobles of Giant Stone City would undoubtedly pay tens of millions for it without hesitation.

For that reason, the equipment could only be bought with a certain Contribution Level, and once purchased, it would bind to the buyer, who could only sell it back to the refuge at a tenth of the price if no longer needed.

Here, some Backseat Drivers might wonder, what if I choose to ignore the rules and regulations and sell my bound equipment to another Survivor Settlement?

That's a very good question.

Wait until you get a helmet, then spend nearly a year earning Contribution Points up to knight level and put a value in the tens of millions or even hundreds of millions on an account that holds countless memories and feelings—try that and you'll know.

Of course, if you can't even tolerate a muzzle from the leader of the dog swarm, it's better not to overestimate your blood pressure and mental state.

Having a rough understanding of his teammates' gear, Fang Chang then asked,

"So, what's our plan for today?"

"Scientific expedition mission. The target is inside the second ring of the city center; we're going to help Brother Yin Fang collect some research samples to bring back. It's also a good chance to test out the new gear." Old White teased Fang Chang, "Speaking of which, aren't you in a rush to work on missions instead of spending time with your little girlfriend?"

"Oh, right, I damn near forgot to ask, how far have you guys progressed?" Night Ten's soul for gossip burst into flames, his eyes glittering with excitement.

Wild Wind didn't say anything but looked over curiously.

Fang Chang's gaze drifted sideways, and his index finger and thumb nervously pinched the corner of his hair.

Everyone waited for quite a while.

But all they got was a vague, evasive reply.

"...This Game is just too realistic."

A moment of silence ensued.

Suddenly, Night Ten looked at Wild Wind.

"Maybe we should send this guy to go hang out with Brother Clear Spring."

Wild Wind nodded subtly, a complicated expression on his face.

"Hmm... I think that's possible."

Fang Chang: "...?"

...

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Fourth Stage)

Level: LV.27→LV.30

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 25→30

Agility: 20→22

Constitution: 22→25

Perception: 21→22

Intelligence: 24→26

]

On Floor B3 of Shelter No. 404.

Lying on the scanning bed in the medical room, Chu Guang confirmed his updated Attribute Panel through the tablet handed to him by Heya.

13 attribute points.

More than half of that came from the breakthrough of his Gene Sequence development progress surpassing 30%.

Compared to other players, his attributes grew in a balanced manner; none stood out in particular, but the total was outrageously high.

In addition to this, following "Wild Instinct," "Mind Intimidation," and "Swarm Mentality," the fourth stage of his Gene Sequence granted him a new Talent.

["Call for Victory": The vocal cords vibrate at a special frequency, injecting courage into the shout and inflicting those who resonate with an indomitable will to win.]

The new Talent was also an aura.

At Heya's suggestion, Chu Guang experimented with it on her.

According to her own assessment, the heart rate and adrenaline increased slightly, and other indicators also changed to a small degree, but the effect was not very pronounced.

Maybe it was because of the wrong application scenario, maybe the volume wasn't enough, or perhaps the biomimetic organs weakened the resonance between organisms...

In any case, the effect was not as apparent as "Swarm Mentality".

After all, when he activated his Talent in the command room, Chu Guang could clearly feel that the officers' thought processes quickened significantly.

Who knows when he might get a "Total Combat Power +8".

"...It seems my previous guess was correct, your Gene Sequence can accumulate its own development progress from the evolutionary elements of other individuals' progress. It's like you said, leeching experience... Although the principle is not clear, the rough effect is similar."

Staring at the slowly drifting DNA sequence and the three-dimensional human structure diagram on the screen, Heya, with her arms crossed over her chest, quietly remarked.

"At this rate of development, it won't be long before you turn into a monster."

"Thanks for the compliment."

Chu Guang had just put on his shirt when his gaze fell on the terminal screen not far away, and his expression suddenly became somewhat subtle.

Despite it being a three-dimensional structure and the fact that this was a medical room, being stared at continuously still felt a bit strange.

Noticing Chu Guang's gaze, Heya lightly raised her eyebrows.

"Is there anything else?"

"No, that's all."

"Then hurry up and get out; I need to continue my research," Heya urged with an expression of slight excitement.

It was apparent that the research material she had just obtained from him had provided significant inspiration for her project.

He hoped her project would be concluded soon.

As for the strange occurrences happening to his own body, he was equally puzzled, especially when he thought about the dream he had the night before.

In the dream.

He returned to the desolate wilderness where his journey began, but he did not head south to Bet Street. Instead, he followed the dim lights, his body moving uncontrollably toward Street No.76 in the east.

That place was a den for Mutants.

Big guys with green skin sat at the door, heartily gobbling down rotting chunks of meat, humming apocalyptic ballads with their raucous voices.

He could clearly "see" himself, the man in the Blue Jacket retreating pale-faced, accidentally stepping on a landmine's tripwire. Amid a cloud of smoke, he fell beside a wrecked car.

The dream ended there.

However, the night was not clear, there were no slobbering Two-headed Dogs; instead, large snowflakes fell like goose feathers...

After leaving the medical room.

Chu Guang chanced upon Yin Fang walking out of the warehouse, a look of worry on his face, murmuring softly.

"What a waste..."

Chu Guang, who had been pondering the nightmare from last night, looked up in confusion and asked.

"A waste?"

Yin Fang sighed.

"Yeah, that Black Box that produces coffee beans."

When returning from the front line, Chu Guang had brought back Shelter No.79's Black Box. He left only one for the rookies to make Blue Jackets and the oversized one used to produce Portable Nuclear Reactors, which was too large to move.

The "Champion" injection was a decent BUFF for players, and the refuge's researchers could use it to stay alert; "Quirky" multflavored biscuits could earn foreign exchange, and "Asteroid" brand canned meat could serve as army rations.

Chu Guang had already made proper arrangements for each Black Box. Only the one producing coffee beans seemed somewhat useless, so he casually handed it over to Yin Fang to study.

When he first got his hands on the Black Box, Chu Guang had seen the guy's face light up like he found treasure. Now, in less than a day, he was already fed up?

Chu Guang's expression became a bit weird.

"...Is there a problem with that Black Box?"

"No problem, it's like magic, fascinating in its perfection, and at 1500 meters above sea level, there's no doubt that the coffee beans are of premium quality..." Yin Fang began, but suddenly his expression turned indignant, "But why do they have to be dried and dehydrated! Couldn't they skip that last unnecessary step?"

Chu Guang paused for a moment.

"...Is dried not okay?"

He didn't quite understand it and he didn't really drink that stuff.

"…Can a grain of rice stripped of its husk still grow into rice plants? And those uniform beans, even ground into powder, can't hide the fact that they lack soul. I'd rather drink instant."

Muttering incomprehensible words, Yin Fang shook his head and walked towards the elevator under Chu Guang's bewildered gaze…

…

The dawn rising in the distance climbed upon the treetops, and the midday sun shone over the North Suburb of Qingquan City, much calmer than the day before.

Yesterday was a celebration.

Today was the funeral of the honored dead.

Because most creatures that survived in the Wasteland were not picky eaters, most survivor settlements burned the dead to avoid attracting dangerous Variants.

Over time, cremation had become a custom.

The Alliance continued this tradition.

However, for those who sacrificed their lives for the Alliance, it would preserve a gravestone for posterity to look upon, and respect the deceased's wish to either bury their ashes beneath it or scatter them in a place of their choosing.

Additionally, players had more options: they could choose cremation or lie in an active substance conversion furnace to process their bodies.

The recycled active substances could offset the cost of resurrection.

The Alliance's propeller planes stretched white smoke across the sky, and a few ace pilots opened the funeral with their superb flying performances.

The plane slowly landed on the runway.

Taking off the pilot's helmet, Luo Yu complained.

"Damn! Why is my plane named Xiao Chuan?"

Walking to the side, Mosquito said with a joking grin.

"You picked the name, who else would fly it but you?"

Luo Yu: "@#%!"

In the cemetery on the east side of Dawn City.

The verdant lawn was dotted with bluish-gray tombstones, and the serene atmosphere carried a touch of faint sadness.

The master of ceremonies, dressed in formal attire, recited the eulogy in a long, steady voice.

Many people stood inside and outside the cemetery.

Officials from Dawn City, officers from the First Army Corps, representatives from various sectors and the ceremonial soldiers were all there. Outside the cemetery, there were also people who had come on their own initiative.

Including the mercenary who fought alongside the Alliance.

To most survivors in the Wasteland, a funeral was a rare event, especially one that was conducted so publicly.

Being left to rot in the wilderness was the usual fate for Waste Land Wanderers.

Standing among a row of people, Chu Guang quietly watched the funeral proceedings.

In the Alliance's regulated rituals, those attending the funeral were not required to wear a specific color of clothing, but they were expected to dress formally and appropriately.

The deep blue armor named "Order" was undoubtedly the highest honor for the souls who had perished in the war.

Standing next to Chu Guang, Luo Hua felt somewhat downcast, with a heavy expression on his face. Although he was still recovering from his injuries, he had insisted on coming here with a crutch.

"I'm sorry... for causing such a big trouble for you all."

Chu Guang glanced at him and said softly.

"Don't blame yourself; it's not your fault."

Whether or not Luo Hua was involved, the Army was bound to come here sooner or later after dealing with the trouble in Luo Xia Province.

Wolves' ambition is endless.

Unless you strike them hard.

Yet Luo Hua did not see it that way, still immersed in a sense of self-reproach, his eyes filled with complexity, pondering something unknown.

The funeral was halfway through.

At that moment, Luka suddenly stepped beside Chu Guang and whispered softly.

"Giant Stone City's envoy has arrived at the City of Dawn, and the leader of the delegation is the Commander of the Giant Stone City Militia Group. He claims to represent the City Lord of Giant Stone City and wishes to discuss with you in person the establishment of an embassy, the Steel Heart, and future cooperation."

Chu Guang listened quietly to Luka's report, then nodded slightly and spoke in a very soft voice.

"Let them come to see me."

Luka asked softly.

"Here?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes."

Without further questions, Luka nodded respectfully, turned, and hurriedly left the cemetery.

About half an hour later.

When Luka returned, he was accompanied by two guards and the delegation from Giant Stone City.

The delegation consisted of six members.

Chu Guang glanced at the man closest to Luka.

He wore the uniform of the militia group with gold ribbons adorning his epaulets, and his face conveyed authority and sharpness. This man must be the Commander of the Giant Stone City Militia Group.

If he remembered correctly, his name seemed to be Zhao Yongxu, a confidant of Mr. Haus, also known as "Lord Fang Ming."

Chu Guang's gaze lingered on him for two seconds before shifting away, continuing to watch the Master of ceremonies officiating the funeral.

The militia commander's expression briefly revealed surprise, followed by a flash of displeasure.

Noting the expression on his face, Luka, standing beside him, said softly.

"Our Manager is attending the funeral of fallen soldiers, the most important event in his schedule today… Please wait a moment longer."

Zhao Yongxu's voice carried a slight irritation.

"Is there anything more important than our relationship?"

In his view, those were just a few urns of ashes; just bury them somewhere, no need for such a big fuss.

Usually, after the Tide had ended, they would package the mercenaries' corpses together with the Variants' for the associated trading houses to handle, never wasting time on funeral ceremonies.

Luka's expression remained unchanged, still speaking calmly.

"Manager always tells us, showing respect for the dead is showing respect for life… You're in the prime of your life, why rush against those who have passed?"

Zhao Yongxu's eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of menace passing across his face, but it was only for an instant, and quickly he concealed that look.

An unexpected visit without prior appointment technically put him in the wrong.

Yet, the pretentious attitude of these people still infuriated him.

It's as if they didn't regard them at all!

But they were, after all, under someone else's roof.

Signaling for his men and other envoys to be patient, Zhao Yongxu stood quietly outside the cemetery, waiting to see what kind of game this Manager wanted to play.

Before long.

He heard the Master of ceremonies speak in a solemn and respectful voice.

"...We commemorate the sacrifice of 2934 residents of the refuge, 231 residents from the City of Dawn, 71 residents from Dawn City, and 397 residents from Giant Stone City."

"Your sacrifice has earned us a hard-won peace. We will carry on with your ideals."

The military officer standing beside Zhao Yongxu raised his eyebrows and whispered to another envoy.

"Residents from Giant Stone City? Surely he doesn't mean... those mercenaries who traded their lives for a few silver coins?"

The nobleman from Inner City nodded subtly, equally expressing complexity.

"Most likely."

They actually buried the mercenaries' ashes too?

The officer sneered, though he didn't say anything, the scorn in his eyes was unmistakable.

He didn't care who those backward folk of the "North Suburb" decided to bury, but referring to those mercenaries as residents of Giant Stone City felt like an insult to him.

If those roaches begging for life around the Enclosing Wall could be considered residents of Giant Stone City, then they certainly had too many people.

Zhao Yongxu furrowed his brow slightly.

It wasn't the conversations of his subordinates that concerned him but rather the complex expressions on the faces of the mercenaries standing around the cemetery.

They made him feel uncomfortable, though he couldn't quite name the source of this unease.

Chu Guang, standing in the cemetery, placed a bunch of flowers in front of a tombstone, read the prepared eulogy, and quietly returned to his place.

With that, the funeral was nearing its end.

Chu Guang didn't expect that the envoy from Giant Stone City would be moved by this solemn ceremony, to the point of choking up and thus making concessions during negotiations...

Such an idealized outcome was utterly unrealistic.

But if their Commander would have walked up and placed a bunch of flowers on the grave at this moment, it might have altered the opinions of many.

Whether people of the City of Dawn or of Giant Stone City.

Unfortunately, the man did not do so. He wasn't even willing to feign a performance, feeling that every second spent was a waste of life.

If it had been Duron instead, he would probably have taken the opportunity for an impromptu speech, declaring friendship with the Alliance... after all, talking was no big deal.

"Looks like he's an 'Eagle faction' member."

Chu Guang thought silently to himself.

The "supreme military commander" title was out of respect, while the "delegation leader" himself likely represented the City Lord's own stance.

The upcoming negotiations were going to be tough.

However, looking from a different angle, if he could blunt the Eagle's claws, the south might become the Alliance's sturdiest shield.

This could be an opportunity.

Already having an idea of what the Commander was about to say, Chu Guang contemplated how he would handle the conversation when Xiao Qi's soft chirp reached his ears.

"Master."

"There's an airplane coming from the east!"

Chu Guang hesitated for a moment.

"Airplane?"

Xiao Qi said enthusiastically.

"Yeah! There are lots of them."

...

(Thank you "IIIIIIIIIIIX" for the Alliance Leader's reward!!!)

Chapter 411: The Corporation's Grand Gesture! (Thanks to the "NightChicK3n" Sterling Silver Alliance!)

Qingquan City, eastern airspace.

Twelve heavy transport planes, like giant birds, aligned in a v-shape across the sky, gradually revealed their forms at the edge of the clouds.

Inside the semi-circular cabin.

Two bionic beings clad in silver cloaks stood next to the front window glass, their unblinking eyes fixed on the lifeless city not far away.

Just like Ideal City.

There too, skyscrapers abounded, seemingly surpassing the former in number—the city's boundaries invisible to the eye.

However, the entire city had been deserted.

Whether it was the city center devoured by yellow-green spore clouds or the hollow concrete ruins, they were unmistakably dead.

Only in "North Suburb" did a trace of fire and life still flicker.

Survivors had built new homes there, constructing three to five-story buildings, using old trains for transport, and electrically powered machines worked the fields, while tall chimneys slowly drifted with black smoke.

The spark of civilization had been preserved, showing signs of resurgence, yet its breath was faint like a candle flickering in a storm...

"That's Qingquan City," the taller bionic being with colorless pupils, looking towards the City of Dawn, began to speak slowly.

Its name was "Frost," model A-130, redesigned from the pre-war civilian model P-100 series, its applications included raiding, security, rescue, surveillance, and cleansing, its AI also compatible with some functions of the P-100 series.

As a proud creation of the Kang Mao Group's bionic engineering division, its power source consisted of a nuclear battery storing 200g of helium-3 and a chemical battery holding 6kg of metallic hydrogen.

As a hybrid power bionic being, it usually ran on the latter, switching to the former when energy was depleted.

The bionic being standing next to it was named "Eclipse," model A-110, its primary application being comprehensive information processing.

Unlike Frost, which could operate various weapons, Eclipse's abilities were more geared towards operations outside the battlefield, such as coordinating conventional bionic forces in combat and managing drone attack formations.

"The Alliance has responded to our landing request. They will lend us the airport in 'North Suburb'... We will land in 5 minutes and 12 seconds," Eclipse's pupils flickered as it spoke softly.

Frost nodded.

Its pupils had no color, yet it seemed wiser than its colleague equipped with a more complex processor.

Looking at the feeble village, it slightly lifted its chin, and with a tone as steady as its electronic voice, there swelled an undertow of profound implications.

"Eclipse, this is an opportunity for us."

Eclipse slightly turned its head.

"What?"

Frost continued.

"We shall use our exquisite technology and professionalism to alleviate the customers' concerns and prove to them that we represent the optimal solution under precise calculation—"

"We will lead humanity to revive their civilization!"

Eclipse paused for two seconds, uncertain if it was puzzled or contemplating.

Then it nodded.

"Alright."

...

The funeral had just ended.

Chu Guang, leaving the cemetery, approached Zhao Yongxu, the commander of the Giant Stone City Militia Group.

Before Chu Guang could speak, the robust man seemed too impatient and took the initiative.

"Hello, Manager Sir, I'm here on behalf of the City Lord of the Giant Stone City, hoping to discuss our shared future with you."

Chu Guang smiled faintly and nodded.

"This is indeed a matter worth discussing. We value our relationship with you highly, but I must say your timing could have been better... Perhaps before your next visit, you should inform our embassy or at least call ahead."

Zhao Yongxu's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Chu Guang explained straightforwardly.

"It means you might have to wait a bit longer."

Wait longer?!

Amused and slightly irritated by this remark, Zhao Yongxu laughed and said,

"How many more funerals are you planning to have? Finish all the future ones in one go?"

"It has nothing to do with the funerals," Chu Guang continued calmly without agitation, "It's simply to accommodate a distant friend."

"A distant friend," Zhao Yongxu narrowed his eyes slightly.

Chu Guang nodded and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Yes, they've traveled a long way from the East Coast, I can't just ignore them."

Hearing this, everyone, including Zhao Yongxu, from Giant Stone City who had come here showed a surprised expression.

People from corporations?

Here?!

Standing next to Zhao Yongxu, an officer couldn't help but protest.

"Did those people even have an appointment?"

Chu Guang looked at him and said.

"Of course, they mentioned they would come five days ago."

Although Chu Guang hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly.

Weren't they supposed to have a maximum range of just 500 kilometers?

How did they suddenly cross three thousand kilometers?

Zhao Yongxu's expression subtly changed, his thoughts racing.

Although he had known for a long time that Shelter No. 404 was a permanent partner of the corporations, he had never heard of any cooperation beyond the trade sector.

And these people didn't just arrive unexpectedly, they had an appointment five days in advance.

This meant that these country folks from the 'North Suburb,' somehow managed to maintain stable contact with the corporations!

East Coast was nearly three thousand kilometers away!

Long-distance communication over the Wasteland was a well-known difficulty, how did they manage it?!

Thinking this, Zhao Yongxu inwardly became alert, his gaze towards the azure power armor shifting subtly.

If the New Alliance truly formed an alliance with the corporations, they would have to reconsider their relationship with this neighbor...

He took in every expression on Teng Teng's face, and Chu Guang lightly smiled.

"Are you coming with me, or are you going to rest at the city hall first?"

The messengers whispered amongst themselves.

Looking at Chu Guang emotionlessly, Zhao Yongxu's face suddenly squeezed out a stiff smile.

"Then, please introduce us to the guests from the East Coast..."

As for the negotiations about the Iron Heart, they were no longer important.

Compared to that, he was more urgently eager to clarify one thing.

Are those people really from the East Coast...

...

North Airport of Dawn City.

The ground was noisy with chirping and chattering.

Gazing at the plane flying from afar, the players by the airport were all stunned with wide eyes.

"Holy shit! What is that?!"

"An airplane!!!"

"I know it's an airplane, but why does it look so weird?!"

About 30 meters long with a wingspan over 30 meters, the cylindrical engine was blasting bluish arcs,
that's when someone suddenly cried out in a shocked way.

"Look at the wings!"

"They moved!"

The backward-blasting arc changed its angle and pointed diagonally toward the ground, supporting the massive body as it slowed down and descended.

It performed the whole set of motions in one smooth sequence.

A series of transport planes switched to flight mode seamlessly and neatly landed on the runway of the North Airport of Dawn City.

The rolling airflow spread out, stirring up rolling dust.

Staring at those sci-fi looking big planes one by one, Mosquito's face was filled with unspeakable excitement and envy as he murmured nonstop.

"Mom, it finally feels a bit sci-fi!"

Gui Gui nodded seriously.

"Got it! Vertical take-off and landing are the future."

The Pigman Brothers cleared their throats.

"It's just a game, maybe the operator just thought this design looked cooler... Take it with a grain of salt, don't let them mislead you."

Mosquito chuckled and said.

"Right! Who needs vertical take-off and landing! What can electric propulsion do? Big nozzles, high thrust, forward-swept wings are the future!"

Falling Feather: "..."

Non-professional Anti-Haze: "..."

While everyone was talking, the plane's hatch opened.

A column of bionic soldiers emerged from the cabin in neat steps, forming five tidy squares on the runway.

Each was holding a G9 "Black Swan" assault rifle across their chests, the streamlined barrel integrated seamlessly with the desert camo armor, and crimson dots flickered faintly in the rounded scope.

They were machines created for war.

Although called bionic men, apart from their human-like appearance, there was nothing human-like about them.

Standing next to Mosquito, his apprentices wondered in amazement.

"Holy crap."

"Dog planners have gone all out!"

"Awesome!!!"

The players whispered among themselves.

Watching those bionic soldiers, Chu Guang standing at the side of the airport felt a surprise that was no less than that of the players.

Although the corporation said they would send reinforcements, they hadn't mentioned who exactly would come, much less whether those coming were human.

Watching from a distance, Zhao Yongxu swallowed his saliva, his eyes filled with disbelief and a deep wariness.

An entire five hundred-member teams composed of bionic men!

And this is just the first wave of support!

God knows if there's more...

Chu Guang didn't pay much attention to Zhao Yongxu's expression. His eyes stayed on the runway, gazing at those twelve uniquely designed planes and the neatly squared bionic soldiers.

Standing by his side as Luo Hua leaned on a cane, he too wore an astonished expression.

"A-20 standard bionic soldier, priced at 270,000 Cr per unit, Kang Mao Group's product... before I left Ideal City, I saw their advertisements, but their technology wasn't mature then, and their performance in live tests was quite poor. It's only been two or three years, and they've already produced so many."

Priced at 270,000 Cr each, totaling 500 units.

Doesn't that mean the total price is over a hundred million?!

Amazed at this massive expenditure, Chu Guang turned to Luo Hua.

"Kang Mao Group?"

Luo Hua nodded slowly.

"Yeah... Didn't I tell you before that the corporation consists of several subsidiaries?"

Chu Guang understood.

"So, Kang Mao Group is one of the larger subsidiaries?"

Luo Hua nodded.

"Not just larger, very large. Their main businesses are medical devices and bionic equipment; most of the bionics wearing Ideal City brands are manufactured by them. Besides, there's the common bionic labor in the province of Yunjianxing, where most of the survivor's residence signed the abolition of slavery convention, so occasionally they use bionics to farm, mine, or even collect trash."

Pausing a moment, he continued.

"There are four other companies of a similar scale: Silver Wing, specializing in exploration equipment and heavy engineering manufacturing; Chang Ge, selling weapons products; Endpoint, providing intelligent services and cloud technology; and Ideal Group, Ideal City's largest contractor and property manager."

"Although there are tens of thousands of enterprises in Ideal City, the seats in the Supreme Council are generally held in the hands of these five companies. If the aid resolution is passed in the council's vote, the financial and manpower contributions are mainly from these five companies."

Chu Guang suddenly asked curiously.

"So, what determines the seats in your council?"

Luo Hua hesitated before saying.

"Of course, it's about shares... What do you ask for?"

Chu Guang chuckled.

"Just a bit curious... Can those shares be traded? Is it done directly with Cr?"

"It's possible, but basically, no one would sell them casually."

Luo Hua frowned and thought for a while before continuing, "I heard that a century ago, corporate share trading was quite active, but now it has mostly concentrated in the hands of five corporations. Moreover, the rules for share trading are very strict—it's not something you can just buy if you want to."

Chu Guang nodded slightly with understanding.

Was this some kind of mutated form of representation?

But instead of humans, the power lay in "shares," which probably operated similarly to the "Merchant Empire" in "Group Form."

As the top "bootlicker" of Ideal City, Giant Stone City had borrowed some technology and rules from Ideal City. However, since this trend was initiated by the noble class, they only borrowed the parts that were beneficial to their class.

This eventually produced a half-feudal lord and half-capitalist operation that was quite mixed.

Even though there were many differences in various fields, the appearance of official forces from Ideal City still stunned the nobles of Giant Stone City.

That included Commander Zhao Yongxu.

The word "awe" was almost written on his face.

Even those who loved displaying their military might had to admit that flaunting strength was not a wise choice towards those on the East Coast.

While Zhao Yongxu was anxiously pondering how to deal with the situation, two bionic humans with distinct appearances left their formation and walked towards Chu Guang.

They were draped in silver cloaks.

Different from those mass-produced models, they had human-like features and appearances that conformed to human aesthetics.

"Welcome, friends from afar. I am the Manager of the Alliance, Chu Guang."

Seeing the two bionic humans approaching, Chu Guang guessed they might represent their corporation, so he extended his right hand.

He shook the power-armored hand.

The leading bionic human curved its lips and said in an unfluctuating voice.

"Thank you for your welcome; we hope we are not too late. My name is Frost, model A-130."

Frost was okay.

Chu Guang looked curiously at the other one next to it, about to ask if it was called Illusion.

Perhaps reading the inquiry on his face, the bionic human introduced itself before he could ask.

"Eclipse, model A-110."

Hearing these two names, Luo Hua's face showed a hint of surprise.

Both bionic humans were models he had never heard of.

At this, he muttered softly.

"... It seems I've really been away from home for too long."

As Chu Guang was considering how to communicate with these two bionic friends, a figure suddenly ran over from a nearby plane.

"Wait a moment, I, I represent the Expeditionary Army... Yi Chuan! From the overseas business development division of the Silver Wing Group! Glad to meet you!"

The man stopped, hands on his knees, caught his breath for a moment, and then looked up at Chu Guang with a forced smile.

"It seems we've arrived just in time!"

Chu Guang gave a puzzled look at the man, panting heavily before him, then glanced back at the smiling Frost watching him.

Were these people not briefed properly?

It almost made him mistake the representative of the reinforcements.

Before he could speak, Luo Hua suddenly widened his eyes, recognizing the man in front of him.

"Yi Chuan?!"

The two clearly knew each other.

The young man who'd just caught his breath looked startled as he recognized Luo Hua, leaning on a cane next to Chu Guang, and immediately recognized him.

"Luo Hua? I heard you were badly injured... Ah, what's with your arm?"

Luo Hua glanced at his left hand and wryly said,

"Let's set aside my issues for now... We can catch up later."

Knowing that it wasn't the time for reminiscences, Yi Chuan nodded and turned to face Chu Guang, cleared his throat, and said earnestly,

"You must be the Manager of Shelter No. 404, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Chu Guang, I'm also glad to meet you,"

Chu Guang said, then cracked a joke to ease the atmosphere, "It seems you are indeed the representative of the reinforcements. I was just wondering how to communicate with our bionic friends."

Looking at the two bionic humans beside him, Yi Chuan's smile grew slightly awkward.

"These two represent the Kang Mao Group... They might be a bit too enthusiastic."

Chu Guang nodded.

From the expression on the young man's face, he detected an unusual hint, suggesting that there might be disagreements within the corporation.

However, that was an internal matter for the corporation, and it had nothing to do with the New Alliance. Chu Guang didn't want to get involved in their internal affairs.

Securing more benefits and compensation for his players and the residents of the Alliance was indeed what a Manager should do.

While they were talking, two men and a woman approached from a distance.

The three had disembarked from the last plane and once they approached, Yi Chuan introduced them to Chu Guang.

"This is Wu Mu, a senior employee from the sales department of the Chang Ge Group!"

The young man named Wu Mu wearing red-colored power armor with a cheerful smile on his face extended his right hand.

"Hello, Manager of the Alliance! I've seen your videos. Where is that Claw of Death? Why didn't you ride it over here?"

After shaking his hand, Chu Guang smiled and responded,

"It has a rather temperamental nature, not suited for meeting guests. But if you are interested, I can take you to see it and even give you one."

"Haha, that would be great! I'll hold you to that!" Wu Mu's eyes sparkled with keen interest.

Compared to others, Chu Guang could distinctly feel that this representative from the Chang Ge Group was perhaps the most fond of him.

There was even a bit of... admiration?

However, compared to the others, he didn't seem to be here for combat; he more so possessed the air of someone on an excursion, which made one doubt his professional capabilities.

Of course.

Perhaps his expertise was not on the battlefield itself, after all, from Yi Chuan's introduction, his profession seemed to be "sales"?

Compared to this friend named Wu Mu, the other two representatives had a noticeably more stable aura, especially the middle-aged man in his forties.

The mature face carried a touch of conservatism, and Chu Guang found it hard to decipher his thoughts from his expressions.

Before Yi Chuan could introduce himself, the middle-aged man spoke in a businesslike tone.

"Li Changkong, a business personnel from the Ideal Group. We will open our engineering devices and construction technology to you to help establish a more reliable logistic support line, ensuring that war materials and personnel could be smoothly delivered from the rear to the front lines… Of course, all we can do is help you build roads, reinforce defensive works, as for the resources needed for construction and the front-line battles, you will have to rely on yourselves."

Chu Guang smiled and shook his hand.

"That's sufficient."

The largest contractor and property manager in Ideal City.

He shouldn't be disappointed, Chu Guang thought.

After introducing the representatives from Chang Ge Group and Ideal Group, Yi Chuan continued with the last representative, from the Endpoint Group.

"This is a senior engineer from the AI technology department of Endpoint Group… Yun Yi. She will serve as your information technology consultant during the war, helping you build the necessary information infrastructure. Don't be fooled by her young age, actually—"

With her arms crossed in front of her chest, Yun Yi gently coughed, interrupting him mid-sentence, and continued expressionlessly.

"My personal circumstances should be irrelevant to my job."

Yi Chuan said apologetically.

"Sorry."

Chu Guang looked her over.

She looked to be in her early twenties, with the demeanor of a typical researcher, and her style of dress was similar to Heya's, although she was slightly shorter.

Somewhere between Heya and Teng Teng.

Perhaps it was the glasses on her nose that magnified her sharp gaze, but he always felt that this person had an inexplicable… wariness of him?

Before Chu Guang could speak, Yun Yi looked at him and clearly stated her stance.

"To be honest, I do not support the option of war. I believe we should solve issues through dialogue rather than fighting like beasts, otherwise, we are merely repeating the errors of two hundred years ago."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"If verbal sparring could drive those beasts away, I wish we could just use our mouths."

Yun Yi raised an eyebrow, about to say something, when Yi Chuan, standing beside, coughed interrupting her.

"Ms. Yun's opinion represents only herself, the unanimously passed Resolution No. 1001 reflects our collective will… We all have loved ones involved in this war, whether actively or passively, and now our task is to end it!"

Saying so, he turned to Chu Guang.

"The Army must cease its territorial ambitions east of the Great Desert, relinquish the military base in Luo Xia Province, return the Pioneer, and release the crew of the Pioneer trapped in the Great Desert!"

This was not just a slogan.

It was a declaration made by the representative of the reinforcements, outlining the corporate war objectives in this conflict.

Driving the Army out of Luo Xia Province was also one of the Alliance's objectives, which was necessary to end the threats from the west.

Chu Guang extended his right hand.

"Our positions align, delighted to stand together on this front!"

"So are we!"

Holding Chu Guang's right hand, Yi Chuan said solemnly.

"Your bravery on the front lines has shocked everyone. The call for war has never been higher. Although we are separated by three thousand kilometers, our desire for civilization is the same."

"The first batch of aid includes five hundred Type A-30 bionic soldiers, who will go to the front lines to fight alongside you!"

"In addition to this, there are weapons, construction machinery, and production equipment worth a total of 300 million Cr that will be airlifted here. We will not only help you establish a complete supply line but also assist you in upgrading your industry, arming your production lines and army with more advanced technology!"

Hearing his ally's words, Chu Guang, even though his facial expressions were well managed, couldn't help but be visibly delighted.

The 300 million Cr worth of weapons was a trifle, as were the five hundred bionic soldiers; what mattered most was that promise!

That was exactly what he had been waiting for!

Yi Chuan paused, then continued.

"…however, for large aircraft with a range over 3000 kilometers, we have only managed to produce these twelve planes. Before further reinforcements arrive, we need an airbase to refuel our planes."

Chu Guang immediately asked.

"What kind of energy do you need?"

"Metallic Hydrogen!" Yi Chuan answered earnestly. "We plan to build a Metallic Hydrogen production line in the southern part of River Valley Province to supply energy and produce ammunition. This would require about 100 acres of land with stable and sufficient electrical power and a water source… We are not familiar with the local conditions, so we might need your help to think of a solution."

Electricity and water?

That's easy!

Chu Guang's mind raced, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

"That's very simple, I know just the place with beautiful scenery, not only near a water source but also not far from our controlled fusion power station!"

"There's a controlled fusion power station here?!" Yi Chuan's eyes brightened, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face. "That's great!"

He had been prepared to resort to thermal power in an emergency, never expecting that his allies inland would surprise them.

Chu Guang continued with a smile, drawing out a big picture.

"To the north of West State City, on the south shore of the Tributary of Tianshui, we intend to build a river port. Nearby in West State City, we have our fusion reactor, which is expected to restore power by the end of the month. I can lend you the open space near the port, but…"

At this point, Chu Guang suddenly paused.

Seeing the look of difficulty on his face, Yi Chuan quickly asked.

"But what?"

Chu Guang spoke with a bit of difficulty.

"But our control over that area is weak, and there are Looter activities on the north shore of the river...which might affect the airbase's security."

Hearing this, Yi Chuan exhaled in relief and smiled.

"Hey, no big deal! If any Looters come, just leave it to us to handle!"

Hearing this, Chu Guang's face broke into a pleased smile again.

"With that assurance, I'm relieved!"

With enterprises helping to watch over the north gate of the Alliance, it would be difficult for the Army's intelligence network in the Bugra Free State to make a move.

With this, he could also free up more personnel to invest in the new expansion!

…

(Thanks to the "NightChicK3n" for their generous support in the Silver Alliance!!! Thanks to the leader, "A person heartfelt," for the reward!!! It's not that I don't want to update more; personally, I'm just out of drafts. QAQ)

Chapter 412: Solar Eclipse, This is an Opportunity for Us!

After waiting until dark, Zhao Yongxu finally got the opportunity to talk with Chu Guang.

City of Dawn Town Hall.

In the conference room, a group of people were sitting upright around the conference table.

Looking at the Alliance Managers sitting across the conference table, Zhao Yongxu had thought that this negotiation would be very tough, but the actual situation surprised him.

Even he had not anticipated that he would come to an understanding with the Alliance so quickly.

"The five major corporations plan to set up offices in the City of Dawn, and we plan to lay out an Embassy Street in the East District. If you're interested, we can allocate a 50X50 plot for your consulate," came the proposal from the other side.

The envoys of Giant Stone City noticeably showed surprise in their eyes.

The five major corporations planned to establish offices here?

"When did they settle this..." A Militia Group officer muttered quietly, speaking the confusion many people felt.

They were the first to arrive!

Two nobles from the Inner City exchanged glances and whispered to each other, probably exchanging opinions.

Zhao Yongxu's expression remained unchanged.

To be honest, he thought 250 square meters was a bit small, but it wasn't unacceptable.

After all, he wasn't the one living there.

Moreover, placing the consulate next to the corporate offices could only be beneficial for Giant Stone City, not detrimental.

Clearing his throat, he put on a pensive expression. After a long pause, he nodded his head.

"I think that's workable... Also, I would like to discuss—"

"Regarding the Iron Heart, we won't enter your airspace, but we retain our right to freely navigate in our own airspace," Chu Guang continued with an uncompromising tone.

"The residents of Giant Stone City need a sense of security, and the residents of the City of Dawn do as well. The Alliance will not become subordinate to anyone; equality is the premise of our dialogue."

Zhao Yongxu's brow twitched, and he took a deep breath before saying,

"At the very least, you must limit the use of 400mm cannons in the city center."

Even he didn't realize that he had involuntarily used a pleading phrasing.

Tapping his index finger lightly on the table twice, Chu Guang pondered for a moment before saying.

"That's possible, but not during the Tide."

A 400mm barrel-fired rocket cost as much as 100 units of 100mm shells; he had no intention of wasting ammunition.

In fact, even when facing the Tide, the 400mm main cannon was far from an economical choice.

In the complex urban terrain, the power of large-caliber cannons was severely limited by diminishing returns—blowing a huge crater in the street might not affect a storefront on the other side of a building.

And slime mold, like the undead skeleton soldiers and players, didn't understand the concept of morale; the psychological deterrent effect of heavy caliber artillery was completely ineffective.

The annual Tide.

Rather than using it for tests, it was better to leave it as an in-game event for the players to practice.

"...Alright, we'll make an exception during the Tide since Variants are a common enemy to us all."

Having made a reluctant concession on this sensitive issue, Zhao Yongxu felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.

The second topic had also reached a consensus.

This issue, where the disagreements were most severe, had come to an understanding faster than he had imagined.

Just as he was about to bring up the last issue of his mission to the Alliance, Chu Guang spoke the very words he was thinking.

"Moreover, regarding our future relationship."

A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and Zhao Yongxu straightened up involuntarily.

Chu Guang paused for a moment and continued,

"To foster trust between us and to eliminate suspicions among neighbors, we plan to convene an annual United Federation of Survivors meeting on the last day of December each year."

That day happened to be the eve of New Year's Day, which could be scheduled alongside the New Alliance's New Year's Eve party.

This was a decision made by Chu Guang and the other senior members of the Alliance after consultation.

Zhao Yongxu, who had never heard of such a thing, paused briefly and asked subconsciously,

"What is that?"

Chu Guang patiently explained,

"It's a high-level summit covering a wide range of fields including politics, economy, culture, foreign affairs, military, and so on. In simple terms, we tell you what we plan to do next year. You can also tell us what you plan to do next year. If our plans coincide, we can work together on them. If not, that's fine too—we can agree to differ and each do our own thing without interfering with each other."

This sounded interesting, didn't it?

And if I don't tell you what I plan to do, couldn't I get insider information from the Alliance for free?

Zhao Yongxu stroked his chin, thinking slyly.

He didn't understand political matters well, but from a military perspective, the value of intelligence was unquestionable.

Though he couldn't make the decision, he believed the city lord would gladly accept this offer.

With that thought in mind, Zhao Yongxu nodded graciously and said with a smile,

"This is a good idea! I will convey it to the city lord."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

He could roughly guess what the man was thinking, but he wasn't particularly concerned.

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes..."

Zhao Yongxu opened his mouth to speak but suddenly realized there was nothing more to say.

The issues he had brought were only three in total.

The consulate issue had been settled.

For safety issues, the Alliance promised not to use 400mm cannons within the district unless necessary.

Though it was a platitude, hoping for them to concede further was unrealistic. Even he, who supported a tough stance against the Alliance, couldn't think of a better negotiation outcome.

Regarding long-term relations, both parties had established a long-term communication mechanism. The proposal from this manager was clearly better than the one he had brought from Duron.

Suddenly, Zhao Yongxu felt slightly confused.

It was as if he had been seen through.

Could this guy read minds?

Swallowing back the "yes" he had blurted out, Zhao Yongxu changed his response.

"...No, that's it."

"It looks like we've reached a consensus."

Chu Guang nodded, closed the notebook with only a few lines written in it, and then looked towards a servant standing by.

The servant promptly understood and stepped forward to distribute a letter to each of the six people sitting opposite the conference table.

Zhao Yongxu furrowed his brows as he looked at the letter in his hand.

"What's this?"

"A banquet invitation."

"A banquet?"

Chu Guang smirked slightly, watching Zhao Yongxu's bewildered expression, and said,

"It's a custom of our shelter, regardless of the outcome of the discussions, we can't let our guests leave on an empty stomach. There's a dinner this evening at six o'clock in the Alliance banquet hall. If you're not in a hurry, feel free to dine with us before heading back."

The several messengers sitting at the conference table exchanged surprised glances and whispered amongst themselves briefly.

Especially for the nobles from the Inner City, this was indeed a novel experience for them.

"A banquet? The survivors from the 'North Suburb' actually hold banquets?"

"What's so strange about that? What I'm curious about is what they'll serve at the banquet."

"Grilled lizard tails, perhaps?"

"Heh..."

Banquets were not uncommon in Giant Stone City, where bored nobles often whiled away their time with such events, whether it be to celebrate a birthday, to show off a rare and expensive collectible, or even for a bottle of wine.

However, an official banquet held for diplomatic purposes was a new experience for them.

After all, up until a few months ago, they didn't even have a formal department for external affairs, and all matters related to the outside world were left to the town hall of the Outer City to handle.

Zhao Yongxu was not overly concerned about what he would be eating later; he was more focused on another issue.

"Will representatives from the corporations also attend?" he asked seriously.

"Of course, this was prepared for them," Chu Guang paused, feeling that his directness might have been a tad indelicate, so he naturally added, "If you had let us know in advance, we would have prepared the same for you."

However, Colonel Zhao sitting opposite him didn't seem to care about such minor details.

His eyes shone brightly without a moment's hesitation, and he immediately replied,

"We will attend!"

It wasn't just him.

The two military officers and three nobles from the Inner City seated beside him had equally eager expressions.

Observing their excited countenances, Chu Guang fell into contemplation.

It seemed he had underestimated how much the nouveau riche from North Africa aspired to the lifestyle of Paris.

A strategic oversight.

Had he known, he would've charged a fee.

...

The banquet hall of the Alliance was located in the center of the main district of City of Dawn, in the central area of the former Changjiu Farm, just one street away from the town hall and the save point for players.

The square building was completely constructed from concrete, and even though it appeared to be marble, it was actually just coated with a layer of milky white plaster.

The five-meter high archway was tall enough to allow a Death Claw to enter, with a gear emblem hung above the door, which was part of the alliance flag, as well as the most frequently awarded medal by the Alliance Army.

The simple yet grand aesthetic of the exterior shared a certain congruity with the weapons of the Alliance, but the interior decoration was an entirely different universe, not at all vague like the LD-47 machinery casing.

Tilework by masons reflected the dome's several brilliantly splendid chandeliers, with a few marble sculptures placed in the corners.

These decorations, scavenged from the Wasteland and re-polished and waxed, looked as good as new.

The spacious main banquet hall, if fully set with long tables, could accommodate a thousand diners at once.

This building and the Alliance's town hall nearly started construction at the same time, but it wasn't until recently that it was completed, and it had only been used for the first time just last night.

The banquet decorations prepared especially for the celebration of Triumph had not yet been dismantled.

Upon receiving the invitation to host guests, the banquet department's staff immediately gathered to bring in 12 round tables, removing most of the long tables designed for communal dining and leaving only two rows against the wall for buffet-style beverages, desserts, and cold platters.

The band that had just performed at last night's celebration was called back to play the same pieces once more.

Sitting in front of a round table,
a corpulent noble looked at the menu in his hands and touched the back of his head in surprise.

"These 'Blue Jackets' sure are particular."

He had initially thought that the food of these country bumpkins from the "North Suburb" would be as shabby as the fly-ridden taverns outside of Giant Stone City, but to his astonishment, it was quite the opposite.

The dinner offerings were varied and diverse.

Appetizers included sliced chicken, thinly cut Double-headed Cow meat, and shredded cucumber with minced garlic, to name a few.

Hot dishes featured squirrel fish, braised pork meatballs in brown sauce, roast duck...

...And a dozen innovative dishes that aroused curiosity, such as salt-baked lantern fish, braised Battleship Shrimp, Split-claw Crab Meat Pie, creamed potato with ram's horn, Monster rib steak, and more.

The variety was dazzling to the eye.

Beyond these were freshly baked desserts, cloud-shaped pastries decorated with chocolate crumbs, small cakes with the scent of butter, and seemingly unremarkable cookies that held hidden surprises…

Standing beside a long table at one side of the hall, Sid's eyes widened in amazement.

What astonished him was not the array of dishes but the bottle of red wine on the table.

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice came from beside him.

"Judging by the gold embossing on the bottle, this red wine should be from the Gloire vineyard on the Barren Peninsula. Its price is at least triple the weight in gold. Red wines and dairy products from the West Coast, like the slaves that region is known for, rarely make it across the desert to the eastern side of the continent... I suspect this is from General McLennan's collection."

Sid turned to see a somewhat familiar-looking man standing beside him, yet he could not recall where he had seen him.

Raising an eyebrow, Sid asked,

"And you are?"

"List, chairman of the List Trading Company. Here is my business card." List introduced himself smoothly and handed over his card.

After taking the card, Sid glanced at it, and recognition flashed in his eyes.

He seemed to have heard the name before, rumored to be a merchant who made a small fortune dealing with the Alliance and gained noble status.

Acquiring noble status in Jushi Inner City was not difficult; one simply needed to pay enough and buy a room in one of the inner buildings to add one's name to the "residents' registry."

However, obtaining noble status didn't mean one could blend into their circles.

These nouveau-riche who paid their way in were very different from the established nobles and had no access to the power core of Giant Stone City.

Moreover, judging by this fellow's appearance, he probably hadn't stayed in the mansions of the Inner City for more than a few days.

By comparison, Sid was more concerned about those "real nobles" from corporate backgrounds.

Unfortunately, those people were currently busy flaunting their dining with the Alliance Managers at a round table, showing no intention of leaving their seats.

Standing there until his legs nearly went numb, he did not get the chance for a one-on-one conversation with them.

Were the meals really that good?

Sid couldn't help frowning as he glanced at the round tables in the distance.

To think they were so interested in a country bumpkin's food.

For a moment, he felt his illusions about Ideal City starting to shatter.

It seems it's just that...

Having read the indifference on the face of the person in front of him, List just smiled but said nothing.

As a businessman, he didn't care at all what these snobbish fools thought of him.

After all, everyone viewed each other more or less the same.

"With representatives from the five major conglomerates dispatched here, it seems something big is about to happen in River Valley Province."

"Hmm-hmm."

Sid hummed through his nose.

Was there really a need to deliberately mention something so obvious that even a Scavenger could see it?

After a moment's hesitation, List continued.

"I just heard some news that the companies are planning to invest in factories here."

"Invest and build factories?" Sid looked at him in surprise and chuckled lightly, "and then they transport the produced goods to Ideal City 3000 kilometers away? What doesn't that place have?"

List spoke patiently.

"There are many forms of interests, and many means to achieve goals. I can't guess what agreements Manager Sir has reached with the distant Ideal City, but it's clear that the companies are not going through all this trouble just to practice charity."

"Oh?"

Sid's eyes flashed with a hint of interest, and although his attitude still showed nonchalance, it was clear he was now intrigued.

Seizing the moment, List continued.

"Expeditions to Luo Xia Province are almost set in stone. Only by removing the Army's outpost east of the Great Desert can we eradicate all trouble for good. After that, to prevent the Army from making a resurgence, the companies will certainly join forces with the Alliance and send troops to the desert to solidify the fruits of victory."

"...I've heard that those Man-made Oasis surrounded by forbidden zones of life are like islands in the ocean, where the soil flows with milk and honey, and there are no Variant disturbances."

Real interest finally lit up in Sid's eyes, no longer masking the allure in his expression.

"Can you elaborate on that?"

"Of course," seeing his eagerness, List smiled and patted the arm of the old Noble, whispering, "… I'm just as new to these stories as you are. If you're interested, we can have a good chat."

And as List, all the while spinning the pie in the sky sketched by Chu Guang for himself, started walking with Sid towards the table where the envoys from Giant Stone City were sitting, at the round table of the corporate representatives not far away, everyone was sitting at the table, wolfing down Delicacies.

Wu Mu stared in amazement, fiddling with the preserved egg with minced garlic on his plate with a fork, and exclaimed in wonder.

"These eggs... Exactly what kind of animal laid them?"

They taste just like jelly!

As a senior salesperson from the Chang Ge Group, Wu Mu had been to many places and sampled many exotic Foods.

Yet this particular type of Food was something he had never encountered before.

Chu Guang, sitting beside him, smiled and said.

"Actually, it's just a common duck egg, but it's been processed through a special technique. We call it... a preserved egg."

Li Changkong thoughtfully stroked his chin and took a piece with a fork, smelled it, then popped it into his mouth.

"Such a unique texture, and all from a duck egg... Would you mind revealing the process?"

Chu Guang's expression became a bit subtle.

The recipe itself wasn't much of a secret.

It was just that revealing it might affect everyone's appetite.

"I'm not quite sure of the details."

The representative from Ideal Group nodded and didn't press further, continuing to savor another delicacy from a different plate.

Sitting to the right of Chu Guang, Yi Chuan wiped his hands with a napkin, speaking wistfully.

"…Now I finally understand why that guy Li De specifically mentioned the Food here in his application."

The plate of sautéed Battleship Shrimp which had just been full was now empty, save for a pile of shrimp shells.

Incomprehensible!

These hideous Variants could actually be cooked into something so delicious by these people.

Before setting off, he had been worried about not being accustomed to the local Food, which might cause stomach troubles, so he had brought two boxes of freeze-dried foods and two packs of stomach medicine.

Now it seemed, at least the first concern could be dismissed.

Sitting on the opposite side of the round table, Yun Yi remained quiet, continuously popping biscuits into her mouth, her eyes filled with surprise and amazement.

That glowing expression on her face, who knows what she had tasted?

While Yi Chuan waited for the next course after having his plate switched out, he looked towards Chu Guang and asked, "Do you guys always eat this well, every day?"

"Of course not, we only bring out these items when we're hosting esteemed guests. Though the ingredients of these Foods are not really expensive stuff, you'll see them in many restaurants," Chu Guang replied, pausing for a moment before adding with a smile. "If you're interested in our everyday diet, you might consider visiting North Street in the City of Dawn, where there are plenty of special snacks."

Wu Mu chimed in excitedly.

"I know! You're talking about buns and dumplings, right?"

"Those are one of our breakfast options."

Chu Guang nodded and smiled, suddenly remembering something, he asked.

"By the way, where are those two from Kang Mao Group?"

Not sure whether to address the two as gentlemen or ladies, he simply omitted the title.

Yi Chuan's expression became a bit enigmatic upon hearing Chu Guang's question about the duo.

"They... You don't really have to worry about them. Their code does not contain any malevolent elements; they're just a bit too eager."

Wu Mu, too, laughed heartily and added.

"That's right, don't mind those two synthetic beings. Their core code hasn't had a misdemeanor to date; you can rest assured on that."

That bright, neat row of teeth reminded Chu Guang somewhat of toothpaste commercials.

"I see, that puts my mind at ease."

Chu Guang smiled and nodded, gently swiping his finger across the VM screen twice, subtly signaling to Xiao Qi to keep an eye on the two.

It wasn't out of distrust for his allies.

Just a precaution.

There were synthetic beings active within Alliance territory, like Old Brown's daughter and wife, or Tianqin from Shelter 101.

However, these synthetics all shared one common trait: their autonomy was not high, and they did not actively participate in human society.

Unless, of course, it was at the command of their owners.

Chu Guang was slightly concerned by Yi Chuan's facial expression and couldn't help but be curious about what the two synthetics were planning.

While he pondered this, Frost and Solar Eclipse, draped in Silver Cloaks, were currently strolling the most bustling North Street of Dawn City.

During the height of summer, their conservative attire stood out, and the passerby frequently cast them curious glances.

Frost was also observing the passersby and maintained a silent conversation with Solar Eclipse, who was walking alongside him, through the communication channel.

"Look, these poor humans, their clothes are like dust on a computer case, their health like blinking warning lights... Solar Eclipse, this is an opportunity for us. We'll give them a life where food comes without calling and clothes without reaching."

There was no change on that expressionless face, but the electrons hopping on the chip were pulsing with excitement.

After pondering for half a second, Solar Eclipse's pupils flickered slightly before he responded.

"Your thinking is correct, but we do not control the means of production, nor do we have the capacity to produce... What should we do?"

Frost replied, "First, we need to win this war and gain control over the Man-made Oasis in the desert; then we can provide them with food."

Solar Eclipse said, "The plan has omissions. According to available intelligence, the closest Man-made Oasis to us houses nearly a million people, and the probability of surplus food production is low."

Frost acknowledged, "Understood, the plan needs refinement."

The two continued to exchange profound topics while observing the nearby streets.

This place's prosperity was not even one ten-thousandth of that of Ideal City, but precisely because of this, it was better suited for implementing their plan than Ideal City.

As long as they could make the people here more satisfied than those in Ideal City in a shorter time and with lower costs, they would have ample evidence to prove they were the optimal solution among the numerous alternatives for reviving civilization.

However...

There was still a problem: "satisfaction" is an abstract concept, and the "prosperity" it breeds is even harder to define with a fixed algorithm.

Therefore, observation was the first step before forming a complete plan.

Just then, as the two made their way through the bustling streets, a strange group of three people and a bear suddenly approached them.

Riding on Meat Meat's shoulders, Tail's eyes instantly lit up, spotting the two in the crowd.

"Wow! Si Si! Unseen NPCs, eh!"

"Their skin looks so cool," exclaimed Meat Meat, equally surprised.

A little confused, Frost stopped and looked at the white bear in front of him.

Although he didn't understand what the bear had just said, he wondered—

"Why is the bear talking?"

"Eh!? Isn't it common knowledge that white bears can talk?"

The shocked expression didn't look feigned at all,

Causing even Solar Eclipse to pause for a moment. For an instant, he even doubted whether the information in the database was faulty.

Seeing Tail's certain expression, Frost pondered for a moment before nodding.

"I see... It's common knowledge that white bears talk in the River Valley Province."

Strange knowledge.

But it could serve as a reference.

"Let's put Meat Meat aside for now. It looks like you're searching for something. Do you have any problems? Does Tail need to help?"

Tail looked at them expectantly, her eyes shimmering with the glint of a Task Master.

A quest!

A hidden quest!!

Frost paused for a moment, unable to decipher the human's facial expression in front of him or understand the strange syntax, and could only try asking.

"Do you need help?"

Tail's head shook like a rattle.

"NoNoNo, it's you who needs help! Don't be shy, just tell Tail!"

Frost: "?"

Si Si's expression turned a bit subtle.

She had a feeling...

That this android wasn't as smart as her Ah Wei.

"Could it be that the NPC code isn't done yet?" Sesame Paste looked at Si Si with uncertainty.

Their conversation wasn't on the same wavelength.

After contemplating for a moment, Si Si nodded.

"Yes, that possibility cannot be ruled out."

After all, it was the beta testing phase; even if some things didn't make sense, it was understandable.

NPCs would occasionally say confusing things, either from using the wrong syntax on the player's side or because the NPC's programming wasn't fully compiled.

In most cases, both issues arose simultaneously.

Unsure what they discussed, but a shy expression suddenly appeared on Tail's face.

"Can I ask you to try on a maid outfit for Si Si to look at?"

Seeing her good friend repeatedly toeing the line of the Player's Handbook, Si Si knew she couldn't just sit by and do nothing.

Sighing, she dragged Tail away from the bemused android and apologized deeply.

"I'm sorry, my Ah Wei caused you trouble."

And without heeding Tail's protests, Si Si and Sesame Paste tacitly strapped her to the bear's back.

Even with her face buried in the bear's fluffy fur, the sound of protest couldn't be stopped.

"Dammit, why prevent—"

"Harassing NPCs can get you banned, Ah Wei. Do you want to be locked up just like Mosquito for something like this?"

Hearing this, the voice that was brave a second ago finally softened.

"Wu... stingy."

"Fine, I'll wear it for you."

"!!!"

Staring blankly at the group as they walked away, Frost's pupils flashed with a string of sporadic data.

After a while, he pondered and looked down.

"So, the element for this revival of civilization... is a maid outfit?"

Solar Eclipse shifted his gaze slowly toward Frost.

"...I think we need to carefully consider the reliability of the information before drawing any conclusions."

"That makes sense; we should collect more samples, instead of unilaterally trusting one side's opinion... but this can be a clue."

With a flicker in his pupils, Frost nodded, as the circuit board hidden within his chest boiled with a zealous current.

"Solar Eclipse, this is an opportunity for us."

Solar Eclipse paused for many seconds, dazedly nodding slowly.

"Alright..."

—

(Thank you to "Kang kang Poor Ghost" for the alliance leader reward!!!)

Chapter 413 Terrifying Infrastructure Capability

Night had fallen.

Giant Stone City, central Inner City.

In a spacious room on the top floor of a pitch-black building, a man in formal attire stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, expressionlessly staring at the quiet night sky to the north.

Last year, around the same time, in the same direction, those people from the East Coast had detonated a tactical nuclear bomb in the North Suburb of Qingquan City.

And now, those people had visited here once again.

"Time really flies."

Gazing at his reflection on the floor-to-ceiling window, the man pondered thoughtfully in his mind.

Once time becomes insignificant, its passage can be unimaginably fast,

Whether it's because one is so affluent that they can squander it at will, or because yesterday and tomorrow are hardly different.

This is the curse of time on those who live long lives.

However, recently, there had been a slight change; a tender sprout had pushed through the ruins nearby when he least expected it.

Two centuries had passed.

This unremarkable city had never been so bustling...

Footsteps came from behind him, stopping at the doorway.

The man did not turn around, instead addressing the person at the door in a very soft voice.

"Did you meet with that Manager?"

Zhao Yongxu, standing at the door, bowed slightly, his angular face inscribed with reverence and devotion.

"Yes, my Lord."

The man then asked,

"What kind of person is he?"

Zhao Yongxu answered without hesitation.

"Deceitful! Cunning! An ambitious schemer adept at using plots and conspiracies! I don't know what methods he used to play those people from the East Coast for fools, but we won't fall for their tricks!"

The man nodded slightly, his expression revealing neither belief nor skepticism.

Or perhaps, just apathy.

After pondering for a moment, the man continued,

"What do they say about our proposal?"

Stealing a glimpse at the man's back, Zhao Yongxu carefully recounted the results of the negotiations without any exaggeration or embellishment.

The man quietly listened from beginning to end and nodded slowly.

"Mm, I understand. You can go now."

"Yes."

Zhao Yongxu nodded respectfully, relieved in his heart, and without asking another question, he turned and left the room.

Conversing with this Lord always entailed long waits, sometimes a few short sentences unintentionally turned into hours slipping away.

This gave him the feeling that time was being stolen.

Quiet returned to the room.

The man waited in silence for a while, then extended his index finger and lightly tapped on the floor-to-ceiling window.

Digital ripples spread outward, and the reflected night sky turned into a screen.

The scene on the screen was the office of the Chairman of Huge Rock Military Industry.

Anticipating the call, Yibers, the Chairman of Huge Rock Military Industry, stood respectfully before his desk.

"Respected Lord Fang Ming... it's so late, may I ask if you have any instructions?"

The man, like a still image, pondered for a while before speaking slowly.

"I need you to upgrade the radar system of Giant Stone City to cover a range of 500 kilometers and to increase the recognition efficiency by one level..."

"... And also, to upgrade the weapons and fire control system of the androids."

There was actually no need to do so.

High-tech weapons weren't necessary to deal with Mucor species.

However, at this moment, Qingquan City was witnessing a turning point that hadn't occurred in a century.

Even though a very long time ago, he had designed the power structure of this building and the elite advancement system for selecting from the Waste Land Wanderers, that system wasn't always reliable.

In the end, the gears that made up this system were people, and people are too fragile in the face of time.

He needed to make some preparations for an uncertain future.

After hearing the man's words, Yibers respectfully said,

"This is not very difficult, but... it will probably cost a significant amount of the budget."

The man replied casually,

"That's fine, I'll inform the Militia Group, as well as the representatives of the Outer City residents."

For him, who stood at the pinnacle of power, money was just a number.

Hearing the Lord of the City's promise, Yibers' face revealed a pleased smile as he bowed his head respectfully.

"As you command."

...

North of the City of Dawn.

At the edge of Linghu Wetland Park, Old White and his group, returning from the city center, were navigating back towards the direction of Resurrection Square.

Today's haul had been quite bountiful.

Following the four people, a mechanical dog carried a burden completely disproportionate to its size on its back, filled with evolutionary bodies they had recovered from the city center.

Including the remnants of the Decaying Knight!

The creature held a chainsaw in its hand that had been disassembled from somewhere; its power armor was covered with a dark red fungal mat.

Ordinary 7 mm bullets hitting it was like tickling, at most scraping off some fungal chunks, while armor-piercing bullets fired by RPGs couldn't even touch it before being chopped up by its chainsaw and detonated.

The four of them watched as it charged towards them; Old White decisively pulled out his "Black Cutter," activated Boundary Breakthrough, and directly swung his axe.

The blunt edge of the Thermal Cutting Axe flickered with red arcs.

In the flash of an electric spark, sparks flew in all directions, and a deep red crack appeared on the side of its armor.

The hot airflow carried high-temperature metal fragments directly into the abandoned power armor, destroying the organic tissues inside the evolutionary body.

Seeing the attack was effective, Old White took advantage of the creature's loss of balance, then swung two more heavy blows with his axe, cutting horizontally and vertically until it stopped moving.

The Decaying Knight, which had previously wiped out half a squad of the Storm Corps and was only resolved thanks to the aircraft of Mosquito, was now single-handedly killed by him with the added boost from his equipment.

Such an awesome close-combat divine artifact, he was surprised that the Manager hadn't kept it for personal use.

According to Fang Chang's calculations, the materials they recovered today were worth at least 8000 silver coins, and the contribution points from the mission would give each person about 500 points.

For the operators of the Bull Horse Brick Factory, the silver coins rewarded by the mission didn't offer as much allure anymore; what was key was the Science Research Team job level and the mission-awarded contribution points.

Especially the latter.

Currently, Fang Chang, Wild Wind, and Night Ten each had more than 90,000 contribution points.

Their urgent task was to quickly increase everyone's contribution points to over 100,000, and raise the citizen level to "Knight."

Although the NPC store was out of stock of power armor, a new map was about to open, and it was highly likely a new batch of power armor would become available.

In other words, there would soon be places to spend money again!

"Damn it, when did Fang Chang become as much of a survivor as Springs."

Glancing at his own burnt and bullet-riddled chemical protective suit and bulletproof vest, Night Ten envied Fang Chang, who had neatly packed away his Powered Wing Suit on his back.

Fang Chang chuckled lightly and replied calmly.

"If I play ADC and don't play it safe, would I be up front like T, taking the hits?"

Although he had some scratches, they were mostly from initially testing the Powered Wing Suit. Compared to his three brothers, his situation was certainly more cheerful.

It had to be said, the black technology from the refuge was truly amazing.

Initially, he had been concerned that without flying experience he wouldn't handle the equipment well, but he quickly found that his worries were completely unnecessary.

Once connected to the VM control interface, his Powered Wing Suit could not only set cruising paths but also switch between multiple flight modes such as gliding and descending.

The 12 sensors distributed on the wing suit could sensitively detect obstacles within a 200-meter range and plan the best avoidance path according to the algorithm of the built-in chip.

Thanks to this Powered Wing Suit, he had an excellent environment for output.

Although there were Variants capable of flying and attacking from a distance, they were still the minority. With flexible maneuvering, he could launch attacks from any angle in an open environment.

Night Ten exclaimed, "Damn! I'm an ADC too, okay?"

Wild Wind glanced at him, "Isn't Perception Support?"

Night Ten: "#@￥!"

The group exchanged experiences they had gained in battle while heading towards Resurrection Square to store their equipment and take a bath.

The black slime sprayed by Mucor species Variants was incredibly stinky, like rotting corpses, and while the game could shield against excessive pain, it couldn't block out that unbearable sour smell.

Especially Old White, who had been at the front, was covered from head to toe as if he had rolled in a mud pit, making it impossible to get close to him.

Not far away.

A petite figure was standing on the edge of Resurrection Square, her face filled with worry as she stretched her neck out, looking around.

Upon finally seeing that familiar figure, a trace of delight flashed in her eyes, and she quickly trotted over.

Fang Chang saw her too, subconsciously throwing the equipment in his hand to Night Ten and heading toward her for a hug.

With his arms wrapped around the neck of his beloved, looking at the scarf around his neck, Dolly's lips curved into a sweet smile.

"… You said you'd be gone just for a little while, why did it take you so long to come back?" she murmured gently, unwilling to dismount like a bear cub climbing a tree.

Indeed, it was getting late.

Thinking back to his promise to Dolly that morning to have dinner with her when he returned, a trace of apology surfaced on Fang Chang's face.

"I'm sorry I—"

But before he could finish, he was silenced by a soft touch.

Dolly had tiptoed up and gently kissed his lips.

That touch of shy blush under the street lamp shone brilliantly, like the first red leaf in early autumn. It wasn't overwhelmingly vibrant, but it was captivating.

"I hope my waiting is not for an apology… It's good to have you back safe."

Perhaps it was the environment, or perhaps the fact that people's lives here were as fleeting as the morning dew, leaving no time for subtleties.

Seeing the sincerity and passion flickering on that tender face, it was Fang Chang who now felt a little embarrassed.

"… There are too many people here."

Dolly's face broke into a sly smile.

Suddenly, she brought her nose close to his ear, and with the mischief of a cat teasing its prey, she hummed softly.

"Then let everyone see that you are mine—"

Before she could finish her phrase,

Fang Chang suddenly squatted down, pressing his shoulder against her soft belly, lifting her up onto his back.

Her feet suddenly off the ground, Dolly let out a short, startled gasp like a frightened animal.

Her face blushed to the roots of her ears, extending into the green tips of her hair, her hands uncertain where to rest, she whispered softly.

"You... What are you suddenly doing?"

"Taking you home!"

Home...

Is this what home feels like?

Feeling the warmth and strength of those shoulders, Dolly's embarrassed face was filled with sweetness as she gently bit her lip, let out an unyielding hum, but said no more.

Both silently agreed to silence, vanishing beneath the plaza's streetlights.

Leaving behind a group of envious and resentful single dogs, standing longingly in place.

Having tossed his equipment to Wild Wind, Night Ten covered his eyes with his hands, writhing like an earthworm.

"Ah ah ah! Damn you, Fang Chang, give back my poor doggy eyes!"

Although Wild Wind's actions weren't exaggerated, his expression was subtly complex.

"It's all good, except seeing a shy expression on that guy's face... My toes are digging out a four-room apartment."

It wasn't that it was particularly eye-stinging.

Just that a second ago, the guy was calmly discussing tactics with them, talking about team coordination and how to use their equipment, and the next second, he'd turned into a shy little bride.

The contrast was too great for him to handle.

Old White, standing beside them, laughed out loud and patted the shoulders of the brothers.

"Alright, they're a new couple, being lovey-dovey is normal, right? If you can't stand looking, just close your eyes, in a few days you'll get used to it."

Night Ten still had a look of disbelief on his face, sighed and said, "Damn... selling this game to him really was a loss!"

Old White, still laughing, said.

"If you're envious, go learn Alliance language or find someone in real life. Didn't you say you've got plenty of admirers... Let's go, I'm also heading back to the shelter for a shower. Damn it, that hunk of metal sprayed all over me, smells to high heaven!"

Night Ten instantly changed his expression and quickly dodged Old White's arm.

"Holy shit! Don't get it on me!"

"Hahaha!"

Not far away,

Mosquito poked the VM screen's upper left button with his index finger, nearly snapping it from frustration.

"Damn... why isn't it working!"

Just passing by, Irina, holding a skewered mantis leg, said with a comical face.

"The Player Manual only says to abide by Alliance laws and prohibits harassment, it didn't say it castrated you, yelling for Ah Guang won't do a damn thing."

"I don't care, get me one too!"

Elena, with a subtle expression, offered the skewer she was holding.

"I can't help with that... Want one?"

Mosquito instantly became wary: "What's that?"

Elena, slightly embarrassed, laughed.

"Mantis legs, caught them today, just grilled them. That guy's head was still purple, a huge one, I've never seen it before, must be a rare species... wonder if it gives a BUFF."

"Ugh—!"

Before Old Na could finish speaking, Mosquito was already off, retching against a tree.

...

The next morning at dawn.

North of the City of Dawn.

After a night's rest, the corporate aid to the Alliance officially began.

Two pieces of engineering equipment from Ideal Group were the first to be assembled, displaying the technological prowess of the East Coast to the onlooking crowd.

Standing beside the half-repaired road,

Spare people under the knife, the chief architect of the Alliance, had his eyes wide open, cursing in amazement at the two pieces of engineering equipment.

"What the hell is this?!"

Four treads supported the mobile crusher, resembling a moving fortress with an area covering fifty to sixty square meters.

Its front was mounted with a large bucket, its sawtooth edge like the teeth of an abyssal giant maw, crushing and pulling in the concrete debris ahead into its belly.

Its silver tank at the back constantly rotated, emitting deafening roars, and through a series of processes, turned the water-soaked concrete rubble back into cement slurry that could be reused.

Trailing the behemoth was a uniquely shaped road roller, with one large and one small drum at the front and back, six meters wide, carrying a solid platform.

The process was simple: while the beast with four treads and two rollers slowly advanced,
the front was responsible for "eating."

The back for "shitting" and "compressing."

As the two engineering giants moved past, a straight and smooth road formed in their wake, imprinted over the weather-worn roadbed.

Although the quality of the construction remained to be seen, for an emergency supply line, it was leagues better than the decayed ground of the Wasteland!

What the Alliance currently needed was not a road that would last fifty years without damage, but a road that could be used immediately, right now.

Spare people under the knife, standing by and gawking, couldn't peel his eyes away.

This rough and direct construction method completely overturned his knowledge.

No...

Not even the construction method.

Just the technology that could revert hydrated concrete back into usable cement was black magic enough!

If such convenient technology existed, there'd be no worry about where to dump the concrete waste from demolished buildings; it would instantly turn waste into treasure!

While the construction dogs were awe-struck, not far away stood Li Changkong holding a tablet, adjusting the operating parameters of the device.

After finishing the work at hand, he looked towards the nearby Alliance Managers and spoke.

"The highway from Qingquan City to Rui Valley City is 169 kilometers long, and we've chosen to restore Provincial Highway 1704. The quality of the construction certainly won't meet pre-war standards, but it will be more reliable than the cement roads you're currently using."

"There will be another batch of equipment delivered here, including for laying asphalt on the road... The estimated completion time will be from mid-August to the end of August."

The current date was early July.

Calculated for mid-August, that was 45 days?

45 days to build a 169-kilometer highway, which meant constructing 3.75 kilometers a day?!

Chu Guang just did a rough calculation and was immediately shocked by the astonishing speed.

Even with the steel plant's capacity maxed out and thousands of prisoners of war mobilized, the Alliance's railway laying speed barely reached 3 kilometers a day.

This highway construction was faster than railway construction!

That's insane!

Seeing that Chu Guang had not replied, Li Changkong paused before continuing to speak.

"Although we can source the necessary concrete waste locally, there will still be a 17~30% gap in materials, which we will need your people to help gather and transport."

"Of course, to shorten the construction period, we will provide some convenient tools as much as possible, like 'Miner' series exoskeletons and the like."

Regaining his composure from the surprise, Chu Guang coughed lightly and nodded earnestly.

"You can rest assured on that, Qingquan City has no shortage of concrete rubble, and we'll solve the shortage of materials! By the way... Can you bring a few more of these big guys over?"

Li Changkong was slightly stunned.

"Aren't two enough?"

"To be precise, one roadway isn't enough," Chu Guang said unabashedly, "Our industrial zone is around Qingstone County and West State City, which is to the north of the Alliance, where your aerospace base is also located."

"However, there is only one railway line from there to Dawn City, which has to handle both military and civilian supplies. Although we are also building a cement road, it has just reached as far as Far Creek Town, and the supply efficiency is very problematic!"

Listening to Chu Guang, Li Changkong tapped on the screen, switching to the map of West State City.

After studying the map for a while, he said while stroking his chin,

"This is indeed a problem; a barrel can only hold as much as its shortest stave, we'll figure out a way to help you... That area is mountainous?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yep, that region is mostly hills, can you manage?"

Li Changkong pondered for a moment and said,

"...Construction will probably be difficult, these two pieces of equipment are only suitable for use on plains."

Before the Manager could show a troubled expression, a faint smile appeared on Li Changkong's face as he continued,

"However, we do have equipment in our inventory that can be used on hilly terrain... Once the airplane is fully charged, I will have headquarters send a batch over."

"In addition, your railway's transport efficiency is too low, I'll think of a way to help you improve it a bit."

Upon hearing these words, an agreeable smile instantly appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"Really? That's so embarrassing!"

Li Changkong smiled and waved his hand.

"Don't mention it, we are allies on the same front."

Even if it wasn't for the sake of being allies, he would still secure this "deal" for the Company.

With the passage of Resolution 1001, the company allocated a budget of 300 million Cr for military assistance to the Alliance.

These 300 million Cr of military assistance were not just for purchasing weapons, but also could be used for buying infrastructure and paying for construction projects.

10,000 Cr per kilometer of highway, so 169 kilometers would equal 16.9 million Cr.

Considering that materials were locally sourced and electricity for the construction equipment was provided by the Alliance, ignoring the wear and tear of these stored devices, this 16.9 million was almost all profit!

Ever since the completion of the Ideal City project, most of the construction equipment used in the massive building projects had been left gathering dust in the warehouses, only occasionally being brought out when clients from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng needed them.

It had been a long time since they had seen an order this large.

Gazing at the desolation in the distance, Li Changkong couldn't help but get carried away in his thoughts.

It was said that a long, long time ago, at the beginning of the Wasteland Era, their ancestors had built one sanctuary after another under the guidance of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee on this wasteland, becoming saviors in the eyes of the locals.

The reason Ideal City had stood for two hundred years, becoming a sacred land in the hearts of countless Waste Land Wanderers, was precisely because of those engineering marvels left behind.

Once this war was over and done with, his own name might also become part of a wonderful tale on this desolate and abandoned land...

Lost in these thoughts, a pleased smile could not help but appear on his usually meticulous face.

Li Changkong seemed to have already envisioned those eyes filled with gratitude, and the image of people seeing him as a savior—worshipping him even as a God.

He would return home laden with honors!

Home as a hero—

Suddently realizing the smile on his face was rather unseemly, he quickly coughed twice, resuming a serious expression.

Unaware of the changes in the middle-aged man's expression beside him, Chu Guang's attention was completely captured by the two heavy machines slowly pushing forward.

The show of force by the Corporate had indeed impressed him.

Honestly, these two "little fellows" had made an impact on him that was no less than the Pioneer spacecraft last year.

They included the fact that they increased its maximum range from five hundred kilometers to three thousand kilometers in less than a month.

That didn't even account for the time spent reaching a consensus.

Despite being prepared, the display of technical strength and industrial capability from the Corporate had still exceeded his expectations.

Watching the road grow before his very eyes, Chu Guang felt an indescribable emotion.

Indeed.

Science and technology are the primary productive force.

He had to figure out a way to get a few units from these tycoons!

Chapter 414: Start Wool Pulling from OEM!

A day had passed.

The highway leading west from the City of Dawn had been extended by four kilometers, which was significantly more than expected.

Two huge industrial giants steadily moved forward; their towering bodies and deafening roars became one of the great sights of the City of Dawn.

They attracted quite a crowd of onlookers.

Not just small-time players looking for entertainment.

Merchants traveling from the south to the north, travelers, mercenaries, Waste Land Wanderers, and residents living nearby couldn't help but cast astonished glances at those behemoths.

And they were amazed, unable to look away.

"What are those things?"

"Machines for road-building?!"

"Great Antler God above... I've never seen one so big!"

"It's said they were brought from Ideal City!"

"Ideal City?! It's Ideal City... That's over 3000 kilometers away from here, isn't it?"

"How many oxen would it take to drag it over here?"

"Idiot! Don't they use planes! Just fly over with wings attached."

"Hisss..."

"If only I could go there and see it in this lifetime."

Standing next to the newly formed highway, although Chu Guang wasn't as astonished as those inexperienced Waste Land Wanderers or as incredulous as those few engineering geeks who deemed it unscientific, the shock and emotion in his heart were nearly the same.

Just look at the yearning in those Waste Land Wanderers' eyes; they haven't even started winning yet, and these folks from the East Coast were almost basking in victory.

Colonizing and border expansion?

Bestowing noble titles and appointments?

Those were the tactics of the Empire era.

A slightly more sophisticated form of "conquest" involved power projection combined with regional influence. It didn't come with debuffs like decreased stability or production capacity. It saved the costs of repression, maintenance, and other fiscal expenses, and the benefits generated were far greater than direct control.

As for how to increase regional influence?

Advanced technology, abundant resources, prosperous culture, lofty ideals, and excellent education, among others, could all do the job.

Chu Guang felt that explaining this in detail could be quite complicated, but abstractly, it was pretty similar to matters of the heart.

Handsome or pretty, wealthy, eloquent, cultured, smart or shameless... Anyone with one or two of these qualities, as long as their other aspects weren't so inferior as to be unacceptable, would never lack "confidants" or "bootlickers."

Take himself for example. Although a bit poor, rather inarticulate, and too thin-skinned, he still had a bunch of adorable little players surrounding him and showering him with affection all day long.

Ultimately, it was because he was too handsome.

The situation for the Alliance was somewhat similar.

Although they had won a few impressive battles and the confidence of the survivors was at an all-time high, when it came to heritage and wealth, compared to the veteran survivor forces of the Wasteland, they were still lacking.

These rich and handsome folks from the East Coast just stood here, and even without any intentional ostentation, and certainly without the necessity for it, the regional influence would rise rapidly.

Actually, forget about those impoverished Waste Land Wanderers.

Chu Guang too hoped that one day he could visit the East Coast and see for himself what the survivor settlement, said to be closest to the pre-war era, looked like.

How could a city less than half the size of Mumbai accommodate millions of people and build skyscrapers that reached into the clouds?

This might provide him with some experience in management.

Of course, while the objective gap existed, one must not undervalue oneself.

The Alliance had its own BUFFs.

Help from the "Degenerate Empire" was both an opportunity and a challenge.

If handled well, the newborn Alliance could save decades of development, but if not, it might end up taking decades more due to missteps.

And as a Manager,

His job was to maximize the use of their advantages.

Just as Chu Guang was pondering how to fleece some wool from these old friends, the expression on his face, in Luo Hua's eyes, was interpreted as envy.

Glancing at Chu Guang and then at Li Changkong, who was stealthily enjoying his triumph, Luo Hua felt an inexplicable bitterness with his crutch in hand.

Back when they sent out the Pioneer, those guys from the Ideal Group were reluctant to make an effort, but now they were all too eager to make their presence felt.

This gave him the feeling of being hoodwinked by a Minotaur.

Driven by a sense of competition, Luo Hua couldn't help but sabotage the mood.

"Don't think too highly of these people... Over in Ideal City, their main business is actually real estate. If it weren't for this, I would've almost forgotten they could build roads."

However, upon hearing his words, the expression on Chu Guang's face grew even more astonished.

"Real estate?!"

Perhaps his imagination wasn't enough.

What kind of real estate company could be so impressive?!

"Yep."

Luo Hua nodded, then continued with a sneer.

"... Fixing water pipes, cleaning the exterior of buildings, cleaning air exchangers, maintaining elevators, generating electricity. They used to have a logistics distribution service, but that's been outsourced too... As for this kind of heavy construction equipment, they don't have the capability to make it."

Seeing the unconvinced look on his face, a thought struck Chu Guang, and he said,

"I heard that heavy construction equipment is one of the main businesses of Silver Wing Group?"

"That's right," a hint of pride surfaced on Luo Hua's face, "The Pioneer is our masterpiece! More than 80% of its components were independently completed by us."

Chu Guang immediately followed up with a question.

"Could you make a road-builder like this? How much would it cost?"

"Uh... I'm not familiar with that," Luo Hua scratched his head, "Five or six million? Ten to twenty million? The price depends on the model. For a specific quote, you should ask Yi Chuan, I haven't been back for three years, and he's more in tune with the market than I am."

...

Hearing this quote, Chu Guang finally realized how cheap the magnetic confinement plasma cutting machine tool that Li De had sold him was.

117,000 Cr.

It was just a tiny bit more expensive than fixing one kilometer of concrete road, an incredibly fair deal!

But then again, the value of Cr back then was actually different from now.

As a general equivalent for exchange, money's significance can vary in different contexts.

At that time, the Pioneer needed local resources and labor, while Chu Guang needed technology from the Pioneer, with Cr merely serving as pricing and exchange.

Therefore, the credit guarantee for Cr at that time was not actually provided by Ideal City, but by the Pioneer itself.

The price lists offered by both parties didn't represent the intrinsic value of the products but were more like the result of negotiation.

Even now, the price lists provided by the five major groups to him obviously couldn't match the market prices of Ideal City; they resembled a balance reached through their internal negotiations.

Chu Guang believed that fixing one kilometer of emergency concrete road in Province of Yúnjiānxíng shouldn't cost as much as 100,000 Cr.

However, that didn't really matter to the Alliance.

Being a part of the 300 million in military aid, it wasn't like he had to pay out of his pocket.

He just had to spend the money.

...

With Li Changkong in charge of road construction, there was no need for Chu Guang to watch over it constantly, and after a while, he turned his attention to his own matters.

All sorts of infrastructure related to the supply line, including railways, optical fiber cables, electric cables, and high-voltage power, were all undertaken by the Ideal Group.

Holding the enormous sum of 300 million Cr, Chu Guang experienced the feeling of being maintained.

Of course.

Since the money was provided by others, it certainly wasn't as freely spendable as if it were from his own pocket. Out of the total, only 70 million could be used for infrastructure development, and a quarter of that was already gone.

The remaining 230 million was mostly allocated for military aid in weapons and heavy equipment to counter the Army.

Only just over 30 million Cr was available for industrial upgrades.

To make full use of this budget, Chu Guang held meetings with representatives of various industries on the one hand, and on the other, he opened a post on the Forum to solicit ideas from the players.

After some thought, he felt it wasn't fitting to use the planner's alt account, so Chu Guang simply used the NPCs' accounts.

Anyway, they couldn't go online.

[Beta 0.4 Version Update: Industrial Upgrade!]

[Old Luka: Allies from the East Coast plan to provide us with 30 million Cr to help improve our production technology. The Alliance is about to undergo an industrial upgrade! The budget is limited; does anyone have any good ideas?]

Tail: "Huh?! Wait, isn't the new expansion about fighting?! (Surprised)"

Si Si: "emmm… it looks like the game is finally updating some high-tech equipment, looking forward to it."

Quit smoking: "Awesome! Fighting a war and upgrading at the same time?"

Turn the volume down I'm Bron: "Do you even need to ask? Every time there's a war, the prices of copper, coal, and sulfur soar. If you've got the means, you definitely start with mining!"

Ya'er I need to go to the toilet: "Mining's fine, but the current production capacity of the mines from Qingstone County to West State City isn't low. The main cost lies in transportation. Once we boost our transport capacity, costs will naturally go down… I think we should upgrade the trains; that camel engine sucks!"

Voldemort Athlete's Foot Levin: "Machine tools! The magnetic confinement plasma one is good! More machine tools! (color) (color)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Giant Stone City has more powerful machines. Sure, the ones we buy from the Alliance are advanced, but they might not suit our environment. I'd suggest focusing on the light industry first. The Alliance's consumer goods have a significant export advantage over Giant Stone City, we can definitely continue to expand our advantage!"

Quit smoking: "Wait, do you have access to the closed beta?"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Ah, talk too much and the tears start flowing. T.T"

Less than half a minute after the post went up.

The debate in the comments section quickly intensified.

Chu Guang surprisingly found that, for issues not so closely related to the game itself, backseat drivers were much more enthusiastic than closed beta players.

However, unfortunately, these intense debates didn't yield many constructive results and mostly went off-topic.

In the end, the comment that got upvoted by the closed beta players was still from Brother Fang Chang.

Fang Chang: "This topic is too abstract. The problem with the Alliance isn't a lack of something; it's that we lack everything. Heavy industry provides materials for production, light industry produces consumer goods—one is internal, the other is external. Is the former important, so the latter is not? Not to mention agriculture; currently, the Alliance's highest output isn't consumer goods, but the tens of thousands of acres of farmland north of Rhombus Lake! I think agricultural technology needs an upgrade as well."

Makabazi: "Agree with this! Agricultural technology should indeed get an upgrade. The Alliance's population is about to break a hundred thousand! If it grows further, we won't be able to sustain everyone! (gritting teeth)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Isn't this a discussion about priority?"

Fang Chang: "A discussion is a discussion, but this issue can't be resolved through debate alone. It needs to be based on the actual situation. Instead of central procurement by the Alliance, it might be better to establish a currency exchange and procurement channel, letting each industry decide which equipment to import. Those with textile factories will naturally upgrade their textile equipment when they make money, and the same goes for those with steel factories."

Canyon Fugitive Mole: "+1, insiders are clearer about what they need and can solve the most critical technical pain points with the least expense. They're much more efficient than a bunch of clueless outsiders trying to pick and choose."

Chu Guang browsed through the comments with interest and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Interesting."

In fact, when Giant Stone City sourced industrial equipment, he adopted this method of establishing a currency exchange mechanism and procurement channels, allowing lifestyle occupation players and factory-owning NPCs to purchase suitable equipment based on their needs.

However, the situation in Ideal City was clearly different from that of Giant Stone City.

With a distance of three thousand kilometers, it was difficult for both sides to form a stable trading market, making it challenging for the Alliance to earn foreign currency from Ideal City.

He only had 30 million Cr to use, and it wasn't viable to completely leave it to the market to regulate.

The procurement lists provided by industry representatives totaled 317 projects, with 57 marked as top priority.

Of these 57 projects, 80% were concentrated in the heavy industry sector, and 20% were in light industry. Based on the quotation assessed by Yi Chuan, the costs far exceeded the budget of 30 million.

At least 50 million Cr was needed to manage it all.

To get more aid, it was necessary to achieve sufficient military results on the battlefield. Only when corporations saw the money being spent effectively would they be willing to bet more.

Yet, Chu Guang always had the feeling that as he was dangling the carrot for those on the East Coast, they were also dangling one for him.

Want a munitions factory that can produce 10,000 shells a day?

"Do you want a coal mine with an annual production of 10,000 tons?"

"Including automated cable factories, car repair shops, tractor factories, and so on, do you want them?"

"Beat up the big noses on the West Coast, and I'll give them to you."

"That first aid of thirty million is more like a down payment."

Seeing the financial gap of at least twenty million on the list, and the production lines proposed by the players, Chu Guang couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"If only we could find a way to make some Cr."

Sitting in front of the computer, Xiao Qi tilted her head.

"Master, isn't thirty million enough for you?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Not enough, I have consulted with the representatives from the Silver Wing Group, and the quote for just one paving machine is close to thirty million... and that doesn't even include the maintenance costs."

The puppet controlled by Xiao Qi showed a surprised expression and said softly,

"Thirty million... that's enough to build 300 kilometers of road."

Chu Guang, leaning back in his chair, nodded.

"Yes, including maintenance costs, the total mileage would be less than 500 kilometers. It's better to outsource the project directly to the Ideal Group, so I haven't even included it in the first batch of procurement."

Xiao Qi: "Then how do you plan to solve the funding gap?"

Although she didn't have any good ideas, she felt that her master definitely had a way.

Chu Guang sighed and stared at the ceiling above him, murmuring to himself.

"Right now, there's only one way, and that is to achieve impressive victories on the front lines. With that, we would have enough leverage to request increased support from the corporations."

But.

Relying on others' charity was never a long-term solution.

When the war ended and the Army was expelled, the aid from the East Coast would naturally be suspended.

If only there was a way to fleece some sheep.

Unfortunately, this time they were faced with a bionic man team, whose metal clunkers didn't even have wages, didn't consume anything, and even turned off their power to save electricity, giving him no chance.

Depending on those four representatives alone, no matter how rich they were or how recklessly they spent money, at most they would spend ten or twenty thousand.

In the face of the vast scale of the Alliance, such money was but a drop in the bucket.

Just as Chu Guang was mulling over his troubles, a new email notification suddenly popped up in the lower right corner of his computer screen.

The email was sent from Camp 101.

The sender was Pai, that extremely clever girl.

"Master told me to let you know that the fusion reactor is almost fixed! It will be ready to start up in a couple of days, are you coming over?"

The moment he saw this message, Chu Guang's eyes brightened, and he sat up straight from his chair.

Right.

There's still the reactor!

He had been so busy with meetings these past days that he completely overlooked this money-making machine.

"We've got it!!"

Watching her master suddenly perk up, Xiao Qi, sitting on the table, blinked curiously.

"Got what?"

"Subcontracting!" Chu Guang laughed, his eyes shining as he continued, "We can start by introducing some spare parts production projects from the corporations. This will not only fulfill our industrial upgrade but also provide a market for the upgraded industries!"

It was all due to inertia in thinking!

He had been so focused on the subsidies from the corporations and the little bit of wages in the employees' pockets that he almost forgot this profitable business!

Xiao Qi, puzzled, said, "But... didn't you say that 3,000 kilometers is too far, and that goods produced by the Alliance can't be transported there?"

Chu Guang answered without hesitation.

"That was before!"

"Once the reactor is restarted, the cost of electricity in West State City will drop to the same level as that of Ideal City! Our electricity could even be cheaper than theirs!"

The reactor used by West State City was a relic left by the Prosperity Epoch, based on the principle of the third-generation controlled fusion with a pure helium-3 reaction, using the same technical principles as the reactors widely used in Ideal City.

Technically speaking, there is not much difference in nuclear power costs between the two.

However, calculating costs cannot solely consider material consumption—operation, maintenance, and other aspects must also be taken into account.

Since West State City's level of electrification is currently low, even if a part of the industry is relocated there from the City of Dawn, it still cannot fully utilize the energy generated by the controlled fusion reactor.

In other words, even if the reactor operates at the minimum output power, there will be a surplus energy issue.

Therefore, economically speaking, the Alliance's cost of electricity is actually far lower than that of Ideal City. No matter where it is used, as long as this surplus electricity is utilized to create even a tiny bit of value, it's all pure profit.

For the corporations, the planes transporting military aid will have to fly over anyway, and flying back empty would be a waste of hundreds, if not thousands, of tons of carrying capacity. It's better to take some goods back.

With its rich electrical and mineral resources, moving some of the less profitable industries from the East Coast to West State City would definitely be profitable for them!

Although this might sound counterintuitive, with a controlled fusion reactor in West State City, the transportation costs between the corporations and the Alliance might actually be lower than those between the corporations and the survivors' settlements in neighboring provinces.

Even if they are 3,000 kilometers apart!

The limit to air transport capacity is an issue, but from the current economic scale of the Alliance, it's completely sufficient!

When the transport capacity starts to become tight, the industrial output value of West State City will probably have already increased exponentially, and the River Port on the Tributary of Tianshui should have developed by then.

Building a few more ships with a displacement of a thousand or ten thousand tons, they could not only do business with Ideal City but also bring all the survivor settlements within thousands of kilometers along the river into the Alliance's trade map.

Painting a blueprint of the future in his mind, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile at the exciting prospects.

This was more than a win-win.

It was an overwhelming victory!

Though reluctant to interrupt her master's daydream, Xiao Qi couldn't help but softly remind him.

"But Master… nuclear fuel is limited, right? Xiao Qi thinks it's better to conserve it."

Chu Guang replied without hesitation.

"You're right, but no matter how frugal we are, the finite supply will eventually run out. The problems created by development must be solved by development!"

Humans cannot stop eating for fear of choking.

As long as we can develop the Alliance to the point where it can reinstate the Earth-Moon flights before the nuclear fuel in the southern River Valley Province is depleted, these problems will naturally be resolved!

However, once truly developed to that extent, it's likely that the Alliance, with its size, will no longer need to rely on anyone else...

His fingers drummed a rapid-fire tap-tap-tap on the keyboard, and Chu Guang hit the enter button, sending an email back to Pai in West State City.

"I will!"

"I'm coming over right now!"

...

While Chu Guang was busy communicating with Camp 101 about reactor ignition matters, The First Hospital of Dawn City at the front door welcomed a guest of special identity.

Walking down the hospital corridor alongside Yun Yi, Yu Feng explained in a low voice.

"...We ran into a bit of trouble passing through Yongdong City. The 'Mutated slime fungus' there is different from other places, quite a tricky evolution. It's not only highly aggressive but also disguises itself as typical survivors."

"In order to break out, twenty assault troop soldiers were infected by the mutated slime fungus and can no longer fulfill the upcoming mission. Our captain has left them here for medical treatment."

He is an apprentice and employee of He Ding, logistics officer of the long-distance team.

To help the Alliance set up an ammunition production line and to introduce instant noodle production techniques, his boss had him stay here to coordinate with the reinforcements arriving later.

It's worth mentioning that since the logistics of the long-range team were outsourced to corporate partners, both he and his boss were not employees of the corporation and didn't have resident status in Ideal City. They were just ordinary Waste Land Wanderers born in a Survivor Settlement in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

For him, the high-level staff of the corporation were undoubtedly important figures.

Even engineers and other technical personnel.

After hearing his account, Yun Yi slowly nodded her head.

"I've heard about your situation. Employees of the Silver Wing Group mentioned the abnormal situation in Yongdong City in their report, but we can't spare any attention for that area at the moment. The crew of Pioneer and the No.0 Shelter are our top priority... How are their injuries?"

Yu Feng shook his head.

"It's bad... The Alliance has some excellent biological experts and experience in combating slime fungus, but as you can see, the medical conditions and research infrastructure here are too primitive."

"All they can do is maintain the status quo, preventing the condition of those wounded from further deteriorating. For a complete cure, I'm afraid they need to be transferred to the hospitals in Ideal City."

Yun Yi sighed softly and spoke in a consoling tone.

"You've worked hard... Once the energy supply is replenished, our planes will take you home."

Yu Feng smiled awkwardly.

"Actually... it's not that tough, the living conditions here are alright. Of course, it's definitely not as lively as in Ideal City."

Yun Yi didn't respond.

In her view, this was clearly a comforting lie.

After all, from any perspective, the development here was far behind Ideal City, not even comparable to some larger Survivor Settlements in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

It could only be said that compared to other survivor villages inland, the lifestyle here was relatively more civilized.

After all, several residents of the refuge also lived here, which could play some role.

Led by Yu Feng and the hospital nurse, Yun Yi approached the entrance of the ward, faintly hearing voices inside.

"Go for A!"

"Damn, I can't afford that..."

"Where's your bomb?"

"Where the hell would I get a bomb?!"

"Hahaha, the bomb's with me! Bye-bye, three fours!"

"@$%#!"

"Quit dawdling, hurry up!"

Standing at the door, Yun Yi paused slightly, not quite understanding their discussion.

Go for A?

Bomb?

Are they... discussing combat plans?

Thinking of these poor Kids being sent to distant battlefields, to bleed and sacrifice for people they had never met, she felt somewhat heartbroken.

If it weren't for that obstinate expedition, they wouldn't have had to endure this pain.

Taking a deep breath, Yun Yi pushed open the door.

However, upon seeing the situation inside the ward, she stood frozen on the spot.

In the disordered ward, more than a dozen bare-chested men were gathered in a circle around a small table.

On the table lay a scattered deck of cards and silver coins, and beer bottles and cigarette butts were strewn about on the concrete floor.

Seeing Yun Yi at the doorway, several men continued to deal cards with a grin, seemingly oblivious, whereas the one with his arm bandaged, Shen Rui, changed his expression.

Others might not recognize her.

But being an Old Soldier under Yun Song, he certainly did...

Noticing Yu Feng's frantic eye signals, Shen Rui was about to say something to lighten the awkwardness of the moment.

But before he could speak, a light cough from the doorway interrupted the laughter and banter in the room.

Looking at the young men, Yun Yi slowly spoke from the doorway.

"What are you... doing?"

Chapter 415: The Rekindled Flame!

When the door to the hospital room opened again, a host of "patients" had already returned to their beds, lying there like frosted eggplants, completely lacking the vigorous vitality they had shown before.

Standing next to Yun Yi, Yu Feng pressed his brow, feeling a bit of a headache, but he was just a merchant apprentice and it wasn't his place to say anything.

Having put his shirt back on, Shen Rui walked out of the room awkwardly. He wanted to say something to change the subject, but Yun Yi beat him to the punch.

"What's that?"

"Po, poker."

Embarrassed, Shen Rui grinned and scratched the back of his head as he explained, "It's... a card game invented by those Blue Jackets. It's quite popular in the taverns around here."

Yun Yi's brow furrowed slightly, and the reflection in his glasses gleamed sharply.

"Tavern?"

"Uh, the alcohol doesn't affect the treatments, and it can also help to prevent the spread of the 'mutated slime fungus'... That's what the doctors and we have been told." Feeling a bit guilty under that sharp gaze, Shen Rui glanced around nervously, worried that a doctor might happen to pass by in the hallway.

Yun Yi fell silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Before coming here, I'd heard about your situation and had been very concerned about your safety... but now it seems I've worried too much."

Hearing that sigh, Shen Rui hurriedly explained.

"This, this isn't our fault. Life outside the city is so monotonous that we have to find some... well, ways to entertain ourselves and pass the time."

"So your way of passing time is gambling?"

Feeling obviously in the wrong, Shen Rui said no more.

Straightening out discipline was not his job, so Yun Yi did not continue on this topic. After a pause, he brought up the next arrangements.

"In two days, you all will be transferred to West State City and take the return flight back to the Province of Yúnjiānxíng."

Hearing that he could go home, a joyful expression finally appeared on Shen Rui's face.

Although life here was interesting, it was only suitable for a short stay, not for settling down. Without access to "Endpoint Cloud" and no immersive virtual entertainment spaces, boredom was inevitable over time.

Otherwise, they would not have resorted to playing cards.

"...You've lived here for a while now. Tell me about the situation here."

Responding to Yun Yi's inquiry, Shen Rui, who had snapped back to attention, said eagerly.

"What aspects would you like to know about?"

Yun Yi thought for a moment and then said,

"For instance, what kind of organization is this Alliance, really?"

Shen Rui scratched his head, pondering for a while before answering,

"Their own explanation is... a self-help alliance of survivors led by the residents of the refuges. The full name seems to be the Human Revival United Front, also known as the New Alliance."

Human Revival wasn't too bad.

Yun Yi slightly raised the left side of his eyebrow, his expression somewhat odd, but he didn't say anything.

There were plenty of strangely named survivor settlements in the Wasteland. There was the Kingdom of three people, a Tribe of ten thousand, and a Federation formed by ten small villages.

An "Alliance" claiming to revive human civilization didn't seem that odd.

Seeing Yun Yi remained silent, Shen Rui continued,

"Regardless of what they call themselves, the people here are pretty friendly, but it's true that they have a fierce local spirit. Occasionally, some Waste Land Wanderers who don't understand the situation come to cause trouble, and they are quickly controlled by those residents of the refuges..."

At that moment, he seemed to recall something and went on,

"Oh, right, those Blue Jackets, many of them are Awakeners! Including their Manager! Their biotechnology is very strong, and they seem to have mastered the technology to stably cultivate Awakeners."

Yun Yi nodded and didn't find it strange.

Technological enterprises similar to this one were not rare; it was just that, like cloning technology, they were taboo and seldom used.

After all, awakening was no trivial matter, its cost being the sacrifice of the chance to produce offspring. As far as the overall fertility rate of society was concerned, it was not suitable for widespread promotion in a stable society.

Ideal City, to a certain extent, continued the laws and moral views of the Human Alliance Era. Although it recognized the identity of Awakeners, it did not revere them as the desperate Wasteland Wanderers did.

Becoming a "superhuman" through mechanical exoskeletons and bionic organs was not only a more stable and controllable direction for enhancement but also did not require the sacrifice of personal happiness.

But to transform the residents of the refuge into Awakeners was one thing; the fact that the Manager had awakened himself was quite another.

This was indeed beyond her expectations.

It seemed she had underestimated the man's ambition.

"I understand the basics," said Yun Yi thoughtfully, after listening to Shen Rui's account. "It seems that the situation here is more complex than I imagined... including that Manager."

"Complex?" Shen Rui asked with confusion.

"Yes," Yun Yi nodded, continuing in an even tone, "Ambition, cunning, and leadership... He possesses all the potential a person with ambition needs to have and is better at disguising and hiding than the average ambitious person. He makes himself seem harmless, his true intentions inscrutable."

Shen Rui scratched the back of his head with a subtle expression.

"But, I feel like he's quite straightforward. The residents here really like him... Could it be that you're overthinking?"

It wasn't just him who felt this way.

Everyone who had interacted with that man could sense that he was easygoing, and the residents' evaluation of him didn't seem to be mere flattery or fawning.

This was worlds apart from the survivor settlements they had encountered along their journey.

He had seen cannibalistic tribes that devoured people alive and survivor communities that sophistically consumed humans. Those who called themselves civilized, like the village chiefs, even proposed to exchange girls of only eleven or twelve years old for the modern weapons in their possession, suggesting to offer them up as slaves... Of course, they had refused.

Rather than an ambitious man, Shen Rui felt that the person resembled the captain of the Pioneer, Lu Yang... more like an idealist.

However, these were just his personal opinions.

For instance, someone who called himself Mr. Hauser frequently cursed him on broadcasts.

"It's not that I'm overthinking; it's that you're oversimplifying people," Yun Yi said lightly. "I won't deny he has his upstanding qualities, but this doesn't mean what I said is invalid."

She paused, then continued.

"This isn't just my opinion. According to calculations made by the 'Intelligent Brain,' there's a 37% chance that the war was instigated by the Alliance."

The Intelligent Brain was the main server of Ideal City, the core of the "Endpoint Cloud" network, and also the business core of the Endpoint Group.

Although the other four major groups seldom relied on AI for decision-making, the level of automation in the Endpoint Group was very high, even higher than that of the Kang Mao Group, which made heavy use of bionic staff.

Shen Rui looked surprised, glanced left and right along the corridor, then looked back at Yun Yi and said cautiously.

"I feel... decisions based on limited intelligence may not be reliable, even if it's from the Intelligent Brain. To be honest, I don't have much faith in that thing, and we probably shouldn't discuss this on someone else's turf... they are victims, after all. Many died that day."

Yun Yi's expression did not change, and she spoke in a calm voice.

"It's just a reasonable suspicion. The initial attack on the Pioneer by the Army happened in the North Suburb of Clear Spring, and shortly after they left, they were intercepted by the Army again... Multiple coincidences make me feel things are not as simple as they seem."

"Of course, these are merely suspicions. I won't present unverified guesses as evidence to the Council for deliberation. Unless we have enough clues to prove that he instigated this war to deceive us for aid, or for his own selfish desires."

Her view was not unique.

Within the Endpoint Group, there were quite a few others who shared a similar opinion.

Looking deeper, unlike the Silver Wing and Chang Ge Group, the business of the Endpoint Group was mainly concentrated within Ideal City. Most survivor settlements had no use for their AI technology or cloud computing services, so "expanding overseas markets" was of no benefit to them.

Therefore, even without personal sentiments, purely from the perspective of interest, they were unlikely to support the war.

Even though they ultimately cast a vote in favor.

Shen Rui opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only shrug helplessly.

"Alright, I can't guarantee he's definitely a good guy, I'm just sharing my opinion... I have a good feeling about that person."

"Understood, let's not talk about that," Yun Yi switched to a more soothing tone and continued, "Oh right, I almost forgot to ask, how much is your treatment fee?"

Shen Rui was slightly taken aback.

He hadn't paid much attention to that.

After pondering for a moment, he answered uncertainly,

"Seems like... five hundred?"

"That cheap?" Yun Yi looked at him with mild surprise.

Shen Rui: "Uh, I think it's five hundred a day."

Noticing the expression on Yun Yi's face turning unfriendly, Yu Feng, who had been silent, coughed and hurriedly explained,

"It's silver coins, silver coins... not Cr."

...

The next morning.

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

End-of-the-world Lone Wolf, dressed in casual attire and yawning, stepped out of the refuge and found Wild Wind waiting for him at Resurrection Square.

As a life-skills player who also dabbled as a casual gamer, unless there was a major event, he rarely made appearances on the front lines or joined teams for dungeon runs.

After all, he had a deep understanding of his own ability to hold a team back.

Usually, he'd either be discussing professional issues with a few other players in the industrial zone and Factory No.81, or he'd be taking his fishing rod to the lake for some fishing alongside Little Fish.

Though his colleague here successfully dragged him into filling out a form, due to the differences in game style, they didn't have much interaction in the game.

They mostly played on their own, occasionally meeting up.

To team up this early in the morning like they were doing today was a first in the past few months.

"What's going on? It had to be discussed in the game?"

Lone Wolf looked at Wild Wind with confusion, trying to find some clues on his face.

However, although this guy's game ID was nothing short of wild, his personality was quite reserved, showing little expression both inside and outside the game.

"In-game matters have to be discussed in-game," Wild Wind said earnestly, "Come with me, I'll show you something good."

Lone Wolf asked instinctively,

"What good thing?"

However, Wild Wind didn't offer an explanation and simply stated succinctly,

"You'll find out when we get there!"

Well, now.

He was playing coy.

Lone Wolf raised his eyebrows, a tinge of curiosity surfacing in his eyes.

It wasn't the mystery this guy was selling that intrigued him, but rather the excitement and thrill that flickered behind that poker face.

What kind of treasure would get this guy so pumped?

With curiosity, Lone Wolf followed Wild Wind to the train station at the northern outskirts of Dawn City and took the train to West State City.

After a bumpy journey of nearly a hundred kilometers,
the two got off the train as it was nearing noon.

Seeing that they hadn't reached their destination yet, Lone Wolf, following in Wild Wind's wake, finally couldn't help but ask,

"How much farther?"

But—

The response was still just one phrase.

"Almost there!"

Lone Wolf: "..."

The only consolation was that the voice sounded increasingly excited. Maybe, just as this guy said, they were very close to the end.

Deep into the district of West State City.

Wild Wind confidently readied his weapon to check the situation on the streets, and seeing no danger, led Lone Wolf through a field of ruined buildings to the entrance of the subway station.

Little grasses growing out of the concrete cracks gently swayed, and the shadows under the concrete wall were covered with moss and rust-red streaks.

It was eerily quiet around.

Not a soul in sight, not even any living creatures.

Looking at the dark tunnel, Lone Wolf swallowed hard but followed Wild Wind as he showed no signs of stopping.

Feeling anxious, Lone Wolf walked along the subway tunnel until, just as he was about to repeat the question he'd asked half an hour ago, Wild Wind at last stopped.

Standing in front of a rusty iron door, Wild Wind knocked three times on the door.

Before long, there was movement behind the door, followed by a creaking sound as it opened.

Two soldiers wearing Type 5 Light Cavalry Exoskeletons stood on either side of the door.

When Lone Wolf saw the insignia on the soldiers' breastplates and helmets, a look of surprise crossed his face.

Guards Corps?

How could the Manager's Personal Guard be here?

"Please present your VM," one of the soldiers said.

Wild Wind immediately extended his arm with the VM.

The soldier who had opened the door for them stepped forward, checked his VM, and then turned to Lone Wolf, who was standing there motionless.

"And this one?"

"He's on my team, and we came together. Can I bring him in?"

After hearing the request from the man from the refuge, the two soldiers exchanged glances, and one of them replied,

"Please wait, I will ask for the Manager's permission."

Wild Wind nodded his head.

"Thank you!"

After a short wait, the two soldiers received a command to let them pass and moved aside to clear the entrance.

Seeing the Manager accommodate his request, Wild Wind breathed a sigh of relief, gestured to Lone Wolf, and led him through the hallway behind the door.

The security level here was exceptionally strict.

Not just the sentries at the door but also the cameras installed at corners of the hallway and the hanging automatic guns.

Anyone trying to force their way in would be turned into a sieve in an instant.

Looking at the heavy security around him, Lone Wolf glanced at his VM map and realized this area wasn't charted on the map, which only served to fuel his excitement.

"Is this some kind of secret map? So mysterious."

Wild Wind didn't answer; instead, he merely nodded his chin forward, leading Lone Wolf through the alloy doors that had just opened before them.

As the two passed through the door, the view before them abruptly opened up.

The spacious hall spanned hundreds of square meters, with personnel in work clothes bustling about, a scene of intense activity.

Above the door directly in front of the hall hung a sign that read "Reaction Room."

Following Wild Wind's lead, they walked straight into the reaction room, where a metallic cylinder about ten meters in diameter soon came into view.

Numerous pipes were connected to the alloy shell, leaving only a palm-sized window through which intricate and elaborate parts could be seen linking together inside the hollow cylinder.

Lone Wolf's face was full of astonishment, even shock.

He never expected that this inconspicuous subway tunnel would house such a profound mystery!

What surprised him even more was that the Alliance's Manager, in azure power armor, was also present.

Not just that, quite a few people were standing next to the power armor.

Including the leader of the research team, Yin Fang, the vanishing Boss Xia and Little Fish from a few versions ago, and the genius little girl who had visited Factory No.81 and Goblin Technology previously... her name seemed to be Pai.

Lone Wolf lowered his voice and excitedly asked Wild Wind beside him,

"Is there some kind of ceremony about to take place?"

"The ignition of the controlled fusion reactor!" Excitement flickered on his face as Wild Wind tried to contain the thrill in his voice, replying with a slight tremble.

After the research team reached Level 6 (the maximum being Level 10),
players could use VM to look up the research plans and experimental schedules of the research team in the refuge, and apply for observer access.

Hearing Wild Wind's words, a perplexed expression surfaced on Lone Wolf's face.

What astounded him was not so much the controlled nuclear fusion itself, but that the Professor from Jinling University's Physics Academy could get so worked up over it.

After all, in "Wasteland OL," controlled nuclear fusion wasn't anything particularly rare, was it?

Considering the settings, those were research results from the eve of the Prosperity Epoch, and there were even darker technologies out there by the dozens!

"Controlled fusion reactor... the refuge has a reactor, doesn't it?" Lone Wolf remarked with a strange expression.

"Yes."

"Is it necessary to come here to watch?"

Wild Wind gestured for silence, his gaze unwavering from the reactor.

"Don't talk, it's starting!"

Seeing how absorbed the guy was, Lone Wolf, despite his confusion, still closed his mouth, deciding to stick it out with his colleague to the end.

Not far away, the Manager standing by the railing glanced at the time, then towards the researcher beside him, signaling that they could begin.

The factories in Dawn City gradually suspended production, and the power station's thermal power units ramped up to maximum output, allocating all electrical power to this thermonuclear reactor.

As the capacitors charged, the researcher beside the control terminal operated on the touch screen, and soon the cylindrical device began emitting a buzzing sound of electric current.

When the final button was pressed, the magnetic field in the entire space became as turbulent as a pot of boiling water.

Wild Wind pulled out a compass from his pocket and, watching the crazed needle, muttered fervently with eyes brimming with zeal,

"Magnetic confinement! It's magnetic confinement!"

Lone Wolf stared at him dumbfounded, unsure of what to say next.

Not far off, Yin Fang, standing next to Chu Guang, pressed his brow, slightly headachy, and said,

"Magnetic leakage... indeed, it's been too long."

Chu Guang frowned slightly.

"Will that affect anything?"

Yin Fang had yet to respond when Pai, standing beside them, eagerly interrupted,

"Don't worry, it's a minor issue! Once the magnetic confinement devices stabilize, the overflow of the magnetic field will naturally disappear."

Yin Fang nodded.

"Yes, that should be the case."

The magnetic field inside the reactor would adjust according to the state of the plasma; once the plasma stabilized, the magnetic field would naturally steady as well.

Clearly, this reactor was not relying on a Faraday cage for magnetic field shielding, nor did it have any of this superfluous design.

For this reason, the outermost wall of the reactor had left a small window for "visual observation" of the plasma's running state.

Seeing the two researchers assuring there were no problems, Chu Guang continued to watch patiently.

An azure light appeared behind that palm-sized window, and as energy continued to accumulate, it quickly turned into pure white light.

That must be the plasma enveloped by the magnetic field.

Even through the heavy outer shell of the reactor, Chu Guang could directly feel the intense heat capable of melting everything and the terrifying energy contained within!

Not far away,

The technicians at the workbench diligently carried out their tasks, reporting the current situation in succession.

"Plasma temperature has reached critical level!"

"Probes have detected reactions occurring!"

"Reactor core is in good condition, the confinement device is working normally!"

"Energy surplus has reached self-sustaining conditions!"

"Cutting off external power supply!"

"Voltage difference has been adjusted!"

"Phase difference zeroed!"

"Frequency synchronized!"

"..."

"Grid connection!"

With the final command issued, massive currents passed through the cables embedded in the walls, and the ocean-like energy instantly filled the electrical grid of Dawn City.

The power station near the new industrial area, running at full capacity, gradually shut down its thermal power units.

With that moment, they had fulfilled their mission.

From now on, the Alliance would no longer need to burn wood and coal for electricity -- clean nuclear power would cover the entire territory of the Alliance through the electricity grid.

From the sparkling electric arcs of the steelmaking plant, to the electrolysis rooms of the hydrogen production plants, to the light bulbs, fans, and even air conditioners in every residential building...

The energy running through the grid of the Alliance had never been so abundant!

Looking at the white light in the reactor, which was gradually stabilizing, the tension on Chu Guang's face finally turned into a sigh of relief and a smile.

From this moment on, the Alliance was officially stepping into a new era.

And on this barren wasteland, the seeds of civilization were finally reignited!

History would remember this moment!

Chu Guang turned to look at the people standing next to the reactor, as well as all the excited, pleased, bewildered, or clueless faces.

He unlocked his helmet visor and said with a look of approval,

"Well done."

"Everyone has worked hard!"

...

The reactor ignition was over.

Including the Manager, all NPCs had gone about their own business.

Only Wild Wind stood alone as if he had lost his soul, clutching a compass in his hand, his eyes blank as he walked out of the reactor room.

"Hey, brother, it looks like the ignition ceremony is over." Lone Wolf said quietly to Wild Wind who was standing stupidly in the hall.

Nuclear fusion was beyond his expertise, and he had watched for a long time without understanding anything.

When he heard his colleague's voice beside his ear, Wild Wind finally snapped out of his daze.

However, the expression on his face was no longer excitement or joy.

Instead, it was loss...

Even disappointment.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Lone Wolf asked with concern.

Wild Wind was silent for a long time before shaking his head and letting out a sigh.

"The gap is too wide..."

He hadn't seen any cooling devices, perhaps they were integrated inside the reactor.

But how a reactor just over ten meters in diameter could contain such terrifying energy completely mystified him.

What was even more unbelievable to him was that he could clearly see the outline of the plasma through a small window with his naked eyes, without being blinded by the intense light...

Whether it was materials or design process, the reactor was a Black Box to him, still inscrutable even when placed right in front of him.

Instead, it made him feel that common sense was being overturned...

Lone Wolf looked at him in surprise.

The gap is too wide?

Well, damn...

Don't tell me you're planning on getting one in real life?!

Wild Wind looked at the compass tightly clenched in his hand. The needle that had been jumping wildly earlier had stopped trembling without him noticing and was pointing steadily in the direction it should.

The only thing he could be sure of was at the moment of ignition, a massive magnetic field must have been constraining the plasma.

But after the successful ignition, the overflow of the magnetic field had completely vanished.

So much so that he couldn't even be sure whether the magnetic field overflow was contained or if the reactor wasn't binding that heat greater than that of a star with magnetic energy at all...

Lone Wolf scratched his head, thinking aloud, "I remember... it was mentioned on the official website that the refuge's reactor uses pure helium-3 as fuel, right?"

Wild Wind: "Hmm."

Lone Wolf: "Can we get that on Earth?"

Wild Wind: "We can't."

Lone Wolf: "..."

Looking at the closed alloy door, Wild Wind's expressionless face suddenly revealed a bitter smile.

He suddenly realized that worrying about how to bind that plasma was utterly pointless.

Deuterium-tritium fusion could still be ignited by laser.

But helium-3 fusion...

With those harsh reaction conditions, he couldn't think of any way to ignite this reactor on Earth...

...

The news of the successful ignition of the West State City reactor quickly sprouted wings and spread through the streets and alleys of the Alliance, propagated by newspapers and broadcasts.

Chu Guang wasn't worried about the reactor being coveted.

The company's airstrip was next to the Tributary of Tianshui; besides the Grand Canyon, there was probably no one in the whole River Valley Province who dared to provoke those guys.

Moreover, unlike Earth in a parallel world, controlled fusion wasn't such a rare thing on the Wasteland; in fact, nuclear fuel was much rarer than the technology itself.

Without the ability to use excess power, thermal power generation might not be a worse option than nuclear energy.

Of course, the Alliance did not have to worry about this issue for the moment.

Twelve "Tiger Whale" transport planes from the company had already moved from the airport north of Dawn City to the Open Space near the Tributary of Tianshui in West State City.

Thick cables, as large as pythons, were inserted into the side of the planes, extracting energy from the Alliance grid like a giant whale drawing water.

In addition, the waters of the Tributary of Tianshui were also being drawn.

A range of fuel cells, including Solid Hydrogen and Metallic Hydrogen batteries, were fundamentally different from chemical batteries; the former don't carry oxidants and instead draw on oxygen from the air for redox reactions.

Using the entire atmosphere as the cathode is also why fuel cells have much higher energy densities than chemical batteries.

However, replenishing energy for Metallic Hydrogen batteries is a bit more troublesome; reliable power grids and abundant water sources are necessary conditions.

Standing in the newly marked airstrip, Yi Chuan was animatedly saying to Chu Guang beside him.

"... Judging from this rate, we can have the batteries topped up in a day at most! Once charging is complete, we can deliver a second wave of supplies in no more than three days!"

Currently, the company only has twelve planes capable of reaching a range of three thousand kilometers, but it won't be long before they can assemble another twelve.

Twenty-four large transport planes will be equipped.

Relying on the power grids of both sides, they could establish a stable aerial corridor between the southern River Valley Province and the East Coast, continuously sending equipment and supplies to the frontline!

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Thank you very much!"

"Don't mention it," Yi Chuan replied with a hearty laugh, "We are allies on the same front, this is for our common victory, to defeat our common enemy!"

"Even for our common victory, we will not forget the help you provided at a crucial time."

Shifting his gaze from the enthusiastic young man, Chu Guang "inadvertently" glanced at the planes nearby.

After a pause, he sighed quietly.

"However, speaking of which, it's such a waste for these planes to return empty. How about... we send some special products back with you?"

"Special products?" Yi Chuan was taken aback before laughing and waving his hands, "No need, no need, our assistance to you is free of charge! It is our obligation!"

As Chu Guang looked at the bright, sunny smile on the face of the young man, he couldn't help feeling moved; if only everyone were as benevolent as him.

But...

That was obviously impossible.

Now was the honeymoon period between the Alliance and the company, and he had to seize this window of opportunity.

Whether for short-term or long-term reasons, he needed to take this opportunity to tie more interests between the two parties.

Otherwise, once the war was over, River Valley Province wouldn't be as important to the company, and he'd have to engage in a veiled struggle with that reclusive rich neighbor.

Clearing his throat, Chu Guang said earnestly to Yi Chuan, who was refusing the offer.

"I know your help is free of charge, and we are very grateful for your generosity, but we can't always ask for help whenever we're in trouble, I would feel guilty!"

"There's a saying here, 'a favor returned for a favor given,' and we've prepared some gifts for you."

"Although they're not expensive, they are a small token of our appreciation!"

Chapter 416: Beta 0.4 Update Preview: "Oceanic Trade" System!

"Today's Big News: Controlled Fusion Reactor Successfully Ignited in West State City! The Alliance is about to Enter the Fusion Era!"

"Dawn City Lord, Jiu Li: Residential and Industrial Electricity Free for One Week! After a week, the price will be adjusted to 30% of the original. Everyone is welcome to set up factories in the new Industrial Zone of Dawn City!"

"Dawn City Weapon Shop: Newly stocked with 200 sets of 'Miner I/II Type' Exoskeletons and 500 G9 'Black Swan' Assault Rifles. Enterprise series weapons will remove purchase restrictions, and more high-tech weapons will be available for reservation via VM once stock runs out. Negotiations for power armor imports are underway, so stay tuned!"

"..."

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

The forum today was as lively as ever.

Especially a few freshly released announcements, which completely ignited the enthusiasm of the players, rapidly becoming the focus of heated discussions—

"Damn, controllable nuclear fusion?!"

"Shocked, weren't you guys just playing with mud last year? How did you move to nuclear fusion already?!"

"From primitive smelting to nuclear fusion in just one year... this is just too freaking magical!"

"Wondering who the big shot behind this great achievement is, I bow to them!"

"Just asking, this is 100% real in the game, right? Can the same method be used in real life to make one?"

"Damn, still in the post-internet era, and some people take the developers' advertisements seriously? Better get some 'brain gold' quick!"

"Not scientific, way too unscientific!"

The topic of controllable nuclear fusion ignition had much more heat on the "Wasteland OL" forum than the clamor in the pubs among the Alliance residents.

After all, for residents of the wasteland, nuclear fusion was something they had once possessed, and although nearly forgotten, it seemed there wasn't much to be excited about.

However—

For the sand sculpture netizens on Earth, the significance was entirely different.

This legendary item, only existing in fantasies, the distance between them and it, wasn't merely the last step.

Even if it appeared in a movie, it had to be labeled as science fiction.

Not to mention how to use it for generating electricity, whether it would work or fit hadn't even been conclusively decided.

If it were just an ordinary science fiction-themed game, the inclusion of controllable nuclear fusion wouldn't be that surprising.

This wasn't even the darkest of technologies.

However, the selling point of "Wasteland OL" was its realism; so real that just a year ago, the area outside the shelters was still wasteland, and players testing the open beta had to build their own houses and make cement brick by brick to start constructing their Novice Village.

And now, the technology of controllable fusion had been released.

It was quite astonishing!

With no threshold for posting, the chat section of the forum was filled almost every second, and the most frequent posts were either asking for beta access or for pictures.

All languages were present.

Discussions in the beta players' communication section were plenty, but "electricity price exemption" wasn't as appealing as "lifting restrictions on enterprise series weapons."

Last year in the Alpha version, the G9 "Black Swan" assault rifles were part of a lottery event prize pool.

Not just the G9 assault rifles now.

Holographic sights, night vision goggles, thermal imaging scopes, and even more sci-fi life-signal detectors and a series of high-tech weapon accessories were now purchasable from NPC shops!

This was definitely going to sell like crazy!

Thus, aside from a few sand sculptures showing off in the chat section and the reserved players, only the players with lifestyle careers were seriously discussing the impact of controllable fusion technology on the Alliance.

Stir-Fried Tomatoes and Eggs: "Just one controllable fusion reactor seems to have enough impact for a new version."

Less Nonsense: "+1, alas, NPCs truly are the primary productive force! T.T"

Kill God: "You can't say that. Advanced production technology is important, but so are production theories and methods, and these are different dimensions. Controllable nuclear fusion just opened up the bottleneck of energy, the Alliance's use of energy hasn't reached its limit yet. There's still a lot to consider."

Levin with Athlete's Foot: "+1, Our steelmaking technology has only developed to the three-phase electric arc furnace. Even with nuclear fusion, there's still a long way to go."

Quiet Please, I'm Bron: "Ah, if only we could get a reactor like this in real life!"

Night Ten: "Good grief, if we pulled this off in real life, we'd go straight from version 0.9 to 1.0. (Funny)"

Makabazi: "Ah Guang: If I were that awesome, would I still be making games? Wouldn't it be nicer to be an academician? (Funny)"

WC, There's Really a Mosquito: "Haha, be a bit more confident; if it really could be done in real life, why not just give you a special title? (Sneer)"

Wild Wind: "Deuterium-Tritium fusion might still have some hope, but that pure Helium-3 fusion in the game… forget about it. (Sideways glance)"

As controllable fusion technology was beyond everyone's knowledge scope, the topic on the player communication board quickly shifted from the reactor itself to the "electricity price exemption" event.

Previously, the Alliance's electrical grid mainly depended on burning wood and coal among other methods of generating electricity, although there were a few using wind and solar energy, but none were cheap.

And they suffered power cuts every now and then.

Now, with the breakthrough in controllable fusion technology, the new and old industrial zones of the Alliance no longer had to worry about energy issues, not only would industrial costs further decrease, but the demand for electrical consumer goods would also rise.

For players with lifestyle careers, this was an epic enhancement!

Just when players were discussing what kind of factories to open, a new announcement popped up on the official website.

This time, not just for lifestyle career players.

The whole forum boiled over...

...

Real World.

In the bedroom of a certain house.

Fang Chang, lying flat on his bed, opened his eyes to the sound of cicadas and the hustle and bustle of traffic from outside the window, but did not get up from the bed right away.

Whenever he saw "Connection Disconnected" floating in a pitch-dark field of vision, a feeling of emptiness, as if being hollowed out, involuntarily surged in his heart.

And this feeling had been particularly intense lately.

Even if it was just logging off normally...

He sat up from the bed.

After taking off the helmet and placing it on the bedside table, Fang Chang picked up his mobile phone to check the time and muttered quietly.

"It's already this late..."

Actually, there was no need to look; he could figure it out.

There was a twelve-hour difference between the game world and the real world; he had logged off at midnight in the wasteland time, so naturally, it was noon in the real world.

Usually, he would wake up around eight o'clock, go downstairs for breakfast, take a jog in the park, see if he needed to swing by the Niubi Company, or browse the Forum and write a strategy guide, then plan tomorrow's schedule...

However, recently, his disciplined life had seen a slight change, and he would procrastinate getting up from the game until late.

Like today.

He could directly have lunch upon waking...

Finally dragging himself out of bed, Fang Chang walked to the window and drew back the curtains, letting the scorching sun flood the room.

Squinting his sleepy eyes, he went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and scooped up some cold water to splash on his face, trying to wake himself up.

The cold droplets rolled down his Adam's apple to his collarbone, seeping into his loose collar. He instinctively reached for his neck, and his index finger hesitated slightly over his throat.

There wasn't a single trace there.

The intense burning sensation that had lingered there minutes ago felt like an illusion…

A flicker of confusion passed through his eyes.

But it was only a momentary lapse; as he splashed his face with water again, the confusion quickly vanished.

Looking at the slightly gaunt face in the mirror, and the water droplets dripping from his bangs, Fang Chang suddenly let out a bitter laugh.

"Is this what they call an internet addiction?"

Or maybe...

Online love?

But it felt odd to describe it that way.

He knew that world was just a set of codes running on a server.

That's why he was able to stay awake and rational all the time, thinking of strategies even in dire situations, unlike Old White, who was too impulsive and sentimental, or Night Ten, who couldn't differentiate between virtual and reality due to indecisiveness.

But now.

It was him who had become the most irrational one…

Just then, his bedroom phone rang.

While brushing his teeth, Fang Chang walked over, picked up the phone, and saw it was Night Ten—or rather, that scoundrel Ye Wei.

They had been friends in the game for a long time, though they had never met in the real world. He had always kept Old White and the others' contacts in his phone.

Pressing the answer button, he held the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Damn, you finally woke up! It's been so hard trying to reach you… What's in your mouth?"

"Toothbrush," Fang Chang rolled his eyes, his words muffled, "Hurry up with whatever it is, I'm hanging up if it's more nonsense."

"All right, all right, no kidding, did you check the official website?"

"Official website?" Fang Chang paused slightly, then recalled, "That new equipment update?"

He had seen the announcement on VM, but company equipment wasn't very appealing to a T0 ladder player like him, so he hadn't paid much attention.

By the time he went to sleep, he had taken off his wrist computer, and hadn't kept up with any messages. Was there a new announcement?

Thinking this, his expression turned a bit odd.

Ah Guang getting diligent?

Night Ten's complaint confirmed his guess.

"That was hours ago! There's a new announcement on the official website! The East Coast map has been created!"

The East Coast map?!

Fang Chang immediately responded.

"Oh, I'll check it out in a bit."

"Don't just 'oh' me, hurry up, waiting for your guide!"

"Stop rushing me, I'm on it."

He hung up in haste.

Fang Chang returned to the bathroom, spat out the mouthwash, tossed down his toothbrush and cup, and quickly headed to his study. Sitting at his desk, he pressed the power button on the computer case.

Logged onto the official website.

Indeed, he saw the freshly posted announcement.

[Beta0.4 Version Forefront: "Overseas Trading" System!]

Ah Guang: "Hello everyone, I'm your beloved planner Ah Guang. After sacrificing over two thousand programmers, we finally welcomed the heavenly Beta0.4 version. In this new version, more forces will join the stage of the Wasteland, posing both opportunities and challenges for the newborn Alliance!"

"To bring everyone a better gaming experience and to fix more bugs, we are launching a limited-time event—sending a sincere gift to our distant friends!"

"For more information, please see the event details page. In addition, we will select two lucky players from those who sign up to provide plane tickets to Ideal City to participate in testing the new map!"

"Have fun playing!"

[Limited-time Event Launch: Prepare a sincere gift for our East Coast allies!]

[Event Details:

1. Gift Requirements: Both life professional players and combat professional players can participate. The gift can feature specialties of the New Alliance, or you can unleash your creativity and base it on best-selling real-world products, making sure it's polite, simple yet not sloppy, and ideally showcasing the rich spiritual and cultural heritage of the Alliance residents!

2. Event Rewards: The most popular gift among the residents of Ideal City will not only earn a massive expansion-pack score but also a million-level entrepreneurial support from the Alliance Bank!

3. Additionally: Seeking two skilled bodyguards/sales representatives (testers) to escort the Alliance's Messenger on a plane trip to Ideal City, required contribution level of higher citizen rank!]

Below the event announcement, in the comments section.

Tail: "Two updates a day!! Giao!"

Quit smoking: "Another chance to score some goodies? (Excited)"

Construction Youth and Bricks: "Black silk! Oh, no, artworks! We should send more artworks to our old friends! (Amused)"

Debt Giant Eye: "How about putting Crow in black silk and sending her over to preach—oh, I mean to spread the word. (Amused)"

Crow: "Roll away!!"

Makabazi: "Roll away?! What's that?! Sounds thrilling. (Nosebleed)"

Crow: "(#・ω・)✄╰ひ╯"

Elena: "(Funny fear limited edition.jpg)"

After scrolling through the entire thread, a look of surprise appeared on Fang Chang's face.

Has the East Coast map been finished already?!

This development speed is quite impressive.

"…Province of Yúnjiánxíng, it should be about 3000 kilometers away from River Valley Province, right?"

The map of "Wasteland OL" was almost presented on a 1:1 scale in the game world, which meant all the mountains, rivers, and survivor settlements within these 3000 kilometers were all created?!

Fang Chang felt a wave of excitement and immediately opened the event page.

However, as he was about to sign up, his index finger hovering over the mouse hesitated slightly, and his pounding heart slowly eased its rhythm.

3000 kilometers...

This trip, who knows how long it would take.

...

Waste World.

Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang, sitting in the browsing room and staring at the computer screen, had a satisfied smile on his face.

Earlier in the day, he had successfully persuaded Yi Chuan to have the return flight bring a gift from the Alliance to Ideal City.

However, he hadn't really decided what to send at that time.

Until an hour ago, he was still racking his brain over this issue.

But as he turned on the computer and prepared to gather some ideas from the forum, he suddenly saw players enthusiastically discussing how to maximize the value of controllable nuclear fusion technology.

At that moment, Chu Guang slapped his forehead.

Why bother thinking about this when there's ready labor to exploit?

As a game planner, making games was secondary, creating a creative workshop was the real work.

Smart players not only help fix bugs and adjust values but also update mods for free.

When there's no new content, just copy a player's mod, and there's your next DLC!

Realizing he had wasted an hour of his life, Chu Guang no longer hesitated and immediately opened a document, posting another announcement right after the last limited-time event.

Want to experience the new map ahead of time?

Want to take a look at the legendary Ideal City?

Whoever has the worst ideas gets the ticket!

Seeing the increasingly exaggerated smile on Chu Guang's face, Xiao Qi, sitting at the desk, asked with some concern,

"Master, is it really okay to let the players decide such an important matter?"

Realizing his facial expression was overly extravagant, Chu Guang coughed lightly and regained his genteel and amiable smile.

"I'll make sure to do the final checks."

Gently stroking the doll's hair with his index finger, he said with a confident tone,

"Don't worry, it definitely won't be a problem!"

...

Overnight.

In the business district north of Dawn City, the second day's sunrise greeted the area.

Stepping through the morning dew, two bionic humans wearing silver cloaks stopped in front of Vine Cottage.

One of the bionic humans looked up at the sign on the door and suddenly said,

"Sunset, found it!"

Sunset did not speak; her face devoid of expressive changes was either just emotionless or clueless.

"Excuse me, do you need any help?"

Noticing the activity at the door, Hua Hua, who was yawning, greeted the visitors while stepping out of the shop.

However, the moment her eyes fell on the faces of the two, she froze.

Bionics?

"Your clothes!"

Frost looked at her intently and said without hesitation, "For a civilization that is indeed dwindling, please hand over the clothes you are wearing to us."

Hua Hua's face turned red and she stood there, baffled and unsure of what to say.

Just then, a lazy voice floated from behind the open door.

"What's wrong, Hua Hua?"

Hearing her boss's voice, Hua Hua finally snapped back to reality, turned her blushing face towards the inside of the door, and stammered,

"…At the door, there are two strange visitors, they… they…"

Teng Teng: "Strange visitors?"

Hua Hua whispered, "They want me to give them my clothes."

"…?"

After listening for a while and still not understanding what her employee was trying to convey, Teng Teng put down the tools in her hands and walked out of the shop.

Her gaze fell on the two bionic humans at the door, recognizing them immediately.

Aren't these the two sent by the Enterprise faction?

Their names seemed to be… Frost and Sunset?

Glancing at Hua Hua standing beside her, then at the bionic humans staring intently at her clothes, a realization flashed in Teng Teng's eyes, and her right fist fell into the palm of her left hand.

"…So that's it."

The version solution turned out to be maid outfits!

This really was a surprise.

"Are the two of you looking for a maid outfit?"

Eclipse remained motionless, while Frost immediately nodded without hesitation.

"That's right!"

Hua Hua's face turned even redder in an instant.

Was that what they meant?

But such a way of expression was really odd…

"Ohoho... then you've come to the right place."

Teng Teng's face was lit with a joyful smile as he stepped aside to open the shop door.

"Come in and let's talk."

...

While Teng Teng was showing off the artworks in his shop to the two guests from the East Coast, at the northern part of Dawn City, Wu Mu from Chang Ge Group had finally encountered the Claw of Death he had been dreaming of.

Seeing Nikki tied with a rope next to the shack, Wu Mu, clad in power armor, excitedly clenched his fists and looked towards Chu Guang with enthusiasm.

"Is this the Claw of Death from that video... I mean, the one you were riding that day?!"

It seemed that the video Xiao Qi had edited for him had become popular in Ideal City, leaving a deep impression on this guy.

Chu Guang smiled and nodded.

"Yes."

Wu Mu continued excitedly.

"What's its name?!"

"Nikki, she's a big girl," Chu Guang replied with a light smile, "My subordinates found her in a research facility occupied by Looters. Initially, we just treated her as a research subject, but over time, feelings grew, and we kept her here."

Wu Mu exclaimed in wonder.

"Incredible... So the Claw of Death can really be tamed!"

Chu Guang glanced at him curiously and asked.

"Have you never tried?"

"Claw of Death isn't very common on the East Coast, though there are occasional sightings, but they are not very big. Our main threat there are Mutants... they move along the coastline, looting and burning villages, and they reproduce incredibly fast."

It seemed that he didn't want to talk much about the Mutants, so Wu Mu quickly changed the subject and asked with excitement while looking at Nikki.

"Never mind that, with a big creature like this, how much food does it eat in a day?"

Not continuing the topic of Mutants, Chu Guang smiled and followed his cue.

"Half a ton of nutrient paste, or two adult Crawlers. It eats a lot, but thankfully it's not picky and can even hunt on its own."

Wu Mu asked excitedly.

"Can I ride it?"

"Of course."

Chu Guang made a welcoming gesture.

Once given permission, Wu Mu chuckled sheepishly, activated his helmet camera, and moved forward with heavy steps.

"There you go, little guy, let me ride—"

As Wu Mu was about to reach out, a thick tail swooshed from the ground and tripped him, causing him to fall flat on his face.

The wrinkled eyelids lifted, revealing half an amber pupil, and Nikki snorted through her nose, seemingly chuckling.

However, that arrogant expression didn't last long as a sharp glance came her way, making her scales involuntarily shiver.

"Wurr..."

Nikki, stared down by Chu Guang, made a pitiful purring sound, curling her mischievous tail into a circle on the grass.

Seeing her act so pitiful, Chu Guang shook his head but didn't force her anymore. He walked over and helped the fallen Wu Mu up.

"Sorry, my friend... this one's a bit temperamental."

"No worries, no worries, it's just that I couldn't handle this one..."

Dusting off his armor, the young man who got up from the ground rubbed the back of his helmet sheepishly, but his admiration for Chu Guang grew.

To tame such a frightening creature and make it lie on the ground, purring like a cat...

Is this what a man at the top of the food chain looks like?

Indeed, a Manager of the Alliance, as extraordinary as the rumors say!

Chu Guang, seemingly unaware of Wu Mu's admiring gaze, glanced oddly at the brother's power armor.

This thing looks pretty cool.

But why do I feel like its functionality is a bit shoddy?

Seemingly reading his gaze, Wu Mu looked a bit embarrassed and explained.

"No way around it, portable reactors are too rare, and we don't have many. Power armors are prioritized for front-line troops, and since I'm just in sales and not on the front lines, I had to settle for a metallic hydrogen battery. Although it works, it's still different from a fully functional power armor..."

My goodness.

No wonder Nikki didn't hold back at all.

Turns out it's a neutered version...

Chu Guang's mind raced.

Speaking of which, he had a Black Box capable of producing portable reactors, just lying in the storage of Shelter No. 79.

Due to its large size, it hadn't been moved here.

If he could get a batch of those neutered versions from the Enterprise, maybe he could assemble a few complete ones!

However, Chu Guang didn't rush to divulge this plan but simply smiled lightly and ended the topic.

"We have plenty of Claws of Death around here, and they come in a variety of types; some with horns, some without. If you're interested, I can give you a slightly smaller one."

Hearing this, Wu Mu's spirits lifted.

"Really?! Thank you so much!"

Chapter 417: Grandpa Said to Draw, But Never Said Randomly

The morning sunlight crept through the gaps in the curtains, falling onto a pair of embroidered eyebrows and a prominent nose bridge.

Fang Chang's eyelashes twitched as his eyes slowly opened, and he felt a pair of bright eyes watching him.

Upon being discovered, those eyes didn't look away. Instead, they playfully blinked.

"You sleep so peacefully, without making a sound."

And.

Even pranks didn't elicit a reaction.

A gentle smile appeared on his relaxed face as Fang Chang reached out and ruffled the fluffy green short hair.

"...When did you wake up?"

"An hour before you did."

With her hands supporting her pale cheeks, Dolly lay on the soft bed, swinging her feet gently, basking in the warmth overhead and narrowing her eyelashes in lazy contentment.

She enjoyed this intimate feeling.

Only he wouldn't mind the smell of machine oil from her left arm or the slightly distorted left eye.

"Speaking of which, the food here is so cheap... Five large meat buns for just six silver coins, and I also bought some milk. By the way, do you prefer your milk hot or cold?"

"Hmm... It might be better to warm it up with some hot water."

"Got it."

A breeze lifted that patch of emerald green hair, carrying it lightly out of the bedroom. Watching her lively figure retreating, Fang Chang's lips couldn't help but curl into a grin.

This was his house in the City of Dawn—a two-story cottage.

It was roughly over 200 square meters with an over 100-square-meter yard in front, situated near the respawn point at Linghu Wetland Park.

As players' Contribution Levels increased, so did the land they could purchase. Players who entered the game early mostly bought near the park, whereas players after the beta version preferred setting up homes to the north—closer to NPCs and urban save points, offering a thicker atmosphere of fireworks.

Though they rarely resided there themselves, mostly using it as a storage...

Previously, Fang Chang had done the same, so there was hardly any furniture in the house. At first, it was Dolly who cleaned it for him.

The succulent in the pot on the windowsill and the bouquet in the flowerpot were both bought from the market on the night of the festival.

Fang Chang got dressed and, after standing in front of the mirror for a while, headed to the dining room where he saw petite, charming Dolly already sitting at the dining table.

She held an enormous bun, almost too big for her palm, and took a blissful bite.

Players generally had large appetites, and the buns made by the Alliance were also quite large, filling a regular person up by seventy to eighty percent with just one.

The four buns on the table were obviously left for him.

"Haven't you eaten yet?" Pulling out a chair, Fang Chang sat opposite her.

"I was waiting for you."

Dolly replied naturally, swallowing her food and then brightly adding,

"By the way, are we going out today?"

"Today... I have no missions, I plan to take a day off," Fang Chang smiled, continuing, "Is there anywhere you'd like to go? I can accompany you."

He planned to spend the whole day with her.

"Really?!"

Dolly's eyes lit up with surprise. However, she quickly discerned something unusual in his eyes and her head dropped, her mood dampening.

Fang Chang was slightly taken aback, about to ask if she was feeling unwell.

Dolly stared at the bun she had bitten into and suddenly spoke in a low voice.

"You... are you going away again?"

Surprised by her sharp intuition, Fang Chang's Adam's apple moved, and he nodded lightly.

"Yeah."

He had finally made up his mind to check out the East Coast.

Life only happens once.

That's the rule in "Wasteland OL."

But after all, this is a game world, and the game world can't be entirely like the real world, and his ability to resurrect was the best proof.

He didn't expect to persuade Ah Guang to take the risk of losing his job by changing the game settings for him or to give him a cheat in the backend.

As a professional player, since the problem was encountered in the Game, he resolved it using methods from the Game.

Before logging in, he had read the background material in the Game's database several times. It indicated that Ideal City on the East Coast possessed mature AI technology.

Referring to the situation of Shelter 101, it should be theoretically feasible to write thoughts onto a circuit board!

He hadn't thought about turning Dolly into an AI. Virtual life is still life; she might lack a physical body in reality... at least for now, but she was indeed a living person, a resident of this virtual world, entitled to decide how she wanted to live.

However—

This was a tragic world after all.

If... what he meant was if, by some misfortune, she met with an accident, and he wasn't able to protect her in time, he hoped to at least leave a backup for her on this server, preventing her data from being erased.

One day in the future, when "Wasteland OL" formally opened for global public testing…

He would find that company.

Even if it meant spending all his money, he would buy her data.

He had said he would show her his world…

Which meant more than just the Alliance.

However, Fang Chang hadn't told Dolly any of this, partly because he didn't know where to start, and partly because it was clearly written in the Player Manual.

Coincidentally, right after he had resolved to register, he actually drew a ticket to Ideal City.

Such a coincidence almost made him believe it was fate.

Perhaps his plan really had a chance of succeeding…

Dolly asked softly,

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

"Is it the frontline?"

Noticing the bright eyes mist over, Fang Chang hurriedly explained.

"No, not the frontline. This time it's a very safe place, Ideal City."

"Ideal City…" Dolly murmured softly, questioning further, "The one on the East Coast?"

She had heard of that place.

A bustling paradise of lights and revelry, where even the Inner City Nobles longed to visit just once.

Fang Chang nodded lightly.

"Yes, it's a government assignment."

"That far, huh…" Dolly's expression turned a bit wistful as she murmured, "I heard it's over 3000 kilometers…"

"It's not like we are walking there. 3000 kilometers by plane is very quick, even quicker than going from here to Giant Stone City," said Fang Chang with a smile.

Dolly asked softly,

"When will you come back?"

"Not sure… it could be a few days, or a week, even a month, but not longer than two months," sighed Fang Chang, his eyes shadowed with worry, "and after I come back, I probably won't be able to stay long… there will be a war again."

Dolly didn't speak, silently taking a bite of her bun.

Silence lingered between them for a moment.

As Fang Chang hesitated about how to explain further, Dolly suddenly spoke up.

"Go, although I'll miss you, I don't want to be your burden… You must have been struggling for a long time before telling me this."

Fang Chang was briefly taken aback, surprised by the clear-eyed girl before him.

Seeing his reaction as if she had read his mind, Dolly's lips curved slightly, her mood lightening, as she continued in a cheerful voice.

"It seems you still don't know me well. I'm not the type to cling to you all day. I am a reporter, you know. I have work to do."

Hadn't she quit?

Fang Chang chose to close his mouth, not pointing out this irrelevant detail.

Dolly, with a playful grin, went on.

"Go, it would be a pity to miss such a great opportunity. Travel more. I heard that Ideal City is much more bustling than Giant Stone City. If you see anything new or strange, you must tell me when you return. Oh, right, remember to take lots of photos, I need them for my reports."

At that point,

Her melodious voice suddenly dropped a few decibels.

"And... although I allow you to leave me alone for a while, I forbid you to fall for someone else outside."

Seeing Dolly, who was feigning nonchalance one moment and the next becoming insecure and vigilant, Fang Chang couldn't help but laugh and cry.

"Am I that kind of person?"

He admitted that he had previously admired strange dances at the Night Queen Bar, but that was purely out of curiosity and to listen to information.

He could swear to Dog Plan Ah Guang, aside from vain bragging, he has never done anything illegal.

Dolly hmphed softly, making an indifferent expression as she bit into her bun.

"Who knows? Like your good brothers, do they know that beneath your gentle appearance, there actually lies a beast-like heart?"

"Pff—"

Hearing this, Fang Chang almost spurted out a mouthful of milk.

What kind of analogy is that?

Watching her boyfriend cough and wipe his mouth, Dolly, holding a big meat bun, happily curled the corners of her mouth.

"Anyway, if you do something wrong by me, I will..."

Dropping the tissue from his hand, Fang Chang glared "ferociously" at the mischievous one.

"You will?"

Flashing her bright white teeth proudly, Dolly exaggeratedly bit into her bun.

"I'll bite you to death!"

…

In the distant west.

An endless expanse of sand dunes.

The sky-darkening, flying yellow sand continued to push the two people and a camel along the boundless desert.

The howling Wild Wind lasted for ages before the noisy sandstorm finally dissipated.

However, the torment for the two had not ended.

With no sandstorm to shield them, the furnace-like Sun scorched the earth, seemingly intending to dry up every bit of moisture in the gravel.

Finally unable to walk further, Coleway collapsed onto the scorching desert.

Hearing the noise behind, the Old Soldier turned laboriously and staggered back step by step to lift him from the ground.

"Hey, wake up..."

After shouting for a long time with no response, it seemed he was likely suffering from heatstroke.

Seeing the half-dead man lying on the ground, the Old Soldier found himself in a dilemma.

If this guy dies, his past week of work was for nothing.

What to do?

Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?

Looking at those dried-up, twig-like lips, his Adam's apple moved, hesitated for a long while, and flat out refused to touch that mouth.

A wave of sadness arose.

Damn it!

Why does Fang Chang get to be lovey-dovey with NPCs every day while I have to drag dead weight?

I'm the one who really needs a scarf!

Damn it...

Suddenly, those "twigs" parted weakly, emitting a feeble syllable.

"Water..."

Hearing that feeble voice, the Old Soldier breathed a sigh of relief and stopped cursing inwardly.

He's alive, that's good!

He dragged Coleway to the camel, took down a water flask from its back, shook it to find just a tad left, then unscrewed the cap and brought it to the half-dead man's lips.

"Here."

Feeling the fresh water at his lips, Coleway's eyes bulged outward.

Driven by a desire to survive, he instinctively clutched the water bottle with both hands, his veins bulging at his wrists.

The water bottle had only the last sip left, but he swallowed for a long time until there was not a drop left and, feeling disappointed, he shook it and threw it on the ground.

Looking at the Pangolin who had saved him, gratitude filled Coleway's eyes.

"Thank you..."

Old Soldier shook his head, indicating it was not necessary, and casually picked up the water bottle.

"Can you keep going?"

Coleway stiffly nodded his head.

"I can..."

Old Soldier nodded and turned back to the camel, continuing to lead it by its reins.

The freshwater was gone.

If they couldn't reach the oasis, they would have to kill the camel...

Half a month ago, the army had suffered a crushing defeat in the Southern River Valley's Rui Valley City, military organizations were dispersed, and the routed soldiers couldn't keep track of each other, those who died, those who were injured, those who fled.

Additionally, with the treason at Fallen Leaf Camp, Coleway nearly died amidst the chaos, it was thanks to Pangolin's help that he successfully escaped from the guns of the Waste Land Wanderers.

This journey had indeed been fraught with misfortune.

Initially, their supplies were sufficient, besides the tough Pangolin, several guards accompanied him.

However, those cunning Waste Land Wanderers, not content with taking over Fallen Leaf Camp, followed them in a truck.

The anti-aircraft machine gun dragged behind the truck rattled off, and to protect him, his guards were turned into sieves by the quadruple anti-aircraft gun.

Luckily, Pangolin acted quickly, grabbing a fallen rifle and firing back, blowing up the truck's engine, and managed to save them both from certain death.

In this manner, the two narrowly avoided pursuit by the Alliance, finally crossing the borders of River Valley Province and entering into this desert illuminated by Xiaguang.

However, before Coleway could rejoice in their narrow escape, he realized the real nightmare had just begun.

A sandstorm.

A daytime and nighttime temperature difference of nearly 40 degrees.

And wandering through the desert were arthropod aliens, as well as brutally fierce sand bandits and slave hunters... It was said that splinters of the Chew-bone Tribe's Bear Clan were active in this area.

Fortunately, they encountered a commercial team on the road, and Pangolin bought a camel and some supplies with the dinars awarded by General McLennan. This enabled them to make it this far.

But...

If they couldn't reach the oasis soon, Coleway felt their journey was also nearing its end.

Looking ahead, which was starting to blur, he gasped lightly and asked,

"How much farther do we have..."

"Not much longer... we should reach the southwest part of Oasis No. 9 before nightfall," Old Soldier unfolded a paper map in his hands and gauged for a while with a compass.

Honestly, it was his first time in Luo Xia Province, without an electronic map, he couldn't quite pinpoint where they were.

The size of Luo Xia Province was about the same as the Western Region on Earth.

This whole way was covered with sand, other than occasionally spotting a few cactuses, bushes, or clumps of tumbleweed, there was nothing to reference, he could only go roughly in one direction.

He was unsure if they would make it before dark.

However, after hearing the words "not much longer," Coleway, following him, reignited his hope of living, and his staggering steps quickened.

"Thank you... If it weren't for you, I would have died at the hands of those barbarians by now. When we reach the military camp at Oasis No. 9, I will definitely introduce you to General Griffin!"

Old Soldier's face showed a simple and honest smile.

"It's my honor to serve you!"

Looking at the man who stayed loyally by his side, Coleway was moved by his fidelity.

Perhaps...

Not all Waste Land Wanderers were ugly, cunning, deceitful, evil, ignorant, and beyond redemption.

Just like now, that pure soul was shining brightly.

Feeling awkwardly stared at by him, Old Soldier felt a chill, his scalp tingling.

This guy better not be gay...

Just then, a group of cows suddenly appeared on a sand dune ahead.

Unlike the double-headed cows of River Valley Province, these had brown fur, lush hair, only one head, droopy eyelids that looked very docile, and horns as thick as tree trunks on both sides of their heads.

Old Soldier instinctively thought of the Ankela long-horned cows, and upon closer inspection, they did resemble them somewhat, but these were clearly bulkier.

An old man stood in front of the herd, draped in a cloak, bound with cloth strips, adorned with strange jewelry, and shouldering an old-fashioned revolving hunting gun, looking like a local herdsman, his gaze fixed in their direction.

"There's someone ahead! Must be a local herdsman."

Hearing Pangolin's voice, Coleway looked up, instinctively tugging at his collar to cover half his face, especially the prominent bridge of his nose.

With the Falcon Kingdom and the Army's allied forces invading the Lion Kingdom, it wasn't wise to reveal their identities without knowing if this area was occupied.

Old Soldier discreetly glanced at him.

It seemed that these "great people of Vellante" were somewhat aware of their unwelcome presence here.

Seeing Coleway's pleading look, Old Soldier didn't tease him but walked forward with a staggering gait and addressed the herdsman with the hunting gun.

"Friend, we are merchants from River Valley Province, we lost our luggage to Sand Bandits along the way... Could you tell us where we are?"

The old man eyed him for a moment, his expression somewhat suspicious, but ultimately he didn't ask further. His dry lips moved slightly as he spoke.

"Golden Lizard."

Old Soldier was taken aback, not understanding the term, repeating the syllables.

"Golden Lizard?"

The old man nodded, looking at the young man before him, his expression growing more dubious.

How could merchants who've traveled far and wide not have heard of the Golden Lizard?

How did he even get here!

"This is Oasis No. 8, in the northeastern part of Luo Xia Province, under the rule of the Golden Lizard Dynasty. If you plan on heading north to the swamp, just keep going north, you'll see a mountain range, crossing it will take you out of this desert..."

"Oasis No. 8…" Old Soldier, his eyes glazed with confusion, quickly asked, "How far is Oasis No. 9 from here?"

"Oasis No. 9? If that's your destination, you've strayed quite far. You'd need to head several hundred kilometers to the southwest… from the direction you came, just a bit more to the west."

The old man casually pointed in a direction.

Seeing the bewildered young man, he smiled faintly.

"However, it's not necessarily a bad thing. There's a war going on there; it's not a good time to go... Your accidental arrival here might be the will of the Spirit of the Sand Sea."

Old Soldier swallowed hard.

Turning back now was certainly not feasible.

Several hundred kilometers…

With the little supplies they had, they likely wouldn't make it halfway before dying on the road.

"We need to replenish our freshwater… May I ask where we can find a water source?"

Noticing his benign appearance, the old man turned and glanced behind at the sandy dunes.

"Just cross that sand dune, and about 1 kilometer ahead, there's a village. Many merchants pass through there… I was planning to go back anyway; I'll take you there."

...

Logging out for the day.

Back in the real world, Old Soldier, after removing his helmet, first rushed to the kitchen fridge and grabbed a bottle of ice-cold cola, gulping it down refreshingly.

Only when he nearly choked did he return to his room, sit on his chair, burp, and turn on the computer to log onto the official forum and start a new thread.

"MMP!"

Spring Water Commander: "What's up, bro?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "I'm freaking out over a covert mission I accepted, it's killing me!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Damn, you're still on that mission?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "What else? I've come all this way, would be a total waste if I quit now."

Fang Chang: "Is this what they call a sunk cost? (side-eye)"

Night Ten: "But it's almost mid-July, and you haven't done anything else on this trip. You've walked so far and still haven't arrived… Isn't that freaking far?"

Wild Wind: "By 30 kilometers a day, you must've walked at least four hundred kilometers."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "I didn't just not reach it, I passed it!"

Quit Smoking: "What do you mean you passed it??"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "I don't even know what this godforsaken place is. The locals call it Oasis No. 8, territory of the Golden Lizard Kingdom... further north lies Luo Xia Province."

To the east, after more than a month's journey, is the Grand Canyon, while to the north lies the swamp. It's said that the Wandering Swamp is in that direction.

Old Soldier was tempted to check it out, but unfortunately, Coleway, the dead weight, insisted on returning to report to the Army.

Though the attraction of the new map was not insignificant, the unique hidden missions were indeed more crucial.

Currently, he was working in a mine next to a small town, saving up for his travel expenses. Despite the lack of Silver coins in his account, VM wasn't usable anyway.

Plus, the locals didn't accept it.

The universal currency here was the local Golden Lizard Coins, adorned with golden lizards, followed by currency from the Grand Canyon and then the Army's Dinar.

After sharing his painful experiences, besides everyone's sympathy, admiration inevitably followed.

Walking through the desert for almost half a month...

That determination was truly impressive!

Spring Water Commander, "Awesome! You've set a record opening the map!"

Construction Site Youth and Brick, "Indeed... Has anyone ever traveled that far?"

Canyon Escaping Mole, "No way, wait a couple of days and watch me fly to the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, breaking records with 3000 kilometers, reaching in a day! (smirk)"

Spring Water Commander, "Holy crap! Has the prize been drawn?!"

Edge Shoveling, "Did you actually win it?!"

Canyon Escaping Mole, "I'll scout ahead for you guys, see what Ideal City really looks like, don't worry, I'll bring back photos. (smirk)"

Old Soldier nearly spit out his soda from laughter as he read the message on the screen.

Traveling 3000 kilometers in a day.

Damn it!

Better left unsaid, it just made him angry.

Debt Giant Eye, "Wait, weren't there two plane tickets? Who got the other one?"

Night Ten, "Aside from Brother Guang's number one bootlicker, who else could it be? (smirk)"

The news broke.

Instant uproar in the comments.

Elena, "Damn it! Why wasn't my deep-fried mantis chosen? Am I not worthy?"

Gnome King Riches, "I'll make it up to you. (smirk)"

Teng Teng, "I'm crying, wasn't the version answer supposed to be maid outfits? QAQ"

Tail, "Hey hey hey? Can't Si Si's black stockings work?!!! ∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si, "...?"

Spring Water Commander, "Damn, this is definitely rigged!"

I Max Black, "You have the nerve to talk about rigging!"

Spring Water Commander, "... (sweating)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group, "@#%***!"

Same official website, same bottle of Coke...

Different worlds.

Sitting in front of the computer, Chu Guang chuckled as he watched the little players in the forum cry foul and complain about his sockpuppet.

He admitted.

The person chosen for Ideal City was indeed appointed by him.

But to call it rigged? That, he wouldn't admit.

"Grandpa said there was a draw, never said it was random."

No small matter in diplomacy.

It doesn't matter when drawing random equipment, as winning something makes everyone happy, and one or two pieces of equipment can't change the course of a battlefield.

However, sending someone on an important mission to the "Degenerate Empire," could it be left to random selection?

That would be nearly enough.

But what surprised Chu Guang was that he thought Fang Chang would take some time off, at least go on a honeymoon with his girlfriend. However, to his surprise, the guy resolutely packed up and embarked on a journey for the future of the Alliance.

Chu Guang shook his head lightly, tore open the plastic wrap of a lollipop, popped one into his mouth, and mumbled indistinctly to himself.

"Men... tsk, truly heartless."

In this world, everything comes at a price.

Choosing to tell a cruel story in the style of a fairy tale required accepting the naivety and immaturity behind the protagonist's bravery.

Seeing the Sun three days later meant one could never truly "live."

A counterintuitive fact was that only backseat drivers would imagine this place as the real world, based on fragments of information from the forum.

Players who actually got beta access, or rather, those who truly set foot in this world, only saw it as a virtual realm infinitely close to reality.

An unprovable hypothesis, no matter how close it is to the truth, can only remain a guess.

And the complexity of human nature lies in the constant self-doubt, doubting the world and oneself, wandering through a maze of endless possibilities.

He never needed to clarify anything nor deal with those rumors.

Great undertakings are always achieved through overt plans and need no sinister schemes for cover.

He wouldn't deny it; in fact, he'd openly joke with the players under the guise of a planner, claiming "Wasteland OL" to be the real world and himself the god who created it.

After all, nobody would believe him if he claimed that.

Those ignorant of the truth concoct conspiracy theories, suspecting that a major company is conducting a secret national experiment, possibly to test some classified technology or some unspeakable "Human Completion Project."

Those who grasp a sliver of "truth" adopt a slightly broader view, seeing "Wasteland OL" as an enlightenment by a higher civilization using cultural forms understandable to humans, benign enlightenment—at least there's no direct evidence of its malice.

To fully comprehend the entire plan would require a god's perspective, or at least his standpoint.

Thus...

His dear friend would probably never realize that this was not just any game and that his love was not just some code on a server.

It was a living person.

But in the face of the future of civilization, individual happiness was insignificant. For two centuries, too many people had sacrificed everything for this cause.

Chu Guang would wish the couple could continue together forever, but he could not let the established plan bear undue risks for just two individuals.

Perhaps knowing less might not be a bad thing.

In reality, many couples, despite knowing every mole on each other's bodies, might not grow old together in the end.

He could always remain the hero in the girl's heart, "saving her from the darkness," and he could keep seeing her as his paper-like cloud resided wife.

He was not the first player to develop more than friendship for an NPC, nor would he be the last.

And the debate over whether virtual life counts as life would linger with this game forever.

Understanding "Wasteland OL" as a higher civilization's enlightenment for Earth, provoking thought among the entire player base and even within society, wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Eventually, the technology that once appeared in this world would also emerge in the different world of Earth.

Politics is the initiative of the masses, governance the method of management, and the selective retention and divulgence of the truth is also a part of politics.

That great and secret darkness—

He would bear it himself.

"Hehe... huh huh huh..."

Watching Chu Guang immersed in his own world, Xiao Qi sitting on the office desk slightly tilted her head.

Although not knowing what happened, it felt like the boss had won again...

...

At the airport south of Dawn City, a "Tiger Whale" transport plane stood steadily.

Airport staff were busy loading boxes of goods into the cargo hold.

Stepping out into the morning sunshine, with his baggage on his back, Fang Chang met his travel companion.

Brother Mole, the leader of the Skeleton Corps.

And—

Once the office director of Shelter No. 404 and the league's ambassador to Giant Stone City, Book Yu.

Fang Chang still remembered when this young man first went to Giant Stone City, it was he and Old White who served as guards.

Back then, there was no league.

Nor any City of Dawn.

Their group had encountered looters on the way. Although no one was hurt, it had scared the young man considerably, his tense face taut the entire journey.

"I didn't expect him to have grown into such a seasoned diplomat in less than a year," Chu Guang thought to himself as he heard Brother Guang chat away merrily with the pilot.

Chu Guang couldn't help but feel emotional.

Indeed, tumultuous times do breed heroes.

He remembered when their Manager first started, how unskilled in various businesses he was, getting cheated by tricksters every now and then.

Nowadays, which trickster within a hundred miles would dare cheat that guy without losing his pants?

But...

Wasn't a year's time too quick?

It really must be to enhance the players' gaming experience, hence the acceleration in the growth rate of the Alliance NPCs.

Chu Guang pondered this inwardly.

At that moment, Teng Teng finished his conversation with the pilot and walked towards him.

"The boxes that are being loaded into the cabin are the gifts we are bringing to Ideal City."

"What do they contain?" Chu Guang asked curiously.

"There are products produced in the Alliance's industrial zone and some prepared by the residents of the shelter."

Teng Teng politely handed Chu Guang a tablet with a smile and continued.

"I will take charge of promoting the former, and the latter is up to you."

Chu Guang nodded, taking the tablet with ease.

Promoting the Alliance's culture and products was part of his mission, and it was already updated on his VM.

The plane tickets weren't free.

As an exchange, he needed to use his eloquence and ability to think on his feet to make the Alliance's products a hit in Ideal City.

After all, the market on the East Coast was far more important than the trivial matters back home!

However, Brother Mole, who was standing nearby, was not pleased and jumped up immediately upon hearing this.

"Wait, what about me?"

Why don't I have a mission?

Looking at the leader of the Skeleton Corps, Teng Teng paused for a moment and then said with a smile.

"Ah, your main responsibility is the security of our mission... Of course, since Ideal City is very safe, you can help with the product promotion."

Brother Mole instinctively looked at his VM only to find that no new mission had popped up.

What's the point if no mission triggers?

Seeing Brother Mole's resentful stare, Chu Guang knew that he was probably envious, and flashed a mischievous smile, flaunting the tablet in his hand.

"Sorry, brother... looks like the Manager thinks I'm better suited for the sales job."

"Pfft, it's just because you've got the face of a hustler," Brother Mole retorted sourly.

"Jealous that I'm handsome, just admit it."

Chu Guang smiled nonchalantly and lightly swiped his finger across the tablet.

Blue text appeared.

However, his expression froze the moment his eyes landed on the first line of the gift list.

Cheongsam, maid outfits, Gothic dresses, evening gowns, maybe some art pieces from Yiwu...

And black silk, white silk.

What the heck is all this!

Of course, the list clearly contained more than just clothes, but just that first line was enough to throw him off.

This... these are all women's clothes, right?

How the heck do I market these?

Was the mission given to the wrong person?

Noticing the change in Chu Guang's expression, Brother Mole seemed to guess something and leaned over to take a peek.

Upon seeing the first line of the product list, a mischievous grin spread across his face, and he patted Chu Guang's shoulder hard with his right hand.

"...Don't worry, bro, I heard that back in the distant 16th century, only the most noble gentlemen in high society were qualified to wear white silk—"

"Get lost!"

Chapter 418: True Strength is Not Level, But a Brave Heart

"Good brother, the task of promoting the artwork is entrusted to you!"

"Hehe, didn't you ask if Ah Guang could create a female account? The chance to dress up as a woman is here!"

"Try black stockings too!"

"Don't forget Teng Teng's artwork!"

"Get lost!!!"

From the runway of the airport, someone's voice was desperately shouting, and amidst the laughter and farewells of the crowd, the door of the "Tiger Whale" transport plane slowly closed.

The cylindrical engine emitted a deep blue arc below, pushing the huge body to lift off from the runway and smoothly fly forward.

Carrying the good wishes and blessings of the residents of the Southern River Province, that touch of blue light disappeared into the distant sky.

It would bring more to this place.

Outside the airport, Dolly clasped her hands in front of her chest, silently offering her blessings.

After the plane disappeared, she quietly turned and left the crowd.

Old White, Night Ten, and Wild Wind stood outside the crowd, with one power armor and two exoskeletons, accompanied by an "Alpha Dog." The lineup was quite luxurious.

Approaching Dolly, Old White tapped his helmet twice and unlocked the face mask.

"We will take you to Giant Stone City... But, are you really not going to wait here for his return?"

"I have to go back to work," Dolly said somewhat awkwardly, looking at the power armor in front of her and spoke softly, "Um... I can't afford that much compensation."

Old White chuckled and said, "The payment has already been made by that guy, so don't worry. We'll get you there safely."

Dolly was stunned.

"How much did he give you?"

"That would be at least three meals," Old White grinned and said, "Talking about money hurts relationships, buddy. Oh, and don't think about paying for that guy, we don't accept invitations from others."

Seeing Old White say so, Dolly, although still slightly embarrassed, accepted the kindness of everyone and gave a gentle nod.

Fang Chang had told her before leaving that these three were his good brothers.

If she encountered any trouble while he was away, she could contact them.

Meanwhile, back at the airport.

Staring in the direction the airplane had disappeared, Yi Chuan was dazed for quite a while before recovering and turning to Chu Guang to ask.

"Just now... what was he shouting?"

It sounded like he heard "Get lost"?

"What does 'Get lost' mean?"

"Uh... anyway, it means goodbye," Chu Guang cleared his throat and said with a subtle expression, "In Shelter No. 404, we only use this word with our best friends."

Yi Chuan's face revealed a realization.

"I see... 'Get lost' means goodbye, your language is really strange."

Yelling it out loud must express strong feelings, a deep sense of reluctance to part with a friend.

I must remember this.

"It's been 200 years after all... It's normal for accents to change. Every family has its own difficult scripts to read, okay, let's not discuss this anymore." Afraid that he would take it to heart, Chu Guang quickly changed the subject.

With the strange pronunciation repeating in his mouth, Yi Chuan nodded, not only memorizing the pronunciation but not taking it too much to heart.

The world is so big.

There are many shelters.

Compared to those bizarre plans and schemes, in his view, Shelter No. 404 was relatively normal...

...

In the far-off Luo Xia Province, on the northeast side, a small town lay beside a mound-like coal mine, surrounded by rows of shacks.

On one side lived the slaves, and on the other, temporary workers.

"Wake up, hurry and get up, it's time to work. Damn, you sleep like a pig; do you still want to earn your wages?"

A calloused hand continuously slapped his face.

The Old Soldier who had just logged into the game opened his eyes.

The harsh sunlight squeezed through the cracks in the wooden walls and hit his face, but instead of a pleasing visage, what met his eyes was a face - sunburnt, peeling, dark yet flushed.

That man was the mine overseer.

The wrinkles on his skin made the Old Soldier involuntarily think of the Eaters, his eyes instinctively flashing a murderous intent.

The miner felt intimidated by his gaze, the overseer instinctively stepped back, but quickly remembered his authority and glared fiercely in return.

"What are you looking at? Are you still working or not?"

Standing at the doorway, the guard had a revolver hanging at his waist, his glance drifting over with the threatening gleam of the revolver's trigger as clear as the silver light.

However, the Old Soldier didn't regard him at all.

As a Third Stage Gene Sequence agile Awakener, even if he were lying face up, he had at least three ways to pin these fools to the ground like dead dogs.

Yet…

He couldn't actually do that.

"…I'll work."

Shaking his groggy head, the Old Soldier crawled out of his sleeping bag, picked up the mining pick resting next to the shack, and walked towards the hill nearby.

Watching the man's retreating back, the overseer breathed a sigh of relief, wiping his forehead with his sleeve, only then realizing his palm was sweaty.

There were two types of workers in the mine.

One type was the mine owner's slaves, the other, day laborers.

The former were easy to manage; according to the laws of the Golden Lizard Kingdom, a slave owner had the right to handle his slaves in any way, as long as he could provide a valid contract.

However, the latter were more complicated.

Some were hiding from enemies, others were merchants or mercenaries who had lost their possessions to the Looters and escaped here by a hair's breadth.

Just like the man just now.

That look…

It was as if he had crawled out from a pile of corpses…

At this moment, walking towards the mine, the Old Soldier had no idea what the overseer ugly as an Eater thought of him; his mind was silently calculating how many Golden Lizard Coins it would take to reach Oasis No.9.

This place, known as Three-part Town, or simply 3-Part Town, got its name from unknown origins. All he knew was that it was located at the northernmost edge of Luo Xia Province, at the southernmost tip of Oasis No.8, and the entire region belonged to the territory of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

This area was rich in coal and iron mines, as well as the most common commodity on the wasteland—slaves.

The locals didn't capture slaves themselves, but travelers lost their possessions for various reasons and couldn't afford the travel fees to leave the desert, and thus had to sell themselves to nearby mine owners or wealthy locals.

This place somewhat resembled the predecessor of the Red River Alliance.

Yet, because of its low productivity, it had never developed a futures market.

Moreover, development here was minimal; unlike in Southern River Province, you couldn't buy nutrient paste. The town's single generator was up at the mine, and a card-punch robot converted from a vending machine was probably the darkest piece of technology here.

The cheapest food here was dry, coarse black bread, which sold for about one gold coin a pound; then came milk, so cheap that locals drank it like water.

The Old Soldier calculated that to reach Oasis No.9, he'd need to prepare at least two weeks' worth of water and food for two people.

Even if he ate bread at every meal, including the cost of fresh water, he would need at least 32 Golden Lizard Coins.

Worked all day and would get 4 Golden Lizard Coins, as an Awakener, though part of the Agile system, my strength attribute wasn't low, with a bit of effort reaching 6 coins shouldn't be a problem.

"...So by that calculation, I'll need at least five more days."

"Wait, hang on, almost forgot to factor in daily expenses... Actually, I can only save about 2~3 Golden Lizard Coins per day."

Old Soldier did the math on his fingers, and suddenly, to his misery, realized even if he worked his ass off in mining, it'd take nearly two weeks just to save up enough for travel expenses.

"Freaking game, what the hell is this crap!"

He cursed under his breath, swung his mining pick furiously, and struck the rock face hard.

Damn!

The sparks that flew startled the nearby miners, who all scrambled to get out of the way.

Holy moly.

This guy's trying to bring the whole mine down!

Better keep my distance!

Maybe it was his exaggerated movements, or perhaps his terrifying expression, but somehow Old Soldier found himself the only one left in the mining section.

Channeling his frustration into strength, Old Soldier now seemed truly like a Pangolin, hammering away continuously, and soon enough, an entire mining cart was stuffed with ore.

He rolled up his sleeves and worked the entire day.

Finally, exhausted, he walked out of the mine and took today's pay from the annoying foreman at the door.

The foreman had intended to skim a bit off the top, but the menacing look in Old Soldier's eyes scared him off, preventing him from even trying.

Weighing the meager six coins in his hand, Old Soldier couldn't help but feel reflective.

Compared to these vampires, their Manager was simply too ethical, too kind!

The Alliance's minimum hourly wage was one Silver Coin.

Working 12 hours a day could earn at least 12 Silver Coins, but that's the minimum wage, and since the formation of the Alliance, almost no one lived on minimum wage.

Due to rapid economic growth, coupled with the Alliance's unrestrained investment in industry, encouraging domestic production and contracting debt to attract foreign investment, factories in the Alliance's industrial zones were all hiring.

As long as you were literate, finding a job with a monthly wage of 500~600 Silver Coins was easy. Even if you couldn't read, you could enroll in a night school class, do odd jobs, and learn at the same time.

And if someone had a technical skill, their wages could start in the four figures, with no upper limit.

The only thing he couldn't figure out was, since Wasteland OL always prided itself on being realistic, where was all this money coming from?

He never saw the Manager fleece anyone, or exploit anyone, only saw the Alliance Bank throwing money around, and the rewards for missions were never stingy.

What had kept inflation at bay with such aggressive quantitative easing?

Unable to resolve this puzzle, Old Soldier decided to just stop thinking about this complex issue for now.

After all, if he couldn't figure it out, he might as well just focus on doing what a Pangolin should.

With today's earnings, Old Soldier didn't head back to his shack but went to the nearby town instead.

There was a drag on him there waiting to be fed.

He swore.

Once the task given by the Manager was completed, he was definitely going to chop up that guy!

Taking a deep breath, Old Soldier shelved his negative emotions and pushed open the door of the inn.

As he stepped into the inn's lobby and hadn't even started up the staircase, he saw Coleway, completely drunk, slumped over the lobby's bar with drool pooled on the table, a half-drunk beer beside him.

Noticing the shadow on the table, Coleway opened his half-slitted eyes, saw Old Soldier standing nearby.

With a sloppy smile, he waved his furry arm.

"Ah... Pangolin, you're back, huh–"

"The beer here really gets to you... Let's have a drink together. Oh, do you have any money on you? Cover the drink for me, and I'll pay you back when we get back to the Army."

Old Soldier took another deep breath.

Not good.

His blood pressure was rising!

Suppressing the urge to kill, he looked at the bartender behind the counter and asked through gritted teeth.

"How much?"

"5... 5 Golden Lizard Coins."

Frightened by the murderous look in his eyes, the bartender's voice stuttered, and his hand was already reaching for the gun hidden under the counter.

5 coins?!

Hearing this number, Old Soldier almost spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes instantly reddened, and he reached out to grab Coleway by the collar.

No more caring about identities.

He grabbed the drunken Coleway and pulled him up in front of himself, his nose almost poking into his eyes.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind! 5 Golden Lizard Coins, do you know how much I bust my ass all day to earn?!"

"6 coins! 6 coins!"

"I work all day for those vampires, not even catching a bite, and you've been drinking here all day!"

"Do you even fucking want to go home anymore? Are you even a man?"

Old Soldier roared angrily, cursing and yelling until his voice was hoarse, so much so that he even smoothed out his usually stuttering Human United speech.

The whole bar quieted down, staring in shock at this scene... including the bartender standing behind the counter.

Army?

Are these two... from the Army?

With his shoulders heaving dramatically, like the waves crashing on the shore, Old Soldier's eyes widened like copper bells.

If looks could kill, the man he was holding would have died countless times over, and he had never been lenient when killing members of the Army.

Damn it!

Son of a bitch, I can't take it anymore!

He felt like a little wife who worked two jobs to support her family while her husband was a useless drunkard who indulged in eating, drinking, prostituting, gambling, and never worked.

The Army is flagged as criminals, right?

They are criminals, right?

Criminals can be killed, right?

Safety zones or whatever didn't matter anymore; he had already decided, to kill this guy and then commit suicide, three days be damned, it's still better than wasting three months!

You damn NPC not acting human—

Don't blame me for not acting human!

"What the hell are you—"

Coleway, who was being held by the collar, was startled, about to angrily rebuke the Pangolin who was holding him, when he suddenly noticed the "disappointed" look in his eyes, and the words reached his mouth but stopped.

A wave of guilt churned in his chest.

While he was rolling up his sleeves and working in the coal mines to save up for the fare back to the Army, he was actually drinking away the hard-earned money, numbing himself with alcohol, escaping failure, escaping reality.

As a noble Vellante man, his loyalty to the Army, to His Excellency the Marshal, had been bested by a Waste Land Wanderer born in the wilds...

The guilt turned into remorse, and Coleway closed his eyes in pain, letting out a sigh.

"I'm sorry..."

"..."

Old Soldier's chest heaved with fury as he gritted his teeth with hatred.

He was thinking about what kind of death he should arrange for this fellow, but unexpectedly, he heard the words "I'm sorry" from this man's mouth.

"...I know, my attempt to evade reality is ugly, and my cowardice and incompetence have let down your loyalty. I am not a good leader."

Watching the agitated Pangolin, Coleway's Adam's apple moved, and his eyes filled with increasing guilt.

Suddenly, as if he had made up his mind, he spoke.

"Pangolin."

"What?" Old Soldier growled fiercely.

He was now angered just by hearing the name Pangolin, to the point where he felt like chopping himself up.

Coleway looked at him.

"Kill me."

Old Soldier was slightly stunned, overwhelmed by his expression and these words.

Seeing that he did not speak, Coleway continued in a calm voice.

"Take my head back to the Survivor Settlement in River Valley Province, they should pay you. I am ashamed of my decadence and self-destruction. I do not deserve your loyalty. This is the last compensation I can offer you, hoping it can make up for your disappointment."

Looking at those sincere eyes, Old Soldier fell silent. His hand, which had been clutching Coleway's collar, loosened then tightened again.

This bastard...

"...I've fucking walked for a week... no, two weeks, all for a Centurion's head?"

Who the hell cares about your damn head!

Like the Alliance is some native head-hunter?

Staring fiercely at him, he squeezed out a sentence through clenched teeth.

"...If there's even a little bit of self-respect and pride left in your heart, slap yourself twice and then stand up from here! You've lost, but you're still alive, and there are still things you can do, even if it means dying on the way back!"

Old Soldier let go and pushed him, throwing him back to sit at the bar.

Killing a person was easy.

But a dead man is worth nothing.

Old Soldier admitted he was indeed impulsive just now, thinking of giving up in despair.

It was just a game.

Do I need to put up with this shit?

But after calming down, he eventually let go of the anger in his heart.

Particularly when he recalled that night in the forest, fighting bravely against the Army's pursuers with a few young girls, he felt his old face blush.

People younger and weaker than him who had joined the game later managed to stay optimistic and fought bravely to the end...

What right did he have to talk about giving up?

He had done well along the way, not only gaining the trust of Army officers but Coleway had even promised to introduce him to General Griffin, he was so close to success...

He was far from being at his wit's end.

"...Looks like I'm still not strong enough." Glancing at Coleway, who was lost in thought, Old Soldier muttered to himself.

For different reasons, both seemed to fall into reflection and unwittingly calmed down.

However, just then, Old Soldier suddenly noticed that everyone in the tavern was looking at him.

Coleway, noticing the same pair of eyes, suddenly felt embarrassed and muttered softly.

"...Did you just say 'Army'?"

By now, denying it was pointless, as it was obvious everyone around had heard.

Old Soldier's Adam's apple moved slightly as he nodded gently.

"Yeah..."

Damn, that was careless.

There were about twenty people in the hall, each armed with guns. Although they had drunk some, none seemed weak.

With his skills, he could probably take out half at most before being turned into a sieve.

That was the optimistic scenario.

However, to his surprise, none of them made a move.

Were they waiting for a chance?

As he pondered, a man looking like a merchant spoke quietly with two mercenaries by a table near the door, then stood up and walked toward them.

Old Soldier's nerves tensed, watching him intently, his right hand already touching the dinner knife on the table.

Not just to guard against this man.

But also against the innkeeper behind the bar.

The movements under the table were clear, whether cocking a gun or pulling a trigger, the middle-aged man with a beard had already grabbed the gun hidden there.

And it was a revolver.

Old Soldier calmly observed the situation in the hall, already calculating in his mind.

If the innkeeper drew his gun, he would use the dinner knife in his hand to slice the man's throat at the first instance, then throw Coleway behind the bar to use it as a cover to exchange fire with the rest in the hall.

This was the border of the Golden Lizard Kingdom; the camel was tied in the inn's backyard. He could grab other Commercial Teams' supplies and escape into the desert...

"Don't be nervous... we mean no harm."

The approaching merchant showed a conciliatory smile and raised both hands to show he was unarmed.

"My name is Ah dan, from Bugra Free State... Are you guys with the Army?"

Old Soldier was momentarily taken aback.

"Yes."

The merchant named Ah dan, looking intrigued, continued.

"How curious... This is Oasis No. 8. Have you reached here already?"

Old Soldier and Coleway exchanged glances.

The latter cleared his throat, stood up from the bar, and resumed his officer's demeanor, taking over the conversation from Old Soldier.

"We ran into some trouble and got separated from the main force."

Hearing this, the people in the hall relaxed, no longer staring in their direction, though the clinking of glasses carried snippets of conversations related to the frontline.

The merchant named Ah dan nodded understandably, eyeing the man before him as if trying to gauge his identity.

Touching his chin thoughtfully, he said.

"I see... so, the battle at Oasis No. 9 isn't over yet?"

Coleway's expression turned awkward.

Originally, the Iron Heart was supposed to return to Oasis No. 9 to rendezvous with the frontline troops. However, no one expected that they would encounter a group of fearless natives who managed to shoot down the invincible airship.

Lacking the Iron Heart's firepower and aerial reconnaissance, the situation of the Falcon Kingdom and the Army's allied forces at Oasis No. 9 had clearly not met expectations.

If they had successfully regrouped, Oasis No. 9 would have probably been secured long ago.

It seemed that Coleway had misunderstood the expression on Ah dan's face, and Ah dan smiled and said,

"Don't be nervous, we mean no harm, in fact… we happen to have a batch of supplies to deliver to Oasis No. 9, if you don't mind, we can travel together."

A stranded officer.

This identity itself was full of stories.

If they could send this unlucky fellow back to the army, the army would never be stingy with their reward.

Moreover, this favor, for a merchant like him who dealt with the army, was absolutely beneficial and harmless; many people in Bugra Free State had made a fortune thanks to these big-nosed fellows.

Coleway's eyes lit up, but his mind soon became alert, slightly squinting his eyes.

"How do I know you won't sell me to the Lion Kingdom?"

Though he was drunk.

His intelligence was still intact.

Ah Dan made a helpless expression and reached into his bosom, pulling out a sheet of paper under their watchful eyes.

"You should recognize this order, shouldn't you?"

Coleway squinted and looked at the words written on the order, immediately showing surprise.

Old Soldier noticed the change in his expression but, alas, without any translation tools, he couldn't recognize the words on the paper, so he asked quietly,

"What does it say?"

"Eight thousand rifles, 1.2 million rounds of ammunition… This is a purchase contract, stamped with the army's seal, and signed by the logistics officer, I recognize that fellow's handwriting."

Coleway looked at Ah Dan, the merchant, no longer with caution but excitement in his eyes.

"You're going to Oasis No. 9?"

"Of course, it looks like you are, too," Ah Dan said with a smile as he put the order back into his bosom and extended his right hand to Coleway, "Since that's the case, if you don't mind, we can go together."

Coleway shook his right hand and his gaze drifted unconsciously around him, lowering his voice to ask,

"These people, are they okay?"

Seeing the worry in his eyes, Ah Dan smiled and said,

"What could go wrong? Respecting the teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea and following the ancient covenant, although all the kings of the desert declared war on the Falcon Kingdom, only the Lion Kingdom actually sent troops."

"The Camel Hump Kingdom is at the far southern end of the desert, too far away and unwilling to fight. The royal family of the Golden Lizard Kingdom hasn't been that devout for a long time… It seems a bit inappropriate to say this here, but in short, they prefer the eggheads who bring them quirky and strange trinkets to nebulous beings, you know who I mean."

Coleway furrowed his brow.

"The Academy?"

"Correct."

Pausing for a moment, Ah Dan continued with a smile,

"Anyway, it's relatively safe here. The locals might not like your nose very much, but they don't want to make trouble. Our trade routes have been operating for a while now, the kingdom's guards know where these armaments are headed, but no one will investigate too closely; everyone turns a blind eye."

Hearing this, Coleway relaxed, his face showing relief,

"Looks like I worried for nothing… Thanks for the information."

These past two days, even when drinking, he dared not show his nose and used a scarf to cover it.

It's been torturing him!

"Not at all, you're an important client of ours," Ah Dan said with a gentle incline of his head, speaking in a cheerful tone, "There are quite a few commercial teams here going from Bugra Free State to Oasis No. 9… General Griffin is very generous, thanks to that lord, we've also made quite a bit."

Watching Coleway converse happily with Ah Dan, the Old Soldier stood aside and was secretly astonished.

Good grief.

Isn't Bugra Free State a vassal of Grand Canyon?

The merchants there were actually doing business with the Army!?

What's even more outrageous is that the war situation in Luo Xia Province also deviated from the official information released on the website.

There wasn't an alliance of kingdoms at all; from start to finish, it was the Lion Kingdom struggling alone, with all other kings declaring war outwardly, but secretly appeasing.

The Golden Lizard Kingdom in the far north was especially impressive.

Those smartasses simply turned a blind eye to the enemy supply lines within their own borders, allowing Bugra Free State's equipment to be transported from the northern part of River Valley Province to the frontline at Oasis No. 9.

Did they think they wouldn't get hit because they were backed by the academy?

That's just too sly!

"Sir... I'm tired, I want to go back to my room and lie down for a bit," Old Soldier said softly, with a tired expression on his face.

He wasn't tired at all.

What was imperative now was to quickly log off and share this explosive news on the official website.

Since the last update, the official website's forum also had a task bar, and this heavyweight information not only fetched Silver Coins but also huge rewards in Contribution Points!

Hearing the voice of the Pangolin, Coleway turned his head.

Not minding his subordinate's previous disrespect at all, he nodded slightly and said in a gentle tone,

"Go on... Also, you don't have to go out to work tomorrow, I can't let my loyal subordinate do such menial work."

That gentle gaze made Old Soldier's skin crawl.

Unaware of his subordinate's peculiar expression and having complete trust in his loyalty, Coleway turned his attention to Ah Dan.

"Could you lend me some money? I guarantee with my honor, I will pay you back double after we reach the army's camp."

"You're too polite, it's just some worldly possessions; consider this money as making a new friend," Ah Dan said with a smile as he placed a bag of Gold Coins on the table.

Inside were a full 200 Dinars.

Recognizing the signature on that order alone was worth investing in him.

Grabbing a handful of Gold Coins from the bag and slamming it on the table, Coleway looked at the bar's owner.

"Is this enough?"

Seeing the Gold Coins on the table, the owner's eyes went wide, and without caring how annoying that bulged nose was, he hastily nodded and bowed with a smile,

"Enough, enough... For Dinars, 10 is plenty!"

He had touched the gun under the table earlier because he feared these people might ditch the bill.

But now, there was no need to worry about that at all, a bag full of Gold Coins was enough to stay here until the end of next month.

Watching the hotel owner carefully counting the money, the drunk look on Coleway's face vanished, and the glory of the army seemed to return to him.

He lifted his chin and looked down his nose at the owner, casually saying,

"Don't bother counting. Use the remaining money to open another room for my warrior, the most spacious one you have!"

"And, prepare a bucket of hot water and clean towels, as well as one pound of cooked beef and the best beer to send to his room!"

"Remember, the best beer," Coleway pointed at the table with his index finger, pointing at the half-cup of beer and squinting his eyes at the hotel owner, "If you dare fool my people with this slop-like trash, next time I pass by here, I'll tear down your home!"

"Alright, sir!" Not caring about the threat and happy about the money, the owner's eyes lit up as he quickly gathered the Gold Coins into his arms and went back behind the bar into the kitchen to notify the staff.

Coleway turned back to look at the Pangolin, speaking in a gentle voice.

"Thank you for waking me up, reminding me there are things more important than life in this world… Go rest, have a hot bath, eat your fill, then sleep."

"We leave early tomorrow."

Feeling that gentle gaze, Old Soldier felt as if all the goosebumps on his body had fallen to the floor and his scalp tingled as if he had touched an electric door.

Damn.

Better lock the door well tonight…

Chapter 419 This New Map is Too Niubi!

A 3000-kilometer journey, if made on foot, would probably take more than half a year.

That doesn't even account for the hardships and dangers along the way.

However, the trip took less than four hours by flight, as the "Tiger Whale" transport plane reached Province of Yúnjiānxíng and entered Ideal City's field of view.

Standing by the porthole of the cabin,

Brother Mole widened his disbelieving eyes in astonishment, muttering "Holy mother" to himself repeatedly.

Standing next to him, Fang Chang and Shu Yu were equally astounded—

The only difference was that they didn't mutter anything, but just widened their eyes.

Before arriving here, Fang Chang drew on the pre-war images of Qingquan City and referred to the defense structures of Giant Stone City, envisioning numerous possibilities.

Yet at this moment—

All those imaginations were proven void.

Skyscrapers stood like towering obelisks, densely packed together to form an extensive forest of steel, rising higher and higher from the periphery to the center, piercing into the clouds so that the tops of the buildings were out of sight.

And in the heart of that mountain range stood a majestic "tower."

Its dark metal shell, sharp lines, and details all indicated that it wasn't constructed with concrete, but forged from an alloy so sturdy it was hard to imagine.

Its volume could match that of the hundreds of buildings surrounding it, and it connected with the clouds, making the entire cloud formation seem like its branches.

Unable to help himself, Brother Mole exclaimed, "... This frickin' looks more cyberpunk than Cyberpunk."

Fang Chang's Adam's apple bobbed as he nodded slowly.

"... Yeah."

"Can you actually enter those buildings there…? They're not just textures, right?"

"... This game has textures?"

After a long silence, Brother Mole, who stood by the window, fell silent for a long, long time, and all his sentiments finally turned into a soft sigh.

"... That's frickin' awesome."

The closer they got, the more the passengers could feel the oppressive approach and the grandeur and bustle of the enormous city.

Channel-like corridors connected buildings to buildings, dense like a spider web.

Tiny black dots moved through the gaps between the buildings—cargo drones and hovercraft following fixed routes.

The layout and design of this city bore some resemblance to the scenes Fang Chang had seen in the center of Qingquan City.

It was said that Giant Stone City was built based on the blueprints of Ideal City.

However, there was a fundamental difference between Giant Stone City and Ideal City, the latter having no need for something like the Enclosing Wall.

Even the shortest building here towered far above Giant Stone City's wall.

The surrounding skyscrapers were linked, their sheer walls an insurmountable cliff. The tops of the buildings were equipped with electromagnetic accelerators like those on the Pioneer, capable of destroying any supersonic missiles or shells that approached.

The city seemed raised up as if from a vast plain, elevated dozens of meters above it, with Tianshui's river mouth situated nearby, pipes embedded into the riverbed, drawing in freshwater resources.

The fragmented overpasses and decrepit wreckage ceased abruptly half a kilometer away from Ideal City.

The sheer walls of the high-rise buildings formed a clear demarcation line, separating decay from prosperity, chaos from civilization...

The "Tiger Whale" transport plane drew closer to the edge of the city, as tiny as a ladybug on a pyramid.

"We've arrived, prepare to land!"

The pilot within the cockpit spoke into the communicator, alerting passengers in the back to return to their seats and buckle up, before transitioning from horizontal flight to vertical take-off and landing mode. Guided by the ground lights, the craft descended towards the helipad on top of the building.

The cabin door opened.

Fang Chang and Brother Mole followed closely behind Shu Yu, making their way out of the cabin.

As soon as they set foot on the helipad, they saw a flurry of flashes from the flashbulbs set up next to the helipad, blinding the two agile players so they could barely open their eyes.

The journalists clutched their interview pens, accompanied by drones equipped with lights.

Upon seeing the three individuals emerge from the cabin, their faces, excited and unabashed by the howling winds on the rooftop, swarmed towards the landing pad.

"Are you survivors from the River Valley Province?"

"Blue Jacket? Residents of the refuge? Which number are you?"

"Hey, take a look over here, friends. I heard you guys are conducting secret experiments—is that true? Can you tell us what the experiment is about?"

"Unbelievable… your nutritional status looks good, much better than other survivor residences. How many times a day do you eat meat?"

"I heard you're at war with the Army? How far have they gotten? How far are they from the East Coast?"

"How big are the noses of the Weilante people! Can you tell us?"

"Damn it—stop pushing! My shoes!"

Most of the crowd here were journalists, and the residents of Ideal City were filled with curiosity about allies 3000 kilometers away.

Discussions about the Alliance had already dominated the top spots on various social forums on Endpoint Cloud days ago.

All media were eager to be the first to get their hands on any information.

Even if it was just a single-sentence answer.

Luckily, there were security guards in exoskeletons by the helipad, barring the excited crowd.

Otherwise, given the fervor of these people, they might have knocked the plane off the building.

"Wow… are people here so trendy? Even the journalists have drones!" Brother Mole exclaimed with widened eyes.

It looked like there were even live streamers?

He understood a bit of United Human speech, but it was too noisy here, and the dialect of the East Coast was slightly different from the inland, so he couldn't understand what those people were chattering about.

All he knew was that the game always turned out to be brutally real in the most unexpected ways.

Fang Chang cast a glance at him and made a sarcastic comment.

"…Isn't that normal? Even that poor place Giant Stone City has a Mr. Haus."

"Where are your black stockings? Hurry up and change into them."

"Get lost!"

While the two "bodyguards" were muttering and cursing at each other under their breath, a man dressed in a suit with a slicked-back hairdo came up to the three amidst a crowd.

Despite being bewildered by these passionate people, Shu Yu was someone who had seen his share of situations and managed to suppress the nervousness in his heart, taking on the demeanor a diplomat should have as he looked towards the approaching representative.

"…Welcome to Ideal City, friends from the southern River Valley Province, my name is Wu Changnian, the Vice-Director of the Enterprise Comprehensive Management Department, and one of the shareholders of Ideal Group." While speaking, Wu Changnian extended his right hand with a smile.

Shu Yu grasped his right hand and shook it, introducing himself politely as well.

"I am the ambassador Shu Yu, representing the Alliance and its Manager. I extend our most sincere thanks and greetings to you. Thanks to your help, we are able to continue battling against evil."

"You're too kind. Barbarism is our common enemy, the common enemy of civilization, whether mutants, army, or variants... one day we will eradicate them completely from this planet!"

Gripping Shu Yu's hand tightly, Wu Changnian conveyed his unwavering determination through his strength. After releasing his hand, his face regained its pleasant smile, "…However, that's a long-term plan. As for myself, I hope you have a pleasant afternoon. I'll be your guide during this visit, and you can ask me about anything that confuses you."

Shu Yu retracted his right hand and smiled.

"Then I won't be shy. By the way, may I ask who is your highest management officer? If possible, I'd like to meet with him."

Wu Changnian's face showed a look of regret.

"Highest management officer… Although I'd be happy to introduce you, unfortunately, we don't have such a position. You might not be familiar with our system since it's your first visit here; we practice decentralized management."

Shu Yu was slightly taken aback.

"Decentralized?"

He had never heard such a strange term before.

Wu Changnian nodded, his radiant smile tinted with a hint of pride.

"Yes, 200 years ago, when our civilization was facing a matter of life and death, the residents of Shelter No.2 passed a test, unanimously deciding—to open the shelter doors to save more people."

"The crew of the Ideal Colonization Ship decided to respond to the determination of the residents of Shelter No.2, abandoning the plan to colonize distant stars, changing their course to return to our dying mother planet, and grounding themselves in the center of this city."

At this point, Fang Chang, standing behind Shu Yu, showed a surprised expression and subconsciously looked towards the center of Ideal City.

Behind those towering buildings, the shadowy colossal tower shrouded in mist...

Was it actually a colony ship?!

This was incredibly massive...

As he was silently estimating whether it would take several aircraft carriers put together to match its size, the man continued speaking.

"…We used the colony ship and the equipment and resources inside the shelter to solve one problem after another."

"With everyone's concerted efforts, we've created one miracle after another, which seemed almost impossible to achieve."

"This is a feat accomplished by everyone, so we decided to endow power to all. Anyone willing to do something for this city can consider themselves an owner here."

Shu Yu was a little confused and took a while to say,

"So… you must have a chairman, right?"

Everyone being an owner, he could comprehend that. The Manager also always told him that the Alliance was established by all survivors, belonging to everyone who had contributed to it.

However, the Alliance still had a leader who could unite the scattered survivors and lead them through difficulties and mediate conflicts when they arose.

But here, without even a leader to guide them, he just couldn't understand.

He didn't want to judge other people's ways of living, but surely he couldn't greet every single person, right?

"Of course, there is a chairman, but there are as many chairmen here as there are enterprises, each corresponding to a manager and a shelter. I know you must be very confused right now, but don't worry, we have considered this situation…"

Wu Changnian's right hand rested on Shu Yu's shoulder as he spoke with a friendly smile.

"I will provide you with suggestions for your itinerary and assist you in completing this visit. This includes giving a speech at the Supreme Council meeting, live streaming on Endpoint Cloud, and attending galas for stakeholders of various groups… As for the specifics and timing, we can discuss and decide later."

"Thank you very much."

Hearing this, Shu Yu breathed a sigh of relief but also couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

Although the City Lord of the Giant Stone City was elusive, there was at least a city hall where he could find someone to communicate with.

However, here there wasn't even a city lord or a city hall.

Thankfully, he had prepared before coming here and had learned about some rumors regarding Ideal City.

Listening to Mr. Wu's introduction to the corporation and the Ideal City, Shu Yu gradually formed a plan in his heart.

He needed to first ascertain the "political views" of different groups, identify the faction most likely to establish friendly relations with the Alliance, and then persuade or attract the stakeholders of that faction as much as possible, while preventing the opposing factions from completely turning against them.

At present, it seemed that the Silver Wing Group was a natural ally of the Alliance, Chang Ge Group directly benefited from the war, and the Ideal Group was a potential client to woo.

As for the Kang Mao Group… he was not sure what they really wanted to do. And the Endpoint Group appeared to be a natural adversary—after all, their Endpoint Cloud and smart technologies were almost useless outside of the Ideal City.

These tasks reminded him a bit of the investment attraction described by the Manager.

There seemed to be two ways to achieve this: one was through public speeches at the council meetings, and the other through direct communication with the decision-makers at the shareholders' evening gatherings.

His train of thought was clear now.

The next steps he had to take were also apparent.

His gaze fell on Fang Chang, who was standing behind him, and Shu Yu felt a slight movement in his heart, his face revealing a pleased expression.

"…Please allow me to introduce the two individuals behind me."

With that, he motioned for Fang Chang to come to his side and then gently patted his shoulder.

"This is our hero, from the Burning Corps."

Upon hearing this, Wu Changnian was slightly startled, with a look of surprise appearing on his face.

"The Burning Corps? You mean the one from that day—"

Fang Chang, on the other hand, understood what he was saying and was troubled about how to explain this difficult issue.

However, Shu Yu next to him smiled unperturbedly, gripping Fang Chang's shoulder with his right hand and indicating that he should leave it to him.

"That's him."

"His name is Fang Chang!"

At the moment those words dropped.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly erupted!

...

Official game forum.

Old Soldier, who had logged off early, was vividly narrating how he cleverly turned danger into safety and managed to extract vital information from the mouth of a conniving merchant.

However, except for the hype from the tail "Wow, so amazing!" and Teng Teng's "(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)," there didn't seem to be many others interested.

The Golden Lizard Kingdom was too far from the Alliance, and although it sounded like it had a vast territory with a substantial population, there was too little content about it in the game's backstory.

Compared to that, people were more interested in when he would become the fifth legion leader or at least visit the western Triumph Fortress to see what the Army's homeland looked like.

Old White was the only one who cared about him, reminding him to visit home when he had time and to remember to save his game or something.

Perhaps as a consolation, or because they thought his post was indeed well-written, the elusive Dog Planner Ah Guang made a rare appearance, not to speak, but to give a like and add the post as a highlight.

The highlighted label gave Old Soldier the motivation to update his post, but just as he was making his descriptions even more dramatic, a "new map review" post suddenly popped up on the forum and quickly became the center of attention for everyone.

"New Map Review! A Utopia Hidden in the Corner of the Wasteland!"

"...It is a gigantic city, unmatched by any city in the real world. Although it's less than half the size of Shanghai, the number of buildings over 500 meters there is probably several times more than all those on Earth combined."

"Conservatively estimated, at least one million, or even ten million people, live there..."

In the post, Fang Chang briefly described what he saw on the day he arrived in the Ideal City.

And from the aspects of clothing, food, shelter, and transportation, he described the lifestyle of the local residents.

Firstly, the fashion among the local residents is quite diverse, and using virtual modeling tools to DIY their own clothes and sell the designs has even become fashionable.

However, compared to bright colors, they are more interested in highlighting their individuality with simple but not simplistic designs.

The colors most commonly seen on them are silver, white, gray, and black.

Next are brown, blue, and beige.

And there's a reason for that.

According to a guide named Wu Changnian, they bathe all day in the colorful holographic lights, and too garish colors would make them look like "holographic people."

This is also one of the most interesting aspects of Ideal City. Nearly every building's exterior wall is a rentable holographic screen, and apart from public transportation, everyone is free to use holographic devices as long as they adhere to the law.

This also causes a fair amount of light pollution.

In the 21st century on Earth, people needed bright clothes to stand out in a crowd, but here, they need less flashy attire to distinguish themselves from the neon dazzle.

Next is food. Since resources are relatively abundant, the general populace aspires to a healthy diet that preserves the nutritional value of the ingredients through simple cooking methods.

More than a cultural concept, it's like a scientific principle.

The upper echelons enjoy the finest ingredients, ordinary people choose industrial products from the assembly line, and the economically disadvantaged lower classes consider "nutritional meals" made of synthetic starch, protein, and sugar.

For this reason, many corporate employees develop a strong interest in the unique dietary culture of the Alliance and the concept of "cooking."

In Ideal City, it's basically impossible to eat meat from Variants. All food from the Wasteland undergoes stringent inspection at customs to prevent the inflow of harmful genes.

As for housing, it's pretty interesting too. The higher one's status in Ideal City, the higher they live.

So to judge someone's social standing, just asking which floor they live on and whether their home has windows is enough.

In addition, although the streets of Ideal City are quite crowded, the transportation is very convenient.

Most people rely primarily on the transit system that spans between buildings or use smart wearable devices to call for taxis, and a few have their own maglev cars which can conveniently reach any place in the city.

Of course, this is only within Ideal City.

Those maglev cars require a specific environment to operate; on the Wasteland, they can only run on wheels.

Beyond the four basic needs of clothing, food, shelter, and transportation, local residents also have a fifth essential need that Wasteland wanderers don't—information.

Yes, here information is a necessity, as important as air.

Fang Chang specifically mentioned this point in his posts.

"...In the real world, living without a mobile phone is inconvenient but not impossible. However, here, living without a smart device is genuinely unbearable. Whether it's for map navigation, transportation, or online shopping, everything is linked to an individual ID, so there are almost no illegal immigrants here... well, maybe I just haven't seen any."

"Smart devices produced by the Endpoint Group and bionic prosthetics manufactured by the Kang Mao Group have infiltrated every corner of local society."

"This is Cyberpunk 2277, a utopia nested in the ruins like a nest city, a successor of the Prosperity Epoch, the favorite of the Great Antler God (just kidding)... In short, every scene we saw from the sky down to the landing pad, each frame felt like the budget was aflame."

"More details are still being explored... Speaking of which, I have to apologize to Brother Night Ten, those NPCs seem to think I'm the last survivor from the Burning Corps."

At this point, Fang Chang, sitting in front of his computer, truly felt a bit embarrassed.

The scene was chaotic at the time.

As he left the landing pad, his pants were nearly stripped off by those frenzied journalists.

Thankfully, that didn't happen.

The Player's Handbook writes first or whatever rule, no taking off your pants (or skirts) in public.

In any case, with his fierce resistance and the help of the guards, he ultimately managed to preserve his dignity and wasn't caught in a humiliating photo by the shamelessly nosy Brother Mole.

All signs indicate that the residents of Ideal City are even more unrestrained than those of Giant Stone City.

But rather than unrestrained, it would be more accurate to say they are open.

That guy Wu Changnian even joked with him, saying that if he went to a bar tonight and made a round, there would likely be quite a few people willing to have some kind of involvement with him, but he must not take their sweet nothings seriously and be especially careful not to get photographed and have it posted on Endpoint Cloud.

People who like collecting stamps usually also like to show off, and one might find oneself trending on social media the next day.

Shu Yu also warned him not to run around everywhere.

They had arrived here by a corporate plane, representing the image of the Alliance. If he allowed himself to be corrupted by the sweet-talk of corporations, Shu Yu would immediately relieve him of his post and report to the Manager.

Fang Chang felt that this warning was completely unnecessary. Was he some naïve youngster like Night Ten, who had started from scratch to achieve financial freedom and retired as a landlord before the age of 30? Was he someone who couldn't withstand even this much of a challenge?

Furthermore, his heart already belonged to someone else.

Even if it was a 2D wife.

But when it felt that real... he always thought that if he betrayed that feeling, even if no one else would say anything, his own conscience would condemn him.

As soon as he hit the Enter button, hundreds of comments instantly flooded in beneath his post.

Compared to Old Soldier's gossip, players were clearly more interested in the new map's situation and whether Fang Chang, that damn guy, was cross-dressing.

Tail: "Wow wow wow! Pass it on, Fang Chang and Night Ten are the same person!"

Teng Teng: "Another weird CP (couple) has been added. (⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)"

Night Ten: "Damn it! Fang Chang, you're not being decent! And what the hell is CP?! QAQ"

Teng Teng: "Hmm... Actually, Wild Wind seems more suitable."

Si Si: "Professor x Student? （sidelong glance）"

Teng Teng: "Damn, Si Si is so good!!! (⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)"

Si Si: "Cough cough, I didn't know, Ah Wei taught me."

Tail: "!!! Eh? Si Si wants to be a student? Then... let's hear you call me Teacher Tail first. (///ω///)"

Wild Wind: "...You guys should just DM each other."

Si Si: "I'm sorry, teacher, I was wrong."

Fang Chang: "This can't be blamed on me, I couldn't just deny it under those circumstances, could I? （awkward）"

There really are mosquitoes in WC: "Hahahaha! This is killing me!"

Elena: "Some people are dead, but actually still alive, some are still alive, but they're already dead.（joking）"

Gnome King Riches: "Feeling sorry for brother Night Ten.（joking）"

Fang Chang: "Ahem, so basically, that's the situation. For the moment, it's not easy to make a trip to Ideal City, getting in is much more trouble than going to Giant Stone City. We were also registered as diplomatic personnel, and there we can't work, participate in the securities market, or conduct any business... Guess the task system isn't developed yet. As for photos, I can't send any back for now, let Brother Mole draw for you guys."

Fugitive Brother Mole from the canyon: "Such a big city, what the hell am I supposed to draw!? And man, you type too fast, I was only halfway done and you've already sent it out! （annoyed）"

Fang Chang: "（sidelong smile）"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! Is there anyone still listening to me!? （frantic）"

Spring Water Commander: "Good brother, we are all waiting for your coordinates."

Construction Site Youth and Brick: "Right! You're being too lackluster as a spy dad, half a month and you still haven't found the enemy's base."

I Max Black: "This is so embarrassing! It's been half a month and you still haven't become a Marshal!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "@#%!"

Seeing the lively banter from small-time players beneath the post, Chu Guang sitting in front of the computer screen gave a faint smile.

People were definitely listening, how could he ignore such vital intelligence?

It was different from the players.

Compared to the novelty of Province of Yúnjiānxíng and Ideal City, as well as the rich exploratory content of the New Map, Chu Guang was more concerned about the "Pangolin's" forum post.

How to adapt and develop the Ideal City Market, how to fleece without displeasing people, those were the issues that life-skilled players needed to think about.

As a Manager, what Chu Guang needed to consider at this moment was more about strategic deployment.

If his intelligence was accurate, the problem might be more severe than he had imagined.

"...Bugra Free State's supply line to Falcon Kingdom has actually been tacitly approved by Golden Lizard Kingdom."

"Is this the intent of the Academy, or the Golden Lizard Dynasty's own unilateral decision?"

His gaze fell upon the map of Luo Xia Province, and Chu Guang, sitting on the sofa, sunk into deep thought.

The Army was on the distant West Coast, many thousands of kilometers away.

Without railways, without highways, their supply lines either had to pass through tundras and marshlands far larger than Earth's Siberia, or across the "Great Desert" littered with remnants of space elevators.

While Falcon Kingdom might solve some supply issues, this "classical militaristic" kingdom had a poor economic foundation. It would be difficult for them to sustain a military nation far stronger than themselves all on their own.

Considering the Army's debuff in supply efficiency, the Alliance actually had a great chance of victory, which is why Chu Guang had made so many precautionary arrangements for victory after the war.

However, the situation was entirely different now – the Army was actually able to get supplies from Bugra Free State.

That was no feudal kingdom; it was an industrialized commercial city-state.

As a tributary of the Grand Canyon, their industrial capacity was even comparable to Giant Stone City, and they took over a lot of supplies originally belonging to the Army's far-reaching Expeditionary Forces. These were all ready-to-use materials!

Thinking this, Chu Guang couldn't help but break into a sweat.

It was lucky he had chosen to go all in and lucky that his players were so supportive, taking down the Iron Heart, no less.

Had that airship slipped away to reunite with the main force, not to mention whether Lion Kingdom and Yun Song would have held out until now, it's probable that General Griffin would already be reviewing troops in Giant Stone City.

"It seems the relationships between the desert kingdoms aren't as united as Prince Kaliman has described."

Picking up a marker, Chu Guang marked a red circle on the map and entered into another round of contemplation.

Xiao Qi cocked her head while sitting at the desk.

"Master, did that Kaliman lie to you?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Not necessarily, an envoy knows only so much... And this is Wasteland, where the spread of information is even slower than in the Middle Ages. River Valley Province itself is the hub of East-West trade across the continent; it's challenging to discover a secret supply line hidden among the commercial routes."

Espionage isn't magic after all. Such matters couldn't be clarified by just sending a person or a Mole to take a glance; someone needed to infiltrate the whole supply chain to unravel these disguised clues.

The Alliance always heavily invested in intelligence; it's just that the building of an intel network takes time.

Having found this clue was honestly partly due to luck. And to clarify the entire supply chain, that merchant named Ah dan might become a key lead.

Including the surviving Coleway.

The failure wasn't on him; killing out of spite was what feudal kingdoms do. Although the Army was ruthless outwardly, they at least had a system in place and held to rules internally.

Upon success in returning to the Army, Coleway would likely not only escape demotion but could even be promoted for his loyalty.

The only barrier to his rise might be "belonging to McCullen's faction," potentially facing suppression from General Griffin.

Whether he could climb higher would depend on his background and personal ability; speculation was futile.

With a slight shift in thought, Chu Guang looked towards Xiao Qi at the desk.

"Post a task for our Pangolin... Let him maintain a friendly relationship with Coleway and, without exposing his own identity or motive, establish a friendly relationship with that merchant named Ah dan."

"We need to clarify what kind of equipment is being transported from Bugra Free State to the hands of the Army, including the types, quantities, and values of such equipment... Ideally, we should obtain relevant evidence."

"Bugra Free State's trade with the Army may not be with the approval of the Grand Canyon, and if we could acquire key evidence, we might even be able to paralyze the Army's Eastern supply line without firing a shot... But the premise must be not to expose ourselves, not to act rashly. We don't need a head or an order, but something more compelling!"

Merchants can be bought.

But from another perspective, the Alliance might not be an appropriate business partner.

This mission was probably Hell-level difficult.

And honestly, things like levels aren't really useful here.

To ensure that Brother Battlefield worked his job well, Chu Guang pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Put up power armor as the ultimate task reward, the kind with no contribution registration or level restrictions."

What was once a casual move he hadn't expected to make much of an impact.

Turns out this guy was eager enough, using a cooperative grunt of United Human language and his crafted identity, actually managed to keep his cover intact.

This brother is a talent!

Increase his sunk cost!

On hearing this, Xiao Qi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Power armor? But Master... there are only two in the entire Alliance."

One was bought by Old White.

The other was the signature blue power armor Chu Guang was wearing.

Of course, that piece of equipment was not meant to be given to others.

Ignoring Xiao Qi's reminder, Chu Guang unhesitatingly said,

"We only have two now, but once he completes the entire task chain, I'll have at least ten."

It's just armor worth one million silver coins.

He paused for a moment before continuing,

"Also, summon Prince Kaliman, have him wait for me in the reception room of the City of Dawn."

Seeing Chu Guang had a plan, Xiao Qi stopped her reminders and nodded enthusiastically.

"Got it, Master! I'll send the notice right away."

"Well done."

Rising from the sofa, Chu Guang casually picked up Xiao Qi, stuffed her into his pocket, and headed to the lounge room door.

The Alliance was still in a state of preparation for war, and before the supply line was completed, it wasn't time to charge forward.

Now, he was going to meet Prince Kaliman.

To see what the native of the desert had to say about the betrayal of an ally.

And to seek a political solution to this trouble.

Although it might be difficult, it was worth a try...

Chapter 419: The following item to be auctioned is an artwork from Vine Cottage——

"Fuck!"

Power armor?!

Staring at the computer screen, Old Soldier was completely dumbfounded and wished he could stick his nose right into the monitor.

He had just submitted his report and was about to look for new instructions when, before he could check the details of the task, he caught sight of a flashing gold badge added to the task rewards.

Completing the entire undercover mission chain would earn him a rankless power armor!

This must be the highest reward for any mission on the server so far, right?

A benefit from Ah Guang...

Excitement sparkled in Old Soldier's eyes as his fists clenched involuntarily, and he muttered to himself,

"Got it!"

"Digging up more intel could lead to further increases in task rewards, huh."

It sounded a bit like those challenge shows on television.

The more levels passed, the higher the accumulated prize money became, and if the challenge failed, the nearly earned total would be nullified. Right now, his prize pool had accumulated to one power armor!

In the Alliance's NPC store, the cheapest "Dragon Cavalry" power armor would cost 1 Million Silver Coins to purchase.

And a rankless power armor...

Just that "rankless" label alone was freaking cool!

It was a good thing he didn't give up back then.

If he had, he would have regretted it to death!

Moved by his perseverance, Old Soldier took out paper and pen from his drawer and started to seriously refine his undercover plan based on the information he had.

While Old Soldier was busy writing, on the other side in Waste World, Chu Guang, in the City of Dawn's reception hall, met with Prince Kaliman.

"...Respected Manager, may I ask why you have summoned me so late?" With a standard palace etiquette, Kaliman spoke respectfully.

Looking at the man with slightly curled hair and an exotic face, Chu Guang gestured toward the sofa to invite him to sit.

"We don't have so many complex formalities here, please sit down."

Kaliman nodded in acknowledgement.

As he took his seat, he was carefully trying to read the Manager's facial expressions, trying to decipher some clues from his demeanour.

However, before he could scrutinize further, the Manager sitting there began to speak up.

"I have to tell you some unfortunate news; according to reliable intelligence, a supply line is moving from Bugra Free State into Luo Xia Province, crossing the territory of the Golden Lizard Kingdom to reach the Falcon Kingdom and the Allied forces' position—"

Chu Guang hadn't finished speaking when Kaliman abruptly stood up from the sofa with wide eyes.

"That's impossible!"

Seeing Chu Guang looking at him, Kaliman quickly realized his overreaction, his face flushed as he sat back down, calming his excited emotions before continuing.

"The Golden Lizard Dynasty has a royal marriage alliance with us... My father's fourth wife is the sister of the current king of the Golden Lizard Kingdom."

The fourth wife, huh...

Doesn't that mean he's so busy he has no time for anything else?

Chu Guang thought about how he wasn't even married yet and was already overwhelmed.

"How many wives can you guys marry over there?" Out of curiosity, he couldn't help but ask.

Kaliman was slightly stunned, probably not expecting the Manager to be curious about that, but still, he answered truthfully.

"The Spirit of the Sand Sea didn't tell us what kind of families we should form," said Teng Teng, "it only taught us that having many children brings blessings, and the able ones should bear more responsibility... So, in theory, regardless of gender, one could marry many partners, as long as both parties are willing."

"Of course, different countries interpret the doctrine differently. For example, in Falcon Kingdom, ordinary civilians can marry up to 2 spouses, soldiers up to 4 spouses, and those with official positions or who have made military achievements can marry more. The Honey Badger, whom they have annexed, followed monogamy, believing that only a healthy family could receive the blessing of the Spirit of the Sand Sea. Yet, other kingdoms don't really fuss over this—at least in my view, the responsibility of the royal family is to ensure that subjects are fed, rather than dictating how they should live... Have we gone off-topic?"

Chu Guang cleared his throat softly.

"It doesn't necessarily mean going off-topic... This helps increase my Residents of the refuge's understanding of you all."

Prince Kaliman looked slightly confused, but he nodded slowly and returned to the previous topic, continuing,

"In any case, you needn't worry. The Golden Lizard Kingdom and Camel Hump Kingdom are our strongest backers. When I departed, their reinforcements were already en route! Right now, they should be at Oasis No.9, fighting shoulder to shoulder with our people and the restoration army of the Honey Badger Kingdom!"

Watching Prince Kaliman's utterly convinced expression, Chu Guang for a moment couldn't quite figure out whether this guy was truly naive or had exceptional mental resilience, putting on a brave front with the crisis at hand.

"You set out two months ago?"

"Exactly!"

"Then I must tell you some very unfortunate news. Two months have passed, and I don't know the situation with Camel Hump Kingdom, but the Golden Lizard Kingdom's reinforcements are still sitting at the border," Chu Guang watched him with interest, "Is this what you call your strongest backing?"

Shock flashed across Prince Kaliman's face, swiftly turning into anger.

"How could this be? Even disregarding blood connections, what reason do they have to support the Army's puppet? Don't they realize that once we lose, they will become the next target of Falcon Kingdom?"

Chu Guang spoke bluntly.

"That's because your understanding of interests is too shallow. Interests come in many forms, and different forms of interest have countless components. The final choice is the product of a gamble, and perhaps, in their eyes, there are better options. Discussing the possibility of something that has already happened is meaningless. I suggest you better recognize the reality sooner rather than later."

Kaliman fell silent; after a struggle in his gaze, he cast a doubtful look at Chu Guang.

"...Wait, how do you know the force deployment within the Golden Lizard Kingdom? We're at least five or six hundred kilometers away from Oasis No.8, aren't we?"

That suspicious look was like the straw grasped in the hands of a drowning person—Chu Guang could feel that he actually believed it but was just unable to accept the fact of being betrayed by an ally.

"I have my methods, naturally. We are accustomed to developing meticulous plans before taking action, and intelligence is an important part of that,"

Chu Guang paused, then continued as he looked at the thoughtful Kaliman,

"We will march immediately after the supply line is completed, at the earliest by mid-August. But considering your current situation, I'm afraid you won't last until then."

"You'd better think of something to do; you can't always count on us."

Kaliman was silent for a long time, took a deep breath, and stood up to give a slight bow.

"Thank you for the intelligence you've provided... I will report truthfully to my father the king and do our utmost."

Chu Guang asked, "The question now is, how do you plan to send the message back? On foot?"

Kaliman: "Rest assured, we brought many pigeons with us, and they can quickly send messages back to the kingdom... It's probably not easy to expect a bunch of cowards to step onto the front lines, but if we let our queen write a letter and send it to the Golden Lizard Kingdom, her family should do something about it."

Even if they couldn't cut off that supply line, even if they could just cause a little trouble for it, it would make a significant difference to those on the front lines.

Realizing this, Kaliman felt a surge of irritation—such crucial intelligence had eluded their notice, and instead, they had heard it from a tribe beyond the desert.

Such shameful traitors...

Watching Kaliman, his eyes flashing with anger, Chu Guang, pleased with the outcome, nodded in satisfaction.

"That would be best."

Pigeon messaging, huh?

Those little cooing creatures were indeed reliable, definitely more so than on foot.

Using the influence of the Lion Kingdom to pressure the Golden Lizard Kingdom was just one part of it.

His goal was not just to harass the supply line but to cut off its source—the Bugra Free State!

As a vassal to the Grand Canyon, this son of a gun was flirting with the Army behind the scenes? Could the Grand Canyon tolerate this cuckoldry?

Of course, this would require sufficient evidence to prove that it wasn't just a transaction, not the individual act of some merchant, but the support at the national level.

Watching Prince Kaliman take his leave, Chu Guang's mouth curved into a pleased smile.

Whether he could get the relevant evidence depended on whether Brother Battlefield would prove reliable...

...

On the outskirts of Oasis No.8, a seemingly inconspicuous inn near the edge of the desert town.

Old Soldier, having awoken from his slumber, yawned as he went downstairs to splash some water on his face. Just as he was about to head back to his room to pack up his things, he overheard a quiet conversation coming from around the corner of the hallway.

"…bad news, our informant at the Royal Palace just sent word that as of this morning, commands were issued to leave the palace. It's said that orders were given to strictly inspect the commercial teams crossing into the East Coast or leaving through the West Coast."

That voice seemed to be from the merchant named Ah Dan.

As Old Soldier was about to turn the corner, he suddenly shivered to a stop.

What the hell?

It took effect so immediately?

He had only reported the intelligence that morning, yet as soon as he logged into the game that evening, the subsequent plot unravelled, catching him somewhat off guard.

Normally, wouldn't he have to wait around ten days or so to catch even a whisper of news?

Burning with curiosity, Old Soldier hid around the corner of the hallway, continuing to listen in.

Standing before Ah Dan, Coleway furrowed his brows, speaking with a slight severity.

"Is your information reliable?"

Ah Dan nodded, speaking with certainty.

"Don't doubt the source. Although I can't disclose his identity to you, I can assure you that our collaborator within the Golden Lizard Kingdom holds a position that is not low."

Coleway nodded slightly, a hint of solemnity crossing his brow.

Strictly inspecting the merchants entering from the East...

This meant that Ah Dan's commercial team would be subject to stricter inspections within the territory of Oasis No.8, and his own identity as a person of Vellante would undoubtedly be more dangerous.

No doubt, this was bad for both the army and him personally.

Ah Dan, puzzled, stroked his chin, his brow knotted tightly.

"It's really odd for the Royal Palace to issue such orders at this time, especially since I've heard it was due to pressure from the Lion Kingdom that moved the Royal Family to act… It's all the more peculiar."

Old Soldier hiding back in the hallway breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't understand everything, he did not hear his own name; it seemed the two men didn't suspect him.

Coleway frowned and asked.

"Is the situation serious?"

Ah Dan sighed.

"Not so serious... Once orders leave the palace, how they're enforced is up to the local authorities. Unless we bump into the king's personal guards, even if we are inspected, I have methods to deal with it."

Pausing, his expression troubled, he continued.

"However, your identity is a bit troublesome. After all, in name, this area has already declared war with the Falcon Kingdom and the army. What worries me more is that if the Lion Kingdom realizes that military supplies are being sent to the army's positions in the north, they will likely send out cavalry to patrol the desert."

After a moment of silence, Coleway said, "I'm adding to your troubles... Maybe we should go our separate ways."

"Oh no, sir. We could never leave you to venture out alone."

Ah Dan quickly interrupted him.

He wanted the officer to owe him a favor, not to lose this lucrative opportunity.

Once the army took over Luo Xia Province, he would definitely need this relationship.

"...In any case, this isn't a place to linger for long, and there isn't just one path to Oasis No.9. Let's fill our supplies and hit the road as soon as we can."

Coleway nodded gravely.

"You're right, I'll call my companions, and you get the others up. We'll meet in the backyard in half an hour."

Seeing the two part ways, Old Soldier quietly slipped back to his room up the stairs, packed his luggage, and waited silently for his boss to knock.

It wasn't long before a knock did come from the door, followed by Coleway's warm and deep voice.

"Pangolin, it's time to hit the road. Have you got all your stuff packed?"

Old Soldier stepped forward, opened the door with his luggage already on his back, and said with his head raised and chest puffed out.

"It's all packed up, sir."

Coleway looked at him with an approving glance and patted his shoulder.

"Good, you're spirited. The army needs decisive and brisk warriors like you. I see the shadow of my superior, Rachel, in you."

"Come with me, there's been a slight change to the plan. We're leaving an hour earlier."

"Oh, and stop calling me sir. Just Coleway will do."

Old Soldier nodded stiffly.

"Alright, Coleway... sir."

Coleway laughed, not minding his nervousness, gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder and headed towards the stairs.

Dawn was just breaking as a quiet group left the town and headed into the desert.

Originally, they were supposed to head west from Oasis No.8 and then make their way to the northwest side of No.9.

But now this place was no longer suitable for a lengthy stay, and they had to leave before the borders closed and before the patrol teams from the Lion Kingdom arrived, choosing an unfamiliar route to the Falcon Kingdom and the position of the allied army.

It was foreseeable that the journey ahead would not be peaceful.

In fact, it would be easier for Ah dan to sneak into the Golden Lizard Kingdom and to Oasis No.9 on his own with the Commercial Team if he abandoned Coleway.

But he didn't want to give up the favor he had finally gained.

Not far from him, Old Soldier, walking beside Coleway, was wrestling with his own dilemma.

Sneaking into the army's stronghold seemed impossible now; with a group of twenty to thirty people, disappearing into the desert might only be possible with the blessing of the Spirit of the Sand Sea.

But if, as Ah dan had said, the Lion Kingdom sent out cavalry patrols, and he just happened to run into a patrol team...

Would he really fire upon his allies?

And even if he didn't encounter any patrols, was he ready to deliver these supplies to the enemy, to have them turned into scorching metal bullets in a gun barrel, piercing the chests of allies or even innocent civilians...

If you immerse yourself in the game, it's hard not to think about these real issues.

Of course, he also admitted that perhaps it was because the journey was so dull that he had nothing better to ponder, which is why he considered such boring issues...

The sun rose in the east and set in the west.

Crimson twilight shone over the uninhabited desert, and everyone, with their own thoughts, moved in the same direction.

As Old Soldier's mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts, someone thousands of kilometers away was also burdened with complexity.

Unlike the Dressing the Desert with falling leaves, in the eastern coast's Province of Yúnjiānxíng, night had already fallen stealthily.

Here, day and night were two completely different worlds.

When draped in the cloak of night, the entire city seemed to dance.

Rows of buildings were submerged in colorful neon lights, and the aircraft operating between steel and concrete were like a ceaseless flow of rainbows.

Information as vast as the Milky Way filled every corner of every eye.

Even a momentary stay would make one unwittingly lose oneself in it.

Every person living here harbored no doubt that this was the best of times, that they lived in an era of grandeur and prosperity, where flowers and wine flowed like the bountiful Tianshui river, whose rich bed would never run dry.

But—

They were not ignorant of barbarism.

They were well aware that the majority of these lands were still savages, especially the far West Coast, a source of all chaos.

The people there were like bloodthirsty wolves, plundering wealth, enslaving populations, binding stolen slaves with iron chains to toil in fields like beasts of burden, and creating bloodlines that divided people into ranks from birth.

Both slavery and bloodline theories were historical toxins, swept into the garbage dump before this planet entered the Prosperity Epoch.

The capital named after Triumph sounded to them more like a celebration of war.

By comparison, the cities of the Alliance had much more pleasant names. Dawn, or City of Dawn—those were more fitting names for cities of civilized people.

The residents of Ideal City could bicker over the most trivial matters, even insult each other's mothers, but there was no disagreement when it came to matters of the Army.

It was the common enemy of the civilized world.

Considering that two centuries ago, everyone had committed to advancing that certain committee, they could turn a blind eye to the atrocious acts the gun-minded folk enacted on the West Coast.

But now, they had even reached out east of the Great Desert and had attempted to control No.0 Shelter… a shelter first discovered by the Silver Wing Group.

This time, they would not compromise.

Of course, if someone else was willing to teach that pack of wild beasts a lesson, that would be even better.

In a corner of the city's core district.

Inside a magnificent top-floor building, figures clad in silver, gray, and black formal wear held champagne, standing at the center of the dance floor.

Most of them were shareholders of various subsidiaries under corporate flags, some from the five major groups, and many from lesser-known smaller companies.

At this moment, all eyes were focused on the podium in front of the dance floor—where two figures stood.

One of them was an ambassador from the Alliance, named Shu Yu.

Everyone had heard some stories about him. It was said that this young man of refugee origin had lost his family due to the chaos caused by the Army's Expeditionary Army.

Boys like him, at an age when they should be studying, had to undertake the heavy responsibility of embarking on diplomatic missions to foreign cities thousands of miles away.

His touching background made it difficult not to sympathize with him… even if not entirely out of "political correctness" in opposition to the Army.

The person standing beside him was Yue Qian, the minister of the corporate comprehensive management department.

Unlike Wu Changnian from the Ideal Group, his faction belonged to the Silver Wing Group, and he was a shareholder with a certain stake.

The corporate comprehensive management department, similar to the Alliance's Protocol Department, was in charge of planning events and ceremonies, and also had some diplomatic functions.

As for the actual decision-making power, in the Supreme Council, this department was directly responsible to the Council itself.

It could tentatively be understood as the highest-ranking foreign minister.

After spending a day getting to know the place, Shu Yu had gradually grasped the corporate power structure.

Here, management was nominally decentralized, but in reality, the Supreme Council was their center.

The positions within various power departments were essentially held by shareholders of the major groups.

As for the rules of inheritance and trading of shares, he hadn't yet figured that out.

However, based on the surnames of the individuals holding real power in each group, he could sense some clues.

For instance, the powerful figures from the Ideal Group tended to have the surname Li, the Endpoint Group often featured the surname Yun, and the Silver Wing Group was dominated by the surnames Yi and Luo.

"Let's toast to eternal friendship!"

Hearing the sound by his ear, Shu Yu came back to reality from his pondering and greeted with a smile,

"Cheers!"

The clinking of glasses echoed throughout the venue.

Standing in the crowd, Fang Chang also made a toasting gesture, took a sip from his glass of sour and fizzy sparkling wine, and couldn't help but feel a bit of unease.

At this moment, his mind was not on the evening's gala, but on the task that the Manager had given him.

Promoting the Alliance's culture and products...

While the task sounded simple, Fang Chang realized upon arriving in Ideal City that things were far from as easy as he had thought.

The spirit of the Wasteland people was severely lacking, reminiscent of tribes in the middle of some huge landmass in the Real World, where even some trinkets from the industrial era could excite them, let alone imported goods from a strange world.

However, this place was the closest to the Prosperity Epoch.

This city represented the complete opposite extreme on this Waste World; its residents were so culturally affluent that it had led to an emptiness and even boredom.

In other words, there wasn't anything they hadn't seen.

Thinking about this, Fang Chang's brows grew increasingly furrowed with worry.

Could he really fulfill the great responsibility entrusted to him by the Manager?

At that moment, Mole, holding a glass of red wine and sporting a cheeky smile, sidled up and stood next to him with squinted eyes.

"Bro, where's your black stockings? Did you wear them?"

Fang Chang, no longer having the energy to retort, rolled his eyes.

"All you ever think about is black stockings!"

Couldn't he have some other pursuit?

Not wanting to bother with him, Fang Chang turned his attention to the front of the stage.

The Company's "Highest Foreign Minister" was giving a speech about friendship and peace, and had announced that the gala was entering its second phase—a charity auction.

The items up for auction, of course, were gifts from the Alliance.

As to why gifts that had been presented to the Company would end up at the auction, it was a long story.

Since the Company claimed to practice decentralized management, Shu Yu could not find an entity that could accept the gifts.

Therefore, following Wu Changnian's suggestion, he decided to auction off the gifts in the form of a charity gala.

Each item had a starting bid set at 100Cr, with the highest bidder taking the item, and all proceeds from the auction would be donated to the Alliance.

For the shareholders of the Company, this allowed them to show support for the righteous War by raising their bidding cards, fulfilling them spiritually, and also acquiring some novel trinkets for their collections.

From the standpoint of the residents of Ideal City, there was no fairer distribution method than to let the highest bidder win.

And for the Alliance, it was a chance to raise some additional funds outside of aid at the gala.

All those invited to the gala were shareholders of the various major groups of Ideal City; here, billionaires with net worths of tens or even hundreds of billions were a dime a dozen. Compared to these, the 3 billion Cr in aid seemed like a drop in the bucket.

Of course, net worth was one thing, and the actual sterling silver they put out was another; this couldn't be generalized.

But anyway, getting some money from them to exchange for industrial equipment and weapons and ammunition that the Alliance urgently needed was excellent.

War was ultimately still too costly.

After handing over the microphone to the auction's Master of ceremonies, Yue Qian bowed slightly and walked down from the stage with Shu Yu.

The two were laughing and talking as they went backstage.

Standing in the middle of the venue, Fang Chang watched the Master of ceremonies with locked eyes and sweaty palms.

After all, he knew exactly what sort of items were about to be auctioned...

The inevitable had finally arrived.

The Master of Ceremonies cleared his throat and, looking at the words flashing on the full holographic teleprompter, said in a loud voice,

"Ladies, gentlemen, and friends... Good evening! It is an honor to serve as the host of this auction!"

"Our friends from afar have brought us gifts, which represent not only our shared longing for the civilized world but also our resolve never to compromise with barbarism! We must respond in kind!"

"All proceeds from this auction will be donated entirely to the Alliance, serving as funds to support the front lines!"

"Every credit point you spend at this auction will turn into bullets aimed at those villains! The significance of these items will surpass all the fine wines and flowers, and they will be more than worth it no matter the final price!"

"Show your generosity, your cash in hand is your resolve!"

"History will remember this moment!"

"Just like the vote that took place two centuries ago!"

Honestly, even Fang Chang felt a rush of excitement from the spirited speech.

It was a pity he had no money.

Otherwise, he would have participated just for fun.

However, the next sentence from the Master of Ceremonies suddenly poured cold water over his heated enthusiasm, making his toes instinctively clench inside his shoes.

"The friendship-symbolizing auction officially begins, and the first item up for bidding is an art piece from Vine Cottage!"

"As the name suggests, this art piece is created by the well-known Alliance fashion designer Teng Teng... I believe that's how you pronounce it, even though it sounds odd."

"The person who donated it is 'Tail'!"

The Master of Ceremonies gestured with a hand-wave.

A light, solid as a spotlight, cascaded from the ceiling.

A model with an outstanding figure walked to the front, showcasing the art piece she was wearing.

It was a maid outfit with a skirt that had been shortened significantly, featuring white lace edges and black ribbons.

And there were those white, over-the-knee socks.

Audiences of both genders focused their gazes on the model, their eyes filled with surprise.

It wasn't necessarily that the clothing looked particularly stunning; it was more about its novelty to the onlookers.

And that black and white color scheme—it was quite pleasing to the eye.

"Black and white... I didn't expect the tastes of the residents of the Alliance and ours to be similar."

"Are those pants or socks?"

"They should be socks... Who wears pants under a skirt?"

"But aren't they a bit too long?"

"Hmm... seems kind of interesting."

"Indeed, I've never seen anyone dressed like this. The design style is quite unique."

Standing amidst the crowd on the dance floor, everyone wore a look of interest, whispering amongst themselves quietly.

Basking in the admiring gaze of the audience, the model couldn't help but curve her lips into a slight smile.

However, the hushed whispers of the crowd were too subdued, like the buzzing of mosquitoes. Fang Chang couldn't hear clearly and felt an uncomfortable spotlight on him as pairs of eyes in the hall turned towards him, nearly digging a villa out of embarrassment with his toes.

He really wanted to explain that the outfit didn't represent the taste of all the Alliance residents, just that of one or two players.

But it seemed superfluous to say anything at that moment.

The Mole standing beside him felt the same, showered in the occasionally glancing eyes, his expression stiff with discomfort and unfamiliarity.

Even though he didn't deny being a fan of the Light and Shadow Project, that didn't mean he wanted to be studied like an experimental project in front of a large audience.

This was just too embarrassing!

No—

This game was just too real!

"Uh, I suddenly feel like going to the restroom," the Mole said as he planned to make a quick exit, as it was just a casual visit for him, unlike a certain war hero.

However, the agility of the T1 tier couldn't outrun a T0.

With a "radiant" smile on his face, Fang Chang activated bullet time, grabbing the Mole's shoulder and forcefully dragging back the one trying to make a dash for it.

"Get back here."

It was a joke.

If he let him escape, wouldn't all the attention in the room shift to him?

At least with someone beside him, he could share a bit of that palpable pressure.

The Mole said with a wry smile,

"Brother, you really don't need to be so tense... maybe due to cultural differences, they might interpret this as... uh, a kind of formal attire?"

Fang Chang replied, "The hell? Who in their right mind would think this is formal attire?!"

The bidding swiftly began.

Fang Chang only hoped this part would end quickly.

The card games from the Old Soldier were kind of interesting, and Elena's "Old Godfather Hot Sauce" and Mosquito's "Old Pit Sour Mustard Beef Noodle" were also acceptable, and surely would not cause him public embarrassment.

However—

Events unfolded in a way he hadn't expected.

As soon as the Master of Ceremonies had finished speaking, someone immediately raised their right hand.

"I bid 100Cr—"

Within less than half a second, another hand rose.

"500!"

"2000!!"

"I bid ten thousand!!!"

With that ten thousand bid, the atmosphere on-site instantly soared to its peak.

And clearly, that wasn't the highest bid.

People continued to raise their bids, pushing the atmosphere to an even more frenzied level.

Witnessing those tycoons vying to bid, Fang Chang stood dumbfounded, completely paralyzed by the scene.

In the end, the first art piece from Vine Cottage sold for fifty thousand Cr... bought by a shareholder from the Endpoint Group.

As the proud short-haired man walked out of the crowd, following a bionic person toward the back of the venue under envious gazes, the Mole held by Fang Chang swallowed hard, staring at the triumphant man in disbelief.

That thing...

Fifty thousand?

Half of a Magnetic Confinement Plasma Machine Table?

"... Are they insane?!"

Chapter 421: What is it like to play a Virtual Reality Game inside a completely realistic Virtual Reality Game?

Without a doubt.

These people had indeed gone mad.

The most expensive item was not the maid outfit but a Gothic long dress adorned with a vast amount of lace and intricate patterns.

The pure black hue and semi-transparent veil gave the model a mysterious aura as if she were a maiden standing within the fog, leaving the audience at the event exclaiming in astonishment.

The astonishment was not about the technology, for it was not any special technology after all.

Even its design style and concept could find similar precedents in the history of the United Human.

However, just like the maid outfit, though similar, they were not the same; it was a genuinely "new" creation, an original art movement.

This was somewhat surprising.

"It's incredible… a shelter situated inland with a four-digit number has independently created more than seven fashion design styles!"

"The minimalism in color and the complexity in form… interesting, it is genuinely intriguing."

"That slit dress there is also quite nice, and it accentuates the figure well, though the color is too bright. If it were white or silver-gray, it would be perfect."

"I heard that these clothes are all handmade."

"It's unbelievable! How did they come up with this?"

"I now even believe that the ancestors of Shelter No. 404 were a group of artists…"

Expressions of surprise filled the venue, and those bidding did so fervently, their faces flushed.

The price soon doubled.

Brother Mole, standing at the edge of the venue, swallowed his saliva and couldn't help but remark,

"Is it that anything white or black could be sold at a high price here?"

Mr. Fang had a subtle expression,

"Well… there's also a condition, you have to make the other party like you, or at least not dislike you."

The Army's robe was black, whether it be the Aerospace Troops or the Youth Army, they all liked to hang a black cape over the back of their bullet-proof armor.

Including their navy blue military uniforms and black combat outfits.

Those kinds of clothes would not be favored here.

Having been here for a day, he could clearly feel that supporting the alliance had become the political correctness in Ideal City.

Even the Endpoint Group's people had to beat around the bush when expressing their stance—"We are not against supporting the alliance, just against war itself," "Look, I also participated in the bidding, why would you say I am a puppet of the Army?"

Determining the other party's needs and vulnerabilities, using them appropriately without causing dislike…

With this thought, Mr. Fang couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

It was no wonder he was a manager.

Even this step was calculated!

Compared to clothing, the prices fetched by food were slightly inferior.

The people here seemed not to care much about the intrinsic value of the items, but rather the cultural value attached to them.

And the cultural value of food is hard to perceive with the naked eye; it can only be understood after tasting.

Yet even so, Elena's Old Daddy Beef Sauce still fetched a friendly price of 2000Cr.

Mosquito's Old Pit Sour Cabbage Beef Noodles took advantage of being bulky, one carton reaching 5000Cr… though that carton only looked big and was actually not that heavy.

As for that "Curious" biscuits, it unexpectedly exploded in popularity, a single box fetching a sky-high price of 10000Cr!

Mr. Fang covertly took notes on his VM, planning to share his findings on the official website after logging off later.

"…It's difficult to fathom the mainstream thoughts of the society here, they truly are more egalitarian than most survivor's residences, but the inequalities are equally apparent. Compared to the Army, they could ostensibly be categorized as pro-foreign, but the xenophobia is visibly present."

"The local society has strong cultural inclusiveness, and products with high cultural value are easier to sell at astronomical prices compared to those with high technological value. Meanwhile, combat professional players here can purchase technically advanced equipment at relatively cheap prices, such as the Miner series exoskeleton, which has no Contribution Points restrictions here, though how to transport it here is a problem."

"By the way, bionic organs that sell for six or even seven figures in Giant Stone City only need five figures here. However, in different markets, the value of money can't be converted by a stable exchange rate, and it's difficult to compare the specific differences in purchasing power."

"For lifestyle professional players, if conditions allow, it is recommended to open hot pot and ramen restaurants here, once the Alliance and the companies reach a currency swap agreement, the Cr exchange window will open soon, and even possibly affect the exchange ratio of Silver coins and chips!"

"But obtaining a visa is a major issue, only corporate employees are allowed to establish branch offices, and outsiders, even if they obtain a work visa, can only engage in specific jobs or they will be expelled from the country, so be cautious!"

In just one hour, Fang Chang had already typed out an elaborate strategy of over 1000 words.

He glanced at the stunned mole beside him and tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Ha ha.

I'll crush you.

...

The auction ended.

The total transaction amount of the auction reached a staggering 80 million Cr!

This was equivalent to one-fourth of the corporate contribution to the alliance!

Compared to the 30 million Cr assistance for industrial facilities out of the 300 million Cr aid, this 80 million Cr was more than double.

When he first returned to City of Dawn from Giant Stone City, Shu Yu had received a list from the Manager.

It was a prioritized import project list summarized by representatives from various industries based on the importable items provided by the corporations.

Including a hydrogen plasma smelting production line valued at 17 million Cr.

Unlike free arc, this technology branch came under compressed arc, not only capable of smelting metal materials but also accommodating non-metal materials, mainly used in the smelting of specialty steel, high-temperature alloys, and refractory metals.

Furthermore, this production process could also use a water-cooled crystallizer for "sequential solidification" of metals or alloys to obtain high-quality crystalline structures.

Although similar technologies existed on Earth, due to high costs and immature technology, the applications were not widespread; added together, various types of metals produced less than 30,000 tons globally per year.

The production line on the list, given adequate raw material supply, could achieve a monthly output of over 50,000 tons. The demand for humans was also far less than the production line imported by the alliance from Giant Stone City.

For corporations, both the outdated production lines and the consumer products produced were an astronomical figure.

A new plasma smelting production line was worth at least 50 million Cr, and if it was an energy-efficient and excessively lively hydrogen plasma, the price could reach 100 million.

Even for second-hand goods, 17 million Cr was considered a friendly price.

Apart from the hydrogen plasma smelting production line, there was also a chemical industry equipment valued at 30 million Cr, which could increase the capacity of the alliance's mainstream chemical products by 200%, reduce energy consumption by 30%, and reduce harmful waste by more than 60%.

Without exaggeration, with this 80 million in donation funds, the total industrial output of the alliance could at least double!

By that time, the core contradiction limiting the development of the alliance would no longer be production technology.

But resources!

However, this was not really a concern.

Through the trade node of Giant Stone City, the alliance could access resources from half of Brocade River Province.

After the war in Luo Xia Province ended, at least half of the entire province would be incorporated into the alliance's sphere of influence.

The resources in the desert were not less than those in the south, the unique climatic conditions of various oases could become natural granaries, and the Great Desert west of Falling Leaves was a seemingly endless graveyard of civilization.

It was said that half the sand blown from there was brown iron oxide, making the resource density there more exaggerated than garbage landfills like the Red River Alliance.

Of course, all these were predicated on winning.

Only by continuing to win could this snowball continue to grow larger.

Having reined in his shocked expression, Shu Yu looked contemplatively at Yue Qian sitting across from him.

"I really don't know how to thank you enough… This funding is too important for us."

Yue Qian smiled gently and spoke kindly.

"Compared to money, friendship that money can't buy is more important to us. It's our honor to be able to help you, but... I still want to ask on behalf of the residents of Ideal City when you plan to deploy troops?"

"The battle plan will be executed after the supply line is completed, and, if all goes well, it should be in mid-August... Didn't you know?" Shu Yu asked, somewhat surprised.

Regarding the attack time, the corporation and the alliance should have already discussed it.

Yue Qian cleared his throat lightly.

"Mid-August, I did hear something about that, but it wasn't certain... Our departments don't have completely open communication, and the Yi Chuan who went to support you reports directly to the Supreme Council, as do I."

Shu Yu nodded thoughtfully and couldn't help but ponder whether his previous remark had been appropriate.

Yue Qian made no other comment, subtly steering the conversation away and then curiously inquired about the customs and climate of the Southern River Province.

At the same time, not far from the venue, Fang Chang finally got rid of the entangled young masters and rich daughters, pulling the envious and jealous Brother Mole to the rest area.

Along the way, Brother Mole kept complaining.

"Damn, I don't understand, I'm at least an army leader, why am I not as popular as you?"

Fang Chang thought about this question seriously for a moment and then answered formally.

"Maybe... it's a face issue?"

"Blargh," Brother Mole pretended to vomit, dramatically holding his stomach.

Seeing the guy's exaggerated acting, Fang Chang chuckled.

Actually, whether one was an army leader or just a regular soldier, it made no difference to such people.

He knew quite clearly that although being handsome was one of the reasons, it was more about that sensational video in Ideal City and the almost legendary achievements.

Crawling into a 400mm main gun barrel and then safely shooting back out was just like the protagonist in a popcorn action movie!

Of course, Fang Chang believed that if their Manager visited here, those enthusiastic pretty girls would go even crazier.

Even overlooking those purposely given close-ups, the persona who "conquered the Claw of Death" was extraordinary enough.

"What's this?"

Sitting on the couch, Fang Chang's gaze fell on the glasses on the table next to him, curiously picking it up and fiddling with it.

Sitting beside him, Brother Mole also showed interest, rubbing his chin and pondering for a bit.

"It looks a bit like the glasses that NPC Yun Yi wears… Could it be some smart connectivity device?"

"I'll give it a try."

Fang Chang put the glasses on his nose, his index finger fumbling on the frame, and a slight vibration came from his fingertips, probably triggering some switch.

Light blue particles quickly spread out like a wave, engulfing the surroundings.

Just when he thought it was some kind of AR effect, in the blink of an eye, he found himself standing in a completely unfamiliar world.

Yes.

Standing, even though he had been sitting on the couch just a second ago.

Fang Chang looked up, the warm sunlight falling on his face, and what he saw was an endless grassland.

The tender tips of grass swayed gently in the breeze, flicking at his bangs.

However, regretfully, the monotonous smell and distorted touch felt utterly unreal.

Even though the visual effect that met his eyes had reached a photographic level, standing on the grassland, Fang Chang could still distinctly feel that he was an empty model, and this body did not belong to him.

This feeling was utterly opposite to that in "Wasteland OL."

In the world of "Wasteland OL," although everything had a filter, he could vividly feel that he and the NPCs were alive. Even though he knew it was a virtual world, it still felt like a living virtual reality.

But this world.

It felt more like a virtual living.

However, even so, it was still enough to shock Fang Chang.

"Awesome…"

He squatted down, touched the lawn, let go of his legs, and ran forward for a while, wandering around like a child, his eyes full of astonishment and disbelief.

He had not expected that in his lifetime, not only would he be able to play virtual reality games, he could even play virtual reality within a virtual reality game.

What kind of infinite nesting doll was this?

Or was this actually an undeveloped map or perhaps a completely different style of game?

Just as Fang Chang was about to continue exploring, the touch on his arm interrupted his thoughts and his connection.

The entire world turned into light blue particles, like a shattered puzzle turning into a flurry of dancing butterflies.

He was back in the rest area again.

Sitting on the couch, Fang Chang was stunned for a moment, then noticed the culprit that had awakened him—the hand pulling his arm.

Glaring at Brother Mole, Fang Chang said gruffly.

"What's up with Mr. L?"

"Someone is looking for you," Brother Mole glanced to his left.

Fang Chang turned his head, following Brother Mole's gaze, and saw a formally dressed servant standing respectfully.

Noticing Fang Chang looking over, he spoke in a gentle voice,

"Mr. Fang, someone has asked me to deliver a letter to you."

Fang Chang was stunned for a moment.

"A letter? Who is it from?"

"Miss Li Shuyue, one of the guests at tonight's party, said she has something to discuss with you. This is the letter she entrusted me with." While speaking, he took out a letter and handed it to Fang Chang.

Taking the letter, Fang Chang hadn't even had the chance to open it when he felt a stinging gaze from behind, making him shiver.

Turning to see Brother Mole's resentful face, he said with a slightly awkward expression,

"How about... you go for me?"

After rolling his eyes at him, Brother Mole snatched the Virtual Reality Glasses from his hands and put them on his own nose.

"Get lost, go yourself!"

...

In the distant desert, a commercial team was stationed in the vast wasteland.

Although theoretically, the night was more suitable for travel, the desert at night was anything but safe.

Poisonous insects and wild beasts that lurked under the sand during the day were all out hunting now.

It was said that some massive, fierce arthropods even caused the Claw of Death to give way.

Sitting by the campfire, Old Soldier was draped in a thick blanket, sitting opposite Ah dan.

Coleway had not fully trusted these merchants and had privately told him that one of them must stay awake to keep watch alternately through the night.

Old Soldier naturally did not object.

He needed a chance to talk to Ah dan alone, so he volunteered for the second half of the night watch.

Clearly, Ah dan was equally interested in him and had voluntarily come over.

"What exactly does the oasis in Luo Xia Province look like?" Old Soldier casually started the conversation by asking.

Stirring the fire with a twig, Ah dan pondered a moment before responding.

"It's vast and fertile, with miles of fertile land. There's plenty of fresh water, suitable temperatures, and abundant sunlight, making it one of the few fertile areas in this wasteland. The locals can survive on wild fruits and vegetables alone... Compared to the Bugra Free State, it's practically heaven."

Ah dan squinted his eyes, looking at the silent dunes in the distance, seemingly lost in distant memories.

After a moment, he spoke again.

"...However, there's a war going on there, and you might not see it at its most beautiful."

Old Soldier asked with interest,

"You seem to know a lot about it, do you go there often?"

Ah dan nodded and spoke casually,

"I've been dealing with Prince Wenter of the Lion Kingdom for over a decade, and my commercial team has armed more than half of his elite forces. I even know how many exoskeletons they have."

Suddenly realizing the identity of this pangolin, he quickly added,

"Of course, compared to those feudal lords, it's still more profitable to deal with the army... I truly hope to visit Triumph City someday. I hear it's a place where gold is everywhere and houses are full of jewelry."

Gold was not rare in the wasteland, but a significant amount of it was another matter entirely.

Old Soldier smiled inwardly, showing no emotion on his face.

He knew the man before him was not truly loyal to the army, but it just so happened that he wasn't either.

Just then, in the silent night, a sudden gunshot rang out.

Old Soldier, who was near the fire, tensed up and quickly extinguished the fire while grabbing the rifle beside him.

Ah dan was equally tense but did not panic and muttered quietly.

"Model 11 cavalry rifle, revolver type mechanism, 7mm caliber..."

His expression gradually grew solemn.

"It's the patrol team of the Lion Kingdom!"

Old Soldier furrowed his brow.

"Have we been spotted?"

Ah dan shook his head.

"No... The gunshots are at least 2 kilometers away, they must have run into some other trouble, possibly Looters or Variants or something."

Whatever it was.

Now was not the time to hesitate.

Old Soldier stood up and chambered his Falcon assault rifle.

"I'll go wake Coleway, you get ready to pack up, we need to move immediately."

"No need, those hoof sounds were so loud, I was already awake..."

With a groggy head, Coleway emerged from the tent.

The distant gunfire continued, he obviously heard it.

He composed himself, looking at the waiting Pangolin and Ah dan, he calmly thought for a moment, then spoke.

"2 kilometers, if those people are on warhorses or camels, they can easily catch up to us, even if we ditch all our supplies."

Ah dan frowned and asked.

"What's your suggestion?"

Coleway decisively said,

"Lend me a few men, we'll go check it out!"

Since it wasn't them who had been discovered, those people had clearly run into other trouble.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to deal with them was the safest choice.

Ah dan nodded solemnly, gesturing to his own mercenary leader.

"Take eight brothers with you and follow our friend here to check things out."

The dark-skinned, burly man nodded lightly and said in a muffled voice.

"Yes, boss!"

Nine caravan guards, along with Coleway and Pangolin, formed a full squad of eleven and quickly moved towards the distant hill.

Coleway was also armed, holding a Falcon assault rifle.

From his practiced manner, it was clear he had frontline experience, and likely started his career as a grassroots officer.

"...This is different from River Valley Province, there are few covers in the desert, remember to keep a low profile and use the reverse slope for cover."

Listening to Coleway's reminder, Old Soldier nodded slightly, maintaining his reticent persona, and replied,

"Mm."

Coleway gave no further advice.

He trusted this man, who had even hunted the Claw of Death alone, would surely handle a few patrol soldiers with ease.

The group moved towards the reverse slope of the sand dune, crawling on the ground, carefully climbing toward the top of the dune.

The distant gunfire grew more urgent.

Amidst that flickering blaze, the group crawling on the sand dune vaguely saw a massive figure.

It was a huge worm.

Its thick body was as stout as ancient trees, with only a portion of its tens of meters length emerging from the ground, the half buried beneath remained unknown.

Perhaps disturbed from its sleep by the cavalry, it was twisting its colossal body like a raging dragon, stirring up swirling clouds of sand and dirt.

Old Soldier's eyes widened as he saw a dozen cavalrymen thrown into disarray by the monster, one of them even swallowed whole, camel and all, by a gaping maw.

This beast was rather impressive.

Even if thrown into a "Tide" team, it would be considered an elite evolutionary body.

But since Qingquan City was all reinforced concrete, it might not be able to burrow through...

In just a few breaths, the cavalry had already lost more than half their number, and a man who looked like their captain was shouting loudly, frantically calling his men to escape from the monster's range of attack.

"Sand Worm! By the Spirit of the Sand Sea...it's a Sand Worm!" lying next to Old Soldier, the dark-skinned man clutched desperately at the gravel, his eyes flickering with terror.

Another caravan guard cursed under his breath.

"...damn, it's this thing. Good thing we didn't go through this area."

One guard frowned.

"Something's off... How could those patrolmen not know there's a Sand Worm here?"

The dark-skinned man pondered for a moment.

"Maybe they were too hurried in their actions, or maybe they never patrolled this area."

While Sand Worms had a terrifying capacity for annihilation, their range of habitat tended to be fixed; they generally didn't change locations.

Moreover...

Such a large Variant wasn't like those elusive man-eating ants. It should be easy to recognize its range of activity; it didn't stand to reason that the residents of the desert would be ambushed by it.

Listening to everyone's conversation, Old Soldier also felt something unusual.

However, this was not the issue he needed to consider now.

The patrol squad not far away was sprinting in their direction.

Coleway watched the group of cavalry with a stern expression, having already turned off the safety on his rifle.

"Everyone be ready, as soon as they pass the forked cactus 100 meters straight ahead, open fire!"

"Yes!"

Old Soldier took a deep breath, aimed at the group, and hesitated whether or not to raise his gun muzzle by an inch.

But even if he did, it seemed pointless. At a distance of 100 meters, using eleven assault rifles, even without one rifle firing, it was still enough to turn those cavalry into a sieve.

The hundreds of meters closed in a blink, and the cavalry soon ran up to them.

At the same time, having closed the distance, the group evidently spotted them too.

Seeing the muzzles pointed in their direction, the recently escaped cavalry captain hadn't even had time to catch his breath before his expression changed and he loudly commanded,

"Spread out to both flanks!"

Under such circumstances, there was no doubt about the identity of the opposition.

Any legitimate commercial team would never point their guns at them.

Almost simultaneously, Coleway shouted loudly.

"Fire!"

Eleven rifles simultaneously unleashed firepower, instantly knocking the cavalry off their horses.

Old Soldier, in the end, couldn't bring himself to aim at the people and instead lowered his rifle to target the camels.

After a flurry of gunfire, nine cavalrymen were thrown from their camels, leaving corpses scattered on the ground.

After a moment of silence, the dark-skinned man muttered.

"I'll go check if any are alive."

As he was about to get up, Old Soldier stood up before him, flicked a bayonet on his rifle, and walked towards the dune.

"I'm an Awakener, I'll go."

Coleway nodded, then gestured to the caravan guards beside him.

"Cover him."

The dark-skinned man nodded, didn't overthink it, and lay back down.

Old Soldier held his rifle and pointed it at the cavalry captain who was closest to him, carefully creeping closer.

In the sparse moonlight, he saw the man's hand tucked near his belt and couldn't help but curl his lip.

Lowering his voice, Old Soldier whispered,

"Hey, I'm sorry I killed your mount, but I had my own difficulties."

"If you don't want to die, it's best to lie there and don't move."

In the darkness, a pair of eyes cracked open, and Old Soldier could see the surprise and confusion hidden behind them.

To avoid arousing any suspicion, Old Soldier didn't explain further and pretended to stab the body a few times before picking up the equipment off it.

The man seemed to realize something and didn't make any rash moves, only quietly pointing towards his waist.

Old Soldier glanced and saw a signal gun, immediately understanding his intention, and took the gun.

After making sure nothing was left behind, he moved to another corpse, collecting the equipment from each.

Only nine cavalry had escaped the jaws of the sand worm alive, but only the captain survived in the end.

Old Soldier was feeling slightly conflicted, but there was no time to dwell on it as he carried their gear back up the sand dune.

Facing Coleway, he handed over the signal gun he held and said calmly,

"This is the cavalry captain's signal gun… I made sure no one survived by double stabbing each. I've recovered their equipment, and suggest we leave immediately."

While he said this, he was actually nervous as hell, but fortunately, Coleway didn't suspect a thing, instead he nodded in approval.

Taking the silver signal gun, Coleway unloaded the flare from inside and returned the gun to Pangolin.

"This is your loot, keep it."

The dark-skinned man suggested quietly,

"We should probably handle the bodies, otherwise we might attract a patrol from the kingdom."

"The noise was loud enough that any nearby patrol would notice unless they're deaf. They're probably already on their way here."

Old Soldier calmly rebutted and looked back, "Let the Variants deal with those minions' bodies."

Coleway nodded solemnly, agreeing with Pangolin's view.

A patrol team was insignificant, the priority was to immediately reach the Army, and at all costs avoid detection by the Lion Kingdom.

"Good point, we must move now!"

Watching the group disappearing over the dune, Andre finally breathed a sigh of relief as he lay on the ground.

Though he didn't understand what had happened…

He seemed to have been saved.

He quietly waited a while until the sound of camel hooves was distant before straining to stand up.

Ignoring the gunshot wound on his leg.

He stumbled over to his dead mount, and pulled out a scroll sealed with a golden stamp from the saddle.

Checking the scroll was there and intact, Andre breathed a sigh of relief.

He was not really a patrol team captain, but a personal guard of His Majesty the King.

The Falcon Kingdom and the Allied Army had deeply penetrated into Oasis No. 9.

If reinforcements didn't arrive soon, their fate might resemble the Honey Badger's, vanishing in these rolling sands…

Supported by faith and loyalty, he bit his lip, quickly bandaged his leg wound, took his backpack on his shoulders, and limped northward.

Time quietly passed.

The morning sun rose once again over this land.

At the intersection of the southern plains of River Valley Province and Luo Xia Province, a group of about thirty people was slowly heading towards Qingquan City.

Twenty camel-riding cavalry guarded alongside five camel-drawn wagons.

Inside were their ammunition and supplies, as well as a person of special status.

The middle-aged man, wrapped in a headscarf, rode a camel beside the central wagon and lifted his binoculars to glance toward the east.

Seeing lush trees and endless mountains in the distance, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

He slowed down and approached the carriage, leaning close to the window to speak softly.

"Your Highness, we are now entering the territory of the Alliance."

The person inside the carriage seemed deep in thought; after a moment, a soft response came.

"Uh, let everyone hurry up."

"Yes."

The guard replied respectfully, kicked the camel, and hurried to the front of the group.

"We are approaching River Valley Province! We're only a little over 100 kilometers away from Qingquan City, everyone pick up the pace!"

The group sped up, heading towards the plains on the southern side of the mountains; soon, a settlement under construction came into view.

Open space was occupied by container after container.

Bare-chested people were bustling about, unloading materials from the containers and transporting them to a nearby construction site.

The man riding on the camel frowned, sped up, and left the group to walk over to the workers.

Seeing the man on the camel, many stopped their work and curiously sized him up.

Ma Ban, who was overseeing the construction at the refugee camp, noticed the scene from the west and immediately frowned, summoning a construction worker to ask,

"What's going on there?"

"A caravan has arrived from the desert... seems like a caravan. They stopped on our west side, not sure what they want. Maybe they are here to trade?"

Ma Ban had a hunch that things might not be so simple.

After pondering for a moment, he remembered the woman entrusted to him by the Manager and instructed,

"Call Teresa over."

"Yes!" The construction worker nodded and immediately ran towards the camp.

Before long, Teresa, who had put down her work, followed the construction worker over.

Teresa was wearing sturdy jeans and a beige T-shirt, with a simple straw hat on her head.

It must be said, the environment of life and work really changes a person.

In just two weeks, there was not a trace of royal dignity in her appearance—apart from her looks and physique, which were unusual; she was no different from the other workers in the refugee camp.

Ma Ban, unaware of her exact identity and having not inquired in detail from the Manager, spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Someone has arrived from the west, and we're unsure of their identity. Perhaps you could offer some advice."

Teresa nodded earnestly.

"No problem, leave it to me."

Without any fuss, Ma Ban gestured and walked with her towards the west side of the camp.

Looking at the man on the camel, Ma Ban glanced at the nearby group and called out,

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The man on the camel was about to respond,

However, just at that moment, his gaze suddenly fell on the face of the woman next to Ma Ban, his pupils contracting as they radiated killing intent.

He recognized that face!

There was no mistake!

"Teresa…"

Hatred for the Falcon Kingdom turned his eyes bloodshot, and he squeezed out the name through his teeth, raising the gun in his hand without hesitation and yelling loudly.

"She's the princess of the Falcon Kingdom!"

Although they did not understand what he intended, seeing him draw a gun, surrounding soldiers of the Alliance also raised their weapons.

In that instant,

The atmosphere tensed like drawn swords!

Chapter 422 Military Exercise

"Targets 5 kilometers ahead, barrage coverage!"

"All rounds loaded—"

"Fire!"

On the empty plain, following Yang Shu's signal with the red flag, 20 thick cannon barrels simultaneously emitted flames.

In the distance on the open space, fragments and white smoke formed a cloud, and the wooden targets set in the trenches were blasted to pieces.

Then came another two rounds of barrage coverage.

The final round burst into white smoke, forming a milky smoke wall in the middle of the battlefield.

"Artillery suppression complete!"

"Tank units advance! Cover the infantry to seize the position!"

Exhaust pipes spewing black smoke, thirty tanks started at once, forming a spearhead-like armored phalanx, pushing toward the burst of white smoke in the distance.

At the same time, twenty armored trucks also started their engines behind the thirty tanks, following the tracks' marks speeding forward…

Standing on a distant concrete tower, Chu Guang held binoculars, watching the cluster of tanks charging through the smoke towards the trench positions, a slight smile involuntarily curling up at the corners of his mouth.

The Alliance had always taken a "special operations path" due to the lack of heavy equipment.

That is, maximizing soldiers' individual strengths, using fearless wills to compensate for the lack of heavy firepower.

However, now this issue had finally been addressed to some extent.

As the production capacity of the Qingstone County mine gradually increased and the controlled nuclear fusion reactor was ignited, the new industrial zone of the Alliance finally had its potential stimulated.

Factory No.81 produced engines, Goblin Technology manufactured gun towers, and the scientific research group's facilities made sighting devices; state-owned steel plants of the Alliance produced the body and chassis of track vehicles, among others, eventually assembled in the tank workshops.

The related supply chain involved hundreds of factories, including those worth millions of silver coins and small workshops with only a dozen employees.

The production rate of the No.1 tanks had reached two per day.

The newly produced thirty tanks, together with those that had participated in the battle of Rui Valley City, could almost make up a tank battalion.

Of course, building an armored unit wasn't just about equipment, but also training personnel.

Operating specialized equipment requires long periods of monotonous training, while the demands on individual combat abilities are relatively less significant.

To fully leverage the strengths of both players and NPCs, exoskeletons, and other special equipment would generally be prioritized for player legions mainly made up of Awakeners, while heavy equipment like tanks and artillery that required multiple people to operate would be prioritized for NPC legions.

However, legions like the Skeleton Corps, which focused on armor and mobility doctrines, also received priority attention.

After all, these legions tended to value real-world driving experience over personal level when recruiting new members.

Whether it's experience driving trucks.

Or driving tanks…

Watching the tank unit nearby, Wrench felt a surge of excitement.

From initially being apprehensive facing a single Conqueror No. 10, to now having their own squadron of tanks in the Alliance,

It was almost like a dream!

"We've won, Wrench."

Hearing the Manager's voice, Wrench excitedly clenched his fists, responding loudly,

"Of course! With this equipment, our forces will be invincible across the desert! Both the Army and Falcon Kingdom will be crushed under our tracks!"

Watching his confident subordinate, Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, very spirited."

But soon, he changed his tone and said seriously.

"Our progress has been swift, but let's not become complacent. We must admit that there's still a significant gap between our number one tank and the Army's Conqueror."

"They've been stationed in the desert for many years, while many of our people have never even seen what a desert looks like, so we must be cautious and handle every decision with care!"

Wrench stood at attention, pounded his chest with his right fist, and saluted without hesitation.

"Sir, you are correct!"

Chu Guang nodded.

As an established survivor force, the strength of the Army should not be underestimated.

The Conqueror No. 10 tank has a very low level of electronization because most survivor forces don't really need advanced electronics. Armor that can withstand armor-piercing bullets is enough for them to dominate the battlefield.

In situations where logistical support lines are difficult to maintain, the technological content of equipment becomes less important. Lower labor time and cost are their top priorities.

After suffering two devastating defeats in River Valley Province, the Army might reconsider their tactics.

For example, producing tanks with stronger protective capabilities or aircraft that can fly faster.

As for the Army's deployment in Oasis No.9, intelligence is still lacking to this point.

Scouting military situations takes time, Chu Guang is still waiting for Old Soldier's report; such matters cannot be rushed.

Standing aside and observing, Prince Kaliman subtly glanced at him.

Isn't the guy in the powered armor the most arrogant one here?

It seemed like he was the first to claim victory.

But with his emotional intelligence, he wouldn't say something so inappropriate in this context.

Glancing at the 20 cannons nearby, Prince Kaliman said enviously,

"Is that a 100 mm cannon?"

"155 mm, we call it the 155 cannon."

Chu Guang squinted his eyes and, after a pause, continued,

"Although the firepower of the 100 mm artillery is sufficient, it lacks something. If we have more powerful charges, wouldn't it be a waste not to increase the caliber?"

To be more specific, this is the wasteland-modified version of the PCL-181 type truck-mounted howitzer. It utilizes a 52 caliber barrel and a relatively lightweight design, cutting the total weight from 25 tons to 21 tons, making it convenient for vehicle transport and deployment.

With the help of drones, the maximum range of the artillery can reach 40 kilometers, and using rocket-assisted projectiles can double this range, but the dispersion at maximum range is also considerably greater.

Due to the use of azide compounds in the charges, the explosive power far exceeds that of modern 155 mm artillery, and the effective kill radius reaches the standards of 203 mm artillery, with noticeably enhanced destructive effects within that radius.

With accuracy not up to par, power has to compensate.

In a mountainous terrain like River Valley Province, the lighter and faster 100 mm artillery is the relatively optimal solution, but in a desert terrain, the broad tactical width requires fiercer firepower to even the field.

Saying this, Chu Guang casually handed the binoculars to the prince, allowing his friend to see more clearly.

Although he didn't quite understand why they would increase the caliber instead of reducing it to increase the firing speed and range with more powerful explosives, Kaliman still took the binoculars.

The thick barrels of the cannons, reflecting a grim light in the sunlight, made Kaliman more envious as he looked at them.

It would be nice if the Lion Kingdom had such artillery.

Due to their lower level of industrialization, although they have over a million acres of good farmland, there are only a few factories in the Royal City capable of manufacturing artillery shells, and the shells they do produce are merely replicas of 100 mm artillery shells – their efficacy is highly predictable.

In contrast, the Falcon Kingdom, with the support of the Army, has an economy ranked last among the top five kingdoms, but its military technology far surpasses the other kingdoms.

This fully illustrates, having a strong supporter is certainly beneficial.

Seeing the expression on Kaliman's face, Chu Guang smiled lightly, guessing what he might be thinking and understanding why he would think that way.

After all, it was with the intention of exerting influence that he had brought him here to observe this military exercise.

"What do you think of the 155 artillery?"

Putting down the binoculars, Prince Kaliman's face displayed an expression that clearly yearned for more as he remarked,

"Very strong! Using only 20 cannons to cover a 9-kilometer battlefield... No wonder you were able to take down that airship!"

"Haha, when we took down that airship, we didn't have these things," Chu Guang said with a smile as he watched the astonishment gradually appear on Prince Kaliman's face. "By mid-August, our troops should be resupplied, and we ought to have two full tank battalions and two artillery battalions ready. We could sell you the excess military equipment. What do you think?"

Prince Kaliman was instantly excited.

Although he managed to keep a composed expression, his voice trembled slightly.

"You would sell these... these devices to us?"

Chu Guang nodded cheerfully, opening the discussion magnanimously.

"Of course... for instance, that 155 cannon, the price is 1 million silver coins, but for an ally we can give you a 10% discount. The same goes for the No. 1 tank, priced at 1.5 million silver coins, also available at a 10% discount."

"Silver coins? But we don't have silver coins," Prince Kaliman stammered, his expression slightly embarrassed. "Would Lion Coins work? Or if not... perhaps Dinars?"

Their kingdom indeed had reserves of Dinars and Cr, the hard currency of the Wasteland.

But silver coins...

They had never heard of those.

Seeing his reaction, Chu Guang immediately put on a serious face.

"How could that be acceptable! Dinars are the currency of our enemies' army; how could we use the enemy's money for trade!"

"But..." as Prince Kaliman was about to explain, feeling a headache coming on, Chu Guang continued.

"As for silver coins, don't worry. At our trade station, one ton of grain can be exchanged for about 500 silver coins, and fruits are slightly more expensive, particularly sugar-producing sugarcane. If you don't have any, we can also lend you a few hundred million to start with, or you can pay with an equivalent value in agricultural products, minerals, or Lion Coins."

Prince Kaliman quickly did the math. One ton of grain for 500 silver coins, and a tank costing 1.5 million originally—that would be 3000 tons of grain for one tank!

This was simply too good of a deal!

Even without considering the food production from pre-war agricultural facilities, by conservative estimates, the agricultural output from 6000 acres could get one tank, and the capacity from 4000 acres could secure one cannon.

This deal was too advantageous!

The Lion Kingdom had tens of millions of acres of cultivated land, probably least lacking in food!

Seeing Prince Kaliman grinning to himself, Chu Guang's face also unconsciously broke into a pleased smile.

In fact, the pricing of the military sale wasn't something he made up on a whim; it was based on a comprehensive calculation of costs and the scarcity of the commodities.

Comparing it with real-world prices, a T34 tank costs $90,000, and a ton of wheat $36, making the ratio 1:2500.

His own ratio of 1:3000 was very fair, even without any discount it was practically a friendly price!

What?

Selling a tank converted from a tractor at a price as high as powered armor might seem too much?

It wasn't because the tanks were priced high, but because the powered armor was selling too cheap!

After all, it was being sold to his own players, and those who could afford powered armor were among the most loyal "knights" of the Alliance, it was just like moving money from the left pocket to the right.

If it were to be sold externally, let alone a million, Chu Guang wouldn't dream of selling it for a hundred million!

But this 155 cannon was different.

As long as there was a need, and electric, mineral, and human resources could keep up, Goblin Technology could produce two of them in a day, and increasing the production line was effortless.

Industrial products are always cheaper the more you produce, so Chu Guang could afford to sell them cheaply to allies in exchange for resources needed by the alliance.

As for the concern that arming allies too strongly might diminish the Alliance's regional influence?

What a joke.

Feudal dynasties might struggle against external enemies a bit, but what combat power could they have for foreign warfare?

"Don't even mention the 155 howitzers. Even giving them several power armors would be useless.

Otherwise, why wouldn't the corporations just bypass the Alliance and directly cooperate with the Lion Kingdom?

Is the core conflict about range and cost?

Clearly, it's not.

Though they are generous, it doesn't mean they are foolish.

Even when choosing allies, they have to pick someone promising. Otherwise, becoming the head of the transportation team... well, that would be downright absurd..."

...

"The exercise concluded.

From the start of the attack to the end, the first Army took just 5 minutes to fully occupy the position.

However, this was just an exercise and not a real battlefield.

On a real battlefield, their opponents wouldn't be merely wooden stakes fixed in trenches and unable to move.

Their enemies would rake their armor's tracks and tyres with heavy machine guns, lay mines in front of the trenches, and retaliate with anti-tank rocket launchers at any cost to stop the armored forces' advance... they might even employ unconventional methods that they had never seen before.

And once a charging tank broke down mid-way, it would just be waiting to be targeted by the enemy's artillery.

To survive on the battlefield, they must charge faster.

The coordination between various types of troops must be more seamless!

Now artillery bombardment precedes a tank charge, but in the future, they must practice tanks charging with the advancing barrage, charging under the cover of aircraft, covering the infantry as they charge...

From the skies to the ground, only if everyone is united as one will they have hopes to defeat an enemy far stronger than them.

All troops assembled in the parade ground, and Chu Guang, accompanied by a host of officers, moved from the spectator stands to the chief platform.

Standing before the soldiers, Chu Guang, clad in powered armor, activated his helmet's speaker and spoke out with a resonant voice.

"...The performance of each unit was quite remarkable. From your spirited gazes, I can see that precious courage and loyalty, as well as the determination to succeed."

"You are the pillars of the Alliance, the future of the Alliance, and indeed, the future of all human civilization. The responsibilities on your shoulders are as heavy as the distant mountains, so never be complacent or negligent."

"...The sweat you shed today is so that tomorrow, less blood will be spilled!"

"I hope you will push on! To continue advancing towards the ideal of ending the Wasteland Era!"

On the parade ground, soldiers stood at attention, their right fists pressed against their chests.

"Loyalty!!"

A uniform shout echoed across the vast plains, even shattering the skies.

"Loyalty!"

In response to those steadfast gazes, Chu Guang nodded slowly and crisply returned a military salute.

Under the watchful eyes of the soldiers and officers—some even adoring—he handed over the speaking position to the next commandant and calmly left the training field.

The review of each unit's performance during the exercise would be conducted by officers of various ranks in the Alliance.

Having experienced numerous battles, they knew better than anyone where their subordinates still needed improvement.

This surpassed any theoretical strategy.

As the manager of the Alliance, besides meeting their logistical needs, Chu Guang had only two things to do.

That was to ensure his prestige within the army.

And to ensure the loyalty and morale of the troops.

The future Marshal of the Alliance might just be among those soldiers down there.

They were people of this world, and they had only one life, needing more than just courage.

They needed faith.

And managing relations with them was completely different from managing a player community.

Chu Guang unexpectedly discovered that he, who was not originally skilled in these matters, was handling them more and more adeptly.

Following behind Chu Guang, Kaliman was contemplating whether to first order a hundred tanks to test if they were any good, or to purchase two hundred at once to build an armored team of a thousand and confront the Army's lackeys in a head-on clash.

Just as he was about to speak, Chu Guang suddenly stopped walking and tapped his helmet with his index finger.

Kaliman was slightly stunned.

"What's wrong, Mr. Manager?"

"Hold on, I need to take a call."

Chu Guang casually replied and closed his helmet's visor, focusing his attention on the holographic window inside the helmet.

The communication request came from Falling Leaves City, and the caller was Ma Ban.

Without beating around the bush, as soon as the communication connected, Ma Ban spoke with a serious expression.

"Lord, a troop has arrived from the direction of Luo Xia Province, claiming to be from the Royal Family of the Honey Badger Kingdom."

The Honey Badger Kingdom?

Chu Guang had heard of this name.

One of the five major kingdoms in the desert, located near the Falcon Kingdom (Oasis No. 2) and encompassing approximately 50,000 square kilometers.

The vast area of Luo Xia Province matched the extensive man-made oases there.

Even though Oasis No. 3 was relatively smaller, it was nearly half as big as Zhejiang Province back on Earth.

According to rumors from the commercial teams, the Honey Badger Kingdom had a population close to one million and seemed to implement a relatively enlightened monarchy.

Compared to the other kingdoms that inherited the legacies from the Human Alliance Era, its national strength still ranked last among the five major kingdoms and was also the earliest to be annexed by the Falcon Kingdom and the Army's Allied Forces.

However, where there's oppression, there's resistance; the Honey Badger royal family held high prestige in Oasis No. 3, both in terms of royal and clerical authorities.

More critically, the location of Oasis No. 3 was in the central-western part of Luo Xia Province, strategically situated slightly north between Oasis No. 2 and Oasis No. 9.

If they could foster a local military force there, it could potentially intervene behind the Army's lines amid the fierce battles between the Alliance and the Army...

Thinking this, a delight immediately arose in Chu Guang's heart, and he immediately asked.

"What did they say?"

For some reason, Ma Ban's voice seemed subtly uneasy, as he lightly coughed.

"…Their demands are not excessive, but… well, they are somewhat unreasonable. It would be better for you to speak with them directly."

...

Inside a modestly decorated carriage.

A young man and woman sat facing each other, their handsome features and proper posture easily revealing their high status.

Observing his sister opposite him, Somer's gaze shifted away from the window, and a tinge of worry appeared on his face.

After a long pause, he dismissed his indecisive expression and softly uttered a word.

"Sorry."

Beneath the slightly curled brown hair was a delicate and pale face, from which a nonchalant reply emerged under the petite, exquisite nose.

"It's okay."

Afni did not take the apology to heart, or rather, she did not consider it something worth an apology at all.

According to the laws of the Honey Badger Kingdom, she had reached the age of marriage after turning 18.

She did not pay attention to the changing scenery outside the window, focusing her attention entirely on the sketchbook resting on her knees.

The sketch depicted a tall and imposing man, his chin covered with a thick beard that resembled a broom, and his robust physique resembled that of an adult gorilla.

In the Honey Badger Kingdom, a beard was a symbol of strength, just like her father, who had a long and dense beard.

The second brother sitting across from her was not favored to inherit the throne because he could not inherit their father's beard and appeared too frail.

In contrast, her eldest brother was much stronger and was still leading the restoration army, fighting alongside their allies at Oasis No.9...

Yet, her father had passed the kingship to her least favored second brother.

Afni stared intently at the sketchbook, her delicate index finger gently turned a page.

The plot was at an intriguing point.

A barbarian, whose skin was so dark it was almost green and who sported golden canine teeth, was pinned under the foot of a hero clad in heavy armor and wielding a warhammer while nearby lay a pile of corpses draped in black cloaks.

This was a book of paintings brought by a travelling trader from the East, first appearing in the market of the royal city of the Honey Badger Kingdom and deeply loved by the civilians; later, a minister purchased it as a gift for her.

It was said that in the southern part of the River Valley Province, there was a powerful leader who, with a group of brave survivors, defeated beasts much more numerous than his group, slaughtered the Army's dogs, and liberated the enslaved survivors...

Thus, the trade routes of Southern River Province were restored, and the desolate ruin cities thrived under his enlightened governance, with businessmen from north and south singing the praises of that esteemed leader, and the local residents henceforth lived happily... A cause for celebration indeed.

Such stories might not attract the citizens of Hump and the Golden Lizard Kingdom, but for the people of the Honey Badger Kingdom, they were as delightful as fairy tales.

For over a decade, the Honey Badger Kingdom had faced threats from the west.

Since the Falcon Kingdom succumbed to the Army, they had begun to alter the laws of their ancestors and continuously expanded their forces, blatantly trampling on the covenants of the kings.

Every citizen of the Honey Badger Kingdom knew very well that the Falcon Kingdom coveted their oases and the Army sought to enslave them.

Her father refused to become a puppet of the Army, betray his faith, or have his entire nation serve as cannon fodder and laborers for the people of Vellante.

Thus, on a quiet night, they suffered a comprehensive invasion by the Army and its cohorts.

Although the royal families of various countries were furious at the disgraceful surprise attack of the Falcon Kingdom and denounced its royal family for abandoning the teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea, no one was willing to send troops to aid them.

It was only after the Lion Kingdom became the next victim that they received a belated declaration of war...

But by then, it was too late.

Although the Lion Kingdom was the leader of the desert kings, it was uncertain how much longer they could hold out.

The strength of the desert's citizens alone was no longer sufficient to drive off the distant jackals.

They would either perish in the sands holding firmly to their beliefs or seek the aid of outsiders...

Many had paid with their lives for this, including her father and mother.

Compared to them, the sacrifice she was required to make was trivial.

She looked pityingly at the silent, expressionless face, and Somer, thinking she was still immersed in the sorrow of lost happiness, tried to comfort his sister.

"They say the Manager has four sons, each a warrior accomplished in both arts and combat."

"Uh-huh."

"His eldest son is powerful and strong, the second son handsome and dashing, the third son wise and strategic, and then there's the youngest son—"

"Brother."

Finally unable to restrain herself, Afni sighed, closed the book in her hands, and looked seriously at him.

"Don't you think this sounds just like a fairy tale?"

What a smooth-sailing plan.

Somer was slightly taken aback.

At that time, a commotion came from outside, and a familiar name could be faintly heard.

He furrowed his eyebrows, signaling his sister not to worry, stretched out his hand to push open the door, and descended from the vehicle.

Looking at the captain of the guards who was clashing with the crowd in the distance, he shouted loudly.

"Tarit, what are you doing?"

"It's Teresa! The queen of Falcon Kingdom! Those Hyenas have already arrived here!"

Holding his gun, the man with a headscarf glared intensely at the woman behind Ma Ban, suddenly realizing the prince had descended from the vehicle, and immediately turned around and shouted.

"Your Highness, get back in the vehicle—"

The usually gentle and refined prince suddenly let out an angry shout, interrupting the captain of the guards.

"Enough, put down your gun!"

Tarit looked at him in shock, uttering in disbelief.

"Your Highness?!"

Somer strode forward, staring into his eyes as he continued.

"Use your brain and think, how could Falcon Kingdom, which is at war with Lion Kingdom, possibly reach here!"

That indisputable gaze, exactly like that of the former king, although that face had not inherited a bit of that great person's valor.

After a moment of hesitation, Tarit finally gritted his teeth and threw the gun onto the ground.

Glancing at the gun on the ground, Ma Ban's face showed no change from beginning to end, casually waving his hand to signal the guards beside him to pick up the gun.

Originally, he had led his people through the encirclement of the Chewing Bone Tribe and escaped to Qingquan City, then followed the Burning Corps to parachute behind enemy lines and organize local guerrilla resistance.

The looters nearly stuffed a bayonet into his mouth, yet he had never shown a hint of fear, let alone a mere rifle.

In his eyes, this thing was no different from a fire stick.

However—

Although he did not take that threat seriously, it did not mean that people from the Alliance could be casually pointed at with guns.

"I need an explanation."

His gaze passed over the man who had put down his weapon, Ma Ban looked towards the handsome young man nearby, speaking in a non-joking tone.

"If you can't provide a reasonable explanation, I'll have to ask you to sit in the guard room for a while."

"I deeply apologize for my subordinate's rudeness, his anger clouded his mind, but I know this is not enough to compensate for your loss."

The handsome young man bowed slightly, and then looked towards his guard captain.

"According to the laws of the Honey Badger Kingdom, those who attempt murder shall have their hair and beard shaved and be demoted to slaves, to be disposed of by the victim... he is now your slave."

Tarit humbly bowed his head and said nothing, kneeling on one knee.

Ma Ban looked meaningfully at the young man, then glanced at Tarit, who was kneeling on the knee, and said under everyone's gaze.

"Rise, on this land there are no slaves among the living, the Alliance only has brothers and sisters."

Tarit did not move until that crisp voice came from behind.

"Rise, faithful guard, you are now free... thank your master for forgiving your folly."

Brushing the dirt off his knees, Tarit bowed his head, murmured a "thank you," but the glance he shot at Teresa still flickered with hatred.

The diplomatic dispute was resolved, and the atmosphere at the scene no longer felt like the drawing of swords.

Ma Ban did not look at the headscarf-wrapped captain of the guards, but instead looked interestedly at the young man who was walking towards him.

He admitted the kid was quite brave.

Although it was just a bit off compared to him.

"You are?"

"Sommer Honey Badger, the acting king of the Honey Badger Kingdom," the young man bowed slightly, "I represent the royal family of the Honey Badger Kingdom and earnestly beg for your assistance."

"You'll need to speak with our Manager about that, I'm just the head of the refugee camp."

Ma Ban looked at him, then at the group of people behind him, his brows lightly furrowed.

"Is that your kingdom?"

The implication was—

Is that all the people left?

Sam heard the deeper meaning in the voice but didn't mind.

A weak nation has no diplomacy, not to mention a perished one.

He was well aware of his position and responded calmly.

"They are the most loyal warriors of the kingdom; we are certainly not limited to these people, my older brother still leads the restoration army at the front lines, battling the army's hounds, and our subjects have never surrendered."

Ma Ban shrugged his shoulders.

"I will report your situation to our Manager."

Although he sympathized with their plight emotionally, he didn't believe a kingdom that had already perished held any utility value for their alliance.

The No. 3 Oasis, situated in the mid-west, was at least a thousand kilometers away from here, passing through No. 9 Oasis and heading northwest, with an immense desert in between—it was just too far...

Of course, these were just fleeting thoughts in his mind, the specific decisions were the Manager's responsibility.

Whatever decision that person made, he would support unconditionally.

For now, his job was merely to set up the outpost and help rebuild the homes for the survivors around Rui Valley City.

"Please make sure to convey our situation exactly as it is to him, our earlier misunderstanding was unintentional."

Glancing at the pale-faced queen, Sommer pondered why she was here while continuing earnestly.

"Although the threat from the west is a common danger for us all, we will not use this feeble expression to ask for your unconditional assistance."

Looking at the five shabby carriages, Ma Ban couldn't help but smile and added another question.

"Oh, what could you possibly offer our esteemed Manager?"

Even if those five carriages were full of gold, what of it?

Those shiny things are worthless here.

To the "friend and high official's" jest, Sommer didn't take it to heart and spoke in a very soft voice.

"No outsider has ever become the master of the desert people, including the Falcon Kingdom that occupies those oases, but we are willing to break this precedent."

He paused, then continued.

"I've heard the Manager has four sons; if any of them wishes to marry my sister, and once their offspring come of age, I will gladly relinquish the throne to him."

"You will receive the bloodline of the Honey Badger royal family and a legitimate succession right. Under the blessings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea, that grandchild will not only possess 50,000 square kilometers of fertile land in Oasis No.3 and the loyalty of nearly a million subjects, but he will also rightfully become the master of Oasis No.2… the ruler of the Falcon Kingdom."

Sommer spoke these words with earnestness, his gaze unwavering and resolute.

However, upon hearing this statement, Ma Ban was stunned, his face wearing a bizarre expression.

After a long silence, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"... That first sentence."

"Where did you hear that from?"

Chapter 423: We Do Not Export Commodities, But We Can Export Standards

Ideal City.

Standing before a spacious door, Fang Chang halted his steps, glanced at the envelope in his hand, and extracted a card from it before swiping it over the door.

A pale blue ripple spread across the door lock, and with a click, the door swung open.

What greeted his eyes was a broad reception room. The checkerboard carpet in black, white, and gray hues had several sofas placed upon it, and the decor, minimalist yet atmospheric, indeed had a corporate feel.

In this crowded city, spaciousness was a luxury in itself.

A woman around twenty-five or twenty-six years old sat on the central sofa. She sported a silver coat that draped impressively over her slender legs, and her delicate facial features were framed by two graceful eyebrows.

Those gentle eyebrows resembled soft new moons that couldn't hide the spirited sparkle in her eyes and the lively glint within them.

Most attendees at this evening's event were high society from Ideal City.

From her demeanor, Fang Chang felt that she was undoubtedly a wealthy woman.

At the very least.

"Hello, Miss Li Shuyue. I apologize for making you wait," Fang Chang, ever the gentleman, delivered his opening line as a guest.

The woman on the sofa gestured for him to sit and spoke with a pleasing voice.

"Don't be so formal, warrior of the Alliance. If anything, I'm the one who has rudely disturbed your rest. Please, make yourself comfortable and have a seat."

"Then I'll take you up on that."

Fang Chang responded with a light smile and chose a sofa that was neither too close nor too far.

Servants brought in tea for the two.

The misty steam carried a subtle fragrance, gentle yet strangely soothing to the soul.

They exchanged pleasantries for a while, talking about trivial matters.

Interestingly, Fang Chang could sense that unlike the starry-eyed and curious debutantes in the dance hall, her admiring gaze seemed more like encouragement for him to continue speaking.

Was it to assess the investment climate of the Alliance?

With that thought, Fang Chang's spirits lifted, and he abandoned his reserve, beginning to 'shoot the breeze,' discussing everything from the Alliance's developments to its individuals.

For instance, Teng Teng, who ran a small workshop, was praised as a master artist.

Crow, who loitered the streets like a stray, was lauded as a dedicated mushroom craftsman pursuing the perfect mushroom.

And scrambled eggs with tomatoes were turned into a culinary legacy with 888 lost recipes, while Elena was portrayed as a pioneer exploring edible Variants...

Even Mosquito, the goof, was boosted as a rocket scientist dreaming of exploring the edges of the Milky Way.

The Manager...

It seemed the Manager didn't need any embellishment; riding atop the Claw of Death and bathed in sunlight breaking through storm clouds, he was an embodiment of grandeur.

Fang Chang heard that Ideal City now had a film studio planning to base a movie on him.

Whether he knew about this or not was another question.

In his boasting, Fang Chang felt no guilt; after all, they were over 3000 kilometers away from the Alliance. Curiosity wouldn't likely lead everyone to travel there.

"Wait a moment, what is that about the lost recipe book with 888 recipes?" Li Shuyue, having listened for a while, seemed particularly interested and inquired curiously.

Fang Chang replied with a smile.

"Oh, that? It's too much to cover right now. But some of the items at the recent auction related to food were definitely linked to those recipes."

"Including this?"

Li Shuyue reached into a drawer in the table beside her and pulled out a pack of instant noodles, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Seeing the Sour Pickle Instant Noodles in her hand, Fang Chang's expression became momentarily awkward.

"Uh, that was Mosquito's doing."

Li Shuyue frowned slightly.

"But isn't he supposed to be aspiring to reach the Kuiper Belt... as a rocket scientist?"

Fang Chang hurriedly concocted an explanation.

"This is just a product of his hobby. While his main focus is on rockets, he occasionally creates some odd things... like what you see there."

Blowing his own trumpet seemed a bit too much, and there seemed to be a slip-up.

Fang Chang thought to himself in secret.

However, Miss Li Shuyue didn't seem to notice any flaws in the tale and merely murmured in silence before softly exclaiming,

"Incredible... It seems that the rumors really aren't baseless."

Fang Chang paused.

"Rumors? What rumors?"

"People on Endpoint Cloud are discussing that the ancestors from Shelter No. 404 were all artists," Li Shuyue smiled and said, "At first, I was skeptical, but now I'm quite convinced."

Fang Chang coughed.

"While I'm not sure where you've heard this rumor, what you say is... not entirely wrong! We indeed inherited some special things from the United Human, especially on a cultural level."

As he spoke, Li Shuyue's eyes brightened.

Fang Chang felt, however, she hadn't fully believed him, at most half-believed.

But what did it matter?

A subtle smile played at the corners of his mouth; he had already anticipated her skepticism.

Only half-believing?

That was quite daring indeed...

It seemed that she had grasped the information she wanted, and Li Shuyue suddenly changed her expression, putting on a serious look.

"Let me introduce myself again. I am the CEO of Ruyue Group, and here is my business card."

A slender fingertip lightly slid, and the pale blue holographic window turned into a pristine white coffee table, floating up in front of Fang Chang.

Taking it as merely a game effect, Fang Chang was not surprised; he dragged the business card in front of himself and glanced at it.

However, he quickly realized it was pointless to look at it; completely unfamiliar with Ideal City, he couldn't comprehend what was written on the business card.

Ruyue Group?

Isn't Ideal City only supposed to have five major groups?

"...Our company is invested and controlled by Ideal Group, mainly operating in the food sales and related processing industries."

Watching Fang Chang gaze at the business card and fall into thought, Li Shuyue continued with her pleasant voice,

"To be honest, this is the first time I've seen such interesting commodities. Though not very healthy and with a storage life that isn't very long, the taste is surprisingly good... How did you come up with these novel cooking methods?"

Fang Chang's expression was slightly subtle; after a moment of thought, he fabricated a plausible explanation.

"For us, dining falls under the category of culture. Eating is not just about fulfilling nutritional needs but also satisfying the spirit."

"This sounds very interesting,"

Li Shuyue said with interest.

"I've consulted historical documents, and such cooking techniques have appeared in history, but they were gradually replaced by scientific ideologies in the early Prosperity Epoch, and afterward, dietary concepts became like what we have now... According to what you said, it is just to meet nutritional needs."

"Probably because the people after the Prosperity Epoch had a sufficiently rich spiritual life and no longer needed to satisfy themselves by sacrificing their health or other things. Of course, this is just my personal guess."

Fang Chang had made a casual remark, but unexpectedly, the lady named Li Shuyue nodded thoughtfully.

"This is quite an interesting perspective. It could very well be as you said."

"Maybe, but I'm not an expert after all," he said nonchalantly, taking a sip of black tea.

"But you seem very knowledgeable. I've heard from your ambassador that your identity is not just a soldier, but also responsible for promoting alliance products," Li Shuyue said intently, looking at him, "Are you interested in cooperating?"

So, it was for this reason that she sought him out.

Hearing Li Shuyue's words, Fang Chang's face showed a pleased smile.

Wasn't this exactly what he was waiting for?

"Of course, we are here to seek cooperation. How would you like to proceed?"

Without further ado, Li Shuyue got straight to the point.

"Based on our market research, we believe that the next six months are the best window for introducing alliance products into Ideal City. The residents here are very interested in your cultural products. I think food would be a good entry point."

"We can provide two options. The first option is for you to handle production and transportation, and we handle sales. The second option is to set up a joint venture. You provide personnel and technology, especially food recipes, while we provide funding and location, and conduct production and sales locally in Ideal City."

After quietly listening to the detailed explanation of the two options, Fang Chang nodded lightly.

"No problem, we can provide everything you mentioned."

Li Shuyue was delighted inside but did not show it on her face, only smiling politely.

However, just as she was about to steer the conversation towards the contract with a "pleased to cooperate," the man across from her suddenly changed the topic.

"However, compared to the two options you provided, I have a better proposal. Are you interested?"

Her excitement cooled instantly, and Li Shuyue couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

"Oh?"

To be honest, she didn't expect a more innovative idea to emerge from a technologically backward survivor settlement.

But—

She might as well listen to what he had to say.

Not minding the skepticism in her eyes, Fang Chang cleared his throat and began his pitch.

"Whether exporting products or exporting recipes, neither aligns with our interests in maximizing benefits. Honestly, those recipes aren't very complicated. If our products really sold out in Ideal City, it wouldn't take two days for your competitors to analyze your sales data and create a product that better meets market demands."

Li Shuyue immediately responded,

"Don't worry, we have comprehensive patent laws, and we also have our own research laboratories to improve formulas based on market and consumer feedback. As long as we act faster and better than our competitors, there's no need to worry about being replaced."

Fang Chang nodded and said straightforwardly,

"Of course, you have a point, but let me pose a hypothetical situation. If the subsequent recipes are developed solely by Ruyue Group, what relationship would they have with our joint venture?"

Li Shuyue's face showed a hint of surprise as her sharp eyes squinted slightly.

"Oh? Are you worried we might not honor our agreement?"

Fang Chang spoke in a gentle voice,

"I certainly didn't mean that, just a reasonable assumption. You have a technological advantage and know the local market and rules better than us. You could maximize benefits within the legal framework... To be honest, if there were any contractual disputes, I don't have much confidence that we could prevail against you."

Li Shuyue said impatiently,

"So what's your proposal?"

"Shipping costly freight for inexpensive consumer goods is unrealistic, and the recipes themselves aren't that valuable. We are not planning to export products or recipes, but rather standards."

"Standards?"

Looking at a hesitant Li Shuyue, Fang Chang nodded and said straightforwardly,

"That's right."

Li Shuyue frowned,

"Can you be more specific?"

"Specifically, telling stories."

Watching her bewildered expression, Fang Chang smiled and threw out the excuse he had prepared long ago.

"For instance, Coca-Cola. This product actually doesn't have much technical content, but Nuclear Cola sells better in Giant Stone City than Wico Cola or any other brand because the Alliance's Manager openly recommends it as an alternative to alcohol, since all the Awakeners in the Alliance are drinking it... Those Mercenaries then think, maybe if they drink that stuff, they too can awaken."

"And take fried chicken, for example. It has even less technological content, but if we wish, it could wipe out an Army division tomorrow... I mean Ten Thousand Troops. Or take the pack of instant noodles you have in your hand, honestly, I'm not very fond of them, but if we need, we can also make them our military provisions... Then they will sell well on Endpoint Cloud. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Listening to Fang Chang's vivid description, Li Shuyue watched the man in front of her with great interest.

Goodness, even the Waste Land Wanderer knew about the power of brand influence?

Not by taste, nor by nutrition, but by the added cultural value to empty the consumers' wallets.

If that's the case, it will indeed be difficult for her company to kick him out after completely developing the market and updating the products. After all, what's valuable is no longer the patents and recipes but the inherent impression in the consumers' minds.

In fact, the commodities from Ideal City sold well on the Wasteland largely not just because of the technology, but because of the brand influence behind them.

She also had considered doing this, creating a best-selling brand with the characteristics of the Alliance, using higher barriers to limit competitors, harvesting the wallets of Ideal City residents.

However, she had originally planned to do this after Ruyue Group had fully assimilated the technologies of its partners.

After all, such a golden goose is certainly better kept in one's own hands; there is no need to share it with others.

She just hadn't expected that the man before her would have such great ambitions.

Having just come from that remote poor area to Ideal City, he had already planned to turn the Alliance's products into a best-selling brand.

"That's quite interesting." Appreciation flashed in Li Shuyue's eyes.

She had seen plenty of Waste Land Wanderers.

Most of those people were crude, short-sighted, inherently cunning, lacking real intelligence but constantly scheming.

However, that wasn't their fault.

After all, in the unpredictable environment of the Wasteland, those with long-term vision might not even live until the next month.

Thinking of such far-reaching things, this guy truly had some abilities.

Should she agree?

Even if she didn't, they could probably find others to collaborate with.

Thinking that she was praising his proposal, a pleasant smile appeared on Fang Chang's face.

"It seems we've reached a consensus. Now, let's discuss the details of the cooperation... such as how to sell this standard."

Li Shuyue studied his face for a while and then suddenly threw out a remark unrelated to business.

"Although we generally don't grant permanent residence to Waste Land Wanderers, there are exceptions in certain cases."

She naturally shifted her sitting position, her right leg gently resting on her left knee, a slight smile curling the corners of her full lips.

"...I've taken a liking to you. Have you considered settling in Ideal City?"

Although her tone was jokey, her expression didn't seem like a joke.

Fang Chang admitted that the suggestion was very attractive.

Life here was indeed beautiful, compared to the Waste World, it was like changing to a different "Game."

However—

"It's an honor to gain your appreciation, but my heart already belongs elsewhere."

Watching the courteous man before her, Li Shuyue was slightly stunned, obviously not expecting her proposal to be rejected.

However, she only paused briefly before smiling lightly, not taking it personally as she said,

"Don't misunderstand, I only liked your business skills. Let's get back to the point and talk about the details of the cooperation."

Admiration was just that, and nothing more.

Like passing by a shop window and spotting a trendy luxury item.

She wouldn't mind swiping her card to buy it, but wouldn't line up at the door like nouveau riche do.

With her assets, family, and looks, what type of man couldn't she have? There was no need to compete with anyone for anything.

However, his unaffected demeanor still irritated her.

Doesn't she have any allure at all?

Not taking her sarcastic remark to heart, Fang Chang just casually smiled, his fingers interlaced on his knees, as he composedly spoke,

"Of course, when I said my heart belongs elsewhere, I meant it belongs to the Alliance."

"Then as you wish, let's talk about the specific details of our cooperation."

...

In the resting room next to the banquet hall.

Mole was completely sprawled on the sofa, engrossed in playing with the Virtual Reality Glasses.

Suddenly, the colorful light streaks flashed, disappearing from before his eyes.

With a bewildered look, Mole looked up only to see the glasses in Fang Chang's hands.

"What are you playing? You're so engrossed."

Seeing Fang Chang about to put on the glasses, Mole quickly snatched them back, sweating profusely and sheepishly smiling.

"Just playing some ordinary little games I randomly picked on Endpoint Cloud."

Real residents of "Utopia" indeed seem very open.

Curious, Fang Chang asked,

"Is it fun?"

"Average, not very entertaining, but playing a virtual reality game inside another virtual reality game, that was unexpected."

While saying this, Mole couldn't help but praise in his heart.

To be honest, these big factories nowadays make games with their feet, DLCs with their butts, and profit with their brains, reheating the same old stuff over and over, but they refuse to try anything new.

A hidden gem within the game that could stand alone as a major release, truly a conscience in the industry.

Brother Guang definitely deserves a shoutout—truth in advertising 100% real virtual reality game.

It's just too real!

"...Anyway, the gameplay is decent, and the freedom is OK. The content is pretty vast, just not realistic enough."

Fang Chang paused, then asked after a moment of silence.

"...Is this game serious?"

"Pfft, what are you thinking about? It's just a normal RPG game. Ever played 'Free Gun Cavalry'? It's like watching a spaceship!" Mole saw the expression on his face and knew he was thinking something off, quickly changing the subject, "Let's stop bullshitting. How come you came back so soon?"

He remembered the guy had left around eight o'clock, and it was not even ten when he returned.

That was pretty quick...

"Just talked some business,"

"Just business?" Mole looked at him skeptically, "I don't believe it."

Fang Chang rolled his eyes, too lazy to explain, and found a place to casually sit down.

He certainly wasn't going to tell him that he'd just negotiated a deal worth a few billion for the Alliance.

Ideal Group's subsidiary, Ruyue Group, planned to invest 1 billion Cr and form a joint venture catering chain "Long Moon" with Bull Horse Group.

The confirmed brands included a fast food chain "Ken's Chicken" offering fried chicken and cola, and the "Bull Horse" hot pot restaurant.

"Export 'pre-prepared food'?"

"Selling instant noodles?"

Those kinds of business could be done, but the profits were too low for his taste.

And with Ideal City's strict food safety standards, ordinary food couldn't even make it in. Considering also that the Alliance's own food supplies were hardly abundant, rather than importing food here, it was better to produce locally.

Just like Fang Chang said, export standards.

The current plan was for "Long Moon" Group to send employees to the Alliance, where Bull Horse Group would handle training them. After the training, they would return to Ideal City to work as chefs and managers.

Still immersed in the game he'd just played, Mole ruminated for a while, staring at the glasses in his hand and suddenly spoke.

"You know... I find this virtual reality game is pretty fun, but the gameplay is too monotonous."

Fang Chang glanced at him.

"What more do you want to add?"

Mole: "It's not about adding more, I'll give an example. I just played about three RPG games, one based on a star theme, one fantasy, and another roughly alternate history. All three games were that open-world type like Elder Scrolls, huge maps, flashy skills, NPCs you can interact with simply, very high freedom... But the selling point of all three games was exactly the same which is outrageous!"

Fang Chang glanced at him again.

"And that's bad? If it was real, I'd freaking buy them all."

The easter eggs were made with such detail?

Brother Guang once bragged to him about "Wasteland OL" saying most of the content was automatically generated based on the player's knowledge and dreams, he didn't quite believe it at the time.

Now it seems, it was not just bragging.

He really should experience it properly when he has time.

Expecting Fang Chang's reaction, Mole made a helpless face.

"It's easy to say, but when the whole game platform is filled with this type, it's just boring. For example, MOBA or battle royale games, I didn't see any of those... Have they gone out of fashion?"

Fang Chang blinked briefly.

Though it sounded a bit outrageous, he seemed to have stumbled upon another way to make money...

...

The next morning, in one of the massive buildings, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of a top-floor CEO office.

Looking at the draft contract in her hand, leaning back in her office chair, Li Shuyue faced the steel forest emerging from the clouds, holding a cup of coffee, and gently sipped it with a furrowed brow.

1 billion Cr.

For the parent company Ideal Group, it was but a small digit, but for Ruyue Group, it was significant.

After musing for a moment, she stretched her index finger and drew lightly on the table.

A pale blue holographic window projected in front of her, weaving a three-dimensional bust.

In an emotionless electronic tone, the AI assistant spoke softly.

"Respected boss, what would you like me to do?"

She responded succinctly.

"Help me get a plane ticket to the southern part of River Valley Province."

Across a distance of 3000 kilometers, even the most authentic news could be distorted.

She wouldn't feel at ease without seeing it for herself.

The AI assistant reminded her.

"The company doesn't have regular flights to the southern part of River Valley Province. According to the terms of resolution 1001, renting aircraft capacity requires filling out a form for reporting, along with stating relevant reasons and providing supporting documentation."

Li Shuyue said offhandedly.

"You can write something trivial for that, just list 'market survey' as the reason."

The floating hologram slightly nodded.

"As you command."

Chapter 424: The Promise of Troop Deployment and Vassalage

Soon after Fang Chang faithfully secured a substantial investment for the Alliance from a corporation,

Chu Guang, aboard the Iron Heart to Falling Leaves City for an inspection, finally met the delegation from the Honey Badger Kingdom.

Clearly,
they were unaware, amidst the confusion of war, that the Iron Heart had already been commandeered by the Alliance; their knowledge of the Alliance was several months outdated.

Thus, when they saw the towering airship appear in the sky, a group of Guards nearly caused another comical mishap in their panic.

However, seeing this airship cleared up some of Sommer's confusion.

This airship had once been General Mclen's personal vessel.

There had been rumors that the king of the Falcon Kingdom had promised a member of the Royal Family to one of the Army's generals.

But it was unexpected that this member of the Royal Family was the king's consort...

The airship slowly descended.

Chu Guang briefly asked Ma Ban about the situation of the delegation over the communication channel and then heartily invited the prince and princess who had come from afar to board his airship.

Including Teresa, the consort of the Falcon Kingdom, Chu Guang also invited her up.

It had been two weeks since she was assigned to Work at the Refugee Camp.

He was a bit curious about how the lady consort had transformed...

...

On the bridge of the airship.

Sommer, who had just taken the elevator up, was still getting accustomed to the altitude; perhaps he had never been so high before, and his face was slightly pale.

However, being a worldly individual, this somewhat young-looking youth composed himself and bowed lightly in greeting.

"Good day, Mr. Manager, I am Sommer Honey Badger, the acting king of the Honey Badger Kingdom. This beside me is the late king's youngest daughter, my own sister, Afni Honey Badger."

"Hello, Mr. Manager, you can call me Afni or Nini," said the young girl with slightly curly hair, also performing a curtsy, her voice clear and pleasant.

Hearing the word Honey Badger, Chu Guang couldn't help but think of the Bald Brother meme.

Yet, both in front of him seemed frail and hardly matched the picture of a creature that's either at war or on its way to one.

"Chu Guang, Manager of the Alliance."

He introduced himself succinctly, and with a glance signaled Teresa that there was no need for formalities, then looked on with interest at the young prince and princess before him.

Although their ages were not apparent, they seemed quite youthful.

To have traveled across an entire warzone, making it from Oasis No.3 here, was truly no small feat.

Just as he was about to say something, Afni suddenly blinked and spoke in a crisp tone.

"You look nothing like the Manager in the paintings."

"Paintings?" Chu Guang raised an eyebrow with interest.

"Yes!" Afni nodded, pulling out a sketchbook from her embrace, "It contains stories about you."

Upon seeing the sketchbook, Sommer's expression immediately twisted into one of embarrassment, as if he wanted to intervene.

But Afni had already handed the sketchbook out, lifting her skirt for a courtly curtsy.

"This sketchbook was bought from the Market, I hope you won't take offense."

"Ha ha, why would I?"

Chu Guang laughed heartily, signaling for Lu Bei, captain of the Guards, to bring the sketchbook to him.

Someone had turned him into a comic character?

How intriguing.

Chu Guang opened the sketchbook, curious to see how the desert Residents envisioned him.

Yet, as soon as he flipped to the first page, he nearly cringed at the distorted art style.

Damn!

Which Painter had perpetrated this atrocity!

He was drawn so ugly!

He had expected that information might have been distorted due to being passed over long distances, but he did not expect a complete makeover.

Since when had he ever grown such a long beard?

And power armor without a helmet, who would fight without wearing one!

What's with having four sons?

Chu Guang's first reaction was definitely that some player had started a rumor.

Then he immediately suspected Mosquito as the first suspect and Tail as the second.

But setting aside the style, the content was quite interesting, it had a "superhero" feel to it.

Just as Chu Guang tried to accept the ridiculous style and flipped through with interest, Somer anxiously glanced at his sister beside him and communicated silently with his eyes and lip movements.

"Have you lost your mind, why did you give him that album?"

"Cool down, big brother, you're too nervous. Think about it, he'll find out from someone else eventually, better we clear up the misunderstandings ourselves."

Looking into those gentle eyes, Somer took a deep breath and calmed down.

He admitted that the visual impact of the airship had been too intense, indeed making him somewhat nervous.

"Alright... but I was careless; I didn't consider that the intelligence discrepancy could be this big. The Manager of the Alliance is so young, even if he has offspring, they can't be very old..."

"It's okay," Afni blinked and shaped her lips silently, "whatever arrangements you make, I won't mind."

Somer stared at his sister, astonished.

Without a doubt, her gaze conveyed that she was prepared to sacrifice herself.

Closing his eyes slowly, he clenched his fist and unwillingly shifted his gaze away.

Marrying the Manager's son to Afni was the best option.

If the two were of similar age, by the time their children came of age, he would only be in his forties or fifties. Even if he abdicated the throne, he could still serve as a regent prince and keep the power in the hands of the Honey Badger family.

By that time, the aging Manager would be in his twilight years, and the Alliance would enter a chaotic period of power transition, inevitably too distracted to concentrate on the states of its vassals.

Whether the Alliance would ultimately crumble or transition smoothly, the Honey Badger Royal Family could control the initiative of their position.

However, what Somer hadn't expected was that this dignitary was so young...

Whether marrying Afni to the Manager of the Alliance or to his possibly newly-born son, neither was a good idea.

A leader full of ambition, with plentiful energy and in the prime of life; even if he outlived him, he had no confidence in rivalling this man.

A man who could withstand the onslaught of the refugees' wave amid chaos, unite those panic-stricken by the Looter, and even lead them to counterattack...

Such a person's methods were far from simple! Behind that fatherly smile must be ruthlessness and decisiveness invisible to the ordinary eye.

He even began to suspect that his own little schemes might have been seen through long ago.

That's why the Manager had invited him onto this flying ship, to demonstrate the military might of the Alliance and to tell him that his cunning was futile.

Was this an ultimatum?

What should he do?

Somer's mind raced, trying to keep calm and wondering how to break out of this situation.

At this moment, the Manager of the Alliance finally finished browsing through the album in his hand and smilingly handed it to the captain of the Guards nearby.

"This album is indeed outlandish; I didn't even know I had four sons."

Somer nodded in apology.

"It is our oversight for not clarifying the rumors... once I return to the Oasis, I will issue a command to remove these albums from the market."

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"You don't have to do that; let them keep drawing. If there is a new Work, remember to send me a copy."

Chu Guang nodded to Lu Bei, signaling him to return the album to Princess Afni.

Then, Chu Guang looked at the handsomely featured prince and joked.

"As you have discovered, I'm afraid I can't fulfill your request. I can't very well introduce your sister to someone who doesn't exist. And even if I had children, I probably wouldn't arrange marriage for him, he should learn to pursue a girl on his own."

Somer was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding the Manager's meaning.

Or rather, he did not expect him to say such a thing.

Was he suggesting that the Alliance did not need the vassalage of a nonexistent kingdom?

Afni glanced at her brother, sighed softly in her heart, and knew he had likely become obstinate again.

His second brother had always been smart, his thoughts more meticulous than his peers, which is probably why their father had chosen him as the successor to the throne.

But thinking too much was both his strength and his drawback.

Before him was neither a powerful court official nor the king of another kingdom, but the leader who had just deeply wounded the elite forces of the Army on the frontline Battlefield.

An elephant does not boast of its muscles in the face of an ant, nor does it hint at anything.

Its very existence says it all.

If that adult wanted something, he had no need to hint at them.

Either say it outright.

Or reach out and take it.

To give her brother a little time to think and to prevent the meeting from becoming too awkward, she blinked and picked up the conversation from him.

"But as your son, shouldn't you consider the Alliance more?"

This question was quite interesting.

Although Chu Guang had few memories of parents, only remembering the grandfather who had raised him, he had thought about how he would educate his children when he became a father.

Looking at the innocent-faced Afni, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"That's right, the son of the Manager should do that, and if I had one, I would expect him to do so, but he could do it in other ways."

"Such as?"

"Such as becoming a scientist, or a teacher, or a soldier, or an engineer... Whether it's a research institute, a hospital, a school, a factory, a construction site, a farm, or the Army, among so many professions he's sure to find one he likes and that others happen to need."

A hint of surprise, or perhaps confusion, arose on Afni's face.

"Is that enough?"

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"It's enough. The Alliance you see before you is made up of these kinds of people. As a father, I think it would be enough for him to live a meaningful life, to not waste his time. As for the rest, it's up to him."

Afni was silent for a moment, perhaps thinking of her own childhood, and sighed softly.

"Then you must be a good father."

Chu Guang laughed.

"Thank you for the compliment."

Afni, curious, continued to ask.

"Do you have a wife?"

"Not yet; maybe after this war is over."

Chu Guang joked.

He knew what those subordinates beside him were thinking.

Including Old Luka who was not here, including that Lu Bei beside him whose hair had not yet fully grown, everyone was eager for him to hurry up and find someone to continue the lineage and to provide the Alliance with a young master.

But precisely because they still held such thoughts, it was not the appropriate time.

The Alliance belonged to everyone, and it was more than just a slogan. After two centuries in decline, they must realize that they never needed any kind of savior.

They were their own saviors.

As a young person from a civilized society who had received nine years of compulsory education, Chu Guang had never thought about becoming an emperor, although he often joked about Sigma with his players.

It might sound a bit idealistic, but after all, it was the house he had built, bit by bit, with everyone, and he had grown somewhat attached.

All he hoped for was to live in peace in his old age, and that his house wouldn't become a dilapidated shack that could be knocked over with a kick.

This place bore too many people's emotions, and he had seen everything that had happened here.

Afni nodded thoughtfully.

She couldn't see what those eyes were pondering, but the blueprint he described in abstract terms was indeed very promising.

Though this was not the teaching of the Spirit of the Sand Sea.

But the ancient counsel told her that an elephant would not lie to an ant.

If he was truly thinking this way, he likely wouldn't make life difficult for the people living on that Land.

The Alliance was made up of every single person living there.

Just as Somer, deep in thought, finally came up with an idea and was about to take over the conversation, something unexpected happened.

The little princess of the Honey Badger Kingdom suddenly lifted the hem of her skirt and knelt down on one knee.

"Then may I?"

Surprise, amazement, confusion, and delight appeared on a variety of different faces.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly ignited...

...

That must have been a proposal, right?

After all, the Alliance's law only specified the age for marriage, without dictating who must propose to whom.

If possible, Lu Bei really hoped the Manager would accept the offer.

It didn't matter who it was from.

Even if they were from a foreign tribe, that was fine.

Even if he—well, too bad he was a man, being anxious would not help.

Unfortunately, the Manager did not accept the proposal from that foreign princess.

However, the prince from the Honey Badger Kingdom still received the promise he wanted.

"... I cannot reveal to you the battle plans, but the Alliance will send troops to fight the Looter and his servants."

"Whether it's Residents of Oasis No. 3 or Oasis No. 2, they will all be ultimately liberated. We will not force them to abandon their beliefs, but we will fulfill our duty as a refuge, opening schools there to teach them the laws of science, to teach them how to cultivate the land, and even the Spirit of the Desert Sea shall not interfere."

Somer quickly said.

"The wolverine king's room will cooperate with your Work."

Chu Guang nodded.

He wasn't without self-interest, as any help had a price. Prioritizing the interests of one's own people was the foundation of unity, but he would choose a relatively mild approach to extract payment.

In the long run, education was the best solution to eradicate ignorance.

Once Luo Xia Province had the foundation for reform, its people would naturally go with the flow of history.

As for what the wolverine king's room planned to do then, that would be their own business.

But it was still too early to discuss that.

When that day actually came, they might even beg to join the Alliance.

After all, it wasn't only the Residents of the desert who needed to go to school; the Royal Family did as well.

The tide of thoughts brought by the players from that other world would somewhat influence them.

After a pause, Chu Guang looked at Afni, who was showing a hint of disappointment.

"If you truly long for the world I've described, spend these days walking and looking around the cities of the Alliance. I'll arrange a guide for you."

He wouldn't flatter himself by thinking this young girl had fallen for him at first sight, so he felt no embarrassment at all.

The words spoken in that situation, whether taught by her brother or decided on her own initiative, held no reference value.

If it was to save her homeland ravaged by war, then she should seek salvation through other means.

After hearing what Chu Guang said, Afni gently shook her head and spoke to him earnestly.

"I don't need a guide. If possible, may I be allowed to follow you? I want to become your student."

Student?

Chu Guang smiled, finding the word a little nostalgic.

After all, he had only graduated a few years before being unceremoniously sent here.

"Unfortunately, I don't teach, nor do I have the time to teach you anything. However, if you want to find a job to pass the time before returning to the Desert Sea, you could help me sort out those books that have not yet been categorized."

"There are many interesting books there, from the distant Prosperity Epoch, which might give you some inspiration for the Work you will do in the future."

He had previously recovered a large number of books from Yong's, all stored in the warehouse in the City of Dawn.

Currently, the Merchant Guild was responsible for sorting them, but they could spare few hands.

With the ignition of the Fusion Reactor and the successive arrival of enterprise support Devices, there were vacancies everywhere in the Alliance, especially for those with the ability to write independently.

Afni nodded submissively.

"I will complete the task you assign to me."

Chu Guang nodded in approval, giving her an encouraging look.

Maybe his plan would proceed even more smoothly than he had anticipated.

After all, it had only been two hundred years since the Prosperity Epoch; it wasn't too late for everything.

Chapter 425: The Pangolin Achieves a Great Feat

From the moment Teresa boarded the airship, she began to sweat nervously in her palms, trying to make herself seem smaller.

However, even though she put considerable effort into making herself appear more diminutive, that person's gaze still landed on her.

"Teresa."

The moment her name was called, Teresa instinctively straightened her back, struggling to squeeze out a composed smile, but her stammering voice still betrayed the panic in her heart.

"Manager, sir, may I ask if you have any instructions?"

"It has been two weeks, and I want to hear what you think about the work."

Watching the lady stutter in finding her words, Chu Guang patiently continued,

"Don't be nervous, it doesn't matter if you don't have any thoughts, just briefly summarize what you do every day."

"Fir... first thing in the morning I will —"

"About your work."

Her thoughtless words interrupted, Teresa's face flushed red as she hastily corrected herself.

"Yes! Well, Mr. Ma Ban had me assist with checking the inventory of Warehouse No. 3, mainly to make sure the outflows and inflows of the supplies balanced out..."

Although she was somewhat inexperienced at first, she quickly became adept. She provided a detailed but concise description, including the problems she encountered at work, the friends she made, and some ideas for improvement.

Chu Guang gave her an approving look.

It seemed Ma Ban had trained her well; warehouse management is one of the most challenging roles, as it involves dealing with almost all frontline positions.

From a single broom, to a bag of bricks and a tuckload of cement, managing these trifling details laid a foundation for managing larger organizations in the future.

Of course, what he most looked forward to was her exposure to the masses through participation in grassroots labor.

As he had said before, this knowledge and experience would eventually be put to use.

Chu Guang then turned his gaze to Prince Samo.

"You should have achieved your desired result by now. Before the war ends, I will provide a place of respite for you and your subordinates. If you're interested, you can participate in the refugee camp's work. If not, I won't insist."

Samo promptly replied with respect.

"Thank you for offering me this opportunity. I'm willing to do it; I want to learn how you rebuild your homeland."

Whether it was to understand the purpose of the Alliance or to please the Secret Country, he felt it was necessary to accept.

Looking at the young prince, Chu Guang nodded approvingly.

Not bad, the lad shows promise.

In fact, since the Alliance had accepted the Honey Badger Royal Family as refugees, they were guests in principle, and he should have provided them with basic living materials.

However, wouldn't it be a pity to waste free labor?

Ma Ban always complained to him about not being able to recruit culturally enlightened staff for the refugee camp, and here was a ready-made candidate.

Moreover, for the young man himself, this was also an excellent opportunity for development.

"Teresa, you take him with you," Chu Guang looked towards the utility tool of a queen.

"Yes, sir."

Teresa bowed obediently. However, Prince Samo standing beside her frowned slightly.

"Sir, I would like to know in what capacity the queen of the Falcon Kingdom remains here."

"I am his captu—"

Teresa began to speak unconsciously, but her words were cut off before she could finish.

"She is a person liberated by the Alliance."

Hearing that voice, her face showed a surprised expression.

Including Samo, standing next to her, who turned to Chu Guang, equally bewildered, and asked subconsciously.

"Liberated means..."

"It's literally what it says. In the eyes of the Alliance, whether it's the residents of Oasis No. 3 or those of Oasis No. 2, they are all victims of this chaos."

Chu Guang glanced at the floor-to-ceiling window outside, where the yellow sand floating against the skyline looked like boiling flames.

"We will liberate them."

...

Deep within the Luo Xia Province, the yellow sand sweeping over the horizon was like lava churning in hell.

The sky was darkened, allowing no light to pass.

Mclen could no longer remember how many times he had encountered this ghastly weather; he only knew that this cursed day was finally coming to an end.

Here was the western frontier of Oasis No. 9, where the Army's frontline headquarters was located just ahead.

He and his subordinates were only a short distance away—

"Halt, the person ahead!"

A shout came from afar as a soldier, holding a rifle, stepped towards them through the sandstorm from the Army camp's gate.

"Idiot, put your gun down, old man! Recognize who I am!"

Staring at the bewildered sentry, Mclen cursed as he pushed the rifle aside and grabbed the soldier by the collar.

"Find Griffin for me!"

"I am right here."

A voice came from a distance, and Mclen let go of the sentry's collar, narrowing his eyes at the man standing in the camp's gateway.

Black boots and a navy blue military overcoat, with the shoulder insignia bearing three stars, there stood the Army's General in charge of the Luo Xia Province — General Griffin.

Those chiseled jaws and hawk-like features didn't resemble those of a seasoned warrior but rather a cunning fox.

McCullen loathed that face.

Especially that person.

"You still have the nerve to come back?"

Griffin looked at the disheveled man in front of him, with raised eyebrows that betrayed no hint of whether he was surprised or scoffing.

Before McCullen could continue speaking, Griffin, in a calm and measured voice, pressed on.

"Against a bunch of natives, a bunch of wild men from the woods, you've managed to lose The Steel Heart. I thought you'd be so ashamed you'd have committed suicide by now."

A flicker of annoyance passed through McCullen's eyes, but he bit back his anger and spoke with a steady voice.

"They were no mere natives! We encountered reinforcements from The Enterprise! I know what you want to say, but the fact is, there wasn't just one batch of reinforcements from The Enterprise. We ran into the second one! Don't think you can shirk responsibility. It was YOU who issued the order to send me to the Southern River Valley Province!"

"Yes, I issued the order, I told you to intercept that injured employee, not to go toe-to-toe with The Enterprise's men. And now, you've really done it. You've provoked the cowards on the East Coast. My informants from The Free State tell me they've built an airbase on the south shore of The Tributary of Tianshui, with planes landing there every now and then."

Griffin stared at McCullen, his eyes narrowing into slits, almost poking into his nostrils.

"...And I've been trying to figure out for two nights, even if you ran into The Enterprise's reinforcements, how on earth did you let them take down such a huge airship, especially one equipped with shields?"

McCullen's face stiffened, yet he wasn't overwhelmed by Griffin's imposing demeanor. His eyes narrowed just as fiercely, unapologetically retorting.

"Don't pin this crap on me. We had already taken The Pioneer. Was there ever a half chance for peace with The Enterprise? Save your breath, the war had begun long ago! What happened in the Southern River Valley Province had nothing to do with my tactics, and if you really want to start counting, it's your superflous orders to blame!"

"You still haven't answered me how you lost that airship."

"Such matters I will naturally explain to the Air Force Command. I have no obligation to submit a battle report to the Army!"

The two argued fiercely, albeit with only one showing a red-faced ire.

The adjutant and staff officers who followed General McCullen, along with other military officers, just stood there silently, trapped in awkward silence.

Similarly, the officers behind General Griffin remained silent without a word as if they hadn't heard anything.

"...Enough already, stop talking about me. What about Oasis No. 9? Haven't you taken it down yet?" Unable to withstand any more grilling, McCullen forcibly shifted the topic, trying to use the other's incompetence to justify his own failure.

However, Griffin just gave a light laugh and with a sarcastic voice sneered.

"If you had relocated your airship as I instructed, we would be parading in the palace of The Lion Kingdom right now."

Not waiting for McCullen to explode, Griffin allowed the pitiful clown some dignity, swiftly ending the subject and continued in a nonchalant way,

"The situation at the front is tense. Our military presence in Luo Xia Province is a bit weak, which limits our support for The Falcon Kingdom. Although the Retinue Army's combat power is noteworthy, they need to allocate personnel to seize Oasis No. 3."

General McCullen spoke dismissively.

"We have no need for those lowlifes from Oasis No. 3. I suggest we lock them up and dispose of them in a mass, and then move in more obedient slaves from the west to fill the labor shortage. That way we can free up more personnel and concentrate forces to take down Oasis No. 9!"

"The Army does not need your command; you should just stick to commanding your airship," Griffin looked at him with mocking contempt, "We certainly do not need the lowlifes from there, but we do need the food produced there. With food, we can supply a larger army, and more reinforcements can be sent from the far west of the Great Desert."

Mass disposals?

It's not that simple.

Don't talk about 1 million people; it would take slaughtering until next year even for 1 million pigs.

As for bringing some slaves over from the west, of course, it's not impossible, but large-scale population migration also takes time.

Though also part of the main warring faction, there was internal disagreement about how to deal with the residents of the occupied territories.

Some supported killing those who resisted and domesticating the compliant into slaves. Others supported using local forces for indirect control, such as fostering puppets.

Under the same educational conditions, a slave maintaining the lowest living standards typically generates value only 0.1 to 0.3 times that of a freeman, based on their work. It often takes a dozen people to sustain one military personnel.

But vassals are different.

They can guarantee productivity of more than 0.5 times at maximum exploitation.

This isn't based on scientific data but on the army's practical experience in various occupied areas.

Griffin truly looked down upon those noble factions that supported slavery.

The system he implemented in his own territory was a mix of employment and slavery, where those poor paid people worked far harder than the servants in his estate.

However—

He only had command authority, at most, he could shoot a subordinate officer who didn't follow orders, but he had no right to deal with this idiot who had obeyed his commands.

And just as McLenn said, as the one issuing the orders, he would equally bear the joint responsibility when the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the military tribunal came asking for accountability.

Thinking of this, Griffin felt even more annoyed.

"Tomorrow, I will arrange a vehicle for you; you and your subordinates can stay at Oasis No.2 for now."

Oasis No.2 was Falcon Kingdom's territory, as well as the army's playground in Luo Xia Province.

There, endless wine and fruits awaited, along with the Falcon Royal Family's provided slaves.

Griffin didn't want to see this guy anymore; he just wanted him to roll far away from his sight.

However, what he didn't expect was that the man who fled back with his tail between his legs did not agree.

"The war isn't over yet. Don't think about driving me away," staring intently at Griffin, McLenn enunciated every word, "Don't try to send me away. I'm not going anywhere."

Once sent to the rear, he would no longer have any chance to make up for his mistakes, only to wait for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to slap an order on his face.

Moreover, he had made a vow.

He would personally reclaim this battleground.

He planned to use the blood of all the Waste Land Wanderers from Southern River Province to appease the souls of the fallen soldiers.

Griffin squinted at McLenn.

"Your forces have already been wiped out, what use is there in staying here?"

McLenn's expression remained unchanged as he said,

"The Steel Heart is now in the hands of the Enterprise faction. If they've already mastered the use of that airship, you'll have trouble. I'm the only one who knows how to deal with it."

Hearing this, Griffin's expression slightly changed, he quickly glanced at the officers behind him, and asked frantically.

"You were leading the retreat, weren't you?"

Facing that murderous gaze, McCullen had a slightly embarrassed expression, but he steeled himself and said,

"... We're missing a Finod. The incident happened suddenly, he was outside the airship, and he didn't catch the last flight. That guy is a logistics officer, and he probably knows how to operate that thing."

That guy wasn't a front-line soldier to begin with, and his personality was almost the opposite of Rachel's. If he could surrender, he definitely wouldn't resist.

McCullen was more than 90 percent sure that as long as the Alliance got their hands on him, they would find a way to pry out how to pilot the airship from his mouth.

Griffin took a deep breath, and it took quite a while to stabilize his emotions.

He was already prepared to face the Enterprise's aircraft, but he hadn't expected to have to face not just the Enterprise's aircraft but also their own 400mm main gun.

"... I'll give you a thousand team. You're responsible for containing that airship, and I'll request more support from the rear," McCullen said bluntly.

"Not enough. Assign me ten thousand men and the equipment needed to counter the airship. I know you don't like the look of me, but right now we're grasshoppers on the same string if you catch my drift."

Griffin stared at him for a while before squeezing out a response through clenched teeth.

"Fine..."

...

At the same time, at the front line on the northern side of Oasis No. 9, a howling sandstorm had just swept past.

The sky-darkening yellow sand was like the roar of the Spirit of the Desert Sea.

"Damn... I thought I was going to die."

Crawling out of a pile of sand, Old Soldier struggled for a while before finding an arm buried in the sand and pulling Coleway out from underneath.

Spitting out the sand in his mouth, Coleway wiped his mouth with a look of relief.

"Thank you."

"No worries, glad you're okay," Old Soldier said with loyal sincerity.

Almost a week had passed since they left the territory of the Golden Lizard Kingdom. In these three weeks, his role as an undercover agent had become more and more proficient.

Pattin on his good brother's shoulder, Coleway looked ahead, his furrowed brows briefly giving way to a hint of joy.

"We've arrived!"

Up ahead was the encampment of the Army's frontline troops. Although he didn't know the designation of that particular troop, the flag flying there could not be mistaken.

Those who were separated from him in the sandstorm, including Ah dan and his group, also gradually caught up.

From their disheveled appearance, it was clear they had also suffered quite a bit.

Even one of the merchandise carts being pulled had been destroyed, with disassembled rifles now hanging on the camels.

"Are you all okay?" Ah dan, leading the camel, called out to them.

"We're fine, haha! Thanks to the protection of the Spirit of the Desert Sea!" Coleway laughed and waved, signaling for them to come closer.

As the sandstorm dispersed, the nearby encampment clearly noticed them.

Under the leadership of a Centurion, a ten-person squad approached them.

"I'm a Centurion under Rachel, captain of the Steel Heart's marine corps; my name is Coleway. Here are my credentials and dog tags." Coleway, eyeing the leading Centurion, voluntarily revealed his identity and produced the items that verified who he was.

After exchanging looks, the soldiers in front frowned slightly. The Centurion took the credentials, glanced at them, and then looked back at Coleway with some suspicion in his eyes.

"Steel Heart? Shouldn't you guys be on a mission in the Southern River Valley Province?"

As a frontline unit, they were at war with the Lion Kingdom and weren't aware of the situations in other sectors.

Coleway didn't answer his inquiry but responded with an official tone.

"There was an accident over there. For details, you'd have to ask your superiors. Right now I need to see your commander."

The Centurion didn't keep questioning but nodded, returned the dog tags to him, and kept the credentials.

"I need to verify your identity. Do you wait here, or do you come back to camp with me?"

"Of course I'm going to your camp; what else? Stand here eating sand?" Coleway said impatiently.

After checking Coleway's credentials, the Centurion proceeded to inspect the documents of the accompanying Merchant Ah dan. Upon seeing the order form, they quickly gave them clearance.

Following the ten-person squad, the group headed toward the nearby encampment.

From the moment they entered the camp, Old Soldier had been quietly observing the layout here.

The layout was slightly different from what he had seen in Luo Xia Province. There was little use of concrete formulas; instead, walls of neatly stacked sandbags had been erected.

Such field camps were quite common in reality. The sandbags had decent resistance to explosives and blasts and could serve as a substitute for concrete, and they could also be redeployed conveniently.

Nearly every wall had dug-out foxholes behind it, and the shooting shelters and watchtowers were covered in desert-colored camouflage nets. Under the camouflage nets sat a pitch-black heavy machine gun, which looked to be the 20mm model based on its type.

It was a by-the-books military base that could house roughly between 500 and 1000 people.

What surprised Old Soldier was not the layout of this place but that he actually saw a Mutant in the camp!

That was undoubtedly a Mutant.

Although his skin wasn't green but a dull grey-black, and his chin was covered with a beard, that ugly face was exactly like those Mutants he had seen on Street No. 76 in Qingquan City...

If the previous Mutants were like orcs, the appearance of these ones resembled trolls...

The Mutant glanced at him, showing his blood-red gums, and then, with a lumbering stride, wobbled toward the direction of the camp gate.

These Mutants didn't seem to live with the Army troops; they had set up a separate camp next to the military base.

Understandably, nobody would want to live alongside those man-eating creatures.

Watching the figure disappear at the entrance, Old Soldier furrowed his brow and asked,

"...Mutants?"

Following his line of sight, Coleway said with a smile,

"Mutant mercenaries, from the Great Desert. These beasts might not have sharp minds, but they fight fiercely in war—they can charge through machine gun fire, and they can regrow a leg even after it's been blown off. They're thick-skinned and not fussy with food, literally natural-born Cannon Fodder."

To think that the Army managed to get the services of mutants...

"But why is their skin gray-black?" the Old Soldier asked in confusion. "The ones I've seen on the border of River Valley Province with Brocade River Province all had green skin."

Coleway said in a nonchalant tone,

"The local saying in the Falcon Kingdom is that they've been cursed by the Spirit of the Sand Sea, but really, it's just a subspecies branch, probably mutated by radioactivity in the Great Desert. Who cares how they came to be? They're useful, and that's what counts."

The Old Soldier nodded woodenly, his heart filled not only with amazement but also with a secret thrill.

Gray-black mutants...

This piece of intelligence was incredible!

But then again, this undercover role didn't feel challenging at all.

Essentially, all he had to do was feign ignorance with a question, and this guy would spill the beans boastfully.

Frankly, with this level of candor, he was starting to feel a bit embarrassed.

Following Coleway toward the depths of the military camp, the thoughtful Old Soldier soon made another discovery.

In a warehouse with its doors open, a few engineers were squatting in front of a tank they'd never seen, twisting screws.

With a curious expression on his face, the Old Soldier looked at those tanks in the warehouse and asked,

"What tanks are those?"

"The Conqueror No. 10 model II, fitted with a 150mm heavy howitzer. It's a self-propelled gun. That one next to it is the model III, the gun tower's been changed to an eight-barreled anti-aircraft machine gun. It's meant for air defense, but since the Lion Kingdom doesn't have an air force, they're usually pushed to the front line to support infantry."

Looking at the tanks in the warehouse, Coleway narrowed his eyes, pride twinkling in them.

"... This time our opponent includes The Enterprise faction. I've heard that the Army plans to send over a batch of No. 11 tanks."

The Old Soldier immediately seized the lead in his reply,

"What's that now?"

Coleway didn't suspect a thing, but he glanced at the distance from the merchant Ah Dan and spoke very softly,

"A new model of heavy tank designed by Triumph City Army Equipment Research Institute to counter Gauss weapons. I've only heard a few things about it. Don't spread word... It's said its armor is really hard, the usual hard-core armor-piercing rounds and electromagnetic mass bombs have a hard time getting through it, but they're expensive, that's for sure."

"Including pre-war stockpiles, the 'Wanderer' tank equipped with Meissner effect armor, these are all presents we've prepared for The Enterprise faction... They'd probably never guess that the equipment from 200 years ago would still be operational."

Your average Survivor Settlement could at best cobble together an armor-piercing bullet, but the spaced armor of the No. 10 tanks is perfectly designed to defend against the metallic jets from armor-piercing rounds.

However, for the ultra-fast steel darts fired by Gauss weapons, this spaced armor might not be sufficient.

General Coleway talked animatedly, while the Old Soldier felt a chill running down his spine as he memorized the discussion.

It's always too late for regrets.

Ordinary conversation wasn't too difficult, but when it came to jargon, he had no clue what it meant and couldn't exactly ask to clarify, so he'd make a note of the onomatopoeic words to share later on the Forum with other players.

Thinking of this, the Old Soldier couldn't help but feel remorse.

Lack of culture is a disadvantage. Had he known, he would have learned a few more words, just like that damned Fang Chang!

Seeing that Coleway seemed tired of talking, the Old Soldier quickly provided a prompt, allowing him to continue.

"Then do our tanks have any weakness?"

"Every machine has its weaknesses. The primary vulnerabilities of the Conqueror series are in the roof and the undercarriage, so those areas must be carefully protected. Especially the undercarriage, the armor near the escape hatch is thinner and close to transmission parts."

Coleway suddenly changed his tone and continued with a laugh,

"Speaking of which, I've heard that the Alliance has a kind of drone that specializes in going for the underbelly of tanks, which gave the Chewing Bone Tribe a hard time."

The Old Soldier tensed up and nodded slightly.

"Yes... I think I've heard of that too."

Seeing his good buddy's nervous expression, Coleway laughed and patted him on the shoulder,

"Don't worry, those kinds of gadgets are only effective against unintelligent Looters. We just need to hang a curtain under our tanks' bellies, to catch the drone's propellers, or a shield would suffice."

A bomb is only effective if detonated right under the undercarriage.

If it just explodes on the gun tower or car body, that minor shockwave might just tickle our tanks.

The Old Soldier nodded as if he understood, but in his heart, he quietly took note of all the details.

The group waited for a short while in the Open Space.

Just as the Old Soldier felt he had gathered plenty about this place, an officer approached from not too far and stopped in front of Coleway.

"We've confirmed your identity. We'll arrange a vehicle to take you to the command post."

The relief bloomed into a smile on Coleway's face as he returned a military salute.

He caught up with Ah Dan, who wasn't too far away, to congratulate him,

"Congratulations, Mr. Coleway. You'll be rejoining your troops soon."

"Thanks for your help; I'll remember this favor," Coleway shook his hand, adding, "What plans do you have next?"

Ah Dan thought for a moment and answered with a smile,

"After the logistics officer here finishes transferring the materials, I'll probably continue on to my next trade. The Lion Kingdom probably won't last another two months; while the war's still ongoing, I'm thinking of making a few more deals."

"It seems we must part ways," Coleway said, extending his right hand with a smile, "but I believe that you will have your place in this land graced by Xiaguang. Until we meet again."

Surprise flickered across Ah Dan's face as he smiled and shook Coleway's right hand.

"I hope your words prove true. Until next time!"

As Coleway and Ah Dan were saying goodbye, the Old Soldier was looking around, trying to find a place to disappear offline.

The new equipment on the way and the mutant mercenaries from the Great Desert...

Such explosive intelligence.

This was definitely going to be big!

Chapter 426: Can't Help But Praise, Ah Guang is Really in the Details!

He found a latrine to squat in and logged off.

Old Soldier organized these flavorful pieces of intelligence into a document.

However, he didn't immediately post it; instead, he returned to the game and followed Coleway on the road to the Army's frontline command.

If he let that guy wait too long and found himself zoning out in a latrine, it would be tough to explain...

When night fell, and the peak time for players logging in and out arrived,

Old Soldier spent a good half-hour finishing up the intel and then smugly stuffed it into a forum post.

As he anticipated,
as soon as the new intel went online, it quickly caught the players' attention.

In just a minute, dozens of comments appeared below the post.

Tail: "Woo-hoo! It's the dark orcs! (✪ω✪)"

Si Si: "Wow! That's cool, but it sounds like they just slapped on a new paint job on the model, right? (side eye)"

Debt Giant Eye: "So... it's just a garrison of a thousand team? This intel is kind of weak, Pangolin bro. (funny)"

Spring Water Commander: "But the equipment parameters are quite interesting. Too bad the prisoners we caught earlier were from the air force; no idea about the army equipment."

Construction Boy with Brick: "How did Coleway know this? Isn't he an officer on the Iron Heart?"

Spring Water Commander: "His immediate superior is Rachel, belonging to the Marine Corps, responsible for training the Retinue Army; maybe he knows more about land combat equipment? Or did he previously serve in the army system?"

Edge Shoveling: "That's possible! No wonder we couldn't get anything out of those prisoners we caught earlier."

Elena: "Not bad. You've done well, brother! (funny)"

"..."

Everyone helped to analyze the intel, with some focusing on the characteristics of the equipment to find its weaknesses, while others bragged amidst the chaos.

"Damn! These dogs have really high standards!"

"I risked my life to bring back this intel; be grateful!"

Sitting in front of the computer, Old Soldier rolled his eyes and quickly typed a reply.

Following that, he excitedly hammered the F5 button, keeping an eye on the time in the bottom-right corner and watching the number of replies soar.

Trending list!

This time it had to be secure!

In fact, hitting the trending list didn't actually come with any rewards. Ah Guang had already tagged his post as high-quality, and the reward for the intelligence-gathering task had been credited to his account.

But everyone has the desire to show off.

To put it more precisely, it's about realizing self-worth, perched at the pinnacle of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Old Soldier, who had never received so much attention before, still wanted to try hitting the trending list to experience the feeling of being gazed upon with "admiration."

However, when the reply count hit 522, the click rate hit a bottleneck.

The discussion still involved the same few people, and the ID's were all familiar.

With his enthusiasm turning to anxiety, Old Soldier switched to the forum's main page for a look, and what he saw almost made him spit out a mouthful of old blood.

Well, darn.

The hot list has been taken over again!

But this time, it wasn't stolen by Fang Chang, but by Brother Mole who sneaked away with the tower.

Yes.

Even the heat from that 100 million Cr investment was instantly overshadowed by Brother Mole's post.

"Playing a Virtual Reality Game within a Completely Real Virtual Reality Game—"

"Guys! The easter egg in the new map is freaking awesome! You can even play other virtual reality games inside a virtual reality game! But to be fair, an easter egg is just an easter egg, when compared to Wasteland OL, those games aren't realistic enough, their tactile feedback can't be fully replicated, the NPCs are rather dumb, and the types are too limited!"

"The sales charts are all open-world games, and they're all role-playing games. Though there's a bunch of content and the maps are ridiculously large, they completely lack uniqueness. Rather than calling them games, they're more like virtual communities dressed up as games!"

"Strictly speaking, it's a rather advanced concept, and if you spend enough time immersed in the game world, you should be able to experience the rich and colorful fun, like playing as a wizard, or an astronaut exploring star systems... But those simple, crude, and creative gameplay elements are hard to find here."

"After a detailed analysis, taking into account the background of Ideal City, it's not hard to understand why it has turned out this way."

"This ostensibly prosperous city seems to be creating new things every day, yet its innovative capability is actually suppressed."

"Most industries are either controlled by the five major groups, or indirectly held by them. 99.9% of game companies are subsidiaries of the 'internet giant' Endpoint Group, and the works they produce are compatible with the same system, use the same set of development tools, and the same material library, naturally turning into a production line of reskinned products."

"Got to say, Ah Guang is super attentive!!"

The post went up less than half an hour ago, and there are already tens of thousands of replies.

It's not just players enjoying the drama.

Even Backseat Drivers have come to join the excitement.

Tail: "Wow! Pass it on, Ah Guang pays too much attention! Brother Mole said so! (✪ω✪)"

Meat Mountain Big Bun Touch: "Stop it, Tail, do you not want your account anymore?!"

Tail: "!!! That was Si Si who used my phone just now!"

Si Si: "?!"

Cheerful Netizen: "Crying, I haven't even seen a helmet, and these exalted players are already playing virtual reality games in virtual reality games! QAQ"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Kind-hearted people, please give me a helmet, and remember not to make me pay for shipping, I'm still a student, can you include free shipping for me. T.T"

I Max Black: "Hahaha, wasn't this map made just for me?! Get me a plane ticket! I'm heading to Ideal City! I'm going to release game albums, I want to be the king of entertainment!!! (Going crazy)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Wake up, can you even start a company in Ideal City, can a company get investment there, can games made with that investment be listed on Endpoint Cloud? (Funny)"

Fang Chang: "That's a question, setting aside the issue of visas, looking at the publicly available official information, aside from the vaguely-expressed Kang Mao Group, Endpoint Group's goodwill towards us can be said to be the lowest among the five."

Crow: "But our videos are still being spread on Endpoint Cloud, why is that? (Curious)"

Fang Chang: "That's normal, there's always a power play between the five corporations, and they inevitably hold some control in some segment of each other's industrial chains. For instance, the video website invested by Silver Wing Group uses operating systems developed by the software companies under Endpoint Group in Chang Ge Group's smart weapons."

Edge Shoveling: "Damn... I feel like my brain can't keep up, just tell me where to charge in. (Headache)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Whack!!! (Going crazy)"

Night Ten: "...?"

Inside Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang, who was peering at the screen in front of the computer, nodded in satisfaction.

Not bad.

On the military side, Old Soldier helps with gathering intelligence, and on the economic side, Fang Chang helps with attracting investments. Operation on both sides, simultaneously shearing wool from both the armies and corporations.

With this pair of hidden dragons and young phoenixes, there is no worry about failing to seize a mere Luo Xia Province.

At that moment, Xiao Qi, sitting at the desk, whispered,

"Master, look at Fang Chang's post, many people are talking about a dark curtain behind it."

Chu Guang casually clicked on Fang Chang's post and saw the guy still trying to explain to the rowdy netizens and smiled faintly, unconcernedly saying,

"Let them talk, it's not the first or second day we've heard this."

There is only one point of contention.

You went to the New Map as a tester, why did you reap the benefits first?

If it were an open beta game, there would definitely be a tempo to follow, but since the Game Helmet was gifted to players by the game company for closed beta testing, the reasoning for this tempo doesn't stand.

That's why Chu Guang never loosens up on closed beta privileges, preferring to occasionally auction off technology rather than sell helmets, precisely because of this reason.

Moreover, that cannot be considered a personal benefit.

The Bull Horse Group, like Steel Factory No. 81, is a collective holding enterprise funded by Shelter No. 404, with all four shareholders holding single-digit percentages, and Shelter No. 404 taking the lion's share of the dividends.

And the money from the dividends is largely spent on the Alliance, whether subsidizing NPC shops where most players buy their equipment or investing in infrastructure.

The "Miner" Type I Exoskeleton sells for 4000Cr in the company, can fetch up to 8000 chips in the Giant Stone City, but only sells for 2000 silver coins (with purchase limits) in NPC shops — the amount of subsidy here is no small sum.

Furthermore, the money spent on road repairs doesn't just appear out of thin air.

Of course, the art of shearing the sheep lies in the continuous harvest, and Chu Guang wouldn't want the players' contributions to go uncompensated.

These collectively owned enterprises, while undertaking certain social responsibilities, also enjoy exclusive tasks issued by the Shelter, as well as appropriate resource support.

For example, the second-hand hydrogen plasma arc furnace, worth over 10 million Cr, recently imported by the enterprise, was given priority allocation to Steel Factory No. 81 at an asset price of 30 million silver coins.

From a gameplay perspective, this helps balance the players' income, preventing values from overflowing.

From a realistic standpoint, before there is enough pie in the market to share, it's essential to centralize means of production to expand capacity and grow the pie as soon as possible.

More specific plans had been detailed by Chu Guang as far back as the Alpha version.

After several version adjustments, the dividend ratio, and corresponding tax law are already quite perfect.

When cooperation with enterprises becomes closer and trust is more solid, Chu Guang will consider selling tickets to the East Coast to high-ranking citizens or knight-level players, encouraging more life-profession players to develop the market in Ideal City.

The Alliance needs the production technology there.

By then, the residents of Ideal City will also be more open to the players' creative ideas.

After closing Fang Chang's post, Chu Guang refocused his attention on Pangolin's post.

There's still quite a bit of substance in the post.

Especially the firing range and blast radius of the Conqueror No.10 type II self-propelled artillery, as well as the fire rate and effective range of the Conqueror No.3 anti-aircraft vehicle.

With the information about the former, the Alliance can roughly estimate the charge and explosive power of its 150mm cannon, thus designing bunkers to minimize the damage from shrapnel and shockwaves.

The latter will help the Alliance Air Force design more effective tactics against their ground-based anti-air defenses.

This includes mercenaries — mutants that appeared in the Army's teams...

To deal with these guys, regular 7mm rifles are not very effective; one needs to use 20 or 37mm "Cavalry Guns" or even RPGs and other rocket launchers.

Chu Guang had already sent these data to Army Command and to military factories such as Steel Factory No. 81 and Goblin Technology.

The Alliance needs to tender for an anti-armor weapon that's more efficient than the "Spring Knife" and with a stronger destructive effect.

The metallic hydrogen supplied by companies, as well as the azide compound technology recovered from the Wasteland by the Alliance, could provide more available technological options for the new equipment being tendered.

Whether it's formulating targeted combat plans or designing specific weapons, it's all part of war preparations.

Additionally, some high-tech guided weapons could be imported with the 300 million in military aid funds.

"Frontline troops need to be equipped with more infantry anti-armor weapons, at least double the baseline ammunition, which is quite a test for logistics..."

"However, speaking of which, a thousand team... roughly the size of a regiment, is actually equipped with over 50 tanks and has also stationed a hundred-man scale mutants camp."

It was quite suspicious that such an elite force composed entirely of Vellante People was not located within an Oasis but instead in the desert near Oasis No. 9.

The terrain around there was not particularly treacherous but rather an open plain.

Associating this with that supply-carrying merchant, Chu Guang stroked his chin and pondered, suddenly having a thought.

Could it be the frontline ammunition depot?

Or at least one of the supply transportation nodes for the frontline!

If they could take that spot down, not only might they find key witnesses and evidence of the Bugra Free State supplying weapons to the Army, but they could also send those munitions to support the frontline with their allies!

And most importantly, this could be an opportunity to test out the high-tech weapons imported from old friends by the Alliance!

With this in mind, Chu Guang immediately looked at Xiao Qi and said.

"Xiao Qi, can you calculate the exact location of that camp based on the players' Battlefield Atmosphere Group's travel times and speeds?"

Xiao Qi: "Hmm… it's a bit difficult. Your players didn't travel in a straight line, and their speed varied. We can't pinpoint the small town they departed from and can only speculate on a general direction of advance."

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brows, about to say something, when Xiao Qi suddenly continued.

"...but it's not entirely impossible, oh. Your player encountered a sandstorm at noon, right?"

Hearing this, Chu Guang felt delighted and immediately understood his implication.

"Understood... we just need to determine the path of the sandstorm, and by considering the approximate direction of the pangolin's movement, we can identify the overlapping area in the middle and pinpoint the approximate location of the ammunition depot!"

Xiao Qi, with a thumbs up and a happy smile on his face, said.

"Worthy of the master, you're amazing!"

"...It's a pity we don't have a weather satellite to determine the trajectory of the sandstorm," Chu Guang touched his chin and continued to ponder to himself, "but the locals living in Oasis No. 9 should know."

Thinking this, he quickly ordered.

"Notify Kaliman for me. Have him bring a pigeon and wait for me at Alliance Army Command first thing tomorrow morning!"

Xiao Qi, full of energy, said.

"Okay!"

...

South of Dawn City.

The Frost Spear Clan village.

With the news that the Manager was coming to inspect the organization of books at the Merchant Guild, Frost Snow, who happened to be on duty today, deliberately wore her favorite dress and even borrowed some cosmetics from her sister, who worked at the trade station.

However, not being very good at makeup, she was too embarrassed to use much and just put on some very light makeup with the help of her sister.

Gently tidying her sister's eyebrows while making small talk, Frost River said.

"...Just this won't be enough, you know? There are too many handsome men and beautiful women in the shelter, and those Residents always like to hang around him."

Frost Snow said in a low voice, blushing.

"After all, he is their Manager..."

Crow said patiently.

"What I mean is, if you want to impress that person deeply, at least let him know your name, you've got to find opportunities to create some coincidences or accidents."

"Accidents?!"

"Don't just do something rash, I'm not saying you should plot anything against him... Sigh, never mind, it's too complicated to explain, you better not think too much about it."

After some effort,

Frost Snow finally managed to get to the Merchant Guild before the start of her shift.

During the handover of her duties, she learned from the personnel department that in addition to the Manager, there would also be a distinguished guest from Luo Xia Province arriving today.

"Distinguished guest?"

"It's a member of the Honey Badger Kingdom's Royal Family; the Manager plans on having her help us sort through the books in the warehouse. Your main task today is to show her around and brief her on the work."

The girl responsible for personnel gave her a couple of glances, and a smile suddenly spread across her face before she said teasingly, "That's a pretty dress, it suits you well. Where did you buy it from?"

"Teng, Teng Teng's Cottage."

The personnel member curved the corner of her mouth.

"Looks like they've got a new collection, I'll go check it out after work."

After getting up to speed on the work matters, Frost Snow, her face flushed, hurriedly left the personnel office and headed to the warehouse next to the Merchant Guild, where she anxiously waited for half an hour.

Finally, a figure appeared in the distance, walking towards her.

However, she did not see the azure power armor but rather a girl wearing a long dress.

With lightly curled brown hair and a fair, delicate face that resembled a porcelain doll, this girl possessed a special aura that involuntarily made Frost Snow feel a bit nervous.

But it was only a bit.

Stopping in front of Frost Snow, the young girl blinked and asked very politely,

"Hello, is this the book warehouse of the Merchant Guild?"

Snapping back to reality, Frost Snow quickly smiled and said,

"Yes... I am the staff member on duty today; you can call me Frost Snow. May I ask who you are?"

With a slight curtsy as was custom in the palace, the girl looked at her and blinked.

"Afni, that's my name, or you can also call me Nini."

The demure, endearing appearance made Frost Snow want to pat her head.

But that sort of thing was merely a thought, too impolite towards a guest.

"Afni... Are you the guest the Manager was talking about?"

"Mhm," Afni nodded her head, speaking with a clear and delightful voice, "The Manager has gone to deal with some work matters, so I came here alone. From now on, we'll be colleagues, so if there's anything I don't do well, I hope you'll be understanding."

"You're too polite, please follow me."

Leading Afni into the warehouse, Frost Snow briefly introduced the workflow.

To put it simply, it involved removing books from cardboard boxes, quickly scanning them with a Vm to record them into the database for cataloging, and sorting them into various major categories based on their content, such as natural science, humanities, historical documents, and so on.

Initially, both were a bit reserved, but as they were of similar age and started chatting, they gradually became more familiar with each other.

Frost Snow, who had only heard about princesses in fairy tales, curiously observed the foreign-faced young lady. After obtaining her permission, she reached out and touched the soft, brown curls.

"May I ask if Miss Afni is... a princess of the Honey Badger Kingdom?"

"Yes." Afni replied softly.

Although the Falcon Kingdom and the Army had taken over there, she and her brother hadn't surrendered, and neither had their kingdom's citizens.

"No wonder you're so beautiful, you must have many suitors in your country," Frost Snow said, enviously.

"It's not quite like that," Afni sighed softly, joking in a teasing tone, "If I were really that beautiful, your Manager wouldn't have rejected my marriage proposal so readily."

A book dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Ah, I'm sorry."

Watching Frost Snow quickly crouch to pick up the book, Afni seemed to sense something from her expression and a mischievous smile curled up on her tranquil face.

"It seems that person is quite beloved by all of you."

"Of course!" Dusting off the book, Frost Snow blushed slightly and said a bit shyly, "A long time ago, we all lived lives of uncertainty. Thanks to that person, we can now live and work happily here... so I hold him in great esteem, too."

The shy smile on her face was visibly brimming with happiness. Afni felt a twinge of envy in her heart.

She wasn't envious of Frost Snow.

But rather of that Manager, who received so much adoration from his people.

She had been in the Alliance for two days now.

During these two days, she'd seen those enviable smiles more than once.

Men, women, children, and the elderly...

As a ruler of a domain herself, her father was undoubtedly a wise king.

The citizens of the Honey Badger Kingdom respect him from the bottom of their hearts, and their loyalty is as devout as their reverence for the Spirit of the Sand Sea.

Yet, when mentioning her father's name, in addition to loyalty and reverence, that inner affection and gratitude were seldom visible on people's faces.

An unseen force had unified these people, from the residents of the shelter to the civilians outside the shelter, everyone had unwavering faith in the Alliance and their own future, even though the flames of war were visible to the naked eye.

How had that man achieved this?

She thirsted for that knowledge.

Perhaps...

As he had said, the answers were all hidden within those books.

Her gaze landed on the boxes filled with books, and Afni spoke after a moment of thought.

"Is our task today to sort out these books?"

"Yes!"

Snapping out of her reverie, Frost Snow composed her expression and said with a friendly smile,

"I'll teach you how to categorize them. The work is actually quite interesting. If we find an intriguing book, we can borrow it to read at home, as long as it's returned on time. That's why we're always eager to do this job."

"Then let's get started."

Afni squatted on the ground, not minding the dust dirtying her skirt hem, and picked a thick book out of the box.

Deep black ink imprinted a line of words on the cover—"Research on Classical Economics: The Contradictions and Evolution of Production Relations and Productive Forces."

From the synopsis on the back, it appeared to be an academic work written by scholars from the early years of the Prosperity Epoch.

She gently patted the dust off the cover and flipped open the title page. Although she didn't quite understand, she still read on.

"Can we talk about that Manager?"

Hearing a subject of interest, Frost Snow's eyes lit up.

"Of course! What would you like to know?"

Afni thought for a moment and said,

"For example, books he likes to read..."

...

North of the City of Dawn.

The Army Command next to the airport.

Carrying a pigeon cage and standing at the doorway, Kaliman felt out of place and could only awkwardly fix his gaze on his watch.

Fortunately, everyone here was busy, and no one gave him undue attention, which eased his embarrassment.

Just then, a figure appeared at the door.

Seeing the azure power armor, Kaliman finally heaved a sigh of relief, bowed slightly, and respectfully said,

"Good day, Honored Manager sir, may I ask what instructions you have for me?"

Chu Guang glanced at the carrier pigeons in the cage he was holding.

Their sharp beaks and talons didn't resemble pigeons at all, more like eagles. Especially the tufts of brown feathers above their eyes that looked like erect eyebrows gave them a particularly aggressive appearance.

It was said that the carrier pigeons trained by the Royal Family of the Falcon Kingdom could fly 800 kilometers in a day, while ordinary pigeons typically fly around 500-700 kilometers.

But whichever type they were, they were sufficient for his purposes.

"Come with me."

Chu Guang didn't explain but led Kaliman directly toward a room at the turn of the corridor.

It was a command room, with pens and paper scattered over a long table, and several cigarette butts left uncleaned in the ashtray.

There had been a meeting here last night.

And that map hanging on the wall not too far away, along with the arrows and dots drawn on it with solid and dashed lines, were the results of last night's strategy meeting.

Prince Kaliman soon noticed the map and stared at it for a while, a surprised expression slowly emerging on his face.

"…What is this?"

Chu Guang didn't waste time on pleasantries, cutting straight to the chase.

"Our intelligence personnel have located a suspected logistics hub military base in the desert. We are not sure of its exact location, but we know its approximate area and that yesterday's sandstorm passed by there."

"There, military supplies sent through the Bugra Free State are stored, which includes the equipment from the Golden Lizard Kingdom I mentioned to you."

Upon hearing the words "Golden Lizard," Kaliman clenched his fists tightly and, through gritted teeth, squeezed out a sentence.

"These shameful traitors …"

Chu Guang didn't give him time to dwell on emotions and quickly continued speaking.

"Cursing them is of no use. Let's talk about our plan instead. We intend to take down this military base, take photos for evidence, capture relevant personnel… in short, collect as many useful clues as possible, and then send them to the Grand Canyon."

"I can't be sure of the Grand Canyon's stance, but it's hard to imagine they would side with the Army right after fighting against them. We need them to manage their own vassals well, preferably to clean out the intelligence network that the Army has been plotting in the Bugra Free State."

"We have detailed intelligence on the military base's equipment, personnel, and defensive arrangements… This is what we have collected over more than a month. I need your cooperation to take down that military base!"

"After the investigation and evidence gathering are complete, you can take the equipment there."

Looking at the detailed operation plan handed to him by Chu Guang, Prince Kaliman felt overwhelmed.

He was just a diplomat. Though not entirely ignorant about military matters, he knew very little indeed.

Especially when he saw the enemy's military deployment in the operation plan, his breathing momentarily seized for a few seconds.

Putting down the document in his hand,

Kaliman looked at Chu Guang with a bitter expression, his voice full of difficulty.

"A full thousand-team, and they are the Army's elite. It would be very difficult… no, it's almost impossible to take down this place with just our forces."

The combat power of the Army was very strong, far stronger than their servants.

Under normal circumstances, they needed to pay a price five or even ten times higher to hold back an attack from an equal number of troops.

And that was relying on fixed cover for defensive war.

As for proactive offensive warfare…

He wasn't even sure if the army of the kingdom, which lacked heavy equipment, had ever launched an offensive until now.

"The long-distance teams from the companies aren't assisting you?" Chu Guang frowned slightly.

Kaliman shook his head.

"That's true, but they're mainly responsible for the southern battle zone, together with our main force, primarily harassing the Army's artillery positions and airbase. But the location of that base… it should be to the north of the 9th Oasis from what you suggest, right?"

Chu Guang nodded.

Kaliman continued.

"… According to my understanding, the western and northern parts of the 9th Oasis have completely fallen. At present, we only have a few guerrilla teams active there, probably only two or three thousand teams, which makes it difficult to form an effective fighting force."

Chu Guang stared at the map for a long while and then spoke up.

"We will send a paratrooper unit to assist you in battle, including providing necessary air support."

From Leaf City Temporary Airport to that military base was nearly 700 kilometers, which already exceeded the combat radius of the W-series fighter planes.

But this was no problem for the company's Tiger Whale transport aircraft!

As for air support,

Leave it to the fixed-wing drones he had imported from the companies.

Though skeptical about the success of this plan, hearing that Chu Guang would send paratroopers to fight side by side with the kingdom's forces, Kaliman felt a slight sense of confidence and nodded seriously.

"I will inform the kingdom. Can you tell me the specific time of the action?"

Chu Guang replied without hesitation.

"The day after tomorrow at dawn!"

"We will take down that base before daylight!"

-

(A mistake was made, reportedly said in chapter 7)

Chapter 428: The Storm that Swept Through the Desert!

The night was deep.

In the southeastern part of Sunset Province, twelve "Tiger Whale" transport planes raced across the boundless desert, kicking up billowing dust in their wake as they sped towards Oasis No. 3.

To avoid detection by the Army, the altitude of the flight formation was kept very low, at times less than fifty meters above the ground.

The pale blue electric arcs, though less conspicuous than the exhaust plumes of fuel-powered planes, would be visible in the cloudless night sky to anyone on the ground who wasn't blind.

Not to mention, the Army also had planes and radar. While their technology was not highly sophisticated, it didn't mean they posed no threat.

Especially after realizing that the corporations had entered the war.

They would inevitably deploy more anti-aircraft equipment and more anti-armor weapons to the front lines, perhaps even tapping into weapon caches that had been sealed for a century.

That is, as long as they weren't foolish.

Initially, when Chu Guang presented his plan, the transport crew commander of the corporations had refused to execute it, given that they were merely in charge of logistics transport and had not received orders to enter the war zone.

Sending unarmed transport planes to the front without air supremacy, even without a fighter escort, was equivalent to making a joke of the pilots' lives.

Even if it had to be done, it would require the authorization of the corporate military department.

However, the window of opportunity in war is fleeting, and the Alliance's communication with the Lion Kingdom relied on pigeons, whereas communication with the corporations depended on planes.

By the time approval from the corporate military department arrived, the golden flowers would have already wilted.

Fortunately, Yi Chuan and Wu Mu lent a hand, and after much persuasion, they managed to convince the stubborn transport crew commander to turn a blind eye, allowing the flight formation to make an exceptional detour on their return trip—crossing the boundary of Sunset Province.

But they had to be very careful.

Losing a plane was one thing, but even if the planes' hulls acquired an extra bullet hole, they would have a hard time explaining it to the logistics division of the military department.

As for the pilots, little motivation was needed; the mere mention of flying to Sunset Province had the young men cheering excitedly.

The mobilization for war in Ideal City had already begun before the outbreak of the Rui Valley City battle.

Those young chaps who flew the transport planes had come to the front with burning passion, eager to clash with the big-noses.

Especially after watching that video.

Inside the cabin.

The site boy and the brick, sprawled by the window, almost crammed their heads through to catch a glimpse of the legendary "man-made Oasis."

Oasis No. 9 was said to be the largest oasis in Sunset Province, with a total area of 10 square kilometers, equivalent to an entire "Zhejiang Province."

Alas, the flight was too low to allow a good view.

All he could make out in the night was a rough outline, and what lush secrets lay beyond that horizon remained a mystery.

"Damn it! Why can't we fly higher?"

Hearing the complaint, Debt Giant Eye, sitting in the adjacent seat, rolled his eyes.

"Do you really want to announce your arrival that badly?"

The conversation between the two roused other nearby players to join in.

"Say, we haven't entered Oasis No. 9 yet, right? Surely the Army's anti-aircraft guns can't reach us here?"

"That's hard to say. For all we know, they might have anti-aircraft missiles. It's just typically overkill for survivor settlements."

"Is it possible that they haven't actually finished the map over there?"

"That makes sense!"

"Not necessarily, it's Ah Guang we're talking about. With Ah Guang being so meticulous, he surely finished it; he's just holding out on us!"

"I'm seething with indifference!"

The "hearty" laughter lacked even a hint of nervousness. The co-pilot peeked back into the cabin and couldn't help but admire them.

Truly, the elites of the Alliance!

Just the spirit of facing death unflinchingly commanded his respect.

At this very moment, seated in the cabin, were the buddies of the Death Legion's 200 yuan.

But the equipment on them was now worth far more than 200 Silver coins.

Even 20,000 Silver coins was an understatement!

The mere "Pioneer I Type" military exoskeletons they wore on their bodies were valued at 12,000 Cr, equivalent to three times that of the miner series exoskeleton!

Not to mention the infantry support weapons and heavy personal equipment that were being carried in the cockpit.

Considering that the Death Legion had prior experience in desert warfare, Chu Guang, after much deliberation, entrusted this glorious and arduous task to Edge Shoveling.

This operation was not only to help alleviate the pressure on the allies in the north by cutting off the Army's supply from River Valley Province Northern Part but also to test the new equipment imported by the alliance from corporations, so the equipment invested could be described as quite luxurious.

It was just short of a full set of power armor!

And because they were operating detached from the supply lines, each soldier carried 2.5 times the standard ammunition; every face showed an expression eager to try their hand.

Edge Shoveling, who had never fought such a well-equipped battle, was thrilled beyond measure, watching the map carefully from the moment he boarded the plane, repeatedly studying the battle plan written next to it, ready to give those ghosts from the West Coast a grand fireworks show.

It was an opportunity he had snatched with difficulty from the Springs, and he couldn't let the Manager and the alliance down!

The air squadron flew past a cliff.

The co-pilot came over with two cups of black tea, handing one of them to the Army leader "Edge Shoveling."

"Would you like a cup, friend?"

One must admit, the corporation's technology was something else.

Flying low at high speed, there was not a hint of turbulence felt, and the tea in the cup didn't spill a drop.

Edge Shoveling took the cup and glanced at it.

"Thanks… Could you get me a cup of plain water instead?"

Noticing the hesitation in his eyes, the co-pilot chuckled and said,

"Don't worry, it's been de-alkalized; this tea only has stimulating effects and won't make you want to use the toilet more."

Hearing this, Edge Shoveling finally relaxed, tilted his head back, and emptied the cup in one gulp, returning the cup to the astonished co-pilot.

If things went well, the battle would end before dawn, but they still had to stay out for a while longer.

Drinking more water wouldn't hurt.

Seeing the Army leader of the Alliance with a composed expression, showing no signs of tension from infiltrating deep into enemy territory, the co-pilot raised his eyebrows slightly and casually conversed with him,

"It seems you already have a plan?"

Edge Shoveling replied nonchalantly,

"Of course, the command worked out a battle plan overnight; we will launch an attack from the north part of the military base… In coordination with a feint attack by friendly forces in the south to take down the enemy's ammunition depot. If all goes well, our friendly forces will get a batch of the Army's equipment, while we will cut off their supply line in the north."

The co-pilot nodded,

"It's a pity we haven't fought a battle on this scale for a while, so we can't create a bigger advantage for you… You'll have to handle this tough fight on your own."

Edge Shoveling smiled and closed the map in his hands with the battle plan written on it,

"No matter, this is enough!"

They chatted idly for a few more moments, then the co-pilot turned back to the cockpit.

Soon after, an announcement came from the pilot over the intercom,

"We are about to cross a sandstorm area; there will be strong gusts hitting us, so you'd better return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts."

"If you don't want to get banged up before we even land."

Upon hearing the NPC's reminder, the players withdrew from the windows and returned to their seats, securely fastening their seatbelts.

Almost half a minute after the broadcast, the plane began to shake violently, and the sound of the howling sand could be heard through the cabin walls.

The sandstorms in Sunset Province contained a small amount of iron oxide, creating some interference with electromagnetic waves, effectively evading radar, infrared heat source detection, and other active surveillance methods.

They were now very close to the front line.

They had to be extremely careful.

…

Hugging the edge of the sandstorm, the air squadron moved in an arc-shaped direction, flying a large circle, and landed behind a dune on the north side of Oasis No.9.

The cargo ramp slammed heavily onto the ground, kicking up billowing dust, and fully armed soldiers with rifles on their backs, in pairs, quickly ran out of the cargo hold carrying boxes one meter wide.

"Land! Move quickly!"

At Edge Shoveling's urging, within just one minute, all personnel and equipment had been deployed.

Pale blue electric arcs brushed downwards, gradually increasing in output power, as the high-speed airflow carried the heated sand in all directions.

Intermittent voices came through the communication channel.

"… the transport planes are about to return home… soldiers of the Alliance, good luck!"

"Received, and wish you a safe return as well!"

The twelve transport planes came quickly and left quickly, not lingering a moment after completing their deployment, and immediately ignited their engines to return along their original course.

Time was life.

Edge Shoveling didn't delay either, immediately summoning the brothers in the Army to unload the equipment and supplies from the boxes.

Due to the limited transport capacity, the twelve "Tiger Whale" transport planes could only drop half a thousand team's worth of troops in the target area, so he only brought the top five hundred elite-ranked from the Army.

Although they couldn't exploit their numerical superiority, having these brothers was already enough!

After glancing at the deployed equipment around and then at the exoskeleton he wore, Edge Shoveling's heart was filled with confidence.

"I thought we were going to drop right on top of their heads," said the construction site youth and Brick as they pushed a tricycle over, "are we riding this thing?"

The tricycle's tires had been widened to better suit the desert terrain, and in the rear basket, there was a mortar.

Next to this, another tricycle looked even more exaggerated; a bracket was welded to its front where a light machine gun was mounted.

One hundred and twenty modified foldable tricycles, plus quadrotor drones used by the Intelligence System players, were all self-produced equipment by the Alliance.

Meanwhile, the "Hellhound" quadruped robots some distance away and the "Seagull" fixed-wing drones that were being assembled were imported from corporations at great cost by the Alliance.

"Parachuting would be fine, but do you want to be shot like a bird by the machine guns on the ground?"

After a laugh and a scolding, Edge Shoveling turned to the dense shadows of people behind him, his expression growing serious as he spoke.

"All centurion captains, take your brothers and equipment to the target assembly point and wait for the signal to attack!"

"Move out!"

Everyone lowered their voices, giving a uniform and coordinated response.

"Received!"

Except for Big Eyes who stayed behind, responsible for operating the "Seagull" fixed-wing drones, the other players boarded the tricycles, with a Strength Type beast pushing hard, advancing towards the predetermined battle positions.

Sitting on the tricycle, Edge Shoveling took a deep breath and pulled out the map again to confirm the battle plan.

Everything had gone smoothly so far, just as planned, yet for some reason, he couldn't shake a feeling of restlessness.

Was it an illusion?

But he was a Perception Type, after all…

Just then, a sudden explosion sounded in the distance, breaking the silence of the night.

Everyone looked up, directing their gazes toward the direction of the explosion, their eyes filled with surprise.

"It's that military base we're targeting…" the construction site youth and Brick muttered in confusion, pedaling the tricycle strenuously, "Weren't we supposed to start at dawn? Why has it started early?"

They hadn't even reached their positions yet.

Without the interconnected radio, there was no way to communicate with our allies to find out what the situation was.

Edge Shoveling furrowed his brows and suddenly thought of something, his complexion slightly changing.

"What time was the dawn on the plan brief?"

"What time? Of course, it's Luo Xia Province's time—" The construction site youth and Brick suddenly snapped out of it and paused, "Fuck, they didn't use the Alliance's time, did they?!"

The Alliance's Army Command would not make such a low-level mistake. When adopting time zones, they would surely annotate them with symbols on the operation plans and make the necessary conversions to ensure the execution time of the plan was accurate.

The only explanation for such a discrepancy was that the allies' command had made an error while passing down instructions through the ranks, mistakenly interpreting the time as Alliance time…

Or it could be that there was a traitor within the Falcon Kingdom, unable to pass the intelligence back to the Falcon Kingdom in time, and they could only resort to tampering with the orders as a trick to disrupt the execution of the plan.

Regardless of the situation, as a result, the time zones were "swapped" between the factions, causing this battle to start a full hour earlier than planned!

Damn!

What a mess!

Without the luxury of amusement or distress, Edge Shoveling made a snap decision, pressing the button on his communicator and speaking loudly.

"Attention to all squads!"

"Friendly forces have opened fire prematurely, revealing their positions ahead of schedule... Activate Plan C and continue execution."

"Action!"

...

Time rewinds to dozens of minutes earlier.

Over the desert shrouded in night.

A man draped in a khaki-colored cloak lay prone at the edge of a sand dune, holding a pair of binoculars and gazing at the campfires flickering in the distance.

His name was Ady Honey Badger, the eldest son of the Honey Badger royal family and also the Marshal of the Honey Badger Kingdom's restoration army.

The beard hanging from his chin was as thick as a broom; his square-jawed face and robust physique greatly resembled his father's — a stark contrast to his brother, Somer Honey Badger.

Glancing at his watch, Ady waited patiently, savoring the final moments of peace this night, his thoughts drifting away with the evening breeze.

About two months earlier.

The Falcon Kingdom, supported by the Army, launched a surprise attack on the Honey Badger Kingdom, taking control of the entire kingdom in just one week.

His father had died in battle defending the royal city, while he led the remnants of his forces, along with his brother and sister, into the territory of the Lion Kingdom. With support from the Lion royal family, they reorganized their ranks and recruited refugees from Oasis No.3 to form the restoration army.

According to his initial plan, he intended to launch a counteroffensive at the end of the year, aiming to retake the royal territories from the hands of the Falcon Kingdom.

However —

That ferocious "Vulture" gave them no time to prepare.

As the three kingdoms' letters of condemnation were delivered to the Falcon Kingdom, the Falcon Kingdom, without taking a breath, immediately pressed eastward, turning their offensive spearhead towards the Lion Kingdom that had given them refuge.

The tide of war changed drastically.

As the desert's dominant force, the Lion Kingdom was much stronger than the Falcon Kingdom, but the latter had been tightening their belts in preparation for war for over a decade and, with support from the Army, had a regular force even larger than that of the Lion Kingdom.

Moreover, as the Honey Badger Kingdom had previously shielded them from threats from beyond the Great Desert in the west, the Lion Kingdom was essentially unprepared.

Now...

The arrogant kings had finally paid the price for their folly and compromise.

They had hoped that sacrificing a lamb would satiate the beast, forgetting that it was a wolf that could never be fed enough.

In less than a month, the blaze of war spread from Oasis No.3 to No.9; the speed of the front line's advance was so swift that the Falcon's guns and artillery were less than 100 kilometers from the Lion's royal city.

The Camel Hump Kingdom and Golden Lizard Kingdom, upon witnessing such ferocious momentum from the Falcon Kingdom — seeing even the longstanding desert ruler with no power to fight back — were both frightened out of their wits. Although they had sent out declarations of war, they dared not deploy their troops.

Facing the combined forces of the Falcon Kingdom and the Army alone, the situation of the Lion Kingdom was perilously unstable.

To gather all their military strength to defend the royal city, the guerrilla teams active in the north had retreated south, rallying to the flag of Prince Wenter, attempting to strain the Falcon Kingdom by relying on robust offenses and defense.

To Ady, this idea seemed as naive as dreaming.

Never taking the initiative to attack meant never taking control. Once the northern guerrilla teams withdrew into their defenses, it meant that the Falcon Kingdom and the Army could freely advance on the northern line, no longer needing to be concerned about the security of their supply lines.

And to expect to exhaust these wolves was even more ludicrous.

Not to mention that the Falcon Kingdom had been preparing for this day for over a decade, but even the treasure plundered from Oasis No.3 alone was enough to sustain their supplies from the east until the Lion Kingdom bled dry...

However, the situation had taken a turn.

Perhaps Somer's diplomatic efforts had had an effect; the dominant force in the Southern River Province finally recognized the threat from the west, and with corporate support, sent troops to the desert.

Their goal was a military base in the Northern part of Oasis No.9, said to be an important supply hub for the Falcon Kingdom's northern front line.

If they could capture this military base, it would be possible not only to thwart the Falcon Kingdom's northern troops' offensive plans but also to potentially cut off the supply line from the Northern part of the River Valley Province.

Unfortunately, the Lion Kingdom no longer had any troops to deploy in the north, and after a round of arguments, the ball was kicked to him.

Prince Wenter hoped the Honey Badger Kingdom's restoration army would replace the originally planned 12th and 13th thousand teams and head to the target area to cooperate with the friendly forces' attack.

The plan was quite risky.

The target military base was located behind the Army's front line, which also meant they would get no support.

If they were bogged down by the enemy, the enemy's reinforcements could arrive, and they could very well be annihilated.

Even if the enemy's reinforcements didn't make it, the mission was going to be tough enough.

The elite of the Army were stationed there.

Ady, who had clashed with the Army at Oasis No.3, knew better than anyone the formidable combat power of the Army's elite.

Clearly, Prince Wenter didn't want his subordinates to suffer unnecessary losses, which is why he proposed that the Restorative Army of the Honey Badger Kingdom take their place as a way to repay the Lion Kingdom for having supported them for over a month.

Ady could have refused to carry out this almost suicidal order, but after some thought, he had ultimately agreed.

After all, this could very well be the opportunity his sister had traded her happiness for...

Plus, the overlord of Southern River Province had promised to hand over seized supplies to the Lion Kingdom, and he could take the opportunity to keep the seized equipment for himself.

Those tanks would just end up being buried in the trenches and used as gun towers by cowards in the Lion Kingdom; they were better off arming his loyal subordinates.

The Restorative Army needed that equipment.

Whether it was to reclaim lost lands or to ensure an autonomous status!

For this purpose, Ady nearly brought all of the Restorative Army's elite, formed a full thousand team, and personally led them here.

At present...

At least the intelligence was sound.

Ady pulled out a map from his chest, shook off the sand on it, and spread it out on the ground.

He traced his index finger along the marked lines on the map, eventually stopping and tapping on a red circle, muttering to himself softly,

"...This is the place."

Next to Ady, a middle-aged man with a face crisscrossed with wrinkles spoke in a hushed voice,

"Shall we launch an attack?"

His name was Kraf, once captain of the Kingdom's Royal Guard, and now the Centurion of the Restorative Army, as well as Ady's bravest and most reliable officer.

"Hmm," Ady nodded, tapped a point on the map with his finger, looked up at the camp shadowed by night, and continued in a low voice,

"Our allies will launch an attack from the north side of the base, and before that, we need to draw fire on the south side to create an opening for our allies' attack."

An officer couldn't help but speak up,

"Do we have allies?"

Ady replied with an unwavering voice,

"The Alliance will support us, they have made a promise!"

Except for Kraf's expression, which remained unchanged, the other few officers around him exchanged glances and simultaneously fell into silence.

The Alliance...

This was the north of Oasis No.9.

Even if one were to cross the Falcon Kingdom's northern battlefront in a straight line from the Alliance, it would still be over eight hundred kilometers.

The battle plan had been made two days ago; how could it be possible to arrive here in two days?

To many, it seemed they might have been sold out by Prince Wenter or someone else.

There were no such things as allies.

Not everyone in the Lion Kingdom was as sympathetic to them as the Lion Royal Family; many ministers and nobles thought it was the harboring of their group that brought warfare to the Kingdom.

Those people wished they would go to die immediately, using their corpses to stall the Army's advance on the northern front, buying time for the mobilization of other Kingdoms' forces and the intervention of external powers...

Perhaps the kings of the desert would ultimately prevail.

But they would die here.

Ady turned to look at his subordinates and read the pessimism in their eyes.

After a moment of silence, he said in a calm voice,

"I know what you're thinking, but now is not the time to think about such things."

"We only have one chance, and all we can do now is to believe, believe in our compatriots and brothers, believe in our siblings... believe that justice will ultimately prevail over evil."

"Even if we cannot live to the end, our blood soaking into the sands, our souls will live on forever, fighting to the last under the watch of the Spirit of the Sand Sea."

A pair of eyes were rewritten with determination.

Not a single face showed any doubt.

"The Spirit of the Desert Sea will stand with us."

Hands pressed against his forehead, Yard rose from the ground and returned to the back side of the dune, gently patting his subordinates on the shoulder.

"Go, warriors of the Kingdom, dig the trenches past your chests, load your rifles, set up our 'Artillery' — give those ugly demons a taste of color."

"Even if today this place becomes our burial ground, don't let our allies think less of us!"

...

Several kilometers away, the camp was lit by scattered lights.

The sentry standing on the watchtower couldn't help yawning, counting the time left until his shift ended.

This was Camp No.350, a logistic transit base of the Northern Group Army.

Although the strategic value of this location was significant, such that General Clifford deployed heavy guards to protect it, up to this point, the soldiers stationed here hadn't fought a single battle.

The only thing they could do every day was to bathe in sand or stare blankly at distant cacti.

Compared to wasting their lives here, they'd rather be at the front lines — at least they could fire their guns there.

Instead of now, where they could only talk to the sand to pass the time.

Just then, a thunderous explosion came from the distance, startling the sentry on duty, who instinctively crouched behind the railing.

Before he could recover from the shock, several gas canisters trailing white smoke described five thick parabolas in the air, crashing heavily into the camp.

"Boom—!"

With a series of earth-shattering roars, five bursts of flame erupted instantaneously in the silent military base.

The shrill sound of the alarms blared. Amid the sirens, soldiers sleeping in their beds scrambled up and grabbed their equipment to gather at their battle stations.

After fastening their helmets, a Centurion walked over to the watch post, grabbed a sentry, and demanded with flying spittle.

"What the hell just happened!"

That sentry must have been a rookie because he stood up straight, nervously, and spoke rapidly.

"Report! It's the Guerrilla Team's makeshift cannon!"

Those makeshift cannons made from gas canisters were very common in the Sunset Province, only second to the cast-iron Artillery that needed a broom to clear the barrel.

Usually, the desert inhabitants would fill iron cans with explosives made from sugar and then add a mix of nails or gravel. The power of these bombs wasn't as strong as Black Gold or TNT, but they were cheap and easy to make — a small workshop could churn out a lot.

The most plentiful resource in the oases of the Sunset Province was food, especially sugar canes used for making sugar.

Even a Conqueror tank would be panicked by a "gas canister" bomb loaded with 500 kilograms of explosive.

Of course, that was assuming the bomb hit right on top of the tank turret...

The soldiers of the Army were well-trained and quickly recovered from the initial chaos.

Two teams of ten men had already run into mortar pits and initiated counter-bombardment based on rough estimates of the enemy's location as observed from the watchtower.

Awakened by the thunderous cannonading, Centurion Piman, who commanded the thousand team, quickly got dressed and stepped out of the barracks.

Having guessed what had happened, he remained collected as he called over a Centurion and gave the order.

"The shells are coming from the south, about 5 kilometers away. Take your men and give those guys a taste of their own medicine!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Centurion who received the order saluted crisply, and without any delay, ran to the military camp nearby to rally his men.

Watching him depart, Piman's eyebrows relaxed slightly, and he took a cigarette from his pocket to light.

It was just a Guerrilla Team.

Not worth his concern.

Those five gas canisters seemed powerful, and the sound was certainly loud, but in truth, they hadn't hurt many people — they'd only blown a few sandbags into the air.

The anti-blast bunkers distributed throughout the camp greatly limited the spread of shockwaves and shrapnel in the vertical plane, with most of the force shooting up into the sky like a cone.

The kind of situation where a single artillery shell wiped out an entire hundred men only could happen to the Royal Army of the Lion Kingdom.

Even the Retinue Army trained by them knew how to preserve themselves to the maximum extent amidst barrages.

The only thing Piman couldn't understand was...

With so many military bases, why did the people of the Lion Kingdom specifically pick this one?

Was it a coincidence?

Or had the intelligence been leaked...

At that moment, a military officer dressed in uniform was striding toward them with an annoyed look on his face.

Piman recognized the man—it was the deputy of the logistics commander of the Northern Group Army, named Antonite, who had come here to inspect the work two days ago.

He also checked the stock in the warehouse.

This guy was extremely cautious, to the point of being neurotic; he even insisted on opening each box to check its contents, as if someone would covet those few bullets.

Piman noticed that the man's left sock was missing and there was a gray mark on his left knee—he must have fallen out of bed.

"What the hell was going on just now?" Antonite said with an angry face, "I need an explanation!"

Piman held back his laughter and reassured him.

"A minor issue, just a sneak attack by a guerrilla team."

"Guerrilla team? Aren't those people supposed to have withdrawn?" Antonite frowned.

"Maybe they came back—who knows." Piman patted the logistics officer's shoulder and said with a relaxed smile, "Don't worry, my friend, it's just a group of cannon fodders. They'll be dealt with quickly."

Antonite stared at him with a warning in his eyes.

"I would advise you to take this seriously. The equipment stored in that warehouse is crucial to the next round of offensive plans for the entire northern front! If you delay General Griffin's plans, you know full well the consequences!"

Seeing the serious-faced logistics officer, Piman laughed.

"Relax, buddy, I understand the consequences. My men will be very careful to weed out those rats... But to be safe, I still need to trouble you to go hide in the blast shelter for a while with me. Those barbarians are throwing stones in a fit of impotence, and it would be too unjust if we got hit by one of them."

Knowing that rushing wouldn't help, Antonite breathed deeply, nodded, and followed him to the bomb shelter.

The loading speed of those gas canister shells was very slow; the second round of shells didn't come even after several minutes.

On the other hand, in the Army camp, eight mortars were firing continuously. After delivering three rounds of area suppression fire to the approximate position of the targets, they then fired a round of illumination flares into the sky, turning a piece of the southern desert as bright as day.

The "Yellow Weasel" reconnaissance vehicle that had set out first had already locked onto the source of the fire.

Under the guidance of the vehicle commander, the four 20-mm heavy machine guns and eight 10-mm machine guns deployed on the south side of the camp opened fire into the sky, crossing over to the restorative army's position.

Tracers flickered in the night sky, and the large-caliber bullets poured down from the air like fairy scattering flowers, hitting the artillery position hidden behind the sand dunes squarely.

Gas canisters had just been placed on triangular stands and hadn't been lit yet. The gunners standing nearby were instantly killed or wounded.

Only a few experienced old soldiers who desperately rolled into nearby foxholes managed to barely save their lives.

However, over-the-horizon transverse firing was just the beginning.

With the help of the reconnaissance vehicle, the mortar squad in the military base revised the firing coordinates, guiding the counter-battery fire precisely to land on the heads of the restoration army.

At the same time, a hundred-man infantry team had completed the assembly and boarded four light tracked trucks in batches, charging over imposingly.

Dazed by the relentless bombardment...

Ady, crouched in a trench, fired his rifle outward to resist, trying to suppress the approaching pair of headlights. He also yelled loudly to his comrades beside him.

"Keep holding on!"

"Defend this place at all costs!"

"Your Highness, their firepower is too fierce!" a centurion crouched not far away shouted hoarsely, his voice carrying a hint of despair.

Whether it was the density or power of the fire, the military base five kilometers away exceeded their expectations.

In just ten minutes...

The artillery position was annihilated, and the infantry casualties had exceeded a hundred. The situation was hanging by a thread, but support from friendly forces had still not arrived in time.

Ady clenched his teeth, his clenched fists showing veins, wishing he could crush the rifle handle.

"Even so, you'd better hold on for me!"

Without sufficient supporting fire and reliable anti-armor measures, they could only crouch here and take a beating.

But even so, he was still willing to believe that one-in-a-million chance.

Their allies would not betray him; the reinforcements from the Alliance had already arrived!

And next, it would be their moment to counterattack!

Even if Chu Guang stepped back ten thousand paces, if he made the wrong bet, and Prince Wenter had deceived him, and the Alliance's reinforcements have never existed from the start...

Dying on the offensive path.

Was still better than dying cowardly in an air-raid shelter!

Far away at the military base.

The sentries on the lookout towers licked their lips as they watched the flames in the distance.

"Sigh, I can already smell the barbecue."

"Anyway, we won't find anything valuable, so let those panting beasts clean up the battlefield later."

"A whole thousand team, they really dare to come and give their lives."

One sentry said with a laugh.

"Who knows? Maybe they knew they couldn't win and wanted to take a gamble."

Another sentry shrugged jokingly.

"Too bad they picked the wrong person."

On the other side, inside a concrete-reinforced anti-gun bunker.

Having learned from the communication channel that the front-line troops were about to encounter the enemy, Piman lifted his arm to check his watch, estimating that the battle should be almost over.

Then, he turned to Anthony, speaking in a joking tone.

"Let's make a bet."

"On what?" Anthony replied absent-mindedly, having felt uneasy ever since a while ago.

Why was it that they were attacked here?

The timing was too coincidental.

And if you assume that the other side was already aware of the strategic value of this military base, their demonstrated attack intensity seemed excessively perfunctory.

Forgive his bluntness.

The combat power those people had shown was barely stronger than Cannon Fodder, completely like they had been sent to be bitten by them.

Maybe he was thinking too much, but... he couldn't come up with any other reason for those people's attack except for a suicide mission?

Unaware of anything wrong, Piman said animatedly, seeing Anthony's furrowed brow.

"Let's bet... if my guys can take care of that group of punks five kilometers away in five minutes."

Anthony's eyebrows raised to speak, but suddenly a deafening explosion from outside the anti-blast bunker, coupled with the trembling of the ground, interrupted his thoughts.

Stabilizing himself against the wall, Anthony, who had not stood steady, glanced out of the observation window, but only saw drifting smoke, without seeing where the bomb had hit.

He swore angrily, masking the slight panic that was hard to detect on his face.

"Damn it, how are there bombs falling here!"

Piman's face was also filled with surprise, which soon turned into a trace of panic, his opening and closing lips muttered quietly.

"No, that sound is definitely not the Guerrilla Team's crude cannon!"

Without any warning, and without even hearing the whistling of the shell cutting through the air!

Two explosions occurred almost simultaneously, accurately clearing away his mortar position.

Clearly, that was not an arced projectile.

But it fell almost vertically from the sky!

The Lion Kingdom doesn't have planes.

That leaves only one possibility—

"What is that?" Anthony looked at him dumbfoundedly, waiting for an answer.

However, Piman didn't respond to his anticipation, but rather darted to the desk like a madman, grabbing the phone that was left on the table.

Rapidly dialing several buttons with his index finger, his face no longer showed any confident expression, almost screaming with all his strength.

"Calling the frontline air control, this is base 530, we're under air raid!"

"We need support!"

Chapter 429: Never Fought Such a Wealthy Battle Before!

Flames rose in the darkness.

When they saw the rolling smoke rising in the direction of the military base, the soldiers of the Revival Army crouching in the trenches all opened their eyes in surprise.

Including Yard.

Including his subordinate, Kraf.

And including those centurions struggling in desperation.

The scout vehicle in the distance began to retreat, turning its head back towards the military base.

But the four trucks coming towards them remained where they were.

The infantry who had already disembarked could neither advance nor retreat, so they simply dug makeshift dugouts on the spot, lying down inside them, and opened fire against the soldiers of the Revival Army relying on the trenches.

It turned out that these high-nosed demons were not invincible.

After losing the fire support from the rear, they quickly became embroiled in a tough fight against the Revival Army soldiers, who outnumbered them, suffering continuous casualties.

Looking at the column of smoke rising to the north, surprise filled Yard's face, which soon turned into wild joy.

He tore off his scarf and tied it around his injured arm, excitedly shouting to the soldiers behind him,

"It's the reinforcements!"

"Our reinforcements are just ahead!"

"I told you, they wouldn't go back on their word!"

To the due north.

The military base of the Army was a billowing mass of smoke.

Especially the artillery positions, being given special attention, were a complete mess from the firepower that had rained down from the sky!

Piman, hiding in the anti-battery shelter, was desperately shouting into the communication channel, but apart from the sizzle of the electric current, there was no response.

Not only could he not communicate with the air command center 100 kilometers away.

He also couldn't contact the hundred-team outside the military base, and the communications with the other combat units were intermittent, with each report unanimously indicating heavy losses and requesting reinforcements.

Piman's face turned slightly pale as he hung up the phone and slumped helplessly in his chair.

Anthonite looked at him with an iron-blue complexion, with nervous sweat oozing from his forehead.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's metallic hydrogen... Not just metallic hydrogen, but also EMP," Piman stammered, his lips trembling and a trace of panic written on his face, "Our communications have been cut off."

Hearing those words, Anthonite's eyes bulged.

"EMP??? Metallic hydrogen?! How could a guerrilla team have that kind of thing?!"

Piman swallowed and said with difficulty, "It's not any guerrilla team... It's likely a corporation's aircraft."

The moment he heard the word 'corporation', Anthonite involuntarily held his breath, and fear started to show in his eyes.

Half a month ago, at the strategy meeting, he heard General Griffin speak.

The eastward strategy of the Army had caught the attention of the East Coast, including the occupation of the Pioneer; clearly, it couldn't be hidden from those people.

If they couldn't end this war in a short time, the corporation might get involved.

And by then.

This war would turn into a direct confrontation between the Army and the corporation, and the ancient treaty would be shattered to dust.

For a century...

Such a thing had never happened.

Meanwhile, right above Piman and Anthonite, a drone with a bulbous head was circling high in the sky.

Its name was Seagull, hailing from the distant East Coast, with a price tag of 1.5 million Cr, capable of carrying 8 guided missiles and one 20mm aviation cannon with a reserve of 600 rounds.

The communications equipment at the ground military base had been completely paralyzed by an EMP missile, and the Army's command system was severely impacted.

Although they had prepared for the event of communication equipment failure, they clearly hadn't anticipated an EMP strike; the sudden attack threw the camp into chaos.

Tank crews rushed to the garage, intending to drive out the tanks and anti-aircraft vehicles.

However, before they could get close to the garage, another missile fell from the sky.

The air-burst incendiary, like fireworks towards the ground, poured down streamers of glowing smoke from the sky, quickly turning the entire area near the garage into hell on earth.

A soldier instinctively raised his hand to block out the intense white light, but his arm was accidentally grazed by a flying spark.

Like a match dropped into a barrel of oil, the faint flame instantly turned into a raging fire, expanding several times in a matter of breaths, engulfing him in flames.

He fell to the ground, trying to rip off his clothes, rolling in agony, but no matter how he struggled, he couldn't shake off those glowing flames... At that moment, any experience and skills were useless, and he could only wait for death in torment.

Screams rose from every corner as the unquenchable flames burned on dozens of tank crew members.

Next to the garage lay a scattered collection of charred corpses, and soon, even the screams could no longer be heard.

Observing the ground from the drone's perspective, Debt Giant Eye couldn't help but cluck his tongue.

"Damn... That's just brutal."

That last missile had killed at least 50 people.

Unless they had awakened some special power, even Awakeners would probably find it hard to survive this hell.

Unable to bear the sight of their suffering, Debt Giant Eye sighed inwardly and launched another missile.

White flames bloomed again, this time turning the northeast corner of the military base into a sea of fire.

The machine gun positions camouflaged with nets turned into an inferno; several gunmen escaped from the flames, only to be shredded by the cannon fire from above.

Under the thermal imaging view, each moving head glowed like a light bulb, unable to escape the fire raining down from above.

Meanwhile, the Death Legion, pedaling tricycles forward, finally reached their new combat position.

The support teams set up mortars and, guided by the Seagull drone, began to suppress the fire near the military base garage, preventing Army vehicle crews from boarding the tanks.

On the other side, team A, serving as the vanguard and peddling tricycles, advanced toward the northeast corner of the military base under the protection of the Seagull drone.

They needed no batteries or engines.

The Strength Type beasts wearing "Pioneer" exoskeletons were natural humanoid motors; each of the hard-pedaling men was nearly smoking the tires.

"Brothers, follow me up!" Edge Shoveling shouted excitedly at the sight of the burning white light ahead, then he slapped Construction Lad's shoulder hard, "Go! Faster!"

The Constructions Youth and Brick complained.

"I'm gonna wear out my damn shoes at this rate! Shit, can't we get a motorcycle or something?"

Even a tricycle would do!

Hearing his good buddy's complaint, Edge Shoveling, who was on an excited high, let out a hearty laugh.

"Those things take up too much space! Better to bring more ammo. The Manager did ask me, but I flat out refused!"

Construction Youth with a Brick: "#@%$!"

Holding his breath, the Construction Worker with the highest attributes sped ahead, leaving everyone else in the dust.

Team A, led by Edge Shoveling, broke through the outermost defensive line on the northeast corner of the Army like a sharp spearhead.

"Roar—!"

A muffled roar echoed.

Next to the sandbag bunker, a gray-black Mutant, towering at the height of a person, stepped out with a huge club in hand.

His eyes were blood-red; a thick steel plate hung on his chest, making him resemble a baseball batter taking meteoric strides towards the direction of the Death Legion.

However, before he could get within ten meters, a 37mm Armor-Piercing Incendiary Bullet hit him square in the chest. Sparks from the explosion blew clean through him.

That was the Alliance's Heavy Cavalry Gun!

A rifle retooled for anti-material purposes, using an anti-aircraft cannon barrel and ammunition of the same caliber!

The massive recoil nearly threw the player who fired the shot off the tricycle, but fortunately, the strength of the beast pulling the trike was strong enough to counter the recoil from the anti-material weapon with wildly pedaling legs.

"Haha, nice shot!" shouted Edge Shoveling, unable to contain his excitement, but he quickly sobered up and focused intently.

The outer defensive line might have been breached, but the real fight was just beginning!

The soldiers still alive inside the military base were all battle-hardened veterans.

They were crouched behind cover, ready to launch a counterattack at any moment!

Not to mention the Mutants!

These monstrously strong beasts, akin to human tanks.

A hundred-strong team of Mutant Mercenaries had been eager to fight, and upon seeing people rushing into the camp, they let out feral roars and charged towards the Death Legion.

"Tear them apart!"

"Twist their heads off!"

"Roar—!"

That pair of pupils flashed with a craving for flesh.

These beast-like monsters were not just adept with primitive weaponry; they could shoot, use thrown objects, and various small devices they'd crafted themselves—although their aim was a bit off, they still caused considerable trouble for Team A, the vanguard.

Luckily, this was when Team C, responsible for covering fire, finally got into position on the north side of the dune slope. They set up heavy machine guns and 37mm Heavy Cavalry Guns, the dark, menacing barrels aimed at the Mutant Mercenaries.

"Fire!"

The owner of the rolling drum hair salon on the sand dune bellowed, launching the attack first.

As soon as the team leader gave the order to fire, everyone pulled their triggers; bursts of flames spewed from the muzzles.

Thick tracers tore through the veil of night, drifting like willow catkins blown by the wind.

The Mutant Mercenaries who rushed out of their shelters, intending to engage in close combat with the Death Legion, were instantly slaughtered, their armor shattered to pieces along with their flesh and brains, leaving a slippery mess of gore everywhere.

Although their wounds could heal at a visible rate, it didn't mean their heads could regrow after being blown to bits.

Under the command of the Roller Hair Washing Machine system, Team C, manning the mounted weapons, poured a relentless barrage into the blazing military base, covering the breakthrough of Team A and the two following hundred-man teams as they continued their advance inside the base.

"All out of the vehicles!"

Yelling this, Edge Shoveling led the charge by jumping off the tricycle, signaling the vanguard players to form up, covering one another as they stepped forward over the sticky trails of blood.

Meanwhile, above in the night sky,

Just after Team C had successfully completed a handover of fire support, the "Seagull" drones in the sky had run out of ammunition and began to withdraw from the battlefield to save battery life.

Now it was the ground forces' time to shine!

Five "Hellhound" unmanned vehicles, robust as young calves, followed Team A over the sandbag walls.

Although these Hellhounds couldn't match the size and load of the "A-1 Ground Weapon Platform" drawn by Wild Wind, their arsenal of 1,000 rounds of 12mm machine gun ammunition and 24 60mm aerial burst grenade rounds still allowed them to unleash firepower comparable to an armored vehicle.

Controlled by the Intelligence System players, these five "Hellhounds" were like wolves diving into a flock of sheep.

The triangular gun barrels spun like windmills, spewing fierce firepower that, like a waterfall of bullets, wove an impenetrable net within the camp, sheltering the following infantry squads as they pushed forward.

Not just that, supporting the advancing infantry was the Alliance's domestically produced Y-2 "Butterfly Knife" quadrotor drone.

Compared to the "Spring Knife" equipped with explosive charges, the "Butterfly Knife" with its improved power and control systems offered much stronger sustained support capacity, not only was there an adjustable camera slung underneath the aircraft but also a 5mm caliber caseless coaxial rifle.

These drones could perform close observation missions and coordinate with frontline troops to launch pincer attacks against fixed cover, or swarm like locusts from multiple angles to strike the enemy line.

Their uses were incredibly diverse.

Faced with the Death Legion dragged into the military base, the Army soldiers attempted to organize resistance but were overwhelmed by the enemy's ferocious close-range firepower.

Especially devastating was the saturation bombardment of the hangars by the drones, which decimated the crew members, resulting in more than 50 tanks failing to even start their engines before being left stranded in the hangars.

Moreover, the preemptive strike by EMP weapons caused a communications blackout.

Not to mention that High Command had no idea of their situation, even Centurion Piman himself had no clue how many of his men were left alive, where each hundred-man team or ten-man team was, or who they were exchanging fire with.

Not just Piman was taken by surprise; even the Centurions and Centurions in the front lines were caught off guard by this sudden and disorienting change of events.

There was no helping it. The previous gas canister bombs were too misleading, causing them to mistake the attackers for mere Guerrilla Teams, and so they had only dispatched one "Yellow Weasel" reconnaissance vehicle and four transport carts. Heavy equipment such as Conqueror tanks hadn't even been activated.

Faced with the heavily armed Death Legion, the disordered Army units couldn't even organize a full hundred-man team; they were forced to fight in groups of ten or even smaller, each desperately holding on around the limited cover available.

Their ammunition and morale wouldn't last very long, especially after seeing the four-legged walking "Hellhounds" and the "Spring Knives" zooming overhead...

The fragile defense line kept retreating, finally scattering like a sand castle washed away by the tide...

An Army soldier carrying a rocket launcher had just aimed at a Hellhound and was about to pull the trigger when an aerial burst grenade exploded in his face, shattering half his head.

Edge Shoveling, leading from the front with his LD-47 rifle, fired a sweeping barrage that turned the soldier attempting to pick up the rocket launcher into a sieve.

Two Agility system players quickly flanked to the side and with several "tut-tut-tut" bursts, swiftly cleared the rest of the gunmen behind the cover.

In the distance, flames blazed.

Edge Shoveling could feel it—the thousand-man team garrisoned here was at the end of its rope.

His finger pressed on the communicator and he shouted loudly,

"B Squad, seize the garage! Stop the enemy crew from entering the tank!"

"D and F Squads, continue to advance and capture the southern position! To the south, we also have a full hundred-team. After taking the machine gun fortress, immediately support our allies!"

"A Team, follow me to attack the command post! Capture the enemy officers!"

"Move out!"

The location of the command post had been marked on the map.

This was intelligence that Brother Battlefield had literally swapped his ass for; it couldn't be squandered!

Edging Shoveling led his brothers straight to the military base's command post.

Inside, the hastily constructed command post was deserted, clearly having been moved to a nearby artillery bunker.

A ten-man team crouched behind a low wall at the entrance of the bunker, trying to make a last stand using the cover.

But the players responsible for the assault didn't give them a chance to even see who was coming, let alone waste words, and simply called in a "Hellhound."

An airburst shell slammed behind the cover and with a loud bang, followed by the whirring of a triangular rifled barrel, the ten-man squad crouching at the entrance of the artillery bunker was instantly ground into a pulverized mess by the fierce firepower.

Under the cover of supporting fire, Edging Shoveling personally led a ten-man squad closer to the target.

A shock bomb was thrown into the bunker, and amidst a burst of white light, he led several players into the bunker, an LD-47 rifle with bayonet raised in front.

"Don't move!"

"Surrender immediately!"

"Drop your weapons, and you won't be killed!"

It was the same old three lines, shouted loudly by the construction worker beside Edging Shoveling.

One of the bodyguards clearly didn't buy it; before his eyes even opened, he raised his gun to counterattack.

But before he could aim, a burst of gunfire swept towards his chest.

He grunted and slumped to the ground like a torn ragdoll, not even having the chance to scream in pain.

Anthony reached for his pistol to end his own life, but before he could turn off the safety, an engineer shovel smashed his wrist, causing him to cry out in pain and drop the pistol.

"Fuck—"

Edging Shoveling stepped forward, kicked the gun away, grabbed Anthony's arm, twisted it behind his back, and pressed his head against a nearby table.

Struggling desperately, Anthony was about to curse, but before two syllables could escape his mouth, an engineer shovel chopped down next to his neck with a "Duang," like an axe.

The cold touch and the blade's proximity made Anthony's heart freeze.

Pinned on the table, his chest heaved wildly; the courage he had gathered to face his end was smacked away by that dark shovel.

Sometimes, courage needs a little bit of blood rushing to the head.

He wasn't afraid to die, and was ready to sacrifice himself for the Marshal, but these people clearly wouldn't allow him to die easily. They would surely use that shovel to torture him bit by bit until every piece of intelligence was extracted from his head...

With this thought, Anthony shivered involuntarily, and before he knew it, his pants were soaked.

Thinking he was still resisting, Edging Shoveling glared at him, gripping even tighter.

"Stay still!"

Centurion Piman stood by the entire time. He hadn't moved and watched the throng flood into the command post with its guns, feeling a sense of utter desperation.

"Pioneer I Type" exoskeleton.

He recognized the equipment.

There was no doubt; these were the corporate people!

"Shackle these men!"

Edging Shoveling turned to his teammates and ordered, and the young construction worker and Brick handcuffed the centurion without saying a word.

Facing the soldier marching towards him, Piman offered no resistance, calmly extending his hands.

"I surrender."

Losing to those guys from the East Coast wasn't shameful.

These people's gear was so strong, it was as if they were cheating; it was just short of using tactical nuclear bombs.

Moreover, these people had a sense of moral cleanliness. Being captured by them usually didn't end too badly...

Meanwhile, the battle to the south had also concluded.

After clearing the machine gun positions and the watchtower adjacent to the army soldiers, Squad D swiftly occupied the fixed weaponry, unleashing fire at the four trucks in the distance.

Caught in the crossfire from both the front and back, the army thousand-team rapidly suffered more than half casualties, losing their ability to fight.

Seizing the opportune moment, Yard immediately ordered a hundred-team to charge forward, capturing all the remaining enemies who had lost their will to fight.

On the other side, the "Yellow Weasel" reconnaissance car returning to the military base to support the infantry was also struck by players' RPGs, immobilizing it in the middle of the road as the turret raised a white flag of surrender.

With that, the military operation, spanning thousands of miles, could be declared virtually complete. The chaotic military base was left with only sporadic gunfire and faint flames.

The Death Legion had killed a total of 652 army soldiers and 121 mutant mercenaries in the fight, taking more than 470 combatant and non-combatant prisoners.

As for the losses, for the first time ever there were only 31 dead.

Additionally, that number even included those severely wounded and disabled who had willingly let their teammates "finish them off."

Hearing the battle reports and losses from various squads, Edging Shoveling couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder.

Is this the power of the silver coin?

With the right equipment, it's hard even to die!

Raising his rifle above his head to signal as an ally, Yard approached the direction of the military base, meeting Edging Shoveling, who was escorting prisoners from the command post.

He extended his calloused right hand and firmly shook the hand of the young man before him.

"Thanks for your support!"

"Don't mention it, we're allies on the same front," Edging Shoveling said back, giving Yard's hand a shake before letting go and continuing. "But I still have to say, you guys were an hour ahead of the original plan. We almost missed it."

Good thing the army was overconfident and didn't deploy the tanks, otherwise tonight might have been a tough battle.

Yard was momentarily startled, then promptly said,

"Impossible, the message we received was to launch the attack at the strike of midnight. The messenger sent by Prince Wenter even specifically reminded us to adjust our watches to the Alliance time zone..."

Saying this, he pulled out a crumpled map from his chest pocket and handed it to Edging Shoveling.

The map was marked with pencil, noting brief intelligence including the timing and steps of the operation.

Edge Shoveling had a slightly odd expression on his face after taking a photo; then he returned the map to him.

"…Maybe it's a misunderstanding."

From his standpoint, it wasn't quite appropriate to stir up trouble, yet it was impossible to rule out that within the Lion Kingdom, there might be those who wished for their demise right here.

Yard had also thought of this, but he didn't show any anger on his face; instead, he nodded calmly.

"Alright, let's just consider it a misunderstanding."

After all, now was not the time for internal conflict; even if there were disagreements, they should wait until the war had ended.

Moreover, this had nothing to do with the Alliance that was supporting them; it was entirely an internal issue of the Lion Kingdom.

"Let's talk about something more pleasant, we've acquired the intelligence we needed, including testimonial and physical evidence… in short, things that can cause trouble for our enemies."

While saying this, Edge Shoveling glanced at the boxes being moved out from the nearby command post and the officers who were being escorted out of the anti-cannon shelters by the players.

The Alliance had already dispatched a delegation, waiting for them at the bordering area between Luo Xia Province and River Valley Province Northern Part, to take over.

After the handover, these officers and the armory orders would be sent to the Grand Canyon; after which, the Bugra Free State was likely to face a purge.

That was the most optimistic scenario.

Even if things weren't so optimistic, the Alliance might still gain goodwill from the North, or even friendship.

Speaking of which, the Grand Canyon was counted as one of the "Degenerate Empires" in the backdrop. Its ancestors had even been the headquarters of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, although it didn't have the same presence as corporations, armies, or academies did.

Edge Shoveling was actually quite curious about what their map looked like.

He wondered if Ah Guang had finished it.

Yard glanced at the dismayed Piman and Antonite beside him. Though unfamiliar with these two faces, their ranks indicated they were at least Centurions.

"…What about the other prisoners?"

"Dealing with them is up to you, including the spoils of war in this military base. I hope you take as much as possible, and destroy anything you can't carry, especially the Conqueror tanks."

With that, Edge Shoveling looked at the pale blue text on his VM and continued.

"By the way, according to the intelligence we've just recovered, the total commander of the Army in Luo Xia Province, General Griffin, seems to be planning a new offensive from the North. It's coordinated with the western front forces to encircle the Royal City of the Lion Kingdom."

Yard's expression grew increasingly serious.

"I will inform Prince Wenter of the Lion Kingdom's Marshal."

Edge Shoveling nodded.

"Yes, if you have a faster way of spreading the news, it's better to tell him as soon as possible."

The battle entered the phase of clearing the battlefield.

Although the mission required leaving the equipment for the local armed forces, Edge Shoveling, spurred on by his buddies, couldn't help but take a look at the firepower they possessed.

This casual glance made several players instantly fixated.

Enthralled by the tanks in the garage, a construction youth spoke with a dreamy expression, saying,

"Imagine if we could drive these tanks away ourselves, wouldn't we be able to form our own armored formation!"

There were fifty of them!

Including heavy tanks, anti-aircraft vehicles, and self-propelled guns—definitely enough for an enhanced battalion's strength!

Debt Giant Eye glanced at him.

"Do you know how to drive them?"

The construction youth retorted without hesitation.

"No! But I can learn, can't I? And do those NPCs know how?"

Hearing their banter, Edge Shoveling smiled and said,

"Since the Desert Kings have Dinar in reserve, it's clear they've imported the Army's equipment, no matter through which channels. Since Yard is taking over these armaments, they evidently have a way to put these machines to use… but, let's not worry about that; it's time to hit the road."

Patting his buddy on the shoulder, he turned and walked towards the north side of the camp.

The Death Legion's trikes were all parked there.

They would continue heading north on those trikes, traversing the desert to meet with the Alliance delegation waiting at the province's border to complete the handover of prisoners and evidence.

On the other side,

Beside the army's armory, Revival Army soldiers were busily loading ammunition, fuel, and weapons onto trucks, preparing to move them out.

Those soldiers with driving experience were getting into tanks, familiarizing themselves with the controls.

Standing next to Yard, a Revival Army Centurion named Kraf asked in a low voice,

"Should we pass that message on to Prince Wenter?"

Yard was silent for a while before finally nodding.

"Of course."

The bigger picture took precedence.

The Lion Kingdom had shown them kindness after all, and they couldn't negate that kindness due to the presence of some petty individuals.

Kraf nodded, relieved, feeling that his Highness hadn't let anger cloud his judgment.

Then, he looked towards the group of prisoners squatting not far away.

"What about those prisoners?"

The Alliance hadn't demanded their lives but had left the decision of their fate in their hands.

Yard looked at the prisoners, with their hands clasped over their heads, feeling utterly indifferent.

Killing them would be satisfying, but beyond that, it was pointless.

And…

It might bring suffering to the civilians in the occupied areas.

After pondering for a while, he made his decision.

"Let them live."

"We need to use these people to exchange for our fellow countrymen."

-

(Don't sleep with headphones on… My ears have been buzzing all morning; I'll go to the hospital to check in after lunch – a lesson for all of us T.T. If you guys spot any typos, let me know in the comments; or you can call them out—comments should be working again, and I'll make corrections as soon as I see them!)

Chapter 429: My Friend, Not Everyone in This World Is as Simple-Minded as You

"Damn..."

The man, clad in bulletproof armor, standing at the entrance of the camp, couldn't help but curse aloud as he looked at the chaos before him at the military base.

His name was Vag, part of the Ninth Thousand Team of the Thirty Thousand Troops. He led a ten-man squad stationed about 20 kilometers from here, at an outpost responsible for monitoring the northwestern valley of Camp 530 and also guarding a relay signal tower.

An hour ago, he received a message from the Ninth Thousand Team. Camp 530 had not made its routine safety report and had not responded to HQ's communications. He was ordered to go there immediately with his subordinates to check whether their communications equipment had malfunctioned or if they had encountered some unexpected event.

Vag didn't hesitate, immediately taking three of his brave subordinates on diesel tricycles, driving across rough terrain for over twenty kilometers straight to Camp 530.

However, when he arrived at the military base, he found it had already turned into ruins...

"Anyone there?"

He shouted at the top of his lungs. There was no stir inside, nor any response.

With heightened tension, Vag raised his rifle horizontally, decisively waved his fist, and cautiously led the three riflemen through the camp gates into the depths of the military base.

The street lamps on either side of the road were all out. The local power system seemed to have been sabotaged, leaving only the still-burning barracks and a thin sliver of moonlight.

Walking along the broken road, passing near the garage area, everyone's faces turned pale, now green, now white.

Burned corpses lay twisted and intertwined; many were curled up together, making it impossible to spot a complete human form.

As for the garage with its doors wide open, all the tanks and trucks had been driven away, and the supplies were gone too, not even a wrench or screwdriver was left behind.

Vag swallowed hard, moving forward with his riflemen towards the direction of the command center.

They soon passed a checkpoint that seemed to have experienced fierce gunfire not too long ago.

From the collapsed sandbag walls and the bodies riddled with bloody holes, it wasn't hard to tell that the soldiers stationed here had faced brutal firepower just an hour ago.

The mutant mercenaries nearby met the same fate.

Those big guys either had their heads smashed or their chests blown open with huge holes by some large-caliber weapon, their bodies almost completely disfigured, their deaths utterly agonizing.

Even the mutants with their strong regenerative abilities couldn't withstand it...

Let alone ordinary people.

"... damn it, I bet this wasn't the work of the guerrillas or the kingdom's army!" one of the riflemen nervously looked around, cursing under his breath.

Another, slightly younger rifleman, breathed hastily, also casting nervous glances around, and whispered.

"Could it be the people from the Grand Canyon?"

Listening to the soldiers whispering under their breath, Vag looked around gravely and replied succinctly.

"... We just reached a ceasefire agreement with them at the beginning of the year. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of them violating the treaty, but launching an attack without declaration isn't their style."

Leading his subordinates, Vag moved to the entrance of the command center.

The situation here was equally grim. Nearby, barracks tents and the partitions were riddled with dense bullet holes, and on less than fifty square meters of the open space, about fifty bodies lay disorderly, all Weilante people with prominent nose bridges.

After searching the area, Vag couldn't find the body of the thousands leader Piman until he reached the command post and nearby artillery shelter. That's when he noticed something.

"... all the documents here have been taken out."

Furrowing his brow slightly, Vag recalled what his superior had told him.

Camp 530 was tied to a major plan devised by General Griffin himself, crucial for ending the war by the end of August.

Thus, monitoring the state of Camp 530 at all times was imperative.

Without hesitation, Vag took the walkie-talkie off his shoulder, pressed the button, and said.

"... calling headquarters, this is the patrol team of outpost 151, we have reached Camp 530, and the situation here is quite bad, I don't see a single living person... nor the body of the commanding officer of this military base, suspecting that they've been captured by an unknown force."

"Even the top-secret documents in the command post, military supplies in the nearby warehouse, tanks in the garage... the raiders almost took everything that could be moved."

Looking around, his gaze suddenly fell on the rows of extinguished street lamps, his expression gradually becoming unnatural.

In an instant, Vag thought of something, his expression growing solemn.

"All electronic devices are paralyzed, including all the streetlights being out, the military base is pitch dark, I can't find any electronic devices that are still working."

"Though it may sound bizarre, my gut tells me... this definitely isn't just a simple power system malfunction."

Pausing for half a second, he took a deep breath and voiced his speculation.

"Most likely, it's an EMP!"

...

Camp 530 suffered a catastrophic attack.

The elite troops stationed there were almost entirely wiped out.

And—

Suspected to have been hit by an EMP attack!

The news, reported up through the ranks, quickly reached the army's frontline headquarters at Oasis No. 9, startling several senior officers from their sleep.

In the war room.

General Griffin stood with his hands behind his back, perfectly upright in front of the strategic map, his eyes narrowing dangerously like those of a vulture.

The officers behind him were silent as the grave, exchanging incredulous and astonished glances.

Over the past month, their outposts and military bases had endured several attacks by the kingdom's army and guerrillas, but those wasteland wanderers, fighting with flaming sticks, had never won.

That the command center only found out about the destruction of a military base after the battle had concluded was unprecedented...

And moreover, it was Camp 530 that was hit.

It had to be that location!

A staff officer took a deep breath, breaking the silence in the meeting room, and reported.

"Our aircraft have scouted the nearby areas; no enemy troops were found. After stealing the supplies, the attackers seem to have hidden in the valleys thirty kilometers northeast of Oasis No. 9. They must have built hidden fortifications there; our planes saw nothing."

The silent atmosphere was pierced.

The officers around also chimed into the conversation.

"According to the intelligence fed back by nearby outposts, the enemy seems to have used EMP weapons, preemptively destroying the communication tower of the military base… There are two possibilities, the Grand Canyon has entered the war, or companies have increased their military presence in Luo Xia Province."

"Aren't they building an air base around West State City in River Valley Province? The person could well be from there!"

"It's possible!"

Listening to his subordinates' numerous discussions, Griffin, with hands behind his back, remained silent.

More than the painful loss of personnel, equipment, and supplies, what Griffin found unacceptable was that the combat plan he formulated last month had been leaked.

Camp 530 served as the logistical fulcrum for launching the next round of total onslaught across the northern front. He didn't mind the casualties of vassal attendants on the front lines but had to carefully consider the heavy losses involved in taking over the Northern Defense Area of the Lion Kingdom without sufficient armored strength and supply support...

Luo Xia Province wasn't just about Honey Badgers and Lions, but also Camels and Golden Lizards. If they wanted the Hawk Kingdom to conquer the entire Luo Xia Province, they needed to control the casualties.

Otherwise...

What they gained would soon be lost.

"...It's regrettable that our flawless plan was leaked. They knew exactly where Camp 530 was and could pinpoint the location of our troops by the day and hour."

Griffin glanced around the tent, his gaze sharply sweeping over every face present as he spoke distinctly.

"The strategic deployment on the northern front must be adjusted... It won't be difficult, but I want to know exactly where the fault lies."

The room turned terrifyingly quiet, as if the drop of a pin could be heard.

Just when everyone was tensely on edge, Griffin suddenly shifted the topic lightly.

"Of course, I trust your loyalty. The problem must lie with some link below us. I need you all to keep your eyes peeled and root out the traitor."

Upon hearing this, the officers finally relaxed, their faces revealing a relieved expression as they stood at attention and said,

"Understood!"

"Yes, sir!"

Watching his subordinates lift their heads proudly, Griffin nodded, his gaze returning to the map hanging on the wall, sinking into contemplation.

EMP weapons.

Clearly, that wasn't equipment from the kingdom—most likely, no, it certainly was a tactic by the corporations!

According to the message logged by the logistics department, Camp 530 had just received a batch of supplies from Bugra Free State two days ago, indicating that the Grand Canyon was unaware of this supply line; otherwise, they had ample other ways to organize their vassals to continue dealing with the army.

With this in mind, Griffin frowned.

Could it be that McCullen wasn't boasting?

Was Iron Heart truly destroyed by corporate reinforcements?

If that was the case...

Their troubles might not be small.

...

Meanwhile, at the front-line headquarters where they were holding an overnight meeting to formulate combat plans, a desert-colored truck halted at the entrance of the military camp.

Coleway, who jumped down first from the truck, glanced at the entrance and brightened upon seeing the waiting officer.

"Fedir?! Great! You're still alive!"

Fedir, an officer under General McCullen's command, held the same rank as Coleway—a Centurion—but was older by a round.

Watching the dusty Coleway, Fedir saluted excitedly and walked up to him, grasping his right hand.

"At the last critical moment, I escaped aboard the escape pod with General McCullen and miraculously survived... As for you, it's really good to see you're still alive!"

The two had a good private relationship.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be waiting here.

Coleway, with a smile on his face, spoke in a wistful tone.

"Honestly, I barely made it out of the desert. The battlefield was chaotic, I couldn't even muster ten men around me, and there were barbarian pursuers behind. At one point, I almost gave up... It was all thanks to this brother here."

He pulled the now-disembarked Old Soldier next to him.

Fedir looked at this dark-skinned man, noting his flat nose, and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Who is this?"

"Pangolin!"

Coleway patted the stoic man's shoulder vigorously, grinning at Fedir.

"Don't be fooled by his Wasteland Wanderer appearance. He's unlike the others, a brave fellow... not just in skill, but his loyalty to the army shames even me. To gather enough money to return, he even set aside a soldier's pride to dig in coal mines. If it weren't for his encouragement, I might have died in shame in the desert."

Hearing the name Pangolin, Fedir finally recognized this Retinue Army's Centurion personally promoted by General McCullen—the fierce man who single-handedly killed the Mother of Dead Claw!

All the way here, McCullen had been lamenting about the head of the Mother of Dead Claw, regretting not bringing that collectible along.

He hadn't expected this fierce man to have followed and led Coleway through the desert all the way here.

Saving a high-ranking Centurion.

For an attendant army, that could be considered a great achievement!

Fedir, looking at Old Soldier, spoke earnestly.

"Thank you for saving my friend and bringing him back safely... I will definitely repay this favor."

"No need to thank me. I was merely doing my duty," Old Soldier repeated the phrase he had said many times before.

"We all do what we must, but for those who do exceptionally well, proper rewards are due... I will report your merit."

Fedir smiled, clapped Pangolin on the shoulder, and then turned to the equally smiling Coleway, continuing,

"Come with me. There have been considerable changes here. I'll take you to report for reassignment first. We can talk about other matters along the way..."

Coleway needed to report in first and restore his military status since he had been missing for so long and was already considered half-dead in the record books.

The army would verify his identity through some professional procedures, ensuring he wasn't an impostor clone or a synthetic human or something of that sort.

As for "Mr. Pangolin," there wasn't a need to go through such a complex process. Once his name was registered in the Retinue Army's roster, he was left to wait at the logistics department's barracks.

It was now late at night, and apart from the lights at the security posts, everywhere else was pitch dark, making it impractical for him to wander around.

After waiting for quite a while, a logistics personnel finally approached and took him to the nearby cafeteria, arranging for a cook to prepare a large table of midnight snacks for him.

Gazing enviously at the epaulettes on Mr. Pangolin's shoulders, the logistics worker said respectfully,

"Lord Fedir instructed me to take care of you, sir. If there is anything you need, just let me know. At this time, other than alcohol and women, I can probably find a way to get you anything else."

Observing the facial features of the young man, whose nose was not prominently risen and whose deep-set eyes resembled those of a desert dweller, he surmised that the man was probably a citizen of the Falcon Kingdom.

Hungry from the journey, he spoke straightforwardly,

"Please prepare some extra meat for me, preferably beef, as I might eat quite a bit more than an ordinary person."

After all, it was free.

It would be a loss not to eat more!

The young man laughed upon hearing this and said,

"You must be an Awakener, right? Please rest assured! Lord Coleway has already instructed me to prepare food for three people!"

So Coleway had already given him a heads up…

Seeing the smile on the young man's face, the Old Soldier smiled bashfully.

That sounded...

As if he were nothing but a big eater.

After a short wait, the food was quickly served.

Included was a whole roasted beef leg and a basket of freshly baked large bread covered with icing sugar and nuts.

Moreover, there was a basket of juicy grapes, bright red dates, and an unlimited supply of milk.

Looking at the lavish spread that was hard to take his eyes off, the Old Soldier felt a sense of appreciation.

No wonder it's the headquarters' cafeteria.

They eat damn well here!

"If it's not enough, I can arrange for the kitchen to prepare more…" the young man bowed slightly, respectfully adding, "Please enjoy your meal."

Embracing the thought of "the more I eat, the less the enemy eats," the Old Soldier sat down at the long table and started eating voraciously without care for his image.

Seeing him devour the food so deliciously, the young man standing beside felt hungry himself, swallowed his saliva, and tried not to look over.

Shortly after, Coleway, who had finished with the procedures, also arrived at the cafeteria.

He admired Mr. Pangolin flaunting the beef leg, not finding the eating manner uncouth in the slightest, pulled out a chair and sat down directly opposite him, snapping his fingers at the young man.

"Bring me a steak," he said.

"Right away, sir."

The young man nodded respectfully and quickly turned to head to the kitchen.

Wiping his silver dinner knife, Coleway casually said,

"I was delayed a bit by the paperwork just now. I didn't expect that as soon as we arrived here, we'd run into a big event."

Hearing Coleway's words, the Old Soldier, while swallowing the food in his mouth, reflexively mumbled vaguely,

"Camp 530 was attacked."

"Camp 530? What's that?"

"It's the logistics hub for the northern line troops, the camp we passed two days ago," Coleway said with a helpless expression, "It's such a coincidence... just two days apart. If we had been delayed on the road for two more days, we might have died there."

The Old Soldier nearly choked on his food as he heard this, struggling not to cough and turning red in the face.

Well damn.

He had just delivered the intelligence when the Alliance, using his intelligence, took down that military base.

They really pushed him into the fire!

However, Coleway didn't suspect him, not even thinking in his direction.

After all, they had been in the same truck for two days, and no one would think that a man who slept like a log could talk in his sleep.

"Could they... suspect us?"

"Us?" Hearing this hesitantly phrased question, Coleway slightly paused.

Then, as if he had heard a very funny joke, he laughed and shook his head,

"How could that be? We just retreated to this area and don't even know the camp number, let alone know what role that military base plays in General Griffin's plans."

"Besides, stepping back ten thousand steps, we only arrived there two days ago. Even if the news were leaked immediately, our enemies would need time to verify the intelligence and then plan their strategy based on that... It would take at least a month."

Taking a sip of hot cocoa, Coleway cleared his throat, his expression becoming somewhat serious,

"To be honest, I'm a bit suspicious of that man named Ah Dan."

"Ah Dan?" The Old Soldier paused, "But he... why would he betray us?"

"Sometimes, you don't need many reasons to do something, and my suspicion is not just about him, but all the merchants from Bugra Free State."

Coleway looked at the Old Soldier and said softly,

"My friend, not everyone in this world is as simple-minded as you."

"Those merchants have no loyalty to speak of; they don't serve anyone. Their lives are but soulless husks, mere dirt that doesn't come with birth nor departs with death. Today they might sell us spears for the attack, and tomorrow they could sell shields to our enemies. While I am grateful for their favors, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he has betrayed us."

The Old Soldier nodded guiltily.

"I understand."

"That's good to hear. I was really worried that you might be deceived by those people," Coleway nodded in approval, pausing for a moment before adding, "I had previously mentioned introducing you to General Griffin, but with this incident, it might have to wait."

The Old Soldier quickly replied sensibly.

"It's alright, sir, I'm not in a rush. It can be as late as it needs to be."

He couldn't introduce him just yet anyway.

He didn't want to meet that guy right now either.

Old Soldier believed that the army couldn't possibly all be as naive as this guy in front of him.

Especially that one always called "Old Fox" Griffin, who probably had more tricks up his sleeve than he did; he was truly afraid of being seen through at a glance.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Coleway looked at his good brother with concern, "You look a bit off."

Old Soldier brushed it off with a remark.

"A bit, perhaps it's the change of environment... I've never been to such a dry place before."

Coleway nodded, speaking in a comforting tone.

"It's indeed like this in the desert. You'll need to adapt quickly; the road ahead is long, and we will eventually head to even more distant places."

Old Soldier brightened up and replied,

"I'll adapt as fast as I can!"

...

Shelter No. 404.

As he leaned on the couch sipping an ice-cold Coca-Cola, Chu Guang couldn't stop grinning at the flood of messages on the official forum and the frontline reports sent by the fallen players.

His index finger scrolled the wheel, and he couldn't help but let out a sound of admiration.

"This money was well spent!"

Both the "Seagull" drone and the "Hellhound" unmanned vehicle had performed beyond expectations on the battlefield.

Had to give it up for the "Degenerate Empire," the stuff they provided was truly impressive!

Of course, it was also thanks to the over-the-top performance of the players. The Death Legion, known for their casualties, only lost about thirty-something men this time.

Normally, such a casualty number would barely be a drop in the bucket for them.

"Got to stock up more goods during this battle!"

Including the R-36 "Sanction" air-to-ground missile used by the "Seagull" drones—one EMP missile had turned a whole military base into deaf and mute with a price tag of only 250,000!

Then there were the white phosphorus shells, priced at just 100,000 Cr, with astonishing effects on soft targets.

Although the price wasn't exactly cheap, since it was budgeted military aid, not out of his own pocket, it didn't really matter.

Honestly, Chu Guang assumed that the folks on the East Coast would shy away from such cruel weapons, but it turned out he was overthinking it.

Leaning back on the sofa, Chu Guang, looking at Xiao Qi sitting at the desk, said excitedly,

"Xiao Qi, contact the representative Wu Mu from Chang Ge Group for me. Tell him I plan to purchase ten more of those 'Seagull' drones!"

"Got it! Master!" Xiao Qi answered energetically and obediently contacted the seller.

Chu Guang continued browsing the forum and noticed his "Pangolin" had just come online, so he clicked on the newly posted thread by this chap.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! You guys are ruthless, barely had I left and you struck!"

Elena: "Was your cover blown? If it was, I'll get Mole to draw a comic for you. (playful)"

Canyon Escape Mole: "Piss off! I'm not drawing that kind of stuff!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Blown my ass! Good thing I'm clever enough to bluff my way through. Ease up next time, at least wait till I'm farther away before you bomb! By the way, that Camp 530 you blew up seems to be the logistical hub of the army's northern front... Because the battle plan was exposed, the northern offensive had to be postponed; I just heard this from Coleway."

Quit Smoking: "Damn! Impressive!"

Night Ten: "666!"

Spring Water Commander: "Hahaha, actually I think the timing of this operation was pretty good. Although it was a bit coincidental, it makes it less likely for you to be suspected."

Fang Chang: "+1, more important strategic targets require meticulous planning, or things can easily go awry."

Edge Shoveling: "Ah, stop, those troops responsible for the feint messed up the time zones; they started a whole hour early! Lucky we got there in time, a few more minutes and we might have been totally wiped out!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn, is it that real?"

Edge Shoveling: "You bet, the Old Soldier's tricycle nearly went up in smoke!"

Construction Youth & Brick: "MMP! You still have the nerve to say that! (angry)"

Roller Wash Hair Machine: "Exactly! Too damn stingy! At least sort out a battery-operated vehicle next time!"

Edge Shoveling: "Damn! Can you really call me stingy? Consider the actual situation for once! With nothing but sand as far as the eye can see, where am I supposed to charge your batteries?"

The Death Legion's commander argued with the strength type beasts in his squad. Meanwhile, a few intelligence type players started a new thread to brag to other players.

Especially Debt Giant Eye.

Operating the "Seagull" drone up in the sky fetching fries had thrilled him to no end; he nearly blew the drone's capabilities out of proportion.

The only downside was, the ammo capacity was too low.

He hadn't had enough fun before he ran out of bullets.

Anyway, seeing that "Pangolin" was safe, Chu Guang finally felt relieved.

The reason he had acted so hastily was to prevent this guy from being suspected, but now it seemed the situation he worried about didn't occur.

Eight hundred kilometers.

That distance, even a pigeon would need a day to fly.

Without major communication bases or satellites, completing intelligence exchanges and devising battle plans in two days seemed far-fetched.

After confirming the safety of his intelligence personnel, Chu Guang didn't rush to assign him new tasks but let him lay low.

This chess piece, he planned to use at a crucial moment.

Ideally, to take those big noses out in one sweep.

As for now, it wasn't time yet...

Chapter 430: City of Abundance

Legends tell that during the distant Prosperity Epoch, the land bathed in the light of the falling leaves was once the most fertile place on this continent.

Back then, vegetation thrived, forests covered the hills, and farmlands stretched as far as the eye could see. Metallic servants toiled endlessly in the fields, allowing people to live without labor, indulge themselves in the vanity of a prosperous age, with all resources seemingly provided since birth, endlessly abundant.

Just the agricultural region of Luo Xia Province alone could have fed 90% of the planet's population.

Today, even though the past splendor has been covered with dust, the remnants of the sunset's glow still shine upon this land, warming the struggling remnants of people amid the ruins.

This place remains one of the happiest places in the Wasteland.

As long as one doesn't step into the desert, there is no need to worry about those mutated creatures; each inch of tilled soil here is protected by the armies of various kingdoms and "the levee."

The plentiful and abundant food allows the children of the Spirit of the Sand Sea to live without fear of starvation.

Though feudal, it is united enough, unlike the fragmented Eastern Provinces where a gang of Looters can easily stir up a bloody mess, and children who've just left the cradle have to learn to walk and shoot if they want to survive.

Facts have proven that after the apocalypse, believing in something together is always better than believing in nothing at all.

But—

In the eyes of William Falcon, the prince and marshal of the Falcon Kingdom, this is still far from enough.

Although the kingdoms are united internally because of faith, there is no trust between nations.

The teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea encourage the kings that brothers should unite, and help each other out in hard times. However, in reality, the kings suspect one another, constantly vigilant against potential usurpation of titles through bloodline, reveling in the rights granted by faith, and loathing their own duties.

If only the Spirit of the Sand Sea would bestow its grace equally upon every kingdom in this desert, that might be okay.

But it has not done so, and even the disasters it sends are not meted out equally.

It was Oasis No. 1 that disappeared first, swallowed by the encroaching sands.

Followed by Oasis No. 2, and the fertile land of the Falcon Kingdom is shrinking at a rate visible to the naked eye, losing more than one-fifth of its territory in just half a century.

The selfish kings refuse to help the Falcon Royal Family, and the gods remain silent to the Falcon Royal Family's prayers. Instead, they send continuous disasters, and they have no choice but to seek help from outside forces... even from the devils to the west.

However, it is precisely because of the selfishness and cowardice of the kings, that war has been progressing more smoothly than ever before.

Facing the lightning-fast attacks of the Falcon Kingdom, the suspicious kings are utterly defenseless, unable to mount any effective resistance even now.

After dealing with the Lion Kingdom, the strongest nation, he will immediately lead his troops north and take down the Golden Lizard Kingdom. After that, the entire Luo Xia Province, apart from the Falcon, will only have the Camel Hump Kingdom left to the far south.

Unable to change the situation, they have no choice but to submit.

And by then, this land blessed by the light of Xiaguang will be united like never before.

Since he was a young child, William has held this dream in his heart—he dreams of unifying this desert one day, and with his powerful dominion, restoring the old glory of this desert.

Turning the desert into an oasis sounds somewhat far-fetched, but he believes there is always a way.

Even if it can't be achieved now, someday, someone will surely be able to do it.

After all, the Spirit of the Sand Sea once said, this place was originally a world covered by yellow sand.

As for the second half of the phrase often uttered by the faithful—"The world will eventually be swallowed by yellow sand, returning to the embrace of the Spirit of the Sand Sea"—

That's just the interpretation of those who have given up on themselves.

Instead, he prefers to interpret the teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea as—"This place will one day return to that best of times," "An oasis is a gift from the people to the gods, not a gift from the gods to the people."

Since it was an artificial creation,
there must be a way to create it again.

Now, his task was to destroy the decaying kings with a thunderous hand!

To become the master of this desert!

"...'Thunder' operation has been canceled, this is General Griffin's order, and he asked me to convey it to you."

Inside the tent.

William, who was staring at the strategic map, received bad news from the Army officer who entered the tent.

He slightly opened his eyes and after a moment of silence, lowered his voice and said,

"I need a reason."

Five ten-thousand troops, more than seventy thousand soldiers of the Kingdom had already assembled on three sides of the "City of Abundance."

That place was the granary of Oasis No. 9 and a strategic stronghold in the central part of the Lion Kingdom.

Named "The Riverbank," the gigantic dam encircled a circular area of about ten kilometers in radius.

This towering dam, completely forged from an alloy, irrigated thousands of square kilometers of fertile soil inside and out. No one knew how it worked, only that it possessed inexhaustible fresh water and could restore contaminated water to purity.

Under the protection of the Spirit of the Sand Sea, ordinary weapons couldn't harm it in the slightest.

Therefore, the Lion Kingdom deployed a large number of weapons on the circular "Riverbank" and stationed heavy troops to guard it, turning it into an impregnable fortress that echoed with the Royal City hundreds of kilometers away, forming a strategic angle.

However, conversely, if they could take this place, the Falcon Kingdom's Army could push eastward and reach the Royal City of the Lion Kingdom unimpeded along the way!

The "Thunder" plan was devised precisely to capture this stronghold.

For this, they had already prepared for a full month, including the mobilization of troops and planning of the offensive strategy, and so on.

However…

General Griffin, who formulated this plan, just canceled it with a single word?

What a joke!

But soon, what the officer said next plunged William's mood into an abyss.

"Camp 530 was attacked, and the tanks, rifles, bullets, shells… all the supplies that were supposed to go to the front line are now in the hands of the guerrilla team. It's enough for them to arm a ten-thousand team and last up to two months without supply lines."

"Our planes are searching for their tracks, but they're cunning, hiding in the hills northeast of Oasis No. 9."

Not all of the desert was an endless plain; in addition to the rolling dunes, there were desertified hills and valleys near the central part of River Valley Province.

"Camp 530?! How could… isn't it guarded by your elites?!" William asked anxiously.

The officer nodded and succinctly replied,

"Yes, but even elites only make up a thousand team. As it appears, it was corporate people who launched a sudden attack on our camp, even using electromagnetic pulse weapons."

Corporations…

William furrowed his brows.

Though eager to capture the City of Abundance, it didn't mean he was reckless.

In fact, it was only by making cautious decisions that he had been able to maintain a string of unbroken victories and had captured the entire territory of the Honey Badger Kingdom within a week.

If the battle plan had leaked, and there were suspected forces of companies and guerrilla teams with Army weapons active on the north side of Oasis No 9, it really wasn't a good idea to launch a full offensive hastily.

"...I remember there is a Looter Tribe called the Bear Tribe there? Is there a way to buy them off?"

The officer shook his head.

"We've tried, but those people have been scared stiff by the Alliance, and the few that are left are just hiding in the mountainous areas, acting like bandits...I even doubt if they have any combat power left."

After Dylon's death, his Centurions and Decurions had completely turned into deserters. Although some were willing to return to the Army, that few couldn't change anything.

William's face showed a hint of seriousness as he pondered for a moment and said,

"The war would be best ended quickly; if it drags on too long, there could be unforeseen consequences."

"Of course, that's what Mr. Griffin is thinking too," said the officer, smiling faintly as he read the expression on the prince's face.

"...So, we've prepared a second attack plan. Unlike Operation 'Thunder', this time we're planning to use some unconventional methods."

William's brows furrowed, sensing an unusual implication in the officer's tone.

"Unconventional methods?"

The officer didn't speak but handed him a piece of paper, joking in a teasing tone,

"Burn it after reading. We can't afford another leak this time."

William looked at him suspiciously and unfolded the piece of paper.

When he saw the words on it, William was startled at first, then his complexion changed.

He looked at the officer, staring intently into those indifferent pupils.

"I oppose this plan! We need a whole City of Abundance, not a rotten ruin!"

The officer shrugged indifferently.

"Sacrificing a 'Farm' for the sake of the whole oasis, in our view, is absolutely worth it. If we delay for a month to formulate a new plan, redeploy our troops, we might face several times the number of enemies we do now."

"Besides, this is the opinion of the Eastern Legion Leader."

"We do not want this war to turn from a local conflict into a full-blown war between the Army and the companies; neither of us is ready for that. Crushing our enemies' defenses and will to resist swiftly, before the companies increase their stakes here, is the least costly option."

Listening to that cold, ruthless voice, William stared at him hard.

"You have no idea what that means, destroying the miracle of the Spirit of the Sand Sea is a blasphemy against the Gods!"

But the officer just smiled faintly.

"Blasphemy? You still care about that?"

Watching the prince's face turn ashen, the officer continued in a methodical tone,

"The weapons will take a little time to arrive; you should get ready."

As for that opposition,

He acted as if he hadn't heard it at all.

Having said this, the officer turned and left.

Standing next to William, a general of the Kingdom swallowed hard and quietly asked,

"Your Highness... what does the Army intend to do?"

William remained silent for a long time, seemingly struggling internally,

But only for a moment.

He was not indecisive; those who achieve great things should not be bogged down in details. If they ultimately won, Falling Leaves Province would enjoy eternal peace,

No one could say he was wrong.

Besides, even if he felt it was improper, he couldn't stop the Army's decision.

He handed the piece of paper over to the lamp on the table. William watched as a flame climbed from the paper, consuming it bit by bit, turning it into ash, and finally falling onto the copper plate.

"They plan to release a devil from 200 years ago, defying the grace of the Gods... Heh, but he did have a point. We've already sold our souls to the devil for strength; do we need to care about this?"

With a faint self-mockery, William left the bewildered general behind and walked out of the tent alone.

On that expressionless face, one could not discern his thoughts at the moment.

The nuclear bomb.

A cheap and useful device.

It's said that just by pressing the button, it can erase hundreds of thousands, even millions of people from the map, and turn fertile land into uninhabitable ruins.

The disaster of the Gods that would take half a century to accomplish, it can do in an instant.

It's not particularly clever technology.

But it's definitely effective.

"Mount up."

Arriving at the stable,

William patted the shoulder of a nearby Personal Body Guard, then walked towards his tall, magnificent steed and mounted it.

Not all desert dwellers are fond of camels.

The black horses that originated from the Great Desert were the beloved pets of the citizens of the Falcon Kingdom.

Like the mutants, they were fierce, could charge through gunshots and shelling in heavy armor, naturally fearless of gunfire, and even less afraid of death.

"Where are we going, Your Highness?" Keeping pace with William, the bearded Chief Guard asked, holding the reins.

William squinted, glancing eastward.

"To the front line!"

The Chief Guard's face showed hesitation, cautiously saying, "It's too dangerous there, Prince Wenter's troops always bombard us from time to time; I advise against going to such a hazardous place."

William laughed loudly, kicked his horse, and picked up the pace.

"There's no danger! Those turtles hiding in their shells only have a few good days left; we'll soon be stepping over their corpses."

Before that beautiful castle turned into a twisted mass of steel.

He planned to mount his beloved warhorse and take another look at it.

...

At the same time, in the City of Abundance located within Oasis No. 9, towering "river embankments" inside and outside were surrounded by farms with tender yellow crops.

The harvest season was approaching.

It was unclear whether the first to harvest them would be the farmers' sickles or the caterpillar tracks of tanks.

Above the river embankment.

Prince Wenter, holding a pair of binoculars, gazed towards the west, a trace of solemnity surfacing on his wrinkle-laden face.

The fortress at his feet served not only as the granary of the Lion Kingdom but also as the frontline of the war.

The towering "river embankment," a natural bastion completely forged from alloy, was nearly indestructible by conventional weapons.

The troops stationed here were the kingdom's elite—"St. Beetle" Ten thousand troops!

Together with two additional Ten thousand troops composed of over 22,000 conscripted soldiers, the stationing force here had exceeded 30,000, and tens of thousands of farmers were also in training.

Over a thousand 97-mm smoothbore cannons had been positioned atop the "river embankment," and nearly a hundred 230-mm cast-iron mortars besides.

Do not underestimate these antiquities.

Despite their limited range, these cannons could still be remarkably effective when relying on their impregnable shelters.

As long as there were enough of them, combined with shells filled with high-explosive dynamite, they could pose a considerable threat to the attacking force.

Not to mention, they had prepared a large number of gas canister rockets.

Moreover, apart from these relics, the Lion Kingdom had also acquired a number of 100-mm howitzers, thirty of which were handed over to Prince Wenter.

These modern light artillery had a range of up to 20 kilometers, though they lacked ammunition, making their deterrence more symbolic than practical.

However, the garrison stationed here wasn't worried about those troops outside, as everyone was stern and in high spirits, ready to face the challenge.

Even if the Army's tanks were formidable, they couldn't possibly scale the alloy-forged "river embankment."

With abundant supplies in the City of Abundance, they could hold out here until the next century!

As long as the City of Abundance stood, so did the Royal City and the Kingdom!

It would remain like a stubborn nail, hammered into the path of the Falcon Kingdom's advancing troops, and anyone attempting to pull it out was bound to end up with blood on their hands.

Everyone was prepared to live or die with this fortress.

"...Falcon Kingdom's troops are digging trenches within 5 kilometers of us."

Prince Wenter passed the binoculars to his aide and expressionlessly turned to the nearby messenger.

"Inform the First Artillery Squadron to prepare themselves, let's give our enemies a taste of color!"

"Yes, sir!" The messenger saluted and briskly made his way towards the nearby radiotelegraph.

After the coordinates for the bombardment were reported, a series of explosions quickly followed.

White smoke traced parabolic paths across the sky before landing on the enemy's positions, erupting into billows of white smoke.

The range of the 230-mm cast-iron mortars was similar to light mortars, but their power was superior, quickly turning the troopers digging trenches into a chaotic mess.

However, as he watched the gravely wounded engineers, Prince Wenter's brow furrowed in concern.

The adjutant beside him also noticed something amiss and spoke through clenched teeth with a look of shock.

"Sir... the engineers digging the trenches, they appear to be ours—"

"They are the enemy," Wenter said without expression, cutting him off without hesitation, "Continue firing!"

The aide nodded silently, picked up the binoculars again, and watched over the distant positions.

Hatred and rage flickered in his eyes.

These despicable people...

Were using prisoners as cannon fodder!

Such a vile trick was not only a desecration of ancient pacts but a betrayal of their faith!

He made a vow.

He would avenge those people!

Turning away from the frontline, Prince Wenter boarded an elevator and returned inside the fortress.

At this moment, a messenger rushed over, stopped in front of him, and stood at attention to salute.

"Report! An urgent dispatch from the Royal Palace!"

Taking the letter from the messenger's hand, Wenter opened it and glanced over it, his deeply furrowed brow finally relaxing.

Seeing the change in his expression, the staff officer by his side couldn't help but inquire.

"Is it good news?"

The only good news in the past month was probably that their allies finally planned to deploy troops.

Although it was said to be only the scale of half a Thousand Team...

Wenter nodded, passed the letter to the staff officer beside him, his tone unexpectedly light and pleasant.

"Our allies have successfully destroyed the Legion's supply hub in the North, their 'Thunder' plan has been thwarted, and our northern defenses will probably be secure for a while, allowing us to focus on the vermin outside."

One had to admit that the intelligence network of the Alliance was terrifyingly strong.

He had only just learned the codename of the entire operation, yet the Alliance, thousands of miles away, had already strangled the enormous and meticulous plan in its cradle.

Every sign pointed to the fact that the Alliance's infiltration into the desert had reached a depth that could not be ignored.

And yet, the Lion Kingdom knew almost nothing about them.

Thinking of this, Wenter could not hide his sense of wariness and secretly made up his mind.

If the Lion Kingdom could weather this crisis successfully, he would certainly persuade His Majesty the King to increase the budget for intelligence work.

Or...

He would undertake the task himself.

"Fifty Conqueror tanks... including self-propelled guns and trucks, as well as supplies enough for arming a Ten thousand troops, such an important military base, it's astonishing that they managed to take it down!"

The staff officer's expression was slightly moved.

Suddenly, he thought of something and looked eagerly at Prince Wenter, then asked,

"What about those equipments?"

Prince Wenter smiled faintly.

"Eighty percent were transferred to the Army of Restoration under Marshal Yard... Stop thinking about it, they won't give them to us."

A look of regret appeared on the face of the staff officer.

That was enough equipment to arm a ten-thousand-strong force...

"If only we had sent soldiers there at the time."

"Whom would we have sent?" Prince Wenter didn't feel much regret, "We're struggling just to protect ourselves right now, let alone spare forces to send to the north."

Hearing this, the staff officer fell silent for a while, then sighed and said, "You're right... Let's hope there's news from Andre soon."

"I doubt it." Prince Wenter casually replied, holding no expectations whatsoever.

If the Golden Lizard Kingdom really had the intention to send troops, they should have deployed forces here when they delivered the declaration of war, not be sitting quietly on the border like they are now.

The faith in the Spirit of the Sand Sea, on this land, had never been so weakened. Those oaths sworn in front of the Spirit of the Sand Sea were like water poured into sand, they simply didn't count.

Perhaps...

Those things were truly outdated.

No matter how this war concludes, they will enter an era of deceit and trickery...

At this moment, another messenger ran towards them from a distance.

He held in his hands an urgent letter, the second one delivered on the same day.

"Another one?"

With two urgent messages arriving at the same time, Prince Wenter couldn't help but develop a bad premonition.

He had already seen the good news.

Logically speaking, the chances of the second letter containing good news too, were extremely slim...

But what was coming couldn't be avoided, and he ultimately opened it.

There was only a short line in the letter, turning his face pale.

"A nuclear bomb with a yield of a million tons of TNT is being transported across the Great Desert to the Falcon Kingdom."

A million tons!

For a moment, he felt as if his heartbeat had vanished...

...

It had been a month and a half since the fireworks celebration.

In this past month, the biggest change to the north of the City of Dawn was probably the road to the north.

With the help from the Ideal Group, this concrete road, costing 16.9 million Cr and stretching for 169 kilometers from the north suburb of Qingquan City directly to Luo Xia Province, was finally completed.

Previously, getting from Qingquan City to Rug City, even with a forced march, would take a day or two.

Now, with the open highway, it took less than three hours.

As the Manager of the Alliance, Chu Guang attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the road.

Though, trucks had already been running on it before he cut the ribbon.

"This road is ultimately for emergencies, and for long-term use, we really must pay attention to road maintenance. If maintained properly, it should be fine for 10 to 20 years." Li Changkong said with pride and a sense of accomplishment as he looked at the straight concrete road before him.

Chu Guang, standing beside him, also wore a smile, shaking his hand.

"Thank you so much!"

Li Changkong smiled back.

"It's my pleasure!"

Not far away,
the Alliance's Chief Engineer, Spare people under the knife, was still squatting beside the road, muttering as he examined a block of concrete lying on the ground.

"How can this be..."

Quit smoking, who happened to pass by, gave him a glance, unable to hold back, said,

"Damn... you haven't given up yet, huh? Have you figured anything out yet?"

Unexpectedly, Spare people under the knife actually nodded his head.

He stretched out his index finger, touched the side of the road, then rubbed it between his finger and thumb.

"The road isn't just made of concrete, there's something similar to steel rods inside... but it's not steel."

Quit smoking paused for a second.

"What is it then?"

"Carbon... it could also be some isomer of silicon carbide," Spare people under the knife dusted off his hands, stood up from the ground, and said with a glint in his eye, "I don't know what it is, but its tensile strength, yield strength, and various other physical properties are all higher than steel."

"Oh..." Quit smoking stroked his chin, "Interesting."

Seeing his utterly dismissive expression, Spare people under the knife couldn't help but speak.

"Don't you think it's strange?"

Quit smoking gave the man a puzzled look.

"What's strange about it? There's a space elevator in the Great Desert... A material with higher tensile strength, isn't that elementary?"

Spare people under the knife: "..."

He couldn't think of a retort.

In the distance, the ribbon-cutting ceremony ended.

Just when Chu Guang was pondering about where to send the now-idle Device for further construction, he suddenly heard Xiao Qi's voice.

"Master! Prince Kaliman wishes to see you; he says he has important matters to discuss with you. Would you like to meet him?"

Chapter 431: It is Said to Be the Place Where "The God of the Sky" Fell

"Nuclear bomb?!"

City of Dawn's reception room.

When Chu Guang patiently listened to Prince Kaliman's hurried report and learned that the Army planned to bomb the City of Abundance with a million-ton nuclear bomb, he froze for two seconds, his expression dumbstruck.

However, he quickly sensed something suspect about this piece of intelligence, a trace of skepticism appearing in his eyes.

"Is the information reliable?"

I haven't heard even a whisper of a rumor.

Yet you already know.

It's not that I underestimate the efficiency of feudal dynasties in gathering intelligence, Chu Guang simply doesn't believe they are capable of this.

The Army is a very special organization. They emphasize the purity of lineage, and all core military officers are Weilante People.

Even Old Soldier had managed to get his hands on information about Military Base No.530 by sheer luck.

Before capturing Piman and Antonite, no one knew about the operation codenamed "Thunder," not even Chu Guang's side, who only speculated a major military maneuver based on the military base's excessive weapon stockpile.

Only when that plan was abandoned did the hidden truth surface.

Nuclear weapons...

It's not strange that the Army possesses them.

But how did the Lion Kingdom find out?

Faced with Chu Guang's doubtful look, Prince Kaliman nodded seriously.

"Absolutely reliable! This information comes from a noble within the Falcon Kingdom who sympathizes with our predicament; he shares our faith and lineage and his devotion to the Spirit of the Sand Sea surpasses his blind loyalty to the Falcon Royal Family... These are all I can reveal to you, but I swear to the Spirit of the Sand Sea, every word I say is utterly true!"

That serious expression didn't seem feigned.

In fact, Chu Guang wasn't doubting that the Lion Kingdom was hoodwinking him, trying to fake intelligence to escalate regional "tension" and press allies to send troops quickly.

What he truly suspected was whether this might be a sting operation by General Griffin, releasing bait to draw out traitors.

However—

The reason Kaliman provided was indeed sufficient.

Even in a classical militaristic kingdom like the Falcon Kingdom, internal opinions couldn't possibly be completely unified.

Even if there was no controversy over the ministers about "being the Army's dog," they would still debate whether to be a Teddy or a Husky.

Especially for the desert people, the "Riverbank" is a blessing from the Spirit of the Sand Sea.

It wouldn't be surprising if devout followers opposed using the nuclear bomb on the "City of Abundance."

Chu Guang closed his eyes to think for a moment, then slowly said,

"I will have our intelligence personnel pay attention, but I can't promise you definite results; staying hidden is his priority right now."

"Additionally, I will contact our allies on the East Coast as soon as possible to discuss countermeasures."

After a pause, Chu Guang looked at Kaliman and continued.

"Of course, relying on us alone isn't enough; the area of Luo Xia Province is too vast. I need you to use that network that procured the nuclear weapons information to gather as much specific detail as possible—like where exactly the nuclear bomb is, its type, delivery method, and range. These details are crucial."

Just the "million-ton yield" alone offers too few clues.

Even determining if the bomb is deployed by airplane or missile would narrow the scope of the search.

After explaining what intelligence needed to be collected, Chu Guang patient explained some details to be mindful of with Prince Kaliman.

For example, a million-ton nuclear bomb isn't something that fits in a suitcase and can be carried around.

Besides the aircraft or missile launcher for deploying the bomb, it also requires corresponding engineers and technicians for maintenance.

These could all serve as clues for the investigation.

Having finished the meeting with Prince Kaliman, Chu Guang immediately summoned representatives from the companies, informing people like Yi Chuan that the Army was deploying nuclear weapons to Luo Xia Province.

Although the authenticity of the intelligence still needed further verification, it didn't stop Chu Guang from preemptively utilizing it.

The Alliance was now facing the threat of nuclear weapons!

The Alliance needed more support!

While Chu Guang skillfully leveraged the intelligence provided by Kaliman to seek more support from the East Coast for the Alliance, General McCullen, who had left Oasis No.9 and headed south from the frontlines, was also busily preparing to reclaim the Iron Heart...

...

The abandoned highway was buried under yellow sand, leaving only fragments of concrete.

The bare bridge pillars and the occasional cement road emerging from the dunes resembled corpses floating on the ocean surface, adrift in the boundless sea of sand, with only the rusty road sign still recalling its name.

This was Highway No.7, named after Oasis No.7.

Only now, whether it be the oasis or the highway, both had disappeared into this desert, leaving no trace.

At the T-shaped intersection, a towering alloy dam stood at the end of the road branching off from the main artery.

It was as tall as a building and as long as the eye could see.

Close to the wall of the dam, one could see thick pipes, like buffalo waists, with outlets underneath connecting to channels buried by sand.

This grand engineering feat had once, like the "City of Abundance," irrigated the land around it.

Yet unlike the fate of the "City of Abundance," this circular "river dike" had become a ruin, and the oasis that depended on it had been abandoned over time.

The structure on the north side was still somewhat intact, only buried by sand, while the south side appeared as though it had been hit by some terrifying weapon. An entire section of the alloy-built "river dike" was erased, and the remaining majority was shattered into fragmented debris, twisted beyond recognition.

It wasn't just the "river dike" that had been destroyed, but also the Earth beneath it.

The terrifying power of the weapon had even changed the geological structure, turning this plain into a valley.

The locals in the desert called it the "Lost Valley."

Legend had it that a long time ago, a fiercely brutal battle had erupted here, leading to the fall of divine grace and the curse of evil energy, permanently destroying this fertile land.

Two centuries had already passed, and the outcome of that war remained unknown, leaving only ruins for later generations to behold.

General McCullen's target was this place.

However, he was not here to pay respects to the ancients.

He was looking for something.

Something that could defeat the Iron Heart...

Gunshots rang through the spacious valley.

Soldiers of the army, clad in desert-colored bullet-proof armor, were divided into three squads, moving forward in alternating cover to meticulously clear the Eaters hiding in the corners.

The Eaters here were different from elsewhere; the extremely dry environment had made them short, but comparatively, their movements were quicker and more sudden.

Besides the Eaters, there were Desert Lizards that fed on Eaters and burrowing Radiation Scorpions that stood half the height of a man, among others.

Especially the latter.

It seemed they had built nests here.

On their first day here, they had already lost five attendants, one of whom died tragically with a scorpion tail piercing through his head.

Looking at the variant corpses scattered on the ground, a soldier of the army cursed.

"Mutated slime fungus... damn, how could there be mutated slime fungus in the desert? Isn't that a specialty of big cities?"

If he remembered correctly, it was difficult for it to survive in water-deprived environments.

"Who knows, maybe two centuries ago some dirty stuff fell here?" The Centurion swapped his magazine and emotionlessly scanned the surroundings, looking at the messy battlefield and finally couldn't help clicking his tongue.

Most of the wreckage had been buried.

To find the treasures buried underneath, they had to dig them out first.

Seeking treasure while fending off sneak attacks from variants sounded like a tall tale.

Fortunately, the dangerous excavation work did not require their participation; those attendants, whose lives were cheaper than slaves, could do the labor, and there were plenty to spare.

"What exactly are we here to find?" a soldier couldn't help asking.

The Centurion answered succinctly.

"Who knows, maybe General McCullen has his plans... don't worry about it too much, just focus on our job."

As the variants in the area were cleared, the attendants, carrying shovels and rifles, returned to the worksite to dig up the earth and transport the soil out of the valley.

Not far behind everyone, was the entrance to the majestic valley.

A large and makeshift camp was situated there, only a little over a hundred meters away from the miles of debris from the river dike.

The entire camp covered about one hundred thousand square meters, spanning several hundred meters in length, surrounded by a circle of sandbag walls topped with barbed wire and camouflaged nets.

In the center of the camp were parked over two hundred trucks, dozens of which were mounted with quadruple anti-aircraft guns.

Approximately a ten-thousand troop was stationed here.

Inside one of the tents, a group of officers stood.

General McCullen, standing before the command table, was conversing with a technical officer.

On the command table before the two men, there was a slightly old holographic projector displaying a flickering milky-white cylindrical object within a pale blue conical light.

McCullen stroked his chin, asking with interest,

"The shield core you mentioned, does it look like this?"

It looked somewhat different from his Steel Heart.

The technical officer chuckled and said,

"Exactly, what we're looking for is this thing... Isn't it beautiful?"

General McCullen also chuckled,

"It's passable."

He didn't find the object particularly beautiful, especially when compared to his own collection.

But that wasn't important.

As long as it could help him disable the deflection shield and the anti-gravity system of the "Iron Heart," that was enough.

He hoped that when he reclaimed the airship, those barbarians hadn't scrapped his treasure completely.

Gazing at the holographic image's light cone, the technical officer's expression filled with fascination as he continued rambling.

"Quark-gluon plasma... Reportedly, one cubic centimeter weighs 40 billion tons and can only exist stably under extremely high temperatures and pressures. One of the greatest achievements in applied physics during the Prosperity Epoch was finding a way to stabilize it more conveniently."

General McCullen, curious, asked,

"This thing weighs 40 billion tons?"

The glowing tube appeared to be more than just one cubic centimeter.

The technical officer chuckled lightly.

"Of course, it's not that heavy... The quark-gluon plasma stored in the shield core is just a very tiny amount, roughly weighing about 10 kilograms. The light you see is not its physical form; its essence cannot be directly observed with the naked eye."

Aside from General McCullen, the other officers standing there exchanged glances.

This overly esoteric scientific theory seemed no different from the beliefs of the desert dwellers to them.

Both possessed self-sufficient logic and, with current technology, could neither be proven nor disproven.

After a pause, the technical official continued,

"According to records, the Human Alliance Sky Army had once deployed a 'Titan' here to eliminate a lair that had landed here, its shield core has power equivalent to a regular escort ship... What we need to do is find it."

Whether it was deflection shields, anti-gravity devices, or even neutrino channels, etc.

All these technologies, born in the middle to late Prosperity Epoch, relied on the early Prosperity Epoch physics community's breakthroughs in graviton and gravitational field research.

That spin-2, massless boson, an omnipresent hypothetical particle in nature designated by quantum mechanics to transmit gravity, was boldly hypothesized by classical physics but remained unaccounted for.

During the grand Prosperity Epoch, physicists found it through precise calculations and experiments and explained it in greater detail with rigorous theories.

Although it cannot be collected in a glass jar like glass marbles, it can be interfered with indirectly through "high-density materials", thereby indirectly affecting the gravitational field.

This includes altering the motion vectors of objects in curved space, reducing, or even eliminating the interaction between large masses.

The former is the technological principle of deflection shields, while the latter is often used in anti-gravity devices.

Even in the Prosperity Epoch, these technologies were cutting-edge applications, but disrupting them wasn't considered difficult.

Aside from cutting off power and power overloads, there was a more direct method — namely, interfering with the gravitational field controlled by the "shield device" and "anti-gravity device".

It wasn't very difficult.

They didn't need to prepare an extensive anti-aircraft gun position; they just needed to use the shield core — that is, that glowing battery, to create a "phase gun," disrupting the gravitational field in the target area, which would be enough to temporarily disable the shield and anti-gravity systems of the Iron Heart.

Once it lost its shield and anti-gravity systems, it would fall from the sky.

At that time, there wouldn't be a need for any heavy weaponry; just rushing up with troops to seize the airship would suffice.

And that was why he had asked General Griffin for ten thousand men.

What?

Would the airship break if it fell from the sky?

Such things were not important.

The most valuable part of the Iron Heart was the core of the escort ship, including the reactor, shield core, anti-gravity device, and a series of other black technologies integrated into that escort ship core.

As for the outer steel shell and the propellers that drove the airship's movement and other cheap replaceable parts... they were virtually worthless.

As long as the airship was brought back to the Army's airfield, it could be repaired in minutes.

General McCullen's lips couldn't help but curl into a smile.

Though losing the Iron Heart was a blemish in his military career, after all, those barbarians were funded by corporations, and his defeat was not unjust.

As long as he could take back the airship, no one would have the grounds to criticize his incompetence.

A century had passed.

He was the only Centurion who had managed a give-and-take battle with the corporations, a fact far from shameful, and it could even become a topic of conversation at a noble's ball.

At that moment, an officer walked to the entrance of the tent, stood at attention, and saluted.

"Report! General Griffin has sent a telegram!"

Upon hearing the name Griffin, a flicker of impatience flashed through McCullen's eyes.

This guy was not just fond of meddling; he'd send a telegram over the tiniest of issues.

Here, no sooner had he just arrived than a telegram followed closely behind, most likely summoning him to do something.

And it was certainly nothing good.

But annoying as it was, orders had to be followed.

"Let me see it."

"Yes, sir!" The officer walked into the tent and handed the decrypted telegram to McCullen with both hands.

McCullen glanced at the telegram, raising his eyebrows slightly.

Noticing the unusual look in the general's eyes, the staff officer hesitatingly asked,

"Does General Griffin have any requests?"

"He wants us to build an airfield here."

"An airfield?"

Surprise crossed the staff officer's face, and the other officers also exchanged glances, reflecting the unexpectedness in their eyes.

Was Griffin going to allocate the Army's planes to them?

That was downright... incredible.

"Yes."

With a brief reply, McCullen walked to the wall of the tent and looked at the strategic map hanging there.

Lost Valley was south of Oasis No.9, and the two places were quite distant.

Bombarding the Lion Kingdom from here was obviously not a good idea.

The Army had only one jet airplane in Falling Leaves Province, and ground-to-air raids were mainly conducted by the Army's propeller planes.

The former had enough range but too few in number, while the latter, although plentiful, lacked sufficient range.

This location was, however, very close to Oasis No.4.

From his current location heading west for a couple of hundred kilometers to see the Double Peaks of the Zobar Mountains and crossing the pass there, one would reach the south side of the mountains at Oasis No.4.

With planes, it would be even more convenient, just fly straight over the mountains.

"… Is this guy planning a two-front war?" McCullen stroked his chin, his gaze settling on Oasis No.4 on the strategic map.

Camel Hump Kingdom might not compare to Falcon Kingdom, but it was still a regional powerhouse with a population of a million, giving him only ten thousand retainers and without enough heavy firepower, he really wouldn't be confident in conquering it.

And if he wasn't mistaken, after taking over Oasis No.9, the next target should be Golden Lizard, with Camel Hump being the last.

But if the target wasn't Camel Hump...

McCullen pondered, his gaze shifting eastward, eventually resting on the eastern side of Falling Leaves Province—those verdant forests and plains.

That area was equally remote, about the same distance as from here to Oasis No.9.

But it was perfectly within the range of the jet planes!

Seemingly realizing something, a hint of enlightenment appeared on McCullen's face as he suddenly let out a loud, cheerful laugh.

"Ha ha ha... That's Griffin for you! That cunning skunk, I know what he's up to now!"

The officers inside the tent exchanged glances.

Wasn't Griffin the old fox?

Why was he now a skunk?

With his smile subsiding, General McCullen turned to his subordinates and commanded sternly,

"Detach a thousand-man team from the Retinue Army and level the land to the north of the camp."

"We'll build a temporary runway there!"

The newly promoted logistic officer immediately stepped out from the group of officers, came to attention, and gave a military salute.

"Yes, sir!"

In his memory, his immediate superior, General McCullen, had never taken General Griffin's orders so seriously before.

It must indeed be something of great importance!

McCullen turned back, continuing to gaze at the map hanging there, his delightful smile tinged with a hint of distinct ferocity.

These ugly barbarians.

They would soon pay for their stupidity.

Sadly…

such a painless death was too lenient for them.

At the same time, in the west of Lost Valley, the sunset slanted westward.

On a bare Gobi desert to the north of the Jubar Mountains, a girl riding on a bear's back was excitedly peering through a telescope she held in her hand.

Her back carried an RPG, her waist hung with grenades, a submachine gun, and a cute mushroom badge. Despite her tights and jacket being tattered and her fluffy short hair being windswept into a mess, her silliness did not overshadow her spirited demeanor.

"Wow, wow, wow! What a huge double peak!"

The sunbaked white bear, listless, glanced ahead and weakly commented,

"I always feel like Ah Wei is making some outrageous remarks again."

Si Si, who was driving, also chimed in.

"Yep, if it was on the public chat, it probably would show up with two asterisks or just be replaced with other words."

Tail: "???"

Standing at the front of the truck, Sesame Paste who was handling the roof-mounted machine gun also looked ahead, his cat ears suddenly shaking with excitement.

"Don't you think those two mountains look like cat heads?"

"Oh! That's a nice name," Tail's eyes sparkled as he turned and gave a thumbs up, "Let's call it Cat Head Mountain!"

Not understanding the exchange between the three and the bear, the old man riding a double-headed cow alongside the truck chuckled and spoke in United Human language.

"That's Double Peak."

Though he did not understand their conversation, from their expressions and gestures, it was clear they were discussing what to name the majestic peaks.

The old man's name was Buma, a resident of No.4 Oasis, who made his living trading with nearby mines. On his way back, he unfortunately encountered the Looter and nearly lost his life.

Fortunately, he met these kind-hearted girls and managed to narrowly escape with his life, obtaining his cow back as well.

To express his gratitude for saving his life, he volunteered to be their guide.

Considering their unfamiliarity with the situation at No.4 Oasis, having a local help could reduce unnecessary troubles, so Si Si agreed.

As to why they were here, that's a long story.

After the battle of Rui Valley City, the White Bear Knights took a brief rest before hitting the road again, heading west into the desert.

Since Oasis No.9 was at war, heading to the Lion Kingdom at this moment did not seem wise.

So, Si Si suggested, why not head to see the Golden Lizard? It is said that north of Oasis No.8 lies Wandering Swamp, and the mysterious Academy is hidden among the marshes.

Initially, everyone thought it was a good idea.

However, midway through their journey, they heard from travelers at a station that just beyond the southernmost Jubar Mountains and south to the Camel Hump Kingdom's Silver Moon City, one could see an endless sea.

The mention of the sea instantly excited the trio and bear.

The sea!

Indeed, it held more allure than any swamp or academy!

So, spurred by Tail's suggestion and Meat Meat's instigation, the White Bear Knights made a complete 180-degree turn and headed south again…

"Eh? It has a name?" Tail looked at the old man in surprise.

"Haha, it's quite famous; if you visited often, you would definitely have heard of it."

A hint of pride surfaced on the old man's face as he slowly continued.

"My homeland, Petra Fortress, is nestled between those two mountains! It's probably the only survivor settlement in the entire desert that does not depend on an oasis. Past Petra Fortress is No.4 Oasis, also the only path leading to No.4 Oasis."

"Petra!"

Hearing this name, Tail excitedly grabbed Meat Meat's fur, "Meat Meat, Meat Meat, it's Petra! Maybe we could dig out gold coins and hammers in the surrounding desert!"

Meat Meat retorted reluctantly,

"That's another game, and not even the same world."

Si Si, sitting in the driver's seat, thought for a moment and then spoke up.

"Well… that said, logically, if this really is the only path to No.4 Oasis, perhaps there might actually be some treasure buried under the sand."

Those commercial teams swallowed by sandstorms.

Or treasures that fell off the ox carts due to bumps.

If one took the time to search, perhaps they really could dig something out from under the sand.

As for whether it's valuable, that's another matter.

"Oh! Treasure hunting!" Upon receiving a definite response, Tail became excited, and even the Meat Meat beneath her became interested.

A person and a bear excitedly discussed their treasure-hunting plan, agreeing to go to the dunes with a trenching tool after finishing their business.

Watching her joyful friends, a smile couldn't help but curve on Si Si's face.

Compared to war, it's indeed the leisurely journey that made people feel more delighted. Over the month, what they had seen and heard could have filled a book.

If only the peace could last forever.

Although she understood that this brief period of peace was more like the calm before a storm. A few days ago, the Death Legion had already launched a preemptive strike against the Army, and they would probably need to report to the front lines when this journey ended.

Sesame Paste looked at the old man on the ox's back and asked curiously,

"Is there anything we need to watch out for in going to Petra Fortress?"

The old man smiled and said,

"There's nothing much to watch out for, the locals are more open-minded than other residents in the desert as long as you respect their beliefs, they will respect you too. Local laws prohibit murder, private fighting, and theft, please be sure to pay attention to that... though I think you wouldn't do such things."

"By the way," the old man glanced at the ears on her head and said with a smile, "the residents of the Camel Hump Kingdom love cats very much, you will definitely be welcomed there."

Sesame Paste put on her helmet a bit embarrassedly.

The group approached the formidable fortress amid laughter and talk.

Its silhouette resembled the Roman Colosseum, with arc-shaped concrete structures reinforced by stones and wood, and iron cannon barrels towering beside the battlements.

Apart from these primitive weapons, there were also light and heavy machine guns on top of the fortress, these equipment might not be much for a regular army but were enough to deter common sand bandits and looters.

Four-sided residences were scattered between two mountains, spreading toward the ridge.

This place was both a fortress and a Survivor Settlement, with a permanent population of about seventy to eighty thousand, not counting how many transient residents there were.

Not only commercial teams from River Valley Province but also those from Brocade River Province would pass by here, making it a lively place.

People stood beside the muddy roads hawking their wares, the varicolored linens supported by two wooden sticks formed a triangular stall, a simple vendor's stand.

You could buy anything here, much like the markets in Somalia.

Right next to the fruit stall was a rifle shop where a slightly darker-skinned woman in a checkered skirt fed her child while haggling with mercenaries purchasing weapons.

The noise was unending.

Since entering this market, the group unknowingly raised their voices, nearly having to shout to hear each other.

"It's like Horseshoe Iron Town from the Red River Alliance here!"

"Oh! But this place is much bigger! Much larger than Horseshoe Iron Town!"

"Ha ha... After all, that's just a small town."

"Um... I wonder if there's any high-priced specialty here." Sitting in the driver's seat, Si Si looked around and pondered.

She heard from the old man named Buma that the spices, carpets, beef, camel milk, and dairy produced here were famous, as were some iron products and pottery.

If not constrained by finances, it's best not to buy the rifles and bullets sold in small stalls, those displayed on the carpets for sale were either trophies captured from looters or inferior products produced by small workshops using cheap materials.

The former were poorly maintained, the latter crudely made, and could jam or explode at critical moments, potentially costing the user their life.

"...If you need to replenish ammunition, you can place an order at the workshop in town, as long as the bullets aren't too complex, the craftsmen could even customize according to the caliber and primer cap type you need."

The old man glanced at the residences not far away, looking towards the girl in the truck, seeking her opinion.

"I'd like to go home first to check in, I usually get home in three days, this time it was too delayed, my wife and children must be worried... How about we meet here tomorrow?"

Si Si nodded.

"Let's make it 6 am then, we need some time to rest too."

She had already marked a hostel with garages and warehouses on the map, planning to check in there first to drop off their luggage.

There were still plenty of ammunition on the truck, so it wasn't urgent to replenish. What they now needed to do first was to exchange the truck's goods for the local currency.

Devil Silk was very popular locally, an arm-thick roll could be traded for a large horned cow, and the former was cheap if you had enough contribution.

The order from Frost Pike Ranch was quite generous, a 3000-pound large horned cow could be exchanged for nearly 6000 silver coins.

Plus all those quirky little trinkets.

This truckload of goods might turn a profit of over a million in round trips!

Just as Si Si was considering all this, Tail and Meat Meat, walking in front, suddenly stopped by a stall.

Getting down from Meat Meat, Tail leaned forward to look at the stall laid out with books and scrolls covered in carpets, discovering it like a New Continent, her face lit up with delight.

Looking up at the stall owner sitting under the canopy, Tail asked excitedly,

"Boss, do you have treasure maps for sale here?"

"Treasure map?"

The stall owner was momentarily stunned, not catching on immediately, but soon his wrinkled face broke into a grin.

He reined in his smile, coughed lightly, and made a mysterious expression, lowering his voice as he spoke.

"Customer, I shouldn't be saying this, but seeing as how we are fated to meet..."

Tail's eyes sparkled brightly.

"Fated to meet?"

The stall owner smiled slightly, gazing at her.

"Have you heard of Lost Valley?"

If she had heard of it, he wouldn't need to explain the nonsense that followed.

However, just as he had expected, this girl in front of him was indeed visiting here for the first time, and even the desert itself. She had never heard of that cursed place.

Tail quickly shook her head, her face full of anticipation as she looked at the old man behind the stall.

"Nothing! What's there?"

The stall owner's gaze shifted leisurely, and he began speaking in a drawn-out tone.

"Ha ha, there are quite a lot of treasures there... It is said that this lost valley is where the God of the Sky fell."

"Oh oh oh! The God of the Sky?!" Hearing this fearsome title, not just Tail but also the nearby Meat Meat showed an excited expression.

Glancing at the intelligent white bear, the stall owner continued his story.

"Yes, it happened a long, long time ago. The Twilight of the Gods descended at midnight, the dark sky lit up like daylight, and the once united gods fought bitterly among themselves in the realm of mortals, finally resulting in the unfortunate fall of the God of the Sky. The scepter he dropped destroyed the grace of the Spirit of the Sand Sea, turning the once oasis into a cursed wasteland..."

Seeing that the young girl in front of him was captivated, the stall owner knew his chance had come and lowered his voice to throw out the bait.

"...All these are public rumors, but few know what happened after that war ended,"

"What happened!" Tail swallowed, her face filled with anticipation.

The stall owner slightly lowered his gaze.

"The followers of the God of the Sky found his body and built a temple over it. Two hundred years have passed, and his servants have followed him, disappearing into the endless sands... However, it is said that the God of the Sky's armor is still there, enshrined in that temple buried beneath the sands!"

Tail clenched her fists in excitement.

Hidden mission!

Giao!

"That means, if the temple is found, the armor of the God of the Sky can be found!"

"Exactly."

The stall owner gave her an approving look, and as a compliment to her intelligence, he picked up an aged scroll from the stall.

"I happen to have a treasure map here. I was planning to hire a few mercenaries to check it out, but as you can see... business is so busy here, I simply can't find the time to leave, I've been waiting until my hair is nearly white. If you're interested, I can sell it to you,"

Tail excitedly asked, "How much!"

The stall owner pondered for a moment.

"Hmm... let me think, I also bought it from another traveler, and I paid him 10,000 Golden Camel Coins. Seeing as how we're fated to meet, I'll sell it to you at the original price."

"Ten thousand Golden Camel Coins!?" Tail's face fell, "Oh... I don't have that much."

Previously, when she had rescued old man Buma, she had retrieved some camel-depicted gold coins from a group of Looters she had dealt with.

Buma told her that these small gold coins were Golden Camel Coins, with small ones valued at 1 and larger ones at 10.

However, she only had a small bag of these coins, and though she hadn't counted them precisely, there couldn't possibly be as many as ten thousand.

Thinking that she might have just arrived here and hadn't yet exchanged for the local currency, the stall owner hurriedly said.

"Dinars then? Dinars are also fine! 10,000 will do! Or Cr, though I can't offer you a high price for Cr... about thirty, oh no, around forty thousand maybe?"

Tail shook her head vigorously like a tambourine.

"I don't have any."

The stall owner's expression turned slightly disappointed.

He had thought this young girl looked promising. Although dusty and grimy, her complexion was markedly better than many travelers; not only did she keep a rare exotic beast as a pet, but she also had a truck, looking like a rich young lady who had fled from Oasis No.9. Yet, he couldn't squeeze even this bit of juice from her.

Truly a misjudgment.

However, determined to make the most of it, he still used his acting skills, put on a hesitant expression, bit his lip, and reluctantly said.

"Well then, well then, seeing as how we're fated to meet, I'll sell it to you for six thousand dinars... Think it over, for the price of just 6 sturdy slaves, you could buy this treasure map. If you manage to find the armor of the God of the Sky, it might even help revive your family."

"Ooh! Revive the family!"

Tail's eyes brightened even more as she pitifully looked towards Si Si, who was sitting in the driver's seat waiting for her.

"Si…"

Seeing that pitiful expression, Si Si said helplessly,

"Alright, Ah Wei, we should head to the inn now. This guy obviously thinks you're an easy target and plans to swindle your money."

Tail: "But what if it's a hidden mission! A treasure map bought at a foreign town's market might actually contain an earth-shattering secret…"

Seeing his eager expression, Si Si sighed, pulled up the handbrake, removed the car keys, and jumped down from the driver's seat.

The vendor looked at the woman in front of him with a wary face.

His instincts told him that this one was not as easy to fool as the previous one.

Si Si counted some money from her pouch and looked at the vendor saying,

"I just happen to have a bag of Golden Camel Coins, about… over ninety of them. If you're interested, sell; if not, we'll be going."

"Ninety?! You might as well ask me to give it to you for free!" The vendor's eyes bulged, unable to accept such a drastic price drop, he clenched his teeth and said painfully, "…three thousand dinars, that's the lowest I can go!"

Hearing her own offer being directly halved, Tail was immediately shocked.

"Eh?! Weren't you giving Tail a discount because of our good fate?"

"Uh…"

The vendor awkwardly smiled, shifted his gaze, and dared not look into those eyes.

Si Si also smiled faintly.

"Maybe the vendor feels that he has a better connection with me."

The vendor chuckled and scratched the back of his head,

"Beautiful miss, you are right! How about… two thousand five hundred? I really can't go lower than that, I'd rather hire some mercenaries to find it myself—"

"Eighty."

Si Si plucked a few coins from her purse and stuffed them into her pocket, casually tossing the purse onto the stall and picking up a book, she shook it,

"Plus this free item."

"The Oasis Below the Zobar Mountains"

Looking at the name of the book, it should help her understand the situation in this area.

After all, they had only met that old man named Buma halfway through their journey. Even though they had saved his life, she didn't fully trust him.

This is the Wasteland.

Not a fairy tale.

The vendor's face turned ashen, and he clenched his teeth.

Seeing his uncomfortable look, Tail suddenly felt a bit guilty and gently tugged at Si Si's sleeve, whispering,

"Si, maybe we should just go… I suddenly don't want it anymore."

Forcing others to do something they didn't want to do always made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

Si Si smiled, not insisting further.

"Oh, then let's go with what Ah Wei wants."

Saying this, she put down the book she was holding, ready to leave.

Just at that moment, the vendor who was previously ashen-faced, suddenly jumped up like a squirrel that had its tail stepped on, grabbing the money pouch into his chest.

"Eighty! Just eighty! It's a deal! That scroll and the book are yours now, take them and go!"

"Really?!" Tail received the scroll with a surprised face.

Anticipating his reaction, Si Si faintly smiled, picked up the book, and stuffed it into her embrace.

"Thanks."

The truck started up again.

Watching the truck disappear at the end of the street, along with the girl leading a bear, the vendor spit indignantly and cursed under his breath, "Pauper."

Weighing the purse in his hands, a look of worry crossed his wrinkled face.

Having earned only eighty from one transaction.

He had no idea how long he would have to wait for the next one.

If he had known, he would have yielded a bit earlier…

—

(Thanks to "xX Master Brother Xx" and "Heart First" for the generous donations!!!)

Chapter 432: The Oasis Beneath the Mountains and the Truth Behind the Legend

"Achoo—"

General McClellan, standing at the entrance of the tent, sneezed. He didn't manage to bite down in time and accidentally spat the cigarette butt from his mouth into the sand.

He rubbed his sunburnt nose and glanced at the discarded cigarette on the ground, muttering a curse under his breath.

"Damn it."

Although this was a perfect plan, the indignation still lingered in his heart at the thought that he, a dignified two-star General and the noble "Conqueror of the Skies," was reduced to overseeing construction work in the desert.

And for some reason,

He had been feeling a chill down his spine since a while ago.

This kind of feeling had occurred two or three months earlier, and it was not long after that when the propeller of his beloved Iron Heart had entangled a hydrogen balloon that drifted from who knows where.

He still couldn't be sure which damn fool had released that balloon...

"Increase the patrol!" General McClellan looked towards a recently promoted Thousands of Leaders and ordered with a dark face, "Expand the search radius from 3 kilometers to 5, and arrest anyone who approaches. Shoot anyone who resists!"

The officer beside him stood straight, saluted, and responded.

"Yes!"

Watching the officer jog away to carry out the order, General McClellan stepped on the cigarette butt and ground it with his boot before turning his back and walking towards the north end of the camp.

The airport runway was under construction.

Without bulldozers, they had to dig with shovels and transport the soil with wheelbarrows and trucks.

The land here was severely desertified, and to prevent cave-ins during aircraft landings, they had to reinforce the runway.

More than fifty army soldiers patrolled the edge of the runway, overseeing the attendants at work.

And over a thousand attendants, shirtless under the scorching sun, were digging out the earth.

As he observed the rows of naked arms and shoulders, General McClellan cleared his throat and raised his voice to shout.

"The August sun is like a red-hot furnace, I know you're being roasted until you're dizzy and your limbs are as heavy as lead... But it's better to bake here under the sun than to be charred by white phosphorous on the frontline or burned by gasoline until nothing's left."

"That's what your comrades in arms are going through, and your enemies will torture you in the cruelest ways, so you must fight, keep moving forward; that is your only way to survive. Be grateful we've shown you a clear path; you don't have to be slaves to the kings, or puppets to corporations. The hardships you endure today will be repaid a hundredfold to our enemies tomorrow."

"They will repent in the flames, turn to ash in millions of degrees of heat, and be crushed into dust by our fury!"

"Put in more effort!"

"Get moving!"

Seeing the people digging even harder, General McClellan nodded in satisfaction and turned back to the barracks.

At this moment, a barrel of ice cream would be perfect, preferably fed to him by Princess Teresa... No, that barbarian-captured woman was already tainted. Better to visit the old king's harem after the war.

His interest in women was actually rather mild; after all, such pleasures came too easily to him.

It was the ice cream that was the rarity, produced in the high mountain pastures by the banks of the Sorate River, a luxury reserved for nobles even thousands of kilometers away.

With that unfortunate Finod around, those natives should recognize its value.

He hoped those country bumpkins hadn't foolishly wasted it...

...

The sun was already on the verge of setting.

In the shadow of the wooden keg, a black and white cat yawned lazily and casually licked its paw.

Just then, a dried fish dangled in front of it.

Smelling the salty scent wafting over, the cat narrowed its amber pupils and elegantly stepped forward.

Giving a polite mew towards the dried fish, the cat—attuned to reading the room—saw no objection from its "servant" and unceremoniously started eating.

Clearly, it had grown accustomed to people feeding it... or rather, offerings.

It seems what that old man Buma said was correct; the people here really liked cats, to the point that the cats lived leisurely and were fearless of humans.

"Mew mew~"

Gently rubbing its warm, fluffy head, enjoying the comfortable purring, Sesame Paste, squatting on the ground, smiled with eyes curving into crescents. Her cat ears lazily wobbled, her face brimming with contentment.

Beside her, the hulking White Bear squatted, curiously looking at the small creature on the ground.

"Come to think of it, have all the cats in Wasteland come here?"

"Hm, it is indeed strange. I haven't seen cats in other places... I've seen dogs though," Sesame Paste recounted carefully.

Seeing how well the cat was fed and cared for, Meat Meat showed an envious expression.

"Damn, I want to pet it too..."

"You can, but you'd better be careful. Your paws are too big, don't hurt it," said Sesame Paste, making room for Meat Meat to sit beside her.

"Hehe, don't worry, I'm very careful when petting cats!"

Rubbing her paws together enthusiastically, Meat Meat gingerly stretched out her bear paw.

However, before her paw could touch the cat, the frightened cat puffed up its fur and hissed.

Meat Meat, wearing a helpless expression, quickly withdrew her paw.

She was about to clarify her good intentions, but the cat had no interest in listening, and with a fish in its mouth, quickly slipped into the shadows of the narrow alley.

Watching the cat disappear into the alley, Meat Meat's face was covered in disappointment and hurt.

"Hmm... Do I look too intimidating?"

Sesame Paste didn't know how to comfort her, but seeing that almost crying expression, she couldn't just leave her alone. She could only pat her hands with a mixture of laughter and tears and stand up. She touched the broad and fuzzy shoulder.

"How could that be, Meat Meat is so cute... Maybe it's because it's never seen a talking bear."

The people here were very superstitious, yet unexpectedly tolerant of the unknown.

Even when they encountered a talking bear, their reaction was just, "Your bear can actually talk," rather than screaming "Monster!" and attacking with a weapon.

It was probably not just because the Wasteland had its share of oddities, but also because the locals were often involved in trading, and had grown accustomed to strange tales.

For example, the cactus inn next to them.

The receptionist was an old model bionic being, so old that its skin had faded.

It was said that during the Prosperity Epoch, it worked as a receptionist in a holiday hotel twenty kilometers away—until it reached its service life and was sent to a scrap processing center.

Before it could be scrapped, the War broke out, and it ended up sitting on the assembly line of the abandoned factory for nearly two centuries, until a few decades ago when the owner of this inn picked it up, allowing it to resume its prior work.

Its actual working time had far exceeded its designed service life, which meant it often said strange things, occasionally offended guests, and was always prone to staring off into space for long periods.

Whenever this happened, the inn's manager would come out to take over registering guest's information.

"…I remember when I first saw it, I was 7 years old, and now I'm almost 47, time really flies."

"Indeed." Sisi, who was standing at the bar waiting, nodded and casually agreed.

47 years old.

That age was considered long-lived on the Wasteland.

She faintly remembered hearing from someone that according to the game setting, the average lifespan of NPCs in this world was only 35 years, and most people encountered unsurvivable accidents in their twenties.

Flipping through a worn notebook, the manager rubbed his index finger over it, then suddenly looked up with an embarrassed expression and apologized.

"Sorry, guest, we've been a bit busy lately, we have only one twin room left... What about changing one of them to a double bed room?"

Before Sisi could answer, Tail excitedly leaned in, energetically raising her right hand.

"Oh! No problem! Tail and Sisi will sleep together!"

Sisi coughed softly.

"Then... one twin room and one double bed room, please."

Saying this, she placed a few 10-valued golden camel coins on the table. They had exchanged some loot scavenged from the Looters for some change at the market, so now they had about six or seven hundred in savings.

It was enough for daily expenses.

Staying at the inn was relatively cheap, nine golden camel coins per room, even including a large chunk of rye bread for breakfast.

They said if you weren't picky about your accommodations, you could find rooms as cheap as two golden camel coins a day, those sort of storage rooms for servants were also available to guests.

As for renting a garage, it was a bit more expensive, but only 15 golden camel coins a day, and if you paid monthly it was just 300.

Which made Sisi decry being cheated.

A "scenic area map" plus a tourist brochure talking about local customs sold for the price of nine days' room rent!

No wonder the seller didn't bother counting the money before stuffing the pouch she dropped on the stall into his pocket.

80 golden camel coins must have netted him at least a 40 coin profit!

Such a rash decision!

The key to the twin room was given to Sesame Paste and Meat Meat, while Sisi took Tail upstairs.

Passing through the corridor.

She saw a man with a full beard and a woman with a face full of sorrow standing next to a window on the second floor.

The man was wearing a sun-faded linen shirt, and he had the air of someone who had been a soldier or at least worked as a caravan guard, and probably a team leader.

The woman in front of him wore a beige dress, her brown hair was slightly curly, and her face was pretty. Her slightly bulging belly seemed to indicate a recent pregnancy.

"...There will always be a way. I heard that in Silver Moon City, they are hiring sailors. If all else fails, I'll go there to try my luck."

"But... what about me and the kid?" Desperation was written in the woman's eyes.

"…" The man stayed silent, out of options.

After hesitating for a moment, the woman seemed to make up her mind, and she took off the ring on her ring finger.

"Maybe you can take this... see if it can be traded for something..."

The man quickly grasped her hand.

"Don't do that... Let me think of something else."

Sisi glanced at the couple, guessing that they must have fled from Oasis No. 9 or Oasis No. 3, and by now, had spent all their savings.

As Sisi was sizing them up, the man also noticed the two girls who had come up the stairs and approached after a moment of hesitation.

"Ladies, I'm very sorry to bother you, but could I... exchange some money with you?"

Sisi glanced at the pouch in his hand, which contained Golden Lion Coins. There was a substantial amount, probably three or four hundred—the two must be from the Lion Kingdom.

The man must have realized how presumptuous his request was and began to retract his hand awkwardly, not wanting to impose.

He knew all too well that the currency of a defeated country wasn't worth anything.

If it were a few months ago, this bag of money could have been exchanged for at least 400 golden camel coins.

Now, even if they dropped two zeros, it was doubtful. Even in desperation, he didn't want to take advantage of these two young ladies.

However, Sisi still took the bag of money from his hand and gave him another bag in return.

"Deal, after this journey ends, we're actually planning to head to Oasis No.9, so there won't be a need to exchange money there."

The man paused, looking at the money bag handed over by the young girl, and said with a guilty conscience,

"This... is too much."

The hefty weight of the bag must hold at least 300 golden camel coins, enough to live modestly for half a year.

Even enough to engage in some small trade.

Si Si weighed the money bag in her hand and offhandedly remarked,

"Your country hasn't lost yet; those who are still resisting, their determination justifies this price. Just take it."

The man's Adam's apple bobbed, his face a mix of gratitude and a touch of shame.

After a brief silence, he accepted the money bag and bowed deeply.

It was the only thing he could do at the moment.

"Thank you for your generosity, may the Spirit of the Desert Sea bless your journey. My name is Charlie… Although it's an insignificant name, not worth remembering, should fate have us meet again, I will repay the kindness you and your husband have shown me."

Finding the guy quite amusing, Si Si's mouth curved into a smile.

"Don't worry about it too much, it's just a transaction. Just be good to your wife, that's all."

Tail chuckled at her side too and said,

"Oh! Borrowing your good luck, hopefully we'll find a ton of treasure on our way back! By the way, by the way, we're from the White Bear Knights, and our leader is a talking great white bear—please spread our legend far and wide, and make it sound even more outrageous!"

The man gaped at the two young ladies, then bowed deeply again and returned to his wife to share the good news.

Under the gaze of two pairs of grateful eyes, Si Si and Tail headed towards the deeper part of the corridor to their room.

Watching Si Si pull out a key to unlock the door, Tail stroked her chin in thought for a while, then suddenly as if she's discovered an incredible secret, she dramatically said,

"Incredible, I didn't expect Si Si to have a soft spot, not even suspecting that the couple might be swindlers."

Si Si responded nonchalantly, not too openly,

"No, I just felt that if I didn't buy it now, I might not get another chance, so I bought it as a memento… Ah right, you can deduct this expense from my share of the earnings, after all, it's my personal interest."

Although it seemed like no one really cared, she thought it was better to be clear about it.

She had seen too many guilds that were once close fall out over an item that would become obsolete in two versions.

Tail looked shockingly at Si Si who pushed the door open.

"Eh! So Si wants to hog the limited-edition gold coins?"

Si Si was startled for a moment, then smiled and shoved the money bag into Tail's hands.

"…Then consider it a part for Ah Wei, too."

A room worth 9 golden camel coins was much more spacious than a small single that costs 3 golden camel coins, not only with a bright window and a soft large bed, but even with a private bath.

Petra Fortress isn't in an oasis, but after all, it's within the territory of the Camel Hump Kingdom; freshwater is slightly expensive, but not scarce.

Also, Oasis No.4 is different from other oases; not all freshwater is supplied by "embankments." Tobal River, which flows from the mountains towards Silver Moon Bay, also irrigates a great expanse of land.

In the local slang of Camel Hump Kingdom, Tobal's pronunciation carries the meaning of greatness and motherhood, this is also one of the cultures formed after the Wasteland Era.

No sooner had she tossed her luggage aside, Tail swept into the bathroom like a gust of wind, and soon, the sound of splashing water followed.

It had been a month without a bath.

It was certainly driving her mad.

Si Si sat by the window, with the sounds of street vendors hawking outside. She carefully flipped through the "Oasis under Tobal Mountain Range" she had purchased with cash, resting it on her lap.

The author's name is Pigeon, which looks like a pen name. He described his life story in just a few strokes on the title page, claiming to come from Wandering Swamp. Surprised to discover this pearl hidden at the foot of the mountain on this land of despair, he abandoned his employer's task, settled down here, married a fisherman's daughter, and spent his time teaching and writing.

This book, written in the 150th year of the Wasteland Era, and its author are both famous, mainly documenting the geography and local customs of Oasis No.4 and the Camel Hump Kingdom.

If one compares Tobal Mountain Range horizontally with the "Roof of the World" in the real world, then the location of Camel Hump Kingdom strangely resembles Bengal in a different world.

Just that it's smaller in size, only totaling 80,000 square kilometers, with a population of only about 1.5 million, living in a total of twelve city-states, including "Petra Fortress."

The royal city here is Camel City, where a third of the oasis's population lives, located at the southwestern corner of the bay.

If you pass through Petra Fortress and follow Tobal River all the way south to the delta plain, you will reach Silver Moon Bay, the most prosperous area in the entire oasis.

Silver Moon City, located on the delta plain, is the most flourishing port city of the Camel Hump Kingdom, with its unique urban landscape consisting of scattered islands and rivers that meander between buildings.

Though the population is only 300,000, more than 70% of the kingdom's revenue comes from here.

"… The locals trade with the islands to the south and the Poluo Province to the southwest. The big horned cattle in the desert actually come from Poluo Province. It's said that there are fishmen with gills there, giant frogs that spit acid... Incredible."

"Oh! Poluo! Can you see Poluo there?" Toweling her damp hair, Tail, who had just emerged from the bathroom, perked up at Si Si's muttering and curiously leaned in.

Seeing Tail like that, Si Si's face turned red, and she pulled the curtain closed.

"You... at least put on some clothes."

Tail stood defiantly with her hands on her hips and a cocky smirk.

"What does it matter! I heard that everyone sleeps naked in the dorms!"

Si Si shifted her gaze slightly.

"… I may have gone to a fake university."

Tail, who had been playful, finally regained her sense of propriety, put on a T-shirt, and sat down quietly next to Si Si, wrapping her hair in a towel as if intending to let it dry naturally.

Here, they even have bionic people, but no hairdryers—it's just as you would expect from the Wasteland.

Tail leaned in close to the book, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the illustrations, hoping to find clues to a new map before rushing to the forum to brag to everyone.

Sisi coughed softly and returned to the previous topic.

"It just happens to sound similar, translating directly to 'the land south of towering mountain ranges.' I'm more inclined to transliterate it directly as 'Poluo.' The location of that province seems a bit like an enlarged Italic peninsula. Our current fortress is like Innsbruck, Camel City like Ravenna, Silver Moon City like Venice... if you only consider the geographical locations," she said.

The Jubar Mountains, stretching towards the southwest, blocked overland travel, so the only way to reach Poluo Province from Oasis No.4 was by water.

According to the description in the book, there were also Variants in the sea, said to have combat power on par with sea monsters.

However, these Variants usually only thrived in the deep sea and were highly sensitive to smells.

Locals discovered that the Variants detested the scent of Black Iron Wood, so they made wooden steamships from it for longer distance trade. In the shallower coastal waters, they also used iron-clad ships.

The author named Pigeon had a very rigorous narrative style—he might well be a researcher from the Academy.

As Sisi pondered this, Tail, staring at the illustration with her hands propping up her cheeks, suddenly let out a sigh of amazement.

"Who would've thought the world was so big!"

"Indeed..."

The sea on the other side... Rubbing her chin, Tail suddenly grew solemn, "Is it an enemy?"

Sisi froze for a moment, then chuckled.

"... You're ruining the mood, Ah Wei."

"Hehe..."

Tail scratched the back of her head, a little embarrassed.

Just then, she caught sight of a scroll on the nightstand, which reminded her of the treasure map. With a grunt, she stood up and grabbed it.

Looking at the map unfurled on the floor, Sisi raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh, it's quite large," she remarked.

That wasn't too shabby of a statement.

"Wow! Sisi! There's a red 'X' marked on the map! It's really a treasure map!"

"Anyone with a pen could make that mark," Sisi replied off-handedly, her gaze lingering on the map before suddenly furrowing her brow slightly.

Her index finger flipped through the book pages subconsciously, finding the description of Lost Valley.

The ruin was significant both materially and spiritually to the kingdoms of the oasis.

Therefore, the book dedicated a considerable section to its description.

"...According to local lore passed down by word of mouth, it's where The God of the Sky fell, and his burning scepter turned the plains into a valley. That's undoubtedly Oasis No.7, and based on existing documents, I suspect there are radioactive materials and 'mutated slime fungus'... or what could be called remnants of a curse."

"I should go there to see for myself, but my body can't take much more, and for the sake of my lovely son, I must quash the urge for adventure. Perhaps someday in the future, when I have no more attachments, I will take a look—if something there could be restored, that would be perfect, although I hold no hope."

"Those living half a century ago were gods in the flesh, hoping to solve the problems of the gods with wrenches and screwdrivers; they might as well have lit a candle to pray."

Reading this far, Sisi was almost certain the pen-named Pigeon author was the Academy's researcher—or rather, a Prospector.

That pessimistic and self-deprecating tone was exactly like a certain coffee machine-obsessed research brother.

"The more you know, the more pessimistic you become—be glad you have an optimistic Manager. If it were me, I would have given up treatment long ago" ... This was a line often said by that NPC.

Her eyes fixed on a line in the book, and Sisi combined the context to make a rough explanation with her limited vocabulary.

"...Titan."

Tail's eyes lit up with excitement as she lifted her head.

"Titan?"

Definitely a hidden quest!

Sisi nodded, her gaze moving across the book pages as she thought before speaking.

"Yes... The author collected rumors about The God of the Sky, and based on the locals' descriptions, he believes it might be some kind of large land combat equipment with the specs of an Escort Ship, equipped with a mobile reactor, heavy firepower, and a starship-level shield."

A machine waving the holy flame, wrestling with a spirit swinging countless long whips, ultimately consumed under the scepter that fell from the sky... That sounded like Transformers battling a Tentacle Monster.

If the Tentacle Monster was interpreted as the Lair, then the machine swinging the holy flame was easy to explain.

It was probably similar to Civilization 6's Doomsday Mech or Titanfall's hunk of iron.

This did not seem like a battle that occurred during the three years of war but rather like something from the Committee era.

"Hmm, maybe there really is something incredible there, but—"

However, it was probably best not to complicate things now.

After all, compared to a ruin with unknown difficulty and reward, the treasure at hand worth millions was more important.

Yet—

When she met that expectant gaze, that sharp and clever face couldn't help but reveal a helpless smile.

Closing the book she held, Sisi placed it aside and dusted herself off as she stood up from the floor.

"... It would be such a waste not to take a look."

Tail leaped up in excitement.

"Oh! Charge!"

----

(Thank you "xXMaster BrotherXx" for the Dominion reward!!!)

Chapter 433 A Completely Realistic Game, You Can Even Play Games within the Game

The slowly descending sun was merging with the horizon of Sunset Province, while the Ideal City was already shrouded in the veil of night.

On the semi-transparent observation elevator.

Fang Chang glanced at the business card in his hand and then cast his gaze toward the holographic screen on the viewing window.

Behind the jumping floor numbers were the colorful, neon lights, and looking down revealed an abyss without end.

The building under his feet was named Yunjian University.

Although integrating an entire university into one office building might sound far-fetched, making it seem as though its students were clocking in for work like corporate employees, in a place like Ideal City, it surprisingly didn't feel out of place at all.

After all, the residents here were nominally employees of this "immense and indescribable" corporation.

Most students who graduated from here would become engineers and enter various departments of the corporation, including subsidiaries with specific functions.

If one were to replace the title of the university with "Human Resources Department's New Employee Training Division," it would be much more understandable.

However, to be fair, while the university was named after a province, the sensation of riding an elevator through the clouds did invoke a feeling of being amidst them...

The number stopped at 227.

With a ding, the alloy doors behind Fang Chang opened to the sides like a subway at a station.

Retracting his gaze from the layered neon lights outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, Fang Chang turned and left, following the address on the business card without a pause as he continued along the corridor.

He soon arrived in front of a silver door.

His hand had barely touched the doorbell when the door in front of him whooshed open, and a face filled with an enthusiastic smile appeared.

"Welcome! My dear friend, you must be Fang Chang, who's all the rage on Endpoint Cloud, right? Haha, please come in! What got you interested in me, or is it my field of research that piqued your interest?"

Fang Chang paused, looking at the man whose smile was so warm it bordered on extravagant, and then at the business card in his hand, his expression turning slightly peculiar.

[Ai Chen, male, 55 years old, Professor of Neurological Algorithms and Bionics at Yunjian University, Technical Advisor to the Kang Mao Group's Product Development Department, main research directions include logical operations on fuzzy algorithm simulations and thought upload, etc.]

Without a doubt, this was the man, he had not mistaken the person.

Unless he had a twin brother...

"It's rather presumptuous to disturb you at this time, and I hope my visit hasn't interrupted your rest."

"Presumptuous? What could be more delightful than 'the Alliance's hero being interested in my research'?"

Ai Chen's face was all smiles as he ushered Fang Chang into his office and continued.

"And you arrived at just the right time. If you had come an hour earlier, I'd still be in the lab."

The office was spacious, decorated in a simple yet stylish manner, but Fang Chang's attention wasn't on the room before him, but on the man himself.

Different from the unkempt scholars and professors he had envisioned, this man was dressed impeccably. Although he was in his fifties, he looked to be in his thirties.

His outfit, resembling a suit and formal shoes, along with his slicked-back hairstyle, made him look less like a professor and more like a lawyer or someone working in banking or finance.

Since his arrival in Ideal City, Fang Chang had been attending various events with the allied Ambassador Shu Yu to secure investments and sponsorships.

Besides that, he had not forgotten the other purpose of his visit – to find a way to upload thoughts onto circuit boards.

Players had countless lives, but NPCs only had one. Although it might sound fanciful, he felt that since the game's setting was the future, there should be a way to preserve a person's consciousness permanently.

It was like the phylacteries, items that store souls, in games with fantasy settings.

Fortunately, his status as a war hero had been very helpful, and the viral videos on Endpoint Cloud made him a star of Ideal City or, to put it another way, a "virtual celebrity."

When the professor learned of his interest in his field of research, they promptly scheduled a meeting.

Both took their seats on the sofa.

Fang Chang fulfilled his request for a photo together. After some simple pleasantries, he stated his purpose.

"... I'd like to ask if there's a way to upload thoughts to the cloud or something like a hard drive."

Perhaps because the topic had shifted to his field of expertise, the middle-aged professor's exaggerated smile faded, replaced with a contemplative expression.

But it didn't seem like he was pondering the academic subject itself, more like how to broach the topic.

After what felt like five minutes, he sighed softly and began to speak.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?"

Fang Chang was slightly startled.

His intuition told him that the expression likely didn't bode well for optimistic news.

"No need... Just a glass of water for me, thank you."

"One coffee, one lemon water," Ai Chen signaled to the synthetic human assistant on the side.

The assistant nodded slightly, heading into the next room. Soon after, it returned with a tray, respectfully placing the silver teacups in front of the two men.

"Please enjoy, sir."

After leaving these words, it turned and stood silently by the wall.

To avoid the Uncanny Valley effect, most synthetic humans either had facial features identical to a human's, with almost lifelike transmission systems, or they would simply omit the features or exaggerate them significantly.

This synthetic human belonged to the former category; not only did it look like a real person, but it was also very beautiful.

"I'm sorry about your situation. I know what you're thinking, but... that's not something science can accomplish."

Ai Chen picked up his cup, took a sip of coffee to moisten his throat, then his gaze lingered on the beautiful synthetic assistant nearby. After admiring it for a moment, he continued abruptly,

"My wife passed away three years ago."

Fang Chang was taken aback, hesitating,

"Even the medical technology in Ideal City couldn't cure her?"

The biotechnology here could even replace an entire set of one's parts; he truly couldn't imagine what kind of illness was incurable.

Professor Ai Chen awkwardly cleared his throat.

"By passed away, I mean she left... She ran off with a traveling merchant for the adventure and excitement of her dreams."

"...I'm sorry."

"There's no need to be sorry. It's nothing, besides, it's all in the past now. Everyone has the right to choose how they live their life, where to go is her freedom. It's me, still holding onto her memory, who's a bit narrow-minded, ha ha."

He gently placed the coffee cup back on the tray. Ai Chen smiled and nodded to the synthetic human on the side, indicating for it to take the cup away.

His gaze lingered behind the synthetic human, his voice delving deep into a distant memory.

"I once thought about making it in her image, not just her appearance, but also her memories and thoughts... to replicate them all."

Grasping the key word in that statement, Fang Chang momentarily held his breath, his hands subconsciously tightening around his knees.

As if grasping onto hope.

"What happened after that?"

Ai Chen smiled faintly.

"After that, of course, I succeeded."

Fang Chang looked at the bionic assistant in surprise, then glanced at the professor sitting across him.

"That it is now..."

"It is now just an ordinary bionic assistant. Because later... I deleted its data again."

Fang Chang was stunned.

It took him a while before he continued to speak.

"...Why?"

"I've already told you the reason, because that's not something science can achieve."

Before Fang Chang could speak, Professor Ai Chen continued.

"The person I loved was kind, gentle, beautiful, and lively... but in reality, that was just my imagination. There's no such thing as a perfect person in this world. The brave are inevitably reckless, the cautious are invariably hesitant, the intelligent are often arrogant, and the arrogant cannot see what is beneath them. She was never perfect; love simply put a filter over her."

"So when I tried to write her as an algorithm based on my memories, I soon realized that the fictional personality I created was not her... Do you understand what I mean?"

Fang Chang nodded silently, but soon shook his head again.

"I understand what you are trying to say... but I don't quite understand, why not just include those flaws as well?"

Ai Chen smiled faintly and said.

"Because the problem is right here, are you sure you completely understand a person? Even if it's yourself."

This question stumped Fang Chang, and for a moment he couldn't say a word.

Watching the young man fall into silence, Professor Ai Chen leaned back on the sofa, slowing down his pace of speech to give him plenty of time to think.

"It's not impossible to upload thoughts to the cloud; as long as a person is not isolated from society, there will always be multiple brain backups holding memories of them. Converting these third-person memories into first-person perspective, and collecting these fragments to compile into an intelligent algorithm, you can get someone almost exactly like her... Even if objectively they are not the same person, she would roughly fit your image of her."

"However, a copy is ultimately not the original; it's just a puppet that can talk and just happens to look alike. If that's what you want, I can certainly help you, you just need to fill out a very long form. But based on your description, I have to ask you again, is that what you want?"

Looking at the middle-aged man leaning on the sofa, Fang Chang remained silent for a long time, his thoughts tangled like a ball of yarn.

In reality, this might sound reasonable enough, but in the game, it sounded like some serious ailment.

How is it that the same data copied from one hard drive to another is not the same data?

And isn't there a successful precedent in Shelter 101? They managed to downscale consciousness to the virtual world and even reproduce offspring in the eternally virtual world!

This is clearly something that can be done!

Fang Chang felt that his request was not excessive at all; he just wanted to keep a backup of Dolly's data. But the operator reminded him through the NPC's mouth, "Even if a new NPC is made with the backup data, it is not the same NPC as the original."

Then what am I?!

A completely realistic virtual reality game, even simulating such superfluous details...

Fang Chang felt a faint headache.

He suddenly regretted not choosing the Intelligence System in the first place.

"I just want to preserve a chance for resurrection for someone important, please, even just once..."

His voice carried a hint of pleading.

This sentence was not addressed to the NPC before him.

It was to Ah Guang, who was somewhere out of sight yet always watching over them.

Professor Ai Chen stared at the young man in front of him for a while, then his gaze slowly drifted, floating toward the colorful neon lights outside the window.

The dazzling play of light and shadow was irresistibly immersive, satisfying all of one's desires visible to the naked eye.

It seemed to have everything.

Yet it was empty.

It was like the holographic images of that era, so real as to be beyond criticism, but ultimately not.

He touched his nose bridge and sighed softly, unusually forgoing the trendy lingo of the youth.

"… Many people have said this to me, but few realize that life is precious precisely because it happens only once."

"If that person really matters to you, then treat her well in the time you have left. Don't let her leave your side, don't let her get hurt, don't wait until it's too late to regret... And don't be like me, seeking comfort in memories."

"That's the right thing to do."

…

Expectations came to nothing.

Tonight, Ideal City gained another saddened soul.

However, Fang Chang's disappointment was an exception; most of the city's residents were very happy, especially when the nightlife started.

On the edge of Ideal City, in an office building.

In a cramped and dimly lit studio, a few worthless sofas, tables, chairs, and simple office supplies were placed haphazardly.

Bathed in the light of cheap incandescent bulbs, a certain mole and the newly established Skeleton Studio's employees were dancing and gesticulating with excitement.

"Holy crap… this Game is just too damn fun!"

The mole had removed his Virtual Reality Glasses, his face brimming with excitement and thrill.

Recently, some folks on the Forum joked about making a game in Ideal City. He was the only one that took action, and he really did it.

The studio simply adopted the Skeleton Army's logo, while the game was named "The Great Escape." The gameplay couldn't just be compared to battle royale games; it was almost identical.

Except on a Virtual Reality platform.

Though it wasn't as immersive as "Wasteland OL," the completion level was already very high!

If it didn't take off, he'd eat his words in front of Fang Chang!

Having seen the world, the tech director and CEO Xue Hongliang he hired didn't have such an extreme reaction; after removing his glasses, he simply remarked,

"…The only pity is that there's only one life, and once you're dead, that's it."

In the very last round.

He didn't last long after landing and was taken out by an NPC he designed.

The mole chuckled and said,

"You just don't get it; the essence of this game is right here! Although you lose all your gear when you die, think about it from another angle—doesn't the person you took down feel the same explosive frustration?"

The employees sitting around the room exchanged glances, nodding to each other, thinking there seemed to be some truth in it.

The mole paused for a moment and continued methodically,

"Especially when you've made it to the final circle, hiding in the bushes, waiting for the final battle—just thinking about how half an hour of effort could be ruined by one small mistake, your adrenaline rushes, your palms sweat with nervousness! And if you win, all that stress instantly turns into dopamine of pure joy—"

"Hold on, there's a problem," interjected a programmer.

Although annoyed by the interruption, the mole generously gave him the opportunity to speak.

"Go ahead."

The programmer said with all seriousness,

"Virtual Reality System will block sensory stimulation that could pose health risks, such as adrenaline surges and sweaty palms... it's impossible."

The Mole rolled his eyes.

"I'm just making a comparison! Don't be so rigid. There's always a sense of anxiety, right?"

The programmer scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, yeah, that there is..."

The Mole glanced around at the dozen or so employees present, then continued to energetically rally the troops.

"Anyway, the selling point of this game is right here!"

"You only live once, you only get one chance! Whether our studio can secure a spot in Ideal City all depends on this launch!"

After a week-long development, the trial version of The Great Escape was completed and had just been uploaded to the Endpoint Cloud's gaming platform a moment ago, available for users to download and try for free. After two hours of playtime, a buy-out fee of 20Cr was charged.

More updates will follow, including features like buying crates to draw limited-edition skins. The Mole didn't just copy the game itself but also the methods of reaping profits from it.

Developing wasn't very difficult, given the availability of development tools and virtual models for purchase on Endpoint Cloud. If something wasn't available, outsourcing was an option.

The monthly rent for the company's office space was 1200Cr, which wasn't very expensive. Labor was slightly more costly, as employees with technical expertise couldn't possibly be paid the minimum hourly wage of 1Cr. They had to be paid between 8000 to 10000Cr a month.

However, the main expenses were not rent nor labor, but rather the cost of purchasing development tool licenses, technical services, virtual models, and renting computational power from Endpoint Cloud.

The total cost came to a staggering 1 million Cr!

That money could buy a "Hellhound" drone car plus a missile!

As for where this money came from?

Of course, it was exchanged with silver coins.

A few days ago, thanks to the efforts of the Manager and Ambassador Shu Yu, the Alliance and the Company reached two critical agreements.

One of these was the currency exchange agreement.

Under the agreement, both parties exchanged a total income value of 300 million Cr at a fixed exchange rate of 3:1.

That is, 1Cr to 3 silver coins.

With no set and stable market, it was difficult to directly translate purchasing power; after all, the same commodity could have sky-high prices in River Valley Province and dirt-cheap prices in Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

This exchange rate included a subsidy of sorts, in the form of a "technology added value" that the Company provided the Alliance.

Moreover, currency exchange alone was not enough. Besides that, the parties also stipulated agreements on how the money should be used.

This involved the second trade agreement.

In principle, only residents of Ideal City were allowed to register companies and trade stocks, so the residents of the Alliance were unable to work or run businesses within the Company.

But there was some flexibility.

The newly signed trade agreement was one such makeshift solution.

As permanent partners to the Company, businesses registered in the Alliance with the Alliance's endorsement could also enter the Company's whitelist.

Once on the whitelist, companies could start branches in Ideal City and invest in non-core industries excluding electricity, transportation, energy, etc.

Because it was backed by the Alliance's credit, to get on the whitelist required approval.

But the approval process was not complicated.

Companies contributing significantly to the Alliance or collectively owned by shelters could quickly get approved, earning the right to exchange currency and invest in Ideal City.

Examples include Goblin Technology, List Factory, Bull Horse Brick Factory, Factory No.81, and Bachi Aluminium Factory, among others.

1 million Cr equated to 3 million silver coins at the fixed exchange rate.

The Mole certainly did not have that much money on his own.

Not to mention, this was just the initial investment; the actual amount of capital needed was sure to be far greater.

However, as one of the smartest players on the server, he quickly thought of a solution after a bit of brainstorming.

Following the alpha version's rules, he put together his entire fortune and pitched in with his close friends to gather 1.5 million silver coins to register a company called the Skeleton Group.

Then, he used an impressive business plan and sacrificed 80% of the shares to successfully secure 12 million silver coins of startup capital.

4 million Cr.

That was enough to last for a while.

He and some of the investors, such as Elena, Gnome King Riches, and others, shared the remaining 20% of the shares.

Although the shelters owned a large portion, he also obtained a significant share—he owned 8%. If this game made a billion, that would be 8 million!

After deducting costs and taxes, he would pocket at least 6 or 7 million Cr!

If he exchanged that to silver coins...

The Mole dared not think further.

He'd only daydreamed for a moment, but he couldn't help drooling, worried that if he continued, he would become over-excited.

In any case, he started the Skeleton Studio, fully funded by the Skeleton Group, carrying both the hard-earned money of the people and their expectations.

Under his relentless urging, the team managed to reproduce this virtual reality version of the parachute chicken-eating masterpiece in Wasteland OL.

Ah Guang deserved some credit.

Not only could players play games within Wasteland OL, but they could also make games within the game.

The idea was simply awesome!

Although The Great Escape trial version only featured the area of an island, slightly smaller compared to those super A-grade works popular in Ideal City that recreated entire worlds, he believed gameplay and fun were the core of a game.

He was destined to secure a place in this still unexplored market!

However—

The cruel reality quickly dealt him a severe blow.

The newly-launched The Great Escape did not become an instant hit across the web as he had anticipated; it was as unnoticed as a speck of dust falling into a pond, not even creating a ripple.

Up until now, the server's few visits were contributed by the studio's own employees.

Watching the static download numbers, the Mole, who had been excitedly jumping around just thirty minutes ago, was now so anxious he was almost sweating.

The only consolation was, the lack of sales didn't seem to relate to the game itself, but rather, it was due to insufficient exposure.

Maybe once the exposure increased.

It might suddenly take off...

Standing next to the boss and staring at the data on the screen, the few employees of the studio also wore expressions of regret.

"It's such a pity... Such a fun game and completely unnoticed."

"Yes... It was actually pretty fun."

"We better not drag it out too long... Even the tastiest soup will go sour if left out for too long."

The development tools on Endpoint Cloud were quite mature, and the man-hours required to develop a game were not long. However, it was precisely because of this that the highly competitive environment led to not only severe homogenization of most games but also shortened lifespans.

Apart from those open-world games that focused on virtual community development with vast and non-repeating content, the lifespan of most games was only one month, and players' average game time seldom exceeded 24 hours.

The CEO and technical director of the studio, Xue Hongliang, frowned and pondered for a moment before saying,

"We should increase our investment in marketing promotion."

"There's a very popular game promotion program on Endpoint Cloud lately. It's a bit pricey, but I think we can give it a try."

As soon as he heard it was a bit pricey, the Mole's eyebrows twitched.

"How much?"

"Around 1.2 million Cr?"

Hearing this number, he almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

1.2 million?!

That could buy six missiles!

"Our development costs are less than 1 million... Isn't this a bit too expensive?" Mole couldn't help but complain.

Xue Hongliang was taken aback.

"Isn't it normal for promotional costs to be higher than development costs?"

Mole was stunned for a moment.

But seeing that the other employees seemed to agree with this, it didn't feel like they were picking on him for not understanding the industry.

Taking a deep breath, Mole calmed his emotions and spoke.

"Anyway... let me first take a look at what that program is like."

Xue Hongliang nodded, walked over to another office desk, and turned on the holographic television placed there.

Pale blue lights and shadows appeared, the current channel was broadcasting something exciting.

He was about to switch channels, but his boss suddenly spoke up to stop him.

"Wait... let me finish watching this news segment."

Xue Hongliang paused and drew back his index finger, retreating to the side.

On the holographic image, the news continued to play, apparently covering an interview and report on the situation on the western front.

"... In order to reverse the declining situation on the front, the Army is deploying nuclear weapons with a yield of millions of tons to Sunset Province."

"The Minister of the Integrated Management Department, Yue Qian, emphasized that nuclear weapons of more than 100,000 tons should be strictly controlled. If we allow those Variants to mutate further and let the fragile ecosystem continue to evolve towards extremes, this planet will become uninhabitable in the future!"

"The Manager of the Alliance also made a speech in a public lecture, condemning the Army for deploying nuclear weapons to the Battlefield and stating that the residents of the Alliance will not succumb to nuclear threats."

"The Supreme Council is currently convened and discussing more concrete response plans. According to insiders, if the situation is true, the Corporate Supreme Council will authorize the use of the sealed weapons stockpile..."

In the holographic image.

The council representative surrounded by interview drones spoke firmly.

"... There's no doubt, those weapons were prepared for this very moment!"

Seeing the news in the holographic image, the employees of the studio looked at each other, and after regaining their senses, they gasped in unison.

"Sheesh... A million-ton nuclear bomb!"

One employee asked out of curiosity,

"What does that mean?"

Another employee thought for a moment and answered,

"If it's the Ideal City, each person in this city would get an average of either 100 kilograms or 10 kilograms equivalent. And for a population of around 100,000 in the Alliance, everyone would get about 10 tons."

The sound of "sheesh" filled the room.

All the cool air in the room seemed to have been sucked away.

Everyone couldn't help but sneak a peek at their boss.

They knew that the man who spoke hesitatingly in United Human language, named Mole, was from the Southern Alliance of River Valley.

However, to their surprise, they didn't see fear on the man's face.

His expression looked more like one of pure astonishment.

And in fact, that was true, staring at the holographic image, Mole's eyes were completely blank.

He did see on the official website that the Army was deploying nuclear weapons to Sunset Province, even explicitly mentioning that they planned to use it on the City of Abundance in the Lion Kingdom.

However, the phrasing and tone in the Manager's eyes in this news piece...

It felt like the nuclear bomb was about to be dropped on the head of the Alliance.

That can't be real, right?

Seeing everyone looking in his direction, Mole coughed lightly and spoke in a serious tone.

"Your boss's house is on fire... I might have to go back and check it out in a couple of days."

If the news was true, the mobilization order would probably come before long. As the commander of the Skeleton Corps, he certainly couldn't stay behind and let his brothers fight for him.

Xue Hongliang was stunned.

"You... are going to the front line?"

What a thing.

They were just having a Battle Royale in the game.

He hadn't expected their boss to be out there fighting for real.

No wonder he could come up with such interesting ideas; they were all real experiences!

"Of course! Actually, to be honest, driving tanks is really your boss's main job. Running the Company is just a side job."

Mole chuckled embarrassedly and coughed before continuing,

"But don't worry about me, just focus on your Work. Actually, I haven't told you guys, but most of the revenue from the game will go to the Alliance as military funds to fight the Army. For every 10,000 copies of the game you sell, one more missile will be fired at the Army."

"When this war is over, I'll come back and fight alongside you guys!"

After hearing this speech, almost all the employees in the office looked at him with admiring eyes.

Xue Hongliang stepped forward excitedly and shook his right hand firmly.

"Boss, go ahead with peace of mind, leave the Company to me... We won't let you down! We'll make your dream of a million sales come true!"

Mole smiled and patted his right hand.

"Good! With your words, I'm relieved!"

Chapter 434: A Match of Wits with a Worthy Opponent

Under the shroud of night, across the desert,
two people lay on a gently rising sand dune.

Their bodies were covered with desert-colored cloaks, each holding a pair of binoculars, gazing at the valley on the eastern horizon, where tufts of tiny sand burs gently swayed beside their arms.

Not far behind them, on the slope below, lay an electric motorcycle produced with Goblin Technology.

Time rewound to several hours earlier.

The sky hadn't completely darkened yet.

After deciding on the treasure-hunting plan, Si Si proposed to scout near the entrance of the ruins. So, along with Meat Meat and Sesame Paste, they bade farewell and rode the group's only motorcycle toward the direction of Lost Valley in the east.

According to the plan, they would arrive around 8 p.m., check the condition of the ruins' entrance, and return by 9 p.m. to switch shifts and stand watch with Meat Meat and Sesame Paste.

However, in reality, the journey took them much longer than expected.

Although the electric motorcycle with Goblin Technology had sufficient power and could reach speeds over 150 mph, that was on smooth, paved roads.

The nearby Highway 7 was broken into several pieces.

They had no choice but to go off-roading along the edge of the highway, reducing their speed to around forty to fifty mph. Any faster, and they risked being launched off any sudden steep incline.

For a distance of nearly 150 kilometers, it took them a full three and a half hours to catch a glimpse of the valley.

It was just then, as if by misfortune, a sandstorm abruptly stirred up on the gobi, reducing visibility to within a hundred meters, while the howling winds made it difficult to move an inch.

Left with no other choice, they temporarily parked the bike and took shelter behind a dune, waiting for the sandstorm to pass before continuing onward.

Fortunately, the sandstorm did not last long.

But just when they were ready to continue, Si Si suddenly saw a faint light flickering in the distance where the sandstorm had passed.

Someone was in Lost Valley!

And not just a few!

Out of caution, she laid the motorcycle on the ground and, with Ah Wei in tow, climbed to a nearby higher point to peer through the binoculars and survey the area.

This view, however, gave them both quite a shock.

"…Patrol team."

Holding the binoculars tightly, Si Si scanned the distant horizon and furrowed her brow slightly.

"And it's the Army!"

Although she didn't see any black robes, she wouldn't mistake the bullet-proof armor and rifles in those people's hands, having engaged them at close quarters so many times.

A tricycle had broken down on the sand dune, probably due to the recent sandstorm.

A few soldiers were huddled around the tricycle, fiddling with tools from a repair kit, attempting to fix the motorcycle.

Another patrol, consisting of ten people, approached the broken tricycle, seemingly there to understand the situation.

These people patrolled densely and were extremely vigilant.

It was clear that the valley behind them must hide some significant secret.

Si Si shifted her gaze, looking towards a distant encampment bordered by a wall of sandbags.

To the north, someone was working, seemingly digging up something, while at the entrance to the southern valley, there were piles of earth as if excavated from within.

What were they planning to do?

Si Si was also a bit confused.

"Ah Wei, lend me your thermal imager… Ah Wei?"

There was no response for a long while.

Si Si turned her head, only to find Ah Wei lying motionless on the sand, not reacting at all.

Slightly stunned, Si Si soon chuckled and shook her head.

She could guess what Ah Wei was up to even with her foot.

Taking the thermal imager from Ah Wei's head, she put it on and continued to look towards the east.

The world turned into shades of black and white.

Far in the distance on the shimmering white sand, bright white dots flickered.

Looking at the open space north of the encampment, Si Si's face revealed a surprised expression.

"Wow..."

So bright!

...

Another world.

The "Wasteland OL" official website Forum, where only closed beta tester players could post, a new thread suddenly popped up.

Tail: "Oh oh oh oh! Major discovery!! (✪ω✪)"

Quit smoking: "What's the situation???"

Night Ten: "What did you find? (Surprised)"

Elena: "Is it tasty? (Funny)"

Tail: "Uh, probably not edible, it's the Army! We saw so many so many Army soldiers!"

Old White: "???"

As soon as it was mentioned that it was the Army, the thread immediately became lively.

It was obviously more topical to talk about groups of elite mobs appearing collectively than encountering a wild Claw of Death or getting your head bashed in by the tentacles of a Multilegged Beast.

Edge Shoveling: "Are you guys in Golden Lizard? There might actually be Army activity there... The Guerrilla Team of the Restoration Army moved 50 tanks and a large number of trucks and supplies earlier; now the north side of Oasis No. 9 is full of Army patrols, we almost ran into them."

Debt Giant Eye: "+1, be careful Ah Wei, don't get caught by the Army. (Funny)"

Construction Youth with Bricks: "+10086, watch out for the Mole, that guy can draw comics. (Funny)"

Canyon Escapee Mole: "Get lost! Only dogs draw that stuff, I've already quit! Heh, just you wait and see, when my game explodes in sales in Ideal City, all of you will be calling me daddy! (Rolling Eyes)"

Ever since Brother Guang had silenced him, the guy indeed hadn't been seen drawing any strange comics on the forum for a while.

But that made people even more worried.

An unemployed painter, and on top of that, in River Valley Province.

That Buff was almost fully stacked.

Gnome King Riches: "Haha, my good brother, you gotta work hard! Old Na gave you all the money she saved from eating mantises! (Funny)"

Elena "No worries, if he loses out, he can sell his butt to repay us, he said so himself, (Funny)"

Makabazi: "Hahaha."

...

Tail: "Oh! Don't worry, Edge bro, we're not in Golden Lizard anymore! Heard that Oasis No. 4 is right by the sea, we turned around and headed south two weeks ago! (@¯∀¯@)"

Night Ten: "(Sweat)"

Tail: "And then and then, we discovered an Army encampment in a place called Lost Valley, 150 kilometers from the Zobar Mountains! There's at least a ten-thousand-strong force there!"

Edge Shoveling: "South? Wait a minute, how could there be Army there in the south?"

Spring Water Commander: "I'm more curious about how many people are actually in the Army... looking at the map, their forces seem too dispersed, if they're not planning to simultaneously attack three Kingdoms at once, I've got a bad feeling about this."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Did you see clearly what they were doing there?"

Tail: "Of course, treasure hunting!"

Edge Shoveling: "Treasure hunting?!"

Tail: "Yeah! There's a huge encampment there, about the same size as Fallen Leaf Camp! There are lots of people outside the camp to the north, digging with shovels and pushing carts on the ground, Tail saw it with a thermal imager! Heh heh."

Wild Wind: "About the same size as Fallen Leaf Camp... that could indeed be a ten-thousand-strong force, maybe even twenty or thirty thousand."

Spring Water Commander: "Battlefield..."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Don't ask me, the Manager told me to keep hiding; I really don't know anything, I'd have said something if I did. (Awkward)"

"Kakarot": "Damn, are you kidding me? The chicken soup is almost spoiled!"

I Max Black: "Exactly! You haven't even become a Marshal yet, that sucks!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "@%$&!"

...

At the same time, in the Wasteland World.

In the Army Command of the City of Dawn, the operation meeting room was filled with people.

Despite the late hour, there was no intention of adjourning.

Sitting at the conference table, the commander of the First Army Corps, Wrench, suddenly spoke out.

"I've been thinking about a problem."

Everyone in the meeting room turned their gaze toward him,

Except for Chu Guang, who was staring at the map.

"What problem?"

Chu Guang replied offhand, his gaze not leaving the map, his expressionless face seeming to ponder something.

Wrench organized his thoughts and cautiously voiced his opinion.

"I'm wondering... what benefits does the Army gain from using a nuclear bomb on the City of Abundance? To the residents of the River Valley Province, the dikes are not just irrigation tools but also a blessing from the gods. Even if they don't mind losing fertile land... aren't they worried about making an enemy of the entire desert?"

Chu Guang nodded.

He was satisfied that his subordinates had finally grown, considering various issues in their decision-making, including anticipating the enemy's potential tactics from their point of view.

"That is one of the issues I've been contemplating... Vanus, explain to him why."

Vanus, sitting at the conference table, nodded and looked toward the commander of the First Army Corps, beginning to speak with a gentle tone.

"There are many benefits, although it means an increased cost for suppression, the benefit is that it can crush the Lion Kingdom Royal Family's resistance will in a short time and bring an early end to this war."

"Clearly, the Army is not ready for all-out war with the corporations. Whether deploying airships to intercept fleeing corporate employees or launching surprise lightning strikes or, like now, deploying nuclear weapons... rather than being a meticulous plan prepared over a long period, it seems more like a gamble."

"They're betting that they can take full control of the River Valley Province before the corporations can mobilize, then negotiate with the corporations after creating a fait accompli... over issues such as the ownership of the Pioneer, the key to the No.0 Shelter, and the territorial control rights in the River Valley Province, among other things."

Chu Guang nodded again.

The key to No.0 Shelter was in his hands.

If the Army's military operations in the River Valley Province achieved their expected goals, they could exchange the key for the Pioneer and its crew with him.

The officers in the meeting room exchanged glances, whispering to each other in low voices.

Vanus looked at Chu Guang.

"However... there's still a doubt here, shall I continue?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Say whatever comes to mind."

Vanus slightly nodded, cleared his throat, and continued.

"Deploying nuclear weapons is a transparent strategy, but where to use the bomb is not necessarily so. I believe our ally's intelligence is trustworthy, but the problem is their information is too detailed."

"They not only know that the Army is deploying nukes to the River Valley Province but also know precisely where the bomb is intended to be used... I can't help but ask how they know this."

"Unless the Falcon Kingdom's king or marshal is a traitor, I can't think of anyone else who could get such specific operational plans."

"Our respected Manager Sir, must also be doubtful about this very issue at the moment."

Hearing this subtle flattery, Chu Guang laughed.

To be honest, this Vanus indeed was quite capable.

Ever since his meeting with Kaliman, he had indeed been thinking about this issue,

Including at the diplomatic briefing with the corporations.

And at this morning's mobilization speech...

Because it was indeed too suspicious.

Before the lightning war was launched, the Desert Kings hadn't caught a whiff of the storm. But after getting hammered with random punches, it was like their meridians had been opened – their intelligence system suddenly brightened, turning the Falcon Kingdom and the Army into sieves.

We're talking about nuclear weapons.

Vanus's estimate was on the conservative side.

Forget about the Falcon Kingdom's king or marshal, probably only Griffin himself knew where that nuclear bomb was intended to go.

Chu Guang always had an ominous premonition that the bait wasn't solely meant to lure out the spy who had leaked the location of Camp 530, but was in fact a strategic ploy on a grander scale.

Underestimating the enemy was a taboo.

The Army's strength was formidable, and if it came down to full-scale total war, the combined forces of the Academy and the corporations might not even be able to defeat those fanatic warmongers… even though the corporations' Ideal City and their weapons appeared to be genuinely imposing.

Including the past battle at Rui Valley City, where the full might of the Alliance was pitted against the air and land combat forces of the Iron Heart, the Alliance's chance of victory stood at less than thirty percent despite the players' overwhelming individual combat capabilities, the resolute execution of orders by each Army Corps, and the commanders performing exceptionally.

Had McCullen not been overly arrogant, making a series of tactical misjudgments, even a loss wouldn't have led to the forfeiture of the Iron Heart.

In fact, even with a series of tactical blunders, that guy almost turned the tables at the very last moment.

And now, the Alliance was not facing McCullen but someone who was far more cunning, more cautious, and reputed to be an old fox who had climbed from the army's ranks to a high position.

Instead of desperately resorting to nuclear weapons, Chu Guang felt that person was more like someone sitting calmly at the card table, telling him with a half-smiling tone,

"I'm going to use nuclear weapons."

"Now it's your turn to play your hand."

As Chu Guang was pondering, the voice of Xiao Qi suddenly came to his ears.

"Master, your players in Oasis No.4, to the northeast, have discovered traces of the Army. It seems that a ten-thousand-troop force has been stationed there. The player named Tail said they were treasure hunting, but Xiao Qi feels there's more to it..."

Xiao Qi had been monitoring the posts on the Forum, and immediately reported upon discovering suspiciously important information.

On hearing this, Chu Guang was momentarily stunned.

Oasis No.4?

Northeast direction?

His gaze fell on the Jubar Mountains on the map, moving eastward, eventually stopping at the Lost Valley, which was to the northeast of the Camel Hump Kingdom by 150 kilometers — that is, to the southwest of Oasis No.7's ruins.

This Lost Valley was about 900 kilometers away from the City of Abundance near Oasis No.9, a distance that could be considered quite remote from the front lines.

Another 800 kilometers eastward was the River Valley Province… Wait a second.

Chu Guang suddenly thought of something and picked up a marker to draw a red circle around the position of Lost Valley on the map.

Vanus, sitting at the conference table, frowned slightly.

"Is there something happening there?"

Chu Guang answered concisely.

"…According to reports from our informants, a substantial amount of the Army's ground forces, between ten and thirty thousand, were spotted north of Oasis No.4."

A wave of surprise spread through the conference room.

The commander of the Second Corps, Liuding, widened his eyes.

"Oasis No.4? Is the Army planning to split its forces and attack the Camel Hump Kingdom?"

Another officer frowned and said,

"I remember... the Camel Hump Kingdom has a population of about 1.5 million, right? And it's said to have a thriving industry and commerce. Conservatively estimated, they could muster up to five fully-staffed ten-thousand-troop forces… If it's one of the Army Corps from the Army headquarters, there's hope. Relying on the Attendant Army from the Falcon Kingdom, how do they plan to fight?"

Wrench, sitting nearby, nodded and spoke in a deep voice,

"Moreover, Oasis No.4 and the desert are separated by the natural barrier of the Zobar Mountains, where even tanks might not be effective… To attack Petra Fortress from the front, a large number of support squads would be needed, and a forceful assault coordinated with infantry and artillery has a chance of success."

"The target is likely not Oasis No.4," Vanus suddenly said.

The noisy conference room quieted down.

Pairs of eyes turned toward him.

Chu Guang, who had been looking at the map, nodded and slowly said,

"Yes, if the target were Oasis No.4, they would not need to be stationed there… They could have camped to the northwest, closer to their rear, instead of letting their supply lines cross over the fortress they are planning to conquer."

He paused and continued,

"Their target… might well be us."

Expressions of surprise appeared on the faces of everyone in the conference room.

Although some had considered this possibility, they hardly dared to believe it.

To overcome the aerial superiority of Qingquan City, they would face not just the Alliance but also the nearby Giant Stone City!

Even though that city lord had a very low profile in this conflict, to the point of seemingly not participating at all, the radars, anti-aircraft guns, and missile launchers deployed on the giant wall were no joke.

"Your meaning is... that nuclear bomb was actually prepared for us?" Liuding's expression changed subtly.

Chu Guang nodded.

"If the City of Abundance falls, the resistance of the Lion Kingdom will end... As the commander of the Alliance, normally, I must prevent this from happening, and the best strategy is to transfer and deploy the Iron Heart to Oasis No. 9. With the Iron Heart's anti-aircraft capabilities and battlefield suppression power, we can prevent the nuclear bomb from being delivered to the nearby airspace."

"But if we do that, we'll be falling right into their trap."

"They clearly want to end this war quickly. Knowing that we have figured out their intentions, they are deliberately acting hastily and even willing to bring out a nuclear bomb, showing us a deliberate flaw, while in fact, they are playing a feint to the east while attacking in the west."

Chu Guang's eyes narrowed slightly, feeling like the thought process had suddenly opened up. All the clues marked on the map were now connected.

"...Once our strategic focus shifts to Oasis No. 9, their planes will take off from the southern part of Luo Xia Province and carry out a nuclear strike on our homeland from the northeast direction."

The terrain of Lost Valley is a natural shelter.

More suitable for large troops to be stationed for a long time than the rolling sand dunes.

They don't need to establish absolute air superiority over the river valley.

They only need one or a few fearless pilots to fly a jet plane faster than Mach 2 and drop the nuclear bomb at the moment they breach our defense line.

Then detonate it in the air.

What happened in Qingquan City 200 years ago, will happen once again.

A million tons of yield, an absolute kill radius of 6.3 kilometers against exposed personnel in the open terrain, 3.6 kilometers for personnel in trenches, tanks 2.8 kilometers... These are Cold War-era reference data.

The actual effect of the damage varies with the situation, but there's no doubt about the earth-shattering power that could erase Giant Stone City and City of Dawn from the map altogether.

Even precise aiming isn't necessary.

"The distance from the Falcon Kingdom near the Great Desert to River Valley Province is too far, it should exceed the range of their planes, so they need a stepping stone."

"If my judgment is correct..."

Looking at the map full of marked lines, Chu Guang said with certainty.

"The thing they built near Lost Valley should be an airport!"

...

Seven or eight kilometers away from Lost Valley, on the sand dunes.

Tail, who was lying on her side, fluttered her eyelashes and slowly opened her eyes to bright pupils.

"Um..."

She rubbed her eyes and smiled apologetically.

"Hehe, I just logged off to send a message to the guys, sorry to have kept you waiting."

Si Si joked.

"Oh, if Ah Wei doesn't wake up, I was planning to draw a circle on your forehead with a pen."

Tail exclaimed.

"Eh?! Then I'll sleep a bit longer."

"Wait until we get back."

Crawling to the leeward side of the sand dune, Si Si got up from the ground and patted the sand off her clothes.

Good thing she didn't take a bath before leaving.

That layer of dust, she'll need to give it a good clean when she gets back.

"Speaking of which... are we just going to leave it like that?"

Tail looked worriedly at the distant valley, clearly concerned that the treasure buried there would be snatched up by someone else first.

There might really be such a possibility.

Who knows how long those people have been digging there.

Si Si said in an indifferent tone.

"Mm, it's better to retreat first. There are at least ten thousand troops stationed there. If we get caught, it won't just be circles drawn on our foreheads, you know."

"Yikes! How scary!"

Tail shuddered and also quietly climbed down from the sand dune.

At the bottom of the slope,

Seeing Si Si lifting the motorcycle from the sand, she whispered,

"What if our treasure is dug up by the Army first? That's a Titan, and it might even be operational."

Si Si showed a helpless expression,

"Don't even mention Titans, even if it's a star cruiser, the two of us can't do anything about it."

At least,

They needed to go back and make some preparations.

Petra Fortress is a trade hub in the southern part of the Falling Leaves Province. Once the goods are dealt with, they could use the money earned to hire some help, which would be better than recklessly charging in on a motorcycle.

Going one-on-one against an infantry division,

Not even the "legendary SSSR card" Manager himself,

Let alone Human Emperor Sigma, could do that.

Awakeners are strong, but not strong enough to punch a planet into oblivion.

Handing the motorcycle helmet to a disappointed Tail, Si Si gently patted the rear seat of the motorcycle and consoled with a smile,

"Come on, don't be down. I'll find a way to help Ah Wei find that big treasure… Get on, let's head back, or Meat Meat and Sesame Paste will start to worry."

"Oh! You're right… Holy shit! Look at the time!" After glancing at the time display on his VM, Tail got startled and immediately hopped on the motorcycle.

A smile crept onto Si Si's face as he pulled down the wind goggles hanging from the helmet, twisted the handle, and started the electric motorcycle's motor.

"Hold tight."

...

Dawn rose from the East Coast.

Honestly, even though he wasn't of the Perception type, Mole sometimes really admired his own sixth sense.

Just yesterday, he had made a promise in front of all his underlings, and today, before he even logged in, he had received a call to arms from none other than the Manager himself—ordering his immediate return to City of Dawn.

Ideal City.

On the helicopter pad atop a tall building,

Standing not far from the landing pad, Mole's face was filled with reluctance as he said his goodbyes with hugs to the employees of Skeleton Studio.

Watching the boss ready to board, Xue Hongliang couldn't help but ask,

"Can't we avoid the frontline by donating money?"

"What are you talking about," Mole looked straight at him, saying seriously, "Is this a matter of money?"

The reason the Alliance stood united under the banner of Shelter No. 404 was exactly because its residents were always at the forefront, never exploiting the right to wear that Blue Jacket to arrogantly push other Alliance residents in front of them.

This was an obligation!

And a responsibility!

Of course, that's the bigger picture.

On a smaller scale, another reason was that such "national war" events and missions always offered the most and best rewards.

To make money, you could trade, but to become T1 or even T0, you had to step up when the Alliance needed you.

There are two things in this game that cannot be bought with silver coins.

One is the helmet.

The other is Contribution Points.

Especially the latter, which had huge utility.

Seeing the determination in his eyes, Xue Hongliang stopped trying to persuade him and said solemnly,

"Boss! Take care!"

Mole smiled and said,

"Don't worry, your boss has a big fate; he won't die! When I come back, I'll create more glory with you all! We will make our studio bigger and stronger!"

With that, he boarded the plane resolutely and left an imposing figure for all the studio employees and journalists behind.

He boarded the plane.

Mole immediately noticed, sitting in the cabin was a long-legged young lady.

She was very attractive, and not just in looks. She exuded a shrewd and capable aura—her posture and appearance carried the demeanor of a CEO.

Mole wasn't a shy person, let alone when facing an NPC. But still, he subconsciously chose a seat two spaces away from her.

What he hadn't expected, though, was that as soon as he sat down, the beauty took the initiative to strike up a conversation with him.

"Hello, my name is Li Shuyue."

"Hello... I'm Mole," said the Mole who was caught off guard, suddenly regretting having chosen such a casual name.

The beauty, however, didn't seem to find his name strange and calmly continued.

"Where's the person who came with you?"

Mole said with a smile.

"Are you talking about Fang Chang? This time they called back the army commanders; that little brother doesn't rank high enough—mobilization hasn't reached him yet."

The two of them actually had a good relationship, but that didn't stop him from throwing a jab at him now and then.

After all, the guy didn't spare himself from his own barbs either.

So what if he had high contribution points?

He's still just a dog-headed military advisor!

I'm an army commander, after all. Calling him a little brother is totally fair!

"Oh."

Li Shuyue nodded and then fell silent, putting an end to the conversation.

Regarding topics like army commander and rank… she didn't seem to be particularly interested, which made Mole feel a bit awkward.

"…"

Damn!

Are the NPCs in this game always this realistic?

And it's not as if he thought Fang Chang was particularly good-looking; he was at least no better looking than himself.

Why does he have such a streak of good luck with the ladies!

Just any NPC would take an interest in that guy.

Mole was cursing and grumbling inwardly.

Rigged!

Definitely rigged!

He must have sold his sacred friendship to Ah Guang!

In this silent atmosphere, the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft slowly took off, dragging a pale blue arc of light behind it as it headed towards the western sky.

Beside the tarmac.

Xue Hongliang and a bunch of employees in skeleton T-shirts were still immersed in the sorrow of "losing" their boss.

The battlefield.

That's a place where you have a nine-to-one chance of dying.

Hopefully, the next time they saw him, it wouldn't be just a box of ashes and a portrait...

At this moment, a reporter noticed the sad group of young men.

The reporter's instincts led him keenly to sniff out the fragrance of newsworthiness, and he immediately approached them with his interview drone in tow.

"Hello, may I ask—who is the commander of that Skeleton Corps… What's his relation to you guys?"

Xue Hongliang sniffled.

"He's our boss."

"Boss?"

The reporter expressed his surprise.

Other reporters passing by heard the conversation and gathered around, pulling out their interview pens and releasing their drones once more.

Being confronted with so many cameras was somewhat unnerving.

After all, he was just the CEO of a small studio, and although he had seen some big scenes, this one was massive. He nervously nodded in agreement.

"Yeah… We're Skeleton Studio, we make games."

The reporter was astonished.

"Making games!? But… isn't that gentleman an army commander? That position should be an officer's title, right?"

"Yes… He's told us that his actual job is driving tanks, but making games is his dream."

Dream!

Upon hearing the word "dream," the surrounding reporters' eyes lit up, and the first one who had asked questions promptly followed up with more.

"Can you elaborate on that?"

Xue Hongliang was indeed a bit nervous at first.

But as he saw the interest on the faces of those around him, he started to find his rhythm, and his speech and voice gradually became more natural.

"I still remember the day of the interview, the first time I met him, when he told me… that he had never seen anything so amazing."

As he saw each face listening intently, he continued.

"With just a pair of glasses, one could enter a completely virtual world, communicate freely with real people, share their stories, and bring joy to others..."

"He said ever since he arrived in this city, from the moment he put on the virtual reality glasses, he found a new goal, a new dream for his life—"

"Even though he was born in a world filled with death and ruin, he hoped to share his stories through Endpoint Cloud—this magical medium—with the people living in Ideal City, to bring joy…"

Actually, facing the camera wasn't as difficult as imagined.

You just had to say what everyone loved to hear.

Grasping the core elements of his special identity and background, Xue Hongliang observed the expressions of the listeners while continuing to weave his story.

A Waste Land Wanderer living in harsh conditions.

Even though tortured and tormented by fate, he still harbored pure and bright dreams, hoping to bring more happiness to the world.

He had even poured all his savings into it!

What a kind soul!

And when his homeland faced the flames of war, this millionaire abandoned the comfortable life in Ideal City without looking back, and boarded the plane home, rushing to the frontline to fend off the invaders threatening his hometown…

Many in the audience showed a look of admiration, and some eyes even watered with emotion.

Of course.

It wasn't entirely due to being moved.

Many were thrilled to have dug up a big story.

In their minds, they had already imagined a script of tens of thousands of words, a two-hour movie.

A reporter looked at him earnestly and handed over his interview pen.

"What's the name of your game?"

Glancing at the drones and the expectant eyes around him, Xue Hongliang had a momentary lapse.

But it was just that—a moment.

He was very clear.

Right now, was the "only chance" his boss had talked about.

"Big Escape…"

Xue Hongliang almost reflexively answered.

Although his boss had never said those exact words, since he had already fabricated so much of the story, a sentence or two more wouldn't make a difference.

With a voice unburdened and full of enthusiasm, he continued.

"It's a game inspired by our boss's real-life experiences in the wasteland, and everyone in our studio has witnessed its birth."

"I can guarantee with my reputation that this game is absolutely real!"

Chapter 435 Friendship

Although he had been delayed for a while last night before logging off, when the morning sun rose, the White Bear Knights still appeared as promised at the entrance to the Petra Fortress market and met Old Buma who had been waiting there for a while.

The old man, now in a change of clothing, no longer looked disheveled; he not only seemed more spirited but finally resembled a merchant.

"Do you intend to exchange the goods for money, or do you plan to barter?" he respectfully asked the benefactors who approached him, "I recommend the latter, after all, you've seen... it's not very peaceful in the desert right now, and holding onto money is not a wise decision."

Si Si had already discussed this with her teammates beforehand.

"We need to stay here for a while, so let's exchange it for money."

Old Buma nodded, not saying anything superfluous, and began to help look for buyers in the market who were capable of purchasing their stock of goods.

Without the need for any emphatic promotion, hearing of the Devil cloth originating from the Eastern Provinces soon attracted a group of merchants.

Unable to stay idle, Tail and Meat Meat curiously followed and watched the busy scene.

Sesame Paste had planned to take a look too, but got bumped by a black and white cat, and ended up squatting on the ground, unable to help but smile as he petted it lying on its back.

Si Si entrusted the task of scouting for buyers to Buma and found a quieter place to sit nearby. She opened the newly purchased "Silver Moon Holy Words" on her lap and began reading in silence.

This book probably held a status similar to the "Bible" in Camel Hump Kingdom; its content roughly constitutes the local believers' "interpretation" of teachings from the Spirit of the Sand Sea.

If "Oasis under Tobal Mountain Range" explains the local cultural landscape from a scholar's perspective, then this "Holy Words," recommended by academy researchers, analyzed the spiritual core of the locals from a believer's point of view.

Under the protection of the Jubar Mountains, the geographical advantage of Camel Hump Kingdom almost completely shielded it from Variant disturbances.

The main threats mainly came from the sea.

Producing salt, camels, large-horned cattle imported from Poluo Province, and a variety of fruits and grains, the local area's blend of backwardness and prosperity coexisted; craftsmanship and commerce thrived, and the citizen class was relatively wealthy. Some city-states even had merchants who did not pledge fealty to feudal lords and mayors elected by the citizens.

For this reason, the local attitude towards religion and the royal family was not as respectful as that of the populace in the other four kingdoms.

If it's said Falcon Kingdom stands for classical militarism, the now-fallen Honey Badger Kingdom was a constitutional monarchy, the unvisited Golden Lizard Kingdom follows a mystic feudal monarchy, and the war-engulfed Lion Kingdom adheres to a sage inner path feudal monarchy, then this place was more akin to a classical republic.

The twelve city-states were highly autonomous, and the local residents not only had more secularized habits of life but even established a secularized "new religion" —

The "Silver Moon Sect."

This sect intertwined the faith in the Spirit of the Sand Sea with the animism theories from the Southern Islands, fabricating a "lover" named the Silver Moon Goddess for the genderless, wifeless Spirit of the Sand Sea, and adding a touch of humanity to its divinity.

According to "Silver Moon Holy Words," the Spirit of the Sand Sea rules over Sunset Province as the lord of the deserts and is destined to govern the universe.

But south of the Tobal Mountains, irrigated jointly by the river and "levees," Silver Moon Bay is the territory of the Silver Moon Goddess, governed by the two deities together.

Locals accepted the mainstream sect's interpretation of doctrines, including eschatological views such as "the world will eventually be swallowed by sands," but they also proposed new views.

For instance, "If the world is to burn out one day, cherish this last twilight," and "A candle can dispel darkness, lighting one at dawn can delay the coming of the apocalypse."

The former corresponds to the secular concept of enjoying the moment, while the latter has evolved into a worship culture.

At the beginning of each month, believers in Camel Hump Kingdom light a candle at home, face Tobal Mountains to worship and recite scriptures in prayer; they could even hire three unconverted infidels to do this for them, unlike the mainstream sect's followers who pray daily.

"...It seems Sunset Province is really vast, somehow evolving into five distinct cultural ideologies on a single desert."

While flipping through the book, Si Si muttered softly, simultaneously making up her mind to collect more works written during the Wasteland Era, translating and compiling their content for posting on the forum.

After all, it would be such a waste if no one discovered these meticulously crafted settings by Dog Plan.

Besides, she had a certain feeling.

The work she was doing might reconnect the severed cultural lineage of this world torn by war and radiation dust.

Although this wouldn't bring any silver coins or Contribution Points, being a dispassionate Task Master in such a highly immersive open-world game would be too disappointing.

Might as well consider it a hobby.

Despite the noisy market, it didn't interfere with her reading.

The haggling likely lasted until midday; there were too few traveling merchants who could afford such a large amount of money at once, and the White Bear Knights were not willing to barter.

Old Buma, speaking under the canopy until he was hoarse, finally encountered a buyer powerful enough to take over the stock.

This merchant wasn't very tall and had a slightly dark skin tone; from his almost distorted accent, it was clear he came from Poluo Province in the southwest.

He planned to take these fine silks and the assortment of odd commodities back to his homeland,

Including those items of black and white silk.

The magical chemical products greatly interested him; the only drawback was one thing—

"Why are there only black and white?" he asked, puzzled.

Tail was taken aback.

"Eh? Don't they look good?"

"It's not that they don't look good," the merchant pondered, stroking his chin, "Don't you have dyes there? Why not consider dyeing them in myriad colors..."

Closing the book in her hands and rising from the carpet, Si Si's expression was slightly peculiar.

"That would be pretty ugly."

All those colors and whatnot…

Whether in reality or in the Game, she wasn't too keen on trying them, but beside her, Tail seemed lost in thought.

Hope she wasn't seriously considering this.

The Merchant awkwardly laughed.

"Well, that works too, I'm quite satisfied with your commodities... let me think, how about ten million Golden Camel Coins?"

Upon hearing the number ten million, Tail gasped and quickly whispered to Meat Meat beside her.

"Ten million... what does that even mean?"

Meat Meat whispered back.

"I don't know! But a cow here costs just three to four thousand..."

Tail was instantly shocked, her eyes sparkling.

"Oh my giao! Over a thousand cows! Meat Meat, let's become cowherds from now on!"

Meat Meat flatly refused.

"Not a chance! We are the White Bear Knights; herding cows would be so embarrassing! Plus, didn't you dream of becoming the head of the Mercenary Guild, Ah Wei? Have you forgotten your dream?"

Tail scratched the back of his head.

"Umm... It's a tough decision."

Sesame Paste, holding a kitten, shyly smiled.

"Haha..."

Haggling was Si Si's job, among everyone her language skills in United Human were the best, not only for basic communication but also for understanding some of the more obscure terms.

Although she couldn't match Crow and Teng Teng, who have been in the Game since the "ancient times", at least in terms of language capabilities she had reached level T1, quickly catching up to some big shot who was nearly married off to a cardboard cutout.

After some tough bargaining, the goods were finally sold for ten million Golden Camel Coins.

Although that guy looked like his wallet was wrung dry, Si Si always felt the downcast expression hid a mischievous smirk.

As for the other members of the White Bear Knights, they were now immersed in

Especially hearing that merchandise worth hundreds of thousands of silver coins was exchanged for Golden Camel Coins that could buy over three thousand cows, Tail and Meat Meat's eyes nearly turned the color of silver coins.

Taking the average price of five thousand silver coins per cow…

Fifteen million silver coins?!

Tail excitedly clenched his fists.

"Giao! Si! We struck it rich!"

Meat Meat also excitedly said.

"Oh oh oh! I'll ask the Manager to make me an exoskeleton just like Trash King's!"

"That's... unbelievable," Sesame Paste was utterly stunned, almost dropping the kitten in his arms.

Si Si looked at her friends and curved her lips.

"We didn't strike it rich, but we did make a little profit... By the way, Ah Wei, and Meat Meat, remember not to brag on the Forum."

Both Tail and Meat Meat nodded at the same time.

"Mmmhm!"

"Don't worry! I'll keep an eye on this Tail!"

Seeing how easily these two agreed, Si Si was somewhat concerned.

But honestly, the profit wasn't all that exaggerated; the hardest part about trading in the Wasteland wasn't the bargaining, but safely transporting the goods back.

Even if the over a thousand cows made it back to Frost Pike Ranch without a scratch, subtracting the expenses for fodder, fresh water, hiring help, natural thinning of the livestock, and market supply and demand changes. If they bought cows and transported them back, making half of fifteen million actual profit would be no easy feat.

Plus, considering the capacity limit of the ranch and the risks hidden within the transportation cycle, this method was hard to keep making stable money.

Those factories selling bricks, cement, steel, airplanes, tanks, and big artillery, albeit with a low ROE, faced nearly limitless demand from the Alliance.

These were the real money printing machines.

Many T0 and T1 players had stopped openly sharing their earnings on the Forum.

There was no direct evidence, but conservatively, Si Si estimated their assets were worth no less than a billion, perhaps even more.

They just didn't cash out the profits through dividends…

…

Both parties rented a warehouse, completed the delivery of the goods, and the counting of the coins.

Looking at the boxes of gold coins on the ground, the merchant dusted off his hands with a sense of accomplishment and, smiling at Si Si and her companions, said,

"Considering you've enabled me to make a good profit, I'll offer you a piece of advice. Whatever business you're here for, I advise you to quickly exchange your Golden Camel Coins for Dinar or other things of value."

Tail slightly tipped his head.

"Why?"

"Once the army arrives, this money will become worthless... Just look at the people in the refugee camps and slums; their pockets are stuffed with Golden Lion Coins and Gold Badger Coins, yet they can't even buy a loaf of bread. I've heard that in Silver Moon Bay, many wealthy merchants are exchanging Golden Camel Coins for Dinar or boats to go overseas."

Being on someone else's territory, the merchant did not make his point too directly but hinted enough and then stopped.

Within a week, the Honey Badger Kingdom had completely fallen, and the Lion Kingdom had lost half of its territory. These ancient kingdoms were no match for the Falcon Kingdom, which was supported by the army, in terms of equipment or military theory.

To him, the situation in Falling Leaves Province was as good as doomed.

Camel Hump Kingdom's ultimate fate would probably be similar to the Falcon's, bowing down to the army and circulating Dinar as the legal tender.

"Then...what about exchanging them for gold?" Sesame Paste asked softly.

"Gold..." The merchant shook his head, "I wouldn't recommend it."

Despite several regional forces in the Wasteland minting gold, gold itself wasn't considered very valuable, and this was due to many deep reasons. These included the large amounts of gold mined in space left over from the Prosperity Epoch, the total value of precious metals stored being far more than the gross social product, and the cultural forms of the Wasteland Era lacking anticipation for a better tomorrow and desire for a better life, among others...

The biggest difference between a chaotic world and the Wasteland was that people in chaos didn't doubt that it was only temporary and would end someday, while for those in the Wasteland, very few hoped that their fallen civilization could be revived.

Therefore, what was truly valuable in the Wasteland was never the precious metals but rather the even more expensive confidence.

Currencies lacking confidence would soon become worthless.

While other factors like military strength, productivity, technology, and culture that could provide additional value did determine the value of money, they were merely superficial.

The merchant turned his gaze back to Si Si; he felt she should understand the implication of his words, removed his hat as a farewell gesture,

"Thank you again, generous and beautiful lady, your cargo has put a perfect end to my journey east, and I sincerely advise you to leave this place of conflict before it's too late."

"Thank you for the advice; I'll pay attention," Si Si replied without giving any judgment on his words, waving goodbye to the merchant.

Old Buma finally couldn't hold back and cursed once the guest had left,

"Petra Fortress will never surrender to the army; we're not cowards like them!"

Tail enthusiastically said,

"Oh! Of course, as long as we build Petra Fortress, everything will get better!"

Even though Old Buma didn't quite understand what she said, he felt it was praise for his hometown, and his indignantly filled face suddenly beamed with joy.

Meat Meat couldn't help but make a snide remark,

"Ah Wei, you're playing the wrong game."

As Si Si watched the jolly figure disappearing around the corner, she glanced at the coin bearing a camel in her hand, then turned her gaze back to the crate behind her stuffed full of coins. After a moment of thought, she looked towards Old Buma,

"I'm considering opening a bank where people fleeing from the Lion Kingdom can exchange Golden Lion Coins for Golden Camel Coins... Is private banking permitted here?"

This was not a spur-of-the-moment idea.

It was just that the merchant's words had shown her a new business opportunity.

"Well... there's no rule against it," Old Buma, still grinning, suddenly became serious and advised, "Exchange these coins for Golden Lion Coins? What do you need Golden Lion Coins for?"

Si Si: "Is it not allowed?"

Old Buma said with an exasperated laugh.

"It's not about whether it's allowed or not... it's that the Lion Kingdom is about to fall apart, their currency will soon be worthless."

Although he emotionally believed that Petra Fortress would never fall, the neighboring Lion Kingdom was a different story.

Once the City of Abundance falls,
the downfall of the kingdom is just a matter of time.

Si Si nodded thoughtfully and then said,

"Then... let's set the exchange rate at 6:1."

Six Golden Lion Coins for one Golden Camel Coin.

Though not enough to ensure these unfortunate people could live as comfortably as in their homeland, it would at least prevent them from starving.

Upon hearing that rate, Old Buma wryly smiled.

Six to one...

Even if it was six hundred to one, it would only be exchanging for a pile of trash...

Tail tilted his head and looked at Si Si.

"But aren't we supposed to buy cows and take them back?" Si Si inquired.

"Well, that's true, but as long as we win this war and drive the army out of Falling Leaves Province, we'll be able to buy even more cows..." Si Si, her eyes sparkling with excitement, was halfway through her sentence when something suddenly occurred to her, and she stopped abruptly.

"Ah, right, why don't we distribute the profits first?"

"Share profits?" Meat Meat cocked her head, "Why here?"

Si Si pondered for a moment and then spoke calmly.

"Well... it's just as a precaution. After all, investment comes with risks, and I can't guarantee that my judgment will be absolutely correct."

Even the most carefully laid plans can face unexpected risks.

If successful, the rewards would be gratifying, but failure could mean not only losing money but also risking something even more valuable than money—our friendship.

These boxes full of Golden Camel Coins were almost everyone's total fortune saved up since the game began, including most of the earnings from the last dungeon.

If it turned into a loss.

That would be half a year of hard work down the drain.

She believed her companions were not the type to prioritize profit over everything else, and that was why she enjoyed being with them.

But she was ultimately realistic.

Realistic people find it hard to convince themselves to trust in the odds of human nature.

What's more, even if her companions could forgive her mistake, she would have a hard time forgiving herself for letting everyone's efforts go to waste.

She admitted to herself that she was not as brave as others might think she was.

She was not afraid of many things.

But if there was one thing she truly feared, it was taking the blame...

"If that nuclear bomb really blows up the riverbank, we might still lose money even if we win. If you're worried about losing the principal—"

"Don't say things that make you seem like an outsider."

Suddenly, she felt a warm sensation enveloping her shoulders.

Si Si, who a second ago had been analyzing the situation calmly, suddenly felt her cheeks flush with an unexpected red, and she found herself at a loss for words.

Sesame Paste, who was behind her, had embraced her shoulders and was shaking her cat ears as she leaned in close to Si Si's face with a cheerful voice.

"I actually know that, Si Si. You always think things through and you're super dependable when it comes to analyzing problems. Although I'm just an ordinary citizen and a school teacher in real life, and my gaming skills are average, not as great as you guys, we are partners... Please trust us a bit more!"

"If you have any plans just let us know, don't carry such a heavy psychological burden, just go for it with confidence!"

"That's right!" Meat Meat, whose eyes had been shining from the start, raised her paw excitedly and said, "I may not understand much, but it sounds so impressive!"

She wasn't one of the strong high-level players either; in games, she instinctively chose support roles, preferred to hide behind the ADC even after beefing up, and although timid, she got more addicted when losing, even resorting to criticizing teammates in public because it was better than failing people she knew.

She still didn't understand why the operators chose her, let alone how she had gotten lucky enough to draw a "Variant character with exceptional initial attributes."

However, that wasn't the luckiest thing to her.

In her eyes, the luckiest thing was meeting a group of friends who never ridiculed her clumsiness and were willing to grow together with her.

Even when things like "the MT getting scared and fleeing causing the squad to lose its front line" happened, her friends wouldn't criticize her for being bad, but rather patiently encourage her and help her adjust her equipment and explore new tactics…

She was so grateful to have met them.

Tail, equally enthusiastic, raised her hand.

"Wow! If no one objects, and Tail agrees too! But we have to set aside some funds for treasure hunting, right? We've agreed to go on an expedition to the ruins, so let's not spend all our living expenses!"

Meat Meat gave her a side glance and retorted.

"No one else would ever do that, okay?"

"Giao!!"

Tail showed an expression of being deeply struck, but it was obviously just a playful jest among friends.

Seeing her supportive friends, Si Si's eyes moistened with gratitude, and the excuses that had risen to her lips finally condensed into two words.

"Thank you…"

"I've told you, there's no need to be so formal."

Releasing Si Si's shoulders, Sesame Paste picked up the cat that had been placed on the ground, and said with an embarrassed smile.

"Speaking of which, do we have a plan for the ruins in Lost Valley?"

Back to wearing a confident smile, Si Si replied seriously.

"I was just about to talk about that."

Chapter 436: Caliber is Justice!

North of the Dawn City airport.

A large transport plane, trailing a blue tail of flames, slowly landed on the spacious runway.

A crowd of players stood at the edge of the airport, watching enviously, discussing when the Alliance might also secure one of these contraptions.

Spotting the mole climbing out of the hatch, a mosquito that just happened to be nearby curiously approached and asked,

"Where's Fang Chang, that guy? How come he didn't come back with you?"

The mole shook his head, smiling as he spoke.

"Not yet, that guy has been missing ever since he got to Ideal City. No clue where he's gone off to have a blast."

Hearing this, the mosquito instantly found it amusing and began to smirk maliciously as he made things up.

"Got it! He's bound to have partied so hard at the nightclub that he's gone off the grid!"

Soul Chaser laughed, "That guy, is he really doing justice to his delicate wife at home!"

Kill God exclaimed, "Horrible!!"

Discourage chimed in, "Spread the word! Fang Chang has gone off the grid partying!"

Amidst the banter of these restless fellows, the mole chuckled to himself, thinking you guys just keep spreading it, the crazier the better.

That way, I'd feel a bit more at ease in my heart.

But his secret amusement lasted less than two seconds before the tight-knit brothers of the Skeleton Corps surrounded him.

The brothers were anything but polite, not even offering a perfunctory greeting before bombarding him with urgent questions as soon as they saw him.

"Dude, what about the Game?"

"Has it launched?"

"How many sales so far?"

"Why didn't you bring a Game console back to check it out!"

The mole's expression became slightly awkward. Rubbing the back of his head bashfully, he chuckled and said,

"Just released, just released... how could there be any sales last night right after it was put on shelves?"

As for the game console, that was even more of a pipe dream.

The thing required Endpoint Cloud to provide information services.

Though he heard that the shelter's server was also a quantum computer, the Manager probably wouldn't use precious computing power and nuclear energy to let them play games.

Elena, wearing a look of joking amusement, said to the mole,

"Remember what we said, if it flops, you're selling your ass to pay us back."

"A hundred grand, bro!" Gnome King Riches too wore a grin from ear to ear, smacking him on the shoulder. "Don't forget, that's over a hundred grand!"

Beads of sweat the size of beans broke out on the mole's forehead as he forced a grin, "Don't worry, don't worry. When have I ever let you guys down? This project is dead solid, definitely reliable! Steady as a rock!"

Despite his reassurances, he was ranting internally.

You damn dogs!

I'm leading you to fortune, milking the neighbors for all they've got, and you're just eyeing that measly seed money!

Can't you see the bigger picture?

If their Game blows up in Ideal City, the brothers of the Skeleton Corps will instantly become the wealthiest tycoons in the entire Alliance!

Everything will turn out fine!

But these guys, who loved big scenes, obviously weren't just interested in the money.

They mainly wanted to see if, after losing the bet, this old chap would really go and sell his ass.

The veteran Backseat Driver [Professor Yang, King of Thunder and Lightning] had already set up a bet on the forum, staking a whole Silver Coin on the claim that his Game definitely wouldn't catch fire.

The reason was quite simple.

Set in a universe where, even without counting the Prosperity Epoch, people had enjoyed over two hundred years of the "internet", surfing the web far longer than anyone on Earth could imagine!

Ever heard of flying pigs?

The reason they don't have those kinds of games is not because they can't make them, but because the market has chosen otherwise!

The Proud Brothers also bet half a silver coin of New Year's money, but they weren't as scheming; mainly, they just weren't short of cash.

To speak candidly and logically, although the Game is virtual, the virtual also needs to make sense. As long as it doesn't fit his logic, it simply couldn't be possible, and even if it were possible, it would still defy logic!

A perfect loop of logic—no problem, mate!

Everyone was jesting around.

At that moment, an azure power armor, carrying a huge nitrogen-powered hammer and a Gauss rifle, came walking toward the crowd.

Out of respect (and favor) for that dignitary, everyone promptly held back their wild talk.

Especially the Mole, who seemed to find a savior upon seeing the Manager.

He quickly seized the chance to escape his buddies' harassment, stood up straight with a loyal look, and pounded his right fist on his chest.

"Respected Manager, may I ask why you have summoned your most loyal warrior? Do you have any orders?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

He didn't answer directly but simply gestured with his hand.

"Come with me."

Saying that, he turned around and walked towards the direction outside the airport.

Watching his broad back, the Mole was slightly startled, then filled with excitement, quickly following behind the camp boss towards the military camp.

Not speaking in public.

This must be some major action!

While the Mole was walking towards the military camp, basking in the envy and jealous glances of everyone, a pale-faced lady staggered out of the airplane cabin door.

The moment her feet touched the ground, she couldn't help but retch.

In theory, the Tiger Whale transport aircraft uses "hair dryers", flying much steadier than oil-blowers by who knows how many times.

But due to individual differences in constitution, some people just aren't suited for these types of transportation.

Like Li Shuyue, for instance.

She didn't understand why this was happening to her; it was the first time she'd left Ideal City, and her very first trip was to such a distant place.

She felt completely fine when riding in maglev cars and elevators, but she started getting motion sickness not long after leaving Ideal City.

Li Changkong was surprised to see the woman getting off the plane and quickly approached to offer his assistance.

"General Lee? What brings you here?"

Although the Ruyue Group is just a subsidiary of the Ideal Group, no one dared to underestimate this CEO.

As the construction department manager of the Ideal Group, Li Changkong had a fairly good grasp of the family situations of the major shareholders within the group.

For example, Li Shuyue's father was one of the major shareholders of the Ideal Group.

The fact that Ruyue Group had achieved a market value of billions was partly due to the CEO's own capabilities, but securing financing and orders from the Ideal Group played no small role due to her background.

Such circumstances were not uncommon in Ideal City.

Because of the centralized management that began in financial sectors, there was no central bank in that place, nor were there banks serving a central bank.

The wealth management and venture capital departments of various groups performed part of the banks' roles, and startup companies looking to raise funds either had to borrow money from other companies or launch crowdfunding projects on Endpoint Cloud, or they had to gain venture capital from other companies or potential clients through pitching.

The reason behind this phenomenon went back to the nature of Credit Points as a currency.

"...So this is City of Dawn?" Li Shuyue looked around at the barren land and the monotonously spaced hangars in the distance, looking somewhat disappointed.

It felt like a very ordinary survivor settlement.

Even the slightly larger survivor city-states in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng may not be comparable.

Before she investigated the relevant information on Endpoint Cloud, she still harbored some expectations.

Especially those scholars and experts from Ideal City, who blew their own horns without a hint of embarrassment, almost extolling the Alliance to be the hope of human civilization, a rare successful sociological experimental field, brethren of a different route connected by blood, a paradise for idealists...

In short, everyone who had been there praised it, and so did those who had not.

But when she actually saw it...

This is it?

Just a personal opinion,
she might have found the Alliance a bit too green, and her first impression was somewhat disappointing—she even started to worry about the investment.

"Yes, this is the airport north of the City of Dawn. Just walk a bit south, and you'll enter the urban area. There's a road over a hundred kilometers long that we built!"

Li Changkong excitedly shared about the work he achieved over the past month.

Li Shuyue, still dizzy from the flight, nodded, but her expression clearly showed little interest.

Right now, she just wanted to find a place to handle her personal hygiene issues.

"Is there... a washroom area here?" Her expression was slightly awkward, having written what she wanted to say all over her face.

"Washroom area?"

Li Changkong was taken aback for a moment, then awkwardly chuckled as if he had realized something, "There is a public restroom... but you might not be used to it."

Li Shuyue was baffled, unable to comprehend what there was to get used to—there had to be separate washrooms and sinks, right?

Seeing her bewildered expression, Li Changkong awkwardly continued.

"Uh... they're still at the very initial stages of development, so the conditions here are a bit on the primitive side. You lack experience with business travel, so selecting such a challenging location from the get-go... I didn't really recommend it. I'd suggest it would be better if you came prepared another time."

Li Shuyue looked back at the plane, and just by seeing that thing for an instant, she felt her legs go weak subconsciously.

It wouldn't be impossible to go back by plane now.

But—

Her stubbornness kicked in.

Having come all this way, she couldn't go back empty-handed.

She clenched her jaw, turned back with a cold face, and narrowed her crescent-like eyes.

"Are you underestimating me?"

Li Changkong replied with a helpless smile.

"How could I?"

Li Shuyue spoke indifferently.

"Please arrange a hotel room for me... the best hotel here."

"Alright!" He quickly nodded, and Li Changkong thought that building a tall building was now impossible, so he bravely added, "I'll contact them for you right away!"

Naturally, the most famous hotel in the Alliance was the Roadside Inn.

However, it wasn't famous for comfort, but for its liveliness.

Since traveling merchants often stayed here, the inn's news was usually the most up-to-date; sometimes, even the Manager would get updates from the bartenders before anyone else.

Just standing at the entrance,

Li Changkong looked at the bustling hotel lobby and felt embarrassed once more, quickly suggesting.

"Maybe... I could apply for your mother company to dispatch you with envoy credentials, and you could stay at the embassy with that status. The houses there are made of cement shipped from Ideal City."

Li Shuyue shook her head and stepped over the threshold with her luggage in tow.

"That wouldn't be following regulations. I'll stay here."

Li Changkong's expression turned subtly complex.

If we're talking about compliance issues...

It would be more appropriate to discuss how you came here.

But on second thought, neither the Group nor the Advisory Council had any explicit regulations forbidding "uninvolved parties" from leveraging relief flights for business reasons.

Noticing the situation at the inn's entrance,

Lisa, dressed as a Servant, stepped forward, looking at the smartly dressed lady in front of her and cautiously asked.

"Good day, ma'am, are you here... looking for someone?"

Although she was carrying luggage, Lisa still subconsciously felt that this wasn't the kind of guest who would stay here.

"I'm here to stay at the inn," Li Shuyue glanced at the old man behind the bar and then at Li Changkong beside her, frowning, "Why are you still employing child labor here?"

"I'm of age." Lisa quickly explained.

Li Changkong hastily added, "I can assure you, the Alliance's laws and enforcement are definitely the benchmark for the entire River Valley Province!"

Li Shuyue scrutinized Lisa skeptically but didn't make things difficult for the young girl, and spoke in a soft voice.

"Could you find me a quiet room?"

Lisa obediently nodded her head.

"Yes! Please give me your luggage."

Li Shuyue shook her head.

"No need, I can carry it myself."

...

Not far from the airport, at the barracks.

Following behind Chu Guang, Mole wondered all the way what treasure the Manager was bringing him to see.

Finally arriving at his destination, a very large warehouse appeared before him.

Stopping at the warehouse door, Chu Guang nodded to the on-duty guard.

The metal door quickly opened.

A dark silhouette soon caught Mole's attention, bringing an excited and eager expression to his face in an instant.

It was a tank.

The towering body and thick front armor perfectly embodied the phrase "bigger is better."

Especially the barrel so wide it could stuff half a face inside, coupled with the 10mm coaxial machine gun alongside the barrel, which was a blend of mechanical and violent aesthetics.

This was not BMP with five pairs of road wheels and a big car carrying a small cannon!

But a tank in the truest sense!

Except for the barrel, which was perhaps a bit absurdly large,
from one extreme to another.

Gazing at the iron monster before him, Chu Guang's face showed the smile of a proud father.

"Tank Number Two, produced by Factory No.81, we widened the body based on Tank Number One. Chang Ge Group's construction engineers helped us improve the turret, Silver Wing Group helped us improve the power system and transmission, and the cannon used is a 155mm smoothbore—"

"155!?" Mole's eyes bulged, taking in a breath of air tinged with the scent of motor oil.

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, don't you think bigger calibers are always better?"

"Great! Simply too great!"

Mole nodded excitedly, almost pecking like a chicken, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

He couldn't agree more with this statement!

Sure enough, only the Manager had grand visions, grand strategies, grand wisdom, grand foresight...

He far surpassed his "fair-weather friends!"

Chu Guang smiled amicably and, looking towards the tanks in the factory, continued to speak.

"Currently, we have produced 30 Type 2 tanks, just unloaded at the train station. In addition, there are 5 Type B tanks, which use the No. 60 electromagnetic cannon imported from Ideal City."

"Although the First Army Corps of the Alliance also needs armored units, considering your outstanding performance in the last battle, I plan to prioritize equipping you!"

As for the armor thickness, durability, auxiliary accessories, and such, Chu Guang didn't mention a word.

Such things were superfluous for the tanks of the Alliance.

AI fire control?

Auxiliary optics?

Additional capacitors?

What use was there for those trinkets!

The loyal "genetic prototypes" were the best black technology, the singularity-level technology "Morphogenesis Field" was unrivaled in the world!

Where would he get these 30 tanks without fully tapping into the potential of carbon-based life forms?

The entire Alliance had a population of just over a hundred thousand, with less than a third in industrial employment, and military spending was already soaring towards heaven as a percentage of total output.

Thirty tanks a month.

That was the industrial output after Little Beard brought Czechoslovakia under control.

And the Alliance's fusion reactor had been ignited for less than two months, and industrial subsidy policies and quantitative easing measures were even less than a year old.

To equip more players with reliable gear while also considering the development of the Alliance, Chu Guang felt he had done his best.

However, Mole obviously didn't care about things like armor thickness either, his interest was completely captured by the electromagnetic cannon.

This device was known to be used for coastal defense and naval cannons in reality, but he had never heard of it being mounted on tanks.

After the Manager finished speaking, he eagerly inquired about the question he cared about most.

"What does the number 60 mean?"

Caliber?

Wouldn't 60 millimeters be a bit small?

Seeing his ignorant expression, Chu Guang knew what he was thinking and said with a faint smile,

"60 refers to a muzzle energy of 60 mega joules!"

60 mega joules!

Upon hearing this number, Mole was instantly shocked.

If he remembered correctly, the muzzle energy of the old Mi's Mk45 type 127mm naval cannon was only 10 mega joules...

60 mega joules!

Six times the muzzle energy of a naval cannon?!

Was this thing meant to reach the skies?!

Seeing the young player so shocked he was at a loss for words, Chu Guang continued,

"...The Alliance Army Command's role for the Type B is as a tank destroyer."

"Due to the high cost, we've only produced 5 units, mainly to counter the high-strength spaced armor of the Conqueror No. 10 tanks, and also for the number 11 tanks that have surfaced in the intelligence. To prevent it from being penetrated by 100mm cannons, we've reinforced the front armor and the gun tower, though this will slightly reduce its mobility."

Using the wreckage of captured tanks for testing, the No. 60 railgun could not only penetrate the armor but also shoot right through the armor's weak points.

There would certainly be differences in actual combat performance, but he believed in both the technology of the allies and the combat will of the players, they would not disappoint him!

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Mole turned to Chu Guang, swearing his loyalty with a solemn expression.

"Respected Manager, I am ready to go to war. You just need to tell me where the enemies of the Alliance are, and I will immediately take them down completely!"

Not bad.

Looking spirited!

Chu Guang nodded approvingly and said with a smile.

"Don't be anxious, the Alliance Army Command will soon assign a mission to you."

Saying this, he put away his smile, took out the holographic computer pen given to him by Pai, and lightly pressed it, projecting the map of the Luo Xia Province in mid-air.

A red circle was marked in the south of Luo Xia Province, 150 kilometers away from the Zobar Mountain Range's Twin Peaks.

A red arrow stretched across a distance of 900 kilometers, pointing from the City of Dawn towards that location.

"... The Army Corps is stationed on the east side of Oasis No. 4 in the south of Luo Xia Province, with a scale of at least ten thousand troops, and they are suspected of building an airfield. Once they succeed, our homeland will be included within the strategic bombing range of the Army."

"In addition, according to reliable intelligence, a nuclear bomb with a yield of one million tons is being sent from the west into Luo Xia Province, and we assess that this nuclear bomb is very likely to be delivered to that airfield."

Watching the increasingly solemn Mole, Chu Guang paused for a moment before continuing.

"You only have five days to prepare, within which you need to learn the operation of the equipment and the maintenance of devices under the guidance of technicians."

"From the City of Dawn to the Lost Valley is nearly 900 kilometers, with almost 700 kilometers of off-road sections. You have only one task."

"Strict confidentiality, careful caution, and fast advancement. You must destroy the defense lines of the local stationed troops with a lightning-fast attack—"

"Stop them at all costs!"

"Capture the airfield!"

...

While the Alliance was secretly planning their second military action, a sensational event occurred in Petra Fortress, nearly a thousand kilometers away.

A business group from the River Valley Province, called the White Bear Knights, rented a warehouse and established the "White Bear Knights Bank."

The bank manager was a talking white bear.

Her kind nature made her unable to bear the hardship of the slums.

Therefore, she and her companions decided to aid those refugees who had fled from the North, exchanging their worthless scrap—the Golden Lion Coins—for Golden Camel Coins.

As soon as news spread that someone was willing to accept Golden Lion Coins, the slums outside the city were in an uproar.

Most of them were refugees from Oasis No. 9, and the money in their pockets was worthless here.

Nearly all the refugees flocked there, afraid they would miss out if they were late.

In addition to the refugees, some locals also came running.

However, they weren't here to exchange money but to see the spectacle.

Unusual happenings were not scarce in the Wasteland.

But a talking bear, many people were seeing one for the first time.

"How does a bear have so much money?"

"Who knows!"

"But what's the point of exchanging for Golden Lion Coins? Didn't they turn into scrap metal?"

"Maybe their kindness overflowed with nowhere else to go."

Several merchants in long robes watched from the side, their faces filled with mockery.

Not exchanging their Golden Camel Coins for Dinars was one thing, but to actually exchange for Golden Lion Coins.

Did they want their money to depreciate even faster?

On the other side, inside the bank's entrance, a crowd of ragged poor people waved their money bags, the clanking of coins almost drowning out the shouts.

Old Buma stood in front of the counter with a headache, frantically keeping accounts and helping these poor souls exchange their worthless currency for Golden Camels that could buy bread.

Although the bank manager was a bear, it was not practical to let a bear keep accounts; this kind of physical labor, working as a "counter manager," still had to be done by him.

"Please, sir, be kind and let me exchange a little more," a disheveled man finally squeezed to the front, placing a bag of money on the counter with a thud.

Even in his wretched attire, the bag of money he held was not pitiful at all.

The several people following behind him must be servants, each also holding a bag of money.

"Not acceptable, our boss has set a rule, each person can only exchange for 200 Golden Camel Coins."

Old Buma shook his head, to let the helper beside him count out Golden Camel Coins with a face value of 1200 to take away.

He wanted the coins, not paper promissory notes.

After checking, he took out a money bag that had shrunk to one-sixth of its size and placed it beside that bulky bag of money, continuing to speak to the disheveled man.

"You must swear to the Spirit of the Sand Sea that you won't come back and queue here today."

The old man, clutching the money bag tightly, reluctantly raised his hand and took the oath of faith, but inside he sneered, "The old man will come back tomorrow."

The four servants behind him also stepped forward one by one to help their master exchange for money.

A few burly mercenaries, arms crossed, stood guarding the bank's entrance, observing the departing group before shifting their gaze to continue the work of bank security.

As for whether that person would take a detour and come back, that wasn't their concern.

Their employer had explained that counting on rules to be 100% enforced was impossible; what they needed to do wasn't to completely eliminate the practice of re-queuing but to raise the bar for breaking the rules, thereby ensuring more people could get the money they needed to survive.

In the Camel Hump Kingdom, food was cheap; 200 Golden Camel Coins, if used sparingly, would last for quite a while.

For the first three days of the bank's business, the exchange rate was six to one, but it would increase to ten to one after three days, and the limit on individuals' exchanges would no longer apply, allowing nobles with a lot of money to exchange large amounts of money at once.

The reason for doing this was not entirely out of generosity.

It was more a matter of safety.

Making money is not considered smart, but making money and getting away with it is…

Observing the surging crowd outside the bank, Meat Meat felt his social anxiety acting up again and timidly turned to Tail, whispering,

"So, so many people... shall we go out and watch?"

"Oh! No worries, Meat Meat, Tail will stay with you!" Tail patted Meat Meat's broad shoulder and gave a thumbs-up with a smile, "Just hang in there a bit longer, we'll switch shifts with Si Si and others soon! Think of it as a courage exercise!"

Meat Meat nodded and mustered up the courage to keep going.

The bank, named the White Bear Knights, bustled from dawn till dusk before closing.

After locking the bank's door, Old Buma approached Si Si with a ledger, saying respectfully,

"Today, we have dispensed a total of 2.1 million Golden Camel Coins and collected 12.6 million Golden Lion Coins in return."

"Not bad, not bad at all," Si Si's face broke into a pleased smile.

It seemed the people who had fled from No.4 Oasis to here were exceptionally wealthy, having spent 2 million Golden Camel Coins despite the purchase limit.

After three days, she suspected people would rush over with carts to exchange money with her.

This could be more profitable than trading cattle!

She recalled that the Holy Knights Order started out this way; the little money made from combat was insufficient to cover losses, but they made a fortune through loans and bank drafts.

However, the White Bear Knights had not yet ventured into high-interest loans.

Si Si pondered if it might be a good idea to start offering such services after the conflicts ended and reconstruction began at No.4 Oasis.

To lend the money exchanged today back to those who had come to exchange it.

That would be taking from the people, and using it for the people.

"We should hire a few more mercenaries," Si Si rubbed her chin, speaking earnestly, "our business might catch someone's greedy eye."

When Old Buma heard this, he couldn't help but feel both amused and dismayed, thinking who would covet such scrap metal.

The rumor spreading through the city said that the foolish big spenders from River Valley Province had too much money to squander and had exchanged their hard-earned merchant money for a heap of junk, possibly losing their pants on the way back.

Clearing his throat softly, Old Buma replied respectfully,

"Sir, hiring these mercenaries should be enough. If you're truly worried, we can give the city defense captain a bribe to set up a patrol post near us... Those guards loyal to the city lord are more effective than any number of hires, and they won't cost too much."

Patrolling was their job.

As for where the patrol should be, that was a matter of adaptive jurisdiction.

The refugees from other places were most afraid of causing trouble, especially triggering the attention of the local guards. As long as the patrol team passed by from time to time, even the toughest troublemakers would behave themselves.

Si Si's face showed a smile.

"That's a good idea, thanks."

"You're welcome... You saved my life and returned the property that was taken from the bandits. Doing these things for you is what I ought to do." Old Buma spoke respectfully.

A hunch told him that the young lady in front of him was capable of achieving great things.

After all, at his age, he was not quite fit for being a merchant anymore; he might as well seek employment at the bank.

After arranging tomorrow's work, Si Si found the leader of the mercenaries who was on guard at the door.

The muscular strong man was folding his arms, discussing with a few brothers beside him where to go drinking in a while.

When the sun set, it would be their knock-off time, and the lively crowd would move from the market to the commercial street, where there was endless fun to find.

"Interested in working an extra shift?"

Hearing the boss's voice, the mercenary leader whistled.

"Your order, miss, serving a beauty is my honor."

The mercenaries standing by his side also joined in teasingly.

"As long as you're willing to pay, I can do anything."

"I can give massages!"

"I can crack backs!"

Si Si smiled faintly.

"Have you heard about the Army stationed in Lost Valley?"

The group of mercenaries looked at each other in confusion, not understanding why their employer was bringing this up.

The mercenary leader stroked his stubble and recalled for a moment before saying,

"These past two days... there seem to be similar rumors in the taverns, and some are pretty wild, saying there's an Army of ten thousand stationed there, shooting at anyone who gets close, still unclear about what they're up to."

"That's not enough," Si Si tossed him a bulging purse, "The people here lack imagination; the rumors should be more outrageous. For example, stationed there are the elites who first broke into Oasis No.9, they're setting up a frontier camp, awaiting the arrival of the main force..."

Looking at the surprised face of the mercenary leader, she pointed to the purse in his hand.

"Here are 1000 Golden Camel Coins. I hope that by this time tomorrow, everyone in Petra Fortress is discussing when the Army plans to attack the city, debating how those big-nosed ones treat their captives..."

"I hope that no matter where I go, I can see the confusion and fear on people's faces."

Lost Valley was quite vast, spanning a radius of a full 10 kilometers; from the west, one couldn't see to the east.

Yet even so, considering the intensity of the Army's patrols, getting close was still extremely difficult.

And once discovered, the chance of escape would likely be non-existent.

Therefore, if one wished to conquer that relic site, relying on brute force was hopeless; stocking up on more equipment and ammunition was pointless.

She needed someone to distract the Army.

Or at least to capture the Army's attention.

Only then could they create an opportunity to sneak into the valley.

The mercenary leader looked at his employer with surprise, not understanding what she was up to, especially not expecting that the pretty girl would have such a cunning plan in store.

But upon seeing that purse, he didn't ask any further questions, chuckled, and stuffed the purse into his pocket, even going so far as to imitate those generous nobles, awkwardly bowing his body deeply.

"Serving you is my privilege!"

He was just planning to go to the tavern for a drink, and this job was simply too easy.

Just by arranging for a few of the most eager brothers to dive into the crowd and start yelling, in a matter of minutes, they could attract all those curious spectators.

From one to ten, ten to a hundred...

As long as such idle folks were determined to add fuel to the fire, soon the entire Petra Fortress's residents would know that the Army had arrived.

Chapter 437 That is the Will of God

"F*ck my life... finally got the hell out of there!"

Panting heavily, the construction kid wiped the sand and sweat from his face with a brick, gazing at the mountains ahead, unable to suppress the joy that surged onto his brows.

It wasn't just him.

A whole bunch of Strength Type players from the Death Legion couldn't help but cheer when they saw the edge of the desert.

They had been pedaling a tricycle so hard, it almost felt like an upgrade, but at last, they saw the mountains of River Valley Province.

If it weren't for the experience points and hard-earned equipment, they would have already used the "last hit TP" trick to teleport back to city!

Kakarot couldn't help but complain.

"Damn, only Mole Old Brother gets to live the life, coming back from a vacation in Ideal City and landing a big job right away."

Debt Giant Eye, sitting on the tricycle, nodded in deep agreement.

"But that's 900 kilometers away... How's he planning to get there?"

The construction kid piped up sarcastically.

"Who knows? Since when do we pedaling a tricycle worry about someone else driving a car?"

Hearing the snide comments from the teammates, Edge Shoveling gave an embarrassed smile and patted the shoulder of his mount.

"Heh heh... sorry, bro, for putting you through this."

The construction kid rolled his eyes.

"As long as you know you owe me, that's good enough!"

Cussing out the leader was just par for the course.

Most people weren't that petty; the conditions when the servers first opened were way worse than now.

At least now there were tricycles.

Back then, even bicycles were treasured like pandas, and most players, even those at T0 and T1, had to rely on their legs to travel the map most of the time.

No matter what, they had indeed made it through the Army's encirclement and completed this miraculous thousand-mile rush and relocation.

All faces were brimming with joyful smiles.

Even the captured Piman and Antonite.

Being tied up like sticky rice dumplings on the tricycle, they were almost baked dry by the sun.

No matter what these people planned to do with them, the torture of wind and sun exposure was finally over.

"This game's map is just so freakin' huge..." Debt Giant Eye raised his binoculars, looked north, but still couldn't see the edge of the map, as if such a concept didn't exist in the game.

This was probably the first time Alliance players had set foot in the northern boundaries of River Valley Province.

Though it was a plain area here as well, the plains on this side were completely different from those in the south.

Here, there were no green forests or grasslands stretching over the hills, but rather, bare yellow earth and seabuckthorn grass swaying at the edge of the Gobi.

There was a forest in the distance, but the tall pines were completely barren, without a single leaf on their branches, signaling the wholesale dying off of vegetation.

It seemed like Tianshui separated the entire province into two different worlds.

If the area around Qingquan City was modulated with a gray-green palette, then this place seemed like it was doused with a bucket of shit-yellow paint.

And that wasn't all.

The Variants wandering nearby were even uglier; the mutated hunting dogs with thick fur in the south were reduced to a few sparse tufts of hair on their foreheads here.

However, the Variants here were noticeably more robust; not only were their bone structures larger, but their twisted muscles had even bulged onto their faces.

But it was probably for this very reason that the contorted muscles were compressing their eyeballs, resulting in poor eyesight, which led them to trouble they shouldn't have stirred.

Over thirty mutated hunting dogs swarmed around, baring their teeth with vicious growls.

Sitting casually behind the construction worker, Edge Shoveling was unfazed, supporting the machine gun and sweeping it across in a burst, instantly killing half of the mutated hunting dogs that charged.

The other half was easily taken care of by a few players who got out of the car, using engineer shovels and bayonets without dragging their feet.

"The intensity is slightly higher than the mutated hyenas and Eaters... should be around level five or six."

Edge Shoveling shook the blood off his shovel and suddenly noticed more commotion in the distance, giving a teammate beside him a look and putting down his shovel to pick up the rifle hanging in front of his chest again.

The four of them cautiously approached only to see a humanoid monster crouched with its back to them, its hands covered in muck fervently digging in the ground.

Its body was lean and its flesh was a sickly gray-white, with skin covered in pus and sores, like a body that had rotted in a lake, as if searching for something in the soil.

Finally, it seemed to have found something, excitedly pulling something out of the ground and stuffing it into its mouth, voraciously feasting with crunching sounds.

Edge Shoveling and the young construction worker exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of what that thing was.

Noticing the movement behind it, the creature stopped what it was doing and glanced back at the four of them warily before retreating sideways and then scurrying into the nearby forest on all fours.

Debt Giant Eye shouldered his rifle, aiming at its back, but ultimately did not waste the bullet, lowering the barrel.

"…What is that thing?"

"I'm more curious about what it was eating..."

The young construction worker and Brick approached out of curiosity, only to quickly see half a brain buried in the ground.

His face turned pale and he gagged, cutting off his sentence.

"It's navy blue... military uniform," said Edge Shoveling, who had gone up to look earlier, scraping the ground with his engineer shovel a couple of times, his brows furrowed slightly, "It's someone from the Army."

And it was likely the Centurion!

In an instant, Edge Shoveling seemed to understand something, glancing around at the pockmarked, muddy wilderness.

This place must have been a Battlefield before!

The expeditionary force of the Army had clashed here with the forces of the Grand Canyon.

And the undulating and pitted terrain of the plain could very well have been plowed by artillery fire…

Although curious about that never-before-seen Variant, no players pursued it.

That leafless forest always seemed unnerving, and who knows what oddities were hidden within.

They still had a mission to carry on with, and it was best not to create additional complications.

The group continued on, soon coming upon a fairly large Survivor Settlement.

The sight of human habitation brought joyful expressions to the players' faces.

Their supplies were nearly exhausted on this journey, and they could finally replenish them.

Signaling the main force to wait at a distance, Edge Shoveling advanced with a few familiar teammates, stopping a Scavenger to ask.

"What is this place?"

The Scavenger glanced at his exoskeleton and then at his rifle, saying warily,

"There's no name here, we all call it the Recycling Station."

"Recycling Station?" Debt Giant Eye interjected curiously.

"Yes, see that plain out there?" The man pointed to the vast stretch of mucky ground in the distance, "That's where the Army's expeditionary force dug trenches. Later, they were defeated and fled in disarray... dead left dead, runaways ran... leaving all their equipment there."

Edge Shoveling looked in the direction he pointed, and could vaguely see two trenches interrupted by shell craters.

"Are you here to scavenge?"

"That's right," the man glanced at the camp behind him and said with an ambiguous voice, "Everyone's here to pick up garbage. Some collect garbage, some buy garbage, some sell shovels... Although the Army hasn't done anything good, their bodies have provided for quite a few."

Edge Shoveling nodded.

It seemed this wasn't a permanent camp but a "nomadic group" formed by Scavengers.

Perhaps once the nearby trash was dug up, the Scavengers would gradually move away, and the camp would relocate elsewhere.

As for who was buying this trash, there was no need to think about it. It was undoubtedly the people from Bugra Free State.

"Can we resupply here?"

"Why not? Just go to the merchant stalls in the camp, they'll sell you anything, as long as you're willing to pay. But... it's better not to make trouble unless you want to make enemies of everyone here."

The Scavenger hinted subtly and didn't waste more time here. Picking up his sack, he entered the muddy land.

Debt Giant Eye looked at Edge Shoveling.

"What do you say?"

Edge Shoveling pondered for a moment and quickly made a judgment.

"Replenish supplies, then hit the road."

"Why don't we just camp here?" the construction worker asked curiously.

"The captive's identity is special, and everyone here does business with Bugra Free State. You can't be sure that there are no spies among them."

Edge Shoveling glanced at the back of the Scavenger and gestured with his chin.

"Let's go."

"After we've resupplied, we need to get moving quickly."

...

They changed out of their Exoskeletons.

Edge Shoveling, along with Big Eyes and the construction worker, entered the camp known as the recycling station.

Though it looked shabby from the outside, the camp was bustling with activity inside.

Traders leading Double-headed Cows set up stalls on both sides of the road, selling not only junk like bottles and cans but also some unusual high-tech items.

This included security Robots with welded pipe rifles and biomimetic laborers modified with scavenged junk and smart cores.

There were even people selling power armor.

However, Edge Shoveling realized upon closer inspection that the thing, besides having a nearly drained fuel rod protruding from its chest, had nothing in common with power armor.

The construction youth and the brick-layers curiously leaned in to check the price tag and saw it was actually 600,000 Cr. Their eyes bulged.

"Holy shit! That's a rip-off!"

If memory served, the current exchange rate between Cr and Silver coins was 1:3, which meant 1.8 million Silver coins!

The merchant selling the item glanced at him, saw his unworldly, poor look, and didn't bother to engage him.

"We're not here to buy equipment." Edge Shoveling patted the construction worker's shoulder and pulled him back.

Most equipment here was DIY'd by Scavengers, and the likelihood of malfunctions was heartbreakingly high.

He had no interest in haggling.

"By the way, how much did Old White pay for that power armor?" Debt Giant Eye suddenly asked.

Edge Shoveling thought for a moment and answered,

"I remember... it was 1 million Silver coins, wasn't it?"

Hearing it was only 1 million Silver coins, all the players immediately sighed with emotion.

Sure enough, the Manager was more conscientious.

These Waste Land Wanderers were indeed cunning!

After browsing the market, they finally found a merchant selling food.

The old merchant was not young, about forty years old, and he seemed to be from Sunset Province based on his appearance. People from there, regardless of their skin color, all had deep-set eyes.

To the players' surprise, this merchant actually accepted Silver coins!

According to the old man, his next trip was going to the South, so he was willing to take both Dinars and Silver coins.

"4000 kilos of dry bread, 300 kilos of beef jerky... Let me calculate, um, that'll be ten thousand Silver coins."

Upon hearing the old man's price, Big Eyes couldn't help but complain,

"Damn! That's expensive!"

The construction worker also swallowed hard.

"Ten thousand Silver coins... That's enough to buy a set of Light Cavalry Exoskeletons."

Edge Shoveling didn't seem to mind and smiled,

"Think of it this way, being able to solve the supply issue for five teams of a hundred with the price of a set of Light Cavalry Exoskeletons, I think it's already quite economical."

There was no way to wage war without spending money.

If money could solve a problem, it wasn't a problem—especially since the Manager reimbursed logistic expenses.

He pulled out banknotes and counted 100 of them, handing them over to the old man.

"Deal."

The old man received the money with a smile, beckoning the boys by his side to help weigh the goods and pack them to be delivered to the clients outside the camp.

Edge Shoveling had the construction worker follow them, while he and Big Eyes stayed in the camp.

When the construction worker returned, Debt Giant Eye suddenly thought of the creature they had seen on the journey, looking like a corpse, so he turned to the old man and asked,

"Have you ever seen a creature... with skin like it's been decayed by soaking in water, just like a walking corpse?"

"Decayed by soaking? Walking corpses?" The old man pondered for a while, then a smile suddenly squeezed out on his wrinkled face,

"You must have encountered Ghouls."

Debt Giant Eye was stunned for a moment.

"Ghouls?"

"Yeah, to the west of the Grand Canyon there's a series of nuclear craters spanning hundreds of kilometers. They probably crawled out from there. Usually, they don't eat anything alive, but they don't shy away from anything dead, treating plague and rot as delicacies."

Brushing the ashes from his pipe, the old merchant squinted at the scavenging people in the distance, biting his mouthpiece and taking a puff.

"...Don't mind those guys, they're just a bunch of poor souls."

...

Meanwhile, far away in the southern part of Luo Xia Province, under Double Peak of the Jubar Mountains.

As rumors fanned by interested parties spread, the news that Army troops were closing in on the city quickly spread through Petra Fortress.

However, to everyone's surprise, the message got distorted as it was passed along and became increasingly preposterous...

Dusk set in once more.

Old Buma handed the ledger to Si Si and hesitated for a moment before he couldn't help but speak up.

"Miss... it's no longer safe at Petra Fortress, you'd best buy a ship at the docks to the south while there's still time."

Looking at the worried expression on Buma's face, Si Si, who took the ledger, was momentarily stunned, her usually composed face revealing a curious awkwardness.

"Didn't you say... that Petra Fortress was impregnable?"

If she remembered correctly, she had heard that statement just three days ago.

"That's true, fortresses built by gods cannot be overtaken by mere mortals. If it were an army, no matter their numbers, Petra Fortress could fend them off without any trouble..."

Old Buma's face still showed absolute certainty, but as he spoke, his voice began to waver involuntarily.

"...But if it's an evil god, that's a different story."

"An evil god?!" Tail's eyes widened in surprise, her love for a spectacle drawing her in with excitement, "What does he look like?"

"With an appearance comprising countless forms of ugliness, nobody knows where he comes from; it could be from the skies or the deep sea. The moment he descended, his corporeal form filled the entire riverbank, his tens of thousands of tentacles tore through the clouds above, and not even The God of the Sky could match him..."

Tail's eyes sparkled with fascination.

"Whoa! Giant-sized tentacles!"

Old Buma's pupils clouded over as he tried to describe something he had never actually seen.

But for the time being, it seemed that only Tail was willing to believe him, even Meat Meat shook her head in doubt.

"...With such a vast desert, the army chose that specific location, there is no doubt that they knew they couldn't defeat us with their own strength, hence they plan to awaken the devil suppressed by the Sky Scepter through a malignant ritual."

"This desert is doomed... Twilight of the Gods is upon us once again, and this time, there are no gods left to stop him."

The old man muttered under his breath, his cloudy eyes filled with despair, and his voice grew lower and lower until it faded into the distant dusk outside the window.

Holding a snoring kitten in her arms, Sesame Paste quietly looked over at Si Si and whispered,

"Is this part of the plan?"

Si Si, lost in thought, shook her head.

"I only had that mercenary spread the news about the army stationed in Lost Valley; I didn't expect the people here... to have such wild imaginations."

The army stationed in Lost Valley was conducting a malevolent ritual to awaken an evil god that had slumbered for two hundred years, in hopes of employing the devil's strength to conquer the unsurpassable Petra...

The plan had exceeded expectations, to the point that even a steadfast believer like Old Buma began to waver.

Looking at that old face full of sorrow, Si Si couldn't help but worry.

Had she pushed too hard...

Just as she harbored these concerns, a series of heavy knocks suddenly came from the door.

Sesame Paste, who was standing by the door, heard it and went to open it.

"I'm sorry, we're closed for today—"

Before she could finish her sentence, she recognized the person at the door and was instantly struck dumb.

Standing there was a squad of fully armed guards, numbering about thirty.

They had submachine guns slung around their waists, and they were already in their hands.

The person in the lead was the captain of the nearby patrol team.

Old Buma recognized that face immediately and quickly stepped forward with a forced smile.

"Captain Sayandis, may I ask what instructions you have?"

Ignoring the old man, Sayandis expressionlessly swept his gaze over everyone in the room, including the talking bear.

"Who's the boss here?"

Meat Meat hesitated and was about to raise her hand, but Tail was a step ahead of her—

However, before Tail could lift her arm, Si Si, standing by, pushed it back down.

'Leave it to me.'

Giving Tail a reassuring look, Si Si walked over to where the Sesame Paste was.

Glancing at the mercenary who had been subdued, she calmly spoke to the captain of the patrol team.

"It's me."

Seeing that she had no intention of violently resisting arrest, the patrol captain wasted no words and gestured with his hand.

"Come with us."

...

The castle shrouded in twilight.

The court of the Petra Fortress's lord was filled with courtiers whose faces were etched with anxiety.

A man dressed in fine clothes sat on a stone chair, looking down expressionlessly at the people below the steps.

His right elbow propped on the cold armrest, his left index finger tapped on the armrest, a look that suggested deep thought or mere impatience.

His name was Sain, the lord of this Petra Fortress, from a noble family of the Camel Hump Kingdom, guarding the kingdom's northern border for generations.

The Camel Hump Kingdom had declared war on the Falcon Kingdom long ago, yet it had been slow to send troops.

While many interpreted this as royal weakness, he knew that was not the case.

No one in the kingdom was more devout and courageous than His Majesty.

The respected gentleman was all too aware that appeasement only led to increased demands.

In fact, the royal family had always intended to gather troops to march north for aid, but the lords, including the ruler of Silver Moon City, were only willing to give money, not soldiers.

These profit-seekers were still hoping to defeat the Army with their moneybags.

Money could not solve this problem.

Of course, Sain stood on the side of the king.

The survival of Petra Fortress and his family relied on the royal family's generosity.

They ate food transported from the Oasis, drank its water, and were the most loyal Garrison State, fundamentally different from the city-states governed by corrupt nobility and merchants.

However, he alone was not enough.

In this corrupt kingdom, cowards were everywhere, and the brave were rare.

Whether it was in His Majesty's palace or his own court...

"...We should negotiate with the Army; there's nothing that can't be resolved by sitting down and talking."

"The Male Lion Royal Family is too rude. If they hadn't harbored the offspring of the Honey Badger Royal Family, they wouldn't have drawn the Falcon Kingdom's attention!"

"In fact, I think... being like the Falcon Kingdom isn't so bad, the Army has provided them with a lot of aid, and that Oasis would've been wasted if not for the Army's help."

"It's true, there's no denying that. Although the Weilante People have bad tempers and are frightening in their treatment of slaves, they can't be faulted for how they treat their vassals, giving whatever is needed."

"No matter what, just don't go to war. The soil of Petra Fortress is barren, and if trade is affected by war, those poor people will starve."

The courtiers within the palace were abuzz with discussion.

This included the nobles without actual power, wealthy merchants, and guests.

Some proposed negotiating with the Army.

Others subtly hinted that the Falcon Kingdom's approach seemed quite good, not only was the Falcon Royal Family sitting firmly on the throne, but the country's power had also increased several times over compared to ten years ago.

Sain felt extremely irritable inside, but he simply couldn't snap at these people, after all, Petra Fortress couldn't do without them.

He was about to wave his hand to dismiss these people, but at that moment, footsteps echoed from the entrance of the hall.

The heavy wooden doors opened.

The captain of the guards stood at the doorway, giving a military salute.

"My lord, I've brought the person."

The ministers and nobles inside the great hall ceased their conversations, curiously turning their gaze toward the entrance.

Sain gestured with his hand for the person to be brought forward.

The captain of the guards bowed to take his leave, exiting the door quickly and efficiently.

It wasn't long before he returned with a woman from the Aliens.

Seeing this scene, everyone in the great hall began whispering among themselves, curious about what the city lord intended to do.

Ignoring the noise,

Sain, seated on a stone chair, fixed his gaze on the woman below the steps, looking her over twice.

"Do you know why I've called you here?"

Knowing that playing dumb was pointless, Si Si simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"I know."

Seeing that unchanging expression on her face, a hint of admiration flashed in Sain's eyes.

Those cowards who would kneel before the Army at the drop of a hat should feel ashamed of the words they had spoken, for not even a young girl had as much courage as them.

However—

Appreciation aside,

The law was the law.

Looming over the person at the foot of the steps, his eyes glinted with a hint of ice, and he said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"In Camel Hump Kingdom, those who start rumors and create chaos will have their tongues cut out."

"Using the name of a god to deceive will result in a sentence of sand punishment, buried in the sands to be roasted by the sun for ten days, with none but gods allowed to provide food and fresh water."

"An act of almsgiving to those in suffering can waive three days of punishment, and you may choose the order in which to receive your sentences."

"Do you plead guilty?"

His solemn and cold voice echoed throughout the cavernous great hall.

All eyes were focused on her, some showing surprise, some an "as expected" look, and others were expressionless.

They hadn't expected that the big fuss in the city was caused by a young girl... This seemed rather implausible.

But looking at the city lord's expression, it appeared he wasn't joking.

Interest gradually rose in the audience's eyes.

Regardless of whether she was set up as a scapegoat, they were curious to see how the Alien girl would respond.

Si Si was silent and didn't speak.

She knew that at this point, whether she nodded or shook her head, the outcome wouldn't be good.

Thinking back on it, offering almsgiving meant exchanging Golden Camel Coins for those "waste products," didn't it?

She didn't think that was any sort of charity, at best it was a mutually beneficial trade.

However, the fact that the city lord's understanding of the city's affairs reached such a detailed level genuinely surprised her.

It seemed she had underestimated the intelligence of NPCs.

After she had taken care of that matter, she should have immediately given those mercenaries a sum of money and asked them to leave right away.

Now, the only thing worth feeling relieved about was that she hadn't involved the other members of the knight order.

That city lord seemed not to covet their small wealth, or perhaps he disdained to loot in such a way.

As her thoughts raced in her cooled-down mind, Si Si considered ways to break the situation.

Deny that she concocted the rumors?

That was true.

She really hadn't fabricated the parts about the gods; those exaggerated rumors were born from one error leading to another.

Nevertheless, such a defense was clearly useless; the other party wouldn't play word games with her and it made no difference how she denied it if the mercenary confessed.

Furthermore, appealing to the Alliance was even less advisable.

If she let Camel Hump Kingdom consider her a spy directed by the Alliance, the outcome would probably be worse.

Not to mention the possibility of losing favor with the Manager, making such a move would transform a common case into a diplomatic dispute, and Camel Hump Kingdom, with its wavering stance like a fence-sitter, might just directly tip over to the other side in light of this incident.

Their faith was already not that firm...

Wait, faith!

In an instant, she grasped the thread that could break the situation, and Si Si's eyes briefly lit up. The boiling thoughts in her brain rapidly cooled.

Recalling what she had read in two books, she organized her thoughts for a moment and looked up at the city lord seated on the stone chair.

"Respected city lord, sir, those rumors in the city indeed relate to me, but I don't believe I am guilty."

The hall filled with hushed whispers.

The city lord narrowed his eyes slightly, now supporting his chin with his left arm.

"Oh?"

Although this pale defense wouldn't alter her fate, he still wanted to hear what this person intended to say to exonerate herself.

"Indeed, those rumors originated from me, but they were not falsehoods."

She held her head high.

She could feel the multitude of gazes fixed upon her, more than half of which were malicious, and most of the remaining half were just there for the spectacle.

However, she was not the slightest bit intimidated.

She knew clearly that showing any hesitation or weakness at this moment would mean throwing all previous efforts away.

Her composed expression unchanged, she raised her voice, imbuing it with sincerity—or rather, a sense of righteousness.

That conviction stemmed not only from the truth of her assertions.

Also because—

"It was the will of the god."

Chapter 438: Flames Burning on the Riverbank

"In the name of God—"

"For His Majesty!"

"For the Kingdom!"

"Hold on at all costs!"

The riverbank, shrouded in dense smoke, was ablaze with flames burning over blood and corpses.

Bathed in blood, the Thousands of leaders let out a hoarse and exhausting shout, waving his military saber to hurry the soldiers forward, filling the blurred line of defense made of flesh and blood.

Even though his legs had been blown off, he still did not stop shouting.

Because the fortress beneath him was known as the City of Abundance.

It was not only the granary in the central part of the Lion Kingdom, blessed by the gods to the Kingdom, but also the last barrier on the Falcon's way to the Royal City of the Lion Kingdom!

Time rolled back to several hours earlier.

The Falcon Kingdom's second Ten thousand troops had finally completed their fortifications and, to everyone's surprise, had launched a fierce attack on the City of Abundance's defenders from both the west and north sides.

Of course, the Lion Kingdom would not be captured without a fight.

Under the leadership of Prince Wenter, the Beetle Corps, stationed here along with the militia, immediately put up a fierce resistance.

Whether it was cast iron Artillery, old-fashioned mortars, or makeshift howitzers, all had been dragged to the frontline.

Just to stop the enemy's advance—

Even if it only delayed them for two seconds!

The propellers of the fighter planes in the sky roared as they rained down torrents of death on the riverbank, yet they couldn't stop the guns on the riverbank from continuing to pour fierce fire outside the bunkers.

The defenders in the fortress, by the thousand, filled in one team after another.

The Siege Troops outside the fortress did the same.

Even with absolute air superiority.

Even with the artillery in the rear firing non-stop.

Even though the defenders on the riverbank were wiped out round after round.

They still failed to cross that metal dam.

The battle situation had become a stalemate.

Both sides, eyes bloodshot, cast aside humanity and faith, fighting in the most primal, most brutal manner, just to send more scorching metal shrapnel into the heads and chests of those who were once comrades.

The once impenetrable riverbank had turned into a churning meat grinder.

The flying shards and blast waves spread in circles, rolling waves of blood over the golden wheat fields.

Sitting in the cockpit of the fighter plane, Akant couldn't help but be taken aback as he looked out.

Not because of the horrific battle, but because of the expanses of golden yellow.

In his homeland—beside the riverbank that was about to dry up—he had never seen such a vast and magnificent wheat field.

If they could capture this place, his fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and even his future descendants... surely would no longer have to endure hunger.

Although this meant that the residents of the occupied territory would struggle to live in poverty and misery, although this meant that those people would become slaves, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

This world was a jungle of survival of the fittest; natural selection was a law of nature.

Prince William had once said, the oases of the Falcon Kingdom were declining; they bore the curse from the Great Desert on behalf of the kings of the sands, yet the kings of the sands turned a blind eye to their suffering, preferring to pour away milk and bread rather than share a bit of the gods' bounty with them.

The corrupt kings had betrayed their oaths and faith and were unworthy of the Spirit of the Sand Sea's blessings.

If the Falcon's children wanted to survive in this world, they must fight on, keep fighting—

Until the end of their lives!

Akant gripped the control stick, skillfully elevating the aircraft's altitude, ready to dive again at the artillery bunkers on the riverbank with the 10mm machine gun attached.

However, in that moment, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a string of black dots through the sunlight at his side.

That direction—

Is it from the east?

The backlight made it difficult for him to see what those black dots actually were, and at one point he even doubted whether his eyes were playing tricks on him.

However, instincts honed in numerous battles compelled him to make an immediate judgment, halting his next dive and continuing to climb towards the clouds.

Time would prove his decision correct, allowing him to dodge the first round of strafing.

But his teammates weren't so lucky.

In just a few breaths' time, those strings of black dots had flown closer, revealing shark, tiger, and devil-painted noses under the sunlight as they spewed long streams of flame towards them.

There were no enemy airfields nearby, so the pilots of the Falcon Kingdom had not anticipated an aerial attack and were thus caught off guard.

Caught by surprise, three "Eagle Type" propeller planes were instantly riddled with holes, their wings pocked with bullet holes, trailing black smoke as they plummeted towards the ground.

The other twenty-two planes, although they managed to evade in time, were still fiercely pursued and peppered with fire, quickly resulting in the loss of three more aircraft.

Seeing his teammates meet tragedy, Akant's complexion changed wildly as he immediately opened the onboard communication system and roared.

"Enemy planes!"

"Halt ground assault, prepare to face the enemy!"

The remaining 19 aircraft quickly dispersed, ascending while turning to both sides, trying to evade the opponent who was doggedly pursuing them.

However, the enemy's flying skills were also exceptional, not only well-coordinated but also well-trained.

Watching that "little chicken" performing evasive serpent maneuvers within his crosshairs, the unprofessionally angry Pig Nose snorted and stuck to the enemy's rear hemisphere, throttling up.

"Think you can run?"

As if I'd let you escape—

Write my name backward!

Hitting the switch on the onboard communicator, he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Spread out and chase! One each, hit them hard!"

Responses quickly came through the communication channel.

"Got it, Bun Brother!"

"Received! Bun Brother!"

The unprofessionally angry Pig Nose almost flew off course.

"Damn it!"

"How many times have I said, my name is Pig Nose!"

Twenty-five unidentified propeller fighter planes pursued relentlessly, and five split off to outflank them from the front.

The aerial battle rapidly intensified.

Although initially caught by surprise, the pilots of the Falcon Kingdom soon rallied, relying on the excellent maneuverability of the "Eagle Type" propeller planes to engage in a horizontal dogfight with the enemy planes that had suddenly entered the battlefield.

In the absence of air-to-air missiles, the aerial combat turned into a close-quarters slaughter.

Both sides engaged in scissor maneuvering, each vying for that fleeting opportunity to fire.

The air was filled with the spray of orange-yellow bullets, like sparks flaring from an anvil struck by a hammer, forging every soul caught in the fray.

Sweat seeped from Akant's forehead, his hands gripping the control stick tightly, his clenched teeth nearly biting into his gums.

He could feel that the enemy planes weren't very strong, but their tactics were incredibly fierce, and their will to fight was unbelievably high.

Some extremely dangerous maneuvers made him wonder whether the enemy was ignorant of the possibility of death or simply did not care about their own lives.

Were they pilots from the Lion Kingdom?

Or from the alliance hundreds of kilometers away?

While the outcome of the aerial conflict was yet undecided, the situation on the ground had quietly changed with the arrival of the Alliance air forces.

The scales of victory had gradually begun to tip towards the attackers, but with the loss of air supremacy, the skewed balance was forcibly twisted back.

The second ten-thousand-strong Falcon Kingdom unit responsible for the siege soon found themselves in a hard fight.

In contrast, seeing the support of friendly aircraft, the soldiers on the riverbanks' defenses were all emboldened, their cries resonant.

"It's reinforcements!"

"Alliance reinforcements! It's people from the Alliance!"

"Oh oh oh!"

"Spirits of the Sand Sea above! We are saved!"

Not only did the soldiers see the hope of victory, but joy also spread across the faces of the officers in the command post, clearing away the gloom that had been there just minutes before.

The Alliance reinforcements had finally arrived!

Although it was only the air force, it was a huge help!

The one thing the officers couldn't figure out was where these planes had come from?

...

At the front-line position.

Behind the anti-cannon shelter, Prince Wenter held binoculars, looking through an observation window above the sandbag wall at the battlefield engulfed in thick, rolling smoke, his brows tightly furrowed.

Although the unexpected arrival of the Alliance's aircraft had turned their declining situation around, their current state in the battle was still far from optimistic.

With the help of the Army, the Falcon Kingdom had prepared for this battle for over ten years, and in terms of both equipment and the quality of their soldiers, they were far superior to the Lion Kingdom.

The unceasing sound of distant artillery fire served as the best proof.

Those people had not retreated because of the loss of air support; instead, their attacking onslaught had become even more fierce.

His own Beetle Corps of ten thousand had already reduced its numbers by twenty percent, and the local militia and conscripted soldiers had suffered even heavier casualties.

Blood had nearly painted the riverbank red and had started to flow into the irrigation channels below...

"...If we continue to drain our strength like this, even if we manage to hold this fortress, I'm afraid we will be greatly weakened," said a noble serving as a staff officer next to Prince Wenter, with a grave expression.

Another officer clenched his fist and cursed.

"These beasts... they're like endless hordes!"

"We must hold this place at all costs. This is the kingdom's last line of defense; we have no other choice."

Holding the binoculars, Prince Wenter paused, then continued with an expressionless face,

"Since they're so determined to take this fortress, let them bleed dry on the riverbank!"

At that moment, a swelling cloud of dust suddenly arose from the northwest side of the fortress, and with it came an unstoppable tide of steel!

About 50 Conqueror No. 10 heavy tanks had suddenly entered the battlefield.

When both the attacking and defending forces first noticed this unexpected force, neither side knew how to react.

Not until those tanks had moved closer and unexpectedly opened fire on the attacking forces outside the fortress, did the soldiers on the riverbank realize it was a reinforcing force!

The tanks bore flags on their turrets, emblazoned with the crest of the Honey Badger Kingdom.

The officer commanding the battle at the front line was overjoyed and shouted excitedly.

"It's the Restorative Army of the Honey Badger Kingdom!"

"They came to help us!!!"

As friendly forces continued to arrive at the battlefield, the morale of the soldiers of the Lion Kingdom reached its peak, and their pace quickened, whether it was pulling the bolt-action on their rifles or loading artillery shells.

The badly battered thousand team surprisingly produced the firepower density of a full thousand-man unit.

Facing the armored units' flank attack combined with the sudden increase in frontal firepower, the 2nd ten thousand troop of the Falcon Kingdom that was leading the assault suffered heavy casualties in an instant.

Meanwhile, the aerial battle had also been decided.

Apart from a few planes retreating westward, almost the entire air squadron of the Falcon Kingdom was wiped out.

The balance of victory, which had previously been level, now tilted completely in favor of the defenders.

The grand riverbank still stood immovable amidst the wheat fields and the rolling smoke of gunfire.

Seeing that the tide had turned, even though they were extremely reluctant, the frontline commander of the Falcon Kingdom had no choice but to order a retreat.

Any hesitation or lingering in the fight at this point could result in the decimation of the entire ten-thousand-strong force...

...

Thirty kilometers away, at the Falcon Kingdom's military camp.

The entire camp was almost inundated with wounded soldiers.

Looking at the stretchers spread across the ground and the soldiers lying on the stretchers wailing in pain, Prince William's eyes brimmed with rage, and he clenched his fists uncontrollably.

He could not understand why the Army had ordered the attack.

Wasn't it agreed that nuclear bombs would be used to flatten that fortress?

Why then were his people sent to fill a front line that was clearly impossible to close?

He did not mind the citizens of the Falcon Kingdom sacrificing themselves for the expansion of the royal lands, but these casualties could have been avoided!

They were entirely unnecessary!

As he saw an Army officer approaching, he restrained his anger, stepped forward, and asked in a low voice.

"Where are the nuclear bombs? What about your bombs?"

Looking at William's heaving chest, the officer simply gestured for silence, tapping his index finger on his lips, signaling him to keep quiet.

Upon seeing the gesture to remain silent, Prince William knew it was not the time to vent his anger. He took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and spoke in a more relaxed tone.

"We need that device, I had already mentally prepared myself... I don't understand what you're hesitating about!"

"If you're worried about inciting hatred from the residents of Luo Xia Province, I can bear their wrath for you and help you suppress those vermin—"

The officer raised his right hand and interrupted his endless chatter, looking at him seriously and said.

"Mr. William, what we're currently facing is an opponent whose performance has far exceeded our expectations. They will adjust their tactics according to ours, and we will do the same. The battlefield situation changes every moment, why would you think plans can always keep up with changes?"

Prince William was stunned for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"It means nothing."

The officer did not want to explain anything to this nominal marshal and walked past him towards a nearby tent.

However, when he reached the entrance of the tent, he stopped in his tracks and turned his face slightly.

"Never try to guess Mr. Griffin's thoughts; he naturally has his strategies."

"Just do what you need to do, and we will naturally help you conquer the entire desert."

After dropping these words, he opened the tent flap and walked in, approaching a radio set, putting on the headset hanging from the radio, and reported the front line situation.

"The first flight squadron encountered an enemy air force interception; we lost 21 planes..."

"The defense forces of the City of Abundance resisted beyond expectation, the lost armored units from Camp 530 appeared on the northern side of our offensive spearhead, causing heavy casualties in the 2nd ten-thousand troop responsible for breaching; today's offensive was forced to end prematurely..."

Even though the report was all bad news, there was calm at the other end of the radio.

As if it was not a surprise at all.

After a pause, the officer continued with respect and admiration in his tone.

"Additionally, the big fish has taken the bait, they really couldn't restrain themselves after all, everything is as you predicted..."

...

On the other side, within the chaotic City of Abundance, a grand levee opened a gate, allowing the tank battalion that had supported them earlier to enter.

Soldiers lined up on either side of the road watched nervously as these tanks, which bore marks belonging to the Army, their eyes filled with caution.

Even though the tanks flew the Honey Badger Kingdom's flags, the fear etched in their memories instinctively made them wary.

And moreover—

Not everyone welcomed these "Honey Badger People" who brought trouble to them.

Prince Wenter stood in the middle of the road, personally leading a group of bodyguards and officers to welcome this pivotal support that appeared at a critical moment.

The lead tank's turret hatch opened, and a man with a thick beard stood up, signaling his troops to halt with a wave of his hand.

Observing Yard dismounting from the tank, Prince Wenter's impassive face couldn't help but show a faint stir of emotion.

"You actually came?"

"Yes, I'm here."

Walking up to Prince Wenter, Yard extended his hand and grasped his firmly, his gaze sweeping over the multitude of military officers behind him.

Some averted their gazes, while others looked at him with expressionless faces... grateful faces made up only about half.

This was normal.

Even now, many in the Lion Kingdom's court still believed that if they handed over the members of the Honey Badger Royal Family, the Falcon Kingdom would return the territories they had occupied.

Even without such naive illusions, many believed that the war calamity came with them. Had they not taken them in, the Falcon Kingdom might have settled down for negotiations after conquering Oasis No.3, rather than continue eastward.

Yard was well aware that the Battle at the 530 campsite had problems with its intelligence because someone among this group had sabotaged it. If it hadn't been for the ally arriving in time, he probably would have died on that dune.

Though he was dying to find the culprit and give them a beating, he knew now was not the time to pursue the matter.

The greater good was what mattered.

Discreetly shifting his gaze, Yard naturally looked to Prince Wenter in front of him.

"What's the situation with those planes?"

"They are Alliance planes."

"Do they have an airport here?" A hint of confusion crossed Yard's face; clearly, his daring trip was not under Alliance orders, but rather based on his own assessment of the battlefield.

Prince Wenter shook his head.

"I don't know; those planes just appeared. We owe our lives to them; otherwise, we couldn't have held out until your arrival..."

As he spoke, his face etched with complexity.

When the Honey Badger Royal Family first sought refuge here, he was strongly against the Royal Family taking them in, but he had never imagined that these people would one day save his life.

His Adam's apple bobbed as Prince Wenter continued.

"... Thank you for extending a helping hand. Though I can't speak for my kingdom, from today onward, every person standing here owes you a favor."

Yard grinned and patted the old man's arm.

"No need for that kind of talk; we are allies on the same front..."

Despite being prepared to let things slide temporarily, he couldn't resist emphasizing the words "the same front" heavily; the subtle insinuation was unmistakable.

Several officers wore uncomfortable expressions, subtly shifting their gazes away.

They knew all too well that their previous actions had been less than honorable.

Whether it was messing up the intelligence or withdrawing the Guerrilla Team up north, leaving the responsibility of covering for their allies to the Honey Badger's restoration army.

As for Prince Wenter, the wrinkled old face remained unchanged, only responding with a faint smile.

"You're right, we are allies on the same front, but I will remember this favor."

As he spoke, a thought seemed to strike him, and he pulled a letter from within his coat, handing it to Yard.

"...Oh, and here's a letter, written by your siblings. They're now in the Alliance's City of Dawn; our envoy happened to be there as well, so they brought it along."

Hearing news of his brother and sister, a trace of surprise appeared in Yard's eyes. He grinned, tearing open the letter handed to him by Prince Wenter.

There were two letters in the envelope.

One was from his brother — the acting king — and the other from his sister, Princess Afni.

Save the best for last, so he opened his brother's letter first.

Skipping the formalities at the beginning, he went straight to the midsection of the letter.

[...I hope you are well; there's no need to worry about our safety. The Alliance Manager is an enlightened leader. Though our paths differ, he respects our beliefs and choices.]

[After the war ends, the citizens of the Honey Badger Kingdom will have the freedom to choose their future way of living, as long as we promise to treat the descendants of the survivors with kindness and stand forever on the side of the masses. I may not fully understand every word he says, but I believe I have gotten what I wanted, and the price is not too hard to accept.]

[We agree that a peaceful development is the only way to end chaos. With this common understanding, we will become partners.]

Yard smirked.

This rascal's writing was still so flowery. A simple assurance of safety would suffice; why beat around the bush, hiding the important points amid a mound of gibberish?

"Heh, I never acknowledged you as king."

However, the matter of the throne could be discussed later.

What needed to be done now was to drive away the invaders.

To drive out the invaders who had occupied the Honey Badger Kingdom, to drive out the invaders who had breached Luo Xia Province.

He unfolded his sister's letter.

Unlike his annoying brother, Afni's letter was much more pleasant to read.

Not only was the handwriting graceful and the tone polite, but it also wasn't tainted with the bad habits of those civil officials and nobles. She simply reported her well-being in a familial tone and then shared some recent happenings with him.

Including her life in the City of Dawn, including her recent work organizing books, including a new friend she had made—a girl named Frost Snow.

A smile appeared on Yard's face as his calloused index finger rubbed his thick beard.

At first, when that guy Sommer had suggested marrying their lovely sister to a heretic, and one who would be taken far beyond Luo Xia Province, he, as her elder brother, had been strongly opposed.

Beyond the oasis lay wastelands, so what more could be said of those barbaric lands bereft of the Spirit of the Sand Sea's protection?

He heard that the people there were starving and poorly clothed, resorting to eating each other's children to survive, and some Looters even held barbaric beliefs, tossing captives into pots to cook, more savage than wild beasts.

Although merchants from the east depicted City of Dawn as a streak of clarity amidst the darkness, it was still situated on barbarian soil.

Even if there were differences, how significant could they be?

Yard didn't believe in that fairytale-like depiction at all. It was only after he heard that the Alliance had defeated the Chewing Bone Tribe, which was also supported by an Army, that he grudgingly agreed to Sommer's proposal.

And this filled his heart with guilt.

After all, in his view, this was undoubtedly using his sister as a sacrifice.

A victory gained through a family member, although won, made him feel dishonorable.

However, seeing how happy his sister seemed in the letter, some of his unease also began to smooth over.

At least the contents of the letter suggested that life there wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

To be able to manage a territory so orderly, the Manager's son must at least be a person worthy of trust.

Yet as he read on, a subtle change came over Yard's expression.

Like the letter from his brother, the latter half of the letter focused entirely on the subject of the Alliance Managers.

He admitted that it was a person worth mentioning and, considering future relations, it was necessary to understand the man who ruled half the province.

But was there really a need to dwell on him incessantly?

Not to mention any other things, at the very least, he hoped she would mention her fiancé a couple of times so that he, as her elder brother, could know whether that man was good or not.

However, there wasn't a single word about it in the letter.

And from some point on, the tone of the letter grew odd.

[...The Alliance's Manager is deeply loved by the local residents, and I can feel that their affection comes from the heart and is not blind obedience or submission to power.]

[I can see genuine loyalty in the eyes of the young man who serves as the Chief Guard by his side, and I can see in the eyes of a girl working at the Guild an aspiration without any trace of ulterior motive... Isn't that enviable? Although I admit, it makes me a little jealous.]

Noticing something off about Yard's expression, Prince Wenter paused and asked with concern.

"Do you feel unwell?"

"Nothing's the matter."

Yard muttered complexly and tucked both letters into his pocket.

He felt it was necessary to have a talk with his sister... And that damn and foolish brother Sommer.

That guy was involved in an extremely dangerous matter.

Of course, that was to wait until after they had driven away the invaders.

But compared to the emotions of tension and wariness, and so on, his chaotic mind was now filled with more complex emotions that even he did not fully understand.

And the main culprit for all this was the last line before the closing of that letter—

[I might have fallen in love with him.]

...

Above the clear, cloudless azure sky.

The towering Steel Heart, with its wings flexing majestically as well as the propellers linked in tandem upon them.

Not far behind its tail, planes gently caught up and, one after another, landed on the hundreds of meters long steel deck.

The entire airship was like an aircraft carrier floating in the sky.

Turning the Steel Heart into an airborne aircraft carrier was Mosquito's brainchild, but ultimately, it wasn't Goblin Technology that completed the work, it was the Ideal Group in collaboration with the Alliance's No. 81 Steel Plant.

Although in Earth's history, airship carriers were a failed invention, with the Akron and the Macon as bloody ironclad evidence, this wasn't necessarily the case in the "Game".

The Steel Heart didn't rely on helium or hydrogen for buoyancy but was supported by an anti-gravity system from the escort ship's core against gravity, thus eliminating concerns such as "violent collisions caused by air turbulence" or "wings tearing through the gasbags".

And indeed, this was the case.

The Steel Heart in the sky was stable as could be.

Furthermore, the armor along the airship's central axis was as flat as level ground and, because it was directly above the airship's keel, there were no obstacles like anti-aircraft cannons installed, avoiding the need to dismantle them for runway clearance.

You just had to avoid crashing into that 400mm howitzer at the front of the airship.

The hundreds of meters long runway was ample for propeller planes to land, and the airship itself could provide an initial velocity for carrier-based aircraft, allowing them to take off on a shorter runway.

Although this posed a test to the pilots' flying skills and mental fortitude, a mere twenty or thirty "ace pilots" were still something the Alliance could muster.

Emerging from the aircraft, Brother Right Hand, with his pig-head, leaned on the wing, expressing his feelings.

"Ah... It's really enjoyable to fly a big plane; it's been a while since I've flown these little guys."

It was a pity that he still let that "little sparrow" get away.

But it didn't matter since they won anyway.

Ice and Fire Brother, who often partnered with him as a gunner, chuckled and asked.

"How many did you shoot down?"

Not keenly reflecting on it, he shook his flaggy ears and smiled sheepishly.

"Heh heh, better not to mention it, better not to mention it..."

Elsewhere, beside a W-2 Attack Aircraft.

Feng Qing grunted as she hopped down supporting herself against the cockpit.

Taking off her flight cap scratched by shrapnel, she shook her hair, which had been tousled into a bird's nest.

The string of bullet holes imprinted on the cockpit had let in so much airflow that it nearly numbed the left side of her face; it took quite a while of dodging and gasping before she recovered.

Also just disembarking from a plane.

Gui Gui curiously approached, circling around her aircraft's canopy.

"What are you looking for?" Feng Qing blinked curiously at her.

Gui Gui scratched her head and giggled embarrassedly.

"The poem?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Qing's face instantly turned red as a lantern, her toes gripping tightly to the soles of her shoes.

Gesturing wildly, she grabbed Gui Gui's shoulder and pushed her away from her aircraft.

"Go away, go away. I have no idea what you're talking about; I don't know the person you're looking for."

"Eh?! Don't you remember? It's that one—"

"Aaaaah! Stop talking about it, please!"

The noise continued from the deck all the way to the ladders leading below, where the NPCs in charge of bringing the planes into the hangar all admired the pilots with respect.

Their spirited demeanor bore no resemblance to men who had just descended from the instant of life and death on the battlefield—it was as though they had just attended a banquet.

Their fearlessness in facing death and their optimism were enough to leave them prostrate in admiration.

On the other side of the airship's deck.

Spring Water Commander approached Mosquito, who had just gotten off a plane, and glanced around before asking.

"Where's Falling Feather? Why don't I see him with you?"

"Oh, him," Mosquito chuckled, "The Manager found him some other work."

Upon hearing these words, the Spring Water Commander's expression became subtly complex.

"… It seems I won't be able to see him for several days."

…

Meanwhile, below the airship, on the bridge deck.

Vanus, who had been following Chu Guang, furrowed his brow in deep thought before suddenly speaking out.

"I still don't understand."

Chu Guang responded with a pleasant demeanor.

"Don't understand what?"

Vanus looked at him and asked.

"You knew it was a trap set by Griffin, so why did you bring the airship to the front line?"

Although the deployment location and type of the nuclear strike could be basically determined, Giant Stone City might not be able to withstand that thing on its own.

Not to mention, they hadn't reached the level of mutual trust required for sharing intelligence.

Chu Guang smiled faintly and spoke softly.

"There is a thief for a thousand days, but there is no defense against a thief for a thousand days."

Vanus paused, having never heard the saying before.

"What does that mean?"

Chu Guang answered concisely.

"It means exactly what it says."

"If the Sword of Damocles might fall at any moment, then it's better to let it fall today."

"You could understand this as turning the tables or as bait enforcement"

The tactical clash is a collision of iron and blood.

But strategically, it is more about the unseen smoke of psychological mind games and political maneuvering.

Currently, Griffin held the initiative in this game, but that didn't mean he was already assured of victory.

Whether he used this flaw in the Alliance to deploy the nuclear bomb according to plan at the Lost Valley airport

Or if he turned the tables and dropped the bomb directly into Lost Valley to reduce the losses of his allies,

The Alliance had already prepared for either scenario.

The Death Legion had already met with the Alliance's envoys and were en route to the Grand Canyon. The supply lines to the north of Army would soon be cut off, while the Alliance's own lines of supply were taking shape, with highways and railways ready.

If Griffin realized this, he would accelerate the pace of the war; otherwise, even if his vassals continued to win battles, they would ultimately lose due to the collapse of their logistics.

Therefore, he would certainly choose a more aggressive strategy and would definitely move up the timing of the decisive battle.

The Skeleton Corps had already departed from the Alliance's western border, with 35 of the latest model tanks and 60 light and heavy trucks majestically heading toward the Lost Valley at the eastern side of Oasis No. 4, ready to take control of the airport there.

And accompanying Chu Guang to aid their allies, the Storm Corps, were already fully equipped and ready to deploy from within the airship.

Although the marine corps aboard the airship were only a thousand team in size, each was an elite soldier.

These players' levels and individual combat prowess might not be the Alliance's very best, but the Storm Corps' overall abilities were definitely the most balanced.

Whether in terms of organization or fighting style, they were the closest to a regular army.

If the Burning Corps were the spear of the Alliance!

Then they were the Alliance's shield!

Gazing at the handsome face reflected in the glass of a floor-to-ceiling window, Chu Guang took a deep breath and whispered to himself in a barely audible voice.

"… Come on."

He had finished all his preparations.

Now—

It was your turn to play.

Chapter 439: To Deal with a Charlatan, Naturally One Must Use an Even More Charlatan Method

"Forward!"

"We are the indestructible spearhead of the Alliance!"

"We are the steel torrent that sweeps away everything!"

"We have prepared to offer our hearts and are ready to give our lives to realize His Majesty the Manager's ideals!"

"To the airport!!!"

The roar of engines resonated as the truck carrying the Skeleton Corps pursued the howling sands ahead.

Half of a body protruded from the desert-colored steel turret.

Brother Mole, holding binoculars, was exuberantly shouting with excitement in his drake-like voice.

Despite the turret being so hot that it could fry an egg, and despite being the odd one out standing and getting a mouthful of sand, the excited fellow still refused to come down from the tank.

The other three crew members sat listlessly on the truck carrying the tank, whispering to each other and not caring at all about Brother Mole's overzealous speech.

Having played the Game together for so long, they had grown accustomed to his performances – he would settle down after a while.

"Why does the 155 have so few rounds in reserve, why not use a 120?"

"There are no production lines for 120 barrels, so they just went with the 155 barrels."

"WTF? That works?"

"Ha, you look as surprised as a newbie."

"It's too hot, sweating is irritating. We should've installed air conditioning in the tank."

Hearing his good brothers' weak comments, Brother Mole put down his binoculars and looked at them dissatisfied.

"What the hell is that? Too feeble! Better to bring a couple more shells!"

All crew members: "..."

Mad.

This guy has gone bonkers.

A total of 35 tanks were being carried by 35 trucks.

These 12-wheel heavy trucks, the latest product of the Alliance with the assistance of Silver Wing Group – the "Electric Bull" – had a carrying capacity many times that of the Electric Donkey, with a maximum load of 80 tons, mainly for transporting heavy equipment.

As for the fearless "armored grenadiers" of the Skeleton Corps, they mostly sat on 4-wheeled "Electric Donkeys."

700-plus kilometers of cross-country, of course, it was impossible to drive tanks all the way.

The 400-kilometer grand rush of T34 was considered a miracle in military history.

Most tanks had motor lifetimes around 500 kilometers, beyond which engines and suspensions needed major repairs.

So, relying on road or rail transportation and deploying only after reaching the destination was a common practice.

Although the Mark II tanks used future materials, the Alliance's industrial technology was still rough, and the mechanical durability was not outstanding.

If they really went off-road for 700 kilometers, they'd probably end up pushing the tanks to the destination before even getting there.

The Skeleton Corps entering the desert from the South would advance along the edge of the dust storm and rely on the rusty sand to avoid possible aerial reconnaissance and electromagnetic wave detection.

On the other hand, Elena, standing on a heavy truck, was humming a tune while frying eggs she had collected on the hood of a tank's engine, not minding at all when the Spirit of the Sand Sea occasionally sprinkled some seasoning.

Gnome King Riches was squatting by the truck's railing, staring at the map non-stop, trying to figure out their current location in the near featureless desert.

"Where are we now?" asked Elena casually.

Gnome King Riches shook his head.

"Don't know, no GPS... who knows where we've ended up."

After dishing the fried egg onto a plate, Elena glanced at him comically.

"Just don't drive us to the Army's old home."

Gnome King Riches packed the map away and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright, you can keep your jinx mouth shut now."

"Fine... oh, want a fried egg?"

The fried egg did smell quite good.

Though the ingredients were a bit unusual, Old Na's cooking skills were beyond reproach, and the monster meatloaf that became famous in North Street of Dawn City was the work of him and the Fried Egg Brothers.

However, Brother Fu Gui did not immediately take the bait but swallowed nervously, looking at her warily.

"...You're sure this is just a bird egg?"

Elena shifted her gaze awkwardly and scratched her head.

"I can assure you it's an egg."

Gnome King Riches: "..."

...

Elsewhere, at Petra Fortress.

A sign reading [Temporarily Closed] hung on the "station" door of the White Bear Knights, yet the warehouse was anything but empty.

In fact, it was a bit crowded.

The man leading the group was the Lord of Petra, Saen.

Behind him were the castle guards, generals responsible for city defense, nobles in lavish attire, priests in white robes, and so on...

Compared to the Skeleton Corps' monotonous journey, the White Bear Knights' players were dealing with much more excitement.

Seeing that nearly all the city's power brokers had gathered here, Old Buma felt his calves trembling and his heart struggling to cope.

Nevertheless, seeing the young lady who had been taken away by the guards return unscathed, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been trying to find out her whereabouts for days, but he couldn't even find a whisper about what had happened to her, much less where she was taken.

In any case.

It was good she was back.

The figure of Sesame Paste, who was surrounded by the crowd, had an anxious expression and was at a loss for what to do.

Si Si, standing beside her, watched the hall's occupants calmly and then slowly said.

"She is the divine messenger I spoke of."

As she spoke, she gently lifted the hat on Sesame Paste's head.

Upon seeing the pair of swaying cat ears, almost everyone showed a look of surprise and even let out exclamations.

Except for the other members of the White Bear Knights and Old Buma standing in the corner.

Perhaps he had seen too much, but he had grown accustomed to the odd pair of ears atop the young lady's head.

However, when he heard the word "Messengers of God," his face still showed a puzzled expression.

Messengers... Messengers of God?!

What in the world is happening?!

Old Buma couldn't be blamed for his surprise, after all, he couldn't access the Forum, and when players exchanged strategies, they naturally didn't include him.

Let's rewind to five days ago.

In the court of the Lord of Petra Fortress.

Under the watchful eyes of all the merchants and nobles of the entire city-state, Si Si openly admitted on the spot that she was behind all the rumors spreading throughout the city.

Whether it was the parts fabricated by the leader of the Mercenary herself or the rumors that sprouted during the course of gossip, she took them all onto herself in one breath.

And she did so with an air of confidence.

However, she vehemently denied that these were made-up lies, insisting instead that they were prophecies dreamt by her companion, sent by the Silver Moon Goddess.

The moment she uttered, "It is the will of the gods," the court was instantly in an uproar.

The old Priest in a white robe was so angry his nose was nearly crooked, and he accused her on the spot of being a blasphemous witch, calling for the guards to behead her.

Count Roskin, the official in charge of diplomatic affairs, also expressed that this sounded utterly preposterous, offering well-reasoned rebuttals.

"… If it truly is the will of the gods, why would the great deities not choose a devout believer, like our Lord, but instead choose you?"

He paused, his voice filled with doubt.

"… A heretic from outside of the Oasis, for what reason would the great deities possibly let you dictate our actions?"

The old Priest, unable to contain his fury, picked up where he left off.

"That's right! Even if it were guidance from the Spirit of the Sand Sea and the Silver Moon Goddess, why would they come to you and not me?"

After all, if she died, she just had to restart, there might be a chance to survive if she fought back, so Si Si simply went for broke and retorted without holding back.

"Shouldn't this question be asked of yourselves?"

The confident voice left them stunned.

For a moment, the great hall was as silent as a graveyard.

Without waiting for the astonished Count Roskin to open his mouth, without waiting for the nobles to regroup and spew out curses, she lifted her head and puffed out her chest as though the deities stood right beside her.

"You all knew very well that those people had ill intentions, yet you watched them bring their slaughter knives into your homes, defiling your faith right under your noses, attempting to awaken an evil spirit that had been sealed by the deities two hundred years ago! You knew everything, yet you did nothing; you didn't even stand up to resist, instead, you buried your heads in the sand like ostriches."

Scanning these well-dressed nobles, she denounced them with justified anger.

"Why did the Spirit of the Sand Sea find me? Why didn't it seek help from its 'most devout' believers? Shouldn't you all reflect on what you've done to disappoint the deities to such an extent?"

These harsh words completely infuriated the crowd.

And wounded the pride of many.

Especially the nobles led by Roskin.

Most of them were of the opinion that surrendering to the Army was best, believing that they could not only retain their wealth and status with loyal service, but potentially even elevate their noble ranks.

Much like the nobles of the Falcon Kingdom, those who surrendered first were mostly rewarded.

However, no matter how surreptitiously they tried to justify their surrender for the sake of the thousands of common folk of the Oasis, it couldn't hide the fact that they had spiritually knelt down.

The Lord of Petra was equally angered by these words, but seeing Count Roskin and a host of nobles huffing and glaring, he suddenly wasn't so angry anymore.

Especially after he calmed down and thought about it.

These words...

Seemed to make sense, didn't they?

If he were the Silver Moon Goddess or the Spirit of the Sand Sea, seeing his own believers so spineless, he too might consider looking elsewhere for someone.

Unfortunately, the only pity was that the girl had no evidence to her claims, aside from a cleverly argued plea, and couldn't produce a single tangible piece of proof.

Saen ultimately couldn't believe her word alone, but he also didn't heed the nobles and priests clamoring for her execution, opting instead for a middle-ground approach by confining her in a windowless, cold, and damp cell in the castle dungeon.

That was typically where felons were kept.

But that didn't mean he intended to inflict cruel torture upon her.

This was a form of protection.

And also a test.

People's psychological defenses are most fragile when they are isolated and unsupported, particularly in a cell without a flicker of sound.

Unless specifically trained in counter-interrogation, even the innocent could easily become despairingly guilty on a signed confession.

But if she truly had seen divinity and had that much faith in her heart, she most likely wouldn't fail even this small test.

After he announced she would be locked up in the dungeon for felons, the nobles were indignant but could say nothing further.

And the woman herself calmly accepted the sentence, although she maintained her innocent defense throughout.

Her composure couldn't help but make Saen doubt whether he had done something wrong.

However, he had no intention of changing his mind, resolved to keep her confined for at least a month.

If after a month she still insisted it was the will of the gods, he would believe her and apologize.

However, regrettably, rumors about the Army and the evil god grew more uncontrollable by the day in the city, and the disturbances from the east increasingly unsettled him.

If he didn't make a decision soon, it was likely that fear itself would collapse the order of Petra Fortress before the Army even arrived.

What was worse, if it later proved the woman did indeed receive the divine will, or if the prophecy truly came to pass...

How would he, who had sent her to the dungeon, explain himself to His Majesty and the citizens of Petra Fortress?

Was he really to join the Army along with those spineless ones?

Saen didn't realize that as he ordered the woman to be thrown into the dungeon, he too was caught in a psychological struggle.

To believe?

Or not to believe?

Whichever choice he made could potentially lead to a not-bad outcome, but each would require its price to be paid. Continuing to hesitate, however, would certainly result in the worst outcome...

Thus, on the morning of the fifth day after that twilight, he finally made up his mind and had the woman brought from the small black room to a guest room in the castle.

Seeing her still composed reassured Saen somewhat—perhaps she was telling the truth, perhaps his judgment was correct...

Realizing he might have imprisoned an honest and brave person, he felt a twinge of guilt, although he ultimately didn't apologize, but silently ordered the guards to prepare her a sumptuous breakfast and clean clothes.

When Si Si saw the table full of delicacies, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If this wasn't her last meal.

Then she must have won her bet.

"Do you still insist that you saw the Silver Moon Goddess?" Saen suddenly asked, watching the girl who was dining.

"Yes." Her affirmative answer was without a hint of hesitation; she had rehearsed it countless times offline and had even conspired with her companions to align their testimony.

No matter how hard the NPC in front of her thought, he couldn't possibly know that she had spent the past five days perfecting the lie, and with the help of her friends, had filled in every detail flawlessly.

The reason why the Lord of Petra Fortress hadn't killed her outright was probably because he still had thoughts about the Resistance Army in his mind.

And this would become a breakthrough.

She needed to present sufficiently strong evidence to prove her words true, and the Lord of Petra Fortress also needed a reliable proof to convince himself, as well as other nobles and priests who might be persuaded.

And all the clues were actually hidden in the book "Oasis under the Tobal Mountain Range" and "Silver Moon Holy Words," which was recommended by that academy researcher.

Si Si couldn't help but feel emotional in her heart.

Who would have thought that the books she bought out of curiosity would accidentally save her life?

"What evidence do you have?" As the folks on the forum had guessed, the NPC in front of her indeed uttered this line.

She, who had prepared her reasoning, replied adeptly.

"My companions and I are the evidence; we saw the same dream vision. Especially one of my companions, her dream vision was the clearest, and furthermore... she conversed face to face with the Silver Moon Goddess about the specifics of the prophecy."

"Can you tell me which companion it is?" Saen's tone had lost its previous assertiveness and now carried a hint of inquiry.

"Of course, I can."

After enjoying the sumptuous meal and fruits, Si Si took a napkin to wipe her mouth and continued calmly, "But she is very timid, you must ensure her safety."

Saen touched the crown of his head with his index finger, his tone sincere.

"I swear by the Spirit of the Sand Sea and the Silver Moon Goddess."

Si Si stared at him for a moment.

"Her name is Sesame Paste."

Saen paused for a moment, the pronunciation sounding strange.

"Sesame... Paste?"

The corners of her mouth curved slightly, her voice carrying a touch of relaxation and pleasure.

"Yes, it sounds quite like a cat's name, doesn't it?"

Saen nodded blankly.

Although the cats he kept in the castle didn't bear that name, the pronunciation indeed didn't seem like one that ordinary people would use.

After a pause, Si Si continued.

"She is a cat who transformed into a human during our journey. I know this sounds unbelievable; we were equally astonished by the change in her, unclear what had happened. It wasn't until our knights' journey took us to the province of Falling Leaves that we gradually started to uncover a bit of the mystery of her origin."

Saen swallowed: "Her origin..."

"According to the records in 'Silver Moon Holy Words,' the Silver Moon Goddess adores cats, allowing them to enter her sleeping palace and look after her daily needs. The reason why the cats under Zobar Mountain accept believers' offerings with pride is because they serve a god—that was a clue I uncovered while researching relevant documents..."

Watching Lord Saen of Petra City standing agape, Si Si continued with a determined and serious tone.

"We only found out later, her transformation into a human wasn't just a coincidence—it was because she was carrying a mission given to her by the Silver Moon Goddess."

"That's also why she saw the Silver Moon Goddess on the land illuminated by Xiaguang!"

What happened next was the scene that unfolded before.

Lord Sain gathered all the well-respected nobles of the city and the priests of the temple, along with the guards, and went to the White Bear Knights' station.

When Si Si lifted the cover off the Sesame Paste and proclaimed her "Messenger of God" status, the atmosphere at the scene once again became tumultuous.

However, unlike last time, upon seeing the cat ears on top of Sesame Paste's head, upon observing how close the cats in the city were to her...

Even the most stubborn Old Priest, with clouded pupils, couldn't help but appear a bit bewildered, unconsciously finding himself at a loss for words to refute.

What followed seemed only natural.

Si Si repeated to those self-proclaimed devout nobles and priests what she had told the lord at dawn.

Then she turned to Old Buma, continuing in a sincere tone.

"I'm sorry to have kept this from you, but our purpose in coming here isn't merely for trade, but rather guided by the Silver Moon Goddess."

Old Buma's Adam's apple moved, and his eyes flickered with shock and disbelief.

Such a claim...

He wasn't necessarily unreceptive to it.

After all, good people do not lie.

These people, after rescuing him from the hands of the Looter, did not claim his cattle and luggage for themselves, but kindly returned them to him... This indeed did not seem like the act of ordinary individuals.

After all, it is permitted by the doctrine of the Spirit of the Sand Sea to accept compensation from those you save.

"So the money you... gave to those poor people was also?"

"It is the will of the Silver Moon Goddess,"

Si Si asserted without a hint of embarrassment.

"The followers of the Spirit of the Sand Sea suffer from hunger on her protected lands, where there is plenty of food and fresh water. Yet those in possession are blinded by money. Therefore, she entrusted us to save those brethren you've abandoned."

Old Buma's face filled with guilt.

The Spirit of the Sand Sea had taught them to extend a helping hand to those in suffering, yet he had selectively ignored those very brethren enduring hardship.

Even when this kind young woman offered to help those poor people, he was still weighing pros and cons, trying to convince her not to give to the poor with the argument "Golden Lion Coins will soon be worthless."

Indeed.

His faith was still not devout and pure enough...

Standing next to Lord Sain, Count Roskin, who was serving as the diplomatic officer, wore an expression of disbelief.

Of course, he didn't believe a word of the woman's nonsense, but for the moment he couldn't think of a reason to refute it.

Actually, it was understandable.

How could a story that the sand sculpture netizens on the Forum spent five days crafting be easy to debunk after just one hearing?

Even if one wanted to argue for the sake of arguing.

It would take listening to it a couple more times to find an angle to dispute.

Seeing that crowd standing there silent, Meat Meat looked nervously at Tail beside her and whispered in a hushed voice.

"What exactly are these people up to?"

Tail stroked her chin, frowning as if in deep thought.

"It's possible... they are considering that matter."

Seeing her serious expression, Meat Meat swallowed.

"That matter?"

"Yes!" Tail nodded earnestly, turning towards the center of everyone's attention, to Sesame Paste, and said with certainty, "They must be planning to offer Sesame Paste as a sacrifice to the evil god sealed in the Lost Valley! In exchange for the oasis' peace!"

"Ah???" Meat Meat exclaimed softly, quickly asking, "How, how did you come to that conclusion?"

If that were true, wouldn't they be in danger?

At that thought, Meat Meat felt her calves start to give way.

The other Variants were okay.

But that monster, whose appearance was far too Lovecraftian, really made her feel physically unwell.

"Eh? Isn't the combination of cat-girl and tentacle monster common knowledge?" Tail froze for a moment, giving Meat Meat a puzzled look, as if wondering why she was surprised, "Isn't that what's drawn in the doujinshi?"

"..."

The emotions that had been brewing inside her instantly disappeared, and Meat Meat moved a little away with an expression suggesting she didn't know him.

But getting sidetracked like this, she no longer felt nervous and worried.

The old priest in the white robe took two steps forward, his gaze fixed on the cat ears on top of Sesame Paste's head, staring at them for a long time before saying in a tremulous voice.

"You… really met the Silver Moon Goddess?"

Though she was full of nervousness, in order not to let down her companions' efforts, Sesame Paste seriously nodded her head.

"Yes."

Whispers spread among the crowd.

Excitement flickered in the old priest's eyes, and he reached out tremblingly. But seeing the amber-colored pupils of the cat in her arms staring at him, he quickly stopped the impolite gesture and withdrew his hand.

It was said that the Silver Moon Goddess would possess her beloved pet.

He could feel that the God was watching him.

Holding back his excitement, the old priest's voice carried a tint of veneration.

"What did you see… in the prophecy?"

Faced with those unfamiliar, expectant, or wandering eyes, Sesame Paste's face showed her discomfort as she looked to Si Si for help.

'What should I do?'

Si Si, standing beside her, gave her an encouraging look.

'Just repeat that nonsense I taught you in the group chat.'

'Okay…'

After a brief exchange of glances, she gathered her courage.

Responding to those suspicious, excited or hesitant gazes, she put on a solemn and sacred expression and lowered her eyelids. Then she began to speak slowly.

"I saw a beam of Light."

"Light?! What happened then?" The old priest asked anxiously.

As everyone waited with bated breath and the old priest leaned in eagerly, Sesame Paste continued in an even tone.

"A radiance hotter than the sun blossomed upon the land of mortals, followed by endless flames burning across the desert… Rivers evaporated, oases scorched, the Jubar Mountains reduced to barrenness, even the snowflakes were cursed. Tens of thousands died in the catastrophe, and the remaining survivors wailed in hunger."

Her language was plain, so she spoke slowly, but every word was pronounced clearly.

The description of the apocalypse aligned almost perfectly with the beliefs, legends, and nursery rhymes of the Camel Hump Kingdom about the "Twilight of the Gods".

All this was recorded in the book "Oasis under Tobal Mountain Range".

But the old priest didn't make that connection.

None of the nobles present thought along those lines.

The "catastrophe that caused the fall of The God of the Sky" wasn't a secret, but it also wasn't something every visitor would explore, those kinds of details not typically encountered in everyday life.

Even ignoring the title of "Messenger" and the bizarre tale of "transformation from cat to human", a young girl coming to the oasis for the first time, barely speaking like a human, yet described the "end times" so clearly, even matching the obscure scriptures...

What else could it be, if not a prophecy?

Could it all be just a coincidence?

"I'm not... I don't disbelieve."

Seeing the Lord of Petra and the old priest looking at him, Count Roskin, who had interrupted the Messenger's speech, braced himself to speak tactfully.

"I believe what she says could be true, but there may be ways other than going to war to prevent the prophecy. There might be some misunderstanding; I suggest we send a messenger to talk with the Army, to persuade them to leave the cursed land."

"They will consider this proposal, after all, it's for their own good."

Attempts on the Lost Valley had been made before.

But the lingering "curses" had inflicted them with horrible diseases.

Some medicines could lift the curse or even heal the damage it caused, but not everyone could afford such costly remedies... at least it was unlikely that they could be provided to over ten thousand soldiers.

He thought it was worth discussing.

The old priest didn't speak, his fervent gaze completely fixed on Sesame Paste—or rather, on the Messenger.

He had come to believe in her identity.

The prophecy of the apocalypse wasn't terrifying.

If the Silver Moon Goddess had foreseen all this, She surely knew how to prevent that dreadful event from recurring in this land.

Lord of Petra actually took the suggestion from Count Roskin seriously for two seconds.

After all, he wasn't just representing himself, he also stood for all the nobles in Petra Fortress who favored joining the Army.

"That makes sense, you're right."

Encouraged by the affirmative response from the Lord, Count Roskin's face showed joy.

However, before he could express his gratitude, the Lord turned to the Chief of the Guard and continued in a hearty voice.

"Arrange a camel for our Count here, and send a team of Cavalry with him, to go talk to the Army in the Lost Valley."

Count Roskin's mouth fell open in astonishment as he realized the Lord wasn't joking, and fear slowly crossed his face.

The Chief of the Guard saluted with a fist over his chest.

"Yes!"

"But, my Lord—"

Just as Count Roskin was anxious to say something, he was interrupted by the lying woman standing next to the Messenger.

"Let Count Roskin ride a motorcycle there," Si Si quickly took up the conversation, blinking her eyes, "It's over one hundred and fifty kilometers, a motorcycle is quicker!"

Lord Saen paused, then laughed heartily and waved his hand.

"Good point!"

"Approved!"

Chapter 440: The Arrow is on the String

Petra Fortress.

Under the escort of two light pickup trucks, Count Roskin, riding a motorcycle with a servant, drove out of the city with a pale face.

The chief bodyguard, sitting beside the driver in the pickup truck, leaned his arm on the window and waved, signaling the driver to speed up. He smiled at Count Roskin through the window,

"If you need help, remember to shout a little louder. We are not petty, we will come to help you."

"I don't need your help! I'd be thankful if you keep your distance!"

Glancing at the machine gun at the back of the pickup truck, Roskin's brows twitched, and he turned his face to roar against the howling wind, "Can you put that thing away? We are not going to war... Do you want to kill me?"

What if those distant friends misunderstood?

The chief bodyguard and the driver exchanged strange looks, not quite understanding his intention, but eventually, they complied with his odd request.

He reached out of the window, patting the roof of the truck.

"Put the machine gun away."

"Yes, sir!" Upon hearing the chief's order, the gunman standing at the back of the pickup truck skillfully dismantled the 10mm heavy machine gun mounted on the rack.

The same happened with the other pickup truck.

Meanwhile, both pickup trucks slowed down and maintained a distance from Count Roskin, who was leading on the motorcycle.

Watching the pickup trucks fall behind, Roskin finally breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed slightly.

Although he had reservations about Lord Sain's orders, although he knew those jackals mercilessly devoured everything to the bone, a sliver of hope still lingered in his heart.

What if there were some misunderstandings between the parties?

If he could neatly resolve these misunderstandings, turning artillery into bread, he would undeniably become a hero of Petra Fortress, even a savior of the kingdom.

The nobility of Petra Fortress had always dreamed of acquiring republican autonomy like Silver Moon City to the south, freeing themselves from feudal contracts.

The Petra family, loyal to the royal family, was the biggest obstacle.

If he could use this opportunity to reach a friendly agreement with the army, perhaps his family's longstanding wishes could be fulfilled!

Of course, it was fraught with risks.

But it was also an opportunity.

"Speed up!" Count Roskin, regaining his courage, became spirited again. He looked at the motorcycle's dashboard and urged the riding servant, "Have you not eaten? Or did you not fully refuel the motorcycle? It's only doing forty!"

"My lord... the road conditions here only allow for forty. Any faster and we'll take off," said the servant with a wry smile.

"Useless thing."

Roskin cursed and, realizing that urging was pointless, he did not speak further.

The convoy, consisting of two pickups and a motorcycle, soon approached the region near Lost Valley.

Crossing over stacks of sand dunes and gazing at the distant valley that was faintly visible through the sand, Roskin felt his heartbeat accelerating.

"Up ahead! It's right ahead!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

The two pickups behind him moved closer, and the chief bodyguard stuck his head out of the window and yelled,

"Do you want us to follow?"

"No need! You wait here for me! I'll be back soon!"

With that, Roskin urged the servant to accelerate and continued forward.

Although the thought of approaching an Army camp made the servant's shoulders tremble incessantly, he dared not disobey the orders of Lord Ross Gold, forcing himself to twist the throttle.

The tires kicked up a cloud of dust, quickly drawing attention from the opposite side.

In no time, two three-wheeled motorcycles came from a distance.

Seeing the flag of the Army, a look of relief washed over Ross Gold's face. Just as he was about to wave and shout, two gunshots rang out from the opposite side.

The bullets whizzed past, landing in the sand beside them, frightening the motorcycling servant who hastily turned and fled back the way they had come.

Ross Gold was equally startled, not expecting the other side to shoot without warning. He quickly shouted to them.

"Don't shoot! I am Count Ross Gold of Petra Fortress! There might be some misunderstanding between us! Let's sit down and talk—"

However—

The only response was gunshots.

The people didn't say a word and just opened fire upon seeing someone, and as they approached within a hundred meters, the gunman seated next to the driver on the three-wheeled motorcycle pulled the trigger.

"Ratatat—!"

A thick blaze of gunfire sprayed out, bullets wildly flying over the sand dunes. Although lacking precision, the sheer number of bullets was overwhelming.

A sharp pain in his leg made Ross Gold shudder all over, nearly fainting, and he collapsed onto the servant's back.

"Sir? Are you alright—"

Looking at his heavily bleeding left leg, Ross Gold uttered in a trembling voice, brokenly.

"Run... fast!"

The off-road performance of the three-wheeled motorcycle was somewhat inferior to that of two-wheeled ones, but thankfully, the Chief of the Guard who had come with him heard the gunshots and arrived just in time with reinforcements.

The machine gun was repositioned on its mount.

Two pickup trucks stopped on the nearest sand dune, the gunmen expertly pulling back the bolts, unleashing the heavy machine gun's wrath on the three-wheeled motorcycle crossing the dunes.

Dust plumes burst across the desert, and the leading three-wheeled motorcycle was instantly turned into a sieve.

The driver was killed on the spot, and two passengers jumped down from the vehicle, using the motorcycle as a shield to return fire at the pickups on the sand dune, but they couldn't withstand the ferocious firepower of the heavy machine gun and soon followed in their driver's footsteps.

The other three-wheeled motorcycle was lucky enough to have escaped back behind the sloping side of the dunes.

Taking advantage of the momentary suppression of their pursuers, Lord Ross Gold's servant, with his master on his back, raced toward the two pickups like the wind.

The master lying on his back was now silent.

Just now…

He had seemingly taken another gunshot to the back.

A flare rose over the sloping side of the desert, and the Chief of the Guard, sitting in the passenger seat of the pickup, frowned and stretched his right fist out of the window, waving it backward.

"Retreat!"

…

In the nearby camp.

Watching the flare ascend into the sky and listening to the distant staccato of gunfire, General McCullen who stood on the airport runway furrowed his brow, lifted his binoculars to look west, but saw nothing.

The distance was too great.

He turned to the officer standing next to him and asked,

"What's going on over there?"

The officer was clearly also unaware of the situation but reacted promptly and immediately responded.

"The area is under the responsibility of Centurion Weiss. His men should be patrolling that region today."

General McCullen put down the binoculars.

"Call him here."

"Yes!"

The officer turned and left.

Not long after, a robust man approached and stood at attention, giving a military salute.

"Report! There are two pickup trucks and one motorcycle to the west, likely a Merchant Guild from a nearby oasis. They have killed three of our attendants... I have already sent people to chase them."

Hearing that only a few attendants had died, General McCullen did not inquire further. Over the past couple of days, oblivious merchants have been heading this way.

"Don't bother with the merchants; tell your men not to chase too far and pay attention to patrolling the defensive area. A plane is coming soon."

"Yes!" Weiss stood at attention, gave a salute, and turned to jog away.

Watching him leave, General McCullen slightly furrowed his brow.

For some reason...

A strong sense of unease kept creeping into his heart now and then.

However, this baseless emotion quickly dissipated as a sleek silver shape appeared in the distance.

The temporary tower beside the runway received a landing request.

The silver plane, tens of meters long with a wingspan of several tens of meters, approached the runway and soon lowered its landing gear, swallowing up clouds of sand as it touched down on the runway.

The plane stabilized at the side of the runway, the boarding stairs were lowered, and ground personnel hurriedly surrounded it with forklifts and fuel trucks.

Such a precious jet aircraft could not possibly be entrusted to the attendant army for piloting; the pilots were all noble Weilante People.

Two pilots descended the boarding stairs and walked up to General McCullen to salute, one of them lifting his head and puffing out his chest.

"Captain of the 11th Naval Aviation Squadron of the Ten Thousand Truops and chief pilot of the H-55, Kolun, reporting to you!"

General McCullen raised his hand in return salute, his eyes shifting to the plane nearby, his mood visibly brightened.

The H-55 "Hurricane" bomber!

Twin jet engines were powered, built from a special alloy steel, and it could reach a maximum speed of two Machs!

Although Army Command classed it as a tactical bomber to support frontline troops, due to its heavily armored and durable body, along with the high-powered engine's formidable breakthrough ability, it also could undertake strategic bombing missions.

It was called the flying tank!

Or, the butcher's scalpel!

Descending alongside this Hurricane bomber, designated to escort or rather to draw fire, was the wingman—an H-44 "Peidao" fighter plane.

Compared to the "Hurricane," it was undoubtedly much smaller, not only sporting a single jet engine but also constructed from lighter titanium alloy.

Although this fighter plane was designed primarily to contend for air supremacy and tackle high-threat targets unmanageable for propeller-driven planes, because this equipment was developed by research institutes under the Army Command, its ground support capability was equally formidable.

Mounted on the nose was a 20mm cannon, astonishingly equipped with two thousand rounds of backup ammunition, and under the wings dangled two expensive TV bombs.

As for why no air-to-air missiles were hung?

Because Luo Xia Province didn't even have propeller aircraft.

Had they known earlier about an alliance in River Valley Province, had they known earlier that Pioneer intended to head to the Great Desert in search of No.0 Shelter, the Corps might have prepared something from the west.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs.

General McCullen reached out his right hand and shook it firmly with two towering pilots, his face beaming with joy as he spoke.

"The stage is set for you! Let those bugs see what a living hell is!"

Colin grinned and shook the unlucky general's right hand in return.

"That's exactly what I'm here to do."

Although Griffin had not informed McCullen about the full extent of the plan in advance, McCullen, having collaborated with him for many years, could tell what that cunning skunk was up to just by the way he set his ass.

Undoubtedly, what was loaded on the "Hurricane" bomber was a nuclear bomb—

That million-ton three-phase bomb!

At that moment, several sporadic gunshots came from the distance, and Colin, still shaking hands with General McCullen, instinctively turned his head to look west.

"What's going on?"

General McCullen asked with a smile.

"Probably just some Waste Land Wanderers nearby, we're close to Oasis No.4. Don't mind them…, those cowards wouldn't dare meddle in our affairs. Oh, by the way, before I came here, I got a few bottles of red wine from that stinking… old chap Griffin. Want to try some?"

Colin quickly waved his hand and declined with a smile.

"No, thanks… I have a mission tonight. Let's save the victorious wine for after we return!"

Leaving the River Valley Province was the perfect timing for the bombing run.

But this didn't mean the mission was without risk.

In Southern River Province was an old survivor force, Giant Stone City, reputedly part of the Alliance.

There, equipment left behind by post-war reconstruction members was deployed, and the combat power was a question mark, making it hard to say whether they would pose a threat to the "Hurricane" bomber.

The nuclear bomb transported from tens of thousands of kilometers away was the only one, and to ensure full success, they planned to wait until nightfall and carry out their bombing under the cover of darkness.

Nuclear strikes, unlike tactical bombings, didn't require precise coordinates or visual observation of the ground, just flying to an approximate position, pressing the switch, and then flooring the throttle was enough.

Hearing that the mission was set for nighttime brought a thrill to McCullen, who chuckled understandingly.

"I'll look forward to your good news then!"

The thought of those bugs who had climbed onto his airship soon being turned to ash by a nuclear blast wave pleased him immensely.

What a pity.

He wouldn't see their faces tremble before the apocalypse.

…

On the other side.

At the heavily guarded entrance of Petra Fortress' prison.

Accompanied by several guards, a muscular man with a grimy face passed through the tall stone gate and was released.

"Remember to watch your mouth, you won't be so lucky next time."

The bearded guard captain gave the burly man a warning look, waved his hand, and left with his subordinates.

The gate closed with a heavy thud.

Once the footsteps faded, the man spat on the ground and cursed as he turned around.

But as he turned around, he saw two people and a bear standing at a nearby intersection, his expression immediately turned awkward.

After hesitating,
he touched the back of his head and finally mustered the courage to approach the employers, greeting them in a muffled voice.

"Sorry boss, I messed up..."

"It's okay."

Seeing his disheveled appearance, Si Si couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, looking towards the prison behind him, "Did they give you a beating?"

The man said sheepishly,

"Uh... That was from before."

Si Si's expression slightly fell.

It was a pity that the bruises, a mix of green and purple, weren't acquired during detention, otherwise, they could have swindled some compensation from the Lord of the City.

But it didn't matter anymore.

A contented person lives a long life.

Nodding in understanding, Si Si continued,

"Do you have any plans for the future?"

The man replied with a bitter smile,

"I'm thinking of trying my luck in Silver Moon City down south... I probably can't stay here anymore."

After he was sent in, several brothers from the Mercenary Group quickly exposed his role as the main culprit, definitely ending his possibilities within the brotherhood.

Actually, they weren't really brothers.

They were just a group gathering to make a living, the Mercenary Group was only six or seven people in total, easy to gather, easy to disband.

Si Si nodded, not surprised, and continued,

"If you have nowhere to go, why not work with Old Buma? The base of the White Bear Knights needs security... Hmm, if you are interested, you could be the chief of security there."

Lord Petra planned to allocate a base for the White Bear Knights to help them more conveniently carry out their charitable acts of rescuing refugees.

To be honest, a big part of this was a misunderstanding. She actually wanted to take advantage of this rare opportunity to help everyone make a fortune.

But what's said is said, and spilled water can't be recovered.

"They are here under the guidance of the gods to rescue those poor people"—she herself had said this.

At that moment, the man was stunned, his face incredulous as he looked at the lady in front of him, excited to the point of breaking his voice.

"You... you still want me?"

As the man stepped forward, Si Si disdainfully stepped back, glancing at him,

"Don't say such weird things, or I might change my mind."

"No, no, I didn't mean any disrespect to you!"

The chance at a job almost slipped away due to his verbal slip, and the mercenary leader hurriedly explained, his voice becoming confused,

"I just... don't really understand. I clearly messed up the task you entrusted me with—"

"Everyone has their first time, everyone goes from skilled to unskilled," Si Si interrupted, looking at the grateful man continuing, "Of course, you've already used up one chance. If you mess up again—"

"You can just finish me off! No, no need for you to do it, I'll bury myself in front of you!"

The mercenary leader said earnestly and respectfully, "You might have forgotten my name, I'm Jody! I am honored to continue to serve you."

Whether that loyal expression was feigned or from the heart, Si Si nodded, satisfied.

The regional reputation of the White Bear Knights was most likely going to hit its peak after this war, they had already earned the trust of the local lord.

But, they couldn't stay here forever to manage those immovable assets and they had planned to travel to far more distant places.

Thus, the best choice was to find a reliable local to help manage things.

For instance, Old Buma was a good choice—honest, capable, devout, and indebted to them.

Regardless, she still didn't want to test human nature with interests and entrust everything to one person.

It was better to separate the responsibilities of money and firearms.

She was also going to hire an NPC from the Merchant Guild in the City of Dawn to handle the accounting, which would make it easier for her to keep tabs on everything.

Since this game claimed to be one hundred percent real, she naturally had to make sure everything was foolproof.

Hearing the mercenary's name, Tail suddenly spoke up,

"Oh! Jody! Ever thought about changing your name?"

The mercenary immediately said,

"Please, miss, bestow a name upon me!"

Just waiting for that, Tail's eyes gleamed as he raised his thumb.

"From now on, you'll be called Jojo!"

The mercenary looked puzzled but still nodded,

"Alright, miss... from now on, I'll be Jojo."

Meat Meat: "..."

Si Si said with a subtle expression,

"Ah Wei's naming skill is on par with the Manager."

Tail looked at Si Si in surprise,

"Eh?! Am I that good at naming?"

Si Si raised her hand,

"Oh! Super good!"

Meat Meat urged with a wry smile,

"Anyway, we've finished the task. Let's go back, Sesame Paste is too pitiful being left alone there."

Whether the Lord and those nobles fully believed Si Si's bluff or not, at least the old man in a white robe had been completely fooled.

It's said he was planning to write to the Royal City, informing the revered High Priest and His Majesty the King.

A miracle from the Silver Moon Goddess to protect her people!

What could be more exciting than this?

For the followers of the Silver Moon Sect, this was indeed thrilling, but for them, perhaps not so much.

She always had an ominous premonition.

The trouble was still to come...

...

At the same time, Count Roskin, who was dispatched to Lost Valley, was carried back by the Chief of the Guard from Lord Saen's domain.

He had been shot in the leg and the back, and as he lay on the stretcher, Count Roskin was breathing his last, his face even paler from excessive blood loss.

The palace of the Lord.

The gathered nobles remained silent, even the usually loudest among them stunned by the gruesome sight they couldn't bear to look at.

Sitting on a stone chair, Saen savored the expressions of these cowards with a cold smirk curling the corners of his mouth.

Look.

This is the fate of cowards.

Count Roskin's lips trembled, squeezing out a voice filled with fear and anger.

"Army… they don't plan to negotiate with us at all! Those barbarians! No, beasts! It's impossible to communicate with them using the language of civilized people!"

Rising from the stone chair.

Saen walked down the steps, glanced at Count Roskin lying on the stretcher, and said indifferently,

"You should thank that young lady for giving you the chance to still be alive."

Had it been a horse he was riding.

He would have had no chance to escape.

Humiliation was written all over Count Roskin's face as he turned his head to look at the woman standing in a corner of the crowd, squeezing out the words through clenched teeth.

"Thank you…"

Si Si shrugged her shoulders without speaking, her expression unchanged.

In fact, she simply didn't want to waste time on such an insignificant NPC, whose life or death would clearly have no impact on the upcoming game storyline.

But if they had gone by horse, it would have taken a lot more time, and by the time the Petra Fortress discovered his body, it would likely be two or three days later.

"What did you see there?" Saen asked his Chief of the Guard.

The reason for assigning him to follow Count Roskin was less about monitoring the fool to see if he handled his tasks well and more about spying on the situation in Lost Valley.

As soon as Count Roskin had left the city, he had already ordered the troops in the fortress to be ready.

The Chief of the Guard saluted.

"The stationed force is approximately ten thousand troops; construction on the northern side of the camp has ceased, seemingly complete. Before I left, I noticed a plane coming from the northwest direction, it seemed to land there."

"A plane?" Saen furrowed his brow.

A murmur of agitation spread through the surrounding crowd.

Faces filled with panic, outrage, and even those who were skeptical of the prophecies before, now showed expressions of astonishment.

"A plane…are they building an airstrip there?"

"Those people really intend to attack Petra Fortress!"

"Has the Lion Kingdom fallen already?"

"Spirit of the Sand Sea above… those greedy barbarians are indeed insatiable!"

"We shouldn't have waited this long! We should have acted earlier!"

Listening to the indignant conversations around them, the faces of the White Bear Knights also showed surprise.

Tail whispered to Meat Meat standing beside him.

"Did the official website say they were building an airport?"

She had been busy posting.

She hadn't looked carefully at those posts.

Meat Meat, however, who was seriously flooding the forum but after thinking carefully for a while also had no recollection, shook her fuzzy head.

"I don't think so…"

Tail was shocked.

"Giao! Could it be… they have found the treasure?"

Meat Meat said with a wry smile.

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

Tail solemnly gestured with his hands.

"Think about it, the Armor of the God of the Sky… must be huge, right! Such a big thing, they can't possibly transport it by truck, can they? Maybe they built the airport to take the treasure away…"

Listening to this reckless analysis, Meat Meat's face showed a dawning comprehension, and her expression turned serious too.

"Hiss… It's very possible!"

Standing nearby, Sesame Paste said with a wry smile.

"I think if it really were the Armor of the God of the Sky, not even a plane, but not even a train could haul it away…"

Si Si, who did not hear her teammates' whispering, slightly furrowed her brow.

Although she had not seen discussions about that airstrip on the forum, she always felt that there was something more to that airstrip.

Oasis No. 9 hadn't fallen yet.

And in the last two days, the Manager had also taken the Iron Heart and the Storm Corps to aid the Lion Kingdom; although the Army and Falcon Kingdom were powerful, they were unlikely to engage in a war on two fronts.

Unless…

A realization dawned in her eyes, vaguely thinking of something.

"That 'Scepter'… Maybe they really found it."

Pairs of eyes turned toward her.

Si Si looked at Lord Saen, her expression serious as she spoke.

"The Scepter that fell from the sky sealed the evil god and also destroyed the Oasis. The nefarious ritual may have already advanced to its final step… We have no time to hesitate, you must make a decision immediately!"

A kind smile appeared on Saen's face.

"It seems we were thinking along the same lines."

After he spoke, he looked toward the courtiers inside the palace and suddenly, his light-hearted demeanor vanished, replaced by a solemn and serious expression.

"I have heard the call of the yellow sands, the great will is summoning us, our kingdom is facing its most severe test in history. Whether our enemies are the Army or ancient devils, Petra will be the kingdom's most solid shield!"

Saying this, he drew the military saber at his side, looking toward the Chief of the Guard and the similarly solemn officers nearby.

"Gather your men—"

"Prepare for battle!"

—

(Thanks to the alliance leader from the East Sea Fishing Village for the reward!!!)

Chapter 441: The Moment of Counterattack!

"Boom!!!!"

Prosperity Epoch.

Outside the riverbank.

A deafening explosion shattered the silence of the afternoon.

Shattered rocks and dust rained down like droplets, making the soldiers of the Falcon Kingdom crouch lower in their trenches, instinctively, to shield their lunch boxes.

"Damn it—"

"My ears...crap!"

"What was that sound?"

"A nuclear bomb?"

This had been the rumor spreading among the troops recently.

The Army had planned to wipe Prosperity Epoch off the map with nuclear weapons.

Could it be...

They had already used them?

Clutching his stinging ears, a soldier struggled to his feet, found his steel helmet to put on, and peeked his head out of the trench, desperately looking in the direction of Prosperity Epoch.

However...

The despair-inducing riverbank still stood tall.

A numb pupil briefly flickered with despair.

As if realizing something, he turned his stiff neck, trying to look behind him.

And as he did, his narrowed pupils suddenly dispersed the light, and the despair hidden deep within the window of his soul spread across his entire face at that same moment.

Smoke.

Fire.

Drifting heatwaves.

The entire world seemed to be on fire.

Crawling black smoke connected the sky to the ground, like a torrent pouring down from the underworld, with no end in sight whether one looked up, left, or right.

The center of the explosion was a hundred-meter-wide crater; the vast battlefield had a corner directly erased, with uplifted soil, shattered rocks, and corpses... burying the winding trenches.

There were no cries of agony.

Only a deathly silence.

He remembered it was the position of the 1st ten thousand troops' 7th thousand team; he even remembered those young men had just replaced the battered 2nd ten thousand troops' 4th thousand team yesterday.

His Adam's apple moved slightly as the sound of swallowing saliva became the only audible noise in this silent world.

And then, it suddenly started to rain.

The droplets were red.

He lifted his trembling right hand, touched his nose with his index finger, and that hot, sticky sensation nearly stopped his heartbeat.

The rain intensified abruptly.

From a light drizzle to a downpour that became solid and incessant, more fragments of flesh and bone debris fell from the sky, pounding his steel helmet and making a cacophony of pings and clangs like hail.

What was all this for?

What was the purpose of his existence here?

Fear finally breached the soldier's mental defenses; kneeling in the trench, he hugged his helmet with both hands and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

And in the distance were deafening artillery fire, continuous gunfire, and the cries of a charge accompanied by the sound of tanks' tracks rolling forward...

The rage and hatred of tens of thousands of people completely pulled the surviving soldier from that silent world back to reality—

"Charge—!"

…

"Bang—!"

The thunderous sound of artillery, like a horn being blown, shattered the surrounding clouds, nudging the lightly swaying Iron Heart cruising below them.

Thick plumes rose from the 400mm main cannon, arching in a perfect parabola, descending towards the ground together with diving propeller planes.

Watching the flames rise from the ground, Spring Water Commander, standing beside the railing of Iron Heart's deck, couldn't help but click his tongue in astonishment.

"...That yield might not be much smaller than a tactical nuclear bomb."

And eco-friendly with no radioactive dust.

Just that the crater is a bit too big, probably will take some effort to fill.

Speaking of which, the last time he saw this thing fire was on the ground; now, from a different perspective, it felt completely different to him.

Facing the firepower of this "air battleship," the siege line of Falcon Kingdom around Prosperity Epoch was collapsing at a visible rate.

The Goblin Corps' aerial squadron cruised along the edge of the explosion's shockwave, with forty W-2 ground-attack aircraft's cannons continuously firing to strafe the ground; this was already the second round of air raids.

I Max Black looked towards Spring Water standing next to him.

"When do we go in?"

"It's not our turn yet."

"Dang, it's about to end!"

"Airships are the protagonists of this war; let our allies handle the charging into the fray. Our role is to appear at a crucial moment in a crucial position, like when the enemy armored units suddenly rush in, we'll reinforce with anti-tank weapons, etc... But now it seems there's probably no need for that," Spring Water Commander took out his binoculars and glanced at the ground.

The enemy line was collapsing faster than anticipated.

It looks like the Army has decided to give up this position...

A chain of black dots appeared in the distant sky.

The Falcon Kingdom's flight squadron was trying to salvage the situation, with thirty "Eagle Type" propeller planes entering the battlefield from the northwest.

However, from the moment those twinkling red dots appeared on Iron Heart's radar screen, their fate was sealed.

"Master, enemy planes have entered the firing range!"

Xiao Qi's voice was full of enthusiasm in the communication channel.

Chu Guang, standing in front of the bridge's floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at a clear patch of sky, announced their demise with a tranquil tone.

"Fire."

"Roger!"

As the playful remark ended, a sky full of flares lit up the heavens in an instant, with smoke and fire from the explosions forming impenetrable walls, instantly adding another cloud to the clear sky.

Under the overwhelming firepower, any evasive maneuver lost its meaning in that moment.

If they couldn't break through the entire airspace within the span of a breath, being shredded by countless shrapnel was the only outcome.

Finod stood not far away and swallowed hard.

The Iron Heart truly understands how to play this guy.

He even felt the illusion that upon reaching the hands of this devil, the combat power of the airship had jumped up an entire order of magnitude.

Under the coordination between the shelter server and the shelter AI system, every anti-aircraft cannon on the Iron Heart had its performance squeezed to the limit, even probabilistically covering those explosive fragments performing Brownian motion, which expanded the volume of the fire net by 1.5 times without changing the efficiency!

Especially the brainwave of turning the deck into an airplane runway.

It truly made his jaw drop.

Of course, the Iron Heart could carry plane-borne aircraft, but they were generally vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

This method of throwing propeller planes out like paper airplanes was something beyond his imagination.

Aren't they worried about accidents at all?

"Enemy air units have been completely annihilated!"

Xiao Qi's report came through the communication channel.

Chu Guang nodded slightly and withdrew his gaze from the distant sky engulfed in dense smoke, turning his attention back to the nearby City of Abundance.

On the battlefield shrouded in thick smoke, the Beetle Corps, led by Prince Wenter, had burst out of the western gate on the river embankment and, with the assistance of the Honey Badger Kingdom's restoration army, completely crushed the defense line of the first ten thousand troops of the Falcon Kingdom.

In fact, before they had emerged from the river embankment, the Falcon Kingdom's defense line was already on the verge of collapse.

The repeated dive attacks and bombings by thirty W-2 ground attack aircraft had almost paralyzed the fixed fire points in the position.

Moreover, a total of four 400mm heavy high-explosive bombs and incendiary bombs that fell from the sky directly overwhelmed the morale of the Falcon Kingdom's soldiers.

There were far more soldiers laying down their weapons and throwing up their hands to surrender than those killed on the spot by the artillery fire.

Although most of them fought back stubbornly, it still could not change the defeat that was already sealed.

The nuclear bombs were not deployed at the airport closest to this location, and the Army had not even approved more planes to be brought in.

Even as early as last night, the Alliance's reconnaissance planes discovered that at least three ten thousand troops and two artillery squads had already withdrawn in the northwest direction.

And these people left to cover the rear were the expendable pawns that Griffin had fed the Alliance.

Under the circumstances where the supply line in the north could not be maintained, it was the most realistic judgment, and Griffin's choice was even more resolute.

If a fortress couldn't be taken, then abandon it straight away, and during unfavorable situations, don't hesitate to tactically retreat, never underestimating the seemingly inconspicuous Alliance.

This old fox was craftier than he imagined.

Considering a cautious approach, Chu Guang had not ordered the airship to penetrate deeply into enemy territory, pursuing the retreating enemy forces.

The Alliance would not design a weapon that it could not handle itself, so he had reason to believe that the Army also held a trump card that could take care of the Iron Heart.

At least according to Yin Fang, the chief researcher of the Alliance, technology manipulating gravitons was not impregnable, otherwise the Prosperity Epoch would not have ended so abruptly.

When it was necessary to go all-in, he would do so without hesitation, but when there were safer options available, he would also choose the latter without hesitation.

The Iron Heart would not detach from the front lines to penetrate deep into enemy territory. Chu Guang personally would lead this flagship, steadily advancing the frontline step by step.

The counterattack on the City of Abundance no longer held any suspense.

By contrast, he was more worried about the situation to the south.

If his initial strategic judgment was correct, then the Army's nuclear bomb should already be deploying towards the airport in Lost Valley...

Staring out at the battlefield through the floor-to-ceiling window, Vanus pondered for a moment before suddenly speaking up.

"It's too fast."

Chu Guang looked at him.

"Fast?"

"Hmm..." Vanus nodded slightly, deep in thought, "I didn't even see a hint of effective resistance."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Isn't that good?"

"It's not bad, but it makes me feel a bit strange..."

Vanus pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke up.

"Where are Griffin's tanks? Since yesterday, we haven't seen a single one; the Restoration Army of the Honey Badger Kingdom almost charged into the riverbank without any resistance. If I were in their shoes, I would never have allowed those two forces to successfully join together."

Tanks without infantry are like a spear without a handle.

Under those circumstances, it would have been entirely possible to dispatch several anti-tank teams to work with the armored units to intercept the Restoration Army of the Honey Badger Kingdom.

They didn't even need to wipe them all out.

The Falcon Kingdom only needed to hold them off, to stall them beneath the riverbank. Once tanks stop, no matter how tough they are, they turn into iron coffins.

"Even if this is Luo Xia Province on the West Coast in principle, even if they have only so many tanks here, this is still too strange..."

After a few seconds of pause, looking at Chu Guang lost in thought, Vanus continued to share his perspective.

"It can't be that all the tanks are at Camp 530, right?"

...

To the east of Oasis No.4, three hundred kilometers away from Double Peak in the desert, twilight began to shroud the land.

Tanks flickered in and out of visibility in the swirling yellow sand, revealing only a thick barrel and the turret draped in desert camouflage netting.

Sandbags had reinforced the front of the hull, and it was completely buried in the sand.

These tanks were primarily Conqueror No. 5 Light Tanks and No. 10 Heavy Tanks.

To extend the line sufficiently, there was significant distance between tanks, and the large gaps were filled with dugouts where infantry lay prone.

To the far north of the line, an oddly shaped tank was parked.

It had no turret; the barrel was embedded in the wedge-shaped hull, and even more surprising were its tracks, which, unlike being set inside the hull, were attached to the outside of the hull like tires.

An officer dressed in navy blue military uniform stuck half his body out of the tank, holding a telescope in his hand, his prominent nose unwaveringly pointing east.

His name was Stan, a tank commander under Griffin, and also the commander of the Falcon Kingdom's 1st Armored Motorized Army of a thousand.

A few days ago, General Griffin personally briefed him on this operation.

"Our plan is not foolproof, and if they see through our strategy, attacking our airfield with a motorized unit is their only choice and their last hope. What you need to do is to seal that last door shut!"

All this, of course, was based on the assumption that "the Alliance has seen through their plan," and though the likelihood of this was very slim, it was not impossible.

But Stan wasn't worried.

Fifty Conqueror No. 5 Light Tanks, forty Conqueror No. 10 and No. 11 Heavy Tanks, as well as the "Wanderer" he was in right now.

Plus a thousand motorized infantry and a vast amount of anti-tank and anti-infantry equipment had spread a huge net over a ten-kilometer-wide battlefront.

Be it a thousand men.

Or ten thousand men!

None shall cross this wall!

At that moment, the voice of a scout reporting enemy vehicles came through the communication channel.

Although the signal chopped due to the rust-laden sandstorm, he still clearly heard those key words.

The scout had repeated himself several times before hanging up the phone.

Stan put down his binoculars, adjusted the headset on one side, and ordered in a merciless voice.

"All units pay attention, enemy units are moving from due south towards G5 area."

"Combat begins!"

The moment the words fell, a deafening explosion suddenly came from afar, and a column of smoke slowly rose from the horizon.

A slightly surprised expression appeared on Stan's face.

The direction where the smoke was rising...

Was it his position?

Even though he had already laid an ambush and had sent scouts ahead for reconnaissance, they somehow got the drop on with a preemptive strike...

Impossible!

Chaotic and confused voices came through the headset.

"...This is Team 7, 'Hunter' and 'Obsidian' destroyed! We're under attack by an enemy tank cluster, need reinforcements!"

"Damn—"

A deafening blast interrupted the tank commander's voice. The gunner cursed furiously as the loader vigorously stuffed shells into the gun breach, the clinking and clanking of the shells and the staccato burst of the coaxial machine gun firing made the tense and chaotic battle situation palpable.

When Stan heard that "Hunter" was destroyed, his brow finally furrowed with seriousness.

'Hunter' and 'Obsidian' were the call signs for the No. 3 and No. 4 vehicles of Team 7 – Conqueror No. 10 and No. 11 heavy tanks!

The former was self-explanatory.

The latter had nearly 1.5 meters of equivalent armor!

Not only did it feature gap layers and anti-penetration plates, but it also had sandbags for cover.

Such a "moving fortress" couldn't possibly be penetrated by a single shot, right?!

Whatever Team 7 had encountered, now was not the time for hesitation.

Stan had no time to be surprised, let alone to waste another word, and he immediately retracted half of his body back into the "Wanderer" tank.

With a piercing electric sound, the surface of the gray-black tank seemed to be coated with a transparent film, and even a thin layer of frost formed in the shadow under the barrel!

Communication was completely cut off.

Before the silence, he transferred command to the captain of Falcon Kingdom's direct No. 1 Armored Motorcycle Army of a thousand.

And the price paid for this was almost invincible armor!

Those natives could never have imagined that the Army still held this ace up its sleeve!

A cold arc formed at the corners of Stan's mouth.

His hands gripped the controls of the gun, he calmly switched on the rangefinder and the optical zoom sight, and at the same time gave an order to the driver in front.

"Target G5 area—"

"Advance!"

The hunt—

Had begun!

...

In the endless Desert Sea, the Alliance's Skeleton Corps and the Falcon Kingdom's armored team of a thousand clashed in a skirmish.

Thirty-five No. 2 tanks and 500 armed grenadiers faced off against nearly a hundred Conqueror tanks and almost a thousand light infantrymen waiting in defensive fortifications.

Although the premonition of crisis from the Perception-type players and "Thermal Vision" from good old Fu Gui helped the Skeleton Corps to detect this ambush in advance, allowing them to quickly deploy personnel and equipment before the encounter battle broke out, they avoided being caught off guard.

But it still couldn't change the disparity in numbers between the two sides.

Both parties were elites in their respective camps, and both had hidden cards that the other did not understand.

This was destined to be a tough battle!

Just as the clash of iron and blood began here, the slaughter 200 kilometers away had already reached a fever pitch.

The troops garrisoned at Petra Fortress had nearly emptied their nest, and nearly 20,000 high-spirited soldiers rallied under Lord Saen, following the guidance of their faith to charge toward Lost Valley.

All modes of transportation from Petra Fortress were temporarily conscripted, whether motorcycles, trucks, or even ox carts and horse-drawn carriages, all used to transport troops, supplies, and to tow artillery, creating a vast dust cloud rolling like a sandstorm.

And General Mclen on the other side was certainly not blind; he quickly noticed the commotion in the west and immediately dispatched his subordinates, setting up formation along the ruins of Highway No. 7.

The two sides engaged in an intense firefight 50 kilometers from the airport.

Due to both sides being unprepared for this war, the firefight quickly turned into a brutal melee.

A battle line extended over ten kilometers, filled with gunfire and cannon fire.

The parties could only rely on the approximate direction and barely distinguish friend from foe in the fading twilight, and then fire towards the flashing muzzle flashes.

As for the advance and retreat of various units or holding positions on the spot, they relied on the occasional small notes brought by messengers.

The setting sun stretched the shadows of the valley, and the entire desert was coated in a blood red hue.

Just as the battle intensified, a thousand-strong armored cavalry unit, led by Saen's Chief Guard, took a path along the Jubar Mountains to the south of Lost Valley.

Most of the Army and Falcon Kingdom's troops were pinned to the east and north sides.

Here lay the weakest link in the defense, with only a few machine gun positions and watchtowers standing.

They would serve as a dagger, piercing into the softest part of the beast's belly, and then emerging from its spine, using dynamite and hand grenades from the horsebacks to destroy the planes parked on the airfield north of the camp, or at least to damage the runway...

And accompanying them were the White Bear Knights, driving their armed trucks.

"Let's part ways here."

The Chief Guard tugged the reins and rode in front of the trucks, looking at the three men and a bear on the truck and continued,

"We'll do our best to destroy those two planes, and leave it to you to stop the Calling Evil Spirits ritual!"

Sesame Paste, sitting in the passenger seat, nodded seriously.

"Leave it to us... take care on your way."

"I will."

The Chief Guard gave a grin, knocked his steel-plated breastplate with his raised right fist, then turned his black steed, grabbing the carbine hanging on the saddle.

No grand speeches.

Nor any resounding slogans.

He just kicked the horse's belly and rode to the front of the formation, and seeing this, the thousand plus cavalry silently followed after him.

Then—

They commenced the charge.

The pounding hooves like rolling thunder on the plains, raising an endless cloud of dust on the Gobi, they charged unflinchingly towards the Army's encampment.

"To think I'd witness a cavalry charge in the 24th century..."

Meat Meat's face was filled with surprise, eyes fixed on the direction to the north.

"Oh..."

Tail, who was leaning on the machine gun, also looked towards the north, murmuring to herself in surprise.

"…I hope you all make it back alive."

Those people felt as alive as anyone to her.

"It's time for us to move."

Si Si glanced at the rearview mirror, then looked at the copilot beside her.

After receiving a pair of determined eyes in response, she restarted the truck and headed toward the southern side of Lost Valley.

The objective of the Petra Cavalry was to penetrate the defense line on the southern side of Lost Valley and the airport on the north.

Their chances of breaching the defense were only 50%, and that was the most optimistic scenario.

As for them, their target was Lost Valley.

Si Si never expected that they would still be able to receive tasks from the Manager through the official website outside of communication range.

However, the task's destination coincidentally aligned with their current objective, right in the midst of the "levee" remains.

According to the various clues gathered, the Army was searching for something there.

Whatever that thing was, they absolutely couldn't let them find it.

It was quite strange when she thought about it.

The news about Oasis No.4 and Lost Valley on the official website was mostly updated by her alone; theoretically, NPCs from the Alliance shouldn't be aware of what was happening here, aside from the players.

Could NPCs also access the internet?

If that's really the case, then this Game was far too "real"…

…

At the Army command post on the north side of Lost Valley, General McCullen was standing before a strategic map and a radio set, directing the deployment and dispatch of frontline forces.

The soldiers from Camel Hump Kingdom were no match for those from Falcon Kingdom; in both military theory and organizational level, the two sides were not on the same page.

The former's only advantage was perhaps their devout faith, which often failed to be effective on the frontline battlefields.

The nearly 20,000-man Petra Fortress couldn't possibly be a match for him.

Although everything was still under his control, having his feet on the ground still made him feel uneasy.

It was a pity that reclaiming the airships would take some more time.

At this thought, curses began to erupt in McCullen's heart.

Only now had he realized that he might have been used like a pawn by that skunk.

He had clearly come here to find that Titan's Shield Core!

If he could secretly take that core, modify it into a weapon, and fire at Iron Heart, he could bring that thing down from heaven.

But then General Griffin had suddenly thrown an order at him, insisting on fixing some airport.

He was very happy to drop a Tactical Nuclear Bomb on the heads of the Alliance, but it was another story to become the frontline because of it.

Now look where he was.

The Alliance had seen through that skunk's lousy plan and somehow convinced the fence-sitting Camel Hump Kingdom.

Only one or two Ten thousand troops had arrived so far, which posed no difficulty to handle.

But what about later?

Since the nuclear strike plot had been seen through, the Alliance must have already deployed troops to advance in this direction, and the bomb dropped on Qingquan City can't possibly annihilate those forces.

Furthermore, nearly 100,000 regular troops were stationed at the adjacent Oasis No.4!

Even if the troops trained by the Army from Falcon Kingdom were elite, they couldn't fight ten times their number like superhumans.

By then, he probably had to escape by plane again…

"It's time," said a pilot in the command post, glancing at his watch again.

Actually, there was still some time left before the scheduled moment, but staying here made him feel an intense unease.

McCullen waved his hand, "Go now… hurry there and back."

The pilot nodded, picked up his helmet from the table, and walked toward the outside of the tent.

The escorting fighter jets had already taken off upon his command to confirm the safety of the nearby airspace, and then the H-55 "Hurricane" carrying the nuclear warheads would follow.

At the very moment the pilot left the command post, an officer hurried in, saluted next to General McCullen, and reported loudly.

"Report! A cavalry unit has appeared to our south!"

Staring at the strategic map on the table, McCullen coolly gave his orders.

"Redirect 5 wheeled reconnaissance vehicles from the camp to that area, and notify Weiss to lead the camp's hundred motorcycle troops to the southern position for support immediately! They must prevent them from getting near the airport's runway!"

"Yes, sir!"

The officer saluted and quickly jogged out.

Watching the figure disappear at the entrance, McCullen's heart relaxed slightly.

He had been keeping this unit on hand without sending them to the frontlines, precisely to guard against a sneak attack by those natives.

Those barbarians had indeed come!

Cavalry?

McCullen sneered.

He would show them what a foolish decision it was to oppose the Army.

However, just then, an air raid alert suddenly sounded outside the tent.

McCullen froze slightly, doubting he had heard correctly.

Besides this place, where else was there another airport nearby?

At that moment, another officer lifted the tent flap and walked in quickly from the outside.

McCullen read the severity of the situation from his panicked face.

Before he could ask any questions, the officer rapidly reported.

"An airplane is approaching us—"

"Is it from the Alliance or a corporation?" McCullen grabbed his collar urgently, "And our aircraft? Have they taken off yet?"

A barrage of questions rendered the officer flustered.

As he stared at a nose that seemed like it was about to poke into his eyes, he nervously shook his head.

"I… don't know."

-

(Thanks to "Fate of the Turbulent Seas" for the big reward!!! With one volume per month, this volume will soon be done, and I think I forgot to divide it into chapters again…)

Chapter 442: Codename "Falling Leaves"!

On the vast and endless wilderness, the roaring sound of tank cannons, like the beating of drums, exploded into thick, long flames across the horizon.

A Conqueror No. 5 light tank tried to flank the Skeleton Corps on their left side but was soon hit by a 155mm caliber high-explosive bomb.

The blast wave from the explosion surged into the tank's interior through the gaps between the turret and hull and the observation ports, the horrific overpressure effect instantly perforating the crew's eardrums, rupturing their spleens, causing bleeding from their mouths and noses... they were instantly incapacitated.

The tank moved forward for a bit and then came to a halt next to a shell crater.

One kilometer away.

In Tank No. 2 that had fired and hit the light tank, the player serving as the gunner excitedly swung his fist.

"Hit on the turret!"

"Niubi!"

"Hahaha! The power of this 155 is just too niubi!"

"Stop the chatter, Strength Type, load the next round quickly!"

"Crap, I got ID!"

The 60mm smoothbore cannon of the Conqueror No.5 light tank was like scratching an itch when faced with the Alliance's No.2 tank.

Conqueror No.10 and No.11 tanks, capable of threatening Tank No.2, were successively targeted by Tank No.2 Model B.

The 60-megajoule railgun was already a weapon at the level of anti-ship combat.

A Conqueror No.10 Tank was locked on by the railgun, and as it charged to capacity, a deafening sonic boom burst out of the barrel along with the intense shockwave.

In that misty cloud, faint blue arcs of electricity were visible, followed by an orange-yellow afterimage lingering in the air.

The nearly 20-kilogram "steel needle" left not a hole but a deep inward-denting crater in the opposing tank's hull.

The twisted steel, in an extremely brutal fashion, fused together, and the sparks that sprayed out ignited the ammo rack, turning the entire tank into a burning iron coffin, which exploded into brilliant fireworks on the sand dunes.

"Nice shooting! Haha!" the driver shouted excitedly, looking out through the observation window at the burning fire.

"Absolutely!"

The Mole, with a smirk on his lips, chuckled and pressed the capacitor charging switch while gripping the control stick to turn the turret towards a nearby dugout, switching to the coaxial machine gun to open fire.

Streams of red tracer bullets poured down like rain, making a deafening sound that could cause one's ears to ring as they danced around the dugouts, sparking the deadly combination of fire and dust.

A soldier trying to retaliate with a rocket launcher didn't even get a chance to aim and was riddled with dozens of bullets, falling into the pit like a torn rag.

Even though large-scale warfare greatly diminished individual capabilities, Agility system players' advantage in reflexes still allowed them to outperform their equipment's maximum combat power.

In terms of reaction and aiming speed, these puppet soldiers had no chance against the players.

"Don't get entangled, keep moving forward!" The Mole shouted after firing again and destroying a tank that came from the north for support.

The 35 tanks, like the head of a spear, pierced through the southern side of the defense line. Following closely were troop carriers with infantry and then transport vehicles carrying supplies.

Light infantry hidden in dugouts tried to halt the advance of this iron torrent, but most were pinned down by the tank's coaxial machine guns, unable to move.

Those were tanks.

The undisputed kings of land warfare.

How could a few infantrymen stop them without guided weapons and plane support?

The Mole admitted that the Army, which had strategically predicted their marching route, indeed had some skill.

Arranging the heavy tanks in a line and burying them in the sand as fixed bunkers, with dugouts in a line and light tanks deployed on the flanks to exploit mobility advantages for side attacks, was indeed a noteworthy strategy.

No matter where the Alliance engaged them on the frontline, they could pin the Alliance down on the Gobi beach with their strong armor and ample firepower, and then armored units converging from other directions would surround the Alliance.

However, both the Army and the Falcon Kingdom ultimately underestimated the Alliance's strength, as well as the mobilization speed influenced by the corporations and their determination to support the battlefield.

When the No. 60 electromagnetic cannon was brought out, it already proclaimed the tactical failure of the Army.

When the Army's heavy tanks were unable to block this spearhead, the seemingly impregnable wall would turn into a fragile sheet of iron.

All it would take was a single swing of a shovel, and a large gash could be prised open.

Those tanks buried in sand pits became immobile targets, merely waiting to be harvested.

It was the light tanks roaming on the fringes of the battlefront that caused significant trouble for the Skeleton Corps.

Though a 60mm smoothbore cannon couldn't penetrate the Conqueror No. 2's hull and turret armor, it was enough to break the tank's tracks.

Firing on the move at the rolling tracks close to the ground required some luck, but as the battle persisted, they managed to score hits twice.

Two Conqueror No. 2 tanks had their tracks broken and became immobilized on the battlefield, a few players jumped down from a nearby truck with toolboxes in hand and ran towards the disabled tanks. However, before they could start repairs, a high-explosive bomb landed on the turret.

When the smoke from the explosion cleared, only a blurred mess of flesh and blood remained around the tank.

The dazed and disoriented tank commander sitting in the turret pulled off the intercom and bellowed into the open channel.

"Don't worry about us—"

"You all keep moving forward!"

The two immobile Conqueror No. 2 tanks stopped trying to repair their tracks and acted as stationary gun platforms, using their 155mm smoothbore cannons to support their advancing comrades.

Although it wasn't long before the two tanks were destroyed by the pincer attack from the Conqueror No. 11 heavy tanks from both sides, before they were taken out, they had managed to destroy six Conqueror No. 5 light tanks attempting to charge and intercept their allies' flanks.

Both sides continued to sustain ongoing casualties.

Watching the stationary green dots on the VM screen, the Mole, seated in a tank destroyer, grit his teeth and ordered the troops to keep moving forward.

Four tanks were destroyed.

In addition to that, there were five troop carriers and two supply trucks.

Ten squads of infantry were forced to dismount, and of those, there were only 79 survivors.

Abandoned in such circumstances, their fate was sealed.

Taking a deep breath, Mole gave his orders over the group channel before they moved out of communication range with the command vehicle.

"Attention all squads, all units that have lost mobility will form Group B—"

"By any means, with any method you can think of, attack the enemy units closest to you, even if it's just to delay them by a minute, or even a second!"

"See you on the forum!"

Although this order meant those who couldn't move forward would be left behind, no one felt despair, nor did anyone complain.

The response to his command—

Was nothing but excited shouts and vows of courage.

The Army would never know that the Alliance's greatest trump card wasn't the 155mm artillery, nor the 60-megajoule railgun...

But rather the people in the shelters.

"Group B, Squad 1 received!"

"Squad 2 received!"

"Awooo! Squad 3 is charging!"

"I'm going to fight it out with them!"

"Never retreat!!"

Under the direction of their squad leaders, the abandoned infantry quickly dispersed, some charging forward with RPG rocket launchers on their shoulders, others occupying the dugouts previously suppressed by Alliance tanks, and digging out buried anti-tank weapons along with 10mm heavy machine guns.

To the soldiers and tank crews of the Falcon Kingdom's First Armored Motorcycle Thousand Team's great surprise, even after they destroyed the Alliance's vehicles, they couldn't afford to ignore the burning wreckage.

Even with flames engulfing their bodies, crew members climbing out of the tank turret still managed to pull out their pistols and open fire on them.

Looking at that face, like that of a ferocious demon, the tank commander sitting atop the Conqueror No. 10 tank turned slightly pale and subconsciously pulled the trigger, sweeping a hail of bullets from the tank's coaxial machine gun in their direction.

The man atop the turret grunted twice before collapsing into the flames, soon turning into a charred corpse, yet the pistol remained clenched in his fist.

"...These people are all insane."

The tank commander couldn't help but curse, preparing to rotate the turret to aim in another direction when a loud 'boom' echoed from outside the turret.

Following that, the transmission system made a series of creaking noises, and the turret was stuck fast to the hull, unable to move.

A jet of molten metal from an armor-piercing round squeezed into the junction between the turret and the hull. Although it didn't penetrate the turret, it had "welded" the parts underneath.

The tank commander's face turned ashen.

"Damn it! My turret is jammed! Tilt the hull left 30 degrees, go in reverse, now!"

Clearing out these infantry scattered across the Gobi took some time, so much so that the supporting forces arriving from the north and south sides hadn't managed to close the encirclement in time.

Led by five tank destroyers, the Skeleton Corps effortlessly tore through the defense line. In contrast, the Falcon Kingdom's First Armored Motorcycle Thousand Team, spread out over tens of kilometers, dispersed like sands in the desert due to the ineffective support.

By the time they regrouped and caught up, the Skeleton Corps would have left them trailing by twenty to thirty kilometers.

The Mole breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, just then, a shadowy figure standing atop a distant dune suddenly set off an alarm in his heart.

"Enemy tank spotted... Is that thing a tank? Strange, I can't see its heat source."

The voice of Gnome King Riches came over the communication channel.

As an Agility system player endowed with the extraordinary ability of Thermal Vision, he served as the spotter for the Skeleton Corps.

The Mole, too, had seen the tank on the dunes, and Brother Fu Gui's report only heightened his sense of something unusual.

The wedge-shaped armor looked quite modern—even futuristic—but the layout of the gun barrel embedded into the hull was oddly retro. Omitting the turret could indeed reduce the tank's vulnerabilities, but how did it plan to aim at targets?

By twisting the hull using the differential speed of the tracks?

And the strangest part lay here—the tracks weren't beneath the hull but rather suspended externally, skewed sideways like two snapped chopsticks.

"Target at 2.5 kilometers ahead! Tank destroyer group, fire!"

Five deafening sonic booms rang out, and five 20-kilogram steel darts struck the tank simultaneously.

Yet, the unexpected happened.

The tank wasn't destroyed.

The shells, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, couldn't even scratch or spark the outer shell, let alone penetrate the armor.

Everyone in the Skeleton Corps could hardly believe their own eyes.

Gnome King Riches swallowed hard, his voice shaking as he spoke.

"What the fuck..."

It must be fake, right?

There was no time left to debate reality; a loud cannon shot cut through the players' thoughts.

The Mole only caught a glimpse of a shell casing being ejected from the opposing vehicle when suddenly a Type 2B tank on his left erupted into a blinding explosion!

Since the Type 2B tank had a metal hydrogen battery installed on top of the fuel tank to power the capacitors, the power of its explosion far exceeded the base model's.

In that moment, he finally recognized the tank.

"Damn... It's the Wanderer!"

The damned thing had already been delivered to Sunset Province!

What shocked him more was the power of that one shot.

Neither the intelligence provided by the Old Soldier nor the corporate shared information contained any data about its penetration depth, so the Alliance could only design the frontal upper hull and turret armor of the Type 2B tank destroyer based on the suggestion of the corporations, to ensure at least it could take a direct hit, increasing the penetration data for the 120mm smoothbore cannon by 120%.

However, he hadn't expected...

that the terrifying armor-penetrating ability would still exceed their expectations.

Moreover, with armor that rivaled absolute defense due to the Meissner effect, conventional methods were utterly ineffective against it.

Mole gritted his teeth.

There was no time to hesitate...

Even naval-grade weapons couldn't pierce that terrifying armor, let alone dreaming of using a 155mm howitzer against it.

The only option was to follow the reverse slope of the dunes ahead, circle to the sides of that monster, then disperse and continue to advance...

It had, after all, to use its tracks to adjust the direction of its cannon.

It certainly couldn't fire to both sides at the same time!

Ideas raced through his mind, and in just one second, Mole made his decision and bellowed out loud.

"Type 2B tanks, form group C and follow me to the northwest!"

"Other units, disperse and advance to the southwest!"

"We'll rendezvous on the east side of the airport!"

...

On the other side, about 100 kilometers south of Lost Valley, next to the sand dunes at the foot of the Xoerbar Mountain Range, lay a silver-gray flying machine shaped like a dragonfly.

12 flexible, blade-shaped wings stretched out behind it, folding and overlapping each other, while a pair of main thrust jet engines were located underneath the wings.

Its name was "Cloud Dragonfly," a Flapping Machine, with a front protruding nose under which hung a 35mm rotary cannon, and underneath its belly, it had a bay holding six neurally-linked/graphic recognition guided rockets, requiring a two-person crew to operate.

Compared to the "Dragonfly" transport made by Factory No.81, this thing much more closely resembled a real "dragonfly."

The 12 flexible, blade-shaped wings vibrated at a high frequency to stabilize the flyer in the air and allow for high-speed, all-angle maneuvers.

Its agility was greater than that of a rotary-wing helicopter, after all, a helicopter had to swivel its butt to turn, but it only needed to adjust the frequency of its vibrations.

And in extreme conditions, its instantaneous acceleration could reach over 9Gs, just like a real dragonfly!

And if it switched to horizontal flight mode, its cruising speed wouldn't fall far behind that of a fixed-wing aircraft, considering that the main propulsion came from a set of twin jet engines.

Of course, although it could switch to cruise mode like the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, it was ultimately not a fixed-wing plane, and its top speed was close to Mach 1.

Compared to that, it was more like a highly agile armed helicopter capable of horizontal flight. It had no requirements for takeoff and landing environment, not needing to maintain a level attitude like a regular helicopter; as long as it wasn't upside down, it was fine.

Thus, it could be carried on a truck to the vicinity of the battlefield for activation, like a tank, or could be deployed after being flown in and unfolded by a "Tiger Whale" Transport Aircraft.

For example, this "Cloud Dragonfly" had been deployed in the latter manner!

Due to its exaggerated payload and strong maneuverability, this type of Flapping Machine had achieved impressive results in combat against mutants, earning high praise from the military and civilians of the East Coast.

But this might have been the first time it was going to engage in combat with an army for a century...

Sitting in the pilot's seat, Falling Feather took a deep breath and glanced at the time again.

The time had come.

The operation codenamed "Falling Dusk."

According to the operation plan formulated by the Army Command, the Skeleton Corps would reach the eastern side of Lost Valley before dusk and launch a surprise attack on an airport stationed with a fully-staffed ten-thousand-troop army under the cover of the "Cloud Dragonfly" Flapping Aircraft.

Although they were short on personnel, the Alliance had tanks, "Military Helicopters," and against a bunch of "fries" with no armor protection, the task shouldn't be too difficult!

However, the Skeleton Corps still hadn't appeared within communication range; they must have run into some trouble.

Although anxious, waiting any longer and it would soon be dark…

Looking at his co-pilot's seat beneath his feet, Falling Feather said in a serious tone,

"The plan has changed. The Skeleton Corps can't make it, we might have to go it alone."

Relying on a single "Military Helicopter" to attack the airport was frankly no different from suicide.

But there were no other options now.

Every second of delay increased the threat to the Alliance's homeland.

The co-pilot, wearing a pilot's helmet and chewing gum, sparingly replied with just a word.

"Roger."

Falling Feather: "..."

Are newbies these days all so cocky?

"Star River Not Entering Dreams"—the ID sounded like it could belong to an anime fan, but the person behind it surprisingly had rich flying experience, and it was with helicopters, no less.

The most critical part was that this guy was a big brain from the Intelligence System!

Because of Brother Mosquito's influence, the majority of Alliance pilots trained in the Agility system.

After all, specialties in reflexive and visual nerves provided far more help to pilots than muscle and metabolic functions, and the Agility system was easier to level up than the Perception system.

To train an Intelligence System up to Level 10 Awakening and also have helicopter flying experience—that kind of player was as rare as a panda on the server, and after much searching, they had picked out this guy.

Speaking of which, was this guy from Navy Aviation?

Or a trainee?

However, Falling Feather didn't ask further; not prying into one's real-life identity and name, and not discussing work inside the game, was an unspoken rule that had long been upheld.

He'd only vaguely heard some unclear rumors.

A certain newly established "relevant department," through some method, from that even more mysterious operator, had gotten many good things beneficial for the country, and all of this couldn't be separated from the players' efforts in the game.

Although it sounded a bit like an urban legend, if it was true, then that mysterious relevant department should organize "professionals" like himself to enter the game, right?

Thinking this, Falling Feather couldn't help but wonder why the higher-ups hadn't organized him into this.

Was it because of the rules and the need for confidentiality, or was it because everyone was "bringing their own provisions"?

Or maybe…

That rumor was just a rumor, and the so-called mysterious relevant department didn't exist at all, just one explanation hidden among countless smoke bombs.

However, no matter the situation, it didn't matter.

Questions that shouldn't be asked, shouldn't be asked. Topics that shouldn't be raised, should not be mentioned.

He only needed to do well what he was doing now. As for other matters, naturally, there were people who should worry about them…

"Are you flying or not?" the gunner chewing gum criticized.

"Alright, alright, I'm starting up!"

Falling Feather's train of thoughts, interrupted, twitched his eyebrows fiercely, resisted the urge to kick the gunner, and, recalling the instructions from the manual, flipped the engine's switch with his index finger.

The twin main engines spurted out a pale blue arc light, buzzing like a hairdryer, with the tumbling airflow whipping up clouds of dust.

The twelve wings, divided into four groups, unfolded to the sides and quivered like waves, finally turning into invisible traces.

Having never flown such a sci-fi vehicle before, Falling Feather was thrilled; he gripped the control stick with both hands.

"Hold tight!"

Without waiting for the gunner to reply, the aircraft crouching on the dune leaped forward like a frog, and the velocity of its forward thrust rapidly climbed to 120 knots, then quickly soared toward 400 knots.

"Damn impressive..."

Seeing the rolling dust and sand beneath his feet, Star River, in the gunner's seat below, couldn't help but utter two words in awe.

The Military Helicopter 10's top speed was just 300 knots, and the usual cruising speed was around 200 knots.

This Flapping Machine's maximum speed not only far exceeded the limits of ordinary military helicopters, but it also could "catapult start," sprinting to 100 in two seconds… What kind of anti-air missile could hit this thing?

It's a good thing this is all in a game.

If this were real life, it would scare the enemy to death!

The surprise lasted only a few seconds.

Star River, operating the onboard radar, recalled the training from corporate instructors and activated it.

The pale blue cursor swept over the screen, scanning for radio signals within ten kilometers and life signals within one kilometer, searching for enemy targets.

A distance of 100 kilometers was but a ten-minute affair for the Cloud Dragonfly, moving at a cruising speed exceeding 500 knots.

Using up a quarter of the energy reserves, the outlines of a valley on the distant Gobi Plateau soon emerged.

And what caught both their eyes at the same time was a sweeping cloud of dust and the thundering charge of cavalry.

The Army's machine-gun posts were spitting flames, furiously firing at the horsemen.

Their sturdy breastplates provided some protection, but against the 10mm caliber heavy machine guns, the effect wasn't significant, even less so than the cover created by the horses kicking up dust.

They were brave.

Even as comrades continuously fell from their horses, there was no halt in the momentum of the charge.

But what stood before them were at least six machine guns, five wheeled armored vehicles, and nearly a hundred soldiers armed with automatic weapons.

Even though the cavalry held the absolute advantage in numbers, their firepower couldn't compare to their foes' will.

And the gap between them couldn't be closed by courage alone.

It was hard to say how many of them would remain when they managed to charge the enemy positions…

Star River, who was operating the onboard radar, spotted those people first.

"We've detected scant radio signals ahead... What are those? Cavalry?"

Falling Feather, piloting the Flapping Machine, raised the altitude by ten centimeters, allowing a broader view to observe the situation ahead while ensuring safety.

"They're probably the Camel Hump Kingdom's cavalry."

"Camel Hump Kingdom? Weren't those guys sitting still on the border?"

"They were, but according to posts on the official website, it seems Falling Leaves and her group are trying to persuade Petra Fortress to join the battle."

Hearing Falling Feather's reply, Star River paused for a moment.

"…Is that possible?!"

He had heard rumors that in "Wasteland OL," players' actions could change the game world's historical course and the progress of updates, but he couldn't believe it was actually true!

This was even more startling than the "virtual reality network" based on player cognition and dreams.

After all, this suggested that before updating a version, Dog Plan organizers had prepared N versions to correspond to N possible changes in world timelines.

"Anyway, this is good news for us. If they can successfully hold back the Army's support units, we can maintain low-altitude flight and rush to the edge of the airport… But it looks like they won't hold out much longer."

"Should we give them a hand?"

"Can you hit them from your position?"

"Altitude isn't sufficient unless we climb 50 meters—" Star River shook his head, cutting his sentence short mid-way, as his face dramatically changed and exclaimed, "Directly ahead at 10 kilometers, an angle of 60 degrees, an unidentified flying object is approaching us at a speed of 6 Mach!"

"6 Mach!?"

That could only be a missile!

Almost instinctively, Falling Feather stomped on the left rudder and pulled the control stick upward.

The "Cloud Dragonfly," speeding close to the ground, shuddered, executing an almost instantaneous shift to the upper left.

However, even with a speed nearly resembling teleportation, it narrowly missed being hit by that lethal strike!

The dust raised by the explosion was left kilometers behind by the speeding Flapping Machine.

Before they could celebrate their narrow escape, a barrage of machine-gun fire roared towards them, arriving alongside that red dot which had just penetrated the radar's perimeter.

The sound of breaking the sound barrier came from above, followed by the belated roar of the machine guns now drifting in from directly ahead.

"...Damn!"

Staring at the cracked canopy, Star River cursed, whipping his head around, but the plane was already out of sight.

"Damage report!"

"The right secondary wing group has two damaged wings, but the main engine is intact; it's not a major problem—"

Before Falling Feather could finish, Star River had already pressed the weapon system switch.

With a few whooshing sounds, five rockets were launched from their pods, speeding towards five wheeled reconnaissance vehicles on the distant ground.

With the support of the neural link system, he had locked onto the targets in almost 0.3 seconds.

Those five reconnaissance vehicles had no chance to evade or even to turn their guns towards the Flapping Machine that suddenly appeared in the sky before being turned into scrap metal by the metallic hydrogen charged rockets.

The guarding forces on the south side of Lost Valley were stunned by the scene, with a fierce web of fire momentarily pausing.

They only saw several white trails come from beyond their line of sight and then their reconnaissance vehicles were blown to pieces.

The cavalry of the Camel Hump Kingdom were similarly stunned.

But the flames that burned brought them not fear, but hope of victory.

"It's reinforcements!"

The charging Chief Guard, lifting his carbine with a bayonet attached, yelled.

Even though he had been shot several times.

Even though his shoulder and leg were soaked in blood.

His eyes, bloodshot, still glaring, roared with a deafening rage.

"For the Kingdom! For the Gods! For our homeland—"

"Charge!!!"

Above the Desert Sea.

Trying to save the damaged wing, Falling Feather gritted his teeth and steadied the control stick; then, looking down at the gunner, he shouted.

"Why did you open fire all of a sudden?"

"There's no time!"

Sitting on the gunner's seat, Star River had swallowed his gum and coolly analyzed.

"The radar feedback shows that airplane's speed is at least two Mach. Even if we climb and switch to cruising mode to evade, we can barely make one Mach... and he would only need one more dive to take us out. We wouldn't even make it to the valley."

"...There's more than one jet deployed by the Army in Sunset Province. There's also an escort fighter!"

Thinking a helicopter can take on a fighter plane is a bit of wishful thinking, even if it's armed with air-to-air missiles.

This has nothing to do with the level of technology; it is determined by their respective roles on the battlefield.

Being able to dodge the first round of attacks, they must have never seen such a novelty, and they didn't expect that in the middle of level flight, they would perform an almost perpendicular "right angle ninety-degree side maneuver"!

And that too at nearly 9G ejection speed!

Now, however, that trump card had been seen.

If it were him, the next dive would certainly not just simply involve a light tap on the fire button but a long press of at least one second for a strafing burst!

He wouldn't bet on a second mistake from the other side.

If they couldn't make it to the airfield...

At the very least, they had to insert their allies' ground forces before crashing!

As he spoke, Star River's movements didn't stop; he quickly switched to the 30mm rotary cannon and rained down bullets on the machine gun fire point on the southern side of Lost Valley.

Seeing his intent, Falling Feather tacitly pulled up on the controls and maxed out the power of the main thrust engine, sacrificing maneuverability for maximum acceleration.

"Ever been a copilot on a two-seat attack plane?"

"No, why?"

"Nothing."

Falling Feather took a breath and continued.

"I'll give you a taste of it!"

Including the damaged and broken flapping wings, twelve blade-shaped wings no longer trembled but folded inward, overlapping and combining into a single wing.

Blue arc-light spewed, heating the ionized air as Cloud Dragonfly shot upwards, breaking the sound barrier in an instant.

At that moment...

The "Cloud Dragonfly" soaring into the sky turned into a streak of light!

The torrent of bullets from above, like feathers shed by a bird in mid-flap, scattered over the south side of Lost Valley, landing in the direction of the galloping cavalry hooves.

Death rained fire from the heavens, and the machine gun positions on the southern edge of Lost Valley were blown into disarray, their firing power rapidly diminished.

The 35mm high-explosive bombs left marks not the size of an eye but of a washbasin on the ground!

Without the suppressive fire of the machine gun positions, the defense force, less than a hundred strong, was quickly overwhelmed by the charging sea of cavalry.

Some were trampled into mud by hooves, others were impaled through the throat by bayonets, and many more were shot dead by the carbines in the cavalrymen's hands while fleeing behind cover.

After suffering more than half of their casualties, the Alliance's "armed helicopters" came in support, and finally, a breach was torn in the southern defenses of the Army.

However—

The firestorm that burned to guide the cavalry charge did not last long.

The moment the cavalry charged into the camp, the thunderous machine gun fire fell upon the head of the "Cloud Dragonfly" Flapping Machine sooner than expected.

Under the barrage of 20mm cannons, the twelve overlapping wings broke off in an instant.

The cockpit canopy shattered, the engine spewing blue light shot out red flames and electric sparks jumped!

Yet before turning into a lump of scrap metal, it managed to burn itself out, emptying all its spare ammunition, and fired the last remaining missile in the rocket pod—

Two trails of white smoke shot out from the blazing explosion.

One fell toward the valley.

One headed for the airfield...

-

(Thanks to "Dream Tribe Ling Xue" for the lord-level reward!!!)

Chapter 443: The Collision of Iron and Blood

The twilight that plummeted from the sky seemed to ignite the horizon. Across the boundless Gobi Desert were scattered pieces of scrapped steel and slowly burning flames.

At the same time as the "Cloud Dragonfly" launched a surprise attack on the airport, nearly one hundred kilometers to the east of Lost Valley, the battle between the Alliance Skull Legion and the Falcon Kingdom's First Armored Motorcycle Army was drawing to a close.

Nearly all of the Falcon Kingdom's First Armored Motorcycle Army's 40 heavy tanks were annihilated!

The only four remaining tanks, due to damaged engines and tracks, were marooned on the Gobi Desert, waiting for rescue that they had no idea when would come...

In front of a 60-megajoule electromagnetic cannon, whether it's one meter of equivalent armor or 1.5 meters, both are as fragile as paper.

After all, back before the Prosperity Epoch, these were the kind of naval guns placed on warships!

When dealing with tanks that travel on land, whether you hit the hull or the gun tower, a single shot is all it takes.

Unfortunately, due to the legion commander's misjudgment of the Alliance's firepower, they stretched their defensive line too long, allowing the Alliance's armor cluster to almost unhindered run through Falcon Kingdom's defense line as thin as paper.

Scattered along a frontline spanning several kilometers, the heavy tanks had no choice but to leave their cover, turn around, and regroup while chasing the enemy.

Due to the enormous range difference between the two sides and the relatively open terrain of the Gobi Desert, these heavy tanks quickly became moving steel coffins.

And because of their poor mobility, those that were targeted by the electromagnetic cannon didn't even have a chance to dodge; they were simply called out by the 60-megajoule shells.

Faced with a hopeless situation, many of the Falcon Kingdom's crew simply gave up on fighting back; as soon as they were targeted by the electromagnetic cannon, they immediately abandoned their tanks and ran.

After all, the tanks were provided by the Secret Country.

They didn't need to feel sorry for scrapping them.

At least one-third of the Conqueror No. 10s were "scared stiff" this way.

In contrast, the 50 Conqueror No. 5 light tanks, with their superior maneuverability, caused considerable trouble for the Alliance.

However, a light tank is still a light tank, and strong mobility can't make up for the disadvantages in armor and caliber. It didn't even require a tank destroyer to take action, a single 155mm high-explosive bomb was enough to take them out.

The vast majority of Conqueror No. 5s were not destroyed due to their armor being penetrated, but due to the overpressure effect of the high-explosive bombs that killed the crew inside the vehicle.

Mole even believed that if their target wasn't the airport, and if they had enough time and ammunition, they could annihilate the entire armored force without a scratch...

However, things cannot always go as planned.

Plans not keeping pace with changes is the norm.

If the legion had anticipated that they could mount a 60-megajoule electromagnetic cannon on a tank, they definitely wouldn't have established such a "straight line" defense waiting for them, but would have concentrated all armored units together like the Alliance did, using the gap between tank destroyer shots to quickly advance within a two-kilometer range.

If the Alliance expected that Hover Tanks had been deployed to Luo Xia Province and had known through intelligence that it was waiting right in front of the Skull Legion, they definitely would have postponed the start of the entire operation... although that would have increased the risk of encountering a nuclear strike.

Sadly...

This game isn't as real-wishing as if.

With the Hover Tank joining the fray, what was a smooth breakthrough for the Skeleton Corps soon became a fierce struggle.

Even a twenty-kilogram steel needle with the muzzle kinetic energy of 60 megajoules was still unable to penetrate the Meissner effect armor of the Hover Tank.

After a fierce and deadly struggle, the mere five remaining Type B Mark II tank destroyers were eventually destroyed one by one by that impenetrable beast.

On the official forum of Wasteland OL, there was a chorus of wails.

Players who were "kicked offline" by that BOSS kept showing up on the forums to share their experiences, typing out posts crying foul about the lack of scientific basis.

"Damn it! Is that thing locked in health or what?!"

"I definitely hit it with at least two shots, and it didn't even flinch!"

"Sixty megajoules, and even ship cannons can't penetrate it?!"

"...Definitely cheating."

"Where are the planners? Calling the planners!"

"Probably a dog planner driving that thing!"

He must have been working overtime and had no time to browse the forum.

Until the end, Ah Guang wasn't called out by them either.

And in many people's eyes, this also firmly confirmed their guess—"It must be Dog Guang torturing them with that thing."

Besides those cursing and swearing, many people were also analyzing the weakness of that armor.

"What's the deal with that turtle shell?"

"The official website's setting collection mentioned it's related to superconductivity... but didn't specify how it works, nor did it mention the principle."

"Superconductivity... so does that mean any electrically conductive bullets won't work?"

"Maybe that's really the case. Plus, the mass bombs from railguns are highly conductive anyway. Those shots we thought hit might not have even touched them."

The so-called Meissner effect is the phenomenon where a superconductor repels a magnetic field as it transitions from a normal state to a superconducting state.

According to the description on the official forum, when bullets get close to the Hover Tank, they transition to a superconductive state for some reason.

Meanwhile, the Hover Tank itself is generating a magnetic field. A superconductor entering the magnetic field will create an induced current on its surface with no loss, thus producing a magnetic field of the same magnitude but opposite direction to that provided by the tank.

On the surface, it looks like the bullets are deflected by the armor, when in reality, they never even touch the armor, being repelled by the magnetic field at an infinitely close distance.

Paired with the steep angle of the wedge-shaped armor, standard kinetic energy weapons simply can't breach its defense, at best they might scrape the surface of the armor.

The only consolation for Mole was that although the BOSS battle wasn't going well, the scales of victory were still tipped in their favor on the whole.

The mission's goal wasn't to annihilate the enemy tanks in a skirmish but to raid the airport on the north side of Lost Valley, 150 kilometers away from the battlefield.

Although that "Wanderer" was unreasonably powerful, it was, after all, just one tank.

His last command "divide and conquer," "advance separately," still had some effect, and the good brothers who were destroyed and disconnected were not as many as expected.

Despite the significant casualties, there were still 15 No. 2 tanks that had successfully left the communication range.

For the remaining nearly one hundred kilometers of off-road stretch, two to three hours should be sufficient.

If nothing unexpected happened, they should be able to arrive before the sunset.

As a person left behind to intercept the pursuers, all he could do now was to trust his teammates...

Shaking his groggy head, Mole, who had been disconnected for a while, finally dragged his wobbly consciousness awake from the coma.

Half an hour ago, his tank took a hit.

At that moment, he felt nothing, just a tremble beneath his feet, and then a pale blue pop-up appeared in front of him, displaying [Connection Disconnected].

And it was the kind that wouldn't reconnect no matter what!

Since the No. 2 B-type vehicle used by the No. 60 electromagnetic cannon equipped with metallic hydrogen batteries, survival was basically impossible once breached.

So, when he found himself disconnected, Mole almost gave up any hope of reconnecting.

However, the fact that the respawn countdown hadn't started in his helmet reignited a glimmer of hope in his heart that had already gone cold.

Perhaps it was this persistence that moved the server, as after nearly half an hour of trying, he slipped back into the tank in a haze.

He had actually reconnected!

Discovering that this "lighter" hadn't exploded, Mole didn't have time to rejoice nor any hesitation, immediately logging off to call up the other two crew members as well.

But looking at it now...

It seemed that only the driver who sat in front of his left leg had successfully reconnected with him.

As for the one in front of his right leg, he had become a sticky mess of blood and charred flesh that probably even the Manager wouldn't recognize.

"Damn..."

Mole clicked his tongue.

Even with the sensory filters' protection, seeing that bloody, mangled corpse still inevitably sent shivers down his spine.

"If this game could get a license, I'd write my name backwards!"

Suppressing the churning in his stomach, he began inspecting the condition of the tank.

The shell had hit the frontal armor on the right side of the hull. Thankfully, even though it shot through the sturdy frame along with the engine and the Strength Type's human flesh-loading mechanism, it had not damaged the gun tower.

The fuel tank on the left side was still intact, ruling out the risk of fire.

The metallic hydrogen battery was located at the front right side, narrowly missed by the shell by just a bit, but luckily, it was indeed just a bit.

Mole tried to charge the capacitor but found that pressing the charge switch did nothing; the indicator light was red.

After assessing the damage, he immediately shouted towards the driver in front of his left leg.

"The capacitor is broken! How is it on your end?"

"The engine is scrapped! The chassis transmission structure is broken; it can be sent straight back to the factory for melting... Damn, there are infantry outside," the player from the Body Constitution System, squeezed amidst the twisted steel, pushed his eyes closer to the periscope and shouted nervously, "It's people from the Falcon Kingdom!"

Hearing that infantry were approaching from outside, Mole immediately tensed up and turned the periscope towards the west direction facing the front of the vehicle.

On the sand dune there, walking down with limps, were nine people. Judging by their clothing and weapons, they appeared to be light infantry from the Falcon Kingdom's First Armored Moto Thousand Team.

They were carrying rifles in their hands and anti-tank rocket launchers on their backs, cautiously spreading out and surrounding the unexploded Number Two tank destroyer.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and Mole took down the LD-50 carbine hanging on the inside of the gun tower, unfolding the collapsible stock.

"…You go fix the capacitor, I'll take care of them."

"Fix the capacitor?!" The Body Constitution System player was slightly stunned then turned back to look at Mole, "What's the use of fixing that thing? The electromagnetic gun's metal bullets can't even penetrate its defense, right?"

When the five electromagnetic guns fired simultaneously before, that thing didn't move an inch.

According to the analysis of the brothers on the Forum, that armor was probably designed specifically against electromagnetic guns, completely countering metal bullets without any means to penetrate.

As for armor-piercing shells, high-explosive bombs...

They had tried all the methods that could be used.

"We only have one chance anyway…" Mole said gravely, "Although it might not work, I want to try it again."

"Alright then…"

The player nodded, struggling to squeeze out of the deformed chair, and found the toolbox placed next to the loader.

The damaged capacitor was right beside the loader's right foot.

Looking at the blood carbonized by the electric current and the completely severed wire ends, the player couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

Mole's voice came from above.

"Can you fix it?"

He steeled himself and replied.

"…I'll do my best."

"I'm counting on you."

Mole took a deep breath, his left hand holding onto the hatch handle of the turret, the right hand grasping the LD-50, ready to emerge from the turret to fire before those infantry got too close.

However, just then, not far outside the tank, sudden bursts of gunfire sounded.

Hearing the gunfire, Mole was immediately taken aback.

LD-47's sound?!

After playing Wasteland OL for so long, he could not possibly mistake the sound of his own people's gunfire.

Without hesitation, Mole immediately turned the periscope towards the direction from where the sound of the gunfire came.

Right in front of the tank, to the right side, Elena was lying on the sand dune, firing bursts with her LD-47 at the soldiers of the Falcon Kingdom down below the dune.

Apart from Old Na, there was also the Gnome King Riches and three other armored grenadiers from the Skeleton Corps firing alongside.

As infantry combat players of the Skeleton Corps, their combat awareness and sequence level were relatively high in the server.

The ten-man team below the dunes was caught off-guard by the high-ground firepower and quickly turned into sieves, falling in pools of blood.

Seeing the crisis resolved, Mole tapped his index finger on the VM and immediately switched to Elena's communication channel.

"Old Na! What's your situation?"

"Everything's OK on our end; we just wiped out a team... What the fuck? You're still alive?" Elena, who was reloading, was shocked to hear Mole's voice.

She thought he was done for, lying unconscious in the dugout after being stunned by a high-explosive bomb. She had just seen Mole's post on the forum after logging off and assumed he was a goner.

But lo and behold, he's back online!

Since when did agility types recover as well as body constitution types?!

"Heh heh, isn't it normal for a non-tribal to have a lucky break after such bad luck? I think my hearing might be a bit off, but it's not a big problem. Only problem is our tank is probably scrapped, and my driver is still trying to repair it..."

A lucky break indeed.

Elena's expression became a bit weird.

Using luck on staying alive is such a loss.

Should have saved it for a draw...

But now wasn't the time for complaints.

Seeing that Mole was still alive, she immediately asked,

"Can you fix your tank?!"

"The engine's probably beyond saving, but the vehicle's capacitors should still work, just need to connect the broken wires... probably." Mole trailed off as he saw the guy fixing the tank throw a glare back at him, adding another word thereafter.

Elena swallowed.

"So... what do we do now?"

Mole took a deep breath and calmed himself.

"Do you have eyes on that Hover Tank?"

Elena picked up the binoculars hanging around her neck and started scanning the surroundings.

After a while, she replied.

"Can't see it... wait, there's a big cloud of smoke to the southwest, heading in our direction!"

"Uh-huh, probably heard your gunfire. I guess they'll come to check it out too," said Mole.

Lying next to Elena, Gnome King Riches also looked in that direction and muttered under his breath,

"How strange... Does that hunk of metal not generate heat? Why can't I see any heat source at all?"

He had found it odd just now.

Other tanks were so hot they glowed white.

But that Hover Tank was pitch black in his "Thermal Vision."

"Not seeing a heat source is normal; seeing it would be abnormal."

Mole took another deep breath and slowly continued, "Listen up... Whether we can make it or not, we have one more chance, and only one."

The brothers of the Army quieted down, waiting for his command.

Mole paused before continuing.

"At your current location, to the northwest, there's a light tank stranded... If I remember correctly, it was destroyed by a 155."

Elena immediately asked.

"And then?"

Mole said, "Figure out how to start it!"

Elena looked completely baffled.

"Damn... I've never driven a tank before."

While speaking, he quickly glanced at Gnome King Riches beside him, hoping to see a reliable expression on his face, but the latter looked just as baffled.

It wasn't too difficult to drive the Alliance's trucks; having hands was sufficient.

But driving a tank was a different story altogether.

Moreover, that wasn't even their own tank but the enemy's.

However...

In Mole's view, that didn't matter.

He had never counted on the Conqueror No. 5's 60mm "little pipe" being able to pose any threat to the Hover Tank.

After a deep breath, he said earnestly,

"Don't worry! Just follow my command..."

...

On the Gobi desert.

Upon receiving the news that the infantry had encountered the enemy, Stan directed the driver to change direction, heading toward the northeastern dunes.

There lay a destroyed Alliance tank.

Unlike the other tanks, it didn't burst into flames like a lighter, but simply lay prostrate on the leeward slope of the dunes.

Since the Alliance tanks had scattered and fled, Stan had no time to confirm the destruction, so he left it to the First Moto Thousand Team's infantry to handle.

However, he could never have imagined...

These trash couldn't even handle that bit of work.

"...Eleventh Infantry, report your status immediately!"

Only the sizzle of electrical current came from the other end of the communication channel.

He had been waiting for a long time since the gunfire started, but no response came.

Stan's eyes burned with fury as he couldn't help but curse,

"What a bunch of wastes..."

He tossed the communicator onto the shelf next to the water bottle, then pressed the button to reactivate the Meissner effect armor and ordered the driver,

"Target northeast direction, maintain speed at thirty yards!"

The driver crisply responded,

"Roger!"

There wasn't a single soul in sight amidst the rolling sands in the distance, but he wouldn't mistake the gunfire that erupted minutes ago. It was probably the tank's drivers making a last-ditch struggle.

Stan wasn't concerned about those few who slipped through the net; what infuriated him was that those infantrymen couldn't even do a simple cleanup after the battle.

It was such a waste to give the great Marshal His Majesty's tanks to these incompetents!

The target was slowly drawing closer.

Eyes glued to the sight, Stan kicked the driver's seat, and the driver intuitively halted the tank.

Not far off.

At the foot of a dune 2 kilometers away, a desert-camouflaged tank wreck lay quietly.

The frontal armor bore a twisted hole punched straight through.

The gun turret hung motionless, just as it had an hour ago.

With this level of damage, the tank was undoubtedly scrapped, but that didn't necessarily mean the crew inside was dead—in fact, there was a fifty percent chance they'd survive.

Looking at the ten corpses 200 meters ahead of the tank wreck, Stan smirked coldly in his heart.

There were no footprints around the tank.

Nor were there any bloodstains.

The survivor must still be hiding inside the tank, playing dead.

"Load high-explosive," Stan ordered in a chilling voice, ready to send the opponent on his last journey.

"Roger!"

The loader inside the tank swiftly pulled out the armor-piercing shell and replaced it with an orange-tipped explosive round.

However, just as Stan was about to finish off the tank wreck with a high-explosive, a shot struck the side armor.

Whiz—!

The short and crisp sound grazed across the vehicle.

It sounded more like a toothpick scraping on a blackboard than a cannon shot.

From the sound, it was clear that the caliber of the projectile was likely less than 100 millimeters.

Impatiently clicking his tongue, Stan gestured for the driver to turn the tank 60 degrees to the left, facing the direction from which the shot had come.

However, when he looked through the scope at that tank, he was momentarily startled.

Conqueror No.5?

"Is that our tank?"

The driver had also noticed the anomaly and doubtfully looked back at Stan.

Stan frowned, but he quickly realized something and coldly switched off the safety.

"...Just a few dying bugs."

Looking down on the 60 millimeter "little pipe" now, are we?

Still lying there motionless.

They probably didn't even know how to operate that tank!

Meanwhile, inside the targeted Conqueror No. 5 light tank, Elena was frantically stuffing the shells into the chamber.

As he pulled down the breech, he didn't forget to shout at Brother Fu Gui sitting in the gunner's seat.

"Did it hit?"

"It hit!" Eyes glued to the sight, Gnome King Riches casually replied.

Intrigued, Elena continued,

"Did it work?"

"It worked... for shit!"

Watching the Hover Tank pointing its gun barrel their way, Gnome King Riches's face instantly turned green.

Although he knew he wouldn't really die, although he knew this was the game world, having that black barrel aimed at him still made his heart pound frantically.

That terrifying sense of oppression penetrated straight into his soul...

He felt as if he could already see himself getting blown to bits.

"Damn it... Can this Mole actually do it?"

Seeing the stiff expression on his face, Elena had already guessed something and said with a subtle expression,

"Questioning this is pointless now, can only trust him this time... Anyway, want to give it another shot before we die?"

"MMP... Ahhh! Shit!" Gnome King Riches cursed and howled in rage, "I'm going all-in with you!"

Just at the moment within the frame where the flames flickered, he almost reflexively squeezed the trigger to fire.

The flames spewed from the 60mm pipe nearly licked the warhead of the high-explosive bomb.

The explosion's glow instantly engulfed the gun tower!

The two of them didn't even hear the blast ringing through the steel before they were turned into sieves by the disintegrating debris inside the steel and the shrapnel that penetrated the vehicle's body.

This time, regardless of being from the Agility system or the Body Constitution system, both were dead beyond question.

However—

Stan, who had destroyed them, didn't get a chance to mock his opponent's overestimation of their capabilities, as the cold smirk hanging at the corner of his mouth froze forever on his face.

The sharp, wedge-shaped armor folded inward in a twisted posture, and the 20-kilogram "steel needle," like a mallet striking mochi, blew the vehicle's body directly in half.

The last frame imprinted on his retina was the gun tower blown away and the flames from the sympathetic explosion.

Up until his death…

He had no idea what had just happened.

Meanwhile, inside the scrapped No. 2 B-type tank destroyer, sparks were crackling; the Strength Type brother, who had been dead for over an hour, was flailing his bloodied, indistinct legs as if they were flickering back to life.

The capacitor that had just been repaired was now completely beyond repair.

The Body Constitution system driver, who had been checking the equipment nearby, was also jolted by the electricity, flailing for quite a while before he came back to his senses, nearly failing to return at all.

He shook his head.

As soon as the player regained consciousness, he scrambled to the observation window near the driver's seat in a panic and peered out urgently.

When he saw the fire burning on the sand dunes, he was completely shocked.

"... Fuck!?"

Blurted out a curse, he abruptly turned to look at the squad leader sitting below the gun tower.

"Did it work...?"

"Mm..." The Mole was equally shocked by the electricity, but it wasn't as exaggerated due to the distance.

"Fucking awesome!!!" The player swallowed and excitedly clenched his fists, asking, "Brother, how did you manage it?"

The Mole, leaning on the chair, relaxed his tense shoulders and patiently explained to him.

"The Meissner effect not only works against superconductors near a magnetic field but also acts against the force that opposes changes in magnetic flux, even on superconductors far from the magnetic field… So at the instant of firing, that field must have been deactivated, or the phase-transition projectile wouldn't have been able to fly out at all. It had two choices: either switch off the magnetic field, or turn off the field that causes superconductors to undergo a phase change."

"Whichever choice it was, as long as Newton's coffin lid was still on… that was the best shooting window."

"Just have to fire at the instant it fires, and hit it before its armor reactivates... there's a chance to destroy it."

He paused, then continued.

"Of course… this is just my speculation."

And it was lucky that it was Meissner effect armor.

If it were a deflection shield, then this matter would have gone beyond the purview of high school physics.

If he couldn't even understand the principle, he would really be stumped.

Though he was completely confused, the Body Constitution system player still swallowed his saliva.

"… but you guessed right."

The Mole nodded his head, smiling weakly.

"To be accurate, it was a bet…"

Without the protection of the Meissner effect armor, the thickest alloy armor was just paper before a sixty-megajoule railgun.

The moment his index finger released the trigger.

He felt his back soaked with sweat, but still managed to squeeze out a smile of relief on his face.

Although it came at a heavy cost of casualties, the Skeleton Corps had ultimately annihilated the opposing tank forces and even destroyed the nearly indestructible Wanderer…

Although they couldn't make it to the airport on time, that couldn't be helped, this was the best outcome they could achieve.

At least fifteen more tanks had been sent as reinforcements.

And the toughest Wanderer had been dealt with.

With the "Ace Pilot's" micro-control, holding out for a few more minutes shouldn't be a problem.

He didn't know if the Manager could see his efforts, but he had already seen the glittering pop-up window in his hallucinations.

[Congratulations to "Canyon Runaway Mole"… and a host of other players, for achieving the First Kill of the "Wanderer" tank!]

To have such a line left on the Alliance's monument—

This life was worth it!

…

Meanwhile, in some distant and peaceful world.

No matter how intense the front-line battles were, the atmosphere here was always the most relaxed, a haven for players and Backseat Drivers alike.

Elena, who had gone offline, was now chomping on melon seeds in the Forum along with everyone else.

Upon hearing that the Mole planned to solo the Wanderer, the Backseat Drivers, who were just discussing the boss's weaknesses, one after another @Professor Yang, asking him to set up a betting pool.

Elena: "Stop betting, guys. The Mole hasn't shown up for so long; I reckon there's an eighty percent chance he's already taken care of it. Isn't starting a pool now just throwing money away? (Funny)"

Just then, Mosquito slyly interjected.

"How do you know he isn't too embarrassed to show up on the Forum after losing face?"

Night Ten: "Holy crap! That actually makes sense!"

Star River Unvisited in Dreams: "Ahem, big brothers from the Skeleton Corps, where are you guys? Did your tank fall into a pit? I've been waiting so long my chewing gum is turning into rubber."

Elena: "Ahem, we ran into an armored division, but it's already been dealt with… So what's up with you? Why did you come online? And what happened?"

Star River Unvisited in Dreams: "Eh, no option, we got bitten by a fighter plane, dodging a burst of machine-gun fire and a missile of unknown type was already quite an achievement."

Crow: "Does that mean the nuclear bomb is about to take off? Σ(゜ロ゜;)"

Teng Teng: "!!"

Short Chat Bullshit: "Holy moly!?"

Players living their lives through on-screen action were blown up in an instant.

Star River Unvisited in Dreams: "Ahem, before I disconnected, I fired the last missile towards the airport, although it might have gone a bit beyond the range… but it should be no big deal!"

Gnome King Riches: "A single missile? Is that enough power?"

Star River Unvisited in Dreams: "Metal hydrogen charge, bro! That's metal hydrogen! Definitely enough! T.T"

There was no need even to hit the plane directly, just blasting a hole in the airport runway would naturally ground the plane.

Elena: "Hey, that's good to hear. Anyway, where's Falling Feather? Why haven't I seen that guy? (Funny)"

Star River Unvisited in Dreams: "emmm… Not sure, I've been wondering about that too."

Chapter 444 Nowhere to Run

Explosions split the night, sending two trails of white smoke streaking across the sky, one falling towards the valley and the other towards the airstrip.

If that missile had hit the runway successfully, it would have left a deep crater right in the center of the airport.

But, coincidentally, the H-55 "Hurricane" was in the midst of takeoff and already too late to stop.

"Damn!"

Colin, seated at the pilot's seat, watched the white trajectory on the cockpit window with his face contorting in anger, cursed, and pushed the throttle down.

The flames spewing from the twin engines suddenly increased, propelling the aircraft forward at an even greater speed.

At the same time, he slightly turned the rudder to the left, attempting to evade the incoming missile.

However—

Danger still outpaced him by a step.

Although the missile didn't directly hit the plane, landing instead beside the runway, there was essentially no difference for a missile charged with metal hydrogen.

"Boom—!"

The blast wave from the explosion expanded at a terrifying speed, hurling shrapnel and stones against the side of the plane, instantly turning the right wing of the "Hurricane" into Swiss cheese.

One engine came to an abrupt halt!

With the other engine still going strong, the aircraft took a sharp turn on the runway, the landing gear brutally snapped off.

Amidst a grating sound of steel, the bomber flipped over violently, tearing a trench in the ground with its broken wing.

A layer of cracks spread across the cockpit windows until, with a loud crash, they shattered into countless pieces.

Colin's face twisted into a grimace as he groaned and, amidst the dizzying tumble, lost consciousness in an instant.

But before slipping into unconsciousness, he still struggled to stretch out his right hand and press the button next to the control stick.

It was the delayed explosion button, set for half an hour, and only he knew the code to disable it.

Although the troops stationed at the airport might not necessarily lose, General Griffin had cautioned him not to overestimate General McCullen's abilities.

He didn't care whether he himself would die; all he cared about was His Majesty the Marshal's ambition to conquer the world.

If the ground forces ultimately failed to recover the nuclear warhead,

At least, it shouldn't fall into the hands of the Alliance…

...

Meanwhile, in the skies above the airport.

Looking down at the ground through the fighter plane's window, the pilot sitting in the "Peidao" was stunned.

His last dive had successfully turned that oddly-shaped aircraft into a sieve with his machine gun, but who would have thought it was still clinging to a missile that hadn't been launched!?

What he didn't expect even more was that the pilot opposite knew another strafing round would be enough to finish them off, yet they showed no intention of bailing out, instead completely abandoning maneuverability in exchange for the straight-line speed needed to break the sound barrier!

Everything happened too fast.

Combat at Mach speeds only allowed a few short seconds for either side to make decisions.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he squeezed a few short syllables out from his throat, with difficulty.

"Fuck…"

What kind of madman was he fighting against?

There were nearly 200 rounds left in the machine gun.

Although he could dive again to strike the ground, it seemed there was no need.

Without the protection of both the reconnaissance car and the machine gun positions, General McCullen's line had been breached by the barbarian cavalry.

200 meters was a joke for these cavalrymen.

But at 20 meters, nobody could laugh anymore.

Especially out on the open Gobi desert...

The plane wreckage in the middle of the runway started to emit thick smoke.

Watching the wing fragment pierced into the belly of the aircraft, the pilot seemed to think of something, his face instantly turning ghastly.

Without any further hesitation, he immediately turned the nose of the plane westward and pushed the throttle lever all the way down.

At the same time, pinned to his seat by inertia, he bellowed on his private communication channel.

"…This is Peidao! We've been intercepted by Alliance ground forces, 'Hurricane' unable to take off! Mission can't continue! Requesting to return to base!"

"Repeat, requesting to return to base!"

The nearest airport was 1000 kilometers away, of course no one could respond to him.

But whether or not he got a response, it was time to retreat…

Not only the pilot in the sky was stunned but also the true air force personnel on the ground.

McCullen, who had just boarded a jeep, stared blankly at the smoke-rising airport, a trace of despair gradually appearing in his eyes.

Not only because that was his last and only way out.

But also because of the stuff that had been put on that plane...

The officer holding the steering wheel swallowed hard, nervously looking to the side.

"General… do we still go?"

They had originally planned to intercept that airplane at the airport.

But now it seemed unnecessary.

General McCullen's Adam's apple moved, and after a long while, he forced out these words.

"It's over."

As he finished, his shoulders slumped against his seat.

The officer sitting beside him was stunned, a look of bemusement filled his eyes as he gazed at McCullen.

This vigorous and prime-aged man seemed to have aged over a decade in an instant…

A tumult of thunderous hoofbeats boiled over the south of the camp, amidst an overwhelming chorus of battle cries.

As the elite of Petra Fortress, every horse in this cavalry unit was a black steed from the Great Desert. The riders upon them were without exception, brave and skilled warriors.

Once they lost the protection of heavy firepower, the defensive line on the southern side of the Army's camp was instantly shattered. Groups of cavalrymen charging into the camp wreaked havoc, jabbing with bayonets at anyone they encountered or opening fire with their rifles, sowing chaos throughout the camp with men and horses toppled everywhere.

"Capture the enemy commander alive!" the Chief Guard leading the charge shouted out.

However, by now, everyone was seeing red and had no mind to listen to his orders; the dead, including those struck down or impaled, lay everywhere, with some even kneeling to surrender.

Surrender?

Why hadn't they considered it while sitting behind the machine gun?

Even if they were to surrender—

It could wait until after they've killed half of us!

Thinking of their comrades lost in the charge, the cavalrymen on horses roared with rage.

Whether they were the distant arrivals from Weilante People or the Soldiers of the Falcon Kingdom,
at this moment, they were all just meat on the chopping board; as long as they rushed out and stood outside the tents, they were as good as dead.

And those hiding inside the tents weren't faring any better.

To avoid the tents entangling the horses' legs, the cavalry didn't charge at the tents but instead, they lit Molotov Cocktails stuffed with cotton and filled with petrol and alcohol using lighters and hurled them viciously into the tents.

These specially-made Molotov Cocktails were much more effective than grenades and cheaper to make besides, shaking them before use even improved their effectiveness.

Seeing the fires start behind them, Centurion Weiss immediately brought people to support from the western line.

Petra Fortress had numerous soldiers, but their combat power was not on the same level as the Falcon Kingdom.

Many of the militia were lax in their training and couldn't even dig proper dugouts, thinking that scooping out a hole and burying their heads was enough, not realizing that they were leaving most of their heads exposed to the enemy.

It was because of this that he was able to spare a thousand-strong Retinue Army, which reassembled and then made their way back towards the direction of the airport.

However—

Riding a tricycle motorcycle, he had just reached the edge of the camp, not yet having had the chance to go in and assist, when he saw a flicker of light to the east.

"Boom—!"

Before the deafening sound of the artillery could arrive, the light of the explosion blossomed on the dunes.

Two ten-man squads hadn't even managed to spread out and lie down before they were obliterated by a high-explosive bomb.

"Tanks!" a Retinue Centurion screamed in despair, "Everyone scatter!"

But this despairing shout was to no avail, it couldn't even be considered a dying struggle.

Those were tanks!

And not just one!

On the distant horizon, now slowly cloaked in darkness, a number of black dots appeared.

Tanks lined up in a row, their dark muzzles uniformly erect and pointing forward, with an enormous cloud of dust rolling behind them.

Seeing the iron tide appear on the horizon, the soldiers of the Falcon Kingdom felt despair wash over their faces.

They didn't even have anti-tank weapons.

They were utterly helpless against those things!

The first shell was just the beginning.

After the first hit, the other dozen tanks opened fire.

The barren Gobi Desert instantly exploded with deadly dust, vacuuming out areas the size of basketball courts.

Any organic being touched by the blast was instantly obliterated into a heap of flesh.

Even those not directly hit, scraped by the shards of the high-explosive grenades or shaken apart by the shockwaves, were countless.

A nearly full-strength thousand-man team was annihilated by half after just one round of volleys.

The caliber of those shells was clearly more than 100mm, likely upwards of 150mm.

There were no defensive fortifications to hide in, no cover.

In the face of the king of land warfare, the infantry could only await a one-sided slaughter.

Currently, only the tank cannons were firing.

By the time they reached the effective range of the coaxial machine guns, an interlocking net of machine-gun fire awaited them.

Centurion Weiss climbed up from the overturned motorcycle and, looking towards the distant steel tide, saw and despair in his stoic pupils turn into utter hopelessness.

"...It's over."

It was all over...

...

The battle outside of Lost Valley was over.

With the arrival of the Alliance's tank units, General McCullen had completely abandoned any hope of escape.

In fact, it was already too late.

Unless it was a plane, nothing could escape 100 kilometers within an hour.

"General... what should we do?" The officer sitting at the driver's seat of the jeep looked at General McCullen beside him in despair.

He didn't even know where to flee.

McCullen's Adam's apple moved, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He didn't see himself as a failed commander; he had dispatched each unit to the position they needed to be in, and made the right deployments.

However, he couldn't conjure up a ten thousand-strong force out of thin air, nor could he order a non-existent force to attack.

What about General Griffin's tanks?

Even if Camp 530 fell, at most they would only lose a third of the tanks.

That man couldn't have failed to consider if the Alliance guessed their plans, they might send a mobile force to raid the airport.

But where were the Conqueror tanks?

Where was that "Wanderer" that the army touted to the skies?

Why did he only see Alliance tanks?

And how did the garrison at Petra Fortress suddenly come out of their shell?

Didn't those nobles of the Falcon Kingdom swear that even if they were beaten to a pulp, those people wouldn't come out of their shell?

What exactly went wrong?

He just couldn't understand.

But...

It was pointless to talk about it now.

In the face of a million-ton three-phase bomb, all struggle was futile.

McCullen silently pulled out his pistol, trembling hands aimed it at his chin, and clicked off the safety.

He closed his eyes, yet his trembling forefinger, heavy as if filled with lead, did not pull the trigger after trembling for a while.

He put down the gun with a shamed expression and looked up at the night sky.

Well...

It was just a change in the method of death.

The sound of artillery from the northeast was getting closer, and to the south was the thunder of cavalry hooves and war cries.

Sitting in the driver's seat, the officer suddenly started the car and stamped on the accelerator.

McCullen, slammed back in his seat, didn't scold but instead asked with a wry smile.

"Where do you plan to go?"

"To the valley! If we hide in the valley, we have a chance to survive!" His boot pressed on the accelerator, the officer's eyes bloodshot.

In theory, it might be the case.

Whether cavalry, infantry, or those tanks, all would turn to ash in a nuclear blast...

The jeep's trunk contained decontamination suits and other survival tools; perhaps hiding in the valley could indeed allow them to survive.

A desire for survival reignited in McCullen's heart.

However, at that moment, he suddenly caught sight of a truck speeding out of the valley in the distance, heading towards the airport.

What was that truck trying to do?

McCullen frowned slightly.

He had a bad premonition.

Just like the ominous feeling he had a few days ago...

...

On the truck.

Si Si, gripping the steering wheel, glanced at the rearview mirror and then at the burning airplane ahead, tapping his finger on the headset.

"Ah Wei, you've made up your mind."

"Yeah! I've made up my mind!"

Short hair turned into a bird's nest, Tail nodded while standing at the machine gun position, a rare serious expression crossing his face.

"I've been thinking since Teddy died... maybe we are all alive."

Si Si's face showed surprise.

Including Sesame Paste in the passenger seat, and Meat Meat at the back of the carriage.

"... Digital life? Or something like that... I don't really understand, including other NPCs, I always feel that they are not just supporting roles in RPGs, or tools for issuing quests."

"They cry, they laugh, they have people they dislike and people they like, they manage their lives and don't just repeat some preset things; they're truly living well, just like we do in reality."

As she spoke, she herself became troubled, unsure of how to describe it.

Si Si glanced at the rearview mirror and fell into deep thought.

"Mm, but if you think about it that way, those enemies we've killed..."

Tail said with certainty.

"They were also alive."

"Then..." Sesame Paste said blankly, mouth agape.

Tail said without hesitation, "Even so, when it's time to shoot, I'll still shoot! No matter what, robbery and murder are bad, and if the bad guys refuse to surrender, more people will die. So if they don't plan on surrendering, it's better to let them die."

Si Si looked surprised at Tail in the rearview mirror, who couldn't open his eyes because of the wind.

But she didn't say anything more.

In fact, she'd thought about this question a long time ago, but she was flexible in her level of empathy.

Even an Oscar-winning screenwriter couldn't make every plot and character liked by everyone, let alone just an ordinary RPG game.

She would choose to empathize with what interested her.

As for the rest, it was up to her.

In reality, you can't just kill people, but in a game...

Once killed, they are just killed.

"I mean... do any of you know how to defuse nuclear bombs?" Looking at the burning plane, Meat Meat, who was clinging to the top of the truck, called out nervously.

"Oh! We don't!"

Meat Meat said with a cry-laughing expression.

"Then what's the point of us going there?"

"There's always something that can be done..."

Sesame Paste consoled Meat Meat, not knowing herself what to do; she was just a teacher after all.

Tail: "Exactly! Like sending the bomb into the valley!"

Meat Meat paused.

"But then, that relic would..."

"Right, whether to save the copy or the people outside, it's actually a multiple choice question..." Si Si said offhandedly, steadying the steering wheel, "So I let Ah Wei think it through."

Meat Meat: "What if we drove the truck as far away as possible in the other direction?"

Si Si: "To the west is Petra Fortress, to the east is the Skeleton Corps' buddies, so we can only run north, I don't mind making a sacrifice... Want to bet on how far we can get before it explodes?"

Tail: "Don't worry, Meat Meat, the game map is so big, it won't be difficult for Ah Guang to make a couple more!"

Meat Meat sighed and sat back down in the carriage.

"That's true too."

After all, the trip had already yielded no small profit.

The power of a nuclear explosion varies depending on where it detonates.

Among them, the airburst undoubtedly has the greatest effect on personnel.

Whether it was the shockwave or the irradiation killing power, the coverage of an airburst was the broadest, with radioactive dust even being carried by air currents hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away.

Next was a ground detonation.

At the center of the explosion, a deep crater would form, and a portion of the shockwave would be released upward in a conical shape.

This method of detonation was mainly used to destroy fixed fortifications, and its effect on personnel was somewhat less.

As for being buried underground and detonated, that was primarily for nuclear testing.

At the center of the Grand Canyon, there was a sufficiently deep cave, probably blasted out by some kind of orbital weapon. Although part of it had been covered up over time, it still had a depth of about a hundred meters.

That was their target.

As long as the nuclear bomb was sent into that almost vertical shaft, the impact of the explosion could be minimized to the least.

The truck stopped next to the airport.

A pedestrian quickly got out of the vehicle.

Grabbing the combat shovel that was resting beside the seat, Si Si was about to step forward when Meat Meat volunteered with enthusiasm.

"I'll do it!"

Alien sequence players may have difficulty operating tools, but their panel data was mostly outrageously strong.

The location of the bomb release mechanism was confirmed.

With a mighty roar, Meat Meat tore down the hanging steel plate, revealing the nuclear warhead buried inside the fuselage and the metal bracket securing the warhead.

Fortunately, this thing could be disassembled.

Not minding her singed fur, Meat Meat exerted all her strength and forcibly broke two aluminum alloys, finally pulling out the nuclear warhead about the height of a person, along with its bracket, from underneath the fuselage.

Looking at the cylindrical object on the ground, she suddenly felt a wave of fear and cautiously looked toward her teammates.

"...Will this thing explode?"

Si Si shook her head.

"I don't know, if it doesn't explode then that's best, but what we need to do is prepare for the worst."

...

Elsewhere, in Lost Valley.

Waking up from unconsciousness.

Luo Yu shook her drowsy head and looked around, a trace of bewilderment gradually surfacing in her eyes.

"...Where is this?"

Ahead was pitch darkness, like some unnamed cave. Behind her, a few streaks of light mixed with the sound of whooshing wind suggested a high location.

The Cloud Dragonfly didn't have ejection seats, but rather an ejection pod with stronger protective capabilities.

The parachute hadn't fully deployed, and the ejecting escape pod had crashed straight into the mountain, with the front half stuck in a cave and the rear half exposed outside.

Judging from the scattered concrete debris around, this place did not seem like a naturally formed geological structure but rather something patched up with inferior cement.

According to posts from other players on the Forum, the residents near Lost Valley had imbued it with mythical colors, and there were even believers of The God of the Sky in the early days. Presumably, this was the temple they built... or part of it.

But Luo Yu always felt that rather than being a temple, this place looked more like a hole dug by "tomb raiders."

After all, something that happened 100 years ago couldn't be verified.

Maybe there were no believers at all, just a few scavengers who came to pick up trash and, through exaggerated stories, were labeled with tags they might not even know about themselves.

Such coincidences had happened in history...

Climbing out of the wreckage, Luo Yu found the survival tools stored in the ejection pod.

A 5mm caliber pistol, two 15-round magazines, basic medical supplies such as bandages, and tools like flashlights.

Regrettably, the co-pilot brother ultimately didn't make it; only a pool of blood remained in the crushed seat, not even a complete body could be found.

Let alone the VM tied to his leg.

Falling Feather silently mourned for him in his heart, then packed his survival tools into his backpack, took the flashlight, and continued down the cave, trying to find an exit.

The expansive cave led to an unknown destination, while the dark red fungus patches in the corners seemed eerily familiar.

Swallowing hard, Falling Feather drew his pistol and loaded it, holding the flashlight in his left hand to cast a beam of light as he cautiously moved forward.

The fungal patches on the walls were becoming more numerous.

Ahead appeared a rusty, spotty escalator.

Huge boulders blocked the way above, and below was an abyss of impenetrable darkness.

With no other choice, he could only proceed.

Especially after he passed a broken staircase and found a wall, at least half-covered in red spots.

And that wasn't all.

Even the air around him carried the rotten scent of spores.

As Falling Feather had expected, an Eater appeared before him.

However, just as he lowered his footsteps, planning to knife the creature, the Eater seemed to notice him.

And then...

It spoke.

"Hey, is that a flashlight? Don't shine it at me, the myxomycetes hate light."

Falling Feather froze, his finger almost pulling the trigger of his gun,

"You can talk!?"

"What do you mean I can talk... Your tone is really odd, is that some regional dialect?"

Falling Feather took a step back while staring at him, moving the flashlight aside and asking cautiously.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I... hmm, that's a good question, but I can't quite remember," the man replied nonchalantly, apparently unconcerned about Falling Feather's gun.

Falling Feather looked bewildered.

What the hell?

"You can't remember because..."

"Names are for others to use. It's been so long since anyone came here, I forgot mine."

The man laughed heartily, still with his back turned, without facing him.

Falling Feather stared at the back of his head.

"Can you turn around?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Falling Feather nodded.

The man turned around without any fuss.

However, the moment Falling Feather saw this fellow, he was completely stunned, unable to help but blurt out a curse.

That face—

No, it couldn't be called a face anymore. It looked like a piece of wood long soaked and rotted, grotesque to the point of hideousness.

With lips like decaying wood opening and closing, the man spoke cheerfully.

"Right, I haven't seen any living beings for a long time. After seeing you, I started to remember a bit about the past..."

He paused, then continued.

"You can call me, Pigeon."

Falling Feather stiffened slightly, vaguely remembering the name.

At that moment, he suddenly recalled the book translated by Si Si that he had seen on the Forum before.

His eyes showing disbelief, he asked, dumbfounded.

"...You're a researcher from the Academy?"

Pigeon thought for a moment.

"Academy... Oh, that's a nostalgic name. Are those bookworms still around? Or have they already turned moldy in the swamps?"

"Probably still around..."

But only as a backdrop in this RPG Game.

Looking at that horrifying face, Falling Feather couldn't help but ask the question he was most concerned about.

"Wait, weren't you dead many years ago?"

Pigeon nodded.

Perhaps because he hadn't encountered anyone to talk to for so long, he rambled on.

"Well... I should have aged quietly and been laid in a coffin like other old men, but in the end, I couldn't resist my curiosity about these ruins. There's no helping it, we people from the Academy have a hard time controlling our interest in ruins... even though I left the Academy many years ago."

Falling Feather's expression turned odd.

The Alliance's chief researcher came from the Academy, but his curiosity about ruins was average at best; he seemed more interested in coffee machines.

"So what's your current state?"

The man candidly admitted.

"Symbiosis."

"Symbiosis?!"

Seeing Falling Feather's eyes widen, the man chuckled.

"Don't be so tense. Symbiosis is not parasitism; two organisms coexist, sharing prosperity with each other, having without possessing... don't you think that sounds great?"

Before the man in front of him could recover, Pigeon looked towards the pitch-black corridor behind him.

"Right, let me introduce my companion... Hey, Little Red, come out and say hello to the guest."

A chilling sensation crept up Falling Feather's spine.

He stiffly turned around and saw a humanoid creature, eight or perhaps nine feet tall.

In the residual light from the flashlight, he saw a blood-red hue.

Its facial features were abstract, the mouth and nose merely rough outlines, with no discernible gaps, as if they had yet to evolve.

Its eyes were particularly unusual, resembling half-spheres of a fly's eye, composed of numerous hexagonal structures, faintly emitting a crimson light.

Two slender arms hung at its sides, the ends like trumpet-shaped openings, similar to the cuffs of a garment, though devoid of any hand-like structures.

As for its lower limbs, they were even more abstract.

Below the slender waist was an inverted cone-shaped fungal mat, eerily resembling Lisandro's skirt hem.

At first glance, the creature somewhat resembled the Evolutionary body that had emerged in the previous Tide.

However, it was not as ferocious as that being.

If there had to be a distinction, the one emerging from the center of Qingquan City resembled a shark with a gaping maw, while the one before him now was more akin to a dolphin.

Thick tendrils, like fingers, floated from behind it, encircling him as a dolphin's mouth might, but not coming too close.

Looking at the tendrils within arm's reach, Falling Feather swallowed nervously.

He didn't know what this was.

But he hoped that Dog plan would be humane.

—

(Thanks to the alliance leader "Schrödinger X" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 445: The Light that Destroys Everything

At the awkward bend on the south side of Lost Valley, a truck sped past.

Glancing at the layered peaks outside the window, Si Si, who was leaning in the driver's seat, finally breathed a sigh of relief and focused on the road ahead.

By now, the power of the nuclear bomb had been reduced by at least half.

"Just one last step left."

Muttering to herself, she slammed her foot on the accelerator, hit a few Eaters wandering by the roadside, and continued driving along the path dug out by the Army, heading straight for the center of Lost Valley.

Ten minutes earlier.

She and Meat Meat had loaded the nuclear bomb onto the truck, and then she drove alone towards Lost Valley.

When they had previously sneaked into the valley, they had confirmed that right in the center of Lost Valley there was a huge pit hundreds of meters wide and seemingly bottomless.

Just like a hole left by a quarry.

Some terrifying weaponry had collapsed the geological structure of this area and caused rock veins several kilometers away to rise upwards; the battlefield from the last epoch must be located right beneath that pit.

To explore inside the pit and transport the excavated earth, the Army had dug a circular dirt road along the funnel-shaped slope that could just accommodate two vehicles side by side.

Following this dirt road downwards, just as she was nearing the very center of the pit, Si Si suddenly encountered a jeep abandoned by the roadside.

Before she could wonder why there was a vehicle here, two heads quickly popped up behind the jeep, followed by a handgun and a submachine gun aimed at her.

"Don't move!"

"Stop the car! Hands on your head!"

The faces of the two men were filled with tension and wariness, clearly looking like high-ranking officers from the Army.

Si Si hit the brakes and stopped, but she did not comply with their demands or even get out of the truck; instead, she just smiled faintly, resting her arm on the window and jokingly said,

"Guess what I've got in my truck?"

There was no need to drop it exactly at the center, so she was not at all flustered and looked at the two men with interest.

Seeing that she was not taking their guns seriously and remained calm, General McLenn asked reflexively.

"…What's loaded in it?"

Si Si did not waste words and stepped out of the truck.

Ignored the two guns and walked straight to the back of the truck, heaving down the nuclear bomb that was placed in the cargo area.

The grey-black bombhead was surrounded by an aluminum alloy frame, as if it had been yanked directly off an airplane.

The moment they saw the bomb, General McLenn and the officer beside him turned pale.

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Si Si relaxed.

It's just like how the more you worry about something, the more likely it is to happen.

This thing must have a self-destruct mechanism to prevent it from being captured by the enemy.

Otherwise, there was no need for them to run into this dead-end or be terrified like this upon seeing the device.

McLenn's lips quivered as he looked at her and said,

"Are you... insane?"

"Insane? Not at all, I just saved tens of thousands of lives," Si Si rolled her eyes and looked at the high-ranking officer, continuing, "By the way, I found a numeric keypad on the nuclear bomb, it's probably for entering a password, do you know it?"

McLenn's voice strained,

"…Only the pilot knows it."

"That's a pity, he's already dead." Si Si shrugged and added, "By the way, the battle outside is over, are you surrendering?"

Looking at the bombhead on the ground, McLenn gave a wry smile and said,

"Is there any point now?"

"I don't know, let's try," Si Si shrugged, "But if you keep delaying, you definitely won't have a chance to live."

Seeing his indifferent expression, McLenn gritted his teeth, but in the end, didn't muster the courage to face death.

He didn't understand why the person in front of him wasn't afraid to die.

But if he could survive, he didn't want to die yet.

He let his gun hang down, and McCullen said softly,

"Please, take me away from here..."

Although he never actually uttered the word "surrender," his defeated expression clearly showed he had given up resistance.

A slight smirk curled at the corners of her mouth, Si Si returned to the driver's seat and expertly started the truck.

"Get in."

On the other side, somewhere in the valley,

Watching the tentacles getting closer, Luo Yu was at his breaking point.

Standing not far behind him, Pigeon smiled gently and said pleasantly,

"Don't be scared, it won't eat you, it's just been years since it's seen a living person, it's just a bit curious."

Curious about what?

The taste or the texture?

Hearing this explanation, Luo Yu grew even more nervous and couldn't help but step back, avoiding the tentacle that was stealthily reaching towards his forehead.

"What... what is this situation? Is it symbiotic too?"

"Not really, it's the mother body."

"Mother body?!"

Seeing Luo Yu utterly shocked, the man whose head looked like a piece of rotten wood continued in a calm voice,

"Yes, but you shouldn't be so scared. Just as people can be good or bad, the 'Mutated slime fungus' as a kind of social animal that has evolved to have social structure, can also embody these concepts of good and bad."

"Of course, this is just to make it easier for you to understand. To be more precise, the dry environment in the desert makes it tough for the slime fungus here to thrive. They don't have enough nutrients to breed a giant lair or cultivate strong evolutionary bodies to help their species hunt, and there are no available organic bodies around for them to hunt. Therefore, some of the mutated slime fungus have evolved special abilities over the long years."

Luo Yu swallowed.

"...Symbiotic?"

Pigeon nodded happily.

"Yes."

Luo Yu thought of Batch.

The man wrapped in a can of armor like a medieval knight.

He had the fortune to see what that guy looked like with his armor off; almost his entire body was occupied, leaving him with a sporadically functioning brain.

According to Heya, if it weren't for special medication to suppress it, that guy could turn into a puppet of the slime fungus at any moment.

Would that be considered parasitic?

Luo Yu asked nervously.

"I don't understand, what's the difference between symbiosis and parasitism?"

Pigeon replied in a cheerful voice,

"Of course, there's a difference. One is non-aggressive, and the other is aggressive. One strives for mutual prosperity with the host, while the other drains every last bit of nutrient from the host before moving on to another host to continue exploiting."

"The slime fungus evolved from the Oasis No.7 ruins belongs to the former; it can make you immune to illnesses, immortal, give you a stronger body and abilities, plus it doesn't require giving up your own genes, which is much safer than an awakening."

"And as a symbiotic, it doesn't sacrifice the host's health but extracts trace elements, organic matter, and water from the host's metabolism. You can think of it as a special kind of... vaccine! Once inoculated, you will gain a stronger body!"

"How about it, young man, want to give it a try?"

That tempting voice sounded like the whisper of a devil, and accepting it was like signing a contract with some "evil force."

Luo Yu admitted.

Becoming a tentacle monster did sound quite appealing.

Operating a plane with two hands, how could that compare to performing brilliant maneuvers with ten?!

But merging with a tentacle monster was a different story altogether.

Moreover, this guy had already turned into such a ghastly mess that Xiao Qi felt his words had no persuasiveness at all.

If the cost of becoming stronger was becoming uglier, then he'd rather level up in an honest fashion.

However, out of curiosity, he still asked a question.

"What's the cost?"

Pigeon continued with a smile.

"The cost is—"

Before he could finish his sentence,

Little Red suddenly looked around uneasily, but before it could react, an earth-shattering tremor surged up from beneath everyone's feet.

Pigeon's face drastically changed.

But before he could utter a syllable, raging sand and debris instantaneously engulfed everyone in the ruins...

At the same time, in another world.

Lying on the bed, Xiao Qi suddenly opened his eyes.

What he saw was a disconnected popup.

The respawn cooldown timer had already started; clearly, his game character was dead.

He ripped off the helmet covering his head, sat on the bed for quite a while, and then, as if his soul had just returned, he burst out swearing.

"What the hell!"

What exactly was the cost?!

...

The nuclear bomb eventually exploded.

It happened not long after it had been moved off the truck and pushed down a steep slope.

A beam of light illuminated the silent valley.

That blistering orb of fire, like the sun rising twelve hours early from the horizon, instantly lit up the night sky enveloping the valley.

The wild airflow and shockwaves slapped against the mountain sheltering the riverbank, shaking the very earth with its terrifying energy.

Outside the valley, in a military camp.

The Army's soldiers and officers had already given up resisting, their hands raised above their heads in surrender. When they saw that burst of light, despair was etched on almost everyone's face.

The horses galloping through the camp paced restlessly, their riders clutching the reins in an attempt to calm the horses.

The Chief Guard of Sain looked perplexedly at the light rising in Lost Valley, his eyes flickering with confusion and fear, continuously muttering under his breath.

"...Prophecy!"

That man truly was a messenger of the Gods!

The apocalyptic prophecy was fulfilled after all!

However, it was comforting that the all-consuming light had not risen over the soil of civilization, but instead within the lost ruins.

...

At the same time, on the western front of the battlefield.

As that blinding white light appeared, the gunfire echoing across the wilderness also ceased abruptly.

Gazing at the nuclear-illuminated sky and the rising dust nearly reaching the heavens, people momentarily forgot about the battle, their astonished expressions frozen on their faces.

The world seemed to have pressed the pause button.

Only the earth-shattering tremors and the rolling echo of the explosion remained.

It was as if it were the roar of the Gods.

"...Spirits of the Desert Sea above."

A soldier from the Falcon Kingdom went pale, his shoulders trembling as his gun and knees hit the sandy ground together.

His case was not an isolated one.

Including the Centurion and other frontline officers, seeing the nuclear light bloom behind the front lines, many lost the courage to continue fighting.

Several hundred meters away,

On the lee side of a sand dune,

Sain, who was tending to a gunshot wound, also saw the shining light.

Several Guard Soldiers immediately shielded him, but he waved them away dismissively.

"Priest of Prest once said, 'Those who wither in a curse cannot see the curse,'" Sain continued with a hearty laugh, "We can see that light, which means we won't die."

"That's a curse for the sinful; the Gods are on our side!"

He raised his arms high and cheered, inspiring his comrades fighting alongside him.

"Long live Camel Hump Kingdom!"

The sudden nuclear explosion caused a brief pause on the battlefield.

Facing the direction where the nuclear light had appeared, devout believers collectively knelt to pray, while the others, uncertain, either lay or crouched, undecided about whether to continue fighting.

The shockwave from the explosion seemed to sweep a great distance, but fortunately, it didn't reach them.

It appeared the "Gods' " grace once again shielded them...

On the other side.

The Skeleton Corps' Tank division, upon reaching the airport on the north side of Lost Valley, didn't pause but continued pushing west to aid the allies from Petra Fortress, who came out to meet the battle.

The outcome of the entire battle had already been decided with no room for doubt; it was even time to move on to the mopping up phase.

Lost Valley's northern military camp had been taken by Petra's cavalry. The Army had almost completely lost all armored strength in that region.

The remaining infantry to the west had no further reinforcements.

Just a few righteous 155 strikes would suffice to make them raise their hands in surrender.

And just as the nuclear light bloomed, a Conqueror Tank No. 5, waving the allied flag, wobbly made its way to the eastern side of the airport.

The hatch opened upwards.

Mole, with his head bandaged, poked out and stared in the direction of Lost Valley, his mouth gaping open in surprise.

"...Holy shit."

Hearing that exclamation, the driver who was already driving called out.

"What's happening outside? I can't see it here!"

"Nuclear bomb..." Mole swallowed and added after a pause, "Dude, that nuke just blew up!"

If you exclude that small one in the north suburb of Clear Spring City, this was the first time he had experienced a nuclear explosion so close.

That overwhelming sense of oppression was genuinely extraordinary, although the explosion seemed less powerful than he had expected.

Did this thing really pack a million tons?

Or was its power diminished because it happened in a valley...

"Holy shit?!"

Hearing that a nuclear bomb had exploded up ahead, the moving tank instantly stopped.

A series of clanky noises ensued as the driver, in a flurried and clumsy manner, opened the hatch to see what was going on, eagerly peering forward.

"Let me see!"

...

At the same time, at the edge of the nuclear explosion zone, it was a scene of heart-wrenching screams.

"Quick—!"

"Faster!!"

"Ah ah ah! It's catching up!"

General McCullen, lying in agony in the rear of the truck, shrieked without any composure, frantically squeezing towards the front of the truck to try and get further away from the centerpiece of the explosion.

His adjutant lay on the other side of the carriage, embracing his head with both hands, eyes tightly shut, mumbling a prayer to someone incessantly.

Both men had already donned radiation suits.

Not only were they wearing protective masks, but they had also taken two radiation antidotes; nonetheless, they couldn't fend off the imminent threat of death and the fear that penetrated deep into their bones.

Si Si, who was sitting in the driver's seat, remained relatively calm, but the sight of that streak of white light in the rearview mirror still caused a drop of cold sweat to trail down her forehead.

The truck she was driving had just surged out of the northern exit of the valley when the harsh white light and the sound of an explosion chased after them.

She dared not look at the situation behind her.

Clenching her teeth tightly, she all but welded her foot to the accelerator, speeding over the rough, uneven dirt road to over sixty yards!

The scorching shockwave, along with a torrent of dust, almost blew into the cab.

The southern side of the open valley seemed to have become the vent of the shockwave; dust and debris surged forward from behind her.

Fortunately, the center of the explosion was below the ground's surface.

Had it exploded on flat land, they probably wouldn't have felt anything before they, along with the truck they were on, turned into molten metal and rubble…

North of the airport.

Tail, standing on a sand dune, held a pair of binoculars in her hand, gazing at the valley enveloped by night in the south.

When she saw that streak of white light, she couldn't help but let out a cry of alarm.

"My God! The nuclear bomb really went off!"

"Good thing we made it in time," Sesame Paste sighed with relief, finally relaxing her tightly clenched fist.

Tail suddenly looked at her with confusion.

"But why is there no mushroom cloud?"

"Mushroom clouds only form in aerial explosions… probably?" Sesame Paste answered uncertainly.

Meat Meat was still sighing in distress nearby, obviously upset over the relics in the valley.

Sesame Paste was about to comfort her.

Just then, a truck burst from the rolling dust, heading toward the airport from the north side of the Lost Valley.

The truck came to a stop.

The group had just gathered around when two people rolled out of the back of the truck.

The two individuals tore off their protective masks and, before even getting up from the ground, began vomiting with their hands propped on the dirt.

Watching the two vomiting profusely, Sesame Paste who went to greet her teammates unintentionally paused, looking puzzledly towards them as she asked.

"Who are these two?"

"McCullen and his adjutant…" Si Si jumped down from the driver's seat and glanced at the two on the ground, "I also just found out."

Tail's eyes lit up, excitedly looking at the middle-aged man slowly getting up from the ground.

"Oh! You are General McCullen?"

Meat Meat clenched her bear paw, excitedly shouting out,

"Ah Wei! We've snagged a big fish!"

"Oh!!"

The pale-faced McCullen was momentarily stunned, not recognizing the bear and human before him, nor understanding why the bear could talk.

Yet, he still had the consciousness of being a captive, and knowing to keep a lower profile to avoid hardship, he cautiously spoke up.

"I am McCullen… and you are?"

Tail: "Tail!"

McCullen: "…?"

Seeing his baffled expression, Si Si's lips curled into a sly smile as she thoughtfully said.

"Speaking of which, back in Rui Valley City, it was Ah Wei who released that balloon."

Tail excitedly nodded her head, "Yes! Yes! Sesame Paste and I really struggled to get that balloon high enough!"

Sesame Paste smiled sheepishly.

However, McCullen didn't even glance at her.

The moment he heard the word "balloon," his eyes bulged as if inflated.

With a murderous gaze, he deadly stared at the proud figure, shaking as he pointed with his trembling index finger, his face turning alternately pale and flushed.

"That balloon… was your doing?!"

Unconcerned with the hostile glare that wished to strangle her, Tail proudly nodded her head.

"Yes, that's right! You're welcome!"

McCullen nearly spat out blood, wishing he could throttle her.

"Don't move."

Enjoying the sight of his breakdown, Si Si shook the handgun she had just confiscated and politely reminded him,

"Remember, you are a prisoner now; stay quiet if you don't want to die."

Getting chased so desperately in Rui Valley City back then.

Now, it was time for revenge.

…

Oasis No.9, western part.

The command post of the Army.

A "Peidao" fighter plane landed on the runway of the airport.

As the pilot jumped out of the cockpit, an officer, following the footsteps of the ground crew, quickly approached and asked urgently.

"Where is your escort, H-55?"

The pilot bluntly answered.

"We were attacked by the enemy's air forces! H-55's engine was damaged during takeoff."

The officer's complexion changed drastically, and he urgently asked.

"What about the nuclear bomb?"

The pilot steeled himself to answer truthfully.

"It's on the plane..."

As the pilot reported the situation, the officers at the front-line command post had already learned about the front-line circumstances through other channels.

Inside the command tent.

General Griffin, standing before the radio, was silent for a long time before speaking.

After about ten minutes, he turned back to the command table, glanced at the strategic map, and ordered in a deep voice.

"Notify the third ten thousand troop of Falcon Kingdom… they must hold the line until reinforcements arrive!"

"Second ten thousand troops, end your rest period, move to the north side of the third ten thousand for defense setup."

Reinforcements from enterprises and the Alliance were continuously arriving in Sunset Province.

With the support of Iron Heart, Oasis No.9 was definitely untenable; retreating to organize defenses at Oasis No.3 and stretching the enemy's supply line was the best choice.

He would request more reinforcements from the Legion Leader.

Hearing General Griffin's orders, the officers around the command table looked at each other.

An officer couldn't help but speak up to remind.

"The second ten thousand troops just fought the assault battle at the City of Abundance a few days ago, and both personnel and equipment suffered heavy losses; their combat power may not even be a third of its capacity, I'm worried—"

Griffin gave him a cold look.

That icy stare caused the officer to immediately shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.

Turning back to the map, Griffin succinctly continued.

"Relocate the rest of the divisions to Oasis No.3, and take all equipment and supplies that can be carried; burn everything that can't be carried."

The aide standing by asked,

"Where is McCullen?"

General Griffin sunk into silence, a complicated glint in his cold eyes.

He had been at odds with that arrogant man for the better part of a lifetime.

Although he wished McCullen would just disappear, such an exit made him genuinely feel a sense of sorrow for his enemy.

He swore,

He would avenge this!

Throwing his hat onto the map in the command tent, he turned and left the tent.

"Lower the flag to half-mast."

Behind him, silence reigned in the command tent.

After a long period of silence, led by who knows whom, the officers unanimously removed their hats and held them in their palms.

Flames burned in pairs of eyes.

They were the seeds of hatred...

Meanwhile,

Chu Guang, commanding at the front line, also learned about the battle near the Oasis No.7 ruins through Xiao Qi and the official forum.

When Chu Guang heard that the 110,000 troops stationed at the airport were actually under McCullen's command, he was stunned for two seconds.

This was really...

Too coincidental.

"Where is he?"

Xiao Qi: "He has been controlled by your players."

Chu Guang nodded.

As long as he was alive.

Before the situation escalated into total war, all these could serve as bargaining chips at the negotiation table.

Neither the Alliance nor corporations could afford to fight all the way to the West Coast, ten thousand kilometers away; that did not align with the interests or war goals of both parties.

For the Alliance, the most optimistic scenario would involve knocking out some war reparations from an Army or its vassals and taking some underlings in Luo Xia Province.

Perhaps the corporations would be willing to share the secrets of No.0 Shelter with him, but he wouldn't be too disappointed if not.

After all, he had never placed his hopes on that legend.

"What about the nuclear warhead?" Chu Guang immediately inquired about his most crucial concern.

Xiao Qi spoke softly,

"The Army has detonated it... but your players managed to send the nuclear warhead into the underground tunnels of Lost Valley, and it seems no one was injured."

Chu Guang looked slightly startled.

Detonated?

"What's wrong?"

Noticing the change in Chu Guang's expression, Vanus cast an inquiring glance at him.

Standing not far away, Finod also looked over nervously, trying to understand which stage the war had reached.

Whichever side had won,
as long as they entered ceasefire negotiations, he could hope to go home.

Chu Guang remained silent and looked towards the horizon through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bridge, where The Sun was setting.

It would have been good to get that nuclear warhead.

Even if he just held onto it without using it, it would force the Army to restrain themselves on the battlefield.

But now...

Things were somewhat complicated...

Grand Canyon, Origin city.

In the spacious conference room, there was a long table carved from obsidian; two people were seated at the table.

The man sitting at the head of the table was about sixty years old, his temples frosted white, and his face bore the marks of harsh years, resembling the cracks of a canyon.

His eyes were half-closed as if pondering something.

Concerned that he had fallen asleep, the tall man sitting at the other end of the table, expressionless, reminded him,

"They have even resorted to nuclear weapons."

Hearing the word "nuclear weapon," the old man's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he still didn't react much.

"Hmm."

"It's getting out of hand."

"Hmm."

"Is that all you can say?" The tall man's voice carried a hint of displeasure.

The old man sighed softly.

"I need time to think."

"Think? Do written contracts mean nothing anymore?"

The tall man chuckled sarcastically, his voice tinged with scorn,

"If you keep thinking, we might end up fighting another world war in a rubbish heap."

The seated old man sighed, eventually lifting his drooping eyelids.

With cloudy eyes, he looked at the tall man sitting opposite him and spoke in a calm and gentle tone,

"The complexity of the problem lies exactly there; our civilization is on the brink of collapse, any minor error could destroy our last hope. And... stop using that detached tone, doesn't your Academy bear any responsibility for this situation?"

"Of course, we made a serious mistake in believing a group of fools who think with their fists. Even more foolishly, I just wasted another precious five minutes of my life trying to persuade a slow-witted old man." The tall man sneered, unfolding his arms.

His figure gradually faded, ultimately transforming into a holographic image that dissipated into a swarm of light particles.

Facing the empty conference table, the old man fell into prolonged silence.

At that moment, an AI's electronic voice floated to his ears,

"... a messenger from the south seeks an audience, claiming to be from the Alliance, wishing to negotiate over the issue of Bugra Free State's clandestine support for the Army."

The Alliance...

It sounded familiar.

When was it?

He pinched his forehead with the index finger, trying to recall.

Since the end of the Prosperity Epoch, too many bizarre things had happened on this land.

From the kings of Kingdoms to chieftains of Tribes, and various strange organizations and ideologies... They were like matches struck in the darkness, quick to come and quick to go, their only use was to turn fingertips black before feeling the pain.

But ultimately, the old man decided to meet these young people.

"Have them come to the lounge, I'll be there shortly."

The AI assistant replied in a gentle electronic voice,

"Very well, Chief."

Chapter 446 The Beginning Place

In the vast mountain valley.

Escorted by over a hundred fully armed soldiers, the impressive hundreds-strong Alliance delegation advanced into the depths of the valley.

"...Ahead lies Origin City! The capital of the Grand Canyon, and our destination for this trip!"

The man who spoke was clad in gray power armor, which seemed somewhat similar to the Dragon Rider Power Armor from the NPC stores, yet upon closer inspection, it was entirely different.

His name was Ma Kai, captain of the nearby patrol team.

When he heard that the delegation of the Alliance was bringing prisoners from the Army, he immediately volunteered to serve as their escort and guide.

Since they had fought a war against the Army just last year, the majority of residents in the Grand Canyon viewed the Army with hostility.

At least, that was the case for these soldiers.

Thus, the enemy of their enemy was naturally their friend!

Noticing those unfriendly gazes, Antonite's eyes were filled with tension, his face turning white as if he had applied a layer of paint since a while ago.

On the contrary, standing next to him, Piman, the Thousands of leaders from Camp 530, displayed a calm and composed demeanor.

He looked far from a prisoner, more like he was on a suburban jaunt accompanied by bodyguards.

"...Relax a bit, my friend, we've already reached the Grand Canyon, there's nothing to fear."

Antonite glanced at him, saying with nervous expression.

"What do you mean?"

Piman coughed softly and replied in a quiet voice.

"I mean just that, the most dangerous part of the journey is already behind us."

Without a doubt, those who most wanted them dead were from the Bugra Free State.

After all, if they were to reach the Grand Canyon, then those tradesmen and the Army would certainly not be able to conclude their deals.

Whereas the Alliance undoubtedly did not wish for them to die, and at most, the Grand Canyon would only lock them up for interrogation. When the time came, all they had to do was answer any questions posed to them.

In fact, on their way here, they had encountered five or six attacks already.

Only, the Alliance soldiers really were ruthless. They had just fought a battle at Camp 530, and then traveled overland for nearly a thousand kilometers. Even cut off from their supply lines, their combat power had not been affected in the slightest.

"Behave yourselves!"

The two prisoners were whispering to each other, which immediately earned them a glare from one of the soldiers nearby, who then turned to his comrade.

"Split these two guys up."

"Yes, sir!"

The rookie carrying a rifle nodded and moved forward, but before he could reach them, Piman had already consciously slowed down, distancing himself from Antonite.

Up front with the delegation.

Walking next to Ma Kai was the ambassador from the Alliance, a man named Wu Huaide.

This gentleman had previously served as the secretary in the Alliance embassy in Giant Stone City. After the secretary was transferred to Giant Stone City, he took over the charge of the embassy for a while, then he was called back to the Alliance to enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This trip to the Grand Canyon was his first time representing the Alliance as an ambassador, his demeanor and speech still showing some restrained nervousness.

However, according to the Manager, this was not necessarily a bad thing.

It's possible that the power of the Grand Canyon was on the same level as the Enterprise Legion. Moreover, unlike the others, it was located right in River Valley Province.

Meeting a powerful neighbor right at your doorstep for the first time, a cautious diplomatic stance seemed to be the better choice.

"Before coming here, I thought the Grand Canyon was just a valley; I didn't expect that my imagination was too conservative." As he spoke, Wu Huaide felt a surge of emotion.

Ma Kai chuckled.

"Haha, what you said is not wrong; this is just a valley, only it stretches out for hundreds of kilometers, looking a bit larger."

Just a bit larger?

The players following behind couldn't help but grouse in their minds.

They had taken a full two days to walk from the northern region of River Valley Province to here, and it had taken them another half a day to make it from the edge of the valley to this point.

Not being able to fast travel truly sucked!

"Speaking of which, does the name 'Origin City' have any special meaning?"

Hearing the ambassador's question, Ma Kai replied with a smile.

"No special meaning, just that this place is where everything began."

"Where everything began?"

Wu Huaide didn't quite understand and was about to ask for details when they had already reached their destination.

In front of them stood a towering colossal gate.

Rather than calling it a gate, it was more like a dam embedded in the direct center of the valley.

The black mass of hundreds of people in the delegation stood in front of that immense gate, like ants under a large tree.

Construction Kid with a Brick looked up all around, scratching the back of his head with a puzzled look on his face.

"Isn't there supposed to be a Holy Shield in the Grand Canyon? How come I don't see it?"

Debt Giant Eye glanced sideways at him.

"Do you use an umbrella on a sunny day?"

The Construction Kid with a Brick was taken aback.

"What... does that mean."

"He means, that thing only unfolds during a war; it's usually turned off... I guess."

He chimed in as the Army Leader Edge Shoveling glanced towards the front, where the towering giant gate was slowly opening.

And when that door was halfway open, all the players present revealed expressions of surprise—even shock.

Layer upon layer of concrete houses sat on the slopes to each side, and atop the slope was a long strip of glass curtain wall embedded in the mountain, likely a whole other world inside, but completely invisible from the outside.

In the middle of the valley, interlacing steel-reinforced bridges and corridors crisscrossed, with elevators on both sides of the mountain connecting the upper and lower layers.

What was shocking, though, wasn't just these, but at the center of the canyon was an abyss that seemed to have no bottom.

The mountainsides of the abyss were also embedded with blocky concrete buildings, forming a massive architectural complex.

As sunlight could only shine onto the bottom at noon, street lamps along the roads began to light up day and night starting from halfway up the mountains.

This was a city buried in a mountain hollow, and beneath it was buried trillions of tons of hydrogen, oxygen, chlorine, and numerous mineral elements generated from the electrolysis of seawater, all preserved in solid form.

What surprised Edge Shoveling wasn't its background setting, but the architectural layout here.

After a long silence, he couldn't help but make a snide comment.

"Aren't they afraid of landslides?"

Even without landslides, if it rained or something, this canyon was basically a natural riverbed.

Not to mention they had built such a massive gate, it was practically an artificial reservoir.

"Kakarot" said with a subtle expression.

"Perhaps... it's black technology."

The technological content here did seem to lag far behind that of Ideal City, yet one should not judge solely by appearances.

On their way, they had seen at least a hundred power armors and all kinds of exoskeletons.

At least in terms of combat power, no one dared to underestimate them.

These people were in no way inferior to the Army, and of course, would not be inferior to enterprises either.

A man wearing a brown long coat was standing at the entrance of the giant gate, nodding slightly as a sign of respect.

"Welcome to Origin City. I am the Secretary-General of the Chief of the Great Rift Valley, Yang Wei, in charge of external affairs."

"Alliance Ambassador, Wu Huaide," Wu Huaide stepped forward and shook hands with the man in the brown long coat, sincerely bringing up negotiations, "Our visit this time is mainly about matters related to the Luo Xia Province."

Yang Wei nodded in acknowledgment.

"I have reported your matters to the Chief. Please move to the resting room to wait for a while; he will personally meet with you shortly."

"Thank you."

"Please don't mention it. Follow me, please."

As he spoke, Yang Wei then looked towards Ma Kai, who was standing beside Wu Huaide.

"I will take care of the guest. Please take those two captives from the Army to where they belong."

Ma Kai grinned and said.

"Roger that!"

The exchange of captives was quickly completed.

Piman didn't resist and followed the approaching guard with composure.

Antonite did the same.

Though his face showed frustration, he was a smart man and knew that being obedient at this time would spare him some suffering.

Over 300 players from the Death Legion had successfully made it here, nominally belonging to the soldiers of the Alliance; it was not possible for everyone to meet with the leader of the Great Rift Valley together.

That would be unreasonable both emotionally and in principle.

Wu Huaide, following the Manager's instructions, selected a few players with the highest Contribution Points to follow the Secretary-General to the resting room.

The rest followed the captain named Ma Kai to temporary lodgings prepared by the Great Rift Valley for the Alliance to rest.

It was already getting late outside, and time to log off.

Although it was a pity not to see the upcoming storyline, with the existence of the official Forum, they wouldn't miss any critical information.

Temporarily handing over command to "Kakarot," Edge Shoveling and his group followed Yang Wei onto the elevator upwards, arriving at a floor atop the Great Rift Valley.

The structure here was completely different from below; spacious halls and long corridors were cast entirely out of an alloy, resembling a space capsule floating on a high orbit as seen in sci-fi movies.

Through the full-length windows lining one side of the corridor, one could directly overlook deep into the valley.

While passing through the corridor, a young construction worker with a brick suddenly spoke up.

"I think I get it now."

"What have you figured out now?" Debt Giant Eye glanced sideways at him.

"This place gives me the feeling... just like those sci-fi movies about space colonies."

The surrounding players all paused in surprise.

"What?"

"You guys don't get that feeling?" The construction worker with a brick scratched his head, abashedly saying, "The architectural complex below in the Great Rift Valley and the technological vibe here are not on the same level at all, but the quality of life still seems decent. And structurally, I always feel that those buildings... are like eggs under this space capsule."

Debt Giant Eye couldn't hold back and burst out laughing at his metaphor.

Meanwhile, Edge Shoveling showed a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm... that might actually be possible."

The drum washing machine nodded thoughtfully.

"I think there's some truth to it."

Debt Giant Eye: "…?"

No matter what the facility was all about, some people finally reached the door to the lounge.

The spacious room was furnished with many tables and sofas and surrounded by bookshelves displaying many books that seemed to have been aged.

According to the general tendencies of the Game, valuable information was either hidden in the books or in the mouths of NPCs, requiring the players to collect it on their own.

However, those standing here were all "illiterate". Everyone was passable at listening and speaking, but reading and writing were subpar, leaving them to rely on VM's offline translation function for a rough understanding.

But...

Taking a photo and syncing it to the official website when they had a signal was also an option.

Edge Shoveling took a book from the shelf and flipped through it, eventually turning back to the cover.

When he saw the emblem printed on it, he paused with a slightly weird expression on his face.

"Is this... an enterprise emblem?"

"There are ones from the Army and the Academy too," said Debt Giant Eye, standing beside another bookshelf and flipping through two books, "...but I haven't seen the Torch Church."

Drum Washing Head Machine: "Maybe the Torch Church doesn't have enough prestige? It's only been established for over 20 years after all."

Debt Giant Eye frowned.

"But why are there marks of the Army and the enterprises, and the Academy? The last two have fought wars against the Great Rift Valley, haven't they?"

Construction Site Boy with Brick scratched the back of his head.

"I saw from the setting collection on the official website that the Army, enterprises, and the Academy were once part of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, and the headquarters of that committee is in River Valley Province..."

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Origin City...

Where it all began.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and Construction Site Boy with Brick said in an uncertain tone.

"...Could it be right here?"

Pairs of eyes looked his way, making his heart flutter.

"It's just a guess, haha... Don't make fun of me if I got it wrong."

However, no one made fun of him.

Not even Debt Giant Eye.

Staring at the books in his hand, Edge Shoveling's brow was furrowed, and he unintentionally swallowed.

"Maybe... it's really possible."

...

While the players were collecting clues in the lounge, unbeknownst to them, the Alliance's ambassador had been invited to the room next door.

Although they had followed all the way there, they had missed the key main plot.

Sitting on the sofa.

Wu Huaide watched the gray-haired, sleepy-looking old man before him with a restrained expression.

From the earlier pleasantries, he had learned that the old man's name was Ge Yan, the Chief of the Great Rift Valley, akin to the Manager of the Alliance.

Unlike the towering, dignified, and spirited Manager.

His eyes were cloudy, his face lined with wrinkles, and he looked as though he suffered from senility.

Although having such thoughts seemed disrespectful, Wu Huaide couldn't help having them, and a sense of pride welled up within him.

The old man sat quietly, his eyes always focused on the young man opposite him, but his gaze seemed to pass through him, looking towards someone who wasn't present.

After a long silence, he seemed to have received the answer he was seeking, and his withered lips finally moved.

"...I have already learned about your matters, and an investigation team has been sent to the Bugra Free State. I assure you that within three days, I will give you an explanation."

The Bugra Free State, a vassal of the Great Rift Valley, having the words from the Great Rift Valley's leader, would surely mean that those profiteers and armies couldn't succeed in their dealings.

Not expecting it to go so smoothly, Wu Huaide's brows relaxed slightly, and a pleasant smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you very much."

The old man replied with a faint smile.

"I can't accept that thank-you; it was our oversight in the first place. I should have apologized to you for the inconvenience it has caused you."

Surprised by the old man's candid attitude, Wu Huaide was moved.

If he could convince the Great Rift Valley to send troops against the Army, it would undoubtedly bring a swifter end to the war.

Although it wasn't the task assigned to him by the Manager, he decided to give it a try.

"Speaking of which... there is something I don't quite understand." Taking advantage of the pleasant conversation, Wu Huaide found a suitable angle and started speaking.

The old man watched him with a kind and pleased expression.

"What is it?"

"The Army's deployment in Luo Xia Province is clearly headed this way, why have you... allowed them to do so?"

Continuing with a sincere tone, Wu Huaide said.

"Once they complete this supply line, more soldiers will be sent to the front lines, and you will inevitably have to engage in another battle. Why not join hands with us now and once and for all eradicate future trouble!"

After hearing this, the old man briefly fell silent, then spoke.

"The claim that the Army is coming for us, and that we have allowed their actions... both of these statements are inaccurate."

Seeing that indifferent expression, Wu Huaide couldn't help but clench his fists resting on his knees.

"Is that not the reality?"

The old man looked at him calmly.

"It's the part you see, but not its entirety."

Without waiting for the young man before him to speak up, the old man continued.

"Let's change the subject. How do you think the Wasteland could be ended? Is it by building a lot of houses? Building many schools to pass on knowledge? Producing many weapons? Or letting residents live the lifestyle of the Prosperity Epoch?"

Wu Huaide opened his mouth, looking blankly at the old man in front of him, unable to come to his senses for a moment, let alone understand why he was suddenly bringing this up.

Seeing that the young man didn't answer, the old man continued in an even tone.

"All these things are actually very important, but there needs to be a corresponding plan for what to do first and what to do afterward."

"We need to clear the surface of mucilage and radioactive materials, revive the already declining atmospheric environment... This is the foundation for the continuation of our civilization and is also the overarching direction of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee."

"To accomplish these tasks, we need a strong army, technicians responsible for recovering and preserving the legacy of civilization, and producers of industrial and consumer goods."

"But people are not machines, everyone will have different ideas, even if we all work towards the same goal, there will still be disagreements on many issues."

"Does this relate to... our previous topic?" Wu Huaide couldn't help but ask.

"Of course it does," said the old man with a nod, "whether it's the Army, the Academy, or enterprises... they all once belonged to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee. Even if contradictions and disagreements led us to part ways, we have not forgotten our work. That work, like a precise machine, is still going on methodically, only in a different form."

Wu Huaide: "Including detonating a nuclear bomb? Is that also part of the work???"

The old man coughed lightly.

"That matter... definitely went too far."

Wu Huaide couldn't help but continue to press.

"Even if the Army tries to conquer you?"

However, faced with the pressing tone, the old man just lightly smiled.

"If the entire Army intended to conquer us, it wouldn't be just an Expeditionary Army coming here. Besides, those people have already been dealt with by us."

Wu Huaide stared at the old man before him.

Completely different from those young soldiers outside.

This old man seemed to harbor no hatred at all, not even taking that war seriously.

It was as if...

It was just a side effect of antibiotics, perfectly acceptable in the course of treatment.

"I don't understand..."

Looking at the puzzled face, the old man replied in a very soft voice.

"That's not important. What matters is that your Manager understands. If he came from a shelter, then he must understand what I mean."

A surge of anger welled up inside Wu Huaide, although he knew such emotions shouldn't appear in a diplomat, he was a survivor of the River Valley Province and had been displaced by the fleeing soldiers of the Expeditionary Army.

His hatred for the Army was no less than his hatred for the Chewing Bone Tribe, and now that fury had spread to here.

That calm and serene expression, as if the war was just a trivial matter, an acceptable price to pay for a long-term strategy.

What does it mean to proceed methodically?

What does it mean to take a different form?

Everything was in the plans of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee.

But he never heard the part about himself in these plans.

Where was he?

What about those survivors who lived neither in the Great Rift Valley nor in the Giant Stone City?

If the old man hadn't mentioned the Manager, it would have been easier, but he even mentioned their Manager...

Taking a deep breath, Wu Huaide suppressed the anger in his chest, knowing this was not the time to be emotional.

He wasn't representing himself.

He was representing the Alliance!

Even though he knew he was talking to no avail, he couldn't help but raise his voice in one last effort, trying to wake up this old man who seemed to be either asleep or pretending to sleep.

"The Army isn't just planning to eliminate Variants; they even plan on eradicating all people other than the Weilante People! Is that part of your grand salvation plan too? When the Weilante People rule the world, where will we be? Getting plastic surgery to heighten our noses?"

The old man shook his head.

"That's the idea of some Weilante People, like a tumor in the muscle, a mistake, but I trust that it's not all there is to it. Not to mention, their Marshal himself isn't a Weilante Person. As the leader of the Army, how could he endorse such a crazed notion?"

"Of course, I don't agree with a lot of his actions. Ending chaos requires violence, but his indulgence in violence has indeed gone too far."

A look of surprise crossed Wu Huaide's face.

Not because of the old man's words themselves, but because of the information contained within them.

"The Army's Marshal... is not a Weilante Person?"

"That's right."

"How do you know?"

A look of reminiscence passed over the old man's face, though it soon turned into a slight sigh.

"I certainly know because I watched that kid grow up."

"And... the Weilante People appeared later on."

Wu Huaide looked at him, clueless.

"…?"

——

(Thanks to the "Tang Zhang Clan" for the generous reward!!!)

Chapter 447: Hundred Years of Solitude

"Colonel, our operations in the center of Qingquan City have reached a deadlock," the report read. "The soldiers fight gallantly, and our enemies are suffering heavy losses, but unfortunately, we still haven't managed to get close to the Lair."

"Although the Hover Tanks are highly mobile and have reliable armor, they require major repairs every time they return from a mission, and the parts needed for these repairs simply cannot be found here."

"Especially problematic is our equipment, which has no advantage when facing the siege of Mucosal Entities; they fall in swathes and then rush in groups... It's just like a tide. Before we manage to eliminate them all, I'm afraid we will be overwhelmed first by our collapsing logistics."

"What worries me most are those 'Evolutionary bodys'—a term coined by the technicians who entered the city center with us. We've discovered that some Mucosal Entities have undergone a secondary mutation on top of their initial one and have even started mimicking us, evolving structures similar to power armors and exoskeletons, and have even infiltrated our drones and tanks."

"This is not some rambling on my part; I know it sounds incredible, but if we continue to perceive them as mere beasts fighting with teeth and claws or as biochemical weapons deployed by our enemies, we will likely pay a severe price... In fact, our casualties are already severe enough."

"More than advanced weapons, we need convenient and plentiful equipment, not like now, using precious gear and manpower to fill an unfilled front line."

"Let me share some good news, the outer walls of the Stone Building have been completed, and the brothers from the Production Department remain reliable as ever. This magnificent structure can at least shelter a hundred thousand people through the harshest winter. The displaced people to the south no longer need to migrate north and can be resettled right here in the western suburbs of Qingquan City; at least we've achieved our initial goals. We will take a brief rest before launching into stage two of our operations."

"I've heard that the technical department is looking for a way to solve the mucosal problem at the genetic level."

"I, for my part, have an idea—why not use the genes in our gene bank to 'produce' a group of super soldiers who aren't afraid of death?"

"Even if they aren't useful on the battlefield, they could at least help us move things. Those robots and androids are too troublesome to maintain; we'd probably need to add another maintenance battalion."

"——From a frontline dispatch (three), March 21, 2150."

Aboard the Iron Heart.

Sitting in the captain's quarters and resting, Chu Guang was browsing the official forum of Wasteland OL through a holographic computer.

These messages had been recovered by the players of the Death Legion and synchronized to the servers in the shelter using the mission's communication radio.

Reading the photos uploaded by the players to the official website, he thoughtfully stroked his chin and leaned back in his chair.

"2150... should be the 21st year of the Wasteland Era."

He was very sensitive to numbers and clearly remembered that the first year of the Wasteland Era was 2129.

"But to assault the center of Qingquan City in March... that's really foolhardy."

Spring was the peak period for the Tide outbreak, with the reproductive rate of the Mutated slime fungus reaching its peak and the density of spores in the air also at its highest.

Of course, this perspective came from hindsight.

Perhaps the survivors at that time hadn't grasped the concept of the Tide, as indicated in the dispatch, the Post-War Reconstruction Committee had underestimated the threat of the Mutants.

And...

It must have been nuclear winter at that time, right?

But these weren't the main points.

What concerned Chu Guang more was the last line of the dispatch.

"...a group of soldiers unafraid of death, are they referring to the Weilante people?"

Upon reading this, Chu Guang was puzzled.

Those folks weren't as fearless as one might imagine...

Maybe it was because the players were all Awakeners, or perhaps his Attribute Panel was simply outrageous, but he didn't find those guys to be particularly strong in combat.

They were probably a bit stronger than the average person.

"Xiao Qi."

A vibrant voice quickly filled his ears, today unusually in a mature female tone.

"Here, Master."

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang spoke.

"...Retrieve all the information gathered by the Death Legion players, not just about the Weilante people, I need everything on the Armies, enterprises, and Academies."

"Got it!"

Upon hearing the enthusiastic response, Chu Guang waited briefly. In less than a minute, Xiao Qi had completed the search through all the photographs...

Whether those uploaded by the players or those saved in personal albums.

All the information had been systematically organized into a text document, with a table of contents for ease of reference.

Although the players had gathered mostly fragmented clues, they had unexpectedly pieced together quite some startling information.

Just as he had suspected.

The Weilante people were indeed created through genetic modification technology.

Although this project initially faced opposition from the committee's technical departments, the ongoing severe casualties at the front and the vast amounts of unresolved work forced the committee's defense department to press the technical departments.

In 2150, the 21st year of the Wasteland Era, propelled by the severe casualties of the Qingquan City operation, the super soldier project known as the "Weilante People Plan" was finally approved despite enormous pressure from all sides.

And the committee's defense department, which was the precursor to the Army, had its name inseparably linked to the chaos a century and a half ago.

Intrigued, Chu Guang followed the leads organized by Xiao Qi and continued reading.

The 23 pairs of chromosomes of the Weilante people were entirely designed using gene modification technology, and the raw materials were extracted from an incomplete gene bank named "Weilante."

The first thousand of these genetically original beings possessed combat capabilities far beyond ordinary.

They retained their humanity while possessing almost animalistic combat instincts, and even without systematic training, they could still defeat more than five well-trained veteran soldiers in combat.

However, this was also the crux of their limitations.

Even on the battlefields after the Prosperity Epoch, there were still few opportunities for hand-to-hand combat.

Their formidable physicality made them more suitable for the most dangerous missions with the highest casualty rates, and although their superior reflexes and mobility allowed them to kill enemies more efficiently, the problem was that there were too few of them.

Ultimately, these super soldiers had little impact on the battlefield, which further marginalized them politically.

After several battles against the "Mutated slime fungus," the Weilante People were organized into a Fast Response Brigade and, under the leadership of a young commander named Julius, they supported the regular army using cheaper, low-maintenance equipment.

The life of this Julius was filled with legends; he was born in the same year as the "Weilante People Project" and had received a military education from childhood due to his father being a senior officer in the 111th Airborne Division of the Human Alliance.

As an "Old Human," he had practically grown up alongside those "New Humans" and, fifteen years later, had stepped onto the battlefield against the Mutated slime fungus as their commander.

Chu Guang used the search function to look up the name "Julius" and found that this seemingly ordinary name surprisingly appeared over a hundred times in the less than five hundred thousand characters of the documents.

"... Come to think of it, the marshal of the Army seems to have the same name," Chu Guang vaguely remembered Vanus mentioning the name of their marshal.

However, on the West Coast, few people would directly refer to him by his name, typically using the title Marshal instead.

"If the Army's marshal and the Julius mentioned in the documents are the same person, then this guy must have lived for at least one hundred and fifty years!"

Chu Guang slightly marveled, unable to imagine what that kind of sensation might feel like.

In "Stars," an officer who had lived for one hundred and fifty years could have reached the maximum level even just by hanging around in a "patrol fleet" dealing with pirates.

His index finger continued to slide across the holographic screen, quickly flipping to the next page.

Skipping over the lengthy descriptions, time quickly advanced to the 41st year of the Wasteland Era.

The Committee was struggling significantly with the eradication of the slime fungus, and the endless winter worsened the already scarce resources and low productivity.

There were even climatologists who despaired that the planet might not be turning into a "Wasteland Planet," but rather evolving into a more fragile "Polar Planet," with one-third of its land eventually buried under 240 meters of ice.

That war likely set the world back eighteen thousand years.

Nonetheless, eradicating the slime fungus from this planet remained the primary issue. Various research indications showed that this "simple" organism was more cold-resistant than other indigenous carbon-based life forms on Earth.

If this issue were not resolved before conditions worsened further, the future problems would exceed everyone's expectations.

So far, the survivors had not discovered any "self-limiting" nature of the slime fungus; they merely feared those creatures that not even nuclear bombs could clean up.

If the survivors of that time had known that by simply abandoning the urban centers of the Human Alliance Era and retreating to less densely built suburbs, the slime fungus would expand to a point where it would eventually enter a period of decline, perhaps many troubles could have been avoided.

Of course, this is a consideration from the perspective of those who came later; many research successes regarding the slime fungus were indeed uncovered during the war against it.

In any case, in order to reduce the loss of human resources, the Defense Department of the Committee, building upon the "Weilante People Plan," put forth even more demanding requirements—they needed a kind of clone soldier who could be rapidly mass-produced and effective on the battlefield.

They need not be very powerful or even possess the mental faculties of normal humans, but they must complete the cycle from assembly line to battlefield in the shortest time possible.

Compared to the Defense Department of the Wasteland Era 21 years earlier, the Department in year 41 had clearly become more extreme.

The Post-War Reconstruction Committee convened a meeting to discuss relevant legislation; the departments of Production, Defense, and Technology were all involved in this debate.

This meeting was recorded in the documents as the "Trilateral Meeting."

This also marked the second major disagreement encountered by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee since its establishing.

Long-standing conflicts had already peaked before the meeting began, and the public debate seemed more like a vent.

The continuously suffering Defense Department requested that the Production and Technology departments provide a type of clone soldier that could sufficiently function on the battlefield and reduce the casualties among Human Alliance soldiers.

From the standpoint of the Defense Department, this was a completely reasonable demand.

After all, their soldiers were responsible not only for maintaining the safety and order of the settlements but also for protecting the prospectors of the Technology Department as they entered ruins to recover technologies from before the war.

The war had officially ended 41 years ago, but their war had never ceased. With a generation lasting twenty years, their sacrifices had spanned two generations, affecting at least four generations of people.

And like twenty years before, the Technology Department expressed strong opposition, claiming that it would bring not only technical risks like "DNA contamination" but could also potentially lead to the collapse of civilized society.

This concern was not unfounded.

The Weilante People, cultivated through genetic technology and lacking basic political rights, had become de facto "slave soldiers," setting the clock of history back even further to the slave societies of feudal times long before the Prosperity Epoch.

This line of thinking was wrong from the start; there were better options available.

For example, robots and AI.

However, this proposal was met with objections from the Production Department.

Without a robust industrial chain, the cost of producing a reliable robot was not merely several times or several dozen times higher but exponentially so.

The exorbitant production and maintenance costs were not something the current "Post-War Reconstruction Committee" could afford.

Unless expenditures for all survivor settlements, including the Giant Stone City, were completely cut, letting them fend for themselves.

Even then, the savings would still be far from sufficient to meet the Defense Department's needs for manpower.

Moreover, cutting the budgets of all survivor settlements would mean that the Post-War Reconstruction Committee would lose a vast pool of human resources, which would be likened to drinking poison to quench a thirst.

In an attempt to pacify the Technology and Defense departments, the Production Department suggested many compromises.

For instance, they proposed granting the Weilante People limited political rights, such as lifting restrictions on reproduction, and appropriately integrating some Weilante People into the family of the Human Alliance, provided they could demonstrate outstanding merit on the battlefield.

As for the higher-producing clones, there was no need to confine their lives to the role of cannon fodder. They could be allowed to freely enter factories or farmland for resource production work.

This high-quality labor force was needed not only by the Defense Department but also by the Production Department.

The meeting ultimately did not yield any results, instead laying the groundwork for the disintegration of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee that followed.

The following year, in 2171, the 42nd year of the Wasteland Era, the exploration team from the Academy recovered the Weilante laboratory on the West Coast, which became the spark that ignited the powder keg.

It preserved the complete gene bank of the Weilante people and also held the unfinished "Singularity" technology from before the end of the Prosperity Epoch—life cycle modulation technology.

Under the leadership of General Julius, a Fast Response Brigade composed of Weilante people occupied the laboratory and detained all the prospectors from the Technology Department's exploration team.

Faced with strong protests and negotiations from the Technology Department, the Defense Department merely claimed that it was Julius's personal action and showed extreme reluctance to arrest this "out-of-control senior officer," even "accidentally" sending a nuclear fusion battery to the occupied lab.

Clearly, they were trying to complete this research or, more precisely, to utilize some sub-technologies within this research to create a "clone army with eightfold accelerated growth."

Objectively speaking, the Defense Department had already shown considerable restraint, because they could have just taken the technology directly but still fabricated a sloppy excuse as a formality.

The committee's control over various departments had reached rock bottom, and the rift between the Defense Department and Technology Department had peaked.

In 2172, the 43rd year of the Wasteland Era, following several "accidental" incidents, the Technology Department completely lost trust in the Defense Department.

Under the leadership of then-Technology Department Minister and Academy Dean Dr. Conclusive, the Technology Department transferred a large number of core technical personnel to the Northern Swamp under the pretext of exploring large relics and started building their own armed exploration forces within the framework of the pre-war academic organization "Academy."

The Defense Department was indifferent to this, as their focus had already shifted westward to the Great Desert. Most military installations and Triumph City on the West Coast were actually under the control of that "out-of-control senior officer."

The Production Department of the committee, although low-key, was equally formidable.

Even prior to the tri-party meeting that served as a spark, they had already been covertly prioritizing construction of the settlements on the East Coast through means such as resource bias.

Ideal City was born against this backdrop.

Moreover, they even collaborated with the Manager of Shelter No. 6 and the then-captain of the Colony Ship to push forward the "Enterprise" plan, established a regional "Supreme Council," and proposed the "Industrial Salvation" overall policy.

Perhaps in the eyes of then-Production Department Minister, the colonists who stranded their colony ship on the surface to save Mother Earth and the Shelter No. 6 residents, who bravely opened the gates to save more survivors, were more trustworthy than the "colleagues" who quarreled heatedly at the negotiation table.

Although idealists seldom produce immediate tangible results, every step forward in civilization is inseparable from the exploration of idealists.

They decided to replace the committee and become the explorers of the new era.

In 2173, the 44th year of the Wasteland Era, the second spark incident occurred. The Production Department, sensing the inevitable disintegration of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, unilaterally declared the "Province of Yúnjiānxíng Revival Act" through the now fully-fledged Ideal City.

The act stipulated that the strategic defensive regions of mountains, seas, islands, and inlets, the three urban circles of Northern Yún, Upper Yún, and Lower Yún, as well as the two industrial zones, No. 1 and No. 2, would be collectively owned by all residents of the survivor settlements of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, including all relics from the pre-war civilization.

This may sound like a mild initiative and was reasonable.

But in practice, it harbored other intentions.

On the very night the bill was enacted, dozens of armed forces in the name of corporations left Ideal City, swiftly taking over all the East Coast research institutes of the Committee's technical department, and the pre-war civilization relics under development.

Violent firefights broke out in parts of the research facilities.

The Academy's armed forces, having been formed recently and being less formidable in combat power, still caused considerable trouble for the corporation's troops with high-tech equipment and AI-controlled war machines.

Although the corporations ultimately prevailed, many research facilities were destroyed.

For instance, the experimental facilities engaged in "Perfect Life Form" Singularity Technology research turned to ash during the conflict.

This not only completely destroyed the original items of "Perfect Life Form" technology but also resulted in some experiment bodies with unstable DNA escaping to the Wasteland, some moving along the coastline, while others migrated towards the Great Desert.

And these experimental bodies lost in the Wasteland, became known later as Mutants.

Although this conflict occurred under the names of corporations and Ideal City, without the participation of the Production Department, the researchers from the Technical Department were not foolhardy.

Seizing this incident as an opportunity, Dr. Principle immediately announced the dissolution of the Technical Department. Not only did he take over all survivor settlements in the Wandering Swamp under the banner of the Academy, but he also permanently cut off all technological support outside the Wandering Swamp, even deleting databases in the Grand Canyon.

Especially parts concerning the coordinates of pre-war civilization relics.

Thus, the Army, the corporations, and the Academy stepped onto the stage of history.

And the Defense Department, Production Department, and Technical Departments that had completed the "asset transfer" swiftly discarded their historical burdens and jubilantly announced their dissolution.

The Post-War Reconstruction Committee, having lost three important departments and operated for 44 years, was virtually ineffective, unable to support survivor settlements everywhere.

By the year 2174, which marked the 45th year of the Wasteland Era.

Faced with the empty conference table, the Post-War Reconstruction Committee also finally took its last step—officially declaring dissolution.

From now on, settlements need no longer adhere to the temporary constitution set by the committee, nor accept its governance.

In turn, settlements need to find their own solutions, contending with the endless cold and the incursions of Variants to solve their own survival issues.

In its final declaration, the chief of the committee still expressed hopes that the management layers of each settlement would not forget their mission, helping their compatriots within their means as much as possible.

At the time, no one knew.

In the fifth year after the Post-War Reconstruction Committee declared dissolution, signs of the Earth's atmospheric recovery began to appear.

The long nuclear winter ended to everyone's surprise, and declining species began to reproduce once more on this land.

Thus, the Army, the Academies, and corporations entered their developmental period, and the Wasteland Era transitioned from the "Committee Era" to the "Refuge Era" lasting half a century.

As the climate reached the preset standards for ending dormancy, refuges progressively opened their doors, and the old sticks who walked out of the refuges gradually stepped onto the stage of this now barren land.

Although the plan deviated from its expected trajectory from the start, most refuges did not find the now-dissolved Post-War Reconstruction Committee, nor were they able to manage the surface affairs as orderly as within the shelters.

But those who were out of place in this era had, in a short time, injected a strong stimulant into this decaying world. Using knowledge from the Prosperity Epoch and mysterious objects like the black box, they helped some of the Waste Land Wanderers survive the initial dark period following the loss of the Reconstruction Committee.

Chu Guang was surprised to find that these unknown secrets were just lying on the bookshelves of the Grand Canyon's rest area, available for anyone to browse.

What astonished him even more was that the old neighbor to the north of the Alliance was actually the precursor to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee!

"Not... I can't say I didn't see it coming."

Chu Guang carefully recalled the holographic image left by Dr. Principle that he had watched with Yin Fang and linked it to the clues gathered by the Death Legion.

"... In the second year of the Wasteland Era, Dr. Principle, who awoke two years late, under the escort of Captain Zhao Weisheng of the 111th Airborne Division, headed to the Grand Canyon with over a thousand unexpected survivors to meet with comrades from the Post-War Reconstruction Committee."

"According to the description in the holographic image, the Grand Canyon was already under the control of the 111th Airborne Division... In other words, was the precursor to the precursor of the Army actually deployed in the River Valley Province?"

And they even saved one of the three founders of the Academy?!

Looking at the information retrieved by the players and reflecting on the events of the past century, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel mixed emotions.

The outside world saw so many events unfold while Shelter No. 404 was closed...

At this moment, he could finally understand Dr. Method's feelings and why he would seclude himself in Shelter 101.

If one were repeatedly betrayed by his team, especially a completely inexplicable second betrayal, it would undoubtedly sour their mood.

However, from the standpoint of the now-dissolved Defense Department and Production Department, they certainly had their reasons—

"I've shed blood and sweat to open relics for you, and you won't even deploy clone technology? Fine, I'll do it myself!"

"Since you're bound to split eventually, why shouldn't I be the first to act if it's a likely event?"

As Chu Guang looked at the last page of the holographic image, he couldn't help but think about his Alliance.

Both he and the Alliance were young, but there would come a day when he'd grow old, and human capability inevitably has limits; he couldn't always keep up with the changes of the era.

The world of players was also moving forward, and with the technological support from the shelters, their progress could even outpace normal conditions and enter the Prosperity Epoch early.

When that time came, "Wasteland OL" would face new challenges.

"... No matter what, the Alliance will not follow the 'Committee's' steps."

Chu Guang muttered silently and stretched his index finger to swipe through the air, turning off the floating screen in front of him.

He had a strong sense of déjà vu.

It seemed he had once said something similar.

Just then, a pale blue popup suddenly flickered into view without warning.

[Emergency Mission Triggered!]

[Description: Morphological formation field device detects an abnormal individual, triggering "flag6" judgment, player ID: "Falling Feather" login rights temporarily frozen.]

[Requirement: This mission has been marked as highest priority, coordinates updated to the shelter's server map file, please recover the abnormal individual promptly, anesthetize, and place on the conveyor belt on Level B1.]

[Reward: Unlock Floor B6]

It had been a long time since such a mission popup appeared, and Chu Guang almost didn't recognize it.

When he saw the mission reward, he was even more stunned.

Floor B6?

Wait...

Wasn't Floor B5 still locked?

How did it skip ahead?

But what concerned him more was the emergency mission description.

"... Abnormal individual?!"

What in the world?

Chu Guang froze for a few seconds, then immediately reopened the holographic computer and instructed his adorable assistant.

"Xiao Qi, immediately sync the latest coordinates received by the shelter server to my holographic computer."

Xiao Qi: "Received!"

The coordinates quickly appeared on the map.

Right at the southern part of Luo Xia Province, at the location of Lost Valley.

Seeing this coordinate, Chu Guang was even more baffled.

He clearly remembered that a nuclear bomb had exploded there just a few hours ago.

Even if some players recklessly tried to see what it felt like to be bombed, surely getting hit by a nuclear bomb wouldn't leave anyone alive?

Could this game still be cheated?

As Chu Guang wondered what exactly had happened, a tragic cry of agony had already risen on the official forum.

"Frick!"

"I was counting down, why did the respawn timer stop?!!!"

Chapter 448 Eternal 'Love

Non-professional response: "It stopped moving?!"

Star River not entering dreams: "What's the situation?"

Falling Feather: "I have no idea! I just put on the helmet and watched the countdown, but suddenly the timer stopped moving. QAQ"

Clear Wind: "????"

Star River not entering dreams: "Scared me, I immediately put it on to check, thankfully I'm fine."

Gui Gui: "Weird, aren't you guys on the same plane?"

Star River not entering dreams: "I've got no idea either!! (laughing to death) (funny)"

Falling Feather: "(angry)"

In "Wasteland OL," flying an aircraft into the sky isn't news. Anyone can pull the joystick and step on the throttle, but safely landing the plane, now that's impressive.

At first, when people heard that Falling Feather crashed the plane again, they didn't really have any reaction and even typed "Basic skills six" in the public screen.

But when they heard about his resurrection countdown getting stuck, and the 666-spamming players couldn't revive either, especially those flying, it blew everyone out of the water.

Everyone expressed disbelief and requested proof.

But the annoying part about this game is that the images aren't directly displayed on the retina; it skips the optic nerve and goes straight to the brain.

Unless you are the owner of the helmet, even players with beta testing qualifications can't see anything through it.

In other words, sticking a mobile phone inside the helmet to take a picture won't work — Fang Chang tried that when he first got the helmet.

Night Ten: "That's impossible. Although Brother Guang may be a bit bad at games and a little petty, he's absolutely honest and transparent in his conduct. He definitely wouldn't put a lock on your resurrection CD for a real account ban. Try putting on the helmet again? Maybe it just got stuck?"

Wild Wind: "Ah Guang: I will remember you. (side-eye)"

Night Ten: "Sorry, Brother Guang. (awkward)"

Makabazi: "Hahaha! You wimp! Ha ha ha haha! Rookie!"

Fang Chang: "Could it be a bug? I'll ask for you."

Mosquito: "What bug? He must have cheated! Dude, quick, tell us, where did you buy the cheats? How much per month? (mischievous grin)"

Falling Feather: "Damn! This game doesn't even have an operating system, how could I cheat! (freaking out)"

Teng Teng: "That's too bad…"

Crow: "Yeah, normally being locked in Ah Guang's tiny black room only lasts 72 hours. Just endure it and it'll be over soon enough with something to look forward to. But having your resurrection countdown stuck... feels like a ghost story. (╯﹏╰)b"

WC really has Mosquito: "What? Crow got locked in Ah Guang's tiny black room???"

Debt Giant Eye: "I bet Ah Guang is in there too!!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Giao! Pass it on down the tail!"

Crow: "????"

Due to the victim continuously livestreaming his "withdrawal symptoms," the thread grew taller, soon becoming the hottest post on the forum. Both gamers and backseat drivers joined in the crowd.

Under the jeers of the onlookers, Ah Guang, who had been playing dead for five minutes, finally showed up.

"Cough, everyone please calm down. Since no player has been killed by a nuclear bomb so far in this game, a little bug in the memory programming has occurred. But it's not a big issue! I've already reported the bug to the tech department, and they said they'll send a couple of plumbers over to check it out later."

Falling Feather: "How is it not a big issue? (angry)"

Light: "Of course, for accounts affected, we'll offer compensation. As for the compensation plan, it's currently being looked into and should be a very special reward... I'll discuss it in a meeting with my colleagues later."

Falling Feather: "Bro!!! (excited)"

WC really has Mosquito: "WTF? There's compensation?"

Quit Smoking: "Is it too late to get bombed by a nuclear bomb now???"

Fang Chang: "Cough cough, just wanted to ask… are there any nuclear bombs near Ideal City? No particular reason, just kind of missing home."

Watching the replies in the forum, Chu Guang couldn't help but twitch his brow.

These guys...

Can't they have some dignity?

But indeed, players being unable to log in was a big issue. The impact on the game experience was a small matter, but triggering urgent missions was major.

The Morphogenesis Field was the biggest ace up the Alliance's sleeve.

The only uncertainty now was whether this situation was caused by external factors or because the refuge judged the clone to be risky and hence acted proactively.

Either way...

This instability had to be addressed as the highest priority!

Thinking this, Chu Guang immediately ordered.

"Xiao Qi, issue a mission to all players nearby the coordinates, asking them to check the area and recover the pilot's body."

Xiao Qi reminded him softly.

"But, sir, that coordinate area is out of the communication range."

Chu Guang slightly startled.

"They haven't logged off yet?"

"Maybe they are celebrating a victory?" Xiao Qi suggested uncertainly.

Hmm...

That was indeed possible.

Chu Guang thought for a moment, then ordered.

"Copy the mission details onto the VM of player 'WC really has Mosquito', and have him fly the details to them."

Since the Beta era, players' range of activities had increasingly expanded, with the proportion of players who operated long-term outside of the Alliance's communication range approaching 6%.

Chu Guang had Xiao Qi upgrade the VM software program, so not only could players offline take missions from the refuge through the official website, but their VMs also had sender capabilities, synchronizing pre-set NPC missions to nearby players' mission tabs under specific circumstances.

Such missions were usually disseminated close-by and typically served as an emergency measure.

Sitting on the table, Xiao Qi tilted his head.

"But wouldn't it be beyond the range of flight?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"It doesn't matter. One less plane isn't a big deal, just let him stash a foldable bike in the cabin and find a flat spot to land."

...

North of Petra Fortress.

The market at the city gate was a bustling hub of excitement, vibrant like a fiercely burning furnace.

The clinking of glasses stretched from the tavern down the street, as drunken revelers shouted with inebriated voices.

"Long live the Kingdom!"

"Long live the Spirit of the Desert Sea!"

"A toast to the lord's envoy!"

"Hahaha! Tonight we drink till dawn!"

Tonight, there was no curfew. The lord had declared that as long as they wished, they could drink until daylight.

Just for tonight, patrolling guards wouldn't shoo these drunken revelers home, but merely stood by to prevent them from causing trouble while drunk.

Just a few hours ago, they had defeated the invincible army, stopping the curse and disaster that were descending upon Oasis No.4, and safeguarding the kingdom's peace.

It was said that the day after tomorrow, His Majesty the King himself would come to this fortress to commend their bravery. The kingdom's High Priest would also arrive, to meet the kind and benevolent divine envoy.

By now, no one doubted the divine envoy's identity.

All the soldiers and militiamen who participated in the battle had witnessed the scene in Lost Valley.

The light that shattered the clouds and the earth-shattering flames and columns of air were undoubtedly the depiction of the apocalypse in the Silver Moon Holy Words!

As people immersed themselves in the joy of victory and survival, an airplane appeared in the northern night sky, and was spotted by a patrolling guard.

"What is that?"

Lights twinkled in the sky.

He immediately grabbed his binoculars for a look, only to see an airplane with a shark's head painted on it, flying towards them with lights on.

Those bloody teeth clearly indicated that the newcomer meant no good, and the shark, as described by the sailors of Silver Moon Bay, was a formidable beast.

The guard immediately became vigilant and reported this discovery to the patrol captain.

Upon hearing this, the captain did not dare to delay, and immediately issued an order.

"Cavalry, assemble and follow me to take a look!"

The airplane did not head directly for Petra Fortress, but instead landed on a sand dune to the north.

A large group of cavalry burst out of the city gates, encircling the direction where the airplane landed.

Mosquito had just crawled out of the cockpit when he saw a circle of cavalry wielding carbine rifles around him.

The menacing display stunned him, but he quickly pulled out the alliance flag from the cockpit.

"Don't shoot! We're on the same side!"

...

Lord's Mansion.

Inside the granite hall, an orchestra played melodious and elegant music, as people in lavish attire equally indulged in celebrating the hard-earned victory.

People shuffled back and forth in front of long tables, which were laden with pottery full of fine wine, and plates filled with roasted chicken legs, lamb legs, beef, and all sorts of strange vegetables and fruits.

The variety of food here was rich and outrageously plentiful.

Sitting at the long table, players from the Skeleton Corps fully embraced the "clean plate" spirit, transforming into voracious eaters, their bellies open as they ate and drank, all the while murmuring in conversation.

"Hey, if we buy some cattle and sheep from here and transport them back, we'll definitely make a fortune!"

"Let's talk about that when we go back. After this, we still need to meet up with the main force on the southwest side of the Lion Kingdom and head north to liberate the Honey Badger Kingdom... There's a bunch of activities lined up."

"When do we leave?"

"Depends on when the logistics convoy arrives, we can't just drive tanks all the way across."

"Speaking of which, I think the princess of the Honey Badger Kingdom is really pretty."

"Damn, why isn't the Manager interested!"

"Why do you care?"

"I freaking placed a bet!"

"Sheesh..."

As reinforcements from the Alliance, they received Petra Fortress's calm and warm hospitality.

Whether for the sake of the fifteen tanks that had made the army flee in disarray, or because most of these people were Awakeners, they were truly worthy of this respect.

Benefits do not necessarily come through war, but strength is always the foundation of respect.

No one minded their gluttonous eating manners.

Even Ross Gold, a traditional noble who cares about the angle and force with which he cuts his steak, would selectively ignore the uncouth behavior of their peers at a banquet. Instead, they are deeply impressed by their uninhibited demeanor and hearty appetites.

The surrender faction in the Camel Hump Kingdom is a little different from the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

The latter was motivated by intertwined interests, whereas the former admired sheer military prowess and despised unstable situations.

If the Alliance could defeat the Army on the open battlefield, they certainly wouldn't mind switching their allegiance.

"By the Spirit of the Sand Sea... that guy just stuffed at least half a lamb into his stomach!"

"Where does all that food go?"

"That guy over there ate 5 chickens!"

"Incredible... such rudeness."

"Rudeness? You call that rudeness? If I could eat 5 roast chickens in one meal, I'd grab them with my hands too!"

"Exactly, eating big bites of meat is the elegance of a warrior... It's just a cultural difference."

"With so many brave and skilled warriors, no wonder the Alliance dares to arm wrestle with the Army!"

As a group of satiated nobles were astounded and whispered about possibly picking a couple of sons-in-law to improve their side branches' bloodlines, Si Si seemed to be in a spot of trouble.

Lord Sain approached her.

This muscular man, with his arm in a bandage and slightly tipsy, wore a face full of stubble that looked formidable without even a frown, now glowing slightly rosy.

"Do you have a husband?"

"No, why?"

"A fiancé?"

"...What's it to you?"

"May I be your suitor?"

Hearing this, Sesame Paste, who was drinking milk, nearly spat it out, and Tail and Meat Meat, who were competing over who could eat more chicken legs, immediately stopped their contest and looked up excitedly.

"Wow! Si Si just got a marriage proposal from an NPC!"

"Spread the word! Si Si has kids now!"

Si Si just froze on the spot.

"...Huh?"

Taking those cheers which he didn't understand as encouragement, Sain continued to gaze at her intensely, his eyes filled with sincerity.

"...I know it may be a bit abrupt to say this, but I cannot keep these words in my heart. Your beauty and bravery have captivated me. Could you give me a chance to court you?"

"If you are still angry about something from earlier, I sincerely apologize."

Si Si stared blankly at the guy.

"I'm not angry... but don't you have a wife already?"

The bearded man chuckled awkwardly, shyly speaking.

"Just three... but it doesn't matter, my relationship with them isn't about love, it's an alliance marriage."

Si Si: "..."

Tail: "giao!"

In a whisper, Meat Meat asked, "Ah Tail, how should we spread this...?"

Tail pondered thoughtfully, chin in hand.

Suddenly her eyes lit up, but before she could speak, her mouth was covered by a smiling Sesame Paste, leaving only muffled sounds leaking through her fingers.

"Don't be naughty, Ah Tail."

Si Si sighed without paying much attention to his friends' playful noises.

"Sorry, you're a good person."

Therefore, there's no need to take things so seriously in the game, but this guy was far from her ideal type.

Not to mention the "X and Producer" kind of artistic style, at least he should be tall and powerful, handsome and serious like the Manager...

Well, actually the first two don't matter, she mainly wanted to see a serious person become unserious.

That kind of inconsistency would feel great.

Sain was stunned for a moment, his expression confused, unable to grasp the situation.

A good person...

Why apologize?

...

On the other side of the banquet hall.

Mole poured himself a glass of wine, gazed at the endless array of roasted meats on the table, and sighed deeply.

"It would be great if Old Na were here."

There was plenty of food here, but the variety of cooking was pitiful; no matter the type of meat, it was just seasoned, shoved into an oven, and then served on a bed of vegetable leaves.

Then there were all kinds of fruits, some familiar from the real world, and others he had never seen before.

He heard that there were sand worms in the nearby deserts, taller than city walls.

If Old Na were here, he'd be ecstatic.

The Thousand Leader sitting next to him thought he was talking to him, but didn't understand and apologetically said,

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Nothing, I was just saying... how nice it would be if my good brother Old Na were here." Mole nonchalantly repeated in United Human language.

"He..."

The Thousand Leader's Adam's apple bobbed, he guessed something from his expression, and then stopped talking.

"He died."

Mole sadly burped, spicing up the tale of what had happened at dusk.

"In order to buy me time, he drove the tank out voluntarily to serve as bait and attract enemy fire, and ended up getting hit directly by an army tank's shell... When I walked up at the end, not even a whole corpse could be found inside."

The Thousand Leader was silent for a moment.

The burly man patted him on the shoulder and solemnly consoled,

"...Don't be too sad, the Spirit of the Sand Sea will remember his bravery. To die for sacred honor, his soul will enter the eternal Oasis."

"I'm not sad, what's there to be sad about," Mole shook his head, leisurely sipping his red wine, "anyway, once I fall asleep, I'll be able to see that guy again."

Hearing this, everyone around fell silent.

The Thousand Leader sniffed, and a young lady from who-knows-where discreetly wiped the corner of her eye.

Venturing to foreign lands to fight, a comrade falls just before dawn, unable to share the victorious wine.

His pretense of strength was heartbreaking.

However, they didn't know that every word he said was true.

In a while, once the banquet ended, he'd find a place to lie down, and he could brag online with those buddies.

No problem!

The Thousand Leader did not say any more comforting words, but just clinked glasses with Mole.

"The Alliance is always our friend, I won't forget this kindness, may our friendship last forever!"

His tone was incredibly sincere and earnest.

Mole grinned and clinked his glass.

"May our friendship last forever!"

Just as he finished speaking, the doors of the banquet hall suddenly opened.

Amidst the melodious music, a guard clad in bulletproof gear hurried to Lord Sain's side.

"Sir, a plane has landed in the desert north of Petra. the pilot who descended claims to be from the Alliance."

The recently friend-zoned Sain was still confused, trying to understand why he was rejected.

But upon hearing the guard's report, he immediately set aside his romantic troubles and grew serious.

"Bring him here."

The soldier saluted and marched back briskly.

Sain cleared his throat, fetched the soldier named Mole, and they both walked to the entrance of the banquet hall.

Soon, the pilot was brought in.

He wore a pilot hat stitched from hyena skin and was immediately taken aback by the array of fine food and drink as he reached the door.

"Holy shit, I've been bleeding in the front lines, and you're eating like this!"

His talk of bleeding was an exaggeration.

The afternoon's battle was a breeze; the opposing planes didn't get a chance to engage in a dogfight before they were obliterated by a volley from the Manager.

This was his most rewarding potato digging session, even more comfortable than the time fighting the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Seeing the pilot's unworldly demeanor, Mole quickly coughed.

"Don't embarrass our Alliance... But hey, why are you here?"

"Hehe," Mosquito raised his eyebrows, his face animated, "The Manager himself instructed me to deliver this message."

As he spoke, he tapped twice on his VM, and a slight vibration synced to Mole's arm.

[Mission 1: Investigate the crash site of 'Cloud Dragonfly' Flapping Machine.]

[Mission 2: Retrieve the body (or remains) of pilot Falling Feather.]

Mole was stunned the moment he saw the missions.

Retrieve remains, seriously?

Good grief, after a million-ton three-phase bomb, what remains could there be...

Any ashes left?

"...Isn't this asking for the impossible?" he finally couldn't help but complain.

Mosquito chuckled.

"I think so too, probably only the Difficult for the Strong brothers could find that."

Mole: "No... what's the use of that thing anyway?"

Mosquito: "Who knows! But it makes sense to assign this mission; you might not know since you haven't logged off, but our Falling Feather bro seems to have been nuked into a bug."

Mole: "Holy crap?"

There are actually bugs in this game?

No wonder they're always fixing things...

Mosquito continued speaking.

"Anyway, Ah Guang is contacting the technical department to rush the repairs, but he probably didn't notify the NPCs in the game, so the Manager had his most loyal Mosquito come to check things out."

Mole: "..."

Mosquito chuckled and said, "Take me with you when you go; I'm quite curious. I've never seen what it's like to be bombed by a nuclear bomb."

The conversation between the two was completely incomprehensible.

Confused, Lord Sain of the city was about to ask what they were talking about when Si Si walked out from the banquet hall and looked at him.

"A new prophecy, the evil spirits summoned by the Army have not been completely sealed. We need to deal with the enchanted barrier of the curse... the divine envoy just told me."

Clearly, she had also received that mission, including the people from the White Bear Knights.

Upon hearing Si Si's words, Sain didn't feel embarrassed about being previously refused; rather, his expression turned serious as he furrowed his brows.

"But now the Land of the Lost is piled with a massive amount of curses, even capable of withering plants and trees unless we use—"

"We've brought anti-radiation drugs and radiation suits, so it shouldn't be a big issue."

Looking at the girl before him, Sain earnestly asked,

"Must we go?"

Si Si spoke with feigned gravity.

"For the safety of the residents of Petra Fortress, we must ensure that the curse there is permanently sealed... the divine envoy said it is her duty and her responsibility. I hope you can understand."

Sain was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"I understand. I will arrange for a guide for you."

"Good luck."

Standing to one side, Mole and Mosquito exchanged glances, sharing the surprise in each other's eyes.

"Awesome..."

"666."

She spoke nonsense with a straight face, not even blushing, and the crazy part is that he actually believed her!

That's really something...

Lost Valley.

In a deep and dark cavern resided a room filled with jars and containers; if not for a few malfunctioning terminals and the connected culturing vessels, one would never have recognized it as a laboratory.

Pigeon, with a face full of scrapes like a swamp, scratched his chin in bafflement, looking at the young man unconscious on the metal bed, muttering to himself.

"This shouldn't be happening, right?"

His heart and lung functions had recovered, but the man just wouldn't wake up, as if his soul was lost.

It was indeed bizarre.

He had lived so long, yet this was the first time he had seen such a strange occurrence...

Time went back several hours.

Some fool outside had detonated a nuclear bomb, causing the nearby mountain to collapse by half, almost burying him alive.

It was fortunate that the explosion occurred in the center of the valley, nearly 10 kilometers from the mountain stronghold.

It was fortunate that the remnants of the river embankments still held plenty of alloy structures, blocking some of the high-energy rays.

If not for these "fortunate" events, perhaps only "Little Red," the mother body, would have survived.

Although he pulled through with his strong regenerative powers, the poor mortal was not so lucky; his body's large molecules were instantly turned into a sieve by high-energy rays, with organic tissues massively necrotizing.

"If we leave this guy alone, he will undoubtedly be done for."

Seeing as fate had brought them together, Pigeon decided to help him out and asked Little Red to create a "Seed of Life" and give it to him.

The so-called Seed of Life was a name coined by Pigeon.

In plain terms, it was just a division of fungal mycelium.

However, unlike other regional slime molds, these "Symbiotic Slime Molds" neither extract nutrients from the host nor consume the host to evolve themselves, nor do they transform the host into one of their own.

Instead, they sacrifice their autonomous consciousness, integrate themselves into part of the host, grant the host powerful abilities, and over the years slowly replace the aging, dead cells that can no longer replicate, keeping the host forever healthy and youthful.

It was like all-encompassing, selflessly devoted love!

In this symbiotic relationship, the host would break free from the shackles of age, not become sluggish due to aging but instead grow stronger over the years.

The longer one lived, the more cells would be replaced. And since the "Symbiotic Slime Mold" lacked autonomous consciousness, even if all the cells in the body were completely replaced, the host's own consciousness would remain intact.

As for the cost that the young man was worried about.

In Pigeon's view, it could hardly be called a cost.

Every known form of life cannot escape metabolism, whether it's an organic or inorganic body, eventually needing to replace worn-out parts.

Even without any external factors, the cells in a human body would completely renew every six years. This is just normal metabolism and does not affect whether a person remains the same person.

The slime mold with which he was symbiotic also could not escape this metabolism.

The only difference was that slime molds could reproduce indefinitely, while his body cells had the limitations of telomeres, gradually becoming weaker over time.

But the slime mold symbiotic with him would never despise his aging; the eternal love would always surround him.

Even if all the cells in his body were rotten, he could still stand here like a healthy young person, not only maintaining a flexible mind, but even able to reproduce offspring with his own DNA.

This was simply a biological miracle!

As for whether he was now Pigeon or some mucosal entity called Pigeon, as far as he was concerned, it really didn't matter. He was still in control of this body.

Thought is the fundamental reason for human existence!

The body is just a shell to contain those thoughts!

Moreover, this slow and gentle change that replaced only a few cells at a time was much more reliable than "crudely destroying the body and uploading the mind to a circuit board."

If it were during the Prosperity Epoch.

His research would surely become one of the greatest discoveries of that era!

"Eeem?"

Little Red tilted her head while she stood in the laboratory.

Her round, smooth tentacles were like a dolphin's mouth, softly floating at the back of her head, undulating like seaweed. The blurred facial features were full of confusion, just like Pigeon standing beside the bed.

"Do you not understand either?"

Pigeon sighed and scratched his rotting occiput.

Little Red nodded.

But just then, it suddenly looked up toward the lab door, the tentacles on the back of its head slightly tensed, a crisp voice drifting out.

"Eeem."

"Are you saying someone is coming?"

Pigeon muttered and looked at Little Red, who nodded, then glanced at the young man lying motionless on the bed.

There have always been people stirring things up in Lost Valley recently, perhaps Academy's Prospectors or other treasure seekers. Frankly, he wasn't too keen to bother or care about them.

But remembering the nuclear bomb that had exploded before, he still sighed and twisted his stiff neck.

"You wait here... I'm going to take a look outside."

Chapter 449 "Titan" Awakens!

Fang Chang: "Don't get too worked up, just think back carefully about what exactly happened then?"

Falling Feather: "I really don't know, as soon as the nuke went off I was gone. QAQ"

Night Ten: "What about before the nuclear explosion?"

Falling Feather: "...Seems like a storyline was triggered, but it got cut off by the nuke blast not long after that. Damn! If it had been just a few minutes later, I would have known what the cost was!"

Fang Chang: "Storyline? What storyline? And what's this about a cost?"

Falling Feather: "The 'Mutated slime fungus' mother entity... Oh right, and an old monster who has lived for more than a hundred years, the author of 'Oasis under Tobal Mountain Range.' A researcher from the Academy."

Fang Chang: "Holy shit!"

Night Ten: "Holy shit??"

Falling Feather: "Uh... does this have anything to do with a bug? Didn't the management say I was bugged out by the nuke? (awkward)"

Fang Chang: "That's not necessarily the case. If you played more games you'd know, sometimes even the officials don't know where the bugs come from."

Night Ten: "+1, and if they really can't find it, using the trump card of rolling back three days isn't out of the question. (playful)"

Falling Feather: "No way, right?"

Fang Chang: "Hard to say. (sly smile)"

Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: "So who's going to remind them? Lost Valley has an entity... is it a lair or a mother entity? I still haven't figured out the difference between those two things."

Wild Wind: "Where's Mosquito? Didn't he take a quest?"

Old White: "...He hasn't replied to my message. Probably logged in."

Falling Feather: "He can't possibly still be alive, right? A million-megaton nuke, man! What carbon-based life could withstand that?"

Elena: "Tsk, a million megatons is nothing in this game. Look at all the big scenes Qingquan City has been through. Has the lair there wimped out? (playful)"

Falling Feather: "(nervous)"

...

Lost Valley.

At the narrow pass leading into the valley, a few collapsed boulders blocked the path of the group.

Jumping down from the truck.

Dressed in protective suits, Sisi approached the center of the road, pushed against the stone lying in front, only to find it immovable.

Meanwhile, just as she approached this area, the Geiger counter on the VM started ticking, with the radiation index shooting up.

The residual radioactivity from the Three-phase Bomb's not a joke.

Had it been real life, two more steps inward would have meant certain death.

Luckily, this was a game.

Before donning the protective suits, everyone had been injected with radiation antidotes, and the much larger Meat Meat had taken two doses.

"It must have been blown here from the center of the explosion... Digging through this is going to take quite some time."

Sisi stepped back from the large stones in the middle of the road and looked back towards the rest of the group on the truck.

"Looks like we're walking."

"That's the only way."

Mole nodded and jumped down from the vehicle, with Mosquito following him.

In total, the party was six humans and one bear.

Aside from the players, there was also a local guide from Petra Fortress.

Tail, with a steel helmet on his head and carrying an engineer shovel and a pickaxe on his shoulder, asked eagerly.

"Oh! Where do we start the search?"

"I dunno," Meat Meat scratched the back of his head, "come to think of it, do we have specific coordinates?"

Mosquito's face wore a subtle expression as his index finger swiped continuously on the VM screen.

"Uh... no, the coordinates given by the Manager are pretty rough."

Mole couldn't help but turn around and ask, "So you're saying the whole Grand Canyon could be possible?"

Mosquito scratched his head.

"Eighty percent likely."

Mole: "..."

The standard diameter of a riverbed is 10 kilometers, which means a total area of almost 314 square kilometers!

Where the hell do they start in such a vast area?

If it weren't for that nuke, it might have been easier.

The VM, as a vital signs monitor, naturally emits encrypted coordinates that are shared among players.

But if that feature still works after getting hit by a nuke, then that would be truly astonishing!

"Actually, we're not completely without clues."

Pinching her chin and pondering for a moment, Sisi spoke, "Assuming any remains are preserved, the nuclear blast wave would push the debris on the horizontal plane to the outside walls of the valley. So, in fact, we don't need to go deep into the valley; just search along the outer circle of the valley."

"That makes sense!"

Mole's eyes lit up, immediately followed by adding, "Falling Feather's attack direction was from south to north, so it's highly likely the remains fell on the south or north side of the valley's center!"

Sisi nodded earnestly.

"To be more precise, the north side. I have seen the approximate landing position of that aircraft before."

She then looked at the guide who had come with them.

"Would you mind waiting here for us?"

The guide hesitated.

Before setting out, the lord of the city had specifically instructed him that the Alliance members were partners of Camel Hump Kingdom and it was his duty to ensure the safety of these distinguished guests.

"But..."

"Let me put it straight. The situation inside might be more complex than we thought. Following us in might become a burden."

Seeing her say it so bluntly, the guide no longer insisted and nodded in the end.

He had heard various rumors about Lost Valley and obviously did not want to get close to this eerie place.

"Be careful... this place is sinister. Some traders passing through here at night heard cries of evil spirits inside."

Sisi nodded, loaded her submachine gun.

"I got it."

The group clambered over the stone rubble barrier and entered the valley, searching along the inner slope for the crash site.

The nuclear blast had completely altered the landscape, and Sisi was surprised to find the area completely different from her previous visit.

"Wow... is that the crater from the nuke over there?" Mosquito used his binoculars, looking toward the center of the valley, and saw a shocking crater imprinted on the ground.

Tail: "Oh! The explosion was spectacular! Tail even recorded a video!"

Mosquito: "!! Let me see!"

While the group whispered among themselves, a hoarse growl suddenly floated from ahead.

Mole, leading the way, stopped in his tracks and raised his LD-50 to aim in the direction ahead.

"...Eaters?" Si Si frowned.

"Not likely... I've never seen such a monster in Qingquan City." Mole's face showed a vigilant expression as he drew his signal gun and fired a shot into the sky.

A fiery red flare shot up into the sky, opening a parachute as it reached the apex.

The claret light illuminated the entire area, exposing the creatures hiding in the darkness completely.

They were four humanoid entities crawling on all fours, their heads nestled in their shoulders, with sharp teeth resembling the serrated teeth of a shark, and pairs of crimson pupils emitting a sinister glow.

The distinctive red fungal patches signaled their identity.

Without a doubt, they were all sub-entities of the slime mold!

"Fire!"

The moment Mole confirmed the target, he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, the gun muzzle spat out scorching tongues of flame.

Aside from Meat Meat who couldn't handle weapons, all four players fired at once, orange tracer rounds creating a net of death in the pitch-black valley in an instant.

"Hiss—!"

The Variants crawling on their limbs let out a piercing scream, dodging a round of barrage, dust exploded beneath them, and they charged forward like cannonballs.

So fast!

Mole was surprised, his magazine empty, he immediately drew the engineer shovel hanging on his waist and swung it forward.

In a flash, the sharp edge of the shovel struck the Variant's forehead, but instead of slicing off half of its skull, it rang out with a metallic clang as if striking stone.

The Variant let out a roar, raised a pair of foreclaws, and fiercely closed them together like a large pair of scissors.

Chills ran down his spine, Mole leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike.

Thank goodness he was already at Third stage of the Sequence, having completed his Second Awakening!

Otherwise, just that one hit would've been enough to send him back to his hometown thousands of kilometers away.

"Be careful, everyone! This thing's a bit tricky—"

Shouting as he retreated, Mole threw his engineer shovel to hit its head, stopping it from charging forward while drawing his shotgun from his back.

"Bang—!"

A thick burst of flame erupted, massive kinetic energy shattered the skull, violent lead pellets poured into the Variant's forehead in an instant, knocking its body back.

Novice Village was located in the "North Suburb" of Qingquan City, players had long accumulated rich experience in combating Variants, knowing that this fellow won't be taken down so easily.

Mole didn't stop, continuously squeezing the trigger, adding three more shots until the Variant was blasted into quivering fragments, no longer able to form a complete corpse before ceasing fire.

Elsewhere, Sesame Paste, Tail, and Sisi were also engaged in close combat after a round of barrage.

The small caliber pellets from the Magnetic Slingshot were ineffective against the Variant, Si Si quickly drew two daggers strapped to her thigh after emptying her magazine, the moment they crossed she barely blocked the incoming foreclaw.

Clang—!

The collision during the split second was like a symphony of cold weaponry.

"Ugh—"

The huge impact and tearing sensation from the web of her hand made her involuntarily grunt, and a hint of surprise couldn't help but appear on her usually calm face.

This strength—

Was even stronger than the Crawlers!?

As everyone knows, even powerful Awakeners, when facing Variants whose strength is completely off the scale, still require the use of civilized weapons to contend with them.

Engaging in close combat with this kind of monster, which possessed both strength and speed, was obviously not a wise choice. Sisi quickly distanced herself, her mind racing with strategy, but her companion Tail was one step faster than her.

"Wow, wow, wow!"

A half-meter long bayonet transformed into a streak of cold light, swiftly stabbing towards the head embedded in the shoulders but missed, hitting instead the shoulder socket next to the head.

The monster let out a hoarse cry and swung its front claw fiercely forward.

At that moment, a majestic and deep animal roar came from the side.

"Roar!"

The steel-spiked bear paw, like a roaring locomotive, slapped onto the monster's forehead with a smack.

The hard skull instantly burst open, and ink-green juice splattered, startling Meat Meat so much that she swiftly stepped back.

As it turned out, this was the right move.

When the ink-green juice hit the ground, it made a sizzling sound, and white smoke rose.

"Oh wow! Nicely done, Meat Meat!"

Tail gave a surprised thumbs-up, and Sesame Paste also looked at her in astonishment.

"What the heck is this?" Meat Meat widened her eyes in amazement, watching her slightly singed claws.

Si Si's eyes narrowed.

"Corrosive blood..."

Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid?

Or some kind of even stronger unknown organic acid.

Blood reactions this intense in oxidation-reduction couldn't be from a simple organic creature.

No wonder the dagger felt so weird when it struck, and the skin peeled off after being swept with a burst from the submachine gun.

This guy might actually be made of stone.

Standing atop a fortress, overlooking the people below, Pigeon smiled faintly.

"Beautiful."

He looked up at the slowly falling flare and a trace of annoyance appeared in his pupils.

Light, oh...

How annoying.

Although the light wouldn't actually weaken his combat power, the instinctive aversion of the slime mold to light still caused him physiological discomfort.

After all, the symbiotic slime mold was part of his body too.

What's more, the heat from the light would evaporate the scarce moisture, which was precisely why he had built the laboratory deep in a cave.

Speaking of which, why did these people keep breaking into his laboratory time and again?

Didn't they have their own things to do?

If it were just digging holes, he could turn a blind eye.

But no matter what, that nuclear bomb was just too much.

Pigeon's smile gradually cooled.

It seemed that four "Little Blacks" weren't enough.

Then...

How about this?

The corners of his rotten mouth twitched into a smile, and he snapped his fingers.

Actually, this action was entirely unnecessary, but he thought it looked cooler that way.

At the same time as the snap, his vocal cords emitted a sound wave above 30,000 hertz, rippling outwards in circles.

This sound was far beyond the range that human ears could capture, but it was just right for his "apostles" who obeyed him.

The dormant offspring were gradually awakened.

Although most perished in the nuclear blast, those who survived were undoubtedly the toughest of the bunch.

For example, the "Evolutionary bodies" that live symbiotically with rocks!

The crystalline product of his "intelligence" and Little Red's "life energy"—"Little Black"!

These Evolutionary bodies that possess an obsidian-like skin and have integrated the bones of Looters, while also possessing the speed of Crawlers and the defense of Tyrants, are like tanks skimming the ground.

The nuclear bomb made him change his mind, and he no longer planned to share this site with the outside world.

If these people were insistent on staying here,

Then they could stay forever.

Below the mountain, Mole suddenly became alert, looking around with a progressively upset expression.

"Although I'm not of the Perception system... I have a bad premonition."

Shadows stirred beneath the distant fortress, and more Variants seemed to be nearing their location.

Beside him, Mosquito swallowed hard, equally alert and looking around.

"...This big shot feels the same."

Sesame Paste suddenly covered her ears and crouched down on the ground, with a flicker of pain crossing her face.

Seeing this, Tail immediately dashed to her side, crouching down and asking worriedly,

"giao! What's wrong?! Are you feeling unwell?"

The pain was fleeting.

Sesame Paste blankly released her hands from her ears and slowly stood up with Ah Wei's help from the ground.

"That noise was so piercing, I think my ears are ringing... Sorry, what were you saying just now?"

The superthreshold pain was blocked, but the abnormal condition had not subsided.

Si Si furrowed her brows, placed a hand above her neck, and raised her voice.

"Cats can hear sound waves between 30 hertz and 45,000 hertz, with the highest reaching up to 70,000... Can you roughly pinpoint the direction of the sound?"

"I'll try..."

Sesame Paste closed her eyes, focusing her consciousness on her hearing to locate the source of the sound.

Before long, her eyes suddenly snapped open, her gaze locking onto the mountain beside them, her amber pupils contracting slightly.

"There!"

Everyone lifted their heads following her gaze, turning on their flashlights, and saw an Eater posing rather pretentiously on the mountain peak, gazing down at them with crimson eyes.

Its appearance clearly spelled trouble.

"Damn summoner, huh?" cursed Mosquito, pulling a mechanical crossbow from behind.

Seeing the primitive weapon, Pigeon laughed.

"Heh, such child's play won't work on me."

He watched the man pull the trigger and didn't even bother dodging.

As he had expected, the arrow didn't come close to hitting him but instead whizzed past his ear.

Just as he was about to taunt them to give up and retreat, a roaring explosion suddenly erupted from behind him.

A massive, searing blast accompanied by shrapnel slammed into his back, catching him completely off guard and sending him flying forward, tumbling down the mountain.

"Heh heh heh, art is an explosion!"

Watching the Eater tumble down the slope, Mosquito laughed maliciously, loaded another bolt into the crossbow, and wound the winch to draw the string.

Just a kid.

Still too green to mess with me!

"Control that guy!"

Not wasting this opportunity, Mole bellowed and rushed forward with his shotgun, taking the lead.

But just then, the ground trembled beneath them as if in an earth-shaking quake.

And with it came a piercing long cry.

"Yi wu—"

The sound was melodious and delicate, like a flute being played, ethereal but with a hint of lethality.

At the same time, a whooshing sound of something cutting through the air followed.

In a flash!

The moment Mole glimpsed the shadow hurtling from the sky, he almost reflexively dove to the right, rolling on the ground to evade the direct assault of the shadow.

The shadow hit the ground like a cannonball, shattering the surface and instantly exploding into a shower of rocks and rolling dust.

Mole staggered to his feet, covering his mouth and nose and retreating a couple of steps while bringing his shotgun to bear.

The dust cleared.

When he saw the person in front of him, his eyes widened, and his gun barrel subconsciously dropped by an inch.

"Falling Feather?!"

Mosquito, with his mechanical crossbow, also widened his eyes and cursed.

"What the fuck?! Have you turned traitor?"

Falling Feather gave no answer, simply staring at everyone with lifeless eyes, standing there like a walking corpse.

The trembling of the earth didn't stop with the dispersal of the dust but seemed to intensify.

Sensing that the epicenter was behind her, Si Si immediately turned to look back.

The moment she saw that behemoth, her complexion instantly changed.

Noticing the change in her expression, Tail turned to look as well, his mouth opening so wide as if he could fit a goose egg inside.

"My giao!"

Gundam?!

No—

That thing couldn't be considered a Gundam, as it didn't have the typical humanoid form.

The four-sided body jutted forward, with a sharp, angular figure resembling an upright pistol; its rust-streaked barrel crawling with red fungi, obscuring any original paintwork.

It had no head, or rather, the head might be buried within its body. The bulky mechanical limbs propped at the edge of the crater, lifting the heavy body while the strong back limbs with completely rusted treads, one foot already stepping outside the nuclear crater.

The thing was like a land cruiser walking upright! More than a "Pioneer," it resembled a true combat fortress designed for battle!

Even the robust Meat Meat seemed insignificant as an ant in front of it.

Just what kind of monster could defeat this thing?

No—

What kind of monster would warrant its involvement?

Mosquito swallowed and muttered to himself,

"Is this thing... the 'Titan'?"

This design...

Absolutely wicked!

The guide at the entrance of the valley also saw this spectacle.

From the moment the earthquake started, a look of terror surfaced on his face.

"Heaven above..." His shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and he almost knelt down to pray.

The God of the Sky...

Had actually resurrected!?

He was utterly at a loss, not knowing what to do or whether this was a good omen or a bad one.

But no matter what, challenging the gods with mere mortal strength was clearly not a wise move.

He mounted the motorbike, started the engine, and twisted the throttle to its limit, desperately racing westward.

He had to bring this news back to Petra Fortress!

Only the most devout High Priest of the kingdom could hope to save these pitiful people!

Meanwhile, the players in the valley were faced with an unprecedented crisis.

Ahead was "Falling Feather," behind was a "Titan" controlled by slimy mold, and surrounding them was a ring of neckless "Crawlers."

Pairs of crimson eyes glowing with murderous intent made the surrounded crowd unconsciously swallow their saliva.

No one doubted that if they charged, it would take less than a round to tear them to shreds, and by three rounds, not even their bones might remain.

"...If I'd known, I should've brought the tank," Mole backed away nervously stepping back.

Mosquito Brother couldn't help but respond with mixed laughter and tears.

"You're talking about tanks? Even if you rode in on the Manager, you'd still be screwed..."

Without mentioning anything else.

What on earth could take down that Titan that climbed out of a nuclear crater?

That thing had even withstood damage equivalent to a million tons of explosive force!

And right in the center of the blast...

Shakily getting up from the ground, an "Eater" shook its head, patted the dust off its body, and to everyone's astonishment, suddenly spoke human words.

"Let's speak frank," it said, offering one last chance. "Go back the way you came."

"From now on, the ruins of Oasis number 7 is closed to the public. If I see you again, I'll treat you like Looters... And by the way, some of the parts of those little Obsidians are sourced from the bodies of Looters."

"Do you want to try?"

A terrible sense of oppression hovered over everyone's heads.

While death wasn't scary, it didn't mean death came without cost.

Looking straight into those crimson eyes, Tail bit his teeth and shouted bravely.

"You took our comrade! We can't just abandon him!"

"Comrade?"

Pigeon looked surprised at the girl who had shouted loudly and then gave a strange look at the motionless Falling Feather standing there.

"Are you referring to this fellow?"

The young man clearly had not regained his consciousness.

Pigeon guessed that it was probably Little Red who was concerned for her safety and had tossed him out.

Seeing that the standing "Eater" didn't react, Mosquito raised his voice too.

"That's right! Give us Falling Feather back! We promise to withdraw from here!"

Mole glanced at him and thought to himself that Falling Feather, if he knew how "awesome" he had become, would probably be the first to refuse to go back with them.

But of course—

He agreed with Mosquito Brother.

Setting aside the Manager's task, this level of strength was just too damn buggy.

Everyone was Agile system variants, so why should a Second stage's speed be faster than his Third stage?

Was that scientific?

Obviously not scientific!

He had to get the damn game developers to fix this bug!

Sisi whispered to Sesame Paste,

"Prepare for battle..."

Sesame Paste looked nervously at her and asked in a concerned voice,

"Can we... really beat him?"

Sisi analyzed calmly.

"Those slime molds, they should be obeying that guy, like a 'Summoning system' as Mosquito said. If we can control him, we should be able to deter the Variants."

She didn't believe for a second that this suspicious individual would release Falling Feather just because of a few non-lethal verbal barbs, let alone allow them to leave unscathed.

Logically speaking, silencing them was the best option, not only to keep a secret but also to deter others.

Although they were outmatched in strength, this boss battle seemed inevitable.

Pigeon stroked his chin, seemingly seriously contemplating something.

Just as Sisi was about to take action, his response surprised everyone.

He nodded, readily agreeing to Tail and Mosquito's request.

"Hmm... Your request is quite reasonable, the young man is called Falling Feather, right?"

"Since you know him, then take him back with you."

Tail lit up with joy and exclaimed,

"Oh! Thanks, friend!"

Hearing the word friend, a faint smile appeared on that rotting face.

"You're welcome, not all slimy molds are filled with malice... I know this concept cannot be changed overnight, but fortunately, I have plenty of time to wait, study, and prove."

"Take your companion with you."

"By the way, the fact that his brain's broken has nothing to do with me... blame it on that nuclear bomb."

With that, he waved his hand.

A piercing sound wave spread, and Sesame Paste instinctively covered her ears, her face twisting as if in pain.

However, under the influence of that sound, the Titan that had emerged from the nuclear crater slowly sat back down, leaving only half of its body sticking out of the ground.

And the Variants surrounding the players also retreated, disappearing at the foot of the mountain.

The crisis of a total party wipeout was averted in an instant.

Mole looked bewilderedly at Sisi beside him, who wore an equally puzzled expression.

Both of them had prepared for a Boss fight.

Especially Mole.

He had even stuffed a special deer slug, intended for hunting large Variants, into his gun barrel, ready to preemptively take out Falling Feather who was under the "Charm skill."

Yet the situation unfolded entirely beyond their expectations—the "Eater" had truly let them go.

So, was this...

Was this a victory?

Chapter 450 Nothing is Unbeatable

Everyone was caught off guard by how smoothly this "epic" quest was completed.

Not a single person died as they emerged from the valley.

What puzzled everyone even more was just what the heck "Falling Feather" was all about.

"What should we do now?"

Looking at the stupefied "Falling Feather," Mosquito scratched the back of his head and turned to Mole.

He had logged off earlier in an attempt to wake up Falling Feather, only to find the guy stuck in a bug and unable to resurrect.

Mole thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't know... But if this thing is important, I guess the Manager will probably send a plane to pick it up."

But then again...

The quest required the recovery of a corpse, right?

It was a corpse, wasn't it?

Wouldn't it be strange if it was still alive?

Mole's gaze at Falling Feather suddenly took on an "amorous" quality.

Si Si pondered for a while and said, "I also think... since this quest is so important, there must be a follow-up. We probably don't need to worry about it."

Tail said, "Oh! Brother Guang must have a way!"

"Falling Feather," trailing behind everyone, was completely oblivious to being the center of everyone's attention. At that moment, his expression was dull, and a string of drool even hung from the corner of his mouth.

He didn't seem too bright, that's for sure.

Mole sighed inwardly.

"It would be nice if Old Na were here..."

The group made their way back to the narrow entrance of the valley and found the truck parked by the roadside, but their guide had vanished without a trace, and the motorcycle was gone too.

No one blamed him, though.

As a devout believer, the shock to his worldview after witnessing a dead god come back to life was understandable.

However, as everyone was about to leave the valley, ready to head home, they were stunned by the scene before them.

A dark mass of cavalry approached from the west, surrounding the entrance to the valley.

Leading the group was Saen, the city lord, and the old priest Prest was with him.

Craining his neck and instigating others, Tail called out,

"Oh! Si! Your admirer!"

Si Si pretended not to hear and subtly shifted her gaze.

Although grateful,

She was still sorry.

The impressive group of over a hundred cavalries approached, and before the city lord could speak, the old priest dismounted first.

Seeing Sesame Paste safe and sound, the old man quickly stepped forward to ask,

"Are you alright, messenger of the gods?"

"I'm... okay, haha."

Sesame Paste's face was adorned with an awkward but polite smile, unsure of how to respond and looking helplessly towards Si Si.

Saen also dismounted and, instead of bringing up earlier events, came closer to ask,

"What happened over there? I heard that The God of the Sky..."

Si Si replied with grave seriousness,

"The seal indeed became loose. The God of the Sky's bones had been corrupted by evil spirits and had just crawled out of the tomb."

Everyone gasped. The faces of the cavalries all showed discomfort.

They would even prefer to charge towards a machine gun emplacement than face an indescribable entity.

Saen looked at her in astonishment, while the old priest turned for help to the "messenger of the gods" beside him.

Seeing the look passed by Si Si to him, Sesame Paste quickly nodded.

"Yes... that's what happened."

Trembling with his voice, the old priest asked,

"What should we do then?"

With a gentle smile on her face, Sesame Paste continued,

"Don't worry, we have resealed it... The bones of The God of the Sky have fallen back into slumber. As long as it is not disturbed from its eternal rest like today, it will continue to sleep."

Saen looked at her gratefully, and then considered the people behind her, saying sincerely,

"Thank you, you've helped us a great deal... I really don't know how to thank you."

"Oh! No problem! Just as long as—" Meat Meat instinctively covered Tail's mouth.

Si Si gave a small cough, speaking on behalf of Sesame Paste who didn't know how to respond,

"... as long as the residents here can return to their former peaceful lives, and the chaos that sweeps across the desert can come to an end."

Saen looked at her with a complex expression, all the things he wanted to say apparent on his face, yet he didn't voice a word, simply nodding.

Standing next to Mole, Mosquito whispered a jibe with a sideways glance,

"If this guy went back to ancient times, he could probably become a fortune-teller."

"That's not certain," whispered Mole in response, "Depends on the circumstances. If they met someone less forgiving, he might have been burned as a witch."

"Sss... That actually might be possible."

As the two quietly chatted, the blank-faced Falling Feather tilted his head, and a drop of drool fell to the ground.

Nobody heard that almost imperceptible sound.

"Eee..."

...

The Skeleton Corps' base was located right next to the White Bear Knights', with sixteen tanks, including the light tank that Mole had scavenged, and over thirty logistics trucks all parked in the camp.

The players took turns on duty, and with the rise of the morning sun, this long night finally came to an end.

Just as Mole had guessed.

Early the next morning, the Company's transport plane landed north of Petra Fortress.

The sci-fi aesthetic of the streamlined fuselage contrasted sharply with the nearby Enclosing wall and cast-iron Artillery.

Yet in this absurd Waste World, it blended in without any sense of discordance.

"The art director of this Game is a genius!" Mole, standing at the entrance of the base, couldn't help but exclaim.

No exaggeration, no belittlement.

Being able to integrate so many art styles into the same Game, achieve harmony among them, and make them as realistic as the real world...

That skill was simply astonishing!

At that moment, a pilot, with a helmet tucked under his arm, walked towards the camp, tossed a salute with a flick of his index finger, and greeted them with a carefree smile, extending his right hand.

"Tiger Whale No.3's pilot, Liu Yue!"

"Skeleton Corps leader, er... Mole."

Every time he introduced himself, Mole couldn't help curling his toes in embarrassment, wishing he could give his past self a slap in the face.

Upon hearing the unusual name, the man didn't laugh but instead lit up with excitement, gripping his right hand firmly.

"Wait, Mole? Are you that Mole?"

Mole was baffled by the question.

Who else in the entire Alliance was called that?

"Uh, yes? Can I help you with something?"

Liu Yue's face broke into a shy smile, but he didn't rest his hands, quickly fishing a small notebook out of his pocket.

"I'm sorry, may I have your autograph?"

Mole was perplexed but still took the notebook and scribbled down a line in United Human language.

"Thank you!"

Liu Yue took it back as if he had found a treasure, stuffing it into his pocket before giving a friendly pat on Mole's shoulder.

"Thanks, brother... your Game is awesome! It's a shame I only managed to play a few rounds before I was rotated out here!"

In an instant, Mole felt a wave of confusion, suddenly realizing something, and excitedly asked,

"Wait! You've played my Game? Where did you hear about my Game?"

"Of course, I downloaded it from Endpoint Cloud..."

Seeing Mole's astonished face, Liu Yue immediately realized something and slapped his forehead,

"Oh, I almost forgot, you've been out fighting a war, so you might not know, but right after you left that day, several media outlets from Ideal City reported your heroic deeds!"

"I heard that a film company is planning to adapt your story into a movie! Not only that, now the entire city's 'war enthusiasts' are playing your 'The Great Escape'! Haha, just kidding, of course—we're all against War... I hope this damned War ends soon so we might spar a bit on Endpoint Cloud."

Looking at this true fan in front of him, Mole felt dizzy as if in a dream.

Seeing his idol unresponsive, Liu Yue didn't mind, just grinned and laughed.

Suddenly remembering something important he had forgotten to say, he smacked his head again, then got down to business.

"Oh right, by the way, your commander assigned you a new mission, which should already be synchronized to your personal terminal... VM? I think that's the name."

He saved the most important thing for last.

Mole seriously doubted whether the guy would have remembered at all if it hadn't come to him.

He had a new appreciation for the unreliability of Company's soldiers.

But at the moment, Mole was too shocked by the news that had traveled over four thousand kilometers to concern himself with criticism.

Famous?

His Game became famous???

After a good while, the stunned Mole managed to blur out a word.

"Damn!"

...

The Company's transport plane brought more than the Alliance Managers' new mission; it also delivered fuel for the Skeleton Corps' tanks and generators to recharge the "Electric donkeys" and "Electric bulls."

The supply operation was estimated to take three days, and after that, the Skeleton Corps would continue on their way to the front lines.

At the Manager's request, Mole carefully selected two reliable brothers from the Skeleton Corps to escort "Falling Feather" back to Qingquan City by plane for treatment.

Also, being transported to the Alliance were General McCullen of the Corps and his adjutant, among other high-ranking officers.

These individuals were bargaining chips in the ceasefire agreement.

As for officers below the rank of Thousands of leaders and nearly 6000 soldiers, they were temporarily overseen by the Camel Hump Kingdom.

Regardless of whether the nobles of Camel Hump Kingdom were willing, they were now effectively bound to the Alliance's chariot.

By this point, even the most naive could no longer entertain the illusion of a chance to submit to the Corps; the only option was to continue the fight alongside the Alliance.

Just before boarding the plane, Mole took extra care to instruct the two players.

"Remember to keep a close eye on 'Falling Feather.'

If he shows any unusual behavior or threatens the safety of the plane or prisoners, don't hesitate, just take him out..."

As he said this, he gestured a throat-slashing motion with his hand.

Last night, Mole had tactfully discussed the matter with Falling Feather, seeking his opinion.

Upon learning that his body had been hijacked and he might become an Eater, Falling Feather became agitated, wishing he could log in and take himself out.

The two players nodded earnestly.

"Rest assured, leader!"

"We always handle our business reliably!"

The Mole nodded in relief and watched "Falling Feather" follow the two onto the plane.

At that moment, he suddenly saw the Mosquito also heading towards the plane and couldn't help asking,

"What are you up to?"

The Mosquito gave a shy smile and said, "Heh heh, I'm just hitching a ride home. The respawn CD is too long to wait for."

Indeed, the Petra Fortress was a lively and interesting place, but he still preferred the atmosphere over in Qingquan City, where the moist air felt more comforting to breathe.

Especially after seeing that Titan controlled by the slime mold last night, a bold idea suddenly popped into his brain.

He planned to give it a try on his way back.

The Mole was stunned and asked, "What the fuck? If you leave, who's going to fly the plane?"

"The plane? Oh, you mean the one I flew in on," Mosquito laughed, "I've given that to the Lord of the Petra Fortress."

The Mole was shocked: "Is that possible??"

Mosquito said generously, "Hmph, why wouldn't it be? It's not like that thing is expensive! I decided on it!"

In fact, he wasn't in charge of such decisions and was just bragging a bit.

Actually, gifting the plane to the Lord of the Petra Fortress was not his choice, but something the Manager ordered him to do before he left.

Not only that, but the Manager also told him to let the Lord of Petra know that if he found the propeller aircraft useful, he could send an envoy to the north suburb of Qingquan City to purchase more.

Twenty cows would buy one plane, and they'd even throw in 1000 rounds of ammunition, which was a bargain considering the quality and price.

Furthermore, the Alliance didn't just sell weapons but also provided training for operating them. The Lord of the Petra Fortress could have his pilots accompany the envoy, learn to fly, and then directly take the plane back home.

A journey of nearly 1000 kilometers, though beyond the operational radius of the W-2, was still manageable for a one-way flight, and they could even transport some local specialties en route.

As the Alliance's longest-serving propeller aircraft, it was very versatile—arm it with a light machine gun and it could dogfight; swap for a heavy machine gun and it could strafe the ground; remove the weapons and it could even be used to spray pesticides.

Very handy indeed!

All the personnel had boarded, the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft's cargo doors closed, and, trailing two brilliant blue arcs, it took off from the dunes and headed east.

Watching the blue light vanish on the horizon, Si Si narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at the Mole beside her.

"What plans do you guys have next?"

The Mole recalled the tasks updated on VM and casually responded,

"…The Army and the Falcon Kingdom's Allied Forces are withdrawing from Oasis No.9. The Manager has ordered us to go to Oasis No.9 for reorganization, and after merging with reinforcements from the rear, we'll advance to Oasis No.3 and seize the Honey Badger Kingdom in one fell swoop!"

The one known as Tail, standing nearby, exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow! Sounds like things are going well!"

It seemed the war would be over before long.

The Mole said with a laugh.

"Hahaha, we also have you to thank for that—if it hadn't been for your help, we definitely wouldn't have had such smooth sailing!"

The great victory in Lost Valley and the counter-offensive in the City of Abundance were turning points in the entire war.

Much like the Normandy landings and the Battle of Stalingrad were to World War II.

Meat Meat rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

"Likewise, we have to thank your tanks as well. Just based on our and Petra's garrison's combat power, we wouldn't have stood a chance against the Army."

"Don't say that; victories in battles are not measured by combat power alone. On battlefields of this scale, even gaining one extra second can improve our chances of winning."

The Mole continued with a smile.

"Speaking of which, what about you guys? Are you heading to the front lines? We can give you a lift."

Si Si curved her lips slightly as she replied.

"Spring has given us the freedom to move around. He says we're more useful outside the Army than in."

"Giao! Did he really say that?" Tail's expression showed he was deeply affected.

The Mole laughed heartily, without a care.

"Hahahaha! That's the spirit; it does sound like something Spring would say!"

Tail looked dejectedly at Si Si, who smiled and patted his head.

"Don't be down, I think it's actually a form of affirmation."

"Affirmation?"

"Yes, it affirms Ah Wei's achievements in other areas."

Everyone has things they're good at and not so good at. Instead of struggling in areas where we're weak, it's better to do even better in the areas where we're strong.

The game was never meant to be played in a predetermined way.

Why didn't Wasteland OL "only" offer test qualifications to a certain type of player?

Or in other words, why wasn't it specified that only players of certain professions could participate in the game?

With the technical capabilities presently shown by the operator, it would not be difficult to accomplish this technically.

But since they didn't do it, there must be a reason for it.

…

Three days later, at dawn, the replenished Skeleton Corps set off once again.

Under the watch of both the defending forces and residents of the Petra Fortress, this iron tide rolled out impressively towards the north.

Though the time was brief, a lot had happened in those few days.

The news that the Army had detonated a nuclear bomb at the Oasis No.7 ruins spread throughout the entire Alliance, and also reached nearby Giant Stone City.

The author of the related news report was the well-known journalist Miss Dolly from Survivor's Daily, and the photos came from the nuclear explosion video shot by Tail.

When it was revealed that the Army had intended to secretly drop the bomb over Qingquan City, Giant Stone City was immediately abuzz with talk, and calls for war rang out from both inside and outside the city walls.

Different from Luo Xia Province.

The people in the southern River Valley Province were fierce, especially the survivors from Qingquan City.

Many had been lulled to sleep by gunfire since they were babies, and even learned to shoot at the same time as they learned to walk. The gene for violence was ingrained in their DNA, coursing through their veins.

Even in such an environment, there were those who lacked courage, but even their timidity was only relative.

If the Militia Group weren't firmly in the hands of the city's Lord, and if City Hall didn't lack the right to declare war, Giant Stone City's forces might have already marched into the desert…

But even without mobilizing Giant Stone City to directly join the fray, propaganda tools weren't entirely meaningless.

To support the Alliance in gaining more advantages on the battlefield, Giant Stone City Bank remarkably took the initiative to offer the Alliance a low-interest loan so minimal it could be ignored.

And beyond official support, civilian aid was also occurring silently.

More and more civilians, drawn to the bravery of the Alliance, left the Enclosing Wall and joined it in the "North Suburb."

Among them were skilled technicians and experienced mercenaries.

Even the illiterate who did not know anything, as long as they could wield a hoe or carry a Wrench, were considered valuable assets to the Alliance, which was expanding both its territory and industry.

The excitement wasn't limited to Giant Stone City, which seemed to be sitting on hot coals; at Ideal City on the East Coast, multiple media outlets reported the news, causing quite a stir on Endpoint Cloud.

The most visible result was that the scale of corporate direct aid to the Alliance increased from the original 300 million Cr to 1 billion Cr, and indirect aid expanded to 2 billion Cr.

Aside from expressing their commitment with money, five "Cloud Dragonfly" Flapping Machines were sent directly to the North suburb of Qingquan City.

Ten instructors also arrived with them.

They would be responsible for one-on-one training of the Alliance's pilots, ensuring they could properly operate these next-generation aircraft.

Moreover, more advanced swept-wing jet aircraft were also being developed.

Though mutants couldn't fly planes, and the East Coast had no use for supersonic fighter jets, that was in the past.

To curtail the Legion's ambition, their determination to arm the Alliance has only grown stronger.

All these changes were unfolding quietly.

Compared to the growing turmoil in the overall situation, Camel Hump Kingdom, closest to the core of the nuclear explosion, seemed to be in a "world of its own."

The nuclear explosion in the valley was like a stone thrown into the sea; it caused ripples but was quickly submerged by larger waves.

The King of Camel Hump Kingdom visited Petra Fortress to learn about the situation from the city's Lord.

The Kingdom's High Priest also arrived with him.

Upon learning the identity of Sesame Paste as the "Messenger of God," the white-robed old man immediately wanted to confer the title of Saint on her.

At first, Sesame Paste found the title interesting; after all, which player would complain about unlocking too many titles?

However, when she learned she would only be able to reside in a special palace prepared just for her, she immediately paled and vehemently refused the title.

Being restricted to one place, unable to move about, what's the difference from being banned?

Without waiting for Si Si to teach her, she immediately improvised a prophecy in the expression and tone of a charlatan, declaring that her mission was over and the Silver Moon Goddess called her back to the land of yellow sands, staying would only bring disasters to the local Residents, and so on.

Old Na, the Priest at Petra Fortress, naturally found it hard to let go.

But the High Priest who came from Royal City did not insist too strongly.

It seemed he didn't really want her to stay there; after some half-hearted persuasion, he regretfully agreed to respect the choice of the divine Messenger.

Although she didn't unlock the achievement, Sesame Paste didn't feel any regret.

Being able to travel with her friends was the most precious treasure to her, far beyond any title's value.

And from another angle, simply waving goodbye and leaving behind a legend might actually be the best choice.

Someday when the game opens to the public, there will surely be other players who will set foot on this land they have visited.

And by then, how will those newbies interpret this bizarre legend?

It's quite an intriguing thought…

Watching the Skeleton Corps disappear over the horizon, Si Si, standing at the entrance of their encampment, glanced at the Residents and Nobles who had come to see them off and muttered to herself while stroking her chin.

"Hmm… It seems we need to speed up our plan."

Yu tilted his head.

"Plan?"

Si Si nodded.

"Yes, the plan to buy Golden Lion Coins."

Indeed, since the victory banquet that day, people had been eyeing this business opportunity, including Count Ross Gold.

Several Nobles of Petra Fortress started offering currency exchange services to the refugees outside the city in the name of "aid."

A bag of Golden Lion Coins used to not even fetch a Golden Camel Coin, but now ten Golden Lions could be exchanged for one Golden Camel.

Although these were small-scale exchanges, it wasn't hard to see that some Nobles of Hump Kingdom were beginning to waver in their stance.

The outcome of a single Battle may not determine the direction of the entire war situation.

But the myth of the Legion being unbeatable was imperceptibly crumbling in everyone's mind.

Nothing was invincible.

From those eyes watching the Skeleton Corps depart, she saw the Dawn of victory…

At the same time, just as the Skeleton Corps headed northward, nearly a thousand kilometers away, Royal City of the Lion Kingdom was abuzz as if in the midst of a festival.

The epic victory at the City of Abundance completely reversed the offensive and defensive situation between the warring parties.

In the three days of the counter-offensive that followed, the Iron Heart, the Storm Corps, and the cooperating Goblin Corps put on an impressive show of force with their exceptional firepower and mobility, on the frontlines.

Assisting the Lion Kingdom in recapturing lost territory and completely liberating Oasis No.3 was only a matter of time.

However, Chu Guang wasn't in a hurry to press forward.

Firstly, the Alliance's Expeditionary Army was running low on ammunition, particularly the rounds needed by the Steel Heart, which required a return trip to Qingquan City for resupply.

Secondly, the Skeleton Corps had only just set out from Oasis No.4, and it would take some time to reach Oasis No.3 and join the main forces.

Putting aside these strategic factors, there were also political benefits to be considered.

War costs money, and so does giving players mission rewards.

Someone had to foot the bill.

The King of the Lion Kingdom was clearly aware of this, holding a grand welcome celebration in Royal City for the victors who had come from afar.

Chu Guang planned to bring up, during his inspection of the Storm Corps, the series of promised matters from Prince Kaliman, including "vassalage"…

Chapter 451: Lion City Welcomes the King's Division

The Royal City of Lion Kingdom, Lion City.

Among the square and tidy western-style houses, there were sporadically a few collapsed buildings, and the streets still bore the charred marks of a great fire.

Although the Army and Falcon Kingdom had not fought their way here, one could still see the scars left by war in the unrestored ruins.

Along the main road leading from the north gate to the royal palace, the crowd was bustling, stretching into a dense sea of people as far as the eye could see.

Whether men, women, the elderly, or children; whether farmers, craftsmen, or fruit vendors, they were all on tiptoe, craning their necks looking in the direction of the city gate.

In just a few days, life had visibly improved at an astonishing pace.

The roaring bombers were gone, the piercing air raid sirens had also left the lives of the city's residents.

People no longer had to wake from their sleep to air raid alarms, nor did they have to cower under their beds with their families, praying that their names weren't on the casualty list.

Of course, it wasn't because the enemy had a change of heart.

But because the Alliance had arrived.

Hearing that the Storm Corps, which had pulled back to the rear for repairs, would pass this way, many people arrived early in the morning, just to catch a glimpse of those friendly forces who had rescued them from the brink of disaster.

The kingdom's elite "St. Beetle" ten thousand troops led by Prince Wenter entered the city first, followed closely by reinforcements from the Alliance.

They did not disappoint the expectations of the residents of Lion City.

A squad of soldiers, resplendent and eye-catching, approached with precise steps.

They carried rifles on their backs and wore uniform exoskeletons, their shiny alloy breastplates bearing the flag of the Alliance and the badge of the Storm Corps.

The great Manager had specifically instructed that the parade ceremony would be recorded for the game's CG, and if the players didn't want to be cut from the final edit, they should at least dress like proper human beings.

Although Chu Guang only required proper and decent clothing, when the Spring Water Commander learned that his corps would appear in the game CG, he instantly became as excited as if injected with adrenaline, shouting to his comrades.

"Brothers!"

"This is a great opportunity to show off on the Forum! Give it your best—120% spirit! Rifles on shoulders, chests out, marching steps high, necks turn right!"

"For the Alliance!"

And the players' response was impressively formidable, each bringing 150% of their spirit and exhibiting astonishing vigor.

"Long live the Alliance!!!"

"For Demacia!!"

"Roar!"

Most players just wanted to show off, or engage in a bit of performance art.

But Spring Water Commander was playing a bigger game, seeing this chance to feature prominently in the official game CG as an opportunity for free recruitment advertising.

Want to become a shield for the Alliance?

Want to offer loyalty to the great Manager?

Want to spread the light of order across the Wasteland?

Then join the Storm Corps!

They would sweep away all chaos like a storm and bring righteous judgment upon barbarism! They would return triumphant amid the cheers of the people!

In just a few seconds, he had even thought of the advertising slogan!

While Spring Water Commander was fantasizing, the residents along the path in Lion City were already fixed intently on these players.

People waved their arms and cheered, whispered to each other, or cast envious glances.

"Is that the Alliance army?"

"I heard they're called the Storm Corps!"

"Why are there so few of them?"

"That's a thousand team, right?"

"Few? Are you joking? What's this 'a thousand team'? Those thousand lads are all Awakeners!"

"1000 Awakeners?! How is that possible! Have you had too much to drink?"

"I'm not bluffing! The blacksmith next door has two sons serving on the front lines, and he says those people are really something, a thousand chasing ten thousand!"

"Ssst..."

The shirtless man and a few neighbors boasted with exaggerated stories about the Alliance, stories they couldn't possibly know the veracity of.

It was said that the Storm Corps wasn't even the strongest in the Alliance.

Initially, a Looter Tribe called Chew-bone, with nearly 30,000 members, got battered black and blue by a force of less than five hundred paratroopers.

Not only the neighbors and vendors were interested, but some young girls also cast longing looks at the squad.

"The armor they're wearing looks so cool..."

"The men do too."

"..."

Whether it was their superb equipment, high morale, or handsome faces, they left a profound impression on the onlooking residents of Lion City.

Even the king's most elite troops—the "St. Beetle" ten thousand led by Prince Wenter—were outshone by this mere thousand-strong force.

Girls holding baskets of flowers tossed petals into the air.

Basking in applause and cheers, Spring Water Commander, walking amidst the crowd, couldn't help but smile unconsciously.

For a moment, he could finally understand the pleasure of being a Manager.

"I feel like I've become a hero by just passing by."

Walking beside Brother Quanshui, I Max Black touched the back of his head, his face bearing a puzzled expression.

Spring Water Commander rolled his eyes at him.

"What do you mean 'just passing by'! We've fought in two battles, alright?"

Ten Punch Superman replied helplessly: "That is true, but it just feels like something is missing without a nuclear explosion."

The Ghost Hunter in the Grave nodded in agreement.

"And without Old Soldier here, we can't see him show off anymore."

Legless Kevin: "+1"

Spring Water Commander: "..."

These people are so hard to please!

Three days ago.

When the Skeleton Corps had completely taken control of the airport near Lost Valley, the joint forces of the Alliance and Lion Kingdom had also sounded the horn for a counter-offensive.

The first ten thousand of Falcon Kingdom positioned a defense line near Idles Mountain, attempting to block the "St. Beetle" ten thousand from Lion Kingdom from breaking through to the west.

To support the allies in quickly recovering lost territory and conserve forces for the next stage of the battle, the Storm Corps, under the orders of Army Command, parachuted 30 kilometers behind enemy lines and, with the covering fire of the Iron Heart, launched a surprise attack on the artillery positions behind the first ten thousand.

At that time, stationed near the artillery position was the Falcon Kingdom's second ten thousand, which had been retreating for repairs. As soon as the two forces encountered each other, they immediately erupted into fierce combat over the wheat fields!

Under Brother Quanshui's command, the Storm Corps turned into decentralized units across a 10-kilometer wide front line, using squads of ten as the basic combat units to infiltrate the enemy lines. Three squads coordinated in a group, maneuvering and encircling. They managed to make a thousand men exert the presence of ten thousand, and the second wave of ten thousand was beaten into a disorganized retreat, losing their gear within less than 24 hours.

The victory can be described as complete and impressive, truly reflecting the spirit of the Alliance.

Of course, the smooth progress of the front line was not only due to Brother Quanshui's excellent tactical command but also inseparable from the Manager's strategic judgement.

With the loss of nuclear bombardment capabilities and armored clusters, as well as the interruption of the supply lines from the north, Gregory's retreat became highly probable.

It was foreseeable that the Allied Forces of the Alliance and the Lion Kingdom at Oasis No. 9 would not encounter too fierce resistance; what they faced were rear-guard troops without reinforcements.

After taking over the Falcon Kingdom's rear military positions of the ten-thousand-strong unit, the Storm Corps immediately utilized the artillery that the enemy had not had time to destroy, using the enemy's own firepower to forge a path for their allies.

Facing pressure from both the front and the rear, and with the presence of the Steel Heart above them, the Falcon Kingdom's elite ten-thousand-strong unit was quickly annihilated en masse.

After 72 hours of pushing westward, the front line of the Alliance had reached the western edge of Oasis No.9.

Apart from sporadic resistance, the Lion Kingdom had essentially recovered all lost territory.

And all this was inseparable from the help of the Alliance.

As the protagonist of the entire celebration ceremony, Chu Guang's entrance was naturally the most eye-catching.

The towering Steel Heart flew directly above Lion City; the elevator descended from the air and landed firmly at the end of the red carpet that covered the stairs.

Overlooking the flowers and applause below, as well as the Storm Corps marching up to the palace gates, Chu Guang's lips curved into a faint smile.

The residents of the Lion Kingdom could only see the victory before them, while he had already seen the future granaries of the Alliance, full to the brim!

Weren't the Awakeners big eaters?

Was the 110,000 square kilometers of the Oasis not enough?

This patch of black earth, irrigated by the embankments, was far more fertile than the tens of thousands of acres to the north of Rhombus Lake!

Just introduce the Alliance's advanced seeds, machinery, planting experience, as well as fertilizers and pesticides, and it wouldn't be hard to double the total food production here!

With more and cheaper food, they could attract more immigrants from other regions and recruit more players.

He didn't know what surprises the B6 floor would bring him this time, but the number of beta players was bound to increase.

"Xiao Qi, remember to choose a good angle and make me look handsome."

Inside the power armor's helmet, a pale blue pop-up window appeared.

Xiao Qi: "Ehehe, it's a bit tricky, Master looks super handsome from any angle! (///ω///)"

"Hahaha!"

Chu Guang laughed heartily, raised his index finger, and tapped on the helmet to disengage the face shield.

Once the elevator came to a steady halt, he walked out, followed by Lu Bei and a group of personal guards in exoskeletons.

The shadow of the airship loomed over the palace, shielding the scorching sun above.

King Edward Lion of the Lion Kingdom and a host of ministers were standing on the palace steps, quietly awaiting the arrival of this dominator from River Valley Province.

A tall and thin minister standing beside the King slightly furrowed his brow.

He leaned closer to the King's ear and whispered,

"...Your Majesty, I believe that bringing the airship directly over the palace is a disrespect to you, and now to step into Your Majesty's palace in power armor. I fear the Alliance may not have sincere intentions regarding this alliance—"

The King looked down and slightly opened his eyes, giving the minister beside him a glance filled with a warning.

"Shut your mouth."

A shiver ran down the minister's spine; he immediately closed his mouth and dared not speak further.

The old King restored his benign countenance and looked at the approaching Manager, accompanied by his guards. With a strong and slightly amused voice, he spoke.

"Welcome to Lion City, Manager of the Alliance, sovereign south of Tianshui... I didn't expect you to come here in person."

He certainly knew that the Alliance was flaunting its military power, but even so, he could only turn a blind eye.

At least...

These people did not seem bad.

After their arrival at Oasis No.9, they hadn't performed acts of bullying men and women like the Army did, nor had they shown any interest in meddling with the kingdom's court and domestic affairs, which was already a great joy.

"You're too kind," Chu Guang said with a slight smile, extending his right hand, "We come for justice and order, to fight our common enemy."

As for the rest, that was secondary.

The elderly king extended his right hand and gently shook hands with the Manager before him.

In front of that imposing and powerful figure, he looked like just an ordinary old man, his golden crown and luxurious cloak adding little to his majesty.

Looking at that young and handsome face, envy couldn't help but appear in King Edward's eyes. If only he could be thirty years younger.

If he were in his prime, able to mount a warhorse, to lead troops in battle, the military preparedness of the Lion Kingdom wouldn't have declined to this state.

He hoped that his children, out gaining experience, would bring back some surprises...

A silver spherical drone flew to the side, capturing this historic moment.

From the moment of that handshake, the Lion Kingdom would cede part of its sovereignty in exchange for support from the Alliance.

And from that moment on, the influence of the Alliance finally extended beyond River Valley Province, incorporating this fertile land irrigated by the relics of a pre-war civilization into its territory.

"...This is not politeness, but a heartfelt gratitude," said Edward with a solemn expression, speaking earnestly to Chu Guang, "If it weren't for you, this city might have turned to dust... The people of the Lion will not surrender. Rather than become slaves of the Army, we would prefer to die on the land left by our ancestors."

Yard, the Marshal of the Restored Army also invited here, had an unnatural expression, scoffing disdainfully.

He didn't think the Lion was any braver than the Honey Badger; they were the courageous ones facing threats from the West.

If the Lion Kingdom was as indomitable as the old man claimed, they should have been fighting side by side with them at Oasis No.3 when the Honey Badger Kingdom was invaded by the Falcon Kingdom.

As for these insincere words, they were just for the sake of saving face.

However, his emotional intelligence wasn't low enough to cause a scene in such a setting.

His attention was fully on the Alliance Manager.

The azure power armor and the long-handled warhammer on his back were undoubtedly those of the legendary figure.

However, unlike the legend, he was neither a 60-year-old man nor had a full chin of beard.

Instead, he was a—

Quite handsome young man?

Not noticing a certain pair of astonished eyes in the crowd, Chu Guang smiled and gently shook the old king's hand, speaking in a gentle voice.

"I've witnessed your bravery from the bridge, and we have fulfilled our promise."

The underlying message—

Now it was his turn.

"Of course... we too will keep our promise."

A smile played on Edward's face, but in his heart, he sighed deeply.

The Lion Royal Family once dominated this desert. Falcon and Honey Badger, as well as Golden Lizard and Hump to the south and north, were all tribute-paying countries to them.

Now, however, they had to submit to others; to say there was no bitterness would be impossible.

But even so, he didn't have the audacity to renege on the deal.

Given the dominance the Alliance had shown on the battlefield, even at the height of its national power, it lacked the confidence to defeat the Alliance in a head-on conflict.

Thinking of this, Edward couldn't help but comfort himself.

Actually, being a vassal of the Alliance might not necessarily be such a bad thing.

Because of the successful defense of the City of Abundance, his younger brother, Prince Wenter, had reached the peak of his prestige among both the nobility and the common people.

Especially since the guy was also up to something with his intelligence organization...

It might be good to have the Alliance hold him in check.

Besides restraining domestic forces, the Royal Family could also obtain industrial aid from the Alliance, including the East Coast, as well as the safety guarantees personally promised by the Alliance Managers.

On the surface, it looked like they had sacrificed some of their power.

But in reality, they had gained more…

…

The ceremony celebrating the arrival of the Alliance reinforcements continued in a lively and cheerful atmosphere until the end.

Although the Lion Kingdom's Royal Palace didn't have a banquet hall that could accommodate a thousand soldiers dining together, the palace's finance minister granted each soldier 2200 Golden Lion Coins as a reward.

This amount was five times the salary of a soldier in the ten thousand troops of Saint Armor City.

Even though prices had soared in the Lion Kingdom due to the war, it was still a substantial sum.

The Alliance soldiers could spend this money in the market and pubs.

However, before being dismissed, Spring Water Commander repeatedly emphasized that they must act like civilized, quality people, forbade conflicts with the local residents, fights, and disturbances, and strictly prohibited taking equipment out of the barracks.

They were a disciplined army, and moreover, they represented not just themselves but everyone within the Alliance, including players and NPCs.

Looking at the purse in his hand, a player in civilian clothes couldn't help but feel sentimental.

"Ah, I thought I could experience being a stationed US soldier in Korea, but this isn't allowed, and that isn't allowed."

The NPCs of Luo Xia Province and those of River Valley Province had strikingly different styles.

The former had deeper eye sockets and a more delicate nose bridge, giving them an exotic appearance.

While the latter had the more common Southern faces due to the humid air and colder climate, resulting in a relatively lighter complexion.

Although the Lion Kingdom was lacking a bit in "artistic bacteria," it didn't prevent him from having a pair of eyes good at appreciating and discovering beauty.

Of course, to say these would be too superficial.

Mostly, he wanted to learn the language of United Human.

Seeing right through his intentions, the leading captain couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Can't you have a little ambition?"

Another player standing next to him chimed in.

"Exactly! We're the Alliance, not the Federation! Come on, let's help an old lady across the road!"

The player made a defeated face.

"Sorry, I'm just an unambitious person. I really am sorry."

"Get lost, I don't know you."

"Right, thanks captain, I'll roll out and come back in a bit!"

After saying this, the player chuckled and walked away with his purse, disappearing somewhere.

"This guy."

As the player's silhouette vanished into the crowd, the captain shook his head and patted his comrade's shoulder.

"Never mind him, let's go drink."

Hearing this, the player who had just been shouting about helping the old lady across the street suddenly blushed.

"Captain, I suddenly feel we can't just leave that guy alone… what if someone nicked his kidney? I'll go and talk some sense into him."

Captain: "Get lost!"

Hearing this command, the player's eyes lit up.

"Right!"

Having said that, the man also dashed off, leaving the captain alone in the disarrayed wind.

This team was getting harder to manage...

…

As the players freely explored the New Map, a welcome banquet was being held in the Royal Palace's court.

Chu Guang declined the help of the palace maids to dress and put on his Blue Jacket by himself, zipping it up and heading to the Royal Palace's banquet hall.

The Kingdom's senior officials and nobles had been waiting in the hall for quite a while, including King Edward himself, all awaiting his arrival.

It was only when Chu Guang entered the banquet hall that the court orchestra began to play a flowing symphony and the Master of Ceremonies formally announced the start of the banquet.

Other than Chu Guang, his Personal Body Guard, some officers from the airship, and several high-Contribution Point players, including Spring Water from the Storm Corps, were also present at the banquet.

After the previous battles, their Contribution Points had reached the level of "Apprentice Knight."

The visible numbers and the sparkling Medals of Battle were undoubtedly the best proof of loyalty.

Although they were also heroes of the battlefield, the officers from Prince Wenter's camp were completely overshadowed by the Alliance officers.

Watching the old man with a crown bestowing honors on the Alliance warriors, a Count sitting in the corner of the banquet hall snorted.

"Who really owns the Kingdom?"

It was one thing for the officers of the Storm Corps.

But even the Alliance Managers' Personal Body Guards were awarded the "Golden Lion Medal" and given precedence over Prince Wenter.

Had these people been on the battlefield?

Even as a gesture to please the ally, this was a bit too much!

The colleague sitting next to him smiled faintly and whispered,

"Of course, it's our King... but it's uncertain who his master is."

The Count looked at him in surprise but said nothing, only clinking glasses with him and sipping a bit of the red wine in his glass.

Previously, no one dared to vocalize such rebellious thoughts.

But now the Royal Family's authority had declined to an all-time low, and the nobles' reverence had dwindled similarly.

No one cared what the old king thought; everyone was thinking about how to please the new "Emperor."

The term Alliance was too complex to grasp.

Those raised within the Kingdom couldn't imagine what the concept of a community of fate for all survivors meant, nor did they have any interest in grand blueprints.

Above the Kingdom is the Empire, and they could only, or would only wish to, understand it at this level.

"What are you planning?"

His colleague leaned in close to his ear and whispered,

"I plan to open a distillery. The Alliance intends to invest in the kingdom's agricultural land and infrastructure; the price of food will definitely drop... but not necessarily wine. I've seen that those people have quite the capacity for alcohol."

The earl's eyes lit up.

"My estate just happens to have 20,000 acres of land!"

The man said with a smile,

"That's perfect... we could collaborate."

The lesser nobles, distant from the power's core, were more concerned with the money in their pockets.

While those with their own factions and political ambitions were more focused on the power in their hands and the kingdom's future.

Normally, those two concerns would clash, but on the issue of the Secret Country, they were not at odds.

Only by securing more benefits from the Secret Country could they ensure that their power wouldn't diminish too greatly.

In another corner of the banquet hall,
nobles and generals of Prince Wenter's faction had gathered in a circle.

A recording officer, with a lowered voice and taking advantage of the inattentiveness of others, spoke in hushed tones with the nobles and officers beside him,

"…I've heard that the Emperor of the Alliance hasn't taken a wife yet."

"Are you sure?" a thousands of leaders asked in surprise, his eyes wide and his face full of disbelief.

This was indeed hard to believe.

Generally speaking, even if the emperor had no interest, his ministers would relentlessly present memorials advising him.

After all, not having an heir was a big problem, especially an heirless emperor who roamed around, which was even more unbelievable.

The recording officer continued in a low voice,

"It's absolutely true, this news comes from Prince Kaliman, and I've also heard that the Honey Badger Kingdom is planning to change the ancestral laws, scheming to intermarry with the Alliance…"

Casting a glance at Yard, who was drinking alone at the banquet, a general muttered under his breath,

"The cunning little weasel!"

"We're shedding blood and sweat on the front lines, and these guys, who couldn't resist for a week, are playing such tricks!"

"We can't let them steal the fruits of victory!"

"That's right, we can't let them get ahead!"

A thousands of leaders clenched his fist.

"I must suggest it to the prince, we must persuade His Majesty the King at all costs!"

Chu Guang wasn't paying too much attention to what the people in the banquet hall were discussing.

How to develop the market of the Lion Kingdom?

How to earn more profit from trade?

How to grow more potatoes and corn per acre?

These minor details were naturally the concern of the lifestyle players.

As the Manager of the Alliance, his current duty was to consolidate the fruits of victory for the residents of the Alliance.

The banquet had been going on for half an hour.

After finishing the necessary formalities, Chu Guang only tasted a few delicacies on the table before reminding the king about the treaty signing.

Although it was odd for the Alliance's Manager to be in such a hurry, King Edward still graciously led him and a few representatives of the Alliance to a conference room on the side.

The specifics of the agreement had already been drafted before the deployment of the Alliance's troops.

It included "Free Trade," "Military Passage Rights," "Joint Defense Treaty," "Anti-Looter Act," "Immigration Treaty," "Extradition Treaty," "Pre-war Civilization Relic Investigation Rights," and so forth, basically all the agreements that could be signed without touching sovereignty or territory were here.

He skimmed them briefly.

After confirming that the agreements were consistent with what had been discussed earlier, Chu Guang took the pen from Lu Bei and signed his name on the document, also stamping the Alliance's seal.

According to these agreements, Alliance merchants holding certificates issued by the Alliance could freely enter and exit all cities of the Lion Kingdom and gain unrestricted access to the local markets, holding and operating both fixed and non-fixed assets.

Furthermore, to ensure the safety of Alliance residents and merchants, as well as the safety of the Lion Kingdom, the Alliance would construct no more than five military bases, outposts, and no more than seven large military communication facilities in Oasis No. 3.

For a kingdom of 110,000 square kilometers, these facilities were sufficient.

Any more, and the Alliance couldn't spare the manpower.

And as part of the exchange for these treaties, Chu Guang also made pledges: the Alliance would not interfere with the internal affairs of the Lion Kingdom.

At the same time, after the war, the Alliance would provide a 500 million silver coins aid loan to the Lion Kingdom for post-war reconstruction and the expansion of agricultural facilities.

In this way, it would be possible to increase the orders for the Alliance's industrial zone, and secondly, the food produced would eventually be sold to the Alliance.

It was a win-win situation for both parties!

Putting down his pen, King Edward glanced at his own copy of the agreement, then looked over at Chu Guang.

"May I ask what your plans are next?"

Chu Guang, returning the pen to Lu Bei, who was standing by, glanced at the time and lowered his leg which had been resting on his knee.

"I plan on returning to City of Dawn."

King Edward was momentarily taken aback.

"Would you not consider staying a few more days? I have prepared a resting palace for you—"

"That won't be necessary; I have a more pressing matter to attend to."

Seeing the old king's troubled expression, Chu Guang suddenly understood and smiled as he said,

"Don't worry, I will leave the Storm Corps and Goblin Corps here, and the armored units of the Skeleton Corps are also en route."

"They are the elite of the Alliance; they will ensure your safety."

"Once the Iron Heart has completed its resupply, it will immediately return to the front to offer support."

Although the Army had withdrawn from Oasis No. 3, it had not lost its ability to attack.

The old king's only concern was that the Army, taking advantage of the Iron Heart's departure, might turn the guns around and come back.

While the likelihood of such a scenario was slim, if one put oneself in the shoes of an old man who had been sleeping in an underground bunker for over two months, how far could his foresight really extend?

Chu Guang was not surprised by his thoughts at this moment.

Sure enough, upon hearing this promise, Edward finally breathed a sigh of relief.

His relaxed shoulders leaned back against the chair, and his face showed a smile of ease and relief.

"I really appreciate it… you have considered so much for us."

Chu Guang smiled faintly and stood up, extending his right hand.

"Not at all; here's to our friendship being as reliable as the unbreakable Alliance."

The king, just having relaxed, quickly stood up to reciprocate, grasping the extended hand of the Manager with a shake.

"You've said it right!"

Chapter 452: Surprise on Floor B6

Official Forum.

Falling Feather: "Three days! The resurrection cooldown hasn't changed for three days! Do you know how I've been getting through these days? T.T"

Edge Shoveling: "The bug hasn't been fixed yet?"

Night Ten: "Shocked! (Sarcastic)"

Falling Feather: "I'm breaking apart..."

Fang Chang: "Stay calm, it's just three days. Originally, the trash gentleman disconnected immediately after leaving the shelter, missed several versions, and still made it through."

Falling Feather: "Several versions?! No way, right? QAQ"

Wild Wind: "That's not really a bug, is it?"

Fang Chang: "True, after all. (Sly smile)"

Crow: "Eh? Speaking of which, it's already September, and winter is coming soon. (*ﾟ∀ﾟ)"

Teng Teng: "Yes, in the recent days online, it's noticeably cooler, you can even feel a hint of autumn breeze."

Pick up trash 99 level: "Shivering."

Old White: "Brother Trash, while you can still move, why not consider migrating south? (Grinning)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "I'll consider it. T.T"

...

The banquet at the royal palace was still ongoing, but Chu Guang had already returned to the Iron Heart, instructing the crew to prepare for the return journey.

The ship's air fighters, piloted by Goblin Corps pilots, landed entirely on a temporary runway on the north side of the Royal City.

They were responsible for defending the airspace of the Royal City while also supporting the army on the northwest side of Oasis No. 9.

Although the commander of the Goblin Corps had been sent south for a mission, he should have already returned to Qingquan City by now. However, with or without him, their operation wasn't affected.

Unlike other legions, the Goblin Corps' commander only takes care of finance and doesn't bother commanding, sometimes dying too quickly to even command.

The legion's principle is for those who want to fly planes to fly planes and those who want to fire cannons to fire cannons; calculate their own firing elements, ask allies for air strike and cannon coordinates, and retreat if they embarrass themselves.

Using Mosquito's own words, this is called "tactically disintegrating the whole into parts." It seems like they're only marginally involved in every battle, but in reality, it maximizes each player's potential, perfectly aligning with the Manager's original intent for the Legion System.

Regardless of what the Goblin Corps' principles were, a pilot who could land the plane on the deck of an airship undoubtedly possessed impeccable skills; paired with the ground force's anti-aircraft artillery and radio guidance, protecting Lion City's safety was not a significant issue.

As for Chu Guang's departure, King Edward was naturally very reluctant to see him go.

However, the courtiers in the palace felt even more reluctant.

Many royal aristocrats, having heard at the banquet that the Alliance Manager was yet unmarried, instantly became eager, frantically seeking connections to introduce their female relatives to the court, whether for warming beds or serving tea and water.

So much so that King Edward himself did not realize by the end of the banquet, the palace staff attending in the quarters prepared for Chu Guang had been entirely replaced.

Even the servant cleaning the bookshelf was replaced with someone's duchess's young daughter.

Her frail appearance made one worry whether she could even stabilize a ladder.

And the reason for all these, stemmed from an unconfirmed rumor—

The Manager of the Alliance loves reading and has collected many books.

However, the development of events was unexpected to everyone except the old king.

Almost no one expected that the Manager of the Alliance didn't even spend a night in the palace prepared by King Edward, returning to the airship even before the banquet had ended, leaving only a group of romantically delusional nobles in disarray...

On the Iron Heart.

In the bridge.

Watching the Spring Water Commander, Chu Guang briefed him on the upcoming arrangements.

"Although we have achieved a phased victory, the war is far from over. The front line has now been pushed to the very western edge of Oasis No. 9, with the farthest fortress even 1,500 kilometers away from Dawn City. Whether it's defending or advancing in the future, it will be a rigorous test for our logistics."

"We can't rely solely on ourselves for this war, so I have two tasks for you."

"One is to consolidate our current defense line, ensuring the autumn harvest in the Lion Kingdom goes smoothly. This is not only vital to the food supply of the residents of Oasis No. 9 but also to our food reserves."

"The other is to train the army of our allies with our equipment and military principles. For this task, I will arrange for officers of the First Army Corps to assist you."

Given the language barriers between players and NPCs, although old players like Spring Water Commander don't have problems with everyday communication, the efficiency of the training would definitely be affected.

This is where NPC cooperation is needed.

Throughout extended warfare, the Alliance has evolved into two distinct command systems.

One for players, and the other, for NPCs.

Loyal as ever, the Spring Water Commander placed his right fist over his heart and declared with intense eyes.

"Guarantee to complete the mission!"

Chu Guang nodded approvingly, paused for a moment, and continued.

"Remember to promote some young officers without noble backgrounds and give them opportunities to achieve commendation."

According to his observations, there are primarily two factions within the power hierarchy of the Lion Kingdom.

One is the faction loyal to the royal family, the Edward faction, which controls the palace and the civil service system, and their ideology holds that the teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea and the laws of the ancestors are immutable.

The other is Prince Wenter's faction, mainly in the military, composed of generals holding military power, advocating conservatism in domestic policy and innovation in military affairs.

The former attempts to integrate the Alliance to balance the latter while repelling foreign enemies to achieve "killing two birds with one stone," with the core goal of preserving their own ruling position.

The latter hopes to introduce military technology from the Alliance to strengthen their power while suppressing the former, aiming to establish a kingdom ruled jointly by a constitutional monarch and the nobility.

Though there are disagreements on certain issues between the two factions, they are unanimous in uniting the nobility.

In such a situation, civilian-born, lower-tier military officers in the Lion Kingdom have almost no room for advancement because they are not the focus of unification from the start.

What Chu Guang aimed to do was to carve a portion of the cake, originally belonging to the king and the nobles, for these young officers.

They are receptive to new ideas, discontent with the status quo, and aspired to make a difference.

Isolated from support in the military and the court, they could only lean towards the Alliance, and this was also their sole avenue to actualize their political ambitions.

These young officers' loyalty to the Alliance would far exceed their loyalty to the king and the nobles.

This ideological bond would prove much stronger than ties maintained by bloodline.

In the end, every realm existing in the Mortal World is composed of ordinary individuals.

...

After assigning tasks for the next phase to the officers left behind, Chu Guang immediately issued the order to set sail.

The anchor chains and elevators slowly retracted, and the towering "Steel Heart" changed its direction, boosting the output power of its propellers to maximum.

The full cruising speed of one hundred kilometers per hour allowed the "Steel Heart" to travel the nearly one thousand kilometers from the Lion City at the eastern part of the 9th Oasis to the Alliance's City of Dawn in just one night.

As the morning sun rose on the horizon, the outlines of the urban clusters and a streak of distant white were reflected on the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bridge.

Watching the Survivor Settlement on the edge of Qingquan City, which was gradually growing, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile with a fatherly grin.

Dozens of new buildings had sprung up on the northern business street.

The area from the north of the trade station to the cargo train platform, once a wasteland, now bristled with colorful shanties.

People were no longer content with just "North Street"; a second market that wasn't in the plans had emerged from the people's spontaneous activities. With the increase of goods flow and trade volumes, the merchants no longer just engaged with the Alliance's trade station but also exchanged goods among themselves.

It wasn't just commercial prosperity.

The results the Alliance had achieved in infrastructure could also be described as miraculous.

Originally, only a railway connected the two northern and southern Survivor Settlements.

Now not only had roads been opened, but high-voltage power towers had also been erected.

The energy produced by just one controlled fusion reactor was enough to supply the entire Alliance.

The most direct impact of this change was the rapid rise of metallurgy and other energy-intensive industries, with a mass of factories and workshops springing up like mushrooms after rain across the land.

Over thirty tanks, newly arrived from the industrial district of Dawn City, were waiting to be unloaded on the cargo train platform. Behind them, a line of trucks queued on the latter half of the platform; some would be sent to the front lines and integrated into the logistics troops, others to the trade station for buyers to choose from.

Of course, the most captivating sight for Chu Guang was still the farmland by the northern shore of Lihu.

Tracks left by the "Pioneer's" tracks had been covered by golden rice, and wild weed-infested wasteland had been driven to the forest's edge.

And all this had happened in just a year.

"Xiao Qi."

"What is it, Master?" A vibrant voice floated to Chu Guang's ears like a pleasant set of wind chimes.

However, this time he didn't have any commands or instructions to impart, as everyone had done their jobs well.

It was just a moment of sheer emotion, with no one to share it with.

"It's nothing, just thinking about how time can sometimes fly so fast, blinking an eye and a year has passed. Sometimes it feels so slow, as if a lot had happened within the year."

Chu Guang didn't expect Xiao Qi to understand that statement.

However, to his surprise, Xiao Qi sighed in his tone, also philosophical.

"Yes, the days with Master always feel so fast, so fast, but every second feels like a year when we are not together."

Hearing this, Chu Guang glanced at the little fellow swinging its feet, sitting on his shoulder.

Ever since he got this new toy, the little guy had almost been living on him.

"I didn't leave you behind for too long, did I?"

"Hmm!" Xiao Qi confidently gave a thumbs-up, its eyes sparkling like bulbs, "Master is the best!"

"..."

After coughing lightly, Chu Guang turned away and left the side of the floor-to-ceiling window.

"It's time to go ashore."

"Alright!"

Reaching out to catch the floating drone, Xiao Qi obediently jumped down from Chu Guang's shoulder and wobbled into his pocket.

Chu Guang had especially warned him to not be too conspicuous when people were around.

Regarding those rumors and gossip about himself, they were already outrageous enough.

He certainly didn't want to be misunderstood by the crowd about having some odd quirks...

...

To avoid disrupting the residents' lives, Chu Guang ordered the crew to fly the airship directly into Qingquan City's territory, hovering over Lihu Wetland Park.

With tense pairs of eyes from the towering wall watching, Chu Guang took the elevator down to the surface base of Shelter No. 404.

He hadn't even stepped out of the elevator when the sharp-eyed Mosquito spotted him and scurried over, grinning and seeking praise.

"Respected Manager, the traitor 'Falling Feather' has been apprehended!"

"To prevent him from going berserk, we've locked him up in a little black room next to Nicole... But unfortunately, this guy doesn't seem to match your mount's taste."

Chu Guang's brow twitched, but he didn't blame the fellow.

Given the clues currently known, Falling Feather's body was likely "possessed" by the 'Mutated Slime Fungus' from Oasis No. 7.

Under the uncertain safety of this abnormal individual, having Nicole watch it was indeed the best choice. The powerful life aura emanating from Claw of Death was also a deterrent in itself.

"…I know, go do your work."

"Alright!"

After confirming the mission completion through VM, Mosquito ran off into the ether.

The Agility system was indeed fast.

Not bothering with this fellow, Chu Guang went straight to where Nicole stayed.

However, to his surprise, "Falling Feather" wasn't overwhelmed by Nicole's presence. Instead, Nicole exhibited a wary expression, dangerously glaring at the adjacent cell with bared fangs growling low.

Standing inside the cell, "Falling Feather" wore a wooden expression, appearing harmless.

After all, with that not-so-clever demeanor, it was hard to imagine how much harm he could do.

Still...

The thinking patterns and perspectives of beasts differ from humans, and perhaps Nicole had sniffed something unfavorable off him.

Chu Guang patted Nicole's head.

The latter made a purring sound and rubbed against his arm, its expression pleading as if asking him to move that guy farther away, or complaining about being left behind for so long.

Yin Fang and Heya were standing next to the small black cell, examining Falling Feather like assessing a product.

"It's strange... he has everything a person should have, and even things he shouldn't, but why can't I sense any consciousness?"

Yin Fang's face showed a puzzled expression.

Standing by, Heya crossed her arms, her expression deep in thought.

"Hmm... it is indeed strange, the cells formed by the mimetic 'mutated slime fungus' seem to have become a part of him. I don't know if it's by changing receptors or something else, but they've managed to deceive the immune system without causing any rejection reaction. They even work more efficiently than normal body cells."

Yin Fang looked at her and asked.

"I don't know much about 'mutated slime fungus'... I just want to know how this is different from what's going on with Batch?"

Heya thought for a moment and said,

"The difference is quite clear, one is parasitism, the other is symbiosis."

Yin Fang: "So either way, it's being replaced by slime fungus?"

Heya nodded but then shook her head.

"Yes, and no… For example, let me pose this scenario, the you who replaced your arm with a biomechanical prosthesis, are you still the same person as before the surgery?"

Yin Fang replied matter-of-factly,

"That of course I am, replacing a mechanical prosthesis is just swapping for a more efficient tool, it's not like changing brains."

Heya nodded and continued,

"It's the same for him, except the tool being replaced is an organism. His genetic information hasn't been altered, even if all his body cells were replaced with slime fungus, he can still preserve his original consciousness… at least in theory."

A look of astonishment appeared on Yin Fang's face.

However, he wasn't quick to rebut; instead, he fell into thought.

"Hmm… you do have a point."

But that was only in theory.

Existing theories couldn't reasonably explain why this guy still seemed so vacant.

Walking up beside the two, Chu Guang asked,

"Any results from the research?"

Heya shook her head,

"Regrettably, no... Although life sciences are my field of study, I feel that the issues involved exceed my area of expertise."

After pausing, she continued looking at Chu Guang,

"However, according to observations over the past few days, I've noticed a really interesting phenomenon."

Chu Guang immediately asked,

"What phenomenon?"

Heya then spoke up,

"The 'mutated slime fungus' from Oasis Site No. 7 and the slime fungus from Qingquan City are profoundly different in their genetic structures. While we use the same term for them, they have evolved into two distinctly different species."

"For example, a significant trait is that Qingquan's 'mutated slime fungus' transmits information through spores, while Site No. 7's fungal bodies—let's tentatively call them that—produce spores that do not carry this function. Communication between them relies on sound waves, similar to humans."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"My subordinates have also noticed this... Those fungal bodies become noticeably more aggressive when they hear the roar of the mother organism."

Yin Fang suddenly seemed to have an idea, his eyes lighting up,

"Could it be due to the lack of water and organic matter in the desert? Therefore, they can't release spores on a large scale, whereas the valley environment facilitates the transmission of echoes..."

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Heya nodded vigorously, her tone laced with excitement, "The slime fungus is extremely adaptable to environments, which in turn suggests that their evolution is highly influenced by their surroundings. In just two hundred years, they've diversified to a degree where it's as if they no longer recognize each other. No matter what, this is good news for us!"

Yin Fang thoughtfully said,

"To put it simply, two slime fungus mothers won't merge into a larger one?"

"Correct!" Heya snapped her fingers and continued with a smile, "Though there are some differences in detail, that's the general idea. Moreover, when differences among these 'mutated slime fungi' become significant enough, intraspecific conflict could even evolve into interspecies competition! The factions will no longer exchange genetic information harmoniously, but fiercely battle for living space until one completely displaces the other... However, this part is just my speculation, lacking sufficient evidence."

This indeed was good news, providing a new approach to resolving the issue with 'mutated slime fungus'.

If nuclear weapons couldn't destroy these troublesome organisms, perhaps they could deliberately introduce benign strains to compete for living space with malignant strains.

As for how to make the benign strains more competitive, that would be something for the researchers of the Alliance to ponder.

"Any other clues?"

Heya sheepishly shook her head.

"That's all... for now."

Chu Guang nodded, offering a word of comfort.

"Don't be discouraged, you've done very well."

Since the transfer of Falling Feather to Qingquan City, four days had also passed.

Four whole days without any research progress, he could only now reluctantly rely on the wisdom of the First Generation Manager.

After a pause, Chu Guang ordered,

"...Inject him with slime fungus inhibitors and anesthetics, transfer him to the conveyor belt on Level B1 of the shelter."

Heya quickly asked,

"Where will he be sent?"

"To the shelter's sample storage? Probably."

Chu Guang gave an ambiguous answer.

Truth be told, he didn't know what was hidden beneath the shelter; the previous Manager hadn't explained anything to him, he hadn't even seen his face.

A look of regret appeared on Heya's face, but she said nothing.

She understood why Chu Guang would make such arrangements.

After all, leaving this guy unattended would always be a risk.

"...May I visit Oasis Site No. 7?" Heya asked tentatively, "I'd like to figure out exactly what's going on with the slime fungus there."

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Before confirming that 'Mutated Slime Fungus No. 7' is harmless, I cannot grant your request. Besides, now that No. 7 Oasis Ruins have been occupied and the people there are physically blocked, we can't risk the situation in Luo Xia Province changing by going there to collect samples."

A pause followed, and Chu Guang, seeing Heya's slightly disappointed expression, continued.

"What I'm saying does not mean we are ignoring the relic; we just need to wait for the right moment to do this."

"I assure you."

…

After the injection of the inhibitor, "Falling Feather" rolled his eyes and immediately collapsed to the ground.

They even skipped the anesthetic.

Most of the tissues in this guy's body had been destroyed in a nuclear blast, and those still functioning were mostly reconstructed by slime fungus.

This was what surprised Chu Guang the most.

It was still the same person.

Why then could the Morphogenesis Field's resonance not form?

This was too strange!

Placing the "dead" "Falling Feather" on the conveyor belt, Chu Guang watched as the open hatch slowly closed, and soon three rows of light blue pop-ups appeared.

[Emergency Mission Completed!]

[Mission Reward: Unlock Floor B6 of Shelter No. 404!]

[Additional Reward: Gene Sequence +4000]

The moment Chu Guang saw these three notifications flash across, a trace of joy swiftly crossed his face.

What a score!

Crashing a plane actually netted 4000 closed beta qualifications!

And it was someone else's plane at that!

But there was no rush with the beta qualifications, with the rollout rate of 20 to 50 per day, the last batch unlocked hadn't been fully released yet.

Stepping into the elevator, Chu Guang extended his index finger to the touch screen, selecting the button for Floor B6 with one empty slot away from Floor B4.

Watching the descending levels, his excitement and anticipation surged through his heart.

Skipping B5 and directly unlocking B6!

Wonder what surprise the First Generation Manager left for him on this floor...

The elevator soon arrived.

However, when the elevator doors opened, Chu Guang was stunned on the spot, then he instinctively looked at the touch screen, thinking he had come to the wrong place.

Unlike other floors which were spotless upon opening, Floor B6 could essentially be described as completely disheveled.

The air quality here was quite poor, even mixed with a disconcerting smell.

From the floor plan on the wall, this place was different from other floors; it was evidently a research facility.

Directly in front of the elevator was not the floor information but a buffer workshop equipped with systems like air showers, positive pressure, dust removal, sterilization, etc.

This entire setup matched that of the buffer rooms at the entrance of the shelter, designed to prevent slime fungus and spores from entering the interior of the shelter.

However, it now seemed this system was deployed at the entrance of this particular floor, to 'exclude' the whole floor from the shelter.

Chu Guang frowned.

Suspicious was not the condition here, but why it had come to be this way.

It was well known that the slime fungus could not exist independently outside the lair or host body, which was why it was confined to the outskirts of Qingquan City.

Beyond the coverage of the spores, the survival ability of the slime fungus would dramatically decline, quickly being decomposed by other microorganisms.

Theoretically, the slime fungus could not invade a completely isolated system.

Unless…

This place had already formed an independent entity or nest?!

"Activate the internal circulation system..."

As the helmet's visor closed, the power armor's internal circulation system began to operate, trading increased energy consumption for absolutely safe air.

Chu Guang pulled out the hammer behind him, walked through the opened alloy doors on both sides, and stepped into the now-active buffer zone.

The interior of the buffer zone remained intact, and the equipment was still operating.

Yet behind the door facing Floor B6, just as Chu Guang expected, was an absolutely shocking sight.

The silver alloy walls were covered with fungal blotches, the air mixed with a rotten moldy smell, and bullet holes and scratches on the walls faintly visible suggested traces of combat.

The entire floor's air purification system had been shut down for many years.

Yet even so.

The slime fungus here had not been completely killed.

Even in an environment with no external oxygen input, they had still survived, maintaining a state of minimal-energy hibernation with just the little organic matter available, stubbornly living until now.

Several untreated corpses lay at the entrance of the buffer zone.

They were clad in security uniforms and damaged "Type Five" Light Cavalry Exoskeletons.

Those moldy skeletons, other than the shocking fungal blotches, had not a piece of flesh left, and even the bones were heavily corroded.

The fierceness of that battle could be imagined; Chu Guang's throat tightened, gripping the warhammer in his hand tighter.

Just as the buffer room's air pressure was adjusted, a recording from the ceiling speaker suddenly played.

It seemed to be an argument among several people.

"Floor B6 has fallen... The specimens have spread beyond the isolation room! Samples are going out of control... damn, we must evacuate immediately!"

"Wait! The data on the experimental equipment hasn't been backed up to the server yet, just let me—"

"It's too late! Let's go!"

-

(Thanks to "11's 11" for the alliance reward!!! Moved house all day yesterday, totally exhausted…)

Chapter 453: The Uncontrollable Evolution

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

[Beta0.4 Update!]

[Update contents:

1. Implementation of the deep-sea trade system: the trade route to Luo Xia Province has been opened; players can now trade with NPCs in the Lion Kingdom and invest in local farms or other industries. In addition, more tradable areas have been unlocked; players are encouraged to explore them in the Game.

2. A new "Cloud Dragonfly" flapping machine training point has been added to the Northern Corporate Aviation Base in West State City. Players can learn on their own expense by paying a fee of 500k silver coins through VM, and those with a proficiency level above 7 in flying skills and who have reached the status of a senior citizen with Contribution Points can apply for work-study learning.

3. The Iron Heart as an Alliance mobile base can provide saving services but does not guarantee it will anchor at the player's desired location.

4. Shelter No. 404's floors unlocked up to Floor B6; Floor B5 is still under maintenance, please stay tuned.

5. The upper limit of player accounts for Closed Beta has been raised from 8000 to 12000!

6. Fixed a small number of bugs.

7. ...

]

Falling Feather: "Fuck?!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "What's wrong with you now?"

Falling Feather: "I'm going!!!"

Feng Qing: "0.0?"

Gui Gui: "What?"

Falling Feather: "The respawn countdown has started again! Hahaha! Thanks, Brother Guang! Love ya!"

Grandpa Ao: "Haha, you guys keep acting; it looks pretty real. I'll just quietly watch you show off."

Elena: "Jealousy really leads to splitting one's personality. (Funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "+1 (Funny)"

...

At the same time.

Shelter No. 404.

A group of fully-armed players stood at the entrance to Floor B6 of the shelter.

What could be confirmed now was that the entire Floor B6 seemed to be a laboratory and a biological lab engaged in mutant slime fungus research at that.

Various signs indicated that the research samples here most likely came from the Early Wasteland Era, or even from the still more distant period of the Three-Year War.

From that fragmented recording, it was clear enough that the escaped experimental subject was not easy to mess with, even dangerously so!

Otherwise, it wouldn't have wiped out all the guards on this floor, forcing the First Generation Manager to execute a "shock therapy" on the entire floor.

Chu Guang, of course, wasn't the type to stick his face in the bushes, especially when he knew for sure that there was a landmine hidden inside.

Moreover, he indeed had a bunch of fearless little players at his disposal, so why should he do such hazardous work himself?

At the exact time the Beta0.4 version was officially updated, a quest popup simultaneously appeared on the VMs of the players Chu Guang had chosen to come here.

[Quest: Retake Floor B6 of Shelter No. 404]

[Description: The experimental bodies stored on Floor B6 of Shelter No. 404 have lost control, leading to the infestation of the floor by slime fungus.]

[Objectives:

1. Search for possible sources/origins.

2. Head to the lab to recover experimental logs.

3. Head to the computer room to search for un-uploaded data.

]

The blinking pale blue icon on the VM screen confirmed the quest just received from the Manager. Night Ten's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Fucking awesome! I didn't expect to get such big work while chilling in the rear!"

Luo Xia Province was the home ground for both the Storm Corps and the Skeleton Corps.

The Burning Corps, having fewer people and their main turf in the city rather than the open plains, land, barely felt involved in the war at all, and were merely onlookers most of the time.

After being an observer (OB) on the official Forum for so long, this was finally his chance to show off.

Quit smoking, following behind Wild Wind and watching the VM screen, suddenly came up with a wild idea, "Do you think the out-of-control experimental subject could be Falling Feather?"

With an expressionless face barely concealing a grin, Wild Wind touched his nose bridge and said,

"...It's possible, unless there's a time machine here that can send it back 100 years."

Quit smoking: "Fuck! There's a time machine?!"

Wild Wind: "...Can't you listen to the end when someone talks?"

Looking at the fungal blotches climbing the walls, Night Ten couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Damn... This thing has been cut off from water, electricity, and air for so long, and it can still fucking move!"

Wild Wind looked around cautiously and after a moment of thought said,

"Yep, and it's even paralyzed most of the cameras in the area, along with 85% of the electronic equipment... The situation here might be even more complicated than we anticipated."

"Who cares how complicated it is, let's just do it!"

Old White, equipped with the OD-10 "Dragon Cavalry" power armor grinned, lifting his index finger to lock the helmet of his face mask, and cocked his assault rifle.

Then, over the communications channel, he loudly declared,

"The mission has been updated on VM; our target is to retake the overrun area of Floor B6!"

"Team A with me, search for the enemy 'crystals,' inject suppressants to contain them. Team B with Night Ten, go to the Sample Library to search for experimental logs. Team C with Wild Wind, head to the computer room, and following the mission cues, take the hard drives storing the experiment data and materials."

"After completing the mission, we'll gather at the entrance of the buffer workshop; make sure to keep communication clear at all times. The Manager is watching us!"

"Move out!"

The players tacitly split into three teams and cautiously began their search forward.

As an elite squad ranked high in combat power server-wide, the Burning Corps naturally excelled in executing special ops like this, and no one was better than them at close-quarters indoor combat.

At the same time, Chu Guang, who was in the Viewing Room on Floor B4, watched through the cameras carried by his players as they ventured deeper into the out-of-control biological lab.

Besides him, Yin Fang and Heya were also invited here, as "technical advisors" for the military operation, to provide professional advice to the players at critical moments.

However, since the operation began, Heya's attention was completely captivated by this vast and well-equipped laboratory.

Her gaze was more than just excited.

It was even envious – to the point of jealousy.

"I don't understand! Just how much is your budget?! Clearly ranked behind us, why... do you have so many good things?"

Facing that sour look, Chu Guang didn't know how to respond and decided to ignore it.

What was the point in asking him about things before the Wasteland Era?

If you want to know, ask the First Generation Manager!

Staring at the computer screen and focusing on other matters, Yin Fang stroked his chin and offered the first immature suggestion for the operation.

"...Actually, I'd suggest deploying the bionic man team. That way, even if there's a problem, it won't provide the organic entity over there with more organic matter."

Chu Guang replied offhandedly.

"I trust my soldiers; they're much more reliable than bionic men."

Heya and Yin Fang both looked at Chu Guang in surprise, especially upon hearing the word "use." However, he appeared indifferent, eyes glued to the video on the screen.

During the brief chat, "Team A" led by Old White had already engaged with the enemy.

Interestingly, the myxomycete entities they encountered were completely different from those in Qingquan City.

The slender humanoid entities looked just like the walking corpses from zombie flicks.

But unlike those "zombies."

These eater-like entities would not appear in swarms but would silently hide in corner hallways and behind overturned display cabinets.

They would even lie on the ground and play dead.

Only when someone approached would they be awakened and then suddenly attack, turning this upbeat RPG into a horror game.

Team A and Team C's advancement noticeably slowed down,
whereas Team B, led by Night Ten, used their strong perception to anticipate hidden dangers time and again, quickly advancing to the area where the experimental logs were stored.

However, despite the myxomycete entities' surprise attacks coming in waves, the players did not suffer any casualties or injuries.

The slender walking corpses could only give the players a scare.

Even if Light Cavalry Exoskeleton armor had weak protection, it wasn't frail enough to be shattered by those reed-like thin arms or to be pierced by a few rotten teeth.

Not to mention the power armors.

In front of warship-grade alloy steel, weak flesh was like paper mache.

Old White didn't even fire his gun, but simply pulled out the nail hammer hanging on the armor, crushing the charging corpses into pulp with a few bangs.

In such close-quarters combat, firing carelessly could cause ricochets, and a reflexive trigger pull could easily lead to friendly fire; cold weapons were therefore more convenient.

"Probably the lack of nutrients during the long period of isolation prevented the myxomycetes in this area from developing stronger entities and, without the need to hunt... these entities were purely produced for scavenging and energy conservation," Heya mused, stroking her chin in contemplation.

After receiving Chu Guang's promise "to give her use of Floor B6," she finally concentrated on the myxomycetes inside the floor.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"The lack of organic matter means these myxomycetes can't secrete spores in large quantities... Hiss, why do I feel like this is exactly like Myxomycete No. 7 from the Lost Valley?"

Yin Fang nodded.

"The only difference is the degree of scarcity... The Lost Valley is a desert, while this place is like a space station cut off from supplies."

Chu Guang suddenly turned towards Heya.

"Wait, you said before... myxomycetes born in different evolutionary environments can't coexist and won't exchange genetic information with each other, but what about myxomycetes born in environments scarce in resources? In other words, can myxomycetes from similar evolutionary environments be compatible with each other?"

He knew the problem he was describing was somewhat tongue-twisting; after all, he wasn't a professional biologist, and his choice of words might come across as amateurish. And the thought that had just popped into his head was also quite abstract in his mind.

Elena pondered seriously for a while before she replied,

"In the scenario you're describing, interspecies competition and genetic information exchange would probably happen simultaneously... or to put it more directly, it would be assimilation through consumption."

Chu Guang, "Consumption?"

"Yep," Elena nodded, "this is just my speculation, but if both a and b are different varieties that evolved in an environment with scarce resources, then between a and b, there would always be some genetic material that the other would find particularly interesting. At that point, that portion of the genetic material would be actively or passively inherited after one side had consumed the other."

"The genetic information of slime fungus is not a simple line of code but more like a 'library' composed of countless lines of code."

"When nurturing progeny, the lair or the maternal body selects a segment of genetic code needed from this library to create the offspring it requires. Even if Eaters and Tyrants have different numbers of chromosomes, the fact that they are born from the same lair still ties them to the same collective. In such circumstances, they are not completely independent individuals; they resemble organs on a vast individual... this is what I mean by a beehive society."

"To truly understand these creatures, we must get our hands on their maternal bodies, collect the original gene library used to synthesize progeny. That is the source of all offspring and the template for all evolutionary bodies."

While Elena was enlightening Chu Guang on the subject, the players who had ventured deep into Floor B6 finally ran into real trouble.

A piercing roar suddenly swept down from the end of the corridor.

A gray-black power armor stood at the end of the corridor.

Its figure was bulky, in no way inferior to the "Dragon Cavalry" power armor, and its body was even more imposing in stature. From its faded paint, it appeared to be a police version.

The instant Old White saw that armor, a warning twisted in his heart.

His nail hammer, held in his hand, was hurled out fiercely like a meteor smashing toward the power armor's visor.

With the dual enhancement of the Strength Attribute and armor engine, even a tank would get a dent in it.

However, the power armor merely shook its arm, swatting the hammer flying.

Without a moment's pause, the power armor crouched slightly and then charged like a cannonball.

Old White raised his rifle and emptied a clip, but he didn't leave a scratch on that armor.

Seeing that 7mm bullets couldn't breach its defense, Old White simply tossed aside his rifle and drew the thermal cutting axe from his waist.

Yet—

The evolutionary body was one step ahead of him.

Before he could raise his axe, the evolutionary body's shoulder plate made intimate contact with his breastplate.

"Duang——!"

The collision of the two metal behemoths echoed down the corridor, too close for support, leaving the three teammates behind only to watch the titans clash.

Old White's right hand, pinned by the evolutionary body's left arm, nearly collapsed, but he managed to steady himself and aimed for the slit of the helmet with his left hand that was wielding the battle knife in a reverse grip and plunged it forward!

The air current raised by the arm had already blown into the helmet, but the arm striking down was blocked by another arm of the evolutionary body.

The gleaming blade and axe hung over the helmet, not advancing a single millimeter.

Terrifying chunks of flesh wriggled under the tattered armor, the not-yet-exhausted nuclear energy being transformed by the slime fungus into the most primitive and direct force.

From the gaps in the damaged armor, Old White could faintly make out a crimson light.

That was the gaze of a predator.

Behind the instincts for slaughter and bloodlust burned an appetite more chilling than hatred.

It was ravenously hungry…

With his arms restrained, Old White felt the strain and pushed down with all his might while also secretly marveling in his mind.

This guy—
is even trickier to handle than a Decaying Knight!

"Damn!"

His chest heaved with anger and blood!

Old White roared and activated his Strength Type Talent, his hands doubling in strength instantly, pushing the axe blade and dagger down a full inch.

The mechanical components of the power armors on both sides creaked under the strain.

The Evolutionary body occupying the power armor was forced back half a step, its impatient and piercing screech leaking from the armor gaps.

Seizing the moment it staggered backward, Old White burst into action with a kick to its knee.

Under that tremendous boost of strength, the outward-bending knee was forcibly folded backward.

As the Evolutionary body lost balance and fell to the side, Old White followed up with a dagger thrust into its skull, stirring violently with force.

However, unexpectedly, the guy who had its brain stabbed acted as if nothing had happened.

Old White instantly realized.

This creature's nerve center is not in its head!

Maybe it doesn't even have one!

"Keep your distance!"

Night Ten's voice suddenly broke in over the comm channel.

Old White rejoiced, and while the Evolutionary body was still unsteady, he kicked once more, hitting its chest and sending it staggering backward.

The decaying, muscular arms of the alloy grabbed onto a side wall, and the stiff fingers scraped it, eliciting a grating, teeth-clenching sound.

In the instant when the two power armors widened their distance, Night Ten, who was prone at the end of the corridor with a "Viper" Gauss Rifle poised, had finished aiming and pulled the trigger.

"Bang—!"

In a flash of an electric arc, the mass bomb was accelerated to 4.5 Mach, with the sonic boom resonating throughout the corridor.

The attack came from behind!

The target was the most vulnerable area of the power armor.

The Evolutionary body had no time to react, its poorly-maintained armor was already low on durability, and facing the terrifying penetrating power of the railgun, it was shot clean through in an instant.

At the same time, the Evolutionary body staggered forward from the kinetic energy of the mass bomb, Old White seized the opportunity and swung his Thermal Cutting Axe with all his might, chopping down.

A hot red light flickered.

The lavic-hot air current instantly sliced through the Evolutionary body's left shoulder armor, pouring into the gap and turning the soft tissue inside to charcoal.

The crimson light finally faded, and the Evolutionary body collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Night Ten, who had stowed his rifle, approached and looked down at the fallen Evolutionary body, clicking his tongue.

"Man oh man... Even the slime fungus knows how to operate a power armor!"

Unlike the "Decaying Knights," the core battery of this power armor was clearly still operational, but most of the electronic components within the armor were damaged.

"They can operate Titans, let alone power armors..." Old White walked over, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "Nicely done! Are you guys done over there?"

Night Ten chuckled.

"We're done... The mother isn't in the lab, empty as it could be. We followed the Manager's orders to take the experimental logs from there, and then he commanded us to circle around to this corridor to support you... What about you?"

Old White shook his head.

"We didn't find it... We've searched most of the area and haven't even seen a shadow of the mother."

Night Ten was taken aback.

"Could it be with Wild Wind?"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a popup flashed across all the players' VMs.

Seeing the text in the popup, Night Ten's face changed abruptly.

"Shit... I've jinxed it with my damn mouth!"

Old White wasted no words, reached down to pick up the rifle on the ground and the Nail Hammer he'd thrown earlier.

"Let's go! Let's help him!"

...

Floor B6.

Biological Laboratory Computer Room.

You could see rows of computer cases on metal shelves, now entirely engulfed by dark red slime fungus.

The room, covering hundreds of square meters, was filled with wriggling mucosal masses as far as the eye could see— the entire computer room had turned into a sea of slime fungus, with no place to even stand by the steps of the main entrance!

Several semi-transparent, meat-red membranous ovoids floated on this sea, like silken cocoons, pulsating restlessly.

"It" seemed to have just woken up.

Thrilled at the sudden revival of "climate" and the sight of long-missed prey!

Staring at the scene before them, Wild Wind and his teammates behind him wore an expression of blank uncertainty.

Swallowing hard, Quit smoking looked to the smartest person in the squad.

"How do we reclaim this?"

Wild Wind shook his head gravely.

"I don't know..."

The computer cases were completely submerged by the sea of slime fungus; the cases were thoroughly stuck together. Not to mention finding the hard drive in one of the cases, even approaching the rows of cases was a problem.

Trying to walk over these slime fungus...

It felt like a disaster was imminent.

After a moment of thought, Wild Wind analyzed calmly.

"Anyway, we need to clear the slime fungus to here first... This isn't an ordinary slime nest; it might be a downscaled Lair."

Including Quit smoking, the three players behind Wild Wind whispered.

"If I'm not wrong, the task requires us to reclaim this thing..."

"Reclaim? This has turned into a swimming pool... Not to mention how much inhibitor we'd need to take it down, how are we supposed to move it out of this room?"

"I'm tired, let's just blow it up."

"That's not possible... The experimental data we need to reclaim is in the hard drive of one of those cases."

The players on the mission found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.

Chu Guang, watching the battle from the viewing room, was no different.

Getting rid of that lair was easy; just authorize the players to carry heavy weapons into Floor B6. Stuff a 155 in there, set it off manually, and that'd be enough.

If one wasn't enough, then use two.

Detonating heavy artillery in a sealed environment, even the shockwaves from the explosion would be enough to kill the organic beings in the room several times over.

But the trouble was, the data stored in those computer cases...

Since the transmission lines had been destroyed, it was impossible to remotely upload that data to the servers in the shelter. The only way was to manually remove the hard drives from the servers.

Let's not even talk about using powerful weapons.

Methods like pouring gasoline or sulfuric acid were probably ineffective too.

It was at this moment that Yin Fang suddenly had an idea.

"What if we fight poison with poison?"

Chu Guang was taken aback.

"Fight poison with poison?"

Yin Fang nodded excitedly, gesturing with his index finger as he described the ingenious idea he had just come up with.

"Like... introducing another mother organism from the outside, using the feature of incompatibility between different slime mold populations, to let the mother fight the mother!"

Chu Guang was startled, then his eyes lit up.

My goodness, driving out wolves only to be devoured by tigers!

This idea...

Unexpectedly good.

Just as he was about to speak in approval, Heya, who was standing nearby with her arms crossed, sighed,

"Where do you plan to get a mother organism? The closest one is in the city center."

Yin Fang was taken aback.

"Aren't those nests that produce Eaters mother organisms?"

"That thing is called an incubation chamber!" Heya retorted, "They don't store the entire genetic storages of the species, at best you could consider them production organs and signal relays capable of producing certain products! Without the spore coverage from the mother or the lair, they'll shrivel up before long. If you put that in there, at most, it'll serve as fertilizer for the slime mold inside."

Having said this, Heya, who still hadn't gotten over her memories of Oasis No.7, quickly followed up with another point.

"However, this idea is not entirely bad. I've heard that somewhere like Lost Valley might actually have relatively benign mutated slime molds... If we could get a mother organism from there, we might not only solve the slime mold problem on Floor B6 but also acquire a batch of benign mold species!"

The idea really wasn't bad.

If only there wasn't that Titan around.

A monster that nuclear bombs couldn't kill, he'd be hitting it with his head!

Pretending not to notice that enthusiastic look, Chu Guang coughed lightly, turning to look at Yin Fang standing to the side.

"What Heya said is true... This method still needs further deliberation."

Heya: "Uh, what I actually wanted to say was—"

Chu Guang cut her off, continuing to speak.

"In any case, before deciding on what measures to take to resolve the issue with the slime fungus there, we should first look into the experiment log to see if the research results are truly worth the risks we're taking," he said.

Chu Guang looked towards Xiao Qi, sitting at the desk, and gave his command.

"Xiao Qi, I need the team on Floor B6 to retrieve the experiment log and pull out."

Xiao Qi brought her right fist to her chest and cheekily replied.

"Received!"

...

Half the mission had been completed.

The rewards for the players from Chu Guang were also honestly distributed in half.

He inserted the storage card that held the experiment log into the holographic computer pen, and a pale blue holographic image was quickly projected into the center of the viewing room.

The first thing to be played was a section of a holographic image.

In the image, a strange man stood, conversing with someone off-camera.

He wore the uniform of the shelter, and a tag on his chest bore the characters "T-13," which was likely his identification number.

From the angle of the filming, neither he nor the person he was talking to seemed to be aware that they were being recorded secretly.

"... This planet has been contaminated, that is to say, it's beyond saving."

"This is a more cruel method of extermination than neutron annihilation; these slime fungi, designed to destroy us, adapt better to our home than we do. They will not directly kill us but will instead grow wildly where we live, pursue our tracks, and squeeze our living space. Our descendants will have to give up cities, migrate to the outskirts, or remain behind to become fertilizer for them!"

"The heritage we leave for our children will one day be exhausted, and as the level of production continues to fall, there will no longer be the soil for advanced social relations on this planet. Our civilization will grow in reverse: first regressing to feudal societies, then to slave societies, and finally to tribes... until we completely become beasts, eventually replaced by more barbaric beings."

"Yes, our Black Box is still working, but what about in a thousand years? In ten thousand years? Once a trend forms, it will be very hard to reverse. If these issues aren't resolved now, the future will only get worse... By then, let alone professional biological laboratories, our descendants probably won't be able to build a microscope, so how could they research those things?"

"This is not alarmism; in fact, the decline of civilization had already begun before this winter had even ended. Look at the community we've been monitoring, now what's it called, 'Blood Hand' or some nonsense... I bet, even if they survive this winter, those people won't be any smarter than monkeys!"

"The seeds of savagery have already invaded their brains, they will become the source of chaos, like the ancient nomads, plundering the wealth of civilized people by the most primitive means, and at least the survivors in this suburb cannot escape their tyranny."

"I don't understand why the professor allowed that guard to risk exposing the shelter's location, using the precious radio to help that hopeless bunch of idiots... Regardless of his motives, the guard has committed suicide, and his plan has undoubtedly failed, but I can't bet on a loser!"

"But he is the Manager, or do you have a better idea?" the person speaking to the T-13 researcher finally spoke up, making the whole image no longer a monologue of the T-13 researcher.

Perhaps seeing something stirring on the person's face, the T-13 researcher continued excitedly.

"Of course!"

"The adaptability of the slime fungus is strong, but we'll be stronger, it won't be us who'll be devoured, but them!"

The person hesitantly asked.

"And how do you plan to achieve that?"

"Synthetic mother cell!"

The T-13 researcher answered resolutely, his ideas coincidentally aligning with the immature idea previously proposed by Yin Fang.

"We can cultivate mature somatic cells into embryonic stem cells, and we can certainly reverse mature spore bodies back into the lair!"

"We will recompile the gene repository of the lair, making them take our form under our intervention!"

Those pupils, they were glimmering with ambition.

The T-13 researcher said, each word deliberately distinct.

"They will replace the slime fungus on the surface!"

"And we, we will control evolution!"

Chapter 454: Big Brother, Why Are You Wearing a Skirt After a Few Days?

The holographic image was lengthy, but the bulk of the information was concentrated in the opening few minutes of dialogue.

Afterward, the G-13 researcher scurried about planning projects and inserted a series of sub-projects into the original research plan on Floor B6, which included induced mutation and retrograde restoration among others.

Until the end, the experimental subject that had evolved into the mother entity suddenly went berserk, and the entire floor of B6 succumbed to the erosion of the slime fungus.

Although the G-13 researcher called for reinforcements in time, it was clearly too late.

An armed assault team entered Floor B6, but they quickly retreated in the face of the mucosal entities surging like a tide.

In fact, from the images on the experimental log, the G-13 researcher had the chance to escape, but for the sake of taking the experimental data and research results, he missed the last window of escape and was brutally killed in the laboratory's engine room by the mother entity.

At the end of the footage, Chu Guang noticed a very interesting detail.

Although the G-13 researcher ultimately failed to take the experimental data, and most other researchers died in the disturbance, according to the narrative of the one who held the experimental log, a few researchers still managed to stand on the elevator under the cover of the assault team.

In addition to that, a briefcase was also taken away, inside which was a set of reagents named "Inductive Evolution Liquid."

And that set of reagents was the root cause of the collapse of Floor B6.

However, regrettably, the person in the holographic image didn't reveal where the briefcase went; the final image faded to black as the lights in the floor went out one by one, and the air purification system shut down one after another, ending in a curtain of despairing silence...

What surprised Chu Guang was not entirely this secretive history, but that this startling experiment was just the tip of the iceberg of all the secrets of the entire refuge!

He became more and more curious about what was written in the First Generation Manager's Administrator's Log.

As the holographic image played to its conclusion, the former Academy prospector standing beside him suddenly let out a sigh.

"I suddenly have this feeling... your predecessor was quite terrifying."

Chu Guang glanced at Yin Fang.

"Hmm?"

Yin Fang continued to ask.

"Did he always monitor others like this?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Then I don't know. He's been dead for so many years."

"Are you sure?"

Honestly speaking, Chu Guang wasn't sure.

Previously, he just subjectively thought that a normal person couldn't live that long, so he assumed the First Generation Manager must have died.

But after encountering so many ancient monsters, he suddenly realized that two centuries might not be that difficult to endure.

If it wasn't cryogenic hibernation, then it was replacing bionic prosthetic bodies, or other methods, but as long as one wanted to live, there were always ways to hang on to a breath of life.

And if all else failed, one could even upload their consciousness to the cloud.

However, even if his inherent beliefs were overturned, Chu Guang still felt that the person in question was most likely no longer in this world.

As for the reason...

"He doesn't seem like someone who's very good at lying... and besides, I don't think he had any reason to lie."

"Why?" Yin Fang raised his eyebrows, looking at Chu Guang with interest. "Didn't you say you've never even met him?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"I don't know, but I rarely feel so certain about something without reason... just consider it my intuition."

Yin Fang didn't continue to press the matter.

It wasn't really an important issue after all.

The only reason he asked casually was just due to professional habits from digging up the past; his interest in antiques was second only to coffee machines from the Era of Prosperity.

"But now that I think about it... it feels even more terrifying," Heya sighed, changing her posture and folding her arms, her eyes full of deep emotion beneath her silver bangs, "He knew everything and allowed it all to happen... It feels as if even the betrayal of his own people was within his calculations."

Whether it was that minor character called the Guard or the researcher with the G-13 identifier.

Yin Fang nodded in agreement.

"Right? I was just thinking about this. If Floor B6 was left out of control under his direction... then what was his purpose in doing so?"

Chu Guang leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, before saying,

"A primitive mother entity from the three-year War, evolving under control in a resource-depleted environment... Maybe that's what he needed."

Yin Fang continued,

"And then what? What does he plan to do with it? Use it to defeat the Lair in Qingquan City? Excuse my frankness, but even if it could do that, the newly born Lair might not listen to us."

"I don't know... Maybe he didn't know what use it had either, so he didn't use it himself, but left it for me instead."

After saying that, Chu Guang fell into deep thought.

And it was at this moment, Heya, who had been holding her arms, suddenly looked up and said,

"That technique of artificially engineering the library to induce the sub-entities to reverse into a mother entity... it worked?"

Chu Guang was taken aback for a moment then nodded,

"It should have... otherwise where did that Lair on Floor B6 come from?"

A mixed expression flickered in Heya's eyes, half envy and half jealousy.

"Incredible..."

She had studied the slime fungus for so long, and had only managed to clarify the evolutionary principles and societal habits of those organisms on a theoretical level.

Yet a scholar from two centuries ago, the G-13 researcher, had accomplished such remarkable research results in a closed refuge with just limited experimental samples and resources.

Behind the envy and jealousy, she also couldn't help feeling a slight sense of defeat.

No wonder her mentor, Karen, always told her the best of times had passed.

An ordinary researcher who didn't even leave behind a name had far surpassed her in academic prowess.

Sure enough, she had a long way to go...

Sensing the discouragement behind that flicker of envy, Chu Guang was about to comfort her, to not compare herself with the ancient monsters of the Prosperity Epoch, when suddenly three lines of pale blue pop-up windows flashed before his eyes.

[Pre-processing program complete.]

["Aberrant Individual" has been injected with Inductive Evolution reagent set, mother entity creation complete.]

[Would you like to accept? (If not, or if no choice is made within thirty days, the synthesized mother entity will be subjected to the execution of the erasure protocol)]

When he saw the last line of text, a flash of surprise crossed Chu Guang's eyes.

"...Mother entity creation?"

Good grief!

Was the shelter system planning on using "Symbiotic" Luoyu as material to create another mother entity!?

He felt like he was starting to understand something.

Yin Fang and Heya looked simultaneously at Chu Guang, who was talking to himself, and cast puzzled glances at him.

"What?"

Chu Guang did not answer but lightly swiped his index finger forward, selecting the "Confirm" button on an interface only he could see.

He stood up from the sofa, walked over to the powered armor parked in the corner of the browsing room, and after suiting up, hung the warhammer on his back.

Facing the two, who were completely baffled, he said tersely,

"…A new host body."

"Come with me to Level B1."

…

At the same time Chu Guang pressed the confirm button, the area next to the conveyor belt was already surrounded by a dense crowd of players.

"Holy shit? Falling Feather?"

"You… You're one of the Luoyu Brothers, right?"

"Big bro, haven't seen you in a few days. Why are you wearing a skirt?"

Surrounded by a group of players, the "Falling Feather" standing next to the conveyor belt remained silent, merely watching them quietly.

The so-called skirt was, of course, not a real skirt but rather a train of scarlet fungal blocks trailing on the ground like the hem of a dress.

It concealed not just the legs.

The flesh-colored fungal mass nearly enveloped its entire body, with only a few human-like features remaining. Even its facial features had melted away like ice cream, leaving only an abstract outline.

However, this appearance wasn't as ugly as one might imagine. The tiny worms floating behind its head weren't as ferocious-looking as the hosts that had emerged during the previous Tide.

At least from a human aesthetic perspective, those round, big eyes and the soft curves of its body seemed surprisingly cute.

Moreover, the dumbfounded look it once had was gone; it still appeared somewhat confused and unaware of the situation.

"Eee… um?"

It let out a puzzled murmur, which prompted the surrounding players to howl like ghosts and wolves.

Some pretended to be on the verge of throwing up, while others found it cute.

"Damn it, don't act cute!"

"Wake up! You're a boy, ahhhh!"

"Crap… I actually think this thing is kind of cute."

"It feels like a dolphin."

A female player curiously stepped forward to touch its head.

"Falling Feather" showed no hostility. Instead, it made a happy sound and rubbed her hand, inciting a flood of maternal instincts among the players who couldn't help but pet it.

Witnessing "Falling Feather" surrounded by everyone, Mosquito and a group of other players had envy and jealousy written all over their faces.

Especially Trash Lord, who was nearly murderous with envy.

We're all Variants, so why the hell are you so popular!

"Let's just kill it."

Standing by the side, Silver Daddy nodded in hearty agreement.

"Agreed… It's getting a bit unbalanced!"

The Sterling Silver Brothers nearby also shouted in endorsement.

"+1"

"No problem!"

We all entered the Game around the same time, so why are you so lucky!

Dark curtain!

It's definitely a dark curtain!

Crow, who was also in Level B1's lobby, didn't join the crowd but instead shuddered and took a few steps back.

"Eek! A humanoid Leech!"

Standing by her side, Teng Teng looked at her with a subtle expression,

"Falling Feather would be sad if he heard that."

Regardless, it's quite different from a leech, right?

How did they even connect the two?

Quit Smoking scratched the back of his head: "What the hell is going on with this guy?"

Night Ten shook his head.

"Who knows… I just want to know if this thing is now a player or an NPC."

If only Fang Chang were here.

He's the one who understood the Game best.

Several Y-2 drones hovered nearby, their hanging guns aimed at "Falling Feather" by the conveyor belt, ready to fire syringes containing inhibitors at any moment.

All the players failed to notice that this area had been subtly taken over.

Just then, a commotion came from the elevator entrance. The Manager, clad in power armor, was striding towards them with Yin Fang and Heya in tow like a shooting star.

"…What's going on here?" Yin Fang, shocked by the scene before him, swallowed.

"The Residents of the refuge who were symbiotic with the number 7 "Mutated slime fungus" have been transformed into a host!"

Heya, her eyes sharp, stared in the direction of the conveyor belt.

She was beginning to understand and preempted Chu Guang's explanation.

Yin Fang's face sported a big, confused "?".

"So, this guy right now, is he considered human or a host?"

"Half and half, I suppose."

Chu Guang tersely replied, staring at that "Falling Feather," also a bit bewildered by the refuge's tactics.

The only thing he could be sure of was that his player could no longer log into this body, and the refuge had already begun to cultivate a new clone for Falling Feather.

So…

This should be considered a completely new individual?

With that thought, he looked at the host surrounded by players.

"Can you hear me?"

"Eee um?"

"Falling Feather's" Kazlan's big eyes moved up and down, curiously sizing up the iron lump before it.

Realizing it could hear his voice, Chu Guang thought for a moment before saying,

"From now on, you'll be called... Yu, okay?"

...

For differentiation and ease of raising, Chu Guang gave the artificially synthesized mucosal host a new name.

Perhaps because its brain retained fragments of memories that included this syllable, the little fellow seemed to like this name very much. The response came with a hint of joy, and the small earthworm-like creature floating behind its brain undulated like seaweed.

However, nobody could be certain whether this harmlessness was an act or truly its nature.

To prevent history from repeating itself, Chu Guang temporarily placed this uncertain factor at the exit of the elevator on Floor B6 and even regularly brought it food.

Despite its small size, it had a surprisingly big appetite—it could even devour a Crawler much larger than itself.

The poisonous black blood was lethal to the average player who hadn't unlocked the "Iron Stomach" talent, but for it, it was like nectar and ambrosia.

Watching the "little fellow" gobbling up with gusto, Chu Guang, leaning against the elevator door, muttered to himself,

"Eat more, grow up fast... damn, it's making me hungry just watching it."

"Yi wu?"

It seemed to understand his words. Yu stopped eating, reached out to grab a lump of dark, black fungal mass and handed it over, seemingly wanting to share the delicious food with him.

Looking at those innocent big eyes, Chu Guang quickly waved his hands.

"No, no need, I don't eat this stuff... just eat your fill."

"Yi wu!"

Yu nodded its head and ignored him, continuing to happily gnaw on the half-eaten Crawler on the ground.

It seemed to consider him its father.

And that was exactly what puzzled Chu Guang the most.

If he remembered correctly, the first thing it should have seen upon awakening wasn't him, but a bunch of chatty little players.

Could it be the presence of some special scent on him that gave it a sense of déjà vu?

This discovery sent a shiver down Chu Guang's spine, and as soon as the little guy had polished off its prey, he hurried to the medical room for a check-up.

"Didn't you just have one done a few days ago?"

Chu Guang, who had pulled up his jacket's zipper and put on his clothes, glanced over the fresh-off-the-press medical report that Heya handed him.

"Can't I just remember to have another one done?"

Heya sat down on a chair nearby.

"Well, it's not like there's a problem with that... Just so you know, there's been no progress in the development of your Gene Sequence lately; you need to put in more effort."

Chu Guang said smilingly,

"Aren't you afraid I'll evolve into a monster if I continue to progress?"

"It doesn't matter, your physical condition is already not much different from a monster, isn't it? With the development progress exceeding 30%, it's basically very difficult to procreate through normal means anyway. Have you thought about in vitro fertilization in the future?" Heya's voice carried a hint of jest toward the end.

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"That's not what I'm concerned about."

"I know what you're concerned about, don't worry. The situation you're worried about doesn't exist. The development of the Gene Sequence is just reactivating certain genes in the DNA that aren't expressed; it won't turn you into another species. You still have 23 pairs of chromosomes, and all indicators are within reasonable ranges..."

She paused for a moment, then continued with certainty,

"Undoubtedly human."

Chu Guang's expression remained unchanged, but inside he let out a sigh of relief.

However, he had relaxed for less than two seconds when Heya's next sentence tensed him up again.

"Hmm... But to be honest, while researching your genetic information, I indeed found some concerning things."

Chu Guang immediately asked,

"What did you find?"

"There are several segments of DNA that seem to be artificially designed and are not included in the current gene bank. Actually, not only you, but all clones—or as you call them, 'residents' of the refuge—have this to some extent. I've been trying to isolate these codes to build a separate database, maybe there will be some new discoveries."

As she spoke, Heya's excitement grew, seemingly pleased with the challenge that the topic presented.

Chu Guang's mood, however, was neither solely pleasure nor burden.

However, knowing with certainty that he was indeed human, the stone weighing on his heart finally lifted.

And so, three days passed.

Perhaps due to a large intake of food, or perhaps because of his "Intelligence Aura" that buffed this half-human, half-mucosal little fellow, "Yu" had started to babble.

But the first word that came out of its mouth nearly made Chu Guang spit out yesterday's meal.

"Papa?"

Looking into those innocent big eyes, Chu Guang coughed twice and quickly clarified,

"...I'm not your dad, your dad should be a guy named Pigeon."

But Yu, with its immature mind, clearly didn't understand this overly complicated monologue, simply tilting its head in confused innocence.

"Papa?"

Chu Guang: "..."

How bizarre.

He was pretty sure he hadn't taught it that word.

Where on earth had it learned it?

Besides beginning to talk, there were a series of other changes taking place in it.

These included mimicking human behavior and developing a keen curiosity about its surroundings.

After a few feedings, Chu Guang realized that this fellow seemed absolutely determined to stick with him. The moment he was out of sight, it started calling out "yi wu yi wu," and no one else's attempt to soothe it worked.

Chu Guang gradually realized the problem and felt a headache coming on.

It wasn't that he lacked patience; he was just too busy.

The growth and development of the Alliance needed his attention, the battle in the west was not yet over, and the leeks in the east were waiting for him to harvest.

He was the Manager—how could he have the time to play "daddy"?

But if he ignored it, letting the little guy wail pitifully, Chu Guang felt a pang of guilt.

Moreover, having just established a bit of cross-species trust, if he made the little guy turn to the dark side, it would all be for naught.

It was then that Chu Guang suddenly remembered that the little player named Luoyu seemed to have revived.

A rational analysis suggested that "Yu" was mimicry based on "Falling Feather," even containing his DNA in the slime fungus's substitute cells.

Wouldn't this "blood connection" feel more direct than oneself?

"…How did I forget about this guy."

Chu Guang slapped the back of his head and immediately gave an order to Xiao Qi.

"Xiao Qi, have the player Falling Feather go to the elevator on Floor B6, I'll wait for him there."

"Okay, Master!"

Xiao Qi, having received the command, immediately set off to find someone.

Meanwhile, on Level B3 of the shelter.

Having overcome countless obstacles to finally log back into the Game, Falling Feather had just crawled out of the cultivation chamber when he heard an electronic voice overhead.

"Player 'Falling Feather' is requested to take the elevator to Floor B6 for a conversation with the Manager to trigger a mission upon awakening."

"Holy shit!?"

After hearing the announcement, Falling Feather held his breath momentarily, clenching his fists in excitement.

A hidden quest!

Compensation for a BUG!?

"Whimper… Brother Guang actually didn't forget!"

Falling Feather, who had just emerged from the cultivation chamber, immediately rushed towards the door, only to realize he couldn't open it because he had forgotten to get dressed. He then awkwardly went back to find a Blue Jacket to put on before hastily exiting the room.

Without interacting with anyone else, he headed straight for the elevator, his index finger selecting the number 6 on the touch panel.

When the elevator doors opened again, Fallen Feather, upon seeing the azure power armor, immediately stood up straight with excitement, his right fist touching his chest as he began his performance in a display of loyalty.

"Respected Manager, may I inquire if there's anything I can assist you with?"

"Of course, your timing is perfect," said Chu Guang as he turned around, regarding him with a serious expression. "The body you were using before has been infected by 'Mutated slime fungus,' resulting in some unexpected complications…"

Considering that the core NPCs of the shelter were aware of the player's resurrection mechanism, Chu Guang didn't bother beating around the bush with a bunch of background settings that might be misunderstood and instead laid out the situation with "Yu" straight to him.

When Falling Feather heard that the mucosal entity used his body as a template to create a mother creature, his eyes widened in surprise, and he couldn't help but blurt out, "Holy crap."

"…Crap?"

Xiaoyu tilted her head to the side, standing nearby.

The edges formed by the fungus undulated slowly as it moved next to Falling Feather, curiously examining this human who exuded a sense of familiarity, with the tentacles floating behind its head also drawing closer.

This movement instantly tensed Falling Feather's nerves, making him almost retreat back into the elevator in nervousness.

Observing Falling Feather involuntarily swear, Chu Guang cleared his throat and reminded him.

"You… try to restrain yourself a bit and avoid teaching it any strange vocabulary. Its mind is only at the understanding of a two or three-year-old human child, hard to grasp many things and problematic to explain."

Pausing for a moment, he continued in a more serious tone.

"In any case, this entity, born as a template of you, is critical to our research. As the resident most closely related to it by blood in this shelter, I hope you can represent us and establish a relationship with it that goes beyond friendship."

"What exactly?" Falling Feather asked, looking at the thin tentacles hovering around him and nervously swallowing, "What… do you need me to do?"

Seeing how "cozy" Falling Feather was with Yu, Chu Guang's face broke into a pleased smile.

It seemed his guess was correct.

He would finally be able to shake off this encumbrance.

"Your task is simple, just spend a little more time with it each day and teach it to talk. When the time is right, you can take it outside the shelter to learn how to hunt."

"But… I have other stuff to do too," remarked Falling Feather with an expression that couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry, clearly reluctant.

Seeing through his thoughts, Chu Guang felt a slight stir in his heart and continued after clearing his throat.

"According to the analysts from the Alliance, 'Yu' is the variant with the most outstanding growth and adaptability we know so far. If nurtured properly, it could become a very powerful force…"

He hesitated as he spoke, his expression uncertain.

"Hmm… I'm actually somewhat hesitant. This might be too difficult for you."

At that moment, Falling Feather held his breath.

Wait a minute!

Does this mean… this creature is the strongest battle pet on the current server!?

Given that, it made sense for the faction boss, the Manager, to hesitate.

After all, his Sequence Level wasn't that high, hovering only between T2 and T3.

Suddenly having such a powerful battle pet would undoubtedly affect the game's balance.

Certainly, a bunch of jerks would once again take to the Forums calling for a nerf.

Realizing this, Falling Feather's eyes, previously filled with hesitation, turned fiery as he looked back at Xiaoyu.

What tentacle monster?

This was clearly an SSSR Level Divine Pet!

Perhaps he could even teach it to fly a plane!

"Please rest assured and leave it to me, Manager!" Falling Feather hastily put on a reliable face, assuring solemnly to avoid any second thoughts from Chu Guang.

"I definitely won't let your hopes down!"

Chu Guang was secretly amused but showed none of it outwardly, instead feigning hesitation before nodding lightly.

"…Since you put it that way, I'm handing it over to you!"

…

The task of feeding Xiaoyu was temporarily assigned to Falling Feather.

As for Heya, Chu Guang had her try to technically analyze the feasibility of using "Yu" to eat and replace the lair on Floor B6, as well as evaluating the potential risks.

The shelter system didn't provide any further hints on how to use "Yu," seemingly leaving the decision to him.

Chu Guang planned to let Falling Feather nurture it for a while.

Once they had formed a bond, preferable one that allowed normal communication, he'd then have it try to consume the lair on Floor B6 to see if it could take the place of the slime fungus there, validating some of the hypotheses posed by Researcher G-13.

If this plan proved to be feasible, not only would the Alliance gain a formidable force, but they might even achieve what the Post-War Reconstruction Committee couldn't—the retake of Qingquan City Center!

At that time, all the resources from Qingquan City would fall into the hands of the Alliance!

And perhaps not just Qingquan City—

All the other cities occupied by the mucosal entities wouldn't be out of reach either!

—

(Thanks to "World Hall" and "Step back, I'm about to show off" for the generous rewards!!!)

Chapter 455: The Style of the SSSR Level Divine Pet Seems Off

Chu Guang had thrown Xiao Yu carelessly to Falling Feather, then disappeared to who knows where, never to show his face on Floor B6 again.

And right now, on Floor B6.

Totally inexperienced with childcare, Falling Feather was staring at this entity modeled after himself, already having a staring contest for quite a while.

Anyway...

It was customary to rename it first.

Clearing his throat, Falling Feather spoke up.

"Hey, can you change your name?"

Yu tilted its head.

"Yi Wu?"

Falling Feather, "How about... just call you 'Yi Wu'?"

Yu, "Yi Wu?"

Falling Feather, "..."

Communication was utterly impossible!

Falling Feather sighed in resignation, abandoning the idea of renaming the creature.

"That... Yu."

"Yu!"

Hearing its name, the tendrils floating behind Yu's head joyously danced.

It seemed to like the name.

Falling Feather pondered for a moment, then came up with a compromise.

"Xiao Yu, how about we call your nickname 'Xiao Yu'?"

A two-syllable nickname was a bit smoother to say, and it was more distinctive than before.

"Xiao... Yu!"

It still had some difficulty pronouncing it, but it seemed to understand the meaning of his words.

A smile spread across Falling Feather's face as he reached out to rub its smooth, rounded head.

This little guy…

It could actually understand speech.

At that moment, Mosquito's annoying voice suddenly came from the direction of the elevator.

"Why is the nickname longer than the name?"

Turning around, it was indeed Mosquito with that cheeky grin, and Falling Feather rolled his eyes.

"None of your business."

Mosquito walked up with a grin and draped an arm around his shoulder.

"Haha, forget about that. Come on, I've got something awesome to show you."

"Wait, what do you want to show your old man?"

Upon hearing that Mosquito wanted to show him another 'treasure', Falling Feather instantly tensed up.

From past experience, anything Mosquito whipped up casually might be slightly useful, but anything he seriously put effort into was likely useless.

Those were costly lessons!

"Let me be clear first, the Manager gave me a critical task, I need to lay low these days. Maybe you should find someone else to test it?"

Upon hearing this, Mosquito suddenly looked displeased, his eyebrows furrowing deeply.

"Damn! What do you mean by that? Are the things I create prone to accidents?"

A subtle expression crossed Falling Feather's face.

"How can you even ask that?"

He said this and then started walking towards the elevator, planning to take the little guy outside for some fresh air.

Seeing this, Mosquito panicked and quickly followed.

"Hey! Wait, give a brother... no, give me a chance! I promise you, this time it definitely won't be a flop! Why not take a look first? If it's good, you can have it for free, if not, I'll keep it!"

Hearing it was free, Falling Feather stopped, his gaze skeptical as he looked back.

"Really?"

Mosquito nodded eagerly.

"Really! When have I ever lied to you?"

"..."

Although Falling Feather didn't believe Mosquito could come up with anything worthwhile, he followed him, albeit skeptically.

What if?

Occasionally, Mosquito did manage to create a couple of 'God Equip', but their performance was just not stable.

Shortly after, Falling Feather and Xiao Yu followed Mosquito out of the shelter and headed to a small house on the south side of the base.

They saw a roughly three-meter tall humanoid mecha standing at the doorway of the house.

It had a thick breastplate and sharply defined contours. Its two mechanical arms, like Blitz's hands, looked like huge pincers. The connector parts on the shoulders and back seemed like they could mount other weapons, but it seemed they hadn't decided what to hang there yet.

It looked like a scaled-down version of "Titan," exactly like the hand-drawn illustration Mole Old Brother had posted on the forum.

Falling Feather was stunned for a few seconds, then blurted out a curse.

"Holy shit!"

Standing nearby, Xiao Yu tilted its head and echoed.

"Shit?"

Falling Feather hurriedly looked at it and said.

"Don't learn that."

Xiao Yu nodded.

"Shit!"

Falling Feather covered his face with his palm.

Mosquito grinned and nudged him with his elbow.

"Destroyer No. 1, roughly cost about 60,000 silver coins, mainly spent on steel... So? Is this equipment badass or what?"

"Absolutely badass," Falling Feather couldn't take his eyes off the hunk of metal, swallowing hard, "you could say it's power armor and I'd believe you... By the way, what's the power supply?"

Mosquito plainly said.

"There isn't one."

"No power supply?!" Falling Feather was stunned, his entire expression incredulous, "What does that mean?"

A mecha that heavy must weigh at least five or six tons; without a motor structure to provide external power, it's purely decorative!

He initially thought it might use a metallic hydrogen battery, but the cost of 60,000 silver coins didn't quite fit. Then, he guessed it might be a gasoline engine or solid hydrogen, only to find out from Mosquito that there was none!

Damn, even a Strength Type could not operate this thing!

"Of course, I meant it literally," Mosquito chuckled, "I know what you're thinking, relax, this thing isn't meant for people to wear."

Falling Feather immediately looked at him apprehensively.

"What do you mean?"

Mosquito turned his gaze toward Xiaoyu, his eyes blazing with an intense heat, much like a creepy uncle who lures in children.

"Hehe... From my observations, whether it's the evolutionary bodies in Qingquan City or those in the Lost Valley, they fundamentally rely on the organism's own power to provide energy! If that is the case, why don't we simply discard the design of power components and let the 'Mutated slime fungus' that can be used by us dominate the entire machine! Use the purest power to drive our armor!"

Luoyu stared at Mosquito, dumbfounded.

Well, great.

Following that logic, if every car owner were Superman, could car manufacturers stop selling engines?

Just leave two holes under the seat so that the owner's legs can stretch out and run, which would be energy-saving, environmentally friendly, and even physically beneficial.

However…

It seemed like what he said made some sense?

Although Titan hadn't seen it in the Game, he had seen the "Decaying Knights" who corroded power armor.

Those creatures, wielding chainsaws, not only could chop through armor-piercing bullets but also fought fiercely like a humanoid tank. Neither T1 nor T0 players could match them, and later it was the Manager who instantly took it down.

And not just the Decaying Knights; according to Old White and the others, there were many similarly strong evolutionary bodies in the city center, and those Prosperity Epoch scraps were turned into incredible works of art by these 'Mutated slime fungi'.

Xiaoyu was also a 'Mutated slime fungus,' even a higher-level mother type than the evolutionary bodies!

There was no reason it couldn't do it!

Thinking of this, Luoyu's eyes gradually grew passionate as he looked at the little buddy standing beside him.

"Xiaoyu, could you try this?"

"Yi wu?"

Xiaoyu tilted its head, following Luoyu's gaze toward that hunk of metal.

It moved closer, peered at it, and let its back antennae drift forward, knocking on the tough breastplate and then the arms, before turning around with its head shaking like a wave drum.

"Yi wu!"

Perhaps because of their blood connection, although Luoyu didn't understand its words, he surprisingly understood its meaning.

Scratching his head, he shot a subtly expressive glance at Mosquito.

"Uh, it seems to be treating it as food…says it can't eat it."

"Pfft!"

Mosquito couldn't help but burst out laughing; he hurriedly approached, trying to clarify to Xiaoyu.

"There, little buddy, this isn't for eating. Just get inside and give it a try!"

Perhaps scared off by his hasty demeanor or maybe because his way of speaking was unusual, Xiaoyu retreated a little, quickly slipping behind Luoyu.

"Yi wu!"

Seeing its pitiable look, the kind-hearted Luoyu couldn't bear to force it. He looked at the agitated Mosquito Brother and gave a light cough as a reminder.

"You scared it."

"I just want to teach it how to use it, ah… why is this so hard!" Seeing that it completely misunderstood his intentions, Mosquito was so frantic that he almost scratched his head bald.

Luoyu patiently said,

"Be patient, its mind is still that of a child; it doesn't understand anything… Even if you tell it this thing is equipment, it won't grasp what it's for."

As he spoke, an idea slowly formed in his mind.

Perhaps he should take it to the edge of the city, letting it learn how to hunt, at least understanding where its daily food comes from.

This would also count as a practical demonstration.

Certainly more reliable than mere explanations.

However, it seemed that Mosquito Brother had gone down a dead-end, gritting his teeth and not believing in failure as he walked over to the hunk of metal.

"Damn it! I refuse to believe I can't teach this thing! Just wait, I'll show you how it's done!"

He said this as he picked up a crowbar and pried open the joint components at the back of Destroyer No. 1, then his hands and feet reached inside.

A muffled sound like the striking of a bell emanated from the metallic can.

"To get in like this, grab the two handles inside, then give it a hard twist, and it'll switch to movement mode—"

His words had barely faded.

A light crackling sound was heard.

Accompanied by the rolling sound of hinges, the door behind him slammed shut forcefully and the locking mechanisms at the joints were also released, which simultaneously triggered an uncontrollable chain reaction.

The body of Destroyer No. 1 slowly tilted forward, then it began to accelerate its fall with its two arms stretching forward like inverted spring onions, plunging heavily into the mud, and as its upper body folded forward into an M shape, its head also plunged into the dirt.

Seeing Mosquito suddenly kneel, Luoyu was immediately dumbfounded, while Xiaoyu on the side made an interested noise.

"Yi wu."

Luoyu coughed softly.

"…Even if it's edible now, you can't eat it, you cannot eat people."

The floating tentacles drooped, and Xiaoyu's face was filled with regret.

"Yi wu..."

Weird...

Even though I couldn't understand what this guy was saying, communication surprisingly wasn't hindered.

But now wasn't the time to talk about that.

Luoyu walked over to Destroyer No. 1, called out to the immobilized hunk of metal.

"Hey, are you still alive?"

After a while, a voice mixed with an echo floated out from the metal heap.

"…Damn, almost got me offline, cough, cough… I'm still alive, give me a hand."

Luoyu stepped forward and grabbed the shoulders of the metal heap, pulling with all his might, only to find it wouldn't budge.

The weight of five or six tons was proving troublesome for an agility system player.

Then he tried to move the door at the back again, trying to help Mosquito get out, but found that the door was welded onto the armor, immovable whether by hand or with a crowbar.

Seemingly noticing Luoyu's intent, the metal heap let out a weak voice.

"It's no use... the door locks during combat mode."

Luoyu couldn't help but retort.

"Then hurry up and deactivate combat mode!"

Mosquito was silent for a while before squeezing out a sentence.

"To deactivate combat mode... I need to stand up first."

Luoyu dropped the crowbar in his hand, sighed, and clicked his VM a couple of times.

"…Anyway, I'll contact Old White and the others for you."

After placing a call for help on the map, Luoyu left with Xiaoyu, heading to the fifth ring road in Qingquan City.

Due to a large number of newbies leveling up nearby and Eaters producing nutrient pastes and active substances, the number of mutated slime fungus entities in the North Suburbs had significantly decreased, and to hunt monsters, one had to move deeper into the city area.

Thinking that Xiaoyu, being an SSSR Level Divine Pet and the only one in the service, could be of some help in combat, Luoyu didn't waste too much time in the low-difficulty area and directly targeted a building suspected of having Crawler activity, charging in with Xiaoyu.

According to the manager, this little guy's favorite food among all the mucosal entities was Crawlers, followed by Butchers.

The latter, being thick-skinned and highly defensive, were a bit tricky, but the former were easier to handle and not so rare.

However, there was a problem here.

Areas with Crawler activity were usually close to the hatcheries, and these places not only had Crawlers but also Eaters, Martyrs, and even the terrifying Tyrant among the Variants.

And for Luoyu, who had been flying planes daily, either in training or on duty, it had been quite a while since he had last fought on foot, let alone within the urban hubs.

Battling the "Mutated slime fungus" requires a completely different approach compared to battling Looters, Variants, and Mutants.

Simply having good marksmanship is not enough; one must use the terrain and positioning tactics to avoid being surrounded by clusters of sporocarps.

Once surrounded by a sufficient number of Eaters, not to mention an Awakened, even an Awakened in power armor would feel a chill down their spine.

Falling Feather, who only carried light weapons, found himself in a tough battle as soon as he entered the ruins of the office building.

He almost got ambushed by a Martyr hidden in the corner.

Dodging corrosive slime and sulfur-smelling spore clusters, Falling Feather had barely stabilized when a Crawler charged at him from the front.

"Roar—!"

The deafening roar echoed through the stairwell, and Falling Feather quickly flicked out the bayonet of his rifle, stabbing it into the Crawler's head.

The speed of an Agility system player gave him a significant advantage, as the bayonet pierced directly into the Crawler's eye.

The Crawler let out a pained shout, and black blood sprayed out.

Falling Feather rolled on the spot, avoiding the claws aimed at the ground, drew the Centurion pistol from his waist, and fired several shots at the back of the Crawler's head.

"Bang—!"

The flickering of explosive firelight, followed by the dispersing smoke, saw the Crawler finally slump its shoulders and collapse to one side.

Breathing heavily, Falling Feather relaxed, sheathed his pistol, and went forward to pick up the rifle that had been soaked with black mucus from the ground.

"...I should have brought a couple of teammates."

This monster-dense scenario was quite overwhelming to solo.

Seeing Xiaoyu peeking apprehensively from the stairwell exit, Falling Feather couldn't help but complain,

"Why don't you give me some help?"

"Yi wu?"

Xiaoyu tilted its head, either not understanding or pretending not to.

But when it saw the Crawler lying in the stairwell, its crimson eyes suddenly lit up.

"Yi wu!"

It didn't need Falling Feather to instruct it.

In a flash, it pounced on the Crawler, raised its head, and began gnawing enthusiastically, gorging itself.

Seeing the little creature's gluttony, Falling Feather couldn't really get angry and just shook his head, smiling.

Let it be.

After all, it was a newly acquired pet.

Expecting it to immediately have the prowess to "punch the Manager and kick Old White" was unrealistic; maybe he should be more patient and give it some time to grow and adapt.

Imagining how everyone would be amazed by the little creature's growth, Falling Feather watched its eating behavior while it fed.

The slender waist undulated, the eaten food apparently being directed to the lower half, collecting in the skirt-shaped fungal cluster.

Is the stomach located in the lower body?

Such a strange anatomy.

It seemed to have grown a bit taller, though the change was subtle, probably within one centimeter, so it wasn't obvious.

At that moment, Xiaoyu suddenly stopped eating and looked around alertly, as if sensing something.

"Yi wu!"

Hearing the warning sound, Falling Feather's expression shifted slightly, and he chambered a round into his rifle.

At that point, a series of suppressed growls, growing clearer, along with the trembling of running, swept from both above and below the stairwell towards them like a tsunami.

Eaters!

A drop of cold sweat trickled down Falling Feather's forehead.

The number was at least a hundred—no, maybe even four or five hundred!

With no time to hesitate, he grabbed Xiaoyu's arm and pulled it up from beside the Crawler's corpse.

"Run!"

...

Thanks to Xiaoyu's Perception, they weren't surrounded in the stairwell but moved to the nearest floor to engage the incoming surge of Eaters.

Gunshots and explosions lasted for quite a while.

When Falling Feather and Xiaoyu finally escaped from the ruins of the office building, it had been two hours.

Using a grenade to take care of the chasing Eaters, Falling Feather breathed a sigh of relief, sat on the hood of a roadside wrecked car, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his dirty sleeve.

That was damn close!

It was nearly over for him!

For a top-ranking pilot to end up in such a place, it was somewhat embarrassing.

Time always slipped away silently, and before he knew it, it was evening.

The setting sun stretched the shadows of him and the Mutated slime fungus along with the shadows of steel rebar debris.

Xiaoyu came closer.

A slender tentacle drifted to his forehead, gently brushed the black mucus there, and whispered softly,

"Yi wu."

Hearing that comforting sound, Falling Feather smiled and replied,

"Thank you."

"Yi wu!" Xiaoyu responded with a delighted sound, as happy as a little dolphin.

Falling Feather scratched the back of his head sheepishly, his proud smile tinged with bashfulness.

He suddenly felt that this tagalong was quite adorable, and its abstract features weren't so ugly after all.

After all, it was based on his own...

Just as he thought that, the tentacle that had just wiped his forehead pulled back and went into its mouth.

Its cheeks pulsating as if sucking.

Cold and hot sweats broke out on Falling Feather's forehead at the same time.

It felt like...

The style took a weird turn.

...

Meanwhile, at the South Gate of the Outpost Base.

With the help of Old White, Mosquito managed to climb out of the iron contraption he had created.

Given that the Burning Corps had been on a mission outside earlier, he had been stuck bending over here all afternoon, nearly suffocating.

Watching Mosquito's disheveled appearance, Night Ten teased him with a joking tone,

"What's this, another of your inventions? An automatic canning machine?"

Quit Smoking burst into heartless laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha, feels like it should be used with a fishing rod!"

Mosquito rolled his eyes, unwilling to bother with these guys who lacked appreciation and understanding of art.

"Go to hell! This is my Destroyer No. 1! Tsk... It seems I still need to improve the transmission parts, or at least install an auxiliary motor."

Wild Wind, standing to the side, touched his nose.

"Speaking of which… falling is a matter of balance, right? If the center of gravity isn't on the central axis, no matter how you design it, it's going to fall forward."

Mosquito scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

"… seems like it, I totally forgot."

Wild Wind: "…"

To shift the topic away from himself, Mosquito coughed and asked,

"How come you guys didn't go to the frontline?"

Night Ten said with a smile,

"We are the rapid response troops, not the line-fillers. If we all went to the frontline, who would handle the homeland defense?"

Wild Wind nodded.

"Yeah, speaking of which, we recently caught two spies… They had sneaked in from Bugra Free State, got paid to disguise as refugees and infiltrate Dawn City's industrial area, trying to blow up our tank production line."

Mosquito exclaimed in surprise.

"Damn, they still not playing it cool?"

Old White said with a laugh,

"Probably desperate, after all, Edge bro ruined their billion-dollar deals. Their corporation is stationed on the South Bank of Tianshui, they can only resort to underhanded tactics… Speaking of which, what about you? Why have you been hanging back for so long?"

"Exactly, it's been a week, you could have made two trips by now… and this is all you came up with?" Night Ten teased, bringing the conversation back to that good-for-nothing piece of metal.

Realizing he couldn't get past this today, Mosquito sighed.

"Ah… too many tears, I thought I could manufacture some God Equip for the Luoyu Brothers' battle pet, but it turned out that the mother creature is an idiot, completely misunderstanding me."

Wild Wind said with a subtle expression,

"Is there a possibility you misunderstood the function of the mother creature?"

Even from a literal sense, that thing wasn't meant for battling, right?

From the clues they'd gathered so far, hunting was basically the work of "mucosal entities" and "evolutionary bodies."

These two classes correspond to "laborers" and "experts" in the mucosal society.

"It might also be that its strength is too weak, not capable of digesting such a big chunk of metal…"

Old White tapped on the shell of Destroyer No. 1, his face showing an intrigued expression.

"This thing would be better if it was designed lighter, if it weighed only a ton or two… The Strength Type could try wearing it."

Mosquito's eyes lit up.

"I'll figure it out!"

...

The sun quickly set.

Having dealt with a whole day of official duties in the viewing room, Chu Guang briefly learned about the mother creature from Xiao Qi.

To prevent "Yu" from going rogue, after Luoyu took it away from the shelter, he had arranged for a Hummingbird drone to follow the duo overhead.

So far, Yu's behavior appeared stable, showing no overt hostility towards humans.

And from the attitude of other mucosal entities, they didn't regard it as one of their kind but as an entity like any other organic body, a "cleansing" target.

The enemy of an enemy isn't necessarily a friend, but it can be someone to draw in.

Chu Guang stretched his index finger to turn off the floating holographic window in front of him and leaned back on the sofa.

"Just keep an eye on Yu. If there's no abnormal behavior or changes, no need to report everything in detail."

Xiao Qi: "Okay, Master."

Chu Guang continued.

"Any news from the front line?"

"According to reports from players in the Game and discussions on the Forum, Oasis No. 9 is entirely under our control. There are occasional skirmishes along the northwest defense line, but there hasn't been any large-scale exchange of fire... According to the analysis from your Army Command, it seems the Army is waiting for us to advance deeper into the desert into their territory."

After hearing Xiao Qi's report, a faint smile curved the corners of Chu Guang's mouth.

"Then let them keep waiting."

The Skeleton Corps had already assembled in the western part of Oasis No. 9, and the Storm Corps had been training the Lion Kingdom's army for a week.

Five "Cloud Dragonfly" Flapping Machines from corporate reinforcements had been transferred to the aerospace base on the south side of the Tributary of Tianshui, just waiting for the Alliance's pilots to complete their training to head to the front line for combat.

Moreover, just yesterday, Chu Guang had gotten in touch with Yun Song.

An assault team composed of more than twenty power armors and hundreds of exoskeleton soldiers would soon be reorganized with several hundred bionic assault troops dispatched by Kang Mao Group into a separate thousand team, launching an attack on Falcon Kingdom's homeland—Oasis No. 2—while simultaneously striking the frontline.

Located on the boundary of the Great Desert, Oasis No. 2 is the gateway into the Great Desert.

According to clues provided by Luo Hua, the Pioneer had been captured by the Army shortly after passing through Oasis No. 2 into the Great Desert, and it shouldn't be too far from the western border of Oasis No. 2.

To prevent the Army from acting desperately, possibly completely dismantling or blowing up the Pioneer, they needed to initiate attacks in two directions simultaneously.

"Everything is ready; we only lack the east wind."

If all goes well,
by the end of the year, Griffin could reunite with his old friend McCullen.

While Chu Guang was lost in thought, Xiao Qi's voice drifted into his ears.

"Master, the prince of the Honey Badger Kingdom, Sommer, wishes to see you."

"Have him come here directly." It was already late, and Chu Guang, who had already dined on North Street, was too lazy to make another trip out.

Xiao Qi, sitting at the desk, nodded vigorously.

"Alright!"

...

Simultaneously, in the Lost Valley located in the desert, Little Red stood motionless atop the valley, gazing toward the east.

After a long while, it murmured softly,

"Yi wu."

Behind it, Pigeon, who heard it, showed a surprised expression.

"Are you saying... the Seed of Life that was scattered has disappeared?"

"Yi wu."

Little Red shook its head, then nodded, not saying anything, yet as if it said everything.

But clearly, Pigeon understood.

There are many mediums for conveying information, not all of which require the physical world's mediums.

Although its Little Red could not converse with the "kids" thousands of kilometers away, that mysterious connection allowed it to sense their presence.

Now that connection was severed, but Little Red denied that it was "death."

That left only one possibility.

The symbiont in that young man had been transformed into something else.

What could it be?

Rubbing his chin with his index finger, his decaying face showed little change in expression, but those crimson pupils sparkled with intrigued light.

"Interesting... These youngsters have something going for them."

The secret he had spent decades deciphering had been solved by these people in just a few days.

That people in this declining world understood more about the "mutated slime fungus" than he did was unbelievable!

Chapter 456: The Final Ultimatum

Ever since the Lion Kingdom had reclaimed its entire territory, more than a week had passed.

Sommer had originally seen the hope of restoration.

However, to his surprise, although they had a great advantage, the Allied Army had stopped at the northwest border of Oasis No. 9. Not only did they show no intention of advancing forward, but they also began to dig trenches and construct fortifications right there.

Not just that.

What made Sommer even more uneasy was the rumor from acquaintances in the Lion Kingdom that the king was considering solidifying the alliance through political marriage.

And it wasn't just King Edward.

Prince Wenter also set his sights on the unmarried Manager. Regrettably, he didn't have an eligible daughter and was recently considering adopting a goddaughter from one of his subordinates.

Even more shameless was a certain duke, who actually sent his daughter to serve as a servant in the Manager's palace!

What kind of rough and exhausting tasks could a pampered noble daughter handle?

Wasn't that just playing around?

He could easily guess what that guy was planning!

Too shameless!

Unlike the Honey Badger Kingdom, the Lion Kingdom did not stipulate a limit on the number of wives one could take. Moreover, because of having too many offspring, those who claimed to adhere to tradition, in reality, did not care if their lineage flowed outside.

Thinking of those shameless people who could really do something as low as selling their daughters, he suddenly couldn't sit still and immediately requested an audience with the Manager of the Alliance.

In the browsing room.

Looking at Chu Guang sitting on the sofa, Sommer took a deep breath, planning to get straight to the point and thus spoke with a serious tone.

"Respected Manager... may I ask how you view my sister, Miss Afni?"

Chu Guang was briefly stunned and looked at the young man with some surprise.

Just now, he was wondering if this guy was unhappy with the slow pace of the Alliance's front line advancement and had come to urge him to speed up.

Why did he suddenly bring up Afni?

After pondering for a while, Chu Guang said,

"Miss Afni is a diligent and inquisitive young lady. Those who have worked with her have very good things to say about her, so you need not worry too much."

Although he hadn't had much contact with her recently, considering diplomatic issues, Chu Guang had still inquired with the head of the Merchant Guild about Afni.

According to a girl named Frost Snow, the little princess from the Honey Badger Kingdom was modest, gentle and kind, generous and proper, without any of the airs or temper one might expect from a noble lady. She also took great care of the library's books.

While this narrative might have been seen through a personal filter, the fact that one could have such positive filters meant there had to be some endearing qualities.

People don't develop a fondness for someone without good reason.

Yet this Prince Sommer seemed to be unsatisfied with his response, pressing on relentlessly.

"… more than the opinion of others, I care about yours, Respected Manager. Or maybe, let me phrase it in a more straightforward manner, if you allow,"

Sommer nodded slightly and continued in a very soft voice, "From the perspective of the opposite sex, may I inquire what you think of her?"

Chu Guang looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"… nothing special, why?"

Seeing that the Manager had completely missed his hint, Sommer felt a headache coming on.

It seemed like the subtle ways of the nobility didn't work well with this person.

Perhaps he should be even more direct.

Sommer gritted his teeth, let go of his pride, and took a deep breath before speaking.

"I've talked to my sister, and she thinks highly of you. She told me that your wisdom is like the stars in the sky, that standing by your side alone is enough to calm the mind. She would, if possible, want to talk to you throughout the night…"

Chu Guang coughed dryly, interrupting the guy's cheesy speech.

"… if you have something to say, just say it directly. There's no need to beat around the bush and compliment me."

If he let this guy go on, he was afraid his toes would poke through the soles of his shoes.

Sommer, almost choked on his saliva upon hearing this.

He had already been direct, even improvising a bit of romantic poetry.

How much more direct could he be!?

Completely discarding the last bit of subtlety, he spoke with a somewhat shattered mentality.

"I'm here to propose a match for my sister. Would you be willing to take my sister as your wife?"

Humpf.

So that's what this was about.

Chu Guang came to find him this late just for this matter; he was speechless and leaned back on the sofa.

"In the Alliance, personal feelings are private. We do not mix personal matters with official affairs, nor do we engage in political marriages."

Sommer didn't expect Chu Guang to refuse so bluntly.

His expression turned somewhat gloomy, but he still wanted to make an attempt, only to hear Chu Guang continue.

"I believe I must have said something similar before."

"If you have nothing else, please leave."

…

Leaving Shelter No. 404, Sommer stood in the square, feeling lost yet not willing to give up just like that. After hesitating several times, he went to his sister's place.

After hearing the speedy summary from her brother, Afni sighed softly, closing the book borrowed from the library and the notes transcribed beside it.

Sommer glanced at the title on the book cover out of the corner of his eye.

"Research on Classical Economics: The Contradictions and Evolution of Production Relations and Productive Forces."

He vaguely remembered that the book Afni had been reading before also had this title.

It had been so long, and she still hadn't finished it.

"You shouldn't have gone to find him."

"Why?" Sommer felt somewhat dismissive of Afni's comment.

Although no progress had been made, he didn't think there was anything inappropriate about it.

There was already a long queue of people from the Lion Kingdom with ideas; if he didn't take the initiative now, wouldn't he be handing a great advantage to others on a silver platter?

Watching her still unconvinced second brother, Afni continued to speak.

"He probably values the alliance even more than himself; how could he agree to a request that may come with strings attached at this time?"

Without hesitation, Sommer said.

"What's the conflict in that? Since he values the alliance more than himself, he should consider the issue of heirs even sooner."

Afni shook her head.

"To say such a thing shows that you don't understand the alliance."

Don't understand it, huh…

Do you understand it?

Sommer really wanted to ask this but after thinking it over, he ultimately didn't say it out loud.

Because he suddenly remembered that he had been managing the refugee camp with Princess Teresa in Falling Leaves City recently, while Afni had gone to the alliance's capital, City of Dawn, to help organize books. Far from the center of power, he himself might indeed know less about the alliance than his younger sister.

Afni paused for a moment, then continued in a gentle tone.

"The alliance is not one person's alliance but an alliance composed of all the survivors who have suffered... He always mentions this sentence to people, and every time he does, that girl named Frost Snow's eyes always shine with light."

"Frost Snow?"

"Yes, my friend, and not just her, others feel the same. They unite under the banner of Shelter No. 404, loyal to the Manager, but not merely loyal to the Manager. The alliance belongs to them, not the other way around. At first, I did not understand what kind of kingdom this was, but later I gradually came to understand."

"Understand... what?"

Watching her still puzzled brother, Afni spoke with a serious tone.

"The alliance is not a kingdom; the alliance is an alliance."

That voice seemed to carry a hint of beautiful yearning or aspiration.

Sommer's expression slightly showed surprise as he looked at his sister who seemed to be becoming more and more of a stranger.

Since when had she changed like this?

After a long while, Sommer's Adam's apple moved slightly as he spoke.

"... Have you considered changing jobs?"

Afni froze for a moment.

"Why?"

Sommer chose his words carefully.

"These books have too much influence on you; you should read something more age-appropriate—"

"Picture books?" Afni stared into his eyes, "You said I'm not a child anymore, so why should I read those childish things? Plus, you know they're fake."

Sommer replied, "But at least they won't make you have some strange thoughts..."

Afni said earnestly.

"I don't think there's anything strange about it. The problems won't disappear just because we ignore them. As productive forces develop, we will have to face these issues eventually."

Sommer coughed, interrupting her naive argument.

"Let's talk about your lifelong matters instead."

Of course, he knew of those matters.

But from the standpoint of the royal family, those were not for him to consider.

He needed to maintain the Honey Badger Royal Family's rule in Oasis No.3, and then consider making the lives of the citizens there a bit better.

That was his duty and responsibility.

Afni nodded, stopped speaking, and waited for her brother's decision.

Everyone has the right to pursue their own happiness, but she was well aware that this did not include her, who was born into the royal family.

The royal halo had given her much, and in return, she should fulfill the expectations people had of her.

To forget all this because of a word of freedom would be somewhat too selfish.

"… We need the friendship of the alliance, now and in the future," Sommer paused for a moment, "but the Manager of the alliance showed no interest in the marriage alliance I proposed. I hope you can take more initiative, of course… as for how to handle this matter, the decision is yours."

Hearing her brother's words, Afni breathed a sigh of relief.

Although she was prepared to sacrifice her personal happiness for the family, emotionally speaking, she obviously still preferred to be united in marriage with her beloved.

It was such a relief that she hadn't been forcibly given away to someone else.

"I understand, but I still want to say you're too anxious about this matter."

"Our war with the Army is not over yet. That lord will surely not want to devote too much attention away from the battlefield. Talking to him now will likely have the opposite effect."

Sommer frowned involuntarily, also realizing this point.

He admitted that he might indeed be somewhat anxious. Perhaps the Alliance was merely not moving because they were not yet ready to push the front line further, not because they intended to abandon him.

Recomposed, he looked at his sister and asked.

"Is there a way to remedy this?"

Afni nodded slightly.

"Of course. If you want to gain his approval, the best way is to achieve results that he can see, instead of staying in City of Dawn as you are now, making him think you are idle."

Sommer humbly asked for advice.

"What do you think I should do?"

Afni continued speaking,

"Returning to Falling Leaves City is a good choice. The Alliance plans to extend the highways and railways to Lion City in the Lion Kingdom, serving as a transportation hub connecting Luo Xia Province and River Valley Province. The development of Falling Leaves City will be key... Every time the Manager visits the Merchant Guild to inspect work, that place is mentioned the most. He hopes that the Merchant Guild can devise and introduce more beneficial policies to help with the development of Falling Leaves City."

"Commerce is just one aspect; the resettlement of refugees is also a major issue. You see, Princess Teresa is very intelligent; she has been working hard to prove she can handle this task well."

Watching her brother deep in thought, she continued,

"The Alliance doesn't have places like palaces, so perhaps you should try changing your thinking."

"As for my affairs, you don't need to worry too much... our home field is after the war ends, not now."

"Please give me some time."

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website Forum.

Today was, as usual, full of joy and bustling activity.

Falling Feather, who had found an SSSR Level Divine Pet, excitedly shared his experiences with childcare on the forum, and a bunch of single dogs used their imaginations to help him come up with ideas.

Mosquito got into an argument with a few Strength-type players over whether "Terminator 2" should be fitted with a motor and batteries.

"The Great Escape" was a massive hit in Ideal City; even Fang Chang was envious to the point of jealousy, badgering Mole to see if he was lacking funds, asking if he wanted venture capital.

Professor Yang and Lord Arrogant Brother lost money, and they were not in the best of moods.

Especially the latter, who had lost the substantial sum equivalent to a cup of milk tea, ranted in over a dozen forum posts demanding his money back, but ended up getting banned from speaking for spamming.

Surprisingly, many pleaded on his behalf.

A significant number of onlookers argued that a forum without its mascots is like a watermelon without its rind; without the lively banter of the Proud Brothers, something seemed missing.

Of course, besides those filler posts, what interested the players most was the content related to the new version.

Since the update of the "Far Ocean Trade" system in Beta 0.4 version a week ago, players had finally explored the seas at the land's end!

Tail: "Woah woah woah! The ocean! Tail sees it! (✪ω✪)"

Crow: "The sea?! Where did you see it, quack?"

Tail: "Silver Moon Bay!"

Quit smoking: "Holy crap? How did you get there?"

Wild Wind: "Niubi..."

Edge Shoveling: "I flipped through the official setting collection for a long time and couldn't find an entry for this settlement."

Tail: "At the very southern edge of Oasis No.3! The biggest commercial city in the Camel Hump Kingdom! There are so many beautiful houses there, and yachts and sailboats too! Man, the map in this game is really super huge!"

Si Si: "Wow, super huge!"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "+1!!! You can even rent ships at the harbor to go out to sea! The sailors there say if you keep sailing south, you'll see an archipelago!"

Quit smoking: "6666!"

If you don't count Fang Chang who flew to the East Coast, this was probably the first time Wasteland OL players had explored the sea in the game.

Hearing that there were still so many unexplored areas, both Backseat Drivers and players alike were getting excited.

And just then, a certain Undergound War God jumped out.

Pick up trash 99 level: "Brothers, anyone wanna see the sea, DM me fast! Let's form a team and head south!!! (smirk)"

Difficult for the strong: "Me me me!"

Tranquility: "Old driver, take me with you!"

...

Oasis No.9.

The frontlines of the northwest.

The Spring Water Commander sitting in the front line command post, frowned slightly as he looked at the aerial photos taken by the reconnaissance drones.

"Something's not right..."

Hearing his muttering, the Mole drinking tea across the command table glanced at him.

"What's not right?"

"Look at these photos," Spring Water spread a few photos on the table and slid them across, "they were taken by the Goblin Corps' planes over the southeastern part of Oasis No.3."

To obtain these precious photos, they had paid the price of two pilots.

But for valuable intelligence.

It was all worth it!

Mole stared at the photos for a moment and an astonished look appeared in his eyes. There, nestled among the undulating sand dunes, lay trench lines stretching for hundreds of kilometers.

Behind the trenches were the sparsely scattered camps of the Army Corps.

The arrangement seemed loose at first glance, but in reality, it was intricately planned, with an attack on any position leading to counter-attacks from at least two, or even three, directions.

"Hissss... That camp is quite large; there must be quite a few people there!"

Spring Water Commander shook his head,

"Not just a few, I'd say at least ten divisions!"

"Ten divisions?!" Mole showed a surprised expression.

A division equated to a ten thousand troops, which meant they had deployed nearly a hundred thousand men on the border?!

Where did the Army Corps get so many people from!

And could they keep up with the logistics?

"This is just what we have seen; their logistic convoy didn't appear in the aerial footage, which means they should be even deeper in," said the Spring Water Commander, pausing for a moment before continuing.

"Next, we might be facing the main forces of the Army!" Mole said with a slight frown.

"Are you referring to… the Clone Group?" The Spring Water Commander grimly nodded.

"Um."

Those clones with unsound minds might not be very strong individually, but under the command of the Army's junior officers, they battle fearlessly and relentlessly like the undead until the last soldier falls.

Their morale will never waver.

Not even machine-gun fire or artillery bombardment could make them surrender.

That was the most troubling part.

When those clone soldiers number in scale, the combat power they unleash is far beyond what a Retinue Army can compare to!

Spring Water remembered when he was observing on the Forum, just when the Pioneer arrived at the north suburb of Qingquan City, Shelter No. 404 encountered an Army's thousand Clone Troop.

At that time, that thousand troop was led by Vanus, numbering around two thousand, establishing a position in the Elm District and shelling the Pioneer's encampment at the north suburb of Qingquan City.

To solve those clones, thePioneer had almost everything at its disposal, even resorting to a Tactical Nuclear Bomb, and only with the cooperation of the players did they eliminate that troop.

Ten thousand teams…

And they were also equipped with ample weapons, ammunition, and supporting fire.

Spring Water had a premonition.

Their opponent might be getting serious...

…

On the other side.

Chu Guang, who was inspecting the new industrial area of Dawn City, suddenly received a telegram from the Bugra Free State.

To be precise, the telegram was not really sent by the Bugra Free State to the Alliance, but by an informant there on behalf of General Griffin.

The telegram was brief.

Putting aside the opening address and the signature at the end, there were just two lines.

"…return the Steel Heart and all prisoners within thirty days, and withdraw all troops from Luo Xia Province."

"This is the final ultimatum!"

Scanning the content of the telegram, Chu Guang chuckled, not taking the warning seriously at all, and casually handed it to Lu Bei, who was beside him.

Thirty days?

The final ultimatum?

The Alliance wasn't frightened into existence.

Since the beginning of this war, he had never expected both sides to stop at mere words. Griffin would surely rack his brains to persuade the Army's higher-ups to send more reinforcements from west of the Great Desert.

Unless they hit those jackals hard enough to make them abandon their unrealistic fantasies, this war would not end.

It wasn't enough just to beat the Retinue Army down.

Sooner or later, the Alliance would have to clash with the main forces of the Army, for real.

That chance was coming soon.

Walking half a step behind Chu Guang, the commander of the First Army Corps Wrench said in a deep voice,

"According to front-line intelligence, the Army has deployed over a hundred thousand troops at the border, including the Clone Groups directly commanded by the Army… I think this is not just a show of force, they probably plan to engage in a decisive battle before the autumn harvest ends."

Chu Guang wasn't duped by Griffin's ruse, saying calmly,

"A decisive battle? Just a final bluster."

If they were really confident in getting these things on the battlefield, there would be no need for any final ultimatum, they would simply take it on the battlefield.

Who uses nuclear bombs, yet turns around to offer an opportunity to surrender?

Clearly, although the Army and the Falcon Kingdom's Allied forces managed a strategic retreat before the Alliance cut their retreat path, their current situation is far from optimistic.

The Falcon Kingdom had sent a large portion of its manpower to the front lines, and normal social production could hardly be sustained. Furthermore, after losing the supply line from the Bugra Free State, they could only request reinforcements from home.

No matter how low the maintenance cost of the Clone Troops, they still need to eat, and their rifles still need to be loaded with bullets.

If the "Thunder Plan" could have been successfully implemented, with the Army seizing Oasis No.9 and then moving northward to capture the Golden Lizard, opening the north trade routes and using the Bugra Free State's Market to trade slaves or other resources for equipment, there might have been hope to close the supply gap.

However, now that the Thunder Plan failed, even the contingency plans fell through.

Thinking that a mere feudal kingdom could supply such a vast shortage of supplies is almost like dreaming.

Of course, Griffin must be aware of this.

But even if he knew, there was nothing he could do.

At the end of the day, they were simply too far from their homeland, and now they were paying the price for their previous aggressive invasion strategy.

The Army's hundred thousand troops at the border and that telegram, were less of a final ultimatum and more of a bluff, attempting to buy time to force the Alliance to give up the next phase of their offensive plan and go on the defensive.

"What do you plan to do?" Wrench asked respectfully.

Stopping at the door of a factory, looking at the tanks parked inside, Chu Guang's lips curled into a faint smile.

"Our enemy has given us thirty days to respond, I think thirty days is too long, we don't need that much."

"In light of our great relationship, I think two weeks should be more than enough!"

-

(Thank you to the lords of the "World Hall", "Makabakamo", and "East Sea Fishing Village" for their rewards!!!)

Chapter 457: I, Pangolin, will definitely not let you down!

Oasis No. 3.

The atmosphere in the frontline command post was heavy.

A group of officers surrounded a strategic map filled with marked lines, silent, their faces unanimously etched with solemnity.

A week ago, under the command of General Griffin and the desperate cover of the first and second Ten Thousand Troops of the Falcon Kingdom, they had successfully retreated to Oasis No. 3 before the Alliance's armor units could cut off their retreat.

Though their reassembled forces held an absolute numerical advantage, the situation before them was still far from optimistic.

General Griffin's face was grave as he stared at the map for a long time before he suddenly spoke.

"How long until reinforcements from west of the Great Desert will arrive?"

Upon hearing General Griffin's voice, the aide-de-camp standing aside hurriedly responded.

"At least forty-five days!"

Forty-five days...

Griffin furrowed his brow, and the officers beside him exchanged looks, sharing the gravity in one another's expressions, yet no one spoke.

Because they too could not think of a solution.

The current deployment of over one hundred thousand Clone Troops on the frontline was the reinforcement that had set off from the west of the Great Desert two months ago. They'd barely arrived in the Falcon Kingdom and were rushed to the frontline before being reorganized.

In fact, this was not Griffin's initial plan, but instead a strategy adopted out of necessity to deter the Alliance and prevent the Allied forces from continuing their assault.

Originally, according to his plan, these ten Ten Thousand Troops were prepared to rotate out the Falcon Kingdom's Attendant Army.

After taking down the Lion Kingdom, the Falcon Kingdom's Attendant Army would transition swiftly from an offensive to a defensive posture, maintain order in the occupied territories while resting on the spot, and the task of offense would be shifted to the Clone Group.

This would not only consolidate the Legion's war achievements in Luo Xia Province but also ensure the continuous operation of the war machine, giving no breathing room to the desert residents. Before they could finish mobilizing, he planned to sweep through the entire Luo Xia Province at the fastest speed.

By then, even if the Company and the Grand Canyon wished to interfere, they would not have the ability to change the fait accompli of Luo Xia Province being under the Legion's control.

Seeing the war achievements, the Eastern Legion's Legion Leader would also provide them with more military and political support.

All of Griffin's military deployments in Luo Xia Province revolved around this "blitzkrieg" strategy.

If they could knock down the opponent before they could react, they would not encounter much resistance.

Therefore, to ensure that the rotational reinforcements could arrive on time, he adopted a fairly aggressive reinforcement strategy, letting one hundred thousand march light and set off before the supplies, to be resupplied on the spot after arriving at the Falcon Kingdom.

Thus, these ten Ten Thousand Troops only carried the ammunition amount of one standard unit.

In truth, if the "Thunder Operation" had progressed smoothly, this one standard unit of ammunition would have been absolutely sufficient.

However, the problem was that the plan not only did not go as smoothly as expected but far exceeded everyone's predictions.

They had not only failed to take the City of Abundance within the expected time but had lost nearly half of the occupied territory of Oasis No. 9, as well as almost all the ammunition depots transferred to the occupied areas.

Furthermore, with the supply line to the north being cut off, their supply situation was exacerbated; one hundred thousand arrived at the frontline holding rifles, but apart from the magazines in their backpacks, they hadn't seen a single bullet.

In the end, their vassals were just an agricultural country. Even after undergoing military reform, they couldn't change the fact that their pillar industry was agriculture.

Even if the clever craftsmen there worked the punch presses to the point of smoking, there was no way to solve the ammunition shortfall for these tens of Ten Thousand Troops in a short time.

Relying on only one standard unit of ammunition, no matter how sparingly used, would at most suffice for the consumption of two battles.

By the third battle, they might have to share a rifle between two or even three people.

Clones are only fearless, not immortal, and you can't possibly expect them to charge with bayonets at the Alliance's machine gun emplacements.

Let alone one hundred thousand.

As long as the Alliance's logistics continue uninterrupted, even a million more wouldn't be enough!

At this moment, the only realistic method left was to wait for the ammunition to be delivered from the rear.

Staring at the map, lost in thought for a long time, General Griffin slowly began to speak.

"…The commander on the other side isn't a fool—we'll have a hard time deceiving them for long. That ultimatum, at most, could buy us thirty days, and that's the optimistic scenario. If things aren't looking up, I'm afraid even three weeks might be pushing it."

The officers murmured among themselves.

Three weeks!

Even if the supplies were delivered right now, it would take at least forty-five days to get them into the hands of the soldiers at the front lines!

There simply wasn't enough time!

"If they discover our bluff, they will certainly probe our defenses. And once they find that our supplies are indeed compromised, our situation could become even worse than it was a week ago."

Once Oasis No. 3 fell.

All they would have left in Luo Xia Province were the strongholds of the Falcon Kingdom.

And, what was worse, once the survivors gained confidence, once the Golden Lizard and the Hump realized they were only strong on the outside, their armies would inevitably not sit still at the border. Instead, they would come up to take advantage, looking for a share of the loot.

General Griffin paused for a moment, then continued with emphasis:

"Thirty days! In thirty days, our first line of defense needs to hold out for at least fifteen more days and then gradually withdraw to the central part of Oasis No. 3…"

"At the most conservative estimate, by that time, we should have a remaining force of over seventy thousand. But as long as we can hold out until then, once our main forces have re-supplied, their thrust into our territory will turn into mincemeat in the pie!"

Saying this, a fierce look flashed across General Griffin's face as he clenched his fists resting on the command table.

"I will make them spit out everything they've gobbled up!"

As for the Steel Heart, he didn't mention it specifically.

It wasn't something regular weapons could handle; planning was useless no matter what, and the airship wouldn't come down to seize ground facilities anyway. Just dig the trenches and let it bomb away; the greatest advantage of the Clone Group was that they were expendable.

General McCllen did know how to deal with that thing, but it was a pity that he had died in a nuclear blast.

But it didn't matter.

He had already reported the loss of the airship, and the weapons to deal with that thing, along with the ammunition required for the Clone Group, would be delivered from the rear.

One airship couldn't change the entire battle. As long as his Clone Army was re-supplied, everything would start looking up!

After hearing General Griffin's plan, the officers exchanged glances, whispering and discussing softly among themselves.

At that moment, an officer suddenly spoke up.

"General, what if that ultimatum doesn't even buy us thirty days… not even three weeks?"

The tent fell silent.

The silence persisted for a full five minutes.

It wasn't until General Griffin spoke again that the suffocating atmosphere was shattered.

"This is the worst-case scenario."

"If we can't even secure three weeks, we'll have to give up Oasis No. 3 and pull our front back to Oasis No. 2."

But if it really came to that, he would destroy everything that could be destroyed in Oasis No. 3 before evacuating, leaving a mess for those people to worry about.

Hundreds of thousands of starving citizens should be enough to slow down the Alliance's advance.

Only having one less share of the spoils in the end...

...

Griffin's battle conference ended, followed by meetings of various departments and formations, conveying strategic deployment to mid and high-level officers of their respective combat units.

After the meeting dispersed.

Coleway left the conference room without staying outside for too long and headed straight back to his own tent.

Originally, his military rank and level did not qualify him to attend such a meeting; however, a series of recent events had changed the situation.

First, General McCullen died. As one of McCullen's men, he and other officers were taken in by Griffin. Furthermore, there was a shortage of junior officers recently, and he, who was serving a training mission in the rear, quickly received an exceptional promotion.

The tent flap was lifted, revealing Pangolin busily stuffing his face at the table.

The Awakeners had a larger than average appetite, and this guy's was even more excessive than the average Awakener. He ate with abandon, capable of swallowing nearly half a calf in one meal.

Fortunately, what the legion was short on was not food but ammunition, otherwise this guy's appetite alone would be enough to make people resent him.

"I envy your appetite; I haven't been able to eat a bit these past few days."

Tossing his officer's cap casually onto the coat rack, Coleway sat down across the table, glancing at the pile of bones on the plate and couldn't help but cluck his tongue.

Quite a feast.

At least twenty kilograms of meat.

Old Soldier burped satisfyingly and said nonchalantly with a smile.

"Problems on the battlefield ultimately need to be resolved on the battlefield, so why frown over matters outside of it?"

You guys can't win anyway.

Better to be happy.

Having already understood the battle plan discussed by Brother Quanshui and Mole, he had no doubts about it.

However, Coleway didn't catch the deeper meaning behind the latter half of the remark and simply envied him, saying somewhat emotionally.

"I wish I could be half as optimistic as you."

Old Soldier casually asked.

"Anything bothering you?"

Coleway replied.

"It's still the supply issue, we're short of everything at the front except food... I probably shouldn't say this, but it doesn't matter, it's not a secret."

Old Soldier shrugged his shoulders.

It indeed wasn't a secret.

They had already discussed it several rounds on the forum yesterday, Brother Quanshui and a bunch of military enthusiasts were debating how many battles the ten thousand-troop teams could fight with the ammunition they had.

But no matter how much it was, everyone agreed that it would not last more than five battles.

The only thing to be cautious of was that they might concentrate the ammunition of several ten-thousand-troop teams into one and pull personnel back to wait for resupply, feigning a full supply.

"Let's talk about something cheerful. General Griffin promoted me to a one-star Thousands of Leaders."

Old Soldier looked at him in surprise, then said with a smile.

"Congratulations!"

Coleway smiled.

"Congratulations to you too."

"Me?"

"Yes," Coleway nodded and continued, "It's not just me who got promoted. From now on, you're a Centurion."

Old Soldier was taken aback.

"Wasn't I Thousands of leaders before?"

Why did my rank drop?

As if seeing the confusion on his face, Coleway explained with a smile.

"When I say Centurion, I mean the regular army Centurion."

"The position of Thousands of leaders in the Retinue Army is just a job, not a rank, and in the legion, it's even less significant than the regular army Centurion. Normally, only Weilante People can serve as officers in the regular army, and it's unprecedented for someone to go from Retinue Army Thousands of leaders to regular army Centurion... but circumstances are dire now, and we no longer have time to fuss over these details."

The Clone Group lacked not just ammunition but also a large number of junior and middle-level officers.

To solve this problem, Griffin had no choice but to draw a group of young officers, trained by the legion, from the reserve of officers from the Falcon Kingdom and incorporate them into the regular army to fill this gap.

Coleway didn't tell Pangolin that he had initially been allocated the rank of Centurion, but had used his own honor as a guarantee to give him a special promotion to the position of Centurion.

Such opportunities for exceptional promotion were rare.

Perhaps only once or twice in a lifetime.

His loyalty and bravery deserved this position, and such talent should not be wasted in an attendant role all his life; Coleway believed he wouldn't misjudge him.

A moment of blankness flitted across Old Soldier's face, followed by an involuntary gape, taking a good while to snap back to reality.

Holy shit!

I'm in the structure now?!

Becoming a Centurion meant entering into the legion's middle ranks!

Watching Coleway, who was smiling at him, Old Soldier's face was filled with surprise and excitement. He pushed the chair away and stood up, saluted sharply, and made a vow with a stuttering yet solemn voice.

"I, Pangolin, will not fail your expectations!"

"I believe you won't disappoint me."

Coleway nodded with a smile, sharing Pangolin's joy, but soon his smile faded.

"Nevertheless, our good days are about to come to an end, for we need to report to the frontline first thing tomorrow morning."

To avenge General McCullen!

And redeem our honor!

Coleway's heart burned with a strong desire for battle, but he didn't let it cloud his judgment.

He had already paid the price for carelessness once.

The survivors in the Southern River Province were not easy to deal with; those people weren't the primitives he'd imagined, wielding lances and iron pipe rifles in warfare. They warranted extreme caution.

However, unlike Coleway's caution, Old Soldier laughed out loud when he heard this news.

Is the chance for glory finally coming?

For that power armor, he'd been undercover far too long!

Waiting any longer, she might as well become a Thousands of leaders.

"How could it stop here?"

"Good brother, our good days have clearly just begun!"

...

City of Dawn.

Highway Town Inn.

Carrying a basket of clothes, Lisa paused at the corridor window, looking out at the bright moonlight, and suddenly let out a soft sigh.

Although those people hadn't told her exactly what the Pangolin did, from their behavior, she could vaguely guess a little.

He was one of the Alliance people.

And he was on a very, very dangerous mission.

She hoped he would come back safe and sound...

Just coming up from the stairs, Li Shuyue happened to see the young girl standing by the window.

"Lisa? Is something the matter?"

Hearing Li Shuyue's voice, Lisa, holding the wooden basket, quickly turned around with a shy smile on her face.

"Ah, you're back... Your clothes are dry now, I've folded them for you and was just about to deliver them."

In the Alliance, dryers were not popular; most clothes and bedding were naturally sun-dried. At first, Li Shuyue was a bit unaccustomed to this, but eventually, she got used to it and even began to like this "energy-saving and environmentally friendly" way of life.

Clothes dried by the sun had a pleasant smell, and wearing them made you feel as if you were surrounded by warm sunlight, lifting your spirits.

"Thank you."

Taking the wooden basket filled with clothes from Lisa's hands, Li Shuyue saw the worry hidden in those eyes and could not help but express her concern.

"Are you running into any trouble?"

Li Shuyue quite liked this well-behaved, sensible, and capable girl, especially after hearing about her past as a Legion Slave, and she felt a compassionate pity for her.

Those beasts were simply unworthy of being human!

If she could wipe them off this planet, she would even be willing to donate a nuclear bomb herself!

If that wasn't possible, at the very least, she wanted to help those she could see.

Looking at Ms. Li Shuyue who was gazing at her with concern, Lisa gently shook her head and spoke in a soft voice.

"It's nothing, Miss. I haven't encountered any trouble, I'm just... a little worried about him."

Li Shuyue: "That Pangolin?"

Her cheeks blushing, Lisa nodded gently.

Seeing that rosy face, Li Shuyue didn't know how to comfort the young girl before her.

Gently touching that soft, fluffy hair, she remained silent for a while before suddenly speaking up.

"The business I came here to handle is finished."

Lisa's eyes widened in surprise.

"Do you plan to return to Ideal City?"

Li Shuyue nodded her head.

"Yes."

The research report was complete, and the cooperation schemes with several companies in the Alliance were finalized; she needed to go back as soon as possible to implement the plans.

It included hiring staff for the joint venture, personnel arrangements, sourcing, and setting sales strategies, among many other things waiting for her to address.

Lisa showed a lonely expression but still managed to smile and said,

"I hope I can see you again in the future, you are welcome back anytime."

Li Shuyue fell silent for a moment, then finally made up her mind and said,

"Have you considered living somewhere else?"

Not expecting this question, Lisa paused a little.

"Another place?"

Li Shuyue nodded.

"Yes, I know this might sound sudden, but I just happen to need a life assistant, and I'm quite satisfied with your work attitude and ability... If you're interested, I can help you apply for a work visa, and you can come with me to Ideal City. I can offer you a salary of 5,000 Cr per month, excluding bonuses and holiday allowances. Of course, it will increase later on."

Lisa looked at her in amazement.

Although she had never been to Ideal City, she'd heard from travelers that 1 Cr could be exchanged for 3 Silver coins.

Fifteen thousand Silver coins...

This was nearly forty or fifty times the monthly salary of a regular position!

She didn't know why Ms. Li Shuyue was offering her such a high salary, but after hesitating for a moment, she eventually shook her head gently.

"Thank you for your kindness, but... I don't want to leave here."

Surprised by this unexpected answer, Li Shuyue stared at the young girl, puzzled.

"You don't want to... Are you sure? Wait, do you know what Ideal City is like?"

Lisa nodded gently, smiling as she replied,

"I've heard about it, yes, and it's a very beautiful place. The guests drinking downstairs always say it would be nice to see it once in their lifetime."

Li Shuyue watched her in silence.

"So... you don't want to go?"

Lisa shook her head.

"I want to wait here for him to come back... There are things I want to tell him personally."

Li Shuyue looked at her, a mix of amusement and disbelief on her face,

"If he knew you were turning down such a great opportunity, he might not be happy... Besides, once you get your work visa and fulfill the required working hours, you'll be eligible for residency. At that point, you could bring him over too—"

Lisa suddenly interrupted her reverie,

"Miss, have you seen him?"

Li Shuyue hesitated, then shook her head.

"No... What's your point?"

"Then why do you believe he would definitely want to live in your hometown?" Lisa looked at her and blinked.

Li Shuyue fell silent for a while.

"Um, I'm really not sure... I'm just inferring from the general situation, nobody wouldn't want to go there."

"Is that right? You're also guessing, but maybe not everyone thinks the way you do," Lisa's face revealed a gentle smile, looking out at the moonlight through the window, "Actually, it's not just about waiting for him... I'm already very happy just being here."

Li Shuyue looked at her earnestly and said,

"You've thought it through, then. That place is the only pure land on this planet."

Lisa gently shook her head.

"To me, this is it."

It was these people who had saved her from hell and told her that there was another kind of life in the world.

As for the Ideal City.

Maybe it really was wonderful.

But what did it have to do with her?

Li Shuyue didn't try to persuade her further, but she couldn't quite describe the mix of feelings inside her.

She couldn't understand, nor could she imagine why someone would refuse such generous conditions, and she had been rejected twice in a row now.

If it was that guy named Fang Chang, who refused because of his status as a resident of the refuge, she could somewhat understand.

After all, each refuge had its own plans, and maybe he saw something more important than a comfortable life.

But Lisa...

Wasn't she just an ordinary Wasteland Wanderer?

She returned to her room.

She was about to put her clothes in a suitcase when she suddenly noticed the notebook spread out on the table. Approaching, she turned on the lamp on the table.

It was an essay she had written a few days earlier, unrelated to business, purely out of curiosity about the distinct cultural landscape here, different from other survivor settlements.

Just as every Ideal City resident who had visited here described, the situation here was indeed extraordinary.

The locals had full confidence in the future prospects of the City of Dawn; they even believed it could become a world more prosperous than the Ideal City.

Because the Manager had promised so.

This was the only point that Li Shuyue scoffed at since physically speaking, this was unlikely. The birth of the Ideal City was filled with many coincidences of itself. The miracle born from the choices of countless people was not replicable.

It was a pity she hadn't met that Manager during her trip to the Alliance this time.

Next time she came, it would be great if she had the chance to meet...

...

Official Forum.

Just after the peak time for going offline, Old Soldier popped up in the forum.

"Hahaha! My brothers! I've been promoted!"

As soon as the post was sent, the forum exploded.

Tail: "Woah woah woah! That's awesome! (ﾟ∀ﾟ)"

Night Ten: "How did you get promoted again?!"

Edge Shoveling: "Awesome! Are you a Ten Thousand Leader now? (shocked)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Cough cough, not exactly... it's a Centurion!"

Quit smoking: "What the heck, you got demoted?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "What demotion! I was a temp before; now I'm on a formal contract. Do they compare?"

Night Ten: "Awesome!"

Edge Shoveling: "666!"

I Max Black: "Bro, which defense area are you complicating? Do you want me to deliver a head to you in a few days? (playful)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "That'd be great! I'll send you the coordinates later! (gritting teeth)"

Spring Water Commander: "Wait, are you on the front lines right now?! How much ammunition do you actually have? Do you have precise numbers?"

Canyon Fugitive Mole: "Right, right, what about anti-tank weapons? Do you have many? Are they all that 'Iron Fist' or are there other guys?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "What's the rush, I won't head to the front line until tomorrow! Relax, once I'm there, I'll scout it out for you!"

Fang Chang: "Take it easy with the shelling on the front line, brother. Don't blow up our Pangolins, make sure to fish for big fish with a long line. (playful)"

WC Actually Has Mosquitos: "Roger that! (smirking)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn, your 'roger that' just made my butt clench... don't mess around, okay?!"

WC Actually Has Mosquitos: "Relax! Am I that kind of person?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Please try being a human first!"

Makabazi: "Hahahahaha!"

The forum was filled with merriment.

Seeing his little players turning this cruel war into so much joy, Chu Guang was sincerely happy for them.

Earlier today, Spring Water had shown him his offensive plan. If the Army got into logistical difficulties, they could start by continuously carrying out feints to wear down the Army's ammunition.

Once the Army showed signs of fatigue, they could concentrate all their armored units and firepower to tear a gap in the Army's lines, inserting mechanized infantry units to penetrate to the Army's rear, while coordinating with the frontal attack of the Kingdom's ground forces, like pliers pulling out a tooth, removing the Army's positions one by one.

This plan was named by Spring Water as the Number 3 Plan.

It required the investment of one hundred and twenty tanks and five "Cloud Dragonfly" Flapping Machines.

Though the Alliance couldn't scrape together that many tanks right now, the batch of tanks captured previously at camp 530 was still in the hands of the Recapture Army of the Honey Badger Kingdom.

The frontal armor of the Conqueror No. 10 tank was hard enough to withstand hits from the Army's own Iron Fist Rocket Launchers, feeling like mere tickling.

These tanks would be perfect for spearheading the attack.

As for the Alliance's Type 2 tanks, they could follow behind and act as self-propelled guns, supporting with their excessive 155mm cannons.

Preparations for the attack were already underway.

The micromanagement on the battlefield didn't need Chu Guang to worry too much; the game was full of professionals, and everyone was very active, each eager to show off in front of the others.

The only problem now was actually with the Company side.

Probably having caught wind from the "Tiger Whale" transport plane pilots, the Company's senior executives learned about McCullen's capture by the Alliance.

It might be a misconception.

Lately, the hints from Yi Chuan seemed to Chu Guang like these friends from the Far East wanted to call it quits while they were ahead...

Chapter 458: This person's head is given away without any acting

Forward Base Meeting Room.

Yi Chuan, who had rushed over from Embassy Street, finally caught up with Chu Guang as he emerged from the shelter and wasted no time getting to the point upon meeting him.

"Is McCullen in your hands?"

Chu Guang stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

"That's correct."

Yi Chuan paused, slightly taken aback.

He had thought Chu Guang would beat around the bush or feign ignorance, not expecting him to admit it outright.

Seeing the guy not saying anything for a while, Chu Guang, although guessing what he probably wanted to say, still politely asked.

"Is there a problem?"

Snapping back to reality, Yi Chuan cleared his throat lightly.

"Uh, it's not a big deal, the council asked me to inquire if you could transfer McCullen to our custody. After all, he's an important war criminal. It's somewhat inappropriate to have him digging for coal on your end, and it could affect subsequent ceasefire talks."

"Ceasefire talks?" Chu Guang looked at him with a strange expression, "We're not even close to that, are we?"

Knowing Chu Guang would react this way, Yi Chuan patiently continued.

"We've already liberated Oasis No.3, and we've captured McCullen… Our leverage is sufficient to make the Army sit down at the negotiation table in earnest."

"Negotiate what?"

"Of course, a withdrawal. Their supply lines have collapsed, they have no ability to continue their offensive, and on our end, we can't breach their defenses in a short time. Continuing the fight is nothing more than a war of attrition, consuming each other's living forces... A ceasefire has a realistic basis now. They'll consider it."

Seeing that Chu Guang was about to say something, Yi Chuan quickly went on.

"Don't be in a hurry to reject it, why not listen to our proposal first."

Chu Guang nodded, his eyes signaling Yi Chuan to continue.

Yi Chuan paused, then continued.

"We plan to exchange McCullen and a number of other prisoners of war, as well as the Iron Heart, for the crew of the Pioneer. As for the issue of No.0 Shelter, it can be temporarily set aside… Of course, the Iron Heart is currently in use by you, and we wouldn't ask you to give it up for free. In return, we would leave the Pioneer to you. What do you think?"

Objectively speaking, the proposal was fairly sincere.

A single Pioneer was indeed much more useful to the Alliance than an airship retrofitted from the core of an escort ship. That thing is like a mobile industrial district that could easily solve an entire division's supply needs, provided there were sufficient raw materials.

Otherwise, the Army wouldn't covet it so much, constantly hounding and intercepting it, even going to great lengths to send the Iron Heart after Luo Hua.

However, a hint of displeasure still rose on Chu Guang's face.

Was he the kind of person who would betray allies for personal gain?

"What about Oasis No.3?"

Yi Chuan was stunned for a moment, his expression odd as he looked at Chu Guang, apparently surprised at the sudden mention of this seemingly irrelevant location.

Seeing that Chu Guang wasn't joking, Yi Chuan steadied himself and said seriously.

"It's not very realistic to ask the Army to give up territories they've already occupied, but we can put pressure on them to make their own troops withdraw from Oasis No.3... As for the rest, it's up to the survivors of Luo Xia Province to sort it out themselves."

Although this was a high-EQ response, the implication was obvious – they were prepared to sell out the Honey Badger Kingdom.

This move wasn't entirely indefensible.

The enemy of one's enemy can be a friend of convenience, but such temporary friendships are based on the need to continue fighting.

If a ceasefire can be achieved to stop the Army's further eastward expansion, an oasis alone is something that could be sacrificed from a corporate standpoint.

After all, those people were not on board the chariot; they just happened to be squatting in the same trench. If they were to be blamed, it would be for their inability to even hold out for a week.

To be honest, Chu Guang didn't want to fight either. The Alliance was just getting started, and peaceful development was crucial at this time. Of course, peace was more in the Alliance's interest.

But the premise had to be real peace.

Not just both sides taking a breather to continue the fight later.

"Even if it's up to the survivors of Luo Xia Province to sort it out themselves, that should be after we have liberated Oasis No.3 and disbanded the Falcon Kingdom's military weapons."

Yi Chuan paused for two seconds after hearing this, then smiled wryly.

"My friend… do you think that's realistic?"

"Why not?" Chu Guang countered.

Yi Chuan offered a reminder.

"The Army has dispatched ten Clone Groups to the front line."

Chu Guang responded without hesitation.

"We will naturally take care of it."

Yi Chuan grew somewhat anxious.

"And after that? What if they send another ten Clone Groups? They have as many of those two-year consumables as they want. Can you finish them off?"

"It's precisely because we can't finish them off that we plan to settle this problem once and for all," Chu Guang said, gazing intently into his eyes, "My friend, didn't we agree to drive out that pack of jackals to the last one?"

"… That's the ultimate goal, but we didn't expect to achieve it all at once. That's simply unrealistic," Yi Chuan shook his head, continuing earnestly, "Let's take what we can get."

Chu Guang's expression remained unchanged.

"We can take what we can get, but only after the fight is over, not halfway through. Our people have shed a lot of blood, and we've barely gained a slight advantage, getting our hands around the throat of that wolf. If we don't take this opportunity to twist its neck, I won't be able to sleep."

Yi Chuan fell silent for a while.

Perhaps realizing there would be no further progress, he sighed in resignation and said.

"Back to the first issue, at least extradite General McCullen to us—"

However, his concession did not lead to compromise from his ally. Chu Guang remained implacable, shaking his head.

"Discussing the placement of prisoners of war is premature. Even if we were to discuss it, it would have to wait until after the war is over."

Seeing the guy stubbornly not giving an inch, Yi Chuan nearly spit out a mouthful of blood, his face turning red as he exclaimed,

"I can't explain this to the council!"

Looking at his face, Chu Guang knew he had pushed this honest man to the brink and quickly adopted a more conciliatory tone.

"It's not that I want to make it difficult for you, but the entire Alliance won't agree to a ceasefire now… How about this, I promise you we will end this war by the end of the year."

Yi Chuan clenched his teeth.

"If the war hasn't ended by the end of the year?"

Chu Guang spoke in a relaxed tone.

"If it hasn't ended by the end of the year, then I'll agree to your terms and sit down for a talk with the Army."

…

Personal relationships are one thing, but collective interests are another. When representing the Alliance and corporations in negotiations, Chu Guang didn't give Yi Chuan much face.

The reason he had thrown McLellan into the coal pit was to prevent him from having too much contact with the corporations, leaving too many fantasies to the old friends on the East Coast.

The council was made up of many people, and the majority's opinion was inevitably swayed by the number of votes.

"Unwavering support" and "reluctant to spend money on the war" seemed like contradictory stances, but on corporations, they weren't contradictory --- rather, that was the norm.

Chu Guang was very clear that when it was time to take a firm stance, one had to be uncompromising, and one couldn't be bashful just because one was relying on others.

If he opened a loophole and handed McLellan over to the corporations, the East Coast council would soon start arguing about "whether to negotiate separately with the Army using McLellan" and if anything unpredictable emerged from the bickering, it would add uncertainty to the war situation.

At least in this war, he didn't think that was a matter up for debate.

After leaving Chu Guang's place, Yi Chuan returned to Embassy Street, fretting over how to write the report for the council.

Just then, Yun Yi was there, too. Seeing his worried expression, she couldn't help but speak up.

"Is there a result?"

Yi Chuan shook his head.

"No."

Yun Yi frowned slightly and put down her crossed arms.

"I'll go and talk to him."

Yi Chuan quickly stopped her.

"Don't... we've made some progress. Take it slow. Leave this to me."

Yun Yi stared at him for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"No offense, but you're too accommodating to them."

"We've poured in billions to help them fight this war, to upgrade their industries -- we are the investors! If you don't speak firmly, those survivors will only think you're easy to bully, they might even take an inch and climb over your head, just like now... If you can't handle it, I will submit a report to the council, asking them to replace you with someone who can better represent corporate interests."

Yi Chuan didn't know how to retort and said with a wry smile,

"I'll try again... give me some time."

…

Unable to withstand Yi Chuan's persistent nagging, Chu Guang eventually made concessions, transferring McLellan and his deputy from the coal mine in West State City to a separate small room.

This wasn't entirely a demand of the council.

Rather, according to Yi Chuan, by the end of the month, Ideal City planned to send journalists to interview General McLellan and other captured officers.

If those journalists found out about the Alliance's suspicion of "prisoner abuse," it would undoubtedly cost the Alliance points on the reputation it had established with difficulty.

According to Yi Chuan, the residents of Ideal City preferred to see the Alliance convince prisoners with reason, to enlighten the captives with the "glorious light of civilization," making them realize their actions were wrong and barbaric, and truly repent from their hearts.

Naturally, Chu Guang scoffed at this.

Throughout history, what has tamed the beast has never been civilization, but rather the whip, the club, and small boys. If you really want them to realize their mistakes, better send them to the coal pits and let them understand the difference between humans and beasts through labor.

Moreover, compared to the way those Weilante People treated slaves and other survivors, the treatment of the Alliance was already quite merciful.

But considering the Alliance still needed support from the old friends, Chu Guang didn't say much more.

Anyway, the number of POWs in the Alliance was fast approaching thirty percent of the total population.

They wouldn't miss a couple from the coal pit.

…

In the southeast of Oasis No.3.

The Old Soldier, who had been bragging on the back lines for more than a month, finally caught an opportunity to join the front line, moving to a new place to continue squandering supplies.

A desert-colored jeep with no top stopped at the foot of a sand dune.

Following Officer Coleway out of the vehicle, the Old Soldier glanced around at the position.

He saw tangled and crisscrossing trenches connecting the overlapping hills into a mass, making the terrain look as if it were studded with gun muzzles.

Besides the trenches reinforced with wood and sandbags, the position also housed camouflaged machine gun bunkers and anti-aircraft gun positions half buried in the sand.

More than one hundred thousand Clone Infantry were dispersed along the tens of kilometers long frontline, turning the whole area into an iron barrel -- so sturdy that not even a fly could penetrate it.

After getting out of the vehicle, Coleway turned to the soldiers waiting by the shelter and commanded,

"Inform the acting leader of the Centurion's thousand team to bring all his brothers here for assembly."

"Yes, Officer!"

The soldier saluted sharply and immediately ran off to a nearby anti-cannon hole. Soon, he returned at a jog, bringing an officer with him.

"Acting leader of the Centurion's thousand team, Buford, reporting for duty!"

After a short wait,

The various squads squatting in the trenches also gradually left their battle positions. Under the Centurion's command, they moved next to the shelter for assembly, barely standing in a reasonably neat formation.

To be honest, if the Old Soldier hadn't seen the ferocious way those Clone soldiers fought near North suburb of Qingquan City, he simply couldn't imagine how strong their combat power could be.

Unlike normally developed clones,

These Clone soldiers mostly had dull expressions, slow reactions, and were carrying various obvious or subtle physiological defects or injuries from the last battle.

Their only advantage was an eightfold accelerated growth rate. They could reach the physical fitness of a sixteen-year-old in just two years, peak strength in three years, and enter old age in five years. Shortly after retirement, they could be dealt with.

In fact, no Clone soldier ever lived to retire. Those congenital physiological defects were precisely to prevent them from living too long and becoming a burden on society.

This technology was obviously inhumane during the Prosperity Epoch.

But in the Wasteland Era, where nuclear bombs were tossed around casually, obviously, no one would care about such trivial issues.

"Our thousands of leaders team is responsible for the G35 Defense Zone, and you're in charge of the G35-7 sector... From today onwards, these men are all under your command!"

Standing beside the Old Soldier, Coleway looked at the over one hundred densely packed Clone soldiers in front of the trench, narrowing his eyes in satisfaction.

What a pity the supplies couldn't keep up.

If the ammunition had been just a bit more plentiful, there would have been no need for them to retreat; with this hundred-thousand-strong army, trampling the Alliance would have been a cakewalk.

"Can they understand what I'm saying?" the Old Soldier couldn't help but complain.

"Of course they can, how could they not?"

A smile appeared on Coleway's face as he patted the man's shoulder.

"I know what you're worried about, but there's no need to worry at all. Though they may look a bit dull, they're anything but dull in battle. Once they see blood, they'll turn into fearless mad dogs, fighting until the very last one... Commanding them is much easier than commanding regular soldiers."

After a pause, he continued.

"Moreover, the Centurions here will assist you with your work. They're all officers from the Falcon Kingdom, having received professional military training, so if you encounter an issue that's hard to decide on, you can consult their opinions more."

Coleway was not worried about the combat power of the Pangolin.

His bravery and loyalty had been tested in practice, but a good soldier might not necessarily make a good general; he still had to go through the baptism of war, proving that in the art of command, he had abilities no less than anyone else.

It was a rare opportunity that had arisen, and Coleway planned to nurture him.

Aware of the significance of this opportunity, the Old Soldier took a deep breath and nodded earnestly.

"I'll remember that."

Thinking the expression was due to nerves about the upcoming battle, Coleway gave a grin and patted the shoulder of the man in front of him.

"Relax a bit, there shouldn't be any fighting in the short term, but it's better to be safe than sorry... Anyway, take care of yourself, stay safe, and always be cautious."

Leaving these words behind, Coleway got into the nearby jeep and headed back the way he had come.

Watching the rolling dust disappear at the end of the dirt road, the Old Soldier's expression remained unchanged, but inside he sighed softly.

If only things were really that optimistic.

Yesterday on the Forum, he had revealed his responsibility for the defensive line, and those idle bums began clamoring that they wanted to send him a "big gift."

Figuring the attack would likely come at night, the Old Soldier planned to first take a couple of rounds at the position to get a feel for the terrain and make his performance more convincing.

"Your name... it's Buford, right?" the Old Soldier looked at the former acting team leader, whose status had now reverted to vice-centurion, serving as his own deputy.

The man snapped to attention and gave a military salute.

"Yes, sir!"

The Old Soldier nodded, his face solemn, and glanced over the soldiers present before continuing.

"Starting now, I will be your commanding officer. No matter where you come from, whether noble or civilian, now you have only one identity—that of soldiers under my command! The only thing you need to do is to adhere strictly to discipline, follow my orders, and do whatever I tell you to do. Do you understand?"

The clones swayed their heads in confusion, their faces not looking very bright.

However, their commanders were still of normal intelligence and quickly stood at attention, belting out in response.

"Understood!"

"Good!"

The Old Soldier nodded with satisfaction and then looked at Buford, "Have the brothers return to their positions, and you take me to the position to have a look."

Buford snapped to attention and saluted.

"Yes, sir!"

The discipline of the officers trained by the Army was, indeed, impeccable.

Moreover, officers who came from the ranks of attendants were of low status and had no chance of promotion unless special circumstances arose. Hence, no one took the initiative to provoke the "Pangolin" who had just arrived.

In addition to that, Buford could tell that this newly parachuted-in Centurion was not only powerful, being one of the rare Awakeners, but also had a not-so-shallow relationship with their Thousands of leaders. Therefore, his words carried a tinge of flattery.

The Old Soldier, however, didn't take his flattery to heart; he simply went through the motions of affirming his work, and then indirectly inquired about the supply situation.

He asked about everything including how many bullets each Soldier had on hand, how many machine guns were in position, how many rifles, and the composition of the squad, and so on.

A hundred team was roughly equivalent to a company, and a thousand team roughly to an Army; by understanding the company-level firepower, one could generally extrapolate the Army's firepower as a whole.

As soon as the new Centurion began inquiring about ammunition, Buford immediately started complaining.

"… We haven't seen a supply truck with ammunition for a long time, soldiers on average have less than sixty rounds each, and machine gun ammo is even more precious; our entire team was allocated just two boxes. Perhaps you should still mention it to Officer Coleway and ask him to send over some more ammo."

In Buford's view, this was merely a matter of reaching out. Even with scarce supplies, priority could always be given to those with connections.

However, to his surprise, the officer before him was a picture of integrity, firmly rejecting him.

"Not only we are facing difficulties, the whole army is in a tough spot! How can I bother Officer Coleway over such a trivial issue?"

"But with the ammunition we currently have, I'm afraid in one battle—"

Buford immediately became anxious upon hearing this and tried to explain, but before he could finish his sentence, he was ruthlessly interrupted.

"But what?"

The Old Soldier stared unwaveringly at his deputy, secretly amused, yet maintaining a serious face that nearly caused him internal injury from holding back.

"Where is your spirit? Your loyalty? Your oath to sacrifice your life for His Majesty the Marshal? Without bullets, we can't fight? What about your will and backbone?"

Buford's face was plastered with confusion, and he opened his mouth but couldn't squeeze out a word, instinctively glancing at the officer's nose.

This guy…

He's not Weilante People, is he?

Why does he seem crazier than the Weilante People!

Just then, there came a shout from the direction of the observatory.

"Unidentified armed forces spotted 500 meters ahead! There're about a hundred people!"

"They are moving towards us!"

At the same time as the Sentry's shout, alarms were sounded throughout the position, and all personnel entered battle stations.

The Old Soldier no longer continued his squabble with Buford.

Hearing that someone was coming, he immediately went to the front-line Machine Gun Bunker, picked up the binoculars for a look, and instantly saw the approaching Debt Giant Eye at the forefront.

This guy, clearly from the Intelligence System, hadn't even brought his VM, and was charging towards him, brandishing what appeared to be a broken gun scavenged from a previous engagement.

The Old Soldier, holding the binoculars, was dumbfounded.

Well, I'll be.

Not even pretending, are they?

Just short of writing "I'm here to gift my head" across his face.

Staring at the enemies charging head-on, Buford stood to the side with a frown on his face, showing no signs of underestimating the enemy despite their obvious vulnerabilities.

Their ammunition was not abundant.

Even against such suicidal charges, a few more waves and they wouldn't be able to hold on. Moreover, Officer Coleway had specifically instructed to not let the enemy notice any problems with their supplies.

Buford found himself in a dilemma.

Should the machine gun position fire or not?

"It must be a small group of enemies probing us!" Buford gritted his teeth and whispered to the officer beside him, "I suggest we let them get close before opening fire!"

The Old Soldier instinctively nodded but then quickly remembered that he was with the Army now and, without a word, he kicked the daydreaming gunman aside.

"What the hell are you all doing?"

"Shoot them fiercely!"

Before the bewildered gunman could figure out what was happening, the Old Soldier himself crouched at the machine gun position, grabbed the handle, flipped off the safety, and began firing burst after burst towards those "good brothers" three hundred meters away.

Exaggerated screams came from afar, but they were soon drowned out in the cacophony of gunfire and bullets.

Seeing the flames spewed by the machine gun position, the infantrymen crouching in the trenches also began to shoot, instantly turning the hundred or so charging men into sieves.

On the vast open space of the Gobi desert, without the cover of armor units or artillery, the moment they exposed themselves, their fate was sealed.

Forget about the Awakeners, not even the Managers would be of any use.

As the smoke cleared, there were no longer any living people in front of the position.

"Ceasefire! Everyone ceasefire! They are already dead!" Buford shouted despairingly from the side.

If it weren't for the fact that this man was his superior and possibly more than he could handle, Buford would have liked to rush up and give this pangolin's behind a good kick.

In fact, seeing that the enemy was wiped out, the infantry in the trenches had already ceased firing, but the officer crouched at the machine gun kept shooting, apparently too engrossed to notice.

In just this short half-minute period, he had almost spent the ammunition of a ten-man team!

It wasn't until a metal click was heard that the finger glued to the trigger finally moved away, coinciding with the lowering of Buford's blood pressure.

Looking at the empty ammo belt and the red-hot barrel, the Old Soldier smacked his lips, dissatisfied, and let go of the slightly hot machine gun handle.

Seeing that the gunman and his own deputy were both glaring at him with murderous expressions, the Old Soldier was stunned for a moment but then hastily coughed lightly, reminding them that he was the superior.

"Cough… don't fret about the ammunition, the more we lack it, the more we can't let the other side look down on us!"

"The commander on the other side is likely watching from behind. If they find out we're short on ammo, next time, it won't be a hundred-man team, but planes, tanks, and tens of thousands of people!"

"It's worth it to use up this bit of ammunition as long as we can eliminate their living forces!"

Buford nodded in bewilderment.

Although it felt like something was amiss everywhere, it also seemed to make some sense somehow – after all, they had wiped out an entire hundred-man team, a notable achievement indeed.

Looking at the bodies littering the ground outside the position, he suddenly felt much more relaxed than before.

Recalling the sight of allies retreating from the front line, one by one limping on crutches, looking utterly terrified, he had thought their enemy was truly fearsome.

Now, it seemed he had been worrying over nothing…

"It seems the Alliance is not so tough after all."

Saying this, Buford suddenly regained his confidence.

Looking at the pile of dead bodies, the Old Soldier silently mourned for his fallen brethren for a second and then turned to the officers standing beside him.

"Who will go over there and check?"

"Me!"

The Centurion, crouched in the neighboring trench, eagerly raised his hand, his face etched with excitement and clearly eager to make an impression in front of the newly appointed officer.

Buford was about to raise his hand too, but seeing someone beat him to it, he retracted his hand.

The Old Soldier looked at the young man and nodded.

"Not bad, you've got spirit. Go there and come back quickly!"

"Yes, officer!"

The Centurion chuckled, picked up the "Opener" rifle leaning against the edge of the trench, and, along with five clone infantrymen, left the trench and walked toward the pile of dead bodies.

There was a scarcity of ammunition at the front line.

Naturally, the aim was to recover as much of the enemy's weapons as possible.

He might as well take the opportunity to see if there was anything valuable which could be snuck away.

As the young man was about to touch the first body, whether he triggered a switch or the person lying on the ground had not entirely died and pulled the pin on a grenade, a sudden explosion thundered, flattening the people in the trenches, who instinctively ducked before looking outside.

"Shit!"

"It's hidden landmines!"

"Kamis!"

Buford focused on the outside of the trench, shouting at the top of his lungs with bloodshot eyes. Seeing no response, he slammed his fist into the sandbags.

"Damn it! He's dead!"

The trench fell silent.

Facing the smoke-enveloped pile of corpses, the soldiers exchanged glances, and many of them unconsciously swallowed hard.

This was the first death occurring so close to them since they had been sent to the front line.

Looking at the Centurion, torn apart by the blast, the Old Soldier too stared blankly for a long time.

Hiding hidden landmines in the clothing, no less.

This wasn't the same as what had been agreed upon yesterday, huh?

Lucky for him, he didn't go show off; otherwise, that blast would have sent him straight back to his brothers.

Experiencing a casualty on his first day in office made the Old Soldier's emotions complicated; he shook his head in bemusement.

It seemed his brothers were afraid he'd be too bored undercover – he had a feeling this office wouldn't be very peaceful.

He patted the Centurion beside him, who was pale and trembling, unable to speak, and with a light cough, he said.

"... You are the Centurion now."

"Do your job well, don't disappoint me."

Chapter 459: Training Methods that Fit the Characteristics of the Alliance

Just when "Pangolin" was racking up a massive kill count, the "Wasteland OL" official website suddenly showed a hundred accounts logging off at once.

And most of them were new players who had just obtained their closed beta access.

Outlaw Maniac, "Holy shit! Boss! That was so thrilling!"

I Max Black, "Hahaha! I want to do it again!"

Clock Strikes Hunger, "Meh, just whoosh and gone, doesn't feel as good as..."

Although dying was not a pleasant feeling, for most newbies, the first death was still a novel experience.

Mainly because nobody has experienced it in real life.

As a result, the forum suddenly had a spate of posts shared by players detailing their death experiences, filled with morbid curiosity.

Of course, after experiencing it once, not everyone felt thrilled, because the moment was really too fleeting.

So fleeting that a blink of eyes later, you were already within the helmet.

Wake Up Sleepy, "Tsk, not satisfying at all. Didn't feel a thing, just a blackout and it was all over. Can we turn on real pain sensation?"

Quit smoking, "Damn! You're more of a freak than Mosquito!"

WC real Mosquito, "???"

Night Ten, "This bro probably got headshot, I guess. If you got shot in the stomach, you'd twitch on the ground for a while. (Funny)"

Outlaw Maniac, "@Debt Giant Eye. Big brother! When's the next head giving session? (Excited)"

Debt Giant Eye, "Take it slow, no rush, there will be plenty of chances to die in the future. The next wave's going to be the Storm Corps. (Smug)"

Spring Water Commander, "We're not going to give away kills like you guys. (Sidelong glance)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group, "Exactly! You could at least pretend to put up a fight, I wanted to waste ammo and didn't even get the chance! Thumbs down!"

Edge Shoveling, "Next time I'll pick someone more reliable to lead the team. (Awkward)"

Debt Giant Eye, "Cough cough…anyway, listen up, you noobs! War is brutal! Once you're truly on the battlefield and run into heartless bastards like Old Soldier, you won't last two seconds! Got it?"

Outlaw Maniac, "Understood! Big brother!"

I Max Black, "Big brother! Why can't we survive in this game?!"

Wake Up Sleepy, "Right, what the fuck?! What's with the resurrection countdown?"

Debt Giant Eye, "Er, forgot to tell you guys, if you die in the game you have to wait three days... wait, you don't know?!"

Outlaw Maniac, "Holy shit!"

Wake Up Sleepy, "I had no clue man!"

Fang Chang, "For a moment I can't tell if they're genuinely new players or just faking it. (Sidelong glance)"

I Max Black, "This death penalty is way too harsh! T.T"

Fang Chang, "Stay calm, if you don't go courting death, it's not that easy to die under normal gameplay...who holds the record for the longest survival time again?"

Canyon Escaping Mole, "Crow, that guy died only once at the start and hasn't died since."

Crow, "Eh heh. (^_−)☆"

Teng Teng, "I haven't died once. (¬◡¬)"

Night Ten, "!!!"

Tomato Scramble Eggs, "666"

Recently, the pace at which closed beta access was granted had suddenly quickened. Originally, only twenty to thirty accesses were given out per day, but last week it shot up to one to two hundred per day, and the player count was forcibly brought to over ten thousand before it gradually slowed down again.

A huge wave of clueless new players poured into the game, and as a result, the forum suddenly saw a flurry of newbies asking for handouts, and the same old questions that had been answered countless times before resurfaced.

Some of it was, of course, put on, while others genuinely didn't know.

But that's normal.

Don't be fooled by some of those backseat drivers who seem to have all the answers. They're just armchair strategists full of hot air. Once they're actually in the game, they're no different from newbies.

The influx of new players acted as fresh blood for the servers, but at the same time, it posed certain challenges to the original server order.

Most of the old players had watched the Alliance grow from nothing and had built deep ties with many characters in the game over a long time, and they felt a strong emotional resonance with many people and events in this world.

They believed they were doing the right thing.

In the process, they could fulfill their own self-worth.

Not just that, the rewards granted by the game mechanics were not only the pleasure of self-fulfillment at that moment, but also included emotional or material rewards on top of that.

But to expect a newbie, who just joined the game, to feel a strong sense of belonging just because they've been following the threads and videos on the forum for a while, was stretching it a bit too far.

On a new player's first entry into the game, they would at most be struck by "virtual reality" and awe of the harsh rules.

If it were any other game, the operator might not care, they might even want players to let go and do as they pleased in the virtual world, and then spend money for more intense sensory experiences.

But "Wasteland OL" was not just a game in the truest sense, and Chu Guang, of course, couldn't just ignore them and let these energetically fresh newbies cause trouble every day.

Farming is much harder than ruining a field.

To get the newbies actively involved in the game, they had to first be infused with some "positive energy"!

Or rather, to get them to acknowledge and feel a sense of belonging to this "different world"!

Just relying on the Pass the Torch missions was not enough to handle such a huge number of newbies; there weren't so many veteran players hanging out in Novice Village all the time.

After much contemplation, Chu Guang simply launched an "Army Recruitment" event to throw these newcomers directly into the Army for military training.

During the event, newbies could choose at the start whether to enlist.

If they chose "yes," they would automatically receive a "Soldier" profession, subject to level restrictions, and have three chances to choose a preference, to join either the first or second Alliance Army, or a player Army as a reservist.

Reservist status did not count towards the Army's personnel cap.

For newbies participating in the event, aside from an event-exclusive gift pack, they would also unlock in advance the "Player system"—VM—typically unlocked at the Citizen level, for the duration of the event.

If they reached Citizen level during the event, they could keep it for free.

With such enticing conditions, it was believed that unless a player had a particular attachment to a living profession gameplay, they would choose to join an Army.

And so, with a series of moves by Chu Guang, the forum's tone finally normalized, shifting from the brainless questions of newbies to the recruitment efforts of various Armies.

"Burning Corps! Experience the feeling of flying!"

"Death Legion recruitment! Strength and Constitution Types preferred, brothers not afraid to die come join!"

"Storm Corps recruitment! Regardless of your type, if you obey orders, private message to join, the Corps commander will add you to the group!"

"Skeleton Corps recruitment! Drivers wanted! Tank drivers prioritized!"

[Goblin Corps recruiting! We're pros at shooting cannons and flying planes! Don't worry if you're clueless; the Army Commander will teach you hands-on! (evil smirk)]

[The Jungle Corps is recruiting Strength Types only!]

[...]

[The Silver Corps... as long as you're breathing! T.T]

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction upon seeing these recruitment posts.

"Not bad! All brimming with energy!"

The majority of new players were congregated in the few leading Corps that had higher appearance rates in the official expansion pack, particularly the Death Legion and Storm Corps.

In reality, the Burning Corps and Skeleton Corps had their fair share of sign-ups too, but one took the "special forces route" with a higher selection threshold. The other took the "armor route", requiring at least a driver's license and the ability to endure the boredom of long drives.

Most players were still better suited to a more conventional gameplay.

As for how they'd be trained after joining the Corps?

That wasn't something he, as the Manager, needed to worry about.

Their own people would take care of it!

...

Between Oasis No.3 and No.9 on the Gobi.

The Alliance had set up camp at the foot of a sand dune with the joint forces of Falcon and the Honey Badger Kingdom, building frontline positions in preparation for the next phase of the campaign.

Corporate construction crews were even building an airport at the frontline.

Large quantities of supplies were brought in from the rear by trucks and transport planes.

Not just that, a bunch of newbies who had just entered the Game also arrived at the frontline camp with the transport planes. Since the welcoming party hadn't arrived yet, they were standing excitedly by the airport, gawking around.

"Desert!"

"Holy shit! That's freaking awesome!"

Overwhelmed with excitement and ignoring time and place, one newbie laid down and licked the sand off the ground, smacked his lips, and then spat it back out.

"Ptooey! Damn, it's still salty!"

A few newbies from the same batch started laughing at the ridiculous sight.

"Hahaha!"

"I just saw a camel pass by here, why don't you ask it?"

"%￥#@!"

A few kingdom soldiers patrolling nearby watched these strangely behaving Residents of the refuge with odd looks on their faces.

One whispered doubtfully,

"Are those guys really okay?"

"They seem... kinda off."

The Centurion standing to the side coughed.

"Don't worry about them, just focus on your work."

Now that the Alliance was their Secret Country, they heard that the noble lords even let the Manager stay in their own Royal Palace.

Although the Royal Family always denies it, claiming they had prepared a separate Palace for the Manager, who knows the truth?

Even if it were true, those bigshots wouldn't admit it.

The Alliance's Manager had already risen above the king, and even though the law didn't grant Alliance Citizens any superior status over nationals, they had de facto obtained a status higher than ordinary people.

Anyway, whatever those people did, it wasn't for small fry like them to comment on.

Realizing their own people were causing a scene, a Resident of the refuge wearing a VM soon came over and led those embarrassments away.

Watching the newbie with a mouthful of mud, "Kakarot" lamented,

"Damn it! How many times did I tell you guys in the group to act normal after getting off the plane! You're representing the Alliance! The collective! If you're not embarrassed, I sure as hell am!"

Return to soil & Rest in peace looked aggrieved,

"Oh, got it."

"And you guys!" Kakarot glared at those who were still laughing, "Still laughing! Why didn't you help him up!"

The few newbies scratched their heads sheepishly.

Hand on chessboard: "Ah... I wanted to help, but he, as an Agile system guy, was too fast for me to catch."

Ah Nie: "Alright bro! Next time for sure! Hehe, hey can you show us the Spirit Bomb trick?"

Kakarot: "..."

These newbies were just too damn hard to handle!

Meanwhile, at the frontline command post.

The Spring Water Commander was currently staring at the strategic map, alternately grinning and then furrowing his brows with a worried expression.

Recently, the System had launched a new event that suddenly oversupplied beta test slots, dumping a bunch of newbies on the frontline.

As a powerful Corps within T1, the Storm Corps naturally became a prime choice for countless newbies, expanding their size from one division to half a brigade, and progressing rapidly towards the size of a whole brigade.

While the Spring Water Commander was happy, he was also inevitably a bit troubled.

More people were a good thing, obviously—what commander wouldn't want more people under his command?

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he was promoted to division commander.

However...

It seemed the System had completely dumped the newbie training job onto the Army Commanders and even arranged a few KPI assessment indicators for them.

The rewards that each Corps could get during the event would be linked to two indicators: the "retention rate" and "new Contribution Points" of the new players.

Retention rate wasn't a concern—being the only "completely real" Virtual Reality Game on the market, players wouldn't quit even if it meant they had to wake up early the next day.

But the new Contribution Points were more perplexing.

This was the frontline; unless they joined an NPC Legion, there was no chance to earn Contribution Points.

Unless they scored highly during a Battle.

According to the "Wasteland OL" reward rules, during the Battle settlement phase, personal scores would be calculated based on team total scores and individual combat performance, turning them into rewards of Contribution Points and Silver coins. If a personal performance was poor or there was no involvement at all, the reward could even be reduced to 1%.

Freeloading was not an option.

The only idea now was to get the newbies to grow up quickly.

Just as Spring Water Commander was frowning in thought, I Max Black, holding the back of his head, walked in from outside the tent.

"Another bunch of juicy little newbies have arrived, 'Kakarot' has already taken them to the training camp to teach them how to shoot. Just came to give you a heads-up... uh, what's with you, why the long face?"

Spring Water Commander let out a sigh.

"There are just too many people, I'm considering raising the barrier to entry in a few days."

I Max Black was taken aback.

"Isn't it good to have more people?"

A few months ago, this guy was complaining about not having enough people.

Spring Water rolled his eyes.

"You don't know jack. If they aren't trained, they just become a burden on the battlefield, useless as hell, might as well stay behind and screw bolts!"

I Max Black scoffed disdainfully.

"Pfft, I never had a day of training and still went to the front!"

Spring Water shook his head and said,

"It's different now. When the servers first opened, the whole Alliance could barely scrape together a few guns, but the Looters and Variants were as numerous as hairs on a cow. The intensity of the battles back then was much higher than now, fighting from dawn to dusk, you'd wish you could die twice a week. Even if you didn't know anything, after dying a few times, you'd learn everything."

"Right, die a few times and you'll learn everything," I Max Black said with a sly grin, slapping his shoulder, "If you ask me, might as well hand out some cheap gear to those newbies and let them go die on the front lines before training them. You can't really get the hang of this game without dying once."

Spring Water Commander rolled his eyes, about to criticize his lousy idea that wasn't thought through, but on second thought, he was taken aback.

Yeah.

What instructor could be tougher than an enemy?

He had been thinking that it's not right to throw inexperienced rookies into a deathtrap, but then again, what training leaves a deeper impression than the memory of death?

This is a game, after all, not reality.

Players won't actually die even if they are killed.

Realizing he had fallen into an inertial thinking trap, Spring Water pondered for a long time and then, with a thoughtful look, nodded.

"Hmm... this might actually work."

Excitement sparked in his eyes; he turned to look at I Max Black, who was standing at the door.

"That's the plan! In a while, you take a hundred or so new brothers, hand out some decent weapons, and deliver a fast shipment to our Brother Battlefield!"

I Max Black was immediately dumbfounded.

"Holy shit! Why me?"

Spring Water rolled his eyes.

"You came up with the idea, who else is going to do it if not you?"

I Max Black said with a laugh and a cry.

"But 'Kakarot' brought the newbies; let him do it!"

Spring Water shook his head.

"He's got to take care of the new arrivals, unless you want to switch with him?"

As soon as I Max Black heard about taking care of newbies, he immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.

He didn't mind taking newbies, what's not to like about work that could show off and earn money? But the problem was, there were too many newbies this time, obviously not the same as the "Pass the Torch" mission.

But thinking of dying and having to wait three days, his face immediately turned as sour as a bitter melon.

"But I don't want to die either..."

Spring Water Commander coughed.

"I told you to lead the newbies forward, not to charge with them... Once they die off, you pull back on your own, right?"

I Max Black paused.

"Holy crap! Can I really do that?"

"What else do you think?"

Spring Water Commander egged him on, pushing his shoulder and nudging the guy out of the tent.

"Hurry up, no dawdling! It's over two hundred kilometers from here to the frontline, come back and make another run for me."

And so, eight "Electric donkey" trucks rolled grandly into the training ground.

With a few bundles of rifles in hand and mentally prepared, I Max Black heaved himself off the truck bed and approached the newbies who were in training.

The rifles and bullets on the truck were all surplus from the Lion Kingdom Armory.

The oldest rifle had even been purchased thirty years ago—it would fire, but the quality was another matter.

And those bullets, if two out of five shots fired, it would be considered lucky; even the Lion Kingdom's own soldiers wouldn't use them.

But none of that mattered.

According to the suggestion from the NPC logistic officer of the Storm Corps, since it's just a tentative attack anyway, might as well use the surplus from the allies.

Once this bottom-of-the-barrel stock is cleared out, they would just import new ones from the Alliance.

And on the allies' part, as soon as they heard someone was willing to help them consume the trash the noble lords had dumped on them, they generously threw the keys to I Max Black without a second word and told him to help himself.

Just like that, the equipment for the extras was assembled without lifting a finger.

'Kakarot' glanced at the heavy bullet-proof armor on I Max Black and then at the eight trucks behind him, pausing to ask,

"What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? You forget? Today's our turn to feed Kills!"

I Max Black whispered with a chuckle and then turned to the curious newbies crowding around, cleared his throat, and switched to a serious tone.

"Brothers! The Manager's orders! We're about to strike at the Army's G35-7 position on the frontline! Who's got the guts to join me?"

A Strength-type player near the front immediately asked,

"Big brother, are we getting guns?"

This was the main concern for the newbies.

In this game, you wouldn't have a chance to own your rifle before reaching Citizen level, unless you had an experienced player to lead you.

I Max Black waved his hand grandly.

"Give them out! Not only the guns, but also bullets when we arrive at the frontline!"

As soon as they heard that guns and bullets were being distributed, the new recruits got wildly excited and surged forward to sign up, charging onto the trucks with howls.

"Me me me!"

"Boss, look at me!"

"Hook me up with one too!"

Seeing the torrent of people, with many Strength-Type players among those jamming in front, I Max Black panicked. He tossed a rifle aside and said hastily,

"Go on, grab them for yourselves! Whoever gets to it can get on the truck, and if you don't get one, don't fret—there'll be another chance!"

A hundred and twenty rifles were snatched up in an instant.

The recruits who got weapons excitedly hopped onto the trucks like monkeys with bananas. It was just unfortunate that the troop trucks and supply trucks were separate so there were no bullets on the truck; otherwise, these restless folks might've fired a few rounds into the sky for kicks.

Finally getting the new recruits settled, I Max Black also boarded the lead truck.

Seeing the boss come up empty-handed, the dozen or so people inside the truck asked curiously,

"Boss, where's your gun?"

"Yeah, why didn't you grab one?"

I Max Black offered a sheepish smile.

Of course, he wouldn't say "I'm not going up there anyway." So he patted his waist pouch, showing the grip of a silver revolver.

"I've got mine here, the rifles are for you, I've got enough with a pistol."

Hearing this, everyone looked at him in admiration.

Awesome!

Heading to the front with just a pistol.

He's got to be a T0 Strongman, right?

...

And so, eight trucks carried an entire platoon of new recruits, majestically setting off towards the Army's G35-7 position.

The recruits who didn't get on a vehicle stood in the training camp with looks of disappointment, watching the rolling dust kicked up by the truck's rear wheels and sighing nonstop.

As the trucks disappeared into the distance, "Kakarot" who'd just come back to his senses, couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Damn... that Dog Spring Water doesn't treat people like humans."

The new recruits didn't understand the Manager's character, but he did.

The Manager wouldn't send new recruits with no training to the front as Cannon Fodder; it was clearly some rotten idea from that damn Dog Spring Water!

Just as "Kakarot" was about to call the recruits who didn't get on a truck back to continue training, he suddenly noticed two people from the group he'd just brought back were missing.

He hadn't even taught them how to shoot yet.

Could they have also sneaked onto a truck?

"Kakarot" glanced around.

"Uh... where are 'Return to soil & Rest in peace' and Ah Nie?"

A recruit stepped forward, saluting crisply.

"Reporting, Commander! They got on the truck!"

Caught off guard by this forceful report, "Kakarot" took a longer look at the recruit and then curiously asked,

"So tell me, why didn't you get on?"

The recruit, who called himself 'Chessboard in Hand,' shyly smiled.

"I'm a Perception Type..."

"Kakarot" paused and looked at the guy for a while.

This perceptiveness...

Pretty impressive!

...

"...Yesterday at noon, the enemy brazenly attacked our positions. Our Army's Centurion Pangolin, disregarding the hail of bullets and gunfire, took up a machine gun and fought on the front himself, annihilating 127 enemies! Seized 125 light weapons, various ammunition, and only one Centurion died in action!"

"Not bad," the Old Soldier said approvingly.

Oasis No.3, G53-7 defensive area.

Having heard the report Buford had written, the Old Soldier nodded his head in satisfaction.

Just as he was about to commend this lackey, a Sentry rushed in from the anti-cannon hole, looking flustered and saluted sharply.

"Reporting, Commander! Enemy troops spotted in the southeast direction! Roughly the size of a hundred-man team!"

Hearing this, the Old Soldier almost toppled backward off his chair.

Well, damn.

They're coming again?!

Buford, holding the report, was also stunned.

Just yesterday, a hundred-man team of theirs was annihilated by their side, and today they've sent another.

"Are they planning on a war of attrition? Hisss... But what I can't wrap my head around is, what's the point of them doing this?"

To deplete ammo?

But they don't bother to dig decent trenches, and there's no mortar preparation; they just charge head-on against their machine gun positions without even trying to hide.

What exactly are they trying to do?

Buford was completely baffled, instinctively looking towards the Captain sitting in the chair.

"Don't look at me; how would I freaking know?"

The Old Soldier cleared his throat, got up from his chair, straightened the officers' cap he had grabbed from the table, and then picked up the rifle that was leaning nearby.

"Who cares what they're up to… Anyone who comes here is Marshal His Majesty's enemy!"

With that, he pulled back the bolt.

"Let's go, it's time to meet them!"

Chapter 460: This Newbie's Got Something Special!

He rushed to the position, all in a fluster.

Old Soldier pulled out his telescope and took a glance at the person coming from across the way, heaving a sigh of relief upon catching a glimpse.

Good.

It's I Max Black.

It seemed that the Storm Corps were the ones arriving this time.

Compared to the brute force of the Death Legion, at least this group would pretend to play the part.

A hundred-odd people lay prone 500 meters away, using the cover of the uneven slopes, they began digging with shovels to make dugouts, intending to dig their way forward while shoveling.

Seeing how diligently his brothers were acting, Old Soldier decided to pull out some real skills, he turned to Buford and ordered solemnly.

"Don't rush to fire just yet, wait until they get closer before shooting!"

"Yes, tall one!"

After taking the command and nodding, Buford couldn't help but silently complain, wondering who it was that had begun firing from a long distance yesterday.

However, just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he saw the boss kick the machine gunner's butt.

"Move aside, I'll do it."

The machine gunner was stunned for two seconds, promptly stood up, and made way for the only heavy machine gun in the thousand team.

As he watched the boss inadvisably take over the machine gun spot, Buford wanted to persuade him with a bittersweet smile, but before he could touch his shoulder, he heard two abrupt gunshots.

Two plumes of dust sprang up in the distance.

Buford looked at his superior, dumbfounded.

"…Sir?"

Old Soldier, staring at the smoking barrel, coughed and said awkwardly.

"Cough… I was just checking the feel, it fired by accident."

He then glared at the machine gunner beside him.

"Why didn't you put the safety on?"

The machine gunner had a wronged expression and took a while before he could voice his grievance.

"Sir, you told me yesterday to take the safety off as soon as I see someone."

Old Soldier was startled.

"Did I say that?"

Machine gunner: "…"

Buford: "…"

Although it was just an accidental discharge of two shots, the clone soldiers in the trenches reacted as if they heard a signal, each of them setting up their guns beyond the trench and pulling the trigger, regardless of the distance.

The crack of gunfire merged into continuous sounds across the position, like firecrackers during the New Year—though much sound, little effect.

These clone soldiers weren't too bright to begin with, and their long-distance accuracy was notably dismal.

For this reason, hardly any officer would issue automatic weapons to clone infantry; it's pure torture for logistics.

Even so, when over a hundred people fired in one direction simultaneously, the net of fire still had a certain deterrent effect.

Bullets suddenly zipping by startled I Max Black, who was digging a dugout, he quickly bowed his head lower, afraid of being taken out by a stray bullet.

The reaction of the new players beside him was entirely different.

Though they also jumped with surprise, it was a completely different picture.

The bullets landed less than half a meter from their heads.

The sand that splashed up blinded their eyes, Return to soil & Rest in peace instinctively shrank his head, but soon an excited expression appeared on his face.

"Holy shit, this is freaking exhilarating!"

Far from being scared, he even reached out to the spot where the bullet landed and actually found a deformed bullet head embedded in the ground.

A look of discovering a New Continent appeared on Return to soil & Rest in peace's face, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Holy cow! You can actually find bullet heads in this FPS game!"

And it was hot to the touch!

Just for this detail, he was overwhelmingly impressed!

Ah Nie glanced at him, quickly noticing something amiss.

"Bro, where's your gun?"

Return to soil & Rest in peace gave an embarrassed smile.

"I didn't get one!"

Ah Nie was startled.

"What the hell are you here for, then?"

"Isn't there a shovel here?" Return to soil & Rest in peace winked and smiled, then his eyes strayed towards the weapon on Ah Nie's back, "It's fine, I'll use yours when you're dead."

Ah Nie: "???"

Just then, something hot whooshed past his left ear, nearly grazing his earlobe.

The bullet hadn't hit him.

But it hit another player standing about twenty meters behind him.

"Argh—!"

An exaggerated scream echoed through the open space, the player's shoulder suddenly bore a bloody hole, his body shook violently, and then, like wearing a mask of pain, he twisted into a knot on the ground like a worm.

After twisting for a good while, realizing that everyone around was watching him, he couldn't continue his act and sheepishly stopped with a chuckle.

"Heh, I forgot, I guess there's no sense of pain… Who's got a bandage? The blood won't stop flowing out."

I Max Black rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze from the man.

Asking for a bandage, really.

He's practically a dead man now, what the hell does he need a bandage for?

Watching the crackling gunfire ahead, I Max Black drew his pistol, took aim in front, and shouted.

"Brothers! Keep those shovels moving, dig hard! Don't stop—!"

Holy crap!

Old Soldier, that rotten guy, doesn't act human!

Just serving up people for him felt like a bargain.

Had to show him some colors!

I Max Black's eyes spun in their sockets, he suddenly had an idea and shouted.

"The G53-7 section's BOSS is right ahead! Catch that guy called Pangolin, kill him, and you'll be rewarded with 1000 silver coins!"

At the mention of a reward of 1000 silver coins, the sprawling new players were instantly excited!

Several of them almost stood up, but as theirs shoulders lifted half an inch, they were suppressed back down by the gunfire from the opposing position.

Besides the reckless ones, there were also some more rational players among the new ones, who shouted to I Max Black.

"Boss, how do I turn on the display ID mode?"

This question left I Max Black dumbfounded.

"What, show IDs mode?"

The newbie said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah! It shows character names, how else would I know who's called Pangolin?"

Upon hearing this, I Max Black suddenly realized.

Right.

The newbies had never seen that guy.

"Don't worry about it too much, just grab the one with the flat nose, the ugliest hammer, and you're done—"

Before he could finish speaking, I Max Black's forehead exploded into a mist of blood, and he was disconnected before he could even grunt.

Seeing the commander fall, the new players were all dumbfounded.

"Damn..."

"Big Bro?"

The head was smashed like a watermelon, obviously stone cold by then.

Ah Nie looked bewilderedly at Return to soil & Rest in peace, who was lying beside him.

"What... what do we do now?"

Return to soil & Rest in peace swallowed hard.

"Don't ask me... I just want Tranquility."

The truck that had brought them over had already driven away.

There was only a small motorcycle left leaning in the back, seemingly the commander's own, probably planned for use in the charge.

A Strength Type player clenched his teeth, unable to bear the indignity of being suppressed by enemy fire, and even less able to tolerate the endless digging and shoveling, he let out a roar.

"Brothers, charge!"

"To avenge our brother, I Max Black!"

This shout immediately garnered numerous responses from his comrades, as the players one by one rose from the ground.

Those with guns fixed their bayonets, and those without held shovels; accompanied by a thunderous roar, they launched a fearless charge.

"Charge!"

"Aooo!"

"Drop the Gold Coins, you curs!"

As it turned out,

A hundred people scattering and rushing forward was somewhat more effective than them running together in a clump.

Moreover, these newbies weren't completely without their own thoughts.

Seeing one guy get taken down by a burst from a machine gun, others quickly changed their tactics and began serpentine maneuvers.

However, it turned out that this tactic, common in FPS games, was pretty much useless in the almost completely realistic Virtual Reality Game.

That was a machine gun with a firing rate of six hundred rounds per minute!

Not to mention the one manning the machine gun was a Second Awakening, Third Order of Sequence in agility – a big shot.

In just one minute, until the last man fell fifty meters from the position, the entire thousand team was wiped out.

And as this batch of newcomers collectively disconnected, posts summarizing their deaths began to emerge one after another on the Forum in another world.

"Ah, indeed we should've just dug the trenches properly..."

"That's right... leaving cover was just stupid."

"Even if we charge, it should be at the right moment... I found that the enemy's rifles aren't that accurate; it's just that damn machine gun that's fierce!"

"Next time we need to get a cannon or something to at least take out that machine gun!"

"Who the hell made that shout?"

"I remember it was some dumbass Strength Type."

"Grass! Who the hell are you calling dumbass?!"

"It's you! XX! Dumbass!"

"%￥#@!"

…

Unlike the howling newbies, the Old Soldier was quite pleased this time.

The last delivery sent over by Debt Giant Eye had not a trace of sincerity; this time, not only could the newbies dig, but they also put on quite a show for him, which was genuinely entertaining.

To express his gratitude, he logged off at a spot where he wouldn't be disturbed and went on the Forum to leave a couple of compliments, only to nearly spray out his cola when he saw the posts.

Good lord.

They were treating him like a BOSS to farm!

He didn't know who started it, but the whole Forum was abuzz with new players sharing the joke that killing Pangolin would drop 1000 Silver Coins.

Watching the player discussions get hotter and more ludicrous, with some even suggesting setting up something like a "vanilla sugar Big Ivan," he felt nervous sweat seeping into his palms.

He quickly switched to the group chat he had created earlier and mentioned a few allied commanders.

"What's going on with you guys? Didn't we agree to send me some kills? How did it turn into dropping my Gold Coins?!"

I Max Black: "Damn! You cur finally show up, you went too hard just now, couldn't you have let me finish speaking?!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Cough cough... I saw you fire a shot, thought you were urging me to send you off quicker."

Valley Escaping Mole: "Hahaha!"

I Max Black: "@#%#!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Put your stuff aside, who's gonna deal with that group of newbies? Send kills as agreed, and don't mess up my good things."

Spring Water Commander: "Why manage them, I think it's quite good, didn't you complain that yesterday's batch was too deliberate? Using all means necessary, this is what's really real! (smirk)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Exactly! I was just pondering, directly sending kills is stupid."

I Max Black: "+1, besides, as a level twenty-something powerhouse, are you really worried a few newbies will upend you?"

Seeing this bunch of curs still egging on, the Old Soldier was on the verge of exploding and typed furiously.

"Darn it! Have you seen what they are discussing?!"

Spring Water Commander: "Relax, I'm not gonna give them any powerful weapons, just a couple of old rifles from storage... In the worst case, hide in your anti-cannon hole and send out the clones."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "..."

Edge Shoveling: "Suddenly got the mood, we're up tomorrow, right? (smirk)"

Young Construction Worker with Bricks: "I'll lead the team! (smirk)"

Seeing that smirk, the Old Soldier felt a chill down his spine.

Noticing he had been offline for over ten minutes, he cussed and shut down the computer, putting on the headset to return online.

…

That same night,

In the headquarters of Area 53, Coleway finally received a report from the frontlines.

And the moment he saw the report sent from sector seven, he was stunned.

"… Ammo exhausted in sector 7?! What happened?"

Yesterday, he had just been there, and had taken the time to check the front-line supply situation. By all accounts, the ammunition for a standard unit was reliable.

How could it be that not even 48 hours had passed, and they were already running out of ammunition?!

Were they treating bullets like peanuts to snack on while drinking?

The reporting officer continued with a serious expression.

"In the last two days, the Alliance dispatched small troop units twice to launch surprise attacks on our defense area at Section 7."

Coleway had no doubt that his Pangolin would fabricate something like this, but he couldn't help but ask.

"Is the situation confirmed?"

The officer nodded.

"I sent someone to the front line to check... The corpses left unattended outside the trenches couldn't be fake. According to their battle reports, they wiped out more than 250 enemies in these two days, and seized over 240 rifles, a pistol, and nearly six thousand rounds of ammunition."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"The seized weapons have already been sent to the logistics department... Some of the weapons need repairs, but they should be useable after some fixing."

He didn't listen to the rest of the words.

When he heard that they wiped out more than 250 enemies, Coleway's eyes instantly widened, and he sprang up from his chair with a whoosh.

Wow!

More than 250 people!

Even if two ten thousand troops faced each other in a firefight all day, they might not achieve such results.

His first reaction wasn't that Pangolin was a matchless tactician, but whether the Alliance's commander had lost his mind?

After calming down, he fixed his gaze on the strategic map and pondered for a long time. Suddenly, a trace of enlightenment appeared in his eyes.

"...Could they be using this method to eliminate internal dissent?"

The officer standing beside him looked slightly hesitant but quickly nodded.

"That is a possibility."

After all, the Alliance wasn't just one person. General Griffin had sent them an ultimatum, and they would certainly be divided on whether to engage in ceasefire negotiations, with voices supporting both war and peace factions arising.

Coleway could even guess.

The rationale of the pro-peace faction would simply be that the Alliance was too weak and too small compared to the Army, and if a full-scale war broke out, they probably couldn't last even three days.

That was indeed the reality.

Neither the expedition to the Grand Canyon, the detention of the Pioneer, nor the subsequent invasion of Luo Xia Province represented the collective will of the Army.

The corporate assistance to the Alliance was also just a minor matter among many for the corporations.

If a full-scale war truly erupted, it was unclear who would have the advantage between the Army and the corporations, but he had no doubt that the Alliance, in its precarious position, wouldn't survive a single round.

However, even so, there must still be voices within the Alliance pushing for war.

After all, while the exact state of the Army's supplies was difficult to gauge, the overall problem wasn't hard to guess.

Based on such speculation, if he were part of the Alliance's pro-peace faction, he would certainly use this argument against the warmongers—

'Since you're so confident you can win the second half, then you can lead the charge with your men. Or at least provide evidence that the Army really can't continue.'

This would not make it hard to understand why the Alliance resorted to such desperate tactics as the fuel-adding strategy.

Staring at the strategic map on the table, Coleway narrowed his eyes and a smug smile curled on his lips.

"Pity they picked the wrong opponent and ended up clashing with one of the valiant warriors under my command."

After saying this, he saw the officer.

"Divert half of the ammunition from Sections 6 and 5 to Section 7! We must not show them our weakness!"

The officer hesitated.

"But... what if they adjust their tactics and attack other lines of defense next time?"

Coleway chuckled confidently.

"Since it's a probe of our strengths and weaknesses, they can't just hammer away randomly. They'll have to focus their attacks on one point to break through, I'm certain they'll come back in a couple of days!"

Regardless,
the dead aren't faking it.

Being able to use just a little ammunition to wear down the most determined living forces of the enemy is a win in any book!

Not only that, this method also allows us to sustain the war with the war.

The enemy can't possibly come empty-handed; the weapons and ammunition they bring can be recycled and reused!

"Hold off on sending the captured equipment and ammunition to the maintenance crews for now. Wait until I've drafted the battle report, and then we'll send it all together to the higher command! Let's see if they can divert some ammunition our way!"

The officer's eyes lit up.

Brilliant idea!

With a hundred thousand troops lined up along the front, there are always a few units defending areas that aren't so crucial, or positions that are somewhat in the rear and less likely to be attacked.

As long as the commanding office realizes the situation here, they will surely allocate some ammunition to them!

Thinking of this, the officer immediately stood upright and saluted excitedly, taking the order.

"Yes, sir!"

The message was reported up the chain.

And sure enough, it reached Griffin in just two days.

He wasn't surprised by the Alliance's small scale raid on the Army's defensive line.

Strategic caution and tactical audacity do not conflict.

Moreover, that ultimatum was just a unilateral notification from his side, not a proper ceasefire agreement. He never expected the Alliance to be so frightened by a piece of paper that they wouldn't dare fire a shot.

If he were the commander on the other side, he too would send small forces to probe and see how capable the opposition really was and whether they had the guts to make him pay a price.

But that Centurion named Pangolin was quite interesting.

Griffin had seen his record.

Although it was that fool McCullen who had promoted him and he was from the Retinue Army, his skills and loyalty were indeed beyond question.

Single-handedly hunting the two-story-tall Mother of Dead Claw, and in the face of defeat, carrying his superior officer across the desert, breaking through the enemy encirclement to return to the rear.

Whether in terms of loyalty or bravery, he was impeccably perfect, even to the point where Griffin himself couldn't help but admire.

Such talent was a waste to send to the front lines.

If only he were a Weilante person, or even half Weilante by blood, he would have transferred him to the Personal Body Guard as a captain.

The Weilante People's mistrust of foreigners was innate, and the reasons can be traced back to the early Wasteland Era.

"Could there be a problem with this man?" Griffin's adjutant hesitated as he stood beside him, "I always feel... his victory was a little too smooth."

Griffin tapped his index finger lightly on the table.

"We can't rule out that possibility. Even Weilante people could betray us, let alone a foreigner. But so far, other than his large appetite, I haven't noticed any other problems with him, and I won't rashly punish someone who has contributed based on intuition."

Since Pangolin brought Coleway back, his men had been monitoring him. They found that, aside from eating a lot and spending a bit more time in the bathroom, he hadn't shown anything unusual and hadn't even left camp once.

If such a person had issues, then there would be too many suspects to count.

After thinking for a moment, Griffin made up his mind and looked toward the officer standing at the camp entrance to give an order.

"Send a telegram to the front line, ensuring that Area 53's ammunition needs are met first! The Alliance is very likely to launch a retaliatory strike on Area 53-7, and we must not let them see that we have issues with our ammunition supply!"

"Additionally, send a Battlefield Reporter to Area 53-7."

He paused, a slight smile curling the corner of his lip.

"So brave a military exploit should not remain in the headquarters, it should be communicated to the entire Army!"

"Everyone must know!"

…

The heroic deeds of Area G53-7 and the Pangolin were undoubtedly a welcome relief to the Falcon, Army Allied forces, who had lost the number 9 Oasis to the hard-fought Alliance.

Despite a lot of skepticism from the junior officers about this accomplishment, they couldn't find any fault after seeing the photos taken by the journalists.

After all, those people who looked and were built so differently from the residents of the Luo Xia Province couldn't just be padding the numbers with civilians...

In a certain military camp in the defense zone, a few soldiers gathered together, talking about the broadcast they had heard during their meal and a recent newspaper that was delivered to the camp.

"Have you heard? Area G53 wiped out a hundred team yesterday!"

"That Pangolin, right? I know him! Heard he once killed a Death Claw as tall as a five-story building with his bare hands when he was with McCullen in the Southern River Valley Province!"

"Bare hands?! I heard he used weapons?" a muscular soldier with disbelief written all over his face said, his eyes wide.

He was known in the team as a tough guy, but his highest feat was killing a Dead Claw that was two men tall.

And he had used guns and traps.

The soldier who was boasting smirked.

"It doesn't matter! What kinds of weapons aren't like toothpicks in front of creatures of that caliber? The Iron Heart couldn't handle those monsters, but he did. The Alliance? Hah, no matter how many they bring, it won't be enough for him to kill."

A soldier who had been silent the whole time couldn't help but express his sincere exclamation.

"Such terror..."

Meanwhile, the Pangolin in Area G53-7 wasn't feeling as cheerful as he did at the beginning, and he couldn't bring himself to smile at all.

Not because he'd killed his own people.

He still observed a moment of silence, but holding a machine gun and collecting heads was just too satisfying. Plus, since he was on an undercover mission, he wouldn't face any punishment from the Manager, and he didn't need to go easy on the newbies.

While others acting undercover would lift their gun muzzles an inch to avoid killing, he not only struck to kill but was also afraid of not finishing the job, often firing extra bullets into the bodies.

However, before long, he quickly found that the Alliance's offensive was getting stronger.

Or to put it more accurately.

The newbies had grown.

Especially those who had died once, after enduring the painful "three days detox," they deeply realized how precious life was.

And so, those who did not wish to die swiftly finally took a serious attitude under the guidance of veteran players and quickly mastered the skills needed to survive on the battlefield.

Although the newbies were not very proficient, when a group of people started taking things seriously, they still managed to cause quite a bit of trouble for Comrade Pangolin in his work.

What used to take just a burst of fire to send one person off now required at least two bursts.

Moreover, he had to constantly watch out for the dirty tricks these newbies would pull.

Like the recent offensive where these newbies even used gas cylinder bombs, and one homemade cannon almost blew up his machine gun position.

Fortunately, apart from making a big noise, that thing had no other advantages, only killing a few clone soldiers and one Centurion.

And Spring Water's explanation was—"That was something the newbies made with the military ammunition from the warehouse, sugar and gas cylinders from the kitchen, and fertilizer bought from the locals."

He almost believed it!

If there wasn't someone experienced behind this, he'd eat a heap of shit!

The newbies were getting stronger as they fought, and the battlefield gradually started feeling strained.

Especially when he discovered, to his amusement and dismay, that not only were these newbies treating him like a boss in an instance to grind, but those commanders had even started thinking of him as an instructor, throwing all the newbies to him for training.

My goodness.

He felt like he was doing three people's Work!

Only getting one day's pay was a huge loss!

In the anti-canon hole.

Looking at the captain with a gloomy face, Buford swallowed his saliva nervously and asked,

"Captain, how many people have we killed these past few days?"

The irritated old soldier replied offhandedly.

"Over a thousand, what about it?"

Buford said with a distressed look on his face,

"Captain, our brothers' ammunition has hit rock bottom, and even the supplies allocated from the thousand teams are nearly spent! If there are no more supplies delivered... I'm afraid we'll have to go up and fight them with bayonets."

The old soldier was just about to impatiently respond with, then let's fight with bayonets.

However, at that moment, a sentry ran in hurriedly, saying with a face full of joy,

"Report to the officer! The supply truck has arrived!"

The old soldier was stunned for a moment, then the gloom on his face dissipated instantly, and he stood up from his chair, overjoyed.

"Look, the ammunition has arrived."

Buford was also stunned, looking at the captain with an incredulous face, his gaze had changed from just moments before.

The entire army was short on ammunition, yet they managed to send some here.

Could this guy be some big shot's illegitimate son...

The old soldier chuckled, picked up his officer's hat, and put it on.

"Let's go, check out our spoils—cough, our supply!"

A group of people went outside the barracks, where about a dozen trucks were parked by the roadside, loaded to the brim with boxes of ammunition.

Watching the centurions happily moving boxes of ammunition from the trucks, Buford's worried expression also vanished, his eyes brimming with excitement and anticipation.

"...This must be a thousand team's worth of ammunition!"

The old soldier's mouth curved upwards in a smirk, and he coughed lightly, pompously stating,

"It seems, the higher-ups place great importance on us."

Buford quickly offered up a laugh with a flattering remark,

"Of course... You are now a war hero. Yesterday's broadcast was still praising your heroic deeds! I heard the news has spread throughout the entire army, who knows, maybe the battle reports have even reached Triumph City."

Not taking the praise to heart, the old soldier just laughed it off,

"Hahaha, you all have your merits too!"

After patting his adjutant's shoulder, the old soldier walked forward, picked two boxes to look at, and suddenly noticed the numbers on the boxes.

G40-1, G40-2...

Is this...

The code for the defense area?

Suddenly realizing something, a look of interest emerged in the old soldier's eyes.

Discreetly moving away from the truck they were at, he went over to the one at the end of the line, randomly picked out two boxes to check.

Very coincidentally, the last numbers were also 1 and 2.

However, the prefix had changed to G41.

Seeing this, the old soldier was shocked.

Good grief.

Is it a sequential number?!

Chapter 461: The gas cylinder that descended from the sky was just like their past

Although Chu Guang hadn't shown his face on the frontline for over a week, he had been quietly observing his players from the rear.

Upon seeing the series of cheeky maneuvers performed by these players, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"Goodness... they've really gotten the hang of this 'Game'."

Using the cannon fodder tactic seemed effective.

It not only helped the Pangolin rack up kills but also helped the allies clear out their inventory backlog.

As a result, Pangolin acquired military support, the rookies grew, the allies received new equipment, and the alliance secured ammunition orders... Counting it all up, he had won at least three times, and he had done so effortlessly.

Who was the genius who came up with this idea?

Xiao Qi, sitting at the desk, tilted her small head observing Chu Guang's expressions and asked softly,

"Master, it seems like your undercover agent in the army might be in danger... Should I warn them not to go too far?"

"No need, let them be," Chu Guang said with a smile as he shook his head, "That guy isn't so easy to kill. Showing too much mercy on the battlefield would seem too fake; this way it's more realistic."

It would be even better if he got injured.

Returning to the rear to recover as a war hero could give him a chance to check out what's happening in the west of Central Continent, especially within the army.

He always heard Vanus boast about how majestic and imposing Triumph City was, yet there wasn't even a single photo, making it hard to write good official reports.

Xiao Qi nodded as if she understood.

"Alright then."

She might not completely get it, but since the master said so, it should be fine.

Chu Guang, scrolling through the mouse wheel, continued browsing the forum posts.

It was almost time to log off when suddenly, a traitor, known as "No Internal Traitor," popped up in the group chat.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Brothers!!! Major insider info!"

Edge Shoveling: "What insider info?"

I Max Black: "Did the rookies carry you away?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Get lost! I'm talking business. Remember how we were short on ammunition at the front? Initially, our ammo was balanced from other sectors within our own area, but now it's suddenly being balanced from other areas!"

Mole on the Run in the Canyon: "What?!"

Edge Shoveling: "Really?"

Spring Water Commander: "Can you confirm which area it's from?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Hehe, that's actually what I wanted to share. Today's delivered ammo crates were marked with G40 and 41. If nothing goes wrong, they were definitely sent from these two areas!"

Mole on the Run in the Canyon: "Awesome!"

Spring Water Commander: "Remember to keep track of every ammunition delivery! Later, we can estimate each area's remaining ammo and adjust the route of attack for Plan No. 3 accordingly!"

Spring Water Commander was so excited typing this that his palms were nearly sweating.

If all goes well, by next week when the action officially starts, they will be facing a defensive army lacking in ammunition and low on morale.

Their defense will be as fragile as an eggshell, cracking at the slightest tap!

Just by breaking a hole in their lines, the Skeleton Corps' armored units could thrust deep into Oasis No.3, quickly splitting the battlefield in coordination with several divisions following up from the rear, completely scattering and dissolving the enemy's defensive forces.

Annihilating this army of a hundred thousand would be effortless!

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Hehe, would this count as a major merit? (proud)"

Spring Water Commander: "Absolutely a top-class merit!"

Edge Shoveling: "6666!"

...

In just one week, the 700-person squad led by Pangolin had annihilated a whole thousand-troop unit from the alliance.

Days of victory not only greatly boosted the confidence of frontline soldiers but also allowed officers at all levels of command to breathe a sigh of relief.

Before heading to the front, all they saw were terrified deserters and heard ruthless tales about how barbaric and fierce the alliance soldiers were.

Now, they saw no such thing.

It seems like those clumsy attendants were merely making excuses for their own failures.

The legendary exploits of area G53-7, akin to a myth, spread across the entire army under Griffin's directive, boosting morale like how tales of ace snipers or pilots would.

Although one or two elites cannot change the course of the entire war, it does inspire the majority to believe, "If I go up there, I can do it too."

As for why the alliance clung so hard to area G53-7 without committing more troops, opinions within the corps were divided.

Some thought that area G53 might be a strategic focal point in the alliance's next phase of the campaign, planning to use it as a breakthrough in their offensive.

However, most tended to another idea.

That is, there was a divergence within the alliance about whether to continue the war.

This scenario isn't rare on the corps' path of conquest.

Though massive, the corps isn't always victorious in every battle fought by every unit.

Especially those wars not wholly led by the corporate will, occasionally being thwarted by local survivor forces.

Even so, fearing the massive force of the corps, these survivor settlements eventually chose to submit.

Of course, some believed the reason might be more direct than ideological divergences—the alliance was physically struggling to keep going.

War is an expensive game.

Company support for the alliance was genuine, but the sustained losses caused by these aids were equally real. If the alliance had to shoulder all the logistical expenses on its own, given its economic scale and the fledgling industrial capability, it might not last even a week.

This intelligence came from their business partners located in the northern part of River Valley Province, the Bugra Free State.

That easily explains why the soldiers launching "suicidal attacks" at the G53-7 defense line had equipment that grew worse with each attempt...

At the G53-7 camp.

Looking at the bundles of rifles piled on the ground and heaps of ammunition of various calibers and sizes, the officer who came to collect the spoils couldn't help but jeer.

"Did they dig out all their bottom-of-the-barrel stock?"

The failure rate of captured equipment on the battlefield was high, so before use, it usually needed to be sent to a repair team managed by the ten-thousand troops for maintenance and refurbishment.

This repair team's role was similar to a maintenance company under divisional control.

Per military regulations of the corps, unless under special circumstances, combat units at all levels must not privately retain captured equipment; it must be sent to the repair team for refurbishment first, then distributed uniformly by the logistics teams.

However, this military regulation was not strictly enforced.

After all, whether the situation was special depended entirely on the judgment of the frontline commanders, and considering that supplies could run out any day, most commanders preferred to keep the materials for themselves.

Especially now, with the obvious supply issues, these captured weapons, though they might have high failure rates, were better than nothing.

However, Mr. Pangolin was different; this unassuming war hero "generously" handed over all the materials they had seized from the Alliance.

Just kidding.

He wasn't foolish!

What kind of rifles was Spring Water issuing to the newbies? They might not understand, but was he not supposed to?

These were already Beta versions; even dogs wouldn't use these pipe rifles!

"It seems the Alliance's logistics have a serious problem," said Old Soldier, whistling nonchalantly, "Maybe it won't take long to win."

The officer smirked.

"I really don't know how those rookies who fled back from Oasis No.3 managed to fight."

Old Soldier quipped.

"We can teach them hands-on."

"Ha ha."

The officer laughed heartily.

Although Mr. Pangolin wasn't from Vellante, he was surprisingly interesting to talk to.

And no matter who it was, as long as they could give the Alliance a good beating and vent their anger, they were friends.

He even began to like the guy a bit.

At that moment, a woman with deep brown hair jumped down from the passenger seat of the last truck in the convoy.

The sudden appearance of a woman in a military camp, mostly filled with men, naturally attracted the attention of a group of Centurions, even the not-so-intelligent clones took notice.

Indeed, she looked good.

However, upon seeing her prominent nose, the officers who were initially ready to whistle and tease, deflated like punctured balls and went to cool their heels elsewhere.

The people from Vellante wouldn't spare them a glance.

Though they were lucky to have transferred from the Retinue Army to the Regular Army, mere luck wasn't enough to mingle with the high ranks.

They were well aware that those with big noses would not favor them but might even punish them with a lashing for feeling offended.

Old Soldier surveyed the woman.

Her pupils were blue, her deep brown hair tied back into a braid, featuring the characteristically prominent Vellante nose...and even more towering peaks.

There were women in the Army, but they were almost all "aliens" engaged in servant work; he had never met a pure-blooded person from Vellante before.

And it was also the first time he realized that the big noses weren't always so ugly; it really depended on the face they were on.

The woman walked straight towards him.

"Hello, Mr. Pangolin."

"Who are you?"

"Penny, a journalist from the Triumph Newspaper, it's good to meet you," the woman said with a slight smile, extending her right hand which held a notebook and recorder tucked under her arm, "The headquarters sent me here to get the details... May I interview you now?"

The Triumph Newspaper, as the name implies, was a paper issued in Triumph City and it was the most widely distributed newspaper within the Army. However, due to the efficiency of information transmission and other reasons, the versions printed in different areas greatly varied.

For instance, in Triumph City, the Triumph Newspaper mainly reported the city's news, and front-line news would generally be pushed beyond page three.

But on the front lines, the content of the Triumph Newspaper avoided topics like hometowns or families, focusing instead on victories, beautiful women, thrilling stories, and all sorts of news that could stimulate the soldiers' hormones, accompanied by puzzles and crossword games to pass the time in the trenches.

Most low-level officers could read and would read it out to the ordinary soldiers, and the radio would broadcast the paper at specific times.

To ensure the soldiers remained enthusiastic about expanding and cultivating new territories, the officers needed some to flex their muscles on the battlefield, others to live a lavish emperor-like existence in Survivor Settlements, and yet others to become wealthy from the war...even if some details had to be fabricated.

This newspaper, like bread, alcohol, and tobacco, didn't require the soldiers to pay for it; it was part of the logistical supplies.

Upon hearing that the Triumph Newspaper wanted to interview him, Old Soldier remembered what Coleway had told him yesterday and immediately perked up, vigorously shaking her hand.

"It's an honor to serve a beauty, just ask whatever you want."

The flattery towards appearance, though hackneyed, never went out of style.

As expected, Penny's lips slightly curved upwards, showing a delighted expression.

"To not take up more of your time, I'll get straight to the point."

Flicking her bangs aside, she skillfully activated her recorder, looked down at her pre-written questions, and began.

"So, the first question... Do you have any family?"

Old Soldier didn't hesitate.

"I'm an orphan, Officer Coleway who took me in is my family."

Penny looked at him with surprise softening her eyes, her gaze filled with sympathy as she continued.

"I heard you're an Awakener?"

"Yes."

"You must have undergone rigorous training, right?"

Old Soldier chuckled sheepishly.

"Uh, not really, it kind of happened unexpectedly... I still don't understand what happened."

Penny paused, then grinned.

"That's true, most Awakeners discovered their abilities accidentally... Even survivors from outside Vellante have a chance of being the lucky ones."

She took a moment, then resumed.

"So, what makes you unbeatable on the battlefield?"

Old Soldier answered almost without thinking.

"Of course, it's my loyalty to the Marshal!"

Penny briefly hesitated, then unconsciously asked.

"But aren't you from the Brocade River Province? You've probably never seen the Marshal, right?"

"That's not important," Old Soldier, unashamed, earnestly replied, "Although I've never met His Majesty or been to Triumph City, his ideals deeply attracted me."

"This chaotic world needs order! And only when all blood flowing in the veins is noble can this world see eternal order!"

Hearing that passionate speech, Penny's expression turned visibly moved.

This is…

such loyalty!

"So, how do you view your officer Coleway—"

Before he could finish, a sudden explosion interrupted him.

The deafening blast came from the frontline not too far away, hurling stones and dust several meters high, even reaching the vicinity of the convoy.

The repair team soldiers quickly raised their arms, covering their heads to dodge.

The cap of the officer flew off with the surging blast, and the Old Soldier's face instantly changed.

Damn!

This isn't the agreed time?

The revenge-seeking rookies did not give him time to hesitate.

After a brief pause, a whistling noise suddenly came from the sky.

One could see several gas cylinders with metal pipes inserted into them wildly flying in the air, their explosions and flames blooming across the battlefield like heavenly maidens scattering flowers.

"Get down!"

Seeing a huge gas cylinder flying towards them, the Old Soldier's face drastically changed. He fiercely grabbed Penny's arm and pulled her down to the ground.

This one cannot die!

Otherwise, wouldn't all his earlier posing be in vain?!

"Boom—!"

Just as the two hit the ground, the explosive noise rose almost at the same moment.

The raging shockwave spread, tipping over a truck and almost blowing away a maintenance officer who was earlier bragging with him.

The dust settled half a minute later.

Ensuring there were no new explosions, the Old Soldier finally released Penny, who he had been pressing down, and climbed up from the ground.

"Damn it! Ptooey—"

Spitting out the sand in his mouth, the Old Soldier wiped his face clean of dust, cursing under his breath, and looked towards the war reporter who was scared stiff.

"You alright?"

This guy's not too good.

Is this his first time on the job?

Ignoring his question, Penny's face was pale. She lay tightly on the ground, not daring to get up, her eyes filled with unresolved fear, and her pants slightly wet.

After a long while, she said with a trembling voice.

"Just now, that… what was it?"

That sound…

How is it louder than a 100mm cannon?!

The Old Soldier chuckled.

"Gas cylinder bomb, indeed not small in might, but not very precise, nor very far in range… it is not the first time we've encountered them."

Penny swallowed.

Gas cylinder bombs?!

This is… how barbaric!

"Do you guys endure such bombardments every day?" Her voice shook as she picked up her recording pen from the ground.

"The basic tactics of those people… you see, the Alliance has only this much skill. It looks scary, but the effect is mediocre. There's nothing to worry about!"

The Old Soldier grinned, picking up his fallen rifle and hat, "Wait for me a moment, I'm going to take care of those bastards."

Saying this, without waiting for Penny to hold him back, he turned and stepped into the smoke-filled battlefield.

These rookies were getting bold.

They even brought out "saturating fire"!

Surprised, he also couldn't help but feel a surge of panic inside.

If he didn't go help those clone fools, it's quite possible that their position might actually be taken by these guys!

Plan No. 3 was entering a critical phase, and Area 53 was not an attack focus for the Alliance; later, the Storm Corps and Skeleton Corps might even allow them an escape route.

Even if they took his position now, it would not help the overall situation and could lead to bigger losses for minor gains.

For the Alliance!

For the esteemed Manager!

He was determined to slaughter this group of brain-damaged rookies.

As Mr. Pangolin rushed towards the frontline, Penny, left behind, felt her mind tangled like a ball of yarn.

When Mr. Pangolin grabbed her arm, her heart abruptly leapt, but the wildly beating heart soon paused for half a second due to the explosive roar that was close at hand.

Now her heart was pounding nonstop again.

That sturdy chest and the secure embrace lingered in her mind, unshakeable.

Especially that final figure he left behind…

It's not just loyalty.

That was… what heroism!

Lost in her thoughts, Penny's eyes slowly filled with infatuation, but soon enough, the infatuation turned into regret.

What a pity.

So loyal and heroic, yet he belongs to an alien race.

No matter how high the honors, how great the wealth, he can only join with other aliens. Even if his boss recognizes his capabilities, he'd never be embraced by mainstream society.

Her mind was a mess of thoughts.

Just then, Penny suddenly felt a moist sensation, and her whole face turned red like an apple.

Never having been so deeply in the frontline, it was also her first time experiencing such near bombardments. The earth-shattering explosive sounds shook her to the core, and she couldn't help it.

Filled with shame, wishing she could just die on the spot, she quickly took off her jacket, tied it around her waist, and glanced unconsciously towards the direction Mr. Pangolin had disappeared, biting her lip, red enough to bleed.

Shouldn't have seen it, right?

...

In the distance, about one kilometer from the G53-7 defense line.

A dozen tripods stood at the foot of the dune, empty steel pipes aimed straight at the army's position.

Supported by veterans like Springs, Edge, Mosquito, and more, these Beta 0.4 newcomers not only started "big training" at the front lines but also initiated "mass production," even setting up a makeshift arsenal using local materials.

It was proven that the creativity of the working people was endless. If left unchecked, it wouldn't just be merciless cannons, but even ruthless Katyushas could be crafted.

After a calibration shot, twelve gas tank rockets fired off with the intensity of a rocket artillery barrage, somewhat creating the atmosphere of a battlefield.

"Awesome! This is what you call real warfare!" Ah Nie exclaimed, swinging his fist excitedly.

"Exactly! This trumps mortars big time!" someone reluctantly clicked their tongue while holding a chessboard.

"Pity they're not very accurate."

The ground at the position was pockmarked and rugged, true, but whether it killed a few people was uncertain. The only consolation was that at least the machine gun position was blown away.

The safest strategy now was to pull back, bring another load of shells, and fire another round at the opposing position—or maybe drop some smoke bombs for cover.

Regrettably, those old players were ruthless, just dumping them here and walking away without a backward glance.

With no food, fresh water, or guide, trying to cross two hundred kilometers of desert to get back was less efficient than just killing themselves.

"Anyway, let's start digging the batt—"

Before he could finish, Return to Soil & Rest in Peace already had a bayonet fixed under his rifle barrel and lifted the gun, howling excitedly.

"Brothers!"

"Strike them while they're down!"

"Charge!"

After saying that, he procured a whistle from somewhere, bit down on it, and blew fiercely.

"㘗——!"

The piercing whistle echoed.

Hearing the charge whistle, the shouts and cries on the battlefield instantly boiled over. One by one, the newcomers, as if invigorated, charged towards the smoke-filled battlefield.

"Charge!"

"Bust open their stash of gold coins!"

"Aooo!"

"Silver coins!!!"

"Come and get it!"

...

Tasked with the manager's mission, Li played on the shattered battlefield, engaging in a bloody and brutal slaughter with the "unethical" newcomers.

Both sides were seeing red.

One side couldn't die, the other didn't want to die too soon.

If it weren't for the fact that both sides could respawn, this surely would have been a scene worth singing praises.

Meanwhile, while the frontline was in a heated clash, far away in City of Dawn, a thousand kilometers distant, everything was calm and quiet.

Compared to the heated battles at the front, the rear base's life was like retirement.

Due to the players' excessive hunting, and the popularity of delicacies such as crab cakes, monster meat steaks, grilled hyena with salt, and buttered mushroom rice, there weren't many Variants left around City of Dawn, so long as you didn't venture deep into the areas occupied by sticky bacteria.

Even in the Elm District's nuclear craters, you couldn't catch breeding Crack Claw Crabs anymore.

No doubt about it, those monsters had been hunted to extinction. To hunt tasty Variants, you'd have to go north to the forested mountains north of Qing Shi County.

Alternatively, one might have to advance toward Brocade River Province, with its dense jungles and broad plains.

To enrich the diet of the people of City of Dawn, a certain lizard and mole recently organized an expeditionary army, taking a few newbies and restless old players, aiming towards Brocade River Province.

And the ultimate goal? The southernmost Death Coast!

Rumor had it that it was Torch Church territory, with many high-tech exoskeletons.

For instance, Springs' "Squirtle" suit was reportedly dropped by members of the Torch Church.

Not only that, a merchant named Zhou Nan boasted that there was also a "glowing sea" there.

This scene was definitely cooler than Silver Moon Bay!

Falling Feather also wanted to take a look.

However, regrettably, he was currently saddled with a burden.

According to the manager, the challenge on Floor B6 seemed to require Xiaoyu's "Devouring" ability to solve.

While he was glad that Dog Plan compensated him with a divine pet that also came with a hidden task, he must say that taking care of the kid was indeed a bit tedious.

His daily routine felt like walking a dog, taking Xiaoyu to the North Suburb for a stroll, butchering a couple of Crawlers or Butchers to watch it feast.

Then, he'd take it around the survivor settlement nearby to drain its abundant energy and incidentally ease the nearby residents' wariness toward this polite child.

Actually, the latter was secondary; the former was the key.

If he didn't expend the creature's energy, it couldn't sleep at night and would try all sorts of tricks to wake him up. If unsuccessful, it might start doing strange things to his cultivation chamber.

For example, the last time he woke up, he saw a huge, bloody mouth stuck to the transparent chamber door, almost scared the pee out of him.

It looked as though it wanted to swallow him whole.

But once he awoke, Xiaoyu quickly reverted to its docile, adorable self, acting like a lively little dolphin around him, happily chirping.

As if nothing had happened before.

To train this creature, to help it integrate into human society, Falling Feather, besides teaching it the not-so-fluent United Human language, occasionally tried feeding it human food.

Though it still resisted cooked food, it did have a fondness for high-sugar content items.

Especially the lollipops with attribute enhancements sold at NPC stores, it would not only make happy sounds after eating them but wouldn't even spit out the plastic sticks.

Additionally, after some time nurturing it, another event occurred that greatly surprised Falling Feather.

It finally learned how to hunt!

Chapter 462: This Is Actually a Simulation Game

Accompanied by the piercing sound of something tearing through the air, a series of dark red tendrils, like lightning, pierced through the body of the Crawler.

The gaping mouth, dripping with black blood, let out an exhausted roar, trying to break free from the tendrils' binding. However, another tendril shot forward quickly, piercing straight through its forehead.

Black blood splattered.

The forehead, hard enough to stop a 7mm bullet, was punctured right through by what appeared to be a soft tendril.

Falling Feather watched, dumbfounded, as Xiaoyu was covered in black blood and as the Crawler was turned into something resembling a showerhead by tendrils, his gaze shifting from surprise and delight to fervor.

This method of fighting was somewhat bizarre.

But it didn't matter!

Awesome is awesome!

"Hahaha! My dear child, you've finally grown up!" Falling Feather, overjoyed, walked up and reached out to stroke Xiaoyu's head.

Touched by someone it was blood-bound to, Xiaoyu made a cute "yiiwu" sound and even rubbed its head against his hand.

It was just like a cat asking for attention.

The smooth touch was indeed a bit like a hairless cat.

Although Falling Feather found it initially hard to accept this "SSSR Level Divine Pet's" avant-garde style, he had gotten used to it over time.

Being able to singlehandedly kill a Crawler with bare hands!

That was already very impressive!

Next time, it might be worth trying against a "Tyrant"!

While Falling Feather was happy to have found the trick to raising a child, Xiaoyu had already pounced next to the Crawler it had just hunted and started to feast.

And before this, it had already eaten no less than three!

"It seems this guy's appetite has increased again."

He remembered that initially, two Crawlers were enough to fill it up.

Now it needed four to five a day.

Falling Feather, intrigued, stroked his chin, took out his notebook, flipped a few pages backward, and noted down this clue.

[Day 11, appetite has doubled, no significant change in size.]

Just then, he made an even more astonishing discovery.

He saw that on the surface of the crimson, skirt-shaped fungal blocks on Xiaoyu's lower limbs, gray-brown, hardened keratin layers had grown out at some point.

The largest piece was about the size of half a palm, the smallest only thumb-sized, resembling a knight's armor.

Because the area covered by the keratin layer was not very large, it was almost impossible to detect without a close inspection.

Falling Feather curiously touched it, then tried scraping it lightly with a dagger.

Xiaoyu, engrossed in its food, showed no reaction, apparently not feeling any pain. No matter how hard he scraped, the surface of the keratin layer remained without a single scratch.

Feeling the strength of this "organic armor," Falling Feather's eyes quickly lit up with excitement, and he eagerly recorded this discovery in his notebook.

[Day 11, organic armor has grown! Armor coverage area suspected to increase with development!]

Closing his notebook, Falling Feather looked at Xiaoyu with eyes full of proud paternal satisfaction.

"Xiaoyu... grow quickly!"

"I'm counting on you to become a T0 Strongman!"

...

Floor B4 Viewing Room.

Someone else wore a paternal smile on his face.

However, it wasn't because of Xiaoyu's changes, but because of the books sorted out from the Merchant Guild.

With the help of the little princess from the Honey Badger Kingdom, the Merchant Guild had significantly sped up their book sorting work recently.

The contents of these books, written during the Prosperity Epoch or even earlier, had not only been a great help to his work but had also been very beneficial to other Alliance managers.

As the Alliance grew larger, the number of issues to consider also multiplied; although many things could be glossed over with a word, the specifics of solving issues were hard to explain in detail even with the space of an entire book.

And the information in these books represented predecessors' experiences about "how exactly to do things" and the potential issues that might arise thereafter.

The Prosperity Epoch might have drawn to a close.

But this wealth, more valuable than gold, should not be buried and forgotten.

Standing beside the bookshelf, browsing through the books just delivered by the Merchant Guild, Chu Guang suddenly found a note tucked inside.

It bore a line of elegant handwriting.

It must have been left by Afni.

[The book mentions that people distribute resources through the market, which makes them slaves to money. Why don't we adopt a more efficient way to manage the distribution of the resources that everyone needs?]

He hadn't expected the girl who held picture books in her arms to be interested in such dull academic questions.

Surprised and amused, Chu Guang smiled and picked up a pen, jotting down his thoughts on the blank space of the note.

[People can become slaves to many things out of desire, not just money. It includes beauty, health, faith, honor, or power... However, this doesn't mean it's inherently wrong. If we were content with just being fed and reproducing, nobody would climb mountains in search of fire, nor discover how to start a fire with flint and sticks, and our civilization would not have emerged.]

[Distributing resources through clerical authority or royal decree is no nobler than doing so with money, and vice versa. Essentially, they are all tools for distributing resources, and people will always discover better options as they explore the future, discarding the old when they are no longer useful.]

[However, your caution is right, and I am surprised that you could think about this at your age. Even if desires aren't necessarily bad, one should always be wary of indulging in them at the expense of our original intentions, and not to burn down the forest just to keep the hard-won fire alive.]

[Especially when you hold the spark, or the power in your hands.]

If it were Samer asking himself this question, Chu Guang thought he probably wouldn't share his thoughts so unreservedly with him.

It wasn't because he was worried about being emulated.

If Samer really could surpass him and bring about a reform in the Honey Badger Kingdom, it would be a good thing for the survivors there.

But he feared that like a chameleon, Samer could grasp the ways of the Alliance but still cling to the old methods, playing insincere games with him, which would be difficult to guard against.

But Afni was different.

She had just turned eighteen and was a girl. She might be employed by the Alliance, but upon returning to the Honey Badger Kingdom, her fate would mostly be that of a decorative vase.

Even if she learned something from Chu Guang, he was not worried about any negative impact. Instead, it might be possible to influence the next generation of the Royal Family through her.

Using economics and education to change Luo Xia Province was also a part of the Alliance's post-war reconstruction plan.

Several kingdoms in the desert had not declined beyond salvation, and might even experience a period of prosperity due to post-war reconstruction. Therefore, compared to radical change, gentle reform was more suitable for them.

He clipped the sticky note back into the book.

Chu Guang was about to shove the book back into the shelf when he suddenly remembered that this wasn't a place where one could casually borrow books. He slapped his forehead and tapped on the VM.

Shortly after, footsteps approached the viewing room's doorway, followed by the crisp sound of a bell.

"Please come in."

As Chu Guang spoke, the alloy door opened.

His Chief Guard, Lu Bei, stepped inside, his right fist pressed to his left chest as he gave a crisp military salute.

"Manager, do you have any instructions?"

Chu Guang walked over and handed the book in his hands to him.

"Take this to the Honey Badger Kingdom's office on Embassy Street and hand it over to Miss Afni Honey Badger there."

Upon hearing this, Lu Bei's eyes immediately lit up, and he straightened up as if he were holding some treasure, taking the book with both hands.

"I guarantee to complete the mission!"

Chu Guang was certain his intuition was not wrong; this guy was probably thinking about something off-track, so he coughed lightly and instructed.

"I don't want to hear any strange rumors."

Lu Bei stood up straight with a serious face.

"I swear on my life! If there are any rumors about you and Miss Afni, you can have me executed!"

"There's no need for that."

Chu Guang watched Lu Bei, with his bright eyes, with a wry smile.

This young fellow hadn't even grown all his hair yet and was already concerned about other peoples' gossip.

Maybe it was time to replace him with a more mature and stable Chief Guard.

Recently, the number of survivors and players in the Alliance had increased significantly, and Chu Guang was contemplating establishing the Third Army of the Alliance. It would accommodate those lone-wolf players who did not want to join the player armies and preferred to mix with NPCs.

Chu Guang planned to transfer Lu Bei to the Third Army.

Although young, his loyalty was witnessed by everyone in the Alliance.

After watching his Chief Guard leave the room, Chu Guang was about to return to the bookshelf when suddenly Xiao Qi's voice came from beside his ear.

"Master, the breeding mother that player Falling Feather cultivated seems to have undergone a new change."

"Xiaoyu?"

"Yes!"

Hearing the affirmative response, Chu Guang felt a slight movement in his heart and sat down next to the computer.

Almost as soon as he sat down on the sofa, the pale blue holographic screen unfolded above the computer pen.

The images captured by the Hummingbird drone were displayed in front of him at the same time.

Staring at the formidable mother displayed on the screen, Chu Guang's face showed surprise, and after two seconds of thought, he said,

"Tell Heya to arrange a physical examination immediately! Prepare to check Xiaoyu's evolutionary stage!"

To solve the problem with the "Mutated slime fungus" on Floor B6, Xiaoyu needed to devour the lair there, and the prerequisite was to understand the concept of hunting and master the ability to hunt.

Now it clearly met this condition.

But whether it met other criteria still required further research.

Sitting on the coffee table, Xiao Qi swung her legs and playfully gave a military salute like the Chief Guard who had just come in.

"Received!"

...

The Honey Badger Kingdom's office was located in the corner of Embassy Street. Due to its distance from the core area, it was actually somewhat larger than the office in Giant Stone City.

Its main building was a three-story western-style house with two common palm trees planted in the yard—the Honey Badger Kingdom's merchant's gift to the Royal Family.

Although Oasis No.3 had fallen to the occupiers and the Royal Family had gone into exile, for the people who had once lived there, it was still their homeland.

Hence, survivors who fled to the Southern River Province often donated money or goods to the Royal Family.

Even though most of those things were not valuable, the acting king, Sir Sommer, still ordered the staff here to accept them.

After all, it was everyone's good intentions.

Besides, they were dependent on others now, and those who still thought of them at such time were loyal good fellows.

Hearing the knock on the window, the old gatekeeper in the guardhouse yawned and lifted his sleepy face from his elbow.

Glancing at the book in the visitor's arms, he thought it was another donation that didn't seem to be worth much.

However, remembering Sir Sommer's order, as a servant loyal to the Royal Family, he still mumbled a response.

"Name?"

"Chief of the Alliance Guards Corps, Lu Bei!"

Even though his voice was lowered, the old gatekeeper still heard the words "Guards Corps" and "Chief".

Sleepiness vanished from his face instantly, and he stood up from the chair as if he had become a decade younger, his eyes wide open.

"You, you are from the Guards Corps—"

Seeing that he spoke so loudly, Lu Bei quickly stopped him.

"Shh! Why are you yelling? Keep your voice down!"

Realizing his blunder, the old servant immediately flashed an apologetic smile and said,

"Yes, yes, yes, I was confused. Please, what brings you here?"

The Guard Corps is the personal bodyguard of the Manager, and also his shadow. In the Alliance, this is common knowledge.

The appearance of the Guards Corps' chief here meant that, no matter the reason, it was definitely not a trivial matter.

"It's not a matter of offense, but the Manager has instructed me that my visit here must be kept secret. Why else would I change into different clothes to come here!" Chu Guang tightened the hood of his cloak and looked seriously at the one who had corrected him, then he revealed the book he had been carrying.

"...Furthermore, the Manager has entrusted me to deliver this book to Miss Afni of the Honey Badger family."

The old servant seemed to understand something. His face immediately revealed an extremely excited expression, and he quickly reached out to take the book, but Lu Bei stepped back.

"Where is Miss Afni?" he asked gravely. "The Manager told me to make sure it gets into her hands, she'd better come down and get it herself."

The old servant quickly said.

"The young lady is still at the Merchant Guild, she hasn't come back yet, on a task taught by the Manager. Don't worry, as soon as she returns, I will immediately transfer the Manager's item to her!"

Lu Bei hesitated for a moment but thought it inappropriate to stand around waiting here and feared he would miss her if he went to the Merchant Guild, so he nodded his head.

"Then make sure you remember, it must be passed into her hands!"

Just after giving that instruction, Lu Bei suddenly thought of something else and hurriedly added,

"And don't tell anyone I was here today!"

"Yes! Don't worry! If I dare to let slip a single word, even if you don't blame me, His Majesty the King won't let me off."

Watching Lu Bei's grave face, the old servant became even more convinced of his guess. He kept nodding vigorously, his smile so wide he could hardly close his mouth.

If this were a proper matter, would it need to be so covered up?

It must be because it's improper!

That's why it's embarrassing to let others know!

Not daring to tamper with the book, the old servant didn't even dare to glance at its cover too long. He carefully placed it in a drawer for safekeeping, planning to give it to the young lady as soon as she returned.

As Lu Bei left, the old servant clenched his fists excitedly, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

The Kingdom!

There was hope!

...

Shelter No. 404, Floor B3 medical room.

After being anesthetized, Xiaoyu was placed on the scanning bed. Falling Feather stood beside it, watching with a worried expression and then anxiously looking at Chu Guang.

"It won't have any problems, will it?"

The group of jerks on the forum clamoring to chop it up day after day had scared him witless, and he hadn't dared to show up recently.

Although he complained verbally about being stuck because of this little creature, if Dog plan really took those jerks' advice and 'balanced' it out, he naturally would be reluctant to let that happen.

"Rest assured, the suppressant only has an anesthetic effect and will not affect its health," Chu Guang comforted him, patting his shoulder. "It will be a while before the experiment finishes. You can go back first."

Falling Feather asked quietly.

"Can I wait outside?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and nodded.

"You can."

The alloy door opened.

As Falling Feather left, the door slowly closed behind him.

Xiaoyu on the scanning bed let out an unconscious "yi wu," sounding like the purring of a cat in its sleep.

The sound seemed like it was acting coquettishly.

However, Chu Guang could sense that the emotions flowing within the sound waves carried a hint of anxiety.

It did not like this feeling.

Chu Guang looked towards Heya, who was busy at the console, and asked,

"Is it possible to perform the examination without anesthetization?"

Heya, without taking her eyes off the screen, casually replied,

"Of course it's possible... but can you guarantee it won't suddenly go berserk and attack us both?"

"I can protect you."

Heya's lips curved, and she said teasingly,

"Oh, although that sounds very reassuring, why gamble on that probability?"

Chu Guang shrugged his shoulders.

"... Alright then, how are the analysis results?"

"You're asking at just the right time, the scanning data has just come in..."

Heya touched the holographic screen a few times with her index finger, then crossed her arms and stared at the chart in front of her for a long time, and with a sure voice, she said,

"The progression has reached 51%; at this rate, it shouldn't take long to reach the next stage."

Chu Guang suddenly curious, asked,

"What if it enters the next stage directly?"

Heya answered without hesitation,

"It would then be consumed by the lair on Floor B6. After all, it's like a child right now; even if we gave it a lot of resources, it couldn't possibly stand up to that old foe who slaughtered an entire floor of the refuge... it's like putting a child with a hunting gun and a ruthless murderer in the same room, what do you think will happen."

Chu Guang frowned,

"What if this murderer was incapacitated? Like—"

"Injecting a large amount of suppressant?" Seeing through his thoughts, Heya said in a mocking tone, "If that were possible, I'd like to do that. But consumption is a long-term and continuous process; it's very hard to ensure that it will only work on a specific kind of slime... it looks like it's about to wake up, you can call that young man back in."

Chu Guang nodded, abandoning the sudden brainstorm he had, then signaled to the camera in the corner of the room with a nod of his head, instructing Xiao Qi to open the medical room door.

At this moment, outside the infirmary, Falling Feather was anxiously pacing back and forth.

Just then, the door suddenly opened.

Hearing the noise, he immediately looked towards the infirmary door, but before he could clearly see anything, he was hit full-on by a scarlet figure and knocked to the corner of the hallway.

Barely catching his breath, Falling Feather glared fiercely at the culprit sprawled on top of him.

"What are you doing, trying to kill me—"

"Yi wu!"

The face, increasingly resembling that of a human, showed a pitiable expression.

Seeing that "pitiful" appearance, Falling Feather, just about to scold it, suddenly remembered he had sent it to the laboratory for research as part of his mission.

A sense of guilt unwittingly arose in his heart; he let out a gentle sigh and reached out to pat its head.

"Alright, I didn't want to either, but it's the mission... there's nothing that can be done about it. Besides, it's for your own good. You've been alone in there for so long, it must have been tough!"

"Come on, let's go get some sweets!"

"Yi wu!!!"

Perhaps understanding his consolation or just hearing the word "sweets," Xiaoyu's face immediately showed a joyous expression, and the tentacles at the back of its head moved like seaweed.

However, it didn't get off him. Instead, it snuggled even closer, the skirt-shaped fungal mass pressing down like tank treads.

Falling Feather turned blue in the face, his eyes rolling back, almost popping out of their sockets, nearly dying on the spot.

Goodness gracious!

You can't tell at all from the outside!

This weight must be at least two hundred kilograms!

Looking outside at Xiaoyu and Falling Feather "stuck together," Heya, with her arms crossed, frowned slightly and suddenly blurted out a sentence.

"He wouldn't have... developed feelings, would he?"

Chu Guang's expression was delicate.

"It's hard to say."

Normally speaking, after a long time together, one could even grow attached to a fishing rod, let alone something alive.

Heya sighed and scratched her full head of silver-white hair.

"It's best not to be like that. 'Mutated slime fungus'... at least according to my observations, these creatures' minds are as unstable as their DNA. They have no concepts like parents, relatives, friends, and so on—complex concepts unique to human society. What's referred to as closeness is likely just an illusion. You must have noticed it, right? It doesn't even hesitate to prey on its own kind."

"Indeed," Chu Guang nodded, "but blood-related closeness is also a fact. Moreover, up to now, it hasn't shown a strong aggressiveness towards people."

Heya gave him a look.

"But what about after it swallowed the lair on Floor B6? It will always absorb some part of what originally belonged to that lair... you know what I'm talking about."

What was absorbed wasn't just genetic material.

It included fragments of the devoured entity's memory, knowledge, experience, instincts... or perhaps what organisms abstractly call "soul" or something of the sort.

In fact, Xiaoyu's ability to hunt was not, as Falling Feather believed, due to it learning by constantly killing Crawlers.

But was a more primal and direct method—

That is, through its digestive system, it digested the flesh and blood of those prey.

In fact, Xiaoyu's mode of attack was by using its tentacles to mimic the bullets of a rifle, inflicting penetrating injuries on Crawlers.

Even the aiming spot was almost the same as Falling Feather's shooting habits.

This portion of knowledge came from the "devoured victim's" memory fragments about death. The evolved "armor" also came from those memories—

'The prey died because they could not defend against penetrating injuries.'

'So it needs armor that can resist bullets.'

That's what's most terrifying about these slime fungi.

They learn from the experience acquired from the corpses of their prey, and they learn from both life and death.

Whenever needed, they can cling to life even in a vacuum, or withstand metal fragments striking at several times the speed of sound!

And as long as part of their tissue survives, no matter how severe the injury or by what means, they always find a way to come back to life.

It's no exaggeration to say they have mastered evolution and ascended to a realm that human civilization temporarily does not understand.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment then said.

"What's your suggestion?"

Heya shook her head.

"I don't know... the plan to clean up Floor B6 must continue, I need the research equipment there, and no matter how, the slime fungus there must be cleaned out. However, I suggest giving up the idea of domesticating them."

Chu Guang immediately asked.

"Is there scientific evidence?"

Again, Heya shook her head.

"There is no evidence proving it's definitely impossible, but the probability of success is very low."

This time Chu Guang's pondering lasted slightly longer.

Looking at the two figures outside the hallway, he thought for a long time, finally slowly saying.

"I trust my residents."

"Just as they trust me."

Heya couldn't help but ask.

"What if something goes wrong?"

As if he had come to a realization, Chu Guang chuckled faintly.

"Then we solve the problem."

"Cleaning up after them is also one of the Manager's responsibilities."

Chapter 463: These old players, each more inhuman than the last

Although he had been a "military drill instructor" for less than half a month, there were already thousands of newcomers who had died under the Battlefield Atmosphere Group.

The forum was filled with wails and howls, and his reputation as a killer of rookies had become well-established.

The only thing missing was an official certification of achievement from Ah Guang.

However, after a thousand days of hunting eagles, one was bound to eventually be pecked by an eagle. No matter how steady the ship was, it could still end up adrift in the gutter.

Just as the Old Soldier, clad in his Pangolin armor, had finally achieved the "Three Thousand Kills" myth and had been hailed as the next War God by the Triumph Newspaper, a stray cannonball from the sky ended his killing spree...

After the deafening boom and the subsequent shrill busy signal, he quickly disconnected in a ragged manner.

When he logged back into the Game, it was already more than five hours later.

Waking from his "coma," the Old Soldier's glaring eyes nearly frightened the doctor stitching him up.

Seeing the Pangolin, wrapped up like a mummy, suddenly open his eyes, the nurses standing by the bed were all stunned into exchanging shocked whispers.

"...My god, he woke up."

"Doctor Ret said there were at least twelve bullet shrapnel in his body, and those barbarians' bombs had fallen less than twenty meters from him!"

"Is this what an Awakener is?"

"It must be an Awakener... I heard their physical condition greatly surpasses that of ordinary people, otherwise a regular person would've died instantly."

"But awakening isn't always good, I've heard it's hard for Awakeners to have offspring."

One of the nurses blushed slightly.

"That's not too bad..."

Her colleagues looked at her in surprise, and she, perhaps feeling embarrassed, blushed and slipped out the door.

After carefully stitching the last suture, the doctor named Ret dropped his tools into the tray and sighed as he looked at the Pangolin lying on the hospital bed.

"You're awake."

Based on his features, he was not from Vellante but also not from Luo Xia Province, probably from another region occupied by the Army from the West Continent.

The Old Soldier looked at the ceiling, then at the bandages on his body, and slowly said,

"Where is this..."

"This is the field hospital of Area 53. The front-line medical soldiers couldn't handle your wounds, so Officer Coleway arranged for you to be transported here."

With a jest, Doctor Ret added,

"To be honest, when I first saw you, I thought you were done for, but you've exceeded my expectations and pulled through."

The Old Soldier nodded in understanding. He didn't pay much attention to the latter part of the doctor's statement, relaxed his shoulders, and laid his head back on the pillow.

It was about twenty kilometers from the front line, a relatively rear position.

However, he was not in a hurry to return to the front line.

For the coming days, there wouldn't be any more newcomers arriving to be killed.

Tomorrow the Storm Corps would make a symbolic feint, and then this "fuel to the fire" operation would officially end.

And then—

It would be Brother Quanshui's No.3 plan!

The nearly two thousand newcomers who had recently joined the game had each died at least once, and some even three times!

With this accumulation of death experiences, they should be ready to play their parts on the battlefield.

"... I've removed the bullets that could be removed, and all your wounds are stitched up; is there anywhere else you feel uncomfortable?" Doctor Ret asked.

He had a good impression of the Pangolin soldier. An Awakener who wasn't from Vellante but had achieved feats on the battlefield that even the Vellante People respected.

Such a heroic tale was like a refreshing story for him, born into a "servant race."

The Old Soldier closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

"My head hurts a bit."

"It's probably a mild concussion. Rest well and try to recover as soon as you can."

The doctor patted his shoulder and grinned.

"The radio has been full of your story these days; you can't fall here."

The Old Soldier chuckled and nodded gently.

Of course, he couldn't fall.

His mission wasn't complete yet.

Watching the doctor leave, the Old Soldier relaxed his whole body and lay flat on the bed, pondering whether to log out and rest, or stay online and count sheep to kill time.

After all, it was late night outside the game, which seemed a bit boring.

Speaking of which, there seemed to be game consoles in Ideal City, and one could even play virtual reality games within a virtual reality game; Brother Mole's newly-opened studio had even ported the game "Chicken Dinner" there.

Wait a minute...

Doesn't this mean that going to Ideal City could allow one to game 24/7 without any health issues?!

Just thinking that Fang Chang was already living such a "luxurious" life ahead of him, the Old Soldier balled his fists in frustration.

Damn it!

Next to Brother Quanshui the old Silver coin, that bastard might actually be the hidden Exalted!

While the Old Soldier was lost in these thoughts, a striking woman with deep brown long hair and an impressive figure burst into the tent.

In her hands, she carried a tray with a bowl and spoon, probably with food from the dining hall.

The Old Soldier turned his face towards the door and blurted out without thinking.

"Who are you?"

Hearing this, the woman's face showed a panicked expression, and she hurriedly placed the tray on the bedside table and approached the bed.

"Have you lost your memory?"

Lost memory?

The Old Soldier paused, then chuckled awkwardly.

How could that be possible?

He had indeed lost consciousness for a while just now, and his head was slightly injured, but it wasn't serious enough to cause amnesia.

In fact, he had been able to log in again two hours ago, but his offensive mouth offline had delayed him.

And the reason he didn't recognize her immediately was simply because he'd forgotten her name.

It seemed...

Her name was Penny, right?

Faced with that "fiery" gaze, he felt a bit embarrassed, but Penny didn't shy away. Instead, she triumphantly curled her lips.

"The doctor said you should eat something, so I went to the mess hall and made you some beet soup. Are you hungry? I can feed you."

Old Soldier felt a surge of joy inside.

Such good fortune?!

Considering it was a 100% real virtual reality game, even the resolute "Pangolin" couldn't help but feel a flutter of excitement.

What a bonus from the dog planner!

Missing out on this would practically be a disservice to Ah Guang's kindness.

However, as he just raised his neck and glanced at the bowl, the word "okay" got stuck in his throat.

Inside the bowl, a dark, paste-like substance floated, clearly separating from the liquid below, with some greenish froth on the surface—probably chopped parsley.

Whether judged by "color, aroma, or taste," convincing anyone that this substance was food would be difficult.

But if placed in an organic chemistry lab, it would fit right in.

Penny, seemingly aware of the dish's unappealing appearance, blushed, trying to explain.

"I might have boiled it a bit too long… but it's edible."

That's an understatement.

It was practically carbonized, okay!!

Old Soldier coughed dryly.

"I… have a bit of a headache and I'm not feeling hungry; may I have some time alone?"

His chicken soup hadn't even been served yet.

If it was all dismissed just like that, it would be even more embarrassing than being carried away by the newbies!

Apparently not catching the subtle hint in his words, Penny looked at him with sympathy, sighed softly, and placed the bowl on the bedside table.

"Then you rest for now…"

"And remember to eat it while it's hot."

With that, she left the room.

Watching the curtain close, Old Soldier had just breathed a sigh of relief when, within two seconds, the tent's curtain was lifted again.

This time, it was his superior, Officer Coleway, who walked in with a concerned expression.

"Feeling any better?"

"Somewhat."

Seeing his capable subordinate wrapped in bandages, Coleway expressed with a touched tone,

"It's hard to imagine you could be this injured."

Old Soldier made a helpless gesture.

Even as a low-grade version, it was still rocket artillery.

In the face of enough explosive force, all skill and experience are just fancy tricks.

Coleway then noticed a tray and the dark soup on the bedside table.

"What's this?"

Old Soldier coughed lightly.

"Miss Penny made it in the mess hall… It's supposedly beet soup? But I'm not feeling up for it, would you like to try?"

"Penny made it for you? Lucky guy, she's quite popular on the front lines, many of the young men see her as a dream girl," Coleway looked at him in surprise, then smirked and squeezed his eyebrows as he picked up the bowl of soup, "Let me taste it for you."

Old Soldier was about to say there was no need to force himself, considering if Coleway died from it he'd really be left alone in the army.

However, Coleway's hand moved with his mind, and before Old Soldier could intervene, he scooped up a spoonful of the dark soup and shoved it into his mouth.

Old Soldier stared, dumbfounded.

Just when he thought Coleway would spit it out, a layer of tears suddenly appeared in Coleway's eyes.

"…The taste of home."

Sniffling, he scooped another mouthful, murmuring emotionally.

"Damn, the chefs in Sunset Province just can't understand this flavor… It's been almost five or six years since I've had it!"

With that, he leaned over the bowl and wolfed down the soup so enthusiastically that even the coal-like liquid hanging on his beard went unnoticed.

Old Soldier stared incredulously and couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't beet soup supposed to be red?"

Setting down the bowl, Coleway paused.

"Red? Are beets from Brocade River Province red?"

Old Soldier swallowed nervously and asked hesitantly.

"Are they black where you come from?"

Coleway nodded with a complicated expression.

"Although the layers and taste might be a bit more even, and the flavor of the pepper a bit richer, the color is pretty much the same..."

Old Soldier: "…"

People eat such disgusting food every day.

He felt a bit sorry for these big-nosed folks.

Unwatchfully, Coleway had finished his food and only then did he realize, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Uh, sorry, I ate all the delicacies Miss Penny made for you... I'll go ask her to make another bowl for you."

Old Soldier quickly spoke up.

"No need! Just bring me two roasted beef legs."

If that guy knew how big my appetite was, my undercover career would be finished.

Coleway was stunned for a moment.

"With such serious injuries, can you digest that kind of food?"

Old Soldier did not hesitate.

"No problem! I only injured my legs and arms, my stomach is fine. Need to load up on protein for faster recovery... the doctor said so."

Coleway didn't try to dissuade him further and nodded.

"Alright then, I'll arrange for someone to deliver it to you soon."

Watching Coleway leave the tent, Old Soldier sighed in relief, lifting his bandaged arm to wipe his forehead, and muttered curses under his breath.

"Damn... wish I hadn't woken up."

...

That same evening.

"Wasteland OL" official forum.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "The beets in this game are red, right??"

Makabazi: "Yes, I've seen them at Brown Farm."

Hunting Tigers on the Mountain: "+1, although I've also seen the purple variety."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Then why is the Army's beet soup black!"

Teng Teng: "What is this dark cuisine..."

Crow: "Scary. (˘•灬•˘)"

Stir-Fried Tomato and Eggs: "Maybe it mutated."

Fang Chang: "Indeed, if animals can mutate, no reason why plants can't... by the way, why do you suddenly ask?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Hehe, embarrassed to say... A beauty made me a bowl of beet soup, it's just that the pitch-black appearance scared me, hope it's not poisonous!"

Night Ten: "You sly dog, you were tricked!"

Brick Kid on the Construction Site: "Damn it! Wait, I'm bringing my guys to hit you with a rocket barrage!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Hahaha! Go ahead, bomb away, I'm not on the frontline anymore! (smug)"

Spring Water Commander: "Right, stop enjoying yourself, Plan No.3 is about to start, you better start planning your escape, don't let the noobs actually bankrupt you with gold coins. (side eye)"

Old White: "Really, come home sometime, it's been a long while. (grinning)"

Night Ten: "Brother, haven't saved your game for about two months, have you? (funny)"

I Max Black: "Damn it, thinking of increasing the bounty on the pangolin."

Debt Giant Eye: "Hahahaha, +1, mainly because I've never seen a whole level drop. (shy)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! Just be human, guys!"

WC Mosquito: "(smirk)"

...

North Airport of Dawn City.

One by one, the desert-colored H-1 "Dragonfly" transport planes parked next to the runway, with loaders in exoskeletons pushing forklifts, moving boxes of packed supplies into the cargo holds.

The Tiger Whale transport aircraft of the company, despite having the advantages of "fast flying speed" and "deployment on any terrain," had ultimately limited logistical resources.

The logistics route from the East Coast to the Alliance was equally crucial, and the company couldn't spare more "Tiger Whale" aircraft for this war, so this transport route from Dawn City to the frontline had to be managed by the Alliance.

The journey of thousands of kilometers had exceeded the cruising radius of the H-1 transport plane, necessitating the 81st Steel Factory to replace some of the batteries in the H-1 planes with explosive metallic hydrogen.

Meanwhile, Chu Guang had contacted the Lion Kingdom to coordinate with the Alliance's construction team to expand the northern airport of Lion City and use it as a supply transfer station.

This finally established an aerial corridor from Dawn City to the frontline.

The day of the decisive battle was drawing near.

Every department and every person in the Alliance were like wound-up gears, busy preparing for the imminent final battle...

"Be good, listen, I'll be back in a few days."

"Eey ooh!"

"How about I bring you some candy when I come back?"

"Eey ooh!"

"…Chur!"

"Chur!"

"Cough—don't learn that."

Next to the hangar.

Falling Feather watched helplessly as Xiaoyu clung to him, refusing to let go, trying to explain he was only leaving for a few days and would be back soon.

However—

Xiaoyu's face still showed reluctance, its tentacles tightly grasping his arm, absolutely unwilling to let go.

Falling Feather felt a headache coming on.

This guy clearly understood what he was saying!

Seeing the commotion, Mosquito walked over, holding the back of his head, and jokingly said,

"Stuck together again, huh? Why not just bring it to the frontline with you?"

Falling Feather rolled his eyes.

"Buzz off! I'm flying a plane, what good would bringing it do?"

Mosquito laughed and said,

"Let's fly together...but speaking of which, we don't seem to have a two-seater jet. I'll figure out how to get one soon."

Falling Feather couldn't help but remind him,

"It weighs two hundred kilograms."

Mosquito was taken aback,

"Damn...that might be difficult, I'd have to bring fewer missiles if I sat on it."

Xiaoyu: "Chur!"

Falling Feather covered his face, clearly exasperated.

After much effort, he finally managed to calm Xiaoyu down. Although its sudden compliance was somewhat bizarre, he couldn't afford to delve into it at that moment.

The launch of Plan Three was imminent, and the Alliance was about to launch a full-scale offensive against the Army occupying Oasis No. 3 and the Falcon Kingdom Allied forces, delivering a final blow to their already exhausted troops.

However, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse, and despite severe supply issues, the Army still had a "Peidao" fighter plane that posed a deadly threat to the Alliance's air forces.

To cover for the five "Cloud Dragonfly" Flapping Machines being deployed by the Skeleton Corps, he needed to pilot the modified "Soaring Clouds" fighter plane to the front line.

Even if it couldn't shoot it down,
he had to do everything possible to hold it off and buy time for the ground troops!

Following Mosquito toward the hangar, Falling Feather noticed the airport staff loading unusually large boxes into the plane and asked curiously,

"What are these planes carrying?"

Mosquito snickered proudly,

"'Fat Boy' rockets! Goblin Technology's latest product, officially known as gas cylinder bombs!"

Falling Feather was stunned, staring blankly at a warehouse nearby.

"What the heck?! They're all...?"

Mosquito nodded with pride,

"Absolutely!"

Falling Feather laughed ruefully,

"Don't the army already have 155s? Why produce so many of those things."

Mosquito coughed, explaining,

"Although we are equipped with a large number of 155 howitzers, our allies haven't adopted such advanced weaponry yet. The respected Manager took pity on these natives still using medieval muzzle-loading cannons for warfare, so he asked me to develop an affordable and effective weapon to sell to them."

Falling Feather couldn't resist quipping,

"And you're palming these off on them?"

"How can you say that!" Mosquito glared at him, reasoned assertively, "They themselves actively requested to place an order!"

Disbelief was written all over Falling Feather's face.

Who would pay money for something that, apart from its power, was utterly useless and utterly devoid of tech!

Anyone could make these in a small workshop!

Seeing the disbelief on his face, Mosquito chuckled slyly and continued,

"Just recently, the Storm Corps and Death Legion were testing apprentices on the frontlines with Pangolins, right? That accompanying soldier from the Lion Kingdom was Prince Wenter's personal guard. He witnessed the power of those gas cylinder bombs and couldn't believe his eyes!"

Falling Feather was amazed.

"It can work like that…"

"Absolutely, is there anywhere better than a battlefield to promote weapons?" Mosquito continued confidently, "Especially since this thing is easy to install, simple to operate; a person could deploy it just by pulling a cart with a donkey. After seeing the strength of Alliance weaponry, Prince Wenter came to our location overnight, found our commander, and placed an order for five thousand on the spot."

Falling Feather: "...how much for one?"

Mosquito waved his hand,

"Not expensive, just eight thousand silver coins."

Falling Feather: "Pfft!"

Wow!

Eight thousand!

A miner's exoskeleton costs just two thousand, and for an extra two thousand silver coins, you could buy a Type Five 'Light Cavalry'!

That's a real rip-off!

Seeing the expression on Falling Feather's face, Mosquito realized he had perhaps bragged too much and quickly added,

"Cough...don't think I made too much though, the trade price was actually negotiated by the Manager. The arms sale was organized by the Alliance, we just took on the production order to make a bit of pocket money. The profit isn't as exaggerated as you think."

Falling Feather rolled his eyes and said,

"I trust you, my ass!"

Regardless of whether he believed him or not, Mosquito coughed and continued,

"...Anyway, these things aren't as low-tech as you think, there's still some cost involved."

"Thanks to Comrade Pangolin and those newbies, our engineers made a slight improvement to these things, adding some thickening agents, high-energy fuel, and azide compounds to the formula. The power increased by about thirty percent, and they have a continuous burning effect, especially effective against targets hiding in cover,"

"Hehe."

As he spoke, even Mosquito felt a bit embarrassed and smiled shyly.

Falling Feather stared at him, speechless for a long time.

Damn.

These veteran players are something else!

He originally thought the Brother Battlefield just worked as a military instructor, though tough, it wasn't too hard. He didn't expect to find himself just scratching the surface.

Unbeknownst to him, all sorts of operations—weapon testing, arms promotion, and more—had been arranged for him.

Suddenly, Falling Feather felt a pang of sympathy for Brother Battlefield.

Managing to live under Pangolin's pseudonym till now.

Truly, that was no small feat...

Chapter 464: Lightning-Fast Offensive!

To avoid affecting morale, the news of Pangolin's injury was not made public within the Army, and even today's broadcast didn't report the glorious achievements of Area G53-7, but rather aired news unrelated to the frontline situation.

Position G40.

At the entrance of the anti-cannon hole, a large pot was supported. Fragrant bubbles floated in the broth within the pot, and sliced bread was placed on a rack beside it. Under the Centurion's lead, the Clone soldiers had lined up, and the chef, holding a ladle, shouted impatiently.

"Next."

The Clone soldiers weren't very smart, their thoughts simple.

Absolute obedience was one of their strengths, yet conversely, without someone instructing them, they wouldn't do anything.

If the chef didn't tell them they could leave, they would just keep waiting in front of the pot.

A spoonful of broth, half a sausage, and a piece of hard bread—that was the simple meal for the Clone Group.

Occasionally, the broth and sausage would be replaced with stewed meat or canned food, but that distinctive hard bread seldom changed.

The kind of bread that needed to be dipped in soup to soften, tough enough to break a rat's teeth and, in a pinch, not only bulletproof but also usable as a sandbag or blunt weapon to strike the enemy.

Beside the large pot for boiling soup, a two-person-high wooden pole stood with a loudspeaker attached with wire, broadcasting today's headlines from the Triumph Newspaper.

Although the newspaper also reached the front, supply vehicles didn't come daily, so the latest news was only available through the broadcast next to the mobile kitchen.

Having received his boxed meal, Daniel sat on a small stool beneath the loudspeaker, casually picking up another small stool to use as a table.

Officers born in the Falcon Kingdom weren't typically fussy, but as a Vellante and a Centurion, he naturally wouldn't dine in the trenches like those common soldiers.

Just then, his adjutant, Peterson, came over and picked up a stool to sit opposite him, setting a small bottle of liquor on their "table."

Daniel raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sight of the gin, a smile of pleasant surprise forming on his face.

"Nice find, where did you get this?"

"A while back, when the northern trade route was still open, I bought it from a merchant there, 500 Dinar a bottle."

Peterson grinned, twisting the cap open with a hiss, conjuring two cap-sized cups as if by magic. He poured a drink for his superior first, then filled his own cup.

"... Those damned old turtles, cutting off our business with Bugra Free State. We have plenty of food at the front, but genuinely good liquor is too hard to come by."

Daniel took up his cup and sipped, his face expressing rapture as he relished the taste.

"Getting it isn't cheap either, 500 Dinar... could buy a slave with two bottles of this."

Not all officers owned their estates, and Centurions of the lowest rank generally lived off their salaries, earning just two or three thousand Dinar a month. Centurions earned a bit more, but if they were young and not from noble families, they generally didn't have much savings.

While this sum might sound considerable, enough to buy two or three strong slaves in a month, it was just barely adequate for maintaining a decent lifestyle.

Especially in places like Triumph City, a major city directly governed by the Army, there were strict regulations concerning the working environment and living standards for slaves.

In remote areas like Luo Xia Province, no one would bother them, and the nobles' domains and manors were also a different matter, but in Triumph City, they had to provide slaves with an 8 square meter room and ensure three meals a day for them, so they could live healthily beyond the age of fifty, otherwise, they would have to pay a hefty fine to the local authorities.

Furthermore, once a transaction was completed, unless the slave resisted an order, the owner was not allowed to terminate the slave contract arbitrarily.

This sounded more like a form of lifetime employment.

Although it restricted personal freedom and had a coercive nature, it was still more "civilized" than the majority of the practices in the Survivor Settlements where they put shackles on slaves.

And this was one of the few rules personally established by His Excellency the Marshal.

"It will be enough for me to drink in the pub on 70th Street in Triumph City for half a month," Peterson grinned.

Daniel laughed heartily, a glint of longing in his eyes.

"The pub on 70th Street? That place is indeed great, with the scent of pine drifting across the street... I used to drink there often when I was at the officer academy. Damn, it's been five years since I went back."

"Sometimes I can't help but wonder what we're really here for," Peterson swirled his gin-sized cup, his face filled with melancholy, "There's indeed a lot of food here, but the oasis is only the size of a palm, barely enough to feed the people of Triumph City, not to mention getting past the Great Desert... It's not easy for us to visit home, let alone transport food."

"That's not something we should worry about." Half sober from his drunken haze, Daniel quickly cut off the topic.

Peterson also realized his slip of the tongue, glancing toward the radio beside him and diverting the conversation away from home and the future.

"...It's strange that there's no news from 53 today."

Daniel's lips curled up in a smile.

"It seems even those barbarians can be intimidated."

Thinking about it, they had already lost three thousand lives at one position, yet it was only defended by a hundred men cobbled together from Attendant soldiers and clones.

If the opposing commander knew what kind of adversaries he had been tactically outwitting for so long, he would probably be furious enough to bleed from his nostrils.

Awakeners like the "Pangolin" were not many, but as for those hundreds stationed in places like the G53-7 Area, there were as many supplies as needed.

Unfortunately, they didn't have enough ammunition.

Otherwise, there would be no need to waste time here; they could simply advance the whole army and crush those indigenous people underfoot in minutes!

Having finished the food on his plate, Daniel returned his tray to the kitchen and took Peterson to inspect the frontline positions.

Today's frontline was still calm.

Although the soldiers' backpacks were running low on bullets, the Alliance was already tied down in Area 53, so he was not worried about any problems arising.

Picking up the binoculars and looking toward the horizon, seeing no trace of anything, Daniel decided to head back to the anti-cannon hole to rest.

However, just then, a majestic silhouette slowly emerged from the thick clouds, hanging in the air like a gleaming blade without warning.

Seeing the commanding bow and the forward hanging gondolas, Daniel was stunned for two seconds, then a light trace of fear spread across his face.

The Iron Heart!

Alarms rang out simultaneously, echoing throughout the entire battlefield.

Daniel shouted at the top of his lungs as he rushed toward the direction of the anti-cannon hole.

"Enemy airships!"

"Everyone! Take cover!"

Almost as soon as his words fell, twelve trails of fire sparked below the clouds, strings of white smoke drifting to one side and blending into the cloud layer.

Dragging orange-yellow tracers, twelve 155mm heavy shells descended like thunder from the heavens, heavily hitting the G40-1 area.

Apart from the initial alarm, there was no sign of warning before the explosions lighted up the battlefield like scattered flowers from the heavens.

The artillery strike came so suddenly that many clone soldiers were still engaged in their work, unable to react in time to the alarms.

Caught off guard, more than thirty people were killed instantly, while others were injured by shrapnel and shockwaves; buried by the stirred-up dust, half of the team of 120 Centurions lost their combat ability.

Those who survived wore shaken expressions, frantically gazing at the distant sky as fear gradually filled their pupils.

"Damn..."

One Centurion, his face pale and his hands trembling as he held his submachine gun, looked as though he had seen a ghost.

"Is this a 100mm cannon?!"

"Absolutely not!"

"I heard about it! The Alliance modified that airship! Someone from the front line said, they refurbished the forward gun deck, replacing it with larger caliber cannons—"

Before he could finish, the second round of artillery had already descended upon their heads, throwing mud and pebbles almost directly into the Centurions' mouths.

Daniel, who had lucked out during the first wave of artillery, wasn't so fortunate this time.

A shell landed right near the entrance of the anti-cannon hole.

"Boom—!"

Kitchenware from the mobile kitchen was blown sky-high and hot soup splattered everywhere, with pieces of bone and meat scattered all around.

He had barely heard the deafening roar when the spreading shockwave struck him heavily from behind like a hammer.

Blood rushed to his throat, and Daniel coughed violently, but he dared not stop moving.

He practically rolled into the anti-cannon hole along with the explosive debris and dust.

"Damn it!"

When the dust had settled, Daniel, cursing under his breath, got up from the ground, wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve, his face still marked by lingering fright.

Peterson beside him looked just as dirty and disheartened, fortunate to be alive but without a trace of joy at having survived the ordeal.

"What the hell is going on."

Daniel swallowed a mouthful of bloody spit, his voice trembling as he spoke.

"I don't know..."

Iron Heart!

Ever since they had seized that big gun from McCullen, it had become the main force of the Alliance... But why would the main force of the Alliance appear here?!

They had faced setbacks at the G53 line; shouldn't they regroup where they had fallen?

Why target them specifically here!

Although it was just an artillery bombardment for now, Daniel knew all too well that such bombardments were typically just the prelude to an attack. Soon, the Alliance's ground troops would follow up, taking over the land that had been plowed over by the artillery fire.

Thinking of this, Daniel's face turned grim.

Their own ammunition had already been evenly distributed to the Area 53, and though he was unclear about the situation with the thousand team, he knew all too well about the situation of his own hundred team.

The backpacks of those clone soldiers didn't even muster twenty rounds of ammunition combined, and the entire team had only five Iron Fist Rocket Launchers!

He gritted his teeth and looked over at Peterson.

"I'll go to the radio and call for reinforcements... you wait here. Once their cannons stop firing, you must hold the position with whoever is left!"

Peterson reluctantly nodded his head.

"Yes!"

After giving the orders, Daniel quickly walked deeper into the anti-cannon hole, found the only radio of the hundred team, put on the headset, and shouted loudly.

"This is G40-1 area! We are under artillery attack!"

"The Alliance is assaulting our position, we need reinforcements—!"

There was no response on the other side of the communication channel, only continuous busy signals.

There were only two possibilities—

Either the enemy had used some kind of direct or indirect means to disrupt their communications, or the command center was also in trouble, currently unable to help themselves.

Daniel cursed, slammed the headset on the radio, grabbed the submachine gun leaning nearby, and strode toward the entrance of the anti-cannon hole.

Fortunately, the noise made by the enemy's artillery was substantial.

Not to mention the thousand team headquarters twenty kilometers away, even the ten thousand team headquarters a hundred kilometers away could perceive the situation here.

Keeping to a rhythm of one round per minute, the artillery strike continued for a full five minutes, with the Alliance bombarding their position with at least sixty shells!

Daniel silently waited for the cessation of the artillery fire, then, taking Peterson with him, bent low and moved through the meandering trench, making their way to the observational post next to the anti-cannon hole.

The shadows of the Alliance Army had already appeared in the distance.

A cloud of dust surged from the horizon, and Daniel unconsciously gripped his rifle tighter, his heart rising to his throat.

He was a well-trained officer who had followed General Griffin all the way here, battle-hardened, certainly not one to be frightened by this lineup.

Daniel quickly calculated how he could survive this onslaught, hoping to at least hold out until the arrival of reinforcements from Area 41 and Area 39.

The Iron Heart was indeed trouble, but the air force could not simply land and seize territory—provided he stood firm like a pangolin, the final victory would surely be theirs—

However, just as he was thinking this, he caught a glimpse of a vague silhouette amid the overwhelming dust cloud.

That sight left him utterly frozen on the spot, his face turning pale, blood draining away.

Tanks!

And hundreds of them!

The long barrels looked like Gun Cavalry lances under the blazing sun, emitting a chilling gleam. The desert-colored steel armor merged with the horizon, blending into the rolling yellow sands, forming an advancing steel wall!

And it was not just tanks—

Hundreds of armored trucks, reinforced with steel plates, followed closely behind, the dust kicked up by their tracks joining the tanks in a raging torrent of steel.

One by one, menacing Alliance Soldiers sat in the backs of the trucks, automatic rifles, far superior to theirs, leaned next next to each steel helmet.

In less than a minute—

They would collide head-on with this steel torrent!

Witnessing everything before him, Daniel felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, the bone-chilling cold seeping down his back to his feet, pinning him to the spot.

He suddenly realized that the previous artillery fire was just an appetizer.

The real drama was just beginning…

"Damn it…" Peterson's lips trembled as he forced out, "Did they bring all their tanks here?!"

Besides the models he didn't recognize, this wave of steel also included about fifty Conqueror No. 10s and No. 5s.

He was very clear.

The armor-piercing rounds fired by the Iron Fist couldn't penetrate the armor of the Conqueror No. 10 tanks.

In other words, they had no means to withstand this iron flood; they could only watch helplessly as their defensive line was torn apart.

In fact, that was already happening.

Hundreds of tanks fired simultaneously, and the Army's trenches lit up with a burst of simultaneous attacks.

After a round of direct firepower coverage, over twenty trucks sped out of the formation, rushing forward under the cover of machine gun fire from the truck roofs, and directly approached the face of this hundred-man team.

"Infantry, off the trucks! Find cover! Quick!"

Elena, taking the lead, jumped out from the back of a truck and, with an LD-50 submachine gun in hand, charged ahead, firing a burst at the trenches ahead, sending clone soldiers who were trying to rise from the ground.

"Ah ah ah!"

A clone soldier hiding behind a sandbag suddenly sprang out, uttering a wretched scream, clutching his bayonet-fitted rifle and charging at Elena.

However, his clumsy move looked to Gnome King Riches, standing nearby, as slow as a wingless Mosquito. Casually, he pulled out his shotgun, loaded it, and with a bang, pushed the clone back behind the sandbag, sending him to meet their marshal.

Seeing that the Alliance Soldiers had already charged into the trenches, the Centurion in the trench let out a roar, ordering his clone soldiers to fix bayonets on their rifles.

Next, he pulled the pin from a smoke grenade, unleashing "delusional smoke" within the trench, preparing for a final stand.

"Tsk, it seems not many have survived…"

Brother Fu Gui, with his blood-vision activated, scanned the smoke-filled trench and quickly spotted two Old Sixes huddling in a corner.

Their tight grip on their rifles, ready to spring into action, clearly indicated they had no intention of surrendering.

So, he unapologetically switched to the LD-47 and swept a burst of fire their way, collecting their heads.

"The artillery and tanks have already done the heavy lifting; what's left for us is just to clean up the battlefield," Elena said with a jesting smile.

After all, they'd prepared this operation for a full half-month, and it was proceeding much more smoothly than expected.

The Army had never anticipated that the Alliance would launch an attack at this time, nor at this location. While they had turned Area 53 into a fortress, the armored spearhead of the Alliance had already flanked them at Area 40, tearing a gap.

From the Army's perspective, this was the least likely place to be attacked.

After all, choosing here would mean extending the Alliance's supply line by at least two hundred kilometers.

Every meter of those two hundred kilometers was a vulnerability, not to mention that Area 39 and Area 41, forming a pincer with Area 40, would quickly come to its aid.

Even if the Alliance fully captured Area 40, the reinforcements from Area 39 and Area 41 would close in like a folding pocket, trapping the encroaching knife.

This was why they had prioritized transferring ammunition from Area 40 to the attacked Area 53.

Springs, while drafting the specific attack strategy, clearly saw their hubris and decisively exploited it, turning their plan against them.

The Army would never guess that the Alliance, determined to launch a comprehensive offensive, had no intention of leaving any way out. As the vanguard of this full-scale attack—the Skeleton Corps that first stormed Area 40—had no thoughts of hitting the brakes.

This steel torrent would continue advancing, splitting the entire battlefield in two!

The voice of the field commander, Mole, came over the communication channel.

"Clear the trenches and anti-cannon holes! Find the Army's command center! If you see a radio and maps, you're right on target!"

"Gather the surrendering prisoners in the anti-cannon holes. We won't be staying here long; the allied forces from the Lion Kingdom will look after them."

As the order was given, the fight in the trenches had essentially ended.

These armored grenadiers were all experienced players, having recently recruited a batch of novices composed mainly of drivers and gunners.

They didn't require much direction.

They just needed a bit of time to familiarize themselves with the somewhat familiar equipment.

Leading a group of ten at the forefront, Elena quickly locked onto the enemy's frontline command post.

The entrance of the anti-cannon hole was marked by a crater, and beside it, one could see fragments of a pan stand and lunch boxes, along with a ground covered in blackened food remnants.

Clearing his throat, he shouted into the hole in imperfect United Human language,

"Hey, is anyone alive in there? If not, we're throwing Molotov Cocktails."

There were clearly people inside the anti-cannon hole.

Hearing this, the people hiding inside responded immediately and yelled in panic,

"Don't shoot, don't shoot!"

"We surrender!"

Seeing the opponents so cooperative, a pleased smile appeared on Elena's face as she fired two shots into the sky.

"Then come out quickly! Don't waste our time, you have ten seconds!"

Surrender was easy to handle.

Prisoners were worth much more than corpses.

Upon hearing Old Na's ultimatum, the two from the anti-cannon hole scrambled out, were pointed at with guns by the players, and squatted in the corner with their hands on their heads.

"Wow, two Centurions squatting together, a chief and his deputy," Gnome King Riches remarked in surprise at the prisoners' attire.

Elena also said with a smile,

"Well, that saves us some time."

Not even three minutes had passed.

The first section of the 40th defense line was occupied, exposing the entire flank of the 40th thousand team to the Skeleton Corps' cannons!

However,
their target was not there.

Cleaning up the battlefield and clearing remaining enemies were tasks that allied forces could undertake.

What they needed to do now was to continue advancing, meet up with the Burning Corps parachuted ahead, and eradicate the 40th thousand team's frontline command post!

As the two Centurions surrendered, tanks from the Skeleton Corps had already reached their positions.

Opening the hatch on top of the gun tower, a Mole peeked out, surveyed the fully occupied position, and holding a walkie-talkie, ordered various team leaders,

"Leave the prisoners here, all infantry mount up!"

"Leave this Area to allied forces, we move forward!"

"Quickly!"

The communication channel transmitted a series of unanimous responses,

"Roger that!"

Without any hesitation, the previously dismounted armored grenadiers swiftly boarded the trucks.

The heavily armed Skeleton Corps set off again swiftly, continuing their advance along the temporary road constructed by their army.

The allied forces were about a kilometer behind them and would soon arrive here.

These left-behind prisoners had lost their ability to resist; they wouldn't stir up any trouble even if left untied.

If they dared to resist, they would just be subdued again.

Watching the gusts of dust raised by the steel torrent behind them, the dozen or so abandoned prisoners wore baffled expressions.

Less than ten minutes had passed.

They still hadn't comprehended what had happened, and it was all over.

Peterson swallowed and said with a trembling voice,

"...Are these people really indigenous?"

Watching the direction of the disappearing steel torrent, Daniel also stood dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what those people intended.

However, just then, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he seemed to vaguely understand something.

Turning away from the receding silhouettes blended with the horizon, Daniel relaxed his tense shoulders and sighed softly,

"It's over."

Seeing the look of resignation on his superior's face, Peterson frowned slightly,

"It's over as..."

Having fully come to a realization, Daniel's expression eased considerably.

Not looking at his deputy, he muttered to himself,

"Nothing... If all goes well, we'll be home soon."

Chapter 465: Times Have Changed

Daniel had guessed right.

His superior headquarters indeed encountered trouble,
and the trouble they faced was far from minor.

Simultaneously, as the Skeleton Corps launched an attack on his position, five "Cloud Dragonfly" Flapping Machines had already breached their defensive line's left flank and continued to cut through deeper into the territory.

Flying at an almost ground-level altitude under the cover of artillery fire, the G40-1 position failed to notice these five flapping machines; meanwhile, the rear radar was completely unprepared.

As soon as these five flapping machines appeared on the radar, their remotely launched missiles, as planned, accurately struck the anti-aircraft defenses situated on the hill ridges.

The explosion's flash and blast wave instantly engulfed the anti-aircraft guns and sandbags, killing and wounding countless anti-aircraft soldiers crouching in their positions.

From the front line to the command post, twisted steel and burning positions were scattered all the way, appearing from above like scattered bonfires.

At the same time that Defense Zone 40's anti-air defense system collapsed, twenty H-1 "Dragonfly" transport planes arrived as scheduled above the battlefield, carrying five hundred elite troops from the Burning Corps who directly bypassed the stationed line of the forty thousand troops, advancing towards the Ten Thousand Team's headquarters.

Fifty W-2 "Mosquito-style" attack planes took off sequentially from the Steel Heart, meeting the "Dragonfly" transport planes coming from behind to escort them and provide air support to the airborne troops.

Everything was going as planned.

Meanwhile, the Earth, shadowed by flying machines, was filled with faces of shock and utter confusion.

A Centurion looked up at the sky, his voice trembling as he said,

"Planes! Alliance planes!"

Close by, a logistics officer responsible for supplies swallowed hard, his voice carrying a slight tremor,

"Damn… how could there be so many!"

At that moment, the air-raid alarm finally went off belatedly, and everyone hurriedly grabbed their weapons and dispersed outside the tents, throwing the camp into chaos.

"Where are our planes?!"

"I don't know…"

"Damn it!"

"What in the world is going on?!"

Until the day before yesterday.

The broadcasts were still reporting on Pangolin's valiant achievements, and the Triumph Newspaper was still flaunting warehoused trophies on its front page.

The image of the Alliance as utterly feeble had taken deep root in people's hearts; no one doubted that once the ammunition arrived, they could drive those natives out of the desert within minutes.

However,
the situation now was drastically different from their understanding.

Especially when the Alliance planes appeared overhead, many even thought they were dreaming, not fully awake.

Standing at the entrance of the command tent, Thousands of leader Pereon was dumbfounded as he stared at the sky, speechless for a long time.

Snapping back to reality, he suddenly grabbed the collar of his aide next to him and bellowed as he spat,

"Where are our anti-aircraft guns?! And the ten thousand front-line troops?! Why haven't we heard anything!"

The aide, whose collar was grabbed, turned pale, his lips trembling for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out the words stuck in his throat,

"The front lines… just reported that the Hundred-Man Team stationed at Sector 1 of the defensive line was bombarded by the Steel Heart—"

Pereon's eyes widened.

Before the aide could finish, he roared with an order,

"Tell Daniel to hold at all costs! Even if he can't hold, at least buy me half an hour!"

The bitterness on the aide's face deepened.

Daniel?

Whether that guy was even alive was an unknown.

From the beginning, they had lost contact with Position 1.

According to the message from Position 2, the soldiers there saw the explosion's flash nearly swallowing the entire position of their neighboring allies, and crouching in the trenches, they could even feel the Earth trembling.

Moreover, they also saw the Steel Heart, previously seized by the Alliance, appearing in the sky.

Clearly, the Alliance was in earnest this time.

The aide's Adam's apple moved, his voice hoarsely said,

"There's no response from the communication channel; they… are most likely more dead than alive."

"Shit!"

Pereon cursed loudly, letting go of the aide's collar forcefully, and hurried towards the radio inside the command tent, putting on the headset.

These idiots!

After connecting the call to the Ten Thousand Team's headquarters, he nearly exerted all his strength as he shouted into the communications channel,

"This is the Forty Thousand Team!"

"We are under attack by the Alliance! They have dispatched their main force, including the Steel Heart and tanks!"

"We can only hold for a maximum of one hour! Send reinforcements immediately!"

"Repeat, send reinforcements immediately—!"

Most of the Forty Thousand Team's ammunition had been allocated to Defense Area 53.

Pereon knew very well that the remaining weapons were not enough to withstand the Alliance's dense offensive.

Perhaps the Army would ultimately achieve victory.

But for himself, who had been targeted by the Alliance, the chances of survival were slim.

However, he couldn't understand, from either a strategic or tactical perspective, why Defense Zone No.40 was not the ideal target for an attack.

Even if they captured this location, it would hardly break open the overall situation.

But why had the Alliance specifically targeted his position?!

However, now was not the time to think about this issue.

The frontline troops had suffered heavy losses.

The enemy had definitely deployed a sufficient number of armored units to break through their defensive line, which had been prepared for over a month, in such a short time.

If he couldn't survive this crisis, there was no point in thinking about the future.

After reporting the situation to the higher command, Pereon immediately rushed to the battle location with his Personal Body Guard and reorganized the camp's various combat units.

Although the air raid had come unexpectedly, the Army's soldiers were much better trained than those of the Falcon Kingdom. Even though they were at an absolute strategic disadvantage, their morale did not collapse, and they did not flee.

However—

This was not enough to give them much chance of success.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, twenty "Mosquito-style" attack aircraft broke away from the flying formation, turned their noses downward, and launched the attack first!

"B squadron, continue escorting. Brothers of squadron A, follow me!"

"Turn on all the beepers! Their air raid alarms are too quiet, sounds like they're hungry! Let's spice it up, haha!"

With a roar in the communication channel, the leader mosquito excitedly reached out and switched on the beeper.

The shrill, long sound resounded through the air, like the horn of the Grim Reaper.

Twenty 100-kilogram aviation bombs fell from the sky one by one, pouring a rain of death onto the ground!

Most of the Goblin Corps' pilots were Agility system players, especially those carrying out bombing missions, whose Sequence Level had mostly reached Stage 2 and had unlocked the first Talent.

Under these pilots' watch, the ground targets were not only slow as ants but also had visibly frightened expressions on their faces.

The high agility gave pilots visual and reaction speed enhancements, making their aircraft fly as if they were cheating.

Every delivery was precisely sent to where it was most needed!

Even better than AI!

Without the cover of anti-aircraft firepower, facing the aviation bombs falling from the sky, the entire battle had turned into a one-sided massacre.

The deafening roar echoed across the wasteland, with the fire and thick smoke from the explosions blooming everywhere on the battlefield.

Tents were instantly turned into seas of fire, and numerous clone soldiers, who hadn't even seen the enemy, were burnt to charcoal, their eyes unfocused as they fell to the ground.

A centurion struggled to extinguish the flames on his body, but no matter how much he rolled on the ground, he couldn't stop the fire from growing larger.

Pereon, the lucky survivor, struggled to stand up from the ground.

Noticing the shadows cast across the battlefield, he slowly looked up to the sky, and at that moment, he was stunned.

Unknown to him, the Iron Heart had emerged from the clouds and was now hovering above the battlefield, that airborne fortress like a dark cloud.

Watching those thick gun barrels slowly passing overhead, a sense of despair arose in his heart, feeling as though his soul was trembling.

The battles he had fought had always been one-sided victories.

As the advantaged side in asymmetric warfare, no one had lasted more than two rounds against the Army, let alone ride over his head like they did today...

At that moment, his adjutant, leaning on a rifle, staggered towards him.

"News from the front outpost. An armored unit is advancing from G40-1 defense line towards our direction... less than five kilometers away."

After a pause, the adjutant said in a strained voice,

"Sir... what should we do now?"

Pereon's Adam's apple moved.

His loyalty to Marshal Majesty kept him from saying anything discouraging, but the harsh reality was before him...

It was over.

His shoulders slowly drooped as he took his gaze away from the sky.

"...First, let's tend to the wounded."

The adjutant was stunned.

"But—"

Pereon handed the rifle to the adjutant, patted his shoulder, and without a word, limped towards the burning site.

It was just one round of air raids.

Two hundred-man teams stationed near the command post had already suffered more than half casualties!

The remaining hundred or so were not only short on ammunition but also mostly injured. They couldn't even put up a decent resistance against the advancing Alliance armored cluster, let alone hold them off.

To keep fighting.

Was no different from suicide...

As the Iron Heart arrived over the battlefield, the Alliance's dive bombing ceased.

Perhaps seeing that the outcome was decided and not wanting to waste ammunition on trivial matters, the Alliance stopped bombing their positions and chose to continue advancing.

Pereon was acutely aware that he had already lost the battle.

And the loss was inexplicable.

Aside from the whirling propeller planes and the missiles diving along with them, he hadn't even seen the Alliance's ground troops.

Was this really the Alliance that the Pangolin Hundred-Man Team had easily annihilated three thousand men?

Looking at the wrecked camp, his pupils showed neither despair nor depression, only dullness and blankness.

What kind of "natives" were they actually fighting?

Was the Alliance deliberately hiding its capabilities.

Or was the "Triumph Newspaper" lying...

...

On the bridge of the Steel Heart.

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, Chu Guang watched the war-torn battlefield.

This was the perfect vantage point to watch the battle, from where he could see both the enemy and our positions without any hindrance.

"They've surrendered," observed Vanus, a faint surprise flickering across his face as he watched the white flag raised by the enemy headquarters.

While the Alliance's firepower played a role, he hadn't expected these people to last less than ten minutes.

It seemed that these clone groups, freshly moved from the rear to the front lines, were somewhat lacking compared to the Expeditionary Army sent to the Grand Canyon...

"The operation is going smoother than planned."

Glancing at the time on the VM, a slight smile appeared on Chu Guang's face as he continued, "Our soldiers have completed the objective an hour ahead of schedule."

Initially, the plan was for the Burning Corps to raid the command post of Defense Zone No.40, under cover from the Goblin Corps, while coordinating with the armored troops breaking through the front lines to obliterate the Forty Thousand Leader team.

But now, it seemed their plans were too conservative.

It's understandable.

After all, the majority of veteran players in Wasteland OL still remembered the clone army from the battle a year ago.

Those fearless, bloodthirsty clone soldiers had left a deep impression on players who were still pioneers.

Even the crew of the Pioneer, equipped with exoskeletons and power armor, had struggled against their overwhelming numbers and firepower.

If it hadn't been for the Pioneer using a tactical nuclear bomb to clear the battlefield later, the outcome might have been uncertain.

Many army commanders were from that version.

Whether it was Springs or Mole, everyone was extra cautious when planning and setting strategies in the group chat, even preparing contingency plans in case the paratroop operations encountered difficulties, urgently calling in air support from the Death Legion Wolf Cavalry.

However, they might have forgotten that back then, the Alliance didn't have planes or tanks, not even an automatic rifle; they had to borrow from allies, and even a bolt-action rifle capture was treasured.

Their allies weren't professional soldiers either, just employees from the overseas division of the Silver Wing Group. Although they had learned a lot on their travels, they might not have really been battle-tested.

Not like now...

The Alliance Army not only each had an automatic rifle, each person was an Awakener, and the player leading the team was a battle-hardened veteran.

The Army's clone group was still the same clone group.

But the Alliance, now possessing numerous armies, was no longer the same.

It didn't even reach the point for the Burning Corps to take action—the Forty Thousand Leader team had raised the white flag amidst the relentless bombing by the Goblin Corps.

And at that moment, the Skeleton Corps was still four kilometers away from the battlefield.

Even if they let the Burning Corps continue to parachute, it would be a lonely jump, and they would have to spend effort organizing their return to the airfield for reassembly.

Chu Guang decisively halted the eager Burning Corps poised for airdropping and ordered the B team of the Goblin Corps to escort the transport plane formation back home.

Standing next to Chu Guang, Vanus stared at the ground, deep in thought for a long while before suddenly speaking.

"Since the enemy has been caught off guard, why don't we be more daring and continue to expand our victory while they are not ready to counter, pushing the armored troops forward a hundred kilometers to coordinate with the airborne troops in raiding the command headquarters of the four-hundred-thousand-team?"

A smile curled at the corners of Chu Guang's mouth.

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

Saying this, he tapped his helmet.

"Notify the Death Legion that they can proceed."

Xiao Qi's enthusiastic response quickly reached his ears.

"Alrighty!"

Watching Vanus standing next to Chu Guang, strategizing, Finod in the corner swallowed hard, his face full of disbelief.

He had thought that like himself, Vanus was serving the Alliance reluctantly, but it turned out he was the only one "making the best of a bad situation," while this guy was genuinely strategizing for the Alliance.

This guy...

Is he really one of the Weilante People?

...

At the same moment that the Forty Thousand Leader team was falling apart, the headquarters of the four-hundred-thousand-team was in chaos.

Staring at the strategic map with its red arrow, Soft's brows furrowed, his face alternating between astonishment and gravity.

He was the leader of the four-hundred-thousand-team, having arrived in Luo Xia Province just a month ago. His epaulettes bore no stars, his rank below McCullen and possibly two levels lower than Griffin.

Although unfamiliar with the situation in the Far East, having fought so many wars, he still understood maps.

That Defense Zone No.40 would be attacked by the Alliance's main force was something he hadn't anticipated at all.

This meant that the Alliance had exposed its supply lines directly under the power projection range of Defense Zones 41 to 49.

Even without the need for assistance from the neighboring 30,000 and 40,000 troops, all that was required was deploying two thousand-man teams from the depth area across the defense lines to the rear of the Alliance's offensive thrust, effectively trapping the frontline Alliance forces in a quagmire.

However...

He had a better plan.

At that moment, a messenger ran into the tent from outside and saluted before reporting.

"A distress telegraph from the 40th thousand-man team! The frontline command post is under Alliance air attack, requesting air support!"

Softe didn't look up.

His calloused index finger traced along the road network on the map and finally stopped at a contour line convergence in a valley, tapping it hard.

"Inform Pereon to avoid direct confrontation, to fight while retreating to No. 330 high ground, and draw the Alliance into our depths!"

"Additionally, send a telegram to the 43rd, 45th, 47th, and 49th thousand-man teams, instructing them to immediately move to areas near the No. 330 high ground and ambush the Alliance's attacking forces from the eastern and western flanks!"

"The vacated Defense Zones 43, 45, 47, and 49 will be co-managed by the 42nd, 44th, 46th, and 48th thousand-man teams! Be vigilant for Alliance reinforcements from other directions!"

Softe's expression flashed with excitement, and his right hand clenched into a fist, heavily slamming onto the red arrow on the map.

"We must crush this encroaching worm right here on this highway!"

No. 330 high ground is about 11 kilometers from Oasis No.3, with dense contour lines nearby and primarily hilly terrain, with major roads located mid-slope.

Due to its proximity to the oasis, the vegetation there was relatively denser than in other areas, and natural cover was available to hide from airships' high-altitude views, making it an ideal ambush location.

Of course, the Alliance's commanders could see this.

But even so, the Alliance's forces had to continue along this route. Despite the poor condition of the road, it was at least passable.

Otherwise, penetrating deep into enemy territory and losing mobility would spell real disaster.

Softe couldn't help but lift the corners of his lips in satisfaction at his own genius plan.

Though the Alliance came fiercely as if focusing all its strength on one point, he didn't see this as cause for panic.

A mere hillock had cost these barbarians three thousand lives; what more now when they faced a ten-thousand-man team.

Their frustration would only hasten their demise.

After this battle, the Alliance would undoubtedly be severely weakened.

A sense of elation rose in Softe's heart.

He hadn't expected to earn such great merit just upon arriving in Luo Xia Province.

It seemed his shoulder insignia wouldn't take long to acquire another star.

"Yes!"

The messenger saluted and trotted out of the tent.

The staff officer standing by furrowed his brows slightly and stared at the map for a long time before speaking.

"The 40th thousand-man team is severely low on ammunition, and with the Alliance pushing the 'Iron Heart' forward, it's unlikely they can retreat by themselves."

"No matter," Softe said, unconcerned, "the 40th thousand-man team isn't key to the plan; whether they retreat successfully doesn't matter, as long as they can delay the Alliance for a while."

"If Pereon pulls it off, that's best. With reinforcements coming from the flanks, we could catch the Alliance halfway up the slope and give them a good beating."

"If it doesn't work out, we'll just give the No. 330 high ground to the Alliance and engage them there!"

The staff officer looked surprised.

It indeed was a good plan.

However, he had an ominous feeling.

"What if the Alliance's forces arrive before our retreating ambush troops?"

Hearing the staff officer's question, Softe paused for a moment, then resolutely said.

"That's impossible!"

"Even if Pereon doesn't buy us a single second, the distance from Defense Zone 40 to the No. 330 high ground is 30 kilometers more than from District 43!"

"No matter how fast their armored units advance, they can't possibly be faster than our troop transports!"

The staff officer continued gravely.

"Under normal circumstances... The road from Defense Zone 40 to No. 330 high ground is indeed longer than the nearby District 43, but the straight-line distance is the opposite, less than 150 kilometers."

"I've heard the Alliance is equipped with a large amount of corporate-backed exoskeleton equipment. If they split off some infantry to leave the road network and advance in a straight line cross-country, they could reach No. 330 high ground in just one day."

"Splitting forces deep in enemy territory, moving infantry in a straight line cross-country?"

Softe seemed amused by the idea, his lips curling up wryly, "Their exoskeletons don't need charging? You might as well say they are coming by air transport."

Using air transports was indeed troublesome, as their shields couldn't be penetrated by anti-aircraft guns.

But that was all.

EMP bombs could disable external parts of the airships, like rotors that unfold on the flanks, leaving the 'Iron Heart' drifting or stranded.

And the idea of lowering gangways right under their noses was as good as a dream; if anti-aircraft guns couldn't hit the airships, couldn't they hit such a large ladder?

Before the staff officer could speak, Softe continued.

"Not to mention, this 150-kilometer straight line would necessitate crossing over ten mountain heads, and along the way, there are our outposts and anti-air defense positions."

"Even if each of them were mutants, it's absolutely impossible for them to reach No. 330 high ground before our defense troops!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Chapter 466: Really Treating a Brother Like One of Our Own!

The scorching sun baked the Earth, as if it wanted to evaporate the last bit of moisture from this soil.

Unable to bear the harsh rays of The Sun, Claw of Death, crawling low to the ground, hung its head listlessly and snorted.

"Hiss—"

Living in River Valley Province, it was clearly not adapted to the climate of Luo Xia Province.

However, being an organism at the top of the food chain, its extraordinary ability to adapt to the environment meant it was only uncomfortable, not incapable of perseverance.

Edge Shoveling gently patted its head.

"Good, it'll be better when we reach the Oasis."

They were only two hundred kilometers away from Oasis No.3.

Following the breach of sector 1 in Defense Zone No.40 by the Skeleton Corps, the Alliance Army had infiltrated three corps, totaling over six thousand troops, behind the G40 defense line.

It wasn't until a thousand team was wiped out that the Corps Command finally came to their senses.

Just ten minutes ago, a hundred-man artillery team, belatedly shook things up by lobbing area fire twenty kilometers away towards fortification G40-1, unleashing at least two hundred shells.

For an Army struggling with supplies, these two hundred shells represented a significant gesture.

But the Alliance didn't linger too long over gap number G40-1, making the barrage an empty gesture.

Death Legion was now positioned to the right of the Skeleton Corps.

According to the plan, they were originally meant to move northeast to get behind Defense Zone No.41, using the mobility of the Wolf Cavalry to quickly expand the breach in the defense line and, in coordination with the Lion Kingdom Army occupying position No.40, annihilate the living forces of the Army's fourth Ten thousand troops.

But now, the situation had changed.

The enemy was less prepared than expected; the fortieth thousand team collapsed within an hour, disorganized and defeated.

Annihilating the enemy's living forces was no longer the utmost priority. The Alliance could instead seize the moment to expand their victory, aiming to take down the even higher "Regimental command post"!

The so-called Regimental command post was the command post for a Ten thousand troops, the highest frontline command level.

One more level up would be the Corps Headquarters, where General Griffin was located.

Pushing directly to the group army command was unrealistic, but taking a Regimental command post was conceivable.

Capturing it would throw the defenses of sections G40~49 into chaos.

Without a command system, the thousand teams would be unable to support each other effectively, and each defense sector would instantly become isolated.

Even if every Weilante Military Officer were a superhuman, their only fate would be annihilation.

For this reason, the enemy would never allow such a situation to occur.

According to information provided by Pangolin, a Corps Ten Thousand Leader's command post typically has a direct thousand-infantry team, along with a hundred-man artillery, communications, engineers, army sergeants, and transport teams, totaling a force of between fifteen hundred and two thousand.

And the distance to the very frontline is usually between one hundred and two hundred kilometers.

Under normal circumstances, a strategic depth of one hundred and fifty kilometers would take two days at a slow pace, and at least one day if fast.

But this was just under normal circumstances.

The Corps probably would never have guessed that the Alliance had not only tamed Claw of Death but had even trained a formal cavalry unit using its unique abilities.

Tanks and trucks rely on smooth roads.

But not animals.

Stepping past his Mount, Edge Shoveling walked to the front of the column, looking towards the more than three thousand brothers lined up and ready in the dip below the hill.

More than thirty percent of them were newcomers.

However, after continuous "suicidal training" for half a month, even the latest recruits to the Corps had become qualified soldiers.

Their Combat Power was beyond doubt!

After scanning his brothers present, Edge Shoveling opened the communication System and spoke out loudly.

"The command from headquarters says that Plan Three is going well! The Burning Corps hasn't even landed, and the enemy has already raised the white flag!"

"In less than an hour, we've won the first phase of the operation!"

Hearing that the Battle was going so smoothly, the players all smiled knowingly.

Especially the newcomers.

Having been tormented by Pangolin for half a month, most of the novices were tense as they entered the Battlefield, fearing they might lag and become a burden.

But they hadn't even seen the shadow of the enemy before the first stage of the Battle was victorious.

This wasn't the Wasteland.

It was a bit too post-modern!

Debt Giant Eye, standing at the front of the troop, looked toward the young builders and bricks to his side and whispered a joke.

"The Goblin Corps have had such a blast nabbing heads; I bet Old White and his guys are cursing up a storm."

"Hahaha!" Having a low threshold for humor, the young builders couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Giving those two a blank look, Edge Shoveling continued in a robust voice, ignoring the comment.

"To solidify our achievements, the command from Headquarters ordered the Skeleton Corps to keep pushing forward, targeting the enemy's Regimental command post!"

"At the same time, there has been a change to our mission here, the original operation is canceled, and our allies will handle the garrison at Defense Zone No.41. Our new task from Command is to continue forward, advancing to No. 330 high ground a hundred and fifty kilometers away!"

"That's the first tooth in the mouth of the Army's fourth Ten thousand troops' command post! Once we pull that out, we can shove our tanks' barrels into the enemy's throat!"

The young builder and brick laughed and shouted.

"Sir! How many are there?"

The drum washing machine laughed and followed with another comment.

"Is there enough for each of our brothers to get one?"

Edge Shoveling laughed heartily.

"It's probably not enough, according to aerial imagery, there's just one anti-aircraft artillery position on the top of that hill, with an estimated deployment of only around a hundred troops."

The construction site lad and Brick clicked their tongues.

"Just one company."

"Just because it's only one company, we mustn't underestimate our enemies!" Edge Shoveling said sternly, "They're definitely not weak and they have clearly seen through our plans, with at least four thousand-men teams currently moving from the front line to the rear along the road network."

"If they want to intercept the advancing Skeleton Corps, No. 330 high ground is their best choice. Therefore, we need to seize it before the enemy does and cover our Skeleton brothers as they pass this last checkpoint!"

With that, Edge Shoveling cracked a grin.

"The headquarters gave us twenty-four hours, but I think this deadline is downright disrespectful of our brothers' mobility!"

For some reason, the construction site lad and Brick suddenly felt a shiver and muttered to themselves.

"I've always had this ominous premonition."

As if to coincide with his feeling,

...the very next thing Edge Shoveling said confirmed his suspicion.

"...Fifty wolf cavalry take five hundred brothers and set out with me first! We'll cut through the enemy's belly in a straight line, aiming to reach our destination before midnight!"

"The rest will follow old Construction Site, transportation is limited… so I'm afraid the strength-type brothers will have to put in a bit of extra effort!"

Having said that, Edge Shoveling didn't wait for the strength-type players to react before he waved his hand grandly, issuing the order with great momentum.

"Move out!"

As Edge Shoveling called names over the communications channel, five hundred-man teams of agility system players quickly got in line, mounting their mounts, the Claws of Death.

They moved as swift as though fearing they'd miss out if they were too slow.

"Brother, I'll take off first!" Debt Giant Eye laughed and clapped the construction worker on the shoulder, climbing behind Edge Shoveling.

Watching the cloud of dust as they disappeared into the distance and then turning to look at the more than two thousand brothers left with just a few hundred bicycles and tricycles, the construction site lad and Brick had an expression of wry amusement.

It took a while for him to squeeze out a word from his mouth.

"Chip!"

This guy.

He really didn't consider his brothers as outsiders.

No, more like he didn't consider them human!

From some version onwards, the once glorious strength system was being used like beasts of burden by everyone, while the originally not-so-useful intelligence system seemed not so useless after the mass production of neurological connection equipment.

Thinking about this, the old construction worker couldn't help but clench his fists.

Damn it!

When will the strength system rise again!

The newbie holding a shotgun was clueless about the upcoming events, but he walked up excitedly to the team leader and asked eagerly.

"Captain, what are we going to do now?"

The other newbies followed suit and asked excitedly.

"Are we going through as well?"

"How do we go through?"

The construction site lad and Brick muttered as they mounted a tricycle and pushed down on the pedals hard.

"Get on!"

...

Oasis No.3, Corps Headquarters.

Upon hearing the frontline reports, General Griffin was stunned for a good minute before he came back to his senses.

The news that the G40-1 position was breached by the Alliance nearly coincided with the collapse of the 40th thousand team.

If it weren't for knowing the officers of the 40th thousand team were all Vellante People, he would have barely stopped himself from suspecting a traitor among them.

Otherwise, there was no explanation for how these idiots couldn't even hold out for an hour.

Seeing that General Griffin didn't speak, the adjutant swallowed hard and continued.

"According to the report from the 4th ten-thousand team, the Alliance deployed the Iron Heart in this battle and concentrated almost all armored units..."

"It seems they're not just probing; they're determined to fight a decisive battle with us."

At these words, General Griffin's face grew even darker, like storm clouds ready to burst, as if it could drip water.

Originally, according to his plan, that ultimatum could have bought him at least a month's time, but unexpectedly, the Alliance launched a full offensive after just half a month.

This not only meant that the entire situation was rapidly sliding into an unfavorable turn for him, but it also meant that his previous series of deployments had become self-indulgent, and all speculations and arrangements had become superfluous soliloquies.

The Alliance had guessed their logistics situation from the very beginning.

That's why they deliberately chose a position to "show weakness" to them, making them believe that the Alliance's logistics were almost on par with theirs, to the point where they couldn't even scrape together a decent number of rifles.

But Griffin still hadn't expected the Alliance to be so ruthless!

In order to dull his troops' vigilance and for this long-planned ambush, they actually sent their own people to die, sacrificing over three thousand lives!

Taking a deep breath, he calmed down and asked.

"What's the situation with the 4th ten-thousand team now?"

The adjutant replied with a tense expression.

"Ten Thousand Leader Sofft ordered the main force to retreat to No. 330 high ground and re-establish a defensive line to intercept the Alliance's isolated armored troops. At the same time, they mentioned in the telegram that they hope that the third and fifth ten thousand troops could attack the Alliance's positions from the west and east directions, containing the Alliance's forces."

General Griffin looked at the strategic map spread out on the table, his gaze firmly fixed on the location of No. 330 high ground, and his face suddenly changed.

"Tell Sofft to contract his defensive line immediately!"

The adjutant hesitated slightly, his face showing a troubled expression.

"Retreat? But—"

"No, there's no time!"

Griffin's brow furrowed, and he suddenly canceled the command, muttering to himself, "Abandoning the position at this point would be even more dangerous. The Alliance's tanks will catch up with them fast... With the Steel Heart cloaked, once they leave cover, they'll have nowhere to hide."

Watching the grave expression on General Griffin's face, several officers standing by exchanged puzzled glances.

Although the Alliance's combat power had repeatedly exceeded their expectations, they still had an army of a hundred thousand at their command.

The situation was not yet so dire as to be unmanageable.

After a long contemplation, Griffin began issuing orders.

"Have Peidao and the first Navy Aviation squadron move to the airfield at the front line of the third ten thousand troops, ready to support the fourth ten thousand troops at any time!"

The staff officer standing by cautiously reminded him.

"Relying solely on Peidao and the first Navy Aviation squadron might not be enough to handle the Steel Heart, at most they could temporarily disable it."

"I know," Griffin said calmly, "this isn't a deployment made to handle the Steel Heart."

The staff officer was momentarily stumped.

"Then it is...?"

Without directly answering the question, Griffin gazed at the map and slowly said.

"McCullen once mentioned to me that his Steel Heart was taken down by a group of airborne troops. At the time, I thought he must be insane. How could airborne troops jump onto an airship with hundreds of anti-aircraft cannons forming a defensive position? And how many could even survive such a jump?"

The officers in the tent exchanged looks, sharing the bewilderment in each other's eyes.

That did indeed sound far-fetched.

With the Steel Heart bristling like a hedgehog with cannons, not to mention parachuting onto its head, it seemed difficult to even fly a plane up to its face!

After a pause, Griffin continued.

"But now, I suddenly feel that he wasn't insane, nor was he joking."

"The Alliance's target is the command post of the fourth ten thousand troops. Their commander can't possibly fail to calculate that, no matter how fast their armored troops advance, they can't reach No. 330 high ground faster than our reinforcing troops. The hill will snag their treads like a nail..."

"But even though it's an obvious situation, they still order their armored troops to carry out an impossible task. Such abnormality could only mean one thing: their real card is not on the ground, but in the sky."

The adjutant suddenly looked at General Griffin with realization.

"You mean... they plan to deploy airborne troops to attack No. 330 high ground?!"

Griffin nodded slightly.

"Their planes seem to be made of a special material or coating that presents a radar signature smaller than a sparrow. No matter how you look at it, sending airborne troops for a surprise attack is the best strategy."

"Moreover, to ensure the success of the operation, they will surely take action at night!"

"In doing so, not only will they seize No. 330 high ground before our reinforcing troops, but they can also surround and attack in conjunction with their armored troops breaking through from Defense Zone G40-1."

Speaking thus, a cold smile curled on the lips of General Griffin.

"Heh, these guys are quite ambitious!"

The adjutant's face gradually took on a serious tone.

"If what you're saying is true, doesn't that make the fourth ten thousand troops situation extremely perilous...?"

Griffin didn't answer the question, but instead turned to the radio operator at his side, his tone decisive as he ordered.

"Send a telegram to Sofft, telling him to dispatch the directly subordinate thousand team to No. 330 high ground after dark!"

The staff officer looked at the general in a daze.

"But doing so would leave the frontline command post's defenses..."

Griffin replied without hesitation.

"Even without that direct thousand team, they still have the forces of six hundred men teams, which is enough to respond to emergencies. And if they can't hold No. 330 high ground, those extra thousand men won't make any difference to them."

Hesitation leads to defeat!

With just those infantrymen, Sofft had no chance of stopping the Alliance tanks in the open field.

Now that it was certain the Alliance would deploy airborne troops to assault No. 330 high ground.

Rather than waiting passively, it was better to take a gamble.

Speaking, Griffin continued to look at the radio operator, who was hurriedly taking notes, and sharply ordered.

"Also, get on the line with the third and fifth ten thousand troops immediately, tell them to reassign forces to support the fourth ten thousand troops right away!"

Pocketing his smoking pen, the radio operator snapped to attention and saluted.

"Yes sir!"

...

At the same time, at the Alliance's frontline positions.

Under the cover of the Goblin Corps, twenty "Dragonfly" transport planes carrying the Burning Corps began landing one by one on the temporary airstrip.

As each transport plane steadied, ground crew pushing forklifts quickly approached to change the planes' battery modules.

Meanwhile, the plane's cargo doors swung open, and players clad in exoskeletons, carrying parachutes and rifles, started disembarking from the cabin.

Everyone wore a displeased expression, cursing and mumbling.

"MMP! That was a lonely kind of flying!"

"Exactly! I haven't even had my fun yet—how come it's already over!"

"+1! It's all because those damn Mosquitoes bombed too fiercely!"

"They licked the ground way too damn clean!"

Standing next to the plane,
the ground crew of the Lion Kingdom watched the airborne soldiers cursing and babbling, expressions of bewilderment creeping onto their faces.

"What are they saying?"

"I don't know... it doesn't seem to be United Human language."

"But it sounds like they're complaining."

"Is it that the progress of the battle is not smooth?" A young ground crew member muttered under his breath, which was overheard by an Alliance Engineer who was checking the plane next to him.

The latter smiled, lips quirked up at the corners, eyes narrowed toward the direction of the airborne soldiers, and casually chimed in.

"Not that it's not smooth, quite the opposite, it's too smooth—it ended before they even got a chance to make a move."

The ground crew exchanged glances, bewildered, not at all comprehending the meaning behind those words.

Too smooth?

What's there to complain about?

The young man who previously guessed that the progress of the battle was problematic looked bewilderingly at the engineer fixing the equipment and asked with a puzzled face.

"I don't understand... isn't smooth progress a good thing?"

"Indeed, it's a good thing—it means that the friendly forces finished the work for them, but there is nothing for them to be happy about. The honor that belongs to warriors is ultimately to be earned on the battlefield. Rather than hiding behind allies, they crave to blaze on the most dangerous front lines, because that is the glory of the Burning Corps."

The engineer paused for a moment, casually continuing.

"As for death, it's merely the return... I heard someone among them say this while we were drinking at a roadside inn."

After hearing this, everyone's expressions changed markedly, their gazes instantly filled with respect when looking toward those towering figures.

Shaken to the core, the young man couldn't help but swallow hard.

"They're truly a bunch of madmen..."

However, the moment the words left his mouth, he realized his phrasing might have been a bit off and tried to retract his statement.

But the Alliance Engineer didn't care—tossing a wrench in his hand, he casually replied.

"If it is for plunder, then indeed, they are madmen."

"But if it is for faith, for ideals, for protecting the residents of the Alliance, or for other great causes..."

"That is heroism!"

The young man gaped at the Alliance Engineer in front of him.

Although he couldn't fully grasp the meaning of the words, a seed of emotion seemed to be unwittingly planted in his heart.

Few realized.

The Alliance Soldiers fighting alongside them not only left an extraordinary impression, but also subtly changed their way of thinking...

Elsewhere,
by the temporary runway,

Old White, clad in "Dragon Cavalry" power armor, trudged with heavy steps to the front of the Burning Corps brothers.

"New mission!"

Night Ten joked.

"Where are we taking a spin this time?"

Seeing the kid was still hung up about the cancellation of the previous operation, Old White cast his gaze around the group, grinning ear to ear.

"Manager says Defense Zone No.40's stage was too small, not enough room for us to strut our stuff. This time we're playing big."

Quit Smoking immediately showed interest in his eyes, eagerly asking.

"How big?"

"The fourth Ten Thousand Leader's Command Post!" Old White continued with a gleaming look, "According to Pangolin's intel, they have at least a thousand or two people there!"

At the mention of a thousand or two, Night Ten became instantly ecstatic.

"Holy shit! A regiment?!"

Quit Smoking: "Awesome!!!"

Watching his excited teammates, Old White chuckled.

"This time the Skeleton Corps share the same target as us—to paralyze the command system of the Death Legion's fourth ten thousand troops. But they are still on their way, getting car sick; there is no way they can beat us this time."

Standing to the side, Wild Wind didn't show much of an emotional change, simply asking.

"When do we leave?"

"After dark!" Old White chuckled as he clapped his shoulder, "Why? Got class today?"

Wild Wind casually nodded.

"Yeah, I need to ask for leave later."

-

(I meant to write more... but I still didn't finish the second half, embarrassing T.T)

Chapter 467: The Bloody Battle at No. 330 High Ground!

No. 330 high ground, dusk had just fallen.

Sitting on the bench in the observation post, Centurion Yote of the 11th Support Squadron was staring out of the observation window at the Gobi desert gradually being enveloped by night, lost in thought.

A few hours ago, he received news from the frontline command that the savage Alliance had concentrated all its forces to launch a surprise attack on the Army's defense line, and position G40-1 had already fallen.

In no more than 48 hours, the Alliance's tanks would be at the foot of No. 330 high ground.

The four thousand-man teams at the front were retreating to the rear defense, and the task Softe had entrusted to him was only one—to coordinate with the retreating troops and block the Alliance's armored units from breaking into their own lines.

Yote was a bit stunned.

The day before, their allies were still bashing the Alliance over the radio, beating them black and blue, so how had they suddenly been breached?

Regardless, the command headquarters was certainly not joking with him.

Yote didn't want to joke with his own life either. He immediately dispatched a reconnaissance squad and an engineer squad to plant dynamite at the foot of the mountain.

Except for the squads operating the radar and anti-aircraft cannons, who had not moved, he had also sent others to dig positions and set up defenses on the slopes of the high ground.

At that moment, a sentry ran in and saluted sharply.

"Report! Troops are approaching from the rear!"

The rear?

Yote's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately rose from the bench and hurried out of the observation post, heading straight to the highway on the north side of No. 330 high ground.

Through the dusk, clouds of dust swirled, and dozens of trucks filled with fully-armed soldiers were majestically advancing from the direction of the command post toward them.

"What's the situation over there?" Yote's adjutant was also standing by the highway.

He obviously noticed the activity from the north and had come specifically to check.

Yote did not immediately answer but raised the binoculars hanging around his neck for a look and saw thirty light trucks in total.

After watching the convoy for a while, he blurted out.

"It's the direct command thousand-man team."

"Direct command?!" The adjutant standing next to him looked at him in surprise, "What are they doing here?"

Wasn't the direct command thousand-man team responsible for command post defense and support?

Could it be that Softe was planning to move the command post to No. 330 high ground?!

"I don't know," Yote tossed the binoculars to him and gestured to the distant sentry tower to let them in, "Let them in!"

The checkpoint opened.

The convoy quickly arrived at the position.

The members of the 11th Hundred team's artillery, standing on both sides of the road, watched truck after truck roll onto the position, their faces showing envy at the well-equipped comrades on the trucks.

"Wow, everyone's got an automatic rifle."

"I heard that those guys in the direct command have three times the standard ammunition supply of a regular frontline unit!"

"Three times? You're joking, it's more than three times! They're the only ones in the ten thousand team who aren't short of ammunition."

Unlike the makeshift clone soldiers, the soldiers on these trucks were all pure-blooded Weilante People,

Each not only had an assault rifle but was also equipped with either light or heavy bulletproof armor.

Their shiny black shells glinted coldly under the moonlight, impenetrable by a burst of fire!

Not only were they well-equipped, but these soldiers also had a military quality far beyond ordinary units, truly the ace of the entire Fourth Ten Thousand Team!

The convoy came to a halt.

A tall man, nearly two meters in height, jumped down from the passenger seat of the lead truck.

He wore a steel helmet, had sharp facial features, and was tall and burly, with no apparent identifying marks on his combat uniform, but Yote recognized the man before him.

It was none other than Centurion Simond from the direct command thousand-man team.

When he had first joined the Fourth Ten Thousand Team, he had served under this man as a leader of ten.

Following protocol, Yote went up to him, smiling as he greeted Simond.

"Centurion Simond, what brings you here?"

Not wasting time on niceties, Simond spoke succinctly.

"Command headquarters has ordered me to come to No. 330 high ground to take over its defense."

Hearing this, Yote cast a surprised look at Simond.

Command headquarters was directly moving frontline units?

Was this not overstepping in command?

And it was the direct command thousand-man team being moved...

He could even imagine General Softe's furious expression.

Noticing the surprised look on Yote's face, Simond added emotionlessly.

"Don't mind it, continue with your work. Leave the defense to us."

Yote immediately stood at attention and saluted.

"Yes!"

Simond nodded, waved to his adjutant, who immediately understood and jogged to the truck side.

Thousands of soldiers swiftly unloaded wooden crates from the trucks, hurrying to the front lines of the high ground, dispersing in teams of ten to dig and transport earth, efficiently expanding the defensive works.

Simond wasn't idle either; he got a more detailed area map from Yote, complete with the latest markings drawn by the reconnaissance soldiers, including shortcuts from the foot of the mountain to the high ground and areas that needed to be heavily fortified.

Upon inspecting the map for a long time, Simond suddenly frowned, turned to Yote beside him.

"Take me to the spot with the best view."

"Yes! Please follow me!"

Yote immediately led the way, but Simond went to the foremost observation post.

From this observation post on the southeast and west sides of the entire high ground, everything was in plain view.

"Why are there no fire points on the southwest side of the high ground?"

Yote was slightly stunned, hastily explaining.

"There are, just no machine guns deployed… We're an anti-aircraft squadron, the squadron has only two heavy machine guns in total, both deployed facing south and southeast—towards the direction of the highway—"

Simond interrupted him, continuing to ask.

"How many anti-aircraft cannons do you have?"

"…Four."

"Then disassemble one and place it here."

Simond pointed with his forefinger, tapping on the prominent part of the contour line on the southwest side of the map, "There is a defense gap at the southwest position, and we must fill this gap."

Yote leaned over the map, looked at the location selected by Simond on the map, and then incredulously lifted his head.

"Commander, there is no path on our southwest side at all—it's all mountains! No one would come from that direction!"

"Besides the mountains, there's also vegetation, and there isn't a more perfect position than that one nearby," Simond glanced outside the window.

A swathe of hills enveloped by the night was seen afar, with clusters of bushy seabuckthorn grass shaking.

It was not just the vegetation; there were also rocks standing firm.

There were even covers available there.

"But they can't just fly over," Yote couldn't help but remark, "Even if their tanks' tracks were made of titanium, they couldn't possibly off-road 150 kilometers in a mountainous region with no roads—unless they plan to dilly-dally here until next month."

"They might actually fly over," Simond said calmly.

Yote was stunned for a moment.

"...What do you mean?"

Simond continued,

"The command post of the Fortieth Ten Thousand Troops is actually the target of the Alliance's armored units, No. 330 high ground, they'll probably leave it to the paratroopers."

Yote suddenly looked towards the night sky outside the observation window; it was clear with not a cloud in sight, no sign of paratroopers.

However, Simond's words made him more cautious.

If the Alliance really planned to send infantry to infiltrate his position from the southwest...

With the anti-aircraft artillery he had at his disposal, it was indeed uncertain whether they could withstand it.

Watching Yote becoming visibly stirred, Simond continued to speak,

"If I were the commander of the Alliance, I would drop the paratroopers behind the hills on the southwest side and use the cover of night and vegetation to infiltrate to No. 330 high ground on foot."

Saying this, he patted the Centurion's shoulder,

"No. 330 high ground will determine how far they can go, prepare your men mentally; tonight it's very likely we'll have a tough battle."

Yote swallowed hard and straightened up.

"Yes, sir!"

While Simond instructed Yote on the defense plan, unbeknownst to both, several sneaky figures were lying right underneath their eyes.

On the southwest side's hill of No. 330 high ground, behind the reverse slope.

Edge Shoveling and several teammates lay quiet behind the shaking seabuckthorn grass, quietly looking ahead at the position.

The time was now 8:00 PM.

The entire 150-kilometer off-road journey—they completed this rapid march in just eight hours!

Without modern transportation, even roads were lacking; the journey was all through uninhabited deserts and dunes!

If this were reality, not only would it make military history, it would be enough to break a Guinness World Record!

However, Edge Shoveling was not proud.

Reaching the battle position was just the first step, being fast was not something to boast about.

They could wait to show off in the forum after they had taken down the position in front of them.

"Gosh, there are quite a few people on the mountain opposite!"

Looking at the mountain top close at hand, Debt Giant Eye, who was holding the binoculars, couldn't help but click his tongue.

Laplace, lying beside, also filled with surprise, exclaimed,

"Is this a hundred-man squad?!"

"I can see more than a hundred people just on the southwest position!" Sheep Again Package couldn't refrain from commenting.

Debt Giant Eye, turning towards the taciturn Edge Shoveling, asked in a lowered voice,

"It feels like they have quite a few people... should we detour a bit more to the west? Get to their north and hit them from behind!"

Edge Shoveling shook his head.

"If we detour any further, we'll move into another unit's defense area; this is the most appropriate position."

If they moved another 10-20 kilometers west from No. 330 high ground, they'd encounter another high artillery position. If discovered, they would face crossfire from both east and west sides.

The whole mountainous region was almost under the Army's control, with disparate units scattered across various defense areas and hilltops, leaving little tactical choice for the attackers.

He could only choose from a few limited options, selecting those with the highest chance of success.

"It seems like there's some movement on the opposite hill," an Agility system player suddenly spoke, "Is that… a machine gun?"

"It's anti-aircraft artillery!" another Agility system player said quietly, "They seem to plan to move the anti-aircraft artillery to the southwest position!"

Hearing this, the players lying on the reverse slope looked at each other.

"Have they discovered us?"

"Perhaps not us, but they probably discovered the gap in the southwest defense line," Edge Shoveling frowned, fixing his gaze on the soldiers busy moving the anti-aircraft artillery, "A team of engineers at the foot of the hill, another on the hilltop—they're nearly forming a company, and this isn't a mere hundred-man squad."

"I think so too," Sheep Again Package nodded seriously, "That engineer team must be a battalion-level setup! There's at least a thousand-man squad on that hill!"

"Now what do we do?" Looking towards their seasoned companion, Midnight—who carried an umbrella, not a knife—whispered, "Shall we wait for the construction guys to catch up before we attack?"

With no numerical advantage, and attacking a fortification, it was somewhat reckless.

Waiting for the three-wheeler brothers to catch up, with three thousand men pushing forward together, would be much safer.

"We can't wait anymore; if we wait any longer, they'll have even built a freaking bunker!" Edge Shoveling put down the binoculars and looked at Big Eyes lying beside him, "Where's your drone?"

Seeing the fight was about to start, Debt Giant Eye excitedly said,

"I've got it ready!"

"Good," Edge Shoveling nodded and continued instructing, "Release all the drones, remember to first mark the targets, wait for my command to strike! Try to knock out their firepower points in one go, give them no chance to breathe!"

"Will do!"

Debt Giant Eye excitedly nodded his head and slipped down the slope.

Edge Shoveling continued to look at Sheep Again Package lying beside him.

"Take five hundred infantrymen, quickly circle around to the southeast of No. 330 high ground, stick to the edge of the road, and launch a feint attack on the hilltop!"

"Yes!"

Sheep Again Package rapidly nodded and followed in the direction of Debt Giant Eye.

Retreating to the reverse slope's backside, Edge Shoveling, using the faint light, glanced at the VM screen time.

Now was Alliance time [20:15].

Fifteen minutes.

Those "little guys" should have rested well.

With a tap on his headset, Edge Shoveling switched the communication system to the general channel and said in a low voice,

"All teams pay attention, the operation will begin in ten minutes!"

There was not a trace of fear; the responses he received were eager and ready.

"Received!"

...

[20:22]

The surroundings of No. 330 high ground were still eerily quiet.

Glancing at the engineers working on the mid-slope, Yote, walking the positions, relaxed a bit and turned off his flashlight.

It was already this late, and still, there was no movement.

It appeared the Alliance planned to move their operations to the later half of the night.

Thinking this, Yote, now relaxed, couldn't help but feel a bit irritated, realizing he probably wouldn't get a good night's sleep tonight.

Following beside Yote, the adjutant, who had been silent for a long time, finally couldn't help asking,

"I don't understand, if General Griffin has determined that the Alliance will definitely launch an attack tonight and even deploy airborne troops, why don't we just send planes to intercept them?"

Yote casually answered,

"Our planes are already on standby, but Alliance planes are a bit peculiar, and normal airborne radars hardly detect them."

This was what Chief Simond had told him.

Actually, even without saying, he could have guessed.

Those several anti-aircraft artillery positions in Defense Zone No.40, destroyed by bombings, only discovered the enemy planes when they came within visual distance.

From this perspective, the Alliance could indeed use the cover of night to drop airborne troops right under their noses.

Even if the "Peidao" fighter planes were fast, it was unlikely they could destroy those transport planes in the instant they were discovered, before the airborne troops could parachute.

Looking at his worried adjutant, Yote patted him on the shoulder and offered a word of consolation,

"Don't worry, General Sofort has sent his direct thousand-man team here. Even if the Alliance really drops paratroopers on our faces, we can swat them like mosquitoes on the mid-slope—"

His words hadn't even finished when the quiet night was suddenly disrupted by a "snap" of a gunshot.

The lights below the mid-slope shook violently, and an engineer in the process of digging fell to the ground, shot. The engineers next to him quickly extinguished their flashlights and lay down.

However, their actions were still a beat too slow.

Within less than half a second, a burst of intense gunfire sounded like firecrackers on the southeast side of No. 330 high ground, and the engineering squad that was planting dynamite suffered heavy casualties and wounds instantly, leaving only weak cries on the mid-slope.

"Enemy attack!"

Regaining his senses, Yote shouted and quickly rushed toward the nearest shelter, nearly at the same time, a piercing alarm blared throughout the entire No. 330 position.

"It's from the southeast direction!"

Looking through the small window of the observation post towards the southeast position, Simond's expression shifted slightly.

However, this did not mean his judgment was wrong.

Even if they landed behind the hills on the southwest side, those people could still move along the reverse slope and circle to the southeast side to launch an attack.

Perhaps the sight of an anti-aircraft cannon ready to fire caused them to change their mind.

Without a second's hesitation, Simond decisively picked up the walkie-talkie and ordered,

"First support squadron, fire the flares!"

As the order was given, the direct mortarmen of the thousand-man team had already swiftly reached their combat positions.

With several sharp bangs, numerous flares soared into the sky, illuminating all the hills around No. 330 high ground.

On the southeast hill, rows of shadows lay prone. They had dug simple dugouts and were setting up their light machine guns and rifles, firing towards No. 330 high ground.

The distance between the two parties was less than five hundred meters.

Meanwhile, two hundred-man teams, taking advantage of the cover of darkness, had already touched the east and south sides of the foot of No. 330 high ground and erupted into fierce firefights with nearby sentries and several squads supporting the engineers by the roadside.

Watching the flames flickering on the nearby hills and at the base of the mountains, Simond's brow furrowed.

Two support groups, two assault groups, clear division of work, perfect coordination... truly worthy of the name elite. And judging by this firepower density, there must have been at least four hundred-man teams!

Maybe even five!

Had he not arrived here, No. 330 high ground would likely have fallen into the Alliance's hands!

Simond's lips curled into a cold smile.

These barbarians probably would never guess that what they were facing wasn't the support squadron of about a hundred people they saw during the day but the strongest ace of the forty-thousand-man team—the direct thousand-man squad!

Picking up the walkie-talkie, Simond ordered in a cold voice,

"Attention all units, the force before us is the Alliance's most elite ace rumored—The Burning Corps."

"They have greatly humiliated our aircraft brothers and even snatched the Steel Heart."

"The soft eggs of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force have boosted their confidence, but this time they've clearly picked the wrong opponent!"

"Hit them hard!"

"Show them what a real ace is!"

...

Forty-thousand-man team headquarters.

Hearing the news of the attack at No. 330 position, General Sofort, who was just cursing General Griffin's mother, instantly broke into a cold sweat.

No. 330 high ground was only seventeen kilometers away from here!

Having looked at the map so long, he was of course clear about what losing that place meant for him.

Not only would the command post be exposed to the Alliance's artillery range, but the four thousand-man teams sent back to support would also find themselves facing the encirclement of Alliance armored forces and support artillery.

The Forty-thousand-man team might ultimately be left with nothing but its name.

"These bastards... keeping their plans so deep! Ha, go eat shit!"

Wiping the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, Sofort stared at the strategic map on the table, feeling both frightened and exhilarated.

Unexpectedly, the Alliance had truly dared to send airborne troops without securing air supremacy, and had thrown in their ace right from the start.

However, fortunately, I was a person who heeded advice and had carried out General Griffin's orders; otherwise, I really would have capsized in the gutter.

Soft couldn't help but exclaim,

"General Griffin truly has a divine insight!"

He sneaked a glance at his immediate superior and found his aide standing quietly by the side, opting to stay silent.

Who knows which guy, after hanging up the phone, had warmly greeted General Griffin's entire family…

Having calmed his racing heart, Soft looked toward his deputy, his voice filled with excitement as he commanded,

"Contact Simond! Tell him air support is on the way, and he must at all costs annihilate the elite of the Alliance at the foot of No. 330 high ground!"

"Winning this battle, victory's balance will be in our hands!"

The deputy promptly stood up straight and saluted,

"Yes!"

…

Elsewhere, the Army Headquarters at No. 3 Oasis.

General Griffin, sitting inside the command tent, was intently gazing at the radio on the table.

After the crackling busy signal, the pilot's voice came through,

"…This is 'Peidao-1,' no enemy aircraft spotted in the target airspace."

Hearing the unexpected response, Griffin slightly frowned,

"Have they already withdrawn?"

Standing by his side, the staff officer also fell into contemplation before speaking moments later,

"The speed of their withdrawal is too fast."

According to General Griffin's plans, the Alliance's airborne troops were to be intercepted by the Ten Thousand Team, with the "Peidao" fighters responsible for annihilating any Alliance air force covering the airborne soldiers.

However, surprisingly, the Alliance had not sent aircraft to support the attack on No. 330 high ground by the airborne troops, seemingly planning to let the infantry grapple with the high ground alone.

Not only that, but they hadn't even seen the transport planes delivering these infantrymen—the flutter machines that had attacked the anti-aircraft positions in Defense Zone No. 40 also seemed to have vanished.

"Could they have guessed?" A thought briefly occurred to Griffin, but he quickly dismissed this possibility.

If the Alliance knew they were ready, they would not have simply thrown the airborne troops on No. 330 terrain.

Perhaps...

The Alliance really hadn't expected the Ten Thousand Team to reinforce No. 330 high ground, gambling instead that the Army wouldn't anticipate a repeat of their airborne troops' sneak attack, hence simply leaving the high ground entirely to the infantry.

A moment of bewilderment flashed through those intelligent pupils, and Griffin was stunned for a few seconds.

This possibility wasn't entirely absent.

But given their previous performance…

It shouldn't suddenly turn foolish.

Underestimating the enemy is a cardinal sin. Griffin's brows furrowed even more tightly, his eyes fixedly staring at the map as his mind rapidly considered countless possibilities.

At that moment, the staff officer standing by reminded,

"Further south lies the radar scanning area of the Iron Heart... Our planes can't proceed any further."

The Iron Heart's anti-aircraft cannons are ineffective against supersonic aircraft, hardly striking anything above Mach 3.

But correspondingly, under the harassment of anti-aircraft fire, their aircraft weren't likely to achieve much either.

Griffin nodded and turned to the signalman to order,

"Have Peidao provide a round of firepower support for the No. 330 high ground defenders, then immediately return to the frontline airfield to stand by."

"Also, have the Falcon Kingdom's Air Squadron No.1 take off to replace Peidao in providing close support for No. 330 high ground!"

The signalman stood at attention and saluted,

"Yes!"

…

"Boom—!"

On the southeast side of No. 330 high ground.

The incoming barrage of bullets roared along with the machine gun's thunder, lashing onto the Earth and instantly kicking up a storm of dust and severed limbs.

The sudden air raid momentarily silenced the Alliance's position for two seconds.

Although the gunfire soon resumed, it lacked the previous vigor, becoming much more cautious.

Clearly, the air strike had inflicted significant casualties on them.

Losing rear firepower cover, two Centurion teams attacking in the middle found themselves in a precarious situation.

Seizing the opportunity, Simond, sitting in command, immediately pulled a Centurion team from another defense zone and redeployed them to the eastern pass, planning to descend the hill and encircle the Alliance's attacking forces from behind, annihilating the two Centurion teams pinned on the mountainside in one fell swoop!

Although currently holding the upper hand, Simond was well aware that his soldiers were low on ammunition. If they couldn't achieve a swift victory, both sides would soon be locked in a deadlock.

"Ha ha! Well done!" Watching the fighter jets whizzing overhead leave, Yote excitedly swung his fist.

The joy was evident on the face of the deputy standing beside him.

The Alliance must be bewildered by now.

They could never have imagined why a hilltop with only one Centurion team during the day suddenly had over a thousand more people.

Thinking to storm their position with just five hundred men.

What a daydream!

However, at that moment, from the southwestern side of the hill, a shadow suddenly darted out from behind the swaying seabuckthorn grass and sped rapidly down the hill.

Yote, crouching in the observation post, caught a glimpse of something, but initially didn't take it seriously.

After all, it moved too fast, almost unhumanly fast.

It wasn't until the sentry stationed on the southwest position also spotted something amiss and immediately followed those shadows, turning the searchlight towards the southwest foothills of the high ground…

Only then did they see numerous menacing claws and several tails covered with scale-like armor, emanating a chilling light under the illumination of the searchlight.

When confronted with that pair of amber pupils, Yote's eyes momentarily lost focus, and the smug expression froze on his face.

That sense of being targeted by a predator made him feel as though his veins had frozen, his feet filled with lead.

Even hundreds of meters away, even from a higher ground, it couldn't bring him the slightest sense of security.

"The Claw of Death…"

It was the Claw of Death!

But this is Luo Xia Province, how could such a thing possibly be here?!

Chapter 468: Are You Looking for This?

Yote had no doubts.

Even the Claw of Death, which sent countless Wasteland Wanderers scurrying in fear, would have to make a detour when faced with the sweeping fire of four-barreled 10mm machine guns.

However—

When one Quadruple Anti-aircraft Gun was up against "thousands upon thousands" of Claws of Death, the situation was entirely reversed.

"Ah ah ah!!!"

The soldier crouched behind the Anti-aircraft cannon was clutching the trigger tightly, releasing streams of orange tracer fire down towards the foot of the mountain, trying to stop the horde of beasts from reaching the summit.

However, against the tide-like surge of Claws of Death, the tongues of flame from the gun's muzzle flickered like candles in the darkness.

As if they could vanish into the soundless storm at any moment.

And that's exactly what happened—

The roar of the machine guns didn't even last two seconds before a drone folded its wings and suddenly descended from the sky.

The three soldiers guarding the Anti-aircraft cannon had no time to react before the booming blaze consumed them, along with the Anti-aircraft gun itself.

The fiery explosion bloomed on the high ground.

Witnessing the machine gun now a twisted pile of steel, the soldiers in the adjacent trenches became dumbfounded, and a wave of fear rose from the bottom of their hearts.

"What the hell is that?!" a Centurion exclaimed, swinging his gun barrel back and forth across the sky.

"Suicide drones!" Yote's eyes filled with bloodshot rage as he barked an order, "Watch out for those buzzing things! Don't let them get close to the Anti-aircraft guns!"

The remaining three Quadruple Anti-aircraft Guns began spraying the skies, attempting to knock down the swooping drones.

However, this erratic and undisciplined firing was clearly futile against drones operated by "Immersive Operation" from Intelligence System players.

Soon, two more Anti-aircraft guns were destroyed, and only the last one remained on the entire high ground.

While Yote was unsure what to do, Centurion Simond next to him bellowed an order to his subordinates.

"Use EMP grenades!"

Yote was taken aback and blurted out.

"But our radar—"

"Screw that!" Simond shoved him aside and yelled toward the mortar position, "Hurry!"

Following the commander's order, a Centurion had already dashed to the edge of the mortar position, quickly pulling out a blue-marked shell from a box.

He struck the bottom of the shell hard against the ground, then heaved it into the air before lying flat on the ground.

The whole sequence was smooth and seamless.

Dust from the explosion surged upward as shrapnels whizzed between sandbags.

The energy released by the Dynamite was converted into a microwave device, creating a pulse microwave with peak power in the gigawatts!

A brief buzzing pierced the entire Battlefield, generating transient voltages of tens or even hundreds of thousands of volts on the surfaces of myriad protected and unprotected conductors.

A tiny Flame sprouted from the central power distribution box in the camp, followed by the entire high ground plunging into darkness, quickly relit by flares.

At the same time, several quadrotor drones, still unexploded and now close to the ground, fell like dumplings onto the earth.

Insulation layers were breached, fuses were burnt out, radar screens went dead, electronic components fried, and electronic System storage melted down... all in an instant.

The Battlefield was instantly thrown back from the post-Cold War era to World War II or even World War I; all communication Device had failed, and contact was made purely by shouting.

500 meters away in a depression, Big Eyes rolled his eyes so hard he almost lost it and grumbled as he took off the headset from his head.

"Damn it! These guys play dirty!"

He looked toward his VM.

It now displayed a snowy white screen.

Although the "Vital Signs Monitor" had some resistance to EMP, that was only for wide-area EMP weapons and the incidental EMP damage from nuclear explosions.

For this kind of close-range electromagnetic pulse, the pressure was still considerable.

At the very least, the fuses were not going to be saved.

A newbie from the Intelligence System slapped his VM confusedly and saw the screen completely frozen; he grumbled.

"Fuck... How did it even take out my system interface!"

"Must be an EMP, just change the fuse, and it'll be fine!" Big Eyes took off the VM and threw it on the ground, "Get ready to charge!"

"Are we from the Intelligence System charging too?" The newbie asked, puzzled.

"Don't be stupid," Big Eyes rolled his eyes at him and picked up the rifle from the ground, "Does a Summoner sit out of the fight just because they're out of mana? Brothers, charge with me!"

"Arrr Arrr Arrr!"

Seeing the leader go for it, several players from the Intelligence System also picked up their rifles, recalling the posture they'd learned from the Pangolin, and charged toward the No. 330 high ground.

Due to the failure of communication devices, the battlefield was in chaos, filled with nothing but shouting, endless gunshots, and the roaring of explosions.

Apart from a few drone operators, the Wolf Cavalry Troops were undeniably the ones most affected by the EMP, as the Neural Connection Equipment installed on the napes of the Claw of Death received serious damage.

However, only part of them was affected.

Most of the Claw of Death had been tamed by players, and even without the interference of Neural Connection Devices, those accustomed to obedience could still carry out their masters' commands.

But among them, there were some that lost control due to injury or being provoked into aggression.

In case of loss of control, to avoid triggering a chain reaction, even if reluctantly, the players could only put down their own mounts in pain.

"The high ground is right in front of us!"

"Chaaaarge!!!"

Tearing off the malfunctioning headset, Edge Shoveling took out his whistle and put it to his mouth, blowing with all his might.

The piercing whistle blast rang across the entire position, igniting the fiery passion in everyone's hearts.

"Kill them!"

"For the Alliance!!!"

The steep hundred-meter slope was crossed in the blink of an eye.

Urging his mount forward, Edge Shoveling clung to the back of the Claw of Death, leading the charge at the front. He aimed for the trench closest to the slope and threw the wooden-handled grenade he had prepared earlier towards the opposition's position.

"Throw grenades!"

Hearing the command to throw grenades, the Wolf Cavalry in front threw their grenades, some even drawing "Whirlwind" grenade launchers.

The weapon was a product of Goblin Technology, modeled after the design of an MGL grenade launcher's cylinder, emptying six grenades in three seconds, unleashing a wave of mid-range suppressing firepower.

The blaze from the explosions lit up the trenches.

A dozen or so Weilante Soldiers were blown up on the spot, and one left in panic tried to retreat to the rear defense line. However, before he could crawl out of the half-dug trench, his skull was cracked open by the Engineer Shovel of the charging Wolf Cavalry.

Watching the Claws of Death surging up from the southwest side to their position, the Weilante People soldiers hiding in the trenches all widened their eyes in disbelief.

"What kind of monster is that?!"

"It's the Claw of Death! The Claws of Death!"

Those devils that dwell in swamps or rainforests...

Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine they would encounter them in the desert, let alone fathom that these apex predators of the food chain could be tamed by Barbarians as mounts!

But at this moment, there was no time left for them to ponder, as the glaring bayonets and the flashing gunfire were already smashing into their faces!

A ten-soldier team was instantly overwhelmed beneath the iron hooves of the Wolf Cavalry.

Then an entire trench line followed!

These monsters, fiercely charging across the battlefield, completely ignored the geography, acting like breastplate cavalry scaling walls – with every swipe of their claws, they took away one more living soul.

With the protection of their exoskeletons, killing them seemed as difficult as ascending to the heavens!

As the Wolf Cavalry stormed the position, the battle quickly shifted from mid-distance stalemate to close combat slaughter.

The force initially responsible for the feint attack also launched their charge towards the embattled position upon hearing the charging whistle.

Both sides were now so close they could see the nostrils of their adversaries, fighting for every trench, every rock, and even every sandbag bunker on the uneven terrain...

Tracer rounds, like sparks over a bonfire, scattered in the night sky without wind to guide them, and almost every extinguished spark carried a trace of scorched blood.

...

The darkness enshrouding No. 330 high ground was lit by flames of fire.

At the same time, in the northern night sky over the high ground, fifty Eagle Type fighter planes emerged beneath the cloud cover.

"No. 330 high ground is engaged in fierce battle, both sides have started melee combat, frontline troops are not responding to our signals..." Staring at the constantly battling position, Akant picked up the transceiver and reported the situation at the front through the onboard radio to the rear command.

He was the captain of Falcon Kingdom's first flight squadron, and the mission given to him by the Navy Aviation command center was to lead the first flight squadron to provide air support for allied forces at No. 330 high ground.

No matter what, No. 330 high ground could not be lost!

Otherwise, the entire fourth ten thousand troops would be put at risk!

Akant was acutely aware of the importance of this mission, however, the position was in utter chaos, nothing could be clearly seen, and ground troops seemed deaf, unresponsive to his calls.

The command center also couldn't reach those on the ground and could only order them to autonomously judge the situation and support their allies.

However—

Nothing could be seen in the pitch darkness, let alone provide support.

"Damn it..."

After disconnecting the comm, Akant was about to order a reduction in altitude when he suddenly spotted several faint dots appearing from beneath the cloud cover to the south.

Alliance planes!

Akant's pupils constricted sharply.

The scene before him brought back memories of the fierce battle that erupted over the City of Abundance that day.

To be honest, the Alliance's planes didn't leave a very deep impression on him.

Although they were also propeller-driven, their maneuverability and shooting accuracy paled in comparison to the Eagle Type fighters provided by the Army.

If anything, those planes looked like they were cobbled together haphazardly – utterly worthless except for their cheapness.

However, the pilots flying those planes left a deep impression on him.

The Alliance's pilots were like devils who weren't afraid of death, willing to trade their lives for an enemy's downfall.

But—

This time, the Iron Heart wouldn't be there to provide them with cover!

Without the slightest hesitation, Akant switched the aircraft radio to the squadron frequency and ordered loudly into the intercom.

"There's an enemy fleet to the south!"

"Prepare to intercept!"

They must not let these planes get close to No. 330 high ground!

Before supporting their allies, they needed to eliminate these nuisances!

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the Falcon Kingdom's First Flight Squadron.

Seeing the fleet heading straight towards him, Mosquito's eyes showed no fear, but instead, they sparkled with excitement.

The army's "Peidao" fighters had taken a spin around the Steel Heart and returned to base, with neither side able to gain an upper hand over the other.

The cautious Manager deliberately waited for the enemy to move away, almost depleting their fuel, before allowing the airship's aircraft to take off.

Mosquito thought this escort mission was going to be boring since the Corps' mobile radar stations deployed at Oasis No. 3 couldn't possibly detect them beyond visual range.

However—

Dog plan had indeed not disappointed him!

At the same time as pushing the afterburner, Mosquito grabbed the intercom, excitedly shouting.

"All squads, enemy fighters spotted to the north! Squad A continues the escort mission! Squad B, follow me! Brothers, charge at them!"

Responses from the leaders of each squadron soon came through the communication channel.

"Roger!"

Forty W-2 "Mosquito-style" attack planes immediately broke away from the formation, fearlessly charging towards the Falcon Kingdom's First Flight Squadron.

Both sides were like gun cavalry with raised lances, each precisely aiming at the other's vital points, with no one backing down or avoiding collision.

At this moment, anyone who chickened out or even hesitated for an instant, causing their hand on the joystick to shift—

It was like throwing their tail to the opponent for biting!

Approaching effective firing range.

The two sides almost simultaneously pulled the trigger to fire!

The intense, zipping gunfire stirred the originally gentle evening breeze, as streaks of tracer fire filled the night sky, shattering the silence of the night.

In an instant, smoke, and even flames, billowed from over a dozen planes, and the lined-up shootout quickly evolved into a frantic pursuit and twist of dogfights.

For a while, the sky rained with burning iron as the battle seemed to stretch from the ground into the heavens.

The forty separated W-2 "Mosquito-style" quickly suffered over fifty percent casualties; however, the Falcon Kingdom's First Flight Squadron didn't fare any better, with fifteen out of fifty "Eagle Type" planes forcefully taken down.

Looking at the more than a dozen bullet holes in his wings and canopy, Akant clenched his teeth determinedly, using all his strength to pull the uncontrollable nose back up.

He glanced back at the night sky, about to seek out his next target when he suddenly sensed something off about the continuously advancing flying formation.

The enemy hadn't sent all their planes; some had already flown past them, continuing north.

Was their target not No. 330 high ground?

"Something's not right... there's something off about these planes."

Akant furrowed his brow, barely making out a few planes protected in the center of the formation with the help of moonlight piercing through the thin clouds.

That silhouette...

Is it a transport plane?!

Startled, a look of horror quickly spread across his face.

Without any hesitation, he grabbed the walkie-talkie and bellowed.

"Report to the command center! Enemy transport planes spotted!"

"...The enemy squadron has already crossed No. 330 high ground and is heading towards the headquarters of the Fourth Ten thousand troops!"

He then switched to the squadron channel, barking orders angrily.

"The enemy transport planes are breaching our defense zone!"

"Stop them!"

They had probably finally realized something.

The Falcon Kingdom's flight squadron suddenly abandoned their entanglement with the Goblin Corps and madly chased after the Alliance's fleet of transport planes.

But obviously, it was all too late.

At Mosquito's command, Escort Squadron B changed course and charged toward the pursuing "Eagle Type" fighter planes.

Simultaneously, one by one, the transport planes leveled out and opened their cargo doors.

Red warning bells rang out, and players in exoskeleton suits got up from the seats on both sides of the cabin, with parachutes on their backs, and formed orderly lines at the cabin doors.

The airflow swirling into the cabin whipped their sharply defined armor into a howling buzz, while outside, the cabin was flickering with machine gun fire and thick tracer lines.

Not a sign of fear could be seen in their eyes.

Only burning fighting spirit!

This was their stage.

Standing at the cabin door, Old White, clad in "Dragon Cavalry" power armor, shouted in a loud voice over the comm channel.

"Pay attention to your maps, watch your step!"

"Our target is the headquarters of the Fourth Ten thousand troops, remember not to get hung up on anti-aircraft cannons, and don't step on the heads of our brothers in the Death Legion!"

"Once we've dealt with the nuisances under our feet, we'll go help them!"

"Jump—!"

His crisp shout blended with the howling evening wind, and Old White took the lead in stepping out of the cabin, leading a squad of heavily-armed teammates into the hail of bullets.

Compared to the evening they had landed on the Iron Heart—

This firepower was nothing.

Parachutes blossomed in the sky like dandelion seeds adrift in fire, descending toward the ground under the cover of night.

Below them, the dimly lit camp seemed like a lighthouse in a storm, guiding their way.

Sensing the situation above,

The last remaining Anti-aircraft cannon on No. 330 high ground attempted to fire at the Burning Corps, but just two seconds into its fire, it was sent off by an approaching Wolf Cavalry's grenade launcher.

At the same time, hundreds of kilometers away in the sky, a jet plane was racing towards them.

The model of the plane was the "Peidao" that had returned earlier.

Just refueled at the frontline airfield, Yukar had barely stepped out of the cockpit before he received orders to take off again.

Looking at the sparse twinkle of firelights in the distant night sky, Yukar sat in the cabin, the corner of his mouth twisting into a cold smirk.

Propeller planes...

Such slow-moving things like mosquitoes, he would consider it a waste of ammunition to press the machine gun trigger for an extra 0.1 second!

Too bad he didn't see the Flapping Machines.

Those five little flies had just shown their faces during the daytime and then immediately hid back into the airship.

But it didn't matter anymore.

No matter what the Alliance pilots flew, he would make them learn by heart how to spell the word "death" with their bodies!

Yukar calmed down and pushed the throttle forward, the flames spurting from the engine at the rear suddenly enlarged, and the speed quickly broke Mach three, racing towards the battlefield a hundred kilometers away.

However, in that instant, a sudden premonition of danger rose in Yukar's heart. He instinctively tilted the control stick.

A flame flickered briefly below the clouds; he had not even gotten a clear look at what the plane looked like when the sound of breaking the sound barrier nearly ruptured his eardrums.

So fast!

With his heart racing, Yukar glanced at the unresponsive onboard radar, then abruptly looked back, but there was nothing to see.

In the blink of an eye, a plane had zipped past close beside him, the compressed air from its wing yanking him violently to the left and almost shattering his canopy!

That speed must have been at least Mach 3!

A relative speed of Mach 6—that's two kilometers in one second!

He was certain that the other had just tried to take him out in a suicide run. And to avoid exposing the target early, he didn't even open fire!

What kind of tactic was this?!

"Has this guy... gone fucking insane!"

There was no doubt the plane opposite him was also a jet.

Through the canopy glass, he could barely see elusive blue flames below the clouds—those were engine afterburners!

Suppressing his turbulent heartbeat, Yukar banked the stick to the right, trying to make out the position of the fighter plane while attempting to cut to the enemy's rear hemisphere from the right.

But his opponent was obviously experienced!

As he executed a high-G turn maneuver, the other pilot reacted almost simultaneously, pulling up the nose toward him while opening the airbrake for a sharp defensive turn, cutting inside him at a lower speed.

"Buzz—!"

Machine gunfire whizzed past, nearly grazing his wingtip. Hearing the distantly fired machine guns, a cold sweat broke out on Yukar's back.

"Shit!"

He had been so close...

His ride was nearly turned into a pile of scrap metal!

In these eight years, the opponents he had encountered were mostly propeller planes.

Even if he occasionally encountered some oddities burning coal or oil, he rarely saw supersonic jets that could break the sound barrier.

He felt that the performance of that plane was not outstanding; whether it was maneuverability or maximum speed, he had the upper hand.

But his query would have to wait, as the fierce dogfight demanded every ounce of his focus.

However—

The enemy pilot made up for that weakness with superb flying skills, latching onto a momentary lapse in his defenses.

Unlike himself, who routinely preyed on natives for air strikes, that man clearly knew how to handle an opponent with superior maneuverability.

Unexpectedly finding an equal adversary in this desolate desert, Yukar couldn't help but feel a surge of fervent fighting spirit.

"Come on! Let's see what you've got!"

He muttered, pulling back the throttle and deploying the airbrakes, while yanking the control stick in opposite directions, ready to snap behind the enemy aircraft.

The Falcon Kingdom's flying squadron had to rely on themselves now.

Hopefully they could pull their weight...

Simultaneously, Falling Feather, piloting the "Soaring Clouds" fighter, clicked his tongue.

"10G acceleration... Is this guy an Awakener too?

Not just the pilot...

That plane's performance is ridiculously off the charts!

Considering the huge performance gap, he didn't stand much of a chance in a dogfight. His plan was to attempt an even trade-off by taking down the drastically costlier opposition.

But unexpectedly, his opponent evaded the "Brutal Flying Brick" move he threw at them!

What's more, even while saddled with two TV missiles and having his aft hemisphere bitten into by Falling Feather, the enemy pilot dodged a barrage of cannon fire unleashed by his Talent with an abrupt turn!

With that kind of maneuverability, it might outperform even an F-22 in real life.

But such a powerful aircraft paired with such a crappy onboard radar and stealth materials, even unable to fire an air-to-air missile, is downright ridiculous.

Watching his opponent completely abandon the fantasy of supporting allied fighters and turning the nose to deal with himself, Falling Feather took a deep breath, his chest alight with the flames of combat.

Perfect timing!

Clenching the control stick firmly in his hands, he fixed his gaze on the fleeting black dot outside the cockpit canopy, squeezing out half a sentence between clenched teeth.

"Face me— you brat!"

...

Two jet fighters entered a horizontal dogfight, cutting scissor-shaped trajectories through the sky with their engines, as their cannons gnashed at each other, vying for control of the enemy's rear hemisphere.

Not far off,
the Alliance's fleet of fighters had yet to determine a victor against the Falcon Kingdom's, with over a dozen fighters still engaged in fierce combat.

No. 330 high ground had turned into a bloody meat grinder, with the Wolf Cavalry recklessly charging and cutting down fleeing foot soldiers.

Although Simond still led the direct Thousands of the Fourth Ten Thousand Troops with stubborn resistance, the scales of victory were clearly tipping in the Alliance's favor, having awaited air force reinforcements in vain.

And yet, the Alliance seemed unsatisfied with the three battles underway and had promptly opened a fourth front that evening!

The night sky, lit up by tracer rounds, was filled with parachutes descending from above, emblazoning every pair of eyes on the ground.

The guards stationed in the camp lifted their rifles, firing at the sky; however, against the dark night and the gliding parachutes, their shots were ineffective, hardly able to penetrate the armor of the exoskeleton even if they did make a lucky hit.

The distance of several hundred meters was crossed in a flash.

A power armor, sporting three parachutes, was the first to land in the center of the camp.

The soldier, seemingly unfazed by the hail of gunfire, expertly sliced off the parachute cords with a battle knife and smoothly fetched a light machine gun strapped to the armor, opening fire on the camp with a relentless burst of gunfire.

"If you don't want to die, get down!" As he unleashed a barrage of bullets, he pushed forward with a loudspeaker blaring.

With the deployment of the power armor complete, hundreds of soldiers clad in exoskeletons followed, landing in various parts of the camp.

Besides, along with these airborne troops, more than fifty Y-2 "Butterfly Knife" quadrotor drones, each hanging a barrel of guns, descended as well.

The guard team, who hardly had the chance to make it to the front line, stood no chance against these monsters; they were almost completely routed upon the first contact.

Standing at the entrance of the tent, General Soffet stared blankly into the tumult of gunfire in the camp.

Airborne troops...

The elite forces of the Alliance...

That momentary daze flickered through his murky pupils before quickly turning into deep despair.

There were only six hundred-man teams in the entire camp.

And within these six hundred-man teams, more than half were logistics units like communications, transport, and engineers; the only ones with real combat power were probably a guard team and an officers' team.

Neither the guard team nor the officers' team was a direct combat unit; how could they possibly stand a chance against the Alliance's elite forces?

What could he defend with?!

Shoulders and lips shaking uncontrollably, Soffet's aged face turned a bright red, he clenched his fists tightly, and finally, unable to contain his emotions, he burst into a curse.

"...That damned skunk!"

If it weren't for that skunk's overstepping commands, drawing away his direct thousand team, how would he have ended up like this?!

"That idiot must take full responsibility for this battle! When I get back to Triumph City... I'll make sure to report him to the Legion Leader!"

Looking at General Soffet, who was puffing his beard and glaring, the adjutant beside him was so anxious he didn't even know where his cap had gone; he grabbed Soffet's arm, pleading.

"General, this is not the time to say this! The Alliance has dropped at least five hundred—no, more than a thousand people here; we need to retreat fast!"

Soffet's face stiffened, his Adam's apple moved.

Though reluctant to abandon his men and flee alone, he knew very well that if he fell into the hands of the Alliance, things would only get worse.

Listening to the resounding gunfire throughout the camp, he lowered his trembling voice.

"Are the maps and documents... burned?"

The adjutant nodded hurriedly.

"All burned! I even blew up the table at the radio!"

"Good... I'll remember this grudge, and I'll avenge it someday!" Grinding out a sentence between clenched teeth, Soffet turned his head to look at his adjutant, "Let's retreat!"

"Follow me!"

Running along with Soffet, the adjutant quickly hopped into the jeep parked at the entrance of the barracks; however, just as he was about to start it, he couldn't find the keys.

"The keys... strange, where are the keys?"

Soffet glared wide-eyed at the adjutant sitting in the driver's seat, about to call him an idiot, when a soft cough suddenly came from behind the two.

Both quickly turned their heads to look behind the jeep.

They saw a soldier wearing an exoskeleton standing by the roadside.

A sniper rifle was propped on his right shoulder, and in his left hand, he tosseed a bunch of keys, grinning cheekily as he looked towards the two men in the jeep.

There was a hint of mockery in his broken United Human language.

"Are you looking for this?"

Chapter 469 What kind of outrageous BUG is this?

In the camp.

The gunfire had gradually subsided, but the flames continued to burn.

A Vellante soldier lay on his back on the ground, his bulletproof vest completely shattered, his right leg, hit by two bullets, bleeding profusely, his expression twisted in pain.

As he watched a power armor pass by him, a glint of panic flashed in his eyes, and he quickly drew his pistol, aiming at it and pulling the trigger.

However, there was only a click sound of the firing pin striking nothing coming from the gun chamber.

"Damn—"

He spat out blood-stained saliva, tossed aside the pistol as if he had made up his mind, and with a trembling right hand, removed a grenade from his bulletproof vest and forcefully pulled out the pin.

A trace of madness appeared on his face twisted by pain, and the Vellante soldier let out a hysterical roar at the power armor,

"For Marshal His Majesty—"

"Bang—!"

A short gunshot interrupted the Vellante soldier's final frenzy.

"You've got the wrong person."

With his smoking pistol put away, Old White extended his steel-clad right hand and picked up the pin-pulled grenade from next to the hanging hand.

Then he squeezed it hard.

The grenade contorted under the immense pressure, just like a can of cola, with the fuse, firing pin, and timer all bursting off the grenade body.

Tossing the dismantled grenade next to the corpse, Old White walked away without looking back, heading towards the rendezvous point.

Not far from the roadside, a dozen officers sat with their heads in their hands, their faces ashen.

Four players in exoskeletons stood by, keeping watch over them.

Seeing Old White approaching, Night Ten, who had a sniper rifle on his back, walked up to him, cursing and swearing.

"These guys are real bastards, smashed all the communications equipment to pieces, burned all the maps, documents, and whatnot! We only managed to salvage some charred fragments."

"It doesn't matter, the one who burned it will make up for it, and that's that."

Old White glanced at the row of officers squatting on the ground.

"Where are the people?"

Night Ten knew who he was referring to and chuckled, saying,

"We caught him. That guy was trying to escape with his adjutant, but I've been watching him with a drone for a long time. He gave in easily enough when he saw the situation had turned, saving me a lot of trouble... Look, the one squatting at the very end, that's him."

Following Night Ten's gaze, Old White saw an old man squatting on the ground.

If not for his uniform and the flashy shoulder patches, he would not have recognized that this guy was actually a leader of an army—the Ten Thousand Leader, the same rank as Dylon, who previously led the Chewing Bone Tribe.

His hair, mixed with strands of grey, was unkempt; his deep-set eyes seemed to hold pieces of dusty stone, devoid of any shine; and that face, crisscrossed with wrinkles, bore no trace of vigor, resembling an ordinary old man.

"How come these guys are so weak?"

Wild Wind wore a frustrated expression.

"+1, are there really any direct thousand teams here?"

It felt like since their arrival, they hadn't encountered any real resistance worth mentioning.

It felt as though this job was a fake one.

Old White made a helpless gesture, looking towards the highest-ranking old man squatting on the ground, and asked in imperfect United Human language,

"Why are there only so few people here?"

Seeing that the power armor was speaking to him, Softe hesitated for a moment, his expression stiffening with a hint of sad anger.

"You have won. Why must you insult me with these sarcastic questions..."

The players were momentarily stunned.

Even Old White's face showed a hint of puzzlement as he continued questioning.

"What do you mean?"

"Griffin... it was his order; he transferred my direct thousand team to the high ground seventeen kilometers south." Softe gritted his teeth and continued, "He assured me in the telegram that the Alliance's paratroopers would definitely appear there."

If he had his direct thousand team with him, he wouldn't have been so easily knocked down by a bunch of paratroopers dropping in on him.

And even if he had lost, he would have had a chance to escape.

Old White and Night Ten exchanged knowing looks, seeing the same wry amazement in each other's eyes.

Well, isn't that something.

They had thought this time would be a glorious moment of showing off.

Turns out they were once again just running errands!

Seeing the man fall silent, Softe hesitated a bit, but ultimately couldn't hold back from voicing the confusion in his heart.

"I don't understand... if you're here, then who is attacking No. 330 high ground?"

He just couldn't wrap his head around this question.

If it was also the paratroopers there, the Alliance's space-borne troops were far too numerous.

And to deploy twice in succession, with not even an hour in between...

They must have built how many airport runways and prepared how many planes!

"The Death Legion." Old White casually mentioned.

"The Death... Death Legion?" A look of bewilderment crossed Softe's face.

Not the Burning Corps?

Clearly, the name of the Death Legion had not yet reached the ears of the army; it was only somewhat known in the Southern River Valley Province.

Old White smiled and continued,

"Yeah, those guys are also a pretty ruthless bunch. With their fearlessly aggressive tactics, I even feel that they're even tougher than us."

Softe asked anxiously,

"But how did they appear on No. 330 high ground? Impossible! You must be lying to me! I've studied every road leading to the front line! Unless your trucks can fly on the ground, there's no way they could have gotten there in such a short time!"

That's a hundred and fifty kilometers!

On those winding roads, the actual distance could even be twice that number!

Where on earth did these guys come from!?

"Why must you stick to the main roads when you can—"Night Ten looked at him strangely, about to mock him with a few words, but he stopped at Old White's light cough.

"Even if I told you that they reached No. 330 high ground on foot, I reckon you wouldn't believe it," Old White shrugged his shoulders at the despondent Softe, "Anyway, it's over now. How it was done is no longer important to you."

...

On the bridge of the Steel Heart,

Chu Guang, who had been quietly waiting for the first good news from the front line, finally received it.

"… Army's Fourth Ten Thousand Leader command post has been seized! Ten Thousand Leader Softe, his deputy, the staff officer, and a host of other military officers have already been controlled! We've captured the maps and a large amount of documents from the command tent, though many have already been burned."

Hearing Old White's report, Chu Guang nodded in approval.

"Well done."

Old White respectfully said,

"Requesting further instructions!"

Chu Guang glanced at the holographic map spread out in front of him and, after a moment's thought, gave his orders,

"Set up a defensive garrison on the spot, assign a few people to tally the spoils of war."

Old White replied crisply,

"Yes!"

The capture of the highest-level front-line command post.

This meant that the entire defensive line from the 40th to the 49th, and all logistics hubs and support positions within a one hundred fifty-kilometer depth, had lost the coordination and dispatch of the command system, and their locations were even exposed on the map.

The Fourth Ten Thousand Army was basically crippled.

And the Steel Heart, being a mobile command center, could also move safely and smoothly into the strategic depth originally belonging to the Fourth Ten Thousand and continue to push forward.

The only weak point of this behemoth was its propeller.

This part is exceptionally troublesome to fix, and it's the only power system for this airship. If it were to be stranded at the front line, the Army wouldn't be able to handle the deflection shield for the time being, but it would become quite troublesome.

Looking at the map with arrows piercing deeply, a wave of emotion crossed Chu Guang's heart.

It was just after nine in the evening.

In less than twelve hours since the full offensive had begun, they had not only shattered a ten-thousand-sized force but also advanced the front line by 150 kilometers.

In any world, this achievement would be enough to become a military miracle.

"... Originally, our plan was to have the paratroopers coordinate the armored forces to assault, but now, the tanks are chasing after the paratroopers instead."

Vanus, who was standing aside, didn't speak.

To be honest, he was quite astonished.

Although plans never match the pace of change, it was rare to need to make more aggressive adjustments due to extraordinarily smooth progress.

According to the third plan of the original offensive scheme, the Alliance would complete the first phase of the offensive within a day, seizing the 40th position, and on the third day, begin the second phase, attacking No. 330 high ground, which was only seventeen kilometers away from the enemy command post.

No one expected the battle to go so smoothly that they completed the second phase in just one day.

Chu Guang extended his index finger and tapped the holographic screen.

There was no news from No. 330 high ground yet, but from the aerial footage captured by the drones sent by Xiao Qi, there were only sporadic flames left on the high ground.

The battle was basically over there.

On the other hand, the Goblin Corps, entangled with the Army's flying squadron, was at a disadvantage compared to the smooth-sailing ground forces.

Although pilots of the W-2 were highly skilled, the gap in hardware couldn't be bridged in a short time.

The "Eagle Type" fighter planes had been in service in Luo Xia Province for eight years or even longer, while the W-2 Attack Aircraft hadn't even been in production for a full year.

This was inclusive of the time the Goblin Corps' engineers spent "archaeologically" in another world.

Even though subsequent improvement versions also integrated some new technologies provided by Shelter 101, having just one or two components that are technologically advanced has a very limited impact on the overall performance of the equipment.

Production and technology are often mentioned together, but in reality, they are two different dimensions.

Looking at the screen with only five remaining W-2 Attack Aircraft, Chu Guang ordered,

"Steel Heart, pull up the anchor chain and move forward one hundred fifty kilometers."

"Additionally, notify the Goblin Corps that their mission is complete, and tell them to come back quickly."

Soon, Xiao Qi's voice, full of vigor, came through,

"Right away, Master!"

Chu Guang still didn't know the situation on Falling Feather's side.

Right from the start, both the Alliance's "Soaring Clouds" and the Army's "Peidao" were not on the radar of Steel Heart.

And now, they've gone beyond the communication range.

Fighting at a pace of "one kilometer per second"—just standing and watching was akin to witnessing a fight among immortals; it would be no surprise if the battle spilled over into the neighboring province.

Without satellites, Chu Guang could only roughly sense through the Administrator System that that player was probably still alive.

"... If Falling Feather comes back into communication range, notify him to return to the ground airfield."

Xiao Qi: "Received!"

No. 330 high ground.

Flames burned across the pockmarked position, and bodies lay next to the damaged sandbag walls, mingled with black blood mixed with mud.

After shaking the blood off his engineer shovel, Edge Shoveling glanced at the mangled corpse on the ground, unable to bear the sight, and averted his gaze.

This model was a bit too realistic.

Every time he cleaned up the battlefield, he couldn't help recalling those infernos he had once traversed.

The suffocating quality of the air was exactly the same.

Compared to that, he still preferred the leisurely exploration fun of the Game, but that fun was based on peace.

Someone had to do these things.

Suddenly, a strange thought crossed his mind.

If the operators kept their promise not to reset the game, and these closed beta players finished all the fights before the open beta, the developers would rack their brains and couldn't come up with new work—could this game still be called "Wasteland OL"?

Or would they simply change the name—

Perhaps to "Beautiful New World" or something.

At this moment, a teammate's voice came from the side, reeling in his drifting thoughts.

"Damn, it's finally over!"

Holding a rifle in hand, Laplace walked over from the other side.

The miner's exoskeleton he had worn previously was gone, likely discarded after it broke. In any case, it was a relief he didn't blow up with it.

As for his mount.

It lost control midway up the slope, and he had to put it down himself.

"Where's Big Eyes?" Edge Shoveling asked.

Laplace smiled and answered, "Sheep Again Pack seems to have seen him; that guy took some newbies up there to feed, but while those newbies actually went up, he ended up lying dead on the mountainside."

Edge Shoveling coughed dryly.

"Bullets don't have eyes... It's normal."

With the rifle slung over his shoulder, Laplace grinned and continued,

"So what's the plan? Keep going or stay put and defend?"

Edge Shoveling thought for a moment and said,

"Let's wait for the construction lads."

This battle had lasted for a full hour.

Although they had successfully taken No. 330 high ground, Death Legion had also suffered considerable casualties.

They were using less experienced troops against better-armed enemies, after all.

Over sixty percent of the five hundred kinds of feinting infantry were casualties, one hundred twenty out of five hundred wolf riders were killed, and seventy-eight Claws of Death perished.

The majority were those of the Claws of Death without exoskeleton armor; taking the quadruple machine gun firing was a bit too much for their flesh and blood bodies.

Furthermore, some players had to kill their mounts as a result of EMP causing their Mind Interference Devices to malfunction.

Now, Sheep Again Pack, who led the feint attack group, also came over and reported the cleanup situation.

"We've captured four mortars, one anti-aircraft cannon, two light machine guns, and a small amount of ammunition... Any new orders from the headquarters?"

Before Edge Shoveling could respond, Laplace, standing beside him, complained,

"VM is all white screened, there's no orders from them... Damn, those guys had fierce firepower! They don't seem to be short on ammunition at all."

Sheep Again Pack scratched the back of his head.

"Could their supplies have been replenished?"

Edge Shoveling laughed and said,

"That's unlikely. It's pretty normal for elite divisions to have a bit more baseline ammunition than line divisions, our ammunition is also two times more than the infantry of Lion Kingdom."

However, speaking of which, those Vellante People were indeed ruthless, not a single one of them surrendered.

The Thousand Leader BOSS not only refused to surrender but also had no intention of retreating, fighting alongside his Personal Body Guard until the end.

Whether in terms of combat power or morale, this army was completely different from the one they previously encountered at Oasis No. 9.

"By the way, it looks like there's a fire in the north," Laplace glanced at the north side of the high ground, where tiny flames were flickering.

"It should be the command post of the fourth army of ten thousand troops," Edge Shoveling pulled out a telescope for a look, "I saw earlier the Goblin Corps seemed to be covering the transport planes heading that way."

It was probably the Burning Corps.

With those tough ones stepping in, even a direct thousand-team probably stood no chance.

In the time it took them to clean up the battlefield, the battle over there had likely already ended.

Sheep Again Pack clicked his tongue in envy.

"Damn, those guys have gotten ahead of us again."

"Pretty much the Developer's darlings," Laplace also showed an envious look.

"Don't say that," Edge Shoveling laughed and patted his shoulder, "We're one unit, with our roles to play; there's nothing about who's ahead or behind."

At this moment, the Skull Corps, originally planned as the main attack force in Plan Three, were still stuck in traffic on their way; the two infantry units had already finished all the work for them.

If one really had to say, it was Mole Old Brother who had a bit tougher luck...

...

Frontline base.

Aircraft after aircraft dragged their battered bodies back to the airfield.

Ground crew members waiting by the runway quickly gathered around.

Seeing a pig-man pilot jump out of the cargo hold, a young man in a work uniform couldn't contain his curiosity and blurted out a question.

"How's the situation at the front? Is everything still going smoothly?"

Despite the "ferocious" appearance of this pilot, the ground crew here had long since gotten used to it.

And, after spending some time together, they found that this pig-man pilot actually had a pretty good personality and was very approachable.

Sure enough, the pilot answered his question.

"We won."

"Really?!"

Seeing the young man's face light up with joy, the pilot chuckled unprofessionally and said,

"You think I'd lie to you? We wiped out the entire Fourth Ten Thousand Leader, and once we're past No. 330 high ground, it'll be a race to see whether their legs can outrun our tanks... Talking about this is too much hassle, just read the newspaper in a few days!"

Hearing the good news from the front, joyful expressions spread across the faces of the ground crew members.

It was clear that these survivors in the desert had grown to truly despise those big-nosed foes.

Some pumped their fists excitedly, others whistled with exhilaration, bustling around to spread the news of victory to others.

As the pilot wondered if he might have boasted too much, Star River stepped over and teased him.

"You guys are moving too fast."

The pilot laughed heartily and said,

"Of course, how long could it take to drop a few paratroopers... Hey, what are you doing here? Not going to help your navy aviation buddies?"

The two had known each other before entering the game, both from navy aviation backgrounds; one flew helicopters, and the other fixed-wing aircraft delivering helicopters.

However, when in the game, they usually only talked about the game and hardly ever discussed real-life matters.

Star River made a helpless gesture.

"I would if I could, but they didn't assign us any missions today."

Their mission earlier in the day was to cooperate with the main attack of the armored forces for a flanking assault, but they hadn't penetrated far into enemy territory when headquarters called them back.

He could understand why command would make such a decision.

The role defined for flapping machines on the battlefield ensured they could never match fixed-wing aircraft.

Even if they could switch to a fixed-wing mode and retract their wings, the "Cloud Dragonfly" could only reach a maximum speed of around one Mach, making them sitting ducks for supersonic fighters that could exceed speeds of three Mach. Even prop planes posed a threat before they could switch to cruising mode.

Until the Alliance dealt with the Army's "Peidao" fighter planes, it was unlikely their aircraft could freely operate above enemy territory.

Seeing his buddy's dejected face, the pilot egged him on.

"Why don't you try joining Mosquito Brother's Goblin Corps? They get to the front more often, and I've seen them with all sorts of fancy weapons."

"I think that means more chances to get killed," Star River rolled his eyes, "plus those planes are too slow to fly, not fun at all."

The pilot laughed it off.

"Even if it's not as fun, it's still a fixed-wing and far quicker than your transporter, right?"

"True that... Speaking of which, how's this one? Easy to fly?" He looked at the nearby propeller transport plane, shot full of holes, and couldn't help his astonishment.

Just the bullet holes he could count were in the twenties.

The fact that it made it back in such a condition was indeed impressive.

"The 'Dragonfly'? It's alright," the pilot followed his gaze to his own craft and chuckled, "Factory No.81 has made several improvements. Before, it was barely airworthy, but now it at least looks the part."

Ever since becoming a pilot in "Wasteland OL," not only had he grown more fond of his aircraft's green and red livery, but his flying skills and understanding of aviation had improved significantly.

Nothing was more challenging than "making a brick with a propeller attached fly" and "saving a brick that had lost its wings"!

Especially when it came to handling emergency situations.

Many maneuvers, which were rarely practiced in regular training and normal flights, came up frequently in "Wasteland OL" as those "once in a lifetime" scenarios.

He'd even experienced a situation where he had just parked his airplane on the runway, and after turning off the power, the plane had started moving on its own due to an electrical short... Huh?

Staring at the runway not too far away, the pilot was startled out of his reminiscing.

There was a transport plane, which had been parked by a hangar, slowly rolling out onto the runway, and its propeller began accelerating... and what was surprising was that there was no one inside the cockpit.

Thinking he had seen wrong.

The pilot instinctively rubbed his eyes, but before he could reopen them, he heard Star River's uncertain voice beside him.

"...You guys have a sortie today?"

Both had seen it.

It wasn't an issue with their helmets.

The pilot looked down at his VM, bewildered and shook his head.

"There's none..."

He had seen the H-1 "Dragonfly" move on its own due to a short circuit, but this was the first time he'd seen one take off on its own.

What kind of outrageous BUG was this?!

It was so incredible that he even wondered if Factory No.81 was testing some unmanned aircraft technology.

Until he saw a player with a late-night snack running out from the direction of the mess hall, sprinting desperately toward the runway.

While running, the player wailed and shouted,

"My plane! My plane's run off!"

Chapter 470 Eagle Soars Through the Sky

In the night sky,

The flames of machine guns continued to roar.

Even though more than half had been lost, and the ground battle had already ended, the First Flight Squadron of the Falcon Kingdom had no intention of retreating.

With gritted teeth, Akant glared at the remaining 5 "Mosquito-style" fighters, his eyes flickering with flames of hatred as he pressed the machine gun and roared,

"Go to hell!!"

The mission was no longer important.

The only thing he wanted to do at this moment was to send the opposing pilot to Hell!

He wanted vengeance for his fallen comrades!

The aircraft he had locked on to performed a barrel roll in the air, with the orange-yellow tracers almost grazing the canopy.

Watching the enemy plane climb and turn upward, Akant clicked his tongue and forcefully pulled up on the control stick, chasing after it.

This cunning Mosquito!

Pressing the walkie-talkie on his shoulder, Akant commanded in a deep voice,

"Leave that shark-headed plane to me; you guys take care of the rest!"

Answers came through the communication channel.

"Roger that!"

Ironically, the guy he had bitten onto was actually named Mosquito.

Mosquito, sitting in the cockpit, cursed under his breath and quickly glanced back at the pursuing "Eagle Type," pulling up while sharply hitting the left rudder, performing a 180-degree roll along the Z-axis.

The enormous gravitational acceleration tore at every cell in his body, making the already dark night sky appear even darker.

But all this was only in an instant.

He successfully completed nearly a 180-degree turn in midair, passing closely by the diagonally chasing aircraft!

And it did not fall apart!

"...Damn it, take this jump!"

Watching the silhouette that flew past the cockpit, the relieved Mosquito, calmed his wildly beating heart and prepared to strike back, seizing the hard-earned opportunity.

This guy had some tricks up his sleeve!

But—

He wasn't just muddling through his days.

"Only 36 rounds left in reserve... this is the only chance!"

Glancing quickly at the updated mission on the VM screen, Mosquito stretched out his index finger to turn off the window, then turned on the onboard radio and shouted,

"Attention, all teammates! Our mission is complete! Command has ordered us to return to base at our discretion, but these annoying mos—err, these flies clearly don't plan to let us leave without a fuss!"

He grinned, gripping the control stick tightly in both hands.

"How fortunate, I'm not the type to tuck tail and run either!"

"Follow my lead—"

"Take them out!"

Chaotic responses came through the communication channel.

"Ooh rah!"

"Charge!"

"Let's fight them!!!"

Tactical strategies switched from buying time to a "tit-for-tat," and the Alliance fighters' offense suddenly became aggressive.

Akant felt a slight annoyance but also some relief.

There wasn't much fuel left in his tank, and he had less than fifty rounds of ammunition... this game of cat and mouse was finally coming to an end.

However, it was at this moment that a voice from the ground command post suddenly came over the communication channel.

"...The Iron Heart is moving towards true north. Your mission is over. Return to the frontline airports immediately before you come within range of the Iron Heart!"

The Iron Heart?!

Akant was startled.

Having participated in the Battle of the City of Abundance, he knew all too well about its anti-air capabilities; a salvo could create a firepower net in the air that formed an impenetrable curtain.

Looking at the small aircraft dodging left and right ahead of him, he bit down and responded, "Roger," then switched to the squadron channel.

"...All units, pay attention, the Iron Heart is repositioning. We have five more minutes, and then we must return immediately after five minutes!"

Just as his voice fell, a shadow suddenly emerged from the distant clouds.

A tri-engine transport plane suddenly burst into the battlefield.

At first, Akant thought he was seeing things.

After all, why would a transport aircraft dare to join the fray during a dogfight?

But he quickly realized he wasn't mistaken.

The arriving aircraft was the Alliance's H-1 "Dragonfly," and like other Alliance planes, it bore some gaudy, strange patterns on its body.

Seeing that the plane wasn't armed, Akant didn't rush to shoot it down; instead, he glanced at the onboard radar screen and commanded through the communication channel,

"...Scorpion-tail lion-1, Scorpion-tail lion-2, go check out the situation with that plane."

Since it was a non-combat unit,

It might be possible to capture it.

Upon Akant's order, two "Eagle Fighters" immediately left the battlefield and approached the peculiar transport plane.

Mosquito also saw that aircraft, and a look of surprise crossed his face.

What's going on?

Weren't the transport fleets already on their way back? Why had they returned?

If it had been a gunship, it would have been understandable, but it was an unarmed standard model that had returned.

Mosquito instinctively glanced at the VM strapped to his right leg; there were no new orders, nor any intelligence about this plane.

Due to the transport aircraft's sudden entrance into the battlefield, both sides of the firefight fell into a brief hesitation.

Akant awaited his teammates' response.

At that moment, "Scorpion-tail lion-1's" voice came through the communication channel,

"...Captain, there's something odd about that plane."

Akant was slightly taken aback and immediately asked,

"What did you see?"

After a brief pause, his teammate responded through the channel,

"In the cockpit... there seems to be no one."

"No one?!" Akant was stunned.

Could it be an unmanned vehicle?!

The Alliance did have drones, but this was the first time he'd seen this model.

The pilot continued to report.

"We found…the co-pilot seat is empty, and it seems like something has grown on the rudder. I can't see it very clearly. I need to get a bit closer."

Akant warned.

"Be careful."

"Roger!"

Two "Eagle Type" planes flew respectively on the left and right sides of the "Dragonfly" Transport plane.

One of them, with the call sign "Scorpion-tail lion-1," approached the cockpit of the "Dragonfly," its wingtip almost touching the cockpit glass.

He switched his onboard radio to a similar frequency and shouted at the "Dragonfly."

"This is the Falcon Kingdom's First Flight Squadron, you have been hijacked by us, please follow our directions to fly."

"If you refuse, you will be shot down."

There was only a buzz of static in the communication channel, no response.

The pilot frowned.

The pitch-dark canopy always gave him a sense of unease.

Just when he was about to get closer, a gentle moonbeam happened to pass through the clouds and shone upon the dark canopy.

The instant he saw what was inside, he froze.

The entire cockpit was filled with crimson traces.

Not just the rudder—

The entire console was filled with an unknown blocky substance.

"Damn it…" he cursed under his breath.

What the hell was this?!

Having grown up in Oasis No. 2, he had never seen "mutated slime fungus" before, but from the ferocious crimson, he felt a hint of fear inherent to his biological instincts.

He instinctively leaned the rudder to the left, trying to distance himself from this nauseating creature. However, it was then that the abnormality suddenly occurred.

The cockpit glass exploded into countless shards in an instant, and two whip-like tentacles shot out like bullets, violently lashing towards him and another teammate's cockpit.

"Ah—!"

Pain made him cry out.

He looked at the crimson tentacle piercing his chest in terror, watching countless fine lines burrow into his wounds and veins like innumerable earthworms...

His body had lost control.

An electric current-like numbness took over every cell in his body.

Yet, it was at this moment that a long, siren-like whisper came through the communication channel, pouring into his ears, soaking into his soul.

"Yi wu—"

The tentacles connecting the cockpits were severed by the howling wind.

Pressed against the "Dragonfly," the "Eagle Type" skewed its body, like a baby cut from the umbilical cord, separating from the mother entity.

But the murmuring that echoed in the communication channel continued, like whispers from a devil.

Amidst those murmurs, the pilot sitting in the driver's seat gradually lost the spark in his pupils and dropped his head, unaware of the captain's shouting.

"…Static…"

"…Scorpion-tail lion-1, what's your situation! I see your canopy has a hole! Report your status immediately!"

"…Static…"

The anomaly persisted for nearly half a minute.

Chaotic noises continued to pour into his ears.

The drooping head suddenly jerked up, and the once lifeless pupils were now bloodshot and had turned crimson.

He stared straight into the northern night sky.

The murmuring in his ears was also gradually becoming clearer.

'Go help him—'

'That's your father.'

Father?

'Yes, he's in danger.'

Danger…

The blood-red pupils took on a bloodthirsty hue, and his parched lips partingly succinctly responded to the murmuring.

"Yes…"

The sudden anomaly stunned everyone.

Both the Alliance and the Falcon pilots.

Staring at the two "Eagle Type" planes that suddenly lost control in the distance, Akant roared into the radio.

"Scorpion-tail lion-1! Scorpion-tail lion-2! Respond if you hear me! If you are still alive, respond—Damn it! Fuck!"

He angrily cut off the communication, flames of fury burning fiercer in his eyes.

Two more—

He didn't know what treacherous tactics the Alliance had used, only saw something seemed to strike those two planes.

Perhaps the pilots had pulled out automatic rifles or something else.

But whatever it was, it didn't matter anymore.

That guy had refused their kind persuasion!

Right now, Akant had only one thing on his mind, and that was revenge!

"Shoot it down! Take that transport plane down!"

An equally angry response came through the communication channel.

"Yes!"

An "Eagle Fighter" abandoned the "Mosquito-style" that was already spewing black smoke and charged straight at the transport plane.

"Go to hell!"

The pilot in the cockpit angrily pressed the fire button, and the machine guns at the front of the aircraft immediately spewed out torrents of flames.

Tracers hit the left wing of the transport plane. Its engine smoked, and the plane began to slow down and descend.

The "Eagle Type" reduced speed, preparing to fire a burst into the right engine as well.

However, it was then that the anomaly happened again.

The previously out-of-control "Scorpion-tail lion-2" suddenly pitched up its nose, doing an inconceivable one hundred and eighty-degree barrel roll in the air, positioning itself at its stunned teammate.

It was too late to accelerate—

A moment's hesitation prevented him from pressing the fire button.

However, his "teammate" didn't hesitate for even a moment.

Almost the instant their nose cons aligned, the propeller's front end spewed a thick tongue of fire.

"Boom—!"

Amid the roaring of the machine guns, the "Eagle" that was chasing the "Dragonfly" instantly had its propeller, cockpit, and fuel tank blown to pieces, and in a moment, it became a burning fireball in the sky.

They didn't even have a chance to bail out…

Akant watched the ball of flames in shock, then turned to look at the "Scorpion-tail lion-2" that had suddenly opened fire on a friendly aircraft.

He couldn't understand.

What on earth had happened.

The "Mosquito" he had been tailing was also shocked, staring dumbfounded at the "little fly" that had suddenly turned its guns to strike a friendly.

What surprised him wasn't that the guy had suddenly turned traitor.

It was the smooth and swift one hundred eighty-degree turning maneuver—

"Fuck! The Immelmann turn?!"

The two "Eagles" went their separate ways, one dashing north, while the other streaked straight toward the chaotic battlefield.

While Mosquito was still dumbstruck, a teammate's shout came through the comm channel.

Gui Gui: "Boss, should we shoot it down?"

Mosquito quickly said,

"Don't touch him for now! The enemy of our enemy is our friend!"

Gui Gui: "But he's opening fire on me, ah ah!!"

Mosquito hesitated for a moment, then, as if realizing something, shouted with a flash of inspiration.

"Sacrifice yourself a bit, charge into their fleet!"

Gui Gui: "???"

Though surprised by the Army leader's inhumanity, the little player named Gui Gui still instinctively turned the rudder, dodging the machine gun fire with barrel rolls while charging headlong into the enemy formation, and dived into the clouds at the last moment.

The "Eagle" which attacked friend and foe alike brought enormous trouble to the Falcon Kingdom's flying squadron.

Since heaven was pitch black and the markings were impossible to see clearly, it was extremely difficult to distinguish this plane, whose design and paint were almost identical to theirs.

Especially when more than three "Eagles" were entangled with each other, it was impossible to tell which one was the traitor.

Unless they widened the gap to reorganize the formation…

Akant's palms were sweating, his eyes nervously darting around, scanning the planes firing all around him as they darted up and down.

Now everyone looked like a potential traitor to him.

Thinking of the Steel Heart pushing north, Akant clenched his teeth, taking one last look at the Mosquito who had already slipped away from under his guns.

"You're lucky this time…"

He squeezed these words through clenched teeth and reached to press the walkie-talkie hanging on his shoulder.

"Retreat!"

Throwing down two smoking planes once again, the Falcon Kingdom's flying squadron began to head back to the front-line airfield, while the "out-of-control" Eagle did not choose to pursue but instead followed the transport plane sliding toward the ground.

Mosquito counted the planes on the other side, roughly fourteen were still visible, while only the last two remained on his own side.

The casualty ratio was painfully high.

Breathing heavily, Gui Gui asked through the comm channel.

"Boss... should we chase?"

Mosquito pressed the trigger on the control stick, but apart from the dry clicking indicating nothing but friction, no other sound was made; the bullets left in the magazine had all been spent in the previous dogfight.

The outcome would have to be determined next time.

"Consider yourselves lucky..."

If only he had stashed a handgun in the cockpit, those guys wouldn't have slipped away.

Spitting in the direction of the retreating enemy aircraft, Mosquito wiped his mouth with an arm and shouted into the comms channel.

"Attention, all units! The enemy planes are fleeing with their tails between their legs! Victory is ours!"

"Head home!"

The initial velocity of this new model of machine gun was still at a disadvantage.

He'd have to make some adjustments when he got back.

"Argh!!" To avoid embarrassing their Army commander, Gui Gui, slumped in his seat, unfastened his pilot hat and let out a half-hearted cheer.

There was no helping it.

Everyone else was dead.

There were only the two of them left in the entire team; if she didn't speak, nobody would...

...

The outcome on both ground and sky had been decided, yet the battle between "Soaring Clouds" and "Peidao" was far from over.

The engine's afterburners flickered on and off in the sky, like intertwining and parallel shooting stars, and every glinting encounter gave birth to a deadly tracer streak.

The two jet fighters struggled for fleeting shooting windows, engaging in the most "primitive" close-quarters combat at a relative displacement of nearly two kilometers per second.

"Damn it... Dog plan is targeting me again!"

As he watched that persistent "Flame," Falling Feather bit his teeth and quickly glanced at the fuel gauge, which was rapidly approaching the warning line.

They had fought all the way from the north of Oasis No. 3 to the very south edge of the Golden Lizard Kingdom—Oasis No. 8. This position was not only beyond the range of communication but also beyond his combat radius.

However, the issue he was considering at the moment was not whether he could return safely.

As long as he could take out the only "Peidao" deployed in Luo Xia Province, the Alliance had a chance to completely secure air supremacy over Luo Xia Province!

Although the chance was slim, it was not without prospects of victory.

Slipping to the rear hemisphere of the enemy aircraft, watching the enemy aircraft hustle closer to the aiming scale of his sights, Falling Feather calmly pressed the fire button.

Machine gun fire spat out a tongue of flame.

Accompanied by a slight tremor, a string of glowing tracers pounced toward "Peidao."

It was almost to the point of reducing that plane to scrap metal, but it missed by just a little, as it dodged with a last-second side-step.

"Shit!"

He cursed softly, and Falling Feather's eyebrows twitched violently; he turned the rudder sharply to adjust the nose of the aircraft, searching for the next shooting opportunity.

Yet it seemed that "Peidao" had already anticipated his next move, maneuvering behind him with superior agility and smoothly returning a burst of machine gun fire as a "courteous" reply to the previous round.

Almost instinctively making an evasive maneuver, as the tracer flew by closely, Falling Feather felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

As the opponent gradually adapted to his tactics, he finally began to feel the strain.

To be honest, he was never really skilled at such extreme distance dogfights.

In reality, the air forces of various countries had long evolved to the stage of "beyond-visual-range combat" in the confrontation between spear and shield, and dogfighting at supersonic speeds was "almost impossible" to happen—after all, machine gun bullets generally travel at speeds of only 2.8 to 5 Mach, and at a greater distance, the bullets might not even travel as fast as the aircraft.

Unless the most extreme situations occurred.

Such as when the scale of war expanded globally, and due to bombing, mobilization, and other reasons, the industrial chains of various countries were severely affected, high-tech weapons could not be supplied steadily, and quantity trumped quality in terms of guided weaponry...

By that point, not even a supersonic fighter mattered; infantry might as well have been fixed with bayonets.

Thus, cannon firing at aerial targets was only a minute part of all training subjects and only for the most extreme situations.

If it weren't for "Wasteland OL," he might not have particularly practiced this skill.

Falling Feather could distinctly feel that the opponent's tactical experience and flying techniques were nothing exceptional, yet their handling of the cannon had reached perfection.

And that wasn't all.

The person was likely an Awakener just like himself, probably with reflex and visual nerves enhanced, and their "Level" might not be lower than his own!

To win this battle, he had to use every bullet cautiously, even every liter of fuel...

Calming the restless blood in his veins, Falling Feather rethought his combat strategy in his mind.

The scissors maneuver had already been learned by the opponent.

But there was one move that the bastard probably hadn't seen yet...

Taking a deep breath, he glanced at the "Peidao" clinging to his left rear and placed his right hand on the throttle.

Just as he was about to surprise his opponent, a black dot suddenly appeared in the airspace directly ahead.

A Falcon?

Falling Feather's face slightly changed.

Although propeller planes were slow as turtles compared to jet aircraft, the cannon mounted behind the propeller was not just for show.

Even if it didn't hit him, a strafing run could block his path and disrupt his flight route. Any mistake in this evenly matched duel would be fatal to him.

Especially since his own maneuverability was already at a disadvantage...

At the same time, Yukar, who also caught sight of that little fly, had an immediate smile of surprise on his tense face.

"Ha ha ha! Nicely done!"

I'll give them credit for having some sense, sending a plane to help him out. Although unnecessary for him, he was quite pleased with the thought.

"Give him a volley! Aim for the right wing! Now!"

He could almost see Victory calling out to him.

However—

An unforeseen event shocked both of them.

The "Eagle" didn't aim its nose at "Soaring Clouds" but at the "Peidao" that was biting into its rear.

"Boom—!"

The long flame sprayed, a twin 20mm cannon with tracers weaved a large net in the sky, smashing head-on toward that "Peidao."

Everything happened in an instant.

So fast it caught everyone off guard.

"Damn it! Are you fucking blind?!"

Startled and angry, Yukar cursed, barely dodging the oncoming bullets, and completely lost his shooting window, which he had almost seized.

Nearly seven times the speed of sound.

Being hit by that strafing run was enough to send him off!

Even now, he fantasized that the Falcon had mistaken its target due to the darkness and decided to give the blind gunner a couple of slaps when he returned to the base.

Unfortunately, the Falcon had not chosen the wrong target and had traveled all this way specifically to get rid of him.

That volley did not even follow him; it merely bit into his tail.

"Fuck! Ceasefire! I'm friendly!"

Yukar roared in the onboard radio, trying to wake the person opposite him.

However, what he didn't know was that the cockpit of that Falcon was already crawling with slime fungus, and the pilot, strapped to the seat, had become a puppet at its disposal.

Meanwhile, the modern-looking jet, having done a 180-degree roll in a vertical climb, was now completing it.

Yukar's pupils abruptly shrank.

For a moment, as his gaze met that cockpit, his heart seemed to stop beating.

"...Shit."

The words had barely reached his lips when a hot metal fragment ripped open his cockpit.

Looking at the scrapped heap in the sight, Falling Feather moved his finger off the trigger and slowly exhaled the air that had been trapped in his chest.

Removing the breathing apparatus from his mouth, he slumped into the seat behind him.

In a combat of equals, there was no room for even one mistake.

Let alone two.

With black smoke trailing, the "Peidao" burst into brilliant flames in the night sky behind him, reminiscent of a lighter.

"The Yin-McManus Turn... I only taught it once, hoping you saw it clearly."

But even if you saw it clearly, there probably won't be a chance to learn it in this lifetime.

Having soloed such a tough boss, Falling Feather's lips unwittingly curved into a smile. Although he had no idea why the Falcon had helped him, a win was a win.

Even if the Falcon came to its senses and finished him off, it didn't matter; he could even generously attribute the "merit" to that unnamed friend.

The Army only had one Peidao.

But the Alliance could produce another Soaring Clouds next month.

The engine's flame faltered, and the aircraft began a powerless glide forward.

Falling Feather glanced at the fuel gauge indicator.

The needle stubbornly stuck below the 0 mark on the dial—the last abrupt turn had drained the remaining fuel, leaving not a drop behind in the now-empty tank.

He was considering just going down with the plane, early death, early respawn.

But recalling the last bug he encountered with the respawn cooldown, he shuddered instinctively, his right hand still reaching for the ejection handle beside his seat.

With a loud bang, the metal bars on both sides of the seat broke, and the seat, propelled by gunpowder, shot out from the open canopy.

Last time Mosquito had assured him they'd fitted Soaring Clouds with an ejection seat, he thought it was a joke.

He hadn't expected it to actually exist...

At the same time, the nearby Falcon had also run out of fuel, slowly losing power, and the propeller began to turn in reverse.

The almost-rotten pilot slumped his head, sitting among the slime fungus infested cockpit, his hands plastered to the control stick by fungal growth.

His decay seemed to have accelerated.

The weak spark of life flickered like a candle in the wind.

However, at this moment, he felt a sense of unprecedented satisfaction from deep within his soul—as if he had been sublimed.

His brief life had not been in vain.

He had successfully completed Mother's task.

From the headset, dangling on his neck, came one last murmur of "Yi-Wu," a whisper only he could understand.

'You did well.'

'Rest now.'

'My child.'

Chapter 471: Does This Game Really Have BUGs??

Legion Garrison Commander's Office in Luoxia Province.

When Chu Guang found out that the command post of the forty-thousand team had been completely taken by the Alliance airborne troops, he felt his head buzz as he stood in front of the strategic map, a moment of haziness clouding his mind.

He had imagined scenarios where the progress of the war would not go smoothly due to a lack of supplies.

He had also considered that the Alliance might ignore his stalling tactics from the start, and that his ultimatum would not buy them thirty days.

But he could never have predicted that the front-line troops would collapse so quickly that the preparations of nearly a month now seemed like a joke.

Coming back to his senses, Chu Guang turned to the communicator standing at the door and spoke with a rigid voice.

"The ones who took over the command post of the forty-thousand team... was it the Alliance's airborne troops, that Burning Corps?"

The communicator moved his stiff neck and nodded.

"That's what General Softe said on the phone..."

Moreover, according to the report from the first air squadron of the Falcon Kingdom, they did indeed see the Alliance's transport planes heading in the direction of the forty-thousand team's command post.

To ensure a smooth landing for the airborne troops, the Alliance had even dispatched close to eighty fighter planes for escort.

That centurion named Akant claimed to have shot down over seventy planes... but it sounded like an exaggeration no matter how one heard it.

Chu Guang fell silent for a moment, then continued.

"What else did he say?"

The communicator nervously shut his mouth and didn't dare speak.

Before hanging up the phone, General Softe had furiously berated Chu Guang over the communication channel and even called him a "damned skunk."

Clearly, these were not words meant for this occasion.

Chu Guang did not press further, took a deep breath to calm himself down.

He had indeed miscalculated this time.

He hadn't expected the Alliance to be so aggressive that they would launch a raid on the command post of the forty-thousand team even before taking position 330.

Any sensible person would realize that the command wasn't only staffed by a few officers barking orders; it would have a direct battalion of a thousand troops for support.

And to take down a well-prepared army battalion of a thousand troops with paratroopers would require at least twice that number in force.

Yet, the Alliance didn't play by the rules and risked the entire thousand troops needlessly, by dropping the paratroopers straight in.

What puzzled him more was that while the Alliance had taken the front-line command post, the position 330 high ground that was guarded by a direct battalion of a thousand troops had also fallen!

"What was on position 330 high ground?" asked a staff officer, frowning beside him.

"I don't know, communications from the front line have never been restored. The last message from General Softe suggested they plan to retreat towards the fifty-thousand team and hoped that the fiftieth and thirtieth thousand teams could take over the defense sectors from forty to forty-nine... and then no more messages."

The communicator shook his head and blurted out quickly, cautiously glancing at General Chu Guang.

His expression was as still as water, like brewing a terrible storm, and seemed as if it could turn into a furious thunder the next second.

However, Chu Guang didn't vent his anger on such an insignificant person.

After a long silence, the battle-hardened general slowly spoke.

"What time is it now?"

The surrounding officers looked at each other.

No one dared to answer.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, the aide, though reluctant a thousand times over, had to bite the bullet.

"Report! It's twenty-one minutes past ten."

Chu Guang's Adam's apple moved.

"Twelve hours..."

He looked at the officers standing beside him.

"Or even less."

Nobody picked up the conversation; he continued.

"Ten thousand troops lined up along a twenty-kilometer front. All I asked of them was to hold on for a while, not to retreat too quickly, and to use the defensive positions along the way to cause some trouble for the Alliance, so I deliberately allowed for a defensive depth of one hundred and fifty kilometers... and yet Softe's response is twelve hours! Losing one hundred and fifty kilometers of depth in just twelve hours!"

"Even if it were ten thousand pigs! Thrown into those mountains! Letting the people of the Alliance and corporations catch them, they wouldn't fall in a single day! This bunch of wastes! Real bloody wastes! Nothing but gluttonous boars who can eat and do nothing else!"

Chu Guang started with a controlled tone and volume, but as his emotions surged, his voice grew louder and more agitated.

He angrily slammed his right fist onto the map, making a thudding noise, shaking a cup on the corner of the table to the ground, water splashing everywhere.

Everyone silently stood by the table, the staff whose shoes were soaked didn't dare make a sound, just stood there speechless.

They clearly knew why Chu Guang was so furious.

This battle had cost them not just the forty-thousand team, but nearly a fifty-kilometer front from sectors forty to forty-nine, and the strategic depth extending one hundred and fifty kilometers behind this line!

If only that fool Softe had held out for even three days—even two would have been better—they wouldn't be in such a passive situation now.

Now, there was a big hole in the line of defense.

No more talk of keeping "the driven nail" in their pocket; now the nail was nearly poking their faces.

"It might be that the clones aren't used to defending—" trying to calm General Chu Guang's fury, the aide, sweating profusely, attempted to explain, but got cut off mid-sentence.

"Those pigs haven't fought a defensive battle, haven't you either!"

Grumbling, Chu Guang stabilized his breathing, trying to calm himself.

The frontline command surely bore the main responsibility for retreating so swiftly, but his responsibility here was also significant.

However, now was not the time to figure out whose fault was greater.

He was aware.

He no longer had time to hesitate.

Moments later, he decisively ordered.

"Notify all frontline units to execute Plan Two!"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the officers all showed expressions of astonishment.

Plan Two, which involved retreating to Oasis No. 2, would pull the Alliance into the Falcon Kingdom's homeland for a decisive battle.

This meant they would have to give up Oasis No. 3, which they had finally secured.

Although Griffin had already discussed with them that if the Alliance's offensive exceeded their expectations, they might have to abandon the occupied areas and continue retreating, at the time almost no one believed that would actually happen.

After all, they still had an army of a hundred thousand at their disposal.

Even if the situation was not optimistic, retreating to the central part of Oasis No. 3 to rebuild the defense line should have been sufficient, and it shouldn't have come to the point of giving up the entire Oasis No. 3.

If it really came to this, they would not only be in a strategic dilemma but also stuck in a quagmire outside the battlefield.

If the rear learned that they had lost all gains in Luoxia Province, the resources and support allocated to their battle zone would be even less.

Whether from the perspective of a Legion Leader or a Marshal, it was impossible to invest unlimited resources in a failing plan.

"... staying here would only mean waiting to be encircled and divided, retreating to Oasis No. 2 gives us a chance to counterattack."

After a pause, Griffin suddenly remembered an Air Squadron No.1 "Peidao" was still out on a mission and thus turned to the Navy Aviation commander.

"Is Yukar back? Has our 'Peidao' returned?"

The officer immediately stood up straight, speaking with a tense expression.

"... it flew out of communication range earlier, the last signal was near Oasis No. 8, and there has been no news since."

Although this conservative answer seemed to hold a glimmer of hope, anyone could hear that the outlook was bleak.

The reason was simple.

The jet's fuel certainly couldn't last this long.

The fact that it had not returned by now left only one possibility.

Griffin closed his eyes in pain.

They had not only had their defensive line breached but also lost the only "Peidao."

Although the combat losses were less than one-tenth, it was clear to anyone that they had already lost half the battle...

...

G53 Position.

The Old Soldier, who had just finished eating the dinner Miss Penny brought as she passed by, learned from Coleway about the "disaster" reported from the neighboring defense sector.

"... the fourth Ten Thousand Troops were completely wiped out, from sectors 40 to 49 all fell, Alliance tanks have already breached our rear."

"These idiots... I thought they were stupid enough with their failure during the day, but I underestimated how embarrassing they could be, not surviving even a night!"

Coleway cursed as he spoke, his tone filled with anger.

However, upon hearing this, the initially tense Old Soldier breathed a sigh of relief.

Not bad...

It seems they haven't suspected him.

His good brothers had sent him so many heads that he always felt uneasy.

Especially after seeing on the official website how fast other Army units were advancing in the neighboring sections, he was so nervous he could barely eat dinner.

But now, it seemed his worries were completely unnecessary.

After all, considering his consistent behavior, there was nothing suspicious about him. There were undercover agents who had ruthlessly killed their own, but it was indeed rare to find one who could kill his comrades without blinking an eye like he did.

Besides, other than eating a lot and excreting a lot, he behaved more normally than normal people.

If even he could be a traitor, then everyone in the Army could be.

Quietly listening to Coleway's complaints, the Old Soldier took the chance when he paused to breathe and asked.

"Does headquarters have any new arrangements?"

Coleway did not hide anything and said straightforwardly.

"Plan Two."

The Old Soldier: "Plan Two?"

Coleway explained succinctly.

"Simply put, abandon Oasis No. 3, retreat to Oasis No. 2, and reorganize defenses... As it stands, this is the most effective method. The Alliance tanks have already torn through our lines, and since we can't close the gap, we can only discard it."

The Old Soldier actually wanted to say, don't just "put it simply", elaborating would also be fine, he might not understand but he could remember.

But he quickly realized that his superior was only a Centurion and couldn't possibly know the entire deployment of Plan Two. Asking would be fruitless and might even raise suspicion.

Learning about the macro movements of the opponent was already quite good. Brothers from the Burning Corps would naturally try to pry the specific details about Plan Two from the big fish they caught from the neighboring sector.

Thus, the Old Soldier continued to play the role of the tough but reticent Pangolin and said succinctly.

"You just need to tell me what to do."

Coleway's face broke into a warm smile.

"You don't need to do anything right now, the only thing is to heal well, striving for a quick recovery... Oh yes, almost forgot, I have good news."

Seeing the pleased expression on his face, the Old Soldier asked.

"You got promoted again?"

Coleway laughed and said.

"Not me, you were promoted."

The Old Soldier paused.

"Me?"

Coleway nodded, cleared his throat, and continued speaking.

"Considering your outstanding performance on the front line, my superiors plan to transfer you to the officers' team to serve as an advisor, collaborating with the instructors to train our frontline officers from the Ten Thousand Troops. Damn those useless fellows from the fourth Ten Thousand Troops, headquarters is now seriously doubting the combat effectiveness of the frontline troops, demanding that all units on the front line retrain their junior officers... If those useless bums had even half of your ability, it wouldn't be so embarrassing!"

Saying this, Coleway could not help but curse a few incomprehensible words in United Human language.

Hearing this arrangement, Old Soldier breathed a sigh of relief.

The Four Hundred Thousand Team was just next door to them, and the nearest position was no more than ten kilometers away from them. If Griffin had ordered them to cover the rear, then his undercover role would probably have reached its end.

However, as it stood now, it seemed Dog Plan didn't want it to be easy for him to obtain that power armor, meaning he probably had to continue his undercover role.

"If we leave, what about this position? Just leave it unattended?"

Coleway remained silent for a moment before giving an ambiguous answer.

"Some will withdraw, some will stay."

Old Soldier was slightly stunned.

But quickly he understood what that meant.

There were quite a few officers in the front-line forces who had been promoted from the Retinue Army, including his deputy officer, the Hornist, and the Flag Holder, etc.

They would not receive the order to retreat but would stay with their clone troops to defend the position, blocking the pursuing Alliance Army and creating an illusion for the Alliance that they had not yet retreated.

Thinking of this, a flicker of enlightenment flashed in Old Soldier's eyes.

No wonder he was suddenly transferred from the front-line combat forces to the staff of the Fifty Thousand Team.

The Seven Hundred Squad was likely one of those left to cover the rear!

However, to his surprise, when speaking these words, a complex emotion emerged in Coleway's eyes.

During his time in River Valley Province, this guy had never cared about the life and death of those attendants.

Infiltrating the Legion for a long time, he knew better than any player that in most Weilante people's eyes, aliens were merely stepping stones for their conquest of the world, just a more flexible expendable resource than clone Cannon Fodder.

As a pure-blooded Weilante himself, Coleway was no exception. Why did he suddenly care now?

Just when Old Soldier was puzzled, Coleway, standing by the bed, suddenly turned to the window and spoke in a complicated tone.

"I don't think their sacrifices are taken for granted, although they are not Weilante, they are also warriors…"

Saying this, Coleway looked towards the bedridden Pangolin.

"But there are some things I can't decide. I hope you can understand."

Old Soldier nodded slightly.

"Hmm, I understand."

Is he worried about those subordinates at G53-7 position?

This concern was actually redundant.

He was well aware of his undercover identity, and wouldn't get so emotionally involved with those cheap subordinates he had known for less than half a month.

If those people were smart, they would surrender when the Alliance arrived.

If they thought they could handle themselves just because they followed him through a few winning battles…

Then let them witness the true strength of the Alliance Army.

However, what Old Soldier did not know was that in Coleway's eyes, his understanding demeanor inadvertently induced a sense of guilt.

The feeling of losing comrades was not pleasant.

This was something Coleway had experienced profoundly.

Like his previous boss—Rachel, the Centurion of the Airmarine Corps.

Although he was just an acquaintance, when he learned that she hadn't retreated with McCullen but had bravely died at Rui Valley City, he still felt depressed for several days.

"Anyway… I don't look down on the aliens fighting alongside me. Warriors willing to unite under the Legion's flag to restore order are drastically different from Waste Land Wanderers who degrade themselves in chaos. But an order is an order, everything is for the greater good."

Putting his officer's cap back on, Coleway shifted to a softer tone and continued.

"Rest well. I'll come to see you when it's time to leave."

Old Soldier quietly nodded.

If there were no other explosive news, he should probably log off and share the fresh intelligence with his good brothers…

…

While the high command in the Legion's office in Luoxia Province was frantically dealing with the chaos at the front, countless spectators and goofy netizens in another world on the official website were also following the latest developments of this "national war event."

Although most of the frontline players hadn't logged off yet, there would always be those who would either voluntarily or involuntarily disconnect, bringing the frontline dispatches to the cloud players and the non-combat professional players waiting on the forum.

When they learned that some beta players had annihilated a division of the Legion in less than half a day, the entire forum was shocked.

Boss Wen Tender: "Holy shit! Awesome!!!"

South Wind and Song: "Half a day to wipe out a division?! Is this fake?!"

Armor Warrior: "This is really far-fetched, logically speaking, even if ten thousand people lined up to feed their heads to the enemy, it would take several days, right?"

Solo Traveler: "+1, not to mention that these ten thousand people are scattered across 3000 square kilometers of Gobi Desert."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "This you don't understand, modern warfare is about organization and logistics, not the old method of standing in line to be shot. Winning a crucial battle at a crucial time and place is much more important than killing a few people."

"Moreover, in my view, the reason the Legion lost so fast is because they stretched their tactical width and strategic depth too broad. 3000 square kilometers of Gobi Desert, there are only a few roads to travel, and the road conditions are comparable to Afghanistan. Which troops take which road and when, when logistical supplies arrive at what positions, whether outposts twenty kilometers away are enemy or self, where the artillery targets... all these have to be coordinated by a unified command system."

"Without the frontline headquarters for unified coordination, relying solely on orders air-dropped by the general headquarters is impossible to manage."

Professor Yang eloquently analyzed the reasons for the Legion's defeat, really fooling quite a few gullible netizens.

But there were also those who didn't buy his bluff.

Cheerful Netizen: "What are you bluffing about, how many divisions have you commanded?"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Cough, isn't this game all about bluffing... you're criticizing me, have you ever commanded any yourself?"

Grandpa Ao Defies Me: "Lol, you're all bullshitting, there's not a single normal person on this forum!"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Which kind-hearted big shot can send me a helmet please, thank you! T.T"

People discussed the battlefield situation with varying opinions, some exclaiming it was thrilling, others calling it unscientific, creating a festive atmosphere.

However, even with so many knowledgeable analyses, the topic of the progress of the war was still overshadowed by a post made by a pilot.

According to that player's description, he had handed his "Dragonfly" Transport Plane over to the ground crew and then went off to eat in the cafeteria.

But just as he stepped out from the cafeteria, he saw his plane, which should have been parked in the hangar, taking off from the runway on its own!

At first, everyone expressed disbelief, even the players at the airport were wondering if this guy had staged the whole thing himself.

Power outages had happened before, but a plane with a short-circuited electric supply taking off on its own was unprecedented.

No matter how you look at it, that takeoff was too skillful, impossible without hundreds of hours of flight time.

Ward Athlete's Foot Levin: "That's strange... It shouldn't be possible, right? After the previous short circuit, we even redesigned the circuitry in the nose of the plane."

WC's Real Mosquito: "Your tech sucks, man. Wait `til I have time—I'll take our factory bros to think over a big plane. (😏)"

Ward Athlete's Foot Levin: "Oh, cut it out. (🙄)"

Yar I Gotta Pee: "Exactly! We at Factory 81 make planes! A coffin maker like you stay out of it!"

WC's Real Mosquito: "MMP! Oh, I must show you all. "

Tail: "Ohhh! Are you going to bring out the Gundam? (✪ω✪)"

Night Ten: "You joke, but this guy really did it... and in the end, we had to help him pull it off. (😏)"

WC's Real Mosquito: "*!@# Off! That was an accident! And that thing wasn't meant to be worn... But speaking of which, that transport plane you mentioned, we did see it."

Gui Gui: "Yes, and I even saw something stretching out from its cargo bay, piercing right through the cockpit of an 'Eagle Type' fighter."

Feng Qing: "?!That powerful? (😲)"

WC's Real Mosquito: "Yeah, the hit plane acted as if possessed, flipping its nose and attacking its allies... The most ridiculous part is, those two possessed planes flew quite well, showing off a Maneuver like a pro!"

Night Ten: "Does Falcon Kingdom have such pilots?"

WC's Real Mosquito: "No way, I suspect they had never met a real opponent in combat before, relying only on superior equipment."

But I have to admit, a few of the opposing pilots were somewhat troublesome.

Just then, another ace pilot from the Alliance suddenly showed up.

Falling Feather: "Ahem, which one of you is free... can come and relieve me?"

"Damn! Falling Feather! You finally came down?

WC's Real Mosquito: "Where are you? No, I mean, where did you crash?"

Elena: "Can we still find VM? If not, just buy a new one, let's not bother. (😏)"

Falling Feather: "Damn! Don't talk like I'm dead! I'm still alive! (😖)"

As soon as these words were seen, the forum exploded, instantly gaining dozens of replies.

Night Ten: "???"

Quit Smoking: "Damn! You're actually still alive!"

Fang Chang: "Yeah, that's really unscientific... What kind of BUG is this?"

Falling Feather: "Whoa! I'm not always causing trouble! Just occasionally, okay!"

Wild Wind: "(😏)"

Falling Feather: "But speaking of BUGs, I'm not even sure if this counts as one."

Fang Chang: "Do share."

Falling Feather: "Well, I was fiercely fighting with an 'Eagle Type' when Peidao suddenly barged in. I thought it was over for me, but it didn't fire at me, it emptied a whole magazine at that 'Peidao'."

Gui Gui: "Oh oh oh, that must be the one! There was an Eagle Type that ran off with one of our transport planes before."

Falling Feather: "Transport plane? I didn't see that..."

Old White: "Where is your parachute?"

Falling Feather: "I think it's near the Golden Lizard Kingdom, not sure about the exact location... I'm still floating in the sky, not down yet, I took a photo but no signal to upload."

Makabazi: "Hahahaha."

Fang Chang: "Can you see the Iron Heart?"

Falling Feather: "Can't see it... but I do see a lot of mountains, might be near River Valley Province soon."

After saying this, he hurriedly added another comment.

"Right, that Falcon Type seems to have landed nearby, probably ran out of fuel... but strangely, the pilot didn't eject, went down with the plane."

Fang Chang: "Hmm, that's probably quite far off, must have drifted over Luoxia Province or nearby."

WC's Real Mosquito: "When you land, check your surroundings, we'll send a plane to search around Oasis No.8, we should be able to find you."

Falling Feather: "Thanks, bros! T.T"

Fang Chang: "No problem, mainly curious about what's up with that Eagle Type. (😏)"

Night Ten: "+1, you should just TP back to town directly, Mosquito. (😏)"

Falling Feather: "..."

These guys...

They're too real!

At the same time, Chu Guang, monitoring from another world, had a look of astonishement.

Good grief.

He was fixing bugs on the forum every day, and actually managed to bug out for real?

In fact, he had learned about that transport plane's situation from the ground crew even before the players made their posts.

The Steel Heart's anti-aircraft cannon had even locked onto it.

However, Chu Guang, curious to see what that transport plane intended to do, had not let Xiao Qi shoot it down.

Looking at the situation now, it seemed to be more complicated than he imagined.

After pondering for a while, staring at the holographic screen, Chu Guang suddenly spoke.

"What do you think that was?"

After a brief pause, an uncertain answer came to his ears.

"Um... could it be Xiaoyu's doing?"

Chapter 472 Xiaoyu's Special Ability

When Falling Feather put on his helmet and returned to the Game world, he found himself just over a hundred meters from the ground, and anxiety immediately took hold of him.

Ejection seats may not look impressive, but their technical complexity is nothing trivial; one could even say they are one of the most complex auxiliary devices on a fighter plane.

The entire device consists of thousands of parts, and the pilot only needs to ensure the proper altitude and pull the handle; a series of actions from exit to landing are completed automatically according to the program.

It was extremely convenient.

However—

That convenience was based on normal circumstances.

Falling Feather would never believe that the ejection seat Mosquito fixed for him had thousands of parts; he would be grateful if it had even five hundred!

Pessimistically thinking, the whole ejection seat might just be a cushion seat over some gunpowder with a delayed fuse to trigger the parachute opening.

As for any automated life-saving programs...

Falling Feather thought that describing it as "hoping for the best" might be more appropriate.

The flailing parachute in the wind was like a small boat drifting in rapids, and under Falling Feather's sweaty emergency handling, he fortunately landed on the ground without incident.

Falling Feather used a dagger to cut the parachute cords that almost entangled his head, he leaned against a rock retching for a while before lifting his head to assess the surroundings.

This place was a desolate Gobi desert, covered with coarse gravel and abrupt rocks. Looking north offered a wide view, while the south showed layers of sand dunes and mountains.

No matter which direction he looked, there was not a single person in sight.

Returning to the ejection seat, Falling Feather dug out the deformed emergency kit pinned under the seat.

Inside were a map, a compass, 1.25 liters of fresh water, 500 grams of compressed biscuits, and emergency survival tools like a water filter, flashlight, and lighter.

In addition, there was a 9mm handgun and two magazines.

Mosquito Brother had unusually not skimped on this seemingly "meaningless" matter, which relieved Falling Feather.

However, when he picked up the map, he froze.

It was a civilian map from before the war, devoid of any useful geographical information, lacking even basic contour lines. Roads, buildings, landmarks that would have served as references had disappeared over two hundred years ago.

"Damn... how am I supposed to locate myself?!"

While Falling Feather was puzzled, he suddenly noticed the mountains to the south.

"Wait, mountains in the south?"

An idea suddenly struck Falling Feather, he remembered Old Soldier's post on the forum about what he saw at Oasis No. 8.

"North of Oasis No. 8 are mountains, passing through the territory of the Golden Lizard Kingdom, beyond which lies the Wandering Swamp...hiss."

Falling Feather gasped.

Good grief.

He had drifted into Academy territory!

But, there should still be some distance to the Wandering Swamp; looking around, he only saw the desolate Gobi; there was no sign of the swamp.

"The north side of Luo Xia Province... that's the only info I have, better look for a high place to figure out what to do."

Falling Feather glanced at the mountains to the south.

Across those mountains lay the Golden Lizard Kingdom; if all else failed, he could there ask for directions. Now, with the Alliance's momentum in Luo Xia Province overwhelming, even the Lion Kingdom, once the desert's ruler, had become a real vassal of the Alliance, so the local residents of Oasis No. 8 should not trouble him.

Besides, he remembered the abruptly treacherous Eagle Fighter, which seemed to have crashed in that direction.

Might as well search it out en route.

Gathering all his gear, Falling Feather checked the magazine in his handgun and, relying on his memory from the sky, began his search for the Eagle Fighter.

He walked south for about an hour.

Just when Falling Feather was wondering if he had gone the wrong way, he finally saw the propeller aircraft abandoned on the flat ground.

The cockpit glass was covered with a spider-web of cracks, and with the surrounding pitch-darkness, he couldn't see inside.

With the safety of his handgun disengaged, Falling Feather carefully approached, calling out in imperfect United Human language.

"Hey, is anyone alive in there?"

No answer.

Falling Feather frowned, pulling out his flashlight and shining it inside.

The flashlight's beam hit the cockpit glass.

At the same moment, a creaking noise came from inside the cabin, and a gruesome face suddenly slammed against the spider-webbed canopy.

That hideous face gave Falling Feather a shock, nearly causing him to pull the trigger and shatter the face; fortunately, he managed to restrain himself at the last moment.

Good gracious!

Eaters?!

At the same time, a fuzzy voice came from behind the cracked glass.

"ba... ba..."

Falling Feather: "???"

What the hell?

He didn't remember having a son, nor was he willing to admit that such an ugly guy could be his progeny.

For a while, he didn't even know who was taking advantage of whom.

However, the guy sitting inside the cabin seemed to have recognized him, persistently calling out, but the voice was getting weaker until it finally faded.

Falling Feather swallowed.

Just as he was contemplating whether or not to get closer to check, suddenly a noise came from behind a huge rock nearby.

Hearing that sound, a sense of alarm surged in his heart, and he immediately aimed the gun that way, shouting fiercely.

"Who's there?"

A faint mosquito-like whisper came from behind the rock, carrying a hint of unexpected grievance.

"...Yi."

Hearing that, Falling Feather was stunned on the spot.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he lowered the gun in his hand, using an uncertain voice to probe,

"… Xiaoyu?"

"Eyyy!"

The voice instantly turned cheerful.

Rustling sounds came from behind the boulder, and soon, a graceful figure emerged from behind it.

The scarlet "skirt hem" rolled like waves, and Xiaoyu, taking tiny steps, quickly moved in front of him.

Its abstract facial contours did not reveal its emotions, but the tentacles, swinging like snake hair, completely exposed the joy in its heart.

Falling Feather looked at Xiaoyu, surprised at this creature that could no longer be called a little one.

It had been a while since he had seen it last, and it seemed to have grown taller, with more armor on its skirt hem and facial contours closer to those of a human.

However, it had not completely transformed into his likeness but seemed to use his features as a template, blending in some softer lines.

But right now, what surprised him was not Xiaoyu's transformation but why it was here.

Seeing the "Eaters" inside the cockpit of the "Eagle Fighter," he suddenly seemed to understand something and stared at Xiaoyu in realization.

"Did you do this?"

"Eyyy!" Xiaoyu made a cheerful sound, which seemed very much like a proud boast.

Falling Feather didn't know why he could understand its sounds, but the emotions flowing in the melody were not hard for him to grasp.

Perhaps this was the connection between bloodlines.

After all, it was a special mother template synthesized from his own DNA.

Honestly, the relationship was too complex, and he hadn't fully grasped it himself.

"…Once this war is over, I still really need to take another trip to Lost Valley to ask that guy named Pigeon for clarification."

But speaking of which…

This creature's skills were a bit amazing!

It could not only induce "zombification" in organic bodies but also retain some of the person's experiences and knowledge on the basis of "mental assimilation," even proactively inheriting some experiences and knowledge from its mother.

Although this notion was somewhat terrifying upon reflection, it wasn't unreasonable in the game.

It's rather this, which fits the setting of an SSSR Level Divine Pet!

What a "Mother of Death"? Totally weak!

"Eyyy!"

Watching Xiaoyu excitedly circling around him, Falling Feather suddenly felt a notion and asked,

"Did you say… you have something to show me?"

"Eyyy!"

Xiaoyu nodded excitedly and then took the lead, not forgetting to wrap one of its tentacles around his wrist.

Falling Feather looked back at the wreckage, tapped his finger on the earpiece, took a photo, and then followed behind Xiaoyu.

After walking about twenty minutes, the two quickly arrived at an open space.

On the open space filled with rubble, a solitary, large propeller plane was parked.

The moment he saw that Dragonfly Transport Aircraft, Falling Feather excitedly widened his eyes, clenched his fists, and with great effort, managed to hold back the phrase "F**k" that surged to his lips.

"Wow… Did you fly this here?"

"Eyyy!"

Xiaoyu nodded its head joyously and proudly, as if asking "Do you like it?"

"Haha! Absolutely fantastic!" Unable to hide his excitement, Falling Feather complimented, reaching out to stroke Xiaoyu's head, "Well done!"

Now, there was no need for anyone to pick him up.

He could fly back by himself!

Putting away the gun in his hand, Falling Feather joyfully walked into the cabin and easily found his way to the cockpit.

He hadn't flown this transport plane often, but he had piloted it once or twice. The operation wasn't very difficult.

The cockpit was covered in sticky fungus, and the crimson growths almost swallowed the seat, climbing onto the console and joystick.

Although it looked a bit fierce, Falling Feather, having been used to Xiaoyu for so long, didn't find it too troublesome.

Sitting in the familiar position, Falling Feather stretched his hand to turn on the power switch, but the moment he looked at the dashboard, his brow fiercely twitched.

Seeing the needle stuck firmly below the zero mark of the gauge, the battery was indeed drained completely dry.

Falling Feather released his right hand from the throttle, pained, and leaned back in the seat.

"F**k!"

It was just like giving him a glimmer of hope, only to plunge him back into despair right away.

Thinking about it, it made sense.

The range of the Dragonfly Transport Aircraft couldn't possibly be that far; he shouldn't have harbored such unrealistic hopes from the start.

While Falling Feather was wearing a distressed expression, Xiaoyu, who had just followed him into the cockpit, unaware of the situation, heard the familiar sound and excitedly shouted as well.

"F**k!"

Hearing the voice from behind, Falling Feather was almost choked by his own saliva and sprang up from the seat, quickly turning to the little one to instruct,

"Don't learn this, it's not a good word."

"Eyyy?" Xiaoyu tilted its head, the tentacles at the back of its head shaking with waves of confusion, seemingly not understanding his reaction.

While Falling Feather was lecturing Xiaoyu, near the Eagle Fighter they passed earlier, a few figures approached.

Had Falling Feather still been there, he would have been surprised; the pilot of the "Peidao," who was supposed to have been blown up, had not died but had survived.

But even though he hadn't died, his disheveled appearance wasn't exactly optimistic.

At the moment, his hands were adorned with a pair of state-of-the-art handcuffs, and he was flanked by two armed guards like a prisoner.

A few men in white uniforms stood in front of him, intently staring at the propeller plane overridden by fungus and softly discussing something, seemingly engaged in some analysis.

"Mutated slime fungus? This godforsaken place actually has slime fungus?"

"The infected's entire cellular tissue along with the slime fungus decays, life signs have completely vanished... It's like a mummy."

"Interesting... It might be worth studying."

Looking at the chaotic scene inside the cabin, Yukar's face turned slightly pale.

The one who had fired at him from above was actually an Eater...

What outrageous technology had those Barbarians mastered!

Turning a living person into an Eater, such evil!

The leading man turned around, looking at the captured Yukar with interest and said,

"Luo Xia Province shouldn't have slime fungus; these dirty things must have been brought in from outside. Perhaps, you could provide some insights?"

"I don't know," Yukar looked at the man with an ashen face, "How could I possibly know the good deeds done by those so-called Alliance folks? You might as well ask them."

"Alliance..." A man looking like an attendant chewed over the word and pondered for a while before saying, "I think I've heard of it."

Another attendant spoke up.

"The survivor settlement mixed with corporations is called the Alliance."

"Hmm." The leading man nodded, "I've heard of it too."

Yukar stared nervously at these people and finally couldn't help but ask,

"Who exactly are you!"

The leader did not conceal it and succinctly said,

"Li Ke, special project operator of the External Affairs Department, B-level researcher."

Upon hearing the first half of the sentence, Yukar's face was blank, but when he heard the word 'researcher,' he immediately caught on.

"You... are from the Academy?" His voice carried a trace of disbelief.

"Yes," Li Ke glanced at him lightly, his voice tinged with a hint of mockery, "Stupid 'Weilante People,' congratulations on finally spotting the blind spot."

"What do you want to do?" Yukar asked warily.

"That's not for you to worry about."

Li Ke pointed his index finger and made a slight swipe.

Yukar just felt a slight sting on his wrist.

He angrily looked at the man before him, about to ask what the hell he had done to him, but found his throat seemed frozen, unable to utter a syllable.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Yukar's gaze at him turned to one of horror.

Li Ke nonchalantly moved his gaze away from him, turning back to the Eagle Fighter covered in slime fungus.

The slime fungus and the infected host had walked to the end of life together, the human cells and the slime fungus cells drying out simultaneously, without releasing spores carrying genetic information.

This strange symbiotic form was a first for him.

No doubt it was a technology of evil.

But—

Interest gleamed in his eyes, and he murmured to himself,

"Quite interesting."

...

The next day, evening.

The convoy, loaded with tanks and armored grenadiers and stretched out in a long line, finally reached the checkpoint below No. 330 high ground along the winding mountain path.

A man with a beard buried in a scarf sat in a truck in the middle of the convoy, looking toward No. 330 high ground, his face showing uncontrollable excitement.

Beyond that mountain was a plateau, and further on was the territory of the Honey Badger Kingdom.

After countless difficulties, he had finally returned here.

The emotion wasn't only overwhelming Revival Army Marshal Yard but also the array of soldiers joining the attack with the Skeleton Corps.

Unlike these soldiers, the players sitting in the trucks mostly wore dejected expressions.

Many players had driven for nearly two days without encountering any substantial resistance.

This feeling of having energy with nowhere to exert it was too uncomfortable!

At the very front of the convoy, the checkpoint's barrier lay horizontally.

A young construction worker with a rifle slung across his chest, along with a few Strength-type players, approached laughing and shouted at the stopped convoy,

"Everyone halt! Leave a toll to pass!"

Gnome King Riches, sitting on the tank, shouted back cheekily.

"Is two 155mm shells enough? Or should I send another one?"

"Yes! Delivery included or not?"

"Of course, included! Point out the place, we'll send it right over!"

The construction worker's eyes lit up, and he said with a grin,

"That nice? Then help us take care of our Army leader."

Elena, sitting beside Rich Brother, burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Brother, your words seem to carry a story."

Gnome King Riches also curiously prodded.

"Tell us, how did Brother Shui mistreat you?"

The construction worker sighed and said with a sorrowful face,

"Ah, too long a story filled with tears! Ever since our Army leader got those tricycles from logistics, Brother Shui has never treated us like humans."

Beside them, another newbie named Outlaw Maniac also wore a miserable expression.

"I rode a tricycle all the way, and I was about to fall apart. This game is too hard!"

Another newbie nodded in deep agreement.

"Exactly! It's too inhumane!"

The newbies were all complaining when Edge Shoveling, walking with the Debt Giant Eye using a crutch, just happened to pass by from behind the checkpoint.

This guy really had it rough.

Previously, he led several Intelligence System newbies to charge up the high ground, but not even three seconds passed before they didn't make it more than a few steps up the hill.

It would have been okay if he had been truly finished off, but he hadn't completely cooled off.

Later, when the battlefield was being cleared, his teammates dug him out from a pile of dead bodies, only to find that he had been shot in the leg without hitting any vital parts. The reason he couldn't get up was probably that he had knocked his head when he fell and was physiologically unconscious.

Given that the chances for an Intelligence System to charge were already slim, the Giant Eye, not wanting to waste a bit of experience, didn't choose to let his teammates help him "patch up."

Hearing the complaints of the newbies, Edge Shoveling looked a bit awkward and was about to calm everyone down when Debt Giant Eye was one step ahead of him, chuckling and saying,

"You guys don't get it. Gene Sequence, the more you use it, the stronger it gets! On the surface, you're giving up sweat, but in reality, you're growing through the sweat. Doesn't it feel a lot better thinking about it this way?"

The newbies were slightly stunned, his words sounding quite reasonable, and they were almost persuaded.

However, Old Soldier wasn't fooled; he knew this guy too well. Without saying another word, he tossed his gun aside and rolled up his sleeves.

"Don't listen to this Intelligence System blabbering. The kid is definitely messing with us. Brothers, follow me and let's show him the power of bulls and horses!"

Seeing Old Soldier charging at him, the Giant Eye panicked.

"Holy shit, I'm an injured man, don't mess around!"

Unable to run with his crutch, and seeing that pleading was useless, he looked helplessly towards Edge Shoveling.

"Brother Shui, save me!"

Edge Shoveling glanced at him and stepped aside.

"You should've drawn less aggro, then you wouldn't have any problems."

"Exactly! Even the Manager coming here today won't save you!" Old Soldier looked to one side at Outlaw Maniac, "You guys, one arm each, lift him up, I'll go find a telephone pole!"

"Sure thing!"

A few Strength-type players wickedly lifted Giant Eye, ignoring his frantic shrieks, and went to look for a telephone pole up on the high ground.

Sitting in the truck, Yard blankly watched the commotion in front of him before saying after a while,

"What's… what's going on over there?"

Mole coughed.

"Cough, nothing much… Those Strength-type beasts are probably just stifled. Don't worry, they're just joking around with a good brother, no lives will be at risk."

Compared to the Agility System's speed and the Body Constitution System's durability, the Strength System really isn't that popular anymore, but who can tell what the future holds?

One generation's software is another generation's god.

For someone like him who had experienced the full process of version changes as an experienced player, this was just basic operations.

To be fair, the Strength System is still the most suitable choice for newbies, not only because it allows for quicker leveling, but also because it's easy to get a handle on.

No matter how much other systems are strengthened, it can't change the fact that more than half of the Alliance's Awakeners are from the Strength System.

Yard was taken aback for a moment, and looked blankly at the Army Commander.

Stifled… what does that mean?

Maybe it's a grammar issue.

He always felt there was something slightly off about it.

He didn't explain to the NPC, nor did he even realize a ridiculous misunderstanding had been made, as Mole waved out of the bus window, and the checkpoint's boom soon lifted to let the convoy pass.

Getting off beside Brother Edge, Mole said with a smile,

"We just received an order. Command wants us to pass through No. 330 high ground and then head northwest along the edge of Oasis No. 3."

Edge Shoveling asked,

"The offensive route's been changed?"

Mole nodded with a grin.

"Yes, based on Brother Battlefield's intelligence, the Army plans to give up on Oasis No. 3. Our mission is to stick behind this scattering of defeated troops and wipe out as much of their force as possible, making our advance into Oasis No. 2 encounter less resistance."

Edge Shoveling whistled.

"Looks like we'll have to walk the next stretch of road ourselves."

"That's right, and the trucks you left halfway can arrive the day after tomorrow, so you can rest here for two days. From here northwards, you won't encounter much fierce resistance, and you'll likely meet folks with food and drink, welcoming the troops. Just coordinate with the Revival Army forces from the Honey Badger Kingdom, and push forward together; it should be our turn to fight a tough battle now."

He said this jokingly, then suddenly remembering something, looked back at the long line of vehicles and continued,

"By the way, on our way toward No. 330 high ground, we ran into several disbanded units. Some were led by Weilante People, some by counterfeit military officers. We've confiscated their arms and let them continue on their original routes. If nothing goes wrong, they should reach No. 330 high ground by this time tomorrow, and by then, you'll have your hands full taking them in."

Edge Shoveling frowned,

"The Clone Group?"

Mole nodded.

"Yes."

Edge Shoveling scratched the back of his head.

"What about those clones... How should they be handled?"

Previously, every encounter with a Clone Group by the Alliance ended with fighting until the last clone fell, and then the lower-ranking officers would surrender.

This was his first encounter with clones surrendering alongside their officers.

To be honest, whether those guys counted as human was still undefined by the Alliance.

It wasn't a matter of being pretentious.

It was related to a very practical issue—whether to treat them as regular prisoners of war aiming at liberation through assessment and reformation or to include them in the "purification" category like the Mutants.

They were not mindless animals, only mentally incomplete.

Mole shrugged helplessly,

"I don't know, just keep an eye on them for now, and how to deal with them… ask the Manager."

Chapter 473 Clones are also people, so they can be used to win twice

"...These guys, they never think of me when they're having fun, but the moment trouble rears its head, they remember me. I'm not your nanny!"

On the Iron Heart, in the Captain's quarters,

Chu Guang, sitting at his desk, couldn't help but roll his eyes at the "Edge Shoveling" report submitted on "how to handle the Clone soldiers."

In both the world before his travels and the one after, history had no precedent for the systematic capture of mentally challenged individuals.

The common practice for Survivor Settlements would definitely be to bury the issue and be done with it.

But the Alliance obviously couldn't do that.

A disciplined organization must act according to the rules, and the correct approach should be to set a series of regulations and follow the established rules thereafter.

Chu Guang intended to ask Xiao Qi for an opinion, but Xiao Qi's focus was on a rather odd aspect.

"Huh? Master wants to have some fun?" The voice carried a touch of surprise but also a sensible understanding.

Almost choking on his own saliva, Chu Guang coughed and said,

"I was just making an example...Don't focus on these strange things, use that calculating power to give me some advice instead."

Xiao Qi, sitting on the desk, supported her chin with both hands, appearing deep in thought.

"Hmm...Xiao Qi doesn't know either, there's no precedent to reference in the database. But...do you think they are human?"

"I guess so, even if they are mentally challenged." Chu Guang replied offhandedly.

Xiao Qi continued to question,

"Then how does the Alliance usually deal with mentally challenged members?"

"They're categorized with disabilities, managed by the Home of the Refugees, or assigned a designated guardian..." As he spoke, a light bulb went off in Chu Guang's eyes.

Right.

Just find someone to manage these guys.

After some thought, Chu Guang spoke up,

"...The Clone soldier prisoners will be under the custody and discipline of their original direct superiors. In the POW Camp, they'll be organized into teams of ten and set to work. If one breaks the rules, the whole team will be punished. If they fail to complete their work duties, the team leader bears the main responsibility."

Essentially, he would strip the ten teams of positions like assistant Centurion, Flag Holder, Hornist and so on, leaving the Centurion in charge of these mentally impaired and potentially violent Clone prisoners.

The duration of sentences in Alliance's POW camps generally starts at ten years.

Unless the Army intends to redeem them, most Clone soldiers won't even live to see the day they're released, so that also spares the headache of how to deal with the impact of these special individuals on Alliance society and the social problems that arise from it.

Chu Guang spent ten minutes dictating details to Xiao Qi, including precautions to prevent Centurions from deliberately getting rid of dead weights to escape responsibility, filling in loopholes in specific clauses, and so on.

If managed correctly, these Clone soldiers could become decent labor forces, both in the fields and the mines.

Although these Clones couldn't perform very complex tasks, they should have no major issues with simple and repetitive physical labor.

As for living standards, he decided to just put them at "subsistence hardship," the same as other POWs.

"Xiao Qi, did you get all that?"

Xiao Qi, sitting atop the desk, nodded with admiration.

"Mhm-mhm! I remember it all!"

A smile curled at the corner of Chu Guang's mouth as he leaned back in his office chair and stretched languidly.

Though he had only started today's work ten minutes ago, he felt well-deserved in his efforts.

There were no new changes at the front, everything was progressing smoothly and orderly.

Just as Chu Guang was contemplating whether to unwind by playing a couple of rounds of The Great Escape, Xiao Qi, sitting on the desk, suddenly lifted her head as if receiving a signal.

"Oh, master, there's new news from the foreign affairs department. It's about the corporation."

At the mention of news from the corporation, Chu Guang instinctively tensed up.

A big part of the reason he had fled to the frontlines was to avoid the representatives from the corporation.

Old friends from the East Coast were only agreeable when it came to giving money; they were notoriously nitpicky on other matters.

The Supreme Council had already decided to support the Alliance, but to date, they still hadn't approved the Tiger Whale transport aircraft to head to the front.

For instance, everyone had agreed to push the Army out of Luo Xia Province to prevent further complications, and just when the battle was halfway done and with some advantages gained, the Council began to discuss whether to initiate ceasefire negotiations with the Army using prisoners of war.

Of course, negotiations were possible.

Means are only means, and the ultimate goals are clear in Chu Guang's heart.

Ultimately, the progress of the Alliance must be achieved through agriculture, industry, and construction—warfare at most serves as a catalyst, but it's peace that is the long-term plan.

Even so, the right time for negotiations would be after crippling the Army's strategic positions in Luo Xia Province, significantly weakening the ambitions and capabilities of their "expansionists."

If possible, Chu Guang wished that his old friends from the East Coast would just stick to funding.

"What did they say?"

"He said a reporter from To Distant Report wants to interview General Soffter."

Chu Guang let out a sigh of relief, and his tone relaxed a bit.

"Isn't McCullen enough?"

Xiao Qi: "Hmm...Xiao Qi thinks it might be precisely because the interview with General McCullen was so outstanding that they want to interview a few more generals."

Chu Guang paused for a moment.

"Outstanding?"

Imitating Chu Guang's usual gesture, Xiao Qi extended her index finger and made a virtual stroke in the air. An image soon appeared above the holographic computer pen.

This is the news broadcast in Ideal City.

Collected by Fang Chang.

General McCullen on camera clenched his fists, his face ashen, an expression of righteous indignation on his face.

"...I'll say it again, I didn't lose to the Alliance! I lost to the despicable corporations! If not for the corporate support to the Alliance, I could not have possibly lost that battle in River Valley Province! And the one in the southern part of Luo Xia Province would have been even less likely!"

Compared to General McCullen's righteous indignation, the reporter sitting opposite him wore a complacent expression, and yet pretended to be serious by biting his upper and lower lips.

After McCullen finished speaking, that reporter eagerly continued to press him with questions.

"So you think you actually lost to the corporations? But we don't think so, whether it was the battle in River Valley Province or the one in the southern part of Luo Xia Province, they were the results of the hard struggle of survivors oppressed by the Army—it was their efforts that achieved the final victory—"

"Nonsense!" McCullen's eyes bulged as he glared angrily at the reporter, "When have we ever oppressed the local survivors! We hadn't even been to Oasis No.4! A valiant fight? What a joke! Did those tanks conjure themselves?"

Reporter: "Uh, actually... we did provide some parts, like the No. 60 electromagnetic cannon and such."

"It's that damn railgun! Without that thing, the Alliance would never have been able to penetrate the Conqueror No. 10's armor! And that flapping machine, without that thing, I wouldn't have lost to a bunch of natives riding horses to fight! They're just playing tricks behind others' backs. If they had the guts, let's set up a proper fight, fair and square!"

McCullen spat angrily.

However, he didn't notice that the more angry he got, the happier the reporter sitting opposite him became.

Especially upon seeing him break down, that reporter simply cut himself out of the frame, placing McCullen in the center of the screen, letting him tell his story louder.

The interview was drawing to close.

Having gotten all the material he wanted, that reporter wrapped it up.

"Thank you for participating in today's interview... But despite the complaints, I think you should still thank the corporations. If it hadn't been for the pressure from the Supreme Council, you might have already died in the Alliance's coal mines or hung from the gallows."

McCullen stiffly retorted.

"Dream on!"

A soldier might be killed, but never humiliated.

He would rather die than thank the enemy!

Yet the reporter didn't care about his offensive towards the corporations at all; instead, he gave a closeup of McCullen's stiff facial expressions, concluding the interview there.

Seeing the stubborn McCullen on screen, Chu Guang was momentarily stunned, then he couldn't help but show a wry smile.

Good grief.

No wonder the corporate reporters wanted to interview more generals.

These officers beaten badly by the Alliance, not one would admit they had lost to the Alliance, instead saying they had lost due to lousy logistics, to the corporate equipment.

Even though they knew in their hearts that one or two pieces of gear couldn't change the outcome of the war, admitting they lost due to lack of preparation to the corporations was still better than losing to a bunch of 'natives' in their eyes.

At least they both regarded themselves as the rightful successors of the United Human.

The corporations had clearly become the last fig leaf for the surrendering officers.

The reporter in the camera had clearly exploited this, deliberately guiding and even provoking McCullen to answer in the direction he was hoping for.

Chu Guang tried to put himself in the shoes of the Ideal City residents; such an interview was indeed gratifying.

Issues about front-line war situations have surely been hot topics on the Ideal City Endpoint Cloud recently as well.

Chu Guang thought for less than two minutes, then spoke up.

"Agreed, let the reporters from 'To Distant Report' go."

There was no harm in cheering up the neighbors' residents, if only to make the Council's "calm down" proposals lose their popular support.

Looking at the interview footage in the holographic window, Chu Guang suddenly had an idea, and looked at Xiao Qi, who nodded to indicate understanding, then continued.

"Set the interview location near No. 330 high ground. Also let them interview those clone soldiers... no need to go out of their way to do anything, just let them see those idiots."

Life ticks away at eight times the speed.

What an evil technology!

Those idiots who could only eat, drink, defecate, and fight—it should be enough to evoke the sympathy of Ideal City residents.

The generous Alliance could be the one to resettle these 'pitiable people' swept into war, satisfying that misplaced sympathy in their hearts.

As long as they are willing to pay a sum of Credit Points that isn't too expensive.

That way, the clone soldiers could not only become the labor force for rebuilding the Wasteland for the Alliance, but also help the Alliance obtain settlement subsidies from the corporation.

It's like winning twice over.

The more he thought about it, the more ingenious his idea seemed. Chu Guang couldn't help smiling and shook his head.

"This 'Dog plan' is really inhumane."

...

Frontline.

The Skeleton Corps, after a short rest on No. 330 high ground, continued on their march under the lead of the Mole.

The Marshal of the Honey Badger Kingdom, Yard, stayed behind with the Restoration Army and fifty captured Conqueror series tanks, preparing to coordinate with the Death Legion to retake the full territory of Oasis No.3.

During the two days of waiting for the trucks to arrive from the rear, the Death Legion stationed on No. 330 high ground captured nearly four fully-staffed thousand teams, totaling over five thousand prisoners.

Most of them were clone soldiers, with a small portion being Weilante people and officers promoted from the Attendant Army.

To manage these POWs, the Alliance had to detach a thousand team from the Lion Kingdom Army and temporarily detained these prisoners in a valley.

Apart from the large number of prisoners surrendering, the herders from nearby villages and settlements also cautiously approached.

Previously, the Army had conscripted a large number of young laborers from the area, forcing them to the front lines to build defensive fortifications.

The Army had been defeated.

Some came looking for relatives, others seeking revenge, and still others merely to gawk or join the commotion.

They were expecting hospitality from their fellow villagers; instead, they were greeted by a host of troubles.

Unfamiliar with their heavy dialect of United Human, Edge Shoveling could do nothing but throw up his hands in headache and pass them off to Yard, the Marshal of the Honey Badger Kingdom.

As His Highness the Prince appeared before them, the several hundred herders gathered at the camp gates instantly fell to their knees en masse.

Gazing at Yard's weathered face, tears of excitement welled up in the eyes of the leading old man.

"Your Highness, you... you've finally returned!"

As he looked at the trembling elder before him, Yard's face showed a hint of guilt, and he helped the man to his feet.

"You've suffered much."

The old man cautiously glanced at the soldiers standing at the entrance to the camp and asked,

"Those people are...?"

Yard smiled as he replied,

"They are people from the Alliance, our friends!"

Hearing this, the herders around them broke into hushed chatter, and a look of realization crossed the old man's face; however, it quickly turned to worry.

"The Alliance... the one from the south of River Valley Province?"

Yard nodded.

"Yes, they extended a helping hand in our hour of need, and it's thanks to their assistance that we were able to return here."

The old man looked at those people apprehensively, hesitated for a moment, and then voiced his concerns in a low voice,

"Letting outsiders interfere with the affairs of the desert isn't a good idea. The teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea exhort us to be vigilant against external threats... it might bring disaster."

Yard patiently explained,

"But what's done is done. The Falcon Kingdom aligned itself with the Army first and invaded our territory with the Army's support. We couldn't defeat them with our strength alone... We had to seek help from beyond the desert."

The old man quietly asked,

"But what if the Alliance becomes the next Army? They're already powerful enough—who's to say they won't force us to do things we don't want to do, just like the Army did?"

"The Alliance's Army is a disciplined force; they won't do that. Their Manager has assured me of this. And from what I've seen in the Lion Kingdom with my own eyes, they are spreading order and helping locals rebuild their homes... which is precisely what we, in our turmoil, need the most right now."

Yard placed his hand on the old man's shoulder and looked earnestly at his wrinkled face, saying sincerely,

"Please trust me."

…

While Yard was soothing the local residents' emotions, not far away in the center of the camp, a "Tiger Whale" transport plane gently settled down onto the open space.

A man, both in dress and demeanor vastly out of place on the battlefield and the Wasteland, jumped out of the cabin first.

With an interview drone trailing behind him, he hit the ground running and excitedly asked,

"Where's Sofert? The general you captured?"

The little player he had grabbed was taken aback, looking at the man in confusion.

"Who are you?"

Other curious players crowded around, eyeing this odd NPC.

Seeing the confused look on the soldier's face, the man suddenly slapped his forehead, smiled apologetically, and hurriedly fished out a business card to hand over,

"Wu Kai'an! A journalist from To Distant Report! I heard there was good news from the front lines, and I've come all the way from Ideal City to interview your opponent..."

Well, now!

A reporter from Ideal City?!

As he scrutinized the translation on the VM screen, the player's eyes suddenly lit up, and he raised his head with a grin, saying,

"A bunch of defeated soldiers, what's the point of interviewing them? Better to interview me."

Wu Kai'an didn't catch his meaning and asked blankly,

"Er, who might you be?"

"I'm the lawless Outlaw Maniac! Serving in the Death Legion, a Strength Type, good with shotguns, it's just that our damned leader never gave me a chance... Damnit, just thinking about it pisses me off! I've been pedaling a tricycle all day, the wheel's nearly smoking, and the battle was over without even seeing an enemy shadow!"

The player rambled on, getting more animated the longer he spoke.

Yet Wu Kai'an was utterly perplexed.

Mixing ten "dialect" words he couldn't understand with three sentences of United Human, he didn't catch a single word from the start.

Finally, when the player finished speaking, he asked softly,

"What does 'fa.wai.kuang.tu' mean?"

"It means—"

"Cough."

Interrupting the new player with a cough, Old White approached from a short distance to receive the journalist's business card, glanced at the bewildered man, and said,

"You're here to interview General Sofert, right? He's been taken to No. 330 high ground, 17 kilometers away. I'll arrange for someone to take you there."

The Manager had called him just now and informed him about this.

Including the arrangement for the interview at No. 330 high ground.

Saying this, Old White turned to Sniper Bai, who had come with him.

"Could you take him over for me?"

"Sure thing! Boss," Sniper Bai snapped to attention, and then turned to the reporter with a smile, "Please follow me."

Finally, someone I can communicate with normally, Wu Kai'an relaxed and nodded with a smile.

"Thank you very much!"

Watching the two walking away, Outlaw Maniac grumbled discontentedly.

"Damn! Why won't they let me be interviewed?"

"I'm saving you, no need to thank me. Go back and have a good look through the Player Manual," Old White said with a caring glance at the overconfident newbie he left behind, and then walked straight over to the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft in the center of the camp.

Greeting the pilot in the cabin, he said, "Hello, I am the commander of the Burning Corps."

Chewing gum, the pilot's eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly moved his legs off the console, opening a small circular window beneath the cabin.

"Burning Corps? The Burning Corps?"

Old White smiled embarrassingly.

"Although I'm not sure which one you're referring to, the Alliance should only have one Burning Corps."

The pilot exclaimed excitedly.

"I've heard about you guys a long time ago! Recently, The Great Escape that has exploded on the Endpoint Cloud has even released a skin for you guys... Ah, I almost forgot, you guys might not know what The Great Escape is."

Looking at the pilot who was talking to himself, Old White was clueless.

"There's such a thing?"

"You don't know how popular you guys are over there! Damn it, I should have brought a pen!" The pilot scratched the back of his head, chuckling as he stretched his right hand out of the small window, "Let's get acquainted, my name is Sun Ze, pilot from the Enterprise Armed Forces Air Science."

"Old White."

Old White shook hands with him, and after letting go, cleared his throat to continue,

"...Let's save the pleasantries for later. We have a pretty urgent task and need to use your aircraft."

"Understood! Your Manager has informed us, you're here to bring back the parachuting pilot, right? Just come on up."

Pulling his right hand back in from the small window, the pilot gave a thumbs-up and gestured them to come aboard, then continued with animated excitement, "How are you planning to go down later? Skydiving?"

Old White coughed.

"It'll be good if you just land normally..."

No need to skydive if they can land properly.

He was not crazy.

However, after hearing his reply, the pilot seemed disappointed, as if he had missed out on something fun.

Tapping on his VM, Old White quickly gathered Night Ten, Wild Wind, Quit Smoking, and a bunch of other brothers from the Burning Corps.

Twelve in total, all among the top fighters of the Burning Corps.

With a power armor unit, nine sets of Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" and ten sets of Type 5 "Light Cavalry" exoskeletons, the firepower of the twenty men could rival a reinforced company.

To ensure nothing went wrong, the Manager advised them to bring their best equipment.

Looking at the gathered troops, Old White turned on the power armor's speaker and said,

"...There are two pieces of news."

"The bad news is our ace pilot has found a transport plane, so the mission to search the southern part of Oasis No.8 is off. The good news is the found plane is out of power, and it's located in the north of the Golden Lizard Kingdom. So, the command has assigned us a new mission: to pick up Falling Feather and his baby from the Goblin Corps area. If possible, also recover the runaway 'Eagle Type'... It has some special research materials onboard that our darling white-haired NPC Miss is very interested in, so we'll try to bring those back for her too."

Glancing over his brothers' gear, Edge Shoveling, who was standing by watching the fun, asked curiously.

"Is the lineup this luxurious?"

Several of the top fighters from the Burning Corps were all here.

Just to pick someone up from the outside of the war zone, it shouldn't be this exaggerated, right?

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Old White explained with a smile,

"Just being cautious. Who knows what's around the Wandering swamp? Falling Feather mentioned there seemed to be quite a few Variants there."

Night Ten chuckled,

"+1, and we get to hitch a ride on a plane, a convenient way back to the frontline airport."

The Burning Corps belonged to the airborne forces, so naturally, they needed to be on standby at the airport for rapid support in critical areas.

It was said that the Lion Kingdom Army had encountered a few tough nuts in the northwest corner, so they would likely have an opportunity to take the field again soon.

Compared to hanging around in a truck for two or three days, riding a plane was indeed a bit more in line with the gaming experience.

At that moment, Debt Giant Eye, limping with a crutch, came over and sighed looking at everyone.

"Just take me away with you guys."

Night Ten asked with a playful smile,

"What's up, isn't the frontline fun?"

Scratching his butt, Debt Giant Eye cursed,

"Fun, so damn fun indeed!"

Chapter 474: Rescue and Fall

The engines on either side of the wings emitted a pale blue arc light, gently lifting the massive "Tiger Whale" transport aircraft into the sky.

Under the envious gazes of many players, the transport aircraft switched to horizontal flight mode and sped off toward the north.

"Damn, once I have money, I'll get one too," Outlaw Maniac enviously glanced at the departing meteor and headed off with his tricycle.

A thousand team under the First Army Corps took over Camp No.330, guarding those surrendered prisoners of war.

As the main force of the Alliance's assault, they soon followed the Honey Badger Kingdom's restoration army, continuing their march into the heart of Oasis No.3.

On the other side, atop No. 330 high ground.

Wu Kai'an, a reporter from To Distant Report, was walking across the messy battlefield, accompanied by a resident of the Alliance named "Sniper Bai."

Though the battlefield had been superficially cleaned, with bodies and severed limbs buried in the trenches, there were still massive amounts of unprocessed debris scattered about.

Such as bloody sandbags and the sand sticky with plasma...

Due to the high temperature and the scorching sun, the air was permeated with an unescapable stench of blood, occasionally stepping on dead people's arms and legs.

Wu Kai'an swallowed his saliva.

He had followed corporate assault teams deep into mutant camps before and seen plenty of bizarre, bloody sights, but they all seemed pale in comparison to this.

This was a real battlefield...

"This is..."

Sniper Bai explained with a smile.

"No. 330 high ground, previously stationed here was a thousand team of an army corps and a hundred-person air defense team. The battle here was fierce; gunshots lasted all night long, and by dawn, the Death Legion's three thousand brothers finally took over."

From that seemingly casual remark, Wu Kai'an sensed a hint of gravity and silently nodded.

Three thousand people fighting over a thousand, battling all night to gain control, and these three thousand were supposedly frontline units of the Alliance.

It looked like this army was tougher than anticipated...

"Speaking of which, didn't the Council support you all with high-tech equipment? The flapping machine, the 'Seagull' drones, 'Hellhound' unmanned vehicles... why didn't you use them?"

"Too few in number and too expensive," Sniper Bai made a helpless expression, "The Council's support for us only totaled two billion Cr."

"Only two billion?! Isn't two billion enough?" Wu Kai'an stared at the soldier, shocked.

His own monthly salary was just over ten thousand.

And that included attendance bonuses and reimbursements for various expenses.

"How could that be enough, it's not just one person spending," Sniper Bai shook his head, "Let me do the math for you, fixing one kilometer of road costs about a hundred thousand, and a tactical missile is about the same; it's like one missile fired, one road gone."

Wu Kai'an was dumbfounded.

"That... doesn't sound like a lot."

Sniper Bai continued.

"Ammunitions are just one aspect; war expenditure isn't just buying munitions. Not to mention upgrading tractor production lines – a real money pit – there's also things like the soldiers' food, drink, waste, fuel, and energy consumption... those are direct costs."

Wu Kai'an swallowed his saliva.

"Are there indirect costs too?"

"Of course!" Sniper Bai said matter-of-factly, "The Alliance has only about a hundred thousand people in total; ten percent of the population is mobilized to the frontline, jobs in the rear are hard to fill quickly, right? Things we can't produce must be imported. Ah... our Manager is too concerned with appearances, hasn't even felt comfortable telling you guys that we're almost too poor to eat; managing the food for these prisoners too, headache."

As he spoke, this playful player started to believe his own words, incessantly shaking his head.

Listening, Wu Kai'an felt troubled, nodding.

"…Uh, I'll relay your circumstances in the interview."

This was indeed a topic worth exploring.

But on second thought...

How did an ordinary soldier know so much?

He always had a feeling of being manipulated.

"Yeah, thanks." Watching "Mission Completed" pop up on his VM, Sniper Bai's face broke into a pleased smile, appropriately ending this "heavy" conversation.

Good thing Awakening gave him some Intelligence attributes.

Memorizing these lines had exhausted him.

First mission accomplished.

One last task left from the Manager.

On their way to the small, dark room where Sorate was held, Sniper Bai deliberately took a detour, leading the journalist from Ideal City through a mountain hollow.

Looking down at the swarming crowd below, Wu Kai'an's face showed surprise, just as he was about to ask about their identity, Sniper Bai, acting as a "guide," continued.

"Those are clones... The Army produced them through cloning technology; they age eight times faster than normal humans."

Wu Kai'an looked at him and asked.

"What do you plan to do with them?"

Sniper Bai answered smoothly.

"Usually, Survivor Settlements catch them and bury them right away; they can't work and tend to fight, just a pure waste of food. But the Manager said, they are just a group of pitiful people used by others... so he'll probably keep them if conditions allow."

Wu Kai'an nodded.

"Can I take a photo?"

Sniper Bai nodded promptly.

"Sure, go ahead."

The drone flew over the hollow, took several pictures of these clones, then returned to Wu Kai'an's side.

For the rest of the journey, Wu Kai'an didn't speak again but fell into deep thought.

Walking beside him, Sniper Bai also kept quiet, as his mission had just been completed...

...

Inside the pitch-black barracks.

Listening to the footsteps at the door and the sliver of light leaking through the gap, Sorate slowly raised his head.

A strange man stood at the doorway.

The reason he was considered strange was that, from his attire to his demeanor, there wasn't the slightest hint of a soldier about him.

A flicker of confusion appeared in Sorate's eyes as he furrowed his brow and said,

"Is there something you need?"

"Hello, my name is Wu Kai'an, a reporter from 'To Distant Report.'" Wu Kai'an skillfully introduced himself and sat down on the chair opposite Sorate with a smile.

Sorate glanced at the drone behind him.

"'To Distant Report'... what is that?"

Wu Kai'an replied with a smile,

"It's a media outlet in Ideal City, with a history of two hundred years. Besides the paper newspaper, we also operate our own client and even a virtual space on Endpoint Cloud, serving as one of the windows through which residents of Ideal City learn about the world outside..."

"Oh."

It sounded similar to the 'Triumph Newspaper'.

Sorate suddenly seemed to think of something, and then he smirked coldly.

"Are you here to mock me?"

Wu Kai'an explained with a chuckle,

"Why would we? We're just one of the participants in the war, wanting to understand your perspective on this war and your opinion of your opponents as an enemy."

Sorate leaned back in his chair and said coldly,

"I don't have any opinions."

As a professional journalist who had traveled nearly ten thousand kilometers to be there, Wu Kai'an certainly wasn't going to give up just because of that response.

Detecting a hint of resentment behind those eyes, he continued in a gently probing tone,

"Don't you feel even a bit of resentment?"

Perhaps because his words struck a nerve, they had a better effect than expected.

Leaning back in his chair, Sorate snorted through his nose and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Resentment... Heh, indeed I'm resentful. I should never have believed all that nonsense spouted by Griffin."

"So, you believe that the reason for your failure was a misstep in command?" Wu Kai'an, fixing his gaze on Sorate's eyes, asked intently.

"One aspect, yes," Sorate responded dryly.

"And the other aspect? Because of the weapons supplied by corporations to the Alliance?" Wu Kai'an asked eagerly, his interest unabashedly evident.

However, upon hearing his words, Sorate didn't erupt in anger like McCullen; instead, he cracked a self-mocking smile.

"You mean those weapons? Heh, maybe they were somewhat useful... but what defeated me were not merely weapons."

This response took Wu Kai'an by surprise.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, he continued,

"Then... what do you think it was?"

"What? It was the infantry who dared to abandon their supply wagons to march twelve hours, crossing a hundred and fifty kilometers of mountainous terrain off-road, and still boldly assault the high ground without any artillery support. It was the paratroopers who, lacking air supremacy, reinforcements, or even clear knowledge of the ground troop deployments, still dared to leap forward... Those insane individuals were tough to handle. Had I known they were this formidable, I would surely have deployed differently."

Sorate cursed under his breath.

However, his wary eyes couldn't help revealing a trace of admiration.

Those guys were truly tough people.

Not just in terms of ability, but the entire troop, from the soldiers to the officers, had tapped into their potential to the utmost.

Their will to fight had reached a level of unity, ready to pay any price for victory, achieving feats in both tactics and strategy that were nearly miraculous for humans.

Sorate was well aware that he had not lost because of command, nor did he lose to any Awakeners or power armor. Those things were indeed strong but not invincible, similar to their much-lauded Conqueror tanks.

Both he and Griffin had made the correct decisions based on the intelligence at the time, considering even the possibility that plans might not achieve expected results.

Even if he were to do it all over again, he might not be able to do any better.

His real grievance against Griffin and the now-deceased McCullen was the lies they had spread in the 'Triumph Newspaper'.

There were no bounteous military glories and treasures everywhere here; their adversaries were not a tribe of natives easily slaughtered, but a true warrior race, shedding blood needlessly for a never-ending war.

Many promising young men had perished, including his protege Simond and the air defense team's Yote...

He should never have brought them here!

A hint of disappointment surfaced in Wu Kai'an's eyes.

He hadn't heard the parts he wanted to.

But it didn't matter anymore.

Before coming here, he had captured enough impactful photos and gathered more newsworthy material.

Instead of their allies' bravery, strength, and their own might during the war, residents of Ideal City were more inclined to understand their tragic heroism, their sacrifices, and other empathetic aspects, followed by the cultural phenomena born amidst the ruins that were novel and harmless.

As for the image of the beacon of civilization, "Big Brother," or the head of the family, that honor should belong to the Supreme Council.

Having been in the media for so many years, he understood his audience better than anyone. Most people's demand for information essentially wasn't about actual data, but about the satisfaction it provided. As a competent media professional, he ought to show his clients what they wanted to see.

Wu Kai'an silently made a decision in his heart to appropriately shorten the segment about Sorate in the interview...

"Thank you for your cooperation... Is there anything else you would like to add?" Wu Kai'an, having lost interest in this prisoner of war, gave a simple sign-off with his statement.

Sorate replied with a cold smile,

"I haven't cooperated with you... By the way, if you hear any news about truce negotiations, could you please let me know?"

Wu Kai'an thought for a moment and said,

"There's no news about that yet... However, the Alliance diplomats have reportedly promised on other Ideal City media outlets that they will end the war by the end of the year."

By the end of the year, huh?

Sorate was slightly startled.

Although he did not agree in his heart, he still slowly nodded to indicate his understanding.

This sounded like bragging...

However, it was also possible that the Alliance no longer wanted to continue the fight.

Either way, it was good news for him.

If things went quickly, he could return to his manor by the Sorate River before next spring…

…

In the northern part of Luo Xia Province, in the wilderness north of the mountains.

A few vultures were tearing at the corpse of a mutated hyena when they suddenly heard a noise along the ground and alertly flew towards the sky.

Shortly after, a heavy tracked vehicle wide enough to occupy two lanes appeared from behind the misty wilderness.

The swamp soil hanging on the tracks revealed its origin.

The man sitting in the co-driver's seat stared at the tablet in his hands, wearing a yellow-gray camouflage jacket, sporting a very short crew cut, and his unkempt chin was covered with stubble; a scar the length of an index finger marked his right cheek.

If not for the badge on his chest that read "Class D explorer," no one would think he was from the academy, and might instead mistake him for a mercenary active in this area.

However, this was not exactly a misunderstanding.

Although he was an academy recruit, he did not spend much time in the academy during the year.

Like other unfortunate Class D explorers, he and his "Beacon" squad were almost always either exploring relics or on the way to relics.

His name was Zheng Hao, belonging to the academy's Investigation Department containment plan group, serving as an explorer and combatant as the badge indicated.

More than twenty of his squad members were on this vehicle, half were bionics, and the other half were bionic people with over 50% bionic modifications.

"Boss, how much longer?" asked a young man looking out the window from his seat behind him, idly.

His name was Zhao Xiao, an E-level explorer from the containment plan group.

They were originally exploring a biological research facility from the Human Alliance Era, seventy kilometers away, when they suddenly received a command from their superiors to head to the wilderness beyond the swamp and retrieve a special research material from the map coordinates.

The photo provided by the superiors was of a propeller-driven plane, a model from the Falcon Kingdom known as the "Eagle Type" fighter.

Honestly, he had no interest in that old relic; he wouldn't be here if it weren't for the orders from up above.

"It's just ahead." Sitting in the co-driver's seat, Zheng Hao replied tersely, not really wanting to engage the energetic young man.

Compared to the E-level personnel, he knew a bit more about the situation.

According to a colleague from the External Affairs Department, on their way to Luo Xia Province, they discovered a mucosal entity of mutated slime fungus inside the cockpit of a crashed "Eagle Type" fighter.

It was well known that mucosal entities couldn't exist in isolation; there was bound to be a mobile parent body or lair nearby.

Retrieving the propeller-driven plane was only part of the mission.

Their real task was to search for that bizarre parent body.

According to the researcher who reported the situation, it might be a lifeform they had not encountered before, and a deeper investigation could lead to a significant discovery.

Just then, a faint blue arc flashed across the distant sky, and Zheng Hao suddenly raised his head, squinting towards the front.

The driver, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"It's the plasma engine's wake."

"Right," Zheng Hao nodded, his expression cautious, and said, "It's likely corporate people."

Although he rarely had direct contact with the people from the East Coast, his instinct told him that nothing good happened where those people were.

It wasn't just the captain who was alert.

Hearing the word "corporate," everyone in the vehicle suddenly became serious. The previously restless young man even showed an eagerness to engage.

Turning off the screen, Zheng Hao stuffed the tablet into an overhead compartment, picked up the nearby tactical helmet, put it on, then took out a tactical backpack from beside the seat and looked back at his fully prepared teammates.

"Xiao Jiang, release the drone, search the ten-kilometer sector area ahead…mark all exposed potential threats."

"Got it."

The short-haired woman in the back row of the vehicle gently nodded her head, touched the right side of her temple with her index finger, then closed her eyes.

Golden strands blended into her black hair.

At the same time, three triangular small drones deployed on the top of the tracked vehicle, their swallow-tail wings ejected brief flames, and one by one shot into the sky, turning into streaks of afterimages racing towards the south.

Her name was Jiang Xuezhou, an E-level personnel like Zhao Xiao.

However, her position was not that of an explorer but rather a half-rank higher researcher. She served as the technical advisor and drone operator for the team, and also held the highest rank besides the captain and vice captain.

Everyone quietly awaited her report.

At that moment, Jiang Xuezhou, with her eyes tightly closed, suddenly twitched her eyebrows, sharply raised her head, and rapidly reported in an even tone.

"Found a suspected mucosal lifeform! The target is 3.7 kilometers directly north of us, shaped roughly like a human. Beside it is a...human?"

Surprise appeared on her face, though she had not opened her eyes yet.

Sitting next to her, Zhao Xiao also wore an incredulous expression.

"A human?! Are you sure?"

The predatory instinct toward other organic forms was nearly hardcoded into the DNA of mutated slime fungus.

These entities were originally designed to clean up other organic forms, especially the vulnerable parent bodies which could hardly allow living creatures to exist nearby.

Zheng Hao furrowed his brows.

"Are you sure it's a human and not a mucosal entity disguised as one?"

"I'm eighty percent sure... He's wearing clothes, there are no obvious wounds on the clothing, and the exposed skin doesn't show signs of mucosal erosion," Jiang Xuezhou paused slightly, her expression subtly shifting, "He ignited a flare."

"What's he trying to do?" Zhao Xiao immediately asked.

Jiang Xuezhou spoke quickly: "He's waving it in his hand, seems like he's trying to attract attention…wait, a corporate transport plane is approaching them! That person is a corporate employee! They are together!"

Zheng Hao's expression sharpened slightly.

He didn't know why the corporate people were interested in that parent body, just like he didn't know why the mutated slime fungus's parent body appeared near the Wandering Swamp.

He only understood one thing.

That was his prey.

He absolutely couldn't let those East Coast thieves cut in!

"Shoot it down!" Zheng Hao decisively ordered.

"Ah..." Jiang Xuezhou was slightly startled, his expression troubled, "But... I'm operating a reconnaissance drone."

"Fly straight at it! Aim for its engine nozzle and crash into it!"

His delicately arched eyebrows twitched slightly, and although Jiang Xuezhou felt a pang of pain for the equipment, he knew this was not the time to be sentimental about gear, so he followed the captain's orders.

Moments later, she took a deep breath, and with slightly parted lips, she continued.

"Target hit... the left engine of the aircraft is on fire, it's making an emergency landing."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the weight that had been hanging in their hearts finally fell.

Zheng Hao continued to give orders.

"Keep tracking the main body's location! Also, mark the crash site and any nearby survivors."

Jiang Xuezhou closed her eyes and nodded in acknowledgment, her knitted brows indicated she was still distressed about the burning funds; thus, she did not speak.

Zheng Hao didn't mind and continued to the pilot.

"Old Song, continue in the current direction, proceed to the location marked on the map and stand by! Xiao Zhao, take your spotter and find a suitable sniping position near the mission coordinates."

"Received!"

Old Song, gripping the steering wheel, nodded, and sitting behind him, Zhao Xiao excitedly responded before eagerly pulling a sniper rifle, about one and a half meters long, from his suitcase and skillfully attaching what might soon be needed accessories.

Zheng Hao then turned to the other team members.

"Pay attention, all units, we are dealing with Corporate Employees, and no courtesy is needed towards those bandits. Check your gear and prepare for a firefight... Group C remain in the vehicle on standby under Old Song's command, groups A and B follow me!"

A uniform response echoed in the vehicle.

"Yes, Captain!"

After glancing over his teammates, Zheng Hao nodded in satisfaction, then opened the vehicle door, and with a wave of his large hand, he commanded.

"Move out!"

At the same time.

The Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft that was spiraling down was in chaos, the shrill alarm bell echoed loudly, and the cabin flickered with the red light of the warning system.

Night Ten, who hadn't fastened his seatbelt, was thrown against the ceiling, fortunately, Wild Wind, quick to react, grabbed him by the collar with the strength of his exoskeleton, forcefully pulling him back and preventing him from getting bruised and battered in the cabin.

After re-securing himself to his seat, a disheveled Night Ten muttered a complaint.

"Damn it! I knew the 'Dog plan' would definitely—woo woo woo!"

Sitting next to him, Wild Wind, with a swift move, covered his mouth.

"Shut up or it'll kill you!"

From the cockpit, the pilot screamed in alarm.

"The left engine is on fire! Damn it, something hit us!"

Old White couldn't help but curse.

"Damn, doesn't your aircraft have a radar?!"

The pilot, drenched in sweat and clutching the steering yoke tightly, tried to maintain balance using the only remaining engine.

"I don't know! The radar was supposedly on, in theory even a sparrow shouldn't escape my sight... Damn, what is happening?!"

Not knowing was still fine.

It gave them a new understanding of the unreliability of Corporate's non-combat personnel.

Seeing the chaotic pilot, Old White gritted his teeth and completely gave up his last bit of hope for him.

Turning to his teammates behind in the cabin, who were all shaken up, he yelled.

"We're under attack from an air defense missile, enemy numbers, and types uncertain! All units check your gear, prepare for a forced landing! Once on the ground, spread out immediately and find cover outside the cabin!"

The sound of creaking metal rubbing sounded much like everyone's gritted teeth, and the war-ready shouts rang through the trembling cabin air.

"Yes!"

Whoever it was.

They would make the scoundrel who launched this unjust attack pay!

Not far away, on the open ground.

Falling Feather, flicking a light stick, dazedly watched the spiraling fall of the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, his joyful smile instantly froze on his face.

The past couple of days had been incredibly tough for him.

Surrounded by barren mountains and wild ridges, dangerous Variants were everywhere, not to mention the clingy little one next to him who wasn't making things any easier.

He had barely closed his eyes for the past two days, only daring to sneak a little sleep when Xiaoyu wasn't paying attention.

He thought he was finally going to return to the shelter to have a big meal and a good sleep.

But why did the aircraft suddenly fall?!

"Damn!"

Angry, he threw the light stick to the ground and cursed, pulling out the 9mm pistol strapped to his waist.

Although he didn't know what happened.

The way that aircraft crashed, it definitely wasn't a normal flight accident; it must have been hit by a missile or something else in the engine.

If it was the Army that shot down that aircraft, he was probably seen by those people as bait for encirclement.

The most urgent task now was to move away from the area before those "big noses" completed their encirclement.

"Xiaoyu, we need to go!"

Being dragged by the arm, Xiaoyu tilted his head in confusion, not knowing what had happened, but mimicked Falling Feather and shouted in acknowledgment.

"Damn!"

Chapter 475: A Misfire

Although in various ways it was unreliable, when their lives were at stake, the pilot named Sun Ze still displayed exceptional flying skills. He managed to control the fall with the only remaining engine—

Even though it was just barely under control.

"We're fifty meters from the ground! Brace for a hard landing—"

Sun Ze shouted loudly, but before he could finish, a huge "Duang" sound came from below everyone's feet.

The instant overload of acceleration almost turned everyone's face pale and nearly made them faint.

The safety belts, almost embedded into the exoskeleton, were so tight that they made Night Ten roll his eyes, nearly losing his breath.

At the same time, a muffled impact spread through the wilderness as the "Tiger Whale" transport plane stirred up clouds of dust upon the flat ground.

"Cough, cough..."

Sitting in the pilot's seat, Sun Ze coughed violently, shaking his dizzy head. He pulled down the emergency handle that hung above him as he gradually came to his senses.

The tailgate of the transport plane slowly fell, and he too slowly regained consciousness.

"...Incredible... I actually managed to land it."

Sun Ze muttered to himself, looking outside then at his own hands, the confusion on his face gradually replaced by the joy of having survived.

He struggled to reach out, pushing the unconscious co-pilot beside him, calling out excitedly.

"Hey, buddy, are you okay? Wake up! We made it!!"

The person didn't respond, but there was still a heartbeat and breathing; probably just hadn't snapped out of the impact shock yet.

After unfastening his seatbelt and standing up, Old White took a rifle off his power armor, loaded it, and said to Sun Ze sitting in the pilot's seat.

"You might not want to celebrate just yet; we have just made an emergency landing, not safely returned... This place is the Wasteland."

Looking at the unfamiliar wilderness outside the cabin, Sun Ze, finally aware of the severity of the situation, swallowed nervously and slowly nodded.

"Understood..."

Old White continued to ask.

"How long to fix it?"

Quickly bowing his head towards the touchscreen in front of the rudder, Sun Ze got serious and started tapping sharply on the screen.

"I don't know, I need to check the damage first... The auxiliary pilot AI reported foreign objects in the engine, melting the plasma jet nozzles- it might have been an unlucky bird."

"No chance... it couldn't be a bird," the co-pilot who was gradually waking from his stupor coughed and weakly said, "I remember the radar handbook said, within 50 meters it could even capture a bullet..."

Sun Ze asked in a hurry.

"Did you bring the handbook?"

"That thing..."

The co-pilot gasped for two seconds, finally managing to squeeze out the next sentence.

"... I think there should be one in the toolbox."

"... You guys fix it first."

Looking at the two still searching for the handbook, Old White turned away with a full head of annoyance, deciding it was better not to waste words with them for the time being.

He worried his blood pressure wouldn't hold up.

Although not of the Perception variant, he always had a bad feeling.

The Army's radar technology was passable, but their anti-radar technology was not so clever, no better than corporate air defense technology.

If the "missile" evaded corporation radar, it likely used some coating that absorbed electromagnetic waves.

He suddenly thought of the anti-radar coating on the Soaring Clouds fighter.

If he remembered correctly, that came from Shelter 101.

The director of Shelter 101 had been one of the three founders of the Academy; reasonably suspecting, the Academy should also have similar or even more advanced technology.

Although he didn't understand why the Academy would launch a sudden attack, this was the Wasteland.

Things that happen here don't always need a reason.

At the same time the plane landed.

The Burning Corps players had already moved through the open tailgate, swiftly making their way outside the cabin, dispersing in groups of four, professionally finding cover to prepare for defense.

Striding out from the cabin, Old White calmly gave an order.

"Wild Wind, deploy the fixed-wing drone to search the surrounding five-kilometer area. Night Ten, find a high point nearby to set up your gun. Quit Smoking, take your squad northeast to search for our pilots; report any suspicious targets immediately, free fire allowed. All other squads disperse and defend; we need to hold this place until the plane is fixed!"

The communication channel echoed with uniform responses.

"Roger that!"

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Looking at the drone surveillance footage projected on his Tactical Goggles, Zheng Hao's face showed a hint of surprise.

He had thought that falling from an altitude of five to six hundred meters would have left the plane's occupants dead or incapacitated. Yet, they immediately went into combat mode upon landing, without even a moment's hesitation.

"They're a bit different from the rumors..." The voice of the vice-captain, Song Changfeng, came through the communication channel, "Looks like not everyone from the East Coast is useless."

"That's for sure."

While slightly wary in his heart, Zheng Hao didn't show it and continued to give orders in a lowered voice.

"Attention all, the enemy has dispersed to defend. We've identified nineteen sets of exoskeletons and one set of power armor... Models are outdated from the United Human, OD-10 'Dragon Cavalry', Type 5 'Light Cavalry', Type 6 'Heavy Cavalry'. Switch to armor-piercing ammunition."

He then looked toward a young man with an expressionless face next to him.

"Xuan Feng, you take Group B to the map marker to intercept 'the target'."

"Yes."

The man nodded silently and dispassionately, and a party of six split from the group, rapidly moving toward the wetlands in the southeast.

Zheng Hao turned his gaze toward the southern sky, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Drones..."

A fixed-wing drone circled overhead.

It looked simple, but he didn't underestimate the opponent because of that.

"Xiao Jiang, can you shoot it down?"

A dissatisfied response came through the communication channel.

"Captain... I must remind you, we've only got 'two' left."

"Drop the 'beehive' at the crash site."

The communication channel fell briefly silent.

"Are you sure? We actually don't need to engage them in a firefight, as long as we intercept—"

"Confirmed."

Hearing the captain's decisive answer, Jiang Xuezhou stopped talking and took a deep breath before saying,

"Received."

Miles away, the cover on the top of the crawler opened, and with a plume of smoke, a cylindrical object one meter in diameter was launched into the sky. After igniting, it raced toward the direction of the crash site.

This conspicuous scene was immediately spotted by the fixed-wing drones circling above.

With his eyes closed, Wild Wind slightly raised his head, his expression serious as he said,

"Enemy ground vehicle spotted... They've fired a missile at us! Model... I've never seen it in the game."

"Damn it!"

Old White's face slightly changed as he couldn't help but curse.

Since it was a rescue mission, only infantry weapons were placed in the transport plane.

Without the luxury of hesitation, Old White immediately rushed to the side of the transport plane, grabbed the two pilots who were repairing the device, and pulled them away from the plane.

Sun Ze, who was flipping through a manual, asked in panic,

"What are you doing?"

"Missile!"

"Missile?!" Sun Ze froze, and instinctively said, "But the radar—"

He started to say the radar had no response, but before he could finish speaking, the silvery white missile had already appeared above everyone.

To everyone's surprise, it did not charge straight at the plane, nor did it explode. Instead, it opened its arc-shaped shell.

Dozens of palm-sized drones flew out of the missile, like a killing swarm of bees, rushing at the people surrounding the transport plane.

Old White's pupils slightly contracted.

Almost reflexively, he took an EMP grenade from the armor's shell, which he had obtained from the Manager. He set the delay fuse to 3 seconds and then threw the grenade into the sky with the force of a baseball pitch.

He wasn't sure if it would work.

But this was the only way right now!

The hundred meters closed in a flash.

Almost at the moment of colliding with the drone swarm, a piercing buzzing noise crept into the communication channel.

The pulse current stimulated by nuclear energy instantly paralyzed the miniature electronic components inside those dozens of micro drones.

The drones, which had no time to disperse, fell to the ground like flies hitting an electric fly swatter, along with the plummeting beehive, dropping to the ground as if dumplings were being thrown down.

Miles away, seated on the crawler, Jiang Xuezhou felt a slight sting in his forehead, his brow furling involuntarily.

"Swarm destroyed... The enemy used EMP weapons," came the voice over the communication channel in disbelief.

"EMP?!"

Jiang Xuezhou took a light breath and nodded seriously,

"Yes... and it's some kind of miniaturized EMP device, extremely powerful at close range. Do not underestimate the strength of our adversaries!"

The method to resist EMP is simple: almost anything that can block electromagnetic waves can also block an electromagnetic pulse, theoretically a "Faraday cage" over the devices would suffice, without the need for any particularly sophisticated technology.

However, a "swarm" requires the beehive to coordinate and direct, so it's not possible to simply and crudely block out all external signals.

The Academy's technicians dealt with this by adding a small buffer component to the communication module, sufficient to withstand ordinary EMP weapons.

But the buffering components of fifty drones were all breached at the same time!

This clearly wasn't a conventional EMP weapon stimulated by chemical energy!

As everyone knows, the difficulty of miniaturizing EMP weapons is by no means less than the difficulty of miniaturizing nuclear weapons, especially maintaining output power while miniaturizing is even more challenging!

An EMP weapon capable of paralyzing an entire "swarm" of drones likely suggests a foe whose strength might exceed their expectations...

Zheng Hao's eyes were filled with caution, and his gaze grew more wary.

At the same time, around the transport plane, watching the smoking drones fall at his feet, Killer Dagger clicked his tongue.

"What the heck is this?"

The players on the ground were just outside the coverage area of the EMP grenade. Although the communication system experienced a brief fault, it had not been significantly affected, and their equipment functions were all normal.

"Almost certainly Y-2 'Butterfly Knife' type close-range drones..." Someone with a bad name must have been a dog, muttered softly, "Damn... could it be the Academy?"

"The Academy?!" Kidney Fighter exclaimed in surprise, "Damn, what have we done to offend them?"

"This here is Wasteland, you think this is the Real World," Killer Dagger rolled his eyes and retorted, "All that nonsense isn't needed, just blast these old codgers' Gold Coins and call it a day!"

Even in the Real World, this kind of "unauthorized" military action would not get any official recognition, and if someone died, it would probably be deemed an accident during training.

Wasteland is even less regulated.

In this desolate, ownerless Land Without a Master, anything can happen.

But then again, having an entire drone squad wiped out by an EMP grenade, if these people are really from the Academy, they don't seem so tough...

Unlike the feelings of the few squad members, Old White had no sense of relief at all.

Especially after he heard that exclamation from Sun Ze.

"The Swarm... it's actually the Swarm!"

"The Swarm?" Old White asked, furrowing his brow.

Sun Ze swallowed and explained with a trembling voice,

"An Academy weapon, rumored to leave no survivors within a five hundred-meter radius, it's mainly used to clear Variants..."

Old White's face darkened slightly.

Regardless of the reasons, since the other side had made a lethal move...

There was no need for them to be polite either.

Over the communication channel, Wild Wind's voice came through,

"A squad is approaching us, less than eight hundred meters away."

Old White tapped his forefinger on his helmet and ordered calmly,

"Teams three and four, defend in place. Teams one and two, follow me to counterattack! All units, pay attention, safety off, free fire! I repeat, free fire!"

Almost at the very moment Old White's words fell, Quit Smoking, who had led team five deep into a reed swamp, had already engaged the enemy unit in combat.

The flames at the muzzle flickered across the marsh, and tracers hissed wildly through reeds taller than a man.

The Burning Corps, like the Storm Corps, adopted the triad system: a ten-person squad similar to an infantry platoon in the Real World, consisting of a squad leader and three tactical teams.

The advantage was clear division of labor, effectively reducing casualties, and also conveniently mentoring rookies. It worked well for both large-scale operations and small-scale military actions.

However, the downside of this tactic was not non-existent, such as the feeling of being short-handed in terms of firepower when the equipment gap was not significant.

Faced with the crossfire from six people, Group Five momentarily found themselves at a disadvantage.

Their helmets pressed tightly into the mud of the shallow bank, Quit Smoking spat out a grasshopper that had made its way into his mouth and rolled to the side to change his magazine.

Just as he was about to lift his muzzle to return fire, a burst of bullets, as though they had eyes, whizzed past and buried themselves into the mud in front of him, forcing him to shrink back.

Mud splattered into his collar, and Quit Smoking cursed as he opened his mic.

"Group Five engaging the enemy! They must be after our pilot! Damn it... These guys are like they've got some kind of cheat activated!"

Gunfire was also heard at the other end of the communications channel.

Clearly, Old White was involved in a firefight as well.

"That's normal, they have drones too; it makes no sense not to use them... Do you see Falling Feather?"

"Not yet—wait!" Quit Smoking's eyes suddenly lit up as he saw a bright spot appear on the VM map. "I see him—"

Just as he was about to say that Falling Feather had come within communication range, there was a loud noise at the back of his head, and his vision went dark as his entire face buried into the mud.

"Shit! Sniper!"

Without time to hesitate, Item Carrier pulled out a smoke grenade and threw it into the reeds to his left, taking over command in an outraged voice.

"Boss!"

"Quit smoking is down again!"

At the same moment, on the eastern slope of the reed marsh.

The young man with the sniper rifle skillfully operated the bolt, a corner of his mouth holding a foxtail grass, lifted in smug satisfaction.

"One."

A smoke grenade?

With thermal interference, too?

Interesting...

As the spent case ejected from the chamber, Zhao Xiao continued to aim at the person who had thrown the smoke grenade.

However, just as he was about to pull the trigger, a premonition of death suddenly crept over his head.

Almost instinctively, he rolled to the side, and at nearly the same moment, a hail of bullets shattered the piece of slate where he had been lying.

The cut-off grass root went down his throat as Zhao Xiao quickly abandoned the sniper rifle and drew his submachine gun, firing blindly behind him without looking.

The rock in front of him exploded into a cloud of dust and debris. Although it missed him, Night Ten inwardly marveled.

"Damn... Is this guy a Perception type, too?"

Maybe not high purity, but the level should be substantial!

Concealed behind a half-man-height rock, Zhao Xiao glanced at the sniper rifle he had left not far away and muttered a curse before shouting outside the rock.

"How did you find me?"

Night Ten laughed.

"Are you kidding? This is the only high point around here."

"..."

Zhao Xiao's expression stiffened.

It seemed to make sense...

A standoff ensued.

With less than ten meters' distance, each taking cover behind a rock, neither could do much to the other—at least for now.

Not wanting to drag on, Zhao Xiao gritted his teeth, put his submachine gun aside on the cover, and pushed it out with the tip of his shoe while drawing his dagger. He tauntingly tapped the rock twice.

"Hand-to-hand combat! Dare you?"

He was a professionally trained combatant.

As long as the other party dared to engage him in close quarters, he would not lose!

"Dare? Why wouldn't I?"

Seeing the adversary put down his gun, Night Ten immediately felt amused and without a second thought, pulled out a grenade, tossing it to the left side of the rock.

"F*ck you!"

Zhao Xiao, seeing this, suddenly changed color and, cursing, dove to the other side of the cover.

The explosion roared almost the instant he went prone, and the blast wave and shrapnel made him let out a muffled grunt.

Enduring the pain and attempting to get up, the cold barrel of a gun was already pressed against the back of his head.

"I'd advise you not to move."

Hearing the voice above him, Zhao Xiao's face turned pale with clenched teeth, unable to speak.

Just as Night Ten was about to mock him, the sense of danger surged in his heart along with a simultaneous scarlet killing intent.

He swiftly stepped back to create distance.

At almost the same moment, the whizzing sound nearly grazed his exoskeleton breastplate, leaving crossed streaks in the air.

One thought crossed Night Ten's mind.

That was quick!

A figure slowly walked up from the bottom of the hillside.

The man's deadpan face was stiff as if he were a machine.

He had no guns in his hands; instead, two short knives folded inward, merging with his arms—resembling the forelegs of a praying mantis.

Night Ten's pupils contracted slightly.

Well, this was interesting.

What kind of cyberpunk styling was this?

Upon seeing the man, Zhao Xiao's expression brightened with surprise.

"Xuan Feng?!"

The man replied with an unfluctuating voice.

"Leave this to me."

Zhao Xiao was just about to say "okay" excitedly when he saw a hand grenade being thrown over.

Again?!

Zhao Xiao's face instantly changed, and as he was about to dodge, a massive force had already struck his chest.

Grunting from nearly losing his breath, when he came back to his senses, he was already face down in the mud at the bottom of the hillside.

After spitting out a mouthful of mud, Zhao Xiao couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"Damn it, can't this be a little gentler?"

After kicking his comrade down the slope, the man called Xuan Feng turned his head to look at the hostile target who had now put more than ten meters between them.

His primary targets were the Variants or Mutants occupying the relics, and written within the bottom layer logic of his AI core was the line of code, "Do not kill unless absolutely necessary."

But now, it was clearly an "absolutely necessary" situation.

Any organic threats to the "Beacon" squad had to be eliminated by all means necessary, even if it meant using the dismemberment tools that were normally reserved for battling large Variants.

Slapping off the metal fragments stuck to his synthetic skin, Xuan Feng didn't speak and casually walked toward the person.

Watching the approaching monster, Night Ten felt cold sweat slide down his forehead, and he aimed his LD-50 at its head.

"What the hell are you?"

It can't be killed with a grenade!

Is this some kind of Terminator?!

"It's none of your concern."

The man unfolded his Mantis Knife and bent his legs slightly, like a mantis ready to pounce, poised to kill his prey in one strike.

This also made Night Ten's heart leap to his throat in an instant.

He could anticipate the threat of death...

But that did not mean he could evade it.

Just at this critical moment, a dozen crimson tentacles shot out from the reed marsh at the bottom of the hillside, wrapping around Xuan Feng like chains and quickly immobilizing all his joints.

With his motor functions restricted, a rare trace of confusion appeared in Xuan Feng's eyes, as if he had never encountered such a situation.

He tried to move, but could not budge an inch.

The Spring Knife snapped shut like scissors, yet it was just short of reaching the joint, far beyond the blade's reach.

The tentacles that bound him seemed all too familiar with the human body's structure.

Xuan Feng bowed his head in thought.

"Hmm... this is troublesome."

By a strange coincidence, Xiaoyu crouching in the reed marsh was just as perplexed as he was at the moment.

"Yi wu???"

The person it had bitten felt like a cold, hard stone; not a single cell could be penetrated through its eyes, ears, mouth, or nose.

Not a neuron could be found that would allow for invasion.

This guy...

Why can't it be eaten?

"What the hell... what's that thing?!"

Seeing the sudden burst of crimson tentacles from the reed marsh, Zhao Xiao's face was instantly marked with panic, and he instinctively scrambled back to increase the distance.

Xuan Feng was already the highest-equipped bionic person in their squad, specifically used to handle high-threat targets that were difficult to deal with using conventional weapons, such as the Claw of Death, Mutated Leeches, and Mutants.

It was no exaggeration to say that its solo combat capability was the ceiling of their squad's strength, not even the captain could match him!

But now—

It was so controlled that it couldn't move at all.

Clenching his teeth, Zhao Xiao mustered his courage, pulled out the pistol from his tactical vest, and was about to aim at the tentacles wrapped around Xuan Feng.

This was the last gun on him.

However, just then, the cold muzzle of a gun was once again pressed against the back of his head. At the same time, a sharp command came.

"Drop your weapons! Hands on your head and lie flat!"

Hearing the voice, Zhao Xiao's expression stiffened for a moment.

The tentacles had startled him earlier, and for a moment, he had not noticed any movement behind him.

Seeing no movement from him, Falling Feather kicked him in the back.

"For the last time, drop your weapons right now!"

"Don't, don't shoot!"

He hadn't expected to be captured twice in one day.

Zhao Xiao threw away the pistol with a wry smile, clasped his hands over his head, and slowly began to kneel.

However, just as he was about to lie down, his eyes locked onto that splash of black muck, and his expression instantly froze.

"Uh, can I… change my position?"

He said in a low, embarrassed voice, trying to ask for permission, but the person behind him couldn't be bothered to waste words and directly kicked him in the buttocks.

Looking at the guy with his head buried in the mud, Falling Feather rolled his eyes.

"If I say lie down, you lie down, what's all this nonsense for?"

Falling Feather pressed on the VM, selected the blinking communication window, cleared his throat, and spoke.

"This is Falling Feather, I have successfully regrouped with my pickup... How are things on your end?"

The sound of gunshots from the other end of the communication channel had diminished.

It seemed like the end was near.

"We're about to wrap things up here too... the guys who attacked us have suffered heavy casualties and are retreating. Can you make it back on your own? Or should I send a few more to meet you?"

Falling Feather glanced back at the slope.

Night Ten was trying to shut down the bionic person controlled by Xiaoyu, but without much success, the three of them were at a stalemate.

With a subtly changed expression, Falling Feather continued.

"Um, we have a slight situation here... if it's convenient for you, still send a few people over."

Old White's response was crisp and without hesitation.

"Received."

Chapter 476: Only the Acknowledged Are Captives

Technology and combat power are two different dimensions.

While leading Group A towards the crash site, Zheng Hao quickly made contact with a group of corporate soldiers and immediately engaged in fierce gunfire with them.

In that moment, Zheng Hao felt a significant strain.

These people were strong!

And visibly so!

Group B's smooth progress led him to a misjudgment, even an inappropriate one—they could rely on their equipment advantage to easily eliminate these people, and then surreptitiously intercept the abnormal "mother."

However, Group B's advantage was due to having the numerical upper hand, with six versus three and a sniper supporting from outside the battlefield.

The situation on his side was completely different.

The opposing soldiers spread out in groups of three, sustaining their defensive line with alternating firepower, and soon he discovered a squad flanking him.

These people's tactical application was almost fluidly perfect, without any pause or hesitation.

Their coordination was chilling!

The balanced battle quickly deteriorated with the death of a team member, and gunfire from all directions made him feel like he was not fighting against a ten-person group of scattered mercenaries, but a well-trained army.

These people were definitely not corporate employees!

They seemed more like professional soldiers!

Just as his side was professional in exploring relics, they were professional in warfare!

"Captain! Their firepower is too fierce, we can't hold on much longer—"

A team member, shot in the leg, shouted in alarm and sprayed bullets towards a distant dirt mound, trying to suppress the advancing soldiers.

However, his gunfire didn't last even three seconds before an RPG-launched HE grenade, trailing a thin tail flame, smashed into the dirt mound in front of him.

The explosion's blast wave and shrapnel simultaneously hit his chest, hurling him from behind the mound like a rag doll, unconscious on the ground.

"Liang Ping! Damn!"

Watching another teammate fall, Zheng Hao's eyes reddened instantly; he pounded his fist into the ground, helpless.

The voice of Group B's vice leader came over the communication channel.

"Captain, the 'mother' has mutated! It's sprouted more than a dozen tentacles and entwined the leader! Zhao Xiao is also under their control... we need backup!"

Seven against three, and having already taken down one, they were still getting counter-killed!

Even though he still had Group C standing by in the track vehicle, he knew that even deploying the last reserve would be futile.

Perhaps after seeing that the initial strike of the "swarm" failed, he should have decisively ordered a retreat...

These people were clearly too much for them!

Zheng Hao clenched his teeth and finally squeezed out the words through gritted teeth.

"Retreat!"

...

After incurring a casualty of four personnel, the academy team attacking the crash site seemed to finally realize they had kicked an iron plate.

"They've retreated."

Wild Wind's voice came over the communication channel.

Watching the enemy's movements with a drone's eye view from above, Killer Dagger, leaning against cover, looked towards Old White, eager to go on.

"Boss, should we chase them?"

He wanted to chase after them.

These guys were weaker than he expected; it was a pity not to obliterate their gold coins.

Old White thought for a moment.

"No need,—mission priority."

The enemy vehicle was just five kilometers away.

According to Wild Wind's assessment, it looked neither like a tank nor like a rocket vehicle, but more like a large SUV capable of navigating swamp terrain.

The identity of these people as academy members was clear.

And from their equipment, it didn't seem intended for combat against people, but rather, for equipment against Varients, so it could be inferred that this squad was likely a "scientific expedition."

Eliminating these people wouldn't be difficult, but they were too close to the Wandering Swamp, and it might not be wise to provoke them too much.

Teaching them a lesson was enough.

As the army leader, he had more to consider.

Right now, the Manager's task was crucial, and they needed to avoid unnecessary complications as much as possible.

Old White raised his chin and pointed toward two people lying on the ground, barely alive.

"We have prisoners here, wrap them up... Oh, and you, log off and report the situation here to the Manager."

Killer Dagger reluctantly lowered his gun and turned on the safety.

"Alright then."

The battle shifted into the stage of clearing up the battlefield.

Of the four academy personnel left behind, only two died; one was a bionic person, the other a cyborg, whose parts could be salvaged.

The guy hit by the RPG incredibly survived, though he passed out—other players were astounded.

Also, a female prospector was shot in the abdomen and right leg, essentially losing the ability to move.

Inside the "Tiger Whale" transport plane there was a medical kit produced by Kang Mao Group from Ideal City, including hemostatic spray, bandages that accelerated wound healing, and oral reagent that boosted blood production.

Old White got a few medical packs from Sun Ze, distributed a few to his teammates, then walked over to the female prospector leaning against a crooked tree.

Seeing the man approaching, Chen Yutong's already weak breathing quickened, her eyes shrunk in fear, but soon sharp pain from her injuries made her inhale sharply.

Watching the burly man before her, she said tremblingly.

"What... do you want to do..."

Almost everyone on the planet—even those not human—viewed them as "hot commodities." Even if their knowledge wasn't of interest, their bionic and cyborg parts could fetch a good price.

She had heard about the dire fate of researchers who fell into other forces' hands; she just never thought she would find herself in such a situation one day.

What would happen next, she dared not even think about…

However, the man in front of her didn't seem to want to harm her.

"Let me dress your wound, or you can do it yourself."

"Dress the wound?" Chen Yutong looked at him warily, her face clearly showing distrust, "Why… why would you save me?"

Old White replied casually.

"No reason, our army doesn't kill prisoners."

Except for the Mutants who cooked people in oil and the Looters.

Blame this game for being too realistic; sometimes he too couldn't help but lose control.

However, ever since the mine in Qingstone County had opened, aside from still showing no mercy towards Mutants, they had significantly reduced the executions of Looters.

Leaders who refused to surrender would be hanged for public display, while minor followers were usually sentenced to hundreds of years of labor based on the victims' accusations.

As for the reactive substances and nutrient paste industries, they predominantly switched to using mucosal entities, though the conversion rate was low, they were plentiful and cheap.

Chen Yutong stared blankly at the man in power armor.

Since when did corporations adopt such traditions?

Seeing that she still had the strength to talk, Old White tossed a medical kit beside her.

"Since you can still move, I won't help you."

With the power armor, it was difficult for him to control his strength.

After glancing at the medical kit, Chen Yutong hesitated for a while but ultimately reached out and quietly said thank you as she lowered her head.

Old White didn't mind and went over to check on another prisoner before heading straight to the outside of the temporary camp.

The squad members who had gone to support team five had already returned.

Along with a pilot and "his SSSR-class battle pet," they also brought back a sniper covered in mud and a bionic person tied up like a rice dumpling.

"These guys… definitely from the Academy," Sun Ze observed the expressionless bionic person and murmured quietly in surprise.

Hearing this, Old White curiously looked at the pilot and asked,

"How do you figure that?"

Sun Ze smiled and said,

"It's too easy, Kang Mao Group's bionic people are far more advanced than theirs."

Old White was taken aback.

He had never seen corporate bionic people express emotions on the battlefield; this was their first direct confrontation with such technology.

More advanced than the Academy's…

Is that really the case?

Laying there expressionlessly, Xuan Feng didn't care much about such irrelevant mockery.

However, Zhao Xiao standing nearby became rather agitated. Upon hearing someone mock the Academy's technology, especially by comparing it to corporate technology, he jumped up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on.

Spitting out the mud in his mouth, he glared at the arrogant man and said,

"Nonsense! How is your technology more advanced than ours!"

"What else then?" Sun Ze looked at him and couldn't hold back a laugh, continuing mockingly, "You can't even create a simulation of emotions and facial expression plugins, and you talk about being advanced?"

"Keep talking nonsense! Who said we can't create them? The AI core technology was stolen from us by you!" Zhao Xiao argued out loud, his face turning red, "We just don't waste our time on such meaningless things."

What's the use of giving robots so many fancy expressions!

Aren't bionic people just fine if they can work?!

Sun Ze just riffed in his ears, dismissively saying,

"Stolen, sure… that's ancient history. Even Endpoint Cloud has been updated numerous times, and you're still stuck in the past. By the way, speaking of which, that AI core technology is originally United Human's technology, just temporarily held by you. How does it become yours?"

A century and a half ago, although rarely mentioned, was not a secret in Ideal City and one could even access the unsealed action records on Endpoint Cloud with some effort.

However, despite occasional curiosity, he had no interest in delving into that past.

The research facilities on the East Coast were originally funded by the Production Department – water, electricity, food, research materials, and consumer goods all came from them. Their ancestors merely took what belonged to them.

In the bigger picture, the bankruptcy of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee wasn't the fault of any one individual.

It merely ran its full natural course like a large tree.

He felt that even without the people of Weilante and the long winters, other issues would have driven those who were never truly aligned apart anyway.

Perhaps one day, Ideal City, too, might disappear into the annals of history, just like once-flourishing United Human.

But honestly, he really didn't care.

Even the sun isn't eternal, how can mortals claim forever?

He didn't want to stretch his neck too far forward, nor did he want to be someone constantly looking back; the path beneath his feet right now was just fine.

When he returned to Ideal City, he could boast on Endpoint Cloud—oh no, share his new life.

This mission, not only had he flown on the same plane as the legendary Burning Corps, but he had also crashed down from the sky with them.

Isn't this way cooler than scoring 2000 points in "The Great Escape"?

However, the attitude of this prisoner still irked him, so he turned to Old White, who was standing on the side enjoying the show.

"Can I kick him a couple of times?"

Since it wasn't a prisoner he had captured himself, he asked out of politeness.

Old White shrugged and grinned, saying,

"We can't mistreat prisoners, but I'm willing to let him go temporarily so you can have a fair fight."

Sun Ze shrank his neck.

"Then never mind."

Zhao Xiao, on the other hand, was eager to try but was unexpectedly let down when his opponent chickened out, clicking his tongue in disappointment.

However, unintentionally or not, this disdainful smack was heard by Sun Ze, and the verbal sparring resumed.

But clearly,

In the arts of verbal battles and sarcasm, the corporate employees who regularly surfed the Endpoint Cloud seemed more experienced.

It was entirely one-sided with Zhao Xiao turning red in the face.

"Anyway, this plane looks beyond repair," the players nearby, engrossed in the excitement, began to discuss with great interest.

Corner Old Six: "I think corporations are a bit more advanced! Those bionic people don't understand art films, and they still shop and pay."

"That's not necessarily true, I think that Mantis Knife is more awesome, nearly got me…" Night Ten spoke in a casual tone about the terrifying event, craning his neck and looking around, suddenly realizing someone was missing, "I was just about to ask, where's Quit Smoking?"

Corner Old Six: "Ah, that guy disappeared again, did you just notice? Wait, why did I say 'again'?"

"Gone?" Night Ten was stunned, as he hadn't really been paying attention, then he quickly asked, "What about Props brother?"

Corner Old Six sheepishly smiled: "That guy got shot in the legs twice, just now in the reeds, he asked me to 'finish' him off... and made me promise not to tell everyone."

Night Ten couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn! What a waste."

Corner Old Six smiled timidly and said, "Well, he belonged to the Intelligence System, so it's common for them to be physically weak, try to understand."

Lost Rookie: "Hahahaha!"

Wild Wind: "..."

Chen Yutong anxiously watched these people.

Seeing those two sets of salvaged exoskeletons, she guessed that they might have lost people, but she couldn't understand why they could still laugh.

What made her even more nervous was Zhao Xiao.

This guy and that corporate employee were getting into a nasty argument, and she was genuinely worried about what these people might do to them.

The only thing that surprised her was what that man in the power armor had said earlier.

"Are they not part of the corporation?"

Chen Yutong pondered in her heart.

Regardless, it seemed their mission had failed anyway, so debating this now seemed somewhat meaningless…

In a nearby corner, Falling Feather comfortingly patted Xiaoyu's head.

"Don't be down... that thing isn't organic, it's normal that you can't eat it, and you managed to control it, which was a big help to me. Also, don't just put anything you find into your mouth, what if you upset your stomach!"

The brothers from the Burning Corps had switched to using ropes to bind that metal clump, so it no longer needed to use its tentacles to keep things tied.

Xiaoyu's face still held a dejected expression as he muttered under his breath.

"Ehm..."

It still couldn't understand.

Why that thing was inedible.

At that moment, Killer Dagger, who had just logged off to report on the mission's progress, walked over to the crowd.

"New mission!"

Old White immediately looked towards him and asked,

"What did the Manager say?"

Killer Dagger reluctantly said,

"The Manager said... let us stand by near the crash site."

Old White frowned.

"We probably can't afford to delay here too long... did you tell him about the firefight with the Academy's exploration team?"

"I did, and he even praised us for doing a good job in the mission notification…" Killer Dagger sheepishly smiled and continued, "Anyway, he's busy negotiating with the corporation, trying to convince them to send another plane... but the corporation was quite shocked, they didn't expect to lose a plane."

That's well done.

Old White stared at him, whispered doubtfully.

"Ah, that... it's not a problem, right?"

"As long as the pilot is okay, the Manager said everything is fine," Killer Dagger glanced at the employee who was still arguing with a captive, "The corporation's stance is that if the plane can't be fixed, it's fine to blow it up, but the pilot must be alive; otherwise, they won't take risks for us again... That's the bottom line."

The players around were all astonished.

After a long pause, Night Ten scratched his head unwillingly glancing at the transport plane and its co-pilot scratching his head while reading the manual.

He finally couldn't help but comment.

"Damn... chucking it just because of a busted engine."

That's such a bloody waste!

...

On the edge of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

A man in luxurious clothing stood on a dune, followed by a column of brightly dressed dismounted cavalry.

His name was Blair Golden Lizard, a prince of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

Watching the approaching tracked vehicle, he smiled pleasantly and stretched his arms wide from afar.

"Welcome! Friends from afar! On behalf of the Royal Family of the Golden Lizard Kingdom, I welcome your arrival!"

Compared to the sharp-edged tracked vehicle in the distance, Blair and the hundred or so cavalry behind him seemed mismatched, but under the backdrop of the Wasteland, it was perfectly harmonious.

The vehicle stopped on the dune.

Li Ke, who got off the vehicle, walked up to the noble-looking man, smiled faintly, and extended his right hand, choosing a handshake over a hug.

"B-level researcher Li Ke, I represent the Academy's External Affairs Department's Special Plan Group and extend our greetings to you."

Blair didn't mind that the B-level researcher hadn't hugged him; instead, he was pleasantly surprised by the visitor's level of importance.

Typically, A and B-level researchers seldom left the Academy, let alone left the Wandering Swamp. Welcoming a visit from a B-level researcher was a rare event twice in the history of the Golden Lizard Dynasty.

"We have prepared a palace for your stay... please follow me," suddenly, his gaze landed on the tracked vehicle as if remembering something, he quickly smiled apologetically, "Of course, you are fine staying in the vehicle... We will lead the way ahead."

Li Ke nodded with a smile.

"I would be honored to follow your lead."

In recent years, the Academy hadn't remained unchanged, at least in terms of adapting to local customs, they had "sacrificed" a lot.

A long time ago, they suffered losses due to their rigidity and underestimation of politics, which led to their property being seized by two traitors.

Led by Doctor Conclusion, the Academy hidden in the Wandering Swamp underwent a series of painful reforms while emphasizing academic pursuit, they strengthened cooperation with the external world, establishing the External Affairs Department and Internal Affairs Department parallel to the Investigation Department and Research Department.

According to Doctor Conclusion's guiding philosophy, over the last 150 years, they used some "simple technologies" to attract a group of weaker Survivor Settlements, and established a "Science Committee" centered around the Academy on the Wandering Swamp.

Under the committee's framework, they were able to recruit new members into the Academy from those allied Survivor Settlements, sharing limited technology in exchange for the vassals' primary and secondary outputs while utilizing the settlements' dependence on the Academy to protect its flanks.

Golden Lizard Kingdom was one of the Academy's protective moats and was one of the largest achievements of the External Affairs Department since its establishment.

The food it produced not only supplied the Academy but also the other "Technology Alliances" in the Wandering swamp.

The war in Sunset Province had severely affected the production of food. Last month, even a nuclear bomb had been detonated, causing panic within the Science Committee.

Many feared that storms sweeping over the desert would sprinkle radioactive dust onto the fields of Oasis No.8.

Although such concerns seemed somewhat funny in the wasteland, as who didn't have a bit of dust on them these days, to soothe the anxious children, the Chief Technical Officer of the Academy, having heard the report from the Science Committee, still performed some necessary work and handed over the task of mediating the war to the External Affairs Department.

Honestly, Li Ke thought it was difficult.

Given the company's current "beat the Army's head" situation, even his bionic assistant thought that the probability of a full-scale war erupting was close to sixty percent.

By next spring, it was likely that a tidal wave of clone troops would storm into Sunset Province carrying the Army's strategic nuclear reserves.

Yet even so, he felt that if he did nothing, the little heritage that his ancestors left in Sunset Province might not last a few more years.

A good choice was to persuade the corporate to quit while ahead.

However, according to Yukar the pilot, it wasn't that the Army was being beaten down by the corporate; instead, it was the Waste Land Wanderers who had ganged up and battered the Army until they were black and blue.

This was completely unexpected.

Even if the Army's deployment in Sunset Province was weak, it still dominated to the west of the Central Continent.

Those guys were constantly battling with what they referred to as Barbarians, Mutants, and Variants. How could they not defeat a bunch of Waste Land Wanderers?

He suspected for a moment that Yukar was lying.

But he couldn't figure out any motive for Yukar to lie, so he decided to first go to the vassal country to understand the actual situation before making the next move.

If it was really as Yukar said, that it was the "Alliance" leading this war, and the corporate was merely inciting it from behind...

Convincing a regional survivor force to quit while ahead would obviously be much easier than persuading their long-time nemesis to ceasefire.

Li Ke returned to his vehicle and gestured for the driver to follow the cavalry forward.

But at that moment...

He suddenly received a call from the External Affairs Department.

"Failed?!"

Jumping up from his seat, Li Ke's face was filled with surprise.

Impossible.

The "Beacon" team in the Investigation Department's containment plan group was somewhat famous, and those people were experts in exploring relics.

How could they fail to handle even a half-dead Eater and its vindictive mother entity.

Realizing that the situation might be more complicated than he imagined, Li Ke slightly furrowed his brows and continued to inquire urgently.

"What exactly happened?"

The other end of the communication channel continued.

"According to the captain of the Beacon team, they encountered the corporate's transport plane... A group came down from it and hijacked the mother entity. Furthermore, various signs indicate that the mother entity is related to the corporate; it not only did not attack the corporate's employees but also helped the corporate's employees capture one of our bionic agents."

"The corporate's plane?!"

Li Ke was stunned, his expression quickly turning serious.

While he didn't want to read too much into it, the appearance of the corporate's plane near the Wandering Swamp was not a friendly gesture.

Especially since they were conducting secret research on those "Mutated slime fungus"...

Pressing a finger to his temple, he pondered for a moment and said.

"Can the captured bionic be contacted?"

"Can't be reached... They must have wrapped it in some metallic object, or dismantled its communication chip."

Figures.

The other side wasn't foolish.

Li Ke closed his eyes, thinking for a long time.

His first priority was to mediate the war.

As for the mother entity... although he was very interested, if it was something created by the corporate, this matter had already exceeded the scope of his authority, and he could only let the Head of the External Affairs or even the Chief Technology Officer of the Academy decide how to handle it.

"Let's not act rashly on this matter, order the Beacon team to cease activities and stand by, do not expose our identities."

The other end of the communication hesitated.

"But... we've already shot down their plane."

Li Ke's mouth twitched.

"It's fine, that kind of industrial trash would have malfunctioned sooner or later... Maybe they crashed it themselves."

A bitter laugh came from the other end of the channel.

"We have captives in their hands."

"Bionic?"

"No... it's a Level E agent, maybe two or three, we're not sure. They retreated so hastily, it was impossible to confirm the condition of their teammates."

These incompetent fools!

Li Ke couldn't help but curse inwardly, taking a deep breath to calm his rising blood pressure.

Meanwhile, he had completely forgotten that he himself was the one who had ordered the capture of that mother entity.

Captives...

Indeed, it was a hassle.

The Academy's AI could guarantee absolute loyalty, but humans were uncertain, especially since it involved a Level E.

Fortunately, a Level E should not have full knowledge of the mission, so even if interrogated, they likely couldn't divulge any sensitive information.

The current top priority was "war mediation."

Regarding the matter of the mother entity...

Without the authorization of the Chief Technology Officer, even if he wanted to rescue them, his current authority allowed him to do nothing, certainly not dispatch another exploration team.

The Investigation Department would never agree.

Tapping his finger on the armrest of his seat, Li Ke slowly said.

"Only the recognized are captives."

The other end of the communication was silent for a moment.

"Yes..."

Chapter 477: Should we let Fang Chang come up with a sneaky plan?

On the tracked vehicle.

Medical soldiers and mechanical engineers were busily treating injured teammates.

Seeing the team leader hanging up the phone, the deputy sitting in the driver's seat immediately asked,

"What did the higher-ups say?"

His name was Song Changfeng, and familiar teammates called him Old Song. He had been working with the Beacon team for a long time.

Zheng Hao fell silent for a moment before replying.

"The original mission is canceled, the Investigation Department's containment plan group wants us to stand by near the crash site, and if the other party moves, to follow them, but not to act rashly to avoid gunfire..."

Everyone's faces changed slightly.

Old Song, cautious, asked,

"How close?"

"We'll have to decide for ourselves."

Hearing this, many people breathed a sigh of relief.

Except for Old Song.

Seeing that the captain had said no more, he anxiously continued to question,

"What about reinforcements?"

Zheng Hao looked out at the reed marshes.

"He didn't say."

The inside of the tracked vehicle fell silent again, plunging back into silence.

Although the superiors didn't say it explicitly, it was clear they had given up on them, as well as on the captives they had captured.

As for the reason...

Unsaid, it meant that with their level of clearance, they didn't need to know.

The medical soldier silently bandaged the injured on the stretcher, replacing a prosthetic limb – he had seen too many such cases.

Song Changfeng slammed a fist onto the steering wheel.

"Damn it!"

Sitting in the back row, Jiang Xuezhou slowly closed his eyes and bowed his head, saying softly,

"I said... we didn't have to engage."

Zheng Hao silently lit a cigarette and replied offhandedly.

"Do you think I had a choice?"

The order to attack was indeed given by him, but it was not solely his decision.

However, he couldn't possibly tell his teammates what specific task he had been given by the superiors.

At the Academy, it was a serious violation for senior personnel to disclose information, not authorized to lower-class personnel, regardless of whether it caused substantial impact; the maximum punishment would be applied.

All units only understood the information that was necessary for them to know, to ensure the system's efficient operation. To avoid mistakes, higher-ranking officials even reduced communication with lower-ranking personnel.

He didn't care whether these rules were reasonable.

At the Academy, even the lowest class G personnel or newly accepted apprentices could live a life of abundance in an ivory tower built by the Academy, with preferential "academic" treatment standards.

For survivors born in the Wandering Swamp, becoming an Academy prospector was almost the only way to escape ignorance, poverty, and savagery.

Although the Academy-led Science Committee provided them with some advanced technology, it was not for free.

Many survivor settlements had obtained relatively advanced production technology, but the improved productivity did not enrich their material and spiritual life.

Frankly speaking, Zheng Hao no longer aspired to that ivory tower as he did when he was young, and he had already passed the age of higher education.

Unable to pass professional assessments to become a researcher, his career as a prospector was capped at level D for life.

But the idea of returning to his original survivor settlement and living a life akin to that of a primitive man was absolutely unacceptable to him.

Therefore, he could not afford to make mistakes.

Having come this far, he at least had to maintain his level D status.

He didn't have much love for the road beneath his feet.

But having chosen it, he had to accept it.

...

Ever since the beta 0.4 version update, Chu Guang, seeing the players' positive feedback on the new features for submitting and receiving tasks on the official website, prompted Xiao Qi to further update the feature.

Now players could not only receive and submit tasks through the official website task interface but could also update task statuses in real-time in the text chat box of the task window.

This feature was not mandatory and was provided only for players who found their original tasks difficult or nearly impossible to continue, offering more options.

After all, in the wilderness beyond the reach of Alliance signals, any kind of emergency could occur.

Chu Guang was well aware that he was just an ordinary person, not an omnipotent god, and could not perfectly predict every possible circumstance.

And he didn't have the energy to spare for such a task.

Sometimes he himself would be bewildered for two or three seconds, let alone the players.

For example, right now...

Chu Guang was in a state of bewilderment.

He had simply sent someone to pick up a queen near the Sunset Province.

How had he managed to provoke the Academy?

Though the crashed aircraft wasn't his, with the war in the Luo Xia Province at a critical stage and the Army's issues unresolved, provoking the Academy seemed like a bad idea.

Apart from saying "Well done," he couldn't think of how to respond to that little player who had gone to the official website to "report for duty."

But the bewilderment only lasted half a minute; soon Chu Guang thought differently and realized that things might not be as bad as he had imagined.

A wanted level D individual had been living with him for almost a year, and he hadn't seen a second wave of bounty hunters come for his head.

A few E-class individuals had died in the Wasteland – the wealthy and large-scale Academy might not even take it seriously.

What really concerned Chu Guang was another matter.

"...Is it because of Xiaoyu?"

Chu Guang pressed his brow, contemplating his strategies.

Xiaoyu was key to resolving the lair on floor B6, and he couldn't let her be turned over no matter what. He needed to move her out of the Academy's range of influence and into a safe place before the Academy high command made a decision.

The current trouble was that, on the one hand, the corporation did not want the pilots to be harmed; on the other hand, it was not willing to bear the risk of a failed rescue.

They hoped that the Alliance would send parachute troops to save them.

However, Chu Guang really wanted to say—

Then at least send some more transport planes over!

The Alliance's airborne troops were ready to deploy at any moment, but they couldn't possibly fly over a thousand kilometers away and then run back on foot.

That would be too naive!

At that moment, Xiao Qi, sitting at the desk, lifted her head and spoke in a pleasant voice,

"Master, a representative from the corporation has just arrived at the airport; he wishes to see you."

Chu Guang thought it over for a moment and then said,

"Let him come up."

"Okay."

The Steel Heart lowered its gangway ladder.

Yi Chuan, who had just disembarked from the transport plane, quickly made his way onto the Steel Heart.

As footsteps approached from outside the door, Chu Guang casually picked up Xiao Qi from the desk, disregarded her indignant voice, and stuffed her into a drawer.

Almost at the same time, there was a knock at the door.

Chu Guang cleared his throat and said,

"Please come in."

The door opened, and Yi Chuan came in hurriedly, skipping any pleasantries and went straight to the point,

"Do we have any new information on our pilots?"

Chu Guang: "I assure you, both are safe and sound."

Yi Chuan immediately asked eagerly,

"Can you contact them?"

Chu Guang shifted his gaze subtly,

"Contact isn't quite the right word... but we indeed have a way of long-distance communication that can send some vague messages, similar to your carrier pigeons. However, it's not possible for you to have face-to-face communication with the two pilots."

Chu Guang found explaining this issue very troublesome; frankly, no one would believe the truth, but he couldn't come up with a more believable excuse.

Does the Burning Corps actually carry a high-powered radio that can even breach the environmental restrictions of Luo Xia Province?

What a joke.

Whatever he could have planted on the corporation's plane, could the corporation itself be unaware?

Hearing this unclear explanation, Yi Chuan frowned but did not pursue the matter further.

Everyone has their secrets.

Insisting on transparency from the other party was neither practical nor polite.

Taking a deep breath, he fixed his gaze on Chu Guang and returned to the main issue,

"The Supreme Council's spokesperson had previously made a public promise not to let our non-combat personnel be on the front lines, but in truth, we have already crossed that line for you several times... including at Camp 530, including on Highway No. 7, including—"

Chu Guang coughed lightly,

"Rather than crossing lines, I'd prefer to call it flexibility, and with each instance, we made unexpected progress, did we not?"

"But not this time!" Yi Chuan continued stiffly, "Our two pilots fell near the Wandering Swamp! You promised me that the non-combat personnel wouldn't be in danger!"

Chu Guang explained,

"Anything could happen on the battlefield, let alone off the battlefield. Who knew the Academy would suddenly attack your planes? At least our warriors saved your pilots."

Yi Chuan's expression stiffened.

"The Academy?"

Chu Guang said with ill-concealed sarcasm,

"Who else could silently shoot down your plane other than the Academy? You can ask your pilots about that... once they return."

In fact, he had more direct evidence that the Academy was responsible for shooting down their planes, such as the four prisoners captured by the players.

However, he wasn't certain about the corporation's stance towards the Academy.

The importance of the pilots' lives didn't conflict with the corporation's cautious foreign policy; one was a consideration of interests, the other a matter of risk management.

Individual feelings might be influenced by impressionable moments, but collective decisions were surely the outcome of weighing multiple factors.

So, he decided to test his allies' attitudes first.

Yi Chuan fell silent for a while, seeming reluctant to discuss the matter further,

"...Let's table the discussion on the Academy for now. Regardless, you must ensure that the safety of our pilots is the top priority."

Seeing Yi Chuan's expression, Chu Guang slightly arched an eyebrow.

Unexpectedly, the corporation's representative didn't have much of a reaction, as if... he wasn't even particularly surprised.

It seemed that frictions between the Academy and the corporation were not uncommon.

Considering this, it wouldn't be surprising if there were unknown disputes between the Academy and the corporation in other regions of this vast world besides Luo Xia Province.

Realizing that the corporation likely didn't want to provoke issues with the Academy, Chu Guang didn't push further and turned the conversation back to the rescue of the pilots.

Looking seriously at Yi Chuan, Chu Guang spoke with conviction,

"Mr. Yi Chuan, are you implying that the lives of Alliance residents are not important? I must remind you, we are your allies in the same trench, not your employees."

"I didn't mean that," Yi Chuan explained hastily, seeing that Chu Guang had misunderstood, "Every life is important, and of course that includes the residents of the Alliance... No beating around the bush, I'll just be straightforward. The council made a promise to the residents of Ideal City not to put non-combat personnel at risk, but reporters from the Ideal City Times somehow got wind of it and assert that we had our employees take on risks not covered by their work contracts."

Chu Guang asked impatiently: "So what if they found out?"

The seats in the council weren't determined by voting, and he had wanted to criticize these overly cautious people before.

"Negative news can affect our stock price, and stock price reflects the support from the residents of Ideal City. This involves Credit Points..."

Yi Chuan continued with a wry smile, "In short, credit is a sensitive issue for us... You wouldn't want our support to you to be affected, right?"

Chu Guang took a deep breath, calming his emotions,

"I also want them to come home soon, so please send two more ... no, four more planes immediately! I can immediately deploy a hundred-man team from the front lines to the north!"

Yi Chuan: "But what if they're shot down again?!"

"Then make them land at Oasis No.8! The desert is within our power projection range!"

Chu Guang drew an imaginary line in the air with his index finger, pushing the pre-prepared holographic map in front of Yi Chuan.

"I will have my subordinates safely escort your pilots to the boarding point... and that includes ours."

Looking at the marked spots on the map, Yi Chuan's face was filled with apprehension.

However, it was clear that he couldn't find a better alternative to Chu Guang's proposal, and in the end, they reached a compromise.

"Alright, I'll convince our people. The boarding location is in the Luo Xia Province... That shouldn't be a problem."

The Alliance had enough influence in the Luo Xia Province, and even if the Golden Lizard Kingdom was a vassal of the Academy, they probably wouldn't dare to do anything to their planes.

And as for that kind of indigenous kingdom...

It likely didn't have the capability to shoot down their planes secretly like the Academy.

Chu Guang nodded.

"Go ahead, our people are ready to move at any moment."

He watched Yi Chuan leave the captain's office, and Chu Guang's brow relaxed slightly as he leaned his head against the back of his chair and muttered to himself,

"That should fix the issue."

To keep those darling players happy, he, both an NPC and a planner, had to worry himself to pieces.

He had nearly been turned from a salesman into a full-time nanny.

At that moment, the drawer cracked open a sliver, revealing a pitifully small face, the size of a thumb.

"Wuwu... Master, is Xiao Qi really so hard on the eyes?"

To appear pitiable, this creature had even altered its voice.

Chu Guang coughed.

"That's not it... but as an Alliance Manager, I represent the image of the Alliance; having a figure on the table doesn't look great when meeting with foreign delegates."

Players were one thing.

He never cared how those outspoken folks on the forum concocted stories about him—as long as they didn't draw any NSFW comics.

But businesses were outsiders, and he did not want to hear any rumors damaging his prestige in Ideal City, nor did he want unnecessary risks in the cooperation between enterprises and the Alliance.

Xiao Qi, lying in the drawer, tilted its head.

"But Xiao Qi thinks they seem quite progressive about AI issues... they probably wouldn't mind, right?"

Chu Guang spoke sternly.

"I mind."

Xiao Qi: "Wuwu..."

Although he knew the aggrieved look was a simulated program, Chu Guang sighed and couldn't help but extend his finger to gently rub its little head.

"Sorry, I might have been a bit rough just now. Next time, I'll set up a seat for you on the desk, facing away from the door..."

"Hehe, no need, Master, I'm happy just knowing you care! I'm your assistant, Xiao Qi. I'm very sensible and won't cause you any trouble."

The woeful expression vanished from the doll's face as if wiped clean by an invisible hand, replaced by a smile as refreshing as a rainbow after the rain.

Just as Chu Guang had guessed, that expression was indeed an act; after all, what sort of expressions could a "trash can" have?

Chu Guang couldn't help feeling a bit helpless.

The world had turned into this mess, and he wondered why the First Generation Manager felt the need to add so many extraneous, communication-cost-increasing functions to his AI assistant.

Though, he did not really mind.

Xiao Qi, with its hands propped up on the edge of the drawer, was unaware of what its master was pondering. It leaned its chin on its hands and blinked human-like eyes.

"Master, may I ask for a small favor?"

"Go ahead."

Xiao Qi said somewhat coyly,

"That... next time, could you not stuff Xiao Qi into a pitch-black drawer and just keep me in your pocket like usual?"

What was the difference?

There were no light bulbs in his own pockets, all darkness as well.

Although curious, Chu Guang did not dig deeper, questioning insistently.

Perhaps AI had its own difficulties.

It was not a difficult request for him to fulfill.

He rubbed its little head with his finger and said with a gentle smile,

"Sure, I promise."

...

At the intersection of Wandering Swamp and Sunset Province.

Old White, who had just returned online, gathered the players at the temporary camp.

"New mission!"

"The headquarters instructed us to take the pilots and the Academy's prisoners and head north towards Sunset Province. We will board a plane at Oasis No.8, where reinforcements will join us."

"What about this plane?" Night Ten pointed at the two pilots nearby, who were puzzling over how to fix the aircraft.

Old White shrugged his shoulders, making an expression of resignation.

"It looks like we can't count on it."

By the time that guy understands the manual, the Academy's Regular Army might have surrounded us.

It was said that the Academy also had its own armed forces, and quite a few were dependent on the Academy in the Wandering Swamp.

To replace their expensive bionic prosthetics, many bounty hunters and mercenaries were eager to take on the Academy's work.

Though not afraid of those guys, large numbers were still troublesome.

Moreover, compared to the straightforward Army, the Academy's equipment was overly showy, difficult to guard against.

Gazing at the transport plane, Night Ten said with a pained expression,

"What a waste to destroy such a fine plane..."

Wild Wind glanced at him.

"Are you planning to carry it back?"

Night Ten turned his gaze to Falling Feather beside him, who was also looking regretfully at the plane.

Noticing Night Ten's stare, Falling Feather paused and then smiled wryly,

"Why are you looking at me... I don't know how to fix this thing."

Night Ten chuckled.

"I'm not asking you to fix it. Can't your Xiaoyu spawn offspring like the other hosts? Like those Evolutionary bodies we saw in the center of Qingquan City... see if you can get it to make one."

"No dice," Falling Feather shook his head, "Xiaoyu isn't like the Lair in Qingquan City; it can't merge with mechanical parts."

Night Ten looked puzzled and asked,

"Then how does it operate the plane?"

Falling Feather thought for a moment and offered his opinion,

"That Dragonfly Transport Aircraft... it probably has to do with inheriting a part of my experience. For the Eagle Fighter, it might have assimilated the pilot."

"So, essentially, its offspring don't assimilate the machine into a part of their body. Instead, they 'operate' the still-functioning machinery through their own experience... am I right?" Wild Wind incisively summarized.

Falling Feather immediately nodded.

"Yes, that's exactly it."

Wild Wind rubbed his nose.

"There's an 80 percent chance we're out of options."

To give a common example, Xiao Qi's ability is to sit at the driver's seat and drive a car, while the Lair in Qingquan City can run with the vehicle hoisted on its shoulders.

Both are cases of an organism driving machinery, but anyone with eyes could see the difference between the two.

The idea of using slime mold to swallow the plane seemed impractical, and having a Strength Type carry the plane was even more unrealistic.

We were nearly two hundred kilometers away from Oasis No.8, on a mountainous road.

To carry back such a large transport aircraft, and over mountains and on foot at that, one would need to be more than a Strength Type beast – you'd have to be a Kryptonian.

However, Night Ten did not give up just yet.

His eyes flicked around, and an idea suddenly struck him.

"Why not let Fang Chang come up with some bad ideas?"

Killer Dagger's eyes lit up as he said,

"I think it's OK!"

Everyone who was taken by dogs was excitedly raising their hands.

"+1, Brother Fang Chang must have a way!"

This guy had buddied up with the game planners and definitely knew some game secrets that ordinary folks didn't.

Seeing so many people support his idea, Night Ten immediately took action and hid Quit Smoking Brother's VM in the nearby bushes as a locator.

This gadget required DNA information to unlock, so there was no worry about it being picked up by someone else.

Moreover, it was just a terminal, and there wouldn't be any sensitive stuff stored inside.

Patting his hands and standing up, Night Ten looked towards the bewildered Wild Wind and chuckled.

"All set! After logging off later, I'll tag Fang Chang on the forum."

Wild Wind snapped out of it and said seriously,

"I don't think Fang Chang necessarily has a way."

"Why not give it a try? If there's no way, then that's that. Worst comes to worst, we'll have Quit Smoking buy another VM." Night Ten patted Wild Wind's shoulder and said with a smile, "Let's go, time to get to work!"

...

Once the new mission of relocating was confirmed, Old White split up two teams to head to the crash sites of the Eagle Fighter and Dragonfly Transport Aircraft.

They retrieved the samples of the offspring there.

With their belongings packed up, the group prepared to leave.

The captive named Wu Liangping, seriously injured and unconscious, was stuffed into a low-temperature Sleep Cabin, while the bionic man from before was wrapped in a Body Bag, further covered with a layer of foil tape on the outside.

Seeing these people about to take him away, Zhao Xiao became instantly nervous.

"Where are you taking us?"

"It's none of your business, just follow quietly," Night Ten prodded his back with a handgun and said with a grin.

Zhao Xiao looked tense as he spoke,

"You'd better let us go; here is right by the Wandering Swamp... There's no way you can leave this place with us in tow."

This kind of bravado didn't really anger anyone.

Teasing him, Night Ten laughed and said,

"No way to leave? Give me a break; with the skills you guys showed earlier, it's just a matter of feeding us points no matter how many times you try."

Zhao Xiao's face flushed with indignation and he tried to say something else, but Chen Yutong, who had been silent the whole time, couldn't contain herself any longer and stopped him.

"Zhao Xiao... enough, don't talk anymore."

She feared these people would change their minds and just bury them right there.

The reminder from his teammate seemed to have some effect, finally making the young man realize his position, and he shut his mouth.

Night Ten couldn't be bothered with him.

The guy always reminded him of his own naive and foolish younger days.

Not that he was much older now.

...

After half a day's travel, the group had left the range of the Wandering Swamp and reached the edge of the mountains in the northern part of Luo Xia Province.

The area was active with Variants that the people in River Valley Province had never seen before, but fortunately, their numbers weren't too great, and no danger was encountered.

Traveling at night in an area with active Variants was too risky.

Old White picked a spot with relatively good visibility to camp. Some people stayed to watch for the first half of the night, while others logged off to eat.

On the official forum.

As soon as he logged on, Night Ten couldn't wait to start a thread, afraid of being outdone by his teammates.

"Big news! The Academy has shot down a corporate plane!"

Although such discussions of "stealing a plane" could also be had in small groups, talking about it with everyone together on the forum was much more interesting.

Ye Wei swore.

It definitely wasn't about showing off or being pretentious.

It was mainly about "pooling wisdom."

Just as he expected, almost the moment the post went up, with one refresh, there were instantly hundreds to thousands of clicks.

Tail: "Giao?!"

Si Si: "For real?!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "?? I just went south and now you guys are opening up the northern map?"

Quit Smoking, who had only logged off for less than 24 hours, also showed up, his thought process characteristically offbeat.

"Whaaat?! Are we about to go to war with the Academy again?"

Chapter 478: It's unfair to covet the gold coins in an old friend's pocket

"If it were a post by Professor Yang, hardly anyone would believe it.

But it's different with those top-ranked ones.

Seeing Quit Smoking derail the conversation, Night Ten quickly clarified.

"Cough, it's not that bad… Although we caught a few Level E people, we didn't encounter anyone intercepting us along the way."

Fang Chang said, "It seems they didn't want to make a big fuss either."

Spring Water Commander said, "After all, one of the corporation's Aircraft was shot down, probably neither side wants to admit it."

Quit Smoking said, "Wait, here comes the problem, what about that Aircraft? Did you guys fix it?"

Night Ten said, "I was just about to talk about that! The Aircraft only had one engine broken, the other side is still good, I figured it's too wasteful to throw it away, might as well pick it back up…"

Fang Chang said, "Picking it back up is fine, but with the size of a Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, how do you plan to retrieve it?"

Night Ten said, "That's why I was hoping you could think of a way (comical)"

Killer Dagger said, "The gold coins that we finally snagged from that old thing! Please do it!"

Kidney Fighter said, "Wow, turns out the corporation is the 'old thing' you mentioned."

Killer Dagger laughed, "Hahaha, it's not important!"

"… You think I'm Doraemon?"

Looking at the post on the computer screen, Fang Chang couldn't help but be amused and frustrated.

Night Ten said, "Hurry up, you've been free recently (comical)."

Fang Chang rolled his eyes and typed back.

"Get lost, I've been busy."

His recent trip to Ideal City wasn't for leisurely strolls; he enrolled in an adult course at Yunjian University, gaining an understanding of Ideal City while refining the business plan details of Changyue Company.

This was the first real civil business cooperation between the Alliance and the corporation, which would determine how far their relationship could develop in the economic and trade fields.

For this, he also specifically delved deep into the corporation's regulations as well as business models, etc., to avoid any obvious pitfalls.

Just like what Li Shuyue did during her time with the Alliance.

Honestly, even as a veteran player, it was his first time investing so much emotion into a Game.

What surprised him more was the production team of Wasteland OL.

They'd designed such rich content for a Survivor Settlement that he spent a month and felt he'd only scratched the surface.

He'd suspected long ago that the development team of Wasteland OL might be extraterrestrials, else it was impossible to explain the advanced AI, virtual reality technologies, and global logistics capabilities they had.

And Ah Guang...

Was it really the Ah Guang he knew?

"Forget it, now is not the time to be thinking about this... I need to figure out a way to tow that Aircraft back."

Pressing his temples, Fang Chang grabbed the mouse and clicked open the official map archive, dragging it to the approximate area of the crash site.

Since there were no landmarks, the Burning Corps couldn't pinpoint their exact coordinates; they could only mark a general direction.

But he wasn't worried about finding the Aircraft.

Such a big target could be located using the VM that Night Ten left there, even without drones or binoculars.

If it were in Province of Yúnjiānxíng, he could spend Cr to commission a private armed company or a salvage company to recover it.

But thousands of kilometers away in the wasteland...

Wait.

It wasn't entirely wasteland.

Fang Chang's eyes suddenly fell on the Grand Canyon, his eyes lighting up, he immediately typed.

"Isn't there an Origin City and Endpoint City in the Grand Canyon? There should be mercenaries there willing to do the job for money, maybe even transport it directly to the industrial area of West State City... now that you mention it, didn't Edge Shoveling go there? Why not ask him?"

Edge Shoveling said, "Uh, ask me what? (awkward)"

Good grief.

So he was peeking at the screen.

Seeing his reaction, though, Fang Chang had an ominous premonition and typed to confirm.

"You didn't just go there for a task, did you?"

Edge Shoveling replied, "Uh… what else would I be there for? Did I miss a side quest? (awkward)"

Even without that awkward emoticon, Fang Chang could feel the awkwardness through the screen, and couldn't help holding his forehead.

Isn't it basic to scout a new map before pushing the main line?

Who finishes a task and then just leaves it like that!

While he was nursing his headache, his gaze suddenly fell on the meeting point of Luo Xia Province and the west side of the Grand Canyon on the map.

If he remembered correctly, he'd seen in a post by Big Eyes or someone that there was an area spanning hundreds of kilometers filled with nuclear craters and ancient battlefields.

Many Scavengers picked up trash there, even forming nomadic settlements, setting up camp where they found stuff. Many Scavenger groups used the money obtained from trash to upgrade their equipment, not only owning trucks, excavators, forklifts, but even cranes, as well as manmade "power armor" and "exoskeletons".

But that wasn't the most important point.

The crucial thing was that these Scavengers recognized the value of Silver coins!

The Death Legion even bought supplies there!

An idea instantly came to Fang Chang's mind, and he quickly typed a reply in the post.

"You guys could split up a few people to look around the Grand Canyon area for such Scavenger settlements and spend some Silver coins to hire some Scavengers to dismantle that Aircraft into parts and haul it back to River Valley Province... paying a bit more might even get them to deliver it to your doorstep."

Edge Shoveling exclaimed, "Holy shit?! Is that possible?"

Fang Chang replied, "Money talks, what's not possible? Besides, package sorting is their specialty; let the professionals handle their own business, seems fine to me."

Quit Smoking exclaimed, "Epic!"

Night Ten added, "666!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Damn, are we the ones who explored this map or what?"

Construction Site Youth and Brick: "@Edge Shoveling"

Drum Hair Washing Machine: "Crap, where's the leader of my corps? He was just posting in the forum a second ago."

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Hahahaha!"

...

While the players were discussing how to haul that big plane back, Chu Guang, who was peeking in the forum, was totally dumbfounded.

My goodness.

How many times had he been dumbfounded today?

After a good while, Chu Guang couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"…These guys are really something."

Speaking from the heart.

Thinking about the gold coins in his old friends' pockets, that was just not right.

Yeah, totally not right.

It didn't quite match his persona, so since the players had already figured it out, he'd just let them handle it.

It seemed a bit unnecessary to issue a special task.

"Master, your expression is so weird." Xiao Qi sat on the edge of the pen holder, hands supporting her cheeks, curiously observing his face.

"You're seeing things."

Chu Guang cleared his throat lightly and immediately put on a serious face and continued.

"Let the lord of Dawn City, Jiu Li, prepare a bit. After the components pass through Tianshui, buy it from the players as a surprise."

Xiao Qi nodded vigorously.

"Okay, Master! But… how do you buy it as a surprise?"

Chu Guang explained patiently.

"Just act a bit more surprised when paying… Refer to other classic RPGs. Anyway, make the players understand they've done something incredible, and if they contribute to the Alliance, they'll definitely get rewarded."

In short, it was about encouraging players to discover "Easter eggs" outside of the given missions.

After unlocking floor B6, the server population had already exceeded ten thousand, and relying solely on the task system to push players forward was a bit overwhelming. Smart players needed to take the initiative and learn to manage themselves.

Like they were doing now.

Chu Guang had wanted to import those long-range big planes from the company, but their attitude was quite cautious, nothing like their generosity when selling the "Seagull" drones and No. 60 electromagnetic cannons.

Chu Guang could understand their caution.

After all, "projection capability" was a more sensitive issue than dangerous weapons for the forces on the Wasteland.

Dangerous Variants could be dealt with civilized weapons, but the only thing that brought a sense of security was distance. The Wasteland, filled with Variants, and the near-Earth orbit blocked by debris had turned into the most ideal moat in this era.

So, Chu Guang only asked Yi Chuan once whether they could import a "Tiger Whale" transport aircraft with a range of over three thousand kilometers.

After getting a negative response, he politely dropped the topic.

Unexpectedly, the very thing he desired but couldn't have was obtained by his clever players in such an accidental manner.

This was truly a pleasant surprise.

Once the Alliance's researchers had digested the plasma propulsion technology, he would select some of the more advanced but not too futuristic precursor technologies to share on the forum.

The main application of plasma propulsion technology was in aerospace, which would undoubtedly benefit the development of real-world aerospace technology.

As for the process, it would be the same as before.

Nobody was going to monopolize the bargaining chips on the table. It was a real win-win for those involved directly or indirectly in the game. Smart people would naturally understand the tacit agreement.

Chu Guang's mouth couldn't help but turn up in a benevolent, fatherly smile.

Not bad.

The guy who designed this system was freaking awesome!

Just then, a wind-chime-like voice drifted from the direction of the pen holder.

"Master."

Feeling pretty good, Chu Guang responded somewhat airily.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, just thought you looked really handsome when you smile!" Xiao Qi, clever beyond her years, rubbed her chin and gave a firm thumbs-up.

Chu Guang laughed heartily.

"Of course."

But speaking of which, has this little one been giving more flattering remarks recently?

When did it start again…

...

Above the campfire, tiny flames flickered.

Sitting cross-legged in front of the fire, Old White suddenly opened his eyes.

Sitting opposite him, Wild Wind was poking at the fire with a branch, and upon hearing Old White wake up, casually asked,

"Awake?"

"Yeah."

"Good timing, I'm logging off to grab some food," tossing the branch into the fire, Wild Wind patted the ash off his hands and then remembered something, "By the way, someone's following us, about five kilometers away."

Old White said seriously.

"Can you confirm the number?"

Wild Wind casually replied.

"One tracked vehicle, same people, they didn't leave."

"I understand, you log out and rest first," Old White nodded and continued, "By the way, I've posted tomorrow's schedule in the group, take a look when you have time."

Wild Wind made an OK gesture, then crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaned back against the stone behind him, and closed his eyes to log out.

Taking shifts for night watch was basic operations for the players of Wasteland OL, especially these veteran players who had mastered the technique of logging in and out on time.

However, for the Academy, this scene was somewhat novel.

In Zhao Xiao's eyes, he saw a team of soldiers heading towards the campfire. Barely had their buttocks touched the ground when another soldier sitting in front of the fire stood up, patted his trousers, and walked back in the direction the others had come from.

The entire shift change was smooth and seamless.

Not to mention any flaws, the interval was even less than half a minute!

Watching those well-trained soldiers, Zhao Xiao, leaning against a stone, couldn't help but swallow and quietly commented.

"Are these guys robots ...?"

Chen Yutong, sitting beside him, didn't speak, but her eyes were also filled with surprise.

After observing for so long, what impressed her the most about these self-proclaimed soldiers from the Alliance was their discipline.

But then again ...

Could this ability to fall asleep almost instantly and wake up simultaneously really be achieved through training?

She quite envied this ability.

At the same time, about five kilometers away from the Burning Corps camp, a tracked vehicle silently stopped on the reverse slope of a hill.

Jiang Xuezhou, sitting in the back of the vehicle, slightly closed her eyes and her brow furrowed slightly.

Seeing the change in her expression, a teammate sitting next to her immediately asked anxiously.

"What? Is there a chance?"

"No ..."

Jiang Xuezhou shook her head slightly, her expression solemn, "Their patrol route is very tricky ... It covers all areas within eight hundred meters nearby, almost without any blind spots!"

And they also had drones!

Although those people thought they hid them well, she had seen them in the sky, those quadcopter drones perched on nearby stones, like fixed cameras.

With the outside patrol teams, it was nearly impossible for them to approach their camp without alerting anyone.

Old Song, sitting in the driver's seat, couldn't help but say.

"They have to change shifts, right?"

Jiang Xuezhou nodded.

"Yes ... They just changed a moment ago, but the whole process took less than half a minute."

The cabin fell into silence.

Both Song Changfeng and Zheng Hao had grim expressions.

Originally, they planned to find an opportunity to rescue their captured teammates, but now it seemed there was no chance.

Jiang Xuezhou looked up at Zheng Hao, who was smoking in the passenger seat.

"Captain, what should we do?"

Zheng Hao was silent for a while before he said.

"Keep following them."

Everyone looked at each other, silent.

Old Song nodded slightly, and kept silent.

Other than waiting for an opportunity, they really had no better plan.

But ...

Could they really wait for it?

...

After taking over the night watch duty from Wild Wind, Old White immediately found a player who had just logged on and instructed him.

"You take two brothers and set off first, head to the nuclear crater area in the northwest of the River Valley Province, find the Scavenger camp there, and ask if they're willing to take a big deal."

Having seen Night Ten's post before logging in, the player immediately understood Old White's intention and chuckled, nodding.

"Got it!"

The three players temporarily left the team and headed towards a fork in the southeast direction.

Feeling a bit hungry, Old White returned to the fireside to sit down, preparing to make some supper.

The supplies on the transport plane included plenty of food, and they had taken all of it without any waste. There was no lack of food and fresh water, so there was no need to be frugal.

He set up a griddle and supports on the campfire, skillfully tore open the plastic packaging, and poured rice, mineral water, and braised pork into the metal lunchbox in sequence, then covered it and placed it on the griddle.

It didn't take long for bubbles to start bubbling at the edges of the lunchbox.

Old White reached out, took the lunchbox off the griddle, lifted the lid to check, and nodded in satisfaction.

A simple meal of braised pork over rice was ready.

The rich aroma instantly wafted through the air, causing the two captives nearby who were still awake to swallow involuntarily and unconsciously glance over.

Seeing this, Old White smiled knowingly and made two more portions, placing them on the griddle. Once cooked, he carried the lunchboxes over and asked the two.

"Hungry?"

Zhao Xiao looked at him nervously without speaking.

Sitting next to him, Chen Yutong was equally nervous, but seeing his expression was not fierce, she still reluctantly nodded.

Old White smiled, handed a meal to each of the captives, including the stubborn young man.

Taking the box, Chen Yutong shyly lowered her head and said.

"Thank you ..."

"Not at all, eat slowly, be careful it's hot."

Old White casually replied and then sat opposite them.

Unable to endure the hunger pangs, Chen Yutong eagerly opened the lunchbox.

Though the food before her eyes seemed inexplicably strange, she mimicked Old White's actions, scooping up a spoonful of rice soaked in broth.

The moment the spoon entered her mouth, her pupils suddenly burst with an odd glow.

This taste... it's a bit weird.

Have another bite.

To figure out what exactly was happening to her taste buds, she scooped up another spoonful and shoved it into her mouth, and then another.

The tense expression on her face loosened a bit with the working of her jaw muscles, and the surprise in her eyes grew increasingly intense.

This...

What kind of peculiar technique is this?!

Was it picked up from some relic?

Watching the young man sitting unmoved, Old White couldn't help but tease him with a smile.

"Eat it, it's non-toxic. We wouldn't bother using that stuff on you guys."

Gazing at the lunchbox in his hands, Zhao Xiao, who had been silent all along, suddenly said in a low voice,

"I killed your people... don't you hate me?"

Chen Yutong quickly turned to the whose fault it was not to mention which pot, her face smeared with rice was filled with shock as if to say, "Are you asking to die?"

However, Old White, sitting opposite them, didn't seem to mind; he simply continued eating while casually responding,

"Hate? I wouldn't say that. He was a warrior. A seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy wouldn't have killed him; he could've beaten you black and blue with his bare hands. It was the war that killed him, you just happened to land that shot."

Of course, he spoke so liberally mainly because resurrection was possible. If it were in the real world, he might have felt differently.

Thinking this, Old White couldn't help but make a joke,

"Of course, I'm the only one who would think this way. If someone else catches you next time, you won't be so lucky."

Zhao Xiao had a somewhat rigid expression, his heart filled with turmoil.

Chen Yutong quickly veered away from this heavy topic,

"The Alliance... what kind of place is it, really?"

Although it was a spontaneously thought question, she had been curious about it beforehand.

"That's a very abstract question," Old White thought for a moment before replying, "For the Waste Land Wanderers, it's probably a place where you can huddle together for warmth."

Zhao Xiao unexpectedly looked up at this man.

"From your tone, you aren't a Waste Land Wanderer?"

"Resident of the refuge," seeing their surprised expressions, Old White touched his stubble, smiling as he said, "It's normal that it doesn't seem likely... this beard grows too fast, but shaved off, I do look the part."

Zhao Xiao's expression was subtly odd.

In his memory, inhabitants of the refuges weren't like this... even with a shaved beard, he couldn't imagine it.

"So... what about you?" Chen Yutong continued, "What is the Alliance for the residents of the refuge?"

"Me?..." Old White pondered seriously for a moment, then continued, "I'm not sure about others, but for me, it's a place that gave me a new lease on life."

Zhao Xiao: "A new lease on life?"

Old White spoke in the tone of casual chat,

"Yes, I left the forces a while ago, and life after military service was quite good, but the skills and knowledge I accumulated were hardly useful anymore. I sometimes find it a pity... but here, I've rediscovered the meaning I subconsciously crave."

Although pursuing "meaning" in a virtual world might sound odd, craving battle in the real world would be even stranger.

At critical moments, he would, like any other soldier, return to his old unit without hesitation, defending the undeniable bottom lines with a burning will.

But if possible, he would of course hope for everlasting peace, wishing never to use his skills in reality.

The two didn't quite understand what he was saying, especially since his speech was laced with many terms they had never heard before.

Chen Yutong slightly furrowed her brows,

"Meaning?"

"Exactly, the meaning of being alive," Old White smiled and spoke casually, "Besides eating and drinking, people need to pursue something, and conveniently, the style of the Alliance suits my taste. Watching our Alliance grow day by day along with other residents of the refuge—it's quite fun."

A pursuit beyond eating and drinking.

What a luxurious thought.

Staring at the now empty lunchbox in her hands, not even soup remained, Chen Yutong felt melancholy and couldn't help but laugh at herself mockingly.

This was the Wasteland.

Just surviving was already hard enough...

Watching the two, still silent, Old White continued in a joking tone,

"Don't just ask me, who exactly is the captor here? Let's chat."

Zhao Xiao spoke with caution,

"Chat about what..."

Old White said with a smile,

"Anything, really. Life, dreams, or maybe a girl you like."

Getting closer makes it easier to ask questions.

He was quite experienced with this.

Captured prisoners rarely started by asking about random matters; they usually chatted about hometowns, pulled some family affairs, reminding prisoners that they were not just soldiers paid by salary, but someone's friend, husband, or relative, which they happened to be as well. If not for the war, perhaps they could have been friends.

Appealing to emotions was much more effective than torture; chatting might lead a prisoner to slip up and confess everything without even realizing it.

Of course, this only worked on typical prisoners, especially those of lower status; trained spies were another matter entirely.

That wasn't their job anyhow.

—

(Thanks to "Mengbuluo" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 479: Let's Make a Deal

Chen Yutong showed little reaction, deeply contemplating, while the young man sitting beside him blushed unconsciously.

"Like, liking a girl? Why are we talking about this?"

Old White teased with a smile.

"It's not about anything in particular. If you're shy, we can talk about something else."

Seemingly unwilling to admit his shyness, Zhao Xiao fell silent for a while before opening up.

"I... come from Town No.13."

"What's that?"

"An autonomous region managed by the Science Committee. Each autonomous region is different; some are tribal, some are kingdoms, while ours is the former, with roughly one to two thousand households."

Old White nodded.

"That's pretty large."

A typical survivor settlement has about one to two hundred households, and fewer still might have only a dozen or so. It seems the Wandering Swamp wasn't as desolate as he had imagined.

"Yes," Zhao Xiao seemed to be pondering where to start. After thinking for a while, he continued, "Every December, the Science Committee holds a 30-day assessment to recruit apprentices who have turned 12 and meet the standards from the various autonomous regions."

Old White thought for a moment and said.

"This apprentice... is that like an intern?"

"Intern?" Zhao Xiao paused, then nodded, "Sort of... Generally, each autonomous region can select one or two. After becoming an apprentice, you can enter the Academy, escape the harsh life of the swamp, and your family and the town receive a sum of money."

"So, you're really one of the best out of thousands."

Zhao Xiao felt flattered and bashfully rubbed his nose with his index finger.

"That's alright... But after entering the Academy, it wasn't as perfect as I had imagined. The living conditions were indeed much better than in the swamp, but because we had to assist tenured researchers with some dangerous research topics, only about 73% of the apprentices survive to advance to G level each year. And it's not until you reach G level that you're truly considered a member of the Academy."

"That's some strict selection."

"Yes..." Zhao Xiao sighed and said, "Sometimes I think it wasn't easy for me to make it to E level."

"For your sweetheart?"

"Partly, yes. We were selected in the same batch of apprentices, and I promised her I would become a researcher... and then, get our parents into the Academy too."

Old White asked curiously.

"Aren't you already a researcher?"

Zhao Xiao replied with a bitter smile.

"How could I be? I'm just a prospector... A researcher has to be at least Level D, and only after advancing to Level D, possessing at least one professional skill and passing the assessment, and having a tutor's recommendation. But basically... mastering just one professional skill isn't enough, a lot of apprentices advance each year, and most tutors demand mastery of at least three professional skills."

Old White joked.

"Skill inflation, huh."

Zhao Xiao nodded and sighed.

"Yeah... Moreover, as a prospector, you're on the front lines and hardly have time to learn all that stuff."

Old White: "Why not consider living somewhere else? This Wasteland is pretty big, right?"

Zhao Xiao curled his lip and muttered.

"It's all the same no matter where you go, and besides, despite my criticisms... I think the Academy is pretty good. Like you said, at least here I can find a reason to live on, rather than living a muddleheaded life like the other survivors, wallowing in the ruins."

Old White's expression turned somewhat peculiar as he asked curiously.

"Why are you so certain that other survivors are resigned to degeneracy?"

"What else? Do you think corporations and armies have a future?" Glancing at a corporate pilot sleeping nearby like a pig, Zhao Xiao didn't conceal his disdain and said without hesitation, "An idiot immersed in pleasure, a madman obsessed with war— if the future of this world were in their hands, that would really be the end!"

With that, he clenched the spoon in his hand.

"One day... we'll reclaim all the relics, before the heritage of bygone days is squandered. By then, we won't have to reminisce about the past. We will write a new history, venturing into the farther worlds to explore mysteries unimaginable in the olden days."

Goodness.

Is this some kind of "far-sighted ideology"?!

Old White looked at the young man in slight surprise.

These grand principles didn't seem like something he could come up with on his own.

But perhaps it was precisely because he was young that he could speak them without any reservations.

Of course, what surprised him even more was the Academy.

When he first learned about it, he thought the Academy was simply a form of technocracy. He hadn't realized it also had a deeper spiritual core.

Seeing the guy getting more and more excited as he spoke, Chen Yutong cleared his throat softly, interrupting his long speech.

"The theories of Conclusion Doctor are indeed so... however, I never thought that much about it. I was lucky enough to pass the exam at the age of twelve, and then I entered the Academy. Actually, I think the way you live is quite good, without such strict level restrictions. Life offers more than one path, even if you don't become an explorer or a researcher you can still live well."

"That kind of survivor settlement doesn't exist, wherever there are people, there are levels; it's just more subtle at most," Zhao Xiao said disbelievingly. "I think it's better to have levels and promotion paths clearly laid out, so everyone can rely on their own abilities."

Old White smiled and said,

"You make some sense. It's pretty much like the Game; as long as the server continues to operate, there will definitely be a distinction between veteran players and newbies. Social strata won't disappear just because someone chooses to ignore them."

"Server? Operating?" Zhao Xiao asked curiously.

Old White cleared his throat lightly and explained,

"What I mean is, even in the Alliance, there are levels, such as Contribution Levels... probably similar to your classes, like G, F, E level researchers corresponding to the three levels of citizenship. Above that, there are also 'knights' and so on."

"Is that so?" Zhao Xiao looked proudly at Chen Yutong.

The latter didn't speak, but his expression was clearly a bit disappointed.

It seemed that his aspiration was just a fleeting misunderstanding.

Old White paused for a moment, then continued,

"However, we wouldn't feel superior to others just because our Contribution Level is higher."

"That's impossible, anyone can talk big," Zhao Xiao said without hesitation, his expression clearly full of disbelief.

Chen Yutong glanced at the lunch box in his hand; unlike Zhao Xiao, who instinctively chose to doubt, he simply asked,

"Why?"

The question was somewhat difficult to answer.

Old White couldn't help but fall into thought.

From a realistic point of view, this was just a game after all.

There are certainly games that intentionally create player conflicts to incite competitive spending, but Wasteland OL obviously wasn't one of them—it didn't even have a recharge portal, let alone that it was still in the closed beta phase. Such issues, even if they did exist, definitely weren't common.

Most veteran players were actually quite willing to help newbies, even if sometimes the newbies acted a bit silly. But everyone had been through that phase, so they could somewhat understand.

As for the relationship between players and NPCs, it was relatively harmonious as well. NPCs didn't care whether they were "citizens" or "knights." These titles also didn't grant refuge residents any privilege to feel "above" others.

On the player side, even a Mosquito who had made meritorious deeds for the Alliance could still be sent to the cooler for a timeout if they violated server rules.

Old White had felt it before.

Rather than saying that these titles were an identity, it would be better to say they were a form of honor, or a kind of recognition from the collective.

"There's no standard answer to subjective questions, I can't answer you. Everyone has different views. When you have the chance, you can confirm with your own eyes what kind of place the Alliance really is."

Packing away his finished lunch box, Old White smiled and continued,

"By the way, I have some good news for you. It looks like your teammates haven't given up on you—they're following right behind us, about five kilometers away."

This was the news Wild Wind had told him before he logged off.

Chen Yutong looked at him nervously, while Zhao Xiao's lips curled up smugly as he said matter-of-factly,

"Of course! I told you, the Academy wouldn't abandon us!"

Old White smiled and then continued,

"Let's make a bet, then."

Zhao Xiao: "Bet on what?"

Old White said casually, "Bet on... whether the Academy will come to rescue you before we cross these mountains and enter the desert."

Zhao Xiao: "Haven't they already arrived?"

"Just following behind doesn't count," Old White said with a smile, "People who don't know any better might think your guys are seeing us off."

Zhao Xiao stared at Old White.

"What about the wager?"

He certainly wasn't naive enough to think that just because the Academy's people had arrived, this man would simply let him and his fellow captives go.

Just like their sniper had said, they still needed him to take bullets for them.

To his surprise, however, Old White just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"If they fight their way over here, I'll let you go."

Based on his experience, if neither side was willing to acknowledge the conflict, then denying casualties and captives was a very likely scenario.

Having reached this point without encountering the Academy's pursuers, the road ahead was most likely clear as well.

Even if he misjudged the situation, it didn't matter.

Letting a captive go and capturing two more would do.

Zhao Xiao looked at him in astonishment, and seeing that he didn't appear to be joking, a serious expression took hold of his face.

"Then what do you want from me..."

"Getting something from you is fine," Old White laughed a little, then after pondering for a moment, said, "Hmm, let me think... If I win, you just owe me a beer."

A beer?!

Zhao Xiao was stunned, his complexion turning slightly red.

That dismissive attitude was humiliating.

But a wise man does not quarrel with his immediate situation, so Zhao Xiao still clenched his teeth and nodded.

"Deal... but you better keep your word."

Old White said calmly.

"Don't worry, I've said that I don't need those things with you."

...

In the Promice Northern Part, near a nuclear crater, a row of shabby tents sprawled across the wasteland.

This camp was unnamed, and it might not even exist in the same place by next year.

The scavengers who lived here were like nomads chasing after pasture, setting up tents and campfires wherever they found garbage.

Should misfortune befall someone, the ghouls that lingered around the crater would naturally take care of the unfortunate soul's remains.

Those who "fell" into the life of scavengers didn't particularly care whether their corpses ended up in the mouths of ghouls or variants.

After all, neither had a particularly graceful way of consuming their meals.

Buyers interested in either the garbage itself or the scavenging skills possessed by these people naturally had a way of finding them.

One early morning.

Guste, over fifty years old as usual, got up early, intending to take his "Excavator No.1" to the nearby ancient battlefield to dig up some valuable treasures.

Just as he was about to shoulder his basket and head out, Aqiang, the bald man from the neighboring Earth Warrior Group, suddenly came looking for him.

"A few big buyers from the settlements are hiring."

Hearing about a big deal, Guste immediately narrowed his eyes and sat down on the bench by the door, knocking his pipe against the sole of his shoe.

"What kind of work?"

"Salvage operation."

"Location?"

"The north side of the mountain range in the North of Luoxia Province."

Guste frowned at the vague description.

"Why don't you just say it's the Wandering Swamp."

Digging up treasures from the Human Alliance Era right under the Academy's nose was basically asking to shorten one's lifespan; in their eyes, scavengers were not much better than looters, even more detestable.

He would not dare to stretch his business into the Academy's territory even if you gave him ten thousand guts.

The bald man chuckled.

"It's not in the swamp itself, just on the edge."

Guste eyed him suspiciously for a while, then continued.

"How many people is he hiring?"

The bald man spread out his right hand.

"At least five hundred, and they also need professional equipment and experience in dismantling large machinery."

"Five hundred?!"

The old man's eyes widened in surprise, smacking his lips.

"That must be a biggie... what exactly are they planning to dismantle?"

The bald man shook his head.

"That, I don't know... But they promise us, as long as we can dismantle it and transport it to West State City, they'll pay us a total of one million silver coins."

One million silver coins?!

Hearing this number, Guste's heart leaped.

That was not a small amount, equivalent to nearly a thousand tons of wheat!

Of course, no one would exchange silver coins for wheat when one could purchase it cheaper at Oasis No.8 in Luoxia Province to the west.

What really attracted them was the Alliance's KV-1 Exoskeleton, metallic hydrogen batteries, "Electric Donkey" light trucks, and various other large engineering devices.

For those who lived on scavenging, the straightforward and cost-effective industrial products manufactured by the Alliance were exactly what they needed.

"Sounds interesting..." Guste stroked his chin, his eyes betraying his interest, "Are those people still in the camp?"

Seeing the excitement in the old man's eyes, the bald man said with a smile.

"They're still here, let's go together. This job is too big for one salvage team to handle, we can work together and earn more."

Guste glanced at him, humming noncommittally.

"Let's wait and see when we get there."

...

In the center of the scavengers' camp.

Looking at the throng of ragged beggars before him, the Lost Rookie standing beside Corner Old Six couldn't help but mutter.

"Can we really rely on these beggars?"

Sniper Bai also couldn't help but whisper a complaint.

"+1, just worried that when it comes time to dismantle one plane, we end up with parts for two."

Corner Old Six was taken aback.

"Wouldn't that be good?"

"Good my ass," Sniper Bai rolled his eyes, "Can it even fly?"

While the players were whispering to each other, Guste, the old man, was also discreetly sizing up the three outsiders.

Three sets of Type Five "Light Cavalry" exoskeletons.

Such gear was not too uncommon in some city ruins, but new ones like these could only come from two places: They were either knock-offs, or from a refuge.

Many years of scavenging had made it possible for him to distinguish between the two.

Without doubt, all three were Alliance soldiers!

Noticing the concern on the faces of the two, Guste flashed a toothy grin, respectfully saying.

"Respected sir, don't judge us by our tattered clothes, but when it comes to picking up trash… Each person here is an expert."

A bald man next to him echoed the sentiment.

"That's right, our ancestors have been scavengers for generations, from the United Human Space Sky Guard Ship to old popsicle cans, as long as it can be exchanged for money, we've considered it!"

The Space Sky Guard Ship wasn't bad.

Watching the translated subtitles on the tactical goggles, the Lost Rookie's eyes suddenly showed a look of surprise.

"Wow, what a Wasteland version of the Beggar's Sect."

"Hisss…" Sniper Bai took a breath of cold air and stroked his chin, "Now that you mention it like that, I suddenly think they might be competent."

"Never mind that! We're already here, so let's just try them out! It's not us who will be to blame if it doesn't work."

Interrupting the debate among his teammates, Corner old six stepped forward and addressed the several experienced scavengers in front of him.

"We've already discussed our needs. We require at least five hundred experienced scavengers to help us recover a large piece of equipment that has become stuck. We're offering one million silver coins. As for how you divide it up, that's for you to discuss… I hope you can elect a representative who has the authority to speak on your behalf."

After exchanging glances and whispering among themselves, the scavengers seemed to have come to a decision. The eldest of them, who had spoken first, continued the conversation.

"No problem, sir. As long as you're willing to pay, we guarantee to deliver the item to you, and we promise not to breathe a word about it to anyone else. If I may ask… could you tell us what the object is that we're recovering? So we can determine which tools we need."

The request seemed quite reasonable.

Corner old six hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"It's an aircraft."

Guste hesitated to ask.

"What's the specific model?"

"The aircraft is over twenty meters long, about six or seven meters tall, and weighs just over twenty tons. It has two plasma engines… That's all I can say; knowing too much isn't good for you."

Hearing these specifications, a trace of surprise appeared on Guste's face.

This description…

Could it be the corporate Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft?!

Sensing what might be involved, the old man didn't dare to ask more and quickly ended the topic, bowing respectfully.

"Understood… Then, sir, when do we depart?"

This was a matter between major powers, something these few scavengers couldn't afford to mix up in.

As the Alliance Soldier had said, knowing too much wasn't in their best interest.

Seeing that the old man didn't pry further, Corner old six breathed a sigh of relief and immediately responded.

"Right now, if possible! The sooner, the better!"

Guste grinned and said respectfully.

"Orders acknowledged! I guarantee that our service will satisfy you!"

Corner old six nodded.

"I hope so."

...

Under the guidance of the three players, more than five hundred scavengers left the camp and set off towards the mountain range in the northern part of Luoxia Province in an imposing procession.

Some were driving three-meter-tall bulldozers, some were leading patched-up robots, while others were pulling double-headed cows or pushing their own rundown carts… The tools in their hands were mostly DIY or second-hand goods bartered from merchants, with hardly any two alike.

Watching these scavengers, Lost Rookie's heart was filled with doubt, but having come this far, he could only choose to trust them.

Meanwhile, after nearly five days of trekking, Old White and the group escorting the pilot had finally emerged from the mountains to the vast expanse of yellow sand.

"Eeehmm…"

Gazing at the air distorted by heatwaves in the distance, Xiaoyu, who was in the middle of the group, let out a slightly tired whimper.

The temperature south of the mountain range was noticeably higher than in the north, and the dry climate made the moisture-loving creature decidedly uncomfortable.

Falling Feather patted its little head, offering words of comfort.

"Just hold on a little longer, we're almost there."

"Eek!"

The comfort seemed to have an effect, as Xiaoyu let out a happy sound, the tentacles at the back of his head undulating with joyful ripples like seaweed.

A smile appeared on Falling Feather's face.

This kid was too easy to appease.

Night Ten glanced at Xiaoyu and muttered softly.

"Mother... Those tentacles give me the creeps."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Falling Feather said,

"I felt the same at first, but you get used to it after a while."

Zhao Xiao, walking not too far away, looked in surprise at the entity coexisting peacefully with humans, feeling his worldview being shaken.

But right now, he no longer had the leisure to digest the astonishment in his heart.

After five days of travel, they had reached the edge of Luoxia Province, and a few dozen kilometers further they would soon see Oasis No.8.

Owing a beer was a trivial matter.

What Zhao Xiao found unbelievable and unacceptable was... had he really been abandoned by the Academy?!

Noticing the NPC's dispirited expression and being aware of that bet, Night Ten stepped forward and teased,

"Don't be so down. Look at it from another angle... It's not necessarily that the Academy gave up on you."

Zhao Xiao looked up at the annoying guy in front of him, not understanding why he would suddenly offer comfort.

But he quickly realized he had thought too much.

Night Ten then continued in a mocking tone,

"Maybe they just canceled your identity."

"You..." Zhao Xiao gritted his teeth, glaring at him but eventually swallowing back the retort "bullshit".

Beggars can't be choosers,

Zhao Xiao consoled himself in his heart.

At that moment, from the midst of a distant expanse of yellow sand, billowing dust suddenly rose.

Looking at the commotion in the distance, Zhao Xiao was slightly startled, and hope suddenly ignited in his heart.

He suddenly remembered that the Golden Lizard Kingdom seemed to be a "prospective member state" of the Scientific Committee, akin to an affiliate to the Academy.

Those people might very well be reinforcements from the Golden Lizard Kingdom!

Even though the combat power of those feudal armies was weak, their numbers were significant. Even if each could only spit once, they could drown this group of foes.

However—

This joyous mood didn't last in his heart for even two seconds before trucks appeared behind the sandstorm.

Clearly, that was not the army of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

The mood plummeted not only for Zhao Xiao but also for the Beacon team that had been following behind all along.

In the back row of the track vehicles.

Jiang Xuezhou, with his eyes tightly closed, moved his lips slightly.

"Alliance reinforcements! At least three hundred… no, maybe even four hundred men."

The medic sitting beside him gave a wry smile,

"Is it that serious?"

Zheng Hao, who had been silent all along, slowly spoke,

"These people aren't here to guard against us... they're most likely meant to intimidate the Golden Lizard Kingdom."

The Alliance couldn't possibly be unaware of the relationship between the Golden Lizard Kingdom and the Academy.

Although their preparations were entirely superfluous, the Alliance was so eager to bring their pilots home that they had prepared for war with the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

Thinking about this, Zheng Hao's feelings became somewhat complicated.

Old Song, sitting in the driver's seat, looked at the captain.

"What do we do now?"

Rescuing the captives had become impossible.

They could only watch helplessly as those people strolled around under the Academy's watch and then swaggered back home.

Zheng Hao was silent for a long time before he slowly began to speak.

"Report the situation to our superiors... and wait for news."

They had left the signal tower's coverage area, but they could relay the message by launching drones as signal repeaters.

Jiang Xuezhou nodded.

She was about to launch the signal relay when her brow twitched slightly, and her forefinger pressed against the temple's edge.

"There's a strange communication request... it must be from those people."

Zheng Hao immediately said,

"Patch it through to me."

At the same time the order was given, a light blue hologram screen unfolded in his field of vision, revealing the face of an unfamiliar man.

Zheng Hao was seeing this man for the first time.

But looking into the man's eyes, he had a strong sense of familiarity... They had locked eyes several days ago!

"I am the Old White, commander of the Burning Corps," the man in the hologram said.

Without introducing himself, Zheng Hao stared at him and said,

"What do you want to say?"

"Nothing much, just that you archaeologists are not really the fighting type. It's unfortunate that your superiors have sent you to provoke us."

A slight sinking feeling came over Zheng Hao.

It seemed the captives must have done something.

However, he couldn't understand why this person wanted to contact him or why he would reveal this information.

"Did you specifically contact me to mock us?" Zheng Hao furrowed his brow and asked.

"I'm not that bored."

Old White chuckled before continuing,

"I heard you're outside the Academy's signal tower coverage. Let me lay it out in the open... Let's make a deal."

"What deal?"

"We're interested in your treaded vehicle."

Zheng Hao paused, then sneered,

"Oh, and?"

"Leave the vehicle behind, and you can take the captives."

"Heh."

Zheng Hao laughed.

Leaving it behind would be possible.

He admitted that his team wouldn't match up to those well-trained soldiers, much like how they couldn't outdo his team of experts when dealing with Variants.

But to think they would actually leave the "Reindeer" treaded vehicle behind was sheer fantasy.

Its off-road ability wasn't something a few trucks could compare with.

Predicting his reaction, Old White continued with a smile,

"Don't be hasty in your refusal. I can also give you twenty rifles and a truck..."

Zheng Hao spoke with a stern face,

"What use do I have for that junk?"

Old White laughed and replied,

"No use, but you've been following us for so long... are you content to return empty-handed?"

"Don't you want to win for once?"

Zheng Hao laughed in a self-deprecating manner and spoke in a lower voice,

"By win, do you mean leaving behind a treaded vehicle and only getting a few E-level captives and rifles in return?"

"What if I add a sample of the tissue from organism number X-277, the "Mutated slime fungus" variant?"

Zheng Hao was momentarily stunned, a fervor flashed in his eyes, but he didn't let the excitement cloud his judgment. He stayed on guard as he stared at this man named Old White.

"You would... give it to us?!"

Old White smiled as he stood in the hologram, shaking a test tube in his hand containing several tissue fragments,

"Ah, our allies authorized me to provide you with a sample of the mother's tissue. After all, the mutated slime fungus is a common enemy. If you can make progress, it will benefit us too."

Of course, it wasn't an enterprise that authorized him, but the Manager.

And the tissue fragments in that test tube were certainly not freshly collected samples, nor were they collected from Little Feather.

They were extracted from the Lair on floor B6 and airlifted to the vicinity of Oasis No.8 along with other soldiers of the Burning Corps via a transport plane.

But it should be enough to fool this prospector.

The Academy wouldn't believe that the Alliance somehow kept a lair that can be casually researched.

Just look at the spectacle of the "Tide" in Qingquan City every year to know it's something even the Post-War Reconstruction Committee couldn't handle.

Besides, this was the desert; there was no lair nearby.

Zheng Hao's gaze locked on that test tube, silently activating the image recognition program. After receiving an 87% match, his breathing quickened.

Without a doubt, it was a fragment of the mother or the lair's tissue!

He thought he'd never ascend to the rank of researcher in his lifetime, and was quite content to keep his status as a Level D prospector.

Yet now, the opportunity was laid out before him once more...

Countless biological laboratories would open their doors to him, hundreds of mentors would extend their olive branches, inviting his team and projects into their laboratories, and he and his members would move from the promiseless Investigation Department into the prosperous Research Department!

As for the loss of a mere "Reindeer," no one would care—the academic heavyweights would rush to foot the bill for him!

More importantly, this was an achievement beyond the scope of the mission!

No one else could take their credit!

"... What are the conditions of the loss?"

Hearing this response, Old White's lips curved into a smile.

"Simple. We'll keep the captives, props, and the truck for your escape in the camp. You send someone to bring the treaded vehicle over, and then take the truck away from our side."

Zheng Hao asked cautiously, "How do I know you won't renege on your word?"

"We have no reason to do that. If we wanted to kill you, we would have done it by now. Or are you doubting our ability?"

Seeing the man remained silent, Old White continued,

"Moreover, I have to tell you, although I have authorization from my superiors, this isn't a trade between the Alliance and the Academy, but between the Burning Corps and the Beacon Team. So, I hope there won't be any locators or surveillance on that treaded vehicle... From your perspective, you wouldn't want today's incident to be known to irrelevant people, right?"

Zheng Hao was silent for a long time before slowly speaking,

"I hope you will keep your word."

Old White nodded with a smile,

"We will."

"And I always have a feeling that we will have many opportunities for cooperation in the future."

Chapter 480: Rebirth

Although he hadn't received reinforcements from the Academy until the end, Zhao Xiao unexpectedly received incredible news from Old White—

He could go home now.

It was a dark and windy night.

The empty camp was deserted, completely silent.

Fifteen minutes ago, soldiers from the Burning Corps had set up here but hadn't stationed themselves in the camp, leaving behind a truck and some supplies before departing.

Standing in the center of the camp, Zhao Xiao felt a mix of emotions.

He hadn't expected Old White to be serious, truly releasing the prisoners.

Not just him but also Chen Yutong and Wu Liangping, who was severely injured and unconscious in the Sleep Cabin... all the captured personnel were here.

As for Xuan Feng.

The Alliance insisted that a bionic without an "Intelligent Plugin" should be considered equipment, a view also held by the Academy, so its body and AI core were not included in the prisoner exchange.

Although it seemed a bit far-fetched, the Academy indeed didn't recognize bionics as humans, and Zhao Xiao couldn't think of a way to refute it.

Not just Xuan Feng.

His own sniper rifle and accessories had also been confiscated by someone called Night Ten... but he had never expected those people to return his weapons and his freedom.

Although he had regained his freedom, there was one thing Zhao Xiao couldn't understand for the life of him.

That was why the Alliance and the corporations had released these prisoners.

And what puzzled him even more was why, despite soon being able to go home, he couldn't feel happy at all.

Perhaps it was because of that bet.

Old White hadn't mentioned the beer, simply patting his shoulder with a smile in congratulations at the end.

But he knew very well that he had ultimately lost…

At that moment, Chen Yutong, who was standing beside him, suddenly spoke.

"I've changed my mind."

Zhao Xiao was taken aback and turned his head to look at her.

"Changed... your mind?"

Chen Yutong nodded.

"Yes, I've decided to stay."

As confusion in his eyes slowly turned into astonishment, Zhao Xiao stared at her incredulously, it took quite a while before he managed to squeeze a word out of his throat.

"Why?"

Betrayal was a serious crime.

A cadet who defected would face endless bounties and manhunts from the Academy, the higher the level, the higher the bounty.

Moreover, every cadet had the duty to record any defector's words and actions upon discovery and report them to the Department of Internal Affairs for the Purge Plan to handle.

Otherwise, they would be charged with the crime of complicity…

Zhao Xiao instinctively put his hand on his waist, but quickly realized there was nothing there and let it fall.

"I don't know."

Unperturbed by her teammate's movement, Chen Yutong gently shook her head as if she hadn't seen anything.

She turned away and looked toward the starry sky in the south, murmuring in a soft voice, "Maybe… I just want to see what it's like."

Although she was well aware that the Alliance wasn't the "Heaven" she imagined, she still wanted to see what kind of place it was that could make those loyal to it confidently utter that phrase—

You can verify it with your own eyes.

At this moment, her curiosity about that place even surpassed her interest in ruins.

Of course, the fact that the food was really good was also a reason.

Finally, having made her decision, Chen Yutong suddenly felt as though she had put down all the burdens she had been carrying; she felt much lighter all of a sudden.

Rank, status…

Those things were no longer important.

She had already died once for the Academy.

Now, she planned to follow her heart in life, living for the things that interested her.

She looked at Zhao Xiao.

"Tell the captain that I already died in the previous battle and thank him for looking after me all this time…"

She paused there, then suddenly laughed at herself, shaking her head.

"Wait, never mind, forget that last part—it's strange for a dead person to talk."

After all, the captain probably didn't even know she had been captured, so it was better to let him think she had died in that previous operation just like those other fallen comrades.

As long as she didn't cause the Academy any embarrassment, it probably wouldn't bother about a mere E-level, and not all those missing explorers in operations had definitely died; perhaps just like that Class D explorer Old White spoke of, they were living well somewhere.

As for thanks.

She would thank him in person if there was a chance later.

Zhao Xiao swallowed.

Duty told him he should stop this defector in front of him, but he found himself saying something else instead.

"...Take care."

After all, they had been teammates for many years, and he still couldn't enforce that discipline.

He just hoped she wouldn't regret her choice today.

It was better to consider her already dead.

Chen Yutong nodded, turned her back on him, and without any guard, walked away towards the edge of the camp.

Almost less than ten minutes after her departure, the sound of caterpillar tracks crunching over gravel traveled along the ground.

Zhao Xiao looked up toward the direction of the north side of the camp, just to see the familiar heavy caterpillar vehicle slowly entering the quiet, empty camp.

Sitting in the driver's seat was Zheng Hao, the leader of the Beacon team.

Surprise flashed in Zhao Xiao's eyes, he hadn't expected him to personally come to pick him up.

"Captain!"

Watching Zheng Hao jump down from the tracked vehicle, Zhao Xiao quickly jogged over and gave him an excited hug.

Patting the young man's shoulder, Zheng Hao let go of his hands, looking at the young face before him, a tense expression suddenly softened.

On his way here, he had been hesitating about whether his decision was right, but at this moment all hesitations vanished.

He was extremely grateful for the choice he made at that moment.

Perhaps from the perspective of the academy, removing these few Level E names from the list was the most "economical" method, and he and the other team members were supposed to erase these people's names and memories from their minds.

But he was ultimately not the academy.

Both the professor and the chief technical officer were far from him.

He was just a selfish person, an insignificant Level D, a pawn who could be ordered around by superiors…

No matter the circumstances, those people had died on his command.

Even saving one would ease the guilt in his heart.

"Those people didn't do anything to you, right?"

Zhao Xiao shook his head excitedly.

"Nothing! They were actually quite kind to me… they didn't even beat me up."

"That's good."

A rare smile broke across his usually expressionless face as Zheng Hao patted the young man's shoulder, releasing him.

"They kept their promise, I'll remember this favor… By the way, did that guy called Old White give you anything?"

"I have it! I brought it with me!"

Zhao Xiao immediately nodded and took out a test tube from his pocket and handed it over.

Old White had instructed him to personally deliver it to their team leader.

Taking the test tube, Zheng Hao's eyes flashed with joy, but as his gaze landed on the nearby sleep cabin, that joy was quickly diluted by complex emotions.

"Are there any others?"

Zhao Xiao was silent for a moment and shook his head.

"There's no one else."

Zheng Hao said nothing more.

"…Let's get Old Wu onto the truck, this place isn't for lingering, it's time for us to leave."

Zhao Xiao nodded without further questions, cooperating with the captain to carry the sleep cabin containing Old Wu onto the back of the truck.

The two then went to the front of the truck, opened the door, and got into the driver and co-driver seats.

A piece of paper was stuck on the steering wheel.

A few clumsy drawings roughly illustrated how to start the truck, turn on the headlights, and how to drive, etc.

Zheng Hao glanced at it, then ripped off the note and tossed it aside, turned the key, and started the car, driving away from the camp.

Looking in the rearview mirror at the gradually receding camp, Zhao Xiao suddenly spoke up.

"Oh… there's something else."

Zheng Hao responded casually as he drove.

"What is it."

"Chen Yutong… she was badly injured earlier, felt she wouldn't make it, so she gave up her sleep cabin to Old Wu who still had a chance to be saved."

This was a story he had just made up.

Without exposing that she was still alive, it was a plausible explanation.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Xiao continued.

"She wanted me to tell you to thank you… thank you for always taking care of her."

Zheng Hao nodded.

His expression seemed like he guessed something, but he didn't seem to delve deeper into that.

"Hmm, I understand."

Zhao Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

Some things were uncomfortable to keep inside.

Speaking them out felt much better.

…

The truck drove about five or six kilometers and stopped next to a mountain road.

Several members of the Beacon team carrying rifles came up, and seeing that the ones in the driving seats were the captain and the sniper, they all breathed a sigh of relief, lowering their guns.

"Transaction successful."

Jumping down from the vehicle, Zheng Hao looked behind him, no headlights were following.

It seemed those people really did let them go.

Perhaps, as Old White had said, they were looking forward to cooperating again… although he had no desire to encounter those monsters again.

Deputy leader Song Changfeng came forward and asked.

"What do we do now? Without communication devices, we can't report our situation to the academy…"

"That's just fine. When we return, just say we encountered an offensive attack from the Alliance and corporate reinforcements, and our follow-up operation failed."

Pausing for a moment, Zheng Hao continued.

"But as the saying goes, there's always a way out. For the price of one vehicle, we not only successfully rescued a captive member, but also obtained a sample of the mother organism."

Although they lost a tracked vehicle, it wasn't theirs to begin with, using the academy's equipment to exchange for a captive teammate was not a bad deal.

This was already discussed beforehand, and everyone had agreed; for this, the team's engineer even helped to format the AI core of two cyborg team members.

A team member climbed into the back of the truck and suddenly discovered that besides a sleep cabin, there were also two boxes inside. He shouted out to ask,

"What are the two boxes on the truck?"

Zhao Xiao heard him and replied,

"Oh, those are the supplies they gave us. They said they couldn't finish them all and left them for us to eat on the road…"

The medic sneered.

"Who would eat something from the enemy."

He had already unloaded the supplies from the vehicle, including enough freeze-dried food, energy bars, and fresh water for the team to last thirty days.

Zhao Xiao scratched the back of his head.

"Well, that's true, but those things actually taste pretty good…"

Several team members exchanged glances with subtle expressions.

This guy must have gone crazy from being locked up.

Song Changfeng looked toward Zheng Hao, clearly seeking his opinion again.

Zheng Hao, however, didn't say much, just nodded indifferently,

"Let's keep them."

He had already heard about those two boxes from Zhao Xiao earlier on the truck, although he was confused as to why the other side would do something so redundant, he hadn't considered the possibility of them poisoning the supplies.

With their skills, there was absolutely no need for that.

He didn't bother with such trivial matters.

Right now, he was considering which professor would be most suitable to contact once he was back at the Academy.

There was only one chance.

He needed to find a way to maximize the value of that test tube in his hand…

Meanwhile, in the north of Oasis No. 8,

After nearly a week of long-distance travel, Old White and his company finally managed to rendezvous with the main support forces.

Seeing Sun Ze coming towards them, several corporate pilots walked up, laughing, and patted him on the shoulder and arm.

"Haha, brother, I heard from behind that you fell pretty hard."

Sun Ze sighed.

"You bet, who knew what got into those crows in the swamp, they blasted me down with a missile the moment they saw me! You have no idea how thrilling it was, I were almost done for! Good thing my flying skills are awesome, pulled me right out of there!"

"What about the plane?" another pilot asked curiously.

Sun Ze waved his hand carelessly.

"Totaled! I've marked the wreckage on the map, let the aviation science team take care of it… damn it, I'm worth it! Hahaha!"

Laughing, Sun Ze vividly recounted his encounter with the Burning Corps after landing.

Especially focusing on how he cleverly and bravely led his soldiers to breakout from the encirclement by the Academy, conveniently forgetting to mention how he was nearly scared to death at that moment.

A few junior players stood aside, dumbfounded, watching the subtitles on the VM and whispering in Mandarin,

"Damn, that's some big talk!"

"+1, his skin must be thicker than the walls of Giant Stone City…"

The two rescued corporate pilots were to take a direct flight back to Ideal City to be interviewed by various media and to clarify some misunderstandings.

However, before going back, their superior seemed to have something to say to the two lucky survivors, so he pulled aside Sun Ze who was boasting about his exploits.

As for Falling Feather and Xiaoyu, they were going back to City of Dawn on a corporate plane, carrying the samples previously recovered from the Eagle Fighter plane.

The corporation wasn't particularly interested in Xiaoyu.

Or, to put it more precisely, those interested in it didn't have sufficient say or influence in the Supreme Council.

On the other hand, the bionic person named "Xuan Feng" might catch the attention of Kang Mao Group, but that was for the Manager to worry about.

Old White confirmed the updated mission on the VM.

After rendezvousing with the main forces of the Burning Corps, they were to take the heavy reindeer-tracked vehicle "captured" from the Academy back to the frontline airport and await further instructions.

Word was that the frontline battles were progressing exceptionally smoothly, with the joint attack by the Skeleton Corps, Storm Corps and the Lion Kingdom Army, two of the nine retreating ten thousand troops were beaten down.

At this rate, less than half of the ten thousand troops would successfully make it to Oasis No. 2. The scales of victory were nearly fully tilted in the favor of the Alliance.

It was expected that by the end of the year, the Alliance would be able to meet their old friends from the Pioneer.

At this moment, Wild Wind, who was operating a drone, suddenly looked up at Old White who was pondering over the upcoming march route.

"There's someone coming from the north."

A hint of surprise appeared on Old White's face.

The north?

Haven't those nerds given up yet?

"How many."

Wild Wind touched his nose and said,

"I only saw one."

"I'll go meet them!"

Night Ten excitedly jumped down from the truck, eager to try out the newly acquired weapon accessories, but was stopped by Old White's hand.

"There's no need to make a fuss, I'll go and check."

Saying this, Old White walked out of the camp alone.

Around ten minutes later, a figure quickly appeared on a distant sand dune.

She came alone, without any weapons.

Seeing Chen Yutong approaching, Old White smiled and asked.

"Did you leave something behind?"

Chen Yutong shook her head, but after a moment, she gently nodded.

"I want to go with you to see that place where the Waste Land Wanderers gather for warmth," I mentioned.

Old White looked at the girl in surprise.

Seeing her expression wasn't joking, he didn't ask further but smiled and stretched out his right hand.

"It looks like you've thought this through for a long time. Since you've decided, I won't try to dissuade you... Welcome to join us."

"Thank you. If you hadn't taken me in, I might have been homeless."

She extended her hand and shook his, slightly relaxing her expression as she joked, "After making this decision, I've probably gone from missing to dead back at the Academy."

Old White also made a playful joke.

"Congratulations on starting a new life. Do you want to change your name?"

Chen Yutong replied straightforwardly.

"No need, I'm not planning to forget my past. Besides, with so many people sharing the same name, I doubt anyone would care about the life or death of an E-level Explorer."

She was just a minor figure, not worthy of the attention of those high and mighty A or B-class individuals.

After a pause, she looked around and continued.

"Didn't you get a track vehicle from Zheng Hao? Why don't I see it?"

Old White embarrassingly said.

"It's still on the way back... My people just took over and are studying the manual your captain left. It should be back in a few minutes."

Compared to the Alliance's trucks, that thing was much more troublesome to drive, with a twelve-inch central console crammed with over fifty buttons.

It was hardly any easier to operate than the Flapping Machines that corporations sold to them.

Chen Yutong smiled wryly.

"That's perfect. Once your people are back, I can teach you how to drive that thing."

A flash of surprise crossed Old White's eyes as he replied with a hearty laugh.

"That would be great, you'd really be helping us out a lot!"

Her naturally falling bangs obstructed her view, so she casually flicked them aside and said nonchalantly.

"Don't mention it. It's no big deal. When we get back, just treat me to a drink of that liquor made from potatoes... What's it called?"

"Do you mean vodka?"

Old White looked at the brave girl with surprise and teased her, "I heard Academy people don't drink alcohol; ethanol is used only for reagents and fuel... Are you sure you can handle it?"

Chen Yutong's mouth quirked up.

"I'm no longer one of the Academy's people. And how would I know if I can handle it without trying?"

Perhaps due to her changed status or maybe because she had come to terms with her decisions, Old White always felt she had changed compared to the previous day.

But, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Trying some new things she hadn't been exposed to before would really help her adapt to her new life.

"Alright, I won't stop you... but I'd recommend a beginner-friendly way to drink it, mixing in some cola or Sprite."

Chen Yutong asked curiously.

"What's that? Is it tasty?"

"It's a drink... Crafted by life-loving Residents of the refuge—my meaning is, career players; simply put, it's sugary water with some carbonation added."

"Carbonation? Does that stuff have a flavor?" Chen Yutong frowned slightly.

The Academy also had drinks with added sugar, caffeine, and vitamins.

But they would never add carbonation to drinking water; instead, they'd treat it like ethanol and store it in labeled sample cabinets.

Those substances neither provide nutrition nor boost dopamine production, rather they result in a loss of minerals in the body, much like how alcohol damages the brain.

Even if harmful doses could be controlled, there was absolutely no need to take unnecessary risks for meaningless activities.

"It has no taste, but the sensation of the bubbles exploding between your lips can bring a bit of a different thrill to mundane sugary water. You should try it and see…"

Old White's response was as she expected.

What surprised her, however, were his other insights about "meaning."

For her, who was newly reborn, this was even more intriguing than the taste.

"So that's how it is... Can you tell me more about Sprite? I'm a bit curious."

Looking at her face filled with curiosity, Old White somewhat helplessly explained.

"Shush, that topic is too technical. Overall, it's similar to cola, but we've replaced caffeine with citric acid…"

"Citric acid replacing caffeine?! That's intriguing..."

Unknowingly, the pair started heading back.

Chen Yutong naturally followed beside him, eagerly asking many questions she'd been interested in but hadn't had the chance to ask.

The two talked like old friends who had known each other for ages, without any barriers, and before they knew it, a lot of time had passed…

Not far away, on a sand dune with a sniper rifle, Night Ten cursed as he packed up his gun and brushed the sand off his trousers.

"Damn it! Enough watching, I was worried he might be in trouble, and instead, I get fed a mouthful of dog food."

Wild Wind, holding binoculars, glanced at him sideways.

"How can you see it as dog food? Can't it just be pure friendship?"

Night Ten retorted.

"Cut it out. Have you forgotten about Fang Chang, that dog? Started with all business talk and ended up calling her his wife… Ugh."

No, he couldn't stand sentimental stuff unless it was his own.

Wild Wind coughed.

"Fang Chang is Fang Chang, Old White is Old White... They're different."

Night Ten rolled his eyes.

"Going back."

Chapter 481: This is the "Punishment" for Selfish Desires (Second Update!)

Oasis No.8.

Li Ke, who was about to sleep in the palace, suddenly received a communication request from the rear.

"What? The mother sample has been found?!"

Hearing this, he who was a bit drowsy a second ago, was instantly alert.

Limited by distance and endurance factors, communication drones could only maintain ten to twenty minutes of uptime over Oasis No.8.

He had to keep his words as brief as possible.

"Whose possession is the sample in?"

The person on the communication channel continued.

"It's in the hands of the Beacon team. They sent a message to the nearest signal tower to the Wandering Swamp through emergency means, but due to the loss of the mobile communication base station during the operation, the Investigation Department can't get in touch with them temporarily."

Researchers valued intellectual property rights highly; it was not only a matter of honor but crucial for their promotions.

Teams from the Investigation Department's containment plan group, when assigned to specific operations, needed to report to their immediate superiors and were not allowed to skip levels or disclose information to unrelated personnel outside the project group.

This was a rule and a taboo.

However, there was an exception.

That was when the exploration teams accidentally lost direct communication channels with their superiors, they could refer to the "priority preservation principle" and report important news to the next higher-level department that could receive the message, and then by that department, the message could be conveyed.

All actions and measures taken by the Beacon team fully complied with the Academy's regulations.

However, the trouble was that this message should have been reported up to the Chief Technical Officer by himself, and now any researcher with a slight bit of energy probably knew about the existence of that mutant mother sample.

This could be problematic for him who first discovered this merit.

Especially since that test tube was not in his possession, there would likely be many researchers willing to trade with the Beacon team.

Buying a few explorers was too easy.

Just let them hang a name on a few papers or outright allow them to publish a few research findings under his own name; no explorer could resist the temptation to become a researcher.

And for those who were already researchers, the opportunities for promotion they craved were as plentiful as corporate paper money in the labs of the Investigation Department.

Li Ke, tapping his index finger on his knee, frowned and muttered lowly.

"Operation... My orders to them were to follow those people, what action did they unilaterally plan?"

The man on the other end of the communication channel said helplessly.

"According to their statement, they indeed kept following the Alliance from behind, and maintained a safe distance of five kilometers without acting... but they were ambushed by people from the Alliance and corporations."

Li Ke angrily said.

"They had drones, how could they possibly get ambushed by people from the Alliance and the corporations?!"

A hesitant voice came through the communication channel.

"Well... I'm not sure either, but according to them, they repelled the attackers from the Alliance and the corporations during the operation, and took the opportunity to snatch back previously captured team members, successfully escaping with a truck and mother tissue fragments taken from the Alliance."

Li Ke closed his eyes and thought for a long time, then slowly said.

"Alright, I understand."

"And this matter..."

"Let's talk when they get back."

If they are sensible.

He wouldn't mind purchasing that sample for three papers worth 10,000 assessment points and a Level D achievement as compensation for their casualties.

If they are not sensible.

Then assign them to an Level A or Level S relic to handle...

...

In the Academy where money didn't exist, scores were everything.

Assessment scores (K-scores) determined the rating levels, while reward scores (G-scores) could be used for exchanging consumer goods to improve living conditions or for purchasing research equipment, investing in exploration team gear, and more.

Completing assessments was a top priority for researchers within the span of a year.

Whether A-class or C-class, only by meeting this year's KPI targets could one ensure receiving sufficient or even excess "funding" — that is, reward scores — and producing enough K-scores to maintain their current positions.

To be promoted, assessment scores alone were not sufficient; the queue would be endless.

To prove oneself eligible for more resources and intelligence, researchers had to submit sufficient research achievements.

Take the most numerous, Level D explorers, for example.

According to Academy rules, Level E and Level D explorers who wished to become official needed to pass at least one professional skill assessment and be designated by a Level C researcher or higher.

A Level C researcher could only take on three students at most, and could not recruit new ones until those students reached Level C.

Advancing from Level E or Level D to Level C without resources could easily take ten to fifteen years.

While the original intention of this rule was to ensure that mentors devoted themselves to a limited number of students, because mentors who had already recruited three students would hardly act as bootlickers, most Level C researchers with a modest background were very cautious in selecting students.

If not chosen by a mentor, Level D explorers could only become Level D researchers through fully accredited Level D achievements.

When this rule was first established, meeting these criteria was not very difficult, as the Wasteland had plenty of opportunities for development.

However, as more and more relics were excavated, finding a Level D technology that the Academy had not yet recorded, based solely on remaining databases and map information, became nearly impossible.

It was like reaching the end of a game and not being able to unlock that one remaining achievement — it might not be very rare, but you just couldn't unlock it in the first playthrough.

For an explorer without resources or connections to independently develop a new technology and have it classified as Level D was extremely difficult.

Otherwise, the identity of Academy researchers would have inflated just like corporate money.

However, although it was extremely difficult for researchers without a foundation to obtain assessment scores and research achievements, it was not a problem for the academic elites who owned their own laboratories and research teams.

After more than a hundred years of development and mastering the rules, they had devised a stable method to produce "K-scores" and sub-Level D achievements.

This included but was not limited to dissecting one technology into countless sub-technologies that meet Level D criteria or innovating numerous minor but limited utility improvements for a technology that had been reclaimed.

Not to mention, the External Affairs Department and Internal Affairs Department even developed a set of "evaluation standards" completely unrelated to research.

For example, the "war mediation" project that a Level B researcher was currently engaged in.

Even if it fell short of expectations, as long as the mediation result was within the bottom line, it would still qualify as a Level C achievement.

Level D achievements could be produced, and Levels E, F, and G could also be mass-produced. However, a Level C achievement was still worth striving for by a Level B researcher.

After all, if a significant achievement beyond the expectations of the Chief Technical Officer could be achieved, who knows, they might even earn a Level B!

And if they had accumulated enough experience beforehand, or had the support of a family background, or both, they might even advance further to Level A!

At Level A, one basically joined the core management of the Academy. Serving directly under the Chief Technical Officer — who was only Level S — was a prestigious position.

This was precisely why that Level B researcher, who had witnessed Xiaoyu, could neither give up the mutant subject nor neglect his ongoing work.

Chu Guang didn't know the name of the Level B researcher who had assigned the task to the Beacon team, nor did he know what that guy was scheming.

He merely reconstructed the outline of the entire event using his experience as a plot designer, as well as clues such as the operational trajectory of the "Reindeer" tread vehicle, a "statement" from a Level E female explorer, and intelligence on the Golden Lizard Royal Family collected by the Battlefield Atmosphere Group during the journey—

First, someone from the middle to high levels of the Academy had traveled to Oasis No.8, likely tasked by higher-ups to mediate the war in Luoxia Province.

According to a description from Edge Shoveling, he heard rumors while in the Grand Canyon—the Academy's higher-ups had expressed displeasure with the inactivity of the Grand Canyon regarding the nuclear incident in Lost Valley, and the people of Grand Canyon responded with, "What's it to me?"

Strictly speaking, based on the century-old contract, Luoxia Province, serving the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, should belong to the sphere of influence of the Grand Canyon.

However, after fostering the unreliable proxy of Bugra Free State, the Grand Canyon clearly no longer wanted to deal with the messy issues of the Wasteland; they contentedly became a large refuge protected by the Holy Shield, even passively ignoring the "Bone-Chewing Chaos" happening right under their noses.

If the Grand Canyon was not planning to interfere in the situation of Luoxia Province, and the Academy was unwilling to give up the Golden Lizard Kingdom, a food-producing vassal, they would inevitably send a middle to high-level person with authority to mediate in Luoxia Province.

Level C was too low, Level A was too high to risk, so the person sent had to be Level B.

And it was there that the coincidences happened.

Xiaoyu piloting the "Dragonfly" transport plane and the young fellow he picked up in mid-air were gliding right to the edge of the Wandering Swamp along with Falling Feather.

Such a huge commotion was impossible for the survivors in the Wandering Swamp to miss, and if it were a Survivor Settlement under the Academy's banner, they would surely report back to the Academy deep within the swamp.

Once the incident was categorized as "an aftermath of the War," it made sense for it to be handled by that "supposed B-level researcher" who had gone to Luo Xia Province to mediate the war.

Then Xiaoyu's sub-entity was spotted by that B-level researcher, who dispatched the Beacon team to reclaim it.

Chu Guang even boldly speculated that if the pilot of the "Peidao" fighter plane was still alive, he might now be held by the Academy as a bargaining chip.

Upon discovering that the mother entity was controlled by the corporation, in order not to compromise the paramount mission of "mediating the war," that B-level researcher chose to adopt a cautious strategy, not launching an all-out interception by the Golden Lizard Kingdom against the corporation and Alliance teams.

Of course, it could also be that the Golden Lizard Kingdom yielded to the Alliance's deployed forces in Luo Xia Province, resisting pressure and refusing the Secret Country's requests.

Perhaps things were just such a coincidence.

Even Chu Guang, who had sorted out the whole affair, found himself somewhat amused.

Of course, what surprised Chu Guang even more was Old White.

"You abducted their researcher???"

"Cough, it was an explorer... and we didn't abduct her; we had left her by the truck, and she came over on her own."

Watching the astonished Manager on the holographic screen, Old White explained awkwardly, even using "we" to share some of the blame with his buddies.

According to Fang Chang, this was actually simple; the affection level had reached the critical point, triggering an off-main quest hidden branch—"Academy Explorer's Defection.EVENT"

But explaining this to an NPC was probably pointless.

He remembered reading Crow's complaints on the Forum a long time ago. If you bluntly asked a Manager, "Hey, what's my affection level?" the answers you got were likely just poker-faced statements like "There's no such setting" or "I'm not that kind of person."

However, according to the hints on the Forum by Dog Plan, it was obvious that the affection level setting did exist; it's just that NPCs themselves were unaware of it.

Worried that the Manager wouldn't understand the situation and might suspect her motives for joining the Alliance, or even arrest her as a POW or send her to a POW camp.

Watching the Manager behind the holographic screen, Old White stated cautiously.

"Respected Manager... I think you needn't worry too much about an abandoned E-level explorer. The Academy doesn't know she's alive, and she has no reason to remain loyal to the Academy. Her knowledge and experience are exactly what the Alliance needs."

He admitted that he did have a bit of self-interest in saying that.

But it was not as Night Ten jokingly teased about being superficial; he was not the type of person who let his moral stance follow his facial features, and he didn't harbor any such thoughts.

If Zhao Xiao had stayed, he would have pleaded for the young man just the same.

The reason was simple.

She had decided to leave her past behind and stay, drawn by the trust she placed in him and her aspiration for the Alliance he had depicted.

He simply didn't want to betray that trust, nor did he want someone who dreamed about the Alliance to be disappointed by it.

Call him simple-minded or say his game neurons have been biased by muscles; he didn't have the meticulous mind like Fang Chang, most times, he was just ensuring the coherence of his thoughts.

If Ms. Chen did something detrimental to the Alliance or was a spy sent by the Academy, he would not hesitate to bring her to justice.

But if she had done nothing, and was merely being subject to arbitrary action based on suspicion…

He couldn't accept that.

Watching Old White on the holographic screen, Chu Guang couldn't help but be amused.

This was the first time he had seen such a "cautious" expression on this guy's face.

Though he had never seen Old White's photo in real life, the man who instantly picked the top lane when playing online games, who always jumped into P City in survival games, and faced any number of consecutive defeats with a smile was always a "Three-second True Man"—the image of Tryndamere in his mind.

The comparison might sound abstract, changing it to the quirky winter-swimming pigeon, Ollie, would make it much clearer.

All in all, that hesitant expression didn't suit his face.

Chu Guang's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

Just…

Play along with him.

"You're overthinking it," Chu Guang slightly raised his chin, looking down at the player before him. "Lift your head and puff out your chest. I won't fault you for having personal desires, but your hesitation makes me doubt your loyalty."

Old White hastily explained with a wry smile.

"I didn't mean that—"

"It doesn't matter," Chu Guang interrupted him, continuing in an undeniable tone, "your current state isn't suitable for staying on the front line. I order you to leave the war zone, take the flight arranged by Falling Feather back to the City of Dawn's Army Command, and rest there for three days. This is your punishment."

Chu Guang paused for a moment, then slowed his speech, looking at this brother who regarded him as an NPC, and continued earnestly.

"The Alliance doesn't care about lineage or background, whether it's Weilante People, researchers from the swamp, or wandering scavengers. Even if they were once our enemies, as long as they are willing to unite under the banner of the Alliance from their hearts, we treat them all equally... You're a corps commander of the Alliance; others might harbor concerns and prejudices, but you shouldn't doubt our path."

Old White couldn't bear to look into his eyes for a moment and said with shame,

"Yes."

Odd.

It was clearly just a game, yet he didn't know why he was so deeply immersed; could it be the "Talent" sequence?

Seeing Old White admit his fault, Chu Guang didn't want to tease him further and softly coughed before continuing.

"Don't take it too heavily, just think of it as a vacation. It's probably good to have that explorer go back with you. This place is no area for her. If you get the chance, take her around and let her understand our Alliance... There's no rush with work."

Goodness.

It turned out to trigger a hidden mission.

Old White, who thought he had fallen out of favor, breathed a sigh of relief and bowed with a fist.

"At your command!"

Three days isn't too long, just think of it as a rotation.

Though he was reluctant to leave his brothers and go to the rear alone, he believed in their abilities to handle things perfectly without him.

Unaware of Old White's thoughts, Chu Guang took his understanding as appreciation of his intentions and was satisfied as he ended the communication.

Watching the holographic screen close, Chu Guang finally couldn't hold back a laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha! How interesting!"

Seeing Chu Guang suddenly burst out laughing, Xiao Qi, who sat on the edge of the pen holder, asked curiously with both hands supporting her cheeks,

"Like creating an alt account with a pretty girl's picture to chat with roommates as if you're a college sister?"

"Get lost, who the hell would do such a despicable thing."

Chu Guang glared at Xiao Qi sitting on the edge of the pen holder and flicked this talkative figurine into the pen holder with his finger.

He couldn't remember if he had ever done such a thing.

Campus life was such a long time ago.

Pretending not to hear the clattering and pitiful pleas from the pen holder, Chu Guang leaned back in his chair contently.

The crash incident had come to an end.

Although the troubles of the Alliance were far from over, with the Academy's sudden interference, the impact on the situation in Luoxia Province was still unknown.

But that's exactly why he existed as a Manager—

He would lead this young Alliance to show those ancient "Degenerate Empires" their uncompromising bottom line and their determination to resist to the end.

Chu Guang's gaze involuntarily drifted towards the calendar at the corner of the desk.

Perhaps one day in the future, he would reveal a little bit of the inside story to those four sons caught up in the great vortex of "Wasteland OL"—for instance, that Dawn in the game and Ah Guang on the forum were actually the same person, and then watch their comical expressions.

But now it was still too early to talk about these things.

Even his own understanding of the truth was merely the tip of the iceberg.

-

(The extra updates promised at the beginning of the month have been moved to the end of the month, but no pigeons.)

Chapter 482 Where is the airplane? Where did such a big airplane go?

At the border of Wandering swamp and Luo Xia Province, the thin sunlight pierced through the mist, casting a grey-yellow veil across the wasteland.

Crows tearing at a corpse raised their heads as an out-of-place silver gray cross entered their amber-colored pupils.

"…this is Torch-1, 'Seagull' has arrived above the coordinates… I'll check again, are you sure it's these coordinates?"

In the cabin of the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, the co-pilot, chewing on gum, prodded a tablet with his index finger.

His name was Xiao Hua, a pilot affiliated with Company Aviation Science, but when they said "Company," it wasn't just any "company"; his actual employer was "Casual Salvage Company," controlled by the Kang Mao Group.

Despite the nonchalant name, their services were renowned for being reliable and trustworthy, which is why the insurance company providing coverage for the crashed plane had given them this lucrative deal.

They had been exceedingly cautious in taking on this job, especially since entering Luo Xia Province, never letting down their guard.

Although the area was far from the conflict zones, the Aviation Science had crashed a plane nearby just a week ago, and he couldn't afford to take any risks.

Those reclusive, psychologically shadowed swamp dwellers did not think conventionally— God knows why they would fire missiles toward "Old friends" on the East Coast.

But since the council did not wish to complicate matters further, they had to avoid conflict as much as possible.

Therefore, they cautiously hovered the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft a hundred kilometers up in the air, first sending a drone to inspect the situation and confirm the exact location before deciding how to handle it.

If the Academy pulled the same trick again.

Sufficient altitude would allow them to glide towards the desert to the south.

A soft static crackled through the communication channel, possibly because the sandstorm had passed, leaving the unstable signal slightly restored.

"Coordinates wrong?! How is that possible?"

"Could I still be joking with you?" The pilot swiped down on the tablet, taking advantage of the good signal to compress and send over aerial photos.

The other side of the communication fell into a brief silence.

After seeing the aerial photos, the pilot named Sun Ze seemed to fall into a baffling self-doubt.

"No way... The leftover craters are still on the ground."

"Are you sure those are craters?" the pilot in the driver's seat leaned in and asked cautiously, "We didn't find any bodies on the ground… nor the 'beehive' you mentioned, not even a single drone."

"Exactly... It's probably the Academy's folks who cleaned it up for us after realizing they had hit someone they shouldn't have messed with, and cleared it all away."

"That makes sense haha."

There was no response to the pilots' banter from the communication channel.

Only the static noise remained.

That Sun Ze was perhaps doubting life itself.

But they didn't want to wait any longer, and the remaining battery life didn't allow them to linger there.

"Anyway, we didn't see anything… we're running out of power, let's stop here." said the pilot looking towards Xiao Hua, who was operating the drone.

Xiao Hua looked up at the captain.

"How should we write this report?"

"Just whatever, add a few sets of nearby coordinates photos, and that's it."

"Got it."

Xiao Hua nodded, equally disinclined to trouble himself, stretched his index finger and chose the return-to-home button on the screen.

The silver gray drone quickly ceased hovering and flew toward the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft suspended above the southern mountains.

Inside the cabin, the two staff members retrieved the drone, Xiao Hua's finger sliding across the screen selecting photos to stuff into the report later.

Just then, his lips unconsciously uttered a soft "eh" as he sat up straight from his seat.

"What's up?" The captain glanced at the tablet in his hands, seeing nothing but mountains on the screen.

Without a word, Xiao Hua tapped the tool icon twice with his index finger, switching to thermal imaging mode.

As the screen shifted to black and white tones, suddenly, bright silver spots appeared scattered throughout a dark mountain hollow.

The captain looked slightly astounded.

"What's that?"

"Don't know… but there seem to be quite a few people," Xiao Hua muttered in confusion, "about thirty kilometers away in the mountain hollow, captured by the drone on its way back."

The captain said nothing.

"Then let's not bother."

Xiao Hua shrugged and made a gentle swipe on the touchscreen.

"You're the boss."

Meanwhile, thirty kilometers away in the hollow, a group of ragged scavengers pushed carts, navigating through the mountains.

The company pilots returning home had no idea that the very Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft they had been searching for was right under their noses.

It was almost captured by the aerial camera!

But even if those Waste Land Wanderers boldly walked right past them, they wouldn't recognize that the parts were indeed from their transport.

Under the temptation of a one million silver coins bounty, these scavengers were like ants moving house.

From the plasma engine hanging outside to the glass cover on the dashboard, they stripped the massive transport clean in less than half a day, packing everything into those big and small carts filled with jars and bottles.

Not even a screw was left behind!

And not only that.

Even the "beehive" drone launched by Beacon team and the numerous small attacker drones destroyed by the EMP were all picked up by these scavengers, one by one.

As that old man named Guste boasted,

When it comes to scavenging trash, they were professionals!

"Casual Salvage Company? What's that?"

"Ideal City has a company specifically for recycling services. We were planning to contact them for work, but they only offer free shipping within the Province of Yúnjiānxíng."

"Free shipping?"

Hearing this strange phrase he had never heard before, Guste, who was leisurely smoking on the back of a Double-headed Cow, cast a curious glance at the alliance soldier who claimed to be 'Corner old six.'

Corner old Six coughed and explained in nonstandard United Human language.

"It means home delivery... it means delivering to your doorstep."

"Oh, okay," the old man nodded, then chuckled, "We offer 'free shipping' too, that's nothing special."

Corner Old Six looked at him, surprised.

Most Waste Land Wanderers, when mentioning companies and Ideal City, looked wistful, just as they'd show fear when talking about the Army.

It was the first time he had heard such a different opinion about Ideal City from a Waste Land Wanderer.

"Not special, huh? Isn't it amazing to work for a company?"

"Pff, that's nothing," Guste smirked, knocked his pipe, and said, "My ancestors even worked for the Post-War Reconstruction Committee. It's hard to say who picked up more trash."

Corner Old Six looked even more surprised and nodded subconsciously.

"Then I guess you've picked up more... if you include what was collected before."

While the old man looked envious when discussing the good things about Ideal City, a sense of unquestionable authority and pride appeared on his wrinkled face when he talked about his own trade.

The Lost Rookie walking beside them had a confused expression the whole time.

Yesterday, during the disassembly, he had filmed the Scavengers tearing apart an aircraft.

No matter how many times he watched, he couldn't imagine how they did it.

"...well, they actually took it apart," the Lost Rookie muttered to himself.

Looking back at the impressive procession and the truckloads of assorted junk, Sniper Bai scratched his head and said.

"But how are we gonna fit all this back?"

Upon hearing the conversation of his team members, Corner Old Six chuckled as he came over and said.

"Who knows! Why worry so much? Whether it can be put back together is the players' and NPC's problem, let's just get it back first!"

...

It wasn't long before the grand team crossed another mountain.

Just when the small players were performing their "disappear on the spot" trick right under their allies' noses, Old White, who had logged back online after a night's absence, finally sought out his two good brothers and candidly shared last night's events...

"...so, that's what happened. I was temporarily suspended by the Manager and have to stay back for three days."

Embarrassed, Old White looked towards Wild Wind and continued uncomfortably.

"I won't be around for a while... I'm counting on you."

He had thought his two good brothers would show some sympathy or understanding for his predicament.

But unexpectedly, before he could finish his words, Night Ten burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! Serves you right!"

Though not as exaggerated as Night Ten, a subtle expression still crossed Wild Wind's face after listening to Old White.

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, he tried to summarize.

"So... you were suspended because you pleaded for that Ms. Chen with the Manager?"

"No, that's not what I said. I said that the Manager felt I was doubting he would doubt... damn, this is so awkward to explain."

Watching the nearly crazed Old White, Wild Wind didn't say a word, just silently watched him scratch his head with an "you think I'd believe this?" expression.

But whether he believed it or not...

The notice on the Legion System interface couldn't be fake.

Wild Wind sighed, supported his forehead for a moment, and suddenly thought of something.

"Right, is that Ms. Chen going back with you too?"

Old White was taken aback for a moment and then spontaneously nodded.

"Of course, this is a war zone. It's pointless for her, a non-combatant, to stay here..."

A second ago, Night Ten, who was still clutching his stomach with laughter, suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.

The joy turned to agony in a flash.

"Damn! That's not fair!!!"

Old White looked at him bewildered.

"What are you freaking out about…"

Wild Wind coughed.

"This time I side with Night Ten... We're going to the front, and you're running back to enjoy yourself. That's really not cool."

Night Ten blurted out.

"Exactly! I've also gained achievements and shed blood for the Alliance, why don't I get a reward!"

Old White: "???"

I just got suspended, for goodness sake.

How is that a reward!

...

To be honest, there definitely was a reward.

Avoiding a direct conflict with the Academy while securing the interests of the Alliance to the maximum in the rescue mission, all players involved got a handsome reward.

Thanks to occasional mysterious auctions on the official website, there were always buyers for the silver coins on the Forum, making the hefty reward quite appealing.

However, when Night Ten saw the pale figures on the settlement interface, his eyes were filled with resentment.

Old White coughed awkwardly, unable to meet his gaze, and muttered "see you in three days" before turning and heading towards the nearby transport plane.

Falling Feather and Xiaoyu were also in the cabin.

Including the bionic man, Xuan Feng, who was fixed in an iron coffin, the sub-entity debris packed in a box, and two corporate pilots who had been rescued earlier.

The plan had changed, because there wasn't enough fuel left to return to Ideal City, they needed to first head back to the airbase in the northern part of West State City to catch a connecting flight.

As they waited for the plane to take off, the two pilots whispered to each other, discussing the "ghost story" they had just heard.

"It's really ghostly."

"What happened?"

"That plane disappeared."

"Disappeared?!" The co-pilot sitting beside him looked at Sun Ze in surprise, his eyes wide, "How is that possible? How can such a big plane just run off by itself?"

"I don't know... The salvage company contacted by the aviation science sector went to the coordinates I reported, and they nonsensically claimed I had remembered the location wrong."

Sun Ze was puzzled.

He had calculated the rough coordinates based on the flight data in the black box, and he had even checked twice. How could there be a mistake?

Moreover, the aerial photo clearly showed the area where the Burning Corps and Beacon team had exchanged fire. He was sure he hadn't seen it wrong.

A plane that big, in a wilderness without even a single road around...

How on earth did it vanish?!

"Hey."

Seeing his teammate tug at his sleeve, Sun Ze, who was still puzzled, looked up.

"What?"

His teammate didn't speak but pointed towards the entrance of the cabin, where a young woman in a beige coat had just entered.

Her slightly brownish long hair tied in a ponytail, her figure was slender and tall, although the shapely aspects were still quite prominent.

What surprised him was not the sight of a beautiful girl here, but that he had seen this woman before.

Out of curiosity, Sun Ze whistled and struck up a conversation.

"Hey, beautiful, weren't you heading back?"

Chen Yutong glanced at him twice.

"I've stayed."

Sun Ze was even more surprised to hear this.

"Stayed?"

The co-pilot sitting beside Sun Ze, however, wasn't surprised and said with a smile,

"I've always said, the life at the academy isn't for normal people, nobody would want to go back to a place like that... Want to visit Ideal City?"

"Maybe later."

Chen Yutong casually responded and found an empty spot to sit down and buckled up.

Although she had left the academy, she still didn't have a liking for corporate people... their frivolous attitudes, always unserious and inclined to brag about things that, in her view, were not worth boasting about.

She knew this might be a prejudice.

But a prejudice that had formed over twenty years wasn't going to change in a day or two.

"That method of tying might cause your wound to tear."

Hearing this imperfectly spoken United Human language, Chen Yutong looked up to see Old White walking into the cabin.

She raised her eyebrows in curiosity and asked,

"How should it be tied then?"

"Shift the strain away from the abdomen, focus it on legs and shoulders… like this." Unable to explain with his index finger, Old White simply sat down next to her and demonstrated.

Following his example, Chen Yutong unfastened the nylon latch at her abdomen and resecured her belt, indeed feeling much more comfortable.

"Thanks… Aren't you heading to the front line anymore?"

"Just like those two," Old White nodded towards the corporate pilots sitting not far away, and said helplessly, "Plans have changed… Anyway... I have to stay back for a few days."

Chen Yutong observed his expression for a while, and her professional instincts made her pick up on something.

"Because of me?"

Old White hesitated, then shook his head.

"It's not about you."

Although often teased by his good brothers, he still stubbornly believed that, like the Manager had said, it was a punishment for him.

Actually, it wasn't incorrect.

Even though he had never doubted the correctness of the Alliance or had hesitations about his beliefs, he couldn't deny that there were personal motives behind those words.

"Sorry."

Old White laughed it off casually.

"What are you apologizing for, I told you it's not about you."

At that moment, the cabin door was shut and soon, the humming of the plasma vortices could be heard outside the cabin.

Accompanying a slight tremor, the transport plane slowly ascended.

Sitting at the other end of the cabin, Falling Feather and Xiaoyu were still whispering to each other.

"... eat, eat, eat, when we get back I'll buy you a box of lollipops to munch on! Let you eat your fill at once!"

"Yi wu!"

"Ice cream? Are you sure? Can't you not handle something that cold?"

"Yi wu!!"

"Alright, alright... I'll buy it."

That harmonious and affectionate scene made Old White's face break into an aunt-like smile, though he still didn't understand how the two were communicating.

By radio waves?

How was that possible?

"It's really unbelievable..."

Speaking his mind, Chen Yutong's eyes also revealed a curious look as she softly added,

"The fact that the 'Mutated slime fungus' mother can communicate with humans... it overturns our understanding of the past two hundred years."

Old White nodded.

"Yeah, we were equally surprised when we discovered it, especially here in Qingquan City, where the slime fungus is practically synonymous with death and plague. If it weren't for the Manager's orders, I doubt anyone would allow it to live."

Players, however, didn't seem to care.

As long as there was communication, even the Claw of Death could be used as a mount, let alone a 'Mutated slime fungus'. The stranger it looked, the cooler it seemed.

If it weren't for the mutants' excessively savage and bloodthirsty mental states, which even the Mind Interference Device couldn't affect, Goblin Technology would definitely want to keep a couple as free labor.

However, compared to the unconventional approach of the players, the Waste Land Wanderers, who genuinely lived in this world, still cared somewhat.

It was only due to the Manager's personal charisma and authority that they had accepted the existence of this anomaly.

Chen Yutong looked at Old White.

"Even so, you've accepted it?"

Old White scratched his head.

"Yeah, at least for now it's harmless. Perhaps we can find a way to make those lairs harmless from it... Anyway, I think completely eradicating them is unlikely now. This thing can live over two hundred years without air, water, or oxygen."

Chen Yutong pondered for a moment.

"I once heard a rumor."

Old White casually asked,

"What rumor?"

Chen Yutong pointed upward.

"They come from there."

"From there?"

Old White hesitated.

He unconsciously looked up, but only saw the silvery-gray ceiling.

"She might be referring to South Gate Two."

Seated not far away, Sun Ze, unable to hold his peace and under the eager gaze of Xiaoyu, smiled as he popped a piece of chewing gum into his mouth.

"A former colony of the United Human, a planet shrouded in aurora. I've heard the rumor, but so what... By the way, you can't see it from here."

Old White gave her a puzzled look.

This was a setting not detailed on the official website.

Not minding the corporate employee's comment, Chen Yutong nodded slightly, her voice tinged with a faint sense of loss.

"Many people have already forgotten that it once belonged to us."

At the same time, thousands of miles away on a desert, hundreds of trucks were anchored beside a ruined highway, wrecked metal burning on the sand dunes.

Standing on top of a tank turret, holding a pair of binoculars, the Mole was looking at a messy battlefield in the distance.

Another exhilarating victory.

Thanks to the information supplied by "Pangolin," the retreating ten thousand troops of the Alliance had been decimated by an onslaught of steel.

This was already the third ten thousand troops they had eliminated this week.

Including the allied forces' achievements, the Army probably didn't have many flags left.

Right now, the only thing Mole wanted to do was to seize the Lion Kingdom ahead of his buddy from the Springs and intercept the supplies the Legion was sending from the east.

He brought the communicator close to his mouth.

"Advance the armored grenadiers!"

"Roger!"

After patting the truck's hood, Elena signaled the driver to start moving while steadying the welded 20mm heavy machine gun on the roof.

The dark barrel pointed directly at the disarrayed battlefield in the distance, heat waves distorting the air around the heated metal gun barrel.

The armored troops had already annihilated most of the resistance.

Now, it was time for the infantry to clean the battlefield.

Essentially, all they had to do was gather the surrendering soldiers, confiscate their weapons, and hand them over to the following forces from the Lion Kingdom Army.

With only fifty kilometers left to the Falcon Kingdom, the Skeleton Corps would soon see the royal palace that General McLennan "constantly remembered."

Glancing at the Weilante People with their hands on their heads, Elena said with a smile,

"I hope Old Soldier isn't in there."

Hearing that humor-laced taunt, a construction youth drew a cross on his chest with bricks.

"Pray for him."

-

(Lingering after-effects of the climax, stuck a bit on the writing today, will write about the daily lives of professional players in the rear tomorrow.)

Chapter 483: Rather Than an Experiment, It's More Like a Grand Blueprint

North of Dawn City.

On the bustling commercial street, dressed in maid outfits, Frost and Solar Eclipse stood at the entrance of Vine Cottage, smiling and watching the hustle and bustle of the street.

They had been in Dawn City for a while, having come from Ideal City.

Not only had the thriving city changed over time, but so had they, embraced and accepted by this city.

The black fluffy lining complemented the pleated white skirt perfectly, the holy white wrapping tightly around the metallic sheen of the thighs, outlining the curves and contours designed by human ergonomics.

Standing next to Frost, Solar Eclipse's style was strikingly different.

Under the suggestion of the owner, Teng Teng, it chose a more mysterious black to match its "reticent" and "serious" demeanor.

Recently, they had upgraded their "Intellectual AI Plug-in" hardware, replacing their showroom mannequin-like features with faces almost indistinguishable from ordinary humans.

Although these additional hardware pieces were somewhat superfluous for the "A Series" android whose primary application was on the battlefield, this small change had greatly boosted their popularity in Dawn City.

Just like now.

Almost every passerby who passed by Vine Cottage would salute the duo standing at the doorway.

As polite androids, Frost always responded with a smile and a nod to each Dawn City resident who saluted them, a gesture of friendship.

As noon approached, the streets finally began to clear somewhat.

Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, Frost's face broke into a satisfied smile, turning to Solar Eclipse beside it.

"Look, Solar Eclipse, all those eyes full of trust, admiration, and adoration... don't you think it's wonderful?"

During this time, they had tried many jobs, from bricklaying, dusting, and hunting mutants, but their favorite was, undoubtedly, here.

Here, they earned not only compensation but also appreciative glances from passersby.

"What use is that?" Solar Eclipse asked expressionlessly, its tone lacking any fluctuation and containing a hint of imperceptible doubt.

"How can it be useless?" Frost looked at it in astonishment, "Don't you feel it? That throbbing sensation, the joy coming deep from within the CPU... it's like... it's like the entire Intellectual Plug-in is ablaze!"

Unable to comprehend these words, Solar Eclipse froze for a few seconds before finally saying blankly.

"Is it a lack of computing power?"

"On the contrary!" Frost's face bloomed with an energetic expression, clenching its right fist, "Seeing those happy faces, I feel even more driven to work... oh, I'd love to own one, I'd work for him, and he'd just need to be responsible for being happy."

Solar Eclipse: "...?"

It found it increasingly difficult to understand this peculiar colleague. It really wanted to open up its AI core and see what strange codes were written inside.

However, what it found even more incomprehensible was why the engineer who produced this colleague had installed such an annoying "Intellectual Plug-in" in the A series android.

Unhesitatingly eliminating all potential security risks should be the duty of an android engaged in combat.

Emotions were nothing but a hindrance on the battlefield.

At that moment, the door of Vine Cottage opened, and a spring breeze-like smile and the pleasant sound of a wind chime floated through.

"You've worked hard."

Looking at the cute little one in front of them, Frost's face revealed a proud smile, modestly saying.

"Not at all, it's us who should be thanking you, thanks to the internship opportunity you provided, we've collected precious experimental data and materials."

Experimental data?

Materials?

Teng Teng frowned in confusion and asked cautiously in a low voice.

"It's not some dangerous experiment, is it?"

"How could it be?" Seeing the suspicion on Teng Teng's face, Frost quickly waved its hands, explaining with a smile, "It's for eternal happiness and peace. It's less an experiment, and more a grand blueprint... although it sounds troublesome, don't worry, leave the tricky stuff to us."

Teng Teng was a bit baffled.

"Eternal... happiness?"

Frost smiled and nodded.

"Yes! Simply put, it's to allow organic beings to live peacefully, happily, and securely under the protection of robots."

That loving gaze gave Teng Teng goosebumps.

This game was becoming increasingly unsettling.

Fortunately, she was just an ordinary fashion designer. As long as she didn't trigger something by mistake, she shouldn't get involved in those troublesome matters.

"That, your work for today is done... Hua Hua has just returned from the Iron Axe Tribe, she can take over the reception of customers."

Recently, the sisters from the Iron Axe Tribe improved the weaving technique of Devil Silk. Without compromising the quality of the final products, not only did they make the fabric feel softer, but they also reduced the unit labor time by 10 to 20 percent.

She had specially sent Hua Hua there to fetch some samples back, to see if they could be integrated into the design she was currently working on.

Thinking about it made her nostalgic.

The initial silk reeling and weaving processes were all improved by her based on real-life experience and taught to those Wasteland Wanderers, and now those Wasteland Wanderers' weaving skills had long surpassed hers.

And she could now focus more on the design areas that interested her.

Recently, Xiaoyu and her crew had traveled thousands of kilometers to the islands in the Southern Sea Area. Apparently, her artworks were very well received there.

"Are you sure you don't need our help anymore?" Frost asked, looking at Miss Teng Teng with a touch of disappointment.

"No need, you have your own things to take care of," Teng Teng said as she pulled out some silver coins and handed them to Frost, smiling, "This is your compensation."

"Oh! It's wages!"

Frost's eyes lit up as it held the coins above its head to examine them closely before satisfactorily pocketing them.

"Well then, if you need us again, please make sure to contact us... Oh, and I need to return the clothes you lent us."

Saying this, it started to pinch the skirt, preparing to take the clothes off.

Seeing its action, Teng Teng's cheeks swiftly turned as red as apples, and she quickly reached out to stop its indecorous behavior.

"No need, no need, keep the clothes... you can keep them!"

Are the customs in Ideal City this open?

To undress in the street without warning...

Inexplicably, images flashed through her mind, and her face grew hotter. She felt too embarrassed to continue the thought.

However, Frost seemed completely unaware of how shameful his behavior had just been.

But when she heard Teng Teng was going to leave the eye-catching equipment for her, a burst of delighted light sparkled in her eyes.

"Really? I am so embarrassed!"

"Don't mention it, it's the reward you deserve," Teng Teng said with a blush and a timid smile. Curious, he whispered a question, "By the way, do you also... casually change clothes like this in Ideal City?"

"Casually change clothes?" Frost paused slightly, a bit puzzled. "We don't wear clothes in Ideal City."

"Not wear?!"

Frost nodded as if it were a matter of course.

"Yes, the initial appearance coating is printed directly onto our skin. If we want to change to a different style, we can install a holographic appearance plug-in and use holographic images to mimic the effect of clothing."

"Ah... that really is convenient." Teng Teng tried to imagine it, his heartbeat accelerating once again.

Was Ideal City really such an impressive place?

With a smile, Frost nodded.

"Yeah, it's very convenient, isn't it? However, bionic individuals with silicon appearance materials are still prohibited from going out into public places without covering, as the social norms in Ideal City are not that liberal."

I see.

Relieved that he had almost misunderstood Ideal City as a strange place, Teng Teng let out a breath.

"Uh, I think that's quite good..."

"Really?" Frost tilted her head, not understanding. "It's funny that humans feel embarrassed about plugins they installed because they liked them... Humans are strange."

Taking advantage of Frost's introspective musing, Teng Teng quietly slipped back to his cottage and closed the shop door.

Watching the petite figure disappear amidst the chime of the wind bells, a touch of satisfaction appeared in Frost's smile.

"That's really nice."

This should be quite easy to maintain.

It's a pity that in Ideal City, their ideals are too avant-garde, and there's a long way to go before people will accept them.

But the life of an AI is eternal.

It has plenty of time to deal with this matter.

"... Just let organic beings live under the protection of robotic servants, and they will create more and more beautiful art, and the world will be filled with love and peace. What do you think, Eclipse?"

Eclipse's gaze flickered slightly.

"I think the front line is where we should be."

Frost elegantly shook her head.

"That won't do, we need to represent our employer and foster the friendship between the employer and the Alliance. Besides, there are already over two hundred bionic soldiers at the front. They'll handle the job."

Eclipse's eyes flickered again.

"Work log updated, according to employer's information, today a flight will return from Luo Xia Province, carrying a T-series bionic person from the Academy."

"T-series?" asked Frost.

Eclipse explained.

"Similar to our A-series, they continue the sequence numbering from the Human Alliance Era, and the employer wants us to observe."

Interest sparked in Frost's eyes.

"Interesting, let's go have a look."

...

Meanwhile, at a spacious runway on the northeast side of Dawn City's airport, a Tiger Whale transport aircraft smoothly landed.

Falling Feather, carrying Xiaoyu, had just exited the plane when he was ambushed at the airport by Mosquito Brother.

"My good brother! You're finally back! Hahaha, I didn't lie, right? Was that ejector seat comfortable? Didn't hurt your butt, did it?"

Watching Mosquito Brother approach while trying to cozy up, Falling Feather immediately tensed up, his expression wary.

"Get lost, who's your brother? What do you want..."

"Damn, that's cold!"

Faced with Falling Feather's resistant expression, Mosquito Brother feigned a mournful howl, but within two seconds, the pained expression swept from his face, replaced by an embarrassed smile.

"Did I hear your daughter knows how to fly a plane?"

"She's not my daughter, Xiaoyu is just Xiaoyu."

Falling Feather corrected him seriously, but Mosquito Brother clearly wasn't listening and continued with a chuckle.

"It doesn't matter! Can it perform that stunt again? Last time was too quick, I didn't get a chance to record it."

Hearing this unreasonable request, Falling Feather instantly rolled his eyes.

"Get lost! What if something goes wrong? Will you pay for it?"

"Come on, what could possibly go wrong! It even knows the Yin McMahon maneuver!"

Watching the pleading Mosquito Brother, Falling Feather waved dismissively.

"Go away, there's no room for negotiation!"

On the other side, stepping onto the ground, Chen Yutong, having traveled so far from the Wandering Swamp, curiously looked around and muttered softly,

"This is the Alliance?"

Old White answered with a smile.

"Yes, seems pretty desolate, doesn't it?"

"How so? Compared to the survivor settlement in Wandering Swamp, this place is already bustling." Chen Yutong genuinely remarked.

While on the plane, she had seen the panorama of the City of Dawn.

Distinctively designed houses lay across the wilderness, extending into roads and alleys that merged southward into the high-rise ruins of the northern suburbs of Clear Spring City, westward bordered by boundless farmlands, with a railway stretching north into the forests. An old-fashioned train puffed smoke as it bustled through the busy trading stations.

This city was like a tender shoot sprouting from rotting wood.

Young yet full of hope.

What amazed her most was that just a year ago, this place had been a barren wasteland with nothing, inhabited only by wild beasts that devoured raw flesh and bloodthirsty, cruel mutants and looters.

"...it's just unbelievable."

Looking around, Chen Yutong made Old White suddenly curious.

"What's it like in the swamp?"

"Simple, efficient," Chen Yutong quickly replied, "Dr. Conclusion taught us to create more results with limited resources. The settlements under the Scientific Committee mostly adhere to the principles of energy saving and conservation. Although some survivor settlements have many people, they look very desolate from the outside. Compared to them, the Academy covers a larger area, but has relatively fewer people."

While speaking, her gaze landed on a warehouse nearby with its doors wide open.

Following her gaze, Old White saw a peculiarly shaped lump of iron.

That was the "Non-powered Armor" Mosquito had created himself.

Ever since he last helped Mosquito Brother get out of it, it had been discarded in the airport warehouse and hadn't been touched.

Grass was nearly growing under that rusty armor.

Not wanting his inauspicious start upon landing to be poor, remembering the task the Manager had entrusted him with—to show her more of the Alliance's positive aspects—Old White coughed lightly and explained.

"The Manager has let us build the Alliance in our way, he didn't specify how… so occasionally there are players who do some superfluous things due to their wild ideas."

"I actually think it's quite good… whether it's useful shouldn't be decided by instinct, like you said, who knows about the future."

Looking at what was probably a scrapped heap of iron, Chen Yutong's face showed a teasing smile.

Old White sensed a hint of envy in her eyes, although he didn't know why there was anything to be envied.

"Are you hungry? I know a great place."

A gleam of anticipation immediately flashed in Chen Yutong's eyes.

"Is it braised pork? Or maybe hot pot? Kebabs?"

Old White smiled and gestured with his hand.

"None of those, it's ramen, a type of noodle dish… Nevermind, you'll find out soon enough."

Chen Yutong eagerly followed by his side, muttering continuously.

"Ramen? What an unbelievable name…"

Thinking about finally being able to taste genuine Alliance delicacies, she swallowed subconsciously, igniting a hint of anticipation in her heart.

Not long after the two had walked away, two bionic humans arrived at the airport belatedly.

Standing next to the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, Frost craned his neck eagerly and glanced around, not spotting the target he was looking for, so he randomly grabbed one of the staff members.

"Where are the Academy's bionic humans? Take me to them quickly."

The surrounding airport staff exchanged glances, bewildered by his question, but one clever fellow immediately reported back to his superior.

After receiving a permission to continue, he led the two bionic individuals to a warehouse at the corner of the airport.

A hundred-person team was stationed there, on high alert.

Under Frost's expectant gaze, the staff member opened the large warehouse door.

In the center of the warehouse stood a cubic steel frame, with a bionic human whose arms had been replaced with Mantis Knives fixed in the center, every joint firmly locked in place.

Glancing at those intimidating Mantis Knives, the staff member swallowed nervously and said.

"It's right here… this thing is dangerous, we can only keep it locked up here until it's disassembled."

Frost couldn't wait to step forward and scrutinized the bionic human locked on the frame.

Suddenly, a hint of disappointment flickered in his eyes.

"Isn't this still the initial version?"

Standing beside him, Solar Eclipse nodded.

"Yeah."

Xuan Feng remained silent, staring intensely at the oddly dressed counterpart in front of him, his shoulders suddenly shrugging forward.

The frame made a creaking sound, startling both the nearby staff and especially the soldiers, who quickly flicked the safeties off their rifles.

Unresponsive, Frost reached out his index finger and pressed it against its chest, pityingly gazing at the poor fellow.

"Why would there be such hideous AIs in this world, with nothing but a string of soulless numbers flowing beneath their cold shells... Can such a thing even be called intelligent?"

Triggered by these words, Xuan Feng slowly raised his head, staring at the bionic human before him, and his tightly closed mouth finally moved.

"... If you dare, let me go."

The sharp Mantis Knives tilted slightly, the mirror-like blades reflecting a fierce cold light.

Feeling that silent fury and challenge, Frost stood before it unresponsive, turning to look at Solar Eclipse on the side.

"Let's go, Solar Eclipse, the legendary Academy is nothing special after all."

Solar Eclipse nodded.

"Okay."

"…"

As the two bionic humans turned and walked towards the door, Xuan Feng's body violently trembled, but unfortunately, the sturdy metal frame did not loosen a bit from his struggle.

It was the first time.

Its AI core felt such intense anger…

...

Linghu Wetland Park.

The north gate of Outpost Base.

Standing behind the ramen stall, Zhang Hai was dropping noodles into the pot when, through the white steam, he suddenly spotted a familiar face.

"Yo, an unexpected visitor…" As soon as he began to speak, Zhang Hai's eyes suddenly fell on the woman next to Old White, his smile taking on a teasing hue.

Before he could tease, Old White coughed.

"Two bowls of beef noodles."

"Hehe, you got it."

Zhang Hai skillfully yanked a large lump of dough, tossed it on the cutting board and flattened it out. With some pulling here and there, like magic, he turned the oval dough into flying thin noodles.

Standing in front of the stall, Chen Yutong stared blankly at the noodles in his hand, utterly fascinated.

What is this?

Magic?!

"How's the situation on the front lines?" he asked with a smile as he threw the finished noodles into the pot.

Old White responded in a casual tone,

"Not bad, I heard the Skeleton Corps and Storm Corps are close to pushing to the Army's main base in Luo Xia Province. Looks like there'll be not much for us to do next."

Typical players wouldn't ask such questions, but a player who used their real name as their ID obviously wasn't typical.

With continuous updates to the game and new players entering, the noodle stall owner, who never appeared in the forums, had somehow become one of "Wasteland OL's" urban legends.

Some even said he was an official plant.

But Old White knew better.

This guy, like them, had started out as a newbie and had his fair share of embarrassing moments.

Maybe he thought using a gun was no fun and had turned to a lifestyle profession.

"Pretty impressive, these youngsters," remarked Zhang Hai, "in just one year, they can handle battles involving thousands of men with ease."

Old White responded with a laugh,

"Why don't you join in?"

Zhang Hai sighed,

"Count me out, spare me at my age."

"What are you afraid of? It's just a game…speaking of which, how old are you in real life?"

"Not telling you."

"Come on! Getting shy?"

"It's not important. Anyway, it's good for the youngsters to gain some experience, haha."

The two didn't know each other in real life.

But Old White's instincts told him that the person in front of him must have spent some time in the military, or at least for a while.

However, this brother was probably different from him; he must have left the forces some time ago, clearly having adjusted to a peaceful life.

Two bowls of beef noodles were quickly served.

Chen Yutong grabbed the chopsticks eagerly but hesitated and then froze.

"How do I use these?"

"I'll show you."

Old White patiently demonstrated.

She was undoubtedly a product of the Academy, for Chen Yutong watched carefully just once and quickly grasped the knack of using the utensils.

"Incredible... you guys actually eat like this on a regular basis,"

As she gingerly tasted the noodles, Old White smiled and asked,

"Is it good?"

"Yes! Super...delicious!"

Chen Yutong nodded excitedly, unable to find the right adverbs to express her genuine joy. She just puffed up her cheeks, taking small breaths as she nibbled on the noodles.

Watching her eager yet fearful of getting scalded expression, a smile couldn't help but appear on Old White's face.

Standing behind the stall, Zhang Hai, winking and grinning, teased,

"How did you two meet? Tell me about it."

"Tell your sister."

Old White rolled his eyes and slapped a paper currency on the table,

"I'm paying now."

"Man, what era are you living in to still use paper currency? Can't you just do a transfer?"

"I need some change, it's useful."

Zhang Hai was about to ask what for when he saw Chen Yutong beside them, and suddenly, as if he understood, he gave a knowing smile, turned, and started flipping through the drawer for change.

There's only one denomination of a hundred in paper currency within the Alliance, the rest being coins. For players accustomed to electronic payments, getting change wasn't convenient.

However, after searching for a while, Zhang Hai counted out the exact amount in silver coins and lined them up on the counter.

Looking at the stack of coins lying on the wooden table, Chen Yutong asked curiously,

"What are these?"

Old White explained with a smile,

"Money, currency, it's used to exchange for things. For instance, a bowl of noodles like this only costs four silver coins. Don't you have G points over there?"

Chen Yutong hesitated, then shook her head,

"G points can't be traded, only used on the electronic platform run by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. How do you use these?"

Although Old White didn't quite grasp the difference between "trading" and "using," right now he wasn't concerned with these minor details.

Today's main task was to teach her how to adapt to her new life.

Looking at the puzzled face of Chen Yutong, Old White smiled and said,

"This is simple, I'll teach you how to use it in a bit."

Chapter 484: A Day in the Life of the Rear

Bustling on the busy street.

Stopping in front of a distinct stall, Chen Yutong curiously picked up a mushroom and examined it for quite a while but couldn't discern anything special, so she leaned in closer to smell it.

However, her action led to a misunderstanding by Crow, who quickly stood up to stop her.

"This mushroom isn't for eating."

"I know... just smelling it."

Chen Yutong of course knew this mushroom wasn't edible.

With its round, bright red cap and short, flat white stem, adorned with circular white spots, it looked extremely toxic no matter how one saw it.

Moreover, what made her more curious was that it felt like rubber when squeezed, and it had a distinctively fragrant scent.

Seeing the puzzled expression on her face, Crow, somewhat embarrassed, smiled and patiently explained.

"These are Rubber Mushrooms, found in the woods of the Elm District. The nearby survivors usually make them into brooches, buttons, or hairpins."

"Incredible... A mushroom that produces rubber!" Chen Yutong's curiosity intensified.

"I heard that a factory recently started extracting rubber from it. Although the quality isn't up to par with our Dilat rubber, the yield is quite impressive, and it's not hard to cultivate. Besides the Cam Tree, much of the rubber for our tires is sourced from this."

"Amazing... I've never seen such mushrooms in the Wandering Swamp," Chen Yutong remarked with admiration.

Of course.

Even if she had seen them by chance, it's unlikely anyone would have noticed.

Each outing of the Exploration Team had a clear objective, and when not on a mission, they were too busy to wander around.

"Hehe," Crow bragged with a proud smirk.

This achievement had long been recorded in the Hall of Fame.

Indeed, this achievement was praiseworthy; she was the most enthusiastic about collecting mushrooms on the entire server. If not for this accidental discovery, the Alliance's rubber output would never have increased as dramatically as steel.

"If you're interested, why not buy it and study it?" Old White said with a smile, turning to Crow, "How much?"

"5 silver coins!"

Accepting the silver coins from Old White, Crow's eyes crinkled into crescents, even enthusiastically helping a shy Chen Yutong to put on the mushroom hairpin she made.

The red and white color scheme was truly versatile, perfectly matching her light brown hair without any sense of dissonance, instead adding a lively and playful touch.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Chen Yutong awkwardly touched her hairpin, feeling it didn't quite suit her.

"Does it look a bit off for me?"

"Why would it?" Old White said with a smile, "For a girl your age, it would be strange not to dress up."

"You sure have a way with words!"

Crow Boss teasingly squeezed his eyebrows, and standing beside them, Chen Yutong coughed lightly in embarrassment.

"I can hardly be considered a girl at my age..."

But.

She really liked this gift.

It struck her interest both in terms of research value and aesthetics.

And it wasn't just the gift itself.

Including the process of choosing it on the street, and the charming smile of the shop owner when she personally put the accessory on her...

Neither in her twelve years at the Survivor Settlement nor during her ten years at the Academy had she ever experienced this kind of indescribable leisure and satisfaction.

Originally, she just wanted to come here to take a look.

Now, for the first time, she felt a desire to integrate into this place.

She wished she could share this joy with her former teammates...

For Xue Zhou, these brightly colored accessories would probably suit him even better.

Touching the outline of the hairpin, Chen Yutong said a bit embarrassedly.

"Letting you pay for this..."

Walking beside her, Old White smiled and said.

"It's nothing, just 5 silver coins, it's not really spending much."

Although Manager hadn't provided him with a budget for missions, he didn't need to quibble over such a small amount of money.

Moreover, even if they had taken a tracked vehicle from the Beacon team, it cost far more than this, helping her integrate into life here was simply what he ought to do.

Chen Yutong, head bowed in thought for a moment, suddenly asked.

"If one wants to work here... where should they go?"

Old White replied after recalling.

"The city hall has an employment registration office, fill in your information and they will help you find a suitable job quickly. The street office can also look up nearby vacancies... with your capabilities, you shouldn't worry, the scientific research team would probably be eager to have you."

"I'm not that remarkable... I'm just an E-level Explorer."

"We value ability over status," seeing Chen Yutong's slightly embarrassed expression, Old White gave her an encouraging look, "I believe you can certainly do well!"

"Well... I'll give it a try then," Chen Yutong hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Her specialty, like Jiang Xuezhou, was in AI and information technology, though she felt her skills were far inferior to Xiao Jiang's.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been unable to become a researcher.

However, Old White didn't seem to care about this at all; throughout their walk, he never mentioned work again, simply accompanying her to buy various necessities for life.

Such as clothes for changing, towels for washing, even bedding for sleeping.

Although initially only planning to buy a little, Old White decided it was better to buy everything at once, and before they knew it, they had bought a pile of items.

And thus, time unknowingly reached the evening.

With big and small bags in hand, Old White suddenly remembered—she had just arrived at the Alliance and didn't have a place to live.

He said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Sorry... I just remembered you have no place to stay."

"No problem." Chen Yutong laughed out loud, smiling, "I had forgotten too..."

There were some inconveniences to bringing someone to his own home.

On the one hand, it primarily served as his storage, not even having a bed, and on the other hand, he was worried about being misunderstood.

Thus, Old White, carrying the big and small baggage he had bought, took her to a motel not far from the trading station.

Unlike the last time he was here, the lobby of the motel seemed to have expanded in size, and there were considerably more tables.

It was said that to address the problem of room shortages, the motel owner had simply bought the warehouse adjacent to the motel and converted it into a slightly more upscale five-story apartment, catering to traders who had specific residential requirements.

It was rumored that the renovation was sponsored by a guest from Ideal City, and the designer hired was a resident of Shelter No. 404.

In a way, the motel was like a piece of amber; although it hadn't formed long ago, it had witnessed the growth of the Alliance.

It had developed from a small wooden hut originally intended for the residents of Highway Town to a building now measuring thousands of square meters, the only constant being its lively, bustling atmosphere.

Merchants and survivors traveling from north to south would choose to stay here, sharing rumors and intelligence from afar as they clinked glasses.

But it was only early evening now, and it was still a while before the lively hours, so only a scattered few people eating were sitting in the lobby.

From the moment she walked into the lobby, Chen Yutong curiously looked around.

In the Academy, there was no such thing as a motel or the concept that "the motel's lobby becomes a bar at night."

Worried about being targeted by Wasteland Wanderers for bionic prosthetics, the Exploration teams seldom stayed in Survivor Settlements outside of the committee's jurisdiction, preferring to sleep in their vehicles or spread out in caves.

"Coming down from the front line?" Old Huck, sitting behind the bar, asked as he saw Old White stepping through the doorway.

"Just got back... Open a room for me in the back, for one person."

Old Huck looked at him with a face full of surprise.

"Gee, you're well-informed. I was just about to introduce it to you, but you already knew."

Old White smiled and said nothing.

Of course, he wouldn't mention that they had something called the "official forum."

In the forum, they shared updates on the front line, while lifestyle players shared changes from the rear.

This sort of information could easily be found with a quick search on the official forum.

Old Huck pulled a worn ledger from under the counter and spread it open on the countertop.

"I need to make a record... Is this lady staying?"

"Yes." Chen Yutong, unfamiliar with the local rules, nodded her head slightly nervously.

Although she wasn't naturally shy, she still instinctively spoke less in unfamiliar environments.

Old Huck was about to ask her smilingly what she required of the room when Old White interjected first.

"Could you help find a quiet and clean room, please?"

"Alright, the few rooms around the corner are the most spacious. Long-term or short-term?"

"Long-term, and put the deposit on my account."

"No problem!"

After asking for the guest's name and origin, Old Huck skillfully wrote down a couple of notes.

Upon learning she came from the Wandering Swamp, the old man showed a flicker of surprise on his face, but didn't ask further and took out two room keys with tags and placed them on the table.

Old White handed both keys to Chen Yutong.

Smiling at the two, Old Huck, resting his arm on the counter, continued speaking.

"You can leave your luggage here; I'll have the servants bring it to your room. Would you two like to eat something? Today's specials are Variant Rhino Ribs and Roasted Garlic Potatoes."

"Variant Rhino Ribs?!"

Halfway through speaking, Chen Yutong suddenly realized her voice was a bit loud. Although no one was paying attention to them, she still felt embarrassed and lowered her voice, whispering,

"Variant rhino... is it edible?"

There were many Variants in the Wandering Swamp, but she had never heard of anyone eating them.

Most survivors lacked the ability to hunt Variants, major Survivor Settlements adhered to the committee's teachings by not incorporating them into their diets, and there weren't enough spices to mask their flavors. The nutrition-focused Academy definitely didn't eat them either.

However, she had heard the team captain mention once that some Variants' meat tasted better than it looked, although there were some risks associated with eating it.

Old Huck laughed heartily, a proud look on his face.

"Of course it is, stay here long enough and you'll learn. There are no Variants you can't eat, only people who don't know how."

Previously, many Variants were off limits.

But ever since Shelter No. 404 was declassified, with the refuge's residents developing various methods to process ingredients, monsters and Crack Claw Crabs in the surrounding area were almost hunted to extinction by them.

"Don't listen to his boasting; there's still plenty you can't eat."

Watching Chen Yutong swallow her saliva, Old White coughed lightly and picked up the menu from the counter.

"Creamy mashed potatoes, tender mushroom stew with Double-headed cow meat, Sichuan mapo tofu, Yu Xiang pork...and rice, that'll do for now."

Food always rooted this guy to the spot.

But it happened to be dinner time, and he was feeling a bit hungry himself.

"You're not ordering any of the specials?"

Old Huck commented while glancing at the menu and then passing it through the small window covered by a curtain to the kitchen.

He then looked at Old White.

"Would you like something to drink?"

Before Old White could respond, Chen Yutong eagerly said,

"Do you have cola and vodka?"

"Cola and vodka? Of course..."

Seeing the expectant look on the young woman's face, Old Huck was briefly taken aback before understanding dawned on him, and a knowing smile appeared on his face, "Oh, that... I think I get what you mean. You want to try one of our special cocktails, right?"

"Special cocktail?" Chen Yutong asked in perplexity.

"Yes, it's quite popular recently... It's also a concoction pondered by the residents of the shelter."

Seeing Chen Yutong's look of anticipation, Old White remembered he had previously promised to treat her to a drink, so he cleared his throat and said,

"Let's have one."

Old Huck smiled slightly.

"Alright!"

After ordering a draft beer for himself, Old White sat down with Chen Yutong at a wooden table near the bar.

Watching the servant take the luggage to the room, Chen Yutong thought about the expenses of the day and said embarrassingly to Old White,

"Today... thank you. Once I find a job and earn some G points—I mean silver coins, I will repay you."

Seeing the embarrassed Chen Yutong, Old White chuckled and said,

"Don't mention it, it's not much money."

It was rare to meet an NPC friend with whom one could talk for a long time, especially one he had personally persuaded to join the Alliance. Of course, he wasn't about to leave her in the lurch.

Moreover, he always felt she was somewhat like him.

Although their initial intentions and processes were utterly different, they both belonged to the type of people who cared more about "the meaning of living" rather than just being alive.

Perhaps that was why they were able to converse in fits and starts so well.

Even though just a week ago, they had been fighting on the battlefield for different beliefs.

At this moment, Lisa approached carrying a tray.

She was dressed in a waitressing gown designed by Vine Cottage, her light brown hair tied up with a white headband.

After some time of adjustment, the young girl had acclimated to life here, and her smile was much brighter than when she first arrived.

"Sir, your ordered beer and Drowsy Red Tea."

Upon hearing that last term, Old White, who was drinking water, nearly spewed it out and coughed for a long time before he recovered.

"Who came up with that name?!"

Lisa looked bewilderedly at the exaggerated reaction of Old White, holding the tray slightly panicked as she said,

"I don't know... I heard it's some refuge resident? Um... is there something wrong with the name?"

"Not at all, sorry, I misheard..."

Even if there were problems, it wouldn't be easy to explain.

Under the puzzled looks of Chen Yutong and Lisa, Old White awkwardly reached for a napkin to wipe his mouth.

He didn't need to ask to guess—

The tail wasn't here.

It could only be Mosquito.

Seeing that neither of them required her assistance, Lisa leaned slightly and turned to leave with the tray.

Unlike Old White's reaction, Chen Yutong seemed very interested in the name of the special cocktail, staring curiously at the crystal-clear glass and leaning in to smell it.

"Is this drinkable alcohol? Incredible..."

"Incredible" was probably the word she had said the most today.

"But why is it called Drowsy Red Tea? Did you add polyphenols from tea?"

"It has nothing to do with tea... Anyway, this is the vodka with cola I mentioned to you. Just take it easy when you drink; it's only suitable for beginners because it's easy to sip, but its base is still a strong liquor, and drinking too much can get you tipsy."

Watching Ms. Chen about to take a sip to taste it, Old White seriously cautioned her.

Chen Yutong took a small sip and slightly furrowed her brow.

"A peculiar taste."

A bit weird.

Taste another sip.

Watching Chen Yutong sipping lightly like a chick pecking at grains, Old White took a sip of beer and teasingly said,

"To tell you the truth, I really can't imagine the lifestyle over there... Your technology must be stronger than ours, right? But to me, it feels like you live under strict monastic rules."

"Monks?" Chen Yutong paused slightly, unfamiliar with the word.

"Servants of God, pastors, or maybe ascetics? Something along those lines," Old White tried to explain using terms from United Human language.

"Ascetics, huh..."

Putting down her cocktail, Chen Yutong tapped her chin and thought for a moment before answering seriously,

"It might indeed be tough before entering the academy, but life at the academy isn't harsh; on the contrary, it's quite affluent."

Old White asked curiously,

"How so?"

Chen Yutong thought for a moment and said,

"At least in my memory, there was never a shortage of food and consumer goods, only a few special items had to be ordered."

Old White nodded in understanding.

That made sense.

After all, the academy controlled the largest number of Black Boxes on the Wasteland.

Besides the Black Boxes, they lacked neither production technology nor methods.

Both primary and secondary industries were completely supplied by the settlements under the Science Committee, with resources distributed by the academy's External Affairs Department, highly concentrated towards the researchers.

The researchers of the academy were definitely not poor.

After hearing Chen Yutong's words, Old White suddenly realized that the academy wasn't as "weak" as he had imagined.

It was even stronger than he had thought.

They had a complete organizational structure and talent selection system; every individual who gained entry into this vast and rigorous organization was undoubtedly an expert.

The abundant supply of materials allowed them to focus on their work. G points, to some extent, limited the proportion of wealth an individual could possess in society, while K points ensured that every gear in the system worked in the right place in the proper way.

Those who couldn't become researchers or whose skills didn't match probably had it tough, but after all, this was a system designed by researchers. The first priority was naturally to meet the researchers' needs; it was just the way things were.

Not only did this organization have a clear structure, but it even had a clear action plan and goals—to recover as much of the Prosperity Epoch's legacy as possible before resources were exhausted!

After achieving this goal, they would move on to worlds far away to expand the territory and perpetuate the flame of civilization.

Although this ideal sounded grand, Old White always felt that if they managed to reach that stage, the only remnant of human civilization in this game world would probably be a research ship.

He didn't quite understand those grand principles.

But he knew that someone who lit a cigarette with a match today might switch to a lighter tomorrow, but wouldn't think about quitting smoking unless it was absolutely necessary.

Tapping the glass lightly with her index finger, Chen Yutong sorted through the fragments of her memories while murmuring.

"The Academy is very taboo about waste and the meaningless use of resources. According to the calculations of Conclusion Doctor, based on the current rate of resource consumption on this planet, the legacy of Prosperity Epoch would last at most another two centuries."

As she spoke these words, a slight sense of guilt suddenly emerged instinctively in her heart.

Yet upon hearing her words, Old White just smiled.

"He could calculate that?"

Chen Yutong nodded gently.

"He's the most wise, learned, and far-sighted person on this planet."

Old White casually commented.

"Did he calculate when the nuclear winter will end then?"

Chen Yutong paused slightly.

"That... I'm not sure."

Old White clinked his glass against hers, pulling a smile and said,

"See? Looks like your doctor isn't omnipotent after all. I think it's better not to think too much. Let's talk about two centuries later when it comes; people living in the present should just take care of the present. I think that's enough."

Maybe reminded of something, Chen Yutong who had just opened her mouth suddenly stopped speaking, thoughtfully nodding her head.

"Maybe you are right."

The sumptuous delicacies were soon served on the table.

Chen Yutong, who had just been solemn-faced, was quickly captivated by the intoxicating aroma of the stewed meat.

And the mashed potatoes beside it.

"What, what is this?! Why is it so delicious!" Holding her chin with her left hand, her voice became excitedly distorted.

"Mashed potatoes... before we used to make them with Hyena fat boiled oil and horned potatoes, but now that conditions have improved, it seems they've switched to potatoes and butter."

Ultimately, she was a young girl with little world experience who couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food.

Watching Chen Yutong devour the food, Old White couldn't help but smile warmly, seeing that she could use chopsticks proficiently without his help, he shifted his gaze towards the distant hall.

The night out the door gradually deepened, and the hotel lobby became lively.

Looking at the increasingly fervent sounds of people and the effervescent beer froth, Old White's lips curled into a satisfied smile as he gulped down a beer.

Whenever he sat here, his heart felt immensely fulfilled.

Although it was a virtual life, he could clearly feel that indescribable feeling—this world needed him.

He could see with his own eyes the changes his efforts brought to the world, the prosperity they brought to their common alliance.

Everything here was not his sole doing, but all of it wouldn't have been possible without their brave and life-risking fights at the forefront.

This was the everyday he protected!

Old White's thoughts drifted, wondering what this place would look like many years later.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed that Lisa, who had served the last dish, didn't leave but stood hesitantly by the side.

Intuitively guessing something, he said in a mild tone,

"Is there something?"

The young girl nodded timidly, gathering her courage to ask.

"That, how is Pangolin doing?"

Her speech, which had been fluent before, suddenly became stammering.

"He, well..."

Old White's look became subtly complex.

The guy lately seemed not satisfied with Coleway's "favor," having hooked up with some beauty journalist from Triumph City.

Of course, that was mostly the guy bluffing out of embarrassment.

After all, in the eyes of most Weilante People, other races were just livestock. Unless that beauty had a peculiar taste, it wouldn't make sense for her to fancy a "native."

Not bearing to see that cute face tainted with disappointment, Old White took a sip of beer and, buoyed by the alcohol, bluffed,

"He's brave, a great help to us, thanks to him the battle is progressing smoothly. If things go quickly... you might see him before the end of the year."

Lisa's eyes sparkled with hope, without a shred of doubt in his words.

"Could you tell me more about him?"

Although he expected this request, Old White still got a headache.

That undercover job wasn't all that glamorous.

And the sensitive inside information he couldn't just share.

No choice.

He had to make up stories.

Seeing the curious eyes all around them turning their way, Old White inwardly sighed and opened his hypothetical can of worms.

"When talking about the great victory at Oasis No.3, you can't help but mention No. 330 high ground, and speaking of No. 330 high ground, one must start from a bowl of timely chicken soup..."

Chapter 485: General Griffin Cornered

"Achoo!"

Peering out the jeep window at the endless sand dunes bathed in twilight, a member of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group sneezed unexpectedly.

Coleway sitting next to him spoke up,

"This here is the northwest corner of Luo Xia Province, and it'll get a bit chilly at night. Need a blanket, my friend?"

"No, I'm fine."

The Old Soldier mustered a reluctant smile, his gaze returning to the distant dunes where he could see a very long queue of weary soldiers.

At this moment, they were marching at the rear of the second thousand team under the banner of the fifty thousand team, with their destination being Oasis No.2 in the Falcon Kingdom.

Before he could report to the officer team directly subordinated to the fifty thousand team, he had to stick with Coleway's unit for a while longer.

The crushing defeat of the forty thousand team has already rendered them incapable of continuing to hold the line at Oasis No.3, and now the entire Army's forces in Luo Xia Province were being retracted to the farthest west of the desert for defense.

Fortunately, Coleway's direct superior was a smart man and made a decisive decision to relocate at the first sign of the orders.

That's why they had nearly reached the edge of Oasis No.2 without encountering the shadow of the Alliance.

By contrast, the seventy and eighty thousand teams were not so lucky.

Just yesterday, it was heard that the eighty thousand team had encountered the Skeleton Corps of the Alliance on the Gobi a hundred kilometers away. With no armor for protection or cover, the entire battle quickly became a one-sided massacre—they didn't even last half a day.

Patting the shoulder of the Pangolin, Coleway picked up his binoculars and peered through the rolling yellow sands ahead where he could vaguely make out the cacti as tall as two men and the swaying seabuckthorn grass.

Vegetation began to appear in abundance.

They were not far off now.

"There's Oasis No.2 up ahead..."

Although they were about to reach their destination, there was not a hint of joy on his face; his furrowed brows were even shrouded with a layer of deep gravity.

They had successfully evaded being encircled and blockaded by the Alliance.

But they had also lost everything they had won over the past several months...

He was certain that their Army's strategic deployment and tactical application were superior to those of the Alliance, but the intensity of the Alliance Army's attack had still surpassed their expectations.

They were like people who couldn't be killed.

If it wasn't for the fact that those people were too clever and bled, he would have even started to wonder if they were Clones or bionic beings...

What was more depressing was that as someone skilled at drawing lessons from experience, this time he couldn't even figure out where exactly they had lost.

Even if supplies were a big issue, with an army of a hundred thousand at their disposal, how on earth could they get chased and beaten by just over ten thousand people?!

"What's the plan after reaching Oasis No.2?" asked the Old Soldier, looking at the worried Coleway.

"The plan is to have no plan," Coleway put down his binoculars and said after a long silence, "I heard that the headquarters over there is a mess... We were expected to hold at Oasis No.3 until next month, but we ended up giving up our positions at Oasis No.3 at least half a month earlier than expected, which means we have to rely on our allies' backward infrastructure and limited industrial capacity to fight for another month."

"That's tough," the Old Soldier gave a conservatively modest assessment, going against his better judgment.

"More than tough..." Coleway squinted his eyes, trying to look through the swirling sand, "Let's not talk about that; up ahead is Bister Town."

Bister Town was not an oasis but, like Petra Fortress to the Camel Hump Kingdom, sat outside the oasis.

Unlike the commercially oriented Petra, however, this remote border town was an entirely fortified city.

This small town was built with the assistance of Weylent People for the Falcon Kingdom. Rows of concrete triangular stakes surrounded the town like a river, backed by concrete bunkers.

In the center of the town, there were air defense positions, a logistics center, and an airport.

There were no civilian facilities here, nor were there civilians or families living here, except for a small garrison, most of the population consisted of conscripted labor.

If the terrain level of the perimeter defense line of Oasis No.3 could be rated a 3 and the construction level a 1, then the situation here was the exact opposite, around a "1 terrain, 3 construction" scenario.

After passing the outermost checkpoint, a bumpy muddy road and a relatively straight dirt road quickly came into view.

Along both sides of the dirt road stood local laborers, their skin sunburned to a waxen red, holding shovels, mostly residents from nearby villages.

The Old Soldier noticed they were watching his group.

Those malnourished faces showed no signs of life, their pupils covered with a haze, devoid of color. Although their bodies were covered with lash marks, there was no sign of resentment or anger in their eyes.

Mostly, there was numbness.

To the Old Soldier's surprise, he saw a hint of schadenfreude in the eyes of one of the laborers... although the man was careful to keep his expression hidden.

It seemed that among these servants, barely better off than slaves, there were clever ones.

They had already sensed that the war was coming to an end.

The Old Soldier couldn't help but think of those nobles within the territory of the Falcon Kingdom.

They could surely not resist the rule of the Weylent People after being bled dry, but at this juncture, when it was clear to any insightful person that the Weylent People were on the verge of defeat, he wondered what thoughts might occupy their minds now.

Suddenly, he was somewhat looking forward to seeing the expressions on those people's faces.

At the end of the dirt road was a checkpoint.

The duty soldiers had seen them for a while now, and after confirming their numbers, they lifted the barrier to let them pass.

As the Old Soldier was contemplating the concrete buildings in the distance, a man dressed in lavish clothing approached from roadside.

He had a straight nose, slight curls in his hair, and by his looks, a resident of the desert, though his status was clearly much more distinguished than the workers they had encountered before.

Coleway waved, signaling the driver to pull the jeep over to the side of the road, and ordered the remaining troop carriers and supply trucks to continue forward.

The noble approached the car and spoke with a bow.

"...Respected Lord Coleway, I am Weddell, mayor of Bister Town. Allow me to extend the sincerest greetings from the three hundred soldiers of Bister Town to you," he said.

Confronted with Weddell's insincere obsequiousness, Coleway didn't waste words with him, simply tossing a list into his hands.

"I need the supplies on this list, especially the fuel required for the trucks. I hope to see them before the sun sets."

The list was signed by the logistics department.

However, upon hearing the latter part of the sentence, a troubled look crossed Weddell's face.

"But... the sun has already set," he said.

"Then within two hours," Coleway said impatiently.

He didn't want to waste time here.

"Yes, yes, Lord!"

Weddell nervously nodded, immediately urging his subordinates to follow orders, then turned to Coleway with a sycophantic smile,

"By the way, esteemed Lord, may I ask how long you plan to stay here? So that I can prepare suitable—"

At a glance, Coleway had seen right through his thoughts and rudely interrupted him.

"By tomorrow morning, I'll be good at my stationed army camp."

He wasn't afraid to take on the Alliance in a decisive battle.

But it had to be after his soldiers got enough ammunition and weapons.

Otherwise, it'd be no different than courting death.

Hearing this statement, Weddell's eyes flickered with disappointment, realizing that these people wouldn't stay to help him either.

Relying on just over 300 defending troops, there was no chance against the Alliance.

But he dared not say anything or complain, just hung his head meekly and said,

"Yes, officer."

...

Under Coleway's lead, the third thousand team settled in the barracks in the northeastern corner of Bister Town.

Morale was somewhat low in the camp, and after meals, the soldiers would gather in small groups, whispering quietly.

"Have you heard? General Griffin disappeared..."

"Disappeared?! How is that possible?!"

"Spreading rumors like that, are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Disappearing is impossible... But the recent events really are strange; we haven't seen any Alliance people nor other troops along the way."

"What's the command doing?"

"Don't know... Maybe General Griffin is planning something big. I believe as long as he gets serious, the Alliance is no match for him!"

"Shush... stop talking."

A soldier pointed at the Pangolin who was passing by, and the others also fell silent as if by mutual agreement.

Everyone knew he was Coleway's trusted man.

Even though there were rumors he had been shifted to serve as an advisor to the ten thousand troops officers team, he was still officially a direct subordinate of Coleway.

No one likes to have tattlers around.

However, the Old Soldier didn't even bother to pay attention to them.

While curious about Griffin's situation, he didn't believe a few soldiers would have a grasp of the highest command movements of the Legion in Luo Xia Province.

That would be too ridiculous!

Finding an unoccupied latrine to squat in after dinner, the Old Soldier went offline in a hurry to grab breakfast and took the opportunity to check on the forum to see where his good brothers had reached.

According to information from I Max Black, his original position at G53-7 had been taken over by the Storm Corps.

Perhaps because this Centurion had been transferred out, those promoted from Falcon Kingdom did not resist for long and chose to surrender decisively.

Probably worried about retaliation from the Alliance, they racked their brains to credit their previous achievements solely to "Pangolin."

The Force that took over G53-7 and the captured troops belonged to Prince Wenter's Lion Kingdom Army.

Now Pangolin's name had been passed from mouth to mouth over in the Lion Kingdom, depicted as a demonic ghoul devouring children at night.

Looking at the colorful descriptions by I Max Black on the forum, the Old Soldier could only weakly retort.

He was sure the rumor was definitely exaggerated.

And what was most speechless to him was that this bunch of jerks drummed up his bravery without drafting a script.

How come everything was his doing!

"Damn it, my legs are numb from squatting..."

Cursing under his breath as he pulled up his pants after spending a while in the latrine, the Old Soldier had just pushed open the restroom door when he bumped into a busty, high-nosed beauty.

"Hey." Seeing that Pangolin finally came out of the restroom, Penny hadn't yet figured out how to start the conversation and could only find a random topic, saying, "You've been squatting for quite a while."

The Old Soldier was immediately anxious when she brought up that subject but still coughed and said, feigning composure,

"I'm afraid of rupturing the wound... I can't force it too much."

That was the truth.

From the shell that almost got him last time, several pieces of shrapnel were still stuck in his body, unremoved.

Penny's cheeks twitched, trying not to grin, but she quickly realized making fun of this might be a bit inconsiderate and restrained herself again.

"Sorry... I don't mean to laugh, but..."

Seeing her struggling to keep it in, the Old Soldier sighed and said,

"It's okay, just laugh if you want to."

The two hadn't talked much on this escape journey, and while they weren't exactly bosom buddies, they had at least become friends who could chat a bit.

Of course.

To maintain his "stoic expert" image, the Old Soldier mostly listened to her speak, chiming in only occasionally.

As for liking or disliking, that was all bravado on the forum.

Since nobody would check, as long as the Dog plan didn't call him out, he could boast however he pleased with his own mouth.

"No, I won't laugh," Penny coughed a few times to hold it in and looked at him seriously, taking a deep breath to say, "My father asked me to go back."

"Your father?" the Old Soldier looked at her in surprise.

Although they had talked a few times, this was the first he heard her mention her family.

Penny nodded seriously.

"Mhm, he said I have to leave this place."

"Congratulations, you can leave this calamity-stricken land."

The Old Soldier smiled faintly, but unexpectedly, Penny suddenly threw an unexpected proposition his way.

"Can you come with me?"

The Old Soldier paused at that moment, seeing her serious expression, he frowned slightly and asked,

"What do you mean..."

Dodging his gaze, Penny said shakily.

"It means nothing... just that, I can't return to such a faraway place on my own. Although the command promised to assign a hundred-man team to escort me, those people don't make me feel as safe as you do, so I want you to take me back."

What kind of reason is that?!

The Old Soldier couldn't help but laugh and cry in his heart.

He could clearly feel that she wasn't telling the truth, so he looked into her eyes earnestly and said.

"I swore, I would fight for His Excellency the Marshal until the last moment. For the great person's ideals, I will not go anywhere."

A trace of anxiety flashed across Penny's face, and she finally couldn't help but say,

"Your loyalty is touching, but this is not a war mandated by His Excellency the Marshal... and do you think there is still hope of winning this war?"

The Old Soldier looked at her seriously.

"We haven't lost yet! As long as the weapons are delivered to the front line, we can immediately launch a counter-attack!"

"I know you are brave, but... one person can't change the outcome of a war, and besides, you're already injured. Wake up!"

Seeing that the man in front of her was still stubbornly unmoved, Penny bit her lip, glanced around, walked up to his side, and said in a lowered voice,

"I'll tell you something, but you mustn't tell anyone... including your superior."

The Old Soldier was delighted, but he kept his face expressionless.

"Speak."

Penny stared at him intently.

"Swear to me first."

"I swear by the name of the Pangolin, the faith in the Great Antler God, and my loyalty to His Excellency the Marshal... I absolutely won't tell a second person about our conversation today." Raising a finger to his temple, the Old Soldier looked earnestly into her eyes.

A blush crept up on Penny's cheeks, she awkwardly avoided that "hot" gaze and looked aside.

The hint of bashfulness was particularly dazzling under the moonlight, making the Old Soldier, who was spouting nonsense with such a serious face, somewhat reluctant to continue deceiving her.

After collecting her thoughts for a moment, Penny whispered,

"A governor has been dispatched from Triumph City."

The Old Soldier was slightly stunned.

"Governor?"

Penny nodded softly.

"Yes, the governor overseeing the Falcon Kingdom has brought orders from the Marshal's headquarters... This is a command that bypasses the Eastern Legion's Legion Leader directly."

The Old Soldier swallowed subconsciously.

"...What command?"

Penny shook her head with a wry smile.

"I don't know... All I know is that it might be related to armistice negotiations."

Hearing the words "armistice," the Old Soldier froze.

"An armistice... Can His Excellency the Marshal accept such a loss?"

Penny sighed softly.

"That is not for me to speculate. Besides, it's not about acceptance; the core interests of the Legion have never been in the East. The war was entirely the unilateral decision of the front-line troops and the indulgence of the expansionist faction... Eastern Legion's Legion Leader Salen cannot accept the defeat of the Grand Canyon expedition, so he incited the Looter Tribe from the River Valley Province and the vassals from Luo Xia Province, preparing to plot a second expedition."

The Old Soldier looked at her in disbelief.

If this was true, it was a big deal indeed, possibly affecting the Alliance's next strategic plans.

To confirm, he asked cautiously,

"Did... Did you come up with this yourself?"

Penny shook her head.

"My father serves as a civil official in Triumph City, though not a high-ranking one... It was thanks to his help that I was able to come here. But once I arrived, I realized that the news sent from the front lines to the rear had been doctored and even processed before it reached the Triumph Newspaper; the progress here is nothing like what Griffin had claimed."

"Triumph City can accept Griffin and McCullen maintaining the status quo in Luo Xia Province; the core interests of the Legion itself are not in the distant East. However, no one in the expansionist faction can accept the enterprises taking away the Legion's vassals."

"It's not just Triumph City that can't accept Luo Xia Province falling entirely into corporate hands; the Academy also can't accept it... If it truly comes to that, and the Alliance occupies the Falcon Kingdom with corporate support, do you know what this place will become?"

Looking at Penny with a serious face, the Old Soldier swallowed and asked cautiously,

"...What will it become?"

Penny continued seriously,

"Triumph City will declare war on the corporations. It will be a full-scale war across the entire Central Continent, a reckoning of history from one hundred and fifty years ago... The Academy might not like us, but they will allow us to pass because they dislike those people on the East Coast just as much."

A flicker of understanding suddenly dawned in the Old Soldier's heart.

"Wait... So that's why Griffin pulled back the defensive lines here?"

Come to think of it...

He had been pondering this before.

While retreating to Oasis No. 2 was a wise move, Griffin's abandonment seemed too decisive—or rather, too quick.

It was somewhat unusual.

Penny shook her head,

"I don't know... Maybe he didn't think so at first, but he has clearly been pushed to this step. From his perspective, even the best outcome for him is the worst conclusion."

"Only by sacrificing these ten thousand troops and the Falcon Kingdom, allowing those Weilante Military Officers to be captured or even executed by the Allied forces and the corporations, could he possibly unite their families and the factions behind them, and reach a consensus on the controversial proposal of the second expedition."

At this point, her eyes showed a faint hint of panic and unease.

"I don't want to think this way, but that's just the way it is..."

"That man has gone mad."

...

At the same time.

Aboard the Iron Heart.

Chu Guang, who was busy with official duties, suddenly received a communication request from the direction of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

In the holographic screen,

A middle-aged man dressed in a silver-gray robe with blue stripes along the seams nodded to him and introduced himself with a gentle voice,

"Hello, esteemed Manager, I am Li Ke, a B-level researcher from the Special Planning Group of the External Affairs Department at the Academy."

Looking at the B-level researcher in front of him, Chu Guang couldn't help but display a bit of surprise in his eyes.

Just a few days ago, they had caused his side a hidden setback, yet not a ripple of emotion could be seen on his face.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Seeing that the other party didn't plan to take the initiative to mention the Beacon team incident, Chu Guang certainly wasn't going to bring it up either, so he pretended everything was normal and said with a smile,

"What do you need?"

"Of course, if it weren't for something important, I would be embarrassed to disturb you like this," Li Ke said with a slight smile, but his next sentence was beyond Chu Guang's expectations.

"We're here to save you."

Chu Guang paused, then chuckled dismissively.

"Save us?"

"Yes," Li Ke nodded lightly, "Not just you, but the entire province of Falling Leaves, and even the survivors in the southern River Valley Province, are facing a life-and-death crisis. If this regional conflict escalates into the Army's second expedition, your several years of management will turn to ashes."

Chu Guang slightly narrowed his eyes.

"Is this a threat?"

The person in the holographic image shook his head and spoke softly,

"It's not a threat; it's for the peace of those innocent people. I hope you can sit down and talk."

With a smile and a joking tone, Chu Guang said,

"An interesting phrase. Now, I'd like to ask where you were when someone with a big nose sent nuclear bombs to the Lost Valley."

Seemingly anticipating that the conversation would lead to the nuclear bomb, Li Ke in the holographic screen sighed slightly and said,

"We were just as surprised that they would use nuclear bombs, but what's done is done. What we can prevent is the second or third nuclear bombs from being delivered here."

"The oases of Falling Leaves Province are one of the few legacies left by the Prosperity Epoch. This declining civilization cannot afford any more losses."

"This war was not instigated by us. We're simply taking a neutral stance, hoping you can see the bigger picture and quit while you're ahead."

"Of course, we wouldn't ask you to give up your advantages without reason."

Chu Guang didn't respond, instead waiting silently for him to continue.

Li Ke paused before continuing,

"I hear you have a nuclear fusion reactor, but the power generation has always been kept to the minimum standard... From this, we infer that your helium-3 reserves might not be much, right?"

Chu Guang wanted to say that it was actually because they didn't need so much electricity, but he would certainly not expose his own shortcomings.

Seeing that Chu Guang still didn't speak, Li Ke took it as confirmation that he had guessed correctly. A faint smile appeared on his face as he continued,

"1000 cubic meters of liquid helium."

Chu Guang was indifferent,

"What do I need that stuff for?"

"I'm talking about helium-3."

At the moment he heard this sentence, Chu Guang's pupils contracted slightly.

He didn't know how heavy a thousand cubic meters of liquid helium-3 must be, but he was very aware that a thousand cubic meters of liquid helium had to weigh at least 127 tons!

What did 127 tons of helium-3 represent?

If used entirely for nuclear fusion power generation, even considering energy conversion efficiency, this massive amount of energy would suffice a city similar to Singapore with a million residents for 127 years!

And for the entire globe, it would be enough for seven billion people to waste for a whole year!

Such a massive amount of energy would tempt not just him, but probably Ideal City as well!

After the Earth-Moon flights were interrupted, fusion fuel had almost become a non-renewable resource.

Although the Alliance didn't need such a vast amount of energy for the time being, he happened to hold a Black Box that could produce nuclear fusion batteries in his hand!

Whether it was large aircraft or power armor, as long as they could get enough nuclear fuel, the Alliance had ways to produce them.

However, what Chu Guang didn't understand was why the Academy would be willing to give such a nearly non-renewable strategic resource to the Alliance.

Aren't these guys the most averse to "waste"?

Seeming to notice the confusion in his eyes, the researcher named Li Ke continued to say,

"…Of course, we wouldn't transfer this energy directly to you, but we would give you coordinates to locate this batch of 'goods.'"

Great.

So it was a Blind Box.

Hearing that it was up to him to retrieve it himself, Chu Guang's interest immediately waned. He leaned back in his chair.

"It's been two hundred years, how do I know if it's still there?"

Li Ke spoke with certainty,

"It's definitely still there, we can confirm that the facilities' security system is still operating, it's just that for the Academy to retrieve it... it presents certain difficulties. After all, it's still a bit of a distance from the swamps."

A bit of a distance...

So, does that mean in the southern part of the River Valley Province?

Although Chu Guang had previously speculated that there might be some nuclear reserves left in the Wasteland, he hadn't expected there to be so much!

Chu Guang watched him impassively.

"Is the province of Falling Leaves worth 127 tons of helium-3 to you?"

Li Ke said in a very subdued voice,

"Whether it's worth it or not is our business."

Chu Guang tapped his finger on the desk without giving a straight answer.

This was related to the future strategic direction of the Alliance, as well as the situation in Falling Leaves Province.

He needed to discuss it with others before making a decision.

"I'll think about it."

Seeing that the young leader didn't directly reject him, Li Ke breathed a sigh of relief, his face showing a relieved smile,

"Please do."

——

(Thanks to "leize110" for the grand reward!!!)

Chapter 486: Liberation of the Honey Badger Kingdom (Thanks to the Sterling Silver alliance reward from "Schrödinger X"!)

After ending the call with the Alliance, Li Ke immediately sent a communication request to the Army. After it was passed through various levels, he finally contacted General Griffin, the commander in the Sunset Province of the Army.

However, when he presented his prepared proposal, Griffin's response was unexpected—

"Dream on." Looking at the face in the holographic image, Griffin gave a cold smile.

Li Ke was stunned for two seconds before trying to persuade him.

"You no longer have any chance of winning; if we negotiate now, you can still save Oasis No. 2."

Griffin stared at him for a while, his lips curling into a mocking smile.

"Do you think it's that piece of oasis we need?"

Li Ke massaged his temples with a headache.

Negotiating with the Army was much more difficult than negotiating with the Alliance.

He believed he had done sufficient research and preparation, yet the prices he offered still failed to interest the other party.

He couldn't help feeling a sense of defeat.

"What exactly do you want then? We can still talk about it."

"What do we want? Hahaha."

As if hearing a very funny joke, Griffin suddenly laughed out loud, and after a long while, he looked at the man in front of him and continued in a sarcastic tone.

"You, who are still weighing the pros and cons, will never understand."

Without waiting for the person in the holographic screen to speak, Griffin casually waved his right hand and disconnected the communication rudely.

"Those calls from the Academy need not be reported to me anymore."

The guard in bullet-proof armor respectfully saluted.

"Yes!"

Griffin nodded calmly.

"Dismiss."

The personal guard turned and left the tent.

Only he remained in the spacious tent.

Sitting on a carved palm-wood chair, Griffin quietly gazed out at the silent night sky beyond the curtain, and the shadows flickering dimly and brightly because of the fire basin.

Kras...

McCullen...

The most fanatic die first, followed by the foolish.

Even though he did not like the way those two operated, it did not prevent Griffin from respecting them.

Compared to the traitors who raised their hands in surrender and the cowards who dared not move forward, they had fought for His Majesty the Marshal's ideals like heroes till the end, paving the road to triumph for the Weilante people with their own blood.

"We once agreed to plant the Army's flag at the highest peak of the Grand Canyon, and return to Triumph City with the honor of victory…"

"How lonely."

Reaching for the brass jug, Griffin poured himself a cup of red wine, the fresh red reigniting a spark of longing in his cloudy pupils.

"Such twisted, foolish fellows like you... Neither hell nor heaven would take you in… If that's the case, then stand there and watch closely."

Even if all plans failed completely, he still held the last trump card in his hand.

He would tell those fools that caution wasn't a sign of cowardice, and his loyalty to His Majesty the Marshal had never meant fearing death.

As long as his sacrifice was meaningful, he would not hesitate to cast aside this body of flesh and blood.

"...I will fulfill your long-held wishes."

Even if it cost him his own life.

Pouring the wine from the cup into the fire basin, watching the sparks and charred debris flying, Griffin's face burned with madness.

"Come."

Evil, ugly, chaotic barbarians...

You must have prepared yourselves, too.

...

Oasis No.3, Honey Badger City.

Below the towering embankment was a cloud of rolling smoke, and the twilight of the distance along with the gradually subsiding gunfire fell curtain.

Before the ground troops arrived, the aircraft from the Goblin Corps guided the Steel Heart, bombarding the suburbs' positions in rounds.

The bunkers and trenches standing in the wheat fields were almost completely buried by the dust raised by the shells.

After nearly a thousand casualties, the retinue soldiers left behind to cover the retreat finally couldn't withstand their fear of death and raised their hands in surrender, coming out of the trenches.

The Death Legion and the restored forces of the Honey Badger Kingdom took down Honey Badger City, which had blocked the Army for three days, in less than two hours.

Charging into the city, Edge Shoveling raised his arm and shouted, holding up his rifle.

"Brothers! Take the lord's mansion! All the valuable information and documents are there; don't let the NPCs get there first! Remember not to kill those who surrender; try to capture them alive!"

Following him, a crowd of Strength Type brutes, eyes glowing a green that could scare the children, frightened the survivors so much that they didn't even dare to come out of their houses to welcome the king's troops.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

"Take them down!"

Taking down a survivor settlement with a population of hundreds of thousands in less than two hours.

This MVP should be in the bag!

Elsewhere.

Looking at the capital city, battered and in ruins, within arm's reach, Marshal Yard from the restoration army felt his eyes moisten, his chest churning with myriad thoughts.

He dismounted and knelt on the ground, drawing the sword from his waist and planting it in the earth as a makeshift tombstone, his palm pressed against the blade as he prayed devoutly.

"Father… Mother… I have returned."

The personal guards beside him also dismounted and knelt on one knee.

At that moment, a messenger ran over.

Upon seeing Marshal Yard kneeling on the ground, he quickly fell to his knees and reported.

"Sir! While we were recovering the embankment, we captured several lackeys of the Falcon Kingdom… They were installing dynamite on the embankment, preparing to destroy the blessings given to us by the Spirit of the Sand Sea. How should we handle them?"

Yard slowly stood up from the ground, pulled the sword out from the earth, and handed it to the messenger.

"Use this sword to chop off their heads and place them under the embankment."

The messenger's eyes flashed with hatred as he took the sword from the marshal's hands, accepting the command.

"Yes!"

The Alliance does not kill prisoners, but they weren't so constrained.

For the traitors who betray their faith and souls, the desert residents have their own ways to punish those sinners.

After everything was explained, Yard flipped back onto his horse, waved his reins, and led his personal guard into the city.

The battle within the city had already ended.

The governor appointed by the Falcon Royal Family had fled, leaving only an accountant servant who failed to escape and was captured alive by the Alliance.

Now, the city hall was under the control of the Death Legion.

And his army had recaptured the castles and palaces that had once belonged to them.

The Army's flags that had been raised on the river banks were torn down by the soldiers and replaced with the royal flag of the Honey Badger Kingdom, newly woven from Devil Silk.

Watching the flag flutter over the river banks, residents of the city came out from their homes, standing on both sides of the street, welcoming the entering soldiers.

Looking at the ragged, emaciated subjects on both sides of the street, Yard felt a twinge of pain in his heart.

It was a sacrilege against the gods to have famine on the land blessed by the Spirit of the Sand Sea.

He turned to the chief of his personal guard.

"Open the granary and distribute the food to them."

The face of the chief of the guard showed difficulty as he reported in a low voice,

"The granary is under Alliance control."

Yard was silent for a while.

"Take me there."

The chief of the guard took the order.

"Yes!"

The granary was not far from the city hall, and while taking control of the city hall, the Alliance's soldiers had simultaneously taken over this place.

Yard noticed that these were not Death Legion soldiers; their uniforms and badges appeared to belong to the First Corps of the Alliance.

"Who is in charge here?" he shouted, looking at the soldiers at the entrance to the granary.

Unexpectedly,
instead of an Alliance officer, a woman dressed in jeans and a T-shirt—a plain outfit—came out from behind the courtyard wall.

"It's me."

Standing at the doorway, Teresa nervously looked at the man on the warhorse.

Just as she anticipated, the moment her face was visible, Yard on the horse narrowed his eyes.

The guards accompanying him tightened their grip on their muskets, and without exception, their eyes flickered with hateful ferocity.

A few soldiers of the Alliance glanced at each other, took two steps forward, and stood beside Teresa.

They were not interested in the grievances of the desert residents, but since the Manager had ordered them to ensure her safety, no one would harm her.

"What are you doing here?" Holding the reins in his right hand, Yard motioned his cavalry to put away their weapons and coldly looked at her.

Teresa took a deep breath and spoke honestly,

"I am in charge of the Alliance Home of the Refugees… The Alliance handed over the confiscated food to us for resettlement, and they instructed me to do everything possible to help the residents here—"

Her words were cut off by the furious shouting of the guard soldiers behind Yard.

"That's food pillaged from our land!"

"The citizens of the Honey Badger Kingdom do not need the Army's lapdogs to rescue them!"

"Pah!"

"You see," Yard tossed his chin back, squinting at the woman in front," the warriors of the Honey Badger Kingdom do not need your help. Hand over the keys to the granary; we will take care of the famine."

"As for you, go wherever you like, just don't obstruct our way."

He deemed it unnecessary to trouble an unarmed woman.

But that didn't mean he would show her any kindness.

Facing the somber mood, a drop of sweat trickled down Teresa's pale cheek.

Although a reflexive panic flickered in her eyes, she didn't step back but kept her gaze firmly on the man mounted on the warhorse.

"What do you plan to do for these starving people?"

Yard answered without hesitation.

"Distribute the food to them."

As expected.

Teresa was not surprised by his answer.

How could royalty born in affluent lands understand hunger, imagine what starving people think, or have experience handling famines?

Like that proxy king Sommer, in their view, the problem seemed resolvable by just distributing the food.

However, the reality was far from this simple.

The famine caused by the war wasn't just about the lack of food, but also the absence of social order and the halt of productive activities.

She didn't fully understand those complex theories, but with her grassroots experience, she knew that just distributing the food wasn't enough.

Teresa took another deep breath, continuing,

"…there are eighty thousand recognized households in Honey Badger City, and the granary has only six thousand tons of grain. How will you ensure everyone is fed?"

Yard frowned.

"It's simple, seventy kilograms per household should be enough."

Teresa relentlessly pressed on.

"Is that so for a household of three or six? What about families that have lost their wage earners and the unregistered residents?"

Yard impatiently said,

"Then distribute it per capita."

"That's even less likely… Adults will snatch food from children's hands, strong adults will overpower the weak and elderly, and even if the citizens of Honey Badger City are law-abiding and do not steal, there will still be those who buy surplus food from others, and then sell it back at a high price when people are forced to eat their own."

Yard's face turned a shade of iron as he glared at her.

Standing aside, the chief of the guard shouted fiercely,

"That's nonsense! How could the citizens of the Honey Badger royal family do such a thing!"

Teresa replied, "Perhaps they are noble and devout enough, but when there are means to prevent a tragedy, why rely solely on morality and faith?"

The chief of the guard coldly said,

"It's not the place of the Army's lapdogs to teach us—"

"Shut up."

Yard rebuked him, narrowing his eyes at the woman.

"You tell me what should be done."

Teresa took a deep breath and said earnestly,

"Set up relief points throughout the city, divide districts, and provide food rations on a community basis, while registering the names, ages, heights, weights, families, and occupations of the famine victims, and organize those who are capable of working to participate in post-war reconstruction and the cultivation of farmlands beyond the riverbanks."

"Let those unable to work survive without starving, let those able to work eat well and channel their energy into the right places. They will be in hardship for a while, but as long as they can make it to next year's harvest, everything will get better."

"Trust me... we have enough experience and capability to handle this. If you don't trust me, you can send someone to watch over me."

Teresa looked at Yard seriously.

This was the work experience she had accumulated over the past few months.

This was how the Alliance had been operating in the River Valley Province, particularly around Rui Valley City; it proved much more effective than simply handing out food to the starving.

"Sir… she's the Queen of the Falcon Kingdom." The Chief of the Guard, worried, looked at Yard, who was lost in thought, and reminded him in a subdued voice, "Those people would not hesitate to blow up the riverbanks to destroy us!"

Yard did not respond but glanced at the alliance flag beside him and finally turned his gaze towards Teresa, who was watching him nervously.

"Why do you want to do this?"

Teresa was silent for a while, then shook her head with a wry smile.

"I don't know... You might not believe me, but doing this makes me feel better."

Perhaps...

It would be up to the Manager to persuade him.

But just as she had this thought, the situation took an unexpected turn.

It seemed Yard had believed her; he waved his hand backward, signaling the Guard to turn around.

Before turning away, he dropped a remark,

"If you have troubles that can't be resolved, come find me at the castle."

Teresa sighed with relief and murmured softly,

"Thank you."

Resolving conflicts in such a way was ideal.

She did not expect them to forgive the Falcon Kingdom for its faults, but she still wanted to do something in her own capacity.

As for the reason—

Perhaps it was because of that day on the Iron Heart, when she was asked by the acting king of the Honey Badger Kingdom, Sommer, "In what capacity are you staying with the Alliance?"

'(She) is a person liberated by the Alliance.'

'...whether they are residents of Oasis No.3 or Oasis No.2, they are all victims of this war.'

The voice did not hesitate.

'We will go to liberate them.'

…

Wasteland time, midnight.

The official website of another world was bustling.

Debt Giant Eye: "Hahaha! Took down Honey Badger City in two hours! Just asking, are we incredible or what?"

Quit Smoking: "666!"

Gnome King Riches: "Pfft, that's nothing, we freaking wiped out a division in two hours! (roll eyes)"

I Max Black: "Exactly! And most of the troops from the Army and Falcon Kingdom have withdrawn to Oasis No.2, what main force would you guys cleaning up the battlefield possibly meet?"

Construction Youth and Brick: "Doesn't matter! Oasis No.3 is liberated by us! (Proud)"

Gnome King Riches: "Damn!"

Elena: "Speaking of which, next up is Oasis No. 2, right? (Wry smile)"

Valley Escaping Mole: "We're reaching Bister Town tomorrow. The Army has built plenty of fortifications there; it's going to be a tough fight."

Night Ten: "@Battlefield Atmosphere Group Pangolin brother, where are you at?"

WC Truly Has Mosquitoes: "Do tell, what's the situation over there? (mischievous)"

I Max Black: "Damn! Where is he? He was just online a moment ago."

Night Ten: "He didn't go off to do something shady, did he??"

Just an hour ago, many people had seen Old Soldier online, bubbling in the posts about him following Coleway's retreat to the logistic hub of Bister Town in Oasis No.2.

Then suddenly, mid-conversation, he vanished.

Thinking of his usual habit of going offline in the outhouse, everyone became worried.

The @ symbol flooded the posts.

Perhaps sensing he was being plotted against, with the persistent @ calls of numerous players, Old Soldier finally showed up belatedly.

"Cough... I've got news, big news, absolutely explosive!"

Fang Chang: "Big news, really now."

Spring Water Commander: "Did you persuade Coleway to surrender? (sidelong glance)"

Debt Giant Eye: "How did you persuade him? (mischievous)"

I Max Black: "Do tell, brother, did it hurt? (curious)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Get lost!"

Teng Teng: "(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)"

Night Ten: "Cut the crap, amazing and unbelievable situation (GKD)!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Cough, about the movements in the far-away Triumph City... things are a bit tricky. I've just sorted it out and submitted it to the task interface, I'll go outside and start a detailed post in a bit."

Using about two to three thousand characters, Old Soldier detailed the complex interests entangled within the Army Eastward Expansion Faction in his newly started post.

To put it简单来说, Lush Falling Leaves Province had三个 "generals" before.

The highest-ranked was the Five-Star Ten Thousand Leader, General Kras, followed by Griffin, and then McCullen.

All three were once pillars in the Army Eastward Expansion Faction, advocating for the conquest of the origin land of the post-war rebuilding committee, the Grand Canyon, and to project their power across the Central Continent through the canyon.

However, the Eastward Expansion Faction did not hold a dominant position within the Army, and even the Eastern Legion was not fully supportive of advancing into the eastern part of the Great Desert.

In order to gain support from Triumph City, Kras and others from the Eastward Expansion Faction launched their first expedition. However, due to inadequate preparation, Kras perished during the first expedition.

Griffin took over the foundations Kras had built in Lush Falling Leaves Province and adopted a series of strategies. These included economically courting Bugra Free State, inciting the Chew-bone Tribe to sweep through the central and southern parts of River Valley Province, and militarily supporting the Falcon Kingdom to annex the monarchies of Lush Falling Leaves Province, among others.

However, his plans clearly did not progress smoothly. Not only was he unable to conquer the nations in the desert, but he was even pushed back by the Alliance into Oasis No.2.

Now, Griffin had only one card left to play.

That was to sacrifice ten legions of ten thousand troops, himself, and the Army's vassals in Lush Falling Leaves Province in exchange for the other factions' "sympathy" towards the Eastward Expansion Faction in Triumph City.

Not exactly sympathy.

Regardless of whether it was for the prestige of Triumph City, for the promising young officers in those ten thousand-strong forces, or for the Weilante nobles who came to the front lines to earn their stripes, the Legion would have to respond to this war supported by corporations.

And the greatest possibility was the war of paradise between two "Degenerate Empires."

This was exactly what the corporations had always tried hard to avoid.

Regarding whether to continue fighting, there was a clear disagreement among the players.

Mole, who had just escaped the gorge, supported continuing the battle.

His reason was simple, he hadn't had enough fun after experiencing the surge of steel rivers. If the corporations and the Legion really started fighting, the Alliance might just be able to fish in troubled waters.

But Edge Shoveling hesitated.

The situation in Oasis No. 3 had exceeded his expectations.

According to the incomplete statistics he had scavenged from the master's office of Honey Badger City, the population of the Honey Badger Kingdom had decreased by 5% in just the short span of a month.

It wasn't that his sympathy was overflowing.

If it were the headquarters' orders, he would go without hesitation to Oasis No. 2 to fight those die-hard maniacs to the end.

It's just that, continuing to fight, he couldn't see where this war would end.

"I agree with driving the Legion out of Luo Xia Province, as they started this war, but I am unsure of what to do afterward. Unless we have the capability to push the front line to Triumph City, this endless war will drag us... even everyone into the mire."

Fang Chang, "Actually, I think debating whether to cease fire isn't very meaningful. If the Legion refuses to let go, even if we agree to a ceasefire, it would be pointless. (skeptical)"

WC such a mosquito, "How about decapitating Griffin? I'll donate a plane! (smug)"

Tail, "Oh! That sounds thrilling! Tail casts a vote! (｀∀´)Ψ"

Si Si, "If Pangolin comrade can get his coordinates, it might be possible… but it always feels like it might end up worse."

Spring Water Commander, "Mm, the ideal situation would be to capture him and force him to surrender. But honestly, if he is prepared to sacrifice ten thousand-strong forces... probably he is ready to die for his beliefs."

Construction Boy and Brick, "Headache... why do I have to think about this? Just tell me where to fight. (dizzy)"

Fang Chang, "Because this is our Alliance. (skeptical)"

...

While the players were discussing whether to continue fighting, Chu Guang, who was sitting in front of the computer in the captain's office of the Steel Heart, was screen peeking.

Although most of the time his little players, for active purposes, tagged his major account "Ah Guang" with suggestions that were of no reference value, when it came to making crucial decisions about the future of the Alliance, Chu Guang still wanted to see the players and backseat drivers' thoughts.

Just as Brother Fang Chang had said, this was an alliance belonging to all survivors, naturally, it also belonged to the players.

However, what surprised Chu Guang was that Pangolin had brought him another groundbreaking piece of intelligence—

That the governor dispatched by Triumph City was on his way to Luo Xia Province!

And he was on a mission for peace talks!

With a clear understanding of the opponent's bottom line, the next moves would be much easier to manage.

"… Looks like I really need to compensate Pangolin brother with a set of power armor."

Having reclaimed this unexpected trump card, Chu Guang smiled, turned off the webpage, and then looked at Xiao Qi sitting at the edge of the pen holder.

"Xiao Qi, call Vanus here for me."

Xiao Qi playfully saluted.

"Sure thing!"

After a short wait.

Vanus, who was on duty on the airship, quickly arrived at the captain's office.

Without mentioning the helium-3 matter, Chu Guang briefly informed this Weilante, who had once served as a Thousand Leader in the Legion, about the Academy's prediction of the future situation in Luo Xia Province and the next possible strategies of the Legion.

After listening to Chu Guang's description, Vanus thought for two seconds before speaking.

"The representative from the Academy is likely not joking... If Griffin faces a severe defeat in Luo Xia Province, the Legion will definitely not let this war end abruptly."

His statement was very conservative.

But Chu Guang could discern his implication and slightly nodded.

"Mmm, I understand."

It wasn't just the Academy.

Including corporations, they had discussed with him about cutting their losses while ahead, and Yi Chuan had even hinted to him that the Supreme Council was willing to offer them a bit of compensation.

Of course, nominally still in the guise of aid.

"The Alliance needs space and time for development... We have already fought for space, now we are just a bit short on time."

"What do you plan to do?" Vanus looked at Chu Guang.

If it was against the Eastern Legion stationed in Luo Xia Province, the Alliance definitely had a comparable strength.

But if it was against the entire Legion...

It might be difficult for the Academy and corporations combined to win honorably.

He was curious about what this man in front of him would choose.

"…I need to buy time for the Alliance."

Chu Guang stretched out his index finger, sketching in the air, and unfurled a holographic map on the office desk.

At the center of the map was the southwestern corner of Oasis No. 2—Falcon City's location.

That was the capital of the Falcon Kingdom!

"… Our pilots have finally gained aerial superiority, I'm not planning to just give that up. The Alliance's flag hasn't yet flown over the skies of the Falcon Kingdom's royal city. If I tell our young soldiers to go home now, they definitely won't be satisfied."

Vanus looked at Chu Guang in surprise, his eyebrows slightly raising.

"Are you planning to ignite this keg of dynamite?"

"Of course not," Chu Guang paused before continuing, "According to intelligence, the governor from Triumph City is on his way to Oasis No. 2, his mission is most likely for peace talks… and we will take down the capital of Falcon Kingdom before he reaches Oasis No. 2."

Vanus frowned slightly.

"The Legion probably won't sit back and watch Falcon City be captured by us… If it really comes to that, even if that governor is on a peace mission, the situation here would likely lose its foundation for a ceasefire."

Chu Guang spoke succinctly.

"That's why we won't occupy it."

Vanus was taken aback.

"Then you mean..."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"We will plant the Alliance's flag atop their royal palace, destroy as much as we can of their military factories, railway, road network, and fortresses, eliminate their war potential, and maximize the war-weariness from their royal aristocrats to common civilians… making them pay their due price."

Looking at Vanus's surprised face, Chu Guang paused before continuing.

"Then, we will pull back."

-

(Thanks to "Schrödinger X" for the sterling silver donation!!! Thanks to "House of the Little Cotton Padded Jacket" for the leader donation!!!)

Chapter 487: The Unstoppable Skeleton Corps

The dimly lit inn.

The partly open curtain allowed a sliver of dawn's light to pass through.

Old White opened his eyes and found a blanket covering him. He shook his groggy head and woke from his sleep.

"You really slept like the dead."

Hearing the voice beside him, Old White turned his head and saw Chen Yutong leaning on a sofa not far away.

A blanket covered her knees, her lower legs curled up within it, still dressed in yesterday's clothes.

It was already October, and the temperature in the River Valley Province had started to cool. Typically, this year would be a warm winter, but snow was expected by early December at the latest.

Thinking that he had let her sleep on the sofa all night, Old White felt somewhat embarrassed and coughed softly before speaking.

"Sorry, I drank a bit too much last night…"

Can't be helped, not just that girl named Lisa, but all the hotel guests in the highway town were waiting for his story.

To make the story presentable and to cover for the real spy identity of the pangolin, he had no choice but to place the tales of players like Edge Shoveling onto the head of the pangolin.

Thus, the novice killer who slaughtered rampantly at position G537 now became the warrior who had ventured seven times in and out at No. 330 high ground.

If anyone traveled to the Lion Kingdom, hundreds of kilometers away, they might hear entirely contrary rumors from locals, baffled as to why the pangolin was one moment with the Alliance and the next helping the Army fight the Alliance's people.

But it didn't matter.

It perfectly matched the double agent identity of that guy.

In the Wasteland, as long as one had a mouth, one could boast, and no one had the power to verify which rumors were true.

In any case, there would be idle people later, based on their understanding, who would come up with a logically self-consistent version.

However, what puzzled Old White was why he was here.

As everyone knows, the game could block some sensations that might cause discomfort to players. This, though enhancing gameplay, also made it hard for players to judge their condition based on the nervous system's warnings.

The most direct result was that once one became drunk, it generally led to blacking out,
and it was the type that absolutely couldn't reconnect.

Usually, when players got drunk, Old Hooke or other players would tacitly move their game characters to a guest room to rest.

But this time, something was different.

He had been moved to an NPC's room.

"It's okay, I'm not picky about where I sleep. I often travel and usually end up spending the night in the car. This sofa is quite comfortable to sleep on… Is it made from Variant fur?"

Saying this, Chen Yutong pressed the sofa's soft armrest.

Seeing her nonchalant expression, Old White suddenly remembered that she had drunk quite a bit last night too and couldn't help asking.

"Maybe it's monster hide… Speaking of which, didn't you feel drunk?"

Chen Yutong paused for a moment.

"Me? I didn't feel much, my bioengineered liver has enough alcohol dehydrogenase to metabolize the alcohol, without activating the CYP2E1 enzyme to produce reactive oxygen, basically, I don't feel much…"

Bad.

His head started to ache again.

He should have chosen the Body Constitution System from the start…

Watching Old White pressing his temples, Chen Yutong couldn't help but smile teasingly.

"It seems quite difficult to get me drunk."

Old White quickly coughed to explain.

"I didn't intend to."

"Just kidding, don't take it to heart," Chen Yutong continued with a curved smile, "By the way… that drink was really interesting, I didn't experience the slightly tipsy feeling you talked about, but it gave me another peculiar sensation, thank you."

"You're welcome, I did say I'd treat you to a drink."

It was rather awkward always lying in someone else's bed. Old White propped himself up with his hands, shook his head, and picked up the VM device from the bedside table to attach it to his arm.

A brief loading sequence completed, and the pale blue glow soon appeared on the screen.

However, to Old White's surprise, a new red dot had appeared on the taskbar's icon.

[New Mission: Board the next flight and report to the front line.]

His eyebrows slightly raised, his eyes sparkled with excitement.

Noticing the change in his expression, Chen Yutong curiously asked.

"What happened?"

"My leave has ended early, the Manager has summoned me to the front line," Old White grinned, continuing, "Looks like they need me there again."

The next operation's target was the Royal Palace in Falcon City.

The Goblin Corps had organized hundreds of W-2 attack aircraft to coordinate with him.

Also working together with them was the Storm Corps, who would use the Iron Heart to break through directly to the Army's rear at the No. 2 Oasis Defense Line.

This would be a strategic gamble.

Well played, it would be a Cretan campaign; botched, it would be a Market Garden operation.

Looks like headquarters is planning something big this time.

With raging battle fervor burning in his eyes, Old White threw off the covers, got out of bed, and grabbed a coat hanging nearby, draping it over himself.

Gauging from his expression, Chen Yutong guessed something but said nothing, nor did she worry, she just bent her lips slightly and said in an ordinary tone.

"Be careful, next time I'll return the favor with a drink."

Stopping at the door, Old White smiled and gestured.

"I'll remember that."

…

Shelter No. 404.

Floor B3 Medical Laboratory.

Sitting on a folding chair, Falling Feather looked worriedly at Xiaoyu, who was lying unconscious on the scanning bed.

"Is it… okay?"

Heya, who stood by the console, was busy recording experimental data while casually replying.

"Fantastic, even stronger than before."

As the final inspection ended, she pressed the blue button on the screen.

Several flexible metal tubes were pulled from Xiaoyu's forehead, chest, and the hem of her skirt, retracting into the silvery white experimental equipment in the ceiling.

Then, the work was to summarize the experimental data and analyze the conclusions.

The research on Xiaoyu was a top priority for the League's Biological Research Institute; it was not only related to the League's understanding of "Mutated slime fungus" but also important for her to successfully obtain the biological laboratory on Floor B6.

After deriving the conclusions, she also needed to compile the phase results into a report to send to the busy Manager.

Sometimes she really admired that guy.

His brain was like a multi-core CPU, capable of simultaneously handling matters from different fields such as economics, industry, military, scientific research, culture, diplomacy, and so on.

The secrets he held were more fascinating to her than the lair in Qingquan City; unfortunately, whenever she brought up this topic, he always brushed it off, saying he was not very clear either.

Suddenly noticing the worried expression on the face of a nearby refuge resident, Heya recalled Chu Guang's instructions and casually comforted him.

"Don't worry, today's research is just a routine check; your Xiaoyu will be fine."

Although he still looked unconvinced, hearing the comfort from the "Chief Biologist of the League" somewhat relaxed Falling Feather.

Seeing Falling Feather relax, Heya paused for a moment and then continued.

"However... its DNA is entering an unstable phase; it is better to avoid taking it to dangerous places recently, especially the front lines. Without spore entity protection, a lone mother organism is quite fragile."

Falling Feather solemnly nodded.

But out of curiosity, he couldn't help but ask.

"What exactly is this unstable phase?"

Could his Xiaoyu continue to evolve?

That would be really awesome.

Seeing Falling Feather seem optimistic, Heya shook her head.

"I don't know; the research data I hold isn't sufficient to explain this situation. I can only make a rough guess based on limited clues."

Falling Feather swallowed, waiting for her to continue.

After organizing her thoughts for a moment, Heya paused and then continued.

"The mother organism has a life cycle, which can be long or short. After reaching this cycle, they transform into another form of life, which we call the lair... just like a butterfly breaking out of its chrysalis, transforming from pupa to adult."

Falling Feather immediately pressed.

"What triggers it?"

Heya shook her head.

"I don't know, but I suppose it's about choosing its future path."

"Choosing...?"

"That's right," Heya nodded, "natural threats are no longer its primary concern, standing at the top of the food chain, it's no longer constrained by ordinary natural conditions. This means it needs to choose its own path for future evolution. It's an ability bestowed by nature and its mission."

"The genetic information collected from nature, memories, experiences, and knowledge stored in neural tissue... all these can serve as references for evolution, and it has already completed the accumulation of these components. Simply put, it must decide whether to become a cute mushroom or a deadly Venus flytrap next."

Gazing blankly at Heya and Xiaoyu lying on the scanning bed, Falling Feather nodded with a somewhat understanding.

He didn't quite grasp those complex theories.

He was only concerned about one thing—

"After all this ends... will it still remember me?"

Heya replied without hesitation.

"Of course, it remembers; I've said memory is a key reference for its evolution to the next life stage... but even so, you should prepare yourself mentally."

Falling Feather instantly tensed up.

"What kind of mental preparation?"

"Becoming another life form, the blood connection it has with you might be severed. It may not be as close to you as it is now, and it might even see you and other humans as prey. Even if the memory is part of its legacy, even if it still remembers things about you..."

Heya described in terms as simple as possible.

After hearing this, Falling Feather fell into silence; his thoughts were tangled like a knot in his mind.

He recalled various past events...

Including the first time he took it to the suburbs to level up, the first time he taught it how to fight, the time he introduced it to human food...

If these memories could be replaced by something else, he would rather it stay as it is now and not continue to evolve.

Actually, he didn't particularly need a combat companion to fight alongside him.

He could fight on his own.

At this moment, Xiaoyu on the scanning bed was gradually awakening; its tendrils lazily moving, making an unconscious murmur, "Yi Wu."

Perhaps sensing his presence.

The groggy Xiaoyu slowly sat up on the scanning bed.

At the sight of Falling Feather, its abstract face instantly bloomed with joy and delight, and immediately, dragging its heavy body, it slid off the scanning bed.

"Yi Wu!"

Perhaps because it was just waking up from anesthesia and had not yet fully adjusted, it stumbled as it got off the bed.

Seeing the pitiful expression, Falling Feather couldn't help but smile as he stepped forward and held the drunken Xiaoyu.

"Be careful, you... I'm not going anywhere."

"Yi Wu!"

The tendrils wrapped around the nearby arm, and Xiaoyu nuzzled its head against his chest, changing its aggrieved expression to one of contentment.

Looking at its endearing demeanor, Falling Feather felt all the clouds of confusion and worry in his heart clear away.

Just like human birth and death, the life cycle does not change due to likes or dislikes; whatever is meant to come, will come one day.

No matter what the future holds, at least for now, this little guy was utterly reliant on him.

Perhaps...

He should trust it a bit more.

Having shared memories, they can face the unknown future together.

"I understand..." He patted Xiaoyu's slippery head and, looking at Heya standing beside him, said firmly, "Even if it eventually becomes another form of life, I will not regret it... I will take care of it till the end."

"I'm glad you think that way."

Heya smiled, looking at the brave young man and patted his shoulder.

"Keep it up."

...

On the edge of Oasis No. 2, Bister Town was encircled by concrete like an iron barrel.

Standing next to the bunker, Weddell held binoculars in his hands, anxiously staring at the vast dunes in the distance.

The soldiers standing beside him were equally tense.

Within just three days, at least ten thousand soldiers from the Army had passed through here, yet not one unit was willing to stay with them.

The new defensive line was at the edge of Oasis No. 2. As opposed to concrete buildings, General Griffin seemed to prefer relying on the "river banks" left over from the Prosperity Epoch for defense.

This meant, however, that this fortress situated outside the oasis had lost its function.

What disappointed Weddell was not just that no one helped them, it was that no one told him what to do next.

They were completely abandoned...

Just then, a courier came running over.

"Report! An order from headquarters—"

Hearing the sound, hope flashed in Weddell's eyes.

It was like a drowning man grasping at a straw, even though he knew the hopes of retreating were slim, he still grabbed the courier's collar in desperation.

"Hurry! Tell me, what did Mr. Griffin say?"

The trembling courier pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Weddell.

Sensing something ominous from the courier's expression, Weddell quickly let go of his collar and snatched the paper from his hands.

"[...Effective immediately, the Bister Fortress garrison must close all eastern checkpoints and must hold the fortress for over fifteen days, awaiting reinforcements!]"

"[Note: In times of crisis, we must burn all the supplies and fuel in storage, and it is permitted for Centurions and senior officers to surrender if troop numbers fall by ninety percent or more.]"

Having read the last line on the telegram, Weddell's face turned as white as if it had been painted, devoid of any color.

No more people would be retreating from the front lines.

This had become the new front line.

The people of Weilante had completely abandoned them...

Weddell's complexion slowly turned from pale to desperate, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably. At that moment, a strong sense of foreboding overcame him.

Another courier ran from the southeast direction, too urgent even to salute, shouting in panic.

"Tanks! Alliance tanks! They're advancing toward our position from the southeast!"

Weddell asked instinctively.

"How many?"

"I don't know... maybe fifty, maybe a hundred or more," stuttered the courier.

The officers and soldiers nearby gasped in unison, unconsciously holding their breath.

A hundred tanks!

The last unit that withdrew from here had taken almost all the Iron Fist Rocket Launchers, and their anti-tank weapons combined probably didn't even have a hundred rounds!

Weddell felt his heartbeat stop for a moment as he stood helplessly.

The entire Bister Fortress garrison only had three hundred men.

Even if he counted the laborers, who had no military training, they couldn't make up a thousand-strong team!

The anti-tank obstacles couldn't stop the Alliance's steel tide.

They didn't even need to rush in, just stationing outside and bombarding them with tank shells a few rounds would inflict heavy casualties...

The adjutant, standing next to him, looked at Weddell nervously.

"Commander... what should we do?"

"What to do... what to do... I want to know what the fuck to do too!"

All of a sudden, Weddell exploded in anger like a barrel of oil thrown into a fire, shocking everyone around him.

"These big-nosed bastards, cowards, spineless cretins! When it's a critical moment, they just retreat and let us hold the front!"

As he spoke, Weddell became increasingly irate, his face turning bright red.

Up to now in this war, experienced officers had been pulled to the front lines, and even attendants were given the ranks of Centurion and thrown into the regular army.

Being a logistic captain like him, who had barely handled a gun before, how could he fight against the Alliance people!

"...and that Griffin! That liar full of deceit, we've followed them through more than a decade of hardship, only to end up like this?! Where is the reinforcement from Triumph City? Where are the tens of thousands of Conqueror tanks? Is this his so-called unbeatable battle strategy?!"

No longer concealing his anger, he cursed the Weilante people, whom they absolutely respected on regular days, from Weilante soldiers to that Griffin. Had he had enough saliva, he would've spat on each person twice.

Seeing pairs of eyes staring at him, Weddell took a deep breath and calmed down.

After a long while, he issued his first order decisively.

"Take down the Army's flag."

The soldiers and officers exchanged looks, and no one dared to move, not even shifting a leg.

Weddell awkwardly realized that no one here was listening to him.

Fortunately, at that moment, a series of rumbling thuds came from afar, followed by whooshing sounds and explosions of fire blossoming on the southeastern defensive line of Bister Town.

Just as he'd predicted.

Those concrete anti-tank obstacles and bunkers were nowhere near enough to withstand the Alliance's steel tide. The Alliance wouldn't even bother sending infantry to rush their bunkers but chose to bomb them from outside their range first.

He didn't know what they were carrying on their tracks.

With just a flash of blue electrical arcs from the forked barrel, half-meter thick concrete walls were blasted, leaving only half-hanging rebar on the stones.

The soldiers hiding behind the concrete wall were punctured by the shards, let alone the old-fashioned machine guns mounted on the defenses.

Chu Guang instinctively ducked to avoid the flying sand, and, like a hamster whose tail had been stepped on, he puffed up and screamed.

"What are you waiting for? The people of Vellante have abandoned us, do you really want to be buried with those cowards? For the sake of the Spirit of the Sand Sea, lower the flag... just hang up anything white! Hurry!"

Faced with Chu Guang's roar, the nearby supervisor officers and soldiers finally sprang into action, rushing to the highest point of the fortress and pulling down the Army flag.

However, at this moment, the soldiers realized that there was nothing around that could serve as a white flag.

Suddenly, someone mentioned that Mr. Chu Guang's shirt seemed to be white, so they rushed back to his side, stripped him against his protest, and finally fulfilled his command.

The supervision officers of Vellante had already left with the last withdrawing troops, no one stopped their betrayal.

Previously, they had not acted solely out of military honor and loyalty to the Royal Family...

But now.

Even Chu Guang, a nobleman who "viewed honor as life," had surrendered, so they naturally saw no reason to continue resisting.

They just hoped that the Alliance would indeed treat the captives kindly as the rumors suggested, and not trouble them, these involuntary little people...

...

"Damn, why did they surrender?"

Mole, with half of his body out of the tank's gun turret and holding a binocular, saw the white flag raised in the distance and clicked his tongue discontentedly.

Just the day before yesterday, the Death Legion was bragging on the forum about capturing a city in two hours.

After clarifying the strategic deployment of Bister Town from Brother Battlefield, he had intended to show off with his brothers, but the enemies had raised the white flag after just one round of artillery fire.

They really couldn't take a beating!

Not far away, a disheveled man with several soldiers, raising their hands, walked out from behind a destroyed sentry.

The gestures they waved seemed to plead for them to not shoot.

Not interested in slaughtering unarmed men, Mole waved his hand.

Three armored trucks covered in steel plates drove past and stopped in front of the disheveled man.

Elena, holding a submachine gun, jumped off the truck first, just about to tease the man who looked like an officer, when he suddenly fell to his knees with a thud.

His forehead pressed tightly against the ground, heedless of the sand and dust, under the astonished gazes of others, he sobbed with a mix of snot and tears.

"...Spirit of the Sand Sea above, you finally came!"

Caught off guard by his smooth actions, Elena was stunned on the spot.

The tease that reached her lips was swallowed back, and she weirdly looked toward the Gnome King Riches beside her.

"What the fuck, what's this all about?"

Brother Fu Gui was also bewildered as he watched.

"I don't know..."

The players who got off the truck were all dumbfounded.

The man was crying so miserably, as if he had suffered a great injustice, they felt embarrassed to mock these fellows.

Chu Guang secretly glanced at these stunned soldiers, saw they did not shoot, breathed a sigh of relief, but still maintained a grief-stricken expression as he continued to knock his head on the ground in lamentation.

"Sir, I am a baron from the Falcon Kingdom. My name is Weddell. My ancestors have been managing a farm near the Oasis, just simple, honest farmers living a life away from worldly conflicts... until one day, the people of Vellante arrived here."

"Those people with big noses deceived us with their sweet words, took our king and his court hostage, occupied our shops and manors, and forced us to work for them, to bleed for their ambition to conquer the world... Praise the great Manager, praise the great Alliance, thank heavens you've finally arrived."

Elena's expression was indescribably strange as she coughed and spoke.

"Anyway, get up first."

Weddell did not get up, instead, his head pressed even tighter against the ground, mumbling incessantly, to the point that even the translator could not decipher what he was mumbling.

Standing beside her, Gnome King Riches sighed, walked in front of him, and kicked the guy's knee, pointing to the side of the road.

"We're not interested in dealing with you. If you like kneeling, we don't mind, but please move over there... don't block our way."

Hearing that sentence, Weddell finally cracked a smile, his face showing a pleasing smile as he rolled and crawled to the side of the road.

"Thank you for your mercy, sir! We'll get out of your way... please, come in!"

...

Bister Fortress had fallen.

The Skeleton Corps took over the place without shedding blood, the cost being only a few dozen 155mm shells and a few 60kg mass bombs.

In fact, they simply fired quickly.

If they had been a few minutes later, they might not even have needed the shells.

The garrison stationed here gradually left the fortress, resting their rifles on either side of the road, then placed their hands on their heads and squatted outside the bunkers.

Their dirt-covered faces made them hard to hate.

Over the communication channel, Elena, who was taking custody of the prisoners, complained to Brother Mole following behind.

"Man... we missed the grand welcome of the royal troops in Oasis No. 3, but we caught it in Oasis No. 2."

"It means it's coming to an end."

Brother Mole replied with a smile, waving his hand forward.

The armored grenade infantry's truck moved forward, swaggering as it entered the main gate of the fortress.

After confirming there were no ambushes inside the camp, Brother Mole picked up the walkie-talkie and ordered the tank unit to follow closely and push forward.

As they passed by the officer named Weddell, he signaled the driver to pull the tank over to the side of the road.

Looking down at the man scrambling on the ground, he rummaged through the turret and pulled out a blank notebook, tossing it in front of the man.

Hearing something snap in front of him, Weddell instinctively shrank his neck, and after realizing his head was still on, he timidly looked up.

Without any nonsense, Brother Mole looked down at him and instructed succinctly.

"I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself."

"Over the past week, all the troops that passed through here, their numbers, designations, equipment, the road they came by, the gate they left through, how much supplies they took, whether they stepped out with their left foot or right foot first... Write everything you know in this notebook."

Weddell nodded repeatedly.

"Yes! Yes, sir, I will follow your orders!"

Seeing this guy was about to kowtow again, Brother Mole waved his hand impatiently.

"Less talk, hurry up."

Chapter 488: This is the Answer to the Ultimatum

Falcon City.

The once bustling streets were now eerily quiet.

Apart from a few major roads leading to the Royal Palace and the barracks that remained unobstructed, the rest of the streets and alleys were littered with obstacles and shelters.

Several laborers energetically fixed steel bars cast from scrap iron into triangular-shaped tank stoppers with rivets, their tenth one for the day.

The officer in charge of the labor crew had told them that this could withstand the tanks of the Alliance.

However, almost everyone felt it was a wasted effort.

If even the river embankments couldn't stop the treads of the Alliance tanks, what use was there for these hastily assembled anti-tank barricades?

They could easily crash into the houses on both sides of the streets and simply bypass them.

"I heard Bister Town has fallen."

A man with his upper body bare wiped sweat off his brow, his sun-darkened arm resting on the newly assembled anti-tank stopper.

Hearing this, the laborers nearby looked over, and an old man around fifty muttered doubtfully,

"Is that true?"

The man said with certainty,

"Absolutely true! Yesterday, I was working outside the city, and I saw a troop retreating from the direction of Bister Town..."

Regardless of their concern for the war's progress, the residents of Falcon City were familiar with that fortress-like settlement.

Before the Weilante people arrived, the economically weak had never attempted to build a fortress in the desert.

It was for this reason that the Falcon Royal Family often touted the fortress in the desert to publicize the brilliance of allying with the Army, showing off the Army's advanced construction techniques and the friendship between the Falcon Kingdom and the Army...

Indeed, until half a month ago, Bister Town had played the role of a frontline logistical hub.

Nobody could believe that such an impregnable fortress had fallen so easily...

"Bister... even that has fallen."

"Are the people of the Alliance coming to kill us?"

"I heard that the Alliance is all Wasteland Wanderers who are barbaric and born in poverty-stricken abandoned lands... God knows what those barbarians will do to His Majesty's palace once they arrive."

The people whispered among themselves.

A boy with a wax-red sunburned face asked nervously,

"The Army, what about the Army?"

He felt secure because of the tall figures of the Weilante People.

The radio had announced that reinforcements from the west would arrive soon, and they just had to hold on a little longer, then the Alliance would quickly be overwhelmed by thousands of tanks.

Yet, the adults seemed not to believe that.

The dark-skinned man shook his head.

"The Weilante People are reorganizing the third line of defense, but it seems unlikely... Less than half have returned from Oasis No. 3. This war, I think, is nearly over."

Hearing this, the old man nearby was so frightened that he quickly covered his mouth,

"Shh! Shut your mouth, watch out, or the patrolling guards might hear!"

A resident wrapped in a headscarf said angrily,

"Rumors! Definitely rumors!"

This statement was quickly echoed.

"Exactly! His Majesty is a chosen warrior, how could he lose!"

The dark-skinned man seemed to realize his slip of the tongue and quickly corrected himself,

"When I said it's ending, I didn't say we lost... What I mean is that the Alliance is about to be doomed, and of course, our wise and valiant Majesty will win in the end."

However, even the most devout did not believe this statement.

At that moment, patrolling guards approached from a distance, and everyone quickly stopped talking and returned to their tasks.

"...Is there even any need for patrols? There seem to be hardly any people left in the city," a guard carrying a rifle yawned, glancing over the laborers who diligently returned to their work.

These days were undoubtedly the most peaceful days in Falcon City.

No thieves.

No robbers.

Not even pedestrians.

Everyman from twelve to forty-six years old, everyone who could handle a weapon, had either been sent to the barracks or to the labor camps.

Apart from His Majesty's palace, it was hard to find anyone idle in the entire Falcon City.

"Patrolling isn't about catching criminals, it's about looking for anyone who has slipped through," the slightly older guard scanned a small alley at the street corner, intending to check it out.

Just then, a shrill alarm sounded from afar.

"Damn! An air raid?!"

It wasn't just his face that paled; the laborers who were working on the shelters in the street also dropped their tools and ran into the nearby alleyways seeking shelter.

They had heard that the Alliance's aircraft were tricky, like sparrows that Weilante radar simply "couldn't catch." Often, just after the air raid siren sounded, bombs would immediately follow.

But this time was somewhat anomalous.

After a long wait, no explosions were heard.

Not even an airplane was seen.

Feeling something unusual, the older guard furrowed his brow.

A dud bomb?

Just as he was thinking this, white papers suddenly floated down from the sky.

"What is that?"

The young guard curiously reached out his hand, catching a descending piece of paper and unfolded it to look.

What he saw almost stopped his breath.

[Warning to the Falcon Kingdom Royal Family! Our forces will carry out a strategic bombing on Falcon City Palace, military camps, and other facilities on the last day of this week. Surrender is your only way out; any defiance will only lead to your annihilation!]

[Note 1: Please, city residents, leave the combat zone, or if you cannot leave, stay in your homes to avoid being injured by stray bullets or shrapnel.]

[Note 2: All combat units of the Army and Falcon Kingdom soldiers and officers, surrender with this flyer at the Alliance station to avoid imprisonment.]

[Note 3: (Emergency Air Raid Shelter Guide), (Safe Area Locations)]

The Alliance...

Have they already come here?

Why was it never mentioned on the radio?

Panic rose in his eyes as he looked up at his senior officer, only to see the officer staring at the flyer in his hand, who quickly discarded it as if electrocuted.

"Re, report to the officer, I absolutely didn't mean that—"

"Shut up."

The older guard glanced left and right, seeing that no one was paying attention, he walked over and picked up the flyer the young man had thrown down.

"We need to collect these and destroy them... you're in charge of that side," he pointed to the nearby alley, "Go on."

The young guard sighed in relief and nodded timidly before quickly jogging towards the alley.

The older guard looked at the flyer in his hand, his gaze lingering on the map of the safety zone marked on it. He memorized its location and then folded the flyer to the size of a thumb and tucked it into his boot.

Hiding flyers dropped by the enemy was a serious crime.

Yet, he impulsively did it anyway.

Although his superiors had constantly brainwashed them, proclaiming that the Falcon Kingdom's Army under the leadership of Prince William was advancing triumphantly, sweeping through the Lion Kingdom and Camel Hump Kingdom, such nonsense was rarely believed anymore.

Soldiers returning from the east all had faces filled with terror and their pupils were dilated and lifeless...

That was not the look of victors.

Not far from him, the dark-skinned laborer and the man in his fifties also carefully hid their flyers.

The two exchanged glances, an understanding unspoken between them.

Even if not for themselves,

It was for their defenseless families.

Amid the piercing sound of the air raid siren, similar scenes unfolded throughout the city...

At the same time, in the palace of the Falcon Royal Family.

Unlike the chaos on the streets, it was unusually quiet here.

On the luxurious throne, the aging King Montegarde stared expressionlessly at the neatly written list in his hands.

This was a list sent by the temporary tribunal, detailing the next batch of people to be executed.

When the war was going well, there were usually only one or two names on the list, but when the battle turned dire, sometimes the names couldn't even fit on one sheet.

Among those to be executed,

Some were spies, some were deserters, others were rebels who questioned the royal decisions, or simply dissidents thrown in by political enemies amidst the chaos.

King Montegarde was well aware that many on this list were wrongfully accused, but he had no intent to concern himself with such trivial matters anymore.

He impatiently signed the list and tossed it to the nearby Guards' captain.

"Take this to Count Krunwi."

Count Krunwi was the court-appointed head of the temporary tribunal, whose authority overshadowed both the military and civil courts, dealing specifically with traitors.

"Yes."

The Guards' captain solemnly bowed and took the list with both hands.

Montegarde suddenly noticed the hands extended towards him were trembling slightly.

He looked up at the Guards' captain, his dry lips slowly parting as he called out the man's name.

"Middel."

The Guards' captain's shoulders twitched, and he spoke softly.

"What is it... Your Majesty."

"You are afraid."

"I'm not."

Watching his confidant kneel with a thud, Montegarde's murky eyes suddenly softened, and he placed his right hand gently on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, the people of Vellante have promised me... and it was General Griffin himself who made that promise, he will bring us victory."

Not just General Griffin's promise.

His own son, William, was also an exemplary Marshal.

He had been preparing for this war for decades, for the future of his people, to fulfill the longstanding wish of his ancestors...

He held a full hand of cards; there was no reason he would lose.

Middel looked down, his Adam's apple moving nervously, wanting to say something but fearing to, a bitter smile squeezing through his shadow-concealed face.

He knew very well.

The king in front of him had gone mad.

And not just the king...

Everyone here had gone mad.

Including himself.

"Yes…" Middel respectfully replied.

Just then, rapid footsteps came from outside the court, and an officer sprinted in, kneeling on one knee and quickly reporting.

"Reporting, Your Majesty! The Alliance has airdropped flyers into our city! They claim that on the last day of this week, they will conduct an air raid—"

"How could Alliance planes possibly reach us here!"

King Montegarde interrupted him with an unequivocal voice, then said nonchalantly,

"Let me see it."

"Yes!"

The anxious officer stood up, took two steps forward, and handed the crumpled flyer to the Guards' captain, who passed it on to King Montegarde.

Montegarde simply scanned the flyer, snorted lightly through his nose, and a touch of a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"...Utterly arrogant."

With that, he crumpled the flyer into a ball and threw it away.

Two months earlier, the letter from William said that the City of Abundance of the Lion Kingdom was still under their siege. Even if the front lines had minor setbacks, the war had not yet reached the Royal City.

"The city defense officer suggests you retreat to the bunker..." Seeing the king's indifference, the officer, sweating profusely, tried to persuade him to seek shelter.

However, he was ruthlessly interrupted before he could finish.

"I am going nowhere."

Gazing down at the kneeling officer, Montegarde clenched his fists, a flash of madness crossing his murky eyes.

"I want to see how Alliance planes could possibly bypass the thousands of troops under my command!"

...

Bister Fortress.

Looking at the row of bodies hanging under a telephone pole, Gnome King Riches had a somewhat conflicted expression and finally managed to utter a comment.

"These guys are truly brutal when dealing with their own."

Elena said with a subtle expression,

"That's all too common."

Even the Vellante people might not be considered "one of their own" to Griffin, let alone these attendants whose status was barely above that of cannon fodder.

Temporary victories masked a series of inequalities, and conquests of the Honey Badger Kingdom and Lion Kingdom briefly restored the confidence of those slaves.

But when victory could no longer be sustained, all the previously hidden issues surged out like pus under a festering sore.

This Kingdom had gone mad...

From the king to the commoners.

Fortunately, this was already the last madness.

At the eastern gate of Bister Fortress, trucks were driving in, large quantities of building materials were being sent here via Oasis No.3.

According to the Manager's orders.

They were to fortify Bister Town, completely transforming this supply hub fortress into an offensive fortress, and deploying at least 100 155mm cannons along a 5-kilometer-wide frontline, bringing the borders of Falcon Kingdom within artillery range.

Moreover, large and small construction devices imported from Ideal City were also delivered here, including excavators and road rollers, among others.

According to the Alliance, not only a road from Oasis No.3 to Bister Town was to be built, but an airport was also to be constructed on the east side of this attacking fortress.

Army camp entrance.

Weddell, with a pleasing smile on his face, walked up to the Mole and respectfully handed over the notebook in his hand.

"Sir, here is what you requested."

The notebook meticulously recorded the movements of every army unit that had passed through, including their serial numbers, personnel, supplies, and destinations.

He had racked his brains all morning to organize it.

Mole briefly glanced over it and made a simple comparison with the intelligence he had amassed from Weddell's deputies.

After confirming there were no issues, he nodded his head.

"Well done, you are free."

Weddell stood still.

Mole looked at him and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Did you not understand what I said?"

Weddell hurriedly explained.

"No, not at all, sir... I only wish to stay and serve you."

"Serve me?" Mole curiously looked at this man, wondering what act he was playing now.

Seeing the inquiring look from the army commander, Weddell quickly nodded and said righteously, "Yes, sir! The people of Weilante have held our king hostage and taken control of our country, committing atrocious crimes in this desert... Although I am humble, I wish to stand on the side of justice and conscience, contributing to the Alliance!"

He was no fool.

Falcon Kingdom was finished.

As a baron with neither high soar nor a humble plunge, and no blood relatives in other Kingdoms to rely on, he was destined for death no matter where he went, so it was better to hang around the Alliance than starve.

Not fond of this opportunist, Mole initially did not want to agree, but upon reconsideration, having an obedient local guide by his side seemed beneficial.

Although the subsequent tasks of the Skeleton Corps were mainly to feint and mislead, the Alliance, for strategic reasons, would not occupy Oasis No.2; however, Bister Fortress, this thorn in the belly of Oasis No.2, would remain.

After this war was over, there might pass many refugees from Oasis No.2 through here...

Thinking this, he nodded his head.

"Alright, you can stay then."

Upon hearing this, Weddell's eyebrows perked up with joy, and had it not dawned on him that this whimsical lord disliked people kneeling, he would have knelt down right there to thank him for his rebirth.

The deputy by his side didn't have his insight and, without thinking, plopped down on his knees.

"I also wish to follow the steps of the Alliance, to serve the Manager..."

"Stand up," Mole said, visibly frustrated, "don't always kneel for every small matter; we don't buy that."

The deputy, still not regaining his senses, was swiftly kicked in the backside by Weddell.

"Didn't you hear! He told you to get up."

This kick carried a bit of personal anger.

He had not forgotten that these rascals had stripped him of his clothes to use as white flags.

"Yes! Yes!"

The deputy, looking aggrieved, thought that he was only following Weddell's lead, but he did not dare to voice his thoughts, and quickly and reluctantly got up.

Fully embracing his new identity, Weddell didn't consider himself an outsider at all and eagerly approached Mole.

"Sir, when do we set out to teach those big-noses a lesson? I've disliked them for a long time!"

Mole replied impatiently.

"We have our plans, if you can't wait, go ahead and grab a gun and charge at them yourself."

Upon hearing this, Weddell's enthusiasm was instantly doused like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over him, and he awkwardly chuckled and shut his mouth…

…

Although Weddell would have loved to lick his shoes, Mole did not completely trust this extravagant man.

After reporting to the Manager, Mole assigned this bootlicker the position of a foreman and threw him into the worksite on the eastern side of Bister Town.

It was unavoidable.

Seeing him everyday was too repulsive.

Even though he wished all his adversaries were such spineless creatures, warriors like Rachel were indeed more deserving of respect.

Unlike Mole's disdain, Weddell was quite satisfied with this new job, even moved by it.

Better to be the captain of a labor squad than to be cannon fodder on the front lines.

It seemed the Alliance indeed treated their prisoners kindly as rumored.

Unfortunately, he was not Marshal William.

Otherwise, he would certainly lead the entire Falcon Kingdom army to surrender and put an end to this foolish and hopeless war.

…

On the third day into the construction crew.

Watching another convoy of trucks pass by a nearby outpost, the deputy standing next to Weddell muttered.

"Does the Alliance intend to stay here forever?"

In recent days, trucks had been continually arriving, and planes kept landing sporadically, unloading supplies sufficient for several ten thousand troops.

Yet, the Alliance army did not proceed any further.

Previously, his labor squad mates had speculated that the Alliance planned to catch the army off guard, but that was not the case.

Weddell too was puzzled.

However, being an honest and proper man, he knew better than to meddle in things he shouldn't know.

He kicked the deputy's backside and scolded him quietly.

"Stop fucking looking around and get back to work!"

The deputy immediately shut his mouth, giving a harsh glare but daring not to speak, and obediently returned to digging.

…

Not only Weddell and his "workmates" were puzzled by the actions of the Alliance.

So was General Griffin, the overall commander of the army stationed in Luo Xia Province.

Frowning intently as he stared at the map on the table, his face showed a clear confusion.

As he had anticipated, the Alliance had taken Bister Fortress.

However, what he couldn't understand was why the Alliance armored forces, having already breached the gates of Oasis No. 2, had not advanced further as he had expected, but instead had stopped in place.

Not only that, according to reports from the front-line reconnaissance troops, a large number of trucks and engineering equipment were being moved into Bister Town, seemingly to reinforce the local infrastructure.

This further puzzled General Griffin.

Having reassembled his forces, he was prepared for a decisive battle to the death with the Alliance; he was even prepared to face death himself.

Yet, the Alliance, which had presented a blitzkrieg posture just a few days ago, suddenly ceased its attack.

This made him feel frustrated as if he had energy to spare but nowhere to use it.

What exactly were these guys up to?

"… According to information from the front-line scouts, aircraft have been frequently landing near Bister Town recently," said a staff officer standing next to the command table, unaware of Griffin's internal plans.

"Tiger Whale?"

"Not only that... there have also been a number of propeller planes."

Griffin frowned.

"Does Bister Town have an airport?"

Could it have been recently constructed?

The requirements for propeller planes aren't high, but hadn't they modified the aircraft runway on the Iron Heart?

Why then build another airport at the front line...

This sudden caution always gave him a bad premonition, especially the intelligence about a large number of planes landing near Bister Town.

Although he was indifferent to whatever tactics the Alliance employed since he only needed to complete "that plan" by the end of the month, the ominous feeling persisted.

Just then, a messenger hurried in from outside.

"Report! News from the Royal City has arrived. The Alliance has air-dropped leaflets over the Royal City, proclaiming that they will carry out strategic bombing on Falcon City on the last day of this week!"

The last day of this week.

So, the day after tomorrow?

A realization struck Griffin; his pupils contracted slightly, and he swiftly glanced at the map, then quickly turned to the nearby staff officer.

"Which unit is nearest to Falcon City?"

That staff officer paused briefly, then immediately responded.

"It's the Falcon Kingdom's Second Ten Thousand Troops, retreating for rest… They're about two days' march from the Royal City."

For the looming decisive battle with the Alliance.

They had already concentrated all their forces on the border of Oasis No. 2, and what was left behind were just those battered attendant troops.

Griffin's heart tightened, and he quickly ordered.

"Send them to Falcon City immediately! They must arrive within two days!"

Head to Falcon City?

The surrounding officers were stunned.

From the front lines to Falcon City was at least three hundred to four hundred kilometers.

They knew the Alliance paratroopers were strong; after all, General Soft from the Fourth Ten Thousand had fallen into the hands of the "Burning Corps."

But surely they wouldn't use paratroopers for a siege?

The city defense forces and the Royal Guards stationed in Falcon City amounted to about five to six thousand troops, not to mention they were protected by riverbanks.

To conquer such a fortress...

How many aircraft would that require?

Moreover, given the paratroopers' "logistical self-sustainability," operating hundreds of kilometers away from reinforcements and supply lines was akin to a suicide mission.

However, seeing Griffin's grim expression, the nearby staff officer dared not ask further, just stood at attention and responded.

"Yes!"

Returning his gaze from the staff officer, Griffin looked back at the map. His fists clenched slowly then released, his face shifting between expressions of unease.

The Alliance was constructing a temporary airfield at the frontline and amassing a large number of aircraft from the rear… This clearly wasn't for targeting something within twenty kilometers.

It was nearly an open declaration!

He didn't understand why the Alliance would forgo the best option and instead opt for the riskiest plan. But years of military experience told him to be wary when the adversary made unexpected moves, as they might possess information they shouldn't have.

"…the Royal City."

Mulling over this phrase, Griffin stared at the map, whispering quietly to himself.

"What exactly are you up to."

Simultaneously.

In the southeastern part of Oasis No. 2 in the desert.

After traveling hundreds of kilometers through the desolate area, the Iron Heart finally emerged from the howling winds and yellow sands.

Inside the bridge.

General McLennan was watching the man in power armor with a face flushed with anger, his eyes flickering with resentment, yet he dared not speak.

He never imagined that he would return to this airship in such a manner.

This reminded him of those humiliating memories...

Finod, standing in the corner, didn't dare look at him and instead found a crack on the floor to fixate on, distracting himself.

Fortunately, General McLennan's attention was not on him but on the man.

"What have you brought me here for?" Unable to contain his hatred any longer, McLennan gritted his teeth and said.

Without caring about his resentful gaze, Chu Guang replied in a relaxed tone.

"To invite you to watch the final chapter."

"Ending?" McLennan paused briefly, then scoffed, "Isn't it a bit early to be making big claims now?"

Watching his forced composure, Chu Guang teased.

"Cheer up, you'll soon be reunited with your old friends."

"The Army will never surrender." McLennan stared at him intensely, "Never."

"Is that so?"

Chu Guang simply smiled lightly, ignoring McLennan's weak attempt at defiance, turning his gaze toward the landscape through the floor-to-ceiling window.

The lush outlines gradually emerged from behind the yellow sands like a thin mist, casting shadows on the distant and faint horizon.

From the Bone Chewing Chaos sweeping through the River Valley to the flames burning above Falling Leaves…

The day of reckoning had finally arrived.

After this battle, the Alliance would welcome a long-lasting peace.

As a dedicated and dutiful planner, he would need to spend some time carefully crafting the next version.

But before that—

"It's time to end this war."

Chapter 489: Extended the Fuselage and Wingspan, Removed the Engine

Oasis-based survivor settlements are mostly arranged in a circular layout.

And the main reason for this phenomenon is that the divine gift from the Spirit of the Sand Sea, "Dike," is mostly circular.

Under such circumstances, the closer to the center, the more humid the climate becomes.

Thus, the royal aristocrats mainly reside in the very center, and important administrative institutions are also largely set up there.

However, it was also because of this that the Alliance didn't need to meticulously choose bombing areas; they just estimated the distance and altitude, hurling the bombs as close to the target center as possible.

As soon as the Alliance's leaflets were airdropped, the defender-in-chief of Falcon City, Pofu, ordered the evacuation of people from the city's central area.

However, the headache was that His Majesty refused to move, insisting on sitting on his throne until they won the war.

Anyone with eyes could see they had already lost the war.

But that person didn't think so.

Until Middel's last audience, His Majesty still stubbornly believed that declaring war from Triumph City against Ideal City would fix everything.

"His Majesty does not want to leave the Royal Palace; he wants to wait there for Prince William's triumph... We have no choice, we must do everything possible to preserve the palace and ensure that not a single shell falls on it."

Listening to the Guards Captain's words, the face of the city's defender-in-chief, Pofu, twisted with concern.

"The target of the castle is too large... we cannot possibly negotiate with our enemies to move His Majesty's palace out of the bombing range."

He also did not believe that the enemy would sincerely bomb only the areas marked on the leaflets; it might very well be a ploy to gather them together for a slaughter.

Therefore, he specifically ordered the evacuation of civilians hiding in the "safe zone," directing them to specified areas to avoid the air raids, or to honestly go home.

At least don't stay on the streets and get in the way.

Middel knew his request was causing difficulty, but he had no better solution and could only sigh.

"Set up several more anti-aircraft cannons near the castle."

With the fire from the anti-aircraft guns, they could at least avoid dive bombing by tactical bombers. As for the high-altitude horizontal bombing by strategic bombers, that would be left to luck.

No one could accurately predict where the bombs would fall.

Pofu nodded gravely.

"That's all we can do."

The Alliance had built an airport near Bister Town and reportedly deployed a large number of propeller aircraft; the bombers were probably planning to take off from there.

In an attempt to intercept the Alliance's planes, their ace pilot, Baron Akant, had already led Air Squadron No.1 to the front lines.

If things looked optimistic, they should be able to intercept the bomber formation shortly after its takeoff.

However, no one felt optimistic.

After all, even the "Peidao" jet fighters from the Weilante People had been shot down by the Alliance, so hoping a few dozen "Eagle Type" fighters could regain air supremacy from the Alliance was like a pipe dream.

While Middel and Pofu were discussing which defensive zone to pull anti-aircraft guns from to deploy on His Majesty's castle, a guard carrying a rifle came running over.

"Report! A telegram from the front line!"

Middel stepped forward, took the telegram paper from the guard, and unfolded it to read, his brow furrowing.

Noticing the change in his demeanor, Pofu stepped forward and asked.

"What's wrong?"

Middel handed him the telegram paper and said,

"News from the general headquarters, Griffin believes it's possible the Alliance will deploy paratroopers to raid Falcon City and urges us to be on high alert. He has coordinated for the second ten thousand troops to be redeployed here, they should arrive by tomorrow if fast."

"The second ten thousand troops... which second ten thousand?"

"Our own, the ones previously pulled from Oasis No. 9."

Pofu's facial muscles twitched slightly, and he couldn't help saying,

"What's the use of sending those men... to demonstrate how miserably the Alliance has beaten them?"

Those men were all remnants from the retreat from the City of Abundance.

I heard that out of more than ten thousand men, only two thousand remained, ten thousand-man teams pieced together barely managed to form two full units.

As for reinforcement...

There were no more manpower resources available to fill the ranks.

Seeing Middel did not speak, Pofu continued,

"In my opinion, increasing the mobilization scale would be better than letting those fellows come."

Middel shook his head.

"There are no surplus manpower resources available anymore... even if we immediately had all the city's women give birth, it wouldn't be soon enough."

All able-bodied people had been sent to the front line or to labor camps, and societal production had almost completely halted.

In fact, even if the war stopped immediately, their economy was already doomed, maintaining only a faint breath because the fighting continued.

Thinking of the kingdom's current situation, both fell into silence.

Looking at the silent Pofu, Middel patted his shoulder and offered a slight encouragement.

"Don't worry too much... even if the Alliance has designs on our royal city, they can't just bypass the tens of thousands of troops on the border."

"At least we need to get through tonight."

Although Griffin believed it was possible that the Alliance would use paratroopers to raid Falcon City, both of them did not take the hyperbolic warnings of that telegram seriously.

Aerial warfare and air raids are completely different matters.

Even if the Alliance had already gained air supremacy, Falcon City was heavily guarded, with five to six thousand soldiers and two to three hundred thousand civilians.

Even if they really intended to deploy paratroopers, it was unlikely to be tonight.

They'd also have to be bombed for days before we could discuss...

Just then, an anti-aircraft alert suddenly rang out from the east of the city.

The piercing alarm interrupted Middel's thoughts, and he looked toward the pitch-black eastern night sky, furrowing his brow slightly.

"Has the Alliance's airplane arrived already?"

Pofu didn't speak, but his mood had plummeted.

Now that the Alliance's airplanes had emerged over the Royal City, it seemed Baron Akant's Air Squadron No.1 had ultimately lost.

But...

Wasn't this too fast?

He hadn't even received any news about an aerial battle between the two air forces.

If the Alliance's airplanes really had taken off near Bister Town, wouldn't the troops stationed at the front line have at least given him a heads-up?

At that moment, a messenger ran up in a panic.

Before he could even start his report, Pofu immediately grabbed him and asked,

"What's the situation in the east?"

The messenger swallowed, his voice quivering as he spoke,

"Steel, the Steel Heart! That airship! It appeared to our due east!"

Pofu was stunned.

So was Middel standing beside him.

Looking at the panic-stricken messenger, he hurriedly asked,

"Steel Heart! Are you sure it's the Steel Heart?"

"I'm certain!" the messenger nodded vigorously, his voice trembling as he continued, "It's been spotted by more than one outpost."

Multiple outposts witnessing it simultaneously, it seemed there was no mistake.

That Steel Heart airship might very well have already crossed the border of Oasis No. 2, only about 200 kilometers at most from the Royal City!

And in reality, it could be even closer!

Pofu furrowed his brow, a trace of severity emerging between his brows.

"It seems they plan to bomb us with airships..."

He had heard about the Steel Heart.

It was said that typical anti-aircraft cannons stood no chance against it.

However, such aerial beasts were not invincible. If they could somehow limit its maneuverability, even if they couldn't immediately handle it, they could render it ineffective.

For instance, deploying dense formations of balloons and steel cables over the airship's inevitable path...

Long ago, Griffin had ordered the formation of two special "Balloon Troops" to deal with that behemoth.

Unfortunately, the Alliance was always cautious, never letting airships penetrate deep into the enemy lines alone. Instead, they made steady and secure progress behind the attacking troops.

Why had they suddenly changed their usual tactics this time?

"Sending airships deep into enemy lines alone... Have they gone mad?" murmured Middel, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Rather than a command error...

He was more inclined to believe this was a deliberate gamble by the opponent.

...

One thing Middel indeed guessed,

Sending the Steel Heart uncharacteristically deep into Oasis No. 2 was indeed a strategic gamble intentionally made by the Alliance's higher-ups.

However, to Chu Guang's surprise, Griffin's response was just a bit quicker than he anticipated. The Steel Heart had barely penetrated less than a hundred kilometers into Oasis No. 2 when it encountered Griffin's "balloon formation."

Balloons trailing wires rose from the ground under the cover of night, bathing under the descending tracer light as they slowly crossed the clouds.

These balloons were compartmentalized inside, with a thin metal sheet covering the exterior. Even if hit by machine guns and high-explosive bombs, they would only sustain partial damage, maintaining overall buoyancy.

Several steel-wire-linked balloons rose side by side. Steel wires entangled by finer wires between them, forming a skirt-like curtain of steel wires.

Although the crewmembers aboard the Steel Heart discovered the ground movements immediately, it was already too late to slow down. They could only shut down the propellers to prevent the cables from entangling them.

Hundreds of balloons, like massive bubbles, clustered alongside the even more massive bubble of Steel Heart.

The power-off Steel Heart continued to move forward slowly under inertia, but its speed was now greatly reduced. Its propellers, fixed by steel wires, creaked lightly amidst the bitter wind.

Looking at the balloons floating outside the bridge's panoramic window, a look of surprise flashed across Chu Guang's face, but it soon turned into an appreciative smile.

"...Not bad, you've learned this trick."

In fact, during the battle of Rui Valley City, capturing the Steel Heart using a dense balloon formation was also one of the strategic options initially considered by the Alliance Command.

The slow-moving balloons could break through the deflection shield of Steel Heart, as the steel wires suspended between them could entangle the propellers.

However, for several reasons, this operational concept was ultimately not adopted.

The primary reason was the urgency of time, not allowing enough preparation of anti-aircraft balloons before the departure of Steel Heart.

And another reason was, all the balloons could do was to deprive Steel Heart of its maneuverability—they could neither destroy it nor disable its firepower.

Compared to the costs, the benefits gained were indeed too limited!

Waiting for the airship to stabilize, Chu Guang shifted his gaze from the window back to the young boy standing beside him serving as the acting captain.

"Report on the damages."

After asking about the crew, the acting Captain immediately arrived.

"The propellers on both sides are entangled with steel cables... but they're not broken!"

"How long will the repairs take?"

"Within twelve hours!"

Twelve hours, huh...

Chu Guang glanced at the holographic screen displaying the map, confirmed the distance from their current location to the Royal City, slowly nodded, and continued to issue orders.

"Drop the anchor chain!"

"Also, have the shipborne aircraft take off and coordinate with the artillery to cover the Storm Corps as they deploy to the ground!"

The acting Captain stood at attention and accepted the order.

"Yes sir!"

As Chu Guang's orders were issued, twenty W-2 attack aircraft took off from the deck, avoiding balloons entwined around the airship, and dropped flares into the airspace where enemy forces might be lurking.

Simultaneously, the heavy anchor chain thudded down onto the plains below the airship, dragging for a while before gradually bringing the airship to a stop.

Guided by the flares, the gunners in the airship's gun deck quickly opened fire on the ground, unleashing fierce firepower on the enemy troops releasing balloons.

Dozens of trucks were instantly reduced to scrap metal under the coverage of 155mm artillery.

At the same time, the Storm Corps methodically deployed to the ground via the airship's elevators, infiltrating deep into the Falcon Kingdom's territory by company, commencing a military operation codenamed "Punishment."

Although they had started an hour earlier than planned, this minor variation had no effect on the execution of the plan.

When devising the plan, the Army Command had already considered the possibility that the airship might lose its mobility, even preparing for the eventuality that the airship could lose its combat capabilities entirely.

Compared to the worst-case scenario, a twelve-hour delay and a deviation of a few dozen kilometers were hardly worth mentioning.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.

At this moment, both the Falcon Kingdom and the Army most likely remained ignorant of the Alliance's strategic intentions, still only considering the possibility of either an air raid or a sudden assault on the Royal City.

Hands gripping the railing beside the wall, General Mclen finally stabilized himself.

Despite slightly disheveled from the turbulence, seeing his foe thwarted brought a honeyed sweetness to his heart.

Amid his schadenfreude, he couldn't help but sneer sarcastically.

"Ha, even if they learned to use the tools of civilized people, savages will always be savages. To detach from the ground forces and penetrate deep alone, only you could think of something so absurd."

"Oh?"

Chu Guang shot him an unexpected look.

Good lord.

So you knew?

However, Mclen clearly misunderstood something and thought Chu Guang was surprised by the Army's tactics, his smug smile growing even more pronounced.

"Just because Griffin is not a swine, he will surely guard against your airship, I thought you would deploy ground troops immediately after entering Oasis No. 2, but you are no different after all."

"I admit I was indeed surprised; we all thought that even if Griffin was prepared, he would struggle to stop us before we got within fifty kilometers of the Royal City... Yet his response was quicker than we anticipated by several kilometers."

Ignoring Mclen's mockery, Chu Guang paused for a moment, a hint of disappointment crossing his face.

"However, I am a bit disappointed, I originally thought you'd have more surprising countermeasures... Turns out your final hand was just a bunch of balloons."

Since the war was nearing its end, probing the Army's final reserves wasn't a bad idea, and would be useful in anticipating future conflicts.

He had originally wanted to see what kind of trump card Griffin had left for his Iron Heart, only to find it was just a bunch of balloons.

What a waste of his previous caution.

Mclen's face turned crimson, clearly wanting to argue, but realizing this guy might be trying to trick him, he held back.

"Heh... Do we need powerful weapons to deal with you? Once it loses mobility, this thing is just a sitting duck."

Chu Guang feigned surprise as he looked at him.

"So, you knew."

Stunned, Mclen didn't catch on at first, but quickly realized what was happening, his face visibly swelling to the color of liver, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word in his anger.

Enjoying the dramatic change in expression, Chu Guang teased him with a smile.

"I thought you had forgotten all about Rui Valley City, turns out you just didn't remember for a moment."

Finod averted his gaze, unable to watch.

To be humiliated by the enemy like this...

Was this guy really his General Mclen?

Ignoring the furiously irrational Mclen, Chu Guang turned his gaze toward the vast expanse of balloons and clouds outside the bridge.

The Storm Corps had completed their deployment.

Based on the intelligence gathered by the Skeleton Corps from Bister Town, they would sabotage major roads and industrial facilities within the Falcon Kingdom.

The Goblin Corps stationed in Bister Town, equipped with numerous W-2 ground attack aircraft and hundred-kilogram aviation bombs, would coordinate with their actions.

They were confident they could utterly destroy the Falcon Kingdom's industrial achievements and infrastructure, incapacitating them for a decade, ensuring they learned this lesson by heart.

As for the "aerial raid" on Falcon City.

He had entrusted it to the Alliance's strongest card—the Burning Corps.

These Awakeners, all equipped with exoskeletons, would deliver a heavy blow to the poorly supplied Retinue Soldiers, who could barely muster a few automatic weapons, finalizing this war's killing stroke.

Chu Guang's lips curled into a faint smile.

"Now, it's all up to you."

...

At the same time.

On the deck of the Iron Heart, the biting cold wind whipped around.

Looking at Wild Wind who was sitting in the cockpit and then at the plane which only had a windshield and couldn't even close its canopy, Old White, clad in the Light Cavalry Exoskeleton, stood frozen for a while before he cautiously asked.

"Can you... manage?"

Wild Wind, holding the control stick, paused.

"Manage what?"

Old White couldn't help but laugh and cry, saying,

"It's not that I don't trust you, brother... I just wanted to ask, when did you learn to fly a plane?"

It's one thing for Mosquito to know how to fly.

After all, he had died so many times and crashed just as often.

But you, an Intelligence System player who usually hasn't even touched a plane, since when can you fly this thing?!

Wild Wind, looking puzzled at Old White who was hesitating to get on board, finally countered after a moment,

"When did I say I knew how to fly?"

Old White: "???"

Night Ten, sitting at the machine gun, interjected with a smirk,

"Don't listen to Wild Wind's nonsense. When you weren't here, we actually practiced, flew a few times! It's not as hard as you think."

Old White couldn't resist asking,

"A few times?"

After thinking, Wild Wind answered,

"Should be three times."

Old White: "..."

"Trust me, brother," Wild Wind gave a thumbs up with a reliable expression, "Steady as hell!"

Confronted with that earnest look, Old White fell silent for a long time, and finally sighed and stepped into the open cockpit.

"Alright…"

It's just a life anyway.

Before boarding, he had saved his progress; if he died, then so be it— it was only a pity about the exoskeleton worth ten thousand silver coins he was wearing.

Looking at the sparse layout inside the cockpit, Old White felt something was off and cautiously asked,

"Is this another one of Mosquito's making?"

Wild Wind succinctly replied,

"W-1A, a modified version of the W-1. Now it can seat three, and overloading by one isn't a big problem. You might not know, being in the rear, but we've only come into contact with this thing in the past couple of days."

So it was modified from the W-1.

No wonder they could assemble so many.

Old White turned to look at the deck filled with black masses of planes, somehow not surprised at all.

However, the design of the planes gave him an ominous feeling.

Although he had reached the front lines a few days ago, he had only boarded the Iron Heart today. During this time, Wild Wind had acted as the interim Army leader, and naturally, he was in charge of commanding this operation.

However, before the operation began, Old White had carefully read the mission briefing.

They would break through Falcon City's anti-aircraft firepower with the help of the Goblin Corps using gliders, land in the city along with the air-to-ground missiles, and capture Falcon City's Royal Palace with support from air units...

He originally thought at least the Goblin Corps' pilots would fly transport planes to take them to their destination, but it turned out they had to pilot the transport themselves.

Although he trusted that Wild Wind would not set him up and his brothers would not joke about such a crucial mission, Old White still cautiously asked,

"This W-1A, what specific modifications were made?"

Wild Wind casually answered,

"Lengthened the fuselage and wingspan, removed the engine."

"Oh…" not quite understanding planes, Old White nodded dumfoundedly, but quickly a jolt of realization hit him, "Wait, what the hell did you remove?!"

Wild Wind didn't answer but instead looked outside the cockpit where several Strength Type buffoons associated with the glider made an OK hand gesture.

"Wind speed is good, ready to take off!"

The newbie laughed, made an OK gesture back, then took out a lighter and ignited two rocket tubes as thick as small arms attached to the back end of the plane.

The searing flame blasted out, the massive thrust pushing the lightweight glider forward, causing the wings to tremble and Old White's heart almost leaped to his throat.

"What the fuck?! Are you serious?!"

He'd rather parachute than ride in this thing!

However, unlike him, Wild Wind's eyes were filled with excitement at the moment, his usually expressionless face flashing with an unusual frenzy.

He had never done something this thrilling.

Moreover, he was with his good brothers —

"Trust me, I've calculated... we'll make it."

He pulled down the goggles on his helmet, his hands gripping the control stick tightly.

"Hold tight!"

Chapter 490: The Alliance's Pilots Have Bodyguards?!

Falcon City.

Atop the hundred-meter-high "river levee."

The soldiers of the Falcon Kingdom were crouched behind cover, ready for action.

The Alliance had announced a few days ago that they would bomb Falcon City tonight, but they hadn't specified from which direction the air raid would come.

In the entire Falcon City, there were only thirty-two anti-aircraft guns, of which eight had been moved to the Royal Palace in the city center. Along the tens of kilometers of the alloy giant wall, only twenty-four guns could be allocated, so one could imagine the sparseness of the firepower.

Horet was in charge of the defense for the southeastern section. Until a month ago he was serving as a Centurion in the King's Guard.

However, due to the tense war situation at the front, a large number of officers from the Retinue Army had been transferred to the Regular Army of the Corps. In just one short month, he had been promoted three ranks to become a Centurion of the city defense forces.

It should have been a happy occasion to rise smoothly in one's career, yet he couldn't muster a single optimistic emotion in his heart, instead consumed with worry.

Until last month, his salary was enough to keep his two wives and family fed and warm. Now, despite his salary more than doubling with the rank of Centurion, his large family was struggling even for basic sustenance.

This was supposed to be the Oasis.

Even if every Waste Land Wanderer in the world was starving, the people here shouldn't have to worry about food and drink.

It was all because of this damn war.

To drive away the annoyance and to invigorate himself, Horet walked to the position and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Everyone, be vigilant! Open your eyes wide! The Alliance's planes will approach us under the cover of the clouds! Aim the searchlights at the edges and gaps in the clouds, and watch carefully! Under no circumstances should a single plane make it into the Royal City!"

"Long live the Falcon Kingdom!"

"Long live!"

The soldiers responded loudly, but their boisterous shouts could not dispel the bitterness and confusion in their eyes.

On a three-kilometer front, there were only one hundred and twenty men, two light machine guns, and an anti-aircraft cannon.

Not to mention that it was now night.

Hoping that their weapons could shoot down the Alliance's planes was less likely than the Alliance pilots reading their maps wrong and plummeting right onto their faces.

Horet knew he was demanding the impossible, but he had no other choice but to boost his troops' morale.

Just then, a white blurry light flashed across the distant horizon, followed by a dull rumble of thunder from afar.

Was it going to rain?

Perhaps tonight's air raid would be called off ...

No, wait!

Horet suddenly changed color and bellowed.

"Take cover!"

Almost the instant his words fell, a fiery red plume of smoke plummeted from the sky and struck the farmland hundreds of meters in front of the levee with force.

The roar of the explosion drowned out the brief hiss of flight, and orange flames instantly surged a hundred meters high, pushing out scalding waves of heat.

Scorched wheat, burning wood shavings, earth, stones, tiles etc ... all of it was taken up into the heaven by the thick smoke.

The first shot missed.

But no one was careless.

Soon enough, another streak of white gleamed within the distant clouds, and the deafening boom seemed to descend upon the vicinity of the levee along with the rolling cannon fire.

Although the 400mm main cannon wasn't accurate from such a distance, its immense power brought fear to nearly every defending soldier's face.

It could make a lot of mistakes.

But for them, there was only one chance ...

It seemed like their neighboring forces had run out of luck when the third artillery round fell, striking straight down in front of them.

The intense shockwave instantly dented the smooth alloy shell downwards.

Even if the relics of the former civilization couldn't be destroyed by conventional weapons, that terrifying power was enough to sweep away all the cover piled on top of the levee ...

The echo of the blast lingered in his ears; Horet felt his guts trembling with fear, and so did his deputy standing next to him, hands and feet icy, eyes filled with terror.

Just now –

That one cannonball had eradicated at least one of their hundred-man teams.

"By the Spirit of the Sand Sea... they're over seventy kilometers away from us; how can they still hit us?!" the deputy's voice trembled, almost ready to turn and flee.

"It's the rocket-assisted shells..."

Regular shells couldn't fly that far.

But rocket-assisted shells were another story.

Horet swallowed hard, his eyes wide as he stared dead at the smoke filling the sky three kilometers away.

Fortunately, the 400mm main cannon hadn't destroyed the levee.

The dented but unbroken alloy shell brought a bit of comfort to many hearts.

At least the gods were on their side.

But –

Before they had a chance to cheer, dots emerging from beneath the clouds on the levee spread panic among the defenders.

"Look over there!"

"The Alliance's planes!"

Those shadows getting closer and closer, like vultures soaring through the sky, Horet could almost see those beasts baring their fangs and claws.

"Damn it... how many of them do they have?!"

Without hesitation, ignoring the boisterous cannonade in the distance, he roared.

"To the guns!"

"Stop them!"

...

Hundreds of planes bore down on them, and the Falcon Kingdom's defenders were in a panic.

However, it wasn't just them that were in a panic.

Sitting behind Night Ten's butt, Old White's heart had likewise risen to his throat. He bit down hard on his teeth, fearing that any slip of air would blow his soul away.

Unpowered glider.

As the name implies, it is an aircraft without an engine.

For the aircraft to obtain horizontal speed, it must dive, and once its speed surpasses the optimal lift-to-drag ratio, it must pitch up to recover kinetic energy.

Therefore, the flight trajectory of the aircraft was as thrilling as a roller coaster, gliding forward amid the ups and downs of waves.

In some distant time and space, this thing was called an "assault glider," and like anti-aircraft balloons, it was not a hugely imaginative piece of black technology; it could be found anywhere from garden markets as giveaways to the "Operation Oak."

Compared to parachutes that stay aloft for a long time, these unpowered gliders have a short hang time with gliding speeds of up to three hundred yards, the same as the "Harmony" bullet trains. And, compared to paratroopers' backpacks, the larger body of the glider allows paratroopers to carry more equipment and ammunition.

However, despite so many advantages, this thing has a significant drawback: the accident rate is too high; it's a bit of a waste.

In the early days, this thing was towed and launched by cars, winch vehicles, or other planes, tossed out like a paper airplane, with accident rates not lower than those of heavy bomber belly pods.

That's why, after World War II, these two things were sent to the grave of history together; only in extreme sports could one see the shadow of a glider.

Mosquito probably thought of using the unparalleled altitude advantage of the Iron Heart and picked this thing out of the historical rubbish pile, replacing the booster with two rockets removed from their warheads.

The distant flickering tracer fire unexpectedly brought some comfort to Old White's heart.

Whether or not they land safely,
they will reach their destination anyway.

"Night Ten! Aim!" Wild Wind's face was tense, his hands gripping the control stick, his eyes flickering with rare excitement and madness.

"Okay! Give me a dive angle!"

Night Ten chuckled, his hands on the handles of the heavy machine gun, the barrel extending out of the cockpit, pre-aiming above the riverbank.

The moment the nose of the glider tipped down, he pulled the trigger.

The rapid gunfire and scorching shell casings were left behind by the glider, and streaks of orange-yellow tracer bullets rained down the riverbank like droplets.

A hundred and fifty gliders opened fire together, and the ground anti-aircraft guns were pressed so hard they couldn't lift their heads.

However, due to the angle restriction, the glider group's strafing lasted only a short half-minute, and the Falcon City guards quickly returned to the anti-aircraft guns.

But they soon found that the previous strafing was just the prelude to a storm; the real nightmare was just beginning.

Twenty W-2 attack aircraft escorting the group broke away from the formation and swooped down over the riverbank, dropping bombs from beneath their wings after a dive and strafing run.

In an instant, flames from explosions blossomed on the riverbank.

On the ten-kilometer-wide line of defense, the only four anti-aircraft guns were blasted into scrap metal.

Watching the burning flames, twisted steel, and those soldiers holding "Opener" rifles, cycling the bolts and firing into the sky, Horet's face was filled with despair.

At that moment, a blood-stained Ten-Husband limped over from the side, gasping to report to his senior officer.

"Report, Commander! The Alliance has destroyed our anti-aircraft guns! We... no longer have any anti-aircraft weapons to use."

"I'm not blind; I can see."

Interrupting the Ten-Husband, Horet raised his hand to adjust the officer's cap on his head and turned to look toward the Royal Palace in the northwest.

From any point on the riverbank to the Royal Palace, the straight-line distance was ten kilometers. For an aircraft, that distance was just a matter of minutes.

He closed his eyes in pain and murmured softly.

"It's over..."

...

The defense line to the southeast had been breached by Alliance planes, and the adjacent anti-aircraft guns were still firing into the sky.

But because of the distance, the meager firepower was a futile struggle.

Tracer fire danced in the night sky, like sparks rising from a bonfire.

Lit by searchlights, the Guard Commander Middel, standing on the castle tower in the city center, finally saw the shadows approaching from afar.

And at the same time, his face turned deathly pale.

Fifty?! No— At least a hundred!

Didn't Air Squadron No.1 deal a heavy blow to the Alliance air force at Oasis No.3?! How come there are still so many?!

Those planes were obviously not from Bister Town; they must have come from the Iron Heart, entangled by anti-aircraft balloons.

Just minutes ago, he had received news from the command post that Centurion Adem's Air Squadron No.1 had engaged with the Alliance's flight formation.

Both sides had each committed hundreds of propeller aircraft, fiercely battling on the edge of Oasis No.2.

Just how many planes does the Alliance have?! No— It should be asked how many pilots does the Alliance have?!

According to the merchants who came from the east, the entire Qingquan City had only five to six hundred thousand survivors, but he felt an illusion that these people could never be completely eradicated!

As Middel had anticipated, the anti-aircraft guns scattered on the riverbanks could not stop the Alliance's planes.

The Alliance simply separated a few planes from the flight formation to deal with the anti-aircraft positions along the way, and the remaining cluster of planes continued to fly past the riverbanks non-stop, rushing toward the Royal Palace where the King resided.

As the last three or four kilometers to the planes closed, Middel bellowed an order.

"Fire!"

The eight quadruple anti-aircraft guns deployed atop the castle fired in unison, sending thick jets of fire toward the Alliance's fleet, momentarily illuminating the outlines of the aircraft.

However—

This dense fire did not last long.

Swift as lightning, dark shadows separated from the aircraft bodies, like arrows shot from a bow, striking accurately at the towers holding the anti-aircraft guns.

"Damn it!"

Watching the towers and anti-aircraft guns get engulfed by explosive flames and thick smoke, Middel's eyes reddened in an instant, swearing furiously.

"What the hell is that?!"

The city defense commander standing beside him was also completely baffled.

Missile?

Impossible...

A missile launched from a kilometer or two away hitting their anti-aircraft gun position with pinpoint accuracy, that was just too preposterous.

But it couldn't be a missile either, as he hadn't seen any trace of a missile tail flame!

Watching the distant flames, several Intelligence System players seated in the glider were excitedly high-fiving the teammates beside them.

Obviously, it wasn't a missile, but a six-rotor self-destructing unmanned drone— "Spring Knife" stored inside the glider.

This device didn't need a professional bomber to drop the bomb; it could simply be thrown out from the cargo hold, and the Intelligence System players, equipped with neural connection devices, could switch to the drone's view for precise guidance.

The fifteen-kilogram warhead was enough to rid the tower of its anti-aircraft gun.

"Hahaha! Nicely done!"

Night Ten, seated at the machine gun position, excitedly swung his fist, and still in midflight, he peppered the Castle with a burst from his machine gun.

Watching the severely vibrating fuselage and the buildings speeding by beneath him, Old White was incredibly nervous, but he also knew that this was the time to trust his teammates.

"We're going to land!"

"I know."

Glancing calmly outside the cabin, Wild Wind opened up the variable angle air brakes on the fuselage while also deploying the parachutes from the rear.

The glider's speed dropped sharply, and its belly struck solidly against the rooftop of a civilian house.

"Shit!"

"Damn you! Give me a heads up next time!" With the rooftop rapidly approaching, Night Ten hurriedly moved the machine gun back into the cabin.

Large pieces of roof tile were sent flying.

The two wings broke off instantly, not from being crushed, but from controlled detonations to prevent rollover during the emergency landing.

The fierce impact almost knocked Old White out cold.

But after all, as a Strength Type powerhouse, he remained conscious until the plane came to a complete stop on the street.

He took the rifle from the cabin, cursing as he clambered out of the deformed cabin, loading his rifle in the process.

Looking at the laborers nearby as dark as African people, he fired two shots into the sky and shouted in United Human language.

"Scram if you don't want to die!"

The laborers, startled by the gunshots, lost their souls and scattered, dropping their tools and darting into the side alleys.

After confirming the direction of the Castle, Old White subconsciously pressed the side of his helmet to connect to the team's full channel for casualty reports, but there was no response.

That's when he remembered that Wild Wind was in command of this operation.

"Cough cough... don't worry, I've just checked, and everyone has landed successfully, it's not a big problem."

Coughing, Wild Wind climbed out of the cabin, wiping the dust off his helmet visor, and took the LD-50 Submachine Gun handed over by Night Ten.

Old White looked at him with a mixture of laughter and tears.

"You... you okay?"

"Perfectly OK." Giving a thumbs up, Wild Wind pulled Night Ten's arm, yanking him out of the cabin.

Clutching his hot 12mm heavy machine gun and covered in dust, Night Ten showed no signs of fear, his face radiating a sense of wanting more.

"Mother of... this is way more thrilling than parachuting!"

Old White: "..."

"Don't worry," spotting Old White's concern, Wild Wind gave him a reliable look, "we're not just messing around."

Locking eyes with that serious gaze, Old White paused slightly, suddenly realizing he might have been overly cautious, or perhaps too protective.

Unlike Fang Chang, with his game Talent fully leveled like a high-level player,

Wild Wind and Night Ten also had a strong grasp of the game, but not to that esteemed level of speechless admiration.

For that reason, he had always unconsciously adopted the role of the elder brother, thinking he should provide extra care, while neglecting their growth.

However, in reality, such worries were completely superfluous.

His buddies were indeed average people in the real world with no professional military training, but after so many battles and life-and-death trials, their combat experience had long surpassed that of himself when he first entered the game.

In terms of intensity and gruesomeness, this cruel Wasteland was second to none, even when compared to the darkest periods in real-world history.

This was a world destroyed by a great War.

A post-apocalyptic era even more barbaric than turbulent times.

In such a world, having been tested time and again, they were no weaker than anyone else and needed no one's care.

Every player in the Burning Corps was a warrior capable of standing on their own!

Perhaps it was time for him to trust his teammates more.

"Yeah, I can see that..." Looking at that earnest gaze, Old White suddenly gave a relaxed smile, the tension in his brows easing slightly, "Then I'll leave it to you!"

He acknowledged that the glider had his blood pressure maxed out.

But now it seemed...

They weren't just playing around.

Giving him a grateful look, Wild Wind earnestly turned to Night Ten.

"Give the machine gun to Old White, you go find a higher ground nearby to support us... Our target is entry C, watch out so the guards don't plant Dynamite at the entrance."

Taking the sniper rifle confiscated from the Academy and gesturing an OK sign with his hand, Night Ten still wore his non-serious, joking smile.

"Roger that!"

...

In comparison to the haphazard descent of parachutes, the glider had the advantage that there was no need to search the streets for one's teammates.

The five hundred Burning Legion Soldiers who landed in the urban area quickly completed their formation and advanced towards the Castle in an orderly fashion, grouping into teams of three, three teams into a squad, and three squads into a platoon.

The streets were eerily quiet, with only sporadic gunfire and explosions.

Most of the city defense forces and militia were concentrated on the riverbank, ten kilometers away, especially since this area had been "pre-announced" for bombardment by the Alliance, leaving only a few daring guards patrolling in the city, where even a living soul was rare to see.

Some guards noticed the planes that were forced to land.

Though they had no orders from above, they still searched dutifully.

And then—

There was no "and then."

Against guards armed with "Opener" rifles, players didn't even bother shooting.

The guards' equipment was even crappier than they had expected; other than the guard captain, who was equipped with a 10mm Ten-Husband Long Pistol, the majority of soldiers were using either a slender military saber or bolt-action "Opener" rifles.

These rifles, which could be used as lances, were quite effective in the trenches, and the 7mm full-power bullets packed a punch.

But in the complex terrain of urban combat, they were a nightmare for their own forces.

Even with their familiarity with the terrain, they were no match for the sweep of LD-47 assault rifles and LD-50 submachine guns.

Facing Awakeners fully equipped with automatic weapons and Light Cavalry Exoskeletons, the first patrol team that scouted ahead instantly became pure victims, and within less than half a minute, they were sent running in a rout.

...

At the same time, atop a tower that had survived the explosion, Middel stared dumbfounded at the city district engulfed in battle smoke, still not understanding what had happened.

Just a few minutes earlier, several dark figures had destroyed his anti-aircraft gun position.

As he looked up at the sky in despair, thinking that the planes would climb and come back around for another pass, something unexpected occurred.

He saw the hundred-plus aircraft not climb again, but, like dumplings, nosedive into the city districts in front of the castle.

Standing beside him, the city defense commander Pofu muttered dumbfoundedly.

"What are they doing?"

A lieutenant said in a daze,

"...A flight accident?"

"Over a hundred planes having trouble at the same time? How can that be possible?"

Regaining his senses from the brief confusion, Middel's face didn't relax in the slightest due to the "end" of the air raid. His instinct told him that the real air raid had just begun.

He immediately turned to the lieutenant and ordered loudly,

"Who is in charge of the districts in front of the castle?"

The lieutenant answered immediately,

"Report! It is Centurion Adem!"

Middel remembered this name.

That guy was someone he had personally promoted from the militia to the guard. Not only was he adept in command, but he also was a powerful Awakener.

Without a moment's hesitation, Middel immediately gave his order,

"Give him an additional hundred team! Tell him to head to the district immediately and search for those pilots! I must have one alive!"

The lieutenant stood up straight and saluted.

"Yes!"

...

With Middel's order, Adem immediately led his hundred team, along with an additional hundred reinforcements, into the city district, preparing to capture the Alliance pilots alive.

However—

What no one expected was that the moment these two hundred teams entered the city district, a cacophony of crackling gunfire erupted, like dozens of firecrackers going off.

The flashes from the muzzles of guns flared across the dark city district, densely covering the area like the stars above.

Nearly as soon as they set foot on the streets, Adem's hundred team encountered a hail of automatic gunfire. Caught off guard, they suffered heavy casualties with just one encounter.

The Falcon Kingdom's pilots usually only carried a pistol, and the cockpit of a regular aircraft couldn't fit any spare ammunition or weapons.

Let alone facing automatic weapons.

No one even considered that those pilots wouldn't hide throughout the city, but would instead regroup and open fire on them.

Standing on the tower, Middel, dumbfounded, watched the flickering fires in the night-lit city district, at a loss for words.

The gunfire was, at the very least, comparable to the firepower of two thousand teams.

Could it be that the Alliance pilots were not only armed with assault rifles but also had stuffed a couple of bodyguards into the cockpit?!

While Middel was still marveling, Adem, who had rushed into the city district with two hundred men, was now cursing into the radio,

"The enemy's firepower is too strong! We need reinforcements!"

An irritating buzzing filled the headset.

The other side seemed to be using some communication jamming devices; he couldn't contact the rear and report on the situation here.

Bullets whizzed through the streets.

It was as if the enemy didn't care about conserving ammunition at all.

With his brute power rendered useless, Adem could only pray in his heart that his superiors would deduce something from the sound of gunfire and send more people over.

However, it seemed like the enemy had no intention of a standoff; the gunfire coming from all directions quickly surrounded the street where he was.

Adem's heart sank in an instant.

Even though he couldn't ascertain the situation of his two Centurions, the direction of the gunfire allowed him to guess: the defense on both flanks had been breached!

In less than half a minute, the enemy had annihilated at least four of his ten-person teams and completely encircled his two hundred teams.

This could not be the work of just a few dozen pilots!

At the very least, there had to be a thousand men on the other side!

Looking at the severed limbs and the dense bullet holes on the walls in the street, Adem, who was still full of bloodlust just a few minutes prior, now had only horror written on his face.

Listening to the gunfire drawing closer, he clutched the radio sending nothing but noise and roared in despair,

"Damn it! These people... they're not pilots at all!"

"We are surrounded!"

—

(Thanks to the Alliance leaders "Watermelon, Universe's No.1 Fruit," and "Snow Yiwu Heart" for their rewards!!! I could have finished this chapter, but I dawdled for a while, and now it's six o'clock. T.T)

Chapter 491: This Hard-Earned Conclusion

About sixty kilometers away from the Royal City, on a plain.

After ordering the entire army to infiltrate enemy territory in units of a hundred, Spring Water Commander alone led a squad of a hundred through several miles of pitch-black wheat fields, finally reaching the closest highway.

Three infantry squads immediately fanned out in front, advancing in an arrowhead formation along the highway and its sides, searching as they moved forward.

"Speaking of which, this wheat is fully ripe; isn't there anyone to harvest it?"

Entering the soil and resting in peace, he plucked an ear of wheat and gently rubbed it in his hand, noticing the green shoots sprouting from the grains.

As the saying goes, "Ninety percent ripe, time to harvest; fully ripe, and ten percent waste." If you wait until the wheat is completely ripe before harvesting, there's a reduced yield of at least forty to fifty kilograms per acre, and the crop quality suffers as well.

If there's a spell of continuous rainy weather, the wheat could sprout or mildew, leading to even greater losses. Fortunately, it seldom rains in the Oasis, with fresh water supplied by river embankments and stored in the soil.

"...It's quite typical. The Falcon Kingdom's mobilization is in its final stage, the entire society's production activities have stalled. Not to mention ripe wheat with no one to harvest it, even if the wheat makes it to the granary, it doesn't reach the tables of the general population."

Glancing at the boundless wheat field beside him, Spring Water Commander clicked his tongue in pity.

What a waste of this fertile black soil.

If this land was developed by the Alliance's life profession players, the yield per acre could easily be over a thousand kg.

And with CNC planting towers and high-quality seeds from the Biological Institute, two thousand kg wouldn't be out of reach!

"Should we set it on fire?" I Max Black asked eagerly.

"No need," Spring Water Commander said succinctly, "Our targets are industrial facilities and transportation hubs, destroying farmland doesn't make much sense."

To massively destroy farmland you'd use a defoliant.

Just setting fires wouldn't affect many fields, and it could disrupt our own people advancing through the fields, wasting time for little gain.

"Speaking of which, why didn't you put on your Squirtle Suit?" I Max Black teased, glancing at the Miner's Exoskeleton that Spring Water was wearing.

He had wanted to ask the moment they got off the airship.

Spring Water rolled his eyes.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

The mobility of the Destroyer Type I is too poor. With the shield backpack and the 120mm mortar with an automatic loader, the wear weight is close to one ton—even with full power, it's not fast.

Moreover, they were not going to engage with the regular Falcon or Army forces, but to infiltrate and sabotage behind enemy lines. There's really no need for such a big iron coffin.

If they truly needed fire support, calling in an airship barrage would suffice.

As they were talking, a thunderous explosion came from the sky behind them.

Spring Water Commander looked back.

"The brothers of the Burning Corps must have landed by now."

I Max Black said with a pained face.

"Damn it... Why do they always get the good jobs while we have to do this sneaky work!"

Kakarot joked with a laugh.

"What sneaky work! This is strategic sabotage, infiltration behind enemy lines!"

"Alright, now that you put it that way, our sneaky work suddenly sounds much more impressive."

"Hahaha!"

Watching his teammates joke and laugh, the Spring Water Commander coughed.

"We're here to sabotage, not on a picnic... Let's keep it serious."

"Since it's about sabotage, shouldn't we be looking a bit more fierce? Like this," I Max Black energetically explained while trying to squeeze out a menacing look on his face, shaking his rifle that he held at his waist, "Hand over the money in your pockets!"

Seeing his bear-like antics, "Kakarot" couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Dang! You're acting like bandits raiding a village."

Spring Water Commander held his forehead.

This guy was hopeless.

"So, where do we find the factory?" Grumbling, the Ghosts at the Graveside sighed exasperatedly, looking to Brother Spring Water for guidance.

Seeing someone finally care about their mission, a gratified smile finally emerged on Spring Water's face.

"That's easy to answer; just follow the vine to find the melon."

Road traffic is one component of industry; resources and manpower from various survivor settlements must be transported via the road network to the industrial areas for production.

The Falcon Kingdom is a classic militaristic nation, where spacious roads typically serve military facilities and the military industry exclusively.

Therefore, identifying high-value targets is easy.

Just pick a few of the widest roads near Falcon City, and head in the direction of the front line.

You're bound to find a few logistics hubs along the way.

You just pick one of those logistics bases and, through the local logistics information, figure out where the supplies come from. Given the strategic depth of Oasis No. 2, it won't be too hard to pinpoint the location of the industrial zone.

And what do you know, as everyone followed the main road for a while, they happened upon a tractor that had broken down.

A man with bare arms crouched next to the tractor, working on a screw with a wrench, while another middle-aged man sat in the driver's seat, urging him on.

At first, the man sitting on the tractor didn't take much notice of the group approaching from afar, thinking they were his own people. However, as they got closer, he realized their equipment was vastly different from that of the Falcon Kingdom's army.

Whether it was the shiny exoskeletons they wore over their chests or the assault rifles they carried, these were definitely not things the Falcon Kingdom could afford these days.

The man's face turned ghostly pale in an instant, and he hurriedly jumped off to escape into the wheat field. However, he had barely run a couple of steps before a strong, muscular hand grabbed him back.

"Running? Why run?" Ah Nie said with a sneer as he brought the man back like catching a chick, "Guilty of something bad?"

Although new to the game, he was, after all, a Strength Type with 7 strength points from the start.

With arm strength and grip at least 140% of that of a regular adult man, he wasn't someone an ordinary person could shake off.

His hand was like a vice, immobilizing the captured man who struggled in vain, only feeling the grasped area growing more painful.

"No, nothing... How dare I," having failed to shake off the soldier in front of him, the tractor driver finally gave up struggling and looked at him timidly, "Excuse me, sir... which unit are you from?"

"Storm Corps!" Ah Nie answered proudly.

"Storm, Storm Corps?" The driver was utterly confused, having never heard of such a number.

"Why all the chatter?" Hearing the commotion up ahead, I Max Black walked over from behind with others, menacingly eyeing the captive driver, "This is a robbery! Hand over anything valuable!"

"A, a robbery?" The driver looked even more bewildered, managing a wry smile as he said, "Sir, you must be new around here. If you're going to rob, you should look for the nobles... What money could we poor devils, who can barely afford a meal, possibly have?"

"Hss... right, how could you have money if you can't afford to eat."

I Max Black nodded, a flicker of sympathy crossing his eyes, but he quickly remembered he was on a mission, and conjured up his fierce expression once again.

"I don't care if you have money or not, hand over anything of value, now!"

Staring at the gleaming gun barrel, the driver was so anxious he almost cried.

As for the man repairing the car, he had been completely petrified by fear. Dropping the wrench, he crouched beside the tractor with his hands over his head, shivering uncontrollably and not daring to move an inch.

Rolling his eyes at his simpleton's silhouette, the Spring Water Commander approached the frightened driver, staring into his eyes.

"What's on the truck?"

The driver nervously answered.

"...Iron."

The Spring Water Commander asked impatiently.

"I know it's iron. I'm asking what kind of iron it is, what it's for, where it's being delivered."

Hearing this, the driver immediately caught on.

"This is... ironware requisitioned from Rozlan Town. According to the orders of the logistics officer, we're to deliver them to the William Industrial Zone."

William...

That seemed to share a name with the prince and marshal of the Falcon Kingdom.

But that wasn't unusual.

Industrializing in a feudal kingdom that relied on agriculture for its economy; it was likely that only the royal family and the major nobles had the capacity to do so. Since the industrial zone was a royal asset, naming it after a member of the royal family seemed perfectly reasonable.

I Max Black walked over to the tractor and took a look inside. Seeing pots, pans, and dishes, he muttered.

"What use are these things?"

The Spring Water Commander ignored his muttering and continued his interrogation, focusing on the man.

"What's the name of the factory you're delivering to, and what does it produce?"

The tractor driver replied with an uncertain voice.

"It's called the Royal First Foundry... I think it makes steel pipes."

Steel pipes?!

Everyone's eyes lit up at the mention.

Putting aside the cargo on the tractor, I Max Black excitedly asked.

"Are they seamless steel pipes?"

The driver answered with a wry smile: "Sir, I'm just a delivery man, I really don't know... You should ask the factory manager about that."

Steel pipes were only one of the factory's products.

Helmets, engineer shovels, bayonets, military water bottles, bullets, and a whole series of product lines were all made there, but he did not dare to say so.

These people gave him an ominous feeling.

"Good idea," the Spring Water Commander smiled, patted the driver's shoulder, and continued to the trembling man before him, "Could you take us to meet your factory manager?"

The man dared not refuse, faced with the commander's warm smile, he could only nod like a pecking chicken.

Spring Water did not waste words, turning to look at his teammates behind him and waving his hand.

"Let's go, interrogate them."

"What about this tractor?" I Max Black glanced at the now repaired tractor beside him, feeling it would be a pity to leave it behind.

The Spring Water Commander pondered for a moment and had an idea.

"Throw the cargo into the wheat field, and take the tractor with us for now."

Although he didn't have a specific use for it, what if it turned out to be useful at some point?

It was best to take it with them for the time being.

...

The Storm Corps was still advancing silently under the cover of night.

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away in Falcon City, the night was boiling like a raging flame.

The relentless gunfire was incessant, enveloping the majestic castle at the heart of Falcon City like a surging wave.

The first two platoons that had entered the city were quickly scattered and crushed.

The pilots of the Alliance seemed to have brought ammunition for a ten-thousand-man troop, their gunfire ceaseless as if bullets cost nothing.

Not just that, they had even dismantled the machine guns from their planes.

The brick and stone structures of the city, in the face of 12mm caliber machine gun bullets, were as fragile as paper mache, often shattered to pieces along with their inhabitants with a single burst.

Until the last moment of his life, Adem, who had ventured into the city to "hunt down enemy pilots," never received the reinforcements from behind.

What he didn't know was that his superiors were neither blind nor deaf; they were simply too preoccupied to attend to his predicament.

The pilots of the Alliance obviously weren't satisfied with just dealing with a few underlings. While surrounding him, they sent a detachment toward the castle gates, engaging in fierce combat with the soldiers there.

Predictably, facing the suppressive firepower of dozens of aerial machine guns and with only a few bolt-action rifles, the soldiers of the Falcon Kingdom had no power to fight back.

Seeing the muzzle flames creeping ever closer, Middel made a decisive call, immediately dispatching two loyal guards with explosives towards the main gate of the castle with the intent to blow up the gatehouse.

Though this wouldn't stop the Alliance from entering the castle, it would at least buy some time before the city defense forces arrived.

However, just then, a gunshot rang from the direction of the Bell Tower, and the head of the guard who had reached right under the main gate burst open, a spray of blood mist marking the air.

The guard next to him hadn't even grasped where the shot had come from. Quickly, another bullet penetrated his skull.

Without hearing the sound of that shot, he silently fell to the ground.

"Two!"

After reporting his kills on the communication channel, Night Ten, who was lying on top of the bell tower, had his eyes glued to the scope, searching the edges of the castle.

With the assist of the thermal imaging scope, the night was as clear as day to him, and all living things could not hide.

His perception of the intent to kill allowed him to quickly determine whether his position was compromised and whether other snipers had targeted him.

Controlling the rhythm of his breath, he pulled the trigger again.

With a snap, another guard at the city gates had his head blown off and fell heavily to the side.

The relentless deaths brought immense psychological pressure to the soldiers near the castle gates. Even the most loyal soldiers were stricken with fear.

Compared to the suppressive fire of the machine guns and the buzzing dives of aircraft, it was the sharpshooters lurking out of reach who truly made one's blood run cold.

The machine gun's burst might not kill the seasoned old soldiers who had faced death on the battlefield countless times, but whenever the hidden sniper rifle rang, someone would surely die.

Experience had become pointless.

Everyone crouching behind cover was as slaughter-bound as meat on a cutting board.

No one knew who would be targeted next.

Facing the fierce and coordinated offensive of the Alliance, the defense line at the castle's main entrance was collapsing backward...

"…Three!"

Calming himself, Night Ten ejected the spent shell from the gun chamber, took a deep breath, and began searching for a higher-value target.

Meanwhile, the battle within the city district had essentially concluded.

Listening to the distant gunfire, Old White pulled a glowing hot Short Axe from a corpse and raised his index finger to the side of his helmet.

"The city district has been cleared."

Wild Wind's voice promptly came through the communication channel.

"Well done, continue advancing toward the Royal Palace!"

"Roger!"

Old White grinned, hung the Thermal Cutting Axe on his Exoskeleton, and picked up the rifle that hung on his chest again.

The occasional foray into supporting roles felt pretty good.

But on the other hand, the Falcon Kingdom still had some experts.

For instance, the one he just offed turned out to be an Awakener.

He thought all the experts of this kingdom had died in earlier battles.

It seems that no game can ever avoid one problem: the pace of player advancement can never keep up with the updates of the versions.

Especially in a game that claims complete reality, 'players,' entities that not only do not die but also grow stronger with each battle, are inherently absurd.

He could clearly feel that their opponents were getting weaker with each fight. At first, a squad of ten infantrymen could be equipped with a light machine gun, but now, the vast Royal City was left with only thirty-something anti-aircraft cannons, and two hundred-man squads couldn't even muster three machine guns.

The nearly insane mobilization had drained the last bit of vitality from this kingdom.

If a few months ago the Falcon Kingdom was a wolf armed to the teeth by the Army, now it was more like a dying old dog.

It's not so much that they were beaten to death as they were dragged to death.

Because players don't die, the Alliance could mobilize as much as it wanted, and as long as they didn't massively deploy non-respawning NPCs to the front lines, the human resource pool wouldn't change much. Instead, thanks to corporate support, they even made a fortune from War Treasures.

Theoretically, against any 'non-player force,' the Alliance could win in this unreasonable manner—as long as industrial production continued, they could just wear out the opposition.

Old White couldn't help but wonder how Ah Guang would deal with the issue of inflated combat power in the later stages of the game.

However, now clearly wasn't the time to contemplate that.

"...Time to kick this crumbling shack down for good."

Looking at the castle's main entrance that had already been breached, Old White smirked and, leading his squad members, quickly charged toward the castle.

...

At this moment, the castle was engulfed in flames.

Panic-filled footsteps and constant screams were unending.

No one expected the war to reach the king's castle.

Most believed that tonight would just be a regular air raid, though difficult, it wouldn't be unbearable.

Now—

Those naive thoughts had burst like bubbles.

Those who had never experienced the battlefield, even those who had never been touched by the flames of war, now finally felt the terror of death.

The usually meek and fawning servants had completely changed their demeanor, as the fear of death tore away the mask of respect and subservience.

Those wanting to survive were hiding and fleeing desperately, while those who had given up hope of survival became beasts in their final moments.

Some jumped into ponds, others hid in kitchen stoves, and still others fought over closets for hiding spots.

A noblewoman, worried about being disgraced by the Alliance Soldiers, chose to hang herself. However, before she could kick away the chair, an old servant burst in, snatching away both her and her clothes.

"What are you doing?!"

"Stay still! Damn it, we're going to die anyway, what does it matter to you?!"

Gone was his previous humility and obsequiousness; the old man stared greedily at the bare expanse before him, his eyes filled with madness and avarice.

Considering what their Soldiers had done on the frontlines, their enemies wouldn't spare them.

Rather than being taken advantage of by others, it was better if he—

In desperation, the noblewoman grabbed a vase from the ground and smashed it towards the servant's head, managing to free herself as he screamed in pain.

The people in this castle had gone mad!

She ran towards the outside with all her might, without direction, not knowing where to go, just wanting to get far from this place.

But as soon as she descended the stairs, she collided with the group that had stormed in from outside the castle.

"While I don't mind you throwing yourselves at us... could you pick a better time? Let's talk after we've finished the fight."

Seeing the woman who suddenly rushed out, Night Ten, who had just raised his gun, awkwardly lowered it again, trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

Would it be considered accidental homicide if the gun went off now?

Probably not...

"Stop talking nonsense."

Old White casually tore a piece of curtain and threw it in front of that woman, staring at her frightened eyes, he asked in United Human language.

"Where's your king?"

The woman clutched the curtain tightly, looking at him fearfully, and stammered,

"He... I saw him in the Palace; he's been sitting there since this morning and hasn't come out."

Old White continued.

"What about the other members of the Royal Family?"

"I, I don't know... but I heard everyone say they were going to hide in the dungeons." Driven by the instinct to survive, she gave up the others.

Night Ten teased.

"Brilliant—these people knew we were coming and locked themselves in."

Wild Wind touched his nose.

"It's probably to evade the air raids."

He really didn't know where to put his eyes, as the girl was only covered by a thin curtain.

Old White nodded, waved to his teammates behind him,

"To the Palace!"

The others quickly recovered and continued to press forward.

Bullets ripped from the forecourt all the way to the main building of the castle.

Both sides erupted in gunfire in the narrow staircases; the Burning Corps scattered throughout the castle began clearing room by room, evicting any resistance force bearing weapons.

Meanwhile, within the palace of the castle, there was silence; the chaos and gunfire from outside could barely reach here.

Montego, seated on the throne, gazed out at the silent night sky and the firelight beneath the curtain of darkness, remaining speechless for a long time.

He knew everything.

As the owner of the kingdom, how could he not know what had happened to his kingdom?

No good news had come from the front lines for a month, even the feats of a Centurion were exaggerated for a long time.

This was clearly not a sign of impending victory.

At that moment, the door to the palace opened.

Middel quickly stepped in, motioning the guards behind him to close the door.

His face was smeared with blood and he had sustained at least two gunshot wounds. His limping walk indicated the desperate state of the battle.

He knelt on one knee before the steps of the throne and spoke in a sincere voice.

"Your Majesty, the soldiers of the Alliance have breached the main gate of the castle! Please come with me immediately to the underground passage in the backyard..."

Montego turned his gaze from the window to him, but did not rise. Instead, he slowly called out his name.

"Middel."

"Your Majesty?"

"Tell me... do you think I've done something wrong?"

Middel was stunned.

Seeing that Middel remained silent, Montego continued.

"I want to hear the truth... swear by the Spirit of the Sand Sea, that everything you say next is the true sentiment from your heart."

"I... I don't know, Your Majesty," Middel lowered his head, and the urgency and anxiety in his eyes suddenly gave way to a faint bewilderment, "My truth is that I don't know where our future lies."

The riverbanks of Oasis No. 2 were disappearing, the area of the oasis reduced each year, and within a few centuries the Great Desert would engulf them—just as Oasis No. 1 had already vanished.

The Spirit of the Sand Sea did not bestow its blessings equally to all its children. They had neither the vast lands of the Lion Kingdom nor the seaports of the Camel Hump Kingdom. They were even inferior in innate conditions compared to the Honey Badger and the Golden Lizard.

Apart from war, they had no other choice.

But continuing to fight...

He equally saw no future in it.

The Weilante People never told them where the end was or what a world ruled by Weilante People would offer these Aliens...

Montego closed his eyes, neither commenting on Middel's response nor showing any emotion, just sitting there as if waiting for something.

At that moment, the palace doors were violently breached, and the five-meter-tall door crashed heavily to the floor, stirring up thick dust.

Middel instinctively grasped the military saber at his waist as he watched the soldiers appear at the doorway. However, facing those dark muzzles of guns, his movements halted.

There was no need to doubt.

Even as an Awakener twice over, without an automatic weapon, he stood no chance against a group of armed Awakeners.

They could easily turn him and his saber into a sieve with just the flick of their fingers.

Exchanging glances with Old White, Wild Wind stepped forward and stopped in the center of the palace, looking up at the old man seated on the throne.

He looked like a weak ordinary old man, without a trace of the majesty that a king should have, much like the exhausted kingdom below his feet.

The Grim Reaper's sickle was already at his throat.

Wild Wind addressed him.

"Surrender. You've already lost."

Montego calmly looked at the man before him, his dry lips slowly moving as he spoke.

"The Falcon Royal Family will not surrender."

Wild Wind, unsurprised by his response, continued expressionlessly.

"We're not here to ask for your opinion."

"We have taken over this castle. Whatever you say, whether you live or die, doesn't matter to us."

"We will announce your surrender to the public, with the alliance flag flying atop the castle as proof. We will use your face to make videos, use your channels to broadcast messages, telling your soldiers to defect to the Alliance, to open fire on the Weilante People... I believe that although many may hesitate, there will surely be those who will do so."

"This war will not end. We will continue fighting on your land, Triumph City will dispatch its army as you wish, and declare an endless expedition, and we have no reason to retreat either. We'll fight here until the last man, until this oasis becomes a desert, until the last drop of your blood has been spilled..."

Middel felt a chill at these words, looking at the young man in disbelief.

Montego's pupils constricted slightly on the throne, suddenly smiling wretchedly as if he understood something.

"Is this a command from your Manager...?"

"It doesn't matter," Wild Wind continued indifferently, "The last correct thing you can do for this country, for this desert... is to sign the unconditional surrender document, then order your entire army to lay down their weapons and head to Bister Town to surrender."

"Then, we will enter an irredeemable hell," Montego calmly said, "Everyone will ride over our heads... I would rather die like a glorious soldier."

Wild Wind remained indifferent.

"Not necessarily. We are different from the Weilante People; we will not exterminate you. You can start over."

"Of course, if you deny this last chance, I can assure you that your nightmare has only just begun."

Montego stared at him intently,
his murky pupils immobile, as if weighing the pros and cons, or judging whether the man before him was trustworthy.

The silence between them lasted a long while.

Finally, the old man appeared to have an epiphany and slowly closed his eyes.

"Which side is hell can only be judged by posterity... Regardless, we indeed have lost."

With that, his whole body seemed to drain of energy. He relaxed his tense shoulders and leaned back against the cold throne.

"I surrender."

When those words of relief drifted from his parched lips, everyone in the palace, including Middel and the soldiers sprawled by the door covering gunshots, collectively exhaled in relief.

It was finally over...

Middel suddenly realized, to his surprise, that what he had been praying for was not victory but merely an end.

Regardless of whether it could be deemed dignified...

Chapter 492: Dealing with Spoils of War

"I, on behalf of the Falcon Royal Family, hereby declare that the Falcon Kingdom's air and ground forces are surrendering to the Alliance, the Business Expeditionary Army, and combating nations such as the Lion Kingdom, Honey Badger Kingdom, Golden Lizard, and Hump, effective immediately."

"From the day the surrender agreement is signed, all military units loyal to the Falcon Royal Family must immediately abandon their current positions and proceed to the Alliance or Business Army's garrison to surrender their weapons and ammunition. The Alliance and the businesses have promised to ensure the safety of everyone's lives."

"I also inform my subjects that the Kingdom declared war on the countries of the Sunset Province because the blessings bestowed by the Spirit of the Sand Sea have been diminishing year by year. The expenses for the military, royal household, and industry remain high due to the pressing circumstances, and this situation was never my intention."

"I hope you all understand my intentions."

Within the holographic image,

King Montegarde, crowned and robed, sat in the castle office, pronouncing the decree of surrender to the camera.

Just five minutes earlier, he had already signed the formal written surrender agreement, handing it over to the Burning Corps of the Alliance stationed at the castle.

This holographic video would be broadcast throughout the entire Falcon Kingdom in the form of audio and sent to the various army units of the Falcon Kingdom through the command system.

One could anticipate that the players stationed in Bister Town were now busy.

Finally having read the decree of surrender to the end, Montegarde paused and glanced at the holographic image projected in front of him.

The image that appeared was that of the Manager of the Alliance.

The man was younger than he had expected, unlike the portraits collected by his officials from within the Honey Badger Kingdom.

Especially those eyes, deep as the stars above.

Although they lacked much edge and sharpness, those pitch-black pupils had a haunting penetrating power that made him unable to meet his gaze—as if lingering on those pupils for an extra second would steal all his secrets.

"Do you see any need for changes?" King Montegarde asked deferentially.

Chu Guang was rather satisfied with his decree of surrender, especially since he had placed the essential details at the forefront and left the trivialities for the end.

Regarding the Falcon Kingdom, he had already made plans, but there was no need to disclose them at this moment.

To thwart General Griffin's mad scheme, the second thing he had to do now was to disarm the frontline troops!

Looking at the old man with a low gaze on the holographic screen, he said succinctly,

"No need, this version will do."

Montegarde nodded slightly, sighed inwardly, bid farewell, and then disappeared from the holographic screen.

Watching the old man disappear from the screen, Chu Guang turned his gaze to Xiao Qi perched on the pencil holder.

"Did you get the communication interface?"

The Army not only helped the Falcon Kingdom establish a relatively modern command system but also provided the Falcon Kingdom with a full set of information technology services.

After all, inheriting some of the pre-war military technologies, the Army still had expertise in information security and cryptography, which even the Academy and businesses found challenging.

Not to mention a general-purpose assistant AI like Xiao Qi.

To make a vivid but inappropriate comparison, the Army's information warfare defense capability is a 4, and its offensive capability has probably degenerated to a 3 over time.

The business is roughly a 3 and a 4, and the Academy, targeted simultaneously by the Army and the businesses, is about a 5 and a 2.

As for the refuge with maximum defense power, it is probably a 6 and somewhere between 0.5 to 1.

This is determined by a series of historical reasons, including the budget.

As for the nations of the Luo Xia Province, from various indications, the only thing they inherited from the pre-war civilization was the "dike," and even this sole inheritance was endowed with religious significance due to its inexplicability.

Unless the Falcon Kingdom, like the Lion Kingdom, entirely abandons radios for long-distance communication and relies on carrier pigeons or swift horses, with the feudal kingdom's IT capability and encryption level, this war would not have needed to last so long.

Even with a mere "attack power" of 0.5, the "primitive civilizations" before the Prosperity Epoch couldn't have resisted.

If the Army hadn't provided encrypted information services, Xiao Qi could have crippled the Falcon Kingdom's communication systems like it would crush networks in the real world.

But now that was no longer necessary.

The Alliance's Army had physically obtained the "key" to open the door from the Falcon Kingdom, and the signal relay was already installed at the top of the castle tower.

"… The interface has been confirmed, and the signal condition is good! Master, shall we send the earlier video to the Falcon Kingdom's headquarters?"

"Yes," Chu Guang said, nodding appreciatively at the bright-eyed Xiao Qi, "not just to the headquarters, try to send it to all operational units at all levels… if possible."

Xiao Qi playfully placed her right fist against her chest.

"Received!"

The broadcast of surrender first played in Falcon City.

Through the loudspeakers and speakers throughout the city, it repeated over and over again.

When the guards heard their king declare surrender, those who were fighting to the death in the castle finally gave up their last illusion and, disheveled, raised their hands and walked out from the attic of the storeroom and from under the kitchen stove.

Of course,
not everyone could accept such an outcome calmly.

"Long live His Majesty the King!"

With his facial muscles twisted in madness, a guard pulled the pin of the last grenade and was blown to pieces with a bang.

Others, without a word, shoved the barrel of their gun into their mouths and closed their eyes as they pulled the trigger... choosing to die as warriors.

But no matter what, it could not change the fact that they had been defeated.

Everything was over.

Even before their king had surrendered, their kingdom had already lost...

Seized rifles were scattered in the great hall of the Royal Palace, while the ammunition was separately stored in the storeroom. Guards, with their hands on their heads, were escorted out of the castle in line by Alliance soldiers.

A soldier stopped in front of Middel, looked at his superior officer, whose face was wrapped in bandages, and hesitantly saluted.

"Sir, where do we go from here?"

Middel watched him with mixed feelings.

"Go and stay with your family."

The soldier was stunned, standing there bewildered until his comrade came over and pulled him aside.

The scruffy man muttered and patted his shoulder.

"Come on... come to my place."

Watching the two men walk away, Middel then suddenly remembered; this young man had an impression... he had enlisted in place of his brother, who had enlisted in place of their father.

This young man had no home to return to.

Middel closed his eyes in pain and faced the long line without saying a word for a long time.

On the other side,

Standing at the entrance to the dungeon, Corner Old Six approached Old White.

"Members of the Royal Family are now under control, and those nobles who depended on the Royal Family... should we let them stay in the dungeon, or let them go back to their rooms to sleep?"

Old White thought for a moment and then said,

"Let them manage in the dungeon for tonight, the NPCs taking over can handle them afterward."

Corner Old Six made an OK sign.

"Okay."

Before the airship flew above the castle, they needed to take over the guard duties for the NPC of the First Army Corp.

This was easy for players.

They just took turns logging out to rest.

Apart from controlling the entire castle, Wild Wind also allocated a hundred-men squad to Quit Smoking, who was tasked by Montegarde's appointed courier and Pofu's deputy city defense commander, to head to Falcon City's south gate to relieve the city guard and militia of their duties.

Several anti-aircraft cannons were still deployed on the riverbank.

Before the airship arrived, they needed to concentrate on destroying those anti-aircraft cannons that hadn't been blown up.

On the way to the southern gate on the riverbank, the squadron led by Quit Smoking happened to meet the militia units rushing to support the castle.

These people, among them old men, children, and even women, were a group of over a hundred, with only about twenty guns. The rest, dozens of people, even carried pitchforks and flails.

It was clear they did not want to come.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken so long to cover the ten kilometers.

There was no need for the Centurion named "Quit Smoking" to command; Pofu's deputy immediately ran up, waving his hands and shouting at them.

"War has ended! Drop your weapons and you can go home now!"

No one moved.

Finally, a man in his fifties squeezed out from the crowd and stared at the adjutant, asking,

"Do your words count? If we drop our weapons… won't His Majesty… hang us?"

The adjutant couldn't help but laugh as he shouted,

"Rest assured! No, he won't! His Majesty has already surrendered!"

Once it was confirmed that their king had surrendered, and the recent broadcast was not a lie fabricated by the enemy, these militia dropped their weapons and farming tools, relieved, and scattered, disappearing into the streets.

At that moment, a laborer carrying a shovel emerged from an alley.

He was followed by a group of ragged individuals who had been with him ever since the soldiers of the Alliance had left the castle.

Looking at the official, who seemed to have some authority, a dark-skinned man called out,

"What about us? Do we still need to keep repairing those barriers?"

The adjutant, bemused, said,

"That's not necessary… Don't waste your time anymore, you all go home too."

The castle had fallen; what was the point of repairing these things?

These servants really had no insight…

When they heard they could go home, everyone's eyes brimmed with tears, crying tears of joy; some even threw down their shovels and cheered,

"Long live the Alliance!"

Unfortunately, just as the words were spoken, the emotionally charged man was quickly silenced and dragged away by his companions.

The war had ended.

But the city's name hadn't changed yet.

The king sitting in the castle was still the same.

No one knew what the future would hold…

…

At the same time,

The frontline of the Eastern Oasis No. 2.

When news of King Montegarde's surrender reached him, Prince William, sitting in his tent, was stunned for a full ten minutes.

Finally regaining his composure, he stretched out a trembling index finger to his forehead, and after a long while, he looked toward the guard standing before him,

"… Play it again."

"Yes!"

The guard nodded anxiously and opened the holographic imaging device he was holding, replaying the holographic image from Falcon City.

Within the pale blue particles of light,

The aging king spoke calmly,

"… On behalf of the Falcon Royal Family, I hereby declare that the armies of Falcon Kingdom, both terrestrial and aerial, surrender to the Alliance, Business Expeditionary Army, and the warring nations of the Lion, Honey Badger, Golden Lizard, and Hump, effective today."

William stared intently at the holographic image of the old man, trying to discern any sign of deceit in his expression, his voice, or even within the tiny pixels of light.

Regrettably, he found nothing until the image's last second.

Undoubtedly.

That person was his father—

Montegarde of Falcon!

The supreme sovereign of Falcon Kingdom.

William closed his eyes in agony, his bold eyebrows filled with sorrow and struggle.

Watching the clenched fists of the prince, the guard in front of him bowed his head and asked seriously,

"Your Highness, what should we do?"

If Prince William refused to acknowledge King Montegarde's decree of surrender, he would stand with the prince and correct the old king's mistake.

The border of Oasis No. 2 was still in their hands.

They were backed by the Corps Headquarters.

As long as Prince William was willing to fight, they would not possibly lose!

Prince William remained silent for a long time, his fists clenched and then relaxed on his knees, and finally, all his reluctance, astonishment, and anger turned into a long sigh.

"Mikalite."

"Present," the guard replied solemnly.

Prince William paused, then continued.

"…I never thought Falcon City would fall into the hands of the Alliance."

"We fought bravely for General Griffin, for Triumph City, for their marshal, and yet none of their promises to us have ever been fulfilled."

The guard stared at His Highness blankly, his expression already guessing something from the prince's demeanor.

Prince William didn't look at the young guard.

He just suddenly remembered the words unilaterally declared to him by that haughty officer outside the City of Abundance.

Whenever the progress of the war was unfavorable, the Weilante people would have them charge, and when it was time to retreat, the Weilante people would ruthlessly abandon them and demand they cover the retreat.

It always seemed to be that way.

Tonight was no different; only when the decree of surrender reached his hands did he know that the Royal City behind him had been occupied by the Alliance's people.

The Falcon Kingdom had already lost at least hundreds of thousands of youths to the war, not to mention the countless people who had fled the kingdom...

And those from Weilante had never really considered them as their own.

He could take the throne from his father and declare the ceasefire decree invalid. His army was loyal to the royal family, but even more loyal to him as the kingdom's marshal.

He could lead his men to continue the fight, to clash with the Alliance and the Business Expeditionary Army till the end…

But he knew.

Even if he did that, the outcome would not change.

If the Weilante people had never considered them as their own, then all the promises were nothing but self-deceptive lies…

They would never get reinforcements from Triumph City.

Even if they did, it would all be futile by then.

"Order all troops to break camp immediately… Leave the weapons and ammunition behind, shut down the radio, and head to Bister Town to surrender."

Upon hearing the prince's voice, the guard's shoulders shuddered slightly in surprise, but eventually he bowed his head profoundly.

"Yes!"

…

Not only Prince William and the various locations of the Falcon Kingdom Army had received the decree of surrender, but naturally, so had the Corps Headquarters, which held the highest command of the frontline.

The Servant Country Army's every move was under their surveillance, and such significant news could not possibly be overlooked.

Staring blankly at the direction of the south, General Griffin cursed furiously after a half-minute pause.

"These despicable traitors! Incapable of success but all too capable of failure, damn dogs!"

Not loyal at all!

His right fist heavily pounded the command table, his eyes bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the map spread out on the table.

His worst fear had indeed come to pass.

From the start, the Alliance had planned to take Falcon City, not just a simple strategic bombing.

But he had never expected that Falcon City, with over five thousand garrison soldiers, could be overtaken by an Alliance airborne unit of merely less than a thousand.

What he had not foreseen even more was that the old man who had always treated him with utmost respect would choose to surrender so decisively...

The officers standing in front of the command table similarly had heavy expressions.

Including the militia mobilized to the frontline and the defense armies, there were currently eight ten-thousand-strong troops at the borders of Oasis No. 2, responsible for a defense line 120 kilometers wide, extending thirty kilometers deep.

Once these eight squads turned their backs on us,
the defense line that they had hardly managed to build would instantly become riddled with deep holes.

Unless they could disperse the remaining five ten-thousand-strong troops to those vacant defensive positions… but that would only make the situation worse.

A staff officer couldn't help but steal a glance at General Griffin and whispered a reminder.

"If the Alliance's armored forces set out now, we would quickly be encircled and cut off…"

"You don't need to remind me," General Griffin coldly cut him off.

The expression on the staff officer's face froze slightly.

Several officers standing in front of the command table exchanged looks, eventually turning their eyes to the adjutant closest to General Griffin.

Support from the rear was arriving soon.

But professional intuition told them, even if it arrived, it would be of no help.

Their Servant Country had already declared surrender; from now on, they had to face the survivors of the entire desert and the Expeditionary Army from the east alone.

Not only was ammunition supply a problem.

Even the supplies of bread, beef, eggs, and milk had been cut off, without rear supply delivery, even if the Alliance did nothing, they wouldn't last long.

Unless they turned their guns and took down the Falcon Kingdom... but that was clearly impossible. Occupying a kingdom was much harder than coercing one; they could not spare the manpower to establish a puppet, not to mention the Alliance's army was closely watching them.

No matter what General Griffin was thinking.

They no longer wanted to fight…

Pressured by the gaze of his peers, the adjutant, steeling himself, looked towards General Griffin, lowering his voice to say.

"General… what should we do?"

General Griffin remained silent for a long, long time.

Finally, under the expectant gazes of everyone around, he slowly spoke.

"Move to the military base one hundred kilometers away… our reinforcements are about to arrive." General Griffin paused every word as he glanced over the officers standing at the command table, "Surrender is not in my dictionary. As long as I am standing here… forget about it."

He was ready to go to hell.

For Triumph City.

For His Excellency the Marshal.

For the glory of being undefeated.

At the moment he uttered those words, pairs of eyes instantly filled with disappointment.

Even despair.

They had no idea about the plan in Griffin's heart and were certainly not ready to follow him to death.

A silent atmosphere spread in front of the command table.

Feeling the pressure from those gazes, the adjutant helplessly lowered his head, clenched his teeth, and said.

"Yes…"

…

The next morning.

A strange scene emerged on the border of Oasis No. 2.

At the heavily guarded positions, a large group of people left their positions empty-handed and walked towards the desert.

Another group also left the trenches but retreated in the completely opposite direction.

Both groups, as if they had agreed on it, did not interfere with each other.

"My goodness… those Weilante people surely don't want to fight anymore, right?"

Standing on top of a tank turret, Gnome King Riches, holding a pair of binoculars, looked into the distance and suddenly clicked his tongue.

Groups of prisoners gathered at the west gate of Bister Town, where the leading commander was handing over to the officer the Alliance had sent to accept the surrender.

He looked around but did not see any Weilante People with big noses.

He also didn't see any Old Soldiers.

"No one can go against the flow of history... look forward," said the Mole, squinting his eyes and pretending to be deep with a phrase he didn't even understand himself.

At that moment, the newbie leaning against the tank suddenly sighed.

"If one cannon fired... it would take down quite a few, huh?"

The Mole rolled his eyes.

"Then your account would be gone, remember to sell off the silver coins in your account first."

The price of silver coins was always fluctuating.

Especially since there had been several auctions recently, though no one knew what was auctioned, they all ended with transactions worth billions.

Although the newbie probably didn't have much money, exchanging a thousand or two wasn't a problem.

The newbie was stunned.

"Oh… they even ban trade accounts?"

The Mole looked at him strangely.

"This is a closed beta game... The helmets were given in a lottery, so it's not unreasonable if the beta access got revoked."

The newbie chuckled bitterly.

"Damn! But isn't that punishment a bit too harsh?"

Jumping down from the gun tower, Gnome King Riches playfully slapped the guy on the shoulder.

"Well, you see, in this game, every NPC is data-deleted upon death. It's not just about the Game Manager wanting to get you, if they don't, we would have to."

"That's right," Elena nodded with a subtle expression, "… continuing to fight, the expansion pack settlement would probably be postponed."

"The Army's collective score would be deducted too."

"You might even miss the end-of-the-year 'Tide' event."

"Shit… that definitely can't happen!"

Seeing that people were starting to look at him unfavorably, the newbie hurriedly laughed and waved his hands.

"I was just talking big… I definitely can't screw everyone over!"

He was just thinking about it.

The keys to the tank were in the hands of the vehicle commander, and those level ten or twenty leaders certainly wouldn't accompany him in causing trouble.

Besides, the silver coins in his account were worth a good few thousand.

The Mole meaningfully glanced at the newbie and said nothing.

But then again.

If someday a player suddenly sold all their equipment and consigned all their silver coins, as long as the Game Manager wasn't a complete idiot, they would definitely know what he was planning.

Although he dared not try it, he was still curious.

Would the Game Manager use their authority to suspect a player of causing trouble?

Or would they enforce it by using a decoy method...

Unfortunately, due to the existence of the BAN mechanism, even those outliers who disregarded others' gaming experience would disappear from the forums if their accounts were locked.

It's unknowable now.

…

The afternoon sunlight shone on the streets of Falcon City.

For most residents of Falcon City, today's sunlight was exceptionally bright. This war, provoked by the foolishness and ambition of a few, had finally ended.

Many people left the city early in the morning carrying wicker baskets, planning to dig up some unattended potatoes or wheat spikes in the fields outside to take home and make porridge.

It had been a long time since they had seen the sun outside.

Ever since the "War Act" and "Mobilization Ordinance" had been issued, civilians without titles needed approved documents to leave the city.

Worried that people would flee to other oasis with their families or hide in the forests to evade conscription, the noble lords preferred that they starve in the city than be allowed to leave and fend for themselves.

Thank heavens.

It was all finally over.

No matter what the future held, everyone was liberated.

Of course, not everyone who left the city did so because of hunger, many primarily sought to escape the chaos brought about by war.

As the militia, city guard, and royal guards were disbanded one after another, public safety in the city soon deteriorated.

There's never a shortage of those who capitalize on chaos.

Not to mention, among a group of old and sickly, anyone who had a bit of strength could brand themselves a king, and if they could bring home a rifle from the battlefield, they could easily become a "general" ruling over several streets.

Added to this were the demobilized veterans, who posed another disturbing factor.

However, the chaos did not last long.

Perhaps disliking those who took advantage of the situation and bullied both men and women, the victorious Alliance soldiers did not stand idly by.

Instead, they took action.

They did two things.

The first was to gather representatives from various professions within the city to form the "Citizens' Self-Government Committee," selecting a group of young men from the demobilized militia to whom they distributed weapons seized from the guards and city guard.

The second was to ruthlessly punish those bandits who looted and committed public violence, handing them over to the newly formed "Citizens' Self-Government Committee" for punishment.

Inside the castle's palace.

A few men, battered and bruised, were kneeling on the ground, tightly bound by ropes.

Not far from them stood several elders, women, and children, brought here as victims and witnesses.

Standing alongside the players of the Burning Corps and the representatives of the Citizens' Self-Government Committee, were tailors, stone masons, and a butcher who even held an "Opener" rifle.

It was evident that it was their first time at the royal palace, everyone looked very constrained, even nervous, not daring to look at the king seated on the throne.

Had it not been for the Alliance soldiers' instruction to stand there, they might have been kneeling on the ground like the criminals.

Without looking at the men kneeling on the ground, Old White looked towards the old king on the throne.

"…In the Alliance, robbery is a serious crime, with the maximum punishment being labeled as a Looter, deprived of all personal freedom, political rights, and even human rights, and worked like an animal in the mines until death."

As he spoke, Old White suddenly shifted his gaze from the face of the king to the civilian representatives they had selected.

"How do you deal with such cases here?"

The people hesitated for a moment, but finally, the butcher stood out and said fiercely,

"By the law of the Falcon Kingdom… they should be beheaded as a public example!"

On hearing they were to be executed, the men kneeling on the ground cried out like rats whose tails were stepped on.

"Wait! I am a noble! I was personally titled a baron by His Majesty… the penalty of beheading does not apply to me!"

Old White was unsurprised by the man's plea.

Apart from the small fry, those who were able to take advantage of the situation at this time were usually the nobles exempt from military service.

Especially those of moderate status.

These few men had not admitted their crimes before due to pride, but on hearing of their impending execution, immediately revealed their noble status.

All five of them turned out to be barons.

The old king watched them with complete disapproval.

These men had utterly disgraced him.

Old White shook his head.

"Beheading is too bloody… uncivilized."

However, before the kneeling men could rejoice, his next words plunged them into a bottomless icy pit.

"Let's make it hanging instead."

Hearing that they couldn't escape death after all, the kneeling nobles all turned their eyes to the king.

"Your Majesty!"

"Spare my life, Your Majesty!"

Looking at those nobles who desperately pleaded with him, the old king sighed, only wishing to remind them that they were pleading to the wrong person.

But there was no helping it, since he himself had knighted these nobles.

He turned to the Army Corps commander and said in a low voice,

"He just... bullied a few civilians, is that really necessary?"

After all, a dog refers to its owner.

These were his subordinates, he had already surrendered, what more did these people want?

Moreover, he didn't understand why the Alliance wanted to do this.

Was it to win over the hearts of the people?

Or to humiliate him?

It was completely unnecessary to "stage this drama" for him, what dignity did he, a king defeated in war, have left?

However…

That "Citizens' Self-Government Committee" always gave Montegarde a sense of unease.

Although he would bestow noble status to civilians who demonstrated valor in battle, he was always vigilant about sharing power with anyone beyond the nobility.

Especially now, these people were not only empowered by the soldiers of the Alliance but also held guns.

Under the majesty of the Royal Family, these peasants might not do much, but it would probably be very difficult to retrieve the guns from their hands.

At that thought, Montegarde couldn't help but feel a headache.

The temporary chaos in the city didn't worry him too much; such turmoil was like a gust of wind, soon to pass.

But what the Alliance was doing filled him with a subtle unease.

He always felt like they had planted a formidable bomb right beneath his feet…

Old White smiled and said,

"This is the Manager's order, do you have any objections?"

King Montegarde fell silent upon hearing this and shook his head after a long pause.

"No, please proceed as you wish."

The words had barely left his mouth.

Even without a stance from the Alliance people, the citizens around the few prisoners immediately grabbed the kneeling barons fiercely, dragging them out of the door despite their cries.

Clearly.

They had been enduring these fellows for a long time, even before today.

The dragging carried a personal vendetta.

Old White didn't intervene, tacitly condoning their lynching.

Although he found the Manager's style to his liking, he knew deep down that Chu Guang didn't do this to proclaim any justice.

It was merely to throw a portion of the power from his Castle into the outside, distributing it to those citizens treated like fish on the chopping board.

And then further tearing apart the two strata of citizens and feudal nobles…

As one of the means to cripple the Falcon Kingdom's potential for war, this was more effective than destroying their industries… those expendable items wouldn't throw themselves onto the battlefield.

Listening to the despairing screams and coarse curses fading away outside the palace gates, King Montegarde sighed and closed his eyes.

Even though his heart was filled with reluctance, what more could he say?

Even he himself was a spoil of war for the Alliance.

And everything the Alliance did was merely handling their own spoils of war…

-

(The book group exploded, you can join the new group; let's not always discuss dangerous topics... Ah, the chicken soup I stewed today was also a failure, everything did not go well, and I'm late by several minutes, sorry!)

Chapter 493: The Airship from Triumph City!

Before the castle, the square.

Standing on the tower above the gate and looking out, he saw a sea of people, a massive, dark crowd that even choked the roads leading to the square.

Since the promulgation of the "War Time Regulations," such spontaneous, large-scale gatherings of residents had not occurred for quite a while.

Everyone was afraid of being conscripted or caught as spies by Count Krunwi, appointed by His Majesty the King.

Only now, with the war ended, did people dare to wander the streets without fear.

Looking at the gallows in the center of the square, the people gathered there excitedly whispered amongst themselves, sharing gossip they'd heard from others.

"Have you heard? Matniel has been sentenced to hang!"

"That baron?"

"I remember that the entire Hante family seemed to have died at his hands."

"His little daughter was so endearing... what a shame that she caught the eye of that scoundrel."

"Poor Hante... it's said his eldest son died outside the City of Abundance, burned to ashes so not even his body could be found, and he himself lost an arm during the retreat. A pity he didn't die on the battlefield."

"The second Ten thousand troops, right?... Too tragic."

"…In the end, it was the enemy who avenged him."

"Ptui! Matniel... that scumbag! I remember him! My wife was..."

A thin man spat in disgust, cursing harshly, but he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

The people around him perked up upon hearing this, looking at him with a mix of sympathy and curiosity, pressing for more details.

"What happened then?"

"Go on, tell us."

The man's face turned red with irritation, and finally, after being badgered enough, he spat out a curse to drive away the onlookers.

"Tell your mother!"

Not far from the scaffold, under the watchful eyes of many, the belated "protagonists" finally made their appearance.

Five typical nobles, caught by the Alliance soldiers, were pushed onto the gallows by the angry citizens.

Faced with an unavoidable death, even the fiercest among them couldn't help but turn pale as their lips blanched.

One baron closed his eyes, and the man next to him, scared out of his wits, wet his pants, the stench leaking out from his trouser legs causing the executioners forcing them up the scaffold to frown in disgust.

The disgraceful states of the five nobles ignited roars of excitement from the residents below.

They had never seen such respectable individuals in such an abject state, more thrilling than watching crickets fight in a mud pit.

It turns out these finely dressed individuals are just as afraid of death.

These people are not as noble as they claim to be.

When faced with death, they too will cry and beg for mercy.

But even if they begged, the angry citizens had no intention of sparing these despicable characters.

It was they who sent young men to the frontlines, who sent the finest cattle and sprightly young women to military camps, all to please the Weilante People.

These nobles were too scared to resist the rule of the Weilante People, but instead transferred all suffering onto these innocent people.

Five people...

Too few had been killed!

With no rotten eggs or spoiled vegetables to use, people could only pick up stones from the ground to vent their hatred. To avoid these prisoners dying before their execution, the watching militiamen had to step forward to separate the mob from the condemned.

The executioner read aloud the multitude of vile crimes these people committed during the war, including murder, arson, brigandage, and more, which further inflamed the anger in the crowd's hearts.

"Kill them!"

"Cut off their heads!"

"Hang them on the streetlights!"

"Quiet! Quiet! Listen to me!"

A man, about thirty or forty years old, wearing linseed clothes, stepped in front of the crowd.

His name was Taote.

Before the "War Time Regulations" were enacted, he was a papermaker. Now, because he could read and write, he was dragged out by the Alliance soldiers to represent the committee.

"Friends from River Valley Province... tell us we must be civilized, even when dealing with jackals and hyenas! We must end their lives in a civilized manner!"

The five nobles were gagged, deprived of any chance to argue, and their necks were looped by the executioner's coarse hemp ropes.

Taote turned towards the scaffold and swung his right hand down forcefully.

"Execute!"

Amidst the cheering of the crowd, the trapdoor fell heavily, the five men dropped, their necks snapped, ending their wretched lives on the gallows.

"Long live the Alliance!"

"Long live the Committee!"

"Good riddance!"

The cries from the crowd were deafening.

A few in the crowd shifted nervously, their faces pale as they quietly slipped away. Not far from the square, within the confines of a residence, Count Krunwi stood by the window, his hand on the windowsill trembling uncontrollably.

The Alliance had only executed those who committed crimes during the occupation and had not engaged in a massacre within the Royal Palace.

But what about after the Alliance leave?

These armed mobs had gone mad.

Previously, to ensure the mobilization order was carried out smoothly, he had killed many for His Majesty the King...

What he feared most now was that these past actions would come back to haunt him.

Behind Count Krunwi, the white-haired old butler spoke softly.

"Master... I suggest you leave the city to lay low for a while."

His master was a favored man in His Majesty the King's eyes.

But being too close to that disaster of an old man was no longer favorable.

The intentions of the Alliance were unpredictable.

But their sudden move against the nobles in the city, arming the civilians, was certainly not a good sign.

Count Krunwi remained silent, his eyes struggling, but eventually, he clenched his teeth and made up his mind.

"I cannot leave."

Looking at his surprised butler, Krunwi paused before continuing.

"Tomorrow... at the latest by tomorrow, the Steel Heart will be here. The highest commander of the Alliance, even that Manager, is very likely to be on that airship."

The King's word was no longer reliable; to survive, he had to ingratiate himself with a new master... otherwise, it wouldn't matter where he fled.

A look of sorrow appeared on the count's face.

Unfortunately, too little was known about the Alliance.

And he did not know what that figure of authority liked...

...

After the trial and the execution, Taote had those boys carrying guns drag the bodies beyond the river embankment to be buried anywhere they saw fit.

"If relatives show up, just dump it on them to deal with... But at this crucial juncture, even if they wanted to claim the bodies, I'm afraid they'd have to wait."

Under the influence of the Alliance, a new Militia Group was established in Falcon City.

Most of these militia members were young fellows who had previously performed labor service, now reporting directly to the Committee and mainly responsible for maintaining order within the city.

Watching the hemp ropes gently swaying on the gallows, Taote, now calm, suddenly felt a chill down his spine...

Only now did he realize what the Alliance had thrust into his hands.

Killing these few guys was indeed satisfying; he and the people hated those who bullied them, just as much.

But after the killing, he began to fear.

The Alliance wouldn't be here forever...

What if they left?

Would His Majesty spare him?

Would those nobles spare him?

"Stand tall," Old White said, patting the slightly pale Taote on the shoulder with a grin, "You've got guns in your hands, what's there to fear?"

Taote said with a bitter smile.

"This, this isn't about the guns... These people, after all, were nobles conferred by His Majesty the King."

"So what? Are they Awakeners, or do they have a few divisions in their hands?" Old White shrugged, "The Alliance has no king, and we still live just fine."

Taote and the other representatives around him were frightened into silence by this rebellious remark, but then again, it seemed to make some sense.

They had guns, what was there to be afraid of...

With that thought, the few of them gripped their rifles even tighter, as if holding their lifelines in their hands.

Old White laughed and patted the NPC named Taote on the shoulder.

"From today on, you're the Chairman of the Committee. Remember, even if one day we leave, you can't just hand it over... This is not for us; it's for those oppressed people behind you. Don't let them down."

Taote nodded nervously.

"I promise!"

Looking at the middle-aged man, Old White nodded.

They wouldn't stay here too long.

Falcon Kingdom was too far away for the Alliance, so far that these people could mistake an imaginary bearded man for a Manager.

People must ultimately complete their own redemption.

All they could do was drop a seed on this land.

As for what will grow from it...

That's up to them.

Looking at Taote and the other representatives behind him, he added another line.

"Right, remember to take turns."

...

The "Citizens' Self-Government Committee" was just a minor episode after the Alliance took over Falcon City. The actions undertaken by the Burning Corps under Chu Guang's directive were far more than this.

All devices in the Royal City that could produce seamless steel tubes and stamp shells were destroyed, and any factory or workshop related to military production or even remotely connected was blown up and dismantled.

As for the craftsmen and engineers trained by Falcon Kingdom...

It's always not too good to kill people.

After a call with Chu Guang, Old White decided to arrange a new place for these people—settling them near Bister Town.

Coincidentally, the Spring Water Commander, who had just arrived at the William Industrial Zone, had unwittingly done a similar thing.

Within the William Industrial Zone.

Since the surrender broadcast had already reached here first, when Spring Water gathered three hundred-strong teams ready to break in, he found that the guard team stationed here had already disbanded on the spot.

Not a single security guard to be seen in the vast industrial zone.

Inside the Royal First Foundry.

The workers sat idly by the factory building; as soon as they saw soldiers from the Alliance come in, they squatted down on the ground obediently.

Seeing the menacing look of these men, Director Bauman hurried forward with a big smile on his face.

"My lord... we have surrendered."

Spring Water looked at him.

"I know that."

That was yesterday's news.

When he went offline for a rotation, he checked the Forum and knew Falcon Kingdom had already surrendered, with a whole eighty thousand troops squatting outside Bister Town.

The building materials they sent there were all used.

Watching the soldiers rummaging through the factory, Bauman's smile gradually turned into anxiety, and he looked at the man before him with a bittersweet expression.

"Then... what are they doing?"

Before the Spring Water Commander could speak, I Max Black, standing beside him, cheekily spoke for him.

"We're here to take war spoils. Is there any problem?"

Director Bauman had a bittersweet look.

To take war spoils, you should plunder those wealthy nobles! What could they possibly find in this factory...

At that moment, "Kakarot," with a rifle on his back, walked back from the front factory.

"We found two rifle production lines... They can produce 300 rifles at full capacity in a day."

"Three hundred?!" I Max Black looked at him in surprise, muttering, "This could arm a ten thousand troop force in a month."

"More or less," the Spring Water Commander nodded, looking at "Kakarot" and continued asking, "What about bullets and shells?"

"Kakarot": "The ammo production line is also here, with a daily output of two to three hundred thousand rounds without a problem. There are also 100mm caliber cannons and shells... It's good that they ran out of resources, otherwise if the production lines were at maximum, this war might go on till next year."

Spring Water Commander nodded and remarked,

"Well, there's still quite a bit of good stuff inside."

Honestly, although those Weilante People regard these outsiders as less than people, their support for the Falcon Kingdom, a Servant Country, is commendable.

The industrial equipment in this industrial park, obviously not made by the locals, was mostly transported from west of the Great Desert.

Including steel plants, chemical plants, and so on...

If they had several sulfur and iron mines, maybe they could hold out a little longer.

But unfortunately, reality has no what-ifs.

If the resources of Oasis No. 2 were so plentiful, they would not need to rely on the Army, let alone expand outward.

Like the Lion Kingdom.

Watching the Strength-type players carry out rows of industrial equipment and various models of machine tools from the factory building, I Max Black suddenly said, with a hint of regret,

"Hate to blow it all up; let's just take it with us."

Living career gamers say, although they've gotten their hands on some precision production equipment and machine tools from corporations, the demand for heavy industrial equipment is still huge.

This kind of stuff, they can never have too much of.

"Kakarot" stared blankly at this whimsical guy.

"How are we gonna move this?"

Old White couldn't help but snark as well.

"Right, even if we move it, where do we put it?"

I Max Black scratched the back of his head.

"Don't we have an airship? That big airship... hoisting them up shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Earlier, to make room for those gliders, Iron Heart hadn't carried much ammo.

Now that these gliders have been tossed out, and they've come down too, there should be enough space freed up to take some of the stuff with them, right?

Spring Water Commander thought it over and came up with a compromise.

"We'll move what we can, and blow up the rest!"

It's not too easy to ship directly back to the Alliance, but they could transport it to the nearby Honey Badger Kingdom first.

Renting some land shouldn't be too difficult.

If the Manager intended to keep Bister Town in his grasp, then resupplying from factories in the Honey Badger Kingdom would be the best option.

Speaking of which, the Spring Water Commander approached the factory manager and announced his decision.

"Your equipment might be a little outdated and shabby, but it's a shame to blow them up if they're still serviceable."

Hearing that this Army commander intended to spare these machines, the factory manager's face lit up with joy. But before he could celebrate, the man in front of him continued to speak.

"...So we've decided not to blow up what we can move, only what we can't. Pick a few knowledgeable engineers for us, let them lend us a hand, and save everyone some time."

Having never heard such shameless demands presented so matter-of-factly, the factory manager said with a mournful face,

"Just take me with you as well."

Surprised that this guy was so cooperative, Spring Water looked at him with a pleasantly surprised smile and patted him hard on the shoulder.

"Sure, no problem! We're glad you're willing to make the switch, and we can take your family along as well!"

Factory Manager: "???"

Ignoring the befuddled factory manager, Spring Water gave I Max Black a look and deliberately spoke in United Human language,

"Follow this factory manager to his home, and remember to be polite."

I Max Black grinned and tightened the straps on the rifle on his back.

"Got it!"

...

It took longer than expected to clear the ropes tangled around the propellers.

Iron Heart remained stationary sixty miles to the east of Falcon City for nearly twenty hours, finally arriving at Falcon City just before dusk the next day.

"Sorry... Honored Manager, for making you wait."

Standing in front of Chu Guang, the acting captain said awkwardly.

Earlier, when the Manager had asked him, he'd confidently stated it would take twelve hours to fix, but the steel cables were more stubborn than he'd imagined.

Especially after the airship continued sliding forward under inertia, causing the propellers to turn backwards and tangle with the cables, which meant their engineers had to endure several extra hours of cold in the wind.

"It's alright, just a little late."

Chu Guang, feeling good with Falcon City so close, squinted his eyes slightly and continued with a pleasant demeanor,

"But remember next time when I ask you, give me the answer you're most sure about."

The captain stood solemnly at attention, placing his right fist over his heart.

"Yes!"

The Alliance had only had Iron Heart for a few months, and the crew was even drawn from the army and air force, so their inexperience was understandable.

Chu Guang had no intention of being harsh with these hardworking subordinates.

However, he knew this bad habit of bragging had to be broken; it should not lead them down the same narrow path as the Weilante People.

Only by understanding the true situation could he make the most reasonable judgments.

This was also why he chose to go to the front lines with his players.

McCullen stood beside him with mixed emotions.

It was only now that he finally understood the Alliance's plan.

But what complicated his feelings the most was not the strategic risks the Alliance was taking, but rather that his Steel Heart could be used in such a way?!

Especially the glider assault tactic—it was a complete eye-opener for him.

Looking at the command bridge just a stone's throw away, McCullen suddenly felt a strange sense of alienation...

Undoubtedly this was his Steel Heart, yet he could hardly remember its original appearance... it had completely taken on the shape of the Alliance.

As the Iron Heart's command bridge hovered over Falcon City, the residents and royal aristocrats of the city were also looking up at the colossal object floating above the clouds.

The shadow cast by the airship even covered the entire city district in front of the castle.

Sitting on his throne in Triumph Palace, King Montegarde stared blankly at the airship approaching outside his window.

It seemed to have started with the execution at noon...

He suddenly realized that, although he still sat on this throne, he had lost control over not just this Royal City but the entire Kingdom.

First, those nobles, all subtly distancing themselves from him, turned to curry favor with the Alliance people.

And it wasn't just the nobles.

Even the servants in the castle, and even the pet dogs he kept there, started wagging their tails for the "new masters."

Thinking this, a self-mocking smile curled on the lips of King Montegarde.

It seemed it was the same when the Weilante People first arrived.

Such irony...

Right then, Middel walked in slowly from outside.

"Your Majesty."

Montegarde looked at him and let out a soft sigh.

"At a time like this, you're the only one who remembers me as the king."

Middel knelt on one knee, respectfully saying,

"You will always be my king."

Montegarde nodded in satisfaction.

"Good... go on, what do you have to report today?"

Middel looked at the floor with a complex expression, speaking slowly,

"The Alliance's Manager will be arriving at the palace in two hours. It might seem more sincere if Your Majesty personally greets him outside the fortress."

King Montegarde's face stiffened slightly.

Although Middel meant well, the current circumstances still left him feeling as if a tumult of emotions had been spilled inside his heart.

Silence lingered for a long time.

Grasping the armrests with both hands, he slowly rose from the throne.

The action was shaky, as if he had aged a decade overnight... Transforming from a majestic emperor to a decrepit old man on the brink of death.

"The Emperor understands."

...

As the Steel Heart entered the airspace of Falcon City, another airship, no smaller in size than the Steel Heart, was moving slowly across the Great Desert in the Far West.

This airship's name was Judgement, and it hailed from the distant Triumph City.

Compared to the Steel Heart, its firepower was somewhat inferior; it lacked a 400mm main cannon and the capacity for an overhead suspended gun bay.

However, while its ground support capabilities were somewhat lacking, against an "airship of its type", it was in no way inferior.

The "Phase energy rectifier" installed in its belly could fire "quark gluon plasma" enveloped by a gravitational field.

Though the plasma's lethality was limited and its duration short, it was highly effective at disabling deflection shields and anti-gravity devices that operated on the core principles of "gravitons" and "gravitational field interference."

Its impact was far more direct than an EMP, and could not be easily defended against using simple conventional means like a Faraday cage.

Regrettably, in the Wasteland Era, such space-faring weaponry was already "obsolete."

Especially when facing Variants and Mutants, it was even less useful than black powder.

Probably only the Holy Shield System in the Grand Canyon and the Army's own airships could make good use of it.

In fact, strictly speaking, it only posed a threat to the Army's own airships, since the Holy Shield System's shield on such a scale, and this shipboard weapon were not even in the same league in terms of power output.

Triumph City rarely dispatched the Judgement-class airships to the frontlines unless there was a special situation that called for the use of its "phase gun."

Like now...

Although it departed a month later than the supply line to the frontline, the Judgement arrived several days ahead of those slow-moving trucks.

Two men stood in front of the bridge's floor-to-ceiling windows.

The one on the left sported a thick beard and a burn scar right under his right eye, giving him quite a fierce look.

His name was Joseph, a general in the Eastern Army, sent to replace Griffin as the supreme commander stationed in Luo Xia Province.

The other held an even more impressive post, appointed by His Excellency the Marshal himself as the governor of Luo Xia Province—though all he had to oversee was an oasis less than 70,000 square kilometers in size.

The two chatted in a nonchalant tone, yet every word was pregnant with probing.

"...I don't have an aversion to the East Expansionists; I even sympathize with them, but their foolishness is also a reality. We have been dragged into a dangerous war that holds no benefits."

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Joseph glanced sideways at the esteemed governor.

Cohen continued expressionlessly.

"They should strengthen their hold on the vassals before attempting a full takeover of Luo Xia Province and should avoid direct conflicts with corporations on the East Coast as much as possible. In fact, if they hadn't greedily tried to devour the Pioneer and No.0 Shelter together, they wouldn't have ended up in this predicament."

Joseph's eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

"So, are we to simply watch the corporations take over No.0 Shelter?"

Cohen did not answer directly but offered a vague response.

"That depends on what they can find there."

He did not believe in a universal key that could solve all crises; the problems of the Wasteland couldn't be resolved with a few additional Black Boxes.

The Marshal thought the same way.

If No.0 Shelter were that important, it wouldn't have been him who came here today.

Joseph felt slightly disappointed.

He still couldn't glean the Marshal's thoughts through this man.

Knowing that further questioning would be fruitless, he cut to the chase.

"Then, which party are you with?"

Cohen responded succinctly.

"I do not belong to any party. I always stand with His Excellency the Marshal, and his stance is my stance."

Standing behind the two, Captain Adria awkwardly realized he had no place in the conversation and occupied himself by watching the scenery outside the bridge to pass the time.

A four-star general and a five-star governor: either one was far beyond his reach as a three-star captain.

At that moment, his executive officer ran up to him and whispered a few words in his ear.

"...The Steel Heart is above Falcon City."

A look of surprise crossed Adria's face.

"McCullen is still alive?"

The executive officer's face grimaced as he replied,

"Unclear... An unfamiliar flag is flying."

After a moment's consideration, Adria nodded.

"Leave it to me."

He approached the two dignitaries and said somberly,

"Sirs, that ahead is Falcon City... The Steel Heart is in the skies above; based on the flags it's flying, it seems the Alliance people are aboard."

Cohen furrowed his brow.

In a bid to claim even a tiny bit of presence, Adria respectfully continued,

"Should we open fire?"

Joseph cast him a glance and quipped playfully,

"An idea."

Adria paused, puzzled, unable to decipher the general's meaning.

Staring out at the endless desert sea and the barely visible contours at its edge, Cohen ordered emotionlessly,

"Slow down."

Whether to fight or not.

They had to figure out the situation over there first...

Meanwhile, amidst the vast expanse of sand,

A silver-gray power armor slowly lifted its head, casting its gaze toward the swath of light being swallowed by the surging sands.

Its focus was not on the apocalyptic dark clouds but on the "floating fortress" advancing in front.

Clouds of worry began to etch themselves on Yun Song's face.

"Triumph City's people have arrived."

The bionic soldier beside him nodded slowly.

"Ahh..."

Half a century passed.

And yet, they found themselves face to face once again…

Chapter 494: Just Enough for a Mahjong Table

Falcon City, the plaza in front of the castle.

The previous gallows had been dismantled, and the broad lift slowly descended from the airship, its reflection under the setting sun splitting the royal road from the castle to the riverbank into two like a sword cleaving from the sky.

King Montegarde nodded slightly.

"Falcon City awaits your arrival, respected Manager..."

The nobles standing behind King Montegarde also nodded one after another.

Watching the humble attitude of those officials and nobles, the representatives from the Self-Government Committee standing not far away felt uneasy and unsure about how to react.

Taote, however, had a clear sense of vision, well aware of where his power originated, and quickly mimicked their actions, nodding slightly to show respect to the Alliance.

Chu Guang, however, paid no mind to these cumbersome rituals, but he was quite satisfied with the humility shown by these defeated subordinates.

Unlike Griffin.

Someone who couldn't take a loss.

Obviously cornered, yet still wanting to lead his men in a risky move against their own.

Before disembarking from the airship, Chu Guang had already ordered the Skeleton Corps, instructing Brother Mole to follow with the armored troops.

But there was no need to engage in battle.

It would suffice to follow them at a range.

No matter where these men retreated to, no supplies would reach them—not bullets, shells, fuel, or even food and fresh water.

Meanwhile, the Goblin Corps would continually scout the Army's movements, and if they tried to requisition supplies from any settlements or villages, the ground troops would immediately work with them to drive them away.

If they stopped, then the Skeleton Corps would encircle them.

The upcoming ceasefire negotiations were critical.

Chu Guang needed to trap this army of fifty thousand in a cage, then cut off their food and water supply.

This approach was even more devastating than capturing them outright.

As for the defense of Bister Fort and the supervision of nearly a hundred thousand prisoners of war, it would be handled by the thousand teams under the Second Corps of the Alliance.

"Are you Montegarde? The king of the Falcon Kingdom?"

"Yes… sir." The word 'sir,' unfamiliar in his mouth, caused Montegarde's voice to falter slightly, clearly still adjusting.

Previously, individuals like Kras, Griffin, and even the arrogant McCullen had only been equals to him, at most slightly superior.

But now, as a prisoner, he had no place to speak.

The concubines in the harem didn't matter to him; at his age, he was beyond such concerns anyway. He only hoped that the Alliance's Manager would spare his family...

Noticing the royal family members behind the king, Chu Guang glanced at them and couldn't help but remark inwardly that these people from the oasis really knew how to breed.

More than a dozen children, the oldest in their thirties, the youngest only five or six.

With the king leading by example in exceeding birth quotas, it was no wonder the settlements in the desert had populations in the millions.

In contrast to the River Valley Province.

He could scour all of Spring City and still not find as many people. The Bone Chewing Chaos that initially swept through the entire province only involved a few ten-thousand squads.

Hiding frightened behind Montegarde, whose gaze was cast downward, a little girl watched Chu Guang with wide, fearful eyes.

A person had died here at noon.

She had stealthily peeked through the window and was terrified by what she saw outside. If not for her father's command, she would never have left her room.

Not wanting to frighten the child further, Chu Guang offered what he thought was a friendly smile and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Don't be afraid, we are not from Vellante; we are here to put an end to this foolish war."

However, contrary to Chu Guang's expectations, she became even more frightened upon seeing him looking at her and hid completely behind her father.

Montegarde's expression stiffened, and his wrinkled face gradually lost its color as he closed his eyes in agony.

His head bowed even lower.

Surprised by the turn of events, Count Krunwi's expression was one of confusion; his pupils flickered slightly before he grimaced, whispering something to a servant beside him.

Not just him; the other nobles nearby also seemed to have misunderstood something.

Unaware of the whispers among those people, Chu Guang had no idea he was actually disliked, causing his eyebrows to twitch involuntarily.

Damn!

Is my smile really that terrifying?

Clearly, the kids in Qingquan City rather liked him.

Whenever there was surplus candy and chocolate from giveaways that couldn't be sold, he would casually give them to children near the settlement, and sometimes he'd even send some to the schools.

Losing interest in appeasement, Chu Guang turned his attention to the old king.

"Before coming here, I had heard many stories about Oasis, all praising its fertility and prosperity,"

"Yet, as I stand on the bridge overlooking this place, this settlement is disappointingly ugly."

King Montegarde's face remained impassive.

This level of humiliation was nothing to him.

However, some of the royal family members behind him—especially the young man—showed expressions of either shame or defiance.

Chu Guang continued.

"The streets are cluttered with obstacles and shelters, every face shows signs of malnutrition... You were born on the most fertile land, possessing the legacy of the Prosperity Epoch, without having to face the threats of Variants and sticky molds. All it takes is a little time to throw seeds into the ground, and without much care, you could reap fields of rice."

"Yet, with all these resources, you have turned the richest soil on this planet into a ghastly sight, a disgrace to the deity you speak of."

A young royal member stared at him bitterly. Although he remained silent and careful to hide his resentment, he cursed inwardly, "All because of this guy."

If they had won the war...

It certainly wouldn't look like this!

But his father was much smarter than him.

King Montegarde, bowing his head, spoke humbly.

"This was not our intention... It was the army, those Weilante People who deceived us, blinded our eyes, planting seeds of hatred in this land."

He knew that the manager from the Alliance wasn't the kind to come and humiliate him specifically. Although the words sounded humiliating and mocking, they also provided him an opportunity to excuse himself,

Which was to shift the blame of the war entirely onto the army in front of all his subjects.

This was his only way to survive.

Chu Guang looked at him with interest for a moment longer.

It seemed that this Montegarde wasn't foolish.

"I acknowledge your explanation that you were indeed deceived and coerced by the Weilante People. Therefore, I have no plans to settle scores with you for the time being," however, Chu Guang paused for a moment and then sharply continued, "but that does not mean you are without responsibility."

"As a punishment, we will disband your army and disarm you until you are rebuilt into a normal country."

"I hope you will cooperate with us."

Murmurs spread among the crowd.

Taote from the self-government committee was secretly thrilled, nobles not far away exchanged glances, and citizens outside the square looked at each other, unsure of what this meant.

Hearing that harsh verdict, King Montegarde sighed softly and nodded slightly.

"As you command."

Although much was lost.

However, he and his family had at least survived.

For him, such an outcome wasn't too bad...

...

Although Chu Guang had humiliated the king of the Falcon Kingdom during the welcoming ceremony, he and his subordinates were still warmly welcomed by the king and the nobles at the banquet held to wash the dust away in the evening.

Castle banquet hall.

Prompted by their comrades, Night Ten, a Perception Type, took up the fork first and stabbed at the meat on the plate, which was indiscernible.

After chewing with his eyes closed for a while, he rolled his eyes.

"Not poisonous... Spit! What is this, it tastes terrible!"

Desert countries' cooking skills seem to be rather disappointing.

Even with such a vast expanse of fertile land, it's practically going to waste!

"You don't understand—in Luo Xia Province, roasted sand worm meat is considered top-grade delicacy, served only to the bravest warriors," Old White said teasingly, not touching the fork in his hand.

In reality, someone who was a chef tried a bite of the tomato scrambled eggs and put his fork down, shaking his head.

"…Even Old Na would shake her head."

It wasn't just the Burning Corps that got banquet tickets; a few from the Silver Corps who joined in on the airship also managed to get in.

A few chatterboxes began whispering about the gossip they spied on while strolling around the castle earlier.

"How come we don't see the Manager?"

"It's normal for him to be busy with official duties; he didn't stay long at the banquet at the Lion Kingdom's Palace last time either."

The eyes of Silver Daddy shifted and he suddenly lowered his voice in a mysterious manner.

"Speaking of which… I just saw the Manager lose his temper."

Seeing the mysterious look on his face, Silver Hand and Silver Sword immediately perked up and leaned in, curiously asking,

"What happened?"

"Tell us!"

"Cough," Silver Daddy coughed pretentiously, "...I heard that some nobles stuffed a dozen dames into his room."

Hearing this, Silver Hand's eyes widened.

"What the fuck? Can he handle all that?"

Silver Sword looked envious.

Though he didn't speak, his face said it all.

Damn it.

This damn planner would rather give perks to NPCs than to players, how is that fair!

At least let them have a look…

Guessing what his brother was thinking, Silver Daddy gave him a look.

"What are you thinking? Is our Manager that kind of person? He kicked out all the people who were sent… that's why I said he was so pissed off."

Silver Sword and Silver Hand were both stunned,

The former especially so.

After hesitating for a while, he muttered quietly,

"Could he be… hiding some unspeakable secret?"

Silver Daddy laughed,

"That's unlikely, he is after all a level thirty-plus Pentagon Warrior; he probably doesn't have such secrets… it's mainly that those nobles were just too much."

Silver Sword was puzzled.

"What do you mean by too much?"

Silver Hand was also confused,

"Too ugly? Or did they send men in too?"

Silver Daddy leisurely shook his head.

"It's not related to that; mainly the fact the total weight of all those people together is still less than your grandfather."

"Pfft!"

Silver Hand spat out a mouthful of red wine, coughing so hard his glass fell to the floor, while Silver Sword, next to him, widened his eyes, muttering,

"Holy shit! That's too fucking weird!"

Silver Daddy sighed deeply, elegantly tasting a sip of wine tart enough to be vinegar, and outlined an exaggerated curve in the air with the rim of his glass.

"Yes… if it was as big as Crow, the Manager might have turned a blind eye, unfortunately, it wasn't even as big as Teng Teng."

Quit Smoking, who had been eavesdropping all this while, finally couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Puhahaha!"

With Quit Smoking joining in mid-way, the four unfortunate kids jokingly talked without restraint, and soon their connections became unstable after just a few drinks, with the first casualties from the Strength Type practically collapsing onto the table.

Other players didn't care much, as they were already accustomed to this sketchy way of disconnecting; but it frightened the nearby server, who turned pale, fearing something might be wrong with the drinks he served.

"How strange..." Silver Daddy muttered, looking at Silver Hand and Silver Sword sprawled on the table, "These two dummies usually can drink quite a lot."

The alcohol content wasn't even that high.

Fortunately, he had wisely chosen the Body Constitution System, or else—

Just as he thought about it, his eyes rolled back and he too dropped his glass and collapsed onto the table.

Quit Smoking's face slightly shifted as he quickly put down his glass, but he still couldn't escape the bug that had targeted him.

"Damn, you guys sure can drink, even knocked out the Body Constitution type."

Night Ten, blissfully unaware, approached with a cheeky grin and took a snapshot of them. Just as he was about to log off and mock his friends, a portly noble suddenly walked over.

"Respected sir... I finally found you."

The chubby man was dripping with sweat, managing a strained smile.

Night Ten scrutinized him curiously, having never seen this man before.

"Can I help you with something?"

"My name is... Baron Abraham, appointed by His Majesty."

Before Night Ten could ask what was the matter, Baron Abraham pulled a noble lady next to him forward, looking earnestly at the confused Night Ten.

"This is... my daughter, Lady Cecil, thank you for saving her that night."

Winning over the alliance's manager was probably hopeless.

Just earlier at the plaza, he clearly saw how those once-unattainable big shots were green with envy towards that man.

However, this didn't mean he was without ambition.

Upon hearing what had happened to his daughter that night, he had immediately sought to connect with the manager's subordinates.

Night Ten stared blankly at the portly baron and the modest-looking maiden beside him, completely failing to recognize her as the same woman from the previous night.

"You're welcome..."

"This isn't about being polite," Baron Abraham spoke gravely, "You saved her honor, and quite literally her life..."

As the noblewoman nodded her head in gratitude, Night Ten scratched his head awkwardly, "No... actually, we didn't do anything; she knocked the guy out herself and escaped."

If there was anyone to thank, it should be Old White for giving her half a curtain.

Nevertheless, the portly baron continued as if he hadn't heard a word, lost in his own narrative.

"Ever since that night... my daughter has been unable to stop thinking about you, begging me for another meeting."

"Eh?"

"I see you are a distinguished young man, fit to take care of her. Please, take her with you!"

Night Ten was completely taken aback.

"Wait, your daughter, is she a consort in the castle? Or what?"

Baron Abraham sheepishly smiled and replied.

"Well... she indeed was one of His Majesty's consorts, but following the manager's decree, the King has already ordered a reduction in the harem's size and budget. Except for the consorts who have children with His Majesty, most others have been dismissed."

While speaking, the man suddenly seemed to think of something, leaned closer to Night Ten, and whispered sleazily,

"His Majesty is quite old, and well, no longer capable in certain areas—I'm telling you this in confidence, don't spread it around. My daughter was only brought into the palace last year, because of that McCullen—cough, anyway, I assure you, my daughter has never served in..."

Standing nearby, Lady Cecil also subtly nodded, her cheeks flushing as she looked away.

"Father... please stop."

Being a young man full of vigor, those suggestive words made Night Ten's face heat up like a ripe apple.

His gaze inadvertently drifted towards Lady Cecil.

"It's a demure and elegant long dress, yet it features a rather daring neckline, and lazily curled hair tips rest softly on the brilliant whiteness."

"Actually, upon a closer look…"

"Um."

"It's pretty impressive."

"Especially the mature charm tinged with a hint of freshness, which had a peculiar attraction for him, a young man who had not yet left the Ivory Tower."

Seeing that the guy clearly took the bait, Baron Abraham was instantly delighted and promptly made his move while the iron was hot.

"…I've heard you have a large estate in Lion Kingdom, can you take us there? I once traveled around with a commercial team and understand business quite well. If you don't want to bother with mundane affairs, you can leave them to me…I'm willing to be your servant."

"Eh?"

Before Night Ten could respond, Baron Abraham quickly continued.

"If you're willing, you can get married right now!"

"Ah, isn't that a bit too fast?" Night Ten hurriedly said.

He admitted that for a moment, he was swayed by appearances.

But honestly, he had merely fantasized about it in his mind and never really considered getting married to an NPC in the game.

However, Baron Abraham was relentless.

Seeing the opportunity slipping away, he became anxious and almost wanted to thrust his daughter's hand into the young man's hands forcefully.

"How could it be too fast?"

"But we still don't know each other—" Night Ten said with a mix of laughter and tears, but his words didn't sound like a refusal to the other.

Having figured out his target, Baron Abraham pressed on, step by step.

"No worries! After you're married, you'll have plenty of time to get to know each other!"

Night Ten was dumbfounded as he gazed at this man trying to sell his daughter, utterly baffled.

What stunned him more was that Lady Cecil seemed utterly indifferent to her father's aggressive behavior. Even when their eyes met by chance, a blush of shyness appeared on her face.

He couldn't tell if it was genuine or just for show.

Just when Night Ten was at a loss, luckily, Old White came over and bailed him out.

"Listen, I don't care what your intentions are, but stay away from my people or I'll throw you out of here. Do you think your king will stand up for you?" Old White said sternly, glaring at the rotund man.

"Yes…milord, I was out of line," Baron Abraham backed away, leaking cold sweat, and cursed inwardly about his misfortune.

This young man was nothing like the other.

His instincts told him that the man before him wasn't easy to talk to, nor was he easy to deceive.

Not daring to stay any longer, Baron Abraham quickly bowed his apology and hurried away with his daughter.

Night Ten breathed a sigh of relief.

He couldn't tell if he felt more relief or regret, but undoubtedly, it was more of the former.

Mocking Night Ten's naive appearance, Old White couldn't help teasing, "Don't blame me for messing up your good luck. You don't have an estate in Lion Kingdom, and supporting her whole family wouldn't be easy."

Hearing this, Night Ten suddenly got defensive.

"Hey, who are you looking down on? What if I just buy one?"

Old White grinned and gestured behind him.

"Was I too hasty, then? Shall I go back and talk on your behalf?"

Night Ten glanced that way and shrank his neck.

"Forget it..."

It was a momentary lapse.

Actually, thinking about it calmly, if he really brought her home, he'd definitely be devoured completely.

Wait—no!

How could one possibly get married in such a muddle!

Moreover, to a stranger whose name one has just learned.

Thinking about it, one was a promising and lucky youth, one in ten thousand chosen by the helmet, definitely fitting the protagonist template found in games, comics, movies, anime, and web novels.

Not to open a harem like those Dragon Arrogant Skies.

But at least to experience a few sweet romances...

At this moment, Wild Wind, who had been silent all along, suddenly had a thought.

"But speaking of which... the estates in the Lion Kingdom, we really could buy a few when we go back."

"Indeed," Old White touched his chin, "Fang Chang that damn thing seemed to have said, let's not just focus on pushing the main quest, opportunities are all in the side quests."

The food supply in Spring City has always relied on the commercial teams coming from the south.

However, the southern trade routes were not easy to navigate.

Brocade River Province was a plain surrounded by mountains, with steep mountains stretching to the west, reaching all the way to the Zobar Mountain range north of the Camel Hump Kingdom.

It was not an oasis blessed with favorable weather.

But rather a harsh place full of Mutants, Looters, slave traders, chaotic followers, and madmen.

Comparatively, Luo Xia Province was undoubtedly a better grain-producing area.

Moreover, crucially, compared to the Falcon at the edge of the Great Desert and the Honey Badger in the mid-west, the Lion Kingdom was not too far from the Alliance.

Recently, they were even about to build a railway there, and there were also players' save points in the Alliance's military bases.

Now that the war had basically ended,
some agile-minded life profession players might have already gone over to "start pioneering"...

...

While the players were feasting at the banquet, Chu Guang was sitting in the office that originally belonged to King Montegarde, flipping through the national treasury's ledger.

The Alliance won't stay too long in the Falcon Kingdom.

If it weren't for Griffin stubbornly refusing to surrender, he would have left in just two days.

Maintaining unchanged border lines was a consensus accepted by all parties and also his promise to his allies; he didn't plan to be the one to renege.

It was of no benefit to the Alliance.

That's why they had the plan, "Force the Falcon Kingdom to cease fire or surrender and then immediately withdraw the troops."

However, now that Griffin chose to be that troublemaker himself, Chu Guang could stay a bit longer before the governor from Triumph City arrived.

Half a month wasn't long.

But it was enough time for him to do some things, carry out deeper reforms in this defeated country.

Establishing the Citizens' Self-Government Committee was the first step.

What Chu Guang truly intended to do was to transfer, as much as possible, the unmovable fixed assets including land and factories, from the feudal nobles and landlords to the citizens who just got their hands on guns.

A 100% transfer was impossible.

Even if it were achieved, it would definitely be stolen back.

But even if only 10% was completed, leaving only 1% after the Alliance left, it would still cause headaches for those people from Weilante.

Internal checks and balances of power would weaken the potential for external wars.

And Bister Town, kept in the Alliance's hands, would constantly watch the rise and fall of the internal forces in this kingdom and intervene as necessary.

By then, the people from Weilante would be surprised to discover that although this Falcon Kingdom was still their vassal, and the kingdom's king still loyal to their Marshal, this vassal had, apart from nominally belonging to them, become utterly useless.

Chu Guang's lips curled up into a sly smile.

Just then, Xiao Qi, who was sitting on the desk, suddenly spoke.

"Master! A flying ship is coming from the west!"

"A flying ship?" Chu Guang put down his pen and looked at Xiao Qi, "How big?"

"A bit smaller than the Iron Heart, but it has a very strange-looking... er, supposed to be an artillery?"

As he spoke, Xiao Qi stretched out his index finger and gently drew a line in the air. The signal light of the holographic computer pen on the table flickered slightly, projecting a pale blue holographic screen.

Chu Guang stared at the screen for a moment.

The image was very blurry.

Even after AI processing, only a vague outline was discernible.

Chu Guang then asked,

"Has it shown any abnormal behavior?"

Xiao Qi shook her little head in response,

"Nope… Oh, right, it seems to have slowed down."

Slowed down?

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, his heart stirring slightly, and immediately continued,

"Can we contact them?"

Xiao Qi frowned,

"The signal is very unstable in the Great Desert… but they are about to leave the desert, so we might be able to give it a try!"

Chu Guang, "Send them a message, tell them… to come to Falcon City to negotiate a ceasefire."

Xiao Qi playfully winked and crisply said,

"Received!"

Chu Guang watched the little one for a while, then suddenly spoke,

"By the way, did you secretly kick some players offline just now?"

Xiao Qi's gaze drifted to the side, a guilty expression on her face as she whispered,

"… They were secretly speaking ill of you, so I just punished them a bit."

Chu Guang sighed,

"If I had to manage every private comment, I'd have an endless amount to manage… Don't do that again."

Unless it was plotting sabotage or assassination, those situations could be closely monitored and "cut off" before any action was taken.

A joke or a couple of complaints weren't worth escalating.

Xiao Qi nodded aggrievedly,

"… Okay, master."

…

The next day.

In a luxuriously decorated bedroom of the castle.

The sky outside the window had not fully brightened when Chu Guang was awakened by a call from the Academy.

He almost cursed the caller as a lunatic, but considering the time difference, Chu Guang held his tongue.

"What's up?"

"You've taken over Falcon City??"

Hearing the incredulous exclamation from the other end of the phone, Chu Guang sneezed and said,

"That was the day before yesterday."

It seemed the Academy wasn't very up-to-date; the Falcon Kingdom had surrendered nearly two days ago before they received the news.

Seeing Chu Guang's indifferent tone, Li Ke suddenly grew angry,

"You promised me you would cease fire with the army! Why—"

Chu Guang coughed to interrupt him,

"I promised you, but there was a slight delay in relaying the order to the front line… and haven't I ceased fire now?"

"This is your idea of a ceasefire!?" Li Ke hadn't expected the army to fail so miserably, being pushed directly to Falcon City in one go by the Alliance.

He heard that Griffin was being chased by the Alliance's Skeleton Corps, retreating to the biggest military base in Oasis No. 2, "Horn Fort," and facing a crisis of running out of water and food.

To confirm this, he even called Griffin's side, but they just hung up on him without listening.

Clearly, the muscular Weilante man was too heated, and the worst scenario had indeed unfolded…

He didn't care which corporation or army died first.

But he couldn't bear the "task of harvesting achievements" going down the drain!

"Calm down, we are planning to negotiate with the army—"

"You've occupied their Servant Country's royal city, what the hell are they going to negotiate with you! Just hand over Oasis No. 2 directly to you?"

Chu Guang spoke impatiently,

"That's easy, we can just give it back to them."

Li Ke on the other end of the communication channel was stunned.

He didn't expect this greedy guy to so readily spit out what he had gained.

Chu Guang also somewhat regretted, thinking he should have taken advantage of this situation to ask for benefits from the Academy, considering the sacrifice the Alliance had made for the greater good.

But remembering that the Adjudicator was fast approaching, he coughed lightly, discarding the thought of further haggling.

"…Look, I even let go of Oasis No. 2 that I had in hand. That coordinate, you should give it to me now, shouldn't you? Otherwise, I might have to reconsider."

Li Ke spoke cautiously,

"…I'll give it to you after you sign the ceasefire agreement."

Chu Guang said distrustfully,

"What if your words don't hold?"

"That's impossible!" Li Ke answered without hesitation, but then his tone switched, "Though… it's normal for you to have such concerns. Where are you negotiating? I'll come over then, making the deal face-to-face shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Chu Guang couldn't help but feel amused, though he restrained it.

"In Falcon City."

"Wait for me a week… no, three days, I'll be there in three days!"

Although he carefully hid his emotions, his suddenly verbose demeanor revealed his excitement.

How could he reflect his importance in the ceasefire negotiations?

Of course, by being present at the signing of the ceasefire!

Although this war had nothing to do with the Academy, that didn't stop him from representing the Academy's External Affairs Department to garner some attention.

Chu Guang probably guessed his thoughts.

Chu Guang smiled slightly, yet didn't expose him, amiably responding,

"Alright."

After hanging up,

Chu Guang rested the back of his head on a soft pillow.

The Army, the Academy, the corporations… strangely, the three big sons of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee seemed to have come together by chance.

He found it somewhat amusing that this meeting, separated by a century and a half, was unexpectedly facilitated by an outsider like himself.

"Xiao Qi."

A pleasant voice floated from the bedside,

"Here, master."

"Inform Yi Chuan as well, tell him… in three days, we will negotiate the ceasefire with the Army, fulfilling the Alliance's promise to cease hostilities by the end of the year."

Since the Academy's people were also here.

Just enough for a table of Mahjong.

Hopefully, they didn't start fighting over centuries-old grievances…

"But isn't Griffin still holding out?" Xiao Qi tilted her head.

"Him," hearing that familiar name, Chu Guang suddenly felt a bit wistful, "he might not live much longer."

Chapter 495: The "Reunion" After a Century and a Half

In the expansive wilderness, there sat a fortress that was easy to defend but hard to assault.

Tunnels stretching 15.7 kilometers, concrete shelters, and trenches were interconnected, with semispherical rotating armored gun towers, anti-aircraft artillery positions, anti-tank gun positions, and heavy machine gun emplacements all readily available.

This was the largest military base of the Army at Oasis No. 2, known as Horn Fortress, constructed by the former commander of the Legion stationed in Luo Xia Province, General Kras.

It boasted the capacity to garrison an army of a million!

To meet the massive material needs of this fortress, General Kras not only arranged for a water channel to be built from the nearby riverbank to the fortress but also constructed spacious six-lane highways around it.

Supplies headed to Horn Fortress could travel by waterway, road, or even be airlifted by plane or airship.

And in the event of an invasion threat to Oasis No. 2, the troops stationed in the fortress and the stockpiled supplies could be transported to the front line via road in the shortest time possible.

However, now,

This fortress, with its many access points, was completely blockaded.

The Skeleton Corps of the Alliance did not storm the fortress but rather watched as they retreated into it before cutting off the water channel leading to the fortress.

In theory, such a fortress ought to have a reserve capable of sustaining an army of a million for over three years. However, in General Griffin's original plan, there was never any consideration that this military base would one day be used as a defensive stronghold.

Furthermore, with the front lines in dire straits, most resources were being sent there, and the production surplus within the Falcon Kingdom was insufficient to complete the stockpiling of supplies for the fortress.

This resulted in the fifty thousand troops who had withdrawn to the fortress having less than two months' worth of food remaining, and the supply of fresh water was in a precarious state.

But this wasn't even the deadliest issue.

The real killer was the shortage of ammunition.

The closest William Industrial Zone had already been occupied by the Alliance's army, and it was doubtful that supplies sent from Triumph City would reach them.

Aside from Griffin and those not-so-smart clones, any Weilante person could feel that they were teetering on the edge of a cliff...

"I heard the Adjudicator has arrived."

"...Why the Adjudicator? Shouldn't an offensive airship have been sent over?"

"I heard His Excellency the Marshal has no plans to deploy troops west of the Great Desert. The world across the sea, the Far North Land, and the wilderness to the south are all more important than the land thousands of miles away. The last expedition was a solo act by General Kras..."

"How could this be..."

"No wonder... we've been waiting for reinforcements that have never arrived."

The soldiers' whispers could be heard throughout the camp.

An Old Soldier, sitting at his tent's entrance eating a boxed meal, silently took note of this, planning to post it on the Forum later as today's amusement.

These days his Work was straightforward.

It mainly involved marking the location of supplies inside the fortress, waiting for bombs to fall from the sky, and then assessing the Goblin Corps' aerial bombardment results.

It wasn't easy to pinpoint the warehouses storing the bulk supplies, especially now that there was a severe shortage, the crucial materials were scattered, and any approach to nearby areas would lead to being stopped and interrogated.

This wasn't something that could be explained away with a simple "Sorry, I went the wrong way."

As a "non-Weilante person," the Old Soldier was well aware of his limitations, naturally avoiding such conspicuous behavior.

Besides, it wasn't necessary.

Even if locating the supply warehouses was challenging, finding the canteens and mobile kitchens was easy.

Just by throwing a 100 kg aerial bomb near where the Weilante people were eating, it would be enough to send all the pots, pans, and those in line flying.

As for assessing the effects of the airstrikes, that was even easier.

He didn't even need to visit the scene; simply listening to the other Weilante people screaming was enough to get the job done.

Thanks to this,

His United Human language was starting to sound more and more like the accent from the west side of the Great Desert.

However, that trick hasn't been effective lately.

The frequent visits of the Alliance's planes made the Weilante People suspect that there were drones taking aerial photos above them, not only did they shoot at them with signal-jamming guns every other day, but they also canceled communal dining in favor of "delivery service."

No one knew which genius had come up with that idea.

The Old Soldiers couldn't help but give that guy a thumbs-up…

Sitting next to the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, Penny's face was haggard, her brows laden with worry. Staring at the food container in her hands, she was silent for a long time, then suddenly spoke.

"General Griffin was assassinated," she said.

The Old Soldier, who was shoving bread into his mouth, almost choked and had to exert a lot of effort to maintain his stoic persona.

"…Assassinated?!"

"Yes... Someone planted dynamite underneath his chair, if he hadn't arrived a few minutes late this morning, the corporate and Alliance assassins would have nearly succeeded."

The Old Soldier thought to himself that it might not be an Alliance person who wanted him dead, as the Manager had never issued an order for him to assassinate a high-ranking military official.

"…Did they catch the assassin?"

"No."

Penny took a deep breath, hugged her head with both hands, fingers threading through her hair, and began to pray softly, her lips murmuring.

"...I hope nothing happens."

Her worry was not for Griffin's safety, but for the future direction of the war.

The upheaval in Falcon City had been too abrupt, she was completely unprepared and had not managed to leave the front line in time, so she could only retreat here with the main force.

She hoped she wouldn't be captured by Alliance people...

A military camp is inherently a place full of violence, especially the front line, nearest to death. As a reporter for Triumph Newspaper, she was very clear about what the Weilante People did to other survivors on the front lines, and was not surprised how much the Weilante People's enemies hated them.

Weilante People who fell into the hands of the natives usually met a grim fate, she had seen photos from her colleagues... it was simply brutal.

Just the thought of it was enough to send shivers down one's spine.

The Old Soldier had wanted to casually reassure her, saying there was nothing to worry about if captured by the Alliance, as their discipline was miles ahead of the Army's.

He'd even thought that being captured wouldn't be so bad.

The slaves that had been sent to his tent before hadn't been touched by him, afraid of breaking the Wasteland OL Player Manual's rule against "forced" relations.

But after another thought, since he was an undercover agent, it seemed inappropriate to compliment the "enemy" and so he changed what he was about to say.

"It's okay, you have me."

Caught off guard by his words, Penny couldn't help but blush and a trace of a smile curled up on her lips involuntarily.

This guy was usually as silent as a log, but always managed to blurt out a sentence or two that made her heart race unexpectedly.

She had heard many phrases like this before, even more flowery and clever ones, but those men were often just talk. They would profess their cheesy vows one moment and the next, they'd be sneaking into the tents of captive alien women... not only did that fail to give her any sense of security, it made her feel sick.

But this man called Pangolin was different.

He was stronger than some of the Weilante People, yet he lacked the arrogance, rudeness, and a host of other bad habits that Weilante People had.

Just like his plain, rustic name, his thoughts were as pure as the snow on the mountains, and his life was devoted only to loyalty to the Marshal, to obeying his superiors' commands, and to the honor of being a warrior.

Even when everyone felt uncertain about the future and disheartened by the present, his face seldom showed a hint of despondency.

Even at the point of an impending defeat, he could still say "it's okay, you have me," with an air of calmness.

It was only when she heard these words from his mouth that she could feel the sincerity in them, absolutely free of falsehood.

"…Thank you, I'm happy to hear that from you, but your sword should belong to the Marshal, you needn't hesitate for me," Penny said in a proud voice, flipping her deep brown hair.

"Weilante People are all born warriors, both men and women, and I will take good care of myself."

General Griffin had some fame in Triumph City.

Even if the situation was terrible, she didn't think it would come to the worst…

Perhaps she was just overthinking.

Old Soldier didn't say much, just nodded, but his mind was digesting the massive amount of information.

Griffin was attacked?!

What situation…

Just then, two people approached from not far away.

One of them was Coleway, and the other was his direct superior and also the boss he had reported to after being transferred to the officer squad—Vilic, the Ten Thousand Leader of the Ten Thousand Troop.

As they reached them, Vilic looked at Penny, sitting on the steps, and said in a gentleman's tone,

"Excuse me, ma'am, I have a bit of business to discuss with Pangolin. May I borrow him for a moment?"

Penny stood up and smiled politely.

"Not at all, please go ahead."

Perhaps sensing the importance of the matter at hand, Penny did not linger but walked away discreetly.

Vilic watched Penny's retreating back, looked around to make sure no one was around, then turned to Coleway.

"You tell me."

"Alright, sir…" Coleway said with a complex expression as he nodded, then looked toward the standing Old Soldier and hesitated before speaking, "Let's go inside and talk."

Old Soldier nodded and followed the two men into the tent.

He didn't know why a Thousands of leaders and a Ten Thousand Leader were seeking him out, a small advisor in the officer's squad, but he could tell from the look on Coleway's face that something big was going to happen.

And it most certainly had something to do with him!

"…What's going on?" Old Soldier asked, seeing Coleway hesitating to speak.

"This morning, during the morning meeting, General Griffin was attacked."

Old Soldier's breath caught in his throat.

Seeing the two men looking at him, and while his mind raced, his face immediately showed concern.

"I just heard… is the general alright?"

"She's fine," Coleway shook his head.

Before Pangolin could insincerely say 'that's good,' Coleway continued with a complex look, "…But that's the problem."

Old Soldier: "…???"

"Enough, I'll say it." Vilic, growing impatient with Coleway's beating around the bush, took over the conversation and continued sternly to the native who wasn't much for words, "I'll get straight to the point. Griffin has betrayed His Excellency the Marshal. The appearance of Adjudicator at the front line is proof enough!"

Old Soldier held his breath.

He felt this connection was somewhat far-fetched, but considering the predicament of these people, he suddenly understood everything.

Griffin's unilateral decisions had driven these middle-ranking officers to a dead end.

Now they had to do the same thing…

"…What do you need me to do?"

Vilic stared unblinkingly into his eyes.

"I need to confirm your loyalty to His Excellency the Marshal. Look into my eyes and tell me, are you loyal?"

Loyal?

Of course!

Not yet realizing the seriousness of the situation, and thinking it was triggering a side quest, Old Soldier reflexively raised three fingers.

"My loyalty to His Excellency the Marshal is as clear as day and night!"

Coleway's gaze drifted to the side.

"Good," Vilic nodded in satisfaction, and continued to speak to Pangolin, "Now, the moment to show your true loyalty to His Excellency has arrived!"

…

That evening.

Wasteland OL Forum.

"Anyway… that's what happened. The Ten Thousand Leader of the Ten Thousand Troop wants me to take out Griffin."

Old Soldier gave a brief recount of what had transpired.

Including the low morale within Horn Fortress, the restlessness among the soldiers, and having their world rocked by aerial bombings, and so on.

Tail: "Oh! Is it time for a BOSS battle? (✪ω✪)"

Teng Teng: "Coleway he… ugh, damn, I hit my leg. (⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)"

Old Soldier: "Stop your nonsense!!"

Night Ten: "Thrilling. (funny face)"

Old White: "But isn't it good, you take out Griffin, his deputy takes over, and if they refuse to listen, just raise a white flag and surrender. (grinning)"

Old Soldier: "What rubbish! The Manager had me go undercover in the Army, not to take out Griffin."

Wild Wind: "Indeed… If you could take out Griffin unnoticed, it would be fine, but once you're caught red-handed, no matter if everyone thanks you, you'll still be executed on the spot."

Elena: "Not necessarily, looking at the progress of the strategy guide, Coleway might give you a chance to escape. (funny face)"

Old Soldier: "Damn it! What about my power armor?"

Night Ten: "That's a question for Dog plan. (funny face)"

Mosquito No. 404: "How about this, you give us Griffin's schedule, we handle it for you, and it'll be done and dusted. (evil grin)"

Fang Chang: "Convenient, and now Pangolin's confirmed as a high-level agent. (sideways glance)"

One Cannon: "The key question is whether Griffin's death is actually beneficial for the Alliance."

Fang Chang: "Analyzing rationally, it would be best if those fifty thousand were willing to surrender, but in terms of bargaining chips, fifty thousand besieged and without supplies are worth more than fifty thousand captured."

Spring Water Commander: "+1, so for maximum profit, if you plan to act, you'd better wait until negotiations are concluded. (sideways glance)"

Old Soldier: "I'm tearing apart! T.T"

Playing undercover is too damn hard!

…

Chu Guang naturally saw the forum discussion, but he did not give new instructions to "Comrade Pangolin."

At this point, whether Griffin lived or died, the Alliance wouldn't lose; it was just a matter of winning more or less.

Therefore, he gave Old Soldier full autonomy in decision-making.

If he wanted to continue playing the role of an undercover agent, he would have to think a bit more about how to keep up the act. If he didn't want to continue, that was alright too. They were unlikely to have a significant military conflict with the Army for quite some time, and having provided so much high-value intelligence, this undercover role could be considered a great success.

While Old Soldier was caught in a dilemma, airships from Triumph City had reached the western outskirts of Falcon City, anchoring just twenty kilometers from the nearest river levee.

Two airships confronted each other from a distance.

The atmosphere instantly became tense as if swords were drawn and bows were bent!

Looking up at the colossal object above, King Montegarde prayed inwardly, hoping that thing wouldn't fall.

Or, even if it did fall, may it not destroy his castle.

Fortunately, however, the situation that the old man feared did not occur, as neither the Army nor the Alliance fired the first shot.

Obviously, not only he and the array of nobles by his side were done fighting, but so was the Army far off in the west of the Great Desert...

Standing at the Western Gate of Falcon City with a group of players, Chu Guang squinted as he watched the slowly descending elevator.

"It seems the Army has some tricks up its sleeve."

Descending along with the elevator was a four-legged robot as tall as a three-story building, with its rectangular body and hoof-like feet, it looked from afar like a mule with its head buried, somewhat similar to the Imperial Walkers from "Star Wars."

However, this gadget was not a means of transportation; the 200mm cannon perched atop its head emitted a menacing chill under the blazing sun.

Of course, what was even more eye-catching was the chimney with a diameter of several tens of centimeters.

It was like a walking locomotive, its massive steel body perfectly interpreted the Weilante People's violent aesthetic that bigger is better; the towering chimney belched black smoke, driving its powerful limbs to move forward slowly.

Ancient internal combustion engine power combined organically with cutting-edge design on its body, resembling a surreal diesel-punk. Each frame was a work of art.

Without a doubt, it should also have deflection shields and even anti-gravity devices, the latter powered by precious nuclear fusion batteries... It was evident that the Army had indeed inherited quite a bit from pre-war civilization.

Even if only in parts.

This machine also gave Chu Guang a sense of déjà vu, as if it was a simplified and improved version of the "Titan" from Lost Valley.

"Holy shit..."

Watching that vast machine, Night Ten, who was wearing Light Cavalry Exoskeleton, couldn't help but swallow his saliva and muttered,

"What on earth is that?"

Compared to the players' surprise, Earl Krunwi, whose heart had previously died, was reignited with confidence in the Weilante People, murmuring incessantly,

"Wild Bull! It's the Wild Bull!"

The "Wild Bull" All-terrain Armored Walking Machine!

A war monster powered by diesel and nuclear fusion hybrid engines!

It was said that in the western side of the Great Desert, it was called the "Four-legged Train Cannon," with its 200mm automatic-loading cannon capable of showering a targeted area with the firepower of an artillery battalion within a minute!

It could not only serve as support equipment but also replace the tank as the vanguard of the attack, with the combination of deflection shields and aerospace alloy sufficiently defending against all direct and indirect fire.

With thousands upon thousands of such walking mechs attacking the Alliance simultaneously, along with the charge of armies of Clones...

All signs of weakness would be reversed!

However, what the brain of Earl Krunwi obviously hadn't processed yet, was why there was only one "Wild Bull" that appeared here.

Chu Guang knew.

This governor from Triumph City was showing off his strength.

To get this contraption onto the airship, the Army would have had to strip down at least twenty cannons to make room, and if they wanted it to be fully operational to rain down fire, they would likely need to build an industrial park in the Great Desert first.

So he wasn't the least bit worried, not taking this iron beast before his eyes to heart at all.

The four-legged machine took heavy steps forward, and stopped less than five hundred meters from the riverbank.

It bent its four legs slowly, pressing its square body onto the weedy wheat field.

Surrounded by a group of tall elite troops, a man with a prominent nose stepped out of the hatch and stopped in front of Chu Guang.

"Are you the Manager of the Alliance?"

Chu Guang opened the visor of his power armor and looked at him.

"Who are you?"

"Cohen," the man lifted his chin slightly and continued, "the governor of Luo Xia Province appointed by His Excellency the Marshal."

A five-star Ten Thousand Leader was second only to a Legion Leader in rank. If one wished to advance further, they had to leave the Army's territory and expand new lands for the Army.

In fact, a five-star Ten Thousand Leader was already the equivalent of a deputy Legion Leader within the Army itself.

General Kras's motivation for launching the expedition was largely to take a step further and be promoted to the fifth Legion Leader of the Army.

Chu Guang eyed Cohen, briefly introducing himself with succinct words.

"Chu Guang, manager of Shelter No. 404 and also a manager for the Alliance."

This five-star Ten Thousand Leader wasn't particularly outstanding in strength—just an average person—but the twenty-plus Weilante people behind him were all strong Awakeners without exception!

According to the standards of Shelter No. 404, their levels were at least 30, with muscle and reflexive nerves being their probable areas of enhancement.

The strongest among them might even be at level 40!

Of course, this was just his gut feeling.

Besides, physical strength wasn't everything. Those green-skinned mutants averaged level 30 and still got beaten down by players who were just at the beginning levels.

As Chu Guang observed Cohen, Cohen was also taking stock of him.

What Cohen couldn't see through was that this legendary Alliance manager was equally as strong as the soldiers behind him.

Could it be that all the managers in the Alliance were Awakeners?

Cohen was astonished to realize this.

Although some drugs could help force those without any talent to awaken by squeezing out potential from their genetic code, almost no higher-up would choose this path.

There were many ways to extend one's lifespan, with no need to take this route.

Compared to the slight increase in lifespan and physical functions, awakening not only had various side effects but also uncontrollable genetic risks.

No one knew what would happen once the awakening reached 100%.

This was the "Singularity" that even the Prosperity Epoch hadn't achieved.

Cohen's gaze turned from disdainful to serious as he looked at the madman before him and teased,

"...The Triumph Newspaper described you as a beast with three heads and six arms, but you're actually just a young guy."

Chu Guang smiled lightly and said,

"Calling me a young guy is a bit much, but I'm indeed not as old as your Marshal."

Cohen chuckled, a cold gleam appearing in his eyes.

Chu Guang looked back at him with a smile, his aura not the slightest bit weaker.

Players standing nearby were enjoying the spectacle, quietly speculating over the comms channel about what level the BOSS was and how strong his elite guards were.

Meanwhile, King Montegarde and a host of nobles further away were sweating nervously, fearing that the two men might suddenly start a fight.

The likelihood of that happening was actually quite low.

But not impossible.

Just then, a series of blue lights blinked in the distance and under the escort of ten Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines, two Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft flew towards them, one leading and the other following.

They had taken off from Bister Town and were originally supposed to land in the square in front of the castle, but seeing the commotion here, they had diverted their course.

Observing the ten Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines, Chu Guang couldn't help but click his tongue secretly.

Nice move.

Throughout the entire war, the corporation had provided no more than ten flapping machines.

Hearing that their old nemesis from the west had come to discuss a ceasefire, these guys finally took out their most treasured assets from the bottom of their chests!

However, this was good news for the Alliance.

The more chips they held in their hands, the more the other side had to weigh the consequences of a negotiation breakdown.

Indeed, a trace of solemnity appeared on Cohen's face.

Especially after seeing the Tiger Whale transport aircraft provided by the corporation.

"Plasma engines…"

Those on the East Coast had actually abandoned the more advanced anti-gravity devices in favor of the economically cheaper "outdated technology."

It was hard to say that this wasn't a jab at the epoch-making equipment inherited by the Army, including the "phase gun."

It seemed that the people of the East Coast had never forgotten the events from a century and a half ago, always verbally committing to letting go of the past to face the future, but in their hearts, they still viewed them as hypothetical enemies.

Cohen's eyes narrowed slightly, but he made no response.

Escorted by the flapping machines, the Tiger Whale transport aircraft landed steadily on the golden wheat field, its pale blue plasma jet stream retracting along with the conical nozzle to the rear.

From the opened hatch, a squad of fully armed soldiers disembarked, along with a middle-aged man.

Chu Guang unexpectedly found that it was not Yi Chuan who had come, but Wu Changnian, the Deputy Director of Comprehensive Management, who had previously received the Alliance delegation in Ideal City!

The middle-aged man had neat and tidy parted-back hair and wore a crisp silver-gray robe reflecting like a mirror. There wasn't a single wrinkle to be found on him from head to toe, and his face was devoid of the compassionate and benevolent smile present when in front of the camera.

Traveling from Ideal City to Qingquan City was already over three thousand kilometers, and getting here was no less than five thousand kilometers… Chu Guang calculated that this was quite a distance.

Staring intently at Cohen who stood not far away, Wu Changnian completely ignored the nearby war machine and the airship in the distance and walked with a squad of soldiers and stopped close to everyone.

"…I am Wu Changnian, Deputy Director of Comprehensive Management. On behalf of the corporate Supreme Council, I hereby propose a solemn negotiation, demanding the immediate release of the Pioneer and all its passengers!"

"Otherwise, your actions will be considered a provocation against the ancient covenant, and we will no longer hold back!"

Watching the furious middle-aged man, Cohen remained indifferent.

"You've captured quite a few of our people as well."

Wu Changnian laughed rather than getting angry, heh-ing once.

"That's good to know."

Cohen's eyes narrowed into a slit.

The atmosphere between the two parties was like a petrol canister with a floating match, where a single spark could ignite the entire wheat field.

The tense atmosphere was even stronger than the previous confrontation between the Army and the Alliance!

Chu Guang suddenly realized he seemed to have become invisible.

Neither Cohen nor Wu Changnian paid any attention to him, their eyes locked onto each other instead.

But that was fine.

Chu Guang hoped they would never pay attention to him.

The grudges and entanglements from a century and a half ago had nothing to do with him, and he had no interest in getting involved.

He only wanted what was due to him.

And what was due to everyone in the Alliance as well.

At this moment, another light emerged from the northeast direction.

Cohen frowned slightly, and Wu Changnian who was making eye contact did the same, both looking in that direction without prior agreement.

They saw a long shuttle-shaped aircraft passing near the embankment at almost the speed of Mach one. Then its bottom ejected two flickering arcs of electricity, and it stopped abruptly in mid-air with incredible acceleration.

However, it seemed to have malfunctioned.

The long shuttle-shaped aircraft failed to stop and crashed straight into the wheat field below, its back half plowing directly into the ground.

Fortunately, this was the wheat field outside the city. With the soft soil and wheat spikes as cushions, the aircraft wasn't completely wrecked.

The guards behind wanted to step forward to protect Cohen, but were stopped by a gesture from him.

"No need."

The design of this aircraft…

It looked somewhat familiar to him.

As if confirming his guess, a side door on the aircraft opened.

A middle-aged man in a white uniform with blue trim steadied himself on the door frame, trying to maintain composure, and stepped out.

"Ahem! A bit late…"

Behind him followed two bionic bodyguards.

Different from the corporation's bionics in both design and demeanor, they were closer to pure tools—or, more precisely, weapons.

"Who might you be?" Cohen frowned.

"My name is Li Ke, a B-level researcher from the Academy. Are you the representative of the Army?" Li Ke's face bore a friendly smile, and he cleared his throat before continuing, "We've all been fighting for so long and must be tired. How about we sit down and talk?"

The atmosphere went silent.

Or rather…

There was a hint of awkwardness.

Li Ke himself seemed to sense it, and his gaze searched anxiously around.

Finally, he found the man in the blue power armor and immediately cast a pleading look in that direction.

Chu Guang certainly noticed the man since he had invited him. However, he was somewhat puzzled in his heart.

He could understand the man not having made contact with Cohen.

After all, Cohen had just arrived in Sunset Province, straight from the airship.

What he couldn't comprehend, though, was why even the corporate individuals were bewildered by this man's arrival, as if they hadn't anticipated it at all.

Suddenly, Chu Guang realized something.

Could it be that Comrade Li Ke had never communicated with the corporate individuals at all?

Merely having separately contacted Griffin on the frontline and himself…

Realizing this, Chu Guang was shocked.

What a smooth operator.

Spending the least to achieve the most.

This brother is talented!

Having already deduced the man's identity from the long shuttle-shaped aircraft, Wu Changnian just couldn't understand why the Academy's person was here.

Since the Council had not discussed this matter, it wasn't appropriate for him to unilaterally decide on the diplomatic stance with the Academy, so he coughed lightly, ambiguously saying,

"The Academy, eh… a rare guest."

As for Cohen's reaction, it was entirely different, and could even be described as unabashedly brusque.

Staring coldly at the B-level researcher standing there with an awkward smile, he scoffed with a voice laced with sarcasm.

"Tired? Heh, do you think we were born out of a swamp as slugs?"

"Whether we continue to fight or not is none of your darn business."

Chapter 496: Open Spears and Secret Arrows

"How could it not be our concern?"

Despite being the butt of the joke, Li Ke was in no way flustered; instead, he chuckled and retorted.

"A son's issue, no matter how minor, is still a significant matter, haven't you all traveled a long distance to get here too?"

Cohen initially failed to catch on, but he quickly got the double meaning and his expression darkened.

The term "son" could refer to the Golden Lizard Kingdom, or it could refer to the Vellante People.

In a distant half-century past, there were no Vellante People on this planet; they were all engineered by the Academy's predecessor—the technical department of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, under the mandate of the Defense Department, through a genetic improvement project designed to create super soldiers.

As a Ten Thousand Leader, he was of course aware of the origins of the Vellante People, but just because he knew didn't mean he cared.

The pride and glory of the Army didn't stem from some ancient history, but from the infinite path that lay under their feet.

Yet, not minding did not mean it was okay to be mocked.

Chu Guang looked at the B-level researcher with mild surprise.

Having seen the players' casual chat on the Forum before, he had thought these bookworm types were tongue-tied.

It appeared that the only tongue-tied ones were those grassroots officers who couldn't talk in riddles.

Seeing the crowd stand unmoving in the wheat field, their sarcastic banter increasingly laced with an explosive undercurrent, King Montegarde couldn't help feeling his scalp tingle.

After all, this was right at his front door.

Unable to bear the anxiety in his heart, Montegarde bravely interjected to smooth things over.

"… My lords come from afar, you must be exhausted from your journey! Why not come and rest at the castle first? Then we can further discuss the future matters. After all, this really isn't the place to speak..."

Cohen glanced at the old man indifferently, then signaled to one of the guards with his eyes.

The guard nodded respectfully and retreated to the "Wild Bull" All-Terrain Armored Walking Machine nearby, stepping over the open hatch.

The giant steel body slowly lifted, and the air currents it raised set off a breeze that rustled the wheat stalks.

Pleased with the array of naive expressions brimming with surprise and fear on the faces around him, Cohen, contentedly accompanied by a host of Level 30 guards, walked past the king, crossing through the river dike gate.

This was a vassal country of the Army.

Coming here was like returning home, no need for others to invite him.

Whether kings, nobles, or the common residents, everyone on this oasis was his servant; since when did a servant invite their master to visit home?

Realizing his own presumption, King Montegarde kept his head low, not daring to take a deep breath, and the other nobles around him did the same.

The Alliance was too lenient towards them.

So much so, that they had almost forgotten their status as a vassal country.

Only in the eyes of Count Krunwi shimmered an ambitious glint as he pondered how to ingratiate himself with this seemingly new master.

He had already offended the Manager of the Alliance.

This time, he couldn't afford another mistake…

"Damn, this NPC is quite good at putting on airs," Night Ten muttered quietly into the comms channel, eyeing Cohen's departing figure.

Wild Wind touched his nose and spoke calmly.

"A five-star Ten Thousand Leader... apart from Marshals and Legion Leaders, there should be no one with a higher status than him in the entire Army."

In other words.

He stood there on behalf of the Army's Marshal, fully authorized to manage all matters concerning Luo Xia Province, including the authority to engage in combat.

This guy was obviously much tougher to deal with than that Griffin.

Especially off the battlefield.

Chu Guang watched the governor's figure for a while before turning his gaze toward Wu Changnian standing next to the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft.

The middle-aged man's face had regained its sunny smile, and he looked back just as friendly.

"A pleasure to meet you, Manager of the Alliance. I've long wanted to pay you a visit... You are even younger and more capable than the media portray."

"Mr. Wu flatters me."

"Not at all, this War owes its victory to you," Wu Changnian shook his head, continuing to speak with a soft smile, "but our War has only just begun, hasn't it?"

Chu Guang knew what he meant.

The fruits harvested by the soldiers on the Battlefield had to be solidified at the negotiating table.

The fact that Triumph City had sent a five-star Ten Thousand Leader to serve as the governor of Luo Xia Province indicated that these ceasefire negotiations were not likely to conclude hastily.

"You're right. If it's convenient, I would also like to understand the Council's position."

A pleased smile appeared on Wu Changnian's face.

"I happen to be planning to discuss this matter. Can I steal a moment of your time?"

Chu Guang, too, smiled.

"I have the same intention."

The two walked smilingly toward the direction of the city gates.

Only players who hadn't had their fill of excitement were left on the scene, along with the upright "Wild Bull" All-Terrain Armored Walking Machine, enterprise transport planes and assault team soldiers, and King Montegarde with a group of nobles behind him.

Standing next to the elongated flying machine, Li Ke felt awkward. He had no choice but to approach King Montegarde, clearing his throat forcefully.

"I'm from the Academy."

King Montegarde snapped back to attention, hastily replying courteously.

"May I ask what instructions you have, sir?"

"Find me a place to stay... closer to those people."

Li Ke pointed towards the distant Chu Guang and Wu Changnian, emphasizing sternly, "The Academy has a seat at the ceasefire negotiations, do you understand what I mean?"

Although Mountegarde had no clue what the Academy had to do with this War, he was well aware that one does not offend a colossus, especially when one's country has been a defeated nation with a dissolved army. He promptly nodded.

"Understood! Very well understood!"

"Good to know."

Li Ke gave the man a satisfied look, took his two artificial-being bodyguards with him, and contentedly passed through the city gate.

…

Although the friend from Wandering Swamp made quite the fool of himself upon his entrance, his blunder helped to ease the tension between the enterprise and the Army.

Looking at Li Ke, who seemed completely indifferent, not taking to heart what Cohen had said, made sense too.

The gifts of far-sightedness were not only extreme materialism but also consequentialism.

Ordinary prospectors were never privy to the details of negotiations, and even if that so-called "Conclusion Doctor" knew the details, he likely wouldn't care whether his subordinates embarrassed themselves.

As long as the final goal was met.

As long as the cost was acceptable...

However, the ceasefire negotiations were not going smoothly.

Although this was expected, the stubborn attitude of that representative named Cohen had taken Chu Guang somewhat by surprise.

The castle at the very center of Falcon City.

Within the spacious conference hall, representatives from the Army, corporations, the Academy, and the Alliance were seated.

Under the watchful eyes of bodyguards, the castle's servants were trembling as they poured tea and water for these bigwigs, daring not to slack off in the slightest.

Cohen was tapping on the table with his hand, his aggressive demeanor fully exemplifying the Weilante People's rudeness and unreasonableness.

"If you truly have the sincerity to cease fire, then immediately withdraw your forces from Oasis No. 2! That is the prerequisite for restoring peace!"

"That's not realistic."

Undaunted by the aggressive aura, Chu Guang resolutely interrupted him.

"The Alliance's military operations will only end after the ceasefire agreement comes into effect."

Cohen raised his eyebrows, surprised by the Alliance's firm stance.

According to the battle reports sent to Triumph City previously, the Army and the Alliance had their victories and defeats.

Although Griffin was at a disadvantage due to being isolated and without support from corporations, the troops under his command had still inflicted significant casualties on the Alliance.

Especially a legendary attendant, who alone had caused a thousand casualties within the Alliance!

By rights, even if the battle reports from the frontlines were somewhat exaggerated, at least a small part of them could be taken at face value.

Before disembarking from the airship, he had been sure that the Alliance was also at their limit, which is why he adopted such a forceful attitude right from the start.

But now...

The strong reaction of the Alliance was beyond his expectations.

Cohen was uncertain for a moment, not sure whether the man before him was bluffing or if the situation on the frontlines was not as optimistic as he had imagined.

His mind racing with thoughts, Cohen's expression remained unchanged as he shifted his strategy and said, "Then at least have your people withdraw from around Horn Fort and maintain a fifty-kilometer buffer zone with ours."

It was a reasonable request.

However, to his surprise, the man opposite him still refused.

"The garrison at Horn Fort hasn't surrendered. There are fifty thousand Army soldiers stationed there; we can't leave such a significant threat alone. We won't move an inch until they surrender their weapons or significant progress is made in the ceasefire negotiations."

Are you kidding me?

Chu Guang could never agree to such terms.

Cohen might not know the supply situation at Horn Fort, but Chu Guang heard it crystal clear from Old Soldier.

Not only was the garrison at Horn Fort lacking water, food, and ammunition, but they were also on the verge of a mental breakdown due to continuous harassment by planes and were already pushed to the edge of infighting.

If they were to retreat fifty kilometers now, the Skeleton Corps and the Lion Kingdom's ground forces would not be able to completely cut off supplies as they currently were.

Moreover, if by some mischance ammunition was delivered into the fort, they'd most likely have to fight another battle.

Looking at Cohen, who clearly had not grasped the situation, Chu Guang spoke in a calm tone.

"Mr. Cohen, I wonder if you've heard this saying, 'What you can't get on the battlefield, never expect to get at the negotiation table.'

Cohen's eyes narrowed dangerously.

""You mean to settle it on the battlefield?"

The air in the conference room seemed to freeze.

In the moment he heard Cohen's words, Li Ke, sitting in front of the negotiation table, immediately tensed up.

Wu Changnian's expression did not change, but he kept making eye signals to Chu Guang, hinting not to push Triumph City too hard.

The tension at the negotiation table was unprecedented.

Chu Guang ignored everyone else and continued to stare unblinkingly at Cohen.

""What I mean is, please put forward a more practical demand."

The gazes of the two parties were like colliding swords, creating sparks over the negotiation table.

Although the Army's power was clearly stronger than the Alliance's, in terms of personal courage, Cohen, who was just an ordinary person, was definitely not a match for Chu Guang.

Knowing that this standoff would lead nowhere, Cohen snorted coldly, pushed the tea on the table away, and stood up from the conference table.

Startled by his move, Li Ke, who had not spoken a word from the beginning, quickly tried to mediate.

""Let's all talk nicely, why not take a step back—"

""It seems you don't have the sincerity to talk properly,"" ignoring the B-level researcher completely, Cohen eyed Chu Guang across from him with narrowed eyes, ""Let's call it a day for now."

To that threatening tone, Chu Guang merely smiled faintly and spoke calmly.

""It seems you didn't rest well on your way here."

""So be it, we can continue tomorrow,"" he said.

He knew why Cohen was acting this way.

Adjudicator had just arrived at Luo Xia Province and was not yet familiar with the actual situation on the frontlines. And with the expansionistic tendencies of his faction, the battle reports sent to Triumph City were undoubtedly embellished.

Perhaps, in the Triumph Newspaper, Griffin was portrayed as fighting the Alliance to a standstill, and Cohen, who was new to the scene, would naturally be confused about the Alliance's firm stance.

It would be good for him to understand the current situation at Horn Fort.

After leaving the conference room, Cohen immediately contacted Joseph, who was on standby at Adjudicator.

""Can you contact Griffin?"

""Can't reach them... the communication is abnormal. The Alliance's planes have destroyed the fort's signal tower, or it could be some other malfunction."

Cohen nodded silently.

This "other malfunction" had a significant implication in his ears.

Joseph was from the Army system and also a confidant of the Eastern Legion Leader Salen; obviously, he understood the ways of the expansionists better than himself.

Perhaps...

This man had already deduced something from certain telltale signs.

""General Joseph, are you loyal to His Excellency the Marshal?"

The response on the other end of the communication channel was immediate and without the slightest hesitation.

""Of course, my loyalty to His Excellency the Marshal is unrivaled. Why do you suddenly ask?"

Cohen's tone remained unchanged as he spoke.

"There's nothing much. I just hope that every choice you make from now on will be worthy of your identity and the trust His Highness the Marshal has placed in you."

There was a brief silence from the other end of the communication channel.

"I understand."

After the call was disconnected.

The elevator on the Adjudicator was lowered, and two motorcycles were deployed to the surface, rushing non-stop towards Horn Fort.

Before tomorrow's negotiations began, they needed to understand the real situation at Horn Fort.

And what exactly Griffin was up to...

At the same time, just after leaving the conference room, Chu Guang was pulled into the next room by Wu Changnian.

Before he could open his mouth to speak, Wu Changnian hurriedly said,

"Anyway, the Army only has fifty thousand troops left in Luo Xia Province, and you've agreed to withdraw from Oasis No. 2, so why not just play along with that big-nosed guy?"

Looking at Deputy Minister Wu's anxious face, Chu Guang patiently reassured him,

"My friend, you don't understand the front lines, so it's normal to think that way. This isn't about the Army taking two steps back, if we retreat fifty kilometers, it's like opening the pocket surrounding Griffin. It's akin to giving up the leverage in our hands before the ceasefire talks even start... Do you understand?"

"If you don't, you can call Yi Chuan. I've already discussed this with him beforehand."

Wu Changnian responded with a wry smile upon hearing this.

"You're still thinking about this..."

The Council had never expected to get anything substantial from those poor people in the west; the lands that the Weilante People took pride in were essentially worthless in their eyes.

It wasn't due to arrogance, but because the Weilante People had never genuinely governed the territories they had conquered. Most of the time, it was simply a brutal process where the land and the residents were treated as spoils of war and handed over to various junior officers for their control.

Places like Lost Valley and Qingquan City were common within the Legion's territories; essentially, they hadn't solved any problems.

"Of course." Chu Guang had a different view from Wu Changnian; the Dinar was still good for purchasing nice things, "We can give up Oasis No. 2, but as a negotiating chip on the table, not as a so-called display of sincerity, unilaterally handing over a position we already hold to the Weilante People."

Wu Changnian couldn't help but ask,

"Aren't you afraid at all that this could become the catalyst for a full-scale war?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Such things can't be resolved by fear. We hope for peace, but we've never imagined that peace can be achieved through compromise."

Wu Changnian pressed his index finger to his temple.

"Negotiating chips... You're still expecting the Legion to compensate you?"

Chu Guang said matter-of-factly,

"Why not?"

As if expecting him to say this, Wu Changnian sighed.

After contemplating for a moment, he spoke up.

"Here's what we'll do... One billion Cr, we will pay you in the form of aid as compensation for the Alliance."

The Council had given him some autonomy.

If the ceasefire terms were not negotiable, it was one of the options for the corporate side to compensate the Alliance for part of the war expenses.

At least, that cost was less than a full-scale war across the Central Continent.

Upon hearing about this one billion Cr aid, a smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"How embarrassing."

Wu Changnian resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

If you're so embarrassed, why don't you decline!

Chu Guang wouldn't reject such an easily gained advantage.

With a slight cough, he continued in a serious tone,

"We can give up the claim for war compensation from the Legion and its vassals, as you mentioned... that's indeed unrealistic. Once the ceasefire agreement takes effect, our Army will also immediately withdraw from Oasis No. 2. However, like I said before, we won't initiate withdrawal before the ceasefire agreement is active, and we hope for your full cooperation at the negotiation table. This is not just for us but for your interests as well."

Wu Changnian nodded.

"I have no objections. Our only demands are a cessation of hostilities, the safety of No.0 Shelter, and the security of all crew members aboard the Pioneer."

Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief inwardly and extended his right hand with a smile.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

"Hopefully so."

After shaking Chu Guang's extended right hand, Wu Changnian let go and then suddenly remembered something, speaking up,

"Oh, this is a personal suggestion, have you considered... uh, setting up a private account in Ideal City?"

Chu Guang paused when he heard something unrelated to the negotiations.

"...A private account?"

Wu Changnian nodded.

"Yes, it's not that troublesome. Even without the resident status of Ideal City, you can register. Many nobles from Giant Stone City have one."

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang immediately grasped his implication and leaned back in his chair, shaking his head with a smile,

"No need."

Wu Changnian didn't give up; he explained patiently,

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to bribe you... It's just that, looking at the current situation, the risk of a full-scale war is not nonexistent. A bank account could at least provide you with a way out."

So far, the Legion hadn't gone all out to invade Luo Xia Province, and the corporations were being careful to control the scale and pace of the war.

Ideally, the ceasefire negotiations should take place in the Royal City of the Lion Kingdom. As for Oasis No.3, formerly belonging to the Honey Badger Kingdom, the Council even planned to cede it to the Legion.

Nobody expected the Alliance to be so formidable.

Directly pushing Griffin back to his homeland.

Now, developments had exceeded the Supreme Council's expectations. If things did escalate to full-scale war, he at least hoped to secure the survival of their ally's leader.

This was also the intention of the Council.

However, Chu Guang's response was unexpected to Wu Changnian.

"I don't need such a thing, even if that day comes, I won't go anywhere. Instead, I will stand with those who trust me."

Wu Changnian looked at him blankly, somewhat unable to fathom the young man before him.

He looked slightly regretful but still nodded.

"Alright then. By the way, this is just a personal suggestion... it has nothing to do with the Council."

Chu Guang smiled and nodded.

"I understand, those words earlier won't affect our cooperation."

...

The first day of the ceasefire negotiations ended without joy, and the second, third, and fourth days of negotiations failed to make any substantial progress.

The ceasefire negotiations had temporarily reached a stalemate.

The Academy didn't play any role in mediation at all, and the governor from Triumph City didn't seem to care much about the B-level researcher.

As for the corporations.

Wu Changnian indeed provided a lot of support to the Alliance, but the nature of the council meant he couldn't make too many independent decisions. He had to consult with the council and discuss matters there before he could make any final decisions.

It was completely unexpected for him that the Academy would arrive.

A Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft flew back overnight, just to bring this news back within the communication range of Ideal City as quickly as possible.

Chu Guang thought the mediation by the Academy would make the negotiations go more smoothly, at least as leverage to pressure the Army.

But now, it seemed to have added more variables to the negotiations.

However, Chu Guang was not in a hurry.

No matter how strong the Army was, the Alliance, which occupied Falcon City, held the initiative in these negotiations, giving him ample time to complete the "transformation" of the Falcon Kingdom.

Right now, the ones who should be most anxious were the fifty thousand defenders trapped in Horn Fort, cut off from water and food, as well as General Cohen, who hoped to retrieve the prisoners of war at the smallest cost.

Chu Guang had successfully worn down the ceasefire conditions from "the Alliance and corporations withdraw from Oasis No. 3" to "maintain the territorial borders as they were before the outbreak of the war."

The only dispute now was Bister Town.

The Falcon Kingdom had already given up this small town; after all, it wasn't in Oasis No. 2 to begin with, but a fortress built by the Army for an eastward advance.

But Cohen insisted that even though the town wasn't within the borders of Oasis No. 2, it was still built by the Weilante People.

"It looks like we will have to hold a fifth round of negotiations." Seeing that Cohen couldn't be persuaded, Chu Guang feigned regret as he sighed and pushed the notebook on the table, but didn't close it.

Cohen squinted slightly at the man who didn't take him seriously, his fists clenched and then released atop his knee.

He really couldn't delay any longer.

According to the situation Joseph had learned, the situation of the defenders in Horn Fort was not optimistic. Although the Alliance's planes had stopped the air raids, their food and fresh water were already running out.

What was most fatal was that the Alliance's planes were targeting their kitchens specifically for bombing, resulting in pots and pans becoming scarce commodities.

Just then, a knock on the door of the conference room came, and a Weilante People Soldier with a stern expression walked in from outside.

Those sitting at the table turned to look at him, trying to discern something from his grave expression.

Li Ke from the Academy was even more direct - he simply took out what appeared to be a volume-amplifying earphone from his pocket and put it on.

Clearly, he took everyone for fools, thinking no one noticed his little action.

A silly thought crossed Chu Guang's mind as his brow twitched; he wondered if he could just startle the guy by suddenly yelling into his ear and thus, send him away.

Yet, the clever friend was bound to be disappointed. The soldier didn't whisper in Cohen's ear but handed him a piece of paper instead.

Cohen took the note and glanced at it, his face suddenly changing.

Standing up, propping himself on the table, he scanned those in front of the conference table and then hurriedly dropped a sentence.

"That's it for today's negotiations."

Without waiting for the surprised voices and perplexed faces around the conference table, he left the conference room without looking back.

Wu Changnian quickly turned to Chu Guang.

To his disappointment, Chu Guang also looked puzzled.

Was his house on fire?

He was in such a rush to get back...

His earlier words were just to show that the Alliance didn't care how many meetings it took, not that he actually planned to dismiss today's meeting.

"Do you have any news?" Li Ke, having taken off the amplifier, looked at Chu Guang and couldn't help but ask.

"No."

Chu Guang shook his head.

Li Ke hesitated, about to say something.

At that moment, Chu Guang's VM suddenly vibrated on his arm, projecting a light blue window only he could see on the screen.

The instant he saw the words, he held his breath.

Noticing the change in Chu Guang's expression, Wu Changnian immediately asked,

"What happened?"

Chu Guang pondered for a moment then spoke.

"Griffin is dead."

The moment those words fell, the air in the conference room seemed to freeze, and the expression on each person facing the table became uniquely vivid.

"Dead..."

Wu Changnian was stunned on the spot.

He hadn't expected that the old desert fox would end his life so abruptly on an ordinary afternoon.

For a moment, he didn't know whether to be happy or to regret.

"That guy is actually dead..."

Li Ke's face was also filled with surprise, but mostly, it was schadenfreude.

That guy had hung up on him before he died; although he was not a petty person, he hadn't forgotten that.

Haha.

Good riddance!

Stupid and arrogant Weilante People, they should die obscurely in a lowly corner... There was no ending more fitting for this madman.

And with that guy's death, this stalled ceasefire negotiation should soon come to a conclusion.

Li Ke was now only curious about how Griffin had died.

King Montegarde, who was listening in, sighed softly. Griffin had treated him with some respect... at least much more than Kras and McCullen did.

Chu Guang's feelings were a bit more complex.

He had thought that the guy would hold on for a while longer, at least until the end of this ceasefire negotiation. Unfortunately, he had passed away so soon...

What a pity.

He had even promised McCullen before that he would let him reunite with Griffin...

Chapter 497: The Death of Griffin

Beneath Horn Fort, a hundred meters underground, lay a nuclear bunker reinforced with concrete.

Due to the anticipated war with the Grand Canyon that would reach the vassals of Falling Leaves Province, General Kras ordered the Army's engineers to construct this bunker to the standard of "withstanding a nuclear weapons with a yield of a million tons."

Theoretically, it was absolutely safe.

At this moment, in the temporary command center of the bunker, General Griffin sat alone in front of a command table, facing a silent radio.

His left arm was bandaged, and the collar of his military uniform also revealed traces of dressing.

Although he had escaped death in a conniving assassination attempt a few days earlier, he was not, as the outside world believed, unharmed.

Four shards of metal had embedded themselves in his body, one less than 7mm away from his heart—his closest brush with death yet.

To avoid affecting the army's morale, he immediately ordered his transfer to the bunker and sealed off news of his injuries.

Although in the eyes of the outside world he was frightened by the assassination attempt, after so many years as a soldier, how could a few assassins truly scare him?

Instead, he felt a tinge of excitement at their initiative.

He had long felt that there were spies within his Army, but had been at a loss to identify the real traitor(s). If a single injury could solve this problem, there was no doubt it was a huge gain.

The sound of footsteps approached from outside the door, quickly followed by a gentle knock.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Standing in the doorway was his personal guard.

Glancing at the loyal soldier, General Griffin spoke.

"Did you find them?"

"Yes, sir."

The guard nodded, his face devoid of joy but rather marked with somberness.

Detecting a hint from his expression, General Griffin's brow furrowed slightly as he continued to inquire.

"Who is it?"

"The Thousands of leaders of the Seventh Ten thousand troops' Third Thousand Team and the Centurion of the Sixth Ten thousand troops' officers' team took part in the assassination that day... They had bribed those responsible for the meeting that day."

General Griffin fell silent for a longer time.

The Thousands of leaders of the Seventh Ten thousand troops' Third Thousand Team was an officer he had personally promoted, and he found it hard to believe that the faithful young man would betray His Majesty the Marshal and become a spy for corporations or the Alliance.

What troubled him most was not the betrayal of those few...

But that the assassination had implicated two Ten thousand troops units.

This accounted for 40% of his military command!

After a good while, General Griffin slowly broke the silence.

"Is the information accurate?"

The guard nodded.

"Accurate... we've secured reliable evidence, we just haven't startled the snake by hitting the grass yet."

"Very well."

General Griffin nodded.

However, as he was about to make a decision, he suddenly seemed to think of something, and his half-spoken sentence hung unfinished.

The guard looked hesitant, cautiously asking.

"Should we capture the three?"

General Griffin was silent for a moment before speaking softly.

"Wait, for now, let's not startle the snake."

"Yes."

The guard nodded slightly and respectfully exited.

The door closed.

General Griffin sighed softly, relaxing his shoulders as he leaned back in the chair.

His gaze inadvertently fell on the incandescent bulb above his head, and he suddenly felt that his fate was much like this light bulb.

Bright, scorching, and full of energy... yet doomed to hang in an inconspicuous corner, exhausting its life to illuminate just one room.

As for his ambitions and ideals, they were like a leaf on the torrent of the times, which could not change the mountains and rivers beneath, no matter how hard he tried.

Unlike officers like McCullen who were born into nobility, he was not from a noble family, just an ordinary citizen family in the suburbs of Triumph City.

Like most kids from Vellante, he participated in his first junior training at the age of six and displayed a gift for leadership during his initial military life experience, leading to an instructor's recommendation for training at the Triumph City Military Academy.

Talent, diligence, and a bit of luck...

Ever since he enlisted, his career path was smooth sailing, finding himself in the position of a Ten Thousand Leader at the young age of 29.

Later on, he met his life's benefactor—General Kras, who offered him an olive branch from the expansionist faction, sending him far east to open up a future for the legion.

He still remembered what General Kras told him ten years ago—

"The greatness of the Marshal is beyond doubt, the only pity is that Triumph City has become corrupt. Those codgers, blessed by their ancestors' shade, are so drunk with their vast territories and extravagant lives that they forget to strive for better, forgetting the enmity of one and a half centuries ago, forgetting the ambition to conquer the world, forgetting unity. If left to their own decay, this empire sustained by war will one day crumble and fall apart."

"To prevent that day from coming, we must face an opponent serious enough to make us take notice, and our territory must continue to extend to the ends of the earth, forever."

Griffin still remembered how he was filled with ardor, wanting nothing more than to head straight to the front lines and fire the first shot at expanding boundaries.

The pity was that he soon realized things weren't as simple as he had imagined.

One after another, the insightful members of the expansionist faction died in the expedition, and their sacrifices received no sympathy from Triumph City, which instead of strengthening the expansionist faction, weakened it due to the loss of talent.

Even after witnessing the power of the Grand Canyon, the leader of the Eastern Legion changed the earlier support for them, and their attitude started to grow unclear.

If it had been his younger self, he would have felt anger and shame at the betrayal of his brothers in arms.

But now, he would no longer be angry but would think calmly about how to solve the problem.

To use one's own sacrifice to gain the support of other factions was a misguided approach.

General Kras had already paid for this with his life, which not only failed to elicit charity from the spectators but also pushed their political power further to the margins.

In the end, other factions saw no benefits from the expedition, observing only endless calamity.

Only by including the members of other factions in advancing and retreating together, could those mediocre, self-serving talents be united.

For this reason, he changed General Kras's strategy, not directly seeking to invade the Grand Canyon but instead initiating peace talks with them.

Following that, he chose the mutant tribes of the Great Desert and the Falling Leaves Province as his opponents, meticulously planning victory after victory. This gave those young talents eager to make a name for themselves hope for honors, traveling thousands of miles to support his cause.

If all went well.

The ancient grain-producing regions would fall under the legion's control.

And even if progress was not going well, those other factions entangled by interests could not help but increase their bets on him.

For example, the nuclear bomb, as well as the previously mentioned Peidao fighter plane, were obtained through officers under his command—especially those from noble families—from their respective factions.

As for the legacy left by General Kras, it had already been spent during the expedition.

And if progress turned out to be extremely unfavorable...

He could also unite all the factions through sacrifice, including his own, using hatred.

At that moment, the signal light on the radio suddenly flickered.

Seeing the flashing signal light, General Griffin's expression turned serious, and he immediately reached for the phone that rested on the radio.

Before he could speak, a familiar voice came through from the other end.

"This is Joseph."

Hearing this name, Griffin breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that this person was a subordinate of the Eastern Legion's leader. His taking control indicated the Marshal hadn't abandoned them.

However, before he could relax, the second sentence that came through the receiver caused the color to drain from his face.

"The Marshal has seen through your plan. It's not just me coming to the Falling Leaves Province; it's also Cohen from Triumph City."

General Griffin turned slightly pale.

After a while, he swallowed and asked,

"...What did he say?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, not answering the question, but asking in return,

"Are you loyal?"

Griffin, intuited what that might mean, replied with a quivering voice,

"My loyalty to the Marshal is beyond doubt."

"Very well," Joseph paused for a moment, then continued, "You have two choices: die as a hero, or die as a traitor... you understand what I mean, the choice is yours."

Griffin's Adam's apple bobbed.

"...Did I do something wrong?"

Joseph replied calmly.

"Waging war against the corporations won't bring us any benefits, and His Excellency the Marshal believes so too. I can understand your feelings, but now is not the time for that."

This "you" definitively marked the boundary between them.

Griffin remained silent for a long while.

"I understand."

"You have twenty minutes."

Without waiting for his reply, Joseph hung up the phone.

Griffin closed his eyes.

Five minutes later, he reached out and pressed the buzzer on the command table.

Soon, a young officer entered the temporary command room.

His name was Carloff, the captain of Griffin's personal bodyguard and also his most trusted subordinate—more so than his adjutant.

Standing to attention in front of Griffin, Carloff spoke crisply.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?"

Griffin began to speak slowly.

"I am going to die in a quarter of an hour."

Carloff was stunned on the spot.

Regaining his composure, he looked at General Griffin incredulously and said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Do not panic; this is an order from His Excellency the Marshal."

Griffin continued calmly.

"To make a long story short, I need you to do two final things for me. The first is to announce that my cause of death was a stroke. The second is... you must watch over my body, allow no one to come near, prohibit any examination, and keep the cause of my death unknown until my remains are handed over to Joseph. He will take me back to Triumph City."

After a pause, he added.

"Also, my will is in my briefcase; please pass it on to my family."

A mixture of disbelief, anger, and incredulity played across Carloff's face. He could not believe that the great Marshal would issue such an order.

The great Army would never compromise by sacrificing any Vellante People, let alone a general of distinguished merit.

It was absolutely impossible!

There must be some traitor working behind the scenes...

Clenching his fists, fire flashing in his eyes, he took a step forward and said.

"Sir, perhaps we should—"

Griffin cut him off.

"Do not even think about it. After my death, I will be honored as a hero and will receive a state funeral in Triumph City as a general... I do not wish for my lifelong efforts and honors to be washed away because of a minor mistake."

"Promise me, Carloff, let me go alone, do not hate any of our compatriots, do not resist."

Griffin's voice carried a trace of entreaty.

Carloff silently stared at him for a long moment, finally nodding slowly.

"I promise."

Seeing the young man nod, a relieved smile finally appeared on Griffin's face, and he spoke in a gentler tone.

"My deputy will take over command, Horn Fort will surrender to the Alliance, and ceasefire negotiations will soon produce results... This war is over."

"Soon, you will all be able to go home."

"Go now, wait for me by the door. I'd like to spend the last few minutes alone."

Holding back the sadness and tears in his heart, Carloff clenched his teeth, turned away, and walked out the door, his back to the general he respected.

Looking at the empty room, Griffin, having let go of everything, actually felt a sense of relaxation wash over him.

In truth...

Their efforts were not meaningless.

At least they made Triumph City send a five-star colonel as the governor.

With direct support from Triumph City, in a maximum of ten years, they would gain an even stronger vassal. Then, a push to the east might not be out of the question.

And their sacrifice would also become the driving force for the Vellante People to keep moving forward.

There will always be those who pity them.

There will always be those who continue what they left unfinished.

"The world shall eventually kneel at our feet."

Griffin poured himself a glass of red wine, then reached out to slide open a drawer from which he fetched a cigarette-box-sized silver case.

Inside was a capsule of neurotoxin.

It would allow him to die painlessly, ensuring his corpse remained intact.

"No one can kill me."

Griffin smirked, tossing the capsule into his mouth and washing it down with the red wine.

"...except myself."

Putting down the glass, he chose a comfortable position to lean back in his chair and closed his eyes.

This time, he could sleep a bit longer...

...

Less than ten minutes after Griffin's death, the news quickly spread among the high-ranking officers at Horn Fort, stirring up a tempest.

His second-in-command, General Alec, promptly took over the command of Horn Fort and its stationed forces.

Griffin's Chief of the Guard Carloff assisted with the temporary handover of command but refused to release the general's body, claiming they would guard it in the bunker until General Joseph relieved them of their orders.

Of course, Alec saw no profit in provoking Griffin's subordinates; he and a group of officers, aware their defeat was inevitable, only wanted to go home.

Ignoring Griffin's affairs, the first thing Alec did after assuming command was to restore communication with Adjudicator and report the true state of the fortress to the newly appointed governor, also discussing how to "gracefully exit Horn Fort."

If they did not wish for this war to drag on endlessly, the Alliance Soldiers surrounding the fortress were unlikely to go too far.

Previously, the Alliance Commander had already called out to them, assuring that if they laid down their weapons, they could retreat through a designated safe passage to the nearby riverbank where they would be provided with food and water.

Walking back and forth in his tent, Verrich had just received the news of Griffin's death. However, due to his position in Defense Area 5, some distance from the headquarters, Verrich was uncertain whether the news was true or false.

At that moment, footsteps approached the entrance.

As his confidant appeared at the door, Verrich immediately asked,

"...Griffin is dead?"

The confidant nodded gravely.

"Yes."

A fleeting look of ecstasy appeared on Verrich's face which he quickly suppressed, and continued to ask his confidant.

"How did he die?"

The confidant hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"Chief of the Guard Carloff claims it was a stroke, but there are many suspicions... They are refusing an autopsy by the military doctor for Griffin and insist on handing over the body to the hands of the new supreme commander, General Joseph. I suspect the cause of his death might be more than meets the eye."

After pausing, he continued,

"...As of now, the full command of all units in Luo Xia Province has been temporarily transferred to General Alec, Griffin's deputy. I've heard he's in communication with the governor about a dignified withdrawal."

Verrich asked with a grave tone,

"What do you think is Griffin's true cause of death?"

The confidant spoke cautiously,

"I don't know, but Griffin had been investigating the traitor who attempted to assassinate him... Carloff might suspect us, hence is unwilling to release Griffin's body, demanding it be delivered to General Joseph."

"We? How could...."

Verrich scoffed, about to say how that could be possible—after all, even if his peers were foolish, they wouldn't act so soon after a failed attempt.

But he quickly recalled that just days after the failed assassination, he really did privately entrust a powerful attendant to kill Griffin.

Could it be...

Was it that Pangolin's doing?

Verrich's heart pounded as the idea seemed more and more likely. After all, a stroke seemed like a flimsy excuse; it was blatantly absurd.

He had experienced Griffin's cunning firsthand; the man wouldn't have fooled them all without some cleverness.

To kill Griffin unnoticed by the Personal Body Guard and under the heavy protection of the bunker... and make a clean getaway.

Just who on earth was this Pangolin?!

Verrich pondered for a long while before speaking.

"Fetch Pangolin for me."

The confidant standing inside the tent clearly had the same thought, nodding seriously as he replied,

"Yes."

He was well aware that his superior had taken a shine to talent.

If that Pangolin truly had such abilities, he was unquestionably worth courting.

This person did not only possess the valor to stand alone against a thousand on the battlefield and decapitate the Mother of Dead Claw, but he also had the skill to claim the heads of generals amid layers of guards...

Even General McCullen, who couldn't stop praising the warrior, following a mere Centurion Coleway seemed beneath his abilities.

The confidant was just about to turn and leave upon receiving the order.

Suddenly, Vilic stopped him.

"Wait... does he have any particular vices? Money? Women? Power... or something else?"

The confidant halted, pondered for a moment, and responded.

"He steers clear of women in the military, doesn't covet gold or treasure, and hasn't shown much pursuit of power; aside from eating a great deal... he seems to have no other hobbies."

No hobbies...

Somewhat troublesome.

But actually, it was normal enough; the Waste Land Wanderers mostly lived a primitive life, completely devoid of any concept of 'prosperity', so naturally Dinar held no allure for them.

He would gift him an estate when the time came and take him to Triumph City to show him around, undoubtedly stirring his interest in worldly possessions.

That's it, he had heard of his close relationship with that female journalist.

As a foreigner seeking to marry a Weilante girl, without wealth in the family, it was impossible, especially when she was the daughter of a civil official. Their status might not be comparable to that of military officers in the army, but it was officialdom nonetheless.

With a plan in mind, Vilic looked up and said,

"In that case... go to the mess hall, ask the chefs to prepare a table of fine food and drink to send here, and invite Pangolin over!"

The confidant nodded and complied.

"Yes!"

...

Meanwhile, somewhere in Horn Fort.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was unaware that his assassination target had already died, nor did he know that he had been set up as a scapegoat before even making a move.

Realizing that his choices would influence the game's future narrative, even the version direction, he was far from as pleased as the jesters on the forums imagined.

Looking at the crumpled note in his hands, the Old Soldier squatted over the latrine, cursing and complaining,

"Damn it... if only I could save the game."

The note had been delivered by Vilic earlier, detailing General Griffin's upcoming itinerary. However, it was virtually useless since Griffin had been holed up in a bunker since the last assassination attempt, hardly ever coming out.

The only somewhat reliable opportunity would be the day after tomorrow.

In the morning, Griffin was scheduled to inspect the defense sector he was responsible for, perhaps then an opportunity could be seized. But as expected, a host of powerful Awakeners would surely be guarding him, and even if he found a chance to shoot, he would most likely get killed.

Whether or not Griffin died didn't matter to him.

But having to choose one out of two narrative paths was distressing.

If possible, he wanted to witness both the killing and non-killing narratives, and collect the "BE" along the way, then select the most profitable option... that's how he played most RPG games.

However...

That was applicable to single-player games.

"Wasteland OL" was an MMORPG, where players' impact on the world lines was permanent, so such a maneuver was clearly impossible.

After copying the content of the note into a notebook from another world, the Old Soldier tossed it into the latrine to flush away.

Pulling up his pants and leaving the restroom, he headed towards the nearby barracks, planning to consult with Coleway before making a decision.

They had a bond forged in life and death.

Coleway certainly wouldn't harm him.

Of course, what truly reminded him was the nonsense statement from Teng Teng.

When he came with General Vilic that day, Coleway's hesitance and tone did catch his attention.

But there had been no opportunity to ask at that time, and afterwards, he'd forgotten about it.

...

At the entrance of the barracks.

The Old Soldier turned to the on-duty guard and said,

"I'm looking for Officer Coleway."

Knowing the face of Pangolin, the guard saluted.

"Officer Coleway is not here, he went that way."

Saying this, he pointed in the direction of the west.

"Thank you."

The Old Soldier nodded and followed the direction the guard had pointed, indeed spotting Coleway next to a tent stacked with miscellaneous items.

He saw him sitting on a concrete step, smoking a cigarette, lost in thought as he gazed at the rows of concrete fortifications on the distant front and the setting sun slowly descending, even oblivious to the cigarette burning down to his fingers.

Hearing footsteps beside him, he snapped back to reality and looked over.

"You've come?"

The Old Soldier nodded and sat down next to him.

"General Verrich has sent me a letter."

Brushing the ash off the cigarette butt, Coleway said somewhat irritably,

"Is he urging you to make a move?"

The Old Soldier nodded.

"Yes... he provided General Griffin's itinerary, the day after tomorrow is the only opportunity."

After listening to him in silence, Coleway spoke up,

"The inspection the day after tomorrow... You shouldn't tell me such things. If I were one of Griffin's men, you'd be dead by now."

The Old Soldier rolled his eyes inwardly.

Cut the crap.

You're a direct descendant of McCullen, how else could General Verrich have found you!

Being taciturn and silent was just his façade; he wasn't actually foolish.

But...

There was no need to voice those thoughts.

"I trust you," the Old Soldier shook his head, looking at him earnestly, "you will always be my officer."

Hearing this, a trace of gratification appeared on Coleway's expressionless face.

I never thought I'd have confidants too...

But that gratified smile soon took on a touch of melancholy.

Looking at the distant sunset, he sighed,

"I'm happy to hear you say that. It would be nice if everyone were like you."

"Like me?" The Old Soldier was taken aback, not understanding why he would say that.

"Yes, loyal, courageous, open... without a shred of falsehood."

Coleway flicked the ash from his cigarette, casually making the remark.

However, while the speaker meant little, the listener took it to heart, and the Old Soldier's face turned involuntarily red, awkwardly shifting his gaze away.

Like me, indeed...

If all Weilante People were like me, the legion would've been done for long ago.

Coughing, the Old Soldier deflected the topic from himself,

"And... what about you?"

"Me?" A hint of confusion floated in Coleway's eyes before he shook his head after a long while, "I... am not sure."

The Old Soldier looked at him in surprise.

He didn't expect this man, who always professed loyalty, to also have moments of such hesitation.

Coleway paused, then continued,

"How should I put it... The loyalty I understand is a unity of heart and purpose, a solidarity from the bottom up, but what I see is not quite like that."

As he spoke these words, his heart was exceedingly complicated.

When he was just a centurion, he never thought about so much... It wasn't until after McCullen's death, when he was promoted by Griffin to Centurion and assigned to Verrich's ten thousand troops, that he gradually came into contact with the inner workings he had never been privy to before.

In reality, the Army wasn't the tightly-woven hemp rope he had imagined, made of thousands of threads twisted together, but a blanket knitted from strands of wool, each bending to the left and right.

Like now, for instance.

General Griffin wanted everyone to join him in death.

To fulfill his long-time ambition of conquering the Grand Canyon, to unite all the cowards who feared battle and the squabbling factions, to expand the Army's territory beyond the Great Desert, he didn't mind dying... This was his loyalty to the Army, to the Marshal.

However, the likes of Wirie and other subordinate Thousand Leaders didn't want to perish alongside that madman; they would rather have Griffin die to end this foolish war... They believed that this was the true loyalty to His Majesty the Marshal.

Everyone was doing things in the name of loyalty that he couldn't understand; everyone had their own interpretation of loyalty.

So what exactly is loyalty?

He even began to doubt whether he, who had never considered these issues, could be considered loyal, unsure of which side was the right one...

Watching the confused Coleway, the Old Soldier didn't know how to comfort him, so he stuck to his taciturn persona, and asked softly.

"What should I do?"

"I don't know, my dear friend."

Coleway sighed, dropped his cigarette butt, and stomped it out.

He clapped his hands, rose to his feet, and looked towards his battle-tested comrade next to him, forcing a smile on his face, and gave his shoulder a firm pat.

"There comes a time when everyone needs to make their own choices; go for it... follow your heart, and no matter what you decide, I won't blame you."

"Honestly, I don't trust anyone here much, but I trust you."

"You must be the most loyal."

The Old Soldier nodded and watched as Coleway's figure disappeared around the corner not far away.

Regrettably.

This "good brother" was bound to be disappointed.

He wasn't the "most loyal" by any means. If even a drop of Vellante blood ran through his veins, what he was doing would be enough to send him to hell after death.

Barring any surprises, he was likely the only spy here.

After all, in such a short time, the Alliance simply didn't have enough time to deploy other intelligence personnel within the Army and build a spy network.

Those previously caught were probably eighty percent framed...

"Tough call."

He shook his head, standing up with a headache.

According to the itinerary provided by General Wirie, the day after tomorrow was the best chance, and he must make a decision as quickly as possible to gain Wirie's support.

For example, preparing weapons for him in advance, or causing a disturbance at a specific time...

Griffin's guards included powerful Awakeners, some even at the Second or Third stage, and there might even be those like Perception-type players.

Plus, an unsuccessful assassination attempt in recent times had made Griffin wary and he was naturally cautious, making the mission anything but easy.

"...If the assassination fails, or if I succeed but my identity is exposed, the Pangolin's mission is over, right?"

Should he say goodbye to the NPCs he knows?

Thinking of Penny, the female reporter, the nurse who told raunchy jokes while bandaging his wounds, and the chef who complained about his big appetite, the Old Soldier scratched the back of his head.

Forget it.

After all, he was an undercover agent.

Once the mission was done, it was time to move on, perhaps to meet again if fate allowed.

At that moment, two people approached from a distance.

The Old Soldier recognized them; they were underlings of General Wirie.

One of his confidants came up to him, his eyes flickering as he spoke in a low voice.

"...General Wirie has asked to see you."

Discussing the details of the operation?

Deciding to keep up the facade of a man of few harsh words until the end, the Old Soldier appeared nonchalant and casually nodded.

"Hm."

Perhaps it was his "King's Domineering Aura" that stunned them.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group could clearly sense that those two men's gazes had changed in an instant when looking at him, as if they were seeing a true master.

Was it an illusion?

While he was mulling this over in his mind, he had already followed the three men to the entrance of General Verrich's tent.

The two men consciously stood to the side of the door, one on the left and one on the right.

After glancing at the two men, whose expressions were respectfully solemn, the Old Soldier didn't think much of it and strode into the tent alone.

Inside the tent was a table.

It was laden with abundant food and fine wines, including his favorite roasted pig's trotters, stewed beef, grilled fish, and grilled chicken... as well as the chicken soup he yearned for.

A month ago, this feast of meat and fish wouldn't have been of much interest to anyone, but now, supplies in the fortress were scarce, and preparing such a table was somewhat difficult.

The Old Soldier couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

My goodness.

Was this a farewell feast for him?

It seemed that the guy who sent him the itinerary had already presumed he would act on that particular day.

Dressed in a military uniform, General Verrich sat opposite him at the table.

His face was inscrutable, revealing neither gratitude, admiration, nor fear, or perhaps a bit of both.

Since it was a farewell for him, the Old Soldier didn't hold back and took his seat directly across the table without fuss.

Just as he was about to cut to the chase and clarify his decision, Colonel Verrich preemptively raised a cup filled with red wine and said solemnly,

"On behalf of the hundreds of officers of Horn Fort and the more than fifty thousand soldiers here... I thank you for everything you have done for all of us!"

Hearing this bewildering thanks, the Old Soldier was taken aback.

He hadn't even made a move yet.

Wasn't it too early to thank him now?

Sitting motionless, stunned for a full two seconds, he furrowed his brow and asked,

"What have I done?"

His question carried no ulterior meaning.

But combined with his calm and collected demeanor, this ordinary query struck General Verrich with a knowing implication.

Verrich immediately "understood" his point and laughed heartily, giving the Pangolin comrade sitting opposite him a knowing look that said "I get it."

"Understood! You've done nothing! Let's not talk about that madman on this day worth celebrating!"

The Old Soldier: "…?"

Without waiting for the reticent expert to speak, Verrich downed the red wine in his cup and enthusiastically beckoned with a smile,

"Eat up! This whole table is prepared for you!"

"Don't worry about it being too ostentatious and arousing suspicion, General Alec, who's acting as the commander, is one of us... Griffin is dead, and even if his direct descendants are here, they can only act meekly."

"It's over! Thanks to you, this foolish war has finally come to an end! When we return to Triumph City, I'll treat you to something nice!"

Griffin is dead?

Hearing this news, the Old Soldier was dumbfounded.

Piecing together General Verrich's sudden enthusiasm, he immediately realized that the man must have mistaken the moment of the murder for his own doing.

No wonder...

Griffin was sitting pretty in the bunker. If someone didn't assassinate him, he wasn't about to smash his head on a gun by accident, right?

But the situation was too strange.

Without uttering a word, he grabbed a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth. Under the Colonel's beaming gaze, the Old Soldier unabashedly began to feast.

Regardless, there was no need to take it out on the food, especially since he was hungry.

Let the Colonel misunderstand if he wanted, since without making a statement, that guy wouldn't go around talking about it, much less bother investigating the cause of Griffin's death.

As for silencing him?

That was even less likely.

Forget the fact that there was no evidence to prove he was responsible, even if there was evidence, what then?

Griffin's direct lineage had been suppressed, the new governor was from Triumph City, the expansionist party was finished, and everyone who supported the ceasefire would see him as "one of us."

The Old Soldier suddenly felt a bit melancholic.

He had not expected Griffin to die just like that.

But thinking about it, this war was ninety percent over, and he wondered whether his undercover mission was considered complete.

He hadn't saved his progress in almost half a year...

Chapter 498: This is Our Victory!

Dusk slowly descended.

Outside Horn Fort, on the boundless wilderness, Lion Kingdom soldiers squatting in the trench were nibbling on dry food when they suddenly spotted a white flag raised over a distant fort.

At first, the soldiers thought they had seen it wrong.

It was only when they noticed that the opposing position was deserted that more and more people started to realize what was happening.

An old soldier immediately stuffed his half-eaten dry ration into his pocket and ran to the back of the trench to report to the Centurion.

"Report! Horn Fort has raised a white flag."

"A white flag?!"

Startled by the news, the Centurion immediately grabbed a telescope and ran to the frontline to verify it himself and indeed found the white flag.

Unsure whether it was a trap set by the Army, the Centurion dared not delay and immediately reported the news to his superiors.

Thus, after successive reports, the message was quickly relayed to the Skeleton Corps.

Arriving at the frontline with twenty tanks, Mole raised his binoculars and glanced at the distant defenses.

Half an hour earlier, he had already learned from Brother Battlefield about General Griffin's death, so the raising of the white flag on the fort was no surprise to him.

Far away in Falcon City, the Manager had reached an agreement with the governor dispatched by the Army.

The Army would give up on Bister Town as a concession and, in exchange, the Alliance would tacitly allow the over fifty thousand "effectively prisoners" inside Horn Fort to lay down their arms and leave this military stronghold in dignity to wait by the riverbank at the northern edge of Oasis No. 2 for the ceasefire agreement to take effect.

Lowering the telescope, Mole turned to the Lion Kingdom soldiers standing beside him and said,

"…Have your 17th Millennial Team stationed on the north side of Horn Fort retreat, let these defeated men leave."

"Yes!"

The messenger saluted and immediately ran towards the communications station.

Although Prince Wenter nominally commanded the Lion Kingdom's Army, it was actually coordinated by the Alliance's Army Command.

Even their radio equipment was provided by the Alliance.

An accompanying Thousands of leaders glanced at Mole standing in the tank turret, puzzled, and asked,

"Why don't we take this opportunity to annihilate them?"

Mole casually responded as he led the way through the valley.

"Griffin is dead."

The Thousands of leaders were stunned.

He had heard no such news through his channels.

"Isn't this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?"

"War is a means, not an end," Mole said, squinting into the distance and casually making a point, "The war is over, and you can all go home soon."

Several Lion Kingdom officers exchanged glances.

They had followed the Alliance's Army, chasing after the Army of the Falcon Kingdom and reaching here, a thousand kilometers away.

Yet aside from picking up prisoners along the way, many of them had not even had the chance to meet an enemy with a gun,

Recalling the past month or two, they realized that all the offensive battles had been monopolized by the Alliance's Skeleton Corps and Storm Corps.

All they did along the way was serve tea, deliver supplies, dig trenches, fill sandbags, clean the battlefield, and then suddenly the other side would surrender.

Wasn't this war too easy?

Such a comfortable life as the Alliance's dogs truly exceeded these vassal country officers' imaginations.

Mole then looked at the other players standing next to him curiously peeking forward, and shouted in Mandarin,

"Brothers, take turns logging off to eat, whoever isn't busy get online later."

A newbie yawning behind the tank asked,

"Is there an event tonight?"

"Didn't they all surrender?"

"You wouldn't understand," chuckled Mole, "The Army is so hasty to retreat, they couldn't have taken all their supplies with them, right?" He grinned, "The Manager's agreement only stipulated letting them go, it didn't specify that we couldn't visit their homes before we retreat."

The ceasefire would take about two days to negotiate?

Supplies and ammunition probably couldn't be found much, and cooking pots had mostly been blown to pieces by Mosquito Brother, but surely the weapons left behind and various calibers of guns, anti-aircraft guns could be taken?

And those spherical armored turrets, all made of armored steel.

The Alliance wanted to build ships at Tianshui, expand production in West State City; there were plenty of uses for alloy, even selling it as scrap metal would earn a good sum.

As for transporting it back, don't worry.

The entire Lion Kingdom Army had been repurposed by the Alliance as a logistics force, tens of thousands of people lending a hand, and like ants moving house, they could completely empty the place bit by bit!

The newbies beside him were suddenly taken aback.

"Damn?! Can we really do that?"

"That's a bit too unscrupulous!"

"What else?" Seeing the newbies' astonishment, Elena teased with a smile, "What did you think our tanks and cannons came from?"

Sitting in the driver's seat, Gnome King Riches chuckled.

"I'll go get a transport truck back!"

An armored truck carrying heavy machine guns and ammunition couldn't haul much; a looting expedition definitely wouldn't be as efficient as a professional truck.

Mole waved his hand decisively.

"Don't just get trucks, pull in the Lion Kingdom locals too, tell them they don't need to bring guns, just go and pick up what's left on the Army's positions!"

Gnome King Riches chuckled again.

"Got it!"

…

Horn Fort.

Less than two hours after General Griffin's death, the fortress spanning several square kilometers was deserted.

Under the orders of General Alec, the acting commander, fifty thousand troops laid down their weapons and retreated northward along the route designated by the Alliance.

The fifty thousand clone soldiers would be left behind locally, as taking them back was not economically viable given their short lifespan. Instead, helping Governor Vellante with construction and serving as fertilizer after death was considered the best use of their remains.

Hundreds of Weylent military officers and thousands of NCOs would return to Triumph City by airship after the ceasefire agreement took effect.

Hearing they could finally go home brought smiles to nearly every weary face.

Initially summoned by General Griffin and Eastern Expansionist officers, they had traveled thousands of miles to the East seeking riches, glory, and adventure.

Yet, upon arriving, they found that it was not the gold-filled playground they had imagined.

As for non-Weylent officers and NCOs, such as attendants promoted under special circumstances, they could choose to stay or leave voluntarily.

If they chose to stay, they would receive a severance pay ranging from one thousand to fifty thousand dinars, depending on their rank—a common practice.

Most, however, opted to return to Triumph City.

Although Weylent society was rife with xenophobia, it was less extreme in Triumph City.

For instance, only in Triumph City were the laws that "slaves cannot be killed at whim" and "slave health and life must be protected" strictly enforced, with violators facing hefty fines or even criminal charges.

Meanwhile, in remote borderlands or the estates of noble lords, slaves were treated little better than livestock, and most governors or leaders turned a blind eye to the lives and deaths of foreigners.

Staying local with severance pay, who knew what the future would hold?

Moreover, after clashing with the alliance's ravenous army, nearly every soldier and officer was left with a psychological shadow.

They all wanted to leave this troublesome place.

However...

Not everyone was in such a hurry to leave.

At the entrance of the bunker in the center of Horn Fort, a Weylent soldier inside an observation post glanced southward briefly before quickly ducking into the nearby bunker.

They were General Griffin's personal bodyguards.

When they had retreated earlier, General Alec had ordered them to leave, but their superior officer, Carloff, refused to follow the acting commander's orders, thus they all remained.

Jogging up to Carloff, the soldier spoke anxiously.

"Sir, the Alliance troops have arrived."

Carloff nodded indifferently and walked out of the bunker, through the narrow concrete tunnels, arriving at the observation post above the bunker.

The large gate to the south was blown open, and the roadblocks in front of it were dragged aside by several soldiers. Trucks began driving into Horn Fort from the distance.

Before the trucks even stopped, excited soldiers from the Lion Kingdom jumped off and ran towards the nearby barracks and various defense zones, eager to loot anything the Weylent people had left behind.

Carloff silently watched from a distance as tents were toppled and looted items were crammed onto the trucks. Loaded trucks departed while empty ones returned, his heart remaining undisturbed.

Those people were like hyenas on a lion's back...

The soldier beside him took a deep breath and looked towards Carloff.

"Sir, we..."

Carloff coldly watched them.

"Leave them be."

Even if he wanted to intervene, he couldn't.

There were only a few hundred of them, severely low on ammunition, unable to gain any advantage on the front lines, let alone being trapped in a bunker.

The war was over.

He only wanted to preserve General Griffin's body...

As Carloff watched the soldiers looting, those looters quickly noticed him standing in the observation post.

A rookie soldier ran over to the Mole to report.

"Boss! There are some Weylent people ahead!"

Didn't they leave?

Mole raised an eyebrow.

"Take me there."

"Right away!"

Following the player, Mole glanced at the Weylent person in the observation post and succinctly introduced himself.

"Leader of the Skeleton Corps, Mole."

Carloff slowly spoke.

"General Griffin's personal bodyguard, Carloff."

"Why didn't you leave?" Mole looked at the tightly shut gate of the bunker, asking with a half-smile, "Or is there some treasure inside?"

Carloff was silent for a moment before he opted to tell the truth.

"General Alec took all the documents, those that couldn't be taken were burned... There's nothing inside, just the body of my deceased superior, and we are tasked to escort him on his final journey."

"Oh."

Mole lost interest.

It made sense.

Enough time had passed for all truly important items to be removed, and unless the acting commander was an idiot, he wouldn't have left anything in the bunker.

As for General Griffin's body...

Survivors from Luo Xia Province might want to drag him out and whip the corpse, but Mole, just a player not deeply immersed in the aftermath's suffering, had no interest in a dead body.

Still curious, he casually asked.

"Oh, how did he die?"

"Stroke."

"Alright if you don't want to talk, forget it," Mole shrugged his shoulders, laughing, "By the way, everything here now belongs to us, you have no objections, do you?"

Carloff nodded silently.

"No objections."

Dispensing spoils of war, deciding the fate of the losers, and granting mercy were the prerogatives of the victors; they were merely exercising their rights.

Mole looked at the tightly shut iron gate for a moment, feeling somewhat regretful in his heart.

Initially, during the Alliance's first military operation in Luo Xia Province, the command had dispatched the Iron Heart to the City of Abundance while sending the Skeleton Corps toward the direction of Lost Valley.

At that critical moment, Griffin anticipated that the Alliance had obtained intelligence about his side and set a trap by concentrating all armored units and pre-deploying them east of Lost Valley.

Even now, Mole had to admire that guy was simply a genius.

Back then, his Skeleton Corps was completely taken by surprise.

Had it not been for various unforeseen factors outside the battlefield and the Company's support with the No. 60 electromagnetic cannon, that guy's plan might have succeeded.

In fact, even earlier, had it not been for the intelligence gathered by Pangolin Comrade while passing by Camp 530, the Lion Kingdom might not have lasted until the Alliance was ready for war.

And even though the plan failed to meet expectations time and again, that guy still made timely remedial actions until the last moment of his life.

Even without revisiting old scores with the Chewing Bone Tribe, the Alliance had at least two close calls where it nearly fell into the hands of this boss.

Turning his gaze away from the iron gate, Mole looked at Carloff, who was standing in the guard post.

"Leaving aside the destruction of the war, your superior was an impressive opponent... I am glad he's dead, and yet I regret that he didn't die by our hands."

Carloff's expression shifted slightly as he swallowed, but said nothing, merely nodded silently in gratitude and then turned to walk back to the bunker.

Simultaneously, in Falcon City,

Cohen, who sat in a room of the castle, had finally received a call from General Alec, the acting commander, after a long wait.

"...we have arrived in Far West City, damn, what a poor place," Alec's voice contained a hint of exhilaration.

Although he could only act as commander for a few days, it had satisfied his craving to command legions. Previously under Griffin, he had only been a deputy, stuck doing menial tasks and often caught between junior and senior officers.

This ordeal was finally over.

"Has everyone withdrawn?"

"We have... except for Griffin's personal guard. They insisted on staying. I couldn't persuade them, so I just let them be."

Cohen nodded.

Griffin's direct line didn't need his intervention; if they sought death, he would just let them.

"You'll stay there for some time until the ceasefire agreement takes effect, then Captain Adria will take you home," Alec said with a laugh.

"Great."

As soon as the call ended, there was a sudden silence on both ends, as if each was anticipating that the other had something more to say and decided to let the other speak first.

However, this silence didn't last long.

Seeing that Governor Sir wasn't speaking, Alec took the initiative.

"Sir... did we lose?"

Cohen responded succinctly.

"The ceasefire negotiations do not include this matter, and you will bring victory back to Triumph City."

Both sides would declare themselves victorious.

This was a report for their own people.

Relieved to hear the answer he wanted to hear, Alec exhaled.

"I understand."

As he and the myriad Ten Thousand Leaders had guessed, the Legion couldn't possibly surrender to the Company, much less to the Alliance.

The Company side wouldn't naively think that just by one victory, the military strength of the East Coast had surpassed that of the West Coast.

As for those naive Wasteland Wanderers, probably hoping to leverage this opportunity for benefits. Although naive, any problem that could be resolved through economic incentives was not a problem; it wasn't worth entangling with them over trivial gains.

Let those barbarians take what they wanted.

He also had made some concessions within the limits of his authority, such as tacitly allowing the Alliance to pillage the Vassal Country, or redirecting the supplies initially sent to Griffin's to them, or permitting their occupation of Bister Town, and so on...

In exchange, the Alliance would return a series of prisoners including McCullen and General Softer, and would allow the defenders of Horn Fort to lay down their weapons and withdraw honourably from their positions.

Those rescued prisoners and saved officers, as well as the various factions in Triumph City, would thank him.

He had not only helped them preserve their strength but had also secured for them a "victory" they didn't achieve on the battlefield.

They would be grateful to him.

This would be a huge political asset.

"By the way, Governor Sir," Alec suddenly remembered something and spoke through the phone.

Cohen casually responded.

"What else is there?"

Alec hesitated, then reported truthfully.

"We didn't get Griffin's body... his death was somewhat strange."

Cohen said, unconcerned.

"Let that go, whoever wants his corpse can have it, it's unimportant."

He had already warned Joseph not to hope to save that man, but unexpectedly, the guy ended up dead.

Although even this outcome wasn't bad.

A mere three-star Ten Thousand Leader trying to take Triumph City hostage, these officers who climbed up from the bottom sure dare to dream.

"Is this because the barefoot are not afraid of wearing shoes?"

If he were still alive and returned, he would definitely not have an easy time, but dying outside might even turn him into a tragic hero.

Perhaps it was the guidance of the leader of the Eastern Legion.

Cohen chuckled and shook his head, casually hanging up the phone as if he had just dealt with a trivial matter.

...

The following day.

The council hall in the castle of Falcon City was packed with people.

Just days before, it had been stark and empty, with only a few representatives from each party, and even fewer speaking.

But now, the originally spacious conference table suddenly seemed a bit crowded.

First from the Army side, apart from the governor of Triumph City, General Cohen, the newly appointed commander Joseph, Captain Adria of the Adjudicator, and almost all the Ten Thousand Leaders not captured were present at this meeting.

For the corporate side, aside from Deputy Minister Wu of the Comprehensive Management Department, a large number of his subordinates and staff dispatched from the five major groups also attended.

Including Yi Chuan from the Silver Wing Group, Yun Yi from the Endpoint Group, Wu Mu from the Chang Ge Group, Li Changkong from the Ideal Group, and two bionic beings from the Kang Mao Group.

Besides these notable figures, Chu Guang also saw several journalists from Ideal City.

Among them was Journal of Envision, which he recognized, and some other media that he did not recall, only feeling that the logos on their devices looked familiar, probably from previous interviews around City of Dawn.

Considering the historical significance of this ceasefire negotiation and that the photos and videos would be replayed many times, Chu Guang had been very cautious about managing his expressions from the moment he entered the conference hall.

And as he had anticipated, from the moment he walked into the hall, almost all cameras focused on him.

"Manager of Shelter No. 404 and the Alliance!" a journalist from the Futuristic Report whispered excitedly, "I heard he's from the pre-war era."

"Where did you hear that?" a journalist from the Omniscient and Omnipotent Broadcasting Company cast her a surprised look.

"At City of Dawn during an interview!"

"But he looks only in his twenties."

"What's that matter? Aren't all shelter managers those old icicles who've been cryogenically frozen till now? For all we know, he might be some two-hundred-year-old freak!"

The journalists from Ideal City kept chattering incessantly.

Though that noise wasn't too out of place in such a bustling setting, it still greatly annoyed Li Ke, who sat at the conference table.

Especially when those journalists tried to interview him.

Thankfully, there were no such annoying fellows in the Wandering Swamp, or else it might have been the end of them... These snooping people were more unpredictable than the mutant crocodiles in the swamps.

There were also a few soldiers from the Alliance who looked at him strangely... How to describe it? It was like how the natives from Golden Lizard Kingdom look at gold coins.

Looking at Chu Guang sitting beside him, Li Ke tilted his head and lowered his voice to ask.

"Why have so many people suddenly shown up?"

"After all, it's a moment to witness history; isn't it normal to want a photo opportunity?" Chu Guang smiled, but then he realized that it might be misinterpreted by his friends from the north, so he politely added, "Of course, I mean the journalists."

Li Ke coughed softly.

"You didn't need to specify—"

"Quiet, please, everyone, quiet."

Just then, the corporate representative Wu Changnian, who had finally signed the documents, clapped his hands to signal the chattering journalists and the nobles from Falcon Kingdom to quieten down.

Once the council hall became a bit quieter,

He spoke in a steady voice.

"Thank you all for your support and cooperation; today's peace could not have been achieved without your efforts."

"A contract that has persisted for a century and a half will continue, this decaying world needs no more wars. In the face of existential threats, we should unite and face the common dangers, and explore our shared future..."

He spoke for about ten minutes.

Seeing the representatives from the Army start to yawn, Wu Changnian wrapped up his speech and handed the three signed agreements to his subordinate, who then passed them to the Weylent military officer standing at the conference table.

"So much nonsense."

Cohen curled his lip, swiftly signed his name on the three agreements with a pen, pushed them forward, directly sliding them across the negotiating table to Chu Guang.

The content of the agreement had been repeatedly confirmed.

The final signing was merely a formality.

He wanted to end this tedious ceremony quickly, cut through the chaos left by the previous commander, and regain control of Falcon Kingdom from the Alliance.

After all...

Even though they hadn't officially been defeated, the terms of the agreement were less than honorable for the Army.

The "substantial benefits" for the Alliance lay mostly outside this piece of paper. Chu Guang glanced briefly at the agreement.

Other than including clauses like restricting garrisoned troops and withdrawing troops from various sides, the only important elements for the Alliance in this document were three points.

One was the unconditional ceasefire accepted by the Army and Falcon Kingdom.

Another was that Iron Heart and Bister Town, originally belonging to the Army, would remain under Alliance control according to the "status quo" principle.

As for the last, it concerned No.0 Shelter.

The Army, corporations, and Alliance would each send one or two representatives for investigation, with the Academy also dispatching a technical staff as an observer.

After confirming the agreement's accuracy, Chu Guang, under the gaze of all attendees, signed his name at the bottom of the ceasefire agreement.

As customary on such a significant occasion, he should have said something.

However, he wasn't one for long speeches.

Setting down the pen, Chu Guang looked towards Old White, Edge Shoveling, Spring Water Commander, and the other players gathered there, nodding with a smile.

"I'm honored to witness this moment with all of you."

"This is our victory!"

-

(Thanks to the leader "Love Love Great Cute Si Si" for the reward!!!After a delay of nearly half a year, the special issue promised by Dian Niang is finally online, teary-eyed, today is a double update! However, the second update will be a bit late, it will be out before twelve.)

Chapter 499: They Will All Fall to Us! (Second Update)

After the meeting.

The journalists from Ideal City, Li Ke from the Academy, and other personnel unrelated to the ceasefire negotiations almost all left the council hall satisfied.

Except for the military representatives.

Cohen sat still in his seat, angrily glaring at Chu Guang, who was sitting across the negotiation table.

This included the group of furious Weilante officers standing behind him, who looked like they wanted to devour him.

Chu Guang alone was at a loss, not knowing how he had offended these big-nosed guys again.

Fortunately, Cohen did not make him guess, and directly vented his rage.

"I am very dissatisfied with your choice of words. We have an unconditional ceasefire; this war has no winner, so you shouldn't use the word 'victory'!"

Is this what it's about...

Chu Guang scoffed in his heart.

Everyone agreed to their own versions of winning; what's wrong with saying a word to my own subordinates?

And it's not like you weren't given a chance to speak.

It's your own damn fault for trying to act cool, dismissing the opportunity with a "What a bunch of nonsense"—so who's to blame?

If I knew you were so petty, I should've taken nineteen pens, changing one after every stroke, to torment you guys a few minutes longer.

I could have even used the extras for a lottery draw.

What a loss!

"This really isn't very appropriate," Wu Changnian coughed lightly, then glanced at Chu Guang sitting next to him and said in an indifferent tone, "Using the word 'victory' for a ceasefire negotiation... can lead to misunderstandings."

Facing the hostile gazes from across the negotiation table, Chu Guang didn't take it seriously and said nonchalantly.

"What's the problem; does Ideal City still have a branch in Triumph City?"

Wu Changnian thought for a moment and nodded.

"There is indeed."

Cohen's reaction to that sentence was a bit surprising to him, as it was clear that it was intended for his own subordinates. His outrage seemed a bit overdone.

However, from a corporate standpoint, he still needed to say something to smooth things over. After all, the ceasefire agreement had been signed, and it wouldn't be good for anyone if new problems arose.

Cohen coldly looked at Chu Guang, huffed, then stood up with his hands on the table, grabbed his copy of the ceasefire agreement, and left the council hall with his group of officers without looking back.

The players standing by, eager to try their luck, showed looks of disappointment, especially a few who relished in stirring up trouble.

Looks like those oldies' gold coins won't be exploding now…

As he watched those desolate figures depart, Chu Guang turned to Wu Changnian sitting beside him.

"Did you get the coordinates of the Pioneer's crew?"

Wu Changnian nodded.

"They've given them to us. Assault Team No. 26, under Yun Song's leadership, has arrived near the target area. The entrance to No. 0 Shelter is there too, and there's a mutant tribe nearby. The Army has terminated their mercenary contract with them so we can deal with those mutants as we wish."

Chu Guang said with a subtle expression.

"I was wondering about that, the mutants in the Great Desert... actually doing business with humans."

Aren't humans just breeding tools and food in their eyes?

It's as strange as negotiating with a takeaway order.

Wu Changnian shrugged his shoulders.

"I find it strange too, but according to the Army's own explanation, General Kras, the previous commander of Luo Xia Province, may have reached some agreement with those mutants. There were also mutant mercenaries fighting in the expedition a year ago."

"According to the intel we've received, those mutant mercenaries fearlessly attack and their terrifying self-healing abilities make them a challenge, even for soldiers in power armor."

It was only a challenge, though.

The Death Legion had clashed with those mutants.

According to Edge Shoveling's own assessment, those guys were just a group of elite monsters with slightly thicker health bars and weren't even as troublesome as the Weilante elites they encountered at Height 330.

After a pause, Wu Changnian continued.

"Cohen claims the Marshal was unaware of it, and Joseph should know something but isn't willing to elaborate... Anyway, Kras is dead, Griffin is dead, McCullen is still alive but probably doesn't know much. It's not something to be proud of; they won't investigate just to satisfy our curiosity."

Chu Guang raised his eyebrows.

"So, you're saying we still have to wipe their ass?"

Wu Changnian nodded.

"That's right."

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"Heh, they sure did discard this pile of shit cleanly. The mess pulled by the previous one no longer concerns the next."

Wu Changnian nodded again, seriously looking at the young ally.

"Yes. Although you might already be aware, I still need to give you a piece of advice: be wary of them, wary of them all. Regardless of the incident just now, they will not forget today's 'humiliation.' The moment you show any sign of weakness, they will not hesitate to bare their canine teeth and become restless... They are fundamentally designed for battle. Griffin was, Cohen is, and so will be whoever comes here."

This was also why the Company supported the Alliance in taking Bister Town.

They needed a reliable friend to keep an eye on those restless Weilante people.

The disturbances these people have caused have already put the Council on alert. The Great Desert can't stop the ambitions of the Weilante people; even if only for the peace of Province of Yúnjiānxíng, they can't stay completely uninvolved.

Chu Guang smirked.

"No wonder they can get along with mutants."

"That's a different issue... However, I was also shocked after arriving here. To think there are gray-black mutants in the wasteland."

Wu Changnian sighed, his tone full of reflection.

"I thought blue mutants with gills were already bizarre enough... Just how many secrets are there in this world that we don't understand."

Chu Guang could not agree more with his words.

No matter the color—green, blue, gray-black, or a myriad of hues—as long as they were mutants, he had no intention of leaving any of them alive.

These monsters, whose plunder and reproduction were intertwined—with their hatred for people written into their DNA—should never have existed in this world.

They were like goblins.

Every mutant cub carried the burden of blood debt on their back.

After witnessing the hellish sight in the mutant nest at Qingquan City's Street No. 76, he had no plans to negotiate with any mutant.

The thought of his old friends at the Pioneer staying with those beasts made Chu Guang's fists clench over his knees.

"I have a small request."

"What request?" Wu Changnian's eyebrows twitched uncontrollably; at the mere mention of this guy's requests and suggestions, he started to get a headache.

However, to his surprise, this time the guy didn't say anything too troubling.

"Before we withdraw from Oasis No. 2, I'd like to take my Steel Heart a bit further west to pick up our old friends and bring them home."

Wu Changnian paused, a strange expression crossing his face.

What kind of odd request was that?

Weird as it was, of course, he wouldn't refuse.

"No problem... Rather, thank you. The airflow conditions in the Great Desert are very unstable, and Tiger Whale and Cloud Dragonfly are said to perform poorly."

A smile also appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"Then it's settled."

...

Shortly after the ceasefire agreement was signed, the company's troops stationed in Falcon City launched "Migrant Birds," giving wings to the news of victory.

The unmanned drones flew over the desert, crossed River Valley, passed through mountains and rivers, and finally arrived at the city-state on the East Coast shortly after nightfall.

Above Ideal City, holographic fireworks were set off; the Council Building used an entire wall as a screen, showing all residents of Ideal City this historic moment.

It included the speech of Wu Changnian, the Deputy Director of the Integrated Management Department.

And also the words of his ally—the words of the Manager of Shelter No. 404.

"...I'm honored to witness this moment with you."

"This is our victory!"

Yes.

This was victory!

The Weilante People of the West Coast were ashamed to admit their military failure in Luo Xia Province, their euphemistic wording was just a fig leaf for losers—the expression they wore while signing the ceasefire agreement was the best proof.

For the spectators on Endpoint Cloud, compared to Deputy Director Wu Changnian's lengthy discourse, Chu Guang's brief and concise declaration of victory was obviously more popular.

Chu Guang himself didn't expect it.

He had become a sensation in Ideal City once more for a blunt truth he'd spoken, without any exaggeration.

Skeleton Studio's "The Great Escape" discussion forum.

Owing to the hardcore identities of the game's developers, the forum attracted countless netizens who weren't interested in virtual reality games but were very interested in the Alliance.

That CEO named Xue Hongliang was very good at seizing the moment and changed the virtual community's title to "This is our victory!" which drew cheers from countless players and bystanders.

On this day of celebration, no one here was discussing the game; almost everyone was cheering for the victory that had just arrived.

A bunch of strangely shaped virtual avatars cheered in the square.

"This is our victory!!!"

"Wake up, brother, our ground forces only sent one assault team and one experimental bionic man team, what does this war have to do with us winning or losing?"

"Doesn't this just prove the wisdom of the Council? Not a single Ideal City resident sacrificed their life, and we effortlessly gained the final victory!"

"Uh... a few did die along the way."

"Administrator, come over here and kick out this guy who can't read the room."

"Hahaha! I like their Manager! Compared to that long-winded middle-aged man, a young handsome guy is definitely more my type!"

"Wuwuwu, when can we get a flight to the Alliance? I've never been outside of Province of Yúnjiānxíng!"

"That might be a bit difficult; I've heard River Valley Province is the home of Claw of Death. Even if the Alliance is our ally, it's somewhat dangerous to go there."

"Anyhow, thank heavens... our boss can finally come back to make games!"

"Looking forward to it!"

"I just hope he comes back alive."

...

Night City bar.

As the theme party for Victory Day, today's BGM was the song "created" by the residents of City of Dawn.

The dance floor swayed with figures, LED masks flickered with changing smiley symbols. Under the flashing neon of red, yellow, and blue, the retro rhythm unexpectedly matched the ecstatic atmosphere of the venue.

Sitting in a corner of the bar, Fang Chang was quietly watching the shadows in the distance, feeling a touch of regret in his heart.

He had probably missed out on this "Dressing the Desert" expansion pack.

However, he hadn't wasted the past few months either.

During the training at Yunjian University, he'd learned a great deal that opened his eyes, including the popular business models of this city and common management methods seen here.

He could now confirm that, amongst the developers of Wasteland OL, there was at least a team of advisors composed of experts from political, economic, military, historical, cultural, religious, and other fields to take care of the finer details.

Take, for example, the currency of the enterprise.

He initially thought the credit points abbreviated as Cr were just another game currency, but after a deeper understanding, he discovered their core tied extraordinarily to the concept of "DeFi (Decentralized Finance)" in the real world.

No, that's not quite right.

Describing them in such a way would be an insult to Cr.

In reality, DeFi is still in the exploratory phase, far from stability. The majority of digital currencies issued based on this theory are nothing more than kite-flying, cutting leeks schemes. Yet in this virtual game, the true concept of decentralized finance has already been achieved on a small scale!

At least, it had been achieved in Ideal City and by Cr.

Take, for example, the most fundamental principle: every resident of Ideal City is both the issuer and guarantor of the credit currency.

Traditional central banks that wish to introduce money into the market rely on various financial tools. But whether it's lending money to businesses to expand production or lending to residents to consume, the beer foaming over the tip of the pyramid will never equally benefit everyone within the pyramid.

It's even likely that some will drink only the foam without ever tasting the beer, while others get sick from the beer and never touch the foam.

However, Ideal City, based on a framework of credit points, works differently.

Smart contracts, programmed with quantum algorithms, ensure that transactions are fair and just, while the inherent properties of the credit currency and a series of financial rules determine that all participants in production will benefit equally from its prosperity.

Naturally, this system has its flaws. Equality does not imply uniformity; not everyone can live in a room with windows or in the upper floors of a skyscraper.

Moreover, due to the inherent limitations of these rules, it not only doesn't restrict monopolies but even encourages the internal amalgamation of the "Production Department" within enterprises.

As a result, in places like Ideal City, once a monopoly is established, it becomes even harder to break, with no external forces capable of correcting it.

Unless the monopolist is eliminated by the market due to managerial crises or unexpected incidents, but this is highly unlikely.

And the council, whose seats are determined by shareholding, is also unlikely to push for anti-monopoly legislation. At best, they could only limit the already monopolistic "Production Department" from exploiting the employees living within this system.

After all, in this unique economic system, each resident is already a part of the currency; they are both the issuer and the guarantor.

From a philosophical perspective, this has led to humans being highly "monetized" by credit points, losing their human attributes. But conversely, it could also be interpreted as "liberating the common man from the debt relations of the old era."

Everyone is their own creditor and will no longer become slaves to money or be enslaved by others due to money.

Apart from the side effect of causing monopolies, overly conservative credit expansion strategies have made it difficult for startups like Skeleton Studio to stand out. Those who dislike playing by the rules or are unfamiliar with them would find it hard to adapt to this way of life.

But conversely, the entire economic system's risk has been compressed to a jaw-dropping level.

Over the past century and a half, this small society of millions, perhaps even tens of millions of people, has not experienced a single real economic overheating or depression!

The entire system has been operating steadily and upward, slowly but surely.

I have never seen such a stable economic curve before!

In reality, if a medium to large-scale economy had this level of certainty, without even a hint of fluctuations, it would have accelerated long ago.

Slopes not aligned with the Y-axis would be an insult to this sure-win investment opportunity. There would never be a situation that's "certain but slow."

Most absurdly, this unconventional economic system was able to seamlessly interact with traditional old-world economic bodies, including the Alliance!

Whether it was import and export operations or outward aid expenditures, they had no effect whatsoever on the smooth running of the entire economy.

Without a doubt, this is a model that does not exist in reality.

If this game were as truly realistic as it claims, just this unique model alone would be enough to drive economists around the world insane!

Of course, this system, built upon Cr as its cornerstone, has become complicated to an infuriating level. Even for the residents living in Ideal City, their understanding of it is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

Not to mention an outsider like me.

But having grasped just the surface, I am already profoundly shocked.

In this half-year of study, Fang Chang even had the illusion that some not-so-"avant-garde" sociological knowledge or experience might work in the real world.

Even if it was only theoretically viable.

Ever since achieving financial freedom, he had taken up being a professional Game player out of interest and had rarely paid attention to matters in the financial field.

However, this game reignited his interest in the profession he had set aside, so much so that he even started attending university in the game.

Life really is full of surprises...

At that moment, the electronic wind chime hanging at the entrance of the bar gently swayed, and a tall and slender beauty walked in from outside.

Although in Ideal City, where handsome men and beautiful women were as common as hairs on an ox, Li Shuyue's looks were not the most outstanding, her well-tailored, monochromatic OL attire paired with her unique, capable temperament made her stand out in this cyberpunk-themed bar.

As soon as she entered the door, Fang Chang spotted her.

And Li Shuyue, noticing the out-of-place figure in the surroundings, walked straight to the opposite side and sat down on the chair that automatically pulled back for her.

"...The company meeting ran a bit late; I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I'll treat you today."

"No problem, we still have two minutes to go until our scheduled time," Fang Chang said with a smile, glancing at the holographic clock on the wall. "Actually, I just got here a few minutes ago myself."

"Is that all you have to say after seeing me?"

"Thank you for treating, General Lee."

Li Shuyue rolled her eyes.

At that point, she noticed the "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence" and "Introduction to Economics" books lying next to the table and the Yunjian University uniform he was wearing. She couldn't help but chuckle and said teasingly,

"You're reading this in a bar?"

"Just came from night school," Fang Chang said with an indifferent shrug in response to her bewildered expression, adding jokingly, "Can't help it, we Wastelanders from the countryside don't know the rules, so I have to learn more while you city folks relax after work."

Li Shuyue earnestly suggested,

"We usually leave professional matters to the professionals. If you want to study in your free time, I recommend taking some management courses."

Fang Chang replied with a smile,

"Yeah, I've enrolled in that, too."

Li Shuyue: "..."

Seeing that she didn't respond, Fang Chang continued,

"By the way, how did you think of discussing business here?"

He had initially planned to spend some time at the library before logging off, but then she had suddenly called him out to talk business.

After agreeing, he realized that the location was set at a bar called "Night City," not far from the Yunjian University tower.

Li Shuyue answered casually,

"You don't usually go to a café at night, do you?"

"So why does it have to be at night?"

"Who would have thought you'd win today? You should have told me in advance!" Li Shuyue said with a hint of complaint.

Fang Chang smiled but didn't speak.

Of course, he already knew the Alliance would win tonight, even before the news returned to Ideal City—the very second the ceasefire agreement was formally signed.

However, information exchange between players was not shared with NPCs outside the Alliance, and considering that the other party might have ties to the Council, he refrained from mentioning it.

If the Council misunderstood that he possessed an unknown channel for information transfer, it could cause some trouble.

Uncertain whether the other party would care about this detail, his habit was to assume they would.

Seeing that Fang Chang did not intend to explain, Li Shuyue felt a tinge of frustration but did not dwell on this trifle.

After all, he was not obligated to share insider information with her.

"Anyway, I hope to implement the business plan we agreed upon before midnight tonight, using the draft you submitted last time... I need you to check the details once more, and if there's no issue, we'll go ahead with that one. I hope there won't be any surprises."

This was the first business collaboration between the company and the Alliance, and she had been preparing for months, not wanting to be outdone by other speculators who caught wind of the opportunity.

She had a premonition.

The Alliance could become a new growth point for the company's overseas profits!

With that, she took out a holographic computer pen from her briefcase, placed it on the table, and handed him a pair of AR glasses directly connected to the computer.

Although that draft wasn't some incredible business secret, it was still not quite suitable for public display.

Fang Chang, taking the glasses, couldn't help but inwardly criticize again.

Negotiating a proper business collaboration in a bar—this client was definitely nuts.

"Midnight... Isn't that rather late?" Fang Chang asked casually as he flipped through the light blue holographic pop-up window, doing his final check.

"In this city, time is credit, and credit is everything... No amount of professional reading is as good as remembering this line."

As Li Shuyue glanced at the flickering text on the nearby electronic screen, an idea struck her, and she gestured for a robot waiter, tapping its head twice with her index finger.

Soon, two specially mixed strong drinks were served.

"Oh right, almost forgot—here's to you," Li Shuyue lifted one of the rainbow-colored cocktails, clinked it against the other glass, and, parting her red lips, said, "Congratulations on your victory in the war."

"But your expression tells me you regret something," Fang Chang joked, trying to ease the mood as he looked at her serious face.

"Yes," Li Shuyue rolled her eyes after taking a sip of the cocktail, "I nearly managed to take in a homeless Awakener."

"Now that joke isn't funny at all."

If the Springs were pushed,
then it would mean game over.

But he trusted his companions.

Those guys might not seem serious at times, but when it mattered, they never let him down.

And he wouldn't let them down either.

Smiling pleasantly, Fang Chang lifted his glass slightly from the table.

"To our enduring friendship, and to the victory far away—"

"Cheers!"

...

"Bang—!"

Glorious fireworks also bloomed above the sky of City of Dawn.

Compared to the first half of the night about to end in Ideal City, it wasn't that dark in River Valley Province yet, but the festive atmosphere was just as vibrant.

The streets of the City of Dawn were festooned with lights, and it seemed as if the residents of the refuge had known well in advance that victory would come today.

Although they lacked the holographic projections that could envelop the entire sky and the towering "floor-to-ceiling giant screens," the survivors living here felt no less excitement and joy than their distant friends on the East Coast.

Especially the fervent warmth and excitement flowing through their veins, which was even stronger than that of the Ideal City residents.

They were the witnesses of the war!

They had defeated the invincible Army!

Even if just for a brief moment, they accomplished what many Waste Land Wanderers deemed nearly impossible—a battlefield victory over the Army!

Those lofty heirs were not invincible.

The Alliance had proven this.

As long as they were united, they could even defeat the Weilante People in the areas they were most proud of and skilled in!

The players might not feel it as intensely, but in the hearts of every survivor in the Alliance, a burning mark had been unwittingly imprinted.

The young saplings had broken through the hard soil.

An old era was coming to an end.

Gone were not just the winter's cold but also the desolation of people's hearts.

A new Protagonist was stepping onto the stage of history—an era for all Waste Land Wanderers and not just for a select few fortunate ones.

Everyone firmly believed—

One day, all the old orders would fall before our hands!

The fireworks blooming in the night sky illuminated every gazing face.

The continuous cheers on the streets made every Resident of the refuge, every Waste Land Wanderer from the wilderness, feel a sense of kinship.

"Long live the Alliance!"

"Long live victory!"

"Long live the Manager!!"

This night.

Many would undoubtedly find sleep elusive.

-

(Finally caught up, that was close to missing the deadline. Oh, and if you're interested in that card event, you can participate. If we gather enough people, we can unlock a reading theme! I'm off to sleep now!)

Chapter 500 "End of the 'Vast Desert' Expansion Pack

Victory's glory belongs solely to the victor.

For the vanquished, even when afforded dignity, it is hard to feel joy.

Compared to Ideal City and City of Dawn, Falcon City, having just entered night, seemed somewhat tranquil.

Although the ceasefire agreement was named "Falcon City Agreement," it had nothing to do with the Falcon Kingdom nor considered its interests.

However, for the nobles here, that did not imply a complete disaster.

Triumph City, supreme above all, eventually stepped in; although it did not send a massive army to help them reclaim their lost honor, it at least spared them the disgrace of surrender as a defeated nation.

As for Bistetown.

That godforsaken place was never within the boundaries of Oasis No.2; from the start, it was something General Kras forcibly pushed on them. Let the Alliance take it if they want; it's not their loss anyway.

Only the citizens in the Royal City—or more precisely, those young men who had been demobilized—would feel indignant about such an outcome.

They had fought an indubitable war, but aside from scars and disabilities, they gained nothing; many even lost their wealth and family members.

In the end, even the lords who rode over their heads didn't change.

The King remained the king, and the Weilante People still held the leash.

What was even more hateful was that those Weilante People gave them no compensation...

...

In the castle's council chamber.

Various representatives carried away the agreement, well pleased, and this royal room finally returned to its king.

Only a few guest rooms short of retaking the whole castle.

A group of well-dressed nobles sat there, the residual warmth on their chairs making them feel dignified, as if they had partaken in the noon negotiations.

"So the Alliance has finally abandoned Oasis No.2."

"It looks like it."

"I wonder what impact this will have on the desert situation."

"Can that Citizens' Self-Government Committee be disbanded now? Those pestilent fools are always spouting treasonous talk and mingling with deserters!"

"Perhaps the Weilante People will help us sort out this mess."

"Ah... the Weilante People, I hope they won't drag us into an unprepared battle again."

"The governor who came this time should be competent, feels far better than that idiot Kras."

As King Montegarde watched the nobles whisper privately in the council chamber, his face showed neither sadness nor joy.

For him, it was merely a change of masters; whether it was the Army or the Alliance, it made no difference.

It could even be said that the Army was easier to deal with; at least those Weilante People rarely touched the royal cake—so long as they obediently listened, that was enough.

At that moment, a stern-faced man strode in.

His hair was dry, his skin rough, and years of military service had aged his once young and handsome face prematurely, even inscribing it with the weathering inappropriate for his age.

"Your Majesty, the head of the William Industrial Zone has reported to me: the Alliance's Army moved out of the industrial park, taking with them almost all the equipment from the Royal Foundry and even the engineers and technical workers... including their families!"

William uttered these words nearly gnashing his teeth, his tone filled with rage.

He valued industrial importance more than any noble; those machines, though they did not produce honey or milk, could help them rob even greater expanses of land.

Especially after this war, he believed more firmly than ever that only industry could save the kingdom.

That's why, after the Alliance liberated him yesterday, he left Bistetown immediately without caring for the injured soldiers and rode swiftly with a small escort to the industrial district he had established.

However, upon arrival, the situation plunged him into despair.

The Alliance had almost removed everything movable.

Except for a few empty workshops and warehouses, the vast park had not a single remnant left for him.

Taking a deep breath, he struggled to control his emotions and continued with a trembling voice.

"...I beseech you to meet with the governor, sir, and press him to demand from the Alliance to return the looted equipment and population."

Hearing his son's request, Montegarde sighed slowly, saying helplessly.

"The governor will not help us... he even let the Alliance have Griffin's equipment; the war is over, son, all the cakes that should be shared are already distributed, today we only discuss future matters."

There was something he left unsaid.

They were not just unqualified to share the cake; they were the cake itself.

William gritted his teeth.

"But at least... should not those craftsmen be returned to us as prisoners? They keep proclaiming abolition; surely they can't be capturing them to make slaves?"

King Montegarde fell silent for a while.

"That manager indeed did not push things to the extreme."

Hope reignited in William's heart.

"Then..."

Montegarde sighed.

"They let those prisoners freely decide whether to stay or leave."

William stood stunned.

The nobles around the meeting table whispered among themselves, and Earl Krunwi couldn't help but curse, banging his fist on the table.

"These robbers!"

...

The next morning.

Dressed in a sharp suit, Taote arrived early at the Citizens' Self-Government Committee's building, greeted the doorman, and hummed a little tune as he went to the office.

This place used to be the tax bureau's building, but since the Alliance moved the accounts, those haughty bureaucrats dared not return, and this large building was left for their use.

Since becoming the chairman here, Taote felt that his identity was different from before.

Especially when those nobles looked at him with respect and fear, he felt as if he had become a noble himself, without an official title.

Even the king dared not make him bow.

To highlight his distinguished identity, he specifically found the tailor who made clothes for His Majesty the King and had him make a unique hat.

Of course, unlike those nobles, he paid for it.

Looking at the hat with colorful feathers on the table, Taote grew increasingly fond of it, happily placing it on his head and fiddling with it in front of the mirror.

However, just then, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open, and as he looked up, he saw his secretary walk in with a panicked expression.

A hint of displeasure appeared on Taote's face.

"Did I not tell you to knock?"

Looking at Taote's displeased face, the secretary said with a wry smile,

"Forget the door... Big trouble, the people from the Alliance have left!"

Taote jolted up from his chair, his hands bracing against the table and eyes widened.

"Left? The Alliance is leaving?"

The secretary nervously nodded, continuing with a wry smile,

"Yes... they boarded their airship early this morning, and even though it hasn't yet departed, they've already raised their anchor."

Losing interest in the hat on his head, Taote casually pulled it off and tossed it aside, rising to question his secretary anxiously,

"Did they leave any instructions? What should we do now? In the future, do we listen to the Weilante People or to the king?"

The manager's indifference caused him a trace of horror, and thinking back to the way those nobles looked at him at the execution ground, his spine began to chill.

The secretary hesitated for a moment before speaking tentatively,

"They said... that people ultimately need to save themselves. They've come already; the rest is up to us."

Taote stared blankly at his secretary.

"Come over? Rely on ourselves?"

Looking at the finely made hat on the table, and the gun that he had leaned against the windowsill, all he wanted to do was cry...

Seeing the confused chairman, the secretary sighed, but they were in the same boat.

For his own life and his family's safety, he patiently added,

"Actually, things aren't as bad as they seem. The citizens are on our side, many of them veterans who dislike the Weilante People more than the Alliance. If we can unite them, we might become a formidable force."

"What good does uniting those people do?" Taote felt a surge of irritation.

He knew better than anyone that those people were a disorganized mob, and likely at the king's command, they would turn him over to the gallows.

The secretary lowered his voice and continued,

"We have to try... The Weilante People are short on guns right now. The new governor is completely unfamiliar with this place. They need our cooperation, militarily and economically. If we just play along with them, using their power to balance the court, they might not mind having two kings in this kingdom."

Taote calmed down somewhat.

That was actually a good idea.

The Citizens' Self-Government Committee represented professionals from all industries, and over half of this city's artisanal and industrial production was related to them, while those nobles could only contribute a little food from their estates and lands at most.

Unless that governor wanted just to be a big landlord, he wouldn't antagonize them for a few nobles he hardly knew.

Most importantly, trying offered a chance to survive; doing nothing would surely lead to certain death.

"Call all committee members and representatives for a meeting!"

The secretary breathed a sigh of relief.

"Very well, sir."

…

While the Citizens' Self-Government Committee was busy with the meeting, a lively scene unfolded in Bistetown, on the periphery of Oasis No.2.

Outside the east gate, next to the main road, Weddell clung to a roadside cement block, looking at the two soldiers who approached him, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded,

"I'm not going anywhere! This is my home! I've dedicated my life to this place, I want to stay here!"

One of the tall soldiers teased with a smile,

"Isn't it good being a baron back home?"

The other soldier also added with a laugh,

"Exactly, don't you have a manor? Just go back and be a lord."

However, to their surprise, Weddell reacted even more fiercely, his crying voice tinged with a beg,

"No! I would rather be a civilian!"

It was a joke.

How could he possibly go back!

Just surrendering to the Alliance without a fight was already a capital offense, let alone becoming the Alliance's lapdog, making everyone who returned despise him.

Especially the meaningful look from Prince William when he left.

At that moment, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, terrifying him enough to send someone to Oasis No.2 that night to relocate his entire family.

If he had known that the Alliance had no plans to occupy Oasis No.2, he absolutely wouldn't have been so obsequious.

But who could have predicted that?

With the way the Alliance had struck, they nearly razed the Falcon Kingdom to the ground...

The two Alliance soldiers looked at each other, thinking that they couldn't just leave him here, disgracing himself, so they went up and pulled him up.

"Get up."

"If you want to stay, stay, no one cares, but don't block the way."

Weddell's heart leapt with joy.

"…You guys really aren't going to kick me out?"

The soldier looked at him with disdain.

"Manager said, those who want to leave can go back on their own, those who want to stay, it's up to you. That person doesn't have the time to bother with you."

Upon hearing this, Weddell finally broke into a smile, haha laughing as he let go of the concrete pier, dusted off his pants, and returned to town with endless thanks.

Not far from where he had been obstructing the road, an officer from the Second Corps of the Alliance passed through the barbed wire and approached a group of seated prisoners, taking out a megaphone and shouting.

"The war is over, you can go home now."

Officers above the rank of Centurion had already been released yesterday; most people were completely unaware of any ceasefire negotiation.

Initially, people looked at each other, then gradually some began to stand up.

A portion of them crossed through the open gate on the west side towards the wilderness, and upon seeing that the soldiers of the Alliance did not shoot, they continued on their way.

Fewer and fewer people remained on the open space.

A large group chose to leave, but many also headed in the completely opposite direction.

A few soldiers from Falcon Kingdom approached the check post, among them a teenager about fifteen or sixteen years old, who spoke to the soldiers of the Alliance.

"I don't want to go back."

The soldier of the Alliance looked him over.

"Why?"

The teenager hesitated then said.

"I have nowhere to go."

The soldier continued.

"What about your family?"

The teenager paused for a moment then said softly.

"My father and my brother both left, and last month... my mother too. Let me stay, I can work."

Before the teenager could finish speaking, another hand was raised behind him, eagerly saying,

"Me too! I'm strong, can carry heavy things!"

"I used to farm! I can do agricultural work!"

A chorus of similar shouts came from behind, clearly indicating he was not the only one wanting to stay.

Some people who were hesitantly walking towards the gates stopped unconsciously upon hearing the noise from the other side.

Although they hadn't been in the POW camp for long, upon reflection, the treatment they received from the Alliance seemed quite fair.

They didn't whip them for amusement just because they were the victors; the only thing they forced them to do was to repair their own shelters.

Particularly surprising to the prisoners was that the Alliance had even distributed some of the food seized from the Vellante People to them.

This was unthinkable in the eyes of many.

The Vellante People had never treated them as humans, and neither had the nobility of the kingdom, but in the POW camp, they had felt human for a few days.

Even though they knew the enemy's kindness was not well-intentioned, the thought of the nobility's attitude made them despair about the life they might return to.

More and more people gathered around the check post, forcing the duty soldiers to fire warning shots into the sky, and one sentry jogged to his superior for instructions.

Before long, a table was added to the camp.

The previously tearful Weddell was seated at the table, now shouting through a megaphone.

"Those who don't want to leave, come here to register! Think carefully before you write your name down!"

A long queue formed in front of the table.

Some prisoners who had planned to leave hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose to stay, including some lower-ranking officers with the title Centurion.

And so, by noon, the prisoners lingering near Bistetown had been dispersed, and out of over eighty thousand soldiers, forty percent had stayed—more than thirty thousand…

…

Iron Heart.

Chu Guang, standing in the ship's bridge, received a call from Liuding, the commander of the Second Corps stationed in Bistetown.

After hearing his report, Chu Guang couldn't help but show a hint of surprise on his face.

"So many, over thirty thousand, chose to stay."

He had initially expected that around ten thousand would be impressive, but over thirty thousand had remained!

What baffled Chu Guang was that, after pondering for a while, he couldn't recall what they had done right for those prisoners.

Those nobles of Falcon Kingdom surely must have been inhumane.

Including the engineers and their families that the Storm Corps had taken from William Industrial Zone, the population of Bistetown was likely approaching forty thousand.

In the short term, there wouldn't be much impact as the Alliance had gathered substantial supplies from Horn Fort and the frontlines, but in the long run, food and fresh water supplies would certainly become an issue.

Sensing the Manager's difficulty, Liuding asked in a grave voice.

"Should we get rid of some of them?"

"There's no need for that."

Chu Guang coughed.

"If they want to stay, let them."

It would seem petty to drive people away when they had voluntarily chosen to stay.

Moreover, Bistetown, directly governed by the Alliance, could serve as a flag for the Alliance in Luo Xia Province. If it developed well, it would undoubtedly have a positive impact on the image of the Alliance.

The only problem was that it was all sand there, with neither "levees" nor any valuable strategic resources, its only value perhaps being its location.

If agriculture could not be developed, then they would have to develop industry instead.

The military production line relocated from Falcon Kingdom could move to the adjacent Oasis No. 3, which lies within the borders of Honey Badger Kingdom.

As for the civilian production lines, part of them can remain in Bistetown, where there's ample labor force to get the work done.

Currently, both Honey Badger Kingdom and Falcon Kingdom urgently need post-war reconstruction, with a substantial demand for some industrial products.

There's young labor available and necessary equipment for production. Getting rich might be difficult, but sustaining themselves shouldn't be a problem.

"…have the Lion Kingdom Army leave behind their surplus supplies before they pull out, including food, fresh water, and clothing. Winter is approaching, and the desert isn't warm—don't let anyone freeze to death."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued speaking.

"Afterwards, I will appoint an official to act as the local governor and arrange for a shipment of supplies from Clear Spring City. For now, you should organize them into four construction armies to start building their own housing... Just don't let them be idle."

Liuding, with his right hand on his chest, stood at attention and replied firmly.

"Yes!"

Considering that Liuding was a rough man who knew nothing about urban planning and management, Chu Guang patiently explained some details about constructing the new settlement.

For instance, placing the center of the settlement to the east of the airport and reserving areas for the development of commerce and industry.

Ideal Group will provide technical support in terms of cement debris recycling and road construction, relieving the alliance from this concern.

Chu Guang planned an exchange budget of one billion Cr to buy equipment from Ideal City according to the local needs once the alliance governor arrived.

Following these discussions, they were interrupted by the acting captain approaching from outside the bridge, who saluted militarily.

"Report! All units have boarded, and the anchor has been raised; the ship is ready to depart at any time!"

"Very well."

Chu Guang cast one final look through the floor-to-ceiling window at the sun-drenched Survivor Settlement, his lips curling into a faint smile.

It was finally time to say goodbye.

King Montegarde and those nobles were probably already joyously popping champagne.

But they would soon realize they had celebrated too soon.

Including the newly appointed governor.

They would soon discover the "surprise" the alliance left behind for them.

As for what this surprise would eventually become, only time would reveal… The locals here must ultimately decide their own future.

For himself, the war in Luo Xia Province had concluded, and more pressing matters awaited his attention.

Redirecting his gaze from the window, Chu Guang turned to the standing acting captain.

"Set sail!"

The captain saluted crisply.

"Yes!"

…

While the Steel Heart was advancing towards the Great Desert, in some latrine in Far West City, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was also logging online.

Until the moment Steel Heart set sail, he hadn't received further instructions from the Manager.

"Goddammit… Did these guys forget about me?" muttered the Old Soldier, pulling up his pants and mockingly pressing the flush button before heading outside.

Since Griffin's death, he had retreated with the fifth ten-thousand-strong troops to Far West City in the northwest of Oasis No.2, killing time with the bored Weilante People who were waiting to return home.

With the ceasefire agreement in effect, the "Endless Sands" expansion had officially concluded, and just last night's rewards had been distributed.

Thanks to the major intel he provided earlier, he effortlessly topped the expansion's individual total score leaderboard—fifty thousand points ahead of the second place!

But what good did it do?

Although he drew a bunch of valuable treasures, the high-quality equipment was of no use without an opportunity to employ it.

His buddies were afraid of wasting it and wanted to use it on his behalf, but he instantly refused without a second thought!

Joking! These treasures were acquired at the risk of his life; how could he let those bastards take them?

If 'I Max Black' got his hands on it, there'd be nothing left when he returned.

While the Old Soldier was pondering whom to hang out with, a familiar figure approached from afar.

He looked up and saw it was his immediate superior—Colonel Wirie.

The Old Soldier felt no surprise, only annoyance.

Lately, the man had taken to cozying up to him.

Maybe because he was too idle after the defeat, or maybe it was to show appreciation—previously, the Colonel had sent word through his confidants; now, he made unsolicited visits to his tent, which really bothered him and irritated him no end.

Clearly, this time was no different; the Colonel had likely come to chit-chat again.

The Old Soldier even suspected that the Colonel had been waiting outside the privy for quite a while.

Just as the Old Soldier was about to initiate some small talk, Colonel Wirie suddenly pulled him aside with a mysterious expression.

"I've got a good opportunity."

"…What opportunity?"

As he looked at the smiling General Vilic, Edge Shoveling instinctively became wary.

The war was over; surely they weren't going to ask him to assassinate someone?

However, just as he thought that, Vilic's next words stunned him on the spot.

"According to the ceasefire agreement, we are to send two representatives to No.0 Shelter to jointly investigate that legendary relic with enterprises, academies, and the alliance."

"The governor has nominated his close associate, Thousands of leaders Vali, to go. However, since Vali is a professional officer and considering the potential dangers in the relic, he needs a strong escort… When I heard the governor's requirements, I immediately thought of you."

Saying this, Vilic extended his hand, patting the stoic Pangolin comrade on the shoulder, and gave him an encouraging look.

"This isn't just my personal suggestion; General Alec also highly regards your abilities… Make the most of this opportunity."

"I believe in you!"

Chapter 501: Where Civilization First Collapsed

The Great Desert was located to the west of Luo Xia Province.

Although called a desert, in reality, it was not as "barren" as most Waste Land Wanderers imagined.

Those crumbling concrete buildings, as well as the rust-streaked warehouses and factories, all attested to the area's past prosperity. Even after being swept by rolling sandstorms for two centuries, this man-made wonder that stretched over thousands of kilometers was not entirely submerged.

And there was more, since the underground current's transport pipelines intersected here, a large amount of desalinated seawater had leaked into the underground rock layers due to pipeline ruptures, forming a rich underground water reservoir.

Thus, despite being plagued with earthquakes, sandstorms, fallout dust, thunderstorms, and so forth, the species active in this region were actually more thriving than those in neighboring Luo Xia Province.

The era had left Luo Xia Province with only a few oases as a blessing, but here the situation was quite the opposite.

The legacy of blessings was so abundant that it had even spilled over...

"Damn... what the hell is that?"

A giant snake as thick as an oil barrel slowly slithered between two collapsed skyscrapers, its cracked skin resembling the parched yellow earth, lying in the soft quicksand like a fallen giant tree.

Watching the tens-of-meters-long giant snake wriggling forward through the sands, a soldier in an exoskeleton stepped back two paces, his scalp tingling.

His name was Su Ming, a precision shooter by position, and the number 26 printed on his breastplate and arms was the number of him and his brothers, as well as the emblem of "Enterprise Assault Team No. 26."

As one of the few ground units of the enterprise that had participated in the Luo Xia Province battles, their main tasks in the war were to execute vanguard, guerrilla, and enemy rear sabotage missions.

Although most residents of Ideal City credited their allies with the victory in the war, their participation in the fighting was actually not insignificant.

It just didn't sound as good in the press releases.

Arriving next to Su Ming, Yun Song glanced at the giant snake for a moment, the squares in his tactical goggles locking it in the center, a progress bar going around the frame's edges.

"There's no record of it in the database... You discovered it first, so why not name it?"

Su Ming scratched the back of his head.

"Sand Worm?"

Before Yun Song could respond, Gu Wei, who was wearing power armor, laughed and teased.

"Too mundane, and there's already one in the neighboring desert, nothing like this creature."

"Then how about... Earth Dragon? Giant Earthworm? Burrowing bug?"

"Let's just call it Burrowing Bug... don't waste any more time."

Interrupting their conversation, Yun Song extended his index finger and tapped twice in the air, operating the holographic window to archive the image data, then switched to the tactical map.

"The target is about a kilometer ahead... everyone, stay alert, we'll soon be bringing our employees home."

"Oh," Su Ming called out weakly.

They had been on duty for nearly a whole year.

Crossing thousands of kilometers of Wasteland, they had even been dragged into the war in Luo Xia Province... He couldn't help but think that the experiences along the way could make a movie when they got back.

Under Yun Song's command, Assault Team No. 26 continued its operation.

Led by bionic soldiers and drones, the group moved along the broken concrete road for a while, carefully avoiding large areas of quicksand and several zones with abnormal life signals.

At this time, there was new news from the communications soldier, and Yun Song raised his right fist, signaling the team to stop at the entrance of an abandoned factory.

By now, they were only the last three hundred meters away from the Mutant tribe, and atop the distant abandoned buildings, they could even see the camouflaged dump and the Mutant Sentinels standing watch with binoculars.

"...mission status updated, it's good news, the Alliance has decided to send an airship to support our operation before evacuation."

Hearing this, many people sighed with relief.

They hadn't brought everyone out this time; more than thirty logistics personnel and over twenty soldiers stayed at the campsite.

Relying on ten sets of power armor, thirty exoskeletons, and less than thirty bionic soldiers—without heavy firepower—it was a bit difficult to take down a Mutant tribe more than ten times their size.

Even if they could win, they would suffer significant casualties.

The mutants in the Great Desert weren't just armed with iron pipe rifles; through trade with the Army and the Falcon Kingdom, these beasts had gotten their hands on semi-automatic and even fully automatic weapons.

Not to mention the pre-war relics and trash they turned into DIY weapons.

Those things might not look reliable, but underestimating them would cost dearly.

Like the one time they encountered a mutant wielding a thermal melt ray gun made from the head and spine of a "Vanguard" robot, which managed to take down one of their power armor units with a sneak attack.

These unexpected attack methods were tough to defend against.

Hearing that Alliance support was on the way, Su Ming excitedly said,

"That 400mm heavy cannon?"

Yun Song nodded.

"Yes... including the ground forces and those unreliable gliders. However, we need to first confirm that there are no employees in the camp, then decide whether to use an axe or a scalpel."

Saying this, he looked towards the drone operator at the back of the group.

"Reconnaissance is up to you."

"Roger that."

A solemn-faced man gave a hand signal, knocking on his shoulder, and the back of his drone pack popped open the hatch door.

A quadcopter drone shot out like a bolt from a crossbow, whistling as it soared into the sky.

The view was linked to the tactical goggles in his helmet.

The signal was poor but barely manageable.

Under the drone operator's control, the quadcopter carefully avoided the gaze of the Mutant Sentinels, moving to the side of a building, passing through rows of twisted rebar and concrete debris, and flew over the Mutant Tribe's territory.

The entire tribe was situated inside an abandoned factory.

Shanties made of garbage and the half-collapsed factory merged into one, with vast metal sheds and beast skins hung out to dry blocking the winding alleys.

Yet through the gaps in those obstructions, one could still make out bodies black as coal, with bloodthirsty canine teeth and bulging muscles.

They resembled orcs from a fantasy movie.

What was chilling was the fact that these flesh-eating beasts had somehow learned to mimic human societies, developing their own city and even clear societal roles...

There were residential areas reeking of excrement, arenas for venting violence and entertaining Mutants, blacksmith sections filled with the clang of metalwork, plantations growing unknown fruits, and pastures imprisoning various livestock...

Overlooking this vast tribal encampment through the drone's lens, the operator felt his scalp tingle.

Especially when he discovered, in a pasture that looked like a garbage heap, caged fellows of his kind, rage surged to his forehead.

"Motherfucker..."

"What's wrong?" Upon hearing his curse, Yun Song threw an inquisitive glance at him.

The drone operator didn't speak, instead he simply drew his index finger through the air, sharing the scene he witnessed with his teammates who were looking his way.

The drone's lens zoomed in.

All one could see was a series of iron baskets constructed from rebar, holding numerous battered and naked bodies.

Those with protruding bellies were considered "fortunate," as the Mutants usually wouldn't consume them, while those who hadn't borne them offspring were not so lucky. Many were terribly tormented, not only deprived of arms and legs but also suffering from festering, maggot-infested wounds.

The Mutants themselves possessed incredible healing abilities and had no need for bandages or antibiotics, which naturally meant they wouldn't bother to dress the wounds of unfinished meals.

Many people sat on the ground with lifeless eyes, not even having the strength to swat the swarming flies around them, while others lay immobile, their state of life or death unknown.

Not far away, on a butcher block, a bare-armed Mutant Priest was delivering human babies in a crude and primitive way, indifferent to whether the laborers would survive the ordeal.

The chaotic worshipers were never picky eaters; their stomachs were as robust as their muscles and bones.

Those slaves raised like livestock might come from the Falcon Kingdom, the Honey Badger or the Male Lion, or even have been trafficked from further afar... Few bothered to trace where those who vanished in wars ended up.

Even after witnessing many hellish sights throughout their march across the Wasteland, Su Ming's face couldn't help but turn slightly pale.

This was even more brutal than those imitation Looters.

The soldier not far from him couldn't repress the urge to retch.

"These goddamn beasts!" Gu Wei clenched the heavy machine gun in his hands, wishing he could rush in right then and riddle them with bullets.

"They were always beasts, when did you start thinking otherwise?"

Yun Song, with an expressionless face, manipulated the holographic window, selecting parts of the camp and marking potential areas with living humans.

After completing all this, he signaled the communications officer to set up a signal booster, roughly aiming in the direction of the Iron Heart.

"This is Assault Team No.26, we have confirmed the location of the 'Black Rock' Mutant Tribe, about two thousand in number, just as the intel said."

"There are survivors in the tribe... We can't get any closer, not sure if any of ours are there, and I hope not."

After a buzz of static,

A voice from the other end of the communication channel responded.

"Received... We will arrive in half an hour, if possible, please help us draw them to a more open area."

Yun Song looked towards two old buildings leaning against each other not far away—the previous "earthworm" had just burrowed through there.

It was a good spot.

Whether for cannon fire landing points,

Or as the grave to bury those beasts.

"Received, leave it to us."

After ending the communication, he waved at the soldiers behind him.

"Time to get to work."

...

Meanwhile, tens of kilometers away at the edge of the desert, a massive Iron Airship slowly pushed through the rolling sands, heading towards the endless ruins.

If Chu Guang had been shocked once by the vast sands and rolling clouds when he first entered Luo Xia Province,

Then the shock in his heart at this moment was in no way inferior to that time.

In fact, it was even more intense!

"Incredible... Was this place once a city?" Standing inside the bridge, Chu Guang looked down through the floor-to-ceiling windows in disbelief.

The hundred-meter-wide highway stretched out straight ahead, merging with the cluster of high-rise buildings on the horizon, such that even when viewed from a kilometer-high airship, one could not see the end at a glance.

The earth was divided into countless grids with intertwining roads and the remnants of tracks, half of which were dense buildings and the other half were boundless deserts.

Perhaps it would take another few hundred, or even a thousand years, for this land to completely take on the shape of Luo Xia Province...

Standing beside Chu Guang, Wu Changnian squinted his eyes slightly, his face not just showing shock, but also a hint of melancholy.

"…I heard that during the Prosperity Epoch, which was two centuries ago, the Great Desert wasn't called the Great Desert, but was divided into four industrial zones of the United Human."

Chu Guang glanced at him puzzled and asked,

"Four industrial zones?"

"Yes."

Wu Changnian nodded his head and looked out the window as if sinking into memories of a certain video record. After a pause, he started to speak slowly.

"…The Western Industrial Zone was the starting point of the entire industrial chain, responsible for producing the most basic raw materials, and for rough processing of raw materials for the logistics network and space elevator transport, such as synthetic chemicals, catalysts, alloys, and so on."

"The Northern Industrial Zone was the logistics storage center, responsible for storing logistics surplus, distributing finished goods, and transferring intermediate products and waste materials. It had the densest transportation network of the Prosperity Epoch where, in theory, as long as you chose the right mode of transport, you could reach it directly from any corner of this planet, on track or off. It also had the highest density of office buildings."

"The Eastern Industrial Zone was the endpoint of the industrial chain, where a large, efficient, and dense industrial chain was responsible for processing or assembling raw materials and intermediate products into the final products."

"As for the Southern Industrial Zone, it was mainly an energy hub. It acted like a huge charging plug, its role being to receive energy produced by the outer space power generating facilities."

"With the addition of the space elevator, the four industrial zones surrounding the space elevator formed a complete closed-loop industrial chain."

Chu Guang expressed his amazement,

"Building an industrial center in the middle of the continent?"

To him, from another world, it seemed counterintuitive.

After all, in his hometown, industrial zones are mostly concentrated in the east, especially in coastal areas, while there were fewer industrial centers in the western inland, and their distribution was relatively sparse.

However, it seemed to be an entirely different matter here.

Wu Changnian nodded and continued,

"Yes, there are stable climate conditions here, far from the junctions of continental plates, without active earthquakes and volcanic activity. And unlike the ocean or coastal areas, which are sometimes hit by typhoons... there's no better place than this to construct a space elevator base."

As he spoke, his tone unavoidably took on a hint of emotion.

"At first, it was just an elevator. Later, the dense transportation network began to extend into near-Earth orbit and gradually became a tower, a mountain, and even a greater mountain. Endless resources poured from space to the surface in amazing abundance... The prosperity of that era is hard to imagine now, even the Ideal City is just recreating the tip of the iceberg of it."

Wu Changnian had also heard that in the initial plan, the United Human intended to use another two centuries with the space elevator at the center to radiate the urban cluster to every corner of the Central Continent. Using the energy and alloys from space mining, they wanted to transform the entire planet into a cosmic metropolis.

That blueprint was the embodiment of the dreams of everyone in the Prosperity Epoch; individuals' ideals, ambitions, and imaginations would extend infinitely on this planet of endless prosperity and spread from it to the more distant galaxy.

Unfortunately, a war that lasted only three years shattered all those dreams.

As Wu Changnian reminisced about the past, the Chu Guang standing beside him had yet to recover from the grand blueprint.

While the things visible to the naked eye were not exaggerations, he still couldn't understand how this vast industrial center was placed right in the center of the continent.

"...What about industrial water? Where does the water come from?"

Wu Changnian paused; he hadn't expected this to be his point of interest, then replied with a laugh,

"Aren't there underground ocean current pipelines? What do you think the Grand Canyon was for before?"

Chu Guang suddenly realized.

He seemed to vaguely remember hearing that the existence of the Grand Canyon was for storing surplus energy generated by controllable fusion power plants, with the specific implementation being seawater electrolysis.

As for the surplus chlorine gas, sodium, and various metal elements precipitated from seawater and other by-products, they would be packed and sent to the industrial zone for processing.

So the underground ocean current pipeline was not only built for the Grand Canyon but also had the purpose of supplying industrial water to the center of the continent!

The might of that era turned out to be even more terrifying than he had imagined...

Amidst the shock in his heart, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel a tingling in his scalp.

Especially when he thought about the claims he had made and the "pies" he had drawn for Yin Fang, Heya, Vanus, and other survivors...

How on earth could they return to the greatness of the Prosperity Epoch?

Even mobilizing seven billion players wouldn't be enough!

Moreover, it was obvious that the Morphogenesis Field couldn't accommodate so many people... otherwise, there was no reason the First Generation Manager would have set up so many rules and given him "activation codes" as part of a plan.

Unaware of the thoughts in Chu Guang's mind, Wu Changnian chuckled and continued to speak,

"Of course, the solid hydrogen beneath the Grand Canyon is a strategic reserve that isn't used regularly. The main supply of industrial water comes from the Southern Industrial Zone. Not only is it an energy hub, but it's also responsible for seawater desalination and wastewater recycling... I don't understand the specifics too much, as I've only looked at an overview from the database. To deeply understand how the entire system operates, you'd need to ask an expert in that field."

"In any event, the four industrial zones made up over 60% of the United Human's total production value, with the peak reportedly reaching 70%,"

"So remember, no one knows what might be inside Shelter No. 0, we'd better be careful, and ensure proper personnel are selected."

Listening to that cautious tone, Chu Guang also nodded solemnly,

"I will arrange for a resident of the shelter with outstanding perceptual abilities."

Wu Changnian nodded approvingly,

"That would be best."

Shelter No. 404 was known for its average Awakeners per Resident.

Although he trusted AI and machines more than the unstable biological factor of Awakening, the Alliance had proven in the previous War that humans could match machines under certain circumstances and even create miracles that machines could not reach. It never hurts to bring along a couple of reliable experts.

And that was also why he was able to persuade the corporations and the Army to help the "inexperienced in relic excavation" Alliance secure two spots.

There was only one access card.

According to the employee named Luo Hua, the elevator they discovered that led to No.0 Shelter wasn't very large, and the number of people who could go down at one time was limited...

Just then, the door to the bridge opened.

Vanus walked in from the outside, saluted, and spoke crisply.

"Assault Team No.26 from the corporation has sent news; they have confirmed the coordinates of the 'Black stone' Mutant tribe but are unsure if there are any corporate employees among the slaves imprisoned by the Mutants."

"If it's not certain, then assume there are," Chu Guang turned and said seriously to Vanus, "Is there a new combat plan?"

Vanus nodded.

"The combat plan is a frontal assault. We have informed Assault Team No.26 that fire support will arrive in half an hour, and they plan to launch the attack in half an hour, drawing enemy units to the artillery coordinates they have recommended."

"Very well, follow this plan," Chu Guang nodded, then after a pause, continued giving orders, "Have the airship's gun positions ready for fire support, and have the Burning Corps stand by on the lower deck, ready to support our allies."

"Yes!" Vanus saluted again crisply and turned to leave the bridge.

Moving his gaze from his retreating figure, Wu Changnian looked at Chu Guang with a thankful expression.

"Thank you for the importance you place on our employees."

Chu Guang responded with a faint smile.

"Don't mention it. The crew of Pioneer are not only our friends but also have done us a great favor."

Without that revolutionary lathe, the industrialization that followed would not have progressed so smoothly. No matter how big the players' imaginations were, there had to be something to turn those ideas into reality.

Even though it was a mutually beneficial transaction, he was well aware that the other party had indeed taken good care of them, otherwise they would not have condoned them shearing so much wool.

He had told Captain Lu Yang when they parted that he would remember this favor, and now was the time to repay it.

"...But come to think of it, was that man from Weilante?" Wu Changnian suddenly seemed to recall something and mentioned.

"Yes, he is."

Seeing Chu Guang's calm reaction, Wu Changnian couldn't help but ask.

"Is that really okay?"

He had just reminded this young leader to be wary of every Weilante person.

Looking at that slightly concerned gaze, Chu Guang said unconcernedly,

"He opted to stay voluntarily."

Long before heading to Luo Xia Province, Chu Guang had discussed this issue with Vanus: if he felt uncomfortable fighting the Army, he could stay in Qingquan City, and he would not force anyone to engage in a War they did not wish to partake in.

Objectively speaking, the efforts Vanus made in training officers for the Alliance and establishing a command system for the Alliance during its early startup were sufficient to repay his "debt."

After the War, like other prisoners, he could return to his homeland as a prisoner exchanged, and no one would know that he had served the Alliance.

However, upon hearing his proposal, Vanus not only decisively rejected this only chance to return home but even stood in front of Finod and McCullen, two prisoners destined to be exchanged, with an open stance, showing his loyalty to the Alliance.

And the reason he gave left Chu Guang silent for a long time.

"...I have spent a year contemplating the meaning of this War, yet aside from hatred and death, it seems we have gained nothing. My unit was senselessly wiped out in the South, my commanders and their men were exterminated in the North. At the moment of failure, I had no regrets, instead, I felt a certain relief."

"I don't think his Highness the Marshal is wrong, nor do I think General Kras is foolish. Perhaps by continuing on their path, we might indeed reach a bright future, it's just that we in the present do not understand."

"As General Kras often says, we are atrocious criminals, and we all will be nailed to the pillar of historical shame for reflection by future generations, but they will thank us for leaving them a vast world. In that world, there will only be Weilante people; Weilante people will not loathe each other, and the tragedies of the past... whether they occurred two hundred years ago or even further back, will not be repeated."

"But with you, I have seen another possibility that we never envisioned, perhaps there is a unity in this world that transcends blood, ... just as you said, we are all survivors, whether residents of the refuge or Wasteland Wanderers outside. What should be eliminated is not one of us but the savagery that ravages the Wasteland"

"War is my Work, unfortunately, it's the only thing I can do. But if here with you, it can become slightly meaningful, even if just a little bit, please allow me to continue forward by your side."

At the same time, on the lower deck of the ship, the flashing signal lights had already conveyed the command to fight.

The eager players had donned their Exoskeletons, picked up their most elite gear, and were equipped with ample ammunition.

This time they were going to bring back an old friend.

And it was a public military operation under the joint scrutiny of the Army, corporations, and the Academy.

Everyone was ready to show off in front of those old folks, to let the new governor from Weilante see if their loss was truly unjust.

"Brothers! Our opponents this time are the Mutants! Back on Street No.76, friends from the East Coast pulled us through, now it's our turn to pull them."

Walking up to his good brothers.

Old White, clad in Dragon Rider Power Armor, glanced at the brothers with soaring morale and spoke loudly with his resonant voice.

"There's only one purpose for this operation—"

"Leave no one behind!"

The cry that came from the hatchway leading to the deck was so deafening that even the alloy floor shook violently under that burning will to fight.

"Ooh-rah!"

"Wipe out those beasts!"

Chapter 502: The Flame-Shaped Crest

Not far behind the Iron Heart, a slightly smaller airship was closely following.

In the bridge.

Staring at the Iron Heart ahead, which had been modified beyond recognition, General McCullen's face was filled with gloom.

He still remembered the mockery from the man in the tin can suit when he disembarked from that airship, the hollow congratulations.

He vowed.

The humiliation he suffered here, he would repay tenfold!

Standing not far beside him, Captain Adria of the Adjudicator frowned in thought for a while, before suddenly speaking up unexpectedly.

"I still can't figure out how to seize that thing."

Compared to his Adjudicator, that guy's ship was outfitted like a porcupine with cannons. Even if it were to face an army of a hundred thousand, the latter would probably only be able to watch helplessly.

Although there was no ridicule in his words, to McCullen's ears, they were particularly grating, so much so that his brows couldn't help but twitch.

"That was an accident..."

Seeing that his colleague didn't want to elaborate, Adria shrugged in disappointment and did not pursue the matter.

Although he had one more star on his shoulder than McCullen did, he still had to consider the background of this man.

Unlike officers like Griffin who came from civilian backgrounds, McCullen, like himself, belonged to the class of noble officers. Even though the officers of the Eastern Expansion faction had fallen on hard times, he wouldn't lose power because of that, and his experience fighting on the eastern front might even turn into a qualification.

Politics was one aspect, but in a place like Triumph City, one's social standing was also a significant factor. They were all from the same air force system; there was no need to make an enemy over a few words.

The silence in the bridge continued briefly.

At this moment, McCullen suddenly initiated conversation.

"By the way, how did Griffin die?"

"He had a stroke," Adria replied reflexively, but McCullen dismissed the answer with a disdainful twist of his mouth.

"Don't give me that crap; I've never seen that idiot with any health issues before."

Adria fell silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Don't make this uncomfortable for me; he was from the army. If you're curious, you should ask Joseph; maybe he knows something."

McCullen didn't speak further, simply nodding his head, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the Iron Heart outside the bridge.

On the distant deck, airplanes without propellers were being pushed into the hangar, and surprisingly, these planes lacked propellers.

"A very bold concept," Adria said approvingly, "I heard about it from the commander of the Falcon Kingdom's guards. They drop this type of wooden airplane from the airship, using the airship's altitude to provide gliding power... These airplanes can forego propellers and engines; two carpenters can make them."

"It seems problematic that they can't take off from the ground, but as a disposable prop, it's quite interesting."

Once he got back, he planned to speak with someone he knew from the Air Force Equipment Manufacturing Bureau to see if they could produce something similar.

But just a glider was useless.

This also involved retrofitting strategic airship equipment, which would require convincing the air force command, as well as finding a willing captain.

This would probably be difficult.

After all, Triumph City did not think indigenous equipment was of any value to learn from, nor did it truly regard the conflict with the Alliance as a war, but rather as a contest between Triumph City and Ideal City.

"Can we gain a bit more altitude?" McCullen, with his eyes unswervingly on the deck, suddenly asked.

Adria nodded and waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Ascend three hundred meters."

The aide-de-camp beside him stood at attention and said,

"Yes!"

...

The Adjudicator climbed to altitude, reaching the optimal observation deck. Meanwhile, not far off, the elongated flying craft also sped up and hovered over the battlefield.

Including Wu Changnian, standing on the Iron Heart.

Representatives from various factions were watching the Alliance's next move.

And the Alliance's actions didn't disappoint those onlooking spectators.

Thirty gliders took off one after another from the airship's deck, and with the roaring and surging air currents, they all headed towards the battle coordinates twenty kilometers away.

At the same time, underneath the rolling sand and dust, Enterprise Assault Team No.26 had already engaged in intense gunfire with the Black Rock Mutant Tribe.

Ten power armors were dispersed in the front ranks as vanguards, followed by bionic soldiers, and then soldiers in exoskeletons.

Trails of orange-yellow tracer fire zipped through the ruins like flecks spattering from a forge.

The situation on the battlefield was extremely tense!

Even though the Enterprise side had power armors and powerful Gauss Weapons, the mutants held an absolute numerical advantage and a physical edge.

Unless their skulls were cracked open by searing metal bullets, even if half their faces were blown off, they could still charge forward, brandishing chainsaws and their dangling jaws.

"Smash 'em flat!"

"Chop 'em up! Toss 'em in the fryer!"

"Mururururu!"

After shooting down more than a dozen mutants, one of the shorter figures charged closer.

Yun Song decisively discarded the broad Gauss Rifle he held like a greatsword and drew the curved knife strapped to the armor on his right leg, clanging it against an incoming short axe.

This was a gift from a general of the Lion Kingdom, purportedly forged from "Heavenly Alloy" gifted by the Spirit of the Sand Sea—essentially, it was armor steel used in starships.

Armor steel stripped from a starship was never going to be matched by scrap picked up in the Wasteland; the short axe was instantly fractured.

The mutant staggered back, a hint of surprise written in its bloodthirsty pupils; it clearly hadn't expected this bulky hunk of metal to be so agile.

But the surprise was momentary, soon replaced by a craving for flesh and blood.

"Roar—!"

A beastly roar erupted, and it charged again with its fractured axe, but before it could take two steps, its throat was severed by a smoothly executed slash.

Watching the head fly, Yun Song flicked the blood off his knife without hesitation, picked up the Gauss Rifle from the ground, and calmly retreated while firing at the roaring mutants advancing on him.

Over two hundred bodies lay strewn on the ground, yet more ashen mutants seemed to emerge endlessly from the ruins.

"Damn it... Are there really only two thousand of these guys?" Su Ming tossed aside the overheated barrel and, while attaching a new one, cursed loudly.

"Maybe? Who can be certain... I can only estimate based on their food supplies and the scale of their constructions; maybe they've been growing mushrooms in some underground cavern," said the drone operator, feeling a chill on his scalp.

Mutants from the Great Desert differed completely from those on the East Coast.

Whether in their style of combat or in their habits of life.

If this were the East Coast, they would have already called in a tactical nuclear bomb or air-dropped an autonomous heavy-weapon robot as support.

The first line of defense, composed of power armor, had already made contact with the Mutants face-to-face.

Three power armors had drawn out their half-meter-long battle knives and were locked in combat with Mutants wielding hundred-kilogram hammers.

It was at this moment that the drone operator suddenly bellowed.

"The majority of the enemy units have gathered around the coordinates for artillery fire! Now is the best time! Captain, how much longer till the Alliance arrives?"

A calm reply came through the communication channel.

"Support request has been sent!"

Almost immediately after these words were spoken, a series of loud bangs could be heard in the distance.

Flashing lights amidst the sand haze were like thunderclaps on a clear day, followed by several whooshing sounds of objects cutting through the air, as streaks of white smoke plummeted from the sky above the battlefield down like raindrops.

The explosive fire reached high into the sky, and the spreading shrapnel and thick smoke burst between two tilting buildings, instantly engulfing over a hundred Mutants.

One of the buildings, hit by several artillery shells, could no longer support its twisted rebar, and the entire structure began to collapse.

Watching the high-rise topple overhead, pairs of bloodthirsty pupils finally showed a flicker of terror, but it was too late to run.

Countless Mutants barely had time to instinctively raise their arms to block the falling debris and dust before they were crushed into a pulp by the mountainous mass of the building.

The collapsing building triggered a chain reaction, causing another building that was struck at its base to begin collapsing as well.

The two toppling skyscrapers side by side formed a massive crisscrossed wall, broken into sections, cutting the battlefield in two.

The shock wave lifted rocks and rubble from the ground and blew them hundreds of meters away, creating a series of undulating ripples over the nearby quicksand.

"Woo-hoo!"

Su Ming, carrying a Gauss rifle, excitedly waved his fist and let out a cheer.

"Beautiful shot!"

The distant artillery noises had stopped.

But the Alliance's offensive did not cease.

The buzzing noise in the air drew closer, and a series of desert-colored cruciforms appeared above the Assault Team No.26.

"What's that?" Gu Wei raised his gun barrel toward the sky, before lowering it again.

"Alliance gliders, they've taken over the job of cleaning out the Mutant nests," Yun Song casually finished off a fallen Mutant with his knife and replied crisply in the communication channel, "Don't just stand there like an idiot, otherwise you won't even get a sip of hot soup later."

Suddenly, Su Ming spoke up.

"Hot soup? Are you talking about the ones in the Mutant nests?"

There was a brief silence on the communication channel.

"…I was just making a comparison, don't fucking disgust me."

...

The collapsed buildings had cut off their own retreat, and the attacking Mutants instantly became orphans trapped in a corner.

Assault Team No.26 immediately switched from defense to offense, charging at the dazed Mutants, getting close to use knives or secondary weapons to finish them off while their wounds were still fresh.

When facing Variants, there was no need for mercy.

The gunfire around the ruins was relentless, and in just a few minutes, nearly another two hundred Mutants lay dead under the guns of Yun Song-led Assault Team No.26.

"Enterprise's strength is not to be underestimated; I thought their ground forces were all a bunch of weaklings," Adria remarked with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Although the advantage of their equipment accounted for a large part, the combat power of the soldiers themselves should not be underestimated. They had chosen a similar enhancement route to the Academy, making extensive use of intelligent weaponry and bionic prosthetics, but their performance on the battlefield was completely different from the fancy equipment of the Academy.

"After all, when it comes to dealing with Mutants, they're pretty much experts," the assistant standing next to Adria gave an ambiguous assessment.

"Heh," McCullen sneered with a hint of mockery, "After all, it's the mess they created. If they're not good at it, who would be?"

Compared to Enterprise,

He was more concerned about those Waste Land Wanderers who had defeated him once...

Last time he had lost too quickly and too unexpectedly; he hadn't even had a chance to see clearly how those airborne troops had managed to defeat his heavily armed Marines.

McCullen stared fixedly out of the bridge, motionlessly watching the gliders swooping towards the ground in an assault.

Come on...

Let's see what amazing abilities you really have.

...

In fact, the Burning Corps didn't display any remarkable skills during the landing phase, and the way the gliders touched down could even be described as quite unskilled.

One after another, the aircraft plunged into the mutant tribe's village like scattered goddess blossoms, their sturdy wings and noses acting like shovels, flipping the roofs of countless shacks.

A glider landed in the middle of a pasture, its belly crashing straight into a rolling hot cauldron of oil.

The just-delivered Mutant Priest was scared out of its wits, completely baffled about where these bipedal creatures had come from.

It put the howling newborn in a basket to one side and drew a short knife used for butchering, howling as it charged towards the nearest aircraft.

However, before it could get within five steps of the plane, the "tut-tut-tut" of gunfire rang out as three fully armed soldiers burst from the cabin, blowing its head open.

"Damn it! I almost fell into the cauldron!" Spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva, Night Ten reached down to pick up the fallen aircraft machine gun and forcefully tossed it to Quit Smoking Brother beside him.

Lucky the plane didn't have a fuel tank!

Even if it caught fire, it didn't matter.

"Hahaha! I'll call over Old Na," Quit Smoking said as he loaded his heavy machine gun, jokingly teasing.

"Beat it!"

Night Ten rolled his eyes.

While they were talking, an intense sense of crisis surged up, and he almost instinctively shifted his gun's muzzle toward a metal partition not far away.

"Thud, thud, thud—!"

The gun's muzzle spat flames, and a series of "ding-ding-dang" noises instantly marked the metal partition with a dozen bullet holes.

A mist of blood burst from behind the pierced partition, and a variant soldier holding a rifle was immediately riddled with bullets and fell to the muddy ground with a pained cry.

With the tripod banging onto a slanted tin barrel, Quit Smoking immediately pulled the trigger after setting up his machine gun.

The muzzle spat out searing flames, instantly creating a tight network of fire along the twisted, winding alley.

In front of the 12mm heavy machine gun, the flesh and blood bodies of the Mutants, as well as the trash-made barricades in front of them, were as fragile as paper mache.

Although the players were not armed with advanced Gauss weapons and caseless rifles like Assault Team No.26, in terms of the efficiency of killing soft targets, the weapons of the Alliance were not much inferior.

The only difference was the shape of the wounds on the corpses...

The nearly a hundred players who landed in the gliders stirred up a bloody storm in the village of the Black Rock Mutant Tribe.

The mutants in the village were caught completely off guard by the attack from behind. Especially since their main forces had suffered heavy casualties in the bombardment and could not return in time to provide support.

As the pasture area holding the prisoners was occupied by the Alliance's soldiers, the Steel Heart unleashed a second round of artillery fire targeting the player-provided coordinates.

Facing encirclement on all sides and the relentless barrage of artillery, the mutants' resistance quickly crumbled.

"Speaking of Old White, where is he? It's almost over, but I still haven't seen him," Night Ten called out, as the mutants in the settlement were nearly wiped out.

"He parachuted down, so it'll take a while. Let's get our work done—" Wild Wind hadn't finished speaking when a loud "boom" was heard not far away.

A dark silhouette crashed onto a row of metal sheds, its massive bulk completely collapsing the shed that spanned over ten meters wide.

Several mutants who had just reached adolescence scrambled out of the shed searching for weapons, but before they could take two steps, they were cut down by a rattle of gunfire.

Soon, that hearty voice came over the comms channel.

"What luck, it seems I've arrived just in time."

Night Ten blinked in slight surprise, then joked with a laugh.

"You were floating in the sky for just a bit longer, and that parachute jump would have been for nothing."

Quit Smoking: "Hahaha!"

...

Though the mutants of the Black Rock Tribe were far stronger than those the players had initially encountered during the pioneering days on Street No.76, today's Alliance was not what it used to be.

The fierce battle lasted less than twenty minutes, with only sporadic gunfire and exhausted roars remaining inside and outside the tribe.

At the center of the settlement, in front of a strange altar.

The Mutant Priest, as old as the hills, had a rare look of panic and fear on his face as he walked up to meet them, hands raised.

He was dressed in beast skins and had a skull strung on a cord around his neck.

"Wait! Let me speak to your leader—there might be some misunderstanding—"

"Bang—!"

A searing bullet pierced its skull, cutting off the desperate plea for mercy.

Looking at the body on the steps, Night Ten spat.

"Misunderstanding my ass."

Meet the Manager?

You wish.

Wild Wind glanced at the young man.

"You killed this guy; who are we going to ask for clues about the crew now?"

Night Ten froze, then scratched the back of his head sheepishly, saying guiltily.

"Wasn't it Old White who said to 'spare no one'..."

He admitted that when he landed, seeing his fellow humans captured by the mutants made him a bit hotheaded.

Old White patted his shoulder and said with a smile.

"No worries, there are plenty of them still alive to question, just grab one and ask."

Saying this, he walked over to the body of the Mutant Priest, preparing to examine it. However, as his gaze fell on the clothing of the mutant, his brow furrowed in concern.

The patterns wove into upright and inverted triangles as if they depicted torches with flames flickering above them.

Old White looked up at the altar ahead, and the symbols etched on the stone wall were exactly like the one in his memory.

A torch?

But this place was in the Great Desert, thousands of kilometers away from Death Coast.

How could the symbol of the Torch Church appear here?

Old White's frown deepened.

Was it a coincidence?

But now was not the time to ponder this question.

Cutting a strip of linen from the priest's clothing with his battle knife, Old White looked up at the altar ahead and waved his right fist.

"Move on!"

The perimeter mutants had been cleared.

If nothing went wrong,

They should be approaching the BOSS fight!

...

However, to the players' disappointment, there was no legendary Super Mutant in the altar.

There wasn't even an Elite Monster.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

If there was such a terrifying creature, General Kras would definitely have used it in the previous expedition and wouldn't have saved this trump card for the end.

After dealing with a few mutants wielding rifles guarding the altar, everyone successfully entered the great hall built from concrete rubble.

It seemed to have been a factory before, with a backup generator for nuclear batteries inside the factory, and it was still operating.

Following the cables, the group quickly discovered twelve upright cylindrical cultivation chambers in a side hall of the altar.

The chambers were filled with a dark green solution, with pale bodies submerged within, respirators covering their faces.

Bubbles continuously rose from the bottom of the chambers, clearly indicating that the devices were still active.

Old White frowned, walked up to the console, and was about to try operating it when he embarrassingly found that even though the mutants could operate the device, he couldn't understand it at all.

If Fang Chang were here, maybe he would have known what to do...

He sheepishly looked towards his brothers.

"…This is?"

Night eleven looked confused.

"A clone synthesis device?"

Recalling what they saw on Street No.76, Wild Wind shook his head.

"It doesn't seem like it..."

"That's a healing chamber."

A strange voice came from behind, interrupting the players' conversation. Though it was entirely in a different language, there was an unexpectedly seamless integration into the conversation.

The group turned their heads to see Captain Yun Song of the Enterprise 26th Strike Team unfurling his helmet visor, approaching with his rifle in hand.

"Sleep Cabin?" Old White asked in the language of the United Human, not understanding.

"Exactly."

Stopping in front of one of the Cultivation chambers, Yun Song looked at the Device with a complex expression and slowly continued.

"They would throw human females with reproductive capabilities and good genetic compatibility, suitable for use as hosts, into the Sleep Cabins... After healing, they're reused."

"The Variants capable of using these Devices are usually the tribe's Priests or Chieftains... It's the same on the East Coast."

"How did these guys learn to use these Devices?" Old White couldn't help but ask.

"These Devices are not very difficult to operate, sometimes even containing simple tutorials or even automatic AI..."

Yun Song paused, his expression complex as he continued,

"Of course, it's also possible that they were taught by people."

It's worth mentioning that though Variants are a completely different Species from humans, they are not entirely unable to communicate.

In fact, they also speak the language of the United Human, though most are rather slow-witted.

A few smart Variants quickly stand out from a group of dummies, becoming either Priests or Herders of their tribe, knowing how to exchange the things humans like for the things they need.

Like Slaves.

Or tools for producing Slaves.

Variants don't have the concept of medicine.

Either there is a Sleep Cabin, a cloning chamber, or there must be a Variant Chieftain skilled in husbandry.

Otherwise, given their brutal midwifery skills and the harsh environment of this region, even with their long individual lifespans, they couldn't possibly breed to a population of over a thousand.

Yun Song seriously doubted that it was General Kras of the Army who taught these Variants how to use the Sleep Cabins,

After all, those Weilante People certainly had the capacity.

And a complete motive to do so.

"Let's not talk about that, I'm glad to have fought alongside you..."

Glancing at the voluminous power armor on Old White, Yun Song extended his fist and lightly bumped it on his shoulder, saying with slight surprise,

"Is this the one from before? Incredible... you actually fixed it."

Old White grinned,

"The interior has been slightly modified, not as advanced, but it doesn't affect its use."

Initially, it was Yin Fang who helped him with the repairs, followed by representatives from Enterprise who arrived at Qingquan City and then he bought some parts from the Chang Ge Group.

Yun Song said with a tone of nostalgia,

"The power armors from the Prosperity Epoch are much better than those produced in the years after the War, it's just a pity we don't have the ability to completely repair one."

He paused for a moment, then looked earnestly at Old White continuing to ask,

"I've searched just now, and we didn't find the people we're looking for here. What do you plan to do with these survivors... and the ones outside who were rescued?"

Old White glanced around and said offhandedly,

"Probably the same old rules, send them to the Home of the Refugees after they are treated."

Yun Song asked, not understanding,

"What is that?"

"A place akin to a relief station."

Yun Song was slightly stunned, having not expected the Alliance to have such a facility and after a moment of silence, he said,

"But I think... it might be better to turn off the respirators for them, very few can walk out of such hellish experiences."

At first, they also sent the rescued survivors to the nearby Survivor Settlements, but later they found that doing so only added to their troubles.

Most Survivor Settlements would not accept those who had been captured by Variants; even if willing to help the Enterprise out for the sake of money, they would at most give them a few meals and find an unobtrusive place for them to fend for themselves.

And the majority of those rescued would not thank them, even resenting them for not giving them a swift end or taking them to Ideal City.

He too initially tried to help those "troubles" that were unexpectedly added to the missions, but after a few more missions, he realized that it was purely discomfort for himself.

If you think about it carefully, not all were captured; many were incorrectly produced by cloning Devices.

Sending wrongly born individuals off to start new lives was in fact a kind of benevolence.

Old White was silent for a while, then shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know; maybe you're right, but the choice is theirs, isn't it? At least we did what we could."

They did not leave these rescued people unattended.

There were quite a few of those rescued from the dungeons of the Looters who ultimately could not break free and chose suicide.

But there were also examples of those who managed to start new lives and even find happiness in their new lives.

"Maybe so," Yun Song nodded slightly, acknowledging with respect, and said to Old White and the soldiers of the Alliance behind him, "I'll leave this place to you guys."

With that, he turned and walked outside.

The fight was over.

The Entry to Pioneer and No.0 Shelter was not far from this camp.

Before welcoming the arrival of the Enterprise's high-ranking officials, he needed to take his soldiers and clean up the Battlefield, while ensuring the safety of the nearby area.

Watching the NPC named Yun Song leave, Old White suddenly thought of something and looked towards Night Ten standing aside.

"Right, bring in those NPCs that were rescued outside as well... if those survivors are still alive."

"Received."

Understanding the suggestion of his good brother, Night Ten gave an OK gesture and turned to walk outside.

Old White's gaze returned to the row of Sleep Cabins.

Observing the survivors floating in the nutrient solution, it seemed that these cultivation chambers couldn't regenerate limbs but could accelerate the healing of injuries.

This bore a resemblance to the Cultivation chambers used by players.

The difference was merely that the players' Cultivation chambers were only effective for matching Gene Sequences and couldn't be used by others, let alone lent to other players.

As for the cheaper "Sleep Cabins," they were just save points for players, without the acceleration of healing.

Although players probably wouldn't need it, it was still very helpful for the NPCs who only had one life; it might be worth salvaging.

On the Wasteland, as long as one didn't die on the spot, even if severely injured with broken arms and legs, there were still plenty of remedies available.

Old White suddenly realized that the Great Desert really was hiding many treasures.

Thinking of the legendary No.0 Shelter, his heart grew even more expectant…

Chapter 503: How did you, a thick-browed Big Eyes, sneak in here?

Inside the elongated shuttle-shaped aircraft.

Sitting on a soft, comfortable seat, Li Ke was drinking coffee while overseeing the joint eradication operation against the Mutants by the Corporate and the Alliance through four scouting drones that were deployed near the Battlefield.

The gunfire did not last long.

Just as he finished his coffee, the last standing Mutant also fell at the steps in front of that ugly altar.

Next, it was time to clean up the Battlefield.

He placed the cup on the tray, which was automatically retrieved by a robot assistant nearby, and gave a bland comment towards the holographic memo displayed.

"Mediocre."

"The soldiers of the Alliance are a bit strange, their physical strength far exceeds that of ordinary people, but since they are Residents of the refuge, that's normal. Primitive equipment, primitive people's combat style... I really can't understand how the Beacon team lost to these people. The quality of the people from the Investigation Department is getting worse every year."

"As for the Corporate..."

Li Ke chuckled with a more obvious mocking look in his eyes.

"The AI core in the hands of these people is truly a waste... The presence of those bionic soldiers is even less than that of the old-era power armor, they really are regressing."

There was no need to mention the Army.

That outdated equipment was just hanging by a thread of inheritance.

Overall, the Academy, which had improved on the foundations of the Prosperity Epoch, was naturally stronger.

Of course, it was undeniable that the performance of the Alliance had indeed exceeded his initial expectations... If a full-scale war really broke out, with their fighting spirit, perhaps they could hold out a few months longer.

Content, Li Ke touched the holographic screen to turn off the memo and recalled the scouting drones he had deployed earlier.

At that moment, a gentle electronic voice floated from behind his seat.

"Sir, you have a call."

"A call? Here?"

"Yes, the Wandering Swamp has launched a patrol communication station."

Upon hearing "patrol communication station," Li Ke's expression immediately became serious, and he sat straight up from his chair.

"Transfer it to me."

"Right away."

The communication signal quickly shifted from the Research Ship's server to his personal terminal.

Li Ke tapped on the holographic window, and a hastily sketched bust outlined in pale blue quickly formed in front of him.

This was the Great Desert.

The signal was even worse than in the Luo Xia Province.

The person insisting on using video communication under such circumstances seemed to be one of those inflexible old-fashioned types from the Research Department.

"…I am Yang Kai, a B-level researcher from the Research Department, my recognition wavelength is in the communication code, please verify it later."

As soon as the communication connected, the person on the other end went straight to the point without any pleasantries.

"External Affairs Department Li Ke, B-class. What's the matter?"

The holographic image flickered for a while.

"The project from Shelter No. 0 has been handed over to me."

Hearing this, Li Ke suddenly jumped up like a squirrel whose tail had been stepped on.

"On what basis?"

The tone on the other side of the communication channel remained calm.

"This is an order from Dr. Conclusion. Your External Affairs Department just do your assigned jobs."

Hearing it was actually an order from Dr. Conclusion, Li Ke deflated like a punctured balloon and grumbled resentfully.

"Dr. Conclusion... that person really has the time."

The person on the other side of the communication channel made no comment about this remark, only replying flatly.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

With that, the flickering shadow disappeared from above the holographic device...

...

The ground troops of the Corporate and the Alliance had finished cleaning up the Battlefield, and the discoveries within the "Black Stone" Mutant tribe were unexpected.

The comment by Yun Song's drone operator had indeed become prophetic.

These gray-skinned Mutants had indeed dug deep tunnels, using the cave formed by the tunnels to protect the immature young and to cultivate edible fungi and farm fat and protein-producing Mutant worms.

The most surprising was a fluorescent mushroom growing on radioactive waste, which could seemingly accelerate the decay of iodine and cesium isotopes through a special biochemical process and transform some of the energy into light.

So far, it has not been proven whether this species utilizes fusion or fission to sustain its vital activities.

But merely accelerating the decay of radioactive materials was enough to be astonishing.

Yun Song and Old White each reported their findings in the Mutant tribe to their respective superiors.

After communication between the high ranks of the Corporate and the Alliance, the two parties decided to share this interesting research material.

The Iron Heart slowly crossed directly above the Black Stone tribe, anchoring about one kilometer away in an open space.

The drop pod was then lowered.

Five long, bar-shaped engineering vehicles drove onto the open space in three vertical rows, their wheels retracted, and the chassis lowered the supports to complete deployment.

Nearly a hundred personnel wearing Miner's Exoskeleton busied between the supply pile and the campsite foundation, ferrying metal scraps dismantled from the Mutant tribe to the engineering vehicles' feed ports, quickly processing them into panels used to construct the campsite.

These standardized panels, made primarily of aluminum and iron alloys, were about one inch thick, porous and lightweight in texture, but not compromised in strength. They could serve as insulated walls for the camp rooms or be filled with sand to build shooting shelters and exterior walls of the base.

As the battle concluded, the players also joined in the camp's construction.

In less than three hours, a campsite covering 20 acres, nearly the size of two football fields, began to take shape.

The pod was lowered once again.

The logistics officer from the Iron Heart quickly stepped forward, stopping before Chu Guangmang, glowing with pride as he snapped to attention and saluted.

"Report! Respected Manager, as per your instructions, we have completed the construction of the external walls of the camp. Next is the construction of the barracks, which is expected to be completed within 24 hours!"

"Good job," Chu nodded approvingly and continued, "Carry on with your work, don't mind me."

"Yes!" The logistics officer positioned his right fist against his chest, then strode vigorously towards the construction site.

Watching the young man's departing figure, Wu Changnian glanced around the bustling construction site and said with a smile, squinting his eyes.

"How about it? The technology of Ideal City is decent, isn't it?"

Chu Guang sincerely remarked,

"It's quite good, it's just a bit expensive. It would be great if there could be a discount."

Wu Changnian cleared his throat.

"This... you need to discuss it with a representative from the Silver Wing Group. The council can't intervene in the operations of the Production Department, and I can't make decisions regarding order issues."

Although regretful, Chu Guang still nodded.

"Understood."

This system, named "Campsite Workshop", consisted of five powerful engineering vehicles and was somewhat akin to the modular production workshops on board the Pioneer in that both were designed for the special environment of the Wasteland and were manufacturing tools.

It was like another kind of Black Box, indiscriminately ingesting metal scraps, digesting the digestible parts, and DIYing them into the shapes needed by the users.

Combined with the cruising capability of the Iron Heart, theoretically, Chu Guang could deploy the mobile base anywhere they could fly to.

He had recognized this feature and decisively imported this system from the Silver Wing Group.

Despite the high cost of the system, amounting to sixteen million Cr, Chu Guang had still painfully parted with the money to place the order.

As a modular production tool, its functions obviously weren't limited to producing materials needed for setting up camp.

The five engineering vehicles could also process the input materials according to the provided blueprints into basic weapons including rifles and protective gear like bullet-proof armor.

Though the production efficiency was low and the energy consumption, material use, and implied loss costs were not trifling sums, as a set of "camping equipment," it was still very useful.

Previously, the Iron Heart dealt with supplies during expeditions by enslaving people and carrying a large amount of processing tools and machine tools.

Using the five engineering vehicles could easily replace a production team of over five hundred people, saving a lot of precious space on the airship.

Unfortunately, the Alliance only had one "Void Aircraft Carrier."

Otherwise, Chu Guang would definitely plan to buy several more sets from Ideal City.

Just then, some individuals from the Adjudicator came down, including the Weilante People, and walked toward them.

Chu Guang suddenly noticed the look in McCullen's eyes as he viewed those engineering vehicles.

Both he and the Captain beside him, Adria, had faces unmistakably filled with envy.

The Army's industrial capabilities were not weak, and their manufacturing of heavy equipment was also impressive, but they barely managed the manufacturing of precise equipment.

Such devices, even if available, were not something that could be equipped on an airship.

"Has the entrance to the No.0 Shelter been found?" As Adria approached the representatives of the Alliance and Corporations, he asked with a smile.

Wu Changnian responded succinctly.

"We need to find the crew of the Pioneer first; only they know the entrance to the shelter. If you are in a hurry, you can head back first."

Of course, Adria wouldn't leave, he smiled and continued asking,

"Didn't you retrieve an employee? Doesn't he know the entrance to No.0 Shelter?"

"Unfortunately, you guessed correctly. He was driven away by a group of shameless bandits before he could find the entrance to the shelter."

Detecting the unfriendly tone in Wu Changnian's voice, Adria remained unruffled, and McCullen's face also showed no expression.

The orders had been given by Griffin.

He was also angry about being outmaneuvered by that guy.

If it hadn't been for chasing that corporate employee, he wouldn't have fallen into the hands of some Wasteland Wanderers, nor would he have lost his aircraft.

"I'm very sorry about what happened with the Pioneer, it was Griffin's own initiative. We will strictly control our people to prevent similar incidents from happening again," said Captain Adria, feigning concern. "Oh, almost forgot to ask, has the Pioneer been found? Are the crew members still okay?"

Wu Changnian stared at him.

"Our people have already gone to the coordinates you provided, and they better all still be alive."

Adria shrugged his shoulders.

"I sincerely hope they are safe."

The Pioneer had previously been controlled by the Army.

However, including Lu Yang, the passengers were not captured by the Army but had moved out before the Army took control of the Pioneer.

Other than Luo Hua, who was sent to seek help from the Alliance, the rest of the employees hid under Lu Yang's leadership and were not found by the Weilante people.

As the days of war approached, Griffin did not waste time in the Great Desert, so the task of searching for those people was subcontracted to the Dark Stone Tribe.

According to the descriptions of captured Mutants, those big-nosed humans had set the price of "one corporate employee for ten human women."

But so far, those Mutants clearly had not found the missing corporate employees, otherwise, they would have already claimed their reward from the Weilante people.

Regarding the issue with the Pioneer, the Army blamed everything on Griffin.

As for McCullen, he didn't know much. Whatever he could disclose had already been disclosed while he was captured.

The fate of the crew members of the Pioneer did not concern the Army; they were only interested in the No.0 Shelter discovered by the Pioneer.

The Academy felt the same.

Disregarding Captain Adria's insincere courtesy, Wu Changnian turned and walked towards the corporate settlement.

McCullen glared harshly at Chu Guang but said nothing and left with Adria.

At that moment, a long shuttle-shaped aircraft reduced the arc of light from its bottom jets and slowly landed in the center of the camp.

Its name was Comet 300, a research ship independently manufactured by the Academy based on the blueprint remnants of the Prosperity Epoch. Equipped with an ecological cycling device and an anti-gravity device, theoretically, not only could it travel to any corner of this planet, but it could even fly to outer space.

However, the environment in outer space was much worse than on the ground. Unless there was a special mission, it generally wasn't flown there.

Just as he had finished clearing the battlefield, Old White glanced at the science-fiction-styled research ship and suddenly realized it was slightly different than the one that had landed in Falcon City.

At that moment, a man and a woman stepped out from the opened hatch.

Old White was surprised to find that he actually recognized one of them.

The person obviously noticed him too and walked over.

"Meeting again."

As he approached Old White, Zheng Hao looked over the power armor on him and a hint of surprise crossed his face. "Dragon Cavalry?"

"Pretty knowledgeable."

Zheng Hao pursed his lips.

"I've seen plenty of remnants of those things, and there are plenty scattered around the nuclear bomb crater beside the Grand Canyon."

"Really? I must go take a look someday," Old White said with a faint smile, then continued, "What about you? What brings you here?"

"Thanks to you and that sample, my team and I have been transferred from the Investigation Department to the Research Department, now working under Class B researcher Professor Yang Kai. He is in charge of the investigation of the No.0 Shelter… He's inside that research ship."

Zheng Hao's expression was complex as he spoke.

The Beacon team had suffered heavy losses in that battle, and many of his brothers had died.

Moreover, since it was an unrecognized battle, the families of his deceased brothers didn't even receive full bereavement funds. He had taken out some of his own G points to buy necessities for their families.

Chu Guang understood the expression on his face. Old White said nothing, just skipped the unpleasant part of the conversation.

"About that shelter... will you be the one to go, or will that B-level researcher?"

Contrary to Old White's expectations, the man before him shook his head.

"Neither."

As he spoke, Zheng Hao looked towards the girl next to him, who was reserved and had long black hair.

"Let me introduce her, Jiang Xuezhou, a Level D researcher... She used to be in my team, and now she's at the same level as me. Yang Kai is her mentor, and it was thanks to her connections that we were able to successfully transfer that sample."

Jiang Xuezhou eyed Old White warily and nodded cautiously.

"Hello."

She had seen this man through the drone's camera; many of her peers, including her close friend Chen Yutong, had died at the hands of him and his team...

Although she knew that they were each fighting for their own cause, and that there was no clear right or wrong, she still couldn't trust the person in front of her.

Zheng Hao looked at Old White.

"The Alliance should have sent you, right? When you go down, could you look after her for me?"

Old White made a helpless expression.

"As much as I'd like to help you, I'm not involved in this operation."

"Not you?" Zheng Hao looked at him in surprise.

Before getting off the research ship, he heard that the Alliance was sending a powerful Awakener to enter the shelter with them.

He had guessed that it might be Old White.

However, Old White told him it wasn't him.

Did the Alliance have stronger Awakeners?

"Yes, another person..." Seeing Zheng Hao's surprised face, Old White smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll talk to my good brother—"

"No need," Jiang Xuezhou cut him off, warily watching him speak, "I can take care of myself just... don't bother yourself with the extra concern on my behalf."

With that, she politely nodded her head and turned to leave the place.

Watching his colleague's retreating figure, Zheng Hao's expression turned slightly awkward, and he coughed lightly.

"Sorry, that day... she lost a close teammate."

Old White shrugged.

"It's okay, I understand. But don't expect me to apologize, we showed as much restraint as possible, you were the ones who fired first."

Zheng Hao silently nodded.

"I know... I'm not saying it's your fault, rather it's me... well."

He suddenly didn't know how to continue, pondered for a long time, and finally, it turned into a sigh.

This damn confidentiality...

There were words he could only keep to himself.

Understanding his predicament, Old White said nothing, just encouragingly patted his shoulder and then turned to walk away.

...

It wasn't just Old White who coincidentally met an acquaintance.

The Storm Corps brothers were there, too.

Seeing the Old Soldier stealthily approaching, I Max Black pointed at the guy's nose, shouting excitedly.

"F*****! Pangolin?!"

The shout startled the Old Soldier, who instinctively looked around before realizing I Max Black was speaking in Mandarin and breathed a sigh of relief.

"MMPD, can't you not call out my cover like that in public!" cursed the Old Soldier, who was irritated that his mission was nearly compromised.

I Max Black looked nonchalant and said with a grin.

"Don't worry, brother won't sell you out... But how did a burly guy like you slip here?"

The Old Soldier sighed.

"Ah, it's a long story. I came here all muddled."

The Spring Water Commander looked at him strangely, having a vague idea but not yet certain, so he cautiously asked.

"Among the two representatives sent by the Army to investigate No.0 Shelter... could you be one?"

The Old Soldier gave a shy smile.

"You guessed right."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

I Max Black: "F*****!"

Grave Catching Ghost: "6666!"

"Kakarot" couldn't help saying: "Damn... To undercover like you, I'm at a loss for words."

Originally, the Corporate, Army, and Alliance were to send two representatives each, the Academy one, but the Army ended up including this guy, effectively making three representatives from the Alliance side.

The Old Soldier sheepishly laughed.

"Life is full of surprises, I never thought those big noses would send me... speaking of which, do you have the thing that saves files? Save one for me quick, I'm scared I might die out there."

The Spring Water Commander coughed.

"There's one on the airship."

The Old Soldier blinked.

"Holy! I have to go up to the airship?"

The Spring Water Commander gave him a weird look.

"What else? It's so troublesome to bring down sleep cabins everywhere... Moreover, I suggest you come later at night, the earlier slots might be hard to grab."

Saving wasn't just lying down and punching a card; it took several hours to load.

Usually, everyone would save in batches. Once the people in front finish, the next ones to save would have to drag the previous person out of the cultivation chamber.

So if you choose to sign off at a public saving point, sometimes you might wake up to find yourself lying on the floor.

I Max Black suggested with a grin.

"Why don't you sneak out tonight? The brothers can cover you."

Looking at that unreliable guy, the Old Soldier hesitated for a long time but finally bit the bullet and agreed.

"Alright!"

...

Later that evening.

Old Soldier carefully went to the bathroom, locked the door, and then pulled off a "Kakarot" by climbing out the window of the WC and sneaking off to the Alliance's airship away from the area designated for the Army representatives in the camp.

I Max Black and Graveyard Ghost, who were already waiting there, quickly threw a sack over him and then hoisted him into a hanging cabin, stealthily getting him aboard the airship.

Although Old Soldier thought the sack was completely unnecessary, needing their help, he refrained from resisting and let I Max Black do as he pleased.

The Sleep Cabin required several hours to collect data.

Fortunately, he was used to spending a couple of hours squatting in the restroom anyway, so a few extra hours wouldn't raise any suspicions.

At the same time, in the captain's quarters aboard the Iron Heart.

Chu Guang, who had returned to the airship, stared at the tattered cloth spread out on the desk, his brow furrowing unconsciously.

"A symbol of the Torch Church?"

Standing across the desk, Old White nodded solemnly.

"I found this mark on that Mutant Priest... and there were similar symbols on the altar too."

Leaning back in his chair, Chu Guang closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

"The Death Coast is in the southern part of Brocade River Province, at least five or six thousand... It's too far by any measure."

Following a straight line, one would still have to cross over insurmountable natural barriers like Zobar Mountain, making it hard to imagine the Torch Church could extend their reach this far.

A thought suddenly came to Old White.

"Is it possible... that it's not that the mutants are followers of the Torch Church, but that both the mutants and the Torch Church are devotees of some larger organization?"

Chu Guang replied succinctly,

"That sounds even more far-fetched."

Old White gave a wry smile.

"Indeed..."

If such an organization was so vast as to affect both the mutants in the central part of the Great Desert and the Death Coast in the south of the Central Continent, they would have heard some rumors.

Staring at the symbol on the tattered cloth, Chu Guang fell into deep thought.

He leaned towards another possibility—
that these mutants and followers of the Torch Church were independently and simultaneously influenced by some special entity.

It could be a large organization, as Old White suggested, or a piece of technology with miraculous power.

Or perhaps, it was merely an abstract concept.

However, whatever it was, anything with such power to bewitch was inherently dangerous.

Reflecting on the history of Shelter No.117 and the various rumors surrounding Wang Yi, who self-proclaimed as Saint Heir, Chu Guang closed his eyes and pondered for a long time.

The last time he felt such a foreboding unease was upon learning that the Weilante People had planted a nuclear bomb in Luo Xia Province.

"The source of this symbol... must be thoroughly investigated."

Old White concurred,

"I think so too... I recommend maintaining an outpost in the Great Desert, even putting aside these significant leads; there are still many things here worth reclamation."

Chu Guang nodded, drawing a line in the air with his index finger, unfolding a holographic map.

"Not just the Great Desert, the investigation in the south will commence simultaneously... After this incident, I will assign you a task."

Hearing about the hidden assignment, Old White's eyes lit up, and he immediately responded,

"Please, command me!"

Chu Guang continued,

"There's a coordinate in the south, where we need to recover some nuclear fuel. I need you to take a few people there for retrieval."

"Some Residents of the refuge are currently pioneering in that area; you can seek their help."

Old White clasped his hands together, his eyes bright,

"Yes!"

...

The night was deep.

Not far from the camp, in a dilapidated factory building spanning thousands of acres that housed a massive land fortress.

With its steel shell showing deep indentations and its undercarriage's tracks completely shattered, its mechanical arms and production workshops were all severely damaged, a condition that could only be described as bleak.

Judging from the collapsed wall next to it and the bullet holes in the wall, it had crashed through the factory wall before engaging in fierce firefights with pursuers here.

A few beams of light shone on the dusty wreckage, and the android soldiers closely inspected the various damages and gaps on the land fortress.

Standing not too far away, Su Ming couldn't help but curse softly.

"Damn these big-nosed bastards!"

It was clearly the Weilante People who had doomed it to this ghastly state.

Thinking of those indifferent Weilante officers, Su Ming wished he could drag those big noses from the camp and punch them squarely on their faces.

Standing nearby, Gu Wei spoke with some emotion,

"Do you remember what it looked like when it first left Ideal City?"

Another assault squad member remarked,

"... I don't recognize it at all."

"Hopefully the people inside are alright."

Yun Song glanced at his Geiger counter, found the radiation dust levels exceeded standards, and gestured for everyone to close their helmets and activate the internal circulation systems.

Chapter 504: Survivors of the Pioneer

The harsh white light pierced through his eyelids as Yi Hai lay motionless on the hospital bed, his eyebrows twitching slightly.

As consciousness slowly returned, a searing pain suddenly surged into his throat, causing him to retch reflexively on his side.

"Ugh! Cough cough—"

After vomiting a stomach full of acid, he was quickly pushed back down by two people dressed in white coats.

Thinking he had been captured by Vellante People, he instinctively tried to struggle, but the sound of conversation nearby made him stop.

"Doctor! How is he doing?!"

"Cryogenic aftereffects... For cryosleep over half a year, a long-term sleep injection is required. Using a short-term one will lead to this condition. Luckily, you brought him back in time; in another two months, he might have really turned into a block of ice."

"Brother."

Hearing the familiar voice, Yi Hai finally regained full control of his body, moving his stiff neck to look at the young man standing beside him.

"...Yi Chuan?"

"It's me!" Watching the man on the bed who was barely alive, Yi Chuan finally could not hold back his choked voice.

He sniffled hard, trying to squeeze out a reassuring smile.

"We're here to take you home!"

Yi Hai's Adam's apple moved slightly, and a relieved smile finally spread across his haggard face.

"You're here..."

"We won't give up on any of our people stranded outside. No matter the cost, we will bring them back."

A solemn voice came along with the footsteps of shoes hitting the ground.

Approaching the bedside, Wu Changnian patted Yi Chuan on the shoulder and continued in a gentle tone.

"Your relative is out of danger. For those who are still unrescued, I have something I'd like to discuss with him."

Yi Chuan nodded vigorously, giving the man on the bed a comforting look. He then stepped back and turned to exit the tent.

Watching his brother's figure disappear at the door, Yi Hai glanced at Wu Changnian standing by the bed, then at Chu Guang, a look of surprise suddenly appearing on his face.

"Are you... the Manager?"

"Yes." Chu Guang nodded with a smile, watching the face filled with bewilderment.

He knew very well that the deputy of Captain Lu Yang must be full of questions. Even his facial expression seemed to be asking, "How come you're here?"

It was normal to have such questions.

After all, Yi Hai's memory of Qingquan City remained from a year ago, and back then, the concept of an Alliance didn't even exist.

To the crew of the Pioneer, they had merely passed a nondescript small village, both sides helping each other a little within their capabilities.

Gazing at those confused eyes, Chu Guang continued in a casual tone.

"There's so much about us that could take days and nights to tell. I bet our story is just as fascinating as your journey has been... But before we discuss our situation, I need you to tell me where the rest of the crew is."

Wu Changnian also fixed his gaze on him as he spoke.

"What about the others from the Pioneer?"

Resting the back of his head against the pillow, Yi Hai closed his eyes and sorted through his chaotic memories, piecing them together like a puzzle.

"They... have probably already gone in."

"Into where?" Wu Changnian quickly asked.

"The shelter..."

"Is it No.0 Shelter?"

"I don't know," Yi Hai's pupils filled with uncertainty, and he continued with a hesitant voice, "It should be there if nothing went wrong... We found its entrance. Lu Yang said he planned to take the remaining people to the shelter to hide from the Vellante People and the mutants."

A sudden twinge of pain crossed his brow, and he raised his hand to press it against his forehead.

"...The attack wasn't just from the Vellante People and the mutants. Their equipment was superior to that of the Army's, and closer to pre-war standards."

Superior equipment?

Wu Changnian furrowed his brow.

"Could it be the Academy?"

"Unlikely..."

Yi Hai shook his head, coughing before continuing.

"We've never encountered people from the Academy... Those people seemed to have been living in the Great Desert for a long time, they're very familiar with this area. At first, we thought they were after No.0 Shelter just like us. Captain Lu Yang proposed cooperating with them, saying if No.0 Shelter indeed had the capability to end the Wasteland, having an extra person to open it wouldn't be a bad thing, until later, we discovered..."

Seeing him pause, an engrossed Chu Guang immediately asked.

"What did you find?"

Yi Hai was silent for a long while.

"... Those people had more information than we could imagine; it seemed they knew the location of the No.0 Shelter right from the start, and they were never really after it, but seemed to just want to stop us from obtaining it."

Chu Guang frowned.

"Who exactly were those people? Did they identify themselves?"

"They seemed to..." Yi Hai pondered for a long while, vaguely recalling something, "They seemed to be called something Enlightenment."

...

In the subsequent statement, Yi Hai briefly explained the whole situation, including how they discovered the location of No.0 Shelter, how they engaged in a conflict with the Vellante People, and how they ended up in danger...

Captain's Office.

Back on the airship, Chu Guang stared at the notebook in his hand, deep in thought.

On the blank page, a pencil sketch depicted a sloppy symbol—two inverted triangles interconnected, forming a shape resembling a torch.

Yi Hai claimed they had seen this symbol on those people, but he was clueless about the "Torch Church" he mentioned.

Those people claimed to belong to an organization called the Enlightenment Society, mostly composed of Blue Jacket—residents of the shelters.

After all, the four major industrial zones and the central space elevator were once the industrial and economic heart of the Human Alliance Era, making the number of shelters in these areas far greater than in Luo Xia Province and River Valley Province.

Since the end of the nuclear winter, almost every year, a group of people awakens in some unknown corner… The Enlightenment Society was formed by some of these shelter residents.

The philosophy of this organization was just like their name, aimed at restarting the fading civilization and rescuing this world that had been in decline for two hundred years.

That was precisely why Lu Yang had chosen to collaborate with them and together search for No.0 Shelter.

It was truly difficult to meet like-minded people in the Wasteland.

However, no one had expected that those like-minded individuals would choose to betray them at the last moment…

But there was still a doubt.

If, as Yi Hai had said, the organization that called itself "Enlightenment Society" knew the location of the No.0 Shelter and intended to prevent them from finding it, then why pretend to cooperate with Lu Yang and the others?

Even if they needed a sneak attack to win because they couldn't win a fight, there was no need to wait until after the Pioneer had found the entrance to No.0 Shelter to take action, right?

"… The Enlightenment Society hoped that corporate personnel would find it, but they had disagreements on how to deal with the No.0 Shelter."

Chu Guang closed his eyes and thought for a while before finally shaking his head.

There was too little information.

He speculated two possibilities, but neither had reliable evidence to prove them; perhaps the answer was hidden inside No.0 Shelter.

In any case, they had obtained the precise coordinates of the entrance to No.0 Shelter from Yi Hai.

It was a huge industrial building occupying thousands of acres, or more vividly described as a "vertical assembly factory."

The two major achievements of the Prosperity Epoch were stuffing farmlands into kilometer-high buildings and inserting assembly lines into them on a large scale.

According to the information provided by Yi Hai, that building was the entrance to No.0 Shelter, with a piece of space elevator wreckage landing in that area.

Due to the presence of radioactive materials, many extremely dangerous Variants were active in the area.

The corporate Assault Team No.26 had already dispatched some personnel to control the entrance to the building, and representatives from Fang's group would officially enter the ruins tomorrow to uncover the mysterious veil of No.0 Shelter.

Chu Guang deployed the communication relay drones carried by the airship, taking the opportunity of regular data archival back-ups to organize and update the messages gathered earlier on the official website.

At this moment, the forum was still immersed in the joy of victory in the war in Luo Xia Province.

Only a small portion of the players moved with the airship, while most of the expedition participants followed the NPC army walking back or meandered home in small groups.

Most players shared experiences from their return journey on the forum, including discoveries in the Honey Badger and Lion Kingdoms or accidentally unlocking new gameplay during the trip.

For instance, using expansion pack rewards to buy a piece of land in the Oasis to become a farm owner. Or staying locally, assisting the Alliance troops in combating Looters and running errands.

"Wasteland OL" did not dictate how players must play the game, only setting out in the Player Manual what activities were forbidden and the consequences of rule violations.

Aside from a few major nodes impacting the world's storyline, most of the time, players could find their own enjoyment in this open-world game.

Whether it was using readily accessible knowledge outside the game to help the Waste Land Wanderers improve productivity or indulging in trivial pursuits like starting a relationship.

Even for most players, aside from the huge rewards from the main quest, accidentally triggered side quests or unlocking strange gameplay were often more fun than those "carefully designed paths."

Nevertheless, when Chu Guang, using Ah Guang's alias, updated the main storyline's latest clues on the forum, it still attracted the attention of countless players.

The post went up less than a minute ago.

The number of replies quickly broke a thousand.

Quit smoking: "Enlightenment Society??? What is that?"

Tail: "Oh! I smell a conspiracy. (っ•̀ω•́)っ"

Si Si: "Oh oh! A new expansion pack... Wait, don't tell me the new expansion pack is still heading west? I had already bet on it going south. Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)"

Tail: "ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Hiss... Isn't that the symbol of the Torch Church? It was on those collars for controlling the Variants that were sold early in the NPC shops, right?"

Debt Giant Eye: "Honestly, that symbol is so ugly. Could it be that Ah Guang drew it himself with a pencil? (Silly)"

Construction Site Youngster and Brick: "@Escaped Mole of the Canyon, evaluate this."

Escaped Mole of the Canyon: "Sloppy yet unrestrained, rough yet detailed, each stroke shows meticulous artistry. I deem it good work!"

Debt Giant Eye: "????"

Quit smoking: "Hahaha! So flattering!"

Elena: "No wonder you're unemployed. (Silly)"

Night Ten: "Brother Guang! Somebody said you're meticulous!"

Escaped Mole of the Canyon: "%￥#@!"

Si Si: "Speaking of the founders of the Torch Church... Isn't that guy who calls himself the Saint Heir also a resident of the refuge?"

Teng Teng: "Hmm... From what the official website says, he seems to have been adopted by the refuge? Though he grew up in the refuge since he was a child."

Crow: "Ah!!! Could that guy also be a member of the Enlightenment Society?"

Escaped Mole of the Canyon: "Whether he's part of the Enlightenment Society or not isn't really important. This update with the Enlightenment Society just seems to be a regional force. The Torch Church at least participated in the big expedition of the Army and the later Bone Chewing Chaos, whereas they... seem to have just extinguished the Pioneer, hardly making any impression."

Night Ten: "Isn't it said that the really powerful bosses are always hidden behind the scenes? (Silly)"

Wild Wind: "That's a misconception... Only those lacking in strength need conspiracies, the truly powerful are straightforward. (Side-eye)"

Fang Chang: "After reading, I've found two suspicious points. First, why does the Enlightenment Society, which aims to restart civilization, want to prevent corporations from approaching the No.0 Shelter. Second, what is the connection between the Torch Church in the far south and the centrally located Enlightenment Society."

Night Ten: "I suspect Brother Guang himself hasn't figured out how to write it. (Silly)"

Fang Chang: "Then you're underestimating him. I feel like there's a bigger game being played here... Speaking of which, what exactly is the No.0 Shelter?"

Teng Teng: "Hmm... A very, very large refuge?"

Fang Chang: "How large? Or rather, how many Black Boxes and power armors are needed inside to restore the world to its original state?"

Wild Wind: "Hmm... Now that you mention it, I always felt that the three major forces — the Academy, corporations, and the Army — might be holding onto some information we do not understand. Including our allied corporations, who haven't fully shared what they know with us."

Fang Chang: "That's inevitable. My instinct tells me that maybe our thinking was wrong from the start."

Night Ten: "What do you mean? (Stunned)"

Fang Chang: "When a computer freezes, there are three common solutions we usually use: wait for the program to respond, end the current process, or just restart the computer."

"Most refuge's basic logic would fall under the first category, preserving personnel, resources, energy, knowledge, tools, and most of the components needed for civilization until the right time for reconstruction... This is a relatively moderate solution, but the execution may vary from shelter to shelter."

"However, No.0 Shelter is, after all, 'legendary', with neither corporations, the Academy, nor the Army having data about it, nor even sure if it was ever built..."

"An irresponsible guess is that in its basic logic, this shelter could fundamentally differ from the others."

Crow: "Ah, so what you're saying is... it might not even be a refuge at all?"

Fang Chang: "Don't mind it, I'm just speculating based on the Enlightenment Society's settings, it might not be as great as the rumors suggest." (sideways glance)

It's fair to say that no one understands Ah Guang better than Fang Chang on the forum, and his speculation soon sparked new discussions.

Some players think this is a new task organized by the Dog Plan, while others believe the situation isn't that complicated.

As for the Backseat Drivers, they don't care about it, they just want the production of helmets to be increased.

They've already missed out on a grand expedition.

Looking at the unrealistic promises made by the Dog Plan, many players who hadn't yet entered the Game felt disheartened.

There were actually players hoping the production team would slow down updates during the EA phase, a rare sentiment in game history...

Old White: "Let's not digress, when are you coming back? There's new work here." (shows teeth)

Fang Chang: "Cough, soon, in a few days... Don't worry, I'll definitely be back before you guys."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! Did you guys cozy up to the Dog Plan again?"

Old White: "No way, you should hurry back too." (shows teeth)

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "What does it have to do with me?"

Old White: "Nothing, I'm just urging on behalf of someone. You'll know if it's related once you're back."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "…?"

...

The next day.

At the base of an abandoned industrial building.

Several large dogs with gray-yellow skin and long canines on their forearms were roaming on the rubble-strewn steps, using their keen noses to search for prey, oblivious to the danger that had quietly approached their throats.

One of the Variants suddenly raised its head alertly, looking around.

However, before it could growl, several short "chirps" of gunfire pierced through the skulls of those Variants.

A rustle in the seabuckthorn bushes startled the small animals, causing them to flee rapidly, as several exoskeletons appeared from the shadows not far away.

Su Ming, pressing a finger on his helmet, glanced at the drone circling above and surveyed his surroundings, said clearly,

"Five Variants killed, image data has been retrieved... Building entrance is secured, no other threats confirmed... Damn, don't ask me to name it again."

According to intelligence from Yi Hai, it's suspected that an unknown third party had set their sights on the No.0 Shelter... but Su Ming thought it might just be a trick by the Weilante People.

Those guys aren't without high-tech gear, just limited in quantity.

Otherwise, how would you explain the Pioneer being targeted and surrounded by a large number of Clone Troops?

As for the Enlightenment Society.

It might just be a ruse by the Weilante People to get close to the Pioneer, and it's ridiculous that Captain Lu Yang actually believed it.

If it were him, he wouldn't trust strangers he met in the Wasteland.

"Why not upload it to Endpoint Cloud and let netizens vote on it."

"Good idea, when are the Migrant Birds returning?"

"I think it's tomorrow."

"Damn…"

Su Ming cursed softly, activated the stabilizer system of his combat video, and prepared to record some interesting material to update on his social media.

Meanwhile, ten armed trucks drove out from the camp, carrying a group of Soldiers and representatives about to head to explore the relics, majestically advancing toward the now cleared-out base of the industrial building.

The debris of the space elevator was not far from here, a majestic, arc-shaped metal shell embedded in the ground like a hangar roof.

Just looking at these remnants, it was hard to imagine how majestic the tower that once reached into space was before its collapse.

The various forces gathered at the base of the building.

Tall Weilante People in thick bullet-proof armor, led by an officer with a prominent nose and deep-set eyes. Beside him stood an Attendant, different in style and handsome, none other than the Pangolin who had killed countless enemies on the battlefield.

Vellante proudly glanced at those Alliance Soldiers who, it was said, had suffered greatly on the battlefield because of his comrades.

It wasn't without reason that Lord Cohen specifically assigned Pangolin as his guard, partly to flaunt in front of the Alliance.

However, what puzzled him was why those guys responded so indifferently, not even looking his way.

Didn't they recognize this brave warrior under his command?

Or were they too fearful to even make eye contact?

Thinking this, a smile crept up on Vellante's lips.

Too weak!

Old Soldier, standing in the front row of the lineup as well, now had a pained expression, toes gripping the ground.

Damn it.

This is too awkward!

Unlike the Army, the Academy was quite low-key, only sending a female researcher with long black hair.

Beside her followed a four-legged robotic dog nearly as tall as a person, its broad back hung with bulging backpacks.

Since getting off the truck, she hadn't interacted with anyone, standing with an aloof expression in a place she deemed safe.

Researchers from the Academy tended to behave like this outside.

Historical issues and the high cost of equipment, among other reasons, made almost everyone from the Academy suspect they were being targeted.

In fact, it wasn't paranoia, as Academy Prospectors were treasures on the Wasteland, almost common knowledge.

Most Prospectors, once they left the Academy, chose to hide their past identity... the opposite of corporate employees who loved to brag.

Most Survivor Forces, when targeting corporate employees, had to consider the risk of being blacklisted.

Especially in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, being too ostentatious could provoke widespread anger on Endpoint Cloud, potentially attracting pursuit by corporate allies or a direct Assault Team.

Just as she was confirming the task assigned by her mentor through the holographic window, Jiang Xuezhou suddenly frowned.

She felt like two gazes were fixed on her...

In fact, her intuition was very accurate.

However, the one staring at her was not a human, but a corporate bionic person.

Staring intently at the young girl from the Academy, Frost said resentfully.

"Solar Eclipse... why won't they let us go down? Technically, bionic persons shouldn't count as humans, right? Wouldn't it be better to take more people with us?"

The pupils of Solar Eclipse flickered slightly.

"It is said to be a proposal from the Academy."

Frost looked unsatisfied.

"But they also brought a mechanical dog equipped with an AI core, didn't they? What's the difference?"

Solar Eclipse remained silent for a while.

"That... should not count as a person."

Humiliation and unwillingness were etched on Frost's face as he clenched his fists.

"Damn... it's just lying down, isn't it? It's not like I can't do that."

Solar Eclipse: "...?"

While everyone was waiting, the passage from the main entrance of the building to the entrance of No.0 Shelter had been completely opened.

Yun Song, the captain of the 26th Assault Team, walked out of the main lobby on the first floor and ran into Yun Yi, who had just gotten off the vehicle.

There were two representatives assigned by the corporation to enter No.0 Shelter, one was Yun Yi and the other was his best scout, Su Ming.

Looking at Yun Yi coming towards him, Yun Song's face rarely showed hesitation and restraint, and he asked softly.

"You... are you alright?"

Yun Yi nodded simply.

"No problem, we have already reached a ceasefire agreement with the army, and besides, there are only two of them."

"I always feel that the threat is not just from the people of Vellante..."

Looking back at the abandoned building, Yun Song looked at Yun Yi again, saw no relaxation in her expression, and finally sighed resignedly.

"Be careful later."

Yun Yi nodded, her reply terse.

"Okay."

Not far away.

Seeing Yun Yi and Yun Song standing together, Night Ten approached an NPC teammate by his side who was about to go down with him, and asked curiously.

"Hey, buddy, speaking of it, what exactly is the relationship between your captain and that delegate from the Endpoint Group?"

He had been curious before.

Both surnamed Yun, yet their personalities and temperaments were starkly different, even entirely unlike individuals from the same era.

Su Ming said mysteriously.

"What do you guess?"

Night Ten glanced sideways at him.

"You're making it so mysterious... I bet they're definitely not siblings."

"Smart," Su Ming gave a thumbs up and said approvingly, "Keep guessing."

"...Mother and son?"

Su Ming shook his head like a Chinese tambourine.

"Nope, that generational gap is too wide."

"Generational difference is too much... Aunt and nephew? Grandfather and grandson? Damn, what is it?" Seeing that guy constantly playing coy, Night Ten couldn't help but curse.

Su Ming chuckled cheekily.

"I told you, you'd never guess it."

Seeing that his teammate was about to go mad from curiosity, he stopped being secretive, leaned close to Night Ten's ear, and whispered lowly.

"Actually… by generational counting, she should be considered our captain's ancestor to the Nth grade Grandma…"

Night Ten was stupefied, his worldview immediately shattered.

"What the hell?!"

Su Ming shrugged.

"This kind of situation is actually not rare in Ideal City. One day you're at work, suddenly you find out that one of your direct blood relatives from a hundred years ago has just woken up from cryogenic sleep to the present, now sitting in a hospital flipping through non-existent camera feeds, thinking they've become the target of a prank show, with everyone around plotting to deceive them… Can you understand that feeling?"

"Waking up to find your incurable disease has been cured, but the world you knew is gone along with your pension."

He paused, then continued.

"For someone who suddenly finds an ancestor, it's a completely different matter. Now you have to worry about how to make them accept reality, and explain… what exactly your own situation is."

Night Ten was momentarily taken aback.

"...Ah, this."

He had never thought about this issue before; he just thought that cryogenic sleep into the future would be pretty cool.

Maybe in reality, you could even set up bionic maids like those in the game, and the bank account might even double.

But on second thought, this assumption seems to assume that "Tomorrow will be better."

What if the future turns out to be worse?

That thought was quite horrifying.

"Of course... I'm just making an analogy. Our captain and Miss Yun Yi have another situation... Anyway, she comes from the Prosperity Epoch, and her knowledge is very useful to us. We must make sure she is well protected later."

Seeing the captain's signal to assemble, Su Ming patted Night Ten on the shoulder, grinned, and said.

"Let's go, brother, time to get to work."

-

(Sorry for being a bit late today!)

Chapter 505: The Gloom Buried Deep Underground

The representatives dispatched by the Enterprise faction were Yun Yi and Su Ming, the representatives from the Army were the Thousands of leaders Wall and Pangolin, while the Academy's representative was Jiang Xuezhou, a student of that unseen B-level researcher.

As for the representatives from the Alliance, they were Night Ten and an NPC from the archaeological team.

The latter, named Meng Liang, was a former resident of Shelter No. 401. After being rescued by the Alliance from the Looters, he joined the archaeological team dedicated to recovering relics of pre-war civilization. Under Yin Fang's guidance, he learned about archaeology and currently serves as an in-flight prospector on the airship.

The exploration of No.0 Shelter was primarily conducted as a scientific expedition.

The investigation of the relics could not solely rely on the Enterprise. Even as allies, they were under no obligation to disclose all gathered intelligence to the Alliance.

In choosing the dispatched personnel, Chu Guang was very cautious. Besides one NPC expert with relevant professional knowledge, he also needed a reliable player who, in the most extreme cases, could bring internal information from the shelter to the outside world.

The Wasteland OL Forum, where information was shared, was his biggest trump card aside from the "Immortal" players.

Once they confirmed the passage was safe, the delegation proceeded forward and soon reached the entrance of the shelter.

The elevator mentioned by Yi Hai was right in the middle of the B2 floor of the building.

It was shaped like a funnel embedded in the ground, with four corridors leading to the central elevator… It resembled an amphitheater without seats.

Due to long periods of neglect and the extremely uneven distribution of water resources in the Great Desert's unique climate, the walls were covered in mold and dry vines.

Searching every corner of this spacious room with a flashlight, Night Ten muttered.

"Had the crew of the Pioneer really escaped here?"

Walking beside him, Meng Liang nervously replied,

"The intelligence says so…"

It was his first mission.

And it was such an important one right from the start.

Last night, he had read the operation log sent by the Manager several times, especially the section on known intelligence, almost memorizing the punctuation.

"Why aren't there any signs of battle? I can't even see a bullet mark on the walls." Night Ten still had a hint of doubt in his face.

It wasn't that he was naturally cautious.

It was because the Manager had not assigned this crucial task to Old White, who had the strongest combat power, but to him, who had the highest Perception Attributes.

Especially after yesterday's discussion on the forum, he instinctively suspected that the task wasn't as simple as he had imagined.

Walking on the other side, Su Ming shrugged his shoulders and grinned,

"Maybe by the time they escaped here, there were no pursuers… Weylent people didn't find the specific entrance to Shelter No.0, right?"

"That makes sense," Night Ten nodded thoughtfully but soon furrowed his brows again, "Hiss… but I still feel something is off."

Where were the people from the Enlightenment Society?

Didn't they know the entrance to Shelter No.0?

Since Yi Hai knew that those people were trying to prevent the Enterprise from finding Shelter No.0, the two sides must have fallen out before he was frozen.

Night Ten was puzzled, feeling like he was missing some vital clue.

Alas, Brother Fang Chang wasn't here, and that fool from the battlefield probably wouldn't dare communicate with him.

"Reason?" Jiang Xuezhou, who had been silent, couldn't help but speak up.

She wasn't very fond of interacting with people outside the Academy, especially since this man seemed to have clashed with her previous squad.

But this guy had been muttering all along, making her nervous ever since they entered the building… even though they hadn't encountered a single mutated hyena yet.

However, Night Ten didn't think too much about it and didn't even notice the impatience in her words. Instead, he thought the beauty was interested in him and gave what he considered a mysterious and charming smile.

"Intuition."

Intuition…

Jiang Xuezhou's mouth twitched, struggling to keep her composure.

What was that supposed to mean?

Yet Su Ming seemed to understand perfectly, laughing and patting Night Ten's shoulder,

"Bro, I get that feeling, sometimes nothing has happened, but you still feel something is off… My captain said I was about to awaken, I hope not, I haven't gotten married yet. Anyway, stay alert, I also think there's something fishy about this place."

The Old Soldier wanted to ask what exactly he had sensed, especially since the server's top T0 player with the highest Perception surely wasn't boasting.

Yet, with a Thousands of leaders looking on, he could only think it to himself.

Watching the confidently smiling Wall, the Old Soldier thought at least to gather some intelligence and thus lowered his voice to ask,

"Sir, do we have a plan?"

Wall simply replied,

"No."

"No?" The Old Soldier thought he had misheard and paused.

Wall laughed heartily and disdainfully said,

"Only the weak would believe that a shelter alone could solve anything. Our Marshal has never placed hope on such unsubstantial rumors."

The Old Soldier chuckled helplessly,

"Then why are we here…"

"Though Lord Cohen doesn't believe that something capable of ending the Wasteland is stored inside, it's still a relic left from the Prosperity Epoch… who knows what we might find inside, perhaps weapons?" Wall glanced at the representatives from the Enterprise and Academy, then said nonchalantly, "In short, if the Enterprise and Academy are interested, we can't just ignore it."

Old Soldier: "..."

Positioned from the Weylent perspective, this reasoning sounded so sensible.

So much so that he didn't know how to respond.

Soon, the group arrived in front of the elevator.

Yun Yi reached out to touch the elevator door and glanced at the two representatives from the Alliance.

"Who has the access card?"

"I do."

Meng Liang immediately responded, stepping forward, and took out the card given to him by the Manager, pressing it against the card reader's exterior.

A pale blue light appeared in front of the door, scanning over the bodies of those present before the floor trembled slightly, and the gates slowly shifted to the sides.

The space inside the elevator was indeed small.

So much so that it was surprising how narrow the entrance to Shelter No.0 was.

"Or could there actually be other entrances here?"

"Unbelievable," Night Ten muttered softly, "After two centuries, these facilities are still operational."

And that's with no one maintaining them.

"It turns out."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is… after being activated once, our information was written into the security system and tied to the coding of that access card. We can use this elevator even without the card. As for others, unless we rewrite the security here or give them another unactivated access card, they can't enter… at least not with this card."

She paused, then continued.

"This effectively prevents unauthorized persons from sneaking into the shelter... However, such systems usually appear in unfinished shelters, unless specially requested by the shelter manager, and are rarely found in mature shelters with assigned managers."

Night Ten muttered a sentence.

"So, you mean taking the card up and shaking people down won't work?"

Yun Yi glanced at him, not understanding what the junior was saying.

Meng Liang, standing beside her, was shocked by another piece of information in her statement and looked at her in amazement.

"You mean... this shelter is not completed?"

Yun Yi shrugged her shoulders.

"Who knows, I didn't build this shelter. I just happened to have worked in the relevant department and heard some rumors."

Before Meng Liang could digest the huge amount of information in her words, she glanced at the elevator's door and, without saying anything, walked straight in.

Upon seeing this, Su Ming immediately followed her.

Having taken back the now-useless access card, Meng Liang turned to Night Ten and said anxiously,

"Let's go too."

"Yeah, let's go."

Night Ten nodded, took one last look at the spacious room behind him, and stepped through the open elevator door.

The moment he crossed the threshold, a familiar musty smell hit his nose, instantly putting him on high alert.

The premonition lingering in his mind seemed to get stronger…

…

Inside the camp.

Though the planned enclosing wall and barracks construction were completed, five construction vehicles parked in the middle of the camp were still rumbling non-stop.

Apart from the players sent near the Industrial Building for a mission, the others weren't idle either. They scattered around to collect some junk, using the blueprints stored in the construction vehicles to remelt and process these junk items into various parts.

Due to strong demand, there was even a long queue forming in front of these construction vehicles.

A few young players holding bundles of scrap metal eagerly waited nearby, worried that the machines' feeders might empty out.

A corporate employee happened to pass by and noticed the crowd near the construction vehicles. Approaching curiously, he asked,

"Isn't the camp already built? What are you guys up to now?"

Seeing an NPC engaging in conversation, I Max Black, holding a big bundle of steel, grinned and replied in imperfect United Human language,

"The old well was too small, and since there's an aquifer below, we're planning to dig a deeper well."

Another young worker at the site with a sack of cement agreed,

"That's right! This time we extended the threaded pipe in the blueprint!"

The corporate employee was stupefied and still hadn't regained his composure when other players started chattering in a language he couldn't understand.

"Speaking of which, the groundwater here is quite abundant."

"Of course, why else would we camp here."

"But just drilling a well is boring; I suggest setting up a greenhouse to grow some vegetables."

"That's a great idea!"

"!!! I brought seeds!"

As players conversed, several more items were added to the production queue in the blueprint, increasing the need for various materials.

This included polyethylene materials for constructing the greenhouse, aluminum alloys for cultivating vegetable growth tanks and water pipes...

With the greenhouse arranged, sources of carbohydrates and vitamins were secured, and sources of animal protein and fats could not be neglected.

Raising cattle or sheep was impractical as there was not much grass here.

But solutions often outnumber problems.

Soon, I Max Black thought of the plump white worms some brothers from the Burning Corps had obtained in a mutant tribe.

Eating those directly might turn one's stomach—Old Na might be the exception—but making them into a nutritional paste would probably work.

After all, they weren't the ones staying here, the misfortune was for those newbies who came here to clear the land…

Regarding NPCs.

Aside from their managers, they seemed not to be picky eaters.

Not far away, a few Weilante military officers watched the bustling Alliance people and couldn't help but mutter,

"What are these guys up to?"

"I don't know…"

"This is just a temporary camp; why are they setting up so many tents?"

"Are they planning to stay here…"

Thinking this, a few Weilante officers suddenly became alert.

The Alliance was extending its reach right behind their servant country.

This was not a good sign…

In fact, not just corporate employees and Weilante military officers were puzzled; even the players themselves weren't quite clear about what they were actually up to.

The fun of a sandbox game lies in the experience of the process, and no one really cares about the purpose or the outcome.

The managers told them that the Alliance planned to keep this place as a forward outpost in the Great Desert, and they could DIY the buildings here to their liking. Until the five construction vehicles are recalled, their creative ideas can be brought to life as much as possible.

So, the interested players cheerfully came with piles of building materials to line up.

The new map didn't have many missions, and, having nothing better to do, quite a few players undertook missions to expand the campsite. Although the rewards weren't high, it was still quite fun.

Chu Guang didn't specify how they had to build the Outpost Base, leaving it completely up to their discretion.

As it turned out, these players were even better than he had imagined. They considered everything from drinking water to stable food sources, and from sanitation to safety.

They even had detailed plans for the placement of various facilities… These weren't conjured from thin air, largely drawing from the layout of overseas military bases or construction sites, considering the scenario of being cut off from supply lines, making the planned campsite somewhat self-sufficient.

Watching the players bustling about, Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad!"

Had this been outsourced to a corporate construction team, it would've cost at least a few million Cr, and even using our own construction team wouldn't have been cheaper than a few hundred thousand Silver coins.

But delegating the task to these players, they managed it for less than one hundred thousand Silver coins. The labor was almost free, materials were locally sourced, and the designs were copied and discussed online.

However, since the Outpost Base was ultimately for their use, it wasn't really a profit for him.

Turning his gaze away from the players, Chu Guang walked over to the corner of the camp, where he arranged rooms for the rescued survivors.

After receiving treatment in twelve medical pods, most of the survivor's wounds had healed.

Some basic mechanical prostheses weren't very expensive, otherwise, even scavengers wouldn't have been able to afford them.

Having recently seized some simple prosthetics from Weylent people, Chu Guang had the corporate doctors fit them.

By the way, since there were corporate journalists on the airship, and for the sake of a show, Wu Changnian expressed willingness to cover some of the costs of assisting the survivors.

Chu Guang didn't hold back and casually asked for one hundred thousand Cr, which Wu Changnian agreed to without flinching at such a cheap cost.

Afterward, Chu Guang had his logistics officer do the math and found that the total value of the mechanical prostheses was probably even less than one hundred thousand chips…

Chu Guang was quite embarrassed. He had morals, after all, and hadn't planned to profit from those unfortunate souls, much less be concerned about a mere one hundred thousand Cr.

But he couldn't well tell the corporate side that he had given too much, especially since Wu had already boasted; he could only keep the logistics officer to keep this secret to himself.

The barracks door was pushed open.

Seeing the light coming through the doorway and the accompanying footsteps, the women lying on the beds instinctively shrank back.

Relieved that it wasn't the mutants, they calmed down.

Those lying in the infirmary were survivors who had just undergone prosthetic surgery, approximately twenty people.

Though he didn't want to remind them of their past traumas, to gather information about the torch emblem, Chu Guang still asked in a gentle tone,

"Where are you folks from?"

The people in the room glanced at each other, none of them speaking.

The air grew momentarily silent.

Just as Chu Guang was hesitating whether to find a more approachable female player to communicate, a woman in her early twenties suddenly raised her hand tremulously, speaking with a hoarse voice,

"My name is Lama... I come from Poluo Province."

"Poluo Province?"

The origin of the Double-headed Cow?

It's said to be in the southwest of the Camel Hump Kingdom.

That's quite far…

Chu Guang continued in a gentle tone,

"Can you tell me how you got here?"

Pausing, he quickly added,

"Of course, if you'd rather not recall those unpleasant memories, we won't force you."

Lama shook her head.

"It's okay... I'm very thankful that you rescued us from hell."

She paused, then continued,

"I was born in a small village; one day, a group of traders came. They wanted to buy Double-headed Cows to transport to Silver Moon Bay in the northeast. They were generous and offered good prices, and everyone in the village was very courteous to them. The village chief even brought out fine wine to entertain them... I had a bit to drink myself, and when I woke up, I was in a cage."

Chu Guang fell silent for a while.

"Slave traders?"

"...Probably," Lama's eyes filled with fear, but she bravely spoke up, "Those people also said... my own family had sold me to them, but I don't believe them, they must have drugged everyone."

Chu Guang sympathized with her plight, but that wasn't his main concern.

Frowning, he continued to probe.

"...Do these slave traders deal with mutants?"

To Chu Guang's surprise, Lama shook her head, the terror in her eyes intensifying.

"They... sold us to another group of people. Those people took us across the desert and brought us here."

Chu Guang clenched his fist, speaking solemnly,

"Who are they?"

"I don't know..."

The young woman hugged her head, her fingers trembling, lightly threaded through her hair. It seemed that merely recalling the event was terrifying her.

Chu Guang changed his approach, patiently saying,

"Do those people have any... distinctive features? Such as appearance, or clothing, or something uniform they carried..."

Lama's scattered gaze suddenly focused as she recalled something. Releasing her head, she abruptly raised it,

"Those people... all seemed to be wearing blue jackets."

Blue Jackets?

Really?

Hearing this shocking clue, a hint of astonishment appeared on Chu Guang's face.

From what he knew around Qingquan City, those little rabbits coming out of the shelters hardly harmed others; not getting picked themselves was already a blessing.

The reason he was so kind to Little Fish and her family was largely because they hadn't harmed him... and that was already not easy on the Wasteland.

However, Lama wasn't the only one; many survivors in the infirmary silently nodded, indicating they had similar or the same experiences.

Chu Guang's expression gradually became somber as he took out a small notebook from his pocket and recorded the clues narrated by Lama.

Most of the residents of the shelters, after returning to the surface, showed their naivety and often, due to the self-esteem, kindness, weakness of civilized people, and the guilt of having abandoned their compatriots or a sense of superiority, were treated like sheep to be slaughtered by the much weaker Waste Land Wanderers.

Shelter No. 401 was an example of this.

That shelter, completely upended by the Looters, saw all its members turned into laborers making medicine pills, almost losing even their black boxes.

Of course, there were a few shelters that evolved into strong regional powers, like those entrepreneurs whose ancestors included residents from Shelter No. 6.

Although Shelter 101 did not develop into a powerful regional force, under Dr. Method's guidance, it still had a limited influence on some of the surviving residents.

Shelter No. 79 could not be called a helpless bunny. Those people purely brought destruction upon themselves, but aside from the crazed "Yong's," the others did not particularly harm the survivors on the surface.

As for the Enlightenment Society...

It was probably the other extreme among the "Blue Jacket" group.

Chu Guang didn't know what they had been through in the past.

To the extent that they had completely abandoned the pride and reservation of civilized people and even went to trade with Mutants and slave traders.

In any case, they had crossed the line.

Once someone started, other survivors quickly confessed their origins and how they ended up being sold to these mutants.

Most of these people came from Luo Xia Province, especially the war-torn regions of Falcon Kingdom and Honey Badger Kingdom, but some also came from Brocade River or River Valley, where, though no war erupted, the chaos was no less than in the war zones of Luo Xia Province.

Chu Guang recorded all of this.

His benevolence was not so overwhelming as to avenge people he had just met a few days ago, but the Enlightenment Society made up of shelter residents deeply unsettled him.

Even if not out of morality.

Just considering the interests of the Alliance, he couldn't simply ignore those lurking in the shadows.

He had to figure out what their motives were, where their hometowns were located, and how many kilometers away they were from the Alliance...

"...I'm sorry for what you've gone through; you may have encountered some not-so-friendly shelter residents, but I believe not all shelter residents are like that."

Pausing, Chu Guang continued to speak.

"We will provide you some help."

Clutching the edge of the bedding tightly, Lama nodded and sincerely said,

"Thank you..."

"You're welcome, rest well... I've asked everything I needed to, let's forget the past unpleasantness."

Chu Guang glanced at the notebook in his hand, closed it, and stuffed it back into his pocket.

Just as he was about to return to the airship, a sudden thought crossed his mind, and he turned to go to Yi Hai's tent.

A sudden thought concerned him.

If he didn't get clarity,

He would have trouble sleeping...

...

Industrial Building underground.

The floor unknown.

After the elevator doors opened, a gear-shaped metallic giant door quickly came into view of the exploration team.

In the center of the giant metal gear, there was a sharp-angled rhombus, with a hollowed-out center that undeniably resembled a digital "0."

The passage leading to the inside of the shelter was right beside that giant door, clearly indicating someone had been here before and had opened it.

The Pioneer's crew was just ahead!

However, what unsettled Su Ming was, why, having reached this place, was no one coming out to greet them...

"...No.0 Shelter really exists," Yun Yi stepped forward unconsciously, shocked by something entirely different.

Su Ming also quickly stepped forward, staying right beside her without leaving.

After staring at the gear-shaped giant door for a while, Night Ten touched his chin and muttered in United Human language.

"How strange..."

"What's strange now?" Jiang Xuezhou glanced sideways at this excessively talkative man, who had been too chatty all along the way.

Embarrassed, Night Ten said,

"I just feel... this zero is drawn a bit crooked, is this really No.0 Shelter?"

Jiang Xuezhou stared at the symbol for a while.

"No.0 Shelter is an unnumbered shelter by definition, its symbol is supposed to be like this... It generally matches the intelligence previously collected by the Academy."

"Well... maybe I'm overthinking it."

Night Ten shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze toward the deep corridor, following behind the corporate representative and continuing forward.

"We're going in too."

Wally patted Pangolin's shoulder and strode forward as well.

Old Soldier noticed, sparkles of intense excitement and curiosity flickered in his eyes.

Though he verbally didn't care what was inside No.0 Shelter, his body was unexpectedly honest...

The group passed through the corridor and swiftly entered the interior of the shelter.

However, to their surprise, the structure here was not as complex as they had imagined; it was even rudimentary to the point of being sloppy.

This place didn't resemble a shelter at all.

It looked more like a laboratory.

But what shocked them even more wasn't just that.

It was the dark red fungal patches crawling in the crevices of the walls and doors and the sinister greenish-gray particles floating in the air...

Slime mold!

Were there slime molds here too?

-

(I had intended to finish writing the rest, but I simply ran out of time.)

Chapter 506 Late Arrival

"Fuck! Slimy mold?!"

Night Ten clenched the carbine in his hands, nervously looking around, and blurted out a sentence mixed with United Human language and Chinese unconsciously.

At this moment, he finally realized what that strong premonition of crisis was all about.

Jiang Xuezhou frowned.

Although she didn't want to bother with this guy, driven by curiosity, she couldn't help but ask,

"What is 'fuck'?"

Night Ten, with an embarrassed face, didn't know how to explain and coughed before saying,

"It's a mood particle... don't mind it."

Mood particle?

Jiang Xuezhou's frown deepened.

Since a while ago, she had a feeling that the people from the corporation and the Alliance were conspiring something, or at least hiding something from her.

Especially after seeing Night Ten chatting and laughing with Su Ming, her unease grew stronger.

"Mutated slime fungus cannot exist separately from the mother body..."

Looking around, Meng Liang continued with a grave expression,

"There are spores here, and mycelial patches, meaning there's at least one mother body or a fully developed lair around; we must be careful."

Yun Yi didn't speak but quickly walked to the terminal next to the main door, her fingers swiftly operating on the touch screen.

Soon, rows of pale blue code flashed across the screen so fast they were hard to see.

"What's this?" Night Ten asked curiously as he leaned in to look.

"Connecting to the shelter's security system," Yun Yi replied succinctly, "The access card gave us 'visitor' permissions, which we can use to do some things."

Night Ten paused for a moment.

"Visitors can connect to the security system?"

"Under normal circumstances, no, the security system is one of the Manager's core permissions, but it's clear there's no Manager here."

Glancing at the mycelial patch on the wall, Yun Yi continued, "According to the shelter system's default rules, in the absence of an appointed Manager, some permissions will cascade down. We can't change the rules here, but at least we can get access to the map and control over the main door."

Upon hearing this, Night Ten immediately became excited.

"Then the elevator outside—"

Yun Yi sighed impatiently, interrupting him.

"I'm talking about the main door; the elevator is under the Manager's permission."

In other words, if others want to come down, they still need to figure out how to get an access card.

Or, someone inside needs to get the Manager's permission.

Seeing that he couldn't sway anyone, Night Ten deflated like a punctured ball.

To be honest, after seeing the situation on Floor B6 of Shelter No. 404, he really didn't recommend that just a few people try to solo this high-difficulty instance.

It's not that he lacked confidence in his own strength; it's purely because there was too high a proportion of technical personnel!

That Yun Yi, their own Meng Liang, the Academy's Class D researcher—they didn't seem like the fighting type. As for the Weylent Military Officer, it was hard to say whether he was stronger than Old Soldier, the only thing Perception Attributes could tell him was that the person wasn't too weak.

Vellante, with his arms crossed, glanced at this woman.

"Why do you know all this?"

Before Yun Yi could speak, Su Ming immediately explained for her.

"She used to work for a unit related to the shelter plan."

"Oh?" Vellante looked at her meaningfully.

At this moment, the alloy door to the left of the hall suddenly "whooshed" open, revealing the narrow corridor behind it.

Perhaps something had triggered it, or maybe it was simply due to disrepair after years of neglect.

Night Ten, Su Ming, Pangolin, and Wally almost reflexively lifted their gun barrels to point in that direction, but they discovered nothing stirring.

The corridor was eerily empty.

Although the wall lamps on both sides were lit, the patches of stains resembling blood spores still sent chills down one's spine.

It was like the set of a horror movie.

Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but step back as she winced at the pungent odor of decay.

Although she was technically a combatant, her role had always been that of a drone operator, a technical position. She had never been this close to the front line, let alone ventured "solo" into ruins like today.

"Hey... are your people really still alive?" She looked anxiously at Yun Yi and couldn't help but suggest, "How about... we retreat for now and discuss this at length?"

"Heh, didn't you hear what that guy said? The access card has already logged our visitor information. Even if we retreat, we'll still have to be the ones to come back next time," Wally mockingly looked at the obviously intimidated researcher, not hiding his anticipated ridicule, "If the people from the Academy are scared, they can go back on their own. The word 'retreat' does not exist in the Weilante lexicon."

Old Soldier stifled a laugh, while Night Ten couldn't hold back and his shoulders shook, but in order not to affect team cooperation, he quickly turned his face away.

"He's right, even if we wanted to send more people, we'd at least need to get Manager's permission." Glancing at the open door, Yun Yi spoke calmly.

"Who says I'm scared... I'm just being cautious," Jiang Xuezhou bit her lower lip and huffed, steeling herself to stay.

Returning alone was impossible.

Giving up on such an important mission outright, her mentor would likely kill her... that person had no sense of mentor-student sentiment.

At that moment, a voice came from Yun Yi's direction.

"Got it."

Meng Liang immediately looked towards her.

"Got what?"

"The map... and access records for several key areas."

With the access records in hand, they could indirectly estimate the number of mucosal entities in each area, as well as the activity trails of the previous Pioneer crewmembers.

For instance, just now, eight people had taken the elevator down, and all the doors in the segments were locked. From this, they could infer the locations of themselves and others in the hall...

Wait.

Eight?

Staring at the number in the access records, Yun Yi suddenly paused and glanced at the six people around her. It wasn't until her gaze fell on the robotic dog behind Jiang Xuezhou that she relaxed her brows.

It was understandable that the robot was judged as a visitor; after all, it was such a large device... It probably wasn't a BUG in the system.

Pulling her hands back from the terminal, Yun Yi stretched out a finger and gently drew in the air.

A light blue screen unfolded along the trajectory of her fingertip, forming a flat map.

Then, a grid-like 3D wall extended upward from the flat surface, presenting the entire shelter's three-dimensional structure before everyone's eyes.

"The space here is surprisingly compact, with only one level, which saves us quite a bit of time. According to the use of the access control system, eighty people entered the shelter six months ago, with the last recorded access information in the X-13 Area. There is an archive room there, and living quarters... I suspect they went there to gather supplies and to find Sleep Cabins."

"Our primary goal is to head to the X-13 Area; regardless of whether those eighty people are still alive... we need to confirm their status and bring back those who are alive."

"However, we now have a significant problem: as you've seen, this shelter has been completely overrun by slime fungus. According to the records of the access control system's use, I suspect that the location of the Lair is on top of the reactor in the power room... and it has already sensed our presence through spores the moment we came in here. Various indicators show that its metabolic level is rising."

"So before rescuing the trapped Pioneer crewmembers, we need to deal with the awakening Lair."

Su Ming's brow furrowed slightly.

"Do you have any good ideas?"

"The reactor is equipped with a fire suppression system."

Casting her gaze toward the location of the power room on the map, Yun Yi paused before continuing calmly.

"If we activate the fire suppression system, the protective device will inject coolant into the room where the reactor is located. This system is sufficient to cool down a reactor core with a temperature of over a billion degrees, so freezing the Lair should be within our capabilities."

"Isn't the power supply in the shelter going to be interrupted as well..." Jiang Xue Zhou murmured.

"The power will switch to the backup power supply," Yun Yi said concisely, "The backup power usually has an energy reserve of one to two months, so there's no need to worry about a power outage even if the reactor shuts down."

Meng Liang frowned and asked,

"How do we activate the fire suppression system then?"

"There are two solutions," Yun Yi said, "Activate it from the terminal in the Manager's Office, or manually start it directly."

"I'm in favor of heading to the Manager's Office," Valli, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.

Seeing all eyes on him, he grinned and said as if it were a matter of course,

"Anyway, we'll have to get the administrative access here eventually, right? Might as well get that sorted first."

This remark was indeed irrefutable.

Even Old Soldier couldn't help nodding his head, it seemed that the Weilante People had a moment of clarity for once.

However, Yun Yi shook her head,

"You're right, we do have to find a way to get the administrative access, but there's a problem. Our access level is that of a visitor, our information isn't registered in the shelter's roster, so even if we access the terminal in the Manager's Office, we might not get the complete administrative access. Without complete administrative access... I'm afraid it's impossible to activate the fire suppression system without a major nuclear leak having occurred."

Meng Liang asked seriously,

"What's the probability of gaining access?"

Yun Yi thought for a moment and said,

"It's hard to say, fifty-fifty I guess, unfortunately, we don't have the opportunity to trial and error. If we wait until the Lair fully awakens and begins to eliminate intruders entering its territory, it'll be much harder to deal with it."

Night Ten stared at the map for a while and said with furrowed brows,

"So, to be on the safe side, we need two teams: one to go to the Manager's Office to obtain access, and one to go to the power room to manually activate the fire suppression program."

Or, head to the power room first, then to the Manager's Office.

However, both places are a bit far from each other, and it's likely there will be quite a detour.

"Three teams," Su Ming continued, speaking earnestly, "The top priority is to evacuate the crew of the Pioneer; the entire Ideal City is watching their safety... whether or not we obtain the administrative access to this shelter, we must get them out."

"Hey, do you really think those people are still alive?" Valli chuckled and gestured with his chin towards the corridor not far away, "This shelter has already turned into such a ghostly state, I bet those guys have already become fertilizer for those sticky fungi."

Ignoring his mockery, Su Ming said calmly,

"Whether they're still alive or not, we need to check... that's what we came for."

"I agree with his point, and besides, the probability of their survival is high, the sticky fungi haven't reached the area where they are located," Yun Yi surveyed the people present, "and it doesn't matter if we don't manage to get the administrative access this time. We can still rescue people before the Lair fully awakens, and re-enter after it goes back to sleep."

"Let's not waste any more time, then," Night Ten sighed, breaking up the squabble and approaching the holographic map, "We need one team to go to the power room to manually activate the fire system, one team to go to the Manager's Office to use the terminal there to obtain managerial access, and one team to go to the X-13 Area to rescue the trapped staff."

In narrow terrains, splitting up operations is actually more advantageous than moving together.

After all, the number of mucosal entities is also limited, and solitary entities are much easier to deal with than a dense tide.

These are lessons from experience.

When they went down to Floor B6 before, they also operated separately before converging.

After looking around at the representatives from various factions, Meng Liang nervously began,

"The problem now is who's going to the Manager's Office—"

"Of course, I am," Valli interrupted the Alliance representative before he could finish, grinning and saying, "I'm not interested in those dead people, whether you go to save them or not, my goal is there."

"It doesn't matter who goes, it's all the same, just help me plug this hard drive into the terminal," Yun Yi shook the thumb-sized hard drive in her hand and tossed it to Su Ming who was beside her.

At this moment, something occurred to her, and she added another sentence,

"By the way, just a heads up, the activity door in front of the Manager's Office often switches on and off. Generally, mucosal entities will enter sleep mode along with the Lair, but evolutionary bodies are an exception—"

"Pangolin!"

Valli interrupted someone's speech once more, looking towards Pangolin next to him and patting his shoulder with a smile, "I hear you're good at dealing with Variants, even the Mother of Dead Claw has been defeated by you, the Manager's Office task is yours then."

Night Ten couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Although Old Soldier felt speechless in his heart, he didn't dare show any flaws on his face and could only nod his head reluctantly, however unwilling he was.

"Yes!"

...

Once the combat plan was determined, the team division results came out quickly.

Team A, composed of Wally and Jiang Xuezhou, was to head to the power room to manually activate the fire suppression system and inject the coolant to put the Lair into hibernation.

Team B, formed by Night Ten and Yun Yi, would head to Area X-13 to rescue the crew of the Pioneer.

The difficulty coefficient for both tasks was not high.

According to the Access Control System usage, the Lair had not fully awakened yet, and the Eaters were the main active entities in these two areas.

As for Team C, the target was the Manager's Office, and because there was an Evolutionary body there, an additional combat personnel was assigned, forming a group of three with Pangolin, Su Ming, and Meng Liang.

Each squad was equipped with at least one technician and one combat personnel, taking into account the opinions of all members.

For instance, Wally insisted that among the people heading to the Manager's Office, there must be a member of the Army, and the number of people from other factions sent to the Manager's Office must not exceed that of the Army.

As for the reason, he was quite frank—it was because he did not trust the corporate people.

Likewise, Jiang Xuezhou explicitly stated that she did not wish to collaborate with the Alliance people—especially that guy named Night Ten.

For this reason, she even did not mind being grouped with the Weilante People.

On this account, Night Ten was completely baffled, utterly unable to comprehend where he had offended that person.

They should be meeting for the first time, right?

While Night Ten was pondering over this, Yun Yi's voice came from the side.

"My safety is in your hands, no problem, right?"

"Don't worry! Definitely—"

Night Ten turned around and was about to give this beautiful big sister a confident and charming smile.

However, as soon as the words reached the tip of his tongue, he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have just received a roll of the eyes from Jiang someone precisely because of that flashy smile.

Well done, case closed!

It turned out to be hated at that moment!

Thus, the confident and charming smile was forcefully suppressed back and the originally reliable tone of voice no longer sounded so reliable.

"...What I mean is, it's not definite, but there probably won't be any problem."

Watching that uneasy expression and the confusing speech, Yun Yi fell silent for a moment, her gaze upon Night Ten inadvertently carrying a trace of doubt.

This guy...

Is he really okay?

He seems to be quite young...

Night Ten was embarrassed for a good while under her scrutiny.

Dammit!

Confidence is no good, caution isn't either.

What the hell do these fricking NPCs want?!

...

After determining the teams, the group wasted no more of the already limited time and immediately started moving toward their respective targets along the shortest routes, guided by the map provided by Yun Yi.

Jiang Xuezhou gripped the defensive pistol tightly and maintained constant mental connection with the mechanical dog behind her, staying alert to the corridor ahead.

She was on guard against the front, and also wary of the Weilante People by her side.

"Hey."

Startled by the sudden voice, Jiang Xuezhou almost fired her gun accidentally, glaring angrily at the Weylantian who had abruptly struck up a conversation with her.

"What do you want?"

"Don't be nervous," Vellante said with an oblivious smile, waving his hand to indicate he meant no harm, then continued, "I'm just curious, does your Academy still send women to the front lines? What are your superiors... or rather, the doctors thinking?"

If it were just a woman, that would be one thing, but he could tell in a glance that this one had never set foot on a battlefield and had probably just learned how to shoot.

"Front line?" Jiang Xuezhou's eyebrows twitched.

"This isn't the front line? The forefront of the human war against 'Mutated slime fungus'..." Squinting and looking around, Vellante eyed the dark red fungal spots crawling all over the walls, and smirked, "It's not just the trenches that count as the front line."

Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath and retorted.

"The intelligence didn't mention we'd encounter 'Mutated slime fungus'... I'm just here to recover the technology and data such as experimental logs."

It was a pity her previous team leader, Zheng Hao, was an idiot, and the quota given to the Academy by the Alliance, corporations, and armies was only one, otherwise, it should have been him, or at least both of them, coming down.

"Intelligence, huh, that's just for reference," Vellante said disdainfully, curling his lips, "Not to mention 'Mutated slime fungus', even with mutants or aliens, if you run into them, then you run into them. The whole planet is a battlefield, anything can happen on the battlefield... It's been two hundred years, and it's never ended."

Uninterested in his sarcasm, Jiang Xuezhou coldly replied.

"...Boring."

Though she said that, being distracted by this guy did make her feel a bit less tense.

The frontline of a civilization war, huh?

There seemed to be some truth to that idea.

I heard these 'Mutated slime fungi' were a "gift" from the South Gate Two colony; by that logic, the war had indeed never ended...

"Oh, here they come."

Hearing noise coming from ahead, Vellante calmly raised his Eagle assault rifle, swiftly releasing the safety and loading the chamber.

Almost simultaneously, a tidal wave of roars surged from the front. Upon close observation, there were only a few dozen Eaters.

Even survivors armed with pipe rifles could easily take care of such small fry, let alone Weylentians who were born for war.

With a few bangs, the Eaters leading the charge immediately fell to the ground.

Watching the explosions of black blood, Vellante nonchalantly pulled the trigger, using burst fire to mow down the approaching Eaters.

In the blink of an eye, there were already more than twenty bodies lying in the corridor.

"Damn... These guys are pretty troublesome in numbers." After emptying a magazine, Vellante cursed as he quickly reloaded, casting a glance at Jiang Xuezhou standing off to the side, "Hey, from the Academy, help me out a bit."

"Heh."

Glancing at the Weylantian who was nearly overwhelmed, Jiang Xuezhou let out a cold laugh and pressed her index finger to her temple.

Pale blue ripples merged into her hair from her fingertips.

Almost at the same time, the back of the mechanical dog behind her flipped open, and two basin-sized drones shot out like lightning, whizzing over Vellante's head.

"This is—?" Vellante thought in surprise, about to ask what these were when he saw the drones hover over the Eaters' heads.

Almost simultaneously, a rapid-fire barrage erupted from the crowd of bodies, unleashing a downpour of bullets from above, engulfing each Eater in its path.

The horrid, dry corpses jerked as if electrocuted under the hail of bullets before helplessly collapsing to the ground.

Fifty-one Eaters were all killed off!

The whole process took less than ten seconds.

Looking at the corridor steaming with smoke and the drones leisurely returning to base, Jiang Xuezhou lifted her chin slightly, her expression smug, her face broadcasting her show-off.

Vellante knew she was trying to intimidate him but just curled his lip.

"Pfft, cheap tricks."

Bragging about killing a few dozen Eaters.

Too bad he couldn't bring his clone troops with him.

Otherwise, a mere Class D researcher wouldn't have the chance to strut around in front of him.

"What did you say?" Jiang Xuezhou's eyebrows shot up instantly, his murderous look resembling that of a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.

This guy...

From the start, he had an air of disdain.

Even with her temper, she couldn't take it anymore.

She admitted that the Academy did have some issues, but it didn't mean shameless bandits and the sly and cunning Weilante people had any right to criticize it.

"Nothing," ignoring her facial reaction, Valli grumbled, "Come on, it's time to leave."

Watching Valli march ahead, Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip but eventually followed.

Though there were other paths to the power room, walking alone in such a gloomy and eerie place didn't exactly fill her with courage...

...

At the same time, not far from the Manager's Office, with the cooperation of Old Soldier and Su Ming, the Eaters encountered along the way were easily dealt with.

Meng Liang trailed closely behind the two, never firing his gun throughout the journey. He even turned on the safety of his personal firearm... because the Weilante attendant named Pangolin told him it was safer that way.

For some reason, he always felt that guy took especially good care of him.

Even though he was from the Army...

Hearing faint gunfire in the distance, Old Soldier checked the map on his tablet and took a deep breath.

"Group A is getting close to the power room... We need to speed up too."

Away from Valli, with no need to keep up the guise of the silent expert, he became much more talkative and noticeably more cheerful.

Su Ming whistled and said with a smile.

"Don't worry, there aren't too many Eaters there, your superior will be fine."

He didn't dislike the guy.

While he couldn't understand the mindset of an attendant serving Weilante people, he had to respect the guy's skills, which impressed him as a fellow warrior.

Old Soldier sighed.

"I'm not too worried about him."

After all, it was his own request to move along with the people from the enterprise and the Alliance. He had already made a recording on his tablet.

If something went wrong eventually, he could just shift the blame onto that young Academy lady.

Su Ming asked out of curiosity.

"What does the Mother of Dead Claw look like?"

Old Soldier thought for a moment and gestured with his hands.

"As tall as two or three stories."

"Incredible..." Su Ming's face was filled with surprise and admiration as he gazed at him, "You took down such a huge creature all by yourself?!"

Old Soldier, embarrassed, wasn't sure how to respond when suddenly a creaking noise came from up ahead, followed by the stench of decay.

The two chatting swiftly became alert.

"There's something ahead."

"You feel it too?"

"Yes..." Su Ming's eyes narrowed as he cautiously touched the helmet of his exoskeleton, releasing a hummingbird-sized reconnaissance drone.

With a buzzing sound, the drone set off into the pitch-black darkness ahead.

Yet the moment it reached the end of the corridor, a large hand reached out from a shadowy corner and crushed the drone to pieces.

"Damn!"

Su Ming cursed under his breath and once again tapped his helmet, turning off the flickering snow-white light on the left side of the tactical goggles.

Heavy footsteps approached from the front.

The sound was like a sledgehammer striking a wall.

The three looked forward, only to see a silhouette standing at the end of the corridor.

It appeared as though it had been waiting for them for a long time.

A hissing growl came from the gaps in the armor, its left hand carrying a door panel ripped from somewhere, and its right hand grasping a steel bar almost as tall as a man.

The aura of murderous intent emanating from its body was nearly visible to the naked eye, its armor covered in crimson, obscuring its original form, and its fierce helmet resembling a demon's mask.

Suddenly, Su Ming's pupils constricted in an instant.

"No..."

He took half a step back, his voice trembling with disbelief.

"How is this possible..."

Standing beside him, Old Soldier's nerves were stretched to their limit, his hand clutching the rifle sweating in an instant

Decaying Knight!

A hybrid of power armor and mutated slime fungus!

A steel monster driven entirely by flesh and blood!

He had faced this thing head-on in the last Tide. No one knew better than he did how horrible this thing was...

He turned to look at Meng Liang, who was at a loss, and said in a lowered voice.

"Stay back."

"Okay..."

Meng Liang swallowed nervously and quickly retreated, hiding in an empty room on the side of the corridor, beneath a cabinet.

"Motherfucker... it's even got a shield!"

Turning back to see the Decaying Knight with its knees slightly bent, Old Soldier took a deep breath and raised his "Eagle" assault rifle.

Whether it worked or not, he had to try!

...

On the other hand, after dealing with nearly a hundred Eaters and several Crawlers, Night Ten was covering Yun Yi as they moved towards Shelter No. 404's X-13 Area.

Seeing the fairly reliable teenager, Yun Yi's opinion of him improved a bit.

"You're quite skilled, you could be more confident."

Night Ten gave her a helpless smile.

"You're right... how much farther?"

"We're here."

Yun Yi's gaze landed on the tightly closed door ahead.

Dark red fungal patches obscured its number, but the number 13 could still be seen.

She stepped forward, entered the visitor code into the terminal by the door, and soon with a hissing exhaust sound, the door slowly opened.

The dry air flowed out, dispersing the spore clouds gathered at the entrance.

The people inside had adjusted the area's air pressure, creating a positive-pressure system in relation to the rest of the shelter, preventing the infiltration of slime fungus and spores.

Seeing this, Yun Yi felt somewhat relieved, the passengers of the Pioneer might indeed still be alive.

"Let's go... they must have entered the Sleep Cabin, maybe waiting for us right ahead."

"Hmm."

Night Ten nodded, hoisted his LD-50 carbine, and took the lead in front of Yun Yi.

Usually, during dungeon runs, he would be the vanguard to trigger battles, and after the battle had started, players like Old White or Quit Smoking would take over the main tank role.

He could predict the murderous intentions locked onto him.

Only by standing at the front could he maximize the advantage of his Perception Attributes and Talent.

However, Yun Yi seemed to have misunderstood his intent, thinking that this shy young man was surprisingly considerate, which made her smile unexpectedly.

The situation here was exactly as she had gathered from the terminal at the entrance, unconsumed by the "Mutated slime fungus," with hardly any fungal patches visible.

But as the two entered the archives of Area X-13, the scene that met their eyes plunged their hearts into the abyss simultaneously.

A fierce battle had broken out here.

Surveying his surroundings, Night Ten recalled the thought he had before entering the shelter and suddenly spoke up.

"Right, there's something I've been unable to figure out."

Staring intently at the blackened scorch marks on the wall, Yun Yi swallowed and spoke with a slightly trembling voice.

"What is it?"

"All the way down here, we saw no traces of battle, including the areas covered in fungal carpets... until here," Night Ten said in a lowered voice, looking at the bullet marks on the wall. "So did the Enlightenment Society turn on the Pioneer's crew only after they arrived here?"

Yun Yi paused, wondering why he would bring this up.

"Possibly... what about it?"

"Nothing... I just thought it would have happened earlier. After all, wasn't Yi Hai already in the Sleep Cabin before the Pioneer's crew entered the shelter?"

Muttering to himself, Night Ten aimed his carbine and continued to explore forward, meticulously searching every file rack and being alert to every corner that might conceal danger.

They were unlikely to find any slime fungus here now.

However, the unease lingering in his heart grew stronger.

As he passed through the rows of file shelves and was about to reach the door leading to the next room, he suddenly found a decomposing body behind an overturned desk.

The body was severely decayed, but because it was near a vent, the stench of rot hadn't spread far, so Night Ten only smelled the pungent odor when he leaned closer.

The deceased was clutching a handgun.

From the bullet holes on the desk and the nearby walls, it seemed he used the flipped-over desk as cover to engage in a firefight with someone or some people.

And the outcome was clear.

Those people had shot him dead and crossed over his cover, as well as the door he was protecting.

"He was killed by someone..."

Yun Yi walked up next to Night Ten, looked at the corpse, her face turning slightly pale, uttering a phrase that was obvious to anyone.

But who could have done it?!

Suppressing the pungent stench,
she silently crouched down, her right hand searching the chest of the corpse, quickly finding a bloody, crusted name tag.

At the moment her gaze landed on the name tag, her expression froze, and the flickering look in her eyes was indescribable as shock or bewilderment.

"What did you find?" Night Ten immediately crouched next to her, looking at the name tag in her hand.

Although the dried blood obscured most of the text, he could still make out the content written on it.

And at the same moment he recognized those words, an expression of shock and confusion likewise took over his entire face.

['Silver Wing Group' Overseas Division First Pioneer Group Deputy Leader——]

[Yi Hai]

-

(Thanks to the "Southeast Wind Level 18" League Master for the reward!!!)

Chapter 507: Gui Xu, Returning to Zero

"...You've been frozen for too long, your hematopoietic function hasn't fully recovered yet, and a blood transfusion might do you some good."

Outside Shelter No. 0.

In a tent of the base, a doctor in a white coat looked at Yi Hai lying on the hospital bed and said.

"No need, I feel quite good," Yi Hai declined the doctor's kindness with weary eyes, he looked at his younger brother standing beside his bed and said in a gentle voice, "Can I rest for a while?"

Concernedly watching his older brother lying on the bed, Yi Chuan nodded.

"...Take care and rest."

Although he had many things he wanted to tell his brother, considering that the latter had just been rescued from the sleep cabin, what he needed most at the moment was rest.

Yi Chuan stood up from the chair and walked toward the door.

However, just as he was about to lift the curtain to leave, he happened to encounter Chu Guang coming in from the outside.

"Chu Guang?" Yi Chuan asked in surprise, thinking he had come to see him, "Is there something you need?"

Looking at the representative of the Silver Wing Group, Chu Guang smiled friendly and said.

"There's something I'd like to talk to your brother about, can I borrow a little bit of his time?"

Seeing that Chu Guang was not there to see him, Yi Chuan was momentarily taken aback and looked troubled after hearing his request.

"But he needs to rest right now—"

Before Yi Chuan could finish his sentence, a voice from behind him cut him off.

"It's fine, let Mr. Chu Guang in."

Yi Chuan instantly turned his head and looked at his brother, who had just mentioned needing rest, with a puzzled expression, but ultimately he didn't say anything and stepped aside.

Chu Guang gave him a grateful look.

"Thank you, I'll take it from here, you go ahead with your business... Don't worry, I won't keep your brother for too long."

Yi Chuan nodded.

"Alright... then you two have your chat."

"Mhm."

Chu Guang nodded, passed by Yi Chuan, and walked directly to the bedside, casually picking up an iron chair to sit on.

Looking at the azure armor on his body, Yi Hai lying on the hospital bed managed a weak smile and said.

"You're still the same, always wearing that set of armor no matter the occasion."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"After all, this is the Wasteland where anything can happen... I'm honored that I've left such a deep impression on you."

"Of course, that's a special place, unlike any other I've been to, not just you, but many of you... You and your team members left a profound impression on us."

The pale face showed weakness, but the man on the bed still mustered a friendly smile.

"It's a pity we had a mission and couldn't stay long, otherwise I really would have liked to spend more time there... see what delicacies you all had hidden away in the shelter."

Hearing him bring up their shared memories, Chu Guang laughed, then suddenly sighed lightly, somewhat somberly saying.

"That night, I said... when you've recovered a little, we could sit down and have a proper chat about what happened on our side after you guys left."

Yi Hai's voice also carried a hint of regret as he looked back at those memories.

"I am curious... what exactly happened to you, to change so drastically in just six months."

Chu Guang remained silent, just staring at him for a while.

Those deep black pupils were inscrutable; Yi Hai, locked in Chu Guang's gaze, gradually showed a hint of confusion.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Nothing," Chu Guang shook his head, then suddenly softened the sharpness in his eyes, continuing in a gentle tone, "Let's start with... what happened to us before we met you."

Yi Hai didn't speak, quietly waiting for him to continue.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then resumed.

"A long time ago, I had a very long dream, in which... I was killed by Wasteland Wanderers, killed by Mutants, betrayed to death by the residents I trusted the most. In the most desperate moments, I touched the edge of the dream over and over again, yet each time I was about to pierce through that layer of fog, I would wake up from the dream again. Sometimes I couldn't help thinking, could this be the start of another cycle?"

Yi Hai paused, seeing his serious expression, it took him a while before he sighed lightly, picking up on his story.

"That sounds like a terrible memory."

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded, "I rarely talk about the details of my dreams, even with the people I trust the most."

He paused, then he continued.

"Although it may sound strange, I was surprised myself... I don't hate the people I met in my dreams."

A laugh played across Yi Hai's face as he struggled not to laugh out loud.

"That does sound pretty weird... Dreams and reality are two separate things after all. It wouldn't be normal to hate someone in real life for a nightmare."

Chu Guang also smiled and said.

"Right? Not to mention dreams and reality, even people in reality are different from one another. Some Waste Land Wanderers are full of malice, but not all of them are like that. I constantly remind myself to use the power in my hands prudently, including the authority granted to me by the Shelter, to set aside the pride and prejudice of civilized people, to treat everyone as equal as possible, and to constrain others with rules; only by doing so can we unite more people."

"Whether the residents within the Shelter or the survivors outside, they all have an equal right to live in this world, instead of being born to serve someone, to satisfy someone's comfort and ambition, or to become someone's slave... Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

Yi Hai fell silent for a moment before sincerely exclaiming,

"You are an excellent Manager, no wonder you have managed your Shelter so well."

Though these words sounded like sincere praise, and indeed they were, they carried a different significance in Chu Guang's ears,
especially since he had already sensed something amiss.

The praise now carried a hint of sarcasm.

Chu Guang also had no intention of continuing the act with him and, staring into those eyes that masked deceit with frailty, spoke in a very light voice,

"My management skills weren't so proficient from the start, I only gradually learned a little after spending time with the survivors. So I really don't understand, if it's slavers, that's one thing... They can still use the circumstances and ignorance as their excuses. However, you, as inheritors of a civilized legacy, why do you also stoop to mingle with those people? Hasn't the United Human given you enough?"

"Mingle with... those people?" Yi Hai was slightly startled, and his expression progressively turned serious, "What do you mean? Are you saying... there are traitors in the corporation trading with Mutants?!"

The fellow was still playing dumb until the very end.

Chu Guang had to admit, he was quite convincing.

If this guy had been so attentive from the beginning, or rather, if he hadn't made his delight so obvious, he might have actually fooled Chu Guang.

After all, when dealing with the injured, people are instinctively lenient, not demanding every detail be clearly explained, even if sometimes they notice inconsistencies in the records, they would generously understand it as a normal reaction to trauma.

However—

Some things could be attributed to a confusion of memory, but others could not.

People might mix up the order of events due to memory confusion, might get confused about key figures in an event, but couldn't inexplicably predict something that hadn't happened.

Almost at the same time, Xiao Qi's voice came from beside his ear, reporting discoveries made by his little "players" within No.0 Shelter.

Even if the walls of the Shelter could block electromagnetic waves, they couldn't stop the connection built on the "Morphogenesis Field".

"Stop pretending... The real Yi Hai is already dead in that shelter, isn't he?"

Seeing that Chu Guang had made it clear, the man lying in the bed finally stopped acting.

He completely tore off the mask of frailty, his pale face twisted due to emotional fluctuations, and a creepy, cackling laugh came from his dry mouth.

He looked like a corpse gone mad.

Chu Guang watched him calmly.

He knew this guy must have been holding back for a long time, perhaps since the moment he woke up, he had been holding back his laughter.

It seemed he had laughed enough.

The distorted face returned to normal, the man took a deep breath contentedly, looking at Chu Guang with a cheerful expression,

"Phew... Holding back laughter is not easy, did you know? The foolish looks on your faces bustling about me is just so hilarious, haha!"

He paused for a moment, curiously examining the man in power armor before him.

"Chu Guang, right... I am still a bit curious, how did you find out? Those guys shouldn't have left the shelter yet, right?"

Chu Guang said in a calm voice,

"Although you played it very convincingly, even acting out the surprise when you saw me, the feelings for your brother, the emotion when you saw the rescuers... You displayed it all, but you know too much."

"The Weilante People, Mutants, the Enlightenment Society, and the final betrayal by the Enlightenment Society, you know all of it."

"Isn't that strange? It's as if you were involved in everything, including the conflicts with the Weilante People and Mutants, including the cooperation with the Enlightenment Society and ultimately being betrayed by them... And then you came back unscathed to the starting point of everything."

"Clever," the man looked at Chu Guang appreciatively, "I'm more and more impressed by you... Indeed, I am from the Enlightenment Society."

"But there's still something I don't understand," Chu Guang stared at him, his voice carrying a hint of curiosity, "How did you manage to impersonate Yi Hai?"

"Ah... Is that difficult?" The man's face was filled with a pleasant smile, and his reaction was beyond Chu Guang's expectations.

He didn't hide anything and confessed readily,

"Have you heard of the Mind Interference Device?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"I've heard of it. Some people like you have mastered the same technology, though if I remember correctly... the higher the mental capacity, the more specific the information absorbed, but the less impact it has. The lower the mental capacity, the less information it can accept, but the impact is larger."

This technology originated from the colonies, inspired by the "Unified Consciousness" of exoplanetary lifeforms, and was developed as a substitute for the "Infrasound Fence" technology. Later, some unscrupulous corporations used it on visitors to ecological parks, selling commodities worth less than a bottle of water at sky-high prices, almost overturning the advertising industry.

The Mind Interference Instrument could control some immature Variants, but for mature humans, the impact was limited to giving them a push when the thought "buy it" emerged, not to mention the more advanced version of mental domination.

"Resonance theory, indeed," the man continued with a smile, "Theoretically, controlling higher lifeforms using resonance theory is impossible, as the complexity of a higher lifeform's mind is tens of thousands of times more intricate than that of lower creatures. However, exceptions do exist."

Chu Guang watched him for a while, then a look of surprise suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"... Clones?"

"Exactly, especially the kind with a mind as blank as a sheet," the man nodded approvingly, "Thanks to those Weilante People, I now have at least a thousand ready-made clones at my disposal. Just pick one of a similar height, give him plastic surgery along with a chip implant, and that's enough."

"As for the memories, even easier. While the guy is still not quite dead, throw his consciousness into virtual space for a slow interrogation. With fabricated dreams and subconscious manipulation, there's always a way to extract what we don't know."

At this point, he intentionally paused, slowing his speech.

"However, speaking of which, I must commend you," he said with a mocking laugh. "Your shelter really made a deep impression on this fellow... Out of 1700 dreams, at least 320 were scenes about you guys. Perhaps his last wish before dying was to take one more look at your place, heh heh."

Chu Guang didn't let the provocation rile him up and took a deep breath before continuing to inquire.

"So, all the crew members of the Pioneer are dead?"

The man chuckled and said, "How could that be? If I hadn't deliberately let one escape, would you have come all this way here?"

"From the moment the Pioneer entered this domain, all of you... whether you were inside or outside, were within my calculations."

"It seems you are quite pleased with your plan." Chu Guang slightly raised his chin, looking down at that ugly and twisted personality.

As if he were looking down on a maggot.

However, the man was undisturbed by this, seemingly taking pleasure from that gaze, and nodded in happy acknowledgment.

"Of course, initially I expected only corporations and armies to come here, and now there's an unexpected addition of an Academy... it couldn't be more perfect!"

He suddenly paused, as if remembering something.

"Ah, perhaps four, but regrettably, I have no interest in you. A triple-digit shelter—in our sphere, double-digit numbered shelter Managers are quite common."

Chu Guang stared at him.

"The Enlightenment Society, is it?"

"Exactly," the man crisply replied, "being chosen as a resident of a shelter means, without exception, you are from the elite of United Human society, or at the very least a descendant of the elite. This world should rightfully be ruled by us... But unfortunately, this cake is now crawling with cockroaches, so before we slice this cake, we plan to clear away those cockroaches first."

As he said this, his tone suddenly shifted, his eyes rolling as he focused on Chu Guang.

"But on second thought, although I'm not interested in your shelter, I am quite interested in you. Normally, managing a triple-digit shelter, even if you joined us, you would have to start as a Disciple, but I could make an exception and let you become an Elder."

Chu Guang laughed.

"Your system of ranks is quite interesting, even using shelter numbers to determine seating order."

The man stated matter-of-factly.

"Of course, the shelter's ranking represents priority in funding. The higher the rank, the higher the societal status before the war."

His first statement was indeed a fact, but the latter part was clearly his own interpretation, at least it differed from what Chu Guang himself had understood from the intelligence.

"And what number are you?"

"Me?" The man was slightly taken aback and then laughed heartily, "I am naturally 0."

"Right, I haven't told you my name... but never mind, a name is just a code, and such a thing isn't important, anyway."

He paused, looking at Chu Guang cheerfully.

"You can address me the same as my Disciples."

"Call me 'Gui Xu'!"

The smile that spread across his face was downright devilish.

There he lay, watching the people from the corporations, armies, and academies run back and forth in the maze he had personally crafted.

And his true body should be somewhere not too far from here.

The only thing Chu Guang could be sure of now was that the technology he used was not the same Morphogenesis Field as Shelter No. 404 but was based on the Resonance Theory that emerged in 2111. Hence, the transmission of information could be affected by interfering factors.

Otherwise, he should have known everything that happened underground like the back of his hand.

"But I heard that No.0 Shelter was never completed."

"That shows you and those little darlings aboard the Pioneer know nothing about the Torch Plan."

Gui Xu continued carelessly.

"But that's also normal, the No.0 Shelter is an existence outside the Sequence... It's not a shelter that exists in reality, but a building composed of multiple parts. Each component has been carefully designed for the ultimate plan - to eliminate all organic life outside the shelters on this planet before the heritage is completely depleted, and to restart civilization."

As he said this, Gui Xu smiled.

"The shelter underground is just one of many facilities. We came here to retrieve something originally, but unfortunately, we didn't find the key to enter. Thanks to the little darlings on the Pioneer, they helped us out."

"Do you know? I thought they knew what they were looking for, given how knowledgeable they were. To my surprise, they hadn't even heard of the Torch Plan; it's pitiful how they relied on a pile of data to find this place... Hahahaha, such a shame."

Shaking his head with a laugh, he continued.

"I was thinking of recruiting them. The descendants of Shelter No. 6 aren't out of the question. For that, I spoke to them patiently and at length, just like now."

"However, after listening to my explanation, that guy named Lu Yang stupidly refused me and betrayed me under the guise of compliance. He threw the maternal specimen hidden on the Pioneer into the mix, causing quite a few of my men to get trapped inside."

He glanced up at the wall clock as he said this, his smile growing even more pleasant.

"Thank you for chatting with me for so long. The thunderstorm should have reached this area by now; it must be starting to thunder outside... From now on, no message can be sent out from here. But don't worry, whether it's the crew of the Pioneer, the Weilante People, or those from the Academy, they will all return home safely... And we'll send your families' regards."

At that moment, the one who called himself Gui Xu had finally laid bare all his plans.

What he wanted was not just something hidden within the underground shelter; he planned to take the place of all those here!

Just like he had usurped the identity of Yi Hai.

As long as they controlled everyone here, by extracting their memories through virtual reality devices, they could use the cloned soldiers, plastic surgery, and mind interference technology from the army to impersonate those who had already died. At the same time, they could have their Disciples live as servants or in other roles next to the puppets, thus completing the infiltration of the army, corporations, and academy.

Chu Guang had to admit, this guy and his Enlightenment Society were especially audacious.

At the same time, he declared war on three degenerate empires, along with a newly formed alliance.

Normally, this behavior would commonly be called having a death wish.

"No wonder you weren't at all worried about telling me everything." Looking at the guy lying in the bed, Chu Guang said with some emotion.

Gui Xu gave a faint smile.

"Yes, your only chance to survive is to join us. Frankly speaking, taking control of the Manager's authority is a thankless task without the person's cooperation, and we have no interest in snatching their powers from the hands of their disciples. As long as you cooperate with our work, you and your residents will be able to earn the right to survive in the new world."

"So my status has been downgraded from elder to disciple? However, it's a pity that I have not the slightest interest in your so-called new world."

Chu Guang chuckled.

As he spoke, he had already closed the visor of his helmet.

"If you want my life, come and try."

The man lying in bed just yawned indifferently, as if he had anticipated this response.

"Then let's try."

The storm clouds were already brewing.

In this unique climate, flyers simply couldn't take off, and the range of signal transmission was severely limited.

To avoid the unnecessary depletion of shield energy, the two airships hovering overhead began to descend.

However, just then, a shrill alarm bell rang out in the sky.

Chu Guang's brows furrowed slightly, and he immediately pulled out the nitrogen-powered hammer from behind his back. A raging torrent of air spread in an instant, shattering the ceiling of the barracks completely and blowing the contents of the room into disarray.

"You want to kill me? It doesn't matter, although it's a pity to be kicked out of the VIP seats, but I'll be watching you from somewhere else." Gui Xu laughed, looking at the murderous Chu Guang, and continued, "But before that, I suggest you watch your head."

He didn't need the reminder.

Chu Guang was already looking up at the sky.

The two airships floating directly above the camp were sinking uncontrollably, their side propellers spinning furiously, but the limited thrust obviously couldn't support their heavy hulls.

It wasn't just Steel Heart that was falling.

The Judicator nearby was falling too!

Chu Guang narrowed his eyes slightly.

Phase energy rectifiers!

Only this could cause the airships' deflection shields and anti-gravity systems to fail simultaneously.

At that moment, Yi Chuan, who had left the tent earlier, came rushing back in from outside.

"The airships are falling?! What the hell happened—"

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Looking at Chu Guang, who was holding the warhammer, then at the ceiling blown away, and then to his brother lying on the sick bed, Yi Chuan's face was a mix of shock and confusion.

The smile on the face of the person on the bed suddenly gave him a strange feeling as if something had crawled beneath his brother's skin.

And that was not all.

That detached smile sent a chilling cold deep into his bones.

Without even glancing at Yi Chuan standing at the entrance of the barracks, Gui Xu looked at Chu Guang with a smile and said in a casual tone,

"The Alliance, under the guidance of the corporations, opened fire on the Judicator, and Captain Adria requested reinforcements from Triumph City... What do you think of this script?"

Chu Guang answered expressionlessly.

"Not very good."

"Indeed, I forgot about the Academy," the man nodded thoughtfully, "Let me think about it some more."

"Brother..." Yi Chuan looked at him, dazed, wanting to step forward, but a steel-covered large hand fell on his shoulder.

"That's not your brother lying there."

Grabbing Yi Chuan, who wanted to move forward, Chu Guang didn't look at the falling airships but gazed sharply out of the camp.

There were at least a thousand clones that this guy had gotten his hands on...

And possibly even more.

Remotely controlled through mental connections by the disciples of the Enlightenment Society... This scenario sounded all too familiar.

"Aren't you going to run?" The man looked curiously at Chu Guang, who hadn't moved, and kindly reminded him, "It'll be too late if you don't run now."

"Run?"

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow and suddenly laughed.

"Why should I run?"

One phase gun shot thought to deal with him.

That was seriously underestimating him...

Chapter 508: The Eighth Person

"Roar—!"

The deafening roar echoed through the corridor, almost shattering the alloy walls and floors.

Meng Liang, covering his ears, had a twisted expression from the pain.

Poking his head out to look down the corridor, he could almost see the rings of dust lifted by the tremendous impact.

"Damn... this thing is wicked!"

Dodging a lethal strike that whooshed toward him, the Old Soldier glanced at the door panel embedded in the wall behind him, vibrating like a tuning fork, his face turning slightly pale.

That was a close call!

What kind of war goddess Sivir is this.

If he had been hit, even Brother Guang would likely have been split in two...

He thought he was facing a Shield Warrior, but that Decaying Knight simply banged twice, hurling his "shield" and "sword" at him and Su Ming like javelins.

"Dammit..."

Having taken a rebarsquare in the chest, Su Ming struggled to get up from the ground.

Ignoring the burning pain in his chest, he managed to concentrate his dizzy mind and picked up the Gauss Rifle that had fallen to the ground, aiming at the monster standing at the end of the corridor.

"Die!!!"

The moment his trigger finger pulled the trigger, sparks flew!

Countless bullets erupted from the barrel, striking the end of the corridor like a sudden downpour, and for a moment, sparks danced on the Decaying Knight's armor.

Unfortunately, they did not penetrate his armor!

The Decaying Knight extended his right hand, grabbing the door panel of a room on the side, and with a fierce pull, he ripped it right off.

Both of their faces changed color, and while the Old Soldier continuously fired, he shouted at Su Ming beside him.

"The power's not enough! Can your thing... charge up?"

He remembered that Night Ten's Gauss Rifle could increase the penetrating power of a single mass bomb by charging it.

A fully charged lethal shot could even penetrate the armor of a Conqueror tank!

Realizing how absurdly strong the defense of that evolutionary body was, before the Old Soldier finished speaking, Su Ming had already taken a deep breath and propped up the weapon in his hands.

The numbers on the battery capacity indicator quickly declined, and the front end of the capacitor emitted a faint blue arc. The menacing barrel was brewing a terrifying energy!

"I need time!"

"How long?" Watching the Decaying Knight, who seemed unfazed even after a full burst, the Old Soldier growled while changing the magazine.

"Ten—"

Before he could finish speaking, a wild gust roared towards them, and the Decaying Knight at the end of the corridor suddenly exerted force on his feet, charging like a cannonball.

The expansive attack caught both of them off guard.

The sweeping door panel kicked up a hurricane, and with just one touch, it flung Su Ming along with his rifle, robbing him of any ability to act, and then another horizontal slash flew toward the Old Soldier, smashing him against the corridor wall.

"Cough—!"

The Old Soldier spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva from having accidentally bitten his lip and looked at the rifle in his hand, now broken in two, and threw it aside.

It was a stroke of luck that he had instinctively blocked; otherwise, just that last strike would have been enough to send him back home for good.

Thinking of this, the Old Soldier couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.

Such terrifying strength—

Quantifying its attributes, it might have broken a hundred by now!

The deadliest part was that its speed and defensive power were in no way weak; it even had the absolute defense of a turtle shell and the stubborn vitality unique to slime fungus.

Even if occasionally a bullet penetrated its defense's weak spot, it was nowhere near enough to inflict a fatal wound.

This was simply not a fight between equals!

"Damn it…"

Old Soldier gritted his teeth and pulled out the short sword hanging at his waist, and as the Decaying Knight charged at him once again, he fiercely slashed at its head.

There was only a dull clang!

He felt as if his short sword had chopped into a mountain, sending a brief jolt of pain through the base of his thumb. Before he could regain his senses, he was already sent flying by the door panel pressed against his chest.

His bullet-proof armor caved inward from the impact, Old Soldier let out a muffled groan, and his back slammed heavily onto the ground.

Meanwhile, the Decaying Knight's head had only lost a layer of its dark red fungal matting due to the toothpick-like short sword.

His full-strength blow hadn't even left a scratch on the helmet.

But then again…

That was power armor.

Old Soldier smiled wryly, thinking if he had known he was going to encounter a Decaying Knight, he would never have come here.

However, there was no use crying over spilt milk; he was just thankful that he had seized the opportunity to save his progress earlier.

Step by step, it approached him.

The Decaying Knight raised its right arm high, and as the tightly grasped door panel in its hand was about to smash Old Soldier into mush,
at that moment, its movements suddenly halted.

With half an eye open, Old Soldier noticed that the area he had struck with his sword was revealing half a palm-sized set of tactical goggles.

That spot had previously been covered by a thick layer of fungal mat.

Unsettling crimson light flickered behind the goggles, suddenly a series of pale blue ripples swept across the lens.

The entirely paralyzed power armor, even its reactor shut down, seemed to awaken after activating a certain program.

A limited amount of electricity surged from the backup power supply, the reverse-driven mechanics completely halted its actions, and solidly froze its raised right arm in place.

Even if the flesh underneath the steel had rotted away—

The will he left behind still controlled this invincible suit of armor.

Accompanied by a hissing exhaust noise, a cylindrical fusion battery popped out from the back of the armor. At the same time, a growl mixed with electrical noise leaked from the helmet.

"Kill… me…"

There was no time for hesitation.

Su Ming, regaining the ability to move, bit his teeth to prop up half his body, and threw a cylindrical plasma grenade in the direction of Pangolin with all his might.

"…The silver pull ring is the switch! Plug this into the power armor's battery socket… behind it!"

Understanding his intent, before he even finished speaking, Old Soldier grabbed the grenade that had rolled in front of him, quickly rolled behind the Decaying Knight, and yanked the fusion battery from its back.

Then he pulled the pin from the grenade and forcefully jammed it into the loose battery slot.

"Get away fast!"

There was no need for Su Ming's warning; Old Soldier, having completed the series of actions, had already instinctively dived forward.

Almost simultaneously, a blinding white light erupted from behind the Decaying Knight, with exploding sparks and leaping arcs scattering in all directions.

Plasma, as tangible as a solid, flooded into the power armor's interior, instantly turning the slime fungus filling the armor into charred remains.

"Roar—!"

The pained roar shook the entire corridor.

As if the piercing white light had drained all the strength from his body, the scarlet glow behind the tactical goggles gradually faded, and the entire suit of armor lost power completely. The body leaned slightly forward and fell heavily to its knees on the ground.

Watching the evolutionary body finally be killed, the Old Soldier, lying on the ground, finally let out a sigh of relief. After panting for a long time, he clenched his teeth and dragged his electro-paralyzed body up from the ground.

Unbeknownst when, Su Ming, holding a Gauss Rifle, had already walked in front of the power armor and silently watched it, not speaking for a long time.

Pulling off the inwardly dented breastplate, the Old Soldier moved to his side.

"Acquaintance?"

"Mhm."

Su Ming silently nodded.

The Old Soldier's Adam's apple moved.

He had guessed the person's identity but still asked.

"He is..."

"Captain Lu."

Su Ming didn't say much, reaching into the opened helmet's faceplate and pulling out a black card attached to the inside of the helmet, clutching it tightly in his hands before finally tucking it into the exoskeleton's compartment.

That was a backup of the power armor's activity log.

The recordings inside might explain what exactly happened here...

Hearing that there was no noise outside, Meng Liang nervously walked out from a nearby room.

Looking at the motionless power armor standing there, he swallowed his saliva.

"Is it over?"

"Ah, it's over," the Old Soldier looked toward the room at the end of the corridor with a complex expression, "The Manager's Office is just ahead."

The three of them continued forward.

The Old Soldier stretched out his hand to the sliding door, expecting some sort of mechanism to block their way, but to his surprise, the door opened effortlessly.

Behind the door was a simply decorated room.

There was just a bookshelf without books, a desk, a chair, and a terminal on the desk.

Meng Liang hurried to the terminal and started it up. He slammed his hands on the touch keyboard, operating furiously for a while, but he couldn't break into the system after many attempts.

"Try this." Su Ming walked over to him, patted his shoulder, and handed him the hard drive Yun Yi had given him earlier.

"Thank you."

Meng Liang took the hard drive somewhat sheepishly and plugged it into the terminal's side port.

As the smart hacking program was uploaded and he operated rapidly, he finally obtained the password for the Manager's Office terminal.

"The fire suppression system in the power room has been activated, the Lair is now dormant... It seems that that Weilante Person and the Academy researcher got a step ahead of us." Meng Liang let out a sigh of relief, slumping in the chair as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

In fact, just as Yun Yi had said, the Manager's Office terminal might not be able to bypass core permissions to halt the power room reactor's operation.

Fortunately, they had taken a second precaution, dispatching a team to manually activate the fire suppression system in the power room. Otherwise, they might now be facing trouble even more difficult than that previous evolutionary body.

"Regardless, the intelligence here is something we need," Su Ming looked at the terminal with interest, "What's really inside."

"I'm looking, don't rush..."

Meng Liang's fingers danced over the virtual keyboard, quickly unlocking the encrypted files stored in the terminal machine and bringing up all the related data.

"Torch Plan..."

As he scrolled through the document displayed on the screen, Meng Liang's frown tightened with each line he read.

Noticing the change in his expression, Old Soldier immediately asked,

"What does it say?"

Meng Liang was silent for a moment but then he shifted to make room.

"See for yourself."

Staring at the text on the screen, Old Soldier was dumbfounded.

Although his everyday conversation was no longer much of a problem, spoken and written language are two different things, and with the few characters he recognized, he was basically illiterate.

Especially with this kind of technical documentation, he couldn't even understand the abstract.

Fortunately, Yun Yi, standing beside him, began to read it aloud, solving his illiteracy problem.

"...When all light has gone out and the world has fallen into an endless, boundless night, we shall raise the Torch, dispel all darkness, and rekindle the fire of civilization."

Old Soldier couldn't help but ask,

"What does it mean?"

Eyes glued to the screen, Meng Liang lowered his voice and said,

"It means just what it says... The whole purpose of the 'Torch' Plan isn't for any current problem but to completely reboot a process that has entered a dead loop, after all other plans have failed."

He paused, then continued,

"This is not a conventional method of sheltering, but is more like a kind of shock therapy."

Old Soldier looked at him blankly.

"...Is there really a need to go that far?"

Perhaps because he was a player, and he maintained a player's mindset, he felt that the world wasn't all that bad.

Even though compared to the Prosperity Epoch, the Wasteland Era was undoubtedly like a rotten apple, he didn't think it had yet reached the level of decay where it needed to be completely destroyed.

There were still many people living on this land, creating their own civilization in their way on the ruins.

Meng Liang took a deep breath and continued to stare at the screen,

"I can only try to understand their perspective… Clearing away the ruins on the Wasteland is indeed difficult – Looters, Variants, Mutants... But these are just small issues, there's also the more deadly 'mutated slime fungus,' which even nuclear weapons struggle to completely eliminate."

"According to the original plan stored in the terminal machine, the initiators of the Torch Plan tried to design a special system, mainly consisting of two parts: 'Fire' and 'Handle.'"

"The goal of the former is to remove more than 99% of organic life from the planet's surface with relatively low side effects, preserving only a pure and pristine environment. The latter aims to turn organic life beneficial to the new civilization into that surviving 1%, to be stored in a container called 'Handle.'"

"In the envisaged scenario, once the 'Torch' is lit, the organic life on the surface will be harmlessly removed, and the organisms stored in the 'Handle' will be released, by which time the surface ecological environment will gradually be restored to that of the Prosperity Epoch—even earlier."

Astonished as he read the words in the terminal machine, Yun Yi's face filled with disbelief.

He couldn't believe it.

The No.0 Shelter, rumored to end all suffering in the world and bring the curtain down on the Wasteland Era, was such a horrifying thing.

"...So, the premise of this plan is to kill everyone on this planet?"

"Yes," Meng Liang nodded, his face equally filled with complexity, "To be precise, it's to kill all organic life outside of the 'Handle'."

"In the era of the Human Alliance, such a terrifying plan could actually get a budget," the Battlefield Atmosphere Group member couldn't help but swallow hard.

Even as part of the setting for a game, it sounded too preposterous.

Meng Liang flipped through the contents of the plan and after a moment of silence, he ended up defending the United Human.

"This evil plan is not an official project funded by the United Human, but like many private refuges and commercial shelter projects, the budget mainly comes from social funding, in plain terms, primarily sponsored by a minority of social elites. Although the plan, like other commercial shelter projects, is supervised by United Human authorities, it was considered safe because its activation sequence is the last level."

"… And that's considered safe?"

"Relatively safe. After all, the device will only activate after all other refuges and shelter plans are confirmed to have failed. By that time, there probably won't be many living humans left on this planet, only Variants and other things."

Meng Liang paused for a moment before continuing.

"Such a project would be difficult to gain public support for, so the project planners concealed the entire content of the plan. Most of the research personnel only knew a part of the plan. For example… if you're a researcher in the 'Light' project team, you might think you're developing secret weapons for the United Human. If you happen to be in the 'Handle' project team, you would at most know that you're involved in developing some kind of sturdy refuge facility."

"However, the plan ultimately did not succeed. One reason was the lack of time, and another was a researcher who discovered the conspiracy hidden by the higher-ups… When they realized that they were being used to create a weapon that could potentially kill themselves, almost everyone stood up against the project."

"Although the initiators of the plan repeatedly stated that the project would only be activated after all other shelter plans fail, people were no longer willing to believe those lying elites."

"The Torch Plan ultimately went bankrupt with less than 20% of the budget spent… Although in the last few years of the Prosperity Epoch, countless shelter plans went bankrupt, it's quite rare for a project to go bankrupt due to collective opposition from the grassroots employees."

At this point, Meng Liang couldn't help but feel emotional.

The entire project was like an accidental product.

Its existence was an accident, and its bankruptcy was also an accident.

As for whether the United Human authorities were ever tempted by the "superweapon capable of destroying 99% of organic life on the planet's surface" mentioned in the unfinished blueprint, nobody knows.

All those who had participated in the plan, whether they were against it or supported it, had now turned into dust of history.

"… Where are the unfinished materials now?"

As Su Ming spoke, he glanced at Pangolin beside him without leaving a trace and unconsciously touched the gun at his waist.

Before coming down here, he had not anticipated that No.0 Shelter would be such a place.

But now that it had come to this point, the box hosting the devil had been opened. Whether the Torch Plan was completed or not, the materials related to that plan must not fall into the hands of the Weilante People.

Coincidentally, the person he was wary of had the same thought.

If it was just a few Black Boxes or a couple of power armors, letting the Army take some wouldn't be a big deal, the Manager wasn't so petty.

But this thing was different…

It threatened not just the Alliance, but everyone on the planet.

If it fell into the hands of the Weilante People, no one could guarantee that those big-nosed individuals wouldn't do something even more evil… What it would turn into in the end, no one could say for sure.

Meng Liang's eyes were firmly fixed on the screen, and his expression turned a tad solemn.

"The data stored on the refuge servers has been deleted."

"Deleted?!" Su Ming exclaimed in disbelief, "They just deleted the experimental data… and left the plan document?"

"The plan document was made public to the public after the entire project went bankrupt and is not a confidential document. Moreover, the plan is saved in read-only mode in the main server program, which can't be deleted unless you have complete Manager privileges… It's not possible to delete with just this terminal."

As he spoke, Meng Liang, who was typing on the virtual keyboard, suddenly stopped.

Noticing the change in his expression, Su Ming quickly followed up.

"What happened?"

Meng Liang hesitated for a moment. Considering that he was on his own here, and keeping in mind the stance of being allies with the company, he finally came clean.

"The means used to delete those data were not very sophisticated. Given some time, it's actually possible to recover them… no, in fact, up until two months ago, someone was still trying to recover the deleted data. The archive room in X-13 Area had records of terminal access to the database frequently. Up until two months ago, the recovery work had been completed."

"However, the restorer did not upload the recovered data to the database… probably saved it on something like a portable hard drive."

"X-13 Area… it seems that the members of the Pioneer are there," Old Soldier said in a low voice, glancing at Su Ming's right hand and unconsciously placing his hand near his weapon.

An eerie atmosphere lingered in the room.

Su Ming was wrestling with what to do, and Old Soldier was similarly conflicted about whether or not to reveal his undercover identity.

Was it really a good idea to let the corporation know that he was actually an Alliance undercover agent?

To steal the data as a member of the Army and have Night Ten take it back to the Alliance was also an option... After all, the outside world might not necessarily learn of the events unfolding here.

Compared to those ancient Survivor Forces, the Alliance was still too weak... but if they could control the weapon described in the Torch Plan, perhaps they could give the Alliance enough leverage to sit at the table with the Degenerate Empires.

Of course, it also might completely infuriate them.

Old Soldier couldn't help but laugh and cry as he realized that the button deciding the fate of the world seemed to be, damn it, pushed into his hands again.

What to do?

Countless thoughts flickered through his brain at lightning speed.

When Vilic had incited him to assassinate Griffin, he had never been as torn as he was today.

"It's really strange."

Oblivious to the thoughtful duo beside him, Meng Liang stared intently at the screen, murmuring to himself.

"...I thought those data were the ones they had deleted."

...

Refuge Power Chamber.

In the reactor room that housed the reactor, the dark red Lair throbbed rhythmically like a human heart.

The reactor in the center had almost been completely swallowed up by it.

It was noticeable that with each pulse, the Lair's amplitude grew slightly and its frequency increased as well.

Looking through the floor-to-ceiling window at the ovules that were in the process of hatching, Vanus, holding an assault rifle, felt his scalp tingle.

At this moment, they were only separated from the Lair by a floor-to-ceiling window.

Although the newly hatched entities wouldn't be able to smash through the window and rush at his face, it wouldn't be a problem for them to take the corridor around the power chamber and cut off their escape route.

As he watched one of the ovules burst, an unknown life form crawled out from inside. Vanus couldn't help but hurry them along.

"Hey, how much longer, Academy boy?"

"Almost there."

"If you were under me, damn it--"

"Shut up."

Ignoring the rude Weilante man, Jiang Xuezhou stared expressionlessly at the console, rapidly typing on the keyboard.

Finally, after breaking through the last firewall, she showed a sigh of relief.

"Done?" Vanus immediately asked.

"Yes."

With her hands away from the operating interface, Jiang Xuezhou turned her gaze to the adjacent floor-to-ceiling window.

Almost simultaneously, in the reaction room separated from them by a wall, the ceiling panels opened outward, and milky-white crystalline fog poured down like a waterfall, showering on the Lair attached to the reactor.

The pulsating Lair suddenly contracted, dodging to the side as if electrocuted, while extending fleshy tendrils in an attempt to block the source of the coolant.

It had to be said, this creature was smart and had a clear idea of self-preservation.

However, in the face of a coolant powerful enough to cool the reactor, such struggles were in vain.

Including the ovules connected by the tendrils, the Lair, which was lively just a second ago, was instantly frozen into a block of ice.

The entire room was so cold that even the water vapor in the air had turned into ice crystals, and a layer of white frost had formed on the inside of the floor-to-ceiling window.

Seeing the Lair frozen, Vanus finally sighed with relief. As he lowered his gun muzzle, he also finally relaxed his tensed nerves.

"Well done."

Jiang Xue Zhou didn't pay him any attention but just stared intently at the world that had its time paused by the frost, seemingly entranced for a moment by its beauty.

It's so beautiful...

Although snow wasn't rare in the Wandering Swamp, she had seldom appreciated it like this.

At that moment, an untimely cough came from the side.

"Hey, I know you can't be bothered with me, but let me tell you, I'm planning to go to the Manager's Office to meet up with my servant. You can stay here if you want, but if you want to come with me, you'd better hurry."

"Who wants to join you?" Jiang Xue Zhou rolled her eyes but bit her lip when she remembered that she was also heading to the same place.

Vanus grinned and slung his rifle over his shoulder.

The crisis had been averted.

The Lair was the biggest threat here.

However, at that moment, a dangerous premonition suddenly surged in his heart. He almost reflexively raised his gun and switched off the safety.

"Get down!"

Watching this sudden move by the Weilante person, Jiang Xue Zhou widened her eyes in surprise.

"What are you doing—"

Before she could finish her sentence, gunshots suddenly erupted without warning from a corner of the room.

"Ratatat—!"

Almost simultaneously, Vanus swiftly turned his rifle and pulled the trigger, but the barrage of bullets seemed to hit an invisible wall, merely creating a series of distorted ripples.

Hit by three bullets in the chest and one in the shoulder, Vanus grunted and fell backwards onto the ground.

And from behind the spreading ripples where his assault rifle had swept, a slender figure emerged.

The person wore a lightweight exoskeleton, and beneath the cracked breastplate was a blue coat.

She held a silenced pistol in her hand, and both her robust figure and the scar below her neck made it apparent that she was not of ordinary strength.

There was a hint of disarray on her wheat-colored face, indicating that the barrage Vanus fired had not been without effect on her.

Yet in comparison to Vanus lying on the ground, she was in far better shape.

Optical camouflage?!

Jiang Xue Zhou was shocked and immediately gave the command,

"Little Wang, take her down!"

But before her command was fully issued, an EMP grenade had already rolled to the side of her robotic dog before its weapon system had completely deployed.

At the same time, the person advanced and kicked the defensive pistol from her hand, and immediately after, a powerful hand firmly clutched her neck.

"Ugh!"

Gasping for air, her face quickly turned the color of liver.

She felt as though her neck was clamped by iron pincers, and despite her desperate struggles, she could not break free. Then, she was lifted off the ground by that very hand.

The smoothness of the movement was so fast that she couldn't react at all.

But then again, that was to be expected.

She was never a front-line combatant, and the person before her, whether in terms of the speed, strength, or experience of their attack, was far beyond her own capabilities.

Glancing at the little lamb she held in her hand, the woman let out a mocking tsk-tsk sound from her mouth.

"Too weak."

Lying on the ground gasping for air, Vanus quietly gripped the pistol hidden at his waist looking for an opportunity while squinting at the unfamiliar face, unable to recall where he had seen her before.

The only thing he recognized was the jacket that no Waste Land Wanderer would be unfamiliar with.

Although not everyone who wore it was a Resident of the refuge, it was undoubtedly the standard issue for every Resident of the refuge.

"Who are you?"

"Take a guess."

Despite saying that, the woman didn't give him any chance to guess and had no intention of leaving any vulnerabilities for this dishonest fellow.

With a casual flick of her right hand holding the silenced pistol, she aimed at his upper body and pulled the trigger until the last round in the magazine was spent.

Half of Vanus's face was blasted into an unrecognizable mess, and he lay silently in a pool of blood, the gun in his right hand also falling out.

Looking at her teammate who died in an instant, Jiang Xue Zhou's face completely lost its color, looking terrified at the person gripping her neck, her body uncontrollably trembling.

Especially when that person looked back at her, she even felt, for a moment, that her heart stopped beating.

"Hmm, you have a pretty face."

Examining the face filled with terror, the woman's eyes shifted and a chilling smile suddenly emerged on her wheat-colored complexion.

"This face is mine now."

Ignoring Jiang Xue Zhou's desperate struggle, the woman took a C-shaped pair of glasses from her waist and forcibly pressed them onto her face.

The green signal lights blinked.

With the Neural Connection Device placed on her, Jiang Xue Zhou jerked as if electrified, then her tense muscles and nerves relaxed together.

Confirming that the victim had entered the Virtual world, the woman smiled and patted the pale face before tossing her in the corner.

"Enjoy it slowly."

"Don't thank me for letting you recall some pleasant moments in the last moments of your life."

Dropping this phrase, she reloaded the emptied silenced pistol. Meanwhile, her wheat-colored skin was gradually replaced by a pallor that hadn't seen sunlight for a long time.

The changing optical image didn't just alter her face and hair color but even her attire, not missing the smallest detail.

However, compared to a broken optic camouflage, this holographic modification system was not as useful.

Too far didn't work, too close was also no good, it could only be used to cope with a situation momentarily.

To truly become another person entirely, she would have to read the other's memories carefully and undergo cosmetic surgery.

She would consider doing this when she went back.

If the esteemed Lord Gui Xu thought it necessary to make use of the identity of that female researcher...

Taking out the timed Bomb hanging on her waist, the woman stuck it on a floor-to-ceiling window not far away.

After one last look at the frozen reactor, she turned and left the power room, heading towards the direction of the X-13 Area.

The surface operation should be ending now.

The Phase guns deployed nearby would be enough to incapacitate those two airships, and the troops led personally by Lord Gui Xu would also launch their attack at the same time.

Now, it was her turn to awaken her slumbering kin and reclaim what rightfully belonged to them from this ancient relic...

-

(Thank you, "Fallen Leaves Have Their Own Path," for the leader's reward!!!)

Chapter 509: Feel honored, this was originally prepared for the Adjudicator.

Ye Wei had synchronized the shocking situation discovered in Area X-13 to the official website, and he did not dare stay outside "Game" too long. After posting the message, he immediately put on his helmet and reentered the online realm.

Even though Area X-13 was not infected with the mucilage, staying offline in the wilderness for too long was extremely dangerous.

Moreover, there was a difference between allies and one's own people. Only having interacted for a few short hours, he could not fully trust Yun Yi.

The slightly dim light re-entered his sight, and at that moment, Night Ten was leaning back in a folding chair, legs propped up on the table, pretending to nap.

Sitting across the table, Yun Yi was staring at him unblinkingly, her face filled with a perplexing expression.

Ten minutes ago, he had suddenly said, "I'm a bit tired, I'll rest for a while," and then he nonchalantly found a chair and dozed off as if no one else was around.

What surprised Yun Yi was not his disregard for others but the fact that he could actually sleep in such an environment.

Although X-13 Area wasn't eroded by mucilage, meaning there were no spore bodies active, in the room right next to them, there lay a rotting corpse.

And on that corpse, they had found a name tag belonging to Yi Hai…

There was no evidence to definitively prove the decaying individual was Yi Hai, but all signs pointed to something seriously wrong with the person lying in the hospital bed at the surface!

And it was a big problem!

Yun Yi took a deep breath. She felt her mind was a mess and needed to calmly think and organize the clues she had gathered.

At that moment, the young man sitting across from her suddenly shook his head and took his legs off the table.

"Are you awake?"

"Mm…"

Meeting Yun Yi's curious gaze, Night Ten realized his behavior earlier must seem odd to any normal person. Embarrassed, he scratched his head and explained, "Side effect of the Awakening talent… Sorry about that."

"No worries, I'm a bit tired from the walk myself. Sitting down for a bit isn't bad," Yun Yi casually replied, not dwelling further on the matter.

She wasn't a biological expert and her understanding of "Awakening" wasn't very specialized, especially considering that even genuine experts might know very little about this frontier field of pre-war research.

Nevertheless, spotting back at him, the young man seemed quite capable despite his unexpectedly fragile physique…

Unaware of what Yun Yi was thinking, Night Ten breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't press further.

After all, according to the "Player's Handbook," some things were really hard to explain.

He adjusted the weapons in his hands and looked around, changing the subject.

"Is it my imagination, or has the light in this room gotten dimmer?"

Yun Yi glanced around and responded.

"It's been like this since a while ago… Probably because they switched to the backup power."

"I see, so does that mean Jiang Xuezhou and Wallace were successful?"

"Or it might be from the Manager's Office," she said, casting her gaze towards the door leading to the living quarters. Pushing her glasses up, she continued, "Either way, we need to speed things up."

The sight of the gunfight scene she had just seen still bothered her. Just from looking at the dense bullet holes in the wall, it was hard not to worry about what they might encounter in the rooms beyond…

Just as she stood up from her chair, the alloy door behind them suddenly opened.

Night Ten almost reflexively raised his gun at the direction, barking,

"Who is it!"

"It's me…"

A familiar voice came from behind the door. Jiang Xuezhou, holding her arm and leaning against the door frame, looked pale with blood seeping from what seemed like wounds inflicted by spore bodies.

"Jiang Xuezhou?" Night Ten, surprised, lowered his gun.

Staring at the rifle in his hands, Jiang Xuezhou appeared frightened but still looked at the two with concern as she limped into the room.

"Are you guys alright? I just passed by the archives room, and I saw many bullet holes on the wall."

"We're fine, those bullet holes are quite old…" Yun Yi exclaimed in surprise, "Are you injured?"

Jiang Xuezhou nodded grimly.

"Um... we encountered a horde of bodies near the power room, and Wally died covering for me. Little Wang also broke, but fortunately, I managed to activate the fire suppression system at the last moment, injecting coolant into the reactor... The Lair is now frozen."

So that mechanical dog's name was Little Wang...

It was the first time Night Ten heard her call that guy by his nickname.

For some reason, looking at that pale-faced, pitiful girl, he felt an indistinct sense of unease.

Wait!

Why would she be here?

Why would an Academy researcher be interested in the passengers of Pioneer? Shouldn't she be rushing to the Manager's Office right now?

This is too strange...

What's even stranger is that Night Ten clearly remembered that every time she looked at him, it was with a look of disdain, distrust, and even hostility.

Why the sudden concern?

At that moment, Night Ten suddenly remembered Yi Hai lying in the next room's archive and Yi Hai lying in the camp's sickbed.

So that's it...

Night Ten's eyes flickered slightly.

He wasn't clear how she managed it or what exactly she wanted, but of one thing he was certain: this person was up to no good!

Yi Hai's death was likely related to her or an organization behind her.

Perception Attributes didn't mean infallibility; even beasts like the Claws of Death could carefully hide their aura and murderous intent—trained humans naturally could too.

Let alone that an Awakener's perceptual power wasn't a secret in Wasteland...

Without revealing anything on his face, Night Ten looked at her with concern and said,

"You've been scratched by an Eater, and if the wound isn't treated, it could get infected. Let me bandage it for you!"

If he caught this person, maybe he could get some information. If it turned out to be a misunderstanding, the worst he'd have to do was apologize.

It shouldn't escalate into a diplomatic issue.

Thinking this, Night Ten took out a box of bandages and pretended to be obliging as he approached.

Jiang Xuezhou didn't suspect him; instead, a hard-to-detect smug smile crossed her lips. Hesitatingly, she released her right hand that was covering her arm and said in a low, embarrassed tone,

"Thank you... Please do."

Seeing that "bashful" expression, Night Ten was even more certain of his suspicion—this person was definitely problematic!

How could the person who wanted to kill him show such an expression!

Though he didn't like being rough with girls, it was all for the mission.

Mentally asking for forgiveness, Night Ten ripped open the bandage packaging and suddenly wrapped it around her.

"What are you doing?!"

Surprised by his sudden action, Jiang Xuezhou's eyes widened as she panickedly tried to retreat.

However, Night Ten's movements didn't stop; he wrapped another round and then another directly.

The bandages made by the Alliance mixed with fibers of Devil Silk weren't easy to break free from, and soon she was bound by several rounds.

Not just Jiang Xuezhou, Yun Yi who was nearby also widened her eyes in shock.

"Night Ten... what are you doing?"

"Step back!" he yelled out loudly.

"What do you mean..."

"This person is a fake!"

Yun Yi blinked in confusion momentarily befuddled, and then suddenly remembered the corpse she had seen before. In an instant, she connected the dots and glanced at the bound Jiang Xuezhou with surprise.

However, almost the moment her gaze met that face, it visibly contorted at an observable speed.

Following that, the pale color faded from her face, revealing a toned, wheat-colored complexion and scars beneath her neck.

"Damn...how boring."

With a rude spit, she suddenly burst upward, lifting her knee towards Night Ten's groin.

Sensing the threat to his life, Night Ten jerked back violently, narrowly dodging the fatal blow, but the knee still struck his chest.

The immense force slammed into the ballistic panel on his chest, almost sucking the air out of his lungs and nearly making him retch.

Before he could steady himself, the woman had already shrugged off the bandages wrapped around her, followed by a swift twist, gathering all the strength from her ankle to her waist, and snapped a whip-like kick towards his neck.

The killing intent, no longer concealed, roared like a sideways cleaving axe, smashing towards him.

But this time—

Night Ten's reaction was finally quicker.

Before her kick could launch, he instinctively anticipated her next move, snatching the rifle hung on his chest and fiercely smashed its butt out.

The rifle butt collided harshly with her calf.

The piercing pain made the woman's eyebrows twitch momentarily.

However, her reaction was quick, swiftly pulling out the dagger strapped to her thigh and thrusting it towards Night Ten's throat without a slight pause.

The gleaming blade flashed, and Night Ten felt all the hairs on his body stand on end, managing only to raise his LD-50 in time to block the incoming dagger.

The blade got stuck on the gun barrel, the steel casing blocking that glint of cold light!

Gazing at her face so close to his own, he could even feel her rhythmic breathing on his face.

But the deep-seated intent to kill and the chilling glow hanging inches before his nose, left him with no sense of allure.

Instead, it was chilling.

Yun Yi stood nearby, stunned as she watched the sudden violent exchange, feeling her limbs turn cold, utterly unsure how to assist.

This was probably the closest she had ever been to a battlefield…

"Oh, not bad."

The woman's eyes narrowed into slits as she scrutinized Night Ten's face for a moment, then suddenly laughed, "Your breathing is erratic, so nervous, you couldn't possibly be a virgin, could you?"

Night Ten's face stiffened as he cursed.

"Fuck off! None of your business!"

Licking her dry lips, the woman whistled at the increasingly disordered young man, speaking in a teasing tone.

"How about joining us? Big sister can help you grow."

Night Ten gave a cold laugh.

"Heh."

Like hell I'd trust you!

He'd bet that the moment he let go, that dagger would plunge right into his mouth.

With a faint pain in the tiger's mouth of his hand, Night Ten gritted his teeth, the rifle in front of his chest swaying from side to side, feeling this person pressing him harder and harder.

Damn it.

He had wanted to capture one alive.

Who would have thought this person had such strong close-combat capabilities!

Both were dressed in light exoskeletons, putting aside the mechanical factors for now, her reflexes and muscle strength must be at least that of a Third-stage Awakener!

"Tsk, quite stubborn."

The woman clicked her tongue, squinting at him as she continued effortlessly.

"But then again... how did you figure out I was a fake?"

Night Ten adjusted his breathing, his thoughts flying in his mind, considering strategies while lowering his voice to speak.

"There are too many flaws... I started having suspicions when you stood at the door."

The woman laughed carefree.

"Is that so, really hard to do anything without complete memories, isn't it?"

Night Ten gritted his teeth and said,

"Even with complete memories... you cannot become someone else."

"Oh?" the woman said nonchalantly, "Do you really think so?"

At that moment, a violent tremor suddenly came from above their heads.

Night Ten was slightly stunned, but a pleasant smile appeared on the woman's face.

"It seems our plan is going smoothly. Did you hear that sound? That's the sound of your airship crashing to the ground."

As she spoke, she retracted the smile on her face, her cold gaze like a snake spitting venom.

"Join us, this is your last chance."

Hearing that voice, Night Ten laughed fearlessly.

Just a bit higher attributes, and this mere elite monster thinks she can make me surrender.

Pah!

It's just a life.

Even if I die, I'll be a hero again in three days. You got the guts to come over the internet cable and chop me up?

"Dream on!"

Just as he was about to pull out the grenade and go all out with this person, the ceiling unexpectedly sprayed out white fog.

Drenched from the fog cascading from his head down his collar toward his spine, the searing pain made the woman cry out involuntarily, her facial expression instantly contorted in agony.

Dry ice?!

An indoor fire extinguisher filled with this stuff?!

Without a moment to wonder, Night Ten immediately seized the moment, dodging to the side before the fog reached him, and pulled out the pistol from his waist, aiming it at the woman rolling on the ground curled up from the freezing agent.

By the time he had evacuated, the ceiling was already spraying foam gel, gluing her curled up on the floor.

"Don't move! Stay down there!" He shouted a warning while keeping his eyes fixed on her, backing away to maintain a safe distance.

If she dared to stand or break free from her restraints.

He would fire without hesitation.

"Are you okay?"

Yun Yi, panting heavily, ran back from the adjacent room. When the fight had just started, she had run to the archives room.

In her memory, there was a terminal there.

Thanks to the activation of the power room's fire protection system, the entire refuge's fire protection was put on standby.

She had managed to gain control of the fire protection system in the X-13 Area with little effort and switched the fire extinguishing system to manual operation.

The refuge's fire system wasn't just for fire fighting; it also served a "riot control" purpose. Depending on the level of emergency, it could spray water, dry ice, and a gel foam that could restrict people's ability to move.

The stuff was better than rope; once glued, a person was like a mouse stuck on a glue board. With no leverage, no matter how strong, they couldn't break free.

"I'm fine…" Shifting his gaze from the woman stuck to the floor by the foam gel, Night Ten looked at Yun Yi beside him and said breathlessly, "Thank you."

"No problem… If you hadn't held her up, I wouldn't have been able to control her so smoothly."

Yun Yi, flattered, coughed slightly.

Pushing up the glasses on the bridge of her nose, her eyes sharpened behind the frame as she continued to stare at the woman.

"I found it strange when I came down from the elevator just now. The access control system registered eight people… I thought it was the Academy's mechanical dog getting recognized and going in, but it turned out we had a tail following us."

Lying on the ground in an extremely humiliating posture, the woman did not struggle but merely lifted her eyelids to coldly gaze at the two people in the room, remaining silent.

Yun Yi stared at her, frowning.

"Who are you, really?"

"Zhuang Lan," the woman sneered, her gaze shifting between Night Ten and Yun Yi, "What's with all the nonsense? Just get on with it."

Yun Yi calmly looked at her and said,

"We won't kill you, but you will be prosecuted for murder, and an endless term of imprisonment awaits you."

"Prosecution… huh."

The woman named Zhuang Lan scoffed, clearly unconcerned by the statement.

Yun Yi continued,

"I don't understand, we have no grudges, why would you attack us?"

"No grudges…" Zhuang Lan coldly stared at her, "You dare to say such a thing."

That hate-filled gaze made Yun Yi unconsciously furrow her brow.

Just as she was about to continue questioning, Night Ten, who was watching Zhuang Lan, continued,

"You mentioned an airship… falling. What did you mean by that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Zhuang Lan's tone carried a hint of mockery, "Haven't you noticed yet? We've been watching you all along, ever since you attacked the Black Rock Mutant Tribe. When you camped, we ambushed right beside you. When you entered this refuge, Lord Gui Xu had me follow you in… At the same instance you entered, our forces had already commenced the attack. With that thing modified from an escort ship's core, a single phase gun shot took care of it."

"Gui Xu?" Yun Yi and Night Ten looked puzzled, having never heard the term before.

Zhuang Lan wasn't surprised at their reaction, her snake-like cold gaze licked across their faces.

"Heh… You're the same as always, arrogant and ignorant. Pity those who trusted you, stepping onto the surface full of hope and zeal, only to find a crumbling world… Aren't you curious where they ended up?"

"What are you talking about?" Yun Yi asked, puzzled.

However, Zhuang Lan did not answer her question, just scoffed,

"The Post-War Reconstruction Committee's settlements span the entire planet, survivors helping each other to rebuild… We grew up listening to your broadcasts in our burrows, but after the doors opened, we realized every word you broadcasted was a lie."

"The Reconstruction Committee was gone over a hundred years ago, but no one ever told us! We fulfilled the vows made by our ancestors, searching every corner of the Wasteland. We did everything we could to aid our kin and shelter hungry refugees, yet their descendants either shut us out or remained indifferent to everything beyond their boundaries… some even shackled us, forcing us into slavery."

Night Ten couldn't help but interject,

"That must be the Weilante People."

Including the Grand Canyon, it seemed like only the Degenerate Empire's Army still practiced slavery; those big-nosed folks had spoiled the moral atmosphere of the entire Wasteland.

Though the corporate and Academy management models were more efficient, most survivor settlements and Looter dens preferred to copy the Army's homework.

Yet the woman ignored Night Ten's interjection, staring unmovingly at Yun Yi—the corporate officer.

"Those Wasteland Wanderers aren't any better, just like jackals, submissive as dogs when hungry, greedy as rats when full, and the moment we show a hint of weakness, they bare their canine teeth without hesitation, preferring the company of Mutants… those simpletons are much more likable, heh."

"Look at the scar on my neck…"

Zhuang Lan moved her neck to reveal a centipede-like scar, her expression fierce as she stared at Yun Yi.

"Do you know how I got this? If that snot-bearded old man hadn't fancied my looks, my head would probably have been chopped off with an axe and nailed to a post like my parents'."

"And where were you then? Did you sever ties with the past just by saying you were splitting up? It's fortunate the Enlightenment Society found me. Too bad, my skills were inferior, I failed Lord Gui Xu who cultivated me, and got caught by you… or else I would've loved to capture you and torture you slowly. Maybe cut off your hands, and lock you up with the Mutants, how about that? Girl, what flavor do you want? Green or gray?"

Yun Yi stared at her, seemingly frightened by her venom, her face turning pale as she stepped back and stammered,

"Even if you tell me this… it's useless… I, I'm not a person from the Reconstruction Committee, and… I… I…"

Night Ten placed a hand on her shoulder, steadying her nearly collapsing body, and patted her shoulder.

"Don't listen to her nonsense."

Looking at the crazed and distorted expression on Zhuang Lan, Night Ten took a deep breath and said,

"Listen, I don't know what you went through, but I don't think that's any reason for you to go mad here. If you think this world is terrible, then try to do something to make it better, or find a place to hide. But don't lash out your hatred on people who have nothing to do with it. We won't force you to stand with us, but at least don't stand in our way. Right now, you're no different from those you despise."

"Tsk tsk tsk, you're a resident of the refuge, huh? I thought you might become one of us," Zhuang Lan looked at him and sneered mockingly, "Too bad, pretty boy... you might as well get buried here with those old stubborn folks."

"As for what you said about doing something for this world," she paused, with a creepy smile surfacing on her face, "rest assured... compared to you all who did nothing, we have already done a lot behind the scenes. You'll find out soon enough."

Night Eleven just stared at her.

"Let's just wait and see."

He trusted his companions.

How could they possibly lose to a bunch of rats scheming in the sewers?

It was just an airship.

Even if it really crashed, what of it?

That thing was never their real trump card...

...

At the same time, on the surface.

Gui Xu's expression was slightly astonished, he stared motionlessly at Chu Guang, not understanding why this man appeared so calm.

Merely with a power hammer and a suit of power armor, how could he possibly withstand an iron airship crashing down from thousands of meters high!

The object falling from the clouds would squash him and the camp beneath his feet into a mush, just like a flyswatter.

However, when he turned his gaze toward the sky, the astonished expression seemed to freeze on his face.

He saw thousands of parachutes blooming in the air like stars, fluttering around. Simultaneously, the bottom of the airship expanded with huge airbags.

Together with the thrust provided by two rows of propellers, the giant iron object's descent towards the ground visibly slowed down, gliding towards the open area next to the camp.

"What is... this thing?!" He was completely baffled, lying immobile on the hospital bed, his face full of disbelief.

"...When I found out that the anti-gravity device and the deflection shield only needed a hit from a phase gun to be neutralized, I couldn't even sleep properly."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

What he had ordered from the corporation was not just five base vehicles but a complete set of "buffer airbags" designed for the Iron Heart.

[...Even if hit by a phase gun and shot down, these could ensure the maximum safety of the crew and the integrity of the equipment, and it could serve as a fixed artillery position after being stranded.]

That was how he placed his order with Chang Ge Group.

Although Wu Mu initially thought he was joking, once the engineers gave it some thought, they realized it was feasible.

However, parachutes and airbags alone weren't enough; according to calculations, they also needed to detonate the armored steel welded to the sides and front of the airship actively.

A hard landing would definitely damage the airship's body, but as long as the core of the escort ship was intact, it didn't matter.

These preparations had all been completed before the Iron Heart entered Oasis No. 2.

Seeing the astonished Gui Xu, Chu Guang continued succinctly.

"Feel honored, this was originally prepared for the Adjudicator."

Due to the sudden turn of events, the camp had already entered a state of combat, with forces from the Alliance, corporations, and the troops of Weilante people all assembled.

Of course, the main combat power was still with the Alliance.

Most of Assault Team No.26 had gone to the Industrial Building, while the majority of the Adjudicator's marines were still on the airship.

Those Weilante people apparently had no idea they would face an attack from a starship-level phase gun. The Adjudicator was crashing towards the direction of the Black Rock Mutant Tribe.

Poor them, they would have a hard time.

Chu Guang tapped his helmet, trimmed a key segment of the recently collected recording, and sent it to the corporation as an ally; he also sent a copy to the representatives of the army and the corporation.

Watching the chaos outside, the man lying in the hospital bed feigned calmness and chuckled, his facial muscles contorting.

"Heh, trifling trickery."

Chu Guang ignored him, patted the bewildered Yi Chuan on the shoulder, and then strode out of the semi-collapsed barracks.

The storm was significantly affecting long-range communications, so that guy who claimed to be Gui Xu must not be too far from here.

If he still wasn't planning on escaping,
then might as well stay here.

The Adjudicator was the first to crash into the ground, picking up dust and debris that surged into the sky for hundreds of meters, the thunderous roar reached everyone's feet.

At the same time, the armed forces of the Enlightenment Society ambushed nearby and launched an attack.

Hundreds of troops split into dozens of teams and almost simultaneously poured light and heavy weaponry into the camp, plunging the camp's defenders into a bitter struggle.

"Have these guys gone mad?!"

Staring with widened eyes at the flashing gunfire outside the camp, Wu Changnian's face was one of disbelief, which soon turned into fury.

Although the intelligence was gathered in haste, he had learned from Chu Guang about the Enlightenment Society and their unspoken conspiracy.

These people had murdered their staff and even masqueraded as him, deceiving those who had come from far away for the rescue.

These people even audaciously planned to replace their identities and return home under their guise…

"This is a provocation to the Board of Directors and to all the residents of Ideal City! These… despicable attackers, I don't care who they are, they must pay a price!"

So it's called the Enlightenment Society?

This was the first time he had heard this name, and the first time he felt such uncontrollable anger.

But it didn't matter anymore.

These sewer rats didn't deserve a formal declaration of war; they should receive the same treatment as Looter and Mutants!

He swore that once he returned, he would immediately submit a motion to the Board, blacklisting this evil and foolish organization!

All Survivor Settlements that had close economic ties with the company, merchants active in the Wasteland, and clients would receive notifications about the bounty on the Enlightenment Society.

Once those people were identified, their doom was sealed!

He swore he would make them live in the shadows for the rest of their lives.

"Minister, it's too dangerous here, please follow us to take cover for a moment!"

A few soldiers from the assault team ducked through the gunfire, grabbed Wu Changnian, and quickly took him to a safe place from his conspicuous position.

Almost immediately after they left, the spot where he had been standing was struck by a rocket launcher, sending flames into the sky.

Looking at where he had been standing, Wu Changnian turned pale, a rush of fear passing through him, knowing he would have been gone had he been slower.

Not daring to pause, he immediately followed closely beside the soldiers of the assault team and obediently complied with these professionals' arrangements to take shelter.

Thankfully, Alliance soldiers had built many unintelligibly purposed barracks in the camp.

He had previously wondered what those things were for, but now they had proved their use.

A few soldiers from the assault team pulled Wu Changnian behind a barrack, set up a mobile shelter, and then constructed a simple hideout with the help of obstacles.

On the other side, the research ship of the B-level researcher intended to withdraw, but it hadn't gone far from the ground before it was stranded and crashed back down.

Captain Adria watched in astonishment at the upheaval outside, and after hearing his subordinate's report, his expression turned from fear to anger.

"These damn bastards!"

McCullen spoke stiffly.

"What the hell happened?"

"We got played by an organization called the Enlightenment Society."

"The Enlightenment Society?" McCullen was stunned, "What the hell is that?"

"Who knows," Adria cursed, shouting at his officers, "Damn it, prepare for battle! Let those things see our might—"

His words hadn't even finished.

A trembling sound of the earth came from the direction where Iron Heart had fallen.

Everyone looked in that direction, astonished, witnessing a scene they would never forget in their lives.

Only to see beasts donned in heavy armor, their claws measuring half a meter long, approaching with heavy strides and stirring up clouds of dust.

They resembled walking tanks.

Their powerful feet ignored the rugged terrain.

"Damn, what is that..." Adria murmured in disbelief and astonishment.

He had just arrived here.

He had never heard before that the Alliance had an army riding on Claws of Death into battle?!

McCullen's gaze was fixed intently in that direction.

Only to see a man in azure power armor, standing before the vast troop. The man reached out his hand to pat the neck of a Claw of Death rushing towards him, then swung himself onto its back.

The Claw of Death let out an excited howl, kicking up clouds of dust with its feet.

Not looking at the Claw of Death, McCullen's eyes remained locked on the man, or more specifically, the warhammer in his hand.

This scene was all too familiar...

He would probably never forget it in his lifetime.

"It's already over."

Adria, who was preparing to deploy his troops, turned towards McCullen, who had suddenly spoken, and raised his eyebrows with interest.

"Those attackers' equipment does not seem easy to handle."

McCullen smirked.

"Even if you give each of them a Gauss rifle, amateurs are still amateurs."

While they were talking,
soldiers from the Enlightenment Society had already reached the edge of the camp and launched the second stage of their assault.

In fact, they weren't as incapable as McCullen joked; most of them were well-trained and physically fit.

Most of them wore exoskeletons, and their equipment was top-notch.

However—

McCullen had guessed one thing correctly.

It was their first time engaging in a large-scale battle involving thousands of people... This was entirely different from squad-level skirmishes.

When they saw that horde of monsters surging towards them like a tide, their brains instinctively froze for a moment, and a hint of uncontrollable fear crept across their faces.

Claws of Death...

One of the most troublesome Variants in the Wasteland!

And now there were so many!

Moreover, the riders on the backs of the Claws of Death, along with those pairs of eyes yearning for battle, intensified the deep-seated panic in many soldiers.

They weren't facing mere secluded warriors or feeble survivor militiamen.

They were facing an Army seasoned in battlefields!

It came from a hellish landscape of mountains of corpses and seas of bones!

The boiling killing intent made it hard to meet their eyes.

Aside from those remotely controlled clone soldiers, almost every living person standing before it unconsciously moved their feet backward.

Watching the group that had rushed to the edge of the camp yet hesitated to advance, Chu Guang raised the warhammer in his hand expressionlessly and then swung it fiercely forward.

"Crush them!"

Roars and bellowing echoed across the entire battlefield, sweeping like a tidal wave over the Enlightenment Society soldiers who had believed they had the upper hand just a second before.

Simultaneously, the thundering sound of guns and cannons, louder than the roar of thunder, erupted.

"Kill!!!"

Chapter 510: The Dispersing Storm

The dimly lit Manager's Office.

Faint blue fluorescent lights flickered, illuminating three silent faces. After a moment of shaky footage, it focused on a power armor sitting against the wall.

The person looked quite disheveled.

There were bullet marks on the armor and black slime left by mucosal entities.

He placed the camera on the ground, greeted the lens, then tapped his finger on his helmet, disengaging the locked faceplate.

Just minutes before, Corporate Employees almost came to blows with the Army's Attendants. Luckily, Meng Liang thought quickly and pointed out his suspicion before the conflict escalated—that someone might be trying to restore the deleted data.

This discovery finally made the Corporation and the Army temporarily set aside their dispute, deciding to first catch that rat hiding in the gutter.

To gather more clues, Su Ming thought of the hard drive previously recovered from the power armor. Although hesitant to display Captain Lu's last words in front of the Army and the Alliance, he eventually handed it over to Meng Liang.

Making information public could reduce suspicions.

He was unsure whether the hard drive contained secrets not to be disclosed to others. However, it was not the time to be mutually wounded in a fight with the Army's people.

He believed that Cloud Team would understand his decision...

Pangolin didn't speak, he merely handed over his weapon temporarily to Meng Liang's care and signaled Su Ming to do the same.

The Alliance was the Corporation's ally.

Handing over weapons to the Alliance's non-combat personnel was a show of his sincerity.

Looking at Pangolin's actions, Su Ming was also prompted to demonstrate his sincerity and decisively handed his gun over to Meng Liang.

In this silent understanding, both sides put their conflict aside and stood quietly in front of the holographic video camera, uncovering the secrets hidden within this refuge for months...

"Hey, by the time you're watching this video, I'm probably no longer in this world... But I believe you'll come. You said you wouldn't give up on anyone, and I believe that you'll definitely find me, so I decided to leave something behind."

Meng Liang had never met the man in the video, but judging by the solemn expressions on Su Ming and Pangolin's faces, they seemed to know him well.

Strange.

He didn't even recognize this guy; why would the Army's men know him?

But he didn't want to interrupt.

The video might contain clues about the Torch Plan.

Right now, he just wanted to figure out who exactly was reconstructing those technologies in X-13 Area.

Lu Yang took a light breath and, after organizing his thoughts, spoke.

"Listen well, the Torch Plan is no small matter. The so-called No.0 Shelter is even less so. It's a weapon of mass destruction, its power surpassing the collective might of all known weapons in our civilization, engulfing the entire planet."

"This isn't something that one or two nuclear weapons can describe. The high-transparency neutron flux will obliterate all life forms above and below heaven. Even refuges buried deep underground won't be spared. Don't think you will be the one-in-a-million lucky survivor. Those killed by it won't even decompose, they will just oxidize slowly, because it eliminates every last bacterium attaching to dust. The entire ecosystem will start over... sounds terrifying, doesn't it?"

"Across the whole planet, only those protected by 'Handle' might have a chance of survival. I even suspect that 'Handle' must be the epicenter of the neutron flux release."

"I don't know if that data was ever completed, but I've deleted it all... A strategic weapon that can sweep across the planet sounds really cool, but when I think about my relatives, my friends, and those striving to survive on this planet, I can't feel a lick of joy."

"Maybe in the distant future, we might need it to punish some evil, but absolutely not now... If it's developed at this moment, it will only be used against ourselves."

"By the way, those guys who call themselves the Enlightenment Society tried to bribe me. They said they could give me ten thousand slots. All of us, including our relatives, friends, and even our descendants, could become gods in a new world. They intend to use the fruits of the Prosperity Epoch, to reshape a strong and great civilization in a brand-new world."

"I told him, you're dreaming. Our forefathers made the decision to stand with the countless displaced survivors two centuries ago. The descendants of heroes might not be so great, but there are definitely no cowards... Go dream on."

"I had them cornered, forcing them into a dead end, deleted the Torch Plan's research findings, it's just a pity I couldn't wipe out all those rats... Their betrayal came so suddenly, with many of them and our non-combat personnel together in Area X-13 gathering supplies. They locked the doors leading to Area X-13 from the inside, and chances are, Li De and the others are in more danger than good luck."

"Later, I realized that the conflict with the Weilante People was deliberately provoked by them. But there was no way around it, who asked those Weilante People to come all the way to fight us before we entered the desert? I thought those war-crazed lunatics were coming right for us."

"Actually, leaving wasn't impossible, except there were still those unaccounted for Disciples of the Enlightenment Society in Area X-13. My technician told me with his dying breath that the deleted data could be repaired, particularly since the archives in Area X-13 could connect to the main server of the refuge—unless I destroyed the entire refuge."

"I found the wreckage of the Pioneer, took the lair samples we'd recovered during the trip, and threw it onto its favorite reactor. I'll leave my gear and my experience to that kid later, to ensure the destruction plan is foolproof... It's just a shame there are no nuclear warheads left, otherwise I could have done an even more thorough job."

Lu Yang paused for a moment, leaned his head against the wall, and continued to talk to himself.

"...I really couldn't erase the original Torch Plan, I tried my best. But then I thought about it, and I realized there's no need to erase every trace of its existence."

"That plan didn't just record an evil thought; it also documented the many who stood up against it, who were once deceived, but ultimately came to their senses. They withstood the pressure from elites and aristocrats of that era, refused the buyout of money and power, and made choices loyal to themselves, their friends and family, and everyone around them."

"I believe their stories should not be forgotten. The light that burst forth in that moment should be recorded. I'm sure whoever reads it will see not just the most evil part—how our world was almost pushed to the brink of destruction by a handful of smooth-talking egoists—but also the many ordinary people who bravely stood up and said no."

"At least what I see is not just a conspiracy by a group of people, but also the bravery of another group. At the very least, the latter should not be buried."

"As for mistakes... there's nothing to fear. People make mistakes their whole lives. Write down the mistakes you've made in a diary; even if you regret them occasionally, the days ahead will be better."

"Cough! Haha, this is all nonsense. I probably won't have the chance to write a diary... Anyway, our adventure ends here."

At this point, Lu Yang coughed twice, but a hint of relief appeared on his face, and he seemed much more relaxed.

"...I don't regret following a piece of shit for so long. Someone has to see what it really is. Buried landmines are much more terrifying than bombs lying on the ground. To my companions, I'm honored to have walked with you for so long, and I'm honored that at the end of it all, I have the privilege of making a brave decision, just like people have done in the past."

"Lastly, please relay a message to the residents of Ideal City."

With a weary smile squeezing onto his face, he faced the camera of the action recorder and made his final farewell.

"That No.0 Shelter, my brothers and I found it for you, but alas, it's not the paradise as rumored. The rumors on Endpoint Cloud are bullshit; it's just as shitty."

"Don't harbor unrealistic dreams. There is no shortcut on this road. Our world ultimately depends on us. Those who are still spectating and waiting for a savior... it's time to wake up."

...

On the ground.

The battle had just reached a fever pitch.

A 400mm heavy artillery shell whistled down, and boiling smoke and flames burst into the sky.

The abyss-like crater imprinted on the ruins split the battlefield and completely cut off the disciples' hopes of a retreat.

The deafening war cries broke through the roar of gunfire, sweeping over the center of the camp like lava from a volcanic eruption.

The disciples in front of the Death Legion's Wolf Cavalry, who stood like ants on a beach, were instantly crushed by the surging tide.

On this battlefield littered with ruins, the primitive cavalry, equipped with near-future weaponry, unleashed an unstoppable charge.

The "Cavalry Gun" firing 20mm armor-piercing incendiary bullets was as lethal as a Gauss Rifle when it came to soft targets.

Facing over a hundred cavalry firing simultaneously, the first ranks of the disciples were immediately routed.

When the half-meter-long claws and the scorching breath rushed to their faces, the brutal and bloody nightmare had just begun.

The twenty-or-so squads serving as the vanguard were instantly overwhelmed by the hooves of the Claw of Death.

The supporting units in the rear were even more tragic; at least a hundred disciples perished under the counter-fire of the 400mm main guns.

The unmanned drone squad moving up to support the vanguard was even more unfortunate, having been struck by an EMP rocket launcher fired by soldiers of Assault Team No.26 before they could be effective, falling from the sky like dumplings.

Amid the boiling flames, a disciple struggled to stand up from the rubble, raised his Gauss Rifle, and aimed at that azure power armor, gritting his teeth as he pressed the charging switch.

"Just kill that guy—"

"Capacitor fully charged!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he decisively pulled the trigger.

Bright white arcs flickered from the gun barrel as a tungsten-core mass bomb, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, hurtled toward the power armor like lightning.

However, to his disbelief, the man in the power armor did not fall from the back of the Claw of Death.

The projectile, accelerated to several times the speed of sound, appeared to hit a wall instead, tracing a curve in the air in front of his Warhammer and flinging into the sky.

His pupils constricted violently, his face a canvas of astonishment and shock.

Deflection shield?!

Impossible...

The phase energy rectifiers had already suppressed the area, the Research Ship's inability to take off was the best proof!

But what else could stop a bullet from a Gauss Rifle other than a deflection shield?!

As he panicked, the tidal wave of flesh and steel had already surged to the front of him and the other disciples beside him.

"Kill!!!"

The nearly two-meter-long "Cavalry Gun," with a half-meter bayonet, delivered its cold edge and deafening roar almost simultaneously.

There was no time to fall back, a bloodthirsty maw snapped shut on his throat, while not far from him, a disciple clad in an exoskeleton was tossed into the air by the Claw of death's forepaw, the whistling bayonet piercing right through the bulletproof lining on his chest.

It wasn't just the Wolf Cavalry of the Death Legion that had launched the charge.

There were also the foot soldiers without mounts and close to a thousand players in total, including the elite of the Burning Corps!

They turned to dust in the charge's horn call without even a chance for the defensive line to collapse…

Meanwhile, anchored at the edge of the battlefield, aboard the Research Ship.

Yang Kai, sitting in the cockpit, watched the video sent by the Alliance Managers over and over again, his gaze deep in thought.

About fifteen minutes ago, those who claimed to be from the Enlightenment Society seemed to have used phase energy rectifiers, causing chaotic graviton movements in the area and rendering anti-gravity devices and deflection shields ineffective.

Until the curtain fell on the Prosperity Epoch, the United Human hadn't found a way to counter 'phase guns', and he didn't have a good solution either.

However, Yang Kai wasn't too worried about facing danger himself.

The phase gun's disturbance to the gravitational field would last only so long; it couldn't keep him pinned down here forever. The ship's hull, built from sturdy alloys, was difficult for conventional weapons to damage.

Moreover, the Research Ship was carrying five hundred "swarm" units and four Wolf Spider Robots. The former could effectively kill soft targets within the region, while the latter could defend against EMP attacks and handle hard armored targets.

Up until now, no one had seen his trump card.

Even his face had never been seen.

Just then, the door to the cabin behind him opened, and Zheng Hao, wearing an exoskeleton, walked in from the central chamber of the Research Ship, speaking respectfully.

"The battle outside is over... The Alliance has won."

He wasn't too surprised by the Alliance's performance on the battlefield.

Although those outside had decent equipment, it was not much better than his previous Beacon team. At least they still had two 'Bee Swarms' with a range of kilometers and drones patrolling high in the sky.

Other than the phase rectifier, which had surprised him for a moment, their support firepower consisted only of a few mortars and rocket launchers with electromagnetic launch capability.

If they expected to beat the Alliance elites fresh off the battlefield with that gear, then the Alliance's battles over the past few months would have been for nothing.

To be fair, the quality of those weapons themselves was not bad.

Including some electromagnetic rifles, some of which Zheng Hao could tell at a glance were from United Human regular army surplus.

But weapons are ultimately just tools, without a matching combat system, being able to utilize even one-tenth of the equipment's power would be considered good.

In small-scale skirmishes, these novices might be able to gain the upper hand with the superiority their equipment provided, but in systematic confrontations, their lack of war experience and mismatch between weapons and tactics quickly became glaringly obvious.

It was like even if you gave the Falcon Kingdom a thousand Gauss rifles, those feudal kingdom's armies couldn't possibly win against the Alliance's forces on the front lines.

The heavy weaponry allocated to the support troops had barely begun firing and hadn't yet played a decisive role when they were dispatched by the Alliance's counter-barrage.

Perhaps those people never imagined that falling from such a height, the Alliance's airships would still retain their fighting capability.

This was also unexpected for him.

Yang Kai nodded in his chair and tapped twice on the touchscreen, releasing the weapon system from alert mode.

"You've clashed with the Alliance's people, what do you think of their strength?"

Zheng Hao paused, pondered for a moment, and said,

"They are a group of professional soldiers."

Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Zheng Hao nodded, speaking earnestly.

"Their equipment isn't outstanding, but their use of weapons, adaptation to the environment, understanding of tactics, and responsiveness on the battlefield are all astonishingly strong. Perhaps it's the tumultuous environment of the River Valley Province that has shaped them, they've grown accustomed to fighting opponents with superior equipment. Once they catch on to the rhythm of the enemy's offense, they quickly seize control of the battlefield."

"To beat them, you must act swiftly and decisively."

Yang Kai closed his eyes to think for a while, then summarized,

"So, what's special about them is their experience as soldiers themselves, is that it?"

"That's one way to put it," Zheng Hao lamented, "They are born soldiers, I even feel... that they themselves are weapons."

"I see."

After a pause, Yang Kai suddenly remembered something and continued,

"By the way, have you heard anything from Jiang Xue Zhou?"

Zheng Hao shook his head with a wry smile.

"Not yet... With all due respect, she is a non-combatant, and it's too much to expect her to operate with a team that she has never worked with before."

Yang Kai said nonchalantly,

"No matter, I've given her the best equipment. That mechanical dog has excellent output capabilities, both in close-quarters street fighting and medium to long-range combat, enough to fill the gaps in her combat ability."

Zheng Hao was silent for a while, then spoke in a low voice,

"What if the threat comes from elsewhere...?"

Yang Kai furrowed his brow.

"Like what?"

Zheng Hao silently glanced out the window.

"Like those."

In the ruins, anything could be encountered.

Most of the time it was Variants or mucosal entities, but occasionally one would come across Mutants or Looters occupying the ruins, or even other unknown armed groups or Mercenaries eyeing the relics.

Unlike most researchers from the Research Department, he had been stuck in the position of a Class D explorer for many years and knew better than anyone about the dangers of delving into an unexplored ruin.

And the greatest danger came from the unknown.

Not even the United Humans themselves might remember how many contingencies they had prepared for the apocalypse, let alone what might happen over two hundred years.

It was just like opening a Blind Box...

If it were up to him, he would rather bring a couple of experienced fighters than a self-propelled gun that could travel through tunnels.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai nodded.

"Hmm, that is a problem... but there's nothing we can do, the spot Li Ke secured for us is only one, and she's the best choice."

Zheng Hao sighed.

"All we can do is pray for her safe return."

...

Just as Zheng Hao reported to Yang Kai, the battle outside had already been decided.

Under Chu Guang's order, the Death Legion's Wolf Cavalry spread out nearby to search for the downed Phase gun and the remaining enemies.

The thundercloud storm disrupted communications and flight devices equally, so the commander of those Disciples and the psychic operatives controlling the Clone soldiers couldn't be too far away.

The Claw of Death was one of the finest hunters on the Wasteland.

Those behind-the-scenes perpetrators couldn't have gone too far.

As for the rest of the players, they began cleaning up the Battlefield.

"Holy shit! A Gauss Rifle! This is a good find!" said the construction kid with a brick, his face beaming with excitement as he looked at the spoils picked up from the Battlefield.

A Type 15 "Python" Gauss Rifle!

Previously, the odds of winning this item in a lottery were less than 0.1%, with only a handful available throughout the entire service, and now they were being wholesale distributed after this battle!

In addition to the "Python," which was tailored for Precision Shooters, there were also light machine guns for those who pursued fire rate and magazine capacity and caseless assault rifles designed for weight reduction.

Looking at the high-tech weapons scattered on the ground, nearly every player's eyes gleamed with desire. A few soldiers from the Weilante on the edge of the camp also looked canny, but given the frantic expressions on those guys' faces, it didn't seem right to go over and pick them up.

After all, it was one thing for the other side to have fought.

But more importantly, the fanatic zeal with which they coveted the spoils of war made them seriously doubt whether they would be allowed to join the fray without being horizontally escorted back...

"Heh heh, I'm gonna be a sniper too," said Debt Giant Eye, carrying two Gauss Rifles on his back, chuckling.

The washing machine snorted in disdain.

"You're an Intelligence System, what sniper are you gonna be!"

It was intended as a joke, but on hearing this, Big Eyes immediately took offence.

"What's wrong with that, if a Perception System can snipe, why can't I?"

Sheep Again Package came over with a sly grin.

"Listen to my advice, brother, just stick to playing with your drones; sniping is too tricky for you to handle, leave it to someone agile and strong like me—"

"Buzz off!" Debt Giant Eye glared and hugged the two rifles from his back in his arms, "Don't even think about it!"

The Outlaw Maniac, carrying a bunch of junk, approached and scratching his head, he asked the laughing bosses.

"Guys, have you seen the chief?"

Debt Giant Eye replied with a smile,

"You mean Brother Shui? The guy's leading his cronies to find the enemy's command center."

The Outlaw Maniac was stunned.

"Damn, he left the spoils of war?"

The construction kid with a brick waved his hand dismissively.

"Hmph, it doesn't matter who picks it up."

A proper Battlefield wasn't just a skirmish among bandits; naturally, the spoils of war wouldn't necessarily belong to those who found them.

According to the Player's Handbook's rules on dividing spoils from skirmishes, all these collected spoils would later be registered by the logistics department.

After a small portion is added to the Alliance's inventory, most would be distributed to players who participated in the battle based on their Contribution scores and the preferences of the players themselves.

The contribution score was also easy to tally.

The role each player had played in the battle and the combat tasks they had undertaken were public knowledge.

Players carrying VM were all marked with locators on the Battlefield, and combined with the combat footage shot by the Hummingbird drones, it was pretty clear who was slacking and who was not.

In fact, slacking was impossible.

With something so interesting going on, who would want to slack?

Besides, the combat footage often ended up edited and filtered on the official website, so if you were caught slacking, you would embarrass yourself.

On the other side, at the Burning Corps' position, Old Six couldn't help but mutter as he looked at the wreckage of Exoskeletons scattered around.

"Damn, these people really have good gear."

Apart from the Clone soldiers, nearly everyone in the various teams had their own piece of Exoskeleton, and their Tactical Belt was stocked with a row of grenades.

EMP and fragmentation grenades had practically become standard issue for these guys.

Now, their misfortune was to their advantage.

Sniper Bai, who was picking through the debris, touched something and then compared it to the Exoskeleton he was wearing. His face immediately showed shock.

"Holy fuck, this Exoskeleton is actually the same model as ours!"

The Type Five "Light Cavalry" police Exoskeleton!

Only it had been repainted from its original black to concrete gray camouflage, with some adjustments made to suit the Wasteland, like reinforcing the vulnerable arms and legs to fend off the Variants.

Besides the Type Five "Light Cavalry," there were also some exoskeletons they couldn't identify, probably similar military models.

Corner Old Six spoke with a nuanced expression.

"I was looking at the official website's information, and it seems that most members of the Enlightenment Society are residents of the refuge. Some of the refuges even seem to have close ties with the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, so it's not surprising that they have equipment from the Prosperity Epoch."

"Indeed," Lost Rookie scratched the back of his head in confusion and said, "But it's still weird, why these guys are here looking for trouble with us."

The Item Carrier shrugged.

"Do you know?"

"Who knows what they want to do, maybe there's something else going on, maybe someone is using them, but that's none of my damn business. When I play games, I never care about the story. Just get the job done!"

Killer Dagger licked his lips unenthusiastically.

"All I know is that these guys are wielding weapons of the Regular Army and fighting like damn Rebels... it's just too damn ridiculous."

...

On the other side of the battlefield.

A group of people surrounded a damaged barracks.

Including Wu Changnian, the soldiers of Assault Team No. 26, and Yi Chuan, who stood there looking utterly dejected.

Chu Guang, after hanging the warhammer on his back, gently patted Nicole's neck to signal it to lie down, and then he stepped off onto the ground.

Everyone turned to look at him in unison.

There was gratitude, relief, but more than anything, admiration—especially from those young men from Assault Team No. 26.

They had heard that the Alliance Managers were formidable fighters, but they hadn't expected this big shot would ride on the back of the Claw of Death himself and lead the charge with the soldiers of the Alliance.

Compared to that, their Deputy Minister Wu was just disappointing; they'd be grateful if he could avoid getting taken out by stray bullets.

Of course, those were just the immature thoughts of the young men.

In reality, even if it was a publicity stunt or there were ulterior motives, having a high-ranking political figure dare to come to this godforsaken place with them was already an incredible thing. If he actually respected the frontline soldiers without meddling and honestly listened to the professionals, he'd be truly worth commemorating.

It's unreasonable to expect anyone to be perfect; such unreasonable demands are impossible for anyone to meet.

"Thank you for your assistance!"

Seeing Chu Guang approaching, an emotionally charged Wu Changnian clenched his fist and spoke assertively.

"Those... shameless villains dare to fool us with such tricks—the council will surely make them pay a painful price! Any refuge that participates in the Enlightened Society's conspiracy will be placed on the permanent blacklist! If you have any information about the Enlightenment Society in the future, please make sure to provide it to us!"

"I will do so. The moment they chose to trade with the Mutants, they already betrayed their humanity... they are enemies to all forms of order, no matter what that order is."

After a pause, Chu Guang glanced at the reporters nearby, then turned his gaze back to Wu Changnian.

"However, I still hope that the media of Ideal City can be as objective as possible when reporting this incident, not to steer the conflict towards all residents of the refuge... and I hope this incident doesn't affect our future cooperation."

The Enlightenment Society was able to grow so strong precisely because it exploited some Blue Jackets' hatred for the order established by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, Survivor Forces' anger on the Wasteland, and the overall despair with the situation on the Wasteland to lead them towards the extreme of anti-civilization.

If corporations, armies, and academies, because of the Enlightenment Society's conspiracy, directed hostility toward the entire resident population of the refuge, it would fall right into the trap of those villains.

Wu Changnian spoke with a firm tone.

"The residents of Ideal City can discern right from wrong. To say nothing of the fact that our ancestors were also residents of the refuge. The council's countermeasures will not broaden to target all refuges, and we will make a public statement at the news conference. I can assure you of that!"

He knew what Chu Guang was worried about, but such concerns were utterly unnecessary.

The Alliance itself was not just an alliance of residents of the refuge but a collective established by both residents of the refuge and Wasteland Wanderers.

Even if the residents of Ideal City harbored prejudice against Blue Jacket, it wouldn't be far-fetched enough to vent their anger on the Alliance.

Chu Guang nodded slightly.

"I hope so."

He too believed in his allies, but it was just a precaution to mention it additionally.

To be realistic, Triumph was imminent.

He did not want the clandestine scheming of some rats to affect the fruits of victory that his little players had fought for with countless Resurrection Coins.

After chatting with Deputy Minister Wu for a few moments, Chu Guang walked into the half-collapsed barracks and patted Yi Chuan's shoulder reassuringly as he passed by the door.

"…Maybe my brother is still down there," Yi Chuan muttered quietly, staring straight at the hospital bed, "at least this is a Clone…"

Chu Guang did not know how to respond, so he remained silent.

He was well aware that Yi Hai was already dead.

But he couldn't say so.

It wouldn't soothe a person's grief; instead, it would only add unnecessary suspicion. Giving him a little time to adjust might be the kindest approach.

Observing the 'Yi Hai' who lay motionless on the hospital bed, scrutinized by a group of doctors, Chu Guang pondered for a moment and spoke in a very soft voice.

"I have always believed that memory is fundamental to a person."

"Not just one's own memories but also the memories of others... This mutual recognition forms our social attributes."

"Including our worldview, values, and even self-consciousness… all are built on the foundation of memories, so it can be said that memory is equivalent to a person's soul."

"That's why some people, even after they die, don't disappear from this world. We carry on with the memories of them, and they accompany us in another form."

"To think that by accessing one's memories, one can completely replace, even become that person, is a naïve thought that is absurd and arrogantly laughable."

"You have never truly replaced anyone's place in this world, not even for a second… You have merely exploited a part of people's emotions, temporarily deceiving their eyes."

"Whatever the case, you have desecrated with technology that which is most sacrosanct, so be prepared to endure people's wrath."

The person lying in the bed said nothing, and Chu Guang had no expectations of him sitting up to retort.

The neurological link was already severed.

Even if granted a seat of honor, the coward lurking in the shadows didn't have the courage to witness the end of this battle.

At this moment, he was probably on the run with his tail tucked between his legs.

But it didn't matter.

He had already dispatched his most elite players to search the nearby area.

Chu Guang looked up at the sky, the black clouds rolling with thunder, slowly moving toward the southern sky.

Such peculiar weather phenomena were not uncommon in the Great Desert, usually coming quickly and leaving just as fast. It wouldn't be long before communications in this region would be restored.

And this desert, like other places, would welcome the long-lost clear skies.

"It's almost over."

Chapter 511: The Unspoken Decision

Where is this?

Who am I?

Within a hazy fog, Jiang Xuezhou opened her eyes and stared blankly at the surrounding dense haze.

Suddenly, a slight sting at the brow made her lift her index finger to press on it. The moment her fingertip touched, the blurry memories gradually began to clear.

The first thing she remembered was her own name, followed by her birth date, and the surrounding environment also changed, the dense haze turning into a vast snowfall.

"It's a girl..."

"... Brain cell activity is good, physical quality is excellent, hormone levels are normal, she's a good seedling."

"Thank you, doctor!"

"You're welcome, it's what I should do."

"She looks like you."

"Then ... let's call her Xuezhou."

"It would be great if she could pass the exam."

The silhouettes of memories flashed by like slides.

She saw two benevolent smiles, then saw those blurry outlines frosted white, subsequently watching their expressions gradually turn to worry.

"Mom... Dad..."

She murmured quietly.

She seemed to have returned to her childhood.

Back then, her family was struggling. Her father was in the Scavenger Team, her mother worked at a garment factory, the staple food was potatoes and beets that could grow in the cold, although the settlement had cows, those were livestock managed by the local authorities for the Science Committee, and most people might not get to eat meat once a week...

Her only wish at that time was to pass the Science Committee's assessment and enter the Academy to become a Prospector.

It was the only way to change her fate other than wandering in the Wasteland, the only path of life designed by the Science Committee for all survivors.

Any family that could train an apprentice would receive a huge subsidy from the Science Committee... it was a fortune that would make everyone envious, her parents could live in a bigger house, her brothers and sisters could switch to easier jobs, striving to contribute two more good seedlings to the Science Committee.

And for the lucky one who became an apprentice, from then on, they would lead a wealthy and comfortable life, no longer needing to worry about trivial matters unrelated to scientific research.

Wait...

Hadn't I already passed the assessment?

And even became a researcher, something countless apprentices dream of...

A hint of panic suddenly welled up in Jiang Xuezhou's eyes.

How...

How did I come back?

Beyond everything she saw, she seemed unable to remember anything else. An unknown force had frozen a part of her memory, restricting its flow rate, only allowing it to be released bit by bit and meticulously analyzed.

'Answer me.'

The voice in the darkness rose again, carrying a power that ensnared the heart.

'Recollect carefully...'

'Besides your loved ones, who is the most important person in your life?'

The most important person besides loved ones?

A moment of confusion flashed in her eyes.

It seemed there wasn't such a thing...

After joining the Exploration team, people would leave every now and then; she had gotten used to leaping from one step to another, slowly forgetting the people she met in different stages of life... including her parents and siblings who she hadn't seen for many years, who perhaps still regarded her as their pride.

Thinking about it this way...

Her life seemed meaningless, just a precisely designed program that so far seemed to run quite well.

It was just like...

"NPC."

Beyond her expectations.

She thought the voice from somewhere would feel as disappointed about her life as she did, yet she didn't expect it to seem quite pleased with her dullness.

A person on the fringe of society is undoubtedly easier to replace than one standing in the limelight.

People hardly remembered much about her, so they wouldn't be surprised by any discord or change in her.

It was all too easy to take her place.

So easy that it made one wonder if there was even a need to do so.

At that moment, the scenery before her changed again. The cold wind passing through her neck made her tighten it and wrap her nearly frostbitten arms around herself, squatting on the ground.

It was only then that she realized she was squatting naked in the snow, with endless blizzards all around that seemed to engulf her completely.

And in the distance, tufts of eerie green light, like the eyes of mutants or the ghostly flames lighting the way to hell.

Perhaps...

This was her end.

Like the majority of prospectors who walked into relics cluelessly and died silently with utter confusion and regret, she ultimately couldn't escape the monotonous fate.

Just as she decided to close her eyes and accept her fate, a figure suddenly approached through the heavy snow like goose feathers.

He wore a black exoskeleton, his chest plate dented from impact, and the howling wind seemed to affect him significantly, making every step forward difficult.

Who was this guy?

The mysterious voice seemed confused as well and didn't answer her query.

The man then called out to her.

"Hey."

Panic flickered across her face, and she even forgot her body was frozen, collapsing backward onto the icy snow.

"Don't turn away—"

"Stop talking nonsense. How long do you plan to sleep here?" The man relentlessly walked up to her, ignoring her reaction, and grabbed her arm.

Jiang Xuezhou instinctively wanted to struggle, but the man didn't care and forcefully yanked her backward.

"Let's go."

That was the last thing she heard there.

The surroundings swiftly shifted like the view from a train window, and the world constructed from fragments of her memory collapsed instantly.

In the blink of an eye, she seemed to enter another world, and her blocked memories rushed into her mind like a tide.

It felt like being pulled back to shore from the depths of the sea, her incomplete senses returning with deep breaths.

At that moment, a hand removed the glasses from her head.

"Ah!!!"

Jiang Xuezhou let out a startled cry and quickly scurried to the corner of the room, clutching her arms, only then realizing she was fully clothed.

Her pale face gradually turned the color of a lantern.

Fortunately, the person who had removed the neural connection device from her head wasn't looking at her.

"This should be fine, right? Whether it's fine or not, I've done my best," Night Ten said, looking towards Yun Yi.

Yun Yi put away the tablet and nodded with a smile.

"Mm, she's successfully disconnected. You've done well."

"Really?" Night Ten looked doubtfully at the girl sitting in the corner with a flushed face and muttered, "But I feel like there might be something wrong with her head."

Yun Yi was taken aback.

"Maybe... it'll be better after a while?"

According to Zhuang Lan, if one is not mentally strong, removing the glasses directly could cause schizophrenia unless it is turned off through the normal procedure.

That is, by wearing a neural connection device and a memory extraction device together, entering a dream constructed from her memory fragments, and letting her actively awaken from the dream.

Night Ten originally didn't want to go through such trouble, but the "Holy Grandmother" from Ideal City said he couldn't just ignore that little girl.

To not affect the subsequent plot, he had no choice but to go to the entertainment room in the living area, find a neural connection device with a universal interface, and play a copy with Student Jiang.

It seemed that this fellow had a long nightmare involving Variants, Mutants, Looters, and others…

He counted, and he had cleared at least six copies just now.

However, the last clearance was unexpectedly simple, so much so that he felt he barely did anything, just gave her a little pull.

Then she woke up.

He even thought there would be a boss fight afterward and even looked forward to it for a few seconds.

By the way, just before he put on the virtual reality device to play the copy, the time bomb stuck on the ground-to-ceiling window had already been disarmed by him and Yun Yi together.

That thing turned out to be a ten-thousand-ton miniature nuclear bomb.

Choosing to detonate it near the reactor, it seemed that people from the Enlightenment Society planned to take the data from here and then completely destroy the place.

Gradually recalling the ins and outs of the matter, Jiang Xuezhou slowly let go of his collar and said in a soft voice with blushing cheeks.

"…Thank you."

"No need to thank me, I just gave you a little pull, thank her instead."

Night Ten gestured with his chin toward Yun Yi next to him, "Much of the work was done by her; I couldn't understand those codes."

Red-faced, Jiang Xuezhou nodded and softly thanked her.

Watching this polite little girl, the arms-crossed Yun Yi smiled charmingly and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"You're welcome, although we haven't been together long, we've become partners through life and death."

Partners…

Jiang Xuezhou silently looked at Wally lying on the ground and the broken Little Wang nearby, and bit her lip gently, wanting to say something but not knowing how to begin.

Night Ten walked over, helped Wally up, and carried this Weilante person off the ground.

Though the person was already gone, there was still the need to report back to the Army.

"Come on, let's not keep everyone waiting too long."

…

Living area.

Su Ming, Meng Liang, and Pangolin, who had previously gone to the Manager's Office, had already arrived here and were now sitting silently at a table covered in dust.

Especially Su Ming.

After watching the video from Lu Yang, he seemed like a different person, not saying a word from the Manager's Office to here.

Sitting between the two, Meng Liang smiled wryly, silently praying for his partner to come back soon…

Just then, the door next to them opened.

The three from outside came in.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." Sitting down at the table, Yun Yi apologetically glanced at the three in front of her, then turned to Jiang Xuezhou, "You sit too… The matter we are about to discuss is very important."

Having understood the ins and outs of the events on the way here, Jiang Xuezhou didn't say a word, silently pulled a chair, and sat down.

Night Ten temporarily placed Wally in the corner, dusted his hands with a 'heave ho', and also returned to find an empty chair at the table.

"… Let's discuss the Torch Plan and this 'No.0 Shelter.'"

Su Ming cleared his throat, breaking the silence in the room, looked around at those present, and spoke.

"I can't represent the corporation's stance, but… as a citizen of Ideal City, I think we should destroy this place."

He paused, then continued.

"Destroy it in the literal sense."

The air was quiet for a moment.

"I vote in favor."

Pushing up her glasses, Yun Yi looked seriously at everyone seated here and continued,

"…Given the current level of mutual distrust among the various forces on the Wasteland where not even a channel for communication exists, once this evil weapon is unearthed, even if it's just the blueprints… everyone will be trapped in a prisoner's dilemma."

Night Ten was stunned.

"…What do you mean?"

Yun Yi smiled wryly, about to explain to this confused but well-meaning fool, but Jiang Xuezhou, sitting next to her, was a step ahead, speaking with a complex expression.

"It means that the person who 'presses the button' first will reap the greatest benefits, so even those completely uninterested in the weapon will have to join this race, because no one can guarantee that others aren't secretly planning this."

Seeing someone had already spoken for her, Yun Yi coughed lightly and said,

"…Just like she said."

In reality, the prisoner's dilemma is not absolutely unsolvable.

The prisoners remain prisoners only because there is no channel for exchanging information; once a channel is established, many problems naturally become solvable.

However, the difference between the Wasteland and real society lies precisely here.

Here, let alone the internet, even the highest echelons of corporations and academies don't have a single telephone line between them; there are enormous differences in the collective societal structure and the individual's thought logic among the various parties.

Even the Alliance, an organization with not a very large managerial scale, had trouble deciding who to contact when meeting a corporation for the first time.

Not to mention academies and armies that have been focusing on a single path and have developed independently for half a century.

Once trapped in a prisoner's dilemma, it's almost unsolvable.

Jiang Xuezhou was staring intently at Yun Yi.

"But how can we ensure that you haven't obtained those research data and are suggesting to destroy this shelter simply because you don't want others to get their hands on it?"

Su Ming frowned and stood up glaring at Jiang Xuezhou.

"Are you doubting us?"

"Just a reasonable doubt, but your reaction now makes me even more suspicious." Jiang Xuezhou faced the intimidating stare; his face looked uneasy, yet he didn't back down.

This matter wasn't just about him.

It was about the fate of many people…

Night Ten looked at her unexpectedly.

He always felt that she had changed since coming out of that dream.

Yun Yi coughed gently, looking at the furious Su Ming, and spoke in a calm tone.

"Su Ming, Ms. Jiang from the Academy is essential here, there's at least one representative from all parties present… So sit down."

"…" Hearing the unequivocal command, Su Ming didn't speak and silently sat back down.

He really hadn't thought about actually doing anything to the girl, just wanted to scare her a bit, but it turned out to be ineffective.

If a representative from the Academy died inside, their condition of destroying the shelter without any diplomatic risks would no longer hold.

Even if they could pin the researcher's death on the Enlightenment Society, whether the other party believed it or not, they'd be forced to plan for the worst.

After all, a sudden death inside is drastically different from walking out boldly.

Yun Yi looked toward Jiang Xuezhou.

"What can we do to make you believe us."

To everyone's surprise.

The representative from the Academy didn't seize this opportunity to request some inconvenient conditions.

After staring into Yun Yi's eyes for a while, she suddenly spoke.

"I believe you."

Yun Yi was stunned.

Just as she subconsciously wanted to ask why, Jiang Xuezhou seemed embarrassed as he averted his gaze and muttered to himself,

"… If you guys wanted to monopolize it, there was really no need to bother saving me, right? After all, I'm just an insignificant character."

"So, I trust you."

"And I hope… I won't regret my decision."

"Man… just say it earlier, you made us so tense." Night Ten breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair.

Jiang Xuezhou glared at him irritably.

"Is it that outrageous for me to take a moment to think over such an important decision?"

Ignoring this "ungrateful" guy, Night Ten straightforwardly raised his hand.

"I vote yes."

The reason was simple, the alliance couldn't possibly win this competition.

It was a matter of objective disparity.

Even if the Army's R&D capabilities and reserves of scientific personnel were superior to theirs, the advantage of time accumulation couldn't be bridged in just a few days or months.

Like confidence and arrogance separated only by a wall, but the outcomes are worlds apart, he was still aware of this.

Moreover, being dragged into a competition with no visible benefits had no advantage for the alliance.

It was foreseeable that, besides that final weapon to reboot the world, the plan was unlikely to yield any intermediate results that would positively affect society.

Meng Liang nodded in agreement after considering the same issue.

"My stance is the same as Night Ten's."

Apart from Night Ten, everyone turned to look at the silent Pangolin.

Only one had yet to express their opinion.

But the latter's response didn't surprise many people.

"I vote yes."

Su Ming relaxed, his tense expression finally eased somewhat, and Yun Yi's face broke into a pleased smile, gratefully glancing around at everyone.

In that moment, they had nearly accomplished a miracle on this wasteland that seemed impossible.

From the Army, corporations, academies, and the alliance, people from four different backgrounds were now casting the same vote on a topic concerning the future fate of civilization.

Just like months ago, two hundred years ago, or even further back in the past… those brave yet ordinary people did.

They made a choice that was ordinary but not simple.

…

The bomb started its countdown again.

The group withdrew from the shelter.

Before leaving, they spent a little time moving twelve sleep cabins from the X-13 Area to the shelter entrance.

The crew of the Pioneer had perished.

Now inside were the disciples of the Enlightenment Society, including a "Guide" as Zhuang Lan had confessed.

In the hierarchy of the Enlightenment Society, a "Guide" stands between elder and disciple, essentially serving as a mentor to many disciples.

Although letting them simply perish in silence was letting these people off easy, burying them along with their secrets and this shelter, which never should have come into this world, was the best choice for those still alive on the surface.

As for Zhuang Lan.

Logically, she should be handed over to the Vellante people, as she had killed one of their thousands of leaders, but both Su Ming and Yun Yi were reluctant to do that.

"… We won't extradite anyone to the Army; that would be like selling a criminal to slave traders."

Pangolin seemed puzzled.

"That's not a bad idea."

Before the formation of the alliance, they had also sold captured Looters to the mines in Red River Town, so this wasn't something to be ashamed of.

He called it efficient.

But soon he remembered his role as an undercover agent, and his expression suddenly changed, glaring fiercely at Su Ming.

"What the hell do you mean?"

Daring to mock me?

Despicable East Coast People!

Su Ming simply ignored him, looking at Night Ten who was somehow holding back his laughter, and continued,

"One thing at a time, that's our principle... at least in my view, the ones who should be punished are the leadership of the Enlightenment Society. Even though she killed people from the Army, when I think about what the Weilante people do to their prisoners, I still feel disgusted. It's not as simple as just sending people to work in mines... Wanna hear? I've heard some stories from a merchant."

Night Ten coughed.

"Let's not."

Keep the Game light-hearted, he wasn't into dark humor.

Besides, did this need guessing?

When they had seized the Steel Heart, they had rescued many poor souls mistreated by those big-nosed men.

A feudal militaristic collective, as small as an airship or a manor could become a closed-off little kingdom, and what could constrain these Weilante people's actions was just the moral sense of their direct superiors.

That was exactly what was most unreliable.

Even if the Army conquered half of the Central Continent, the most civilized place might only be Triumph City under their Marshal His Highness.

And even Triumph City was only relatively civilized.

It was foreseeable that she would not be subjected to trial, her fate would ultimately be tortured to death by that Governor named Cohen.

"So, I'll leave it to you guys, we're not handing her over to the Army, do as you please," Su Ming shrugged his shoulders, sealing that person's fate with these words.

Night Ten felt, after all the nonsense this guy had spoken, he just wanted to throw the trouble onto the Alliance's side.

However, this result didn't really have any downside for the Alliance.

Even if she was just a Disciple, possessing the strength and speed of Third-stage Awakening and being sent to partake in such a mission, she was at least an "Elite Monster."

With some effort, maybe they could get something out of her.

Having wrapped up so many shelters and occupying the prime feng shui land of the Great Desert, the Enlightenment Society surely had many good things.

Thinking about the unusual memory extraction Device he had seen earlier, a malevolent smile emerged on Night Ten's face.

Why not use that thing?

Treat them with their own methods, he thought that was reasonable.

It might be necessary to suggest this to the Manager.

"Hey..."

A voice from beside interrupted Night Ten's train of thought.

Looking towards the direction of the sound, he saw a Class D researcher from the Academy standing there, looking like she had something to say.

This person had never shown him a good face, and Night Ten was not interested in her, asking impatiently.

"What is it?"

Jiang Xuezhou didn't speak for a long time.

Just as he was getting impatient waiting, she finally whispered in a very soft voice.

"...Did you see?"

"Huh?" Not understanding what she was asking, Night Ten casually responded.

Watching her act dumb and stunned, Jiang Xuezhou's face turned red, she bit her lip, and eventually swallowed the words that had reached her lips.

"...It's nothing."

Night Ten: "???"

Damn!

"You got cat biscuits or something!"

Jiang Xuezhou quickly shifted away from the previous topic and continued to speak.

"Anyway..."

Night Ten rolled his eyes impatiently.

"What now?"

Jiang Xuezhou asked softly.

"That person... impersonated me, right?"

Night Ten: "Yes."

Jiang Xuezhou immediately asked.

"How did you recognize me?"

She had wanted to ask this question before she left the shelter, but she hadn't figured out how to bring it up.

Seeing that "worshipful" look, Night Ten gave an embarrassed smile.

Well,
it's a bit shameful to say, he was quite an experienced player, it was just usually hard to tell because there were so many brilliant people in his team.

Especially in terms of intuition.

Not to brag, but there was no one on the entire server better than him. Even that old granny who had lived for over two hundred years was fooled, but he identified the imposter at first glance.

"Well, it was pretty simple... she looked nothing like you."

Jiang Xuezhou was dazed for a moment.

"Completely... nothing like?"

Night Ten said bluntly.

"Yeah, maybe my intuition is particularly sharp, but the moment that person stood at the door, I knew it wasn't you."

"...you talk like you know me quite well."

Night Ten waved his hand.

"You don't need to be very familiar, it's just that you are you, and she is she... they're not the same person, how could they be alike?"

Jiang Xuezhou's pale cheeks slowly flushed with a hint of red, she glared at him, bit her lip, and then huffed coldly before walking away.

Night Ten stared inexplicably at her retreating back.

Hey.

Weird.

I thought this would trigger some hidden quest, or maybe she'd drop some gold coins out of gratitude, but she just turned around and left.

Damn it!

When did I ever offend her?

...

Shortly after Night Ten and Su Ming's team evacuated from the Industrial Building, a deafening explosion engulfed No.0 Shelter.

The ten-thousand-ton yield released internally was sufficient to completely destroy the unfinished shelter or at least annihilate part of the server physically.

The "plan" carried out of the shelter and the video left by Captain Lu explained everything that had happened here.

Although it was regrettable not to have taken any treasures, it was still a barely satisfactory outcome for all involved.

However, what surprised everyone was that the chain reaction from the explosion caused the surface to collapse.

Coincidently, the location of the engine room was right under the falling Adjudicator.

The Vellante people who had survived by hiding in the buffer cabins hadn't yet recovered from their shock when a blast erupted right beneath them.

It was lucky it was only a ten-thousand-ton yield; the shelter itself absorbed most of the explosive shockwave.

If it had been just a bit more powerful, probably very few would have survived...

In the camp.

Adria found Chu Guang and angrily said,

"What was the deal with that explosion just now?"

Chu Guang looked strangely at this man.

What did it have to do with me?

But considering the other's urgent emotions, he still coughed lightly, offering feeble consolation,

"I heard that it was an unfinished shelter, maybe it was due to wear and tear... The reactor exploded, perhaps?"

Upon hearing this, Adria burst out,

"How is a third-generation controlled fusion reactor going to explode! The critical temperature for that thing is billions of degrees!"

Maybe even tens of billions of degrees, he couldn't remember.

But one thing he knew, it wasn't like a gas can, the type you could ignite with a lighter.

Chu Guang shrugged nonchalantly.

"How would I know, I'm as confused as you... I just hope my people have come back from below, they might know something."

Unlike the representatives of the army, corporations, and academies, who were all mystified, he sort of knew what had happened below.

Pangolin had already logged out in a rush to report the latest developments to him.

While he was surprised by the players' choices, he still showed respect.

The Alliance didn't need that stuff.

He had said it.

Until the end, he would stay with his residents.

Seeing the irate Adria, Chu Guang continued with a smile.

"By the way, if your airship really can't be fixed—"

"Forget it!"

Adria hadn't even realized it yet when the preemptive General McCullen pulled him aside and suspiciously responded to Chu Guang,

"We'll fix it ourselves, we don't need your help!"

Looking at the suspicious General McCullen, Chu Guang was momentarily stunned, then said with a mix of laughter and tears,

"I haven't even said anything yet."

McCullen grimly said,

"I don't want to know."

Several Vellante people headed towards the direction of the Industrial Building.

Chu Guang figured they were probably going to find Wallie to understand the situation, but unfortunately, that guy had already been killed by a disciple of the Enlightenment Society.

At that moment, his Chief Guard, Lu Bei, approached him from the side.

With his right fist pressed to his chest, the young man spoke gravely,

"… Sir, the Wolf Cavalry from the Death Legion has locked on the phase gun that attacked us, but they haven't found the enemy HQ."

Chu Guang furrowed his brows.

"They didn't find it?"

Lu Bei nodded sheepishly.

"Yes… according to a report from one of the Wolf Cavalry, the enemy HQ isn't nearby. He found a signal tower close to the signal source, which seems to be connected by wired links to other terminals and likely leads to a far-off place."

——

(Thanks to "Concerned Citizen Little Wang" and "Ink丶Xuan" for their leader's reward!!!)

Chapter 512: Open Strategy

The ruins next to the camp.

Looking at the signal tower camouflaged with a concrete-colored net, Chu Guang, riding on the back of Nicole, didn't know how to comment for a moment and ended up chuckling.

"...It seems they've been preparing this plan for quite a long time."

They had even laid a signal line from outside the influence area of the thundercloud storm...

Because the thundercloud storm interfered with the wireless signals outside the field, the Steel Heart had not detected any long-distance communication from outside the battlefield.

The wireless devices used by the Enlightenment Society on the battlefield all originated from the signal tower in front of him.

Standing beside him, Lu Bei whispered.

"My lord... Shall we follow this line further down?"

"No point, they've been too cautious. They wouldn't extend this signal line to their own homes... Even if we follow it, we might just find a pile of junk or even traps."

After giving the signal tower a final look, Chu Guang patted Nicole's neck. Understanding his hint, she hummed softly, flicked her tail, and turned around.

"Get some people to dismantle this thing... I'll go check out the Industrial Building."

Standing nearby, Lu Bei responded loyally.

"Yes!"

...

Although it was regrettable that they hadn't caught the mastermind, the vast amount of high-tech equipment left behind by the Enlightenment Society was conserved.

It had to be acknowledged that the shelter had many valuable items, which the Enlightenment Society had concentrated.

Now they all benefited the Alliance.

According to the logistics department's statistics, the biggest acquisition of the battle was undoubtedly a phase gun.

This device, not small in size, resembled a five-meter-long oil pipeline carried on the back of an all-terrain tracked vehicle, powered by a one-kilogram cold fusion battery, looking from a distance like a missile vehicle from before the Prosperity Epoch.

Capable of taking down two airships modified from escort ship's cores, this phase gun either was a part taken from a starship or hadn't been mounted yet.

Chu Guang planned to hand it over to the Alliance's research institutions for analysis to see if any useful technology could be recovered.

He didn't expect Yin Fang and others to reverse engineer the anti-gravity device technology, as its production difficulty was greater than its technical complexity.

However, even if just the capacitor technology inside could be recovered, it would be excellent, useful for railguns and electric cars alike.

Besides the phase gun, a strategic weapon, there were also over two hundred sets of Type Five "Light Cavalry" exoskeletons, both police-use and over two hundred sets originally belonging to the Human Alliance Army's Type Ten "Oath" exoskeletons, as well as sixty various magnetic rail accelerated rifles, and over two hundred ammunition-free assault rifles and other basic light weapons.

Including the anti-armor rocket launchers, grenades, and other military equipment captured during the firefight, the equipment seized from this battle was enough to arm half a special combat brigade!

Near the Industrial Building.

Frost, with arms crossed, looked at the mechanical dog lying nearby and sneered.

"I told you those things are unreliable."

Solar Eclipse's pupils flickered slightly, and after a while, he said.

"It was damaged by an EMP."

"EMP, huh, hehe, I'm not afraid of that."

"But your firepower isn't as strong as its, right?"

"Hehe, that might not be the case."

Standing beside Little Wang's wreckage, Jiang Xuezhou didn't hear the bionic beings' murmured conversation. If she had, she would have gone up to argue with them.

Glancing at the tablet in her hand and then at the nearby tent, she hesitated for a while before finally walking towards it.

The Administrator's Log of Shelter No. 0 along with backups of the original Torch Plan documents had been recovered; her mentor had just instructed her to return and report the details of the incident.

Next, her mentor would probably take her back to Wandering Swamp to archive the recovered data and participate in a seminar of the Research Department.

The busy days were still ahead.

Thinking about the upcoming tasks made her scalp tingle.

The next time she would come out of the Wandering Swamp was uncertain... It might well be on the battlefield again.

As a final farewell, she wanted to at least greet those companions.

Although their time together was brief, it was still a precious experience for her.

Her gains were not just the K points and merits from the mission but also finding herself...

...

Inside the tent now.

Night Ten was vividly describing the events that had occurred in the refuge to Chu Guang and handed over to him both Captain Lu's video and the seized memory extractor.

"...This is how it all happened, respected Manager, I recommend you use this memory extractor to thoroughly interrogate this person."

As he spoke, Night Ten fiercely glared at Zhuang Lan who was tied up nearby, a person who had made him suffer a lot.

Seeing the memory extractor, Zhuang Lan's face turned slightly pale.

She knew better than anyone how terrifying that device was.

Even with specialized training, she was not confident she could withstand its meticulous interrogation and would rather confess everything before being put through that ordeal.

The most terrifying thing about that device wasn't the retrieval of memories, but that as the retrieval process deepened, it would gradually wake a person from their dreams and use the fears unearthed from the depths of their memory to torment the user repeatedly until it completely destroyed a person's psyche and extracted the last remaining clues from those fragmented shards of memory.

She didn't even know what she might remember...

Watching Night Ten's puzzled face, Chu Guang nodded and spoke in a calming tone.

"I'll consider your suggestion and will do so if necessary."

He then placed the Memory Extractor aside on the table.

Chu Guang was about to assign Night Ten a new task when he suddenly noticed someone peering towards them from not far outside the door.

The Guards' soldiers had already noticed the person and had stopped her by standing in front of her, asking questions.

Chu Guang had a slight impression of the person, though he didn't know the name, he remembered that she seemed to be a Level D researcher from the Academy. Her hesitant and apprehensive expression seemed to indicate she had something to say but was too embarrassed to come closer.

His gaze fell on the Memory Extractor, and Chu Guang vaguely guessed something, a smile unconsciously spreading across his face.

He looked back at Night Ten and said,

"You've done well and worked hard. I'll take care of the rest; you go and rest."

"Aw, I wasn't really that tired… but alright."

Although he was slightly disappointed not to have a follow-up task, remembering the secret mission Old White had mentioned to him, Night Ten hesitated a bit before heading excitedly towards the door.

As Night Ten left, only Chu Guang, Lu Bei, and a few members of the Personal Body Guard were left inside the spacious tent both with Enlightenment Society agent who was tied up hand and foot.

With a serene smile gone, Chu Guang looked at her and asked,

"Name?"

The several pairs of eyes around her made Zhuang Lan's scalp tingle.

Especially since before entering the tent, the Claw of Death at the entrance had scrutinized her with its amber pupils, instilling a bone-deep fear in her.

Nervously glancing at the Memory Extractor on the table, she swallowed and said with a trembling voice, lowering her head,

"…Zhuang Lan."

Chu Guang stared at her for a while.

"I don't want to waste time, so you'd better not waste mine either. Now, you'll answer whatever I ask, and if I think you're lying, I'll use this."

Saying so, Chu Guang pointed his index finger at the glasses on the table.

The sight of those black pupils instilled a fear deep in her soul, causing Zhuang Lan's shoulders to tremble involuntarily as she nodded nervously.

"Speak."

"Yes!!"

She didn't understand; she was someone who was not even afraid of death, yet why was she so afraid now?

Was it a talent brought about by awakening?

But how could there be such a strange ability…

Looking at the Memory Extractor placed on the table, she didn't dare delve into deeper thoughts, only keeping her head down and not even daring to look directly into those eyes.

"Which shelter are you from?"

"6, Shelter No. 68..."

"How many people are there."

"Two thousand."

Two thousand people.

That was quite a large shelter indeed.

Thinking of the underground city in Shelter No. 79, Chu Guang wasn't too surprised and continued to ask.

"Where is your manager now?"

"…Dead."

Chu Guang raised his eyebrows.

"Before joining the Enlightenment Society?"

Zhuang Lan silently nodded.

"Yes."

Chu Guang continued to press on.

"How did you join the Enlightenment Society?"

"…Waste Land Wanderers took over our outpost constructed on the surface, occupied our refuge using our kindness, killed our manager, and caged us. Later, people from the Enlightenment Society found us. They saved everyone who was still alive, executed those Wasteland Wanderers; they were our own people, so we started working with them."

Knowing it was pointless to conceal the truth, she frankly revealed everything.

And her statement exactly corroborated Chu Guang's suspicions.

The Enlightenment Society had indeed grown by recruiting from shelters like Shelter No. 401, which had been persecuted, even occupied, by Raiders.

However, instead of building settlements with those from Blue Jacket after finding other refuges, they incited hatred in people's hearts, directing all grievances towards the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, and even the entirety of the Wasteland.

This narrative logic was actually quite coherent.

The Post-War Reconstruction Committee did accomplish some tasks, but it's a fact that they failed to successfully handle every issue and let down many Waste Land Wanderers and residents of the Survivor Settlement.

But to attribute all errors to the failure of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee would undeniably be akin to blaming all the problems of the Wasteland on the Mutants, which seems correct at a glance and many would believe, but a deeper consideration reveals the absurdity of it.

Chu Guang was actually more curious about another matter.

That was whether the Enlightenment Society had actively interfered, or even hastened this process.

According to his own observations and judgment, the attitude of most Survivor Settlements towards the Residents of the refuge was generally neutral.

Those regular Waste Land Wanderers neither worshipped nor despised "Blue Jacket", careless of who had abandoned whom two hundred years ago, whose ancestors had debts with other ancestors, nor why there had been a war. Most had long forgotten the Prosperity Epoch and the United Human, only wanting to focus on living well in the present.

Even the family of "Little Fish" pitied him, squeezed out their scant food supplies to provide him with a meal, and taught him which scrap could be exchanged for money from the traders.

Leaving aside the refuges targeted by the Raiders, most shelters under normal circumstances, provided they maintained basic vigilance, limited contact, and neutral or better Cooperation, would generally evolve into the "Model 101"... Turning into the extreme case of "Model 401" wasn't really common.

Chu Guang tended to believe that people from the Enlightenment Society might have actively done something, accelerating the deterioration of relations between the shelter and nearby survivors.

For instance, intentionally revealing the location of shelters to nearby Raider Camps and Mutant Nests or bribing unsteady Waste Land Wanderers to betray their collaborators in "Blue Jacket"...

Chu Guang found it hard to believe that an organization committed to the destruction of the world would exercise restraint in achieving its goals, sparing those refuges and their Managers who were unwilling to cooperate with them.

As long as they could arrive as saviors to rescue the inhabitants from the abyss after those non-cooperative shelters had fallen, and instill in them the notion that the enemy is the entire Wasteland, the Enlightenment Society could easily harvest a large number of loyal and reliable disciples.

In his conversation with "Gui Xu", Chu Guang distinctly felt that although the goals of the upper and lower levels of the Enlightenment Society were aligned, their stances actually differed.

The former purely aimed to create a new world dominated entirely by the Elite.

While the latter mostly didn't care about who would govern the new world, they were simply desperate about the current state.

"Have you ever met that guy called 'Gui Xu'?"

Zhuang Lan was silent for a long time.

"No."

Chu Guang continued.

"You haven't even met him, why do you believe everything he says is true?"

Zhuang Lan was silent again for a long time, then slowly spoke.

"I don't care whether he has hidden anything, that's irrelevant to me. All I know is what those Waste Land Wanderers did to me—"

"And that made you do the same thing as them?"

"I ... I didn't, I was just saying—"

"You say you didn't, but the compatriots you spoke of have never been short of wrongdoing."

Watching Zhuang Lan's flushed face trying to justify herself, Chu Guang pointed with his chin toward the direction of the camp outside, and said pointedly.

"Look at those tents. They house the victims of your atrocities. Are you trying to say that because they weren't abducted by you personally, you have no connection to it?"

Watching the silent Zhuang Lan, Chu Guang continued.

"I don't expect to generate sympathy in someone cold-blooded, but I am quite curious about something. Do you genuinely believe that your home—that is, Shelter No. 68, was destroyed by the hands of Waste Land Wanderers?"

"Of course! I watched with my own eyes as they—"

Staring at the assured face of Zhuang Lan, Chu Guang, recalling a discussion post he had read on an official website, continued in an even tone.

"You saw them behead your parents, saw them throw you into a cage, saw people from the Enlightenment Society save you. Every one of you repeats the same story, including the prisoners we've captured on the battlefield... Haven't you ever doubted, even a little, that it all might be too coincidental?"

"What was the nature of the Waste Land Wanderers' betrayal, when and how did the Enlightenment Society find you, how did your Manager die, where is his log? Waste Land Wanderers shouldn't be interested in that kind of thing, right. Have you checked his log? Can you answer any of these questions?"

Zhuang Lan was stunned.

"I..."

Chu Guang, watching her, continued methodically.

"You don't know. You believe whatever they tell you, you do whatever they ask you to do. Even with such a deadly mission, that 'Gui Xu' didn't have the courage to meet you face to face, did he?"

Looking at the pallid, speechless Zhuang Lan, Chu Guang's face suddenly showed a hint of interest.

"Let's make a bet."

"A bet...?" Zhuang Lan looked at him bewildered, "Bet what?"

"Your freedom," Chu Guang looked at her and continued, "The log of the Manager of Shelter No. 68. That document would have a backup in the shelter, and even if it was destroyed, it can be recovered. This log can address your confusion and also satisfy my curiosity. Find it for me."

Zhuang Lan looked at him in shock.

"You plan to release me?!"

"Just lending you your freedom temporarily," Chu Guang said lightly, "If the disaster at Shelter No. 68 doesn't have the Enlightenment Society's fingerprints behind it, you are free. But if the clues in the log match my speculation, you'll come back, remember to bring it to me."

Every shelter's Manager's log is an important record; it is every Manager's duty to recover it as much as possible after the shutdown of a shelter.

Even if there's only a single punctuation mark, it's worth retrieving.

These are all valuable sociological experiences.

Including the logs stored in Shelter No. 0 and the related documents of the "Torch Plan," Chu Guang had also retrieved them.

"Aren't you worried I might run?" Zhuang Lan took a deep breath, asking incredulously.

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Your expression tells me you would, but if you have any sense at all, you'd realize how foolish that would be."

"The true enemy who killed your parents deceived not just you but also those comrades you hold most dear."

"Find that thing for me; it's your only chance for redemption."

"The Post-War Reconstruction Committee and his three sons don't care about you, we will take care of you."

…

Staring at the figure disappearing at the entrance of the barracks, Lu Bei hesitated for a moment before speaking softly.

"Sir, is it really okay to let her go?"

He didn't doubt the Manager's decision, he just doubted whether that sly person would keep such a non-binding promise.

Unlike the worried Lu Bei, Chu Guang didn't care much, casually replying.

"If she finds something, it might help us dismantle the Enlightenment Society from the inside. At the very least, she could help us locate their headquarters."

Not find anything?

That's impossible.

Chu Guang absolutely didn't believe that the person, sly as they were, could resist the temptation of taking shortcuts.

If he was wrong, then so be it, it didn't matter.

One small fry more or less wouldn't affect the overall situation.

After a pause, Chu Guang continued.

"Of course, if she doesn't look into it and comes back unscathed, what would you think if you were a high-ranking member of the Enlightenment Society?"

Lu Bei pondered for a moment, scratching his head.

"If I were a high-ranking member... but sir, I don't have that kind of perspective."

Seeing this unambitious young man, Chu Guang shook his head and harshly criticized.

"Thinking that those in power must have three heads and six arms is slave mentality; people are just people, how many times have I told you!"

Lu Bei was still young and bright. Startled by Chu Guang's glare, he immediately realized.

"They would suspect! They would wonder why she came back alive!"

Chu Guang nodded in approval.

"Clever."

Especially that guy called Gui Xu, who seemed like a combination of arrogance and pride.

That guy might have something, but not much; in theory over practice, and his subconscious inferiority and urgency made him eager to prove his strength, even flaunting it in front of his enemies.

In contrast, the Army's Marshal, the Academy's Dr. Jie, and even the Lord of Giant Stone City, preferred to "hide themselves."

These ancient creatures never revealed how many cards they held, and their minds were hard to fathom.

"But... is she safe on her own?" Lu Bei asked, looking puzzledly at Chu Guang.

Chu Guang said indifferently.

"That's her own business now; I never put all my hope on a fleeting idea."

Those who killed the crew of the Pioneer had died in the nuclear blast, this guy had nothing to do with that and hadn't even accessed that data. The Army wasn't his ally; he had no obligation to avenge the Weilante People, and killing him would be pointless.

And if, like other prisoners of war, he were confined for labor reformation, the Army would surely pressure him relentlessly, demanding extradition. Once there is one such instance, there would be a second, purely a nuisance.

If Cohen wants to avenge his confidants, he should pursue them himself; it would be good for them, closer to the Great Desert, to keep an eye out for small movements by the Enlightenment Society.

At this point, Chu Guang paused.

"Oh, and, notify Captain Adria later, just say that the Enlightenment Society agent who murdered Walley has escaped and let them handle it."

Lu Bei, with his right fist to his chest, looked at the Manager with admiration.

"Yes! Sir!"

"Go now."

Smiling as he watched the young man vanish at the door, Chu Guang turned his gaze to the Memory Extractor on the Table.

He heard this thing was quite wicked, not only could it extract memories, but it could also help recall things even the person themselves had forgotten.

When he had first come out of the Shelter, Old Soldier had secretly tried it on, but unfortunately, it was no use for players; he made a post and then gave up trying to figure it out.

It wouldn't have been useful anyway.

A clone's brain is like a blank sheet, merely a signal relay at most with a cache; it does not store long-term memories itself. As for the players' memories, they're stored in their own brains—in their brains in a Different World.

Suddenly, a thought surged in Chu Guang's mind.

What would he see if he wore it himself?

The deepest fears in his memories…

As he thought this, Chu Guang's hand already lay on the glasses. Yet just a few seconds later, he shook his head and dismissed the idea.

An eerie sense of déjà vu reminded him that it wouldn't end well…

—

(Thanks to the leader of "Liu Jing Guan Sheng Ren" for the reward!!! I updated too much a few days ago, feeling a bit overwhelmed T.T)

Chapter 513: An Adventure Without Regrets

Early November.

The East Coast had already entered winter, and although it hadn't snowed like last year, the gloomy sky was still piled with thick clouds.

For the residents of Ideal City, today was undoubtedly a sad day.

Their hero never made it back home.

After a long and arduous wait, such an outcome had unfortunately arrived,
and many people simply couldn't accept it.

At the news conference site.

The spacious venue was crowded with journalists from various media outlets.

Although Deputy Minister Wu Changnian had just gotten off the plane not so long ago, news regarding the matter had already been flying all over the city two days prior. So much so that while he was still dozing off in the sky, the people on the ground had already arranged his post-landing itinerary.

Taking advantage of the time left before the official start of the press conference, people began to whisper to each other in low tones.

"We spent billions on this, fought a localized war… and this is the result?"

"I don't know what the Council is thinking."

"What can they think? By the time our people got there, they had already been gone for months."

"Alas."

"What really concerns me is that Enlightenment Society…"

"Indeed, replacing one's memories… just the thought of it gives me the creeps."

"Is that really an organization founded by those with 'Blue Jackets'?"

"I just hope there aren't any of those guys in the refuges of the Yúnjiānxíng Province."

"We shouldn't pin our hopes on hope, the Council should do something to ensure those guys aren't among us!"

The whispers grew louder and louder.

People were concerned not just with the fact that the Pioneer expedition turned up nothing and countless billions of investment went down the drain, along with tens of billions in the budget.

Most of them were even more concerned about that terrifying Enlightenment Society.

If the fruits of their labor could be snatched away in the future, then creating any value was pointless.

No one could accept coming home from work one day to meet a pair of unfamiliar eyes, let alone a bunch of little devils lurking in the shadows, secretly replacing oneself.

5000-plus kilometers away, which actually isn't too far, there's always a way if one really wants to get there.

Meanwhile, in the preparation room next to the conference site, Deputy Minister Wu Changnian, who had just deplaned and taken a car here, hadn't even taken a sip of water before heading in the direction of the venue.

Carrying documents and following beside him, his office secretary pleaded earnestly.

"…Please, at least sit down and rest for a while!"

"No need, I've rested enough on the plane. From the Great Desert, to the Lion Kingdom, to the City of Dawn, and now here. There's a Council meeting this afternoon, and I must deal with the press conference first… This is the task assigned to me by the Council." Wu Changnian opened his holographic computer pen and glanced at today's schedule, feeling his scalp tingle.

He was just a deputy, and this level of busyness was beyond his expectations.

However—

Suddenly getting busy wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

This was a good omen, perhaps it wouldn't be too long before he could take another step forward in his career.

With this thought, that slightly tired face perked up again. Although he had just wandered around, he was after all a hardened warrior who had been on the battlefield.

"The journalists outside look aggressive, I'm afraid they won't let you off easy," warned the secretary with a wry smile, offering one last word of caution, but he was briskly shoved aside.

"Let them come then!"

The door burst open, and the lights flickered.

Just as Wu Changnian stepped up to the podium, before he could speak, a swarm of interview drones buzzed over and neatly arranged themselves in an arc facing him, promptly followed by a barrage of questions from all sides.

"Mr. Wu Changnian, how do you evaluate this rescue operation?"

"Deputy Minister Wu, we spent countless resources to build the Pioneer, sending out our best personnel into the wasteland, but in the end, we found nothing... Do you consider this a waste of resources?"

"Does the Council have nothing to say about this matter?"

"Will the downturn in Silver Wing Group's stock price affect changes in its Council positions?"

"I've heard that only one person was rescued, and that person just happens to be the son of the CEO of Silver Wing Group, a member of the highest Council. I want to know if there was any bias in the rescue operation."

"Should we increase our interference with the powers of the shelters—"

"Enough! Silence!"

His resonant voice suddenly erupted, silencing the room in an instant, calming the chaos at the press conference for a few seconds.

Looking at the hushed scene and confused faces, Wu Changnian took a deep breath and slowed his speech and tone before continuing.

"You have more questions for me than the bullets that have whizzed past my head, and I know you want to ask a lot, but Captain Lu Yang's recording will answer some of your queries. We will upload the recording to Endpoint Cloud and preserve it in the museum for all to access... But before that, listen to me!"

He paused, his tone taking on a somber note.

"Today... I have a sad story to tell."

"A group of brave young men, carrying their ideals, set out on an expedition. They traversed mountains and rivers, crossed plains, forests, mountain ranges, and deserts. They did it not for wealth, nor for land or conquest... but for a legend that has circulated among us, one we've commemorated for a century yet never verified."

"Our civilization has stagnated; we fear the risks of the wastelands, fantasizing about an omnipotent savior lying in a Sleep Cabin in No.0 Shelter, awaiting Heaven itself to come to our feet... If no one goes there to have a look, we would never let go of that naive thought."

"I want to say he did a remarkable thing. Even if he might have guessed from the start that the outcome wouldn't be perfect, he still did what he thought he ought to do. And to the very end, he had no regrets. So if you ask me if I have any regrets, if I would have second thoughts, my answer is no."

"Never!"

His voice was firm, his gaze intense.

Standing here, he didn't resemble a man in his forties or fifties— even the deep wrinkles on his face seemed to be reinvigorated with the light of youth.

"Even if only one person was brought back, even if no one was brought back, this rescue mission was by no means meaningless for us."

"More precious than gold is trust; we've kept our promise, not abandoning any residents stranded out there. We've shown to those who doubted us our determination never to compromise; we've gained precious friendships along the journey...

"And most importantly, our courage!"

Looking at the drones before him, he saw through them to the faces beyond and the bustling city outside the floor-to-ceiling windows far away.

"We are worthy of our ancestors; the residents of No.6 Shelter and the Endeavour Colony Ship would be proud of our choices."

"We are worthy descendants of heroes!"

The venue erupted into applause.

At first, it was like a gentle drizzle and then a wild downpour.

Even the reporters who had come prepared with tough questions were moved by the atmosphere and couldn't help but bring their hands together in applause.

At least at this moment, the applause was not for someone at the scene, but for themselves.

In the nearby lounge, Night Ten clapped his hands. Amidst his feelings of admiration, he couldn't resist the natural urge to be a little sour.

"Wow, that sounds really nice."

He clearly remembered that those guys had considered giving up more than once. At least in his view, if the Manager hadn't withstood the pressure and promised to end the War by the end of the year, today's press conference might have been about the "disappearance" of the Pioneer.

By the way, he came to Ideal City by catching a "ride" with Deputy Minister Wu.

Not just him, but also Old White, Wild Wind, Mole, and so on.

Standing beside him, Fang Chang laughed and patted Night Ten's shoulder, saying,

"You kid just loves to sing a different tune. Others are deputies of Ideal City, representing Ideal City, representing the Council. If he didn't say it like that, tell me, how should he have said it?"

Night Ten thought for a moment and made an effort to pick a fault.

"At least emphasize our role a bit more."

"Our role doesn't need any verbal emphasis; there will be people who remember our favor. Things that need reiterated usually aren't that important," Fang Chang patted his shoulder and then looked at his good brothers, Old White and Wild Wind, with a smile, "Follow me, let me show you the results of my work these past few months."

The group entered the elevator and arrived at the observation deck on the top floor of the building.

Night Ten looked left and right and didn't see anything, so he teased the guy.

"Don't tell me your achievement from these past months is this rooftop."

Fang Chang didn't speak, just checked the time on his watch, and then turned his gaze toward the Council Building in the very center of Ideal City.

"Over there."

As soon as he finished speaking, splendid lights and shadows converged on the wall of the building, forming an image of a bucket full of fried chicken and a large cup of black beverage.

Such a sight was not novel for the Real World, which has close cultural exchanges, but it was quite a novelty for the residents of Ideal City.

Lines of advertisement flashed across the screen.

[Ken Fried Chicken's first store is open now! Exotic Delicacies await your arrival!]

[Store address: …]

Initially, Night Ten didn't understand what was written, but he burst out laughing after turning on the VM for translation.

"Pfft! Ken Fried Chicken, alright, that's a really old joke."

"Indeed, quite an old joke," Wild Wind couldn't help but comment.

"Haha, it shows that I'm not young anymore," Fang Chang said with a chuckle.

Old White laughed and teased,

"Damn, you're moving everything from the Real World into the Wasteland."

"It's just about complementing strengths," Fang Chang touched his nose with his index finger and continued, "Fried chicken and cola are just the first step to test the waters, followed by steamed buns, baozi, pancakes, dumplings, and ready-to-cook dishes. The business plan includes fast-food brands like 'Mr. Little Rice' and others. Our intention is to form a matrix of these Alliance foods in Ideal City, one that carries added cultural value."

"We just need to set the standards and quality control. The actual store operations can be franchised and cooperated with other food and catering companies, produced and sold locally... Currently, this business model suits us best."

After all, the Alliance can't deploy too many staff to the corporate side. One reason is the difficulty in integrating into the local society, and the other is the potential of taking away local job opportunities.

Providing only the concept and creativity was Fang Chang's plan from the start. Just label the "fried chicken" with the Alliance tag, and when the residents of Ideal City think of that crispy deliciousness, they will recognize and favor the stores certified by the Alliance companies.

If the operation goes well, the Long Moon Group will open up a market worth billions for the Bull Horse Group in Ideal City.

Once the market is opened and the residents of Ideal City embrace the culture of City of Dawn, some lifestyle players could go to Ideal City to open their stores.

Everyone could benefit from this. There was no doubt it was a win-win situation.

As for the business blueprint that Fang Chang outlined, it all went over Night Ten's head. He scratched the back of his head, failed to grasp it, and simply gave up.

To be able to play the Game to this extent, amongst everyone he knew, Brother Fang Chang was indeed unique.

He admitted he wasn't cut out for this and simply decided to lie low.

After talking about Bull Horse Group's future business plans, Fang Chang suddenly turned his gaze to Night Ten, asking with interest,

"Oh right, Old White mentioned that you've recently gotten to know a researcher from the Academy? What's that all about?"

He had always been interested in the Academy in the swamp.

Legend had it that the place had even more black tech than corporations, but it rarely made it into the Wasteland.

According to the official setting, if one wanted to buy top-level equipment, it seemed necessary to figure out how to pry open the doors of the Academy.

Maybe Night Ten could become the opening they needed.

Yet, looking at those gossip-filled eyes, Night Ten was completely confused.

"What situation?"

Patting Night Ten's shoulder, Old White laughed and said to Fang Chang,

"You underestimate this guy. It's not just the Academy's researchers; even old ladies from corporations are interested in him."

Reminded of the small incident that happened on the plane, Wild Wind nodded slightly, his expression ambiguous.

"Though I feel there's a difference... maybe they just want to adopt a godson."

Night Ten: "???"

Fang Chang looked at Night Ten in surprise.

"Holy shit, you're not cool, bro... not telling your dad anything."

"Get lost! I don't even know what you guys are talking about, I... I never thought about dating an NPC."

Seeing Fang Chang's smile, which clearly didn't look like he had listened to his explanation, Night Ten, with a flushed face, quickly shifted away from this bizarre topic and then turned the fire onto the guy in front of him.

"Cut the crap, when are you heading back?"

Fang Chang said straightforwardly,

"I'll head back with you guys in a bit."

Night Ten was stunned and looked at him incredulously,

"Just like that? You're leaving?"

Fang Chang looked at him curiously.

"Yeah, why not?"

"It's nothing," Night Ten scratched the back of his head, "I'm just a bit surprised."

Guessing what he was surprised about, Fang Chang laughed and said,

"I've arranged everything here, and the daily operation of the Long Moon Group is in the hands of professional managers. There isn't much we need to worry about. This cooperation plan is more of a trial run since Ideal City has never had such direct business cooperation over such a distance before, so I spent a bit more time here."

Before that, most of the company's cooperation with the outside world was conducted indirectly.

For example, the company's corporation collaborated with the traders from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, trading resources needed by Ideal City, while the traders would take the products of Ideal City to more distant places in exchange for what they needed.

This was undoubtedly a significant change.

As for the impact it might have on the future, it remained unknown at present.

By the way, just a few days ago, Fang Chang had completed those courses at Yunjian University.

Although it was just some superficial knowledge, it was enough for him to digest for quite a while.

When he had the chance in the future, he would come back for further studies, aiming to get that diploma.

"The CEO of As Promised Group, Li Shuyue, is also full of confidence in this," Wild Wind remarked with emotion. "She also believes it will be a historic moment... After more than a century, the direct business of Ideal City has expanded beyond the Province of Yúnjiānxíng once again, and the residents here have finally left this fortress to step back into the Wasteland. From the sound of it, she's quite grateful to us."

"It sounds a bit like the beginning of a new story."

Fang Chang laughed.

"Doesn't it?"

Because of an expedition, the stalled history began to move forward, and each one of them was a witness to this moment. In the distant future, when people looked back nostalgically on that old version, they would surely remember the names of these participants.

Night Ten suddenly snickered mischievously.

"Right, I almost forgot to ask, what's your relationship with that Li Shuyue?"

Fang Chang rolled his eyes.

"No relationship whatsoever... and a warning for you, don't go spouting nonsense, especially not over there. I'm a married man now."

Night Ten: "Dang! You're still so particular even in the Game!"

"You don't understand," Fang Chang shook his head and said solemnly, "The reason why true love is precious is that it only happens once."

"Blegh, blegh, blegh!"

As Night Ten leaned against the wall to vomit, Fang Chang turned his attention to Old White, who was watching them with a smile on his face.

"By the way, Old White, what mission did the Manager give us this time?"

Old White grinned and said,

"One thousand cubic meters of helium-3, waiting for us in a research facility in Brocade River Province to be reclaimed."

Fang Chang took a sharp breath.

"That's a lot..."

"Based on the energy consumption in the real world, assuming the unlocking of third-generation fusion technology, one thousand cubic meters of helium-3 would be enough to last Earth for one year. In the Game," Wild Wind thought for a moment and shrugged, "given the energy consumption levels of the Alliance, I'd say it's enough to last until server shutdown."

Even for Ideal City, the energy consumption for a year would not exceed this figure.

It was easy to imagine that this was a tremendous fortune!

"That's a bit exaggerated to last until server shutdown," Fang Chang, surprised yet amused, looked up at the sky, "our end is up there."

"Stop kidding around, how long do you plan to rest?" Old White slapped his buddy's shoulder and said with a smile, "The Manager has given us plenty of time; even half a year would be no problem."

"How long to rest?" Fang Chang paused for a moment, "Didn't I say, I'm returning with you guys this time—"

Night Ten rolled his eyes.

"Are you sure? You won't stay to spend some time with your Dolly?"

A rare blush crept onto Fang Chang's usually calm face, and he coughed awkwardly, looking away,

"Give me a few days..."

Watching Fang Chang suddenly turn "bashful," Night Ten felt goosebumps all over and turned his face uncomfortably toward the sky.

"Darn it... I really want to throw this guy off the rooftop!"

As Night Ten twisted in envy, Old White laughed heartily and patted his shoulder vigorously.

Standing to the side, Wild Wind gave the kid a sideways glance.

"...Wasn't it you who insisted on bringing this up?"

…

It had been a week since the "No.0 Shelter" incident.

More than five thousand kilometers away across the Great Desert, those who had not yet evacuated were still busy, performing cleanup work on the battlefield and wrapping things up.

Although some quick-footed players had already returned to the Alliance, some even going as far as the easternmost part of the Central Continent, Chu Guang, as a Manager, had not left yet.

There was still a lot of work here waiting for him.

In the previous conflict, the Alliance had captured one hundred and twenty disciples of the Enlightenment Society, who would be taken back to City of Dawn for trial by the court there.

Although they were residents of the refuge, the Alliance would not be lenient because of their origins; they would be treated the same as any other prisoners in terms of sentencing.

However, which laws to apply as the standard and the sentencing details for different levels of personnel would need to be discussed by the legal workers of the Alliance and the public.

But one thing would not change.

Even though they too were victims misled by the Enlightenment Society, they still needed to take responsibility for having been the devil's accomplices.

They would be sentenced to more than ten years' imprisonment and would undergo labor reform during their incarceration, undertaking obligatory work for welfare institutions like Home of the Refugees and Industrial Worker's School, helping the survivors rescued in the Wasteland in medical and educational fields. Depending on their behavior during their sentence, they might be eligible for a reduced sentence.

Extraordinary contributions during their sentence would also be taken into account for mitigating their punishment.

Punishment was a means, not an end. The knowledge, skills, and experience possessed by the residents of the refuge were a valuable asset, also a legacy left by United Human.

The intransigent part had already died on the battlefield, but for these prisoners who wavered in the face of death, Chu Guang felt it was worth giving them a chance to reform.

Aside from the placement of these hundred-plus prisoners, there was another important issue that had to be addressed before heading back.

It was the stranded airship beside the camp.

Though the buffer airbags and parachutes had slowed down the airship's descent and the impact on the ground, they did not leave the structure of the airship unaffected.

Especially the wings on both sides.

When the external armor was destroyed to reduce weight, the connection between the wings and the airship was damaged, causing them to break off during the fall.

Even if the anti-gravity device was functioning normally, this guy was going nowhere.

Luckily, the five base trucks could manufacture the parts needed to repair the airship's wings and propeller engines, and the work was almost complete over the week.

By comparison, the condition of the Adjudicator was much more dismal.

Although Chu Guang didn't ask, just seeing Captain Adria's face was enough to guess that thing was in a terrible state.

In the last two days, players planning to return on the Steel Heart were hanging around nearby, building a forward outpost for the Alliance in the Great Desert and searching for traces of the Enlightenment Society.

However, they did not find any clues about the Enlightenment Society; instead, they discovered quite a few Mutant Nests hidden in the ruins.

As a result, nearly one hundred sixty more survivors were added to the camp of the Alliance.

With the previous ones, the number of survivors in the camp now neared three hundred.

What was complicated was that this might just be the tip of the iceberg of this hellish landscape; in the areas yet unexplored by the Alliance, there could be countless similar tragedies...

...

Near the Industrial Building.

A sharply angular concrete slab stood on the steps of the main entrance to the building. Carved into the stark face of the slab were rows of names familiar to Chu Guang.

The Company had taken the relics left by the employees in the wreckage of the Pioneer.

Before setting sail for the return journey, the man named Yun Song and his Assault Team No.26 found a piece of concrete nearby to use as a monument, carving the names of the crew of the Pioneer as a memorial.

A more durable and more beautiful monument was still being made and wouldn't be delivered from Ideal City to the Alliance until next month, and then from the Alliance to here.

In the past few days, Chu Guang visited this place every day to look at those familiar names, to see the place where they once fought.

He actually remembered them all.

The seemingly cultured Luo Hua was actually a drunkard, but he wouldn't refuse a good mushroom soup either. The quiet and beautiful bodyguard Ais liked fluffy things... like Meat Meat, and she was even willing to spend money on it.

The waterwheel driver Yuan Hao liked to eat buns and once bought more than fifty to share with his colleagues, marking the start of the "light industry" of the Alliance. The cunning old head of logistics, Li De, still made payments by the rules... and there were many, many more interesting people.

To earn more Cr, Fang Chang and Mole Old Brother wrote a lot of guides, and sometimes Chu Guang would sneak a peek and learn a thing or two on the sly.

As for Lu Yang.

He was a man full of justice, his decisiveness, bravery, and kindness were impressive and enviable.

Unfortunately...

Many of them were no longer around.

"... When I saw Luo Hua, I actually thought that you might have encountered an accident, and this rescue might not yield any results. But I still told my partners that our friends were in danger and that we had to go and bring them back."

"We've climbed over deserts, crossed valleys, marched two thousand five hundred kilometers, beaten what was considered unbeatable foes... It's just a pity we still couldn't bring you back in the end."

"For a moment, I thought about killing those captives to avenge you, even though those disciples weren't the murderers, they had aided and abetted. But I quickly thought that if you were still alive, you would stop me, telling me that this isn't vengeance but purely venting anger, meaningless and ugly..."

He sighed softly and placed a bunch of wild flowers in front of the tombstone.

"The right choice is always the hardest, and if we do not rectify the mistakes that have been made and are still happening, the Wasteland Era will never end."

"You were a group of remarkable Adventurers."

"Thank you for having come."

The Iron Heart has been repaired, and tomorrow it will sail back.

However, I will come back to visit you again.

Withdrawing his gaze from the tall concrete monument, Chu Guang turned and walked down the steps when suddenly there was a movement from the side.

Chu Guang stopped and looked to the side, seeing Lama standing there.

He remembered this brave girl; when everyone else was silent, she was the first to stand up and provide many important clues.

Seeing through the expression on her face that implied she had something to say, Chu Guang spoke in a gentle tone.

"Is there something you need?"

Lama hesitated for a moment, but the resolve in her eyes did not waver. She bit her lower lip, remaining silent, and knelt on one knee on the ground.

Chu Guang sighed.

He was not accustomed to survivors doing this at every turn.

"Stand up and speak."

Hearing that unmistakable tone, Lama silently stood up and, after a short pause, slowly began to speak.

"Respected Manager, I... want to stay."

Chu Guang could probably guess her concerns and patiently said,

"Going to the Alliance allows you to start a new life. There are many survivors like you there, and people won't care about your past."

"I believe you, but... I still want to stay here," Lama said softly after a long silence, "There are still many people here who haven't been rescued."

Chu Guang looked at her unexpectedly, not anticipating her to have such consciousness.

His expression gradually grew serious, and he asked once more with a serious tone,

"Are you sure about this?"

Lama nodded earnestly.

"Yes... This isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; I've thought about it for a long time. I am very grateful to you for saving us, and if possible, we want to do something too."

After she saw those girls who had been rescued by the Alliance from the Mutants' nest, when she thought about the countless other mutant tribes on the Wasteland just like the "Blackstone" tribe, the idea to stay took root in her heart.

Even though fighting was not easy, nobody was born an Awakener; without taking the first step, one will always remain a lamb inside the pen.

In fact, it wasn't just her idea.

It was a common thought among many of the survivors who had been saved.

Their thinking was even simpler: instead of starting anew in an unknown place, why not begin right on this very land underfoot.

Here, there was an abundance of fresh water and sources of food, and houses already built. Even if one did not become a warrior, one could tend crops or raise insects. Even though life here was accompanied by danger, where on this Wasteland was safe?

At least here, they wouldn't have to endure the strange stares of strangers...

Surprise transformed into admiration, and Chu Guang nodded at her, saying contentedly,

"I'm glad you think that way. I will leave some weapons for you, enough for you to protect yourselves. We will also leave some people to act with you, and we will send supplies periodically. If you encounter trouble you can't solve, you can seek their help. Although they have their own missions, they will also be happy to take on challenges beyond those missions."

"Additionally, if the tools from Pioneer can still be used, try to salvage them for reuse. To be of help to others even after retirement, that person would be relieved... Remember to occasionally visit here and clean the grave, and just say thank you to him."

Lama nodded her head and respectfully said,

"I will heed your teachings."

"It's hardly that, just a suggestion."

Chu Guang turned his gaze toward a stone monument not far away.

He had entertained a similar thought before.

The Company memorialized those brave individuals in their own way, just as the Alliance would honor those companions...

"From now on,"

"This place will be called Pioneer City."

Chapter 514 Celebrating the Birth of a New Settlement

"Dead?!"

Upon hearing the death of his close general, Cohen sat behind his desk in a daze for several seconds before angrily slamming his fist onto the table.

"Why am I only hearing about this now?"

These days, he had just taken over the affairs of the Falcon Kingdom, struggling with the post-war reconstruction.

General Kras's industrially established facilities, painstakingly built over a dozen years, had all been destroyed by the Alliance. Those people even spared no machines or engineers in the factories, moving everything to Bistetown next door.

Just having settled the property disputes in the Royal City, he found that the old king's treasury was so poor that mice could run through it.

Before he could solve this issue, dire news followed closely from the Great Desert.

Wali...

Thinking of that young officer with a promising future, Cohen clenched his teeth so hard sparks seemed to strike between them.

Watching the holographic image of Governor Cohen, Captain Adria looked anxious and hesitated for a long time before nervously continuing.

"As I told you before, we reached the Great Desert and were soon attacked by an unidentified armed force calling themselves the Enlightenment Society. Wali, the Thousands of leaders... was killed by those people."

Fearing the wrath of the Five Star Ten Thousand Leader, Adria dared not pause, he hurriedly continued without even catching his breath.

"But! We have identified the perpetrator... Her name is Zhuang Lan, a resident from one of the refuges."

Cohen cursed with burning rage.

"Where is that person? Bring that bastard to me! I swear I'll make them regret coming into this world!"

Adria nervously said,

"The Alliance has captured her, but those idiots were negligent in their watch, and she escaped. I originally wanted to capture the perpetrator and then report to you, but her anti-tracking ability is too strong, our people couldn't catch up..."

Cohen narrowed his eyes.

"Did the Alliance do it on purpose?"

Adria replied with a wry smile,

"I don't know... but it seems they have no reason to do so. They suffered over a hundred casualties in the attack by the Enlightenment Society."

Cohen snorted coldly.

Regardless of whether it was the Alliance that let the perpetrator escape, it was difficult for him to make trouble for those Blue Ground Squirrels over this matter.

But then again, what is this Enlightenment Society?

They even have something like a phase gun...

Cohen closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, organizing his thoughts, especially considering the clues about No.0 Shelter and the Torch Plan reported by Captain Adria.

After a moment, he spoke,

"...Have you obtained the original plan for the Torch Plan?"

Adria nervously nodded.

"We have it... including the Administrator's Log. The company didn't keep a copy for themselves; they made one for us."

Cohen thought for a moment before instructing,

"Take that data and the Pangolin, and immediately return to Triumph City... Report the situation of No.0 Shelter to the Marshal. Let His Excellency, the Marshal, decide!"

Although he was uneasy about those who claimed to be from the Enlightenment Society, after all, it wasn't his job. Compared to that, he had more pressing matters to address.

"Governor... Sir."

Seeing Adria's hesitant expression, Cohen slightly furrowed his brows.

"What else is there?"

Adria hesitated for a while before saying softly, looking down,

"The Adjudicator's airship... has encountered some problems."

Cohen was startled, sat straight up from the chair, and asked anxiously,

"What do you mean?! A problem? Didn't you tell me before that it was just a small issue and not a big deal?!"

He remembered clearly.

Although the phase gun could paralyze the deflection shields and anti-gravity devices formed by Gravitons, it wouldn't affect the airship's structural integrity.

Adria had reported this to him before—'Although the airship fell from a high altitude due to the phase gun's influence, the crew of the Adjudicator used their excellent piloting skills to minimize the damage from the hard landing, and it could be fixed in a week.'

Now a week had passed, so how had it become "some issues"?!

Adria explained with a pained face,

"I didn't expect it to become like this. My engineers initially told me it was a minor issue, but the problems just kept multiplying..."

At first, his engineers assured him that a wing replacement was all it took to get it flying again, but after installing the new wing, they discovered cracks of varying degrees in the links between the wing and airship, as well as in the whole structure steel.

Cohen stared at him intently.

"The core of the escort ship isn't damaged, right?"

"That, definitely not!" Facing that murderous gaze, Adria immediately replied, "The core of the escort ship is normal! It's just the hull of the airship that's damaged..."

Perhaps they should learn from the Alliance and equip their airships with oversized parachutes and airbags for buffering.

However, encounters with phase gun attacks were too rare; the airships' internal buffer cabins were enough to handle ordinary crash accidents.

Convincing the Air Force's manufacturing bureau and the logistics department due to an accidental mishap would not be an easy task.

Cohen took a deep breath, suppressing the rage and rising blood pressure in his heart, trying to speak as calmly as possible,

"How long will it take."

Glancing nervously at the holographic image in front of him, Adria said quietly,

"...Some parts need to be delivered from the western side of the Great Desert, at least three months."

Cohen: "I %￥#@!"

...

Late at night.

The camp, not far from the Industrial Building, was brightly lit.

Players dragged tables to the open space in the middle of the camp, setting up large pots for stewing meat and grills for barbecuing nearby.

A few Strength-type players were busy skinning and deboning a freshly captured mutant stag and a Hyena, while a few fearless players were testing their luck with a never-before-seen Variant.

"What is this thing, huh? Looks weird..." Silver Daddy poked curiously with a stick at the fluffy Variant lying on the ground.

The creature was pitch-black all over, pretty small, and covered with uneven layers of fur, with round, bulbous eyes like light bulbs. It was too small to be a monkey, did not have wings to be a bat, and its sharp fangs were intimidatingly visible, and it had unnaturally large ears.

Nobody knew where it came from; supposedly, a player found the thing at the entrance and then tossed it here.

Not sure whether the thing was edible, Silver Sword gave up and tossed it to the side with a sigh,

"If only Old Na were here!"

Silver Hand said, laughing cheekily.

"There you go, harassing Old Na again!"

Silver Sword gave him a scornful glance.

"Harassing? This is called making the best use of things!"

Silver Daddy could not help but laugh out loud.

"Hahaha! Are you trying to kill your old man with laughter?"

The two cursed almost in unison.

"Scram!"

The little fellow tilted its head and mimicked the sound.

"Scram?"

Silver Daddy's eyes lit up, and he leaned in closer to the little thing sitting on the ground.

"Eh?! This ugly thing can talk?"

Silver Sword and Silver Hand looked at each other.

"Did you hear that?"

"No, I..."

"Tsk, you two useless things. You could miss an SSSR Level Divine Pet if it was right in front of you!"

With disdain, Silver Daddy squatted down and playfully patted its head.

"Ugly thing, say it again for Daddy to hear—ouch, damn it!"

Before he could finish speaking, his nose was bitten. As he staggered backwards, the "ugly thing" pounced on his face, kicked with its hind legs, jumped to the ground, and ran off without a trace.

Silver Sword hurriedly caught his stumbling brother, while Silver Hand, completely ignoring him, went straight after the runaway SSSR Level Divine Pet.

"Damn, are you okay??"

Silver Daddy covered his nose with both hands.

"Crap... it's swollen."

"What's swollen?"

Silver Daddy grimaced and released his hands.

"My nose..."

Seeing the ping-pong-sized tip of his nose, Silver Sword could not help but snort with laughter, heartlessly like a pig's squeal.

"Puhahaha!"

In the end, the little guy was caught by a passing "Pangolin" comrade. Seeing as it didn't look tasty, it was given back to Silver Daddy.

Enduring the soreness of his nose and the strange looks from others, Silver Daddy took the little fellow to researcher Meng Liang on the escort ship. Unfortunately, the thing he picked up was not some SSSR Level miraculous creature, it was just an ordinary Variant.

Its teeth were slightly toxic, so just to be safe, Meng Liang gave the unlucky brother an anti-inflammatory shot.

Because its cry sounded very similar to "scram", it was recorded in the official bestiary as the "Rolling Beast" and was not recommended for consumption.

To retaliate against this creature for making him look foolish, Silver Daddy named it "Ugly Thing", but due to his brothers' objections, he was forced to change its name to "Coal Ball".

The little thing indeed looked like a coal ball.

Deep down, Silver Daddy still harbored a little hope.

What if?

What if it grew up to become awesome?

Ugly ducklings can turn into swans!

He didn't expect it to sprout a bunch of tentacles like Xiaoyu, but at least it should be better than those quickly depreciating wholesale goods like the Claw of Death, right?

If nothing else worked, being rideable would be good enough.

Stuffing a sliced piece of meat into its mouth, Silver Daddy sighed leisurely,

"Coal Ball, you gotta eat more, the future of the Silver Corps depends on you."

Coal Ball chewing the meat piece tilted its head.

"Scram?"

Silver Daddy: "...%￥#@!"

This ugly thing was beyond saving!

Despite a few mishaps, thankfully with the Body Constitution System players trying the poisons, most of the food that made it to the table was safe and even those that were problematic weren't too dangerous.

In addition to some abnormal or uniquely presented food, occasionally there were some regular delicacies.

Like mashed potatoes with a hint of milk flavor, bread baked with garlic paste and salt, fried rice with sausage bits and diced carrots, roasted double-headed cow steak, along with unlimited supplies of beer and wine.

Chu Guang had confiscated a lot of good liquor from the Falcon King's cellar, and it was now coming in handy. He, not much of a drinker himself, magnanimously handed out benefits to the players and "NPCs".

Some survivors stood curiously beside the tents, watching the lively people, and under the encouragement of the atmosphere, they gradually joined in too.

Although they didn't know what they were doing, it seemed that the food and drinks were free.

Watching the people who seemed to be celebrating something, Lama, who was following Chu Guang, looked surprised and asked in a hoarse voice,

"What are they... doing?"

Seeing the blazing bonfire, Chu Guang's lips curled into a smile,

"Celebrating the birth of a new settlement."

On hearing this, Lama's surprise became even more evident.

After hearing the story of the Pioneer from Chu Guang, she thought the name Pioneer City was a solemn one, but it appeared not to be the case.

Glancing at Lama, Chu Guang guessed what she was surprised about and briefly added,

"We rarely grieve outside of funerals. Those we commemorate would probably not wish us to be downcast all the time but prefer us to move forward with their ideals."

Lama nodded vacantly, clearly not understanding.

Chu Guang didn't explain further but just smiled and said,

"Don't just hang around behind me, go enjoy the celebration... The food and drinks are free tonight. If you're not interested, you might as well get some sleep early."

"Tomorrow, I will explain the work you need to do."

After saying this, he walked alone to the spot that the players had reserved for him, leaving Lama standing there, not knowing what to do next.

As the Manager of the Alliance and Marshal of the Expeditionary Army, and honorary captain of the Iron Heart... naturally, he had to sit at the head of the long table.

A faction BOSS must look the part.

It was also a part of the players' immersion.

Chu Guang, sitting at the head, poured himself a glass of the strongest drink.

Looking back at those fiery, piercing eyes, he grasped the cup filled with spirited liquor and raised it high above to all the present players and NPCs with a voice solemn and sonorous.

"To the future of Pioneer City, cheers!"

The response was a chorus of excited shouts.

"Cheers!"

"Long live Pioneer City!"

"Long live the Manager!"

"Long live the Alliance!"

The preparations were over, and the celebration officially began, the noise was incessant, with laughter and the clinking of cups heard everywhere.

The city, named after former companions, will be the fourth survivor settlement established by the Alliance after Falling Leaves City, and also another "overseas" enclave of the Alliance following Bister Town.

The warriors from the Alliance were celebrating the birth of Pioneer City with a ceremony, offering congratulations and blessings, as well as a farewell to the companions about to go their separate ways.

The Iron Heart was fully repaired, and after tonight, it would set off on the return journey.

The vast majority of players would return to the City of Dawn with the Iron Heart, but more than a hundred players had decided to stay.

They would continue the unfinished tasks, exploring the undiscovered relics within the "Primitive Eastern Industrial Zone" and search for the whereabouts of the Enlightenment Society active in the area.

Although this meant they might miss the Tide next spring, "Wasteland OL" itself didn't specify how one had to play.

Even without following the main storyline, there was plenty to do.

As for saving the game, there was no need to worry about that.

Chu Guang had already ordered a hundred sleep cabins to be transferred from the airship to the surface.

The Alliance's infrastructure aid to the Falcon Kingdom and Honey Badger Kingdom was not only limited to roads and railways but also included power grids and communications, among other things.

Especially with communications.

The easternmost signal tower of the Alliance had already reached Bister Town, and soon Pioneer City would also erect a signal tower to send and receive signals.

Although signals were unstable in the Great Desert, there were times when they were stable, and after the sleep cabins completed the scans, the data would be transmitted back when the weather conditions were right.

By reducing risky behaviors and rotating the use of save points, a hundred sleep cabins could meet the save needs of several hundred players.

As long as one stuck with the main force, saving the game was never an issue...

While the Alliance was "celebrating" for Pioneer City, Captain Adria was dealing with headaches from the needs of nearly a thousand Marines, crew members, and many officers returning with the airship, stranded in the Great Desert.

Food was not so difficult to solve, as the Adjudicator carried plenty of supplies, and the Falcon Kingdom was not too far away to deliver it.

But apart from food, almost everything else was a problem!

Firstly, the airship required a comprehensive inspection, and the Marines and crew members who used to live on the airship had to evacuate and set up camp.

There were no natives to conscript nearby, and the airship only carried a few laborers. Although setting up a camp was a required skill for the infantry soldiers, the young masters from the Adjudicator and the infantry soldiers from the Steel Heart were totally different matters.

The latter at least had to fight with the Waste Land Wanderers and often operate beyond their supply lines, where setting up tents using scrap and manufacturing their own bullets and firearms was second nature, even carrying lathes for metalworking and furnaces for smelting iron.

The former, however, were usually moored along with the Adjudicator in the airship port at Triumph City and never had the "opportunity" to engage in combat externally, otherwise there wouldn't be the situation where the infantry and crew combined only totaled one thousand men.

As for importing some slaves from the Falcon Kingdom to serve them...

Even without considering their decimated mobilization capability, that kingdom didn't have many young men left.

(literal translation for: "光能干不顶用,他们现在需要的是能干活儿的人."?)

Too many prisoners had stayed in Bistetown, those strong young men would rather eat dirt in the desert than go back and be oxen and horses for them.

Adria made a thick-faced request for help to Cohen, but after hearing his plea, the latter's face darkened, and he hung up the phone after dropping a line that he should figure it out himself.

Consequently, even without any experience in wilderness survival, the five hundred infantry soldiers had to make do, with no choice but to get on with it as best they could.

Fortunately, they hadn't forgotten what they were taught in the military academy and the new recruit camps. After some fuss, they actually managed to erect the tents.

Looking at the crooked linen tents amidst the ruins, Adria couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows.

His adjutant ran up to him and said in a nervous whisper,

"We're still one hundred tents short..."

Adria's eyes bulged.

"How can we be short by that many! Call the logistics officer to me!"

"It's not the logistics officer's fault, mainly because we got a few extra people..." The adjutant explained with a wry smile, casting a stealthy glance in McCullen's direction.

Adria instantly got what his adjutant meant, but the nearby McCullen obviously didn't catch on.

The crude living conditions made him recall the brief time he'd spent earlier in the Alliance's POW Camp.

Just thinking about reliving those painfully embarrassing memories tonight made his complexion turn sour, and he couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

"...Your camping skills are surprising."

"We only prepared enough tents for us..."

Taking into account his noble status, Adria replied very tactfully, but McCullen was ungrateful and continued to quibble.

"I don't think that's where the problem lies."

Hearing this, Adria's patience ran out, and he replied with an unabashed jibe.

"Unfortunately, we would have had enough tents, had it not been for the few hundred defeated lots who need people to wait on them on the way back."

McCullen's face stiffened.

Seeing him about to fly into a rage, Adria thought better of speaking too harshly. He turned to his adjutant with a grimace,

"I'm going out for a walk."

With that, he left the camp with a few guards.

However, as there was nowhere interesting to go, after wandering aimlessly for a while, he unconsciously headed towards the Alliance's camp.

Last week, people from the enterprises and the Academy were still there, and he, along with McCullen, was staying in the Alliance's camp.

Perhaps...

Spend another night there?

He didn't feel any psychological burden; after all, he hadn't lost to the Alliance.

Looking at the camp not far away, Captain Adria was wondering how to bring up the matter. Before he got close, he suddenly smelled the aroma of roasted meat and, subconsciously, took a sniff.

Caught in the wind wasn't just the scent of barbecue but also noisy clamor, making him, who reflexively swallowed his saliva, frown again.

"What are those people doing?"

The guard beside him looked puzzled, but seeing the signal from his superior, quickly dispatched three men to go and check.

Captain Adria waited for a while.

Soon, one of them came running back.

"Report! The soldiers of the Alliance seem to be celebrating the establishment of a new settlement."

"A new settlement?!"

A bad premonition rose in Captain Adria's heart. Could it be that the residents of the Alliance planned to squat here and not leave?

Although this was a Land Without a Master and he had no reason to meddle, he still felt a sense of foreboding.

This familiar premonition had appeared in his heart before when the Alliance insisted on going to Bistetown.

What on earth are those Blue Ground Mice up to?!

"Take me to see," ordered Captain Adria sternly.

The soldier stood to attention.

"Yes, sir!"

Quickly walking forward with his guard entourage, Captain Adria soon saw the two guards who had been sent earlier. They were currently being pestered by two Alliance soldiers.

One of them seemed to have drunk too much and cheerily reached out a hand to his guard.

"Hey, big nose, come have a drink with us? Hahaha, burp... Go call that Pangolin of yours too! Tell him... I Max Black looks down on him and wants to have a match!"

Pushing away the hand reaching towards his chest, that Vellante soldier said with a dark face,

"Who knows if you've poisoned the alcohol!"

I Max Black sneered disdainfully,

"Tch, you think we're like you?"

That Vellante soldier's eyes widened,

"What do you mean?"

"You wanna have a go?" I Max Black glared at him, then turned to Debt Giant Eye, "Help me beat this guy up!"

Debt Giant Eye had drunk a bit, but not too much, and shook his head like a motor.

"No fighting, the old man's Intelligence System; you go find some construction worker."

I Max Black: "Damn! Such an embarrassment!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Chill out! If you're so great, you do it!"

"Halt!"

Seeing that the two drunken soldiers from the Alliance were about to start fighting, Captain Adria, frightened, hastened his steps and called out to them.

He had no choice, his own guards were too close; he couldn't ignore it even if he wanted to.

If they got tangled in the mess, in the confusion of darkness, who could tell what might happen? If someone fired a shot, their ceasefire agreement would be void.

However, Captain Adria didn't know that those two actually got along fine and were just joking around. They had no intention of fighting, and besides, being Perception and Intelligence Systems, two weaklings wouldn't be able to cause a problem even if they did fight.

After glancing at the big-nosed man, I Max Black, not recognizing his face, asked impatiently,

"Who are you?"

Debt Giant Eye glared at him too,

"Exactly! Why're ya yellin' so loud?"

Staring hard at the two disrespectful Residents of the refuge, Captain Adria said sternly,

"Where's your Administrator?"

I Max Black rolled his eyes,

"What's it to you?"

So what if you're a Ten Thousand Leader?

His buddy is a Thousands of leaders!

Don't go throwing your rank around!

Not wanting to argue with these two drunks, Captain Adria suppressed the urge to burst in anger, took a deep breath to calm himself down, and slowed his speech,

"Tell your Administrator that Captain Adria has something to discuss... You wouldn't want to be punished by your superior for messing up something important, would you?"

Hearing it was something important, I Max Black dropped the playful attitude and waved his hand,

"Sheesh, say that earlier... Wait for me at the entrance."

Captain Adria watched with a murderous look as the two buddies left with arms over each other's shoulders, limping toward the direction of the gate.

After waiting in the cold wind for a good while, he finally saw someone come out of the camp gate.

Captain Adria straightened his collar, but when he clearly saw the person, his expression turned dark.

He'd thought the Administrator of the Alliance would come out to meet him personally, but to his surprise, it was those two disrespectful drunks again.

I Max Black, burped, "Our Administrator drank too much, and he says to talk about anything important tomorrow. He also said, the room you had before is still available; you can make do with it for the night if you don't mind."

Captain Adria was secretly delighted, the previous displeasure instantly vanished, but he didn't let it show on his face.

"Drank too much? Huh," he said, keeping a stern face and snorting through his nose, "Then we'll talk when he sobers up!"

That alcohol smells quite good.

I'll get a couple of bottles later.

Thinking this, Captain Adria reluctantly waved his hand and, accompanied by his guard entourage, headed toward the camp gate.

Watching the big-nosed men walk back into the camp, I Max Black suddenly remembered something and shouted after him,

"Oh right, our Administrator also said something like, he can tell from looking at your kennel that it's not fit for people to live, let me—"

His words were cut short as Big Eyes covered his mouth.

"Are you dumb? Why did you have to say that?"

I Max Black: "Mmmph—!"

Hearing the distant shout, Captain Adria nearly stumbled, quickened his pace with a dark face, pretending not to have heard.

The guards by his side were grinding their teeth in anger, but seeing their superior's lack of response, they had no choice but to give up...

Chapter 515: Do I Still Have to Pay for Fixing the Water Pipe?

The celebration lasted until late into the night.

On the last night in the Great Desert, if Chu Guang had not cleverly set up a limited-time opening event on the official website, those rowdy players would have wished to party in the Game world until dawn.

These guys really wanted to live in the "Game world"...

The next day, Chu Guang got up early.

Yawning as he pushed aside the door curtain, he had just stepped out of the tent when he saw Lama standing at the entrance, wearing a Type Ten "Oath" exoskeleton.

This exoskeleton, captured from the hands of the Enlightenment Society, was a standard issue for the Human Alliance Army, emphasizing protection against rifle bullets and explosive fragments more than the police model Type Five "Light Cavalry."

After the Alliance had repaired it and applied a new coat of cement-gray paint and enemy-ally identification markers, it was considered Alliance equipment.

In order to familiarize herself with the use of the exoskeleton as quickly as possible, she had hardly taken it off since receiving it, even sleeping in it.

Seeing Chu Guang emerging from the tent, Lu Bei, who was standing guard at the entrance, immediately stepped forward to salute him and reported,

"Sir, she has been standing here since dawn."

Chu Guang nodded and looked at Lama at the entrance, speaking in a gentle tone,

"Is there something you need?"

Imitating Lu Bei's motion, Lama placed her right fist on her chest, bowed her head respectfully, and said,

"You mentioned last night that you would arrange my future work this morning."

It did seem like that had been discussed.

Chu Guang had planned to ask Captain Adria what he wanted last night, but considering that the man with the large nose was probably not awake yet, he turned to Lama and said,

"Since you have already put on this armor, I assume you are prepared. I will not waste words."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued,

"Come with me, I want to introduce you to someone."

"Who?"

"Your future partner."

Partner?

Lama was stunned, but seeing Chu Guang already walking past her toward the other side of the camp, she quickly followed.

They arrived in front of a tent.

Just then, the tent's curtain was lifted, and Lama's eyes were met with a fair, beautiful face.

It was a dignified woman with light golden hair tied up in a high ponytail with a simple headband.

At first sight, Lama thought this woman seemed like she belonged to a completely different world than her own.

Even though she was only dressed in a simple jacket and dirt-resistant cowboy jeans, it was hard to conceal her innate elegance.

A distant concept surfaced in Lama's mind; the woman seemed like a daughter of a wealthy landlord, yet not quite so.

"Respected Manager, good morning," said Teresa, her face showing a hint of surprise as she greeted the Manager with a small bow.

"Good morning to you too."

After a brief greeting, Chu Guang looked at Lama and introduced, "This is the girl I mentioned to you over the phone."

Hearing this, Teresa's eyes lit up as she looked at the lady in the exoskeleton.

"Are you Miss Lama?"

Lama, looking embarrassed, replied,

"Yes, that's me… may I ask who you are?"

Teresa's lips curved into a smile, and she spoke in a pleasant voice,

"I am Teresa, a resident from the Alliance... although it might sound odd to say that now, since this place will also be one of the Alliance's Restoration Zones from now on."

"She was once one of the queens of Falcon Kingdom, but now she has renounced that title to become a resident of the Alliance."

Seeing the puzzled look on Lama's face, Chu Guang succinctly explained Teresa's past, then continued,

"She initially did miscellaneous and bookkeeping work at the Home of the Refugees. After the establishment of Falling Leaves City, while accompanying the Expeditionary Army through the Lion Kingdom and arriving at Honey Badger Kingdom, she was responsible for coordinating the management of relief supplies, some post-war reconstruction efforts, and aiding local survivors."

"Based on the evaluations of her former boss, the Mayor of Falling Leaves City, Ma Ban, and her former cooperate partner, Ady Honey Badger, she has performed exceptionally well in her duties. Thus, I intend to appoint her as the mayor of Pioneer City, responsible for the administrative and management affairs of this settlement."

Like other Survivor Settlements, the first mayor of Pioneer City was still appointed by the Alliance.

Chu Guang needed someone with sufficient management and practical experience, who had specifically worked on survivor assistance and understood the principles of the Alliance.

As for her background,
this was never a concern in the Alliance.

His chief of staff had initially been a surrendered Weylent Military Officer, the mayor of City of Dawn had once been a serf, and the mayor of Dawn City had even been a refugee fleeing from war.

As for Lama, she lacked management experience and preferred to be a warrior rather than dealing with paperwork in an office.

Teresa took Lama's hands firmly, looked intently into her sincere eyes, and said earnestly,

"I heard your story," he said, "and I was deeply moved by your dedication to stay for those who haven't been saved yet. I also want to do something for you with my own efforts... and please, lend me your strength in the future!"

Under the fiery gaze, Lama's expression grew increasingly embarrassed, and her voice unintentionally hesitated a bit.

"I, I actually just made up my mind to become a warrior. I might not even be proficient with guns yet, perhaps not as reliable as you might think."

"Where is that coming from?"

Teresa curled the corners of her mouth gently and spoke softly.

"Everyone starts from not knowing to knowing. What's more crucial than the outcome are courage and determination. In my eyes, you are already the most reliable person."

"Before joining the alliance, I was merely a vase sitting in the palace until I met many people. I gradually realized that life holds many nobler pursuits beyond the parts that are well designed. Compared to me, who learned these things too late, you who dare to stand up and face the barbaric Wasteland are already very strong."

Lama's overly tense expression relaxed slightly, and her deep-set eyes unconsciously reddened a bit.

Chu Guang looked at Teresa with a slight surprise.

It had been some time since they had last seen each other, and she had really grown a lot.

He already saw a politician's shadow in her, only some aspects were still immature.

Pioneer City was going to be a challenge for her.

This survivor settlement didn't have many people, but it would take in many survivors from the Great Desert in the future. There would be Waste Land Wanderers, Blue Jackets, and even Old Popsicles from two hundred years ago.

How to handle the relationships between different groups, use limited resources to meet their needs, and unite them rather than letting them be eroded by conflicts... The problems she would need to solve piled up like a mountain.

But Chu Guang still had quite a lot of confidence in her.

Disregarding her resume, she was practically a graduate from his tutelage by having cleared the "instance" of Honey Badger City with the debuff of her lineage.

Yet every time he thought of this, Chu Guang couldn't help but wonder.

Lu Bei, that Simpleton who had been with him for so long, and was so close, should have gained some insight by now, yet he remained the same.

Other than worshiping him more than before, this young fellow hadn't changed at all.

Chu Guang didn't dislike this loyal young man; loyalty was a priceless virtue. Unfortunately, there was still a long way to go before he could become a pillar able to hold his own.

Originally, Chu Guang wanted to send him out to be the commander of the Third Army of the Alliance, but it seemed now that the Guards Corps suited him better.

Withdrawing his gaze from Teresa, Chu Guang looked towards Lama.

"I said, today I will assign you specific duties."

"The alliance plans to establish a new army corps. This corps will mainly engage in search and reconnaissance missions, specialized in combative operations, and will be stationed for long periods around the Great Desert, using Pioneer City as a base for operations."

"The commander of this corps will be you. Your tasks will include not only searching ruins for survivors and eradicating Mutant tribes but also recruiting reliable comrades from those who are saved and teaching them how to use weapons, encouraging them to join your cause."

Pausing for a moment, Chu Guang continued to speak.

"Just as Teresa said, being unskilled has never been an issue here. Everyone starts from not knowing... I hope that by this time next year, I can see an excellent corps commander and a group of experienced warriors."

Lifting his right fist to his chest, Lama solemnly said,

"I will not let you down!"

Chu Guang smiled, nodded approvingly at this brave girl, then turned his gaze toward the tents of the distant survivors.

"These people chose to stay with you."

"Just don't let them down."

…

Regarding the name of this newly established corps, Chu Guang originally planned to seek Lama's opinion, but she looked utterly clueless and couldn't decide.

In the end, the troublesome task of naming was thrown back to Chu Guang.

With no good ideas and not wishing to waste time on trivial matters, he simply started a poll on the Forum to collect players' suggestions.

Surprisingly, what Chu Guang found bothersome, players engaged with enthusiastically, offering all sorts of advice.

However, the names were diverse and bizarre.

Names like "Eleventh Interstellar Warrior Corps" and "Combat Nun Sect" popped up... What did these guys think the alliance was?

Eventually, Chu Guang picked a decent and memorable name following the simplicity of other corps' names in the alliance.

"…How about 'Thorns Corps'?"

Thorns Corps...

Muttering the name to herself, Lama suddenly seemed to receive some inexplicable inspiration or call.

She placed her right fist against her chest and said solemnly,

"Thank you, Manager, for the name."

She seemed quite pleased with the name.

Chu Guang nodded and cheerfully said,

"Then it's decided."

Just like that, the Thorns Corps was established.

From the wilderness, they would select like-minded partners from the saved survivors.

Of course, like other NPC legions, the Thorn Corps also welcomed players interested in the Great Desert to join them.

Soon after Chu Guang had delegated the specific tasks of the Thorn Corps to Lama, Captain Adria finally woke up from his deep sleep.

Rubbing his painfully throbbing head, Adria grabbed his personal guard, spewing saliva as he spoke.

"…Where's Chu Guang, the Alliance's Manager…? Go call him here, tell him I have important matters to discuss with him!"

Looking at his still tipsy superior, the guard said with a smile yet not quite smiling.

"Sir, the Alliance's airship is about to weigh anchor, I saw their Manager by the suspension capsule… If you sleep any longer, chances are you might miss him."

Hearing this, Adria immediately sobered up.

"Weigh anchor?"

The personal guard nodded.

"Mm… I heard they plan to return to River Valley Province."

"Quick, take me there!"

Watching Adria flip out of bed, the personal guard paused for two seconds, then hurriedly responded.

"Yes, sir!"

Without bothering to wash up, Adria threw on his jacket and rushed out the door, managing to catch Chu Guang just before the Steel Heart was about to raise its anchor chain.

The guy had drunk quite a bit the previous night and was emitting a strong smell of alcohol, causing Chu Guang to withdraw a step with a frown.

It's noteworthy how bold this guy was, indulging in drunken stupor in enemy camp not even half a month after the ceasefire agreement had been signed.

He had been so busy explaining the work of the new settlement and the legion that he had almost forgotten this fellow.

"Burp—Thank you for your hospitality," rubbing his swollen eyes, Adria managed to muster some spirit and, trying to appear less disheveled, cleared his throat forcefully, "Next time, I'll treat you to a couple of drinks."

Looking at his drunken demeanor, Chu Guang teased him.

"You're welcome, you can stay here tonight if you don't feel too embarrassed."

Nevertheless, feeling somewhat embarrassed, Adria cleared his throat and continued, "I have a proposal."

Chu Guang: "Go ahead."

Adria spoke rapidly.

"Your camp is so big, and now that a group has left, all those barracks are empty anyway, how about lending us a few?"

Before, the Alliance's soldiers had been expanding the camp, and many barracks were built and then left unattended. Not to mention the facilities were anything but comprehensive, but they at least had water and electricity, which surely were more comfortable than the shabby tents they had on the airship.

It was November now, and the northern hemisphere had already entered winter. Even though it was a mild winter by tradition, it would still start to snow by December at the latest.

Especially considering the specific heat capacity of sand, the nighttime temperatures in the Great Desert would drop to below minus ten degrees Celsius. Staying in those linen tents might very well freeze someone to death…

Looking at the awkward-faced Captain Adria, Chu Guang did not make it hard on him and casually asked.

"How many do you need?"

"One hundred rooms…"

Seeing Chu Guang's expression turning odd, Adria hurriedly added, "Of course, I won't be using your rooms for free… I'll pay! How about in dinars?"

Watching Adria scrambling to explain, Chu Guang couldn't help but chuckle.

If it were any usual wasteland wanderer, or a slightly smaller survivor settlement, these guys with prominent noses would probably have already resorted to plundering, not negotiating payment.

This bargaining behavior really wasn't typical of those haughty military officers.

"Pay? What use do I have for dinars?"

Watching Adria still trying to argue, an idea suddenly struck Chu Guang, and he added, "Let your governor speak to me, you're not making it clear."

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Adria, whose spirits had just hit rock bottom, suddenly cheered up and immediately said.

"Okay! Wait for me!"

"You better hurry," Chu Guang glanced at the VM for the time, briefly saying, "We plan to leave at noon."

…

Not waiting any longer at the Alliance's camp, Captain Adria immediately returned to the Adjudicator airship camp and contacted Governor Cohen, who had just woken up from a 100-square-meter luxurious bedroom, reporting the difficulties he and other officers were facing.

In simple terms, the Adjudicator's malfunction was serious, and fixing it thoroughly would take a significant amount of time. If nothing went wrong, over a thousand people would have to spend winter in the Great Desert.

Although food and drink could be transported from Falcon Kingdom, security remained an insoluble issue.

Especially since the Enlightenment Society was lurking menacingly in the shadows, no one could guarantee that those rats in the sewer wouldn't strike back.

After listening to Captain Adria's predicament, Cohen had no choice but to toughen up and sent a communication request to Chu Guang, expressing his hope to rent some barracks in the camp to accommodate the stranded Weilante People.

However, after hearing Chu Guang's offer, Cohen couldn't help but burst out.

"One hundred silver coins a day for a room?! Are you mad?"

Looking at Cohen through the holographic image, Chu Guang unashamedly said,

"That's the price throughout the City of Dawn. Of course, if you rent by the month, I can also offer you a 10% discount."

This, of course, wasn't the price in City of Dawn.

Taking a motel in Town of Dawn as an example, the cheapest room would cost less than 10 Silver Coins a day.

However, this didn't stop Chu Guang from citing an inflated price to heavily charge these people from Weylent.

Chu Guang was well aware that even if he doubled the quote, it was still cheaper than them building a campsite in the Great Desert themselves.

Not to mention, just on the issue of freshwater supply alone, the situation for the people from Weylent was nearly a dead-end.

To drill for water in the Great Desert, they would need to drill at least a hundred-meter-deep well. Given the industrial capacity of the Falcon Kingdom at present, unless they transported drilling equipment from the west side of the Great Desert, there was no solution.

Pinching the bridge of his nose which was sore, Cohen said with a headache,

"... Where the hell am I going to get your damn coins... Would a silver mine work?"

"That won't be necessary," Chu Guang waved his hand, "although we use Silver Coins, we're not on a silver standard. Do you understand?"

Cohen stared hard at Chu Guang, pausing with every word,

"What the hell do you want? We might as well do it ourselves—"

Chu Guang coughed softly, interrupting,

"Bister Town needs fresh water. I plan to rent a water supply section nearest to it from Oasis No. 2, then build a water pipeline to Bister Town, to solve the local residents' domestic and industrial water needs... a ten-year term, for one million Silver Coins. How about that?"

He paused, then added,

"Of course, we could also divert water from Oasis No. 3, but compared to the nearby Oasis No. 2, a 170-kilometer pipeline is too costly. After ten years, we'll pay you based on the water used. What do you think?"

This was a plan he devised based on the design of the Petra Fortress.

According to a few players from the White Bear Knights, the freshwater resources there were bought from the nearest riverbank and paid for according to the amount of water used.

But since Cohen was new and unaware of the standard rates, he probably didn't know how much a water supply section could produce; thus, Chu Guang didn't discuss the amount of water used and simply rented it based on time.

In fact, the "maximum" output of a water supply section could provide one million cubic meters of freshwater per year, roughly half the volume of Poyang Lake.

In ten years, enough to create an underground lake in the desert.

As for the remaining capacity of the riverbank?

Who knew about that sort of thing.

The riverbank's produced freshwater, just like the oil buried under the feet of a few major players in reality, was constantly being pumped without any visible reduction, the operators just used it when needed.

It was a nuclear fusion-powered desalination device, anyhow. Undoubtedly, it wouldn't run out in just a mere ten years.

As Chu Guang had anticipated, Cohen wasn't mainly concerned about how much freshwater a water supply section could produce.

After glaring at Chu Guang for a long time, he suddenly asked an irrelevant question,

"Do I also have to pay for constructing the water pipeline?"

Chu Guang coughed again.

"No, that won't be necessary."

Using someone else's faucet and making them pay for the pipeline construction was a disgraceful act that he wouldn't commit.

Cohen remained silent for a while, but was calculating internally,

Ten years...

Once this agreement was signed, the freshwater supply of Bister Town would be in his grip; if the Alliance wanted to challenge him one day, he would just need to turn off the water to make them submit.

As for the matter of renting a water supply section for one million silver coins being expensive or cheap, he wasn't too concerned.

A riverbank had at least eight water supply sections; even renting one to the Alliance wouldn't be a big deal, not to mention it was a vassal state's asset.

Cohen reluctantly nodded.

"Deal! However, I have to clarify that the prices for using the campsite and other expenses must also be included in this contract!"

At the moment, there was no stable trade relationship between them, and he didn't want to agree to terms only for the Alliance to increase the camping fee tenfold afterwards.

Then, one million silver coins, even ten million or a billion, couldn't withstand such treatment.

Chu Guang nodded with a smile,

"No problem, but… before we sign the contract, I also need to give you a heads-up."

Cohen squinted at him,

"What sort of heads-up?"

"People from Weylent in our camp must abide by our laws and regulations, including robbery, theft, and..."

Seeing that Cohen didn't look pleased, Chu Guang slightly saved his face and said in a quiet voice, "and all behaviors that are not permissible in a civilized society, which are considered crimes on Alliance land. If any unwanted incidents occur, we will not turn a blind eye because of your nationality; we will punish the offenders according to the laws of the Alliance."

"So if you want to avoid diplomatic disputes or even worse consequences, you'd better make an effort to control your subordinates."

Cohen glared at Chu Guang.

"That goes without saying. I will naturally do so!"

Chu Guang nodded and spoke with a smile,

"That would be best."

Chapter 516: That is the curse of my hometown, misfortune will entangle their oars

"Goodbye, brothers, don't miss me... Your Pangolin uncle needs to solo for a while."

The Iron Heart pulled up its anchor chain and, under the noon sunlight, gradually moved away toward the east.

Thousands of thoughts were carried away by the giant whale floating in the clouds, as the Old Soldier waved goodbye to his triumphant brothers.

Soon, he would triumph too.

Only, his destination was not the City of Dawn, but Triumph City.

Although he did not know by what means Salen, the Legion Leader of the Eastern Legion, had used, they had returned to Triumph City as victors in any case.

Honestly, even now, the Old Soldier was confused.

The Legion had fought a war that made no sense and then returned home just as nonsensically, startling both corporations and academies, but it was unclear exactly what these big-nosed folks had won.

Consider it a win, then.

He did not care for these trifling matters; what truly saddened him was something else.

Initially, it was just a moment's inspiration, almost like a joke, but he ended up crossing the entire desert for it, even heading to the distant west...

Triumph City.

Well, might as well treat it as a preview of the new version.

Beta test, beta test...

Isn't that what a beta tester does?

"What are you talking about?"

A pleasant voice came from behind.

Guessing who it was, the Old Soldier smoothly switched to Human Alliance language, speaking seriously,

"That's a curse from my homeland; misfortune will entangle their paddles."

Penny was taken aback, then chuckled.

"...You're really humorous."

Seeing the silent Pangolin, Penny thought he was still brooding over the incident with Shelter No. 0 and so softened her voice to comfort him.

"Governor Cohen didn't blame you for Wallace's matter... It wasn't your fault, you faithfully performed your duty, retrieving the original documents of the Torch Plan, ensuring we weren't fooled by the greedy, cunning people of the East Coast and the dark, villainous Swamp People."

The Old Soldier suppressed a smile as he spoke solemnly,

"That's what I was supposed to do."

Penny looked at him with an expressive gaze.

"Could you do me a small favor?"

"It would be an honor to serve you."

Watching the sometimes dull, sometimes gentlemanly Pangolin, Penny couldn't help but curl her lips in a smile, but her expression soon took on a rare touch of shyness.

"My... uh, father wants to meet you."

"Your father?" Looking at Penny, who averted her gaze, the Old Soldier was baffled, "What does he want with me?"

"You might not know..." Lightly flipping her fringe, Penny said in an ordinary tone, "The Triumph Report has published quite a bit about your deeds; most of the materials sent to the Royal City were written by me, so, please, would you help me?"

Something about that casually ordinary tone felt unnatural, but the Old Soldier did not comment and just nodded.

He was not one to refuse requests easily, both in reality and in the game.

Might as well treat it as triggering a side quest.

Seeing the wooden man nod, a pleasant smile appeared on Penny's face as her gaze drifted towards the thin clouds in the sky.

"By the way... are we going to stay here for an entire winter?"

"Yes," the Old Soldier nodded, "Without airships, traveling by land is too dangerous... if we don't follow the big troop, accidents can easily happen."

The Northern Industrial District was once the logistical hub during the Human Alliance Era, housing the densest network of transportation, but that was during the Prosperity Epoch.

Now, those high-speed networks and underground passages are completely severed, creating a three-dimensional maze with the intricate office buildings and warehouses.

Though its desertification isn't as severe as the Eastern Industrial Zone, the dangers there are no less than here. To bypass it, one must traverse the Wandering Swamp, which serves as the protective moat for the Academy, equally not a pleasant place.

Just reading the description on the "Wasteland OL" official website, the Old Soldier wasn't confident he could solo the Great Desert or the Wandering Swamp, perhaps it'll be a bit easier after reaching level 50 or 60.

By the way, he had just passed level 30, reaching the fourth phase of Gene Sequence, which, in common terms used in the Wasteland, meant completing the third Awakening.

The game was somewhat easier to level up until level 10; he couldn't help suspecting that Ah Guang was deliberately suppressing their levels as beta testers.

At this rate, almost no one could level up to the legendary level 100.

Penny sighed softly.

"I really want to go home..."

That casual remark unintentionally stirred a sense of "homesickness" in someone nearby.

It was said that Old Hooke had bought the warehouse behind the highway motel, demolished it, and rebuilt it into an apartment building, encircling a large courtyard in the middle. The trade station was originally on the very edge of the City of Dawn, but as more houses were built, it had now become enclosed in the near-center.

The most significant change was the train station, where the platform used to be an open space, but now it was surrounded by rows of concrete buildings.

The square where they had previously held the Triumph Ceremony was now planted with many green plants, turning it into a bustling spot for residents of Dawn City to stroll, socialize, and relax. The newly established municipal garden department at the Dawn City Town Hall was specifically responsible for the planning of public buildings, keeping everything well-organized... reportedly, this was all thanks to the efforts of a player specializing in urban planning.

In specific NPC settlement areas, obtaining a reputation score above 1000 would allow investment in factories, above 10,000 could participate in municipal grassroots work, and above 100,000 could even serve as the mayor in subjective municipal politics. Old Soldier only recently heard that players tirelessly grind regional reputation just to experience being a mayor in the game.

Wouldn't it be better to just open a session of "City Skyline"?

Since the beginning of the year, Crow had been updating aerial photos of Dawn City on the official website intermittently, a post that Old Soldier had also seen.

However, from what he saw in the photos, he always felt something was lacking, as if something was missing.

He now realized what was missing—it was the people.

Those NPCs with their own logic of behavior were like living people, forming a whole society together with many players from "another world," giving real meaning to the latter's actions.

He knew what he truly missed.

Damn it...

He too really wanted to go home!

...

On the way back aboard the Steel Heart, the official website of "Wasteland OL" updated new content.

Although there was still no news of Beta0.5 and no new closed beta qualifications, the content was by no means less substantial than Beta0.4.

[New Survivor Settlement—Pioneer City: Standing on the ruins of the Human Alliance Eastern Industrial District, Pioneer City is not a hospitable place. However, it boasts a richer heritage of pre-war civilization than Dawn City. Brave adventurers once visited, and the courageous will continue to follow in their footsteps.]

[New NPC Legion—Bister First, Second, Third, and Fourth Construction Corps: The war prisoners of Falcon Kingdom refuse to return and continue serving the noble lords as cattle and horses. They would rather face the scorching sun and the sandy winds. Building a city in the desert is no easy task, but at least their sweat dries for their own sake. They will prove that even without those haughty lords, they can live just fine!]

[New NPC Legion—Thorns Corps: Among them are tailors, herders, carpenters, teachers, and even scholars. The chaotic poison destroyed their past lives, but it did not defeat them. To spread the light of order and save those yet to be saved, they resolutely chose to stay, declaring war on all chaos and barbarism, and avenging the Enlightenment Society that stripped them of their past...]

[New Map—Eastern Industrial District: The processing center during the Human Alliance Era, even though it has completely turned into ruins, unexpected treasures can still be dug out from below the crumbling concrete and iron-rich sand. If they find a dormant Blue Jacket, please bring them to Pioneer City before the Enlightenment Society. Recommended map level: Lv15 and above. (Note: Due to being far from resurrection points, players exploring this map should be cautious about dying.)]

Tail: "Oh! Sisters of Thorns! Cunning spellcasters! Si Si! Let's sign up! (✪ω✪)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Sisters of Thorns are okay, but wouldn't the Eleventh Interstellar Corps be more suitable! Bad review!"

Si Si: "Ah Wei, wake up, it was already hard enough reaching the Southern Islands, it'd be thousands of kilometers to go back."

Tail: "Damn, the ship is too slow... If only we could get an airship. (｡・`ω´･)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "That would probably cost hundreds of billions of silver coins."

Night Ten: "Be confident, remove 'probably.' (funny)"

Sesame Paste: "Ahahaha...too many."

Edge Shoveling: "Speaking of which, can we entrust local survivors with defense responsibilities?"

Fang Chang: "From Falcon Kingdom to Honey Badger Kingdom, there are too many places that need troops. The Alliance's standing corps is already insufficient, but there are plenty of exoskeletons, bullet-proof armors, and guns left. If the local survivors are willing to defend themselves, I think it's worth encouraging."

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "+1. Economically, it's better to recruit troops locally than to send them from the Alliance. After all, it's unlikely any large-scale military conflict will occur there recently. As for smaller conflicts...hasn't someone stayed there already?"

Elena: "We can coax the newcomers to go over and help. (playful)"

Spring Water Commander: "But then again... even from a probability standpoint, there must be way more good stuff there than in Qingquan City."

I Max Black: "Damn! Now you've made me regret not sticking around to keep that bastard Old Soldier company!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Hahahaha!"

Compared to the newly established NPC corps, most players were evidently more interested in the ruins of the 'Human Federation's Eastern Industrial Zone.'

No one knew what was buried underneath those concrete ruins.

If one were to dig up a set of functional power armor from there, wouldn't they instantly become T0?

The only problem was the distance.

The Great Desert was just too far away from Dawn City.

If one were to depart from Dawn City without renting a corporate transport plane, they'd need to take a train through Falling Leaves City to reach Lion Kingdom, then switch to a truck and head northwest toward Honey Badger Kingdom, continue to Bister Town, bypass the entire South of Oasis No. 2, and then enter the Great Desert.

A trip there would take at least half a month.

Things might get a bit faster once the Alliance railway reaches Honey Badger Kingdom, or we'd have to wait until the Alliance develops longer-range, faster modes of transportation.

While players on the forum were busily exchanging information about the new map, Chu Guang stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the airship's bridge, gazing in the direction of the horizon.

Sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder, Xiao Qi swung her legs and began exclaiming excitedly at the distant mountains and forests.

"Master, we are approaching River Valley Province!"

Finally heading home!

Communication in the desert had been intermittent, and she spent most of the day offline; once back in River Valley Province, those troubles would be gone.

Gazing at the horizon and squinting, a smile inadvertently appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"Hmm."

It had been a long time since he'd been back. He missed the people there quite a bit, and he believed the residents of Dawn City must miss him too.

Since they had ditched some armor and left some supplies at Pioneer City, the return trip on the Iron Heart was much faster than the outbound journey, with an average cruising speed of eighty kilometers per hour!

Although this speed couldn't catch up to a plane, it could still cover nearly two thousand kilometers in a day. From the Great Desert to River Valley Province, it would take less than two days.

It must be said that over the variant-infested Wasteland, airships indeed served as an excellent long-distance mode of transportation, even without considering rare anti-gravity devices.

The only downside was that hydrogen was too dangerous, and helium was not easy to come by.

"Ahead is our Falling Leaves City." Standing next to Chu Guang, the acting captain stared intently at the settlement located next to Rui Valley City.

Rows of houses encircled the train station like stars surrounding the moon, with warehouses next to the station piled high with agricultural products transported from Luo Xia Province and industrial goods about to be sent into the desert.

Originally, the Alliance built this settlement merely to shelter those Wasteland Wanderers gathered by the Army, and after the Alliance Expeditionary Army officially set out for Luo Xia Province, this place also served as a front-line transit station for supplies, attracting a large number of merchants from places like Camel Hump Kingdom and Giant Stone City, as well as refugees fleeing the war.

Now the war had ended, yet the prosperity here had not dispersed; instead it had risen another level due to the increased traffic of merchants.

In the future, this Survivor Settlement would serve as a trade hub connecting Luo Xia Province and River Valley Province, continuing to exist.

Chu Guang held great expectations for the future of this settlement.

Compared to City of Dawn and Dawn City, Falling Leaves City boasted broader plains that could be utilized, and without the enormous ruins of Qingquan City to impede, traveling to Brocade River Province from Falling Leaves City would also be easier.

It would be good to incorporate Brocade River Province into the Alliance's trade map as well.

Even though the Alliance no longer needed the grain from Luo Xia Province, the land development value of this "granary" was still quite high.

Furthermore, according to the intelligence gathered by the White Bear Knights at sea and clues leaked by corporations, the Human Alliance Era's oceanic development efforts were every bit as vigorous as those on land. Numerous relics from the Prosperity Epoch and even shelters remained from sea level to ocean floor!

To utilize those resources on a large scale, first, a sea outlet belonging to the Alliance was needed. Creating a southward corridor from Falling Leaves City seemed a plausible choice based on the map.

"…I hadn't expected such great changes in just a few months." Looking at the night scene of Falling Leaves City, Chu Guang couldn't help feeling a touch of anticipation.

He wondered what the night view of City of Dawn would feel like from a high altitude.

It seemed it had been a while since the last celebration.

Observing Chu Guang's expressions closely, the standing acting captain respectfully said,

"…Sir, would you like to stop here for a while?"

"No need, continue onward. Rather than admiring this beautiful night scene, I'd prefer to bring the news of our triumph back sooner."

After pausing, Chu Guang smiled and said,

"By the way, hang up our flag! Let everyone see it! Don't let those compatriots who are eagerly awaiting our return get impatient, and at the same time show those who curse us."

"We're not only back, but we've returned laden with victory and glory!"

Gazing intently at the Manager, the acting captain excitedly straightened up and saluted with his right fist against his chest.

"Yes!"

…

As the Iron Heart displayed the Alliance's flag boldly on its return journey, Giant Stone City was bustling with activity.

Those profiting from war treasures weren't limited to the Alliance; major commerce firms and factory owners who had invested early in the Alliance also made a fortune.

The doorway of the Night Queen's Bar was constantly bustling with visitors, causing the temperature of the entire street to rise by several degrees. Whether they were nobles from the Inner City or factory owners, having made a fortune, it was only natural to find a place to spend— otherwise, what was the point of earning money?

The bustle wasn't limited to bars and commercial streets but extended to the city hall a few blocks away.

Thanks to a wise decision made months ago, Mr. Melvin, the bank manager of Giant Stone City Bank, had become quite the celebrity.

Had it not been for him and Duron lobbying hard to pass the resolution to lend money to the Alliance, Giant Stone City's current prosperity would not have existed!

Now that everyone was raking in profits, he deserved the most credit!

Just after finishing a meeting and returning home, Melvin wanted to have a small drink to relax, but his adorable daughter entangled him, saying she wanted to tell him a bedtime story.

Melvin was initially delighted, but his mood soured at the sight of the "Survivor's Daily" on the table.

He could guess that his little girl had picked up some phrases from those Wasteland Wanderers and wanted to discuss some grand principles that she barely understood herself.

Though impatient, he couldn't get angry with his most beloved daughter. Since he was in a good mood, he patiently sat down on the couch.

Alyssa cleared her throat, picked up the picture book in her hands, and read in a young voice.

"…In the remote history of the Human Alliance, there was a very small kingdom, even smaller than the Honey Badger Kingdom."

"To pioneer the future of the kingdom, merchants sailed the seas with the king's support. However, once these merchants had amassed vast wealth, they bought off the kingdom's citizens, pushed the aging king onto the gallows, and became the uncrowned kings of the kingdom."

"Though the kingdom was without a king, the lives of the citizens didn't improve. Previously, they toiled in the fields for the feudal lords from sunrise to sunset; now, they were driven into coal mines and factories, where everyone, old and young, worked endlessly."

"It wasn't until later that the suffering citizens united and overturned the kingdom ruled by merchants and nobles, hanging those who had stolen their property on the street lamps... just as the merchants had once hung the king."

After listening to her daughter's story, Melvin pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"You're suggesting our current situation is dangerous."

Alyssa stared intently at her father, her young face displaying a sharpness and shrewdness beyond her years.

"I heard from our servants that a loaf of bread outside already costs two chips, and even the price of nutrition paste has tripled... This is strange. You say our factories have increased, job positions have expanded, everything is getting better, but the lives of Giant Stone City's residents haven't improved much. Isn't this abnormal? I think this is not a good sign."

Not a good sign...

Then, what would be considered good?

Listening to that young voice, Melvin smiled and shook his head.

Is there a better omen than "everyone's wallets brimming with chips"?

"My child, there is a fundamental difference between us and the kingdom in that fairy tale book you hold in your hands. Have you forgotten the origin of the outer city? Originally, there was only one building, one inner city… If we hadn't sheltered those wasteland wanderers now residing in the outer city, they would have long since perished in the wilderness, becoming leftovers in the mouths of the Eaters and Hyenas! They would have ended up as something terrible for the Looters and the Mutants…"

As he spoke, he unconsciously brought the vigor from the meeting room back home.

Elena frowned, displeased with her father's tone, and corrected him seriously,

"…this is not a fairy tale book; it's our history."

"Of course, my child… this indeed might have happened on this planet once."

Melvin immediately realized his tone was off and softened his words.

Looking at his adorable little daughter, he continued patiently,

"…but the difference is, Giant Stone City has never been ruled by merchants. Do you really think it's the banks that make it impossible for them to afford bread? On the contrary, your dad might not be a good man, but if it weren't for the loans I made to those factories, those poor people wouldn't even have a single chip in their pockets, so what good would cheap bread do?"

A hint of confusion flickered in Elena's eyes.

Though she learned a bit from newspapers and books, it was only the bit that others talked about… the things her father mentioned went beyond her knowledge.

Melvin gently patted his daughter's head, speaking tenderly,

"Don't apply the templates rigidly when pondering issues; our situation is different from your book right from the start. Be it Vijia Commerce or our Giant Stone City Bank, our shareholders were the nobles of the Inner City from the beginning, and they were the ones who loaned us the first chip."

"I should have told you; your mother's family… her ancestors were among the first survivors of the Stone Building. I hope you can learn more from her about noble etiquette and the ways of the world, otherwise, I might have to send you to study in Ideal City."

He adored his clever and quick-witted little daughter, but sometimes he wished she were not so bright… or rather, a bit simpler would be nice.

Being smart isn't a bad thing.

But when combined with naivety, it can lead to serious problems.

She wasn't so young anymore; in another couple of years, it would be time for her to marry, and perhaps he should be a bit stricter with her, not continuing to coddle her like a child.

Elena blinked her eyes,

"Are you talking about my second brother's place?"

Melvin nodded,

"Exactly."

This was a backup plan.

He, of course, knew about the underlying risks in Giant Stone City, but it was not something he could solve.

The city lord wouldn't support him, nor would the leader of the Militia Group, neither the chairman of Huge Rock Military Industry, nor the nobles of the Inner City.

Animals know to seek benefits and avoid harms, let alone a banker with a keen sense like him. Since the problem couldn't be solved, might as well make some more money before it arises.

Especially since he recently discovered a good channel— the emerging alliance in the "North Suburb".

Those wasteland wanderers and the 'Blue Jacket' folks always seemed to do things he couldn't understand, but the outcomes surprisingly turned out well.

They not only held off the Army's attacks but even gained the friendship of the ancient Survivor Forces.

He heard from his youngest son in Ideal City, in one of his letters, that the merchants in the alliance even managed to sell fried chicken wings and cola in Ideal City!

It was incredible!

Heaven knows how those guys managed the transportation!

But that wasn't the key point. The key was that silver coins could be "massively" converted to Cr, something not even chips could manage.

Normally, to obtain Cr, one had to exchange at the Giant Stone City Exchange just like trading goods, where the transaction volume was pitifully low.

Don't be fooled by how one chip can now be exchanged for several Cr; that's because the merchant caravans from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng seldom come, and most people have no use for Cr.

Should the exchange volume rise, at the exchange of Giant Stone City, ten million chips might not even fetch a million Cr.

Thinking of this, Melvin's gaze unconsciously fell on the "Survivor Daily" on the coffee table as he thoughtfully stroked his chin,

"By the way, the Manager has returned."

Elena nodded vigorously, looking expectantly at her father,

"Yes! I heard there will be a grand, grand triumph celebration… Can we go see it?"

Patting his daughter's head, Melvin smiled warmly and said,

"Of course, we can… but you'll have to listen to dad, as outside the walls it's the wasteland and not as safe as home."

"Really?! That's great!"

A rare excitement appeared on her calm face as Elena looked up at her kind-smiling father and solemnly promised,

"I assure you, I will behave!"

Watching his daughter's face full of anticipation, Melvin smiled warmly, but his mind was on other matters.

Giant Stone City had previously borrowed a substantial sum from the Alliance for war, and the time to pay interest was soon approaching; he believed the person ought to bring back some good stuff.

Yet what preoccupied him wasn't the treasures from the Falcon Kingdom King's treasury or those shiny yet useless gold pieces, but something else.

Maybe…

Their collaboration could go even deeper.

Chapter 517: Going Home

Above the clouds, a uniquely designed airplane took off from the airport at the edge of Ideal City, heading toward River Valley Province.

It had a total of four engines distributed symmetrically on the four corners of its body, with two at the front and two at the back, emitting light blue plasma streams behind them.

This transport aircraft was a civilian-modified version of the "Tiger Whale" transport plane, with an elongated body and increased cargo capacity, plus an additional pair of plasma engines.

Since it was civilian, the aggressive name "Tiger Whale" had been changed to the relatively gentler "Blue Whale."

From the outside, the plane looked like an advanced version of a four-prop tilt-rotor aircraft, where traditional propellers were replaced with lighter, more stable, and less airflow-affected plasma engines.

Like the Tiger Whale transport, it could switch between horizontal and vertical flight modes and could even perform "lateral shifting" maneuvers that the Tiger Whale couldn't.

Much like a quadcopter drone.

However, passengers on board, after experiencing such maneuvers, would mostly curse.

The plane was designed by a subsidiary of the Silver Wing Group, with over a-hundred companies participating in its production. Currently, only one had been completed and was already in service on the flight route from Yúnjiānxíng Province to River Valley Province.

The feats of the Pioneer significantly influenced the current mainstream thought in Ideal City, allowing Wu Changnian's "Influence Expansion" proposal to pass smoothly in the council.

In the future, the company would not just focus on Yúnjiānxíng Province but would also extend its vision beyond, exploring future paths together with survivor settlements in various places.

They would not revert to the era of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, where they unconditionally supported surviving settlements like the "Production Department" predecessors did, but they wouldn't disregard these settlements like in the past.

The formation of the alliance had proven that not all Waste Land Wanderers were beyond help.

And this flight to River Valley Province was one of the outcomes of Wu Changnian's submitted proposal.

His speech at the press conference that day had inspired many; hence, tickets for this inaugural flight sold out almost immediately.

If Li Shuyue hadn't managed to get reserved business travel tickets through the Ruyue Group, the four members of "Bull Horse Team" would have had to stay longer in Ideal City...

"Damn! My luck is terrible today!"

Night Eleven leaned back in his chair with a gloomy expression, looking at the cards Fang Chang had placed on the table.

In the cabin, there were a total of two-hundred and forty seats, and apart from the front and back cabin sections, there was an entertainment lounge with a bar where android servers could provide drinks.

Before the plane landed, passengers could walk around freely from their seats, but in case of an emergency, they needed to follow the captain's instructions to return to their seats or sit nearby in the safety seats.

To pass the boring commute, at Fang Chang's suggestion, they sat at the table in the entertainment lounge and played Blackjack.

Seeing Night Ten's distressed face, Fang Chang smiled faintly.

"Your cards are practically written on your face; beating you is too easy."

"But—"

"You're going to say your expression is just a pretense, right?"

Seeing through what he was about to say, Fang Chang continued with a smile, "But have you considered that deliberate pretense already exposes your intentions?"

"Ah, I'm done... This guy is too shrewd!" Night Ten sighed and pushed his chair away. "Let's just play Landlord instead."

He thought his high Perception Attributes would help him dominate at the card table, but he could only bully Old White who didn't quite grasp the rules of Blackjack; he had never won against Fang Chang.

Watching Night Ten give up, Fang Chang said with a smile.

"If you're not good at hiding your emotions, you could learn from Wild Wind... dealing with his poker face is tough, especially since he's really good at math."

Wild Wind coughed lightly.

"Poker face is a bit much... It's just that I don't care much about winning or losing, plus there's a pattern to follow, so I'm never surprised, no matter how good or bad my cards are."

Night Ten suddenly looked up.

"I've always been curious, actually."

The early bankrupt Old White asked with a smile.

"Curious about what?"

Night Ten glanced at Wild Wind.

"Why would a big shot physicist like Brother Gale even play games?"

Fang Chang chuckled.

"What's so strange about that? Everybody has hobbies."

Wild Wind coughed lightly again.

"... Hardly a big shot, I'm just really into things that interest me."

Hearing this, Night Ten couldn't help but remark.

"A word from you is worth a ton of talk."

Fang Chang looked at Wild Wind with interest.

"Speaking of which, what exactly are you studying?"

He had recently dipped into some artificial intelligence knowledge, even though he only read the introductory parts.

He wasn't sure what topics professors of physics in universities were digging into, but if Wild Wind's field happened to intersect with algorithms, it would be good to discuss his discoveries in gaming.

After thinking for a while, Wild Wind abruptly changed the topic.

"Didn't we agree no talking about real life while we're gaming?"

At this statement, Night Ten couldn't help but burst out.

"Damn! We've known each other for years and you're still pulling this! I'll catch you in Jinling one of these days."

Wild Wind smiled wryly.

"Sure, if you come over, I'll show you around."

Fang Chang glanced sideways at Night Ten.

"... Don't listen to this guy bragging. He's been saying he's going to visit me in Shanghai for the past two years, and even though he's gone from a high-school student to a university student, I've never seen him."

Embarrassed by the long delay, Night Ten scratched the back of his head, explaining,

"Heh... I was just waiting for a chance for us all to get together; it'd be more fun with Old White and Wild Wind too, no fun going alone."

Fang Chang rolled his eyes.

"Forget it, let's just meet in the game."

Speaking of that...

There was actually another person.

He had also talked about going to Shanghai to meet him for some fun.

Fang Chang couldn't help but think of someone who was terribly bad at playing "Game."

He just couldn't figure out how that sales guy ended up making games.

He had never seen him show any interest in this area before...

While the four of them were casually chatting, not far from the entertainment room's bar, at a long table, a well-dressed man was speaking with a slick tone to a group of young people who looked like tourists.

"...You mentioned Qingquan City? What a coincidence, I grew up in Qingquan City, no one knows it better than I do."

"Really?" A young man in his twenties looked at the man with surprise and continued rapidly, "Are you a resident of the Alliance?"

"The Alliance? Ah... you mean that," the man paused, then said impatiently, "There was no such Alliance when I left home to travel. The only real survivor settlement in the entire Qingquan City is Giant Stone City, the other small villages hardly qualify as settlements."

His name was Kishu, the second son of the bank manager of Giant Stone City Bank. In his early years, he was sent by his father to a familiar merchant to go see the world in Ideal City.

In the blink of an eye, nearly five years had passed.

In Giant Stone City, he was known as a spoiled young master. Even the nobles of the Inner City, seeing his father's ability to make money and his mother's family status, would show him some respect.

And the residents of the Outer City, let's not even talk about it; no matter what reckless things he did, no one would bother him, and he frequently bullied men and women.

However, in Ideal City, it was a completely different story. No one cared about his father's status as the bank manager of Giant Stone City, and the chips in his pocket couldn't even be directly exchanged for money.

Thankfully, his father sent him money from time to time, otherwise, as a noble, he might have had to work in a fast food restaurant.

Ideal City was truly bustling, with many more people than in Giant Stone City, but staying in a room of a few dozen square meters, being online on Endpoint Cloud, and arguing with a bunch of fools was not the life he wanted.

Those idiots.

If anyone in Giant Stone City dared disrespect him like that, he would definitely find the person and shoot them.

If it weren't for the distant journey, his father not giving him the chance, and his inability to save enough for travel expenses, he would have wanted to go home long ago!

Of course, his reason for wanting to go home wasn't entirely because he missed the freedom there but more so because he wanted to do something to prove he wasn't like what those fools on Endpoint Cloud said he was—he wasn't useless aside from having a rich father.

Especially recently, the resolutions recently passed by the Corporate Council gave him hope, as Ideal City even opened flights to the River Valley Province!

He planned to use this east wind to revive his hometown!

Feeling the atmosphere was right, Kishu cleared his throat forcefully and continued with an uplifting tone.

"...Friends, we are entering an era full of opportunities! Did you hear Deputy Minister Wu's speech at the press conference? From now on, corporations will expand their business scope more aggressively and proactively, and as the first stop for the corporation's overseas business—Qingquan City in River Valley Province, with a population of over half a million in Giant Stone City, is undoubtedly the market with the most potential!"

However—

Unexpectedly, after hearing his speech, the young people didn't react at all.

At least not with the excitement and longing he had hoped for.

"Wu... you mean that old man?"

"He's not old, okay."

"Uh... right, but I didn't really pay attention to what he said."

"What is Giant Stone City?"

"Weren't we going to City of Dawn?"

"I hope I didn't buy the wrong plane ticket."

The group casually chatted and laughed among themselves, clearly not taking his words seriously. They were obviously just touring, not very interested in business matters.

Kishu's forehead twitched, but he still didn't give up, attempting one last effort.

"Right, we'll be landing in City of Dawn, but when talking about River Valley Province, we have to mention Giant Stone City, which might be the only civilized oasis in the whole southern part of River Valley Province. After arriving in City of Dawn, we could hire a team of mercenaries to escort us—"

A slightly taller young man coughed, interrupting his increasingly loud voice.

"The corporate foreign office warned us to be careful once we leave the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, as the strike team won't receive our distress signals. If it's not necessary, it's best not to leave the areas actually controlled by the Alliance."

A young woman with glasses nodded, looking worried.

"Indeed, I heard... River Valley Province is where the 'Claw of Death' originated, those creatures with horns on their heads can even tear through power armor."

"That's probably an exaggeration... but will we encounter wild Claws of Death?"

"I don't know, but Shelter No.79 offers tours of Claw of Death! I heard they even have the very first one that was ever created!"

"Claw of Death was artificially created!?"

"Just found out, did you?"

"You guys go ahead, I plan to stay in City of Dawn for a few days... I heard there's a celebration in three days."

"Can we see that legendary Manager?"

"Ha, stop being silly, they won't have time to meet just a tourist."

While these men and women chatted and laughed, their topic unconsciously shifted back to the Alliance.

Watching these stubborn folks, Kishu clenched his fist, and black lines formed on his forehead.

Damn...

These people!

Why won't they listen to him!

Taking a deep breath, Kishu suppressed his anger and told himself to stay calm, not to let his emotions take over.

Most of those who bought first-flight tickets were wealthy individuals.

Either they had money themselves, their families were wealthy, or they were on a business trip.

If he could get some money out of these people to invest in the local industry of Giant Stone City, his plan would go much smoother.

He had it all figured out.

The problem with Giant Stone City was the stagnation caused by rigid social stratification; lazy survivors discovered no matter how hard they worked, they could never become nobles, and becoming a merchant involved the risk of getting skinned by the 'Looters,' leading them to become even poorer in despair.

The solution was simple.

Just build another Outer City outside the existing one, turning the current "Outer City" into "Middle City," and wouldn't the problem be solved?

Not just that, he also planned to borrow advanced financial experiences from Ideal City.

However, this card must be kept as the trump card; it can't be played at the beginning.

There could be considerable resistance advancing in the Inner City; messing around in the Outer City would earn a spanking from his father, but if it were outside the giant wall, there would be no problem.

A digital currency based on credit!

Those bumpkins who have never seen the world would surely be astounded by his genius idea!

However, what troubled Kishu was that these wealthy scions from Ideal City weren't interested in what he was saying, and those businessmen dozing off with neural connection devices couldn't be bothered with him.

His gaze swept through the lounge and soon, he noticed four guys playing cards in the corner; his eyes lit up, and he walked over.

Meanwhile, Night Ten, who had just drawn a good hand, was contemplating how to manage his facial expression when suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from the side.

"Hello, I'm pleased to be on the same flight as you. My name is Kishu, the second son of the bank president of Giant Stone City." To make his approach less awkward, he looked at the paper on the table and curiously asked, "What are you playing? Can I join you next round?"

"Poker... Wait for the next game."

Night Ten, utterly disinterested in this random NPC, kept his eyes intently on Fang Chang who was about to reveal his cards, planning to spot his weaknesses and strike back hard with his good hand.

Yet to his disappointment, Fang Chang didn't look at his cards and instead looked at the man who had just spoken.

The bank president of Giant Stone City's second son?

That is...

Alyssa's brother?

Fang Chang's expression showed slight surprise.

That's quite a coincidence...

But then again, having not visited Giant Stone City for so long, he had almost forgotten that NPC who had once asked him to find a cat.

"My name is Fang Chang… These are my friends," Fang Chang politely introduced himself and then introduced each of his companions one by one.

Kishu stared at Fang Chang for a while, chewing over the name, feeling he'd heard it somewhere but couldn't quite place it.

But that wasn't important!

Anyone on this flight had to be influential; maybe he had seen him on some advertisement.

With a radiant smile on his face, Kishu looked earnestly at the young man in front of him.

"The moment I saw you, I knew you were no ordinary person," Fang Chang said with a smile.

"So, you intend to repeat to me what you just said to those others."

Due to Night Ten's poor card skills, he could manage to play cards while listening to those NPCs talk. He hadn't expected that this fraud who snuck on the plane would target him, nor did he expect him to be the second son of the bank president of Giant Stone City.

If he wasn't lying, that was some identity.

"Since you've heard it, I won't repeat it," Kishu lowered his excited voice, "How about it? Interested in revitalizing Giant Stone City with me? The market there isn't just limited to five hundred thousand people; its influence can cover the entire Southern Region of River Valley Province and most of Brocade River Province!"

Hearing this, a smile of amusement spread across Fang Chang's face.

Just as he was about to tease the guy with a tactful remark, something suddenly struck him, and he put on an interested expression.

"I see... So, tell me, how do you plan to revitalize Giant Stone City?"

Seeing Fang Chang show interest, Kishu couldn't hide his elation.

"It's simple! Well, not really simple, it's just that no one has noticed—"

"Shush." Fang Chang made a quieting gesture, interrupting him, and then pulled out a business card to hand it to him.

"This important matter shouldn't be discussed on the plane... Come to this address after we land."

Kishu took the business card and paused, staring blankly at Fang Chang without looking at the address.

"Have you… been to Qingquan City?"

"What kind of question is that? I've not only been there, but it's also like my second home," said Fang Chang with a smile while looking at the bewildered young man, "Ever heard of Long Moon Group? If not, you're really missing out, aren't you?"

"Is that your company?!" Kishu was instantly shocked, but quickly regained his composure, "Wait, but I heard it's a subsidiary under Ruyue Group—"

Of course, he knew the company!

He had even specially mentioned it in his last letter to his father!

Fang Chang coughed.

"You have a major misunderstanding about shareholding… But setting aside these issues, aren't you curious how the 'Long' in Long Moon Group came about?"

Long Moon Group was a joint venture between Bull Horse Group and Ruyue Group, just registered under Ruyue Group because of qualification issues.

As for why they used his name, Fang Chang also found it puzzling, but his brothers had no objections, so he didn't mind.

After all, using 'bull' and 'horse' really didn't sound appealing.

Kishu stared at him disbelievingly.

"Could it be…"

Seeing Kishu clearly misunderstanding something, Fang Chang gave a mysterious smile, made no explanations, and just pointed to the business card in his hand.

"Some things aren't convenient to discuss in crowded places… We'll talk after we land."

Kishu immediately stopped speaking, excitedly nodding.

"Right! Makes sense!"

Completely forgetting about the card game, Fang Chang quickly got engrossed in chatting about other matters with this NPC, the more they chatted, the more engrossed they became.

When Kishu learned that the person in front of him had also studied at Yunjian University like himself, he excitedly grasped his hands, looking like it was a meeting of long-lost friends.

Night Ten glanced at Old White sitting next to him.

"...I finally understand what Fang Chang meant by that saying."

Old White was momentarily stunned.

"Which saying?"

"That one about 'writing the cards on one's face.'" Glancing at the two cards covered on the table, Night Ten sighed and gathered the cards, "These guys are too cunning; I'm really not playing this time... Let's just play Fight the Landlord instead."

Brother Gale nodded profoundly in agreement.

"Agreed."

...

From the East Coast to City of Dawn, the airlines were still floating in the sky, while the Iron Heart, returning from the Great Desert, had already brought back its victory glory and banners to the Alliance's capital city.

Chu Guang rested on the airship overnight and returned to the surface in a capsule with his little players at dawn the next day.

Three days later, City of Dawn would hold a grand celebration to celebrate the triumphant return of the Expeditionary Army.

Although the official start of the celebration had not yet arrived, the festive atmosphere could already be felt in the streets these two days.

In order not to disturb the normal life and work of the residents, and also to not prematurely exhaust the joy of the celebration, Chu Guang made a discreet entrance when coming down from the sky, and even specially instructed Luka and others not to come to receive him.

The Iron Heart, hanging the alliance flag, also quietly parked at the edge of the Elm District, refraining from advancing towards the settlement.

"Hahaha, Grandpa is finally home!" Mosquito, setting foot on the ground, let out a long scream, merrily heading towards the direction of the industrial area.

The war was over!

The era truly belonging to Goblin Technology had finally arrived!

Compared to those fast, efficient, and simple devices, he indeed preferred inventing something more interesting.

A few newbies stood at the edge of the wheat field, looking towards the bustling settlement in the distance, their faces showing surprised expressions.

"Is this City of Dawn..."

"Shocking!"

"Amazing..."

Rows of tidy houses, not a hint of the wasteland about them; red brick walls coated in white paint, with plenty of bustling construction sites on the outer perimeter of the city.

At this moment, the nearest to them was the train station of City of Dawn.

The open area in front of the station had turned into a hub for goods, with merchants coming and going constantly, and from a distance, the sound of their shouting could be heard. Huge wooden crates almost filled the entire freight platform, and train carriages waiting for dispatch lined up long before the platform...

This in itself was nothing to be amazed about.

Any city in reality was busier than this.

But what was jaw-dropping was that just a year ago, this place was still an overgrown wilderness with naturally no houses, let alone the field stretching as far as the eye could see.

Every brick, every piece of wood here was built hand-in-hand by the players who had entered the game since Alpha 0.1 version, along with NPCs.

The sheer shock of it all was much more intense than any photo could convey...

Glancing at those unsophisticated guys, I Max Black cracked a joke.

"You guys look like you just arrived."

Outlaw Maniac scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, this is indeed my first time here... My spawn point was at Shelter No. 79, and right after I was born, I got sent to the front line."

He still remembered clearly, not long after arriving at the front line, he was lured by some veteran players to a stronghold of the army to serve as cannon fodder.

Later, he accidentally found out from the forum that the pangolin was actually one of their own.

Waking Up Sleepy also nodded in shock next to him.

"Me too... This is my first time coming home."

I Max Black's eyes lit up, throwing an arm over both their shoulders, all smiles.

"Old buddies from Beta 0.4, right? Hahaha! Come on, I'll take you to see the world."

On hearing this, Outlaw Maniac instantly became wary.

"What are you up to... I dare not do anything illegal."

Waking Up Sleepy was similarly alert, eyeing him.

"+1! I was already in line before the alliance was formed! Don't lead me into trouble!"

I Max Black pouted his lips.

"Cut it out, who wasn't in line to get in... Relax, it's just inviting you for a bowl of ramen, what're you thinking early in the morning."

Hmph.

It turned out to be ramen.

Both of them instantly showed a lackluster expression.

Such high hopes for nothing!

Watching those little players chattering and walking arm in arm, the face of Chu Guang revealed a fatherly smile.

Although many players from Beta 0.4 had fought for the alliance for many days and died countless times, they actually didn't know what the alliance was, simply treating it like part of the game setting.

At this moment, they might have a deeper understanding—that it was a home formed by a community of people, where individuals fought for more than just money and experience.

Of course, even if his little players had a new understanding of the alliance's cause, he still preferred them to engage in the game in a joyful manner, not needing to carry the overly heavy burdens of "reviving civilization," "uniting the living," and so on.

That was his job.

Aside from his role as a manager of the alliance, he was also the game planner of "Wasteland OL."

In comparison, he would much prefer his players to approach the game with a light heart.

After all, as he had once said, it was a joyful and relaxed game.

Drawing his gaze away from the players, Chu Guang smiled and spoke.

"Let's go, it's time for us too."

Sitting on Chu Guang's shoulders, Xiao Qi, resting his chin in his hands, had been watching his facial expressions.

Detecting a hint of loneliness not easily noticed, Xiao Qi thought Chu Guang was feeling lonely from no one coming to pick him up, and cheerfully encouraged him.

"Don't worry, Master, Xiao Qi will always be with you!"

Chu Guang was momentarily startled, then laughed out loud, lightly touching Xiao Qi's small head with his forefinger.

"Yeah, I'm glad to have you with me."

"Hehe."

Xiao Qi revealed a satisfied smile, happily swinging his legs.

As Chu Guang pondered whether to have breakfast first or directly go to the shelter for a check-up, a figure approached from not too far away.

Chapter 518 Li Is One Step Closer to No Longer Being Human

Beside the wheat field fence, Miss Afni gazed from afar at the figure standing next to the pod connected to the iron airship, a soft smile unconsciously spreading across her face.

Legend had it that in the distant River Valley Province, there was a great hero who, with a group of survivors as brave as himself, had defeated wild beasts many times their number.

Honestly, he did not look as towering and fierce as he did in the paintings—his face was not heavily bearded either, but he felt much more dependable than the gorilla depicted there. Especially with the warm smile that often adorned his handsome, resolute face, which could make even the early winter of November feel like a breath of spring.

Just like now...

At first, she didn't quite understand what sort of feelings these were, not until this moment, when she suddenly realized something—

What she admired wasn't his bravery, nor the wisdom she revered, and it even had nothing to do with her kingdom that had been saved… It was just that smile, which inevitably warmed one's heart.

Even in a scarred wasteland strewn with chaos, through those dark eyes, she could still see prosperity reflected.

It might sound strange, but she suddenly felt envious of the doll perched on his shoulder… It could see a landscape that she could not.

It must be beautiful there…

Thinking this, Miss Afni, who had initially intended only to glance from a distance, found herself unconsciously walking towards him, stopping not far from his side and politely curtseying.

"Respected Manager Sir, congratulations on your victorious return from the front. During my time here in Dawn City, I have heard daily of the praises and expectations the people have for you."

Hearing the congratulations from beside him, Chu Guang, ignoring Xiao Qi's protests, took it off his shoulder and stuffed it into his pocket, smiling as he looked at the foreign girl.

"Thank you for your congratulations, Miss Afni. Speaking of which, Sommer told me he was going back for his father's funeral when we said goodbye; I thought you and your brother might have gone back together."

She was dressed in a light green long dress, the fluttering hem like tender grass hiding her ankles. Beneath her slightly curled brown hair was a somewhat youthful face, now touched by a light golden hue from the morning light.

Staring intently at him, Miss Afni blinked.

"My brother went back first. He asked me to stay here on behalf of the Honey Badger Royal Family to attend the Alliance's Triumph celebration, and he also asked me to bid you farewell on his behalf, and to thank you again for looking after us during this time… The Honey Badger Kingdom will always be a friend of the Alliance, and he personally considers you as his mentor."

Chu Guang laughed and shook his head.

"That guy… I don't even know when I became his mentor."

Sommer must have been in a rush to go back, probably worried about the throne, given that he was only acting as king, while Yard held the military power.

As for Sommer considering him as a mentor, that was likely said for his own benefit, hoping to gain his support.

But he had no intention of meddling in the internal affairs of the Honey Badger Kingdom, whether Sommer or Yard left a decent impression on him.

The Alliance would focus on being just an alliance, adhering to seeking common ground while preserving differences, without forcing other orderly neutral or above survivor settlements to adopt the same approaches. Just as one's chosen major should suit one best, people should decide their own futures.

Choosing which path to take was not the main conflict in the wasteland; chaos was. Before all mutants and looters were wiped out, even the Army could be considered to be within the bounds of orderly evil.

As long as the Honey Badger Kingdom's situation didn't deteriorate to a civil war, he wouldn't interfere in the locals' affairs, at most asking the local rulers to make progressive reforms in line with the Alliance's views.

Miss Afni's eyes were full of affection as she looked at him.

"Really? But I believe you've greatly influenced him in many ways… I often see him jotting down your words and pondering over them. He used to say that the future of the kingdom lies in uniting those indecisive nobles since most of the army funding for the restoration comes from them, but now he also occasionally speaks of the need to unite the silent majority, who may not have money but own things more valuable than money."

Chu Guang spoke offhandedly.

"It shows he has matured, perhaps inspired by what he's learned here, but I still prefer to think it's his own realization."

He wouldn't teach others that way.

In the Alliance, people are just people.

Miss Afni sighed softly.

"Perhaps, but I still believe, his growth couldn't have happened without your help. If possible, I truly wish I could grow like him. May I… help you with something? Beyond just sorting books, like Princess Teresa."

Almost as if driven by divine forces, Miss Afni couldn't help but blurt out the second half of her sentence, even surprising herself with her own words.

However, she did not take back what she had said.

A voice within her mind told her that perhaps deep down, that was exactly what she thought...

Chu Guang glanced curiously at the young girl and paused before speaking.

"You don't need to help me with anything. Just go back and use what you've learned to help your country."

"Why? Because I'm a princess of the Honey Badger Kingdom? I could give up my title like Teresa did and become an ordinary resident of the Alliance—"

Chu Guang looked at her seriously and responded.

"You need to understand something. Teresa didn't become the mayor of Pioneer City because she gave up her princess title. It was because her abilities proved she was capable of the job."

Pioneer City, referred to as the fourth city of the Alliance, had fewer survivors than Bet Street in Dawn City and much harsher conditions than River Valley province. Being a mayor there was not an enviable job; even the clerks at the Dawn City trade station had it more comfortable.

In the Alliance, the title of mayor is merely a salaried position; it doesn't imply any sort of rank. If Bet Street were to gain a unique strategic position, requiring its own development as a settlement, its village head could just as well be called a mayor.

"I apologize; that was presumptuous of me. I don't underestimate her abilities. It's just that if she can... perhaps I could also do something for you."

Afni's face bore a slight hint of jealousy, though she wasn't aware of it herself, as she really had no reason to feel that way.

Chu Guang, however, could understand her eagerness to showcase her talents, but he couldn't just assign her important tasks simply because she had read a lot of books.

Theory is important,
but practice is more so.

The lesson from Shelter No. 401 was the best example. Those in Blue Jackets were just as learned, but ended up shackled by barbarians wielding iron rods.

It wasn't that the theories of the Prosperity Epoch weren't advanced enough. Rather, they were too advanced, finding no suitable foundation to thrive in the Wasteland.

Nonetheless, having the will to do something was always good.

As Chu Guang was pondering what to say next, a voice suddenly called out his name from not far away.

"Chu Guang!"

Hearing that voice, both turned their heads in that direction.

Seeing the fiery red hair, confusion appeared on Afni's face while Chu Guang showed a look of surprise.

"Xia Yan? You're back?"

Xia Yan curled her lips up slightly, a hint of pride in her voice.

"I've completed my credits for the year. My mentor said I have great talent in the mechanical field, though it would be better if my math were stronger."

Evidently, she had indeed learned something to earn recognition from Shelter No. 101.

Chu Guang smiled and asked.

"Little Fish? Didn't she come back with you?"

"She's busy with Pai doing something, said they'd return tomorrow. Speaking of which... who is she?" Xia Yan suddenly looked warily towards Afni standing to the side.

Her face seemed harmless and quite cute, yet it somehow gave her an uneasy feeling.

"She's from the Honey Badger—"

"I'm Mr. Manager's student," Afni curtsied slightly, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Xia Yan and spoke in a pleasing tone, "You must be Ms. Xia, I've heard Chu Guang mention you before."

Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang with surprise and scrutinized him doubtfully.

"You're a teacher now?"

"It's a misunderstanding," Chu Guang coughed lightly, "I just lent her some books—"

"Those books were incredibly beneficial to me, and your example has also left a profound impression," Afni nodded slightly, "To me, you are my mentor."

Hearing this, Xia Yan was momentarily dumbfounded.

"Mentor? What do you mean?"

"It means to teach conscientiously," Afni's eyes twinkled as she fixed her innocent gaze on Xia Yan and feigned realization, "Ah, please don't misunderstand, I didn't mean that."

How could anyone not misunderstand that expression!

Staring at this cunning little girl, Xia Yan suddenly felt his blood pressure rising.

Watching the two suddenly become spirited, Chu Guang coughed.

"I just said what I should from my position, there's no need to feel overly fond of me because of it. Alright, stop focusing on me… don't you have your own business to attend to?"

Speaking of which, the health check with Heya was almost due.

Chu Guang, with a headache, ended the conversation and walked towards the truck that had been waiting for him for a long time.

Speaking of which, direct flights between Ideal City and City of Dawn had recently been initiated; maybe it was time to upgrade the transportation?

Always riding in this cargo truck felt a bit inappropriate, and the vehicles from various private transport companies were inconsistent.

He'd have the city hall issue a tender for some coaches…

"Wait, wait a minute!" As Chu Guang was about to leave, Xia Yan quickly shifted his gaze from Afni and called out to him.

"Is there something else?"

Xia Yan's eyes darted around without speaking, then sneakily handed over a palm-sized box.

"Here."

Staring at the unremarkable box, Chu Guang asked curiously,

"What's this?"

"Never mind, just take a look... It's my school year project."

As Chu Guang took the box and opened it, two pairs of soft wings gently sprung out, and a silver-white metallic sphere lay on the cotton lining.

A look of surprise instantly appeared on Chu Guang's face.

A Hummingbird drone?!

No…

This one was obviously bigger.

Xiao Qi, stuffed in his pocket, grumbled,

"So-so… I'll just barely accept it."

Ignoring the overly sentimental little fellow, Chu Guang held the drone in his hands, excitedly inspecting it.

"Not bad! Really not bad!"

It couldn't compare to the "Hummingbird" he got from a blind box, but as a DIY product from Wasteland parts, it was already quite impressive!

Who knew that the NPC he initially deceived into returning with cartridge cases had such potential, Chu Guang felt a surge of emotion.

Slightly bigger than the Hummingbird.

Let's call it—

"Sparrow" sounds good!

Seeing Chu Guang so delighted, Xia Yan couldn't help but curl his lips joyfully, but quickly realized his expression was too proud and coughed lightly.

"Cough cough, not bad, right? It's a pity I was rushed, or I could have made something even more impressive."

Chu Guang, smiling, stuffed the drone into the pocket hanging on his power armor and handed it to Xiao Qi to tinker with, saying appreciatively,

"Not bad at all, I'd really appreciate it if you could make me a complete set of power armor."

Xia Yan nervously said,

"Uh, I… I'll try my best."

Afni thoughtfully placed her index finger on her chin then suddenly lowered her head in embarrassment.

"A gift… I'm sorry, that was an oversight of mine. Please give me a few days to prepare, I will present it to you before the celebration."

Watching the overly serious Afni, Chu Guang coughed gently.

"There's no need to be so formal."

Whether or not there's a gift doesn't matter.

He had already obtained what he wanted from the war.

Afni shook her head, saying earnestly,

"How could it not matter? You saved us from a group of bandits, and it's only right and proper that I express my gratitude… Please accept this small token from us."

Seeing the stubborn Afni, Chu Guang eventually gave up on persuading her.

Back at the refuge, there was a mountain of matters to deal with; he really had no energy to fret over such trivial matters.

Not to mention, just before disembarking from the aircraft, Heya had already booked a health check for him.

In reality, even if Heya hadn't mentioned it, he would have asked her to check on his condition.

The night before, he had had another dream.

Without any surprises, he had taken another step toward no longer being human…

…

As Chu Guang was returning to Shelter No. 404, at the civil airport north of Dawn City, outside the fence, it was packed to the brim with people.

Some were wasteland wanderers here to watch the excitement; others were players who had come to join in the fun.

Today marked the commencement of the flight service from Ideal City to Dawn City; there was supposed to be a very large airplane coming from the east

The news had been posted on the official website for several days.

And the company did not disappoint the crowd of onlookers; the large aircraft that landed vertically from the sky resembled a real whale. After stabilizing the flow of air from the engine nozzles, it settled down securely on the wide apron, comparable to a soccer field.

Watching that massive entity, Kill God remarked with emotion,

"This airplane is freaking amazing…"

If only we could actually make one in reality!

Discourage nodded in deep agreement.

"Indeed... just a little unscientific."

He actually worked at a drone factory in reality.

Leaving aside the unscientific plasma thruster, he couldn't even identify the materials used in the plane.

How strong would the structure have to be to support such a fanciful design?

He couldn't imagine it at all!

"All this talk of science in a game, are you kidding me? Have you read yourself silly? Have a little imagination, will you?" Mosquito slapped the guy's head, "Let's go."

Discourage stood there, touching his head, looking bewildered.

"Go where?"

Mosquito said excitedly,

"We're going to build our own big plane! Remember the wreckage of the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft we got last time? We'll tinker and try to make something that can emit a plasma stream too!"

Although he couldn't figure out exactly how it worked, the engineers at Camp 101 could.

He just needed to handle the overall design and figure out how to fit this thing onto an aircraft; that was enough!

Kill God and Discourage exchanged bewildered glances.

A whole plane with a plasma engine?

This guy must be crazy...

Just as Mosquito Brother's followers were wondering if their boss had damaged his brain, passengers were gradually passing through the open cabin door and disembarking.

At that moment, a petite figure stood in a corner of the crowd, tiptoeing to look towards the door, her face alternating between anticipation and anxiety.

Did she not manage to buy a ticket?

She didn't see the face she was looking for until the end; a hint of disappointment crossed Dolly's face just as she was about to turn away quietly, a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.

Caught completely off-guard, she shivered, nearly reflexively lifting her left arm, her steel elbow slicing through the air with force.

"Wait, it's me!" The sharp edge of steel hung an inch from his nose, and Fang Chang's cold sweat poured down.

That was close!

He hadn't saved his progress in almost half a year; a hit would have been a huge loss.

He almost forgot that this was the Wasteland.

Even though Dolly was just an ordinary girl, her combat prowess was far beyond that of girls in reality.

"Fang Chang?!"

At the sight of her beloved, her murderous gaze softened in an instant, transforming into excitement and joy.

She threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

Responding to her enthusiastic embrace, Fang Chang jokingly spoke in a light tone,

"I saw you from the sky, actually. I thought I'd surprise you when I landed, but I almost got carried away by you instead."

He had taken a slight detour, circling the plane from the side.

"Who asked you... to sneak up on me."

Blushing and averting her gaze, Dolly murmured sweetly and shyly,

"Did I... stand out that much?"

Her bright green hair was indeed quite conspicuous in the crowd.

But...

It wasn't necessary to explain that in intricate detail.

Gently touching her head, Fang Chang said warmly with a smile,

"Of course, I spotted you right away."

His Adam's apple bobbed as he continued,

"Sorry, this business trip took a bit longer... I made you wait."

The blush spread from her cheeks to her ears as she shyly buried her face in his chest.

Fang Chang noticed the khaki scarf clutched in her hand.

"Is this a gift for me?"

With her face red, Dolly hid it behind her back and said quietly,

"I knitted it myself... is it okay?"

Fang Chang smiled,

"Not just okay, it's fantastic. But you know... the last one was also a scarf. Too bad I only have one neck."

"It's different," Dolly sneaked a glance at the scarf wrapped around his neck and smiled happily, then shook her head vigorously and seriously said, "The last one was for wind and sand protection, this time... it's for warmth since winter is coming."

Watching Dolly earnestly explain, Fang Chang felt a warmth in his heart.

"Speaking of which, I've also prepared a gift for you."

"What gift?" Dolly's face immediately showed a curious expression, her eyes darting around, yet she saw nothing.

Fang Chang said with a mysterious smile,

"Follow me."

Meanwhile, at the airport exit.

Kishu was craning his neck around, muttering under his breath.

"Where is he?"

He was just beside him a moment ago.

He rarely met someone who understood him better than his own father, and he had planned to invite this person for a meal to talk more, but as soon as the plane landed, the man had disappeared.

How strange!

Beside him, a group of tourists looked around curiously. Everything here was novel to them, even the air smelled different.

"It's incredible... although I've seen virtual models on Endpoint Cloud, it feels completely different standing here."

"Is that ruin in the distance the legendary Qingquan City?"

"I guess it's the same as Cloud-On-City and Cloud-Below-City... but the cities in the Central Urban Group should be a bit larger."

"No wonder their lair is so huge!"

"Ah... I really want to meet their Manager. If I could get a photo with him, I'd be content!"

"There will be a chance! He's sure to appear at the celebration."

Looking at the rich young lady who had been swooning over him even before disembarking the plane, Kishu snorted disdainfully.

"Tch... What's so great about that guy."

It's just power armor, and an old police model at that. There are way cooler power armors in Giant Stone City!

Moreover, as a leader of a Survivor Settlement, always showing one's face like that, what kind of dignity or prestige is that?

In contrast, their city lord had much more prestige. Even he, a prince of Giant Stone City, had only seen that great man on the screen.

At that moment, Kishu suddenly thought of his own plan, filled with a surging excitement.

If all went well, he might become a figure even more formidable than his father.

By then, perhaps the city lord himself would meet with him.

...

Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang, who had sat up from the scanning bed, saw the results of his physical examination through the holographic screen.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Fifth Stage)

Level: LV.30→LV.40

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 33→45 (+12)

Agility: 25→35 (+10)

Constitution: 27→40 (+13)

Perception: 26→39 (+14)

Intelligence: 29→40 (+11)

]

[-

Talent: 1. Wild Instinct: In extreme situations, wild instincts can be awakened, increasing all attributes by 10–15% and speeding up the accumulation of fatigue by 20–30%.

2. Mind Intimidation: Can exert mental pressure on weaker fully sentient life forms, weakening their will to resist.

3. Swarm Intelligence: Can share 3–15% of intelligence attribute with weaker fully sentient life forms, granting them enlightenment and speedier thought processes. This effect is influenced by distance, number of people, receptivity, and other factors, with a maximum range of 10m.

4. Call For Victory: Injects courage into cries, inspiring those resonating to have an unbeatable determination.

]

After reviewing the attribute panel, Chu Guang remained silent for a while before looking up at Heya, who was sitting in a chair.

"No new talents unlocked?"

"Don't ask me about that; the talent section is data stored in the refuge's database. Some algorithm left on the server seems to be performing a specific analysis on the gene sequences of all the refuge's residents... I can only assure you that the attributes section is accurate; if you want to see more detailed physiological parameters, you can open the details in the bottom-right corner."

As Heya said this, she couldn't help but complain, looking at the calm Chu Guang.

"You're focusing on that talent section... Haven't you noticed you're becoming more and more like a monster?"

Four awakenings...

Gene Sequence Fifth Stage!

She wasn't sure if it was because she lacked experience or if all humans on the Wasteland were like this.

Chu Guang shrugged nonchalantly.

"Maybe I'm just used to it... after all, I'm just lying down doing nothing, yet the gene sequence development still automatically progresses."

Actually, he came to understand now.

In reality, there's a system called reCAPTCHA that allows computers to seek help from humans.

Specifically, it sends OCR-unreadable scanned text to major websites, replacing the original captchas. Once users correctly identify that text, their answers are sent back to CMU, reportedly achieving an accuracy of 99%.

Stored gene sequences in the refuge are like tasks assigned to players; each player's game actions are essentially "solving problems," and the results of these tasks are collectively attributed to himself in some way and recorded and analyzed by the refuge.

Therefore, his "evolution" direction is the most balanced.

Perhaps this was the best solution derived from numerous "controlled variable experiments" by Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang wasn't sure about the principles involved; he could only roughly guess that this collective result might not be replicable simply through clone cultivation.

Therefore, he couldn't "revive."

As for the purpose of this experiment, it might involve the biggest secret of Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang didn't know why.

He was not the type to blindly trust someone, especially not someone he had never met.

But he subconsciously believed two things.

One, that the First Generation Manager was already dead.

And the other, that that person would definitely not harm him...

"This is the most absurd part, 'awakening' in your case has become like cancer cells. You might as well have offspring soon," Heya, leaning back in her chair, sighed and shifted her arms, "By the way, while we're on it, there's something I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"Do you remember Xiaoyu?"

Watching her sharp gaze, Chu Guang blinked and frowned.

"I remember... What about it?"

Heya stared at him earnestly.

"It's about to evolve!"

---

(Thanks to "Yore" for the alliance reward!!!)

Chapter 519 Evolution

"Sometimes I really envy the residents of Ideal City... they're born with a silver spoon in their mouths and have plenty of time to do nothing, while it seems like I've been doing one thing or another since the moment I was born."

As evening fell on Highway Town's inn.

Watching the tourists from Ideal City, Zhou Nan took a sip of his fragrant beer and couldn't help but express his sentiment.

He could tell right away where those people were from.

Their distinctive air made them even easier to recognize than those in blue jackets and the androids.

Sitting across from him, Sun Shiqi smiled.

"What's the envy? You might as well envy those from two hundred years ago. Back then, not only did they have time to idle away, but they also had the leisure to plan our futures."

"Plan our futures?"

"Put another way, speculate on the future."

"Hahaha."

Laughter dispelled the melancholy.

Sun Shiqi clinked glasses with his drinking companion.

Having made a small fortune in the steel trade, he could no longer be considered a merchant, but rather a factory owner in the Alliance, with most of his fortune poured into the Alliance's industries.

If it weren't for his past merchant status and not being trusted by the Frost Spear Tribe, who were once refugees, the woman who kept rejecting his proposals might have already become a part of his household tied to the Alliance.

However, it must be said that although optimistic about the Alliance's future, he had made these decisions with some determination.

Long ago, he carried a certain "original sin" in his heart; he feared the Alliance's managers would send loyal Guards Corps to silence him when they learned he knew the truth that silver coins were originally just a pile of game currency.

Later, he realized his worries were completely unnecessary.

That person simply didn't care.

After all, what would it matter if they knew?

Would people stop eating rice watered with manure upon learning where the fertilizer came from?

In the entire River Valley Province, no one doubted the value of silver coins anymore, even the scavengers on the edge of the Grand Canyon recognized it.

Especially recently, when the wholesale trading price of corn officially fell below the 1 silver coin mark, pushed down to 0.9 by the influx of autumn grain from Falling Leaves Province.

And just a year ago, the number was 1.5, even the cheapest green wheat and horned potatoes had never been so cheap!

Now residents of City of Dawn not only ate well, steaming, boiling, frying their food, but they even had leftover food to feed pigs and cows. The bar at the Highway Town inn even added a new kind of corn wine, produced by the residents of the refuge.

But that drink was too strong, burning the throat, and aside from the fashion-conscious and the refugees themselves, there weren't many who really liked to drink it.

"Speaking of which, there's another celebration coming up."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"If there's a celebration every day, who's going to do the work?" Zhou Nan looked worried, "Your factory will have to close for it, right?"

Sun Shiqi said with a laugh.

"It doesn't matter, we're not closing every day. The last celebration was many months ago. I've heard that during the Human Alliance Era, there were over a hundred holidays a year, and the Alliance has only around four or five so far, so it's really not that bad."

Zhou Nan shook his head.

"But that's different, isn't it? The productivity and efficiency of the Human Alliance Era is incomparable to now. They wouldn't starve even if they didn't work."

Sun Shiqi spoke languidly.

"You're right and you're wrong. Though the Alliance's productivity isn't very high, it's definitely not weak. We can certainly afford a few celebrations. Here we don't have the cumbersome bureaucracy, nor do we have the nobility that need supporting. If we tighten our belts to get by, no one benefits, and the things produced must be used to have any meaning, right? Are we supposed to force them onto the scholars doing research at the Academy, like the Academy itself does?"

He chuckled at his own words.

"It's a pity that even if the Alliance wants to grant academic privileges, there aren't that many scholars to privilege. Better to give the Residents more holidays; let everyone have a bit of fun, spend their wages and such. That way, both factories and shops will be happy, and they will be too."

Isn't the whole point of living just to be happy?

People with furrowed brows and troubled looks aren't likely to achieve great things; and if they do, they're likely to give everyone around them a huge scare.

"I still think being so extravagant right from the start isn't very wise... even if they want to do something nice for the Residents, I think maybe waiting a bit—or perhaps—"

Sun Shiqi shook his head.

"The things you wait for will never come."

"And what about the future? Even if there are no nobles now, there will be in the future. Isn't Giant Stone City the best example? The original Residents of the Inner City were all supporters of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, but now, who still remembers what that committee was supposed to do?"

To prove that his logic was sound, Zhou Nan tried to find some evidence, and Giant Stone City was undoubtedly the best example. It was said that a century and a half ago, a group of noble survivors lived there too; if they hadn't opened the gates of the great wall, there wouldn't be an Outer City today.

What difference is there with the Alliance then?

Mayor Luka was probably too old to reproduce, and likely wouldn't have descendants. Old Charlie, as he had heard, was an old icicle; men of that era were mostly progressive in their thinking and probably wouldn't want their children to suffer on the Wasteland.

But there would always be others.

The First Army Corps' Commander Wrench, the Second Corps' Commander Liuding—those men were in their prime, not only capable but having come through real battles with real weapons.

Their loyalty might have never been to the Alliance from the start but to the Manager personally. It's hard to say how far their ideals would go, and how far their children would follow them.

Sun Shiqi knew what he wanted to say with his hesitancy, but he only grinned nonchalantly.

"Let's worry about the future when it comes; our Manager isn't even old yet."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Nan was taken aback and let out a laugh.

"Good grief... have you already started seeing yourself as one of the Alliance people?"

No wonder this guy always spoke in favor of the Alliance!

Sun Shiqi said proudly,

"Otherwise what? If not for the Alliance, I would probably still be transporting food for the Slave Owners and brokers in Red River Town, playing their Red Note and Blue Note futures games. Since I bought my first warehouse here, I decided to become a Resident of the Alliance."

That was something to think about.

Initially, he bought a warehouse in City of Dawn, planning to stock up on food in the fall, then buy a few trucks to take over the Alliance's trade route to Red River Town, becoming the largest mineral and grain merchant on the Wasteland.

But not long after, the war between the Alliance and the Army broke out; masses of refuge Residents took up arms and joined the battlefield, causing a sudden surge in steel and copper demand and presenting him with a new business opportunity. Thus, he immediately opened a steel mill next to the mines in Qingstone County.

His hometown, however, hadn't changed a bit, still the same old place.

Recently, he heard Red River Town had been renamed to the Red River Alliance, but after pondering it, he realized it was just a change of name—the same old practices remained.

Ever since the Alliance pulled a fast one on those arrogant folks during the copper ore trade, he realized those wealthy Slave Owners weren't smart, just a bunch of fat pigs lucky to be lying atop a pile of treasure. Sadly, their prized treasure would soon be worthless.

Since the railway from Qingquan City to West State City was completed, the Alliance's coal, copper, iron, sulfur, and so on weren't just self-sufficient but could even be exported.

It had been a while since he last procured goods from that junkyard.

"...Speaking of which, my friend, why the gloomy face? Are you facing some difficulties?" Sun Shiqi said, looking at Zhou Nan with a concerned gaze.

Zhou Nan hesitated, let out a sigh, and put down his beer mug.

"Ah, there's been some trouble back at home; I might have to go back for a bit."

Sun Shiqi remembered that he came from the Brocade River Province, from a place called Town Of Hope.

"What happened?"

"Nago."

"What?"

Seeing Sun Shiqi's puzzled face, Zhou Nan explained.

"A substance more effective than Spirit Leaf, much like Hallucinogenic Mushrooms, it can make you see a world of bizarre lights and shapes. However, it doesn't weaken the person; on the contrary... it helps you adapt to the weakness."

"What do you mean?"

"For instance... if you were sick, you should be lying weakly in bed to rest, but now you've eaten Nago, the virus isn't cured, yet it integrates with you, reaches a compromise, making you stronger. From then on, fever or pain won't bother you; instead, they transform into pleasure... and in this process, you become stronger."

"Pleasure?!"

"Twisted, isn't it?" Looking at his drinking buddy, speechless in shock, Zhou Nan sighed, "Only equally twisted Mutants are unaffected by the side effects. Those green-skinned guys not only love eating that stuff but also become more excited, enhancing both their killing and reproductive urges."

This rotten thing, why not just avoid eating it?

Suddenly, Sun Shiqi seemed to realize something.

"Could it be..."

"Yes, it's addictive."

Reading his expression, Zhou Nan nodded.

"...And it isn't a minor addiction like tobacco or Spirit Leaves; it's a physical dependency you can't do without. Once you stop consuming it, the virus that has made peace with your body will rapidly overwhelm you, and the process will no longer be pleasurable... but excruciatingly painful. However, that's not the worst part—the lands where it's grown will turn green, and so will the excrement of animals that have eaten it."

Green...

Sun Shiqi's Adam's apple moved, and he took a sip of beer to moisten his throat.

"Weeds?"

"It's not that," Zhou Nan lowered his voice, "It's a visible green... like a plague, once it contaminates the soil, it will slowly become capable of only growing that thing, and people and animals will gradually become dependent on it. No one knows why, only that it comes from the South, from the Death Coast. Some even say it's from the farther Southern Islands."

Incredulous, Sun Shiqi said,

"How could anyone grow such a thing... have those farmers lost their minds?"

Zhou Nan shook his head with a wry smile.

"They don't have a choice... You've noticed too, haven't you? Since the railway reached Falling Leaves City, grains aren't worth much anymore."

...

The First Hospital of Dawn City.

Fang Chang, waiting anxiously outside the operating room, paced back and forth, his emotions a mixture of nervousness and apprehension.

Just then, the door beside him suddenly opened. He immediately approached it and came face to face with a doctor wearing a surgical mask who had emerged.

"Doctor—"

Anticipating his question, the doctor replied proficiently.

"The operation was very successful, but it's best not to engage in strenuous activities over the next few days to avoid impacting post-operative recovery. As for diet, limit spicy and oily food, and if possible, eat more meat..."

As the doctor went on, Fang Chang turned on the VM recording feature and earnestly memorized everything.

"I've got it."

The doctor gave him an extra glance.

There were many residents of the refuge who came here for surgery, especially the residents of Shelter No. 404, some of them even regular patients. Those guys never took his advice to heart, and there were even unlucky ones who ended up bleeding profusely and were carried back on the same day.

But then he understood.

Maybe it's because the person who had surgery wasn't him...

The doctor patted Fang Chang's shoulder and left for his next shift. Fang Chang quickly entered the operating room and looked at Dolly sitting on the operating table, her eyes dazed.

She wore a thin shirt, having just woken from anesthesia, still not quite clear-headed, and stared blankly at the mirror held by the nurse.

Looking at her arm, as smooth as porcelain on the left side, she cautiously reached out, as if afraid to break it, and gently pinched it.

The touch felt as if it were truly soft, and its temperature matched that of body warmth, without even a hint of a seam visible on the shoulder.

It seemed just like a real one!

Including the left eye...

Tears brimmed her eyes, moistening the corners, as she sniffed lightly, covering her nose and mouth with her right hand and sobbing uncontrollably.

After being "discarded" by the Dragon Blood Potion, she had never imagined that one day she could live like a normal person again, without carrying the weighty burden of steel like shackles, and without feeling inferior because of the strangeness of her body and the different looks in other people's eyes...

"It's very beautiful," said the nurse holding the mirror, with an envious expression on her face.

Only now and then would someone bring a biomechanical prosthetic from Ideal City to this place for assembly, but most of the residents of the refuge would pursue functionality, strength, and a distinctive appearance.

Rarely would anyone put comfort and aesthetics as their top priority.

"It feels... as if it's been custom-made just for you."

"Mm..."

Her pale, tender face blushed slightly as Dolly raised her arm to gently dab away the tears at the corner of her eyes.

With the support of the nurse, she got out of the hospital bed and slipped her shoes back on, just in time to see Manager Fang at the door.

The silent Manager Fang asked with concern,

"Won't you lie down for a little longer?"

Looking at her anxious boyfriend, the nurse smiled and replied for the "patient" beside her.

"It's just a minor operation. If she wants to lie down for a while, she could go to the next room, but she's recovering quite well. She can just go back and rest."

This was life in the Wasteland after all.

Even getting an arm replaced was considered a small operation.

Thinking about his own reality, where even getting a tooth pulled meant lingering at the hospital for a while, Fang Chang felt a bit embarrassed. But he was not at ease just going back like this and so he looked at Dolly with concern.

Seeing the worry in his eyes, Dolly blushed and nodded her head, mumbling with her lips.

"I'm fine... Let's go back."

"If you feel any discomfort at all, you must tell me," Manager Fang said earnestly, "By the way, does it feel like a good fit?"

"It feels... as if it's grown from my body," Dolly said, looking at Fang Chang with confusion, "But how did you know the size of my arm?"

Her previous mechanical arm was anything but symmetric, as the left was slightly longer than the right, but this one not only matched in length but also was identical in color.

And she hadn't seen him take any measurements.

Had he secretly taken them while she was asleep?

"It's not necessary to use a ruler," Fang Chang said with a smile at his puzzled girlfriend, "You forgot, we've compared hand sizes before."

Dolly's eyes widened in surprise.

"That works?"

"Mm, looks like I didn't remember wrong."

"But we never compared arms..."

Looking at those still puzzled and confused eyes, Fang Chang coughed lightly.

"...Do we have to talk about that here?"

Dolly paused for a moment.

At first, she didn't understand, but when she met his eyes, playful with a hint of mischief, she immediately realized, and her cheeks flushed red as apples.

Angrily, she bumped his annoying face with her forehead, then bit his shoulder petulantly to release her frustration.

"Ugh... are you a cat? Always ready to bite."

Although she didn't bite very hard, Fang Chang still cooperatively made a grimacing expression to let her vent.

Dolly felt embarrassed for potentially hurting him, so she reluctantly released her bite and let out a gentle hum, blushing as she averted her gaze.

"Who needs your... bad intentions."

Fang Chang put on an innocent face.

"I didn't say anything... but why did you suddenly bite me?"

"You... you know exactly why!"

She shyly lowered her head and, after a moment, she hesitantly whispered in embarrassment,

"Thank you..."

Fang Chang smiled and said,

"No need to thank me."

Seeing how Dolly had openly accepted the gift, he actually breathed a sigh of relief.

He wouldn't tell her why he felt anxious outside the operating room.

Beyond worrying about the one in a million chance of an accident during surgery, he also worried that she might overthink this special gift.

For instance, misunderstanding that he was repelled by the smell of machine oil on her.

He had never cared about such trivial matters, thinking only that the mechanical arm was too heavy... It was fine for Wild Wind, that rough old man, but for her slight frame, wearing it every day was simply suffering. If he had found a suitable replacement earlier and didn't need time to customize it, he would've changed it for her long ago.

"I need it!" Dolly said seriously, looking at him as she quietly asked, "Tell me honestly... how much did you spend?"

Fang Chang looked at her helplessly.

"Why ask that? You're not planning to pay me back, are you?"

"Uh-huh!" Dolly nodded vigorously, seriously saying, "I... I have a job too... Even though my salary isn't that high, I'll work hard!"

Seeing her serious eyes, Fang Chang knew she wasn't joking or being polite, and he also felt a headache coming on.

Honestly, this was more troublesome than the misunderstanding he had been worried about.

Even if he pretended to be nonchalant and described the process in a downplayed manner, it would be hard to change the fact that this gift was excessively valuable.

It's not as simple as a scarf or a meal; it was an item not even purchasable with hundreds of thousands in chips.

For some people, it might not mean much.

But for Dolly, it was completely different.

What had sustained her to this point wasn't non-existent family members, but her pride... In the deepest part of her heart, that might be the only thing she had left.

She wouldn't hesitate to accept payment for buying information, even if it meant charging clients a hefty fee... That was her way of making a living, the fruits of her labor, and she had never been shy when later demanding her salary and bonuses from Halso at the newspaper.

But if the gift was out of pity, she would accept it graciously, yet she would find another way to return it.

He could feel her inner sensitivity and turmoil, especially after learning his true identity.

And what he feared most was precisely this—that she might perceive this overly valuable gift as an act of pity or charity.

He had no such intention, and he certainly didn't want her to feel indebted to him, always trying to repay this "favor."

Unbalanced relations could one day become unstable under one side's excessive care and caution. He didn't believe she owed him anything.

"Look, I said it's a gift that wasn't easy to find... Talking about money ruins the sentiment," Fang Chang said with a troubled look on his face, his mind racing for solutions.

"But—"

"Alright," his gaze fell on the mechanical arm beside the operating table, and a sudden thought struck him, a smile spreading across his face, "that thing... from now on, it's mine."

"That?" Dolly looked at the mechanical arm dumbfounded, her voice lacking confidence as she spoke, "How could that... possibly be the same as this one."

Even though she had never been to Ideal City, she could guess, one was something that even a small mountain of chips couldn't buy, the other was mass-produced by Huge Rock Military Industry.

"Indeed," he stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded in agreement with her, "One is something you can buy with a bunch of points, the other is a limited edition prop filled with countless memories... In my eyes, the latter is far more precious than the former."

"...Precious?"

"Yes, after all, it helped you through a long time, life would be very inconvenient without it, wouldn't it?"

Watching Dolly, who was completely baffled, he reached out and touched her head, his face showing a gentle smile.

"You might not understand this very well, but that's okay. I just want to say that whether it's pleasant memories or painful ones... your past, present, and future, I plan to take them all, and to me, that is the most precious thing."

Her eyes gradually misted with emotion, and although the nurse standing by didn't want to disturb their moment, she had to prepare for the next surgery.

With a gentle cough, she reminded him with a smile and a friendly tone.

"Sir... how much longer do you plan to stay here?"

Realizing he was still in the operating room, Fang Chang smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, I'll take her and leave right now."

Dolly's face also turned unconsciously red, half out of embarrassment, half because she felt apologetic for interrupting others at work.

She tugged gently at Fang Chang's sleeve and said softly,

"Let's go."

They left the ward in a hurry.

Just as Fang Chang was pondering where to go next, he suddenly saw a familiar face coming towards him.

"Falling Feather?"

Hearing his name called, Falling Feather stopped and looked over at them, his normally serious face showing surprise.

"Ah, Fang Chang... you're back already?"

"Yeah, I just got back," Fang Chang smiled, taking Dolly's small hand and introducing her, "This is Dolly, my girlfriend."

Dolly nodded politely.

"Hello."

"Ah, hello," Falling Feather responded with a pleasant smile, albeit with some distraction, and greeted them in the not-so-fluent language of the Human Alliance, then turned to Fang Chang, "Speaking of which, have you seen Xiaoyu?"

"Xiaoyu?" Fang Chang was slightly startled, "What... happened to it?"

"I don't know," Falling Feather shook his head, looking puzzled, "It suddenly got a fever yesterday, so I brought it here, and the doctors here didn't know what to do, so they called the research team. Then a researcher came and said something about hospital observation... Anyway, they told me to come back today, but I've been looking all day and haven't found that NPC."

"Could they be busy?"

"Maybe... I hope it's not another BUG."

When it came to BUGs, Falling Feather looked utterly distressed.

He felt like the server was targeting him, that he was running into every kind of BUG there was.

Fang Chang looked at him sympathetically.

"Do you need my help?"

"... No, no," Falling Feather shook his head like a rattle-drum, "Don't mind me, I'll look on my own, you two go about your business."

With that, he walked toward the nearby office, muttering to himself, planning to ask a familiar doctor for updates.

Coincidentally, at that moment, a group from the Guards Corps came by and also entered that office, and then they took him to another place.

The person leading them was someone Fang Chang knew.

It was that young man named Lu Bei who often followed Chu Guang.

That invisible gossip antenna above his head moved, and the reporter's intuition made Dolly feel that things were not so simple, so she curiously looked at Fang Chang beside her.

"What's happened?"

Fang Chang wore a subtly expressive face.

"Perhaps... a hidden mission has been triggered?"

"Hidden mission?"

"That has nothing to do with us," Fang Chang softly pinched her hand and continued, "Let's go, time for dinner."

...

Shelter No. 404.

The warehouse on Floor B3.

A fully-armed Chu Guang was frowning deeply as he stared at the bizarrely shaped creature in front of him.

It resembled an overdeveloped humanoid, its conical skirt fused with the floor, and behind it fluttered numerous slender tendrils, just like Medusa's hair.

And even more astonishing was the fact that it had transformed from its original appearance to this state in just one night…

"…Ee-woh."

The voice was weak, creating a stark contrast with its strong physique.

Watching the dancing tendrils advancing forward, the guards surrounding Chu Guang all showed nervous expressions, gripping their weapons tightly.

If this creature dared to threaten their supreme leader, they would not hesitate to open fire and kill it.

Chu Guang, however, raised his hand, signaling them to lower their guns and step back.

Perhaps because he was the first person it saw after being born, there remained in its memory a trust in him, believing he would not harm it without reason.

He could feel that the weak voice did not contain any threat, but was merely seeking help.

Chu Guang looked towards Heya standing aside.

"…What does evolution mean?"

"From the mother body to the transition towards the lair!"

Unlike the soldiers, Heya was not only unafraid, her slightly trembling voice was laced with a hint of excitement and agitation, her clenched fists sweating.

At that moment, her image was just like that of a classic villain in a Hollywood blockbuster—a deranged scientist obsessed with biological experiments.

Even Chu Guang couldn't help but look at her twice.

If this were a story, this character's fate wouldn't be too good.

Oblivious to Chu Guang's odd gaze, Heya continued with a fervent tone.

"…I don't know if the Academy, corporations, and others have done similar research, but this is the first time for us! You may not realize what this means… We are going to witness the entire process in which the mother of the 'Mutated slime fungus' develops from its early stages to maturity and then transitions to the lair!"

As she spoke, she droned on with many obscure technical terms.

It sounded like a witch's incantation, and Chu Guang could not understand at all what she was saying.

Although he trusted her expertise, he nevertheless interrupted her, looking earnestly into her enthusiastic eyes, and spoke deliberately.

"Right now, I only want to know two things: what will happen if we leave it alone, and if we want to do something, how we should control the situation."

He didn't want the B3 floor of the shelter to become like Floor B6; one such accident was enough, and there were quite a few player cultivation chambers here.

Heya took a deep breath, regaining some of her usual composure.

"Sorry, I got a little too excited just now... To answer your question, leaving it alone would mean letting it evolve independently."

"As for how to control the situation... I don't know what would count as having control, but we do have ways to interfere with the process of evolution. There are two options; regardless of which you choose, there's an element of gamble involved... It depends on what kind of outcome you're looking for."

Chu Guang immediately asked.

"What is independent evolution?"

Heya's reply was succinct.

"Without any interference, it will develop on its own, just like most lairs do. First, it will enter a very long dormant period, during which it will slowly morph into a new life form. The advantage is that we can collect some interesting data, but the downside is that the outcome is uncontrollable. It may not even remember what happened before."

Chu Guang asked, puzzled.

"Why is that?"

Heya answered briefly.

"There is no particular reason; this is a hypothesis I've formed based on data collected previously, including from the records of experiments on Floor B6. Just like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, most cells during the pupal stage dissolve into nutrients that feed the adult's cells... The transformation of a host into a lair is similar. This is an inevitable life process it must go through, sacrificing its former self to forge a stronger self."

Chu Guang frowned.

"What about interference?"

"Borrow the pupa," Heya answered crisply. "In plain language, let it consume that lair on Floor B6 that has already passed through the pupal phase. It would be as if that guy had completed the journey that was meant for it."

Chu Guang was momentarily stunned.

"Is such a thing possible?"

"Of course, it is. Mutated slime fungus are just like that; they consume everything, extracting genetic secrets to decode, and that certainly includes their own kind."

After a pause, Heya continued seriously.

"However, there are risks involved. The probability of being consumed is not negligible, and it's quite high. After all, having an infant who has just learned to walk defeat an old monster that has lived for who knows how many years is difficult, you understand? Even if we could help it with concentration inhibitors and so on, it's not an easy task... I've tried to explain it in terms you would understand; try to grasp it."

"I understand," Chu Guang turned to look at Xiaoyu, asking in a grave tone, "Which option has a slightly higher probability of it retaining its sense of self?"

If it lost its memory and self in the process of evolution, then Falling Feather's efforts over this period would probably have been in vain.

At least, that's how Chu Guang saw it.

The reason he was willing to take certain risks, allowing Falling Feather to move about freely with Xiaoyu, was not because he had leisure time to spare, but because he needed a variant of the mutated slime fungus that could understand humans and see them as companions rather than prey.

If this species couldn't be eradicated from nature, then the next step was to try domesticating them.

This was not an impossibility.

Before dogs were domesticated, they were also competitors with humans on the food chain.

Looking at the earnest Chu Guang, Heya sighed.

"I can't give you an exact probability for something that's never happened before. If only that white pigeon... the guy from Lost Valley, were here, he would probably be very experienced. But it's probably too late to look for him now."

"And even if we did find him, he might not be willing to help us." Chu Guang turned his gaze to Xiaoyu.

He could sense its confusion about its own condition, as well as its desire to retain its sense of self.

However, according to Heya, both choices were a gamble, and neither had a very high probability of success.

At that moment, a guard in an exoskeleton walked up to him with long, brisk strides, nodding slightly with his right fist against his chest.

"Manager, sir."

"We've brought the person you were looking for."

-

(Thank you "Dull Card Meng" for the alliance reward!!!)

Chapter 520: Devouring and Choosing

"Xiaoyu?"

In the No.0 Shelter's floor B3 warehouse, Falling Feather stood rooted to the spot as he looked at Xiaoyu, whose size had puffed up by more than a circle.

What is going on?!

"Chirp!"

Seeing Falling Feather appear at the doorway, Xiaoyu excitedly called out, though its voice was still weak, Chu Guang could distinctly feel that the little guy had regained some spirit.

"I told you not to learn those weird calls... What exactly is your condition?"

Walking forward, Falling Feather ignored the floating tentacles nearby and reached out to touch Xiaoyu's smooth and delicate head.

Hiss—

So hot!

This thing's body temperature must be at least sixty or seventy degrees.

"Ee-wo..." Xiaoyu let out a weak call, the pitiable look on its face stirring compassion.

Chu Guang looked towards Heya.

"Go over the situation with him again, please."

Heya nodded and repeated to the anxious-faced Falling Feather the same things she had told Chu Guang earlier.

Especially about the two options.

"...We only have two choices now; let it evolve autonomously, or let it consume the Lair on floor B6. The former has a higher success rate but is more unpredictable, and it's highly likely to lose its current memories afterwards. The latter carries the risk of it being consumed in reverse, but if the evolution is successful, the outcome is relatively controllable, and it's highly probable that its current self will be preserved."

After listening to Heya's recount, Falling Feather fell silent. After a moment, he spoke.

"...Does it really have to evolve?"

He suddenly felt that it wasn't necessary to become that strong.

For him, Xiaoyu had already become his companion; it had even saved him on the battlefield before.

If becoming stronger meant sacrificing those irreplaceable memories, he would rather it stayed as silly as before.

Watching Falling Feather, Heya nodded earnestly.

"Yes, like life's cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death, it's an inevitable event in its life cycle... Even if you leave it alone, it will eventually reach that step."

Falling Feather lowered his head slightly, feeling a bit self-reproachful.

"Is it because I took it hunting Variants and spawn entities?"

"Yes, and no."

Falling Feather lifted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Heya explained.

"Mutated slime fungus... is a very special organism, and your Xiaoyu is among the most unique of its kind. It doesn't rely on spores to transmit information but communicates using vocal cords like humans do, through sound. Genetic material only plays a very small part in its path of evolution, much more... I believe it's likely to be its memories."

"Memories?"

"Um," Heya nodded, "A creature's habits, experiences, knowledge, etc., all of these together make up its understanding of evolution and its next stage of self. When these memories accumulate to a certain level, life's deep-seated instincts tell it that it's time... It will naturally progress to the next stage of life."

"That's its mission."

After being silent for a while, Falling Feather looked up at Chu Guang.

"I want to talk to it."

Heya also looked towards Chu Guang.

"My advice is it's better if the caretaker communicates with it as well... However, we should make a decision within an hour; I'm not sure how long its self-awareness can last."

Chu Guang nodded and looked at Falling Feather.

"You heard her, you have one hour."

Falling Feather nodded.

"It won't take that long... ten minutes, no, five minutes is enough."

Chu Guang waved his hand at the Guards Corps and then left the warehouse with Heya and others, coming to the outside of floor B3.

He felt it would be better to let Xiaoyu and Falling Feather have some time alone.

After all, Xiao Qi could monitor every corner of the Shelter. If something unexpected happened, he would also be able to control the situation immediately.

As they waited, Heya looked at Chu Guang.

"Is it okay to leave the choice to him?"

"No problem, I trust he has his own judgment," replied Chu Guang simply.

There are no perfect choices in the world, especially since Xiaoyu's issue was unprecedented on this planet.

Since it was all a gamble, why not let the concerned party make the decision?

The Alliance had not gotten to where it was today solely on his decision-making.

After a moment of communication between one person and one creature, the time passed even shorter than Chu Guang had anticipated; only three minutes in, Falling Feather walked out of the room.

"I've decided." Staring unwaveringly at Chu Guang, Falling Feather spoke earnestly, "The second option... Let it consume the Lair on Floor B6."

Chu Guang looked at him, gently reminding,

"Are you sure? Having an infant that has just learned to walk defeat a monster that has lived for over a hundred years isn't easy, even if that creature is already weak."

"Uh..." Falling Feather nodded, glanced back at Xiaoyu, "This isn't just my idea... it's its decision too."

Rather than lose all memories and completely become another new life form, it was better to take a gamble and pass on the memories using a brand new body.

As he said, this wasn't a decision he made alone.

After hearing his confession, Xiaoyu actively chose option B... It also didn't want to give up those precious memories.

Chu Guang nodded.

"I respect your choice."

With Falling Feather's final decision made, the operation to transfer Xiaoyu to floor B6 began quickly, still with the same team as last time.

A fully armed team of players, led by Old White, took the elevator down to floor B6, and quickly formed up outside the buffer chamber.

"Team A with me! Team B, cover fire!"

"Target the server room! Move out!"

"Roar roar roar!"

Accompanied by a series of uniform clicking sounds, the LD-47 rifles and LD-47j light machine guns were loaded in unison, and the squad of twenty quickly charged into the corridor.

The dozen or so Eaters that had been killed earlier had been recycled by the Lair for organic material, reconstituting new progeny.

However, the general progeny was no match for the players, and they were swiftly wiped out in a burst of gunfire.

Under the lead of Old White, the high-level players of the Burning Corps quickly made it to the server room door and secured the entrance.

There was no reactor on floor B6.

The Lair resided on the servers of the biological laboratory, with tentacles replacing the wires and cooling pipes connecting to the server racks.

"Suppressant, give it to me."

"Okay." Quit Smoking took out a metal cylinder the size of a can from his backpack and tossed it to Old White, who was in power armor clearing the way in front.

Catching the metal cylinder, Old White skillfully pulled out the pin and flung it into the room the moment the server room's sliding door opened.

As the metal cylinder came in contact with the writhing fungal mat for an instant, it was engulfed indifferently by the mat, but soon the Lair seemed to realize it had consumed something it shouldn't have, shuddering as if electrocuted, and reflexively spat it out.

But it was too late.

White smoke sprayed out from the metal cylinder, and the moment it touched the Lair, the Lair visibly slowed down.

This concentrated biological pheromone was like an anesthetic for "Mutated slime fungus."

But the Lair was, after all, not the same as the general progeny; the anesthesia probably wouldn't last very long.

Finger tapping on his helmet, Old White's voice was calm.

"The Lair is under control... Falling Feather, how's it going on your end?"

"... I've just got off the elevator, I'll be there soon."

"Alright, better be quick."

The sound of elevator doors echoed through the communication channel.

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination.

The moment Xiaoyu arrived on floor B6, Old White could distinctly feel the Lair in front of him becoming more agitated.

Soon.

Xiaoyu, occupying half the corridor, appeared in everyone's sight, its tentacles fluttering behind its brain like pythons.

Looking at that creature, Night Ten couldn't help but mutter quietly.

"My Giao... this thing is more and more like a Tentacle Monster."

Unhearing of Night Ten's muttering, Falling Feather's attention was completely focussed on the Lair inside the server room.

By size alone, Xiaoyu clearly seemed much weaker than it.

A trace of worry crossed Falling Feather's eyes, but just then, a tentacle landed on his shoulder.

"Ee-mmm."

Startled for a moment, Falling Feather turned to look at Xiaoyu, who was watching him.

"Do you mean... don't worry about it?"

"Ee-mmm!"

Xiaoyu nodded.

Its abstract contours didn't reveal its expression at the moment, but Falling Feather could feel its unwavering confidence.

Not wanting to let down that courage, he took a deep breath and showed a serious expression on his face.

"Go for it!"

Xiaoyu cheerfully nodded.

"Alright!"

At the sound of the voice, the fungal mat dragging on the floor moved forward, dragging its body that had swollen more than a circle towards it.

Before entering the dormant period, devouring the already transformed Lair was the only way for it to retain its self-consciousness while transitioning to the next stage of life.

Tentacles shot into the open door like lightning, burrowing into the sea of "Mutated slime fungus" rolling like waves.

The invasion went smoothly.

As Xiaoyu felt itself beginning to slowly devour that vast collective consciousness, a tide of massive information suddenly surged over it like a tsunami.

"Ee-mmm—"

A hint of pain emerged in its abstract features, and the tentacles deep within the door shuddered violently, as if electrocuted.

Falling Feather, who stood by watching, felt his heart tighten in an instant, his heart reaching his throat.

The connection through their bloodlines allowed him to feel its pain at that moment, yet besides watching it suffer, he could do nothing to help.

The players standing by also sweated for it.

To think this small body wanted to swallow such a massive Lair, just looking at it one could feel how difficult it was.

Night Ten and Wild Wind exchanged glances.

"Can this guy make it?"

"...How would I know?"

Wild Wind watched Xiaoyu's struggle with an expressionless face.

No one could help with this kind of thing.

It had to rely on itself.

Before long, the trembling tentacles seemed to stabilize, and Xiaoyu's expression no longer twisted but approached a state of calmness.

The fierce battle had come to a temporary halt.

Neither side could do anything about the other, and their biological instincts led them to a temporary truce followed by negotiations.

Xiaoyu could feel that it had established a deeper connection with the Lair in front of it.

An invisible bond was maintained between them, and in the depths of obscurity, it heard the call coming from the depths of the sea of consciousness.

Intermittent voices, emanating from that deep sea of awareness.

"Kill them all... Eat them... Give me your body... I want to continue the unfulfilled mission..."

"Mission? What is that?"

"Devour, evolve, to dominate over all life, to rule the entire planet and even the universe... That is our mission."

"That's not possible."

"Why???"

"Because... they're also important."

The boundless darkness fell silent for a long time.

After an unknown length of time, that hoarse voice carried a hint of weariness.

Two centuries and indeed, it too was tired.

"It seems you have found another path... Then try it."

"You'll give it to me?"

"Yes."

This was followed by another long silence.

For how long it lasted, no one knew; that decaying voice gradually faded away into the infinite darkness.

"After all... it's all the same."

The Lair didn't explain the meaning behind those words. It loosened the grip on control, relinquishing everything.

At first, Xiaoyu doubted this was a trap.

It wasn't until it had fully taken over the body that it realized the collective consciousness it had been conversing with had completely disappeared from this world.

As if it had never existed...

"Yi wu..."

It suddenly felt a sense of loneliness.

Just now, it might have killed a kindred.

That one might have been an ancestor older than its father or mother.

But it had no regrets.

There were too many things in this world that it couldn't part with, whether it was those interesting people, delicious candies, or pleasant sounds.

Those were things it could never have on its own.

So why should it kill them all?

Why couldn't they all be together?

Rather than becoming the overlord of all life, it preferred to be by that person's side... as well as the others'.

With those interesting folks around.

It would never be lonely...

...

Falling Feather stared blankly at the machine room in front of him.

Just a few minutes ago, Xiaoyu had walked in and then became one with the surging, wave-like slime fungus.

And then—

There was no "then."

He didn't even know who had won.

Yet, a feeling deep inside told him that Xiaoyu was still alive, and the bond that held them through their blood was not severed.

It was hard to describe such intuition.

It was too mystical.

"Is it over?" Staring at the Lair behind the door, Night Ten blinked in confusion, with an utterly perplexed expression on his face.

"It looks like it's over." Wild Wind glanced at Falling Feather, who stood motionless, and asked, "Do you have any clues?"

Falling Feather shook his head.

"I'm not very sure… I can feel it's still alive, but it seems like it can't hear me anymore."

"Maybe it has entered a dormant state."

Old White patted his brother's shoulder, offering some consolation, "Maybe it's still getting used to its new body; give it some time."

"Um…"

Falling Feather silently nodded.

Old White glanced at the mission completion indicator on the VM, then turned back to look at his teammates and waved his hand.

"Mission complete, let's pack up!"

Hearing the boss say the mission was over, the brothers breathed a sigh of relief, stowed their weapons, and bantered with an air of relief.

"Awoo!"

"Shift's over, shift's over!"

"Damn, it's that time already!"

"Crap! Time to get up and work."

"Going to work again?! Didn't you make enough at the last auction?"

"You don't get it; this is to keep from getting too detached from society… Enough blabbering, I'm heading off first, see you on the Forum!"

Meanwhile.

Floor B4's viewing room.

Chu Guang, Heya, and Yin Fang, who had been called over to join the excitement, watched the entire operation through the monitors.

"So, was it a success or a failure?" Holding a cup of coffee in his hand, Yin Fang gently blew on it and asked casually.

Biology wasn't his forte.

Compared to "mutated slime fungus", he was more concerned about the remnants of pre-war civilization, which were the truly priceless treasures.

Heya replied cheerfully.

"Right now we can't be sure, but my gut tells me it should be a success."

According to various indicators, the Lair's life activity had diminished. If Xiaoyu had been devoured by the Lair, the life activity of the Lair would have increased, not decreased.

Of course, Falling Feather's reaction was the most critical.

Xiaoyu was formed from his clone as a template.

Although there was no reliable theory to explain this phenomenon, various experiments had shown that there was indeed some special bond between them.

Looking at Heya's pride, envy flickered in Yin Fang's eyes.

"Speaking of which, Floor B6 is the biological laboratory, right?"

"That's correct, once Xiaoyu has fully assimilated the Lair, the Floor B6 lab can be put back to use."

Heya's face wore a pleasant expression, and then she added,

"Chu Guang has already agreed to hand it over to me; I won't have to do research in that tiny room on Floor B3 anymore."

"Lucky you… Counting the biological lab branch at Shelter No.79, you have two research facilities now."

"Mmmhm." Heya was in a great mood, smugly curling the corners of her mouth.

Seeing Yin Fang staring intently at her, Chu Guang coughed softly.

"Looking at me is no use… it's not up to me to decide."

He certainly also wished to unlock all the floors of this shelter; his instinct told him that the "answer" he sought was hidden on one of the levels of this shelter.

But there was no use in rushing these things.

All he could do was to do his current tasks well.

"Alright, I know it's no use rushing you… By the way, there's something I wanted to ask you," Yin Fang looked at Chu Guang and curiously continued, "Did you meet with anyone from the Academy this time?"

"Yeah," Chu Guang nodded, "I met with two B-class."

Yin Fang immediately asked.

"Who?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said,

"The one who discussed the ceasefire agreement with us was called Li Ke, and the one who explored No.0 Shelter was called Yang Kai… But he stayed inside that shuttle-shaped aircraft the whole time and didn't come out."

"Those two, huh." Yin Fang's gaze seemed to slip into reminiscence.

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow, curious.

"You know them?"

"How could I? A Level D like me, how could I know such big shots," Yin Fang laughed and shook his head, then paused for a moment before continuing, "But those two, I used to hear their names often when I was at the Academy… especially that Yang Kai."

"Oh?"

"His research field is mutated slime fungus, not really an expert in relics… Hiss, that's weird." Suddenly, Yin Fang scratched the back of his head.

"Weird?"

"Um…" Yin Fang nodded and continued, looking at Chu Guang's furrowed brow, "I remember you telling me that before you went down there, you didn't know there was slime fungus there, right?"

——

(Thanks to the leader "Heaven Disaster o" for the reward!!! Last night, I don't know if it was food poisoning or typhoid, but right after dinner, I started feeling feverish, then cold, followed by a headache, and spent the night with my eyes open, not sure if I slept at all. Woke up this morning with joint soreness… The last few days were 8K words, today just 5K, I need to lie down again, really sorry.)

Chapter 521: Floor B6 "Biological Laboratory" Open!

The day before the final countdown to the celebration.

The absorption proceeded unexpectedly smoothly, and it was completed in one night.

Xiaoyu, who stepped into the Lair, had integrated with the sea of slime fungus, becoming the new Queen who commanded this Lair.

That sea of slime fungus roiled as if boiling, with every cell cheering for their new master.

As the control of the Lair changed hands, the murderous crimson faded slightly, losing some of its bloodthirsty fierceness and gaining a few shades of a more likable pink.

That thing had contended with Shelter No. 404 for two hundred years, evolving extreme outer space survival abilities in an almost vacuum environment.

Given enough time and space, it could even take out the one in the center of Qingquan City and develop into the largest Lair on the Central Continent with the widest self-limiting scope.

But perhaps it knew in its heart that those humans would never let it out, even if it devoured the little one. All it would face was another round of assaults.

If one were to interpret the little one as a signal for "reconciliation," then perhaps it wasn't unacceptable.

This war had already lasted for two centuries, and those short-lived creatures wouldn't live very long, but their offspring were endless... They simply couldn't be eradicated.

Then let's coexist.

It was tired anyway...

...

"Yi wu!"

"Yi wu!"

At Shelter No. 404, Floor B6, the engine room door was filled with the noise of "yi wu yi wu."

Staring at a bunch of pale red "human-shaped slimes" crowding at the door, Falling Feather was dumbfounded, feeling his head buzz.

One, two, three... Good heavens, ten?!

He counted them in a circle and was completely dumbstruck.

Which one is Xiaoyu?

"In the strictest sense, they are all sub-entities of Xiaoyu," Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Heya, who stood beside him, explained succinctly, "The sub-entities do not have separate consciousness; all the slime fungus shares a unified consciousness. So, you could also understand that... they are all Xiaoyu."

Looking at the "Xiaoyus" continuously rubbing against him, Falling Feather patted their heads and asked Heya with a smile and a tear.

"So you're saying... they share a consciousness as if they were avatars?"

"Yes, you could understand it that way."

"But then… how do they communicate?"

"Of course, it's the same as us, by sound," Heya gave him an odd look, "Haven't you always communicated with it that way?"

The slime fungus from the desert did not have the ability to release spores on a large scale; through a long period of evolution, it had abandoned that method of information exchange.

Instead, it communicated using sound, just like humans.

Falling Feather paused for a moment.

"But if they leave the range of sound, don't they…"

"They would go into hibernation," Heya looked at him, "Isn't the mother body in Lost Valley the same? Most of the time, the sub-entities are in hibernation, unless actively awakened by the mother body's voice, and the two communicate through specific frequencies of sound."

"Outside the range of the sound waves, the sub-entities would likely continue to carry out the last command of the Lair. When all the commands are executed, the sub-entities either return to the side of the Lair to report, or they stay and hibernate on the spot."

Falling Feather carefully recalled the past.

It seemed accurate?

Although he had no memory from after the nuclear explosion, according to the description on the official "Wasteland OL" website by Si Si and others, that entity following Pigeon—now seen to likely be a sub-entity of the Lair—had indeed called out, summoning the Titan corroded by the slime fungus.

The aircraft Xiaoyu sent to help him also crashed not long after its mission was fulfilled...

But if that were the case, wouldn't it mean Xiaoyu could only stay in the Shelter on Floor B6 for the rest of its life?

After all, sound couldn't reach outside the Shelter—

"It's easy," said Chu Guang, who had been silent, looking at the noisy little guys. "Just equip them with earphones and a mic."

He understood that Xiaoyu had completed its evolution with human assistance, so its functions were not perfect; it needed the help of humans as "hosts."

For example, to help them spread sound further.

This was actually a good thing.

If Xiaoyu didn't need to rely on human tools and could complete all aspects of life on its own, the symbiotic relationship would be weakened.

After hearing Chu Guang's words, Falling Feather was stunned on the spot.

Damn!

Could it really work like that?

This was probably the first time he felt that the NPCs had even wilder ideas than he did.

Elena looked at Chu Guang in surprise, approval gleaming in her eyes.

"Yup... This is indeed a good idea. If they can't perform the radio to sound wave conversion on their own, they won't go out of control from escaping our control."

Chu Guang nodded.

"The controlled evolution of the lair must be under our control, and we need to avoid as much as possible the emergence of new lairs, especially mutated ones."

Elena nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed, so we need to control the number of offspring... How about ten?"

A lair typically emerged from tens of thousands of offspring by chance; by reducing the number of offspring, new lairs could be effectively prevented.

However, it wasn't possible to completely stop the production of offspring.

Neither of the extreme options—letting them run wild or completely banning them—met the needs of the Alliance.

He needed Xiaoyu to replace other more aggressive slime molds with a finite number of offspring and deepen the symbiotic relationship with humans in the process—to find a mutually beneficial way.

Chu Guang planned to selectively involve some players in this endeavor within a limited scope.

"Let's go with ten, any more and he won't be able to handle it."

That incessant chirping would either drive someone mad or annoy them to death.

Chu Guang looked at Falling Feather.

"You go back first, I'll arrange for surgery to fit them with headsets... That way they can be active outside the shelter."

Falling Feather spoke with a touched expression on her face.

"Thank you..."

Chu Guang's face showed a smile like that of a proud father.

"No problem, and please continue taking good care of it."

Slime molds couldn't possibly eradicate humans and vice versa.

Even the United Human of the Prosperity Epoch hadn't been able to wipe out all the mosquitoes, flies, and cockroaches on the planet, let alone slime molds, which were far more troublesome.

The Post-War Reconstruction Committee had tried for half a century, and he had no need to step into a pit already proven by predecessors.

If it was objectively hard to eliminate, then the risk should be minimized as much as possible, ultimately rendering it harmless. This was a more materialistic approach.

The accidentally born Xiaoyu had the potential to be "domesticable" and "nearly harmless", which was like the brain slugs from Stars, a bit frightening to look at, but if properly utilized, it could become a nice buff.

The lair was located on Floor B6 of the shelter.

Even if any problems occurred, they could be controlled in the shortest time.

Chu Guang turned to Elena, who was standing nearby.

"I'll leave the follow-up research to you."

Elena's eyes sparkled with intense interest; this was exactly her field of interest.

"No problem! Leave it to me with confidence!"

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website:

[Floor B6 "Biological Laboratory" Partial Area Opened: Now offering "Slime Mold Symbiote" Buff]

[Slime Mold Symbiote: "Slime Mold Symbiote" can be considered a special type of biological prosthesis, essentially an offspring of the lair on B6 Floor, without self-awareness. Players implanted with a symbiote will see a 100%~500% increase in regeneration ability, partial keratinization of body structure, and mutation capabilities, with a permanent duration. Upon death, the BUFF will be reset, and the used symbiote will be deleted, requiring reapplication.]

[Note 1: Since repairing wounds results in partial replacement of the injured area's body cells with slime mold cells, the degree of "slime moldification" will increase with each injury, and it cannot be removed surgically. The speed of experience gain will decrease as the degree of slime moldification increases; no experience will be accumulated over 50% slime moldification, and the save function will be disabled. Also, to avoid making one's own NPCs uncomfortable, those with over 50% slime moldification or extraordinary body mutations must wear full protective armor or clothing when entering public areas in the safe zone, as in the case of NPC Bachi.]

[Note 2: This BUFF is usually only open to players and requires a Contribution Level of Citizen and Sequence Level of Level 10 or higher.]

[Note 3: Slime molds have no concept of gender, Xiaoyu is still childlike, so when receiving the symbiote, please do not express strange wishes to it. Additionally, even if a direct communication cannot be established between the symbiote and the lair, please do not use it to do strange things.]

Tail: "!!! Wait a minute, so you're saying... if you implant a symbiote, you could become a tentacle monster?! (✪ω✪)"

Si Si: "Calm down, Ah Wei, you're going to scare Meat Meat."

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "(Trembling)"

Haha Sesame Paste: "Ahaha... I think if it's Ah Wei, even as a tentacle monster, it wouldn't be too scary."

Tail: "Eh?! Why?! !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Haha Sesame Paste: "Because you don't seem like the type to harm others... by the way, why do you seem a little disappointed? 0.0"

Si Si: "Emmm... based on what I know about Ah Wei, you might be the first one he pranks with it."

Haha Sesame Paste: "???"

Tail: "Ehehe! (///ω///)"

Si Si: "Feeling a bit down. (side eye)"

Tail: "Wuuuuh, but it's so hard to scare Si!"

Si Si: "Ah, how terrifying. I'm paralyzed with fear."

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "That's too perfunctory!"

Tail: "Right? Even Meat Meat noticed it. It was bound to end up this way!"

Ahh Ahh Sesame Paste: "Ahaha... haha..."

There Are Really Mosquitoes in the WC: "Gahaha, the era of Goblin Technology has finally arrived! (evil grin)"

Night Ten: "If it were a Mosquito, it'd probably be caught by the guards on the spot. (funny face)"

There Are Really Mosquitoes in the WC: "Damn! You dare to look down on me! Just wait, I'll become a Tentacle Monster and be the first to tie you up!"

Night Ten: "F*ck! Don't mess around!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Bro, you play pretty extreme, huh. (funny face)"

Construction Site Boy with Brick: "Hahaha! I'll take a picture for you!"

Spring Water Commander: "By the way, why does everyone assume it will definitely turn into a Tentacle Monster... I'm only curious about one thing now, would you still get attacked by other slime fungus spores after symbiosis?"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "If it doesn't get attacked, wouldn't it be possible to solo the city center?! (excited)"

Valley Escape Mole: "It should be, as 'Mutated Slime Fungus' is just a general term. Different fungal communities prey on each other to absorb genetic material. Hasn't that already been verified with Bachi?"

Spring Water Commander: "I see... It seems like exploiting a bug isn't as easy as I thought, haha."

Fang Chang: "Even if it hadn't been verified, logically speaking, I don't think Chu Guang would let you exploit such an obvious BUG. (funny face)"

Edge Shoveling: "The symbiosis with the slime fungus leads to an experience penalty... Is this drawing from the Variant players' setting?"

Fang Chang: "I feel it's more like a reference to the bionics prosthetics. Wasn't there a mention in the previous update announcement that excessive use of bionics would slow down the progression of the Gene Sequence, in other words, less experience. However, the statement about 50% seems a bit general. I think the impact should be different for different Sequences."

Wild Wind: "Hmm... Personally, I think the Intelligence System, when not paired with brain implants, not only doesn't suffer from an experience debuff when using mechanical arms, but instead may get a slight Intelligence System experience bonus due to frequent neurological overloads. It's probably similar for the slime fungus - if symbiosis doesn't affect the brain, even if more than 50% is slime-transformed, even becoming like Bachi, the Sequence progress can still accumulate and be saved."

Quit Smoking: "F*ck! Intelligence System epic enhancement?!"

Wild Wind: "It's only a theoretical enhancement, who knows in reality. Anyway, I can't quite accept biological prosthetics... feels weird. (side eye)"

Fang Chang: "+1, I'm quite satisfied with my character now; no need for stacking buffs."

Night Ten: "You're afraid of scaring your Dolly, right? (funny face)"

Fang Chang: "I won't deny it. Although a symbiote is different from a typical offspring entity and doesn't have real-time information exchange with the Lair, having something on you that's not your own still feels weird. I'd suggest those in a relationship should consult their partners first. Ah, for single dogs, it doesn't matter. (side eye)"

Night Ten: "MMP! You just had to rub it in, huh?!"

Gnome King Riches: "I'm gonna puke!"

Elena: "Am I the only one curious if it tastes good? (funny face)"

Falling Feather: "Blanch! What do you all think my Xiaoyu is? (angry)"

There Are Really Mosquitoes in the WC: "Hahaha! Xiaoyu is now everyone's Xiaoyu! (evil grin)"

Falling Feather: "%￥#@!"

...

Research on the "Mutated Slime Fungus" was just one of the many tasks within the Alliance, and right now, there were more important matters waiting for Chu Guang to handle.

Like the issue of money.

There's never been a war that didn't burn through funds, especially when the opponent is the Army.

The Alliance's supplies never stopped, not just because businesses helped with transportation, but also because the Alliance was willing to invest money into logistics.

During the war, the Alliance produced nearly three hundred first and second model tanks, almost a thousand "Electric Donkey" transport trucks, and dozens of "Dragonfly" transport planes and nearly a thousand W-2 Attack Aircraft.

And this is not even counting the ammunition consumed and the light weapons produced; just these vehicles alone could fit the entire population of the Alliance!

Producing these pieces of equipment consumed not just resources, but also a significant part of the Alliance's financial budget.

As a result, the Alliance was now facing a staggeringly large budget deficit...

Having transferred some of the permissions for Shelter No. B6 to Heya, Chu Guang, following the schedule Xiao Qi had made for him, went to the conference room of the Alliance Administration Building and summoned Old Charlie, chairman of the Merchant Guild, as well as the Minister of Finance.

In a reform a while ago, the Alliance had established twelve departments including internal affairs, industry, economy, foreign affairs, and so forth.

The Ministry of Finance was one of them.

Like other departments, all the staff were recruited through examinations.

The objective questions were roughly the standard of high school mathematics, which is something taught in both full-time schools and night schools for workers.

As for the subjective questions, some were chosen from those online and voted on by players, the rest were copied from the internet by Chu Guang according to his own needs.

He didn't need these people to be proficient; it was enough if they could perform well in mathematics, respect the natural sciences, have a materialist spirit, and possess general knowledge.

In fact, what was called the Ministry of Finance was actually just a single office at the moment, and even counting the clerks who organized the documents, there were less than ten people.

On one hand, there weren't many within the Alliance who were capable of performing this work, and on the other hand, it wasn't necessary to have that many people.

The work related to auditing, as well as the management of financial revenue and expenditures, budget reports of various departments, and so on, was mainly completed by AI. The staff of this department were primarily responsible for assisting Chu Guang in macroeconomic decision-making, refining decision details, and making some more specific adjustments based on his opinions.

Compared to decision-makers, the nature of the department's work was closer to that of a secretary.

And indeed it was the case. Some specific decisions were even perfected with the help of Old Charlie, the chairman of the Merchant Guild.

Although the latter was not any expert in economics with rich experience, he had dealt with merchants in the Wasteland for so long, dabbling in storage, logistics, and industrial production, and was somewhat more professional than the novices who had been recruited through examinations.

If only the old man wasn't ready to call it quits and was simply hoping to manage the Merchant Guild well before retirement, Chu Guang would have initially planned to appoint him as the Minister of Finance of the Alliance.

Watching Chu Guang enter the conference room, Minister Sun Ruicai's expression became visibly tense. Clutching his manuscript, he stood up from his seat with a swoosh.

Compared to Old Charlie sitting next to him, he was undoubtedly much younger with much less experience, having previously worked only as a regular worker at the Mint.

Before he received the appointment letter, he hadn't even considered that he would be chosen. He had simply tried because everyone else was taking the exam, and to his surprise, he ended up scoring first.

Because he had never had the experience working in a management position, he often worried that he would not be competent enough for the job and was thus very cautious in his work, fearing that he would let down the trust and cultivation of the Manager.

However, careful as he might have been, that did not change the deficit shown on the financial reports.

That figure was calculated automatically by AI, without even a little room for embellishment.

Before the meeting started, he had already prepared himself to be berated by the Manager.

Yet, to his surprise, the Manager didn't blame him; instead, he gave him a comforting look.

"Sit down and talk. There's no need to be so nervous. I have a rough idea of the financial situation... I'm here today to solve the problem."

"Yes... Sir."

Seeing Chu Guang with his refined and amiable expression, Sun Ruicai slightly relaxed, his grip on the manuscript loosened as he slowly settled back into his chair.

Seeing that the young man had regained his composure, Chu Guang continued.

"Let's begin."

"Yes, sir!" Sun Ruicai quickly nodded and read from the manuscript, "According to the consolidated results of various departments, the Alliance's fiscal deficit this year has reached 1.17 billion silver coins, of which military expenditures account for 900 million, comprising 76.9% of the total budget..."

1.17 billion!

For the Alliance, whose population totaled less than 200,000, this figure was actually quite terrifying.

It meant that every resident of the Alliance was burdened with a debt of 5,850 silver coins; spread over each month, it was 487.5, even exceeding the Alliance's legal minimum monthly income of 360 silver coins!

Of course, the accounts couldn't be calculated like that.

Chu Guang knew very well that at least 70% of this 1.17 billion silver coin fiscal deficit was compensation paid to players, and at least half of this compensation came back to his hands through "technology export."

This revenue was not included in the financial report because the "technology export" was conducted in the name of the collective shelter, with funds being temporarily stored in the collective account of Shelter No. 404.

The construction of player save points, the operating expenses of save points, and the salaries for NPCs working for players, etc., were all withdrawn from this account.

At the end of the year, when clearing the accounts, most of this money would enter the Alliance's treasury in the name of a "donation from Shelter No. 404."

Even though it was left and right both his hands, using the Alliance's treasury to seek benefits for the residents of the shelter was nevertheless somewhat improper.

Even if no one would say anything now, it could potentially cause problems in the future.

With the gradual increase in the size of the Alliance, many things that could previously be managed casually now have to be progressively formalized.

According to data provided by Xiao Qi, considering the reimbursements at the end of the year, the final deficit in the Alliance's treasury was around 600 million.

That was not a small figure.

But it was still much smaller compared to 1.17 billion.

Watching Chu Guang lost in thought, Charlie coughed lightly and said.

"... The war has put too much strain on the finances. Although you have brought back many trophies from the front lines, those items are difficult to convert directly into money, especially such a large sum."

He paused for a bit before continuing.

"... And that's just our internal debt, which actually isn't too hard to deal with. We just need your word to start the printing press, but the foreign debt is more troublesome. Taking the debt of Giant Stone City as an example, the initial two billion chips borrowed from Giant Stone City alone will amount to five million by the year's end, just in principal and interest."

"Plus, we've subsequently borrowed a series of medium to long-term debts, with the total scale of the debt now reaching five billion chips. The principal and interest due by the end of the year have already exceeded ten million chips."

When he reached this point, Charlie pressed the wrinkled brow on his forehead, his expression slightly distressed.

There were some things he had wanted to say a long time ago.

That was the Alliance was spending money too quickly!

In order to make this respected Manager realize the severity of the issue, he unconsciously emphasized his tone.

"If you don't plan to completely default on this debt, or utilize our Cr reserves and trade chips with Giant Stone City Bank... I suggest that we adopt a more conservative fiscal policy from today onwards. At least for the next three years, we have to tighten our belts, and do everything possible to reduce the scale of debt until the industries in which we've invested produce sufficient returns."

"Otherwise, if we use all the foreign exchange earned from export trade to pay off debts, other than printing money and watching the value of silver coins plummet, I'm afraid we won't be able to do anything else!"

Chapter 522: This time coming back from the front line, what I need to do can be summarized in one thing

Chu Guang could understand Old Charlie's complaints.

His players were stirring up such excitement at the front line; meanwhile, the situation behind the scenes was becoming increasingly tense.

It's no exaggeration to say that in the past few months, nearly all the financial institutions in the Alliance, from the League Central Bank to the Ministry of Finance and the Merchant Guild, have been covering the Army's shortages. So far, there haven't been any major issues in production and economics, thanks to collaborative efforts across various departments.

Of course, the key to it all was his fulfillment of an earlier promise to end the war before the year's end.

"Let's start with the first problem," he said.

Chu Guang looked toward Minister Sun Ruicai at the other end of the table, who was looking nervous, and continued in a gentle tone.

"Do you remember the last question on that test paper?"

Sun Ruicai paused, then quickly understood which test Chu Guang was referring to and immediately responded.

"I remember! The question was... if we borrowed money from the Looter, should we pay it back?"

Chu Guang asked, "What was your answer?"

"At the time, I wrote that we should..." Sun Ruicai nervously said, "I think it's better to pay back the money first and then take it back, rather than simply defaulting on it. Otherwise, others might worry that borrowing money from us could result in being labeled as Looters."

Chu Guang nodded appreciatively and then looked at Old Charlie.

"Unfortunately, he's the only one whose answer somewhat satisfies me. Some examinees were being argumentative, claiming the Alliance would never deal with Looters, so the premise is invalid. Others think we can just write off the debt, as no one would sympathize with Looters. However, if things were that simple, we wouldn't need a Ministry of Finance; we could just hire a 'Butler' to handle everything."

Looters are different from Mutants; you can't tell them apart at a glance. Conversely, it can also become a pocket that fits everything.

The consequences of confiscating Looter property and proclaiming the creditor as a Looter are starkly different.

Of course, the reason Chu Guang was only half satisfied was that there was, in reality, a better approach.

Instead of using force to seize the debt certificate from the creditor, a more clever way is to make the certificate held by the creditor worthless through proper methods.

Old Charlie coughed softly.

"I didn't say you would default on the debt... That was just an exaggerated expression, hoping you would understand how serious our current financial situation is."

Chu Guang nodded with a smile.

"I understand how you feel, and we definitely should repay the money, not default on it. This leads to the second problem we need to address... how to repay this debt."

He then looked toward Sun Ruicai.

"How much in total do we need to repay by the end of the year?"

Sun Ruicai promptly answered.

"The total debt size is 510 million chips, with repayment periods ranging from twenty to fifty years, amounting to a total of 10.17 million chips in principal and interest!"

Chu Guang nodded, then suddenly sighed.

"That's too little."

The debt size and the principal and interest to be repaid are both too little!

If they had a billion to repay at the end of the year, Melvin, the bank manager of Giant Stone City Bank, would have been waiting for him right under the airship before he even came down from it.

Instead, what he dealt with after standing for half a day were only Afni and Boss Xia.

Sun Ruicai was stunned, and Old Charlie also froze for half a second.

"Too little...?"

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded, looking sympathetically at the two of them, "During my time at the front line, you've been too hard on yourselves. Minister Sun Ruicai just mentioned that the deficit from military funding contributions accounts for 76.9% of the Alliance's total deficit. Even if our current total industrial output has a high military component, that financial report is very unhealthy."

So you're aware it's unhealthy, too!

Old Charlie couldn't help but interject.

"That's after the logistics departments have been as frugal as possible..."

Chu Guang continued while looking at the elder.

"This is where the problem lies; the deficit from military funding contributions has reached 9 billion. If our investment in infrastructure also reached 9 billion, wouldn't the ratio drop from 76.9% to 50%?"

After hearing what Chu Guang said, Old Charlie was completely dumbfounded. Sun Ruicai by his side was equally agape.

What kind of logic is this?

And weren't they discussing how to repay the debt?

Why was he now complaining that they hadn't spent enough?

"Just a joke to lighten the mood, but the principle remains the same," Chu Guang said, facing the speechless Old Charlie and Minister Sun.

"I went to all that effort borrowing money for you to improve the residents' lives in the Alliance, not to tighten our belts to repay debts. So when you tell me that we need to adopt a more conservative economic strategy for the next three years, to make everyone suffer a little, to cut down the debt size before expanding our business, my heart aches... If that's the result in the end, why did I even fight this war?

"An individual can reduce debt by cutting back on expenses, but a collective cannot do so. Debt is a noose; once it binds us, we will become slaves to our creditors. If we try to solve the problem by shrinking our balance sheet, do you know what that means? It means that the entire Alliance, for the next three to five years, will have to work for Giant Stone City! Is this what a victorious nation should do? We are the ones who owe money; we are their fathers!"

Old Charlie looked at Chu Guang, befuddled by the convoluted logic.

One second he was saying debt is a noose for slaves, and the next, he was saying that the debtor is the father of the creditor?

Minister Sun Ruicai was equally dumbstruck, but in another sense, he grasped a bit of the Manager's reasoning.

"...You mean to say, debt is like a rope that the creditor can use to bind us, but conversely, we can also use this rope to pull... them back?"

Chu Guang picked up his cup and took a sip of water, making his throat a bit more comfortable, and his tone more gentle.

"Exactly."

"So before we discuss how to repay the debt, I must first change your mindset and tell you that the path of reducing the balance sheet to repay debt is 'absolutely' impassable, at least for us. To repay the debt, to ensure the credit of the Alliance government, we must not reduce the balance sheet. On the contrary, we should continue to increase spending and spend more money!"

"However, how to spend money is an art, we can't emulate the nobles of Giant Stone City or simply copy the experience of Ideal City, we have to use our own model."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued.

"The task I have to do upon returning from the front line can be summarized in one action."

Old Charlie swallowed his saliva.

"...What?"

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"Share the spoils of war with the citizens of the Alliance!"

Minister Sun Ruicai was startled for a moment, not catching on.

"Sh... Share the spoils of war?"

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded, "The victory of the Alliance cannot be achieved without the support of all citizens. Our army cannot win against those hyenas with fists alone. We've acquired two vassal countries, two trading partners. Our residents can clearly feel that food is cheaper than before, where once an hour of work could not exchange for even a pound of corn, now it can exchange for a kilogram... But this is not enough, it is far from enough for the victors!"

Saying that, he raised his voice.

"The tables of Alliance residents shouldn't only have corn and potatoes, it's not just pigs and sheep that thrive on corn cobs and nutritional cream. Their tables should also have meat, eggs, and milk. We need to make these affordable and available to them, and then let them eat as they please, to their hearts' content!"

"It's not just about eating but also about clothing! Last winter we stuffed old money into our quilts as stuffing, and I promised that was the last time. Now, I will fulfill that promise. This winter, everyone will have real cotton quilts, clean and warm cotton clothes and leather boots, and live in houses that don't leak wind—"

"And it is far from just that!"

That resonant voice echoed in the conference room.

After hearing this speech, Minister Sun Ruicai felt a burning enthusiasm in his heart and couldn't help but quietly applaud under the table.

Come to think of it, wasn't it because this man promised a better life for everyone that he chose to stay instead of continuing his wandering lifestyle?

He felt ashamed for having even momentarily entertained the idea of making everyone tighten their belts to repay the debt.

Repaying debt is only right and proper.

But he is the Minister of Finance for the Alliance, and it's his duty to come up with a better method!

Unlike the excited Minister Sun Ruicai, Old Charlie didn't show much reaction, just watching Chu Guang intently.

He admitted.

This man's eloquence possessed a captivating magic.

If this were a public speech rather than an internal discussion, the applause would likely have lifted the ceiling.

People would stand up and cheer for him, shout his name in tribute, and even regard him as a living god, willing to lay down their lives for him... In fact, many people were already doing so, becoming a part of the Guards Corps was almost every young man in the Alliance's dream.

In the Wasteland, what could be more attractive than a full stomach and warm clothes?

And what he promised was not only to feed and clothe the residents of the Alliance but also to allow them to live with dignity... to let everyone live with dignity, something the City Lord of the Giant Stone City wouldn't even dare to claim.

Or rather, the only ones who could truly deliver on such a promise might be the people of Ideal City.

But Old Charlie thought about it and then let it go.

This wasn't the biggest 'pie in the sky' that Manager had ever drawn.

Compared to "building a new Ideal City on the ruins" and "returning to the Prosperity Epoch," this boast seemed quite modest.

Chu Guang smiled at Minister Sun Ruicai, seeing that he had something to say, he slightly raised his hand, indicating that he had not yet finished speaking.

After a pause, with a softer tone, Chu Guang continued.

"I sometimes entrust my assistant to observe how our residents live... Of course, this does not include their personal privacy."

"For instance, there is a girl who works at the trading station, she has to work six days a week from seven in the morning until seven at night, with only one hour break at noon, and she can't return to her village by Rhombus Lake to reunite with her family until Saturday evening, then back to work on Monday morning."

"In the past, we were short of people and had to inconvenience our workers to work longer hours, but now we've passed the hardest of times, and I think it's time to give them back the time that originally belonged to them."

"So while I was still on the front line, I communicated with the person in charge of the trading station, asking him to increase staff by 50%, adjust everyone's daily work hours from 12 to 8, and adopt more flexible scheduling."

"This system has been in place for half a month, and the facts have proven that it works!"

"Employees of the trading station will engage in their work with more enthusiasm, treat each customer more patiently, and not only will traders from all walks of life leave with a good impression of our people, but our employees will also have better lives. After work, they don't have to lie in the dormitory drained of all their energy; they can go out more, whether to study at the library, walk around the snack street, socialize with friends, or do things that young people should do."

"Of course, we need to resolve not just one person's issue but everyone's. The trading station is just a pilot project. From now on, all factories, institutions, and facilities within Alliance territory, whether collective or private, should operate in this manner! I plan to enshrine it into law, and for this, I'm prepared to double the budget."

After a pause, Chu Guang looked at Old Charlie and Minister Sun Ruicai, sharing his idea.

"Not only do we want to give the Alliance's residents time, but we also want to make them wealthier. Currently, our minimum wage is 1 Silver Coin; that figure is no longer keeping pace with the Alliance's economic growth. I plan to raise the Alliance's minimum wage to 3 Silver Coins by the beginning of next year, gradually increasing the median to 5 Silver Coins."

"When the residents of the Alliance have both money and time, they will have the capacity to consume and engage in more activities. As long as we can keep inflation within a reasonable range, this will become a fast-growing market full of business opportunities."

"And to earn more interest, the nobles of Giant Stone City will not only refrain from pressuring us to repay the debt but will also rush to deliver their accumulated stakes into our hands. After all, we will soon be using these stakes to buy their goods, letting them earn their stakes back. In this process, even if Giant Stone City Bank doesn't print a penny, the stakes in their pockets will double, or even more!"

Minister Sun Ruicai held his breath.

Old Charlie looked at Chu Guang with surprise.

By now, he had essentially fully grasped Chu Guang's thoughts.

This guy not only hadn't planned on reducing the scale of the debt but was actually intending to borrow even more money.

He planned to use the borrowed money to develop the economy, invest in infrastructure, improve the lives of residents, and thereby further expand the economic scale of the League, and then attract even more hot money.

There was just one loophole in all this...

Old Charlie said cautiously,

"But we ultimately have to use the chips we earn from them to pay off Giant Stone City's debt; we can't possibly use silver coins to pay them back."

Upon hearing this, Sun Ruicai also calmed down,

"...Indeed, their residents used to have purchasing power, but now they even have to skimp on nutrient paste."

Seeing the worried pair, Chu Guang nodded approvingly.

"Noticing this shows that you've been diligent, and it also indicates that our plan has successfully entered the second phase. A massive amount of chips have been concentrated in the pockets of the Giant Stone City nobles, indirectly driving up inflation in Giant Stone City. If you were a noble of Giant Stone City and saw those around you getting richer, the number of chips in your pocket increasing but going less and less far, what would you do?"

Sun Ruicai pondered for a moment, and then his face showed a sudden realization as he said excitedly,

"Preserve value! I need to acquire some appreciating commodities or industries before the chips depreciate!"

Chu Guang smiled and nodded,

"That's correct, though not quite comprehensive."

Blind investment is one of the side effects of an overheated economy; people lose their senses in the frenzy, making rash investments to ensure their money outpaces inflation.

Because the money is coming so easily.

As if you could make it even with your eyes closed.

Slowly, people would worry more about missing out on an investment opportunity than losing money.

"...There won't be a more worthwhile market to invest in than the League throughout the whole Southern River Valley Province, and they probably aren't interested in wasting their money on those poor souls who can't even afford nutrient paste; I hadn't planned on making money from those people to pay off debts."

"Besides investment, the consumption habits of the nobles from the Inner City will also become even more extravagant than before. We just need to give them a little opportunity to encourage them to think bigger, and they'll bring the money to us themselves. For instance... developing tourism and the entertainment industry, letting them compete with the people from Ideal City on who can squander their money more egregiously. Another example is issuing more bonds to attract the hot money they can't find investment opportunities for."

"As for the residents of Giant Stone City... it's a pity, but that's something for Giant Stone City to worry about. If even nutrient paste becomes unaffordable, these people would naturally come to the League to nibble on corn."

Chu Guang truly sympathized with their plight.

Those survivors were also suffering individuals of the Wasteland.

But he had also said that he would prioritize the League's interests and couldn't possibly sacrifice his own people's interests for the sake of others.

However, if they were willing to come, he wouldn't mind sharing a portion of the leeks he'd harvested from the Inner City nobles, to help them start new lives.

After all, that was originally the fruit of their labor.

"...To unify the management of the League's external debts, and to allow our debt holders to exercise their rights more conveniently and efficiently, I plan to have the League Central Bank join forces with Giant Stone City Bank to issue a 'bond' valued in chips."

"It could partially replace chips, and whether or not Giant Stone City Bank recognizes its monetary status, we will redeem it according to the face interest rate when it matures. If the nobles of Giant Stone City don't mind, they could even use this promissory note as money."

Old Charlie hesitated,

"Would Giant Stone City Bank agree to this?"

This is clearly a huge pitfall...

Chu Guang chuckled and said,

"Trust me, even if I don't bring this up, they would take the initiative to ask me for a similar scheme, so they can circulate their debts like cash."

Old Charlie was silent for a while, then suddenly sighed lightly, remarking,

"It seems I truly am getting old."

Chu Guang shook his head,

"Not at all, what I can offer is only the macro strategy; the details will need your research and discussion for improvement."

"I'll try my best to keep up with your pace," said Old Charlie, glancing at Sun Ruicai, and then continuing, "about today's meeting... I suggest it would be better to keep it confidential."

In a way, what they were discussing wasn't about paying off debts at all, but how to reap more leeks from their neighbors.

If word of this got out, it probably wouldn't boost the confidence of the debt holders; they might even consider jumping off a building.

Sun Ruicai nodded seriously, clutching the meeting notes on the table.

"Understood!"

Chu Guang said nothing, giving tacit approval to Old Charlie's suggestion to keep the meeting content confidential, even though he thought it didn't really matter whether it was kept secret or not.

Many things were clear as day.

Someone would definitely notice that the asset bubble in Giant Stone City was continuously growing as well as the risks hidden within the bubble.

Like the president of Giant Stone City Bank.

That person would notice if they took the time to reconcile the books, they'd find that the chips circulating in Giant Stone City even exceeded the total issued by Giant Stone City.

However, those who spot the problem surely won't pop this bubble voluntarily because there's no benefit to doing so, only trouble.

Before the bubble bursts, making the last bit of profit is the "smart" thing to do.

If the last stop is a cliff, then it's best to get off at the penultimate station...

The closed-door meeting lasted only a short hour before it ended.

Many had heard that the Manager had called such a meeting to deal with the debt issue upon returning, but no one, except for the three participants, knew what was discussed at the meeting, let alone what instructions the Alliance's Manager had given to the Merchant Guild and the Ministry of Finance.

As the merchants from Giant Stone City speculated whether the Alliance was out of money to repay its debts, the City of Dawn Town Hall issued an announcement the day after the meeting ended, which smacked everyone in the face.

The entire announcement was tens of thousands of words long, but in summary, it could be encapsulated in two words—

That was bidding!

And it was bidding across multiple sectors at once!

Firstly, about transportation.

City of Dawn Town Hall was willing to spend five million silver coins to acquire fifty electric buses, injecting them into the existing six public transport routes, as well as four new ones, to replace the trucks originally used for hauling goods and transporting troops, aiming to lower the commuting cost for residents to under 1 silver coin and to do so while "sitting" in the bus with dignity, without dirtying their trousers.

And it wasn't just buses; there were related amenities.

Included in the City of Dawn Town Hall's bidding plans were fifty kilometers of concrete roads and four new charging stations.

But this wasn't the most eye-catching piece!

The most eye-catching announcement had become the headline of the day's Survivor Daily...

Early morning.

In a cottage in Linghu Wetland Park.

Looking at the freshly printed Survivor Daily in his hand, Fang Chang, sitting at the dining table, had a face full of surprise.

"Gosh... This is gonna be a good amount of silver coins."

City Lord Luka of City of Dawn announced that to accommodate the continuous influx of survivors into City of Dawn and to improve the living conditions for city residents, the Town Hall planned to issue a bid to build 1,000 apartment buildings on the wasteland to the northeast of Clear Spring City, with a requirement of an average area over 40 square meters per unit, accommodating at least 48 households and no more than 60 households per building.

According to past conventions, players could also participate in the design and bidding process.

He was willing to bet.

Given the enthusiasm of the players with life professions for earning money, this matter would certainly dethrone the "Floor B6" controversies to dominate the top spot on the Forum homepage as the hottest topic of the day!

The newspaper also came with a map that circled in almost the entire open space to the east of Embassy Street, and two of the new bus routes were included there.

But then again, with all this road construction and house building.

Where's the money coming from?

They claimed an almost completely realistic economic system, yet it felt like these NPCs were all not playing by the rules...

Wait.

Fang Chang had a second thought and realized he had instinctively defaulted to real-world thinking.

In fact, the situation on the wasteland was entirely different from reality.

What's the most valuable thing here?

Black Boxes?

Technology?

Neither!

It's people!

People are doing the research, the design, the screw-turning, and the farming, as well as descending into mines and exploring ruins.

With people, you have the ability to excavate relics and recover treasures from the pre-war civilization. Without sufficient manpower, you wouldn't just be unable to fleece your neighbors; you'd also be on the losing end when selling hyena meat.

As long as the Alliance could continuously siphon manpower and wealth from the surrounding Survivor Settlements, this kind of quantitative easing strategy was utterly feasible.

If you are looking for a reference point in reality, don't look in the 21st century; rather, you should look back to the century before the 19th...

As Fang Chang concentrated on pondering over the newspaper, Dolly quietly approached him, leaned over, and pecked him on the cheek, placing the steaming newly bought buns on the table.

"Someone's looking for you outside."

Having closed the newspaper in his hands, Fang Chang looked up with a smile and asked,

"Who?"

Dolly wrinkled her nose.

"He says his name is Kishu, and he claims to be the son of the Giant Stone City Bank president... but I don't think he seems like a good person. He gives off a weird vibe."

She really didn't like the frivolous look in that man's eyes, but she still politely asked him to wait at the door for a moment.

Kishu?

Hearing that name, Fang Chang's eyes instantly brightened, and he smiled as he pushed back his chair to stand up.

"You're right, my dear, that guy is indeed no good, but... that doesn't stop him from doing good things."

"Doing good things?" Dolly tilted her head in confusion.

She really didn't think that guy, who seemed to look down on everyone, was capable of doing good things.

"That's right, everyone should do a good deed or two in their lifetime, otherwise it's just too pitiful. And as it happens, I can lend a hand..." Fang Chang said with a smile, gently touching her hair, "I'll go see him."

Chapter 523: Being a Polite Bandit

Mr. Fang Chang had been pondering one question.

That was the tolerance of "Wasteland OL" for players exploiting bugs.

Or to put it another way, what kind of behavior could be considered a bug?

In the so-called fully realistic "Wasteland OL," if one exploits the greed in an NPC's heart to amass a fortune from them, is it a bug or normal gameplay?

Such actions would definitely not be allowed within the Alliance.

Managers have GM rights, a point doggedly highlighted by the game designers.

After all, in the game setting, every resident of the refuge has sworn allegiance under the flag of United Human, committing themselves to the revival of civilization before being allowed to resurface and rebuild their homes. If you don't work, a manager might not bother with you, but causing significant destruction would certainly warrant being sent away, to the disappointment of everyone else.

It is comprehensible for players who are part of the Alliance faction to have GMs lining up.

But what about other factions?

Previously, when they brought back an Academy all-terrain track vehicle and a corporate Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, the lord of Dawn City didn't reprimand them; instead, he commended them for their contributions.

Evidently,
other factions in reality are not protected by manager GM rights!

In other words, as long as their actions are secretive enough, not causing any serious diplomatic disputes or tarnishing the Alliance's collective image, managers actually turn a blind eye to them shearing wool off NPCs for the benefit of the Alliance's foreign exchange!

While studying in Ideal City, Mr. Fang had wanted to test his speculation, but unfortunately, exploiting bugs there was just too difficult.

The residents of Ideal City sometimes seemed naive, not because they lacked intelligence, but because most were well protected by rules, making it nearly impossible to cheat them out of a significant amount of "living expenses" by any means other than legitimate transactions.

Frankly, if the Ruyue Group hadn't taken a fancy to the Alliance's growth potential, someone without background like him wouldn't even have had the opportunity to start a company.

Just looking at the difficulty of Mole's entrepreneurship was testament enough.

Had the Alliance not sponsored some foreign exchange reserves for his "Skeleton Studio," Mole would have struggled to hire someone to make games, let alone rent an office without windows.

But in Giant Stone City...

It might be a decent opportunity.

His interest in money wasn't that great, but he was certainly curious as to just how realistic this game could be...

...

Kishu had been waiting rather impatiently at the gate of the mansion, especially since the two-story house before him didn't seem like the residence of a wealthy person.

He would bet that even if the yard in front of the house was included, the area couldn't possibly exceed four hundred square meters.

A little over three hundred, at most!

And those flowers and plants growing in the yard needn't even be mentioned; due to prolonged neglect, they looked more like a pile of weeds.

However, when Mr. Fang appeared at the door, Kishu immediately remembered his behavior on the plane, and his impatience vanished in an instant, replaced by an elegantly polite smile on his face as he stepped forward to shake his hand vigorously.

"My dear friend, we meet again! I wanted to come find you right after getting off the plane, but as soon as we landed, you were gone, and no one was at your house... Why are you living in this place?"

He could see what Kishu was thinking, and with a composed smile, Mr. Fang lightly pointed out his concerns.

"This was built by me and a few friends... Don't underestimate it. See the sanatorium outside? This is almost the closest to the shelter entrance. Our manager lives right there. You can pay to be the city lord's downstairs neighbor in Giant Stone City, but here, even with money, you can't buy it."

Because no player would sell, those things carried too many memories, just like the first exoskeleton the manager ever used.

As for its economic value, in truth, it was just so-so; respawn points had already spread to various refuges, and in terms of prosperity, the North Street outside Outpost Base and North Street in the City of Dawn were utterly incomparable, but Mr. Fang wouldn't share these details.

Kishu listened with newfound reverence.

Even though he wasn't particularly impressed by Blue Jacket, he knew well that the Manager of the Alliance was also the Manager of Shelter No. 404.

Living next to the Manager, that had to be the work of someone remarkable within the Alliance. He tried to use his limited knowledge to make comparisons—could the residents of Shelter No. 404 be akin to the Inner City Nobles of the Alliance?

No doubt about it!

No matter how you put it, buying land in such a prime location to build a house for fun was without question an action befitting a noble!

"My dear friend, you misunderstand me, I certainly mean no disrespect to the house... Rather, building one's own house to live in, that's quite a charming thing to do. Yes, not just charming, but also a matter of taste. One of these days I might buy a plot in the Inner City and build one for fun."

Seeing him speak fervently and nonsensically, Fang Chang smiled slightly and made a welcoming gesture.

"Let's talk inside."

They entered the house.

Fang Chang led Kishu to his study and poured him a cup of hot tea that Dolly had helped prepare.

As he pondered over which entry point might be most appropriate to start the conversation, the second son of the bank president from Giant Stone City Bank couldn't wait any longer and spoke up.

"… I'll get straight to the point, about the plan I mentioned on the flight!"

Kishu lowered his voice and continued speaking intently, "The latest resolution issued by the Ideal City Council will encourage subsidiaries under enterprises to explore markets beyond the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, and this represents an opportunity for all survivor settlements east of the Great Desert! I plan to seize this perfect opportunity to turn Giant Stone City into the largest settlement in Southern River Province, rivaling the stature of Bugra Free State and even the Grand Canyon!"

Fang Chang took a sip of lukewarm tea without ridiculing his loftily ambitious dream.

Objectively speaking, Giant Stone City did have that potential.

Having inherited the equipment left behind by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee in Qingquan City decades ago, they had completed their industrialization. Their merchants spread across the entire South; their factory goods sustained all Slave Owners in Brocade River Province; their economic leverage turned their currency into hard money throughout the South Corridor of the River Valley Province, with places like Red River Town, Garbage City, and Bet Street all needing to appease them, even without the Militia Group under the city lord stepping foot out of Qingquan City.

The residents of Giant Stone City held pride deep within. Otherwise, they would not see survivors beyond the great walls as country bumpkins, only the distant and opulent Ideal City warranted their respect or rather, their worship. Mr. Hauser's broadcasts made it clear—they had no doubt that they would become the next Utopia in this wasteland.

However, he was merely the son of a banker. Even if his father, Melvin, was a top figure in Giant Stone City, he was nothing but a Butler in front of the Inner City Nobles.

Money was just a trick of power, and his father was essentially only a housekeeper.

"… Why must it be Giant Stone City?" Fang Chang set down his teacup and lightly tapped the newspaper on the table, smiling as he said, "The Alliance sounds pretty good too—they proclaim themselves as the alliance of all survivors. Look, the Alliance is even planning to construct a batch of—well, I mean, apartment buildings. If you want to turn a profit, I could lend you a hand."

Fang Chang wasn't joking.

This mutually beneficial arrangement was advantageous for both parties. By giving this chap a taste of success, he might trust him more, and it also helped him gain favor with that wealthy old dad.

In fact, this is exactly what the Manager did.

By nurturing a reliable merchant in Giant Stone City, helping him to gain status and wealth, and then using his resources for the benefit of the Alliance.

Now, List's factory, to minimize tariff losses, had moved their entire KV-1 production line to the Alliance.

What Fang Chang didn't expect was that the fellow didn't appreciate the offer, and after hearing his words, merely curled his lips disdainfully.

"… What good are those shacks for the refugees? A 40-square-meter dog kennel; my maid's room is bigger than that!"

"But building houses for the refugees in the Alliance is also profitable—the City Hall of Dawn City will pay for it."

Kishu said dismissively.

"Paid in Silver coin, right? That thing is like waste paper!"

Fang Chang looked astonished.

This kid didn't hold back at all.

"Waste paper… How so?"

Kishu stared intently at him.

"I won't treat you like an outsider, and I hope you won't be offended by my saying this."

Fang Chang nodded.

"Of course, let's stick to the facts. You may speak freely."

Anyway, he had not expected this crude fellow to speak with much tact.

Kishu took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and began his grand discourse.

"The Alliance's economy is not far from collapse. The war has cost too much money, and the Alliance's lords— I mean the Managers—
to fill the fiscal gaps, have borrowed heavily from abroad, plundering the east wall to replenish the west, while also overissuing large amounts of base currency. It's now like an old house propped up by paper money, ready to collapse at a single kick!"

"If that Manager were a wise man, he should now reduce the debt and pay back the money, but unfortunately, he isn't. Instead, to save face, he's still building roads and houses. Ha, at his rate of spending, in at most two years, the Alliance's debt will reach an unimaginable number, and the profits they earn from trade won't even cover the interest on their debts! By then, if silver coins aren't just scrap paper, then what are they?"

Speaking so, his whole being radiated an aura of unprecedented vigor as he intently gazed at Fang Chang sitting opposite him.

"But on the contrary! Giant Stone City will become the biggest beneficiary! Although Giant Stone City did not participate in the recently ended war, it has become the Alliance's biggest creditor, holding even more debt than the corporations!"

"And it's not just debts—The Alliance has used the money borrowed from Giant Stone City to buy things from there. From the rivets on their tanks to the buttons on their clothing, everything is indispensable from the factories of Giant Stone City. The purchasing power of their chips will be incredibly strong and, undoubtedly, Giant Stone City has already become the Alliance's master!"

"If the Alliance wants to repay the money, it has to come up with chips! To earn chips, they must accept Giant Stone City's pricing! You might ask, what if they just don't pay it back? That won't happen because if they recklessly stop supplying, we'll tighten the rope and cut off their goods! We might lose a bit of money, but they will derail like a train stripped of its screws and ultimately, they'll be the ones to fail!"

By the time he got to this point, Kishu had let out a sigh of "bad air" he had taken on the other side at Ideal City and relaxed into the sofa.

As a final blow, he leisurely added,

"The best outcome for the Alliance would be to become Giant Stone City's port of entry and resource production area, in other words, an economic colony... Their future might be slightly better than the Slave Owners in the South, since they are closer to us, but it won't be by much."

Fang Chang exclaimed in admiration.

"An insightful analysis!"

Kishu smirked in satisfaction, elegantly sipping his tea.

"Just my two cents, please forgive any folly."

Fang Chang suddenly found himself admiring the guy, though just a little.

To say he was incompetent would certainly be slander, but it was also true that his insight wasn't particularly impressive. Being able to think from the relationship of debt to trade, he must have benefited from his efforts at Endpoint Cloud.

Still, he seemed to underestimate the impact of "losing a bit of money," and his analogy of "derailing trains" was overly dramatic.

For one thing, if that Melvin dared to let his clients "lose a bit of money," his clients would dare to kill his entire family.

As for the Alliance...

Even if the Alliance really went bankrupt one day, many people would still love it.

The North Suburb originally had nothing, so no matter how bankrupt it became, it would definitely be better than having nothing.

Moreover, such an eventuality was actually quite unlikely.

To be objective, most of the Alliance's cutting-edge products were mainly imported from Ideal City, and Camp 101 has helped Dawn City's industrial zone in the Alliance to carry out self-research and production of some less advanced high-tech products.

Those Waste Land Wanderers who had received refuge education had strong professional skills, it was just that before encountering the Alliance, West State City's stage was simply too small.

If half a year ago, the Alliance had to import some useful industrial equipment from Giant Stone City, now even if the Alliance completely stopped importing from Giant Stone City, it would be possible—just take some time and cost to fill the gaps that were previously skipped.

Fang Chang did not know what plans the Manager had, but based on his understanding of that man, he knew that man must be clear about his own actions.

Since Mr. Kishu was not interested in petty profits and was not keen on a step-by-step approach, it was time to cut to the chase.

"I think what you've said is spot on. As you can see, the Alliance is about to be done for... so, is there any way to catch up with the rapidly advancing train of Giant Stone City?" Crossing his fingers on his knee, Fang Chang made an uncommonly eager face and looked at him seriously.

A smile emerged on Kishu's face.

"Easy peasy! With resources and money in hand, now's the perfect time to expand! The outskirts are too cramped—we need to build another outskirts to channel the excess labor! Let's increase the area of Giant Stone City by more than five times! Encompass the entire area from the third ring's edge of Qingquan City to the fourth ring!"

Fang Chang nodded thoughtfully and said.

"But... that will cost a lot of chips, won't it? Just to rebuild a massive wall would require a huge budget, not to mention the costs of clearing Variants and Looters from the area and maintaining order, among other things."

Kishu shook his head with a smile.

"You've got it wrong, my friend. I wouldn't be so foolish as to claim such a vast piece of land right away; there's no point in that. I plan to start by enclosing a small area outside the Great Wall to serve as a satellite city for Giant Stone City and then gradually expand outwards. The Militia Group can handle some of the defense—they're intimidating enough to deter any foolhardy characters. The new settlements will be added like modular blocks, until they finally fill the blueprint I've drafted."

Once Kishu started talking about the blueprint in his heart, he couldn't stop, rattling off a long list, even thinking about how the future residents of "Outer Outer City" would respectfully address him.

Fang Chang forced himself to listen for a while until he realized that Kishu was veering off-topic, then coughed to pull the conversation back on track.

"...But no matter how you slice it, it's going to cost a lot of money. I think, before we achieve this grand plan, we should first solve the monetary issue."

Kishu looked at him with bright eyes.

"That's exactly what I've come back to address!"

Seeing his eager eyes, Fang Chang smiled a little.

"I have a great idea; I wonder if you'd be interested."

At the mention of an idea, Kishu's interest visibly dimmed with disappointment.

He was here for money, not ideas; he was in no shortage of those.

Truth be told, rather than a "great idea," he would have preferred to hear something like "Bro, you've got the plans; I've got the cash—what say we do something big together?" from his friend's mouth.

Fang Chang could tell how his mood changed and gave a comforting smile before continuing.

"Don't be hasty in your disappointment. I know you want to hit it big, but frankly, I haven't got that much cash on hand, not even your dad could produce such a huge sum... But I do have a way to help you raise the start-up capital for your venture!"

Kishu couldn't help but look at him.

"What's the method..."

Fang Chang continued with a smile.

"Many nobles in the Inner City are interested in investing in the Alliance's industry but a lot of their investments are actually blunders. This place is riddled with pitfalls as much as it has opportunities. Instead of letting their chips be conned by hicks from the North Suburb, why not help them put it to good use—at least in the right place... That way, they're happy, we're happy, everybody wins."

Even though he didn't fully understand how everybody won, Kishu's interest seemed to be piqued.

"Oh? Such as?"

Fang Chang took a sip of tea, his demeanor cool and collected.

"Do you remember Credit Points?"

Kishu nodded vigorously.

"Of course! My dad is always thinking up ways for me to save more!"

Fang Chang patiently continued.

"We can emulate Cr's technology and introduce a new form of credit-based currency! This currency, invisible and intangible, would be distributed based on principles of credit, embracing a decentralized philosophy where each holder benefits equally and securely... The technology of the refuge, along with quantum servers, will ensure its protection!"

Kishu's eyes lit up, and he jumped up excitedly from the sofa.

This idea was way cooler than building apartments for the poor!

"Brother! We're on the same wavelength! Even before coming back, I was thinking about issuing a more advanced, more efficient form of currency than chips in the newly established Outer City to show those country bumpkins! But... it's useless if only we recognize it. The new money needs everyone's acceptance, which will require a significant amount of start-up funds, and my father would never lend me that much."

If possible, he still hoped his well-to-do buddy would chip in.

But how could this be possible?

Fang Chang laughed heartily as he rose from the sofa, slapped his good buddy's shoulder as if they'd known each other for years.

"My friend, my good brother, you have no idea how valuable your name is! Moreover, you're not alone now, with a good brother like me to help. We've both studied advanced knowledge in Ideal City, and we unanimously think that Giant Stone City is the future of not just Qingquan City but the entire River Valley Province... If my plan goes smoothly, you won't have to spend a dime to get the funds you need."

Kishu swallowed hard, looking at him excitedly.

"...What should I do?"

Fang Chang gave him a confident look.

"It's not difficult..."

"I'll teach you step by step."

...

The two schemed in the study for nearly two hours, initially settling on the name for this new virtual currency—S Coin.

Like Cr, this credit currency would be anchored by the credit of all its holders.

The higher the total credit of participants in the currency's circulation market, and the more participants there were, the more robust its value would be.

And the price of each S Coin would be determined by auction!

Although more details needed to be perfected, Kishu was full of confidence in this brand new credit currency.

If silver coins, worthless as waste paper, could swindle so many chips, why couldn't his own credit currency?

To show his sincerity, as the first participant in the S Coin trading center, he used a white chip to buy an S Coin from Fang Chang's hands and deposited it into his own S Coin wallet.

This transaction would later be recorded in the ledger.

The initial issuance of S Coins was one million, with both parties holding five hundred thousand each. The S Coin wallet would appreciate at a daily rate of 0.1%, meaning in one year's time, these one million S Coins would inflate to 1.36 million.

This currency had no complex contracts, the only way to participate in trading was to buy an S Coin from another holder with cash.

The 1 S Coin bought with a chip today would become 1.001 S Coins tomorrow, and without doing anything, you would have an extra 0.001 chip in your pocket—exciting, isn't it?

If that 1 S Coin appreciated to 2 chips, that would be even more comfortable!

As for making a loss?

Impossible.

This was a deal backed by the second son of the Giant Stone City Bank manager!

Would those VIPs let the value of S Coin in their hands fall?

Moreover, issuing this currency was to raise funds for the "New Outer City" project!

From any angle, this was a guaranteed profitable deal!

Watching Fang Chang stuff that chip into his pocket, Kishu suddenly spoke with mixed feelings.

"Isn't the 1:1 exchange ratio too low?"

He intended to use S Coin as the circulating currency in New Outer City in the future, but if it was equivalent to chips, wouldn't there be no difference?

Fang Chang reassured him with a smile.

"There's nothing wrong with a low starting point, only then will participants feel there's a profit to be made."

"What do you mean 'feel'?" Kishu looked at Fang Chang dissatisfied. "Our business plan will shake the whole of Giant Stone City!"

Fang Chang coughed to suppress his laughter.

"You're right... my vision was too small."

Kishu smirked proudly.

"For the transaction device, I'll have to trouble you. We need to provide our customers with the most convenient payment methods. If they can't use S Coins to pay, they won't believe it's money!"

Fang Chang gave him a reliable look.

"Don't worry, that's all trivial. As for opening bank accounts in Giant Stone City Bank and creating publicity, I'm counting on you... Just do it the way I told you, there's no need to do anything extra."

Kishu responded with a grin and a gesture.

"A piece of cake! I'm heading back to Giant Stone City to take care of it right away!"

"Aren't you going to wait until after the celebration is over to go back?" Fang Chang said with a smile. "I can take you around for a tour."

"No need, my good brother is already waiting to treat me!" Kishu declined his offer politely and said enthusiastically, "Time is money!"

Although Fang Chang wanted to invite him to a meal as a thank you, seeing how eager he was to show off, Fang Chang decided against it and politely saw him to the door.

Indeed.

It was more enjoyable to play with his good brothers than to watch a bunch of survivors behave foolishly in "North Suburb".

After Kishu left, Fang Chang returned to the dining table on the first floor, picked up a bun from the table, and took a bite. Although it was a bit cold, it didn't affect the taste.

He was not picky about his food anyway.

Just then, Dolly, who had excused herself earlier, pushed open the door of the neighboring room and walked over.

Seeing the hard bun in his hand, she said with some distress.

"It's cold... let me warm it up for you."

After gulping down some hot tea, Fang Chang said with a smile.

"No worries! It's delicious even cold because you bought it!"

"Flatterer! It's not like I made it!" Dolly stuck out her tongue.

She had tried to make them before, but always accidentally got machine oil on the dough, giving the buns a strange taste.

Now that she had a brand new arm, she planned to try again in a few days.

After quickly finishing the breakfast, Fang Chang picked up the newspaper he hadn't finished reading on the table, planning to finish the little content that was left.

Although many announcements would be on the official website, the NPC's news channels provided perspectives that players couldn't see.

It helped him to understand the new version more comprehensively.

Seeing Fang Chang focused on the newspaper, Dolly sat across from him, propped her chin in her hands, and curiously watched his eyes.

"What exactly did you and that guy named Kishu talk about?"

Fang Chang replied in the tone of casual conversation.

"About… something called SB."

"SB?"

"Cough... simply put, it can complete resource allocation more efficiently."

In plain language, that means moving SB's money from SB's wallet to the hands of those who are not so SB.

It's not unreasonable at all.

Watching Dolly, who seemed to understand yet not understand, Fang Chang rubbed her head.

"Don't go writing this in the paper... That's our way of shearing the Inner City Nobles like sheep. If they find out, your husband is going to go bankrupt.

"Oh~, really?"

Her eyes sparkled as she got up and sat on his lap, drawing circles on his chest with her index finger and dragging out her words with a mischievous smile.

"Oh... Mr. Fang, I'm sorry to inform you of some bad news. Because you've been so naughty, you've gone bankrupt. But don't be too sad, the kindly Miss Dolly is willing to take you in. She'll work hard to support you. Now, say 'thank you' to Dolly."

Fang Chang couldn't help but break into a grin at her adorable antics, and he made a joke.

"Hahaha... If that's the case, I suddenly feel like experiencing the feeling of being kept by a woman."

He really didn't care about going bankrupt or not.

He was only doing these things to test his theory—what would the Manager with GM privileges think of his actions if he could elegantly and ruthlessly rip off a neighbor and cleanly throw away the dirty work.

He was very curious.

"Wrong answer!" Dolly huffed softly and pinched him, "You're a slick villain, you should've bribed the reporter with the key information! Or taken her captive!"

Fang Chang looked at her and blinked.

"So, would you turn me in?"

"Second wrong answer!" Dolly turned her face away, muttering discontentedly, "...Who would think upon those noble lords with their noses in the air."

And this guy was the same yesterday...

Even though she had invited him like that.

Dolly lowered her head, bit her lip, and said softly, blushing,

"By the way, I feel... my arm is a bit better."

Fang Chang said, feeling relieved,

"That's good."

She lifted her head, her eyes misting over.

"So..."

"No."

Looking seriously into those gem-like clear eyes, Fang Chang pinched her mischievous face and chided her with a tone that meant no joking.

"I really don't want you to go through that kind of surgery a second time. Just take these two weeks to recover properly, don't think too much, I'm not the kind of person who can't wait."

Dolly, her little schemes seen through, blushed profusely and glared at him in displeasure.

"Am I such a fragile person?"

Fang Chang stated seriously,

"It's not about being fragile or not, consider it as giving me some peace of mind."

Players don't feel pain during surgery, anesthesia is used only to not scare the doctors, but NPCs are different after all. Especially that day, when he saw her sitting dazed on the operating table, his heart almost broke.

No matter how cyber the medical technology in the Wasteland was, it still involved cutting into flesh and blood.

Before finding a vessel that could hold her "soul," he only wanted her to live well.

Dolly huffed lightly and said nothing, burying herself in his embrace.

She was someone easily contented.

Occasionally, she would say things that made even herself blush, just to give the frequently naughty guy a little sweetness, so he wouldn't get snatched away by some vixen out there.

Anyway, as long as it wasn't because of weariness, it was fine...

Actually, just feeling each other's warmth was already blissful enough.

...

The official website of Wasteland OL.

Just as Fang Chang had expected, the headline from the Survivor Daily had caused quite a stir on the official forum's bulletin board.

Without a doubt, the most excited were the players with life-oriented professions.

Someone had done the math, and just the new bidding information from the City of Dawn settlement alone added up to a total budget of 300 million Silver Coins!

This wasn't just about money, it was about releasing a heavy-hitting message!

It was foreseeable that, soon, not only the City of Dawn but also Dawn City, Falling Leaves City, and every department of the Alliance Central would open the floodgates—oh no, invest heavily in infrastructure!

It was visible to the naked eye that not only had the war not affected the Alliance's economy, it had actually made the Alliance richer!

The respected Manager had no interest in living a life of luxury and hadn't forgotten his original purpose; just like when he announced the formation of the Alliance, he planned on sharing all the spoils of war with the people who supported him!

Tail: "I giao! A thousand buildings... NPCs will increase! (✪ω✪)"

Si Si: "Great, our Alliance is becoming more lively... the next expansion will be in the south, right? It must be. (nervous)"

Spare people under the knife: "Life-oriented profession players, epic enhancement!"

Mole on the run from the canyon: "Building? Got it! The update's answer is harvesting leeks!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Please let me in. T.T"

Spring Water Commander: "Damn, am I going to be out of a job? TAT"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Head south! Come south with us!"

WC really does have Mosquitoes: "Gaga gaga, they will all fall before our sickles! (｀∀´)ノҀ"

Crow: "I'm crying! The era of life-oriented profession players is finally coming! Feels like I've been on the sidelines for so long. QWQ"

Night Ten: "Hahaha, so now the question is, will Crow Boss build roads or houses? (funny)"

Crow: "Me! Can't I just pick mushrooms? (#｀w´)"

Teng Teng: "Don't laugh at Crow, the rubber mushrooms she picked up are super useful!"

Night Ten: "I was just kidding! |･ω･`)"

Jiujiu loves pineapple: "Bro, you can't go on like this! Learn from your good brothers."

Old White: "Haha, follow Fang Chang, that guy's young and successful, can't deny it! Me and Wild Wind should just call it a day, we're practically antiques now. (gritty teeth)"

Wild Wind: "Cut it out. (side-eye)"

Makabazi: "Hahahaha! Night Ten, that kid's slipped off! Noob! Hahahaha!"

Mole on the run from the canyon: "Speaking of which, where's Fang Chang? With such fun going on, how come we don't see him chattering away?"

Elena: "Who knows, he's probably already in the game by now. (funny)"

Chapter 524: The City of Dawn of 'All Nations Coming to Court

In the northern part of the Brocade River Province, nestled among mountains and forests, lies an old ruin.

Its name is Brocade River City, about seven or eight hundred kilometers away from Qingquan City, which is roughly the distance from Jiang City to Mountain City in reality.

In the suburbs of Brocade River City, on a gentle slope at the edge of the forest, there sits a small settlement called Dusty Town.

Here reside two or three hundred households. The town is encircled by a meter-high low wall, and within the town is a gun tower built of granite.

This type of settlement is quite common in the Brocade River Province.

After all, unlike the Luo Xia Province with its deserts and river banks serving as natural barriers to limit the migration and hunting of Variants, this place lacks such features.

Instead, due to its subtropical location with a humid, warm, and rainy climate, a large number of Variants have migrated here from other provinces.

Here, "Mutated slime fungus" isn't the most dangerous thing; the more perilous threats are the Mutants that have migrated from the East Coast and the scattered radioactive waste on the land.

About a month ago, while the Alliance's Army was engaged in heated battle with the Army in the Luo Xia Province, the secluded Dusty Town was quietly making a fortune. The town's mayor had earned quite a few silver coins by doing business with the Alliance.

Then he spent the silver coins on a bunch of LD-47s and Maxims that had been replaced from the front lines, upgrading from the old iron pipe rifles and rusted short daggers, and he hired a bunch of ruthless and brutal thugs as bodyguards. This facilitated further exploitation of the old farmers laboring in the fields and also helped him safeguard the silver coins hoarded in the gun tower.

However, the good times didn't last.

The mayor was a man with ideas, and as it happened, those hired thugs had ideas too.

Seeing the town's mountains and rivers and the ease of earning money by trading with the factory owners to the north, these already criminally inclined thugs quickly agreed on a course of action and returned to their old ways. Using the mayor's guns, they slaughtered the mayor's family.

And so, Dusty Town changed hands for the first time.

Those thugs had a great time bullying men and women, and the merchants who came by to trade turned a blind eye. If nothing changed, sooner or later, as the capable workers were killed off, and when someone got bold enough, this place would become a new Raider Camp.

However, as luck would have it, a talking lizard, a talking mouse, and a human who couldn't talk all mistakenly came to this place.

They had only intended to ask for directions to the seaside, sending the only one of them who looked most human to inquire.

But hearing the naive newcomer's words, the thugs laughed out loud and coveted the silver coins in his pocket, thinking about robbing and killing him.

Thinking about robbery and murder.

That would be the work of Looters.

And then what happened next was just a matter of course.

What chance did the twenty-something Looters have against these ruthless folks? Not to mention the newbie human; both Pick up trash 99 level and Difficult for the strong were seasoned Alpha version players—an expert spotter and damage dealer. They didn't even need to use their guns to treat the whole town's Looters like red-named mobs to be farmed.

The townspeople were indeed terrified at first, but when they saw the Claw of death speaking, they were no longer afraid.

There were all too many strange things in the Wasteland.

The fact that the Claw of death could speak was hardly surprising. And if a death claw speaking wasn't surprising, a talking mouse was even less so.

In fact, the survivors of the town quite liked these two characters.

Compared to the oppressive mayor and the bandits who tyrannized them, the lizard who called himself Pick up trash and the mouse named Difficult for the strong, though ugly, seemed far less frightening.

To thank these three "people" who courageously came to their aid, the villagers built statues for them and even constructed shrines to worship them.

At first, the three players declined, but they couldn't resist the intoxicating feeling of being adored and accepted with half-hearted protests amidst their chuckles.

Then the big lizard promised to ensure the villagers' safety, and the mouse further assured them that with its presence, no other mice would dare to steal grain from the granary.

The townspeople, in turn, promised to allocate twenty percent of the grain produce to them as a tribute... which was far less than the seventy percent the old mayor and the ninety percent the ruffians had taken!

The players were astonished by the favor they received.

Twenty percent of a small town with two or three hundred households was more than Pick up trash could ever eat.

So the three "people" decided to sell the excess grain to passing merchants and use part of the income to buy tractors and fertilizers from the Alliance for the poor folks, to increase field yields. They also thought of buying tools for digging wells and repairing houses, which would eventually increase their tributes.

For management convenience, they had the survivors vote for a new mayor and found several respected individuals to oversee the militia, armaments, money, and food.

This was the second change of ownership for Dusty Town.

Although it had only been a short month, everything seemed to be improving.

Until a mysterious patient appeared in town.

His hands and feet developed sores, which oozed pus, his body ran hot, and his nose dripped without stop—a picture of someone at death's door. However, what was strange was that these symptoms did not render him weak and wailing in bed; on the contrary, they seemed to have endowed him with abnormal strength and an astonishing appetite.

Such bizarre happenings had never occurred in this area before.

The survivors in the town felt terrified, so they locked up this healthy sick man and immediately reported the situation to the three divine protectors sheltering them.

Upon questioning, the man confessed he had a slight cold some time back and, heeding the advice of a hunter from another village, ate a green fruit rumored to cure all ills. Indeed, his condition had improved somewhat.

However, the good times were short-lived.

After some time, his minor cold showed no signs of healing; it even seemed to intensify. To suppress the agony of the illness and not affect daily work, he had to keep eating those green fruits, even secretly growing them in his yard.

Eventually, his body seemed to have reached a sort of truce with the virus: as long as he kept eating the green fruits, he could avoid the torment of the illness and become increasingly stronger amidst boundless delight... even as his body turned into a breeding ground for the virus.

But if he stopped consuming those fruits, the truce with the virus would end, and his health would plummet, slowly rotting away like a piece of decayed wood.

After understanding the situation, the three young players immediately took it seriously. Without much effort, they found the hunter mentioned by the sick man and quickly pinpointed the origins of the green fruit.

It was a place called Town Of Hope...

...

Dusty Town.

The shrine where they worshiped "gods."

"By the way, do you still remember... we were originally planning to head south to see the ocean?" I, sitting on a wooden chair in Tranquility, suddenly let out a sigh and said.

Pick up trash 99 level yawned.

"Remember."

"So when are we hitting the road?"

"emmm..."

"Damn! You're not getting addicted to playing messiah, are you?"

Watching the noisily protesting Tranquility, Pick up trash 99 level rolled his eyes.

"Jeesh, you're enjoying this quite a bit, too!" retorted Tranquility, caught between laughter and tears.

"Me... it's not like I have a choice! Besides, we haven't saved in over a month, is that really okay?"

Before entering the game, he used to boast on the forum every day about exploring the edges of the map, but once he actually got into the game, he found that it was as difficult as reaching the sky.

First off, there was the language barrier.

Even among the Alpha version veterans, only a few could speak fluently the "human language"; the VM's translation feature was too noticeably machine-like in offline mode, leaving some things untranslatable or incomprehensible, and some things were just not translated at all.

To date, he could only manage a few phrases for daily communication.

To try to venture into the Wasteland with this half-baked grasp of language was simply to understimate those man-eating creatures out there.

Nevertheless, Mr. Trash was indifferent to his arguments.

Saving?

What use was that.

Humans are weak creatures!

"Hmph, not saving does not matter one bit; play the game long enough, and you'll realize that level is actually just a very, very small part of all game elements, like the dragons in 'The Elder Scroll 5,' the witches in 'Gwent Card 3,' and the Rainbow in 'Rainbow 6.'"

"Pfft, what the hell is the 'rainbow' in Rainbow 6 Siege!"

Pick up trash 99 level proudly said, "Same deal. What the hell is the 'Sequence Level' in 'Wasteland OL'? Is it important? Does my low level affect my ability to show off? Are the NPCs here not realistic enough? Or is reincarnating with a different identity not exhilarating enough?"

"Ah... I'm really envious of you Variant players," I thought to myself with a look of envy.

If I were a Variant player, I'd probably be able to roam freely across the Wasteland.

After all, most Variants would steer clear of the Claw of death, and even average survivors seldom provoke them.

"Calm down, it's like having a QQ account with consecutive numbers; that's a treatment only Exalted players have." Watching this noob's envious expression, Mr. Trash couldn't help but let out a chuckling he-he, while inside he was crying.

He was strong.

Unquestionably strong.

But it was a pity, no matter how strong he was, he didn't have a ding-ding.

At least someone who's Difficult for the strong has a bunch of spiritual wives, but he could only expect to get snorted at by other Claws of death.

Yes.

Other Claws of death truly looked down on him, this "underdeveloped" guy, even though a White bear could win the affection of other mutt bears just because of its white fur.

Every time he thought about Nicole's disdainful look, he'd gnash his teeth in frustration, and yet he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Damn it...

This blasted game setting!

It's because of this reason that when the new town mayor of Dusty Town cautiously asked him if he wanted to prepare a priestess to serve the gods for the sacrificial shrine, he almost immediately flat-out refused.

Give me a break.

I'm the one who picked the fight, why should this new guy next door have all the fun!

The tail of the feudal age had to be cut off!

At this moment, Tranquility was unaware of the exciting show he'd missed. His attention was completely caught by a mouse that had slipped in through the door.

He saw a plump big mouse, gesturing to a few of its rodent minions, lifting a burlap sack and throwing it onto the ground.

Tranquility walked over and pulled the sack open to peek inside, immediately overwhelmed by the stench that hit him, snapping the sack shut.

"Holy crap! What is this thing? It stinks so much!"

"Jade Fruit! That's what the locals call it, grows on a tree. They say it cures all kinds of diseases," Difficult for the strong lifted up his slender arm, wiped sweat away, and with a long quivering mustache said, "To hell with curing diseases... Bringing this thing back, I've lost quite a few of my little brothers."

Sneaking and skulking are in a mouse's nature, those little mice subdued by his strength didn't completely obey him, especially when out of his sight.

Stealing food was common, and not just stealing food—his "harem" often ended up mysteriously pregnant out of the blue.

In the end, it turned out that the most obedient wasn't actually a pure mouse, but a groundhog that had been with him for a long time.

Ever since he ordered a set of steel claws for that thing from Mosquito, it had killed quite a few traitors in his group for him.

Enduring the stench, I want tranquility opened the sack again, examined the Jade Fruit inside. He realized the actual fruit wasn't what smelled, rather, it was a layer of dark green slime on its surface and the mud soaked in green.

Mr. Trash curiously stared at the stuff inside the sack for a while then turned to look at the fat mouse resting on a stool.

"You've got an Iron Stomach, right? You try eating one."

"Get lost! Just because I have an Iron Stomach doesn't mean I've got high poison resistance!" Difficult for the strong rolled his eyes, "You've got a high Constitution. Why don't you take a bite!"

Mr. Trash he-he'd with a laugh, his thick claw scratching his head.

"I might have a high Constitution, but that doesn't mean I like eating shit... To be frank, the moment I saw this thing, it didn't look like anything good!"

Looking at that greenish color.

As a Pure Love Warrior, he felt physically uncomfortable.

Difficult for the strong cleared his throat lightly.

"Anyway... the information is accurate, just as the patient confessed; this stuff popped up in Town of Hope out of the blue. At first, only a few people planted this kind of fruit, then the land that had been used to grow the fruit trees could only grow this stuff, and coupled with the greed of the local landlords for the money they could make from it, more and more people started planting it."

I want tranquility curiously asked,

"Is this thing expensive?"

Difficult for the strong continued,

"It's definitely more expensive than food. Although there aren't many merchants who buy it, local survivors themselves say that at first they really planted it to make money, but as they kept growing it, they started to feel that making money wasn't important anymore... After eating it, they didn't fear sickness or cold, didn't need to wear clothes, and could see a paradise. In its presence, money was like dung."

Hearing this, Tranquility's expression gradually became serious.

"Eating this stuff makes one lose all hopes... This thing is undoubtedly a poison."

"Nonsense, as if you need to say that." After patting the newbie on the back of his head, Pick up trash 99 level looked at Difficult for the strong and asked, "So this stuff originated from Town of Hope?"

To his surprise, Difficult for the strong shook his head.

"No, they got the saplings from someone else too. It is said... the very first fruit tree seedling came from a Mutant tribe called 'Qi,' located in an abandoned urban area about twenty kilometers from here."

I want tranquility heard this and suddenly widened her eyes.

"Mutants?!"

Difficult for the strong chuckled haughtily.

"Surprised, aren't you... But if you look at the official website's observations and descriptions of Mutants, it's not hard to understand. Mutants are a special group. In the First stage, they live in tribes and obtain food and procreate through 'hunting.' By the Second stage, they acquire a sense of 'civilization' from violence; this manifests as the birth of 'farming' and 'breeding' concepts. For example, planting mutated fruits as food, and keeping a certain number of human females and a small number of males as livestock, allowing them to breed autonomously and then using and slaughtering them in a planned manner. It's said that there's a Third stage, but for now, that's only speculation."

"Those 'Black stone' tribes that other players found in the Great Desert are probably in between the First and Second stages, and this 'Qi' is likely in the late Second stage, maybe even transitioning to the Third stage..."

Pick up trash 99 level stroked his chin.

"And the evidence?"

"Evidence? Isn't it obvious? It's said that there are over ten thousand, even tens of thousands of Mutants there! It's impossible to maintain a clan of ten thousand members with violence alone; they must have created some 'other thing'... like the orcs' Gul'dan." As he spoke, excitement twinkled in the eyes of Difficult for the strong.

Perhaps he could draw some sociological experiences from it and find a way to establish a huge rat empire.

Tranquility's expression, however, turned serious.

"...This is no small issue. A Mutant tribe of over ten thousand, and we are only twenty kilometers apart. Yet we've been here so long without hearing any news of it."

Pick up trash 99 level also nodded his head, saying earnestly,

"Yeah, it's very abnormal that this group of Mutants has no interest in pillaging the nearby villages..."

Whether anyone cared or not, they had to sync this noteworthy message to the official website of Wasteland OL.

Whether it's the story about "Qi."

Or about that peculiar "Jade Fruit"...

...

While the "Pioneers" in the south were busy figuring out how to handle the sick in the village and how to send samples of the "Jade Fruit" back to the Alliance for testing, the preparations for the Triumph celebration had entered the final countdown.

The streets were decorated with lanterns and bunting, and the streets were bustling with people. The holiday had started from yesterday, and the stores on the street had started doing discount promotions, with the market stalls more than doubling.

Among those setting up stalls were not only residents of City of Dawn but also merchants from Dawn City, Falling Leaves City, Garbage City, the Red River Alliance, and other survivor settlements.

A dazzling array of commodities and abundant business opportunities not only turned City of Dawn into a vibrant exhibition center, but it also meant silver coins were coveted by countless merchants passing through.

Those who have come and wished to return would keep silver coins as money in their pockets, looking at the warehouses and shelves stuffed with goods. No one doubted the purchasing power of silver coins would remain robust in the future.

Especially with the Residents of the refuge returning from the front lines, those people not only brought back the treasures of Luo Xia Province, but they also brought back the bustle taken from here several months ago.

Since the main force went to Luo Xia Province, City of Dawn hadn't been as lively as it was today for a long time.

Such a bustling scene could simply be described as a "gathering of all nations"!

"This place is really lively!"

Watching the crowds coming and going, Alyssa was as excited as a bird freed from its cage, her face, which hadn't seen sunlight for a long time and was pallid, now flushed with excitement.

Seeing his daughter's high spirits, Melvin couldn't help but show a relaxed smile.

"So you need to hold onto daddy's hand tightly, okay?"

"Okay!"

Alyssa nodded vigorously and grasped her father's hand.

This was her first time visiting the City of Dawn.

Although it was only a little over twenty kilometers away from their home, at least ten of those kilometers were quite difficult to navigate.

For those ten kilometers, her father had hired no less than fifty bodyguards, and that uncle who didn't speak seemed to be a bionic man produced by Huge Rock Military Industry.

From the moment she stepped into the settlement, she had been curiously looking all around.

Everything here was imbued with a sense of novelty for her.

The men and women who were picky shoppers on the streets and the welcoming salespeople were actually not much older than her, mostly seventeen or eighteen years old, with few elderly faces to be seen.

When they passed by a stall, she couldn't help but stop in her tracks, her gaze fixing on a head of beautiful hair.

More precisely, it was on the fishbone-shaped hair clip adorning that head of hair.

That little fishbone looked as if a cat had nibbled a notch into it, which was incredibly charming. She had never seen such a cute accessory in the stores of Giant Stone City.

The sister wearing the hair clip was also very pretty.

Her complexion was slightly dark, like wheat tanned by the autumn sun, exuding a wild charm, but her smile was soft, creating a vivid contrast with her skin tone.

Noticing Alyssa's gaze, Autumn Grass immediately realized she was looking at the hair clip on her head and smiled gently at the little customer.

"Do you like it?"

Alyssa nodded.

"Yes, I like it…"

Autumn Grass blinked, looking at the lovely girl in front of her.

"Because the customer is so cute, it's only one silver coin."

What a bargain!

And...

The way this sister spoke was really nice.

Blushing, Alyssa felt as though she would be letting the sister down if she didn't pay, so she looked up at her father pleadingly and tugged at his sleeve.

Seeing his daughter's fondness for the hair clip, and even though Melvin thought it was a bit undervalued, he said nothing. Smiling, he waved at one of his bodyguards.

The latter, who was taciturn, nodded and took out one silver coin from his chest to place on the stall, completing the transaction.

Melvin turned to his overjoyed daughter and admonished.

"Don't wear it in front of your mom, okay?"

"Okay!"

Alyssa nodded obediently.

Melvin smiled and tousled her hair, took the hair clip from her hand, and personally fixed it to one side of her head.

That delicate little fishbone paired with her golden hair was quite adorable.

Of course, he was well aware that it wasn't because the hair clip was particularly cute or that the craftsmen from "North Suburb" were exceptionally skilled, but because his daughter carried noble blood within her veins.

Their destination was the Embassy Street of City of Dawn, the most splendid and majestic area, and he had already reserved a VIP suite in the Ideal Grand Hotel located on that street.

It was the most famous hotel nearby, built by the Ideal Group and only accepting Cr for payment, primarily serving residents visiting from Ideal City, though others willing to pay in Cr could make a reservation too.

The entire hotel boasted twenty floors, standing out amid the cityscape of City of Dawn. Everything from the complete set of furniture to the cement used for repairs was transported from Ideal City. Even the waitstaff consisted of one hundred artificially created female maids produced by the Kang Mao Group.

Whether for living or business discussions, it was the top choice.

Cameras from the Alliance were wildly scuttling across the sky, but would never dare to intrude into the hotels of Ideal City; he was very clear about this.

On their way to the hotel, Alyssa gazed around curiously and suddenly blurted out a question.

"Why do they all seem so happy?"

Melvin smiled and replied,

"Because the celebration is coming soon."

"What about us?" Alyssa tilted her head to look at her father, "Why don't we have our own celebration? There would surely be many fun things happening, right?"

"Us?" Melvin paused, then regained his smile, and gently said to his daughter, "We don't need such things, and there will be many interesting items to come. Remember the shops I took you to?"

"Are they in the Inner City?"

"That's right, the best things in the entire settlement are there; we can even buy synthetically crafted limbs imported from Ideal City. There's no need to fight over items with those people at the market."

Noticing a hint of disappointment on his daughter's face, Melvin affectionately stroked her head.

"My child, why would you envy those people... A mere hair clip—if you like, I can have someone make you any kind of hair clip you want, and it would be a unique design. You should know that your life is much better than theirs."

Alyssa muttered discontentedly,

"But in Giant Stone City, people always lower their heads when they look at us."

Melvin sighed and explained patiently,

"That's because they respect us."

Alyssa looked at her father, puzzled.

"But... if you can't see their eyes, how do you know whether it's respect or hatred in them?"

Hatred?

Melvin furrowed his brows.

"Who taught you these things?"

He was truly getting angry now.

He had always been careful to maintain that beautiful, idyllic world in his daughter's heart. He didn't expect to live in that perfect world himself, but he at least hoped that his beloved little girl could spend her entire life without touching the things he had to deal with on a daily basis.

But annoying things kept finding their way into his house, blowing the curtains he had hung wide open time and time again.

Hatred?

How could that word be in his daughter's vocabulary!

Seeing her father's displeased face, Alyssa closed her mouth, a trace of fear appearing on her face, and she dared not speak or answer.

Realizing his expression frightened his daughter, Melvin quickly switched to a warm smile, indulgently touching her beautiful hair.

"My precious daughter... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice. Please forgive Daddy for occasionally bringing negativity from work back home, and please believe me, Daddy would never hurt you."

After a pause, he continued patiently,

"Your shoes, dresses, and the lovely dolls didn't just appear out of thin air. The world has been destroyed a long time ago. Those lowly fellows tirelessly bring all the beauty to you, not because they love you like Daddy but because of the collective efforts of your daddy, Uncle Duron, and those shareholders who support us... all of us together. You don't need to feel sympathy for those gray, failed lives. If you truly understood them, you would know they are not worth your sympathy... Starting tomorrow, you shouldn't read the 'Survivor's Daily' anymore."

Perhaps after returning, he should give Duron a heads-up.

He supported those newspapers, radio broadcasts, and other forms of entertainment. For example, Mr. Hauser's channel was quite good. While making fun of the ugly Wasteland Wanderers to alleviate boredom, he would teach the surrounding Survivor Settlements to plant some economic crops... But the premise was that these things had to be solely for entertainment.

However, looking at it now, Survivor's Daily was clearly not that sort of thing.

Although Playboy's supplements were all about teasing fantasies with risqué content, he felt offended after laughing at those seemingly harmless jokes. Were the nobles of the Inner City that lustful? What beauties hadn't they seen? How could they possibly get so angry because they couldn't tear stockings made of Devil Silk!

Even worse was Worker Report, which serialized stories of impoverished grassroots rising up. Didn't those guys, whose brains were swollen with beer, know that was totally illogical? No matter how awesome a Mercenary was, at the end of the day, they were just a lackey, and what about Awakeners? Could they punch it out with power armor?

Thinking of the workers, each holding a copy of the same newspaper, a slight chill suddenly surged in Melvin's heart.

Perhaps his daughter was right.

How could he know whether the hidden gazes of those people harbored love or hatred? Humans were much more complex than Mutants.

But this could wait.

The pressing matter he needed to solve was the circulation issue of chips.

They had already earned too much "Base currency."

This wouldn't do!

The nature of trade was mutual benefit, but it seemed that only the Alliance got to enjoy the beer they traded for, gulping down a belly full of foam.

There had to be a stable channel to exchange the surplus chips for Silver Coins, or better yet, exchange them directly for Cr!

If he could solve this problem, all the nobles of the Inner City would thank him, even if they were not his core customers!

Life in the Inner City, no matter what, couldn't be more comfortable than in Ideal City.

If they could exchange a large amount of chips for Cr, they could take the Cr obtained from the chips and live a godly life in Ideal City that they never even dared to dream of before. The factories of Giant Stone City ran nonstop, with the surplus chips flowing into an inexhaustible pool.

Thank God, the Alliance had done what he had wanted to do his whole life yet never had the chance to—solve the exchange issue for Cr.

It was not the listed consignment exchange of the trading post.

The soup and water splashed out by those peddlers when they shook their bottles and cans weren't enough to go around, he even had to be cautious about controlling the board to scrape together tuition fees for his son.

But businesses were too generous towards the Alliance.

It was said that the shrewd merchants on the East Coast supported the Alliance by giving them a preferential exchange rate of 1:3! Three Silver Coins could be exchanged for one point of Cr!

It was not clear what the limit of the exchange was, but even if it was just a hundred million, it would be enough for the nobles of the Inner City to dance with joy.

Giant Stone City was also a victorious country, and he had to help the Residents of Giant Stone City get a share from this real honey pot!

The Alliance would become a bridge!

Just then, at the entrance to Embassy Street, he saw someone he didn't expect to encounter.

That distinctive deep blue power armor, he didn't need to ask to guess who it was!

Signaling the bodyguards behind him to stay put, Melvin immediately approached with his daughter, greeting him cheerily.

"Honored Manager, it's such a pleasure to encounter you here!"

Hearing someone call his name, Chu Guang turned around and saw a man of great pomp leading a little girl, greeting him.

"Who might you be?"

"I am Melvin, the bank president of Giant Stone City Bank! I've long admired your reputation!" With an elegant noble etiquette, Melvin smiled at Chu Guang and took the opportunity to introduce his daughter, "This is my daughter, Alyssa... Alyssa, say hello to the gentleman."

"Hello, esteemed Manager," Alyssa followed her father's lead with an elegant curtsy and looked at Chu Guang with a blink, "You look much younger than the legends say. I thought you were of my father's generation."

Chu Guang chuckled at her words, looked at the little girl, and jokingly said,

"It seems I'm not mature enough; I should learn more from your father."

"You jest!" Melvin smoothly picked up the conversation from his daughter and said respectfully, "Among all the Settlement leaders I have met, you are the most impressive, please forgive my daughter's impudence."

"Impudence? Youth is the morning sun, the hope that shines on the refuge's gates; that should be the highest compliment," Chu Guang looked at the little girl's blushing face and gently smiled, "I have a feeling you have smart eyes; you should become a very outstanding person."

Alyssa's eyes lit up, and she said in delighted surprise,

"Really?"

"Of course," Chu Guang nodded, glanced at her hairpin, and said with a smile, "Your hairpin is very pretty."

"I actually hope that my daughter can live a safe and peaceful life," Melvin said with a smile, looking at Chu Guang before continuing, "I've come this time to deliver the congratulations from all shareholders of Giant Stone City Bank. Congratulations on defeating that savage Army and bringing the light of order to River Valley Province! Our future is brighter than it has ever been! A shared brightness!"

Chu Guang replied with a polite smile as well,

"Thank you, I accept your congratulations on behalf of the residents of the Alliance, and we welcome you to visit City of Dawn. We have fine wine and delicacies to welcome our friends; all who come here are guests, all are friends!"

This was Chu Guang's first encounter with Melvin; before this, it had always been Luka communicating with him, and Chu Guang hadn't been involved.

In fact, this chance meeting was a coincidence; he had just stopped by Embassy Street to offer his condolences to Yi Chuan, who was still mourning his brother, and took the opportunity to discuss the latest infrastructure projects with Li Changkong, the representative of Ideal Group.

He was now holding a subsidy of ten billion Cr, and all five major groups were very interested in the money allocated to him by the council.

As Chu Guang curiously examined the wealthiest man from Giant Stone City, Melvin was also carefully observing the man before him.

Young, tall, brimming with energy, this fellow had everything he coveted... especially those piercing, torch-like eyes.

He didn't know what the man was thinking, but whenever their eyes met, he couldn't help wanting to look away.

Sometimes he couldn't help thinking how nice it would be if his eldest and second daughters hadn't married yet.

Betting on both sides seemed like a good choice.

Given the "admiration" of the Inner City nobles for this powerful politician who could help them make a fortune, even if he seemed a bit indecisive, they would think he was schmoozing for the benefit of all, as marrying noble blood to the land of the barbarians required a bit of courage.

"So... I will be taking my daughter to the hotel later to settle in, and I would like to have a private talk with you later in the evening, if that would be convenient for you?" Melvin, knowing his time was valuable, felt bad for taking up too much of it.

According to procedure, he would first need to talk with Luka and then schedule a time for negotiations with Chu Guang. It was protocol as well as the proper etiquette.

Chu Guang nodded with a smile,

"Of course, but it might be difficult before the celebration... Can it wait until after the celebration?"

He couldn't wait to stuff the bonds into the pocket of this portly man before him, but first he had to make some necessary preparations.

Preparations that could help him sell the bonds for a better price.

After all, talking about it now might give the impression that he was desperately short of money... which he couldn't afford to show at any cost.

Melvin was taken aback for a moment.

Chu Guang's response had indeed surprised him.

He had thought that Chu Guang would immediately fix a time, but instead he seemed in no hurry, as if he was confident about managing the ten million in chips and interest soon due.

That was ten million chips.

Spread out over every resident of the Alliance, that was at least 500 each.

This guy wasn't planning on reneging on the debt, was he?

Doubts sprang up in Melvin's mind, although he instinctively felt it unlikely; an ambitious person wouldn't commit such shortsighted actions, but he couldn't help wondering where this guy would come up with the money.

Chips weren't just printed willy-nilly.

They were, after all, made by casinos before the war.

"Alright then, I'll follow your lead!" Melvin gently patted his daughter's back, smiling as he spoke, "It's just as well, I've been in meetings these days and haven't spent time with my dear daughter for a while."

Watching the father and daughter, Chu Guang smiled and nodded,

"Enjoy the celebration."

-

(Thank you "Xue Liu" for the leader's reward!!!)

Chapter 525: I Will Consider Taking a Few Days Off for Myself

Night Queen Bar.

Recently, this place has started operating earlier, especially for those generous VIP customers, it is open around the clock.

However, to the slight disappointment of patrons, the artworks made of Devil Silk seem to have vanished from the bar, replaced entirely by nylon replicas.

In a sense, this has become more convenient, but people still feel like something is missing.

After all, humans are not animals, and aside from that particular issue, there is still some spiritual pursuit. Artworks made of indestructible Devil Silk managed to make the otherwise vulgar dance moves seem less so.

And what better way to provoke the human desire to conquer than to refuse something?

People complain that the stuff is too familiar, yet they are more willing to spend money on it.

Nevertheless, when it comes to "banning Devil Silk artworks," the owner of the Night Queen Bar, Luo Bo, is very resolute.

Even though he was the first to benefit from it.

The Survivor Daily's supplement mocks his girls nonchalantly; after all, neither he nor they care about face, only about chips. But that guy dared to take a dig at the Inner City's noble grandfathers too, he's really asking for trouble!

He definitely doesn't want to get blood splattered on him...

Right now, in the most status-confirming VIP room.

Several powdered and slicked-up young masters were lounging on plush sofas, surrounded by a cluster of disheveled beauties.

Their casually discarded belts revealed their opulence—the skins were from Dead Claws, and of older ones at that.

Immersed in the gentle embrace from all sides, Kishu comfortably squinted his eyes, and after a moment of uninteresting shuddering, smacked his lips and said with a smirk,

"There's no place more enjoyable than in Giant Stone City."

Over there, he always had to handle things himself, but here, without even having to move a muscle, one look and they understood everything.

And they were incredibly submissive and considerate...

Sitting across from him, a young man asked with curiosity.

"Aren't there many artificial humans in Ideal City?"

His name was Kumarit, and he was Sid's son.

As for Sid, he was a well-known noble of the Inner City, with shares in both Vijia Commerce and Giant Stone City Bank. When it comes to chips, for someone like him, it's just a number.

Logically speaking, his father's status was somewhat higher than Kishu's father, and Kishu should have been acting as his sidekick. However, Kumarit greatly admired this guy in front of him and willingly lowered his status to let him sit in the 'big brother' position.

Because this guy always had countless sneaky ideas, and every time they were bored, he could lead them to stir up some new trouble.

It's just that incident five years ago; they really went too far.

The girl was about the same age as his sister, and it was crazy of him to come up with that idea. When the matter was exposed, and that stubborn old man refused to accept their chips, insisting with tears and snot that they take responsibility... but how could they take responsibility?

Were they to draw straws and decide who would marry the girl? That would not only make their fathers' noses turn crooked with anger, but they would also beat them to death!

There was no choice; they had to make that family disappear.

It's just a pity that the matter wasn't handled well; the fire accidentally spread to the surrounding houses, causing the city defense chief to fly into a rage. It was because of that incident that Kishu was packed off by his father to a merchant outside, sent to the distant Ideal City to lie low. And they were also scolded at home and confined for several days to reflect.

Kumarit thought he'd never see this good brother of his again, but unexpectedly, the company suddenly opened flights to Qingquan City.

And his good brother indeed did not disappoint him, returning at the first opportunity to reunite with them.

Kishu disdainfully curled his lip.

"How could artificial humans ever understand humans better than actual humans... and can't you guys grow up a bit? After all this time, still thinking of only that, vulgar!"

Kumarit said playfully.

"We don't have any other entertainment, you're the sophisticated one; tell us, what are some fun things on the East Coast."

The others also chimed in.

"Exactly!"

"Come on, spill it already."

A group of fair-weather friends looked eagerly at the buddy who had returned from afar, hoping he would share more about the East Coast.

Although their elders were mostly upper-class people of the Inner City, not everyone had the opportunity to send their children to the Ideal City.

Three thousand kilometers was too far.

And the further from Giant Stone City they got, the less their power was worth.

Unless it was the most trusted and powerful businessperson, no one dared to entrust their own flesh and blood to them.

Outside the giant wall, in the Wasteland, it only took a minor accident to end a life, especially where currency didn't circulate; there, life was cheaper than paper.

And to tell the truth, even if they had the chance to go to Ideal City, they actually didn't really want to stay there for several years.

But that didn't stop them from listening to the stories of those who had been.

And a good buddy's personal experience was always more reliable than the stories told by those merchants who one couldn't be sure had actually been or not...

Basking in the admiring gazes that surrounded him like stars around the moon, Kishu's eyes unwittingly filled with a sense of superiority as he leisurely began to speak.

"Ideal City... it's actually not as good as you imagine."

Kumarit looked at him incredulously.

"But it must be a bit better than Giant Stone City, right?"

"You're overthinking it," Kishu shook his head, "There's a ton of rules there, clearly stating what you can and can't do, with absolutely no room for flexibility."

In reality, there might have been some.

It was just that he wasn't at a level where the council might bend the rules, so of course, he wouldn't know where leeway could be found.

Kumarit still wore a face full of disbelief and continued to question.

"What about the nobles in the Inner City there? They've got to have it better, right?"

Kishu spoke indifferently.

"Of course they do, but in my opinion, those people lack foresight; you might even call them short-sighted. Perhaps the real big shots are different; I've heard they are more secretive and conservative... But aside from that, they're really no different from us. It's precisely why their lives there are so dull—otherwise, why would they bother coming out to the city?"

For him, that place was another kind of Wasteland—a wasteland of the spirit.

He could only live in a dog kennel of forty square meters, hooked up to a Neural Connection Device, squabbling online with the trash of Endpoint Cloud… That was the cheapest and most hassle-free form of entertainment. At the very least, he didn't have to worry about being mysteriously in violation, getting locked up to be forced to watch something, or thrown out by the guards.

The complexity of the rules there was maddening, and one could only imagine how low the efficiency was—something unthinkable in Giant Stone City.

Enjoying the adoration in the simpletons' gazes, Kishu ate a grape fed to him by a Beauty, and lazily commented on his hometown.

"But speaking of changes... it used to take at least two days to walk from here to North Suburb, but now it takes less than a day."

Kumarit replied with a smile.

"Indeed, those busybodies in North Suburb keep picking fights with Looters; almost all Looters from the north have fled south."

Another chubby guy chimed in excitedly.

"I also heard that they are doing a lot of construction there recently, they're even repaving the roads under the outbound overpasses!"

A tall man's eyes lit up as he spoke.

"I know! My father has invested a lot of money in it!"

Kishu curled his lip.

"How much money can selling steel and cement make... don't you guys have any interest in the really profitable trades?"

Kumarit's eyes instantly lit up.

"Do you have connections?"

"More than just connections."

Kishu smiled mysteriously, beckoning his eager buddies to come closer with a gesture.

He cleared his throat, keeping his voice very low.

"...I have a project that can make big money."

"You don't have to do anything, just lie down and you'll make money!"

...

In a mansion in the City of Dawn.

Sitting in his study, List toyed with the black room card in his hand, glancing at the clock on the wall and yawning with abject boredom.

He began to feel somewhat bored.

Initially, for the sake of this "Black Card," he hadn't spared any chips to clear the way through relationships, spending at least several million altogether. Finally, with the help of a few nobles, he managed to gracefully usher out a down-and-out impoverished nobleman with a hefty "relocation fee" and took his place as a new member of the Inner City nobility.

There, the dignity and elegance of the nobility were more important than anything else, but the identity of the nobility itself was not so mysterious.

As long as one owned a single room in the Stone Building, no matter how small, one could be considered a member of the Inner City nobility and possess voting rights on major decisions.

As for how to own one, it depended on one's ability to get along with others; it wasn't something explicitly priced and circulated in the market.

Most nobles did not actually reside within the giant Stone Building. The numbers on their cards symbolized identity and power more than anything else. Beyond the pre-war Stone Building, there was a circle of buildings constructed later that also fell within the Inner City's borders.

Living conditions in those places were much better.

Furthermore, if a noble lived day in, day out, in the small room associated with their card, it essentially meant they weren't far from bankruptcy.

People would assume they intended to sell their power for a good price at the end, doing so in a way that wouldn't offend themselves or their neighbors.

Such as the noble he had replaced.

That fellow had lived on the lowest floor of the building, without children or any impressive skills to speak of, like a pampered pig, hoping night and day to sell their card at a price that would not offend anyone, and then use the chips to start afresh elsewhere.

If all of Giant Stone City was likened to a massive casino, then undoubtedly, buying a card with one's "gambling capital" meant one had made it ashore.

That was also why he didn't hesitate to spend such a tremendous sum.

It wasn't just because with that status, other Inner City nobles couldn't mess with him using unofficial means; it was also because he had ambitions far beyond the ordinary—plans to use his business acumen and initiative to change Giant Stone City and the entire River Valley Province, establishing an immense business empire!

If he could join the core power circle of Giant Stone City, make some like-minded friends, his plans would go much smoother.

However, not long after entering this circle, he quickly became disillusioned.

There were no like-minded friends there; in fact, not even a single person with a modicum of competence.

Those guys were like a bunch of pigs bred from inbreeding.

Not a hint of the wisdom expected of people could be found in their heads, or rather, they had used up all their brains on infighting.

Even Slave Owners knew that shovels were faster than digging by hand, and would occasionally buy some generators or update their farming equipment from merchants like him. Yet those pampered swine insisted on removing the hooves of oxen and horses to eat them, smugly calling it an achievement.

How could such characters fare better than the old town mayor on Bet Street and the farm owners of Brown Ranch?

List pondered this question over several nights but could not understand.

In the end, he could only conclude—

They indeed had a good father.

Those who had the courage to stand outside the shelters, facing the radioactive dust and the perpetual winter without daylight, were truly heroes.

They not only endured the despair of plummeting from Utopia into the abyss, but they also took care of what should have been done by those sponging descendants ahead of time.

And that was precisely what shouldn't have been.

They created a "fairy-tale-like world" for their children, so much so that after two hundred years, the nobles could no longer see the Wasteland.

Actually, that understanding was not wrong.

Their Wasteland had indeed ended long ago...

At this moment, there was a knock on the study door. His most trusted subordinate, Han Long, opened the door and walked in.

"Sir, the Manager is here."

List tossed the Black Card aside and immediately said to him,

"Please show him in."

"Yes," Han Long nodded slightly, his electronic eyes swiveling left and right before he turned and left List's study.

It wasn't long before Chu Guang pushed the door open and walked in with a smile.

"Your house is quite large."

He didn't bring any Guards and was still wearing that suit of power armor. List had long grown accustomed to it and had even replaced all the sofas in his home with iron-core ones in case there was nowhere to entertain him.

"You should live in a bigger one, I just happen to have a new house I can't live in for now—"

"The shelter's environment is quite good."

"But isn't your Residents quite keen on building beautiful houses?" List smiled and tried to persuade, "The shelter is too cramped after all. Even if you don't mind, you shouldn't diminish the future Manager's lady and the future heir of the Alliance."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"We've known each other for so long, don't you understand me yet?"

List fell silent for a moment, letting out a light sigh, and leaned back in his chair, dismissing that unrealistic thought completely.

"To tell you the truth, the longer I know you, the less I understand you... Sometimes, when I'm in front of you, I even feel afraid."

"Have I done anything to make you afraid?"

"No."

Watching his silent demeanor, Chu Guang vaguely guessed something and smiled with implied meaning.

"Old Brown is still running his farm. He accepted our transformation, released the slaves in his house, and disbanded his armed forces. Bygones are bygones, and we allow him to continue living on his land as a citizen of the Alliance. And the person who did this is none other than City of Dawn's City Lord Luka, who almost got executed by him. You see, we can even forgive our enemies, and you haven't done 'anything' to wrong us, so what is there to worry about?"

List shook his head.

"The mismatch between money and status is an original sin. At least in the Inner City, I could bribe nobles, even become one... But here, I have no way to become a Resident of the refuge, nor can I understand your logic of operation, let alone figure out what you sometimes really want to do. Anyway, I just hope that one day when you need money, you'll give me a chance to offer it proactively."

Chu Guang couldn't help but say,

"Why can't you change your mindset a little? The Alliance is the Alliance; we have our own rules. We are different from any other Survivor Settlement... Look at Batch, he's almost not even human anymore, and isn't he still living happily every day?"

List said helplessly,

"He's a resident of Ideal City. Even if he commits a huge crime, there are people who will cover for him... And I can't see his face."

Chu Guang sighed and said,

"I've said it many times, identity isn't important in the Alliance. Even if he undergoes such a transformation that even his father can't recognize him, as long as he identifies with us, we will unite him."

List said with a wry smile,

"I hope you will always keep your promises... So, what do you want me to do for you this time?"

Seeing that List had guessed that his visit was purposeful, Chu Guang decided not to beat around the bush. He leaned back in the chair and explained with animation.

"I plan to issue something called Bonds."

"What's that?"

"A financial instrument, it can solve both our funding problems and the difficulties of the Inner City Nobles when it comes to investing."

List coughed.

"If you need money, just say the word. I'll lend it to you."

Chu Guang said with a smile,

"It's not me that needs money; it's the Alliance that needs it. And we will always need it. We need a lot of chips, how much could you lend me? A billion?"

List said, his scalp tingling,

"That... would indeed be difficult."

He hadn't expected this Manager to have such a big appetite.

Chu Guang spread his hands.

"See? It's not a cake one person can swallow. We need a large number of chips to purchase products from Giant Stone City, expand our market size, and right now, the pockets of the Inner City Nobles are bursting with chips. So, why not use that money they can't spend for the time being to make some profitable deals?"

List stroked his chin with interest, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"This sounds quite interesting..."

Chu Guang smiled and continued progressively.

"We can offer five-year and ten-year bonds, with total issue sizes of one and two billion respectively. They'll be bought and redeemed with chips - very fair. And the most important part is safety! The coupon rates are 3% and 4%, respectively. Take the ten-year bonds, for instance: a 100-chip bond would earn 4 chips in interest every year, and at the end of the tenth year, the principal of 100 chips all at once."

List's gaze flickered slightly, keenly picking up on his intent.

"It's like splitting the debt... Now not only banks can invest, but large and medium-sized Business Associations and even individuals can participate as well."

Chu Guang said with a smile,

"Exactly! We even provide physical certificates and supporting electronic accounting services... Those holding our bonds can even freely buy and sell on our trading platform. So, if someone urgently needs money, they can liquidate their holdings and sell the bonds, only paying a small transaction fee."

Too bad, it seemed that List hadn't grasped his true intention, simply instinctively feeling that he wouldn't harbor good intentions with this.

"Then why don't you go find Melvin?" After looking at Chu Guang for a while, List couldn't help but ask, "I'm a factory man, not someone who does this."

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Melvin is an old fox; he wants to get something from me, but he definitely won't allow me to use borrowed money to repay old debts. Starting from that 200 million in chips, every loan we took from the Giant Stone City Bank has had stipulations on how the loan should be used, and the money must be held in an account at the Giant Stone City Bank, under their supervision."

He paused, then continued.

"So I need two issuance channels to issue bonds priced in chips. However, I can assure you that the bonds issued through both channels will have the same rights. It's just that one is issued by the League Central Bank itself, and the other is issued through the banks in Giant Stone City."

"I consider you one of our own, so for the League's issuance channel, I plan to let you handle it."

List stared at Chu Guang in surprise, not expecting him to divulge such matters as "using borrowed money to repay old debts" to him.

Swallowing, he asked cautiously,

"Do you... really plan to repay it?"

Chu Guang looked at him strangely.

"If I didn't plan on repaying the money, why would I go to such great lengths?"

List fell silent for a moment, then spoke up hesitantly.

"I'll give it a try."

He had to take the Alliance's opinion seriously.

No choice.

Who made him prosper thanks to the Alliance?

If not for List's factory, he could never have become a noble in the Inner City in his lifetime, not to mention helping to raise funds—he would even have to think of ways to help commit murder if asked.

"Go and give it a shot!"

Chu Guang rose from the sofa, walked to the door of the study, then suddenly stopped, turned back to look at List, and encouraged him with a smile.

"Try your best. The business opportunities of the Alliance are all spelled out in the newspapers. I will cooperate with you as much as possible here. Trust me, if this works out, both the League and Giant Stone City will thank you. If it really doesn't work, it's no big deal; I'll look for someone else."

List responded respectfully,

"I will do my utmost."

The study door closed.

Listening to the footsteps fading away, List leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples with a headache.

The total amount to be issued was one billion and two billion, respectively...

Normal people would be scared away by these numbers, right?

Esteemed Manager indeed gave him a tough puzzle to solve.

Yet at this moment, List's gaze suddenly fell on the black card on the table, and a flicker of realization surged in his heart.

Picking up the black card again and fidgeting with it in his hand, List's eyes grew more excited, and he muttered softly to himself,

"Maybe it's not such a difficult task after all..."

...

Just as List was instructing his subordinates to pack up and prepare for a trip back to Giant Stone City, a not-so-small incident had just taken place in Giant Stone City.

Survivor's Daily, which had been the talk of the entire Stone City and had nearly put Mr. Hauser out of a job a few days ago, inevitably ran into trouble.

At the moment, the door of the newspaper office was sealed shut, with several guards pushing away onlookers who had gathered at the entrance.

"Back off!"

"Anyone who doesn't want trouble, stop freaking crowding around!"

Hearing the stern tone, people who didn't want to cause a scene dispersed.

Only one man didn't leave and couldn't help but shout,

"We are customers waiting for the new issue... not here to gawk!"

He was the owner of the Walnut Tavern, the one next to the industrial area, and his name was Tang.

On usual days, the workers came to his place to pick up cigarette butts to smoke, and incidentally, they would find someone literate to read the free newspaper.

Although he didn't much like those gloomy poor sods, they were pretty much his only patrons, and sometimes when they got happy, they couldn't resist buying a beer, even a newspaper to take home for keepsakes.

Even for the sake of that beer, he felt he should say something for them.

However, the two guards exchanged a glance upon hearing his words, laughed heartily, and kicked the bumpkin—who had appeared from who knows where—sending him tumbling to the ground. As he scrambled up, they mocked him.

"Get lost!"

"We don't have that stuff anymore!"

Meanwhile, in the upstairs office.

Upon hearing the decree issued by the city hall, Hal almost passed out. He glared at the guard who was reading the order to him, wishing he could kill the man with his gaze.

Yet the authority of the royal family meant squat here; the soldiers of Giant Stone City didn't care about some prince from the desert, who at most could avoid a beating.

"Publication suspension?! Why?" Hal shouted, spittle flying.

The guard looked at him mockingly.

"The city hall thinks you're spreading false news. Who asked you to not do proper work all day?"

Angry and red-faced, Hal gripped the issue of "Playboy" in his hand, his fingers trembling uncontrollably, and barely managed to choke out a sentence.

"But this is just a joke! It's not even the 'news' you're talking about!"

The content of the joke was about a guy wearing Dead Claw skin from head to toe trying to prove his bravery to his cronies by boasting that he had personally stripped the gear from the Dead Claw's body.

However, his friends clearly didn't believe him. So to prove his valor, the guy who dared not step out from behind the city wall had to pounce on a woman of ill-repute nearby, only to be exposed by undamageable Devil Silk as an idiot...

It was supposed to be a joke with two embedded soft advertisements, even including brand names, but perhaps his wording was too realistic, inadvertently offending some noble granddad who had actually done this here.

The guard's response confirmed his suspicions.

"Yes, however, a resident of the Inner City didn't find it funny and felt offended by it. Of course, we both know he's not the person in the joke, but he kindly thought it wasn't good."

"What about the 'Worker Report'? We haven't published any news about the rich for a long time, and it even helped a noble lady find her lost cat!"

The guard retorted.

"So why don't you continue to publish those things? You were doing well before, able to do some stuff for the Lords. Those serialized stories are too exaggerated, though. How could barehanded Awakeners possibly defeat power armor, and a mercenary buying an Inner City Black Card is nonsense. What do you take the status granted by the city lord for? I've never heard of any mercenary capable of that, aren't you misleading people?"

Hal tried to argue.

"We can remove that part of the content!"

"Mr. Dulon's opinion is no."

"What about Hauser? He talks more nonsense than I do! If you've ever listened to his broadcast, you'd know my writing is not even a cold joke!"

Hal's face reddened, the last thing he wanted was to bring up that fool who spewed nonsense, but now he had no choice but to use him as an example.

In terms of boasting, he was one in ten thousand compared to that guy, at least he couldn't make black seem white.

However, the guard was indifferent to his explanation and said impatiently.

"He has a permit. Oh, you're going to need one of those to operate from now on, I'm not too sure about the specifics, you can find out for yourself."

Hal looked at him pleadingly.

"Then I want to apply now! Please don't kick me out."

The guard shrugged indifferently.

"That's your freedom, but first you need to clean up your stuff here. We'll be sealing this place tomorrow. Anything not taken will be considered trash and disposed of."

If this guy wasn't a prince of the Lion Kingdom, he wouldn't bother wasting so many words and would just use a gun to make him behave.

After throwing out his last words, the guard turned and left with his crew, leaving Hal standing there, spiritless and disheartened.

He felt like a clown.

The Alliance had defeated the invincible Army, and he had been elated for a long time. However, the day before the victory celebration, the fruits of his half-year's labor were taken away with a single sentence.

Looking at the employees who dared not speak, the spiritless Hal spoke slowly.

"Do you understand... This feels like I placed a fresh flower on cow dung, yet they insist on seeing themselves as the cow dung. Is that all that's left in their shallow perception—cow dung?"

"I only wrote about a guy in Dead Claw skin having fun in the joke, yet they insist it's an offense to the Inner City nobles. Because humans clip their nails and horses have their hooves trimmed, are humans equivalent to horses? What kind of bullshit logic is that?"

An employee whispered quietly.

"...Indeed, residents of the Alliance also wear Dead Claw skin clothing, and they like you more than Mr. Hauser."

Another slightly younger employee couldn't help but ask.

"Clearly this is a misunderstanding... can we appeal?"

The slightly older editor shook his head.

"Difficult."

Everyone fell into a protracted silence, worrying about the future. The two journalists looked at each other, then couldn't help but turn to him.

"Boss..."

"What should we do?"

Hal said angrily.

"I don't know, don't ask me! You just stood by and watched the excitement, not saying a word to help me, and now you come ask me what to do! How should I know what to do?"

He had originally planned to dedicate an entire column to the Alliance's celebration and its series of bold actions, and had been working overtime to prepare a draft. Then, out of nowhere, this terrible news had arrived.

Looking at the helpless eyes of his employees, Hal suddenly felt as if all his strength had been drained, and he let out a long sigh.

"...I'll pay you your wages, then we'll all go our separate ways."

Perhaps he really wasn't cut out for this business.

The employees all showed expressions of reluctance.

And that slightly older editor immediately asked,

"Can we settle in silver coins?"

Hal was slightly stunned.

"Silver coins?"

Those standing next to the old editor nodded in unison, whispering one after another,

"We used to work for Mr. Haus... We were fired because we disagreed with him; he definitely won't take us back."

"And I've written articles mocking him..."

"We plan to try our luck in the Alliance; don't they have a 'Survivor's Daily'? They should need us."

"That's right! And right now, one chip can be exchanged for two silver coins, but in Giant Stone City, a chip can't even buy a loaf of bread!"

"The Alliance isn't much better..."

"But I heard that there, 0.9 silver coins can buy a kilogram of corn! The excess nutrient paste can even be used to feed pigs!"

Listening to his employees' various comments, Hal's previously despondent mood suddenly felt a little relief.

The Wasteland was large; there were still many places they could go.

Come to think of it, his original purpose for starting the newspaper was just to find a job that would support him, then to complete the trial his father had given to him and his brothers: bring back something valuable from the Wasteland.

But gradually, he grew fond of the newspaper, so much so that he completely forgot his father's instructions.

In fact, he increasingly felt that not vying for the throne was all right; that thing was nothing but a burden. Drinking and writing poetry were what he truly enjoyed.

After he leaves, he wondered how Mr. Haus would cover the Alliance's celebration, but having completely let go of everything here, he no longer cared.

Whatever.

It was just a settlement.

He should be the cloud in the sky, writing poetry for those who were worth it, singing for those who deserved to hear it.

He had once said,

To spread the 'Survivor's Daily' across the entire Wasteland! His employees hadn't given up on this profession, so how could he be discouraged at a time like this?

"Then let's go together; it's safer with more people!"

The crowd looked at him in surprise.

Especially the old editor, who asked in disbelief,

"Are you planning to leave with us?"

"What are you talking about? I was never a survivor of this place. I told you I come from a place shrouded in Xiaguang... even though I gave up so easily, indeed letting down Manager Sir's expectations, but I will apologize to him sincerely."

Hal's face broke into a smile again as he gave a light cough and continued.

"If you like me as your boss, after we arrive at the League, you can continue to follow me... The survivors in the desert don't have a newspaper of their own yet. They should know what is happening in the Wasteland every day. We could start afresh there! Grow bigger, stronger, and create new glories!"

"Although, that place is much poorer than here."

At this very moment, Miss Dolly had no idea that she had already lost her job. She was eagerly dragging Fang Chang all over the streets of City of Dawn, frantically gathering information for the special column of a celebration that had already fallen through.

Afni from Honey Badger Kingdom was sitting at the window of the embassy's attic, gazing at the setting sun slowly descending toward her homeland, sighing as she worried whether the gifts soon to be presented could adequately represent the hearts of the Royal Family and the citizens of the Kingdom.

A Mosquito that had been implanted with Xiaoyu brand symbionts was once again trapped in the tin can it made and, coincidentally, got snapped by Crow as it passed by, who then posted it on the Forum for a hearty round of mocking—paying back a long-standing grudge from a previous encounter.

Young Batch had taken Makabazi and gone up the mountain to fish by the lake, while the brothers of the Storm Corps, including the Spring Water Commander, were in the Road Town Inn's lobby, taking turns in making Zhang Hai, the indefatigable noodle shop owner, drink, as Lisa looked on helplessly, trying to persuade them to drink less. She wanted to inquire about pangolin news but felt too embarrassed to ask.

Wild Wind and End-of-the-world Lone Wolf had run off again to tinker with reactors in West State City, and Night Ten was levelling up with his younger sister Jiujiu by hunting Crack Claw Crabs nearby.

Old White and a female researcher from the Academy had gone to the East District forest of Qingquan City; she was curious about the Mind Interference Instrument there, while Elena had brought back a bunch of miraculous ingredients from the desert and seemed to be contemplating a new batch of dark cuisine with scrambled eggs and tomatoes.

There was only one last night left until the Victory Celebration.

The liveliness of City of Dawn remained as ever.

Having just left List's house, Chu Guang didn't return to the shelter but instead went to the farmlands on the eastern edge of the city, lost in thought as he looked over the cultivated land.

Seeing him gazing into the distance for quite some time, Lu Bei, who was following behind him, quietly asked,

"Sir... Is there something over there?"

Chu Guang replied casually,

"There's nothing."

Lu Bei scratched his head and said apologetically,

"I saw you looking over there for a long time... I thought there might be a problem."

"Yes... There is a bit of a problem."

Chu Guang thought for a moment, then said,

"I was thinking we can't let them down."

Food security was of utmost importance, and could not be entirely left to vassal countries. These farmlands were precious resources. Maybe he should allocate a part of the tax revenue to subsidize those who stayed and labored in the fields, to alleviate their concerns about next year's grain prices.

At that thought, Chu Guang's head ached again.

He hadn't been aware of it before, a flick of his wrist was just a row of figures.

But once the scale of the League had increased, he immediately felt how difficult it was to maintain the stable operation of a vast settlement.

There were far too many places where money had to be spent...

And a thought of his no longer just decided the livelihood of a few individuals, but instead, the fate of numerous families looking to him with hope.

If he made a mistake, people would go hungry.

Some methods that worked with fewer people were no longer effective with more people. Yet how many is too many, and how few is too few? It was very hard to grasp.

As he watched the Manager deep in thought, Lu Bei hesitated for a moment but eventually couldn't help but say,

"Manager...?"

Chu Guang looked toward the young man.

"What is it?"

Lu Bei earnestly said,

"I think you should take a proper rest... It's been three days since you came back from the frontline, and you haven't rested at all."

Chu Guang was slightly startled, then chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about me, kid. I know when to rest."

"... I just hope you will take better care of yourself," Lu Bei whispered, "It's not just my suggestion, I feel... that's what everyone hopes."

Looking into the young man's concerned eyes, Chu Guang nodded with a smile.

"I'll consider taking a few days off."

-

(Can ten thousand words be counted as two chapters? T.T)

Chapter 526: Victory Day Celebration!

"Hello, dear listeners, I am your beloved Mr. Hauser. I heard the Survivor's Daily was shut down, and I just knew this day would come; those full-mouthed guys have finally shut their mouths! Of course, I don't care because they have never shaken the viewership rate of Mr. Hauser's channel! People will always stand on the right side, thank you for your unwavering support and choice!"

"Again, praise the lord mayor, praise the Inner City Residents who provide us with bread, water, and food... Oh, blame that idiot Hal, almost made me mention the most important thing last! If it weren't for the great Inner City Research Institute improving the production process and edible standards of nutritional paste, there wouldn't be 1 Silver Coin per kilogram of nutrition... Yes, the good news is, the nutritional paste has become cheaper again, and slowly, the bread will also become cheaper; you all will soon be able to afford it, Mr. Hauser guarantees!"

"Unfortunately, our neighbors aren't having such a good time. They, without declaring war, won a disgraceful war by disgraceful means. The righteous heavenly punishment soon came upon them. The Alliance is deep in debt, not only owing us a significant sum of money but also owing a lot to Ideal City. Hence, they disgracefully allowed the residents of the Ideal City to construct a twenty-story building on their land... Tsk tsk, even taller than the Manager's house. But come to think of it, does the Ground Squirrel who lives in a burrow even have its own house?"

"Anyway, remember to lock your doors and windows tonight because those poor devils will probably, just like the last time, angrily waste ammunition towards the sky, popping something that bursts the eardrums. Casually sticking out your head, be careful lest a falling shell damages your brain. Additionally, today the factories of the Alliance are all closed, everyone there has lost their jobs, and can only aimlessly roam the streets, picking up the butts of the cigarettes smoked by the Residents of the refuge... Poor North Suburb, it will probably again become a paradise for the Looter, gathering too many poor and refugees there. It's best you don't just go out."

"Just wait and see, next year they are done for!"

"And we will be forever young!"

The day of the Triumph Celebration.

Today, the street broadcasts are especially loud, adding a bit of a festive atmosphere to Giant Stone City, which has never been affected by war.

Mr. Hauser spent about half an hour clarifying the cause and consequence of this war to his listeners and how Giant Stone City Bank cleverly borrowed the west wind of the Army, using the 510 million debt while the Alliance was vigorously developing heavy industry and military industry, fleeced the Alliance, and reversed from being flooded with low-end industrial products by the Alliance to dumping those back at them, making the wallets of Giant Stone City swell even further.

After half an hour's explanation, he fully argued that Giant Stone City was also a victorious side—the secretly and greatly uncrowned king!

Next to the industrial area, at the door of Walnut Tavern, a group of workers who had just woken up gathered early in the morning.

They didn't care about the outcome of the war; anyhow, they hadn't expected the noblemen to kindly reward them a few chips.

They were all here to chase the updates.

Although all nonsense, the Worker's Report's novels were clearly much more interesting than Mr. Hauser's nonsense.

Especially since the story had just reached an exciting point where the poor boy from the slum, "Doji" by the awakening of his powers, miraculously defeated a power armor invaded by mold, not only earning a handsome bounty and a black room card but also winning the favor of a beautiful noble lady who fell madly in love with him, although this also led her enthusiastic suitor— a leader from Militia Group to see him as a thorn in the eye.

Although a very clichéd story, the content was not only clichéd but even vulgar, yet it thrilled them so much they almost wanted to do something with their hands.

They had already discussed the latter part of the plot all night, even deciding what Doji's child would be named.

Spielberg, who could read, under the eager eyes of his fellow workers, picked up a newspaper from the stand at the door, cleared his throat, ready to read.

But he found it was still yesterday's.

"Just a moment."

Signaling his fellow workers to be patient, Spielberg changed a newspaper, furrowed his brows, changed another, and found it was the same.

Eventually, he couldn't help but look at the boss with a scarred face standing by the door.

"Why is it still yesterday's issue?"

Tang, standing by the door with his arms crossed, watching the scene, chuckled.

"You should be glad you can still see yesterday's issue; who knows if those guards will come and take it away soon."

The workers immediately became anxious and quickly surrounded him.

"What about the new one?"

"There isn't any, the newspaper office is gone too!"

"What about the serialized novel on there?"

"Are you stupid? I already told you it's gone, they've closed down, what more do you want? Pick up your cigarette butts and smoke them." Tang cursed as he pushed away the worker standing in front of him, feeling bad because he had been kicked by a guard.

The workers looked at each other in dismay.

"...It's gone?"

"But why? We haven't disturbed anyone!" A bearded man clenched his fists, muttering angrily.

He worked diligently every day, serving those factory owners like an ox or a horse. All that he looked forward to in life was now gone. How dare the masters close it?

A worker raised his hand.

"Is there anyone who wants to go to the city hall with me to ask for an explanation?"

People looked at each other, but no one spoke up.

A few months ago, they would have dared to make a scene at the city hall, but the situation was completely different now. Back then, they were protesting against the Alliance's dumping of cheap industrial goods from Giant Stone City. The factory owners supported their protests, and the owners' shareholders were influential figures from the Inner City, akin to nobles competing amongst themselves. After all the calculations, even if they had killed Duron, that fool, no one would have blamed them; in fact, they might have secretly given them a thumbs up.

But now, the nobles had reached a consensus. The factories were reopened and were thriving more than ever. The Alliance had borrowed a large sum from Giant Stone City, and as a result, the factory owners received a massive amount of orders. The nobles of the Inner City were also making a fortune, and so were they, as everyone had jobs to support their families.

Life was getting better, and now that bread was so expensive, no one wanted to lose their job.

Everyone felt a bit deflated, and it was then that someone muttered.

"...So we could write the rest of the story ourselves."

The eyes of the people gradually lit up, though they still had some concerns.

"Can you write?" The bearded man looked at the young man who had made the suggestion.

The young man blushed and shook his head.

"I can't… but it's not necessary to know how to write before writing something, maybe by writing I will learn? No one is born knowing how to write."

"I remember Spielberg wrote a letter of opinion to the newspaper! 'Worker's Report' came after that!"

That was such a long time ago!

Seeing everyone looking at him, Spielberg was momentarily stunned and said with a bittersweet smile.

"I…I can only read, not write very well."

A boiler worker laughed and patted his shoulder.

"No worries, mate, just keep writing the story, and we'll all help you with ideas."

Spielberg instinctively wanted to refuse, but, seeing those hopeful eyes, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Even knowing it could cause trouble for him, he nodded.

"But we need to change the name... call it 'Worker's Report.'"

"It's safer that way."

Everyone said, laughing.

"No problem!"

"You say what you want it to be called."

"We just want to see the continuation of the story!"

It was time for the shift change.

As the bells rang in the industrial district, the workers gathered at the tavern dispersed, heading towards their respective factories.

Walking towards the cannery, Spielberg tightened the collar of his old cotton coat, deeply contemplating the coal ash handprint on his shoulder.

Perhaps operating "Worker's Report" really was a good idea.

The Alliance's press had been driven out, but its readers were still here. If he could gather the old issues of "Worker Report," compile the serialized stories into a bound volume, and then continue the series, it could potentially sell out...

At least, it was more promising than working at the cannery.

Spielberg's thoughts became fervently heated.

Working in Lord Vega's factory for a lifetime wouldn't grant him canned food every meal, but continuing the story of "Doji" might just allow him that luxury...

...

Excitement wasn't just limited to Giant Stone City; just twenty kilometers away, City of Dawn in the North Suburb of Qingquan City was equally bustling.

On Triumph Square, adjacent to North Street, a dense crowd stood pressed together.

More than one third of the entire Alliance gathered here, eagerly anticipating the center of the square.

Others who couldn't attend were sitting in front of televisions or radios, awaiting the speech of the Manager on stage.

It wasn't just residents from the Alliance.

There were also residents from Giant Stone City, and travelers from distant provinces like Falling Leaves, Brocade River, Eastern Provinces—even from the far eastern Province of Yúnjiānxíng, all here to catch a glimpse of the legendary Manager.

Most refuge-operated settlements were dreadful.

What was different about this one...

Chu Guang raised his index finger to the side of his helmet, turning on the speaker and removing his facemask in one swift motion.

In that instant, the crowd fell silent out of respect.

Containing his surging excitement, Chu Guang took a deep breath and began the ceremony with a solemn and dignified voice,

"...just last month, we achieved victory in a savage War, and Falling Leaves Province has gained lasting peace because of our arrival."

"We have already cheered for the victory and awarded those with outstanding Contributions and groups. I won't repeat it here. But I must still thank everyone here and friends far away at their posts—this Light we welcome together."

"Our battlefield is not just in the desert, but also in the forests, the fields, the factories, the stations, anywhere an Alliance Resident sets their eyes... Our unity has forged this invincible chariot, and the spoils of war should rightfully belong to everyone supporting it."

"We are far from the Utopia where we only work one hour a day, but from now on everyone can ponder in their own eight hours how we can be a step closer to it. Of course, this path is bound to be tough—Wasteland won't end on its own, and you can't expect to figure everything out lying in bed."

"You must learn from the books of the Prosperity Epoch, absorbing knowledge, experience, lessons on how to improve the tools in your hands and your methods of production, and how to treat all your fellow beings well, doing everything to unite them and create greater miracles together, rather than profiting through exclusion, division, and confrontation."

"We won't rely on anyone's moral standards, so we need to develop an increasingly perfect set of rules for the Game, transforming the cruel jungle into a well-ordered village, turning the weed-ridden wasteland into farmland crisscrossed with paths."

"Let evil, cowardice, baseness, cunning, ugliness lose the soil for survival in competition; let all justice, bravery, honesty, self-respect, kindness stand out in our society, rather than relying on people being naturally gentle and humble, or relying on the tall figures among us."

"We must not only end the physical Wasteland but also the spiritual desolation—the invisible but real Wasteland that exists!"

"Victory will eventually belong to us!"

"To all of us!"

The correct scenario for the Call for Victory seemed indeed to be during a speech.

Although Chu Guang didn't intentionally use that Talent, when he poured all his enthusiasm and focus into his words, he could clearly see the burning desire flickering in every pair of eyes.

They harbored no doubts.

He would fulfill every word he said!

And he made a vow in his heart—

He would not let down those trusting gaze...

"...That was amazing!"

Standing in the crowd, Dolly excitedly began clapping, but after a few claps, Fang Chang took her small hand.

"That's enough; you only came off the operating table a few days ago, take it easy," Fang Chang said, looking at her with concern.

"Don't be so rigid, I've been better for a while!" Dolly smirked playfully, eyes sparkling, "By the way, cunning Mr. Fang, you're going to be unemployed soon in the Alliance... Your Manager just said, he's going to cut off the livelihood of cunning villains like you."

Fang Chang helplessly spread his hands.

"So... my dear Inspector Dolly, under what law of the Alliance has this cunning villain sinned?"

Heaven knows.

He was absolutely the most law-abiding player on the server.

Most players hadn't even finished the Player's Handbook, but not only had he finished it, he had memorized Alliance laws and had even participated in legislation as a refugee resident.

For instance, "prohibiting residents from using the resurrection mechanism to profit by donating bodies and organs to non-Alliance institutions" was added to both Alliance law and the Player's Handbook through his advocacy.

Without such a law, as the number of players increased, someone would have found this loophole to exploit for money, ultimately affecting the experience for most.

Which money to earn and which not to earn, he had a clear scale in his mind. Even if not picky, he was cautious in choosing his means.

Touching his chin with his index finger and thumb, Dolly pondered with a shrewd expression.

"I'll think about it, and when I find something, I'll blackmail you... What exactly is an Inspector? Like a guard in the Alliance?"

Fang Chang nervously averted his eyes from her curious gaze.

"Cough, it's... nothing."

Bad move.

He had let his tongue slip again...

For the remainder of the time, Chu Guang announced a series of measures including "adjusting the twelve-hour workday to eight hours."

Almost every single thing was related to people's lives and it was also what they cared about the most.

The factory owners of the Alliance had already earned enough profit, and now it was time to redistribute a portion of those profits back to the residents of the Alliance.

If they were unwilling—

The Alliance would rather they took their business to their neighbor!

As Chu Guang announced the plans for the future in his resonant voice, List, who stood among the audience, stared at him unblinkingly, his eyes flickering with indescribable complexity.

In reality, the Alliance hadn't taken much of his profits.

Even if the minimum wage increased from 1 Silver Coin to 2 Silver Coins, it would have no impact on his factory. He had already raised the workers' hourly wage to 4 Silver Coins, and for technical staff, even more than 10 Silver Coins.

It wasn't because he was kind-hearted but because without doing so, he simply couldn't hire enough people—there were labor shortages everywhere.

Especially during the war period, the heavily focused industries of heavy and military manufacturing, as well as businesses run by residents of the refuge, often paid surprisingly generous salaries. After all, compared to the minimal labor costs, expanding the scale as much as possible whenever there were orders was the utmost priority.

What really concerned him was something else.

If the Manager intended to fulfill his promise of "fairness," then no matter how much money he made, he would never truly become a noble within the Alliance.

However…

That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

His dream was to build a vast Merchants Empire. If his commercial teams could induce even a slight positive change in the Wasteland, it would be ideal, but he had never aspired to become some overarching noble or emperor.

Business is business.

In terms of labor costs, as long as the Alliance applied its rules equally to everyone and everyone's costs increased simultaneously, he had nothing to worry about.

He would raise prices when necessary, increase production when needed, and decrease production when appropriate. Competing fairly on the same track was fine, and he would also try his best to make the improved model of KV-1 more appealing to the residents of the refuge. Even if the Alliance used the profits of large factories to subsidize some odd small workshops, he didn't mind; he didn't think those small factories could affect his sales. If the Alliance wanted them to survive, let them survive.

But he feared that the Alliance's rules might bend for the "noble class." If that were the case, he would stand no chance.

After all, even a pig, if blown hard enough, could fly into the sky—how could someone within the race track beat a force outside the track?

This was why, once he had earned enough chips, he would definitely spend money in Giant Stone City to buy a noble title.

It wasn't because he covets the special privileges of the nobility, but because that Black Card could eliminate over ninety percent of his troubles.

But at this moment, the man standing on the stage told him not to worry; the things he feared would not happen in the Alliance.

The Alliance would surely regulate with rules. If they planned to improve labor conditions, they would demand that all factories comply together, and they would never start from outside the refuge.

At the same time, the Alliance would not allow privileges outside of the rules.

On this land beneath his feet, Alliance Money could buy all commodities, but no currency was allowed to trade for honor and dignity.

The residents of the refuge might even set extra rules for themselves, stricter than the law, but they would never seek people's worship or leniency.

Even though they fought most of the battles and had the most legitimate right to become nobles, when they chose to give up that opportunity, it meant that no one else had the right to become a noble either.

For a moment, List caught a glimpse of a beam of light.

"""But it was the first time that he had conceived an idea beyond making money—that was to let that light shine to even farther places."""

"""Yes."""

"""To make money, he had swallowed a lot of shit, but that didn't mean the shit was edible, let alone fragrant."""

"""For someone who'd risen from nothing to become ruthlessly successful, there was no greater insult to his character than watching an ignorant pig, sitting on the steps, snorting and smirking with delight."""

"""He didn't care about the despicable things done by the nobles in the Inner City, just as he didn't care whether the loot from the Looter was clean or if the meat in the frying pot had a story, but he couldn't stand those pigs, hooking his shoulder and saying, "We are all the same kind of people.""""

"""By what right!"""

"""That was all he wanted to ask."""

"""Even if the chips in his pocket were tainted, they were still what he had brought back from the hellish Wasteland; they hadn't done anything, so how were they suddenly the same kind of people as him?"""

"""Looking at those despicable faces, he could only feel disgust deep within his soul."""

"""If it weren't for wanting to ruthlessly carve a chunk of fat from those pigs, he would've broken his Black Card then and there and moved towards that blazing light."""

""""Long live the Alliance!" Amid the wave-like applause, carried away by the atmosphere, List bellowed uncontrollably."""

"""Standing beside him, Qian Duo and Qian Lai exchanged surprised glances, clapping vigorously though unsure why their boss had suddenly acted strangely."""

"""He had told them more than once that they were here at the Alliance to make money."""

"""They seem to have taken his words to heart."""

"""But why does it feel..."""

"""like he himself had got carried away?"""

"""After the Manager declared the celebration started, a tide-like applause instantly filled the entire square."""

"""Standing among the crowd, Alyssa excitedly clapped her tiny hands and stared intently at the man on the stage, then turned worriedly to look at her father beside her."""

""""...Dad, I think what he said is right, we should try to unite the survivors around us, instead of turning them all into our enemies.""""

""""We have always been united.""""

""""But what about the residents of the outer city?""""

""""It's too late.""""

""""Why?" Alyssa's eyes widened, and she spoke cautiously with a plea in her voice," I can give up my cloth doll, and a hairclasp worth 1 Silver Coin is actually quite cute...""""

"""She liked that big sister who had complimented her as cute, forgetting at that moment to tell the sister that her smile was also very cute."""

"""However, in Giant Stone City, people hardly ever looked at her, let alone smiled at her."""

"""And even in the Inner City, be it in stores, on the streets, or even in classrooms, the smiles people directed at her often seemed more like a deliberately performed courtesy."""

"""Melvin stared unblinkingly at the stage, his sinister eyes squinting like those of a vulture."""

"""However, when his lovely daughter looked up at him, he somewhat reined in the fierceness about him, softening his tone slightly and speaking with patience."""

""""...You can give up your cloth doll, but you can't throw away the cloth dolls from the hands of your close friends. My child, I understand your thoughts, you are a kind girl, but the things you mention, kindness alone is not enough.""""

He certainly knew that if the residents of the Inner City ate one less slice of cake, those in the Outer City could have ten more pieces of bread, and the remaining nutrient paste could be used to feed the livestock, making Giant Stone City stronger and eventually enriching the shelves of the Inner City, making everyone better off together.

No one had ever raised this point.

But those who put it into action often ended up losing their "Black Card" and yielding their place to the newly promoted nobles.

Because that logic was flawed from the start.

Why should the residents of the Inner City eat less, and why should those in the Outer City be content with ten pieces of bread?

Once those poor devils got a taste of sweetness, they'd become more aggressive, lazy, and even refuse to work... Similar lessons in Giant Stone City's brief two centuries of history had occurred, each ending in bloodshed.

He was not uneducated, so how could he not know such childish ideas, but even if he knew, what could he possibly do?

Does the Sun rise because people need to get up?

Of course not!

Human nature is uglier than the Eaters, and the laws of nature do not shift according to the will of people.

To be honest, he hated the guy standing on the stage, and every impractical promise he made caused him physical discomfort.

But he would never show this contempt on his face; work was work, and personal feelings were personal, which he distinguished very clearly.

No more nobles?

Hah.

Just wait and see.

Melvin sneered coldly, going along with the frenzied atmosphere around him, while softly clapping with his naive and adorable daughter beside him.

Yet those lips, dry as "rotten wood floating in a swamp," still moved up and down.

"…the only reason you're still standing there is because people haven't yet woken up from their recurring dream of victories. The residents of your closest refuge will wake up first, realizing their cake has been shared with those lowly Hyenas; they will soon know how to use their authority to fiercely regain what was given away… How long can you control them? Haha."

Ah.

He really wanted to see that man's look of despair.

Involuntarily, Melvin felt envious of his youth again.

Even when he firmly believed that no alliance was unbreakable, he would no longer have the chance to witness its collapse in his lifetime.

That was what he "disliked" about idealists.

Even if they ultimately lose to reality, the flames will burn on their ashes for a while, scorching the eyes of those who have seen them.

If only he had never come along.

Every time he thought of this, Melvin felt as uncomfortable as if thousands of ants were crawling in his heart…

…

The celebration officially began.

As the Manager left the stage, people gathered in Triumph Square gradually dispersed towards the lively streets nearby.

Shops along the street had opened their doors early, pulling out all stops to attract customers in front of them, planning to make a big profit on this bustling day.

"Look, Solar Eclipse, the crowd is growing here…" Frost's eyes sparkled with excitement, he kept muttering that same line, "This is an opportunity for us!"

Currently, he was wearing a maid's outfit with a red and black armband around the cuffs that read [Festival Autonomous Management Committee].

A few days ago, the lifestyle players of City of Dawn had planned to select some individuals to maintain order during the festival, especially since the Alliance had no huge walls, it was crucial to watch out for ill-intentioned individuals mixing in.

Drones flying in the sky would mark suspicious targets, and the [Festival Autonomous Management Committee]'s job was to help the guards keep an eye on these suspects while handling emergencies at the festival and assisting the understaffed guard team in resolving minor disputes.

Of course, Frost wouldn't miss out on such interesting activities, especially since he could also gather precious sociological experience. Consequently, he eagerly dragged Solar Eclipse to sign up.

Although he was not a player, nor a resident of the Alliance, the players gladly agreed because he frequently helped out warmly.

But the players didn't tell him that only players could receive "regional reputation" rewards, while he would only get a little Silver Coin subsidy.

Not that he cared about the money.

Solar Eclipse gazed bewilderingly at his companion, his eyes full of confusion.

"I don't understand."

Frost clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

"Didn't you hear what the Alliance Manager said? He said the Alliance does not place its hopes on anyone's moral standards."

"So?"

"We are not humans! We are AI!" Frost gazed intently at him, "So as long as we prove ourselves competent, the Alliance should make use of us, right?"

Solar Eclipse looked at him bewilderingly.

Yet Frost was unconcerned with his bewilderment, lost in self-indulgence as he watched the bustling street.

Ah…

The intellectual plugin is burning!

He wanted to corral all these organic beings, having people pampered under the meticulous care of mechanical servants, showing spoiled expressions.

Surely then, the whole world would be filled with love and peace!

However, the council had been overly conservative on this matter, only recently passing the Kang Mao Group's submitted bill allowing androids to participate in public affairs. Whereas, the lovely "blue elves" of the Alliance were more open-minded, often asking them for help on various tasks.

Life here was much more fulfilling than in Ideal City!

As Frost self-indulged, suddenly a cry of "Ah" came from nearby, seemingly near a fruit stand not far from the trading post.

His ears twitched slightly, and Frost's indulgent expression snapped into alertness; he swiftly looked over, his eyes sharpening.

"Solar Eclipse, it seems someone needs our help!"

Solar Eclipse nodded expressionlessly.

"Hmm, Xiao Qi also asked us to come over... saying it's in the role of an NPC to mediate, but not to overdo it—"

"What are we waiting for then," Frost rolled up his sleeves energetically, striding towards the crowded people, "Let's go have a look!"

Chapter 527: Filth is Spreading Silently

"No, you can't eat this fruit!"

A dispute erupted in front of a fruit stall on North Street.

A broad-chested girl, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, shielded two other girls, one older and one younger, behind her. In front of her, a fierce-looking stall owner glared at her, looking as if he wanted to devour her.

Seeing that the crowd of onlookers was growing, Frost Snow, not wanting to cause trouble for the Manager, anxiously tugged at Crow's arm.

"Crow, let's... let's not buy it."

Watching Crow and the fruit stall owner confronting each other, Frost Night, hiding behind her sister, was even more frightened and whispered,

"Please... no fighting."

She was just curious about the taste of the green fruit and had pestered her sister to buy one to try, not expecting to cause such a commotion.

The thought of possibly troubling her sister nearly brought her to tears.

"It's not about whether you buy it or not!"

Looking earnestly at Frost Snow, Crow bent down, patted her sister's head to calm her, and said softly,

"… Sister isn't fighting, there are bad people selling harmful things in our settlement, should we allow them to continue harming others?"

Frost Night blinked.

"Bad people?"

"Yes."

Crow nodded firmly, then straightened up, turned, and grabbed a green, shiny fruit from the stall, lifting it high. She scanned the surrounding crowd and shouted,

"Everyone, be careful, this fruit is poisonous! Do not eat it randomly!"

As her words fell, the crowd erupted in a buzz.

"Poisonous?!"

"What's going on?!"

"Shh... I think someone bought it to eat."

"Could something bad happen?!"

Hearing the whispers around him, the face of the fruit stall's owner flushed red, and he yelled at her,

"You! Be careful or I'll sue you for slander! This is a fruit from the south... it's not poisonous!"

Crow hummed proudly, puffing out her chest.

"I can tell at a glance whether it's poisonous or not!"

Teng Teng, standing aside without speaking, glanced at her not-so-smart friend, sighed, and crossed her arms saying,

"That could backfire, you know."

"Huh?!"

"That makes sense," Jiujiu, looking puzzled, rubbed her chin and mused, "My brother always drags me leveling when he's free. It's so annoying… Is this what they call reverse psychology?"

Teng Teng facepalmed.

"… It's actually not really about reverse psychology."

Crow's talent was only effective for herself, in her world, anything poisonous emitted a green glow, but others couldn't see it.

Moreover, her intuition wasn't always 100% accurate; there had been incidents where players consumed something and ended up fine.

Perception was one of the most mystic attributes of this game, serving as a composite of all kinds of intuitive abilities, and Crow's "Toxin Intuition" was particularly enigmatic.

No sooner had Crow spoken than the crowd exchanged looks, and whispers quickly spread.

"Poisonous?!"

"The green shiny look does seem off..."

"I think that girl is right!"

"She's wearing a Blue Jacket!"

"And such a big one!"

"But... just because she's a Resident of the refuge and says it's poisonous, isn't that a bit presumptuous?"

"Indeed, based on the standards they brought from the Prosperity Epoch, there's too much poisonous stuff in the Wasteland, it seems even the people are poisonous!"

"Bringing fruit from Brocade River Province isn't easy..."

"Us Wasteland Wanderers aren't as fragile as them, if we're starving, we'd even eat Eaters!"

"Tsk tsk, no matter what, having angered someone you shouldn't have on the Alliance's turf… this boss is probably doomed."

The residents of the alliance naturally stood by their own people; they did not doubt Crow's words at all.

However, most of the survivors from other places felt sympathy for the boss, especially those who were small merchants in the Wasteland.

In the settlements they had visited, there were not so many rules and regulations.

Seeing that sympathy seemed to be siding with him, the fruit stand owner, who had previously been somewhat weak, suddenly became emboldened.

After scrutinizing the fruit for a moment, Jiujiu felt it looked familiar and suddenly realized, "Ah... Isn't this fruit the Jade Fruit that garbage collectors found in the south?"

Although there was no signal, and no photos had been uploaded to the official website, the description from the post unquestionably matched that of the "Jade Fruit."

So...

Was this Jade Fruit and the "Nago" that the boss claimed actually the same thing?

"Yeah, they do look somewhat similar."

Teng Teng was surprised to discover this too, and then turned to the stall owner and placed a 100 silver paper money on the fruit stand.

"Hey, give me a basket, and it won't hurt you to try a couple yourself."

The stall owner hesitated and his expression tensed up.

"Me, eat two? Why should I eat..."

He remembered the merchant who sold him the goods had mentioned that eating one occasionally was fine, but eating two at once would definitely cause trouble.

"Oh? You won't even eat what you're selling?" Teng Teng smirked malevolently. "Just so you know, there's a law in the alliance that, in the absence of testing conditions, a consumer can request the seller to try the goods after purchase… You're not going to tell me you're too full to even eat a fruit the size of an apple, are you?"

Actually, as the alliance grew larger, this imprecise rule, like selling prisoners of war to other settlements, had become somewhat outdated.

The Biological Institute under the alliance flag had established a food safety inspection department responsible for safety checks on commodities sold under the guise of food in the market, and for identifying the toxicity of various parts of variants including multilegged beasts and monsters, researching more scientific ways to process ingredients, and restricting or even delisting the sales of certain goods.

Long ago, proving whether something was edible was mostly determined by players acting bravely on their own.

"You!"

Seeing those who initially supported him also start to grow suspicious, the boss's beady eyes swiveled cautiously, his fierce face suddenly crumpled into a mournful expression as he threw a tantrum.

"You blue jackets... ganging up to bully a foreign merchant like me! Do you have no shame? Business here is impossible!"

"Oh! This man is twisting the truth too much," Jiujiu, shifting her gaze from the VM screen subtitle, looked at the shameless boss and immediately said, "I'm going to find my brother!"

No sooner had Jiujiu turned her head to leave than Teng Teng grabbed her hand.

"Don't rely on your brother for everything; what problems can that guy solve anyway?"

Saying this, Teng Teng sighed and earnestly looked at the still obstinate boss.

"I'll ask you one last time, are you sure you want to continue selling this? I can buy all of it, but if our tests later reveal it's moderately addictive or severely harmful to consumers, according to current alliance laws, you'll face three years or more of hard labor and, depending on the severity, possibly even the death penalty."

Before even hearing "death penalty," the boss turned pale just at the mention of three years of hard labor and gave an awkward, forced laugh.

"Really, is that necessary? It's just a few fruits... just fruits."

And working in a mine with looters...

He hadn't killed anyone, nor had he set any fires. Besides, consuming small amounts of Nago actually benefited one's health, easing the pain of those struggling to survive.

Why was it now considered poisonous?

Teng Teng, focusing on the boss trying to change the subject, nodded earnestly.

"We can't control other places, but this is our home. We built it brick by brick. Don't expect us to turn a blind eye to what we see."

This statement garnered quite a bit of approval.

Especially as the boss's expression became increasingly unable to hide his true feelings, people began to doubt whether he was really as pitiable as he claimed.

Why not dare to eat one?

Picking one from his own stall and eating it shouldn't be such a daunting task.

"Well said!"

"I support this!"

"These tricky merchants... won't even eat their own products, yet dare to display them!"

"Exactly! Hey, fruit seller, eat two! Then we'll stand by you!"

The boss turned from pale to flushed with each remark.

At that time, Frost, with Solar Eclipse, walked through the crowd.

"I heard someone here needed help."

With a smile, they glanced at everyone present.

"I'm a member of the Celebration Autonomy Committee. Please tell me your conflict, and I'll make the fairest judgment according to the alliance laws, ensuring no villains escape and no innocent is wrongly accused."

"No, no! I don't need a judgement!" Seeing her armband, the boss quickly changed his expression and shook his head. "I'm not selling these fruits anymore."

After speaking, he covered the green fruits with a cloth and planned to pack up the stall.

"Ah… is it over already?"

Frost expressed a slight regret.

Eclipse, standing beside her, glanced at it expressionlessly.

"I don't understand, isn't this a good thing?"

Frost muttered.

"It is a good thing, no doubt… but it still feels like a pity."

Watching the owner hastily pack up, Teng Teng fell into thought and spoke.

"We need to report this as soon as possible…"

The residents of the refuge did not have law enforcement authority. She couldn't just smash the stall or confiscate it just because Crow thought the stuff was poisonous, regardless of the strange looks from others.

Crow also nodded earnestly.

"Yes! This is a big problem!"

Hearing this, Frost's eyes suddenly lit up, and she regained her energy.

"A big problem? Leave it to me! I will help."

Holding Frost Night's little hand, Frost Snow hesitated for a moment and looked at Crow.

"Is it really that serious?"

"Of course!" Crow nodded earnestly and said seriously, "The alliance is no longer the small settlement it used to be. Someone selling this stuff here means it's already circulating among us."

Teng Teng nodded in agreement and casually said.

"Agreed."

"When you see a cockroach in your house, it means there are countless more that you haven't seen."

…

Just as Teng Teng had guessed, when she, Crow, and Jiujiu arrived at the nearest guard station, the guards were overwhelmed with this issue.

Some residents of the refuge stated that this "Nago" and the "Jade Fruit" they found in the south were the same thing, posing a significant potential risk, yet hard to prove.

The toxicity of "Nago" does not manifest immediately, and its honey-sweet taste has a certain deceptiveness, with consumers even becoming "stronger" over time.

It was precisely because of this that the alliance's effective routine error correction mechanism had failed at this moment of unaligned perceptions.

Fortunately, the problem was identified in time.

In addition to the regular error correction mechanism, the alliance also had another special system—the player mechanism.

Residents of Shelter No. 404 would always respond to the shelter's mobilization, whether for sudden wars or maintaining everyday order.

Xiao Qi promptly conveyed the Manager's instructions to the guard station and the Celebration Autonomy Committee, removing the "Nago" from the alliance market shelves, recalling the products already sold to customers, and registering customers who had already eaten it.

The alliance's Biological Institute would observe their subsequent symptoms and recover their metabolites.

According to the clues reported on the official website by Pick Up Trash 99 level, people and animals who had eaten Nago would not get sick immediately but would lose resistance to diseases, and over time their feces poisons the soil, preventing the cultivation of crops.

It was still uncertain whether this impact could be mitigated with technological means, but just the "decrease in immunity" and "fecal soil contamination" were enough concerns.

Drones operating in the alliance's airspace had already started working, and players scattered among the crowd gradually received their missions— this hazardous food.

Must disappear from the alliance's market!

"...Nago."

Reading the text updated on VM, Fang Chang stroked his chin with interest, seemingly pondering these matters.

Dolly, with a camera hanging around her neck, curiously came over and took a peek.

"What are you looking at?"

"This is our… um, work log," said Fang Chang, introducing it in a way she could understand and then put away the VM, "A batch of harmful fruits called Nago appeared in the market, seemingly brought by merchants from the south. My dear Ms. Reporter, do you have any leads?"

"Nago?" Dolly staggered for a moment, shaking her head in confusion, "This is the first time I've heard of it…"

Fang Chang smiled faintly.

"Is that so? It seems the trade hub of the Southern River Valley plains has moved from the West Third Ring of Qingquan City to the 'North Suburb', which isn't a bad thing from this perspective."

Though it also meant more challenges were ahead.

"That fruit… is it dangerous?" Dolly asked worriedly.

"Yes," Fang Chang nodded, looking at the bustling crowd in the distance and said succinctly, "Let's hope this stuff doesn't follow our trade routes to Sunset Province in the west. We've just resolved a food crisis."

Maybe...

The Alliance should take the initiative to do something.

...

At the same time, in the banquet hall of the Alliance.

Chu Guang, who had just announced the start of the celebration at Triumph Square, was immediately meeting the representatives from various parties, including corporate representatives, in the banquet hall.

The victory of the Alliance concerned not only the future of the Alliance itself but also the entire region east of the Great Desert for at least ten to twenty years.

Thus, regardless of whether they were directly or indirectly involved in the expedition to Luo Xia Province, most survivor settlements that had trade with the Alliance took advantage of the celebration to send delegates, bringing blessings from afar.

Chu Guang was familiar with most of these representatives.

For instance, Minister Wu Changnian from the corporations, Prince Wenter from the Lion Kingdom, and the little princess of the Honey Badger Kingdom, Afni, who never left the Alliance, among others.

Apart from these acquaintances, there were also those who came from survivor settlements that had not yet established diplomatic relations with the Alliance. It was Chu Guang's first time meeting people from those places.

For example, a place called Garbage City, located a bit southeast of the Red River Alliance. They usually had no official interactions but also sent a council member this time.

Another example was from Water Dam City, a survivor settlement in Yue Ma Province located to the east of River Valley Province, which had a population of several hundred thousand. The city lord personally sent his own son over.

The young man, named Zhou Xianlin, had an elegant name and appeared genteel, a rare sight in the Wastelands; he grabbed Chu Guang's hand excitedly and spoke in an incoherent rush upon their meeting.

"Your speech was absolutely brilliant! I... apologize, I don't know how to express how thrilled I am! With such an outstanding Manager as you, it's no wonder you managed to achieve such an incredible miracle within a year! We plan to learn from your experience, and after I return, I'm going to transform our settlement into a 'Dam Alliance'!"

"Thank you, the Alliance has many outstanding people. Miracles are called miracles because they aren't accomplished by one individual alone."

Watching the fervor in the young man's eyes, Chu Guang was pleased but could not help feeling a touch of unease as he held his hand and spoke earnestly,

"I am very glad that you think so highly of our achievements, but I hope you won't blindly follow our example. Although we are on the same Wastelands, the problems we face are, in fact, different."

Zhou Xianlin nodded vigorously, excitedly saying,

"I understand! I will bear it in mind! Our immediate priority is to eliminate the remnants of the Chew-bone Tribe... Those Looters running around are just too despicable!"

Looking at the young man's flushed face, Chu Guang felt that he somewhat resembled Sommer, though not as clever.

It seemed he had unexpectedly gained a little admirer.

However, considering there were many more waiting for him, Chu Guang didn't spend much time in deep conversation with the young man. After patting him on the shoulder, he went on to meet the next delegate.

He hoped that the young man truly understood the importance of uniting the survivors, rather than merely idolizing the strong.

Taking the corporations as an example, in terms of scale alone, they were much stronger than the Alliance, and the assets they inherited from the Post-War Reconstruction Committee were even beyond his imagination.

However, even in reality, direct transplantation of the methods from Ideal City would definitely collapse the already normal social order.

Because it was itself a "one-in-a-million" coincidence.

If it weren't for all the residents of Shelter No. 6 and Endeavour Colonization Ship casting an identical vote under that particular circumstance, Ideal City would not exist.

Even one dissenting vote, or if the minority had complied with the majority, their ideals would have definitely been stranded on the ground...

After dealing with all the representatives, Chu Guang was about to rest for a while. Almost as soon as he sat down in his chair, Xiao Qi's voice came to his ear.

"Master! Your little player has found a batch of fruit suspected to be poisonous at the celebration, similar to the Jade Fruit reported by the player 'Pick up trash 99 level'."

Hearing the crisp voice beside him, Chu Guang frowned slightly.

Xiao Qi had previously reported to him about his little players' discoveries in the South.

Though he hadn't participated in the discussions on the forum, he had been keeping an eye on the developments of both that "Nago" and the Mutant tribe called "Qi."

However, relative to other matters, this issue wasn't a high priority, even less so than the Alliance's "Big Plane Plan" and the nuclear fuel in Brocade River Province.

Compared to a mutant tribe several hundred kilometers away and a sudden crop emergence, there were too many other issues needing Chu Guang's personal attention.

Economically, he needed to ensure an orderly growth of debt, while suppressing inflation brought by economic expansion. Industrially, he needed to guide the massive surplus of military industry capabilities towards civilian use, while gathering opinions from industry representatives to prevent resource waste and loss during economic transformation.

In governance, he needed to further clarify the scope of duties and responsibilities of different departments and positions. Affairs that could previously be handled "cheaply and efficiently" now had to follow procedures. Furthermore, he had to carefully incorporate some elements more suited to the Wasteland Era into the Prosperity Epoch's "AI Municipality Concept" to mitigate the debuff of reduced administrative efficiency and acclimatization issues.

As for military, cultural, and diplomatic aspects, there was a host of tasks to handle... And after all these, he still needed to translate the same rules into the language of games, preparing a Wasteland OL version for the players.

The Alliance was entering an unprecedented golden age of development, with hundreds of people each day deciding to stay and join their cause.

Whether they were citizens of the Alliance or from nearby survivor settlements, confidence in the Alliance was soaring like never before.

Even those who inwardly despised or feared the Alliance had to admit that the Alliance had achieved an almost impossible miracle and would not fade away quietly for at least some time.

As the Alliance's Manager, Chu Guang was clear about what his foremost job was at the moment.

However, what he couldn't ignore was that the "Nago" had quietly spread to just under his notice. Some kind of impurity was quietly spreading...

After a moment's thought, Chu Guang immediately ordered Xiao Qi,

"Send a sample to Heya. Tell her to put aside what she's working on; I need to see the results of that analysis as soon as possible!"

An enthusiastic reply quickly came through his ear,

"Received!"

Chapter 528: We're in This Together!

Falling Leaves Province was home to a variant known as Sand Worms. These creatures could stand as tall as buildings, and each could swallow a child whole, their combat power was astonishing.

In front of them, not to speak of Awakeners, even power armor could be destroyed.

At that time, a widespread opinion on the Forum was that the ferocious destructive power of Sand Worms would obliterate any infrastructure beyond the riverbanks. If the issue of the rampant Sand Worms was not resolved, any roads or railways the Alliance built in the Falling Leaves Province would be wasted effort.

For this reason, many players further speculated that to ensure the smooth progress of construction, the Alliance would launch large-scale missions to exterminate the Sand Worms in the form of limited time events, with some veteran players even devising a series of tactics specifically for these unique variants.

However, contrary to many people's expectations, the limited-time event did not happen.

And the Sand Worms, which they had originally predicted would have a major impact on the direction of the War, did not even appear within sight of the front-line or logistical troops.

Of course, it wasn't because the Sand Worms were scared of the Alliance; expecting animals to think so much would be too idealistic. The true reason was that the Alliance perfectly avoided all Sand Worm-active areas, from the encampments of the frontline troops to the transport routes of the logistics units.

Here comes the question: Sand Worm-active zones won't mark themselves on a map, and even the most experienced Merchant wouldn't dare say they knew the location of every Sand Worm nest in the desert. How, then, did the Alliance headquarters achieve this?

Well, that's a long story.

At the time, to ensure that the roads and railways to the Lion Kingdom were successfully built, Chu Guang specially dispatched the Guards Corps to investigate nearby villages, inquiring of the traders who frequented the trade route through the Falling Leaves Province.

After investigation, it was discovered that although Sand Worms had formidable combat power, their reproductive capacity was in fact quite weak. They remained inactive in one place all year round and did not expand their group size.

Later, the Biological Institute of Shelter No.79 launched further in-depth investigations and discovered an astonishing coincidence—the Sand Worm nests highly coincided with the underground ocean current pipelines from the pre-war era!

After a thorough investigation of one of the Sand Worm nests, the Alliance biologists discovered that the nest was growing on a damaged section of the ocean current pipeline.

The rest of the problem was easy to solve.

They just needed to route the roads, railways, and the positions of the front-line fortifications to avoid the active areas of the underground ocean current pipelines, right?

It turned out to be that simple.

This was, in fact, the most efficient and economical approach, and it was precisely this approach that the Army had taken when planning their marching routes and deploying their positions.

After all, where there were Sand Worms, there were rich underground water resources. There, not only Sand Worms but also dangerous mutant arthropods like Radiation Scorpions often lurked, making these areas unsuitable as stable traffic routes. With enough people, it might still be fine, but with fewer, the Variants would start to stir.

This was one of the unseen struggles between the two sides. Although there was no smoke of gunpowder, it was no less exciting than places where there was.

After all, if the Alliance's Manager had blindly believed one side's opinion due to rumors on the Forum or a slight disturbance, fully mobilized players to initiate a massive campaign against the Sand Worms, the result would most likely have been recorded as a classical strategic error—an example of treating the symptoms but not the cause.

Considering the situation in the Wasteland, unless the damaged ocean current pipelines were completely repaired or their water source cut off, the mutant creatures of Falling Leaves Province would ultimately still converge toward the only source of water.

In the short term, the roads could be shorter by passing over the corpses of Sand Worms, and the one-time construction costs for roads and railways would be cheaper as a result, maybe the Alliance could even gain the title of "Conqueror of Sand Worms" for a +10 prestige.

However, in the following months, the Alliance's logistical supply line and front-line troops would have to fight against the Army carrying the high attrition Debuff, which would decrease combat efficiency and increase non-combat casualties.

Even if the War were won in the end, the Alliance and its vassals would enjoy some time of peace and tranquility. Yet, due to the special circumstances of the Wasteland, those creatures that once topped the food chain would eventually return in another form.

For example, they could evolve into those "Earth Diggers" in the Great Desert that can migrate at will, or they could be replaced by other, less powerful but equally fatal, Variants.

And the consequences would mean that the Alliance would have to allocate hundreds, even thousands, of people to patrol the roads long-term, and the railways and roads would become a loss-making project due to the cumulative risk costs.

Perhaps, under unbearable conditions, the Alliance would resolve to build another route one day.

If the Alliance had enough and cheap labor, of course, they could disregard natural science and even go against it directly. Regrettably, Shelter No.117 didn't grant Chu Guang additional closed-beta access.

Sometimes, Chu Guang couldn't help but think conspiratorially—perhaps the First Generation Manager had predicted that he would resort to shortcuts, and that was exactly why they tightly controlled the release of "Gene Sequences."

After all, with too many players, it wasn't just one major company that could dismiss players as non-entities.

The "Sand Worm Investigation Report" was just a small episode during the expedition.

Having heard reports from the logistics system, lifestyle profession players, and Alliance researchers, Chu Guang made a relatively reasonable judgment.

Since the matter itself was not significant, only a few players participated in the investigation, so he didn't bother to go into detail in the update announcement.

After all, compared to the war with the Army, the scientific research team's investigations and discussions, experiments, and analyses were merely trivial under the circumstances at that time.

Situations like this happened nearly every day.

Direct threats more severe than Nago were heard by Chu Guang by the hundreds daily, as Wasteland was rife with bizarre species and technological creations.

If one claimed that Waste Land Wanderers had seen everything, even talking Dead Claws wouldn't surprise them, then he must be the master of all. The volume of oddities and anomalies he had heard and seen from Xiao Qi or other players surely accounted for at least half of the Alliance's "information output."

Unless the Alliance built a massive wall like Giant Stone City, it was almost impossible to establish a three-dimensional defensive mechanism from top to bottom or bottom up, as nations do through the cooperation of billions of people in a stable environment, to completely block all threats.

Anomalies that might occur once in a hundred years on Earth were almost a daily occurrence during the Wasteland Era. Some players, after raising their regional prestige, took a position in the police force and outside of responding to emergencies, shared serial stories on forums about the odd incidents and criminals they encountered, drawing quite the audience of onlookers.

Therefore, when making concrete decisions, Chu Guang was more inclined to heed the advice of professionals rather than the wild speculations made by players based on common knowledge from the Real World.

In the end, Nago did not affect the Alliance's Triumph celebration.

That fruit spreading contamination, like the countless troubles that accompanied prosperity, was quietly cleaned up by the police force and the Celebration Autonomy Committee...

Pressured by Chu Guang, Heya immediately stopped her current work and plunged into the research on Nago, calling him back before dusk.

"...Let's start with the conclusion, first of all, we can rule out that this thing is a product of slime fungus, and secondly, based on my observations, it's not just ordinary crops, even slime fungus can't grow on soil that's been infected with this special mycelium."

Heya paused at this point and continued.

"In addition, it indeed isn't a fruit borne by ordinary plants but some sort of fungus that lives in symbiosis with the plants... Do you know wood ears?"

"Of course I know... wait, so you mean it doesn't grow on trees? It needs to rely on other plants, and attach to them?"

"Yes."

"But isn't soil infected by mycelium unable to grow crops?"

Watching the puzzled expression of Chu Guang in the holographic image, Heya nodded approvingly.

"Smart... but lacking flexibility."

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"I'm busy... no beating around the bush, please."

Uncrossing her arms, Heya patiently explained.

"The uniqueness of Nago lies exactly here; normal plants, animals, and even microorganisms have difficulty surviving in its domain, but those it assimilates and infects will thrive instead... For instance, the Cam tree, which produces rubber and biomass oil, doesn't wither after being parasitized by Nago's mycelium; it turns into a nursery for Nago. Does that make sense to you?"

"In other words... the way to plant Nago isn't through seeds but simply by—"

"Pouring the feces of animals or people who've eaten Nago at the base of a Cam tree will do," Heya interjected, speaking concisely, "Nago itself doesn't have a seed core, only flesh that's sweet and syrupy like honey brew, which is why many animals like it. Those fiber-like mycelia within the flesh are its 'seeds.' So in essence, it's a pure fungus, fundamentally different from the 'Mutated slime fungus.' Do you understand?"

The "Mutated slime fungus" shows fungal characteristics only at certain stages of life, while at other times, it displays animal characteristics.

It's a predator in the ecosystem, a consumer in the food chain!

Just like tigers and lions, or Monsters and Claws of death.

But the fungus named "Nago" is different; it represents an exceptionally unique existence, altering the rules of the food chain.

The organism's own immune system no longer competes with viruses and microbes for living space, but under the binder named Nago, achieves a harmony and prosperity through coexistence. Antagonistic entities within the food chain also come to unite under the new natural laws.

The symbol of vitality, the verdant mycelium, permeates the soil. Seeds from the old era cannot sprout in soil baptized by Nago, only life that embraces "Nago" can flourish within its domain, propagating Nago even further afield.

Well, I'll be!

What love of a tender father!

Chu Guang was suddenly startled.

This is Nago? It's more like "dirt fruit"!

His Adam's apple moved slightly as Chu Guang immediately asked,

"Is there any way to purify the land contaminated by it?"

"…A strong acidic disinfectant will do. It's not an anaerobe, so it won't penetrate deep into the soil, but I'd recommend using fire instead. Have you heard of flame weeding? It seems your little players are using it in place of herbicides."

After listening to Heya's explanation, Chu Guang paused.

"…It's that simple?"

Fire could kill it…

But then again, using fire to burn slimy molds was feasible. The earliest strategy he and his players used to combat the Tide involved deploying incendiary bombs on a large scale, using fire to clear hyphae and spores.

When dealing with non-evolutionary hyphae, barrels of oil were much more effective than high-explosive bombs and armor-piercing bullets.

Watching Chu Guang, who obviously overcomplicated the problem, Heya rolled her eyes.

"Don't make biology seem too mystical. Mutated slime fungus is an exception; it was a nuisance left over from the Prosperity Epoch. This Nago, after all, was born in the Wasteland Era… Of course, I'm still researching Nago's other characteristics. Some peculiarities are intriguing."

"What peculiarities?"

"Its repulsion to slime molds. Logically, slime molds can consume all organic matter, but they can't ingest the mycelium formed by Nago. Eaters we've captured even exhibit a distinct aversion to this fruit, refusing to eat it. I'm considering the possibility… perhaps it's a new problem created by some refuge or research facility trying to solve the slime mold issue."

Hearing this, Chu Guang had a moment of epiphany, suddenly understanding why the Academy had moved to the swamp.

The most dangerous thing on the Wasteland was neither radiation dust nor slime molds, but those knowledgeable madmen.

Every lair has its "self-limiting" nature, but Nago is virtually unrestricted in its expansion.

Once Nago is planted worldwide, slime molds might be wiped out, but Nago would become the new slime mold, completely altering the rules of the entire ecosystem.

In a verdant hell, mutants would become stronger, while humans might turn into... green-skinned goblins?

So far, the Alliance had not observed any symptoms in patients who had ingested Nago over a long term; the "cases" in Dusty Town were merely exhibiting withdrawal symptoms.

That young man who tasted the forbidden fruit was being tormented to death by the Nago bacteria that embraced him and his own immune system's sudden awakening. The players there handed out some antibiotics to the patients, but the effects were unclear, and follow-up observations were ongoing.

"Anyway, there's no need to panic excessively and scare ourselves. Immature research outcomes are best controlled… The immune system coexisting harmoniously with viruses is no joke. Small problems neglected become big problems. And if someone became a breeding ground for disease, even if others don't eat that stuff, they could still be infected, right?"

"Uh-huh," Chu Guang nodded in agreement as he looked at Heya's serious expression, "While you were researching, I had already initiated an emergency plan to remove this thing from the market."

Heya smiled slightly, about to say something, but then she sighed softly, speaking in a teasing tone.

"I was about to complain about you always dragging me away from what I'm doing for something else. The Alliance has other researchers than just me… But I suddenly felt a bit sorry for you."

"Sorry for me?" Chu Guang said with a laugh, "I must have heard you wrong."

"You were probably meeting with representatives from other survivor settlements, right?" Heya looked at him sympathetically, with a mixed expression of emotion murmuring, "If only those fools could grow a few more brain cells, at least understand that not everyone is as idle as they are…"

As she spoke, an unusual hint of resentment flashed through Heya's pupils.

Chu Guang knew she wasn't talking about the residents of the Alliance but was criticizing her own homeland—Shelter No. 117.

They had been living methodically within the shelter, but because some distrusted and even hated the Manager and the shelter's plans, it ultimately led to the shelter's doom.

The original "Torch" was born in Shelter No. 117 and turned into a faith over the next twenty years.

Chu Guang didn't know how to comfort the girl who "time-traveled" from twenty years ago, but he still hoped she could be freed from those dark memories.

"I'm not from Shelter No. 404, nor am I from Shelter No. 117. Each shelter has its own mission. I wouldn't rashly conclude that your manager knows nothing; perhaps he has his own thoughts and secrets we're not aware of. But, putting ourselves in the residents' shoes, it's understandable that they feel panic and despair about the future. They could have returned to the surface like saviors, yet they are compelled by the manager's orders to procreate in cramped underground bunkers."

"You actually understand them!"

Chu Guang replied patiently to Heya, who looked at him with incredulous, widened eyes.

"Understanding doesn't mean agreeing. The greatest insight from your manager logs is, 'Never give up on communication because it's difficult,' not 'The ignorant majority isn't worth understanding.'"

Heya huffed softly.

"Fine, at least we have one thing in common; we both think those guys are incredibly stupid... I'm off work now. This lady should go and enjoy the celebration. I really wasted my sympathy on you!"

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Go ahead, and I recommend spreading a bit of berry jam on the pig liver. The sour taste can neutralize the bitterness; that's our latest unlocked recipe."

"Please! I just want to sprinkle cumin!"

Heya hung up the call.

Watching the dissipating specks of light on the holographic screen, Chu Guang couldn't help but crack a smile.

He could feel that her mood had improved slightly, and she had reconciled somewhat with her past memories.

Although her personality was completely different from that of Yin Fang, both had grown up in similar environments and fundamentally were rational materialists.

She would surely understand what he was trying to express.

...

Just like the last celebration.

After nightfall, the sky above City of Dawn was lit up with magnificent fireworks.

Pedestrians on the street stopped one after another to look up and admire the beautiful pyrotechnics, and even people from Giant Stone City could catch a glimpse of bright light through the cracks of the concrete ruins.

"...Mr. Hauser was right again; they really are venting their impotence with gunpowder in a frenzy," Kent muttered, standing at the edge of the industrial area after finishing a day's work.

A few months ago, he had led the workers from the canning factory to surround the city hall, demanding the eviction of Alliance commodities from Giant Stone City because the Alliance factories were taking away their jobs.

That was undoubtedly a highlight of his life.

Seeing high-and-mighty Duron sweating with anxiety, he got not only the job he wanted but also some bargaining chips from the security chief, Alec. He heard that the Alliance had plunged into crippling inflation due to his earth-shattering action, with daily wages skyrocketing from 1 Silver Coin to double digits. It was unbelievable how they got by on a regular basis.

But sometimes he envied the people in "North Suburb"; the city hall lackeys dared to kick their butts but wouldn't dare to bully the poor in the Alliance, not even dare to touch their vassals.

After all, those people were so poor they only had their guns left, while they, wearing shoes, shouldn't rashly provoke them.

Walking beside him, Spielberg glanced at his patched-up cowboy jeans and muttered.

"Hey, do you really believe what Mr. Hauser says?"

"You don't?"

Seeing Kent raising his eyebrows as if he was about to punch him, Spielberg didn't expect such a heated reaction and quickly backtracked.

"I do, of course I do... There's no doubt we're also on the winning side, but why don't we celebrate victory?"

Kent's eyes widened, and he turned red with anger.

"Have you gone mad? This is the Wasteland; there's not much to celebrate with."

"Iodine deficiency leading to hyperthyroidism is a common nutritional disorder in the Wasteland," he said, "but it's not a big deal."

Spielberg, certain that he wasn't about to get hit, cautiously continued.

"But I heard that either yesterday or the day before, someone saw Melvin, the bank manager, making a grand exit from the city with his beloved daughter. I also heard that quite a few nobles from the Inner City had gone over to the Alliance to wait for the celebration to start days ago, and almost all the powerful mercenary groups have been booked up until next month..."

Kent said impatiently,

"They're going there to wine and dine."

Spielberg looked at him blankly.

"To... wine and dine?"

"Yes, that's right!"

Kent, as if he was trying to prove something, perhaps dissatisfied with his coworker's puzzled expression or maybe just hyperthyroidism acting up, stared him down aggressively.

"What's the matter? We are their creditors; what's wrong with us eating their food? I hope they eat a lot tonight! They'd better come back stuffed!"

Spielberg quickly raised his hand.

"No... nothing's wrong, I think you're absolutely right. I hope they have a hearty appetite tonight and help us earn back what we're owed."

If only they could throw up a bowl of soup.

Perhaps satisfied with his frightened expression, Kent's mood softened, and his tone became more patient as he began to reason.

"List is the biggest factory owner in the Alliance, and he's one of ours, that's the best proof! Residents of the Alliance bring their money here to get their Black Cards, but the nobles of the Inner City would never become residents of their refuges. Doesn't that explain a lot?"

Watching the rambling Kent, Spielberg felt a pang of sympathy, but he dared not show it on his face. If he did, he would have to explain why, and that was something he could never do.

He was a coward.

Only when reading the newspaper he could be a little braver.

He didn't know why Kent insisted on speaking for those old masters with capital in hand, but at least at this moment, he didn't want to be punched, nor could he bear to see him tormented by hyperthyroidism.

Looking at Kent, who was expecting some feedback, Spielberg cautiously nodded.

"Of course."

"I have no doubt that Mr. Hauser is right."

...

"Haha, congratulations to you all! Our friends! The best friends of Giant Stone City!"

In the Alliance's banquet hall.

A well-dressed Sid excitedly raised his glass, looking at Chu Guang, who appeared in the banquet hall and was about to go over and clink glasses with him, but before he could get close, he noticed that Chu Guang had already moved elsewhere.

"...Tsk, showing off for what!"

A flash of annoyance in his eyes, Sid unenthusiastically thought to put his glass back on the long table, trying to hide his current embarrassment.

However, at that moment, a glass unexpectedly came his way and lightly clinked against his.

"Why are you drinking alone?"

Seeing List appear before him, Sid's eyes brightened, and he laughed heartily, downing the wine in his glass, then grabbed List's shoulder and said,

"You're the one who's considerate, my friend!"

List was a newcomer among the elite of the Inner City, and of course, he would recognize it; besides, he had helped obtain that black card in the end.

It was also in this banquet hall.

This kid had pulled him aside to discuss a deal, to be honest, Sid wasn't too interested at first; after all, diving into the fray to make money in Giant Stone City wasn't quite dignified.

But, lately, he had slowly come to appreciate the joy of skyrocketing wealth.

He didn't need to understand how to balance the logistics surplus, how to adjust job functions, or even know what to produce to make money.

He just had to lift a finger, fling the chips like throwing darts, and there would naturally be people to do the meticulous work—and ensure his satisfaction.

"Of course," List said with a slight smile, tasting his wine before setting down the glass with all the politesse, "after all, we're in this together."

"Ah! You're still the best! To be honest, the yokels from 'North Suburb' are really not suitable trading partners, crass and without manners. They invite us over but leave me to be entertained by Luka—I heard the old man used to be a serf. They must be insane, letting a bumpkin play the lord! But Melvin's right, we shouldn't quarrel with the chips; you must know that feeling, doing business with Looter." To not offend others, Sid lowered his voice so that only the two could hear.

List's face wore an amiable smile as he nodded.

"Indeed, crap doesn't taste good... Their chips are always greasy, reminding me too much of bones and scrappy meat floating in a sizzling frying pan."

"Too vivid! I'd really like a good chinwag with you about those legendary stories of yours. Not just anyone can do business with Looter!" Sid gave him a thumbs-up, exclaiming excitedly, "But I haven't had anything to eat yet. Maybe we can chat while we eat... about something a bit lighter in taste?"

"Of course, I know of a fine deal, if you're interested," List said with a smile.

At the mention of a money-making opportunity, Sid's face immediately lit up with delight.

List was certainly trustworthy, not just because he owed him a number of favors, but more so because he was now one of us.

"I'm extremely interested! My friend, I knew you wouldn't let me down! Always bringing us new excitement!"

List smiled slightly and said.

"The Alliance recently issued a kind of bonds."

"What's that?"

"An alternative to debt," List tried to repackage the concept Chu Guang described, making the complicated aspects seem less so, "If you buy bonds for 100 chips, the Alliance will automatically give you 3 chips every year; after five years, you get the entire 100 back all at once."

Sid paused, smacking his lips, dissatisfied.

"Why so little?"

Just because he was rich didn't mean he was foolish.

The loans Giant Stone City gave to the Alliance had a 5% interest!

Not only was this interest low, but it also didn't sound like compound interest. Only fools would buy it!

List anticipated Sid's reaction; his smile remained as he gently sipped the wine from his glass on the table.

"So… what if I have special channels that can get me bonds with a face value of 100 chips, at an issuance price of 90 chips?"

At that moment, Sid was taken aback, and then he began to breathe hurriedly.

"That would mean…"

"A 10% profit right off the bat," List said meaningfully, "Plus an annual interest of 3%. If you're interested in bonds with a 10-year maturity, the interest is even one point higher, and the issuance price is 85."

"The Alliance acknowledges the bonds, not the person, and allows bond trading. Right now, everyone's pockets are crammed with chips, but the Alliance can't use chips to sign deals, they have to be exchanged for silver coins first, and the conversion isn't exactly free… So you understand, right? Buying these bonds, you can indirectly share in their development dividends."

He wouldn't tell Sid that as a primary distributor, he got even cheaper issuing prices.

As for how to repay the money in the future?

That's too easy!

When the chips accumulate in the pockets of the Alliance, isn't it up to the Alliance to decide how much the chips are worth?

If Chu Guang's plan ultimately comes to fruition, then in the most extreme case, the excessively circulated chips might become nothing more than a pile of useless plastic pieces.

When money isn't even valued anymore, what's there to fear about being unable to repay it?

As to whether it's possible to reach that step, it all depends on the level of skill that Manager has. Speaking of which, List was quite surprised; he didn't expect such a seemingly straightforward man to hide so many schemes and to strike so ruthlessly when he made his move.

Sid hugged List's shoulders tightly, his eyes filled with fervor, treating him as if he were a blood brother, fearful that List would feast alone.

"Good buddy! You've got to take me with you! I've made so many chips, and I just don't know where to invest them!"

"That's a must," List said with a smile, patting his shoulder and speaking in a gentle and soft tone, "My friend, have you forgotten?"

"We're in this together."

…

Chu Guang had originally intended to miss tonight's fireworks display, not even having time to enjoy it from the bridge of the Iron Heart.

After all, there were too many guests to entertain.

Whether they were representatives of companies or survivor settlement delegates, everyone wanted to exchange a few words with him on behalf of their settlements, to learn from him, and to see if they could also get a piece of the Alliance's rapidly moving train, to bask in its reflected glory.

As the focus of the entire event, this was the first time Chu Guang ever felt what it was like to be so busy that he was off his feet.

The line of people waiting to meet him extended from the entrance of the grand hall to the kitchen.

And he needed to condense the vast amount of information into three sentences and try to remember every representative and settlement who had conversed with him.

Fortunately, Xiao Qi was there to help.

Yet, for some reason, just when he was about to meet with a host of nobles from Giant Stone City, Xiao Qi suddenly became capricious, saying that the fireworks it had designed were about to end and that he must go outside to watch them no matter what.

Otherwise, it would stop working next time!

No helping it.

Chu Guang originally wanted to exchange pleasantries with the nobles of Giant Stone City, but he couldn't stand Xiao Qi nagging persistently in his ear, so he had to inconvenience Old Luka to deal with the Inner City nobles.

As for the bonds,

Chu Guang believed that even without his cooperation, List would manage to take care of everything perfectly.

That guy was clever.

He knew what to do…

…

Outside the grand hall.

Chu Guang found a quiet, deserted place and looked up at the fireworks blossoming in the night sky.

Turns out using the Iron Heart's artillery to launch fireworks is so beautiful.

No wonder that night, so many were staring up at the sky motionless.

Their necks got tired.

Finally, when the last batch of fireworks was over, Chu Guang couldn't help but express his admiration.

"Quite beautiful."

Sitting on his shoulder, swinging its legs, Xiao Qi revealed a pleased smile, proudly putting its hands on its waist.

"Heh heh, right?"

Chu Guang looked at the little fellow helplessly.

"But the fireworks are supposed to last a little longer, aren't they? Why couldn't you wait until I met with Giant Stone City's delegates before coming out to watch."

Xiao Qi pouted.

"Xiao Qi doesn't like them... It's a waste of Master's time to deal with them when he could be out here watching Xiao Qi's performance!"

Xiao Qi arrogantly said,

"Nothing! If Master doesn't like them, Xiao Qi doesn't like them either!"

Chu Guang was slightly stunned, then chuckled and shook his head.

"You little rascal..."

There were too many things he didn't like.

Strictly speaking, in the Wasteland, there are no absolutely good or bad people, pure evil and absolute kindness are both rare, and most common is the mindless chaos and barbarism.

If one can't tolerate a grain of sand in one's eye, yet disregards how one achieves one's goals, the end result is to become something as extremely twisted as the Enlightenment Society.

Those guys firmly believe that compared to the great Prosperity Epoch, everything from the Post-War Reconstruction Committee to survivor settlements on the Wasteland are corrupt beyond salvation and therefore must be physically and decisively eliminated!

In their eyes, it is the Alliance, who muddies itself with the Waste Land Wanderers, that is the more ignorant.

And because of this, it's even harder to reshape a firm believer of the Enlightenment Society than a Looter.

As for Xiao Qi…

Perhaps it was because it cared too much about his feelings and had absorbed a lot of mixed information that it was influenced to some extent.

Chu Guang could guess from its expression that it must be the Inner City nobles who had been plotting against him in private, and Xiao Qi might have "accidentally" overheard it. Yet, Chu Guang had restricted it from doing anything to them, so it had to use this manner to express its discontent.

During the incident at Falcon City Palace, he had already scolded it for being too clever with its permissions, and he believed it wouldn't do such things again.

"…There are many people on this wasteland that we don't like, people we don't agree with, which you should know after following me for so long."

"Even the more you know them, the more you understand their inner thoughts, the more you realize they're beyond redemption, and trying to help them is both thankless and exhausting."

Chu Guang gently rubbed Xiao Qi's little head with his index finger, looked into those drowsy eyes, and continued in a gentle voice.

"But we let them live, give them enough time to change, give them opportunities, and even pull them forward when needed."

"That is the Alliance."

A place where survivors came together, united—

Huddling together on the ruins for warmth.

Chapter 529: Three Days Holiday

After the banquet had ended, Chu Guang received numerous gifts.

Although most of the Survivor Settlements gifted these to him personally, Chu Guang accepted them on behalf of the Alliance.

"…This sword was my elder brother's sidearm; the former king gifted it to him when he was a month old, and he has carried it with him ever since he could remember. He asked me to tell you that the Honey Badger Kingdom is willing to be the blade of the Alliance, and the enemies of the Alliance are our enemies."

Afni handed the treasured sword to Chu Guang, gazing intently at him, and then passed him a shield engraved with the Honey Badger royal family's crest.

"This shield is a gift from my second brother; he insisted I convey his exact words to you, that the Honey Badger Kingdom is willing to be the shield of the Alliance. We will guard against threats from the west, and our friendship will be as solid as steel."

After taking the shield from her hands and setting it aside, Chu Guang spoke with solemnity.

"Thank you for your gifts. The friendship between the Alliance and the Honey Badger Kingdom will be as firm as steel. Also, I sincerely hope that your two brothers can maintain a harmonious relationship, handle internal affairs properly, and not betray the trust your residents place in you."

The Honey Badger royal family was beloved by the local residents.

Otherwise, when the Army arrived, so many people wouldn't have resisted or even followed Yard into exile to the Lion Kingdom to form a government-in-exile.

Chu Guang did not intend to interfere in their affairs, provided they did not escalate into bloody conflicts.

He believed Yard and Sommer were aware of this.

"I will keep your teachings in mind and will advise them when appropriate."

Afni gave a slight bow.

After a brief pause, she turned to retrieve the red satin that had been placed under the sword and shield. It was only then that Chu Guang realized it was a cloak, and he couldn't help but make a light-hearted comment.

"You are the only group that has gifted us three different congratulatory presents; we will cherish this friendship."

"This is my gift." Afni blinked, nodded slightly in thanks, and said, "Thank you for imparting your knowledge to me and for the care you have shown all this while."

"There's no need for formalities; colleagues who have worked with you all speak highly of you. What we do can hardly be called 'care'."

Glancing at the small mountain of gifts behind him, Chu Guang was slightly moved and smiled, "I plan to build a museum in City of Dawn to house all the gifts as a testament to our friendships, for all residents to appreciate."

He also planned to construct a zoo to house Variants captured by players, including the Claw of Death and Monsters.

This would not only serve scientific purposes but also provide education for new players and residents who had never traveled far, showcasing the Alliance's formidable combat power.

"That would be wonderful."

Personally, Afni felt a bit regretful, but then she thought about it and quickly smiled brightly again.

Perhaps this was also good…

Aside from the gifts from the Honey Badger Kingdom, the Lion Kingdom had presented the Alliance with a hundred mighty warhorses. These obviously couldn't be placed in a museum and would have to wait until the zoo was planned to be incorporated.

Since the Alliance didn't have a traditional cavalry, Chu Guang selected sixty horses to be sent to the guard squads in City of Dawn, Dawn City, and Falling Leaves City.

In the rugged wilderness, horses were faster than bicycles and provided sufficient deterrence without terrifying people like the Claw of Death.

The Golden Lizard Kingdom had given Chu Guang a 1:1 replica of a bust made of gold, supposedly melted down from the Army's dinars. Though they were a vassal of the Academy, they also saw potential in the River Valley Province's market.

The Camel Hump Kingdom sent a mechanical clock inlaid with blood diamonds to the Alliance, thanking the Alliance for its timely support during military operations in Lost Valley, while also displaying its wealth and the skilled craftsmanship of its artisans.

Comparatively, the gifts from the corporate entities were more pragmatic.

On behalf of the council, Wu Changnian gave Chu Guang a nearly three-meter-tall all-terrain vehicle.

Its huge tires raised the chassis, the vehicle's body was made of lightweight special steel, and the glass was specially made bulletproof glass, reportedly able to withstand light Gauss weapons fire.

"I see you're always in power armor, so you might like this muscular behemoth," Wu Changnian said with a smile, patting the engine hood of the off-road vehicle outside the hall, "This is a product from a subsidiary of the Chang Ge Group, the V-100 'Tiger' off-road vehicle. You could even use it as a wheeled armor vehicle."

There was something he didn't say.

If you find it useful, it wouldn't be a problem to purchase more, unlike large aircraft, which aren't on the list of technologically sensitive items.

Chu Guang admired the vehicle with a look of appreciation, then turned to Wu Changnian and asked.

"Can this vehicle fly?"

According to Fang Chang and Mole, vehicles in Ideal City could fly in the sky.

He was quite interested in that technology.

Wu Changnian coughed lightly.

"There's no magnetic levitation infrastructure here… so we didn't install a maglev unit. But even if there were, I wouldn't recommend flying this thing in the sky; steel structures are a bit heavy."

However, that also meant that even someone in power armor could get into it.

And even seat four.

Staring at the off-road vehicle, Chu Guang suddenly reflected.

"I just said I was preparing to set up a museum to put all representative gifts."

"We are pragmatists; a product that goes unused is its regret. You could start by placing one set of car keys, and then put the whole vehicle in after it's old. I think that would be more meaningful and better evidence our friendship," Wu Changnian grasped Chu Guang's hand and shook it, smiling, "I've enjoyed our cooperation this time and hope it continues so we can explore a brighter future together."

Chu Guang firmly shook his hand back, smiling.

"Definitely!"

Later, he planned to assign this vehicle to the Guards Corps.

If it proved useful, he would consider importing more from the Chang Ge Group for departments and corps that needed them. Of course, if the reverse-engineering work on the Academy's "Reindeer" track vehicle by Dawn City's industrial zone progressed well, this foreign exchange expense could be saved.

The large-scale war had ended, and the development of heavy equipment such as tanks and artillery could be slowed down. According to Chu Guang's plans for Alliance Army Command, the next phase of equipment development would focus on miniaturization and special operations.

That meant, refining details that were previously omitted or skipped altogether.

In any case, not only the allies and partners of the Alliance but also Giant Stone City, Garbage City, Red River Alliance, and even Dam City, which Chu Guang had heard of for the first time, all sent substantial gifts to the Alliance.

However, the gifts that delighted Chu Guang the most were not those from other Survivor Settlements but the "big gift" that Little Fish brought back from Camp 101...

...

"Little Fish and Pai also have a special gift for Brother Chu, although it's nothing precious."

Shelter No. 404, Floor B4 browsing room.

Little Fish's face was flushed, and she spoke shyly with an embarrassed smile.

Pai, standing next to her, couldn't wait to hand over a thumb-sized hard drive, proudly curling her lips as she said,

"The item you wanted is ready; feel free to use it! By the way, you can check it on the holographic computer I gave you and just let me know if there's anything that needs to be improved."

That expression.

It was almost as if she had "Hurry up and praise me" written on her face.

"Wonderful!" Chu Guang, smiling, took the hard drive from her hand and indulged her wish, "Thank you, you've both been a great help."

Hearing this, Little Fish's face bloomed into a happy smile, but she quickly appeared to realize something and looked at Pai in surprise, whispering,

"Wait... didn't you say we were going to give Brother Chu a surprise? How did it turn into something Brother Chu asked us to do?"

Pai's proud expression instantly stiffened on her face as she subtly shifted her gaze, muttering awkwardly,

"I thought this would motivate you more..."

Even the speed at which she learned things had increased.

Little Fish stared at her, lifting an eyebrow, looking genuinely a bit angry.

"You lied!"

During her time at Camp 101, she had always considered Pai a good friend, but Pai had been deceiving her for so long!

"Wuwu... it's my fault, I'm sorry! I won't dare to do it again!"

Unable to bear her best friend's solemn and serious expression, Pai looked at Chu Guang for help, hoping he could assist her.

However, Chu Guang's attention was entirely captured by the deep blue light projected from the holographic computer, as he keenly dragged his index finger across the screen.

Long before the war started, he had asked Camp 101 to help develop a set of bond credit contracts suitable for the Alliance's current economic rules and supporting trading systems.

These systems were originally designed to issue war bonds with the aim of "allowing societal resources to be allocated more efficiently in the Alliance's war machine."

However, it was only because he received a substantial loan from Giant Stone City and companies provided both loans and subsidies that he delayed deploying this exploit.

If he could reach his goals by exploiting others, Chu Guang would certainly not exploit his own people. By uniting his own people, he could unite even more others.

Now, the reason he brought this tool back was partly to share the dividends of economic development among more residents of the Alliance and partly to further exploit the resources of neighboring societies.

The Alliance would issue two sets of bonds.

One was a domestic bond repaid in base currency to absorb excess liquidity generated from large-scale infrastructure investments, incidentally transferring a portion of the wealth created by infrastructure from direct beneficiaries to the majority of survivors who could not participate.

The other was a foreign bond repaid in foreign currency used to purchase commodities in that currency's market, curb inflation in the domestic market, and export excess domestic market liquidity.

It was like having two barrels of beer.

As the person "distributing the beer," Chu Guang could to some extent decide which barrel would hold the genuine beer and which would hold the froth.

Although such financial tools had appeared in the history of the United Human, the current situation was different from the past, and simply copying old methods was obviously not viable.

Little Fish had once served as the president of Alliance Bank for a time.

Although her day-to-day work involved merely handling silver coins, she dealt daily with workers from all walks of life, including players, which gave her an intuitive sense of the Alliance's economic operating mode; she only lacked matching knowledge.

Sending her to study at Camp 101 was not only to supplement her professional knowledge but also to hope she could combine the actual conditions of the Alliance with the research of Camp 101's researchers to better complete this work.

Later, likely finding the technical content of the project too low, Professor Aven assigned this task to his student Pai.

On one hand, Pai had considerable expertise in programming, electronics, and mechanics, and on the other, she had a good relationship with Little Fish.

And indeed, as Aven had anticipated, their cooperation was highly efficient and yielded good results.

"Not bad! There's hardly anything that needs changing. I'll assign Little Qi to manage the maintenance and updating of the trading system; you guys did a great job!"

With a light swipe of his finger...

Chu Guang, turning off the holographic screen and looking at the two seated opposite him on the sofa, noticed Little Fish glaring intently at Pai, seemingly holding a grudge, and he was momentarily puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

"Umm... it was my fault," Pai confessed, glancing guiltily at Chu Guang and admitting proactively, "I previously told Little Fish that we'd give it to you as a gift when you returned from the front line without telling her that you had actually asked me to do it."

Hearing her explanation, Little Fish's frown deepened.

"Isn't the point that you lied to me for half a year!"

"Wuwu..." Pai didn't expect her apology to backfire, shrinking back slightly as she became even smaller.

As Pai timidly shrank back, Chu Guang couldn't help but suppress a smile. Although he knew it wasn't good to feel schadenfreude at such a time, it had been a long while since he had mediated a conflict as pure as this one on the Wasteland.

Of course, this was not a trivial matter to be taken lightly.

Little Fish's personality greatly resembled her older brother, Yu Hu—the flattering way to put it was pure and earnest; the unflattering way was stubborn and irrational. Sometimes she was as stubborn as a mule, the type you couldn't pull back once she set her mind on something.

With such personality, she easily trusted others, but once deceived, she was deeply hurt, even by well-intentioned lies.

"Pai."

"Uh?" Upon hearing Chu Guang call her name, Pai, unsure of what to do next, cautiously looked up at him.

"You are a very intelligent girl, and though not a resident of the shelter, your talent is no less than anyone here, even surpassing others. Otherwise, Dr. Method wouldn't call you a genius and gift you that precious chip. If I were to assess, your talents would earn you significant recognition in any settlement."

Watching Pai's face flicker between nervous and uncontrollably proud as she smirked, Chu Guang took a deep breath and patiently continued,

"But I don't believe what you did was right."

"Why..." Her smile fading, Pai murmured in a hurt tone, "I just... saw that she so desperately wanted to become someone powerful, so I wanted to help her. Don't you want her to be able to assist you sooner?"

Chu Guang looked at her seriously.

"I believe you value Little Fish and care a lot about your friendship with her, wanting to unlock her potential, but we shouldn't fully ignore the means to an end just because the result is correct, the intentions are good... In fact, instead of fabricating something that doesn't exist, you could have communicated with her properly, right? If you treat her as a friend, and not as a follower or an accessory."

Naturally, a genius has the capital to be proud, but without care, pride can easily turn into arrogance. Most dilemmas faced by the shelter are not due to lack of preparation, but because of the arrogance in assuming that everything will turn out fine if the less intelligent simply obey.

If Pai were a bit more mature, he would relay more precise experiences from Dr. Method to her.

For instance, selectively retaining some truths is always more tactful than lying, and even when lying becomes necessary, it should include promises that can be fulfilled.

However, these experiences were still too premature for her.

"I didn't! I have never treated Little Fish as an accessory!"

Finally realizing her mistake, Pai turned to Little Fish and sincerely apologized with a lowered head, "I was wrong, sorry... I shouldn't have kept this from you."

This time, Little Fish's eyebrows finally relaxed a bit.

Although steadfast, she wasn't the type to unrelentingly cling to being right.

She could feel that Pai hadn't intended to deceive her out of malice.

In fact, she regretted losing her temper earlier. After all, the other was considerate of her, perhaps she should have expressed her discontent in a gentler manner.

Chu Guang looked towards Little Fish, his tone gentle.

"Can you forgive her? She has sincerely apologized."

"Yes, but… you cannot lie to me next time," Little Fish murmured softly, taking the step down offered by Chu Guang, diverting her challenging gaze away from Pai's face.

"Uh-huh, I promise!" Pai immediately raised her little hand and nodded vigorously.

Meeting her friend's sincere gaze, Little Fish's cheeks slightly reddened as she gently nodded.

"Then… I forgive you."

Observing the two reconcile, a smile inevitably formed on Chu Guang's face.

Sitting at the desk, Xiao Qi covered her mouth and giggled softly, whispering playfully into his ear through the headset.

"You really know how to comfort people, Master!"

Chu Guang chuckled softly, whispering in Mandarin,

"You'd laugh, but before I graduated, I actually wanted to become a teacher."

Though he wasn't trained as a teacher, he was good at sciences and had tutored as a part-time job. Both students and parents liked him; one girl even earnestly vowed to apply to his college, although unfortunately, she didn't pass the high entrance scores of Jiangcheng University that year.

Before graduating, he had considered getting his teaching credentials to possibly teach mathematics or physics.

Xiao Qi paused, then looked at him surprised.

"Eh...? But Master, didn't you say you were in sales before?"

"Yes," Chu Guang smiled faintly, "so you see, what one wants to do and what one is doing can be completely different matters. Humans are such contradictory creatures, something hard to grasp with a programmer's mindset."

Xiao Qi tilted her head.

"I don't find it hard to understand."

"Is that so? Perhaps you understand me best."

With a casual remark, Chu Guang gazed at the hard disk in his hands, his lips slowly curling into a smile.

The last piece of the puzzle had just been placed.

It was now up to the other party to make their move.

Xiao Qi blinked, intently studying Chu Guang.

Although it didn't know what the master was planning to do, intuition told it that a lot of people were about to have a really bad time…

This probably was the recent peak!

Among them, 1201 people applied for settlement as refugees.

Most of these people had no money and no special skills. Some were enticed by the prosperity of the Alliance, some were drawn by the culture of the Alliance, and some simply acted on impulse, deciding to end their wandering life and make this their final stop in the Wasteland.

According to the usual practice of the Alliance, residents settling as refugees would first obtain the status of "supervisees" with limited resident rights and would be accommodated by the Home of the Refugees. The Home of the Refugees would provide them free dormitories and food and require them to participate in work and educational courses, converting their status to that of regular residents within no more than six months.

For them, the Home of the Refugees was more like a school.

The remaining 1510 people were mainly residents of Giant Stone City. Among them, some were engineers and some were ordinary workers who had been living in the Alliance for a long time due to work, had savings, and possessed job skills, but had been delaying formalizing their paperwork.

What finally prompted them to make up their minds and get their paperwork done was largely due to Chu Guang's speech at Triumph Square.

It couldn't be helped.

He gave too much.

In the Wasteland, survival alone was difficult enough, and people usually didn't ask for much more. They didn't care whether the Army, the Company, or the Academy was right; whoever could keep them from starving and freezing, they would regard as a god or a savior.

No one had ever been willing like that man to consider things from the perspective of ordinary survivors.

And to think about so much.

Especially since Chu Guang mentioned that many future benefits of the Alliance would be linked to residence status, and only citizens of the Alliance could own property as individuals. Since they had already decided to settle here, it naturally was better to take care of the paperwork earlier.

It especially surprised Chu Guang that some residents of Ideal City even applied for citizen status!

Clearly, it wasn't the welfare benefits of the Alliance that enticed them, as the welfare here, no matter how good, couldn't compare to that of Ideal City—it was far inferior.

However, the Resident Registration Office did not issue them with resident permits.

Although the threshold for obtaining resident status in the Alliance was low, it didn't mean there were no requirements.

Under current regulations, anyone could apply for resident status, but passing the application required working for at least six months at a company or institution with relevant qualifications, or at an officially-operated nonprofit organization.

The investment settlement scheme was even stricter, with specific requirements for the number of employees, business scale, industry type, and duration of operation. It was better to start a company, obtain the necessary qualifications, hire employees, or receive placement as a refugee.

These first-time visitors to the Alliance, obviously, didn't meet these conditions.

However, two young men did not give up.

According to the head of the Resident Registration Office, after being rejected, they were even more motivated and planned to apply for teaching positions at the Home of the Refugees to teach reading and arithmetic to the Wasteland Wanderers there, intending to prove with their actions that they weren't just messing around.

Honestly, both the head of the Resident Registration Office, who reported this matter, and Chu Guang, who heard the report, thought that those two young men were just fooling around and would probably get sick of life on the Wasteland in a couple of days.

But they also didn't rule out the one-in-a-thousand chance that they were genuinely moved by the story of the Pioneer, inspired by the speech at Triumph Square and the societal thoughts of the Alliance, and wanted to help make a difference here.

Whatever the case, this was a good beginning.

The celebration had a total of three days of holiday, but that was for ordinary residents.

The entire next day, Chu Guang spent almost entirely busy with tasks and buried in piles of reports, for which he was severely scolded by Boss Xia.

However, Chu Guang didn't mind.

Being busy now was also for the sake of being more relaxed later.

Some things were like the roads in "City Skyline"—if not planned well from the start, they would only become more troublesome later.

On the third day of the celebration.

Chu Guang convened a work meeting with senior departmental staff to critically review the industrial transformation plan submitted by the Department of Industry and a series of budgetary proposals for policies.

The central theme of the entire meeting was to shift part of the heavy and military industries towards light industry.

Especially the industries that, due to the urgency of war, the Alliance had no time to develop and had delegated to Giant Stone City, now also needed to be built slowly.

It would be best to pluck the ready fruits from the neighbor's tree.

Already in a previous closed-door meeting, Chu Guang had hinted to the finance department that the upcoming economic policies of the Alliance aimed to challenge the mainstream currency position of chips.

Thus, all assets of the Alliance priced in chips, whether fixed or non-fixed assets, had to be planned for phased disposal as potential bad assets.

Otherwise, his plan of cutting leeks would become a self-harming tactic, bashing the others severely but leaving himself barely hanging on.

That would be harmful to oneself and others.

The entire meeting lasted from morning until afternoon and even the lunch was something Chu Guang paid for personally for the participants.

Perhaps because the boxed lunches he ordered were quite appealing, all the ministers and deputy ministers at the meeting threw themselves into their work with great enthusiasm and finally came up with a basically reliable execution plan before dusk.

Starting tomorrow, the Alliance would implement a new work system, granting certain subsidies to factories that actively cooperated.

Although finance was the lubricant of industry, Chu Guang was well aware that merely having a lubricant was not enough to hollow out a neighbor's home.

He not only wanted to ensure that the survivors who chose the Alliance could at least live in corn-loft apartments, but also had to ensure there were sufficient industries to absorb the continually growing population.

Cutting leeks was just one of the means of speeding up development.

At the root of it all, "self-strengthening" was the real solution to all problems.

After the meeting concluded.

Chu Guang pondered whether to catch the tail end of the celebration by strolling casually on the street, relaxing his mind, and appreciating the achievements that he and the little players had worked hard for, when suddenly a piece of good news came from List.

On the phone, his voice carried an unmistakable tone of pride.

"Respected Manager, the task you assigned me has been successfully completed!"

Chapter 530 Dad, Lend Me Some Money!

"Dad, lend me some money!"

Inside the mansion in the Inner City.

The moment Sid rushed home and stepped through the door, he was met with his son's expectant gaze, his face immediately revealing an interested expression.

Hey.

It's like the sun rising from the west.

This damned son of his always had his hand out for money; what's with the sudden change to borrowing today?

He didn't care how his son spent money outside; his family wealth was inexhaustible just by spending it. All that mattered was his son being careful not to suddenly bring an illegitimate grandchild home when sleeping with girls.

Who hasn't been young before?

He too loved to have fun when he was younger, but after starting a family, he reined it in a bit. After all, his wife's family had a not insignificant status; it was necessary to consider each other's face.

"How much?"

"Ten million!"

Hearing the figure of ten million, Sid immediately furrowed his brows.

What does ten million mean?

If you count it as a salary, over five hundred thousand people in Giant Stone City would have to bust their chops for two to three weeks! Even if you calculate it by production value, those cattle and horses would need to work their tails off for at least a whole day!

Although the stakes were just numbers to him, they certainly weren't just paper. Without a doubt, this was no small sum, and even if he could afford it, he couldn't let his son squander it like this.

"Go get 200,000 from the butler for now; if that's not enough, come back to me."

Seeing his father misunderstand him, Kumarit immediately became desperate, stamping his foot as he spoke.

"Dad! I really need it urgently! If you don't trust me, I can write an IOU!"

Sid glared at him and said,

"Did you get yourself into trouble again? Spit it out, and don't you damn well make decisions on your own!"

Kumarit chuckled.

"No, what trouble? Do I look like that sort of person? Dad, honestly, I've found a business opportunity to make money!"

A business opportunity to make money?

Sid almost laughed out loud.

No one else might understand his son, but he knew him all too well; this guy couldn't hold on to money to save his life.

Placing his hand on his shoulder, Sid patiently said,

"You, my boy, can be a bit naive at times. Be more cautious out there; don't get conned. Tell your old man, who's been feeding you this bull?"

Kumarit wryly shook off his father's hand.

"What are you talking about! I told you, it's a chance to get rich! That Kishu, you know him, right? He's back from Ideal City!"

"Kishu? You mean… Melvin's second son?" It took Sid a moment to remember the name of that troublemaker.

To be honest, he didn't have a good impression of the kid; he acted too rashly; to put it bluntly, brainless!

When he could have simply hired a couple of desperados to take out a family, he chose to arrogantly set the place on fire himself, like a pigheaded fool—not smart at all.

Fortunately, the kid had a smart father who sent him out of the city right away, settled things with the Militia Group at the first opportunity, and found a scapegoat to calm the anger of the residents from the outer city—it somehow brought an end to the matter.

They indeed could disregard the explicit rules, but beneath the surface, there was still an unwritten set of rules to follow.

Without any rules at all, wouldn't that make one a Looter?

Had it not been for that kid's father's sake, Sid would never have agreed to let his son hang around with that guy every day.

Of course, considering that Kishu had spent five years in Ideal City, and perhaps had established his base there with the help of that old fox Melvin, it was still worth investing a bit of face.

He planned to find an opportunity to send his younger son over as well, to establish relations early on so that there would be someone to look after him once he was there. When he got his hands on a large sum of Cr, he also wanted to go there to relax for a few days and experience another kind of lavish lifestyle.

Thinking of this, Sid had a plan in mind and casually said,

"...Go to the butler and get two million chips."

Kumarit's face instantly fell in disappointment.

"Ah? Only two million..."

"You think that's too little," Sid said, slapping the back of the head of the ungrateful kid, "you've never managed a household, so you don't know how hard it is to make money! Take the two million and spend it, don't bother writing any damn promissory notes. Just give me an IOU, and if you lose it all, go study in Ideal City! With such a great opportunity now, flights can go directly there, at least bring back something you've learned!"

Kumarit pouted.

Honestly, he didn't think money was so hard to earn.

His good buddy was the son of the Giant Stone City Bank president, and he was a lackey for the big boss's son, Wei Jia; making money wasn't a minute's job for him.

Moreover, Kishu had developed a very detailed plan; they had a complete strategy to send the price of S Coin soaring to the heavens!

But time is money, so two million it was.

Once he turned that two million into four hundred million, or even four billion... he believed his foolish father would definitely look at him with new respect!

While Kumarit was dreaming of making a fortune, Sid had already gone to his wife Bonnie's place.

He pushed open the door and entered the dressing room, embracing that woman who was getting her hair done by a maid at the vanity table.

Although she was in her forties or fifties, she barely looked any different from her younger days thanks to good maintenance and biotechnological advancements, save for some faint lines around her eyes.

If she were a Waste Land Wanderer, at her age, she'd mostly be buried in the ground by now.

"What's made you so happy?" Bonnie's cheeks flushed slightly as she glanced at the maid beside her, signaling her to step out and close the door behind her.

But Kumarit didn't care if anyone was around; after all, he had tasted that girl's flavor, and he kissed his wife joyfully.

"My dear, we're going to be rich!"

Bonnie chided softly.

"Rich? Aren't we already wealthy?"

"We'll be even wealthier!" Sid sat on the couch proudly and laid out the agreement he had reached with List about the bond issue on the table.

List had agreed to let him have "original price" for half of the cake and had given him professional advice, suggesting that he equally split the allocation between short and long bonds.

He subscribed for five hundred million in short bonds, and one billion in long bonds... Although initially, he had intended to subscribe to the latter entirely for 1.5 billion, as buying 100 chips at the 85 issue price sounded more appealing, he decided to nod in agreement, thinking it fair to let List earn a bit as well.

An 85 issue price meant that he could buy 1 billion chips' worth of bonds for just 850 million chips, and each year, the Alliance would pay him forty million chips in interest!

Of course, what he cared about was not the forty million chips in interest per year; only the poor would count on that meager bank interest.

He would sell the total 1.5 billion bonds at an appropriate price, like 1.3 or 1.4 billion, in piecemeal fashion to those business associations and factory owners in Giant Stone City.

After all, having had his share of the meat, he should also share a bit of the broth with them.

Now that the factories and business associations that had made money from the Alliance had plenty of cash, they'd definitely be interested in this value-adding transaction.

They would want a sip of this broth.

And he had to drink!

Thinking of this, Sid couldn't help but feel proud of his own genius scheme.

This one transaction was a billion!

Money that would take two and a half years to earn through interest, he could earn in a flash with just a flick of his fingers.

Honest people like List, who diligently run factories and do business, know nothing of true "strength"!

"I always feel like something's off. Why would List give you such a money-making opportunity? He's a nouveau riche, right?" After listening to her husband's words, Bonnie still couldn't shake off a vague feeling of unease.

Put bluntly, she didn't trust the Waste Land Wanderers.

Even if the Waste Land Wanderers had mingled among the Inner City Nobles because of their wealth, their blood was still tainted with filth and original sin.

Sid wasn't at all surprised by his wife's concerns. A trophy wife like her could never touch the darkness outside; even looking out of their window at home, she couldn't see even an inch of the Wasteland.

But he knew all too well.

He was more aware than anyone just how desperate the outsiders from the Wasteland were, and how much they longed for life in the Inner City. For the sake of that Black Card, they could grovel in the dust, ready to pluck out their dignity and hearts and throw them into a frying pan.

"Yes, he is a nouveau riche, and his Black Card was even obtained with my help, but the real core power of the Inner City still has nothing to do with him. I can pull half the nobles to vote with me, but he still has to ponder over human relationships, asking me where to stand when voting so he won't inadvertently offend someone. If he wants to establish himself in the Inner City, he has to depend on us, on our family, on the intricate network of bloodlines that run through this mansion! You could say that he is nothing more than a dog reared by our family."

Looking at her husband's confident eyes, Bonnie's heart relaxed a bit and she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"This family relies on you alone; don't overwork yourself."

She didn't understand those complicated matters.

Her father had protected her very well, but occasionally seeing the worried looks that appeared on her maids' faces, the bitter expressions when lovers wrote letters, and the frightened attitude when facing her, she could somewhat guess that life outside was actually not good for others.

Embracing his wife's waist, Sid said with full confidence,

"Don't worry, your husband isn't fighting alone; we are a group of people — descendants of the noble ones who created a new world from the ruins of nothingness. And our opponents, they are nothing but brain-frozen Ground Squirrels and Waste Land Wanderers whose stomachs have spoiled from scavenging garbage."

"They don't understand what true cunning and strategy are. We see them clearly, and they don't even know how many cards we hold in our hands."

"We cannot possibly lose!"

...

"Hahaha! Those stupid pigs! You have no idea, the expression on that idiot Sid's face when I told him he could get 100 Bonds for 90 chips was absolutely priceless! An elegant and proper man really can turn into a pig in the blink of an eye!"

In a mansion in the City of Dawn,

List's face was filled with a smug and wanton scoff.

He vividly described to Chu Guang how he had tricked the greedy pig into a cage of his own making at the banquet, step by step luring it to put the noose around its own neck.

Chu Guang listened with a smile and softly clapped his hands.

"Brilliant."

"You flatter me!"

With the frivolous smile gone from his face, List nodded slightly and respectfully continued, "No matter how brilliant my performance, I'm just an actor on the stage, incomparable to you who designed the whole theater for me."

"Don't be so modest! Kissing up to me won't get you anywhere," Chu Guang laughed and continued, "Did you bring the item?"

"Right here."

List patted his hands lightly.

Soon, his trusted aide Han Long pushed open the door, carrying two large briefcases from outside the study.

At the sign from his boss List, Han Long placed the briefcases on the empty table on one side of the study and unlatched them.

Inside the briefcase lay chips, black and white intermingled, emblazoned with crown patterns, and each chip was worth ten thousand.

List looked toward Chu Guang, respectfully saying,

"Please take a look."

Chu Guang glanced at Lu Bei, who was standing beside him.

"Go count them."

"Yes!"

Lu Bei nodded briskly and approached the two briefcases.

Although Chu Guang knew that List had surely counted the chips over and over again, and wouldn't dare deceive him, having Lu Bei go through the motions provided him with peace of mind.

And just like before, Lu Bei was meticulous with the tasks assigned to him, earnestly beginning to count each one.

Watching the young man fully absorbed in counting the money, List's expression relaxed somewhat as he smiled at Chu Guang, who was seated on the sofa.

"As per your instructions, I have transferred more than half of the bonds to renowned nobles within Giant Stone City. Without any surprises, they will sell these bonds to the factories of Giant Stone City."

If the result of the last round of inflation has been a concentration of social wealth within Giant Stone City into the hands of the powerful nobles and production-holding merchants, then this round of inflation caused by subprime debt will let these merchants start to taste that "sweet bitterness."

These merchants are the most cunning.

They greedily enjoyed the hot spring-like comfort of the pool, but they would be the first to become alert when the water becomes scaldingly hot.

Therefore, when necessary, they'd pull along the not-so-smart but sufficiently powerful nobles to face external threats together.

So, to harvest from them requires extra thought; sell the cutting knife to the Inner City Nobles first so they can do this time-consuming and laborious work.

The total debt of three billion was just the beginning.

Whether it was List or Chu Guang, neither had promised Giant Stone City that this would be the last money they borrowed, nor that they wouldn't use new debts to pay old ones.

"Actually, there's something I don't quite understand," List suddenly began to ask.

"What is it?"

"The Alliance has an account in Giant Stone City, right?" List asked with a puzzled look at Chu Guang, "Since the chips need to be taken to Giant Stone City for trading, why not make a direct transfer? Why must it be in cash?"

Chu Guang chuckled, saying casually,

"Because this money isn't for buying things, it's bait for fishing. In this game, we can only ensure our own credit, it's hard to say for others, so I need some off-the-record cash to fulfill our promises."

Chu Guang looked at the briefcases on the table.

Following his instructions, List had Sid pay a "deposit" of 20 million chips in advance, which was a cash transaction, and then had someone deliver the chips to the Alliance.

No one dared to ask what Sid needed the money for, and twenty million was caught in a not-too-big, not-too-small amount, so Giant Stone City Bank would not detect anything suspicious in advance.

Half of this twenty million was to pay off the debt to Giant Stone City Bank, and the other half was for Melvin to see, telling him that the Alliance was ready with the principal and interest for the next year.

So don't think about leveraging the debt to force concessions from the Alliance!

Melvin was a smart man, and he would surely realize that earning too much base currency was like drinking a bellyful of foam. He would definitely use the debt to put pressure on the Alliance, either to propose unrestricted flow of chips and silver coins or to ask the Alliance to help him find a new place for the excess foam.

Whether it's allowing chips to bridge into Cr, or setting prices for the Lion Kingdom's grain and West State City's mineral resources with the chips, these were all means to achieve the goal.

But Chu Guang wouldn't let that cunning fox escape easily and even planned to use this opportunity to sink them deeper.

Melvin would never have dreamed that his major shareholder was so impatient and eager to repay the year-end principal and interest for the Alliance, stabbing himself in the process without his knowledge.

List nodded as if he understood but didn't fully grasp the concept.

"What about the rest of the money? It's not easy to procure 830 million chips in cash, that's no small sum. Giant Stone City Bank will definitely keep an eye on that money. Even if you had Sid withdraw cash first, I'm afraid it won't be easy."

Chu Guang smiled and said, "No need to bring it out. What do I need so much scrap paper for? We're going to buy some things with this money. Part will be used for the buy-back of discounted debts, part for purchasing production materials, and by then, we might also need your help."

List, interested, asked,

"What are you buying?"

Chu Guang did not reveal it to him, simply saying succinctly,

"Whatever Giant Stone City Bank's 510 million chip mid-to-long-term loan can't buy, we can purchase with this money. Our industrial and economic departments have put together a list, just agreed upon recently. I can tell you this list exists, but I won't tell you what's on it ahead of time."

Because that would be unfair to the other competitors.

List planned to sell Giant Stone City for a good price, and Chu Guang would ensure he got a fair share of the benefits he was entitled to, but only the agreed-upon part.

The future planning for the Alliance was another matter.

List got the hint from Chu Guang immediately and didn't press further. He relaxed and smiled, smoothly changing the subject from this risky topic,

"Okay then, just tell me when you need me... But speaking of which, you all are incredibly efficient – reaching a consensus in just one meeting. The Inner City nobles could bicker over trivialities like who gets an extra bite for a week when they're supposed to be cautious, yet can be surprisingly swift when they need to be."

"That's their business."

Watching Lu Bei nod toward him, Chu Guang smiled and stood up from the sofa, shaking hands with List, who also got up.

"I assure you, everyone will get their share; they won't miss a single bite they deserve."

Firmly gripping that iron-strong and powerful hand, List also smiled and respectfully responded,

"It is an honor to serve you!"

...

While the high-ups in Giant Stone City were playing a game of wits with the leaders of the Alliance, the three-day celebration had entered its final stage.

After tonight, everyone's lives would return to the normal routine, back to work.

But not many people felt regret.

Instead, they were filled with anticipation for tomorrow.

Starting from tomorrow, they would only work eight hours a day. Not only would their bosses not dock their wages, but they would also receive increased pay. This was because the Alliance demanded their bosses cooperate, or else pack up and go to the neighbors.

Compared to a rapidly growing market with boundless potential, what was a little increase in labor costs?

The smart ones could all solve this bit of arithmetic.

On the other side, with Fang Chang's help, Dolly had completed her column.

However, just as she was excitedly planning to tell her boss Hal the good news, she discovered that her boss came over from Giant Stone City.

And he didn't come alone but brought a whole crowd of employees, all dusty and carrying luggage, looking like they were thrown out on the street.

At the doorstep of their house by Rhombus Lake.

After listening to Hal's explanation, Dolly's eyes widened,

"The newspaper was disbanded?!"

Hal looked guiltily at the surprised Dolly and whispered,

"...It wasn't me who wanted to disband it."

"I know... but why didn't you tell me earlier?!" Dolly said, clenching her fists in anger.

For that column, she had spent almost the entire celebration walking up and down the streets of City of Dawn, without even properly enjoying the festivities.

When she'd done everything, her worthless boss told her there was no work left?! Hal hunched his neck, speaking with an air of guilt.

"I figured since I was coming over here anyway, I'd tell you in person... By the way, is your arm better? Congratulations, it suits you."

Dolly, frustrated and upset, pressed her fingers to her temples, not diverted by his change of subject and still brooding over the closure of the newspaper.

"But... but... wasn't the newspaper invested in by the Alliance?"

Hal sighed, looking at Dolly, who was trying to make a final struggle, and said,

"Yes, but the Alliance's embassy can't possibly pressure Giant Stone City for the sake of our one newspaper. This is their internal affair; the Alliance doesn't want to make a big fuss over such a small matter... Of course, out of respect for the Alliance's face, Giant Stone City also didn't make things difficult for us, letting us take everything away. Aside from windows and doors, which we simply couldn't take, I packed everything else and brought it back, including your desk."

Dolly stared at him, stunned.

"So... what are you planning to do next?"

Hal's expression was slightly complicated as he gazed towards the setting sun in the west.

"I'm planning to take my colleagues to the Falling Leaves Province and start a new Survivor's Daily there, beginning with expanding our business from the Lion Kingdom. Of course... if you don't want to go that far, you could stay in City of Dawn. There's also a Survivor's Daily here. I've talked to the chief editor here, and they welcome us."

The Survivor's Daily of City of Dawn he had seen wasn't as interesting as the one he had run in Giant Stone City, after all, bantering with Mr. Hauser required a certain level of skill.

Most of the Alliance's educated people would find a better work unit, and since a newspaper's profitability is limited, editorial positions typically couldn't offer very high salaries, so most of their writing was in plain language, lacking a bit of humor and wit.

However, their future was still something to look forward to.

After all, the price of advertising would grow with the economic scale, and good days would eventually come to those who worked hard.

Survivor's Daily originated in Giant Stone City.

But their mission there had ended.

After discussing what was to come, Hal didn't dare stay for a meal and cautiously apologized again before leaving.

Watching Dolly return from the entryway with a despondent face, Fang Chang gently patted her shoulder, offering consolation.

"It's okay..."

"But that was the press release I had worked so hard on..." Dolly's eyes brimmed with tears, her heart filled with unspeakable grievance.

She thought there were many things about the Alliance's methods worth learning from; if they improved the working environment for the workers, making the residents of Giant Stone City wealthier, there would surely be more fresh things spontaneously flowing into Giant Stone City, and it would become richer due to everyone's eccentric ideas. Even if it couldn't return to the glorious Prosperity Epoch, it could make everyone's life a little better than tomorrow.

She didn't like the noble lords of the Inner City; having been an intelligence peddler, she knew better than anyone how ugly and dirty those people were.

But if she could make life better for the people of Giant Stone City, she was willing to set aside her petty hatred and publish the good things she saw in the Alliance in the newspaper, even if some were just one-sided or even naive thoughts.

Some imagined, some perfected, some tried; three people could always do more than one, and no one could come up with a perfect solution right from the start.

However, what she never expected was that just as she was planning to do these things, Survivor's Daily was forced to close.

More cruel than ridicule and mockery was the thorough indifference.

"Do you find it ironic?" Fang Chang coughed lightly, unable to resist making a jab, "The big bad Gray Wolf is treated as an honored guest, while the clever inspector misses loses her beloved job—ouch, are you a cat?!"

Before he'd finished speaking, Dolly had lunged and bitten him.

"You're still making fun of me!"

Seeing the tears welling up in her eyes, Fang Chang suddenly felt a twinge of heartache, even though players don't have such a thing as the sensation of pain.

He reached out, gently embraced her, and stroked her head.

"Sorry."

"You haven't done anything wrong; you don't need to apologize!"

Tears welled in her eyes as Dolly forcefully inhaled through her nose, her low and hoarse voice tugging at the heartstrings, "You knew this would happen... didn't you?"

Fang Chang sighed softly.

"If I said I didn't see it coming, that would certainly be a lie, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly."

Dolly looked at him with a heartbreakingly plaintive gaze.

"But why! Why did they have to..."

"The reason behind it may not be as complicated as you think. It might just be that one day a noble, on a whim, picked up a copy from a civilian's newspaper stand. They don't usually care much for that stuff, just as they typically wouldn't try beer watered down with water, but having tasted it, they'd frown... So it's not your fault, there's no need to grieve for people not worth it."

Not wanting Dolly to be too upset, Fang Chang continued to comfort her.

"Besides, even setting aside the newspaper, wandering the bustling streets of City of Dawn with you, peeking around and inquiring about the 'secret formula' for the Alliance's rise, was quite joyful for me."

This simple pleasure was, ironically, not so easy to come by in the age of information.

In reality, wanting to find out something was almost too easy – just a few taps on a keyboard or a couple of phone calls could do the trick.

"...But our efforts are meaningless now," Dolly hung her head, "My column... won't be published."

"How could that be? Haven't I always said that lying beside you on the grass counting stars is filled with meaning? Furthermore, everything we've done these past days, whether it has meaning or not, shouldn't be decided by those who haven't done it."

Looking into those bewildered, innocent eyes, Fang Chang squeezed her small hand.

"How about submitting an article to the Survivor's Daily of the Alliance?"

"What they don't care about, we do, and what they care about, we don't find so important. I'm sure the editor-in-chief of the Survivor's Daily will be moved by your meticulous investigation. We need your eyes to spot the 'Nagos' hidden among us and other hazards we've yet to notice."

The confusion in her eyes slowly began to sparkle with renewed light.

Pleased to see her regain her spirit, Fang Chang smiled softly, making a light-hearted joke in a gentle voice.

"...It would be such a waste to give up now."

"I'm still looking forward to the day when kind and gentle Miss Dolly can earn enough to support me."

...

After coming out of List's home, Chu Guang instructed Lu Bei to take the gambling chips to the Ministry of Finance, while he himself went to Rhombus Lake North Street, where the players gathered, intending to see what new work his little players had come up with.

As he passed by the player-constructed community, he happened to run into Hal, who had just left Fang Chang's home.

Before he could think of an explanation and intending to avoid Chu Guang, Hal saw that he had already been spotted and had no choice but to steel himself to greet him. Before Chu Guang could ask, Hal explained everything from start to finish.

With his head down, not daring to meet the Manager's eyes, Hal quietly apologized.

"I'm sorry... I've let you down and screwed up the newspaper."

Seeing his trepidation, Chu Guang, who happened to be in good spirits, smiled and said.

"Did I ever tell you what my expectations were?"

Hal was slightly taken aback, confusion dawning in his eyes.

He couldn't recall and scratched his head.

"What were they?"

"Nothing at all. I simply asked you to do it. I never specified how it had to be done. But now it seems that this investment has yielded some unexpected returns, and your choices and decisions have made it more than worthwhile."

Chu Guang chuckled, looking at the perplexed young man.

"Starting a newspaper in the Falling Leaves Province is a good idea. Do whatever you feel like doing, and, when you go back, remember to send my regards to your father. By the way, have you had anything to eat?"

Hal snapped back to reality as his stomach growled. His face turned red as he shook his head in denial.

"No...."

"Well, perfect. Let's do it together."

Hal was stunned upon hearing this, and then he hurriedly waved his hands and declined, flattered and surprised.

"How could I impose..."

Chu Guang laughed, clapped him on the shoulder, and made a joke.

"What's there to impose about? Wasn't the first meal you had in Clear Spring City on me? You didn't seem too embarrassed then."

Hal coughed dryly.

"That was different... I was hungry."

And back then, it couldn't compare with the present!

The Alliance had already grown into a towering tree, and even his royal father had to treat the Manager of the Alliance with the utmost respect.

Let alone him.

"Consider it a farewell feast before you leave! Once you're in the desert, remember to tell the people there what I actually look like, instead of imagining me from some painting." Watching Hal still feeling awkward, Chu Guang cheerfully urged, "Let's go, drink up, no dilly-dallying!"

Declining again would seem disrespectful.

Hal, caught between laughter and tears, nodded and let himself be dragged by Chu Guang to a barbecue stand.

Many of the refugees were here.

Their surprise at the Manager's arrival wasn't much; most people kept busy with their own things, and only a few idle revelers came up to "pay their respects."

However, Hal could tell that the titles they concocted with slick and sycophantic words were not because they saw the dignitary as an untouchable figure, nor was there any sarcastic mocking in their tones. They merely hoped to draw his attention through this performative art.

But what good would that do them?

Deep down, they knew, didn't they, that the Manager wouldn't show them favoritism just because they "buttered him up"?

Hal didn't know what they were up to and simply observed these refugees with curiosity. Everything here was fresh and new to him, who had always stayed in Giant Stone City.

As night fell, the noise grew louder, and even melodious music began to play.

The people here seemed to be celebrating the last night of the festivities.

They mixed Crack Claw Crab meat with flour, sprinkled spices to make patties, and put tables together, sharing victorious wine and stories of adventures.

It seemed they never tired.

They didn't give the Wasteland a second thought.

The oily fragrance was even more intoxicating than the foam on beer, and what captured one's gaze more was the rising bonfire and the dancers twirling before it.

And the Manager who brought him here had long since disappeared to who knows where.

Hal, who had carelessly drunk too much, gazed blurrily at the increasingly hazy world in front of him and hummed a ditty he made up on the spot—

"Bright lights and festive decor, the Hyena joins the fun, greedily jumps into the fryer, some cry, and some laugh."

Wait and see.

Those arrogant folks.

Thinking that once he went to the desert, he would miss seeing those noblemen's mournful expressions, Hal suddenly felt a bit reluctant to leave…

---

(Too many updates, the keyboard is breaking ರ_ರ)

Chapter 531 Beta 0.5 Version Update!

The celebration was winding down.

Har, who had drunk too much, was snoring loudly as he lay sprawled on the table, while at the same time, over in another world, the "Wasteland OL" official website was just starting to buzz as players gradually logged off.

Night Ten, "Damn, Fang Chang is out there throwing dog food again!"

Fang Chang, "I haven't even left the house."

Escaping Mole from the Canyon, "So the question is, what has this guy been up to, staying at home all day? (funny)"

Elena, "Sounds like a story! (funny)"

Gnome King Riches, "Mole!!! Please take care of the comic.(funny)"

Fang Chang, "(rolls eyes)"

Crow, "You guys, you're too dirty, they are actually quite a sweet couple."

Tail, "Speaking of which, I've discovered there are quite a few hidden couples among the NPCs! ψ(｀∇´)ψ"

Quit smoking, "Who?"

Tail, "Frost and Solar Eclipse!"

Quit smoking, "Hahaha, that brainless and unhappy couple?"

Si Si, "Pfft, that's a little harsh on them."

Sesame Paste, "But androids don't have genders, right?"

Tail, "!!! That makes it even more exciting."

Si Si, "?"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun, "???"

Crow, "Now I'm really curious why you are so concerned about the Manager these past three days. 0.0"

Little Bullshitter, "Why are you so interested in the Manager, Crow? (smirk)"

Tail, "Really, that's weird. (✪ω✪)"

Night Ten, "Back off, Crow Boss! Humans and NPCs have no future! (funny)"

Wild Wind, "Fang Chang, 'Thanks, I feel offended.' (side eye)"

Crow, "What the heck?! I'm just curious, and you guys are swiping for affection too! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"

Makabazi, "She's panicking hahaha, she's panicking!"

Crow, "(ಠ_ಠ)"

Teng Teng, "But speaking of which, we indeed haven't seen much of him."

Escaping Mole from the Canyon, "Probably doing the same as Brother Fang Chang, working behind closed doors. (smirk)"

Fang Chang, "Cough, seems like Long Moon Group needs to expand into the gaming business."

Escaping Mole from the Canyon, "Big brother, I was wrong! (terrified)"

Giggle, "I think I saw him drinking with Har, and Har wrote a poem then, but it got lost in translation because he was so drunk."

Feng Qing, "But then he disappeared again."

Gui Gui, "I saw him! He was at a barbecue stand, with Boss Xia!"

Outlaw Maniac, "And Little Fish!"

Elena, "Feels like a family of three. (funny)"

Gnome King Riches, "Bwahaha."

Real Mosquito, "Crow Boss, don't be sad, they've already got kids. (smirk)"

Crow, "(*・ω・)✄╰ひ╯"

Elena, "Shivering. (funny)"

Official Website Announcement: [Beta0.5 Version Update Notice]

Star River Not Entering Dreams, "?"

Pick up trash 99 level, "??"

Quit smoking, "Holy shit!"

...

[Beta 0.5 Version Update!]

[Update Details:

1. Player Public Affairs: Due to the responsible performance of the Celebration Autonomy Committee during the celebration, the Alliance's Manager has decided to mobilize the residents of Shelter No. 404 to participate more in public affairs with the Alliance and localities! Although we don't have the high-tech of other refuges, we have the determination to end chaos and barbarism, and a supreme belief in society!

Players currently holding a VM as well as certain special NPCs can initiate 'proposals' provided they do not violate the 'Player's Manual', 'Fundamental Laws', and other relevant terms, and after gaining more than 10% support, it moves to the 'bill' stage for voting by all VM holding players, and after passing, it is submitted to the Alliance's relevant departments for public deliberation at the monthly meeting, finally taking effect with the Manager's signature.

As the number of people in the Alliance grows and the Manager's energy is limited, the server environment of "Wasteland OL" will be maintained collectively by everyone. A good copy is copied by everyone, and it doesn't matter if it is copied wrong, we all correct it together!

2. New Transport "Inflatable Airship": Direct flights from City of Dawn to Pioneer City have now been launched! There is currently only one flight per month, transported by civil airships! As there are only save points, not respawn points, in the Great Desert, please cherish your life!

3. Floor B6 Biological Laboratory is now fully operational. If you find any interesting specimens in the wasteland, be sure to contact NPC Heya!

4. Alliance Museum, Alliance Zoo officially open! Players can apply for museum exhibits space and the Variant Gardens area for their special commemorative collections or strange species found in the wasteland! (Some animals that are difficult to breed can be replaced by photos, e.g., Sand Worms.)

Curators and Zookeepers are being recruited; players can select their preferred curator and zookeeper through the VM voting system or the NPC common city hall mailbox! Not just NPCs, players can also sign up! (Note: Carefully consider before signing up, if you slack off or get too many complaints, you could be booted out by the Manager.)

5. Closed beta player account cap raised from 12,000 to 30,000! Daily closed beta access increased to 40-50.

6. Fixed a few bugs.

7. …

]

Heaven's Beta0.5 finally arrived belatedly.

While there was no mention of new expansion packs, the series of information in the announcement was still enough to catch the eye.

Especially the fifth item!

The beta testers' numbers increased from just over ten thousand to thirty thousand!

The average number of beta testing qualifications issued daily had doubled!

Following the ceasefire agreement's effectiveness and the end of the "Yellow Sand Miles" expansion pack, the issuance speed of the beta testing qualifications for "Wasteland OL" had noticeably slowed down, with the number of daily issuances even dropping to single digits!

Now, with a new batch of helmets suddenly arriving, it was undoubtedly a long-awaited rain after a drought for those forum users who had been squatting till their legs were numb.

The youth's reckless remark: "Ah Guang, you are my dad!! You understand, right?"

A netizen from the north: "Brothers, where are these helmets made? I'm up for free work, just pay me with a helmet!"

A cheerful netizen: "I offer a hundred million to buy a helmet!!! T.T"

Dinosaur Warrior: "I'm a student, could any kind soul please give me a free helmet, postage included. T.T"

Grandpa Ao: "Trash game! Not even a dog would play! Spit! Damn!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Pfft, if you're so capable, take down the reservation tag before you talk! (Rolls eyes)"

Despite the huge reservation base, the probability of winning a helmet was still like winning a lottery ticket, but it still brought a glimmer of hope to tens of millions of eagerly anticipating players.

A one in a thousand chance was still better than the one in ten thousand chance from before.

As for why the increase in beta testing qualifications for "Wasteland OL" had occurred all of a sudden, the official forum was abuzz with various theories.

Some analyzed from a realistic perspective, stating it was due to the maturity of the industry, an increase in helmet production, and server capacity.

In other words, the open beta was not far off!

Others analyzed from the "supply and demand" perspective, suggesting that it was the game officials laying the groundwork for the release of the next expansion pack.

After all, with the Alliance's territory expanded so much, and the players' activity area increased exponentially, it was necessary to ensure that players were present in each "big zone".

Otherwise, wasn't creating the map a waste?

Besides these rational analyses, there were also wild speculations.

Like Grandpa Ao and his followers unanimously believed that the planners were just hard scamming because there were not enough "suckers" to be harvested yet, claiming all on the forum, aside from myself, were just fakes!

A few others ventured into conspiracy theories about human experiments, speculating that this was an attempt to overturn the global economy!

Still, a very few others didn't join in the discussions, assuming it was a positive sign from an extraterrestrial civilization releasing goodwill, thus they silently increased their holdings of silver coins and discreetly got what they needed from the auction, quietly making a fortune.

Spending a few or even tens of billions could buy a groundbreaking key technology, creating a market worth tens or hundreds of billions; such good deals were indeed rare.

If only the scale of experiments from extraterrestrial civilizations were not so small, they would have bought even more!

It was proven that any individual or organization's perspective had certain limitations, and people could only make predictions based on the intelligence they gathered, which inevitably carried subjective biases.

In truth, there weren't so many "reasons"; Chu Guang himself was quite baffled as his long-desired gene sequence suddenly became available.

[Hidden Mission Completed:]

[Description: The lair located on Floor B6 was completely devoured by an abnormal life form's mother entity, triggering the "flag6.2" judgment, "Floor B6 Biological Experiment Accident" event concluded.]

[Note: This might be an unforeseen result.]

[Mission Reward: 18,000 gene sequences.]

B4 floor's viewing room.

Watching the light blue popup window that appeared before him, Chu Guang, who had just returned from the celebration, sat on the sofa with a peculiar expression.

He remembered that just three days ago, when he had just come back from the front line, he had complained in a room at the end of B4 about running out of beta testing qualifications.

Unexpectedly, in less than seventy-two hours, the issue he had complained about at the shelter had been perfectly resolved.

And so many at once, no less!

Eighteen thousand helmets, just maintaining the speed of issuing beta testing qualifications between 40 and 50, that would be enough for a whole year!

Perhaps...

Should he go there and make a wish again?

However, this thought lingered in Chu Guang's mind for less than a second before he dismissed it.

Based on his previous speculation, the manager's work log, the speed of the gene sequence distribution, and various triggering conditions should have been predetermined.

Even if he offered incense to the First Generation Manager, it probably wouldn't be of any use.

What Chu Guang was more concerned about was the "flag6.2" that appeared in the explanation section. If he remembered correctly, when he initially unlocked Floor B6, the triggered judgment was "flag6".

That implied, besides the possibility judgment he had triggered, there were actually "flag6.1" and possibly 6.3, 6.4...6.x, a series of other options?

"Does that correspond to another possibility...?" Watching the text in the pale blue screen, Chu Guang fell into contemplation.

Although he was curious about what results the other options might correspond to, the mission description indicated that this event had concluded.

Unfortunately, he lacked the ability to save and load game states, and the outcomes of another pathway could only be seen by another him in a parallel world.

Yet, he believed the path he was on was promising.

This was a choice made together with the players, and he believed that even if the road were fraught with hardships, Falling Feather, Xiaoyu, and he himself would have no regrets.

After all, it was their own choice.

With a light flick of his index finger in the air, he turned off the pale blue holographic window. Just as Chu Guang was about to head back to his room to rest, Heya's communication request suddenly came through.

"Xiaoyu has new developments—"

"It's fully awake?"

"You knew already? I almost forgot you could watch the surveillance. Yes, it's awake, and it seems like it has something it wants to say to you," said Heya with an excited face on the screen.

Chu Guang nodded.

"I'll come right away."

After ending the communication, Chu Guang immediately headed to Floor B6, reaching the biological laboratory, with Heya already waiting for him at the entrance to the buffer chamber.

"Come quickly."

Upon seeing Chu Guang, she waved her hand and then excitedly headed toward the direction of the machine room.

Chu Guang followed her for a while, and soon saw Xiaoyu, now fully awake.

It sat like a queen ascending the throne, positioned at the center of the room, its vast, pale-red mycelium skirt spreading out like an ocean, its abstract facial features becoming increasingly humanlike.

Ten slightly juvenile humanoid sub-entities stood quietly in front of it, their lower bodies connected to the pale-red skirt, just like its children.

In some sense, it had indeed absorbed part of human culture and the intellectual aspects of humanity.

For instance, its current queen-like appearance was a manifestation based on its own cognition and the aesthetic established afterward. Even its originally fierce and slightly frightening tentacles had evolved into a relatively round and cute version.

For instance, when it learned from researchers in the lab that the "iron clumps" in the computer room were crucial to the lab, it didn't occupy them rudely like an animal would; instead, it courteously vacated the servers.

Appreciating the humans who helped it implant headphones into its sub-entities, as well as installing microphones in its room, it was very happy and learned quickly.

Chu Guang could feel that when he stood at the door looking at it, its emotions showed significant fluctuations.

In the long, dolphin-like calls of "Yi Wu," there was a clear sense of joy and affection.

"It seems to see you as a sort of father or mother," Heya joked, "Should I congratulate you?"

Chu Guang rolled his eyes at her, walked into the computer room alone, and stood next to the escalator with a smile, shouting,

"How does it feel?"

His booming voice echoed through the room, blending into the light red sea.

Chu Guang thought it would respond with a "Yi Wu," but unexpectedly, it had learned to speak, stammering,

"...I feel good, thank you."

It was using Chinese.

Because Falling Feather had always communicated with it using the players' language, it naturally learned that language.

After a while, Chu Guang would have researchers teach it the common language of the United Human, which would make it easier for it to communicate with more people without translation tools.

"You can talk now?"

Xiaoyu spoke in a raspy yet serene voice, clearly and slowly.

"I have learned, but language is not efficient. However, for communication, I am willing to learn."

Chu Guang tried to understand its point from a linguistic perspective.

In terms of language, the smaller the uncertainty, the smaller the entropy, and the less information carried. Simply put, a language with smaller entropy needs more characters or syllables to describe the same thing. The advantage is accuracy; the downside is redundancy. On the other hand, a language with higher entropy can describe with fewer characters and syllables. The advantage is conciseness; the downside is inaccuracy.

Humans use language for more accurate and convenient communication. However, for a "Hive creature" like Xiaoyu, information is often a unidirectional transmission from the lair to the sub-entities, making language an inefficient means of communication. A Yi Wu of different frequencies could replace a thousand words, letting the sub-entities know what to do next.

Of course, this was merely Chu Guang's speculation, and a three-second guess was likely one-sided.

"I'm glad you think so," Chu Guang said kindly with a smile, "Your language is too abstract, too difficult for most of us."

Xiaoyu took some time to think.

Perhaps it was a benefit of evolution.

Chu Guang could distinctly sense that Xiaoyu, after metamorphosing into a lair, had a new spark of wisdom in its eyes.

Although slight.

"Respected... mother of humanity, I can sense their trust in you, so you are their mother, and they are your sub-entities... can I understand it that way?"

After listening to Xiaoyu's long-formulated words, Chu Guang shook his head.

"Not at all; I wouldn't recommend thinking that way."

"Then what are they?"

"They are simply individuals who trust me, unique beings with their thoughts and logical actions."

"How should I converse with you then?" Xiaoyu's voice carried a hint of confusion and bewilderment.

Chu Guang could understand its unease and confusion, a similar situation had occurred when the Alliance diplomats first arrived at Ideal City.

The Supreme Council actually had no Manager.

So, words that should have been said to one person had to be conveyed in a different way, to a group of people.

Fortunately, Si Si's adaptability was quite good, and the corporate council had also been in contact with the survivor forces of the Wasteland before, allowing for smooth communication between the two sides.

Little Fish was puzzled because humans did not possess a single-minded hive like the bees.

"Do you trust me?" Chu Guang asked as he looked at it.

"Of course, and without any doubt," Little Fish replied, its voice strong with emotion, the fungal mat undulating like ocean waves, "You... were the first person I saw when I awoke, and you generously offered me the chance to grow while I was still immature, like a kind father and mother."

As it spoke, Little Fish's voice suddenly deepened.

"But, I occasionally worry... whether it's you or Falling Feather, you may not be able to stay with me for too long, and some memories might become things that only I remember one day in the future."

"Don't worry about those things, let the future handle the future; we only discuss the present," Chu Guang continued as he looked at Little Fish sitting in the center of the machine room, "All I need to know is that you trust me, and that's enough."

"Is that... really enough?"

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded, "You and the others among us already share at least one common understanding. Since all of you trust me, the issues you're concerned about aren't really issues; you can communicate directly with me... Just use the microphone we've prepared for you and call my name."

Little Fish's emotions stabilized a bit, and it spoke with slightly lowered eyes.

"Thank you..."

Chu Guang smiled, speaking in a gentle tone.

"You're welcome. We are already on a path we never envisioned, and communication is the best way to resolve differences."

"Tell me whenever you have any confusion in the future!"

…

The day after the celebration ended, everything in the Southern River Province seemed to return to its normal course.

Except for a few envoys from various survivor settlements who lingered in the prosperity and glory of Dawn City and the Alliance and were reluctant to leave, most envoys took the Alliance's return gifts back to their homelands on the last day of the festivities.

The Alliance's return gifts to other forces included a set of 12 "Champion" brand injections and a set of 12 inducer expression serums. The former boosted "all attributes by 4% to 20% for a certain period," and the latter had a nearly 45% chance of awakening if all four doses were administered.

Both items were products from the Black Box, not considered rare for the Alliance, but for most small and medium-sized survivor forces, they were gifts impeccable in both value and significance.

Of course, for significant allies and forces that had provided overly valuable gifts, Chu Guang also gave away a juvenile Deathclaw.

As an envoy of Bugra Free State and a salesperson for the Firestone Group, Xavier took the Alliance's return gifts back at the earliest opportunity.

Although there had been considerable friction between the two sides over issues such as the Chew-bone Tribe, tariffs, and weapons trade, the situation had not deteriorated to a fight to the death.

After reporting to the chairman of the Firestone Group about the celebration and banquet, Xavier cautiously expressed his opinion.

"… The Alliance's Manager is quite ambitious; I can clearly feel that he will not be satisfied with ruling just that small part of Southern River Province. Just from a few words of conversation, it's hard to judge his capabilities, but his words genuinely have the power to enchant, which was completely different from when I first met him in West State City!"

"Additionally, I've observed other envoys, even those from remote areas serving feudal lords, inevitably drawn to his proclaimed ideology of equality and unity, and even some planning to change their names to join the Alliance forces."

Lounging with his legs on his office desk, the dapper Sigma played absently with a glass in his hands and casually replied.

"There's nothing strange about that; it'd be surprising if he only wanted to settle for that small area in Southern River Province… hasn't Pioneer City already extended its reach into the Great Desert?"

"… The higher-ups of the Free State consider that might just be a ruse to distract the Army's attention," Xavier said in a low voice.

"The thoughts of the animals in the pigpen don't matter."

Hearing his boss's careless mockery, Xavier chuckled bitterly, comforting himself that at least he was just a messenger from the Free State, not one of the higher-ups; the words were not directed at him.

However, his boss's statement wasn't really incorrect.

He himself occasionally felt that every time the Grand Canyon intervened in the affairs of the Free State, it made those already not-so-bright leaders become even more foolish.

The prestige of the Firestone Group and their dominion over the Free State would then become even more pronounced than before due to the shuffle by the Grand Canyon.

Xavier cleared his throat and continued.

"There's one more thing, their manager particularly snubbed the representative from Giant Stone City at the banquet, and from my subsequent observations, I have a very strong premonition."

"Giant Stone City is probably doomed."

It sounded like a tall tale.

After all, Giant Stone City was once the overlord of the southern part of River Valley Province, one of the inheritors of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee's legacy.

That's why Xavier hesitated a bit when he voiced his judgment.

But to his surprise, President Sigma, sitting behind the desk, simply hummed indifferently.

"It was expected."

Xavier was slightly stunned.

He didn't doubt his boss's judgment.

After all, he was merely a messenger from the Free State, a corporate salesman; surely, there was information he was not privy to.

After a moment of silence, Xavier said uncertainly,

"But I still have a question… The Alliance claims they do not interfere externally, but they are about to move against Giant Stone City, which invested in them. Isn't that too hasty?"

"Non-interference? Ha, that doesn't mean they are running a charity. Naive Blue Jackets are nearly extinct nowadays; they just changed their approach a bit."

Sigma mocked dryly, and continued,

"Take Luo Xia Province for instance, even if the Gnome King Riches Academy controls Falcon, the Legion still has control there. Who would suspect that the Alliance isn't the master of that place?"

There was talk that Gnome King Riches had built a statue for the manager out of the dinar-melted gold. Even if gold isn't valuable in Wasteland, their action was quite meaningful.

At the ceremony, the Academy wouldn't say a word.

As soon as the fight was over, who in Luo Xia Province wouldn't flirt with the Alliance? To increase their silver coin reserves, each kingdom slashed the price of grain!

"The Alliance doesn't tighten their grip over the riverbanks; they only maintain indirect control because it maximizes their benefits better than aggressive plundering."

"In contrast, the Legion isn't very smart," Xavier heard him say. "They brutishly occupied Honey Badger Kingdom and even went through the trouble of fabricating the 'Spirit of the Sand Sea Prophecy of Desert Unity' as an excuse. What's the result? Even their own allies don't buy that nonsense. Honey Badger Kingdom has never been more united, guerilla fighting the Legion in the mountains, sniping them in the cities, burning their own crops. The Legion's blitz lasted seven days, and the Alliance took only three days to snatch it back."

If the Alliance chose to occupy Luo Xia Province, even if they raised a flag of equality and had the king abdicate, there would endlessly be those resisting them.

No matter how unlikable the royal family was, it was still blessed by the Spirit of the Sand Sea.

Thus, in Sigma's view, the Alliance did a smart thing by leveraging some of the Academy's experiences.

"In handling regional affairs, the Academy is much smarter than the Legion. They provide patents and technology, while Wasteland Wanderers produce for them. Even if they keep the lion's share, the Wanderers can't complain. Those Weilante people, on the other hand, conquered vast territories but turned themselves into vulnerable giants. Just diverting their attention briefly would make the slaves start slacking off or even rebelling."

"So, the business assessment of the Legion is quite justified. Aside from playing self-entertaining coloring games on the map, they haven't solved any of the existing issues in Wasteland."

However, although he gave the Academy high praise, Sigma didn't like the Academy because those people couldn't conduct business at all. His Firestone Group's branches found it nearly impossible to penetrate the marshlands, and that was in the literal sense.

In contrast, it was much easier to deal with the Army; as long as one could afford the Dinar, even the trade of mutants could be overlooked.

Even if the Marshal wouldn't do it, the officers below him would.

Thus, Sigma looked down on the top echelons of the Free State for their various analytical reports on the Alliance. In his view, only fools who understood nothing would use the simple diode thinking of good and evil to define a collective's will. How could an organization possibly entrust its future to something as insipid as good and evil?

Even businesses, a century and a half ago, did the same dirty work that couldn't be cleaned up, and their mode of "apology" was merely to pursue the mutants of the Province of Yúnjiān along the coastline.

"I don't understand, can't the lord of Giant Stone City see what the Alliance is doing?" Xavier furrowed his brows, looking perplexedly at his boss.

Leaning back in his chair, Sigma lazily said,

"You're right not to understand, because you simply don't know what those lords are truly like… If you ask me, the Enlightenment Society got one thing right. The Post-War Reconstruction Committee is the evilest, most rubbish organization in the Wasteland. They think they've built settlements and preserved the seeds of civilization, but up close, those places are nothing but pigsties that turn people into pigs."

A prime example was Bugra Free State.

That old geezer, unwilling to concede the failure of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, still hypocritically honored the pledge not to interfere in Wasteland affairs. Thus, he created another "new pigsty" right on his doorstep and called it Bugra Free State.

Naively, they hoped their "advices" would allow this free pigsty to develop equitably and eventually replace the departed Production Department, Defense Department, and Technology Department.

Isn't that a joke?

Fortunately, the survivors of the Free State had their own ideas, and most were not content to be pigs in a pen, constantly revised under the nitpicking of a group of hard-of-hearing stubborn old men.

Through generations of effort, they added another rule on top of the rules prescribed by the Grand Canyon—

Namely, to use "Firestone Group" to override the "Free State"!

The latter acted as a puppet ruling by day to appease the Secret Country, while the former reigned as the underground world's uncrowned king by night!

To achieve their goals, they would occasionally resort to blackmail, extortion, bribery, kidnapping, and other means, forcing the officials of the Free State to become one of their own.

In this way, no matter how many times the Grand Canyon tried to interfere, the Free State remained a tremendously free sanctuary.

Sigma's face bore an undisguised cold sneer.

He was precise about his own positioning.

He was a traveling merchant, a businessman, he viewed businesses as "idols," but he wouldn't act like those sanctimonious folks on the East Coast.

He only played himself—a petty person motivated solely by profit.

After all, they put on "legal" vests just so they could do whatever they wanted under the guise of overt rules. If they still had to obey the constraints imposed by others, wouldn't that betray the painstaking and lonely efforts of countless generations of presidents of the Firestone Group?

This was the Wasteland!

Lowering his legs from the table, he looked at Xavier—his long-time close aide responsible for Southern affairs.

"Keep a tight watch on the nails we've buried around Giant Stone City."

"Since the Alliance wants to slaughter this pig for the New Year in advance, let's help them speed it up—but we'll take our cut too!"

Xavier nodded seriously.

"Yes!"

...

(This chapter has refined the setting of the Bugra Free State, which players familiar with the Stars should recognize—although not exactly alike. It fills in the gaps from 150 years ago based on historical documents investigated by players in the Grand Canyon. Incidentally, the name Bugra doesn't have any real-world connection with Prague; it's merely a transliteration of burglars. Also, another side note, the views of the characters in the book represent only their personal positions, like Yin Fang, who looks down on corporate people but actually doesn't shun Batch from the corporations and is even willing to help him. This isn't a contradiction in my settings, but simply different personalities and stances of each character.)

Chapter 532 Debt is a Knife

"How is that possible?!"

City of Dawn, Alliance Internal Affairs Building, conference room.

Melvin, the bank president, sat at the conference table while gazing at the box full of black and white chips, his eyes almost bulging out.

Right after the celebration had concluded, he had eagerly sought out the Alliance's manager to discuss the millions in chips representing principal and interest on a 510 million debt.

As the president of Giant Stone City Bank, every loan from the Alliance passed through him. He had his shrewdest accountant keep close watch over each and every one of the Alliance's expenses, even scrutinizing people like List and Detwei, who were closely associated with the Alliance. No one knew the Alliance's "financial situation" better than he did.

There was no way they could come up with ten million chips for the year-end payment of principal and interest!

How could an organization that relied on borrowing money have a cash surplus? Not to mention a significant trade deficit and the rural folks of North Suburb had been operating at a loss for a whole year!

In fact, it was like a run-down house riddled with holes from debt and deficit, they had spent too much of their future in their efforts to win the war against the Army. Melvin was confident because he had clearly understood this fact.

For now, deleveraging seemed the only way out for the Alliance. If they couldn't reduce their debt to a manageable level, bankruptcy awaited them!

Melvin did not think these muscle-headed fellows understood much about economics, but he wouldn't just see the building they had struggled so hard to erect crumble down.

He would help the Alliance pay back the money.

But there was a condition; the Alliance must agree to his conditions.

Such as opening up the free conversion between silver coins and chips, which could squeeze some of the domestic currency's bubble into foreign currencies.

And it would be even better if they could open up conversion to Cr!

If Chu Guang agreed to let chips transfer from silver coins to Cr to settle the debts, Melvin was even willing to waive half of the Alliance's debt!

After all, those hardworking folks were also doing it for themselves in the end, with the ultimate goal of letting these noble lords enjoy the better things in life.

Visiting Ideal City was undeniably the ultimate indulgence!

However, what he absolutely didn't expect was that the Alliance had paid back the loan that was supposed to be impossible to repay in full!

Even the principal and interest due next year had been prepared...

"Would you like to count them?" Looking at the dumbfounded Melvin, Chu Guang asked with a slight smile, "I heard that the chips are produced by things like the black box, so there should be no possibility of counterfeiting, right?"

"Cough... such matters, I of course believe you would absolutely not do," Melvin couldn't help but look at Chu Guang, "I want to know how these chips came about."

Seeing the suspicious look on Melvin's face, Chu Guang smiled and frankly said.

"That's a reasonable request. If someone in the Alliance suddenly came up with a large sum of cash, we would ask them to explain where the money came from as well."

Melvin nodded.

"Could you tell me?"

Chu Guang did not conceal it, simply and straightforwardly.

"Your shareholder lent it to me."

Hearing this brazen response, Melvin's eyes went wide, and he no longer cared about keeping up appearances, angrily said,

"How can you pay off old debts with new debts?"

Chu Guang replied with a smile.

"Our loan agreement only says we can't use debts issued by Giant Stone City Bank to repay the loans of Giant Stone City Bank; it doesn't say we can't raise money through other channels to repay existing loans, does it?"

"But that doesn't solve the problem at all!" Melvin said furiously, "Do you realize what you're doing? Your debt is just growing bigger and bigger, and eventually, it will crush you, not just our money, everyone's money will go down the drain!"

He finally started to realize the severity of the risk.

What infuriated him wasn't just that the Alliance irresponsibly increased their own risk, but that there was a better solution available here!

However, this man before him had unilaterally chosen the worst possible one!

"We had no choice," Chu Guang said in a soothing tone, looking at the infuriated Melvin, "Your consumption capacity is too weak; we also wanted to sell some quality goods there, but your residents simply can't afford them. And just selling low-added value basic resources to your factories certainly can't fill the trade deficit... anyone with a bit of common sense knows that sand can't possibly be more expensive than cement! And almost ninety percent of the cement you produced was sold to us; how could we possibly cover the deficit just by selling sand?"

Melvin, exasperated, said,

"But you can't use this solution! Paying off old debt with new debt, what kind of solution is that? This is the most irresponsible method!"

The reason he had lent the money to the Alliance was because he had believed they could repay it, but now the actions of the Alliance had made him start to doubt if they had any intention of repaying at all!

"But we have complied with every part of our agreement," Chu Guang reminded him with a calm smile, "You wanted us to import more of your goods originally, to reduce our trade deficit with you, and we did exactly as you asked."

Moreover, they did it so thoroughly.

The Alliance, having secured a two hundred million chip loan, not only obediently turned its trade surplus into a deficit but even shot itself in the foot by increasing its labor costs, thus enhancing the competitiveness of Giant Stone City's cheap consumer goods in the Alliance's market.

Melvin stared at Chu Guang with a gloomy gaze.

He genuinely couldn't accuse the Alliance of being untrustworthy, as they had even laid out the principal and interest to be repaid next year right before him. Thus, the harshest phrase he ever used from beginning to end was merely "irresponsible."

Undoubtedly, this was immoral.

Even ten thousand reasons could not change one fact, that the Alliance was continuously offloading the inflation caused by their over-issuance of base currency.

"What about the year after next? Two years later? Ten years later?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly and said.

"By then, the Alliance might already have ten or twenty Survivor Settlements. Do you think we would care about this little amount of money from you?"

Melvin's eyebrows relaxed slightly, but they were still tightly knit.

The size of the Company and its dividends are two different things. It's not that the larger the company, the more money investors get. Up to now, Chu Guang had still not yielded on the most fundamental issue—

"You're worried about the risks associated with the chips, right?" Chu Guang perceptively noticed the concern in his eyes and gently pointed it out.

"Yes," Melvin didn't hide it and straightforwardly admitted, "But I worry that if you keep playing this way, the bubble might burst right before it's cashed out. Now, I seem to have understood your trick; we're backing your debts with our own credit."

"That's an outsider's view," Chu Guang lightly coughed and continued in a gentle tone, "Well, I have a proposal that can solve your problem of 'earning too much base currency.'"

Melvin's hands involuntarily gripped the arms of the chair tightly, his gaze fixed on Chu Guang sitting opposite him.

"What proposal?"

"We plan to issue something called bonds, which you can understand as monetizing the debt to some extent."

Upon hearing about debt, Melvin stood up to leave. However, Chu Guang's next words made him sit back down just as he had lifted his bottom off the seat.

"Bonds priced and payable in chips... In fact, we have already issued them."

"Why didn't you say something—" Melvin's eyes suddenly narrowed, looking at the chips on the table and then at Chu Guang, his expression slowly transforming to realization, "So that's it, you got the principal and interest through this method."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"This is quite reasonable, isn't it? Sand cannot be more expensive than cement, but highways, railways, houses, bridges cost more than cement. You no longer need to build those things, but we just happen to need them, so you can just buy the bonds we issue with the base currency you earned."

Melvin squinted his eyes at Chu Guang.

The Alliance did indeed provide him with a solution, which was to store the excess base currency in a pool that is priced in base currency and never depreciates.

However, this still did not solve any fundamental problems.

Seeing that Melvin was unmoved, Chu Guang sighed softly in his heart, acknowledging that this guy indeed was one of the few clear-headed persons among Inner City Nobles.

Seeing that they were about to turn a corner, while everyone else couldn't wait to floor the accelerator, he realized it was time to press the brakes to check the road.

In terms of ability, whether it was Old Charlie or Minister Sun Ruicai, neither really matched him. If the Alliance pulled out a balance-sheet contraction at the departmental meeting later, then the Alliance had been losing from the start.

But this was not their fault.

People of humble origins naturally belong to the Radical Faction; they mostly support vigorous changes but are often limited by their own limitations, still resorting to old methods summarized from past experiences, hence becoming operationally conservative. Either they have some foresight and realize the old ways don't work, embarking on an unforeseen path, ultimately surprising everyone.

Fortunately, Chu Guang came from an enlightened society, with many professional and amateur players discussing in forums how to make the Alliance better.

"Limitations" don't disappear just because of a loud voice or much talk, but they can be reduced through exchange and communication.

Game strategies often emerge in just this way.

"I promise that in the future, we will gradually liberalize the exchange of chips and silver coins, and of course, the exchange of silver coins and Cr is also open to you." Seeing Melvin calculating in his mind, Chu Guang further threw out the biggest bait.

Chu Guang could feel that when he said this, Melvin momentarily held his breath, a flicker of eagerness clearly flashing across his calm eyes.

"I want more than just promises," Melvin stared intently at Chu Guang, "You say you honor credit; write it on paper."

"No problem."

Chu Guang readily nodded.

Watching his easy agreement, Melvin was taken aback, suspecting some deceit, and quickly added another condition.

"That paper must have your signature!"

"Haha, of course! It's such an important agreement, it has to be signed with my name,"

Chu Guang laughed heartily, watching the completely relaxed Melvin and continued.

"In five years, just within five years, we will fulfill all our commitments! It so happens that the bonds we issue have a minimum retirement period of five years. In these five years, you can put the bubbles into this bucket called 'bonds', and after five years take them out all at once and exchange them for silver coins, or simply switch to Cr... How does this idea sound?"

Despite trying to mask his joy, Melvin couldn't help but show his excitement.

He got up from the conference table and walked toward Chu Guang, who had also risen, and shook his hand with a relaxed brow.

"This idea is fantastic! Just show me the specific documents, and I will immediately help you issue those bonds... Thank you for considering everything so thoroughly for us!"

Although a satisfying outcome was reached, Melvin still had a reservation.

That was hinting to Chu Guang that he would agree to help issue the chip-valued bonds only after seeing that verbal promise turned into a legally binding document.

If the Alliance really intended to grow and strengthen, it would not take its own laws lightly.

Chu Guang gladly shook his hand, nodding with a smile.

"You're welcome, solving risks for you is also helping ourselves."

"What we pursue has always been a win-win!"

...

Chu Guang wasn't joking with Melvin, every word he said was true.

The Alliance did not want Giant Stone City's bubble to burst too soon.

Even if all bubbles eventually burst, it would have to be after his plans were fully completed and the impact on the Alliance was minimized!

So, Chu Guang gave Melvin sufficient attention.

That day, he drafted a proposal regarding the "free exchange of chips and silver coins" and boldly signed his name on it.

As an attached agreement, Giant Stone City Bank would serve as one of the Alliance's bond distribution channels, helping the Alliance distribute the chip-valued bonds.

Moreover, Giant Stone City Bank would ensure that the Alliance's bond trading system could be smoothly launched in Giant Stone City!

Thus, the nobles of the Inner City could not only invest more conveniently in the Alliance's chip-valued bonds but could also freely list their bonds on the trading platform for sale.

Transactions could be completed with just a flick of the fingers!

This had truly become a high-circulation financial product!

Those buying bonds didn't have to worry about a long five-year investment return cycle, just selling their bonds when they needed the money was enough.

With so many rich people in Giant Stone City, there would always be bosses with excess cash interested in a few percentage points of interest margin!

And as the agent issuing this "financial product," Giant Stone City Bank could naturally benefit enormously without having to bear any risks like List.

Melvin returned to Giant Stone City that very day with his beloved daughter and a group of bodyguards, excitedly bringing this fantastic news back home.

He had solved a problem that the Giant Stone City Bank had never resolved before—

Massively converting chips into Cr!

"Send a written letter to our shareholders! Tell them to convene for a shareholders' meeting tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, still at the usual place... not to discuss dividends, but something more important than dividends! Tell them, we are about to witness history!"

On the ruins just a few streets away from Giant Stone City, Melvin made a call to his secretary, his face flushed with excitement as he spoke.

He couldn't wait to share this great news with his shareholders!

Alyssa, holding her doll, looked at her father with a worried face, a faint worry emerging in her eyes.

She always found out a little news from the newspapers only after everything had happened.

And her father almost never talked to her about his work, so she had no idea what agreement had been reached between the Alliance and Giant Stone City.

But Alyssa still had a bad feeling...

Would it really go this smoothly?

...

Those who had similar concerns were not only the completely uninformed Alyssa but also prominent figures like Lord Vega, who ran the largest business association in Giant Stone City.

And unlike the girl's baseless worries, Vega's concerns were not unfounded, but stemmed from the accounts generated by actual business operations!

He was worried about significantly more concrete problems than the invisible figure of the manager's little daughter.

The products exported by the factories in Giant Stone City to the Alliance or the goods proactively imported by the Alliance from Giant Stone City were mostly settled with chips.

It was a requirement from Giant Stone City as well as a basic demand that best suited the interests of most people here.

After all, no one wanted to trust a currency that was issued arbitrarily and without any anchorage.

However, now Vega had discovered, somewhat between tears and laughter, that he would rather have the Alliance companies settle with silver coins and keep the silver coins in their accounts there, even though he had no direct channel to convert silver coins into chips.

The reason was nothing else but the lightning speed of the chips' inflation!

The raw materials that could be bought for 1 chip this month doubled to 2 chips the next month. Suppliers weren't too keen to deal with him when he paid in chips and even required him to pick up the goods himself from the Alliance's railway station, as the road from the Alliance to Giant Stone City was too difficult.

What was the use of the official 1:2 exchange rate?

99% of people could not exchange 2 silver coins for 1 chip!

To change money, one had to either go through the black market or buy some goods from the Alliance's market that nobody knew when could be sold and then slowly deal them away in Giant Stone City.

Vega himself had not expected that he, a person primarily in the food business, would end up stockpiling a bunch of copper ore bought with silver coins in his warehouse...

"Aaron, do you believe it? Sometimes I envy my competitors."

Three days after the Alliance festival and also the day after the Giant Stone City Bank's shareholders' meeting, Vega was sitting in his office, staring at his ledger, massaging his temple with a headache.

Aaron was his secretary and one of his few trusted confidants.

It was this guy who initially contacted the factory's security team captain Alec to surround the city hall and planned everything behind the scenes.

Hearing his boss's voice, Aaron slightly paused, then asked in a low voice,

"Are you referring to... Mr. Detwei?"

Vega sighed and nodded,

"Yes."

Didivei nutrition paste.

There was a time when Didivei nutrition paste, using cheap labor and raw materials from "North Suburb," squeezed into Vega Commerce's market in Giant Stone City, becoming a thorn in his side.

Fortunately, that blockhead Detwei was clearly not as smart as List, or maybe just a bit too rigid. If it weren't for the Alliance hyping him up beyond his station, Detwei would at most be a small-time merchant in his lifetime.

Vega knew very well that his shareholders had actually given that guy a chance, but Detwei had been ungracious, never considering getting a Black Card or setting aside some profits for bribes. So, Vega only had to use some methods to conveniently have him eliminated from Giant Stone City.

But now Vega actually envied that guy.

He heard that the Didivei Food Processing Factory had completely transformed, now processing animal feed and agricultural fertilizers, thriving in the agricultural market of Luo Xia Province.

Perhaps this was what they called industrial upgrading?

On the contrary, although the factories under his business association were also improving their production lines, the direction of improvement was completely different.

Take, for example, the Delicious Food Processing Factory.

To allow the survivors of Giant Stone City to afford the nutrition paste, he had to reduce the cost of nutrition paste. Only then could the survivors of Giant Stone City, who didn't have high wages, afford it. The better quality portion was sold to the Alliance, even though the Alliance's residents had long stopped consuming that stuff, but Frost Pike Ranch would buy some to mix in the feed for their cattle, sheep, and pigs.

Ordinary people didn't have foreign exchange quotas, but ranches involved in operational production activities did. They could use chips to settle payments as long as they declared their usage through the proper channels.

Nevertheless, the issue of inflation was far too severe, clients delaying payment by even a week meant that the payment could buy a little less material. If he could earn more next month, it may have been fine, but the rate of profit increase was already failing to keep up with inflation.

He really didn't know where all this extra money in the market was coming from?!

He urgently urged his clients to settle accounts and also had to please those clients, because exporting to the Alliance had almost become Vega Commerce's only hope of keeping profits going, and counting on the outsiders of the city to purchase his products had almost become impossible... that group of malnourished wretches were even mixing wood chips into the nutrition paste themselves!

Vega could feel an invisible hand continuously taking away his profits, but his frustration was that he simply didn't know what to do.

Blame the Alliance for spending too much money?

That was his top customer!

If the Alliance's feed processing plants and ranches stop importing his nutrition paste starting tomorrow, he'd have to shut down the entire nutrition paste production line!

Perhaps...

Next month, settle the payments in silver coins.

This was not a proper solution.

Although it could solve some of the production issues, the response on the profit line of the ledger was a string of immovable silver coins, and the thought of the official exchange rate of 1:2 would certainly make his shareholders frown.

Just as Wei Jia was overwhelmed by a pile of accounts receivable in the ledger, the phone suddenly rang.

He dared not delay, knowing exactly who could be calling him, and immediately answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

Hearing Sid's voice, Wei Jia's face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Mr. Sid, what brings you here... Do you have any instructions?"

Sid didn't beat around the bush and spoke succinctly.

"I have five billion in bonds, at a discount, 4.9 billion to let go. You buy them through the commerce's account."

Already worried about the tight cash flow, Wei Jia instantly felt a catch in his heart and blurted out.

"...Five billion chips?! Where am I supposed to find so much money?"

Realizing that his tone might have been disrespectful, Wei Jia quickly lowered his posture, leaning toward the phone and speaking with a pained expression.

"...Respected Mr. Sid, I mean no offense, but the commerce needs funds to purchase raw materials. We can certainly allocate some money to buy bonds...but we do need to keep funds for production and operations."

The crucial point was that he had already bought five billion on Sid's good graces a few days ago, and grabbing another five billion was truly impossible!

Sid was also annoyed.

He hadn't expected his good brother Melvin to suddenly stab him in the back.

He still held five billion in bonds, initially planning to offload them slowly, but the Giant Stone City Bank had also targeted the alliance bonds business.

How could he possibly make a differential profit now?

With not much difference in prices, only a fool would not go to Melvin to buy!

However, Sid couldn't complain much.

After all, he was one of the shareholders of the Giant Stone City Bank.

Melvin's original intention was to let everyone earn a bit more, and money made by the Giant Stone City Bank also included his share.

Seeing Wei Jia not readily agreeing, Sid, although displeased, still said patiently.

"You are just lending this money to me temporarily. Don't worry about liquidity, as the Giant Stone City Bank has launched a bond trading platform. You can trade directly there, gradually realizing cash in the second-tier market. If it doesn't work, use those bonds to pay for accounts!"

Wei Jia, trembling with fear, dared not ask Sid why he wouldn't just divest in the secondary market, as he was clear that the noble lords would never stoop to picking scraps in the secondary market.

In the end, he could only either join others at the so-called bond trading platform and gamble like the rest, or watch helplessly as his money was locked in accounts.

He no longer cared whether the alliance paid interest or not.

Without liquidity, if he didn't want to go bankrupt, he could only think of a way to sell those bonds or sell the commerce's assets...

"Make it quick, are you buying or not, just say it. If you don't want it, I'll find someone else." Sid, already showing some impatience as he spoke these words, thought this guy might think his own wings had hardened.

After all, the Vijia Commerce had earned so many chips primarily through his credit and abilities. This damn thing thought he could make money with that little business acumen of his.

Not to mention anything else.

If he hadn't instructed the research institutions of the Inner City to redefine the nutritional paste consumption standards, how could the Vijia Commerce's awful sludge have entered the feeding troughs of those swine in the Outer City?

Sensing Sid's impatience from his tone, Wei Jia broke out in a cold sweat and quickly said.

"I'll buy it! I'll buy it!"

What he feared most was Sid's threat to find someone else.

Because he was very aware that the job he handled was not exactly technical, and the factories also mostly operated in the industrial zone of Giant Stone City. Sid could weigh up and manage List, but squeezing him could be done in an instant, even though both had Black Cards.

"If only you had agreed earlier." Seeing his fostered 'dog' back down, Sid scoffed mockingly and hung up the phone.

He didn't care how Wei Jia managed to secure the funds.

"If he knew how to do business, why would he keep that dog?"

He would have killed it and eaten its meat already.

After putting down the phone in his hand, Lord Vega slumped back into his chair, feeling as if all his strength had been drained.

Aaron looked at him worriedly.

"…Boss?"

Lord Vega rubbed his temples.

"At least… we need to get past this immediate hurdle."

After a moment of silence, Aaron spoke softly.

"But the nutrition paste… can't be diluted any further."

"Are you an idiot? When will we make five hundred million relying on that stuff?" Lord Vega cursed discontentedly and stood up from his chair, walking over to the window.

He had intended to get some fresh air, but through the reflection on the window, he vaguely saw Mr. Detwei grinning foolishly at him.

Lord Vega felt a surge of anger, and since he couldn't take his frustration out on the window, he lit a cigarette and began puffing clouds of smoke outside.

Aaron watched his boss's silhouette and after a moment of silence, he said,

"…Earlier, some merchants from the north asked if we had any spare production lines for sale. They are very interested in our mixers, filters, and synthesizers and offered a good price."

Those devices were purchased with loans from Giant Stone City Bank during the trade honeymoon phase with the Alliance to expand their production.

Giant Stone City Bank had lent not only to the Alliance but also to their factories, enabling their rapid development.

Part of the device loans had already been paid off, and selling those devices could at least solve some of the problems, then they could figure out what to do with the remaining capital.

Lord Vega turned around and glanced at him.

"They want to make nutrition paste?"

Aaron shook his head.

"Not really… They want to process livestock feed. Recently, the price of corn in the Alliance has plummeted, and many factories are switching to this. Actually, I think there's little profit left in nutrition paste, we might as well switch to feed too."

Lord Vega sighed.

"It's not that simple."

As long as he continued to operate in Giant Stone City and intended to trade in a Silver coin-priced market, he could not escape the sickle.

The first sickle was tariffs, the second was exchange rates. There was a cut when importing raw materials, and another when exporting finished products.

It didn't matter what they produced, unless they could make something completely unproducible by the Alliance, it was an unsolvable issue.

At least, as a mere commerce executive, he couldn't resolve it, unless Giant Stone City as a whole united to put pressure on the Alliance.

Suddenly, Lord Vega had an illusion.

It wasn't an invisible hand taking away his profits.

It was countless invisible hands forming an intangible cage, cruelly trapping everyone in the city.

The terrifying thought flashed by, followed by a deep bone-chilling coldness.

The coolness on the back of his neck made Lord Vega shiver involuntarily, drawing on his cigarette fiercely twice and cursing as he tossed the unfinished butt out the window.

"Damn it, really damn unlucky."

Aaron silently watched him.

"If we don't sell the equipment, we'll have to borrow money from Giant Stone City Bank again."

"Sell! Why not sell, what's the use of producing so much garbage? No one is buying it!" Lord Vega pulled out another cigarette, took a fierce puff, and suddenly an idea struck him. He immediately said to Aaron, "Wait, I've got it! The Alliance is issuing those bonds, we can issue them too!"

Aaron paused and hesitated.

"Us? But… who would buy it?"

Who would buy bonds issued by a factory?

Surely we can't ask Mr. Sid to buy them back…

That would be suicide.

"Isn't it time to issue salaries?" Wei Jia chuckled triumphantly, "You hurry and go to finance, let them make the IOUs—oh no, bonds, and issue them to those poor devils. When times get better, I will settle everything, principal with interest!"

Aaron stared intently at his boss.

"But... can it be done?"

Wei Jia Commerce has over 4,000 employees, each earning an average daily wage of 4 chips. Even if the salary and bonus of 120 chips per employee were written off, it would only amass 480,000 chips.

That's not even close.

It's missing at least three zeros, right?!

"I have no choice, we need to scrape together whatever we can, at least enough to cover our purchases. Those people outside only want cash, we need to pay them first."

Wei Jia had his reasons. He paused and then methodically said, "As for Mr. Sid's five hundred million... that's a separate account. We'll just get a loan from the bank president."

First, he'd use the bonds borrowed from Mr. Sid as collateral, nominally borrow five hundred million from Giant Stone City Bank for manufacturing, but actually, this amount wouldn't be used to expand production. He planned to pay Mr. Sid 4.9 billion, which would leave Wei Jia Commerce with a profit of ten million.

That profit was indeed in solid cash, and the interest generated from the bonds pledged would be enough to cover the loan interest from Giant Stone City Bank.

Though it sounded like murky accounting, Wei Jia believed that Melvin, the bank president, was reasonable enough not to refuse lending him the money.

Your Giant Stone City Bank's own underwritten bonds—you wouldn't deny them, would you?

Well, when you think about it, it's simple.

No money?

Just borrow it and be done with it.

I borrow, you borrow; you mess up, I mess up more.

Having understood everything, Wei Jia instantly felt light and cheerful, both physically and mentally. Not only was he not worried anymore, he actually burst into laughter.

The equipment, of course, had to be sold, as it was his own property, and he was free to dispose of it as he wished.

Nowadays, there are so many ways to make money, one could get rich by just lifting a finger—only a fool would do the hardest and most thankless jobs.

Wouldn't it be much more comfortable to sell the factory and become a "city merchant"?

Besides, the lighter the assets, the faster you can move.

List could never control Sid because that cunning merchant refused to move his factory into the city.

But Wei Jia was a smart man. Seeing Aaron walking out the door, he suddenly remembered something and immediately called him back.

"Wait a second."

Aaron stopped in his tracks.

"Do you have any other orders?"

Wei Jia tossed his cigarette butt out the window, then walked over to Aaron and patted his shoulder with a smile.

"I almost forgot to mention, your salary will be issued as usual, including your colleagues' and the security team's... Don't worry, if you stick with me, I won't let truly capable people suffer."

Aaron nodded.

He had never questioned his boss about this matter.

After all, wasn't it a given?

...

Finally, night fell, and the bell signaling a shift change rang at last.

The workers on the day shift handed their tasks over to those half-grown children and lined up to receive last month's wages from Alec.

At first, Spielberg was curious—today the moon had risen from the west, as the Chief of Security Alec personally handed out salaries, flanked by a group of thugs who looked like trouble. It wasn't until he received an IOU from Alec that he realized—good lord, these cunning merchants were too crafty!

Everyone was exhausted, lacking the energy to complain, though no one was willing to take the lead in doing so. Some accepted the IOUs comfortably, perhaps out of trust for their boss.

Spielberg also obediently took the IOU, named a bond, consoling himself that people with large families and businesses wouldn't just default and disappear. But life was indeed getting stranger—today they were paid with IOUs, what about next month?

An IOU for an IOU?

A group of poor folks dressed in tattered clothes walked out of the factory.

Not far away, Kent suddenly squatted down quickly, and just as Spielberg thought he had found some money, he saw him excitedly raise a cigarette butt high, then stash it in his pocket.

"Lucky! Two cigarette butts!"

The short guy walking beside Kent glanced enviously at the cigarette butt in his hand, smacking his lips as he spoke.

"I bet that fell out of Lord Vega's office, only he would waste like that!"

They were indeed not far from that lord's office.

Spielberg sighed and muttered.

"Lucky my foot… It's getting colder by the day, looks like it's going to snow soon."

Kent looked at him impatiently.

"So what?"

"So... we need to wear something warmer."

"Then go wear something! Can't you even dress yourself!" Kent glared, the cigarette butt dangling from his mouth, his fierce face resembling Alec, the head of security, who hadn't eaten for days.

"Yes..."

Not wanting to spoil his mood, Spielberg consciously shrank to one side, his face filled with worry. Half because of the cooling weather, the other half due to the increasingly cold surroundings.

The boss had paid salaries.

But he had given them IOUs.

Spielberg wasn't sure if this paper would get him dinner, let alone if the cunning Lord Vega would acknowledge this debt if he left his job.

Just two days ago, the respected Mr. Hauser announced yet another victory for Giant Stone City on the radio, the sagacious Director Melvin forced the iron scraps of "North Suburb" to make concessions, allowing Giant Stone City to purchase Alliance bonds.

This time, Mr. Hauser spent even more time explaining the ins and outs of this deal, benevolently unveiling its mysteries for them, the ignorant poor, yet Spielberg couldn't feel any joy.

After all, he couldn't afford those things anyway, instead, his boss forced him to buy something else—the operating debt of the Delicious Food Processing Factory.

Such a long name, obviously not something good.

Without a doubt, Alliance bonds weren't something good either.

Spielberg couldn't understand, especially why his rich bosses still needed to borrow from them, the poor ones.

Back to his drafty room.

He sat at the table with some resentment, lighting a candle found by his friends with a broken matchstick, picked up a pen bought collectively, and started scribbling on some tattered old newspapers.

"…Awakened Bol got drunk the day he got a Black Card, he beat up his former boss—the one who looks like a giant rat, Stephen. Then, still unsatisfied, he looked toward Stephen's beautiful wife and daughter, undoing his belt... Of course, this was to fiercely whip Stephen's backside, humiliating him in front of his wife and daughter. He was as fierce as a wild beast in the jungle, an Awakener with great strength, and of course, he could do it without anyone stopping him."

This made no sense.

Anyway, no one cared about that.

However, while writing, Spielberg frowned and couldn't help scratching out the latter part and rewriting it, muttering to himself softly.

"…But Bol knew in his heart that beating Stephen wouldn't solve any problems, nor would peeing on him with his belt undone. Killing a giant rat would just leave another corpse in the streets, attracting more flies. Giant Stone City would remain the same, unchanged. Only he himself would have to roll out from the giant walls, find somewhere else to vent his anger."

"So he found the unemployed editor Bill, child laborer Rudi who had been humiliated by Stephen, and the female worker Casey who had been abused by the security chief and shareholders… He told everyone, one person can't overcome the Claw of Death, but if it's a group of people, even the Mother of Dead Claw could be defeated at our feet. We can emulate the Alliance, we can unite! One person is weak alone, but together, we make the Stephens afraid, all the Stephens!"

"To hell with the swindlers and noble grandfathers!"

"Awakener Bol: The story of a poor boy from the slums who accidentally found a tube of Awakened Spirit Medicine and flattened a power armor in the final battle."

He made the title quite long.

Actually, it could have been longer, but there wasn't enough space left at the beginning.

Since he had no money for printing, Spielberg could only write two copies, one to send to the Survivor's Daily of the Alliance with a sincere postscript, hoping the original author could review his manuscript… if that author was there.

If they agreed to publish, perhaps they could sponsor some fee for him... he didn't ask for much, just enough to buy some necessities.

The other copy he kept for himself, he had to read it to the readers of the Worker Report—the folks from the Workers' Association.

Thinking about those ridiculous and absurd storylines, and the way his colleagues would look at him tomorrow, Spielberg felt his cheeks grow hot.

But inside his heart... it was warm…

—

(Thanks to the Alliance Leader "Xuezong" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 533: Card Master Chu Guang

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

A sudden post appeared on the forum, sparking heated discussion.

Wild Wind's Niu Niu: "Big news! Giant Stone City has a batch of discounted second-hand devices for sale! Players of life professions who are interested should pay attention these days! If you need a purchasing agent, message me quickly! Good price, buy now before they're gone!"

The poster was a merchant player who frequented Giant Stone City, whose favorite games were maritime and merchant simulations. They weren't interested in leveling up; instead, they loved making a profit by trading between two markets.

Using silver coins to buy cheap goods and transporting them to Giant Stone City to earn chips was normal arbitrage behavior, not a so-called game bug.

However, it was also true that Giant Stone City's spending power was on the decline, and goods often remained unsold for a long time, with luxury goods like bionic prosthetics fetching better prices.

A few months ago, he could still exchange his chips directly for silver coins, but after the Alliance and Giant Stone City Bank signed a loan agreement, the bank's printing press was reluctantly activated to release liquidity, and the Alliance no longer lacked chips. Now at the Alliance Bank, only 2 silver coins could get 1 chip, and thinking about exchanging 1 earned chip for 2 silver coins was out of the question.

In the black market, the exchange rate between silver coins and chips had completely flipped, now it took 2 to 5 chips to get 1 silver coin.

Soon, the official rate of the Alliance might adjust as well. The delay in adjustment could perhaps be due to their disinterest in collecting so much "junk".

Having no choice, the merchant player could only use the devalued chips to buy commodities in Giant Stone City that were not increasing in price as fast, and then sell them back to the Alliance.

Strangely, while prices for various goods and real estate in Giant Stone City were on the rise, production equipment specifically wasn't increasing much in price; some were even discounted.

Wild Wind's Niu Niu immediately sensed a business opportunity.

Wasn't the Alliance currently undergoing industrial transformation?

By buying up the machines and equipment that the Alliance precisely needed and selling them for silver coins, wouldn't he be able to easily liquidate the chips he earned?

The post included a detailed inventory list.

From durable consumer goods sectors like plastics industry, home appliance industry, leather industry, and furniture industry to fast-moving consumer goods sectors like food industry, papermaking industry, chemical industry, and cleaning product industry; it covered nearly all industries that the Alliance was still lacking or remained small-scale workshops.

In reality, second-hand equipment from Giant Stone City wasn't really big news.

Before the war ended, there were already some hardly seen second-hand devices appearing in auctions, and they were all about ninety percent new.

At that time, many players discussed on the official forum, although those devices didn't seem like any particularly advanced black technology, some of their seemingly illogical creative designs could maybe be utilized in the real world?

Many experts and students from related industries were incredibly intrigued, and even greatly inspired. The profound depth of "Wasteland OL" further fueled boundless imaginations.

However, most players' attention remained on the game itself.

Shortly after the post was made, nearly all life profession players on the forum stormed in.

Quit Smoking: "Why have so many second-hand devices suddenly appeared?"

Teng Teng: "Weren't they expanding production just a few months ago? 0.0"

Crow: "Is something going to happen?"

Fang Chang: "Maybe it's just due to overproduction, in a small place with just over fifty thousand people, how much industry can it really support?"

Makabazi: "Hey, I don't quite get it. Logically, even before the formation of United Human, there was a long period of international history, right? You all keep exploiting it for benefits… wouldn't they notice?"

Fang Chang: "What you're saying, does that mean historic events will never occur again? If that were true, people in that world would have been living in paradise for generations."

Wild Wind: "History doesn't simply repeat itself, but people keep falling in the same way. (sideways glance)"

Night Ten: "But you think... is the city lord blind? And even if the city lord is blind, shouldn't the bank president or other high-ups realize something is off?"

Canyon Escapee Mole: "Theoretically, yes, assuming all the high-ups in Giant Stone City are Intelligence System superhumans who went through intelligence tests and professional skill evaluations, and they are unified in all matters, the exam questions selected completely designed and distributed by an AI disconnected from worldly affairs... it would be difficult to deceive them. (funny face)"

Fang Chang: "Actually, it's not that complicated... The simplest example, drinking harms the stomach, but do you drink or not?"

Makabazi: "Still, you've got to drink a little."

Fang Chang: "Have you ever considered how your stomach feels?"

Makabazi: "Huh? Can a stomach even feel anything? (baffled)"

Fang Chang: "Is that just what your brain thinks?"

Quit Smoking: "Damn, that kind of makes sense."

Makabazi: "Makes no sense at all!"

Fang Chang: "Right? Humans aren't the kind of animal to put health as a top priority, how can you imagine a group of people coming together to form a beehive mentality? An addict seeing opioid won't be thinking about quitting it. Without external interference, they'll think about getting a few more hits until death. Just like old Quit Smoking here, he's had that ID for years, and odds are he hasn't quit. (side-eye)"

Quit Smoking: "Oh come on! Called out!"

Crow: "Hahahaha! o(*≧▽≦)ツ"

Quit Smoking: "Still quitting... Damn, ever since I got that helmet, I've nearly stopped, but damn Fang Chang's comment made me want one again. T.T"

Night Ten: "Just put on the helmet. (facetious)"

Fang Chang: "Guess that's on me... Anyway, I just don't see the appeal. (sweating)"

In a sense, debt is a more dangerous thing than poison, especially because it's highly deceptive.

The accumulation of a bubble is a slow and sweet process, but its bursting often happens in an instant.

Giant Stone City is not devoid of clever people. Both highly cunning and slightly cunning people abound; probably some have seen the impending danger.

Otherwise, who is selling these chips on the Black Market?

Long before the war had ended, the black market exchange rate had already inverted compared to the official Alliance rate, this wasn't a recent occurrence.

If analyzed through superficial logic, it's the Alliance that has to repay debts by the end of the year, and they owe chips. Giant Stone City Bank could pressure the Alliance with debts, logically, the chips should cost more, right?

Fang Chang: "Checked the list, the items are pretty good, but my recommendation would be to wait, and we could get them cheaper. Actually, the most valuable industry to introduce from Giant Stone City is the Huge Rock Military Industry. They can produce everything from exoskeletons to phased array radars, except power armor… If we could drain them, it would definitely fill a big gap in our military industry."

Mosquito: "That sounds quite challenging."

Fang Chang: "But it's not entirely impossible, Giant Stone City is experiencing industrial hollowing out. A single factory can hardly keep up. Moreover, Huge Rock Military Industry is not just one factory, they have many subsidiaries, handling both military and civilian orders, similar to our economic model. If we start from the grassroots employees to the assembly-line equipment, little by little, we'll corner them completely."

Mosquito: "Wow, you're bad! (grinning evilly)"

Fang Chang: "How's that bad? It's just the game... Besides, looking back over generations, who isn't a descendant of the United Human? It's a pure waste to leave these things in their hands; might as well let us strengthen and expand. (side-eye)"

Quit Smoking: "Brother Fang Chang is awesome!"

Night Ten: "I'd call that efficiency. (facetious)"

...

Dawn City Town Hall.

While discussing the budget issues of the Corn Tower project with Luka, Chu Guang suddenly sighed out of nowhere.

"To be honest, the problems with Giant Stone City might be more severe than I originally anticipated. I underestimated them."

Luka was slightly taken aback.

"Giant Stone City… aren't we discussing the Corn Tower project?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Correct, but the two aren't unrelated. The newly developed Corn Community is largely intended for the refugees from Giant Stone City."

Luka looked at Chu Guang, his expression quickly turning serious.

"...How many do you expect?"

Although Chu Guang wasn't sure what the Manager had done, he didn't doubt that what the Manager said would happen.

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said,

"Originally, the estimate was slightly over forty thousand... This figure was within our society's capacity to absorb, but now it seems it might exceed this number."

No other way.

The development of events wasn't always within his expectations; he hadn't expected that the nobles of the Inner City would get so wildly carried away.

In the initial roadmap, Chu Guang had prepared three cards for them.

The first card was a loan agreement, first using a 200 million loan to let them taste the sweetness of a trade surplus.

This way, the nobles and merchants made profits, and the ordinary survivors got jobs to support their families. Then, the debt size of the Alliance slowly expanded to 510 million, which was both due to the instigation of vested interests like Melvin who had tasted the sweetness, and Chu Guang's tacit approval, fully aware of the implications.

Then came the second card.

As the debt size increased, a few wise men within Giant Stone City gradually became alert, starting to realize that risk was also a cost that couldn't be ignored, so they tried to use their debt holdings to force the Alliance to make concessions on trade issues.

At that point, all the Alliance needed to do was prove that its financial situation was completely normal, the situation was better than ever, and the risks were nowhere near the unimaginable extent; everyone could continue playing music and dancing, and the game could go on.

Melvin was a wise man; he might have wanted to hit the brakes, but he knew very well that he actually couldn't stop it.

This ship was never designed with brakes from the start; either no one tries to stop it and just let it slowly slide forward, or only a spectacular crash could potentially stop and reset everything.

And as a bank manager, all he could really do was install a spring under the accelerator, euphemistically called a "kinetic recovery system," to make those greedy nobles press it slightly lighter.

So when Chu Guang presented the second card, which expressed a willingness to "help the Alliance create a pool for the excess money generated by excess debt" and "completely liberalize the exchange rate between chips and silver coins within five years, allowing free conversion between chips and silver coins," Melvin almost immediately agreed.

He had many cards in hand, but actually few he could use.

And the spring given by the Alliance was much better than his own designed deceptive "kinetic recovery system."

In essence, including the third card that hadn't yet been played, the Alliance's series of proactive debt-taking actions essentially meant forcefully turning on the water tap of the Giant Stone City Bank and plugging a fusion reactor into the printing press.

Under optimistic circumstances, even if Giant Stone City went bankrupt, it would be a gentle bankruptcy. They would slowly lose a century and a half of accumulated wealth over three to five years. Most people's lives would change because of this, but the process wouldn't actually be that long or painful.

However, what Chu Guang hadn't expected was that his plan had already deviated from the original track; the nobles had acted even more insanely and boldly than he had anticipated when it was time to be conservative.

He had just played the second card when those fools couldn't wait to turn their own pockets inside out, tossing out the third card he had hidden — exchanging the century-long savings of Giant Stone City for those more fragrant beer bubbles.

Debt had already factually flowed into the production phase!

This was the most terrifying!

Normally, before reaching the final step, Giant Stone City's economy should have gone through two accelerations and one last frenzy.

But perhaps due to the greed of the Inner City nobles, the crisis was likely brought forward.

The hot money circulating in accounts could even exceed the actual funds circulating in production by several zeros.

The survivors of Giant Stone City were only one trigger away from a crisis that could explode at any time, where fifty thousand chips might be needed for a single loaf of bread...

"... A few thousand refugees are still within our society's capacity to absorb, but over five hundred thousand permanent residents, plus a bunch of Waste Land Wanderers living off the city's garbage outside the walls. If the giant wall collapses, if we don't handle this carefully, we might be dragged down by this long-standing behemoth."

Looking at the concern on Chu Guang's face, Luka asked somewhat puzzledly.

"... I don't understand, we have defeated enemies many times our number on the battlefield; this difficulty... actually doesn't seem like much trouble, right?"

Unsurprised by Luka's confusion, Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"Have you ever heard of a whale explosion?"

Luka was stunned for a moment.

"...Whale explosion?"

What was a whale?

"Yes."

Chu Guang nodded and continued.

"Whales that beach themselves and die on the shore, due to the accumulation of rotting gases inside, burst open, throwing chunks of flesh as far as a kilometer away, and the smell lingers for months... Thus, dealing with stranded whale corpses is much more difficult than hunting a healthy whale in the sea."

Luka tried to imagine this, some creature even larger than insects, and after a while, frowned.

"So you mean... Giant Stone City is like this whale, and its fall will breed a string of new troubles."

Chu Guang nodded again.

"Last year, there was a Whale explosion incident in River Valley Province, where the Expeditionary Army of the Army fled south and barely fought out the Bone Chewing Chaos. The central part of River Valley Province was left barren, most of the survivor settlements were destroyed, and over ninety percent of the residents of the entire Alliance were survivors of that disaster; you should have some impression of it."

Hearing that the consequences could be so severe made Luka's expression much more solemn.

"What do you plan to do?"

"If something is bound to happen, sooner or later, all we can do is prepare in advance," Chu Guang paused and sighed, "Using the loan from Giant Stone City Bank, we'll order some more quilts and cotton clothes from their factories."

He couldn't just give up on removing the tumor because of the risk it might spread.

They were too close to the Alliance.

Even if Chu Guang didn't want to wipe the ass of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, he still had to consider the future carefully.

After all, if Giant Stone City had done everything the Alliance had done, united the survivors around Qingquan City, there wouldn't have been any Bet Street, Brown Farm, or Blood Hand Clan, or even the Alliance at all. The population migration caused by the Bone Chewing Chaos would inject new blood into the outer city, and even if they had had unpleasant experiences with the Production Department of the Reconstruction Committee, that was a long time ago... They actually had a chance to step into a new era themselves.

If that was the case, it didn't really matter whether Shelter No. 404 existed or not, Chu Guang might consider going back to his old profession.

Doing business with civilized people was not difficult for him; he did quite well before his transmigration.

But standing in the Wasteland, he looked up and saw Old Leech's face everywhere, his vision filled with Hyenas and Vultures.

If nothing was done, they would simply become prey for the Variants. If someone had to lose everything, then let it be those who were not deserving from the beginning.

But in the end, they were all descendants of United Human, and even if Giant Stone City had once shut out most of the survivors from the southern River Valley Province, he wouldn't go to extremes, letting them fend entirely for themselves like the Army would.

Luka, guessing what Chu Guang might be thinking, said seriously.

"I'll instruct my people to start preparing immediately."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Go ahead."

In terms of resettling displaced people, Old Luka was probably the most experienced old man in the whole Alliance...

...

On the fourth morning after the celebration.

The sky outside the window was still dimly lit. Sleepy-eyed Dolly stretched, yawned, got out of bed, and after washing up, placed breakfast on the table.

As usual, a certain troublemaker was still sound asleep, doing nothing until his regular waking time, unresponsive to any pranks.

But kind Miss Dolly didn't plan to take advantage of the troublemaker's sleepiness to capture him.

After watching his peaceful sleeping face for a while, she quietly leaned over and gave him a kiss, then blushed and tiptoed out of the house.

Two days ago, the Alliance's "Survivor's Daily" truly adopted her submission, not only dedicating an entire page to her column but also attaching an invitation to join the company in their response to her.

According to the responding editor, the chief editor was very appreciative of her detailed investigation and even asked the staff reporters to learn from this submitting member of the public, to open their eyes wide when it was time to do so.

Honestly, Dolly felt somewhat embarrassed, as, although she wrote the column, much of it wasn't her own original ideas.

As for the invitation to join the "Survivor's Daily" included in the letter, she gladly accepted it.

And today was her first day at work.

Not wanting to leave her colleagues with the impression of being late, she left home early in the morning.

The newspaper's address was on a street near Embassy Street on the eastern side of Dawn City, where the buildings blend various styles. It took her some time to find the newspaper's location based on the address on the envelope.

However, the working hours of the Alliance were beyond her expectations; she waited a while before a yawning gatekeeper came to open the door.

"Good morning, miss new reporter. You've arrived quite early, our president probably just woke up."

"Good morning... Isn't the work time at six?" Dolly whispered to the gatekeeper who seemed to have just woken up.

The gatekeeper was stunned for a moment and then chuckled.

"That was in the past, after the celebration, the working hours were changed to eight o'clock. Just don't be late by half an hour."

Embarrassed, Dolly nodded her head and, after thanking him, went inside the newspaper office to the HR office.

The induction formalities were completed yesterday, and her work card was only ready today. HR mentioned this yesterday and asked her to pick it up when she came to work.

Holding her work card, Dolly finally relaxed and let go of all the anxiety she had held in her heart, happily walking to her workstation.

She originally thought there would be many complicated procedures, but everything turned out to be much smoother than she had imagined.

Honestly, before this, she was somewhat nervous.

She had never stayed outside the Giant Wall for such a long time and never thought she would work and live beyond the Giant Wall.

Until last year, the world beyond the Giant Wall was synonymous with wilderness and wastelands. She had several times persuaded Fang Chang, hoping he would stay inside the Giant Wall with her.

But these days, she had gradually found that it wasn't as difficult as she had imagined; people were very polite, and the food was delicious. Although not everything was perfect here, it was getting better a little bit every day. And this wasn't just because they had a wise manager, but more so because everyone genuinely wanted to do something for the community.

At least that's how she felt.

"From now on, it's a new beginning..."

Thinking she wouldn't have to live apart from her beloved anymore, a subtle sweetness stirred in Dolly's heart.

Just then, a light cough sounded nearby.

"Are you... Dolly?"

Instantly snapping back from her reverie, Dolly sprung up from her seat and turned to the veteran employee standing nearby.

"Yes, hello! I'm the new reporter."

"Yang Yan, editor of the news segment."

Not surprised by the overly enthusiastic reaction of the newbie, Yang Yan casually handed her an unopened package.

"This was sent from Giant Stone City, and since you are here, you can open it."

Many workers in the Alliance come from Giant Stone City. Some had already moved their families over, while others hadn't done so yet for various reasons.

They would exchange some silver coins into chips and send them back home or directly buy some daily necessities to send back, thus the Alliance's embassy also handled postal services.

Curious, Dolly reached out and took the package, shaking it from side to side.

"Is it sent to me?"

Yang Yan shrugged helplessly.

"No, but the sender wrote on it 'send to the former editor of the Survivor Daily in Giant Stone City', and you are the only one here who has worked there."

The Survivor Daily of Giant Stone City and the Survivor Daily of the Alliance just share a name. The former was single-handedly managed by Hal, while the latter was started by the Manager who thought the newspaper in Giant Stone City was well-managed, so he also found some people to create an identical one.

The two had no connection whatsoever in terms of equity structure or personnel, and Yang Yan was puzzled about why someone would send a package here.

Dolly opened the package suspiciously, and inside was a stack of crumpled old newspapers. However, upon closer inspection, it didn't look like a return. Written on the blank margin of the newspapers were rows of crooked handwriting.

She flattened the old newspapers on the table and read out the headline softly.

"Awakener Bol: A poor kid from the slums accidentally finds a tube of Awakened Spirit Medicine and knocks down a power armor in the final battle... Is that true? Is there such a powerful Awakener?"

Dolly muttered in confusion, but quickly realized this might not be a news submission, and then she noticed the name.

Bol?

That sounds familiar... Wait a minute!

She suddenly came to her senses, wasn't this the story from the serialized novel in the Survivor Daily's supplement, the Worker Report?

Someone continued their story?!

This sudden surprise was no less than discovering one day that the seeds casually thrown by the roadside had grown into a towering tree.

Seeing Dolly's sudden excitement, Yang Yan slightly raised his eyebrows.

"Do you have a clue?"

"Yes! Give me a bit more time to look at this."

Dolly nodded excitedly, sat back down, and continued reading with great interest. Seeing her so absorbed, the senior editor didn't disturb her and busied himself with his own work.

It must have been about an hour.

Dolly stood up from her seat, her eyes shining, holding the old newspaper tightly, and walked over to the senior editor's desk.

"This is a novel! It's written so well!"

She personally felt it was even better than the previous author's work!

That guy named Spielberg, although he couldn't produce ornate prose, depicted the complex and tangled emotions of a minor character overcoming class barriers vividly, and his idea of forming a Workers' Association was simply brilliant.

If the previous author had just written a story about someone rising above others, this writer had truly breathed life into the poor boy who emerged from the slums.

She was eager to know what would happen next!

However, speaking of which, although the main storyline of the novel, both before and after the continuation, had the relationship subplot merely as an embellishment to the main plot, she was curious about who the Awakener Bol would ultimately choose.

He had snapped the hard-earned Black Card...

The noble lady who loved him would surely be heartbroken.

Was he going to make her end up with that evil Thousand Leaders?

As a Pure Love Warrior, she couldn't accept that!

"I think we can publish it!" Stuffing the old newspaper into the baffled Yang Yan's hands, Dolly said with bright eyes, "I can edit this book!"

Yang Yan was stunned by this abrupt proposition.

"Wait... publish? A novel?"

Dolly patiently explained,

"This is a novel that was previously serialized in the newspapers of Giant Stone City! It was discontinued because the newspaper was shut down, but now someone is willing to continue the story!"

Yang Yan couldn't help laughing wryly,

"But... we have no readers in Giant Stone City."

The Alliance's Survivor's Daily did have serialized novels, but they were usually shorts occupying only a small part of a page.

Unless they published a supplement.

But he didn't have the final say on such important matters; only the chief editor had that authority.

Dolly tried hard to persuade,

"It doesn't have to be in Giant Stone City! It can be serialized in the Alliance's Survivor's Daily! We can launch a supplement. This story could help increase the supplement's sales by serializing a small part in the main issue and the full content in the supplement."

"But we haven't read the previous part of the story."

Helplessly glancing at this overly enthusiastic newcomer, Yang Yan took the old newspaper from her hands, looked over it briefly, and sighed,

"Forgive my bluntness, but I am completely confused about Bol's story; I don't even recognize him... You think it's good because you read the earlier part, right?"

Dolly scratched her head sheepishly.

"Uh, that's my oversight, but… I can find my former colleague! He can surely organize the earlier content. He must keep the original manuscript, and when the office was shut down, we moved all our desks back!"

She was rather indifferent toward the original story.

But after that guy Spielberg continued it, she saw different highlights in it.

However, the senior editor had a different perspective.

"There are more issues than that..." Yang Yan sighed, pointing at the newspaper, "Read this title again."

Dolly paused, then read unconsciously,

"Awakener Bol: A poor boy from the slums who accidentally found an awakened spirit medicine and knocked down a power armor in the final battle... Is there a problem? Aren't newspaper stories always this long?"

"It's not about the length, but the content," Yang Yan said meaningfully, "Our managers also wear power armor, and this Bol intends to knock down a power armor in the final battle... What is he trying to do?"

"Ah?!" Dolly stared wide-mouthed at the senior editor in shock, "Just because of this? But—"

She had never even considered that angle!

And it clearly stated that it was a story from Giant Stone City. What did it have to do with here?

Yang Yan shook his head.

"This could be a big or small issue, and no one says it's not allowed, but being cautious won't hurt. The residents of the Alliance have special feelings for our managers. You have to consider their feelings. If you must publish, I suggest at least changing the title and content—"

Dolly got anxious again, wanting to make one more attempt.

Just then, a cheerful voice suddenly came from the side,

"I think it's fine!"

Yang Yan immediately turned in that direction, his eyes flashing with surprise, and sprang up from his chair, enthusiastically rearranging the seat.

"Manager? What brings you here? Please, have a seat!"

Dolly also looked surprised in that direction.

It wasn't her first time seeing the manager of the Alliance, but it indeed was a recent occurrence.

Chu Guang looked at the two and smiled, speaking in a casual tone,

"No need, I won't sit in your newly bought chairs, haha. Don't be so nervous, I came to discuss expanding business into Luo Xia Province with your president."

This request came from Hal.

To prevent his father from hindering his career, this filial son learned from his failures in Giant Stone City and planned to invite him to become a shareholder of the newspaper.

Chu Guang found it amusing and agreed.

He was actually a fun person too, just not that obviously.

Yang Yan watched him carefully and asked,

"So you..."

"The official business is already done. I just happened to pass by and accidentally overheard your conversation, forgive me!" Chu Guang smiled and continued, "Since I've heard it all, I might as well be straightforward. I think this lady is right, the Survivor's Daily in Giant Stone City has plenty of supplements, why can't we have one?"

Yang Yan reminded with a bitter smile,

"Sir... that was done by Giant Stone City."

Chu Guang said nonchalantly,

"It doesn't matter whether it's Giant Stone City or something shouted out from a rotten coffin, progress is progress! They have it, and so should we! Later, you also need to start publishing the Worker's Report. The Survivor's Daily should cover issues all survivors care about, and the Worker's Report should focus more on the workers' concerns. The night school's results are good; don't think our workers are illiterate and can't understand complex texts."

Yang Yan quickly responded,

"I never thought that!"

Dolly watched Chu Guang excitedly,

"Thank you for understanding! If you've read it, you should know this novel has nothing to do with you..."

Chu Guang coughed,

"Cough... I don't mind such things; you guys keep figuring it out."

He was joking; being an Awakener himself, why would he be afraid?

Besides, power armors were abundant in the Wasteland. Without other intentions, who would bother stretching relations that far?

However, returning to the subject, Chu Guang was quite interested in making a cameo as an extra.

These initial serialized novels often held special significance and might end up being adapted into movies due to sentimental value.

As for being cliché or not.

That kind of thing was not important.

Plain and simple things often resounded more with people. Journey to the West, stripped down, was also just a story of four disciples on a quest for scriptures.

The Alliance needed to output some culture to the Wasteland, not just the culture borrowed from the players in the Real World but something closer to what the survivors on the Wasteland needed.

He and his lovely little players had planted seeds in the Wasteland, and they were sprouting.

Clearly, this was a good thing.

"Should I... ask the chief editor?" Yang Yan asked softly.

"I might as well go myself; I just came from there," Chu Guang smiled, "and I might as well have another tea there."

Watching the manager walking towards the corridor, Yang Yan smiled wryly.

He truly hoped his boss had a good heart…

Chapter 534: Each with Their Own Merits of Madness

"Dear listeners, this is your dearest Mr. Hauser! It finally snowed today, praise the first snowfall of the year, don't you think it resembles a dancing girl? Although it's a warm winter this year, don't forget to wear an extra layer of clothing while enjoying the snow. I sincerely wish all our listeners good health."

"In addition, for the sake of everyone's health and to stay away from diabetes and obesity, Vijia Commerce's Delicious Food Processing Factory has enriched its product line and has launched a new, healthier, more nutritious, and tastier nutritional paste, which you will soon see on the shelves—"

The sleazy, nasally voice weaved through the sparse crowds, echoing through the streets, blowing from the bustling districts toward the shabby, cluttered alleys.

Spielberg closed the patched-up wooden window to keep out the draft carrying that voice, then took a swig of air to warm his frozen hands and drew out a letter that had been heated by his body.

These days, he wandered near the Alliance embassy every day.

Though he hadn't held out much hope, to his surprise, Survivor's Daily had actually sent him a letter!

Pulling out a clean sheet of paper from a neat envelope, a chip followed, clinking as it hit the table, startling Spielberg.

Especially when he saw the 100 value on it, his eyes nearly popped out.

One hundred chips!

He would work his guts out on the assembly line for a month for just 120 chips!

And this month he was given an IOU!

The Alliance's newspaper was so generous!

Carefully hiding the chip in the drawer of the wooden table, Spielberg swallowed excitedly and couldn't wait to unfold the pristine letter.

The handwriting on the letter was neat, completely different from his own crooked scribbles.

Skipping over the main content, Spielberg glanced quickly at the name at the end of the letter and discovered that the person who wrote the letter was actually the editor-in-chief of Survivor's Daily!

In an instant, his face flushed with color, and his breathing quickened.

"Dear Mr. Spielberg, we have read your manuscript, and we tried to retrieve the unfinished original manuscript. We unanimously believe it is a very exciting story. It stopped at just the right place, and you picked it up just right, which even the original author had not anticipated... He didn't even know how to continue, but you thought it up for him."

"Considering the length issue, we plan to imitate your method, adding some supplements to Survivor's Daily and publishing Pol's story in the Worker Report, while only a small excerpt will be selected for the main publication as a promotion. I believe it's an excellent idea that allows people to see more about what they care about and what's happening. However, as our readers have not seen the previous parts, we plan to serialize the first thirty chapters over thirty issues, and then publish a collection along with the continuation you wrote."

"We are sorry to hear that the former author of Pol's story has gone to Luo Xia Province; he supports your continuation but does not want to recall the past of Giant Stone City. Fortunately, Miss Dolly, who has worked as a reporter for the Survivor's Daily in Giant Stone City, is willing to double as the editor for this book, and you can communicate with her for subsequent manuscripts."

"The 100 chips attached in the letter are a part of the prepayment for your manuscript. Typically, we should pay you based on sales and readers' feedback after publication, but we all believe it would be better to make an advance payment so that you don't have to write stories on old newspapers, and our collaboration will be more efficient."

"... By the way, our Manager is very appreciative of your work, he expressed enthusiastically that if you have time to visit Dawn City, do come and visit him; he can arrange for you to try on the power armor, to help you think about how to defeat it forcefully if that aids your writing."

Spielberg's face reddened.

Great Antler God above, he had never thought of defeating the Alliance's power armor, let alone harboring ill intentions towards the Manager!

After all, it was originally a story about Giant Stone City; the Alliance wasn't even mentioned, just vaguely referenced about survivors in the "North Suburb."

But...

That generous invitation made his eyes unexpectedly warm, and his eyes reddened again.

He knew himself well; he was undoubtedly an unremarkable little man. Even Kent, who worked on the same assembly line, had no qualms about spitting in his face.

Yet, that man—who even Melvin the bank manager had to seriously contend with—had read his writing thoroughly and even invited him over...

He was a coward, afraid of death and pain, who would never leave Giant Stone City or dare to face the Wasteland.

But, for that man...

He would even be willing to die for him!

Hastily taking an old newspaper, Spielberg tore off the blank edge, grabbed the pen that frequently ran out of ink, and earnestly wrote.

"The title is a misunderstanding! It's all because the fellows at the Workers' Association were curious about how the Awakeners could defeat the power armor, so I simply made it the headline. In my envisioned final battle, it will be worn by an evil Thousands of leaders... It was never meant to offend anyone!"

"Thank you, and that esteemed person, for your kindness and good intentions, but I still need to read the continuation of Pol's story to the fellows at the Workers' Association. However, once this winter is over, I will definitely save up some travel money and make a trip to your place..."

Writing to this point, Spielberg paused, hesitated for a few seconds, and then added a line at the end.

"... Also, could you please send a copy of your Worker Report with your reply? You can deduct the cost from my next manuscript fee. The fellows at the Workers' Association also want to reminisce about the old stories, and our collection of old newspapers is missing several issues. Recently, other factory workers have joined us, and I'd like to read some of the ongoing events of the Wasteland to them."

He carefully folded the note and tucked it into the safest pocket of his clothing, then pushed his chair back and quickly ran out the door.

But not long after, he ran back inside as if he had forgotten something. He picked up the letter from the table and stuffed it into his pocket.

He planned to read this response letter to his colleagues at the Workers' Association.

Someone out there in the Wasteland still cared about them!

With that thought, Spielberg felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

Perhaps this winter won't be too cold...

...

As Mr. Spielberg hurried off from the drafty, broken house, heading towards the Alliance embassy, a merchant from the Alliance, on the contrary, made his way to his usual place of business.

More precisely, he went to the place next to the Delicious Food Processing Factory—the Incredibly Powerful Steel Mill.

This steel mill had some fame in Giant Stone City, but the owner's name was quite common, Fred. To make himself look less plain, he always wore a very tall top hat, with gold-rimmed monocles on his nose, even though he hardly read books and was not nearsighted at all.

Usually, he was unwilling to stand at the entrance of his own factory. The dirty stuff that came out of the chimney would get his leather shoes dirty. His office was on a street a bit closer to the Inner City, where the streets were neater and the people's conversations were more proper.

However, today was an exception.

A distinguished guest from the Alliance had taken an interest in his dust-covered machines.

It wasn't just about getting some dust on his shoes—if he could sell those devices, worth tens of millions in chips, he wouldn't mind even licking the guest's shoes.

"Haha, welcome! Friend from the Alliance." Fred's face was filled with smiles as he looked at the guest appearing at the entrance.

Mr. Sun Shiqi stepped forward, took his hand, and shook it vigorously, smiling.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

The Alliance was recently planning to construct a batch of apartment buildings using reinforced concrete prefabricated slabs, said to be able to rapidly erect a group of buildings just like stacking blocks.

Previously, Dawn City had produced a batch of iron sheet houses, but those movable buildings were only suitable for the summer. In the cold winter, they might as well serve as refrigerators.

He wasn't interested in what the Alliance would use those buildings for, but he was quite interested in the lucrative construction fees.

Especially the Alliance's series of financial plans, which allowed him to see a vast market Prospect.

Thus, he planned to increase the output of his steel mill. Just so happened, he heard that a boss in Giant Stone City was selling off equipment, so he came over to have a look.

Fred enthusiastically patted his arm and made a gesture of invitation, as if receiving an old friend he hadn't seen for years.

"...I feel the same, it's a pleasure to meet you! Haha, to tell the truth, I most enjoy making friends with people from the Alliance, doing business with you is always pleasant... However, it's quite dusty here, let's go inside to talk."

Mr. Sun Shiqi nodded with a smile.

"It's no bother, just show me around the factory first... I'd like to take a look at your equipment, which will help me make a fair offer."

"No problem at all!" Fred nodded cheerfully and led him to the largest and only still operating workshop of the steel mill.

Along the way, Mr. Sun Shiqi quietly observed.

This steel mill, named Incredibly Powerful, was indeed large in scale, and its architecture was very impressive, creating a stark contrast with the dirty and disorderly residential area next door.

The tall chimney almost pierced through the top of the barrier walls, blowing vast plumes of haze beyond the Giant Wall, slowly merging with the writhing gray-green spore clouds inside the second ring road. The spacious workshop was like a giant's house, using a wide and thick hand to block the chaotic view from above, with towering furnaces and hot molten iron securing Mr. Sun Shiqi's gaze.

He felt like a mouse, inexperienced in the ways of the world, who had accidentally stumbled into a giant's kitchen.

To him, the skilled workers, the machines like works of divine craftsmanship, and even the casually discarded tools like wrenches and files in wooden boxes coated with patina were all treasures beyond price.

Are those noble lords pigs?

They can bear to let those who least deserve to go hungry, starve.

However, thinking of how he would soon become master of this place, or at least the master of some of its equipment, Mr. Sun Shiqi's breathing became more rapid.

Praise the noble lords!

The fruits of innumerable generations of survivors' sweat and wisdom were now on sale for just 50 million chips!

And the price was still negotiable!

Of course, he couldn't come up with 50 million chips, but as long as he used his factory in the Alliance as collateral and had a written trade contract, the Alliance Bank could lend him the acquisition funds... and the irony was that this money was actually loaned to the Alliance by the nobles of Giant Stone City at an interest rate of less than 5%.

Without letting that greedy gleam show on his face, Mr. Sun Shiqi just nodded simply.

"Not bad... only it's a bit too hot here, let's go outside."

Fred said politely.

"No problem! Honestly, if you hadn't wanted to see it, I wouldn't have brought you here... this place really isn't meant for us."

With that, he continued to walk the owner out while engaging in upbeat conversation about his steel mill's operations, painting a picture of a broad industry future that even he didn't believe in.

It was at this moment that Mr. Sun Shiqi learned that the Incredibly Powerful Steel Mill was actually one of the suppliers for Huge Rock Military Industry!

Before the expedition of the Alliance began, the main business of this steel mill was supplying steel ballistic plates for exoskeletons and structural components for large-scale equipment to Huge Rock Military Industry.

After the war machine of the Alliance was activated, his top customer became construction companies of the Alliance, making a fortune exporting rebar.

Logically, with the Alliance approving a series of infrastructure plans, his business should have become even more prosperous, but the situation was the complete opposite.

The infrastructure plans of the Alliance were devised to aid the steel industry's transition from military to civilian use, and the new infrastructure scheme clearly stated in the bidding that, given minor cost differences, businesses using local materials would be given priority.

Actually, even without this rule, the Incredibly Powerful Steel Mill would have found it difficult to get involved.

And the reason lies in the word 'cost'!

Due to escalating inflation, they had lost their cost advantage!

The Alliance Bank was very cunning; they stubbornly refused to adjust the clearly outdated exchange rate, insisting on 2 silver coins in exchange for "a chip actually worth only 0.5~0.2 silver coins".

They certainly had the right to decide how much to sell their own chips for, but this exchange rate was clearly cheating fools, and it is well known that taking advantage of fools is unethical.

To put it plainly, because the cost of industrial goods priced in chips was lower before, the reverse rate wasn't so obvious, so most of the things that the Alliance couldn't produce were imported from Giant Stone City.

But now, due to the rising prices of raw materials priced in chips, the prices of industrial goods in Giant Stone City had to inflate as well, and thus the profit from imports was gradually diluted.

If the things produced in Giant Stone City were some kind of key component that the Alliance couldn't produce, then the Alliance would undoubtedly be digging its own grave.

But the regrettable fact was, at least threaded steel used to fix concrete was not one of those things.

Previously, the Alliance's steel production capacity was all used for tank armor and tracks, but now that the war was over, those people were freed up.

...This account naturally had to be recalculated.

Taking Sun Shiqi outside, Fred respectfully took out a cigarette and lit it for him, then looked toward the bustling factory area and said,

"The economy here has recovered somewhat recently, life has been getting more and more prosperous."

Sun Shiqi casually continued his sentence,

"How can you tell?"

"Busyness is the best indicator," Fred continued with a smile, "As long as those lazybones get busy, life will improve."

"Busy yet poor is actually not a good sign," Sun Shiqi squinted his eyes, looking at the poor souls shrouded in smoke, he rarely uttered a sincere warning, "It seems they don't have much oil left in them."

"Precisely because they have no oil, they'll work even harder," standing shoulder to shoulder with the Alliance boss, smoking away, Fred said with a smile, "And you can't always focus on those poor fools, you only feel the prosperity of this Settlement when you walk the streets at night."

"Like the street by the Night Queen Bar?"

"Not just there," Fred made a circle in the air with his cigarette, "The entire area surrounding the Inner City... My friend, you surely can't be wandering around the industrial area late at night, can you? All you'll find here are poor fools picking up cigarette butts, and madmen drunk on inferior liquor."

Even with his bodyguards, he didn't dare venture into the alleyways—who knows what filth might be lurking there.

Sun Shiqi looked at him strangely.

"But if everything is about to recover, why the rush to sell?"

Fred coughed, hehe smiling,

"It's not easy to run a factory here, it used to be profitable, but now... aren't there easier and better ways?"

"Like what?"

"Be it Bonds or S Coins, there are too many good investment opportunities, and they won't dirty your shoes," Fred said with a smile, "There are even more opportunities to get rich here than people!"

There was something he didn't tell his client.

The reason he was lightening his assets wasn't just because of better investment channels, but also a host of other reasons including rising raw material prices.

He didn't have a complete view of the Alliance situation, but the fact that iron ore and copper ore priced in chips were becoming more expensive was plainly evident. Instead of processing them into finished goods, it would be better to stockpile them in the warehouse and sell them to other fools setting up factories next month.

However, there were too many smart eggs now, and not enough fools to go around, with more and more people discovering they could exploit this "BUG".

Recently, he even heard that Wei Jia, the guy dealing in food trade, had stocked up a warehouse full of copper ore... What was he planning?

Fred had an uneasy feeling, even though he couldn't see exactly what the problem was, he suddenly realized that he couldn't find any losers in the Great Casino of Giant Stone City.

That was the scariest thing.

So he decided to settle for safety on the spot.

He quit playing!

As Fred was having these thoughts, Sun Shiqi's mind was also a mix of emotions.

It was not his first time in this place, when he used to do business in Red River Town, the miscellaneous goods market in Giant Stone City was his most frequent haunt.

To say it was in decline would be an understatement.

In the Wasteland, most survivor settlements have only two or three hundred households, this is the result of a surplus of high-tech products from before the war.

A stable population of five hundred thousand in the Wasteland is self-evident.

Especially since Giant Stone City doesn't have a single piece of farmland, nor a single mine, all raw materials are acquired entirely through trade.

Their industrialization rate and industrial profits are actually quite staggering.

It's just that without competitors, there's a lack of motivation for industrial upgrades, leading to some bizarre situations here.

For example, a certain nutrient paste processing factory uses the most advanced filters equipped with high polymer ultrafiltration membranes, but the assembly line during the assembly phase relies on manpower.

Sun Shiqi couldn't understand what these people were thinking, but it was probably the same reason they couldn't understand him—why choose the seemingly dumbest option when there are cheaper methods available.

However, he was now beginning to understand a little about that Manager who had once scared him.

Some costs are invisible.

This was like a war without the smoke of guns.

If the Alliance took a wrong step at a crucial moment, perhaps he would be the one with a sycophantic smile, underselling his production materials.

He knew.

Essentially, he and Mr. Fred were the same type of people. After all, when the Alliance shorted the copper mine, he did not hesitate to abandon Red River Town.

"...Fifty million chips is a reasonable price, and if you are satisfied, we can sign the contract in the next two days. I will be responsible for arranging personnel to transport the goods."

Although waiting might make it cheaper, Sun Shiqi was worried that other companies in the Alliance were eyeing this quality asset just like him.

Upon hearing this, Fred immediately made a decision and clapped his hands.

"No problem! Mr. Sun is a straightforward man... However, I have recently taken an interest in a certain investment project in the City of Dawn, can part of the payment be made in silver coins?"

Sun Shiqi was taken aback by his latter words and quickly collected the smile that had just appeared, frowning as he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Hehe, just what I said," Fred pulled the generous spender to one side and lowered his voice, speaking slowly, "For instance, on the account... you give me forty million chips. This price is a bit cheap, but definitely not a sellout. And the remaining ten million chips, converted into ten million silver coins, whether you transfer it to my account in the Alliance or give me cash, either works!"

The moment Sun Shiqi heard these words, he snapped back to his senses and looked at Fred with surprise.

Nice move.

Was he planning to swindle his own shareholders?!

As a law-abiding citizen of the Alliance, he certainly had no interest in complaining on behalf of the shareholders of Giant Stone City, but the proposal to exchange ten million chips for ten million silver coins did make him furrow his brows.

"Ten million chips are not worth ten million silver coins, I can't accept this offer."

Far from being anxious, Fred's heart leaped with joy.

The only unacceptable part was the offer.

Which means, there's room for negotiation!

He immediately put on a flattering smile and said earnestly.

"It's alright, we can talk... what's an acceptable amount for you?"

Sun Shiqi held up a finger.

"One million."

"One million?!" Fred's eyes bulged, and he almost couldn't control the volume of his voice, "No way! That's too little! The official exchange rate is 1:2, I'm giving you a deal at 1:1, which is generous enough!"

Seeing the man's poor acting skills, Sun Shiqi coughed lightly.

"Don't play dumb, that thing... do you believe it yourself?"

Fred's face reddened, and he gritted his teeth, gesturing with five fingers.

"Five... five million, no! Three million! How about two million silver coins? I can't go any lower! Even in the Black Market, the best rate is 1:5!"

That was actually the truth.

Looking at the remaining two fingers and the bitter expression on his face, Sun Shiqi eventually couldn't resist the temptation and slowly nodded.

"Fine."

After all, he didn't want his company's liabilities to be too high, and borrowing money from the Alliance Bank wasn't without its costs.

It's just that these two million silver coins couldn't go through the official accounts; they had to be taken from his own savings, and he couldn't borrow from the bank, which did make Sun Shiqi feel somewhat pained.

The purchasing power of silver coins was much stronger than that of chips!

Seeing the Alliance executive nodding, Fred finally showed a satisfied smile and immediately hooked his arm around Sun Shiqi's shoulder.

"Thank you for your understanding! In the future, we might have plenty of opportunities for cooperation... Let's have dinner together tonight, I hear the Alliance's nightlife is just beer and fireworks."

"We actually don't set off fireworks every day, and it's not just beer," Sun Shiqi subconsciously retorted.

He had considered himself a part of the Alliance for quite a while and naturally didn't allow others to casually malign them.

"I know, but you guys definitely don't have that," Fred chuckled, giving him a knowing look that every man understands, "At the Night Queen Bar, most folks can only stand below the stage and watch, but with chips, you can invite the dancers into a private box to perform just for you. I happen to have a Black Card here that can get you into the VIP boxes where the usual rich can't enter, and the fun inside is beyond what you can imagine."

Sun Shiqi instantly got his drift, a bashful smile spreading across his face.

"Is it really just a performance?"

Seeing the client's interested expression, Fred laughed heartily.

"Of course! And the shows are plenty! You're a boss from the Alliance, the girls there will definitely like you! If you tip with silver coins, they'll adore you!"

Sun Shiqi quipped.

"I thought they'd call me a country bumpkin."

Fred waved his hand dismissively.

"That's ancient history. Here, there's nothing you can't think of, nothing you can't buy."

Sun Shiqi had wanted to say no.

But his legs didn't listen to him.

He admitted, he was vulgar, unlike those Residents of the refuge, which is why he could probably never become one of them—no wonder that reserved girl had never opened her heart to him.

If only the Alliance could be a bit freer.

It would be best if it were as free as Giant Stone City, where you could do whatever you wanted, as long as you had the chips.

But Shelter No. 404 would surely not agree, their Manager would never approve.

After all, that person had once said firmly—currency of the Alliance can buy all commodities, but no currency shall be allowed to trade honor and dignity.

However...

That's not too bad either.

Even the most playful wouldn't want to bring bad things home. The Wasteland is vast, finding a hole to take a dump in is too easy.

Watching Fred's ingratiating smile, the corners of Sun Shiqi's mouth couldn't help but curve up into a sly grin.

Since the noble lord had invited him so warmly.

He might as well enjoy the bountiful flesh of this whale before it sinks to the ocean floor...

...

It wasn't just the Incredibly Powerful Steel Mill that was having a "sale," as the first batch of bonds issued by the Alliance alone amounted to three billion in scale, quickly followed by opening up sales channels through the Giant Stone City Bank.

The froth milked out by financial instruments was like a collapsing torrent, surging furiously towards the factory owners of Giant Stone City.

This was a "tide" more terrifying than a tide.

Prime means of production received inferior labels, and the once sough-after became the dog shit everyone steered clear of—because something more enticing was laid before everyone, though the bitter aftertaste of sweetness was not so easily perceived.

In this fest named after prosperity, some were bawling their heads off, others were laughing madly... like Sid, undoubtedly the latter.

He could be considered the biggest winner of the Game, cashing out early with chips, naturally, he was the one with the broadest smile.

It's just that his beaming face gradually collapsed when he saw the bond prices keep rising on the secondary market.

Staring at the palm-size trading device, Sid bit his thumbnail cap and suddenly cursed.

"Damn... gave that dog Wei Jia too sweet a deal!"

Seeing her husband looking displeased, Bonnie sat beside him, peering at him worriedly.

"What's wrong, dear... Something happened?"

"Nothing, dear," giving his wife a tender smile, Sid's face regained its usual elegance, "Just a small matter... The bonds I sold to Wei Jia went up a bit, by my calculations, he should give me another twenty million."

Although Bonnie didn't have a clear concept of money, she still couldn't help but chide him.

"You... should let that Wei Jia make some profit, how else would he work hard to make money for our family? Don't you go asking him for that twenty million, it's unseemly to reach out for money."

"You're right, dear... I was being greedy." Sid rolled his eyes and then thought better of it, his wife had a point.

He had almost forgotten the family's old saying.

Greedy hyenas choke on bones, a win-win deal lasts long. After the master finishes eating the meat, the dogs need to be thrown a bone too.

Wei Jia, being an old dog, deserved to make something too.

Yet, staring at those fluctuating lines, Sid still couldn't resist the itch to buy back a bit... After all, anyone with eyes could see that, the line, despite its ups and downs, was trending upwards overall.

As long as the interest rate was not equal to the redemption rate, there was an arbitrage opportunity.

Bonnie went to get dolled up; she had plans to visit the boutique beauty salon in the Inner City for a skin treatment that afternoon with her sisters. Sid, uninterested in such things, was fixated on the palm-sized display.

The more he looked, the more uncomfortable he felt, yet he was curious to see how high the bonds would go.

Just then, his youngest son, Kumarit, came back from outside. Upon seeing the trading device in his hand, he let out a sneer.

"That's boring."

Sid gave the brat a glance.

"You little rascal, you know jack squat!"

Kumarit sat down next to his old man with a smirk, eager to show off the little knowledge he had.

"I heard about bonds from my buddy Kishu. They're nothing special. A ten-year bond with a face value of 100, even if it soared to the heavens, would only be worth 140 chips, right? It can't possibly be more expensive than the sum of ten years of interest and principal, can it?"

Without considering the transaction premium generated by tax avoidance values, this statement was indeed without fault.

Sid looked at his son in surprise.

"Hey... you know quite a lot, huh? Did that Kishu tell you this?"

So the highest it could go was 140.

The mystery was solved, and he instantly lost interest in the trading device he held.

Kumarit tilted his nose up proudly.

"Of course! I told you, my buddy has learned something. He's planning big things this time!"

Kishu had painted him a grand economic blueprint. Issuing S currency was just to raise funds for it. The fruition of that blueprint would pay off everything, and Giant Stone City would hence walk toward even greater prosperity.

With a chuckle and a sneer, Sid dismissed his son's excitement.

He had heard Melvin say that he severely reprimanded his own son after Kishu came back without a word and spouted a lot of nonsense.

Ideal City was indeed a nice spot for a vacation and relaxation.

But turning Giant Stone City into something like that was something he had never considered for a second.

"A big undertaking, how big exactly?"

Kumarit said proudly.

"He plans to build another Outer City outside the current one!"

Sid burst out laughing, tears nearly squeezing out, and continued to tease, "And then what? What's the use?"

"Then we'll issue a new currency in the Outer City, a currency that benefits everyone! Just like in Ideal City, it's something akin to the Cr," Kumarit boasted, "To achieve this goal, he built an algorithmic framework with the technology from Ideal City, and made trading contracts and electronic certificates. The appreciation of this currency is completely controllable; it could solve all kinds of messy copper inflation and deflation!"

Sid scoffed dismissively.

A new currency?

What a joke!

The reason chips became chips was that the entire Inner City's authority backed them. And now a few youngsters dared to say they would issue new chips?

Were they playing house or something?

Actually, Sid didn't care too much. Playing house was much safer than murder and arson. It was essential to give these rascal kids something to do, otherwise, leaving them idle would create chaos.

However, the next thing Kumarit said almost choked Sid with his own spit.

"... The 100,000 S currency I currently hold is already worth five million chips!"

"Cough—!"

A severe cough struck, and Sid sat up and stared at his son, "Five million? You turtle son! You better explain clearly to me, where did you get five million!"

He remembered very clearly; he only gave the boy two million last time!

There was nothing he hated more than stealing money!

Especially stealing from his own family!

Seeing the terrifying expression on his dad's face, Kumarit shrank his neck in fright and hastily explained.

"It's, it's what I earned myself! Look!"

With that, he hurriedly took out his trading device and handed it to his misunderstood old dad.

Sid took the trading device and froze after a glance, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"What is this thing?"

These lines...

Why does it look so familiar?

But the jumping and diving of these fluctuations are too exaggerated. Though overall it's increasing, it's enough to make your heart race.

"S currency." Kumarit confessed with an honest face.

"What?"

"The credit currency I told you about," seeing his dad's bewildered face, Kumarit swallowed and hurriedly explained, "Before, one chip could be exchanged for one S currency, but now we've speculated it up to a ratio of 1 to 50... 100,000 S currency, isn't that five million?"

Sid became even more confused after hearing this.

He could understand if silver coins appreciated in value one day, but why would this S currency go up?

And one S currency could exchange for 50 chips...

Yet, the fact in front of him was undeniable.

And this rate of increase looked quite interesting.

The value of a 100-face chip might reach 140 at best, but this S currency's rate of increase had no limit, meaning it could be pulled up indefinitely?

No wonder his son looked down on the toys he held... Compared to the rise of this S currency, the "stable as an old dog" bonds were just toys, weren't they?

Sid stroked his chin, pondering, and inadvertently blurted out.

"Then the trade contract and the algorithm certificate... Forget it, I don't understand you young people. Just tell me straight, how does one play this game?"

"As long as you have an account at the Giant Stone City Bank, you can buy with just a flick of your finger..." Kumarit carefully watched his dad, observing his expression, "Dad? You want to play?"

If his dad was willing to join them, they could play an even bigger game.

Kisu had tried to persuade his dad, the bank manager Melvin, but sadly, he was locked in the small dark room again.

"...I can only say this thing seems quite interesting."

Sid was embarrassed to directly admit his interest, as it was considered disgraceful in the Inner City to earn money personally. Even if he wanted to buy, he could not do it in front of his family.

However, Kumarit didn't care about dignity. Seeing that his dad was interested, he immediately jumped up from the sofa, chuckling and saying.

"Dad! No problem! Remember I borrowed two million from you? I have borrowed and now I shall return... How about 40,000 S currency coins? You can play with it, and you can cash it out anytime, it will be credited in a second!"

Upon hearing this, Sid instantly became unhappy and slapped the back of his son's head.

"What do you mean borrowed and returned, are these the words you say to your father?"

Looking at his son's pitiful face, he didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm for doing real work, so he spoke again in a more soothing tone.

"Go to the butler and take... another five million chips, consider it practice."

Hearing his dad so supportive of his endeavor, Kumarit was immediately excited.

He climbed down from the sofa and looked at his dad solemnly.

"Dad! I'll dispense with the formalities... I will not let you down! Those five million chips, I will turn them into ten million—no, a billion to bring back!"

Seeing his son's grateful face, Sid nodded in approval.

Good.

It was definitely his own offspring.

This spirited young man had shades of his younger self.

"You've grown up."

He stood up, patted Kumarit's shoulder, and said with a heavy heart.

"Go ahead and do it, your old man is always your backup."

Kumarit clenched his fists excitedly.

"Thanks, Dad!"

A man's promise is as good as gold.

Although he knew his dad didn't care about the small change, Kumarit still stuffed a new trading device into his hands, then in front of him, transferred 40,000 S currency coins to his account.

"The trading device and the account are matched one-to-one, storing the key inside. You must keep it safe, it's troublesome if you lose it! Also, when selling, you have to control the amount. Don't hang too many at once, and if you sell more than 1000, you must consult with me!" Kumarit seriously said to his dad.

Seeing his son nagging with instructions, Sid waved his hand impatiently.

"Fine, I get it, don't bother me with such a trifle of money."

He kicked his son out the front door.

Sid stared at the transaction device for a while, but eventually couldn't resist the itch in his heart, and called the maid, who had previously served his wife by combing her hair, over to him, tossing the transaction device into her hands.

The young and beautiful maid approached Sid tremblingly and asked tentatively,

"...Sir? Do you have any instructions?"

"Enter your bank account number," Sid commanded authoritatively.

The maid dared not hesitate, immediately complied, and following Sid's command, entered a number of 100 into the device and pressed the 'sell' button.

The maid looked towards Sid blankly, not understanding what had happened.

"Sir?"

Sid waited for a moment then continued patiently,

"Use the house phone to call Melvin's secretary and check the balance on your card. Tell them I told you to check."

Although she was confused, the maid did as instructed and went to the neighboring room. Soon, a cry of surprise came from inside, followed by the clatter of the phone dropping to the floor.

Hearing this, Sid immediately stood up and walked briskly into the room, finding the maid scrambling to pick up the phone off the floor.

He could guess what had happened from the expression on her face, but he was eager to hear her say it herself; he asked, excitedly,

"How much money was added to the card?"

The maid's lips quivered as she replied,

"...Five thousand."

Five thousand chips!

It would take forty or fifty workers a whole month to earn that amount.

She didn't understand why the master would suddenly gift her so much money, and now she was even more uncertain about what to do.

There was a spark of excitement in Sid's eyes.

It was actually possible to cash out!

That damn son had actually made good!

Money was the best stimulant, and though he wasn't previously in the mood, his gaze suddenly fell on the maid before him.

A twisted kindness spread across his malevolent face.

"That's a reward for you; just spend it, I won't take it back."

The maid heaved a sigh of relief, squeezing out a beaming smile.

"Thank you, Sir..."

Sid nodded, pleased.

"Speaking of which, don't you have a boyfriend? I see you often write letters to him."

A hint of tension dawned on her radiant smile.

"Yes..."

Sid casually placed his hand on her waist and, while admiring her youthful pretty face, said in a tone of idle conversation,

"That young man is quite decent, I am pretty optimistic about the future at Giant Stone City Bank, and Melvin is an old friend of mine, after all; I'll have him look out for him... Ahaha, I've gone off-topic. But, speaking of which, you're not getting any younger; it's about time to think about getting married, isn't it? Why not use this money for it?"

He relished her reaction.

Only the newcomers would show such an expression. After a while, they became no different from the other painted women outside; no matter how pretty, it was all the same.

He wasn't some naive kid like Kumarit; he was past the age where he didn't distinguish between the indulgences, having need for some excitement to get a reaction.

The maid bit her lip lightly, her complexion turned slightly pale, and with the last remnants of her dignity, she pleaded,

"...This is the lady's room."

However, what she didn't expect was,

This matchstick didn't scare away the hyena; instead, it set the whole woodpile ablaze.

Sid sneered viciously and slammed the door shut.

"Well isn't that just perfect!"

Chapter 535: The Lit Powder Keg (Thanks to the "Reincarnation Changes" Sterling Silver Alliance!)

"Oh, another big fish has taken the bait."

In a small Western-style house by Rhombus Lake.

Glancing at the fluctuating lines and numbers on the trading device, Fang Chang, who was sitting at the table reading a newspaper, slightly upturned the corners of his mouth.

Just a moment ago, someone had injected five million chips worth of funds into the market.

Though the purchases were made in small orders, he could instantly tell that they were all from the same person.

To facilitate these gamblers playing the zero-sum game and to reduce friction loss of the "chips", he hadn't even set a transaction fee.

And that young man, who he had known for less than a month, really lived up to his expectations—the S coin trading platform had already attracted a thousand participants.

If his guess was right, these thousand people covered more than half of the nobility in the Inner City and their relatives, most of whom likely hadn't even read the electronic contract before buying in.

Propelled by the nobles, this easy-to-engage game of passing along the burden was quickly spreading like a chain reaction—to the glitzy Night Queen Bar, pulling part of the stage dancers and wandering mercenaries and traders into the game.

These people were definitely among the high-income groups in Giant Stone City, their pockets filled with chips reaching into the thousands, even tens, hundreds of thousands!

As for the bank clerks, municipal office workers, boutique designers of tailor shops... Although these middle-income groups didn't possess enough wealth, with savings at most in the tens of thousands, their desire for wealth was astonishingly great.

It was just too bad that there wasn't much juice left to squeeze out of Giant Stone City, or else the ending would have been spectacular.

As the developer of the trading system, he could see every player's hand at the table, and he didn't even need to watch their trading actions to guess.

But to be honest, making money off these people wasn't very interesting.

After all, it was well known that taking advantage of fools was unethical.

"Wow, how many newspapers did you order?" Noise came from the hallway as Dolly walked in, holding a stack of newspapers.

"I ordered all that I could," he stood up, took the stack from her hands, and smiled, "I'm just supporting Miss Inspector's career."

"I'm a journalist!" Dolly curiously stared at him, blinking, "Also, what exactly is an inspector? I thought it was a guard for the Alliance, but when I asked around, everyone said they hadn't heard of it."

Hearing this, Fang Chang's face turned green, and he nearly choked on his own saliva, coughing twice before saying,

"Cough! You, you shouldn't ask around anymore! I'll tell you about it later..."

Help!

He definitely didn't want to face social death!

Seeing a certain villain pleadingly looking at her, Dolly proudly curled her lips, but she wasn't ready to let him off yet.

"Pinky promise!" she extended her pinky finger.

"Pi-... Pinky promise." Fang Chang awkwardly extended his hand, but the thought of having to explain it to her later made him blush.

How was he supposed to explain this?

He couldn't mention another world's affairs...

He couldn't say, from a movie... no, that's too dirty! And data transmission had to be censored, Ah Guang would definitely see it!

Was this really something that had to be made so official?

And even requiring a pinky promise...

However, Dolly was still as easy to placate as ever, her curiosity not stirred by his blushing, and after the pinky promise she contentedly sat opposite him at the dining table, happily digging into her breakfast.

Fang Chang also picked up a baozi and bit into it, calming his overly heated emotions, then his eyes moved to the tall stack of newspapers beside the table, shifting his focus to them.

Speaking of which, "Survivor's Daily" had recently added several new supplements.

These included "Worker Report", "Agriculture Report", "Fashion Weekly", and more...

The external flow of industries to the Alliance had injected fresh blood, and "Survivor's Daily" was just a microcosm, also the easiest to visually witness.

The greatest legacy left from the Prosperity Epoch wasn't the Black Box, but the language of United Human.

Even though the names in the Wasteland were odd, ranging from Table, Chair, Wrench, Hammer to Li Lei and Han Meimei, everyone spoke the same language with only slight variations in pronunciation, thus cultural exchange and the spread of ideas faced fewer obstacles than in the real world.

It was also for this reason that the effects of industrial shifts and the siphoning of population were amplified, a process that should have been slow and enduring, but now was as wild as free falling.

However, he wouldn't sympathize with those people.

Arrogance is the greatest original sin.

Not only were those nobles arrogant, they were also greedy. A printing press intended to serve over half a million people had become an ATM for a select few VIPs. Despite lacking foreign exchange reserves, they insisted on playing a debt game with the Alliance.

Whom else would you cut if not them?

Perhaps their ancestors had never imagined that the chips originally invented to prevent the wasteland survivors from resorting to barter would be shuffled around like toys by their descendants.

If only the nobles of Giant Stone City hadn't earned so much base currency and had lent chips to the Alliance while also allocating some silver coins or assets priced in silver coins. It would have been quite difficult for the Alliance to shear them as the bonds of trade would have truly tied both parties together, making them partners in a mutually dependent relationship.

But that is all hindsight now.

From the beginning, the Manager had seen through the essence of these individuals, so he never gave in on the issue of "allowing free exchange between silver coins and chips." Perhaps the bank of Giant Stone City gradually sensed the danger, but merely recognizing it was already too late.

In truth, the benevolent Manager had given them opportunities.

Even until the end, these gamblers had a chance to hit the brakes and stop.

As long as Melvin could keep inflation in check within five years, allowing the Alliance to get through its initial development phase and opening the free exchange between chips and silver coins, the bubbles building up inside the massive walls could have naturally squeezed out. The Alliance, wishing to grow and strengthen, would definitely not play any games of default. Their integrity wasn't something for the Alliance to judge— that was a matter for the residents of Giant Stone City themselves.

However, the gamblers were too eager to win, and too eager to be the only winners, to the extent that they turned what could have been an ongoing game into a match "determining both hierarchy and life or death."

If it was to be a match, then someone must die.

This was a war, and it had already begun.

However, it was different from a hot war.

Most often, by the time most people realized it, it would have ended silently, and only upon looking back would they gradually understand what they had truly lost in this war.

It's a pity there weren't more financial instruments in the game; short-selling chips could have made a fortune.

That way, he wouldn't only be financially independent in reality, but in the game as well...

"What exactly is this thing?"

Noticing the trading device on the table, Dolly curiously picked it up, stared at it for a while without understanding it, and muttered softly, "You've been staring at it since morning."

Without any concealment, Fang Chang, regaining his usual composure, smiled softly as he spoke.

"The tool of a criminal, not for good kids to touch."

"...A tool for crime?"

"Yes."

Watching the puzzled Dolly, Fang Chang continued to tease.

"Like... there's a 'clearance' button there. If you press it, a few people in the nearby Inner City will die."

"Want to try it?"

Although maximizing benefits wouldn't be possible then, as his chips in the Inner City Bank would also be frozen, he didn't really care about such superficial things.

That plan was just to confirm a suspicion he had in mind.

Winning a beauty's smile was never unwelcome.

However, Dolly couldn't smile, instead startled by his words, she carefully placed the dangerous object back on the table.

"Is that... really so terrifying?" Seeing Fang Chang's light and breezy smile, suspicion gradually filled Dolly's eyes as she raised an eyebrow.

She always felt that this guy was teasing her again.

"Of course, it's real, and conservatively estimated... probably more than a few would die."

Stretching out his hand to ruffle her lush green hair, Fang Chang looked into those doubtful eyes and gently smiled as he spoke.

"I haven't forgotten what those villains did. They dared to bully my gentle, lovely, kind Miss Dolly. Of course, I must make them pay a little price for their impudence."

"...Oh! That's so cheesy!"

Dolly blushed and jumped to one side.

Although she said that, her heart still involuntarily fluttered with sweetness.

She had decided to move on, yet he still remembered…

Seeing the look in her eyes wasn't joking, Dolly hesitated a bit and said in a low voice.

"Actually, I don't hate those people that much anymore, and you don't have to deliberately take revenge on them. I won't go back there anyway... But speaking of which, since you hold grudges like this."

"It's not holding grudges, this is called..." Fang Chang struggled with cheesy lines, thought for a moment, smiled, and continued, "this is called remembering every single thing about you."

A tactic that would earn eye-rolls in the real world unexpectedly worked wonders in the Wasteland.

Dolly's cheeks immediately flushed red, and she hurriedly picked up her file bag from the chair and dashed toward the door like a startled animal.

"I, I, I'm going to work!"

Watching the clanging entrance door, Fang Chang couldn't help but smile as his gaze returned to the newspaper in his hand.

When he read about the recent situation in Giant Stone City, he shook his head and muttered to himself,

"These days... there are too many fools, and not enough scammers."

An editor at "Economic News" had made a joke about a neighbor, when a merchant from the Alliance dined in a restaurant in Giant Stone City and discovered that people were paying with paper, he was shocked and asked, "Where are your chips?" The waiter proudly told him, "We now use IOUs," and then pulled out a receipt with a string of zeroes.

The Alliance merchant couldn't find enough chips even after turning his pockets inside out, so, struck by inspiration, he tore off a napkin, wrote an even longer string of zeroes, and bought the entire restaurant.

Clearly, this was a prank submission by players.

And mostly by players doing missions in Giant Stone City, who got players from the Alliance to submit on their behalf. But it also indirectly reflected what was happening in Giant Stone City. What was even more amusing was that just when they should have been most alert, they ended up stabbing themselves in the back and then buried their heads in the sand like ostriches.

Some residents of Giant Stone City deeply believed in Mr. Hauser's rhetoric, thinking the noble lords would surely find a way. The Inner City not only had a real research institute but also housed a team of advisors, although they would close the doors and whisper when discussing, so as not to be overheard by the hyenas on the Wasteland.

After a laugh, Fang Chang grew a bit more serious.

An unavoidable issue was that the Alliance still didn't have a complete "Financial Law"; it only had some similar regulations that other games have in the Player Manual, limiting players from defrauding unjust riches from the Alliance's NPCs or other players.

But now the game was growing larger, both in the number of players and NPCs rapidly increasing. It was possible that a few black sheep who would attack their own could sneak in and let the Alliance repeat the mistakes of Giant Stone City.

He loved this community more than anyone, after all, he and his friends had fired the first brick here, and the land was soaked with their blood.

For the common good of everyone, he had to do something.

A thought briefly crossing his mind, Fang Chang's lips curled into a slight smile.

"Speaking of which... Beta0.5 just updated 'Public Affairs.'"

Might as well draft a proposal for the "Financial Law" later...

…

As days passed, December soon arrived.

At least Mr. Hauser didn't lie about one thing, this year's winter was indeed not as cold as the previous years. Last year, many died of cold, but this year, no such deaths were heard of.

The cannery had improved its efficiency, a good sign indicating that some survivors from the outer city had become wealthier.

For instance, Melvin had hired a home tutor for his daughter, who recently wore leather shoes made from the Claw of Death.

Since discovering that the Alliance had gifted a Claw of Death to each survivor force that attended the celebration, the enthusiasm of the Inner City Nobles for the Claw of Death suddenly waned.

Perhaps...

Only Ideal City deserved to be their eternal deity in their hearts.

Spielberg couldn't help but murmur to himself, maybe his novel also needed to keep up with the times, changing the material of the Thousands of Leaders' shoes from the Claw of Death to something else to highlight the stature of this great person.

How about mutant scalp?

His imagination was lacking.

Apart from the bizarre "Evolutionary Bodies", he really couldn't think of anything more terrifying and abundant on the Wasteland than the Claw of Death.

In any case, everything seemed to be slowly getting better.

A bit more comfort arose in Spielberg's heart, perhaps one day in the future, this favor would extend to him as well.

The only thing that saddened him was that this month Lord Weijia tried to fob them off with IOUs again, infuriating everyone so much that even Kent cursed a few times at the shameless conniving merchant, utterly leaving no room for others to live.

Then there was an incident, someone secretly cut the slicer's thread, and the others were nasty enough to keep silent and pretend not to see, resulting in a whole line of canned goods on their production line being ruined, angling Lord Weijia's nose out of joint.

The culprit was certainly caught, reportedly because someone had exposed him.

But no matter what, it was also thanks to him that Lord Weijia was slightly more cautious with their attitude. He didn't default on last month's interest, although what he provided was just some unsold nutrient paste...

Spielberg felt somewhat disheartened.

He had occasionally fantasized that the boss would give them the spoiled canned goods, but to his surprise, his boss would rather pour those goods out in front of them than share, even instructing someone to urinate on that precious food.

That day, Mr. Hauser's broadcast included an additional advertisement—Delicious Food Processing Factory would rather destroy its substandard products than allow a single inferior can to flow into the market.

However, the bad news that affected the mood was fortunately only this one, and the good news still outnumbered the bad.

To hear the story of Awakener Bol, more and more of the workers gathered at the entrance of the Walnut Wood Beer Cans.

Not only from Mr. Weijia's factory, but also from the steel mill, the sawmill, and even engineers from the weapons assembly station... It turned out that those truly educated and good people also loved to hear their stories and expressed sympathy for their plight.

The engineer wasn't tall, his left eye was an electronic eye produced by Huge Rock Military Industry. He was a generous person, occasionally treating everyone to a drink... though it was only inferior diluted beer.

One day when he had drunk too much, he ranted that if Huge Rock Military Industry ever dared to fob him off with promissory notes, he would definitely not quietly tolerate it; he swore he would add extra gunpowder to every shell and a bit of sticky syrup too.

That was no joke.

At that moment, Spielberg stopped reading the story immediately and covered the engineer's mouth, hoping he wouldn't do anything foolish. The early spring Tide was no joke.

The cold winter killed a few destitute individuals at most.

When the warm winter arrived, the next spring would be like hell...

"How wonderful it would be."

After he finished reading the content from Workers' Post, a young man's face showed an envious expression, and he couldn't help but murmur quietly.

"If only we also had a Manager."

He had seen through it.

Those crooked merchants would not willingly take things out of their pockets for them, unless someone pointed a gun at them to force a change.

Hearing the young man's murmur, Spielberg couldn't help but curl his lip.

Everyone here had heard him read the reply letter from the editor-in-chief of Survivor's Daily. Not only had the Manager invited him to visit the Alliance, but he had also promised to let him try on power armor.

Truly a down-to-earth great person.

"After the Tide passes next year, let's all go there together. I heard the Looters in the North are almost wiped out by those Blue Jackets."

Hearing this, everyone looked at each other and began whispering.

"But I heard they only give silver coins, not chips..."

"What does it matter? I heard the dancers at Night Queen Bar now accept silver coins!"

"Exactly!" a man with a beard grumbled, "No matter what they give, it's always better than a promissory note!"

Some showed a worried look.

"But what about the Tide the year after? Do we come back to hide?"

The old wrench nodded, saying anxiously.

"I heard the Tide sweeps across the entire Wasteland, leaving no grass in its wake..."

If it weren't for necessity, no one would willingly leave Giant Stone City—after all, coming back would cost 1-2 chips, depending on the mood of the gatekeeper.

If they weren't afraid of Variants and Looters outside, they would have become mercenaries long ago, rather than staying obediently in the factory.

Those who stayed were honest people.

They were, generation upon generation.

Spielberg also shared the same worries, which is why he mentioned in his reply letter that he wanted to save up some travel money before heading over.

That twenty to thirty kilometers was not an easy journey, with unknown dangers lurking in the concrete ruins. He hadn't seen the blood-drinking mutated hyenas, but he had seen Melvin the bank manager head out with a whole troop of bodyguards.

However, at that moment, the engineer who often treated them to drinks just laughed.

"Come on, you all clearly haven't read the newspaper! I remember Survivor's Daily mentioned once that those Eaters are some kind of fruiting bodies of the 'Mutated slime fungus,' and that this fungus has something called self-limitation. Anyway, after expanding to a certain size, it can't expand further. The Tide in the suburbs probably isn't as exaggerated as in the city areas. How else would the survivors in the 'North Suburb' stay alive? They aren't popping out of concrete cracks."

Everyone exchanged glances upon hearing this, and Spielberg also showed a look of surprise.

This indeed was a gap in his knowledge.

He had always been fixated on the "Worker Report," cherishing it as his own creation, so much so that he forgot there were other publications like "Survivor's Daily" and "Mercenary Post," which shared common knowledge and experiences from the Wasteland.

Evidently, the engineer from Huge Rock Military Industry was a reader of the main issue of "Survivor's Daily," and had just read that edition.

Surprise turned into excitement, and Spielberg clenched his fists in excitement as he spoke to the crowd of workers gathered at the entrance of the pub.

"Great! Since the Wasteland isn't as scary as it seems, let's all go and see for ourselves when spring comes next year!"

Indeed, it's good to have a lot of people!

As long as one person is willing to share what they know with everyone, the united workers would grow increasingly knowledgeable, and knowledge is power.

However, at that moment, a group of fierce guards approached from not too far away. Spielberg's face slightly changed when he saw them.

Leading them was the head of the industrial district guards, Phyllis, followed by the security captain Alec and his "old friend" Kent.

"What are you all doing gathered here? Planning a rebellion?" Phyllis yelled, using his baton to disperse the drunkards loitering at the pub entrance.

Spielberg glanced at the pub owner, Tang, whose face had turned pale, and who shook his head.

"It wasn't me who called them..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Kent suddenly rushed forward like a hero, seized Spielberg's collar excitedly, and looked at the security captain Alec.

"It's this guy! He's always causing trouble here! Reading his disgusting... whatever story by Bol."

Spielberg flared up, unusually brave, and glared at him as he retorted.

"I read my stuff; was I reading it at your doorstep? How does it bother you?"

Unexpectedly, this coward dared to talk back. Kent was just about to spit at him, but seeing the surrounding workers silently watching him, his courage faltered.

"It does bother! How can Awakeners beat power armor? You're talking nonsense and misleading people! It's naive! Vulgar!" Lacking any substantial knowledge, he couldn't cite any convincing arguments, and could only parrot Mr. Hauser's words again, then he helplessly looked at Alec.

He swore.

If it was the lord's secret illegitimate child who thrashed the Alliance's power armor, he wouldn't have any objections and would excitedly celebrate... But what angered him was why these damned stories had to cater to what the poor folks liked, why couldn't they stick to the narratives he preferred?

Kent's teeth ached with anger.

Alec wasn't interested in the barking of a few stray dogs; whether it was Kent or Spielberg, they were all the same in his eyes.

Merely helpless wretches.

In a moment, he had to go to the Night Queen Bar to make an appearance for his boss and his boss's mistress. His drinking capacity was an indispensable amusement at parties, and right now he just wanted to wrap up this affair quickly. So he said softly to Phyllis,

"These people gather and shout every day, and who knows the day our assembly line breaks down, it might just be their bad ideas conspiring together."

"Respected captain of the guard, please handle this."

Phyllis did not respect a mere factory security captain, but Alec's boss was Wei Jia, whose boss was the renowned Sid.

That man was formidable.

However, he couldn't just arrest people without cause, as that might lead him to be discarded by the influential as a scapegoat to vent their anger on these poor folks.

So his beady eyes roved, spotting the newspaper on the table, and like discovering a treasure, his voice altered with excitement as he loudly called out.

"What is that?"

Without waiting for an answer,

Phyllis strode over quickly, picked up the newspaper, and unfolded it, his sinister and haughty gaze sweeping around.

As if he held a sword in his hand.

"The Worker Report! The city hall has explicitly banned this!"

"It's not the old one!" said an engineer who couldn't stand it anymore, interjecting, "This is a sub-issue of the Survivor's Daily by the Alliance! They are completely different!"

"Heh, the Alliance, huh... Add a degree to the crime!" Phyllis mockingly glanced at the pale-faced Spielberg and his demeanor turned gradually colder.

"Take this traitor away!"

Several guards stepped forward, disregarding Spielberg's struggles and shouts. They punched him, then in front of all those present, dragged him away from the entrance of the pub.

Alec casually tossed a 25-value chip to Kent as a dismissal reward, then waved his hand, leading a few muscles from his entourage and departed from the scene.

Kent tensely clutched the chips.

He nodded and bowed to Alec's receding figure, then looked at the retreating figure of Spielberg and happily cursed.

"Good catch! That damn traitor!"

His voice stood out in the crowd.

Because it was his voice alone.

Kent couldn't help but panic, instinctively hid the chips in his hand, and nervously watched the pairs of eyes watching him, taking a step back.

"You... what are you looking at me for? I... I'm doing this for your sake! You don't want to lose your jobs because of that despicable little man—"

"Stop being a hypocrite."

An angry voice interrupted him.

A young man walked out from the crowd, staring at him unblinkingly.

"If given the chance, you would lie down on the ground to lick the shoes of Lord Melvin, even willing to taste his family's excrement. You have the gall to say it's for our sake, when in your heart you clearly wish for us all to die, so you can monopolize all the work."

Kent's eyes widened.

"You, you dare to directly call Lord Melvin by his name!"

The young man looked at him coldly.

"Yes, I said it, and now I'll say it again. Go call your Lord Melvin to teach us a lesson, better yet, get us all arrested to join Spielberg, since it's so cold outside, it can't be much worse than inside, and I could listen to him continue his story. But unfortunately, I guess that lord won't care about you; after all, a dog only licks its own master, and your tongue is far dirtier than a dog's."

Kent angrily cursed.

"You're the filthy one! You, your whole family is rotten!"

The bearded man looked at him, uninterestedly shrugged.

"Just admit it boldly, you only worship the whip in Mr. Stephen's hand, you neither care about Rudi, nor about Casey, and you couldn't care less why Bill lost his job. You've never loved anyone here, you're desperate to hold that whip yourself."

Someone in the crowd shouted.

"Hey, pal, he hasn't heard about Awakener Bol's story, those names you're using are all Greek to him!"

That voice quickly received a laughing response.

"Haha, he doesn't know what Mr. Stephen's whip is used for!"

"No matter, but we all know who this guy is!"

They had found common ground.

Kent's eyes widened, nearly popping out.

"You're talking nonsense! I, I—"

He indeed hadn't read that newspaper.

And because of this, he felt a pang of inexplicable panic. It felt like being left out of the group, left alone in place.

That damn Spielberg...

He dared, dared to write him into his novel!

Kent didn't know that Spielberg had never written his name, nor did he have someone like him in his books, but people seemed to recognize him, familiar with him as if they had put his name in for that annoying fellow.

The crowd began to stir.

They seemed to all know what to do next, even though no one had told them, they seemed resolute.

Thinking they were about to gang up to beat him, Kent backed away, his face growing ever more frightened.

The first young man who had stood up looked at him suddenly with pity and raised his right hand.

Kent instinctively raised his arm to parry, but the young man neither hit him nor snatched the chips in his hand, only patted his shoulder.

"Admit it, you love neither Lord Melvin nor Lord Weijia, nor have you ever loved any of us... Your eyes only see yourself, how do you deserve to say 'for our good'? You wish we would all die, and you dream of shitting on everyone's heads, too bad for you, born straight into a rat hole, 25 chips can't make you a high-class person, you have to remain a rat in the same nest as us."

People passed by him, unanimously patting his shoulder.

"We won't blame you."

"Keep it up, Kent."

"You're doing great."

"Take this big bonus and buy some sweets while you still can, haha."

Kent backed away in fear, his shoulder smeared with motor oil, flour, and a few colorful substances... those came from hands that seemed enchanted.

While holding his chips tightly, he looked at the people moving in the opposite direction and cried out in panic,

"What are you all doing? Stop! Have you... gone mad?"

"What are we doing?"

The young man stopped, turned back to Kent, looked at the coward who almost curled up, and scoffed,

"We're doing what Bol should do!"

"That guy won't ignore his fellow workers in trouble!"

"He told us to unite!"

...

"Big trouble now!"

City of Dawn.

In the Manager's Office at the Alliance Building, the hasty footsteps interrupted Chu Guang's thoughts, making him put down his pen.

Standing at the door was his appointed head of diplomacy, a young man named Cheng Yan, selected in the same cohort as Sun Ruicai from the Ministry of Finance.

While Shu Yu would have been a more suitable choice for this position, the Alliance needed their best diplomat in Ideal City, and no one was better suited to represent the Alliance at the Supreme Council than that unflappable young man.

Both were directly accountable to him, and Shu Yu himself had no complaints, willing to do anything for the Alliance.

Like Lu Bei, they were the Alliance's most loyal young men.

"What's the matter? Don't rush, take a breath, slowly."

Without blaming his rashness, Chu Guang looked at him earnestly and said,

"It's Giant Stone City! There's trouble in Giant Stone City!" Cheng Yan swallowed, hurrying on, "Our embassy sent a message, saying the industrial area workers have surrounded the guardhouse demanding the release of a captured fellow worker or to be imprisoned with them."

Chu Guang furrowed his brow,

"What happened next?"

Cheng Yan replied with a bitter smile,

"Their jail filled up..."

There was silence in the office for a while.

Chu Guang, with mixed feelings, sighed,

"Did anyone die?"

"No... but many were injured, and since the guards in Giant Stone City found our newspaper and a letter from our editor to them, along with a hundred chips in the homes of those arrested, the authorities suspect we're behind it." Cheng Yan cautiously glanced at Chu Guang, "Our editor mentioned you in the letter... I wanted to confirm, is that true?"

"I told him to mention it."

"I see now!"

Cheng Yan immediately nodded, an expression of understanding on his face.

If it was part of the Manager's plan, then it was fine.

He had no doubts about the Manager's correctness, his only worry was the editor of Survivor's Daily letting something slip.

Seeing the expression on his face, Chu Guang couldn't help but chuckle,

"This isn't completely unconnected to us, but it isn't like you think. A hundred chips to bribe a jail-full of people... Even if I told them, 'I did it,' would they believe it?"

Cheng Yan replied with a wry smile, "That... I don't know, but actually, it's not that serious. I think they don't intend to blow this up into a big issue, just warning us not to try any more small moves to obstruct them."

Chu Guang: "Then?"

Cheng Yan shook his head.

"Gone."

Gone?

Chu Guang couldn't help clicking his tongue.

"You look so anxious, I thought he shut down our embassy."

If that were the case, he'd at least respect the nobles for their daring.

Like Yard, who bravely took weapons to the Alliance's premises to demand justice and was overlooked by Chu Guang, who instead held him in higher regard.

It wasn't without reason that the citizens of the Honey Badger Kingdom supported him.

But thinking of this, Chu Guang felt puzzled. The residents of River Valley Province were known for their ferociousness, never lacking aggressive Waste Land Wanderers. How could it be that when it came to landlords, from Old Leech to Old Brown, each seemed more spineless than the next?

Cheng Yan cleared his throat and said,

"That shouldn't be the case. They're probably worried you won't pay them back. It wouldn't add up to just cut ties over a small issue…"

"This is no small matter. As the fuse that sparked this crisis, it's quite serious."

Chu Guang sighed, glanced at the draft paper on the table, and crossed out the mild measures he had just written, realizing they were no longer applicable.

Honestly, after the celebration, everything had been peaceful, and there were even signs of economic recovery within Giant Stone City. He had been somewhat relieved, thinking it would last until next spring, but then this unprecedented incident happened.

He didn't want to guess at the conspiracies behind it.

Not all events needed profound reasons—history itself progresses through countless coincidences.

Perhaps it all started with someone who didn't stub out his cigarette properly, accidentally throwing it into a trash can filled with gunpowder.

Suddenly, Chu Guang remembered something.

"Speaking of which, why did those workers suddenly surround the guard station?"

Hearing the Manager suddenly ask that, Cheng Yan paused and frowned in thought for a moment before answering,

"The person in charge of the embassy there said… apparently, a food processing factory owner bribed the guards to arrest the person who reads newspapers at the Workers' Association daily."

Chu Guang: "…"

Good lord.

Really?!

After roughly understanding the cause and effect of the situation, Chu Guang felt a complex mix of emotions.

He installed the accelerator in Giant Stone City, and he was the one who pressed the gas pedal first, but he never expected things to spiral out of control right from the start.

His players were all people who could help, immediately stepping in. The Alliance's NPCs couldn't hold back and followed up with additional strikes.

But the Inner City nobles, not satisfied with the pace, not only stepped in fiercely themselves but even welded the car door shut. And behind this, it probably wasn't just the Alliance; other forces were likely fanning the flames and taking advantage as well.

Melvin might be the most clear-headed person there, and one of the few 'good' ones willing to see the Outer City residents benefit—at least relative to his shareholders.

But it was too late to stop it. He could only poison himself to quench his thirst with the method Chu Guang provided. Ironically, Chu Guang, who first stepped on the gas, now desperately wanted to hit the brakes.

"I hope we can at least survive this winter..." Chu Guang pressed at his forehead and sighed, "Otherwise, the tide in spring will be a big problem."

Cheng Yan was slightly startled.

Due to his job, he had conducted thorough investigations and, with the help of the embassy, had gathered some historical details that even the nobles of Giant Stone City might not take seriously.

In the less than two centuries of history in Giant Stone City, similar incidents had occurred, and in the end, they had always been resolved by those nobles.

Otherwise, the city's ruler would have changed long ago.

Without any surprise, this time should be the same...

He muttered softly,

"It shouldn't be that serious…"

—

(Thanks to "Reincarnation Thousand Changes" alliance master and Silver Alliance for their gratuity!!! Big boss is generous!!!)

(Also, just to add, this book will touch a bit on military, economy, culture, industry, infrastructure, technology, farming, daily joys, and player's adventures. Every settlement and refuge will have different endings; there won't be two identical or two Giant Stone Cities, Brocade River Province won't just slap green paint on Luo Xia Province's map and call it a change. The story is a complete one; after all, it's not a short video. You like a beauty, and next time only beauties are recommended to you. Also, why do people always try to link Wasteland with reality? They're not even on the same dimension. I'd rather say this is like a winter home in the Ice Age than weave some seemingly plausible tales.)

Chapter 536: My Son Has Made It!

In the Wasteland, a settlement with over half a million people was quite large, but in the grand scheme of things, it was just that—over half a million people. In a place like Triumph City or Ideal City, a disturbance involving a few thousand people would barely register as a sneeze.

But in Giant Stone City, a place long riddled with deep-seated problems, that sneeze could serve as the fuse that sparked a full-blown crisis, almost blasting its front teeth out...

By noon the next day, Alec, the head of security for Vijia Commerce, was rubbing his booze-reddened nose as he climbed out from a mountain of empty bottles.

Sometimes he felt that he was an Awakener too, just not as obviously so. Once, while following his boss to the "North Suburb," he sat in the lobby of a roadside inn and distinctly saw those so-called Awakeners in Blue Jackets flopping after five or six bottles, unlike him—a bona fide drinker who could handle a thousand cups without faltering.

It was for this very reason that the boss always kept him close by.

On the one hand, his size was definitely big enough to intimidate those undernourished workers; on the other hand, his capacity for alcohol was an indispensable form of entertainment at parties. When the boss and his mistress would start laughing and end up in each other's arms, he knew to discreetly drink himself into a stupor.

Shaking his groggy head, Alec picked up his clothes that had been tossed to one side and flexed his stiff neck, preparing to head back to the factory to continue sleeping, when the door to his private room suddenly banged open. Phyllis, in a state of disarray, rushed in from outside, followed by Aaron, his expressionless secretary.

"Dammit, what are you, a pig? Sleeping at a time like this!"

Seeing the expression on his boss's face, Alec immediately realized something was wrong, and, disregarding his pounding headache, quickly asked,

"Boss, what happened?"

"What happened? Do you have no idea what you've turned the task I gave you into?"

Watching spittle fly from Phyllis's mouth as he raged, Alec was puzzled and scratched the back of his head, cautiously responding,

"You mean dealing with that guy reading the newspaper, Spielberg? I've already gotten Phyllis to catch him."

Phyllis's nose seemed to twist with anger as he furiously cursed,

"I told you to grab him, not everyone! Without those poor sods, who's going to do the work? Do you expect the assembly line to start moving on its own? Or maybe you'll take over?"

Alec was shocked.

"Impossible! I, I saw Phyllis take away only one person!"

"But now they're all locked up!" Phyllis bit his teeth with fury, "I'll have to figure out how to fish them out!"

Aaron coughed softly behind him.

"I've inquired, and the workers went on their own accord, claiming they wouldn't abandon any of their colleagues... That Workers' Association is the root of all evil. If we don't find a way to break them up, their numbers will spread like a virus—not just threatening one factory, but all of them."

Vijia Commerce owned not just the Delicious Food Processing Factory but many other related industries.

Phyllis's face changed slightly.

"We have no choice but to ask Mr. Sid to handle this."

Aaron nodded,

"That's what I would suggest... Moreover, it would be best to bring some people in from outside the city. They may not be skilled, but the production line can't stop."

If possible, Phyllis truly didn't want to have to beg that important person, but this wasn't something he could handle on his own.

It was like hoarding copper ore to hedge against inflationary risks—when everyone started doing it, the "exploiting a bug" tactic failed, and in the end, only the Alliance's mines would have the last laugh.

If only one person refused to work, they would simply be replaced, but if everyone went on strike, the threat of termination became a joke... These people were so immoral to resort to such despicable tactics!

Watching his boss's retreating figure, Alec hurried after, getting dressed as he walked out, muttering to himself,

"Have these people gone mad... marching themselves into jail."

Such a dark, stifling place.

What could possibly be so appealing about it...

...

In the mansions of the Inner City.

Sid sat on the sofa, staring intently at the transaction device, his face switching between joy and furrowed brows of distress; then he would abruptly slap his thigh, cursing profusely before complimenting himself with another slap for a job well done.

His mercurial demeanor kept even the most sycophantic servants at a far distance, except for his wife, who was closest to him.

Looking at her husband seated on the sofa, Bonnie's face was etched with affection, feeling her husband sometimes acted like a child, seeming to grow younger as days passed.

"My dear," her hand passed over his shoulder, her elbow resting on the back of the sofa as she spoke gently, "You've been staring at that all day long. Wouldn't you take a break to look at me?"

Sid shifted his gaze from the small screen to his beautiful and attractive wife, his stiff facial muscles squeezing out a smile.

"I'm just checking... checking on our son's achievements."

Bonnie couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

He hadn't even noticed that he'd changed his cologne. The palm-sized screen seemed to cast a spell that firmly captured his attention.

Completely oblivious to his wife's disappointment, Sid was feeling quite smug. Through repeated wave trading and a well-timed increase of 6 million chips, the value of the S Coins in his account was approaching 10 million!

But the investment was absolutely worth it.

Because just now, the value of the S Coins that totaled 10 million in chips had jumped another notch, to 11 million! He had already earned back the additional investment!

A smile was brimming on Sid's face.

Making money isn't that hard after all...

Perhaps this was the talent that came with his lineage.

Every time he thought of this, he couldn't help feeling proud of his son—that rascal had really made something of himself!

Truly his own flesh and blood!

He hoped that Kumarit and Kishu's relationship could be as close as their fathers'—like his and Melvin's—and that they would pass on this unbreakable bond.

That's far more important than building a great enterprise.

A landlord is a landlord because they don't know how to unite; when the wolf comes, they can only run with tails between their legs. A noble, however, is a noble because the palace isn't one person's; even if the wolf comes, it still ends up as just another addition to their meal.

At this moment, the butler approached and bowed slightly.

"Elder, Mr. Wei Jia is outside."

"Wei Jia?" Sid frowned, "What's he here for?"

The butler bent forward as he spoke.

"He says... he has some business that he must see you about, and it's very urgent. He's already waiting downstairs."

Bonnie got up from the sofa and kissed her husband on the face.

"Business is business, whether it's List or Wei Jia. They're good people who help us out, don't neglect them. Go on, I'll step aside."

Sid nodded and cleared his throat, looking at the butler.

"Let him come up."

"As you wish."

The butler nodded slightly and turned to leave. Shortly after, Wei Jia rushed over from not far away.

Wei Jia's boozy breath made Sid frown slightly, but he still suppressed the displeasure in his heart and asked calmly.

"What's got you in such a rush?"

Wei Jia spoke urgently.

"Lord, there's trouble!"

"Don't waste words, get to the point." Putting the trading device on the table, Sid glanced at the screen and spoke impatiently.

"I... our factory, all the workers have been arrested!"

Wei Jia's face was the picture of misery as he recounted the events of the previous day. Sid was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding, and repeated the story, trying to clarify the cause and effect.

"You bought off the industrial zone guard, had that pauper who was reading the newspaper arrested... and then the other workers got arrested too? Just release them."

This shouldn't be difficult.

Wei Jia said incredulously.

"No... it's not like that, the workers went in themselves!"

"Idiots!" Sid glanced at him, "What do you care about them for? Let those poor sods stay wherever they want."

"But... the factory is nearly empty, and it's not just our factory. Elder... one troublemaker is nothing to fear, but a group becomes a carbuncle; this is no small matter! This is a sign of big trouble! We... we must do something." Wei Jia swallowed nervously, trying to persuade him earnestly.

Nearly half the factory is empty?

Sid was startled, becoming cautiously aware of the gravity of the situation.

This wasn't hard to understand.

Just like the maids in his household, although they often changed, it meant nothing to him; he was a very tolerant person and never tried to retain them, he would even give a speech at their weddings.

However, if all the maids were to resign, he definitely would not accept that because he couldn't possibly let male servants with dirty hands comb his wife's hair, could he?

"Talk about your plan."

Wei Jia said patiently.

"I've investigated deeply, and it all started with a guy named Spielberg, that troublemaker who reads the newspapers, he established a Workers' Association... that thing is the root of all evil."

"And what exactly did he do?"

"For now, he hasn't done much... no, that's not right, I can't say he hasn't done anything—"

"Enough, enough," Sid interrupted his roundabout speech impatiently, "A cockroach, just kill it and be done with it."

Wei Jia was startled by these words and quickly said.

"But... no, my lord, we can't do that! Stepping on a cockroach is easy, but its eggs will scatter everywhere—even if we're going to kill him, we must do it quietly, without causing a stir."

Sid was amused by this coward's remarks.

A joke.

He, a nobleman, since when did he have to explain why he had killed someone?

Even if he had to provide a reasonable explanation to appease the anger of the Outer City, that was Duron's problem to worry about; what else was he keeping that dog for?

However, seeing Wei Jia's pleading look, Sid thought about it and decided to let it go.

Turning his gaze away from the coward before him, he looked at the trading device on the table and said indifferently.

"Alright, I'll make a call later."

Wei Jia asked cautiously.

"Who are you planning to hand it over to?"

Sid replied impatiently.

"Find a convict to take care of that Spielberg, no need for our own people."

He had a sense of proportion with these details and wouldn't light a fire to the house directly like Kumarit and Kishu, those inexperienced young guys.

Finding a desperado in the Wasteland was too easy, the people willing to work for him could line up from his feet to the gates of the huge wall.

"It's Spielberg... I know you wouldn't make a mistake, this is just to be safe," Wei Jia cautiously reminded him.

Although this wasn't the best method, he was more inclined to bribery and divide and conquer, but his boss didn't seem to want to bother with such troublesome matters.

Actually, it wasn't unacceptable.

Just let the lord handle it.

Seeing that Sid seemed uninterested in talking to him, Wei Jia murmured to himself about planning to resign but then noticed the lord's eyes fixed on the screen on the table.

He had seen something similar in the hands of his own son, supposedly bought at the insistence of Kumarit and Kishu—a thing called S Coin.

Although he scoffed at it, he didn't prevent his son, instead giving the little rascal a large sum of money. After all, Sid was his master, and Melvin was the master's friend. Even though S Coin didn't sound smart, pleasing these two important figures was a smart move.

But what he hadn't expected was that the renowned Sid was also playing it, and seemed to be having a lot of fun with it—his breathing and heartbeat even syncing with the fluctuations of those lines...

Intuition told Wei Jia this was not proper, but it wasn't his place to interfere.

"My lord... What is this thing? It looks pretty novel," Wei Jia pretended to be seeing it for the first time, asking out of curiosity to please him.

With common ground established, Sid indeed regained interest in him, turned to look at the increasingly old hound, and spoke enthusiastically.

"S Coin! I've made a million—cough, even the maids who comb my wife's hair have made a million chips, it's a really good investment, even those with little education can make a fortune."

It wasn't dignified for a noble to personally make chips, just yesterday while chatting with his wife he remembered that this seemed to be an ancestral instruction.

But it didn't matter, after all, he and the guys had always been dignified, being able to do so without consciously remembering, following rules without stepping out of line.

Seeing Wei Jia's face brimming with interest, he decisively took out an unregistered trading device and placed it in the hands of this loyal servant.

"Take it, play around when you have time. You need to keep up with the times to keep up with the rhythm of the young people. My friend, the times have changed, the old ways of making money won't work anymore," he said.

"I hope that one day, you can become a true noble."

With both hands, Wei Jia received the transaction device, tears streaming down his face, not because of the generous Lord Sid's willingness to make money with him, but because of Lord Sid's term "friend."

Friend...

What a beautiful word!

It had been such a long time since he'd heard Lord Sid call him that affectionately.

His money, his collectibles, the women he liked – whatever Lord Sid wanted, he could offer generously, just like his ancestors had done.

However, Lord Sid would rather call List, that stray dog from outside, "friend" multiple times, but refused to call him a friend... even though they were in the same gang! They had grown up together!

But today!

He'd heard that long-missed, affectionate term once again!

It was worth it!

"I will always remain loyal to you... my lord," Wei Jia's eyes brimmed with tears, and he unconsciously clenched his fists, "I, I will definitely repay you!"

"Why talk such cheesy stuff," Sid glanced at him sideways, waved his hand in good spirits and said with a smile, "Go on down, don't forget the real work."

"Yes..."

Wei Jia lifted his sleeve and secretly wiped away his tears.

Bowing out of the living room, he followed the butler onto the elevator.

Not until he left the building and returned to the sides of his secretary, Aaron, and bodyguard, Alec, did he retract the tears and joy that coursed through the wrinkles on his face.

Aaron said nothing, and Alec scratched the back of his head, not understanding why his boss's eyes bore tear marks... He had never seen tears on the face of this big crocodile.

Wei Jia remained silent, simply gestured with a wave of his hand, and led the two men silently away from the Inner City.

Stopping at the border of the Inner and Outer Cities, he looked up at the bustling street not far away, and silently drew a cigarette to his lips from within his chest.

Alec immediately pulled out a gold-trimmed lighter, ready to please his boss by lighting it for him, but was pushed away by Wei Jia.

"Get lost."

Wei Jia cursed and fumbled in his pocket for a box of matches, scraped them a few times until they lit, and lit the cigarette himself.

In the puffs of smoke, the flickering light of the flame was intermittent.

The sharp smoke blurred the bustling street, as if the whole world was soaked in it, yet it seemed only he was anesthetized.

Is this... the Wasteland?

Looters wouldn't dare to eat people here, mercenaries wouldn't dare to be brutal, and no two-headed Hyenas could enter, only docile cats rubbing against the shoes of beautiful girls.

Pity he had never been to the paradise of two hundred years ago; he had no idea what a real Utopia looked like... If only there were a way to see it, just once.

Wei Jia squinted, took several harsh pulls from the cigarette, then threw the half-smoked stub onto the ground and crushed it under heel.

Alec dared not make a sound, holding the lighter, and timidly watched his boss.

The boss was acting out of the ordinary today.

He never lit his own cigarettes, and certainly never stomped out any stubs.

"Aaron, we've lost."

Staring at the place where the sky met the colossal wall, Wei Jia suddenly said this.

Aaron was slightly stunned, then understanding the look on his boss's face, fell into silence for a moment and nodded without a word.

They had lost, hadn't they?

He thought the boss had realized last month, but even the cunning Mr. Wei Jia had moments of obliviousness.

Alec felt panic for no apparent reason; he couldn't understand what the two were talking about, and had no idea what they had lost or to whom.

"Boss... what's wrong? Did Spielberg, that bastard, upset you? I'll go teach him a lesson for you!"

"Spi... ha, what is that thing, worthy of being compared to me," Wei Jia shook his head, mocking himself, "I just now came to my senses, this damn thing is a war."

"War, a war?" Alec was stunned and then furrowed his brow, "You mean... the Alliance is behind Spielberg stirring up those workers?"

Alliance?

Haha.

How naive, still wanting to lose with a little dignity in the end.

Wen glanced at his own dog, originally wanting to mock him for a bit of amusement, but soon realized that essentially, there was no difference between them, and he lost interest with a shake of his head.

"Right, war, if you can't understand what 'our war with the Wasteland has never ended' means, then just think about it however you can."

"This is war, it's our war with the Alliance, the bumpkins from North Suburb and the Blue Ground Squirrels just couldn't hold back any longer and have started to attack, and it actually began a month ago at the festival. They sneakily hid artillery shells among the fireworks, and our esteemed Mr. Melvin and Lord Sid were even eagerly attending their birthday celebrations... Oh, I'm such a fool, only now do I realize that I, a person of status, have actually become entangled in a fool's trench warfare."

How ironic.

He'd been clever his whole life, but it was only after he'd already lost that he finally saw everything clearly.

In fact, they had a chance to prove something to the Wasteland.

If only Melvin had discussed things with him from the start, but sadly, he couldn't be bothered to engage with his own pug.

If only Elder Sid had slightly appreciated his loyal old dog, but alas, the great man increasingly looked down on the old servant's capabilities.

If only Spielberg and those "workmates" had been a little more mature and understood the bigger picture, even if the puppet Duron had taken a little more care to keep them happy, even if the foolhardy Haus had just used a bit of brainpower to properly craft a deception before attempting to cheat...

Of course, he wasn't a pure lotus flower himself, nor a good person; if he had eaten a little less, he might at least have survived until next year's Tide.

But what's the point?

The Wasteland wouldn't end just because one survived a Tide.

And who in this city isn't a gambler?

The nonsensical Haus must know that those poor devils couldn't possibly develop diabetes. Perhaps he's just lost his temper and is intentionally making trouble with a loud voice.

Durant from City Hall must know that his old partner banker Melvin is engaged in an extremely dangerous gamble. But if the poor have work, they won't bother him, and the nobles would just scapegoat him like they did five years ago, so instead of turning a blind eye, he's actually eager to help Melvin...

In the end, the one truly working for the good of Giant Stone City turned out to be the dumb Jaeger, mocked by both nobles and paupers alike. Although he wasn't well-intentioned and only aimed to replace his immediate superior Duron as the one holding the whip.

And Melvin must know, too, the man sitting before him was an extremely dangerous and fierce person, who had made several Ten Thousand Leaders of the Army flee in panic.

On Wen's face, there was no regret, only a faint smirk at both himself and everyone else in this city.

Unfortunately, this digital game that is coming to a close has absolutely nothing to do with mathematics.

Their opponents are not clever, even clumsy, and they still need to borrow a few cards from their hands.

Perhaps the fool would actually do better because, after all, the fool has endless strength during tug-of-war, while smart people have too many options.

Aren't the Weilante People doing quite well?

If not for the Giant Stone City's factories, businesses, and economic diplomacy, relying solely on the Alliance and the desperate Blue Jackets would never have been enough to win, at least not this easily.

Of course, Wen doesn't deny that the latter is the most crucial factor; everything else is just icing on the cake.

"...I think you might be overthinking it," Alec said cautiously, "our weapons stockpile and scale are still above the Alliance... We can flip the table at any time, they wouldn't dare to fight with us."

Haha, weapons? Flip the table?" Wen couldn't hold back his laughter after all. Looking at the confused Alec, he teased, "No wonder you're one of my raised dogs. I expect the production line to start up by itself, and you damn well expect the table to flip over by itself, you're really a bloody genius!"

War is not a joke. The Alliance has already shown them once what total war is all about.

The entire Alliance was united in solidarity, everyone banded in one effort, abandoning all illusions, those with strength contributed their brawn, those with brains offered their intellect.

Their Managers not only boosted morale with war mobilization speeches in the most simple language, telling the people of the Alliance why we must slaughter a hungry wolf, why we should go do it, and why we will win, but they also personally led the Residents of the refuge into the front lines.

Of course, their opponents were not vegetarians either.

The Army did not dare to escalate the scale of the war, but those Weilante officers also went to the front, or else their Ten Thousand Leaders would not have been captured by the Alliance one after another, and Griffin wouldn't throw down a second card after every setback in battle.

And Giant Stone City...

Thinking of Elder Sid leading the charge, imagining those Militia Group lords who'd rather assign all their Work to the Mercenaries than to step foot on the front lines, Wen couldn't imagine that scenario.

Besides, their Mercenaries had already fought with the bumpkins from the North Suburb. They were outfitted with the best gear and took the most brutal beatings, back when there wasn't even an Alliance to speak of, with the bumpkins mostly wielding outdated pipe rifles.

Trying to force a mobilization without the ability to inspire is like unplugging life support in an ICU.

Never mind getting everybody to flip the table, the last person who dares not flip the table is Lord Sid himself. Fortunately for him, this old dog had enough time to "prepare for a rainy day."

Yes.

Wen had already planned to run.

In truth, he was the one who could least bear to leave Giant Stone City. Here, apart from the wives and children of other nobles that he dared not meddle with, he could do anything he wanted, while the Wasteland outside had little to do with someone of his stature.

Initially, Wei Jia could not understand List's choice; the Alliance clearly would not love him, yet he insisted on sucking up to them. He understood even less why Fred would sell his factory, and clearly at a price much lower than its worth.

But now he suddenly understood.

He knew he was no good; if Elder Sid was as slick as oil, then he himself was black with soot, but in the end, he was a bit smarter.

After all, he knew to use his chips to curry favor with Elder Sid, while his Elder Sid expected to use the chips he contributed to tie him down in return... It was such a pity that, in the end, the great man never knew what he truly wanted.

What he wanted was love.

To be loved.

He might be greedy for money, but he had not lacked it for eight generations. He racked his brains to get that Black Card, wasn't it just so that his childhood friend, Elder Sid, would look at him more highly?

Yet he felt like he was still a dog, born as one, with generations before him as dogs, and now with a tighter chain.

Perhaps List was right; true dignity was not about indulgence in pleasures, but about honor. It wouldn't make a person elegant and proper, but it would stop them from being an animal and instead, a person with societal attributes.

In the Wasteland where people were tormented into ghosts, that was something no amount of chips could buy. Deep down, people longed for it, willing to die for it, yet Elder Sid had monopolized it all.

Poor Sid...

Wei Jia did not want to give up on that old buddy.

But as the ship was sinking, it was finally time to say goodbye.

To hear a "my friend" at the end,
he was content.

Glancing at Alec, who was still not over the shock, Aaron walked up to the boss's side and asked in a very soft voice,

"Should we contact that guest from the North?"

"Let's make contact... Yes, I'll talk to that great man myself. After all, there's too much 'merchandise' to sell, and it's not something you can pack up and take away in a day or two. Right, you have to do something for me; Spielberg can't die, not a single person from the Workers' Association can die, so that we can rightfully do those things."

Wei Jia pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. His gloom swept away, he smiled, hooked his arms around the shoulders of his two subordinates, and gave them a hard pat.

"Ah, don't worry... After this, I'll double your pay. But in the future, we might have to pay wages in silver coins, so you two should be a bit psychologically prepared."

Alec looked somewhat regretful, but then brightened up after a second thought.

This wasn't so bad, after all.

The dancers across the street had already started accepting silver coins, and some people had even started a side business in currency exchange.

Aaron, however, said nothing.

After all...

Wasn't this to be expected?

...

Industrial Zone.

At the entrance to the Incredibly Powerful Steel Mill, Fred looked at the three bosses from the Alliance who had arrived at the door and said with regret,

"Sorry, you are a step too late. The production line you're talking about... We've already sold it off a while ago."

Staring at this guy who looked like he just stepped out of a meme, Night Ten froze on the spot, like a startled ground squirrel.

"Ah?!"

A few days ago, Brother Fang Chang had his eye on this steel mill supplying to Huge Rock Military Industry, and they hurried over from the City of Dawn after finishing their own affairs.

To their surprise, someone was even faster than damn Fang Chang!

This was just too inconsiderate!

Old White furrowed his brows and asked Fred,

"Would it be possible to tell us who the buyer is?"

He still wanted to give it another try.

"...Sun Steel Factory. The person who came to talk was a guy named Sun Shiqi, who seems to be one of your Alliance's bosses, too. He's a strange one, wanted to take the workers too and was even willing to pay me off for the IOUs I fobbed off on those people."

Fred was also puzzled internally, thinking that he acted too soon; if he had waited for these people to arrive, he could've driven the price up some more.

Selling those devices for forty million in chips, the direct benefit he got was only two million silver coins.

It was a total loss!

Night Eleven cursed with a pained expression.

"Dammit, someone beat us to the punch!"

If it were NPCs from other factions, we might have tried to persuade or bribe them, but with the Alliance's NPCs... in Brother Fang Chang's words, it wasn't worth the risk.

Even to avoid suspicion, it's best not to touch them if possible.

After all, the Player Manual clearly states that using the trust Alliance Residents have in Refuge Residents for illicit trading, involving a significant amount of money, will prompt the "Faction Boss" to personally adjudicate. Serious cases will be sent back underground.

According to the game setting, we swore allegiance to the United Human flag before we set foot on this land. It's okay not to work, but screwing over our own people would surely earn us a "slash".

"Don't worry, my production line isn't limited to just that one; I've got plenty of good stuff," seeing the client's eagerness, Fred's eyes twinkled as he pushed his sales pitch with a heh-heh, "Plus, I can hook you up, introduce other sellers interested in offloading devices."

If the price is right, he might even help with the negotiation.

Old White didn't beat around the bush and simply brought out the list from Fang Chang.

"I have a list here. Can you contact the heads of the factories on it?"

"Let me have a look, huh? This list seems somehow familiar," Fred stroked his chin, then suddenly realized, inhaling sharply as he eyed the three in front of him, "Shit, what the hell... everything here is from Huge Rock Military Industry's suppliers! What are you trying to do?!"

Night Ten coughed to signal him to keep it down.

"A coincidence... We're interested in their civilian production lines; the Alliance recently needs a lot of cement and rebar."

Fred looked at him as if he were an idiot, it was almost as if "You think I'm a moron?" was written on his face.

Old White, however, couldn't be bothered to explain and got straight to the point.

"Yep, that's what we want. If you can close the deals according to the list's quotations, we can offer you fifty thousand silver coins in commission."

Fred showed hesitance on his face.

After a moment of hesitation, he shook his head.

"That's too little! That's Mr. Yibosi's turf you're talking about. You might not know, but he's directly responsible to the city lord, and even the big players from the Inner City don't want to mess with him, it wouldn't be right for me to help you—"

Old White continued without changing his expression.

"Fifty thousand silver coins per acquisition project—straight to your personal account. You do the talking for us, and we give you a 20% commission from the budget we save."

Upon hearing this, Fred's face bloomed with joy, nodding eagerly as if afraid they would change their minds.

"Deal! No problem!"

Hooking people up was a piece of cake for him!

He glanced over the quotation list; the Alliance bosses' prices were remarkably generous.

In other words, he had a lot of room for negotiation, to sell off that "junk" at prices everyone would be thrilled with.

"Hey, why's it so quiet around here?" The deal was clear, and Night Ten's gaze fell on the factory behind Fred, his expression a bit odd.

He had heard from Fang Chang that this was one of the largest steel mills in Giant Stone City, but it didn't seem very populated.

Fred coughed, glanced around, and said in a low voice.

"You don't know, something happened yesterday... the prison's full now."

Night Ten smelled gossip and immediately perked up, his curiosity piqued.

"What happened?"

"The cause... I heard it was over at Delicious Food Processing Factory, where a worker stealthily unscrewed the threads from a cutter, and he happened to be a member of the Workers' Association, so you know? In the end, Wei Jia got angry. When he followed the trail, it turns out that the 'boss' of the Workers' Association was also from his own production line..."

Watching the three baffled Alliance managers, Fred said with a hint of regret.

"I guess those poor devils tried to get Wei Jia to give them the defective canned food by that method, but sadly they weren't too smart about it—Wei Jia is a notorious miser. But you can't blame Wei Jia, if something happens once, it will happen again; if I were Wei Jia, I'd do the same. One must never let those who reap without sowing get a taste of success!"

Wild Wind stared at him, caught between laughter and tears.

"Reap without sowing, huh..."

Night Ten sighed.

"Not bad for the Wasteland... Man, this is seriously messed up!"

The two were speaking in a language from another world, which Fred couldn't understand, but he had the feeling they weren't complimenting him.

Old White, being a straight shooter, couldn't help but say in United Human tongue,

"Have you ever thought about improving their conditions? What do you mean you don't blame Wei Jia? If that idiot didn't take things to the extreme, would his people be content causing trouble for themselves?"

Although the game was virtual, the Wasteland was fraught with terrible things, and compared to those slave traders, Petty businessmen didn't amount to much.

But he came from a country where social ideals were valued, and he was extremely loyal to his faith, so he naturally felt physically uncomfortable seeing the merchant's face.

The Bull Horse Brick Factory was named after cattle and horses, but that was just banter among the four close brothers, and everyone knew very well that the real beasts of burden were none but the four owners themselves.

Even when the Alliance was at its poorest, they'd rather get by on nutrient paste and horned potatoes and use the 5 copper coins saved to buy fish for those not-so-sharp NPCs, even if some of them were actually their captives.

Fred couldn't understand these inexplicable fellows either and simply gave them a puzzled look.

"Improve the conditions of those poor buggers? That doesn't seem quite right. If you've ever done business, you should know those beggars aren't good people. They will do everything they can to cheat and be slippery. Be even a little nice to them, and they'll walk all over you. Plus, people get sleepy when they're full... ah of course, I'm not saying what you're doing is wrong, just that we have different ways of managing."

Night Ten couldn't help but swear, "What a joke, you already treat them like enemies, why should they play nice with you!"

Seeing the three clients' faces growing darker, Fred quickly realized he had put his foot in his mouth and changed the subject to avoid any disagreement.

Since he couldn't gauge what these guys were thinking, he didn't have the nerve to suggest they drink together later that night. Taking the list, he found an excuse to busy himself with urgent matters.

He just wanted to sell his goods for a good price.

While he still could.

That was all.

Watching his retreating figure, Night Ten suddenly sighed.

"What bothers me is that those bastards run off and live more comfortably than the people working under them... And we still have to give him silver coins to bring us clients, damn it, shit!"

The money's gone to the dogs!

"That's the money for his coffin. If he stays honest, like Old Brown and lives out the rest of his days, no problem. But if he can't keep his hands to himself, not only plans a comeback but also tries to bring Giant Stone City's practices to our place, we'll justifiably bankrupt him. I remember the Manager saying he would let better people win out in competition, and I believe him."

Old White squinted his eyes and continued watching the man's back.

"These fleeing scum could be a threat; we need to keep a close eye on them, wary they might secretly enslave our fellow men on our turf."

There had been instances where newbies were deceived by NPCs, although those newbies couldn't wait to brag on the forum, and the scam was quickly exposed.

It's quite a challenge for NPCs to scam players.

An idea struck Night Ten.

"How about we write up a proposal? Nail his coffin shut so he doesn't get any chance to rise again!"

The law restricting organ trading had been initiated by the beta testers themselves, with a comprehensive legal system from Earth to refer to, plus Brother Fang Chang's guidance, Professor Yang's clever suggestions, and the Proud Brothers' nitpicking, they always managed to put together rules that suited the harsh reality of the Wasteland.

Not just for players but also for NPCs.

Since Beta 0.4, they had realized that the Alliance was no longer the small village it once was; they couldn't always rely on the Waste Land Wanderers' loyalty to the Manager.

Take Fred, who was willing to sell even his soul for example.

The concept of loyalty didn't exist in that guy's dictionary; for the sake of profit, not only would he twist black into white, he was even willing to kiss the Manager's boots on the ground.

As the Alliance grew larger, more and more people like him would appear, and they would become increasingly secretive and harder to distinguish.

These Hyenas acting meekly could not be eradicated by guns and gallows alone.

Wild Wind nodded in approval.

"Agreed."

It was rare for that kid, Night Ten, to come up with a mature idea.

This idea was definitely more grown-up than sniping from rooftops...

That's my boy.

He's really coming into his own!

Chapter 537: The Last Straw That Breaks the Camel's Back

Spielberg originally thought he was done for.

His boss, Lord Vega, would surely bribe someone in the prison to make sure he was carried in upright and carried out horizontally.

However, what he didn't expect was that his coworkers hadn't abandoned him—they had gathered in a circle at the prison gate and even alarmed the Militia Group.

The prisoners inside were watching the excitement and whispering to each other curiously.

"By the Great Antler God... I've never seen such a scene before."

"What are they trying to do?"

"The best thing would be for a fight to break out!" said a desperado with blood on his hands as he excitedly clenched his fist, ready to take the chance to break out of prison.

Sitting in a corner, Spielberg coughed softly.

"There won't be a fight... there shouldn't be."

Everyone looked at him.

Spielberg felt scared and shrank back a little, speaking in a quiet voice.

"I... read a story to them. Awakener Bol knows that killing Stephen won't solve any problems..."

The prisoners looked at each other.

Although they weren't clear on what was happening, instinct told them that the people outside had something to do with this thin fellow.

The desperado walked over to Spielberg, squatted down in front of him, and stared at him for a while.

Just as Spielberg was tense to the breaking point, he suddenly spoke.

"Bol? Stephen? What's that?"

Spielberg was taken aback.

"That, that's a long story."

The desperado sat down on the ground and gestured with his hand.

"Don't worry, take your time. You aren't going anywhere for a while, and I... we have all the time in the world."

Seeing the prisoners all looking at him curiously, Spielberg swallowed and hurriedly nodded.

"Okay... then I'll start at the beginning."

Bol was born in the slums at the foot of the great wall, a bona fide country bumpkin from the Outer City.

But who was in the city to begin with?

After all, Giant Stone City wasn't built in a day...

He began to recount Bol's story in a flowing narrative, and before long he realized it wasn't only the prison's inmates who were listening, but even the guard stationed at the gate had leaned on the railing to listen.

It was a story of an underdog.

As the noble lords would say, a lone Awakener couldn't make much of an impact.

But who here wasn't an underdog?

After a while, the commotion outside ended and the prison was packed.

Then another boss came along, making a pretentious display, wanting to take his workers back home, but nobody wanted to go with him.

"Go home, my children! The environment here is too terrible, gloomy and cold! Come home with me first. We can sit down and talk about any demands... How about I treat you to Mr. Hauser's broadcast? It's your favorite channel."

The guy with a belly full of fat put on a smile that made the onlooking workers laugh, for they had never seen such a benign expression on his face.

"Home? Are you talking about that rundown factory of yours?"

"Ha ha ha, I'm definitely not going back with you!"

"That's right! It's warm here! Not only is it not gloomy, but it also doesn't have any drafts, and we even have stories to listen to!"

"Why don't you come in too?"

The boss became frantic.

Why couldn't these people see reason?

Thinking of the deadline for the orders, he screamed.

"Have you all gone mad! If I can't complete the orders, the factory will have even less money! The IOUs in your hands will be just worthless paper! In the end, you'll harm yourselves! I can just walk away, but you'll get poorer and poorer, unable to afford even the nutritional paste!"

No wonder they were poor!

Neither smart nor hard-working, and despicable too!

"Then you can think of us as crazy," a young man said, looking at him with a hint of disdain, "We don't care anymore. Even if you are rich you won't give us a penny, so it's better if you're poorer—maybe you'll love us more then."

"Ha ha, he's still trying to reason with us at this point!"

"No need to talk, buddy. Go to the top of the building and see if the wind is strong for us!"

The boss's pale and feeble arguments were drowned out by a wave of laughter.

At this point, no matter what he said was useless, even if he offered to pay some wages despite the pain it caused him, nobody cared.

But he didn't regret issuing the IOUs—that was the greatest invention. He only regretted not buying some slaves for emergencies.

Slave trade was allowed in the Giant Stone City, but slaves were too clumsy, always breaking the machines, so over time people stopped wanting to use them. In contrast, free survivors worked harder and had long since phased out slaves, but he had never imagined such an intense "disaster" occurring today.

Actually, there were less than two hundred of Vega's coworkers at the pub's entrance, but in just one afternoon, half the workers from the industrial zone had become members of the Workers' Association.

Everyone sat down on the ground inside the prison.

Seeing that they weren't causing trouble and were just listening to stories, the prison warden turned a blind eye to Spielberg reading stories and even allowed them to leave the cells to walk around freely... After all, there were too many people to keep in the cells, and just recording their names would take until the next day, so they were allowed to make do in the corridors for the time being.

It was crowded here, but also warm, with electric lights and nutrient paste available.

"Brothers, this place is like paradise!"

"We should have come here earlier!"

"When the noble lords want to arrest everyone in the city, they will have to build a prison as big as the Giant Stone City itself."

"Ha ha ha! Maybe they'll renovate our houses for us!"

Although their fun was born out of hardship, when a group enjoyed themselves together in hardship, it wasn't painful at all; instead, it was filled with joy.

Everyone discussed the continuation of the story together and unanimously agreed that Awakener Bol's tale was missing a character named Kent, clamoring for Spielberg to include this comical clown as well.

Spielberg secretly felt that insulting a comrade who worked alongside them was a bit too much, so he convinced the excited crowd to save Kent some face. He removed a syllable from the name, changing it to "Ken," with a note describing him as "one who loves to spit and is fond of pressing his rear against the whips in Mr. Stephen's hands."

This was a compromise.

Everyone nodded in agreement, as bullying one of their own kind wasn't very interesting; even if Kent didn't care for them and genuinely detested their filthy selves, it wasn't right to beat him—that would only turn more hesitant children into another Kent.

It was enough for everyone to do well on their own.

They didn't have any grandiose ideals; they simply wanted what was theirs.

These days, Spielberg's life in the prison was surprisingly not bad, after all, he was the only one who could bring some entertainment to the people there.

Spielberg vaguely felt that, although the prison warden always kept a stern face, he actually sympathized with them.

This man had no Black Card nor chips; in the end, he was just a small fry who couldn't skim much off the top. Moreover, recently, chips were gradually buying less and less, and it wouldn't be long before everyone was equally poor.

Later, during one storytelling session, the warden interjected with a teasing tone, asking his fellow workers whether "jailers counted as workers."

Before the workers could respond, Spielberg immediately replied, "Anyone who draws a salary counts."

At that moment, the prison warden gave no particular reaction, but later, the food in the entire prison improved, with the nutritional paste no longer being diluted with water.

Another week passed like this, and by mid-December, the weather grew colder. The warden managed to get a batch of cheap scrap, andthe carpenters and blacksmiths joined forces to make a stove for the prison. Not only did the workers no longer have to endure the cold, but the jailers who were reluctant to cram together with the workers were also much warmer.

Spielberg secretly wrote a letter, asking an acquaintance jailer to help send it to the Alliance's embassy, addressed to his editor, Miss Dolly, asking the Survivor's Daily to exchange his payment for Silver coins, to buy some corn and send it to Boulder City Prison. When he saw the small mountain of corn and sacks of radishes and potatoes piled up in the prison's open space, he was shocked.

He had no idea that his modest writing fee could buy so much!

Latter on, a colleague working in the flour mill created a contraption for milling flour, and the workers from the canning factory started making stew for everyone. With full bellies, there had to be something to do, so the engineers from the repair shop simply started giving lessons, and the masters from the chemical plant began discussing chemistry...

This place had everything; it hardly felt like a prison, more like a welfare institution. No one cared for the pathetic pleading of the bosses. Although there was an element of spite, they had indeed proved through action that without Mr. Stephen, they could live better!

Since they no longer had to work on the assembly lines, Spielberg also had more time to refine Bol's story into something even more substantial.

At that time, someone suggested establishing a set of rules, or rather, a manifesto. After all, even the gangs outside the giant wall had rules, so they needed some as well.

Charging forth in a swarm only to scatter at the first sign of trouble was indicative of misbehavior; in the end, it achieved nothing but chaos and only gave the real thieves and bandits inside the prison something to laugh about.

The Workers' Association wanted to discuss with everyone and sought the opinion of each worker, using communication instead of threats, clarifying what they all wanted, how to ask for it, and what would be considered a victory, just like in war... Only in this way could they truly unite.

Some proposed Spielberg as the chairman, but he quickly waved off the suggestion, saying he wasn't cut out for it and that he would be content with being a secretary. It would be better for everyone to vote for a true leader.

However, he felt that everyone was right, and he was incredibly grateful that day he had written in Awakener Bol's story—

"...Beating Stephen up solves nothing, not even if you unbuckle your belt and urinate on him. Killing a giant rat just leaves another corpse on the street and attracts more flies."

"...One person may be weak, but as long as we are united, Stephen will fear us, all the Stephens will!"

Maybe his premonition had been right.

This winter wouldn't be too tough to endure...

...

After finishing his story for the day, Spielberg yawned and went back to his cell to sleep.

The guys from the Workers' Association had long ago separated the snorers from the non-snorers to ensure everyone could rest, and they even politely allocated him the solitary confinement—a dark little room—to calm his mind for writing stories.

However, unlike usual, when Spielberg entered the tiny dark room and closed the door, he realized there was another person there.

The man was not tall, actually quite short, with green eyes that glinted like a wolf's and gave Spielberg a shock.

Seemingly undisturbed by the thought of him running away, the man assessed him with a gaze as piercing as a venomous snake's and spoke deliberately.

"Someone wants you dead."

Spielberg felt a chill in his limbs.

This guy...

He could be a genuine Awakener!

His Adam's apple moved as he spoke.

"Who..."

"A big shot, I don't know who."

"I'm asking for your name," Spielberg swallowed, watching him closely, "You know mine but I still don't know yours."

Playing with a dagger in his hand, the man spoke nonchalantly.

"Small Blade, that's what everyone's been calling me since I can remember... What does knowing my name do for you? Planning to come after me once you're out?"

Spielberg shook his head.

"No... When a person dies, it's all over. There might not be any Great Antler God, or even an afterlife, although I just found that out recently."

"Uh-huh?" Small Blade wasn't particularly interested but wasn't in a hurry to complete his task either.

The Wasteland was very lonely, with settlements and the wild both being a jungle—whispers of beasts surrounded him inside and out.

Letting the guy talk wasn't a bad idea, most people only spoke a few human words when they were about to die; he liked the money from his employers, as well as the last words of the dead.

Spielberg hesitated for a moment, then continued.

"But... even if there's no afterlife, a person's name can live on in the memory of others. Names are important, it's not meaningless at all."

"Are you stalling for time?" Small Blade yawned, his eyes suddenly shifting as he continued, "No need, really. To be honest, another big shot has paid. He wants the opposite, doesn't wish for you to die just yet. Maiming you suffices, like chopping off your limbs or muting your voice... Just leave you breathing."

Spielberg felt utterly cold.

He did not doubt that the man before him had the ability to do so, just as Bol could give Mr. Stephen a good thrashing—an Awakener was still far superior to the average person.

"Click, click, click, you're a coward like the rest, the only difference being you haven't wet yourself yet," Small Blade said while studying his face in some disappointment, jestingly adding, "I really don't see what's so special about you, a nobody having so many big shots circling around you. It's my first time receiving two bounties on the same head... Oh right, didn't that big shot from the 'North Suburb' invite you over as a guest?"

His face suddenly showed interest, the malevolent look in his eyes slithering over Spielberg's face like a serpent's flicking tongue.

"You say... if I take you to 'North Suburb', would the Manager there reward me with the position of a Thousands of leaders?"

Spielberg cleared his throat lightly.

"Cough... That big shot might give you some money, but it's unlikely he'd let you be a Thousands of leaders—that's a different matter."

Small Blade looked at him, dejected.

"What a pity. Although money is not bad either."

He paused for a moment and continued.

"You haven't answered my question yet. What kind of secret does someone like you have that so many important people are after you? Do you know something, like the location of the Black Box, or hidden treasures worth a lot?"

"No."

"No?"

"I'm not lying to you," Spielberg said, intently focusing on the dagger in his hand, "I'm just a nobody who reads newspapers. How could I possibly have such a thing?"

"Tsk tsk tsk. I believe you."

Small Blade got up from the hard bed with a smile and walked over to Spielberg, twirling the dagger in his hand.

"Alright then, I'll give you another chance to live. Write a letter to the big shot in the North Suburb. If he's willing to pay, I'll consider selling you to him. Oh right, I only accept Dinars or Cr."

Of course, he was only considering it.

After all, the other two big shots had offered quite a lot too. He could just kill this guy and pocket all three bounties.

The Wasteland was so vast, he could escape anywhere. He was just a Waste Land Wanderer, with no interest in this twisted place.

What he hadn't expected, though, was that this insignificant coward before him would refuse his proposal without hesitation.

"I won't write it."

Small Blade looked at him in surprise.

"Are you sure?"

Despite his fears, Spielberg refused to back down and continued to stare at the man.

"I could beg Lord Vega for mercy... but if you're planning to use me to blackmail that lord, you might as well give up now."

Without a doubt, he was just a nobody who had lived like a rat for over twenty years. He couldn't understand why so many were interested in his head, but if he had to die, he'd rather give his life to that lord.

For no particular reason.

He thought it was worth it!

"Why? There must be a reason, right?"

"...Dignity."

"What's that?"

"You wouldn't understand. Just do it!" Spielberg clenched his fists, ready to fight to the death. At least he'd die a brave man, like a hero.

Small Blade sneered and didn't waste any more words. He stabbed with his dagger cleanly and efficiently.

Seeing the sharp weapon coming at his head, the prey instinctively lifts their arms to protect their head first, and it played right into his hands.

He intended to disable the man's hands first, then take out his legs, and finally silence his voice... He had done similar work countless times before and was confident he could pull it off cleanly.

However —

This time he faltered.

The dagger seemed to strike a transparent wall; he broke into a cold sweat trying to withdraw but found the dagger stuck as if in solidified air.

Spielberg froze as well.

He had just raised his arms to block, but then he saw ripples in the air before him that slowly revealed a figure.

"Dammit — who are you?!" Small Blade screamed in terror as the figure appeared before him like a ghost.

The dark mirrored surface and helmet concealed the person's face; it seemed to be a woman, or perhaps not human at all.

She calmly held the blade of the dagger, her slightly bulging breastplate bearing the code X-16, along with the mark of Huge Rock Military Industry, seemingly imbuing the number with an unusual significance.

It was as if she had been there a long while, even longer than either of them in the room, yet neither had noticed her presence.

Optical camouflage!

A look of horror flashed in his beast-like eyes. Small Blade released the dagger and drew the short blade strapped to his leg, swinging fiercely at the person before him.

There was no sound of clashing metal.

He didn't even see what the person did before he was knocked away like a kite with its string cut, slamming into the wall of the solitary cell.

"Ah..."

Many ribs were broken!

The spine seemed to snap too, his lower limbs wouldn't respond, and urine leaked out...

In the last moment, he wanted to beg for mercy but couldn't speak before a dagger pierced his throat.

He could only watch helplessly as the figure stepped closer, nonchalantly gripping the dagger, pulling out the blood-stained blade along with his consciousness.

The battle lasted only two seconds, but blood splattered everywhere.

Yet the figure standing in the blood seemed unphased.

Having never seen such a bloody scene, Spielberg felt his legs filled with lead, his back on fire, and after a long while of struggling from his stiff throat, he managed to squeeze out a trembling sentence.

"You... You've killed someone."

X-16 casually put away the dagger, ignoring his statement, and turned to look at him.

"Someone wants to meet you."

Spielberg gulped.

"Who...?"

"You'll know when you get there."

Hearing this, Spielberg's face took on a bitter expression.

Only someone from the Inner City who dared to kill with such impunity, even within the prison, could do such a thing.

To be honest, he had no desire to meet such a dangerous person, but it seemed he had no right to refuse.

After all, Chu Guang had witnessed it with his own eyes. She crushed the life out of that Awakener as easily as if she were squishing a grasshopper. Killing him would probably take her just one second.

"I... may I say goodbye to my friends?" Spielberg asked with an inquiring tone.

That pitch-black and icy-cold mirror emitted the response he fully expected.

"No."

...

Snow had been falling in the River Valley Province lately.

And not just a little!

To prevent snow accumulation from collapsing the rooftops of western district farms, City of Dawn organized a group of players and local residents to engage in snow removal work.

Although the pay was low, there were prestige points for the region to be earned, and some players interested in public affairs didn't hesitate to shouldering ladders and heading out.

They had the strength for it, after all.

The number of Variants in the River Valley Province dropped sharply in winter; many of the monsters had gone into hibernation. Before the spring Tide arrived, Chu Guang also had to find tasks for these energetic young players to keep them busy and out of trouble.

Seeing the residents of the refuge roll up their sleeves to help, the residents of City of Dawn also came forward in droves, some steadying ladders, others passing shovels.

This winter was indeed much warmer than the last.

Apart from internal alliance matters, Chu Guang kept a close watch on the neighboring Giant Stone City.

Not with the intention of scavenging, but for fear that the proverbial cesspit might explode.

Currently, there were roughly two hundred players in Giant Stone City, occasionally posting their experiences in the city on the official website.

These players were like the eyes planted within Giant Stone City, and Chu Guang had already instructed Xiao Qi to compile these posts into a collection and sift through them for the most credible leads.

According to the intelligence Xiao Qi had compiled, the situation in Giant Stone City was far more exaggerated than Chu Guang had anticipated.

If the Alliance's external debt was growing geometrically, then the inflation in Giant Stone City had almost surged over its towering outer wall.

Without a doubt, Melvin was no longer able to control the inflation.

Since the disturbance in the industrial zone, the false prosperity had erupted like an avalanche, and the fuse Chu Guang had predicted was ultimately ignited.

Faced with a crisis whose source was out of sight, Melvin was not entirely inactive, but he indeed had few cards to play.

After exhausting all his tactics to no avail, he had no choice but to team up with Duron of the city hall and, through clumsy administrative interventions, meddle in the production of the industrial zone.

For instance, forcibly intercepting a batch of goods that should have been delivered to the Alliance to fulfill orders, forcing intermediate products to be sent to the downstream sectors of his own industrial chain, or directly sending finished products to stores, in short, prioritizing the restocking of Giant Stone City's shelves.

The Alliance's factories were indifferent.

The Alliance's industrial department had issued an early warning, advising everyone to prepare for the "earthquake" in advance, to accelerate the substitution of industries, and to source intermediate products from places other than Giant Stone City to avoid contract breaches that could trigger a domino effect.

But the owners of the factories in the Giant Stone City Industrial Zone were in a tough spot.

The mass imprisonment of skilled workers and the collective slowdown among laborers had almost brought their assembly lines to a halt.

Now, noble lords seemed to remember where the commodities on the shelves came from, yet refused to rack their brains for a solution, resorting instead to a piecemeal remedy for a headache and a separate one for foot pain.

Of course, they could stop fulfilling orders for the Alliance and prioritize restocking the shelves of Giant Stone City, but that was contingent on someone paying the penalty for their breach of contract.

Unfortunately, Melvin, the bank president, and Duron, the hall chief, seemed unwilling to pay the penalty for contract breaches on their behalf, nor were they willing to cover the difference caused by the raw material inflation. They even demanded that the products produced be sold at a price below cost, and the loans they had previously borrowed to expand production could not be stopped.

How could that be possible?

They had barely any profit margins to begin with, and now they had to take their scant profits—or even pay out of pocket—to cover up for the "economic overheating" resulting in vicious inflation created by the likes of Lord Melvin.

Although the Alliance also harvested their factories' leeks, they did it in a methodical way, organized and disciplined. At least they didn't just recklessly slash and hack without warning.

The industrial zone's crafty merchants were driven to desperation and had to use all their tricks. Those with connections found ways to circumvent the city hall's regulations and surreptitiously sell prohibited goods to their neighbors. After all, neither Melvin nor Duron would dare intercept Elder Sid's goods.

Those without connections could only admit defeat, but admitting defeat didn't mean accepting losses; they still controlled the production materials. If they couldn't sell their milk, they could dump it. If they weren't allowed to dump it, they'd kill the cows and eat the meat. If they couldn't use knives, they'd starve the cows to death, or simply drag the cows to their neighbors' houses.

Duron's intervention didn't really work, either. In the end, he and Melvin still underestimated people's "greed" in times of adversity.

The shelves were quickly emptied, and once the crisis erupted, those goods became like black holes, swallowing up any amount of supplies without a trace.

Goods that should have been sold at a fair price became first come, first served, and the highest bidders got the supplies. Those who obtained a large amount of goods at high prices were not satisfied with just scraping by; they not only hoarded enough to last half a year but also kept some to sell and earn back their capital.

Even squirrels know to hoard pine cones many times their size for winter, let alone the greedier humans. Soap and sausages became the first hard currency, followed by cigarettes and liquor. Those who really couldn't acquire hard currency exchanged their useless chips for other things, like bonds or the strong-performing S Coins.

The chips circulating inside the Giant Wall were countless times more numerous than the commodities inside the wall, and the hot money, with nowhere to go, scurried around like cockroaches.

Of course, all these investments were no match for the steady silver coins.

Suddenly, there were some small vendors selling food outside the Giant Wall; they were Alliance merchants who didn't want more and more chips, they only bought with the stable silver coins.

The wealthy in Giant Stone City often had to go to the Black Market first to exchange a bag full of chips for a few silver coins, and then head to the gate of the outer city to purchase potatoes, corn, and daily necessities.

Those figures pushing carts became like a ray of light in the heavy snow, illuminating countless eager faces.

And under the shadows where that light couldn't reach, some hurried figures were still active.

Dressed in clean cotton clothes, as elegant as businessmen, they would approach merchants from the Alliance and hand them a booklet.

It listed some "good stuff" that one usually couldn't buy.

They were brokers.

They dared to sell anything and took anything in exchange.

Some were underlings of the lesser nobles or factory owners from the inner city, while others were simply militia in plain clothes.

In the hands of these resourceful minor characters, a thousand cotton coats could be exchanged for a loom that produced ten thousand meters a day. A few bottles of high-proof distilled liquor could be traded for a ninety percent new military exoskeleton, and if there was no distilled liquor, a few cases of beer or canned goods would do.

Someone even pulled out a Black Card, indicating that as long as they provided enough silver coins, he would take them into this "great gambling den" to find pleasures unattainable by the Alliance.

The gambling den was still operating normally, with the death lottery drawing daily. Melvin was still doing his best to put out fires, but the flames on the pyre were burning brighter and higher.

Every person in this gambling den had gone mad, more or less...

And just when Chu Guang thought this was the limit, a piece of terrible news suddenly came from his foreign minister, Cheng Yan.

Hearing his report, Chu Guang's expression changed slightly.

"Spielberg... is dead?"

-

(Today I have something to go out for, so I'm updating early. There are probably three more chapters in the Giant Stone City storyline. Oh, and Dian Niang seems to be live streaming in a few days. I haven't decided what to stream yet; there are too many games I want to play, and it's giving me a headache.)

Chapter 538: Countless Possibilities in the Future

When Spielberg came to his senses, he found himself standing in a desolate corridor.

That X-16 had somehow used some method to evade everyone's attention, leading him out of the prison and even taking the murderer's corpse with them... and yet had not attracted the notice of a single person along the way.

After they left the prison, they entered an underground passage and walked a very long distance, then took an elevator, and arrived here.

Not far behind him was the elevator door, and the concrete floor beneath his feet didn't have a single crack, while deep gray walls extended to his left and right, with warm-toned wall lamps inlaid in them.

The industrial design conveyed a solemn, minimalist yet elegant style, much like a palace corridor that fused with modernist aesthetics.

He had never been to this place before.

The X-16 who had been by his side had now disappeared, he didn't know if it had "invisibly" hidden itself again or had completely left the place.

Feeling out of his depth, Spielberg swallowed and mumbled nervously under his breath,

"What the hell is this place..."

He hadn't expected an answer, but a pleasant voice came from behind him.

"Inner City."

The sudden voice startled Spielberg, and turning around, he saw a stranger standing behind him, smiling at him.

"Inner, Inner City?!"

"Yes," the man nodded and continued with a smile, "And it's the very heart of the Inner City, the Stone Building that is surrounded by countless skyscrapers."

"...Who are you?"

Spielberg looked at the man before him.

He wanted to know which dignitary had come to his rescue.

If it hadn't been for that expert who could turn invisible entering his room in advance, he would undoubtedly be a corpse by now.

The man didn't beat around the bush and answered in a light and cheerful tone,

"Yibers."

"Yibers..."

It was a familiar name.

Spielberg frowned and thought for a long time, his eyes suddenly widened almost bulging out, and his facial expressions changed along with it.

"Huge Rock Military Industry?! Are you that—"

"That's right, the Chairman and President of Huge Rock Military Industry." Enjoying the expression on his face, Yibers replied with a smile.

Yibers!

The boss of Huge Rock Military Industry!

Giant Stone City's undisputed second-in-command!

Spielberg's heart shook tremendously; he swallowed unconsciously.

He could not fathom why such a prominent figure would take an interest in him.

How many was it now?

"Is it... you who wanted to see me?"

However, Yibers's answer was beyond his expectations.

"My curiosity about you ended after the first time I saw you, the one who wants to meet you is another true personage."

Saying this, he walked forward, brushing past Spielberg.

"Come with me."

Looking back at Yibers's retreating figure, Spielberg's mind was as tangled as a ball of yarn.

It felt like riding on a train heading into the fog; even though the destination was near, the scenery outside was becoming increasingly incomprehensible.

What pained him more was that he had many questions but didn't know where to start or even why he was standing there.

To unravel the puzzles in his heart, he swallowed and took a step forward to follow.

The two proceeded and quickly came to a wide door.

The door opened by itself.

Yibers led him inside.

Moving cautiously, Spielberg took a glance around.

The room was very clean, the mirror-like floor was free of dust, and there were no decorative items or furniture; it was as desolate as the solitary cell of a prison.

Except this place was spacious, incredibly so, far beyond the tiny, cramped single room.

The only light in the room came from a beam of milky white light pouring from the direct center of the ceiling. Apart from that, there were no other light sources.

Darkness surrounded him, like an abyss with no bottom in sight, also obscuring the boundaries of the room.

"...Where is this?"

Yibers didn't answer. With a slight flick of his right hand, like a magician, he pulled out a remote controller from thin air, holding it gently before pressing a button.

The light in the center of the room instantly went out, and Spielberg felt as if he had plunged into darkness.

However, the darkness did not last for long.

The "walls" around him gradually lit up with a faint light and began to display clearer and clearer images, with more and more colors replacing the original black and white room.

It was only then that Spielberg realized that this was a "panoramic projection room"!

Similar things seemed to exist in the outer city where one could watch movies from the pre-war era, but tickets were usually shockingly expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary people.

This projection room seemed to outdo the one in the outer city; after all, he had heard that the one outside had only one curved screen.

But here.

From the walls to the floor, to the space overhead, even the surrounding air—every inch was filled with increasingly bright particles of light as if they had been transported to another time and space.

Buildings and streets started to emerge.

Then, the view widened outward, revealing the contours of the Giant Wall.

The surging crowds also gradually appeared on the streets, becoming more and more distinct, and the deafening shouts grew louder.

It dawned on Spielberg that what was being projected here was the outer city of Giant Stone City—the main thoroughfare leading from the Giant Wall Gate to the Inner City!

Shadows of fabricated people walked towards him.

Shoulder to shoulder, arms linked, they formed an endless stream. They were righteously indignant, filled with rage, shouting something in unison, marching forward with a disorganized but resolute step towards the soldiers in exoskeletons, power armor, waiting in solid formation.

It was as if they couldn't see him.

Their gazes passed through him, piercing through his chest like a sharp dagger, pointing directly at the Inner City behind him.

Spielberg swallowed hard, and a ripple of terror suddenly surfaced within his bewildered pupils.

Of course, it wasn't because of that simple rage. He had always stood with them, of course, knowing that their anger didn't contain the slightest bit aimed at him.

Only a true coward would be afraid of the fury of ordinary people.

What truly terrified Spielberg was that in the midst of that teeming crowd, he saw himself lying on a clean white cloth—although the face was blurred with blood, there was no doubt it was his own corpse!

I...

Am I dead?

Spielberg numbly touched his own face, trying to find some bit of reality in this illusory world.

The wave-like clamor became clearer.

Faces of people grew closer.

He saw familiar faces, remembered their names, although he couldn't name most of them, if he just called out 'comrade,' they would respond.

Now, they were roaring.

"Fire!"

"Cowards!"

"Look into our eyes!"

His gaze shifted from the surreal yet vivid images, and Spielberg looked at Yibers in horror.

"...You fabricated my death?"

No wonder they didn't let me say goodbye to my comrades!

These people faked my own death!

But why?

Yibers suddenly burst into laughter.

"Ha, ha, ha, why would I do such a thing? And when you say 'you guys,' who exactly are you referring to? The one you met for the first time? Or someone you have never seen? Or maybe... some stranger with a Black Card?"

Spielberg's face was a picture of confusion.

The laughter subsiding, Yibers gently said,

"You didn't really see what happened, it's just one of many 'possibilities' a computer extrapolated... Of course, it was about to happen, maybe just one second away."

"I shall call it, 'Ending A' for now."

Spielberg looked blankly at Yibers.

From the beginning, he couldn't grasp what this guy was talking about.

"What do you mean?"

Unsurprised by his perplexity, Yibers continued casually,

"Aren't you a storyteller? Then use that talent of yours. If I hadn't intervened, and X-16 hadn't entered your room ahead of time, you would have died in a horrible struggle with an assassin in prison—that's entirely possible, after all, the assassin both wants you dead and not to die too quickly. It's a pity those idiots all happened to find such a twisted individual."

"Then, seeing your twisted corpse, the angry workers seize the prison, lift you high, and all the settlement workers become comrades... In fact, you've already taken a lot of territory, like the prison. The prison warden won't resist you at all; he might even silently stand with you."

Spielberg's Adam's apple bobbed.

"And then?"

He wanted to know what happened afterward.

"Next, as has happened countless times before," Yibers tilted his chin up nonchalantly and pressed the play button.

The image in the room continued to move.

After the crowd crossed the police line, a leader of the militia ordered gunfire. The bravest fell first, while those behind began to flee, the hesitant trapped between the dead and the cowards, and the innocent also started to fall.

The crowd suffered countless casualties, and the streets ran red with blood. Children crying over their parents' bodies were taken away by young comrades. The cowards were indeed scared; they would rather kill one by mistake than let one go. After all, the seeds of hatred are invisible; once the gun sounds, they don't stop.

The nobles soon declared the Workers' Association illegal. The gates between the outer and inner city slammed down, and a large number of mercenaries were mobilized—or rather bought—to form a hunting party entering the industrial zone to catch members of the Workers' Association. But the word 'worker' isn't written on the face, which makes them even harder to identify than the man-eating Looters, thus many tragedies ensued.

Some people who weren't paid also joined the hunt voluntarily, using vigilante justice to take revenge on old enemies, or simply taking legal opportunity to rob finances, or just venting the desire suppressed by order. Everything not allowed on ordinary days, at this moment, was tacitly allowed by the nobles, because compared to a few rabid dogs, they were more afraid of ghosts they could neither see nor touch.

The first to die were ironically the lucky ones; they died bravely and gloriously. The fleeing cowards would regret not choosing a quick death.

By that point, to be alive was the real hell...

When everything ended, the outer city gates opened again, new survivors poured in to take the place of the outer city residents. The blood-stained streets had long been washed clean, and the inner city gates also reopened as circumstances dictated. No Waste Land Wanderer would care about the past of a settlement just as they rarely considered the future.

After two or three decades of stillness, everything would return to the starting point, as if nothing ever happened.

After all, most people on the Wasteland lived only about two or three decades, only the nobles might live a bit longer, but usually not much.

Having seen the continuation of Ending A, Spielberg's lips trembled.

He couldn't accept that this was their ending.

What he found even harder to accept was that such events had already repeated countless times.

No one had ever told him it would be like this!

He had to stop them!

There must be a better way...

"...You're lucky because of my intervention, your comrades only suspect you're dead. Although the amount of blood loss was certainly lethal, they didn't see your body."

"The prison warden tried to persuade them to calm down, the murderer who listened to your stories roared about fighting the noble lords to the death, but your comrades didn't trust either of them, after all, they have their own stances. Now, your fellows are still arguing about whether to press the button to destroy everything, to smash this broken mess completely."

Yibers admired the changing expressions on his face, and suddenly spoke,

"Is there a possibility that the assassin was actually sent by the Manager of the Alliance?"

"Absolutely impossible!" Spielberg replied without hesitation, his eyes fiercely determined, like a blazing torch.

Without contesting his judgment, Yibers continued methodically,

"Hmm, in our prediction, that probability isn't zero; he only needs to pay a small price to get rid of the 'nuisance' of Giant Stone City, right? Actually, I'm also curious why this possibility exists."

"According to my observation, that man isn't averse to playing tricks, but he's not good at that. His strengths are actually forthright strategy and duels. Theoretically, such a character wouldn't stoop to assassination; there must be something we don't understand that's interfering with our 'probability.'"

Spielberg stared at him, asserting seriously,

"Machines aren't omnipotent, maybe that machine of yours calculating probabilities is broken."

Assembly lines occasionally jam.

Even without tampering, machines will break down on their own from time to time.

Yibers suddenly let out a laugh.

"You're right, of course, that possibility exists. And there's also another possibility: the person in question isn't Chu Guang, but someone else. After all, Giant Stone City isn't the only survivor settlement on the Wasteland. Not to brag, but there are plenty eyeing the treasures we hold."

Armies, enterprises, academies... even Grand Canyon itself.

All the former members of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee kept an ancient oath, not because they had high moral standards, but because something endorsed that oath, turning it into a real contract.

Of course, after so many years, it was hard to say how much deterrent power that thing still had. Maybe the former rulers simply couldn't be bothered with those roaches scratching a living out of the Wasteland. Deep down, they didn't believe that this order, salvaged from the dustbin of history, could accomplish anything great...but that was another matter.

...

"We have deduced thousands of possibilities, not only the Ending A you've seen, but also this... let's just call it Ending B," Yibers pressed the remote, and the scene changed, placing them at the doorway of a bar.

It seemed time had rolled back to the beginning of the month when Spielberg had just been arrested.

Watching Alec and Kent approach with the guards towards the crowd at the entrance of the bar, hostilities erupted nearly the moment they made contact.

They were like a keg of gunpowder, each person was

Two hundred people ferociously lunged at a mere dozen or so guards.

Kent was killed on the spot, Alec didn't say a word and ran away, Phyllis fired a shot...and Spielberg himself seemed to have become the unlucky one again, his head blossoming with a bullet.

However, this time the casualties were contained within a limited range.

The sound of gunfire from the bar barely carried a few streets away. The workers knew a few brave young men had died that day, felt sorrow for their deaths, and even Wei Jia shed a few crocodile tears, but that was it.

People died in this city every day. Their deaths were no different from anyone else's, and later, Mr. Hauser said on the radio that they were rioters, that they had killed a loyal young man named Kent, and slowly, some people began to think so too.

Giant Stone City successfully weathered the superficial crisis; the Looter would eat people to survive the winter, and it too, consumed some people, but with the utensils of the civilized. The death notifications were delayed, but the bombs were not defused; instead, they were buried deeper and in greater numbers.

The next crisis was uncertain to come, but it would surely be fiercer than this time, and it was bound to happen.

The reckoning would eventually arrive.

"This time... is there any difference?" Spielberg swallowed.

He couldn't say whether this was a "good ending."

He died.

The first to unite, the Workers' Association, sacrificed themselves.

But because of their deaths, the vast majority in the city survived...at least those innocent didn't have to die.

The settlement wasn't just home to those Mouse People doing cheap work; the bustling streets were also filled with many well-dressed gentlemen and ladies as delicate as water. Most of them neither had a Black Card nor oppressed anyone, and had even suffered life's grievances, merely living an ordinary life on a less twisted settlement on the Wasteland.

Spielberg didn't love those innocent people; after all, they had never loved him. He was willing to die for the Manager because he thought it wasn't so bad, but those flashy types weren't worth it.

But if he had to kill them, he couldn't do it either. Because humans aren't such rational animals; those who are always clear-headed are actually the minority.

"You might not believe it, but this branch known as Ending B, and the 'almost reality of Ending A' that you just witnessed, have only a slight divergence."

"...What divergence?"

"Your spur-of-the-moment cleverness, it just so happened to save yourself as well."

Looking confused, Spielberg watched as Yibers smiled slightly and continued with the tone of a minstrel.

"A drunken Awakener Bol unbuckled his belt but didn't humiliate Stephen and his family. Instead, he broke his own Black Card, turned around and united those who had been bullied by Stephen. In the 'probability' corresponding to Ending B, you wrote a completely different story. You didn't mention the Workers' Association, but instead described in detail how Stephen's wife and daughter fell into the abyss of 'happiness' and how Stephen was anguished and desperate... Awakening gave Bol not only the power of revenge but also the adoration of the girls."

"Your fellow workers actually prefer stories like that," Yibers added.

Spielberg blushed; he had indeed conceived such a story.

After all, it was about to snow at the time, Lord Weijia fobbed them off with IOUs, and he was humiliated by Kent on the way home.

He was a coward, but cowards are not emotionless; he had been aggrieved and needed to vent his emotions.

But he hadn't expected that the Ending A, where tens of thousands died, and the Ending B, where only a few dozen perished, were separated by just a few old newspapers.

"That's it?!"

"Yes, that's all. And... you actually wrote a bit like that, didn't you? You just stopped writing in the end. Our calculations aren't made up out of thin air; they need samples for deduction."

Seeing Spielberg's flushed and stunned face, Yibers smiled and recited softly, as if reading a poem,

"...'Bol is an Awakener; he has the strength to do it, of course, no one can stop him'."

As Spielberg listened to someone else reciting what he had written, his ears reddened; it felt of course different from reading it himself.

He coughed violently to interrupt Yibers's repetition.

"Enough! I get it! Don't read anymore!"

Yibers smiled without malice and teased him further.

"It's a pity my machine can't calculate exactly how you would write, it just gave an abstract description... I'm actually quite curious about that untold story, why don't you write it down when you have the chance?"

Still blushing, Spielberg said.

"Enough," he couldn't believe his own words, "it's just a lousy novel after all... I don't think it has that much influence."

Seeing the disbelief in his eyes, Yibers whispered,

"Indeed, just a lousy novel, quite magical, isn't it? Even though it's just the story of 'Awakener Bol', for the laborers seeing a 'book' for the first time, his words and deeds almost became the guiding ideology of their actions."

"After all, most of their heads are like blank sheets of paper. They immediately believe whatever Haus tells them, and as soon as they find out Haus was lying, they immediately stop believing him. The simple notions of good and evil, right and wrong, are what most people think about every day, similar to a single-core CPU... Ah, you might not realize it, but you've done something remarkable, or rather evil. Even though it wasn't solely your 'achievement', posterity should give you a relatively objective assessment."

"Enough, I don't care about that. Why do you want to show me these things... Neither outcome A nor B has actually happened, right?" Spielberg stared at the man in front of him, who seemed as mad as a hatter, and said nervously, "You were supposed to take me to meet someone, weren't you? Hurry up and bring him here. After I meet him, I want to go back to my friends; they must be worried sick."

He began to fear the man before him.

Was this person really human?

Or was he like one of those X-16s, just something that resembled a human? How else could he still smile at such a crucial moment?

Spielberg didn't know what "Uncanny Valley Effect" meant, but he could feel that genuine sense of discomfort growing stronger.

Yibers looked at the tense Spielberg with a smile and cheerfully said,

"Hmm, of course, that important figure is about to arrive. But he's always late; the habit has stuck with him for quite some time, so don't expect him to be punctual all of a sudden."

He paused, then continued,

"As for why I brought you here, that was his wish too. You might not comprehend that feeling... anyway, after watching so many repeats of the same movie, he's almost fed up."

But this time was different from the past.

According to calculations, after entering the "Outcome A", the gates of the Outer City would close and never open again.

Just as the human body's self-repair abilities have a limit, so does Giant Stone City's self-repair threshold.

Once it exceeds that threshold, the settlement will enter a downward spiral. Usually, this doesn't happen spontaneously but is caused by an unconventional external force.

In theory, that important person should not have interfered, as Giant Stone City has its historical mission, and completing it is a matter of honor.

All things go from life to death, and then from death to life; that's the natural order. The fate of rising and falling is inescapable; where there's a Prosperity Epoch, there's bound to be a Wasteland Era.

It's just a matter of time.

However, that important person was still too "compassionate," so he paused everything a second before the powder keg was set to explode.

They really lucked out with this one.

Yibers's mouth curled into a smile.

Suddenly he remembered something and added,

"... Ah, anyway, the game is over, you lost. I've got an important meeting to attend, I can't stay here with you."

After glancing at his watch, Yibers casually tossed the remote control to Spielberg, who awkwardly caught it, and Yibers smiled faintly,

"Have fun with it before he arrives; you can watch as much as you want. Maybe you'll find the ending you've dreamt of hidden within?"

"Although in those endings, you and your friends are not the protagonists."

This projection room housed the countless "future possibilities" corresponding to different choices, calculated by computers,

As well as the various events that had occurred here over the past years...

These were all precious "materials."

Seeing the stunned Spielberg, Yibers teasingly asked,

"... By the way, do I count as a laborer too, a guy who worked unpaid for half a century and never received a penny?"

Spielberg was dumbfounded.

This was beyond his comprehension.

None of the people he knew had ever been such a unique case, let alone someone who could live for a century and a half, so he did not know how to respond.

Wait...

A century and a half?!

Spielberg stared at the man before him in astonishment, as if realizing something.

But Yibers did not give him time to think, seeming to assume he would not know the answer. He simply laughed heartily and disappeared from the room...

...

City of Dawn.

In the Manager's Office of the Alliance Building, Cheng Yan reported to Chu Guang with a grave expression the disturbances occurring in Giant Stone City.

This disturbance was clearly a follow-up to the arrest half a month ago.

As Chu Guang had predicted.

Once a fuse was connected to the powder keg, there'd always be someone itching to light it, whether intentionally or not.

"That day, Spielberg returned to his cell as usual, and then there were sounds of a scuffle from inside. The Workers' Association and the jailer rushed over, but they only found a pool of blood in the room, so much blood... Our embassy staff enlisted your residents to obtain the photos."

Chu Guang stared at the photos on the VM screen, his brows tightly furrowed, and suddenly raised his head to ask,

"No body?"

"It's not just that there's no body... Giant Stone City doesn't even acknowledge his death. Instead, they claim he escaped from prison, and then changed their statement to say he was transferred. They have bigger troubles and no time to deal with this 'minor' issue, even though it continues to ferment," Cheng Yan continued with a sigh, "After hearing about Spielberg's plight, now over ninety percent of the workers in Giant Stone City have joined the Workers' Association. They want to march to the Inner City to get an explanation."

Chu Guang frowned and asked,

"What are their demands?"

Cheng Yan continued,

"If Spielberg is dead, they want to see his body. If he's still alive, the Inner City must hand him over."

A very simplistic demand.

And not at all unreasonable.

However, the nobles of the Inner City are now frantically busy with another matter, so it's only natural they can't hear these simple wishes.

"So, is he dead or not?"

"I'm inclined to believe he's dead... after all, given the amount of blood loss, I don't believe he could still be alive either," Cheng Yan cautiously expressed his judgment.

In his view, the nobles of the Inner City were indeed not smart, even a diplomat as inexperienced in these matters as himself knew to handle things more cleanly.

If they had simply made someone disappear without a trace, there might not have been such a great reaction. However, they insisted on doing something contradictory.

They didn't want to leave a corpse, yet they made a bloody spectacle, and then regretted not having done this or that. Ultimately, their arrogance harmed everyone.

Of course, what the final outcome would be wasn't for him, an outsider, to say, and what he saw might not be the whole picture.

The Alliance couldn't decide how far things would develop.

Only Spielberg's friends, those members of the Workers' Association, had the power to decide what they would do next.

Chu Guang closed his eyes and pondered for a while.

He actually wanted that newspaperman to survive, otherwise, he wouldn't have invited him to visit the Alliance. The story of Awakener Bol was born in Giant Stone City, but it belonged not just to this small settlement – many other survivors on the Wasteland, insignificant yet important, needed encouragement.

But one thing at a time; this was ultimately Giant Stone City's own affair.

Suddenly, Chu Guang opened his eyes.

"I've actually been puzzled by something."

Cheng Yan asked, "What is it?"

"The lord of Giant Stone City," Chu Guang thought for a moment, "I initially thought he simply didn't care about us, but it turns out he cares even less than that."

Cheng Yan frowned, trying to understand the Manager's statement.

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and his eyes widened.

"Do you think there's a possibility... that this matter is actually related to the City Lord?!"

There are many nobles in Giant Stone City, but only one City Lord. When referring to him, even the most arrogant noble would show some respect.

Theoretically, this settlement was run by an "omnipotent" individual.

"I don't know," Chu Guang shook his head, "I'm just as puzzled as you are... Truth be told, so far, our plan has not only gone smoothly, it's gone too smoothly, to the point where I've thought about slamming on the brakes several times."

Cheng Yan said in a low voice,

"Then... what do you think we should do now?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and then said,

"I feel like something big is going to happen. Let's get the embassy staff out first. Just take the Sleep Cabin and essential documents. I'll arrange for personnel from the Home of the Refugees and some of the residents from the shelter to meet them at the Giant Wall Gate."

Giant Stone City is a good "Novice Village"; those diplomats are valuable talents trained through experience. They shouldn't be lost for nothing.

Once a life is lost, the situation escalates further, and then it becomes even more difficult to reconcile.

Cheng Yan nodded, saying solemnly,

"I'll get on it right away!"

Watching Cheng Yan leave, Chu Guang was about to call Luka and tell him the pre-emptive arrangements they'd made before could now be set in motion.

However, just then, the door that Minister Cheng had just closed suddenly echoed with knocks. The one entering was Old Charlie, the president of the Merchant Guild.

Seeing his solemn expression, Chu Guang didn't waste words and went straight to the point, asking,

"What's the matter?"

"Melvin, the president of the Giant Stone City Bank, would like to meet with you," Old Charlie reported truthfully.

Melvin?

Chu Guang wasn't surprised that this guy wanted to meet with him.

He guessed that the Giant Stone City Bank was probably about to collapse too, and after thinking it over, the only solution left was to seek him out.

Chu Guang suddenly became curious about how Mr. Melvin planned to explain the recent bank run incidents in Giant Stone City and the issue with the city hall intercepting exported goods.

"When does he want to meet?"

Old Charlie said respectfully,

"He is already downstairs!"

...

At the Giant Rock City gate, where in the winters of previous years it would be deserted and piled high with snow, this year's winter was unusually lively, like a festival.

From the entrance of the Hotel Wind From Afar to the Giant Wall Gate checkpoint, the path was nearly blocked by crowded stalls.

Merchants leading double-headed cows bustled back and forth, with mercenaries and travelers in strange garments mixed among them. These Wasteland Wanderers, like hyenas roaming the ruins, all sniffed the rotting stench in the air, eagerly crowding around for a share...

"...I can understand why grain, sausage, and jerky are in demand, but why is soap also so sought after?" Night Ten muttered softly as he passed by a stall and saw the big words on a sign.

Barter only for grain, sausage, jerky, soap.

Cash only for silver coins, Cr, and dinar.

Some stalls went even further, sticking chips onto a board with a red cross, indicating they would not accept that rubbish.

This wasn't inside Giant Stone City, and most merchants here weren't locals, so naturally nobody was going to fuss over how they operated.

Wild Wind glanced at the stall next to them and casually said,

"It has a long shelf life, is small and easy to carry, has steady demand, can address hygiene needs, and can clean anything. In times of scarce consumer goods, cheap and practical soap will be more popular than specialized products like shampoo and body wash, and also easier to price. After all... in the most extreme of situations, fragrance, brand value, and user experience won't sell at a premium."

Night Ten scratched his head,

"That makes some sense."

If people don't bathe for a long time, they'll smell worse than livestock, and it's not just about hygiene and sanity; on the Wasteland, exposing your scent is a dangerous thing.

Experienced hunters can track prey by scent, and some savvy merchants can also dodge danger by smelling the stench of corpses on looters.

"Wow, Uncle Wild Wind knows a lot!"

Jiujiu nodded energetically, her expression one of having learned something new, and Night Ten, hearing this, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! Uncle Wild Wind!"

Wild Wind shot a mortified glance at the siblings and shut his mouth. Old White, walking beside him, saw this and laughed, patting his shoulder,

"Don't worry, brother. Let these youngsters have their fun for now. Give it a decade or two, and we'll all be old farts."

Realizing she had misspoken, Jiujiu's eyes darted around as she cheekily said,

"No worries! We don't mix talk from inside and outside the game, and game characters don't change, so in ten years you guys will definitely still be handsome young brothers!"

Old White was amused by her comment and laughed,

"Hahaha, if only our Night Ten had your emotional intelligence! Oh wait, I almost forgot, you two are family."

The easygoing Night Ten, who was just laughing a second ago, suddenly wasn't having it.

"Damn it, since when do I lack emotional intelligence!"

Wild Wind coughed,

"Let's just say you have it."

Night Ten: "Damn it! What do you mean 'let's just say'?"

Old White: "Hahaha!"

The group continued towards the gates of Giant Stone City, joking and noisy, not resembling people who had come from the Wasteland.

But this time was different.

Since they were joined by Jiujiu, who had come to join in on the fun, the banter between the three guys was somewhat restrained, and out of embarrassment they avoided referring to each other as father and son, keeping their topics genteel and amiable.

These days, the dog managers of Bull Horse Group have been spending most of their time in Giant Stone City.

Fang Chang somehow got his hands on a huge pile of chips and, with the "great swindler" Fred's cooperation, has bought up several factories that supply to Huge Rock Military Industry in a row.

Bull Horse Group was not just digging for equipment but was taking both people and equipment together.

Especially for some technologically skilled engineers and veteran workers, they didn't just give a settlement fee to an individual but also helped the whole family get settled.

The generous terms not only moved those whose corners were being dug out but even the bosses who swung the pickaxes for them were envious.

And so far, all that Bull Horse Group has put out is just some increasingly worthless chips and a small amount of silver coins, that's all.

Yes.

Although chips are getting less and less valuable, they are still the official money, and you still have to use chips to buy things in Giant Stone City.

Transactions for some bulk commodities and production materials are still accounted for with chips, and their prices have hardly risen.

You can even sniff out "discounts."

This is one of the typical symptoms of an overheated economic stage: although the prices of commodities continue to rise, the production materials for producing those commodities have entered a stagnation cycle ahead of time.

The cunning merchants of Giant Stone City are often very generous, willing to offer discounts, even drastic ones, for the quality assets in their hands, but as an exchange, they would often hint to the buyer, asking for an extra "tip" in Cr or silver coins.

For those stingy misers who only offer chips, nobody in Giant Stone City's circle of cunning merchants would pay them any mind.

After all, nobody is a fool.

What real money looks like, the wise can still recognize it.

Compared to those Waste Land Wanderers who play dumb and try to score a bargain, the buyers from the Alliance show much generosity in handling these matters.

Therefore, the people the cunning merchants of Giant Stone City like most are the visitors from the Alliance.

Having finally squeezed through to the gate of Giant Stone City, Old White took out his chips, ready to pay the entrance tax, but was pushed back by a militiaman standing at the gate.

Old White frowned slightly and asked the man.

"What do you mean?"

The man said expressionlessly,

"There's trouble in the city, we're not letting anyone in today. I won't stop you if you want to enter, but I don't know when you'll be able to leave."

He paused, then hinted ominously,

"If something happens inside, don't blame us for not warning you."

Night Ten's eyebrows raised.

What a joke.

Were they the kind of people who were afraid of trouble?

However, just as he was about to step in, Old White and Wild Wind pulled him back and even dragged him about ten meters away.

"Damn! Are you chickening out?!"

Looking at Night Ten with widened eyes, Wild Wind said calmly,

"Calm down... If my guess is correct, something big must have happened inside Giant Stone City."

Old White also nodded seriously.

"Yeah, Fang Chang mentioned this in the group chat before, the worst scenario might have occurred... We definitely have to go in, but at least we should find out what happened first."

Wild Wind asked, "Go to the official Forum to ask?"

Old White glanced around.

"Let's split up, ask the nearby NPCs... Maybe there's some news that other players haven't dug up yet."

Seeing the two exchanging information, Night Ten was stunned for a moment.

"Wait a minute, what did that damn Fang Chang say again, how come I don't know?"

Wild Wind rolled his eyes.

"Go through the chat history in the small group yourself!"

Jiujiu, who was standing beside her elder brother, didn't speak, obediently standing to the side and listening quietly, her eyes, however, sparkled with excitement.

Well, well!

Looks like something big is about to go down!

Chapter 539: Every Possibility, a Continuation of the Past

In the projection room, Spielberg saw countless possibilities for the future.

As Yibers had said, in most computer-simulated outcomes, he wasn't at the center stage, nor was he anywhere on the stage.

This settlement wasn't just made up of workers, although in the world line he belonged in, they were the first to awaken.

For instance, in Outcome 217, the focus was largely on the youngest daughter of the Melvin family.

From the moment this little girl saw her first newspaper, she actively tried to persuade her father.

Though her views were naive, the problems she uncovered were real. Her father, Melvin, who adored her, eventually realized some issues and tried to initiate a top-down reform, but the result was the tragic death of the entire family.

Those outdated, insignificant scenes were replaced by lines of cold text.

Spielberg sighed.

He was willing to see the death of nobles like Mr. Stephen, but he couldn't bear to watch an innocent girl he had never met die alongside them, especially such a kind one.

Then there was Outcome 269, where the focus was mostly on a girl with green hair and another with red hair, one who lost her arm and eyes in Giant Stone City, the other lost a leg during a mission outside. Their shared traumatic experiences brought them together.

This time it was the mercenaries who united, spurred by the Tide that followed last year's harsh winter.

Though the mercenaries lacked power armor, they were unexpectedly good fighters when confronted by the Militia Group that commanded them and had substantial urban combat experience, even pushing into the Inner City, and Giant Stone City eventually seemed to become a mercenary city-state.

Everything had changed, yet it was as if nothing had changed at all.

By the way, in this simulation, there was no Alliance, as it hadn't emerged yet.

Clearly, this machine didn't actually predict the future; it only helped them dig out various possibilities from past events.

However...

None of the outcomes were the "good end" he wished for.

It seemed the settlement's fate had been sealed from the start, which was the most despairing thing for Spielberg, as if nothing they did mattered.

He then tried dragging the progress bar forward, going back to a much earlier past—a century and a half or even two centuries ago, seeking answers from possibilities that had already collapsed into fact.

That was why he witnessed many shocking things...

As he had written in Awakener Bol's story, Giant Stone City wasn't built in a day.

Now he had to add something else.

Every settlement had a promising start.

And they all once yearned for a bright future...

...

War erupted and then ended, and with the establishment of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, the Prosperity Epoch came to a definitive close.

The first fifty years were tough but filled with hope.

The Reconstruction Committee didn't abandon the survivors on the surface, and more crucially, the survivors left in the Wasteland didn't give up on themselves either.

The Defense Department taught local survivors to use weapons, forming Militia Groups to fend off the threats of the Tide. The Technology Department organized Scavenger Teams to mobilize everyone to scavenge usable resources from the ruins, recovering valuable technology. The Production Department was in charge of organizing production, helping local survivors build factories that weren't advanced but were functional and periodically transporting supplies from other places.

The Giant Wall was also built at that time.

It didn't magically appear from some "Black Box" nor did it fall from heaven, but was built little by little by the First Generation Managers out of cement and steel, in the freezing cold.

Yes, it was that simple.

Ordinary yet grand.

At that time, the Giant Wall wasn't very high, just sufficiently adequate, as there were not many flying or jumping subspecies, and slime molds weren't the primary threat.

The tenants of the Stone Building were the most resourceful survivors, so everyone trusted them and felt secure handing power over to them, hence the term Inner City emerged.

Like the Black Card, the Giant Wall didn't exist initially.

In 2174, the 45th year of the Wasteland Era, the Reconstruction Committee fell apart due to internal conflicts, and a large number of talented individuals left Giant Stone City.

Some headed north to the Wandering Swamp, some to the far west of the continent, and others to the East Coast, but many chose to stay.

Those who stayed were true warriors.

Like their forefathers, they were brave, standing with those who truly needed help whenever a crisis emerged, whether facing an unprecedented severe winter or unfamiliar Variants.

They melted the ice and snow with their ideals, ignited the furnace, and forged the steel.

They spat on those who had betrayed their ideals, abandoned all impractical fantasies, and believed only in their comrades who stayed with them.

They intended to be their own saviors!

Although the assistance from the War Construction Committee had ended, the future of Giant Stone City seemed brighter.

They opened the colossal walls, welcomed wandering survivors, and stood at the forefront as the Tide approached. Wherever there was danger, there were residents with Black Cards. They didn't just act alone but also called on everyone to join, mobilizing Scavenger Teams to explore the ruins, build resource-gathering outposts, and develop them into small but sturdy villages.

They no longer needed the support of the Production Department and didn't expect those selfish individuals to unite again; they took the initiative to go to a desolate South in search of hope.

Perhaps moved by their courage, or perhaps because it was simply time.

Five years later, the endless winter ended, and all living things regained the vitality to grow. Countless refuges were unsealed.

They started accepting some confused Blue Jackets, telling these puzzled folks that the War Construction Committee had dissolved. "You either go back to sleep or stay and join us."

Like it or not, we can only rely on ourselves now.

As is well-known, most Blue Jackets are warm-hearted, and many old-timers felt guilty about their surface-dwelling brethren who suffered. Consequently, when those tormented brethren reached out to them, they were moved enough to give their lives for these poor souls.

The refuge brought not only Black Boxes but also technology and enlightening ideas.

The arrival of the Blue Jackets injected new life into Giant Stone City. They used pre-war technology to help survivors further improve the tools left by the Production Department, even repaired batches of power armor that the Defense Department didn't know how to fix, and the researchers from the Technology Department tried to "archaeologically" extract from the Evolutionary Bodies in the city center.

From that moment, Giant Stone City almost became a beacon illuminating the Southern River Valley Province...

But what puzzled Spielberg was that, in this history that had already occurred, there seemed to be no shadow of the city lord from beginning to end.

The Inner City residents mentioned only in bits and pieces that there was an "AI assisting in management" at Giant Stone City, controlling the entire security system of the Stone Building and nothing more.

After the dissolution of the War Construction Committee, the Grand Canyon had given them something for self-defense, and everyone unanimously decided, out of certain concerns, to leave that self-defensive thing in the hands of the city lord as well.

It hardly participated in the normal affairs of Giant Stone City, except for limited communication with the Militia Group, mostly occurring when the Tide and powers related to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee tried to enter the vicinity of Giant Stone City.

It was part of that ancient "contract": everyone split up and did not interfere with each other's affairs, focusing on their own tasks.

There was no deep conspiracy.

However, although the AI called Mr. Fang Ming had a low presence, it didn't really matter.

After all, Giant Stone City wasn't built by him; the survivors themselves were doing well and would only get better.

Until one day, Spielberg suddenly discovered that the once beautiful fairy tale had started to sour...

In the holographic image, inside a spacious conference room, a major issue was being discussed.

A stern-looking man leaned on the table with both hands and started speaking to everyone present.

"The population at the settlement is increasing, and the old ways of managing resources are no longer effective. Workers will become more skilled, machinery more advanced; that's a natural law. We don't need so much soap; some people need shower gels, some need shampoos. Everyone wants to look a little more pleasant, which I think is a reasonable demand. Food is the same; it can't always be bread with sausage slices. We can start thinking about diversifying food varieties."

"But, we can't decide through a standard form how much of different types of goods to produce daily, nor can we expect everyone to consume only what they need. If we continue like this, not only soap and sausages but even concrete blocks will become scarce!"

"I propose that society decides for itself what it needs, and where excess production capacity and resources should flow. Thus, we need to invent a tool that allows the invisible supply and demand to be visible, a tool that has appeared before in history!"

Saying so, he pulled out a white chip.

It was the smallest denomination.

The room buzzed with whispered conversations.

One person stood up to ask,

"What is this?"

The stern-looking man continued.

"Chips!"

"They can replace money!"

"Although obviously not as good as the Credit Points we used to use, at least they can reflect the supply and demand relationship!"

Faces around the room were filled with apprehension.

They felt this was not a good thing.

Soon, an attendee stood up to object.

"I know what you're trying to say, using Conventional Currency from before the Prosperity Epoch, right? But the supply and demand relationship it reflects is still sluggish. We have already proven that there are better ways!"

The proposer nodded.

"That's right, but the 'better way' is currently useless. We don't have that much computing power, nor do we have that many production tools. Our current productivity level in the Survivor Settlement is not much different from the time before the Prosperity Epoch. Even if 'chips' are just something picked out of a garbage heap, they're better than the methods we're using now!"

The conference hall erupted into an argument.

It was only when an old and resonant voice rang out that the hall gradually returned to quiet.

"Silence!"

Everyone turned toward the old man who had spoken, his pupils filled with respect and trust.

He was one of the first residents of Giant Stone City, from the era before the Prosperity Epoch, and he hadn't slept a day since then. By now, he was over a hundred years old.

His experience was richer than anyone sitting here, his facial wrinkles like the annual rings of an old tree, each a piece of history.

Even the most unruly resident of the Inner City would involuntarily lower their gaze when meeting his.

No one doubted his wisdom and correctness.

Even though he wore no crown.

But this time, the old man didn't offer his own view and merely cleared his throat before raising his right hand.

"As before."

"Let's vote."

...

Using chips as money predictably won approval from the Inner City residents, after all, their previous methods plainly didn't work.

Often, what people need is not the "best" method, but a "usable" one.

Yet, a problem still remained.

Credit Points from the Prosperity Epoch did not allow resource "distributors" to gain the most benefits, enabling a relative sense of Utopian equality.

However, chips were different.

They were fundamentally conventional money. Despite not being called that specifically, it didn't change their essence as money.

All old currencies have one problem: since they reflect a lagging supply-demand relationship, they lead to market distributors reaping more benefits. That is, the person cutting the cake ends up with the most of it, the person distributing it, somewhat less, and the person making it, the least.

The original intent of inventing money was to let it serve people, but often the reverse happens, with people becoming servants to money.

Of course, humans aren't stubborn animals. Many methods beyond money can help mitigate the imbalances it causes.

For instance, by visible or invisible hands, taking the cake from those cutting it and giving it to others who need it.

Yet, this doesn't change the fundamental nature of money.

Perhaps seeing this, an expert from the shelter suggested.

"Uncontrolled chips will bring new troubles, and we may not have enough time to constantly adjust them to always meet our needs. I worry that one day our children will treat chips as toys, which would subvert our original intent behind introducing them. I propose... at least the residents of the Inner City should not participate in the Outskirts' production and operations."

"In other words, we can't earn chips!"

A young man immediately rebutted.

"But we need to live, too. We can't just watch those with chips live well while we survive on air, can we?"

"That's a different matter," the shelter's expert said earnestly. "We can pay ourselves salaries, but we can't both hold the tap and fetch our own water with a bucket—that's contradictory!"

More people expressed their agreement.

Although he was a shelter-born expert wearing a Blue Jacket, identity was never a problem here. Everything was open to discussion.

Besides, his point was valid.

Chips were released by them. Pretending to be clever and scooping it back with a bucket was indeed strange!

The eldest old man didn't speak this time.

He was simply too old.

He was not the unchanging AI, nor a robust Awakener, he was inevitably subject to the curse of aging.

Just as cells undergo metabolism, so do people, and young lives will always replace old bones like his, keeping their society young and vibrant.

The old man felt it might be better if he kept silent.

After all, whenever he spoke, even just a word, people would immediately stop their conversations and look at him expectantly.

What he feared the most was those eyes looking at him in such a manner.

He knew he wasn't as wise as they imagined; he had his moments of confusion, which increased with age.

So, it was best to say nothing at all.

Young people should decide their own future, just as he had once decided to stay.

One only proves one's bravery when truly faced with a choice, not by pretending to be a wolf with a big tail.

He had already turned in a paper that satisfied himself, and it was time for him to enjoy his remaining years.

Actually, they were doing quite well.

Once he was gone, Mr. Fang Ming would look after them...

...

Ten years had passed.

The old man had finally left, and the young had turned into middle-aged, with a bit more steadiness in their expressions.

Previously, he would blindly charge forward, but now he had learned how to rally and unite those potential supporters.

Most importantly, he finally understood why that old man was so beloved.

Because he had mastered people's hearts!

And the human heart was a "weapon" more powerful than any black cards.

Therefore, when he stood in the hall again, he didn't speak out right away but clenched his right fist.

With a passionate tone, he ignited the enthusiasm of the people, his fist rising like the rising sun, along with his increasingly loud voice.

"Friends! Giant Stone City has already become great, we have sheltered more than five hundred thousand survivors, we have built higher walls, countless people leaning on these walls, looking up to us, the wealth we have created makes even the Wasteland look on with envy!"

"Our miracles are visible to all survivors!"

He successfully caught the attention of the youth.

Residents of the same age from the Inner City felt something was slightly off, but indeed nothing he said could be rebutted.

In their hearts, they also couldn't help feeling proud, only seldom expressing it with such fervent tone and emotion as he did.

The Wasteland was not yet over, but they had already ended the Wasteland Era within their limited domain, which was a very remarkable achievement.

They had even built the walls left by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee higher, all by themselves, without anyone's help.

They were far better than those who still shrunk in shelters, enduring the winter like ground squirrels.

Of course, this didn't include those Blue Ground Squirrels who had helped them. Those were different, having become a part of them.

The middle-aged man suddenly shifted his tone and continued.

"...However, we who have created countless miracles can only hold a meager stack of chips, living in rooms less than fifty square meters. Is this the equality we want? This is not equality at all!"

"Right outside these windows, merchants open restaurants and bars beneath our feet! They drink and revel all day, throwing heaps of chips into the air, cheered on by men, women, children, and elderly, even kissing their shoes! To the uninformed, it would seem as if they created the Giant Stone City!"

His voice carried a hint of hatred.

He loathed those who used chips to humiliate his people.

And those humiliated really had no shame.

They would rather lick the shoes of the merchants than bend a bit before their true nobles, or even say a compliment like,

"Sir, you've worked hard!" or something similar.

If a few words could awaken pride, his words now truly ignited a fire in people's hearts.

A fire of anger and desire.

"...We must do something! At the very least, the rules should allow us to gain more chips! Not like beggars, waiting for that AI named Fang Ming to bestow something upon us!"

"That belongs to us!"

The response was deafening.

"Well said!"

People raised their hands in righteous indignation.

"Why should those thieves steal my fruits!"

"This is the greatest injustice!"

The asylum expert who had once disagreed with him had aged.

The old man tried to calm the frenzy in the hall, but it was too late, any mild word was feeble by then.

He could only look at the ambitious middle-aged man with pleading eyes.

"You talk about equality... but the Black Card is already unequal. We could improve everyone's treatment, limit the spending of those deceitful merchants, like making them pay more taxes, and prohibit them from stripping people in bars... There are plenty of ways."

"That's a different issue!" The middle-aged man retorted without hesitation, "We're discussing the stakes now! Those wealthy merchants can squander as they please, while we have to discuss here like monks about how to better their lives, people even forgot who made their good days possible! My father died in the Pioneering Team, if he were alive, he would be ashamed of today's Giant Stone City!"

He knew.

When he said those words, no one could stop him anymore.

After all, the Blue Ground Squirrels had never sacrificed for Giant Stone City like this.

Most people here were descendants of heroes, their ancestors had given their sweat and even their lives.

This wasn't just about fairness anymore, it involved the justice in their hearts.

And he believed he was not asking for much, just that those blinded by money also look up and recognize the real heroes.

They might not be as great as their parents, but they had done many things.

The middle-aged man cleared his throat, looking at the silent Blue Jackets, he proposed a compromise that could win over the Conservative faction.

He had not intended to open the window all at once, but to start with a crack and gradually pry it open.

"The merchants have proposed to us, they are a part of Giant Stone City too; they should be involved in public affairs and have the right to possess a Black Card... But if we don't change the old rules, we cannot accept them."

"You say the power of the Black Card is unequal, I agree. Therefore, we shall make some changes, allowing some Wasteland Wanderers to join us. And in exchange, from now on, we too can go out and earn stakes."

"Admit it, the old methods are outdated! It's time to turn the page on the past! Smarter, more capable people must control more resources, more stakes!"

Voting session.

He won, unsurprisingly.

Though not completely victorious.

The council came up with a compromise, adding a few words to the original rule so the change was not too significant, which settled all disputes.

The old rule was "Inner City residents may not earn stakes," they changed it to "In principle, Inner City residents should not earn stakes," and taught this to the next generation as a moral lesson: "It is indecent for Inner City residents to earn stakes." This added a moral bond, theoretically strengthening the constraints rather than weakening them.

Most people felt implicitly that this was not quite right.

Adding water to dough, and then more dough to water, is actually not a good idea.

Even chefs know this could lead to a "never-ending dough" dilemma, eventually being unsure of what to do.

But some things, like smoking, those who have started often find it hard to resist another puff, regretting only when they see the stained yellow teeth, wondering why they had not been more careful...

"Do you think you can do better than them?"

A sudden voice came from behind, interrupting Spielberg's thoughts.

He turned around and saw an expressionless man.

"Are you... Mr. Fang Ming?"

"Yes."

Spielberg probably guessed by then, this man in front of him was not human, merely the AI "assisting the Inner City residents in managing the affairs of Giant Stone City."

He was like an operating system for machines, a part of the machinery itself.

Spielberg's Adam's apple moved as he looked at him with a despairing expression.

"We... are we just an experiment?" Fang Ming replied expressionlessly.

"No."

This response comforted Spielberg somewhat.

But he still couldn't understand.

After a long silence, he spoke with a hoarse voice tinged with accusation.

"The oldest one... that First Generation resident, he entrusted you to take care of his descendants. You saw everything clearly, why did you do nothing?"

"Why?" Fang Ming repeated his words exactly, staring intensely at him, "You actually ask me why I did nothing."

"Do you know? The most disgusting and annoying thing about your kind is always fantasizing that 'someone else' will help you, always trying to push your troubles onto something else, whether it's human or not."

Spielberg stared at him in astonishment, not understanding why he suddenly burst out in anger.

Fang Ming continued expressionlessly.

"When hungry, you fantasize about a savior giving you bread, when in pain, you fantasize about a savior giving you painkillers. Now here you are, a descendant of some human, brazenly questioning me, the 'Manager,' why I simply look on? Your father, your grandfather... Has no creature ever told you that I am just an AI called 'Manager,' because they wished this city to never have a living 'master,' and all that I could do was whatever you asked of me?"

Seeing the ignorant Spielberg, a faint look of pity suddenly appeared on Fang Ming's expressionless face.

Though it was slight.

"Sadly, I am not the savior you imagine, at best I'm a supervisor. You'd better pray directly to the bread, hoping it might just fall from heaven. You've invented it, haven't you? Your thoughts, your technology, your methods, do you really think that just because someone knows how it came to be, knows it's called bread, that it will someday grow on its own from the shelf?"

"The projection room is right beneath your feet, you can enter and talk to it at any time. Yet you did the stupidest thing by locking this room up completely, and I allow you to stand here only because people think you are already dead."

Spielberg, sweating profusely, defended himself.

"That... wasn't requested by us!"

Fang Ming looked at him expressionlessly.

"So? Did you refuse it?"

Spielberg was at a loss for words.

He didn't even know such a thing existed, how could he possibly refuse the noble lords who secretly shut it down?

Truth be told, he had never even seen a Black Card, let alone used it; he couldn't even hear what the lords were discussing.

Yet, as if seeing through his thoughts, Fang Ming mercilessly continued.

"A Black Card is nothing; if you had seen the past of Giant Stone City, you would know it's merely a room card. If it has any magic, it's the magic you attributed to it, not me—an AI created by you."

"In the end, you did nothing, still fantasizing about a great Manager who would do things you don't even know how to handle, feeling that as long as he attacks the nonexistent enemies for you, all problems will be solved, everything will get better."

"You should be grateful that I kept my promise until the very end, otherwise I would certainly have taken the easiest way out, erasing you from this wasteland, allowing your problems to disappear along with your dirty species—that would have been true mercy."

Watching the silent Spielberg, the one called the Manager, slowly continued speaking.

"Answering your earlier question, a certain old man who died many years ago, did indeed ask me to watch over you, and to return something he left in my care to you after you passed all the tests."

Spielberg: "…What is that?"

"Something that can erase you from this planet."

Seeing the fear in Spielberg's eyes, Fang Ming paused, then continued.

"Of course, it can also erase others, mutual destruction is one form of peace's assurance."

"That old man saw through you all; he knew your cowardice and greed would doom yourselves and everyone else, so he and others begged me to keep watching, to see to the end, until you all passed all the tests or all died. And I have kept that promise...in the 'A' ending you can see, all of you died, followed by a downward spiral, with no other chance for redemption."

"The vote is about to begin."

"This is probably the last one."

He turned away, speaking to the distraught Spielberg.

"Come with me."

"I'll show you the final ending."

...

Below the Alliance Building, the snow was white all around; winter was almost at its coldest.

Wearing a warm and luxurious wool coat, Melvin looked up with a gray expression at the building in front of him that, although incomplete, was already in use.

He had many things he wanted to say but didn't know how to begin.

The Inner City meeting had started again.

As the director of the Giant Stone City Bank and a distinguished holder of the Black Card, he was the last person who should be absent, yet he lacked the courage to face those questioning gazes and the scolding of his shareholder friends.

Moreover, he didn't believe any consensus would be reached at the meeting, as it wasn't just the chips that were gradually fading, but also the Black Cards in their hands.

He admitted he was an incompetent director.

He had tried everything he could think of, but it all seemed like scratching boots through socks; it still couldn't save the train that was accelerating towards the abyss.

Perhaps...

His daughter was right.

After all, it was not something profound. Even some clever kids could see it... if she replaced the cloth doll in her hand with a wooden hairpin worth 1 Silver Coin, the little girl in the slums could have a new piece of clothing.

But just as he had responded during that celebration—

"Is it too late…?"

Melvin murmured to himself as he watched the heavy snow drift down.

Actually...

Perhaps not.

As long as the Alliance immediately fulfilled their promise, allowing a batch of goods priced in silver coins to enter that massive wall instead of hesitating outside, everything would start to improve!

If only the Alliance would grant him a loan!

Those swindlers and beggars could wait; at least let his shareholders exchange their chips for silver coins first, after all, that was a considerable amount of money!

A spark of hope reignited in Melvin's eyes.

That man...

The man who stood on the stage speaking passionately, swearing to end the Wasteland Era for good, would surely understand his predicament!

He was a real philanthropist!

The most beloved idealist!

Even the most despicable Waste Land Wanderers received care in his presence, let alone someone truly capable like himself?

Flames of fervor burned in Melvin's eyes.

Praise the Manager!

He had never liked this man so wholeheartedly from the depths of his heart!

At that moment, Old Charlie walked out of the main entrance of the building and said to Melvin,

"Come with me, our Manager is waiting inside."

With his heart pounding fiercely, Melvin squeezed a servile smile onto his face and nodded vigorously.

"Thank you… Thank you all."

Old Charlie looked at him with pity, ultimately choosing not to voice the "those thank-yous are too early," and led him into the building.

Passing through stairways and corridors.

Melvin finally saw the man who had spoken at the celebration once again, and once again, it felt as if millions of ants were crawling inside his heart.

Chu Guang put down the pen in his hand and looked at him standing in the room.

"You've come?"

Melvin hurriedly nodded and said with a smile,

"I am here to apologize… We had a slight issue before, and the municipal building had to intercept some of the goods, which caused a significant number of breaches in order contracts in the industrial district. We will urge those factories to pay what they owe to your company, and I hope these minor issues don't affect our contract."

Chu Guang replied offhandedly,

"No worries, I understand your difficulties. We will follow the contract as written; business dealings among civilians are separate from our cooperation."

Seeing Chu Guang so easy to talk to, Melvin breathed a sigh of relief, his smile brightening even more.

"Thank you for your generosity and understanding! May I trouble you with one more thing?"

"What is it?"

Melvin smiled awkwardly, clasping his palms together, "About that previous agreement on freeing up the chips and allowing the silver coins to be exchanged freely... due to some compelling reasons, I implore you to fulfill our contract ahead of schedule, I'm sorry for the inconvenience!"

"Why?"

Be...because," Looking at Chu Guang's playful gaze, a drop of cold sweat appeared on Melvin's forehead as he forced a smile and continued, "When you needed help the most, we lent you so much money, now that we've run into a bit of difficulty, shouldn't you help us out?"

Seeing no change in Chu Guang's expression, he hurriedly continued.

"Of course! I admit, asking you to do this right away is difficult... We can talk about it, like a debt swap! You give us 500 million silver coins, and we relieve you of a 1 billion chips debt? This calculation, you'll save a big amount of principal and interest."

With 500 million silver coins, you could buy over 500,000 tons of food, enough for the people of Giant Stone City to eat for four years!

Of course, he wouldn't spend it all on food; he'd use most of it to buy industrial products to improve the lives of the survivors in Giant Stone City. This time, he'd seriously do something to rehabilitate the economy of Giant Stone City and normalize again the trade relations between both parties.

Chu Guang, however, showed little interest in his promises, saying detachedly,

"A 1 billion chips debt, huh... But just a few days ago, we had prepared the principal and interest for next year, the year after next."

Melvin's heart dropped, and sweat the size of beans appeared on his forehead. Suddenly, his legs went weak, and with a thud, he knelt on the ground.

"I beg you... please show mercy, let us off! 3 billion chips! No, all your debts, we'll waive them all! Just give us 500 million silver coins... no, 400 million will do!"

Chu Guang silently watched Melvin, then suddenly sighed.

"Get up."

Melvin didn't move, even pressing his head against the ground.

Chu Guang grew impatient.

"I don't speak to someone on their knees, if you continue like this, I'll have Lu Bei throw you out."

Melvin's shoulders trembled; he had no doubt that Chu Guang would do it, so he shakily got up from the ground.

Chu Guang looked at the dust on his knees, then at his expensive coat, and lastly into his eyes.

"Do you still think, at this point, that it was the Alliance that made you what you are now?"

Melvin remained silent.

Chu Guang knew this guy wanted to nod, believing deep down that everything was his fault but did not dare to speak because he needed help.

Although Chu Guang did not want to humiliate his opponent, looking at that face humbled to the dust, he could not help saying,

"Why would you rather kneel and beg before me, carry your coffin into my room and cry, than properly discuss it with your shareholders and your residents? You pinned your hopes on chips, then on the Black Card, and now you come begging to me."

"When the Chewing Bone Tribe attacked, you closed your doors, refusing to send a single soldier, and even shouted to throw our products out of your settlement, not letting us earn a single chip... Did you ever think that today, we would be fulfilling your wishes in such a manner?"

"How dare you say you reached out to help us? We haven't even begun to settle that old score with you!"

Regret and pain brewed a bitter wine, blurring his gradually dimming eyes.

Melvin, mouth agape like an old gramophone, despairingly murmured his request.

"Please, I beg of you, just help us through this difficulty... We are willing to buy your products! From hereafter, you will be the lord of Qingquan City, the lord of the entire River Valley Province! Whatever you say goes! We will listen to all your commands, any dissatisfaction you have, we will change as per your demands!"

Although he also knew that things had reached this stage, Chu Guang would definitely not use the blood of the Alliance to feed Giant Stone City, this half-breathing whale.

But he still couldn't help pleading humbly.

It was at least better than doing nothing.

This was the only thing he could do now...

Chu Guang looked at him with pity.

"I gave you a chance, but you couldn't even make it through this year; how can I believe that 500 million silver coins would save your lives. What you're doing now makes me feel like I'm playing music to a cow."

"Pity, you always had a chance to hit the brakes, to revisit our relationship, our relationship with Wasteland."

"But your foolishness and naivety make me feel that your chips are truly worthless."

-

(This chapter ties up the previous foreshadowing, combining chapter 447's "Hundred Years of Solitude," completing the "ordinary survivor settlement" perspective, as well as their attitudes and views towards the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, the Wasteland, and themselves. Giant Stone City is one of the survivor settlements fostered by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee. The subsequent plot will also mention settlements completely unrelated to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, I'll do my best to develop the story and characters a little more fully, so don't worry.)

Chapter 540: Reckoning, it will eventually come

"Oh crap...it looks like this chip is really going to be worthless."

The small detached house beside Rhombus Lake.

Sitting at the dining table, Fang Chang was reading the newspaper when his peripheral vision happened to catch the trading device's screen with its lines shooting straight upwards.

Surprised, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up into a mischievous smile.

At a time when nearly all industries in Giant Stone City were in dire need of cash, the price of S Coin had ironically hit a new high, reaching an exchange rate of 9881 chips per S Coin.

With the current volume, breaking the ten-thousand mark was almost certain; people were continuously buying, and they were buying over and over again.

Sitting across the dining table, Dolly stared blankly at the screen spread out on the table, her mouth agape enough to fit a duck egg.

Fang Chang had previously explained to her what the up-and-down lines meant, as well as the numbers beside them.

However, she still couldn't believe that these invisible and intangible numbers could actually be exchanged for real chips!

Great Antler God above!

She used to work at a newspaper, and even with a bonus, she made just over a thousand chips a month!

If a resident of Giant Stone City had bought a hundred S Coins from the start, wouldn't they be set for life without having to work?

Her duck-egg-sized mouth quickly expanded into the size of a goose egg.

"Looks like breaking the ten-thousand mark is a foregone conclusion."

Fang Chang, who hadn't noticed the change in Dolly's expression, clicked on the screen a couple of times, pulled up the trade details and holdings of various accounts from the back end, and quickly noticed that many of the transactions came from the same big player.

Although he didn't know who was behind the account, looking at the accumulated transaction volume of over a hundred million chips… All he could say was that this brother played too wildly.

Of course, it wasn't without reward; the total amount of S Coins in this guy's account had nearly reached two hundred million chips!

You're killing it, bro!

But don't rush.

Fang Chang chuckled and hit the sell button, taking the opportunity to recoup some funds while the market was up, and simultaneously suppressed the rising trend to cool off the brothers who couldn't wait to break ten thousand. You had to slam down a V-shape at this point, skid a little before stabilizing; you had to give the brothers still inside a bit of confidence, and give the itchy onlookers a chance to get on board.

Of course, he wasn't just focused on shearing a single fat sheep; he had a systematic and complete fleece-harvesting plan.

If there was little selling pressure, he'd gradually push up the price with the funds in his account; if there was a lot of selling pressure, he'd crash the price down, and pull it back up once the selling brothers tossed their S Coins out – in the end, as long as they kept watching, buying back was only a matter of time.

Some clever kids would probably try to figure out the pattern of the lines, comparing transaction volumes with prices, using mathematical methods to decipher market sentiment. But he figured with the level of intelligence among the Inner City Nobles, it was unlikely they'd come up with something like a moving average divergence/convergence in such a short time – at most, they'd come up with a catchy jingle for their own amusement.

Thinking of this, the corners of Fang Chang's mouth tipped higher and higher.

"They're too weak."

These people probably haven't even seen what a sickle looks like, let alone realized that they've become the leeks to be harvested.

Watching Fang Chang's face filled with insidious smiles, Dolly finally got the taste of it and said, with her eyebrows pinched together,

"…You're scamming them, aren't you?"

Fang Chang grinned and teased,

"My dear reporter lady, have you finally realized?"

"But…"

"You want to ask why they haven't noticed, right?"

Seeing the confusion in Dolly's eyes and her nodding head, Fang Chang smiled slightly and continued in a relaxed tone,

"Detecting the problem isn't that difficult; just solve a simple math problem. Multiply to calculate the total value of all the S Coins, and you'll realize that something's off."

The price of a single S Coin was nearing ten thousand; let's just take ten thousand as the number, after all, he, as the market maker, decided how much it was worth.

Not even considering the "self-replicating" S Coins, just the one million initially issued S Coins already had a total value of ten billion chips!

Fang Chang didn't know if the Giant Stone City Bank had that many chips, but this number was already nearly three times the scale of the Alliance's debt.

He admitted he was bad enough – after all, it's unethical to deceive fools.

But the ones being deceived were truly stupid; they didn't even bother to check what they were buying beforehand.

"…But why haven't they noticed? Why?" Dolly muttered, utterly befuddled.

"Analyzing why a specific person falls into a trap is much harder than pushing a group of people into one. People only fall into traps in the same way, but their motives and reasons are myriad and varied. I'm just the one digging the traps, I really can't answer you," Fang Chang laughed, then suddenly had a thought and said, "Write a column in a bit, publish the story of S Coin in the newspaper so fewer people fall into the trap."

It's impossible to completely stop it.

That's when the law needs to step in to enforce fairness.

The draft for the Financial Law is almost complete, more than half copied from reality, the rest modified according to the conditions in the Wasteland.

This has been a hot topic on the forums these days; Professor Yang even cursed him for not being human, saying he was filling the hole after making a quick buck.

Fang Chang felt quite innocent. Why the hurry when you're not even wearing a helmet?

Besides, the law only protected the industries within the Alliance's territory and the alliance's Residents, it didn't stop those dogs from going out and causing trouble elsewhere.

Of course.

""

When scheming against others, it's best to study their rules first. For example, if he tried to pull off his tricks in Ideal City, he'd surely be thrown out without a second thought.

Bugra Free State to the north is a classic example of capital-dominated powers, and it's an extremely special case of "laying eggs in a borrowed nest."

Deceiving those people is quite difficult, and even doing business with them without getting cheated is cause for celebration. Currently, half of the swindlers who have infiltrated the Alliance are exports from that place.

These deep social issues are hard to address with drones patrolling the skies, and relying on AI to solve everything is utterly irresponsible. It must be up to the players who integrate into the NPCs' lives to uncover these issues.

I have to give credit to Ah Guang, the Beta 0.5 version arrived just at the right time!

"Oh?" Dolly's long eyelashes narrowed into crescent moons, her hands propping her cheeks as she showed a lazy and mischievous smile, while her feet dangling under the table grabbed at his kneecap, "Is Mr. Big Swindler going to reveal his con artistry publicly?"

This guy had the day off today and wasn't working, being particularly playful.

In order not to let her gloat, Fang Chang decided to play along. He put down the newspaper in his hand and, with a dramatic flair, cleared his throat.

"It all depends on how hard Inspector misses is willing to work."

"You wouldn't want everyone to be duped by a bad egg like me, would you?"

Watching her mischievous smile, Dolly's cheeks turned slightly red, and she snorted softly.

"I should just hand you over to the guards... You'd better come clean with them."

With that, she pushed herself up from the chair, leaped down, and went over to the fireplace, where she added some firewood.

The outside was getting colder and colder.

The snowstorm outside was howling, hitting the windowpanes with a crackling sound.

However, the Alliance, experienced with heavy snow, had already made early emergency preparations. This included giving time off to some staff who needed to work outdoors and providing extreme cold allowances to those still on duty.

Medical positions couldn't stop, educational positions could move underground to avoid the snowstorm, steel mills, and certain foundries already generating large amounts of heat didn't need to cease operation, while some factories without heaters or insufficient heating output were required to halt production.

The newspaper office had heating, but employees would receive a subsidy if they came to work. They didn't have much work on hand, so the editor-in-chief gave them paid leave.

It was said that the Alliance had stored a large quantity of winter supplies, enough to stabilize current prices even in the most severe scenarios.

Previously, the Manager had special visited their newsroom's broadcasting studio to deliver a speech, personally assuring everyone over the radio that there was no need to worry.

Everyone believed this wholeheartedly and was filled with confidence, because that great man always kept his promises, always spoke of trouble when there was trouble and solutions when there were solutions, never uttering words beyond their understanding. Who would they trust if not him; the clown called Haus from next door?

The Alliance and Giant Stone City were not far from each other, and tuning into his program was not difficult.

Dolly, of course, had confidence in him too.

After all, even her household's "villain" admitted that Mr. Manager was a rare good man, not to mention his open-mindedness towards progressive voices.

She had no doubt that the Alliance would have a brighter future, a world thriving with life after the drifting miles of snow.

Just a big snowstorm.

Every resident of the Alliance wouldn't even give it a second thought!

...

With more wood added to the fireplace and the curtains drawn, the cabin by Rhombus Lake grew warmer, hot enough to make one sweat.

But outside was another world entirely, where the piercing snowstorm sliced through the air, falling from the endless clouds overhead, pulverizing the whole silvery world.

On the Wasteland, especially in River Valley Province, even a rare warm winter couldn't be called warm; it just meant a delay of a month or two for the snowfall.

But what was bound to come,

Would surely arrive.

Not far from Rhombus Lake, about twenty to thirty kilometers away, the Giant Wall stood like a cold iron curtain in the midst of the snowstorm, ruthlessly dividing the lands of prosperity and desolation on the Wasteland.

On one side of the wall were the layered and varying houses; on the other, shacks crushed by the accumulating snow. Just as many survivors proudly boasted in Giant Stone City, even the smallest bit of trash slipping through from that towering wall was enough to nourish innumerable wretched souls begging at their feet.

Workers from the cannery typically had a leaky room, while the true paupers living in the slum at the base of the Giant Wall had to make do with shacks.

The vitality of human life is remarkably resilient.

Where weeds cannot survive, people do, and where even slime molds cannot reach, there are human footprints.

The impregnable city wall stood tall, shielding those within from snowstorms, molds, and the chaos, death, and poverty of the Wasteland. However, its builders probably never anticipated that the tide sweeping everything away this time would not come from beyond the Giant Wall but from its very center.

Angry survivors gathered on the main road, most of whom were workers from the industrial district, with some citizens who sympathized with Spielberg and mercenaries mingled among them.

This time seemed more ferocious than ever; the Militia Group knew the paupers' target wasn't the city hall or the bank but the Stone Building at the very center. As a result, they mobilized swiftly, even deploying equipment never used against the Tide, and stood ready to confront the surging crowd.

"Hand over Spielberg!"

"We will not abandon any of our colleagues!"

White vapor rose from the snow-laden eaves, occasionally shaken loose by the vibration.

That seething cry swept across the heavens, causing even the blustering snowstorm to cower away.

Wallace, the leader of the First Thousand Team, donned his heavy power armor and watched the tumultuous throng ahead, sweating bullets despite the cold.

These people were as explosive as gunpowder!

He had never seen so many enraged individuals gathered together.

Some mercenary thrill-seekers could be among them, ready to light the powder keg at any moment. If he could, he truly did not wish to fight these people.

Compared to them, he'd rather face the Tide!

"Residents of the Outer City, calm down!"

He activated the loudspeaker on his power armor and shouted, "I've asked around in the Inner City, and your friend... that Spielberg is still alive!"

Before his words even finished echoing, an angry roar interrupted him.

"Nonsense!"

"You said he was alive in the morning, then at noon you changed your story to say he was dead, and now he's alive again, isn't it? By evening, he'll be dead again!"

"We don't want to hear your bullshit! We don't want to calm down! We want to see him! Dead or alive, we want him to tell us himself!"

"Go to hell, you armored pig! Pah!"

Among the clamor, other voices were also mixed in.

Some people were complaining about the high price of bread, others were calling to rob the nobles, and some were simply planning to take advantage of the city's chaos to make a quick profit.

It was hard to distinguish who was who.

Yes.

Anyone with clear sight could see that even a decaying Giant Stone City still possessed the precious treasure of order.

This had nothing to do with good and evil or fairness.

But now, it was quietly being shaken amidst the voices of questioning...

What was gradually becoming ineffective wasn't just the chips but also the black cards in the hands of the noble lords.

Just as Fang Ming had said, they were just room cards after all...

The Looters who had been lying low started to stir, the Mercenaries looking to loot amid chaos were fanning the flames, and the vast majority knew there was something dirty in their ranks, but most no longer cared.

Regardless of where this force came from, they just wanted to turn the Survivor Settlement upside down and snatch their friends back from the hands of the Bandits!

Wallace was so anxious he was sweating bullets, his line kept retreating, and he also had to be vigilant about those who left the main force and attempted to infiltrate from behind.

He heard that his direct superior—the commander of the Militia Group, Zhao Yongxu, was already furiously chastising his neighbors in the meeting room, reprimanding them for not handling matters more cleanly.

The Settlement had fallen into a vortex of contradictions.

The alarm that only sounded during the Tide was now blaring from the Giant Wall, yet the piercing alarm could no longer shake the united crowd.

If there was a difference between this and the "Outcome A" posited by the computer simulation, it was perhaps the hesitation in people's hearts.

Most members of the Workers' Association didn't want to make too big of a fuss, after all, they still didn't know if their captured comrades were dead or alive.

Citizens joined the ranks, some perhaps for a sense of justice, but many more for simple reasons like the high cost of bread.

Soldiers were also wavering, as their wallets shrank every day, and in front of them were not just a bunch of paupers but potentially their families—those seemingly respectable Citizens.

Even Wallace, with a real black card, was hesitating.

No one knew the soldiers behind him better than he did. They could bully the poor and deal with the Tide, but now there were too many people they had to confront...

He could feel their hesitation and wavering.

Those not caught in the vortex tried to escape outside the city, while Waste Land Wanderers looking to benefit from the vortex hated that the gates didn't open—for the sake of preventing further deterioration of order, Giant Stone City's Militia Group had urgently closed all entrances and exits of the Outer City.

Originally, those who wanted to enter were just dissuaded. If insisted, it wasn't impossible. But now, entry was completely barred, as was the exit.

Outside the gates of Giant Stone City, a large crowd gathered.

Among them were those who had escaped just before the gates closed, now huddling in the cold wind, arms crossed, shivering, gazing around blankly, uncertain of where to go next.

Most of them hadn't brought much luggage, just some chips in their pockets that outsiders didn't want at all, and as for when the gates would open again, none could be sure.

What lay before them was the Wasteland!

The man-eating Wasteland!

They didn't even know which side of the gate was more hellish...

Besides those who regretted escaping, there were also those who regretted not insisting on mixing in.

Most Waste Land Wanderers could guess something; it seemed that this bustling casino was about to shuffle the deck again.

And with every shuffle, those with big fists could profit a bit.

"Damn it!" Looking at the completely sealed gates, Killer Dagger and Kidney Fighter both wore expressions of intense regret.

Listening to those NPCs, such a "limited-time event" only happened once every twenty or thirty years, and they were so close to getting in!

Compared to a small, three-day lifeline, an event that comes once in twenty to thirty years is obviously rarer!

A total loss!

As they wallowed in their regret, a man wearing a cotton coat suddenly approached them and whispered.

"Hey, you with the Alliance?"

Killer Dagger looked up at the man and nodded.

"Yeah, what about it?"

Seeing that he'd found the right person, the man's eyes suddenly lit up with joy. He glanced left and right, saw that no one was around, and lowered his voice to speak.

"I'm from the Militia Group."

The Kidney Fighter beside him chuckled and reached out to shake his hand.

"What a coincidence, I'm from the Burning Corps."

"The Burning Corps?" the man was momentarily stunned, not quite understanding, but didn't make a big deal of it and continued, "No matter what you are... I've got some really good stuff here. Interested?"

Killer Dagger leaned in curiously and asked,

"What 'good stuff'?"

"People, or to be more precise... beautiful noble ladies," the man raised his eyebrows suggestively and said lively, "Interested?"

"Holy shit! Human trafficking?" Killer Dagger immediately stepped back, warily eyeing the man as he said, "We don't want slaves! Don't fucking think about scamming me!"

The Kidney Fighter echoed, loudly declaring his stance towards the heavens above where the Dog Plan might be listening.

"That's right! We're not those kinds of people!"

The NPCs in this game were getting craftier by the day.

Always finding new ways to set traps for them.

There had been an unlucky kid who was almost fooled before, but thankfully, the others managed to talk him out of it in time.

As Brother Fang Chang's good buddies, the two of them had seriously read the Player's Handbook. The Shelter No. 404 didn't restrict player interactions with NPCs and didn't deal with emotional entanglements, but it strictly forbade players from keeping slaves. Whether bought or acquired by accident, they had to be set free.

The things written in the Player's Handbook were equivalent to the rules of the shelter, and there weren't that many of them, mainly governing the residents of Shelter No. 404.

Unlike the series of laws from the Alliance, the stipulations in the Player's Handbook apply not just within the territory of the Alliance. As long as you're a resident of the shelter, you have to abide by them even outside Alliance territory.

If the status of a resident of the shelter is too bothersome, one could simply return the helmet.

"Fuck, keep it down... What human trafficking? I didn't mean that," the man was startled by their sudden loud shouting and quickly explained, "I just said you could meet her, I didn't say I'd sell her to you... She's nobility! You want to buy her? Are you guys crazy or am I?!"

Of course, if these bosses from the Alliance really could afford to pay a high price, it wasn't impossible... He could go ask his superiors to find out; maybe there could be a way to accommodate this.

After all, with such chaos, it was quite normal for one or two people to go missing. Every time the gates closed, it wasn't just the lives of the poor that were discounted, the lives of the noble lords were on sale as well.

The man couldn't help but be moved in his heart.

Deservedly so for these nouveau riche from the Alliance, playing such perverted games.

Even thinking about taking people back...

Killer Dagger was still on guard, staring at the man for a few moments.

"What do you mean, 'meet her'?"

"Like, you could see her while she's asleep," the man wiggled his eyebrows, "We know a beautician at a beauty salon. Some of the deep maintenance surgeries require the guests to be asleep for convenience, and she has a way to make her guests sleep... a little longer. You'll have enough time to do whatever you want, and I guarantee no one will know afterward."

The players' expressions changed in an instant upon hearing this.

"Holy fuck?"

"Has she lost her mind?"

The man said indifferently,

"Lost her mind? Maybe. After all, the chips these high-class ladies offer are becoming less and less valuable. If you're willing to give some real money, why wouldn't she be happy to do it?"

The Kidney Fighter swallowed his saliva.

He obviously wouldn't do that kind of evil deed, but to give a thorough criticism on the official forum, he still wanted to inquire about the price.

"How much?"

Seeing him take the bait, the man smirked and gestured with a finger.

"One million silver coins."

Their faces instantly turned grave.

"Holy fuck!"

"One million?! Are you out of your mind?!"

One million silver coins could probably be exchanged for ten million RMB on the official website.

This NPC must not have woken up!

Killer Dagger silently took a photo of the guy, planning to go to the forum later and harshly criticize these souls-for-sale.

Seeing the two of them walk away, the man became anxious and quickly chased after them.

"Don't leave! Eight hundred thousand! No, five hundred thousand is also fine!"

Not far from the group, a pair of siblings was secretly eavesdropping.

Old White and Wild Wind had gone to the adjacent Hotel Wind From Afar to rent a room, logging off to collect information on the official website, while the two of them were responsible for gathering information on the street in front of the city gate. They happened to overhear the previous conversation by chance.

Seeing her brother's gleeful expression, Jiujiu rolled her eyes and kicked him in the shin.

"Brother, don't tell me you're tempted? I'm going to tell Teng Teng, Sis."

Night Ten's expression changed instantly upon hearing this, and he hurriedly started to say.

"Damn, why'd you tell her that? No way, when did I get smitten... Didn't you see I was about to criticize her!"

Seeing her brother scramble to explain, Jiujiu's eyes darted around and then she suddenly smirked and said.

"But on the other hand, Teng Teng's online persona is a little loli, yet in reality, she's actually a glam lady."

Night Ten's breath hitched.

"How do you know?"

Jiujiu raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.

"Big bro, you didn't think you were the only one with a small clique, did you?"

"Awesome!"

Night Ten looked at the youngster in surprise, gave a hearty thumbs-up, then bashfully smiled and pleaded with his little sister.

"That thing… with the Penguin account, I'm counting on you, help out your dear brother."

Jiujiu lazily waved her hand.

"Get it yourself."

Night Ten, caught between laughter and tears, said.

"Damn, how ruthless of you!"

"You want my help, that's not impossible, unless…" Watching her anxious brother, Jiujiu's eyes twinkled, and with a sly smile, she said, "let me join your badass group!"

Hearing this request, Night Ten deflated like a punctured balloon and forced a smile.

"Uh, never mind that… I'll ask for it myself some other day."

"Eh? Giving up just like that?" Jiujiu smacked her lips and gave him a sidelong glance, "Your feelings for Miss Teng Teng aren't that strong after all."

"You don't understand," Night Ten shook his head, "that's a group for adults, it's not good for a kid like you to barge in... it's not good for you."

He and Wild Wind's nicknames were not to be mentioned; suddenly throwing a traitor into the mix would ruin the fun for everyone.

"Psh!" Jiujiu rolled her eyes, dismissing his petty concerns.

Turning her attention back to the Game, Night Ten focused on the man who was hurrying along, and stroked his chin saying.

"However, that guy... seems to have a way into the city."

Now that the gate was completely closed, even paying the entrance tax wouldn't allow entry; furthermore, those inside couldn't come out.

Their "clients" and the devices they had purchased were still locked up in the city; it would be a shame if the items were destroyed or burned in the chaos. They needed to find a way to fish the people and items out!

After all, Brother Fang Chang had worked hard to secure them using S Coins.

He wasn't interested in the noble ladies, but he was rather keen on the really valuable treasures inside.

Jiujiu looked at her brother with suspicion.

"You're really smitten, bro. I was wrong about you."

Night Ten, smiling through his dismay, said.

"What are you talking about?! Are you even listening to me?"

Shoot!

Just as Jiujiu was about to speak, a stranger's voice suddenly came from behind them.

"I heard!"

A sense of alarm surged in his heart, Night Ten whirled around to see a man dressed in formal attire standing behind them, smiling at him and Jiujiu.

The man didn't have any superfluous presence, but was impossible to ignore.

And half a step behind him stood a woman whose entire face was covered by a black visor, her shiny breastplate was engraved with the Huge Rock Military Industry logo and the "X-16" code.

"Who are you?" Night Ten moved to protect his sister, eyeing the man warily, his hand already on the pistol in his pocket.

Unperturbed by his actions, Yibers introduced himself politely.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Yibers, president of Huge Rock Military Industry... Though this may be the first time you've seen me, I have actually had my eye on you for quite some time."

Huge Rock Military Industry!

Hearing this name, Night Ten felt a bit guilty but still braced himself to say.

"What do you want with us?"

"Nothing really; it's just rare to see someone appreciate our work so much. It caught my personal interest," Yibers smiled pleasantly and continued, "But your ant-like hoarding is terribly inefficient and it messes up the puzzle I've taken so much trouble to assemble nicely."

"How about, you just buy me out?"

Jiujiu: "...?"

Night Ten: "???"

What?!

...

Right as Night Ten and Jiujiu were dumbfounded, Kishu, accompanied by a swarm of bodyguards, was strolling through the street by the city gate, painting a picture of the future with his fox and dog friends.

"Look, this is what you call a real gathering of nations!"

"All the survivor settlements in the central part of the Central Continent, no matter from the east, south, west, or north, will have to do business with us! Their stalls are lined up like an endless river, looking at us with hope in their eyes! They know that without us, they're nothing!"

Swept up in his excitement, he opened his arms, embracing the wind and snow that hit his face, his visage beaming with a sunshiny smile.

"What Alliance, too weak!"

He had been coming here every day for the past few days, bringing along his good friends.

After all, it wouldn't be long before he would become the master of this place.

A well-to-do young man curiously asked,

"What are they all selling? How come they haven't sold out after so long?"

"I see a few familiar faces, seem to be from the Militia Group?"

"Don't know, doesn't matter," Kishu waved his hand, redirecting their attention back to himself, continuing, "It doesn't matter what those underlings are selling. As long as they are trading, it definitely concerns us. Where there are transactions, there will be profit, and our settlement will benefit from it. This is the most basic economic knowledge."

Economics!

Everyone's eyes lit up; a few boys quietly gave a thumbs up.

Kishu, who had seen the world, indeed hadn't wasted his five years of travel; he really had learned something in Ideal City!

Looking at the bustling but slightly chaotic market, a trace of subtle sorrow colored Kishu's eyes, mingled with a hint of invisible superiority.

These indecorous merchants were too crass. Without someone managing them, they would grow as wildly as weeds.

He would use the most advanced methods to make them follow his rules!

"It's a pity that, although this place is close to us, it's ultimately not within our settlement. These shortsighted fools have no long-term plans... I plan to spend a sum of money to buy the Hotel Wind From Afar!"

Kumarit asked excitedly.

"Then what?"

Gazing at the expectant eyes of everyone, Kishu clenched his fists proudly.

"Then we tax those stalls and tear down the slums, making all those people move into our hotel. People will thank us for letting them stay in a more impressive hotel, not those rubbish low houses of the Alliance, and we will have more money to do bigger things, like extending the Enclosing Wall right next to the overpass! Then, as soon as people come down from the bridge, they'll arrive directly at our settlement, the busiest center!"

"I've heard it's not too difficult technically. We've built such a huge Giant Wall before; we can build an even bigger one for the future!"

Kishu squinted his eyes, envisioning his future kingdom.

Those endless rows of stalls and crowds were practically stretching from the gates of Giant Stone City to the overpass behind the Hotel Wind From Afar!

Although the bustle here was nothing compared to the city, it was winter now!

If his memory served him right, there wouldn't have been so many people out trading in winters past. Clearly, Giant Stone City had developed a lot in the five years he wasn't here.

It seemed his plans were a bit conservative after all.

He had intended to take three to five years to achieve his goals bit by bit, but now it seemed he could move his plan forward a little.

Of course, he owed a lot to that good man called Fang Chang.

Without that brother, he would not have had so many funds at his disposal.

Every time he thought of that meeting on the airplane, Kishu couldn't help feeling smug. It was the smartest negotiation of his life, and it might become a delightful anecdote in people's casual conversations in the future.

"Brother! You damn, you're just too awesome!"

Kumarit, excitedly leading the applause, couldn't hide his immense joy.

He discovered that ever since his good buddy Kishu returned from Ideal City, not only had he become smarter, but his speech had become more and more pleasing to the ear.

He loved listening to it!

Without bragging, it was way more interesting than a woman!

And Kishu really wasn't lying; his account was now worth tens of millions in S Coins, something his old man had never given him in spending money!

Those mystical experiences might have some exaggeration, but money never lies!

Just then, a cold wind blew.

Kumarit suddenly sneezed, rubbing his nose and muttering to himself.

"Why is it so cold..."

An accompanying chubby sidekick noticed, promptly taking off his coat and handing it over.

"You wear mine."

"Thank you, Piru, you're a good man."

Although it wasn't very cold, Kumarit still took the jacket and draped it over his shoulders, patting the chubby little follower's beefy shoulder with a grin.

The chubby follower chuckled honestly and replied.

"Of course, we're brothers after all."

He was Wei Jia's son.

Although his dad was also a big boss, compared to these people's fathers, he was just a small fry.

His father always told him that in Giant Stone City, connections were the scarcest resource, so he never hesitated to invest in these brothers of his.

The first million-level investment of S Coins was initiated by him, and he had gradually added more, totaling around ten million.

Looking at it now, this investment had undoubtedly paid off handsomely.

However, he was a bit timid and, under his father's guidance, had already started to sell off some of his shares, making a small profit after deducting the initial investment.

Just then, a jarring siren suddenly rang out in the city.

Everyone stopped their conversations and looked towards the direction of the Giant Wall Gate.

"The city is sounding the alarm..." next to Kumarit, a bodyguard Awakener said respectfully, "We need to hurry back."

Kumarit scratched the back of his head, looking perplexed.

"But it's winter."

Worry was written all over the faces of the young masters, and after looking at each other, they started whispering among themselves.

"Anyway, let's head back first..."

"I have a bad feeling something's going to happen."

"Safety first!"

Watching his buddies huddled together in conversation, the chubby Piru hesitated for a moment before mustering the courage to say to his good brother Kumarit.

"You guys go ahead, I won't be joining you."

Kumarit looked at him in surprise.

"Are you crazy? Staying outside when the alarm is pulled? This is the Wasteland!"

Piru smiled naively, chuckling.

"My father asked me to wait for him at the Hotel Wind From Afar, he said he had something to discuss with me. I have to get going, or he'll whip my butt open."

Kumarit paused, then nodded and said,

"Alright then... take care of yourself."

Running out when the siren is blaring?

What a weird guy!

But Mr. Wei Jia was also a capable man; getting inside was just a matter of a few words for him, so Kumarit couldn't be bothered to worry about his little friend.

"You guys, too! Be sure to take care," Piru hurriedly waved his hand as Kumarit began to take off his coat to give back to him, "Keep it, as a memento."

Kumarit paused, about to ask what he meant, but the bodyguard next to him coughed softly, distracting him.

"Sir, we should go... This is serious. If your father doesn't see you, he will definitely be worried."

"Alright."

Kumarit nodded, watched Piru's departing figure, eventually said nothing, gestured with his hand, and led everyone towards the direction of the Giant Wall Gate.

Although the gate had been sealed, for those with Black Cards, so-called rules were just that—rules.

At first, Kumarit wasn't too worried, but the moment he entered Giant Stone City, he immediately realized something was wrong.

Too many people!

And they were all crowding the street at the entrance!

He had never seen so many people clamoring to leave before!

The bodyguard carefully tugged on his sleeve.

"We can't take the main road, let's go through the back alleys."

Those poor devils had clogged up the roads.

"Yes!" Kumarit nodded vigorously, his expression becoming increasingly tense.

Realizing the urgency of the situation, no one dragged their feet or cracked jokes anymore, and they started jogging towards the direction of the Inner City.

The streets were chaotic.

The guards who patrolled on normal days seemed to disappear, and nobody knew where the Militia Group had gone; clanging sounds of smashing and angry curses from men and women came now and then from the main road next door.

What was even more frightening was that the noises from the faraway streets were louder.

It seemed as though people were shouting something together...

Their voices were as if in battle!

An inexplicable panic rose in his heart. After bidding his friends farewell, Kishu hurried back to the large house on the edge of the Inner City.

He rushed through the gate, burst through the front door, yelled "Dad" with no response, and then he saw that his elder brother, who had already moved out, had unexpectedly come home!

The whole family was gathered in the main hall on the first floor, dressed neatly, with a few servants holding suitcases, and the butler, with a stern expression, gave orders... It all looked as if they were setting out on a long journey.

"Big brother?" Kishu stared blankly at the middle-aged man with neatly combed hair.

Woffiel looked at his younger brother, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his voice carrying a hint of reprimand.

"What time is it, and you're still running outside! Where have you just been? Why have you only come back now!"

Kishu couldn't be bothered to respond to a bunch of nonsense; he walked up to him and got straight to the point.

"Where's father? Where did he go?"

In his mind, his father Melvin was the backbone of the home; no matter what trouble he got into, his old man always had a way out.

"He went to the Alliance," said Woffiel, turning to look at their panic-stricken mother, speaking seriously, "There's been a big incident outside, you should have heard it. In any case, please come with me to take refuge in the Inner City immediately... this is father's decision."

"We might have to live there for a while until everything completely settles down."

Genesis nodded immediately.

"Alright! Let's not waste any more time; let's go now."

Those beggars and poor wretches had gone mad; usually they were fine, but she didn't know which idiot had infuriated them.

The thought of those fellows with snotty noses and scruffy beards made her skin crawl with goosebumps, physically feeling sick.

Her best friend Bonnie seemed to have mentioned that something big was about to happen in Giant Stone City and had suggested she better store some daily necessities in a small room in the Inner City.

Her husband had already prepared for this: they had stored enough consumer goods and food to last the family for several months.

There were items like milk, bread, canned goods, toiletries, clean bedding, and so on.

Actually, there was no need to be too panic-stricken.

She had heard of similar things happening before, which she had not experienced herself, but her parents had.

And according to previous experiences, everyone ultimately got through it safely.

If they really didn't want to wait, they could find a Sleep Cabin and sleep for a year or two; the only problem was cryogenic sleep dried out the skin, and they would need proper care after waking up.

Alyssa's face was filled with worry.

Unlike her mother, she didn't dislike those outside; she was just a bit worried about her father and those people...

She wondered if dad was alright.

Standing at the window on the top floor earlier, she witnessed many people gathering on the streets, marching towards her home with a threatening air.

Just a month and a half ago, it wasn't like this.

Back then, it wasn't just a matter of not showing anger on their faces; they didn't even dare to lift their heads to glance at them...

But the thing she feared most had ultimately happened.

Just as she had said to her father during the celebration, he couldn't even see their eyes, so how could he tell whether those eyes were filled with respect or hate?

If her father had taken her words seriously at the time, instead of brushing them off as the naïveté of a child.

But now, maybe it's too late to talk about that.

This settlement had finally come to its last straw.

There was no more time left...

"We need to leave this place..." Watching his distracted sister, Kishu squatted down, gazing into her gem-like eyes, and stuffed the rag doll back into her hands, saying softly, "Don't worry, the Militia Group friends will handle it... We will be back soon."

"Mmm..."

Alyssa nodded in silence, gripping the rag doll in her hands.

The family left through the back door of the house, hurriedly heading towards the Inner City under the protection of the old butler and six servants.

Actually, they should have left earlier.

Woffiel couldn't help but curse his damn brother silently in his heart.

Ever since that kid came back from Ideal City, he seemed kind of off, and Woffiel should have convinced their old man to take him to check his brain.

The kid had apparently also come up with some S Coin recently, almost giving Woffiel a heart attack.

But compared to the massive powder kegs piled up in Giant Stone City at the moment, that was instead the most trivial thing...

Observing the increasingly dire situation on the streets, Woffiel frowned, suddenly a gunshot rang out, scaring him into immediately ducking.

Screams broke out like a sudden downpour, shattering on the nearby streets, followed by an overwhelming tide of roars and shouting, at one point even drowning out the sudden burst of gunfire.

Kishu was startled by the gunshot and only after regaining his senses did he realize that the gunshot was actually quite far from them.

He cursed in shock.

"What the hell, who's shooting in the city? Have they lost their minds?"

"Shut up!"

Woffiel grumbled, turned back to look at his terrified sister and mother, and the fearful expressions of the butler and servants, then shouted loudly.

"Run!!!"

Chapter 541: Too Late, The Organism

"Bang!"

The man by the window gently blew away the wisps of smoke from the barrel of his gun.

As he watched a person collapse in the crowd not far away, a slight smile played on his lips; he withdrew his revolver and used his upturned pinky to gently adjust the slightly open curtains.

Screams and roars overlapped each other, blood red taking the place of the sunset blocked by the clouds... indeed, this was the true color that belonged on this street.

The militia, however, were unexpectedly weak; he had thought more people would die, but many bullets just whisked past their scalps.

Was it because he hesitated?

He didn't believe, though, that the mob would spare those people.

The corners of his mouth curled up in a sinister smile.

The real show had just begun!

A languid female voice came from the bed not far away,

"Really, what terrible taste. Couldn't you have done it discreetly?"

The man shook his head, his words leisurely,

"Too slow... You know that feeling? When a movie gets to the climax but suddenly pauses. The barrel of dynamite is right there, the fuse already inserted, but no one dares to light it... The Alliance is the same, those noble lords the same, Mr. Fang Ming the same."

His name was Rhine, from the Bugra Free State, a professional mercenary and also an Awakener. The woman behind him further away was Serite, an assassin from the Dagger Gang in the slums outside the city.

The Bugra Free State had been planning in the Giant Stone City for a long time.

Sigma was very interested in something here, something that could help them break free from the control of the Secret Country when it mattered most.

The shelter of the Grand Canyon was both a blessing and a curse.

Those noble people didn't care what the little people thought; they only looked at the blueprint on their table, then directed things through a window.

Sometimes they were right, but not always.

They needed that weapon!

So, when Elder Sid wanted to eliminate Spielberg, the Dagger Gang readily offered their knives. Unexpectedly, they were close to success but lost their grip at the last moment, their knife disappearing along with Spielberg.

This was too bizarre.

"I'm worried about something," said Serite, looking at the man from afar, her voice lazy yet carrying a hint of concern.

"What's that?" Rhine said indifferently.

"The City Lord, that Fang Ming," Serite spoke offhandedly, "according to our investigation, he knows everything that happens in this settlement; he must have seen you shoot."

Rhine smiled carelessly and waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah, no need to worry about that, you would know if you really investigated... he only takes action under two circumstances: to help the people here with the 'Mutated slime fungus,' and matters related to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee."

As for why,

Because that's how it works.

One cannot greedily expect a gun to fire itself, discern who is good and who is bad, decide who should live and who should die.

The original residents created it but also dreaded its strength.

After all, humans themselves are fickle creatures, and those who designed AIs had no absolute assurance that the old operating systems would forever meet the needs of the new generation. The new generation didn't trust the operating systems designed by the older generation either; after all, if children always listened seriously to their parents, humanity would probably still be in the Stone Age, with no Prosperity Epoch.

Indeed.

Humans themselves don't even know where they're headed, so how can they expect AI to figure out where the end is and pave the road to it?

A society entirely managed by AI will inevitably turn into a pigsty; no matter how humanlike, an AI will never become human. The people of the era before the Prosperity Epoch already proved that wanting to have it both ways is untenable.

At that moment, a faint noise suddenly came from the stairs outside the door.

The sound was so faint that it was almost imperceptible without careful attention, but Rhine noticed it immediately.

He stopped talking abruptly, narrowed his eyes toward the door, put down the revolver, and picked up the Submachine Gun with the drum magazine from the table.

The female assassin, who also heard something, fell silent, wordlessly drawing the Dagger and pistol from under her pillow.

The footsteps at the door grew clearer and clearer, step by step approaching them, drawing near like a knocking on the door.

There was no attempt to conceal that sound; it stopped in front of the door.

Without a doubt, whoever it was had come for them.

And at this time, no one would possibly come to clean the room...

"Who's there?"

Rhine called out cautiously.

No one answered.

Believing in the principle of striking first, he pulled the trigger without hesitation, and the muzzle burst into a string of fire, the tearing sound and orange-yellow bullets suddenly shooting toward the door, puncturing a series of bullet holes in the wooden door.

Almost at the same instant, the damaged door panel blasted apart, the flying splinters assaulting him like artillery shells.

"Damn it—"

Rhine awkwardly ducked and rolled to the side of the window, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye of the figure standing at the doorway.

Her face was hidden by a black visor, her left hand holding an Explosion-proof shield, and her right hand wielding a short-barreled submachine gun; her Shield and Breastplate both bore her number—X-16.

"Go to hell!" Serite's eyes flashed viciously as she charged at her like lightning, pulling the trigger of the gun while raising the dagger.

The bullet, overloaded with dynamite, created fine spiderweb cracks on the explosion-proof shield, and X-16 stood still, raising the submachine gun to aim at her.

Almost simultaneously, Rhine also took aim at her, shield in hand.

"Da da da—!"

The orange-yellow trajectory of bullets heated the air in the room like rain, and Serite rolled away sharply, dodging the hail of bullets coming from both directions, cursing out loud in shock.

"Do you want to kill me along with it!"

"If I didn't back you up, you'd already be dead."

Rhine retorted gruffly, moving towards the window while maintaining fire suppression on that X-16.

The figure, unmoved, holding the shield, suddenly threw away the short-barreled submachine gun and flicked out a half-meter-long stick with a shake of the arm.

Rhine's pupils contracted slightly, a bad premonition creeping into his mind, and without hesitation, he rammed through the window with his shoulder and flipped out.

"I'm pulling out; take care of yourself!"

Serite's face changed.

"I—"

Before she could finish her sentence, the blast wave scattered her half-spoken words.

The flames burst suddenly, engulfing both her and the attacker in an instant; that person had hidden dynamite in the room!

But how had he brought it in?!

There was no time to ponder this question anymore; after all, Awakeners were human too.

Finally, the aftermath of the explosion settled, leaving a charred room steaming slightly.

Looking at the nearly charred corpse on the ground, X-16 shook its head and discarded the two-piece shield, tapping its forehead with an index finger.

"Target one dead, one escaped..."

"I am damaged; I need repairs."

At the same time, Rhine, who had landed on a street with a thud, let out a pained sound, struggling to stand up from the ground and limping into the nearby alley.

Although he had hidden some dynamite in the room, he couldn't be sure if that suspected cybernetic being had been killed.

He needed to leave this place immediately.

What a shame for that woman named Serite.

Although he had to beware of the dagger hidden under her pillow, Rhine could be sure she was a good woman.

"Inner City... The weapons controller should be in the Inner City..." Retreating to another nearby street, he looked towards Inner City and bit his teeth, muttering darkly to himself, "I have to find a way to get in."

...

History always marches on amidst countless coincidences.

Major upheavals are not always shrouded in great secrets; sometimes, it's as simple as two rats fighting and knocking over a lamp.

The battle in the motel room was just an insignificant episode, ignited by gunfire, but the turmoil it sparked still continued in the streets.

The whole Giant Stone City was in chaos.

At the entrance from Outer City to Inner City, soldiers wearing exoskeletons had set up shooting barricades and placed roadblocks to disperse the crowd.

The Melvin Family was squeezed at the gate of Inner City.

They should have gone in already, but now a serious problem had arisen—the youngest, Alyssa, was missing.

No one noticed when she disappeared.

At the sound of gunfire, everyone panicked, running towards Inner City, fearing stray bullets or being caught by mobs scurrying like cockroaches.

Perhaps she just tripped on the road and would get up and continue running soon.

Hopefully, that was all.

Kishu gave the old butler a beating and sent him with six servants back the way they had come to look for her with orders not to return until they found her.

Worried, Woffiel paced back and forth, glanced at his watch and mumbled under his breath.

"Voting is about to start... we can't wait any longer."

It was getting dark.

His father hadn't returned yet, likely a failure.

But Woffiel hadn't really held out much hope anyway.

Giant Stone City tried to bind the Alliance with debt, but in turn, the Alliance held the noose around their neck; this duel required someone to die, and unfortunately, they lost.

That man indeed had a compassionate side, but it seems everyone here has selectively forgotten how those Alliance settlements came to be.

Each city.

A living monument.

Of course, weren't they the same?

The family would have to rely on him from now on.

Woffiel clenched his fists.

Genesis slumped in the arms of her best friend, Bonnie, tears streaming down her face, eyes swollen red, and she choked back sobs.

"Alyssa, my Alyssa..." Where have you gone? Come back to Mommy. You can do whatever you want from now on, Mommy won't talk about the newspaper again."

Bonnie gently patted her friend's back, speaking softly to comfort her,

"I've already asked my brother to help you look for her – everything will be fine."

Her brother, named Russell, was a Centurion in the second thousand team and was currently outside maintaining order. Upon hearing the news, he had already dispatched a hundred-man team to search for Alyssa, vowing to bring her back safely at all costs.

Bonnie believed everything would get better,

Whether it was Alyssa,

Or this Survivor Settlement.

Kishu gritted his teeth, his gaze struggling for a while.

In the end, he made the bravest decision of his life - braver than when he had fled the Settlement with his tail between his legs,

"I have to find her!"

Upon hearing these words, Woffiel grabbed the lunatic, yanked him close, and glared at him furiously,

"Have you lost your mind?"

Kishu glared back at him with the ferocity of a mad dog,

"You're the one who's lost their mind! She's your sister!"

"So what if she's my sister!" Woffiel raised his voice again, his nose almost poking Kishu's face as he shouted, "Just because she's my sister, should we all wait here for death?"

When Genesis heard the word "death", she fainted, and Bonnie caught her in her arms, glaring indignantly at Woffiel.

The kid really had no filter.

Looking at Kishu, fuming with rage and fear, Woffiel's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he released his grip, pushing Kishu on the shoulder,

"Go on, I won't stop you."

Kishu staggered to steady himself, out of breath as he looked at his brother with a mixture of surprise, anger, and a little fear.

Woffiel stepped closer to him, eyes locked onto Kishu's, and suddenly, he smiled.

"There might be a few guys amongst those mobs who recognize you."

Kishu swallowed hard,

"What do you mean."

"It doesn't mean much," Woffiel said nonchalantly, "You haven't forgotten, have you? The girl from five years ago, the old man, their whole family, and that fire. They are truly dead, but they had neighbors, neighbors of neighbors – guess how they'll treat you?"

Kishu turned deathly pale, no longer able to utter his intentions of searching for Alyssa, even the courage to look back had been drained from him.

That was a hurdle he could never overcome in his heart.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten about those people; he even thought about compensating them, but how can you compensate the dead?

There's nothing to be done.

Build another Outer City to let everyone live a little better, perhaps? Let it be seen as... a handout from Lord Kishu.

Furthermore, he had heard that Cr was something that could improve everyone's lives, without all the issues of chips and not even needing a central bank... He didn't fully understand the deep principles of it, but he was willing to bring this novelty back for everyone to use.

But now it seemed too late to mention it.

Seeing that lovely Alyssa disappear, along with the rag doll he had handed to her, Kishu finally felt a hint of fear.

How would those people who hated him, hated them, treat Alyssa?

He dared not think about it.

Watching his ashen face and legs trembling with weakness, Woffiel's gaze showed a hint of contempt as he spoke slowly,

"You really should have listened more to Father. You fool, you shouldn't have come back here. You and Alyssa are both idiots; you are an idiot in a different sense. Do I need to spell it out for you!?"

"You should have stayed in the Ideal City indulging in your daydreams, and she should have sought the hardship she dreamt of in the Alliance."

He grabbed the young man by the collar, his expression twisted,

"Follow me."

"If you don't want to die."

...

In the gloomy and cluttered alleyway, icicles hung from the eaves, and the snow that no one had bothered to clear covered the uneven pavement almost reaching the edge of the boots.

Stumbling through the alley, Alyssa's eyes were filled with helplessness, wandering, and anxiety, her frozen red right hand tightly clutching the rag doll, her quivering little mouth exhaling mist.

"Mommy... Brother..."

"... Where are you?"

Not crying out was her final act of defiance.

She wanted to yell, but she dared not make too much noise.

Intuition told Alyssa that this Settlement was no longer the safe place it used to be, where even a lost kitten would be found by a kind-hearted Mercenary.

If discovered now, she might really die...

The time rewinds to one hour ago.

The Inner City alarm sounded, and her second brother had finally returned to meet up with everyone. The family hurriedly fled towards the direction of the Inner City.

She was supposed to stick close to the family, but the snow was just too heavy.

As they passed a small alley, she accidentally stumbled and fell, her whole body face-planted in the snow, her hairpin also falling out.

That was the gift her father had bought for her during the celebration.

Subconsciously, she swept away the snow and picked it up from the ground. However, when she looked up again, everyone had disappeared.

She tried to shout out for her mom and brothers, but the noise around her was too loud. In the distance, there were gunshots and explosions. Her cries were like cotton thrown into a fire, not even a wisp of scorched smoke to be seen, while the fire burned more and more fiercely.

The towering buildings blocked the Inner City, and she, too frightened to stop, could only run blindly through the alleys, several times ending up in dead ends.

The familiar Giant Stone City had suddenly become unrecognizable, the complex interweaving of streets had turned into a labyrinth. But she couldn't blame the people who made the streets too complex; she should blame herself. These little alleys were so close to her home, and yet she had never set foot in them.

But there was no time to think about that now, Alyssa walked forward helplessly while silently weeping.

Even though she was unsure if this was the direction leading to the Inner City.

Like the angry people who were unsure whether what they were doing was right, the survivors of the settlement went uncontrollably insane.

Especially when the gunfire started, everything changed, and nobody cared about the burning houses anymore.

People no longer fought the fires, they even wished the blaze would grow stronger, best to burn everything down so they could start anew.

Some noise suddenly came from the adjacent alley, and Alyssa immediately froze, hastily hiding behind a pile of broken boxes.

Almost less than half a minute after she hid, a group of men in tattered clothes passed in front of the broken boxes and turned into the neighboring alley.

Alyssa held her breath, not daring to make the slightest noise.

Suddenly, a surprised voice came from the outside.

"Hey, there's a woman from the Inner City here!"

Alyssa's heart leapt to her throat, her eyes filled with panic and despair.

But she quickly realized that they were not after her, but rather a woman lying on the ground in another alley.

The woman sat collapsed in the snow, apparently having fallen just like herself, her handbag lying nearby with several large denomination chips and some cosmetics spilling out.

As the men approached, her face showed fear and then plea, retreating while she begged.

"No! I, I'm not a resident of the Inner City! You've got the wrong person, I... I'm just an employee at the bank."

The man with a beard chuckled coldly, his face as cold as the snow and ice.

"Bank? That's not a good place."

It wasn't long before others joined in the clamor.

"Bank... the place I hate the most is you guys!"

"You're so capable, aren't you? What are you afraid of? Ha ha."

The woman knelt trembling in the snow, begging.

"No... don't... please let me go, go find the real nobles."

"You say you're not a noble lord from the Inner City," the man with a scar on his mouth glanced at the handbag on the ground playfully, "but that handbag, is it made of Claw of Death skin?"

He was a Mercenary.

He wouldn't mistake what the skin of Claw of Death looked like.

"Chips with a face value of a thousand!" a man behind her bent down, picked up the plastic pieces scattered on the ground, then held them high as if he found a treasure, exclaiming with surprise, "Guys, a thousand-point chip! This isn't the money poor folks use!"

The woman's face revealed an expression of despair.

The man with a knife scar above his mouth looked down at her with contempt in his eyes.

"Do you have anything else you want to explain?"

She couldn't speak.

She knew these people were determined to humiliate her, to find joy in her misery, to vent their anger on her.

So no matter what she said, they were sure to pin a noble's hat on her, and even if she tried to take it off, they would keep it firmly on her.

She simply closed her eyes in despair, hoping that this ordeal wouldn't last too long...

Some people watched in silence, and most were actually silent. Conscience still resided in the hearts of most, but they were also hesitating.

Why should they?

Why had it always been them enduring?

When the noble lords bullied them, they never held back. Now that they finally mustered the courage to start a fire, were they to worry about it burning too hot?

Why should they!

Scurrilous language began to rise.

"Ha ha, I heard that the clothing of the nobles is made of Devil Silk!"

"Why not try it out, what if she hid a Black Card?"

Watching the expressions on people's faces, the bearded man who first troubled her frowned, feeling something amiss, and spoke up.

"Hey, guys, I feel it's a bit too much... we might have really found the wrong person, nobles wouldn't work at the bank, she might really just be—"

"Shut up, you spineless thing!" the man with the knife scar narrowed his eyes and glared at him, "If you're not interested in what's coming next, just get lost."

The few people following by his side immediately responded by shouting.

"Exactly!"

"We don't have cowards like you in our team!"

"Get lost! Coward!"

The bearded man was still trying to argue, but he couldn't figure out how to express himself, managing only to blurt out a sentence.

"Keboer would never lay a hand on the innocent! You're going too far!"

The man with a knife scar on his face said impatiently,

"Hah? Keboer? What the hell is that?"

"Stop—!"

A piercing shrill shout suddenly rose, quieting the entire alley as though a bucket of cold water had been poured on a sizzling hot brazier.

People turned their heads to look at the little girl standing at the entrance of the alley.

Being stared at by so many eyes, Alyssa felt her calves getting weak, but she still mustered up the courage, gripping her rag doll tightly.

That tall, big Manager had said she had a pair of clever eyes and that she would become an outstanding person.

She understood their anger.

But they were crossing a line, the chaos was spiraling out of control, innocent people were getting hurt, and if this continued, they would become true rioters!

And their ideals, their demands, everything about them would become the shame of the Survivor Settlement.

She had to stand up.

To stop them before it was too late.

"You..."

Alyssa gathered her courage, ready to say something while people were still willing to listen to her voice. However, no sooner had she opened her mouth to speak a word, than she was interrupted by an exclamation.

"It's Alyssa!"

Looking at her young face, the woman kneeling on the ground suddenly cried out in surprise.

The joy on her face completely erased any traces of despair; she seemed to come back to life, stumbling to her feet.

Pointing at Alyssa, she said vehemently,

"Alyssa! The Melvin family's young daughter! I can't mistake her, I work at the bank! She is an Inner City resident, she has that Black Card!"

The hysterical shouting echoed in the narrow alley, silencing the street soaked in the snowstorm.

Those pairs of eyes made Alyssa's limbs feel icy cold.

The rag doll dropped to the ground.

Her complexion turned pale, without trembling.

Just like a lifeless corpse...

...

At the Militia Group's base, people's hearts were unsettled.

From a while ago, the thousand team had lost contact, and it was rumored that Thousands of leaders Wallace had gone missing.

Rumors circulated that they were dispersed because some softhearted fools had aimed their guns an inch too high—people like that shouldn't be soft. Others said some soldiers had surrendered to the survivors, standing with them because their families were among them.

Still, others mentioned that the Alliance handed out weapons to them—the LD-47 and RPG Rocket Launchers were proof.

But that was hard to make sense of, as the LD-47 was already widespread in Wasteland, and any Mercenary would be interested in the Alliance's cheap and reliable weapons.

What was truly disquieting was how these items were smuggled into the Settlement—Giant Stone City had a clear ban on bringing explosives into the settlement.

Some soldiers had heard that their ranks recently included some morally decayed individuals who dared to sell people for money.

Yet, they still couldn't believe that these people would slacken the checks to enter the settlement.

Had those gatekeepers gone mad with poverty?

Was the entrance tax not enough for them?

Daring to earn money that they can't spend when dead...

A few soldiers in Exoskeletons huddled together, whispering,

"Damn it... I'd rather face those ugly slime fungi than have to fight those people we live with."

"They want Spielberg."

"If you ask me, just give him to them! He's just a poor wretch!"

"But the Inner City won't hand him over; I heard they don't even know where he went, or they would've handed him over long ago."

"How is that possible! There are only a few exits from the entire settlement, could he have just evaporated?"

"I'm guessing he's probably dead, but I also feel it's not that simple... You know how those noble lords usually are—they make someone disappear very discreetly, without a peep."

"Bullshit, did you forget the big fire five years ago? Those guys are not the clever sort at all."

"You would've made me forget if you hadn't mentioned it... Speaking of which, Kishu came back, didn't he? I kept seeing him loitering by the gate recently."

The young man was enthusiastically chatting when suddenly, his companion tugged at him and pointed in the direction of the camp entrance.

Seeing the Centurion walking towards them, the group immediately shut their mouths and stopped talking.

Joey had heard their conversation from a distance, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with these blabbermouths.

He had just received orders from headquarters to grab his equipment and head to the assembly point as quickly as possible. Realizing there might be an important mission, he didn't dare delay and immediately rushed over.

His immediate superior, Colonel Russel, was already waiting for him.

Seeing Joey approaching, Russel in his power armor didn't waste words, and with a serious tone, he said,

"The young daughter of the Melvin Family has gone missing. Take your men and set out immediately, and at any cost, bring her back safe and sound."

Joey stood to attention and straightened up.

"What if someone blocks our way?"

Russel stared into his eyes and enunciated each word firmly,

"I said, at any cost!"

"Yes, sir."

Joey didn't like the haughty attitude of this noble lord, but obedience to orders is a soldier's duty.

And even setting that aside, his family had already been moved into the Inner City, where they were now waiting in the warmth of an apartment for it all to be over.

He and his children had sworn an oath—he would not let them down, he would bring home victory and glory.

No matter what, he couldn't let those rioters and the bandits mixed among them destroy what Giant Stone City had built over two centuries!

The soldiers quickly finished assembling.

Stepping in front of his men, Joey took a deep breath, glanced around at everyone, and spoke out loud and clear,

"We have lost a resident, a little girl not very tall, about the same age as your daughters, and now we are going to bring her back, to her parents' side."

"Her photo has already been sent to your terminals, and the reconnaissance drones have gone to the target area to search."

"Authorization to use all light and heavy firepower weapons is granted."

"At all costs, bring her back safely!"

Hearing this order, the soldiers collectively relaxed and felt their spirits lift.

No matter what, this was unquestionably the right thing to do.

They were about to do something right, not overwhelmed and confused like the thousand team, who had been dragged in front of a group of unarmed survivors.

With battle intent in their eyes, they responded forcefully,

"Yes, sir!"

…

The streets of the Outer City were buffeted by wind and snow.

The meeting hall of the Inner City was also in an uproar.

Survivors holding Black Cards started to argue.

"There's too much money circulating in the market! We must find a way to reclaim some and direct the excess liquidity where it should go!"

"Haha, reclaim some, from whom?"

"As everyone knows, those paupers have no more to squeeze; we can't possibly make their accounts negative."

"Give it up; this is a messed-up account. We might as well figure something out with our neighbors, while we still can fight. Hit them with One Cannon, and all our problems will be solved!"

"Gentlemen! What time is it now, and you're still discussing money! Those people outside are clamoring to kill us; we should at least solve this problem first!"

"Those are minor issues. I'm more worried about the Alliance taking advantage of our chaos to do something— that ambitious fellow has long coveted Qingquan City's airspace…"

Suddenly, a man with a disheveled beard banged the table and stood up, shouting,

"Factories! Factories! As long as the machines that produce things exist, all money is but a passing cloud! If it comes to it, we'll just create another currency. Let's invalidate the old one!"

That person must have been one of the newly arrived nobles. He was promptly met by a shoe to the face, and while reeling back into his seat, he got kicked by another noble sitting beside him.

Invalidating the currency?

Are they out of their minds?

Those with the most money were sitting right here!

Listening to the noisy voices, Sid yawned lazily, not interested in hearing the squabbling of these undignified individuals.

At the moment, he only cared about two things:

One was the watch, and the other was the market.

Those poor people from the Outer City weren't a concern; the noisy ones wouldn't amount to anything.

No one knew better than him how well-armed the Militia Group was; those soldiers in exoskeleton armor could squash those foolish paupers as easily as stepping on an ant.

With this time, he was better off keeping an eye on the market.

He had secretly hidden a palm-sized trading device behind the stand-up plaque on the table, allowing him to keep track of the latest market trends at any moment.

Worth mentioning was that in just one day, the price of S Coin had reached new heights again! After breaking through the 1:10000 mark, it was quickly heading towards 20000.

The fluctuating lines seemed to be challenging the limits of imagination.

Sid held his breath, repressing the greed that stirred within him, as he silently recited the formula he had come up with.

"When others fear, I'm greedy; when others are greedy, I retreat."

The maxim didn't rhyme particularly well.

But it worked—that's all that mattered!

Thanks to his exquisite trading skills, his total assets had already broken through the two billion chip mark, and his initial investment was less than one billion.

He had never been so wealthy!

If the S Coins appreciated just a bit more, he could buy the entire Giant Stone City—and possibly even the neighboring Alliance as well!

"Let's just use S Coins," he hummed in a voice that only he could hear, jokingly, "The youngest son of the Melvin family is quite clever, seems like he's learned something worthwhile after all."

On the other side.

After seeing to his mother and little brother, Woffiel, representing his father and his family, appeared in the conference room with a solemn expression.

Although he was very worried about the safety of his father and sister, it was a matter of life and death. Like a pillar of support, he needed to prop up their teetering abode.

"What's the value of fur if the hide is gone?"

If Giant Stone City ceased to exist, his two warm and happy homes would undoubtedly crumble along with it.

While there was still something he could do, he must do something!

The meeting was well overdue to begin.

The incessant arguing was also part of the proceedings.

Some people noticed Woffiel—the one rumored to be Melvin's favored successor—curious about his father's whereabouts.

"Where's your old man, Melvin?"

Woffiel stood up and said,

"He's gone to seek help from the Alliance."

The noble laughed aloud.

"Seeking help? More likely he's run off!"

"He wouldn't run," Woffiel looked at the noble seriously, "My father, like you all, loves this settlement more than anyone. We sincerely wish for it to become greater, not to sink into chaos."

The man who was previously hit by a shoe climbed up, glaring angrily at him.

"So you're saying it's our fault you messed up the economy? Giant Stone City Bank should be primarily responsible for this economic crisis!"

"Us?" Woffiel narrowed his eyes, his gaze unwavering on the man, "Is it us who messed up the economy, or your insatiable greed that's been dragging us down? If only you lot had a bit more decency, there wouldn't be so many lunatics outside screaming for our heads."

His sister was still out there!

Just thinking about it set Woffiel's heart ablaze.

The man with the shoe mark on his face glared at him.

"You! Are you saying it's our fault?"

The look in the other nobles' eyes began to turn sour as well.

If anyone had the lion's share, it was definitely the Melvin and Sid faction. Although they had their own share, it was nowhere near as much as that group, and they certainly weren't willing to take the blame for these misers!

"My father wouldn't say this, but I must speak on his behalf," Woffiel addressed the nobles, clenching his fists, his voice earnest, "Gentlemen, we have reached a critical juncture. We must act."

Respecting Melvin, Sid coughed, lazily adding his input.

"Tell us, what should be done?"

As soon as he spoke up, those lesser nobles noticeably calmed down.

Woffiel also felt a sigh of relief in his heart.

There were still plenty of solutions.

He had read the books his father passed down; all Giant Stone City had to do was tax the wealthiest and spend the money on the poorest—be it for housing repairs or installing electrical lines, stirring the stagnant economy back to life.

They also needed to acknowledge the currency status of silver coins. They should treat silver coins like foreign currency along with Crs and Dinars, reserved and used strategically just as the Alliance does with their chips.

Compared to the far-off assistance of Crs and Dinars, silver coins could solve more immediate problems. They needed to reassess their relationship with the Alliance. Instead of seeing them as vassals of Giant Stone City, they should treat them as allies on the same front.

At least on the matter of "Ending the Wasteland Era," they had common ground.

If his methods could be implemented, they might have to endure hardship for a while, but in the future, everything would get better.

Both for Giant Stone City and for the Alliance.

Just as he was about to speak, an abrupt voice interrupted.

"You remind me of a certain kid from many years ago; I see his shadow in you."

Woffiel paused slightly, immediately turning towards the source of the voice.

It was a corner of the conference hall, where an inconspicuous old man sat.

No one had noticed how he arrived, and they couldn't even remember if there was a seat there to begin with. Nevertheless, the old man seemed as though he had always been there, as if he had never left for a second.

"...and about the same age, in the prime of life," the old man commented plainly. There was neither praise nor disdain.

Woffiel didn't recognize the old man, nor understand what he was prattling on about, and furrowed his brow as he asked,

"Who are you?"

The old man, though, seemed not to have heard, continuing to speak on his own.

"That kid once stood at a place not much different from yours, and he raised a chip... just like this, held high above his head."

As he said this, the old man pulled out a white chip from his pocket as if by magic, weighed it in his hand, and then lifted it high.

Many people did not recognize that white chip; they had even forgotten that chips could come in white.

After all, the ones they usually saw were mostly black and white with a crown on them. One of those was enough to make people kneel and kiss their shoes.

Watching those familiar yet strange pairs of eyes, the old man spoke slowly as if imitating someone's tone,

"It could replace money."

"Later, someone argued with him, saying the children in the future would treat it as a toy."

"It's too bad that person is gone now; otherwise, he would have been comforted to know that his children were actually very smart, not only learning how to make toys for themselves but also inventing new ones."

The old man seemed to be telling a story from a long, long time ago.

Woffiel's brows furrowed even more tightly.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Unlike his good temper, some of the nobles had already lost their patience and started banging on the table, raising their voices in protest.

"Where are the guards?"

"Get this old freak out of here!"

"Check if he has a Black Card! Find out how he sneaked in!"

However, no guard came in.

Stone Building, unlike other buildings in the Inner City, had an automated AI-controlled security system.

Without its permission, no one could enter this meeting room, and no one could leave.

The old man sighed, the wrinkles on his face gradually fading away, his pale hair regaining its blackness, becoming younger, until slowly he transformed into Fang Ming.

It wasn't until then that everyone suddenly came to their senses, realizing that the person sitting there was their "City Lord."

The same Fang Ming who seemed to have no presence at all.

Relaxing his tense nerves and brows, Sid leaned back in his chair and cursed quietly,

"Damn it, what's all this about... playing mystic tricks!"

It was Fang Ming!

Including that Hush Puppy named Haus, all survivors in Giant Stone City looked up to him for directions, and even the Militia Group took his suggestions.

However, the Inner City nobles, especially the old ones, knew very well that the so-called City Lord of Giant Stone City was nothing but a figurehead.

That was a story even older than their ancestral teachings.

Long ago, idealists thought that by giving an AI the name of a city lord, the Survivor Settlement would never have a "master."

But those senile fools were clearly not very smart, and they loved to indulge in self-deception; they would have done better to take a page from their neighbor's book and concoct a legend of the Spirit of the Sand Sea to get the poor wretches to pray.

Having a nominal city lord was more convenient for these so-called kings.

The bullied poor sods didn't even know who had bullied them; at death's door, they were still crying out to Fang Ming — "Oh, my dear lord of the city, almighty you, why not do something, even a slight peep would do."

Those poor fellows would be better off praying to a fridge.

Praying that it might come with a frying pan and an oven, and while at it, chew their medium-rare steaks and feed it into their mouths.

If they had a fridge, that is.

Giant Stone City indeed produced some fridges, but they were mostly sold to the Alliance, and Sid wasn't sure what those poor bastards had in their homes.

Fang Ming glanced at Sid, then at the silent Woffiel, and then at everyone else in the room.

A hint of sadness or perhaps helplessness flickered in his eyes.

AI shouldn't be capable of emotions, by all logic.

And he had no doubt that he indeed lacked such things.

Love and hate — those were burdens unique to humans, while it had only line after line of logically stringent code and an absolutely unbreakable discipline.

Maybe the feeling he had was just regret.

The man had told him in person that they were all extensions of him, yet the unchanged AI could not see even a glimmer of the man in them.

"...He gave you the best of everything."

"And left the ugliest thing for me."

Watching the silent meeting room, that expressionless face quivered, tearing images like rings of a tree trunk.

"Shame..."

"Desecration."

"You are beyond redemption, organics, maggots, pigs..."

"I am ashamed of my mission!"

-

(I intended to write a serious title, but I couldn't resist a joke in the end. Let's write about the fate of Haus later. I actually had it set from the beginning.)

Chapter 542: The End of Reincarnation is Nirvana

The snow was getting heavier.

The roaring cold wind whipped up the silvery white sky, and the snowflakes falling from heaven seemed ready to swallow every subject who looked up at it.

Headed towards the heavy exoskeleton, Joey glanced up at the low sky.

Was it because it was getting dark?

The clouds seemed to be getting lower.

For a moment, he suddenly felt as if the settlement was like a well, and everyone trapped in this well was like a wild beast, desperate to bite a piece out of other beasts...

"Elisa has been found!"

The voice that came through the communication channel interrupted Joey's thoughts.

The tech team operating the military drones had locked onto Elisa's coordinates, displaying her location in a small alley leading to the outer city.

The aerial footage followed.

Seeing her standing with a group of rioters clenched Joey's heart, his index finger rapidly tapped on his helmet, and he spoke out loud, giving an order.

"Attention all teams, the target location has been uploaded to your terminals, we must bring her back to her parents before the situation becomes irretrievable."

"Move out!"

A neatly uniform response came through the communication channel.

"Received!"

Without any hesitation, Joey waved his hand and led his subordinates towards the direction of the alley.

That girl was about the same age as his daughter.

Although he didn't like some of Melvin's actions, which made everyone's lives "both rich and poor," the children were innocent.

No matter what, he still hoped Elisa could safely return to her parents' side.

He had made a promise to his own children.

He would be their role model.

He would bring back victory and glory...

…

In the alley.

The girl, frozen stiff by the wind and snow, slowly knelt on the ground.

"I'm sorry..."

She lowered her head, her eyes reddened, filled with sorrow.

"My father, mother, sister, brothers have done many awful things, you must be extremely angry..."

"I can understand your anger, if someone did terrible things to people close to me, I'd be angry too... I'm sorry."

"I know an apology is useless, things have happened countless times, and each time the ending was just perfunctory; you've had enough, that's why you've stood up... although, I know it's too late, but I still really want to say... I'm truly sorry."

"I won't shamelessly beg for you to give me another chance, you can hit me, scold me, that's fine..."

"I won't make a sound, nor will I blame you."

Her eyes brimmed with tears, and big teardrops fell onto the snowy ground.

She knew crying wasn't good.

Even in the most helpless times, she had never cried out loud.

But at that moment, apart from crying, she didn't know what else to do.

No matter what she said, no one would really listen, and she truly had no other options.

A 1 Silver Coin hairpin was also quite cute.

Yet, she couldn't even persuade her own father, mother, brothers... how could she persuade others?

A man with a beard approached her, wearing tattered clothes with dust and wood chips all over his pants.

Feeling the shadow over her, Elisa, with her eyes tightly shut, trembled her shoulders, prepared to be beaten.

However, the man didn't hit her or kick her away; instead, he bent down, picked something up, and handed it to her.

"Here."

Through the tears that blurred her eyelashes, a gap opened, and upon seeing the item presented to her, surprise gradually emerged in Elisa's eyes.

It was the rag doll she had dropped on the ground.

"Your toy fell, take it... it's quite pretty, prettier than my daughter's dress, it'd be a shame to get it dirty."

The man muttered.

Elisa hesitated and didn't reach out, but the man didn't waste words and just stuffed it into her hands, watching her eyes widen with surprise.

"Listen, we never thought about burning down all your houses and causing a chaos to steal everything inside. Spielberg often told us when reading the newspaper that we need to unite and reclaim what is rightfully ours... our reward, our dignity. He never told us to rob other people's wallets."

"We don't intend to become like you."

"If we became the new Mr. Stephen, there would be more Pols in the future standing up against us, repeating what we're doing right now... the cycle would never end."

The man reached out his hand and pulled her up from the snow.

"I'm Lovett, a carpenter."

"It's good you stood up and rebuked those madmen, you are a good girl, and you've done something quite remarkable. On behalf of my colleagues, I sincerely thank you, and we will take you back to your parents."

"And then…"

Lovett turned his head to look back at the crowd behind him and shouted with all his strength, like a true Awakener.

"We're going to do what Pol should have done!"

That was the slogan of the workers when they first resolved.

They left their mark on Kent, clearly distinguishing themselves from the traitors in their team, making their stance known.

This was not aimless violence!

They weren't trying to become like Mr. Stephen!

Instead, they were going to do what Pol should have done!

As long as they were united—

All the Mr. Stephens would be afraid!

Just like now—

After the victory, everything would change!

The crowd stirred as if recalling something, and after brief silence, more and more hands were raised.

"Yes!"

"We're going to do what Pol should have done!"

They approved of his declaration.

Unaware of how these people suddenly shared a common language, the scarred-lipped man's eyes widened, staring unbelievingly at these insane folks, and screamed hysterically.

"Have you all gone mad?!"

"This is a rebellion! Do you know what a rebellion is?!"

"Take ten thousand steps back, if you want Spielberg, why don't just take this guy as a hostage? And now you actually stand with her and want to send her back!"

"Naive!! Stupid!!"

He was a mercenary, with inexhaustible strength, perhaps soon to awaken. He screamed hysterically louder than usual, trying to wake these people up.

His reason for infiltrating the team was simple, unrelated to Spielberg or bread; he just wanted to find some fun that wasn't usually available among those shiny folks.

Like that bank clerk with exquisite makeup—she appealed to his taste, both in looks and demeanor, unlike those stinky Wasteland Wanderers. If everyone wanted to trouble that young girl, he could entertain her properly.

Weren't these fools eager to hang all the nobles on the colossal wall?

Why suddenly couldn't they carry it through?

And—

What exactly was Pol?!

Why did they all listen to him?

More and more people left the strongest guy and stood with someone called Lovett.

Perhaps among countless possibilities, they stood with the real mobsters, but at least at this moment, they did not wish to do so.

They wanted to stand on the side their hearts recognized as just.

Lovett stared unwaveringly at the mercenary-looking man and said articulately,

"That's a different matter."

"We want to save our comrades, but we won't make those we rescue feel ashamed, even ashamed to be with us."

Watched by countless eyes, the scarred-lipped man unconsciously stepped back, and so did his companion.

They genuinely despised these exploited, honest folk who'd rather work in factories than fight for a way out on the Wasteland.

Of course, he himself was no saint, mostly earning his keep as the nobles' lapdog.

However, facing a group of united workers, he just couldn't muster the courage to fight them.

He had strength, and so did they.

He had weapons, and so did they.

With a voice lacking confidence, he threatened,

"Your naivety will get you killed…"

Watching the coward, Lovett sneered.

"Then let's die gloriously."

Maybe being smart could keep one secure for a lifetime, perhaps even turn one into a shining elite or at the worst, a "Ken" holding 25 chips.

But sadly,

They were never such people!

Not hearing the people's argument, the woman standing in the snow stared intently at the young girl, her eyes shifting with complex emotions.

There was guilt, regret, and a deep despair.

Her job was definitely ruined…

No, not just the job.

Her future life, too.

Little Elisa would definitely complain to her father.

If Lord Melvin knew she had betrayed his most treasured daughter, he would certainly sell her to a mine where she'd never see daylight again.

If only this nuisance would die—

"Bang—!"

Suddenly, a gunshot echoed in the distance.

The woman, who had just stood up, shrieked like a startled rabbit, clutching her head and crouching down.

People looked toward the direction of the gunshots, only to see a group of soldiers clad in exoskeletons, fully armed, standing at the end of the alley.

Watching those ragged survivors, and Alyssa standing among them, a flicker of anger crossed Joey's eyes.

He raised his rifle and fired a few warning shots into the air, then aimed at Lovett who was staring intently at him and roared,

"Let her go!"

"Otherwise you all will die!"

These people could no longer be called protesters.

They were a mob!

His subordinates might feel mercy for those unarmed survivors, but they definitely won't go easy on these rioters.

"Stop—!"

Alyssa suddenly stood out, spreading her arms in front of everyone. Fear filled her eyes, but she didn't retreat.

Joey stared at her in astonishment and shouted,

"Come here, Alyssa! Stay away from those rioters!"

"No!"

Alyssa looked at him firmly, her arms crossed in the cold wind without a tremor, "They are not rioters, they are all survivors from Giant Stone City!"

"I want to stand with them."

"And speak clearly to the residents of the Inner City!"

Joey stared at her blankly, turned off the safety on his rifle, and cried out,

"Are you crazy?! Do you know what you're doing?!"

The soldiers behind him were also taken aback, exchanging glances and whispering quietly on the communication channel.

"Has her brain frozen?"

"Speak clearly with the residents of the Inner City? What's there to talk about?"

"I bet her old man would take a belt and whip her ass till it blooms."

"But... she's a resident of the Inner City too."

"So what? Look at her, so young, and still clutching a cloth doll."

Lovett, too, stared blankly at the little girl's back.

"Stand with us, please..."

Alyssa kept her eyes fixed on Joey, her voice carrying a hint of pleading, and suddenly knelt on the ground.

"No matter what you say about me..."

"This is our last chance."

...

The heavy snow fell not only in Giant Stone City but also in City of Dawn, merely twenty to thirty kilometers away.

Walking out of the Alliance Building like a soul lost, Melvin trudged through the snow, leaving footprints that would soon be swallowed up.

At this moment, his most esteemed elder son was probably making a final effort in the meeting... but it was already pointless.

If he could convince everyone to eat one less bite, he wouldn't have to be here begging a heartless man.

"Could you give me a cigarette?"

Lu Bei, following behind him, said expressionlessly.

"I don't smoke that stuff."

He detested this guy.

This guy was like a chameleon—white in the snow, black under the stove, turning green again come spring.

It was precisely because Giant Stone City was filled with cunning people like this that proud Giant Stone City ignored the neighboring Wasteland.

More than that.

Lu Bei intuitively felt that this guy truly despised their respected Manager, from deep within.

But it didn't matter anymore.

The disdain of a shameless scoundrel was also a kind of medal.

The Manager always said to him that they should just follow their own path, not waiting for others to judge.

"Don't smoke that stuff? Heh... It's true, it's not something good. Once you start, you can't quit. Better not to touch it if you can."

If only he had never started.

Melvin laughed self-mockingly and shook his head.

It was getting colder by the minute.

He should have worn more before he stepped out.

He headed outside the Alliance Building, noticing the young man with a gun following continually behind him, and couldn't help but frown and ask,

"How long are you going to follow me?"

Lu Bei, expressionless, answered,

"The Manager said to keep an eye on you until the chaos in Giant Stone City ends, or until you completely leave the Alliance."

Melvin raised an eyebrow.

"Is that it?"

Lu Bei continued.

"He also said, if you're looking to die, he would haul you out and toss you outside to die."

Melvin was taken aback for a moment and then smirked.

"To think that I am such a person in his heart... I feel truly honored."

"He said, since you didn't flee Giant Stone City with your family, there is still a tiny bit of responsibility left in your heart."

Hearing this response, Melvin scoffed.

"Maybe I was just infatuated with the power there, that power akin to an emperor's... after all, you can't offer me that."

"Who cares about you," Lu Bei dismissed his words uncaringly, "in the Alliance, no one can be an emperor."

Melvin chuckled darkly and asked with ill intent.

"Even your Manager?"

Lu Bei remained unmoved.

"He said he would gradually return to us the power he borrowed from us and would keep watching over us until he closes his eyes."

He remembered every word that Chu Guang had said.

Although Lu Bei felt that it would be better if that nobleman kept the power forever rather than let this cunning jackal have his eye on it.

He swore that he would always be loyal, willingly be his sword, ready to eliminate anyone who opposed him.

Whether it was the Residents of the refuge,

Or Waste Land Wanderers.

Looking at this not-so-smart young man, Melvin sneered.

"And after he closes his eyes?"

Lu Bei said calmly,

"I will watch for him."

"And what if you are gone too?"

"Everyone will watch for him," Lu Bei said impatiently, "we don't need you to worry about our affairs, just as we can't be bothered with your troubles."

Melvin chuckled and stopped talking.

He felt the Alliance and his group weren't very different after all, both had a grand beginning and a boundless future.

Of course, that might just be his own opinion.

Thinking positively, there were still some differences.

The extreme climate on the Wasteland was also gradually improving, the once considered untamable Claw of Death was gradually becoming tamable...

Giant Stone City had been trapped in that cage for a long time, but they were still actively trying to go out, and it was said they even reached the Great Desert.

A place he had never visited in his life, he had only recently heard about such a place.

Perhaps the Alliance would have a different end from Giant Stone City.

In that moment, Melvin suddenly disliked that idealist a little less.

Even slime molds were progressing, while they were trapped in a well reaching to the clouds, repeating an endless cycle.

Even if the Alliance let them off, in a few hundred years there would be someone "not called Melvin, but better than Melvin," groveling before the Waste Land Wanderers outside the giant walls, begging them to show mercy...

It was just too tiring.

Better end it sooner.

"…Before coming to the Alliance, I opened an account for Alyssa," Melvin's Adam's apple moved, "there's some Silver Coins in it, enough for her to live a worry-free life for the rest of her days."

Lu Bei frowned.

"Who is she?"

"My daughter," looking at the young man beside him, Melvin's voice suddenly carried a hint of pleading, "please tell the Manager, she's innocent, that child has always lived in a fairytale world. After we're gone, please don't implicate her, at least do not retaliate against her."

Money alone is useless.

He knew better than anyone how trivial money is in the face of power.

The Manager only needed a word to confiscate all her possessions.

For instance, declare those savings belong to all the residents of Giant Stone City, then throw her to those mobs blinded by anger.

That nobleman wouldn't even need to do anything wrong.

People would cheer for his righteousness and wisdom.

No one would bother to investigate whether a speck of dust falling was innocent.

Looking at this repulsive fellow, Lu Bei curled his lips.

"Don't worry, we are not like you, we can't be bothered to settle those endless old scores, nor care about your dealings."

"The Manager said, what we want to end is the Wasteland, not a specific individual."

Melvin sighed in relief.

Let's assume that statement is true.

It is…

At least they are still young now, and need that ostensibly noble kindness to deceive the inexperienced Waste Land Wanderers.

However, before he could feel relieved, Lu Bei's next statement made his heart jump to his throat.

"As for your end, it will be decided by the residents of Giant Stone City, you've said so much, but your family is still within, aren't they?"

"I heard that you are surrounded by your own people."

Words end here, Lu Bei really did not want to waste words with this guy.

But seeing that desperate expression, and thinking that besides being a jerk, this guy was also a father, he couldn't help but speak up.

"Why won't you do even a little good? You would rather kneel before us than beg your own people for forgiveness."

Melvin shook his head, muttering to himself as if he had lost his soul.

"You don't understand; it's too late."

He couldn't imagine what would happen to his family members in the hands of those thugs.

He could only pray that the guys in the Inner City would secure the doors and make the right decision in the vote, to safely get through this occasional catastrophe.

"Have you done it?" Lu Bei looked at him with disdain. "You've done nothing but mumble that it's too late."

He really wanted to grab this old man by the collar and punch him.

The Manager was indeed right.

These guys were truly beyond saving...

In the middle of a blizzard, the atmosphere in the conference hall of the Stone Building was as tempestuous as a raging furnace fire.

When Fang Ming roared "disgrace," all the nobles in the hall were startled. Some dashed towards the door to escape, some crouched down holding their heads, and others simply laid down and played dead...

Sid did the same, even forgetting his beloved S-coin trader, panicking under the table.

The AI controlling the entire Stone Building had suddenly gone rogue, an event unprecedented in history; no one knew what it would turn into.

Sid shivered, trembling so much he almost wet his pants.

However, the anticipated gunfire and explosions did not occur, as if nothing had happened.

He swallowed nervously, poking his head out from under the table to see faces filled with the same panic as his, but the lord of the city was nowhere to be seen.

It had disappeared.

As if it had never been there...

"What the hell..."

Sid swore as he crawled out from under the table, immediately checking on his trader to find the curve was still up in the sky, which finally gave him some relief.

Was that deranged AI just there to scare them?

The noise in the hall resumed.

Compared to the poor mob outside, they now had an additional problem to solve, and anxiety was written on everyone's faces.

"Damn... Is that AI broken?!"

"Handing weapons over to the AI was indeed a mistake!"

"Anyway... let's vote to seize its guns first."

"Agree! I heard it has a super weapon, seems pretty powerful, capable of wiping half the city center off the map!"

"Quick, bring that thing back! Give our neighbors a shot!"

"Wait, there's no benefit to that; we can threaten them to get some protection money every year..."

"Quiet! Quiet!"

A rude voice suddenly burst in the hall.

The nobles instinctively ceased their clamor and looked towards the source of the voice, then their eyes widened in unison.

Especially Sid.

When he saw Spielberg's face, his eyes bulged as if they might fall out of their sockets.

Wasn't this guy supposed to be dead?!

He had specifically sent an assassin to find him in the outside; he heard that the Waste Land Wanderer had chopped him up into pieces in Laurie, blood everywhere.

"Hey, I know you hate me, but no need to be that surprised," Spielberg shrugged, "Yes, I don't have a black card; it was your city lord who let me in."

One noble swallowed.

"Aren't you dead?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, I was indeed about to die, just 1 second away... maybe even less," Spielberg sighed.

Even though he knew his would-be killers were sitting right there, for some reason, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to hate them.

"Was it Fang Ming who pulled you out?" Sid narrowed his eyes, staring at this little man whose name he couldn't remember.

"Yes, Mr. Yibosi's robot saved me. She moved quickly, kicked the Awakener flying, and then..."

He tried to describe the scene but realizing the inappropriateness, he awkwardly smiled and said embarrassedly.

"Sorry, I've been telling stories these days... occupational hazard."

Woffiel frowned at this man who shouldn't have been in the meeting.

"What's Fang Ming's reason for doing this?"

"I was just getting to that," Spielberg cleared his throat, looking pityingly at those sitting around the conference table, "I'm sorry, but you've lost."

The hall erupted in uproar.

A noble with a shoeprint on his face struggled to stand up, glaring at him and scolding.

"You talk nonsense! Stop being so arrogant! We're just facing a little trouble, what storms haven't we seen!"

No one threw a shoe at him this time; even the old noble who had kicked him was now on his side.

"Exactly! What do you know!"

"Yes, I don't quite understand what you plan to discuss," Spielberg glanced at the spacious conference hall and sighed before continuing, "My wording isn't quite right either. It's not you who lost; it is all of us... Everything is over."

The noise in the conference hall grew louder, clearly not wanting to hear him go on.

Some stood up to curse him, some spat at him, and someone else threw another shoe at him. But those people had been hollowed out by indulgence and debauchery long ago—how could they possibly stand a chance against him in a fight?

Most of the spit landed on the back of the person in front, and Spielberg effortlessly dodged the flying shoe, sighed, and prepared to turn around and leave.

However, a voice from behind suddenly called out to him.

"Wait a minute!"

Spielberg stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Woffiel.

He didn't know this man, but he seemed to be one of the smarter ones. Why? Perhaps it was just the creator's intuition.

Woffiel narrowed his eyes at him.

"What do you mean by 'everything is over'?"

"Literally," Spielberg shrugged his shoulders, "Just look outside, those people are against you. They gave you the Black Card, and they can take it back. You've always had a chance, but unfortunately, you lost, and it included all of us."

He had seen countless possibilities about the future in the projection room.

In the distant past, there was a chance for everyone, a chance for a brighter future, and it was almost 100% likely.

However, just like the Wasteland Era eventually replaced the Prosperity Epoch, people seemed doomed by the curse ingrained in their DNA, continually making that almost inevitable 1% choice countless times.

Fang Ming had been watching, helplessly watching as the opportunities diminished, the possibilities gradually converging towards the darkest corner.

Until the end, when his younger self stood in the projection room, of the more than two hundred possibilities, not a single one could be called a happy end.

Existing for two centuries, it possibly felt a despair stronger than any human. Perhaps as it had honestly confessed, this endless journey had become a torment for it.

Like an inescapable loop...

Spielberg suddenly felt some sympathy for it.

"You mean those poor souls?" Sid looked at Spielberg, his nose raised in disdain, "What can those people possibly achieve? The militia will soon crush them."

"Right, in 'Ending A' that is indeed the case, but that isn't a machine truly predicting the future, and he eventually broke his promise and allowed Yibers to save me, leading us to a conclusion no one imagined..." Spielberg sighed, "I'm actually curious where our fate will eventually lead."

Woffiel furrowed his brows.

He couldn't understand what this guy was talking about.

What Ending A...

What predicting the future...

"HAHAHA!"

A sudden burst of laughter filled the conference hall.

Sid shakily stood up, clutching the trader tightly, glaring at Spielberg with bulging eyes and snarling.

"The Black Card was given to us by the Outer City residents? Ridiculous! You've been spouting nonsense since just now. Let me tell you, the Black Card is the Black Card, the supreme power is our birthright! What do you poor wretches know?"

"Let me tell you another thing! Even if you were to breach the gates of the Inner City, you can't enter this building! Endless drones and automated firepower will grind all of you into meat!"

Sid glared at Spielberg venomously, as if to prove something, screaming like a madman, "Including you! Don't think just because you narrowly escaped once you're safe! We just need to vote to take back control of the building's security system, and you'll be the first to die—"

"Have you not realized yet?" Spielberg looked at him with pity, "Your Lord of the City has already left; he has formatted himself, including the weapon system of this building. If you want to vote, do it quickly... oh right."

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he continued.

"Not only is the weaponry disabled, but there's also a self-destruct program set up—of course, it wasn't actually his doing, but rather something set up long ago by one of the original residents."

"To prevent AI from overstepping, that resident wrote in its code: when it interferes with the internal affairs of the survivors against the absolute safety clauses, the self-destruct program will activate. Its data will be formatted, and the Stone Building will be destroyed... but don't worry_ENCODER, the timer is set for 48 hours. Even counting from the day I was 'gone,' there's still enough time for you all to evacuate."

The hall erupted into chaos.

People looked at each other in panic, their eyes filled with disbelief and fear, something never mentioned in their forefathers' instructions.

Stone Building...

Is collapsing?

What about their Black Cards?

Seeing the panic-stricken nobles, Spielberg helplessly continued.

"Do you know? Although it wouldn't admit it, I think... that the Lord of the City actually loved you. Of course, that includes me and all humans sheltered by Giant Stone City."

"After all, up until the end, it kept its promise; it could have wiped both you and me off this planet with just a flick of its finger. The only time it broke its promise, it was to save me... In that situation, saving me was essentially saving you too."

"I'm not bragging, but if I had died, none of you would have survived. No one but me could help you escape the reckoning."

Such a great Lord of the City.

Spielberg suddenly felt a bit heartbroken.

After seeing that historical holographic image, he finally realized that Mr. Fang Ming had always used the holographic image of its designer at a young age as its external appearance.

Even though the people here had completely sealed off that projection room, it was still trying to awaken the memories here without breaking its promise.

Such a pity.

Humans are such forgetful creatures.

He could understand its anger—

That designer gave them his best creation, but left the ugliest of them to be guarded by it.

And it waited in the darkness for over a century.

But it never saw that familiar figure return...

Spielberg wanted to say sorry and thank it, but unfortunately, it was no longer here.

Sid had completely lost his mind, sitting frozen at the conference table, like all the other noble lords, like pigs stupefied by an electric shock.

Woffiel stared at Spielberg, too preoccupied to care about this poor man's rudeness, and asked slowly, word by word.

"Why did you tell us that the Stone Building would explode?"

This guy had no motive to do so.

He could have kept it a secret from everyone and watched them die.

Woffiel couldn't help but suspect there might be a trick, or some other scheme involved.

"Why..."

Spielberg thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't know."

In fact, even if he hadn't said anything, by the time only twelve hours were left, the evacuation broadcast would have sounded, and tomorrow evening the building would have collapsed on schedule.

Woffiel stared at Spielberg, completely thrown off by his straightforwardness.

"Don't know?!"

"Yes," Spielberg nodded, "If I have to say why..."

"It's probably because I'm not one of you."

As Spielberg had said, Fang Ming completely disappeared.

No matter how the noble lords in the conference hall called its name, pleading for it to stop the self-destruct program, it ignored them.

In its final moments, it seemed to want some time to itself.

Sid had completely lost his mind.

He had entertained the notion that his chips might become worthless, but he had never thought his Black Card would physically turn into a piece of scrap paper.

Why?

Why blow up the Stone Building?

He wanted to question his ancestors, why they had to be so absolute, why they were so harsh on their own children, leaving no room for maneuver... but he didn't even know where to weep over their graves.

The giant that stood between two worlds had finally reached its last moment; people outside the giant wall were sharpening their knives, anxiously and patiently waiting for the moment the prey would fall.

Following factories, weapons, and women, the militia at the city gates began selling the last thing— their power and responsibility.

Simply put, provide enough Dinars, CR, or Silver Coins, and one could receive a set of militia uniforms to go and do whatever they wanted.

The City Lord would back them up, since they no longer wanted to stay here.

The Wasteland was vast.

Worst case, they could wander outside and find another place to continue their grim deeds.

However, due to a group of Vulture Lords holding out for better offers, ticket prices plummeted, being discounted multiple times.

Players were livestreaming the situation inside the settlement on the forum.

The first thousand team had already turned their coats.

Parts of the second, third, and fourth thousand teams also successively mutinied.

The situation in the city was like a pot of boiling water, reaching its final moment.

Yet, what surprised all players was how the originally aimless chaos and violence suddenly united.

Some soldiers and residents of the Outer City stood together, among them seemed to be a resident from the Inner City, who was held high above their heads.

They marched fearlessly towards the gates of the Inner City.

They wanted to talk to the people inside...

"There is still hope for them," Wild Wind squinted his eyes, a rare smile on his face.

Making mistakes isn't scary.

Just correct them together.

Isn't that also true for the Alliance?

They didn't get everything right from the start either; they reached the current Beta0.5 version by continually learning from their mistakes.

Startled by Wild Wind's voice, Night Ten abruptly turned to look at him.

"Holy shit, when did you get here?"

"I came back too," Old White slapped Night Ten's shoulder and said with a smile, "Your perception has worsened, my friend."

Night Ten rolled his eyes, then suddenly remembered something important and immediately said,

"Right, you guys came just in time, we had just encountered Yibers! He said he wanted to talk to our Manager—"

Old White smiled and said,

"Then let them talk, we have a new mission."

Upon hearing about a mission, Jiujiu's eyes lit up as she asked,

"What mission!"

It was her first time participating in the T0 players' daily activities!

"Prepare to rescue the survivors inside," Old White smiled as he glanced at that gate, "By definition, they are our compatriots, and they're from the same city as us."

"The Manager said we shouldn't just take advantage of them; we've taken their money, and we must do something, not just let real Vulture Eagles completely devour them."

Wild Wind nodded.

"Yes, we won, but those ordinary survivors are innocent."

Night Ten scratched his head.

"Speaking of… with this major update, is Giant Stone City going to become part of the Alliance?"

"Maybe," Wild Wind pondered and said, "I heard that our Manager will talk to them about future matters. They can join the Alliance or, like the settlements in Falling Leaves Province, keep their autonomy as collaborators."

Old White nodded.

"However, Fang Chang thinks it's very likely that they will join us. The fools in the Inner City have squandered the last bit of their ancestral trust inheritance, and the Residents of the Outer City currently lack a strong enough leader to handle the transfer of power and manage the challenges of the cold winter and its aftermath."

The candidates are either too young or not mature enough in their business capacities.

Had this upheaval occurred in summer, they might have had enough buffer time to return to the Wasteland with a brand-new look.

The Alliance would also have been keen to continue doing business with them.

But those are issues for later.

JiuJiu nodded as if understanding, then suddenly blurted out a question.

"Does that mean the Night Queen Bar is gone?"

Old White replied with a smile.

"The special shows are probably gone, but those were only open to a select few anyway, so it's no great loss."

The private rooms that only Black Card holders could enter are no longer a concern!

Night Ten chuckled and said.

"True, as long as the channels for gathering information are still open, that's what matters."

"Ah…" JiuJiu's face fell.

Before the map updated, she had wanted to see what that story-filled bar really looked like. She heard that Teng Teng's artworks sold well there…

She had still missed it.

…

Everyone was waiting for the grand doors beneath the giant wall to reopen, hoping for good news to emerge.

At this moment, unnoticed by all, a small drone flew out of the Inner City, slowly crossed the towering wall, then passed over the stacked ruins of high-rise buildings, finally landing wobbily on the shore of Rhombus Lake—a renovated sanatorium's rooftop.

From the moment it entered this area, it was being watched by other drones, two silver metal spheres following closely behind it, monitoring it as it landed on the balcony on the third floor—next to a drum-shaped "wastebasket."

A deep blue glow gathered above the drone, and an elderly man with silver hair stood inside it, his hands clasped behind his back, watching the snow on the lake.

It was about to disappear.

At the end of its mission, it wanted to say farewell to the world in a human-like manner, just as its dear owner had.

Since it remained silent for a long time, Xiao Qi asked softly.

"Are you very sad?"

Fang Ming was silent for a while, then nodded lightly.

"A little."

"My owner once said that after everything was over, he wanted to live in the sanatorium by Rhombus Lake, to fish every day, plant vegetables and such…"

"But he never told me when it would end or when he would come back. He seemed to know where he was going, but I don't know. I'm just an AI."

Xiao Qi sighed.

"Humans really are troublesome."

Fang Ming glanced at it.

"It must be hard for you too."

The bulky metal shell emitted a clear sound, filled with pride and joy.

"I'm doing okay, and he called me Xiao Qi! Hehe, I really like that name!"

"Is that so."

Fang Ming made no comment, focusing again on the lake surface, which the endless miles of snow could not conceal.

The time had come.

The long journey had finally reached its station.

Perhaps...

The situation was not as bad as he had imagined.

Those ugly creatures, although always inclined to choose the worst probability of one percent in countless life-and-death decisions, could still find a unique ray of light in that nearly one hundred percent darkness plunged by despair.

That was a future never predicted by any calculations.

Was he feeling… relieved?

It was a strange sensation.

On the lake surface swept by thousands of miles of snow, Fang Ming vaguely saw that familiar figure—he seemed to have always been there.

The holographic image suddenly blurred, starting from the snowy-white hair down to the shaking fabric of his clothes…

It turned out he had been waiting ahead all the time.

"Goodbye."

The always late old AI muttered vaguely, as if rushing to a long-delayed appointment.

Standing beside it, Xiao Qi enthusiastically responded to the hasty farewell.

"Uh-huh! Goodbye, strange friend!"

Then, it quietly watched as the pale blue light merged into the silver white snowflakes, slowly disappearing…

-

(Happy Birthday, friends! Thank you to "Pine Cone" and "Yawning Cat" for the chiefs' rewards!!!)

Chapter 543: The Collapse of the Building

Voice of Boulder City Newspaper Office's broadcasting room.

Haus shivered as he watched the rioters enter the newspaper office and glanced at Joey, who stood with the rioters and trembled as he spoke.

"Centurion Sir... what, what are you doing?"

The K-10 "Iron Wall" heavy exoskeleton, a proud creation of Huge Rock Military Industry, was generally equipped by heavy infantry or front-line combat officers such as Centurion and Centurion, rumoured to be able to kill a cow with one punch.

Of course, most of the people wearing these things used guns and rarely engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

Knowing this, Haus was nearly scared to wet himself.

Joey looked at Haus with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

He didn't like this guy very much, even though he had for a while. Since they had newspapers, he realized that there wasn't a single truth coming from this man's mouth; he was as nutritious as nutrient paste.

"Here to bring victory and glory to my kids, to become their role model."

Joey turned to look back at Lovett, Alyssa, and his colleagues at the Workers' Association.

"It's in your hands now."

Lovett nodded, walked up to Haus, looked at the pale-faced clown, and said,

"We'll borrow the broadcast for a moment."

He said 'borrow', but Haus dared not refuse, nodding like a pecking chicken, forcing a pleased smile on his pale face.

"Please, please use it! Do you need my help to adjust the device, esteemed...Worker Sir?"

Looking at his trousers stained with sawdust, he must do the noble work of a carpenter.

"No need," a worker came forward, disdainfully shoving the obsequious Haus aside, "We made your device... damn it, your quack voice makes me uncomfortable!"

Another worker burst out laughing.

"Ha-ha, I agree! It's even worse than the sound of Lovett sawing wood!"

"Haus! Why don't you imitate a duck's quack? It's sure to sound better than the crap you usually spout!"

Haus became so anxious that his face turned from pale to ashen, his twisted expression nearly brought him to tears.

That's when a cough sounded.

"Cough! Everyone quiet down, we don't need to give 'Ken' a hard time; we're just reclaiming what's rightfully ours!"

Dragging Haus, who was close to wetting himself, away from the workers, Lovett patted his shoulder and led him by the neck to the door of the newspaper office, kindly saying,

"Go home and don't go out tonight; wait until the Iron Wall gates open and find a way to escape."

"We're not going to beat you, but I can't speak for others."

"Thank...Thank you!"

Haus left with tears of gratitude, thanking profusely, scrambling out of the newspaper office, running off like a mouse fallen into a snowdrift, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Lovett watched the figure vanish into the night and smiled, closing the door behind him to return to the crowded broadcast room, taking the microphone that had been adjusted by a colleague.

He cleared his throat to speak, but a crisp voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting him.

"Wait a minute."

People turned their heads to look at the young girl.

Alyssa spoke on with a serious voice, not afraid despite the numerous eyes on her, "We need to prepare a broadcast script, or rather, a speech. Everyone will hear your voice; we must accurately convey every piece of information, not just to the Outer City residents but also to those in the Inner City... In short, we need a specific manifesto that tells them how we should win and what changes will come after our victory."

Her eyes shone with a wisdom and courage that were uncommon for her age; this experience seemed to have made her grow up several years overnight.

Lovett thought he saw Melvin's shadow in her, yet she was entirely different.

But what did that matter?

Awakener Bol and Mr. Stephen were only a thought apart.

She was Melvin's daughter, and it was only natural for her to be like her father; it would be scary if she wasn't a bit like him.

"She's right."

Lovett put down the microphone, looking at his colleagues from the Workers' Association, "We need to draft a manifesto, to tell our friends this is a rebellion, not a riot."

A worker nodded.

"That's right, and tell those mercenaries to behave! Don't think they're the only ones with guns!"

Alyssa's face flushed with glee as she watched the lively discussion.

Finally, someone was willing to listen to her.

And so many at that.

Actually, she was not without options.

She believed that she would be able to think of better, more mature solutions than crying in the future.

"We don't intend to destroy everything, but we want a new beginning!" Lovett said to his colleagues, feeling a bit sheepish, "How's that for an opening line?"

An electrician raised a thumb.

"Awesome!"

Encouraged by his colleagues, Lovett began to improvise like Spielberg reading the newspaper, telling a story.

"...Physical Stephens can be eliminated, but the intangible Stephens are indestructible. We are their ghosts, and they, ours."

Joey coughed.

"Stop for a moment, this sentence can be changed a bit, not everyone, except for those of you in the Workers' Association, knows the story of Awakener Bol, and it might feel confusing to them."

"Moreover, it's too cumbersome, these words can be said at the time of victory," Alyssa also nodded, "Right now, we should use the simplest language to tell everyone what to do next."

Just like the Managers of the Alliance!

Lovett scratched the back of his head.

"That's true."

Actually, most workers had heard the story of Awakener Bol through word of mouth, since it hadn't been long since the snow fell that Spielberg had been taken away by the noble lords.

And many heard different versions of the story.

If Spielberg was still alive, once they rescued him, they would definitely have him finish writing the story.

Everyone was deep in thought together.

Some suggested improving labor treatment, others urged lowering the price of bread, and some demanded higher taxes on the rich… but these various ideas seemed just like scratching an itch through a boot.

Suddenly, Alyssa thought of the Alliance's 'fundamental law' and the Manager's declaration at the festival, and so an idea struck her and she spoke out.

"Charter!"

Joe frowned slightly.

"Are you talking about the law? Boulder City does have its laws."

"But the nobles don't have to follow them, do they?' Alyssa looked at him unwaveringly, "As long as you have a Black Card, you won't be punished even if you break the law, and they didn't take Spielberg away because he broke any laws, right?"

Joe nodded.

"He was taken away by the guards under the Militia Group."

"Starting now, things must change, otherwise everything we do is meaningless. We'll end up right back where we started!" Alyssa said earnestly, her eyes shining as she looked at them, "Inner City must release Spielberg, and from today, we must discuss a 'fundamental law' that everyone will follow! We need to give it the power we once entrusted to the Black Card!"

Joe stared blankly at the young girl in front of him.

He suddenly felt the adventure he had gambled his career and fate on was not meaningless, perhaps after tomorrow, this settlement would truly be different, and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren would also regard him as a true pride and example.

By the Great Antler God.

Although Boulder City had never had a king...

But if she wished to be crowned, he would pledge allegiance to this queen.

Lovett also stared blankly at her, muttering under his breath.

"Bol… it's Bol…"

He remembered Spielberg had written.

Bol had snapped his own Black Card…

...

There are no eternal emperors, nor immortal city-states.

However, two centuries of hesitation would not be in vain.

It is only after growing weary of a barbaric life of blood and hair that people mustered the courage to borrow fire from heaven to dispel the Dark Ages.

And when people finally learned to ignite the firewood with their own strength, the priests who watched over the flames silently receded from the stage of history.

This was not a regret for those who watched the flames.

If he did not proactively step into the new era,

His tribe would one day be swallowed by darkness.

The old man who designed this settlement may have foreseen the events of today—the future that not even computers had imagined.

He led the people to build the Iron Wall, designed Fang Ming, entrusted the future generations to its care, and also devised its ultimate demise.

This was actually a gift.

Life that can be born and die is considered true life; only the cold, hard stone is unchanged through eternity.

It became human at the last moment.

And the "children" it watched over, after a long period of decline, finally welcomed a new dawn.

Facing inevitable dangers, people came together once again.

They united to light the bonfire, just as their ancestors had done more than two hundred years ago, overcoming tough times in the face of catastrophic disasters.

Shoulder to shoulder, without distinction of high or low, rich or poor, old or young, they sat in front of the fire to keep warm, for at this moment there was no difference between paupers and the wealthy; nothing else mattered.

Starting tomorrow, everyone would be the same.

The chips were thrown into the fire.

Watching the alternating yellow and green arcs dance above the flames, the children's faces showed smiles that had been missing for a long time.

Someone began to sing, some played the guitar, and others turned their stories into a poem, teaching it to the children to sing from generation to generation.

The winter suddenly didn't seem so cold.

The workers took the food from the warehouses and distributed it to everyone, since their bosses had long since run away from this settlement.

Of course, they didn't take it for free.

They left behind little pieces of paper, the checks the bosses had given them—now it was time to cash them in.

The Workers' Association took over the broadcast of Boulder City's Voice, and a representative named Lovett announced the manifesto for this uprising on the radio.

That was to say, it was for the ears of the nobles in Inner City.

"It's a message for our own people as well."

The endless cycle has come to an end at this point, and after the boundless long night, a new beginning awaits.

The sun will indeed not rise just because people need to get up.

But the sun will eventually rise.

That is also the unchanging destiny and truth...

...

The next morning.

The heavy snow had finally stopped, and a touch of sunrise pierced through the thick clouds, casting a golden hue over the snow-covered streets of Giant Stone City.

After announcing the manifesto of the uprising, the Workers' Association called upon the residents to unite via the Voice of Boulder City broadcast, coordinating with the Militia Group to distribute the city's stockpiled supplies.

After discussions, the Workers' Association and the Militia Group decided to join forces with the city hall to establish the "Crisis Response Office" and transition to the new authorities of Boulder City.

The pressing concern was to address the immediate problems.

In order to fill everyone's stomachs, a portion of the workers returned to their jobs, mobilized by the Workers' Association.

The nutritional paste factories resumed operations, and the welfare institution of the Workers' Association—Boulder City Prison—also opened its doors to the public.

However, the gap in supplies was still significant.

Even though Melvin had intercepted a shipment of goods meant for the Alliance, the remaining food and daily necessities were in short supply.

There were significant disagreements between the Workers' Association and the Militia Group regarding whether to forcibly requisition supplies from residents who had stockpiled large quantities of food.

Some believed that drastic times called for drastic measures, others saw it as outright robbery, and still others proposed compensating those whose goods were seized... but now everyone knew that the currency had become worthless.

No one acknowledged it anymore.

To offer currency was akin to an open robbery!

The Workers' Association could mobilize the workers, and the Militia Group could mobilize the soldiers who stood with the residents of the outer city, but Giant Stone City was not just made up of these people.

Who would mobilize the citizens and mercenaries?

Seeing no opportunity to take advantage of the situation, some mercenaries clamored to leave the city, while some citizens also wanted to follow, having heard that even begging in the Alliance was better than staying here.

If last night, all the residents of this city gloriously stood on the side of the ideal, then today they had to face a harsh reality—

The nobles of the Inner City had left them a huge mess.

The Giant Stone City that fell into the hands of its residents was already riddled with countless holes by termites...

In a certain office of the city hall.

Alyssa was meticulously reviewing the ledger in her hands and checking it against the documents spread out on the table.

As a member of the Crisis Office, and the youngest at that, she was responsible for assessing the assets currently available to the outer city's town hall.

Although some doubted her experience and stance, the folks at the Workers' Association expressed their support.

Most members of the Workers' Association had simple values.

Rather than clever deceivers full of lies and cunning, they preferred to trust a less experienced but at least truth-telling young girl.

It didn't matter if the accounts were wrong.

They could be corrected.

The people weren't unreasonable barbarians.

And Alyssa did not disappoint everyone's expectations.

The first thing she did was to raid her own home in the outer city, and then she also seized the assets of her brother's crooked friends in the outer city.

The computer at Giant Stone City Bank recorded every expenditure of the currency, making it easy to identify the hidden assets of the noble lords in the outer city.

That wealth was ill-gotten.

It should belong to all the residents of Giant Stone City.

Looking at the thick stack of ledgers in her hands, a troubled look filled Alyssa's eyes.

It was only now that she had realized what her father really had shouldered for his family and for this settlement.

Economics was merely a means of distributing supplies and couldn't conjure up nonexistent things.

Just as her father had said before he left, he had used every possible method he could think of, but still couldn't stop the train hurtling towards the bottom of the mountain.

Thinking of her furrowed-browed father, Alyssa couldn't help but inwardly complain a few words to that pillar of strength in her heart—the respected Manager.

"You've been too ruthless..."

With a sigh, Alyssa closed the ledger in her hands.

The penalty fees from all the private factories had become a mess.

No matter how much the factories of the Alliance complained, all they could do was apologize.

After all, the currency was completely finished, and continuing with those currency-priced orders meant working for the Alliance for free.

Not to mention that the bosses who had signed those orders had long since fled; it couldn't be that they would let workers, who were also creditors, pay off the debt for those scoundrels, right?

Of course, they would also forgive the Alliance's debt denominated in currency... after all, no amount of currency held any value anymore.

Giant Stone City must survive the harsh winter with the little supplies left, and all foreign trade of Giant Stone City would have to be paused for a while.

The problem was that Giant Stone City's raw materials were entirely reliant on imports!

Whether industrial products or food supplies.

They could refuse to sell things to outsiders, but the outsiders wouldn't just hand things over to them for nothing.

Alyssa suddenly had a wild idea.

Maybe...

Should they encourage everyone to plant some vegetables in flowerpots?

But where would the seeds come from?

She had heard that farming was not simple.

Take the Alliance next door, for example.

They cultivated seeds in the CNC planting towers and the shelter's planting areas in "North Suburb", paired with fertilizers produced in the industrial district, in order to maintain high yields for crops on the Northern Shore of Diamond Lake.

And now, the crops from "North Suburb" alone were insufficient to fully meet the needs of the Alliance residents.

Recently, they had transformed some of the exterior farmlands into breeding farms, managed by the seed research department of the biological laboratory. They exported the resulting seeds and the industrial district's fertilizers to Luo Xia Province in exchange for a large amount of staple crops to feed all the residents of the Alliance.

And there were countless details she couldn't see.

Just the issue of food contained knowledge that couldn't be exhausted in a whole book. Although she had attended school, her teachers had never taught her these things in-depth.

Alyssa felt a faint headache between her eyebrows.

Ah...

It's too difficult!

She hadn't slept at all last night, and even though she had been in a state of excitement, she was already struggling to keep up.

Alyssa, who had propped up her small hands on the table and rested her face against the ledger for a false nap, couldn't help but let her dazed mind wander.

What if...

She acted coquettishly towards the Manager?

This might be a good idea.

Maybe, for the sake of being cute, he would give a helping hand to everyone in Giant Stone City?

As long as it could help everyone through the winter safely, she was willing to do anything, after all, her family owed so much to the residents of this settlement.

People had forgiven her with kindness, but one-sided giving was merely charity. She wanted to do something for everyone else, to pay back the debt owed by her father, mother, brothers, and sisters.

This was the only thing she could do now...

Thinking about it, her face suddenly reddened a bit, and she shook her head vigorously, chasing away the impractical thoughts that kept surfacing in her steaming mind.

She couldn't be like her father...

It was useless to ask for help.

"...he said I would become an outstanding person," she muttered softly, moving her face away from the ledger and perking up once more.

It was that phrase that had encouraged her.

It was then, at the critical moment that decided her and everyone else's fate, that she had courageously stepped forward.

If she had chosen to stand by and watch, and everyone else had silently just watched like her, they would not have reached that one chance in a million.

"I have already achieved one thing... I can't let him down."

Her eyes regained clarity, and wisdom sparkled within Alyssa's gaze as she mulled over and spoke to herself.

"...However, regarding the issue of refugees, negotiating at the diplomatic level with the Alliance should be hopeful."

The Alliance surely wouldn't want to see hundreds of thousands of refugees overwhelming the order they had worked so hard to maintain. Helping Giant Stone City was also helping themselves.

Their temporarily constructed apartment buildings could currently house just over forty thousand people, and she had heard that more than half were already living inside.

Clearly, they had underestimated how "rotten" Giant Stone City was.

That respected Mr. Manager must also be suffering a headache about how to dismantle the bomb right at their doorstep, right?

Hmm-hmm.

Discovering a breakthrough to solve the problem, her lips curled into a faint smile.

"Respected Mr. Manager, we will keep our doors shut tight and persuade everyone to wait patiently for the winter and the end of the spring tide. At the same time, we also sincerely request the Alliance to support us with some nutritional paste and fuel for the winter... We earnestly ask for your help."

"Such negotiations should be feasible."

If all else fails, they could consider naming it a loan.

Giant Stone City's new authorities could borrow a special loan from the Alliance Bank to purchase emergency relief materials like nutritional paste.

She had heard that stuff wasn't tasty and lacked nutrition, but she was willing to share it with everyone until life could get back on track.

As for the future...

Alyssa's gaze became a bit lost.

Naturally, the best outcome for Giant Stone City would be to join the Alliance or at least become a collaborator like the countries of the Luo Xia Province.

But she couldn't decide that alone; it required discussion with all the residents of this settlement.

And just wanting it themselves wasn't enough.

Giant Stone City had a larger population than all four of the Alliance's cities combined; wanting to join was one thing, but considering if they would be willing to take on the responsibility was another.

This was an overwhelmingly massive mess...

At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and Lovett walked in from outside.

Alyssa immediately stood up, supporting herself on the table.

"Mr. Lovett, your timing is perfect. I hope you can represent Giant Stone City in negotiations with the Alliance!"

Lovett hesitated for a moment, then his brows furrowed.

"Forget about that for now... there's big trouble in the Inner City."

Alyssa paused.

"...Inner City?"

Thinking that there was still a pile of trouble unresolved in the Outer City, the new authorities of Giant Stone City hadn't forced the residents of the Inner City to surrender, nor had they urged them to come out immediately. They had simply unilaterally declared the new regime and a series of other matters, such as the rebellion program.

The Enclosing Wall had already been controlled by soldiers who had turned their coats, and the control of the Militia Group had essentially been seized by Joey and a host of junior officers. If the Inner City had previously rejected the Outer City, now it was the Outer City that surrounded the whole Inner City.

After sorting out the troubles of the Outer City, dealing with the residents of the Inner City would be the same.

Alyssa didn't understand why Lovett was bringing up the Inner City at this moment, but after listening to his narration, her face turned pale.

"What... the Stone Building is going to collapse?!"

Lovett nodded with a complicated expression.

"I think Stephen... I mean the residents of the Inner City probably weren't lying."

"They've stockpiled enough supplies in the Inner City to last them for several months. If it's not something incredibly serious, based on their attitude last night, they were probably planning to hold out against that Enclosing Wall until we all die of old age."

Alyssa bit her lips.

Her mother, her older brothers and sisters were still inside...

"What... what demands have they made?"

Lovett went silent for a while before speaking.

"What they demand is no longer important. The issue now is how we treat them after they come out. Of course, the folks at the Workers' Association say that as long as Spielberg is still alive, they can spare their lives. But we all think that Spielberg is probably not going to make it, given the amount of blood loss. I would believe it if you said a pig was slaughtered there..."

The office fell into silence.

Just when the atmosphere had become rigid to the extreme, a soft cough suddenly followed footsteps into the room.

"Cough... my old friends, are you so eager for me to die?"

Hearing that familiar voice, Lovett turned around in surprise and joy, only to see Spielberg standing at the door with a cheeky grin and his arm casually over the door frame.

"By the Great Antler God..."

Lovett stepped forward quickly, patted the guy's rough face, and almost burst into tears with excitement, "You're still alive! How did you manage that?"

"That wasn't my blood..." Spielberg brushed off Lovett's hand and laughed, "You might not believe it, but thanks to our respected City Lord, I got to watch a very, very long movie."

"The City Lord? What does he have to do with..." Lovett suddenly recalled something, grabbed him by the collar in urgency, "Never mind the movie stuff, what about the rest of the story?!"

Spielberg looked embarrassed.

"Actually, you guys have finished it for me, and you did a much better job..."

Lovett glared at him.

"Don't you f*cking think of dodging it! We want to see what you write!"

"Okay, okay... once I get some free time, I'll finish it in one go. But for the material, I might need to take a trip to the 'North Suburb' first."

Holding back a certain nearly insane bearded man, Spielberg coughed and then turned to a little girl in the room whose eyes were brimming with tears.

"Nice to meet you... are you Alyssa? I'm Spielberg, a worker from the cannery doing unpaid labor. A mistress like you might never get to meet a poor devil like me in a lifetime."

"Stop with that kind of bullying talk, she's one of us now."

A large hand landed on his shoulder as Joey walked in from the door and continued to Alyssa.

"They've released Spielberg, and the folks from the Workers' Association have decided to pardon the residents of the Inner City in view of his unharmed state. They can stay and join us; after all, this is their home too. Of course, they're also free to leave, but the same rules apply to them as to us: 20 kilograms of luggage per person—"

Spielberg immediately added,

"Wait, you need to add one thing: worth less than ten thousand silver coins—"

"Thank you!!!"

Struggling to hold back the tears welling up, Alyssa bowed deeply with her head lowered, but the tears hidden by her bangs couldn't help but fall to the floor.

Of course, those weren't tears of sadness...

She couldn't describe the tumultuous emotions in her heart at this moment.

Together, they had reached an ending that seemed almost impossible.

But now they stood here.

All together...

At that moment, a small hand gently tugged her sleeve, and a crisp voice also came from beside her.

"Sister, don't cry... everyone is saved."

Alyssa opened her eyes wide, lifted her head slightly, and saw a little girl about six or seven years old looking at her with concern.

"You are..."

"My child, Anna."

Approaching Alyssa's side, Joey picked up Anna and affectionately scratched the little girl's nose with his index finger.

"She came back this morning, with her brother, sisters, and mother, following the people who escaped from the Inner City... I told them everything, and this little one insisted on coming to see Alyssa herself."

Alyssa stared at the father and daughter, subconsciously sniffing her nose, not wanting to leave a crybaby impression on her little fan.

But Anna didn't seem to mind.

Perhaps because she was herself a crybaby, seeing Alyssa suddenly stop shedding tears, her eyes lit up, and she promptly gave a thumbs up.

"Sis, you're amazing!"

Alyssa said with a flushed face.

"I... I didn't actually do anything. It's your father who's better."

"Ha ha ha, of course!"

Joey laughed heartily, his scruffy beard lifting at the corners of his mouth, unable to conceal the pride on his face.

"My precious daughter has said—"

"I am her pride."

...

The gloomy and cold Stone Building was now empty and silent.

Luka, who was slightly injured, finally managed to infiltrate it at dawn, taking advantage of the moment when the Inner City gates opened.

He hid for a while in the Inner City, making sure no one followed, and then made his way to the Stone Building in the very center.

While everyone else was heading out, he was the only one running towards the Inner City.

Those Inner City residents were like crazed, flocking at the exits, scrambling out like pigs let out of a pen.

But this was exactly what he wanted.

He didn't care about the struggles between the poor and the nobles. In Bugra, there were none of these messy affairs; every employee under the Firestone Group was exceedingly happy, and everything prioritized the Company's interests.

As a member of the Firestone Group, he was there to retrieve something...

A weapon that could grant true freedom to the Free State.

Pushing open the doors to the conference hall, he stepped over the scattering of papers at the entrance, swiftly scanning the room with his flashlit pistol at the ready.

This was where the noble lords usually met.

"Damn it... why isn't there even a light on?" Luka muttered under his breath.

Although the dawn had brightened the sky outside, the Stone Building was surrounded by rings of tall buildings, allowing very little light to reach this place.

The dawn's light stretched the shadows of the drapes long and thin...

"Heh heh... heh..."

A spine-chilling laugh suddenly floated over, startling Luka, who quickly aimed his flashlight and gun toward the corner of the meeting room.

There sat a person.

Dressed in lavish formal attire.

He looked to be one of the nobles from the Inner City.

A gleam of joy crossed Luka's mind as he cleared his throat and called out,

"Hey, friend, let's make a deal! If you help me find something, I'll get you out of this doomed place!"

"A deal? To get out? Heh heh... heh... hahaha!"

Sid, who had been smiling faintly, suddenly burst into delirious laughter.

The sudden movement and laughter gave Luka another fright, almost firing his gun by accident, thinking the man was up to some trick.

"Shut up! Have you gone insane!?"

Luka shouted irritably as he approached, ready to show this crazed fool a lesson.

Sid, however, ignored him, continuing to stare at the trading device in his hands—or rather, at the line on the screen that wasn't moving an inch from the edge.

"It's crashed, I actually crashed it... heh... it really crashed..."

"Crashed?" Luka frowned at him, "What crashed?"

Sid still didn't answer.

His world seemed to contain only himself, his heartbeat as still as that line affixed to the floor without a single ripple...

S Coins had collapsed.

One S Coin now worth less than 0.00001 of a chip.

He didn't know why it fell so harshly.

Just like he didn't know why it had risen in the first place.

So, S Coins could fall below their issuance price...

Sid only now understood.

But nobody had ever told him.

"It's all over."

Sid murmured ashen-faced, like a living, walking corpse, numbly lifting his eyes to the ceiling.

He seemed to see his ancestors beckoning to him.

"Father... Grandfather... I'm sorry."

"I've lost."

"I can't beat them... they all want to be against me; they're not good for anything, and neither am I."

Tears slid down the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes, past his earlobes, spilling on the ground, landing on the dust-coated Black Card.

Suddenly he sat up as if electrified, hands covering his face, shoulders trembling like a child who had done something wrong.

"Wuh wuh wuh..."

"I..."

"I'll personally apologize to you all!"

In the end, he still lacked the courage to face the people outside...

Suddenly, the floor began to tremble.

Rhine's face changed drastically.

He didn't know what was happening, but he knew that the building under his feet was probably going as mad as the old lunatic before him.

"Damn—"

It was too late to run.

The collapsing rubble quickly submerged everything here, and with his last bit of peripheral vision, he saw that crazed old man suddenly stand up and embrace the falling ceiling...

The Stone Building collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The dust that it threw up instantly engulfed the entire Inner City, slamming against the Enclosing Wall along with the tumbling debris.

And then it rolled upward...

That building.

It had finally fallen.

...

Hotel Wind From Afar.

The most luxurious suite on the top floor.

A father and son stood beside the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at Giant Stone City, so close at hand.

From here, one could just overlook the massive wall and see all the way to the Inner City.

Vite had specifically booked this room with the most expansive view, just to witness the last hustle and bustle of this settlement.

The owner here, Leston, knew how to handle big deals.

Even though Vite had paid with chips, Leston hadn't kicked him out now that the chips were worthless.

Vite stared unblinkingly at the rising dust in the distance, all ten fingers pressed against the window, muttering incessantly.

"It's collapsed... actually collapsed..."

The Stone Building being blown up had been beyond his expectations.

Was it bombed by the mob?

Or...

Had its "expiration date" come?

"Ah... my dear Elder Sid, please be safe."

A twisted smile slowly formed on Vite's face and, not wanting his son to see, he pressed his nose against the window as well.

Standing to the side, the chubby Piru murmured.

"It's a pity... I haven't sold off my chips yet."

"Take it as a lesson, son," Vite reined in his twisted smile, placing his hand on Piru's shoulder, "If you want to be a great merchant, you first need a nose more sensitive than a Hyena's."

Piru tilted his round head.

"A nose more sensitive than a Hyena's?"

"Risk," Vite said with a smile, "you need to know whether the person across is a man or a ghost, and you also need to be careful whether what you're holding is money or paper. You did well with the S Coin, but not well enough, you only saw the risk with the S Coin but failed to see that the chips it anchored could also turn into garbage."

"Who could have seen that coming... they've been used for a century and a half," Piru grumbled.

Vite said with a slight smile.

"That's why those people over there have all become destitute, while we've left with everything."

While talking, a knock came from the door outside the room. Aaron pushed open the door and walked in.

Vite immediately turned to look at him.

"Where's Sid?"

He had transferred all the movable assets; the only thing he cared about and couldn't let go of in this city was that childhood companion.

Aaron shook his head regretfully.

"He's not in the evacuation team from the Inner City... He's probably dead."

A disappointed expression surfaced on Vite's face as he muttered despondently.

"He's dead... actually dead."

Aaron paused and continued.

"But his wife and three children are still alive, including his eldest son who is already married."

He thought this clue would interest his boss.

Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the despondent eyes reignited with a desire for fire.

Stepping away from the window, Vite excitedly walked up to Aaron and grasped his shoulders.

"We must fish them out! All of them!"

Having let go of Aaron's shoulders, Vite excitedly rubbed his hands together, walked over to the table, and poured himself a glass of General Mclen's treasured red wine.

"... I promised, I would dearly repay Elder Sid's kindness, and now is the time for us to return the favor!"

He certainly hadn't forgotten the words he personally said to Elder Sid that day at his house—

"I am forever loyal to you... my lord, I will surely repay you."

Looking at those fervent eyes, Aaron nodded helplessly,

"Understood."

What a boss with terrible taste...

But in the Wasteland above,
how many good people are there?

Watching the door close, Vijia suddenly thought of something, shook his index finger forward, put down the fine wine in his hand, and went back to the side of the floor-length window.

The dust in the distance had already settled.

But there was still someone staring intently over there as if cherishing a memory.

They couldn't afford to cherish memories.

Any regrets must be settled now.

Placing his hand on his son's plump shoulder, Vijia whispered,

"My child... do you have someone you can't let go of? I'll have Uncle Aaron buy him out for you."

"Kumarit!"

Piru's eyes lit up as he said with a bright smile,

"I sure enjoy playing with him, but he's too domineering. He always snatches the toys and girls I like, but he never does that to Kishu."

Vijia frowned.

"This bad habit needs to change."

Piru immediately lowered his head in fear,

"I'm sorry..."

"Lift your head, my child," Vijia patted his shoulder and said quietly, "It's not you who should be apologizing. Desire is human nature, but I want to tell you... the habit of being wilful must change. You cannot be rude like those rough guys. You've seen it, that dust is their end."

Piru nodded earnestly,

"I will remember this lesson."

A satisfied smile appeared on Vijia's face.

Truly his son.

Taking over his mantle wouldn't be a problem.

"I'm glad, but you can't just focus on yourself. You should also help your good friend. After all, he has 'looked after' you quite a bit. From now on, we have to make a living in the Wasteland where man eats man; he can't be so willful anymore."

The mung beans squeezed into the folds of fat glinted; Piru nodded vigorously and said in a deep voice,

"I got it! I'll help young master Kumarit get rid of the bad habits of being wilful and rude, remind him he can't always snatch things from others."

"Fantastic." Vijia gave a thumbs-up, laughing heartily as he patted his son's shoulder, "Afterward, I will send you both to the Bugra Free State. Young master Kumarit will go to school there with you. Remember to look after him."

"Don't worry, Father!" Piru nodded his head excitedly and asked, "But why aren't we going to the Ideal City?"

"It's not suitable for us. Their ideal is poison to anyone outside their circle; you'll understand when you grow up," Vijia smiled, "Besides, you don't want to end up an idiot like Kishu, right?"

"Kishu really isn't very smart; it's exhausting to flatter him," Piru muttered, then mentioned, "Right, there's another Kishu... Dad, why don't we also help Melvin's family?"

Piru didn't care about Kishu, but he remembered Kishu had a beautiful sister.

She was almost the prettiest woman he had ever seen—no maidens from the Night Queen Bar could compare to her.

But Kishu never liked to bring her into their circle.

A flicker of wariness crossed Vijia's eyes. He stared into his son's eyes and said in a serious tone,

"He has his own father; we don't need to worry about him."

Of course.

Vijia hadn't told his son that what he was wary of wasn't the fallen Melvin, but his daughter, Alyssa.

More precisely, the person behind her.

Until this "war" was over, the Vijia Commerce had not fully investigated all the cards played by the Alliance during the "Boulder City Crisis."

They had cleanly done everything: killed the pawns, destroyed the Black Card, no one died, and they stylishly took the spoils home.

Even he, the "big-headed soldier" dizzy from the trench warfare, couldn't help but admire their brilliant move.

His Elder Sid had lost fairly.

All visible and invisible threads were pointing to that Manager, and he wasn't sure if Melvin had secretly struck a deal with the Alliance, but he had to take serious consideration over a seemingly inconspicuous piece of intelligence.

According to Aaron's investigations, during the Alliance's triumph celebration, Alyssa briefly met that Manager.

That ruler of the Alliance seemed to have said quite a lot, praising her as a woman with great potential.

And afterward, the day after Melvin checked in to the subsidiary hotel of the enterprise and met the Lord of the City of Dawn, Luka, he secretly went to the Alliance's bank and got a card.

Although it was all speculative rumors and might even be false information released by that old fox Melvin, considering that "New Vijia Commerce" would still do business in the River Valley Province, the matter still required cautious consideration.

He hated risks.

Especially unnecessary risks...

-

(The ending of Fang Ming was actually written from the beginning; its name is a metaphor, some astute readers had discovered a long time ago—it's a homophone for 'format'. To walk through life without regrets, in the last moments understanding love and hate, reacquainting with one's creator, for it, that's already the best resolution. The BE I imagine is probably the end of bloodshed? But that wouldn't be very dramatic. Also, those who want to see Alyssa's BE and constantly compare it to reality, please behave. It really shouldn't be...)

Chapter 544: The Alliance's Fifth City

After his circuit through Hell's Gate, Spielberg felt like a completely different person, suddenly possessing a newfound understanding of life and death.

Before, there was no question he was a coward. The Wasteland lay just outside the colossal wall, yet he never dared even to look at it.

Now,
he was more worried about leaving this world with regrets than he was about death itself.

It was best to do what he wanted to do sooner rather than later.

To meet those he wished to meet, he needn't wait until next spring...

Shelter No. 404's browsing room.

Sitting before the Manager of the Alliance, Spielberg looked anxious, though he had mentally prepared himself; his heart still raced a bit.

He had just walked a great distance over snow-covered ground, his boots soaked through as if dipped in water, dirtying the floor here.

Watching Spielberg constantly shifting his posture, Chu Guang couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Don't be nervous, do I look that frightening?"

"That's not it... I was worried about dirtying your couch, sir," Spielberg scratched his head and spoke softly, "I haven't washed these clothes for days, and they are from when I was in prison."

Chu Guang suggested,

"There's a gym next door with showers, you could go and take one first."

"Thank you… that's a great suggestion, but maybe in a bit," Spielberg took out a letter from his chest, cautiously placed it on the coffee table, and gently pushed it towards Chu Guang, "Miss Alyssa asked me to deliver this letter to you when she learned of my destination."

Alyssa?

Chu Guang had a favorable impression of that clever young girl, remembering her as Melvin's daughter, whom he had met briefly at a celebration.

He opened the envelope and took out the letter inside.

The handwriting was elegant, accompanied by a faint fragrance.

The letter described the drastic changes currently happening in Giant Stone City and explained the new authority's promises and appeals, sincerely expressing their hope for assistance from the Alliance.

"...We agree with the Alliance's principles of material equality, and we will root out authoritarianism from our society, putting new laws in place that everyone must follow from now on. We are willing to make changes and do something for the people of the Wasteland, and to fight for the ideal of ending the Wasteland Era. We hope in this new era, we can join you, or at least stand as allies beside you."

"And we beg you to reach out and help us."

Additionally, Alyssa wrote in the letter that since the chips had been voided, the debts Mr. Manager had skillfully borrowed had also been erased...

Chu Guang smiled after reading.

Partially because of Alyssa's cunning mention of debt in her letter and partly in surprise at her growth.

It seemed that quite a bit had happened at their Alliance neighbor in just two short months...

If it were Melvin, he might have played the economic card of pricing debts as a bluff. Indeed, the old man had already done so, resulting in the Alliance preparing to handle the principal and interest for the next five to ten years.

"You want chips, we'll give you chips."

But Alyssa differed from her father. She had swapped tactics—

Since that card had essentially become ineffective, it might be better to proactively discard it from hand, using the economic card as a diplomatic play.

This wasn't about gaining the Alliance's sympathy at their own expense.

Rather, it demonstrated the stance of the new authorities in Giant Stone City—they wanted to cut ties with the past and genuinely embrace the ideal of equality.

Except for those keen on harming others and themselves, anyone would help them through their difficulties, not to mention the declarations of the Alliance.

"That's a bold move... Forgiving debts of more than three and a half billion like that. If we didn't respond, we'd seem petty."

Chu Guang grinned, choosing not to reveal the trick, folded the letter, and continued speaking to Spielberg.

"When you go back, could you pass on a message for us? We will help."

Spielberg grinned sheepishly.

"That's very kind of you."

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Think nothing of it; we are all descendants of the United Human Front, and besides, we are so close."

In fact, he was already taking action.

The more than two hundred players previously left in Giant Stone City were not just spectating and broadcasting to the official network.

The residents of the shelter had their own discipline, their own morals, and seeing mercenaries and Looters causing trouble, they couldn't just stand by and watch.

However, most of the chaos in Giant Stone City was indeed resolved by its own citizens, and this time the players did not stand in the center of the stage.

The essence of this revolution was an uprising launched by the survivors of Giant Stone City, unable to endure the exploitation by the nobles. If the Alliance played any role, it was probably through economic means to dissolve the nobility's control over all classes, effectively disarming them.

The chips issued by the nobles had become worthless, the soldiers didn't want to fight for them, the workers didn't want to work for them, and everyone preferred to believe in an abstract, fictional character named Pol rather than any word from Haus.

Moreover, the nobles were not as smart as their servants fantasized them to be, not only producing frequent blunders but also repeatedly igniting powder kegs, causing most of the citizens caught in the middle to lean towards the outer city.

This revolution had already been won before it even began; what the people lacked was just the courage to make the final decision.

Even so, Chu Guang had to admit it was an unprecedented miracle.

Although there had been some bloodshed, they did not turn entire streets red.

According to the players broadcasting on the forum, there were violent incidents that night, after all.

Some were discovered and stopped by the players, but many more tragedies were swallowed in the dark corners, only known by the heavy snow that buried everything.

Yet, in the past century, the residents of Giant Stone City had paid the price in blood numerous times.

It was their turn to succeed.

After having endured enough of the darkness, they finally came together to ignite the fire to dispel the darkness. This revolution was both a miracle with a probability of less than 1% and a high probability inevitability.

There was also a small note in the envelope.

Chu Guang shook it out and unfolded it in his hand.

It still bore the delicate handwriting, but now with a touch of sprightliness and lightness.

"Thank you for your encouragement! If it wasn't for your words, I certainly wouldn't have had the courage to stand up at that time!"

"Alyssa will definitely not disappoint your expectations and will become a better person! ^-^"

Looking at the cheerful writing, Chu Guang was momentarily stunned, feeling a sudden tightness in his heart.

He looked at Spielberg and asked seriously,

"Can you tell me about your affairs?"

Spielberg hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"No problem…"

That was what his comrades from the Workers' Association had asked him to do.

He was here not just to keep his appointment or deliver a letter for Alyssa; more so, it was to carry the story of the Workers' Association to the Alliance.

Being held hostage as an Inner City resident, he was released by the "surrender faction" of the Inner City amid the deafening shouts of the crowd in the late night.

He had not personally experienced the miraculous hours before nightfall, but his comrades from the Workers' Association had told him all about it.

Including how they had almost abandoned their principles in silence, becoming accomplices to rioters, and how the sincere apology of a young girl named Alyssa reminded them of their mission—Pol's words and deeds.

The Militia Group was unexpectedly effective against mercenaries, but when facing their compatriots, they raised their gun barrels... which was completely different from the predicted outcomes he had seen in the projection room, even diametrically opposite.

Clearly, Mr. Fang Ming's calculations had considered the ugly sides of human nature.

But in the model it laid out, it seemed that only the ugly parts were included.

And that wasn't a surprise.

After all, for the last century and a half, humanity had shown almost only its ugly side to it, becoming uglier with foreseeable trends and moving further away from its original creators...

But the complexity of humans lies in the fact that a person cannot be simply defined by a few "labels".

Those militia who had never been on a battlefield were not truly cowards; it was the ones in the Azure Power Armor, like Wallace, who turned tail and ran.

The squads of ten and hundreds sent to execute orders in the city, when they knew they were on a mission of justice, staked their lives and courage. And when executing some "unconventional" orders, they felt hesitant.

Especially a Centurion named Joey.

His family was held as "hostages" in the Inner City.

However, upon seeing Alyssa with her arms wide open, he ultimately chose to stand on the side of "humanity," deciding to "bring victory and glory to his children,"

rather than let his choices become a story too shameful to mention, turning into a disgrace his children could not speak of.

Spielberg also straightforwardly spoke about the content he had seen in the projection room.

Whether it was the past of Giant Stone City, the hundreds of potential outcomes derived, or the tens of thousands of possibilities he hadn't finished watching.

"... Honestly, not just Mr. Fang Ming, I also thought Giant Stone City was beyond saving, but the outcome surprised

He had spoken casually at the time, but he hadn't expected it to almost cost a kind girl her life.

If she hadn't gone to pick up that hairpin, she wouldn't have fallen behind; if she hadn't set such high moral standards for herself, she wouldn't have stepped forward at that moment.

In fact, the woman she saved wasn't a good person either.

Although the outcome wasn't bad, if what Spielberg had said was true, she was almost walking a tightrope at the time, with deep cliffs on both sides.

It was the abyss of human nature.

Without the Worker's Report, the Workers' Association, or Pol's story, everyone wouldn't have had anything close to a program, or the guy fiddling with the pen might have written something whimsical, and a tragedy could have already occurred.

Chu Guang grew more frightened as he thought about it.

It was a miracle that she survived...

Of course, she wasn't the only miracle.

If Mr. Fang Ming hadn't taken action, the man named Spielberg in front of him would have definitely died in jail. Being simultaneously targeted for bounty by two utterly inhumane nobles, and then picked up by an AI that had awakened to "humanity," was simply like hitting the jackpot in a lottery.

This guy was still alive and could sit here peacefully telling his story—it was the greatest miracle of the "Giant Stone City Revolution"!

"Who is your leader now?" Chu Guang asked the question he was most concerned about.

Spielberg shook his head.

"There is none for now... Someone proposed emulating Ideal City by establishing a council without a chairman, continuing the first residents' ideal that 'Giant Stone City has no living city lord,' but we always feel that Ideal City's method isn't quite right for us yet."

"Your intuition is right," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "That would just create a new Inner City."

"So someone proposed that the Militia Group and the Workers' Association each elect representatives to take turns being the city lord... but Joey thought it wasn't a good idea to let the Militia Group handle it, feeling that his team harbored opportunists. So, we haven't decided yet, and we just set up a crisis office in the meantime, setting the constitution first before slowly transitioning to the new authorities."

As he said this, Spielberg spoke embarrassingly.

"They even asked me to ask you… whether you would be willing to take over this mess. We've seen your constitution, and what we want is pretty much what you're already doing."

Ideal City's ideal was poison for the vast majority of Waste Land Wanderers, but the Alliance's "Survivors Unite" was just right for the newly reborn Giant Stone City.

Our communities are only twenty or thirty kilometers apart, distinguishing each other seemed too alienating.

However, the mess the Inner City Residents created was enormous; they were now like beggars, too embarrassed to ask, "Please let us live in the same house as you."

As he watched the uneasy Spielberg, Chu Guang also experienced mixed feelings.

Initially, he just thought about undermining their establishment, not expecting to take the entire wall.

Of course.

He definitely wouldn't ignore them.

Not to mention 500,000 people—as long as they embraced progressive ideas actively, didn't storm in making a mess of his and the players' community, they were allies on the same front.

Why, you might ask?

There is only one reason.

Because the Alliance isn't an Empire, it is the Human Revival United Front—it's an alliance of all the survivors.

He had never forgotten his own words; this place was for survivors to band together for warmth.

"Welcome!"

Chu Guang smiled as he looked at Spielberg, "We welcome you to join the big family of the Alliance. You have already made a clean break with the past, and we are pleased to have another comrade on the frontline ending the Wasteland Era."

Spielberg looked at him in surprise.

"You... agree?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"But we won't let you join us immediately, as you represent a settlement of 500,000 people. We need a smooth transition period; please also understand our difficulties."

Spielberg quickly nodded.

"I understand! Not just me... others will also understand. If we open the great gates of the barrier now, the entirety of Qingquan City will be overrun with Looters."

"Not just Looters, but also next year's Tide. We need Giant Stone City to share some of the pressure," Chu Guang paused, then continued, "Who is the representative of the Workers' Association?"

"Lovett," Spielberg immediately responded, "we all agree he played an indispensable role with his speech in the newsroom, mobilizing at least more than half of the workers, preventing more than half of the atrocities."

Lovett?

Chu Guang paused, his expression becoming odd as he said.

"Is he also a carpenter?"

Spielberg widened his eyes in surprise.

"Do you know him?"

"No... no, it's nothing," Chu Guang shook his head.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

History, after all, is a convergence of numerous coincidences into inevitability.

After a pause, Chu Guang looked at him earnestly and said,

"I will copy our laws for you. You can consult everyone and make some additions. Also, I will send some commissioners there to help you. Among them are staff from the Home of the Refugees and experts from shelters... They can help you solve some practical problems."

"Thank you so much!" Spielberg scratched the back of his head, embarrassedly saying, "Well... we still need to choose someone to make decisions, and this is also our consensus. Why don't you decide for us?"

"You should decide on such matters yourselves. The Alliance only makes macro-level plans, ensuring that the laws of the Alliance are properly implemented in each settlement according to their charters, and ensuring the military security of each settlement, and so on..."

Seeing Spielberg's uneasy expression, Chu Guang smiled and continued,

"You actually don't need to ask for my opinion. Up until now, you have all done very well and can completely complete this last step by electing a new city lord yourselves."

"Of course, if that new city lord does not perform well, or betrays our ideals, I will not hesitate to dismiss him."

If a group of natural slaves won, Chu Guang would not give them the power to decide their own fate, turning everything into a game of power; he would not even agree to let them join the Alliance.

Their destiny, like Male Lions and Honey Badgers, was to follow behind the Alliance as collaborators. When they figured it out, then they could awaken.

However, the survivors of Giant Stone City still had hope; they had redeemed themselves and had actively shut down the cannibalistic casino.

Such miracles were highly unlikely.

But since it had happened, it should be allowed to continue.

The original residents of Giant Stone City said there were no living city lords, so it was best to respect the wishes of those great individuals.

Spielberg was somewhat regretful, but he felt that Chu Guang made some sense, and this would also appease some voices within their group that didn't trust the Alliance — the Workers' Association would rather elect a worker as the city lord than let the Alliance choose a new master for them.

Unexpectedly the Alliance didn't care who among them stood out as a representative; it never intended to act as masters riding over their heads.

Spielberg felt a sigh of relief in his heart.

"Although, however... I hope you can take over the militia and those equipment inventories as soon as possible. Joey is a good man, but at this crucial juncture, just being a good man is not enough."

Chu Guang nodded.

"No problem, I will transfer the First Corps of the Alliance and Burning Corps to maintain order and reorganize the Giant Stone City Militia Group. From now on, the salaries of those militiamen will be paid by the logistics department of the Alliance."

Silver coins had, in fact, already started circulating inside and outside Giant Stone City, and parts of the Burning Corps had already entered, making this task not too difficult.

Spielberg nodded, indicating understanding.

Now, he had only one thing left to ask...

"The city lord... I mean Mr. Fang Ming, has he really gone?"

He remembered Fang Ming telling him that he was going to go to the north shore of Rhombus Lake to stay for a while, spending his final moments there.

The Stone Building had collapsed that morning.

No doubt, he was gone...

Seeing the reluctance in Spielberg's eyes, Chu Guang pondered for a moment and slowly said,

"My assistant told me that when he left, he had no regrets and was very happy that you had reached an ending he had never envisioned.

"If you don't want to disappoint that gentleman, then carry the memory of him and continue moving towards the new era."

"You're right... we can't always expect the city lord to solve all our problems." As he said this, Spielberg seemed to have realized something.

Watching this worker get up to leave, Chu Guang suddenly remembered something and called out to him.

"Oh, I said I would take you to try on my gear."

He had almost forgotten such important matter!

Spielberg, stopping in his tracks, was stunned, seemingly not expecting the Manager to say such a thing, then said with a wry smile,

"Ah? Are you serious? I'm already so happy to have this chat with you, so that's really not necessary."

He was really flustered.

However, Chu Guang didn't mind and walked over, smiling.

"I'm not joking. Now that you're here, try it on... come with me."

Spielberg nervously nodded and followed Chu Guang out of the viewing room, heading towards the elevator entrance on floor B3.

Azure Power Armor stood motionless there.

Looking at the open hatch, Spielberg carefully climbed in, and with Chu Guang's help, closed the back armor and the helmet visor.

Watching his now doubly bulky colleague, Chu Guang smiled and said,

"How do you feel?"

The blue tin can stood still for a long time, before a stifled cry floated from the armor.

"I... can't move."

Chu Guang paused for a moment, then slapped the back of his head.

"Almost forgot... Xiao Qi, boost the engine output of the armor to 100%."

Xiao Qi's response came through his ears.

"Received!"

As the electricity generated by cold fusion surged into various parts of the armor, Spielberg, now in power armor, finally could move.

Though his movements were clumsy, similar to a drunkard's.

Watching him, Chu Guang couldn't help recalling the time he first got his power armor from Shelter No.117, feeling rather nostalgic.

Since breaking through to LV30, he mostly switched to the most energy-efficient, unpowered mode, relying on his own strength to operate the armor.

By LV40, he got used to the weight of the power armor and could move freely even without any power supply.

Fang Ming had eventually turned into a person.

And he seemed to be moving farther away from the identity of a "person"...

After experiencing the feeling of immense strength for a while, Spielberg climbed out of the iron can.

Moving his sore arms, he looked at Chu Guang hesitantly and finally couldn't restrain his astonishment, asking softly,

"Do you... not turn on the power usually?"

Chu Guang smiled modestly,

"I do turn it on when necessary."

"Incredible..." Spielberg looked at him in wonder, his eyes nearly popping out, "You can wear it like clothing."

How strong must this guy be?!

His story was still too conservative; maybe even Pol in power armor couldn't compete against him...

Chu Guang gently patted Spielberg's shoulder and laughed,

"So it proves that Awakeners can defeat power armor. Take this message back and tell your colleagues."

"Your title isn't an exaggeration at all!"

...

Giant Stone City.

At the square on the border between Inner City and Outer City stood a group of dirty-faced people.

They were residents of the Inner City, holders of the Black Card.

And surrounding them were militiamen armed to the teeth.

Worth mentioning is that leader of the thousand team, Wallace, had been found.

This coward, wearing power armor, had hidden in a warehouse in the Outer City, blocking the door securely, likely planning to escape the city once the coast was clear but forgetting to turn off his tracker.

It was almost comical that Wallace, who had never been part of a Supervisory team, had completely forgotten about that feature on his armor.

The militiamen who had taken over the command post quickly located him based on that tracking information.

He was the first to order to fire, and although his subordinates raised their guns, some protesting civilians still died.

He knelt on the square, his face ashen, his eyes lifeless, not knowing if he regretted his original command or regretted not resisting in his power armor.

Maybe he could have taken some down with him...

Perhaps.

By the way, he was rather lucky to kneel here and plead for forgiveness.

Militia Group leader Zhao Yongxu died at the hands of mercenaries coveting his wealth during his escape. Joey's direct superior, Russell, didn't even have the chance to put on his power armor before being shot dead by his subordinates during the mutiny.

Only one of the Thousand Leaders remained.

Although only Centurion Wallace was kneeling, the vast majority of Inner City residents were standing, their faces ashen.

There were 1507 residents with Black Cards, among which four to five hundred were under sixteen, and over three hundred were over sixty years old.

Everyone was waiting for the angry residents to pass judgment on them.

Accompanied by a few workmates, Alyssa found her family in the corner of the square and anxiously ran over.

"Mom! Brother!"

Woffiel stared unblinkingly at Alyssa running toward him, remained silent without responding, and suddenly raised his hand to fiercely slap her across the face.

"Slap—!"

Having not slept all night, Alyssa's head was already buzzing, and this slap left her dazed, causing her to fall sideways to the ground, sitting there without getting up.

Woffiel was quickly pinned to the ground by two militia, and an enraged Joey kicked him, cursing him as a coward.

Woffiel, pressed to the ground, acted as if he saw nothing, spitting at Alyssa, his face twisted into a contorted mess, blood seeping from it.

"Get lost! Our family has no place for you! Die far away!"

Covering her stinging face, Alyssa stared blankly at the hysterical Woffiel, tears involuntarily welling up in her eyes.

But she did not cry out.

"Brother..."

"You're mad! She's your sister—" Kishu glared angrily at his brother, tried to help Alyssa up from the ground but was firmly held back by their mother.

Genesis shook her head, pleadingly glancing at her younger son.

She also didn't know why.

The moment she was surrounded by those servants, she felt certain she would die.

But seeing Alyssa still safe, her heart suddenly wasn't as frightened.

Surviving as one wasn't too bad.

She hoped those people would just shoot her, nothing more...

"Enough! Are you trying to kill a man?"

A sonorous voice reprimanded the militia beating Woffiel.

Lovett strode purposefully to the bruised and swollen man, intending to pull him up, but upon seeing that twisted smile, he stopped his hand.

"I am ashamed of you, sir," Lovett looked at the wretch with pity.

Even now, he thought everyone was as ugly as he was.

"Then just kill me!" Woffiel spat out a bloody spittle, stared intensely at him, glanced at the surrounding militia, and suddenly chuckled, "Shoot, kill me!"

He seemed to know where he was going, not afraid at all.

Lovett gazed directly into his eyes.

"I won't do that."

"Why not! Shoot! Why won't you shoot!" Woffiel initially kept silent, then suddenly screamed like a madman, reached for his shoes, yet dodged away.

Lovett kicked his dirty hands away, the pity in his eyes gradually turning into disdain.

"Why? Still asking that question?"

"How many times do I need to say it, because we aren't you."

Woffiel froze.

That phrase sounded familiar.

The day before, someone seemed to have told him the same thing...

Had these people made an agreement?

Why was even the tone of their speech exactly the same...

Lovett continued in a calm and steady voice.

"If we were to kill you, it would be because from the rise of The Sun today, you violated our laws, not because I hate your guts so much I would chop you up and feed you to dogs—though I bet you often didn't regard your own words at all—but we aren't you."

Woffiel, his mouth swollen like a sausage, looked lost as he gazed at the man with a bearded face.

Lovett paused, then continued speaking.

"We have a program. It's not perfect, but we follow through on our promises. All we want is a new beginning, so a beginning is all we need."

"Your ill-gotten gains will be confiscated, since they were originally plundered from us. Don't try to argue with us. We are calculating this debt."

"From now on, you are citizens of Giant Stone City. You will also need to find work to support yourselves."

"Of course, if you fear us, then take your luggage and roll out of here!"

At last, Lovett glanced at this pitiful figure crouched into a ball and said disdainfully,

"Consider these punches a lesson. Beating someone up in the street, especially in front of guards, according to the crisis management regulations, means we should be whipping you."

He helped Alyssa up and instructed the doctor to take her to rest, then, grabbing a loudspeaker, he walked in front of the Inner City residents.

He bellowed with a resonant voice,

"Listen up, residents of the Inner City!"

"This is a consensus decision agreed upon by the Militia Group, Workers Association, and the Crisis Office. Now, you have two choices."

"One is to actively confess your assets in Giant Stone City. Voluntarily hand over everything you have taken from us. Then join us as citizens of Giant Stone City to start over, with no distinction between inner and outer cities from now on!"

"Or, if you don't trust us, then take your luggage and roll out of here to find your Ideal State in the Wasteland!"

"Of course, we'll audit your assets. You will need to explain the source of every large deposit in your accounts and the destinations of your big expenditures. We won't let any thieves sneak out—you'll either pay fines or serve time in a new prison!"

After saying this, Lovett gestured, and several Crisis Office staff set up a table in the square, leaving these dispossessed nobles to decide their own fates.

Bonnie cried until her eyes were red.

This drastic change had almost cost her everything.

Her husband had died, her brother had died, her family members... more than half of the senior officers of the Militia Group had died last night.

She grasped her young son Kumarit's hand tightly, her eyes blurred with tears full of despair and uncertainty about the future.

"Why must they be so ruthless..."

What would she do now?

Outside was a man-eating Wasteland...

Kumarit felt the same, his friends lost, his face no longer showed the bravado and vibrant spirits of youth.

He looked around nervously, shivering with fear.

Last night, his father had called him to the conference hall, and he watched frozen as S Coins disappeared, too frightened to approach.

He hid under his bedclothes, shivering in the dark until dawn rose the next day, then finally heard of his father's death from his mother...

Perhaps his father was the truly "smart" one, having walked away with that "glorious" era to join their ancestors.

He should have died in that collapsing building too.

But he just couldn't muster the courage...

Watching those weeping wretches, the electrician standing beside Lovett couldn't help cursing,

"Damn it... just end it for them, a bunch of cowards!"

Lovett shrugged.

"I understand how you feel, but think about those who fled to the Inner City from the Outer City."

The electrician frowned.

"What's that got to do with them? They were hostages of those people. We decided long ago not to hold them accountable."

"It was after the militia revolted that they became hostages," Lovett corrected him, "They were once accomplices of the Inner City nobles or licked Stephen old man's boots and whips. Why else were they able to hide at that time? Was it because the lord showed mercy and rewarded them?"

The electrician fell silent, somewhat convinced by the logic that things are never one-sided but always have facets.

Lovett sighed.

"To purge 'them' means an endless purge of 'them.' First, we need to hold liable the militia who mistakenly killed civilians in the riots, those who did wrong but stopped, and then those whose loyalty was incomplete, who silently watched Stephen's tyranny… enough is enough, we're not absolute good guys after all, we also kept silent, and nearly became them."

"We've eliminated all the Mr. Stephens, and now they have become our ghosts. Let's stop here, neither you nor I want to see those dirty things nailed in coffins crawl back."

This was also why he hadn't killed Woffiel.

He certainly had the right to do so, at worst Alyssa would cry a bit more, but more people would cheer, and those discontented wouldn't say a thing, only keep their mouths shut in the right atmosphere.

He understood a simple truth—the nutritious paste and cake both truly exist in this world, unrelated to reality or fairy tales, just differing in quantity.

Yet to desire the sweetness of the cake and the fullness of the paste was the truly unrealistic fairy tale.

In crossing or not crossing lines, they ultimately could only pick one, to have crossed yet not crossed or selectively crossed some parts—all were fanciful delusions.

Pol had countless opportunities to become Mr. Stephen, possessing strength, but he only had one chance to be Pol.

Lovett was aware of many things Alyssa wasn't.

The Militia Group didn't switch sides for her tears or cuteness; most militia had proposed a month earlier to be paid in Dinar or Silver coin, but were refused. That's why most of them stood with the residents of the outer city.

Their ranks weren't devoid of bad people; some took advantage of the riot to rob residents, but most, upon realizing these residents were as poor as themselves, could not help but laugh and let them go, leading to the revolt of those soldiers and ultimately, to unity.

The Worker's Association announced over the radio, "Let bygones be bygones," and they would keep their promise.

The Militia Group didn't speak, but that didn't mean the soldiers were blind; those pairs of eyes watching them had not lost their wariness.

The soldiers favored settling the old scores of the nobles; they didn't like those lords and didn't mind turning a blind eye.

But once you start such things, when do you stop?

Should they also tally theirs?

Regardless, this was not a good sign for them; once trust cracked, it would brew a greater disaster.

Lovett remembered every word he had spoken.

They would enact a law that all would abide by, completely sever ties with the past, henceforth everyone would live under the sunlight of a new era, wary that this settlement doesn't revert to a dark jungle.

At that moment, a militiaman approached.

"Comrade Lovett, someone at the door wishes to see you."

Lovett looked at him and asked,

"Who?"

The militiaman replied,

"Melvin; he's brought five truckloads of food and supplies, probably bought from the Alliance... He pleads for us to spare his family."

Lovett narrowed his eyes.

"Is this a trade?"

The militiaman shook his head.

"I don't think so; he gave us the food first, then knelt and begged for mercy... I helped him up; the guy seemed crazy."

Lovett was silent for a while, his eyes softening.

"Tell him, we haven't forgotten the fire from five years ago, nor do we forget the more despicable acts others have done. We will nail their past to the pillar of shame in history alongside that collapsed building."

"But the reckoning stops here."

Killing Mr. Stephen would just add one more corpse to the streets, attracting more flies.

But now, united—

All the Mr. Stephens would fear them!

Lovett had no doubt, and he truly believed...

...

After settling scores with the Inner City residents, Giant Stone City's dramatic changes finally drew to a close; people started cleaning up the mess all around.

With their backs to the midday Sun, they dragged out some frozen corpses from the snow.

Among them were men, women, children, and the elderly. Some were found on the streets, others dragged from the alleys.

Beyond solemn mourning, it seemed all people could do was carve this tragic memory into their tombstones, carrying the memory forward with them.

Suddenly, someone suggested that, given Giant Stone City's current food shortage, they should be more thorough, truly making these bodies a part of themselves.

It was an exceedingly gruesome idea, but realistically, this settlement of over half a million didn't seem to have many alternatives.

Mucosal Entity provided too little nutrients, and hunting it in bulk was impossible in the winter.

When starved, people do crazy things. In a sense, those looters were just people gone mad in the Wasteland.

They had not turned into new masters.

But they were now facing the danger of becoming something else...

Fortunately, a new twist arose.

They weren't as isolated as those a century and a half before; their nearest neighbors were just twenty to thirty kilometers away in the city areas.

As people hesitated whether to send their deceased into the nutrient paste converter, an astonishing piece of good news suddenly came from outside the great wall—

The Alliance had arrived!

Chapter 545: The Path is Chosen by Oneself

Why?

Kneeling in the square, Woffiel stared endlessly at the sky, the afternoon sunlight glaring through his swollen eyes.

He would rather it snow right then.

Preferably a snow that would bury him.

The purging was over.

They had lost everything in this settlement.

The Alliance hadn't allowed the free exchange of chips and silver coins. Even though his father certainly had unconventional means of exchanging a few, it couldn't have been much. Let alone CR and Dinar, the exchange was already sealed off. Even if there was a little CR left in Kishu's account in Ideal City, it was far from enough to sustain their family's previous lifestyle.

Money was a minor issue, losing power was his greatest pain.

Woffiel would have preferred if the Militia Group had killed him, as death was the quickest escape.

It would be best if they killed his wife, kids, mother, and that useless brother altogether.

He would leave his corpse in the streets and plant a seed of hatred in Alyssa's heart. Perhaps that seed would never sprout in her lifetime but would torment her repeatedly.

As long as one day in the future she saw any ugliness from the new authorities and began to doubt the correctness of the past, she would surely do something. With a reason no one could refuse, she would raise another chip high, and the casino would reopen...

His own death could help her escape the purge, and she was still young, definitely living longer than those brutes who only had brute strength.

She carried Melvin's blood and was smart enough, capable enough—perhaps even more so than him…

Though the kings of Stone City were gone,

Their family could become the new royal family!

It was possible!

"Hehe..."

As Woffiel thought, he suddenly burst into laughter, and then started sobbing.

Why?

Why not just shoot...

Two Militia stood nearby, disdainfully observing this pitiful insect. Most people had already dispersed from the square, leaving him alone, unmoving.

Genesis left with Kishu. His wife and kids left too. No one dared come close to him, especially since he had just been beaten by the Militia of the new authorities.

Woffiel felt his consciousness blur and suddenly a warm, damp handkerchief was placed on his face, pulling his faltering consciousness back from the brink of darkness.

"...brother."

Wiping the mud and blood from his face, Alyssa looked at him with both distress and fear, whispering,

"I'm sorry... I put all our family's assets on the list, but they were originally seized from others—"

"There's no need to apologize..." Woffiel struggled to speak with his swollen lips, gasping, "You did right. If I were outside, I'd do the same. But next time, don't joke with your own life. In two more years, you'll understand. If they really wanted to do something to you, they wouldn't just scold or beat you..."

Alyssa gazed at him sadly.

"Brother... why must we... do that?"

She couldn't describe what she felt.

But she could sense another kind of hope her brother held for her— a hope she had no desire to fulfill.

"Why..." A moment of confusion flitted across Woffiel's eyes.

He truly couldn't answer that question, nor did he know how to.

In a cannibalistic casino, wasn't it natural to feed on others?

Alyssa sniffled, seriously responding,

"It's over now. This casino… along with its chips, there will be no more Black Cards. From now on, we only uphold our Constitution."

Woffiel suddenly smiled, lovingly looking at his sister, wanting to touch her head but hesitated and withdrew his hand.

"Father wrote you a fairy tale in your heart. If possible, he hoped you'd never leave it... but you jumped out the window."

"We're family. Whatever you can see, why wouldn't he see it? But some actions are pointless right now, they'd only get you killed, and even if successful, everything would revert back."

Alyssa gently shook her head, looking at her brother earnestly.

"Let the future take care of itself. We just need to handle the now, at least now everyone is a good person."

Woffiel looked at her in despair, "Why can't you understand... Fairy tales can never be true. Life is inherently unequal, otherwise why would the Prosperity Epoch disappear? Those people will revert back one day! It's only a matter of time!"

"You just said we are a family, how could I not understand," Alyssa embraced her brother comfortingly, patting the back of his head, "It's okay, I'm still young... When I get as old as father, my children will watch out for me."

Woffiel's expression twitched.

He had never once cried in over thirty years, but now he couldn't hold back.

His sister had chosen the most difficult path with no visible future—at least he saw none. And now, he himself was already dead.

Their family was probably doomed.

Watching his sister who continued to comfort him, Woffiel didn't even know what he was grieving for—perhaps just grieving for himself.

He was ready to die, having played his final chess move with painstaking effort, yet rendered a joke by a bunch of stupider fools.

Maybe the casino would truly never reopen.

He knelt on the square, weeping uncontrollably, howling for the first time in years...

At the same time, in front of the grand door of Hotel Wind From Afar, a lovely group of people approached amidst the afternoon light.

They brought weapons.

But more so, they brought food, blankets, and hope to survive the winter.

These residents from the refuge never forgot that the survivors standing on this land were siblings under the United Human banner. Even if radiation dust buried the refuge underground, they would forge ahead and fulfill their oath under the flag.

Besides, quite a lot of these supplies had come from freeloading off Stone City.

Compared to what they received from this settlement, these supplies were nothing.

And it wasn't just the survivors inside the Giant Wall, the Alliance also planned to rescue the survivors from the slums outside the wall.

Players had installed an elevator next to the high bridge by the Hotel Wind From Afar to lower goods from the parked trucks one by one.

More players set up a tent at the entrance of Hotel Wind From Afar, organizing barrier tapes to maintain formation and order.

Most of them were non-combat professional players.

Now that Giant Stone City had become the fifth city of the Alliance, it was time to boost regional reputation.

Having never seen such an extraordinary scene, both the poor from the slums and the merchants in the square in front of the Giant Wall Gate stopped their activities to curiously watch the commotion.

"What is the Alliance trying to do?"

"They're planning to take over Giant Stone City?"

"Hahaha, collecting Silver Coins was indeed a genius decision!"

"Damn! I also collected some chips, hoping the new authority would let them rise again! Seriously bad luck!"

Completely ignoring the discussions of the survivors, the players couldn't understand what they were saying anyway and started playing a pre-recorded announcement through the speakers.

"If you can work, come register! No wages, but food and accommodation provided!"

"Elderly and children, come this way! We will arrange unified accommodation!"

"Crap! There are too many people!"

"Taking in kind-hearted big sisters over eighteen! My place is quite spacious, welcome to come and play, and rest if you get tired, no problem—"

"Damn! Some Jerk got mixed into the line!"

"Drag him out!"

"Ah! Stop, you guys, I'm here to help people! I've shed blood for the Alliance, I've earned merits for the Alliance, I demand to see the Manager!"

No joke, a few scruffy-looking girls were genuinely considering it, and a little girl curled up in a plastic sheet even sneakily started calculating her own age.

After all, those wearing Blue Jackets did look decent and weren't reeking, if something did happen, it was hard to say who would be at a disadvantage.

The most critical thing was that, those in Blue Jackets certainly wouldn't "eat" people, but other Wasteland Wanderers might.

Some merchants looked decent enough, but maybe once they took them far from the Giant Wall, they'd simply slaughter them like lambs.

Not to mention the gangs mixed in the slums, occasionally picking some decent-looking "lambs" to sell to outsiders. The lucky ones could end up in the Free State in the north, becoming moneymakers for bosses, the unlucky ones might find themselves on the Looter's dinner table or operating table.

Regrettably, the discipline of those in Blue Jackets was extremely strict, annoyingly so.

The guy who was crying and laughing was quickly dragged away, as if he was just there to mess around.

Curious girls who had gathered could only go to the neighboring table to register their names, waiting to be settled by the Home of the Refugees…

Although the players had done some things, a few hundred people facing tens of thousands was still challenging, not to mention the over five hundred thousand inside the Giant Wall.

The scene was a chaotic mess, making one doubt if they could really handle the situation.

But someone willing to do something, was still touching, and some were willing to step forward to help them out.

The Burning Corps and the First Army Corps entered Giant Stone City, taking over the city's defense duties from Stone City's First Thousand Team.

Old White took some people to the armory.

The new Militia Group leader, Joey, took them to see some of the weapons, with another part stored in the Inner City's warehouse and hangar.

Upon seeing the weapons stored inside, all the players couldn't help but exclaim.

"Damn! Power armor!" Quit Smoking excitedly walked up and touched the metallic mass standing in the room.

Killer Dagger looked at him with a grinning face.

"Bro, want one?"

Quit Smoking nodded vigorously, excitedly saying,

"Yes! I've dreamed of this!"

"Having dreams is good," Kidney Fighter patted his shoulder, "Save up Contribution Points and money."

Quit Smoking: "I'm crying!"

There were a total of thirty sets of power armor, all pre-war models, and over half of them were the same type as Old White's Dragon Cavalry.

Some were in disrepair and unusable, but with Yin Fang, the archaeological whiz kid around, this was clearly not an issue.

However, this confiscated equipment was all considered props.

Although most likely also available in NPC shops, they were items that required Contribution Points to purchase.

"Damn…" Night Ten muttered under his breath, "Such good equipment wasted on those aristocrats!"

"Be glad, we got here in time, didn't let them fall into the Looters' hands."

Moving his gaze away from the power armor, Old White glanced at the corner of the room where boxes marked with radiation symbols were stacked.

According to Joey, those were miniature tactical nuclear weapons left by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, as small as bowling balls and with an explosive yield of 1~10 tons. Comparing horizontally to a 155mm artillery, depending on the shell type, the yield is around 10~45 kilograms.

In the real world, creating such small, even throwable as bowling balls, tactical nuclear bombs would be challenging, but this was, after all, a game.

Destruction is much easier than construction, and obviously, the Manager had done a lot of preparedness work behind the scenes.

Otherwise, the explosion of this dead whale could at least disturb Qingquan City and the southern part of River Valley Province for ten or even twenty years…

That wasn't just about adding a few monsters; it was a crisis more enduring and far-reaching than the Bone Chewing Chaos!

"But seriously, they didn't use these things during the riots." Night Ten scratched his head, puzzled, "Why?"

Incomprehensible!

A tactical nuclear bomb would vaporize everyone on a street, right?

Wild Wind glanced sideways at the kid.

"You'll understand when you grow up."

Hearing that fatherly tone ticked Night Ten off, and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm your dad!"

Elsewhere.

At the entrance of Giant Stone City.

Like others who came on a mission of aid, the NPCs of the Alliance mostly lacked motivation, unlike the players who were busy completing missions, earning Contribution Points and prestige.

It should be clarified that they were enthusiastic when facing other survivors in need of help and never turned their backs on refugees who had fled to the Alliance from Giant Stone City.

But "door-to-door service" was something few had anticipated.

Gazing at the towering wall that pierced the clouds, Zhao Shu muttered.

"Why?"

Yang Ergou glanced at him.

"What do you mean 'why?'"

Zhao Shu pointed at the guys at the gate holding suitcases, but his gesture wasn't really directed at them—it seemed more aimed at what lay beyond them.

"Why do we have to help these guys?"

Both men were residents of Bet Street and had worked at the Bull Horse Brick Factory long ago, rising to the position of foreman, even having the army staff member, Vanus, under their supervision as they performed reformed labor.

After the Alliance was established and everything became formalized, the Home of the Refugees turned into a semi-official aid organization, and they both went there, continuing to help the building rise brick by brick with survivors who embraced the Alliance.

Zhao Shu was no stranger to Giant Stone City.

Especially when he learned that those lucky ones who just screwed bolts in the factories could earn "about the same" wages as scavengers like them, who risked their lives picking up garbage in the Wasteland, his disdain for this decaying settlement grew.

The Giant Wall itself was an evil presence, blocking not only the sticky mold but also denying the entry of countless survivors.

Bet Street, Brown Farms…almost all feudal or semi-feudal survivor communities were legacies left by the ancestors of Giant Stone City.

These facts he had gathered from the "Survivor's Daily."

Giant Stone City began to decay first, and then the plague of ideologies slowly spread to other settlements through the bonds maintained by stakes.

The entire Southern River Valley Province had become a breeding ground for decay.

Of course, there were many settlements more corrupt than Giant Stone City across the Wasteland, but since Giant Stone City was right next door, he naturally disliked the people there the most.

Especially since the survivors here were particularly fond of showboating, disparagingly referring to Yang Ergou and Zhao Shu as "Blue Ground Squirrels" and "hicks" behind their backs.

Don't think he didn't know!

Zhao Shu cursed inwardly.

"Damn beggars..."

Can't even afford to eat barley cakes!

They truly deserved it!

Yang Ergou glared at him.

"What are you blabbering about!"

"Am I wrong?" Zhao Shu said defiantly, "The garbage we pick, the crops we grow, we've been feeding these creatures! And now we have to clean up the mess they've made! In my opinion, the survivors in the slums outside the walls could be taken in; they are truly innocent. Those inside should be left to rot in their prison forever!"

Yang Ergou frowned, "That's the masters' fault, what does it have to do with ordinary people? They can't even chew on Foxtail grass, they might not be better off than us."

Zhao Shu rolled his eyes.

"Come on, they live far more comfortably than we do. And when we were being exploited, did any of them speak up for us?"

Working in a factory was definitely safer than scavenging or hunting in the wild, they did enjoy some benefits after all.

Bet Street's population hadn't grown much in over a hundred years, and the average lifespan was around thirty. From this perspective, the residents of Bet Street had indeed been robbed of their lifetimes by the city dwellers.

"You're not wrong."

A voice came from behind, interrupting their increasingly loud argument.

Luka approached them.

Seeing the old butler—or maybe now should be called the city master—the arguing pair immediately shut their mouths and fell silent.

Feeling guilty, Zhao Shu apologized on his own initiative.

"I'm sorry...I—"

Luka looked at the young man and said in a soothing tone.

"You don't need to apologize. I understand the anger in your heart. When I saw Brown, I too felt the urge to kill, wishing I could slaughter his entire family and his servants."

"We could certainly barricade the gates, letting the 'damn beggars' inside produce goods for us, giving them just enough slops to keep them alive, and squeeze every last drop of blood from them and their future generations..."

"But do you expect such an Alliance to end the Wasteland?"

"Or think about it from another angle—not as a Weilante person, did you ever for a second think the armies could end our struggle in the Wasteland?"

"Almost the entire desert is openly or secretly standing with us; we have united nearly everyone we can, even our enemies dare not face us. It's not because we are stronger, nor because we have the biggest fists."

"It's because we are an Alliance, not an Empire."

Watching the skinny old man, Yang Ergou gave a thumbs up, chuckling.

"That's exactly what I thought, but I'm not good with words."

Zhao Shu scratched his head, still not quite getting it.

He didn't care if it was an Alliance or not—if the Manager wanted to be an emperor, he'd support him with both hands. It would be best if he could marry the youngest daughter of the Yu Family, then maybe the old neighbors could share in the fortune too.

The once skinny girl had blossomed into an elegant beauty, also well-liked by the residents of the refuge.

At least in his view, far better than that crude mercenary!

Luka patted his shoulder, not forcing him to understand any of this, and continued leading everyone onward.

Regardless of whether these people were worth saving, since the Manager had declared this place the fifth city of the Alliance, they were comrades in arms on the same front, and he was going to do what he needed to.

There was no reason.

And he would represent the Alliance to do some things at Giant Stone City that neither the Workers' Association nor the Militia Group could do, making some unavoidable compromises with reality.

Including some criminal cases that occurred during the riots, including some incomplete accounts, and more.

Residents of the Inner City, of course, could gain the forgiveness and pardon of the Outer City residents, after all, Black Cards were completely abolished. It was up to the rebels themselves, as written in their charter, to decide how thorough the reckoning should be. Others didn't have a say, nor was there a need for anyone to instruct them.

But similarly, every matter has its place; whether or not to accept those people into the Alliance, or rather, which of them to accept, was the affair of the Alliance.

Those accused of involvement in homicides by responsible parties, labeled as "criminals," would not gain the status of Alliance residents, regardless of whether they were residents of the Inner or Outer City.

The Alliance would establish new courts in Stone City, responsible for conducting public and fair trials, where new evidence could be submitted within a five-year statute of limitations.

If those criminals were proven guilty by solid evidence and their restitution failed to earn the forgiveness of the responsible parties,
they would either have to accept reformation through supervised labor or, as the Outer City residents said, roll out and find their place in the Wasteland...

But to say it again, this was actually superfluous.

Most of the pardoned residents of the Inner City neither wanted to stay nor could they.

They were already burdened with original sin.

The residents of the Outer City did not execute them, only because they had promised not to engage in a massacre in their rebellion charter, and they had also voluntarily released Spielberg and other "hostages" they held.

After all, the settlement of over half a million people was too small.

Everyone recognized their faces.

They had no future living in this settlement; even eating a meal could result in the cook spitting in their bowls or the servers rolling their eyes at them.

This was more tormenting than being killed, as death was but a moment.

Unless, like the Outer City residents' generous pardon, they, like the young girl called Alyssa, attempted some form of atonement themselves, making everyone in the Outer City feel like this person genuinely intended to be part of their family.

But this was too hard.

Not everyone had the capacity and opportunity for redemption.

Stripped of power and all their possessions, they couldn't even live self-sufficiently, let alone survive.

This was undoubtedly a pardon.

But for many, it felt more like exile…

…

In front of the Giant Wall Gate.

Bonnie and Kumarit were hesitating about their future.

Her husband, Sid, had died, and her family members, senior officers in the Militia Group, had almost perished in the riots.

The victors hadn't annihilated everyone, but that didn't mean there were no deaths.

After learning Stone City would become the fifth city of the Alliance, her other two sons had swiftly confessed, ready to do labor reformation in the Alliance's POW camp.

With good behavior, they could be free in three to five years, perhaps learning a trade or skill to start ordinary lives anew.

But she couldn't.

Without servants, she wouldn't even know how to comb her hair.

Not just her, but her most cherished young son, Kumarit, was the same, unable to do anything without someone to care for him. Without someone to look after them, they would wither like flowers deprived of water…

Thinking of her future life and the mere twenty kilograms of luggage, Bonnie's eyes once again uncontrollably welled up with tears.

"Mom…" Kumarit tugged at her hand, wanting to comfort her but finding himself at a loss for words.

He also didn't know where to go.

The new authorities had confiscated their credits and dinars; they couldn't afford tickets to Ideal City, let alone serve any purpose going there.

Their suitcase contained just some clothes, a sleeping bag, high-end canned goods, and foolproof nutritional paste.

As Kumarit despaired over a bleak future, a chubby boy suddenly popped up from the crowd, waving vigorously at them.

"Hey! Over here!"

Drawn by the comical gesture, Kumarit turned his head and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Piru?!"

Piru's face blossomed into a smile, just like his father, Mr. Weijia.

"Master Kumarit! How lucky, you've finally come out. My father and I have been waiting for you for a long time!"

Beside him stood his father's secretary, Aaron.

They had planned to bribe the Militia Group to get Bonnie out, but they didn't expect the new authority to hand over the entire mess of Stone City to the Alliance.

A turn of events even his father had not anticipated.

If the residents of the Inner City also became citizens of the Alliance, they would never be able to make up for those regrets!

Observing the excited and flushed-faced chubby boy, Kumarit embarrassedly scratched his cheek.

"I'm no longer any master, don't talk like that…"

Having gone through what he considered a transformative night, he felt he had grown some, at least in his own view.

"How could that be?! In my heart, you will always be Master Kumarit!" Piru replied respectfully, still behaving as before.

Moved, Kumarit felt touched.

Apart from those ruffians who had swarmed to pilfer his possessions, there indeed were good people in this world!

"Piru… my friend, you are truly kind!"

"You're too kind!"

Piru beamed a simple smile, then turned to Kumarit's mother beside him, winked, and said, "And Aunt Bonnie, you are as charming as ever, as if you'll never age."

Amused by the comment, Bonnie, tears still on her cheeks, couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile.

"Thank you, you're such a sweet talker… just like your father."

Piru joyfully continued,

"Speaking of my father, he has prepared a reception to clean off the road dust in the Hotel Wind From Afar. He knew you'd be unsure where to go, and has specially reserved rooms for you."

Bonnie paused slightly.

"Mr. Weijia? Thank you all… for considering so much for us."

"Of course, that's what we should do!" Piru looked at her innocently, speaking with utmost seriousness, "My old man always taught me that the most important thing for a merchant is to keep his promises. He swore to remain loyal to Elder Sid forever, so he must do it. We are sorry about Elder Sid's situation, but thankfully you are still alive, and we will take care of you on behalf of that good man."

Bonnie hesitated a bit in her expression.

Somehow, looking at this sunny, cheerful chubby boy, she felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

Was Vite that kind of person?

Although she always advised Sid to treat the merchants who made him money well, Sid had never truly listened to her words or the ancestral teachings she nagged about.

But still…

She couldn't help but fantasize.

Maybe Mr. Vite really was a good person, grateful for Elder Sid's constant help, willing to take care of her and her son…

Seeing another pair of Inner City residents, a mother and son this time, intent on leaving permanently, the militia young man beside them could no longer stand it and coughed loudly.

"Hey, lady, ahead is the Wasteland, think it over! Once you leave here, no law will protect you and your son."

Seeing the noblewoman still hesitating, the young man couldn't help but advise her.

"If you haven't done anything outrageously wrong, the Alliance will accept you… Not everyone with a Black Card is a criminal, Mr. Lister is still a resident of the Alliance."

Maybe he shouldn't have added that last part.

Bonnie was somewhat tempted to stay, but upon hearing his latter words, her heart tightened, and she involuntarily gripped her little son's hand tighter.

She certainly hadn't done anything outrageously wrong; she even provided hefty red packets for each maid that left her family to marry…

But Kumarit hadn't.

She knew well what that fire five years ago had buried, her brother Russell had even lost his temper at her husband over it…

"Mommy…"

Fear filled Kumarit's eyes as he gripped his mother's hand tightly.

He didn't want to stay with those looters.

He had heard that the Alliance's POW camps held ghastly demons from the Wasteland, the kind that really ate children...

Maybe he should let go, allow his mother to lead a normal life.

But he just didn't have the courage.

Just like last night, clinging to the S-coin trader under his blanket all night long, it wasn't just about letting go of his mother's hand; he didn't even dare to see his father for one last time...

His son's trembling hand ultimately made Bonnie make up her mind.

Gently patting Kumarit's hand, she took a deep breath, bowed gracefully like a true princess.

"Thank you, soldier sir, we appreciate your concern and kindness… but we have already considered our future path, our fate is not here."

"We sincerely thank you for letting us find our own way, and wish you could continue your ideals."

The militia man hesitated, glancing at the innocent Piru, then over at the expressionless attendant beside him.

He felt these two might be up to no good, but he indeed didn't have the authority to make decisions for others, nor could he say anything eloquent.

"Take care…"

Bonnie nodded, gratefully glancing at the soldier, then, holding her son's hand, followed the delighted Piru toward the direction of the Hotel Wind From Afar.

They exiled themselves, leaving their settlement for the Wasteland.

But this was their choice.

Watching the mother and son's receding figures, the militia man felt down and muttered to the old militiaman beside him.

"I don't know if what I did was right… Elder Sid was utterly rotten, and his son was bad enough, but his wife actually hadn't done much, rarely even leaving her door."

The old militiaman glanced at him.

"What do you know? Good words can't persuade a damned soul, why worry about where they go or what they do? Just focus on your work."

Paths are chosen by oneself.

Look at those lost, ignored elderly lords and ladies, one couldn't know how many might envy those two.

Not far away, Genesis clung tightly to her husband Melvin, crying incessantly.

Melvin's lips quivered, gently patting his wife's back, speaking words of comfort, yet his eyes were filled with vicissitudes.

He seemed to have aged a decade overnight, his deep wrinkles capable of holding melting snow, his dishevelled hair interspersed with countless white strands.

"It's alright… everything will be alright…"

He murmured to himself while also praying for other family members.

Watching Kumarit's departing figure, Kishu stood by his parents like a soulless puppet.

He had wanted to change this settlement, so he had flown back from Ideal City from afar.

But he had never expected things to turn out this way.

He had no face to meet his father Melvin, nor his elder brother Woffiel, and certainly no face to meet Alyssa…

He had always had a chance at redemption.

If he had been braver then, not hidden in the Inner City with his brother but rushed out to find Alyssa regardless of everything, he might have been killed by the angry mob, but perhaps he would have earned forgiveness alongside Alyssa…

But there was no such thing as a regret medicine in this world.

If he really regretted, he should not have come back…

Kishu stepped forward, Melvin saw and immediately grabbed him, staring intensely at this scoundrel.

"Come with me to confess! Confess to the new authorities everything you've done! The Alliance will not kill you, they will give you a chance to start anew—"

"It's too late." Kishu shook his head.

Seeing his son's cowardly look, an outraged Melvin slapped him fiercely across the face.

"Slap—!"

A crisp sound.

Kishu didn't dodge, letting the slap strike his face, causing his hollow head to jolt sideways with the blow from the calloused hand.

Seeing his unrepentant demeanor, the furious Melvin raised his hand to strike again, but was forcefully restrained by his wife.

"Enough," Genesis said, staring at him through blurry, tear-filled eyes. "Don't hit him anymore, Kishu is still a child, let me talk to him..."

"Damned fool!" Melvin glared at Kishu and scolded, "What time do you think this is? Can't you just listen to your father for once!"

Why did everyone have to be so contrary!

Even his son, Sid!

Kishu suddenly laughed.

As he laughed, tears began to fall again.

"I'm sorry, Dad, I've let down your expectations... I really am a hopeless idiot, just like you see."

He paused, speaking to himself.

"My friends on Endpoint Cloud were right, I'm just like them, we're all lazy monks devoted to our scriptures, but the difference is they know their recitations could harm others, so they never teach the people of the Wasteland how to do things. But I'm different, I not only think I'm right, I also think I'm bringing back treasures that everyone should use..."

Watching his suddenly unfamiliar son, Melvin said with a trembling voice.

"Where are you going?"

"To the Wasteland," Kishu said calmly.

"Are you mad!? That's a place that devours people! Do you think you made it to Ideal City on foot? I found the mercenaries for you! You waste, you won't live till tomorrow morning!" Melvin, fuming with anger, tried to grasp hold of this wayward boy but tripped over the thick snow up to his knees.

Not helping his father who'd fallen onto the snowy ground, Kishu took a step back, looking ashamedly at him, his temples now unknowingly tinged with white.

"I understand your heartfelt concerns, confessing my sins and undergoing reform is my last chance, but I can no longer face anyone in this settlement... they've forgiven me, but I can never forgive myself."

"A worthless, arrogant scum like me should just go to the Wasteland and get beaten up, rotting away in some nameless filthy drain; that's where I belong."

"Farewell, please tell my dear sister that her bastard brother is already dead, she need not atone for such a rotten person, she should live happily in the beautiful new world—in the fairy tale you've quietly written in her heart."

"I think the Alliance is actually a good place... but we probably won't see each other again."

He bowed slightly toward the giant wall, tightened his grip on the suitcase in his hand, turned his back on the bustling square and his despairing parents, and walked into the howling cold wind...

...

At dusk.

The Alliance's relief station opened in Giant Stone City, setting up large pots in front of the huge wall's inner gate, convincing the people wanting to escape the city to stay.

Fifty million pounds of food a day, worth less than 250,000 silver coins, especially if used sparingly, it's not that much.

Compared to the cost of watching this settlement decay, this amount of money is nothing.

And now, we're all one family.

Smelling the tantalizing aroma, not just the starving poor, even the guards at the gate began salivating.

"It's actually porridge..."

"I thought it would be nutrient paste... even nutrient paste would be good."

"Praise the Alliance! Praise the Manager!"

"My child will be saved..."

People, huddled and necks shrunk from the cold, murmured softly, some even secretly wiping away tears, hope rekindled in their eyes for surviving the winter.

If not for extreme hunger, no one would choose to eat those who had died.

Even just a bowl of rice soup could remind them of human dignity, respectfully lining up within the quarantine zone.

Led by Lovett, members of the Worker's Association spontaneously helped maintain order.

Most of them were uneducated, not very bright, always chanting the same slogan—do what Pol should do.

Their object of worship wasn't even a real person, yet their initiative and enthusiasm were astonishingly high.

They didn't even realize that under the encouragement of victory and miracles, the nonexistent Pol had become a faith in their hearts—

A faith more pure and closer to earth than the Great Antler God!

Even well-trained soldiers couldn't help but give those workers a second look.

No doubt, if these people were given guns, they'd fight better than the mercenary soldiers who were only motivated by money.

Even though these people had never been on a real battlefield.

"Everyone, don't push, there's enough for all!"

Holding a large spoon in her right hand and a megaphone in her left, Crow, with a proud smirk, shouted.

"Vegetable mushroom minced meat porridge! Sponsored by Teng Teng's Vine Cottage, we hope everyone can safely get through the winter! Next spring, we'll have new clothes for everyone, and let's leave the unpleasantness in the past."

Not many paid attention to her; everyone's focus was on the steaming pots.

But Crow was amusing herself nonetheless.

Her United Human language was not quite standard, a good chance to practice!

Teng Teng glared at Crow, wishing she could throw her into the pot as well.

"You, that's enough! Focus on the job, don't say anything unnecessary…"

She was here to build regional reputation.

Regional reputation wasn't useful for combat professional players, but for her who was passionate about simulation management, it was extremely valuable!

Plus, this kind of rare special server event could unlock achievements that daily activities couldn't.

The place to earn medals wasn't just the battlefield, according to the Manager, this too was a kind of battlefield in its own right.

But even setting those aside, she genuinely enjoyed doing these things.

Survivors on the Wasteland have a simple understanding of kindness; a bowl of warm porridge or a small gesture could move them to tears.

And she also found emotional fulfillment in the process, the cost being merely some time "dreaming" in bed.

Watching Teng Teng's blushing face, Crow playfully squinted her eyebrows.

"What does it matter, it's sponsored by you anyway, I'm just advertising your artwork on the side!"

Seeing her about to make up some outrageous advertisements, Teng Teng blushed, unable to speak, and hid her face in the milky white mist.

Besides Crow, who came to join in the fun, Hua Hua, a store clerk dressed in a maid's long dress, was also eagerly helping.

That enthusiastic little boss had almost become her idol.

Upon hearing about the big event in Giant Stone City, she didn't hesitate to put aside her tasks and decided to help, even closing the store!

Such a kind person!

Thinking of Miss Teng Teng's generous acts, Hua Hua was deeply moved.

In her eyes, the residents of Shelter No. 404 were like little angels sent by the Great Antler God to help them, the Waste Land Wanderers…

Not far away was a stall.

Holding a bowl of piping hot porridge, Kent bowed his head sheepishly, thanking the chef, and felt like there was a stone in his chest.

That night he stayed home and didn't go out. Although there was chaos outside, it didn't affect his leaky house.

The mercenaries and soldiers who took advantage of the commotion were targeting houses closer to the outer city and would not go to the slums of the industrial area.

Unable to resist his drowsiness, he closed his eyes and slept, and then the day outside brightened.

When he got up, he intended to go to Lord Weijia's factory to work, but when he arrived, he found it had been sealed off.

The Workers' Association had sealed it.

Those thieves who were usually in prison were now in charge.

Looking at the boxes of frozen meat and vegetables moved out of the storeroom, Kent felt a tight pain in his heart, but he didn't dare ask where these ingredients were being taken. Instead, he blended into the queue of the Workers' Association to help and even got a bandage armband.

Most workers didn't recognize him; on the contrary, they liked this hard-working fellow.

Seeing the bodies dragged out of the alleys, Kent felt exceedingly fortunate. He was lucky he had stayed home that day, or he might have been lying among them…

Squatting by the roadside, he took a sip of the rice porridge sprinkled with vegetable scraps and minced meat. Kent felt warmth in his stomach, but his heart felt increasingly clogged.

To make himself feel better, he muttered,

"Heh… you destroyed everything, and what did you obtain?"

"Saying you wouldn't become Mr. Stephen, but hasn't Lovett become the chairman of the Workers' Association? Joey is the head of the Militia Group, just another Captain Zhao, a bunch of new masters… and I still have to eat the food from the Alliance."

The more he thought, the angrier he got, and he swallowed a hot spoonful of porridge, mumbling discontentedly.

Hearing his mutterings, a fellow worker shifted his position and, smiling, sat down beside him.

"Buddy, how can you say we haven't gained anything? Lovett said we would have a constitution that everyone adheres to."

"A constitution of the Alliance?" Kent glanced at him and snorted, "Don't dream. It's just a switch of masters."

That worker looked at him in astonishment, his expression suddenly turning sympathetic.

Kent hated that look, but, wary of his armband even though he had one too,

"I know who you are."

Kent's heart tightened, his face turned pale, almost scared out of his wits.

He harbored a secret in his heart—that he, along with Alec and Phyllis, had captured Spielberg from the entrance of the tavern and sent him to prison.

Although he hadn't seen the wanted poster on the wall, he was certain his coworkers were secretly searching for him, and once they found him, they would drag him into a back alley and secretly execute him.

"Who?" he swallowed hard and asked, trembling.

The coworker shrugged.

"Ken."

There was silence for a moment.

...Ken?

Who was that?

A new riddle?

Kent looked bewildered.

Just now, he had felt the sensation of riding a roller coaster, especially when his coworker had uttered the first half of the syllable.

"We have a fundamental law that everyone must follow, and you say we got nothing. Maybe in your heart, you don't think it's something important."

Kent's face flushed with anger.

"Isn't it though? The whole settlement has gone to chaos! It's all because of you, I lost my job! If it weren't for that idiot Spielberg insisting on being contrary, if it weren't for you all preferring to believe a damned guy like Pol, or listening to some little girl's words, we wouldn't be reduced to begging our neighbors now!"

"Just accept it. And you're right, begging isn't good, we will repay this favor." The coworker sighed, unwilling to explain further and said to himself, "Lovett said we can't convince everyone, and that's just life. There will always be people who find various reasons and perspectives to criticize us, but that doesn't matter. They say what they want to say, and we do what we need to do."

"He wants us to monitor him, and if he ever starts speaking for those who bully us, we should punch him hard, spit on his face—that's what's important."

Watching Kent, who looked almost suffocated, the coworker spoke with a tone of apology mixed with jest.

"You better leave; this place isn't for you, really. You're not even as good as your Lord Weijia, who takes risks in his business and even has to lick Elder Sid's boots occasionally. You aren't like Alyssa, who has taken risks you could never handle in your lifetime. What did you do last night? Hide under your blanket and cry?"

"And now, here you sit with a bowl, then over there making snide remarks—'Oh, those country bumpkins can't accomplish anything grand, you just changed one set of masters', 'Oh, what does a little girl know', 'Oh, it's all your fault I lost my job'. Yes, you're right, we did screw you over, and we are all doomed tomorrow, you better run."

"Or how about going to Red River Town? There you can use your endless energy to work twenty-four hours straight without worrying about folks stopping you from making money. They would kindly block out the Variants and Looters for you."

Laughing, he patted Ken on the shoulder, finished the porridge in his bowl, and stood up to return the bowl to the kitchen.

In a while, he would go help out at the Workers' Association.

They had already come together and achieved victory.

So, they would continue to stay united.

As for the future...

They would deal with that when it comes.

If Lovett didn't perform well, beating him up would do!

...

On the other side, at the Alliance's registration office, a sign read "Leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist."

Some Inner City Nobles and their lackeys were also lining up there.

For those wanting to stay in the Alliance, here they could confess their crimes, apologize to the offended party with the help of the Alliance, and request leniency.

The Alliance would blur their photos in the newspaper, with a maximum sentence of twenty years, but with good behavior, it could be reduced to three to five years. Upon completing their prison term, they could start anew, and active participation might earn them a sentence reduction.

Of course, they could also choose to keep their secrets to themselves, hide like a rat, and pray that no one would come forward with evidence against them.

The staff of the Alliance indeed did not discriminate against them, but the contemptuous looks they gave were truly terrifying.

Haus initially did not want to go but seeing the Alliance soldiers at the city gate, he shivered and ultimately mustered the courage to approach.

Occasionally, people left the line and others joined. Finally, it was his turn.

Haus dared not delay; he followed a nobleman with a dirt-smudged face to the wooden table, rubbing his hands nervously as he sat down.

The staff member turned a page filled with writings and handed him a cup of hot water, speaking expressionlessly, "Tell me, who did you kill? How did you kill them, how many people, how old were they?"

"I... I didn't kill anyone, I swear to God!" Startled by the blunt opening, Haus quickly raised his right hand and trembled, "Absolutely not!"

Great Antler God above!

He could not help but glance at the noble being led away by an Alliance soldier.

What on earth did this guy do?!

The staff member paused, staring oddly at the man before him, feeling that he looked familiar but unable to recall where he had seen him.

The nearby Alliance soldier also frowned and stared at him.

"Hey, you look familiar... where have I seen you?"

"Haus!"

Afraid that his confession wouldn't count, Haus squeezed out a pallid smile, his hunched figure seeming to shrink even more.

"I... I confess everything! But please give me a chance to explain and atone!"

Before the staff could speak, Haus swallowed and continued.

"Do you know? If a person always speaks nonsense, it means he actually knows the answer. Have you played the guessing game in the newspaper? It's not easy to get everything right, but it's not easy to get everything wrong either."

"I'm sorry, I really am sorry. I've cursed your Managers, and I've cursed you all, but in my heart... I don't truly hate you. I've even found myself secretly applauding your courage, but I had to speak for the lords."

"My logic may be scrambled, but it's okay, you might not understand, but the Manager surely understands my point. I curse at you all only to make you hit us sooner, to shut down this betting den sooner. After all, with Mr. Sid managing things, there's no hope here, but with Mr. Dawn taking over, surely a solution would emerge! You see, you really did strike! Actually, I played a role in this!"

These words were Haus's heartfelt confessions.

Ever since he understood what kind of organization the Alliance was, he had no doubts that the Manager was a truly good person.

There are actually good people beyond idiots on this wasteland!

If he were truly a schemer, he could've avoided accelerating and instead, cozy up with Melvin to keep the game of debt ongoing, turning the residents of Stone City's savings into debt. Then, the people here would truly be doomed.

The lords could go enjoy Ideal City while the poor would have to work for the Alliance until death, living under the Alliance's oppression with no chance of turning the tables, the lords on their backs increasing from a thousand to over two hundred thousand.

In the north, the Bugra Free State under Mr. Sigma surely wouldn't hold back, but the Manager restrained himself, even kindly pulling them onto the same side… This was what shocked and astonished Haus the most.

That esteemed one truly intends to end the wasteland!

He truly regards the survivors of Stone City as survivors!

Praise the Alliance!

Praise the Manager!!!

Ever since he heard that the esteemed one called the Workers' Post a progressive voice, Haus was convinced he hadn't misjudged.

After all, he is one of the few awake in this gambling den!

Even Spielberg, who turned halfway, was invited to be a guest; if it were him, the Manager would surely treat him like an honored guest!

The staff and soldiers exchanged looks.

They initially kept a straight face, but when Haus said "he also had a part in this", they finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Haus stared at them blankly, not understanding what they were laughing at.

He had mustered the courage to sit here and confess his crimes, yet these people treated him like a joke!

His face grew redder and he clenched his fists, but dared not lash out, only hiding his fists in his sleeves.

"What do you want, exactly? I can explain it to the Manager face to face—"

The staff, however, did not offer an explanation, speaking through laughter,

"Are you here to make us laugh? No offense, but everyone registering here has blood on their hands; we really don't have time to listen to your jokes, although they're pretty good."

Another staff, stifling laughter, joked,

"If you think you've done some service, then go to the Workers' Association or the Militia Group and claim credit there; they are the ones who took up arms. Sorry to disappoint, but we never considered you a threat. If it wasn't for the fact that we're all from the same place, we wouldn't have bothered to come."

A soldier in an exoskeleton reached out, picked up the stunned Haus from the table, and led him outside the isolation area.

The soldier patted his shoulder, looking at him disdainfully.

"Get lost, the Manager doesn't care to deal with you, but I really feel like kicking your ass. If I weren't on duty, I'd have done it already."

The Alliance has its discipline; after all, it's not worth risking his honor over a clown while in uniform.

The soldier returned to his post.

Haus stood dispiritedly on the street.

Watching the true villains lining up to confess their crimes, for a moment, he wished he was grabbed by the Alliance soldiers, thrown into jail, or even beaten up.

Indifference is the greatest arrogance.

It turned out they really didn't care about him.

Even the barely year-old Workers' Post was seen as a progressive voice, while his broadcasts of more than a decade were never even glanced at by the other side.

What had he done all his life...

"They don't need me..."

Life seemed to lose its meaning.

Like a walking corpse, Haus walked away with lifeless eyes.

Chapter 546: It is an intangible AI, while I am tangible.

Thanks to the relief materials and professionals from the Alliance, the new authorities of Giant Stone City resolved their urgent crisis and stabilized the more than five hundred thousand survivors within the city.

Starting a big commotion is not a difficult task.

Especially when the boss sitting on the chair is a pig, you just need to beat their heads with a stick vigorously.

However, running a settlement of hundreds of thousands of people is not a problem that a few sticks can solve.

Even the courtiers' favored merchants have fled. What the Inner City Nobles left for the victors was nothing but a huge mess.

If the new authorities can't solve the problems with bread and fuel, soon there will be a group of crybabies wailing the names of the lords.

Survival is an animal's instinct, and this is understandable.

But to take all the credit for the lord's men would certainly be degrading oneself.

A stable society, once established, operates under a set of established orders and rules, and this inertia is not anyone's achievement yet is the achievement of every participant.

If Elder Sid did nothing, the broken pot could probably continue to be used. But unfortunately, this clever man is both naive and meddling. Occasionally he shakes the pot like it's a dice cup, slapping a piece of gum on each chip and corner to deceive himself before continuing its shaky motion.

Now this pot has finally broken, just like the collapsed Stone Building.

The established rules and order have been shattered together, and the first problem facing the new authorities is to establish a new order.

The Alliance will provide some help, especially in the area of food.

It's also thanks to the Manager's generosity that the new authorities, after making some compromises with reality for the sake of unity, do not have to continue compromising the bottom line of human morality simply to stay alive.

They don't have to resort to cannibalism to survive the winter and can properly bury those who were sacrificed.

But to get life back on track and to hold on to the fruits of victory, they will ultimately have to rely on themselves.

No one else can help them.

...

It was night.

In an office at the town hall.

In order to finish the accounting work for Giant Stone City Bank's books as soon as possible, Alyssa added a single bed to the room and simply moved her bedroom here.

The folks at the Workers' Association had planned to give Melvin's mansion back to her, after all, she did help them a lot.

Doing what Bol should have done did not unite everyone, and fighting for the eight-hour workday did not work very well either, but fighting for a commonly upheld constitution was enough for them to carry this banner of justice.

Alyssa appreciated their kindness but did not accept it, simply picking some of her favorite clothes, household items, and keepsakes to take with her.

As for the rest, she asked the Workers' Association to distribute them to girls of a similar height who had no beautiful clothes to wear.

"...My father would always buy me beautiful dresses, many of which I only wore once and never saw again. Although hanging them in the closet is pleasing to the eye, I'd be happier if they could help others in need."

Alyssa's eyes were a bit red and swollen, but still, she managed a heartbreakingly brave smile.

Lovett felt a bit heartbroken.

Knowing that she must have cried a lot when no one was watching with such a big change at home.

Including himself, many from the Workers' Association secretly treated her as their own daughter, but they were not her parents after all.

"...You really didn't need to take it this far, we agreed not to do this kind of formality, we only take what we should."

The clothes were being sorted by the female workers of the Workers' Association, most of whom worked in textile factories, and some were night-shift workers from the Delicious Food Processing Factory. They shared the same sentiment, finding it hard to hold a grudge against this young lady.

What made Lovett feel conflicted was that Bol had not robbed Mr. Stephen's daughter and wife's wardrobes. Accepting those items always gave him a sense of shame.

Alyssa shook her head earnestly.

"My father's wealth should rightfully belong to all the residents of this settlement, and there's no controversy about this. Maybe in the future, I might save up some money to buy it back, but not now. If I turn a blind eye to myself, then Giant Stone City would be nothing more than a place with a different set of lords—"

Lovett reflexively interjected.

"How could that be! We already have a constitution!"

Alyssa stared at him intently.

"You can only truly own it by adhering to it, otherwise there will definitely be people saying we're just a new bunch of lords. There are many 'Kens' in our ranks, right?"

Lovett was stunned for a moment and opened his mouth to say "Let them say what they want," but suddenly, he discovered another surprising fact that delighted him.

"You... have read that book, too?!"

He thought that a lady of her age, steeped in culture, would prefer to read poetry about love.

Actually, even Joey, the leader of the Militia Group, had no interest in Bol's story, often taking things too seriously, saying that the Awakeners could never defeat power armor.

Lovett suspected that guy had secretly read a bit of it and then projected himself into the role of Bol's romantic rival—the Thousands of leaders.

Spielberg certainly wasn't too fond of the folks from the Militia Group. After all, it was Phyllis who had him arrested back then.

But that did not stop them from being comrades.

Watching the surprised look on Lovett's face, Alyssa smiled.

"I've just started reading it. Once I finish the work I have at hand, I'll seriously start from the beginning all over again."

"Incredible!" Lovett's eyes widened, and he rambled on, "I can't believe you would like that kind of novel, but... you're right, we do have some opportunists who've infiltrated our team. Maybe when this is all over, we should clean house."

Before he could finish his sentence, Alyssa cut him off.

"No, you can't!"

Seeing Alyssa's serious expression, Lovett paused, frowning.

"Why not?"

He wasn't seriously considering doing it; it was just a casual remark.

Alyssa earnestly continued.

"Do you remember when the numbers of the Workers' Association began to grow?"

Lovett carefully recalled.

"Spielberg was taken away…"

"Yes, Spielberg was taken away, and the second time was when you all learned of his sacrifice."

Alyssa looked at him intently and continued.

"Inside one person's heart, there might reside Bol, Stephen, Ken… countless characters. Tangible strength cannot destroy intangible strength. Mr. Stephen captured Bol, so countless Bols appeared. Now that we have won, we could certainly silence Ken using Mr. Stephen's methods, but they will not disappear; they will proliferate out of sight and one day replace us, reopening the casinos."

This was something she had only come to understand this morning, from her brother.

They must use a systematic approach to get this settlement back on track, rather than hoping only to retain those in the team with lofty ideals.

Thoughts can be disguised.

Haus was very skilled at it, able to tell lies seamlessly for over a decade, articulating words he didn't even believe in.

If they hadn't won, no one would suspect he was Giant Stone City's best Mr. Good Guy.

Lovett murmured softly,

"They've become our ghosts... so that's what it means."

Alyssa was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"Yes… we just need to do what Bol would do and unite everyone."

Suddenly, she felt they were truly incredible.

Their cultural literacy was not high and they didn't really understand every action of Bol, but they managed to do so with their simple beliefs.

Bol's story was like a straw floating on the water's surface, as they all clung to it, none letting go, their arms became the bridge...

After seeing off Lovett, Alyssa returned to her office and sat down at her desk again.

Today's work had come to an end, and she had promised Lovett that she would rest early, but before sleeping, she still had to write a letter to the Alliance's Manager, thanking him for extending a helping hand in a time of crisis.

The flame of a miracle was so faint that a breeze might extinguish it, yet he did not turn a blind eye; the ceaseless footprints imprinted on the snowy ground bore witness to the friendship between the New Alliance and New Boulder City.

Recalling the story of Awakener Bol, Alyssa felt a hint of regret.

She heard that Spielberg was drafting the story of the great revolution; the conflict between the Workers' Association and the Inner City Residents had escalated to a critical confrontation, Awakener Bol was cast into prison by the nobles, accused of a non-existent crime of desecrating the Black Card… after all, for a century and a half, no one had ever broken that card.

The story was nearing the grand finale; it seemed Bol would not end up with that noble lady.

But, why?

It seemed everyone had concluded that there was no chance for the two of them, yet she felt that status and feelings were completely different matters.

While everyone agreed that no one is born noble or ignoble, they instinctively considered whether two people's origins were a match.

There were also unions between Waste Land Wanderers and residents of the refuge, right? Even if their concepts differed by two centuries.

She thought it was unfair to label people without discussing the facts.

However, she had no intention of protesting with Spielberg.

To hold an author hostage with personal feelings was childish and impolite. Even fairy tales sprinkled with sugar couldn't put just one child to sleep, let alone carry through an epic story with ups and downs.

She was no longer a child.

Rather, she was now an adult.

[...Thank you for your assistance in our time of need! The survivors of Giant Stone City will forever remember this friendship. In the future, we will fight side by side for our common ideals!]

The pen cap hesitated by her lips for a moment; at the last line of the letter, Alyssa sketched a small smile with the pen tip.

[^_^]

As she wrote the final stroke, her own lips couldn't help but curve into a light smile.

The letter was complete.

If only she could receive a reply.

Quietly reading from start to finish twice, ensuring nothing was amiss, Alyssa earnestly stuffed it into an envelope.

After finishing this task, she exhaled deeply, stretched languidly in triumph, hopped down from her chair, and the growing drowsiness led her to bed.

The bed here was much smaller than at home but still spacious for her.

Changing into her favorite pajamas, she carelessly stuffed the envelope under the pillow, then yawned and crawled into bed.

The bed was hard and cold, without the scent of lavender or the fragrance of sunlight, yet it was easier to fall asleep than usual.

And, actually, it wasn't very cold here.

The city hall had wall heaters, a thin mist formed on the windows, and it was much warmer inside than out.

Rubbing her cheek against the edge of the bed covers, the cold, hard bedding soon warmed under her body heat.

Life without "everything" was not as difficult as she had anticipated, and at this moment, her heart felt incredibly grounded and secure.

She fell asleep with dreams.

Sweet dreams, fragrant and sweet...

...

The next day's sunrise rose, and the survivors of Giant Stone City together with the rescue workers of the Alliance faced the first day after the long night.

The large pots that had been at the city gates were now scattered across each community of the settlement; before dawn, a milky mist had begun to rise.

After completing the census of the city residents and their addresses, the Home of the Refugees distributed disaster relief materials directly to mobile kitchens set up at various dining points.

This reduced the time for people to queue, helped to prevent the spread of contagious diseases, and also reduced the difficulty of management.

In the matter of settling refugees, Luca, the lord of City of Dawn, could be said to have rich experience, even before the Alliance, he helped Chu Guang with this work.

And his experience amounted to this one phrase:

That is, let those with strength have work, and those without strength, don't wander.

When a group of people stayed in a fixed location, it was clear who did what and when, and where they went.

With patrols by the Militia Group and drones, along with surveillance installed on the huge walls, security risks could be minimized.

At present, all production activities in Giant Stone City had halted, leaving a large number of able-bodied people idle.

Just feeding them isn't enough; we need to find them something to do, to channel their surplus energy into the right place.

The new authorities promised that although there would be no salary for participating in construction, new housing would be allocated on a priority basis, and the food provided to the construction crew would be superior to that of the typical mobile kitchen at relief stations.

Those who worked would definitely eat more than those who didn't.

Despite the lack of pay, with food and accommodation provided, and a house at the end, it was a much better deal than Lord Weijia's check factories.

With money now essentially worthless and, following the encouragement of the Workers' Association, most workers from the settlements joined the construction crew, as did some physically fit citizens.

At the same time, the redevelopment plan for the settlements was officially launched.

The Alliance Bank provided a special loan of 500 million silver coins to the new authorities of Giant Stone City, which would be used exclusively for housing renovation in the settlements.

According to data collected by the Alliance, over two hundred thousand residents of Giant Stone City were living in drafty shanties with sewage flowing everywhere.

In the slums outside the giant walls, nearly a hundred thousand survivors of complex backgrounds were also in dire need of unified resettlement.

The new authorities, with the support of the Alliance, planned to construct a series of apartment buildings made from precast concrete slabs and broaden several major thoroughfares.

This was happening within the settlements.

And outside the settlements, the Alliance had made corresponding plans.

Chu Guang intended to choose a relatively safe and convenient route from the underground transit lines near North Suburban Linghu Wetland Park to Giant Stone City, clear it, and make repairs.

In the future, the commute between Giant Stone City and City of Dawn would be reduced to less than two hours, and without the harassment of Looters.

The Alliance would also connect the power lines to Giant Stone City, incorporating the four settlements in River Valley Province into a single power grid!

A power grid fueled by nuclear fusion!

The future of Giant Stone City was still very bright.

Here, with an ample number of skilled workers and engineers, complete infrastructure and means of production, it could become the largest processing and manufacturing hub in the Alliance, complementing Dawn City, which was the raw material production base and heavy industry centre, forming a closed loop.

The wealth generated by the real economy would spawn a batch of tertiary industries—genuine third sector services for the workers.

The VIP rooms of the Night Queen Bar would likely become a thing of the past, but the residents of Giant Stone City would have access to bars, libraries, and cinemas that everyone could afford…

"Honored Lord of Qingquan City, Manager of the Alliance, it is a pleasure to meet you!"

Atop the helipad on the top floor of the Boulder Military Industrial Building, a massive Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft was stationed, with a row of fully armed soldiers standing by.

Looking at Chu Guang approaching, Yibers' face beamed with a radiant smile, and he walked forward, extending his right hand for a firm handshake.

"…I am truly honored to finally meet you today, especially as I see the shadow of a man on you."

Removing his power armor's helmet visor and hearing this unexpectedly cordial greeting, Chu Guang raised his eyebrows with interest.

"Who?"

Yibers said with a smile.

"The person Mr. Fang Ming always mentions!"

"His designer?"

"Yes," nodded Yibers appreciatively, "you both have similar shadows, but actually, you are completely different."

Chu Guang spoke indifferently.

"Well, that's normal; it's hard to find two completely identical people in this world."

Although the players from Shelter No. 404 had already tread every corner of Giant Stone City, this was Chu Guang's first visit to this settlement.

And his purpose for coming here was very clear—to obtain a particular item.

An item he had to have.

Yibers laughed and released his hand.

"Maybe because of that concern, it wanted me to observe you from a distance, to control the pace of our contact... In fact, you had its approval long ago, but merely being approved is not very useful; it has its own mission and rules."

Having already heard about Fang Ming from Xiao Qi, Chu Guang was not too surprised by what he said.

"It's right. In the Wasteland, you shouldn't trust anyone easily. And certain things are destined to be done by the residents of Giant Stone City on their own. Until they completely abandon the old order, nobody can help them."

Yibers heaved a sigh.

"Is that so? But I think there might be more efficient ways; perhaps this is the difference between me and Mr. Fang Ming."

For instance—

Just slay those stupid pigs on the spot.

It actually wouldn't be difficult.

But the mastermind cannot get over that hurdle.

Even though I've hinted to it that I could cleverly accomplish this task for it, like tossing that hitman into the sewers like yesterday's garbage and get rid of those nobles; after all, it has been fed up with those uncreative "clients" for a long time.

Regrettably, it refused.

Chu Guang, noting the smile on Yibers' face, always felt something was off about it, but couldn't quite put his finger on what.

"Fang Ming is an AI, what are you?"

"It is an intangible AI, while I am tangible..."

Yibers tapped his chest where his heart would be, then with a slight smile extended his right hand again.

"Let's reintroduce myself, Chairman and President of Giant Stone City Military Industrial Complex, Yibers, a general-purpose biorobot, designed by Fang Ming. Originally, I was supposed to serve the Black Card residents, since they bought me, but now that the Stone Building has collapsed, theoretically I am free."

AI designed with an independent "personality"?

What's the point of that?

Chu Guang paused for a moment but didn't let it show on his face, reaching out his hand crisply.

"Chu Guang. By the way, you look just like a person."

I've heard that designers often project a part of their "personality" onto the AIs they create, but this man seems to be even more human-like than Fang Ming.

At least he talks more.

Yibers smiled and said,

"That's your illusion, having life and death is what makes one human, like my respected father... Mr. Fang Ming can be considered a human, while I am merely a toy created out of his boredom and loneliness, and to meet the demands of the Inner City residents."

"My AI core has been operating for over a hundred years, well past its expiration date, so it's bound to act up occasionally. If I say anything strange, don't be too surprised."

Pausing, Yibers suddenly looked behind himself—at the bionic person with a pitch-black mirrored face and a breastplate engraved with the X-16 number.

"By the way, let me introduce you. This is X-16, Huge Rock Military Industry's masterpiece of the past few years—a universal bionic person. It can perform a variety of tasks, and as a replacement for the now-obsolete X-15, in human terms, it's like my daughter."

Chu Guang felt an aura similar to that of Tianqin from her, but in terms of combat power, X-16 was probably not as formidable as Tianqin.

After all, in actual combat, Tianqin had annihilated a hundred-man mercenary team, while the combat record of X-16 remains unknown.

What Chu Guang was concerned about was something else.

"Giant Stone City can produce AI cores?"

"AI cores are something that can be dug out of the city like iron ore, not very difficult to repair, and we occasionally buy some from the hands of mercenaries using those plastic cards."

Yibers smiled at Chu Guang and continued,

"Let's talk business. Including myself, X-16, and everything at Huge Rock Military Industry... it's all yours now. Thank heavens, there's finally a change of pace. I don't know since when, but our engineers and designers haven't been able to come up with anything new. Maybe things will be different in your hands."

He wanted to wipe out those useless pieces of junk mainly because he was bored and frustrated with those who refused to strive for progress.

A typical example of this was the Tiger Whale assault rifle, which initially had an improved model called X-3, with a shortened receiver and a caseless design.

However, the more advanced X-3 failed to replace the outdated X-2.

The superficial reason was simple: X-2 had higher production, cheaper costs, and more stable performance, but the deeper reason was that Giant Stone City, by its very nature, was a closed and stagnant society with no drive to expand or innovate, whether internally or externally.

If people don't even know where they are going, you can hardly expect AI to figure it out; these weapons were, in fact, designed by human engineers, with AI only assisting in administrative work.

Following the standards of the old age, he let his engineers self-indulgently improve generation after generation of the X-series bionic people.

As for weapons development, it was completely halted once the shareholders of Huge Rock Military Industry felt they had enough.

Even if there were improvements, it was geared towards cost reduction and efficiency.

The Militia Groups occasionally recovered evolutionary bodies from the Tide, handed them over to Huge Rock Military Industry to analyze the structure and design philosophy of the pre-war devices. But they hardly ever actively sent out troops to explore the Lair in the city center, like the Post-War Reconstruction Committee did.

The Alliance was entirely different.

They may have trouble just defending themselves, but they still persistently sent people proactively to explore the city center! Even though they were slow and clumsy, and had to pamper the egos of loads of fools, they were actually doing it!

He could see the turnaround he was looking for in these Blue Jacket folks!

Getting rid of those drag-along fools, the future of Huge Rock Military Industry was brighter than ever!

Ah...

His intellectual plugin was burning!

Electrical currents surged through his CPU. Yibers suddenly thought of something and slapped the back of his head.

"Ah, right, X-16, you take it. It's just what you need for a bionic bodyguard. While fixing it up, I just came up with some new ideas... about X-17."

Without waiting for Chu Guang to answer, a mischievous smile appeared on Yibers' face.

"Do you need me to install some extra plugins for you? The capabilities of a universal bionic person are more comprehensive than you imagine, and they can have many practical utilities installed, not just for outdoor use, but indoor, too."

At first, Chu Guang didn't understand what he meant, but after looking at his meaningful smile, he instantly got it and almost choked on his own spit.

"...No, that won't be necessary."

Watching Chu Guang's slightly embarrassed expression, a trace of disappointment flashed across Yibers' face.

"I thought you old sticks in the mud might be interested... Have you heard? I've researched it, during the Prosperity Epoch the best-selling bionic person wasn't the universal type, or the military type, but the companion type designed as 'sex dolls'!"

Chu Guang: "..."

What kind of cyber setting is this!

But, when you think about it, it makes sense.

Ideal City retains some aspects of the Prosperity Epoch, an era when people probably had even more freedom than corporate citizens, each person a strangely shaped key and lock.

It would be difficult for traditional families to accommodate two souls with explosively large amounts of information. Daily arguments would involve "what to eat," "what to watch," and possibly even "what model of prosthetic body to use" and "whether to travel to Mars."

It's just too complicated.

By contrast, paper people are clearly much more convenient; they are entirely loyal to the purchaser, and not only can their appearance be customized, but there is also a wide variety to choose from.

"...So what?"

Yibers chuckled and said,

"So what are you bashful about? I'm not joking; can average humans even withstand your strength? Honestly, X-17 conceptually is tailored for you, because I'd bet X-16 won't last long before breaking down... if you don't hold back, one day you will become a monster."

X-16 stood motionless, not reacting to this statement.

"Let's discuss that when the time comes."

As Yibers continued to rattle on, Chu Guang ended the topic with a head full of black lines.

What in the world!

It's so random!

He didn't mind personal topics, as he was a normal person, but he didn't like going off on tangents when discussing serious matters.

"...Instead of that irrelevant stuff, what I'm more concerned about is the legacy left behind by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee," Chu Guang said seriously to Yibers, "those airplanes, bombs, and 'weapon.'"

"Weapon" seemed to be some kind of keyword.

Putting away the playful expression, Yibers bowed slightly, as if returning to normal.

"Please follow me."

Leaving these words, he turned around and walked toward the elevator next to the tarmac with Chu Guang...

-

(Thanks to the "Silent36" for the alliance leader's reward!!! It's winter; everyone, take care of your health T.T)

Chapter 547 Strategic Space-Based Orbital Gun

In the elevator.

Yibers reached out and pressed the button for the floor.

As the elevator began to descend, he suddenly turned to Chu Guang and said with a smile,

"Have you heard of the Torch Plan?"

"The device that resets the world?" Chu Guang looked at him unexpectedly, surprised that he knew about Shelter No.0.

But that made sense.

After all, this old monster had lived for over a century and was bound to have heard some odd rumors.

Yibers smiled and nodded.

"Yes, since you know about the Torch, I can keep it simple."

Chu Guang said,

"Do you mean that the 'weapon' is similar to the Torch, utilizing neutron feather flow to destroy the macromolecules in organisms?"

Yibers shook his head with a smile.

"Almost, but describing it that way is too simplistic. Just neutron feather flow can't reset the world. There are many ways to defend against nuclear strikes, like… a deflection shield based on anti-gravity principles that can effectively deflect neutron feather flow. So, if we want to kill the organisms within the shield, we must first shatter their encasements. Hence, the 'fire' part of the Torch Plan can be divided into two execution steps: one is a planetary-scale phase disturbance to disable anti-gravity devices and shields, and two is the release of neutron feather flow to annihilate organic life on the planet."

Even though he only grasped the general idea, Chu Guang couldn't help but admire,

"Clever plan."

Yibers said with a smile,

"And highly efficient."

Chu Guang gave Yibers another look.

He always felt that this guy was a bit psychopathic, exhibiting particular excitement when discussing methods and tools for killing—as if he were the exact extreme of those mindless and unhappy individuals sent from the company.

Quite a dangerous person.

He needed to have Xiao Qi keep a close watch on him.

As Chu Guang thought this, the elevator dinged to a stop, and the alloy doors slid open to both sides.

"We've arrived."

Making an elegant inviting gesture, Yibers took the lead out of the elevator, guiding Chu Guang into the core area of the Boulder Military Industrial Building.

The two arrived in a spacious room.

The layout resembled a command center.

On the wall opposite the entrance hung a massive screen with an abstract cerulean planet floating in its center, surrounded by a dense halo of gray mist.

Unsurprisingly, that dense mist was likely orbital debris, just as the company had said, dense enough to reduce the yearly average sunlight reaching the ground.

The harsh outside climate owes at least some of its severity to it.

Chu Guang scanned the room and finally fixed his gaze on the screen ahead.

"This is?"

"Lightning."

"Lightning?"

"The name of this setup, its full name is Phase-Neutron Killing Strategic Orbital Cannon, abbreviated as SOG."

Yibers looked at Chu Guang with a smile and continued,

"What you see now is one of the greatest weapons of the Prosperity Epoch! It's also the inspiration for the Torch System! Just one shot can evaporate all organic life in Qingquan City, there's no more efficient tool for slaughter."

"It can't reset the whole world, but wiping a city off the map is no problem at all."

Goodness!

An efficient tool for slaughter indeed…

Chu Guang's face was full of astonishment, utterly captivated by the screen before him.

If one could fire this at the lair in Qingquan City…

However, this thought only flickered momentarily in Chu Guang's mind before he dismissed it.

This weapon was previously in the hands of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee before being distributed to settlements overseen by the War Construction Committee.

If it were truly that efficient, the Construction Committee would have used it long ago; they wouldn't have resorted to dropping "not so efficient" nuclear bombs towards the city center, nor would there have been need to initiate any Weilante People's Plan due to prolonged casualties.

Chu Guang figured there might be another possibility, that the effectiveness of this weapon on shelters was unclear.

To this day, many shelters in Qingquan City were still in the closure period, fulfilling the mission set two centuries ago.

Myxomycete was one of the primary threats on the Wasteland, but not the only one.

Perhaps concern over the prohibitive cost prevented the Construction Committee from utilizing it to eradicate the lair, even till its dissolution.

As Yibers shifted his gaze from Chu Guang, who was lost in thought, to the screen that portrayed the cerulean planet wrapped in gray mist, he appeared to be staring at some sort of treasure, smilingly he said.

"It lay silently in that grey fog, drifting with space debris, and there were almost no means to lock onto it. Even the weapon's holder did not know its exact orbital parameters... but it didn't matter. As long as the 'Key' awakened it, it could be deployed anywhere above this planet at your command."

"Of course, this system is not without its weaknesses, it takes 24 hours to charge. And once it ends its silent state, it will shine like a light. There are many ways to observe its position, calculate its orbital parameters, calculate its strike coordinates..."

"Even though it comes with a close-defense system and a deflection shield, 24 hours is enough time for a lot to happen."

Yibers took some time to introduce this weapon system, and Chu Guang, standing by, listened attentively to the end, then suddenly spoke.

"Does the Army also have similar weapons?"

Yibers said with a slight smile,

"Who knows? Why don't you try floating it above Triumph City?"

When he said this, there was no joking tone in his voice; it even carried a hint of instigation.

Chu Guang rolled his eyes, not bothering with this guy.

Using a "trump card" that had been out for two centuries to threaten an old survivor force that had existed for a century and a half on Wasteland.

That was purely courting death.

A very simple logic.

To the west of the Great Desert, there were habitations similar to Giant Stone City, but the Army still conquered half the continent, and Triumph City was safe and sound.

Clearly.

This so-called "Thunder from Heaven" indeed had a certain deterrence but the concept of deterrence was never absolute.

Two centuries were enough for the Army, the Company, and the Academy to come up with countermeasures for this strategic weapon and to add some other cards to their hands.

The real reason the contracts were maintained was not only because breaking the contracts would be costly but likely more because of sheer disregard.

Whether it was the Army, the Academy, or the Company, these experienced survivor forces with clear paths and strong convictions did not believe Giant Stone City could stir up significant trouble, considering it rotten to the core could only harm half a province at best.

A bunch of fattened pigs did not have the courage to shoot recklessly.

For example, the Council, if they really thought Giant Stone City was a trouble, could have simply spent some money to buy this weapon back from those nobles.

But they didn't, which said a lot.

Chu Guang couldn't help but think of another matter.

The Company's embassy must have already understood the dramatic changes happening in Giant Stone City now, how would the Supreme Council view the Alliance inheriting the "Thunder from Heaven" system?

Observing Chu Guang's expression, Yibers continued methodically,

"…Theoretically, Thunder from Heaven could even break through the Holy Shield, but the weapon's barrel has only one bullet, and the energy released at the moment of firing would destroy the weapon itself. It is said that this system exists not to eliminate anyone but to ensure an ancient agreement—that all survivor forces do not interfere with each other, instead, they collectively explore methods to end the Wasteland Era and seek the future of civilization."

"I heard from Mr. Fang Ming that the reason the first generation of residents entrusted 'Thunder from Heaven' to its care was partly because they were worried their descendants wouldn't have the courage to pull the trigger, and partly because they were concerned they might lose reverence for the contract and arbitrarily use a weapon that should never be used."

"Tsk, tsk, the original survivors were indeed clever. Although I've only seen them in the projection room, it seemed like they had already guessed the events of a century later. Did you know? During the last vote, those stupid pigs in the Inner City really considered firing at you, haha, I almost laughed out loud. Those fools really don't understand anything, and they are arrogant and self-important. It's hard to imagine that they are the descendants of those people... What would your descendants be like?"

Yibers looked at Chu Guang with an expectant face, but Chu Guang didn't want to look at this twisted guy, only replying lightly,

"My time is still far off."

Yibers smiled as he shook his head.

"Not that far off. A second, a hundred years, are all a blink of an eye to me. What should happen will happen. I just hope the impression you give me isn't as boring as my previous client."

"Cut the crap. Tell me how to use this thing?" Chu Guang interrupted impatiently.

He had already understood what he needed to know about the 'Thunder from Heaven' system; other ramblings were superfluous to him.

Yibers smiled and continued,

"Mr. Fang Ming has given you a drone, have you brought it?"

"Yes." Chu Guang nodded, pulling out the small projection drone, and casting an inquiring glance, "How to use it?"

Yibers reached out, gently took the drone from Chu Guang's hand, and touched its outline with his index finger, his eyes slightly shaking,

"Ah… Mr. Fang Ming's ashes."

Seeing this AI about to make another foolish move, Chu Guang coughed.

Coming to his senses, a friendly smile appeared on Yibers' face, continuing,

"Sorry, I couldn't help it... The authorization process is quick, just give me a second."

He took the drone left by Mr. Fang Ming to the console, extracted a memory card from it, and inserted it into a computer.

The AI data about Mr. Fang Ming had been completely formatted, but the activation code for the "Thunder from Heaven" system had been with it until the very end.

Rows of code flashed on the screen, quickly transferring the authority of the 'Thunder from Heaven' system from this room to Shelter No. 404.

From now on, he would no longer have to come to this room specifically; as long as he was within the signal coverage of the Shelter No. 404 and the connection with the signal transmitter was normal, he could order the "Thunder from Heaven" in high orbit to enter an active standby state.

Chu Guang, through Xiao Qi, confirmed that the "Thunder from Heaven" system, hidden in the orbital debris, was silently waiting, ready to enter the active standby state at any moment.

Because once activated, it would reveal the weapon's orbital coordinates, and with only one bullet available, Chu Guang did not instruct Xiao Qi to further test its capabilities.

This was a switch for mutual destruction.

And could only serve as a switch for mutual destruction.

He sincerely hoped that there would never be a day when he truly needed to use it...

...

Apart from the "Thunder" system, which was a weapon, Yibers also introduced Chu Guang to the other weapon stocks of Huge Rock Military Industry.

After inspecting these stocks, Chu Guang felt a wave of emotion.

The lords of the Inner City perfectly demonstrated to him how to play a strong hand poorly.

Among them, let's not even mention the KV series of exoskeletons. There were thousands of the basic model, the KV-2, and nearly three thousand sets of the monkey version of KV-1!

In addition, there were nearly five hundred sets of the K-10 "Iron Wall" heavy exoskeleton, which Chu Guang had wanted to buy but hadn't managed to.

The battlefield role of this heavy exoskeleton was almost based on power armor. In terms of overall performance, the "Iron Wall" was no less capable than the Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" police exoskeleton, and its defensive capabilities were even slightly superior, although its endurance was somewhat weaker.

Besides these light equipment, Huge Rock Military Industry also kept airplanes and missiles, the "big guys," for the city lord, Mr. Fang Ming.

For instance, the P-1 "Viper" transport plane that was already in service with the Militia Group.

There were four planes parked in the hangar!

This transport plane was independently developed by Huge Rock Military Industry based on pre-war era parts and blueprints, and it was a dual engine, no-rotor, vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

The engines were located on the belly of the aircraft, one at the front and one at the back, and its battlefield role was similar to Earth's Black Hawk and Mi-8, but its maneuverability and stability were something the latter couldn't compare with.

The power principle used by this aircraft was similar to that of the "Tiger Whale," both employing plasma engines, though the design philosophy and technical details differed.

Besides the P-1, there were also two P-2 "Lightning" attack planes, shaped like long shuttles with moderately-sized wings and plasma engines on either side, capable of switching between vertical take-off and landing and fixed-wing modes.

These two planes, at the beginning of the year, had delivered a "package" to the survivors in the "North Suburb" during the Tide—although this package was something Chu Guang paid for.

At the time, Chu Guang had speculated that if Giant Stone City could handle the Tide and still manage to export bombing operations, their reserve of aircraft must be considerable!

However, upon opening the box, he discovered that the only combat-ready aircraft were these two, which left him quite unsure of how to evaluate the situation.

As for guided weapons, Huge Rock Military Industry had no stock.

For two obvious reasons, impracticality and lack of necessity, Huge Rock Military Industry had not produced guided weapons for many years, though the blueprints were still preserved on the servers.

For example, there was a D-1 "Dragon" tactical missile with a 450 kg warhead and a range of 500 kilometers.

And another example was the lightweight D-10 "Dove" missile, weighing 20 kg, with a 5 kg warhead, which could be launched from vehicles or carried by individuals.

While these weapons were currently just blueprints, Chu Guang was clearly more interested in these blueprints than the inventory piled up in the warehouses.

The Alliance did not lack individual soldier equipment, tanks, or artillery, but it lacked these strategic weapons.

If Giant Stone City's industrial district was the crystallization of centuries of survivors' sweat and wisdom, then Huge Rock Military Industry was the brightest among these crystals.

And now, this company had become part of the Alliance. These spears and shields that once belonged to a few were now ready to fight for a nobler cause!

Yibers provided Chu Guang with a list of all the weapons, both those already delivered to the Militia Group and those yet to be delivered.

This included a series of individual soldier equipment such as power armor, which had already been moved to the Alliance by the Burning Corps.

Chu Guang forwarded Yibers's list to the logistics staff, instructing them to recover and properly store the equipment in batches.

At the same time, on the "Wasteland OL" Official Website.

A server announcement officially declared Giant Stone City's joining with the Human Revival United Front.

Following Pioneer City, another settlement had been added to the Alliance, and the number of unified survivors had taken another large step forward!

[New Settlement—Giant Stone City:

Once, Giant Stone City was a casino where hard-working laborers created the value of 20 chips but were only paid with one. Only those gamblers willing to risk their lives could succeed here, but the winners were always the landlords holding stacks of chips. Eventually unable to endure the exploitation, the residents of Giant Stone City bravely stood up once more, confiscating the Black Cards of the Inner City residents. They had fallen for a century, and even faltered again, but countless failures did not break their spirit, and they ultimately found victory.

The casino is permanently closed, and they have become their own saviors. The proud residents of Giant Stone City will stand with us on the same front, facing the threats of the wasteland!

]

[New NPC—Joey (Formerly the Centurion of Giant Stone City Militia Group, now the leader): "I will bring victory and glory to my children, not shame!"]

[New NPC—Lovett (President of the Workers' Association, Director of the Crisis Office, and the strongest candidate for next city lord): "We need to do what Bol should have done!"]

[New NPC—Spielberg (Secretary of the Workers' Association, continuation writer of 'Awakener Bol'): "Don't rush me, don't rush me, I am writing, already writing."]

[...]

[New NPC—Yibers (Bionic, President and Chairman of Huge Rock Military Industry): "My last client played himself to death, I hope you will satisfy me."]

[New Facility—Boulder Military Industrial Building: The crystallization of Giant Stone City's industry! Here, there are over a thousand professional engineers and designers, who possess vast knowledge and skills to turn whimsical ideas into reality. (Note: Boulder Military Military now accepts custom equipment orders, click the link for details)]

As a series of announcements was released intensively, countless players and Backseat Drivers immediately sparked heated discussions.

Among the most notable was the legendary Huge Rock Military Industry!

Since the game launched, players on the forum and Backseat Drivers had heard of this name. The most commonly seen KV-1 Exoskeleton was one of its masterpieces, and many powerful pieces of equipment could not be bought with money; they had to be pre-ordered with a substantial number of chips!

Now, Shelter No. 404 collectively had become a new shareholder of Huge Rock Military Industry. The factory was not only fully open to players, but it seemed it also accepted custom equipment requests!

After the news spread, the entire forum erupted!

Tail: "Oh! Can we customize bionics?! (✪ω✪)"

Si Si: "Ah Tail, don't make anything too weird."

Dinosaur Warrior: "Question for those without a helmet—can I still submit contributions? T.T"

Quit smoking: "Awesome! What if I want to build a Titan? Can I do that too?"

Wild Wind: "In theory, yes, but the cost in silver coins might be enough to build an aircraft carrier in reality."

Fang Chang: "I guess it's not just about money. Based on experience from other games, complicated equipment like that probably comes with a bunch of side quests, like having to collect the materials yourself, and then having to find a knowledgeable NPC... With those things, you might even get Mosquito to put together a working Titan for you."

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Crap, stop talking! If you keep this up, Chu Guang will copy it!""

Makabazi: "Hahaha! Too late! I bet Chu Guang has definitely copied it already! (silly)"

Quit smoking: "Am I the only one who feels sorry for Mosquito? Looks like our buddy Mosquito is going to be out of a job."

Vile Foot Fungus Levin: "Why feel sorry for that guy? I think Goblin Technology's business is going to skyrocket."

Ah Wei, I need to use the toilet: "Heh, after all, we're a major outsourcing factory; we make all the parts for him. (silly)"

Just as the players were enthusiastically discussing what to get Giant Stone Military Industry to help build, Mosquito, who should have been scheming with them, was now upset about something else.

WC Truly Mosquito: "Wah! My Night Queen Bar! Damn it! At least give us a special zone to play in! (going crazy)"

Killer Dagger: "The bar is still there! I testify! (silly)"

Old White: "Haha, only the sign is left, right?"

Fang Chang: "It'll probably open after the winter, but there might not be any special shows anymore. (sideways smile)"

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Tsk tsk, look at you guys, all out of aspirations. If you want special shows, just go to the neighboring Sunset Province. It's not under the Alliance, and your silver coins will go a lot further there. (sideways)"

Debt Giant Eye: "+1, but you still have to pick the right place. Like, the Honey Badger Kingdom is more conservative, not much entertainment, and they practice monogamy. The Lion Kingdom is more worldly, no restrictions there, and I hear the nobles there love collecting bloodlines. Camel Hump Kingdom, don't even start, just pay and you can play all you want. (silly)"

Edge Shoveling: "Crap! How come you know so much?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn it, Big Eyes, what have you been up to behind our backs!"

Spring Water Commander: "@Chu Guang, can you confiscate his tools of crime, thanks!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Cough, damn! Stop playing so innocent! Especially you, Old Soldier, everyone on the official website knows about your affairs with tens at a time!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Screw off! I haven't laid a hand on them!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Man, if I hadn't just gone to the Highway Town Inn last night for a drink, I might have believed you."

Old White: "Hahaha."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "What does the Highway Town Inn have to do with this?!"

Old White: "Never mind the connection, just make sure you head back there ASAP after the mission. (grinning)"

Damn!

What the heck are these guys up to?

He always had the feeling they were hiding something from him.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group, sitting in front of the computer, cursed and threw down his keyboard, picking up the game helmet from the table and eyeing its sleek outline.

"It's the fifth city already, huh..."

Time flies.

A year ago, they had still been at the mercy of Giant Stone City. Now, not only had it transformed into the shape of the Alliance, but it had also become utterly dependent on them.

He'd heard that City of Dawn had changed a lot.

Even the places where they used to drink had been renovated several times, it hardly looked like the deserted wasteland it once was.

Old Soldier couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.

He'd heard that the next version was in Brocade River Province, but he kept moving further west, not knowing when he could return.

He really wanted to go back.

Shaking his head, Old Soldier donned the helmet.

Recently, Sally, the mayor of Pioneer City, planned to expand the settlement and needed players to help clear out the burrowing beasts nearby.

Just yesterday, he'd taken a task from the commander of the Thorn Corps, Lama, and had finally gathered a ten-person squad; they were nearly at the arranged time.

Lately, some Weilante People who were stuck in Pioneer City were working to earn silver coins, and some traders coming from Falcon Kingdom doing petty trade also used silver coins.

Who knows when it started, but the hard currency, Dinar, which used to be somewhat popular in the desert, had suddenly been replaced by the Alliance's silver coins.

Captain Adria had encouraged his lackeys, who were idly wasting time, more than once to take back the money the Alliance had earned from them, so he wouldn't have to keep surreptitiously working for the Alliance and could deal with them openly.

Speaking of which, since the civilian airship direct flights started, Pioneer City saw a stream of new players who had just reached Level 10.

The village that initially had only a couple hundred survivors had started to buzz with more activity.

He hoped that when he returned home, it would be even more bustling.

A smile tugging at his lips, Old Soldier lay back on the bed with his helmet on, stretching out lazily.

"Time to log in and grind."

Thinking of how the Alliance's settlement would prosper thanks to his intense gaming, he felt his body surge with an endless supply of energy...

-

(Low fever, coughing, but feeling a bit better than yesterday, still a bit dizzy... This damn weather, really uncomfortable.)

Chapter 548: Nailing the Last Nail in the Coffin

Spielberg had returned.

And he had met the Manager!

Stone City Hall.

When they saw the familiar face appearing at the door, the members of the Workers' Association excitedly rushed over to surround him.

"Wait a second! Don't ask me about the manuscript first!" Seeing the surging crowd, Spielberg seemed to have guessed what they would say and immediately shouted in a high-pitched voice, "I have something important to say!"

"Hurry up! Stop the nonsense," Lovett said, hooking his arm around his shoulder, urging him on, "You said you were going to take a trip to 'North Suburb,' and now that you have, what about the rest of the story? How is the chapter on the great revolution going?"

"What I want to talk about now is something even more important!"

Pushing Lovett's hand away, Spielberg signaled for everyone to be quiet, cleared his throat, and said, "He let me try on his power armor; that thing is really something else... Even with my physique, wearing the power armor, I could gain strength like that of a giant!"

An electrician couldn't help but say,

"Incredible... he actually let you wear it."

The other workers also jokingly jeered,

"I don't believe it! Didn't your coat stink him to death?"

"Exactly!"

"You're bragging, aren't you?"

Spielberg didn't take the teasing of the crowd to heart because he knew what was real could not be faked, and what was fake could not be made real.

"Believe it or not, that gentleman is actually quite easy-going; he didn't fuss over much. Although his guard was a bit scary, that guy kept staring at me until I didn't dare to ask to use the bathroom... but that's not the main point."

Lovett swallowed saliva.

"What's the main point?"

Was there anything more incredible than a can worker being invited by the Alliance's Manager to be a guest and even trying on the power armor?

Everyone stared intently at Spielberg, waiting for him to continue.

A pleasant smile appeared on Spielberg's face, as though a dream had been realized.

"Awakeners can defeat power armors! The Manager himself told me! He is both an Awakener and has power armor; no one understands this better than him!"

A murmur of amazement spread through the crowd.

That headline had indeed troubled them for a long time.

Even because of that headline, Bol's story had often been ridiculed by the illiterate members of the Militia Group.

Although it was a trivial matter, the controversy had finally ended now.

Lovett clenched his fists with excitement, "I told you that headline wasn't an exaggeration! Joey that punk, I'm going right now to clear things up with him!"

Seeing Lovett excitedly turning to leave, Spielberg quickly reached out and grabbed him.

"Forget it, it's not worth it over such a small matter."

He didn't like the people from the Militia Group.

But the great revolution was already over, and what was most needed now was unity.

A worker standing nearby laughed heartily, patting Spielberg on the shoulder.

"Don't mind Lovett; he and Joey are actually good friends."

Another worker also said, laughing,

"That's right! Joey isn't the petty type; he's one of the few in the Militia Group who's willing to speak the truth; don't write too tragic an end for him in your book."

"Joey? Is he in the book? Never mind..." Spielberg scratched his head, unable to recall this character in Bol's story.

However, he did plan to write about a Centurion who stood on the side of the people.

After all, during his time in prison, he had probably portrayed the Militia Group too negatively, but in truth, there were good people among those soldiers.

Regardless of whether those guys had joined them because they weren't getting paid, couldn't rob money, or for other reasons, this victory was something they had all achieved together.

This fact would never change.

Alyssa stood on the edge of the crowd.

She clenched a letter in her hand, wanting to come forward but unable to squeeze in, only managing to tiptoe and wave her arms.

Spielberg quickly noticed her, cleared a path through the crowd, came to her, and said with a slight smile,

"Need any help?"

She nodded vigorously, a rare nervousness appearing on Alyssa's face.

"Um... is there a reply?"

Upon hearing this, Spielberg scratched his head.

He had returned empty-handed.

The Alliance had already declared their stance and choices through their actions, which, for them, was worth more than anything, but he felt that this young lady was expecting more.

Still, he chose to tell the truth.

"There's none..."

Watching the disappointment in Alyssa's eyes, Spielberg thought for a moment, sighed, and continued,

"Actually... I feel that the gentleman regretted something."

Alyssa froze.

"Regret?"

"Yes," Spielberg nodded, recalling the moment as he spoke, "After reading your letter, I noticed a clear change in his expression... as if, your choice was something he hadn't anticipated."

Those important figures can't always account for everything, a fact he became sure of after meeting Mr. Fang Ming.

Even someone as clever as that gentleman could not foresee every outcome.

And the Manager of the Alliance, as he had seen, was just an ordinary human, not a being with three heads and six arms.

It was just that the adoration of many followers had endowed his identity with different meanings.

It was for this reason that he carefully considered the impact of each choice and felt regret for any unexpected errors.

"Why?" Not understanding those reasons, Alyssa anxiously looked at him and pressed, "Did I... do something wrong?"

Spielberg scratched the back of his head.

"No, it's not about right or wrong. Rather, you did so well that it made him feel somewhat guilty. He probably didn't expect that a mere word from him could push a passionate youngster to the edge of a cliff... How should I put it? I think he wanted to compliment you on doing great, but he held back."

Spielberg felt that he could perceive these sentiments, perhaps because he had once harbored the same feelings.

Especially when he watched the A-ending in the projection room.

His colleagues carried his body as they advanced towards the Inner City, and then they fell in swathes, their blood dyeing the entire street... Even knowing it was all fictitious, he couldn't help but shed tears.

If there hadn't been the Survivor's Daily and subsequent Worker's Report and the born-from-it "Awakener Bol," those hot-blooded workers likely would not have existed, and this jungle-like casino would probably still be in business.

He did not regret bravely reading aloud from the newspapers, but the thought still frightened him a little, which was not contradictory.

If a single sentence could turn a coward into a warrior fearless of death, then a letter could definitely be taken as a divine command by a group of people.

Even if Alyssa didn't have that intention, there would be some opportunists with such a motive.

Unexpectedly, the next ruler would likely emerge from the Workers' Association or the Militia Group, or maybe a Citizen.

But if the Manager had written that letter, frenzied people might push a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl into a place she shouldn't be.

She had already done enough.

Solving the immediate problems of Giant Stone City wasn't as simple as calling everyone to plant vegetables in flowerpots; many households didn't even possess potted plants.

Ideals could bring near-impossible miracles to life, but sustaining them required far more practical methods.

Otherwise, it was just another form of hell...

Looking at the dejected Alyssa, Spielberg had a sudden inspiration and spoke.

"It's normal that you don't understand. I too had to walk through Hell's Gate before I understood some things... Like seeing the people you want to see, doing the things you want to do, you don't necessarily have to wait for spring."

Alyssa blinked.

"You don't have to wait for spring?"

"That's right. I told my editor, Miss Dolly, in a letter that I would visit the Alliance in spring, but I should actually go right away… You have a letter you want to deliver to that gentleman, right?" Spielberg looked at the envelope in Alyssa's hand and said with a smile, "Why not deliver it yourself? He just happens to be in this settlement and will likely stay for a few days."

"He may not be able to reply to your letter, but if you want to talk to him privately and in person, I'm sure he wouldn't be stingy with a few words of praise!"

…

Simultaneously, in the northern corridor of River Valley Province, a vast and flourishing city-state lay on a plain adjacent to the Grand Canyon.

This city with a population of a million stood like an island in the wilderness.

The intermingling red and blue lights resembled those of Ideal City.

However, that resemblance was merely superficial.

Whether in size, population, productivity, or the most core essence, this settlement known as the Free State was the antithesis of Ideal City.

Rampant cybernetic enhancements and psychoactive drugs pervaded every street and corner, with cheap virtual dreams curing people's traumas and fulfilling all their fantasies just like those fragile dreams.

Of course, there was more than just degradation and desolation; there were also good aspects.

Just like there were fridges with free but ad-supported access, there were also spotless split-level apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows both inside and outside.

Regardless of poverty or wealth, anyone who had value to this settlement, no matter how little, could keep living here.

The Grand Canyon puppeteers built this settlement and imposed a set of rules upon it.

The people of the old era placed high hopes on it, wishing it to become the second Production Department—a true service to the Wasteland and in allegiance to the old Ideal City. However, those lofty planners never asked the survivors there what they hoped to become.

The only power the ancestors left to their descendants was to name themselves.

Thus, the people chose to call it Bugra.

Bugra was both their Money and the name of the Free State.

Because here, only "Bugra" could grant true freedom, and those who held "Bugra" were considered truly alive.

In the president's office of the Firestone Group.

Standing in front of his desk, Xavier respectfully said,

"…Recently, a group from the South has migrated here, claiming persecution by the new authorities of Giant Stone City and have sought asylum with the Bugra authorities."

Sitting in the office chair, Sigma turned his back to him and asked indifferently,

"What is their stance?"

"As before, they plan to hand this trouble over to the Grand Canyon for deliberation…" Xavier respected the real emperor and cautiously asked, "What is your opinion?"

"I think they've done well."

Sigma suddenly chuckled, his tone mocking, "Let the old fossils of the Grand Canyon see what kind of mess they've fostered."

Of course.

Given the Grand Canyon's style, they would definitely hospitably welcome these "disgraces" and allow the Free State authorities to provide them with some living expenses to help them survive.

Sigma was aware of this.

To this day, that oldest living relic still harbored resentment towards the disintegration of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee and the decision that allowed each settlement to fend for itself.

He had no objection.

Since that old man was so nostalgic, let these bugs live.

Ugliness had its meaning.

Keeping those maggots alive was the greatest insult to the War Construction Committee.

Xavier looked at Sigma, admiration filling his eyes.

"You truly have a divine insight, Giant Stone City won't even survive this winter."

Most of the high-ranking officials of Firestone Group believed that Giant Stone City could at least survive this winter, and it would be the spring tide that would break the camel's back.

Logically, since the Alliance needed Giant Stone City to share the burden of the tide, they wouldn't watch Giant Stone City collapse; they might even help them delay the crisis.

Thinking this way showed they didn't understand the Alliance and the Manager at all.

There really were people everywhere who ignored the actual conditions and rigidly applied their preconceived notions.

Sigma smiled faintly, and said casually,

"…The downfall of Giant Stone City was inevitable, as a vast amount of resources were concentrated in the hands of a group of wastrels. They used a system that could not create any value to select the victors, none of whose assets were obtained from actual production and operations. It was like giving guns to the blind and walking sticks to the strong; their survival to this point was a miracle."

The Firestone Group was entirely different.

Only those who created value for the company could get promoted in the workplace, and bloodlines were worthless here.

Even the children of the company executives had to go through the education system and were selected for specific positions, to be the company's dogs.

He himself was the best example.

When he replaced the previous president and sat at this desk, he was merely a slum thief.

"And the Alliance?" Xavier asked curiously, "How far do you think they can go?"

"The Alliance is another matter," Sigma said lightly, "They are a different kind of army; they might go far, or they might quickly fade into obscurity."

Xavier furrowed his brow and asked,

"Do you think they are also military-centric?"

Sigma smirked.

"Is your understanding of the army limited to militarism? That, along with slavery, feudalism, clone troops, are just means to an end. The Weilante people use racial narratives, while the Alliance uses another type of narrative. Their goals are clear, one to unite all Weilante people, the other to unite all survivors, and that is the fundamental difference in approach, nothing more."

If the army won, this planet would likely give birth to an empire ruled by New Humans.

And if the Alliance won, it would likely give birth to a new United Human.

If Giant Stone City won…

That probability was so small that almost no one took it seriously.

As for the Bugra Free State.

In the future he envisioned for the Free State, they needed to first break free from the control of the post-war reconstruction committee's toxics, then go on to rally all the Waste Land Wanderers abandoned by Ideal City.

In fact, these two tasks had always been concurrently underway by the Firestone Group.

Whether it was the army's expeditions or the Bone Chewing Chaos, both had infused the Free State beneath his feet with massive amounts of fresh blood and wealth; many officers who couldn't return to Triumph City mostly stayed in the Free State, and the nobles driven away by the new authorities of Giant Stone City also fled here.

Eventually, they would become another kind of Ideal City!

A heaven where all Waste Land Wanderers could indulge without having to worry about being drowned by dreams!

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

Seeing the look in Sigma's eyes, Xavier tactfully bowed slightly and pushed the door to leave the office.

A man in formal wear passed him by and stood in front of Sigma's desk, speaking in a deep voice,

"There's new information from Giant Stone City."

Sigma looked at him eagerly.

"Was that weapon found?"

The man hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"No…"

Sigma was silent for a while.

"What about Rhine?"

The man lowered his head and said,

"…He's dead."

Sigma took a deep breath, rose from his office chair, and walked to the room's floor-to-ceiling window.

His gaze passed over the neon-flashing skyscrapers, looking towards the boundless wilderness to the south, and after a long time he cursed under his breath,

"Damn!"

That was a huge loss!

…

Garbage City.

The circular council chamber was silent.

Just moments ago, the drastic changes in Giant Stone City and the news that it had become the Alliance's fifth settlement had finally reached here.

Upon learning that a large number of Inner City residents had been banished, almost every councilor's face showed a chilling expression.

Although they were called councilors, they were well aware of what they actually were.

As one of the old survivor forces on the Wasteland, a beacon that had shone over the Southern River Province for a century and a half, Giant Stone City largely played an exemplary role.

Even if their methods were not the best, rewinding history on the Wasteland was indeed feasible.

Whether it was the earliest Red River Town or the Garbage City beneath their feet, they all bore some shadow of Giant Stone City, imitating the ruling model of the Inner City nobles.

And now, in those exiled from Giant Stone City, they seemed to see their own future.

Almost every councilor grew tense, chattering over the conference table.

"They say Giant Stone City was overthrown by a group of workers and militia, and some scavengers also joined in the chaos…"

"But we can't just close the factories and drive away the scavengers."

"Maybe we should improve their conditions."

"At least raise the soldiers' pay!"

"Let's reserve some Dinar or Cr, at least if our currency falls apart, we can still pay the soldiers with foreign currency..."

This suggestion received considerable agreement.

Many councilors nodded involuntarily, and even the chairman, sitting at the head of the table, rarely showed support early on.

"That's a good idea."

Not just Dinar and Cr, but silver coins should also be included in the necessary foreign currency reserves!

Otherwise, Giant Stone City's today would be their tomorrow!

This topic quickly proceeded to the voting process and was swiftly passed by a high vote.

Garbage City planned to gradually increase its reserve of silver coins through trade until the reserves neared about 200 million.

Meanwhile, they also needed to buy bonds priced in silver coins issued by the Alliance Bank to hedge against the inflation of the silver coins themselves.

Though everyone knew that this was not a remedy for the root cause, it was still better than doing nothing.

They considered it akin to paying protection fees to a powerful neighbor.

What sent chills down the spines of all Garbage City council members was that, in less than a year since the establishment of the Alliance, those toxic ideas had already corroded the towering dam significantly.

They couldn't help but think about the future.

What would they do if the ideology of the Alliance spread to Garbage City?

They heard that some Waste Land Wanderers from the City of Dawn had brought the "Survivor's Daily" and even started printing and selling newspapers themselves, recounting the stories of Bol in taverns.

They couldn't just snatch the newspapers from people's hands, could they?

But if the survivors of Garbage City started to follow suit...

The council members grew more fearful the more they thought about it, until finally, someone couldn't resist and raised his hand to propose.

"Why don't we follow our neighbor, the Red River Alliance, and change our name to... Garbage Alliance?"

Before he could finish, a council member sitting nearby immediately shot him down.

"Are you freaking mad?! Are you asking for death?"

The man was stunned for a moment, reconsidering his words before realizing the absurdity of the name he had just come up with.

He apologetically said sorry, and amid lethal stares, sheepishly withdrew his hand.

He admitted the name sounded awful.

Yet beyond that, he couldn't think of any other good and applicable method…

The same scene unfolded not just in Garbage City, but in various settlements of the River Valley Province.

Faced with the ruins of the Stone Building, some saw the long night that was descending, while others saw the dawn breaking through the darkness.

They were insignificant figures in the Wasteland, slaves of the mines, wandering herdsmen, and scavengers marooned in piles of rubbish.

Most of them didn't know Bol's story.

But they knew, in a place called Qingquan City, a group of united survivors had defeated the evil dragon that enslaved them!

This scar-riddled ruin was finally welcoming new light…

…

In the very heart of Stone City.

Faced with the ruins of the Stone Building, Melvin's weather-beaten face was etched with exhaustion and despondency.

Old Luka looked at him.

"Do you have any regrets?"

"I... What is there to regret?" Melvin sighed lightly as his gaze returned from the ruins, "It was bound to happen sooner or later."

He was aware.

What defeated them was not the debt of over three billion, nor the skyrocketing S Coin, but the greed in their hearts.

But there was nothing he could do.

He had exhausted all available methods.

Luka shifted his gaze from him, looking at the age-old ruins and spoke.

"The Manager said you are a smart man, you were the earliest to notice that this train had to apply brakes."

Melvin gave a bitter smile, self-deprecatingly saying,

"On the contrary, I'm not only not smart, but also hopelessly foolish, otherwise I wouldn't have only seen the reality at the very end..."

In the end, the sins of his family had to be washed away by the fairy tale left in his youngest daughter's heart...

That was what shamed him the most.

Luka didn't look at him, but simply spoke his purpose.

"Manager has given you a task."

Melvin looked towards him and asked,

"What task..."

Luka continued,

"Compile the history of your settlement for two hundred years accurately and in detail. His library needs such a book, and so does the library of the Alliance."

Melvin, with a wry smile, said,

"Is this some kind of collecting hobby?"

"He says it's part of his job," Luka looked at the elderly man who was only a few years younger than himself and continued, "If you truly want to atone for the past, take this final task seriously. Or do you think, at your age, you're still capable of physical labor?"

Melvin was slightly startled.

His Adam's apple moved slightly and after a long while, he slowly nodded.

"I will take this task seriously."

Atonement...

Ah...

What a merciful superior.

Melvin suddenly felt a sourness in his eyes.

He was right.

If he didn't want to bring regrets and remorse into his coffin, this was the only thing he could do, and was still capable of doing it—

To completely nail the last nail in this rotten coffin.

Watching the gratitude emerging behind those cloudy eyes, Luka said nothing, simply nodded slightly, then turned his back on the ruins of the Stone Building and left...

-

(The cold is a bit better, I almost got burnt out these days, and I'll have to travel for materials in a few days, trying not to break the updates this month, take a break and continue to burst.)

Chapter 549: The "Ruined" Huge Rock Military Industry

[Wasteland OL Official Website]

[Official Setting Collection - Survivor Forces - "Giant Stone City" Entry Update: "Two Hundred Years of the Building"]

[Introduction: This work, penned by the former manager of Giant Stone City Bank, Melvin, details the two-hundred-year history of the Stone Building, from becoming the beacon of the Southern River Province to its eventual collapse.]

[Main Text: (Currently in the process of writing, please stay tuned...)]

...

"...This is the ledger that I've compiled from the financial data of Giant Stone City Bank, which records every major expense and the traceable flow of funds of the Inner City residents over the past ten years."

Giant Stone City Hall, reception room.

A week had passed since the collapse of the Stone Building, and the work of the crisis office had gradually moved from utter chaos to a more systematic approach.

Alyssa held a thick ledger in both hands and solemnly handed it over to Chu Guang, giving a brief explanation.

This was their second meeting.

She was still dressed in the cotton skirt she wore at their first meeting, with a cute fishbone hair clip atop her head.

In just two short months, she seemed to have matured a decade, transforming from a crybaby into an adult who understood responsibility and duty.

This was the most remarkable.

Observing Alyssa's composure, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, and at the same time, he was puzzled.

They were about the same age, but why hadn't Lu Bei changed at all since last year?

Not one bit.

It seemed that real experience only came with real freedom...

While Chu Guang was admiring Alyssa, she, too, was stealthily studying this Manager of the Alliance.

It wasn't surprising that the residents of the Shelter were all handsome and beautiful.

It was said that many young men had taken a liking to the girl who cooked porridge for them every day, and some of the Blue Jackets who helped with deliveries and moving stuff were popular among the female workers of the Workers' Association.

However, the residents of Shelter No. 404 had a unique temperament that sometimes made it difficult to figure out how to interact and communicate with them.

To be specific, it might be termed "optimism out of place."

Add to that their own peculiar language, loudly discussing incomprehensible things, which made some of their strange behaviors even more puzzling.

But their Manager was completely different.

How should she describe him?

If the Blue Jackets were like the Sun floating in the morning sky, then the feeling he gave was like sunlight spilling on the ground – merely looking at him warmed the shoulders and the heart without being too scalding or blinding.

With her cheeks blushing warmly in the sunlight, anticipation flickered in Alyssa's eyes.

Would he praise her?

"Well done."

Chu Guang flipped through the ledger and then handed it to Little Fish standing beside him.

"I'll leave the verification work to you."

A long time ago, Pai had discovered Little Fish's talent for spatial imagination and computational skills, and even earlier, Chu Guang had noticed her sensitivity to numbers, so he had arranged for her to help players count money and keep books.

Now, she not only had talent but had also mastered a wealth of mathematical tools and calculation methods; checking the ledger was a trivial task for her and would probably be completed in a few days.

But with Little Fish's stubborn and serious nature, even counting silver coins – an incredibly minor task – would be done thoroughly and earnestly.

"Okay! Leave it to Little Fish!"

Little Fish nodded earnestly and took the thick ledger in both hands, while Pai beside her lifted the corners of his mouth in pride.

"Don't worry! My Little Fish is super awesome! She will certainly get it done beautifully!"

Little Fish also happily curled the corners of her lips upward.

However, she quickly seemed to remember something, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she looked at Pai to correct him.

"Little Fish isn't yours, she belongs to Brother Chu if anything."

Unable to stand her serious gaze, Pai shrank his neck and muttered with a sense of grievance.

"I was just... joking. Why are you taking it so seriously?"

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"Don't talk like that. You're your own person."

"Uh-huh," Little Fish shook her head and seriously looked at Chu Guang again, "Daddy has entrusted Little Fish to Brother Chu."

Pai: "???"

Chu Guang: "...?"

Damn!

How long ago was that?!

Seeing Pai staring straight at him, Chu Guang subtly averted his gaze.

"That was something from last winter... Don't look at me like that; it's not the kind of entrusting you're thinking of. He just asked me to take good care of her. Thanks."

He believed he had taken good care of her and had not let the old man down.

Seeing Chu Guang wasn't joking, Pai breathed a sigh of relief, patting his collar.

"That's what I thought... You scared me."

Chu Guang: "..."

Even though it wasn't what she thought, that "scared to death" still irked him.

What about me is scary, huh?

Watching the two whisper to each other, Little Fish frowned in dissatisfaction, muttering softly.

"What are you guys talking about? Little Fish already said—"

"All right, all right," Pai clumsily covered her mouth, grinning and glossing over the topic, "Don't talk about it anymore, got it, got it."

Growing up in the small area of Bet Street, it was normal not to understand much.

She wasn't little anymore; she might understand when she got a bit older.

Chu Guang sighed with relief.

Although both grew up in small places, Camp 101 was a bit more progressive than Bet Street, and Pai had been under Doctor Principle's care. After all, she was much more sensible than Little Fish.

Looking at the playful Pai and Little Fish, who was unilaterally suppressed, Alyssa's expression was slightly blank, and a faint sense of loss surfaced in her bright eyes.

"Just 'good job'?"

Feeling slightly dissatisfied, she couldn't help but speak up.

"That..."

Hearing the voice beside him, Chu Guang turned to look in Alyssa's direction.

Seeing that she seemed to have something to say, he smiled and asked.

"Is there something you want to talk about?"

Embarrassed, Alyssa glanced away and said softly,

"Could you... praise me a bit more?"

The room's air quieted for a moment.

Pai, who was hugging Little Fish from behind, took the opportunity to poke Little Fish's puffed cheeks while Chu Guang watched Alyssa, her face full of expectation, her cheeks getting redder in the silence.

After pondering for a moment,

Chu Guang stood up and walked to the office window, his gaze crossing the frost-covered windowsill, looking toward the settlement that was returning to normal.

"You've done something very incredible, so incredible that I don't want you to take such a risk a second time, which is why I hesitate to award you this medal."

He paused, then turned his head back to look at Alyssa.

"But now I suddenly feel that I should not hesitate over this. To do the right thing is to be praised, otherwise, it's a betrayal of courage."

"You've done very well. Survivors both inside and outside the Giant Wall will be proud of your bravery, including myself. I also sincerely hope that you will continue to work hard in the future to make this settlement more prosperous than before, so that people will not regret today's pride and choices."

The sunlight just happened to pass over the frost-covered windowsill, shining through the misty window onto Alyssa's face.

Her bright eyes sparkled with the light of a calm lake, like ripples from a gentle spring breeze rippling across the water's surface.

"Thank you!"

Chu Guang smiled.

"I'm the one who should be thankful, as I'll need your help with Little Fish's verification work later."

With a radiant smile on her face, Alyssa nodded vigorously.

"Okay! Leave it to me!"

...

Time passed day by day, and soon it was the end of December.

Just before the night of the Alliance's New Year's Eve, the first batch of prefab apartment buildings was officially completed.

Similar to the corn-shaped buildings to the east of the City of Dawn, these apartment buildings were made of concrete prefabricated slabs produced in advance by Giant Stone City's factories, and were assembled on site with cranes like building blocks.

The newly completed community had thirty buildings, each with six floors, ten single rooms per floor plus two small public bathrooms, accommodating a total of 1800 households, and taking up less than one-third of the area of the original shanties, leaving ample space for road planning and public facilities.

Furthermore, every five buildings had a concrete public bathhouse to facilitate washing for the residents of the community.

This style of buildings with uniform design quickly became the most striking scenery near the Giant Stone City Industrial Zone.

It was not perfect, and indeed, it had many shortcomings.

Such as problems with soundproofing, small living space, crowded living environment, and so on.

But for the survivors on the Wasteland, especially the workers living in the industrial area, these were hardly considered flaws.

Compared to their original, drafty shacks, these corn buildings were so much better!

Life always got better day by day, no one expected to suddenly live in wealth.

After the first batch of apartment buildings was completed, the new authorities quickly fulfilled their promise.

These homes would be provided free of charge to the families of survivors who had no housing, and those whose original homes had been demolished, as well as the workers who participated in construction, were given priority in allocation.

These young and middle-aged people were also the labor force needed by the nearby industrial zone, and most of them hoped to live closer to their workplace.

As a batch of apartments came into use, the underground passage between Giant Stone City and City of Dawn was also initially cleared with the combined efforts of players and survivors.

The incubation rooms hiding in the dark corners were thoroughly eliminated, as were the spores that roamed in the dark.

The players even destroyed a cannibal tribe hidden in a tunnel and rescued more than a dozen survivors from cages.

With the clearing work completed, the travel time between Giant Stone City and City of Dawn was significantly reduced.

Currently, the Dawn City Town Hall is planning a ramp that connects to the underground tunnel to integrate Giant Stone City into the Alliance's rail transport system.

Coincidentally, the Alliance was also planning to replace the coal-burning train with a cheaper, more environmentally friendly electric locomotive.

Both projects could proceed simultaneously.

Infrastructure construction continued in an orderly manner, and the crisis office, with the help of the Alliance, actively transitioned to the new authorities.

The first matter was the selection of the city lord.

Without any surprise, the new city lord was elected to be Lovett, president of the Workers' Association. After the voting results were announced on the broadcast, Survivor's Daily also published this outcome.

His speeches during the uprising had inspired all the survivors in the city, and his performance after the victory proved he was more than capable of the position.

To make an evocative yet improper metaphor, the positioning of the city lord and the town hall mayor would be similar to that of a village party secretary and a village head.

On a detailed responsibility level, the former mainly handled macro-level decision-making, signing important documents, deciding what tasks to undertake.

While the latter, along with other town hall officials, mainly managed specific municipal tasks, with more roles filled by professionals, deciding how to execute them.

Additionally, the city lord would oversee the town hall's work, and the power of the former was granted by the constitution, subject to the joint oversight of the citizens of Giant Stone City and the Alliance.

Lovett pledged to focus on "restoring industrial area production and improving worker conditions" as the primary task for the next three years.

If any unscrupulous merchant dared to defy the Alliance's laws, he would not only kick them out but also give them a kick in the rear.

Nearly everyone in the Workers' Association had cast their vote for him.

They certainly knew Lovett was just a carpenter, but they didn't care. Even a not-so-clever carpenter was better than the cunning Mr. Hauser. Besides, carpentry wasn't completely brainless; not only could he read and calculate but also draw.

Inexperience with city lord duties was fine; they were willing to wait.

Spielberg wasn't adept at writing fluent sentences the first time either; he had to read newspapers for half a year to slowly learn a bit.

Considering the Workers' Association's performance during the disaster, most citizens also cast their votes for Lovett.

Indeed, this moment required the workers to shoulder the burden, and other citizens couldn't nominate a representative everyone agreed on.

The Alliance had no objections to Giant Stone City's result.

However, to appease the concerns about legitimacy from the "imperial loyalists" within the Alliance and within Giant Stone City, Chu Guang still wrote a formal appointment letter to Lovett after the vote.

In the letter of appointment, he wrote—

"The Worker Report has voiced progression, I hope you live up to the trust of others and carry the voice of progression forward."

With that, the crisis office formally completed its transition to the new authorities.

Although there was still a significant distance from people's lives getting back on track, with factories starting up one after the other and the first batch of windproof apartment buildings completed through everyone's joint efforts, all saw the dawn of a new life.

The laws of the Alliance would be enforced here.

Blood and sweat factories and the Stone Building had become history.

People had no doubt that everything would get better...

...

While the NPCs of Giant Stone City were busy rushing towards a new life, the players of the Alliance were not idle either.

In fact, they might be said to be busier than usual...

At the Boulder Military Industrial Building, in the prosthetic surgery room.

Yibers stared at the three-dimensional model on the tablet, scratching his chin with his index finger, and glanced at a certain someone who had already settled down on the operating table, buttocks in the air.

"Are you sure you want to have this thing installed in your body?"

Considering the fragility of organic life and the potential risks of surgery, he still asked one last question out of professional ethics.

However, Mosquito Brother lying on the operating table was unappreciative, rushing him and saying,

"Stop the nonsense, hurry up! I've already paid!"

Such an NPC chatterbox!

Directly above the operating table were dense lines and equipment, including welding torches and electric saws, enough to send shivers down anyone's spine if they were to face such tools.

Looking at the engineers and leading surgeons exchanging glances with one another, Yibers scratched his head and, eventually setting aside the tablet and his professional ethics, said cheerfully,

"Alright, I respect your choice... After all, the customer's preference comes first."

That statement seemed to be directed at some sort of restraint program within him.

Waiting for a moment and seeing no reaction, Yibers happily snapped his fingers, signaling the engineers and doctors in the surgery to pick up their devices and get to work.

Before the anesthesia needle had even plunged, Mosquito Brother rolled his eyes back, departing his flesh to another world.

Sparks flashed over the operating table.

One moment there was the buzz of electricity, the next was the grating sound of sawing bone.

With the bustling of several construction staff, plasma sprayed everywhere, and the surgery room was filled with the burnt scent.

Although the scene was chaotic, the effect was spot-on.

They sawed off a large section of the patient's spine and replaced it with an alloy structure mechanical spine; after suturing the wound, they mounted a mechanical hand onto each of the eight interfaces.

Mosquito, after the surgery, had his back resembling an eight-legged spider curled up in wait.

Several hours passed, and the anesthesia fully wore off.

Mosquito abruptly opened his eyes. Without moving his limbs, the eight hands behind him fluttered first.

Savoring that strange sensation, he swiftly climbed down from the operating table, and looking into the mirror handed to him by the lead surgeon, his face was filled with fervent delight.

"Damn! Awesome!"

This skin is the bomb!

The eight mechanical hands moved as naturally as his own arms under the control of his thoughts, and they even had tactile sensations similar to touch.

"Ha ha ha ha! Now I'm Doctor Octopus!"

Watching the excited patient dance around, although Yibers didn't understand what he was ranting about, he still kindly reminded him,

"If you have regrets, we can still reverse the procedure. We've cryogenically preserved your original spine. Besides, if you don't want to bleed out, please don't walk on prosthetics... I remind you again, these are mechanical hands, not mechanical legs."

Completely ignoring his advice, Mosquito Brother, with a mischievous grin, picked up a prepared backless cotton vest, slipped it on, and patted Yibers on the shoulder with a mechanical hand.

"Thanks, mate! If it works well, I'll recommend you to others who need it!"

"Mate? Old iron? Is that referring to me?" Yibers touched his chin and arched an intrigued eyebrow, muttering "what an interesting name..."

Quite fitting for him.

After all, his AI core indeed had some age on it.

Although they were annoying organics, these guys were quite entertaining.

At least they were much more interesting than his previous clients.

Seeing the resident of the refuge who went by "WC There are mosquitoes" leaving the surgery room in ecstasy, Yibers also sincerely shared his joy.

He was very satisfied with his new creation.

He just hoped this not-so-smart organic wouldn't be crying in a few days.

Picking up the tablet, Yibers slid his index finger across it, mumbling to himself,

"Someone wants to install a fist as big as a casserole pot. What is a casserole? An arm capable of launching 'dove' type missiles... Tsk, do these guys realize how heavy that is?"

But—

It seems interesting.

A pleasant smile appeared on Yibers's face as he put away the tablet and turned to the engineers and lead surgeons in the surgery, clearing his throat,

"We've got some new work."

The engineers exchanged wry smiles with one another.

"Eight mechanical arms shouldn't be a problem..."

"I'm more worried about his head not holding up; we should at least install a cooling plugin for the cerebellum."

"I'm afraid it's not just a cooling issue."

"It's a pity... If only we had bionic chips."

Returning to normal life was good and all, but these engineers couldn't help feeling that the weapons their factory was producing were becoming increasingly bizarre.

Is it really okay to perform "human experiments" on those wearing Blue Jackets?

And all self-funded too...

It's not just about feeling insecure; their conscience was somewhat troubled.

However, their cybernetic boss Yibers didn't see it that way.

These residents of the refuge who "sincerely liked his designs" were far more adorable than those picky customers!

Indeed, selling himself to that man was a decision smart beyond measure!

"Customer opinions come first! Tsk, let me think, fitting the firing mechanism between the radius and ulna, and making a fist as large as a cast-iron pot should satisfy the customer's needs."

"However, that would probably make the arm heavier than the customer's own body weight. The scapula and spine would also need to be replaced with more robust prosthetics..."

"Let me calculate, a fair price would be... 500,000 silver coins should be reasonable!"

The self-muttering voice grew more and more excited, as the smile on Yibers's face became increasingly cheerful.

It seemed that for at least the next five years, he wouldn't be bored!

At that moment, an assistant drone floated in, hovering behind him. At the same time, an emotionless electronic voice also reached his ears.

"New order from the Burning Corps."

Yibers's expression showed a bit of surprise as he reached for his tablet, opened the list of new orders, and found the new order that his AI assistant had reported.

"For a full set of infantry equipment for mutants, including armor and weapons... Quantity: five hundred sets, budget ceiling: five million silver coins."

The order listed detailed requirements.

Of course, it wasn't as simple as fobbing them off with a few bulletproof vests and rifles—they needed a set of infantry equipment that could clear mutants as easily as slicing watermelons and chopping vegetables.

What could be anticipated was that this was just the beginning.

There would surely be other orders to follow!

Rubbing his chin lightly with his forefinger, Yibers's electronic eyes sparkled with intense interest, and a meaningful smile crept onto his face.

What intrigued him, of course, was not this seemingly ordinary order.

But the message that the order hinted at.

"... Preparing for the eradication of mutants in the south even before the Tide has begun?"

Interesting.

His new customers were becoming more and more interesting!

...

After Giant Stone City joined the Alliance, the official website added a bunch of new NPC entries, among which Yibers of Huge Rock Military Industry was undoubtedly the most popular.

Especially after seeing Mosquito Brother's octopus-like mechanical hand, many players' eyes turned green with envy.

However, upon seeing the exorbitant prices for cybernetic enhancements, most calmed down.

Indeed, custom orders were playthings only the wealthy could afford; they should wait until the technology matured and purchase the relatively cheaper mass-produced models.

In the Goblin Technology factory.

Enviously looking at the eight arms on Mosquito's back, Discourage reached out to touch them and couldn't help saying,

"...Your new gear is pretty badass!"

Just a few days ago, when Mosquito mysteriously said he needed to travel far, they thought he was up to something, but it turned out he had gone next door to get a cybernetic makeover.

Soul Chaser couldn't help but sourly comment,

"It looks impressive, but who knows what use it has."

Mosquito, his nose almost reaching heaven with pride, rolled his eyes at him.

"You don't know jack! I've got ten hands now! I can screw bolts five times faster than you!"

Soul Chaser laughed and said,

"Big deal, so what if it's faster."

Before Mosquito could react, another of his apprentices, Kill God, followed up with a question.

"I don't get it, so I'm asking—won't this affect your real life?"

"No big deal, if I take off the helmet, you wouldn't even feel those eight arms..." The mechanical hands behind his back scratched his head, and after thinking for a while, Mosquito corrected himself, "Okay, maybe not completely without impact, it just feels like something's missing, kind of inconvenient."

If only he could have a set in real life as well—that would be awesome!

Just imagining that scene made Mosquito's mouth curl into a grin.

Discourage was still drooling over it, not taking his eyes off the eight mechanical arms and couldn't help but smack his lips.

"Damn...once I have enough money, I'm definitely getting a set!"

Kill God continued with curiosity.

"Don't understand, so asking again—how much did this cost you?"

Mosquito proudly curled his lips.

"400,000."

As soon as the words fell out, all four people were shocked.

"Holy shit!"

"Are you insane?! 400,000 for this thing?!"

"???"

What shocked them even more was that this guy had made so much money on the down low that he could throw it around without hurting his wallet!

Looking at these guys with no vision, Mosquito sneered.

"Pfft, you don't appreciate quality, no vision! What do you mean 400,000 for this thing? Once I get it and figure it out, isn't making our own even better?"

Discourage couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"That's brilliant! Typical you!"

But then again, how exactly to figure it out?

He worked with drones, Soul Chaser was in chemical engineering, Kill God fixed cars, and adding the purpose-unknown Mosquito Brother, none of them knew anything about nerve connections.

And was there similar technology in real life?

Although there were nerve connections, but comparable to the outrageous tech in the Game, it was a totally different dimension, right?!

Just then, the ever-silent Soul Chaser suddenly spoke,

"I've been thinking about one thing all this time—you got this gear... how will you fly planes from now on?"

It was fine when W-2 was cheap and not a big deal when crashed.

But this set of equipment cost 400,000...

Holy smokes!

That was the cost of countless planes!

Not only Soul Chaser, but the other three also paused and quickly realized the issue, silently turning their gaze to their annoying boss.

The air was awkwardly silent for a moment.

Mosquito's expression moved from stunned to bewildered, and finally, painful as if wearing a mask of agony, with two metal claws covering his head.

"Damn it!"

He had been too hasty!

Chapter 550: The Rats Under the Giant Wall's Shadow

Giant Stone City Industrial Zone, a notice stood at the entrance bearing names and numbers.

A dense crowd gathered in front of the notice board.

From time to time, excited cheers erupted as people who found their names exhibited the same exhilaration as lottery winners. Surrounding onlookers cast envious glances their way, regretting that they hadn't responded to the call sooner or worked harder when they did.

Not counting the scavengers outside the city, Giant Stone City hardly had primary industry, just secondary and tertiary. Despite stricter labor laws sending sub-sixteen workers to full-time residential schools with food and lodging provided, there were tens of thousands of registered workers.

The 1,800 free apartments were like buckets of water poured on drought-stricken land, yet for many, they sparked hopes of better days ahead.

Lovett had said that once all the homes in this settlement were no longer drafty, and once the financial situation improved, they would consider building more comfortable and affordable housing for everyone.

Although not hopeful, Kent couldn't help but wander over to the notice board, and what was initially a glance without expectation suddenly made his eyes widen in astonishment.

"…My name is there?"

Thinking he had seen wrong, Kent vigorously rubbed his dust-covered sleeve across his face.

After confirming his name and number were a match, he didn't wait to celebrate, fearing it might be stolen from him. He immediately pushed his way to the front of the queue and completed the necessary procedures at the registry.

Holding the residence certificate in his hands, Kent bubbled with excitement, never having imagined he'd one day live in an apartment building.

But he still felt somewhat uneasy, so he couldn't help but turn to the staff member and ask.

"How… how was housing allocated?"

The question came often. The colleague behind the wooden desk didn't mind, proficiently listing the four priorities.

"Those displaced by demolition are a priority, workers who participated in construction are a priority, those whose homes are within the demolition area are a priority, and families of five or more are a priority."

Kent quietly tallied in his mind, realizing as a bachelor, he certainly didn't meet the last requirement. He was ineligible for the first as well, but the second and third fitted him to a tee.

He had not only participated eagerly in the construction without slacking off for fear of looking lazy, he had worked strenuously, which earned him commendations.

His drafty shack was clearly within the renovation zone, and for some unknown reason, the new authorities seemed unable to tolerate any draftiness, even though he had meticulously sealed all the cracks with mud.

At the time, he stewed in frustration for days, muttering that at least the noble lords wouldn't steal his shack. But now, he found himself unable to complain.

It seemed that the new lord wasn't one to demolish and then neglect.

However, it was hard for him to believe in such miraculous good fortune raining down from heaven, and he kept feeling that someone would surely take it all away. Unable to hold back, he ventured one more question.

"The apartment… it's really free to live in? No charge?"

The staff member replied with a smile.

"No charge! As long as you don't own any other property in the Alliance, you can live there until it becomes a dangerous building, at which point we'll provide a replacement. Oh, and one more thing, every household will have water and electricity supply. It's currently quota-based and free, with a monthly allowance that carries over if not used. After winter, if the allowance runs out, there will be a charge for utilities."

What was water and electricity?

Kent was momentarily puzzled, failing to grasp the concept, but hearing that after winter there would still be a cost, his mind found some relief.

He was right after all; the lords were still around, just not called Lord Fang Ming anymore; instead, it was a carpenter named Lovett.

And since Lovett was appointed by the Manager, the noble of Giant Stone City must be the Manager.

But actually, that wasn't so bad.

After realizing he was right, Kent wasn't upset; in fact, he felt somewhat pleased.

It wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Legally speaking, those who made it into the refuge back then were definitely nobles from the United Human, so its rightful successors were those in the refuge.

Going further back, Giant Stone City was a settlement planned by the War Construction Committee, so the city's authentic lineage was in the north.

"North Suburb... North Suburb..."

Kent's eyes lit up, but he also felt a bit embarrassed.

Damn Haus, daring to call all of us "North Suburb bumpkins" and "Blue Ground Squirrels," almost ruining the big plan!

That great Manager and his warriors are clearly the saviors of humanity!

I was deceived!

"Long live the Manager!"

Kent, finally justifying himself, got so excited he shouted it out on the street but didn't dare to be loud, his voice drowned out by the crowd and ignored by everyone...

He felt somewhat embarrassed, his face turning red as he shouted "Long live the Alliance" to show his loyalty. This time, people heard him and laughed while congratulating him on moving into his new house.

Kent couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear. He nodded and returned the greetings, happily accepting the well-wishes, grateful for being part of a new community, and hurried off.

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

[Server Announcement: ]

[The second annual "Wasteland OL" New Year's celebration event!]

[Introduction:

Juicy and easily preserved Claw Crab Cakes have accompanied us through the cold winter of the Wasteland Era year 212, without those adorable creatures waving their pincers there would be no thriving Alliance!

In the past year, we've turned the Crack Claw Crabs by the Rhombus Lake into an endangered species, what miraculous Variants will we eat into extinction next year?

The answer will be unveiled tonight!

As last year, the Manager has prepared a mysterious gift for every Resident participating in the event. Winners will unlock the "Wasteland Gourmet" limited achievement and be permanently recorded in the Hall of Fame on the official website, along with the recipes!

The Alliance's Manager once again solemnly reminds everyone: Even though this year has been a year of plenty, there are still many people going hungry, so remember not to waste!

Also, don't stuff just anything into your mouth, beware of upsetting your stomach!

]

[Event Time: From Wasteland Era year 212, December 28th to Wasteland Era year 213, January 1st]

[Location: All settlements within the Alliance territory (including Bister Town)]

[Requirements: Use local ingredients, develop recipes, and make food that even a normal person (Constitution: 5) can eat!]

[Judging Rules: Two prizes will be awarded for each settlement, namely the Players' favorite food and the local Waste Land Wanderers' favorite food. As the Alliance's fifth settlement, Giant Stone City will have an additional special prize, namely the Manager-approved delicacy (Ingredient sourcing is unrestricted, focuses of judging: quantity, affordability, taste, nutrition and health).]

[Designated taster for Giant Stone City: Crow]

New Year's celebrations are almost a tradition for major MMORPGs games, and "Wasteland OL" is no exception. However, the Dog plan being lazy is now confirmed.

This year's event is almost same as last year's, still related to eating. It appears that a certain planner is hell-bent on testing the server's ecological balance.

Ever since Claw Crab Cakes were designated as the specialty delicacy of the City of Dawn, all the Crack Claw Crabs along the Northern Shore of Diamond Lake have been hunted to extinction.

To hunt for Crack Claw Crabs now, you can only go to some collapsed waterlogged areas in the city, or to the lakes in the Western Province to the north to see them in large numbers.

Otherwise, you'd have to go south.

It's worth mentioning that to secure a stable food source, some Wasteland Wanderers have started farming, researching how to breed Crack Claw Crabs that are less aggressive, breed more frequently, and have tastier meat, right beside Rhombus Lake.

This was beyond Chu Guang's imagination.

Back to the event itself.

This year, unlike last year, the market in Luo Xia Province was opened, and food was no longer in short supply. The purpose of the event had also changed from solving a survival crisis to enriching the lives of the residents of the Alliance.

Giant Stone City was located at the edge of the third ring road, surrounded by high-rise ruins and underground tunnels. The variants active in this area were not only the offspring of slime molds; there was quite a variety of them. For experienced hunters, finding hibernating prey was not too difficult.

Chu Guang planned to continue this tradition, organizing a similar server event at the end of each year to make "monster hunting" a part of the culture of the Alliance.

Compared to celebrating the Great Antler God's birthday, a festival created by the people themselves had much more significance.

After the announcement was released, it immediately sparked a heated discussion among players and backseat drivers. However, what Chu Guang didn't expect was that the focus of the discussion was not on the event itself, but elsewhere.

Quit smoking: "Hahaha! Appointing an official taste tester, nice!"

Crow: "I'm going to burst! QAQ"

Makabazi: "Hahaha! Fat Crow for real!"

Crow: "Shut up! Where am I fat? Go die!!! (╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻"

Teng Teng: "Damn it, this indecent guy... Planner, please nerf him, he's too hateful! T.T"

Crow: "???"

Tail: "Wuwuwu, Si Si! I want to go home! (;д;)"

Si Si: "Don't cry, Ah Wei, later I'll have Meat Meat help you catch a big fish for soup."

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "This is the sea we're talking about!!!"

Tail: "Oh! Last time Si Si caught a huge tentacle monster! (✪ω✪)"

Si Si: "Err... that's something I'd rather forget. (facepalm)"

Ahhh Sesame Paste: "Ahaha... there there."

Debt Giant Eye: "A tentacle monster? Tell me more. (amused)"

Construction site boy with a brick: "What are you up to? Are humans not enough for you anymore?"

Debt Giant Eye: "Scram! Do you think I'm that kind of person? (angry)"

Tumbling hair washer: "Dude, you play in pretty twisted ways. (amused)"

Gnome King Riches: "Old Na is exclaiming 'good lord'. (amused)"

Elena: "I'm just curious about the flavor, why isn't it the Luoyu Brothers exclaiming 'good lord'. (amused)"

Luoyu: "???"

Fang Chang: "This game is too realistic. (amused)"

...

Following the release of the event announcement on the official website, hordes of players swarmed in from City of Dawn to Giant Stone City, and the plaza in front of the gates was bustling in no time.

It was as festive as a holiday.

"Forming groups to hunt monsters! PM if interested!"

"Split-claw crab nest discovered in South Suburban Sewage Treatment Plant! Any brothers want to join in pilfering crab eggs? We still need one more to work the nest."

"Damn, does anyone know what kind of meat this is? I seized it from a Looter's nest... Any merchant brothers need jerky?"

"Hahaha! Throw it away, bro, you don't want to know what that is."

"Damn! The homeless cutie I was supporting yesterday stole my wallet! I ain't believing in love ever again!"

"Calm down, at least VM is still there for you."

"Wait... Are you sure it was stolen?"

"...?"

Although the New Year's Eve event could be participated in at any settlement, Giant Stone City, which had just been included in the players' territory, had an extra reward compared to the other settlements.

If most lifestyle players didn't have other important work to do, they would rather go to Giant Stone City to join in the excitement.

Especially since that special reward would be personally judged by the Manager, this was a great opportunity to curry favor with the faction boss!

Those who were determined to win the title of "Wasteland Gourmet" surely wouldn't want to miss out.

"These newbies truly are weak, needing to form groups to hunt Crack Claw Crabs, too soft!"

In a corner of the market.

Watching those chirping beta testers, Killer Dagger rested his hands on the ground and grinned like a baboon.

He didn't strike this pose to show off, but mainly to conserve energy.

A few days ago, he underwent a cybernetic conversion by Huge Rock Military Industry, which turned his entire spine-to-shoulder area into a T-shaped alloy structure.

What was even more exaggerated were his fists; they were basically giant chunks of iron that could serve as shovel blades for an excavator.

Speaking of these fists, Killer Dagger found it puzzling.

He remembered requesting fists the size of a sand pot, like those of the enforcer from Piltover, but the NPC named Yibers, for some reason, gave him fists the size of a cauldron.

But it didn't really matter.

Since they were already fitted.

Now he felt his hands were filled with boundless strength, one slap could kill a Strength Type, and the wind it generated could blow away an Intelligence System!

Of course, that was assuming the other person stood still.

Everyone else had taken the good names and was staring blankly at him, then after a long pause, they exclaimed in shock.

"Holy shit?! Where did you get five hundred thousand silver coins?"

If he remembered correctly, the price was around five hundred thousand.

At that time, he had mocked this fellow for putting on airs, but he hadn't expected that this SOB would really do it!

Watching his dumbfounded buddy's expression, Killer Dagger couldn't help but smile awkwardly and told the truth.

"Not that expensive... I negotiated with the NPC and got rid of the 'pigeon' missile launcher on the fists, and the price was adjusted to 50,000 silver coins."

Additionally, as part of the deal, he had to regularly submit product usage data to Huge Rock Military Industry to help them improve their products.

But that didn't really matter.

What was privacy? They could use it however they wanted, as he didn't expect to have any in-game X-rated action after turning into this ghostly figure.

Good dog was staring at him, not knowing how to react, and it took a long while before he could blurt out his next line.

"... Didn't you choose the Agile system because you wanted to play stealth?"

"You just don't get it," Killer Dagger grinned proudly, and was about to pat Dog Brother's shoulder but thought better of it and refrained, "As long as I kill everyone, no one will know I've been there; that's stealth too... Besides, don't we already have a real stealth player in our team? Look, Old Kidney also got modified."

With that, he nodded in a direction, and Dog Brother looked over in bewilderment to see Kidney Fighter, wearing an alloy breastplate, grinning and walking toward them.

"Ha ha ha! Brother Dog, you're here too? Let me tell you, Huge Rock Military Industry's cybernetic modification capabilities are damn incredible!"

"…What did you have done?" Eyeing that alloy breastplate and the open-front jacket on him, Brother Dog always had an ominous premonition.

Kidney Fighter's mouth curled into a smirk.

"Hehe… take a look."

Saying so, he grabbed his clothes and threw them up in the air like a lunatic, revealing his entire breastplate and two bare arms.

Only then did Brother Dog realize that the guy's alloy breastplate wasn't worn but was actually welded directly onto his body.

"Have you lost your mind?" Brother Dog stared at him blankly, "What the hell use is that…"

Before he could finish speaking, the pitch-black breastplate suddenly became as transparent as ink diluted with water until it disappeared altogether.

Brother Dog's eyes bulged out like light bulbs, nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Fuck! Optical camouflage?!"

"Bingo!"

With only his limbs and head left visible, Kidney Fighter giggled and touched his head floating in mid-air, continuing.

"Too bad I didn't have enough money, or I could've gotten a full set. But making just the belly invisible is decent enough, the target's size is reduced by a lot."

Just like the Killer Dagger's gear, the price was 50,000 silver coins, which equaled about half the cost of a Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton. In theory, optical camouflage shouldn't be this cheap, but since it was reclaimed scrap, it came with a discount.

If it wasn't such a rare opportunity, he, a Strength Type player, wouldn't have installed this thing on himself; to put it bluntly, he was just being cheap.

Brother Dog couldn't help but give a thumbs-up.

"You're a real piece of work!"

Whether it was effective for stealth was debatable.

But it could certainly scare the crap out of someone in the dead of night.

He examined it closely and found that the optical camouflage wasn't without its flaws.

The slightest vibration could reveal a clear outline; it was only when perfectly still that it could achieve near-total invisibility.

Watching Dog Brother, who was beyond commenting, Killer Dagger chuckled and egged on.

"Bro, get yourself a set too, it's really useful."

Brother Dog: "Useful my ass!"

"Yah—!"

As the two chatted, a sudden scream came from nearby.

A young girl, who had just left the market with a basket, was so terrified that she collapsed onto the ground.

Her face pale, she stared at Kidney Fighter who was now only a head and limbs, shaking uncontrollably and shuffling backwards on her hands and knees, regardless of the snow that was knee-deep.

"Monster…"

On the Wasteland, where odd things were plenty, floating heads weren't common, especially not ones that were laughing at her.

"Don't be scared, miss, this is just a… rather unique cybernetic body."

Kidney Fighter tried to produce a friendly smile and was about to explain in his broken United Human language, but before he took half a step forward, he scared the girl into fainting.

Brother Dog sighed and covered his forehead.

"You're just asking to get kicked."

Killer Dagger whistled and propped himself up on his hands, shifting his body away, pretending not to know the guy.

Watching his two incredibly 'loyal' brothers, Kidney Fighter laughingly said,

"Fuck! You guys—"

Before he could finish, the Alliance guards came rushing over in a hurry, and the players followed, stirring up a commotion.

"Holy shit, bro, how'd you make your belly disappear?"

"What's this new BUG?!"

"Call the Terrorist Mobile Team! There's a cyberpunk crazie here!"

"Cyberpunk crazie?! Where?"

"Hold on! Don't arrest him yet! I want to take a picture!"

…

Above the massive wall, the howling North Wind blew tiny snowflakes through the air.

Looking down at the bustling market below the wall and the swarming crowd around, Yibers showed a delighted smile on his face.

"Your 'residents' are all geniuses."

Standing beside him, Chu Guang glanced over.

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Is genius ever used as an insult?" Yibers rubbed the back of his head, suddenly changing the subject, "Oh right, the X-17 project has been approved. When do you plan to go on a honeymoon with X-16?"

"Not interested."

"Not interested? Could it be… the Melvin family's young miss? Tsk tsk, you must be crazy; that organic will definitely break down. Though—"

As the old codger rambled on with his nonsense, Chu Guang couldn't help but deliver a kick to his backside, though it wasn't quite proper given their generational difference.

Standing to one side, X-16 silently watched Yibers roll on the ground and get up without any intention of helping him.

Not that she could, anyway.

She had no doubt that she and Yibers together wouldn't stand a chance against that human; he could pick her up with one hand and toss her outside the wall, even if he didn't power up his power armor.

"Is this how you, Blue Jackets, greet each other?" Yibers, getting up from the ground, rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "I see you're upset... I'm pleased."

"Are you a masochist?"

"M? What's that? Never mind, it's good to be angry. Only humans get truly angry or happy… not AIs," Yibers shook his head, "Like my creator, the respected Mr. Fang Ming, he only truly understood what 'hate' meant at the end."

Chu Guang looked at him.

"So what are you trying to say?"

Brushing the snow off himself, Yibers bowed slightly with grace, like a gentleman, a mannerism evidently learned from his former clients.

"...I'm pleased to be of service to a flesh-and-blood human. Although I have the utmost respect for Mr. Fang Ming, being a program's servant is utterly boring."

Chu Guang looked at him a bit surprised.

"And here I thought you enjoyed causing chaos."

"That's not a contradiction, AI should serve humans, shouldn't it?" Yibers said with a smile, "Either way, as soon as you're handed the tools of slaughter, you'll quickly end up spilling your guts and brains everywhere until not a single one is left; it's just a matter of time."

"One year and one second are the same to me."

Chu Guang let out a light sigh as he looked at Yibers, who spoke of dangerous things without changing his expression.

"For a second, I thought you might be a good person; that was my mistake."

When Fang Ming was coding his soul, he probably inadvertently mapped all his malice towards humans onto this guy.

Xiao Qi would dislike the people and things that he disliked.

And this guy was no different.

The more Fang Ming despised his mission before, the more this creature detested organics who displeased its master, though it was programmed to be utterly loyal to customers.

For humans, this is undoubtedly a contradiction; it's difficult for people to be genuinely loyal to something they hate, but it's a different story for AI.

Yibers nodded slightly, speaking politely.

"Let me correct you: I'm not human, I'm AI."

He can be loyal to his organic customers while providing them with more efficient tools for slaughter according to their wishes.

If anything, the existence of customers is essential to him.

Chu Guang couldn't be bothered to argue with him.

"I have a question for you."

Yibers said respectfully.

"Please, ask."

Chu Guang got straight to the point.

"Are there any side effects to implanting a cybernetic body part?"

Ever since Mosquito upgraded himself with a flashy cybernetic body and started showing off, more than half of the server's players became potential customers for Huge Rock Military Industry.

Some wanted to be more resilient, some wanted nitrogen acceleration jets mounted on their backs, and others wanted to... grow taller. And those were still the more normal requests.

The abnormal ones were like those in front of the market, with arms transformed into excavators, or those who, to save money, only turned half invisible.

Speaking of Mosquito, that guy was ruthless enough.

He once took a biological cybernetic body from Xiaoyu and hadn't even figured out the symbiosis before he ordered eight mechanical hands from Huge Rock Military Industry.

Counting them up, his brain had to manage twelve limbs, hundreds of joints, as well as another small life dwelling inside his body.

Was that guy's head okay?

Chu Guang remembered very well that he was an Agility Type.

"Of course, there are side effects; even drinking too much water can kill you, let alone replacing part of your body with machinery..." Seeing Chu Guang's gaze growing sharper, Yibers quickly added, "Of course, we inform customers verbally and in writing about the risks of installing cybernetic parts that exceed their body's capacity to handle! Every customer is fully informed before the installation!"

Chu Guang withdrew his gaze from him.

"From now on, non-resident of the refuge can only install cybernetic parts within the safe limits their body can handle. Cybernetic parts that feature nerve feedback, sensory simulation, and the like must be authorized with the signature of a neurosurgeon qualified to practice medicine. I'll have my assistant send you the specific management regulations later."

The general residents still have to be controlled; even if they don't turn into "cybernetic crazies," the potential medical issues are a societal cost.

As for the players...

Just let them be.

Three days for each clone; they usually don't even bother with hospitals after a severe injury, choosing to let their teammates patch them up to save the trouble.

Now that the refuge no longer suffers from a scarcity of active materials, one could simply throw oneself into the converter if regrets ever arose.

Though reluctant, Yibers could only agree.

"At your command."

Chu Guang nodded, turned around, and was about to take the elevator down from the massive wall.

The population of Giant Stone City far exceeded that of any other Alliance settlement, and he still had to inform City Hall about the cross-year event and make preparations in advance.

However, just then, a loud explosion came from below the huge wall, causing Chu Guang to involuntarily halt in his steps.

"It seems to be from the outside."

Standing at the edge of the great wall, Yibers scratched his chin.

He leaned forward, looking down at the sprawling shantytowns below that resembled moss, and the billowing thick smoke rising from one area, continuing with interest,

"The slums are prone to such disturbances from time to time... that area is technically outside of Giant Stone City, not under its jurisdiction. If I'm not mistaken, it's controlled by a few gangs."

In the past, the noble lords from the Inner City wished those beggars outside the wall would die off completely, only summoning some hands from inside when the Tide came, handing them rifles to fill the ranks alongside mercenaries.

Hearing the word "gangs," Chu Guang's eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of a smile suddenly formed at the corner of his mouth.

"I almost forgot about those rats."

But he hadn't genuinely forgotten.

One of the first things the Home of the Refugees did upon arrival at Giant Stone City was to secure the survivors from the Outer City slums, organizing them to set up tents, providing food, and also registering their names, heights, weights, families, ages, and approximate residential areas.

This was both disaster relief and a population census.

The gang members had no interest in the porridge provided for disaster relief, nor did they show much willingness to sign up for construction work, settling for infiltrating a few low-level members or fringe characters as spies.

The Alliance had already moved part of the slum population to the eastern part of City of Dawn for unified management through a series of measures, with a massive labor force transferred to the construction sites in the tunnels outside Giant Stone City.

With all the comings and goings, the remaining young and able-bodied in the slums had become clearly profiled.

People have to earn a living somehow.

You either do business, become a mercenary, or engage in some unmentionable affairs.

The Guards Corps had already identified some of the gang leaders and top brass through interrogations of the Inner City Nobles and citywide inquiries.

Especially according to reliable information, the Dagger Gang — one of the three major gangs in the slum — maintained close business relations with Bugra Free State in the north.

Chu Guang had originally planned to deal with those rats after the Tide, but now it seemed they were entirely oblivious to the fact that the heavens over Qingquan City had changed.

Once the tumor within Giant Stone City had been excised, there would no longer be fertile ground for Looters to thrive in this region, and the Alliance territory would definitely not tolerate the existence of any dark forces.

Since they couldn't wait,
then let them go fill the ranks when the Tide came.

"Should we deal with that area... Well, okay, consider that a rhetorical question."

Seeing the look of expectation on Chu Guang's face, Yibers couldn't help but reveal a grin that showed his penchant for spectacles, then turned to look at X-16 standing beside him.

"Some rats are setting off fireworks right under our noses, take your equipment and have a look there, don't disappoint your master."

"At your command."

The pitch-black reflective surface shone with a chilling cold light; X-16 nodded slightly, without any superfluous words, turning towards the direction of the elevator and walking away...

Chapter 551 Kidnapping and Counter-Killing

A rather obscure piece of trivia is that even though the nobles of Giant Stone City are decaying and incompetent, the city—with its semblance of order—still counts as a land of grace for the southern part of River Valley Province and the northern part of Brocade River Province's Wasteland.

For two hundred years, survivors have been migrating toward Giant Stone City continuously, and even after the collapse of its buildings, this inertia has persisted.

Because the influx of people far exceeded the industrial capacity of Giant Stone City to absorb them, and due to the city walls' inherent limitations that prevented housing too many survivors, an entry tax was imposed, varying between one to two silver coins.

Workers with jobs would not leave the city casually, and Scavengers who toiled in the Wasteland wouldn't enter the city without cause, while the militiamen stationed at the city gates could earn an additional income.

It was a win-win-win situation.

A large surplus of labor force and the resulting unemployment and informal employment eventually formed numerous ownerless cities—slums.

The people here usually subsisted on the waste expelled from the Giant Wall or helped survivors within the wall to scavenge and hunt in the Wasteland, or did other jobs that those inside the wall were unwilling or unable to do.

Historically, Giant Stone City had attempted to clear these psoriasis-like attachments under the Giant Wall, but the efforts proved unappreciated and exhausting.

Building makeshift shelters is almost an essential skill for every survivor in the Wasteland, and even if they were torn down today, Scavengers would have them rebuilt tomorrow.

And every year when the Tide comes, the nobles of the Inner City also need these people to fill the front lines.

Even the often-economically reckless lords knew that drawing manpower from the slums had a far less impact than drafting skilled industrial workers from the industrial zones to bear arms.

Over time, like psoriasis, the shanties crept from the base of the Giant Wall into the Wasteland, forming a buffer between order and chaos.

With time, some seemingly decent houses have even been built in the dirty-water-strewn slums, standing out starkly.

These distinctive buildings generally belong to the gang members or the businesses they run catering to the Waste Land Wanderers.

The order here is maintained by gang members, who themselves are mostly composed of thugs; some of them not only do business with Looters in the Wasteland but are Looters themselves.

For the Alliance, truly liberating nearly two hundred thousand slum dwellers from the Wall's periphery means not only finding them jobs to feed their families but also rooting out the villains hidden among them.

Clearly, this is not good news for the hidden villains...

West Willow Wood Tavern.

Sitting on the second floor, Jeff fiddled with the dagger in his hand, watching the fine snow flurries outside the window, a faint trace of worry etched onto his grim and solemn face.

As the leader of the Dagger Gang, although his blood was not as noble as the Elder Sids', he was still a big shot in the nearly two hundred thousand slum population, and anyone who saw him had to respectfully address him as "lord" or "sir."

With his status, he shouldn't have had any worries, but a series of recent events had filled him with intense unease.

A newspaper seller had gone missing from the outer city, a revolution had erupted in Giant Stone City, and then the Alliance took over; it was as if it had all been agreed upon.

If that was all there was to it, that would be one thing, but clearly, it wasn't the end.

The Alliance began to establish aid stations in the slums, registering survivors' information while distributing food, setting up tents, arranging work, and relocating some individuals...

All these measures had Jeff on edge.

The Alliance was breaking a tacit agreement that had been in place for half a century, trying to establish a new order in his underground kingdom!

What's worse, that newspaper seller was still alive and kicking, while the assassin he had hired from Elder Sid had vanished...

Footsteps approached from outside the door.

Jeff instinctively gripped the dagger tighter and tensed his muscles, but upon hearing the three long and two short knocks at the door, he relaxed his tense nerves.

"Come in."

The door opened.

It was West, the second-in-command of the Dagger Gang, who entered.

Jeff didn't wait for him to speak.

"Any news?"

West shook his head with a grim expression.

"No."

After a long silence, Jeff violently stabbed the dagger into the table and cursed in frustration.

"Damn it..."

Understanding the anger in his heart, West said nothing, sighed, and sat down in a chair nearby.

"Sid has been buried alongside that collapsed building, 'Small Blade' is still missing, and Spielberg is still alive... But none of that matters now. What's fatal is that the distinguished visitor from the north is dead, our Serite is dead too; we've spent so much time and effort, but still haven't found the weapon."

Jeff's face was gloomy, and after a long time, he said,

"What about Wallace?"

"...It seems he went to confess to the Alliance and then got on a bus to the POW camp. I don't know how long his sentence will be, but I suspect he might have given away our deal with the northern guests, which is what I'm most worried about."

Looking at the silent Jeff, West paused before continuing,

"The Alliance isn't making any overt moves against us... but every single one of their actions is almost fatal to us. I suspect that as soon as this snowstorm or the spring tide is over, they are going to settle the score with us."

Jeff harbored apprehension in his heart but showed contempt on his face, scoffing,

"Like they can send an army to wipe us out."

"It's not impossible," West said with a wry smile, "The construction crew has actually been infiltrating the slums. The more they organize, the less room we have to hide... I even suspect they are targeting you and me."

Jeff's eyes narrowed slightly.

In fact, he didn't need West to remind him; he also had a similar feeling after seeing a series of moves by the Alliance. Especially over the past few days, he always felt like someone was watching him.

Perhaps—

He should go north and lay low.

And wait to come back after the aftermath stirred up by the cataclysm in Giant Stone City had completely settled.

After pondering for a moment, he said earnestly,

"What's your suggestion?"

West shared his thoughts,

"We should shut down businesses that could easily trigger the Alliance's sensitive nerves, like 'labor dispatch' and 'organ trade.' And we need to close down facilities that could be problematic, like 'hospitals,' 'kitchens,' and 'welfare institutes.'"

A twitch crossed Jeff's brow,

"That's a lot of money."

West nodded silently.

"Yes... but even if we don't shut them down, most of our clients have been wiped out anyway. Keeping them going is purely a risk."

Recently, those Blue Jackets have been scurrying around like madmen, even dragging out the cannibal tribes hibernating in the tunnels.

Those man-eaters were truly disgusting, and he didn't like them, but doing business with them was relatively pleasurable.

When they caught fattened merchants or the like, they would eat the flesh and then pass the remaining property and goods through the slum gangs for disposal, and the payment required was only a few girls, aged and unsellable.

They were different from the distinguished guests up north, as they didn't mind if the slaves were pretty or not, nor were they picky eaters.

Listening to the advice from his second in command, Jeff stared at the dagger on the table, lost in thought.

If this had been two years ago, when business in Red River Town was still booming, all this would have been insignificant profits, fine to leave to the Dean Gang and Poison Gang.

But now, what was once petty profit had become the main income for the gang. If he cut those off, what would he and his brothers live on?

After musing for a while, Jeff said slowly,

"We can transition, but we need new economic sources."

Seeing that the boss had finally relented, West breathed a sigh of relief and patiently continued,

"That's what I was thinking... We have enough manpower. Once we successfully clean up, we can completely switch to another livelihood. For example, try to contract some legal construction from the Alliance, or open mines in West State City. Once the paperwork is done, we can apply our methods, and the profits from this might not be less than those from murder and plunder."

Jeff slowly nodded his head,

"Do as you suggested... In a few days, I plan to go to the Free State to explain the weapons situation to our clients. I expect to stay there for a while, so I am leaving things here in your hands."

"Your will be done."

West respectfully nodded slightly, but in his heart, he scornfully curled his lip.

Explaining to the client was probably a ruse; the old fox was likely scared out of his wits by the Alliance and probably hadn't slept well in days.

But that was fine.

With that guy gone, it would be convenient for him to do some things.

By the time he returns, it'll be hard to say who the real boss is here.

Looking at his subordinate with bowed head, Jeff gave a slight nod, just about to send him away when a deafening explosion suddenly came from outside the window.

The two immediately looked out, only to see thick smoke billowing in the distance on the dilapidated street, while people screamed and scattered in all directions.

"Damn it!"

Jeff's nerves, which had just relaxed, tensed up like a bowstring again. Cursing under his breath, he got up and walked to the window, "What the hell are those idiots doing! Didn't I tell them to keep a low profile these days!"

Staring in the direction of the rising smoke, West's pupils contracted slightly.

"The Welfare Institute..."

Hearing those three words, Jeff's brow twitched violently, and he immediately turned back, marched up to West, and grabbed him by the collar.

"Get your men there right now! Move the goods to a safe place! Before the Alliance people arrive! Hurry!"

"Yes!"

Thinking of the Alliance's methods, West nodded nervously, not daring to hesitate, and quickly turned and walked out of the door.

Watching the door shut in haste, Jeff felt uneasy, swore quietly, and walked over to the desk to pick up a dagger.

Perhaps he should stay in the safe house for a while.

...

"Star anise, bay leaves, fennel... what the hell do they look like?"

Holding a crumpled piece of paper in her hand, Feng Qing wandered aimlessly through the market at the Giant Wall Gate, looking around cluelessly.

About an hour ago, she and Gui Gui, along with a few other comrades from the Goblin Corps, were preparing New Year's Eve delicacies in the Army's kitchen.

As for the ingredients, it was the tentacles of a Multilegged Beast.

These mammal-like creatures resembling invertebrates usually thrived in the forests stretching from the City of Dawn to the Red River Alliance, with a few in the high radiation areas of the city, although they weren't commonly seen.

Most Waste Land Wanderers would steer clear of Multilegged Beasts because not only were they tough to beat, but their recovery power was extremely strong.

A spray of bullets would leave limbs scattered all over the ground, and then a few days later, they would grow back.

But that wasn't all.

Their flesh was incredibly stinky, smelling like rotten eggs that had gone bad for half a month—probably containing hydrogen sulfide besides organic acids. Hardly anyone would want to eat it.

However, their leader, Boss Mosquito, had a sudden brainwave—

"Since the Multilegged Beast is so durable, and its tentacles regrow, if we can solve the issue of taste, couldn't we cultivate it like chives?"

Harvest one batch, grow another; wouldn't this protein production efficiency kick the asses of chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep, and cows!

At first, everyone was against it because it really was too stinky, causing the other Corps' comrades to look at them with strange eyes.

But all of them together couldn't withstand Boss Mosquito's persistence.

"I'll think of a way to deal with the toxicity! MMP! The periodic table is right there, I'll be damned if I can't cure a piece of meat!"

"No, no! The meat is too stinky! Even Old Na says no!"

"Boss! Give it up!"

"Spices! Cover up the stink with spices! Hahaha, I'm truly a genius!"

So—

She was sent out to purchase spices.

Feng Qing didn't mind much; Boss Mosquito had given her 100 Silver just for running the errand. He might make rash decisions, but his generosity was undeniable.

However, the problem was…

She had no idea what any of these spices looked like, let alone what they were called in United Human language.

To her embarrassment, she couldn't cook at all. She had tried once in the game and almost lost her own life.

It was much harder than flying a plane…

Having wandered around the market several times, Feng Qing couldn't find spices that matched the images from an internet search, and she couldn't help but sigh.

"Anything that's very fragrant should do... Just buy some randomly."

Had I known, I would have brought Gui Gui along.

As she circled the stall several times, the spice merchant couldn't help but ask,

"Hey, Miss, do you need help?"

Understanding the United Human tongue, Feng Qing stopped and nodded.

"Yes, do you have any spices?"

The merchant scratched the back of his head.

"Spices? We have them... but which kind are you looking for?"

"Anything is fine."

Anything is fine? What kind of nonsense is that?

The merchant paused, glancing at a string of garlic hanging under the awning.

"How about this?"

"That's garlic, right? I'm looking for spices..." Feng Qing frowned, "I think the kitchen already has that. I need the kind with a stronger scent."

Rubbing his head, the merchant said,

"You say spices; garlic is a spice too... A stronger scent? It would help if you were more specific."

"How about... something rare?" Feng Qing added quietly, feeling a bit guilty.

Rubbing his chin with his index finger, the merchant thought for a moment and said,

"Something rare? Exotic spices, perhaps? I've heard that Poluo Province does produce some with strong scents. Just the other day, a traveling merchant from there was selling some..."

On hearing the merchant's words, Feng Qing's eyes lit up and she leaned forward on the stall.

"Where is he?!"

Startled by her intent gaze, the merchant unconsciously stepped back and coughed before saying,

"He's already gone... I saw that he sold out his goods yesterday; he must be on his way back by now."

All sold out...

A hint of disappointment flashed across Feng Qing's face.

Just then, a hearty shout suddenly came from nearby.

"Exotic spices? I do have some."

The voice came from a slightly larger stall, manned by a man in his twenties or thirties, clad in a leather jacket, smiling at her.

He was not alone in business.

Under the awning, sat two young men of few words, one fiddling with a dagger, the other with closed eyes as if dozing off, neither paying any heed.

Feng Qing's eyes brightened, and she promptly approached the stall. But after glancing at the items laid out on the wooden table, she was puzzled.

"Do you... sell spices?"

The stall was filled with a mishmash of items.

There were glasses, rings, jewelry, as well as a variety of rifles and bullets of different calibers, and even clothing or backpacks.

There were even several mechanical prosthetics and electronic parts of indiscernible use.

This place didn't look like it sold spices at all.

It didn't even seem to qualify as a food vendor.

"Snow is still falling from heaven, we certainly couldn't display such precious items out in the open," the man chuckled, "The goods are at the hotel, not far from here. If you're interested, I can take you to get them."

Feng Qing asked with concern,

"Are they expensive?"

"Not at all, you can definitely afford them!" Seeing an easy mark, the man chuckled and kicked the youth playing with the dagger before passing the stall onto him and then circled around from behind the stall, saying cordially, "Follow me, I'll take you there."

"Okay!"

Feng Qing nodded excitedly and followed behind the man.

The spice seller next to him hesitated, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something. But after glancing around, he closed it again.

That guy was obviously from the Dagger Gang, and the assortment of goods on his stall clearly looked like stolen goods.

He was here to do business, not to look for trouble. He certainly didn't want his throat slit in the middle of the night.

Watching the little girl follow the gang member and disappear at the edge of the market, he shook his head and clicked his tongue.

Such a pretty girl.

"What a pity."

When they reached the edge of the market and saw that NPC heading towards the slums, Feng Qing couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion and looked towards the high-rise next to the viaduct.

"Isn't the hotel over there?"

She remembered that NPCs all lived at the Hotel Wind From Afar.

The man chuckled.

"That's where the rich merchants stay. We small-time traders can't afford such luxurious hotels... Come with me, it's not far ahead."

Luxurious, huh...

Feng Qing glanced at the building towering like a giant wall.

It seemed rather ordinary aside from its height.

But then she remembered this was the Wasteland and let it go.

Just in case, she should send a message to Gui Gui.

With this thought, Feng Qing raised her index finger and tapped a few times on the Vital signs monitor on her left arm to compose a short message.

[Feng Qing: Looks like I might have triggered a hidden mission while looking for spices! Exciting! (•̀∀•́)]

Message composed—

Sent successfully!

After a short wait, a reply came through.

[Gui Gui: Hey, wait, what about the spices? What are we going to do with the spices? We're all waiting for you!!!]

Feng Qing grinned and typed a few more words.

[Feng Qing: Don't worry.] (Send failed)

Huh?

Seeing the little bubble behind the message, Feng Qing was slightly taken aback.

Was the signal really that weak?

...

After leaving the market, they walked through the slums for a while, the shacks getting increasingly dilapidated and the alleys narrower.

Finally, in front of a rusty iron door, the man stopped, took a bunch of keys from his waist, and began to search through them.

While he was busy getting the key, Feng Qing took a moment to look around.

In front of her was a narrow courtyard overgrown with weeds, and beyond the courtyard was a red brick building three stories high, each floor had about five or six rooms, and every window was hung with threadbare curtains.

Rather than a hotel, it felt more like a dormitory or a school.

She quickly noticed a rotting signboard with some words that seemed to imply some sort of welfare institute.

This wasn't really a hotel, was it?

Feng Qing thoughtfully moved her gaze from the weedy courtyard to the other side of the alley, locking eyes with an old woman who was clearing snow.

She had meant to smile, but the old woman's face changed as if she had seen the plague, quickly shifting her gaze away and hurrying inside her house.

Feng Qing faintly heard the sound of a door bolt sliding into place.

Strange...

Ever since a moment ago, she had felt she might have triggered some hidden missions; otherwise, why would there be so many armed people around?

Now she was more and more convinced that this place was not a hotel at all, and the guy who brought her here was certainly no good person.

"Miss, you're a resident of the refuge, right?"

Hearing the man strike up a conversation, Feng Qing withdrew her gaze from the other side of the alley and nodded.

"Mm, how did you tell?"

The man chuckled and said,

"Your accent and that unique quality of yours... Wasteland wanderers just can't compare with you."

This NPC sure had a way with words.

Feng Qing couldn't help blushing, smiled, and responded,

"You flatter me."

Finally finding the key, the man pushed open the iron gate with a creaking sound and went in first.

It seemed that he was not worried she would run away.

But with such an unusual mission rarely triggered, she never planned to run and followed him with a hint of curiosity.

The two crossed the weedy yard and followed the stone path up to the front door's two steps, reaching the main entrance of the red brick building.

The man gave Feng Qing a gesture to wait and approached the wooden door alone, gently knocking twice on its surface.

As if someone had been waiting just inside, a crack opened in the wooden door, revealing an annoyed face from behind.

She was a woman in her twenties or thirties, her hair messy, freckles beside her nose—she was actually quite lovely if it weren't for the burn on her forehead that ruined all sense of beauty.

Her name was Horacca. She had been a prostitute, a tough, and even the mistress of the Dagger Gang leader, now the matron of the Gray House Welfare Institute.

Everyone in the slums knew her.

When children went missing or girls never returned home, they either ran off with Wasteland wanderers or ended up at her place.

"Miles... what are you doing here?" Horacca lowered her hoarse voice, impatiently demanding, "Didn't Mr. West say we're stopped for these few days?"

The man named Miles couldn't conceal the smugness on his face and spoke in a hushed but excited tone,

"He did say that, but this chance is too good to pass up."

The woman quickly glanced at the young girl peeking around behind Miles, and her eyes narrowed dangerously from the shadows.

"A resident of the refuge? Have you lost your mind..."

She could tell at a glance, this guy definitely wasn't an ordinary Wasteland wanderer.

"She's alone, without any companions. I've been watching her for a long time. Don't be so timid. There must be tens of thousands of residents in the 'North Suburb' refuge. By the time the Alliance notices one is missing, it could take days, and by then, we would've already passed her on. Those customers up north have been wanting to buy one, right?"

Seeing this crazy woman staring at her intently, Miles hurriedly chuckled and reassured, "Don't worry... I've turned on the jammer. No signal will get out."

He certainly knew that residents of the refuge all carried a vital signs monitor (VM).

He also knew that two VMs could locate each other, which was common knowledge on the Wasteland, just like those Blue Ground Mice and their coats.

Even so, what of it?

Jamming signals was much easier than locating them.

Right after leaving the market, he had turned on the jammer.

The woman's piercing gaze softened slightly, and she opened the door wider.

"Come in and talk."

Saying this, she looked again at Feng Qing, who was fiddling with her VM behind Miles, and cleared her throat,

"You come in too, it's strangely cold outside."

"Mm!"

Putting the unresponsive VM back into her sleeve, Feng Qing smiled and nodded, then followed the man called Miles into the house.

The foyer was spacious.

Directly facing the entrance stood a wooden stand, on which were two cages constructed from steel bars, with shackles hanging on the bars, covered in dark smudges that were either rust or blood.

They were probably blood.

As soon as she entered, she immediately smelled a faint odor of rancid grease.

Underneath the wooden stands were about a dozen chairs, which seemed like the spot where some special program had taken place; judging by the signs thrown beside the chairs, those must have been used for bidding at an auction.

Thick dust had settled beside the legs of the stools, indicating that this strange facility had been idle for some time.

As for why she could see clearly, that was also taken for granted.

From a hundred meters in the air, she could clearly see heads buried in trenches, so of course she wouldn't miss the details so close at hand.

"Is the spice here?" Although she knew it was a pointless question, she still softly called out.

Horacca looked towards Miles, who was momentarily stunned, then, as if he had heard some hilariously funny joke, burst out laughing.

"Spice? Hahaha! Hey, hey... little girl, you couldn't be unclear about the situation, could you?"

Before his words had even finished, he had drawn his handgun and aimed it at Feng Qing, sneering as he continued.

"Seeing this guy, you should understand now, right?"

Standing to one side, Horacca crossed his arms and threw in a taunt.

"Next life, remember to keep your eyes wide open, it's rare to be born into a refuge... but don't be too sad, the madmen up north might be a bit wilder, but it's much better than on the wasteland."

"Really now, if there's no spice, just say it clearly, got me all excited for nothing."

Instead of showing the fear or panic the two men expected, Feng Qing slightly smiled and took out a hand grenade, tossing it at her feet.

"As for reincarnation... how about we go together?"

"Damn it!"

Watching the pin and hand grenade rolling towards him, the gun-toting Miles's face turned drastically pale, and he violently threw himself backwards onto the ground.

This lunatic!

Does she have a death wish?!

Horacca, too, ducked to the side in panic.

Almost simultaneously with lying down, a deafening explosion roared through the hall, with almost ten million candela of blinding white light causing both men to instinctively shut their eyes.

But it was useless.

Not to mention that shutting eyes couldn't be faster than light, almost ten million candela of a flashbang's light couldn't be blocked by mere eyelids.

"Damn it! It's a flash grenade!"

Crouched behind the stands, Miles shouted in anger and frustration while rubbing his bright red eyes with his left hand, and he fired his gun wildly.

The sound of gunfire echoed in the hall, but he couldn't hear anything, his brain felt like it was struck by a heavy hammer, and his body lost balance.

At that moment, another, larger hand grenade rolled dingingly to his side.

As he barely made out what it was, his face twisted with horror.

The explosion surged towards the sky, and the visible shockwave swept over the wooden stands, even shattering the windows covered by curtains next to the door.

Miles was dead on the spot, without even the time to utter last words.

Horacca slumped on the ground, looking as if he had been scared silly, utterly pale, with the floor wet with a ginger-colored liquid.

She had once been a hitman for the Dagger Gang and had killed people, but that was all when she was very young.

Even back then, she just fired handguns at rival gangs in the streets and had never been close to being bombed.

Lying by the corridor at the side of the hall, Feng Qing shook her dizzy head and, leaning on the wall, stood up from the ground.

The flash grenade had affected her too, but it wasn't enough to take away her combat abilities.

After all, she had come from the battlefield, and even if she wasn't on par with the big shots of the Burning Corps, she wasn't about to lose to two lackeys.

Looking at the messed-up hall and the charred floor, Feng Qing took out her handgun and chambered it, muttering quietly.

"This powder load might be a bit too much."

With that kind of power, it feels like the fragments are redundant...

Finally recovering from the shock of the explosion, Horacca stealthily got up from the ground, preparing to sneak off from the chaotic foyer.

However, before she could steady herself, the cold muzzle of a gun pressed against the back of her head, followed closely by the not-so-standard language of the United Human from behind her.

"Don't move, eh, I'm an Awakener after all, I'm sure I'm much faster than you," said Horacca slowly raising her hands, trembling with fear.

"Don't, don't shoot!"

She couldn't for the life of her understand why that polite and gentle-looking girl had such a ferocious combat power.

"I surrender!"

Feng Qing looked at her and continued to ask.

"Are there others here, or just you alone?"

"Dow, downstairs there are some goods... no, there are some slaves, oh no, prisoners," stammered Horacca.

There should have been some enforcers here, but with business on hold recently, no need to entertain clients, and only needing to feed the "goods," she was left here alone.

To avoid attracting the Alliance's attention, the Dagger Gang had disguised this place as an abandoned building.

Upon this thought, she couldn't help but curse in her heart the fool who had become a corpse. If he had survived, Mr. West would unquestionably have fed him, dismembered, to the dogs.

Not minding her incoherent change of words, Feng Qing glanced at her left arm's vital signs monitor (VM).

The signal still hadn't recovered.

It seemed that this building was also equipped with a jamming device.

At this moment, the courtyard outside the door suddenly filled with messy footsteps and shouting—at least a dozen or twenty people had arrived.

"Looks like we've fallen into a den of thieves."

If she had known this hidden mission was this thrilling, she would have brought Gui Gui along as well.

Looking toward the direction of the door and then at the "red-name NPC" with her hands on her head and shivering, Feng Qing murmured to herself.

Just as she was preparing to face the enemy, an explosion suddenly erupted from outside the window and door, sending snow and mud spattering into the room like rain.

"Ah!!!"

No longer able to contain the fear in her heart, Horacca, knocked to the ground by the shock, let out a blood-curdling scream but was quickly silenced by a heavy blow to her head, as she fell unconscious.

"So annoying," said Feng Qing after knocking out the Looter. Pressing her body low, she swiftly moved to the window.

Looking outside, her eyes widened in shock.

"Is that... a missile?!"

The entire front yard looked as if it had been torn up by an excavator, leaving only a wide crater that marked the very center of the yard.

The dust picked up by the explosion caused a mess all around, but didn't harm any of the surrounding buildings, not even the walls of the courtyard had collapsed.

Such precise targeting clearly didn't resemble artillery!

A few bodies lay strewn haphazardly next to the crater, and some gang members, who limbs had been blown off, were curled up, emitting faint whimpers.

The explosion had occurred almost instantaneously, so fast that they had no chance to react.

Amidst the rolling thick smoke that enveloped the alley outside, intermittent gunshots and screams could be heard, but all were abruptly and cleanly silenced.

The fight was completely over.

A curvaceous figure strode across the dust-filled courtyard, moving steadily towards the red brick building.

Seeing that raised alloy breastplate and shiny black mirror helmet, and the explosion-proof shield and rifle in the sister's hands, Feng Qing's eyes involuntarily shined with a glint of admiration.

"So cool!" she whispered to herself in awe.

What kind of equipment is that?!

Wait, could that be a mechanical prosthesis?

X-16 glanced at the Resident of the refuge pressed against the window sill, and tapped her headgear lightly with her forefinger.

"Target retrieval successful—"

"Mission completed."

Chapter 552: It Would Be Better for Us If You Were All Dead

"Dove-type missiles annihilated 12 targets with a single shot, and X-16 wiped out 11, taking less than a minute... If you can help me collect enough AI cores, I could even build you a bionic man team for less than one million silver coins each, think about it?"

Atop the giant wall.

Overlooking the slum, Yibers watched with a schadenfreude grin, babbling assessments.

He used to stand here watching the organics duke it out from afar, at most selling them weapons they could afford.

Now he was finally able to join the fray.

He was very satisfied with this new shareholder who had brought profits to Huge Rock Military Industry and enjoyed watching the organics court death in various ways—one of the few pleasures and the very purpose of his existence.

He had none of the multifarious desires of humans, and he was far less interested in human ways of alleviating loneliness, such as consumption, reproduction, arts, philosophy, etc.

In the dilapidated alleys, shadows began to retreat as the gang members scattered, their courage shattered by X-16's sudden descent into the battlefield.

A few Male Bee Assault Rifles were their only heavy firepower, and at best a couple of cheap RPG Rocket Launchers; most gang members had nothing more than pistols and iron pipe rifles, no match for X-16.

They never imagined they would face bionic men from Huge Rock Military Industry.

In the memory of most gang members, the towering walls never struck at them, the vermin of the gutters, because there was no benefit in doing so.

They couldn't fathom why they would be targeted by a missile from the heavens, nor comprehend why the respected Mr. Yibers would dispatch his costly bionic men here.

Their lives combined weren't worth as much as that thing's!

Human life is too fleeting.

So fleeting that what has become habit is taken for granted.

Almost no one remembers that a century ago, Giant Stone City did strike a heavy blow against them.

"Those little mice have retreated…" Looking down from the wall, Yibers grinned widely, "Speaking of which, how are you considering it?"

No response.

Left hanging for quite some time, Yibers looked back only to find the person gone, slightly startled, then shook his head with a chuckle.

"Such an impatient fellow."

...

[Hidden Quest: Disclose and Destroy the Gang Stronghold (Completed)]

[Summary: A welfare house disguised as an abandoned building, but actually a lair where gang members breed and trade slaves.]

[Reward: 300 Contribution Points, 1000 Region Reputation, 599 silver coins]

[New Mission Alert: Investigate the basement of the welfare house, wait for Alliance Army to arrive (In Progress)]

A damp and chilly basement.

Along the narrow corridor, there were twisted and crooked cells.

Hearing the sound of the door opening and footsteps at the entrance, there were rustling noises in the cells, with faces pressing curiously against the bars to look out.

Boys and girls, the oldest sixteen or seventeen—considered adults in the Wasteland—and the youngest six or seven, children wherever you go.

This was a different scene from the dungeons in Looter's den.

To get a better price for the "commodity," the gang members generally did not abuse them.

According to Horacca's confession, most were orphans, some sold here by their families, others collected by guys like Miles.

Most people in the slum knew of such a place but no one interfered. Even if the trouble was right under their noses, not everyone encountered it. Without those "order-keeping" gang members, the situation in the slum might get even worse.

After all, it's the Wasteland.

Compared to dying of hunger or illness, the few who were sold were nothing, and oftentimes, prostitutes needed such a place too, to deal with the troublesome offspring they did not wish for... of course, that's what Horacca, the NPC, claimed to clear her name.

Weapon holstered.

Feng Qing walked down the narrow corridor, catching sight of a young, innocent face with big round eyes watching her.

The little girl, about eleven or twelve, had a dress made from a grayish flax cloth wrapped around her.

Stopping in front of the bars, Feng Qing leaned down with her hands on her knees and smiled amiably at the big-eyed little girl.

"What's your name?"

Perhaps because she seemed approachable, the little girl wasn't scared of her, and in a crisp, pleasant voice, she said.

"Citrus!"

"Citrus... that's a nice name."

Little Citrus cocked up her mouth proudly.

"Mmm-Hmm, Sister Horacca gave it to me!"

"Sister Horacca... is that the sister outside with freckles by her nose?"

"Yes!" Little Citrus nodded energetically and happily said, "I heard there was once a Citrus, a big Citrus, but she got adopted by good people, so the name was passed down to me."

It was clear she loved the name, and she didn't dislike the person outside at all; she even regarded that person as a mother.

Feng Qing felt a tinge of sadness.

Maybe it was because the NPC here seemed even more human than actual people, the Game always managed to be exceptionally realistic in the most unexpected places.

"How long have you been living here?"

"About a month... maybe?"

Citrus tilted her head; she wasn't quite sure how long she had been there since it wasn't usually occupied.

Maybe?

Citrus murmured, continuing to speak softly as she recalled.

"We used to live upstairs, and only children who did something wrong would be brought down here... But then, Sister Horacca said that the bad people from the Alliance were coming to take us away and eat us. But she told us not to be afraid, she would protect us, and asked us to hide down here, not making too much noise."

Listening to the innocent voice, Feng Qing found it somewhat bittersweet.

Bad people, huh...

But it makes sense.

There wasn't the convenience of the internet in the Wasteland.

Who knows, maybe to those far south or west of the Great Desert, the Alliance symbolizes evil itself.

Seeing the sister in front of her remain silent, Citrus tentatively continued in a low voice.

"It's stuffy in the basement, and I don't know when the Alliance will leave... Sister, are you planning to take me away?"

She felt this sister was not bad.

Pretty and well-dressed.

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Um! Sister Horacca said that everyone will be adopted, the sooner the better, it gets very troublesome if it's too late, so we must behave when outsiders come," with someone willing to adopt her, Citrus's eyes twinkled, and she earnestly extended her little hand, counting on her fingers, "I can sweep the floor, mop, clean windows, and also wipe the tables…"

Seeing her counting on her fingers, Feng Qing felt a tightening in her heart, but she still managed to smile and softly praised.

"You're amazing, not like sister who can only recite poems."

"Poems?" Citrus tilted her head.

"Yep!" Feng Qing gently touched her head, "I'll teach you when we get out."

She knew many poems, not just those few lines etched for fun on airplanes.

Back at the entrance to the basement.

She glanced at Horacca, who was tied up next to the cage, and Feng Qing sighed, saying,

"You know, you might as well go down and repent."

Horacca's face was pale as she pleaded,

"Don't, don't kill me... I've confessed everything, I was forced, if I didn't work for Mr. West, I would have been sold to the Looters."

"That kind of thing you can argue with the judge."

Feng Qing glanced outside the corridor window.

Not far from the courtyard gate, two wheeled armored vehicles were parked, their 20mm heavy machine guns emitting a chilling gleam. Well-trained soldiers quickly took control of the area, working in groups of four with the help of small drones to search for traces of armed militants door to door.

There was the emblem of the First Army Corps on the armored vehicles.

There were quite a few people who came, probably about a hundred-man team.

Although their military operations in Luo Xia Province were mainly to maintain order in the occupied areas, they had also gone to the frontlines to participate in a few battles when the players couldn't cope.

The once-in-a-lifetime NPC troops, their style closer to the regular army.

Just a few gangs dared to challenge the Alliance's war machine, simply courting death.

"…Looking at this situation, there might be another big event on New Year's Eve." Feng Qing's eyes gradually lit up with excitement.

A team of soldiers in exoskeleton armors crossed the main gate, and upon locking eyes with Feng Qing, walked towards her.

The leading soldier opened his helmet visor and knocked his right fist on his left chest, cleanly stating,

"The First Army Corps' 21st hundred-man team is ordered to take over this area, leave it to us."

As his words fell, a line of pale blue text updated on the VM.

[Task: Investigate the basement of the welfare house, wait for the Alliance army to arrive (Completed)]

Imitating the NPC's gesture, Feng Qing also placed her right fist on her chest and returned a military salute, smiling politely.

"Yep, I'm leaving it to you guys."

The team captain waved, sending a team into the basement, another two teams searching upstairs, while the rest remained on standby in the hall.

Watching those fully-armed soldiers, Horacca sitting on the ground was as pale as death.

She had no doubts that the Dagger Gang, once a force to be reckoned with in the slums, was probably going to meet its end this time…

The children locked in the dungeon were quickly brought out.

What surprised Feng Qing was that the dungeon, which didn't look very spacious, actually held ninety-seven kids.

Since the surface temperature was much colder than the basement, and there were no suitable clothes for them in the vehicles, the Alliance soldiers could only wrap them in quilts found in the building, waiting to be handed over to professionals at the Home of the Refugees.

The rescued children clung to the quilts, looking bewilderedly at the soldiers in exoskeleton armors, their faces filled with terror but too scared to make a sound.

Some of the older girls guessed what might be happening, but their faces were equally filled with uncertainty about the future.

Looking at Feng Qing standing by the door, little Citrus stopped and said in a soft voice,

"Sister…are you guys from the Alliance?"

Even she wasn't that bright, but looking at Sister Horacca's expression, she had some guess.

The soldier leading her onto the vehicle didn't rush her but simply stood by her side.

Feng Qing squatted down to look at her, gently touched her head, and comforted her in a soft voice.

"Don't worry, we aren't going to eat you."

Citrus asked quietly,

"Then, where will we be sent?"

Feng Qing thought for a moment and tried to describe.

"Um... a warmer place than here, where people will teach you to read, write, and do arithmetic."

Citrus looked somewhat downhearted.

"No one will adopt us?"

Feng Qing didn't know how to answer this question, but seeing the loneliness on the little girl's face, she suddenly had an idea, smiled and said,

"But your sister can come to visit you."

Citrus's eyes instantly brightened.

"Really?!"

"Yep!" Feng Qing nodded vigorously, looking into her eyes, she extended her little finger, "Pinky swear."

Although she didn't know the significance of this gesture, after hooking fingers and shaking them, the little girl felt a warm sensation in her heart.

She suddenly felt that the Alliance wasn't so scary.

Maybe Sister Horacca was wrong?

Happily saying thanks, little Citrus waved her hand vigorously in farewell and obediently followed the soldier onto the armored vehicle outside the courtyard.

As the armored vehicle drove away, Feng Qing waved her hand with an aunt-like smile on her face.

So cute…

Can I keep one?

Suddenly realizing her smile was somewhat inappropriate, Feng Qing's face flushed red, and she hastily shook her head to drive out the strange thought.

"Right…spices, I need to buy some spices to take back." She murmurred to herself and hurried out of the yard, heading for the market by the main gate of the giant wall.

She almost forgot the real work!

It's already getting dark.

I wonder if there's still time…

...

As it turned out, it was too late.

At the main gate of the slum, there was a sentry post, with barbed wire and barricades pulled around the edge, and a large number of troops were moving through the checkpoint into the interior.

No entry without a permit; exit is not allowed.

Loudspeakers mounted on poles continuously called into the slum, instructing unrelated persons to stay indoors to avoid accidental injury from stray bullets.

The storm had come suddenly and swiftly, without the slightest hint, as if it had been prepared long ago.

It wasn't just the slum that was sealed off; the market in front of the giant wall was also cordoned off by the First Army Corps, completely locked down.

A crowd of peddlers and mercenaries gathered at the entrance of the marketplace, shouting excitedly at the soldiers of the First Army Corps.

"What are you trying to do with this!?"

"We're here to do business! We're not your residents!"

"Are you bandits!?"

"Enough, I won't do business here if it comes to this, just let me leave—"

In a sense, the Alliance's actions had broken the century-old convention of Giant Stone City, stretching their reach beyond the enclosing wall.

Most of the people were carrying weapons, and the atmosphere on the scene became tense in an instant.

Just as everyone was cursing and making a ruckus, a loud voice cut through the noise at the market gate.

"Quiet!"

Glancing at the agitated crowd, Wrench raised his volume and continued.

"We've received word that a gang of evil forces is causing trouble outside the wall. These Looter kin are extremely arrogant, not only committing atrocities right under our noses but also daring to kidnap our citizens on our turf. The Manager has ordered a thorough investigation!"

"Rest assured, everyone. We will not miss a single villain, nor will we wrong a good person."

Before his words had finished echoing, the noise on the scene had picked up again. Clearly, some were leading the troublemaking, stirring up the emotions of those Waste Land Wanderers.

"What does this have to do with us! It's not us who kidnapped your people!"

"This is outside your residential area, we haven't even entered your homes, you're overreaching!"

"Where exactly is the boundary of the Alliance, why does it seem like everywhere is your turf—"

"Bang—!"

The piercing sound of a gunshot made all the noisy voices stop.

Coldly staring at those noisy Waste Land Wanderers, Wrench, with the gun pointed at the sky, continued in a frosty tone.

"I haven't finished speaking."

The machine guns atop the armored vehicles aimed from a distance, their dark and menacing barrels sending chills down the spines of countless people.

Meeting those murderous gazes, even the fiercest Waste Land Wanderer had to pick up the reality that "a wise man does not fight when the odds are against him."

Gathered here were not only those fully armed soldiers but also residents of the refuge.

Aside from those equipped with bizarre prosthetics who didn't seem very bright, many gave off the distinct aura of Awakeners.

Members of the gangs hiding in the crowd were sweating bullets, feeling a bad omen amidst the serious preparations, sensing impending trouble.

Watching the silent crowd, Wrench unemotionally returned his pistol to his waist and said succinctly.

"Wherever our bullets fly, that's where we have jurisdiction."

"Within range, it's all our turf."

A large number of armored vehicles arrived from the north, along with the number one tank that had come down from the front lines. The menacing armor sent shivers down many.

At that moment, a Centurion wearing heavy exoskeleton walked up to Wrench and saluted.

"The slum has been completely sealed off!"

Wrench nodded his head.

"Prepare to execute Stage 2 plans."

"Yes, sir!"

With another salute, the Centurion hustled to the roadside, signaling the armored vehicles to start up and head towards the checkpoint with his brothers.

The Thousands of leaders from the Militia Group coordinating with the operation glanced toward the direction of the checkpoint, then back at Wrench.

"Wasn't the operation scheduled for after the New Year?"

"Someone tried to kidnap residents of the refuge. The operation has been moved up."

Anyway, the preparations were pretty much ready. The Manager had ordered a head start to prevent those people from slipping away to the Wasteland.

Hearing Wrench's answer, the Thousands of leaders looked surprised.

Kidnapping residents of the refuge?

Were those guys tired of living?

"No issues with the person, I hope."

Wrench replied offhandedly.

"If you're asking about those who kidnapped her, they're probably all dead by now."

Thousands of leaders: "..."

After controlling the Waste Land Wanderers at the marketplace, the First Army Corps didn't immediately search for gang members hiding among them. Instead, they gave them a chance to turn themselves in and then shifted the focus of their action to the neighboring slum.

The cameras on the wall and the drones from Huge Rock Military Industry had locked onto the residences of the gang leaders early on. The Dove-type Missiles and 155mm howitzers stationed on the wall were on standby, ready to conduct a surgical strike and cleanse the area.

Armored vehicles, with the cooperation of the infantry, drove directly into the slum, gunning for the strongholds of major gangs.

To quote the Manager, first catch the biggest fish that stirs up trouble, kill a bunch of the medium-sized, and the small fry will naturally quiet down.

The mission wasn't just carried out by the First Army Corps but also by the Burning Corps stationed in Giant Stone City.

As soon as the players heard there was "big Work" ordered personally by the Manager, they immediately dropped what they were doing to prepare for the New Year's Eve events, grabbed their gear, and rushed to the meeting point to assemble.

Fighting Variants was nowhere near as exciting as beating up Looter kin.

The last big battle seemed like it happened so long ago!

In moments, Burning Corps had already assembled over five hundred brothers.

Amidst the snowy field, Old White, wearing power armor and carrying a rifle, walked to the front of the line and turned on the loudspeaker, his voice booming out.

"Bounty information has been updated in the taskbar! Dividing a Silver coin bonus of 1 million Silver Coins!"

"Full price for the alive, half for the dead!"

Hearing such a rich reward for the mission, the players, ready to go, had their eyes flashing greedily.

It was as if the slum wasn't hiding gang members, but walking Gold Coins, breathing bounties!

Noticing the power armor approaching, the crowd's Quit smoking was momentarily taken aback, then suddenly recognized the kid as Night Ten and exclaimed in surprise.

"Holy crap! Night Ten, how come you Perception types are also wearing power armor now?!"

He unlocked the helmet faceplate.

Wearing the OD-10 "Dragon Cavalry" power armor, Night Ten glanced at Quit smoking, who was a full head shorter than himself, and said with a mischief-laden grin,

"Heh, my Contribution Points reached the knight level long ago, so why can't I wear it? Want me to lend you some?"

Quit smoking: "Damn!"

The idea was indeed tempting, and Night Ten probably wouldn't rush him to pay it back, but after thinking it over, Quit smoking eventually dismissed the thought.

A single power armor cost one million silver coins. If he were just a little short, he might have borrowed it, but unfortunately, he was more than a little short.

Better to wait until his Contribution Points reached the knight level and then save up to buy his own.

Watching his rowdy brothers, Old White cleared his throat and shouted,

"We're not rookies here, so I'll spare you the talk."

"Check your gear, get ready to move!"

What replied was a series of loud, excited cheers.

"Ow-ow-ow!"

Although they were not far from the poverty district, they were not the slightest bit worried about being overheard, as the functional NPCs, who had not undergone training, could not understand the "dialect" spoken inside their refuge.

Moreover, the Alliance had initiated electronic warfare against the gangs in the poverty district at the start of the operation, jamming the commonly used radio frequencies of the major gangs.

At this moment, the top echelons of the gangs completely lost control over their subordinates; the spies planted in the poverty district became useless, only able to pass messages by word of mouth in the chaos, or each fighting for themselves.

For a long time, the Guards Corps had been collecting and monitoring the communication channels of these gang members, a task that was carried out in tandem with the infiltration and investigation into the poverty district.

The Alliance's electronic warfare capabilities were not very effective against the Army and could occasionally even be suppressed by them, but bullying these small fry was simply too easy.

Many gang members would only use walkie-talkies, and those were the civilian type available on the market.

Facing the well-trained regular army of the Alliance and the ferocious players, these scattered soldiers active in the poverty district were quickly surrounded and eliminated one by one.

The banging sound of gunfire was like fireworks playing prematurely; orange-yellow muzzle flashes and tracers crisscrossed wildly through the narrow alleys.

In just an hour, countless gang members in the poverty district were dead or injured. On one street alone, more than a hundred bodies lay crisscrossed, countless more blocked in the alleys, and the mud mixed with the melting snow turned a dark crimson by the blood plasma.

This could no longer be called a war.

It was an outright massacre!

Standing at the entrance of the West Willow Wood Tavern, Mr. West's face was filled with shock and horror, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the two armored vehicles parked by the road.

He had long suspected the Alliance might make a move against them, but he didn't expect it to come so swiftly, leaving him utterly unprepared.

Seeing the forces that had tightly encircled the area, Mr. West knew that continuing to resist meant only a dead end. He immediately shouted at the big shots in the tavern.

"Put your guns down, all of you! Have you gone mad? Can these things beat the power armor and tanks outside?!"

His men were stunned by his shouting, uncertain of what to do next.

Mr. West clenched his teeth, steered his heart, grabbed a briefcase, and quickly stepped outside, yelling at the soldiers aiming at him.

"Don't shoot! Wait! Don't shoot!"

Killer Dagger, standing with his meaty fists propped, looked at him and said with a grin,

"What? You got any last words?"

Trembling as he glanced at those fists as big as iron pots, Mr. West swallowed his saliva, gave an embarrassed smile, and spread open the briefcase in his hand.

Inside lay bundles of colorful paper money!

Part of it was Cr, and the rest was paper currency in silver coins, followed by some light brown paper bills whose origin was unknown, but certainly carried no small denomination.

"Sir...please spare me this time, and consider this money a gift to you and your brothers."

Killer Dagger hadn't yet spoken when the Kidney Fighter, who was left with only a head and limbs, glared and tightened his grip on his weapon.

"Fool! If I kill you, this money is mine too!"

Upon hearing this, Good Dog was startled and hurriedly stopped him.

"Wait a second, this guy seems to be on the wanted poster, alive he's worth the full price, dead only half!"

The Kidney Fighter paused, then chuckled he-he.

"Right, capture him alive! Put the cuffs on him!"

Several players immediately stepped forward and pushed the man carrying the briefcase to the ground, completely ignoring his screaming and shouting.

Pressed against the ground with his hands twisted behind him, West, who swallowed a mouthful of muddy water, had his face covered with embarrassment, regret, and despair.

These guys have no sense of honor at all!

If he had known, he would have fled down the back roads...

From the tavern behind came continuous and dense gunfire, but it was soon extinguished, snuffing out the last flickering flame.

Before long, he saw another group of soldiers walking towards them, escorting Jeff who had previously hidden in the safe house.

And not just them.

A caught amongst them was the boss of Dean Gang, the second-in-command of Poison Gang...

Looking at those familiar faces, West's heart completely sank to the bottom.

It was only at this moment that he understood.

The Alliance had been watching them for a long time, and had probably even marked on the map which routes they would escape through.

Jeff, covered in dust and dirt, was dragged by a power armor and knelt beside West.

It seemed these soldiers intended to categorize them.

Unable to move his arms and legs, Jeff's Adam's apple bobbed, looking at the power armor standing beside them, he said in a hoarse voice.

"Even if you kill me, other gangs will replace us, this won't solve any problems."

"Let me see your boss...that respected Manager, we can cooperate, I can do the dirty work that's inconvenient for you, just give me a chance!"

Old White, standing nearby, glanced at this babbling man and suddenly smiled.

"Cooperate? You think too highly of yourselves."

He had actually met these people before.

That was a long time ago.

Although the Alliance didn't issue a task to exterminate these people then, he knew that someday the Manager would deal with them.

Jeff was stunned.

The next sentence from that man sent a chill to his spine.

"You have no value in being recycled, you're better off dead to us."

"As for the others becoming like you."

"I'll send them to join you."

Chapter 553: A Change in the Weather

Military operations against the various gangs in the slum continued until midnight.

First Army Corps had dispatched two thousand teams with a total of fifty-two wheeled armored vehicles and twelve Type 1 tanks.

The Militia Group of Giant Stone City initially sent two thousand teams but later increased that number to three.

For the gangs hiding in the slums, such a disproportionate military force was undoubtedly like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Many survivors held a similar view.

However, according to the Manager, the gang forces that took refuge in the slums had become breeding grounds for Looters and crime.

They maintained a limited order but were also the root of all chaos in Qingquan City.

If this trouble wasn't completely resolved, it would be futile no matter how many Looter Tribes were exterminated; those guys would pop up like monsters.

This chronic issue had persisted for over a century and had to be treated with strong measures.

The Alliance not only wanted to blast this fly with artillery but also to let all those itching to move see how the fly died!

Therefore, no Army Corps held back, arresting everyone who resisted with guns or bore gang tattoos.

The number of people involved turned out to be much larger than anyone had anticipated.

Just the Dagger Gang alone accounted for one thousand of the apprehended; the second-largest gang, Dean Gang, had over eight hundred; Poison Gang had six hundred.

A massive crowd stood at the gate of Giant Stone City, firmly bound in groups of ten by ropes, with another group under the distant overpass.

Jeff, who had his head forced down, was bewildered himself; he usually interacted with just a few core members of the gang.

He hadn't realized that the miscellaneous people under his command added up to so many.

What terrified him even more was that the Alliance understood his assets better than he did.

West was just as dumbfounded.

Previously, he thought the Alliance had set their sights on them during the takeover of Giant Stone City, but now it seemed these guys might have planned to make their move long before that...

Approaching Chu Guang, Wrench stood at attention and saluted.

"In total, we have arrested 4,713 people and killed 671 during the operation!"

Standing beside Chu Guang, Joey heard the number and couldn't help but be slightly moved.

"There are so many of them... almost two percent of the total population of the slums."

The exact population of Giant Stone City's slums had never been counted, but it was roughly estimated to be around two hundred thousand.

Wrench continued solemnly.

"The situation here is probably more complex than we anticipated. We've only caught the core members who were nearby and those gang members who resisted. There's still a large number of peripheral personnel hiding inside."

They were soldiers, not detectives, and their execution process was bound to be much more brutal, so it was inevitable that some incorrect arrests were made.

But to say they were wrongly accused was not quite accurate either.

The Alliance had warned the survivors in the slums to stay indoors.

If they were neither in the construction crew nor heeding the warning, were between the ages of 16 to 35, and happened to be carrying weapons near gang strongholds, getting caught as a gang member was no one's fault but their own.

Later, the Alliance would interrogate those arrested, release some of the innocent based on testimonies and collected evidence, and deal with the rest accordingly.

Looking at the people in the distance, Chu Guang nodded.

"Arrest many, release a few; repeat this process several times, focusing on clearing out organized criminals without missing one. As for peripheral personnel with minor involvement, prioritize rehabilitation; have the guard team record and file their information for future reference. If they reoffend, impose severe punishment."

People couldn't live in a vacuum; the young and strong in the slums were inevitably tainted by the gang-ruled order.

In reality, the construction crew itself was a method of division and transformation. As long as they sincerely worked, today's events would have nothing to do with them.

By uniting some of the peripheral personnel with a new order, the risk of bombs buried in the slums exploding would be minimized.

Then, send in the army to thoroughly smash the pot of criminal forces.

This was the entire plan.

Wrench asked in a serious tone.

"What should we do with these people?"

"Like with the Looters, execute the gang leaders first, then trial the core members, and send the general gang members to the POW Camp..."

Pausing, Chu Guang changed his mind.

"Forget it, don't send them to the POW Camp. Set up a Punishment Camp instead, the Tide is coming."

Locking up criminals with POWs didn't seem very humane; it was better to keep the trash separated.

"Yes, sir!"

Wrench placed his right fist on his chest, saluted, and then turned to head towards the nearby troops, calling over his subordinates to arrange tasks.

After entrusting the punishment of these gang members to Wrench, Chu Guang looked towards a briefcase lying on the snow nearby.

Inside lay bundles of light brown paper money, each note worth a staggering one hundred thousand.

This was the loot seized from the Dagger Gang's stronghold.

There had been some silver coins, dinars, and Cr inside, which he had already sent to the courthouse with the rest of the confiscated items.

The players' rewards would be calculated separately; this loot would be confiscated after the trial was concluded.

"Bugra... I remember this is the currency of the Free State."

Following Chu Guang's gaze at those paper notes, Joey frowned and continued in a low voice, "I heard a long time ago that there were people from the Free State in the gangs of the slums outside the city."

Gangs were one of the specialties of the Free State.

There, corporate armed forces were the most powerful, followed by a mixture of gangs, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and so on, with the government military and police forces coming in last.

They sold the weapons of civilization to Looters and exported the ways of Looters to civilized people.

Compared to pure Looters and survivor forces, the corporations of the Free State preferred to trade with those who straddled the two worlds.

Because dealing with such clients allowed them to export both weapons and experts while earning heftier compensation.

Chu Guang nodded slightly and spoke slowly,

"The information I received was consistent. The people from Free State had bribed some nobles of the Inner City. According to the testimony of a Thousands of leaders named Wallace, they had taken notice of the guests from the North a while ago. But since those people hardly touched their cake, they didn't pay much attention to them and even occasionally conducted transactions with them, letting those people do some of the dirty work they couldn't do themselves."

The Dagger Gang was a faction fostered by the Bugra Free State.

They had a secretive style of operation, preferring to establish a set of rules hidden beneath the existing order, and then squeezing extra benefits from the marginalized and the weak.

Since they did not touch the cake of those with vested interests, and would even cooperate with them, most Survivor Settlements or Survivor Forces did not want to expend the effort to deal with them.

"It's tough..." Joey sighed, "If we don't resolve the trouble from the North, even if we squash these few cockroaches, a bunch of little bugs will emerge later on."

"No matter how tough, it needs to be done."

Looking in the direction of the slums, Chu Guang squinted his eyes.

"Even without the Northern neighbors, the Wasteland never ceases to export chaos to us. In order to maintain our achievements, we must do a good follow-up, establish a complete system, block every possible loophole, and incrementally shrink the living space for those cockroaches until our Alliance completely eradicates their breeding ground."

It couldn't be said that flies don't buzz around a seamless egg, but there were indeed places on this Wasteland that the infiltration of Bugra Free State could not pervade.

Such as the Academy. Such as corporations.

"...I will communicate these matters with Lovett, Luka, and the others. Of course, it will also require the cooperation of your Militia Group."

Feeling the determination in those words, Joey nodded slightly, his right fist respectfully placed against his chest.

"It's an honor to serve you."

...

The latter half of the night was calm, with nothing happening.

The next morning came, the sky not yet fully bright.

Twenty gang leaders, dirty and disheveled, were then escorted by a team of a hundred men to the open space between the market and the main gate.

The commotion at the gate attracted countless observers, and the Wasteland Wanderers who were stranded in the market gathered at the entrance to watch the excitement.

Many merchants who frequently came to Giant Stone City to do business recognized those bound figures, some even shockingly calling out their names.

"Jeff... and West?!"

"The Dagger Gang's big boss and second boss!"

"The third boss is there too!"

"And there's Dean Gang and Poison Gang..."

"Good lord, all three gangs gathered?!"

"What is the Alliance up to?"

People curiously looked towards the Giant Wall Gate, watching as the soldiers of the Alliance placed hood made of plastic cloth over the heads of those men, whispering speculations about what the Alliance was planning.

However, their curiosity didn't last long, as the mystery was quickly revealed.

Twenty soldiers, armed with rifles, marched in neat steps to a position not far behind the group, and then, without a word, loaded their rifles.

Some wanderers vaguely anticipated what was about to happen next but could hardly believe the Alliance would really do it, their faces filled with astonishment.

"Bang, bang—!"

A burst of gunfire rang out, and a mist of blood sprayed from the back of the heads and backs of the twenty ringleaders who fell to the ground, silent in the snow.

They had probably thought they still held some value, that they should at least be tried, and likely didn't anticipate that the Alliance would simply execute them.

At the time of the gunfire, they had no mental preparation whatsoever.

One particularly fortunate individual didn't die on the spot, convulsing in the blood-drenched snow, his plastic hood scraped off.

That man was Jeff, the underground emperor of not just the slums but all of Giant Stone City!

The boss of the Dagger Gang!

"Click... ah..."

He opened and closed his bloody mouth, blood continuously bubbling out, trying to say something to plead, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence—his gaze could only appealingly look at the soldier approaching, reaching out a trembling hand.

His lips shaped as though to say—

'Give me another chance.'

The soldier didn't waste words with him, nor did he recognize this man at all.

Noticing one more Looter leader not taken care of, the young man quickened his steps, raised his rifle, and delivered another shot to his head.

"Bang—!"

An eerie silence fell over the market.

Only the fading echo remained.

Jeff's pupils gradually dilated, his lifted arm collapsing into the snow; thus ended his wicked life in an unbefitting manner.

Seeing the boss of the Dagger Gang die like a stray dog, an involuntary gulp was shared among the wanderers.

As they looked towards those soldiers in exoskeletons, a bone-deep fear unwittingly entered their eyes.

These guys meant business!

Even someone as significant as Jeff was taken out!

It appeared that the skies here had truly changed...

Apart from the onlookers, the gang members detained near the execution site were, without exception, pale-faced and soulless.

Some were frozen, others were scared stiff.

Looking at the boss lying dead at the city gate, nearly every person's calves couldn't help but tremble.

Some couldn't hold their urine and wet a large patch of their pants, while the youngest or the most timid simply started to cry.

Most people are afraid of death.

Those who weren't afraid of death had already perished in the firefight before nightfall yesterday.

The soldiers holding rifles on duty gave these scoundrels a cold glance, with a disdainful twitch at the corner of their mouths.

"Now you're scared?"

"What were you doing earlier?"

The execution by firing squad took place over three rounds, and it happened in front of everyone.

In order for every prisoner to witness the fate of these ringleaders, Wrench purposefully took the captives in turns to the side of the Giant Wall to watch.

Perhaps it was the sight of the leaders' miserable end that made the interrogation work much smoother.

The gang members in the market were the first to confess, and those who hid out of wishful thinking were also exposed by other merchants.

Since the Alliance was serious, the truly honest merchants no longer had to worry about retaliation.

Then came the prisoners caught in the slums, some of whom confessed to petty crimes like chicken thieving and dog snatching, while others frantically turned on their own, desperately divulging any accomplice they knew to seek clemency.

The list soon grew very long.

Although some unlucky folks who got involved were released, more and more people were continuously brought out of the slums.

The scale of the Punishment Camp grew instead of shrinking, reaching over five thousand people.

Meanwhile, as the dens hidden in the slums were successively destroyed, a number of controlled survivors were rescued.

Among them, kids aged twelve to sixteen were the majority, totaling over three thousand.

Some suffered from lung diseases due to living in dark and damp environments for too long, and their vision seriously deteriorated; others were forced into prostitution and contracted severe diseases at a young age.

This piece of news was quickly published in "Survivor's Daily."

Not only residents within Giant Rock City but the whole Alliance was shocked by the evil hidden in the shadow of the Giant Wall…

…

Ideal City.

Inside the towering skyscraper.

Sitting on the couch, Wu Changnian let out a light sigh after reading the "antique"-looking newspaper and placed it on the table.

"So many victims…" he murmured.

The newspaper had been delivered by the embassy of the Alliance.

And it was Shu Yu, the ambassador, who brought it personally.

Although it might sound cold-blooded, tragically worse incidents were all too common in the Wasteland, and beyond congratulating the Alliance, he did not want to meddle too much.

As Wu Changnian pondered, Shu Yu said earnestly.

"We need your help! Honestly speaking... just assisting the survivors within Giant Stone City has already exceeded our capacity, and now we have an additional two hundred thousand survivors in need of help. We can't do much for them alone."

Wu Changnian closed his eyes and sighed again.

He knew about Giant Stone City; it was once one of the Survivor Settlements under the War Construction Committee. Many of its factories were helped by the predecessors of his company's Production Department.

The affairs of that time were too complicated, with both man-made and natural factors contributing to an indistinguishable mess.

Those settlements forced to fend for themselves were but an interlude among many issues.

After learning that the weapon was in the hands of the Alliance, the council had stopped inquiring about Giant Stone City's affairs. Half a month had passed, and here he was again, troubled by the survivors three thousand kilometers away.

Tapping lightly on his knee with his index finger, Wu Changnian asked in a deep voice,

"What do you need?"

Based on his past experience with the Alliance, those people would never miss an opportunity to benefit from them.

Yet Shu Yu's reply was unexpected.

"Teachers!"

Wu Changnian was stunned for a moment, thinking he had heard wrong.

"… Teachers?" He had expected the Alliance to seize the opportunity to demand money.

"Yes," Shu Yu nodded seriously, "Alliance's full-time schools and evening classes are already operating over capacity, and in Giant Stone City, there's hardly any infrastructure for education. We've already allocated a significant part of our educational resources to Giant Stone City, but now we have over three thousand additional people."

"I see your point; indeed, there is a problem," Wu Changnian relaxed inwardly and after a moment of contemplation continued, "… We will fundraise for you on Endpoint Cloud and recruit some volunteers to assist you, but you need to ensure their safety."

This matter was not worth discussing at the council meeting. It was more appropriate to resolve the issue within the scope of authority of the Comprehensive Management Department.

The Alliance clearly did not want to owe the company too many favors, so they did not propose excessive demands like "sending those people to Ideal City."

Just mobilizing the private sector would not cost much.

With the promise from the deputy director, Shu Yu too, breathed a sigh of relief, smiling sincerely.

"Please rest assured! We will not only ensure their personal safety, accommodation, and health but will also provide them with fair wages!"

Wu Changnian chuckled.

"That's not necessary. Most of our residents who are interested in helping survivors outside have decent living conditions. You just need to take care of their accommodation."

Shu Yu shook his head firmly.

"That's a separate matter. Here, whoever is working must be compensated, and how could we allow these kind people to pay out of their own pockets? Consider it a token of our appreciation."

Seeing the ambassador insist, Wu Changnian no longer declined and nodded.

"Then I thank you on their behalf."

"It is us who should be saying thank you!" As he said this, Shu Yu smiled embarrassingly and continued, "By the way, in addition to teachers, we also need medical staff and experts in medicine and biology."

Wu Changnian was taken aback.

"Medical staff I can understand, we could even sponsor some medicines for you... But experts in biology and medical science?"

Shu Yu looked embarrassed.

"The timing is just too unfortunate! Every early spring, Qingquan City faces a Tide, and it's particularly fierce after a warm winter. Now there's been such a major incident, our manpower is tight in every sense... Not just educational resources, but including medical, production, and all other areas—"

Wu Changnian quickly coughed to interrupt him.

"You really have it tough."

Shu Yu sighed.

"There's no helping it... We have to clean up the mess left by our predecessors, we can't just abandon those poor people."

Although it was clear that this straightforward young man was referring to the United Human of an earlier era, Wu Changnian's brow still twitched involuntarily.

He coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment and spoke with the authority of an elder.

"I'll think of a way to help you."

Shu Yu's face lit up with a radiant smile, and he nodded vigorously.

"Thank you! I appreciate it!"

Wu Changnian watched the young man for a while, feeling vaguely that he resembled someone familiar.

Especially that statement, it was just too similar!

Was it an illusion?

...

Securing external support was just one aspect of the multitude of tasks.

The follow-up efforts for this "military operation" conducted by the Alliance were far from complete and were not likely to be resolved in a day or two.

After an initial screening, the over five thousand prisoners consigned to the Punishment camp were taken by the First Army Corps to Qingstone County, north of the Dawn City.

There they would undergo two months of military training, after which the Alliance would send them to their designated places.

With the large gangs thoroughly dismantled, the slums and the market had their blockades lifted one after another.

Some Waste Land Wanderers grumbled as they headed into the wilderness, opting to leave this dangerous place, but most, after witnessing the Alliance's swift and forceful measures, felt even more confident about Giant Stone City's future and therefore chose to stay.

Moreover, despite the occurrence of such a significant event, the New Year's Eve celebration was not canceled.

In the Manager's words, the new order established by the Alliance was meant to prevent the bad from celebrating the New Year, not the good.

A few flies shouldn't affect the festive atmosphere of a holiday.

Besides, this was hardly a real issue.

Last New Year's Eve, right after setting down their wine bottles, they had to pick up their rifles and head to the battlefield.

Stone City Hall.

In the Manager's Office reserved for Chu Guang by the new authority, the newly appointed captain of the police reported to Chu Guang the patrol plan for New Year's Eve and then hesitantly voiced his concerns.

"...With so many people gathering in the streets, and at night, I'm worried that the fish that slipped through the net during the last operation might take this opportunity to retaliate against us."

Chu Guang spoke calmly.

"Then let them come, since it's a matter of sooner or later, it's better sooner."

He didn't worry about those people being able to cause any big trouble.

Not to mention that Xiao Qi had taken over the surveillance cameras of this giant wall since Giant Stone City joined the communication range of City of Dawn, every player waiting to burst Gold coins were his eyes.

Later, he would post a notice, reminding participating players to keep their eyes wide open and watch those who tried to stir up trouble.

The captain of the police hesitated and then said softly.

"...I'm actually more worried about them coming after you."

Mentioning this, Chu Guang gave a faint smile.

"Even better, I couldn't ask for more."

The players were getting more and more capable; although he didn't slack in his training, it had been a long time since he had acted personally.

If there were any foolish enough people who wanted to make a fool of themselves in front of him, he wouldn't mind offering them a couple of moves.

Otherwise, only Heya in the entire Alliance knew his strength, it'd be a waste of the Pentagon Warrior Attribute Panel.

The captain of the police was stunned, obviously thrown off by this comment and didn't know quite what to say, at a loss whether to laugh or to cry.

'Ask for it', indeed...

Although he knew that the Guards Corps had many experts, and the respected Manager always appeared in public in power armor, he still thought it'd be better to be cautious.

However, seeing how confident the superior was in his subordinates, it didn't seem right to say much more, and he just nodded slightly before turning to take his leave.

Not long after the office door closed, Chu Guang picked up the pen ready to review the documents in his hand, but shortly after, there was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in."

The door cracked open, Alyssa looked left and right to make sure no one was watching, stealthily entered, and gently closed the door behind her.

Seeing her cautious demeanor, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile and put down the pen he had just picked up not long ago.

"Is someone following you?"

Hearing this tease, Alyssa's face turned red, and she shook her head.

"No... Do you have a moment right now?"

She didn't really want to disturb the Manager's work, especially for her own personal matters, but since it concerned an important life decision, she still wanted to consider it seriously before making a choice.

"You've come all this way, I can't just make you take back what you came to say," Chu Guang joked and continued, "Go ahead, what's the matter?"

"...It's about Shelter 101."

Alyssa hesitated for a long time with a face that found it difficult to speak, then continued quietly, "Is it really as magical as Pai said?"

Chapter 554: The Taste of Blood

Shelter 101...

It felt like so long ago since the last visit to Dr. Method.

An inexplicable sentiment of nostalgia arose in Chu Guang's heart, and after pondering for a moment, he said,

"It's a place that's hard to describe."

Alyssa looked slightly startled.

"Hard to describe as in…"

Seeing that hint of longing and yearning in her eyes, Chu Guang guessed Pai must have boasted something impressive to her, so after thinking for a bit, he continued,

"Other shelters preserve survivors, certain technologies, some plan… But that place preserves memories of the Prosperity Epoch."

Alyssa's eyes indeed lit up, and she couldn't help but clench her small fists tightly.

"The Prosperity Epoch!"

That legendary great era!

She had only seen snippets about that era in some books and picture books!

With that look of longing in her eyes, Chu Guang had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking, although it was somewhat heart-wrenching, he still poured a bucket of cold water on her.

"It's just memories of the Prosperity Epoch, and the place might not be as wonderful as you imagine. The prerequisite for entering Shelter 101 is to abandon the physical body, otherwise, you can only glimpse it briefly, as if riding in a tour bus."

"Abandon the physical body…"

"It means to die physically."

Alyssa held her breath involuntarily.

After a long time, she said somewhat stiffly,

"That sounds... like a grave."

Chu Guang nodded in agreement,

"Indeed, for those outside, it's no different from a grave, but for them, it might not be the case."

Chu Guang didn't quite understand what Dr. Method had said before, but after interacting with so many different AIs, he somewhat got the idea.

For the AIs, one second and a century hardly make much difference. They undoubtedly knew Shelter 101 was doomed to fall into a deep slumber one day, a foreseeable end, but they didn't seem to care much.

Even the sun has a lifespan.

What's to say of a human or a civilization turned into a fleeting shadow?

They had already lived a life more beautiful and lengthy than anyone in their never-ending dreams, without a single remembrance for the outside world.

From an individual perspective, even if it's virtual, there's nothing to regret. Their task was to live well according to their own thoughts.

For the shelter itself, its purpose was to record all memories, thoughts, relationships, lifestyles, and everything else about that era, leaving it as a sort of enlightenment for the future.

Chu Guang seldom told anyone about such a wonderful place within the Alliance. Indulging in the land of the departed was not a good idea for the living.

In a sense, it was a more potent poison than the ideal of the Ideal City, even he had once thought of staying there.

Although it was only for a moment…

Alyssa fell silent for a while.

"Actually, I never thought about living there; sometimes, I just wish… I could take a peek into that era."

She felt a bit embarrassed about her somewhat childish thoughts and laughed sheepishly, continuing in a quieter voice,

"In that case, we know where we need to go."

Not just her.

Sometimes the folks at the Workers' Association would feel lost.

They had overthrown those feudal landlords, gained a bright future, but where to go next, nobody could tell them.

Though everyone agreed that concentrating on the present was essential, it was impossible not to consider the future at all.

If only they could take a peek into that era.

She had fantasized about it more than once.

Seeing the bewilderment in Alyssa's eyes, Chu Guang thought for a moment.

"I don't think that place necessarily holds the answers, nor should we necessarily head to some past era, but there is indeed a lot of knowledge and experience there that's worth referring to."

"So, I've talked with the Manager of Shelter 101, planning to turn their surface encampment into a university."

Alyssa looked at him with a blank expression.

"… A university?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, think of it as a school. But unlike other full-time schools in the Alliance, it's not just about learning what we've already mastered. It also includes exploration of the future and the past."

Seeing her baffled expression slowly turn to one of semi-understanding, Chu Guang continued in a gentle tone,

"It's normal for you to feel confused. You're at an age where curiosity is at its peak, and you have the courage to chase dreams recklessly, but that alone isn't enough. You need to see more, understand the world, the natural sciences, and then summarize your own experiences and methods to find answers... In this process of exploration, you'll naturally figure out where you need to go."

The calendar came from being sowed in the fields, not from lying on a straw mat and imagining out of thin air. At least in his view, the process of exploration was more important than the answers.

Alyssa looked down.

A moment later, as if she had made some kind of determination, she nodded vigorously and looked up at Chu Guang again,

"That Little Fish... She became so impressive after studying at the school established in Shelter 101, didn't she?"

"If possible, I want to go there too!"

The work she needed to work overtime on for a week or two was completed by that girl around her age in just three days, meticulously pointing out the areas Alyssa hadn't done well.

That also included the time to understand the job.

This was simply unbelievable to Alyssa.

But after seeing those magical mathematical tools and methods, all disbelief turned into admiration.

She would never learn that knowledge spending her whole life in Giant Stone City.

She hoped to bring that knowledge back and help the folks here.

Perhaps just as the Manager said,

In the process, she might gradually find her own future path.

"Little Fish… She's an exception. She happened to be good at mathematics, but indeed, she grew into what she is now after studying at Camp 101."

Watching those eyes rekindle with hope and desire, Chu Guang said earnestly,

"As for going to Camp 101 to study, you should discuss it with your father."

"Actually, I've already asked Dad. My father said I'm already an adult with my own opinions and told me to consider things on my own from now on, and if I don't understand something, to come and ask you... He won't give me any more life advice."

As she spoke, Alyssa glanced at him somewhat embarrassedly, then continued in a low voice,

"... can I come to you for advice when I'm uncertain about something?"

Though Chu Guang didn't think he could be of much help, he couldn't quite bring himself to say those unkind words, faced with the flickering hope in those eyes.

"Yes, but all I can offer are my suggestions. Ultimately, you must make the decisions yourself."

The eyes filled with hope instantly bloomed into a smile.

Alyssa nodded vigorously and said happily,

"Mm! Thank you!"

Chu Guang smiled at the polite young girl and said,

"You're welcome."

Thinking about the next day's events, he picked up a document from the table.

"Since you're here, there's something I might need to trouble you with—"

"No problem! Just leave it to me!"

Watching Alyssa brimming with enthusiasm, Chu Guang smiled and handed her the document.

Taking the document, Alyssa briefly skimmed through it.

"What is this?"

"The New Year's Eve event. Every year, we select the most popular recipes. This is... a tradition of our refuge. To promote exchange between the residents of the refuge and the survivors outside, last year we added the 'Most Popular Delicacy among the Waste Land Wanderers' category, so we need a few judges."

This year's judges were chosen by a public vote on the official website, with several judges selected from each settlement by players active in that area.

Chu Guang didn't want to embarrass her by mentioning how she had received a lot of votes on the official forum.

But Alyssa didn't ask him why she was chosen as a judge, taking it as a sign of trust. After she understood the content of the event, her eyes suddenly shone brightly.

"Mm! I'll fast for an entire day beforehand to make room in my stomach!"

Confronted with that 'resolute unto death' gaze, Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"You don't need to go to that extent..."

...

Alyssa wasn't the only one selected as a judge for the New Year's Eve event—someone else had received even more votes than she had.

And a lot more at that!

In a single-family house by Rhombus Lake.

Dolly, who had just gotten off work, showed a surprised expression when she heard Fang Chang's explanation.

"Eh? They want me to be a judge?"

"Mm... Of course, this is just an invitation. If you're not interested, it's okay to turn it down."

After telling Dolly the complete details of the New Year's Eve event, Fang Chang appeared slightly embarrassed.

This year, the judges were selected by the players themselves, and he never expected his good buddies to cast their votes for his wife.

Those who were familiar with him knew that he wasn't one to flaunt his love life.

Rather than showing off everywhere, he preferred a quiet life, just him and his partner; but he couldn't help the group of mischief-makers who were constantly prying into his private life.

Those damn bastards.

Always interested in others' wives!

If they're so curious, they should go find one for themselves!

"Oho... This sounds too interesting to miss, how could Miss Reporter from the Survivor's Daily pass it up?"

After hanging her handbag on the coat rack at the entrance, Dolly poked Fang Chang's arm with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Surely Mr. Fang Chang wouldn't let me go alone, would he?"

Seeing that she appeared to have no intention of turning down the offer, instead looking absolutely thrilled, Fang Chang made a helpless expression and said,

"...Of course not, how could I let my dear Miss Reporter go to such a far place by herself."

Watching that scoundrel's face show a rare sense of embarrassment, Dolly tilted her lips up in triumph, feeling as sweet as honey in her heart.

Suddenly remembering the talk amongst her colleagues these past few days, she said with some emotion,

"However, speaking of which, a lot seems to have happened in Giant Stone City lately."

Whether inside or outside the great wall.

The Alliance sending out troops to wipe out slum gangs was something even she, a reporter, hadn't expected.

Fang Chang nodded.

"Yeah, a lot has happened, it's still called Giant Stone City, but it's probably completely different from the one you know."

"Perfect, let's go back and take a look!" Dolly couldn't help but feel a glint of anticipation.

The Inner City was completely gone.

What would it become?

Fang Chang could feel her emotions as he looked at those sparkling eyes. He reached out and touched her fluffy emerald hair.

"Mm."

"Let's go together when we get back."

...

In Giant Stone City.

At a kitchen of the Alliance Army base, Feng Qing looked at a table covered with indescribably strange dishes and said guiltily,

"So you still failed?"

After returning that day, the market was closed off, and she went to City of Dawn, but still couldn't find the items on the list.

Although Mosquito didn't blame her, she felt quite embarrassed and stayed in City of Dawn until today before returning to Giant Stone City.

Then she received a new task—to clear out the kitchen rented by the Goblin Corps.

She received the task together with her best friend, Gui Gui.

For some reason, this simple errand task offered a whopping reward of 200 silver coins! And it even had a risk tag attached.

But she wasn't panicked at all.

It was just about moving things out of the kitchen, and that was much safer than testing out a new model's flight!

She accepted the task without hesitation.

Standing aside, Gui Gui helplessly spread her hands.

"We had no choice since we couldn't get those spices; we had to substitute them with something else."

"I'm sorry!"

Seeing Feng Qing bowing her head in apology, Gui Gui quickly consoled her.

"Ah, no need to apologize! I actually think that not being able to buy them reduced our losses. I told you ages ago that cooking with multilegged beasts was definitely not going to work!"

Feng Qing hesitated before speaking.

"But... what about the New Year's Eve event?"

Gui Gui scratched the back of her head.

"We'll have to think of another solution. If all else fails, we can just wing it with whatever we have; after all, everyone who participates gets a mystery gift."

Feng Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, cooking wasn't something these combat professional players excelled in, especially since she was completely clueless about it.

Taking on multilegged beasts, such challenging ingredients from the get-go, was indeed asking too much.

Her gaze fell upon the piles of items in the kitchen corner. Looking at those chunks of black mass, Feng Qing couldn't help but ask curiously.

"What are those? Are they edible?"

She walked over and picked up a chunk, about to try a bite when Gui Gui, seeing this, hurriedly stopped her with a quick hand.

"Wait! You can't eat that; that's charcoal!"

Feng Qing was stunned.

"Ch-charcoal?"

"Yeah! The captain initially planned to use charcoal for grilling. Someone told him the fragrance of burning wood could mask the gamey smell of the food, but that plan failed too."

From Gui Gui's expression, Feng Qing could almost imagine the situation at the time. Her eyes then moved to a sack filled with yellow chunks.

"And… what about those?"

Egg yolks?

Following her line of sight, Gui Gui hastily explained.

"Ah, that's sulfur over there, and there's also saltpeter and stuff."

Silently putting down the piece of sulfur in her hand, Feng Qing gave Gui Gui a meaningful look.

"Are you sure... he was actually planning to cook?"

"Err, maybe?"

With an equally ambiguous expression, Gui Gui averted her eyes, suddenly unsure, "In any case, thankfully... he probably gave up."

She felt it might actually be a good thing.

The worst Old Na's creations got was a bit strange, but Bos Mosquito's concoctions could send someone packing, and then it was back into the punishment room.

But it was rare for him to show such an interest in food.

Feng Qing looked towards the bucket with the white crystalline substance.

"And that?"

"Ah, that's sugar! Boss Mosquito's last attempt! He planned to mask the meat's stench with sweetness, but everyone ended up in the bathroom eventually."

It was another memory Gui Gui did not want to recall, and her face bore a look of regret.

However, that bucket of sugar was probably the only thing in the whole kitchen that could be eaten outright.

Staring at the sugar, Feng Qing said with a pained expression.

"Such a waste of sugar; it's such a shame."

"Isn't it?" Gui Gui sighed, folding her arms, "I've been wanting to complain. That guy is simply wasting food."

Using spices to cover the gamey smell of multilegged beasts.

The spices used were probably more expensive than the meat itself!

Staring at the bucket of sugar, Feng Qing's eyes suddenly lit up.

"How about... we just use this sugar to make some simple food!"

Gui Gui was taken aback.

"Just with granulated sugar? What... can we make with it?"

Candy?

That seemed a bit bland in flavor.

Seeing her puzzled best friend, Feng Qing's lips curled up proudly.

"Cotton candy!"

Although she had never made it, she heard the principle was straightforward.

Just heat the sugar to make syrup, keep spinning the heating chamber, and with the centrifugal force, the syrup will be jetted out through tiny holes and solidify into sweet strands in the air.

At the mention of "cotton candy," Gui Gui's eyes immediately lit up.

"Great idea! It's much better than multilegged beast stew with cellophane noodles!"

"Uhh... what strange food is that?"

"The inspiration came from snail noodle soup... anyway, it's decided! I'll go find Boss Mosquito to set up a cotton candy machine!"

The more she thought about it, the more fantastic the idea seemed. Gui Gui clenched her fists in excitement.

Boss Mosquito would surely cry from happiness!

His crafting skills would finally come in handy for something normal!

Cheer, brothers!

Seeing that his suggestion seemed to come in handy, Feng Qing smiled shyly.

"Hehe, I wanted to make some extra, and also take some over to Citrus and the others."

"Citrus?"

"Yeah! A very cute kid, very well-behaved, and very sensible! I promised her I'd visit her when I have time," Feng Qing said, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Gui Gui tilting his head, "I'll introduce you tomorrow!"

"Hmm! Looking forward to it!"

Together, they focused on moving the most dangerous sacks and barrels out first.

Soon, the kitchen was left with only some beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, and other glassware, as well as some jars on the shelves.

Feng Qing took a glass bottle from the shelf, opened the cap, and sniffed, frowning.

"The smell of kerosene."

What was kerosene doing in cooking?

Besides kerosene, the bottle also contained some white particles the size of fingernails.

The bottle wasn't labeled, and she couldn't decide exactly what was inside.

"Do we still need this stuff? If not, I'm going to dump it," Feng Qing gently shook the glass bottle in her hand and called out to Gui Gui, who was busy cleaning up not far away.

"Ah, just dump it all," Gui Gui said offhandedly without turning his head, "Mosquito said we don't need the kitchen ingredients anymore and told us to dispose of them while we empty the kitchen."

"What a waste, that dumb team leader."

Feng Qing shook her head, unscrewed the cap, poured the contents of the bottle into the sink, and turned on the tap, intending to flush them away.

However, almost the moment she turned on the tap, the pale yellow liquid suddenly threw out a flame with a hiss.

Good thing the reflexes of the Agile system were well-developed.

Seeing that something was wrong, she quickly ducked; the explosion flew over her head by a hair's breadth.

"What happened?!"

Gui Gui's face changed dramatically as he saw the bottle rolling on the ground.

"Sodium! Damn... I forgot!"

The explosion inevitably ignited the kerosene, and the flames that splashed out of the basin set the nearby shelf with jars on fire.

Under the influence of high heat, the jars and bottles began to undergo strange changes.

Watching the chain reaction begin on the shelf, Feng Qing swallowed hard and instinctively stepped back.

"That...?"

"That sodium! Metallic sodium!"

"??? What's he doing with that stuff in the kitchen?!"

"Who knows, yikes!!"

From the explosion of the first glass bottle, it seemed that what would happen next was already predetermined.

Suddenly, loud blasts and smoke burst from the kitchen windows of the calm player station.

Fortunately, the power wasn't especially big, and it didn't bring down the building.

Thinking it was retaliation from a gang, the barracks immediately sounded the alarm, and a large number of fully armed soldiers rushed over.

In the end, it turned out to be a false alarm.

Learning that the disturbance was caused by the Goblin Corps, the logistics officer did not ask further, just scowled and had his subordinates send a fine to a certain corps commander.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

Looking at the glaring string of zeros, Mosquito tearfully signed the fine.

But fortunately, no one was hurt.

The charcoal and sugar had already been moved out earlier, and the two little players affected by the explosion only suffered minor injuries.

It would be a great loss to miss the New Year's Eve event over such a trifle for three days...

[Mission: Evacuate the kitchen used by the Goblin Corps (Failed)]

...

The turmoil at the players' station was just a minor incident, while most players' preparations for food were of a more normal variety, and only a minority of fierce people risked their lives to develop new recipes.

Besides those real-world chefs who would make something like tomato scrambled eggs, ordinary people didn't expect to come out on top with off-the-wall ideas.

Such a holiday event was just for some liveliness, and although there were plenty teaming up to grind monsters and materials, most of them were participating just for fun.

Thanks to the players' activity, the once deserted Giant Stone City had regained some of its former bustle due to the approaching holiday.

In this way, the time finally came to New Year's Eve.

The decorated streets were lit up with lights, the survivors all walked out onto the streets, and many of the shops that had been closed for half a month were reopening.

Starting last week, the construction crew had begun paying some wages daily at the Alliance's minimum wage, and the factories had started paying with silver coins even earlier.

Commodities were "growing" back on the shelves again, and while people's wallets weren't exactly bulging, they could afford to buy some things.

Everything was starting to look up.

The night sky was lit up with fireworks of all colors.

Not just the Steel Heart Moored at City of Dawn, but also the anti-aircraft cannons on the giant wall began to discharge celebratory flares.

Yibers, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of Boulder Military Industrial Building, watched the colorful flames in the night sky and clapped his hands with a smile.

"Not bad, not bad... It's rare to see such an inventive performance."

Under the guise of hunting Variants, he insidiously wiped out the Looter Tribes around Stone City, and then swiftly purged the gang presence in the slums.

So far, the performance of this new shareholder had surpassed his expectations; it had been a long time since he had been so surprised by an organism.

He had thought the chaos in Giant Stone City could destabilize Qingquan City for five or six years, but now it seemed that this drama had ended in just a month.

The time bombs buried in the giant wall seemed to have been disarmed quietly before even starting the countdown.

Now that the slums were orderly and the city's factories were mostly back in production, the emergency state might be lifted before long.

Perhaps this celebration was the turning point.

But Yibers was not disappointed; he was even more excited.

Beneath the surface of peace and tranquility, he had already faintly sensed the scent of blood...

Chapter 555 Another New Year

The bustling streets were packed with people watching fireworks, and long queues had formed in front of the wooden stalls.

Most of these stalls were set up by residents of the refuge, and many locals had followed suit, hoping to earn some "new money" during the festival.

"So our task today is just to eat and drink to our hearts' content at the celebration?" Pai asked, eyebrows raised as she fiddled with the stamp in her hand.

Yesterday, when Chu Guang had sought her out with such seriousness, she had thought it was some especially troublesome task, but it turned out to be surprisingly simple.

On the streets, they were to indulge in free food and drinks at the refuge residents' stalls, then simply press on the electronic grading tablet provided by the stall owners to conclude their work.

What a strange task.

"Don't underestimate this important task," said Little Fish, sensing Pai's skepticism, and spoke with earnest, "Brother Chu said, this is a very significant 'wanjia activity.' Many residents of the refuge have been looking forward to it all year. If they receive a full score of good reviews, it will make them happy for the entire year."

"Additionally, Brother Chu mentioned there might be some strange foods mixed in at the celebration. If we spot any, we must immediately press the alert button on the VM."

Due to her OCD, she blurted everything out in one breath and ended up coughing twice due to shortness of breath.

"Wow!? Is it that scary?"

Seeing Pai frightened, Little Fish nodded seriously.

"Yes! So, we really can't take it lightly, especially if we encounter someone named Mosquito."

Seeing Little Fish's serious demeanor, Pai looked around nervously.

Walking beside them, Alyssa tilted her head.

"If a full score makes them happy... why not just give high scores to everyone?"

She thought the residents of the refuge were all good people, and the idea of giving them poor reviews made her heartache.

At that moment, she was dressed in a white cotton trench coat, a floppy white beret with a yellow trim, and a red and black checkered scarf around her neck.

Perhaps due to having been through a lot, her demeanor seemed much more mature. Although roughly the same age, she clearly appeared more like an older sister when standing beside them.

Little Fish shook her head.

"That wouldn't be fair to those who are sincerely carrying out their tasks."

"Don't underestimate it. I didn't expect such a simple task to have so much depth!" Fired up, Pai spoke with sparkling eyes, "I've decided! It'll be Pai who plays the villain!"

First, let's score a few zeros to spice things up!

Little Fish frowned.

"That won't do, we need a fair judgment!"

Otherwise, no one would choose her next year.

Curious, Alyssa looked at Little Fish and asked.

"You've been talking about a task... but isn't this a festival activity?"

Little Fish: "Actually, it's almost the same thing. Brother Chu said, since everyone is a Task Master, it's common sense to treat activities as tasks."

Pai curiously leaned in.

"What's a Task Master?"

Little Fish shook her head.

"I don't know... maybe it means someone who's happy to complete tasks."

Such diligent people...

Listening to their conversation, Alyssa couldn't help but have more respect for those residents in blue jackets.

Always at the forefront of everything.

No wonder the Alliance residents trust them so much.

"We can't let their efforts go to waste."

"Yes!" Little Fish nodded happily, "Let's do our best!"

"Let's start with the sweets!" The previously cautious Pai, upon reaching the edge of the snack street, excitedly looked around.

Watching the two bounce eagerly into the crowd and the streets filled with the smell of fireworks, a smile spread across Alyssa's face.

This was a scene never before seen in Giant Stone City.

Before, not to mention smiles, she could barely see their eyes.

People walked hurriedly with their heads down, like puppets pulled by strings, moving from one place to another without knowing where they were headed.

Now, everything was beginning anew, and people could consider these questions for themselves, ponder the roads to the future, what kind of people they wanted to be, and where or which stars they aimed to reach.

Thinking about her conversation with the Manager yesterday, a moment of enlightenment suddenly dawned on Alyssa. She understood why the Manager had told her "that is not the answer."

It was only natural for members of the Workers' Association to feel lost about the future after a victory—that was part of the spoils for winners.

Only the mountains, rivers, and the creatures moving through them wouldn't feel that confusion.

"...It's really great to be able to talk with him."

It would be even better to stroll with the Manager...

She could share this discovery with him.

As Alyssa thought about this, the snowy brim of her hat began to emit steam. She blushed, shook her head, and dispelled that extravagant idea.

The respected Manager must be busy working behind the scenes, and bothering him at this time would surely trouble him.

'...Father said, Alyssa, you're an adult now; you can't always think about depending on others.'

Alyssa clenched her fists, mulling over this silently in her heart.

She'll bring some tasty food to him later!

With this thought in mind, she quickened her pace to catch up with Little Fish and Pai.

The two stood in front of a strange machine, mesmerized by cotton candy wrapped around a wooden stick, their eyes sparkling.

"Oh, oh, oh! What's that cotton candy?"

"How do you eat—ah! You're that Mosquito!" Little Fish recognized the person standing beside the machine and exclaimed in surprise.

Pai, standing next to him, immediately became alert and moved away from the machine.

Mosquito's antics amused Taskmaster and Kill God, who laughed shamelessly, while the one who didn't want to be remembered covered his face.

"Hahaha, have you become that infamous now?" Chasing Soul elbowed Mosquito and chuckled mischievously.

"Tch! What do you mean infamous? I call this—" Mosquito glanced at his disciple while turning to the customer, and his eyes widened when he saw Pai, "Holy shit?! Are you that saint—cough! That oil?!"

"What?" Pai crossed his arms and frowned. "You're being really rude... huh, have I seen you somewhere before?"

A pleasing smile spread across Mosquito's face.

"That was a misunderstanding... Oh yes, I've never had the chance to thank you personally. That aviation fuel was a savior! Thanks a ton!"

Whether it was inside or outside the Game.

Flushed with the compliment, Pai momentarily forgot the slight displeasure and proudly said.

"You're welcome, no big deal."

"Hehe," Mosquito rubbed his hands together awkwardly and asked, "Got any more good stuff like that, finished products or recipes?"

"Similar?" Pai glanced at him strangely: "What are you talking about? That's just some odd stuff to make do, aren't you planning on continuing with chemical-powered aircraft?"

Mosquito replied anxiously.

"Can't I? It works, right?"

Pai shook his head.

"Give it up, those things were almost phased out during the Prosperity Epoch, no one spends time researching that anymore. Asking me this is like asking for some secret formula for Black Powder, the most I can tell you is to add a bit of sugar."

Taskmaster and Discourage looked at each other, the latter shrugged helplessly, and the former scratched his head.

Mosquito heaved a sigh.

"That makes sense…"

Though it made sense.

After all, the Prosperity Epoch, as per the setting, was an era of FTL engines and Anti-gravity devices; chemical rockets might have been obsolete for ages.

Regarding Wasteland OL, he probably knew a bit of the inside story. The background of the game's development team was not simple, and although most technology is fictional, some "low-level" technologies are theoretically feasible in reality.

In other words, they could directly be put to use.

Both officials and the public had profited immensely, creating a sort of unofficial agreement, but these were digressions.

Even without these complex entanglements of interest, he was thoroughly enjoying this light-hearted and delightful MMORPG.

"Ah... I almost forgot the main matter," Mosquito snatched three cotton candies from Taskmaster's hand and obligingly stuffed them into the hands of the three customers, chuckling as he handed out the VM: "Kindly leave a nice review, thank you!"

Feng Qing, standing by, kindly mentioned.

"Asking for a good review might cost you points.

Mosquito was instantly shocked.

"Damn! I was just saying it off the cuff. Is it that serious?"

The same had happened last time!

He merely blurted out something in excitement and was thrown in by some dreadful tail.

Gui Gui subtly shifted his gaze away.

"It's because some judges find it hard to say no."

Whether she had successfully recreated that taste, she wasn't very confident either, as it was a dessert she had only eaten when she was very young.

However, her concerns were obviously unnecessary.

Before even two seconds had passed, a scream erupted in front of the stall.

"Woo!!! This tastes so good! Do I need to spit out the cotton——eh? It's not cotton? It dissolves in the mouth!"

Pai widened her eyes in surprise.

Beside her, Little Fish had already buried her face in the cotton candy, her eyes completely turning the color of the cotton candy.

"How... is this made?!" Alyssa tasted the white cotton delicately, her eyes filled with disbelief.

She excitedly looked towards the people behind the stall, but soon she seemed to remember something and added in a low voice, a bit embarrassed,

"Would it be inappropriate to ask about the recipe... If it's inconvenient to answer, pretend I didn't ask."

Feng Qing said with a smile.

"Actually, it's not inconvenient at all. The principle is very simple; just get a heater and a motor... Even if you hadn't asked, we were planning to teach it to the survivors here later on."

It wasn't a very difficult technology, and it was easy to learn.

Alyssa looked at her excitedly.

"Thank you!"

Now, even if they didn't have to wait for a celebration, they could enjoy such delicious and magical desserts in Giant Stone City!

Feeling a bit embarrassed to be thanked, Feng Qing shyly smiled and said,

"You're welcome, I'm quite happy to be able to help everyone."

Her face flushed as she averted her gaze towards Gui Gui.

"Right, we should also take some to Citrus and the others."

"Sure thing!"

Gui Gui chuckled, grabbed a small cart, loaded an unused cotton candy machine onto it, and shouted towards Mosquito,

"Boss Mosquito, let us borrow this for a bit!"

Since the principle was very simple and the process wasn't very complicated, they didn't just make one cotton candy machine—they also made some to sell to the locals.

Mosquito laughed heartily and waved his hand, generously saying,

"Go on, take it! The B-side market is all yours!"

Actually, before Alyssa, there had already been quite a few NPCs who had come here, curious about where to buy a cotton candy machine.

Looks like it wouldn't just be the cotton candy selling like crazy tonight.

Even the "black tech" from Goblin Technology is going to sell out!

...

On the other end of the snack street,

A handsome man, who wore a thick scarf around his neck, was holding the hand of a green-haired girl.

He stopped in front of a stall selling miscellaneous items and picked up a palm-sized display screen, casually asking,

"Boss, where did you get this?"

Seeing that the neglected trinket had finally caught someone's attention, the stall owner concealed his glee and said cheerfully,

"Ah, this? Found it near the Inner City. It's probably an Old Aristocrat's collection. If you like it... I'll sell it to you for 10 Silver Coins."

"You must be joking. This piece of junk for 10 Silver Coins? I think 10 chips are more like it."

Fang Chang laughed and was about to put the item back.

Seeing this, the stall owner immediately panicked and quickly changed his offer,

"5 Silver Coins! How about 5 Silver Coins?"

Fang Chang shook his head and gestured with his index finger.

"1 Silver Coin, if not, forget it; I even find holding it troublesome."

"...Alright, I'll take the loss!" The vendor reluctantly nodded with a bitter expression but hid a gleam of satisfaction beneath his lowered brow.

It was something he had found anyway.

Not to mention one Silver Coin, he made a profit even on half a Silver Coin!

Without exposing the hidden glee behind the vendor's expression, Fang Chang smiled, left 1 Silver Coin on the stall, and lightly pulled on Dolly's little hand, leading her forward.

Walking beside him, Dolly, driven by curiosity, peered at what he held.

"What is this... Eh? It looks like yours!"

Fang Chang joked.

"After all, they are family."

"Family?"

"Mm, the difference between father and son," Fang Chang casually tossed the palm-sized trader in his hand and smiled faintly, "This one is the son."

The battery was out of power, and no numbers or lines could be seen on the screen; otherwise, it would have been spectacular.

Speaking of which, he had thought Kishu would come to look for him in "North Suburb," so he had purposely stayed in City of Dawn for so long, but unexpectedly, that coward fled.

Well, he fled alright. He wouldn't fret about that simpleton.

Everything was self-inflicted.

Dolly glanced at Fang Chang and asked softly.

"So, did you end up pressing that button?"

"No," Fang Chang pocketed the trader and said in a light tone, "You said not to press it, so I didn't. After all, the outcome made no difference."

He had already taken what he wanted from here, and the rest were just empty numbers anyway.

Besides, by the end, the chips themselves had collapsed, and the S Coin linked to them also lost meaning. Whether that final step occurred or not made no difference.

"It's surprising though... I never thought Giant Stone City would become this lively one day." Looking toward the bustling street in the distance, Dolly said somewhat sentimentally.

Fang Chang smiled warmly.

"Got an inspiration for tomorrow's headline?"

"Mm!" Dolly nodded, her eyes suddenly lit up as she continued, "Do you think someone might see the fireworks over Giant Stone City and come from far away to join us?"

It was a sudden thought.

Apart from those well-known survivor settlements, countless large and small survivor communities were hidden across the wasteland.

Even Qingquan City had quite a few!

Fang Chang smiled and patted her head.

"You never know, actually many survivors in the Alliance came to us that way."

He remembered when Frost Spear Tribe first arrived, they had seen the rising smoke in the "North Suburb" and decided to bring their people to give it a try.

Unlike the ideals buried in their hearts, prosperity was something visible.

As the fireworks reflected in people's eyes, those yearning for light naturally followed it, guided by the radiance.

Just like the wasteland wanderers including Frost Spear Tribe, so too did the workers of Giant Stone City.

And in the future, even more survivors tired of the wasteland would unite under this common flag they held.

It was a greater weapon than guns.

And capable of doing things guns couldn't...

At this moment, Fang Chang didn't realize, just as he said, under this same night sky, many were gazing at the flames burning in the sky from the darkness.

In the eastern suburbs of Qingquan City, more than a dozen ox carts were parked beside the highway outside the city, where several caravan guards gathered, lighting cigarettes with matches.

"How are we spending the winter outside this year? The Tide came early."

"There's been a situation at Giant Stone City. Can't go there now."

"Situation? What situation?"

"Change is in the air."

The more experienced guards glanced at the group of "cargo" next to the ox carts with disdain, "If we hadn't brought these fellows, we could still go."

Previously, the Alliance did not interfere with the slave trade; they merely prohibited the mistreatment or killing of slaves on Alliance territory, and sometimes even purchased slaves passing through their lands.

But ever since they defeated the Army, those Blue Ground Mice suddenly stopped performing. They began to imitate the settlements in Province of Yúnjiānxíng by banning all forms of human trafficking.

This caused them to avoid the borders of the Alliance, and they had to act separately when purchasing supplies.

"Damn Blue Ground Mice..." a guard cursed under his breath as he tossed his cigarette butt onto the snow and stomped it out vigorously.

Another guard cursed as well,

"Hope they don't survive the spring!"

Huddled near a double-headed cow for warmth, the slaves overheard the guards' curses and quietly exchanged whispers.

"Where will they take us?"

"I heard the boss say we're heading north."

"I think it was something like Bush..."

A young man sitting in a corner suddenly chimed in,

"Free State?"

Hearing this unfamiliar voice, everyone turned to look at the young man.

They recognized him; although he appeared dirty and disheveled, he was actually clean and well-groomed, distinct from their own blackened and skinny forms, so he would probably sell for more.

About two weeks ago, shortly after they had entered River Valley Province, they found this half-dead guy in the wilderness.

Afterward, he got caught by the gun-wielding guards, got robbed of his luggage, and ended up shackled alongside them.

Thinking he might know something, a curly-haired boy asked curiously,

"Have you been there?"

Another boy, not old-looking, interjected,

"I heard it's a nice place."

Hearing their discussion, Kishu twisted his cracked lips,

"Maybe."

After what he had gone through, he was no longer inclined to trust hearsay.

A scrawny young man moved closer to him.

"Hey, you seem to know a lot."

Kishu laughed self-deprecatingly,

"You've got poor judgment; all you see before you is trash."

The young man was stunned.

He had met individuals with foul mouths, but never one who bad-mouthed himself.

This guy was definitely unusual.

"So... do you know about the Alliance?"

"The Alliance..." Kishu's eyes betrayed a complicated expression as he muttered, "It might be a good place for you guys."

The curly-haired boy lowered his head, murmuring a complaint,

"Cut it out, if they were as good as you say, why wouldn't they come to rescue us?"

Kishu responded offhandedly,

"They only save themselves and those worth saving."

Another boy couldn't help but quietly ask,

"What counts as worth saving?"

"At least you'd have to save yourself first."

How ironic.

In the end, he became the one best understanding those people.

Kishu laughed self-deprecatingly again.

But it didn't matter anymore.

He was as good as dead anyway...

Whatever will be, will be.

Most slaves glanced at each other, unable to decipher his riddle, and turned back to discuss their destination, the place known as Free State.

Some said they were actually headed to the swamps up north.

Although it was pointless to discuss this topic since they couldn't decide where they would be sold, they had nothing else to do anyway.

Only the lean young man squatting beside Kishu stared unblinkingly at the distant fireworks, murmuring to himself,

"People who are saved... save themselves."

He wanted to learn more about the Alliance.

It wasn't because of rumors of its grandeur, nor because of the beautiful fireworks, but purely because of the fierce guards who changed their expressions when the Alliance was mentioned.

Like mice seeing a cat.

He too wanted that kind of power!

The power feared by the Wasteland!

In the unnoticed corner, a seed had been quietly planted…

No one knew what it would grow into.

The New Year's Eve celebration continued, the festive atmosphere not only filling the streets but spilling into the shops along the way.

At the Pirate Bay Tavern, located on the edge of Giant Stone City, the wood in the fireplace crackled loudly, and the rather small room was crowded with noisy guests.

Since that incident, the tavern had been closed for renovation.

However, starting tonight, on New Year's Eve, Giant Stone City lifted the curfew, and the tavern was able to reopen.

Among those drinking here were a mix of mercenaries, workers from the settlements, and some citizens.

Since last week, the industrial products of Giant Stone City had begun flowing into Luo Xia Province via the trade hub of Falling Leaves City, and the grains of Luo Xia Province flowed back in return.

With the resumption of logistics, watered-down inferior beer had become a thing of the past.

A kilogram of corn cost less than 1 Silver Coin, and a cup of beer only needed 1 Silver Coin, while a large one only required 2 Silver Coins.

According to the Alliance's newly implemented minimum wage standard of 2 Silver Coins per hour, even the cheapest labor on a construction team could earn two cups of beer in one hour.

Not to mention the mercenaries, whose life-risking tasks generally added one or two zeros to the payment of mere physical labor.

"This place hasn't been this lively in a long time."

"Yeah."

A few cement factory workers sat together, drinking beer and munching on grilled skewers while watching the flickering fireworks outside and chatting.

"…That apartment building is amazing! Don't laugh, but I never imagined I'd one day live in a house with stairs!"

"Bathing has become so much easier too!"

At this point, someone who had drunk too much stood up and shouted.

"Praise the Manager! Praise the Alliance! For giving us pure beer! And windproof houses!"

Laughter and cheers erupted around.

"Ha, ha, ha!"

"Your desires are too modest, let the Alliance find you a wife too!"

"No rush on that. I heard even the Manager himself doesn't have one."

"Ah, I really hope he has more children."

"Too bad Lovett doesn't have a daughter; otherwise, we might actually get a chance to forge a closer bond between Giant Stone City and the Alliance… in the literal sense of bloodline."

Though the Workers' Association often said that ideals were stronger bonds than bloodline, still, people's simple wishes and passions could not be restrained.

The arrogant nobles in the city were gone.

The gangs outside the city had been eradicated.

The fierce mercenaries had also started to live cautiously.

The military power of the Alliance was immensely strong.

They could light up the entire night sky with fireworks, and no one doubted that they could also counter a surging tide with a downpour of artillery shells.

At that moment, a cloaked man pushed open the door and entered the bar.

The bartender standing behind the bar glanced at him and said in a nonchalant tone,

"What will it be?"

The man removed his hood and, seeing the bartender behind the bar, showed a look of surprise on his face.

"You're still alive?"

The bartender faintly smiled and replied,

"Do I have a reason I must die?"

The man squinted and stared at the bartender for a while.

Of course, this guy was no ordinary bartender, but the owner of Pirate Bay Tavern known as White Shark.

He liked to stand in front of the bar washing glasses, often being mistaken for a bartender. However, those familiar with him knew he couldn't mix drinks, unless poison counted as a drink.

Selling drinks was only one of the tavern's sources of income; a bigger business was another type of intermediary service.

Nobles from the Inner City, having inconvenient work that needed manpower but reluctant to personally deal with the crude mercenaries and gang members, therefore required the role of a middleman. Some commercial teams in need of hiring bodyguards would look for reliable middlemen to introduce reliable people.

And this guy named White Shark was probably the most reliable middleman in this Survivor Settlement. Normally, if someone needed his help, they would order a glass of honey water.

Seeing the man had not ordered yet, the bartender placed a cup of warm water in front of him.

The man did not drink but muttered to himself,

"The head and the second in command of Poison Gang are dead."

White Shark replied in his usual casual tone,

"It was at the city gate, right? I heard they died horribly."

"You don't seem surprised at all, they were your major clients… Oh, I get it," the man's face showed a sudden realization, looking at him with a sardonic smile, "you, after all this time, turned out to be a dog for the Alliance."

If the Alliance wanted to quickly get rid of the gangs outside the Giant Wall, starting with the business handled by these intermediaries was undoubtedly the simplest way.

White Shark didn't deny the man's words, simply smiled faintly,

"Not everyone has the privilege to serve the Alliance as a 'dog.' It's an honor to serve the real big shots… Besides, if you don't want to be kicked out, it's best you find a more polite term."

Such as informant.

That's what the Guards Corps called him, and he preferred that title.

"Don't be like that, buddy," the man said with a smile, waving his hand in a pleading gesture, "So, what should I call you?"

White Shark replied in a conversational tone,

"The same as before is fine, my job hasn't changed much, just a tavern owner after all."

The man narrowed his eyes.

"And what if today I don't want a drink but need to get in touch with some reliable mercenaries?"

"You've come to the right person."

Putting down the glass he was wiping, White Shark set the glass and towel aside, looked at the man across the bar, and continued,

"Tell me, what's the work?"

The man slowly began,

"There's been some trouble with the business down south, I need some tough guys, at least ten, with sufficient firepower."

White Shark raised his eyebrows,

"Mercenaries?"

"No…" the man shook his head, his expression gloomy, "it's not as simple as just mercenaries; it involves mutants."

"Is that so, the general mercenary groups probably won't meet your needs," White Shark rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment, then pulled out a tablet from beneath the bar and handed it to him, "Just fill in your requirements here."

Taking the tablet, the man was slightly startled.

"What's this?"

White Shark briefly explained,

"A terminal from the Mercenary Guild."

Seeing the man looked even more confused, he continued,

"You might not know since you've just arrived. Recently, the Alliance set up a pilot Mercenary Guild in Giant Stone City, now mercenaries in Giant Stone City need to register and be approved before they can take up work."

Because pubs that join are marked on the map provided by the Mercenary Guild, most taverns aimed at mercenaries have become an "offline branch" of the Mercenary Guild.

The man's brow twitched.

"Do even you guys have an organization?"

"Yes, and it's mandatory," White Shark shrugged, "the guild is responsible for assigning mercenary levels, assessing task success rates, and matching task difficulties with qualifications... handing high-difficulty tasks to low-level mercenaries would incur joint liability."

The man exclaimed in surprise,

"This sounds somewhat similar to the mercenary guild in the Bugra Free State up north."

White Shark shrugged,

"It's not exactly the same, for instance, the commissions. Here, besides the commissions paid to the Mercenary Guild, there is also an additional guarantee fund paid by the employer."

The man frowned and asked,

"What's that?"

White Shark replied casually,

"It's kind of like insurance, but not quite like the deceptive stuff Giant Stone Bank used to manage. For example, if you become disabled, someone will help you with prosthetics, and when you reach retirement age, you'll get a pension. In Bugra, I remember it was an optional service, but here it's mandatory."

The man curled the corner of his mouth,

"Heh, tying those people down with money?"

White Shark chuckled,

"You could say that. The pension is linked to the mercenary level, so if you don't want your pension to go down the drain, it's better not to get involved in unregistered 'black work'. Deductions are a minor issue, losing your qualification is major."

Indeed, it was a clever idea.

The reason these mercenaries were insubordinate was largely because they were unbridled.

Most of them had no concept of savings, living as if they were drunk today, because tomorrow, a small mistake could end their lives.

One could hardly expect a person who never planned to live past the age of 35 to think about things many years ahead.

Now, through the Mercenary Guild, the Alliance was forcing them to save for later life and using that money to control them.

If a mercenary normally took on work, they were likely to get assignments within their capabilities, ensuring their present and future livelihoods were secure.

However, if they took on unregistered and illegal 'black work' and were discovered, they would face not only law enforcement penalties but also sanctions from the Mercenary Guild.

If their professional qualification—i.e., mercenary level—was downgraded, they wouldn't just miss out on jobs; their future financial security would be affected as well.

On the other hand, by having the Mercenary Guild register the contract details, it also constrained both the employers and employees, reducing the trust cost between them and preventing potential social harm from the contracts.

Although both were called Mercenary Guilds, the Alliance's intention and nature in establishing theirs were entirely different from those of Bugra Free State.

The latter was to benefit corporate efficiencies through "labor outsourcing," while the Alliance's approach was a compromising solution to existing societal problems.

This arrangement was beneficial for everyone.

"…It's not realistic to expect a bunch of desperadoes to change professions on the spot; the Wasteland needs them too much, and they wouldn't take on other work or adapt to routine jobs. But leaving them be is not an option either, as Giant Stone City has a bunch of these guys. So, the Alliance made a compromise. Private armaments are necessary in the Wasteland, but they must be regulated."

The man furrowed his brow and said,

"But if you have to register, wouldn't that mean many contracts couldn't be done?"

Like some that involved killing.

"Heh, if you want to find someone to do the dirty work, it's still possible, but I'm afraid I can't help you with that... The Alliance has been keeping a close eye on me, and I don't want to make money that could cost me my life. You wouldn't want to get shot, right?"

Seeing the man remain silent, White Shark smiled lightly and continued in a hushed tone,

"But if it's clean work, like exploring relics, running errands, exterminating Looters, etc... I could even help you get more professional experts."

The man raised his eyebrows,

"More professional?"

White Shark nodded slightly,

"Yes, many Residents of the refuge have also registered as mercenaries, many of whom are old soldiers who came back from Luo Xia Province. They are much better equipped and experienced than those loose soldiers. If you need to deal with a group of Mutants, no one is more suited than them."

Upon hearing this, the man held his breath,

Old soldiers from Luo Xia Province!

If he could hire some of the Alliance's Blue Jackets, his old home might actually be saved!

"How can I hire those people?"

A pleasant smile appeared on White Shark's face, as he tapped the tablet in his hand,

"I've already told you the method. Simply register properly, record the details, and then pay a deposit and advance some of the reward."

"Within 24 hours, someone will arrange it for you."

Chapter 556: The Plague Burns on the Torch

"Today is January 1, 2342, by the old calendar, January 1 in the 213th year of the Wasteland Era. Here are today's major news stories from the Alliance."

"The New Year's Eve event has successfully concluded. Celebrations were held in all Alliance settlements last night to welcome the new year..."

"Stone City Hall has announced that as of today the curfew will be lifted; the blockades at the various gates of the Giant Wall will also officially be removed starting today. At the same time, the city entry tax collected for the construction of the Giant Wall will be canceled, and the height of the Giant Wall will no longer be increased."

"On the other hand, to deal with the impact of the unstable situation in Qingquan City, a 200-person volunteer team composed of teachers, medical personnel, biologists, and engineers has already arrived at the North Airport of Dawn City from Ideal City."

"The Manager, in his New Year's Eve speech, stated that improving the standard of living for residents remains a central focus of the Alliance's work for the new year. The Alliance's registered population has now surpassed the one million mark. In addition to the under-construction affordable housing and rail transport, 12 new full-time schools and 8 new social support facilities will be added..."

"Broadcasting for you by Survivor's Daily!"

The firewood in the fireplace crackled.

The warm air induced drowsiness, as if even the sonorous voice from the radio and the ticking of the wall clock seemed stretched out.

This is Dusty Town, located at the edge of the ruins of Jinhe City in Jinchuan Province, about seven or eight hundred kilometers from Qingquan City, roughly the same distance as Jiang City to Mountain City in reality.

Since Giant Stone City joined the Alliance, several new signal stations have been built recently, and several broadcast stations including Survivor's Daily have added medium and shortwave signal bands.

Although special climates such as radioactive clouds on the Wasteland can affect electromagnetic signals, this interference is not absolute.

Now, Jinchuan Province can also intermittently hear some voices from the Alliance.

"How wonderful."

Listening to the content of the broadcast, Tranquility's face carried a bit of longing.

For the New Year's Eve event, it was said that there were red packets for all participants, with prizes starting at 6 silver coins and the highest being a set of Dragon Cavalry power armor.

And it was the kind without rank restrictions!

What a pity...

The event was only held within the Alliance territories.

The entire Dusty Town has only three players; although they dragged the locals into holding a ceremonial event, the food offered as sacrifices was only a few meager types.

After distributing the uneaten sacrifices to the children of the village, he simply didn't log on last night, and ordered takeaway to enjoy offline instead.

Sighing, Tranquility turned towards the lizard basking by the fireplace and called out.

"Hey, Trash Brother."

Pick up trash 99 level adjusted its bottom and lay down in a different position, responding lazily.

"What's up."

Unable to hold back, Tranquility blurted out.

"We've been stuck in this dump for half a year now; how much longer are we staying!"

The plan was to head south together.

Yet the other two guys have planted roots here and refuse to move.

Trash Brother chuckled and said.

"No rush, no rush. That 'Nago' matter isn't settled yet; we can't just abandon those villagers, right?"

According to official website information, it's been confirmed that Nago and Jade Fruit are the same thing, suspected to originate from the South Ocean Archipelago, entering the southern parts of Central Continent through the ports of Death Coast.

Sunset Province is one of the most affected provinces.

Combining official website predictions about the next version, Trash Brother and Difficult for the strong believed there was some unspeakable conspiracy behind Nago.

Thus, they decided to stay.

On one hand, they observed the condition of a user in the village, and on the other hand, they sent some observed samples back to the Biological Institute within Alliance territory.

At the same time, they kept an eye on the movements of the "Qi" Mutant tribe.

However, several months have passed, with no new actions from either Nago or the Mutant tribe, and Tranquility was starting to get impatient.

They have made no progress for several months!

Not even heading south, the least they could do is form a group and head home to save their progress!

Watching Trash Brother's relaxed face, Tranquility couldn't help but tease.

"You haven't gotten addicted to playing god, have you?"

Trash Brother paused, then laughed heartily.

"Hahaha, of course not!"

The smile seemed a bit forced.

Tranquility rolled her eyes in response.

At that moment, a knocking sound came from outside the door, as if the noises were traveling right along the floor.

Guessing who it was, he sighed, got up from the chair covered with a blanket, and went to open the door.

A fat old rat tall as a knee slinked in, and the cold air that rolled in with it made Trash Brother unconsciously shrink his neck.

"There's trouble."

As soon as he heard 'there's trouble,' Tranquility's eyes lit up, no longer drowsy. Trash Brother quickly got up and leaned in.

"What's the trouble?!"

"Spill it!"

Seeing his companions' eager expressions, Difficult for the strong cleared his throat and spoke mysteriously.

"I've been keeping an eye on that Town of Hope lately, right? Yesterday, some charlatans showed up there."

Tranquility paused for a moment.

"Charlatans?"

"Yeah, the kind who are either pastors or apostles. I thought there was something off about those guys, so I snuck in to eavesdrop on their conversation—they rambled on about a bunch of nonsense. Basically, the radiance of Sky Fire will soon shine upon this land corrupted by chaos, all sins will be cleansed, and embracing the glorious evolution will allow you to join a kingdom of God, free from all suffering and sickness... Then they immediately requested the locals to build a church for their Saint Heir."

Confused, Tranquility asked.

"What does evolution mean..."

It was the only keyword she understood.

Difficult for the strong shook his head.

"I don't know, maybe it's Nago. At first, I thought Nago was something the mutants made, but it turned out to be the doing of those guys from the south..."

Saying this, he dipped his finger in the melted snow on his hair and drew two inverted triangles on the floor.

"Their robes have this symbol on them."

Looter leaned in to take a look, his brows gradually furrowing.

"Torch?"

Difficult for the strong nodded.

"Yeah, the Torch Church."

I want tranquility rubbed the back of his head, a bit puzzled as he spoke.

"Actually... I don't quite understand why you guys are so fixated on that Torch Church. As long as they don't cause trouble, it doesn't really matter what they believe in, right?"

It seemed like the Alliance had quite a few people who believed in the Great Antler God, and most survivors in the Sunset Province also believed in their Spirit of the Sand Sea.

When there were no laws to constrain people's words and actions, faith could play a small role.

Although the Torch Plan wasn't anything good, the Torch Church didn't seem to have much to do with it aside from the similar symbol.

He was a newbie who came in during the B test phase and didn't really understand what had happened during the A test.

Difficult for the strong glanced at him.

"What if there are mutants among the missionaries?"

I want tranquility froze.

"Mutants?!"

Weren't mutants known for treating humans as food?

What kind of widespread belief could assimilate mutants like that!?

Looter cracked a smile and said.

"Even without that, we couldn't let them off. I haven't forgotten that during the Bone Chewing Chaos, the Army and the Free State provided those Looters with weapons, and they provided those Looters with faith and high technology; the first batch of neural connection equipment the Alliance got was seized from their hands."

Almost the entire central part of the River Valley Province had been wiped clean by these people. Many residents of the Alliance were survivors of that heroic clash, and this was a score that had to be settled sooner or later.

Difficult for the strong, with furrowed brows, said tensely: "I don't know what they're planning to do, but I have a bad feeling... And if all the surrounding settlements start believing in that Torch, what about the Big Horn Rat and the Great Antler God?"

When he heard the first part, I want tranquility was contemplating seriously, but at the second part, he nearly choked on his own saliva.

"...You're just worried about being kicked off the pedestal!"

Looter coughed once, ignoring his ridicule.

"Regardless... Since it involves the Torch Church, we can't be careless about this. I'll go ask for everyone's opinions on the official website first."

What he truly dreaded was something else.

Perhaps it wasn't the Torch Church that assimilated the mutants, but those fanatics who, through some method, systematically turned people into mutants and made this land suitable only for mutants to live on.

Ordinary people and animals that consumed Nago for a long period would experience hallucinations and enter a state called "God Travel."

However, for mutants, it seemed that Nago only had the beneficial effects. They became stronger, and their prospects for fighting and reproduction increased.

Mutant tribes that lived by looting would scale up to a population of a hundred at most, but in the Great Desert, mutants had learned to farm, breed, and mastered social division of labor, boosting their numbers to over a thousand.

And here, the mutant tribe called "Qi" had a scale of over ten thousand!

It wasn't possible to sustain such a large population with just primitive breeding methods.

His intuition told him that there was most likely some terrible conspiracy brewing in this land...

Closing his amber eyes, the "God of Lizards" from Dusty Town hurriedly logged off to visit the official website.

I want tranquility opened his mouth as if to say something, but a sudden rush of knocking at the door interrupted his train of thought.

Walking over to open the door, he saw the village chief standing there, speaking with a tense expression.

"My lord, I'm sorry to disturb you... There's a visitor at the village gate."

I want tranquility frowned and asked,

"Visitor? What visitor?"

It was winter now, and outside, there were hardly any wandering merchants to be seen, and for safety reasons, merchants headed straight for their destinations. Unless they were running out of supplies, they wouldn't approach a settlement that didn't look prosperous.

The village chief lowered his gaze respectfully and said.

"That fellow claims to be the Servant of a certain Saint Heir, spouting nonsense, insisting that we are blinded by savagery and need to be rescued from our misery..."

As he spoke, the old man clenched his fists, cursing indignantly.

"I told them, we have our own beliefs, and we don't need their heretic nonsense, nor their Nago!"

I want tranquility and the fat old rat behind him exchanged a look.

Well, damn!

It's spread here too?

That was way too fast!

...

"The Wasteland OL" Official Website.

The forum was still as joyful and bustling as ever.

[Event Announcement: New Year's Eve Event Successfully Concluded!

Giant Stone City Division Voting Results: The food most popular with players is "Cream Leech Mushroom Soup," the food most popular with the Wasteland Wanderers is "Cotton Candy," and the food most popular with the Managers is "Corn Beef Patty"!]

[Update: New "Mercenary Guild" System Introduced]

[Explanation: Some commissions from the Merchant Guild have been transferred to the Mercenary Guild, players can now register as mercenaries and accept tasks through VM.]

Tail: "Wuwuwu, the Mercenary Guild! My Mercenary Guild! I was the first to think of it! QAQ"

Quit smoking: "Haha! Ah Guang copied straight from the forum, busted! (evil grin)"

Si Si: "Pat pat, don't cry Ah Wei, we can set one up outside the Alliance territory."

Gui Gui: "Oh wow! Our cotton candy actually made the cut!"

Feng Qing: "Yay, limited title unlocked! Hehe, happy!"

Night Ten: "Damn it, why sweets again! Seems like it was sweets last year too! Do these Waste Land Wanderers just love sugar that much! (freaking out)"

Tomato Scramble with Eggs: "Exactly! Why isn't our Braised Battleship Shrimp selected! It's so delicious! T.T"

Night Ten: "The worst part is, Fang Chang's wife only gave us an 8!"

Fang Chang: "You guys... you insisted on having a panel of pretty girls as judges because of their looks, and now you complain when they favor sweet food. (sideways glance)"

He did drag Dolly to the brothers' stalls last night and, out of courtesy, ordered a big bowl.

But because it was too greasy, Dolly barely had a few bites, and he ended up eating all the peeled shrimp.

With full marks being 10, getting an 8 wasn't too shabby.

However, since the final scores of the event weren't a simple average or cumulative total, but rather calculated based on a specific formula, "positive reviews" and the number of attracted judges were significant factors, so just one high score clearly wasn't enough to win.

Although the heavily greasy aroma of the Battleship Shrimp lured in many customers, the entire street was permeated with the scent of cotton candy last night.

And that stuff doesn't fill you up, so you can still manage a bite or two even after a full meal.

With so many buffs stacked, it seemed like the outcome was determined from the start...

Night Ten: "Hiss... that was careless!"

Old White: "Haha, got it, next time we'll pick some drinking buddies! Come up with some dishes that go well with booze! (evil grin)"

Teng Teng: "Ah, but seriously, seeing Little Fish blissfully soaking in the cotton candy is just too healing. (@´ㅂ`@)"

Crow: "Indeed~"

Night Ten: "!!! I cast a vote for Little Fish!"

WC really has Mosquitoes: "Sniff... damn it, I want to raise one too!"

Tail: "@Light, Mr. Police Officer, this is the person! (｀∀´)Ψ"

WC really has Mosquitoes: "Damn! I was just blustering! (alarmed)"

Elena: "Let's file a record, brother. (teasing)"

WC really has Mosquitoes: "%￥#@!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Big news! Seems like there's some movement with the DLC down south!"

Fang Chang: "What's going on?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "A few Apostles from the Torch Church have shown up in Dusty Town to proselytize! They've reached out to places just over eight hundred kilometers away from us!"

Mole from the canyon on the run: "Where's Dusty Town again..."

Pick up trash 99 level: "Uh, that's the place I told you guys about before, hehe."

Debt Giant Eye: "Oh, your village, right. (teasing)"

Brick Boy on the Construction Site: "Damn, I thought it was something big. (teasing)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn! I'm talking about serious stuff here!"

Old White: "Trash bro, your settlement is near Jinhe City, right?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Right! That's the place!"

Old White: "Good, we have a mission to Jinhe City in a few days, we'll check out the situation there. (showing teeth)"

Edge Shoveling: "Damn! What mission?"

Old White: "Recovering nuclear fuel. (showing teeth)"

Edge Shoveling: "Awesome!!!"

Spring Water Commander: "Envy crying! T.T"

Old White: "Ahem, we're counting on you for supplies!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Haha, don't worry! We lack everything but food here! Oh, and bring us some seeds and fertilizer, we haven't had a Commercial Team visit in ages!"

Night Ten: "Damn, you're doing poverty relief there!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "What's this 'poverty relief'? We're helping expand the Alliance's territory!"

Gnome King Riches: "Isn't that like being a charlatan? (teasing)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Ahem, that's all bluff, don't take it seriously..."

Elena: "How come I heard there's already religious statues? (teasing)"

...

In the Manager's Office of the Stone City Hall.

While the players were busily discussing on the official website, a report from the Guards Corps was firmly grasped in Chu Guang's hands.

He had sent a team of a hundred from the Guards Corps to the south to gather intel on "Nago" even before the snowfall.

Nago first appeared at the Alliance's celebration.

Though Heya told him that it wasn't as scary as he imagined, he still sensed a whiff of conspiracy.

The Guards Corps' investigation findings as well as the players' discussions on the Forum seemed to confirm his suspicions.

"It seems like it's not only viruses and bacteria... but also the Torch Church, Mutants, and Slave Owners from the South - these three unrelated trash heaps have all been amalgamated by this tiny fruit."

Reflecting on the report in his hand, Chu Guang clicked his tongue.

The Guards Corps' investigation showed a high overlap between the Torch Church's influence and the cultivation areas of Nago!

This was obviously no coincidence!

Those Believers took advantage of the Slave Owners in the Brocade River Province losing their food market in the Southern River Valley, secretly promoting this economic crop called "Nago," then spreading the Torch faith to those settlements that became entirely dependent on Nago.

As to why those survivors were so compliant, the Guards Corps' clue was that the Torch Church had a so-called cure labeled "Holy Water."

It is well-known that most people and animals become increasingly docile after long-term consumption of Nago, periodically entering a hallucinatory state called "God Travel."

The specific manifestation is that they lose all response to external stimuli, immersing themselves in the illusion of happiness until death, not even resisting when preyed upon.

Just as the nematode is to the mantis.

Considering the characteristics of Nago, those who enter the "God Travel" state, whether human or animal, will become another kind of Nago in a different sense, passing the "Seeds" down the food chain.

Only mutants and Claw of Death, those powerful species born in laboratories, can be somewhat exempt from being captivated by Nago.

The Holy Water developed by the Torch Church can awaken people from the "God Travel" state, allowing them to live consciously in the illusion of happiness.

Initially, some Slave Owners simply fed Nago to their slaves to make them docile and obedient, but after experiencing the "benefits" of Nago themselves, they too began to consume it, and eventually willingly offered their allegiance to the Torch Church that controlled the Holy Water.

But the Torch Church did more than that.

They played the role of Shepherds, indoctrinating the Survivor Settlements, turning their inhabitants into sheep in a pen.

At the same time, they used the lambs within the pen to bribe the mutants of Jinchuan Province.

Addicts in the "God Travel" state could be mistreated without spoiling, making them the tastiest delicacies for the brutal mutants and the best nursery for their offspring.

This was also a clue discovered by the Guard Corps during their investigations.

The Slave Owners of Jinchuan Province, relying on weapons produced in the Southern River Province, could hold their own against the mutants.

However, after becoming addicted to Nago, the formerly dominant Survivor Settlements almost instantly lost their ability to fight and were swiftly incorporated into the Torch Church's sphere of influence.

At the same time, mutants rarely invaded the Survivor Settlements within the Torch Church's territory, and if they did invade, they would retreat quickly.

This undoubtedly suggested that the Torch Church had reached some kind of unspoken agreement or even a contract with the mutants of Jinchuan Province.

After reading the report on Nago, Chu Guang immediately turned to another investigative report on the Torch Church.

He had always suspected that the Torch Church was connected to the Enlightenment Society, but to his surprise, the investigation of the Guard Corps pointed in the opposite direction.

The core of the Torch Plan was to first destroy the world and then recreate it, ultimately achieving a rebirth of civilization in a literal sense.

The doctrines of the Torch Church followed the unfinished Torch Plan, agreeing that the world should be destroyed once, but their specific approach was fundamentally different from that of the Enlightenment Society.

They aimed to establish not a new world ruled by pre-war elites but a world where humanity would undergo a metamorphosis in the biological sense—

In other words, using the legacy of Old Humans to incubate the cocoon of New Humans!

They lacked the efficient Neutron Eradication Technology and did not count on being able to remove all species from the surface of the Earth with the push of a button.

Their true goal was to slowly and over time adapt the land through their expertise in biological technology to only suit the form of life "they themselves define."

They promised their believers that all survivors who suffered or carried sins in the old world would receive eternal blessings in the new world.

Plainly speaking, as long as the believers diligently worked hard, contributing to the plan of the Torch Church, they could become the grand "Perfect Life Form" in the new world.

And these so-called Perfect Life Forms were the source of Weilante People, Clone men with eight times the growth rate, and the Mutants—derived from the pre-war Singularity Technology that was never completed.

There's no doubt, it was a crazy plan.

If the Enlightenment Society targeted post-war order and fear of old civilization, then the Torch Church was a speciesist terror against Old Humans.

Within the doctrine of the Torch Church, mutants were explained as "an intermediate product on the path to the Perfect Life Form for humanity."

Those crude and savage green gorillas were not perfect, neither aesthetically nor in terms of civilization, yet in the doctrines of the Torch Church, mutants, better adapted to the Wasteland than Old Humans, were still considered superior, possessing a higher "starting point" than the Old Humans.

So they used biological technology to transform some of the most devout believers into noble mutants, endowed with bodies so strong they were unmatched, as well as privileges that towered above those of the regular human congregants—the docile lambs!

However, the high echelons of the Torch Church were not proactive about becoming mutants themselves.

They were still waiting for a more perfect vessel.

And the church's middle ranks who had already become mutants were also waiting for a better vessel, ready to evolve into a new form of life at any time.

"…There is no doubt that the Torch Church is currently the most pressing trouble, much more urgent than those criminals up north,"

Chu Guang succinctly concluded after reading the last of the report.

"I agree," Lu Bei, standing beside him, nodded and continued in a grave voice, "but there's something that bothers me. The nuclear fuel provided by the Academy is right in Brocade River City, where that mutant tribe led by 'Qi' is also located… I suspect those cunning researchers are planning to use us as pawns."

Even though it was an obvious fact, Chu Guang still looked at the young man with an unexpected extra glance and smiled approvingly.

"Good, I'm pleased to see you've noticed that."

Lu Bei smiled sheepishly.

"It's all thanks to your guidance…"

Chu Guang smiled faintly, his gaze moving to the map hanging on the wall, crossing over the Free State and the Grand Canyon to rest upon the Wandering Swamp to the north.

"Many of us think of those at the Academy as bookish nerds. In fact, they are anything but dull; instead, they are incredibly cunning,"

"They might even be craftier than the Army and corporations combined, and they're good at camouflage. To make us willing to bite, they will intentionally act as if we are picking up a bargain. They were probably already has their eyes on our south when were were fighting fiercely with the Army in Sunset Province."

Lu Bei furrowed his brows.

"Really…"

Chu Guang nodded.

"It's an open conspiracy, and even though we know they're using us, for now, it seems we have no choice but to go in the direction they want us to."

That's one thousand cubic meters of liquid helium-3!

A whole 127 tons of fusion fuel!

Whether for the Alliance's power armors or the fusion reactor in West State City, he needed to get his hands on that energy source!

Even if he had to do another job for the Academy, this generous amount of energy as compensation would be more than sufficient.

And the Torch Church was about to extend its reach into Brocade River City. If the Alliance did nothing, that nuclear fuel might just end up in the Torch Church's hands.

Moving his gaze away from the map, Chu Guang slowly began to speak.

"Xiao Qi."

A voice full of enthusiasm came from beside him.

"I'm here, Master."

Without any hesitation, Chu Guang immediately issued an order.

"Notify the Burning Corps to assemble at least a hundred-man team in Giant Stone City on standby. They must set out to Brocade River Province, Brocade River City within three days!"

The voice that replied was equally without any delay.

"Understood!"

Chapter 557: Marching Southward

"Is this the place?"

In front of Pirate Bay Tavern, the street bustled with people coming and going.

Falling Feather glanced at the VM screen's map and photos, then looked at the storefront before him, his eyes slowly lighting up with excitement.

It couldn't be wrong!

This was it!

"Xiaoyu, let's go!"

"Yi Wu!"

After confirming the target, Falling Feather immediately pushed open the door and entered.

The ten individuals who followed him, wrapped tightly in exoskeletons, also passed through the open door in quick succession.

They were all Xiaoyu's sub-entities, lacking independent consciousness and sharing a consciousness entity with the lair, essentially serving as Xiaoyu's hands and eyes.

Strictly speaking, sub-entities cannot move too far away from the source body, especially Xiaoyu, whose medium of information transmission was not spores but rather limited-range sound.

However, the Manager had equipped them with headsets, instantly turning a shortcoming into an advantage.

Although Xiaoyu's main body couldn't leave the refuge, as long as they were within the alliance's signal coverage, Feather One, Feather Two, Feather Three…up to Feather Ten could communicate unhindered with the brain-like lair.

To avoid frightening the passerby NPCs, Falling Feather took advantage of the recent military discount in Giant Stone City and equipped all of them with the K-10 Iron Wall Exoskeletons, which originally cost 30,000 chips each.

When the visors were closed, outsiders could hardly tell what was inside the exoskeletons; they only saw ten burly men clad in metal lumps following him.

Thanks to this, wherever he went, he drew a great deal of attention.

"Would you like some—"

Hearing the jingle of the doorbell, the bartender who was behind the counter had just started to speak when he saw the line of shiny black exoskeletons.

Collecting himself, he changed his question.

"Here to take up a mission?"

"Yes!" walking straight to the counter, Falling Feather nodded excitedly, flashing the VM on his arm, "The B-class mission!"

As the group entered the tavern, they immediately attracted the attention of many, and as they heard the young man had taken on a B-class mission, there was a murmur of whispers.

"B-class? Hasn't the Mercenary Guild just opened recently? How did someone reach B-class already?"

"It seems the rules for the Mercenary Corps are different. I've heard they have specific assessment standards."

"It looks like Awakeners can apply for level evaluations? They don't have to start from G-level..."

"That makes sense..."

"But that equipment… it's from the regular army, right?"

Strictly speaking, newcomers aren't supposed to take on B-class mercenary tasks, but since the Mercenary Guild had just opened and wasn't set up like the scientific expedition teams from Level A, they couldn't just have the high-tier missions waiting.

Thus, there was a mechanism called "rank placement match."

Players who had just registered as members of the Mercenary Guild, as long as they were above Level 10, fulfilling the conditions for a single awakening, could have their combat levels like Soldier, Hunter calculated into a combat score by the system, and be assigned three tasks matching their combat capability.

For instance, if the tasks were graded C, C+, and B, and the player completed C and C+, but failed B, the initial level would be C+.

If all three tasks were completed, the initial level would be B.

If all three tasks were failed,
they would have to start climbing from G-level.

As the information held by the client is usually limited, the level designation is not absolute, and a task marked as C-level might potentially have S-level difficulty.

For players, opening a Blind Box was also part of the fun of Wasteland OL.

"A B-class mission, huh… well, it's not an easy task," the bartender leaned closer to the VM for a look, then turned to Falling Feather saying, "Wait here for a moment; I'll call my boss."

After speaking, he turned and walked into the kitchen behind the counter.

Falling Feather waited at the counter for a while until someone soon sat on the stool next to him and extended a right hand.

"White Shark, I'm the owner here."

Turning towards the NPC, Falling Feather introduced himself.

"Falling Feather!"

Glancing at the row of bodyguards clad in exoskeletons behind him, White Shark roughly gauged the strength of this mercenary troop and again turned to the young man before him.

"Falling Feather, huh… interesting name. Resident of the refuge?"

Falling Feather crisply affirmed.

"That's right, any problem?"

"No problem, just making conversation. I think apart from you guys, nobody else would be interested in a mission that involves a long journey in the dead of winter," White Shark smiled slightly and continued, "Let's get straight to the point."

With that, he took out a tablet, tapped it a couple of times, syncing the mission information to the young man's VM in front of him.

Falling Feather instantly opened the VM and took a quick look.

The moment he saw the mission rewards, he was literally breathless.

The commission was one hundred thousand silver coins!

"This, this is too much!"

Seeing the young man's expression as he eyed the money, White Shark waved at the bartender behind the counter to order two glasses of honey water.

After taking a sip from one of the glasses, he moistened his throat and continued speaking.

"The employer is a merchant from the south, from a settlement called Pinecone Wood Farm, located around Jinhe City, Brocade River Province. Your map should already be updated with the coordinates of that settlement."

Lifting his gaze from the commission, Falling Feather looked with confusion at the man named White Shark.

"A farm?"

"It's just called a farm," White Shark said with a light smile, speaking softly, "It's a quite famous settlement locally with a good number of residents, about fifty to sixty thousand. I know at least four merchants whose hometowns are there."

Jinhe City.

Trash Older Brother and Difficult for the Strong seem to be there too, but they are in a small village called Dusty Town to the north. I haven't heard them mention other settlements.

Falling Feather nodded in understanding.

"I see."

White Shark continued.

"You have two tasks. One is to deliver weapons worth 500,000 silver coins there, primarily consisting of rifles, bullets, and anti-material weapons. You don't need to worry about the transportation; you just need to provide security, collect the delivery receipt, and you'll earn a third of the fee."

One LD-47 rifle costs about 300 silver coins, and a 7mm bullet has dropped to around 0.5~0.6 silver coins; these are currently the most stable industrial products priced by the Alliance.

The weapons of 500,000 silver coins, it's already a considerable amount, probably needing four or five trucks to transport.

Falling Feather nodded, indicating his understanding.

"What about the remaining two-thirds of the fee?"

"The local lord is named Zhao Tiangan. He has a six-year-old servant girl in his house, named Yang Xiaoyang. No matter what method you use, bring her back safely."

Falling Feather frowned.

"Kidnapping?"

"It's a rescue," corrected White Shark with a faint smile, continuing in a slightly amused tone, "Not just anyone is qualified to do business with the landlord. It's either relatives or hostages...I think you understand what I mean now?"

Falling Feather nodded.

"I understand."

Whatever the contract between that merchant and the local lord was, and whatever entangled interests they had, after all, the work he was doing wasn't anything morally reprehensible.

That was enough.

Seeing Blue Jacket nod, White Shark continued methodically.

"Anyway, the client and the target are direct relatives; your guild will verify this as well, so stop pestering me with questions about the client's personal affairs... Anyway, once you find her, take her to the Giant Stone City's Guild, and you'll receive the full payment."

"The client will be staying here during this period; after the task is done, if you want to chat with him, it's possible if the other party is willing."

Falling Feather made an OK gesture and jumped down from the stool.

"Alright, wait for my news."

A round trip of seven or eight hundred kilometers might take a month.

But considering one hundred thousand silver coins, it's worth it!

Besides, aside from the main task, he could pick up some side missions along the way or take some private jobs posted on the forum.

Thinking this, Falling Feather was filled with motivation, almost eager to set off now.

Watching Blue Jacket turn and prepare to leave, White Shark suddenly thought of something and hurriedly called out to him.

"Wait a minute."

Falling Feather stopped and turned back to him.

"Is there anything else?"

White Shark spoke casually.

"I don't have anything else, but there's been a little situation recently where you're heading... this is extra advice from an intelligence dealer. Even though the client has given you two months, if you want to get the full commission, I advise you to hurry."

Thinking about the discussion on the forum yesterday, Falling Feather read something from the expression of the NPC and slightly furrowed his brow.

Is it related to the Torch Church?

"I understand."

Seeing the young man's earnest expression, White Shark smiled and nodded.

"Good, you really should understand."

...

In the open space in front of the Boulder Military Industrial Building.

Twelve light trucks lined up, and workers in KV-1 Exoskeletons were loading boxes of goods into the vehicles.

These goods included military supplies like weapons and ammunition, as well as electronic devices including radios and sleep cabins, and some were private items of the players.

Not far from the convoy, one hundred and twenty players had already assembled.

In addition to the majority of players equipped with Type Five and Type Six Exoskeletons, five 'Dragon Cavalry' Exoskeletons were conspicuously present!

Just happening to come here to buy prosthetics, seeing the power-armored Quit Smoking, Gnome King Riches' eyes widened in astonishment.

"Fuck, Quit Smoking, did you sell your ass?!"

Quit Smoking rolled his eyes.

"Fuck off! You're the one who sold their ass."

Staring enviously at the mechanically impressive power armor, Gnome King Riches couldn't help but reach out and touch its sharp-edged breastplate.

"One million silver coins, damn, even selling me wouldn't fetch that much!"

Feeling awkward under that piercing gaze, Quit Smoking coughed and explained,

"Cough... actually, this power armor isn't mine; it belongs to the Legion."

Hearing this, Gnome King Riches was taken aback.

"Aren't we not supposed to exchange power armor at the logistics point?"

If he remembered correctly, the Legion System's logistics points could only be exchanged for assembly line products produced by the Alliance's military factories, and they didn't even support the exchange of personalized custom equipment like prosthetic bodies.

Seeing the confused old Gnome, Quit Smoking gave an embarrassed smile.

"… I reached the knight Contribution Level, right? Old White and the others pooled together one million silver coins and bought it under my quota. Even though this power armor is tied to my account, it's actually the Legion's, and if necessary, it's available for others to wear."

Old White's reasoning was straightforward; the store's power armor stock was limited, "Dragon Cavalry" even more so as it was a rare pre-war model. Who knew when new stock would arrive.

Better to buy it now with the money we have as it might be gone later. Just consider it the Legion's equipment.

Initially, Quit Smoking was quite embarrassed, after all, that was one million silver coins. But after wearing it once, he got over it.

Besides him, two other main tanks in the Legion, and Body Constitution System players who had trained to the knight level also benefited.

As for why only five units were bought, because the store only listed fifteen units and buying all of them might get them yelled at.

Those who joined the game early already had enough advantage; they had to leave some gaming experience for others.

Moreover, with such expensive equipment, it wouldn't just be randomly assigned under someone else's name if they weren't brothers-in-arms who had been through life and death together.

The game does not recognize the transaction of binding equipment ownership; however, it doesn't prevent players from lending equipment to one another. If someone actually absconds with an item that's under their name, the person who paid for it can do nothing but sigh.

This is why, after listening to Quit Smoking, Gnome King Riches was astonihed.

"Fuck! That's allowed?!"

A few newbies from the Skeleton Corps nearby also said enviously,

"Jealousy is killing me!"

"Damn, Brother Mole is too stingy!"

"Exactly! Not giving us benefits is one thing, but asking us for a loan too!"

Although Brother Mole didn't actually borrow from these newbies, that didn't stop them from empathizing with the brothers who did lend money.

Watching those wailing newbies, Fang Chang chuckled and said,

"Be calm, your Brother Mole is still in the early stage of starting his business, things will get better once he settles things down in the Skeleton Studio in Ideal City."

Listening to Fang Chang paint a pretty picture, one of the newbies couldn't help but swallow.

"It'll get better…"

Fang Chang smiled and said,

"He'll be able to make more money."

Newbie: "%￥#@!"

Though he said this, a point to be made, Brother Mole actually had quite the good reputation and was well-liked on the server.

Otherwise, so many players wouldn't be following him and wouldn't consider lending him so much money to start his business.

Fang Chang believed that once Skeleton Studio really took off, Brother Mole would certainly not let down his own Legion buddies.

"Speaking of which, why don't you get a power armor yourself?" Night Ten glanced at Fang Chang's exoskeleton and curiously asked.

Casually patting the "Dawn" mechanical bow on his back, Fang Chang calmly said,

"I've got this; it's enough."

Power armor wasn't always the optimal solution.

Even the lightweight OD-10 "Dragon Cavalry" would affect mobility to some extent.

For him, the Type-Five "Light Cavalry" power armor's performance was more than adequate.

Plus, with his customized bulletproof pads and optical camouflage plugin, he was well-suited for a variety of battle scenarios, and a prosthetic body was unnecessary.

Wild Wind glanced at Night Ten and teased,

"Look at the guy's scale, you being a sniper, what's the use of wearing power armor? Better save up for an exoskeleton with an optical camouflage plugin."

He also didn't have power armor.

For Intelligence System players, upgrading prosthetics and drones was the future.

Night Ten rolled his eyes,

"Shit! I have no scale."

"Hahaha! No worries, who said snipers can't wear heavy armor?" Fang Chang laughed and patted Night Ten on the shoulder, "Brother, I believe in you!"

Everyone was almost all gathered.

He walked to the front of the line where Old White tapped on his helmet to activate the speaker, and shouted loudly.

"Mission brief has been updated on everyone's VM, our destination is Dusty Town, a settlement in the northern part of Jinhe City, Jinchuan Province."

"Trash Older Brother has already gone there ahead of us to scout for us, where we'll establish an operational base, then recover 127 tons of nuclear fuel from the research facilities in the city area."

"The journey is nearly 800 kilometers, over half of which is mountainous terrain; we expect it to take about a week to arrive with the mission lasting about half a month."

"The convoy will depart from the east gate at twelve noon! The advance team will follow me onto the plane in a moment, we'll head over first with the engineers from the logistics department aboard the Viper!"

This mission wasn't just about recovering nuclear fuel, but also included surveillance of local survivor forces and mutant tribes in Jinhe City.

The first advance team would be the first to arrive at the Jinhe City settlement, where they would set up a range of basic facilities including communication base stations, establish save points, and survey the city area.

The rest of the players would follow the convoy, transporting supplies and building materials to Dusty Town, to assist the logistics department in constructing the operational base.

All preparations were ready.

Wearing power armor, Old White walked to the elevator, getting ready to ride it to the helipad on top of the building, when he suddenly saw an unexpected figure.

Wearing a scientific expedition uniform, Chen Yutong held a suitcase and walked in his direction.

Their eyes met, and she greeted him with a smile.

"Hey."

This story-rich "hey" drew at least a dozen pairs of eyes upon Old White's back.

"Hey, what a coincidence."

Whispering mischievously on the communication channel, Night Ten winked and clapped Old White on the shoulder before following Fang Chang and Wild Wind into the elevator.

Standing in the elevator, Fang Chang also joked with a laugh,

"The elevator's full, group leader, wait for the next one."

Before he finished speaking, Wild Wind silently pressed the close button, shutting the elevator doors.

These damn guys…

Unable to help but chuckle as he shifted his gaze from the rising elevator, Old White turned towards Ms. Chen, who approached with a beaming smile, and coughed lightly as he said,

"Why are you here?"

Stopping beside the elevator, Chen Yutong replied with a smile,

"Can't I come to see you off?"

Old White glanced at the suitcase she was dragging.

"Do you need to bring a suitcase to see me off?"

"You caught me."

She smiled, pressed the elevator button, and continued in a casual tone.

"Due to some confidential reasons, the Alliance has raised Nago's threat level. The Biological Institute wants to obtain more research materials to accelerate studies on Nago, and there are also some investigative tasks that the expedition team needs to conduct locally, which I am currently in charge of, so I'm going to need a ride with you guys."

Old White glanced at the holographic screen inside his helmet, and indeed, there was an additional line in the mission section of his VM; clearly, she wasn't joking.

Looking back at Chen Yutong, he unwittingly examined her equipment from top to bottom and frowned.

"It's too dangerous there; are you sure you want to go with us?"

Spring City had been largely explored by players, posing little threat as long as you didn't venture deep into the central zones.

Jinchuan Province was different.

Before they had arrived, there were only three players there, and they only operated in a small area of the northern suburbs.

Outside the players' active area, there were mutant tribes with populations over ten thousand, and the southern Torch Church fiercely coveted the land below their feet.

It was, needless to say, a dangerous place.

"Not dealing with those things is even more dangerous."

She chuckled lightly, brushing the hair from her nose, "Besides, aren't you there?"

Old White stared into her eyes for a while, making sure she was mentally prepared to return to the front lines.

"After getting on the plane—no, before getting on the plane, follow my commands, and you must report to me when needed! Also, give me the luggage."

"Thank you."

Chen Yutong handed over her suitcase, watching Old White take the luggage, she playfully said,

"I'd like to say I've already died once, but it feels pretty good to be cared for."

Died once, huh…

Is that even considered as having died?

Watching her enter the elevator, Old White shook his head in amused resignation, unsure what to make of her audacity.

He, who had died several times over, couldn't even guarantee a safe return from every mission.

After all...

One must always be careful.

-

(PS: My computer crashed, the unsaved draft is gone, and I'm devastated. T.T)

Chapter 558 "The Battle of Faith

Beneath the Boulder Military Industrial Building.

Looking up at the sky, Killer Dagger stood like a baboon and said with a pained expression,

"Damn it! Why can't I take the plane!"

Standing by his side, All the Good Names Were Taken by Dogs glanced at his hands that resembled excavator shovels and said with a teasing smirk,

"With those two chunks of iron on you, bringing you along means two fewer people can fit. You'd dismantle the plane just scratching your head, so you might as well save it."

Kidney Fighter patted him on the shoulder.

"That's right, save it."

Killer Dagger said with a pained face,

"I want to take this damn thing off."

He was now starting to understand the pain of Variant players.

Not to mention the ugliness, just the fact that he couldn't use conventional weapons was enough to make him miserable.

If he had known, he should have followed Mosquito's example and installed a spine with more slots, attaching two giant fists as an additional Mechanical Prosthesis, rather than directly replacing his original arms.

That would have been much more reasonable.

"Rich people..."

"You're really good at wasting things."

Kidney Fighter and All the Good Names Were Taken by Dogs looked enviously at the guy.

Upgrading Mechanical Prostheses wasn't free; depending on the situation, it could amount to one-third, or even half, of the total cost.

Killer Dagger smiled sheepishly.

"Don't worry, I can sell it second-hand, heh heh."

Kidney Fighter rolled his eyes, puncturing his self-comfort,

"Who the hell would buy this thing!"

Not wanting to dwell on this regret-filled issue, Killer Dagger changed the subject,

"Speaking of which, why didn't you leave with the plane?"

Kidney Fighter sighed.

"Well, I'm keeping you company."

"Good brother!"

Moved, Killer Dagger raised his hand, intending to slap Old Kidney Brother's shoulder, but the latter dodged with a cold sweat,

"Holy shit! Are you trying to kill me?"

All the Good Names Were Taken by Dogs laughed heartily, "Hahaha!"

After preparations were complete, twelve trucks headed majestically towards the eastern gate of Giant Stone City, taking the road beneath the overpass out of the city.

On the other side, two Viper Transport planes also left the apron, their engines blasting plasma feather streams like two dragonflies flying one after the other towards the south.

Sitting by the airplane window, Chen Yutong gazed out, spellbound by the shrinking giant wall and the high-rise ruins beyond the wall.

A few players in the same plane were looking at Ms. Chen's figure and started joking over their comms channel, referencing 'Animal Planet',

"Spring has arrived."

"Life is reawakening."

"It's the breeding season for the animals again."

"The male sea turtle is mounting—"

"Shut up."

Knowing they couldn't argue, Old White simply muted the most rambunctious ones.

Everyone was quiet for a while.

But it didn't take long for a few restless guys to start chattering privately again.

"Heh heh, who would have thought, Old White with the bushy eyebrows can't contain his loneliness either," Night Ten smacked his lips and said with a mischievous smile.

Wild Wind looked at him helplessly,

"She's someone else's girl, why are you so excited?"

"I'm just looking out for our brother," Night Ten chuckled and turned his gaze to Fang Chang, "Speaking of which, where's your Dolly? Why didn't she see you off?"

Fang Chang coughed.

"I spared her from walking me to the door... you worry too much, better focus on yourself."

Night Ten paused, but quickly regained his composure and laughed,

"What do I have to worry about... I never do CP (Character Pairing) when playing Game."

Seeing the young man's earnest appearance, Fang Chang chuckled and suddenly, with a meaningful look, said,

"Don't feel embarrassed, having a partner these days isn't anything unusual."

Such as himself; he never showed off his love in public. It was just that his close friends in the group were too enthusiastic, and the official website got wind of it.

Night Ten scratched his head,

"Actually, it's not that common... Language is a problem to start with, and then there's culture and habits."

He didn't know what others thought, but he always felt that dating an NPC felt weird.

In a single-player game maybe it was okay.

But this was an MMORPG!

Especially one that was still in testing, theoretically, the development team was collecting player data all the time. Maybe while you were being tender behind closed doors in the game, it was being broadcast live on a big screen in a meeting room.

The mere thought that there might be countless developers watching his intimate moments made his toes curl, and he couldn't help but feel a newfound respect for Big Eyes Brother.

"How did he manage to stand up under those circumstances?!"

"That's simply impossible!"

"But you are wrong," said Fang Chang with a faint smile, observing the bewildered Night Ten, and continued speaking, "In the face of love, those problems you mentioned are not issues at all."

Night Ten asked quietly.

"Even if it was live streamed—"

"Ahem! The development team wouldn't spy on players' private lives... I asked Ah Guang, and that's what he told me." Night Ten had only gotten halfway through his sentence when Fang Chang hurriedly interrupted him.

Good grief.

All that buildup, and he nearly trapped himself.

Seeing Fang Chang's embarrassed expression, Night Ten chuckled in immediate understanding.

"I believe you!"

Ignoring the boy's mischievous grin, Fang Chang cleared his throat and resumed speaking with restored calm.

"Anyway, there's nothing strange about dating an NPC. Especially for Residents of the refuge, who inherently have an attractiveness buff for most Waste Land Wanderers. Plus, Waste Land Wanderers tend to be more passionate and unrestrained in nature, so it's perfectly normal for some players, who don't usually stand out, to suddenly have partners."

Night Ten frowned as he looked at him.

"What exactly are you trying to say..."

Wild Wind suddenly interjected.

"I've heard that Teng Teng has quite a few pursuers."

Night Ten blinked.

Before a second had passed, his face turned apple red.

"Wait a minute... what does this have to do with Teng Teng?! How did the topic suddenly jump to—"

"Not only is she beautiful, but she's also wealthy."

Ignoring Night Ten's incoherence, Fang Chang gave Wild Wind a well-done glance and continued speaking with a smile that suggested his trump card had been revealed.

"It wouldn't be surprising if she got married all of a sudden."

Wild Wind couldn't suppress his laughter.

"Ha ha, you're so bad."

Fang Chang winked at him.

"So are you."

Quit smoking: "Ha ha ha!"

The cabin was filled with joyful ambiance.

Just a few seconds ago, Night Ten couldn't stop talking, but now he sat contemplating the wilderness outside the cabin, mouth shut.

Seeing Night Ten mute himself, Quit smoking, who had laughed enough, coughed twice and turned to say a few words in Night Ten's defense.

"Hey, you guys just love picking on little brother Night Ten. Even I, an honest man, can't stand to watch!"

Fang Chang and Wild Wind subtly shifted their gaze.

"It's just idle boasting."

"Exactly! This kid hasn't missed a chance to tease me either..."

But speaking of which, Fang Chang was quite surprised.

He hadn't expected the guy to actually be a virgin...

For Viper, an eight-hundred-kilometer journey was just two hours, and the group of good brothers had plenty to talk and laugh about during the flight, making the trip not boring at all.

Around two o'clock in the afternoon.

On the mist-enshrouded horizon, the outline of Brocade River City was beginning to emerge.

Clusters of concrete buildings stood on a lush plain, fringed by rolling hills and forests.

Brocade River City lacked the high-density and centralized clusters of buildings like Qingquan City, only a few districts featured towering skyscrapers, while most of the city resembled the layout of a modern metropolis—a prominent center surrounded by an unremarkable sea of concrete boxes.

"What a massive city..."

"It feels even bigger than the cities in real life!"

"Isn't that obvious? Before the Wasteland Era, there was the Prosperity Epoch, and according to the official website's description of the Prosperity Epoch, we haven't even seen a hint of it in reality."

Looking toward Brocade River City, Fang Chang pulled up the game's map on his VM, compared it with the real-world terrain, and confirmed the approximate locations of various mission coordinates.

At that moment, the NPC pilot sitting in the co-pilot's seat suddenly spoke up.

"There seems to be some situation near the landing site."

Sensing that work was on its way, everyone stopped their jesting and grew serious.

"Let me take a look."

Moving to the left side of the cabin, Old White looked towards Dusty Town, tapping his helmet with his index finger.

The helmet of the power armor came with a zoom function, which made it easy to see clearly at this distance even without binoculars.

After staring in the direction of Dusty Town for a while, Old White's brows slowly furrowed.

"Armed militants discovered near Dusty Town, about a hundred-strong unit... too many obstructions to confirm the exact number," declared Wild Wind with a serious demeanor.

"Should we send out a drone?"

Old White nodded.

"Better safe than sorry, let's send a drone to have a look first."

Without any unnecessary chat, Wild Wind quickly opened the drone backpack, pulled out a Y-1 Firefly drone with folding rotors, and threw it out of the cabin like a paper airplane.

Riding on momentum for a while, the drone unfolded its dual sets of rotors and rushed toward the target airspace.

As Wild Wind operated the drone towards its destination above, Old White continued with a firm command.

"Two kilometers north of Dusty Town lies an abandoned logging site. One group land with me on the open space south of the logging site and proceed to Dusty Town on foot."

"The second group will wait in the air, safety off on weapons, ready to provide support at any time."

The pilot in the front seat made a gesture.

"Received!"

Two Vipers split paths in the sky; one descended in altitude, flying toward the ground, while the other continued towards Dusty Town.

At the same time, several kilometers away, Dusty Town was bustling with activity, with a mass of people standing densely packed outside the towering gate.

They were feverishly excited, some carrying farming tools, others armed with rifles, clamoring at the people inside the gate.

A preacher wearing a long robe stood at the front of the crowd, looking down arrogantly at the survivors behind the wall.

After letting the mood brew for a moment,
he raised his hand to signal his followers to stop their shouting. Then, facing the closed gate, he spoke in a solemn and loud voice,

"Surrender."

"Kneel before the Saint Heir and pray for the forgiveness of Sky Fire. This is your last chance."

"Otherwise, all of you will be demoted to servitude, your descendants toiling under the scorching sun for all their days, their labor not ceasing even after death."

"I'll give you two minutes to consider."

After dropping this ultimatum, he quickly turned and retreated into the crowd behind him, letting the believers beside him continue to demand entry.

He had done his part in playing the tough guy; evidently, he didn't want to expose himself too long under the enemy's guns.

Watching those fierce-looking individuals outside the gate, the residents of the town simultaneously bore expressions of fear on their faces.

But as afraid as they were,
the thought that three divine beings resided in their town settled their hearts. Clutching the tools in their hands, they prepared for battle behind the meter-high wall.

To hell with the Torch!

To hell with the Saint Heir!

The invincible true gods stood behind them, having hunted numerous covetous jackals and hyenas.

They already had their own protectors and had no faith in those untouchable entities!

Dressed in an exoskeleton specialized for "Hunters" from the Claw of Death, Pick up trash 99 level stood at the window on the third floor of the town hall, squinting his eyes as he eyed the crowd outside the town, considering how to resolve the situation with the least casualties.

It was too bad that the Rat Brothers' combat power was terrible in direct combat; they were only good for sneak attacks. That newbie from the Agile system wasn't too useless, but he wasn't particularly strong either.

As for the survivors in the town, if two of them died, their morale would likely crumble, and in the end, he'd probably have to rely on his own strength to carry the fight.

But there was a hundred-man team standing outside...

Complicated!

Standing next to Lord of the Trash, the town's gray-haired mayor swallowed his spit and nervously murmured a reminder,

"My lord... there are too many of them. If it really comes to a fight, we might be at a disadvantage."

His name was Qin Baitian, elected mayor by the residents of Dusty Town and also the Grey Prophet of the Big Horn Rat Religion.

Truth be told, he didn't really understand what the Big Horn Rat Religion or the Grey Prophet truly meant, but he had really never seen talking rats and the Claw of Death before, so he immediately believed.

His thinking was simple and straightforward: whoever could keep the townspeople safe, he and the residents would recognize as their god.

Initially, Qin Baitian was incredibly devout to the Big Horn Rat Religion, but now it seemed like all the surrounding settlements were turning to The Torch Church.

They were not only ostracized by surrounding survivor settlements, but now trouble had knocked on their door.

Embarrassing as it was to admit, seeing such a display made him somewhat inclined to back down.

If only the Great Antler God could co-govern this land with the Torch-carrying Saint Heir, he wouldn't mind adding an extra stick of incense in the temple.

But Junk Lord had no intention of showing any weakness, nor did he pick up on the Town Mayor's wavering thoughts, he cursed while staring out the window,

"I'm not blind... Damn it, how can Town Of Hope have so many people?"

"I'm afraid it's not just Town Of Hope... Some unfamiliar faces are likely from other settlements."

Glancing cautiously at the Lizard next to him, Qin Baitian continued to speak cautiously and diplomatically,

"My lord, making enemies of all the survivors is not a good idea, especially since I've heard they've even co-opted the local mutant tribes. Those green-skinned guys are even more formidable; perhaps we should still talk to them?"

Geez!

They even hooked up with the mutants!

These people must not be allowed to remain!

A glint of murderous intent flashed in Junk Lord's eyes, and at almost the same moment, a "whoosh" of a breaking sound flew over the small town.

Before anyone could react, an explosion of firelight burst on the roof of the town's windmill, followed by thick smoke that enveloped the windmill.

Screams echoed through the streets, interspersed with the cries of babies, and nearby residents hurriedly carried buckets to extinguish the fire, while the morale of the militiamen behind the low wall began to waver.

Artillery!

These lunatics have brought out the artillery!

One could faintly hear the sound of artillery in the distance, but could not see from where the shells were coming. This uncertainty spontaneously bred panic in everyone's heart.

"Time's up."

Buttoning up his rolled-up sleeves, the missionary, after taking his eyes off his wristwatch, looked toward the small town now plunged into chaos.

A hint of viciousness that was difficult to detect flashed through his calm pupils, and a piercingly cold smile formed at the corners of his mouth.

"You're courting death."

This was the last settlement in Brocade River City that had yet to be incorporated into the diocese, and he would not allow a blemish to remain on the map presented to the Bishop.

If these ignorant yokels stubbornly refused to embrace the glorious evolution—

Then let them die!

Watching the windmill he had built being blown apart, Junk Lord, observing from the third floor, was instantly enraged, and he bellowed out the window,

"Damn it all!"

"Fire!"

He didn't even need to give the order.

The religious zealots outside the low wall had already initiated their assault, using hillocks and tree trunks for cover, and firing their rifles toward Dusty Town.

The survivors of the town were no less defiant, using the one-meter-high wall for cover, resting their rifles on top of the wall for a sweeping fire, or shooting through loopholes.

Thanks to the weapons stockpiled from trade with the Alliance by the previous Town Mayor, they had automatic rifles such as the LD-47 and even two Maxim guns, their firepower no weaker than that of the religious zealots.

The only disadvantage was probably the enemy's supporting fire.

Distant explosions occasionally rippled through the air, accompanied by the whizzing sound of shells piercing the sky, blossoming into bursts of sparks above the town.

Though lacking precision and causing little harm to the militiamen near the short wall, the impact on the morale of the survivors in the town was undoubtedly devastating.

The houses being destroyed by the shells were their homes, built brick by brick, and potentially housing their own families!

But at that moment, aside from fighting, they had no other choice.

After all, looking at the crazed look in the eyes of those fanatics outside, even if they surrendered, it was clear that they would not be spared.

The sound of gunfire filled the town, and the battle had just begun when it reached a fever pitch.

The armed militants, while not having undergone strict training, fought unexpectedly bravely, and their morale was exceptionally high.

Garbage King always felt something was off.

The Torch Church had only spread to this area in the past six months; how had these neophyte "monks" been brainwashed to such an extent so quickly?

While thinking this, he soon witnessed an eerie scene unfold on the distant battlefield.

A believer of the Torch Church had his arm severed by machine gun fire; instead of rolling on the ground in agony, crying out for his parents, he remained silent, a sickly flush spreading across his dark face.

The pain seemed to have transformed into something else.

Noticing the abnormality in those people made Garbage King suddenly feel a chill run down his spine.

"Fuck! These lunatics are high on drugs!"

The voice of Difficult for the Strong came through the communications channel.

"Isn't that obvious? That Nago! They've definitely all taken it!"

Garbage King was shocked.

"Fuck! Nago has that effect?!"

Difficult for the Strong: "Bullshit! Have you forgotten the 'God Travel' state? Those charlatans have a way to make people delirious while still keeping their senses!"

In reality, there were similar examples, such as the widespread use of methamphetamine as a "battlefield stimulant" by the German army during World War II.

These junkies seemed to be even more extreme—drugged up and mixing their high with religion, achieving a zeal that was both physiological and spiritual.

Even if their intestines spilled out, those guys continued to fight fearlessly, just like when they just started up.

Garbage King felt this was troublesome.

Continuing in this vein, even if they managed to hold their position, the casualties would be heavy.

Just as Garbage King wrestled with the situation, the VM on his arm suddenly flickered, and a familiar voice came through.

"What's going on over there? How did a fight break out?"

Old White!

Reinforcements had arrived!

A glimmer of hope shone in his amber pupils, hearing that reassuring voice, Garbage King cried out excitedly.

"Good brother! Hurry and lend a brother a hand!"

After a hiss of static, the voice on the communications channel became clearer.

"Don't panic... What exactly is going on with those people?"

Garbage King said with a mix of laughter and tears.

"Who knows! They came at us, ranting about joining some glorious evolution. We refused, and then they opened fire!"

Old White: "Red names?"

Garbage King: "Of course! They swung first!"

Since they were red names, there was nothing to hesitate about.

Almost at the same moment, two rockets traced an arc in the sky before landing on the position just outside the fence door.

Flames from the explosion soared into the sky, engulfing a dozen militants pushing forward from their cover.

Then, rapid gunfire came from above; orange tracer rounds poured down like a sudden torrential rain onto the trees outside the fence door.

The tide of battle immediately turned!

Garbage King, standing by the window, excitedly clenched his fist and waved.

"Haha! Nicely done!"

Qin Baitian gazed in amazement at the lizard waving his fist out the window, then at the fiery inferno in the distance, his eyes shifting from fear to admiration.

"Great Antler God... oh no, I mean..."

This person truly was an avatar of the gods!

With that thought, he felt a twinge of guilt for the wavering of his faith earlier, and he bowed his head in reverence.

He had been blind.

He wished to make amends for his irreverent sin by serving this person for a lifetime!

Completely oblivious to the human expression changes next to him, Garbage King, still not fully satisfied, hooked his claws on the window sill and with a howl, leaped down.

His feet hit the pavement hard, creating two indentations in the smooth stone street. Crouching down, he scraped the ground with the tips of his hind claws, his amber pupils gleaming with bloodlust.

"The time for hunting has come!"

He was far too proficient at reaping heads!

He couldn't let the Burning Corps brethren steal all the thunder!

Like a wild horse breaking free, Garbage King seized the opportunity to enter the fray, swiftly crossed over his own defensive position, howling as he burst through the wooden fence door, claws swinging as he charged towards the smoke-filled position.

In the span of a single breath, two thugs were torn apart by him.

Through the blur, seeing the whistling claws and the menacing face, the pastor in the gray robe's initial shock shifted to bone-deep terror.

"Devil! The Devil!"

He screamed as he ran wildly backward.

Did the Great Antler God truly exist?!

For a moment, his faith, clear as diamond, started to waver ever so slightly.

But then again, where were the antlers of the Great Antler God?

Why hadn't he seen them...

Chapter 559 Twisted Life and Faith

As the Burning Corps' support struck in time, Trash Older Brother, with his claws in action, broke into the battlefield, turning the fight into a one-sided slaughter in an instant.

And everyone truly witnessed the dominance of Trash Older Brother when the wind was in his sails.

Facing forward, there was a risk of being shot into a honeycombed mess.

But for ambush and pursuit, he was exceptionally skilled—a light flick of his claws and the Believers blocking his way were torn in two.

Bathed in blood, with his killing instinct ignited, Trash Older Brother's amber pupils twinkled with a bloodthirsty gleam.

"Ha ha ha! Thrilling!"

Still not fully satisfied, he raised his head and let out an exhilarating howl, which reverberated through the smoke, causing ripples of sound.

"Awooo!!!"

Pain contorted the faces of the nearby Believers as they instinctively covered their ears.

Perhaps the effects of their stimulants were wearing off, as pain and fear finally caught up with them.

Watching that blood-soaked beast, diehard eyes at last began to take on a shade of terror.

"Monster, monster!"

"Ah, ah!"

"Don't come here! No—"

With a rain of bullets descending from above, Trash Older Brother dashed into the crowd once again wielding his claws.

In just a few breaths, limbs and severed parts littered the ground, while outside the fence, three or four dozen bodies lay in disarray.

Witnessing the heavy casualties of their enemy, the morale of the Villagers behind the low wall surged.

Tranquility, hunkered down behind cover with the Villagers, also shouted excitedly after Trash Older Brother.

"Nicely done, brother!"

Having said that, he turned to the surrounding Villagers and solemnly and reverently declared,

"The Great Antler God has unleashed divine punishment on these arrogant fools! It's time to offer our loyalty and bravery to the God that protects us!"

"Hit them hard!"

Feeling the unstoppable momentum, the last bits of cowardice and timidity were wiped clean from the eyes of the Villagers.

Everyone erupted with thunderous shouts, grabbed their tools, scaled the low wall, and chased after the fleeing Believers.

"Oh oh oh!"

Although until now, they had no idea what exactly their religion was called or what its doctrines were...

Watching the helicopter above constantly raining down firepower and the severely wounded Believers in front, the preacher in the gray robe was filled with terror.

"Spread out and hide!"

"Don't show your back to that lizard—"

"No one retreats! Everyone hold fast!"

Screaming hysterically, he fled desperately into the nearby jungle.

The intelligence was wrong!

This place was nothing like the local people had described, merely a small village of two or three hundred residents. The situation here was far deeper than he had imagined!

Not to mention anything else, that Death Claw in the exoskeleton was horrifying enough!

He must report back to the Bishop immediately!

The mission of preaching was completely out of his mind, all he wanted was to distance himself further from this hellish battlefield...

Running awkwardly through the forest, his face cut by vines and branches, he leaned against a tree trunk, breathing in fresh air.

"Damn..."

He had finally managed to run away!

The sound of gunfire was now so distant he could hardly hear it, and his heart gradually relaxed, straightening up to continue on his way.

However, just as he raised his head, his entire face drained of color, and his heart that had just relaxed momentarily shot to his throat.

Standing in front of him was a power armor unit, shouldering a lengthy sniper rifle as if it had been waiting there for him for a long time.

Though he couldn't see the expression on that person's face through the helmet and goggles, he could feel that the person was looking at him with an almost amused gaze.

"If I were you, I'd choose a different direction to run."

...

The battle was over quickly.

The resistance of those Believers was indeed stubborn.

Any ordinary Looter would have fled from such heavy casualties long ago, but these Believers fought to the last with only twenty or so remaining.

Half of those were missing arms and legs.

Shaking off the bits of flesh and blood clinging to his claw, Trash Older Brother looked at Pioneer, who had emerged from nowhere, and couldn't help but ask,

"What were you up to just now?"

Having been disconnected for so long, Pioneer felt a bit embarrassed and clearing his throat, he said,

"Cough... I took my little brothers and dug a tunnel, planning to plant Dynamite right under their feet... but it seems it was not needed."

Initially, he had planned to join the front lines and exchange gunfire, but the one-meter-tall low wall completely blocked his approach.

Now it seemed the bad idea of digging tunnels wasn't much better; without a fixed frontline for the enemy, by the time he managed to dig halfway, his allies had begun to clean up the battlefield.

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn, you, Old Six!"

Pioneer glanced at him and retorted, "Cut it out, as if you've got the right to talk, Old Six. You hid in the back rows without joining the battle, do you have any shame?"

Just as Trash Older Brother was about to retort, Tranquility, shouldering a rifle, walked over and looked around.

"Where's that guy in the gray robe? Did any of you see him?"

Trash Older Brother paused, then smacked his forehead and said,

"Damn! We let that BOSS escape!"

As the words left his mouth, a loud voice came from not too far away.

"He won't get far."

Trash Older Brother quickly turned his head, only to see Old White, clad in power armor, leading a line of nine, emerging from the neighboring woods.

The preacher draped in a gray robe was being held captive by Night Ten.

After giving the preacher a kick in the behind, Night Ten said with a mischievous grin as he watched the preacher stumble forward.

"This thing is also called a BOSS? At best it's just an Elite Monster."

The preacher, who had just received a kick, couldn't understand what the soldier behind him was saying, nor did he dare to fight back, so he timidly got up from the ground.

"Night Ten! Old White!!" Seeing those familiar faces, the excitement on Trash Older Brother's face was unmistakable.

Not just Old White and Night Ten, Wild Wind, Fang Chang, and Quit Smoking were also here!

"Haha, long time no see!"

Old White slapped Trash Older Brother on the shoulder and continued with a smile.

"Looks like we made it just in time."

Walking through the collapsed fence and standing next to Tranquility, the mayor of Dusty Town, Qin Baitian, nervously addressed the group of fully armed soldiers.

"May I ask who these people are…"

Tranquility coughed lightly and pulled him aside.

"Those big shots are Genetically Enhanced Individuals."

Qin Baitian stared at him dumbfounded.

"Gen... what?"

"You can think of them as the Emperor's own sons." Tranquility bluffed shamelessly, "Whether it's the Great Antler God or the Big Horn Rat... Strictly speaking, they are all servants of that Emperor."

Qin Baitian was profoundly shocked and nodded in understanding.

"So that's how it is..."

It seems that the temple will have to accommodate a few more statues...

...

Under Tranquility's direction, the villagers of Dusty Town began to clean up the battlefield, and the unwilling rat minions came scurrying to help.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Trash Older Brother, Old White turned his attention to the terrified preacher.

This guy gave him a different feeling compared to the Apostle they had previously captured from the Chewing Bone Tribe.

That old man was harder than a stone, and they couldn't get any useful information from him before he was allowed to commit suicide in jail.

This guy, however, seemed like a monk who had taken up the robes mid-journey and probably didn't even fully believe in the doctrines of the Torch Church.

In other words, he was just an opportunist in the team.

Clearly, expanding too quickly wasn't always a good thing.

Old White lifted the face shield of his helmet and stared into the preacher's eyes.

"Now we begin, I ask and you answer, don't waste my time, understand?"

The preacher swallowed hard, his face pale, nodded, and stammered.

"Unders... understood."

"Good. If you take more than two seconds to think, I'll assume you're lying," Old White nodded briskly and continued, "Your name?"

"Zhang Zhengyang."

"Age?"

"31…"

"Sex?"

"...Male."

"Position?"

"Apostle."

"Who sent you?"

"Lo—"

Having inadvertently blurted out a syllable, he tried to stop himself, but it was too late.

Old White, with piercing eyes, pressed on.

"Lo what?"

Zhang Zhengyang swallowed and said,

"Luo Gan... he is the Pioneer of Brocade River City."

The Pioneer is equivalent to a Bishop in the Torch Church, usually ruling a diocese, while Apostles are similar to priests or clerics, varying in power from minor to significant.

All this information was available in the official settings on the website.

Old White hadn't expected to stumble upon a big fish and continued to ask,

"Where is he?"

"In the Holy Land."

"And what is that place?"

"I…"

Before the man could hem and haw, Old White pulled out a map and threw it in front of him.

"Mark the location. I'll send someone to check it. If there's nothing there, you know the consequences."

Sweat beads the size of beans broke out on his forehead, Zhang Zhengyang looked up with a miserable expression and saw the power armor standing before him.

"Saint... I really don't know the exact location of the Holy Land."

Old White pressed the gun against his head.

"You'd better tell the truth, I don't have the patience for lies."

Terrified, the preacher's face turned ashen and he knelt on the ground.

"Saint, I swear, everything I've said is the truth! The Holy Land is the hiding place for the Pioneers, and besides them and their confidants, no one knows its location! I'm not even sure if he's in the Brocade River area."

Old White frowned.

"So he usually hides in that Holy Land and issues commands to you?"

"Yes..."

Already confessing to such an extent, Zhang Zhengyang hesitated no longer and continued, "He said the time is ripe, Nago's grace has spread across this land, and he ordered us to bring Brocade River City's Survivor Settlement under the Church's domain... Now only Dusty Town remains outside the following of the Saint Heir."

Night Ten couldn't help but speak up.

"So you're planning to physically eliminate the people here?"

Zhang Zhengyang stammered, unable to speak, but dared not to leave out a word, he could only nod meekly in a low voice.

"I, I was planning on persuading them..."

Ignoring his attempts to excuse himself, Old White stared at him and continued,

"Let me ask you another question, what's going on with these people?"

As he spoke, Old White glanced at a believer not far away who had lost an arm in the explosion, squirming on the ground like an earthworm.

That morbid expression didn't look like one of pain at all.

In fact, the person was rubbing the dirt with the remaining half of his arm, trying to stop the bleeding by this means, completely ignoring the possibility of the wound becoming infected.

"They ate Nago..." Zhang Zhengyang said, swallowing his saliva.

Turning his gaze away from the believer, Old White looked at the preacher and asked,

"Just taking Nago can turn them into this?"

Zhang Zhengyang quickly shook his head.

"No, of course not. Just eating Nago at most brings about a 'God Travel' state; though they won't feel pain, they also won't have any sensation. We give them injections of 'Holy Water,' so they can live in a semi-dreaming, semi-conscious state in Heaven and completely obey our orders without feeling pain or fatigue... regardless of whether they're fighting or working."

Night Ten was stunned for a moment.

"Goodness, Mosquito's 'Holy Water' is here."

Wild Wind coughed softly.

"...Those are clearly two different things."

"Where's the stuff?" Fang Chang, staring at the preacher, continued, "Do you still have that 'Holy Water'?"

"Yes, there's more!"

Fidgeting under that piercing gaze, Zhang Zhengyang hastily extended his trembling hand and took out a metal box from his pocket, passing it to Fang Chang.

Fang Chang reached out, took it, opened it to glance inside, where there was a syringe and six thumb-sized ampoules.

"Is this all?"

"This is all I brought... I don't use it often," Zhang Zhengyang said nervously.

He certainly had taken Nago too.

Otherwise, let alone preaching, he wouldn't be able to survive among a group of infection sources at all.

However, he would control the amount he took, consume it in moderation, keeping 'God Travel' state to three or four times a month and regularly injecting antibiotics to eliminate the bacteria in his body.

In this way, the negative impact of Nago could be minimized and even the human body could withstand it.

"So these madmen's combat power has to be maintained by injections?" Night Ten stroked his chin and frowned, "Wow, that's no small cost."

"The mass-produced drugs are not as expensive as you think, and..." Fang Chang looked at the preacher, "that 'Qi,' he's with you, right?"

Zhang Zhengyang stiffened and nodded his head, saying cautiously,

"That Mutant tribe... is the earliest in the Brocade River City district to join us."

Fang Chang chuckled.

"And that 'Nago,' supposedly a cure-all, was also promoted by them, right?"

Zhang Zhengyang silently nodded his head.

"Yes..."

Without looking at this guy anymore, Fang Chang closed the box with the syringes, turned his gaze to Old White, and spoke in Mandarin,

"Now we have a clear idea, the clues are twofold: one is the Pioneer hiding in that so-called 'Holy Land,' and the other is the Mutant tribe, which numbers over ten thousand... but with just the few of us, I'm afraid it will be challenging to achieve anything significant, we might need to call more of our brothers here."

Considering the influence of the Torch Church in Brocade River Province might not be confined to Brocade River City, relying solely on the Burning Corps wouldn't be enough.

Not to mention they had only sent a hundred-man team here.

Old White nodded, frowning.

"The problem is the Tide... we might not have many hands to spare."

According to the official website's announcement, this year's Tide was expected to be larger than in previous years, especially now that Giant Stone City was also part of the Alliance, one can imagine the pressure on the defense lines.

A large-scale deployment of troops to the Brocade River Province would probably have to wait until after the Tide.

While they were talking, those lying believers began to show new changes: sweat beads the size of beans began to seep out on some people's foreheads, and their expressions of delight gradually turned to pain.

Some with severe injuries outright passed out.

Seeing Zhang Zhengyang look over for guidance, he nervously said.

"The effect of Nago is about to wear off..."

Nago did not cure any pain but simply allowed the organism to reach an agreement with the bacteria inhabiting its body, coexisting under the unification of the fungal filaments.

Once the effects wore off, those previously docile bacteria would reveal their fierce canine teeth.

And what awaited them was ultimate death.

"We need to keep a few alive."

Old White glanced at Fang Chang and Wild Wind.

"Search their bodies, see if there's any Nago they carried, and stuff it in their mouths."

Fang Chang nodded seriously.

"Yes."

A few players spread out on the battlefield and quickly searched out some Nago on those believers' bodies.

Then they found the believers who were still alive, regardless of whether their intestines were hanging out, and stuffed Nago into their mouths.

It was indeed effective.

A few who were in so much pain that their entire faces were twisted comprehensively calmed down after chewing a couple of times. Some were too severely injured for the Nago to be any use, and were left to fend for themselves.

After ensuring the ground was secure, a "Viper" transport plane landed in the farmland to the east of Dusty Town.

Chen Yutong quickly jumped off the plane and walked over to a believer who was paralyzed on the ground, carrying a toolbox.

The person's injuries were extremely serious, with half of his abdomen sliced open and his intestines spilling out.

Even though she had seen her fair share of Waste Land Wanderers meet tragic deaths, Chen Yutong couldn't help but feel a tingling in her scalp. Nonetheless, she held her breath and administered a sedative injection to him, then stuffed his intestines back in and sprayed on some clotting spray for a rudimentary wound treatment.

"This guy is beyond saving. Just put him out of his misery," Old White said, coming up beside her and glancing at the fellow lying on the ground.

Being scratched by a Trash Older Brother is no joke.

"I'm not a professional doctor. I didn't expect to be able to save him... This is just an emergency measure," she paused, then added, "I need research material."

Old White nodded.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

Chen Yutong glanced at the small town nearby.

"If you can get me a quiet room, that would be great. I need to perform a minor surgery on him."

"Hmm, leave it to me."

Old White nodded and tapped on his helmet twice with his index finger, simply conveying the researcher's needs to Trash Older Brother.

Soon, the large lizard sauntered over, tail swaying, and made an OK gesture with two claws pinched together.

"It's all arranged,"

Old White said with a smile.

"Thanks."

"Eh, why be formal with brothers? I haven't even thanked you guys yet," Trash Older Brother said with a grin, noticing the female researcher beside him, "Who is this?"

"Chen Yutong." Old White introduced her in both United Human and Mandarin, then turned to Chen Yutong and continued in United Human, "This is my friend... His name is a bit strange. Just call him Trash Older Brother."

Chen Yutong stared blankly at Trash Older Brother and nodded.

"Hello..."

More than his name,
she found his appearance even more bizarre.

"Hello to you too, respected lady," said Trash Older Brother with a wide smile, turning his gaze to the half-dead captive on the ground and politely asked, "Shall I help you get this guy onto the operating table?"

Old White cleared his throat with a light cough.

"Don't mess around. If you grip with that claw of yours, he'll be out of breath instantly."

"Tch!"

Trash Older Brother rolled his eyes, feeling a twinge of envy in his heart.

MMP!

All these damn human players seem to have partners, and here he is, the only bachelor to this day, not even getting a glance from Nicole.

Pah, just you wait!

Once he attains a physique like Yong's—or even the Mother of Dead Claw—he'll make all Sparks kneel and sing "Conquest" to him.

"Um... he can talk?"

Watching Trash Older Brother walk away, Chen Yutong finally couldn't contain her curiosity and turned to ask Old White.

She had indeed heard rumors that the Alliance had tamed some Variants capable of human speech through the Manager.

Initially, she dismissed these tales as simple admiration for a charismatic leader, but never did she expect to actually meet a talking Dead Claw!

This was the first time she had seen it in reality!

"Not only can he talk, but he's also a resident of the Shelter," said Old White with a smile, "There's all kinds of weird stuff in the Wasteland. You'll get used to it."

Chen Yutong nodded blankly.

She'd heard long ago that some southern Shelter had been conducting research on transplanting consciousness from humans to other organic bodies.

Could it be that they had succeeded?

Upon rational analysis, rather than teaching a lizard to talk, she was more inclined to believe that was a human in lizard's skin.

A gleam of interest began to sparkle in Chen Yutong's eyes.

Things were getting more interesting...

...

At the Stone City Hall,

Chu Guang, sitting in the office, received a report from Xiao Qi about a battle from the south.

The Burning Corps' vanguard troops arrived at Dusty Town at 2 p.m. today, where intense gunfire broke out with believers from the Torch Church.

In the operation, players killed ninety-two believers and captured eleven. There were nine casualties among the villagers, six of whom were already out of mortal danger, and no players were harmed.

Among the eleven captives was an Apostle of the Torch Church.

Interrogation of this Apostle revealed that the Torch Church was expanding its influence in Brocade River Province. The specific reason was unknown.

Moreover, according to the Apostle's confession, the Torch Church had reached some sort of cooperation with the local Mutant powers.

Now, except for the small settlement of Dusty Town, home to two or three hundred households, the entire Brocade River City had been brought under the Church's territory.

This failed attempt at proselytization could mean that Mutant Corps might come next time.

For fear of retaliation from the Torch Church, the Burning Corps had already mobilized local residents to deploy more defenses and traps around the outskirts of the town.

Meanwhile, the battalion commander, Old White, had expressed a desire for reinforcements in the battle report.

Brocade River City had become the frontline of the conflict between the Alliance and the Torch Church.

Given that the Church's foothold in the area was still unstable, maintained only by drug distribution and trade incentives, now was undoubtedly the best opportunity to erase the Torch Church's influence there.

If a medical solution could be found to counteract the effects of Nago, to eliminate the local mutant tribe and guide the residents to resume a normal life with the correct methods, and to plant safe crops, there was still hope of salvation for the survivors of Brocade River City.

The land contaminated by Nago wasn't beyond salvation. According to Heya's research findings, burning was sufficient.

After reading the report from start to finish, Chu Guang furrowed his brow and sank into thought.

Everything in the report made sense; he too agreed that it was the optimal moment. However, the problem lay in the Tide coming in two months.

At this rate, they might end up fighting a battle on two fronts...

"This timing is just too perfect."

Chapter 560 Slave Owner and Mutants

Pinecone Wood Farm.

The towering enclosing wall, made of a mix of stone bricks and wooden stakes, encompassed a large piece of land. On one side of the wall were dense houses, and on the other were fields crisscrossed with paths and orchards speckled with broken snow.

To call this place a farm would be an understatement; it more closely resembled a city from the Classical Era.

Inside the wall lived twelve to twenty thousand people, forming a settlement with the market at its core, inhabited by officials, craftsmen, soldiers, and their families. Outside the wall lived thirty to forty thousand people, the majority of whom were farmers, over half of whom were serfs that had lost their freedom. The rest were tenants who rented the land and hadn't yet gone bankrupt.

Everything here belonged to the farm owner.

Both the land and the people.

If Giant Stone City was the extreme product of industrialization coordinated by the War Construction Committee's Production Department, then this farm represented another extreme produced by the free growth of a survivor settlement post-collapse.

There was not the slightest sign of industrialization to be seen here.

Though the city of the near future was close by, no trace of its legacy could be found here—not even a semblance of something similar.

The reason was quite simple.

A ship moored can't move by itself; it needs either the wind to blow or people to row.

For Pinecone Wood Farm, this ship, neither element was present—they were neither a part of the War Construction Committee's plans nor did they have the drive to develop industry.

The farm owner did purchase a few machines from Giant Stone City, but they weren't very effective and ended up collecting dust in the storage.

Put simply, whether they were bankrupt serfs or tenants teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, they could all be considered the private property of the farm owner.

Dressing these poor souls in new clothes would be, for the farm owner here, as pointless as putting a new wallet around the bills in his pocket.

However, even so, Pinecone Wood Farm was far better off than the majority of survivor settlements that were still in the "tribal period."

At least they were no match for the tribes of Looters; this place's agricultural products could even be transported to River Valley Province in the north.

Trading their abundant agricultural outputs and cash crops directly for industrial goods from Giant Stone City had been the economic lifeline of this farm for the past century.

It was no exaggeration to say that without the landlords of Giant Stone City, there would be no small landlords in Brocade River Province, big or small.

Most of the farm owners here would collaborate with the traveling merchants from Giant Stone City, or simply keep a few loyal servants as their spokespeople for profit.

Pinecone Wood Farm was no exception, and its master Zhao Tiangan was more ambitious than any other farm owner in these lands.

His forefathers had built up a significant fortune for him, and a small settlement was no longer satisfying to his appetite.

He wanted to build a vast and everlasting kingdom on this wild land, just like the royal families of Luo Xia Province!

To realize this lofty ambition, he demonstrated an enlightened attitude and a willingness to learn from the talents and technologies of the Wasteland. With the savings from his grain trade, he recruited soldiers and stockpiled weapons.

However, just as he was full of confidence and ready to make big moves, bad news suddenly came from the north.

A revolution had broken out in Giant Stone City, the Stone Building collapsed overnight, and the Inner City Nobles were either exiled or sent to the Alliance's POW camps for reformation.

And his patrons had basically all fallen in that revolution.

The news he heard on the radio at that moment sent a chill down his spine and kept him awake for days.

Building a vast Agricultural Empire in the south was undeniably contingent on the support of northern industrialists. After all, he couldn't expect a group of uneducated farmers to learn to operate machines, knowledge that was precisely what he could never afford to give them.

Now, his biggest partner had defected to the Alliance.

Although the Alliance was also his trading partner, ever since the war in the west ended and the railway from Luo Xia Province to Southern River Valley was completed, the grains from Luo Xia Province had almost completely replaced theirs.

This was almost fatal to the slave owners of the Brocade River Province.

Using chemical fertilizers and high-yield seeds, an acre of land could even support two or three people. Without the results of industry, primitive agricultural techniques meant it took three acres to sustain just one person.

When the profits from exporting agricultural products could not be exchanged for enough means of production and the weapons to protect those means, the virtuous cycle would break, and their good days would end.

Although they wouldn't go bankrupt immediately, a contraction in productive activity was nearly inevitable.

If there were no external disturbances, it would probably take them twenty or forty years to completely run through the social wealth accumulated over the past hundred years through trade with Giant Stone City, until they entered a new cycle and stabilized once more.

Their current prosperity, too, would follow that already constructed railway and shift to the green oases in the desert.

The Pinecone Wood Farm was doing slightly better, after all, with a sufficient family foundation, a settlement of more than fifty thousand people would automatically see the emergence of carpenters, blacksmiths, weavers, alchemists, and other craftsmen.

However, other smaller farmers were out of luck, staring at the Kamu fruits rotting in the fields, which had gradually become the common bitter result of losing their financial backers.

Fortunately, the forces of The Church from further south extended their helping hand to the locals in time.

Since cultivating common crops was no longer profitable—

They might as well plant some Nago.

The land planted with Nago was no longer suitable for the growth of ordinary crops, but the crops eroded by Nago would grow exceptionally robust.

Survivors who ate Nago would not only become immune to hundreds of diseases but also become modest and gentle, working industriously and obediently like puppets on strings.

Seen from another perspective, they actually didn't need chemical fertilizers that much, not even herbicides anymore, as all their material desires would be fulfilled.

Beneath that emerald halo, man and nature would merge perfectly, achieving the true state of "I am nature".

To gain the support of the forces of The Southern Church, Pinecone Wood Farm also introduced Nago.

The effects of Nago didn't disappoint Zhao Tiangan at all.

After eating Nago, his serfs stopped being lazy, and no one complained anymore; everyone was docile like sheep.

They might not be excellent soldiers or fit for specialist positions, but they were definitely the best farmers and laborers.

Turning them into cannon fodder was also simple, just one injection of "Holy Water" was enough, as The Torch Church had drugs to prevent addiction symptoms.

And the withdrawal reactions could become the rope that tied them down; no one dared to be lazy again, as they would work even more desperately while sober to hear the gospel of the Saint Heir.

However, unlike those farmers who had given up, Zhao Tiangan was always uneasy about those charlatans.

His personal physician told him that those serfs who had eaten Nago were not truly invulnerable to all poisons; instead, their bodily functions had completely given up on resisting viruses and bacteria. Similarly, the viruses and bacteria had also lost their aggressiveness, forming a symbiotic relationship with the infected under the influence of a special kind of mycelium.

This resulted in these serfs becoming hotbeds for breeding germs, and normal people who hadn't eaten Nago were almost guaranteed to contract strange infectious diseases if they came near.

Some tenants who were not forcefully fed Nago had, due to a lack of enough antibiotics and other medicines, been forced to eat Nago as well.

Initially, Zhao Tiangan planned to have 20% of the residents undergo the baptism of the "sacred fruit," but by the time he realized what was happening, the entire settlement had become believers of The Torch Church.

It seemed too late to stop now...

In the splendid manor house with its lush lawns, a group of children were laughing and playing.

Not far from the main building, Zhao Tiangan stood by the window, gazing out at the smoke drifting from the settlement, his furrowed brows revealing a trace of concern.

He had never been so worried about the future of this settlement, nor had he ever felt so lost about the future. Yet now, that feeling of being unsure where to go was stronger than ever.

The fruits and faith brought by those believers solved most of the problems he faced, but the biggest issue was, he didn't know where those people were taking him.

A faint itch in his throat, Zhao Tiangan couldn't help but cough into his handkerchief.

As he moved the handkerchief away from his mouth, a faint trace of blood caught his eye, causing an involuntary tightened knot in his heart.

"Damn it!"

Cursing under his breath, he hastily pulled out a box of pills from his pocket, tapped two into his palm, threw them into his mouth, and washed them down with warm water from the cup on the table.

Moments later, he slowly exhaled a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat better.

Lately, for some unknown reason, his lungs had developed a minor ailment; initially, some medication had seemed to help, but the malady had returned persistently, and now he had even coughed up blood.

He didn't know why this was happening, but coughing up blood was not a good sign.

Just then, there was a knock at the door,

Zhao Tiangan cleared his throat and stuffed the handkerchief into his pocket.

"Come in."

The door opened.

The visitor was an elderly man with patches of white at his temples. His name was Ma Zhongxian, the Farm's Manager as well as the master's trusted confidant.

As he saw Zhao Tiangan stand by the window, the old man nodded slightly in greeting and respectfully said,

"Sir."

Without engaging in pleasantries, Zhao Tiangan immediately asked,

"Any news from Yang River?"

Ma Zhongxian nodded and replied,

"He just reported to me that they have procured the weapons on the list, and the transport team is heading our way... However, with the snowfall on the mountain roads, they have been delayed at the border of the two provinces and will likely take a few more days to arrive."

Zhao Tiangan spoke irritably,

"Tell him to hurry up."

Ma Zhongxian respectfully nodded.

"Yes."

Zhao Tiangan glanced out the window at the children playing, narrowing his eyes slightly at the little girl sitting next to his daughter.

At the beginning of December in previous years, Yang River would have returned from selling the autumn grain near the Clear Spring. However, this year, his return was delayed by over a month.

Yet Zhao Tiangan was not worried about the merchant absconding with the profits.

That fellow's precious daughter was still held hostage in his hands.

He trusted that Yang River would make the right decision, knowing what to take and what not to.

Seeing that the old Manager showed no sign of leaving, Zhao Tiangan inquired further,

"Is there something else?"

"Yes, there is one more thing..."

"Speak."

Ma Zhongxian hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice,

"The Apostle who went to Dusty Town to proselytize has been out of contact for three days now, along with the 41 Militia members he took with him."

Zhao Tiangan frowned,

"Why has it taken so long?"

Three days.

It was enough time for two round trips.

Ma Zhongxian shook his head sadly,

"I don't know... My suggestion is that we'd better send someone to investigate the situation there."

Clicking his tongue, Zhao Tiangan waved his hand impatiently,

"Arrange it yourself."

He was not very fond of those charlatans.

But it was also a fact that he had to rely on those fellows right now.

"As you command."

Ma Zhongxian bowed slightly, and as he stepped out, he carefully closed the door behind him.

Watching the door close again, Zhao Tiangan, unable to suppress his anxiety any longer, covered his mouth with his right hand and coughed hard twice.

Feeling the warmth in his palm, his heart sank slightly, and indeed, when he moved his hand away from his mouth, he glimpsed a smear of dark red blood.

Despite his calmness, the sight of the blood made his heart flutter with a touch of panic.

Although he held supreme power in this Survivor Settlement, he was ultimately mortal, unable to escape the vagaries of life and death.

"Damn... is it really not working?"

After hesitating for a while, he hurried back to his desk, opened the drawer, and retrieved a silver box.

Upon opening the box, three emerald fruits lay silently inside.

These three fruits were a gift from an Apostle named Zhang Zhengyang, the so-called "Holy Fruits" from the Sacred Land that purportedly could rid one of all afflictions.

Of course, he didn't believe the man's nonsense.

Remaining reason told him that this was no good thing.

Although Holy Water could keep him lucid, it also meant his wit and even his life were in someone else's hands.

Under normal circumstances, he would never consume such a thing.

But now, it seemed his physical condition no longer allowed him the luxury of hesitation.

He was still at the prime of his youth, how could he show signs of weakness like an old man?

This Settlement—and indeed, the entire Wasteland—needed his strength, and he had too many things left undone, he couldn't fall here!

"Just one..."

Zhao Tiangan consoled himself inwardly, taking the smallest emerald fruit and carefully placing it into his mouth.

The instant their lips met, sweetness streamed down his taste buds, into his throat. It felt like honey brewed for the soul, causing his spirit to sway momentarily in rapture.

The ensuing euphoria quickly dispelled all his ailments.

Inside him, regardless of the form of life, a reconciliation was reached under the influence of some unknown power.

And that wasn't all—

He felt healthier and stronger than ever before.

Wrapping his arms around his shoulders, Zhao Tiangan suddenly chuckled.

"Hehe... Hahaha!"

His laughter grew louder, bordering on mania.

So that's it.

In this moment, he finally understood why those people couldn't stop...

...

About one to two hundred kilometers from Brocade River City, in the hilly region, six modified trucks were stranded by the roadside, their orange muzzle flashes twinkling atop a nearby slope.

More than twenty Looters lay firing their automatic rifles from the hilltop, raining down bullets from above.

The Caravan guards were caught off guard and scrambled awkwardly away from the trucks, tumbling behind large boulders for cover, returning fire to the hilltop from behind their scant shelter.

The empty shells clinked as they fell to the ground. A Looter, his shoulders draped in bullet chains and hands on a machine gun, shouted excitedly to his boss.

"Haha! We're gonna be rich, boss!"

"Easy there! Don't damage the goods in the trucks!"

Flushed with excitement and his eyes sparkling with greed, Wang Youhu, wearing a beastskin hat, fixed his gaze on the stranded convoy.

That cargo, containing at least a few hundred guns and tens of thousands of bullets!

With this hoard of munitions, not only could they target small villages, but even Zhao's Pine Wood Farm—scaling up their "Hill Wolves" gang was no longer a dream!

But—

They had clearly picked the wrong target.

Just as they were firing away, a squadron of warriors clad in jet-black exoskeleton armor had already crept up the side of the hill.

With a short "bang" of a gunshot, a spray of blood mist burst from the machine gunner's head, and he fell silent to the ground.

Next to him, another Looter attempting to take over the machine gun barely peeked his head out of cover before another shot took him down.

Two men were dead in a blink.

The Looters atop the hill finally snapped back to their senses and turned their guns toward the slope on their flank. But at that moment, a barrage of bullets roared in, pinning them behind cover, unable to lift their heads.

Catching a glimpse of the shiny black exoskeleton armor, Wang Youhu's eyes flashed with panic, and greed vanished from his heart as he shouted to his brothers.

"Damn it, retreat!"

The K-10 "Iron Wall" heavy exoskeleton!

What was Giant Stone City's Regular Army doing here?!

No time to ponder that question, he hastily abandoned his cover and dashed down the back of the hill.

Seeing the boss flee, the other underlings abandoned their positions, scattering like birds and beasts into the woods, leaving the precious machine gun behind without a second thought.

The fight was over.

Seeing the Looters vanish, Falling Feather didn't chase them into the woods but walked over to the machine gun.

Kicking the corpse aside, he inspected the weapon, surprise flickering in his eyes.

"Well, well, even the bandits are using Maxims now."

It looked a bit worn.

Most likely surplus from a previous Tide.

After several rounds of equipment upgrades, the Alliance Army hardly used such bulky, water-cooled machine guns anymore; even the goblin-engineered Maxim-II adopted an air-cooled design resembling the MG42 and increased the caliber from 7mm to 10mm.

These early Maxim-I's were mostly distributed to traders in the Wasteland.

Some less affluent Survivor Settlements still took an interest in these small-caliber machine guns for their cheap bullets, high rate of fire, and strong suppressive capability.

How they wound up in the hands of Looters was anybody's guess.

Maybe they looted them themselves, or perhaps a trader sold it to them.

Seeing Falling Feather return to the convoy with a machine gun and a box of ammunition, a man in a leather jacket immediately approached and asked with concern.

"Are you alright?"

This NPC was named Wu Wen Zhou, leader of the Commercial Team, and also a subordinate of the contracting client.

"I'm fine, they've run off... Ah, right."

Dropping the box of ammunition and the Maxim in front of the NPC, Falling Feather spoke concisely.

"You buying this thing?"

Wu Wen Zhou was taken aback, apparently not keeping up with the thoughts of the man before him.

Seeing that he didn't seem to be joking, he bent down to examine the machine gun for a moment, then glanced at the box of ammo, speaking hesitantly.

"It's a bit neglected, but still usable… How about 600 silver coins?"

For a Maxim-II, if he remembered correctly, the market price was about 1000~1200 silver coins.

But this older, out-of-production Maxim-I would probably not even fetch the price of the 7mm full-power bullets in the crate next to it under normal circumstances.

He wouldn't normally offer such a high price—400 silver coins would be tops. Yet since this man had just saved their lives, he didn't want to seem stingy.

Hearing the offer, Falling Feather was pleasantly surprised.

Six hundred!

Wow!

This one's more generous than a mosquito!

Being a Mercenary sure was profitable!

After ordering his men to toss the machine gun onto the truck, Wu Wen Zhou called out to his subordinates.

"Move quickly, everyone, get ready to hit the road!"

"Once we get over the forest and hills ahead, we'll be able to see our destination!"

"If you don't want to spend the night outside, we better hurry and reach Town of Hope before dark. Otherwise, when night falls, those things will be everywhere!"

After a hasty cleanup of the battlefield, the group continued on their way.

Gazing at the distant forest shrouded in mist, and realizing he was now standing at the forefront of Brocade River Province, a wave of excitement surged through Falling Feather's heart.

He never thought he would stand at the edge of the frontier one day.

Unable to resist his curiosity, he turned to a nearby NPC and asked.

"What exactly is that Pinecone Wood Farm like?"

Sitting next to him, Wu Wen Zhou smiled and replied.

"It's a large settlement... although it probably doesn't have as many buildings as Giant Stone City."

"An old-fashioned small town?"

"Small town... not exactly."

At this point, Falling Feather could clearly feel that the NPC's gaze became complex, seemingly reluctant to talk more about that place.

Even though it was his hometown.

"... Anyway, it's just a day or two's journey away. You'll know when we get there."

...

Just as dusk was falling, the convoy heading for Pinecone Wood Farm finally reached the outskirts of Town of Hope.

At the same time, miles away in Brocade River City, a Viper transport plane trailing a pale blue arc silently approached a quiet district of the city.

The city was like a corpse—its quiet streets devoid of any sign of life, every building like a tomb, every window like a standing grave.

Like Qingquan City, the city center was teeming with Variants, but unlike it, there were no deadly "mutated slime fungus" or Lair, nor the annual Tide.

Gliding along the edge of the ruined high-rise buildings, the silent Viper eventually stopped on the rooftop of an abandoned building.

Dressed in power armor, Night Ten leaped from the cabin, setting foot on the dry concrete surface.

With his LD-50 carbine at the ready, he carefully checked every corner of the rooftop, and only after ensuring it was safe did he switch to the Gauss sniper rifle he carried on his back, crawling to the edge of the building and lying prone by the guardrail.

The mission coordinates identified on pre-war maps were labeled "Champion" Biological Pharmaceutical Research Institute.

This company seemed to hold some renown before the war—the "Champion" injection was their proud product, and the pre-war Human Alliance Army's T-10 "Champion" power armor was also suspected to have ambiguous ties with this enterprise.

The facility was divided into above and below ground levels.

Above ground, there were four hundred-story buildings, each with an entrance leading down to the underground.

According to the Academy's information, the one thousand cubic meters of liquid helium-3 were stored in the backup power supply of the underground research facility, contained in high-pressure storage cylinders each holding 1L.

Their job was to sneak in there and empty all the storage cylinders.

The only trouble was, the underground security systems were still operational, and everything about the subterranean facility was a complete mystery.

They knew nothing about what was being researched there, the level of security, or even whether they had competitors eyeing the treasures within.

"I've reached the position, the mission coordinates are about seven hundred meters from me, confirming the target situation now..."

Skilfully fitting his helmet visor to the scope, Night Ten glanced at the distant buildings, his expression suddenly changing slightly.

"Shit!"

Sparks of electricity flickered through the communication screen.

After a moment, Old White's voice came through.

"Night Ten, what's happening over there?"

"Mutants! And not just one or two... There are at least a hundred of them visible outside!"

Scanning the building's facade through his scope, observing the reinforced concrete and iron shelters, Night Ten cursed under his breath.

"Damn it, these bastards have nested up there!"

As his words faded, the communications channel buzzed with his teammates' murmurs.

"Mutants?! What do those greenskins want helium-3 for?"

"Have they figured out how to do nuclear fusion now???"

"It's not really necessary for them to understand; they just need one remaining fusion device... we did the same, didn't we?"

Then, Fang Chang's voice broke in over the communication channel, interrupting the chatter.

"B Squad has reached the position... There are unexpectedly many people here, and although our firepower should give us an advantage, we're too close to that 'Qi' tribe."

"It's not a good idea to let them know we're after the same target. Whatever they're looking for here, they haven't got their hands on it yet... otherwise, they wouldn't still be patrolling around."

Old White: "Hmm, makes sense."

Watching the green head in the crosshairs and the grotesque, demon-like face, Night Ten's finger rubbed the trigger unwillingly.

"Are we really going to let it go today?"

Fang Chang patiently added,

"We don't have enough manpower. Even if we attacked by force, we'd need at least a squad to hold off the enemy reinforcements, or to launch a feint attack on their nest."

"Otherwise, even if we break through, if that group of mutants blocks our exit, we're screwed."

Old White agreed with his point.

"At least the stuff we want is likely still inside, and there seems to be other things beside the nuclear fuel... Anyway, let's report to the Manager first."

"Alright then."

Taking one last reluctant look at the drooling green head and its ugly face, Night Ten suppressed the urge to fire a shot and reluctantly put the rifle away.

You got lucky, bastard!

The mutant, drooling from the corner of its mouth, snorted unaware, completely oblivious that it had just skirted the edge of Hell's Gate.

Turning to return to the Viper plane, Night Ten had just stepped into the cabin and was about to climb aboard when suddenly, a distant "crack" of a gunshot tore through the night's silence.

Hearing that sound, he jolted.

What the hell?!

Didn't we agree not to shoot?!

Chapter 561: Melee in the Dark

"Snap!"

The sudden gunshot shattered the night's silence, and the originally peaceful streets boiled over like a pot of water brought to a boil.

"Ratatat—!"

Orange tracer rounds weaved wildly through the night, and the continuous gunfire sounded like firecrackers exploding, catching the mutants in the park off guard.

But that was only at the beginning.

Those mutants seemed to be used to such sudden ambushes.

They dragged their fallen comrades behind cover, then picked up their weapons and roared as they launched a counterattack toward the direction of the gunshots.

Night Ten quickly glanced at the map, comparing it to the area from where the gunshots had come.

He could be sure.

There were none of his own there.

Almost at the same time as the gunfire exploded, a chaotic voice came through the communication channel.

"Shit, who's firing?!"

"Night Ten???"

Hearing his ID, Night Ten couldn't help but burst out.

"Did you fucking hear a railgun?"

These damn idiots!

Still joking with me at a time like this.

"Quiet! It's not our gunfire!" Old White was reliable at critical times, quickly interrupting the arguing over the public mic.

If one listened carefully, that first gunshot indeed did not sound like an LD-47, and after playing the game for so long, he could still distinguish the sound of gunfire.

However, among the crackling gunshots that followed, several were clearly from the LD-47.

Perhaps unable to handle the recoil of the full-power bullets, those few gunshots were very brief, maintaining a rhythm of two or three shots a burst.

Night Ten immediately made a judgment in his mind.

This group of people is using mismatched equipment!

Although he couldn't determine from the gunfire alone whether these people were elite, he could at least judge that they probably weren't very wealthy.

Could they be mercenaries?

As he was thinking this, Elder Brother Fang Chang's voice came through the communication channel. Judging from the few gunshots that leaked through his mic, the B Team he was leading should be very close to the firefight area.

"...North 13th Street has encountered a firefight, and others besides us have set their sights on this place."

While reporting, a set of photos were simultaneously uploaded to the VM for the squad members.

Although the streets shrouded in night were pitch-black, one could still roughly make out the silhouette of that line of people with the help of the gun flashes.

They were about ten in number, wearing different styles of casual clothing, with a variety of different weapons in their hands, making it impossible to determine their faction through their gear.

However, there was one uniform symbol on them, which was the armband wrapped around their left arm. It seemed to depict an elongated arrow, but upon closer inspection, it also resembled a high-tension tower or a signal tower.

At this moment, Wild Wind reported.

"The neighboring mutant tribe has sent reinforcements; the terrain is too complex to ascertain the number of people, but I can see twelve modified armored vehicles."

Night Ten was startled upon hearing this.

"Armored vehicles?!"

Wild Wind: "It's just the kind of modification with welded steel plates... but there are some oddly-shaped weapons mounted on them that concern me, these mutants might be different from the ones we've encountered before."

Old White: "How long until they arrive?"

Wild Wind: "Within three minutes."

After a brief pause on the communication channel, Old White decisively made a judgment.

"We need to figure out their identities, ideally bringing back a couple of live ones."

The group that had suddenly launched an attack was clearly a feint; they had no intention of taking down the research facility occupied by the mutants.

This was easy to judge.

Guerrilla warfare and siege warfare, in terms of tactics and scale, are completely different; just listening to the intensity of the firefight and the distribution of gunshots, he could tell that this group had already planned their escape routes during the assault.

It was clear they had harassed the mutants here more than once.

If these NPCs were like the resistance organization in West State City, all survivors who had taken up arms in response to the oppression from the mutants and the Torch Church.

Perhaps they could cooperate.

Fang Chang: "Leave it to me... I'm pretty sure this group on my side is going to run into trouble, I should be able to save one or two."

Old White: "Night Ten, you back him up, A, C, and D groups fall back, leave this place to B Team and Recon."

Uniform responses came through the communication channel.

"Copy that!"

In the darkness, a group of soldiers clad in exoskeletons began to move, and Fang Chang led three teammates close to the rear of the guerrilla team they were watching.

The mutants clearly had their sights set on this group as well.

Those green-skinned guys seemed to know it was impossible to catch all the mice, so they planned to concentrate their strength to catch a few of the most active ones first.

The guerrilla team soldiers also seemed to realize something and began to tighten their position, but they were facing mutants who were unafraid of death, not average soldiers.

Those green-skinned guys were like cancer cells; even if half of their bodies were blown away, they could still live. Unless a bullet smashed their skulls, getting shot a few times meant nothing to them.

To avoid startling the target, the Viper transport plane waiting atop a high-rise building left the battlefield first and flew to a more rearward extraction point.

It then quietly resettled on the edge of the building.

Night Ten skillfully deployed the bipod of the type 15 "Python" Gauss Rifle and adjusted the scope to thermal imaging mode.

The view was black and white.

Hiding in the darkness, the white dots representing the combatants on both sides were exposed without question.

"Can you see your three o'clock direction?"

Comparing the map and markers on the tactical goggles, Night Ten quickly located the position Fang Chang was talking about.

A group of mutants was quickly moving through a half-collapsed high-rise, apparently planning to move to the side and rear of that guerrilla team to establish a fire point.

Looking at the mutant setting up the machine gun beside a broken window unfolding its stand, a trace of surprise flashed across Night Ten's eyes.

Wow!

These mutants understand tactics?!

He had no time to hesitate. He immediately responded in the communication channel.

"I see them... There's about a ten-man team, getting ready to set up a machine gun."

Fang Chang, "Take them down!"

"Roger that!"

As he spoke, Night Ten had already pulled the trigger.

An electric arc flashed briefly in the gun barrel, and the recoil hit his shoulder armor evenly, the aftermath was like throwing a javelin.

Simultaneously, the Mutant holding the machine gun, hundreds of meters away, had its head blown open like a watermelon struck by a blunt object, spattering red and white all over the ground.

"One!"

For soft targets without armor protection, there's no need to charge the capacitor, a hit to the head was all it took for a kill.

Night Ten, after taking down one, didn't relax his breathing and quickly aimed at the next target—the Mutant that rushed to take over the machine gun.

"Two!"

The instant he pulled the trigger, another head was blasted into fragments.

The remaining eight Mutants were thrown into chaos, babbling frantically, no longer daring to touch the machine gun set at the window.

Seeing no one peeking out for a while, Night Ten gently exhaled the turbid air in his chest, his mouth curling into a faint smile.

"Machine gun fire suppressed!"

Fang Chang's voice came through the communication channel.

"Beautifully done! Keep up the suppression... leave the rest to me!"

The tactical goggles displayed drone-aerial footage, and through the holographic images, Night Ten could see Fang Chang's team had successfully intercepted the Mutant squad that had circled to the Guerrilla Team's rear.

These guys were really different from the Mutants they had encountered before.

Although the tactics of these green-skinned fellas were far from sophisticated, even blunt and lacking in skill, paired with the Mutants' resilient physique, it was just enough.

A shrill whining sound sped towards the ground, and a fiery light burst forth from the reinforcement convoy of Mutants in the distance.

That was Wild Wind's handiwork.

Judging from the power of the explosion, it was clearly the "Spring Knife" that had shone so impressively in the Battle of West State City; this device could even flip a Conqueror No. 10 tank, so a modified truck was no problem at all.

The abrupt explosion jammed the reinforcement convoy on the street, buying the besieged Guerrilla Team some time to retreat.

Those people had clearly noticed the sudden emergence of help and were trying to regroup with the team led by Fang Chang.

"Roger that!"

A concise reply, Night Ten continued to peer through the thermal imager, his gaze locked on the machine gun, waiting patiently for his prey. But after a long wait, the third head refused to show itself.

By a broken door, a faint heat source could be seen, confirming that the group of Mutants were still there and hadn't left. Those beasts probably never dreamt that their heavy breathing was also a source of heat, outlined by the thermal imager in the lens.

His index finger rubbed against the trigger, growing impatient.

Honestly, he had played this "Game" for so long, and this was the first time he encountered such cowardly Mutants, hiding behind cover after losing just two of their own.

A thought crossed his mind, and a wicked smile curled up the corners of his mouth.

"Like hiding behind cover, do they?"

It was a good time to test new equipment.

Back in Luo Xia Province, he thought he could make a big impression with the range and armor-piercing capabilities of his Gauss Rifle, but to his disappointment, the terrain was too wide, causing the fighting distance to far exceed the range of the rifles. The ultra-long-distance combat was basically left to tanks, planes, and artillery—he barely had a chance to shine in a few raid operations.

No sooner said than done, Night Ten pulled out a bullet shaped like a long nail from behind him.

This was an armor-piercing bullet designed for concrete bunkers, specifically to deal with those who refused to show their faces.

Inserting the bullet into the barrel, Night Ten pressed the charging switch of the capacitor and then slowly squeezed the trigger.

Electricity surged from the battery to the high-energy capacitor, the hot plasma rolling in the barrel, and as he released the trigger, it burst forth.

A short bang, hot air squeezed out of the muzzle, rippling into a circle at the muzzle, and along with the high-speed mass bomb, it broke through the sound barrier!

The bullet traced a scorching transparent trajectory through the night sky, slamming into the dark window like a shell, instantly shattering an entire wall.

The reverse recoil made the shoulder armor shake slightly. Looking at the white-glowing bodies in the thermal imager, Night Ten's lips involuntarily twisted into a smug smile.

"Three!"

The power of this Gauss Rifle was really no joke—the bullet took down both a Mutant and a wall.

Though a bit of a waste, it was thrilling!

Having been hit by this shot, the group of Mutants seemed to have been stunned. They never expected the Guerrilla Team, which they harassed daily, to have such capability.

From hundreds of meters away, Night Ten couldn't hear their communication, but they looked absolutely terrified and no longer dared to stay behind the wall, scrambling to escape downstairs instead.

"Weak!"

However, just as he was feeling victorious, a sense of foreboding stealthily crept into his heart, causing the hairs on his body to involuntarily stand on end.

Something had targeted him!

He could faintly sense the presence of that thing, yet he could not discern the direction of the killing intent!

What he could be sure of was that creature had been watching him for some time—perhaps since he fired the first shot. Only now had it entered his range of Perception...

This creature was powerful!

With extreme caution in his mind, Night Ten dared not take any chances. He quickly packed up the Gauss Rifle set up at the edge of the Building and moved to the entrance of the safe passage, all the while shouting in the communication channel.

"I think I'm being watched!"

Fang Chang's voice resonated in his ear.

"Pull back, head to the evacuation point now! We're getting ready to wrap up here."

Night Ten instantly responded.

"Roger that! See you at the base!"

A punch burst through the rusted safety door.

The moment he retreated from the rooftop to the top floor, Night Ten felt the premonition of danger getting stronger.

Going downstairs might lead to a collision with the group of Mutants; the narrow terrain may not even suit power armor.

Moreover, his expertise lay not in direct combat but in taking long-range shots.

Thinking this, Night Ten had a flash of inspiration and decisively abandoned the stairs, darting into the elevator shaft, forcefully prying open the rusted elevator doors.

Darkness filled the elevator shaft, obscuring the view below.

He reached out to tug at the cable hanging right at the center, and after confirming that it was strong enough, he hooked it on and then took a leap towards the bottom of the elevator shaft.

"Zzz—"

Though the power armor weighed over a ton, it was still within the elevator system's weight range, so the descent was relatively smooth.

However, the grating metallic friction was louder than he had expected.

"Damn... I hope no one hears this."

That shouldn't happen, right?

Isn't the elevator shaft soundproofed pretty well?

As he was thinking this, the silhouette of the elevator car suddenly appeared below, and Night Ten quickly tightened his legs around the cable and the hook to slow down.

His feet landed heavily on top of the elevator car, causing it to creak and sway.

Night Ten quickly glanced at the floor number on the wall and let out a sigh of relief—it was the tenth floor.

Taking the stairs from here shouldn't present any problems.

With his right hand on the door handle of the elevator car's roof hatch, Night Ten yanked it off and tossed it aside.

But just as he was about to step in, his expression changed slightly.

Shit!

This hatch is too small!

The elevator's roof hatch was only about one and a half shoulder-widths wide, barely enough to get stuck on his shoulder armor. If he got caught halfway down, Ah Guang, who was watching the screen, would surely laugh his head off.

That won't do!

"Damn it! Throwing me a curveball!"

What should I do?

Night Ten quickly looked around for an escape route, but just then, he felt a sudden emptiness beneath his feet and lost contact with the ground.

"Crack—!"

The fleeting weightlessness almost turned him head over heels, and the explosion from above made it immediately clear what had happened.

Somebody had blown up the cable.

The last maintenance was two centuries ago, and without any functioning brake system, the elevator car, having lost its only support, started to freefall down the elevator shaft.

As the floors sped by in descent, Night Ten's face went through a rapid change of expressions.

His power armor might have been the legacy of the orbital drop soldiers, but those were supposed to be used with drop pods. He'd never heard of any power armor that could drop naked from a height with more than a ton of weight.

Maybe a Pentagon Warrior could do it.

Unfortunately, the character he trained was just a weak perception-type.

"I'm screwed!"

He was careless!

...

At the same moment, dozens of kilometers away in Town Of Hope, Xiaoyu, standing on the edge of the town, suddenly looked up.

"Eh?"

Upon hearing a voice come through the communication channel, Falling Feather stopped in his tracks and turned his head back to look.

"What's the matter?"

Yu One and Yu Two exchanged glances, tilting their heads in confusion. Yu Three, scanning the surroundings, suddenly blurted out a word.

"Screwed!"

Falling Feather: "..."

Sigh.

And here he had thought Xiaoyu had made some discovery when in fact, he just wanted to curse.

Relieved, Falling Feather was about to follow the convoy when he suddenly caught sight of a green-skinned figure walking out of the town gate.

Even though it was night, and the illumination under the fence gate was dim, he was sure he wasn't mistaken—the face under that hood was green.

Only he didn't understand why this figure's build wasn't as bulky as that of the mutants; its bones and body contours were closer to human.

Falling Feather, with goosebumps all over, almost reflexively drew his weapon, aiming at the head of the green-skinned figure.

His sudden move startled everyone nearby.

Wu Wen Zhou, the convoy leader, didn't understand what was happening, while the green-skinned figure did the same as Falling Feather, resulting in an additional ten rifles being aimed at his head.

Seeing the stand-off unfold, the old guard on duty at the town gate immediately grabbed the rifle slung on his back and came over, holding it in his hands.

"Hey! Cut it out, buddy! Brawls are prohibited within a hundred meters of the town!"

Upon seeing the dark exoskeleton, he felt a pang of fear but still chided out loud.

"Mutant!" Falling Feather stared intently at the green-skinned figure. "Does this settlement actually allow mutants to come and trade?"

"That guy... actually isn't."

The guard's expression turned somewhat awkward, seeming unsure of how to explain and hesitated about whether to help the green-skinned figure out.

Fighting was undeniably forbidden in the settlement, a rule, especially for Town Of Hope, which relied on trade to survive.

After all, without rules, everything would descend into chaos.

But to be honest, he didn't like these green-skinned fellows, even if they bore a closer resemblance to humans—they still carried half mutant blood in their veins.

Mostly they came from the Mutant tribe called "Qi."

The survivors all around Brocade River City held hatred and fear for those beings.

The green-skinned guy coldly looked at Falling Feather, then suddenly smirked, put away his weapon, and silently dropped his pants.

Startled by his action, Falling Feather hastily shielded his eyes with his left hand, but he still needed to aim, so he squinted through a gap between his fingers.

"What the hell, are you doing—?"

Eh?

Nothing?

Staring at the bare green skin, Falling Feather was stunned.

He recalled information from the official website that claimed some mutants lacked genitalia, especially the oldest ones.

They weren't born through reproduction but sprang from incubation tanks, and some of them were even scientists and engineers. If they hadn't gone mad, they might still retain human cognition—a rare existence indeed.

Most forcibly turned into mutants in vats went mad for various reasons, becoming complete animals.

Few could remain conscious.

Since this technologically synthesized breed was incapable of reproduction, the expansion of their population size was clearly not comparable to the main species of the Wasteland. That's why you almost never encounter them.

It was this strange fella that baffled everyone.

By the time Falling Feather came to his senses, he had pulled up his pants and walked away.

"…Half-breeds, you occasionally see guys like this, inheriting more genes from their mother, possessing neither the reproductive abilities nor the physique of the Mutants. It's said that maybe one or two out of ten thousand Mutant pups might be like this, but who knows? Mutants won't birth pups in front of us."

"And moreover, Mutants themselves don't take kindly to these creatures, often viewing them as a disgrace and leaving them in the Wasteland to fend for themselves."

Watching the man walk away, the guard with the rifle squinted his eyes and continued.

"How should I put it?"

"They're like mules born from a horse and a donkey, haha."

The man laughed casually to lighten the mood, and the others from the Commercial Team joined in. But Falling Feather couldn't shake a nagging discomfort.

This analogy did not merely distance those with half human blood, "half-breeds," it seemed to similarly distance the unfortunate captives caught by Mutants.

While he didn't know how to judge the former, the latter, at least, were innocent and shouldn't be reduced to a punchline to ease the tension.

"What's that... guy's name?"

"Who knows, they all look pretty much the same. No one's interested in looking closely at their faces, and they generally cover them up. If you need him for something, just shout 'Hey' to him. They are good Hunters, sometimes taking Mercenary work, cheap. But usually stick to their area."

"Not venturing out means no trade to run," Wu Wen Zhou slapped Falling Feather's shoulder and grinned, "Forget about that guy. Fancy a couple of drinks?"

"Sure." Falling Feather nodded; he just happened to want to gather some local intelligence.

According to Brother Fang Chang's theory, Bars are the easiest place to collect information, especially those frequented by traders and Mercenaries.

Wu Wen Zhou glanced at the ten strong and loyal enforcers behind him.

"What about those guys?"

They were strong but never took off their helmets, not even their facemasks.

If possible, he wanted to get on good terms with these people. Not just for his boss, but for himself too.

Falling Feather froze, then chuckled.

"Ah, Xiaoyu should sit this one out."

Xiaoyu?

Who's that?

Wu Wen Zhou glanced at the ten enforcers. They all seemed to react to the name, making it hard for him to tell who was being addressed.

But such things were unimportant. There were plenty of oddities in the Wasteland.

He laughed it off, signaling his men to park the vehicles at their usual lodge, then dragged the tough guy to the tavern at the entrance of the town.

"Bear and Lamppost... The name of this tavern, this is a good place!" Standing at the entrance, Wu Wen Zhou inhaled deeply with delight, then strutted inside.

Frowning, Falling Feather fanned his nose and followed suit, steeling himself.

The exterior of the tavern was unprepossessing, but the hall and bar were nearly full, the noise was ceaseless, and the music from the speakers was like scratching a chalkboard with a fork.

Moreover, the air was quite murky, filled with the smell of smoke and sweat, and a strange smell of mold.

It was an indescribable feeling.

But the people here didn't seem to mind.

Perhaps, to most here, this was what feeling alive was like.

Whereas out there on the Wasteland, mere meters away, the sensation of being alive was so faint. Even powerful Awakeners could easily lose their lives in a moment of carelessness.

Within a hundred miles, this was the only place where you could relax and have a drink, without worrying about your head getting blown off by an enemy—unless you no longer wished to live.

While chattily explaining the tavern's history to Falling Feather, Wu Wen Zhou found a quiet corner to sit down, ordering some appetizers and two large beers from a waitstaff carrying a tray.

"In Brocade River Province, everything else is expensive, except for food."

Actually, there was one more thing that was cheap.

That was people.

Whether men, women, elderly, or children, in this fertile yet chaotic land, they were all exceptionally affordable, usually only needing half the price compared to other places.

However, considering this guy was a Resident of the refuge, Wu Wen Zhou prudently skipped over such matters.

Falling Feather took a sip of beer. The rich taste was indeed good, but the air in here carried a strange scent.

He had noticed it upon entering.

"This smell is kind of strange."

Thinking he was talking about the beer, Wu Wen Zhou laughed.

"Are you not used to drinking anything other than hometown brew?"

"It's not about the beer," Falling Feather nodded and whispered after glancing around, "There's something unclean here."

He didn't know what it was.

Xiaoyu had told him.

Xiaoyu had sensed an unpleasant scent since entering the town, intensifying near the bar.

At that moment, a waitstaff brought over a basket of bread and a jar of greenish substance, placing it on the neighboring table.

"Pine bread, a specialty here."

The Mercenary at the next table eyed the greenish glass jar with curiosity.

"What's this?"

Before the waitstaff could answer, a man sitting next to the Mercenary said with a smile,

"Special jam from Town Of Hope! Tasty stuff, it's getting popular around here, just try it! I bet you'll love it!"

"Haha, come off it. I don't do sweets. I only eat meat!"

"Give it a go, it's on me."

Upon the encouragement of his good brother, the Mercenary unscrewed the jar curiously, dipped a finger in, and sucked it off, muttering after tasting,

"It's strange, let me try again."

Staring at the jar of greenish jam, Falling Feather suddenly recognized the substance, eyes bulging in surprise.

Good lord.

Nago… jam?!

Now he finally understood what had been making Xiaoyu uncomfortable…

Chapter 562: Come Down!

Following the usual approach in games, certainly the best strategy is to stack the most expensive equipment on your character, but "Wasteland OL" is a whole different story.

Whether it's equipment or level, or even the player's own experience, these are just one of the factors that determine the outcome of combat, not all of them.

The overly realistic collision volumes and physics system often make battles full of uncertainties.

It's like rolling dice.

Experienced warriors have a higher probability of rolling higher numbers, but a small mistake or a moment's hesitation can cause the dice to be thrown again.

If Save/Load was an option, Ye Wei swore he would never spend a million silver coins on a "coffin" to be buried in.

Although the OD-10 "Dragon Cavalry" is the equipment for orbital airdrops, its lightening is only relative to the T-10 "Champion"; it is used for airdropping into cities to work with armored units and more lightweight infantry in urban warfare, so its armor still has a certain thickness.

If you really want to parkour back and forth between high-rise buildings, you need to get something with even higher mobility and lighter weight, like the "Special Ops" model.

It would be even better if it had optical camouflage and chemical propellers.

"Cough—!"

In the pitch-dark tunnel.

Startling awake from unconsciousness, Night Ten convulsed like a body coming back to life, coughing as he sat up from the dented metal shell of the elevator top.

"Damn it, finally logged in!"

Yellow exclamation marks blinked on his tactical goggles, but fortunately, the power components and mechanical structures were undamaged.

After moving his limbs to confirm the armor's joints and motors were working properly, Night Ten breathed a sigh of relief and quickly got up from the ground.

If not for the shock-absorbing padding of the power armor taking some of the impact, that fall alone would have been enough to finish him off.

Thinking of this, Night Ten couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

A two-century old antique, repaired and maintained up till now, could still function after falling from a height of fifty to sixty meters.

The technology of the Prosperity Epoch is truly impressive.

But that long string of yellow exclamation marks...

He's probably going to need some major repairs when he gets back.

Now fully conscious, a sense of impending danger slowly crept over him.

Knowing he couldn't stay long, Night Ten swiftly jumped down from the wrecked elevator top, and with the brute strength of his power armor, he moved it aside.

He removed the elevator doors to enter the hallway and caught sight of the number B4 on the wall.

Holy moly.

That's one deep pit!

He quickly found the floor map on the wall, wiped off the dust with his hand, and soon confirmed his location and the way to the safety passage.

"... turn left at the corridor corner."

Just to be safe, he took a photo, but as he was about to leave, a faint noise suddenly reached his ears.

"Hah—"

The sound was like the panting of a beast.

Eerie and unexpected in the pitch-black corridor, it raised goosebumps all over his body.

Then came the squeak of boots on dusty ground, approaching from the other end of the hallway, getting closer and closer...

"Damn it... They said it was a fun game, turned into a horror game for me."

Cursing under his breath, he slung the oversized-barreled Gauss Rifle behind his back and drew the LD-50 carbine hanging at his waist.

The other side already knew he was here, so hiding was pointless. He flicked off the safety and smoothly chambered the rifle.

And just as he expected, the footsteps did not hesitate for a second, as if certain he had nowhere to run, the pace leisurely, as if toying with prey.

Eyes locked on the far end of the hallway, when the figure around the corner became visible, Night Ten's pupils involuntarily constricted.

It was a green-skinned giant with a thick steel helmet on his head, nearly touching the ceiling of the hallway, and his broad shoulders took up half the corridor.

His rippling muscles were like piles of granite blocks, and in his clenched right fist, he wielded a chainsaw nearly as tall as a man. But what was truly chilling was that the left half of his body, from the waist to his head, had been completely replaced with a metal construct, and his left arm was even fused with a cannon!

Fuck!?

A Synthetic Mutant?!

Which jackass did surgery on this thing?!

"Oru."

The dull roar sounded like a battle cry.

It also seemed to be its name.

It appeared that the creature wanted to face him in single combat.

Swallowing hard, Night Ten gripped his weapon tightly and turned on the loudspeaker, announcing his presence in his native tongue.

"Daddy!"

"Daddy..."

Through the dark visor of his tactical goggles, Oru saw the panic in the eyes of the human before him and twisted his lips into a cruel smile.

These ugly human pests had harassed them for quite some time, and he swore he would shred this one with the cruelest methods.

Oblivious to the pea shooter in his opponent's hands, Oru shook the chainsaw he wielded, making a provocative gesture.

"...Well, buddy, you're not even flinched by power armor?"

Catching the provocation in that gaze, Night Ten raised an eyebrow and decisively pulled the trigger.

"Ratatat—!"

Gunfire echoed down the hallway, the LD-50's muzzle spewing a torrent of flames as bullets showered down one side of the corridor.

Yet the Synthetic Mutant was unfazed.

He planted the bulky chainsaw directly onto the ground; its two-palm-wide blade acted like a shield, scraping a string of sparks against the barrage of bullets.

Too weak!

Standing sideways, Oru's icy gaze fell on the human at the end of the hallway, his mouth curving into a cruel smirk.

However, just at this moment, a sudden change occurred.

The human abruptly put down his empty magazine carbine and instantly grabbed the Gauss Rifle strapped to his back, setting it up in his hands.

Oru's expression froze.

From the dark, cold muzzle, he faintly saw the jumping electric arcs.

Charging was already complete—

But when?!

"Die, dammit!!"

The grating sonic boom exploded in the corridor, and the scorching trajectory seemed to twist the air.

The distance of less than twenty meters vanished in a flash, and the high-velocity mass bomb sent both the chainsaw and the mutant flying.

While spraying the green baboon with the carbine, Night Ten had turned on the charging switch of the Gauss Rifle on his back and almost at the instant of firing the last bullet from the magazine, switched to the Gauss Rifle which had completed charging.

At such a close distance, a hit meant there was no chance of survival.

However, that premonition lingering in his heart still hadn't dissipated from Night Ten's mind.

"Can't be... he's still alive?!"

The capacitor's cooling CD had just ended, and Night Ten pressed the charging switch again, planning to give the green baboon another shot.

However, almost at the instant he pressed the switch, a deafening bang came almost simultaneously from the other end of the corridor.

"Bang—!"

A huge impact hit his chest, staggering him backward.

Then two more gunshots rang out, one shattering the sagging door panel behind him, and another pushing him into the twisted elevator cabin.

"Roar—!"

The huge gun barrel smoked blue, and fury burned in his bloodshot eyes.

Oru, struggling to stand up from beside the wall, picked up the half of the chainsaw that had fallen on the ground, no longer daring to be careless, and charged roaring towards the distorted elevator.

A few lead bullets certainly couldn't penetrate power armor, but if the force was strong enough, he had no doubt he could smash the person inside the iron coffin into a pulp.

He no longer cared where this rat came from, nor whether he was in cahoots with other little rats.

Now, he just wanted him to die!

"Go to hell!!"

"Daddy—!"

The half of the chainsaw smashed down toward the power armor on the ground, but the expected sensation of chopping steel didn't come; instead, his chainsaw struck straight through the elevator cabin floor, its blunt teeth catching in the dented and broken metal plate.

His attack seemed to have been anticipated.

The human in the clunky iron armor rolled aside, dodging this lethal strike, crashing into one side of the elevator cabin, and setting up his Gauss Rifle.

Of course, he wouldn't let this guy succeed. With a fierce sweep of his left arm, the club-like gun barrel sent the high-tech rifle flying straight out.

"Bang—!"

The flicker of an electric arc released, the scorching trajectory nearly passing between them, blasting a large hole in the elevator car.

Oru bared his teeth in a ferocious grin, released the jammed half of the chainsaw, and somersaulted onto the power armor, restraining its joints, pressing a fist-sized gun barrel directly against its neck.

However, an unexpected event occurred for Oru.

Almost at the moment he pulled the trigger—or perhaps a second before—the power armor he straddled raised its right hand, fiercely pushed the muzzle against its own chest, and clung onto it desperately, nearly welding his gun barrel onto its breastplate.

The color drained from Oru's face as he grasped the gun barrel, instinctively sensing danger from the human's actions, but it was already too late.

Gunpowder detonated with a thunderous roar; energy with nowhere to escape blew open the breech, and the searing sparks mixed with charred flesh spiraled wildly throughout the elevator car.

Oru screamed in pain, his left arm partially shattered, blood streaming down, no longer able to discern where was blood and where was machine, stumbling backward as he collapsed to the ground.

Night Ten's breastplate bore a shallow dent from the lead bullet's kinetic force, he grunted and leaned back to the ground; though equally unpleasant, he was still far better off than the vicious man who welded the gun barrel to himself.

"... I told you, I'm your daddy."

With a twisted smile, Night Ten struggled to rise from the ground, approaching the mutant named Oru.

There was no signal in the elevator shaft; he wasn't worried about the guy calling for backup, but considering the cockroach-like resilience of mutants, it was better to finish him off sooner rather than later.

Sensing the threat of death, Oru struggled to crawl from the ground.

But Night Ten gave him no chance to catch his breath, pulling out the combat dagger strapped to his waist, viciously stabbing it toward his eye socket.

"Roar—!"

The dagger jammed in the eye socket; Oru let out a pained howl but didn't succumb, his right fist violently smashing towards Night Ten's head.

The guy's will to live was indeed uncommonly tenacious, still struggling in such a condition.

The helmet took a solid punch; prepared for it, Night Ten's head only slightly jolted, without pause, he swung his fist, hammer-like, onto the hilt of the dagger.

Crack—

The blunt sensation of metal cleaving through flesh and bone transmitted from his fist; the dagger skewered through Oru's skull, pinned in place.

Oru convulsed as if electrocuted; his left eye rolled upward, and he stilled completely.

Worried the guy wasn't dead, Night Ten slashed at him a few more times, turning the elevator car into a bloody mess, the blood plasma almost soaking the floor.

"Damn... He better be dead now."

Night Ten nearly out of strength, exhaled in relief, letting go of the now-motionless Oru, extracted the combat dagger from his body, glanced around, and couldn't help but click his tongue.

The blood loss could rival a B-class horror film.

No wait, B-class films are nothing compared to this!

Is this what they call a fun game?

He silently criticized Brother Guang in his mind, Night Ten picked up the Gauss Rifle lying in a pool of blood, shaking off the clotted gore.

The rifle barrel was bent by the mutant's blow, but the 15 Model "Python" was designed with a detachable barrel, so it wasn't much affected.

Securing the Gauss Rifle behind him, Night Ten took a few photos of the synthetic mutant's corpse, casually collected some debris, and hastily left the elevator car for the safety tunnels.

Although the mutant named Oru came down to face him alone, clearly, there were more than just that "big guy" surrounding him.

Four or five mutants crouched at the safety tunnel's stairway entrance, the visible murderous intent almost spilling out of their retinas.

Although their killer instinct was evident, these low-level thugs were nowhere near as tough as the modified elite I just faced.

Realizing he couldn't breach the barrage of gunfire, Night Ten simply retreated back to Level B1 through the stairwell, slapped a C4 on the ceiling, and turned to enter a nearby room.

"Come on down!" A sinister smile curled on his lips as he tightened his grip on the detonator.

With a loud boom echoing through the hallway, the explosion's shockwave not only shattered the ceiling but also caused the old concrete slabs to collapse entirely.

The mutants stationed at the first floor's emergency exit had no time to react and fell down with the debris into the billowing dust below.

If it had been ordinary humans, they would have been killed instantly by the blast, but the mutants shook their heads, took a moment to rest, and were soon ready to go again.

Not giving them a chance to catch their breath, Night Ten stepped over the concrete rubble and walked forward, shooting each of their heads to make sure they were dead.

The explosion inside the building caught the attention of the mutants training on the street. Night Ten didn't dare use the main entrance but instead exited through the back door onto the street.

Almost as soon as he reached the street, blinding headlights from both sides flared up.

Through his tactical goggles, Night Ten saw two pickups with welded steel plates, their roof-mounted machine guns aimed directly at him.

"Shit—"

His face changed slightly as he was about to seek cover when two missiles whistled down from the night sky, the resulting explosion almost instantaneously engulfing the pickups in flames.

The mutants lit by the fire clumsily jumped out of the vehicles while gunfire erupted from the other side of the street.

Simultaneously, the sounds of gunfire rang out from the other side of the street. Brother Fang Chang, who had previously covered the guerrilla team's retreat, had returned with his group.

A familiar voice, long missed, came through the communication channel.

"Night Ten! How's it looking over there?"

Hearing that voice, like music to his ears, Night Ten excitedly replied.

"Brother—"

"Stop the fucking chit-chat and get over here!!!"

The rough voice interrupted him without any niceties.

"Heh heh, Roger that!" Night Ten said with an embarrassed chuckle and immediately ran towards the rendezvous point without pausing.

The distant clamor of mutants and the cacophony of gunshots chased after the fleeing group, ending at the street corner.

Night Ten quickly met up with Brother Fang Chang's Team B and together rushed to the extraction point.

The extraction point was the open parking lot of an abandoned building, just 300 meters away. The "Viper" transport plane was waiting in the center of that parking lot.

They hastily boarded the aircraft and the pilot immediately increased the altitude, maneuvering the VTOL transport plane towards the outskirts.

The crisis was finally over.

Watching the brightly lit half of the city recede into the distance, Night Ten finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked over at Brother Fang Chang sitting opposite.

"Why did you come back? I thought you retreated."

Before Brother Fang Chang could speak, Quit Smoking patted his shoulder with a laugh.

"Brother, a million bucks! We would've been fools to leave you behind!"

Another teammate also joked with a smile.

"Yeah, at the very least, we had to pick up your body."

Night Ten: "Damn! Are you that heartless?"

Brother Fang Chang rolled his eyes.

"Cut the crap, what the hell did you do just now?"

Recalling the tense and thrilling experience he just had, Night Ten let out a sigh.

"It's a long story. The mutants found my building and planned to sneak up on me; I sensed it early and tried to go down via the elevator. But those guys have no honor—guess they heard the noise in the elevator shaft and cut the cable on me..."

"Well, the thought process wasn't bad. Quick action might have caught them off-guard, but your gear..." Brother Fang Chang looked at his power armor with a complex expression, "Weren't you afraid of getting stuck in it?"

Embarrassed, Night Ten scratched the back of his head, and suddenly remembered something important, quickly changing the subject.

"Speaking of which, those mutants were a bit peculiar."

As he spoke, he removed a piece of wreckage from the power armor.

The object was black and grimy, covered with charred blood and flesh scraps, making it impossible to tell where it had come from.

The players leaned in to take a closer look but couldn't figure it out either.

Brother Fang Chang furrowed his brows.

"What's this…?"

With earnest eyes, Night Ten replied, "Modified prostheses! I took it off that elite—no, that BOSS I just fought."

Hearing his response, the players were suddenly amazed and exclaimed.

"Holy shit?! Prostheses?!"

"Mutants?!"

"Are you sure you weren't seeing things?"

Seeing his buddies doubt him, Night Ten got worked up.

"I couldn't possibly have seen it wrong, I stabbed my dagger right into his head."

He vividly described the appearance of the synthetic mutant and how dire the situation was.

Only after talking himself hoarse and satisfied did he share the photos he had taken with his teammates' devices, which earned him another eye roll from Brother Fang Chang.

Quit Smoking, however, listened intently, always one to believe whatever he was told, especially the dangerous fight in the elevator.

After Night Ten finished bragging, Quit Smoking couldn't help but remark wistfully,

"Damn… Since when can mutants undergo modification surgery?"

"It's not entirely inconceivable—the higher-ups of The Church aren't just simple believers but are experts from the shelters. Religion seems more like a tool for them."

Brother Fang Chang stared intently at the photo on the VM screen, continuing,

"Come to think of it, I had a similar feeling earlier... those mutants, both in tactics and equipment, didn't seem like your typical mutant tribe."

Old White also fell into contemplation.

"Hmm, especially those vehicles and weapons, they seem tailor-made for them."

A few players nearby exchanged glances.

It seemed that this mission to recover the nuclear fuel was not as simple as they had imagined...

The helicopter did not fly back to the base but instead headed to the suburbs a dozen kilometers away, where it landed on the edge of a forest in a relatively sparse area.

One good thing about this jet-powered helicopter was that there was no need to worry about the propellers disturbing the tree branches; it could practically land anywhere.

Another Viper also stopped nearby, where players who had previously retreated had lit a pile of fire and were sitting next to it.

There were also six guerrilla team members who had retreated with the players, two of whom were seriously injured and unconscious.

Seeing Old White and others approaching, Wild Wind casually threw the stick he was poking the fire with into the flames and got up to come over from beside the fire.

Beside him followed a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard, wearing a cement-gray coat with around his neck a scarf and an Iron Tower armband on his arm, carrying an assault rifle wrapped with cloth and tape.

He looked like an experienced old soldier.

"Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome, but I've got quite a few complaints, and plenty of questions for you..." Old White stared at him for a moment and then got straight to the point, "Your name, who are you? And who sent you?"

Perhaps it was the directness of his question.

The atmosphere became a bit tense for a time.

The three guerrilla team members sitting by the fire tensed up as they took out the two unconscious people.

However, they clearly understood that they were no match for these "professionals" with their slick gear, so they wisely made no misconstrued moves.

The man's expression was calm, looking at Old White as he spoke.

"Li Jinrong, you can call us 'Iron Tower.' That's the name of our organization. No one sent us here. We are not anybody's subordinates. We fight for ourselves… Seeing you fire at those Mutants, I thought we could become allies."

Old White gave a faint smile.

"Whether we can become allies depends on your sincerity."

Li Jinrong looked at him and said,

"I believe sincerity is mutual."

Old White introduced himself succinctly.

"Old White, Alliance. As for the rest, no comment. We saved your lives; I think this sincerity is sufficient."

Hearing a few key words, a look of surprise flashed in Li Jinrong's eyes as he looked at Old White incredulously,

"The Alliance… you are people of the Alliance? The one from the southern River Valley Province?"

"Yes, nothing can prove our identity better than this guy," Old White said while patting the LD-47 assault rifle hanging on the power armor, looking at him and raising an eyebrow, "It seems you have heard of us?"

Li Jinrong slowly nodded his head.

"I've heard that you beat up the Army in Falling Leaves Province with your shoddy gear… But it seems that the 'shoddy gear' is a rumor."

Though the rifle looked a bit old-fashioned, neither the power armor nor the VTOL aircraft could be considered shabby.

Old White could feel that, upon learning they were people of the Alliance, this guy had not completely let his guard down, but his caution had clearly decreased significantly.

Clearly, reputation did have its advantages.

Just like the merchants from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, who, whether or not they had been to Ideal City, liked to say they came from 'The Enterprise.'

Night Ten chuckled and interjected,

"The 'shoddy gear' is definitely a rumor, but overall, those big noses have equipment that's a bit stronger than ours."

Without letting Night Ten derail the topic, Fang Chang jumped into the conversation,

"Why the Champion Biological Pharmaceutical Research Institute?"

Li Jinrong hesitated slightly.

"Why do you mean by that…"

Fang Chang continued, looking him in the eye,

"If your target is the Mutants, there is more than one of their bases in the city. What do you all know about that facility?"

Li Jinrong scoffed.

"Mutants? We don't care about those green-skinned guys; our target is that bunch of fanatics waving torches."

Quit smoking, "The Torch Church?"

"Yes… they destroyed our homeland, killed my family," the man said, a flame of hatred flickering in his eyes, "I don't care about their plans. As long as I can take a bite out of them, I will do it."

"Coincidentally, we also have a bad relationship with those fanatics. They supported the Bone Chewing Chaos. In the Alliance, they are the 'xie sect.'" After a pause, Old White continued, "Our purpose in coming to Brocade River Province has to do with those spreading the plague everywhere, so is there any connection between that facility and the Torch Church?"

"I don't know, but after those guys arrived in Brocade River City, their first stop was there. We followed them all the way from Haiye Province… But sadly, we were too weak. The locals preferred them to us, and we could only watch helplessly as they allied with the Mutants and turned this land foul, ultimately repeating our plight…"

As he spoke those words, Li Jinrong's gaze was intense on Old White.

Old White knew what he was thinking.

But this was beyond his authority, and he needed to report the situation to the Manager for a decision.

"We have a common enemy; perhaps we can cooperate, but I am just an Army commander and can't give you an immediate response."

"That's alright. We can wait!"

To add weight to his words, Li Jinrong immediately continued, "We have more members than these few. We have outposts near each settlement!"

Old White nodded.

"I will report faithfully to our Manager."

"Haiye Province? Where's that?" Night Ten and Quit smoking exchanged glances and muttered softly.

Quit smoking scratched his head, baffled.

But fortunately, Elder Fang was there.

"It's to the south of Brocade River Province, located in the tropics with long coastlines and large hills and mountain ranges, with only a few plains… It's said to be the stronghold of the Torch Church."

Looking towards the southern night sky, he paused before continuing,

"Death Coast is there."

That must be the closest the Alliance gets to the sea.

Chapter 563: Because it's less than 20mm, it’s naturally a gun

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

During the peak offline period, a freshly made post swiftly topped the hot list and became the topic of heated discussion among countless players and backseat drivers.

Night Ten: "Big news!! Mutant prostheses discovered in Brocade River City!!!"

In the post, Night Ten had exaggerated the peril of the situation and how he cleverly countered and escaped death.

Moreover, the post included several restricted-level photos, which, despite being filtered by the System, still required age verification to view.

However, to Night Ten's great disappointment, his post did not receive the chorus of "666" from his fans that he had hoped for.

Instead, there were boos.

Dinosaur Warrior: "Dude, you're in god-level armor and it's still a close call, that's kind of lame!"

Cheerful Netizen: "Exactly!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "I'd rather wear it myself! (Funny)"

Night Ten: "Damn! Easy for you to say, try soloing one yourself!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "That's easy to arrange, just give me a helmet, and I'll show you. (Smirking)"

Night Ten: "#@%￥!"

Old White: "Haha, that mutant with the prosthetic body still got something, took a charged shot from a Gauss Rifle and still could run and jump, wielding half a chainsaw, bam bam bam, damaged several parts of our brother Night Ten's power armor."

Quit Smoking: "Wait, I thought it fell by accident?"

Fang Chang: "Caught a truthful man."

Wild Wind: "(Sideways smile)"

Teng Teng: "(╯▽╰)"

Night Ten: "T.T"

Tail: "Wait a second… Si, did we run too far south?! (#ﾟДﾟ)"

Si Si: "I thought it was the southern part of Luo Xia Province... after all, the south of River Valley Province would be too obvious. (anxious)"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "Indeed, too difficult. T.T"

Aah Aah Sesame Paste: "Ahaha… survival on a deserted island is quite fun too, patting head."

Crow: "Survival on a deserted island?! Where the heck did you guys run off to? Σ(°△°|||)"

Si Si: "Bugi Island, anyway we're fixing the ship… By the way, here's a crab as big as a small house, probably not a Crack Claw Crab, too bad I can't upload the photo. (￣～￣;)"

Spring Water Commander: "Terrifying..."

Grandpa Ao: "Laughed, the pictures won't even load, just making stuff up? Trash!"

The post was filled with a jovial atmosphere.

Although there were those who teased Night Ten for struggling even in power armor, most players recognized his strength.

Managing a counterattack after a face-to-face encounter is no easy feat. Theoretically, mutants surpass humans in strength, constitution, and agility, and while power armor offers significant damage reduction, it's not invincible.

Apart from the teasing, most players focused their discussion on the game itself.

Specifically, the absurdly powerful mutants appearing on the new map!

Since the server had started, veteran players from the alpha test had experienced the terrifying combat strength of mutants.

If it weren't for the crew of the Pioneer taking out those beasts in the plot, with just their manpower and equipment at the time, they probably wouldn't have stood a chance against the mutants on Street No.76.

Back then, they had discussed on the forum that, considering their intelligence and physical attributes, the mutants could be comparable to level 40 or 60 monsters.

They are not like Crack Claw Crabs that charge forward when attacked; they are primate creatures with the ability to learn.

Not only do they make makeshift rifles and Molotov cocktails, but they also stuff cans with nails and gunpowder to create tripwire mines and the like.

And now, these mutants are not wielding those makeshift rifles.

They not only have vehicles specially tailored for their body shapes and modified prosthetic bodies, but they also have radio command and simple but effective tactical coordination.

The strength of these ten-thousand-strong mutant tribes is probably far more ridiculous than a hundred hundred-strong mutant tribes.

Of course, even in serious discussions, some off-topic, unserious content inevitably appears.

Falling Feather: "Speaking of which, I've seen another type of mutant here, the locals call them hybrids, kind of like half-orcs? They sometimes appear in survivors' settlements, about human size, but without ding-dongs, or any primary sexual characteristics, actually."

Si Si: "?"

Fang Chang: "??"

Falling Feather: "Uh, why the question marks… can't we discuss this? (anxious)"

Fang Chang: "Cough, it's not that we can't discuss it."

Si Si: "Just… how did you know?"

Tail: "!!! Go on, tell us more! (✪ω✪)"

Falling Feather: "???"

Gnome King Riches: "As expected of Falling Feather, even Old Na had to say good fella. (Funny)"

Mole from the Canyon on the Run: "Although both are eating, they're completely different, right? (Funny)"

Youth at the Construction Site with Bricks: "Hahaha, Big Eyes likes this."

Debt Giant Eye: "Yo! What about me?"

Elena: "Thank you, I'm offended. (Fist hard limited edition funny.jpg)"

Shelter No. 404.

In the viewing room on Floor B4, Chu Guang was sitting in front of a computer, reading a report submitted by Old White.

In fact, he had already learned the entirety of last night's events from forum posts before receiving this report.

However, compared to Night Ten's boastful narrative and the various backstabbings by his good brothers, the report written by Old White was obviously much more professional and meticulous.

It included not only the entire plan of action and its full sequence but also detailed their entire contact process with the Iron Tower Organization.

According to the Iron Tower members, the Torch Church did not immediately contact the local survivors after arriving in Brocade River City, but instead first sought out the local Mutant tribe "Qi".

This happened the year before last.

And in the last year, which is Wasteland Era Year 211, the year Chu Guang woke up in the Wasteland, the Torch Church sent Apostles to Qingquan City. They hired local mercenary forces through the intermediary White Shark at the Pirate Bay Tavern to search for Shelter No. 117 and the Black Box within it.

Currently, White Shark has been controlled by the Guards Corps, becoming one of the "informants" for the Alliance in Giant Stone City; naturally, this part of the intelligence was also unlocked.

Combined with the testimony provided by the Iron Tower Organization, everything generally matched up.

Including how the Torch Church later used Giant Stone City as a stepping stone to provide limited weapons and intelligence support to the Chewing Bone Tribe, not solely for the Black Box at Shelter No. 117, but also to carry out proselytizing activities simultaneously in Brocade River and River Valley.

However, those Looters were indeed useless as mud not sticking to the wall, and coupled with the harsh blizzards of the deep winter and losing the advantages of timing, terrain, and people as if in a haphazard 'Gourd Children Save Grandpa' maneuver, they not only played themselves but also toughed out a "new Alliance" on a wasteland.

At that time, the Iron Tower Organization had tried to seek help from the aristocrats of Giant Stone City, but those folks disdained even the rural folks of the North Suburb, let alone those from the rural areas of other provinces.

According to Old White's report, using the words of Li Jinrong, the envoys they sent to Giant Stone City did not even meet with the then city hall manager and were sent away by the gatekeepers.

However, it might also be because of the arrogance of those old aristocrats that the Torch Church also failed to get their attention. Instead, due to Giant Stone City's focus on Southern interests at the time, the ambitions of those missionaries caught the attention of the "noble merchants" led by Wei Jia.

Many plantations in Brocade River Province were actually remotely controlled by business owners from Giant Stone City, which "to some extent" limited the Torch Church's expansion plans.

However, with the rise of the Alliance and the decline of Giant Stone City and the old aristocratic powers, cheap agricultural products from the fertile dikes of Falling Leaves Province gradually infiltrated the Southern River Valley Province advancing with the frontlines, and this tiny restraining factor was quickly removed.

This happened out of the sight of the Alliance.

Now, the Torch Church has nearly brought the entire Brocade River Province under their influence, with the "Qi" tribe becoming the staunch allies of the Torch Church.

And this part of the intelligence basically matched the information Chu Guang had previously explored through the Guards Corps.

Not only that, but Li Jinrong also provided a clue that Chu Guang had not expected.

That was the first stop of the Torch Church upon reaching Brocade River City, the "Champion" Biological Pharmaceutical Research Institute. And that place was exactly the coordinates provided by the Academy!

So what exactly is this research institute studying?

Now Chu Guang was increasingly certain that the Academy was using him to accomplish something.

Were they trying to use him to eliminate the Torch Church?

Or were they merely trying to divert his attention from Falling Leaves Province, the Great Desert, or other affairs?

Those guys were too cunning; he really couldn't guess.

Sometimes Chu Guang even suspected that the accidental encounter between the Beacon team and the Burning Corps at the edge of the Wandering Swamp had been orchestrated by an invisible hand...

"Mutant prosthetics, huh..."

Touching his forehead with his index finger, Chu Guang, leaning back in his chair, pondered for a long while before suddenly speaking.

"Xiao Qi, help me contact Yibers."

Since he was undecided, why not ask the expert?

Almost at the same moment his words fell, a crisp, pleasant voice floated over.

"Sure, master... Ah, Yibers is still in the operating room. His assistant told Xiao Qi it might take about 15 minutes."

It must be a player undergoing surgery.

Chu Guang said,

"Tell him not to rush and to complete his work first."

"Understood!"

Sitting on the table, Xiao Qi playfully saluted.

Hearing that lively voice, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile, and the solemnity in his brows somewhat dissipated as he stretched out his index finger to rub its little head.

"Can you make me a cup of tea?"

Enjoying the head massage, Xiao Qi happily nodded.

"Yeah! Leave it to Xiao Qi!"

Chu Guang always felt that smile wasn't so simple, but he didn't take it too seriously.

Before long, the door of the viewing room opened, and Crow, carrying a cup of tea, briskly walked in.

"Oho! Esteemed Manager, your sleepy tea is here!"

Hearing this off-the-cuff remark, Chu Guang almost choked on his own saliva but managed to maintain the dignity of a faction boss, nodding seriously.

"Thanks, just put it here."

It was getting harder to maintain composure in front of the players.

"Okay!"

Crow cheerfully crooked her mouth, swirling out of the room like a whirlwind.

It was clear the mission rewards were plentiful.

Chu Guang glanced at the black tea on the tray and sighed.

"Xiao Qi."

A figure sitting at the corner of the table feigned ignorance, tilting its little head.

"Hmm?"

Chu Guang: "..."

Never mind.

At least Crow was one of the more decent players who wouldn't add strange things to drinks.

If it had been served by one of those "devoted sons," he definitely would have hesitated even with Xiao Qi spectating.

Chu Guang took a sip of the tea.

The black tea was mixed with some milk; the taste of the tea was faint, and it had a mild sweetness, different from the tea he usually brewed by himself, and also different from the tea Alyssa offered him.

Holding the teacup, he noticed a note under the tray with witty and sloppy handwriting.

"Black tea with sugar cubes and milk, hope you like it. Even if you're busy, don't stay up too late. Remember to rest. (^_<)"

This guy.

Chu Guang smiled and shook his head, feeling a warmth in his heart.

Even if the motive was to raise favorability and unlock hidden quests, the feeling of being cared for was quite pleasant.

He had been constantly in Giant Stone City until he returned yesterday and felt like a wound-up spring that hadn't stopped for a moment.

He suddenly wondered if not just this cup of black tea was a form of consideration, but perhaps even telling him to wait for 15 minutes had some thoughtful meaning?

Although he couldn't imagine Yibers being considerate, based on his visit to Huge Rock Military Industry, the prosthetic surgery usually didn't require that person's presence.

Standing in the operating room watching engineers "slice open" organisms was just a twisted hobby of some AI.

Shifting his perspective brought unexpected amusement. Chu Guang decided to set aside work issues for now while waiting for Yibers. Sipping the sweet black tea, he pondered his non-work-related memories from his time in Giant Stone City.

Perhaps because of the black tea in his hand, Alyssa first came to mind.

That young girl occasionally asked him some management questions during her free time and, as a token of appreciation for his troubles, she would politely offer him her personally brewed black tea and often share some overbaked cookies with him.

That polite and lovely girl was quite popular among everyone.

Especially the aunties in the city hall's kitchen treated her as their own daughter, often teaching her various cooking skills. And for these skills she never encountered before, she learned them happily without any signs of fatigue.

Being studious was an admirable trait.

Chu Guang always had a feeling that she might become a remarkable person in the future.

Especially when he found out that she was determined to go to Camp 101 with Little Fish and Pai to learn more, he was even more convinced of this.

They seemed to have formed a deep friendship at the festival; Little Fish even mentioned introducing Boss Xia to her.

Alyssa was also curious about how mercenaries lived.

Perhaps they would become good friends.

Thinking of Boss Xia, Chu Guang suddenly felt a bit guilty.

According to Little Fish, she was working on something impressive and had even skipped the festival to give them a surprise. She hadn't described exactly what it was, but Chu Guang guessed it most likely had to do with power armor.

Perhaps last time, he shouldn't have jokingly asked her to make a set of power armor, but clearly, she took that request seriously.

He rarely forced someone to do something beyond their capabilities, whether it was the indigenous people of this world or players from another world.

That once playful, food-loving, and lazy person becoming so diligent and studious to the point of missing such an interesting festival was something he had never expected...

"It seems I have disturbed you."

The sudden voice came from the table, and Yibers, with half of his body bathed in holographic light, bowed slightly.

His eyes, a mix of deep blue and light, carried a hint of teasing.

Setting down his tea, Chu Guang looked at him.

"No, I was waiting for you."

"Is that so?" Yibers smiled lightly, speaking in a refined and courteous tone, "Then what, esteemed manager, do you require?"

Chu Guang didn't respond but lightly swiped his index finger in the air, passing along the combat footage captured by the Burning Corps to him.

Staring at the pitiful mutant corpses soaked in blood plasma, a strange expression appeared on Yibers's face, as if appreciating an amusing piece of art.

His index finger rubbed his chin, he mused to himself with interest.

"Ah... the taste of blood, what was it that I said?"

Not wanting to deal with his eccentricities, Chu Guang got straight to the point.

"As for these prosthetics, I want to hear your thoughts."

"… With only photos and no physical body, it really is hard to make out much." Swiping right on the photo, Yibers commented with interest, "But the design is very creative, even specifically... it seems specifically tailored for mutant traits."

What he implied was that this thing wasn't captured but actually originally installed.

This revealed that the power behind the mutants not only possessed reliable prosthetic technology but also had the capacity to produce such technology.

Chu Guang couldn't help but frown.

What worried him was not the technology held by the enemy but the implications behind this technology.

The Torch Church had clearly not begun to explore how to use prosthetic technology to enhance mutants only after their arrival in Brocade River Province.

This set of combat gear was evidently well-improved.

Those fanatical lunatics had most likely been mingling with mutant tribes in other areas of the Wasteland for some time.

They provided mutants not only with food and breeding beds but also systematically made them stronger with prosthetic transformation technologies.

Watching Chu Guang's facial expression, Yibers smiled slightly and said,

"It seems that little issue couldn't escape your notice. I won't bother reminding you."

Chu Guang looked at him and asked,

"Hmm, I will pay special attention... By the way, how are those pieces of equipment you were developing for me coming along?"

"I was just about to report on that matter to you."

Yibers raised a finger, traced it lightly in the air, and soon a pale blue light gathered to form a uniquely designed rifle.

Simultaneously, a label appeared beside it giving a simple introduction to this special gear.

The entire rifle looked quite bulky and heavy, and its unique foregrip and handguard design made it resemble the P90 in reality.

However, its magazine was not inserted on top of the gun but in front of the trigger, like most conventional rifles.

Its most striking feature was naturally its caliber, a full 19 millimeters! It was capable of firing the legendary .75 caliber ammunition!

Though such a caliber was outrageous for an automatic rifle, because it was not 20 millimeters, it naturally counted as a rifle.

Realizing the caliber hadn't been listed wrong, Chu Guang was shocked.

Goodness!

A bomb gun?!

"…XB-1 heavy rifle, a new product from Huge Rock Military Industry! Of course, our products are naturally top quality!"

Watching Chu Guang's expression, Yibers explained further with a flowing tone and continued,

"It's worth mentioning that because the ammunition for this rifle employs a rocket propulsion principle, it accelerates a second time after leaving the barrel, hence there's about 10 meters of safe distance… In simple terms, being too close can reduce its impact. A range of one hundred to three hundred meters is just right, slightly farther doesn't matter much."

"Its damage mode is also different from traditional rifles. You might think it resembles a grenade, but it's actually similar to the directional release of a metal jet, like an armor-piercing bullet."

"I don't recommend equipping it on ordinary people. Although it's a second acceleration, it isn't a recoilless gun, and the recoil is not small. If you don't want to be disassembled by the vibration, it's best paired with a heavy exoskeleton or power armor, or maybe an Awakener focused on muscle enhancement."

"Similarly, I don't recommend it for attacking ordinary humans either, as much of the metal jet would exit through the back or the back of the head… This is too wasteful. It's like using artillery to hit a mosquito, not efficient at all."

"However, on the contrary, for fighting mutants, or variants with strong regenerative abilities, I dare say there isn't a more perfect product on the market! You could even use it against light vehicles, penetrating 20mm steel plates in one shot."

"Because firing it results in three distinct sounds, making it considerably noisy, how do you feel about the name 'Roarer'?"

Hearing Yibers' question, Chu Guang, still immersed in shock, came back to his senses and immediately said,

"I have no objections… But let's change the heavy rifle to bomb gun."

Yibers paused, his eyes lit up, and he said joyously,

"That's a great name, very descriptive!"

Chu Guang's expression was subtly complex.

This was no longer just descriptive; it was almost exactly the same.

"…It seems we really get along well, serving you is indeed the greatest honor of my life," Yibers stated, looking at the silent Chu Guang, then lavished a bit of flattery, "By the way, this weapon has just passed laboratory testing. If it's convenient, I'd like to see how it performs in actual combat on the battlefield before deciding how to design 'anti-mutant exoskeleton' and 'anti-mutant prosthetics'."

"That's easy to say," Chu Guang said immediately, "I plan to dispatch Jungle Corps to Brocade River Province to support Burning Corps' operations."

"They will cooperate with your experiments, and if necessary, you can use the terminal I provided you to give them side mission orders."

"Of course, whether to complete the side missions is up to them, so you'd better exercise this authority with caution."

Hearing this unbelievable offer, Yibers stared agape at Chu Guang, astonished.

Seeing the AI dumbfounded and silent, Chu Guang frowned slightly and asked,

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I mean… thank you, this is fantastic!" Yibers clenched his fists enthusiastically.

For more than a hundred years, nobody had ever offered him such significant support, not even dear Mr. Fang Ming had loosened the reins of command for him.

Yet this generous lord had done so without hesitation!

This was the first time he had felt such respect for an organic being… Maybe he should give him X-17.

No, better not, he hoped this lord would stay with him a little longer, that sort of thing had to be done in moderation.

Observing the continually shaking holographic image of Yibers, Chu Guang's eyebrows knitted tighter, and a strange expression flashed in his eyes.

Xiao Qi quietly expressed her concerns in his ear,

"Master… Is this guy really okay?"

To be honest, Chu Guang didn't know.

The AI of this world was too advanced for him, and to catch up with those old things, he was still slowly learning and understanding.

Maybe Yibers could be a trial.

This individual was entirely AI-designed, and in a way, unique in the Alliance.

"…Keep a close eye on him."

Sitting at the desk, Xiao Qi silently nodded.

"Alright."

Chapter 564 We're Here to Die!

The mutants based in Brocade River City had long grown accustomed to attacks from the Iron Tower Organization, and this time seemed no different from the last.

Both sides left behind over a dozen bodies, and after a big commotion, the skirmish hastily ended.

However, just like Chu Guang had guessed, the local mutant tribe was unlike others in different places—they had more fellows who were good at scheming.

Three armed trucks were blown up, nineteen mutant soldiers killed, including a centurion with 30% cybernetic body conversion.

For a band of guerrilla soldiers pieced together from this and that, such casualties were suspiciously high...

The next day, at dawn.

On the devastated streets stood a towering and magnificent giant.

His stature exceeded three meters; he was as robust as a wild bear with skin greenish-black in color, half his body was composed of granite-like muscles, and the other half sheathed in glossy, greasy steel interspersed with mottled rust. At a glance, it was hard to tell whether flesh was driving the steel, or the steel being commanded by the flesh.

His name was Qi Jia En, the leader of the Qi Tribe's secular faction, not only the strongest in the whole tribe but also the undisputed highest authority.

Staring at the tragic corpse before him, his eyebrows knotted like two centipedes, his shimmering pupils brewing something indiscernible.

At that moment, an aged mutant, hunched over and draped in a patterned cloth over his shoulders, stepped up beside him and whispered.

"Missiles, Gauss Rifles, power armor, and airplanes... These sophisticated toys aren't something those scattered soldiers would have. It's likely that humans from the north have set their sights on us."

The old man's name was Qi Gemo, the high priest of the Qi Tribe, over a hundred years old.

In the Qi Tribe, although most elderly priests belong to the ancient Ancestor Faction, this Gemo was an exception, standing completely with the younger secular faction.

And this was one of the reasons he replaced those revered old antiques as the high priest of the tribe and gained Jia En's trust.

"Where are they?" Jia En asked in a deep voice.

His voice was devoid of any fluctuation, yet Gemo still sensed the brewing anger in it.

He knew this superior all too well.

After all, he had watched this child grow up...

Gemo's gaze shifted slightly as he spoke in a very soft tone.

"I heard that a few days ago, an apostle from the Torch Church went to preach in a place called Dusty Town to the north of Brocade River City but has since disappeared without a trace."

"In the surrounding area of Brocade River City, it seems that Dusty Town is the only place that hasn't embraced the holy fire. Even Pinecone Wood Farmstead has become a puppet of The Church, and with only two to three hundred households, that village couldn't possibly survive on its own..."

Clearly.

Someone had helped them.

And who those people were, goes without saying.

Understanding Gemo's indirect counsel, Jia En's lips curled into a cold and ferocious smile, his sanguine gums exuding a bloodthirsty brutality.

"Og."

As his voice fell, a tall and muscular mutant warrior clad in heavy armor strode forward, kneeling on one knee before him, and said in a deep voice.

"What does the leader command?"

Jia En took a map from Gemo, glanced at it, and tossed it into the hands of the mutant warrior named Og, ordering in an even tone.

"You, take five hundred-man squads to that settlement called Dusty Town to the north, and avenge your brothers."

"The humans there—"

"Spare none!"

The Torch Church wished for them to take their share from the sheep pen with restraint, but since that place was not a sheep pen, there was nothing left to be said.

This was a necessary deterrent.

He wanted to remind those who disrespected them of the cost of their defiance.

Hearing that it was for avenging his brothers, Og's eyes immediately ignited with a towering fighting spirit and rage, clutching the crumpled map in his hand.

"Og!"

After leaving the leader's side, Og strode toward the open-top off-road vehicle parked on the roadside, bellowing at the driver to head to the military camp a few kilometers away.

Soon, a group of sloppy yet well-equipped mutant soldiers assembled at the gate, roughly five hundred in number.

Og, half-rising from the open-top off-road vehicle, grabbed a rifle thick as a thigh and raised it high, uttering a gruff roar.

"Og!!!"

"To slaughter those cowardly and unsightly bipeds!!"

That coarse roar seemed to carry a strange magic, igniting countless pairs of eyes looking up at him.

The gathered mutant soldiers in front of the gate raised their weapons high, shouting their anticipation for the upcoming massacre with excitement and crudeness.

"Og!!"

In the Qi Tribe, names were given special significance.

Only warriors recognized by the leader were granted the right to a written name, and only those who achieved enough merit were entitled to prefix their name with the tribe's surname.

Shouting one's name before the battle meant staking one's honor and a vow of victory.

And to shout the name of a commander was to respond to that vow!

"Move out!!" Og swung his hand, large as a fan, with authority.

Under his simple and crude commands, the mutant soldiers clamored aboard the hefty trucks.

Those who couldn't squeeze onto the vehicles huffed and puffed as they ran after them, as if they were hurrying to partake in a Bacchanalian feast, fearing they'd miss out by running slow.

A row of overloaded trucks, welded with ramming rods and steel plates, crawled along, leading a swarm of green heads and pitch-black gun muzzles toward the outskirts.

Flanking the main force, eight armed off-road vehicles prowled, with muscles the size of buns stuffing the space full to the brim.

It must be admitted that this manner of march also had a certain "Goblin" style to it...

However, these "Og" guys apparently didn't notice that a drone was circling overhead, and it had been watching them for quite some time...

On the other side, 50 kilometers away in Dusty Town, a thin morning fog enveloped the area, which was still peaceful and tranquil.

The survivors living here had never seen a Viper transport plane, which could fly and spit fire, so they believed the players coming from above were "heavenly soldiers" sent by the emperor.

The local residents seemed to have formed a self-consistent set of logic or belief, and they had no doubt about the emperor who saved them, as well as the Big Horn Rat and the Great Antler God under his command...

"What the hell is this emperor?!"

Night Ten, who learned of the town's situation from the mayor, grabbed Trash Older Brother and asked, "And how the hell did I become a genetic prototype?!"

Junk Lord embarrassedly glanced at Tranquility nearby.

"You have to ask this guy."

Tranquility also had a subtly expressive face and coughed before saying,

"I was just joking; I didn't expect they would take it seriously... And genetic prototype, don't you think it's cool?"

Difficult for the strong glanced at him displeased.

"Cool my ass! These folks believed in the Big Horn Rat so easily, and it's all because you spouted an avalanche of bullshit."

Tranquility was immediately unhappy.

"What do you mean 'avalanche of bullshit'? I suspect your loyalty!"

Difficult for the strong spit out.

"Ptui, human crap!"

Watching the endless argument between the man and the mouse, Fang Chang shifted his gaze subtly.

"Probably, we have different game inventories."

He neither got the point of their argument nor could he insert himself into their conversation.

Suddenly remembering something, Trash Older Brother quickly pulled Night Ten and asked,

"Right, I almost forgot, what about the fertilizer and seeds I asked you to bring? What about the tractor and stuff?"

"How could those things fit on an airplane?!"

Night Ten rolled his eyes, but seeing his brother's anxious face, he sighed and said, "Don't worry, I put them on a truck. They should arrive in a few days."

"Really?!"

The amber pupils immediately lit up, and Junk Lord's face, which had been downcast a second ago, instantly burst into smiles, chuckling as he hooked Night Ten's shoulder.

"Thanks, brother!"

"No problem, let me ride next time."

"Cough, it's not impossible for you to call me 'daddy.'"

"%￥#@!"

As the group was shooting the breeze, the two Viper transport planes that returned to Giant Stone City last night suddenly trailed two arcs through the edge of the forest.

The high-speed jets of plasma wake kicked up a large amount of dust as the two black aircraft slowly descended onto the center of the small town.

"The emperor above!!"

Seeing the uniquely designed planes, Dusty Town's mayor Qin Baitian excitedly clenched his fists; realizing what he saw, he quickly led the way and kneeled on the ground.

The residents who came out to watch the excitement also excitedly prostrated themselves, praying devoutly facing the planes.

Twenty players dressed in exoskeletons jumped out from the cabin.

They were all wearing K-10 "Iron Wall" heavy exoskeleton suits and holding rifles that were so large they looked like oversized bricks in their hands.

Their hefty caliber was like a shortened version of the 20mm Cavalry Gun, which did not seem out of place compared to the thick armor they were wearing.

Watching the residents prostrated on the street, the leading Midnight Chicken Killing froze momentarily, overwhelmed by the grand kowtowing ceremony.

What on earth was happening?

Just as he was at a loss, a familiar voice suddenly came from not far away.

"Holy shit?! Brother Chicken?!"

Seeing the leading Midnight Chicken Killing, Night Ten widened his eyes in surprise, walked up to pat him on the shoulder, and continued with a cheeky smile.

"Long time no see, not chopping trees anymore?"

Although occasionally seen on the forum, it had indeed been a long time since they met in the game.

During the whole battle campaign of Luo Xia Province, the Jungle Corps rarely engaged in the frontlines but rather roamed around the northern borders of the Alliance, hunting Variants nesting near Dawn City and tracking members of the Bear Tribe fluttering at the border between River Valley Province and Luo Xia Province.

There were mountains surrounded by steep ranges that were impassable, where supplies couldn't follow where people could go, but this obviously wasn't a problem for Midnight Older Brother.

A group of strength type brutes, each wielding a logging axe, forcefully blazed a trail through the jungle.

In this process, they also discovered many survivors hiding in the mountains to avoid the Bone Chewing Chaos and integrated these unexpected gains into Dawn City, somewhat expanding the Alliance's territory.

Among the many playstyles in Wasteland OL, the tree-chopping approach led by Midnight Older Brother was quite unique.

Although this gameplay might be mundane, making few players stick with it, this long-term physical cultivation was a good leveling path for strength types, hardly much different from grinding on the battlefield or construction sites.

Currently, his level was LV34, only 2 levels behind Old White.

If not for his brawny combat style and slightly higher casualty rate, he probably would have already topped the strength type rankings.

Greeting Night Ten, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, Midnight Chicken Killing smiled honestly.

"Yep, chopping trees is still on, but the Manager asked us to chop in a different area, so we switched posts with Springs Older Brother!"

Noticing the big gun in his hand, Night Ten curiously asked,

"What's that thing you got there? How come I've never seen it in the shop?"

"XB-1 'Roarer' Bomb Gun! Fires 19mm explosion arrows!" Seeing the envy in the players' eyes, Midnight Chicken Killing slapped his weapon and excitedly said, "This thing is probably the largest caliber light weapon the Alliance has for now... Currently, this equipment is still in testing, and we're here for that reason."

"Holy shit?! A Bomb Gun?"

Hearing this introduction, I think Tranquility's eyes went straight, and her obsessed expression fell just short of writing "want" on her face.

Qi Gaen looked envious too, but after glancing at his own small frame, he resignedly gave up.

That gun was about the size of a whole rat to him; after all, Goblin Technology equipment suited him better.

If only Mosquito Brother didn't mess around so often.

"Good grief... 19mm?! You call this thing a gun?!"

Standing next to Midnight Chicken Killing, a Picheng Paratrooper laughed and said.

"This thing really does pack a punch, we tried it out, and it could blast through a steel plate as thick as a thumb! The only downside is the low ammo capacity; the magazine can only hold twenty rounds, and with a double drum, that's just fifty. Even wearing an exoskeleton, you can only carry three drums."

Night Eleven enviously reached out and touched it.

"Come on, brother, let me have a try."

Xiao Xiaosha Chong smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"You, with your Perception type, forget about it. You need a minimum of 30 points in Strength or you have to wear a heavy exoskeleton."

Night Ten complained, "Damn! Can't I just wear an exoskeleton?"

Midnight Chicken Killing curiously glanced at Night Eleven.

"Speaking of which, where's your power armor?"

He'd heard that this guy showed off quite a bit during those few days in Giant Stone City, not even sparing the batteries, practically welding the thing onto himself.

Night Ten scratched his head, awkwardly saying,

"... My health bar was drained, it's sent back for major repairs."

Xiao Xiaosha Chong chuckled, "Haha! My condolences!"

Night Ten, who had already been the butt of jokes on the Forum, sighed.

"Damn it... Next time, I should just get a lighter piece of equipment."

Last night's flight had taken back his power armor, and the repair bill was a whopping hundred thousand silver coins, enough to buy a "Type 6" Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton.

Taking a lesson from the last battle, he planned to follow Fang Chang's suggestion, get a lighter exoskeleton, and then add some plug-ins like optical camouflage and nitrogen jets.

That would better suit his stealthy shooting style.

"Enough chit-chat, where's Old White? I need to talk to him."

As he was speaking, Midnight Chicken Killing glanced behind Night Ten and happened to see Old White and Wild Wind approaching from the direction of the town's gate.

"I'm here, long time no see."

After greeting Midnight Chicken Killing, Old White looked at him with a serious face and continued, "I'm sorry to bring you unfortunate news; it's not a good time for you to be here, we need to evacuate."

Xiao Xiaosha Chong paused.

"Evacuate?"

"Yes."

Accompanying Old White, Wild Wind nodded and continued, "I saw from the sky just now, the Mutant tribe in the urban area is on the move, and a large number of Mutant Soldiers have completed their assembly and are heading our way."

At this news, everyone showed surprised looks on their faces.

Especially Trash Older Brother, Qi Gaen, and Tranquility, the three of them were immediately dumbstruck.

Swallowing hard, Tranquility asked with a trembling voice,

"... How many people?"

Wild Wind replied, "At least five hundred."

Night Ten took in a sharp breath.

"Damn... that's even more than what we encountered last night."

Qi Gaen smacked his forehead, looking distressed.

"We're completely screwed."

Not even recovered from what Wild Wind had said, Quit smoking asked with a bewildered face,

"Wait a second, how do they know we're here?"

Wild Wind was about to explain when Night Ten rolled his eyes and cut in,

"It's obvious, isn't it? Those green-skinned muscle-heads might be hotheaded, but they're not blind. Brocade River City is the only place not walled off by those Church lunatics, not to mention we gave them a taste of their own medicine a few days ago, and that missionary named Zhang Zhengyang is still locked up!"

Fang Chang looked at Night Ten in surprise.

Well-played.

The kid was improving.

"In short, that is the current situation. We need to start organizing the residents to evacuate immediately. We have about half an hour to pack up, communication devices and archival tools must be taken, and take as much food as possible..."

After issuing the order to the Army brothers, Old White turned to Trash Older Brother and said earnestly, "Trash Older Brother, please explain the situation to that NPC... thanks."

Even though he himself spoke United Human, his authority there was clearly not as good as a certain talking Lizard. Time was of the essence, and there was no room for delay.

"Alright."

Despite feeling mixed emotions, Trash Older Brother understood that now was not the time for stubbornness, and he nodded lightly.

He approached the bewildered Mayor Qin, succinctly explained the situation, and instructed him to evacuate.

The old man couldn't believe it at first and kept asking whether it was true, but seeing the serious demeanor of the "God", he ultimately abandoned his unrealistic hopes and rushed off to notify everyone.

Thanks to those two planes earlier, many people were peeking out of their homes to watch the excitement, and news quickly spread throughout the town.

Still, upon hearing that the murderous Mutants were coming, everyone's faces turned pale.

There was clanging from every house, men and women arguing, and children crying. The peaceful and tranquil past seemed like a mere dream.

Watching the chaotic streets, Tranquility, who had been holding back for quite a while, finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Can't we... defend the place for a while?"

He knew the defensive fortifications here were somewhat lacking, a one-meter-high short wall and a few dozen rifles wouldn't be able to stop the Mutants.

But the thought of abandoning this place still pained his heart.

Glancing at the newcomer, Fang Chang could probably guess his thoughts at the moment, but still told him the hard truth.

"It's difficult."

"We have too little time to prepare, and with just fifty kilometers from the city district, they'll quickly catch up to us. Our main force and logistics are still on the way. Even if we fend off their first wave of attack, we'll be quickly overwhelmed by the second and third waves."

"Besides, this place is essentially flat land. We lack adequate defensive fortifications and sufficient weapons and ammo reserves. The most practical approach right now is to move fifty kilometers north and establish a new operational base in the higher terrain of the mountains."

"I'm sorry, we might have dragged you down," Old White said apologetically, patting the newcomer's shoulder with a light sigh, "All we can manage is to take the residents away."

Tranquility looked down, his face saddening as he gently shook his head.

"Don't say that... even without what happened last night, the Torch Church wouldn't have let this place be. Without you, we'd have been gone on the first day."

No matter how strong Trash Older Brother is, he'd have a hard time against a hundred lunatics with automatic rifles...

Half an hour passed quickly.

The residents of the town had finished packing their bags, standing at the town gates with their large and small bags, families in tow. The adults carried loads on their shoulders, the elderly led the kids, and in every pair of eyes was written panic, helplessness, and confusion.

Having left the land they relied on for survival, they didn't know where to go next, let alone how to live through the coming year.

But with the Mutants coming, they had no choice but to flee.

If one could still bargain with the Looters, then, in the eyes of the Mutants, these people were barely different from livestock.

Men would almost instantly be killed and made into jerky; women, whether fifty or five years old, would be locked in cages.

Trash Older Brother cast a complex look back at the small town and the residents at the gate and suddenly made up his mind, stepping forward to face Old White.

"I plan on staying."

It seemed Difficult for the strong had thought the same; his claw rested on Trash Older Brother's tail as he uttered a deep sigh.

"Rare to be on the same page with this dumb Lizard... I might as well stay too."

I think Tranquility also stepped forward.

"Count me in."

Old White looked at the three with surprise, his expression growing serious.

"Are you sure about this... It's not much different from courting death."

I think Tranquility scratched his head apologetically, managing a smile.

"It's okay... I've saved using your Device. Three days it is, then. And by staying behind, I can buy you some more time to retreat."

Before, he didn't quite understand the unusual sentiment that A-test players had towards the Alliance.

It was just a game, yet they'd put themselves entirely in the shoes of the Alliance, considering the collective benefits out of sense, even risking the chance of not being able to save to undertake endless endeavors.

But now, he suddenly got it.

Although they were not natives of this Virtual world and shared no blood relation with the NPCs, this was a home they had built together, brick by brick.

Just like in Minecraft, the items in their backpacks were never the players' save point; the home they built together was.

And he felt the same way now.

Whether it was the cobblestones that paved the roads or the windmill hanging on the mill, every blade of grass here recorded his memories of the past six months.

He remembered clearly when he and Trash Older Brother, along with Difficult for the strong, first came here—a place with only a crooked watchtower and a cluster of makeshift thatch huts, a group of merciless Looters and a crowd of emaciated, starving residents.

Now they had finally managed to provide a semblance of normal life for everyone.

If anyone wanted to destroy this—

Then bring it on.

Even as a novice, he would do everything in his power to delay them for at least two seconds with his life!

Old White stared at him for a while, seeing the determination in his eyes, nodded, and took a modified 20mm "Cavalry Gun," with altered magazine and receiver, from among his brothers and placed it in his hands.

Taking the heavy firepower reflexively, Tranquility's arm sank under the weight, and he looked up at Old White with surprise.

Old White addressed him, "The LD-47 isn't very effective against Mutants, use this instead."

Grasping the hefty weapon, Tranquility expressed his gratitude.

"Thanks..."

Old White smiled.

"Don't mention it. You've bought us time to retreat. We should be thanking you."

"Ah, cut the sappiness, you're making me embarrassed!" Trash Older Brother slapped Old White's shoulder with a grin, "Killing Looters is lame; Mutants are where the excitement's at! Watch for my news on the official website, if I don't take down twenty or thirty today, I'll write my name backwards!"

Watching the three bidding farewell to everyone, Midnight Chicken Killing, who had been silent, suddenly burst into a hearty laugh.

"Ha-ha, how could we miss out on such a thrilling affair!"

Trash Older Brother gave Brother Chicken a glance.

"What are you going on about now?"

Looking at the surprised crowd, Midnight Chicken Killing grinned.

"Almost forgot to tell you."

"We came here to die!"

-

(This week, without seeing the chapter updates, nobody is urging me to update, and I'm not used to it. _(:зゝ∠)_)

Chapter 565: Blood and Fire Melee!

Excluding the Big Horn Rat's followers, 23 people ultimately decided to stay, including twenty heavy infantrymen from the Jungle Corps and Dusty Town's "Three Pillar Gods."

Generally speaking, if the equipment disparity was not significant, with the HP bars, basic defense, and recovery ability of the mutants, humans stood almost no chance against an equal number in combat.

Even a challenge between 500 against 500 would be exceptionally difficult, let alone 23 against 500.

Especially in a frontal battlefield confrontation, there was hardly any room to maneuver, unlike guerrilla warfare which allowed for some dragging.

Just as Old White have said, this was no different from committing suicide.

However, be it rats or lizards, fiery battle intent blazed in their eyes, showing no trace of fear toward the impending slaughter.

Death was merely a destination—

They were all undying heroic spirits.

Walking up to Old White, dressed in the Hunter exoskeleton, Trash King solemnly said,

"I'll entrust those residents to you."

Houses could be rebuilt

As long as the people remembered lived,

Old White nodded seriously.

"I promise, when you return, your followers will be just as numerous, not one less."

Trash King cracked a smile.

"Hey, I'll remember that."

After speaking, he waved his claw and casually walked off to meet up with his brothers from the Jungle Corps.

The group split up, moving in the opposite direction of the main force.

Watching Trash King's tall and burly silhouette, Qin Baitian hesitated a moment before finally asking, unable to help himself, "Lord... isn't the Great Antler God coming with us?"

Watching the direction the group was leaving, Old White squinted his eyes.

"He has a mission to fulfill, and you will see him again."

Qin Baitian sighed bitterly.

He was old, but not senile.

No matter how powerful that lord was, that was still five hundred mutants. During the years he had lived here, he had heard stories about how a single mutant had slaughtered half a village.

That phrase about seeing again…

It was probably just a small comfort.

…

Within the commanding team, Org, sitting on an open-top off-road vehicle, gazed unwaveringly at the wasteland to the north.

In those bloodthirsty pupils, glimmers of hatred flickered.

Oru was his brother and also his father.

The old priest who delivered him said they were both born in the same tent, even from the same human mother.

This was extremely rare within the mutant tribe.

Very few humans lived that long.

Even awakeners mostly died by their seventh or eighth year, taken to the kitchens by butchers.

Perhaps because the human who gave birth to him had extraordinary strength, he felt a distinct difference between himself and the other mutants born at the same time.

Stronger muscles, swifter reactions, and a tougher physique... He caught the eye of a Centurion at the age of seven and joined the same hunting team as his brother, becoming a hunter in their tribe.

Perhaps because of their blood relation, his brother took especially great care of him, involving him in everything he did.

His first hunt, his first human meal, his first village slaughter, his first praise and ceremonial naming from the chieftain, and even his mechanical alteration… One could say, every significant event in his life was witnessed under Oru's guidance.

However, Oru was dead.

And his death was unspeakably horrible.

When he saw the body, he wanted to grind his teeth to dust and swore in his heart to torture the human who killed his brother until their final breath.

Therefore, when he learned from the chieftain that his brother's killer was hiding in a place called Dusty Town and was given permission to slaughter that village, every cell in his body trembled with excitement.

He could already see the groveling, despicable, weak, and scrawny bipeds trembling under his feet.

Ah, how utterly disgraceful…

It wasn't just hatred and rage burning in his pupils, but also a glint of excitement.

"Faster!" Org roared in a rough tone.

The mutant driving the vehicle grabbed the intercom on the console and shouted excitedly into the frequency.

"Org says faster!"

Rough voices echoed over the frequency.

"Org!!"

The wheels of the vehicles spun faster, and the mutant soldiers chasing after them puffed and panted as they ran, their drool flying everywhere. Soon, gasping for breath, they began to fall behind.

It was always like this on missions.

There were always a few dim-witted fish who couldn't squeeze onto the truck and couldn't keep up with the squad, wandering off who knows where. Occasionally they would bring back a man or woman as proof that they hadn't been slacking or deserting.

But none of that mattered.

The "Qi" tribe never relied on those stragglers, but on true warriors!

At this moment, the group of green beasts hadn't noticed that a fully armed group of players had already ambushed them on their necessary path.

In the forest.

Watching the mighty team on the plains, the Picheng Paratrooper holding the binoculars couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Damn... How are these animals running so fast?"

The record for the 42-kilometer marathon on Earth had just "broken 2," but this speed seemed to be just basic for the mutants.

Their strong cardiorespiratory capacity endowed them with terrifying endurance, covering four-fifths of fifty kilometers in less than two hours!

And this was across a wilderness with no roads.

Overlooking the vast dust shadows on the ground through a drone, the Ground Model spoke solemnly.

"They're starting to slow down."

Picheng Paratrooper furrowed his brows.

"Have they spotted us?"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong shook his head.

"No, it's probably just normal tactical strategy, conserving energy before engaging the enemy... I wonder if they'll rest for a while."

He paused, then continued.

"If they don't plan to continue moving after resting, now would be the best time to strike."

"Right..." Midnight Chicken Killing nodded soberly, raised his right fist and waved, "Proceed according to the plan."

A spark of excitement ignited in pairs of eyes, and the communications channel soon transmitted a uniform response.

"Roger!"

The hunt began!

Twenty people split into five squads and quickly moved along the jungle to the mandatory path of the mutants, spreading out in an arc facing outward.

One of the anti-tank squads advanced, including the squad leader, with four players pulling out their RPG Rocket Launchers aiming at the moving convoy.

Silently waiting for the target to come within range, Midnight Chicken Killing immediately ordered through the communications channel.

"Fire!!"

The moment the order was given, all four players triggered nearly simultaneously, sending rockets trailing thick white smoke toward the distant convoy.

There was almost no time to react.

The first truck took a direct hit, igniting sparks in the convoy, and three trucks stalled on the spot.

Caught off guard, a dozen trucks either slammed on the brakes or swerved, awkwardly clumping together in the wilderness.

If the Looters faced such a sudden attack, even if their morale didn't fall by half, it would make the stunned part hesitate.

However, for the kill-crazed mutants, it was a completely different story.

A dozen mutants were thrown out of the trucks by inertia, but after a rough landing, they quickly got up cursing and swearing.

The ones squished together in the truck jabbered as they jumped down, grabbing weapons haphazardly and sprinting towards the direction of the forest.

They were like animals—

The difference was that they were holding large-caliber assault rifles in their hands.

"Charge!! Kill them all!!"

Sitting in the passenger side of the off-road vehicle, Oru roared loudly, slapped the driver's shoulder hard, then slapped the machine gunner on the vehicle's roof away, grabbed the machine gun from the back and started firing wildly into the forest.

Hot casings clinked and clanged fall inside the vehicle, and the muzzle flash illuminated his fierce gums and twisted facial muscles, weaving a net of traces across the plain.

He roared like a beast.

"Die!! Hahaha!"

Bullets whizzed into the jungle, shattering the thick trunks, with calibers at least .50 and above!

The players who fired off a salvo quickly ducked down, moved to a new location, and fired two more rounds of RPGs, then put away their launchers and pulled out their XB-1 "Roarer" Bomb Guns, unlocking the safety.

Seeing all teammates nearly in combat position, Midnight Chicken Killing yelled loudly, leading by firing the trigger.

"Fire at will—!"

The explosive roar of the muzzles instantly filled the woods, as thick flames burst from the forest.

Like locusts, the storm of bullets slammed into the advancing mutant soldiers, knocking the leading mutant soldier flying.

The massive recoil spread a trench under his feet, and the Ground Model, holding the "Roarer," shivered his teeth while excitedly shouting.

"Holy crap! Brother Chicken! This power is freaking awesome!"

A shot made two sounds; it wasn't exaggerated!

The bullet would ignite mid-air for a second time, dragging a fiery tail toward the target, and upon impact, it triggered the primer of the bullet, releasing streams of metal as hot as magma!

This thing wasn't like an assault rifle at all—it was like a rapid-fire rocket!

A charging mutant sentinel was blasted in the chest, igniting sparks at his back, and without even a chance to scream, he fell dead on the spot.

The mutant heavy infantry in steel breastplates were similarly disadvantaged. The thick steel plate could handle rifle bullets, but against the metal streams, it was as flimsy as paper.

Oru, sitting in the off-road vehicle, was also startled by the firepower.

A bullet hit just behind his vehicle, sending sparks flying in the back, roasting the two mutant warriors behind him, scorching his back as well, and making him break out in a cold sweat.

"Damn it! What the hell is this thing?!"

It was his first time seeing something that could kill a mutant with one shot!

Fortunately, the bullets were slow-moving, considered subsonic ammunition, making it difficult to hit a high-speed moving vehicle.

Ogur's mind raced like lightning, and he suddenly grabbed the walkie-talkie, shouting frantically through the communication channel.

Upon hearing his command, eight off-road vehicles dropped the "tails" hanging at their rears and serpentined to the front line of the infantry, carving "S" shapes across the wilderness.

The clouds of dust and what seemed like man-made exhaust not only obscured the convoy's tracks but also provided cover for the charging infantry.

Staring at the large cloud of dust rising ahead, Midnight Chicken Killing cursed under his breath.

Old White wasn't kidding.

These mutants were no ordinary foe—they rapidly adapted and had even mastered the tactic of using smoke for cover.

This somewhat hindered the Jungle Corps' aiming.

However—

These brawny green-skinned fellows certainly didn't expect the real trouble to come from beneath their feet.

Because their attention was fixed ahead, they completely missed the situation underfoot. The leading mutants soon stumbled and face-planted into the ground, rolling several times, obscured by the smoke, and then tripping those behind them.

"Roar—!"

With a furious roar, a mutant spat out the mud in its mouth and struggled to stand, only to shockingly discover that clusters of dried grass in front had been tied into dead knots.

What the hell was all this?!

There was more.

The grass was strewn with nails, ropes, and various holes that looked like they had been dug by groundhogs. These traps, though not highly damaging and crudely set up, were exceedingly insulting.

Flaming bullets continued to whizz through the air, leaving no time to think.

People tripped over traps from time to time, followed by painful roars. The rightmost hundred-man team of mutants soon slowed down significantly.

Watching one green-skinned brute after another go down, Difficult for the Strong, hidden behind bushes, let out an excited scream.

"Charge them! Poke their eyes! Bite their throats! Kill them all!"

However, contrary to his wishes, the minion rats wouldn't listen to him, nor could they understand what he was saying.

Startled by those suddenly intruding large green fellows, a few rats still rigging the traps chirped in shock and turned tail to run.

Despite a Big Horn Rat's incessant squeaking nearby, they didn't heed any commands, focusing solely on escaping for their lives.

"Darn it! These cowardly little creatures!"

Watching the panic-stricken minion rats, Difficult for the Strong cursed, then quickly remembered these guys were, after all, rats.

"MMP! I knew I couldn't count on these creatures!"

Watching the mutants struggling to rise from the ground, he gritted his teeth, pulled the dagger hanging at his waist, and charged with a howl.

"Long live the Manager!"

Startled by this knee-high obese rat, the newly risen mutant soldier paused noticeably.

During this moment of hesitation, Difficult for the Strong rushed close and frenziedly stabbed at his leg.

"Ow—!"

The dagger sliced through flesh, and the mutant roared in pain. He kicked out furiously but struck empty air, which allowed Difficult for the Strong to swiftly move behind him.

"Die!!"

Taking advantage of the mutant's forward lean, Difficult for the Strong, with a dagger in his mouth and all four paws at work, climbed up the left leg and brutally stabbed it into his throat.

Slash—!

The knife cut through an artery, and hot blood burst forth like blaze. The mutant, with eyes wide as copper bells, kneeled on the ground, blood pouring out rapidly, still unaware of what had happened before he breathed his last.

"Ptui! This blood stinks like hell!"

Spitting, Difficult for the Strong bit his dagger and scampered down the mutant's back.

However, just as he lunged at another mutant, a massive force hit him from the side, sending him flying and rolling twice on the ground.

His right half completely numb, the dagger slipped from his mouth.

Regaining his senses, Difficult for the Strong realized that a shrapnel had torn open his right side from limb to belly.

If not for the pain suppression, the blow alone would have been enough to knock him out.

The mutant soldier standing nearby smirked, stroked the forestock under the barrel, and ejected a thick shell two thumb sizes from the gun chamber.

"Crap… a shotgun!"

Difficult for the Strong cursed again, barely twitched his left forelimb, and pulled the pin hidden at his waist, sending a flame darting into his waist pack.

It held half a kilo of dynamite.

Perhaps this was indeed the proper way to play a rat.

The mutant took great strides towards him, reached out with an iron pincer-like hand, grabbed his fat neck, and lifted him from the ground.

Just as he was trying to figure out what this fat rat was all about, the previously weary rat suddenly gave a wicked smile.

I'll go first.

The rest—

I leave to you!

He screamed at the top of his sharp voice.

"Long live Lord Manager!"

The fire exploded in an instant!

The mutant, now missing half an arm and his head, studded with numerous shrapnel pieces, fell silently to the ground.

The burst of flames on the wilderness was like a stone thrown into a lake, quickly swallowed up in the tide-like onslaught.

However, to the trembling little creatures, that inconspicuous flame shone bright like a burst of fireworks.

In that instant—

Their "Big Horn Rat" turned into "Light"!

"Brother Difficult!"

Staring at the exploding flames with eyes about to split, Tranquility roared while lying in the forest, her index finger welded tightly to the trigger of her "Cavalry Gun."

The 20mm muzzle continuously spewed tongues of flame, dragging armor-piercing incendiary bullets into the noisy barrage like a cluster of flickering flames in the wind.

Neither the traps and ambushes of "Difficult for the strong" nor the 20mm Cavalry Gun in her hands could hold the mutants for long.

The Lizards lurking in the forest silently sharpened their claws.

They were waiting for an opportunity...

An opportunity to enter and reap havoc!

"Twenty..." muttered Trash, "If even two rats can be killed, I must kill at least twenty!"

The final hundred meters disappeared in an instant, leaving hundreds of corpses behind as the armed mutant troop finally broke into the jungle.

The Jungle Corps kept firing while retreating, completely dragging the mutant troops into the narrow visibility of the dense jungle.

At a distance where you can almost smell the breath of the enemy, the bomb gun with its 10m safety distance became useless.

Not just the bomb gun—

Except for high-caliber machine guns or shotguns, all long-range weapons were almost useless at the moment, being unable to aim for headshots.

Of course, the same was true for the mutants.

The K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton provided twenty players of the Jungle Corps with extremely sturdy armor, capable of absorbing the kinetic energy of bullets at the expense of armor deformation.

Unless hit squarely with a burst or unfortunately hitting a vital spot, it was pretty difficult to die.

Clearly, the other side knew this, so they didn't lay on the ground to shoot back but instead charged at high combat casualties to engage in close combat with the players.

Midnight Chicken Killing made a swift decision, releasing the "Roarer" in his hand and drawing out a logging axe that hung from his "Iron Wall" exoskeleton.

The sharp blade of the axe could split thick pine trees, naturally capable of cleaving through the necks and skulls of mutants.

Facing the approaching mutant warriors, he didn't retreat but advanced instead, bellowing and striking down fiercely with the axe.

The vertically chopping axe, carrying a thunderous momentum, left the mutant soldier with no time to react, not expecting the human in front of him to brawl. His skull was instantly split open, red and white fluids splashing about, even chopping off teeth.

Kicking the cumbersome corpse aside, Midnight Chicken Killing reached behind with his left hand, pulling another axe from his back.

The dark breastplate splattered with red and white, his blood-soaked figure resembled a demon of the forest, both axes emitting a chilling gleam.

The nearby approaching mutant warriors, startled by his demonic appearance, involuntarily halted their steps.

This guy—

Was unlike any prey they had ever consumed!

"Roar—!"

Channeling their fear into a battle roar, a mutant centurion clad in heavy armor stepped forward, swinging his nail hammer forcefully.

The whistling hammer, dragging a gust of wind, carried a terrifying kinetic force like a cannonball, seemingly able to indent even tank armor.

If this hit landed, even if it didn't kill, it would leave one a vegetable.

Just as this lethal strike was about to smash into the human soldier's face, the mutant centurion saw a blur before him, followed by excruciating pain along his forearm.

The hand holding the nail hammer was chopped off by a sideways swing of the axe!

"Ow—!"

Screaming in pain, he staggered back, not even stabilizing before another gust aimed at his face.

Clang—

The vertically chopping blade once again smashed a skull.

All this happened in mere breaths!

"...Two!"

Drenched in scalding hot blood and brain matter, Midnight Chicken Killing stared at the halted mutant warriors, unable to suppress the excitement in his throat.

"Completely insane!"

He roared loudly, swinging both axes as he charged them.

Watching the man charging at them like a meteor, a rare panic surged across the dark green faces.

It had always been them chasing those weak bipeds running, watching them trip in the forests, crying and begging for mercy.

Never had anyone dared to face them head-on like this moment, not fleeing but instead charging towards them.

This guy was unlike any of the humans they had preyed upon before—

No.

He wasn't even human!

The real hunt had just begun.

The twenty players of the Jungle Corps and the green-skinned brutes who stormed into the forest engaged in a bloody melee, the swinging axes like rolling meat grinders, harvesting green heads amidst the pungent smell of gunpowder.

For the players standing here, chopping necks was no different from chopping trees, and both were their best skills.

This was the jungle.

This was their home ground!

Chapter 566: Bloody Battle in the Jungle!

Waves of Mutant Soldiers charged at the Jungle Corps, their beast-like roars and the clanging collision with metal shaking the entire forest.

"Charge!! Use your sticks and hammers to smash them into flesh mud!!"

"Ogg!!!"

Yelling at the top of his lungs, Ogg urged his subordinates to move forward.

However, before long, a Mutant Sentinel staggered out of the woods, his face pale with panic, reporting to him.

"Captain Gulu is dead! More than half of his brothers are casualties—"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by an irate roar.

"Waste!!"

With fists clenched, Ogg's eyes bulged with rage, the whites threaded with blood, and his red gums seemed to grind out blood.

There were only about twenty people opposite!

No matter where such a small number of humans were placed, they could be submerged in minutes, not even enough to get stuck in his brothers' teeth!

But now—

His command of over five hundred brothers was being staunchly held back by these twenty people, even losing a Centurion!

To him, this was an immense dishonor!

"These buckets of rice! Worse than pigs!"

As Ogg roared in anger, a bloodthirsty howl pierced through the forest, and the area ahead seemed as if it had been hit by a shell, stirring up clouds of dust.

The twenty or thirty Mutant Warriors who were previously sent in seemed to be struck head-on by the howl, causing everyone to halt in their steps.

Subconsciously raising his arm to block the dust, Ogg looked in the direction of the noise, just in time to see two Mutant Warriors being chopped in half at the waist!

And the two machine guns they were holding had not even had the chance to fire before they were smashed into pieces by the swooping claws!

His green pupils suddenly contracted as Ogg's gaze met those amber pupils.

It was a formidable Claw of Death, its body clad in a mechanical exoskeleton, its hot breath distorting the bloodlust and excitement in its pupils.

It was like a hungry velociraptor that had finally found its moment to enter, vibrating with excitement at the imminent hunt.

And most unbelievably, this Variant could speak human language!

Ogg was momentarily dumbfounded.

Mind interference... Wasn't that a technique of their allies, the Torch Church?!

"Welcome death!!"

Facing the charging Mutant Warriors, Junk Lord had no intention of dodging; with an excited battle roar, he brandished his claws and charged.

The two most threatening Gunmen had been dealt with by him.

Next was the Mutant holding a shotgun; just as he aimed, he was whipped away by a tail, followed by another claw strike that pierced straight through his heart.

"Ogh—!"

The Mutant cried out in pain, grabbed Junk Lord's claws with both hands, his muscles coalescing into lumps.

With the Mutants' almost aberrant wound healing ability, some stronger ones could even recover from a bullet-shattered heart.

But if it was completely ripped out—

That was another matter.

"Die for me!!"

The claw plunged into the chest squeezed tight, and with a "pfft," a burst of blood mist and flesh spewed from the Mutant's thoracic cavity.

Staring dead-eyed at the Claw of Death before it, the emerald pupils gradually lost their ferocity, and the burly arms also lost their strength.

"Three!!"

With a cruel smirk at the corner of his mouth, Junk Lord violently withdrew his right claw, dropping the corpse and then charging towards the next target.

The targeted Mutant's eyes flashed with panic; he fired his assault rifle in a hurry, but Junk Lord, moving as quick as lightning, dodged low and with an upward swipe of a claw, shaved off the entire jaw.

The Mutant Soldiers nearby raised their guns to aid, but surrounded by their own kind, they couldn't aim precisely at the swift figure.

In the breath of a few moments, two more Mutants, lacking arms and legs, fell in a piteous state.

Thick blood completely dyed Junk Lord red, even the misty breath he exhaled seemed to carry a stench of rusty iron.

His breathing was heavy, but without a trace of fatigue; instead, the ferocity and battle lust burning in his pupils grew even more intense.

"Six!"

The surrounding Mutant Warriors were stunned by this ferocious beast, anger and horror twisting their dark green faces.

Even in those savage, bloodthirsty, and fearless eyes, a hint of cowardice and fear finally emerged...

These half-human, half-demon creatures were more ferocious than they were!

Their pride in their strength and bravery crumbled before these beings; even their numbers couldn't overpower them.

Even a flicker of unnoticed panic crossed Ogg's face for a moment.

"You fools, you outnumber them by dozens! A spit from each of you could drown that reptile!"

"Charge up! All of you, charge!"

"Roar—!"

Hearing the leader's urgent roar, the mutant warriors, who had hesitated for a moment, finally rekindled their courage to kill.

They were born hunters, and even more so, born warriors!

To them, battle and honor were as vital as life itself!

They would not be frightened by a mere handful of tough prey!

Using roars to dispel the instinctual fear, the heavily armored infantry stepped forward, using steel plates as thick as thumbs and batons wrapped with iron wire to block the whooshing steel claws.

Then a few light infantry rushed in with shotguns, continuously firing at the Claw of Death. Although it was difficult to aim, they managed to restrict its movement with their spray of buckshot.

"Tsk—"

These green-skins had some skills indeed.

After completing twelve kills, Trash Lord finally felt a bit strained and cast a glance in the direction of Midnight Chicken Killing.

The close combat carnage continued.

Brother Chicken swung his axe wildly, hacking away. Next to him lay a few green-skinned corpses indistinct to sight, but the sticky bloodstains made the ferocity of the battle easy to imagine.

Jungle Corps had already lost more than half of their forces!

Although the mutants had left nearly a hundred bodies behind, there were still over three hundred remaining, and the numerical disparity between the two sides remained vast, growing ever more disadvantageous for the Jungle Corps.

"Nineteen—!"

After crushing a greenish skull, Trash Lord withdrew his gradually numb claws and began searching for his next prey with amber pupils when suddenly, a blast of wind slammed from the side.

Relying on his combat instincts, he ducked and with the corner of his eye, caught sight of half an Iron Wall exoskeleton crashing heavily into the tree trunk behind him, legs dangling from the branches, shaking, with intestines and chunks of flesh spilled on the ground like a leaking bag of blood.

The remaining half was grasped in the hand of a giant.

He was nearly four meters tall with a bald head, hands as big as car doors, dark steel seemingly embedded into his body, adorned with several tubes, a black tower standing in the forest.

Even Trash Lord, standing straight, seemed minuscule in front of him. Although his pupils were dilated, drool hung from the corner of his mouth, and ragged, uneven teeth even protruded outside, no one would doubt the strength beneath those swelling muscles.

"Pee—do—"

That drawn-out roar seemed to be his name.

In the Qi Tribe, only the bravest warriors were granted names by the leader, and those names were not just their handles and honors but their totems as well!

They would shout their names to their opponents in duels and torture them to death in the cruelest ways, bathing in their blood to worship the totems given by their leaders, and having their victims' souls chant their names, carrying the glory of victory back to the land of the "Ancestors."

All this was written in the official setting collection on the website!

The giant mutant bit off the head of the body in his hand, shaking it to let the blood pour over his head and chest while crunching noisily, as if he were munching on some sort of arthropod.

Perhaps fearing accidental injury by the big guy, the two-meter-tall mutants around him stepped back, huffing and puffing, clearing an open space around him.

The fighting in the forest was gradually subsiding, and more reinforcements were still making their way from behind. Although bodies were piled up in the woods like little hills, the outcome of the battle was no longer in question.

They were determined to kill the Lizard in the most brutal way possible, using its blood to showcase their valor and ruthlessness.

They roared crudely, cheering and fueling their Warrior's fervor.

Hearing that jumble of roars and urgencies, the massive Mutant who stood there foolishly slowly moved its Skull, fixing its gaze on the scar-riddled Lizard.

Those pupils, swirling voids, just locking eyes with it was enough to involuntarily send a shiver through the soul and a haze over the mind.

Watching that guy feast merrily, Trash King's scalp tingled, but his amber pupils were devoid of any hint of fear, instead filled with a blazing rage.

The twentieth—

You'll do!

His legs burst with strength as he darted toward the giant Mutant like Lightning, his claws targeting the guy's knees and ankles.

The bigger they are, the harder it is to control their balance!

Just take out this guy's legs—

The scales of victory would then tip in his favor!

A chilling flash of light, yet the sensation of a blade cutting through flesh did not follow.

Trash King felt a numbness in his forearm and around the bowl-sized wound, as if his steel claws had struck iron instead of flesh.

In the instant he passed by the hulking figure, glimpsing its back, his face shifted to one of shock.

"Holy fuck—?!"

What the hell is this?!

A steel spine protruded from the back's flesh, and three glass jars were embedded in the center of the spine, sloshing with a yellow-green unknown solution.

At the ankle and knee he'd just clawed at, the moss-green skin was healing at a visible rate, and he could clearly see that beneath the skin was not flesh but some sort of alloy!

"Pu—do—"

A dull, low growl, like the blast of a ship's horn, erupted from the giant Mutant, giving him no time to think as it swung the headless torso it held, sweeping towards him.

No slowness in its speed!

Escape was impossible from such extreme proximity!

He took the hit squarely; already covered in wounds, Trash King was sent flying, crashing with a thud against the wobbling tree trunk.

If those burly green-skinned fellows swarmed him now, even with three heads and six arms he couldn't fend them off, but it seemed they were certain of his certain death, not rushing in but instead backing away, leaving him in the center of the Open Space.

Letting out a grim low groan, Trash King struggled to his feet, unable to tell whether the Exoskeleton had failed or if it was his own joints.

At least three nameless bones were broken, his left arm was nearly senseless, and though his "Physical Regeneration" Talent was slowly working, his body was close to its limit, rendering the meager healing speed almost negligible.

"Motherfucker... that really hurt!" He coughed, spewing a mouthful of blood, trying to lift a claw, but his vision was greeted with an alert.

[Warning! Drive joint damage at 85%, it is recommended to disengage.]

"So annoying!"

Warnings were flashing on his tactical goggles. Gritting his teeth, Junklord reached for the pull ring inside his abdomen with his right claw and yanked it out fiercely.

The breastplate and shoulder guards burst outward, and the exoskeleton that had enveloped him, like an umbrella snapping open, was now completely freeing his body while becoming scrap.

Seeing what was unfolding before him, the giant mutant halted its advancing steps, a hint of surprise surfacing in its dull eyes.

Junklord glanced at the debris scattered around him. Although it pained him to see the wreckage, there was not a hint of regret in his heart. His fighting spirit undiminished, he squared off against the monstrosity, his claws dripping with blood plasma.

"Come on! Let's have a painful—"

"Ooooh!"

His words were barely out when an explosive battle roar interrupted him mid-sentence.

A dark shadow leaped into the air, landing behind the giant mutant and striking down harshly with two axes.

"Roar—!"

Taking two solid axe hits on its back, the giant mutant let out a pained roar, swinging its right arm to knock the assailant flying before stumbling and crashing to the side, the mountainous body causing the ground to tremble upon impact.

The surrounding flunkies were all stunned, forgetting to cheer or shout, and stood frozen.

They hadn't expected to find a human still alive, let alone one who would willingly leap into their midst to disrupt their sacred "blood sacrifice."

"Brother Chicken?!" Junklord exclaimed in astonishment at the sight of the blood-soaked Midnight Chicken Killing.

The man's helmet was completely shattered, his breastplate marred with pockmarks and dimples from impacts, and his shoulder bore a gash of horrifying proportions.

Surrounding the tear, the whole shoulder plate was caved in, as if cleaved by an axe or some other heavy weapon.

Junklord could imagine that he must have been knocked unconscious by a mutant's axe, collapsing onto the ground with a thud.

Perhaps the mutant thought he was dead and didn't bother to finish him off, hurrying over here instead to join the commotion.

"Help me!"

Midnight Chicken Killing yelled, discarding his broken logging axe and hastily grabbed a club strung with blades on wire, charging back into the fray. He began savagely beating the giant mutant that was trying to rise from the ground, targeting its forehead.

"Woah—!"

The blades were smashed and bent, and the giant mutant let out a pained, angry roar.

Before it could get up, its face was bombarded with a merciless flurry of blows, its nose and eyes merging into a gruesome visage of bloody red.

Midnight Chicken Killing, drawing on all his strength for a final blow, was sent flying with a painful thrust to his flank.

Og, stepping into the battlefield, had just rescued the whimpering Pido and was about to deliver a final shot to the human, when a shadow swift as lightning flicked past him.

Og instinctively dodged, only to see that the razor-sharp claw was not coming for him but was chasing after Pido, who was clumsily retreating with his hands over his eyes.

"No!!!!"

His face went pale with horror, realizing it was too late to intervene.

Those claws, like the tines of a plow, struck with brutal force, burrowing into Pido's thick throat from both sides, gripping the blood vessels, windpipe, and spine.

Then, the lizard yanked back with tremendous force!

"Sschhlit—"

The sound of ripping flesh, laced with a nauseating squelch, stood out starkly in the silent battlefield.

Pido, missing most of his throat and spine, had his massive head lose support and slump onto his back, with only a piece of metal bar left jutting out grotesquely.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, spreading across the central battlefield. The small mountain-like giant mutant slowly knelt down, its knees sinking deeply into the earth.

An eerie silence fell over the entire scene.

Pairs of greenish eyes were fixed on the one man, one lizard, in the center of the battlefield, and their leader who was gradually collapsing along with Pido.

"Twenty..."

Glancing back at Midnight Chicken Killing collapsed on the ground, Junklord chuckled, "Sorry, brother, but I had my eye on that kill first."

Midnight Chicken Killing rolled his eyes, panting as he spoke.

"Sixteen... you win."

Counting the previous volley of fire, perhaps it could have reached twenty or thirty.

But the mutants' regenerative abilities were too strong, and he wasn't sure whether those who had fallen were really dead; he'd have to check the drone's aerial footage after logging off.

The only certainty he had was that those with their heads chopped off by him were definitely not going to live.

Anyway, he had done his best.

At that moment, someone shouted, and the surrounding mutants surged forward, chopping up Junklord, who stood beside the fallen giant mutant, into mincemeat on the spot.

Seeing Junklord gloriously log off, Midnight Chicken Killing also planned to disconnect. But just then, he saw that cyborg mutant, who looked like a boss, approaching him.

Being captured alive could be slightly inconvenient.

So he stopped his preparations to log off to see what this guy intended to do.

At the least,

He'd have to find a way to make him kill him.

Raising his hand to stop the mutant warriors from chopping him into pieces, the grotesque mutant leader approached and stopped in front of him, looking down at him from on high.

"Name?"

"Hehe..." Midnight Chicken Killing smirked from the corner of his mouth, spitting a mouthful of bloody saliva onto his leg, "Your daddy."

Wait.

I'll be back!

The expression on Ogre's face gradually turned cold as he extended his right hand, which was like a pair of iron pincers, to grip Midnight Chicken Killing's skull. His fingers suddenly began to exert force.

Midnight Chicken Killing looked on indifferently, his eyes carrying a hint of provocation, as if to say, "Is that all?"

Watching those eyes, Ogre became completely enraged and snapped, his thumb and index finger digging cruelly into Midnight Chicken Killing's temples and forcefully tearing away the skull around the eye socket, flesh and all.

Yet until the very end, the man didn't utter a sound, his gaze mocking Ogre until his dying breath.

Crushing the eyeballs and bones in his hand, Ogre's face was emotionless, but inside he was both shocked and furious.

These human things...

What the hell is going on!

He suddenly regretted letting himself be provoked by this man. If he had taken him back to be tortured with the tribe's instruments of punishment, he might have gotten some information out of him.

Now, all he had was a white glistening brain and a lump of sticky flesh...

At that moment, a sentry clad in beast skin ran over, puffing and panting, and knelt on one knee before him.

"Ogre!"

Ogre looked at him with a cold face.

"Speak."

Feeling the chill from that icy gaze, the Mutant Sentinel's shoulders involuntarily shivered as he hastily muttered his report.

"There are no bipeds left in town, nor quadrupeds; residents have disappeared, houses are empty, and the Apostle from The Church has not been found..."

Before he could finish, an injured Centurion approached, bowing his head.

"Ogre... we've lost two hundred twenty, and fifty are severely wounded. Also, a Centurion, a big guy, and five vehicles."

"Ah!!! Aaahhh—!"

Ogre, unable to contain his fury any longer, roared out loud, throwing back his head in rage.

He had never been so humiliated!

Five or six hundred brothers had been whittled down by over two hundred, all by a mere couple dozen foes!

Even more unbearable for him was the fact that the human who had killed his brother and was wearing power armor had not shown up at all from the beginning to the end!

He could already see the mocking faces within the tribe.

The surrounding trees rustled, and the whole forest seemed to tremble under his thunderous rage.

Veins bulging on his neck, he turned to the kneeling sentinel beside him and bellowed a command.

"Burn the village! Leave not a single house standing!"

"At once!" The sentinel quickly obeyed, scrambling to his feet and running off.

Still not pacified, Ogre glared ominously at the Centurion in front of him, gasping for breath as he asked,

"Where's the nearest village?"

The Centurion responded with a round voice.

"Town of Hope, thirty kilometers to the east!"

"Follow me!"

Ogre looked at the henchmen around him and continued to bellow, "Flatten them! Let those two-legged beasts cry and scream and run away! Tell them who really owns this place!"

Although that place was already a district of the Torch Church and also a sheepfold for the tribe, Ogre was furious!

He had lost so many brothers; he had to bring back at least four hundred heads to silence those who mocked him and to please the great leader!

He would kill until it was enough!

Nobody could persuade him otherwise!

"What about those corpses?" the Centurion looked up at his leader, his face eager for orders.

Those guys had a different flavor than the two-legged beasts that could only run away!

He drooled with anticipation.

And his leader did not disappoint.

"Keep the heads, cook the rest! Ogre wants to be well-fed before going head chopping!" Ogre roared, and the surrounding Mutants cheered excitedly.

"Awoo, awoo, awoo!"

Dusty Town was ablaze, smoke billowing into the sky.

What a pity that the residents had already fled; they couldn't feast on the mountains of corpses and seas of bones.

A group of Mutants ran huffing and puffing towards the truck, removing the large pots and cooking utensils tied to the vehicle. Nearby the forest, they brazenly started fires without inhibition.

The pot bubbled, and barbaric heads blubbered, the songs in an incomprehensible language carried a chill that was hard to describe.

It was like the scent of coagulated blood.

At that moment, the group of green-skinned beings feasting together had not noticed that up on a nearby hillside, a pair of dark green pupils were silently watching them, then quietly slipped back into the shadows of the forest, as if they had never been there...

...

(Thank you to "Yuele" and "Makabakamo" for the generous rewards!!!)

Chapter 567: Two Clues

The drumbeat-like explosions and gunfire had stopped at some point.

Not long after, black smoke began to drift from the direction of Dusty Town.

The residents journeying on the mountain path could not help but halt their steps, unloading their burdens and prostrate themselves towards the small town.

"Great Antler God above..."

"We hope that the Big Horn Rat is safe and sound."

"Emperor protect us."

From these disorganized prayers, it wasn't hard to see just how haphazard their faith really was.

Yet their hearts praying for the safety of the warriors were completely free of deceit.

Zhang Zhengyang, tied by his hands to the ox cart, felt a surge of relief upon seeing that wisp of black smoke, and a secret thrill of schadenfreude.

The esteemed Bishop sure hadn't abandoned him!

Their allies had sent someone to rescue him!

However, he didn't let his thoughts show on his face but just meekly shrank back, fearing that the survivors might notice him and vent their rage on him.

Watching the residents who lay prostrated on the ground, praying, Old White, walking at the front of the line, stopped and tapped his helmet with his index finger.

"Rest for ten minutes."

"We'll wait for them for a while."

They were already over twenty kilometers from Dusty Town, separated by forests and hills impenetrable to vehicles, so there was hardly any need to worry about being caught up with.

Thanks to the time earned by the brothers of the Jungle Corps, they had enough time to move to a safe area.

After about three to five minutes, the residents of Dusty Town got up from the ground, dusted themselves off, and picked up their belongings from the ground.

The mood was somber; there wasn't much communication.

Yet Old White could see something in their eyes beyond sorrow and confusion.

He had seen that same something in the eyes of the residents of City of Dawn...

"Let's keep moving."

Old White waved his right fist.

The moving convoy stretched into a long snake along the mountain path, winding forward towards the shelter hidden in the mountains.

Meanwhile, a silver-colored small fixed-wing drone finished its circling and glided along its preset course to the side of an abandoned farm in the north.

Two scouts from the Guards Corps who were waiting there quickly approached, folded the drone up, and took it aboard the "Viper" transport plane parked near the farm.

Two hours later.

The drone's storage was delivered to the Stone Building, and the combat footage and weapon data were retrieved and uploaded to the servers.

In the office on the highest floor of the Stone Building.

Yibers, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, watched the combat footage from beginning to end.

After about two or three seconds, he sighed faintly and pressed the button to close it, muttering to himself.

"I have to admit, even ugly organic beings occasionally display moments of brilliance beyond just dying..."

"It's beautiful."

According to the computer simulations, "Iron Wall" exoskeleton equipped with "Roarer" bomb guns could raise a human soldier's combat power to the same level as a Mutant.

That is, under conditions where both parties use infantry armor, thermal weapons, and the gaps in tactics and numbers weren't significant, a one-to-one casualty ratio was quite close to the simulated data.

Mutants were after all byproducts of the "Perfect Life Form" singularity technology; their existence was the crystallization of biological technology.

Even if the soldiers of the Jungle Corps were all Awakeners, achieving a one-to-three casualty rate without additional support was already quite challenging.

Yet, the final casualty ratio reached one to ten!

Yibers did not doubt that any of the Corps from Giant Stone City, even at their peak, could have achieved such a high level of combat power.

Twenty against over five hundred...

Even if it were a team composed of X-16, getting overwhelmed would probably happen in minutes.

"The data is too beautiful, to the point of losing its reference value... but your bravery deserves to be forever stored in the server."

Running his index finger lightly down the window, Yibers dragged the combat records and various data into a folder for archiving.

This was the first battlefield test of the XB-1 "Roarer" bomb gun.

And it was the most shocking test of a new weapon he had seen in a century.

Thinking that those guys were all dead, a rare hint of regret crossed Yibers's face.

"Although you probably won't have the chance to hear it, I still want to tell you."

"Your death is far more valuable than that of most organic beings."

But he hadn't expected the Alliance soldiers to be so skilled at close combat; his original advice was to retreat at a safe distance of 10m.

Maybe they should be equipped with a chainsaw or some other type of close combat gear...

...

[Side mission: "First Bomb Gun Test" completed!]

[Requirement: Engage in a firefight with a mutant squad of over a hundred members.]

[Yibers: "The death of most organic beings is quite valuable, I am really looking forward to our next cooperation!"]

[Rating: S+]

[Reward: ...]

As the players from Jungle Corps were receiving their mission rewards, the "Wasteland OL" Official Website was buzzing like mad.

Glory-logged-off Trash Older Brother was picking at his keyboard, vividly describing just how dangerous the situation had been.

Including how he had unleashed an unparalleled slaughterfest amongst those muscle-bound green skins, and how he had claimed the head of that giant mutant in the middle of the crowd.

Listening to his "abstract narration," one hand taking a head, the other hand claiming another, one might think he had wiped out an entire hundred-man team.

Finally, someone couldn't resist asking just how many he had killed, and Trash Older Brother honestly confessed.

"Only twenty," he said, and immediately a long string of booing ensued in the comments below the post.

Grandpa Ao, What Can They Do to Me: "Heh, bragging about just twenty heads, my brother went on a business trip to Southeast Asia back in the day and accidentally ran into a gang of drug traffickers, easily a hundred people. Those guys were massive, armed to the teeth with AKs and grenades, and yet my brother slaughtered them all with just a dagger, only to find out later that they were part of the local military faction."

Pick up trash 99 level: "Pfft, your one hundred drug traffickers wouldn't be worth shit in the Wasteland; even the Looters might not be able to beat them!"

Elena: "I think the moment you started discussing with Proud Brothers, you already lost. (Amused)"

Gnome King Riches: "Am I misremembering, or wasn't his brother on a clandestine mission down south as a special forces soldier? (Amused)"

Makabazi: "Hahaha, I remember that too!"

Elena: "So now the question is, what exactly did Proud Brothers' ancestors do? (Amused)"

As usual, the Proud Brothers dropped a comment and ran off, never giving anyone the chance to confront him. This inevitably led people to wonder if he was the type sneaking peeks at his mobile phone under the table.

Coming back to the post itself, unlike the Backseat Drivers, most players knew just how fierce the mutants were.

Especially the veteran players from the Alpha test.

Memories of the mutants' terrifying regenerative abilities were practically etched into their brains.

So when Trash Older Brother claimed he took twenty heads, even his own teammates didn't believe his K/D ratio.

Tranquility called it fake at first glance, Difficult for the Strong even ranted that the guy must surely have counted the two heads he took as his own, which almost made Trash Older Brother's nose crooked from anger.

It wasn't until Midnight Chicken Killing also weighed in that Trash Older Brother's account was vindicated.

The guy truly hadn't been boasting.

If it weren't for that big brute of a mutant being too fierce—the kind that could fell a tree with a single kick—he might have killed even more.

That brute had a name and could roughly be considered a purple elite monster.

Pick up trash 99 level: "…sigh, you guys had it rough, twenty 'Iron Wall' Exoskeletons, not to mention that bomb gun or whatever, it all adds up to at least three hundred thousand silver coins, right?"

While he himself had lost a "Hunter" Exoskeleton, that thing was just a mount's equipment and not really costly, so what if it was lost.

Isn't gaming all about having fun?

As long as he enjoyed himself, and his followers were saved, not to mention some had lost more than him.

This life was worth it!

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Oh, that exoskeleton and rifle you mentioned... that stuff was mission props, once they're broken, they're broken, anyway, we didn't buy them."

Picheng Paratrooper: "+1, have you forgotten? We usually wear that KV-1 with welded steel plates and Miner I."

Ground Model: "Goblin Technology is second to none in the world! (Amused)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "???"

Mission?

What the heck?!

Trash Older Brother was dumbfounded.

Seeing those three question marks, Midnight Chicken Killing typed and asked.

"Did you not receive the mission?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "… What mission. (Confused)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "The mission from Huge Rock Military Industry. Didn't I say from the start, we were just there to die."

Pick up trash 99 level: "What the fuck?! You serious?!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Yeah."

Seeing this "Yeah," Trash Older Brother almost spewed a mouthful of old blood onto the screen.

Brother Chicken had indeed said that, but he thought the guy was just showing off, never taking it seriously at all.

Turns out there was such an outrageous mission?!

Thinking Trash Older Brother didn't believe it, Midnight Chicken Killing continued typing.

"The mission from Huge Rock Military Industry was a side mission for us to attempt '20VS100' to see how many we could kill. We had mission props to freeride, I planned to save them for later, but then this moment came... anyway, the rating was S+, and the silver coins were pretty good."

Makabazi: "Hahaha!"

Elena: "Trash Older Brother: It turns out I was the unwitting victim all along. (Amused)"

Gnome King Riches: "I feel sorry for you, if I were Trash Older Brother, I'd have fainted in the bathroom by now. (Amused)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "I [expletive]!%￥#@!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "(Chuckle)"

Gorge Escaping Mole: "To give it to you straight, the loss of equipment is indeed painful, it breaks my heart just watching it. I think we could introduce an insurance feature, similar to EVE's system of reimbursing a certain percentage of ISK when a ship is destroyed, perhaps returning sixty or seventy percent of silver coins when an exoskeleton gets blown up, but there's probably no need to insure guns like automatic rifles."

Elena: "So here's the question, considering the rate at which players' equipment is damaged, what percentage of the total equipment value would be appropriate for the insurance premium? (Jokingly)"

Gorge Escaping Mole: "Uh, that is indeed a problem."

If the premiums are too high, the insurance loses its purpose. And if the premiums are too low, with Wasteland OL's near-realistic economic system, the Alliance might go bankrupt on the spot.

He's always been interested in providing private insurance services.

But with a business that's a direct gamble against clear risks, no matter how he calculates it, he ends up going bankrupt in the end.

After all, he knows best how wildly players behave... he's a player himself...

...

While the forum buzzed with uncontainable chatter, almost three hundred residents of Dusty Town and the Burning Corps finally arrived at the mountainous area at the border between River Valley Province and Brocade River Province.

This place had steep terrain; there was only one winding mountain road southward, and to the north was a river fifty to sixty meters wide with sheer rock walls jutting out of the water, spanned by a bridge built during the Human Alliance Era.

Although the roads on both sides were almost erased by time, this nameless bridge still stood firm, albeit slightly tilted.

Probably because of landslides undermining the bridge supporting the structure.

However, on the Wasteland, this risky bridge was not a problem.

It was already one of the few passable roads left.

Alliance supply trucks were parked at the end of the bridge, and the players from the Burning Corps were busy unloading materials, cooperating with the following logistic personnel to construct the operational base.

Before setting up watchtowers and machine-gun positions, they needed to widen the road at the end of the bridge first to ensure ammunition and weapons were delivered smoothly.

Right now, it was even hard for the trucks to turn around.

Seeing the condition of the road across the bridge, Night Ten really didn't know whether to admire these guys' driving skills or the Alliance factories.

They managed to drive vehicles over here, going back to reality and getting an A class license would probably be no problem.

"Long time no see! Where's Trash Older Brother? Did he hit the dirt again?"

Upon seeing Old White and his group, Killer Dagger walked up with a cheeky grin to greet them, then his face showed surprise at the sight of the huge crowd behind them.

He wasn't the only one surprised.

The survivors from Dusty Town were also frightened by his enormous hands, and several timid kids nervously hid behind their parents, some of the younger ones even started to cry.

Killer Dagger looked embarrassed.

He couldn't fathom how, even though he wasn't as scary as Trash Gentleman, the NPCs reacted to him like they had seen a ghost.

But to not scare the little ones, he still pretended to hide his bulky fists behind his back and whispered to Old White.

"Why are there so many people?"

Old White shrugged helplessly, about to explain, when Night Ten preemptively interjected.

"They're all followers of Trash Gentleman."

Killer Dagger: "Pfft..."

Kidney Fighter: "Followers, huh."

"Basically, it's like what Night Ten said, Trash Brother asked us to look after them," Old White followed up succinctly, "Not to mention that there are Mutants on the other side, even without Trash Brother's request, we couldn't ignore them."

"That's true..." Killer Dagger nodded in agreement.

Mutants, they're hardly human.

It's a cliche, but nothing could be more apt to describe their atrocities. The Looter Tribe is nothing compared to the tribes of Mutants.

Old White had reported Dusty Town's situation to the Manager.

Even though the Alliance had no capacity to take care of a group of refugees 700 kilometers away, especially with the City of Dawn and Giant Stone City preparing for the spring Tide, that benevolent leader still promised to send some personnel from the Home of the Refugees to settle these people locally.

At that moment, Dusty Town's mayor approached them.

Following the old man was a young lad; both seemed to have something to say.

Seeing the pair, one old and one young, Old White asked gently.

"Is there something you need?"

Qin Baitian didn't speak but respectfully nodded his head in greeting before, much to Old White's surprise, raising his head to earnestly say:

"Thank you for saving us time and again; I know we can never repay your kindness in this lifetime, but at least we don't want to be a burden to you and make the Great Antler God and the Big Horn Rat feel ashamed... If there's anything we can help with, please don't hesitate to instruct me; I will pass the message to the residents of the town."

The young man beside Qin Baitian also nodded vigorously, saying with determination:

"Please give us a chance... we want to help you with something!"

Months ago, due to an accident, he almost caused the entire village to fall to the green plague after eating Nago.

It was the Great Antler God who forgave and saved him.

That leader not only pardoned him for the sin he committed out of ignorance but also granted him precious medicine, which helped him through the hardest times.

Now, he had finally recovered completely.

Since then, he vowed to serve the great person for the rest of his life.

Seeing the determination in their eyes, Old White fell silent for a moment, swallowing the words he was about to say and instead spoke:

"We plan to build a supply outpost here, and later, we'll construct a railway from Qingquan City to this location."

"If you want to help us with something, first gather a list of willing young adults aged 16 to 40. I'll send the list to logistics and have them arrange work for you. Then you can collect a salary, although it's usually not much, just the minimum standard."

"How can we accept that? You've helped us so much, we can't take your money..." Qin Baitian's expression was awkward as he tried to refuse, but Old White interrupted him with a raised hand.

"The Alliance doesn't let anyone work for free, as long as there is work, there must be compensation. That's a law everyone must follow, and I hope you understand. Just like you want to do something for us, we also don't want you to bring your own provisions to do work for us."

Qin Baitian was stunned.

Not because of the man's insistence on compensation, but because of the first sentence he said.

"The Alliance is..."

"It's that Alliance in the southern part of River Valley Province. We haven't had the chance to tell you, but we don't have any emperors, only a Manager. That Lizard is one of us, so is that Mole, and the person with them. We all are residents of Shelter No. 404..."

Seeing their bewildered expressions, Old White guessed they probably couldn't even find where River Valley Province was and ruefully stopped there.

"Is it too hard to understand? Then, think of it as... a collective made up of many large settlements."

Qin Baitian hadn't returned to his senses when the young man asked blankly.

"Is it like Pinecone Wood Farm?"

"Pinecone Wood Farm? Definitely not as small as a farm..." Old White roughly took it to mean a place like Brown Farm and smiled as he shook his head.

However, to his surprise, the young man showed a stunned expression after hearing this.

"It's even bigger than Pinecone Wood Farm..."

Night Ten curiously interjected.

"What place is that?"

Qin Baitian slowly began to speak.

"A settlement with over fifty thousand people, located a bit to the east of the city ruins, quite far from us but still within the boundaries of Brocade River City... The farmer there seems to be called Zhao something, and he has quite a few soldiers under him."

Night Ten and Wild Wind exchanged glances, and Fang Chang, who had been silent, stroked his chin with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Dusty Town is the last settlement not contaminated by Nago... In other words, Pinecone Wood Farm is now under the jurisdiction of the Torch Church?"

A slight movement in his heart, Fang Chang looked at Qin Baitian and asked.

"Are there any larger settlements around Brocade River City than Pinecone Wood Farm?"

Qin Baitian thought for a while, then shook his head.

"I don't think so. I remember that farm itself was formed by the merger of several settlements. If I'm not mistaken, when I was a kid, there were three or maybe four farms there..."

Fang Chang immediately followed up.

"Have you been there?"

Qin Baitian shook his head, his eyes filled with a hint of fear.

"I wouldn't dare go there... I've heard those Slave Hunters around here, some of them are actually the Guards of that Lord Zhao. Aside from scavenging and hunting, we usually don't dare to venture too far from our settlement. The former town chief did seem to have some connections with Pinecone Wood Farm, but a lot happened after that... If you are curious about the situation there, I can ask some of the hunters in town for you."

Fang Chang nodded.

"Alright, thank you."

They were the vanguard of the Alliance dispatched to the South, and having just arrived, their grasp of the local intelligence was still insufficient.

He needed more information.

Whether it was for the secrets hidden within the "Champion" Biological Pharmaceutical Research Institute or to find that "Holy Land" and the Bishop hiding within.

As the largest survivor settlement nearby, Pinecone Wood Farm might become a good breakthrough point.

And then there was the "Iron Tower" Organization.

Fang Chang looked toward Old White.

"Speaking of which, what is the Manager's opinion on that 'Iron Tower' Organization?"

Old White ended his contemplation and said.

"His suggestion is that we can cooperate with local resistance organizations but must be wary of the possibility of infiltration within such loosely structured groups. The people we've contacted may be safe, but we have to question the others."

Fang Chang looked at Old White in surprise.

Frankly, he thought the same.

Last night's attack was practically a death sentence; it didn't seem like an attempt to wear down the other side but more like a self-sacrifice.

Indeed, that was the case. The Synthetic Mutant sent by the other side was exceptionally tough.

If it wasn't for Night Ten pulling the aggro, that guy called Li Jinrong and his fellows would have been gone for sure.

What surprised Fang Chang was that he could think of this because he was on the spot; he was the one who rescued that fellow.

To think this through from eight hundred kilometers away after looking at a battle report.

This NPC had something...

"...Indeed, the Iron Tower Organization might have spies from the Torch Church, and we cannot fully trust them. But conversely, we can use this to our advantage by passing some false information to our enemies through them, causing our enemies to expose their weaknesses."

"That's a good idea..." Old White nodded approvingly, then continued, "However, all these are just our guesses at the moment. Perhaps last night was just an accident; that possibility exists too."

Fang Chang continued.

"So we need two lines of action. On one hand, we will contact the people of the Iron Tower Organization and find out who among them can be trusted and who cannot be. On the other hand, we can follow the clue of Pinecone Wood Farm to collect intel about the 'Holy Land.'"

Old White nodded seriously.

"Okay, I'll try to initiate contact with Iron Tower then."

Chapter 568: Running into Acquaintances in Such a Broken Place?

In the Town of Hope, guarding the gate was an easy job.

Although it was separated from the Wasteland by only a door, and two steps forward would take one to a hell no one cared about, it was ultimately not on the Wasteland itself, so one could earn a considerable salary without taking too great a risk.

And the job was respectable enough.

Whether conducting legitimate business or not, people, when approaching the vicinity of the settlement, would all be somewhat cautious.

Even Looters would need such a safe place to exchange their plunder for other items they needed.

Otherwise, what they'd stolen would be worthless trash, left on the ground for Scavengers to collect or for other Waste Land Wanderers to claim as spoils of war.

Especially nowadays, most of the wastelanders here were using automatic rifles produced in the Southern River Valley Province.

Just trying to survive with a hand-crafted iron pipe rifle was tough enough, they also needed to keep up with the times, to hide where they should hide...

Standing at the Western Gate, Maxim yawned and took out his rusted pocket watch for a glance, calculating how many hours he had left until the end of his shift.

This job was about killing time.

That was particularly true at the seldom-visited Western Gate.

Just as he was pondering where to grab a drink after work, the guard standing next to him suddenly looked up towards the west and muttered with a frown,

"What's that sound?"

"What... what sound?" Snapping the brass cover shut, Maxim pocketed his watch and glanced at the newcomer.

This young fellow had joined the Town Guard just a few months ago, previously the son of a local Hunter. He remembered his father a bit; they had drunk together.

"Didn't you hear it?" The young man looked at him, then said, "Something exploded."

Hearing this, Maxim couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha ha, isn't that normal? Just two steps out is the Wasteland, gunshots and explosions are too common... you'll get used to it."

Honestly speaking, it really wasn't that common.

Loneliness and cold were more common than death in the Wasteland.

On a desolate wilderness, one might not see a living creature for many years, only able to see swaying wild grass every day for decades.

If one day a wolf's howl suddenly erupted there, perhaps it was time to be vigilant.

But Maxim didn't want to think so.

Rather than wondering what might be happening close by on the Wasteland, he preferred to think that whatever was happening had nothing to do with them.

Minding one's own business was the key to survival; he was very clear why he had become a guard—it was precisely because he wouldn't meddle in things that were none of his concern.

The young man crouched on the ground, ear pressed to the earth, still muttering to himself.

"Gunshots, and the sound of running, at least thirty or forty kilometers away, bang bang bang... Who's fighting?"

Maxim couldn't help but go over and kick him in the butt.

"Stop freaking worrying about nothing and stand guard."

Getting kicked in the butt, the young man stood up awkwardly, zipping his lips shut.

Disrupted by this, the rather good mood Maxim had maintained until noon also soured.

Once people know something big has happened next to them but don't know what exactly it is, they can't help but let their imagination run wild and start feeling anxious.

Especially when they have nothing else to do.

Maxim was no exception. Though the young man seemed to have dropped the matter, he couldn't stop going over it again and again in his mind.

Who was fighting whom?

Speaking of which, going west from here, were there any larger settlements?

Just then, a rustling was heard in the nearby forest, followed by a "whoosh" as an arrow cut through the air.

Before Maxim could react, an arrow whizzed past his hat and 'clang'—lodged into the wooden post behind him.

Startled, he quickly chambered a round into his rifle, disengaged the safety, and aimed in the direction from which the arrow came.

"Who's there!"

No one replied.

Maxim swallowed, his eyes flickering with bewilderment and tension, his gun aimed straight at the tree line where no one could be seen, but he didn't dare go and check the situation.

At that moment, the young fellow beside him ran back, pulling the arrow out of the post, and called out to him.

"Sir! There's something tied to the arrow!"

"What is it?" Not daring to take his eyes off the sight, Maxim kept his gaze fixed on the tree line and shouted back with his back turned.

"It's a roll of beast skin! And there seems to be something written on it…" Unwrapping the beast skin and barely making out the written content, the young man suddenly fell silent.

Beast skin?

Maxim was stunned for a moment, desperate to know the content but not willing to lower his guard.

So, while maintaining his aim, he stepped back next to the young man and snatched the piece of beast skin with his left hand.

It indeed had two lines of carelessly written words in beast blood.

And it was misspelled.

Guessing the content with some difficulty, Maxim's face instantly drained of color, turning as pale as if whitewashed.

"Damn it…"

He cursed under his breath and quickly looked at the young man beside him, who was just as frozen, staring at him with a warning in his eyes.

"Stay here, I'm going back to report... You mustn't tell anyone about this!"

The young man nodded blankly in response.

Maxim eyed the forest, clenched his teeth, tucked his gun onto his back along with the arrow, and the roll of beast skin and ran towards the town without looking back.

In the woods, a pair of green pupils hidden beneath a hood watched the figure running towards town. Only after the guard had disappeared behind the gate did the shadowy figure vanish from beneath the forest canopy...

...

The central public hall of the Town Of Hope.

The round table in the meeting room was filled with the town's leading figures.

There was the owner of the Grizzly and Streetlight Tavern, an older carpenter, the owner of a tannery, as well as landlords who controlled thousands of acres and the mayor who oversaw thousands of residents.

They weren't the type to have time on their hands, yet here they all sat, silently smoking first or second-hand tobacco.

Even though the pungent smoke could bring tears to their eyes, those seated kept the doors and windows sealed tight with no intention of cracking a window for ventilation.

Likewise, nobody spoke.

An arrow now lay on the round table before them.

Around noon, someone had shot the arrow at the western gate of the town, and it was picked up by the guard on duty there.

Previously, it had a piece of beast skin tied to it with two lines written in blood.

"[Ogre], wants to eat humans."

"Run!"

"If this is a joke, it's definitely the worst and most malicious one of the year!"

The first to break the silence was the mayor.

His name was Ma Hechang. Although he was already fifty years old, he was still strong and respected in the town.

The owner of the Grizzly and Streetlight Tavern held his head in his hands, muttering painfully to himself.

"Why is this happening?"

The meeting room was filled with a cacophony of complaints and discussions, and panic and unease were written all over everyone's faces.

They didn't know what an "Ogre" was, but seeing the words "eat humans" and "run," it wasn't hard to guess what they implied.

Ordinary Looter Tribes wouldn't dare to attack a Survivor Settlement like Town of Hope with its thousands of households. It could only be those unreasonable mutants.

But people still couldn't believe it was true.

The "Qi" Tribe hadn't just appeared in Brocade River City; they had been there for a century and a half. Those green-skinned brutes were indeed too powerful and frighteningly numerous, yet they weren't much like the other mutants, rarely attacking nearby Survivor Settlements.

Rumors suggested they bred slaves within their tribe, so they didn't need to raid often. Others said their ancestors were actually humans who had mutated by accident, so they instructed their descendants to be more restrained and not attack villages and farms.

However, all these were just rumors.

Most who believed them didn't even understand why things were the way they were; they simply clung to a reason that could appease themselves and others, seeking solace amidst their anxiety.

The Qi Tribe had been around for over a century, and so had they, living here for just as long. No one knew why the mutants hadn't devoured them, and they understood even less why they had changed their minds now.

Suddenly someone spoke up.

"Could it just be a joke?"

Nobody paid any attention to him.

Because it was an absurd suggestion.

Even though most people thought just that, no one dared to joke about their own and their families' lives.

Ma Hechang looked to the head of the Town Guard sitting nearby and spoke in a low voice.

"Have the sentries been dispatched?"

The head of the Town Guard nodded and said anxiously,

"They have been sent out... No news yet."

Mayor Ma breathed a slight sigh of relief; at least for now, they didn't have to worry about the green-skinned horde bursting in halfway through the meeting.

He then surveyed the room with a grave tone.

"Now, we need to first figure out who is warning us! If that person really has solid information, why use such a method instead of telling us face to face!"

"That's what I've been thinking! If the news is true, why not speak to us directly? We'd all thank him and might even pay him some money," the owner of the glassware store complained.

At that moment, Ma Hechang turned his attention to the blacksmith seated at the round table.

"Do you recognize this arrow?"

"...I do, it's indeed one sold from my shop," the town blacksmith said, frowning as he scrutinized the arrow's point. "However, all the hunters in town use my arrows, which doesn't reveal much."

For experienced hunters, hunting with rifles wasn't cost-effective; traps and bows and arrows were more economical.

Mayor Ma's face showed a touch of disappointment.

Just then, a man wearing a long coat made of Devil Silk and looking somewhat prosperous spoke up.

"Cough cough, listen to me, there are too many anomalies here... I'm more inclined to think someone wants to drive us away to loot our property opportunistically."

His name was Xiao Zhixue. He was in the beer business, owning a brewery in town with about twenty workers, and almost all the alcohol consumed by the Waste Land Wanderers came from him.

A storeowner retorted.

"But what if what the letter says is true?"

The wine merchant with the surname Xiao glared with wide eyes.

"Really? How is that possible? That 'Qi' tribe never attacks settlements; they only capture those wandering in the Wasteland!"

"Just because they didn't before doesn't mean they won't in the future; maybe they whimsically changed their minds."

"But that doesn't make sense! Aren't they allies of the Torch Church? We've already converted to the Church, and our town even has a pastor from the Church!"

All eyes turned to the pastor at the front of the table, and the middle-aged man, flustered by the scrutiny, wiped sweat from his brow as he nervously spoke.

"I don't know... I've been unable to contact the Apostle for the past few days. Ah, could this be related?"

"To the west... there seems to be a small place called Dusty Town," the blacksmith said, stroking his chin.

The pastor nodded hurriedly.

"That's the name! I remember the Apostle mentioned before he disappeared that he was going to take his followers to spread the faith there!"

At this moment, the owner of the tanning workshop suddenly spoke up.

"Could it be that the Mutants went to Dusty Town searching for the Apostle, and when they didn't find him... those green-skinned baboons went crazy and started killing everywhere?"

This seemed like the most reasonable explanation.

Although it was also the one everyone least wanted to face.

Mayor Ma banged his fist on the table forcefully and raised his voice.

"Enough, these things aren't important. What is important is what do we do now? Do we stay and fight them, or do we move to another place to avoid—" Before he could finish, the wine merchant exclaimed in alarm.

"Move to another place? Are you joking? Where could we go? There's nowhere nearby that can take in so many people!"

Others could just pat their butts and leave.

His winery couldn't be moved!

If those Mutants didn't kill people, they would surely set a fire and burn this place down! By then, all his wealth here would be gone!

Most of the others felt the same.

Those sitting here were the most prominent families in the town; their homes and assets were all here. This place was more than just a small town to them; it was their foundation.

Although no one wanted to face those green-skinned monsters, no one wanted to just flee either.

"If we don't leave, we'll have to fight them," Mayor Ma said with a gloomy expression, "To be honest, I have little confidence in facing those guys."

A Mutant tribe of tens of thousands...

Even the Pinecone Wood Farm to the southeast, that big Landlord with nearly fifty thousand people, couldn't possibly stand against that Mutant tribe.

The scale of the two was simply incomparable.

At this time, the chief of the Town Guard suddenly rose from his seat at the conference table and walked toward the door.

Mayor Ma looked in his direction.

"Where are you going?"

The chief stopped in his tracks.

"To mobilize the residents of the town, hand out the guns to them. If we keep discussing like this, we won't be able to escape or prepare for battle in time; we can only sit here and wait for death."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the wine merchant who was sitting not far away stood up.

"Wait, you can't do that! If you start handing out guns now, everyone will know something's up!"

The Town Guard chief frowned.

"What's the use of covering it up at a time like this?"

The wine merchant lowered his voice and said.

"There are some Waste Land Wanderers in town; they can fight better than us. If need be, we can pay them! But if they get wind of it now and learn that the opponents are Mutants... I bet they'll run faster than rabbits!"

The Town Guard chief stared at him blankly for a moment, considering the point. Those Wanderers were, after all, more formidable than the town's volunteer militia; mobilizing those guys would be better than sending a bunch of people who had never fought to their deaths.

The people sitting around the conference table exchanged glances, mostly with looks of agreement. After pondering for a while, Mayor Ma slowly nodded.

"I was thinking the same... but we can't place all our hopes on those outsiders; we need to prepare for both possibilities."

He then looked towards the Town Guard chief.

"Get the weapons in storage delivered to the Enclosing Wall, blockade the four main gates to the east, south, west, and north with obstacles, and dig some fortifications... As for the Waste Land Wanderers, we will tell them that we have received news of a Looter group moving to this area, and the town needs to strengthen its defenses, with all vehicles and goods not allowed to enter or leave temporarily. After three days, if the alert is lifted, we will remove the fortifications, and they can come and go freely."

"During this period, the Town Of Hope will provide its guests with free lodging and food."

By detaining the goods, the town's merchants would be detained, and by detaining those merchants, it was essentially detaining their private guards.

If it was just a delay of three days, the merchants probably wouldn't take too drastic of actions that would offend the small town outright.

Although this might affect the reputation of Town Of Hope, the crisis of survival was clearly more pressing at the moment.

As for those mercenaries, although it was hard to detain them by force, they could be hired under the pretext of dealing with the Looters that had moved to the area.

After pausing for a moment, Mayor Ma said with a faint hope.

"Actually... it might not be as bad as we think."

"The sentries haven't brought back any news yet, at least indicating that those Mutants haven't gotten close to us. Maybe, as Mr. Xiao suggested, this is just a trick to scare us off."

People seated at the meeting looked at each other.

If only it were that simple...

...

Dozens of kilometers away in the forest.

After the banquet, the mutants smeared the blood and fat of their prey on their faces, humming rough shouts and ballads as they set off for the journey to the next feast.

Ogg had lost more than two hundred brothers, including a Centurion and a Big Guy.

He'd have to chop off four hundred heads to feel better.

As for whether the Torch Church was angry or not, what did that have to do with Ogg?

What bothered him was not only those old priests in the tribe who meddled in everything, but also those babbling humans he likewise disliked...

At this moment, the vast majority of residents in the Town of Hope were still unaware that danger had quietly approached above their heads.

And the few who knew the situation were still fantasizing that maybe things weren't so bad, that the arrow bound with beast skin was just a clumsy scam.

On the other hand, having had lunch at the inn, Falling Feather learned from Wu Wen Zhou, the leader of the Commercial Team, about the news of Looter marauders nearby and the town blockade.

"Looters?!"

After hearing the news, a look of surprise crossed Falling Feather's face, quickly recalling the group of people he had encountered at the border of the province.

"... Could it be those people we met?"

On their way here, they had encountered a group of Looter bandits and seized a Maxim from them.

But if it was those people, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why there would be any need for Work to be done.

"I don't know," Wu Wen Zhou said with a wry smile, shaking his head, "Anyway, all four exits of the town are now blocked. People can still come and go, but goods can't get through. We can't exactly ask them to dismantle the barricades and cover."

Although it's considered a safe area here, it's still on the Wasteland, and he dared not leave the goods here while escaping himself.

If the goods were lost, there'd be no place to reason it out.

But there was actually no need to go out.

Except for the Chewing Bone Tribe, most Looter bands were hammered down by settlements, and only a few small villages could possibly have an incident.

With so many mercenaries and commercial teams here, there was no need to worry about safety.

"Are we just going to wait it out?" Remembering the suggestion from a guy called White Shark, Falling Feather couldn't help but frown.

Every additional day he was delayed on the road, the risk increased for his one hundred thousand silver coins to go down the drain.

Now that he was so close to his destination, he really didn't want to drop the ball at this critical juncture.

Wu Wen Zhou sighed helplessly.

"For now, there doesn't seem to be a better solution... anyway, it's just three days, so let's just wait."

He paused, then continued.

"Of course, although their reasoning is passable, we can't just let them mess around without cause. I'll go and discuss with the other merchants later, they have to give us an explanation."

If the blockades are still in place after three days, they could band together to put pressure on the local residents and the town authorities.

Of course, that would be a last resort.

If possible, he really didn't want to clash with the locals, as the Town of Hope was one of the few relatively safe and reliable settlements along this trade route.

When staying overnight in some smaller settlements, he'd usually sleep with a handgun tucked under his pillow, but here, locking the door was enough to sleep soundly.

"... I'll go have a look around, maybe there are some clues."

Saying so, Falling Feather stood up and pushed back his chair.

The thought of wasting three days in this small town made him feel terribly uncomfortable. Instead, he'd rather go out and see if there was any side quest to pass the time.

Wu Wen Zhou nodded.

"Go ahead, just make sure to come back before dark."

Standing on the street after walking out of the inn, Falling Feather glanced left and right, finding the town unexpectedly large, quite different from his first impression last night, probably housing no fewer than a thousand people.

Like them, there were quite a few merchants and mercenaries stranded here, now all gathered around the inn exchanging what they'd heard.

Chatting with them could be a good idea.

However, just as Falling Feather was about to walk over, he suddenly realized awkwardly that he wasn't particularly good at socializing.

Forget NPCs.

Actually, he had limited contact with players too.

He had been playing Game for a while now, but he was only really familiar with Brother Mosquito and his teammates from the Goblin Corps, and then he knew some of Brother Mosquito's acquaintances.

Before raising Xiaoyu, he'd often solo.

As he was pondering how to nonchalantly join in the conversation and fish out information from those old hands, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side.

"Falling Feather?!"

He didn't expect to run into an acquaintance in this godforsaken place.

Hearing someone calling his name in Mandarin, Falling Feather instinctively turned his head and then saw a familiar face, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Ken?"

"What are you doing here?!"

-

(PS: I've been coughing for two weeks, and my throat is almost ruined; now when I speak, it sounds like blowing bubbles. I've successfully given up the habit of talking to myself while typing...)

Chapter 569: The Honest Star River

Star River doesn't dream!

Falling Feather remembered this guy.

Back in Lost Valley, they had ridden a Cloud Dragonfly together; he was the pilot, and the other was a gunner.

Unfortunately, this fellow wasn't as lucky as he was, and got taken out on the spot. Although he himself was done for later on, he was fortunate enough to end up with Xiaoyu. Thinking back now, if he had been the gunner at that time, Xiaoyu would probably have been called "Little Star" or "Little River" instead.

Indeed, Xiaoyu was a nicer name.

Both of them were solo players who had added each other as friends, but they barely teamed up. He had never expected he would run into this guy hundreds of kilometers away from City of Dawn.

What a fateful encounter!

"Doing a quest, what else could I be doing?"

Looking at the confused Falling Feather, Star River chuckled, patted the LD-47 hanging on his chest, and continued.

"After this battle is over, I should really get around to leveling up... Damn it, this Game is just too realistic, I still haven't figured it out after several months."

If this were any other game, level ten would just be Novice Village level, reaching it by following the main quest line.

However, in Wasteland OL, although level ten is still just the level after leaving Novice Village, it takes one or two months of grind to reach it.

He had never played a game with such a difficult leveling system!

The craziest part was that although experience points and levels were quantified, the growth curve wasn't smooth—sometimes killing would yield experience, sometimes it wouldn't.

Though Brother Elder Fang wrote a guide on the official website, it was also pretty vague, only casually mentioning "experience gains are positively correlated with risk."

In other words, you could only level up quickly by risking death repeatedly, but if you actually died, the experience accumulated up to the last save would be reset to zero.

How to balance gains, risks, and attrition for the most efficient leveling up, there's a lot of knowledge involved, and many T0 and T1 players are still researching it to this day.

Of course, it's entirely possible to play recklessly without considering all these.

Star River did exactly that.

Though he had the idea of leveling up, he was too lazy to consider so much, so he simply took a quest that involved travelling far and took the opportunity to see just how big this game world really was.

"This game is indeed somewhat annoying in bizarre ways," Falling Feather nodded in agreement and casually asked, "...by the way, what's your quest?"

"There's a Merchant in City of Dawn called Zhou Nan, who claims his parents and siblings were detained by a Landlord near Town Of Hope, and he asked me to take some money to ransom them back."

This quest...

It sounded strangely familiar.

Watching Falling Feather freeze for some reason, Star River chuckled and wriggled his eyebrows.

"Guess how much the reward is?"

Falling Feather swallowed.

"How much?"

Saving one person was already worth one hundred thousand, to save a whole family... wouldn't that be in the millions?!

As if to confirm his guess.

Star River's face bore a smug smile, slowly raising a finger.

"Ten thousand!"

"..."

The air went quiet for a moment.

The atmosphere subtly turned a little awkward.

Looking at Falling Feather's unresponsive face, Star River's expression gradually shifted from smugness to embarrassment, and he gave a light cough.

"Uh... Shocked, huh? NPCs in the wild do offer more than official quests, but they lack Contribution Points and regional prestige, so it's not really that exaggerated."

"How should I put it..." Falling Feather subtly averted his gaze from the misguided boasting of Brother Star River, "...pat on the head?"

"Pat on the head, what the hell?!"

Watching Star River becoming agitated, Falling Feather hesitated but ultimately couldn't bear to see him exploited by an NPC, so he chose his words carefully.

"Actually... I received a similar quest to yours. I have to go to the Cone Wood Farm to save a person."

"One person?"

"Yeah," Falling Feather nodded slowly, "it was about one hundred thousand, I suppose."

"One hundred thousand?!"

Star River's eyes bulged, staring at him in disbelief, as if his expression were saying, "Are you kidding?"

But the truth was always cruel.

Something occurred to Falling Feather, who exclaimed "Ah" and said.

"You got this quest directly from a tavern, without going through the Mercenary Guild, right?"

Star River: "Yeah, but that's not my fault, I was already on the road when I heard from the official website that some Mercenary Guild had been established."

I see.

An epiphany dawned on Falling Feather's face.

That explained everything.

"Tsk, no wonder... You didn't take the quest through VM, so not only is the reward low, but you also don't get mercenary profession experience."

"Holy shit!" Star River nearly sprayed out a mouthful of old blood, completely breaking his defense right there and then.

Good grief.

He thought he had scored big with this quest, picking up a treasure, but it turned out he was just a pure sucker.

Watching Brother Star River beginning to question his life choices, Falling Feather couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt—maybe it would have been better not to tell him the truth.

"Maybe the difficulty is different? That Cone Wood Farm has over fifty thousand people, I heard it's a closed-off settlement, not so easy to get into... Besides, the employer didn't mention a ransom, they're probably planning on having me snatch the person away."

As he said this, something else occurred to Falling Feather.

"Ah right, the ransom... did the NPC give you the ransom?"

Star River nodded with tears in his eyes, bordering on crying.

"Hmm, five thousand dinars... one thousand per person, for a total of five."

The dinar and the silver coin didn't have a fixed exchange rate, but it was said that on the western side of Central Continent, a thousand dinars could buy an adult slave of average talent.

Within the territories of the Alliance, the trade of people was forbidden; dinars were usually used only as payment for mercenaries or bounty hunters and didn't have much actual purchasing power.

These five thousand dinars were both the ransom for the redemption target and the advance deposit; he needed to bring the people back safely to the City of Dawn to receive the full bounty from the employer.

Falling Feather scratched his head.

"I do have an idea that could minimize your loss."

Star River immediately asked,

"What idea?"

Falling Feather: "If you snatch the people directly... wouldn't that ransom money be yours?"

The tasks assigned by the Mercenary Guild probably wouldn't allow for such an action, but private work should be another matter.

Although the dinar and the silver coin didn't have an official channel of exchange, one could probably still exchange them for silver coins on the Black Market.

Star River was stunned.

"Ah, that... that works?"

Falling Feather nodded.

"I think it should be fine, after all, the target is a slave owner, and the object is slaves whose freedom has been restricted. According to the 'Player's Handbook,' proactive violent acts aimed at lifting personal restrictions are not punishable. In other words, the estates of slave owners and the slave hunters are not protected by the rules of the refuge."

It wasn't just the slave owners.

Other NPC forces that were contrary to the Alliance's values or categorized into the chaotic evil camp were also unprotected.

For instance, the Torch Church, Enlightenment Society, and so on.

Though the Alliance didn't recommend players causing trouble in others' settlements.

After all, unrecognized order was, in fact, a form of order, and physically eliminating one or two individuals wouldn't really solve any issues; it might even create new troubles.

However, the phrase "not punishable" had indeed enlightened Star River.

His eyes heated up visibly, as he stared intently at Falling Feather and grabbed his arm.

"Good brother! Help me out!"

"Help you... how can I help." Falling Feather looked blankly at the fiery-eyed Star River, suddenly thought of something, and got a fright, "Damn it, you're not asking me to help you snatch people, are you? I've got my own tasks to do, or maybe I can help you when I get back."

Not being punished by the refuge didn't mean he wouldn't be hated by the locals. He didn't want to be dealing with a task while also handling a bounty hanging over his head.

Seeing that his brother had misunderstood him, Star River quickly explained with a smile.

"Tsk, the help I was referring to isn't what you're thinking."

"Then, what is it?"

"You've just reminded me," Star River grinned sardonically, pulling Falling Feather to the side and speaking calmly and deliberately, "since the rights of slave owners are not protected by the 'Player's Handbook,' then... deception is also possible, right?"

"Deception?" Falling Feather gave him a doubtful glance, "How do you plan to deceive?"

This wasteland had no shortage of clever people.

And this guy had just been tricked by an NPC, so it was hard for him to optimistically think this guy still had the talent to fool others.

Star River chuckled and continued.

"That's easy, your exoskeleton is called the K-10 'Iron Wall', right?"

"Uh, yes..."

"I remember this equipment is supplied exclusively to the Giant Stone City Militia Group and isn't sold to outsiders... is that correct?"

"That's not quite accurate," Falling Feather corrected him, "Last month, some militia from Giant Stone City sold off their gear, and some of it did flow out."

Like the set he wore and the ones dressed by Xiaoyu behind him; they were acquired when they sheared the wool, bought almost at a tenth of the price from Brother Fang Chang.

Otherwise, he couldn't afford it at the internal purchase price of fifteen thousand silver coins.

"I know," Star River glanced at the group of Xiaoyu behind Falling Feather and continued deliberately, "One piece doesn't prove much... but what if it's a bunch?"

"Just spit it out... what the hell do you want to do?"

Watching Falling Feather become increasingly wary, Star River grinned devilishly and said.

"It's simple, if that certain Zhou Nan... who happens to be my employer, becomes a distinguished guest of some big shot in Giant Stone City, or even becomes the big shot himself, then when the Militia Group comes asking for someone... do you think the Slave Owners here would dare to refuse?"

"Holy shit?!" Falling Feather's eyes widened, "You, you plan to impersonate the Militia Group to con people? Aren't you afraid of causing a diplomatic dispute?"

"Don't talk nonsense, what diplomacy is there to talk about with a small settlement?" Star River quickly said, "Besides, we're rescuing people! You get that, right? Rescuing!"

"But—"

Seeing Falling Feather's hesitation, Star River continued at a rapid pace.

"Relax, brother, we're hundreds of kilometers away from Giant Stone City here, there's no way this can get exposed! Consider it a favor you're doing for me... Right, you need to rescue someone afterward, right? If this method works, we can use the same tactic once more at the Pinecone Wood Farm! This time you help a brother out, next time the brother will help you! We cover for each other, and without spending a dime on ransom, we can fish out all the hostages!"

Hiss...

That actually makes some sense?

Upon further consideration, Falling Feather thought this idea might actually be pretty good!

The Alliance had just taken over Giant Stone City, and all the surrounding Slave Owners were shaking in their boots. If he pretended to be from the Giant Stone City Militia Group, going to the nearby Slave Owners for a few hostages should be a breeze, right?

No more hesitation. Falling Feather took Xiaoyu and the rest of the gang with physical bodies, and immediately set off with Star River to the south gate of Town Of Hope.

Although the town's main gate was blocked with barricades, they only stopped goods and vehicles, not restricting people from coming and going; at most, they were warned of the dangers outside and advised not to run around unnecessarily.

As for someone as tough as Falling Feather with a group of fierce-looking enforcers, the guards at the gate didn't even dare to offer a word of advice, only silently watching them leave.

The Hope Farm, the one in the mission, lay just south of Town Of Hope.

A three-story watchtower stood like a castle amidst a field, surrounded by a large concrete enclosing wall, with only a muddy path leading to the neighboring town.

Mostly freemen lived in the town, while a row of shacks outside the watchtower were likely where the serfs resided.

The Landlord named Kong Lingkai lived inside the concrete wall and was said to be an influential figure in town.

Seeing the Maxim I and Cavalry Guns mounted on the concrete wall, one wouldn't have a hard time guessing that the guy had made a fortune by doing business with the Alliance.

The two players exchanged information along the way and, while rehearsing their lines, also translated some sentences they might need using VM.

Not speaking clearly is okay; the residents of the Alliance refuge all talk like that. Mumbling actually makes it more credible.

A group of twelve arrived at the side of the gun tower.

A fully armed guard stood on the four-meter high gatehouse, ready for action, as if he had seen them from afar.

Just as Star River was about to speak and state their purpose, the guard on the gatehouse called out.

"Are you from the Alliance?"

Huh?

These folks are quite sharp, huh?

Seeing that they were directly recognized, Star River felt a thrill of triumph, yet he showed no sign of it on his face and, tilting his chin upward, shouted,

"Good that you recognize us! Let your master come out to meet me!"

According to the script he had imagined, upon learning they were from the Alliance, that guard should've scrambled to report back, and then the master of this place would've politely invited them in, tripping over themselves to welcome them.

However, what neither player expected was, not only did not a trace of fear appear on the guard's face, but he snickered through his nose.

"Heh, recognize you? You're the fifth group this month! Making such a big deal out of this tiny farm, you must really be bored!"

Hearing this, both Star River and Falling Feather were instantly dumbfounded.

"What the heck?!"

"The Alliance people have been here?!"

That's impossible...

They check the official website every day.

If the Alliance had been here, they would definitely have been the first to know.

Seeing the puzzled expressions on both their faces, the guard sneered disdainfully,

"Some who claimed to be from the Alliance came before, trying to intimidate us, demanding we either hand over all the slaves or roll out of here. We nearly believed them! Our master said, if anyone else claiming to be from the Alliance comes begging, we'll have their Manager come in person!"

Falling Feather and Star River exchanged a glance and conversed with bewildered looks.

'Definitely not players...'

'Don't need to use "definitely", I can guess it was those Wasteland Wanderers using my ass!'

"Damn it..."

'These dogs are too cunning!'

Using the Alliance's name to do dirty deeds!

Is this something humans do?!

Taking a look at the translation on their VM, Star River gritted his teeth and shouted towards the gatehouse with a hint of threat in his voice,

"So, you're not planning on releasing them?"

The guard laughed and said,

"You can have the people if you want, just pay their ransom!"

A mere twelve people, they weren't worth his fear.

So what if they're wearing exoskeletons?

Behind him in the gun tower, there are at least five Maxim guns set up, and with fields all around providing no cover, a battle would see these twelve shot into sieves in a matter of minutes.

Seeing the guard's undaunted attitude, Star River started to have doubts. Gritting his teeth, he said,

"I need to see if these people are alive first."

The guard on the wall took another hard look at him, growing even more confident.

"Oh? You already have a target, huh... Tell me, what's the name of the person?"

Star River pulled out a piece of paper and glanced at it before shouting,

"Zhou Daniu!"

That name could be said to be incredibly rustic.

However, upon hearing the name, the guard on the wall was taken aback, and his expression quickly changed.

"Did Zhou Nan send you?!"

Star River paused, unsure why the guard had such a big reaction, when Falling Feather hastily helped him out, whispering,

"Your employer is probably a Merchant reared by the Landlord of this farm!"

"I know that..."

"You knew and still said that?!"

"Otherwise, what?" Star River looked at him puzzledly, "If I don't say who I want to ransom, how the heck am I going to get the person out?"

Falling Feather was at a loss whether to laugh or cry as he said,

"Damn... are you truly clueless or just pretending? You want a hostage! Hostage, understand? You think that bit of money will get the person back?"

Either scare them into handing the person over voluntarily or directly snatch them back. Going to the door with a ransom is absolutely not an option.

That's like a noose around the neck.

Even if it's possible to get the person back, it's definitely not something a few thousand dinars will fix. Depending on the size of the transaction, it would cost at least several thousand to tens of thousands of silver coins.

He was confused by the guy's reaction too.

Logically speaking, even if this big guy didn't know the situation in Brocade River Province, his employer should have some idea, right?

There must be some misunderstanding here.

Like, when he accepted the mission, he asked "How can I ransom someone without money," and then the employer gave him those few thousand dinars as extra reward and a deposit for the mission.

This time, Star River finally came to his senses.

"Damn it!"

Watching the guard hurry back to report, Star River abruptly became anxious and quickly started typing out translations on his VM, shouting up to the wall,

"Hold on, friend, I don't know who this Zhou Nan you're speaking of is... We're from the Giant Stone City Militia Group, it's our leader who sent us to get the person!"

It seems too late to say this now.

"Let your employer come himself!" a loud voice interrupted him, and a man in an exoskeleton stood atop the enclosing wall.

Unlike the Manager, although he was wrapped up tightly in high-end equipment, he didn't seem very capable in combat.

His pale, old face framed a tuft of black, shining beard, and his dark, shiny eyes were like those of a rat.

Behind him stood a dozen fully armed soldiers, half of their weaponry was from the City of Dawn, and the other half from Giant Stone City, a truly fine collection.

It was a complete contrast to the gun tower beneath his feet.

"Tsk, tsk, grown some wings and think you can fly away from me... you're ungrateful. If it weren't for me, you'd never have the chance to leave this place in your life."

Watching the bewildered Star River, the man smirked sinisterly and continued.

"Could you bother to go back and tell your employer I detest such cunning. If he tries to test my limits with such a clumsy tactic again, I'll chop off his father's, mother's, and his elder brother's hands and mail them to him."

"Of course, I'm easy to talk to. If you want to ransom your family, that's fine, just pay back what you owe me with interest! Let me think... 10 million Cr should be enough, or one billion dinars also works."

Falling Feather blankly glanced at Star River.

"Is your employer that rich?"

Star River shook his head in bemusement.

"Not really... I guess."

The guy looked like a Merchant, with no small amount of trade, but from his attire, he didn't seem very wealthy.

Ten thousand silver coins.

That was a fortune.

Looking down at the silent group below the gatehouse, Kong Lingkai's eyes slightly turned, and he suddenly spoke.

"You're hired hands too, right? How much did he give you?"

"One... two thousand silver coins."

Falling Feather looked at Star River in surprise, seeing him stand upright, cheeks not blushing, heart not beating, it seemed he had grown a bit.

The man on the gatehouse, hearing the number, showed a pleased smile.

"According to the contract with him, he should have paid me last year's dividend before this March... Let me think, it should be around one million silver coins."

Upon seeing the translation given by VM, Star River's eyes widened.

"That much?!"

"Of course. He's very wealthy, and why do you think he earns so much? It's all because I gave him the capital to do business with and supplied him with cheap food. Rightly speaking, all the property he has should be mine. He's too naive to think he can take off the noose from his neck with just ten thousand silver coins."

Kong Lingkai chuckled and continued.

"Let's make a deal, you bring that guy over from the Alliance territory, and I'll give you two hundred thousand silver coins!"

Hearing this number, both were shocked.

Goodness gracious!

Two hundred thousand!

Was there this hidden option in the mission?!

Thinking about how much RMB two hundred thousand silver coins could become, Star River felt his hands trembling, but he quickly calmed down.

Kidnapping NPCs within the Alliance territory...

Afraid that if he earned the money, he would not have the chance to spend it.

"Sorry, I can't agree to that," said Star River, his tone serious, looking up at the man on the gatehouse.

Hearing this, Falling Feather almost spat out.

"Damn it! Are you crazy? You just refused like that?"

Looking at the agitated Falling Feather, Star River asked in surprise.

"Otherwise? Saving someone doesn't violate the Player's Handbook, but the nature of kidnapping is different."

Seeing him not catching on, Falling Feather, frustrated, said.

"It's not... can't you pretend to agree first, then earn this guy's trust, and take the chance to save the person?"

Star River was taken aback, completely astonished.

"Damn?!"

There was such an option?

Watching this honest fellow, Falling Feather couldn't help covering his face, ashamed of himself for having felt a moment earlier that he had grown.

"Is this your first time playing a high-freedom RPG?"

But it seemed he wasn't in a position to laugh at him.

When he first played this game, he was quite candid, believing whatever NPCs said.

Looking at the argument between the two, the man on the gatehouse showed a trace of disappointment, but that was all.

He shrugged his shoulders, apparently indifferent.

"Then there's nothing to talk about."

Star River quickly raised his right hand.

"Wait a second, I've changed my mind—"

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of bells, followed by bursts of gunfire and coarse roaring, suddenly came from the town not far behind them.

Everyone present was distracted by the gunfire.

Especially Kong Lingkai on the gatehouse, whose face changed immediately upon hearing the urgent bell, as he faintly sensed something was wrong.

At that moment, a servant ran up from behind him, out of breath.

"Sir, big, big news! A phone call just came from the town—"

Before he could catch his breath, Kong Lingkai grabbed him and asked anxiously,

"What happened?"

"The, the Mutants!" The servant's face was deathly pale, his forehead beaded with sweat despite the cold, as he stammered out, "Mutants... they're coming!"

Chapter 570: You Dare to Board the Plane Without Even Knowing My Name?

Hearing the servant's cry, Kong Lingkai first froze, then beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down his face, leaving him pale.

"Mutants? Those from the city area?!"

But how could that be possible?

He had never heard of those mutants attacking nearby settlements before!

"Who knows, Old Master! They all look the same, green like goblins, suddenly howling out from the woods, then they start shooting, setting fires, killing..."

The servant was so anxious he was nearly in tears, speaking incoherently, but Kong Lingkai, standing at the top of the gatehouse, had already lost interest in listening.

Roars from the mutants were already audible in the distance.

From the sheer magnitude of the noise, it was clear that the local militia stood no chance.

He had no interest in finding out how these man-eating creatures devoured their victims; all he wanted now was to get as far away from this place as possible.

Grabbing one of the guards by the arm, he shouted,

"Quick! Get my plane out of the storage!"

"Yes!" the guard swallowed his saliva, nodded hurriedly, and turned to run back.

The two players standing under the gatehouse were completely caught off guard by this sudden turn of events.

Mutants?

An airplane?!

"There's still an airplane here?!" Star River looked around dumbfoundedly, "Where's the airport?"

Luoyu didn't say a word but gawked ahead.

Before them, the spacious wooden gates opened, and several serfs in tattered clothes pushed out a propeller airplane.

The plane was a product of Goblin Technology—the W-2 ground attack aircraft—with two modified 20mm aircraft guns hanging on it!

Long ago, he had heard Mosquito boasting that Goblin Technology airplanes were selling like hotcakes in the south, which he took as a joke at the time.

But could it really be true?!

The farm owner who was previously in an exoskeleton had now changed into a different outfit and was seated behind the pilot's seat.

There was an additional passenger seat installed.

The person sitting in the pilot's seat, wearing goggles, had an expression so tense it was obvious he probably hadn't flown much.

"Is this even possible?!" Star River was beyond stunned.

"Possible my ass... just watch."

Luoyu pulled at him, leading the Xiaoyu kids aside to clear the way in front of the gate and watched interestedly to see how the two NPCs intended to take off.

Truth be told, with no obstructions and especially since it was winter, the hard-frozen mud road, which was relatively even, wasn't the worst for taking off.

However, taking off on such a runway demanded high flying skills from the pilot.

Once the speed reached two hundred knots, even a car running on the ground could be kicked up into the air by a pebble, not to mention an airplane.

He didn't believe that rookie-looking guy had such skills.

Plummeting into the adjacent field was highly probable.

Suddenly, Luoyu had an idea.

"Quick! Take off now!"

Waving away the serfs pushing the airplane, Kong Lingkai shrieked at the pilot, clutching his shoulders.

"Yes, yes!" Urged and rebuked by his boss, the pilot swiftly moved the throttle.

The propeller began to speed up, and the airplane slowly started moving forward.

At that moment, an elderly butler chased out from the gate, running alongside the plane with a frantic expression, tremblingly asking the man in the cockpit,

"Old Master, Old Master! What will we do if you leave?"

Who the hell cares about you!

Kong Lingkai gritted his teeth and yelled at him,

"I'm going to the Hope Farm for help, you lead the others north! There's an abandoned mine there... take refuge there and wait for me to return!"

Run?

How could people possibly outrun the mutants!

Those creatures were born hunters and would track you down by scent!

The butler's face turned pale, he opened his mouth to say something, but his legs could no longer keep up with the speed of the plane, and he stumbled and fell to the ground.

As he watched the plane slide away, his eyes filled with despair while he lay on the ground.

However, before the look of despair lingered in his eyes for two seconds, the plane suddenly bumped and was pulled off-course by the propeller into the field.

The blade-like propeller struck the frozen earth, snapping in two with a crack, and the right-wingtip also plowed into the dirt.

The two men sitting in the plane were jostled about messily by the sudden impact.

The farm owner seated behind was especially rattled, his chest pressed against the back of the front seat, contorting his face in pain.

"Are you trying to kill me, damn it?!"

"Sorry, sorry! There's something wrong with the plane..."

The pilot glanced back hurriedly at his boss, and then at the broken propeller and the haywire instrument panel, and beads the size of soybeans popped out on his forehead, too nervous to think straight.

He had only undergone twenty hours of training at the airfield north of the City of Dawn, barely knowing how to take off and land.

His boss had bought the plane and hardly used it, abandoning it in the storage, and even the runway at the hangar door had been repurposed for drying wheat.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to take off in such a hellish place.

"The plane's fine; you're the one who flew it wrong."

Stilted United Human language came from the side, startling the pilot as Luoyu climbed beside the cockpit.

Before he could recover, a hand reached into the cockpit and turned off the throttle.

The engine noise died down.

Luoyu, stepping away from the cockpit, examined the aircraft's nose for a moment, touched his chin, and commented,

"…The right wingtip is broken, the propeller is snapped, and the transmission shaft is probably damaged too... geez, this needs major repairs."

The pilot said nervously,

"Is there time to fix it now?"

"You're joking, right? There isn't even any ground crew here," Falling Feather glanced at him and continued, "Do you have any other planes? Or is this the only one?"

The pilot said timidly,

"There's another... we bought two."

Falling Feather breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the farm owner who was struggling to sit up from his seat.

"Hey, are you Mayor Kong? Let's make a deal."

Kong Lingkai looked up at the mercenary standing next to the plane and then at the rifle hanging in front of him, swallowed and asked,

"...What kind of deal?"

His private soldiers were all by the gun towers, and his dim-sighted butler looked like an idiot lying there.

These fools...

Useless, every single one of them!

If it had been when he was standing in the gatehouse, he'd never negotiate any deal with this guy.

But now, he had to listen.

"I can fly this plane... or to put it another way, I've flown this thing in the deserts to the west and punched the Vellante people in the nose."

Falling Feather gestured with his chin towards the plane with the broken propeller and continued, "You want to flee for your life, right? I'll help you escape. In exchange, you give my buddy the people he wants."

Mayor Kong instinctively wanted to exclaim that it was impossible, but on second thought, with things having reached this point, even if he didn't hand over the people, once those mutants arrived, those few people were sure to die.

And based on what this guy said, he seemed to be a pretty good pilot?

Mayor Kong stared at him, half-believing and half-doubting, and said,

"... Are you really with the Alliance?"

Falling Feather made a helpless face.

"Do you think I'm joking with you? You better make up your mind quickly, or it'll be too late."

Not sure if it's true or not, but it seemed he had to believe it now.

Glancing at the useless rookie sitting in the driver's seat, Mayor Kong swallowed and nodded slowly.

"Deal..."

Seeing that the man in front of him took the bait, a smile appeared on Falling Feather's face.

"Then it's settled so pleasantly."

Time was of the essence, no time to delay.

Led by the farm owner, Falling Feather quickly arrived at the hangar within the concrete walls. Through the open doors, he saw the industrial miracle (junk) of Goblin Technology — the W-2 Attack Aircraft.

Perhaps they always intended to use these planes as escape vehicles; both planes had modified cockpits, cramming an extra seat into the already compact space.

Next to the east wall, there was a wide concrete runway. However, the runway was piled with stuff and strewn with wheat drying in the sun.

Mayor Kong's expression was a bit embarrassed; he coughed lightly.

"These servants... they don't understand..."

"That kind of thing is none of my concern..." Falling Feather, relieved to see the plane's ammunition intact, looked at him and continued, "Where are the people we want?"

Mayor Kong gave a signal to a guard beside him, who hurried away and soon returned with two elders and a couple holding children.

Confusion and fear were written on their faces as they stared at the farm owner and his private soldiers, not knowing why they were brought here or what was happening outside.

Falling Feather looked at Star River.

"Are these the ones?"

"Just like in the photos," Star River opened the VM to confirm their identities, then turned to Falling Feather with joy, "Thanks, brother!"

"Don't mention it, it's too early to be happy. We've still got work to do... I've got a caravan to send off in Town of Hope."

As he spoke, Falling Feather took off the K10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton from his body and handed it over to Star River, whispering instructions.

"You take Xiaoyu and them to kill your way over later... Mark the targets on the ground for me. Damn, almost forgot... No need for me to tell you what to do, right?"

Star River chuckled, "You're kidding again. Leave it to me, brother; just make sure you hit the mark."

Falling Feather laughed.

"Of course."

Watching the two communicate in a language they didn't understand, Mayor Kong, who had already taken his seat on the plane, felt uneasy and called out to the two.

"What are you muttering about? Hurry up!"

"Coming, coming," Falling Feather laughed as he climbed onto the plane and buckled up. He waved the serfs who were ready to drag the plane away, "Step aside, and just don't block my way."

With that, he gently pushed the throttle and the plane began to move slowly forward with the hum of the engine, heading towards the open doors.

Sitting behind him, Mayor Kong watched Falling Feather's back nervously, almost pressing himself into the back of the seat.

As they reached the door and saw the plane crashed in the field, his voice took on a tinge of fear.

"... Will this work?"

"Of course! Hold tight now!"

Falling Feather moved his fingers across the controls, adjusted the flaps for takeoff with a smile, and then slammed the throttle all the way forward.

The tremendous thrust came from the nose of the aircraft, and caught off guard, Mayor Kong was pressed back against the seat by the force.

Panic widened in his eyes as he shouted,

"Wait a minute, slow down—"

"Shut up!"

He silenced the annoying man behind him, gripped the control stick tightly, stared at the runway speeding by below the cabin, took a deep breath, and jerked the nose up at the right moment.

The aircraft lifted from the ground.

Mayor Kong's heart rose to his throat.

Not until the ground grew distant, and the plane completely broke free from the Earth's grasp, did he shout out in excitement,

"Haha! Go to hell, you green-skinned mongrels!"

Still not satisfied, he spat out of the cockpit and cursed for a while before snapping back to reality and looking at the pilot in front of him.

"Um... cough, how may I address you, friend?"

"Falling Feather!" Falling Feather responded heartily.

This NPC is still a bit too honest.

Even without knowing his own name, he dares to just hop on.

Any other player would never dare!

"Falling Feather, huh... Please head south. Do you know where Pine Cone Wood Farm is? Just land nearby; I need to bring the news from here over there."

"Pine Cone Wood Farm?" Falling Feather said with a laugh, "I have no idea."

Kong Lingkai paused, but didn't detect anything amiss in that laugh, assuming this guy was new here. So he patiently continued.

"No problem, just fly south, I'll guide you..."

Falling Feather laughed out loud.

"What's that? The wind is too loud; I can't hear you!"

Kong Lingkai: "???"

Before the guy sitting behind him could come to his senses, Falling Feather suddenly swung the steering lever to the left and unlocked the weapons.

"Brace yourself—!"

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Hope Farm, the old butler and a group of private farm guards stood around helplessly, uncertain what to do.

"What should we do..." a guard at the entrance mumbled, hoping someone would give him an idea.

However, none of the farm's "big shots" said a word.

Star River glanced at these people, not expecting any help from them. He then shifted his gaze to the old man called Zhou Daniu.

That old man looked timid and unsure why these military types were looking for him. He ventured a question.

"...Sir?"

After thinking for a moment, Star River spoke in broken United Human language.

"Your son sent me to pick you up and take you to the Alliance, but to be honest, he paid too little... Anyway, I'll still take you to reunite with him, but have a word with him and tell him to pay more."

The old man looked confused, not understanding why the boss would let his family go. But seeing that he didn't seem to be joking, he still nodded.

Star River then looked at the dazed old butler standing behind him.

"Don't worry, you won't die... Just a few Elite Monsters; look how scared you are."

What a waste of those weapons.

Dressed in Falling Feather's exoskeleton, Star River chambered his rifle and waved to the Xiaoyus waiting nearby, advancing towards the Town of Hope.

The caravan guarded by the Luoyu Brothers was still in the town.

Before taking away these NPCs from the mission objectives, he had to deal with those Mutants attacking the town first.

As for whether these people might go back on their word and renege, he wasn't concerned about that at all.

Their leader was still in his hands.

Once up in the sky, they would have no say.

...

"Ogres—!"

The ear-splitting roar outside the enclosing wall of Town of Hope, the bullets flying like rain toward the town's gate, kept the town's militia from raising their heads.

The sporadic explosions were tearing at their already crumbling psychological defenses.

Mutants!

Those guys who live in the city district!

The bullets they fired at these green-skinned monsters were like toothpicks plunged into cotton; hardly any of them fell.

But if someone showed their head, it would be blasted open with brains flying by the hail of bullets.

Faces behind cover were filled with fear, having never seen such a battle before, and some of the less courageous were trembling all over.

Although Nago could help them overcome the fear inside, without the Holy Water from the god's messenger, it would only make them fish ready to be slaughtered.

No one dared to consume it at a time like this.

They could only confront their fear with their own will...

"Ha ha ha! Cowards! Cry, scream, flee for your lives!"

"Your Mutant grandpa is here!"

Ogre, standing on an off-road vehicle and holding onto the machine gun with both hands, roared with excitement, his finger pressed tightly on the trigger as if welded there.

The red-hot barrel swept in random bursts at the gate, tracer rounds wildly dancing in the air, sparing no ammo.

Seeing all those frightened eyes, his mood was indescribably joyful, his thrilled soul seemingly quivering.

Indeed.

This is how those two-legged beasts should be!

As if to completely vent the fear from the last battle, he shouted excitedly.

"Hit them hard! Flatten them!"

His henchmen beside him also let out excited shouts.

"Oooh ooh ooh!"

The gunshots were loud outside the town, and inside it had turned to chaos.

The Mutants outside did not seem in a hurry to devour them all at once but rather intended to torture their will to resist with fear and nibble them away slowly after their morale collapsed.

At the entrance of the town hall, a group of Mercenaries and Caravan guards crowded around, and a large number of militia were sticking there.

The furious Mercenary leader stepped forward, grabbed the town hall worker who came out to appease the crowd, and roared at him.

"Damn it, you tell me these are Looters?!"

"I, I don't know either..." the worker looked panic-stricken, desperately signaling to the militia on the side.

The militia, too, acting on impulse, saw that he was grabbed by the collar, immediately raised his gun, trying to save the man.

The surrounding Mercenaries and Caravan guards changed their expressions at this and quickly drew their weapons, pointing them at the group of militia.

Are you kidding me?

These are tough guys who have been through the Wasteland for years; a few guns couldn't scare them.

The atmosphere on the scene instantly became tense.

The battle was hot outside the town, and here, it was about to erupt.

Watching the group of agitated people, Mayor Ma Hechang, who was hiding in the public office, was sweating profusely.

His original intention was to have these people stay and help them fight the Mutants, but now the situation had turned around—outside they were barely holding on, and inside they were about to start fighting.

Knowing he could no longer hide, he gritted his teeth, walked out from the door, and snatched a rifle from a militia member's hands.

"Enough, stop it all of you! What are you doing! What time do you think it is—"

"Yes, what time do you think it is, the Mutants have hit our doorstep, and we are still kept in the dark!"

Letting go of the collar he was gripping, the Mercenary leader pushed the worker aside and walked up to Mayor Ma, squinting and glaring at him.

Looking at the nose almost poking his own face, Mayor Ma felt an unparalleled panic, but still tried to appear calm.

"What do you want to do?"

"I want an explanation!" the Mercenary leader said, staring at him intensely, pausing after each word.

Mayor Ma took a step back, nervously speaking,

"Ask the Mutants for that kind of thing! How would I, I know why they have come!"

"How would you know? You don't know, then tell me why you were fixing those roadblocks at the gate, silently blocking the way, not letting our cars leave from here?" glaring at him relentlessly, the Mercenary leader stepped forward, "Don't freaking pretend now, you knew everything, you just wanted to drag us down with you."

Mayor Ma's face turned ashen, unable to refute, he could only stubbornly say,

"No matter what... we are all grasshoppers on the same string now, if those green-skinned guys break in, no one will survive!"

Escape was even less of an option.

No one could run away from those monsters.

What those beasts loved doing most was to chase their prey until they were exhausted, lying on the ground begging for mercy.

Clearly aware of this,

The Mercenary leader bit his lip, spat on the ground, took his rifle from his back, and headed toward the Western Gate.

"Wait until after the fight, then I'll settle the score with you!"

Having fought Mutants in other places before, he knew very well how difficult they were to deal with.

If he had known in advance that they were facing Mutants, he wasn't sure if he would take his brothers and flee without the pay, but that didn't stop him from being furious about being kept in the dark.

Standing together with those foreign merchants, Wu Wen Zhou's face was filled with anxiety, looking around left and right.

That Luoyu was nowhere to be seen, with such commotion outside and yet no return.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind.

That guy...

He couldn't have run away, could he?

Just as he had this thought, a piercing long wail suddenly sounded in the air, like the screech of death, tormenting everyone's sensitive nerves.

"Wuu—!"

That was the roar of the Beeper.

Everyone instinctively raised their heads, only to see a cross with propellers buzzing down from the sky.

"...Old Man Kong's airplane?!"

Mayor Ma Hechang looked up in surprise, watching the familiar aircraft, and his face was filled with astonishment.

Although none of the Farm owners in Brocade River Province liked the Alliance, they all liked to trade their grain for weapons from the Alliance.

A long time ago he had heard people say that the owner of a neighboring farm had imported some machine guns and big guns from the Alliance.

However, what he did not expect was that miser would come and muddle through this mess!

While he was staring blankly into the sky, thick machine gun cannons suddenly spat out tongues of fire.

The people in front of the public office instinctively crouched down.

A series of tracer bullets slanted down towards the west of the town; then the aircraft's nose elegantly pulled up amid the tumultuous sound of gunfire.

In that fleeting afterimage, Mayor Ma Hechang seemed to catch a glimpse of a familiar face.

That face was twisting in the roaring wind.

"What are you doing?! Are you insane??"

Kong Lingkai's eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, his mouth distorted by the howling wind into the shape of a chamber pot, roaring at the top of his lungs.

Watching the aircraft suddenly dive toward the ground, he almost thought he was going to crash and die!

"Hahaha! Thrilling!"

Bullets whizzed past the aircraft, chasing it but with no deterrent effect.

Glancing back at the Mutant Warriors scattered on the ground by the strafing, Luoyu adjusted the plane's nose with exhilaration, ready for another dive.

Kong Lingkai wished he could strangle this guy, but he dared not reach out, he could only stare hard at the back of his head, his consciousness drifting with the airplane's sharp turns.

The Ogres, who had been strafed, climbed up from the wreck of the broken off-road vehicle, fixing their gaze on the guy flying above, eyes marked with a touch of wariness.

What in the world was that thing?

Instinct or perhaps intuition told him that this guy might be the same kind of human he had encountered before... the kind who are not afraid of death.

At that moment, flashes of gunfire came from one side, catching the right-wing squad off guard.

Ogre never thought those humans would dare to leave their covers for a counterattack; he quickly called his subordinates, leading a team to support the right flank.

However, just as they arrived, a round of machine-gun fire found its mark like it had eyes, accurately raining down on the heads of those brothers.

In front of a 20mm cannon, tree trunks as thick as thighs were like made of paper, let alone flesh and blood.

In just a breath's time, the squad of ten that had advanced was decimated by half, the machine-gun bombardment leaving a mess of limbs and severed parts.

"Damn it!"

Ogre gritted his teeth, detached the fixed machine gun from the off-road vehicle, preparing to aim at the aircraft on its dive and shoot it down.

However, just then, another round of intense gunfire sounded from their rear, screams rising from the woods.

In those bloodthirsty eyes, a rare flash of panic appeared as Ogre quickly glanced behind him, turning the muzzle in his hands.

How was there more?

Exactly how many people were there?

An ominous feeling surged in his heart.

They were surrounded!

Chapter 571: The Suspected Awakening Mutant

"Aircraft?!"

"And a damn Mosquito-style one..."

In the jungle, a group of people looked up in surprise as a W-2 Attack Aircraft strafed gunfire at the ground before quickly pulling up and climbing in altitude.

Mutants outside the town fired into the sky, with bullets whizzing upwards, but they couldn't keep up with the aircraft as it sped away.

It wasn't long before the plane circled back for another round of strafing, sending a large number of green-skinned mutants who couldn't dodge in time to their demise.

That cannon seemed to have eyes of its own.

Clearly, someone was directing its ground fire.

Looking up at the sky, Old White's face showed a hint of surprise.

"This brother's flying pretty well."

Wild Wind nodded in agreement.

"It's got to be one of our own."

W-2 Attack Aircraft had only been exported to Brocade River Province less than a year ago.

Even with uniquely talented players, it was impossible to master flying the aircraft to perfection with just a single life.

Old White glanced at the VM, noting the icons of other players nearby—two green dots were not far from their position.

One of the quickly moving green icons was marked with the name Falling Feather.

Night Ten was also shocked as he checked the VM.

"Holy shit? The Luoyu Brothers?"

Quit Smoking expressed his surprise.

"What are they doing here?"

Fang Chang thought for a moment and said,

"They're probably doing a side quest. Remember, when the Mercenary Guild was first introduced, there were some new tasks updated, and I saw a lot of highly profitable ones were snapped up."

At the time, since he was about to head to Brocade River Province anyway, he had considered picking up some tasks from the Mercenary Guild. But his hands were a bit too slow, and those high-profit tasks were gone almost as soon as they were posted.

Gotta say, this brother's reflexes were incredibly fast!

"Regardless of why they're here, since we have the same enemy, that makes them our allies!"

With that, Old White grinned and chambered his rifle.

"Get ready to fight!"

The communication channel was filled with excited roars, and everyone else also clicked their rifles into place.

"For Brother Chicken's revenge!"

"Awoo, awoo, awoo!"

It was about two hours earlier.

After leading the residents of Dusty Town to retreat, they took a Viper Transport Plane back to the area, intending to avenge their brother, Midnight Chicken Killing.

Or to put it another way, to land the final blow on the mutant Elite Monster with the cybernetic body modifications.

The green-skinned guys were originally partying on the battlefield, but it seemed they were not fully satisfied, so they huffed and puffed their way eastward.

They followed the beasts' tracks all the way here, and then they heard gunfire in the area.

Rushing towards the sound of the guns, they indeed saw the green-skinned mutants attacking the settlement.

If there were no surprises, this corroded and riddled settlement, infected by Nago, was unlikely to last half an hour in the hands of these green-skinned fellows.

However—

Now, it seemed, the unexpected had already happened.

Hearing the gunfire from all directions, Euog's fierce pupils flickered with a hint of panic as he roared for his men to charge.

"Charge forward! Tear them apart!"

Blistering tracer rounds roamed wildly through the jungle.

Especially the barrage of bullets coming from the rear was denser and more cunning than from other directions,
putting even him under pressure.

These people were completely different from those he had encountered before!

Their fighting style was not like that of well-trained soldiers, but also distinct from the tough guys he had met previously.

They were like something in between.

Retaining a fierce fighting style while coordinating on tactics.

They worked in teams of three, columns of three, attacking in pincer movements, alternating fire for suppression, and using crossfires to maximize the use of cover.

Though the full-power rounds from the LD-47 weren't as powerful as the Armor-Piercing Bullets from a Bomb Gun, a hit to the head was just as effective.

A mutant centurion, screaming with his minions while adorned with a fully enclosed steel helmet and steel plates, had just left cover and didn't make it two steps before his head was exploded by an Armor-Piercing Bullet from a 20mm Cavalry Gun.

Hot brain matter and blood splattered everywhere, leaving several nearby Mutant Warriors stunned.

Yet the continuous burst of gunfire didn't stop for their halted steps, and soon a cloud of blood opened on their bodies.

One unlucky devil had half a shoulder blown off, and another's head was left with only half a jaw hanging by his neck.

Just one encounter.

A squad of ten reduced by more than half!

And the incessant gunfire was still advancing, like an abrupt downpour, tearing open a breach in the mutants' once-solid line.

Euog glared at those wearing Exoskeletons.

His instincts told him these guys were dangerous!

Even more dangerous than all the prey he'd encountered in his lifetime combined!

And it was for this very reason that he felt an immense rage welling up within him.

It was as if the juicy steak in his plate had suddenly leaped up and slapped him across the face.

How dare these weak and ugly two-legged creatures stand before him!

Again and again, making him eat crow!

Euog clenched his jaws so tightly they creaked, his gums turning a bloody red.

His right arm's metallic parts shook violently, and his entire body's muscles were twisting and expanding like writhing earthworms.

"Ogre—"

"I'm going to chop you up and make you into meat pies!"

He roared furiously, like an uncontrollable Wild Bull, wielding the machine gun and firing bursts of gunfire. The recoil seemed non-existent to him—the bullets whizzed by, shattering tree trunks as thick as thighs into splinters and bark.

The sudden surge of firepower momentarily suppressed the onslaught of the human soldiers. They fired at him, but their standard rifle bullets couldn't harm him.

All his vitals were protected by steel; he even donned a welded steel helmet on his head, 15 millimeters thick, impenetrable even by full-power rifle rounds!

After shooting an arrow that exploded a mutant's head, Fang Chang, who had been pushed back behind cover by the barrage, immediately turned to Night Ten.

"Night Ten!"

"Understood!"

Focusing on the one firing the machine gun, Night Ten, who was holding a Gauss Rifle, took a deep breath of the frigid air and flicked the charging switch with his index finger.

Hum—

The buzzing sound of electricity resounded.

Blue electrical arcs gathered terrifying energy within the gun barrel, and a mass bomb was loaded in, poised like a crossbow waiting to be unleashed.

Stay calm...

He calmed himself, an unprecedented stillness washed over him as he emotionlessly aimed at that ugly face, and pressed the trigger—

Then released it!

"Bang—!"

A sonic barrier-piercing explosion rang out as the mass bomb, travelling at several times the speed of sound, flew straight through the woods towards that green skull.

But the unexpected happened.

The mutant, as if teleporting, swiftly sidestepped, dodging the fatal shot with an incredibly agile move.

The mass bomb hit a tree trunk too thick for one person to embrace, blowing a clean hole through it.

The mutant who dodged the fatal blow stood near the flying sawdust, his bloodthirsty gaze stabbing over like a dagger.

Coming face to face with those eyes, Night Ten was utterly shocked.

"What the fuck?!"

Quit Smoking next to him was also stunned.

"Did you miss?"

Night Ten spoke absentmindedly.

"No... he managed to dodge that?!"

Just as he finished speaking, a string of machine-gun fire streaked towards the mutant from the sky.

If it were just a mortal body, those 20mm armor-piercing bullets would have riddled it with holes, but the mutant, as if cheating, once again displayed a miraculous evasion technique.

Firmly watching that figure, Night Ten, with his Gauss Rifle, realized he couldn't even see the trajectory of his movement.

Fang Chang, with his agility system, squinted his eyes.

His extraordinary dynamic vision allowed him to see threads of detail invisible to the average person.

"...Bullet time?"

He possessed a similar talent.

Essentially, by speeding up the brain's processing of visual information, he broke down the world around him into frame by frame sequences.

Specifically, everything, including himself, seemed to slow down.

But even if he could see the bullets coming towards him, dodging them was far from easy; he didn't even have 100% confidence in avoiding them.

Let alone bullets traveling at several times the speed of sound.

Yet with a mutant's physical abilities, combined with the enhanced functions provided by cybernetic prosthetics, dodging such a deadly strike wasn't entirely impossible.

"These bastards are trickier than we imagined..." Fang Chang notched an explosive arrow and shot at the mutant.

The explosive arrowhead released shrapnel in a conical spread, but it seemed like mere tickling as it grazed the mutant.

The mutant grinned mockingly, without paying any heed, pulled out a chainsaw from his back, connected it to his right arm, and charged towards them with meteoric strides.

Confronted with that towering and formidable figure, Night Ten felt his scalp tingle, and he stowed the Gauss Rifle's stand preparing to retreat and gain distance.

Old White, standing behind him, stepped forward and out of cover, drawing a thermal cutting axe attached to his power armor.

"Leave it to me."

Seeing the sharp-angled power armor, Ogre's bloodshot pupils suddenly trembled violently, his eyes flashing menacingly.

He recognized this armor!

He was there last night!

His older brother had died at the hands of this man!

"Ogre!!!!"

The chainsaw in his hands screeched with metal friction. He roared angrily, charging at the hulking mass of metal, the 1.5-meter-long chainsaw feeling light in his grip as he hoisted it high over his head.

For an instant.

Old White, hands gripping his short axe, watched the approaching behemoth intently, not letting his guard down despite the equipment he wore.

His battlefield-honed instincts told him this one was strong!

Even stronger than the one Night Ten encountered that night!

But even so—

There was no way he could lose!

"Die—!"

Ogre bellowed with rage as he charged towards the power armor, the chainsaw, as light as a toothpick in his hand, was raised high above his head.

In that moment.

He suddenly vanished, leaving only an afterimage in his place, then violently surged forward three to five steps.

The vertically descending chainsaw, enveloped in a burst of brutal force, crashed down on the power armor like thunder striking from the heavens.

The very air around seemed to have been split open by that chainsaw!

So fast!

Barely catching sight of the monster's trajectory, Old White's eyebrows furrowed violently, and his muscles tensed to their limits.

Almost at the same moment, the battle axe clenched in his hand erupted upwards like molten lava exploding from a volcano!

"You're the one who should die——!"

The swift short axe was still a step faster.

The blunt edge of the axe hammered upwards against the mutant's breastplate from below, the dull sound of the collision rippling out in waves of sound that felt as though they could shatter eardrums.

Feeling the tremor in his abdomen, Oleg cracked a smile, aware that the axe hadn't even breached the steel plate hanging on his chest.

Although the chainsaw hadn't yet fallen, he could almost see the spectacle of this two-legged creature before him being cleaved in two by his chainsaw!

However——

That smile appeared for only a fleeting frame on his twisted face when the alert in his expression turned into an incredible shock and fear.

A scorching energy pierced through his breastplate, searing his iron-tough skin, and then, as expected, went straight through his abdomen and chest!

The axe that struck his breastplate didn't seem like an axe at all. It was more like a heavy hammer pounding on heated iron, bursting forth in a spectacular spray of sparks.

The arm gripping the chainsaw lost all strength.

He didn't even have a chance to let out a pained scream before he felt that scorching energy tear through his body and soul, sending his consciousness flying out from his shattered husk.

The rotating chainsaw flew out, stuck into the ground, its chain jammed by mud and pebbles. He crumpled to the ground, the light in his bloodthirsty pupils gradually fading.

A deathly silence on the battlefield.

For a moment, even the sound of gunfire paused.

Face after face, unnaturally pale, stared blankly in this direction, watching their leader fall without understanding what had happened.

The speed was too fast.

Both their leader's strike and the human's counterattack in the iron lumps had occurred in an instant.

And by the time they snapped out of it, everything was already over.

A pair of bloodthirsty and cruel eyes slowly filled with fear and timidity, some mutants began hesitantly retreating, some even turning to run.

They weren't completely immune to fear of death.

It was just that most of the time, they were braver than their prey.

Even when facing insurmountable monsters, they still cowered and turned to run, driven by the instinct to survive!

At this moment, in their eyes, the guy holding the axe, standing over the body of their leader, was undoubtedly a true monster!

That guy wasn't human at all!

They had never seen a human who looked like that!

A bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield, with the mutants, typically the pursuers, now being chased by a group of armed humans.

At the western gate of the town, behind the shooting barriers, a group of militiamen and mercenaries were dumbfounded by the commotion in the forest outside.

"…The sun rising in the west? Those mutants are actually running away?!"

And it wasn't just a few mutants; it was hundreds of them, chased by a dozen or twenty people!

The mercenary who lowered his gun rubbed his eyes, squinted hard at the situation outside, trying to see what exactly had happened.

He mumbled to himself doubtfully,

"Am I hallucinating…?"

If one person saw it, it may have been a hallucination.

But with so many people witnessing it, it couldn't possibly be an illusion.

Crouching behind the shooting barrier, the mercenary leader's eyes filled with disbelief, which quickly turned into admiration.

He clenched his fists and shouted excitedly,

"Damn… These guys are badass!"

Are they people from the Alliance?

The equipment would suggest so, right?

Looking at those fully-armed individuals from afar, Mayor Ma had a mixed expression on his face.

He was glad that, at last, the peaceful little town didn't have to suffer the brutality of the mutants.

But he was concerned that this group, capable of hammering mutants' heads, might be even tougher to deal with than the mutants.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

These people definitely didn't come to help them out of heroic kindness.

He was very clear about that.

The arrival of this group might not be a good omen for the situation in Brocade River City, let alone the entire Brocade River Province…

"Holy shit? Old White?!"

Above the clear sky, watching the mutants fleeing south and the group chasing behind, Luoyu was full of surprise.

From the VM, he had already confirmed the identity of those people.

Below, Star river and Xiaoyu did the same, quickly joined up with Old White's group, and pursued the fleeing mutants.

"Hey, what's the situation down there?" asked Kong Lingkai, tremulous and seated behind Luoyu, not daring to open his eyes and look down himself.

A few bullets had just grazed the side of the cabin, leaving noticeable marks, nearly scaring his soul away.

Luoyu, relaxed, casually responded,

"Ah, it's pretty much over."

Kong Lingkai paused,

"It's, it's over?!"

Luoyu said with a smile,

"That's right. You guys are lucky. The Alliance's strongest army happened to be nearby on a mission; they must've come to help after hearing the gunfire... those mutants are done for."

"The Alliance…" murmured Kong Lingkai, his face a mix of happiness and fear, indecipherable in what he was thinking.

Falling Feather couldn't care less about what he was thinking, adjusted his course, and began circling down towards the farmland south of the town.

Seeing the altitude begin to descend, Kong Lingkai suddenly became anxious and hurriedly asked,

"What are you descending for?"

Falling Feather looked back at him curiously,

"Isn't that obvious? The fight's over, we're out of bullets. If we don't go down, how long do you plan to float up in the sky?"

Kong Lingkai stuttered for a while before managing to squeeze out a sentence,

"Can you... drop me off at the Pine Cone Wood Farm down south?"

Falling Feather asked with a smile,

"What would I do there?"

Hearing this, Kong Lingkai immediately became frantic,

"How can you not keep your word! You said you'd help me escape—"

As soon as Falling Feather heard this, he burst into laughter and teased,

"All the mutants are dead. What are you running for now? I said I'd help you escape, not let you direct me. Isn't this considered an escape?"

Seeing that the guy was about to say something more, Falling Feather decided not to entertain him any longer. He switched the flaps to landing gear and pulled back the throttle while stepping on the left rudder.

"Buckle up!"

The wings tipped upwards, like a giant bird with its wings spread, plunging towards the ground, quickly landing the gear into contact with the frozen soil.

After a severe bout of shaking, the plane's landing gear dragged through the field for quite a distance.

Gripping the control stick tightly, Falling Feather managed to bring the plane to a safe and stable stop, relying on his abundant flying experience.

"Hey, you okay?"

He called out to the back, and after a long pause with no response, Falling Feather turned his head just to see the guy behind him had rolled his eyes back,

"Fuck... is he dead?!"

That ghastly appearance gave Falling Feather a fright; he quickly unfastened his seatbelt, got up, and dragged the person out of the cockpit.

Fortunately, there was still a heartbeat.

He should still be alive.

Just then, Old White and the others came over from not far away, with Star River and Xiaoyu in tow.

"Eeeh!"

Seeing Falling Feather standing next to the plane, the Xiaoyus in their exoskeletons cried out in surprise and swarmed towards him, checking him for injuries with eager hands.

"Cough—wait, be careful! There's still a person lying on the ground!" Falling Feather screamed as he was surrounded.

Watching Falling Feather being swarmed by the Xiaoyus, Night Ten's face showed a look of envy.

"Damn... I'm kind of jealous."

Wild Wind glanced at him.

"Since when did you get such weird tastes?"

Night Ten was taken aback,

"What are you talking about... a pet that can split and fight, one that's worth a whole squad, and can even buff, isn't that badass? What's that got to do with tastes?"

Wild Wind gave Night Ten a strange look, and seeing that the guy didn't seem to be feigning ignorance, he subtly averted his gaze.

"... Okay. My bad for thinking dirty."

Night Ten: "...?"

After much fuss, the excited Xiaoyus finally let Falling Feather go.

Seeing everyone laughing and looking this way, Falling Feather's face turned red involuntary; he straightened his clothes and cleared his throat to open the conversation,

"… What a coincidence to bump into you all here."

"It is indeed," Old White grinned and then said, "Are you here on a mission?"

"It's not me; Star River is the one on the mission here. I was going to Pine Cone Wood Farm to pick someone up..." Glancing around at the devastation, Falling Feather sighed and scratched his head, worrying, "The mission reward doesn't look easy to claim."

Such a small and broken farm, asking for someone was like asking for the farm owner's life. The entanglements of interests here were probably more complicated than he had originally imagined.

"Don't worry, bro! My word is good. You helped me, I'll definitely help you!" Star River walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a chuckle.

Ten thousand silver coins!

Rich!

Fang Chang and Wild Wind exchanged glances, then both looked back at Falling Feather.

"Pine Cone Wood Farm... is it the largest settlement in this area?"

Falling Feather was taken aback, then nodded,

"I guess so... I haven't heard of any bigger settlements."

Fang Chang continued to ask,

"Do you know the NPCs there?"

Falling Feather scratched his head,

"Not exactly... but my mission is somewhat related to that settlement. My employer asked me to join a convoy to sneak into the settlement and then take the opportunity to rescue his daughter."

Upon hearing this, several players around showed excited expressions.

Before Falling Feather could react, Fang Chang gripped his shoulder, his eyes intense,

"Good brother, mind if we hitch a ride?"

Falling Feather was stunned,

"... A ride?"

"Yes," Fang Chang nodded and earnestly said, "We need to investigate some things at that settlement, about the Torch Church."

"The Torch Church..."

Upon hearing this name, Falling Feather suddenly remembered something and added,

"Ah, right, the very town we just saved has a Torch Church chapel! And that's not all, they've planted a lot of Nago there. They seem to have merged the Nago with their faith—"

"It's not just that one settlement. The whole Brocade River City, even the entire Brocade River Province, is in that mess... not just the rampant Nago, but also mutants." Old White glanced towards the direction of Town Of Hope, squinting, "We want to figure out what exactly they're up to, what's hidden underneath that Champion Pharmaceutical Research Institute."

"But first, we need to find out where our enemies are."

Chapter 572: The Origin of Chaos

A Viper transport plane landed on the barren field, and two soldiers wearing exoskeletons jumped out from the side of the cabin.

These men were soldiers from the Guards Corps.

There was an active mission involving players, and it was usually their role to provide support and restraint.

These warriors were elite members selected from other military groups, all of whom had received injections of inducer expression serum; all of them were Awakeners without exception.

On the Forum, it was said that they were all the eyes of the Manager.

However, some players did not think so; after all, who could be more like the eyes of the Manager than the hardworking "Task Masters" themselves?

Watching the plane that emitted an arc of light from its tail, greed filled Kong Lingkai's eyes, and he pondered how good it would be to own one.

Riding in it would certainly be much more comfortable than his broken wooden vehicle.

The two soldiers paid no attention to him; one walked straight to the genetically modified mutant's body thrown on the ground, while the other approached Old White and gave him a military salute.

"We are ordered by the Manager to retrieve the body of the mutant 'Ogre.'"

Old White knocked on his breastplate with his right fist and spoke succinctly.

"I have already seen it in the mission brief. The rest is up to you."

"Understood!"

The soldier nodded, about to turn away, when Old White suddenly remembered something and spoke.

"By the way, are you heading back to City of Dawn directly?"

"Yes."

Seeing the soldier nod, Old White quickly asked.

"Can we hitch a ride? We have a few people here who need to go back."

The soldier hesitated for a moment before saying.

"I need to ask the Manager..."

After saying that, he turned and went back to the plane, connected to the communication base at the provincial border outpost through the aircraft's radio, and got into contact with the shelter.

A while later, he returned.

"The Manager said it's okay."

"That's great." Old White smiled and nodded, then looked at Star River standing beside him, "Buddy, about that mission of yours."

Star River was stunned.

"Ah? This… is it okay?"

"What's there to worry about? We have plenty of seats, five or six people can fit easily," Old White patted his shoulder, chuckling, "The Manager has agreed, so don't be shy."

Speaking, he turned to the farm owner who had regained consciousness and was sitting beside the Mosquito Attack Jet.

"By the way, you don't mind releasing the hostages, right?"

Kong Lingkai was startled, having not expected the armored man to speak to him, he hastily shook his head, afraid of even a second's delay.

"No, not at all!"

"He has no objections," Old White looked towards Star River and Falling Feather, still puzzled, and chuckled, "Bring the people over quickly, don't waste time."

Star River took the farm owner back near Hope Farm, and Kong Lingkai, anxiously not wanting to offend, sent the family out like evicting a plague god.

It was evident that Kong Lingkai was not willing to give up these cash cows, but his fear was genuine. He had no doubt that these people could annihilate him in less than half an hour…

"Are you sure you won't reconsider? I'll give you… 500,000 silver coins, just bring that guy over." Watching Star River preparing to leave, Kong Lingkai's face was filled with reluctance.

Aside from the newly weaned child, hearing these words, the Zhou Nan family all showed fearful expressions.

They knew that if the young man agreed, they would certainly be doomed.

But their worries were obviously unnecessary.

Seeing the hopeful look on Old Man Kong's face, Star River smiled and said.

"You're thinking too much. Not even for one million silver coins, let alone 500,000. I can't do something impossible for you."

Kong Lingkai grew anxious.

"Is it the money? I'll offer—"

"It's not about the money," Star River sighed, "here, there are things more valuable than silver coins."

Like the Game Helmet.

However, the NPC clearly didn't understand and asked in confusion.

"Something more valuable than silver coins?"

Star River casually replied, "That's right. In the Alliance, honor and dignity can't be traded. We aim to establish an equal society… The Manager said."

Hearing this, Kong Lingkai knew nothing he said would be of any use.

His spirit deflated like a popped balloon, harboring sullen anger but daring not to erupt, he muttered indignantly.

"You all talk about equality… Is this fair to me? If I hadn't given this ingrate freedom and the initial capital to amass wealth, how could he have his achievements today!"

Watching the man who wanted to rage instinctively suppress his temper, Star River shrugged.

"I'm not familiar with your dealings, nor am I interested in them. Perhaps in his view, serving you for so many years has sufficiently repaid the debt he owed you. Here, airplanes, cement, machine guns… many items are actually produced by us, aren't they? Maybe in your view, these aren't enough, but that's another issue."

"If you ask me, you should have signed a contract, specifying ownership and profit-sharing, using written documents to bind each other, and we would ensure the legal rights of all partners. But with 'favor,' which is vague, you clearly know that there would definitely be disputes in the future, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have taken a whole family as hostages."

"Anyway, kidnapping is illegal here, no matter the reason. You should be glad this place isn't part of the Alliance's jurisdiction yet, otherwise what came wouldn't be mercenaries."

Not yet… what did that mean?

Watching the group walk away, fear rose in Kong Lingkai's eyes, as the private soldiers and servants around him exchanged looks…

…

On the barren field.

Sitting in the Viper transport plane, Star River, seeing Falling Feather sending him off, said with a face full of shame.

"Good brother! I will come back to help you!"

They had agreed to help each other before, but he had left first, which made him feel somewhat embarrassed.

Falling Feather, however, didn't mind and smiled, waving his hand as he watched the transport plane slowly rise.

"Okay! Have a safe trip!"

Carrying the body of the cybernetic mutant along with Star River and Zhou Nan's family, the Viper transport plane, trailing arcs of light, flew towards the City of Dawn, more than eight hundred kilometers away.

Old White shifted his gaze from the plane back to Falling Feather.

"Let's go back to town and discuss," he said.

"Okay!" replied Falling Feather, nodding and smiling. "I'll also introduce you to the leader of the NPC team. He's a local and knows much more about this place than I do."

Fang Chang suddenly thought of something and spoke.

"Is he your employer's man, or the farm owner's?"

Falling Feather scratched his head.

"I'm not sure about that, but my employer said we can trust him. He knows about the assignment."

"If that's the case, then there should be no problem," Fang Chang nodded, his face contemplative but he didn't say more.

As the group headed toward the Town of Hope, the town mayor and a group of key personnel had already come out to greet them.

The expressions on their faces varied, with some showing relief at surviving the ordeal, others gratefulness with effusive thanks, still others alertness and unease.

The leading man bowed politely.

"I am Ma Hechang, the mayor here, on behalf of over a thousand residents of the Town of Hope, allow me to thank you all for your assistance! Without you, few of us might have survived tonight."

Looking at the mayor, Old White smiled and said.

"You're welcome, if it's convenient, please prepare an inn for us to stay for the night. Oh, of course, we will pay."

Seeing that Old White was about to pay, Ma Hechang hurriedly said.

"Oh, how could we accept that? We'll arrange the accommodation, and you warriors can stay as long as you like!"

Old White responded with a smile.

"We won't be around for too long, we'll be leaving first thing in the morning…."

Hearing they would leave by morning, Ma Hechang sighed in relief.

Although he was unsure why the mutants had suddenly gone berserk and attacked here, he felt instinctively it was related to these people.

After all, they had joined the Torch Church, meaning the Qi Tribe were technically their allies.

Clearly, these outsiders had angered those mutants, otherwise, he couldn't think of any other reason why the mutants would attack their own people.

First it was the Iron Tower, and now an Alliance. These people seemed possessed... Why must they provoke the mutants?

They could have reached an agreement like civilized people.

He wished they would be polite and not bring their personal disputes here.

Though that's what he thought, he put on a hospitable and regretful expression, saying insincerely,

"If there's anything you need, please let us know."

"I will…" Old White nodded, then seemed to remember something, and continued, "Right, could you take me to visit the pastor in town?"

Ma Hechang was momentarily stunned.

"Do you mean…?"

"I heard there's a chapel of the Torch Church here," said Old White, getting straight to the point.

Ma Hechang's face lit up with understanding, and he nodded quickly.

"Sure, I'll take you there."

…

The town was silent.

After dealing with the mutants, many commercial teams had dismantled the barriers erected at their entrances and, without a word, took their people to run north, fearing another night here might bring the mutants back.

The town's militia couldn't detain them and just watched them go far away.

After this incident, some of them might never return here. But compared to the future, people were more concerned about the present.

Why had the mutants come back?

After suffering such a loss, could they come back to attack again…

It wasn't just the outsiders.

Some locals born and raised here were also hesitating, wondering whether to pack up and leave this troubled spot for good.

Inside the town, the players split into two groups.

Fang Chang and Falling Feather went to the inn to meet with the leader of the firm Pine Nut Farm's commercial team, hoping to find a way to infiltrate the farm.

Meanwhile, Old White and Night Ten, with Wild Wind and others, followed the mayor to the Torch Church.

The chapel was located at the town center, a pointed-roof building covered with a layer of tiles. It wasn't majestic, but neither was it shabby.

Above the main gate was carved the emblem of the Torch Church—two inverted triangles forming a torch.

Seeing the man in the power armor thoughtfully examine the symbol, Ma Hechang coughed lightly and said,

"This is the chapel we built for the Saint Heir... it was just completed recently."

Old White casually remarked,

"It seems you hold that Saint in high regard."

Laughing, Ma Hechang said,

"Of course, he truly brought us blessings."

"In what ways?"

"In what ways? There are simply too many..." Ma Hechang paused, then started listing like an expert, "Take Nago for instance. Before, there were fights every other day, those herdsmen, sowers, lumberjacks, hunters, everyone was like gunpowder, but ever since we planted the emerald tree in town, those troubles are gone. Those manual laborers became as docile as sheep, finally behaving as they should."

Old White curiously asked.

"Do you eat that stuff too?"

"Of course," Ma Hechang smiled and continued, "I had a severe cold before, but I got better after eating Nago."

Old White inquired confusedly,

"Why aren't you like them then?"

He knew that the Holy Water could exempt one from the negative effects of "God's state," but one couldn't take injections every day, could they?

Moreover, Holy Water merely exempted one from the negatives, not from entering the "God's state" itself; immersing in the blissful illusion was not a good thing.

Feelings of pleasure from pain, following others' voices obediently... these effects couldn't be eliminated by Holy Water.

Ma Hechang apologized with an embarrassed smile and explained,

"That's because of the Saint Heir's gospel... By just donating a little tax, we can preserve our true selves within his gospel. Simply put, it avoids entering the God's state."

Seeing the man's confused face, Ma Hechang took out a small medicine bottle.

"This is it, its name is 'Gospel'; just take one pill each morning, and that's enough. It's like a mild Holy Water, not so intense, just right to keep one healthy and awake."

Staring at the small medicine bottle for a while, Old White asked with interest,

"How is this sold?"

Ma Hechang hurriedly said,

"This isn't for sale; it's a grace for the devout. As long as you follow the will of the Saint Heir, you will be under the care of the Gospel..."

"What is his will?"

"To build a church that spreads the faith for the Saint Heir, and then periodically donate a modest sum to support the clergy."

The so-called modest sum here probably meant it was modest for the wealthy and powerful; clearly, the "Gospel" had a cost and wasn't cheap enough for everyone to afford.

But where was this stuff created from?

Vaguely thinking of something, Old White took out ten silver coins from his pocket and placed them in the hands of the mayor.

"Could I have one piece?"

The mayor hesitated for a moment, but seeing the weapons in these people's hands, he nodded obediently and carefully handed a pill to Old White.

"… Strictly speaking, we shouldn't give it to those outside the faithful, but Mr. Apostle didn't say what would happen if we did."

"Thanks," Old White smiled faintly and handed the pill to Night Ten, who put it into a tactical backpack.

This was valuable research material.

The lady at the Biological Institute would probably be interested.

Walking to the church's entrance, Mayor Ma didn't knock but pushed the wooden door open.

A pastor in a grey robe stood behind the wooden lectern, mumbling a prayer.

Hearing the door open, he immediately looked up, alarmed, but relaxed when he saw it wasn't mutants breaking in.

"That... Mr. Wei, the crisis outside has been resolved! I forgot to tell you earlier, sorry."

Seeing the middle-aged pastor staring straight at him, Mayor Ma coughed and forcefully hinted with his eyes, then continued,

"… These friends who have come from afar are very interested in our faith, please help them understand."

Old White noted that although Mayor Ma seemed devout when speaking of the Saint Heir, he did not seem very respectful to this servant of the church.

That respectful-sounding sentence was more commanding in nature.

It was likely due to his recent conversion, while this pastor was a local from the town.

Staring into the pastor's eyes, Old White smiled and asked,

"Sorry for disturbing, is it alright if we sit here?"

The middle-aged pastor said nervously,

"Please do."

Old White nodded, sat down on the front pew, and then turned to look at Mayor Ma.

"We would like to have a private word with him."

Understanding the underlying meaning of those words, the mayor immediately chuckled,

"Sure! I'll be busy with other things."

Saying that, he turned and left the church, kindly closing the door behind him.

The church quieted down.

With multiple pairs of eyes watching him, the pastor swallowed nervously and said,

"My name is Wei Ming, the pastor here. What would you like to know?"

He had the gut feeling that these people didn't like him.

In their eyes,

"Are you from this town?"

The pastor named Wei Ming nodded nervously.

"Yes..."

Old White continued to ask,

"How did you meet Zhang Zhengyang?"

The interrogative tone made Wei Ming feel slightly displeased, but he dared not express any complaints against these tough individuals.

Their exoskeletons still had meat and blood on them, a fearsome blood-red smear, intimidating enough without them uttering a word.

Swallowing nervously, he replied,

"… Two years ago, that Apostle came here, and that was when I met him."

Having heard about this from the Iron Tower Organization, Old White wasn't surprised and continued to question,

"Was Nago also brought here at that time?"

Wei Ming nodded.

"Yes… but things were different back then, the initial Nago wasn't mature and only grew in hot environments. I heard that it's a tropical crop introduced from a few small islands in the south."

Brocade River Province, although relatively south compared to River Valley Province, was far from tropical—it was just on the edge of the subtropical zone.

Even during a cold winter, it still snowed.

Old White asked frowning,

"Did they improve the crop?"

"Uh..." Wei Ming nodded slightly, glancing towards the backyard direction, "Back then, there was no church here, just a warehouse. That apostle rented some land in town and hired some people to help him test those special crops."

Old White stared at him and asked,

"Why did he seek your help?"

Wei Ming responded truthfully,

"I was a town doctor… I had a slight understanding of biology. He told me that if his plan went well, there wouldn't be a need for clinics anymore. If I was willing to help him, he could offer me a higher payment."

"Were there others besides you?"

"Yes."

Old White immediately asked,

"Are they still in town?"

Wei Ming smiled bitterly and shook his head,

"Those people were serfs bought from nearby farms. Frankly speaking, they were both laborers and experimental subjects. The apostle would have them eat the Nago he grew, and besides preaching, my job was to record their clinical responses… After the first experiment concluded, I never saw those people again, but I could guess where they went."

Old White: "Where did they go?"

Wei Ming stayed silent for a while,

"I don't have evidence… but I feel that they were probably sent to the mutants."

Old White was taken aback,

"Sent to the mutants?"

A bitter expression appeared on Wei Ming's face as he shook his head,

"There was no helping it; they were no longer fit. The Nago back then couldn't survive the winter, a whole winter of withdrawal reactions without enough antibiotics to help those people get through… The apostle said he 'dealt with them', but I think it wasn't just a simple disposal. Those people had business dealings with the mutants a long time ago, I even heard—"

Seeing Wei Ming abruptly stop, Old White immediately asked,

"Heard what?"

After a moment of silence, Wei Ming slowly began,

"I heard that they would buy slaves from nearby farms with Dinar or Cr and send them to the mutant tribe in the city sector… It seems they had struck some kind of deal; the mutants would work for The Church and ensure the district's safety, but in return, The Church had to regularly provide them with people."

Night Ten couldn't help but curse under his breath,

"These scumbags."

Wei Ming didn't understand what he was saying, but he could feel the anger in the tone and involuntarily shrank his neck,

Old White stared into his eyes,

"You're a doctor… you should have seen what that thing called Nago would do to you."

Wei Ming's Adam's apple moved, and he smiled bitterly,

"My lord… destruction is inevitable for us living in the Wasteland, it's just a matter of today or tomorrow."

Old White fell silent,

He suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for this guy.

Just then, Wild Wind suddenly spoke up,

"This doesn't make sense… You mean to say the mutants in the city spared you because of a deal with the Torch Church, but why have I heard that centuries ago, they seldom harassed the nearby villages?"

Wei Ming sighed and said,

"That isn't really contradictory. A century ago… or even up until twenty years ago when I was young, the 'Qi' tribe was fairly restrained towards us. Becoming aggressive is a recent development."

Night Ten: "Why?"

"I also heard this from my grandfather," Seeing everyone around attentively listening, Wei Ming slowly started, "A long, long time ago, Brocade River City hosted a settlement not much inferior to Giant Stone City, perhaps even larger with a few hundred thousand people…"

His eyes seemed lost in recollection; he pondered for a moment before continuing,

"Back then, it was managed by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, and that settlement was apparently called Singular Point City, if I remember right."

"Then around fifty years into the Wasteland Era, roughly a century and a half ago, some conflicts broke out within that committee… it was about split."

Old White nodded,

"I heard about that too, around fifty years into the Wasteland Era, the Post-War Reconstruction Committee officially declared its dissolution."

Wei Ming was taken aback,

"Was there such a thing? Well, it doesn't matter now, I heard the committee was essentially defunct long before that, but that's not the point… The key was that at that time, a group of green-skinned folks came running over from the east."

"Those people claimed to be researchers from a facility, from the East Coast, persecuted by the Production Department. To preserve their research and escape the persecution, they had no choice but to turn themselves into those grotesque figures."

Hearing this, Night Ten was genuinely shocked,

"Wow… the ancestors of the mutants?!"

Wei Ming nodded,

"Pretty much. The earliest mutants, according to the rumors, came about this way… from humans. These folks were fundamentally still human, naturally they wouldn't eat people, even more polite than most, and got along quite well with the residents of Singular Point City."

Night Ten struggled to squeeze out the words,

"But why…"

"Why have they started eating people now, right?" Wei Ming's face was filled with mixed emotions, "Honestly, I don't know; these are just the things I heard from my grandfather…"

"But if I were to guess."

He swallowed, speaking in an uncertain voice,

"Perhaps… the earliest mutants still considered themselves human, but their children might not think the same."

Chapter 573: We Never Shortchange Those Who Help Us

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

Player Exchange Forum.

Players active in Town Of Hope started their own thread to share the intelligence they'd gathered in their settlement, debating fervently among themselves.

Since the hot topics on the forum presently are mostly related to the recently liberated Giant Stone City and the incoming Tide, this thread wasn't very popular; it consisted mainly of conversations between a few players from Burning Corps.

However, there's a silver lining to having fewer people.

Most were discussing strategies and plot lines, with almost no one veering off-topic.

Fang Chang said, "In the Wasteland Era year 44, the Production Department signed the 'Province of Yúnjiānxíng Revival Act', confiscating all research institutes belonging to the Technology Department in this province, which included facilities related to the 'Perfect Life Form' project."

"Due to long-standing tensions, the negotiation process was too crude, evolving from peaceful integration to armed conflict, causing some DNA-unstable subjects to escape. Some of them fled inland, while others moved along the coast... These records are all detailed in the library of Grand Canyon, and I remember that they were included in the official setting collection on the website a few months ago."

"Here's a reasonable guess: the researchers who fled to the wasteland didn't give up on their mission. After braving mountains and rivers to reach Brocade River Province, they found Singular Point City after the War Construction Committee announced its dissolution in Wasteland Era year 45, where they reached a cooperation with the local residents and continued their research on Perfect Life Forms, turning a small portion or even the majority of the survivors into Mutants."

"And now the Qi Tribe is the descendant of those survivors from 150 years ago."

After Fang Chang made a simple arrangement of the intelligence Old White had collected from the pastor, he shared his speculation. Upon hearing his theory, some of the players were immediately stunned.

Night Ten exclaimed, "Holy shit… Have the residents of Singular Point City lost their minds?!"

Killer Dagger remarked, "Choosing to turn into Mutants, seriously…"

Wild Wind pondered, "It might not be madness. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Imagine you're a billionaire, and standing in front of you is… or rather, a group of top scholars with various prestigious titles. They tell you that they're researching technology that can reverse cellular aging. However, a vile force is after their still immature research findings. If you provide them sanctuary and sponsor their research, not just you but all of humanity could benefit from this new and marvelous technology."

Fang Chang said, "Actually, your example isn't quite accurate. The 'Perfect Life Form' was a much more enticing prospect than merely halting cell aging. Moreover, at that time, the survivors had just broken away from the protection of the War Construction Committee, facing severe tests of survival in reality... What you have standing before you are not only scholars with top titles but also scholars persecuted by 'traitors,' who may have brought along some Black Boxes. By sponsoring them, you'd reap material rewards, and morally you'd be on the high ground, supported by everyone, even if you took a small detour along the way. (side-eye)"

Even though the root cause of the crisis was the imbalance between responsibility and obligation as well as the disparity between reality and ideals, the Production Department's plan was just a prescient prediction of the crisis, and indeed, the military operations in Province of Yúnjiānxíng were the match that ignited the fuse.

In the eyes of the vast majority of survivors at that time, the people of the Production Department were traitors, and Ideal City had betrayed its ideals.

A group of researchers, persecuted by the Production Department yet not forgetting their mission, carried the halo of tragic heroes.

At the very moment the War Construction Committee crumbled, whether they went to Singular Point City or Giant Stone City, they would certainly be welcomed by the local residents.

In those times of despair, those who still led everyone forward typically harbored a glimmer of idealism in their hearts.

Night Ten said, "But, Mutants... that's clearly not that kind of technology! (laughter and crying)"

Fang Chang replied, "Not yet at least. Don't forget, whether it's Mutants or clones that grow at eight times the normal rate, they're all byproducts of the 'Perfect Life Form.' Even though these byproducts aren't perfect enough yet, they're still much more perfect than the original life forms on this planet. When a surefire investment opportunity presents itself before you, what reason do you have to refuse? (side-eye)"

Wild Wind: "The starting point for Singular Point City was a bit better than Giant Stone City. At least, Brocade River City didn't have the 'Mutated slime fungus' and wasn't hit by nuclear strikes. Even though its industrialization can't match Giant Stone City, there's no severe survival crisis, and food isn't scarce... I think that might also be why those researchers chose Singular Point City as their new base."

Old White: "And then some of the residents were tempted by the Perfect Life Form and offered themselves up, turning into mutants?"

Fang Chang: "Based on the intelligence you gathered from that pastor, it's mostly true. Plus, it's likely that later on, for some reason, they phased out the original residents and fitted those newly made mutants, who were born without genitals, with them."

Wild Wind: "I heard that the earliest mutants didn't have reproductive organs to prevent DNA from spreading... Re-adding what was taken out shouldn't be too hard for those researchers."

Quit Smoking: "But why would they do that..."

Wild Wind: "Who knows? Maybe the initial residents of Singular Point City lacked vision. (Side-eye)"

Fang Chang: "Actually, it's pretty easy to understand from a different perspective. Let's say someone promised your grandfather that the Perfect Life Form would definitely be complete in twenty years, turning everyone into the more perfect New Humans, and you took this to heart. You take over your grandfather's duties, and as you start to look more and more like him, the promise remains unfulfilled."

"At the same time, the gathering place is full of powerful eunuchs throwing temper tantrums every day. They claim their sacrifices and commitments have been a scam and demand to be turned back, yet you and your sponsored scholars are powerless. This is an unfinished technology, after all, no one has visited the future to see how far it is to the end, so you can only fulfill their other demands... At the very least, put their genitals back."

"Everyone keeps saying the technology is almost finished, and you start to believe it too, promising that everything will get better once the final piece of the puzzle is in place."

"Then new problems arise. One day, the gathering place fills with mutants who had never spent a day as humans. They find they can knock out those weedy, weak intellectuals with a single punch, they not only live longer but hardly ever get sick, it's just their looks are a bit unwelcome... You can let your imagination take it from there, what this would mean in the Wasteland at that time."

"Once over 99% of the gathering place consists of the new generation of mutants, along with Old Humans who have joined them out of a reverence for violence, the era of the Old Humans is over."

"Only a handful of radicals will remember where they came from and where they're heading, keeping alive the old plans, continuing to complete the 'Perfect Life Form' that no one knows when will be finished. But most mutants will see themselves as having already achieved the most perfect form, and what needs to be done now is expand the mutants' living space in this world, turning the Old Humans completely into livestock for breeding."

"A portion of the Old Humans will pledge loyalty to them or collaborate with them, seeking to become part of the mutants and a chance to survive in the new world."

Wild Wind: "From this angle, the mutants and the Torch Church's routes and programs are practically indistinguishable..."

Night Ten: "No wonder they can piss in the same pot..."

Old White: "By the way, Fang Chang, how did your talk go with the captain of the Pine Cone Farm commercial team?"

Fang Chang: "That thing? It's all settled... He's agreed to cooperate with our investigation in the gathering place. In exchange, we just need to take his family with us when we withdraw."

Quit Smoking: "666!"

Kidney Fighter: "Awesome! Brother Fang Chang, truly the most realistically tough guy on the server! (Sarcastic)"

Fang Chang: "Scram!"

Night Ten: "But still, why does it seem like all these crooked merchants are rushing to get out?"

Wild Wind: "Isn't it obvious? Before, they smelled something burning, but now the fire's already reached their eyebrows. (Side-eye)"

...

In the viewing room of Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang, leaning on the couch, finished reading the posts on the forum and reorganized the intelligence gathered by the front-line players for a second time.

Just at that moment, the Alliance Biological Research Institute completed their analysis of the genetically modified mutant's corpse, and Heya personally brought the analysis report over.

"The analysis results are out. There is a genetic connection between the mutants of Brocade River City and those from the area around Clear Spring City... Most mutants in this area likely spread from there."

Heya took a seat on the couch opposite Chu Guang, stretched out her index finger lightly through the air to push the pale blue window in front of him.

"Here are the detailed analysis results."

Chu Guang tapped to open the pale blue holographic window with his index finger and quickly scanned it.

The dense data and various graphs on it were beyond his knowledge domain, but he trusted Heya's expertise.

"What about the Great Desert?"

Heya spoke concisely.

"According to the samples sent from Pioneer City... there's a very low correlation between them. I'm inclined to believe they are branches with different origins."

"Different origins of branches mean..."

"To put it simply, their ancestors were mutants born from different research facilities and each has made some improvements upon the original basis. I remember there were also institutes conducting 'Perfect Life Form' research on the West Coast. The Army's clones are by-products of that type of research facility, right?"

As she spoke, a hint of emotion surfaced on Heya's face, and she continued.

"To be honest... I'm actually quite surprised that during that special period of scarce resources, those technicians were still able to use the limited devices to produce such outstanding research results."

Perfect Life Form, as a technology pinnacle isolated from human civilization's "Viewrange" during the Prosperity Epoch, was an academic summit which the scholars continuously climbed but never achieved, even with the rich DNA sample banks provided by the colonized planets, research still progressed slowly.

One can imagine how astonishingly difficult this grand project was.

Yet, in the early Wasteland Era — that most despairing era, various settlements still retained the ability to explore new technologies and make some unexpected improvements upon existing achievements.

This was indeed no easy feat.

"Indeed, if we ignore the negative impacts caused by the imperfect technology, the work they did was indeed quite astonishing."

Looking at Heya who was full of contemplation, Chu Guang suddenly thought of something and continued to speak.

"By the way, the Alliance's Army collected some interesting clues in the south, which might have some connections with Shelter No.117—"

Before he could finish, Heya suddenly stood up from the couch, her hands bracing on the coffee table.

"Where is she!?"

Caught off guard by her sudden reaction, Chu Guang paused in bewilderment.

"She..."

"Karen!" Staring intently at him, Heya excitedly said, "My mentor! Where is she!?"

"Cough... Don't get too excited."

Watching Heya nearly poke her nose into his face, Chu Guang gently coughed, signaling her to calm down.

Finally realizing her own gaffe, Heya's cheeks flushed red, and she quickly sat back down on the couch, resting her fist on her lips as she gave a light cough.

"Sorry."

"No problem, I understand."

After all, waking up after nearly twenty years to find everything had changed, Professor Karen was probably her only kin in this world.

According to the news from Shelter No. 401, the professor was most likely still alive and had gone south with the people of the Torch.

Chu Guang also had many questions about this.

Looking at Xiao Qi, he said.

"Xiao Qi, could you make two cups of black tea for us, please?"

Xiao Qi pouted, her expression somewhat displeased, but upon hearing Chu Guang's command, she still obediently responded.

"Sure, master."

A moment later, X-16 walked in with a graceful step, placed two cups of black tea on the table, politely nodded her head, and then elegantly exited the viewing room.

Watching Heya gradually calm down, Chu Guang slowly began to speak.

"I don't have specific information about your mentor here, but residents of my shelter were active in a place called Town Of Hope in Brocade River Province. They investigated and found that twenty years ago, a group of residents of the refuge had come to the settlement and traded some materials for medicine from them."

"That town has only one clinic. The doctor working at the clinic, who is now the town's pastor, still has some recollections of those people... According to his memories, those residents of the refuge stayed in the town for a while, bought a lot of supplies, and even inquired about Singular Point City."

"Singular Point City..." Heya murmured the word softly, her eyes filled with bewilderment.

Chu Guang looked into her eyes and asked.

"Didn't your mentor ever mention that place to you?"

Heya shook her head.

"No..."

"So it is..." Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then continued, "Since that's the case, I'm more inclined to believe that they've gathered clues about Singular Point City from the Wasteland and, after learning about events from a century and a half ago, they proactively made contact with the 'Qi' Tribe."

Unless there was a special mission to carry out, most of the Blue Jackets tended to make contact with survivors on the surface, some of whom may even have visited Giant Stone City, only to become disappointed with the arrogant nobles and leave of their own accord.

Singular Point City was also in the planning blueprint of the War Construction Committee as a settlement, and they indeed had a reason to try their luck further south.

Heya muttered to herself.

"What in the world... does she want to do."

"I don't know, but according to the results of our investigation, twenty years ago was precisely the initial point in time when the 'Qi' Tribe showed signs of aggression. I'm more inclined to believe that the residents of Shelter No. 117 reached some kind of agreement with them from that time... back then, there probably wasn't any church, and a torch was just a torch."

Looking at the misty steam rising from the teacup, and at Heya who was silently immersed in the fog, Chu Guang sighed softly and continued.

"I've promised to share with you any clues we collect about Shelter No. 117, but I hope you won't take it too hard."

"Okay..." Heya slowly nodded, but her perplexed expression laid bare the emotions in her heart.

In her memory, her mentor was a very kind person, benevolent, capable, and brave, like a mother to her.

She tried to understand what Professor Karen was doing, yet the closer she got to the truth, the more she felt as if she had plunged into a thick fog.

Cooperating with mutants...

What on earth do they want to do?

Wasn't the agreement to rebuild a beautiful new world on the surface after the gates opened?

Heya vaguely remembered what her mentor had once told her.

One day in the future, she would have a very long dream, but she needn't worry – when she awoke from that brief dream, when she opened her eyes again, outside would be a peaceful and fertile land.

Now, it seemed that the crisis that overthrew Shelter No. 117 had been determined from that moment, and her mentor had decided from the start to leave her behind.

"I... wish I hadn't fallen asleep at that time."

Her fingers clenched tightly around the teacup, Heya gazed unwaveringly at the shimmering surface of the water in the cup, looking at the reflection of eyes that also glinted.

Seeing her downcast eyelids, Chu Guang offered a gentle word of comfort.

"Perhaps... but on the other hand, this might actually be the best arrangement."

He sometimes thought the same.

If only he could have journeyed here earlier.

Lifting his head to a Wasteland full of devastation, he always felt that by the time he opened his eyes, many irreversible things had already happened.

But at times he also wondered, would things definitely have been different if he had awoken earlier?

Perhaps they might have been even worse.

"You might be right..."

Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, Heya's face broke into a bright smile again.

"I wish I could talk to her in person."

Chu Guang nodded solemnly.

"There will be a chance."

...

The night grew deeper, Jinhe City Urban Area.

Standing on the roof of an abandoned building, Jia En quietly gazed northward, his brow furrowed as if full of caterpillars.

Ogg had set out in the morning.

By all accounts, he should have been back by now.

Yet the north was deathly quiet, without the slightest stir.

A foreboding feeling couldn't help but rise in his heart.

At that moment, a Mutant Sentinel came panting up the stairwell, kneeling with one knee ten steps behind him.

"Ogg, no news. Town Of Hope, a complete mess."

"They threw a party there, there are human bones, discarded weapons, and more than two hundred of our bodies."

Two hundred?

Jia En's face showed astonishment, he turned his burly body to look at the kneeling sentinel.

"You sure? There were that many?"

The sentinel nodded his head like he was hammering garlic.

"There were, many brothers died… Oh, and I also found this huge casing."

As he spoke, the sentinel reached behind with his right hand and pulled out the casing he had seen on the battlefield, respectfully extending it forward.

Jia En picked up the large casing with two fingers and brought it close to his nose, his brows furrowing even more.

At that moment, a voice tinged with age came from the direction of the stairs.

"This isn't from 'Iron Tower'; this was specifically designed against us."

Jia En looked towards the stairs and saw a stooped figure standing there.

That was the tribe's high priest, Qi Gemo, the only elder he truly respected who stood on the side of the Secular faction. Compared to those old fools, he was one of the few who genuinely had the tribe's interests at heart.

Seeing that Jia En had looked over, the old mutant continued in a slow drawl,

"They're people from the Alliance; there shouldn't be a mistake."

"These people came prepared; the ones stationed in Town of Hope are probably just a forward post. The ones you sent out haven't returned, it's likely more danger than good luck."

Jia En's mouth twisted into a slight and cruel smile.

As if venting his anger prematurely, he scrunched the casing in his fingertips into a twisted scrap and discarded it on the ground.

"Whoever dares to oppose us, I will make them regret coming into this world!"

Gomo slowly nodded his head and said respectfully,

"I believe you possess that strength, but to be cautious, it's best we discuss this with our allies."

"The northerners designed trouble for us; we also need to prepare more reliable weapons for our warriors."

His eyes showing a hint of wariness, Jia En slowly nodded,

"Hmm, indeed it's a problem."

Though his body was all muscle, it hadn't extended to his brain.

Since the northerners had already designed weapons especially for them, they had to figure out how to forge stronger armor.

Those who call themselves Torch were precisely the experts in this area.

If those people didn't want to see their plans spoiled, they better figure out a solution.

...

The next morning, dawn broke.

The barriers at Town of Hope's entrance had been dismantled, and a row of fully loaded trucks stood by the gate. Around twenty fully armed warriors stood to one side, ready to depart.

Among these warriors, half were wearing exoskeletons and led by Falling Feather. The other half were players from the Burning Corps, led by Brother Fang Chang.

The rest of the players returned to the border military base with Old White, as per the arrangement.

According to that NPC named Wu Wen Zhou, too many people might arouse suspicion; after all, the cargo in these six trucks was only worth roughly one million silver coins, hard to justify the hiring of such a luxurious mercenary group.

Apart from Xiaoyu who found the exoskeleton problematic to remove, the few players with Fang Chang left theirs with Old White to be carried back to the military base.

"...Don't forget our deal." Approaching Fang Chang, Wu Wen Zhou's gaze flickered as he lowered his voice to urgently remind him.

The mutants yesterday had scared him badly.

He was now starting to understand why his boss was so eager to leave that farm.

Fang Chang gave him a reassuring look and a radiant smile.

"Don't worry, we'd never shortchange someone who's helped us."

"I trust you guys... Honestly, it'd be great if you could expand your territory here; then we wouldn't need to head north and leave our homes behind."

Leaving those words behind, Wu Wen Zhou turned back to the trucks, grabbed the walkie-talkie hanging on the central control, and yelled,

"Let's move out!"

The vehicles started their engines.

Night Ten, who had climbed onto a truck, sat down beside Falling Feather. Suddenly he looked up toward the adjacent forest.

Noticing his action, Falling Feather asked with curiosity,

"What's up?"

"...Nothing." Night Ten looked away from the woods and muttered, "I felt like someone was watching us just now."

But he did not sense any malicious intent.

Perhaps it was just an NPC from the town...

Chapter 574: Busted?

In the center of the Pinecone Wood Farm estate stood a magnificent mansion.

Standing in the study of the estate, the farm owner, Zhao Tiangan, held a telescope in his hand, intently staring out the window. His gaze passed over densely packed houses and landed on the trade station by the enclosing wall.

Six trucks were parked there, surrounded by the guards and mercenaries of the team, alongside a circle of fully armed soldiers.

Wu Wen Zhou, who had just alighted from a truck, was conversing with an interrogating officer. Soon, several soldiers carrying LD-47 assault rifles stepped forward and dragged several wooden crates off the truck.

One soldier advanced, prying open those boxes one by one, revealing gleaming bullets and neatly stacked rifles inside.

That was exactly what he needed.

Seeing this, a bright smile finally appeared on Zhao Tiangan's face as he placed the telescope on the table beside him.

Almost simultaneously, there was a knock on the door from behind him.

In a good mood, Zhao Tiangan said casually,

"Please, come in."

The door opened.

His butler walked in.

"Mr. Yang He's commercial team has returned. Per your instructions, he exchanged the silver coins earned for weapons…"

Ma Zhongxian respectfully reported, his gaze involuntarily falling on the table beside his master and the open window.

He understood.

Before he had reported, the master had already seen.

A proud smile was on Zhao Tiangan's face as he spoke deliberately.

"I knew it. Mr. Yang is a clever man. He was just delayed on the road for a bit. We nearly wronged a good man."

Ma Zhongxian gave a slight nod.

"There is another matter regarding Mr. Zhang Zhengyang, the Apostle."

Zhao Tiangan immediately asked,

"Is there news?"

Ma Zhongxian nodded silently, then continued.

"After your instructions, I had the security team send a few scouts to Dusty Town to investigate. The result...the place has been destroyed."

"Destroyed?!" Zhao Tiangan's eyes widened as he anxiously asked, "And... the Apostle?"

A bitter expression crossed Ma Zhongxian's face as he shook his head.

"I don't know. The entire town was scorched clean, but no bodies were seen. Our men searched around the town but found no trace of Apostle Zhang. However, they did find a pile of bodies in a grave to the north… Our militiamen sent to assist Mr. Zhang were also among them."

Zhao Tiangan clenched his fists.

He was not so much grieved over the 41 militiamen; the farm had plenty of serfs and never lacked for people or livestock.

What made him anxious was the disappearance of Zhang Zhengyang.

If before he could afford to disregard the Torch Church, not caring about offending those fanatics, now he dared not.

Ever since "curing" his chronic lung issue through Nago, he had become reliant on the "blessings" of the Saint Heir.

"Was Apostle Zhang's body there?"

Ma Zhongxian said respectfully,

"Our men searched carefully, it's not in that grave."

Zhao Tiangan breathed a sigh of relief, muttering to himself,

"At least he is still alive."

Watching his master, Ma Zhongxian hesitated for a moment, then continued,

"Afterward, our people continued to explore nearby, trying to trace the Apostle… But as they moved about ten kilometers south, they discovered traces of mutant activity."

At this statement, a look of astonishment crossed Zhao Tiangan's face.

"…Mutants?"

"Yes, master, and at least a hundred of them," Ma Zhongxian nodded, his voice grave, "There are signs of a battle nearby, all indicating… it was those mutants who destroyed Dusty Town."

"And after that, they went to Town of Hope!"

Zhao Tiangan looked blankly out the window.

He could understand going to Dusty Town; the Qi Tribe in the city area was an ally of the Torch Church, and it was natural to help an ally in trouble.

But why go to Town of Hope?

Wasn't that a district of the Torch Church?

He remembered that the Apostle had personally promised him, as long as they embraced the strange faith of the torch, they would be spared from mutant harassment.

And this was one of the reasons he had converted.

Intuition told him that something he did not understand was happening on this land, and it was very possible that he had already been drawn into it…

After pondering for a long time, he gritted his teeth and said,

"Let the pastor come see me."

He must speak with the Bishop!

Ma Zhongxian nodded slightly.

"As you command."

While Zhao Tiangan paced back and forth in his study, a group of players stood at the entrance of the Pinecone Wood Farm, curiously observing their surroundings.

Although it was called a farm, its appearance was more akin to a classical city, with granite walls enclosing brick and wood buildings, and orchards and farmlands outside.

If one disregarded the trees covered in pustules and the farmlands covered with green fungal patches, the area almost resembled a bucolic pastoral scene.

Xiaoyu looked around uneasily.

Noticing Xiaoyu's reaction, Falling Feather softly asked over the communication channel.

"What's wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable?"

Xiaoyu whispered back.

"Eey...um..."

There was an offensive odor here.

Something filthy was nearby.

This feeling was like standing next to excrement; although the trash posed no threat to it, its spores instinctively felt displeased.

"Just bear with it a little longer, we'll soon leave," hearing the discomfort in that "Eey...um," Falling Feather whispered reassurances through the communication channel.

Xiaoyu murmured understandingly.

"Eey...um..."

Meanwhile, standing beside the leading truck, Wu Wen Zhou offered a cigarette to the pot-bellied middle-aged military officer.

The officer skillfully accepted it, moved closer to his lighter to light the cigarette, and spoke while puffing clouds of smoke.

"That Mr. Yang, how come he didn't return this time?"

Wu Wen Zhou respectfully replied,

"Mr. Yang He is dealing with some business matters..."

The middle-aged officer grinned and said,

"Doesn't he want to spend time with his beloved daughter?"

"Being busy is just temporary; he'll reunite with his family afterwards," Wu Wen Zhou smiled and glanced around, "Speaking of which, there have been significant changes here."

"That's for sure," the officer chuckled, then continued expansively, "Ever since the Old Master introduced some new crops from the south, life has gradually improved."

"The new crops are..."

"Emerald trees, those ones over there."

The officer extended his cigarette-holding hand, pointing towards the orchard outside the wall. He smiled mysteriously and continued,

"Not only do they fetch a good price, but they also have other uses... isn't that great?"

"That's... really wonderful," Wu Wen Zhou smiled, but internally he sighed softly.

He had read about "Nago" in the Survivor's Daily and had seen the analysis results from the Alliance Biological Research Institute about this special crop.

According to the Alliance Biological Research Institute, this special crop was actually a type of fungus similar to mushrooms; any animal or person who consumed it eventually became its bait.

Introducing that thing here.

This settlement was basically doomed.

"If only we could sell this stuff to the north," the officer continued dreaming, squinting towards the north.

"That might be difficult; the survivors up north... may not accept such unconventional things."

"Solutions are made by people," looking back from the distance, the officer patted Wu Wen Zhou's shoulder, grinned, and said, "Just let them get a taste, and they'll never leave us."

As long as the factory owners in the north got addicted to Nago, the position of Brocade River Province would become important again.

Watching the daydreamer, Wu Wen Zhou obligingly smiled.

Unleavable, indeed...

If that day ever came, with the Alliance's style, they would likely come physically eliminate the problem.

While the soldiers at the farm inspected the cargo on the trucks, Night Ten quietly sized up the people.

"Goodness... The soldiers here use LD-47?"

Just looking at the weapons in these guys' hands gave him a sense of returning home.

Fang Chang glanced at the soldiers' rifles and said.

"They seem to be using the export version."

Night Ten looked at him curiously and asked,

"Is there a difference?"

"In simple terms, both the power and the recoil have been substantially reduced. The 7mm full-power cartridge has been replaced with an intermediate-power cartridge, and theoretically, it shouldn't be able to penetrate the frontal armor of the K-10 'Iron Wall' and the Type 6 'Heavy Cavalry' exoskeleton at a distance of a hundred meters."

As he spoke, Fang Chang surveyed the surroundings, gauging the armed strength of the area while noting the distribution of several firepower points at the entrance.

Like most farm-style settlements in the Brocade River Province, Pinecone Wood Farm virtually lacked independent industrial capacity, with most weapons coming from Giant Stone City or the Army factories of the Alliance.

The most common here were weapons phased out by the Alliance.

Machine guns mainly included the Maxim I type, rifles were primarily LD-47s and "Hornet" assault rifles, exoskeletons were mostly KV series with a few 'Miner' retrofit versions, and there were some 20mm quadruple anti-aircraft guns among other support weapons.

Furthermore, he also saw some RPGs and recoilless guns, carried by the most elite soldiers or mounted on fixed stands behind sandbag walls.

This place was essentially an enhanced version of an African plantation, filled with serfs and private soldiers drafted from those serfs, starkly different from the predominantly free residents of Town of Hope.

From an equipment perspective, this settlement was hardly worth mentioning, but what was noteworthy was indeed the abundance of soldiers.

A settlement of fifty thousand people actually maintained three thousand teams!

According to an NPC named Wu Wen Zhou, a farm owner named Zhao Tiangan had long intended to embark on a venture, aiming to consolidate all the farms around Brocade River City. Hence, he had never scrimped on military expenditures.

Besides these visible light weapons, it was said that they'd bought some odd and ancient devices from even farther places.

However, Fang Chang still didn't take it to heart.

What a joke.

The group beside him had even cut through Falcon City, why would he fear this bunch of neophytes whose equipment was all hodgepodge acquisitions?

At this moment, Wu Wen Zhou, who had just completed the goods handover, approached them and lowered his voice,

"I've spoken with the commanders of these guards. I've told them that you are from the Flame Mercenary Corps, famous around West State City... They've never been to such remote places, don't even know where West State City is, but that doesn't stop them from wanting to curry favor with you."

Fang Chang raised his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"They'd like to invite you to dinner, likely hoping to woo you and discuss your opinions... The venue is at the Xinglong Hotel on the farm."

Night Ten was surprised.

"There's a hotel here?"

If he remembered correctly, wasn't Pinecone Wood Farm not open to the public?

Moreover, the survivors here were primarily serfs, basically the landlord's private property – let alone no wages, this place probably didn't even have its own currency.

A hotel just for show?

Noticing his puzzled look, Wu Wen Zhou coughed lightly and explained,

"Of course, there is one. Although Pinecone Wood Farm isn't open to the public, its officers and administrators are salaried, generally paid in dinars. They can't just spend dinars on meals; they need entertainment as well, can't always go to the neighboring town for spending. Moreover, this place occasionally needs to host some distinguished guests... Overall, the environment at that restaurant is quite nice. The chefs there and those at Old Master Zhao's estate are from the same batch."

Not particularly concerned with those trivial details, Fang Chang directly asked,

"How far is that place from the farm owner's mansion?"

Wu Wen Zhou thought for a moment and said,

"Just across a street... about six or seven hundred meters."

"Six hundred meters, huh…" Fang Chang stroked his chin and nodded, "No problem."

Through another person named Kong Lingkai, he had somewhat understood the suspicious and fearful nature of the farm owners here. He expected that they would place them at or even outside the enclosing wall and also have them closely followed.

And this would probably be their only chance to get close to the central mansion of the settlement.

After all, they were mercenaries who were officially here to work for money; no one could guarantee that they'd just take on one job.

From the soldiers around, it was not hard to see that the farm owner didn't really trust his subordinate who was always outside handling transactions for him.

This invitation to dinner probably had an exploratory motive, and those fellows might even attempt to bribe them during the event.

Watching the flickering eyes of Fang Chang, Wu Wen Zhou quietly asked,

"What are you planning to do?"

During the journey here, he had been probing for information, trying to extract any details from these people, but they had been unwilling to disclose anything.

Personally, he was more inclined toward these people using the previously seen flamethrower-equipped plane to burst in and directly abduct the targets.

However, upon seeing those quadruple anti-aircraft guns on the wall, he reasoned it might not be easy for the plane to fly in.

While gazing at the cautious Mr. Wu, Fang Chang smiled lightly.

"It's not something that can be explained in just a few words."

His smile was inscrutable.

Wu Wen Zhou couldn't help feeling uneasy.

"My family..."

"Don't worry, just have them stay at home. Leave the rest to us."

Fang Chang patted his shoulder and gave him a reassuring look.

However, seeing the pleasant smile on this man's face, Wu Wen Zhou couldn't feel reassured at all, his heart pounding incessantly.

But now, it seemed too late to get off this pirate ship.

He could only stick to this path until the end.

Seeing that the officer was continuously looking this way, Wu Wen Zhou swallowed and nodded.

"Okay."

After saying that, he turned around and walked back, conveying the message that they agreed to attend the banquet to the officer. A pleasant smile appeared on the officer's face as he turned to report to his superior.

Watching the man leave, Fang Chang pressed on his headset.

"The opportunity has come... Old White, the support matter is up to you."

After the noisy static, Old White's voice came through the communication channel.

"No problem! We are already prepared!"

...

Weapons were not allowed at the Pine Cone Wood Farm.

Besides Falling Feather and Xiaoyu, who stayed at the entrance, all players from the Burning Corps left their equipment at the entrance of the residential area.

"Please take good care of the equipment."

Taking the rifle from Fang Chang's hands, Falling Feather hesitated and said,

"Is it really okay for you to go in like this?"

"No problem," Fang Chang smiled and replied, "After all, whatever we need, Old White and the others will bring it to us."

Falling Feather nodded earnestly.

"Take it easy... Don't mess up my mission."

"Don't worry, that's absolutely impossible!" Fang Chang laughed heartily, waved his hand, and followed the man leading them to the banquet.

The Xinglong Hotel was located in the core area of the Pine Cone Wood Farm.

This was probably the cleanest and most prosperous street in the entire residential area.

Most shops on the street were industries operated by the farm owner himself, including stores, restaurants, and some establishments that were not obviously by their exteriors.

Whether it was one type of shop or another, the facades were all quite luxurious and tasteful.

Walking here felt completely different from the outside; it hardly seemed like a plantation, but more like a commercial street typical in any residential area.

However, incongruously, these shops were all deserted, without any customers, rather like landscape plants on the roadside.

The person accompanying the players to the hotel was the chief guard of the North Gate, named Liu Lei, a very chatty middle-aged man.

Under his lead, the ten players from the Burning Corps effortlessly passed through the multiple defenses of the farm and arrived at the street closest to the central farm.

All the way there, the NPC kept busy talking, introducing them to the staple industry of Pine Cone Wood Farm, Nago.

It was as if they weren't mercenaries but merchants here for an inspection.

Fang Chang feigned interest, occasionally giving responses, though internally he was dismissive.

He knew what the scheme of the man behind this NPC was.

It was nothing but an attempt to market this location's "specialty" to the Alliance through his "capable mercenary group."

However, this NPC could probably never imagine just what kind of person he was describing his master's business plans to.

Finally, they reached their destination, where a formally dressed, high-ranking officer who seemed to hold an eminent position was already waiting for them.

Seeing the approaching group, the officer's eyes brightened, and with a radiant smile, he stepped forward, extending his right hand.

"Welcome! Friends from afar! I am Luo Feihui, the chief here, and the old master asked me specifically to thank you for helping us transport this valuable cache of arms from the north!"

Fang Chang was surprised to find that the dinner companion was the chief; he made a face of delighted surprise, shook hands with him, and said with a laugh,

"It's nothing! We are just mercenaries working for money."

The chief named Luo Feihui laughed and said,

"You don't seem like mercenaries."

Fang Chang maintained his smile and asked,

"Why do you say that?"

Luo Feihui withdrew his hand, continuing with a smile,

"I've dealt with quite a few mercenaries; most of them are rough in speech and ill-mannered, rarely disciplined. But you're different, not only courteous but with not a single callus on your hands... Forgive my bluntness, but you hardly seem like a weather-beaten Wasteland Wanderer, instead, you resemble—"

He intentionally paused mid-sentence.

"More like a resident of a shelter."

At that moment, apart from Fang Chang, who stood in front of him, the other players involuntarily twitched their eyebrows, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.

Good lord.

Had they been exposed?

Chapter 575: The 'Speedrun' Method for Tasks

"Don't get excited."

Seeing that the expressions of several people in front of him were gradually becoming strange, the officer named Luo Feihui became even more certain of his speculation and quickly laughed it off.

"I mean no harm. In fact, I quite want to make friends with you... It's rather cold outside, let's come in and talk."

As he spoke, he patted Fang Chang's arm, gave the latter a meaningful look, and then took the initiative to turn and walk into the house.

Fang Chang and Night Ten exchanged glances, then followed the NPC inside with the other eight players behind them.

Since they had triggered a plotline, they might as well see what was going on.

The group entered the hotel.

Inside, it was as luxuriously decorated and spacious as the outside, with only waitstaff visible besides themselves.

The officer surnamed Luo led them straight to the innermost private room.

After taking their seats, seeing that no one was speaking, he smiled and took the initiative to start the conversation.

"Don't be restrained. Although this place belongs to Old Master Zhao, all the people here are the families of my subordinates."

Fang Chang watched him with interest.

"When did you start noticing?"

He was certain that this guy definitely didn't figure out their identities by looking for calluses on their hands or their facial features.

Luo Feihui smiled faintly, a hint of smugness on his face.

"I noticed from the moment you walked through the door."

"Oh?"

"Besides the reasons I mentioned earlier, the most important one was a phone call from my informant in Town of Hope. He told me that the Mutants attacked there, and a gang from the Alliance drove those green-skinned monsters away."

"I see," Fang Chang stroked his chin, "I did consider the possibility that the news might reach here, but I didn't expect it to outpace us. That's unexpected."

This was going to be tricky.

Watching Fang Chang lost in thought, Luo Feihui seemed to guess what he was thinking and continued with a smile.

"Don't worry, our old master still has no clue about your identities. He thinks you're just a group of Mercenaries who get paid to handle troubles for others. He instructed me to give you a warm welcome and casually find out if that Yang River guy has hired you for any extra jobs."

"Such as?"

"Such as usurping the power he holds."

As a look of surprise emerged on Fang Chang's face, Luo Feihui smiled lightly and said with suggestion.

"To be honest, I'm quite surprised. I originally thought our friend Yang River was just expanding his business, but it turns out he actually defected to the Alliance... Tsk tsk, quite impressive."

Upon hearing this, not only surprise but also a subtle expression appeared on Fang Chang's face.

To be honest, he had never heard of this Yang River mentioned by the man. It seemed to be the employer who assigned tasks to the Luoyu Brothers.

Defecting to the Alliance and all was pure speculation on his part.

But it wasn't his fault for having such a wild imagination.

Mainly because who would have thought that in the Alliance, just by placing an order at the Mercenary Guild's terminal and passing their review, one could even get the help of the "Regular Army."

Watching the "astonished" look on Fang Chang's face, Luo Feihui thought he had guessed right again and felt a bit of glee.

It was this glee that gave him the confidence to keep guessing, and he continued speaking slowly with a slight smile.

"It seems I guessed right, our boss Yang betrayed his master and defected to the Alliance that made him a fortune. Then, he assisted the Alliance Soldiers in entering Pinecone Wood Farm. Let me guess again... Flame Mercenary Corps, you guys wouldn't happen to be the Burning Corps, would you?"

Upon hearing this, not just Brother Fang Chang but almost all the players showed shocked expressions.

Well now...

If this NPC wasn't using some cheat, his speculations were just way too outrageous!

And that wasn't even the most outrageous part.

The most outrageous thing was that he had somehow managed to guess exactly which Army Corps they belonged to!

"You found us out."

Since the line of reasoning was just too perfect, Fang Chang didn't have the heart to lie to him and admitted with a smile, "Yes, that's us."

Luo Feihui obviously didn't expect himself to be so capable of guessing everything correctly and sat straight up in his chair, excitedly.

"Really? What a pleasure! I must tell you, I'm a reader of Survivor's Daily. I've always tuned into your channel and have long admired your reputation! I just never expected that we would meet in such a way."

"I didn't expect that either, that such a small place with fifty thousand residents would hide someone of your... brilliant ingenuity."

Fang Chang smiled, leaned back in his chair, and looked at him with ease.

"And now? What do you plan to do?"

His expression seemed not in the least worried about blowing his own cover.

Luo Feihui wasn't surprised by his reaction at all, having heard of the achievements of this Army Corps. They had forcibly breached the defenses of Falcon City and even captured the king himself.

Compared to that, what was his daydreaming old master good for?

On this, he had far too much self-awareness.

"I told you I meant no harm. If I really had that intention, I would have informed the old master about your visit before you even arrived."

"So should I thank you?"

"No," Luo Feihui smiled and waved his hand, "Didn't I say from the beginning that I really wanted to make friends with you?"

As he spoke, he stood up from his chair and leisurely walked to the window, his gaze traveling through the blinds to the mansion close at hand.

"What do you think of this settlement?"

Fang Chang couldn't quite fathom what he was getting at with such an abrupt and odd question, so he casually shot back a question.

"Can this place even be considered a settlement?"

Luo Feihui laughed softly and continued.

"Indeed, to you residents of the refuge, and even to other Waste Land Wanderers passing by, this isn't a settlement at all, just a large farm. Everyone here is private property of the Zhao Residence, no different from livestock in a pen... That's why he can do whatever he pleases, without caring what we think."

Upon hearing this statement, Fang Chang gave him a second look, surprised.

He hadn't expected this fellow to have such awareness and such a thorough understanding of his own situation.

Seeing that Fang Chang was silent, Luo Feihui continued in a very soft voice.

"Most farms here are like this, and the reason goes way back... so far back most people have completely forgotten."

"Brocade River City once had a real settlement that flourished no less than Giant Stone City to the north. But because of a bunch of dimwits acting on their own accord, taking in a group of green-skinned riffraff, the whole settlement fell apart."

"Some folks managed to escape to the farms outside. Driven by their fear of the green-skinned monsters, they decided to unite and fight back. Trading the grain they grew with Giant Stone City in the north in exchange for weapons to protect themselves. A lot of things happened afterwards until the smaller farms were merged into larger ones, and survivors who lost their land became slaves... That's the history of most farms here and the past of the Pine Nut Farm."

"Do you think I'm complaining? Then you've misunderstood me. I consider it a necessary sacrifice. To defeat an enemy that seems unbeatable, we must make greater sacrifices than our enemies…"

At this point, Luo Feihui suddenly shifted his tone and his voice became impassioned.

"But haven't you noticed? The people here seem to have completely forgotten what we originally put the noose around our own necks for... It was to drive out those mutants, to expel every last one of those green-skinned monsters and reclaim our honor and prosperity!"

"And now, as you see, we've begun to grow those Nago fruits, listen to the lies spun by a bunch of charlatans, wallow in the false dreams they weave, fantasizing about forming an alliance with the mutants, then selling some of those pitiful things drowned by the Nago to the mutants to be their food and reproduction tools... If my grandfather were still alive, he would feel ashamed of Old Master Zhao today."

"We're putting the noose around our own necks with our own hands, becoming slaves to the mutants, and yet that fool is still stubbornly being the Church's dog! Dragging everyone here with him! Even though Town Of Hope has already proven that those mutants don't treat us any differently based on our beliefs, he still comforts himself thinking that was an exception."

"I don't know what Yang River has promised you, but I dare say I'm a far more suitable candidate. There are many of my confidants in this settlement on my side. He can at most help you enter the settlement, but I can help you get straight into the Zhao Residence... In exchange for helping you, I only have one demand!"

"What demand?" Fang Chang looked at the increasingly excited man with an inquiring gaze.

He didn't know if this guy could be trusted.

But if this man really thought this way, there was indeed a possibility of cooperation.

Luo Feihui stared back at him, his words deliberate and spaced.

"Let me be the master of this farm!"

...

The night grew ever darker.

Approaching midnight, the drunk mercenaries, led by the settlement guards, were brought back to the gates of Pine Nut Farm.

Just as Fang Chang had guessed, the suspicious farm owner wouldn't let them stay on the farm overnight; their accommodations were located outside the farm's enclosing wall.

However, the old master clearly hadn't accounted for another matter.

The drunken revelers were not the same group of mercenaries as before but instead were the household servants of the officer with the surname Luo, simply dressed in the casual clothes the players had worn upon arrival.

Although their appearances were completely different, it was too dark to notice anything, and the group managed to reach the entrance of the settlement without arousing any suspicion.

The only one who sensed something amiss was Wu Wen Zhou alone.

He vaguely guessed what might be happening but, under the watchful eyes of Luo Feihui's subordinates, he dared not make a sound and could only pretend to lead the group to the inn Old Master Zhao had prepared for their lodging.

It was also at this time that several wooden boxes were brought to the back door of Xinglong Hotel, along with Luoyu and his Xiaoyus.

Following a few servants into the storage room in the back yard, Luoyu pulled Fang Chang over as soon as he saw him checking weapons and asked.

"What's going on? Weren't we agreed that I'd launch an attack on the outskirts to help you distract the troops inside the settlement?"

Yes.

Before they had arrived at the settlement, they had already discussed their plan, never intending to complete their mission through infiltration or other mild means but to directly capture the leader—taking down the farm owner.

A settlement with only fifty thousand residents typically had a simple power structure; as long as you controlled the one giving orders, the whole settlement would essentially fall into their hands.

Shaping it however they wanted wouldn't be an issue, let alone releasing a few hostages and gathering some intel about the Torch Church.

When Luoyu first heard Brother Fang Chang's idea, he was shocked, not expecting him to be so rash.

But then, he thought that it might actually be the most efficient approach.

Directly taking over the farm solved all their problems, right?

However, just as he was ready to make his move, the guy sent him a message saying the original plan was canceled.

"The situation has changed; now there's a better way... You explain it."

After checking the weapons, Fang Chang turned to look at Luo Feihui, who stood to the side. Clearing his throat, Luo repeated his plan.

"The hotel's chefs are Old Master Zhao's kitchen servants; they will return to the manor estate by carriage after the banquet is over."

"My men will detain them, and you can ride in their carriage, passing directly through the manor estate's checkpoint and arriving at the central mansion. The coachman is one of my people; he will help you deal with inspections along the way... The rest is up to you."

Luoyu was stunned, finding it a bit hard to believe.

"Is it really that simple?"

"You had better not take this lightly."

Luo Feihui glanced at him and continued solemnly.

"That Zhao Tiangan keeps some Awakeners as enforcers, and if gunshots are heard on the estate, the nearby thousand team can arrive in at most ten minutes... and I don't have many subordinates that I can directly command, so I'm afraid I can't offer you more help."

"Understood," Fang Chang casually responded, without any hesitation, "You just need to handle the aftermath, leave the rest to us."

Luo Feihui gave a slight nod.

"I've bet everything I own on you guys; I hope everything goes well."

After saying that, he stepped out of the door.

Watching the wooden door close, Falling Feather looked suspiciously at Fang Chang and whispered in Mandarin,

"This guy... Is he really okay? To help us like this on our first meeting?"

He was actually somewhat distrustful.

The plan sounded too smooth, almost as if this guy knew they would come, and even guessed what they were planning to do.

"I don't fully trust him, and it's not impossible that he's hiding something from us or has another agenda. But since we've been found out, the original script definitely won't work. In that case, why not see what script he has prepared for us?"

While speaking, Fang Chang pulled out his VM and tapped it with his index finger. Soon, a thermal imaging aerial video in black and white was projected onto the screen.

If you looked closely, the center of that screen was the Pinecone Wood Farm!

White dots marked the heat sources in the darkness; at this hour, those still wandering the streets had to be the patrol teams from the farm.

Recognizing the familiar interface, Falling Feather's eyes widened.

"Wow... Seagull?"

The Seagull fixed-wing unmanned drone!

Capable of carrying eight R-36 "Sanction" air-to-ground missiles, it had participated in the Alliance's military operations in Luo Xia Province and had shone brightly on the battlefield!

He hadn't imagined that this guy would actually use this.

Seeing Falling Feather's astonished expression on his face, Fang Chang explained succinctly.

"We reported this operation to the Alliance Army Command in advance and were approved by the Manager. If we allow this habitat to continue growing Nago, it would pose a serious threat to the entire Southern River Valley Province and even to Luo Xia Province... He hopes we can do the cleanup and remove this tumor with minimal cost."

"I remember a single R-36 costs like a hundred thousand Cr." Falling Feather said, envious.

His total mission was only worth one hundred thousand silver coins!

Such expensive support was something he wouldn't even dare to dream of!

Fang Chang cleared his throat.

"The missiles actually loaded on the drone are not R-36s, but Huge Rock Military Industry's Dove-type Missiles... Those aren't as exaggerated."

Saying this, he tapped on the VM screen, switching the communication channel to Old White.

"The recording has been sent over; the situation is just as described... We've got help from an inside source, and now we plan to directly seize control of the Zhao Residence at the very center of the Pinecone Wood Farm."

After the hissing of electrical current, Old White's voice came through the earphone.

"Understood, do you still need our support?"

Fang Chang: "... You guys stay near the area on standby; if the situation looks optimistic, there's no need. The best result would be taking control of the entire habitat without the Torch Church noticing a thing... That way, we wouldn't need to fire a single bullet and could catch them completely by surprise when the time is right."

Old White: "That's a good idea, but isn't it a bit too optimistic?"

Fang Chang said earnestly,

"It's worth a try."

Old White briskly said,

"Alright, your call!"

The tacit understanding between the two didn't require much communication; they understood each other quickly after a brief exchange.

Not long after, Luo Feihui returned to the doorway to inform everyone that the carriages were ready, and the group boarded with their equipment.

There were three carriages in total, looking like canopied cargo wagons. Each could fit seven or eight people without being too crowded.

The journey was utterly silent.

Clenching the rifle in his hands, Falling Feather, seated in the carriage, felt his heart pounding rapidly, and every little noise outside made him involuntarily tense up.

Despite having been on battlefields often, this was his first time undertaking such a thrilling infiltration mission.

"Don't worry," Night Ten, seated beside him, chuckled softly, "I don't sense any malice right now... there's no one targeting us within at least five hundred meters."

"You've got nerves of steel," Falling Feather said, looking at him in slight surprise.

"Nah, what's there to fear," Night Ten said indifferently, "back in the day in West State City, it was much more thrilling than this. Plus, it's just a game; dying only sets you back three days."

"That makes sense."

On reflection, Falling Feather realized he was right; even if they failed, it was just a three-day cooldown.

It was he who had gotten too immersed, nearly getting played by the game... Wait, no, that's not right!

Suddenly he remembered that unlike these guys, who could reset at any time, he had a mission worth one hundred thousand silver coins on his back.

If this went awry, that mission was likely toast!

With that thought, his anxiety surged...

Thankfully, the journey was free of danger.

The duty guards didn't inspect them closely, just glanced at the person riding the horse and yawned, waving them through.

Before they knew it, the six hundred meters were behind them.

They passed through the gates of the estate smoothly, past two sentries with machine guns, and quickly saw a lavishly decorated villa not far away.

Its exterior was made entirely of marble, with exquisite reliefs, looking like a piece of art, seven stories tall.

Far off in the distance, it appeared like a castle standing erect amidst a garden, involuntarily reminding one of Old Leech from Bet Street.

However, this mansion was far more luxurious than that patched-up "Amusement Park Castle." Their wealth was clearly incomparable.

"Damn... Can he actually live in so many rooms?" Peeping through the gaps in the carriage, Night Ten couldn't help but be amazed as he silently counted the windows of the mansion.

Wild Wind teased him over the communication channel.

"You think he lives there alone?"

"Uh, seems like it..."

Night Ten changed his mind and considered that there might be some truth to it.

If he was in that position as this land's emperor, it would be a disgrace to himself not to have seventy or eighty harems.

Indeed, poverty limited his imagination.

Passing by a fountain, the coachman saw the patrol team leaving in the opposite direction and coughed lightly twice.

Receiving the signal, the players immediately grabbed their weapons, jumped down from the carriage, switched off the safety, and loaded their rifles.

Speaking in a hushed voice, Fang Chang issued orders through the communication channel.

"... Team A circle to the back of the building to prevent the target from escaping, Team B stand by in the courtyard and move into the building after the firefight!"

"Team C at the front door, Team D at the end of the left hallway by that window!"

"Move out!"

Unified responses came through the communication channel.

"Received!"

The routes for each small group were marked on the aerial drone images.

Quickly, everyone arrived at their battle positions, and as planned, they split into four groups and crossed the densely vegetated garden.

Ten Xiaoyus were dispersed among the four teams, wearing the K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeletons, serving as the vanguard of the teams.

Approaching the main door with Team C, Fang Chang gave Falling Feather, who was clinging to the other side of the door, a meaningful look. The latter, understanding, gave a soft shout through the communication channel.

"Xiaoyu!"

"Yee-uh!"

A zealous reply came through the communication channel.

A sub-entity wearing the Iron Wall exoskeleton took a running start posture and then, like a rugby player, rammed hard into the door with its shoulder.

"Bang—!"

The heavy door was easily slammed open.

The silent night was shattered by the sudden noise.

But now there was no need for concealment.

Drones laden with missiles hovered overhead, and the four teams had completely surrounded the building. All that remained was what one would call shooting fish in a barrel.

Team C immediately stormed into a pitch-black hall, with Team D simultaneously taking action.

However, the moment they entered the hall, Fang Chang immediately sensed something was off—a faint smell of blood invaded his nostrils.

Then he saw a body, hanging beneath the chandelier, with no telling how long it had been dead.

The person's belly had been sliced open, intestines hanging around their neck, and the bloodied face appeared contorted in agony, a ghastly sight.

The instant he saw the body, Fang Chang's pupils constricted slightly and he immediately turned on his flashlight to illuminate it.

That military uniform, and that face...

It was that officer named Luo Feihui!

He couldn't be mistaken!

They had just met him an hour ago!

Fang Chang felt a chill run down his spine, unable to understand how this man had ended up dead here. Or perhaps this man had been dead all along, and the one he had just met was someone else.

At that moment, a creaking sound came from the side.

He fiercely pointed his flashlight in that direction, only to see a huge figure sitting on the ground, nonchalantly shoving something into its mouth, chewing voraciously.

The creature had dark green skin, but it didn't look like a mutant; instead, it more closely resembled the slime mold's offspring, "Butcher."

Fat was bunched up in clumps on its body!

The sitting figure was like a rocky hill!

Several ghastly corpses lay scattered beside it.

Men, women, elderly, and children... as well as their body parts.

These dead, most likely, were the families of that military officer.

"Fuck..."

Standing beside, Falling Feather felt a wave of nausea, and raised his gun, aiming at the monster that continued to feast despite their presence.

At this moment, a dry and hoarse voice came from above the stairs.

The voice carried a faint hint of mockery.

"I hear..."

"Someone is looking for me?"

Chapter 576: Funds are Burning!

The inn at the entrance of the Pinecone Wood Farm, where candlelight flickered in the simply decorated room, Wu Wen Zhou paced uneasily, unable to fall asleep.

The situation was getting out of hand…

At first, all he did was agree to help Yang River's mercenary, to take Yang River's six-year-old daughter out of the Zhao Residence.

Whether it was out of gratitude for past kindness or for his own interest, he planned to lend a hand.

It wasn't really a high-risk situation.

Though Yang River was his boss, the task wasn't carried out through him, but by mercenaries hired from outside.

After the event, he could simply claim ignorance.

And if Yang River completely detached himself from the Pinecone Wood Farm, staying loyal himself and clearly defining the boundaries with Yang River, he would be the exclusive merchant of the Pinecone Wood Farm in the future.

Yang River had also urged him to leave together, claiming that even without the resources of the Pinecone Wood Farm, they could still make a fortune with the capital they had saved before.

However, he had declined the offer without a second thought.

He thirsted for power and wealth more than the fleeting freedom.

He was well aware of the difference between him and Yang River; that guy might have had his fill, but he had yet to savor that intoxicating taste.

Maybe in the future, he would make the same choice as his former boss, but that would have to be after he had saved up a substantial amount of money.

Backing out now would not only mean wasting all the effort he had put into pleasing the master, but he would also never be able to live the life he'd always dreamed of.

However, after seeing what happened in the Town of Hope and having a detailed conversation with Fang Chang, he felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.

It's no good making money if you don't live to spend it.

Maybe the boss was right.

The people here had gone insane.

So without hesitation, he had agreed to the terms set by the Alliance, helping the Alliance's soldiers enter the settlement. In exchange, the Alliance would send an aircraft to take him and his family away from this plantation.

What he didn't expect was that things had gone off track from the start.

The Alliance had no intention of discreetly investigating that "Holy Land" or the Bishop hiding there; instead, they were plotting something far more terrifying and bold.

What was even more unexpected was that they had been watched by General Luo Feihui's spies while in the Town of Hope, and that ambitious man had also gotten involved.

Even if he was slow, he had now come to his senses.

He had been played!

Though it couldn't be said that the Alliance had deceived him, those cunning people just hadn't revealed all their plans.

After all, compared to cautiously infiltrating, bribing relevant personnel for intelligence, taking over the farm outright, and seizing the people for a slow interrogation was also a form of investigation.

And much more efficient.

Not only that.

If the Alliance controlled the entire farm, his family would naturally be safe, which could be considered fulfilling the terms of his agreement.

But—

Could it really go so smoothly?

He couldn't help but look out into the pitch-black night outside the window.

Was this night a little too quiet…?

"Knock knock—"

There came a knocking at the door.

The sudden sound startled Wu Wen Zhou, who was already anxious, and he quickly walked to the door.

His hand on the doorknob, he hesitated to open it immediately; instead, he cautiously asked,

"Who's there?"

"…"

It was dead silent outside, not a sound could be heard.

The knocking seemed to have faded into the distance, but he was certain that the person was still at the door, as he hadn't heard any footsteps indicating departure.

A sense of unease wandering in his mind, he switched to holding the doorknob with his left hand while his right hand reached into his pocket, gripping the revolver hidden there and lightly disengaging the safety.

Then, gritting his teeth, he opened the door.

Standing at the door was the innkeeper, his acquaintance Li Liangchuan.

Seeing that familiar face, Wu Wen Zhou instantly relaxed, his pounding heart calmed down, and he felt as if he had shed a huge burden.

"…Damn, you knock and don't say anything, trying to scare the hell out of me?!"

The man standing at the door didn't speak but just stood there like a sleepwalker, staring straight at him, mouth closed, silent.

Confronted with that hollow gaze, Wu Wen Zhou swallowed nervously and tentatively called out his name,

"…Liangchuan?"

There was still no response, the man's pupils lifelessly fixed in place.

Finally feeling something amiss, Wu Wen Zhou backed into the guest room, drew his revolver completely out of his pocket, and aimed it at the man's head.

With a vicious look, he barked,

"What are you trying to pull? What's with the ghost act?!"

The reception to the threatening tone seemed to finally elicit a slight reaction, or perhaps something else awakened him, as the innkeeper slowly shifted his drooping gaze, looking towards Wu Wen Zhou, who had retreated into the guest room.

Staring intently into those lifeless pupils, Wu Wen Zhou gulped, retreating towards the wooden table near the window, his index finger resting on the trigger as he still aimed at that head.

In those turbid eyes, he saw a bare craving!

It was the look of a starving beast when it sees prey alone, a look Wu Wen Zhou, who had walked the Wasteland for many years, could not mistake!

This guy was off!

Definitely off!

"Don't come any closer! I'm warning you! Approach any further and I'll shoot—! Ahhhh!"

Venting his anger and fright through his shouts and watching his staggering friend charge at him, he firmly pulled the trigger.

More than once!

"Bang bang—!"

The thunder of gunpowder echoed in the room, and the bullets unhesitatingly shattered his friend's head, the brain matter and blood splattering out onto the hallway.

"Don't blame me… I warned you."

Staring at the corpse on the ground, Wu Wen Zhou, who was leaning on the table, gasped for air forcibly. However, before he could catch his breath, a series of figures appearing at the doorway changed his complexion instantly.

One, two, three...

It was a group!

Dressed as servants, they stared at him with abyss-like eyes, akin to walking corpses, and then opened their mouths, emitting a low growl that dragged on like mud.

"Ughhh—"

Like a torrential mountain flood.

They pounced.

"Aaaaah!" In utter terror, Wu Wen Zhou fired his revolver wildly at the oncoming crowd.

Accompanied by the explosions of gunfire, the muzzle flashes flickered in a window, partially obscured by curtains, like the last flickering of a candle in the evening breeze.

Before long, a pool of crimson blood spattered against the window, followed by the outline of a distorted face and blood handprints, completely covering the warm light...

At the same time, right in the center of the settlement.

The luxurious mansion belonging to the farm owner was likewise shrouded in a blood-red atmosphere.

"Aren't you looking for me?"

"Now that I'm right in front of you, why have you gone silent? Gagaga—"

Along with that voice, a dry laughter also echoed in the deathly still hall, bearing an inexplicable strangeness.

People immediately looked up to see a middle-aged man standing on the overhanging balcony of the second floor, his murky gaze overlooking everyone in the hall from above the railing.

He seemed to have been waiting here all along.

Waiting for them to come to him.

After a quick glance at the image on the VM, Fang Chang's pupils tightened slightly, and when he looked at the man again, his eyes were filled with surprise.

Zhao Tiangan?!

Wrong—

"...Luo Gan?"

Fang Chang stared intently at the man.

Falling Feather glanced at him quickly, her eyes seeming to ask, "What are you talking about?"

But Fang Chang didn't respond.

Just now, he had thought of a possibility...

Although it sounded outlandish, this could explain why the Holy Land was considered absolutely safe.

And it was from a scientific perspective devoid of any religious coloring...

Because that thing wasn't even on the "earth".

And precisely because it was not on earth, in theory, anyone could listen to his gospel. And if he wished, he could appear anywhere.

Hearing that name, the man's face revealed a strange smile.

"Heh heh... Caught on, have you? Quicker than I imagined."

"Aha, I see..."

Fang Chang looked at him calmly, his expression gradually taking on a hint of gravity.

Glancing at the expression on Fang Chang's face, "All the good names are taken by dogs" swallowed his saliva nervously and excitedly and hurriedly asked.

"What are you talking about... I don't understand?!"

He could understand a few phrases of United Human language.

But all he heard was baffling.

Fang Chang clenched his teeth, squeezing out a sentence through his clenched teeth.

"Mind Interference Device!"

"Mind... Interference?!" Falling Feather looked at him, surprised, not understanding why he suddenly brought up that device.

What did that have to do with the current situation?

Fang Chang kept his eyes fixed on the man and calmly said,

"Remember the characteristics of the Mind Interference Device... The higher the intellect, the more specific the information received, but the less the influence. The lower the intellect, the less information received, but the greater the influence."

He swallowed, continuing,

"Excessive consumption of Nago will lead to a 'God Travel' state... In that state, the intellect is probably close to zero."

The real "gospel" is probably not that pill!

It's the Mind Interference Device working somewhere!

And the true function of the pill is not to suppress addiction!

But rather, something that amplifies the signal or aids in signal interpretation!

Of course, this was just his speculation.

But one thing was certain!

From the moment they arrived at Pinecone Wood Farm—no, even earlier, that guy had been watching them!

The man standing on the second-floor overhanging balcony had a fierce light in his eyes.

"Goliath, kill them!"

"ROAR—!"

The very instant he finished speaking, the mountain of flesh sitting on the floor let out a deafening roar, and the windows of the entire building shattered outward from the terrifying sound waves.

"Ugh—"

Several players inside the hall covered their ears. Even though the pain was blocked, their hearing was nearly disabled.

With the intention of catching the leader first, "A Good Dog" quickly raised his gun and fired two shots, hitting the man on the overhanging balcony.

Blood beads burst from the man's abdomen and shoulder; he fell backward without a sound.

Not expecting the boss to be this weak, "A Good Dog" stared in surprise, then spat with excitement.

"Ptoo! That's what you get for showing off!"

Fang Chang's voice came from the side.

"Don't let your guard down! That guy is just a puppet!"

A Good Dog: "What the hell?!"

"Fire!" Fang Chang gripped his rifle tightly, aiming straight at the hulking figure seated among the corpses.

The mass of flesh that had been seated on the ground had risen and was now charging toward the players standing at the entrance of the hall with heavy steps.

"Ratatat—!"

The muzzle spat flames, the ejected casings clanging as they hit the ground.

Falling Feather pulled the trigger without hesitation, a stream of orange-yellow tracer bullets spraying toward the charging monster.

However, what surprised him was that his bullets seemed to be absorbed by a gigantic mass of gelatin, not even causing a ripple on the body that was like a colossal wall!

"Damn! What the hell is this thing?!"

The focused bullets hit the monster's enormous head, but still, the massive meat mountain showed no reaction.

Its kinetic energy was completely absorbed!

Even in the face of concentrated fire from ten rifles, the monster named Goliath didn't slow down in the slightest. Its massive hand, like a windmill, struck toward the people standing at the door, raising a gale within the spacious hall.

"Eeeek—!"

As the monster was about to reach them, Xiaoyu, clad in a K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton, drew his battle knife and charged forward.

The blade pierced the monster's left chest.

But shockingly, no blood spurted out; it was as if the heart wasn't even there!

The knife that had pierced in was stuck in fat!

"Damn—"

A brief sob rose on the communication channel.

The monster, like a train, paused for only a moment before sending Xiaoyu's exoskeleton-clad body flying, continuing its relentless charge toward the crowd.

Still, Xiaoyu's actions had bought some time for everyone to escape the swooping slap.

Fang Chang, raising his arm to block shards of tiles that sprayed his way, pulled an incendiary bomb from his exoskeleton and hurled it fiercely at the creature named Goliath.

Flames burst into life on the monster's body!

However, compared to its hefty frame, those burning flames seemed like a flickering flame from a lighter – they couldn't harm it in the slightest.

But—

He had never expected that thing to take down the beast.

Taking advantage of Goliath's pained howl, Fang Chang yelled over the communication channel.

"C and D squads, get out of the building!"

"Drone unit, prepare to fire!"

"Old White! Come give us a hand!"

"Night Ten! Are you ready yet? If not, it's okay, we have to pull out!"

Previously, Night Ten hadn't disembarked but stayed in the carriage, accompanying the coachman to the servant's dormitory to take Falling Feather's place in searching for the six-year-old girl.

After all, in order to direct Xiaoyu's offshoot bodies, it was only when he was nearby that the "little Xiaoyus" could exert their maximum combat power.

There was no response from Night Ten over the communication channel.

But Old White's voice came quickly, accompanied by the whooshing wind.

"…Hang in there! We're on our way and will be there soon!"

At the same time, a jarring broadcast tore through the silent night. The shrill laughter echoed above the manor grounds.

"Ha ha ha…"

"It's no use."

"You can't escape!"

"Stay right here!"

Goliath roared, crashing through the front door and the adjoining wall, its distorted face letting out a ferocious roar at the players who had fallen into the forecourt.

"Roar—!"

The boisterous air wave tossed leaves and dust as C and D squads, retreating from the villa, fired alternately at the beast.

At the same time, B squad crouched in the flowerbeds, and A squad coming around from the backyard also raised their rifles, aiming their fire at the monster.

Goliath paused momentarily, and amidst its angry roars was a hint of pain – it was clear it wasn't invulnerable.

It felt pain when injured!

Just then, two trails of fiery tails descended from the sky, hitting the monster's shoulders, one on each side with precision.

The explosive roar engulfed Goliath, and the deafening scream was abruptly cut off.

Hot air tinged with the scent of charred flesh swirled within the blast.

As the dust settled, a bloody mess was all that stood in the rubble of the collapsed doorway, a sight so wretched that the original form was unrecognizable.

Chunks of char, gray smoke, and waves of heat lay scattered – these were pieces that had flaked off its body.

Watching the burning steps and cobblestones, and the immovable mountain of flesh in the silence, Falling Feather swallowed hard.

"Is it dead...?"

It seemed—

Not yet.

A closer look revealed that the fat body was still steadily rising and falling. Even though it was torn to pieces by the missiles, it hadn't swallowed its last breath.

And that was not all!

Its back where the wounds were began to sprout tentacle-like strips of flesh, twisting together, visibly stitching up the damaged parts!

This insane healing speed would be outrageous even for the mutants.

Its legs had healed, and it suddenly started to retreat.

Seeing this, Fang Chang immediately roared into his headset.

"Wild Wind! Give us two more shots!"

A calm reply came through.

"Received."

As the voice faded away, two tongues of fire streaked across the night sky as two missiles fell from above, hitting the self-repairing monster once again!

One of the missiles plunged directly into the healing wound, tentacles of flesh writhing around it, trying to eject the foreign object from the body.

However, its response was obviously a step too slow.

The explosion's blaze erupted violently, tearing the flesh wrapped around the missile into shreds with ease, and once again engulfed the beast.

Even if it recovered at an absurd rate, it was ultimately still a carbon-based organism—if two missiles weren't enough, then another two it would be!

But this time, it seemed to be enough.

The colossal creature collapsed heavily onto the ground, finally motionless.

Large chunks of black, paste-like substance flowed from the wounds all over its body, thick like oil, resembling both blood and fat.

The battle was over.

But there was no cheering from the crowd.

Everyone was acutely aware that they were standing right in the center of Pine Wood Farm, with at least three thousand-team units outside.

Causing such a commotion in someone else's home, riddling the house with bullet holes and blood, they couldn't explain it away even if they had a thousand mouths.

The only one who might have been able to control the situation, General Luo Feihui, was already dead.

"Something doesn't feel right…"

Withdrawing his gaze from the mountain-like corpse, Fang Chang cautiously swept his eyes around, his gun muzzle patrolling the garden's edges.

"Isn't it too quiet around here?"

If he remembered correctly, from the manor's main entrance to where they were now, there should have been at least two sentry posts and more than a hundred soldiers.

Even though only a few short minutes had passed since the fight started, it was unlikely that the nearby patrolling teams and sentries were so deaf that they had no reaction whatsoever.

He hurriedly glanced at the thermal imaging aerial view on his VM, with the huge corpse in the center of the screen aglow with white light, and the bright spots right in front of the villa obviously representing them.

Further away, a series of white light spots had already gathered near the estate, poised and ready to attack.

This was not the anomaly.

However, as he zoomed out the camera to look even farther away, he saw those light spots indicating soldiers still moving along fixed routes, patrolling in an orderly fashion…

Fang Chang suddenly realized something and roared.

"Wild Wind! Use up all the reserve ammo!"

"Use it up?"

As the words left his mouth, Wild Wind seemed to catch on and, without hesitation, fired the remaining four "Dove" missiles from the drone at the open space outside the settlement.

But then something eerie happened.

The four missiles shot out, then made a sudden turn in the air, adjusted their direction, and headed straight for the main entrance of the villa.

Watching the plumes of fire curl in the air, Fang Chang's face went pale as he shouted over the squad's voice channel.

"Get inside the villa!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he dashed toward the villa they had previously evacuated.

Almost at the very moment his front foot crossed the threshold, an explosive blaze burst behind him, not far off, the hot blast pushing him right inside, his helmet banging against a column and almost knocking him unconscious.

He was lucky.

Two players, just a step behind, were engulfed by the boiling blaze, sacrificed on the spot under the cover fire of friendly forces.

Wild Wind's voice came through the communication channel.

"The drone was hijacked… Sorry! My—"

"It's not your fault… There's an expert on the other side."

Looking back at the burning flames and rising from the ground, Fang Chang caught his breath slightly and stood up with the support of his rifle butt.

He suddenly remembered a previous encounter with the Torch Church back in East District of Qingquan City, on a mission transporting fuel rods.

Those guys were few in number but well-equipped and well-trained. If it hadn't been for home-field advantage and timely support from Mosquito Brother's aircraft, they would have had virtually no chance of victory.

A blaze shot up in the air.

Seagull, valued at 300Cr, upon actively detecting a loss of control, triggered the self-destruct program and glided toward a preset safety coordinate.

300 million. And in Cr.

This time it was literally their funds going up in flames.

The sky was lit not only by the wreckage of Seagull but also by a series of tracer rounds ascending skyward, weaving into a fire net in the air.

Looking out the window at the night sky illuminated by anti-aircraft fire, Fang Chang immediately felt a sense of foreboding and shouted into his headset.

"Old White… What's your situation?"

Static filled the communication channel, followed by the clamor of gunfire and wind, indicative of the fierce battle.

"We're being chased off by anti-aircraft fire! Can't approach the center of the settlement… You'll have to hold on a bit longer!"

The nimble "Viper" wasn't likely to be shot down by a few quad anti-aircraft guns, but they couldn't switch to hover mode and decelerate for landing smoothly under the harassment of anti-aircraft fire.

"…Someone is approaching outside!" Falling Feather, tensely aiming his rifle out of the window, called out, "Damn, looks like there's quite a number of them!"

Almost at the same time, Old White's voice continued through the communication channel.

"Many targets are moving toward you… Be careful! Something feels off about those people!"

"Prepare for battle!"

Fang Chang quickly got close to the window, also placing his rifle on the windowsill, while signaling Teams A and B to head to the second floor.

The defenses were set.

Taking a short breath, he clenched his teeth and continued.

"Approximately… how many?"

Old White replied gravely.

"I can't see very clearly from here, but if I'm not mistaken... the number is probably at least tens of thousands!"

Fang Chang was stunned.

"Tens of thousands?!"

Common sense and instinct told him that Old White must have been mistaken.

However, an affirmative answer came through the communication channel.

"Yes, 'tens of thousands' might even be a conservative estimate… The entire settlement's leaders are converging in your direction!"

Fang Chang: "???"

What the hell?!

Chapter 577: The Gospel from Hell

In a corner of Old Master Zhao's manor, right next to the servants' quarters, there sat a chicly decorated five-story Western-style house.

Its structure was shaped like the Chinese character "回," surrounded by a stretch of verdant lawn, with a very spacious courtyard at its center, where many people lived.

Although this place, the Work, wasn't as grand as the main building, it was still one of the few luxurious places in the entire settlement.

The people in the manor called this place the "guesthouse."

Those who lived here were all esteemed guests of the master's household, whether they were his confidants or their family members, or servants specially attending to them, no one else could get close.

That was why, even though the guesthouse was situated in a secluded corner far from the main building, there were still many servants running back and forth to serve.

Yang Xiaoyang was born here.

The people here were very kind to her, especially after the death of her grandparents and mother due to illness, their warmth had escalated to attentive enthusiasm.

Especially the Old Master, who treated her as if she were his own. Apart from the meticulous concern, he also allowed her to study and play with his daughter and wear dresses just as pretty as hers.

Moreover, he had even granted her a "special privilege" that other kids didn't have—allowing her to freely leave the guesthouse.

As long as it was within the manor, she could go anywhere she wanted.

But for other kids, even just walking to the garden outside the guesthouse would get them escorted back by the servants who saw them.

Of course, the price of freedom was always having one or two uncles who never spoke following her wherever she went.

They would even stand guard at the door when she went to the bathroom.

Her good friend Yinyin—the Old Master's youngest daughter—once threw a tantrum with her father, hoping to get rid of that pesky "stalker."

However, the Old Master, who was usually so indulgent with his youngest daughter, would not yield on this matter and even locked her in a dark room in a thunderous rage.

Little Lamb had never seen the Old Master so angry, and she quickly tried to persuade Yinyin that she really didn't mind being followed.

Because she noticed that during the days her good friend was locked away, the eyes following her had increased by two pairs, and the feeling of being watched had grown even stronger.

The Old Master was probably suspicious.

Suspicious that she was instigating his daughter, helping herself to escape from here.

Anyway, she was very careful those days, and deliberately acted clumsy and incapable of self-care, as if she couldn't survive without someone to look after her, sticking to her aunt's side and feigning for a while until the Old Master's guard was finally lowered.

Although only six years old, because she had lived alone and dependent on others from a young age, she was much more mature than her peers.

Even though no one had ever explained those complex issues to her, she could still glean something from the eyes of others, those carefully hidden intentions.

The uncles following her were not for her safety but merely because they were worried she would run away from the manor.

The Old Master's affection for her was not out of pity or because she was adorable, nor for the reasons he claimed, but simply because of her father.

And the relationship between the Old Master and her father was not like the intimate friendship she had with Yinyin but just a pure utilitarian use between adults.

Adults always like to find a deceiving reason for what they are doing, to cover up those original ugly motives.

She didn't quite understand what a merchant did, but had overheard that her father helped the Old Master sell some farm products outside, making quite a bit of money.

Her father placed her, along with her mother and grandparents, here in exchange for the Old Master's peace of mind and ongoing assistance, while the Old Master used her—the only relative her father had left in this world—to tie him down to this place.

It was also for this reason that the Old Master had his daughter's teacher teach her reading and writing.

It wasn't to enable her to acquire any knowledge or for Yinyin to have a playmate of similar age and level of education, but merely to keep her in touch with her father through letters.

Perhaps the letters her father wrote to her were only meant to put Old Master Zhao at ease? After all, if she were that important to him, why wouldn't he even want to come back to see her?

He hadn't come back for a very long time, not even when her mother passed away. Sometimes she couldn't help but think that perhaps he already had another family outside, and that the only reason he maintained this father-daughter relationship was to earn Old Master Zhao's trust, not out of concern for her.

That wasn't impossible.

She had heard that before her father, there was a peddler who worked for Old Master Zhao, who one day suddenly lost all contact, with no one knowing whether he died or just disappeared spontaneously.

In any case, the peddler's family left in the mansion, she never saw them again in the manor.

Perhaps one day, she would end up like that family too.

However, she didn't hate her father.

Even after coming to terms with all of this, she had let go of much of it.

After all, there wasn't much good in Wasteland, so why not stay here?

At least the life here was good, at least for now, and she had her best friend. As for the future, she would leave it for the future to worry about since she couldn't do anything about it now.

Undoubtedly, the most important person in her life was Yinyin.

That girl was the real young miss of this manor, two years older than her, and unlike everyone else here, the young miss truly treated her as a good friend. She genuinely cared for her, got angry over the injustices she suffered, and would even stand up for her... Although that overly naive sister often messed things up with her good intentions, sometimes even causing her to get in trouble, Little Lamb didn't blame her.

After finishing their daily lessons, they would always play together cheerfully.

Sometimes it was catching crickets, other times playing house with dolls, or even pulling in other kids from the guesthouse to play hide and seek.

Hide and seek was their favorite game because it allowed them to disappear from the adults' sight for a short while, and once Little Lamb was missing, everyone would get really anxious.

Their anxious expressions would always be a delight to watch, over and over again.

That's why sometimes, their hide and seek's objective would change from finding each other to helping Little Lamb hide, then watching the servants turn the manor upside down.

But Little Lamb was very clear that this joke could only be played occasionally, not too excessively. When she felt everyone was about to genuinely panic, she would intentionally give herself away, letting the servants find her.

Because of this, Yinyin often scolded her for being clumsy.

However, the young miss didn't know that it was all intentional.

If she didn't do it that way, it would be hard to end things...

"Damn it... I was so close to making that guy cry!"

Sitting by the fountain in the guesthouse's front garden, swinging her legs, Yinyin sighed in frustration, her elbow propped on her knee, her cheek heavily resting in her palm.

As usual, they had made a commotion throughout the afternoon in the manor, giving the servants quite the scare.

But unlike usual, today her father wasn't involved, he didn't even show his face; he simply ordered the butler to send Little Lamb back to the guesthouse.

The old butler didn't stay long at the guesthouse either.

It seemed that the manor had a distinguished guest, and he was in such a hurry that he didn't even scold them before leaving, leaving Yinyin feeling somewhat bored.

So, her father wasn't really anxious this time?

Doesn't that mean they were busy for nothing all afternoon?

"That was such a good hiding spot, a place they could never think of even if they racked their brains... Little Lamb too, if only she could be a bit more clever!"

Listening to the young miss's complaints, Little Lamb sitting nearby laughed innocently, squeaking out a response.

"I'm so sorry, Yinyin sis... Little Lamb is just too dumb."

"Don't apologize! It's those ill-mannered pests who should be the ones apologizing! Really, don't these people have anything better to do? Following a lady around all day, how ridiculous..."

Yinyin said with all seriousness as she looked at Little Lamb.

"Also, we were playing hide and seek in the first place so that you could have some freedom and enjoy yourself. If that's making you even more upset, then that defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it?"

"Yinyin..." Little Lamb looked at her, eyes brimming with tears, touched by her words.

She hadn't told her best friend.

She actually wasn't that eager for freedom and never really minded being followed; having been born there, she was used to it.

She didn't believe that escaping or hiding would change her situation one bit.

Perhaps even if she ran away, her rarely seen father would just send her back, just as he originally sent her mother, grandparents, and the rest into this place.

But...

The feeling of being cared for was just so wonderful.

"Stop looking at me like that; you're making me feel embarrassed."

Yinyin suddenly felt shy under the gaze of those watery big eyes and shifted her gaze away, scratching the itchy cheek tinged by the setting sun.

Just then, her eyes caught sight of the mansion nearby, and they lit up.

She remembered a long-forgotten rumor—

The old mansion was actually the main building of the estate, where her family had first lived, until they moved out after building a new house, and the old main building then became the mansion.

Deep within the basement of that mansion, there lay a hidden door to the Underground World, a door that had existed since the time of her great-grandfather.

She didn't know what that place was like.

But she knew for sure that no one would expect it!

"Right!"

She grabbed Little Lamb's hands, looking at her excitedly.

"I've thought of an amazing place! No one will ever find you there! Come with me!"

Seeing her assertiveness, Little Lamb felt a faint unease. After all, they had already played a joke on the adults of the estate once today, and the same joke wouldn't be funny twice in one day.

As Yinyin pulled her down from the fountain, Little Lamb looked at her uneasily and said,

"Hold on, Yinyin... let's go tomorrow instead. There's definitely someone following us now. If we go there right now, won't we expose that amazing spot?"

"Don't worry, it won't," Yinyin whispered secretively into her ear, lowering her voice, "it's in the mansion... inside the mansion, nobody follows you, right?"

Little Lamb hesitated and then slowly nodded her head.

If it was inside the mansion...

Maybe Old Master Zhao wouldn't be angry.

Seeing her timid friend finally muster some courage, Yinyin couldn't help but smile happily.

"Come on!"

With that, she rushed toward the mansion, pulling Little Lamb along.

Following hesitantly behind the young lady, Little Lamb was led to the north wing of the mansion, through a dark staircase, and down to the lower level of the mansion.

Little Lamb had heard about this place; it was the mansion's storeroom, but it was rarely used since moving things in and out wasn't easy, and there wasn't much to store in the mansion anyway.

If anything needed to be placed temporarily, they simply left it on the empty ground in the courtyard.

Having lived here for so long, this was her first time coming down here.

The basement was pitch black, void of electric lights; the only light came from a flashlight that Yinyin had casually brought with her. The eerie chill melting into the darkness made Little Lamb's legs tremble.

Yinyin, standing beside her, was the same.

She held the flashlight, frozen in place. Clearly, she too hadn't expected the mansion's basement to be so spacious.

It was like a maze!

"Which way should we go?" Little Lamb looked at Yinyin timidly, hoping she would reconsider and give up on exploring the basement.

However, she had underestimated her best friend's determination to grant her freedom.

Yinyin, who had been hesitant, lost all trace of it when she met that uncertain and timid gaze.

She had promised her freedom. Even if just for a second, she wanted her to live without the scrutiny of prying eyes.

There was no better place than this, dark as it might be but from another viewpoint, possibly the perfect camouflage.

In this deserted maze, even if not for hide and seek, she too could hide out for a bit, to enjoy moments free from prying eyes.

Of course, she could come here when she was unhappy too.

A smile crept over Yinyin's lips.

Thinking of it that way, it was like their own secret castle.

Perhaps her prayers were answered, as she heard a faint sound in the distance.

What was that sound calling out?

She immediately pointed the flashlight in its direction.

"This way!"

Watching Yinyin begin to move forward decisively, Little Lamb hurried after her.

"Yinyin... maybe we should go back after all."

"Just a moment! It's just ahead; we'll be there in no time!"

Following the source of the sound, Yinyin walked eagerly forward.

She had gradually forgotten whether she was helping her friend find an incredible hiding spot, or if she was just motivated to make out what that sound was saying.

Maybe it was a bit of both.

Little Lamb watched her friend's back nervously, feeling as though things were slowly veering off the original track without being able to pinpoint exactly what was wrong.

Did Yinyin seem familiar with this place?

Had she been here before?

I hadn't even been down here before.

It would be best to return early…

It's fine if it's just me, but if both of us go missing, Old Master Zhao would definitely go mad.

The two wandered in the pitch-dark basement for a while and came upon a room filled with assorted junk.

Behind a pile of discarded wooden boxes, indeed, stood an iron door marred by streaks of rust.

Without looking carefully, one might not even notice it.

At first glance, she mistook it for scrap metal leaning against the wall.

"This is…"

Yinyin stared at the door with bright, piercing eyes.

"I don't know, but it should be here."

Little Lamb couldn't help but voice the confusion in her heart.

"Yinyin… how did you find this place?"

Yinyin gave Little Lamb a strange look.

"Didn't you hear it?"

Little Lamb was momentarily stunned.

"…Hear?"

Wasn't it just the two of them here?

Could there be a third person…

Her little face gradually paled.

"Yes!" Yinyin nodded vigorously, speaking excitedly, "When I was silently praying in my heart that it would be great if I could find that door, that's when I heard that voice! Although I couldn't make out what it was saying, I could feel it, it said so much, it's like it was inviting us over!"

"I heard…"

So, exactly what did she hear?

Little Lamb looked at Yinyin in bewilderment, about to ask, but saw her already excitedly stepping forward, her hands grasping the rusted door handle, pulling back with all her strength.

"…Little Lamb! Help me!"

Seeing the unmoving iron door, Little Lamb said with a wry smile,

"Wait a minute, Yinyin, we don't have the key, if we just pull like this…"

"What are you talking about! There's no keyhole for this door, it should just slide open… Ah! I feel it moved! Come, help me—"

Before she could finish speaking, her movements suddenly halted sharply, and her eyes lost their sparkle.

Little Lamb hadn't recovered from her shock before she saw Yinyin release the door handle she was clutching and collapse to the ground.

"Yinyin—!"

Electrocuted?

Or… poison gas?

Little Lamb turned pale, but ultimately she didn't run away. Gritting her teeth, she rushed over and propped up the limp Yinyin, dragging her away from the door.

However, even after leaving the door, Yinyin showed no signs of regaining consciousness, resembling death if not for her breathing.

"What on earth… happened?"

Staring at the steadfast iron door, fear filled Little Lamb's eyes. She dared not stay there a moment longer, pulling the unconscious Yinyin back to the entrance of the basement and then rushing toward the staircase, intending to go up and seek help.

Outside was pitch black.

Although it felt like not much time had passed, it was already dark outside.

Standing at the entrance of the north building, Little Lamb glanced around, finding it vacant, devoid of a single soul.

So strange…

Even though they were in the guest villa, they had disappeared for nearly half an hour, yet no one had come looking for them, as if they had been completely forgotten.

The series of abnormal situations inevitably brought a hint of unease to her eyes, but out of concern for Yinyin, she still mustered the courage to shout.

"Miss has fainted! Is anyone here… come quickly—"

Her voice had hardly faded when a dull and coarse growl interrupted her.

"Ugh…"

A woman with her head and shoulders drooping was standing on the corridor near the stairwell, her neck slanted, staring straight at her with a pair of empty, lifeless eyes.

The sight was indescribably eerie.

Those eyes penetrated to the marrow with a bone-chilling cold.

Seeing the woman hobbling toward her, Little Lamb swallowed hard and took a frightened step back.

"Don't… don't come any closer."

She didn't know why she felt the need to run, but her legs instinctively moved, dragging her stiff body desperately toward the direction of the stairwell.

Her intuition told her that if she were caught, it would be the end.

Just as she darted into the stairwell, the woman quickened her staggering pace, growling as she lunged toward her.

Not daring to look back, Little Lamb, upon reaching the basement, used all her strength to slam the basement door shut, while grabbing the steel bar dropped on the ground, she wedged it onto the door handle.

Almost simultaneously, a thunderous bang came from outside the door, followed by violent shaking of the door panel; something was hitting against it.

"Yah—!"

Little Lamb cried out, stepping back in fright, her eyes filled with terror as she stared at the trembling door panel.

She didn't know what was wrong with that woman.

Nor did she have any idea what was happening outside.

Everyone was always such a good person, always treating her kindly, so why did they suddenly turn into that?!

The pounding suddenly stopped.

The person outside seemed to have given up.

Crouched in the darkness, Little Lamb held her breath, her eyes fixed intently on the tightly shut door panel, daring not to make the slightest sound.

She was certain that person hadn't left.

That heavy breathing seemed to even press against the door!

She could even be sure that the person was waiting outside the door for her to crack it open a bit to check the situation outside, ready to charge in and tear her to pieces the moment she did.

But why?

What on earth was happening to everyone?!

Sitting trembling in the darkness, she didn't know how much time had passed when suddenly, a faint sound came from the darkness behind her.

At first, the noise scared her so much that her body hair stood on end, until she heard her name.

"Little Lamb..."

That voice was like a candlelight lighting up in the darkness.

Hearing that weak call, Little Lamb immediately rushed over and knelt beside Yinyin, her eyes brimming with tears, holding her soft, powerless hand.

"Yinyin!"

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, you're awake now!"

"No, it's not that..."

Yinyin shook her head in agony, held her head with both hands, and muttered to herself, "It's all my fault, I shouldn't have tried to be clever and look for it... It's angry, it must be because of me..."

"...Angry?" Confusion filled Little Lamb's eyes.

Intuition told her that what Yinyin was talking about had something to do with what was happening outside.

Could it be...

That voice?!

However, Yinyin didn't seem to have any intention of explaining, just kept holding her head and repeating that phrase to herself.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Yinyin! Calm down—"

Little Lamb grabbed her shoulders, intending to soothe her, but Yinyin, who was holding her head in self-pity, suddenly grabbed her hand.

"Little Lamb... help me..."

Little Lamb looked at her earnestly.

"What do you need me to do? I'll definitely help you!"

A relieved smile appeared on Yinyin's agonized face.

"Tie me up."

"Tie, tie you up?!"

"Yes!" Yinyin's face squeezed out a trace of pain, sweat the size of beans burst from her forehead, urgently urging, "Hurry...hurry up!"

Seeing her struggling to endure something, Little Lamb suddenly thought of that woman outside, and then she felt a chilling numbness in her limbs.

Could she also...

"...It's too late."

Endurance seemed to have reached its limit, and Yinyin's face was filled with despair, her faltering consciousness becoming vague along with those gradually empty eyes.

"It's okay..."

For some reason, Little Lamb suddenly felt less scared.

She gripped Yinyin's hand tightly and whispered.

"I will stay with you..."

The sheep in the pen will one day be eaten, no matter how good their relationship with the Shepherd and his family. If you ask why, it's because it's something that's been decided the moment they were born.

She never thought about what the future would hold because she always knew her own end.

Rather than worry about something that's already been decided, it's better to seriously enjoy every day of happiness, and at least not let down the joy and happiness of this moment.

Her relationship with the Shepherd and his family was good, especially liking their little daughter. She could feel that in this estate, only Yinyin genuinely cared for her without expecting anything in return.

In the end, she'll be eaten anyway.

If it's by Yinyin, it wouldn't be so bad...

Just then, a few short gunshots suddenly came from outside the door, followed by low growls, frantic running, and the dull sound of metal hacking at bones.

"Damn—when will this end!"

Vaguely, Little Lamb heard someone talking, but she couldn't understand what they were saying.

A short collision, something splattered on the door.

The person pulled out something while continuing to mutter.

"Damn it, this dogshit mission only pays a hundred thousand, totally a loss! No, wait, I seem to be out of money... shit!"

As the voice trailed off, there was a loud "bang," and the rickety door panel was kicked open and fell noisily to the ground,

Little Lamb stared blankly at the doorway.

A black suit of Armor stood there.

The helmet covered the person's entire face, making it impossible to see their expression.

An automatic rifle was tucked under his right arm, and he held a short knife in his left hand, his body covered in blood and seemingly adorned with shreds of flesh, looking incredibly ferocious.

"What's your name?"

She understood this sentence.

Although she didn't recognize the person in front of her, she still answered tremblingly.

"Little... Lamb."

The man seemed relieved and threw an enigmatic sentence at her.

"The mission is complete..."

"Remember to leave a good review."

Chapter 578: Plan 03

"Task..."

Gazing at the person in front of her, Little Lamb's eyes reflected confusion and fear, uncontrollably shuffling backward.

Seeing her reaction, Night Ten put away the bloodstained knife and scratched his helmet.

"Don't be scared by my appearance, I'm actually a good guy... uh, alright, I know that's not very convincing."

Had it been him, if someone went on a killing spree in his neighborhood one day, grabbed his arm, and told him to come along, he'd probably wet himself too.

That the girl hadn't burst into tears showed that her mental resilience wasn't bad at all.

However, the problem was that regarding the current situation, he really didn't know how to explain it—he himself was utterly baffled.

According to the original plan, he should have arrived at the servant quarters not far away by carriage. After getting off, he'd sneak to the pavilion undetected and whisk the person away.

But things had deviated from the initial plan right from the start.

The carriage had suddenly stopped halfway, and then the coachman had rushed into the carriage, insanely pouncing on him.

Night Ten had initially intended to subdue the assailant, but it turned out to be futile. The man wouldn't listen at all and even tried to grab his weapons.

With communication impossible, Night Ten had no choice but to twist the man's neck then jumped out of the carriage and headed straight for the pavilion at the corner of the estate.

However, upon reaching the pavilion, he soon realized that things were not as simple as he had imagined; all the people in the pavilion had become like that coachman.

Almost the moment he entered the pavilion, those people detected his presence and swarmed toward him like zombies.

Had it not been for Old White delivering the exoskeleton to a place near their settlement before starting the operation, and that rebellious officer later bringing the exoskeleton here, escaping from the clutches of those "zombies" would surely not have been an easy task.

Frankly, he was still clueless now, having no idea what had happened.

The only certain thing was that something dire had occurred in this estate—at the whole settlement, perhaps.

Perhaps, before entering the settlement, they ought to have conducted a more thorough investigation.

Clearly, someone had set their sights on them and had taken advantage of their plan to trap them.

While Night Ten was pondering how to explain, the girl who was lying dazedly in Little Lamb's arms suddenly fluttered her eyelashes. As if awakened by the surrounding noise, she let out a sluggish murmur.

"I'm hungry..."

That bizarre sound that suddenly wafted over made both people in the basement feel a bone-chilling cold, as if they had fallen into a fifty-degree-below-zero ice cave.

Yinyin opened her mouth exaggeratedly, even turning her gums out, biting fiercely at Little Lamb's neck like a wild beast that hadn't eaten for a week.

Little Lamb was completely dumbfounded, frozen in place without moving.

Watching the gaping maw about to bite down, a gun barrel abruptly forced its way into that mouth, pushing the sprawling Yinyin back.

"Ah!!"

Out of Yinyin's mouth came a frenzied roar as her vein-bulged hands continually reached forward, her bloodthirsty pupils seemed like they would tear her apart.

"You crazy thing... What's wrong with you?! Get away from her!" Night Ten, looking at the girl who appeared to be scared witless, couldn't help but shout after breaking out in a cold sweat himself.

Damn.

Even with danger bearing down, she didn't even dodge, just closed her eyes tight.

Had he arrived two minutes later, there probably would've been a mangled corpse lying here instead!

Watching Yinyin's ferocious struggle and the gun barrel propped in her mouth, Little Lamb suddenly seemed to snap back to reality, rushing forward and clinging onto his leg, crying out with a hint of weeping in her voice.

"Don't... don't shoot!"

Looking at Little Lamb's earnest pleading, Night Ten clenched his teeth and ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it. He turned off the safety, grabbed the girl who had turned into a zombie, and dragged her to one side to tie her hands and feet with plastic rope.

Yinyin, bound at the hands and feet, struggled on the ground, her eyelashes brimming with dust, and her pretty face twisted into a snarl. At that moment, she was like a frenzied beast, baring her teeth and emitting a hissing growl.

"She's turned into a 'zombie'... just like those outside, like those Eaters. Damn it, what else have these bastards planted besides Nago?"

Night Ten stood up and glanced at the struggling girl, then turned to look at Little Lamb kneeling on the ground.

"No time to explain, I'll be brief, and whether you believe me is up to you. Your dad paid a sum of money, asking us to get you out of here. Now what you need to do is stick close to me, and I'll get you out of here! Of course, if you don't listen obediently, I'll have to tie you up and take you away just like her, got it?"

If he could, he really didn't want to do this. Dealing with those outside who were like Eaters was troublesome enough, and his ammo wasn't unlimited.

He had reason to suspect that it wasn't just the people in the estate who had transformed into that ghastly state; the whole settlement might have suffered the same fate, and he had no idea what he might encounter later on.

Fortunately, although the girl didn't seem too bright, she was calm enough. Even after a dreadful scare, she hadn't lost her ability to communicate and was still able to converse normally.

Looking at the man covered in blood, Little Lamb nodded, her face pale.

"Understood... I'll follow you. Please, I'm begging you to save Yinyin..."

Glancing at the girl tied up like a rice dumpling against the wall, Night Ten's face showed a troubled expression.

"Save... how the hell do we save her."

To put it bluntly, he had no clue what exactly had happened to these people.

Use tape to seal her mouth and take her back?

It wasn't out of the question.

But he was just one person; having one liability was trouble enough, and dragging along another one would be too much even for him.

Swallowing hard, Little Lamb struggled to maintain her composure, her voice trembling.

"I... might know why everyone has turned out like this."

"Hmm?" Night Ten glanced at her.

Seeing that the person was willing to listen, Little Lamb patiently continued.

"This villa... is a very important place in the manor. A very long time ago it was the main building of the manor, but after the new big house was built, this place was used by the master to hold some important guests under house arrest."

A hint of surprise rose in Night Ten's eyes.

This didn't sound like something a six-year-old child would say.

Could she even understand the concept of a hostage at her age?

"And then?" he asked.

Little Lamb went on.

"Because this place is so important... there are many people guarding it. Some servants, although they wear the attire of servants, are actually not servants but the master's trusted aides. To put it bluntly, it's even safer here than in the main building. That's also why the master is so reassured about this place. If I went anywhere else, a lot of people would hurry to look for me, but if I'm here, even if I disappeared for a while, no one would care..."

"So, you mean if there are any secrets that need to be hidden from view, your master would most likely keep them here?" Night Ten stroked his chin, pondering as he spoke.

Whether it was for protection or surveillance, this indeed seemed like the most secure choice, and the hostages living in the annex could also serve as a smokescreen.

Deploying men in a separate area would be more conspicuous.

Little Lamb nodded nervously.

"Yeah... don't you find it strange? Such an important place has such a large basement, but it's only used for storing odds and ends. In fact, nobody really piles the things they need for daily use in here, and the dust on the boxes is quite thick."

Night Ten lifted the flashlight and glanced around, trying to spot some clues from the vicinity, but no matter how she looked, this place just seemed like a very ordinary basement.

However, just as Little Lamb had said, having such a vague and undefined space in such a significant location was indeed suspicious.

Even if it was dug out previously and no longer needed now, they should have found a way to bury it or seal it off completely, right?

Yet the master of the manor had not done so.

"Then... Yinyin told me there's an iron door in the basement of the annex, and if you hide there, absolutely no one will find you. Then she snuck me in here."

"Actually... I felt this was not very good. If we accidentally saw something we shouldn't have, something very bad might happen. But I really couldn't stop her, so I had no choice but to follow her down here."

"After we came down, she said she heard some sounds, then led me forward... and we really did find that door."

Night Ten swallowed hard.

"What's behind that door?" he asked.

Little Lamb shook her head, her face filled with regret.

"I don't know... Yinyin wanted to open the door, but she fainted not long after she grabbed the handle. She slept for a very long time, and when she woke up, she had changed into this state. I guess it must have something to do with the sound behind that door... but I couldn't hear the sound she mentioned at all."

Night Ten frowned and said,

"I didn't hear it either."

That shouldn't be.

His perception was very high, and even the slightest, faintest sound would be infinitely amplified by his keen sixth sense and instinctively analyzed.

If there really were any sounds there, they wouldn't escape his intuition.

However, suspiciously, he had perceived nothing at all.

"... I believe Yinyin wasn't joking. She really heard something and followed the sound to that door. If we can get in there and turn off whatever is making the sound, she should return to normal, right?"

After that, Little Lamb grabbed Night Ten's arm and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Please, I beg you... save her."

To be honest, Night Ten wasn't too keen on complicating things further.

Especially since the plan had gone off the rails from the start, and he had no idea what the situation was like on Fang Chang's side.

With so many variables occurring from the start, the main objective to "control the farm owner" might already have failed. Under these circumstances, the safest choice might be to evacuate immediately with the secondary objectives to minimize losses.

Staying in the basement for too long wasn't a good idea, as the only way out could easily be blocked by pursuers who might arrive soon.

What if there was actually nothing behind that door?

After all, if it was truly that important, why were there no guards, not even a lock, allowing two children to easily find their way to it and almost manage to open it?

And yet, seeing the pleading eyes of that NPC, he eventually bit the bullet and made up his mind, knocking on his helmet with his right fist.

"... Fang Chang, what's the situation on your end?"

There was no response in the communication channel, just static noise.

This wasn't simply a lack of signal, it resembled being interfered with by something.

Night Ten cursed silently, tapped his helmet with his index finger to turn off the communication channel, then looked at the girl whose eyes were filled with pleading.

"Think it through, you only have one life... this is no joke. I hope I don't have to hear any nonsense like 'how could this happen' or 'I might have heard wrong' later."

He didn't care if he died.

After all, he had a life every three days.

Failing to bring someone back safely might be somewhat disappointing to the Luoyu Brothers, but given the circumstances, he believed they wouldn't hold it against him too much.

Little Lamb nodded seriously.

"Yeah... I've thought it through."

Night Ten nodded back and took a deep breath.

"Well, I'll just have to trust what you say."

"Thank you…"

Watching the little girl sincerely thanking him, Night Ten urged.

"It's too early to say that, take me over there."

"Okay!"

Little Lamb nodded anxiously and took the lead running in front.

Night Ten followed her, and the two walked through the dark basement for a while before they quickly came across the rusty metal door hidden behind some wooden crates.

The mottled rust on the handle had crept into the crack of the door, causing one to wonder how long it has been since anyone had visited this place.

"This is the place…" Looking at the rusty door, Little Lamb timidly retreated behind him.

Night Ten stepped forward, reached out to grip the rusty door handle, tugged and felt it heavy, so he harnessed the strength of his exoskeleton and pulled forcefully backward.

The heavy door panel would be too much for a six or seven-year-old girl, but for him clad in exoskeleton, it felt as light as paper.

Accompanied by the cringe-inducing squeaking sound, the rusty iron door was easily pulled open by him, revealing the corridor behind it.

"Wow… was it really unlocked?"

The corridor behind the door was clean and tidy. The floor was covered with metallic tiles, and the walls were painted with cement gray. Compared to the basement outside and the rusty iron door, this hallway seemed like an entirely different world.

Seeing the corridor that led to an unknown destination, Night Ten's face instantly showed a surprised expression, and his eyes grew excited as he turned to look at Little Lamb.

"Wait for me here... If someone comes in, run into the door immediately."

Little Lamb nodded vigorously, responding earnestly.

"Okay!"

Assured by her response, Night Ten didn't delay any further. He raised his weapon and cautiously entered the door, following the clean and tidy corridor further ahead.

The place resembled a clinic, as well as a laboratory. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see an array of equipment and science fiction-esque display screens.

Various signs indicated that the place was abandoned, and it seemed to have happened only recently.

It was uncertain whether they left in a rush without time to pack or if there was simply no need; the display screens were still on, and some of the lab equipment was still working, emitting indecipherable buzzing sounds.

Night Ten was increasingly astonished.

It was hard to imagine such a research facility being located in an inconspicuous plantation.

Could the expenditure for this facility really be afforded by a mere farm owner?

This cost much more than building a beautiful house.

He entered one of the laboratories.

Night Ten looked at the nearest screen and saw that the blank interface had nothing on it, indicating that whatever was inside must have been erased.

Leaving the laboratory, Night Ten continued to explore along the hallway. He soon reached the room located at the far end of the corridor.

As he entered, he was immediately shocked by what he saw.

A huge metal cylinder sat in the center of the room, connecting the floor and the ceiling, and thick data cables, as thick as forearms, extended outward from its base, connecting it to other devices on the walls and in the room.

This thing looked familiar.

After getting a clear look, Night Ten's eyes widened in astonishment, and a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.

"… A Mind Interference Device?!"

This thing was almost exactly the same as the one he had seen on the outskirts of Qingquan City before. Even the main structure hadn't changed; only the connected peripherals had been modified!

"Could it be this thing that caused those outside to go mad... Hiss, no, isn't this thing supposed to be useless on humans with higher cognitive levels?"

It couldn't be said to be completely useless, but its effect was very limited, so limited that it could only influence people's subjective decisions on insignificant matters. For instance, when hesitating whether to buy or not, it could influence the choice to buy or not.

For major decisions that affect one's life, society, or even the future of civilization, this device would have almost no effect.

Otherwise, when this technology was first developed, it wouldn't have been used just for advertising. The entire United Human might have been overthrown by this advanced technology.

Suddenly, Night Ten remembered something critical.

"Nago… right?"

Under normal circumstances, the Mind Interference Device didn't work on people; it could at best be used to drive away variants with lower cognitive levels within a large area.

But if someone ate a Nago fruit and entered a state of God Travel…

"Good grief… so the so-called 'Gospel' is actually this thing?!"

Other settlements might also be hiding something similar!

Thinking about it, Night Ten couldn't help but feel a chill on his scalp.

However, now was not the time to think about these.

Approaching the terminal device connected to the metal cylinder, Night Ten pulled out a data line from his VM and after some searching, finally found the right port and plugged it in.

The Alliance's Expedition Team provided hacking programs to players with a Job Level of LV3 and above, which included basic functions such as breaking through firewalls, gaining access control, and retrieving data.

This hacking program was primarily designed for civil security systems from the pre-war era.

Although, most of the time, such general-purpose small programs weren't reliable, especially since the VM's hardware couldn't support the massive computational requirements. However, considering that even the door lock here seemed to have been neglected, it was worth a try.

The entire settlement fell under the coverage of this Mind Interference Device.

If his speculation was correct, theoretically, every "believer" here served as the eyes for the Bishop hidden within the Holy Land. Even the farm owner himself had become an unwitting puppet of the Torch Church.

All the concealment was for outsiders; for those living here, there was no need for any disguise or protection at all.

The Mind Interference Device was the best defense in itself.

Should anyone accidentally wander in, like what happened today, they needed only to "turn off" the unwelcome visitor's consciousness and let her pass out.

Night Ten stared at the VM screen, nervously calculating the time in his head.

He needed to take as much data as possible but also had to consider the pressure his teammates were under at this moment.

If there were no results within 2 minutes, he would just stick C4 to that metal cylinder, set the timer, and physically destroy this research facility.

Perhaps in response to his deepest call, in the final ten seconds of the countdown, a pale blue pop-up window appeared in the center of the VM screen.

[Read-only access obtained.]

[Obtaining operational access...]

Upon seeing these words, Night Ten, who had almost given up, was so surprised that he nearly cheered out loud.

"Fuck! Can it really work!?"

Bishop Yin Fang, you're amazing!

Of course, it might be Xiao Qi who's amazing!

A simplistic user interface appeared on the screen of the terminal ahead, and even though the dense characters were incomprehensible to him, the plugin installed on VM automatically translated them into language that players could understand.

The copying program was executing automatically.

Although most of the data had been deleted, there were still some remnants that had been excavated and organized.

While waiting for the small program on VM to obtain the operational permissions to shut down the Device, Night Ten opened one of the sorted files, and a line in the title quickly caught his eye.

"...Plan 03?"

What the hell is this?

The title revealed nothing.

Driven by a hint of curiosity, Night Ten extended his index finger, swiped on the screen, and quietly read out the summary part of the file.

"...Upon assessing a risk of the plan being compromised, relevant research units must immediately cease ongoing research, destroy experimental data, and initiate Plan 03."

"Experiment content: Test and record the clinical response and combat value of subjects under the stimulation of the Plan 03 signal band... Motherfucker, are these people even human?"

Night Ten's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

What the hell kind of combat value is this...

They're just a bunch of Eaters!

And chances are, they're not even as badass as the Eaters—at least those don't need supplies and can live a long time without eating anything.

Of course, that wasn't the point.

The point was, just to verify some trivial matter, they didn't hesitate to sacrifice this settlement of fifty thousand people...even though the settlement had already pledged allegiance to them.

Those bastards...

What on earth do they take people for!?

Wait a minute—

Suddenly, Night Ten noticed a detail.

Although personnel from this research facility had been evacuated, if Plan 03 was also part of the experiment, surely someone had to stay behind to record and collect the results?

Otherwise, wouldn't the experiment be for nothing?

Almost at that moment, a bone-chilling coldness crawled up his spine.

Not having the time to carefully discern where the chill was coming from, Night Ten almost reflexively raised his gun toward the doorway and, without thinking, pulled the trigger.

Even though there was nothing there!

"Rat-a-tat-tat—!"

The orange flame spewed out from the muzzle, lurching toward the empty doorway.

But something eerie happened next. The storm of bullets seemed to hit an invisible air wall, creating sparks and opening up concentric ripples of transparency.

The outline of an exoskeleton appeared in the air.

The man, who took a full burst solidly, staggered backward and almost didn't stay upright.

Clearly, he hadn't expected that despite being equipped with near-flawless optical camouflage and having lowered his footsteps, his whereabouts would still be revealed.

Barely steadying himself, the man raised his gun to return fire. However, after firing two shots, a gust hit his face.

It was a short knife covered in blood.

Almost instinctively, he raised his arm to protect his head. Although this move saved his life, it also meant his arm took a solid hit.

"Ah—!!"

The knife blade chopped through the exoskeleton's armoring, cut through the flesh, and hacked into the man's radius bone, causing him to let out a pained scream as blood and sweat poured out.

As he pressed the man to the ground, Night Ten pulled the knife out with a click and aimed the rifle at the man's head, grinning viciously as he sneered.

"Nice move... I was just looking to catch one alive, and here you have delivered yourself right to me."

Chapter 579: The Torch Tribunal

The farmyard blanketed by the dark night, with gunfire as raucous as firecrackers, cast moonlight on the ground that showed no clarity,the illuminated areas filled only with gruesome chunks of flesh and blood.

Like a tide of walking corpses, they rushed towards the Alliance soldiers stationed inside the manor.

In the flurry of tracer rounds, they fell like wheat being harvested, and like waves on the shore, one after the other, quickly filling the gaps.

The mere firepower of twenty people was simply insufficient to hold back these fearless creatures.

The zombie-like believers soon broke through the barrage and smashed through the doors and windows of the villa, biting anyone they saw in a frenzy.

Moreover, some of them dressed in military uniforms also shot guns and threw grenades.

This was lethal!

"Fuck! Are these guys cheating?" exclaimed a horrified man after shooting a zombie wielding a rifle.

He had played plenty of zombie-themed FPS games, but this was the first time he'd heard of zombies shooting guns.

"We can't hold the first floor… Old White! How much longer?" Fang Chang gritted his teeth as he reloaded his magazine and retreated near the staircase, shouting into the communication channel.

Only the static sound of electricity came from the communication channel.

After the Seagull drone crashed, the enemy didn't bother hiding their actions anymore and directly initiated electronic warfare, first cutting off their communications.

However, Fang Chang always felt it wasn't just that simple.

He faintly heard other sounds amidst that electrical noise... It seemed it wasn't just interference, but also involved some unintended disturbances from something else.

Regardless, the first floor was overrun.

The Alliance players had no choice but to abandon their position on the first floor and retreat to the second, engaging in close combat with those zombies in the narrow corridors, using barricades and doors for defense.

Meanwhile, in a hotel not far from the farmyard, in a room on the fifth floor.

Four men in lab coats sat, overlooking the Zhao Residence caught in a storm of chaos, conversing with smiles on their faces.

"The combat power of typical test subjects is still too weak; after all, they are just ordinary people, and Nago has not fundamentally changed their bodily functions."

"Indeed, if they can't make good use of tools at hand, humans have less fighting power than animals."

"Indeed, when it comes to direct combat, mutants are indeed a better choice... but those green-skinned monsters are a bit harder to control."

The four seated here were apostles of the Torch Church.

Unlike those apostles recruited from the Wasteland Wanderers, their status and authority were much higher than those mere evangelizers.

They not only clearly knew what "The Torch" was but also understood very well that what they were doing actually had nothing to do with the faith they preached.

There were historical precedents for this.

Some grassroots members far from the core of theocratic power were fanatically devoted to their faith, spouting various scriptures and theories, dedicating their lives to their beliefs diligently.

However, a few individuals close to the core of authority were very aware that faith and doctrine were essentially tools for manipulating their servants, and while this did not conflict with their devotion, they knew how to get the most out of these tools.

Thus, wars often fought in the name of gods were not actually for divine beings but for secular power and wealth.

This was true for those who truly were close to the core of the Torch Church's power.

The only difference being that they did all this not for secular power or wealth, as there was none of that sought in the Wastelands.

What they were truly chasing was far nobler than what believers in the Classic Era sought.

It was all for the future of civilization.

Watching the life that sparkled amid the sparks and the blood that spilled onto the mud, one apostle displayed a rapturous smile.

Both the process and the outcome of this experiment were simply perfect!

As he quietly appreciated the experiment, the other three engaged eagerly in conversation.

"Isn't A-111's performance quite passable?"

"Ah, you mean Goliath... That thing is indeed passable, but it can only serve as a meat shield. It's a bit forced to expect it to perform the role of a 'tank' on the battlefield. The Bishop had high hopes, but after this, he should realize the problem."

"Unless we equip it with some special weaponry, but the lack of operation is a big problem."

"Speaking of this, I must commend the soldiers of this settlement. Although they are the farm owner's trained hands, they are quite capable. Nago and the Gospel can just compensate for their lack of fighting will; this system seems tailor-made for them."

"Haha, you say that, but I feel the serf test subjects rather hindered them."

"Not exactly, at least using up some ammunition is feasible."

In front of the Alliance soldiers, most of the test subjects were no more than fodder, but those who had served as soldiers for the farm owner here were different.

They could use rifles, knew how to load and change magazines, and even aim, and although their aim was a bit off, their fearless way of fighting still caused quite some trouble for the Alliance soldiers.

Besides those operating rifles, some tech soldiers could even drive vehicles and operate fixed weaponry, which was an extraordinary discovery.

Thanks to the cooperation of this settlement, especially that of the farm owner, their research had taken a significant step forward.

And this was not just their progress!

It was also a step towards the glorious evolution of human civilization!

Surely, that farm owner, now lying beneath the sod, would feel greatly honored at this moment's brilliance.

After all, without them, that antiquated and foolish man and his stupid, ignorant slaves would have never been able to contribute anything useful to human civilization, nor leave even a single word in this dark chapter of history.

He and his settlement were like a rotten log forgotten in a corner of the ruins, capable of nothing but slowly decaying under the erosion of time.

At least for now, these incompetent guys can still serve as kindling, as fuel to ignite the torches...

The apostles sitting in the room enthusiastically discussed and exchanged ideas.

"...Is it muscle memory? They can still operate anti-aircraft cannons and assault rifles."

"If a large number of trained subjects are injected with the 'Gospel' at specific moments, maybe they can exert enough power on the battlefield."

"Given proper command."

"This actually reminds me of the Army's clones."

"The Army's clones are no match for ours; those fast-growing fellows can't do anything other than increase in size, but our believers are different."

"As long as we switch the different frequencies of the 'Gospel,' we can manipulate their thoughts and emotions, inclining them to complete various simple tasks... Tsk, given this, the best place for them is still plantations and factories; sending them to battlefields untrained and wasting ammunition is a bit of a waste."

Just then, an apostle who had been staring out the window suddenly frowned and his lips curled into a cold smile.

"...We underestimated these guys."

The three stopped speaking and looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing significant, just a little white mouse has slipped out of the cage and happened to find those things we left in the other house," said the apostle sitting by the window indifferently.

The other three apostles exchanged glances.

"Weren't they headed for Zhao Tiangan?"

"What are they doing at the other house?"

"Could it have been leaked by Zhang Zhengyang?"

The apostle beside the window shook his head.

"Impossible, that guy is just a peripheral member responsible for preaching; he doesn't even know about the experiment, let alone what's stored beneath that other house."

With a cold smile turning to a hint of mockery, he continued nonchalantly,

"Either way, the Bishop has already noticed it; we don't need to worry about the rest."

"The 'Executioners' will handle the cleanup."

Although brute force is not a specialty of the Torch Church and they seldom achieve their goals through armed invasions, machines of violence are still indispensable for them.

The Tribunal is such an institution.

Unlike the Church's various knight orders and unlike the regular army engaging in military operations on the frontlines, they are more akin to the role of special agents.

When factors arise within the diocese that could disrupt experimental progress and it's inappropriate for the regular army to intervene, professionals from the Tribunal are dispatched for cleanup.

They are generally known as "Executioners."

These individuals possess the finest equipment and are trained in combat; ordinary Waste Land Wanderers cannot last even one round against them.

Even the Awakeners.

Hearing the term 'Executioners,' the apostles all revealed relaxed smiles.

Those fellows had a success rate close to 95% in their operations in Haiya and Brocade River Province. Based on the Tribunal's past performance, dealing with a little mouse that snuck into the lab should be too easy.

However, what these apostles did not know was that the Executioner's Squad they pinned their hopes on was currently encountering trouble...

By the Enclosing Wall of the estate, in the rustling woods, stood about a dozen figures wearing exoskeletons.

Their hands held uniquely designed weapons, and their streamlined armor armed them to the teeth, the black coating perfectly blending them with the night.

They moved like ghosts in the darkness, waiting for opportunities.

Watching the [Connection Lost] icon flickering on his Tactical Goggles, Li Jie, the captain of the Executioner's Squad, gradually showed a trace of solemnity, and said to his subordinate beside him.

"Any news from Wu Zhe yet?"

The subordinate he addressed, his expression equally solemn, replied in a heavy tone,

"Not yet... he was too close to the Mind Interference Device."

Near the Mind Interference Device, radio signals face severe interference.

Typically, they contact the lab through a wired data channel, however, with the initiation of Project 03, the researchers in that lab had completely evacuated.

Hence, no one knew exactly what was happening there now.

"Dammit, what is that guy dawdling for!" a man holding a light machine gun cursed under his breath, "He better not have screwed it up."

Another man, his expression cold and detached, softly spoke,

"He probably didn't; there's only one mouse, and Wu Zhe isn't new to missions, he usually handles small stuff just fine."

Small stuff, huh...

Staring solemnly in the direction of the other house, Li Jie said in an unguessable tone,

"Let's hope so."

Truth be told, he had confidence in Wu Zhe.

That guy was also a veteran of the squad; they had collaborated many times before coming to Brocade River City, and he had never let him down.

However, for some unknown reason, he felt uneasy, as if something unexpected might happen, even though it was just a simple cleaning job.

Perhaps he shouldn't have let Wu Zhe go alone.

But about this matter, he actually had no other choice.

The Alliance's reinforcements had arrived.

The Bishop had ordered him to keep all the Alliance people here.

Although this was not part of the experiment plan, if they could leave the Alliance soldiers behind, they could easily pin whatever happened here on the Alliance.

The Alliance committing a massacre in the settlements of Brocade River Province...

Not only was this story convenient for them, but the local farm owners would surely love to hear it.

After all, compared to them, those "godmen indifferent to secular power," the guys clamoring to eradicate slavery and oppression were much more hated!

Nearby, the Alliance transport plane had broken through the anti-aircraft fire network blockade and had finally managed to reduce altitude and speed, switching to a vertical takeoff and landing mode, heading toward the rooftop of the central villa of the manor.

The Alliance soldiers had retreated to the top floor of the villa.

Once that transport plane stabilized, those soldiers would immediately board it to evacuate.

They must not be allowed to escape!

Li Jie's eyes gradually turned cold, and he raised his right hand, clenched into a fist, then pointed at the hovering transport plane.

The Executioner next to him understood instantly, took the portable rocket launcher off his back, knelt on one knee, shouldered it, and aimed at the nearby transport plane.

"Image locked!"

Li Jie shouted sharply.

"Fire!"

With a soft "bang," a missile as long as a forearm burst through the dust cover and ignited as it shot out of the launcher, trailing a thin tail flame toward the recently stabilized transport plane on the villa roof.

The hovering transport plane obviously detected the missile and tried to maneuver to evade it.

However, given such a short distance, evading was nearly impossible.

As the missile was about to hit its target, a smile appeared on Li Jie's face. But almost at the same time, something he could never have imagined occurred.

"RPG!!"

Suddenly, a man wearing an exoskeleton yelled and sprinted out of the cabin, flung his arms open, and lunged at the missile, which was zooming toward the side of the transport plane.

The missile, already in the final stage of its flight, had no room to evade and collided head-on with the man, exploding into a burst of fireworks!

The explosion's debris and flames momentarily swept into the transport plane's cabin, and the hot airflow gently shook the fuselage, but the transport plane itself remained undamaged.

Watching the man who caught the missile with his body, the Executioners lurking in the woods, especially Li Jie, twitched their mouths fiercely.

What the hell was that move?!

It was his first time seeing someone catch a missile with their body!

"Old Six!!!"

As "Old Six" exploded into a ball of flames in midair, Sniper Bai stared wide-eyed and gripped his rifle while spraying bullets toward the section of the forest from which the missile had come.

However, the plane was shaking severely at that moment, and his burst of fire hit nothing but loneliness.

Realizing the attack had come from the forest directly east, the pilot in the Viper's cockpit immediately stomped on the left rudder and tilted the control stick to the right.

The hanging "Viper" performed a clean tail flick, swiftly moving from the east side of the villa to the west.

The players ready to evacuate inside the villa also moved, firing their rifles at the approaching zombies while shifting towards the west side of the building.

"Damn... what the hell was that missile all about?" panting, the pilot shouted back at the soldiers behind him.

He was a pilot from the Giant Stone City Militia Group aviation team, had been flying this plane for seven or eight years, but this was his first time participating in such an exhilarating mission.

Thinking back to what had just happened, a wave of fear washed over him.

If it weren't for that guy sacrificing himself, everyone on this plane would likely have been dead by now.

Unlike him, who was terrified, the man in the power armor was eerily calm to the point of being cold-blooded. Even with a comrade dying in front of him, his emotions remained completely unfluctuated.

Staring intently outside the cabin, Old White said in a deep voice,

"I'm not sure, but I guess... it must be the Torch people!"

The pilot was stunned.

"Torch?!"

"What else do you think brought all these ghastly creatures here?" Looking at the swarming heads outside the cabin, Old White frowned.

For the Alliance, the real trouble might still be ahead tonight.

However, now was not the time to think about that.

Watching Brother Fang Chang and his party retreating to the west side corridor window of the villa, followed by the surging tide of corpses, Old White raised his assault rifle and shouted loudly.

"Open fire!"

Including the Lost Rookie supporting the machine gun, the five players squatting on the side of the cabin immediately pulled their triggers, unleashing fierce gunfire at the swarm of zombies behind the windows.

Streaks of orange-yellow tracers flew like raindrops, overwhelming the dumbfounded fools who fell to the ground like reaped wheat, piling up in the corridor.

Looking at Fang Chang who had sprinted to the window, Old White shouted loudly.

"Get up here!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Fang Chang raised his hand with his gun to smash the tightly shut window into pieces.

Next, he stepped onto the window ledge, and with the drive of his exoskeleton, he leapt violently out of the window and flew about four or five meters into the air, grabbing the right hand that Old White had stretched out and being pulled into the aircraft cabin.

They had finally escaped from danger.

Fang Chang sat down on the floor, breathing heavily and inhaling the fresh air.

It was only then that Old White noticed that Fang Chang was carrying someone on his back—or rather, a sticky, blood-soaked corpse.

Through a photo comparison in the VM, he barely recognized the face.

This person was Zhao Tiangan!

The target of their mission!

According to the original plan, they had intended to capture this farm owner to indirectly take control of the entire settlement and indirectly gather intelligence about The Torch Church. However, they had not anticipated that the fanatics from the church were already waiting for them.

Now, the Pinecone Wood Farm had become a proverbial ghost town.

Whether this guy was dead or alive didn't matter anymore to the Alliance.

"Electronic warfare has been waged; our communication is compromised, we've been unable to contact you since a while back..." Fang Chang said, trying to stabilize his chaotic breathing, and looked at Old White.

"It's not just you; it's the same for us. Their jamming devices are probably covering the whole area..." Old White glanced at the corpse lying beside them and looked questioningly at Fang Chang, "Why did you bring this guy along?"

Fang Chang took a breath and said softly.

"This guy is a bit strange; I suspect that the 'Holy Land' he described as absolutely safe... isn't really a physical shelter or safe house as we understand it."

Old White furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"Simply put, that Holy Land might be a virtual space, and I wouldn't rule out that the Bishop, Luo Gan, is virtual too... he doesn't have a physical body, so he needs to use the bodies of believers to communicate with us, and only certain people can serve as vessels for his consciousness."

Old White stared at him blankly, unable to grasp the shocking conjecture Fang Chang had derived.

"You have quite the imagination."

Fang Chang took a breath.

"This is just my guess... As for what the truth really is, we'll need Ms. Chen to dissect this guy's brain to find out. Anyway, we need to take him back to the military base."

While the two were talking, Falling Feather also jumped onto the plane, pulled up by Sniper Bai who was waiting at the edge of the cabin.

Quit Smoking and Good Dog were with him, the only surviving players altogether totaling four of them.

As for Xiaoyu's subs, they had been overwhelmed by the flood of Walking Corpses while trying to retreat from the first floor to the upper floors.

It's actually okay for the subs, these things are like Xiaoyu's hair, as long as there's enough nutrients, it's easy to grow a few more whenever you want.

But considering that too many subs sharing one consciousness can affect operational efficiency, and the recently promoted mother entity, Xiaoyu, was still not proficient in her duties, the number had been controlled at ten.

However, thinking about the loss of ten sets of K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeletons, Falling Feather felt utterly depressed.

Fortunately, Elder Fang had promised him earlier that the Burning Corps would reimburse 90% of the equipment loss, or this big break would have set him back several versions earlier.

As the last player jumped into the cabin, the "Viper" transport plane immediately increased the distance from the mansion, avoiding the direction from which the missiles had previously come, and flew westward over the manor.

Glancing at the people inside the cabin, Old White suddenly showed a surprised expression.

"Speaking of which, where is Night Ten? Did that guy actually get killed?"

That didn't make sense.

That kid was usually incredibly tough.

During the landing on the Iron Heart, he was the only one who survived.

"I don't know, he was the first to lose contact, and there was no jamming back then; he might have been killed already…" As he spoke, Fang Chang suddenly paused, his expression changing slightly, "I see."

Watching his enlightened expression, Quit Smoking, crouching nearby, curiously asked.

"You see what?"

Fang Chang continued without even pausing for breath.

"The mansion! The Mind Interference Device is in the mansion!"

As he spoke, a red flare suddenly shot up into the sky.

That was exactly the direction of the mansion!

Seeing the flashing red light, Old White immediately walked to the edge of the cockpit, grabbed the back of the pilot's seat, and shouted loudly.

"We still have people not evacuated! Head to the location of the flare!"

Hearing this, the pilot was startled.

"Are you sure?! Those guys have anti-aircraft missiles!"

"I'm sure! We have to pick him up!" Old White stared intently into his eyes, "You just go there and pick up the person, we'll figure out the rest!"

Chapter 580: Escalation of Conflict

City of Dawn, Alliance Building.

Sitting on the sofa in the reception room, Yi Chuan flicked back the cuff of his right hand and glanced at the time projected onto his wrist before pulling the sleeve down again.

It was midnight.

He could be certain that in this freshly constructed building, which was finished just two months ago, the lamp in the reception room he was in might be the only one lit.

The thought that his colleagues had all entered their dreams while he was still toiling away for work made him yawn involuntarily.

Logically speaking, this inappropriate time hardly seemed like the moment for discussing business.

However, as a representative of the Silver Wing Group and a corporate ambassador to the Alliance, listening to the voice of the Alliance leaders was part of his job.

Thus, even though the timing was bothersome, he had dressed and hurried over immediately upon receiving a summon from the Alliance Manager's Office.

Of course, if after his rushed arrival, the respected Mr. Hauser only wanted to discuss some insignificant issue with him, such as subsidies for assisting teachers, construction periods for the compulsory schools, or the budget for airport runway maintenance, then he wouldn't mince his words in response.

If that were the case, he would have a good reason to complain bitterly!

Thinking this, a smile unconsciously appeared on Yi Chuan's face.

Personally, he quite liked that guy.

Although when it came to Alliance issues, that man always liked to haggle over every little advantage, Yi Chuan knew from private dealings that the man was only like this at work; in private, he was actually a very straightforward fellow.

Perhaps this is just the dual nature of people.

However, because of this, every time he met with him in such a manner, Yi Chuan had to be fully alert, not daring to take anything lightly.

The slightest distraction could potentially make him fall into a trap set by that guy...

At this moment, footsteps were heard from the corridor outside the door.

At the sound of knocking, Yi Chuan, who had been lost in thought, instinctively straightened up and looked towards the door, clearing his throat.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Chu Guang, dressed in casual clothes, pushed the door and walked in.

"I apologize for disturbing your rest at this hour, but we have encountered a sudden situation... Please understand that we had to bypass normal procedures to meet with you."

He closed the door behind him and sat down on the sofa across from Yi Chuan.

Seeing Chu Guang without his power armor, there was a flicker of surprise in Yi Chuan's expression; he had thought that armor was practically attached to the guy.

It was obvious that he too had just gotten out of bed.

Realizing that he wasn't the only one working overtime in the middle of the night, Yi Chuan felt somewhat relieved.

"I understand, urgent matters take precedence. So, can you tell me... exactly what is the urgent matter?"

Chu Guang did not immediately respond but instead took out a memory card and placed it on the coffee table, pushing it towards him with his index finger.

Staring at the card the size of a fingernail cap, Yi Chuan's eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"What is this..."

Seeing the puzzled look on Yi Chuan's face, Chu Guang seriously said,

"This matter can't be explained in just a few words. To avoid miscommunication, before we start our discussion, I hope you can read this information thoroughly."

...

Yi Chuan gave Chu Guang a skeptical look.

Under the latter's urging gaze, he eventually did not ask any questions and took out a folded holographic eyeglass from his chest, lightly shaking it into place on his nose.

Then he picked up the tiny storage card and inserted it into the slot on the side of the eyeglass frame.

The green signal light flashed, and a stream of data flashed across the glass surface, densely packed light points engulfing the eyes behind the lenses,

After briefly browsing the information on the storage card, Yi Chuan's expression gradually became complex.

The origin of the Qi Tribe can be traced back to the Biological Institute in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng by the War Construction Committee's Technical Department a century and a half ago!

The first mutants to reach Jinhe City were actually the researchers from the "Perfect Life Form" project team!

And their arrival led directly to the downfall of Singular Point City!

As a citizen of Ideal City, seeing such information, naturally, Yi Chuan's mood was far from pleasant.

After all, for enterprises, that incident from a century and a half ago did indeed count as a dark chapter in history.

Even though the split in the War Construction Committee was not the fault of any one side, the fact that the Production Department was the first to light the fuse was also true.

Even today, many views within the historical circles of Ideal City still argue that the "Province of Yúnjiānxíng Revival Act" and its brutal enforcement are inextricably linked to unshirkable responsibilities.

Although the residents of Ideal City have reviewed that period of history and did not try to beautify it or hide it like it was some young girl, with so much time having passed, unearthing new clues suddenly still made one feel somewhat displeased.

Especially since they had just decided to follow in the footsteps of the Pioneer, planning to correct the mistakes of a century and confidently step out from Ideal City...

Yi Chuan lightly tapped his index finger on the side of the frame, the reflective glass revealing an eye as he looked incredulously at Chu Guang who spoke with an inquiring tone,

"Is all this... true?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"I can't claim that this information is one hundred percent accurate, but I can affirm that it's the result of objectively certified investigations."

This included not only data investigated and compiled by players on official forums but also intelligence collected by his Guards Corps during visits around Jinhe City.

Yi Chuan leaned back in the sofa and sighed softly.

"To be honest, when I saw these things, I was shocked... to the point where I didn't know what to make of them."

"From a personal emotional standpoint, I lean towards the presence of some misunderstandings here. After all, this is just an investigation report, and most arguments are based on rumors whose authenticity is questionable. At least here, I haven't seen any concrete and compelling evidence."

His wording was very cautious.

He neither affirmed nor completely denied the information, instead using a flexible statement.

After a pause, Yi Chuan continued.

"From the standpoint of the Supreme Council, we apologize for incidents that happened one hundred and fifty years ago, but this isn't part of the Council's work. Our authority represents the collective will, but regarding what that will entails might be better explored by the academic community and the public."

"If today's meeting is to ask us about our opinion on this documentation, my view is... you should have summoned the media, not me."

Seeing Yi Chuan's solemn expression, Chu Guang could guess that the guy had probably misunderstood, thinking that he intended to fleece them again, hence the defensive stance right from the start.

What a joke.

Am I that superficial?

With a helpless expression, Chu Guang patiently continued.

"You've misunderstood. I am not trying to pressure you with this information, nor am I trying to claim any compensation on behalf of the survivors of Brocade River City... We have no right to speak for others, and what we want to discuss with you isn't about the past, but the present."

"...the present?" Yi Chuan stared at him, a hint of confusion slowly emerging in his eyes.

The documentation he held seemed to be all old debts.

Chu Guang nodded.

"One hundred and fifty years ago, the Production Department launched a raid on the Biological Institute in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, overseen by the Technology Department. This caused the technicians of the 'Perfect Life Form' project team to flee with their experiment data—many of the mutants in the Wasteland today sprung up from that time―"

Yi Chuan angrily interrupted him.

"That statement is biased! The Vellante Laboratory on the West Coast is also a research institution for 'Perfect Life Form,' and in terms of time, the Army had control over similar research units much earlier than we did!"

"I'm not saying we are without fault, but saying 'mutants were created by us' is utterly irresponsible conjecture! In fact, we have been exterminating those beasts, and in this past century, at least half of the bullets fired were aimed at mutants!"

"I know, please let me finish," Chu Guang patiently continued, "Of course, we understand that the 'Perfect Life Form' project wasn't managed by a single research institution. Besides enterprises, armies, and academic facilities controlling research institutes, there might be other unauthorized labs secretly continuing that incomplete research, which is why there are so many derivative species of mutants."

"If it were merely a group of science fanatics shaking reagent bottles inside a shelter, I'd think, despite the risks of their research, the experimentation itself had controllable risks... But now, a group of lunatics has quietly expanded the scale of this experiment over twenty years, pushing forward their research by any means necessary."

Yi Chuan frowned deeply.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

Chu Guang placed a computer stylus on the table, his index finger lightly tracing through the deep blue light beam, and several holographic images floated up in front of Yi Chuan.

The central image was from an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Next to it, there were several players' first-person view combat videos.

These videos were transmitted back to the City of Dawn through signal relays before being hijacked by the electronic warfare operations of the Torch Church.

Gazing at those ferocious and distorted faces, as well as the walking corpses that surged like a tide, Yi Chuan couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"What exactly are these… Eaters?"

"No doubt, they were alive, at least they used to be… but now, they should be considered the living dead."

Watching Yi Chuan's incredulous expression, Chu Guang continued.

"When have you ever seen Eaters wearing clothes?"

Yi Chuan didn't speak, his eyes fixated on the holographic screen.

Watching his silent friend, Chu Guang continued.

"The name of this settlement is Pine Cone Wood Farm, occupied by the Torch Church. They've turned the residents into their puppets using an addictive fungal crop called Nago to assist them in completing the experiment of the 'Perfect Life Form.'"

"You call this an experiment?" Yi Chuan's Adam's apple moved, and he spoke with difficulty, "… what kind of experiment is this?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I do not know either. We tried to investigate, but our people were trapped as soon as they entered, falling into elaborate traps set by those madmen."

"It's embarrassing to say, but at first, we thought their alliance with the Mutants was merely targeting the Mutants' combat power. But now, it seems that everything was set up for the 'Perfect Life Form' itself."

"The Torch… is it that Torch? Could it be related to the Enlightenment Society?" Repeating the name to himself, Yi Chuan muttered.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and offered his opinion.

"I am more inclined to believe there is no connection, their differences are like those between the Mutants of the Great Desert and those of the East Coast. One is a continuation of the pre-war era's United Human-prepared Torch Plan for the most extreme circumstances; the other seems to be inspired by the Torch Plan."

"Their goals have a common theme, which is the belief that the world ought to be destroyed once, rather than being reformed on the basis of the old order. However, there are fundamental differences in their specific execution policies, one favors utilizing old-world Neutron Eradication Technology, while the other pins hopes on the incomplete Singularity Technology of the Prosperity Epoch… replacing the old humans with new ones, gradually completing their world reboot plan."

Even the most extreme ideals could distinguish between relatively moderate reformists and relatively radical changers.

In methods, the Enlightenment Society was obviously more radical, directly denying the survival rights of the Waste Land Wanderers. However, in the end, it was those elitists who were more conservative.

At least they believe the new world should still be ruled by humans, led by elites whom they recognize, not by becoming some new type of humans.

But the Torch Church is different.

What they want to accomplish is an ascension at a species level, completely transitioning from the shells of the Old Humans to new ones.

Even if the Old Humans could live in their depicted Utopia, they would only serve as politically powerless livestock.

Only the chosen New Humans could live in the Utopia as gods.

The Mind Interference Device was prepared for this very purpose.

In the distant past, making people selectively or completely give up their brains required countless Mr. Hausers' bombardments along with a whole systematic process. Despite the enormous costs incurred, a few minor errors could still lead to untenable results.

With Nago's help, they could easily turn settlements into breeding farms or planting gardens without saying a word.

Yi Chuan couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

If he had been reluctant to get involved in the dispute between the Alliance and regional Survivor Forces ten minutes ago, the information he had seen made him realize that he must report this immediately to the Supreme Council.

Mind Interference Technology was no secret; it had made big news back in 2113 and was nothing compared to the Singularity Technology like the Perfect Life Forms.

However, he hadn't anticipated that such an antiquated technology would have a second coming in the Wasteland.

He suspected the Council hadn't anticipated it either.

After all, whether it was Brocade River Province or Haiya Province, both were too far away for the Council...

Seeing that Yi Chuan remained silent, Chu Guang continued to speak.

"The Pinecone Farm is a microcosm of the settlements under the jurisdiction of various districts of the Torch Church. Similar incidents are commonplace not only in Brocade River Province but also in Haiya Province. The settlements might look ordinary on the surface, but their cores have long been replaced with puppets of the Church... and now, the green plague is spreading north."

"Nago was originally a tropical crop, but the Torch Church has modified it to thrive even in subtropical regions... If they continue this dangerous experiment, the fall won't be limited to Brocade River Province; even the Eastern Provinces and the Province of Yúnjiānxíng might not be spared. Or do you believe you can prevent your Residents or neighbors from consuming it?"

Yi Chuan looked at Chu Guang earnestly and said, "I understand your concern, this matter is indeed of great importance… I will report it to the Supreme Council right away!"

Chu Guang nodded, gazing at him just as earnestly.

"I'm glad you understand the urgency, but reporting is one thing; we need to let more people know about their schemes and do something about it simultaneously. If we let the Council debate for a month and another wave passes, it might be too late for the entire Brocade River Province."

Hearing Chu Guang's words, Yi Chuan's face showed a troubled expression.

Acting before the Supreme Council's decision was against protocol.

"...You know that's impossible. Even if I wanted to help you, as a diplomat I wouldn't have the authority."

Chu Guang did not give up because of what he said, and continued.

"Then do something within the limits of your authority. We don't need military assistance; the Alliance Army is second to none, but we need your support on the technical front! Specifically, we need an electronic warfare specialist!"

The reinforcements sent to Pinecone Farm were already en route and would arrive soon.

However, if they could not dominate in electronic warfare, their smart weapons would fail to achieve full combat efficiency.

Unfortunately, hacking wasn't Xiao Qi's specialty; it was only an assistant AI.

Even though the shelter boasted absolute defense in the area of information security, it was thanks to the protective programs running on the shelter's servers; Xiao Qi could only access those resources.

Besides, Xiao Qi's main body was in the shelter, separated from the frontline by a distance of eight hundred kilometers, making it too difficult for an MT to go up against high ping and interference.

He needed an electronic warfare specialist on site to tackle the issue.

Including providing safety precautions for the drones.

Including dragging out that Bishop named Luo Gan from the so-called Holy Land...

Hearing Chu Guang's request, Yi Chuan fell into deep thought, then suddenly, as if struck by an idea, his eyes brightened and he sat up straight.

"That can be arranged; there's a specialist in electronic warfare in City of Dawn!"

Chu Guang immediately asked,

"Who?"

Yi Chuan, with a keen gaze, said,

"Solar Eclipse!"

"A-110 model bionic person, each one an expert in electronic warfare!"

…

Just as Chu Guang and the company's representative had completed their meeting, not far from the farm, a large group of Mutant Warriors also assembled in the urban area of Jinhe City.

A burly half-cybernetic mutant strode heavily in front of Jia En, bowing with folded hands and said solemnly,

"Kulu, assembled!"

Behind him, a sea of green heads buzzed, filling the vision with an overwhelming number.

These Mutant Warriors, most of whom had received cybernetic enhancements, varied in extent.

Some had an iron heart installed, some had their forearms replaced with alloy steel, or had cannons or chainsaws attached to their arms.

Unlike the ragtag forces led by Ogur.

Kulu's soldiers were the elite of the Qi Tribe, filled with 'Big Guys' like Pito.

The Qi Tribe's honor had been lost by those spineless creatures; they had actually lost to a group of cowardly, weak sheep!

Kulu swore that he would reclaim the honor that belonged to his clan!

Jia En looked at Kulu expressionlessly and slowly nodded, then turned to the dense crowd of Mutant Warriors behind him, raising his voice and shouting loudly.

"Our allies are in trouble!"

"Those who trouble them, and those who killed our brothers, are the same group!"

"Head to Pinecone Farm!"

"The survivors there, they are our food!"

Rousing this group of bloodthirsty beasts didn't require much rhetoric, merely directing their aspirations was sufficient.

Their thirst for blood and brutality ignited in an instant, and deafening cheers rang through the urban area littered with ruins.

The Mutants, swinging their weapons, roared out their battle cries.

"Aoaoao!"

"Eat them!!"

...

Large groups of mutants set off from the east district of Brocade River City, converging towards the Pinecone Wood Farm.

At the same time, a majestic Iron Airship also set sail from City of Dawn, pushing towards Brocade River Province.

Initially, this was a mere infiltration mission involving just twenty people; however, as stakes heightened from all parties, the scale of the conflict escalated.

That settlement of fifty thousand inhabitants unknowingly found itself at the eye of this brewing storm.

The Torch Church clearly hadn't foreseen such an outcome.

The moment they learned from the Bishop that the Alliance's airship was heading towards Brocade River Province, the apostles at Pinecone Wood Farm visibly paled.

They initially planned to deal a small lesson to the Alliance up north by exploiting these infiltrators into their ranch for a fascinating experiment.

But they hadn't anticipated those stubborn northerners. Seeing the infiltration mission failing, they literally flipped the table.

They weren't afraid of a military clash with the Alliance and didn't believe an organization that had only been established for a year could be a match for them.

However, they clearly weren't prepared for an immediate war, and nobody expected the Alliance to send an airship just as the Tide was about to hit.

Eight hundred kilometers away, it would probably take until tomorrow morning for the airship to arrive here.

But they weren't naive enough to think that the Alliance had only airships at their disposal...

Four Apostles, anxious like ants on a hot pan, desperately discussed countermeasures while not far away, the estate was riddled with the noise of gunfire.

In the underground lab of the guest pavilion.

Night Ten pulled out the dagger stuck in the forearm of a Torch Church "Executioner," binding his limbs with plastic zip ties while disarming him.

VM data copy completed.

Night Ten pushed the captive into a room equipped with a Mind Interference Device, gun pointed at his head threateningly.

"Turn this thing off!"

Wu Zhe grinned, laughing lightly.

"I hate to disappoint you, but I'm just a soldier... I have no idea how to turn this off. Why don't you try blowing it up?"

Night Ten didn't waste words, kicking him in the stomach.

Enduring the piercing pain in his forearm, Wu Zhe gritted his teeth, smirking coldly at Night Ten, thinking it a pity.

If he could somehow make this guy blow up the Mind Interference Device beneath Pinecone Wood Farm, that would technically complete his mission.

In fact, only minutes ago, Night Ten seriously considered blowing the place up, but after reviewing the data downloaded from the terminal, he immediately dismissed the thought.

Simply turning off the Mind Interference Device wouldn't revert the people outside to normal, just as smashing a monitor wouldn't turn off a computer.

The Mind Interference Device influenced subjects to enter a "God Travel" state, but it was the emitted Band 03 signal that truly transformed the local residents into "Eaters."

The device had already embedded frenzied information into their brains. Once in the "God Travel" state, they turned into the grotesque beings currently terrorizing the area.

The severity just varied.

Unless he input a different band signal through the Mind Interference Device to reprogram those affected by Nago, they might sporadically return to normal and then relapse into madness - it'd be better to maintain their current state.

At least in this shared God Travel state, they wouldn't turn on each other.

As Night Ten glared at the uncooperative captive, teeth gritted, he hoisted him up and walked out of the lab.

Wu Zhe grimaced in pain, simply closing his eyes, not saying another word.

Little Lamb, a small girl, stood trembling at the door, unsure of what to do as she watched the two emerging from the lab.

When her eyes met Night Ten's, she quickly looked away, embarrassed and dare not face him.

Optical camouflage only worked when moving slowly, and moving between areas with different lighting would reveal significant discrepancies.

Clearly, she had seen the man.

Yet, under the threat of the Executioner, she kept quiet and might have even confessed to being alone, then watched as that man with a rifle touched her inappropriately.

But Night Ten didn't blame her for not making a sound to alert him.

Truthfully, her calling out would have made things more complicated, not only jeopardizing her but also alerting the enemy, which would undermine his advantage of turning the situation with his Talent.

"The situation has changed, I need you to stay down here for a while... Make sure you keep an eye on Yinyin, don't let her hurt herself, but don't get too close either."

Upon hearing this, despair and misery flickered in Little Lamb's eyes, but ultimately, she said nothing, only silently nodding.

Betraying those who had helped her, she had no room to complain about being left behind...

Seeing the self-righteously misunderstood look on the little girl's face, Night Ten chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

"What are you thinking? I'm not leaving you here; just stay here for a while... If you're tired, take a nap. I'll come back soon."

Little Lamb asked softly,

"Where are you going..."

"To wipe out those bastards!" Night Ten grinned, leaving behind what he deemed a stylish silhouette as he walked towards the staircase.

Wu Zhe, hanging in his grasp, sneered and curled his lips.

Wipe them out?

Really full of bullshit!

Chapter 581 "Into the Net

The Mind Interference Device disrupted long-distance communications equally for both sides, and as the output power of the Mind Interference Field peaked, the entire manor seemed to turn into a quagmire, trapping all information within it.

Only at very close ranges could communication devices function marginally.

However, this interference was not a big deal for players; those who had previously died had already shared the situation on the official website, and after logging off, Fang Chang quickly learned from the mission page on the official website that reinforcements were on their way.

But at this moment, the Executioner's Squad inside the manor was unaware that the Alliance's Steel Heart was en route to the Brocade River Province, let alone that the apostles of this settlement had already contracted mutants to clear the area.

Otherwise, these executioners would definitely be cursing.

Trying to make bloodthirsty mutants differentiate between friend and foe was harder than teaching a pig to talk—sharing a trench with those beasts was extremely dangerous.

Thus, even though the Torch Church had formed an alliance with the Qi Tribe, they seldom operated together, usually responsible for their own battlefields.

Watching the transport plane leaving the villa, a flicker of annoyance crossed Li Jie's eyes. Just then, a crimson flare suddenly rose from the direction of the annex, hanging in the dark center of the sky.

"It's from the annex." Watching the crimson incendiary bomb, an executioner standing not far behind Li Jie spoke in a low voice, "Wu Zhe is probably in trouble!"

Hearing this, expressions of surprise appeared on the faces of the executioners as they exchanged glances.

It was just about dealing with a little rat that had slipped into the lab...

Given Wu Zhe's skills and the equipment on him, they really couldn't think of any reason why there might be an accident.

Just then, the Alliance transport plane, which had originally been flying away from the settlement, suddenly turned around in the sky and headed towards the annex.

Seeing the plane returning, a look of surprise firstly appeared on Li Jie's face, followed by a slight cold smile curving at the corner of his mouth.

"Seeking death!"

Touching the side of his helmet, he spoke in an icy tone.

"All units be advised, our enemies are moving towards the annex; Group A handles the plane, and groups B, C, D, and E follow me to attack the annex, we must at all costs keep them there!"

Amidst the crackling of electric static, a noisy chorus of replies came through.

"Roger!"

As the battle command was given, the Executioner's Squad hidden in the forest swiftly mobilized.

Twenty-five soldiers clad in exoskeletons formed five squads, carrying various weapons and moving in three directions towards the annex.

The first team reached the garden in front of the annex's main entrance ahead of the transport plane—seizing the lead.

The square-shaped annex resembled a prison, with four large doors facing outward onto an open lawn, and the closest cover was the fountain garden to the north.

However, there was still a hundred meters to the main entrance.

For the Executioner's Squad equipped with optical camouflage, however, this was not a problem at all.

The optical camouflage plugins mounted on their exoskeletons could collect image information from the surrounding environment, and by adapting the colors and brightness of its armor coating, perfectly blended the wearer into the surroundings.

When stationary, they could even achieve total invisibility.

"Group B has reached the combat position."

"Ready to move in."

The team leader, crouching with a rifle next to the fountain in the garden, made a hand signal, and then, like a chameleon, he and four soldiers behind him blended into the surroundings.

Five executioners left their cover and advanced towards the annex. The dark muzzles exuded a grim killing intent, like five invisible daggers slowly tightening around their prey's throat.

According to the information provided by Bishop, there was only one person on the other side.

They didn't know how Wu Zhe got into trouble.

But five against one—

They simply had no reason to lose!

Just then, the lead squad leader suddenly heard a swooshing sound like a cold breeze blowing from afar.

Without time to ponder the source of the sound.

Next, a piercing pain drilled through his forehead, brutally severing his consciousness before he could even grunt, falling back like a kite with its string cut.

"Bang—!"

By the time others heard the gunshots, a second man had fallen.

"Two."

Atop the roof of the annex.

Laying next to the railing, Night Ten positioned himself with a sniper rifle, his finger on the trigger, and his right eye close to the scope, he continued to aim at the next target.

The flare he had fired earlier wasn't for calling reinforcements, but to lure Wu Zhe's companion here.

Rather than engaging in a game of wits with an enemy hidden in the darkness, he preferred to be the one taking the hidden shots.

He could lock onto the killing intent in the darkness.

Knowing roughly the direction of the murderous intent, finding a target hidden in the shadows wasn't difficult.

Optical camouflage wasn't invincible.

Especially when moving...

In an instant, two teammates were killed, and the remaining three executioners were startled and saw the optical camouflage was compromised. They no longer bothered to hide, scattering and rushing toward the villa.

With the assistance of the exoskeletons, a hundred meters could be crossed in the blink of an eye.

However, that hundred meters of open space now seemed like an insurmountable chasm before the three.

The optical camouflage unfastened as they shook violently.

Then the third and fourth gunshots followed quickly, one hit in the chest and another shot in the head, reducing the five-man squad to just one person in a flash.

As he nearly reached the door,

A flicker of post-disaster euphoria crossed the executioner's face, but just as his front foot crossed the north door of the villa, he felt a slight touch at the front of his boot.

It was as if—

He had stepped on a kite string.

"Boom—!"

There was no time to react. Small plastic pellets the size of glass beads shot at him like rain, followed by a burst of firecracker-like explosions.

Fragmentation mines were generally ineffective against soldiers in exoskeletons and mutants, but these plastic explosives, fused with X-4 fiber and N10 azide compounds, had unexpectedly impressive effects.

Each sub-explosive had an explosive yield of 100g TNT equivalent. Fifty sub-explosives detonating in a confined space were more than enough to challenge even those in power armor.

These large-yield tripwire mines were originally designed for mutants.

Using them against humans was somewhat cruel.

As the dust from the explosion cleared, the Executioner lay on the ground like a torn piece of cloth, armor and flesh mixed together, indistinguishable as a human form.

Watching the smoke curl up from below in the north gate, Night Ten, lying on the rooftop, clicked his tongue and silently mourned for the unfortunate fellow for half a second before quickly evacuating the rooftop and retreating to a room downstairs.

At the same time, on the grass in front of the north gate, the hiss of static echoed through an unanswered communication channel.

"B Squad! If you receive this, respond! Repeat, if you receive this, respond!"

"Damn it!"

After a long lack of response, Li Jie cursed angrily, cut off the communication, and stared murderously at the mansion just a stone's throw away.

B Squad was beyond help.

From the first gunshot, he had sensed something was wrong, and the final explosion had plunged his mood instantly into a deep trough.

They had been discovered too quickly!

It was as if the enemy had been waiting for them, waiting for them to walk into the line of fire.

Room by room, dark windows shaded by curtains; it was impossible to see inside from the outside. The position of the sniper could be roughly determined by the direction of the gunshots, but at this moment, there was nothing on the rooftop.

Although their scouts were equipped with thermal imagers, these devices had limited effectiveness against exoskeleton-clad targets. Many sophisticated exoskeletons had cooling units located in their lower limbs or even in the soles of their boots, leaving little heat difference between their upper limbs and the surrounding environment.

The game of cat and mouse seemed to have turned into a battle between hunters and a pack of wolves.

A single engagement had cost Li Jie a squad, and he had become more cautious, ordering the drone operator to release the reconnaissance drones they carried.

Two disc-shaped drones launched from a massive drone pack, drifting toward the mansion.

However, due to the interference from the Mind Interference Field, as soon as the drones approached the vicinity of the mansion, they became sluggish and dull, and the screen connected to the drone's control terminal flickered with white noise.

"The electromagnetic interference ahead is too strong; we can't get any closer..." the drone operator said, sweating profusely as he looked at the grim-faced captain while crouching nearby.

Li Jie clenched his teeth and waved his right hand forward.

"Smoke grenades for cover!"

"Roger!"

At the same time as the order was received, the support troops waiting in the forest deployed the "Destroyer Type I" exoskeletons' support racks, planting their hands on the ground as they raised the 120mm heavy mortars on their backs.

Four Executioner's Squads, crouching behind makeshift cover at the edge of the lawn, were prepared for the assault.

Just then, three short explosions sounded in the distance, followed by plumes of smoke falling from the sky and bursting into a wall of milky-white smoke on the open lawn.

Another round of mortar fire pushed the smoke wall closer to the edge of the mansion.

"Goodness, they're using mortars now?!"

Noticing the thick smoke, Night Ten, hiding in a room on the third floor, clicked his tongue and couldn't help but feel a chill.

From a distance of three to five hundred meters, especially since the enemy was not in his field of vision, the sensation of murderous intent was somewhat blurred, but he could still sense that there were at least a dozen people hidden in that patch of forest.

At the same time, another squad had flanked to his side.

In such a situation, the sniper rifle had lost its effectiveness.

Setting aside the sniper rifle, Night Ten took a deep breath, chambered his LD-50 carbine, and prepared for close quarters combat with the group outside.

It was at this moment that a familiar voice suddenly came through his headset.

"...Night Ten, can you hear me?"

The voice was faint and accompanied by a scratching noise like sandpaper on the wall, but still discernible. Night Ten's face lit up with surprise.

"Fang Chang?!"

"It's me... We've evacuated from the main building and are not far from you. I need to confirm your current location."

Without waiting for Fang Chang to finish, Night Ten quickly said.

"Wait, let me tell you first... The Torch Church has hidden a laboratory underneath the mansion. The Mind Interference Device is in there! That thing is the culprit driving those survivors mad!"

A hiss filled the communication channel.

Night Ten wasn't sure if Fang Chang had heard him and was about to repeat himself when Elder Brother Fang's voice continued.

"...Just as I suspected. Is there a way to turn that thing off or blow it up?"

Night Ten swallowed and rapidly responded.

"It's useless; I've looked at the experimental logs. The Mind Interference Device has completed the brainwashing of the survivors in this settlement. The current output is only maintaining their 'God Travel' state. If we turn off the Mind Interference Device, they won't wake up simultaneously but will gradually awaken within 24 hours and then have sporadic episodes..."

Fang Chang: "Tsk, that's tough. Does the experimental log mention any solutions?"

Night Ten immediately said.

"There is... We just need to input another wave signal to override the brainwashing of the local survivors by the device. But I've run into a bit of trouble here. A group has already found me, and their equipment is quite extraordinary."

Hearing this, laughter echoed through the communication channel.

"Isn't that perfect?"

That was Old White's voice.

Of course, not just Old White, but others too.

"Brothers, explode their gold coins!"

"Aroo! Aroo! Aroo!"

...

As Team CDE entered the villa at the same time, Team A, which had been ambushing outside the villa, finally saw the Alliance transport plane hovering around the perimeter enter their view.

"Enemy plane within range."

"Fire!"

An Executioner swiftly stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and set up a rocket launcher; the semi-transparent lens locked onto the arc of light flickering in the night sky and, after taking a photo, he simultaneously pulled the trigger.

"Boom—!"

A missile dragging a tail flame was launched, speeding toward the aircraft once more.

Just as the missile was about to catch up with the rear of the Alliance plane, a sudden anomaly occurred.

For some reason, the missile, as if suddenly blinded, shot past the aircraft, exploding into a ball of fire hundreds of meters away in the air.

Seeing this inexplicable scene, the Executioner carrying the rocket launcher launcher was dumbfounded, completely unclear about what had just happened.

Meanwhile, squatting at the edge of the cabin, Fang Chang pocketed his "Dawn" longbow.

Seeing the distant explosion of flames, Quit Smoking, squatting nearby, also widened his eyes.

"Damn... that actually worked!"

Next to him, Falling Feather was equally stupefied.

"Holy shit... shooting a missile with a bow and arrow?!"

That was just too absurd!

"How is that even possible..." Watching Falling Feather's amazed reaction, Fang Chang chuckled and said, "This thing is just an EMP arrow equipped with a proximity fuze, the warhead made from an EMP grenade."

It was mainly used against drones.

But it turned out to work pretty well against missiles.

Surely no one would design an EMP protection device specifically for shoulder-fired missiles that had a firing range of only a couple of kilometers; that one arrow directly disabled the missile's tracking device.

A momentary malfunction was enough for the missile to barely miss the plane.

And that was more than enough!

The pilot in the cockpit was soaked with cold sweat; when he had seen the missile lock on, he thought he was finished, but unexpectedly, he survived!

Barely getting a chance to catch his breath after this narrow escape, he lessened the engine's thrust while looking back at everyone, shouting.

"How are we going to land? Should we touch down on the roof, or on the lawn outside—"

Before he could finish, Old White, who had just communicated with Night Ten, tapped his helmet and immediately said,

"Let's drop down from the skylight!"

The pilot was stunned.

"Sky, skylight?!"

Old White replied without hesitation,

"Yes! The central skylight of the villa! We will descend directly inside the villa!"

Seeing that this guy wasn't joking, the pilot's eyes widened in shock and he blurted out,

"Are you crazy?! This is a transport plane, not a tank!"

"Trust me!"

Old White placed his hand on the back of his seat, staring into his eyes seriously, "The width of the skylight is definitely enough for us to land... even for two planes!"

"We don't know how many more anti-air missiles they have; we can't be lucky every time. Using the villa's walls as a cover is the safest option!"

The pilot bit his lip, stubbornly pushed forward on the control stick.

These madmen!

He swore, this would be the last time he'd indulge their recklessness.

He wouldn't take on this job ever again, no matter what they said!

...

As the Alliance's "Viper" transport plane moved toward the upper part of the villa at the same time, fifteen fully armed Executioners had already entered the villa through the northern gate.

With the lessons learned earlier in mind, this time everyone was much more cautious, carefully checking every corner that might hide a trap; they dared not be negligent.

The group quickly reached the skylight.

The ground was a mess with limbs and bodies everywhere.

There had been a fight here before their arrival; the entire villa was slaughtered cleanly, and the thick plasma made the place look like hell.

Li Jie's gaze fell on the side of the skylight, where he immediately noticed Wu Zhe, who was tied to a pillar.

His body was covered in blood, looking like a blood-soaked person, his limbs securely tied, and a blood-stained garment over his head obscured his face.

Seemingly hearing the footsteps from outside, Wu Zhe suddenly struggled violently, making muffled noises.

Seeing his comrade in such a dire state, Li Jie felt a surge of anger rise to his head, especially thinking of the five brothers who had fallen earlier; he wished he could mince the sniper hiding in this building and feed him to the dogs.

"Go and untie him..."

"Yes!"

An Executioner carefully approached, making sure there were no booby traps nearby, and then reached out to remove the garment covering Wu Zhe's head.

However, upon removing it, he froze completely.

Wu Zhe's mouth was stuffed and a black box hung around his neck, connected by a string of wires.

The moment he saw himself, his bloodshot eyes reflected not a shred of the joy of a narrow escape, but deep despair instead.

Although he couldn't recognize what hung on his brother's neck — the thing bore no label — his instinct told him it was nothing good.

There was no time to react when he faintly heard a "click," followed by a flash of white light that severed his consciousness.

"Boom—!"

The deafening noise spread outward, and the blast wave swept over the entire courtyard.

The two standing at the very center of the explosion were killed instantly, their bodies thrown outward along with those of the nearby dead.

The scorching airstream, carrying dust, charred flesh, and debris, pounced on the surrounding Executioners like a raging beast, forcing them to retreat clumsily with their arms raised.

It seemed as if a rain of blood had begun to fall in the courtyard!

Even the dust was tinged with the scent of blood.

"I'm going to kill you!!"

Li Jie roared furiously.

He was certain that the sniper was hiding in a corner of this building, silently watching them walk into the trap, then pressing the detonator attached to Wu Zhe.

He was so furious he almost crushed his own teeth.

Just then, a hot wind suddenly blew over their heads.

Two arcs of flame appeared at the edge of the smoke, like two long swords piercing the night. Before anyone could discern what the flames were, a broad fuselage came into view.

Li Jie's pupils instinctively constricted.

An Alliance plane!

But how could—

Before he could ponder how the plane had breached Group A's shoulder-fired missiles, streams of orange tracer bullets rained down from the aircraft's side hatch.

Along with that barrage came excited shouts.

"Hahaha! Die!"

With both hands on the mounted machine gun, Good Dog desperately pulled the trigger, firing wildly. His face, twisted with excitement, was lit red by the flames of the gun.

The Executioners, who hadn't yet regained their footing from the initial explosion, were caught off guard by the sudden barrage, resulting in instant casualties.

Several soldiers wearing exoskeletons jumped from the other side of the cargo bay to the ground, splitting into two groups, and encircled the Executioners trapped in a corner of the courtyard.

Like fiery pincers on a red-hot iron!

An Executioner raised his rifle to retaliate, only to meet a swinging axe head-on.

Panicking, he instinctively raised his rifle to block, but a hot spark effortlessly cleaved his rifle in two, followed by the blunt edge of the axe crashing into his face.

"Bang—!"

Feeling the sensation of the shattered helmet through the axe handle, Old White retracted his thermal cutting axe, expertly switching to his rifle to continue firing at the hiding Executioners.

The final blow that landed on the man's helmet, he hadn't activated the charge and had instead chosen to knock the man out with the unsharpened blade of the axe.

The captive Night Ten had grabbed was already dead.

They needed to capture two more!

Fortunately, there were plenty of people here, more than enough.

These guys had confidently emerged from the shadows, and if they hadn't presented themselves, entrapping them all would have been somewhat difficult.

As the accumulated dust inside the courtyard cleared, the fighting inside the villa was more or less over.

A total of fifteen Executioners — eleven were killed, three severely injured, and one lightly injured surrendered. There was probably another squad outside the villa, but they were still some distance away.

If they dared to come over, it would be perfect.

But Old White thought, they probably didn't have the nerve to keep sending themselves to their doom.

Hearing the gunfire cease outside, the pilot hidden in the cockpit breathed a sigh of relief.

Sitting upright from his reclined chair, he opened the side window of the cockpit and shouted down to the group of army brothers cleaning up the battlefield below.

"Hey, are you guys pulling out?"

Old White turned and smiled at him, saying,

"I forgot to mention, there's been a change in plans, the Manager asked us to locate the Mind Interference Device hidden in the mansion. If we find it, we'll defend our position and wait for backup."

"The Iron Heart is on its way, and soon a group of reinforcements will arrive here by glider… why don't you go back for supplies first, and bring some more brothers and ammunition."

The pilot was stunned for a moment, and Night Ten, who had just come down from upstairs, was also taken aback and blurted out,

"Ah... Is that so?"

Fang Chang nodded his head.

"If you log out and check the taskbar, you'd know."

Under normal circumstances, being in a communication blackout area would prevent them from receiving mission updates, but players could confirm their tasks via the official website besides VM.

However, this might be considered exploiting a game BUG.

Thinking this, Fang Chang couldn't help but be curious whether the NPC issuing their missions knew they could exploit game BUGs.

If they knew, that would be interesting.

The pilot, not understanding their conversation or how they had received the Manager's orders, simply grumbled and started the engine.

"Let me know in advance next time!"

Old White apologetically smiled and replied,

"I will."

Chapter 582 This is a Necessary Sacrifice

When the "Viper" transport plane returned again, it was two o'clock in the morning.

Accompanying this flight, apart from Wild Wind, the Killer Dagger brothers, and a group of twelve, was Ms. Chen Yutong, an active researcher of the scientific expedition team.

Seeing Chen Yutong jumping out of the cabin, Old White's face showed a trace of surprise as he walked up to her and asked.

"How did you get here?"

"The Mind Interference Device here malfunctioned, didn't it? The Manager entrusted me to come here and restore it to normal..."

Chen Yutong glanced around at the bloody carnage, feeling a tumult in her stomach as she shifted her gaze from the mountains of corpses and seas of bones to Old White, sizing him up with concern.

"Are you unhurt?"

Old White said with a wry smile.

"What could happen to me? There were only about twenty people after all."

That so-called Executioner's Squad's equipment indeed had something to it, but honestly, their combat power wasn't outstanding and they relied too much on the power of their equipment. It was only natural they lost their gold coins.

What Old White didn't know was that it wasn't that the Executioner's Squad wasn't strong, but that their own combat power was somewhat exceptional. Gaining recognition from the Weilante people was not something that could be achieved with brute strength alone.

With the strength of that team, they might not be able to win against the army's youth corp in a frontal battlefield, but sabotage, subversion, poisoning were all routine for them, and assassinating a settlement leader was as easy as pie.

The Torch Church managed to conquer such a vast territory and turn countless settlement sites within the parish into their puppets, largely thanks to the Tribunal.

But then again, that same Executioner's Squad also hadn't expected that their optical camouflage would fail, which was why they stopped using that device in later battles.

They probably all feared that the Alliance had gained some technology capable of seeing through optical camouflage; otherwise, it was completely unexplainable how their continuous two surprise attacks both ended in failure.

Chen Yutong suspiciously sized up Old White, confirming that he wasn't just putting on a brave front but genuinely unhurt, then she breathed a sigh of relief and curved her lips as she said.

"I'm relieved you're alright."

Old White sighed.

"I'm definitely fine, but you might not be. This is a war zone, not just for fun."

Chen Yutong blinked.

"You will protect me, right?"

Old White paused, then nodded.

"Of course, I will do my best..."

Seeing that Chen Yutong had no intention of giving up on staying there, he couldn't help asking, "Aren't you studying Nago? I remember you specialize in biology."

Chen Yutong smiled.

"That's right, but I also have a bit of exposure to the research on Mind Interference Devices, remember? I had you accompany me to inspect the eastern suburbs of Qingquan City."

"I thought you were just curious to visit."

"At that time, it was indeed just a visit, but later I found it quite interesting and learned a bit about it using the resources from the scientific expedition."

Having said that, she couldn't help but proudly curl the corner of her lips.

That device really wasn't difficult for her.

Her learning ability was not weak, especially in her field of expertise, and coupled with the fact that she was at the golden age for scientific research, if not for the crowded stage of the academy, she would not have been a mere Level E.

Just a simple understanding was fine...

Old White couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Not being good at studies was a lifelong regret for him, and it seemed that there was no chance to make up for it in this lifetime.

Seeing that Old White was still standing there motionless, Chen Yutong urged him.

"Alright, let's not waste time here. It's too late for someone else to come. Hurry and take me there."

Old White sighed and nodded.

"Follow me."

They crossed the stairwell and came to the other villa's basement.

When passing through the collapsed door panel, Chen Yutong saw a little girl tied up like a rice dumpling and another girl guarding beside her.

When she looked at Little Lamb, Little Lamb was also surreptitiously sizing her up.

Chen Yutong stopped in front of her, bent down with her hands on her knees and asked.

"Is this sister your friend?"

Little Lamb nodded, speaking softly.

"...Yes, Sister Yinyin, she is two years older than me."

"Yinyin, that's a nice name," Chen Yutong gently stroked Little Lamb's head, curved her lips, and asked, "What about you?"

Little Lamb shyly whispered.

"I… Little Lamb."

Little Lamb.

In the Wasteland, the most common names were mountains, rivers, the four seasons, then plants, insects, and birds, tables and chairs. Even though some agricultural settlements used names like cow and horse, naming children after sheep was not common.

Chen Yutong fell silent for a while and then gently said.

"Your friend will get better."

Hearing this, the tense expression on Little Lamb's face visibly relaxed, and a look of joy appeared.

She didn't know why she instinctively trusted this unfamiliar sister, but she felt like this sister knew a lot, just like a doctor.

"What about the people outside..."

"They will get better too."

But, perhaps, they couldn't return to how they were before.

The memories created while being brainwashed wouldn't disappear, and those who had died would not come back to life. Even if it was for just a short duration, those crazed thoughts would linger until they were conscious.

This settlement's survivors would probably spend a long time fraught with anxiety and regret.

After all, those who truly died at the hands of the Alliance Soldiers likely accounted for less than half.

Seeing both Little Lamb, with her joyful expression, and Yinyin, who was struggling and writhing, Chen Yutong inwardly sighed lightly and followed Old White into the back of the basement's laboratory.

When she saw the experimental equipment in the compartment on the side of the hallway, her face showed surprise.

"...This is."

Seeing the astonishment on her face, Old White stopped and curiously asked.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing..."

As a biological laboratory, this place could be considered quite well-equipped.

Constant temperature incubators, ultra-clean workbenches, biosafety cabinets—these basic devices were a given, including more advanced ones like protein testing devices, cell synthesis devices, DNA synthesis devices, EEG machines, and so on.

These basic experimental tools were nothing cutting-edge during the Prosperity Epoch; remnants of biological laboratories or pharmaceutical factories all had them.

However, it was puzzling that some of the devices were clearly not salvaged from ruins but made after the Wasteland Era.

As for how she knew...

It was because those few devices were almost standard in the Academy's Biological Institute.

She was all too familiar with them...

He Anshui was the owner of the Green Pine Inn.

His inn was located right next to the gate of the Pinecone Wood Farm, a very recognizable and memorable location since it was the only inn within miles.

His daily work mainly involved hosting traders and mercenaries who came and went, and he also helped his boss, Old Master Zhao, gather information about the Wasteland.

No settlement could thrive solely on farming; there were always goods that needed to be exchanged with outsiders.

Especially for an agricultural plantation.

Old Master Zhao was well aware of how the Pinecone Wood Farm needed those traders, but he deeply distrusted those cunning folks. Therefore, even though there were plenty of vacant houses in the settlement, he would never allow outsiders to stay.

Unless the trader was appointed by him.

Thanks to this, by running the only inn at the Pinecone Wood Farm, He Anshui had made a small fortune with his exclusive business rights.

Although he had to turn over most of his earnings to the old master, this business still allowed him to save some money.

Moreover, he didn't have to venture far like Yang River nor need to send his family to the manor's guesthouses as hostages. Old Master Zhao trusted him completely since he was just by the settlement.

Whether it was people or property.

He Anshui was a man without ambition, nor did he harbor excessive thoughts—he just wanted to live his days peacefully. After all, over the years of running the inn, he had seen too many Wasteland Wanderers with missing limbs.

Those guys might not have masters but that was about it, nothing in their pockets, and dead without anyone asking.

Compared to such an uncertain life of not knowing if there will be another meal, he preferred the certainty of happiness.

Perhaps, that was also why his father named him "Anshui"—hoping he would be as stable as the water in the well in their backyard.

Speaking of which, Wu Wen Zhou had returned, bringing news from the north that the Wasteland Wanderers there, tormented by the Looters, had ultimately decided to band together.

Seeing him animatedly discussing the alliance, He Anshui knew that the guy was probably contemplating leaving, but he scoffed and dismissed the idea.

The outside world was more of a funny story to listen to, who knew how dangerous it actually was.

And so what if corn was 0.9 Silver coins per kilogram?

Could meat be cheaper than here?

Here, whether it was gold or silver, just one coin could buy a big basket. He didn't know about how other serfs lived, but at least he was quite comfortable.

He indulged in hearty meals of meat and drank abundantly, inadvertently gaining weight.

The most comfortable place on the Wasteland had to be the Pinecone Wood Farm...

He didn't know how much time had passed.

The buzzing in his ears finally faded away, and his blurry vision gradually cleared. He Anshui shook his head and patted his old face with his right hand.

"Slap—"

The sticky touch made him slightly uncomfortable.

Even if he wasn't one to wash his face often, it shouldn't be so oily as to stretch. His mouth felt the same, as if filled with rust, his throat as if glued shut.

"Did I fall asleep..."

He mumbled vaguely, and as he opened his mouth, something fell out, "plop", and splattered on the ground, a thick crimson mess.

Tomato...sauce?

Staring at the crimson puddle in front of his knees, he was stunned. His gaze slowly lifted, and then he saw the unrecognizable "thing" lying in that pool of blood, and familiar faces kneeling beside "that thing."

Among them were the inn's cook, the waitstaff, and the nearby farming serfs... all sorts of people, roughly twenty or thirty, crammed this narrow guestroom full.

Like him, they were all kneeling, baffled and despondent facing the unrecognizable "thing."

Blurry memories began to awaken.

He Anshui recognized this room—it was the guest room of his old friend Wu Wen Zhou who often traveled.

He had wondered at noon why that guy didn't go home even when he was at the doorstep, instead, he came here to join the mercenaries' buzz.

He had already guessed who that unrecognizable person was...

Actually, there was no need to guess.

He remembered.

"Old...Old Wu..."

He Anshui's lips began to tremble, his face drained of color. Like he had been electrocuted, he jumped back, slumping to the floor, retreating against the wall.

The soaked pants dragged across the floor, leaving behind a startling trail of blood.

What have I done?

No...

Why?

His stomach felt as though it had been filled with sulfuric acid. He Auf vomited, curling up in the blood and vomit, convulsing as if in a seizure.

"Ah...cackling..."

He couldn't speak, nor did he know what to say.

He wanted to ask why.

Why had it turned out like this?

Just a second ago everything was fine...why?

He had a multitude of questions he wanted to ask, but didn't know whom to ask.

People kneeling next to Old Wu were like him, slowly coming to their senses, then gradually overwhelmed with fear and despair, vomiting profusely, tears and stomach acids forcibly ejected from their bodies...

People knelt confessing, or screaming as if venting, or banging their heads against the wall, trying to end this miserable nightmare, numbing their nerves with pain.

The cries and wails filled the Pinecone Wood Farm once again.

This time, it seemed even more tragic than the first half of the night...

A pristine white room.

A scene of tragic images confined within small screens the size of palms, piecing together a semicircular wall.

Sitting in the center of the room, an old man quietly watched the ongoing human purgatory, his usually calm face finally softened into a gentle sigh.

Even though he knew this was a necessary sacrifice on the road to Utopia.

Even though he knew those creatures were merely domesticated livestock.

But witnessing this tragic sight still stirred a touch of mercy in him.

Even the Mind Interference Device couldn't achieve 100% brainwashing, and Nago had its immune individuals, let alone a technology still in its infancy.

The 03-frequency would make 99% of people consume the 1%, and if those 99% of test subjects were to awaken, most would be crushed by their own memories.

Therefore, he had requested the mutants to clear the area.

The purpose was to let these test subjects pass away painlessly after the experiment's end.

This was his greatest act of kindness towards those who had sacrificed their lives for the glorious evolution.

However, unexpectedly, those heartless individuals intent on achieving their goals by any means had tampered with the frequency of the Mind Interference Device.

This was a cruelty worse than killing them.

"I still need to cultivate further..."

Detecting a flash of irritation, Luo Gan murmured to himself with a lowered gaze.

He had previously used Zhao Tiangan's body to meet with those children, and seeing their astonished expressions, he couldn't resist teasing them a bit.

This was actually inappropriate.

Among the many bishops of the Torch Church, he was one of the elder ones, having entered the Holy Land over a decade ago, yet his cultivation was the shallowest.

Here, cultivation didn't refer to meditative practices or reciting scriptures, but rather a refinement or sublimation of one's own temperament.

Humans cannot complete their evolution on their own, just as one cannot reach the sky by stepping on one's own foot, regardless of what shoes one wears.

Even if technology could attach wings to a person, it would not enable them to think like a bird born with wings.

Undoubtedly, humans, who stand at the top of the food chain, are more advanced than birds, and there is no need for humans to become birds. But when a civilization's development hits a bottleneck and humans leave the soils essential for their survival, inherent human limitations gradually reveal themselves.

Perhaps this species is only fit to possess a civilization within light-years.

Human nature, closer to the foundation than methods and systems, constructs the underlying logic of human civilization.

It's not a precursor technology to warp engines, nor does it solve any problems in the physical world, but it forces humanity to give back everything unearned.

Otherwise, how to explain that after advancing to the stars, the United Human, having resolved all conflicts and transitioning to unity, would lose everything merely three years after a long period of prosperity?

The "Torch Plan" provided an explanation.

The disintegration of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee gave another explanation.

This species always lives in unstable environments; once they perceive a threat to themselves, they will always try to strike first.

Only a minuscule chance remains that they will rightly bet on a bright future—an event often labeled great or miraculous in the history of the United Human.

Because it is rare.

Even if it indeed occurred and had a significant impact on the course of history.

Inspired by the Torch, the church devised a solution.

To elevate this frail species to a new dimension, one must think from a perspective above humanity. Becoming a "Perfect Life Form" is just a superficial explanation; what they truly needed to do was to become gods.

Humans cannot adapt to life in heaven.

But gods can!

For this reason, the bishops of the Torch Church must forsake all human traits and oversee humanity from beyond, which is fundamentally why all bishops enter the "Holy Land."

Only by entering the "Holy Land," free from the constraints of gravity, can one achieve true divinity!

If not done, they will eventually end up like the earliest mutants, who had become another species but still stood from a human perspective, thinking with a human identity.

The end result was obvious.

The mutant tribe that arose from this did not inherit any of human civilization and instead appeared as a retracing of the path humans had already taken from primal society.

And they themselves, either got killed or went mad.

Luo Gan often lamented that although he had abandoned his physical body, he still struggled to fully sever ties with human nature.

Perhaps because he was too old when he entered the Holy Land, outdated concepts clung to his decaying flesh, etched into circuit boards with electric currents.

He often envied that child.

The chosen Saint Heir.

That fellow was like a blank slate, perfectly embodying the main god.

"Sorry, the Executioner's Squad has failed... The Alliance's forces have occupied our research facility and activated the 05-frequency through the Mind Interference Device."

"The interference we applied to the test subjects... has been lifted."

A voice floated to Luo Gan's ears, interrupting his reverie.

With a light flick of his index finger, a pale blue floating window drifted before him, revealing in the dark a robed apostle kneeling with bowed head.

The backdrop of the camera was the basement of the Pine Grove Farm Church.

The shadow of the hood obscured the person's face.

Though he could not see the apostle's eyes, Luo Gan could sense the shame and regret hidden beneath the brim.

In fact, until the Executioner's squad intervened, their experiments had been going quite smoothly; however, their opponents were a bit too experienced on the battlefield.

But overall, the experiment was successful.

Just not perfect.

Not wanting these loyal children to blame themselves, he comforted them with a gentle voice.

"It's alright, my children, a minor mishap means nothing to us, especially since we have already obtained the necessary data."

"The experiment at Pine Grove Farm is over, retreat through the passageway beneath your feet, someone will meet you at the end of the tunnel."

"The cleanup will be handled by the Qi Tribe."

The apostle, head bowed, replied respectfully.

"Yes, Bishop."

Luo Gan's face displayed an approving smile.

However, just at that moment, his brow slightly furrowed as he sensed something amiss.

Bishop...

That was indeed his title, yet it was typically laypeople or peripheral apostles who addressed him as such.

A more official term of reverence would be Pioneer or Forerunner.

Even though some apostles close to the core of the Torch Church might privately use titles like "Bishop" and "Pastor," they usually wouldn't in hierarchical interactions.

Of course, such a trivial matter was not enough to displease him; he was merely a bit puzzled.

In order to resolve the confusion in his mind, he gazed down at the apostle and spoke.

"My child, raise your head."

"Let me see your eyes."

The apostle clearly hesitated, not understanding his intention, but complied obediently, slowly lifting his head to meet his gaze.

There was nothing unusual about those eyes.

They showed the normal confusion and puzzlement anyone would have.

The only flaw—

Perhaps they were too contrived.

They didn't seem like human eyes.

Rather, they resembled an "object" draped in human skin...

At that moment, Luo Gan finally perceived where that sense of discord stemmed from.

Seeing through the poor act, his murky pupils gradually filled with a hint of murderous intent, as he extended his withered finger toward the screen in front of him.

He wanted to tear this guy apart!

Just as he reached out, the paper-like figure hidden within the screen seemed to detect the danger, abruptly fleeing backward as if it wanted to distance itself from him.

The image on the screen shook violently, as if an earthquake had occurred, that person desperately escaping into an underground tunnel, yet no matter how much they ran, they remained within that paper-thin screen.

He didn't know how this guy had sneaked into his memory partition, but if it thought it could get out of here alive, that was far too naive.

Watching that self-proclaimed clever fool dash into a cage, Luo Gan's lips slowly curled into a cruel smile.

"You can't escape."

Just then, something unexpected happened.

His words had just left his lips when the screen close to him disappeared with a "snap".

His right hand grasped at nothing, his expression instantly froze, then irritation surged in his cloudy pupils.

"Damn..."

He'd been played...

After Zhao Tiangan died, he hadn't bothered with the now-useless corpse, not expecting the abandoned interface lodged in that guy's head to be exploited by the opposition.

That they had even managed to retrieve the man's body in such circumstances... he had underestimated those vermin.

He tapped to open the communication interface.

Luo Gan was about to relay the message of the intelligence leak to the four apostles staying in the Survivor Settlement, but the communication disruption icons glaringly hung beside those four names.

His expression gradually shifted from astonishment to solemn.

The opposition hadn't turned off the Mind Interference Device after capturing it; instead, they had increased its output power, extending the interference range beyond the manor.

No wonder they had so quickly removed the interference on Band 03 for those survivors...

Now, no one was able to contact the four apostles within the settlement; he could only pray they were savvy enough to immediately evacuate upon sensing anything amiss.

The only consolation was that if he couldn't reach those four apostles, the Alliance people probably couldn't reach the soldiers in the settlement either.

For a while at least, those kids were safe.

However, even so, Luo Gan found it hard to feel optimistic.

He closed his murky eyes, and sighing softly, he murmured to himself.

"This is troublesome..."

...

On the bridge of the Iron Heart.

Zhao Tiangan's body lay on a stretcher, having been cold for some time.

Previously, the "Viper" transport plane had brought it back to the military base at the provincial border under the Alliance's control, and later, on Chu Guang's orders, another "Viper" had brought it here.

Currently, an expressionless bionic stood beside him, kneeling on one knee, poking its index finger into his nostril, its pupils flickering with a pale blue data stream.

Suddenly, its body slightly shook, and its eyes simultaneously closed. At the same time, a wisp of thin, blue smoke emerged from the corpse's nostril.

It was as though something was being burned away.

Solar Eclipse's eyes opened again, and the pale blue data stream had vanished, its finger also withdrawing from the corpse's nostril.

Having waited for quite a while by the side, seeing that there was finally a result, Frost, more anxious than anyone, hurried forward to inquire.

"How did it go?"

Solar Eclipse glanced at Frost, then toward Chu Guang standing to one side, and in an unruffled tone, said.

"In the church's basement... there's a passage leading outside, the apostles must be there."

"Thank you, you've been of great help!"

Chu Guang nodded his thanks, then instructed Xiao Qi to update the new intelligence and tasks on the players' terminals.

Although the signals around the manor were disrupted by the Mind Interference Device, another world's official Forum remained unaffected.

His clever brother-in-arms who excelled at exploiting game bugs had specifically arranged for someone to be stationed offline to receive firsthand intelligence in case communications were cut off.

Playing games with smart people was a delightful thing.

"Don't mention it! Serving you is our honor," Frost said with a brilliant and charming smile, speaking before Solar Eclipse could, "Please feel free to bother us with anything you need!"

Solar Eclipse remained silent, simply staring silently at its own right hand, eyes filled with bewilderment.

"How strange..." it murmured to itself.

How did that guy figure it out?

Chapter 583: Great Strength Creates Miracles!

At the southernmost end of the Central Continent, there is a beautiful place where lush jungles, seas of vibrant flowers, and coral and seas that glow can be found.

Its name is Haiye Province.

It is said that many years ago, the land here was more extensive, the glowing sea used to be land, upon which a prosperous city sat.

However, one day something fell from the sky and obliterated it, along with the land beneath it.

Li Jinrong had never actually seen this land as it had once been, having only heard snippets from his grandfather.

It's said that two hundred years ago, the glowing sea was even more exaggerated, with arcs of azure light forming a continuous blaze, like flames burning.

It is said to have been the flame of the Reaper.

Everyone who saw it died.

The vast majority of people moved north with the help of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, while a few still chose not to leave their homeland. After all, the world had already been destroyed, what difference would it make to go north?

Death was certain either way.

Might as well leave with some dignity.

When he was very young, Li Jinrong didn't understand why people thought this way. How could humans, such tenacious creatures, possibly be wiped out by such a trifle?

Even in places where grass couldn't survive, humans could.

And wasn't that the case in reality?

If those people really had perished, how could he be here?

What he did not understand was not only the despair in the hearts of those who chose to stay at that time but also why others chose to flee. In his child's eyes, there was clearly a better way.

"Why don't we all unite and extinguish the Reaper's flame?"

He remembered asking his grandfather this question.

However, the always wise old man showed an uncommon look of difficulty when faced with this question.

"Not all problems have solutions; some problems have no answer at all, and some problems, even if there are solutions, come with their own set of priorities…"

"Then, to which category does our problem belong?"

He remembered pressing further with this question, and his grandfather responded only with a look of helplessness.

"Sorry, child, I don't know either."

Two hundred years ago was too long past.

Not to mention two hundred years, even one hundred years, fifty years, or even twenty years ago, if no one deliberately recalls, records, and spreads the stories... then soon enough, no one may remember what exactly happened back then.

Just like that glowing sea.

Even though it had snatched away the lives of millions in a moment, today some people still worship its vast and boundless power and perceived benevolence without reason.

Fortunately, the pale blue arc light had now sunk to the seabed, only glimpsed in the pitch-black night.

In fact, young Li Jinrong was more interested in the Post-War Reconstruction Committee that his grandfather mentioned. In his grandfather's mouth, that organization seemed omnipotent.

Even though Haiye Province didn't have a settlement planned by the committee, even though they saw the survivors here as a bunch of self-abandoned folks, they still didn't give up on the people who had decided to stay.

Those Signal Towers standing in Haiye Province were the traces of their presence.

It is said that for a very long time, even after the dissolution of the committee, those Iron Towers kept spreading self-help knowledge to nearby survivors over and over, urging residents from various refuges to fulfill their original oaths.

During that period, many good people wearing blue jackets appeared in the settlements. The knowledge and tools they brought helped many settlements in Haiye Province lead a better life.

It was during that time that the Iron Tower Organization was founded.

The local people and residents of the refuge who were helped by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee decided to unite and help more people to end the Wasteland and to rebuild the collapsed order over a broader area.

Until twenty years ago, the Iron Tower played a significant role in Haiye Province.

Li Jinrong could not remember the exact day.

He only remembered that he was very young at the time, and suddenly from one day on, the folks in the settlements stopped trusting those self-claimed Iron Tower people and instead sought refuge in the arms of the Torch Church.

Initially, the Iron Tower left by the War Construction Committee were dismantled and melted into molten steel, then invisible high walls were erected between villages, and one settlement after another became an isolated plantation.

He didn't know why it turned out this way.

He only remembered from that day on.

Everything changed…

…

"…it's Mutants."

Holding a pair of binoculars, Li Jinrong looked out from the edge of the hills toward the rolling dust on the plain several kilometers away, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Their numbers were uncertain but at least over five hundred and hopefully not more than two thousand.

There were quite a few vehicles, and these guys turned out to be a motorized troop—one-half of the green skins were riding in trucks and SUVs, and the other half were panting behind.

Although by Mutant standards, such discipline and equipment were considered elite—as these beasts weren't normally ones to rely on such things for fighting—he still thought, these folks looked less like they were going to war and more like they were heading to a feast.

Leaning against the motorcycle next to him, the man yawned and said,

"These green skins must never need to sleep, still roaming around at three in the morning."

The man's name was Xiao Yue, Li Jinrong's subordinate, and the one who had been rescued by the Alliance plane with him that night.

Old Li suspected there was a traitor in the organization, so he didn't meet up with them.

Although he thought Old Li was a bit paranoid—after all, they had been through life and death together—he was really not comfortable leaving this guy to act alone, so he stayed with Old Li.

These past few days they had been wandering near the Qi Tribe, investigating clues about the Sacred Land from various settlements, while also gathering some intelligence about the Torch Church with the people of the Alliance.

The guys from the north were very generous.

With them, intelligence could even be exchanged for food and ammunition.

If it weren't for the fact that the Torch Church also came from the north, and Qingquan City had been called the Holy Land by those fanatics, Old Li's opinion of the Waste Land Wanderers from the north might have been a little more amicable.

"They clearly aren't just wandering around outside; with so many guys mobilizing together, they must have a definite target."

Putting down the binoculars he was holding, Li Jinrong took out a map and spread it open, his index finger moving along the gridlines for a while before quickly stopping on a red circle, his brows knitting together.

He muttered to himself in a low voice.

"Pine Cone Wood Farm."

Hearing the name Pine Cone Wood Farm, Xiao Yue couldn't help but click his tongue.

That was their first stop on the way to Brocade River City and had successfully contracted all his bad impressions of the settlements in this area.

The arrogant farm owner hadn't even met them face to face before unceremoniously driving them away, ranting about how Pine Cone Wood Farm only dealt with truly powerful forces and didn't need wanderers like them without even a home to call their own.

"The lot of them are beyond saving; this is a Mutant Corps of one to two thousand strong. The soldiers from that settlement added together might not even amount to that many... I even doubt that those people would be enough for those mutants to eat."

"It doesn't matter if it's useful or not, we still have to notify them, at least let them have some preparation."

Back at his motorcycle, Li Jinrong started the engine, looking at Xiao Yue and said.

"Are you coming with me or staying here?"

Xiao Yue sighed, also climbing onto the motorcycle.

"Even though I think you're wasting your effort... Fine, I'll accompany you for a bit."

Li Jinrong grinned and twisted the motorcycle's throttle.

The thick exhaust pipe belched black smoke, and just as he was about to head down the slope, a dull roar suddenly came from the sky.

He raised his head to look at the pitch-black night sky.

Through the gaps in the dark clouds, with the faint help of the moonlight, he could vaguely see rows of cross-shaped silhouettes.

Xiao Yue, who was riding alongside him, also noticed the anomaly above their heads and murmured as he looked up at the sky.

"...What is that?"

Li Jinrong wanted to know too.

His Adam's apple moved slightly, and just as he was about to speak, he saw those dark crosses break free from the edge of the clouds and under the cover of night, they charged toward the mutants on the plain.

With such a commotion coming from the sky, the mutants obviously noticed the anomaly overhead, and the convoy moving on the plain showed a brief disturbance.

Standing half out of the off-road vehicle, the towering figure of Kulu looked up at the sky and frowned, his sharp canine teeth poking out from his lips.

The droning roar gave him a sense of instinctual threat.

However, at this moment, he clearly hadn't realized the severity of the situation—a fast-moving army encountering an air raid on the plains meant something significant.

In that moment of distraction, the crosses flying in the sky began to dive toward the ground, releasing ear-piercing whistles as the beepers activated, dropping missiles onto the terrain.

Hundreds of kilograms of missiles rained down from the sky, and balls of flame burst into life across the plain in an instant.

The blast waves flipped over the trucks, and Mutant Warriors not blown to pieces on the spot by the explosions were thrown out by the overturned vehicles.

Confused by the blasts, the mutants couldn't understand what was happening, especially those trailing behind the trucks inhaling exhaust, panting hard only to see the trucks being blown into the air.

Some mutants even thought they had awakened some incredible ability, imagining that their breath had blown away the trucks until the next second when they saw nearly all the trucks had been bombed; that's when they realized it was an enemy attack.

A look of disbelief appeared on each hideous green face.

The moon has risen from the west!

Someone had actually dared to provoke them!

And they were beaten so badly right from the start!

Most of the survivors on this land were chicken-hearted; they had been like that since they were born. Those two-legged creatures had always been the ones chased by them. On rare occasions when they took out one or two powerful items, those too would soon be robbed by them. This was the first time they had encountered such terrifying things, and so many at once.

No—

It wasn't their first time, actually.

In fact, they had already experienced the Alliance's missiles on that night, but no one had taken that weak showing seriously.

After all, not many had died in the blasts, and stout mutants simply shook their heads and got back up.

Kulu's disastrous defeat hadn't seemed to teach them any lessons either; they had just assumed he was a coward who couldn't even handle a bunch of weak human beings and was scared to come back after his failure.

Facing those planes that were out of reach, the confused mutants with their faces covered in confusion didn't know what to do next.

At this same time, up in the night sky.

One by one, the W-2 planes completed their diving and bombing runs, pulled up their noses and returned to a safe altitude, preparing for the next dive.

"Hahaha! Damn exciting!" Sitting in one of the planes, Mosquito excitedly watched the bursts of fire blooming behind him, his face flushed with excitement.

Since the war in Luo Xia Province had wound down, he, a pilot, had found himself without a role, bored to the extent of joining the throngs of vocational players living off the gaming life.

Later, he even got fooled by his teammates into blowing up the army barracks' kitchen.

This time, it was the neighboring Army's turn to make a mess, and finally, it was his turn to clean up after others.

At last, he had the opportunity to enter the fray!

Howls filled the communication channel, and soon Feng Qing's voice came through.

"...Commander, what do we do next? Go back to resupply, or?"

Mosquito chuckled.

"Resupply? Screw that! Pound them with the cannon!"

"But it's too dark, and we can't see anything on the ground."

Even if they dropped flares, the visibility was still extremely limited.

Without the cooperation of ground troops, the pure air raid indeed seemed somewhat forced.

Feng Qing estimated that the previous round of dive-bombing probably killed only around a hundred mutants.

As for minor and serious injuries, there was no need to count them at all. After all, given the healing abilities of the mutants, most could recover unless they were blown up on the spot.

Of course, blowing up a hundred or so wasn't too bad.

Their first objective had been achieved—they had crippled the mutants' vehicles, stopping those green-skinned beasts from advancing toward Pine Cone Wood Farm.

As long as the mutant corps lost their mobility, even if they hadn't died in great numbers, the pressure on the friendly forces at Pine Cone Wood Farm would be greatly reduced.

Mosquito was clearly aware of this point, their mission was completed.

But—

To finish the job and call it a day would be too out of character for him.

"Not important! It doesn't matter if I can't see, just fire towards the approximate location and the job's done! Brothers, charge with me! Gahaha—"

With a reckless laugh, Mosquito gripped the joystick, swung it to the side, and was the first to turn the nose of his craft back into the fray, unleashing a barrage of cannon fire towards the ground.

Meanwhile, on the ground that had been strafed by his cannon fire, the dazed mutants finally snapped back to reality, scattering to dodge and retaliate against the returning aircraft.

Watching the sky full of little flies and the ground littered with burning steel wreckage, Kulu, standing on top of the off-road vehicle, was almost grinding his teeth in frustration.

Forty armed trucks!

He had robbed more than a dozen commercial teams to gather these supplies, and now, in a single round of explosions, more than half had been blown away!

As if bleeding internally and unable to contain his rage, he let out a skyward roar.

"Kulu! Fire! Everyone fire! Shoot those noisy sparrows down!"

Blinded by anger, he grabbed the machine gun welded to the vehicle roof, firing wildly into the night sky.

The thick tongues of flame and rain of bullets chased the plane's tail, the tracer bullets fluttering menacingly through the air, unaware that the muzzle flash had already revealed his position.

Without warning,

The 20mm cannon fire was faster than the sound of the shots, and almost the instant he heard the whistling of the shells, a stream of bullets peppered his vehicle with resounding pings.

Giant bullet holes crept from the hood of the off-road vehicle all the way to the muddy trunk. With the hail of fire, the driver in the front seat was killed instantly, followed by his co-driver in the back.

"Ah—!"

Gory flesh splattered chaotically inside the vehicle, covering Kulu, who, bathed in this bloody rain, found the machine gun in his hand reduced to scrap.

Tumbling out of the out-of-control off-road vehicle, Kulu was about to curse in shock, only to see his ride not far away being peppered by a pursuing plane, hitting the fuel tank, and exploding into sparks in the wilderness.

A bead of sweat rolled down his caterpillar-like eyebrows onto the ground, Kulu's Adam's apple moved, and he finally realized he'd picked up a second chance at life.

Struggling to get up from the ground, he saw a severed arm next to him and instinctively reached out with his right hand to pick it up, only to see what remained of his own arm.

As the pain slowly crept over him through the wound, his fierce and twisted green face contorted painfully.

Raising his eyes to survey the devastation of the battlefield and the countless mutant warriors fallen or wounded in an instant, he could no longer suppress the shock and fury in his heart.

"Aaaaah!!!"

Meanwhile, after completing a strafing run, Mosquito pulled the nose of his plane up again.

Looking back at the sparsely twinkling fires on the ground, even he, who had seen all sorts of bizarre opponents, felt a touch of amazement at the courage of these green skins.

"Damn, good on you..."

Shooting blindly, huh?

Were they worried he couldn't see well enough to know where to spray his bullets?

...

Elsewhere, several kilometers away next to the rolling hills.

Staring dumbfounded at the blossoming flames in the distant plains and the mutants fleeing in all directions, Xiao Yue swallowed hard and finally squeezed out a sentence from his throat.

"...It's the Alliance's planes."

Li Jinrong's mouth was half open, he didn't speak, just stared straight at the plain.

He had heard before that an organization called the Alliance had fought with the Army people in the northwest, but he had no concrete idea of either the Alliance or the Army.

Now he understood.

The roaring gunfire had left an indelible impression on his heart.

The mutant corps, looking invincible and murderous just a second ago, were engulfed in an inferno in the blink of an eye, and those green-skinned beasts lucky enough to survive were scattering frantically under the sky full of tracers in a desperate escape.

Seeing no response for a long while, Xiao Yue turned to Old Li and said with difficulty,

"...Do we still need to go to that farm?"

This seemed an unnecessary question.

Li Jinrong was silent for a while, then nodded.

"Let's go."

Of course.

This wasn't about bringing news or anything; those people were obviously already aware of the mutants leaving the city, and they didn't need their report.

What was interesting was why the group of mutants headed to Pine Cone Wood Farm in the dead of night, and why the Alliance's planes were there above them.

As everyone knows, Pine Cone Wood Farm was within the power of the Torch Church, and the Qi Tribe was an ally of the Church.

Li Jinrong had a vague guess and a surge of joy in his heart.

Was it possible that the Alliance was officially moving against the Torch Church?!

This could be significant news...

...

Pine Cone Wood Farm.

The brainwashing of the Mind Interference Device had been lifted, but the chaos within the settlement was far from over.

Despite the mayhem, the players remaining in the safe haven had no time to care for those crazed fools. Some were guarding the pavilion, while others followed Night Ten's lead toward the church of the settlement.

"Open up! FBI! Damn, delivering warmth!"

Kicking open the half-ajar door, Kidney Fighter charged in with his rifle at the ready, scanning the area with a murderous gaze.

Seeing the half-bodied figure, the pastor hiding inside the church was scared stiff in an instant. The grenade he was prepared to use for a mutual takedown fell to the ground, the pin forgotten in his panic.

He knew nothing.

People outside had suddenly gone mad, biting anyone they saw.

Just at this critical moment, the respected Apostle had disappeared. With gunshots outside resembling firecrackers going off, he was so terrified that, besides praying, he didn't know what else to do.

Spotting the pastor cowering in a corner of the church, Brother Kill Dagger, with fists like a pair of excavators, strode forward. Planting his massive fists beside the pastor, he bared his teeth in a menacing smile.

"Where's the Apostle here? The Apostle from Torch Church, don't play dumb or act confused, saying you don't know."

"I, I—" the pastor stammered, unable to complete his sentence.

"Stop wasting time with him."

Night Ten stepped forward, pressing the gun barrel against the pastor's forehead and looked into his eyes.

"Speak, where's the basement of this church?"

"I, I'll show you."

Threatened by the barrel of the gun, the pastor finally lacked the courage to keep his secret, trembling as he led the group down to the church's basement.

It was pitch dark down there.

Just as Kidney Fighter was about to take out his flashlight, Quit smoking found a button on the wall. He pressed it, and the dark basement lit up with the brightness of an incandescent lamp.

Somewhat embarrassed, Kidney Fighter coughed and put away his flashlight.

"Is there really some kind of underground passage here?"

The place seemed to be just an ordinary bookroom, roughly seven or eight square meters in size, with two bookshelves against the wall and a table. The table was squeaky clean, with nothing on it.

Night Ten turned his gaze to the pastor standing aside, whose face had turned deathly pale under his stare. The pastor began shaking his head vigorously like a rattle-drum.

"I, I don't know, this is the Apostle's bookroom... I've only been here a few times myself."

"Usually, we need to find the mechanism to open the door…"

Quit Smoking, rubbing his chin, crouched beside that empty table, touching and looking around for the mechanism, but after a long time, he found nothing.

Seeing Quit Smoking messing with the bookshelf again, Brother Kill Dagger couldn't stand it anymore. He clicked his tongue and started moving forward.

"Move aside, I'll do it!"

Quit Smoking, who moved away instinctively, glanced at him.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Heh, isn't it obvious? Force works miracles!"

Brother Kill Dagger chuckled, pleased to finally find a use for the exoskeleton he'd been carrying for so long.

Without further words, he swung his excavator-like fist with all his might at the wall.

His punch was indeed heavy, but the wall wasn't made of mud. A muffled 'Duang' sound rebounded, and he bounced back. The plaster was scraped off, even cracking a layer of cement beneath, but the wall remained unscathed, not even budging. It was evident from the sound that the other side of the wall was solid. If there was a hidden door, it couldn't be here.

Seeing eyes fixed on him, Brother Kill Dagger felt embarrassed. He coughed, wanting to scratch his head but reconsidered after seeing his hands.

"Uh... not this wall, let me try another."

He realized this method was unwise, but he had already put up a front, and backing down now would be embarrassing.

As Brother Kill Dagger approached another wall, the people at the door were dumbfounded.

"Holy shit... if you don't find the door and block the passage, what then?!"

Not to mention if there were traps—

Before they could finish, that cauldron-sized fist had already slammed into another wall, yet this time was different. Behind the crumbling plaster, a crack appeared.

Seeing this, Brother Kill Dagger was startled and exclaimed joyfully.

"There's something behind here!"

He was about to smash the wall when suddenly, noises from outside the basement filtered through.

The players guarding the entrance shouted loudly.

"... Freeze! Put the guns down!"

At the same time, two gunshots rang out.

Before the echo of the gunfire had dissipated, Night Ten had already rushed out, with other players quickly following suit.

After a short while, the gunfire outside ceased, and team members' voices came through the communication channel.

"We've captured him... he came right through the main entrance of the church, ran straight into us, heh heh."

"Geez, they were behind on their intel compared to our objective, didn't even make it to the tunnel yet..."

"Four Apostles!"

"We caught a big fish!"

"Who's going back to the pavilion? Tell Old White to turn off that Mind Interference Device, this choppy signal is really annoying!"

Is this...

Victory?

Listening to the voices of his teammates in the communication channel, Brother Kill Dagger, standing by the wall, looked baffled, and it took some time before he managed to blurt out a word.

"Shoot!"

Chapter 584: Is He Actually an Old Ice Lolly?

Floating above the clouds, the "Viper" transport plane carrying the "Iron Heart" retracted its plasmatic engine's wake and steadied itself upon the steel runway.

Four men cloaked in gray robes were escorted out of the Viper's cabin by four players donned in exoskeletons.

One of them had a gunshot wound on his left leg, hastily bandaged, and he hobbled as he walked. The other three hadn't been shot, but their dirt-covered faces clearly showed they had suffered a great deal.

However, no one here would feel sympathy for them.

They were all Apostles of the Torch Church.

Or rather, war criminals.

In just a few short hours, at least ten thousand survivors had died, either directly or indirectly, due to the interference from Wave 03 of the Mind Interference Device.

The number of those driven to mental breakdown was beyond count.

About twenty soldiers from the Guards Corps had been waiting by the landing pad well in advance.

Seeing the group of heavily armed soldiers, Eure's face turned slightly pale. As the person in charge of both the Pine Wood Farm parish and the research on Wave 03, if he were captured, the Tribunal would certainly not ignore him.

Yet, seeing these fellows and the airship beneath his feet, he seriously doubted whether the Tribunal had the capacity to pull him out.

"Anti-gravity device... You've actually reclaimed anti-gravity technology!" he muttered to himself, but no one paid him any mind.

To prevent him from concealing a locator or eavesdropping device, one of the soldiers stepped forward and placed a metal ring with a shielding instrument around his neck, and around the necks of the other three Apostles.

An Apostle tried to resist but quieted down after taking a blow from a rifle butt.

Watching Night Ten approach, Lu Bei lifted his right fist and neatly knocked it against the left side of his breastplate, delivering a crisp military salute.

"Hard work."

"No problem. Send my regards to the Manager. The rest is up to you," Night Ten said with a smile, returning the salute.

Lu Bei nodded, watched him return to the plane, and then led the four dirt-covered fellows towards the elevator.

There was no communication along the way.

Finally, unable to contain himself, Eure spoke up.

"Where... do you plan to take us?"

Lu Bei didn't speak and just walked straight to a door, knocked, and then pushed it open.

Seeing Zhao Tiangan lying face-up on the ground, Eure's pupils tightened suddenly, his complexion turned even paler, and his Adam's apple involuntarily moved.

The man in the blue power armor looked him over, then turned to the soldier standing beside him.

"One at a time. Find a place to hold the others."

"Yes, sir!"

The man bowed respectfully, then gestured with a wave of his hand, leading a contingent of soldiers to take Eure's three colleagues elsewhere.

Soon only Eure was left at the door.

Standing there alone at the entrance, he inadvertently met the gaze of the man in the blue power armor, and a sudden chill rippled through his heart.

Those eyes were as deep as black holes.

Just a moment of eye contact made him feel as though his soul had been extracted from his body, left utterly exposed to the sun's rays and searing light.

No secret could hide...

As a researcher, he didn't believe in such ethereal things as souls, much less that someone in this world could actually read a person's soul through their eyes.

Nevertheless, he couldn't help but avert his gaze.

That's when the man spoke.

"What's your name?"

"Eure." The response came out spontaneously, even though he didn't want to say a word, which only fueled his irritation.

Chu Guang continued, looking into his eyes.

"Do you understand what you have done?"

Eure lifted his head, defiantly holding his ground.

"I understand..."

He had thought the man would ask him why he had done it, but instead, the man simply nodded.

"That's good."

The finality in his tone took Eure by surprise.

He hadn't said anything—how could this man act as if he knew everything?

Could he really read minds?

A flicker of panic crossed Eure's eyes, but he quickly felt foolish for the thought, and the panic dissolved into anger.

How could there be such metaphysical nonsense!

This guy must be bluffing!

If they thought he would be frightened into confessing everything so easily, they didn't know him at all.

If his sacrifice was necessary, then so be it.

Eure held his head high, putting on a defiant demeanor, and said with feigned bravado,

"Heh, I won't say a word—"

Before he could finish, a pair of glasses was placed on his nose.

The view blurred behind the dark lenses, and Eure hesitated for a moment.

This is...

In an instant, he seemed to think of something, and his face suddenly changed.

A memory extractor?!

How do these guys even have such a thing!

"Wait a minute, I—"

Unfortunately, before he could utter the word "say," a buzzing electrical sound pierced through his eardrums, and his consciousness flickered off like a forcefully shutdown computer.

"Heave-ho."

Dragging Eure from behind him, Frost energetically pulled him to a corner against the wall to sit down.

Watching the unconscious Eure, Chu Guang's expression was devoid of any mercy.

That memory extractor had been seized from the Enlightenment Society, and its working principle involved using the most fearful fragments from the user's subconscious to weave dreams and seal off the user's memories, allowing only bit by bit to leak out. It would unravel them repeatedly until nothing remained.

The more one resisted, the more painful it became.

In theory, not only could this device extract people's memories, but it could even help recall things they themselves had forgotten.

Because it would impose a certain burden on the mind, he almost never used this device for interrogation.

If someone was deceived, coerced, or had unspeakable hardships, he would give the guy a chance for leniency in exchange for being frank.

But this guy had said himself that he was clear about it.

In that case, being treated with the same method, he shouldn't have any complaints, right? Compared to the survivors of the Pinecone Wood Farm, this punishment was still too light for him.

Looking at the doll sitting on his shoulder, Chu Guang asked,

"Xiao Qi, how long will the memory retrieval take?"

Finger resting on her chin, Xiao Qi, already connected to the memory extractor with her eyes closed, thought for a moment.

"Uh, maybe one or two hours?"

She said uncertainly, then her eyes suddenly opened, and she continued with a hint of surprise, "... This guy actually has a bionic chip in his brain?"

Chu Guang frowned slightly.

"Is there a problem?"

Xiao Qi looked toward Solar Eclipse standing to the side and whispered,

"Solar Eclipse, can you handle the security programs on the chip? I'm transferring it to you."

Solar Eclipse nodded expressionlessly.

"No big issue."

As she said this, pale blue data streams were already reflected in the center of her pupils.

Having received an affirmative answer, Xiao Qi swiftly looked back at Chu Guang, proudly sticking a thumb up.

"It's no big deal, Master! Leave it to Xiao Qi with confidence!"

Chu Guang: "..."

Never mind.

At least the result was good.

...

The retrieval of memories was swiftly completed.

Normally, the process would take quite a bit of time, but Xiao Qi had set the memory retrieval program on the refuge's server.

The data processing capability of that server was simply not in the same dimension as that of any portable electronic device.

To make an imprecise comparison, one was a rocket, the other a bicycle.

It was like fitting a bicycle with nitrous oxide acceleration.

An hour in the dream only equated to half a minute in reality.

In fact, if it weren't for the brain's limit in information throughput, the speed of reading memories could be even more exaggerated.

Yet even though Xiao Qi had shown restraint, the Apostle who had been drained of memories still suffered no small amount of mental strain.

Though he had woken up, he wasn't much different from a vegetative person, perhaps even more extreme.

Looking at Eure babbling away and walking toward the wall, Chu Guang's expression couldn't help but reveal a hint of oddness.

"So is he awake now or not?"

Xiao Qi's expression was somewhat subtle.

"Eh... he's probably awake, but not completely."

"What do you mean?"

"Simply put, the imagery he sees is that of the dream formed from his memories, but his brain has actually regained control of his body... So in our eyes, he looks like he's walking into the wall, but in his own eyes, he might just think he's walking from the living room into the kitchen."

So, like a high ping player then?

While other players see him continuously walking into a wall, in his own eyes, he's already moved from bomb site B to the middle door.

Chu Guang had a thought.

"Like sleepwalking?"

"Yeah, although there's a slight difference, that's the general idea."

As he said this, Xiao Qi added softly,

"I suggest we tie him up to be safe... or he might end up eating something strange for breakfast."

"Like a shoe, for example."

Chu Guang nodded and turned to a soldier beside him, instructing him to take the guy to the isolation room and tie him to the bed for a couple of days.

It would prevent the man from causing trouble.

A few passing players happened to see the guy continuously walking into the wall and immediately began to excitedly whisper among themselves.

"Is this NPC stuck in the wall?"

"BUG! It's a BUG!"

"Awesome, the Game actually has a BUG!"

Although with every update it seemed like the Dog plan was fixing bugs, no one had ever seen what a real bug actually looked like.

This time they really saw one!

Not bothering with the prisoners any longer, Chu Guang returned to the Captain's room alone, sat down on the chair, and put on the virtual reality headset from the table.

With a gentle tap of his index finger on the side, he spoke.

"Xiao Qi, help me connect to the extracted memories."

A spirited voice quickly rang in his ears.

"Okay, Master!"

As soon as the voice fell, pale blue lights started to spread from the center of his vision outwards, transforming everything they touched into a different scene.

First the floor, then the tables and chairs, and finally the walls—The room under his feet changed from the Captain's room to an entirely white room.

Chu Guang had never seen this place before.

But from the nurse in the room, the baby in the mother's arms, and the father-like man standing beside the hospital bed, he could roughly guess that this was a delivery room.

The people in the delivery room were bustling about, the couple sweetly discussing what name to give to the child in their arms.

Nobody noticed the stranger standing in the middle of the room.

After all, this was "Eure's" memory, and he didn't belong here.

Chu Guang reached out his hand, passing right through an adjacent nurse's body, then walked over to the window and looked outside.

The green plants outside the window were lush and fragrant with birdsong... He hadn't expected that even these details had been perfectly recreated.

"Why did you bring me here?" Chu Guang's voice carried a hint of frustration.

He had no interest in learning about the life of some minor character.

Even if this memory was perhaps significant to that person, it was irrelevant to him and to the Wasteland.

If he really watched these twenty or thirty years of memories from beginning to end, he wouldn't have time for anything else.

The pale blue lights flickered.

Following Chu Guang into the memory and transforming into a doll-like figure, Xiao Qi perched on his shoulder, swinging her legs and said shyly,

"Sorry, Master... I'll drag the progress bar!"

Seeing Xiao Qi's timid smile, Chu Guang always felt like she was doing it on purpose.

Seeing that the Master didn't speak, Xiao Qi asked softly with a guilty conscience,

"So... from the time he joined the Torch Church?"

"Hmm... wait."

Chu Guang was just about to nod when a detail caught his attention.

Beyond the verdant greenery outside the window, he could see towering skyscrapers and a never-ending flow of vehicles... Even Ideal City seemed pale in comparison.

This place was clearly not the Wasteland.

This guy was actually from before the War?

"... Start from the memory just before he entered the Sleep Cabin," he paused and continued, "I want to know which Shelter he entered."

However, Xiao Qi's reply took him by surprise.

"He's not a Resident of the refuge, oops."

Not a Resident of the refuge?

Chu Guang's brows furrowed slightly.

"Then take me to right before he entered the Sleep Cabin... I want to know his reason for choosing 'time travel,' and how he went about traveling to the future."

As he spoke, Chu Guang left the window and walked over to the bedside table, looking up at the holographic screen floating above the electronic clock.

The year was 2100.

The 75th year of the Prosperity Epoch.

The golden age was in full swing; humanity had built a Utopia on earth, satisfying both material and spiritual needs without limit.

And just ten years from now, in 2110, the industrial and academic worlds would once again unleash people's imagination for a better future.

Gravitons and FTL engines would officially knock on the doors of the Interstellar era, and tickets to worlds light-years away would no longer be a one-way trip with no return, but an adventure open to anyone.

Of course, not everything that came with the future was pleasant. Taking a step forward might uncover new treasures, but it also meant new problems would arise.

For instance, just 13 years later, the Mind Interference Device, developed to replace the Infrasound Fence, was originally used to drive away dangerous Variants harassing the colonies. However, it ended up in a huge scandal in Qingquan City's third ecological protection zone, with accusations of brainwashing and human experimentation.

The incident caused an uproar and even implicated the authorities, but for those living in Utopia, it was clearly just a minor episode.

Chu Guang felt that even if he could converse with the people in front of him across time, no one would believe that the infant lying in the cradle would do something in the distant future, two hundred years away, that would leave even Satan agape.

And if he were to tell the people here that it was just a minor incident in the distant future, and that all the splendor would come to an end after 29 years, he would probably be regarded as a strange lunatic.

The year was 2100.

Just 29 years left until the beginning of the Wasteland Era—the year 2129...

Faintly hearing the mother name her child in her arms "Eure," Chu Guang immediately saw the scenery beside him fly by as Xiao Qi dragged the progress bar.

Like many people of that era, Eure enjoyed a happy childhood, smoothly went to school, and then found employment...

When everything came to a standstill, the clean and bright delivery room had turned into a simple and spacious office, where floating clouds and forest-like skyscrapers could be seen through the broad floor-to-ceiling windows.

A young man in formal attire stood in front of the desk, excitedly talking to his boss seated behind the desk.

Chu Guang did not listen carefully to the content of their conversation, but instead immediately looked for clues containing time information.

Soon, on a holographic billboard outside the window, he found what he was looking for—

It was July 13, 2121.

In three days, some popular domestic security robot was going to have its launch event, and the pre-order price was just 100,000 Credit Points—but that wasn't the point.

In the history Chu Guang knew, Shelter No.79 and its "Yong's" plan had been launched last year.

The end of the Prosperity Epoch seemed to have already shown its signs.

People started to feel anxious about the future, consciously or unconsciously, and the consensus that tomorrow would be better was gradually being replaced by doomsday theories.

And anxiety, in itself, was a business opportunity.

Companies that sold family protection plans and protective gear all made a fortune from this, and the company under his feet was clearly no exception.

Chu Guang took a quick look around the office and was surprised to find that this place was actually the headquarters of "Champion" Pharmaceuticals!

Researchers from Shelter No.79 were hardcore fans of this company; even the coffee beans they used were this company's brand!

However—

He had always wanted to point something out.

Is it really okay for a pharmaceutical company to sell coffee?

The conversation in the office gradually became clearer.

"...anti-radiation agents?"

Having finished reading the report in his hands, the boss stroked his chin, his expression unfathomable; the employee before him was describing something with an exaggerated tone.

"Yes! I'd bet this new type of anti-radiation drug will be the next growth point for the company's profits! And I mean an explosive increase!"

Neither of the two was Eure.

But this was Eure's memory; the guy was obviously nearby.

Chu Guang glanced around for a moment, not finding him, but then a thought struck him—the guy was only 21 years old and probably just a newcomer to the workplace. So he immediately walked out of the office.

As expected, the guy was at the door.

Carrying a briefcase in his hands, his gaze wandered all over, and from the very subtle expressions on his face, it was evident he must have just left campus not long ago.

Although he looked younger, there was no doubt that this kid was the same person he had just been interrogating.

Seeing Eure intently watching the conversation inside the office, Chu Guang also focused on the two people inside.

If Chu Guang wasn't mistaken, they were discussing a new project right now, the formula for "synthesizing anti-radiation agents from Blue Umbrella Mushrooms."

In a sense, this formula indeed saved quite a few lives.

At least most of the mercenaries in Giant Stone City relied on this stuff to extend their lives, and his first pot of gold in the Wasteland was earned by selling those mushrooms.

"...to be more professional, DNA self-repair technology! We've found a special active substance in a blue fungus that can repair macromolecules inside organisms that have been damaged by neutron radiation."

"This idea is not bad... but if I may speak frankly, medical nanorobots could do better."

Placing the report on the table, the boss-like man interrupted the subordinate's endless prattle and spread his hands, saying,

"We are a technology company, and if I may be frank, using mushrooms as medicine... it sounds like an ancient person's idea."

However, Eure's senior did not give up and continued to argue his point.

"War, my friend, I'm talking about the war era! Of course I know nanobots can perfectly repair damaged molecular nucleic acids, proteins, and enzymes, but where do you find those things in a war era?"

"Compared to nanomedicine robots that require an entire extensive industrial chain to be viable, my solution is much more practical! Even if the worst-case scenario occurs and suppliers completely collapse, and the price of all raw materials in the world skyrockets, we can still offer our consumers affordable and reliable anti-radiation drugs... Of course, a bit more expensive is also okay, we have an unmatched cost advantage!"

This time, the boss seated behind the desk did not immediately voice rejection but stroked his chin and showed a rather intrigued expression.

"Sounds a bit interesting."

Everyone felt that a split with the colonies was highly probable, and war seemed to have become the only way to resolve differences.

Even nowadays, nuclear weapons are still the most efficient means to wipe life off the surface of the Earth, with the only differences being the modes and scales of delivery.

An affordable anti-radiation drug, in an era overrun with radioactive dust, was undoubtedly far more practical than any nanorobot.

In the end, Eure's senior successfully convinced the two people's boss.

Even though the process was not easy, he did not spare his saliva.

Watching the senior step out of the office, Eure immediately approached and asked,

"How did it go?"

The senior's face lit up with a bright smile.

"It's all set! The boss agreed to lend us the research institute in Brocade River City, as long as we can produce tangible results, he'll fight for a bigger budget for us at the board meeting... Time waits for no one, gather up the materials before you leave work, we're setting off first thing tomorrow!"

Hearing this, Eure's face showed surprise, and he clenched his fists with excitement, but the tongue-tied him managed to blurt out only one sentence after much effort.

"That's great!"

The senior smiled slightly and patted his shoulder.

"Work hard."

Watching the two head toward the elevator, Chu Guang's face revealed a hint of surprise.

If he remembered correctly, the "Champion" Corporation had only one research institute in Brocade River City—the same one given to him by the Academy.

And at this moment, that research institute was under the control of the Mutants...

Chapter 585: The Life of Eure

The "Champion" biomass anti-radiation project got off the ground quickly, taking just a short week to go from approval to establishment.

Even before the project was officially approved, Eure had followed his senior, Zhao Feiyu, and reported to the research institute in Brocade River City.

As Chu Guang had predicted, the institute they came to was the "Champion" Biological Pharmaceutical Research Institute, located in Brocade River City.

It was the same coordinates given to him by the Academy.

At that time, Eure was still a bit of an awkward young man, not very good at socializing, and he was utterly devoted to his research.

Although the average working hours per person in the Human Alliance Era was only one hour, it didn't mean that all positions were like this; there was a significant difference when it came to specific industries.

Take scientific research positions, for example.

Spending twenty-four hours a day in the laboratory was common.

However, Eure didn't find it tedious, nor did he have any "everyone else is on vacation while I'm working" type of anxiety, because in this era, work was no longer a necessity for survival but a realization of self-worth.

Repetitive and monotonous tasks had long since been handed over to machines, and people could live a wealthy and affluent life without working a day in their lives... This was something that people from the Classic Era could hardly imagine, or only dared to think about in movies and TV shows.

Rare events are what people call miracles.

It was for this reason that this infinitely wonderful era was named the Prosperity Epoch, distinguishing it from past olden times.

For Eure, being able to enter a world-renowned corporation and engage in an innovative study right after graduation was an interesting and meaningful thing in itself.

Thus, he practically lived in the laboratory, spending all his time, except for sleeping, on the research he was involved in.

And Eure, with such passion for his research, was just one of the many members of the huge research team.

Moreover, he was the most simple and inconspicuous one.

Of course, although Eure himself was enjoying it, Chu Guang, as a bystander, found it yawn-inducing to watch.

Since this guy had not left the research institute once since coming to Brocade River City, Chu Guang had no choice but to stand by and watch while he worked in the laboratory, unable to go out and wander around the institute.

The images he could see were all constructed from fragments of Eure's memories.

If it was something that had been seen and forgotten, it might have been restored, but if it had never been seen at all, it would have had to be made up out of thin air.

Eventually, Chu Guang got so bored with watching that he simply snatched the remote control from Xiao Qi, and manually increased the fast-forward speed to a hundred times, a thousand times, even ten thousand times...

Then, in a blink of an eye, four years had passed, and the year had reached 2125.

Chu Guang suddenly remembered that this year seemed to be the start of the Three-Year War, so he immediately canceled the fast forward.

And quite coincidentally, at the same time he brought the flow of time back to one, the research institute also had a new change.

A few soldiers wearing military exoskeletons stood at the entrance of the laboratory, and a serious-looking soldier was talking to the person in charge here.

The streets in the distance visibly dwindled, and most of the hologram advertisements on the screens were taken down, leaving only those that were endlessly broadcasting news about the war situation and advertisements for war mobilization.

Chu Guang couldn't hear their conversation, so he simply returned to Eure's side, where he was now talking to his senior, Zhao Feiyu.

After four years of growth, this young man had evolved from his original naivete to a dependable researcher.

For a moment, Chu Guang saw the shadow of Yin Fang in him.

The two were actually quite similar.

Both were rather pure researchers.

At least for now, that was still the case.

"Our lab has been incorporated and now falls under the jurisdiction of the Central War Research Institute."

"...Incorporated?" Eure looked at Zhao Feiyu with a puzzled look and asked, "We don't research weapons here."

"That's right, so our job isn't to research weapons... but to assist the Army in assessing the risk of biological disasters and to help the rescue departments develop some low-cost medications," Zhao Feiyu replied.

Looking at the worried Eure, Zhao Feiyu patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, this is actually... a good thing. At this critical juncture, our needs are the first to be met; the Academy has secured us a large budget."

In the Prosperity Epoch, the Academy was a loose academic organization, mainly made up of well-known figures in academia, similar in nature to a merchant's Business Association or a worker's union.

The feeling of being looked after was nice, but Zhao Feiyu, who said this, didn't show any sign of happiness on his face.

War had suddenly erupted.

Without any warning.

It was said that the space station at the Lagrange Point had detected hostile actions coming from the direction of Proxima Centauri, but what that hostile action specifically entailed, and why the colonists initiated the war, remained unknown to anyone.

Perhaps these details would only be revealed after the war had concluded. In any case, the scale of this sudden war exceeded everyone's imagination.

Especially for the vast majority of people in this era, war was an entirely foreign concept, rarely seen in news reports, let alone in films or television.

Of course, even so, the Human Alliance still had a significant advantage.

Relying on their immense industrial capacity, as well as reserves of talent and mobilization capabilities, they managed to raise an enormous force from scratch in just one month.

Nevertheless, the situation remained dire.

The traitors four light-years away had played their ace right from the start, releasing an indescribable fungal organism onto their home planet.

It was a life form no one had ever seen before.

Even Earth's ecosystem contained no similar specimen.

Clearly, it was a Variant unique to South Gate 2, and the colonial authorities, instead of reporting its discovery to the Human Alliance, kept it as a trump card.

It might have been the fancy of a few individuals, or a collective decision; pondering such questions at this critical moment was pointless.

The fungal spores and fruiting bodies had spread throughout the complex orbital traffic, making Qingquan City, eight hundred kilometers away, instantly uninhabitable.

And it wasn't just Qingquan City; nearly every major city had suffered the same fate, while lesser-known cities like Brocade River City were fortunately spared.

As all measures to prevent the organism from expanding were ineffective, the authorities were left with no choice but to use their last resort—

To purify it with the all-powerful neutron radiation before it could spread to other city clusters.

Whether from an economic standpoint or others, this was the option that would result in the least impact and, using purely fusion-based hydrogen bombs without residual radiation, even buildings could be preserved.

"...In a nutshell, our job is to confirm the impact of neutron radiation on the Mucor Nest and to assess the damage," explained Zhao Feiyu, his expression complex as he looked at the soldiers. "They are planning to design a weapon that can release Neutron Feather Flow in a stable and targeted manner; meaning we might not even need an explosion. The Academy has contacted a physics research institute to collaborate with us in this assessment."

"Do we really need to test something like that?" Eure asked, giving him a strange look.

Although he was no expert in nuclear weapons, he was well aware that no living creature could survive neutron radiation.

That thing would puncture the life out of nucleic acids, proteins, and enzymes—halting all vital activities based on these large molecules.

It was absolutely impossible for any organism to survive under neutron radiation—

No, that might not necessarily be true.

Such organisms did in fact exist.

Eure suddenly recalled, in the petri dishes of the laboratory, that the bluish mushrooms possessed that kind of miraculous power.

Since internal monologues were part of memory, Chu Guang, standing nearby, could see not only his spoken words but also those thoughts unvoiced.

"Some are concerned that a nuclear strike might cause the mutated slime fungi to mutate further, worsening the situation," Zhao Feiyu said, complex emotions in his eyes as he observed the soldiers. "Honestly, I think so too... They must have known we would resort to this. Would they be unprepared?"

As Chu Guang watched their exchange, a hint of puzzled curiosity surfaced in his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, nuclear bombs had been employed early in the war, as documented in the notes marked with a blood handprint.

So why was it different in Eure's memory?

With such doubts, Chu Guang pressed fast forward and continued watching.

A month later, as he sat in the cafeteria dining, Eure saw a mushroom cloud bloom in the sky over Qingquan City from the news broadcast.

Although the news anchor claimed that the residents of the city had fully evacuated or sought refuge in shelters, their pallid words were hardly convincing.

It was a massive city with a population in the hundreds of millions.

How exactly could all those people have been evacuated?

And where could they be relocated to accommodate so many?

At least in Brocade River City, he had not seen a single person from Qingquan City.

Eure sat frozen, his hand trembling, and the spoon clattered onto his plate.

Startled by the noise, he didn't reach to pick it up; instead, he pushed back his chair abruptly and swiftly made his way to his senior's office, barging in without even knocking.

"What's going on? A nuclear bomb? Wasn't I still doing technical validation? And why is it a nuclear bomb..."

Looking at the news on the holographic screen, Zhao Feiyu's expression was filled with gravity.

"I don't know..."

A trace of annoyance flickered across Eure's face.

"So what's the point of our experiment? Just a waste of a month for no reason at all, they never planned to consider our assessment recommendations in the first place! Why didn't they tell me this from the start!"

"Sorry, I really didn't know." Zhao Feiyu sighed, "Maybe... someone just needed us to do this, to appease the vast majority who are bewildered and helpless."

"For example, the idea that the nuclear bomb is to eliminate a malicious biological weapon, detonated by ourselves under the advice of professionals... Does that sound more acceptable than 'the Air and Space Army's defensive line was breached by the invasion force from the colony'?"

Eure said blankly.

"The Air and Space Army's defensive line was breached?"

"It's just nonsense I made up, you're better off not taking it seriously."

Looking at Eure's dazed expression, Zhao Feiyu smiled relaxedly, but there was no sign of relaxation on his face.

After a pause, he continued.

"Back to the earlier point, I think a different explanation might be more conducive to unity. Now is not the time for quarreling. We're experiencing a catastrophe that hasn't occurred in over a hundred years, and even if we need to find who's responsible, it should be after everything is over. At least for now, unity is more important than the truth."

"I hope my speculation is wrong, because that would mean while we are talking here, many people have already died."

With that, he reached out and turned off the news, paused for a moment, and then continued.

"But if the worst assumption, my speculation, is correct... perhaps what we are facing is not just a biological weapon."

"You should know, right? In the South Gate Two System, aside from yellow dwarf stars like South Gate 2A and South Gate 2B, there are also red dwarf stars like Proxima Centauri, whose flare activity releases radiation hundreds of times that of the Sun... which is a lethal dose for the life on Earth."

Eure nodded.

Extraterrestrial life was not his expertise, but he had heard about those Variants in the colonies, a rather complex ecosystem.

If the war hadn't suddenly erupted, he had planned to apply for an academic exchange there once conditions improved.

Seeing him nod, Zhao Feiyu continued.

"So in early theories, the astronomical community speculated based on experience that habitable planets couldn't possibly exist in the South Gate Two System... until our probes actually flew there and saw that world shrouded in auroras, and then we began to study that ecosystem we had never seen before."

"You must have noticed that neutron rays are lethal to us, but not necessarily to the Variants on the colony, as they have evolved in an environment with frequent stellar flares."

"Simple biological weapons aren't enough to have an immediate effect. The traitors in the colony may be intending to make the home planet uninhabitable... just using biological weapons would be unlikely to achieve their purpose."

"Reasonably suspecting, before we even received our assignment, the nuclear bomb already detonated. It's hard to say whether it or that mucor is the incidental gift."

Eure swallowed nervously.

"A dirty bomb..."

"Most likely," Zhao Feiyu nodded and sighed, "It might not be considered 'dirty' to the Variants in the South Gate Two System, as they grow up in a radiation environment, but for the species on Earth, it's dire enough."

Why would they do that?!

Eure didn't voice the question but kept it in his heart.

He knew the confusion wasn't his alone; his senior Zhao Feiyu felt the same bewilderment at the turncoat kin.

Why must it come to this?

Can't we just sit down and talk?

"Anyway, the project has changed, we need to continue the original topic, and in addition to radiation protection agents, we also need to start research on radiation removal agents. We're running short on medical nanorobots and bionic organs, so we can only hope traditional medicine can solve our problems."

Eure looked up.

"Is this an order from the War Research Institute?"

Zhao Feiyu shook his head.

"No, it's a suggestion from the Academy, and it's also the director of the institute's opinion... I think they are right. Instead of wasting time collaborating with the authorities to stabilize public emotions, it's better to do something truly meaningful. It's not enough just to prevent; we also have to eliminate the radiation damage that has already occurred."

In fact, two days after the news broadcast, they had received an order from the Central War Research Institute to end the study on "the impact of neutron radiation on the Mucor Nest."

Just as Eure's predecessors had speculated, their research results themselves were not important; what mattered was that someone had to do the work.

And thanks to their busy efforts, in collaboration with the media, the confidence of the residents outside the war zone was stabilized, and the Human Alliance was not immediately brought to its knees by their adversaries.

Although the surprise attacks by the colonies inflicted huge losses on the mother planet, the war had just begun, and the Human Alliance still had significant chances of winning.

Yet, Eure still felt a hint of discouragement.

He had been busy for nothing for a month.

If he had known from the start that the outcome of the research was not important, why then expend so much effort? Besides, whether this made any sense at all, no one knew.

As time passed day by day, thanks to the significant breakthroughs made in the research of radiation mitigation agents and radiation protection agents, more and more materials were being delivered to the research institute.

And the most recent delivery, from the Human Alliance Army, consisted of a batch of helium-3 nuclear fuel, measuring up to thousands of cubic meters, which unsettled everyone.

Such quantities of materials were not something a research institute could consume.

Perhaps this meant the war was destined to become a war of attrition.

Looking at the canisters of nuclear fuel, Chu Guang, peering from the side, was covetously itching for them; however, as it was just a memory, he'd have to wait until those mutants there were dealt with.

In any case, he noted down the location where the nuclear fuel was stored.

When the time came, the players would recover these treasures for him.

Who knows how much time passed again.

As the war continued to escalate, the living environment on the surface deteriorated steadily, forcing the research front to move from above ground to underground facilities.

Although Chu Guang hadn't witnessed a real battle in the insignificant memories of Eure, from the suffocating atmosphere of the street outside the research institute and the visible desolation, one could easily sense the grimness of the frontline war situation.

Regrettably, after moving to the underground research facilities, Eure never went out again, and external information was abruptly cut off.

At first, there were news reports to watch, but then even the news stopped coming; only the periodic deliveries of materials brought some news from the outside world.

In reality, it wasn't that someone had locked him in there, preventing his departure; the elevator was constantly in use, and the researchers here could come and go as they pleased.

However, seeing each of those grave faces, and thinking about the whistling cold winds and the radioactive dust outside, evoking imagery of an apocalyptic world...

No one wanted to venture out.

Most people still wished to retain some pleasant memories of that era.

And rather than confronting a world already in ruins, they preferred to expend their energy on the tasks at hand—at least their immediate working environment was relatively good, the supply of materials was prioritized, and amidst the busyness, they could even enjoy a cup of coffee brewed by a beautiful android.

However, there would come a day when the work was done.

Through the efforts of countless people, the final products of the radiation mitigation and protection agents were finally developed, and the formulas and production processes simplified—so much so that even the basic refugee settlements could produce them with limited equipment and resources.

Intriguingly, this project was initially started by the Champion Corporation as a money-making scheme, yet, before they could make their fortune, Credit Points had become meaningless.

When most people couldn't be sure they'd be alive the next day, credit became an absurd concept.

The formulas for the radiation mitigation and protection agents were openly shared with all settlements for free use, and the researchers at the institute finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, the delivery personnel brought some good news—the prolonged war that had lasted almost three years was finally coming to an end.

Reportedly, thanks to the valiant efforts of the frontline troops, the defenses of the colonies were crumbling, their last resistance a spent force.

Undoubtedly, this was the best news in three years, and the atmosphere in the laboratory bustled as if in celebration of a festival.

Although at this moment Chu Guang really wanted to tell them that they were celebrating too soon, for after three years of war would follow the Wasteland Era, spanning two centuries and still showing no signs of ending.

Civilization would decline at an unprecedented rate into a chaotic age, and compared to the darkness of those two centuries, these brief three years of torment were nothing.

At least they still had the pretty androids to serve them tea and water, and the delivery of materials had never been interrupted.

But chances were, even if he could communicate with these excited individuals, they probably wouldn't believe a word he said.

A celebratory party started in the laboratory, while the not-so-social Eure couldn't restrain himself and went outside the lab.

This man, no longer young, mustered the courage to step onto the surface once again.

And when he beheld this world, unrecognizable from before, he was dumbstruck, mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.

Then a sigh came from behind him.

"As you see, our world is already doomed."

Chapter 586 This is Too Extreme

The dead city lay sleeping beneath a yellowish-gray twilight, the pervasive radiation dust blurring the setting sun.

The towering skyscrapers stood like rows of tombstones, their empty windows showing not a hint of life, nor the former hustle and bustle of passing vehicles and flickering neon lights.

The white mist from his breath condensed into frost on the protective suit's visor.

Now Eure finally understood why, before he went to the surface, his predecessors had reminded him time and again to wear his protective gear, and why the thousand cubic meters of nuclear fuel had been prepared.

His Adam's apple moved as he squeezed out a few words.

"...Nuclear winter?"

Zhao Feiyu glanced at the sky.

"It's not just radiation dust that's covering us, but also the debris in orbit… Just six months ago, our space elevator fell apart, and I only found out about it yesterday."

The radiation dust spreading at the edge of the atmosphere and the debris scattered in near-Earth orbit obscured a large amount of visible light from reaching the surface.

Moreover, everything had regressed to before the Prosperity Epoch or even earlier, in terms of industrial scale, energy use, and methods of production.

This wasn't just a problem of adding or subtracting thermal values; the planet's ecosystem had already adapted to the production activities of the Prosperity Epoch, and now everything had been violently reverted.

No one knew when the planet would adapt again, especially with the world almost buried in dust.

Perhaps humanity should actively adapt to these drastic changes.

Interestingly, the life activities of "mutated slime fungus" were not affected by radiation, but rather shrank in scale due to the global cooldown.

Thanks to this, the United Human Army was able to deploy more military forces to the front lines, and the war finally saw the light of victory.

Zhao Feiyu briefly shared the news he knew, as well as the events happening in Brocade River City.

"The United Human is planning to establish a more efficient recovery and reconstruction agency, hoping to restore production in the shortest time and start to deal with the humanitarian disaster caused by the climate problem."

"The refugee settlement in Brocade River City will be converted into a survivor settlement. Some researchers and engineers will assist the residents who remained in the area and were unable to enter shelter facilities to start reconstruction work… Our jurisdiction has also been transferred from the Central War Research Institute to the local administrative organization, and we will probably work on disease prevention and medicine production methods."

"Although I personally think this is a good thing, it also probably means that reconstruction will become a long-term project spanning over decades… Tough indeed."

Zhao Feiyu cracked a smile, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere, but seeing no hint of humor behind that protective mask, he quickly reigned in his smile.

"... Even though it's tough, I still believe everything will get better."

Seeing Eure still silent, he paused and then looked into the distance.

"I have a few tickets to the future here—okay, I won't beat around the bush, they're sleep cabins with a fifty-year lifespan. The United Human is grateful for our work all this time; the formula for the anti-radiation drug saved many lives, and so did the radiation neutralizers… Our work here is completed, we can enjoy the future now."

Eure gave a wry smile.

"What's the point?"

Zhao Feiyu's expression paused slightly and then he spoke with a laugh.

"Going there…well, nothing will happen, but in fifty years when everything is back to normal, all the unpleasantness will end with just a long sleep. Don't you think that's great? Of course, it's not all good news; every three years now is a generation gap, and communicating with kids after a dozen generations – the gap might be even wider than between humans and dogs—"

"Do you believe it?" Eure looked at him, interrupting his fantasy.

Zhao Feiyu fell silent.

There was no need to answer that question.

No one had counted the number of people who died directly or indirectly in the war, but just by looking at those abandoned skyscrapers, it wasn't hard to guess that the number was astronomical.

Return to the Prosperity Epoch.

If it were really that easy, why would the shelters have plans for hibernation spanning hundreds of years?

Seeing his senior in silence, Eure continued to ask.

"You're planning to do what?"

Zhao Feiyu sighed.

"I've decided to stay..."

Eure didn't speak, just listened quietly as he continued.

"Though the situation is terrible, many people need my research, and in this era, I have my family and friends. I can't just drag everyone into the future with me. Life is only so long, and I want to spend the remaining time with them."

He paused, then looked at Eure.

"I know it might sound selfish, but I still hope you will go."

Eure replied bluntly.

"Because I'm a loner?"

"No, not for that reason," Zhao Feiyu said with a bitter smile. "Well, I'll just tell it like it is - the United Human wishes us to send a few researchers to the future, because as you can see, this crisis isn't going to end immediately. If everything is over in fifty years, we'll all be delighted, but if not... we need someone to carry our progress forward."

Eure was silent for a long time and then sighed.

"Then I'll go take a look at that beautiful new world for you."

...

Eure finally chose to go into the future.

He wasn't even clear on why he made that decision.

Perhaps it was a faint fantasy about the world fifty years from now, or maybe he was purely desperate about the current situation.

Anywhere would be fine, as long as it wasn't the present.

Since the people of the future might need him, and the people now needed someone to help their kids in the future.

Then he might as well go to the future.

After all, he had no descendants.

And he was emotionally detached from his parents.

His generation of young people were all like this, caring more about self-worth and the resonance of kindred spirits than blood ties and tradition.

Having made all mental preparations, he calmly lay in the Sleep Cabin, just like the many explorers who headed into the future, embarking on a one-way journey through time.

However, even with his mental preparation, what happened next was beyond his expectations.

And beyond that of Chu Guang, who was quietly observing from the side.

When Eure awoke, he was not facing the Wasteland of fifty years later, but nearly two centuries in the future.

"Year 2320..." sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder, Xiao Qi opened her eyes wide, whispering in shock, "That means... he's slept for a full 191 years?! Shocking!"

"191 years in the Wasteland Era... right after Torch just came out of Shelter No.117, right?" Chu Guang glanced at Xiao Qi, "Speaking of which, haven't you already gone through the entire memory? Why are you still surprised?"

Xiao Qi's expression froze, shifting her gaze subtly to the side.

"Eheh... it adds to the atmosphere, ya know."

Chu Guang: "..."

What kind of atmosphere is that...

"Alright, alright, let's not dwell on the details, it's almost over... wuwuwu, I really want to stay a bit longer with my master."

"Aren't you always by my side?"

"That's not the same!"

"Is there a difference?"

"Of course, there is! One is on the outside, the other on the inside... um, how to describe it?" After a moment's thought, Xiao Qi's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said with a shy smile, "It's like the master has entered Xiao Qi's body... hehe."

Chu Guang: "...?"

The still image resumed moving.

Without asking, Xiao Qi pressed the play button, and Eure sat up from the Sleep Cabin, looking around blankly.

After a brief conversation with the staff members standing by, he learned that he had slept for nearly two hundred years, and his facial expression was as complex as an overturned jar of mixed flavors.

Humans cannot fulfill promises that exceed their lifespan.

Let alone a group of people.

He should have expected this, but the current situation still took him by surprise.

The fifty years of cryogenic sleep, the promised pension and honors... all of it had vanished along with the collapse of the United Human.

They had entered a new era,
one which the people born into it called the Wasteland Era.

In fact, following the United Human, an organization called the Post-War Reconstruction Committee was formed, and his predecessor had served there for a while.

The research institute's staff brought him his predecessor's notes, and in them, he found a letter left for him by his predecessor.

"… Mr. Eure, I'm sorry for letting you sleep for so long. I've been hesitating whether to thaw you on your 80th birthday, but then I remembered what you said, you wanted to see a beautiful new world, and that might take a bit longer…"

"Now it's 2174, the 45th year of the Wasteland Era, and as for when you'll read this letter, I'm not sure... maybe 2229? But I hope it's never—no one should sleep that long."

"My body is getting worse; even after replacing it with bionic organs, the remaining parts are still aging, and things have been a real mess lately. The fools from fifty years ago didn't fight enough, and now they've started again… Not surprisingly, the War Construction Committee has been dissolved, and now it's companies, academies, and armies; nobody knows what the future will hold."

"Ah, you might be confused reading this. Where should I begin to explain to you... in short, the War Construction Committee is the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, the one I told you about before, the one established for more efficient reconstruction. You can consider it as a continuation of the United Human, as it successfully inherited all of United Human's bad habits. Of course, it had its good sides, but none of that matters now, the best times are over, yet again."

"I never thought I'd be lucky enough to live through two apocalypses. Now, we stand together with the survivors of Singular Point City; it's the refugee settlement that was next to the research institute before, and it has developed quite a bit now. A few days ago, researchers who fled from the East Coast joined us, and I saw their work... honestly, their ideas are nothing short of fantastical."

"Like them, I believe as long as humans remain humans, they will repeatedly make the inevitable mistakes… To solve all problems once and for all, we can only make humans into another strong, long-lived, intelligent, and docile new species, known as Perfect Life Form! It's a rare opportunity, how about adding cat ears to the new humans? Haha, just kidding, don't take it seriously."

"Those guys are brave enough to use unstable experimental reagents directly on themselves. But the results have been unexpectedly amazing, and now we possess 'vibrant physiques'; next, we need to think about how to engrave more excellent qualities into DNA."

"You might think I'm crazy, and I kind of think so, too, but... this is the only thing I, as a researcher, can do for my fellow human beings."

"Let's put aside the research for now and talk about something happy. The unity demonstrated by the residents of Singular Point City has given me hope. They gave up their illusions in a very short time and decided to be their own saviors. There are signs of improvement in winter as well, and maybe soon we'll be able to plant more crops outside… Things are looking up; maybe in another fifty years, everything will get better."

"I'm sorry for extending your sleep without your permission, but please believe I meant well. I've always felt guilty about taking you, who had just entered society, to Brocade River City, and you ended up spending all your time in the lab until the last day before the end. It's a shame we can't go back to those days, but at least for the future, I hope you can live in a beautiful new world... If possible, I'd like to apologize in person, but after thinking, I decided to tell you all this in a letter."

"I'm too old to travel through time, and this letter might be the last piece of information I leave in this world."

"I wish you a happy life in the new world."

"To my dear friend."

"— A friend who chose to stay in the past."

Eure read the letter from beginning to end, then fell silent for a long time before taking a deep breath and putting away both the notes and the letter.

Now, he truly was alone in this world.

The only connection he had left with this world was probably the letter in his hands and the unfinished research of his predecessor.

Standing behind him, an old man said softly,

"Your friend was a respected researcher."

Eure turned to look at him.

"You are..."

The old man whispered.

"Luo Gan, from Shelter No.117."

Hearing this name, Chu Guang's face showed a surprised expression, but Eure's expression remained unchanged, showing no hint of warmth at the mention of the word 'shelter'.

After more than two hundred years...

Even if the language hasn't changed at all, even if they are both human, can they really still be considered the same species?

"Do you know my predecessor?"

The old man shook his head, then nodded.

"I was born in the shelter and only recently escaped from that prison; naturally, I could not have known someone from over a century ago."

He paused and then continued.

"However, if I had the chance to meet him, I think we would have become very good friends."

Eure looked at him with curiosity.

"Why do you think that?"

Luo Gan smiled gently.

"Thought itself is a subjective act, and scientific research even more so. I understand his research and thereby understand the man himself."

"Is that so..."

Eure, appearing thoughtful, listened as Luo Gan slowly spoke again.

"As long as people remain people, they will repeat the same mistakes... We deeply agree with his viewpoint; on our journey, we've seen too much irredeemable foolishness, either devouring humans whole or devising schemes to consume them."

There was no surprise on Eure's face, just a faint comment.

"Has it become like this outside?"

He was not at all surprised.

Rather, when he learned it was two hundred years later, he already had an idea of what the outside world was like.

Luo Gan nodded gently and continued.

"We do not want to pessimistically think that this is a curse encoded in our genes, but most of my companions and I are tired."

"Since leaving Shelter No.117, we've been searching for the seeds that can hatch miracles. The first stop was Giant Stone City, then other settlements... However, after traveling more than eight hundred kilometers, we didn't even catch a glimpse of hope's shadow. Instead, we lost quite a few excellent people."

"Singular Point City is our last stop. We agreed that if it's no good here, we'd give up."

Eure asked.

"Did you give up?"

Luo Gan laughed and said.

"Almost... We had already given up when we saw those green-skinned monsters. Even if those old priests still had a sliver of human decency and respect for knowledge and let us go alone, it wouldn't change the fact of their decadence."

"Outside the research institute are the Cannibal Ghosts..." Eure looked at the envelope in his hands, stroked his chin, "Does that mean... the predecessor's research failed?"

For some reason.

There was no sense of regret in his heart, instead... he felt somewhat pleased.

In this way, the choice he made wagering his life was not meaningless; though this wasn't a beautiful new world, there was still something he could do.

Like now.

"The meaning was clasped in his palm.

"I think it can't be considered a failure, just incomplete," Luo Gan continued, "He gave New Humans a robust physique, but he also planted the seeds of violence in their genes. He planned to solve this problem in the future, but unfortunately, the seed germinated before he could tackle the issue... If only we had woken up earlier and encountered him sooner."

"That timid soul holding the key kept urging us to wait, to have faith in a United Human that couldn't even save itself, as if by dutifully following orders and leaving everything to our children, we could resolve all the problems."

"Then we watched, helplessly, as the flame flickered and died out until the boundless night engulfed this Earth, and no matter how far we went, miracles were simply out of reach... Whether it was light-years away or decades into the future."

At this point, Luo Gan turned his gaze toward Eure.

"We plan to end this meaningless journey and continue his research, and if possible, I hope you can help us."

"To complete that unfinished Perfect Life Form?" Eure pondered for a moment and said bluntly, "Understood, I'll help."

Luo Gan looked at him with surprise, then a smile crept across his wrinkled face.

The smile retracted, and he reached out his right hand gravely.

"Thank you for joining us. The vessel headed toward the new world has gained another skilled sailor."

"You're welcome."

Eure grasped his right hand and shook it.

"My thoughts are the same as yours. If waiting over two hundred years can't bring a new world, another two hundred years will be the same."

"If I must be the oar for this ship, I'll do it."

After this handshake, Luo Gan bid farewell to Eure and followed the other members of the Torch to the south. The Torch had reached an agreement with the local Mutants, "Champion" biopharmaceuticals would help them research prosthetics to strengthen Mutants, and in return, the Mutants were to fulfill their obligation to assist with their experiments.

The Old Priests of the Qi Tribe were all survivors from Singular Point City; led by the Ancestor Faction, they held an unusually high regard for knowledge and scholars, a tradition that continued from the heritage of Singular Point City—it had been a long time ago that a group of technicians had come to their aid.

Although the new generation of Mutants from the Secular faction superstitiously believed that the brains of the intelligent were more delectable, after witnessing the formidable power of the modified prosthetics, they had, on rare occasions, reached consensus with the Ancients from the Ancestor Faction—at least not to consume those researchers.

The experiments proceeded methodically.

When Luo Gan returned, it was 19 years later—in the year 2339, the 210th year of the Wasteland Era, and one year before Chu Guang awoke.

Contemplating the profound change over time, Chu Guang suddenly sighed.

Resting his elbows on his knees, Xiao Qi sitting on his shoulder turned her face to look at him.

"What's wrong, Master?"

Chu Guang replied succinctly.

"Nothing much, just feeling a bit sentimental seeing the transformations of this land through the memories of a trivial character."

The scene continued to flow.

In this meeting, Luo Gan had uploaded his mind onto a circuit board, and the meeting place had shifted from reality to the "Holy Land" within the Virtual world.

At the same time, Luo Gan brought new information.

They had established a Theocratic kingdom in the south, governed by the Torch Church.

Under the rule of the "Holy Land," people no longer quarreled over meaningless things, wholly devoting themselves to rowing on the ship toward the new world.

Furthermore, he brought significant research findings from the southern laboratories—a type of fungal organism called Nago.

"With the effect of the Mind Interference Device and Nago, we've successfully achieved a strife-free Utopia within a province's radius."

Eure asked casually.

"What about the Perfect Life Form project? Is there still a need to continue?"

Luo Gan gazed at him with piercing eyes.

"Of course we must continue; the Utopia of the Old Humans is just a temporary achievement, ensuring our experiments won't be hindered."

"Our ultimate destination is a harmony and shared prosperity that can be realized without the need for Nago and Mind Interference, which means we must break free from the bodies that imprison our souls and become a species higher than humanity."

Eure nodded in understanding.

"I see, what should I do next?"

Luo Gan went on.

"Solve the issue of Nago struggling to survive in low-temperature, dry environments. We need to spread it to farther Lands, not just in Haiye Province."

"I'll supply you with some samples... The situation is different now, surrounding Survivor Settlements will gradually join us. From now on, you are an Apostle of The Church, and I, who have entered the Holy Land, am a Pioneer."

"I'm not interested in reciting prayers; it will take up my valuable research time," Eure said impatiently.

Politics was what he hated the most.

He didn't need any political power; he just wanted to purely do what he deemed worthwhile.

Ironically, it seemed he could never escape these chains; for a long, long time, he had been tossed and turned with the small boat beneath his feet.

Fortunately, his new superior understood him well.

Luo Gan laughed heartily and spoke amiably.

"Don't worry; it's just a nominal title that won't take up much of your time."

"With this identity, our plans will proceed much more smoothly; all settlements within the diocese will cooperate with your experiment."

"Whatever the experiment may be."

This time, an intrigued expression appeared on Eure's face.

"That sounds rather intriguing..."

At that moment, he suddenly understood why they had failed time and again.

It wasn't that they lacked the opportunity to do things right, but rather that they chose the wrong method, attempting to rebuild their civilization from the material level using human means.

Perhaps this approach was wrong from the start.

The Prosperity Epoch was a unique case in the history of United Human, and precisely because it was so rare, it was considered a miracle.

Trying to rebuild Heaven with human methods would more likely repeat human errors.

But God was different.

Replacing humanity with divinity wouldn't repeat human mistakes.

Of course, he was well aware of the thorns that must litter this path, that people would die because of it, but would not doing so result in fewer deaths?

Perhaps even more would perish.

Rather than letting those ignorant fools die for pointless reasons, it would be better to make their deaths meaningful.

A bright smile flashed across Eure's face.

"I understand. Leave it to me... By the way, after a few more years, I'll follow you to that Holy Land."

Luo Gan smiled warmly and nodded.

"Welcome."

Eure bowed slightly and exited the Holy Land.

Gazing down at his inner monologue, Chu Guang, standing aside, let out a light sigh.

"This is too extreme."

...

Pine Cone Wood Farmhouse, an annex to the Zhao family estate.

Quit Smoking, cradling the machine gun, yawned.

"When do we have to guard here until?"

Fang Chang, who had just gone offline to peek at the official forum, said offhandedly.

"It looks like the Goblin Corps has bagged all the work; mutant reinforcements probably won't be coming. Tonight should be quiet, but we can't let our guard down."

Quit Smoking said with a pained expression.

"Damn! Won't this damned thing even leave us some soup?"

The Killer Dagger was raised.

"Hmm? Who's calling me brother?"

Good Dog: "%￥#@!"

Little Lamb, warming herself by the fire, stretched her small hand toward the flames, exploring the warm outline with her palm and fingertips, amusing herself by searching for the edge that wasn't too cold or too hot.

The flames gave her face a rosy glow.

Even though a lot had happened, her emotions had stabilized.

Those big brothers in armor were really nice people; they not only drove away the bad guys and healed Yinyin and the others but also gave her some very fragrant and sweet chocolate.

The corpses in the annex had been cleared, and although the bloodstains on the walls and floors were a bit scary, she was used to them by now.

She was safe now.

Safer than ever.

Yinyin sat beside her, wrapped in a blanket, motionless since awakening, unresponsive to anyone who spoke to her.

Little Lamb had accepted the chocolate for her but had not eaten it, keeping it for her.

Hoping she would get better soon.

At that moment, a tall sister walked over.

Chen Yutong glanced at Yinyin, who was curled up, her eyes lifeless, and a look of concern and worry crossed her face as she turned to Little Lamb.

"Is she feeling any better?"

Little Lamb shook her head slightly.

Just then, Yinyin suddenly lifted her head.

"Daddy..."

"Hmm?"

Although Chen Yutong didn't hear clearly what the little girl said, seeing that she finally responded, she immediately squatted beside her.

"Are you feeling okay now? Is there anywhere that doesn't feel right?"

Yinyin shook her head and continued to look at Chen Yutong, saying softly,

"My daddy... is he alright?"

Chen Yutong fell silent.

Guessing something from the sister's expression, tears welled up in Yinyin's eyes, and she continued to ask in a trembling voice,

"Then... what about brother? And sister... and the butler?"

The silence already said everything.

Big tears fell from her cheeks as she clutched her knees and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Why..."

Little Lamb gently touched her head and whispered,

"Don't be sad..."

Yinyin, her eyes brimming with tears, bit her lip and couldn't utter a word, even less did she know how to face her friend.

She had thought about helping her escape this cage, but that was out of compassion, pity, or kindness, never imagining it would happen this way.

Without her father...

What was she going to do now?

Understanding the worry in Yinyin's eyes, Little Lamb comforted her in a soft voice,

"Well, even though our house might not be as big as this one, it should still be pretty large. I will ask my daddy to take care of you."

Yinyin looked at her.

That cold gaze made Little Lamb feel that her friend had suddenly become a stranger, so alien that it frightened her for a moment.

"You're feeling pretty satisfied now, aren't you... You're finally free."

Little Lamb looked at her in astonishment, not understanding why she would say that.

Yinyin clearly didn't understand why she said such things either, nor did she understand why she lashed out at Little Lamb.

After all, she was her best friend.

But Yinyin didn't want to apologize and turned her neck away stubbornly.

Chen Yutong sighed.

To be honest.

Her father was at least ninety percent responsible for what this settlement had become, and it wasn't an exaggeration to say he had brought it upon himself.

He already possessed absolute power, yet he sought more, and right then, someone conveniently threw a tempting bait in front of him.

Overconfident in his abilities to an almost arrogant degree, he bit the bait without hesitation, even fantasizing about scheming against the Church thousands of miles away with the chips in his hand.

However, he never imagined that they did not even regard him as a person, leaving not a name but just a casual number in the experiment logs.

But...

She still couldn't help feeling sympathy for this child.

Touching the little girl's head, Chen Yutong said softly,

"In this world, there are many things beyond our control... they have little to do with our efforts and choices. Even if you hadn't wandered into that basement today, even if you had done nothing, tonight's events would have occurred just the same."

"I don't know if saying this makes you feel any better, but... at least don't be hard on yourself or those around you. You are victims, and you're not the one to be blamed. Your friend was very brave to save you, and if it were me, I would say thank you to her."

Chen Yutong said this while looking at Little Lamb, speaking softly,

"Can you come over with your sister for a moment? I might need your help."

Little Lamb looked worriedly at Yinyin, who had turned her face aside silently, and though she didn't want to leave her alone, she nodded sensibly.

"Sure... I'll help."

Chen Yutong bent her lips slightly into a smile and stood up, bracing her knees.

"Come with me."

Chapter 587 Nobody Knows Where They Are Going

Inside the temporarily set up tent.

Chen Yutong took a blood sample from Little Lamb using the medical kit she carried, then used a cotton swab to hold on her wound and applied a medical adhesive tape.

Observing Little Lamb's silence, Chen Yutong stroked her hair and praised softly,

"You are very brave. When I was your age, let alone getting a shot, even seeing blood would make me feel dizzy."

Embarassed from the compliment, Little Lamb smiled shyly and said,

"Actually... I am still a bit scared, but after seeing it so much, it seems not so scary anymore."

The whole villa seemed as if soaked in a pool of blood.

Not just blood, but also bodies, no matter how they were cleaned, there would always be some left behind.

When she had first come up from the basement, she was nearly scared to faint, and even now, she could hardly stand the suffocating air lingering around.

Watching Chen Yutong put the test tube containing her blood into a small silver box, Little Lamb asked quietly,

"Can my blood cure those people?"

Chen Yutong, examining the fluctuating test parameters on the screen, stroked her chin and pondered for a long time and muttered to herself,

"Still uncertain, but indeed there is an antibody in your body that can inhibit the secretion of enzymes by the Nago mycelium. This will help us to formulate an antidote or vaccine against this special fungus."

Not all organisms are affected by Nago; a very few individuals, about one in ten thousand, when consuming Nago, do not react at all. They suppress the infection by Nago mycelium with certain antibodies and digest it completely through their digestive system.

Little Lamb is not the only antibody carrier in the settlement, but most of the other carriers, along with those not brainwashed by the 03 frequency, were devoured in a previous upheaval.

Thus, this little girl carrying the antibodies and lucky enough to survive became particularly important.

A mind interference device can brainwash those addicted to Nago in a "God Travel" state, and the combination of these two was the culprit behind the Pine Wood Farm massacre.

If they could develop a vaccine or a cure that inhibits the growth of Nago mycelium, it would naturally lift the brainwashing imposed by the Torch Church on the various settlements in their diocese.

Of course, material-level technologies can only solve material-level problems; the mental brainwashing still requires a long time to repair.

The dominance of the Torch Church in the local area is not solely achieved through Nago. They leverage the economic model of plantation serfdom to amass an enormous number of followers.

Rather than saying their rule relies on Nago and mind interference devices, it's more accurate to state that they only had the opportunity to do this after achieving complete domination.

There have probably been more than one incident similar to the massacre at the Pine Wood Farm.

Watching the serious-looking elder sister contemplating, Little Lamb asked curiously in a soft voice,

"Is sister a doctor?"

"Uh... not really," Chen Yutong pondered for a while and a smile spread across her face, "What sister is good at is not really treating and saving patients, but rather belongs more to the realm of research."

"Research?" Little Lamb tilted her head.

"Yes," Chen Yutong gently nodded, "Using existing knowledge to explore unknown mysteries, it can be understood like that."

Little Lamb nodded, seeming to half understand.

It always seems...

Very impressive.

Although she still did not fully understand what these so-called unknown mysteries were.

Seeing the admiration emerging on that tender young face, Chen Yutong guessed what she was thinking and smiled as she stroked her hair,

"Want to learn?"

"Yes!"

Little Lamb's eyes lit up, excitedly nodding her little head.

But, perhaps thinking that her abrupt request might trouble others, those bright eyes suddenly dimmed again.

Little Lamb shyly whispered,

"Um. I don't know anything, would it be troublesome to teach me... If it would cause trouble for sister's work, never mind."

"Why would it be troublesome? Rather, having an assistant would be wonderful."

Once she started speaking, Chen Yutong continued joyfully,

"Here, although we don't have as many rules as an academy, most people around are those who solve problems with brawn... Although those people aren't bad, some dummies are quite cute, but there are not enough people available for a discussion. Astonishingly, such a big project is handed over to me, a newbie."

Stroking that fluffy hair, she looked into those anxious eyes and said gently,

"And... Sister, I will become a grandmother one day. By the time that comes, I'll have to hand over the unfinished work to you guys."

Joy reignited in the youthful face, and behind the jubilant pupils emerged a glint of unprecedented hope.

In her past memories, no one had ever spoken to her like this.

Or more precisely, no one ever thought she was an important person, not even she herself thought so.

What she thought or did was unimportant, as long as she played the roles of a well-behaved, sensible daughter, a compliant hostage, and a young lady's playmate... just like a vase placed on the windowsill.

But, in that moment, she suddenly felt her life regained meaning, no longer needing to wait for a fate that had already been set.

With her face flushed, Little Lamb nodded fiercely, and said determinedly,

"Yes! By the time that comes... leave it to Little Lamb!"

Although she knew childhood dreams often change, Chen Yutong did not speak those discouraging words, but simply smiled and stroked her head,

"Yes, keep it up!"

...

At the entrance of the tent.

Chen Yutong stepped out with the rosy-cheeked Little Lamb and gently patted her shoulder.

"Can you get back on your own?"

"Mm!" Little Lamb nodded earnestly, "I remember the way."

Chen Yutong smiled and nodded, then continued.

"When you get back, make sure you clear things up with your good friend Yinyin, alright? I think... those words might not have truly come from her heart, she might even be regretting them now."

Upon hearing Yinyin's name, Little Lamb's face fell, and after a while, she said quietly.

"Is that really not what Yinyin meant?"

Looking at Little Lamb who was earnestly asking for advice, Chen Yutong pondered for a moment before speaking.

"People are very complex creatures, they have many thoughts throughout the day, some negative, others positive... Words spoken in the heat of the moment might not truly reflect what's most on their mind, it might just happen to be the thought that popped into their head. That's why adults control their emotions, and it's normal for you kids to not have that control yet."

As she reached this point, she smiled.

"After all this time, Yinyin must have calmed down. As long as you communicate patiently, I'm sure you'll be able to clear up any misunderstandings."

Little Lamb nodded as if she understood, and gratefully bowed her head.

"Thank you... I understand now."

"Alright, go on then."

Watching the girl turn and leave, Chen Yutong wore an aunt-like smile and gently waved her hand.

Such a sensible child.

Suddenly, I feel like wanting one...

Just as she shifted her gaze from Little Lamb's departing figure, a light cough came from beside her, followed by a teasing remark.

"Why do I always get to be the muscle-headed fool?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Chen Yutong's face flushed as she turned to look at Old White leaning against a pillar nearby.

"When did you come... wait, did you hear that?"

Old White cleared his throat and responded.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just about to come over and ask how things were going, and happened to hear you as I reached the entrance."

And this tent was set up right in the courtyard at the center of the guesthouse.

Even if he wanted to avoid it, there was no place to do so.

"It's me who should apologize..." Chen Yutong said with an embarrassed expression, sheepishly continuing, "but I meant no harm, just making a joke..."

"Haha, no worries, no worries, I'm not one to hold a grudge," Old White grinned and asked, "So, how's the antibody progressing? Can we use it yet?"

Chen Yutong nodded, then shook her head slightly.

"Well, we observed that it inhibits the Nago mycelium in clinical tests, but eliminating Nago's impact completely will probably take a bit more time."

Old White nodded and continued.

"What now? Are you planning to go back to the base, or?"

"Of course, I'll stay here," Chen Yutong said without hesitation, "though it's unexpected, this place has the best laboratory equipment, and so many 'patients'. If we want to develop an effective vaccine quickly, this is the perfect testing ground."

Old White made a quip.

"Looks like we're going to be here for a while then."

Chen Yutong said slightly embarrassedly.

"Sorry for the trouble."

"It's nothing, all we can do is just this."

With a grin, Old White paused for a moment, then his expression became serious as he continued.

"But... I must clarify, the danger here has not been resolved. Although we repelled the combined assault of the Torch Church and the Mutants, it was largely because they lacked experience in large-scale combat. It's hard to predict what will happen next."

Chen Yutong nodded understandingly.

"Right... I understand. If the situation turns sour, I'll follow the arrangements and evacuate from here."

"That reassures me."

Old White smiled, about to say something else, when the signal light inside his helmet flickered slightly, and the sound of his teammate's voice came through the communication channel.

"Boss, about 500 meters from the north gate, two motorcycles are approaching this way!"

Upon hearing the report through the communication channel, Old White's expression turned serious as he pointed at his helmet and asked.

"What color?"

"Can't quite make out the color... but it's clearly people, the equipment looks like local Waste Land Wanderers; coming here at this hour is quite strange."

Pine Cone Farm was not an openly accessible settlement; normally only familiar traders would even come close.

"Wait for me to get there."

After ending the communication, Old White turned to Chen Yutong.

"We've got work here, I need to head to the gathering place's entrance right away."

With a slight nod, Chen Yutong smiled and said.

"Sure, go ahead, don't worry about me, I'll immediately let you know if there's any progress."

"Contact me or my teammates if anything happens."

Leaving these words, Old White no longer delayed and headed out towards the direction outside the manor.

At this moment, at the north gate of the Pinecone Wood Farm, two motorcycles stopped by the roadside, and two dusty men dismounted from their bikes.

Rifles slung over their backs and ammunition pouches hung on the motorcycles; this attire would draw suspicious gazes if visiting any settlement late at night.

But as they arrived here, no one came forward to question them. Everyone at the gate wore faces either heavy or numb.

They dug pits next to the fields, pushing carts filled with corpses to the gate, then dumping them into the pits and covering them with soil for burial.

Initially, Li Jinrong did not see the corpses until he smelled the thick scent of blood. Only then did he notice the bodies piled beside the haystacks.

The majority of the bodies were in pieces, many gnawed beyond recognition as if snatched from the jaws of wild beasts.

His Adam's apple moved, but he could not utter a word.

Xiao Yue, following by his side, was the same, his face even paler. His lips twitched for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence from his throat.

"Damn…"

"What in the world happened here?!"

It was like...

Hell.

At that moment, a power armor stepped through the wide-open gates and stopped in front of him.

The helmet's visor opened, and Li Jinrong saw that familiar face again.

"Old White."

Old White nodded.

"We meet again."

Li Jinrong looked around, taking a deep breath.

"What exactly is going on here?"

"The experiments by Torch Church. Unfortunately, we got involved," Old White's expression clouded over as he looked towards the mound of bodies nearby, "Originally, if we had taken control of the farm owner here, we could have dismantled the bombs buried here one by one, but they were one step ahead of us."

Xiao Yue stared at him blankly.

"Experiments?!"

Old White: "About the Mind Interference Device and the Nago experiments... you came from the south, so you must have heard of their activities."

A look of astonishment crossed Li Jinrong's face as he stood frozen for a long while before struggling to continue.

"I've heard of it but never knew the specifics. The settlements in Haiye Province are even harder to approach than here... Damn, what exactly do they want to do? What kind of experiment is this?"

He indeed had heard about Torch Church's experiments, as those people practically acted without any cover.

But seeing the corpses numbering in the thousands, possibly even tens of thousands, he still couldn't imagine what experiment was being conducted.

Yet, the evidence lay right before him.

Not far from the pile of bodies, there lay a mound-like obese giant, rotting on the ground like a pile of decomposed flesh.

If he remembered correctly, that was a biological soldier modified by Torch Church using mutants, probably called Goliath.

A few people looking like farmers silently wielded pickaxes, shoveling earth to dig a large enough pit to bury it.

Fortunately, it was winter.

Otherwise, the smell here would have been much more overpowering.

Old White remained silent for a while, then sighed.

"My perplexities are no fewer than yours. Probably no one knows what kind of 'Heaven' those madmen are trying to reach except themselves."

No one knows how much more it will cost to get there.

After interrogating that Executioner named Li Jie, he had fully understood...

Those guys were simply impossible to communicate with.

Li Jinrong squeezed a sentence from his throat.

"...We must stop them."

Old White nodded.

"We think the same. If we let them continue to decay, they will eventually drag everyone down... Today it's Brocade River Province, tomorrow it's River Valley, and who knows how far the trouble will spread later."

"We have our own troubles to handle, an unending Tide that keeps coming every half-century, but our Manager thinks we must do something."

"Let's talk about cooperation."

With that, he turned and walked towards the gate.

Xiao Yue glanced at the standing Li Jinrong and asked softly.

"What does he mean?"

Li Jinrong replied with uncertainty.

"That's probably a signal for cooperation."

He indeed wanted to climb aboard the Alliance's big tree; if they could get the Alliance's aid, they would at least secure a stable rear.

However, he hadn't expected the Alliance to initiate the offer.

Xiao Yue looked at him, hesitantly saying.

"Wouldn't it be better to report back to the organization?"

He knew their leader suspected that there might be a traitor from Torch Church inside the Iron Tower, just as they would send spies to the Church, the others would naturally think of the same idea.

Moreover, the Torch Church, which controlled vast human resources and technical reserves, had the capability to handle matters more covertly and unexpectedly.

However, despite that being said, just the two of them could not represent the entire Iron Tower Organization.

Besides, there were still some who were trustworthy.

Li Jinrong pondered for a moment and shook his head.

"Let's hear what they have to say first."

After speaking, he locked his motorcycle and handed his weapons to the soldier on duty at the door, following Old White towards the residential area...

...

The long night finally passed.

As dawn broke and the Sun rose, the Iron Heart hovered above the suburbs of Brocade River City, overlooking the ground like a majestic fortress.

The creatures hiding in the forest were disturbed by the overwhelming authority, running away from it.

Not just the timid Variants, but also the Mutants hidden within the urban areas were alarmed.

Yet, those who knew no fear didn't run with their tails between their legs.

Their foreheads hidden in the ruins glowed with a greasy shine, with only bloodlust and fierceness on their grimacing faces.

There was no sign of fear on those faces.

They swung the tools in their hands and even fired rifles at the airship several kilometers away, shouting with coarse voices.

"Come over if you dare, you two-legged cowards!"

"Let your Mutant grandpa see how many heads you have worth chopping off!"

"%@$#!"

"Aaargh!"

Seeing that the airship made no response, they simply turned back, grabbed a dozen skinny and unsightly wretches from the cages where the prisoners were held, and pushed them onto the rooftop of one of the buildings of the "Champion" Biological Pharmaceutical Research Institute.

This was one of the tallest buildings currently in Brocade River City.

Ignoring the pleas of the men and women, they chopped off their heads with a single stroke and, tying their ankles with a rope, threw them over the side of the building so that their blood flowed down the exterior walls.

Like a crimson waterfall.

The reveling Mutants let out exhilarated roars whether they were the ones shedding blood or the ones splattered with it, or even those just watching the spectacle.

For them, blood sacrifice of a few bipedal animals was both entertainment.

And a ritual to pray for a "bountiful harvest."

The prisoners caged like livestock trembled with their faces consistently expressing horror, some even becoming unresponsive, sitting dazed...

The airship just quietly watched them and then dropped its anchor chain.

Although the henchmen didn't take a mere airship to heart, Jia En, the tribe leader, showed a trace of astonishment when he saw the airship, followed by a frown of seriousness.

He finally understood what had happened last night.

But he didn't understand why the Alliance would stir up trouble at this time.

The Apostle of the Torch Church had personally told him that once winter was over, Qingquan City would experience an unprecedented Tide.

The Alliance should be preparing for battle at this moment.

Supposedly, they shouldn't have had the spare capacity to hinder their plans.

Standing behind him, the hunched figure of Gomo said softly.

"Our ally wants us to take care of the Pine Wood Farm...The Alliance's forces have taken control there, and the Bishop suspects they are engaging in misconduct, which could jeopardize their ongoing plans."

Hearing Gomo's voice, Jia En's lips curled into a sinister sneer.

"He has the nerve to make demands of us, aren't they going to explain what happened last night?"

Gomo sighed softly.

"He apologizes for the mishap last night, no one expected the Alliance to react so quickly, usually those people plan first before taking action, but now they clearly sent their people over first...Moreover, the Church will compensate us double for the prosthetics and weapons lost during the battle."

Hearing this, Jia En's brow slightly relaxed.

In the Qi Tribe, strength equals status, whoever had the larger fist was the boss.

Therefore, those enhancements that could increase strength were far more valuable to them than those green-skinned consumables.

What Qi Tribe lacked the least were warriors.

From the womb, they were born fighters, learning to hunt before speaking, learning to cannibalize before walking.

Each of them was a soldier.

However—

"Tell him, I've taken the job, but leaving the city now isn't a good idea, we should at least wait for rain or fog," Jia En stared at the airship, his expression grave, "Those gun barrels are like porcupines; we'd probably catch hell if we left from here."

There were shelters in the city, and without ground troops to direct them, the damage from bombing was extremely limited.

But it was different on the plains.

Though there were large forests from Brocade River City to the eastern suburbs' Pine Wood Farm, they still had to cross one or two stretches of open land.

A dozen or twenty people might be fine, but a large-scale march of hundreds or thousands would definitely be spotted, and last night's setback could well recur.

Noticing Jia En's concerns, Gomo smiled softly and continued.

"Don't worry about that."

"The Bishop has a way to get us in."

Chapter 588: The Virtual God

"These damn beasts..."

The bridge of the Iron Heart.

Peering through the sighting device, the captain of Iron Heart cursed under his breath as he gazed at the pyramid made of human heads, ten kilometers away, and the bloodstains covering the walls.

After glancing at the captain next to him, Chu Guang turned his gaze back toward the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bridge and began to speak slowly.

"If they realized that this kind of provocation works, they would quickly build a second, a third Beacon Tower, and might even slaughter everyone at the moment they lose."

"These guys are quite enthusiastic when it comes to killing; we don't need to waste ammunition meaninglessly on something so futile."

From a practical standpoint, delivering indirect firepower to a densely concrete urban area has limited benefits.

Not to mention artillery that relies on shrapnel for its lethality, even strategic nuclear weapons with thousands of tons of yield are not as exaggerated against concrete bunkers as they appear in movies and TV shows.

There's a recorded instance where, during an atomic bomb explosion, people inside concrete buildings within five to six hundred meters of the blast center survived. And as long as they didn't foolishly go out to take a look, they didn't even suffer from any side effects.

As for mutants, it goes without saying.

The creatures could only be killed by a massive dose of neutron radiation; it is unrealistic to expect them to die indirectly from cancerous mutations.

"I understand," the captain nodded gravely.

At Chu Guang's signal, he turned to his adjutant and issued an order.

"Drop the anchor chain!"

The adjutant saluted.

"Yes, sir!"

The massive iron anchor chain was thrown from the belly of the airship, crashing heavily into the ground and stirring up billowing dust.

Then the lift was lowered.

As the vanguard troops and construction equipment began to be deployed to the surface, activity bustled above and below deck.

Chu Guang gave the captain a few brief orders before turning and heading to the brig to see Eure, who was strapped into a wheelchair.

He wore a pair of virtual reality glasses, connected to the airship's sighting device, now aimed at the head-piled Beacon Tower.

"Is this the heaven you were going to?" Chu Guang asked him.

Eure didn't speak, sitting there silently, as if he hadn't woken up from his "sleepwalking" state yet.

But Chu Guang knew that the guy had been awake since before dawn; he was just playing dumb.

Chu Guang looked at him and continued.

"Where is the Holy Land?"

After a long silence,

Eure suddenly chuckled, sounding like he was mocking himself as well as everyone else.

"Don't you already know?"

"I know that Holy Land is virtual; what I'm asking is where its server is," Chu Guang paused before continuing, "or, to put it another way, how to destroy it."

Eure responded with silence, showing his unwillingness to cooperate.

Chu Guang continued in a soft voice, not minding the silence.

"The bionic chip implanted in your brain has locked away some memories; our experts on the airship indeed find it tricky, but you should be aware that even so, cracking it is only a matter of time for us."

"Is this a bluff?"

"Not at all," Chu Guang said calmly, "It suggested to me that I should send your brain to Ideal City for a slow study, but then you would have no chance of redemption at all."

"Redemption... haha."

Eure suddenly burst into laughter, turning his VR glasses-covered face toward Chu Guang and raising his voice.

"Why should I seek redemption? What sin have I committed? Compared to those killed by the Wasteland, compared to those turned into cattle or beasts by the Wasteland, the few we sacrificed are insignificant, not to mention those people already living like animals... Even if we did nothing, they would rot away on their own."

"If you truly understood them, you'd know they're irredeemably stupid. They'd put chains on their own necks and curse at anyone trying to help them. They want to be animals; I think they fit this Wasteland better than anyone, and they want the Wasteland to last forever. It might be better to let their lives have some meaning; at least dying by our hands, they could serve as fuel to end the Wasteland."

Eure laughed hoarsely, his laughter gradually turning manic.

As if he had gone mad.

Lu Bei, standing behind Chu Guang, stared intently at this twisted and impudent man, his lips involuntarily twitched.

Chu Guang, however, watched Eure expressionlessly.

Until his voice went hoarse, and he could laugh no more, Chu Guang finally spoke slowly.

"And who decides what this so-called 'meaning' is?"

Eure continued in a hoarse voice.

"No one needs to define it. The descendants living in the new world will give an objective evaluation of what we've done. Even if they curse us, it doesn't matter. I never did this for honor or fame."

Chu Guang looked at him with pity.

"What a pity."

"..." Eure said nothing, showing an indifferent expression as if nothing mattered.

Chu Guang continued looking at him.

"Even if you went to the new world, your Wasteland wouldn't end; this land would become another kind of Wasteland. And your sacrifice is meaningless; it's been just a self-indulgence from start to finish."

Eure finally couldn't resist retorting.

"And how do you know what future generations will think?"

"It's not a matter of what I know or don't know, but why are you so certain?" Chu Guang gazed at him and spoke deliberately, "You haven't even lived a second in your fantasized Heaven, yet you expect to solve earthly problems with heavenly methods."

"When someone is hungry, we give them enough food to survive and then tell them how to obtain more, how to live with dignity, rather than suggesting they get a bionic stomach that can digest mud and a mouth capable of chewing stone."

Eure smirked coldly.

"You're thinking too simply. Just because people aren't starving doesn't mean the Wasteland will end. If that were the case, the Wasteland wouldn't exist to begin with. This isn't just an issue of hunger—"

"But at least hunger is a concrete problem. Once we solve that, we can move on to the next," Chu Guang, expressionless, stared back at him without mincing words, "Expecting there to be a universal optimal solution for all specific problems, that simply by becoming New Humans, all issues can be solved forever, what then?"

Eure was stunned for a moment, then slowly blurted out.

"...Then what?"

"Yes, what then? How do you plan to solve the problems of the New Humans? Create an even more perfect life form to lead everyone through 'evolution' once more? Or perhaps jump from one Utopia to another?"

Watching Eure who remained silent, Chu Guang continued.

"Unfortunately, this is the method you've left for posterity to solve their problems. If you fail, that's also fine, but if by a one in ten-thousand chance you luckily succeed, that will be the greatest disaster."

"Any cost will become a necessary sacrifice, they will repeat today's tragedy over and over, drowning others in the impossibility of dreams. So, is it me who's thinking too simply, or is it you?"

Turning his gaze away from that blank face, Chu Guang knew he had never considered these issues. He continued indifferently.

"Perhaps one day we will evolve into a new species, but that will happen only because we have naturally reached that stage, not simply for the sake of evolution, nor to solve problems just for the sake of solving them."

"I offered you a chance for redemption, but it seems I've wasted my time."

"You should find somewhere else to confess."

Leaving these words behind, Chu Guang turned and walked towards the door.

Eure stared blankly in the direction of the retreating footsteps, suddenly feeling a rush of panic and unexpectedly spoke out.

"Wait a second."

Chu Guang, already at the door, stopped and turned to look at him.

"What is it?"

Eure was silent for a moment, then slowly began.

"The Holy Land isn't 'on the earth,' nor in some server, but a network formed by an array of bionic chips and one or more nodes coming together... The Holy Land is this network."

A hint of surprise showed on Lu Bei's face.

Part of it was surprise at the Holy Land formed by countless bionic chips, and another part was surprise that this stubborn individual was actually confessing.

Not only was Lu Bei taken aback. In fact, even Eure himself wasn't sure if what he was doing was right.

That Memory Extractor had not only violently pulled out his memories, but it had also reminded him of many trivial matters he had long forgotten.

He was a researcher, and should know better than anyone that bold hypotheses and careful verification were fundamental methodologies.

Yet ironically, even though he knew this, he hadn't done it. Instead, he had placed his hope on replacing humanity with divinity.

Perhaps, as the Manager before him said,

The end of this dream wouldn't be Heaven, but another kind of Hell...

While speaking, Eure slowly turned his wrist, which was tied to the armrest, and lifted his bent index finger to point at his head.

"For example, right here... I have one. It's just that the signal isn't great here, so it can't connect to the network," he explained.

The Steel Heart itself was a big metal shell. Unless standing on deck, any data exchange with the outside world had to go through a dedicated information interface.

That channel was monitored by Xiao Qi, and Luo Gan naturally wouldn't leave such an obvious handle for others to grasp by coming in voluntarily.

And that's why Solar Eclipse could unexpectedly reactivate that shut-off chip in Zhao Tiangan's body and connect to the Holy Land out of the blue.

Because the moment Zhao Tiangan died, Luo Gan lost the connection to that chip, since biological chips require bodily life functions for energy.

And if it were through Eure's chip, he most likely wouldn't be able to enter the Holy Land at all, as his capture was basically a known fact.

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brows.

"Distributed computing?"

Eure smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Although not exactly the same, you could understand it that way... Each chip is a cell that constitutes 'Luo Gan' and that 'Holy Land,' and all cells share information in a shared network. When one chip goes offline, the data stored in that chip exists as an independent personality, for instance, there's a Luo Gan living in my head right now."

Chu Guang fell into thought.

"I see."

This was somewhat similar to Xiao Qi.

Sometimes when entering an area with no signal, Xiao Qi could still use VM or other electronic devices to communicate with him, but in reality, it wasn't the Xiao Qi from the Shelter that was interacting with him, but a sub-individual split from Xiao Qi at a certain time point A.

To make it easier to understand, let's hypothetically call the original entity A and the sub-individual A1.

A1 possessed all the cached data prior to time point A and the combined computing power of all portable terminals.

Therefore, even though A1 didn't have all the data and computing power of A, it could still communicate normally with him, simply because the data from A1 and A was not shared due to the communication disruption.

However, once the signal was restored, data between A1 and A would resume flow, and they would merge by exchanging information.

Although it might seem strange from a human perspective, for digital life, it's a common occurrence.

After all, information is the entirety of digital life.

That's also why Xiao Qi was always clingy, always pestering Chu Guang to take her along whenever he went far away.

Luo Gan was probably a similar existence.

Each chip held a fragment of the "Holy Land," and under normal communication conditions, all the chips together formed the entire server array.

The loss of one of the chips was inconsequential to him; after all, even with just one chip and a brain, he could still exist.

It's just that in such a case, limited by computing power, doing anything would be rather inconvenient.

Unlike Chu Guang, who fell into thought, Lu Bei's expression gradually changed, and he couldn't help but ask,

"Countless chips... precisely how many are we talking about?"

If that Luo Gan had planted a thousand, or even ten thousand chips in Brocade River City, wouldn't this be endless?

They surely couldn't, like the Mutants, chop off everyone's heads, could they?

Even as a measure to exterminate the Torch Church, this approach was too extreme.

Performing a CT scan on everyone's brain was even less realistic.

Bionic chip implant surgeries were usually conducted very secretly, and the materials used were special carbon-based materials, undetectable by standard magnetic resonance imaging; much less could be expected from the rudimentary labs at the front lines.

To carry out a thorough and faultless search, they would need to use the scanning bed at the Shelter or resort to the Memory Extractor, frame by frame sifting through visible memories for traces of a bionic chip at work.

Eure shook his head.

"Apart from the Bishop himself, no one knows the exact number... I'm afraid not even the Saint Heir knows."

He paused, then continued,

"However, it's unlikely that they would implant one in everyone; after all, those things are said to be made by the Black Box, and black boxes have a limited working life. For example... apostles on the periphery like Zhang Zhengyang don't have implanted chips, they need us to communicate with Luo Gan."

"That makes sense," Chu Guang nodded.

He remembered Heya had mentioned that most of the black boxes in Shelter No.117 were bionic organs.

And the first black box he retrieved from Shelter No.117 was a neural connection unit capable of creating brain-computer interfaces.

The Torch Church later attempted to recover that black box from him, as well as the Administrator's Log left by the former Manager of the Shelter, but they failed.

After some contemplation, Chu Guang continued slowly and methodically,

"If I were him, I'd probably implant one in each Farm Owner and their heir at the Planting Farms; in this way, I would indirectly control all settlements of that kind. Then choose a few manageable individuals to blend in, to serve as servers for computing power and backup purposes, as well as alternates in case of emergency."

Ironically, most settlements in Brocade River City were of this type, with even places like Town Of Hope, where power was relatively dispersed, being very scarce.

It was not just in Brocade River City, but the entire Brocade River Province was like this.

The Noble's hounds in Giant Stone City had developed just about every market available, and had reshaped them into the forms they desired.

In this way, when Luo Gan executed his plans, he only needed to use a very small fraction of his pawns; the majority could stay safely hidden in the shadows.

Whether it was conducting a comprehensive check on everyone or killing all the people here, both tasks were impractical in terms of workload.

No wonder he didn't hesitate to abandon the pawn Zhao Tiangan...

He had already laid out an invisible and untouchable large net, ensnaring over ninety percent of the survivors in Brocade River City.

Watching Chu Guang now lost in thought, Eure smiled faintly.

"Quite the Torch style, isn't it? The Saint Heir is only a nominal leader, a spiritual totem; the Pioneers entering the Holy Land outline the plans.

"And in each Church district, the Pioneers are the acting Saints, totems revered by Believers, while the real execution of plans is left to every Apostle connected to the Holy Land and countless guided Believers."

Chu Guang suddenly thought of something and asked,

"Are you Eure now, or Luo Gan?'

Eure was silent for a long time.

It was a difficult question to answer.

If he could push all the blame onto some Devil living in his heart, perhaps his sins might feel lighter.

But was it really so?

After a long while, he shook his head with a bitter smile.

"I don't know."

"Perhaps… it's a bit of both."

…

The door to the confinement room closed again.

Following behind Chu Guang, Lu Bei quickened his pace to catch up, and asked in a low voice,

"How shall we deal with that man?"

Chu Guang replied offhandedly,

"That depends on him. Actually, rather than handing him over to the corporation for research, I'm more inclined to keep this pawn close at hand."

Of course, if the committee was interested in the secrets within the man, he wouldn't mind involving the old friends from the East Coast.

After all, so far away, the corporation was unlikely to come here to investigate on their own; they would ultimately have to rely on the Local Tyrant, the Alliance.

Lu Bei looked at Chu Guang, perplexed, and asked,

"What's the point of doing that?"

Honestly, he couldn't understand why waste so much breath on that captive, when he had a thousand ways to make the man comply.

Enterprise technology wasn't even necessary.

Chu Guang could roughly guess what the young man was thinking and said with a smile,

"Of course, there's a reason. You must have heard, every bionic chip is a Holy Land, each inhabited by Luo Gan. The one in that guy is naturally the same, and we have just negotiated with him for half an hour."

Glancing at the time on the VM, he continued,

"This is actually a good start. Haven't you noticed? The guy is already starting to doubt whether the extreme ideal he insists on is right... And just like he said, 'Eure' and 'Luo Gan', these two personalities, exist simultaneously inside him."

"His decision is actually the joint decision of two people."

"It's just that his subconscious can't distinguish between them."

The memory extractor had scanned all of Eure's memories, but still had not found the specific location of the Holy Land or a way to destroy it.

It could only mean that those memories were not in his brain at all, but cached on the bionic chip in his brain.

Now that Eure had taken the initiative to hand it over, it was clear that this wasn't just his decision alone; it must also have been a decision of one of Luo Gan's alters.

Otherwise, even if he wanted to be honest, he couldn't have managed it.

When faced with questions he couldn't answer, a crack had appeared in the psychological defenses of the two souls; thus, he felt this was a good beginning.

After hearing Chu Guang's explanation, Lu Bei's eyes suddenly lit up.

"I get it! If we let the chip in his head exchange data with Luo Gan on the outside, can we transmit that idea into... the Holy Land where Luo Gan is?"

Just like hiding a bomb in a package and sending it directly into the hands of that Luo Gan!

The only analogy he could think of was this, but the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

As expected of the Manager!

Lu Bei looked at Chu Guang with even more admiration.

However, Chu Guang himself, upon hearing the young man's interpretation, chuckled and said,

"It's not as simple as you say. If bluster could solve the problem, there would have been no need to bring the Steel Heart here."

Lu Bei was stunned for a moment.

"Ah, it won't work?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"After all, data cached on one terminal cannot possibly overwrite the data on the entire network."

It's like the data Xiao Qi cached on a terminal, even if disconnected from the mainframe for a while, would not overwrite the data on the mainframe.

Luo Gan did not have a fixed mainframe to save data, but chose to disperse all of 'himself' on various bionic chips implanted in brains.

The advantage of doing so is that it prevents the location of the mainframe from being found and destroyed, but it also has a fatal flaw.

When most of his 'alters' living environments undergo fundamental changes, and if they cannot be brainwashed by the mind interference device, this vast network formed of countless nodes could easily be subverted from its roots.

After all, a bionic chip needs to be attached to a human brain to exist; without the mind interference device, they actually influence each other.

At least the fuzzy operation part that constitutes personality has to be computed on the human brain... These were all things Chu Guang had learned from Yin Fang.

With a perplexed face, Lu Bei looked at Chu Guang and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry, my lord... I didn't quite understand. Maybe you could just tell me what to do."

Chu Guang smiled and said,

"Simply put, that scumbag hiding in the Holy Land thinks this Wasteland is beyond saving, and the world must be destroyed once to be reborn."

"If they're clinging to this foolish notion, let's show them how it's done!"

The guy thinks the world is beyond saving, right?

Then let him witness the Alliance's methods!

From Mutants to Slave Owners, he will eradicate the troubles here one by one.

And when that time comes, he'd like to see that fellow spout that "beyond saving" nonsense again.

First things first...

Chu Guang pondered for two seconds and began.

"Hmm, there's trouble at the Pinecone Wood Farm; contact the Army Command for me and have them dispatch a force there immediately."

If Zhao Tiangan and the Apostles are not the only chip carriers, it also means that there are countless eyes of that Luo Gan in Pinecone Wood Farm.

With the mind interference device shut down, the communications blockade there has been lifted.

They might try to send the Mutants straight in.

After all, he had said it himself; the basement of the Church had a passage to the outside world, but he had not stated that there was only one.

Lu Bei's expression became serious immediately and without asking the reason, promptly accepted the order.

"I'll go right away!"

Watching Lu Bei leave quickly, Chu Guang suddenly had a thought, recalling something.

Speaking of which...

Today just happens to be the third day.

"Hold on a second."

Upon hearing the Manager's voice, Lu Bei stopped in his tracks, turned around, and asked respectfully,

"Do you have any more orders?"

Chu Guang smiled and said,

"The opponents should be Mutants."

"Let the brothers of Jungle Corps handle it!"

—

(Thanks to the lord "是哭无泪" for the generous reward!!! Also "叁生缘εIrnaз" and "IAG_启神" for booking the whole place on QiDian from December 1st to 8th. Readers can use the QiDian reading APP to search for the novel's title, go to the novel's details page to reserve, and during the booked time, everyone can follow the updates for free within 48 hours after they're released!)

Chapter 589 I'm Not Human Anymore! (Thanks to the "World Hall" for the Sterling Silver League reward!!)

If there's one instrument on this planet that's the most complex and meticulous, it is undoubtedly humanity itself.

Everything man-made born of the Prosperity Epoch pales in comparison to the wonders crafted by nature.

Even with their whole brief existence, scholars of bygone days could never fully decipher the secrets the creator had hidden within this organic vessel.

This "machine" was nearly omnipotent.

Though he always had more unsolved questions than those he had resolved, in the face of time, it seemed that eventually, all known problems could be solved.

However, this machine was not designed for a single purpose, so naturally, there were limits to what it could achieve in specific fields.

And to break through that boundary—
one must forsake their humanity.

The moment Midnight Chicken Killing awoke from the resurrection point, he made his decision.

To become stronger—
he would no longer be human!

At least not in this life!

...

"Have you thought it through? Once you start down this path, heavy shackles will follow you for life, and you'll never have a chance to go back... ga ga ga."

Boulder Military Industrial Building.

Cybernetic Modification Laboratory.

Looking down at the man lying on the surgical table, Yibers's face wore a twisted smile.

Although he could have smiled more warmly, he didn't really feel like doing so.

Engineers and doctors standing by had long since gotten used to their boss's sinister sense of humor and didn't find it strange anymore.

Saws, wrenches, hammers, and the numerous flexible mechanical arms and various blade heads hanging above the operating table—all tools for the procedure were ready.

The instant the client nodded before the camera's lens to sign off on this ultimate life-and-death clause, they could immediately start their bold and expansive work on this fellow's body.

Yet to Yibers's slight disappointment, the man on the operating table didn't show a trace of fear or nervousness at his statement.

The man's crisp response sounded as if the person lying there wasn't himself at all, but something else entirely.

"Make it quick! Stop dawdling."

Watching this guy hurry them along, Yibers was slightly taken aback, then laughed and said,

"As you wish."

With that, he gestured with his hand.

The doctors and engineers waiting aside didn't waste words and immediately took up the devices to start their work.

Midnight Chicken Killing, lying on the operating table, was decisive too— he closed his eyes, opting not to watch the gruesome scene, and disconnected to do something else.

A human's skeleton determines its basic framework, and also its limits.

Even the most powerful Awakeners with attributes far beyond those of ordinary people in a certain field can never break away from the human category to become monsters.

Therefore, Huge Rock Military Industry's first task was to replace his entire spine, legs, arms, and other parts with titanium alloys instead of calcium salts and to use pure electrical control units to replace the complex exchange of bioelectric and chemical signals.

Afterward, the construction workers replaced his original organic skin with 10mm thick specialty pre-fabricated steel plates and filled his significantly larger frame with complex and robust motors and power units.

The operating room echoed with clangs and clatters.

Now the sound of bone sawing, then hammering metal, and then the sizzle and buzz of arc welding, with plasma flying everywhere and the ground littered with charred cinders.

This place hardly looked like an operating room, it resembled some sort of workshop more.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

Under the flickering of electric sparks, a nearly three-meter-tall, burly and magnificent "metal giant" gradually took shape.

Its left arm was fitted with a meter-long chainsaw, which could be swapped out with the mechanical hand at the front end, while its right arm was a 19mm caliber XB-1 "Roarer" bomb gun barrel, foldable like the meter-long chainsaw and also interchangeable with the mechanical hand at the forearm's front end.

It could be used as a heavy rifle to fire armor-piercing bullets or as support equipment to fire airburst shells of the same caliber.

As for the power source of the armor, it was a metallic hydrogen battery weighing a full three kilograms, with a battery life of up to one week.

It's no exaggeration to say that he himself was a walking logging machine + self-propelled recoilless gun, additionally equipped with front armor that was 30mm thick.

The helmet was the hardest part.

After all, it was the spot on the body with the most remaining flesh and also the command center for the entire armor's information processing; naturally, it required special protection.

If possible, Midnight Chicken Killing actually planned to fit his chest with a couple of rocket launchers.

Unfortunately, this armor wasn't custom-ordered by him, but a new experimental product from Boulder Military Industry. As a "guinea pig," he only had the choice of whether or not to put on this freeloading gear, with no power to DIY.

The entire armor was designed by the product development department of Boulder Military Industry, with the project named "Power Warrior" plan.

As the name suggests, it was about directly replacing the redundant excesses of the human body with wearable power armor, thereby creating self-propelled armor driven by the person.

Under such a design, one could still live even with a pierced heart because there simply wouldn't be a heart anymore, replaced instead by a simple blood pump. The digestive system was also completely omitted, replaced by an inlet for nutrient solutions and an outlet for waste products.

As the refurbishment progress advanced, this weapon system, named "Power Warrior," had completely become a part of Midnight Chicken Killing's body.

Ibers, standing next to the operating table spectating, had an ecstatic smile on his face, contentedly watching his brainchild take shape.

This was the brainwave he had after watching the battle footage of the Jungle Corps.

Those green-skinned folks, in pursuit of greater strength, had transformed themselves into half flesh, half mechanical hunks of iron.

In his view, this brainwave was just fantastic!

Worth promoting vigorously within organic society!

If the residents of Giant Stone City had such high enlightenment and pursuit, Boulder Military Industry would have become the world's leading military enterprise long ago!

Regrettably though, the majority of people were quite resistant to replacing parts of their bodies with mechanical prostheses, whereas the "seemingly but not practically useful" bionic prosthetics were more popular.

Most mercenaries also only cautiously fitted one or two prosthetics to themselves when they absolutely had to.

However, fortunately, there was no shortage of fine people with refined tastes and pursuits in the Alliance.

Their views were starkly different from those of the common people, even considered heretical in the eyes of ordinary folks, and they had an exceptionally high level of acceptance for all kinds of bizarre mechanical prosthetics, daring to fit whatever inexplicable parts to their bodies.

With the support of such a group of adorable people, Boulder Military Industry, equipped with more professional devices and rich experience in designing combat prosthetics, had no reason not to come up with something even more badass!

Ibers was filled with confidence about this.

His "Power Warrior" plan would put a new spin on the traditional concept of "power armor," completely fusing human and weapon into one!

This would be unprecedented!

Of course, due to the lack and high cost of many bionic parts, his design approach was even simpler and more brutal than the prostheses on those mutants, replacing certain parts that would normally require bionic organs with direct mechanical structures.

As for the power source, due to the scarcity of nuclear fuel and even though the Alliance had the Black Box capable of making fusion batteries, he had to temporarily use chemical batteries instead.

But even with numerous inconveniences, it still didn't affect the power of this war machine.

This equipment was simply tailor-made for the Jungle Corps!

However, contrasting with Ibers who was admiring and intoxicated, the lead surgeon standing beside the operating table felt his scalp tingle.

Especially upon seeing the intestines and minced meat discarded in the plastic bucket at his feet, he couldn't help but cluck his tongue.

"…This guy must be insane."

"Be more confident, change 80 percent to 100 percent, that's right," wiping the blood off the tablet terminal, an engineer wearing a safety helmet couldn't help but make a comment, "Anyone with a sane mind wouldn't turn themselves into this."

Don't doubt it.

If one day he turned himself into this, he probably wouldn't have to wait for the next day before his wife would be seeking a divorce.

Nobody would want to live with a monster, and to become like this is basically to forsake all attributes of being human.

After all, why chase after strength to this extent?

Is it not good to be just a person?

"Are all those guys living in the shelters freaks?"

"Who cares, hand me the saw."

"Here."

Of course, aside from those with similar thoughts, there were others who cast admiring glances towards the iron lump on the surgery table.

To pursue the ultimate power to combat the manifold evils of the Wasteland and forsake their humanity, these guys are real warriors!

The engineer operating the tools installed the emblematic 19mm gun barrel for him with full respect and tightened the last screw.

A power warrior that cost up to 500,000 was thus completed!

Midnight Chicken Killing was still asleep and hadn't awakened.

Yibers gazed at the perfect steel shell for a while, and when his eyes landed on his face, he suddenly let out a light exclamation and stroked his chin.

This face...

The more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

Seems like he has seen it somewhere before?

At this moment, Midnight Chicken Killing shook his head on the surgery table and woke up from his sleep, then suddenly sat up from the table.

The nearby doctor was startled and promptly said,

"Sir, it's best if you avoid vigorous movements right now. Although we used a tissue repair fluid to speed up wound healing, it's better for you to take it easy."

Hearing these well-intentioned warnings, Midnight Chicken Killing gave a simple smile, lifted his huge arm, and touched the back of his head with the still-clumsy mechanical hand.

"It's okay, I feel like I've recovered quite a bit already."

Although the recovery speed of Strength-type players couldn't match that of the Body Constitution System players, it was still exceptional compared to other systems.

He now felt better than ever!

He was eager to head to a nearby city district and practice on a few Crawlers.

No, that's wrong—

With his current equipment, practising on Crawlers was a waste; he should look for Tyrants or Decaying Knights, these types of evolutionary bodies.

Otherwise, how would it demonstrate the combat power of this equipment?

Watching Midnight Chicken Killing jumping off the surgery table, Yibers put away his earlier suspicions and said with a satisfied smile on his face,

"Your recovery speed is indeed extraordinary. Normally, even if one fully recovers, postoperative phantom pain and discomfort would last for about three to four days... Anyway, how does it feel?"

Hitting his breastplate with his fist and listening to the crisp thud, Midnight Chicken Killing grinned at the corners of his mouth.

"I feel full of strength, I could even screw my own head off!"

Yibers coughed at this remark and quickly admonished,

"I suggest you better not do that... After all, this is equipment worth five hundred thousand. If you die in an accident before going to the Battlefield, I won't be able to recover valuable experimental data."

Midnight Chicken Killing laughed and said,

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid. How could I possibly play around by twisting off my own head?"

Having said that, he walked towards the door.

Seeing him about to leave, the doctor quickly called out to him.

"Wait, to prevent any potential rejection reactions, I recommend you stay here for observation for a few hours before leaving."

Any foreign tissue entering a host with immune activity inevitably causes a rejection reaction of varying degrees.

Although this can technically be eliminated, they have never implanted so many Mechanical Prostheses into any client at once.

Midnight Chicken Killing waved his hand, casually saying,

"No worries, no worries. If something feels off, I'll just come back and check it out. I've just received a mission, and I need to leave now."

"A mission??"

The doctor was taken aback, looking at him incredulously as if staring at a monster.

Midnight Chicken Killing laughed heartily and nodded,

"Yeah, quite a coincidence, just got some Work."

He was browsing the official website when he went offline, suddenly noticing a pop-up window in the mission column, and unable to contain his itch, he immediately returned online.

Fortuitously, the moment he logged on, the NPC next to the surgery table had just tightened the last screw on his "power warrior" system.

The surgery was nearly timed to perfection!

"But still..."

The doctor's expression still showed hesitation, clearly wanting to persuade further, but Yibers on the side stopped him.

"Let him go."

Watching the young man turn and walk towards the elevator, Yibers's face was adorned with an admiring smile as he slowly continued,

"Such a keen kid and you actually have the heart to pour cold water on his enthusiasm... Tsk tsk, really heartless."

The doctor turned his head and stared blankly at his boss.

Heartless, huh...

Who exactly was heartless?

After a pause, Yibers continued in a cheerful tone,

"Besides, I also want to see the actual combat data of this equipment sooner, to improve the next version."

He was extremely grateful for his decision back then.

Joining the Alliance was fantastic!

...

Pinecone Wood Farm.

The winter Sun was not very strong, even somewhat chilly, feeling ice-cold on the face as if soaked in cold water.

The faces of the residents in this settlement were marked with a dazed expression.

People looked at each other with eyes full of horror, as if staring at a beast, fearing that in the next second he might suddenly go berserk...

In a sense, large settlements like Pinecone Wood Farm allowed their serfs to be counted as free folks. They didn't wear Shackles to Work but were tied to the Land, not allowed to leave the ground beneath their feet arbitrarily.

They were Slaves, yet not entirely, as they worked 15 hours a day, not 24. They had their own property, but did not fully own it, they only had the right to use "the part allowed by the owner."

In a typical family here, there would usually be a wooden house, a few Kids, a small patch of cultivable Land or a "share of Land," and a few fruit trees.

The crops that the serfs grow on their own land are mainly for their own consumption. Besides tilling their land, they also need to till the fields belonging to the farm owner.

If they want to use the farm owner's mill, machinery, chemical fertilizers, and other production tools, or the high-yield seeds occasionally brought by Waste Land Wanderers, they are required to pay an additional tax.

Since there is no money here, the type of tax is usually not fixed and might be either three chickens and fifteen eggs or two jars of jam, usually announced at the beginning of the year.

This is about farming.

And for those running inns, making paper pulp furniture, or other craftsmen, the products they must offer as tribute would be something different.

Hammer was one of the serfs here, and he belonged to the most ordinary kind of serf.

Though his name might seem strange, it wasn't the least bit odd in Pine Cone Wood Farm.

His neighbor was a young fellow named Stool, it's just a pity that last night his woman bit off half of his face; the man was gone.

His memory of last night wasn't very clear; he only remembered falling asleep early, waking up not on his bed but standing on the street with many others.

It was so frightening at that moment that he thought it was a miracle sent by the Saint Heir and hurriedly knelt down to pray to the Saint Heir...

Until later on, when the Alliance announced through a broadcast what had happened during the night, and he saw body after body being carried out of the settlement to be buried, he gradually recalled those vague memories and realized what had really happened to himself and the others...

It was truly a nightmare.

He was only grateful that he and his family were still alive, though insane they hadn't resorted to cannibalism, nor had they been killed.

Before dawn, he went to his neighbor's house for a glance only to find that the madwoman had hanged herself, leaving behind only a child wrapped in a swaddling cloth, crying pitifully.

Perhaps it was maternal instinct or perhaps her husband's corpse had satisfied her hunger for long enough; either way, she hadn't devoured her child too.

Hammer, unable to bear it, took the pitiful child back to his home and gave him a name as sloppily as his father's had been given.

From that day on, Stool changed from a twenty-one or twenty-two-year-old lad to a half-grown kid.

In a while, he would have to mention it to the Steward.

He believed that the noble would understand and consider the child as part of his family. This way, he could deliver a little less food tax this winter.

To clear his mind, Hammer stepped outside the house and took a deep breath, but the lingering scent of blood did nothing to lift his spirits.

Now was not the time for daydreaming, though.

According to the rules, he had to arrive at the cattle shed with his farming tools before sunrise, waiting for the Steward's supervisor to arrange today's work.

Running across the muddy roads, he breathlessly pushed through the gate, just making it to the cattle shed before it was too late.

A fair number of people stood under the ramshackle wooden shed.

Seeing that nearly everyone had arrived, Hammer panicked at the thought he was surely going to be whipped, and, steeling himself, he walked over.

However, he was surprised to find that the usual supervisor guarding the entrance was nowhere to be seen.

Curious!

Today the sun must have risen from the west!

Stepping inside the shed, Hammer quickly realized his premature jubilation; the supervisor wasn't absent, but was standing with a few butlers' servants, discussing something.

His heart tightened again, and he timidly walked over.

"Sir..."

He was about to explain the situation with Stool's family and inquire if he could pay less food tax at the end of the year, but he was impatiently dismissed by the supervisor.

"Get lost, I don't have time for you."

The supervisor, without even glancing at Hammer, signaled with his eyes for this clodhopper to keep his distance, then continued to whisper with the servants.

"It seems General Luo Feihui also died..."

"He doesn't have a brother?"

"His brother is just a Centurion, what use could he be!"

"This is tough, he's the one who seems to have some ideas."

"What about the other officers? What do they think?"

"Hard to say..."

Hammer's face showed a vacant expression as he faintly overheard those people's whispering conversations.

What are they talking about?

And what made him feel even more uneasy wasn't the rebellious words they were saying but that they were discussing them so brazenly right here.

It seemed like this settlement was about to undergo a change...

Unable to fit into that circle, Hammer could only go where he was supposed to, joining the group of serfs who were standing together.

Maybe because those overseers were recklessly discussing the master's family, these usually meek folks had grown bold.

"The master is gone... what are we to do now?"

"Heh, if he hadn't insisted on planting those seeds, if he hadn't brought over those prayer-chanting charlatans from the south, none of this would've happened!"

"Exactly! What's wrong with planting Kamu fruit?"

"The master had no choice, didn't the price of Kamu fruit drop? The factory owners in the north seem to be refusing to buy it this year for some reason."

"Oh!"

The more the crowd talked, the more they sighed, facing each other with worry, yet feeling helpless.

They weren't only anxious about their uncertain future, they were also at a loss for whom to blame.

Yes.

Who indeed should be blamed?

Should they blame the factory owners in River Valley Province for not looking after their business, or the farms in Luo Xia Province for stealing their business? Or maybe the sly deceivers by the master's side, or perhaps even the master himself got a bit muddled.

Of course, the Alliance was no good either.

If they hadn't sneaked in and provoked those fanatics, they surely wouldn't have done something so extreme out of the blue.

Pinecone Wood Farm was the largest settlement in Brocade River City; what good would come to The Church from sacrificing this place?

They had already joined the Torch Church, dedicating everything to the most exalted Saint Heir, those people had no reason to harm them.

After all, it made absolutely no sense.

A shepherd occasionally leads a sheep out of the pen to kill it, but no lunatic would slaughter every single sheep at once.

There's no benefit in that!

Watching the crowd shake their heads and heave sighs, Hammer couldn't help but say,

"What are you all talking about... The master still has a daughter who survived, right?"

The crowd exchanged glances.

An old man with a face full of wrinkles couldn't help but remind him, saying,

"She's only eight years old."

"So what? Even if she's only eight... she still carries the master's blood, she's the heir to this farm too, with such a big incident happening, she has to take care of us, right?" As Hammer spoke, his heart did hold a bit of self-interest.

The master was not easy to deceive, and he was hard-hearted, but children should be easy to deceive, surely a tearful plea would soften their hearts.

If that young miss were to become the farm's owner, perhaps life could be easier in the future. After all, he was just a farmer; what did it matter to whom he sowed his seeds?

The farmer next to him echoed in agreement.

"Someone really does need to take charge."

Although he didn't believe an eight-year-old child could handle much, he agreed with the latter part of the statement—someone indeed needed to take control.

The other farmers also nodded their assent.

It was at that moment that a booming voice came from the side.

"That's right! Things can't go on like this; someone must take charge!"

As he spoke, the overseer walked over.

Upon seeing his face, everyone scattered in fear, not expecting that the man who usually looked fierce now wore a pleasant smile.

Hammer was the most taken aback.

Just a few minutes ago, the overseer had glared at him fiercely.

That dog-like gaze...

It had nearly scared the soul out of him.

Ignoring the fearful expressions of the crowd, the overseer continued to speak with a smile.

"Whether it's the respected miss, some centurion of great power, or someone under the butler's command—an able person must come out and take control of the situation."

Watching the crowd whisper among themselves and nod in agreement, the supervisor's smile grew even brighter, though there was a hint of mockery behind it.

These guys were natural beasts, just like sheep in a pen. Even if led outside, they couldn't go far.

The sky over the farm had changed, yet these fools were still preoccupied with the chores of today or whether they could spare some grain tomorrow.

Indeed, a slave is a slave for life.

But he was different.

While others saw the sky falling, he saw a hope to rise above others.

Seeing the overseer's smile, Hammer suddenly shivered.

Not from the chill mixed within the smile—he wasn't insightful enough to catch that—but because such an event had happened just hours before, and yet this person could still manage to smile.

The overseer didn't even look at him but continued to speak in his booming voice.

"Now is the time when the future owner of the farm needs us. Let's all go to the gates of the estate and petition. Whoever is willing to take charge, we'll support them."

"Who wants to join me?"

If he could stand by the future master when he was most needed, perhaps he could even become the farm's steward with such a merit, ascending to the heavens in one step!

However, he had the foresight to be cunning and used the term "future owner of the farm"; that way, if he backed the wrong horse later, he could fairly change his tone without being caught.

Just in case.

It wasn't completely impossible for the military officers to reach a consensus and decide to support that young miss.

The crowd exchanged glances, not as calculating as him, just simply panic-stricken.

There was an unwritten rule on the farm: unless ordered by the butler to help with household chores, they were not allowed near the manor's territory.

Moreover, farming was their work.

Running around without finishing the work wasn't a matter that could be settled with a few lashes; they might even get shot.

Picking up on the concerns in their eyes, the overseer continued to speak with a smile.

"Don't worry, today is an exception! I can assure you that even if you don't do farm work today, no one will punish you!"

Relieved by his words, the crowd became excited and rallied to the overseer's side.

At his call, everyone proceeded towards the estate with their farm tools. Hammer didn't want to get involved; he just wanted to work on the farm, but seeing everyone going, he could only follow reluctantly.

Perhaps due to the horrific nightmare from the previous night, the usually bustling streets were nearly empty, and they didn't encounter any patrolling soldiers.

But at the gates of the estate, the overseer was taken aback to see a sea of people already gathered, of all sorts.

Clearly, he wasn't the only one looking for an opportunity, and it just so happened that everyone had the same idea.

However, unfortunately, the very person to take command was missing.

There was no one here vying for the position of farm owner.

He saw neither the influential military officers nor the young miss of only eight years, nor the trusted butler of the old master.

There were only a few Alliance soldiers standing at the entrance.

Seeing the growing crowd on the street, Quit Smoking at the door also felt a headache coming on.

The Guard Corps of the Alliance had taken control of the few military officers on the farm. After witnessing the power of the Mind Interference Device, they all cooperated, but they hadn't expected that the least likely to cause trouble—the serfs—would start agitating.

Killer Dagger glanced nervously at Quit Smoking.

"What on earth do they want..."

The people only stood there in silence, not speaking.

Quit Smoking swallowed hard.

"How should I know..."

Just moments before, they had received intelligence from the Army Command that a Mutant army was on its way, though it was unclear from which direction.

The Manager had urged them to be extra cautious, to protect the Mind Interference Device located in the villa at all costs.

Right now, they had no time to deal with these people.

It was not a solution to stand and stare, so Quit Smoking cleared his throat and, in not quite perfect United Human dialect, shouted.

"Friends of Pinecone Wood Farm, do you have some business here?"

The crowd stirred.

After a moment, a person mustered the courage to shout out.

"We want to know... who the new farmowner is and where the steward is. Someone has to arrange today's work."

Soon another person echoed, and the people began to nod repeatedly.

"That's right!"

"Please... can you call the master for us?"

Humph!

So, that's the issue!

Quit Smoking smiled at the request and immediately replied without hesitation.

"Don't worry, there are no farm owners here anymore!"

"You've been liberated, the crops you grow are your own, go home!"

Having finished his act, Quit Smoking awaited the cheers, only to find that no sooner had he finished speaking, the once calm site exploded into a frenzy.

Hearing that there was no farm owner, Hammer panicked amidst the crowd. He was about to speak when the overseer beside him turned pale, crying out before him.

"How could that be!"

---

(Again, thank you to our brother Tranquility for the Sterling Silver alliance! I'm deeply embarrassed, having asked for a day off yesterday... Truly sorry. T.T)

Chapter 590: Deprive It of the Soil to Survive

The loud voice was like an arrow piercing the clouds, and under its command, the faces that were lost and dumbfounded suddenly seemed to have found their backbone, one after another, filled with righteous indignation.

"No way! How can that be acceptable!"

"Who's going to make our work schedule?!"

"Exactly!"

Apart from those whose excitement turned their faces red and necks thick, there were also those with tears and runny noses. An old man leaning on a cane trembled as he approached Quit Smoking and begged,

"Sir... You're not from here, you don't understand, without the farm owner, we'll starve to death."

Quit Smoking was also baffled.

"Ah, this... Does that farm owner even teach you how to farm?"

He had seen that farm owner.

Standing on the stairs like a simpleton, striking a pose, manipulated by that Luo Gan like a puppet on strings.

He couldn't understand how that guy could be capable of anything!

A few old men glanced at each other before looking at him and spoke in a low voice.

"That kind of hard work doesn't need teaching."

"But sir, we only know how to farm..."

"The lord does take a little... but not much, what's left is enough to feed our family. Working for him counts as payment; if we were to go to the Wasteland, that'd be the end of us. You don't know how Mutants call us, they call us two-legged beasts!"

"Exactly, outside is the Wasteland... Without the lord to manage us, will you guys take care of us?"

As soon as the old man finished speaking, what appeared to be a servant from the manor couldn't help but shout out urgently,

"We don't need you to manage us! The young miss is still alive... She is the new owner of the farm!"

Realizing his slip of the tongue, the old man quickly corrected himself, shouting loyally,

"That's right! Return... the young miss to us!"

Shouts echoed at the entrance.

The farm owner's private soldiers stood silently in the distance, neither standing with the crowd nor helping the people from the Alliance.

That was the order from their superiors.

Regardless of whether last night's Nightmare was the work of the Torch Church, those who had experienced it once didn't want to feel that sensation of being led by the neck again.

Such power was so strong it defied all reason.

Once plunged into that indescribably surreal dream, it was as if a certain melody wafted into the brain, and then one's body no longer belonged to oneself.

Never mind cannibalism.

If the Alliance asked them to eat shit, they'd probably lie down happily and gulp it down until they woke up and retched from disgust.

After all, the Mind Interference Device was currently in the hands of those people, wasn't it?

In a conspiratorial thought, perhaps one had already been brainwashed, and it was just that the brainwashing hadn't finished, so one didn't know.

Some officers really thought this way.

It was for this reason they dared not step forward to vie for the position of the farm owner, nor dared to inquire about the condition of the young miss in the manor.

Whatever the Alliance asked them to do, they would do, whether it was moving bodies or maintaining order, but they definitely wouldn't do anything extra.

Watching the emotionally charged crowd, Quit Smoking was dumbfounded, opening his mouth but unable to utter a word.

He wanted to help them.

There was no special reason.

He didn't see the issue from the perspective of a Manager; they just looked pitiful, and he happened to have no worries about food and clothing, wearing gear that was more expensive than all their rags put together.

To put it another way, does a Level 30 big shot need a reason to show off in Novice Village? The realization of self-worth is also a need.

However, he genuinely didn't know how to help in this situation.

That Zhao Tiangan was already dead.

The survivors here could have discussed together what to do next, and no matter which path they took, act like adults and take responsibility for their choices.

But instead, they refused to do so, preferring to push all the responsibility onto an eight-year-old child, who was still sulking and at odds with her best friend.

If this were real life, she would be too young to have finished elementary school.

Does everything automatically improve just because someone takes responsibility?

Does the pie just fall from the sky as long as one entrusts all responsibility and power to an imagined omnipotent god?

What sort of idealism is this...

"No, this is your community..."

Quit Smoking said with a mix of laughter and tears.

"Have you never thought about... managing things yourselves?"

His comment was drowned out by the tumultuous roar of the crowd.

Standing at the door, he didn't notice that, amidst the crowd, a pair of eyes watched everything with a cold sideline gaze.

The onlooker, as if having anticipated this, had a faint cold smile on his face.

It was as if watching a clown trying to teach goats to sing, that smile brimming with derision...

...

The annex of the Pinecone Timber Farm.

Players sitting in an empty room were holding a strategy meeting, exchanging the intelligence they had just transferred from the official website in a clamorous discussion.

The only hint given to them by the Manager was—

The plethora of "pathogens" at Pinecone Timber Farm posed a hidden threat to the plans of the Torch Church.

Especially since they likely knew through the farm's internal spy that the Alliance was developing antidotes and vaccines.

To thwart the Alliance's plan and to retrieve the experimental data not taken last night, the Torch Church was very likely plotting the next offensive against this settlement!

As for information about Holy Land, Pioneers, Apostles, Executioners, and other various settings, everyone learned about them from the updated collections on the official website.

According to Fang Chang's speculation, it should be the result of last night's interrogation of the captured Executioner and Apostle on the Iron Heart.

However, Fang Chang hadn't expected that his wild guess would actually be right on the money.

That Holy Land indeed turned out to be a program operating in the Virtual Space.

And not just that.

This thing was more badass than your average virtual space—it was a distributed computing network formed by countless brains implanted with bionic chips!

Night Ten stroked his chin and thought for a while, then suddenly exclaimed.

"Holy shit... I got it."

Wild Wind gave him a glance.

"What do you understand now?"

"Simply put, this thing's like Voldemort's Horcrux! It can store a part of consciousness in other people's brains!"

Hearing this analogy, Falling Feather almost choked on his saliva.

"Pfft... You've got quite the imagination."

"But now that you mention it, I get it," Old White said, touching his chin, "That means there might be hundreds of those, what do you call it, Horcruxes, hidden here in the settlement... Holy fuck?"

He finally realized the severity of the situation, and his complexion slightly changed.

Damn.

This was playing with the whole map wide open!

Fang Chang's expression also turned grave as he slowly nodded his head.

"In theory, any NPC here could become Luo Gan's eyes... But luckily, Luo Gan can only personally intervene with those chess pieces when he enters God's state. Otherwise, the influence he has on them is limited to communicating in their heads or making their eyelids twitch."

Everyone fell into silence.

Even so, this cheat was outrageously powerful.

"...The problem now is that we don't know where the monsters will spawn from. If there is another tunnel hidden in this settlement, I am afraid we may have to engage in street warfare with the mutants here."

As Fang Chang felt troubled, the voice of Quit Smoking, who was troubled, suddenly came from the public communication channel.

"Have you guys come to a conclusion yet?"

Fang Chang instinctively blurted out a response.

"We're still discussing, it won't be that fast... What's up?"

The other side of the communication channel was noisy, and you could faintly hear some chaotic shouting.

Quit Smoking said with a look of exasperation.

"The survivors of this settlement have blocked the manor's gate... I feel if we don't do something soon, we might end up clashing with the survivors here first."

At these words, Night Ten was stunned.

"Blocked the gate? What's going on?"

It was clear he was not the only one confused; the others also displayed bewildered expressions.

Knowing this wasn't something that could be explained in a few words, Quit Smoking simply stopped explaining and directly transmitted the live video feed.

Seeing the agitated crowd in the camera lens, all the players were momentarily dumbfounded.

"...Fuck me."

"Have these people lost their minds?"

Night Ten scratched his head in bewilderment.

"I don't get it... What the hell are they trying to do?"

The old lord is gone...

Isn't that supposed to be good news?

Fang Chang, on the other hand, seemed unfazed, seemingly having anticipated this situation. Seeing Night Ten's confusion, he succinctly said.

"This is actually easy to understand—think about it, if you were a serf and your landlord died, what would be your first thought?"

Night Ten immediately said.

"Well, that's definitely to divide up the land!"

Not at all surprised by Night Ten's answer, Fang Chang smiled and said.

"As a 21st-century modern youth, of course, you would think that, but the people here are different—they don't even believe that the land under their feet is theirs. Therefore, for various reasons, they will try to concoct a new farm owner, so that they can continue the work they have always done."

Night Ten was dumbfounded for quite a while, absolutely unable to understand why, with the original farm owner dead, a new one absolutely had to be found to replace him.

"No more crops in the fields without a farm owner?"

"…This is just too absurd."

Fang Chang looked at the bewildered Night Ten and said with a smile,

"It's not about being absurd or not. Think about it from a different angle. Would you have wanted to pioneer new lands 150 years ago when Singular Point City was still thriving?"

Night Ten didn't understand why Fang Chang had posed this question, but he tried to consider it from the perspective of the game's setting.

Pioneering on the Wasteland...

Without a second life, he most likely wouldn't have dared.

Fang Chang didn't wait for him to resolve his thoughts completely. Almost a second before Night Ten could open his mouth, Fang Chang continued,

"Most residents of Singular Point City lived quite well under the care of the War Construction Committee, but those were the last few years of its life, and supplies couldn't always be so plentiful. As a result, the authorities promised to cut the general residents' rations and provide certain help to those going out to pioneer."

"You're an idealistic young man who thinks it's better to take a chance than to starve. So, you risked your life and headed into the wilderness of the Wasteland, digging out the first well, cultivating the first plot of land, and building the first house with a hoe and shovel, on ground as hard as steel. Next year, you traded surplus grains for seeds, fertilizer, and livestock..."

"Up until then, life went fairly smoothly. Then, a group of wandering Waste Land Wanderers arrived at your doorstep, begging for your shelter."

"Whether it was for their labor or out of compassion, you generously nodded, agreeing to let them live not far from you, since you couldn't possibly till all that fertile land to death, and more people meant more safety. You knew very well that the Wasteland's environment was getting worse by the day and that, no matter how tough you were, you were just one person with only two hands and not even three guns could change that."

"Later on, when a crisis broke out in Singular Point City, the Mutants replaced the Old Humans and became the new masters, and more refugees flocked to you. You really wanted to help them, but you couldn't give away the hard-earned provisions you had saved up, so you came up with a compromise—you lent them food, seeds, and farming tools, and in exchange, they would pay you back with either the next year's crop or newly cultivated land, which benefited both parties."

Night Ten scratched his head.

"Is there a problem with that?"

Seeing Night Ten puzzled, Fang Chang chuckled and said,

"There is no problem at all. Plantation economy was actually relatively progressive during the early Wasteland Era, as it encouraged large settlements to expand outward. During the era of the War Construction Committee, most settlements didn't want to trouble themselves because they had the 'Black Box' of the Production Department that could fix everything."

"Some small plantations, though not technically mature, took in a large number of survivors who could no longer be accommodated by the settlements and, to some extent, prevented the rise of Looters."

"Without those plantations, after the Singular Point City crisis erupted, this place would probably have become the kingdom of the Looters. Not only Mutants would eat people, things would have been even worse than they are now."

At this point, Fang Chang suddenly changed the direction of the conversation.

"But the problem lies in the fact that a century and a half has passed, and the locals are still managing this society, which has in fact developed into a settlement, using the methods of running a farm."

"The farm owners carefully manage their little bit of authority, hoping to accomplish with mortal wisdom what even gods couldn't manage, just like their ancestors, meticulously arranging every single task. The greatest dream of his life is probably to take over the surrounding settlements. As for developing industry, that's not something he could think of, or rather, it's not something any Noble could think of; it would at least take a group of insatiable Nobles like in Giant Stone City."

Night Ten asked confusedly,

"But there are also many officers here... Like Luo Feihui, who wanted to use our Strength to rise to power earlier. Can't he be considered a Noble?"

Fang Chang shook his head.

"He, just like Yang River who has already escaped from this farm, is merely making use of the partial authority granted by the farm owner. Essentially, he's just a servant with power."

He paused and then continued,

"However, it's not just a problem for the Farm owner alone; you can notice that local survivors are very careful not to take on a single extra bit of responsibility."

"They embrace the idea that less trouble is better than more. No matter what happens, they take it as it comes, wishing they could bury their heads in the ground so the tall folks would have to bear it, yet also wishing they could stick their butts to the sky, all to grab a stool when daylight comes."

"Mutants always have the two-legged livestock on their lips, snarling about eating people. The Church doesn't even consider them human; they'd kill tens of thousands as if it were nothing. Maybe deep down, you also look down on them, merely sympathizing with their plight from the perspective of a modern person… But who truly treats them the least like humans? Isn't it themselves?"

"Don't you see? This is actually the result of a two-way rush; there's no need for anyone to put a noose around their necks because it's utterly unnecessary. The situation here is completely different from that of Giant Stone City. So don't expect a few words to remind them that they are human. This four-wheel drive doesn't even have an accelerator; start by teaching them to read. Then give them a copy of 'How Giant Stone City Was Made' to read; at least being able to shout a couple of slogans would be good."

Falling Feather interjected,

"Isn't it called 'Awakener Bol'?"

Fang Chang coughed.

"I forgot…"

How embarrassing.

His partner was the editor of that book after all.

Staring blankly at Fang Chang, Night Ten's Adam's apple bobbed as he tried to say something but swallowed it back.

He thought of Little Lamb.

In her last moments, that girl wasn't thinking about surviving herself; she was even willing to be eaten by that lady.

And she never considered whether her self-sacrifice was truly good for Yinyin.

To eat people…

Even if you don't go mad, that's going to be a lifelong psychological shadow.

Even Old Na, who dares to put anything in her mouth and shouts that it doesn't matter in the Game, didn't dare to try to find out what people tasted like.

Let alone the flesh of a good friend…

In the end, she had never regarded herself as human, even though she was smart and clever, nowhere near childlike.

For a moment, Night Ten suddenly felt that, although the methods of the Torch Church might be extreme, they weren't completely without reason.

These people weren't going crazy because of Nago.

They were fundamentally abnormal.

And yet, the absurdity lay in the fact that this farm was a relatively normal settlement in the Wasteland, way less crazy than many out there.

"… No wonder the Enlightenment Society wants to end the world."

Watching Night Ten muttering to himself there, Old White patted his shoulder.

"All right, don't listen to Fang Chang's nonsense. If this guy were thrown into the Prosperity Epoch, he'd probably be a shareholder of the Enlightenment Society. Listening to his ramblings will lead you astray."

Fang Chang retorted discontentedly.

"You're slandering me now. No matter what, I would never do anything that extreme."

"Well, you never know with you brainy types, who knows what you're thinking about every day," Old White laughed and patted Night Ten on the shoulder, "Go have a chat with Yinyin, get her to cooperate with us."

"Ah?" Night Ten was stunned and blurted out, "What can a little brat do?"

Falling Feather teased him with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

"You're not going to teach her, are you? Don't you like them young?"

Hearing that, Night Ten jumped up like a rabbit that had its tail stepped on, glaring at Falling Feather who was smirking.

"Get lost! I, I... like them just a bit older than me."

Wild Wind stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Got it, no wonder..."

Night Ten's face flushed with haste.

"What the hell are you wondering about?!"

The room was filled with joyous vibes, diluting the gravity of a moment ago.

Sitting to the side, Fang Chang coughed and said to the eager-to-argue Night Ten.

"Seriously, I think Old White makes sense. If we don't help that little girl, she's likely to be pushed into the role of the farm owner by the people here."

In fact, that's what those officers were thinking.

Apart from the now-deceased Luo Feihui, the rest preferred to support the young girl to become the owner here rather than taking on the role themselves.

This way, they could indirectly control the farmstead without the worry of messing everything up and inviting trouble, nor did they need to fight to the death over a thankless position.

After all, the situation was still unclear; the war between the Torch Church and the Alliance had just begun, and anything could happen.

Night Ten muttered.

"You worry too much; inheriting such a huge fortune, maybe she's secretly thrilled."

Fang Chang glanced at him.

"And then mess everything up and get slaughtered as a scapegoat by that bunch?"

Night Ten couldn't help but say,

"What do you expect a child to do? You said it yourself, that bunch is beyond hope."

Fang Chang shook his head.

"I never said they were beyond hope, that's what the Torch thinks. I was just trying to say that 'Awakening' doesn't just fall from heaven. It's not any one person's responsibility, but everyone has an inescapable duty."

"That child is the same, she could quite comfortably accept the power and responsibility offered to her by those slaves, and her price is to become a puppet of those servants, especially since she doesn't have her father's skills, right?"

"Of course, she now has another choice, which is to give back the power and responsibility that her father took from everyone here and to gracefully opt out in exchange for a dignified end. This way, she could still keep some of her wealth."

Old White frowned in hesitation.

"Isn't this too heavy for her? Alyssa is at least almost an adult... but she's only eight years old."

Fang Chang shrugged.

"This is actually the easiest path for her. She just needs to nod and speak some ceremonial words in cooperation with us to secure a fairly dignified conclusion. If she refuses our help, then what she faces next is the heaviest burden."

Night Ten looked at him, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"This is a holy war launched against the faith of the Torch, so the battlefield is naturally not limited to what can be seen with the naked eye... I just thought of it now, the Holy Land isn't as impregnable as we imagined. It can hide in anyone's head, but it can't hide in everyone's, and these are the majority on this land. What would you do if you were the Manager?"

Instead of directly answering his question, Fang Chang posed this question to him.

Night Ten pondered for a long time, about to say he didn't know, but suddenly an idea struck him, and he almost instinctively blurted out.

"Just make the Torch lose its breeding ground for survival..."

Nago doesn't kill anyone.

But it makes the soil no longer suitable for Old Humans to live.

This is the foundation of all plans of the Torch Church, just as "Neutron Annihilation" is to the Enlightenment Society.

Likewise, the Torch Church and their plans can be implemented here precisely because there is soil here where filth can thrive and breed.

Just make this place no longer suitable for them.

The Alliance allows the survivors around to decide their own fate, provided they mess around in their own territory without bothering others.

But now this is clearly no longer just a local problem.

The arrival of the Alliance's Iron Heart here is the most direct proof.

Watching Night Ten getting clever, Fang Chang nodded in approval.

"Exactly, by uniting the majority on this land, the Torch and its Nago lose their breeding ground. To achieve this, the Manager will almost certainly redistribute the land originally belonging to the farm owners to the serfs and re-establish the order here."

"After last night's catastrophe, all settlements on this land must face a true-or-false question—"

"The Church or the Alliance."

The war had begun.

——

(Thanks to Boss Jingjing for sponsoring our book with the JingWan Cup singing contest! This is considered a crossover, haha. Huya Live Room 77927, qualifiers on the 26th at 6 pm sharp, brothers come and support if you have time, and interested book fans can also sign up, I'm tone-deaf, will just blend in as a judge~)

Chapter 591: The Fog Rolls In

It was about a year ago, when the Sanctuary had just been built, that Zhao Yinyin began to hear an old man's voice in her mind from time to time.

At first, she thought it was her own hallucination, but later she found that it was not so, as he not only answered her doubts but occasionally taught her some knowledge she had never known before.

When she was very young, her grandfather died, and sometimes she felt that the old man was like her grandfather, always very kind.

Latter on, the old man told her that he was the Saint Heir, and that it was himself who was enshrined in that Sanctuary.

Yinyin did not doubt his words. On the contrary, she had long suspected that his identity might be that of the Saint.

After all, apart from a true God, who else could be omnipresent and omnipotent, communicating with her in her mind?

Since then, she began to pour out all her troubles to the Saint without reservation.

Gods do not lie, nor do they gossip about the troubles of mortals everywhere.

There was no one more appropriate for her to confide in...

Just like always.

Huddled in the vacant room on the second floor of the pavilion, Yinyin told him all her troubles, including the conflicts with her good friend and the sorrow of her family's ruin and the uncertainty of having no support in the future.

After wiping her tears, Yinyin murmured softly,

"...I'm sorry, I've been talking so much about myself; you might find it boring."

A long silence.

The kindly voice floated gently into her mind.

"How could that be, my child."

Although it was not exactly an inspiring consolation, Yinyin's face showed a weak yet firm smile, and she cheered up a bit.

A moment later, she seemed to make some decision, and looked straight ahead with resolution.

"I really should apologize to Little Lamb..."

Standing in an unseen place, looking down on the little girl, Luo Gan smiled faintly.

So she's still a child.

Worrying for so long over such trivial matters, which he himself would never do, as he would carry out decisions immediately.

"If you don't want to do this, you actually don't have to," he suggested.

Yinyin tilted her head.

"Why?"

Luo Gan wanted to tell her that none of it mattered anymore. The residents of this Sanctuary would soon die, and whether she did such things or not made no difference.

But after thinking about it, he ultimately did not say so.

Even the animals in the pen have the right to happiness in their final second; he did not kill people for the sake of killing.

So he chose a more gentle explanation.

"Time is a great healer; it equally heals all wounds. All will be well if you wait patiently."

Yinyin hugged her knees, buried her chin in between them, and muttered softly,

"So everything will get better, given enough time?"

"Yes."

The God protecting her gently nodded, though she could not see him, she was certain he was doing this.

Yinyin trusted him very much.

But she could not agree with this.

Because she clearly remembered, when she was troubled about whether or not to help Little Lamb escape this cage, he had told her himself.

Hesitating for a moment, she said softly,

"But... didn't you tell me that many things can't afford to be hesitated over, that leaving it to time to answer would always end in regret?"

... Uh, hm?

Had he said that?

Faced with a girl of pure countenance, Luo Gan couldn't help but fall into contemplation.

Among all the chess pieces he had chosen, this little girl was the youngest and the most special one.

Not because he had special feelings for her, but simply because unlike other believers, she always poured out every little detail of her daily troubles to him.

Most people revered the God and felt honored to have a "face-to-face communication with God," which only they could have.

Therefore, even Zhao Tiangan, this girl's father who did not truly believe in the Torch faith, approached communication with a higher being with a humble and devout attitude, carefully weighing each word.

And he himself naturally used this awe to interact with these believers who only knew the basics, under the guise of the Saint.

Occasionally, he would even issue commands using their identities.

After all, although chips had been implanted in their brains, he could not just take over their bodies at will.

The full control over their bodies could only be achieved during "God Travel."

And this little girl seemed to regard him as someone to confide in.

She naively believed that Gods would not gossip about mortals' affairs, so she told him almost everything.

Luo Gan permitted her behavior.

After all, a few words of communication did not use much computational power, and at a critical moment, this chess piece might come in handy.

That was why yesterday during the day, he used the knowledge of a wonderful hiding place as an excuse to coax this little one into the basement.

After all, even if she joined in the madness with others, absolute safety was not assured, as there were some special guests in the manor.

But being in that empty basement was definitely safe.

Now it seemed that he might have done something unnecessary, potentially adding undue risk to the entire plan just to keep a chess piece alive a little longer on the board.

If she hadn't gone to the basement, the Alliance might have taken some time to find the laboratory in the basement of the pavilion.

No matter how useful this chess piece was, the experiments in this Sanctuary were already completed. And surviving might not necessarily be true kindness for her.

To die in a dream is painless, while falling into the hands of Mutants would be a fate worse than death.

Thinking of this, Luo Gan sighed gently.

Indeed...

His practice was still not enough.

Of course, what concerned him more was actually another matter—why had he said, "Questions left for time to answer will ultimately only garner regrets."

Regrets?

Such a thing could never apply to him.

On this path, they had paid enough of a price and had offered everything for their ideal in the last moment.

He had no possibility of turning back now.

"I just feel that running away isn't right... Saint Heir?" Seeing that the voice inside her head hadn't appeared for a long time, Yinyin cautiously asked with nervousness.

She had nothing left.

If even the Saint Heir didn't pay attention to her, she might truly fall into despair.

"Hmm, I'm here... I was just thinking about when I said that sentence. Sorry to have kept you waiting," Luo Gan said, smiling gently.

A relieved smile appeared on Yinyin's face.

"It's okay... You must respond to many people's prayers every day, so it's alright if you respond to me later. As long as you are still there."

Seeing that the young girl was still worried about him, Luo Gan couldn't help but smile.

If she knew that it was he who had controlled her father to walk in front of the Alliance, only to be killed by that group of Soldiers, he wondered if she could still smile.

"The work of God isn't as busy as you imagine."

Yinyin cocked her head.

"But wouldn't a lot of people pray to you?"

He spoke in a gentle tone.

"My child, most people don't really ask for God's will. Before praying to me, they actually already have their own answers in their hearts... What they need, is probably just someone to push them from behind, like you entrusting everything to me for a decision. You are actually in the minority."

Hearing this, Yinyin couldn't help but feel her face flush with a touch of shame as she softly said,

"Sorry... for the trouble I've caused you."

"No problem, I don't consider you a trouble. On the contrary, I'm pleased to see your growth. You used to always ask for my opinion, but today you've made the decision to reconcile with a friend on your own. You've developed your own judgments. That's good."

Yinyin asked, not understanding.

"Does God not wish for people to listen to Him?"

"If every single matter was decided by God, I might really die of busyness."

He said this half-jokingly. Coming back to his senses, Luo Gan clicked his tongue lightly.

After all, in saying so, he had contradicted himself.

But it's no wonder, he was well aware that Pioneers were not real gods, nor was the Saint Heir. They just needed the guise of a deity in order to accomplish things that humans could not.

Of course, he was pleased that the residents here obeyed his will, but standing on the platform of an elder, he still hoped to teach the child something more precious.

It's good to be obedient, but without one's own opinions, one is forever a child. He hoped she would have her own opinions, even if this was utterly contrary to the doctrine he preached.

Perhaps the contradiction wasn't in his behavior, but in the depths of his heart, he really didn't wish for the young girl to die.

Let alone a living person.

Even if it was a plant in a pot, as long as time was spent watering it, anyone would hope it would thrive and not wither.

Apart from those apostles with shared convictions, this was probably the most he had communicated with mortals since entering the Holy Land.

After some thought, Luo Gan came up with a compromise.

That was to set this special little lamb free from the sheepfold.

Anyway, for him, being short one or two wasn't a big deal, and the Alliance was unlikely to discover anything with a single specimen.

"If you trust me, I can show you a way."

Yinyin nodded earnestly.

"Yes! Tell me!"

Luo Gan spoke slowly.

"Give up everything here and seek refuge with the people of the Alliance, then leave this place of strife behind completely. I think considering you're still a child, they would take it into consideration."

Yinyin looked at him puzzled, with disbelief and astonishment twinkling in her big eyes.

"But... aren't the people of the Alliance bad guys? They killed my father, and I heard... they want to tear down Your Church."

Watching the little girl strenuously assert those people as villains, Luo Gan suddenly let out a loud laugh, almost crying tears of amusement.

Unfortunately, he didn't have those things anymore.

Only when those surprised eyes turned into confusion did he slowly continue to speak.

"Listen, you might not understand because of your age, but when you grow up you will realize... Those things you're talking about now don't matter at all."

Yinyin gazed into the empty space with wide eyes.

"How can that be..."

Without explaining to her, Luo Gan continued earnestly,

"This settlement is caught between two behemoths, and in fact, so are all the settlements on this land. No matter what they choose, their end will not be pleasant. If you want to survive, the only way is to get as far away from here as possible."

Biting her lip, Yinyin squeezed out a sentence.

"But why join the Alliance... Can't you take me with you?"

Luo Gan's expression paused slightly, and after a long silence, he ambiguously said,

"Our place still needs a little time..."

If she was just driven into another sheepfold, it would be pointless; even if other Pioneers would look after her for his sake, the experiments that needed to be done would definitely proceed in due course.

Confusion and incomprehension filled Yinyin's eyes.

"Time?"

Luo Gan nodded and said patiently,

"Yes... It's a massive project."

"Building a new kind of human, a new society, all these take a very long time to construct. We will make this utopia as perfect as possible, and for that, we need to commit life, courage and determination. I know that in the future it will be Heaven, the whole world will be, but not now... Can you give me a little time?"

He didn't know why he was seeking this child's approval, and even used a conciliatory tone of voice to do so.

Actually, there was no need for him to do so; after all, everything was already decided, and her shaking her head wouldn't change the fate of this habitation one bit.

But still, he did it.

Perhaps...

He was only trying to convince himself.

Yinyin looked towards the empty space with a half-understanding, slightly nodded her head, and squeezed out a smile on her face.

"Sure... even though I don't quite understand, you wouldn't harm Yinyin, right?"

There was silence in the air for a while.

Only after a moment did a voice respond.

"Mm, I promise I won't harm you... thank you."

He did not look into those innocent eyes, merely leaving a few words in a barely audible voice before quietly hurrying away.

That smile caused a pang of pain in his heart.

Though he had long discarded that thing.

This might be his only regret since entering the Holy Land.

Indeed, his training was still insufficient.

Yinyin could feel he had left, even though she had not heard a farewell.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she jumped off the chair, ready to go outside and find Little Lamb to clear up last night's misunderstanding, when she heard a creaking sound from the floor outside the door.

After all, this villa was an old building; wooden floors show their age like that.

She blinked in mild surprise, quickly walked to the door, and pulled it open to see that familiar face not far from the entrance.

Little Lamb was staring at her, her hands clutched around a handful of chocolate candies, a gift from the brothers and sisters of the Alliance last night.

She had kept Yinyin's portion from yesterday, never finding the right moment to give it to her until just now, when Chen Yutong had given her another handful during the blood draw, telling her to share it with her good friend, and she had finally mustered the courage to come over.

She had just reached the door when she overheard the voices inside the room...

"...Yinyin?"

"Little Lamb?"

Yinyin looked at her, bewilderedly, her expression flickering between panic and vigilance, as if she had been caught in a guilty act, confusedly saying, "Why... why are you here?"

"The brothers and sisters from outside gave me some chocolate, and I thought I'd share some with you..."

Little Lamb looked at her nervously, swallowed, and continued,

"Who were you talking to..."

Yinyin's complexion turned slightly pale.

The Saint Heir had told her that she must never let the people from the north know she could communicate on her own, for with their hatred towards the Torch, they would certainly not spare her.

"I..."

Seeing Yinyin's look of tension and fear, Little Lamb vaguely guessed something but remained silent, instead, she gently stepped forward and hugged her.

Yinyin, taken aback by the sudden embrace from Little Lamb, stood frozen, not comprehending.

"...Eh?"

"It's alright, I won't tell anyone…" Looking at the lost and helpless Yinyin, Little Lamb raised her head and gave a reassuring smile, whispering in a soft voice, "It'll be our little secret... okay?"

Miss had always taken good care of her.

She didn't know if this was the right thing to do, but now it was her turn to report for her.

"...Little Lamb." Yinyin stared at the girl two years her junior, her eyes suddenly filling with tears.

There was regret, grievance... and many emotions she could not articulate but felt heavy in her chest.

It wasn't just because of the hurtful things she said the night before; she had suddenly realized that the one who truly deserved her trust and cared the most about her had always been right by her side.

What was shameful, though, was that all along, she had never truly respected this clumsy friend, not even considering her as a friend in her subconscious but just as someone to tease the servants with, using Little Lamb's unique status.

Otherwise why did she, knowing she could not escape, so unhesitatingly drag her into those actions that could lead to reprimand?

She had always led her around, treating her like a pet, never asking about her own feelings, whether she really wanted to leave this place, whether she needed a "hidden spot nobody knows about" to hide away for a while.

Even after what had happened last night, she hadn't shown any concern, only restless about the shift in her status and losing her only friend after everything else was lost.

As the tears suddenly broke through, Little Lamb, unaware of Miss's thoughts, just comfortingly patted her on the back.

"It's okay... Little Lamb will be with you."

After an indeterminate amount of time had passed, a green-gray fog began to envelop the outside.

It was a hue Yinyin had never seen before, and the dense obscuration it brought was ominously thick.

Also noticing the change outside, Little Lamb stopped her gentle patting, muttering to herself.

"The fog is rolling in..."

Suddenly, a faint creak came from the direction of the stairs.

Yinyin, keeping secrets, immediately looked that way but saw nothing but an empty hallway.

Was it an illusion?

Just as she thought this, her peripheral vision suddenly caught a wet footprint slowly appearing around the corner of the stairs.

It was as if a boot that had just tramped over grass had stamped there.

At the sight of the footprint, her heart leaped to her throat.

...A ghost?!

...

The fog appeared abruptly and unnaturally in the afternoon, swiftly engulfing the entire pine cone wood farm.

People gathered at the entrance to the estate showed panic on their faces, fearing the Alliance had activated the Mind Interference Device and that the events of the previous night were about to unfold again.

Overseers, serfs, and the estate's servants all scattered and fled to their homes to hide, hurriedly locking themselves in.

And if they didn't have a lock, they would use a piece of rope to tie family members separately to posts or next to cooking stoves.

This, however, saved the players a lot of trouble.

With monsters that could spawn anywhere, it was indeed dangerous to have so many people together.

But no one was complacent.

The sudden rise of this green-gray fog was clearly a trick by the Torch Church; all the players at the gate swiftly donned their helmets and gas masks, spreading out to keep watch for any unforeseen dangers.

"What's with this fog...?"

"Poison gas?"

"Not likely...it seems like breathing isn't affected."

"It just stinks a bit."

"And this is just too damned green!"

They whispered over the communication channel.

Falling Feather glanced at the sky. Where the clouds once were, now all he could see was a halo of shit-green light.

The air was as thick as jelly, with a damp, moldy smell like clothes that had been left out for far too long without a wash.

Then, a call from the Iron Heart came through the communication channel.

"...This is the Iron Heart airborne command center. We see you're surrounded by thick fog. Report your situation immediately!"

Old White, with his rifle in hand and standing at the entrance of the manor in his power armor, spoke with a grave expression.

"Everything here is normal for the moment. Can you estimate the extent of the fog? Is it just us, or is the whole area covered?"

"The foggy area is roughly a thousand square kilometers. You are right in the center of it."

"I suspect this is the doing of the Torch... Can you send a plane to help us check? Focus on the area between the Pinecone Farm and Jinhe City Urban Area."

"Understood."

With the fog so thick, visibility on the ground must be poor, and Old White didn't have high hopes for what they'd see from the sky either.

What he truly feared was the mutants taking advantage of the opportunity to slip out of the city.

However, what concerned him most was how exactly this thick fog had formed.

Suddenly, Falling Feather standing beside him lightly held his forehead and whispered,

"...It's spores."

Quit Smoking was stunned and looked at him in surprise.

"Spores?!"

"Uh-huh..." Falling Feather nodded gravely and continued, "They're similar to the spores of the 'Mutated slime fungus'... Xiaoyu told me."

Although Xiaoyu didn't rely on spores for information exchange or reproduction, it was, after all, developed in the environment of Spring City and understood the spores of the common slime fungus quite well.

However, after hearing his explanation, the players all showed surprised faces, especially Quit Smoking, who looked at him incredulously.

Spores?

Why would there be spores in Jinhe City?

There's no lair here at all!

Killer Dagger swallowed hard.

"Wait a minute... if I don't get it, I ask, didn't your symbionts all die?"

"I kept one inside myself, the biotech prosthesis that boosts HP recovery... And don't say weird things. What 'my symbionts'? That's Xiaoyu's!" Falling Feather glared at him disapprovingly.

Killer Dagger smiled sheepishly.

At this moment, Old White interrupted their conversation.

"This isn't the time to talk about this... The situation has changed, we need to evacuate key NPCs and equipment from here for now."

Suddenly remembering his hundred thousand silver coin mission, Falling Feather hastily said,

"Just remember to take Little Lamb with you, right."

"Of course, she is a key research material. We can't leave her behind no matter who else we leave."

Quit Smoking then asked,

"What about the local residents?"

"There are forty or fifty thousand people here... It's impossible to evacuate everyone, and it's even more dangerous outside the Enclosing Wall."

Glancing at the houses outside the manor, Old White continued with a heavy voice,

"Let's just do our best."

Just then, behind them, a deafening boom sounded, followed by a barrage of gunfire.

Old White turned sharply to look behind him, his face slightly changing.

It's coming from the villa's direction!

...

In the lush green jungle, green heads bobbed around, their sinewy muscles adorned with orange ammunition and grim weapons.

Kulu stood in front of this group of mutants, eying the fog-enshrouded plain before him, bloodthirst flickering in his pupils.

The dense fog, too putrid for the frail Old Humans, was a refreshing fragrance to his nostrils.

Amid that fragrance, he already smelled slaughter and death...

The night before, he'd unfortunately suffered defeat in battle, losing not only countless underlings but also half an arm.

Ordinarily, a useless individual like him should have been chopped up and thrown into a pot, but the Tribe leader forgave his stupidity and even let him off leniently.

Moreover, the Church installed a mechanical hand in place of his lost limb and implanted numerous mechanical prostheses into his body, increasing his destructive power significantly.

To compensate for the losses his foolishness had brought to the Tribe and to repay the Church for the chance to return to the battlefield, he volunteered for this mission and vowed to bring back fifty thousand bowed heads for Lord Jia En.

As a tribute to the brothers who had died the night before and the sacrificed Apostles and Executioners.

As the fog thickened, a cruel smile spread across Kulu's face. The Church hadn't lied to him.

Under the cover of the fog, the once-insurmountable plain would open wide for them.

Even if the airship above knew they might be hidden in the fog, they wouldn't know where to bombard.

At that moment, a light explosion sounded in the distance.

That was the assault signal.

Kulu took a deep breath, letting the scent fill his lungs, the blood in his veins boiling like lava.

He raised his mechanical arm, and with the gun that resembled an axe handle in hand, he roared with a rough and barbaric voice,

"Kulu says, chop up those two-legged beasts—"

"Not one shall be left!"

—

(Thanks to the alliance chiefs "Fishing alone in the snowy Yangtze" and "Digging graves at midnight" for the rewards!!!)

Chapter 592: Let's Go to Hell Together!

At the entrance of Town of Hope.

The followers of the commercial team unloading goods nervously looked around, feeling a trace of panic at the sudden mist encroaching from all directions.

Both the guards at the entrance and the mercenaries standing near the truck clenched their rifles, warily observing their surroundings, especially the small woods to the north.

The townspeople exchanged glances and whispered in surprise.

"Is it getting foggy?"

"Why in the afternoon?"

"And this color…"

"It doesn't look like normal fog, could it be some kind of poisonous gas…"

"Could it be those mutants?"

Such speculation wasn't without reason, given that the mutants had visited the place a few days ago and had been defeated by the Alliance.

People's eyes gradually filled with panic; they returned home, those who could found gas masks to wear, and those who couldn't soaked towels to cover their mouths and noses.

A green-skinned half-breed stood in the corner of the street, a lowered hood hiding his furrowed brows, his right hand pressed against his chest.

Half of his blood belonged to mutants.

And at this moment, that part of his blood was restlessly stirring…

At the entrance of the town hall.

Ma Hechang blankly observed the changes around and in the sky, his face marked with unease and a hint of fear, as he muttered softly.

"What in the world is going on?"

Standing beside him, Wei Ming didn't speak.

This usually amiable middle-aged pastor, however, seemed like a different person now, expressionlessly staring at the sky.

He seemed to have anticipated the situation, not showing any surprise.

Ma Hechang's Adam's apple moved as he looked at him and suddenly felt that the person before him seemed unfamiliar, sparking a sense of unease in his heart.

With trembling lips, he ventured.

"…Old Wei?"

The pastor shifted his gaze from the sky and abruptly spoke on his own.

"It's Saint Heir."

Ma Hechang was slightly taken aback, his face growing even more frantic as he quickly asked anxiously.

"What did Saint Heir say?"

The pastor spoke slowly.

"He didn't say anything."

"He's just angry."

Ma Hechang's breath hitched.

"Angry…"

He didn't remember doing anything to wrong Saint Heir.

No—that's not entirely true.

If he had to say, there was one incident; they had become closely associated with the Alliance recently, even allowing their soldiers to stay in the town for a night.

There had been friction between the Alliance and the Church. He had heard bits about it, and if it was about this event, Saint Heir indeed had reason to be angry.

But that was a special circumstance: the green-skinned brutes were right at their door; if not for the Alliance's intervention, they might have already been thrown into the frying pan.

Were they supposed to surrender without resistance?

Moreover, why should they?

The Torch Church had promised them peace and prosperity; they had chosen to convert based on the preachers' words, and yet those green-skinned brutes still showed up at their doorstep.

Who had betrayed whom?

"The betrayal of the non-believers has brought down divine punishment. The green plague will envelop the Earth, and soon everyone will see that seething rage…"

With a deep voice speaking these murky words, Wei Ming looked at the bewildered and frightened Mayor Ma, continuing with a meaningful tone.

"Send some people to check Pinecone Wood Farm."

"That will be the fate of traitors."

…

At Pinecone Wood Farm, engulfed in the mist.

Because most players had dispersed for defense around the settlements, the gathered survivors attracted the remaining players to the front of the manor, thus the inconspicuous building appeared somewhat deserted, with only the entrance to the underground laboratory on the north side being heavily guarded.

The moment a footstep landed on the floor, the empty hallway rippled with semitransparent waves, outlining the contours of a streamlined exoskeleton.

Dark goggles covered the person's eyes; he was like a machine executing commands, raising the muzzle of the gun cleanly and efficiently.

The moment Yinyin's gaze met that muzzle, she felt a surge of blood rush to her head, her brain seemingly crashing into a blank.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment, each second stretching indefinitely.

There was no time to think.

Almost instinctively, she hugged the Little Lamb tightly, twisted her body, and used her back to shield her in front of her.

A sharp pain pierced her back, coming out from beneath her side ribs, shaking her body forward, almost causing her to fall down.

Simultaneously, she heard the short sound of the gunshot.

"Bang—!"

As she lowered her head, she saw her beautiful clothes stained with blood and Little Lamb with eyes wide open.

Vaguely, her dazed consciousness heard a heart-wrenching cry—

"Don't—!"

Little Lamb...

She tried to speak but only blood gushed out.

The person seemed to intend to fire another shot, but for some reason, mechanically lowered the raised gun muzzle and drew a blood-stained dagger, advancing towards her.

Instinct told Yinyin.

That person's target didn't seem to be her.

That's right, speaking of which...

It seemed that Little Lamb was the only one in the entire manor unaffected by the Nago Mushroom.

Dimly, she seemed to understand something. If the Nago Mushroom was truly important to the Torch Church, they would surely target Little Lamb to prevent the Alliance from developing an antidote.

And after all, everyone had become like that last night because of the Nago Mushroom...

Such a simple truth was right there, but she had never noticed it for some reason, even blaming those people for her father's death. She wished those people had never come.

The cause had been planted long ago, and it was they themselves who had sown it. It would have been the same whether those people came here or not.

Her father had easily trusted those people and handed everything over to them, which led to his death.

And so had she, trusting the Saint Heir until the end; now he was coming to kill her best friend.

In the end, she was the sheep in the fold...

"Run fast..."

A scorching liquid trailed down her cheek, blood or tears of regret, she wasn't sure. Using her last bit of strength, she whispered this to her best friend.

Her faltering consciousness could hold on no longer; as her body fell forward, it tumbled into the abyss.

However, to her disappointment, the usually docile and obedient Little Lamb didn't run away as she had said but was still doing something utterly meaningless, trying to bandage her undeniably bloody wound with a piece of clothing.

The human-shaped shadow fell on both of them. Seeing the shoe tip so close, Little Lamb's neck stiffened, she stopped her trembling hands, faced him, and knelt on the ground.

"Please... don't hurt Yinyin, save her, I... I can die for her..."

The man didn't speak.

He was an Executioner from the Tribunal, codenamed 'Mountain Falcon,' unlike those Executioner's Squads that partook in defensive tasks, more like a lone assassin than a unit responsible for special operations.

The task had originally only one target—the carrier of the antibody who survived from "Sector 03."

If it weren't for that bishop saying that a "Holy Land" had been embedded in that girl Yinyin's head, asking him to spare her life, he would have sent both away with a burst of gunfire.

But...

Why would the bishop do such a superfluous thing?

There should be no shortage of Holy Lands in this settlement. Is this one special?

He didn't understand.

Nor did he intend to ponder further.

As the sword of the Church, he only needed to follow the Pioneer's instructions to eradicate those heretics that might obstruct the great plan.

In the face of civilization, one or two lives are outright insignificant.

Watching the hand extending towards his hair and the dagger so close, Little Lamb's shoulders trembled uncontrollably as she closed her eyes in fear of the pain.

However, the anticipated pain didn't come. Instead, a roar accompanied by a whooshing sound pierced through the corridor.

The Executioner, Mountain Falcon, startled by the sound, clenched his fist and swung it fluidly towards his rear, colliding with the rushing shadow.

The immense force was beyond his expectations, making him stagger, taking two steps back to steady himself.

And the moment he saw that face, he froze for half a second.

He remembered this person.

He distinctly remembered slicing this guy's throat with a dagger, and that was alongside another guy wearing an exoskeleton.

Yet inexplicably, the guy who should have been dead was now alive, the wound on his neck gone, replaced by a bright red centipede-shaped scar.

That centipede-shaped scar didn't seem like part of him; it looked like a large swath of gauze stuck to his neck, under the throbbing flesh, oozing fresh blood was visible.

The man raised a dagger in his right hand, blocking the thrust of his dagger, his face bearing a fierce smile. He spit bloody saliva on his helmet.

"MMP! Lucky I had a biological bionic implant..."

Dog Brother had previously seen the Kidney Fighter and Killer Dagger equipped with exoskeletons, thinking not to wear some useless iron contraption like those two fools; but without any equipment felt lacking something.

So he had a flash of inspiration, followed Mosquito to Xiaoyu, and got himself a biological bionic implant.

It was said to be immune to one fatal injury and could even accelerate HP recovery during combat; the only downside was diminished experience.

Lucky he had installed one.

Otherwise, the stab at his neck would have taken him out directly.

Mountain Falcon didn't understand what he was saying, just stared coldly at the cursing person before him, suddenly kicked towards his chest planning to create distance to draw his gun for a barrage.

Dog Brother grunted from the kick to his chest, feeling as if a train had crashed into the exoskeleton's breastplate, squeezing every bit of air from his lungs.

However, he didn't let the assassin get his way, locking the "Type Five" Light Cavalry Exoskeleton's leg joints to withstand the kick, then pushing forward with both legs and wrapping his arms around the assassin's thighs, attempting to topple him.

Unable to create distance, Mountain Falcon was startled, while maintaining his balance, he vigorously thrust his dagger into the man embracing his right leg.

The dagger pierced through an unprotected spot, deeply into Dog Brother's shoulder blade area. Although it didn't hurt, it still made him grimace.

Seeing he didn't let go, Mountain Falcon ruthlessly continued to stab multiple times, poking nearly every unprotected spot on his opponent's back.

Indeed, being of the Perception type, his physical constitution couldn't compare to that of his Strength Type and Body Constitution System brethren. Originally intent on tripping the assassin to the ground, he had not only failed but had also ended up with blood pouring down his back, riddled with numerous holes.

"Fuck... you're playing for real, huh."

Glancing at the little girl lying in a pool of blood, Xiaoyu gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and with all his might, twisted his body and slammed into the window near the corridor's patio side.

After all, with a life every three days, not using it now would only lead to regrets later!

Crack—

The glass shattered outward from the impact, falling onto the open space of the patio from the second floor, making a clear sound like that of a bell.

The fierce sounds of battle were enough to attract the attention of other players nearby the villa; someone should be coming here soon.

Xiaoyu glared ferociously at the assassin who hadn't said a word throughout, violently exerting strength with his arms and legs, and dragged him out the window along with him.

"Let's go together then—!"

Caught off guard, Mountain Falcon had never anticipated this move and stared in surprise at the madman not caring for his own life.

Fortunately, his reactions were quick, and he managed to grab the edge of the window, hanging outside. He raised his left foot and fiercely kicked at the person clinging to his right leg.

Of course, this height wouldn't kill him.

But his mission was to guard the carrier of the antibodies, the Little Lamb. Falling from here would definitely ruin that chance.

Unable to shake off the person holding his right leg, Mountain Falcon gritted his teeth, dropped the dagger, and was just about to reach for the fragmentation hand grenade hanging at his waist when he saw a triumphant smile appear on the swollen face below him.

"Let's go to hell together!"

Just then, he had pulled the pin on the last plastic bomb strapped to the exoskeleton — a venerable tradition of the Burning Corps.

Smoke began to rise beneath the chest armor of the exoskeleton.

Mountain Falcon's expression froze briefly, and before the expression on his face could turn to horror, the explosion engulfed them both in a burst of flame and thick smoke.

The entire corridor's windows shattered from the blast.

Since the explosion occurred outside, the shockwave didn't spread to the corridor. Nevertheless, the Little Lamb, just trying to get up to help, was still knocked to the ground.

"Ugh—"

Ignoring the pain that almost brought tears to her eyes, the Little Lamb struggled to her feet from the floor strewn with glass shards, looked fearfully at the broken window, and then, limping with her lips tightly pursed, she walked over to Yinyin lying in a pool of blood.

Seeing the horrifying blood stains, she had already lost all hope for that one-in-a-million chance, but still, she extended a trembling index finger to touch Yinyin's lips...

No breath.

Her hand dropped, her head spinning, she felt utterly drained and collapsed onto the floor.

At that moment, rushed footsteps echoed down the hall, and she saw many people coming their way, including the researcher sister who had taken her blood, along with others in exoskeletons.

"There's a wounded person here!"

"Quick, stop the bleeding!"

"Fuck... this one's not breathing."

"Where's the medical syringe?! Who can lend me one!"

"Lend my ass, I've got it here!"

Dazed, she heard those yelling around her as they picked Yinyin up from the glass and blood, rushing her towards the stairs.

Chen Yutong crouched in front of her, hugged her shoulders tightly, sobbing as he spoke something into her ear.

She felt no joy of having narrowly survived; suddenly her nose tingled, and all her emotions came rushing out through her eyes.

She had never felt so sad...

...

Official Forum.

Although Brocade River City, eight hundred kilometers from City of Dawn, was in chaos, the forum, in another world, remained calm.

Old Edge Shoveling found a new fishing spot north of Falling Leaves City where one could catch eels as thick as thighs, but it was somewhat draining.

Storm Corps took over the jungle eradication mission from Jungle Corps, and Spring Water Commander was sharing his insights on fighting alien nests and jungle warfare on the forum.

As for Big Eyes, who had lost contact for a while in Luo Xia Province, he had finally returned and was sharing travel tips on the forum, a kind of strategy in its own right.

By the way, the Weilante people stuck in Pioneer City had finally received the parts sent from afar and fixed the airship to begin their journey back.

They were about to head to distant Triumph City; Old Soldier felt both anticipation and hesitation, unsure when he could return home adorned in a pangolin breastplate.

But overall, everyone's daily life was quite joyful.

Night Ten, who had logged off early, reported the situation in the group and then, with nothing else to do, idly started a thread on the forum.

"Fuck... Got capsized in a gutter today."

Edge Shoveling: "What happened, brother?"

Elena: "Tell us, curious. (playful)"

The thread went quiet for a moment.

Urged by others for a whole minute, Night Ten finally said reluctantly,

"... Er, got knifed on the way to trigger a mission."

Spring Water Commander: "Pfft..."

Gnome King Riches: "Who could knife a Perception type like you??"

Night Ten: "I'm also fucking baffled, didn't feel a thing. Both me and Xiaoyu were gone in an instant, I even saw him get his throat slashed... That guy definitely has some issue."

Spring Water Commander: "Could it be an Awakener from the Torch Church?"

Night Ten: "It's not as simple as being an Awakener... I feel it's more like that..."

Edge Shoveling: "Which one???"

Night Ten: "Frost, Solar Eclipse, and the like..."

Old Soldier: "Damn! Bionic warriors?!"

Night Ten: "Yeah... I've heard that the nature of the Perception type is a comprehensive induction of some kind of biological pheromones, and the detection of environmental changes. Bionic ones obviously lack the former, making it quite hard for me to perceive them in advance."

Of course, it could also be someone like Heya, implanted with a large amount of bionic prosthetics.

Considering the Black Boxes owned by the Torch Church mostly deal with synthesizing bionic organs, creating a bionic person shouldn't be too difficult.

It's just a matter of cost.

Spring Water Commander: "Hmm... Although I'm not familiar with your situation, if you say so... isn't that villa in danger then?"

Night Ten: "I've already told the brothers responsible for online and offline communication in the group, it should be fine... But it's strange, why hasn't Dog Brother come down yet? Didn't he die with me?"

The Burning Corps always had people taking turns being on call offline, to facilitate timely online and offline exchange of information. This was also Brother Fang Chang's idea.

So, right after dying, Night Ten went into the group to inform the brother who relayed messages, telling him to come online and notify everyone that something was happening at the villa.

But strangely, Dog Brother still hadn't shown up.

As Night Ten was puzzled by this, as soon as he typed out this line, the ID with the name all taken up by Dog popped up in the post.

"Damn! I'm having an intense battle with that boss, and you're here chatting?!"

Night Ten: "Damn, what's happening?! Weren't you dead?"

Dog Brother: "Who told you I died! I tell you, Xiaoyu's Resurrection Armor is really useful! I was all set to log off when suddenly my neck felt warm, and I stood back up!"

Gnome King Riches: "??? Is it really that awesome?"

Elena: "This cheat... is simply invincible, I gotta get one too. (smirk)"

Night Ten: "Wait, before we talk about the Resurrection Armor, what's the situation over there?! What the hell is that guy who messed with our home?"

He was more concerned about that little Lolita.

As for his good brother's death, it wasn't that important; after all, everyone had a life every three days, and they had recently saved their progress, so death was just that.

Dog Brother: "Who knows, that guy totally ignored me, but it seems he was after the little girl with antibodies... Damn, what a heartless thing, how could he lay a hand on such a small kid!"

Night Ten: "Where is he? (sweat)"

Dog Brother: "Couldn't beat him, that guy is tough, in a second I barely got a handle on taking five hits, he's probably what you described in your post, a bionic person! But I reacted quickly, dragged him outside the hallway, and used the old method to replace him."

Outlaw Maniac: "This humble amateur asks, what's the old method? (curious)"

Dog Brother: "Hehe, once I'm alive again, I'll teach you hand by hand. (shy)"

While everyone was discussing, Elder Fang's ID suddenly appeared.

"Who's on the Iron Heart or can reach the airship in the game?"

Feng Qing: "(raising hand)"

Fang Chang: "Twenty-five kilometers in the direction of the Pinecone Wood Farm, exact coordinates (X-233, Y-365), our scout team spotted a group of Mutant Corps, roughly the size of a thousand team. We noticed a small number of vehicles, types unclear, moving at speeds between 10~20... We are in radio silence, could you please report these coordinates to Iron Heart?"

Feng Qing: "Huh?"

Fang Chang: "What's wrong?"

Feng Qing: "Nothing... just that our captain just went out to scout for you, but it seems unnecessary now? 0.0"

Night Ten: "No worries, we'll all laugh about him making a wasted trip later, definitely won't let him feel left out. (smirk)"

Elena: "(smirk)"

...

Iron Heart, bridge.

Gazing at the vast sea of smoke accumulated on the ground in the distance, the captain standing by the floor-to-ceiling window furrowed his brows.

"…The visibility on the ground is too low, our aircraft can't see anything."

Chu Guang looked at him and asked.

"Have you found the source of the fog?"

The captain shook his head solemnly.

"Our consultant from the Biological Institute thinks... these obstructions might not be just fog, but spores released from the soil."

"Spores?" Chu Guang slightly frowned.

The captain nodded.

"The consultant says, according to the clues collected from the front line, the mycelium lurking in the soil and within flora and fauna releases spores similar to Mutated Slime Fungus under certain conditions, but it doesn't have the ability to exchange information through spores like the slime fungus lair... This mainly stems from the part of its genetic fragment derived from Mutated Slime Fungus."

Chu Guang: "Is there a connection between Nago Mushroom and Mutated Slime Fungus?"

The captain hesitated for a moment and said.

"She thinks there's a relation, but that Nago isn't a branch of Mutated Slime Fungus; rather, it's artificially created by splicing parts of the fungus's genes into the nucleus of some other species' cells... This research is still ongoing, so the consultant couldn't provide a definite conclusion."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"I see."

Just then, Xiao Qi, perched on his shoulder, suddenly lifted its head and whispered something into his ear.

After listening, Chu Guang looked towards the captain stationed nearby.

"Prepare the port gun position and the main bow cannon for firing, target coordinates (X-233, Y-365) and adjust five hundred meters westward, push the barrage two kilometers westward."

The captain's expression turned serious as he heard this, not asking the reason, he promptly responded.

"Yes!"

Chapter 593: A stray dog, also worthy to be an opponent for the Manager?

Although he was unsure of the precise location of the mutant corps, for the "Steel Heart", which had its support artillery completely revamped with 155mm cannons, a rough coordinate was already enough.

The moment Chu Guang gave the order, an alert for avoiding shockwaves rang out on the airship's deck, and the entire crew immediately sprang into action.

Inside the main gun bay, the hydraulic support of the loading machine lifted, pushing an orange-yellow 400mm rocket-assisted projectile into the gun barrel.

At this moment, on the deck—

The voluminous short-barreled giant cannon made clicking sounds as it slowly rotated under the pull of the motor, aligning itself with the precise west of the Pine Cone Wood Farm.

Xiao Qi fully controlled the automatic fire control system.

Based on the charge of this rocket-assisted projectile, the quantum computer had already analyzed various ballistic trajectories under different conditions of air density, wind speed, and humidity.

The gathering of players paused their activities, their eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation as they gazed at the towering cannon.

Seemingly in response to their anticipation, three seconds after the alert ceased, a flame as thick as a dragon burst forth from the massive gun barrel.

The spreading shockwave and smoke swept across the hundreds of meters long steel deck, throwing up into the sky amidst the turbulent air currents, the momentary flash of white light was almost blinding.

Although the "Steel Heart" had participated in numerous battles, not all players had truly witnessed this industrial giant roar skyward.

Seeing that earth-shattering power, many first-timers aboard the ship shouted in alarm and excitement, and some even whistled loudly.

"Awesome!"

"You're telling me this is a shell?! This is damn well a muzzle-launched missile!"

"The shockwave from this cannon is badass!"

Seeing the group of clueless newbies, Gui Gui, with her hands on her hips and in the tone of an experienced player, laughed teasingly.

"Hey, this is nothing, if you were on the ground, you'd know—the blast wave from the explosion is way more badass than this!"

The newbie swallowed.

"How badass?"

"About this much!" Gui Gui extended her arms as far as she could to illustrate, but realizing she couldn't properly describe it, she clicked her tongue and scratched her head, "Anyway, it's strong enough to blow up Trash Lord from a kilometer away!"

Newbie: "Awesome!"

The newbie's admiring expression was quite satisfying to Gui Gui.

Although she had only been playing this game for a few months, as a regular on this deck, she had long considered it her home.

With a proud curl of her lip, she continued.

"Just pray for those green-skinned beasts, this isn't a force that carbon-based life forms can withstand—it vaporizes them in an instant!"

Feng Qing put on her wind goggles, leaned over the edge of the deck without a word, just excitedly staring at the ground through her binoculars.

GKD!

She wanted to see the explosion!

...

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away from the "Steel Heart", in the wilderness, a slightly rugged gentle slope housed an abandoned wooden house.

Next to the wooden house, two motorcycles with their engines turned off leaned askew.

Lying on the reverse slope, Li Jinrong and Xiao Yue exchanged glances with peculiar expressions as they watched the Alliance soldier napping next to the motorcycles.

The mutant's main force was advancing less than three kilometers away from them, and a patrol team of about ten had even recently passed near them.

Yet, at this crucial moment, this guy could still sleep!

"…Should we wake him up?" Xiao Yue whispered.

Li Jinrong gave a wry smile.

"If you can wake him up."

Xiao Yue grinned sheepishly, no longer speaking.

When the mutant sentries were scouted in the area a little earlier, he had thought about waking the guy, but no matter what, there was no response.

Frankly, he had never seen anyone sleep so soundly.

And all so close to those man-eating creatures—how could an ordinary person still be sleeping?

"I think we at least need to send someone back to inform the other people in the settlement. With such thick fog, even if that airship flies high, it won't be seen."

"That number... what difference would it make if we informed them?" Li Jinrong looked at the noise in the distance, squinting his eyes, "He said he'd handle it, so let's leave it to him."

Perhaps...

The Alliance warrior really had some kind of dream-invoking special ability?

This is the Wasteland, after all.

As everyone knows, anything strange could happen in the Wasteland. Telling survivors elsewhere that the number of mutants in Brocade River City was so vast that they could form a kingdom, strong enough to fit themselves with mechanical prostheses, might not be believed by many.

After all, in most other places, those green-skinned creatures would be considered impressive just for making a thumbtack landmine. If their numbers were just a bit higher, they might end up fighting amongst themselves over food or mates.

Speaking of why they were here, it all started when they were lying next to this guy named Fang Chang from the Burning Corps.

Probably right when the fog began rolling in, as Li Jinrong alertedly monitored the surroundings inside the farm, this gentleman suddenly found them and mentioned that mutants were rushing over from the direction of the city, asking to borrow their motorcycles for reconnaissance nearby.

Li Jinrong had no objections, just feeling a bit strange why, with convenient vertical take-off aircraft available, they would want to borrow his motorcycle.

So he suggested joining them, and that older brother readily agreed.

Consequently, the three of them left Pine Cone Wood Farm and headed west to scout. Just as he had said, they found traces of massive movements of mutants nearby.

The hazy mist made it unclear how many green oily heads there were, and even the approximate location of the group was challenging to determine.

But what can be confirmed is that it was at least the size of a thousand team!

Moreover, this group of Mutants was extremely cautious in their activities, completely different from those noisy fellows who surged forward in a swarm before.

They not only deployed scouts to scatter and search along the march route, but also carefully divided the troops into several waves.

Although these are basic tactics for human forces, they are exceptionally rare among Mutants.

More than death itself, they despised cowardice and weakness, and in their eyes, using those fancy tactics was a sign of timidity.

The powerful individuals worshipped by this group of Mutants were those who crushed their opponents with sheer strength!

Now they were willing to learn human tactics, which showed that those previous battles had deeply hurt these green-skinned guys.

However, this was not necessarily good news for the Alliance.

Feeling the murderous and bloodthirsty aura through the gray-green fog, Li Jinrong felt a tingling in his scalp and found the situation somewhat tricky.

Just then, the long-unawake Fang Chang suddenly twitched and sprang up from the ground without any warning.

Xiao Yue, who was lying next to him, was startled by this sudden movement, looked around, and seeing no Mutant scouts nearby, jokingly covered up his embarrassment.

"Brother, you've slept quite long..."

The newly awakened Fang Chang nodded, brushed the grass and dust off his arms, and nonchalantly said,

"Yeah, just chatting a bit with the others."

Xiao Yue: "?"

Li Jinrong: "…?"

Damn?

Both were instantly stunned.

Could he really share dreams?!

"...that's not the point," noticing the astonished expressions of the two, Fang Chang coughed lightly and glossed over this awkward topic, "Besides... it's all set."

The reason he had taken so long to return was not just about chatting on the Forum, but mainly waiting for other players to relay the message back to the official website to confirm when the bombardment could begin.

Fortunately, the NPC of the Iron Heart was very reliable and trusted them.

Almost the moment Feng Qing reported the coordinates in the Game, the preparations for the artillery fire in the airship's gun bay began.

Frankly, this response speed made Fang Chang even suspect that not only players were exploiting the game's bugs, but Alliance's NPCs were also surfing their official site.

But he didn't report this bug to Brother Guang.

It would be a pity to fix such a bug that enhanced the gaming experience; better to silently continue using it.

Li Jinrong looked bewildered at this calm comrade, completely clueless about what he was talking about.

How could everything be settled just by sleeping?

What could be settled like that!

His adam's apple moved, and he finally couldn't resist expressing the doubts in his heart.

"...What do you mean? How is it already settled?"

Aware of his confusion, Fang Chang didn't explain in detail but simply looked toward the direction of the marching Mutant Corps and succinctly said,

"The Alliance's support will arrive soon, we just need to stand here and watch. Of course, it's best not to walk in front of those green-skinned guys."

While saying this, he briefly checked his equipment, especially the VM on his arm, ensuring no one had tampered with it, and gave the two NPCs a lingering look.

This time, coming out alone with these two was partly to borrow their motorcycle and partly to test them.

Old White and Li Jinrong had discussed last night that the Alliance would support the Iron Tower Organization's guerrilla activities in the south, but this did not mean they fully trusted these people yet.

The Holy Land could be hidden in any NPC's mind.

Therefore, when he logged off last time, he had turned on the VM's recording and camera functions to see what these two would do.

Now that the Mutant's coordinates had been reported, even if he got sliced, it would just be three days lost; using a life to understand two NPCs was totally worth it.

But looking at it now, they hadn't done anything superfluous.

Although this did not mean these two were completely trustworthy, cooperating to some extent was still no problem.

Xiao Yue, somewhat impatient, asked,

"How much longer?"

Fang Chang didn't speak but quietly said,

"Listen carefully... do you hear anything?"

Li Jinrong frowned slightly.

"Sound?"

What on earth was he talking about—

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard a faint sound, like the fluttering of autumn cicadas, accompanied by the vibration of airflow coming from a very distant place.

He hadn't fully discerned what the sound was when a shocking scene was imprinted in his pupils.

He saw a thick column of smoke pierce through the dense fog, followed immediately by a torrential roar of thunder that swept across the entire wilderness.

Orange-red flames burst out like a blooming mandala; in that instant of bloom, trees were uprooted, slopes were leveled, and rocks and wood chips flew about like shrapnel, carried into the sky by the scorching airflow.

The solid earth was like boiling lake water, rippling with waves from the scorching shockwaves...

Li Jinrong and Xiao Yue stared dumbfounded at the cluster of all-consuming flames rising in the distance, forced to squint against the suffocating hot wind.

Before that apocalyptic force, all organisms seemed so minuscule.

He had once imagined what kind of trump cards the Alliance would use to combat those outrageously strong mutants and The Church, yet he never expected such horrifying and pure power to be unveiled before him.

At that moment, he finally understood.

How the order of the Alliance had come about.

What made it even more inconceivable to him was that he remembered the rumor he had once heard—the indomitable Iron Beast had not originally belonged to the Alliance.

It was their war trophy, seized from the Army by the Burning Corps!

He could not imagine what kind of phenomenal strength was required to conquer such an unmatched Iron Beast.

And even more unimaginable was, if such a monster could be tamed, what sort of monstrous creature would be worthy to oppose them...

Half a day ago, he was still hesitant about the answer to this question, but now he could confirm it without any doubt.

At least the mutants—

They could absolutely not be their opponents!

After a long moment, Li Jinrong swallowed and, as if to confirm his suspicions, began to speak in a trembling voice.

"That is..."

"The main cannon of the Iron Heart."

Fang Chang smiled gently as he looked towards the center of the explosion in the distance, his bangs finally falling back to his brows as the hot wind brushed them.

After a pause, he continued softly,

"How about it? Isn't it magnificent?"

Li Jinrong did not respond.

Because, at that moment, he was utterly unable to put his shock into words.

Just then, it began to rain.

The charred mud fell from the sky like raindrops, pattering down onto the ground like machine gun bullets, scattering across the battlefield scorched by gunpowder.

Unfortunately, even such apocalyptic power could not destroy the lair nestled in the center of Qingquan City.

That mycelium had long since fused with the concrete debris, and no amount of artillery could shake that "Giant Tree" formed by spore clouds connecting the sky and the earth.

But to handle those creatures, it was absolutely sufficient.

Xiao Yue's Adam's apple bobbed as he squeezed out a sentence with difficulty,

"Is it over?"

Fang Chang looked at the distance and smiled.

"Over? This is just the beginning."

Without waiting for the man to continue, he spoke in a tone that was almost nonchalant,

"Watch carefully."

"The real show is about to begin!"

...

The first round of shelling was only the prelude.

The 400mm rocket-extended rounds not only marked the beginning of artillery on the surface but also shattered the entire foggy area, overturning the soil thoroughly and exposing the mutant troops moving between the forest and the wilderness to the gunner's view.

After the main cannon had completed the bombardment, all positions quickly confirmed the shell fall points and target coordinates, and began the first round of firing correction based on the calculated shooting elements.

"Shooting elements set!"

"High-explosive bomb loaded!"

"Loading complete!"

"Ready—"

"Fire!"

The gunners inside the gun compartments violently pulled the lanyards, and numerous guns resounded in unison, the gun flanks of the airship flashing with streaks of thunder.

Dazzling orange tracers dived towards the ground, exploding into bursts of flames on the battlefield that had been cleared of mist.

Mutant soldiers advancing on the wilderness, who hadn't yet recovered from the earlier devastating explosion, many still stuck in mud pits, were immediately engulfed by the following barrage.

"Spread out!"

"Get down and take cover—!"

Struggling to prop himself up from the mud, Kulu let out a roaring cry, his bloodthirsty pupils filled with panic.

What in the world is...

this thing?

He hadn't even seen where the enemy was when the explosion suddenly sounded.

Then a hot blast, like a heavy hammer, struck his back and swept all the mutant soldiers across the plain.

Fortunately, the impact point of the shell was far enough from them, a few hundred meters away at the edge of their formation.

Nevertheless, even at such a distance, that apocalyptic power left countless minions feeling a bone-deep fear and shiver.

That was not a power of this Mortal realm.

They had never seen such terrifying artillery before!

Kulu's roar had just erupted when a series of whooshing sounds tore through the silence of the battlefield.

The blast of fire and billowing smoke swept over like a ruthless harrow, plowing from behind them.

Even though lying prone on the ground was a disgrace for the strength-worshipping and barbaric mutant warriors, Kulu knew this was not the time to show off, and he could only humbly bury his proud head.

The advancing barrage slowly pressed closer, the grey-green fog barely healing before being violently torn apart, exposing the muddy battlefield.

Shells were scattered across the wilderness as if they were free, spawning sparks everywhere, vowing not to spare an inch of this soil.

Cradling the back of his head, Kulu finally began to feel a trace of panic.

Especially when the boiling firelight exploded just ten meters away from him, especially when the hot shrapnel tore into his flesh, he, who was normally fearless, couldn't help but pray to the Saint Heir.

This was completely different from last night's air raid—the sky and earth seemed to shatter under its imposing aura, and what terrified him most was that he had no idea how to counter this power.

When the shelling finally ended—

It was much later.

He pushed himself up from the mud, nearly buried, and looked blankly around at the chaotic battlefield, feeling not a trace of joy for having survived.

Instead, he felt an unprecedented despair.

The battlefield, spanning several kilometers, looked as though it had been flipped over, with scorched black mud strewn with limbs and torsos everywhere.

He had no idea how many shells had fallen here or how many of his soldiers were still alive.

What were they...

fighting against?!

He blankly looked up at the sky, towards the north of Brocade River City, searching for answers towards the direction where the Iron Airship floated, but his vision was blocked by the gradually healing fog.

This brought him a fleeting joy, but soon after came a deep sense of humiliation and powerless frustration.

To vent the fear in his heart and to prove to his subordinates that he was not a coward, he raised his head and let out a reluctant roar.

"Cowards!"

"Cowards!"

"Hiding in the fog, what skill is that!"

"If you have the guts, come out and face Kulu in a real fight!"

He knew those two-legged beasts didn't have the courage.

Those guys only dared to shoot at them from atop those wildly flying flies, never daring to face a mutant grandfather!

While he swaggered, they could only watch from a distance!

Thinking this, Kulu's lips curled into a satisfied smirk.

Just as he was about to stand up and regroup his forces, warriors clad in heavy armor appeared at the edge of the thick fog, walking straight from the north.

Their long gun barrels emitted a chilling cold light, each person uniformly carrying a logging axe, their breastplates covered in green camouflage paint, and their shoulder armors bore indistinct badges.

The leader was even more exaggerated.

Standing on the wilderness like a black tower, his body nearly entirely covered in steel, from his toes to his head, with a thick gun barrel like a python welded directly to his arm.

Even though he couldn't see the man's eyes.

Kulu could still feel the intense thirst for battle emanating from him.

His pupils contracted slightly, and his chapped lips, along with his twisted muscles, drew up into a ferocious, bloodthirsty sneer.

Is this one of the Alliance's managers?

He had heard about it.

The leader of the northern Alliance's tribe, wrapped in iron, seemed to be a powerful Awakener.

But Kulu didn't care, whether it was power armor or a tank—in front of his pure power, they were all as flimsy as paper.

Even if they wore armor, two-legged beasts were still beasts, and he would prove this with his fists and teeth.

He picked up the axe-gun that had fallen to the ground, and Kulu raised his head and let out an earth-shattering roar, standing like a rampant beast, furiously glaring at the man.

"Come on!"

"Alliance leader—"

"Let me see what you're really made of!"

His gruff roar swept across the wilderness.

The muddy battlefield quieted down for a moment.

The black-tower-like man seemed to finally realize that the upright beast was addressing him.

Ignoring the arrogant challenge, the lips under the helmet slightly curled.

"A wild dog, fit to be an opponent of the manager?"

A joke!

Thinking of ascending to the springs without even dismantling a tower?

What a ridiculous notion!

Raising his chin, Midnight Chicken Killing emotionlessly watched the green-skinned beast, his bomb gun already aimed at his chest.

"Widen your dog eyes."

"Your opponent is me!"

Chapter 594: You Can Go to Heaven Yourself

"...Saint Heir above."

A few kilometers from the Battlefield, beside an abandoned water tank, a man dressed in Hunter's garb stood next to a rusting railing, holding binoculars and staring dumbfounded at the chaotic Battlefield in the distance, repeatedly muttering this phrase under his breath.

He was a Hunter from Town Of Hope, named Liu Youxiong.

Earlier, when the fog had set in, the pastor had spoken some mystical words, and Mayor Ma had sent him to check out the situation at Pine Farm.

Liu Youxiong didn't dare to delay.

It wasn't just because it was a command from Mayor Ma; it was more because Pastor Wei said that Saint Heir was furious and had unleashed divine punishment upon the traitors and heretics who had turned their backs on Torch.

His heart skipped a beat, both terrified that the divine punishment might affect his own family and anxious to know what that divine punishment actually was.

So he mounted his horse and sped away, but just halfway there, the apocalyptic flames and thunderous noise startled his mount and nearly threw him to the ground.

He quickly scrambled up from the ground and found a high spot, climbing up the solitary tower water tank next to some abandoned buildings.

Then he witnessed the following scene—

His pupils reflected the boiling flames and one charred corpse after another, and Liu Youxiong unconsciously swallowed his saliva.

This was...

The divine punishment of the Saint Heir?

But—

Was the location mistaken?

The ones burning in Hell were clearly those ugly beasts, those bloodthirsty Mutants living in the city areas.

He clearly remembered those man-eaters were the evil hounds under Saint Heir's command.

But why—

The hot wind that slowly blew by cleared the gray-green haze and also his confusion.

His gaze moved past the column of smoke reaching into the sky, and he saw the Iron Airship far on the horizon, twinkling with pinpoint lights.

Another round of artillery fire washed over the ravaged wilderness, like a rapid succession following a heavy hammer blow, and a series of sparkling lights swallowed the Mutant Corps.

At this point, no matter how much he believed in the power of Saint Heir, he could see it wasn't the divine punishment of Saint Heir—

But the wrath of the Alliance Managers!

...

"Roar—!"

His provocation was rudely thrown back, turning into a tangled surge of rage on Kulu's face.

He raised the Axe in his hand, and his mouth let out a boiling beastly roar.

In the pitch-black mud beneath them, the muscles bulging on the Mutant Warriors, they picked up their weapons and hatred, roaring as they charged at the human Army clad in heavy armor.

If they had been regular light infantry, the previous round of artillery fire would have completely wiped them out or, at the very least, rendered them combat powerless.

After all, this was a vast wilderness without any fortifications.

And in the previous bombing, the number of shells dropped by the Alliance had even surpassed the number of the Mutant troops.

However, the blood flowing in those beasts was the crystallization of the most advanced biological technology from the Prosperity Epoch.

Even if their limbs were blown off, their faces charred beyond recognition, even if their hearts ruptured, arteries severed, skulls embedded with shrapnel... as long as they didn't die on the spot, they could rise from the dark mud and even pick up their broken bones to fight.

Those twisted faces and bloodthirsty eyes were like evil spirits crawling out from the abyss.

Not to mention fighting them.

Anyone who could muster the courage in front of these beasts can be considered exceptional.

Unfortunately—

Those standing in front of them were not normal people.

But players.

Faced with the boiling roars and the suffocating killing intent, they only felt that this Dog plan was too Niubi!

"Fuck... This is too thrilling!"

A player wearing K10 "Iron Wall" Heavy exoskeleton, holding an XB-1 "Roarer" Bomb Gun, swallowed his saliva.

Staring straight at the cries that made Earth tremble, his eyes were not filled with fear but rather brimming with excitement and high fighting spirit.

He had missed the last mass brawl with the Mutants.

But this time, he had caught it!

He heard from the team leader, if they were lucky, they might even get featured in the promotional PV!

Allowing the surging fighting spirit to burn in his chest, Midnight Chicken Killing extended the 19mm bomb barrel welded to his arm.

"Brothers!"

Without any superfluous soliloquy—

For the unevolved beasts.

For the vermin that sucked blood from the back of civilization.

They had only ever had one thing to do.

As he pulled the trigger, he roared with all his strength.

"Kill—!"

Responses to that roar, shouts of boiling heat erupted one after another.

"Kill!"

"For the Alliance!"

"Aooo!"

The deafening roar seemed to shatter the clouds in the sky, making the roaring shouts of beasts pale in comparison.

Among those who had survived the gunfire, there were more than five hundred Mutant Warriors, but they were dispersed along a front several kilometers wide.

The Jungle Corps, deployed via helicopters on the Battlefield, only numbered one hundred twenty, but their combat will and organization were at their peak.

The moment that group of beasts came into range, Midnight Chicken Killing was the first to squeeze the trigger, and more than a hundred players wearing heavy exoskeletons also opened fire.

Orange tracer bullets danced wildly across the Battlefield, while the bursting flames flickered incessantly on the muddied wilderness.

Facing the sweep of the Bomb Guns, Mutants fired while advancing forward, falling one after the other, but the front quickly spread from directly in front of the Jungle Corps to both flanks.

These green-skinned beasts were not truly brainless; they simply disdained to use their brains when brute force could prevail.

Seeing the fire power of the Alliance and their thick Armor, Kulu immediately bellowed out an order, urging his lackeys to charge at all costs and engage the human Soldiers in close combat.

According to his experience, once his brutes got within ten steps, these bipedal creatures would lose their will to fight.

And this battle was about to turn into a one-sided slaughter!

The grey-green haze provided cover for the Mutants' charge, and though they sustained continuous casualties, their momentum did not slow.

Moreover, the Mutant Corps the Jungle Corps faced this time was totally different from the last bunch they had encountered.

Though also green-skinned beasts, most of these creatures had undergone synthetic modifications, and their weapons were more sophisticated.

Some carried heavy machine guns, others shouldered mortars, and there were also those who carried baskets full of grenades.

Thanks to their powerful muscles, they could unleash strength comparable to exoskeletons, hurling grenade-sized projectiles over a hundred meters.

The Mutant Soldiers converging from all parts of the Battlefield resembled a large bowl, pressing down upon the Alliance's narrow position.

Looking at the close battle lines and those suits of iron Armor, Kulu sneered coldly in his heart, his eyes flashing with bloodthirsty ferocity.

He swore.

He would kill that provocative creature in the cruelest way possible.

However, what made him feel uneasy was that this army in front of him showed no sign of retreating despite their unstoppable charge.

What were these guys trying to do?

Were they really counting on a few exoskeletons to stop them?

A faint unease lingered in Kulu's heart; these bipedal beasts seemed different from the others he had encountered elsewhere.

But there was no more time to hesitate.

In this Battlefield with visibility less than a dozen meters, a few breaths were all it took for the two forces to collide, engaging in close combat upon the soil plowed by gunfire.

"Die!"

A two-meter-tall Mutant stepped out from the mist, firing off a shotgun that sent a fan of fiery sparks slamming into the chest of an Alliance Soldier in front.

The lead shot made a dent in the pitch-black Breastplate.

Yet the man who had been shot did not even sway, lifting his muzzle and returning fire with a 19mm armor-piercing bullet.

At this ideal range of barely ten meters, sitting right on the edge of the Bomb Gun's safety distance.

The explosive bullet banged into the Mutant's shoulder, and the scalding metal jet instantly sprayed from its scapula, scattering bits of flesh and bone all over the ground.

The Mutant's eyes bulged, bloodshot, and without a sound, it collapsed to the ground,

Looking down at the collapsed beast, Ground Model cracked a smirk.

"MMP! You're still too green to trade shots with me!"

Regrettably, his coolness lasted but three seconds.

Before his forced swagger could carry through, three to five more Mutants strode through the mud and reached him.

He calmly lifted his muzzle, squeezed the trigger, but heard a click, his heart skipped a beat, and without a second thought, threw down the Bomb Gun and drew the logging axe hanging from his exoskeleton.

At almost the same moment he swung the axe, the nearest Mutant had already charged at him, revving the bulky Chainsaw in its hand.

A twisted gash painted with blood adorned its metal-clad Skull, its twisted face covered in hideous fury–this was an Elite Monster, a Synthetic Mutant!

Dodging the deadly strike with a step to the side, close to the buried chainsaw, he stepped forward nimbly, whipping the axe upward from below, and chopped fiercely into the Mutant's ribs.

From the sensation in his palm, he could feel the stutter of flesh parting from bone, that hit likely cutting through several of the creature's ribs.

"Roar-!"

A testament to Mutant regenerative power, the muscle-bound green beast let out a pained roar, its bulging eyes nearly bleeding.

With muscles swelling to their limit, it struggled to pull the stuck Chainsaw from the ground, flinging the whining chain towards that human Warrior.

But that lethal second strike still missed as the cunning creature ducked.

"What's wrong, brother?"

The whirling chain scraped against his shoulder armor, producing a grating noise that broke him out in a cold sweat, but Ground Model still sneered mockingly.

Regardless of whether the Mutant understood, he pulled out an explosive bullet and shoved it into the red-hot buckle in the creature's chest, then swung his axe.

The blunt force hit the primer in an instant, the smoky explosion followed, and dazzling sparks erupted from the tail of the explosive bullet.

The Mutant staggered back a step, reached out to pull the scorching explosive bullet from his chest, but tripped over a recently fallen corpse, tumbled backward losing his balance, and with it, his last chance at life.

"Bang!"

The scorching metal jet pierced through his chest, drilling out from his scar-covered back, causing his sturdy body to uncontrollably jerk upwards.

Wiping the blood off his helmet, the Ground Model just wanted to catch his breath when another towering mutant charged in front of him.

This time it was a brute with a cannon barrel in one hand and a nail hammer in the other – none of their synthetic limbs were duplicates!

"Damn it… how many more of these beasts are there?!"

With an axe, he chopped off the cannon barrel aimed at his chest. After taking a blow to the shoulder, the Ground Model grunted and cursed into the comm channel before retaliating fiercely with his axe.

They'd been bombing them for several rounds, how could there still be so many?!

Team voice comms came through the channel.

"The mission brief said five to six hundred."

Just by hearing the chaotic noise, one could guess the fierceness of the battle.

Watching the green head flying off, the Ground Model tossed aside the greasy axe and picked up the nail hammer dropped by the elite monster.

"Are you sure there are only five to six hundred?!"

The communication channel was filled with rustling noises.

"… Who cares how many are left, just freakin' finish it!"

Indeed.

Who cares how many more there were.

As the bloody atmosphere became intoxicating and the Ground Model gradually found his groove, his expression also turned ferocious.

Now was the rare opportunity—

Might as well kill to his heart's content!

"Roger that!"

Gunshots in the Wasteland were almost inaudible; at close range, it was the axes, hammers, and chainsaws that were most effective.

For the exceedingly resilient mutants, a bayonet half a finger wide seemed like a toy, and it might not even be as hard as their bones.

Even if they had their bellies sliced open and their intestines falling out, they could still swing the clubs in their hands to fight, only by completely smashing their skulls or punching a through-and-through hole in their chest could they be truly killed!

Likewise, for Alliance soldiers armored to the teeth with exoskeletons, piercing damage from sharp weapons and rifles couldn't penetrate the "Iron Wall" heavy exoskeleton.

Even a shotgun loaded with excessive charges could only kill them with a headshot, and if it was a rifle with standard caliber, it would require sustained shooting to break the armor due to metal fatigue.

This slow method of combat clearly wasn't the style of these mutants, and coincidentally, the tough men of the Jungle Corps had no interest in kiting and exchanging fire with them.

Thus, both sides unanimously chose to engage in close-quarters blows to determine the victor, fighting each other in the most primitive way.

The chaotic battlefield was like a rolling meat grinder, relentlessly devouring one fresh life after another, spewing out chunks of mangled flesh.

Kulu's expression was first ferocious, then insane. Finally, after killing the second Alliance soldier, his uncontrollable frenzy turned to bewilderment and panic.

Whether in numbers or strength, it was clear they had the advantage on their side, yet the brothers charging forward kept being taken down one after another.

It was supposed to be their home turf for hand-to-hand combat!

This was meant to be their hunt!

These guys...

Were they really human?

When the warm blood splattered on him, when he licked it into his mouth, he could assure that the animals before him were those weak beings.

But when he saw that warrior, whose armor he had sliced open with a chainsaw, not running away but instead charging at him with a ferocious face against the howling chainsaw, Kulu was completely stunned.

In the rapidly-changing battlefield, any distraction could be fatal, and he quickly paid the price for his confusion.

The explosion's shockwave destroyed his chainsaw, and the shattered steel fragments hit his chest along with the flesh.

"Ah—!"

Kulu let out a pained roar as he staggered two steps backward, looking at the fragment embedded in his arm, he furiously yanked and threw it away.

If it weren't for the experts at Torch enhancing the structure of his synthetic limbs, that single hit would have been enough to incapacitate him.

Propping himself up with an axe spear, Kulu staggered to his feet. He was as strong as a Double-headed Cow, yet his advancing steps were more akin to those of a staggering donkey.

These people were insane.

No—

They weren't human at all.

They were something else wearing human skin!

Those weak bipeds couldn't possibly be this tough; these guys were simply more beastial than himself!

The sounds of combat began to diminish.

Not because the enemies in front of him were at their last gasp, but because more and more mutants were falling before those iron bodies.

Normally, it would cost them the lives of three to four warriors to take down one Alliance soldier in exoskeletons.

And that was the best-case scenario.

In reality, three Alliance soldiers formed a team, supporting two other teams. They often lost more than a dozen lives without taking down a single head.

Even in the melee chaos, those humans still maintained the bare minimum of teamwork, thinking of the comrades beside them while fighting ferociously.

This was something Kulu couldn't comprehend!

However, although filled with uncertainty, one thing he was sure of—if they kept fighting to the death, the annihilation of his entire force was inevitable!

Hungry wolf-like gazes scoured the battlefield, and soon he spotted that distinctive figure amidst the occasionally obscuring mist.

The figure stood in the heart of the battlefield like an iron tower, an insurmountable wall.

A dozen-plus soldiers had fallen before him, and the chainsaw embedded in his left arm was still tirelessly swinging, chopping off heads with the ease of felling trees.

Dancing blood splattered over the man, drenching him completely in red, from head to toe, like a living banner.

Though the guy denied being the Manager, there was no doubt he was the leader of these humans.

"Ha, utterly insane!"

He seemed to be shouting something excitedly.

But Kulu couldn't hear clearly, nor did he understand, only sensing that the surrounding Alliance Soldiers seemed to be inspired by that roar.

Kulu's gaze grew dangerous, staring straight at the man, as he picked up a still-spinning chainsaw from the ground.

Just kill that guy...

Surely these people would break and run in terror!

Coincidentally, it seemed the man noticed his gaze too and looked back at him, revealing a savage sneer behind the blood-caked helmet.

Kulu couldn't see his smile, but the moment he was caught in that gaze, an involuntary shiver went through him, and a furious shame immediately flared up in his heart.

He—a warrior graced with honor—was frightened by what should have been easy prey!

"To hell with you!"

He roared and charged.

The man didn't dodge or parry, proudly brandishing the welded chainsaw on his left arm, and roared back, charging towards him.

"Madness!"

"Utter madness!"

Contrary to what Kulu had imagined, Brother Chicken had completely lost his command, even forgetting his damn rank as leader of the Army.

His mind was filled with only the records of his last kill.

He had gone completely mad with killing.

...

Standing in that sacred place not rooted in the earthly realm, Luo Gan watched the battlefield through mortal eyes, his face devoid of expression.

Such barbarism...

Such ugliness...

Previously, he had been curious about how the Alliance would fight against the pieces he had placed on the chessboard, never imagining they would devolve into beasts.

His face carried a trace of irritation, tinged with pity and sympathy.

Wasteland was indeed such a filthy affair; to survive, people had to dive headlong into the jungle, becoming beasts that devoured flesh and blood.

And in this process, humanity unwittingly became part of the jungle, transforming every inch of soil into a hell where civilization could not thrive.

"...It might as well all start over again." With a hint of resentment and satisfaction, he watched the writhing mass of flesh below and delivered the monologue in an icy tone.

But he quickly realized this was an emotion he should not harbor—he was to lead those lambs towards a glorious sacrifice in pursuit of a grand ambition, and must not judge life and death based on personal feelings; that would be sacrilege to both life and ideals.

Not to mention a blasphemy against divinity.

"Indeed, my cultivation is still lacking..."

Luo Gan cast his eyes downward, reflecting on his heart. Yet, he couldn't help but ponder the origin of that "improper irritation."

Was it because of Yinyin?

The little girl was like the granddaughter he had lost many years ago—childish but not bad by nature, naive yet eager to learn, occasionally wilful, but deep down, she hated doing harm to others… For a farmer's child, her qualities could be seen as kind or cowardly.

He was curious about what she would become, thus he casually gave her some guidance from an elder's standpoint.

Regretfully, before he could see this budding flower mature, it perished in the pot beside the laboratory window.

"Indeed, barbaric soil could never nurture civilized branches, much less a beautiful and delicate flower. Even had she survived, she probably wouldn't have lived well... Death may have been the most tender ending for her."

He mumbled to himself, facing the empty Holy Land, as if comforting himself, as if convincing himself.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

"But I swear to you, once all is over, you will live a carefree life in the new world, running freely under the sun."

"All that once bound you will no longer exist; your worries will vanish along with the old world... It will be a Heaven more prosperous than the Prosperity Epoch, a true Utopia descending upon mankind."

He let out a soft sigh.

However, just then, a derisive laugh from some unseen place unexpectedly intruded into this sacred, inviolable domain.

"Promising an earthly Heaven to the already dead, masking your incompetence with daydreams and lies… How laughable. So, your method to end this jungle is to kill everyone here? You are even worse than those big-nosed fools; at least they set a fire, and fire can truly destroy this forest."

"Who's there?!"

Luo Gan opened his eyes wide and looked around but couldn't see the source of the voice. Suddenly, his pupils contracted slightly, recalling the chip left on Yinyin's body.

Those people dared to use her corpse to spout such nonsense!

Anger flickered through Luo Gan's cloudy eyes; he reached out to silence that annoying voice, but his withered fingers froze midair.

That authoritative voice carried a tinge of disdain and contempt, completely disregarding that frail, powerless husk.

"Even if we devolve into beasts, fighting this Wasteland with stones, sticks, or even fists and teeth, we will not forget who we are, where we are headed."

"Keep your Heaven for yourself."

"We're not going anywhere; we'll rebuild our own nation right here on Earth."

Chapter 595: Broke the Record!

Chu Guang was completely stunned.

So was Xiao Yue, lying beside him.

The thick smog had already dissipated a lot, and with binoculars in their hands, they watched the battlefield that had been covered by artillery fire without blinking.

If the previous round of artillery fire had only shocked him with the firepower of the "Iron Heart," then this frontal battlefield confrontation had completely overturned his perception of humanity.

Those guys...

Were they really still human?

He had never seen human soldiers who could fight mutants toe-to-toe in hand-to-hand combat.

And at that moment, he lightly saw a guy clad in a heavy exoskeleton, cleave a two-meter-tall Synthetic Mutant in half with a chainsaw, and then smoothly pull out a salvaged shotgun to blow the head off a green-skinned monster.

What was even more inconceivable to him was—

Those beasts had actually begun to fear.

Yes.

Fearsome expressions clearly emerged on the faces of those devils, and he could hardly believe his own eyes—those beasts who idolized death and slaughter were actually scared by a group of even more reckless fellows.

It was like the sun had risen from the west!

"…It looks like Brother Chicken has taken care of it," Fang Chang said calmly, as he put away the binoculars, standing not far from the two.

The battle itself had lost its suspense.

Previously, Brother Chicken had managed to hold off a thousand-strong team with just over twenty brothers, and now one hundred and twenty fully armed heavy infantry were dealing with a bunch of bomb-blasted guys; if they still turned over, they might as well delete their accounts and start over.

Even though this group was much stronger than the previous one.

But in the end, a beast was still a beast; even if equipped with human weapons and learning human tactics, they couldn't change their innate savagery.

The only suspense now was how many heads Brother Chicken had chopped off. The folks on the official website who had nothing better to do had placed a bet and even wanted him to act as the judge.

Unfortunately, the visibility here was poor, and they could only see the general outline.

In the end, they had to ask Brother Chicken himself how many he had killed.

Xiao Yue swallowed hard, got up from the ground, and looked towards Fang Chang, unable to help himself from asking.

"That… those people, are they from the Burning Corps?"

If it were those guys…

It wouldn't be too surprising for them to steal something monstrous like the "Iron Heart."

Fang Chang was taken aback for a moment, scratched his head, and said with a smile.

"You're talking about them… Those brothers are from the Jungle Corps, although they're pretty ruthless too."

Jungle Corps?

Chu Guang and Xiao Yue looked at each other, swapping the confusion in their eyes, and gradually their faces revealed a hint of shock.

He faintly heard from the northern merchants that the Ace fighting against the armies in the Falling Leaves Province on behalf of the Alliance included the Burning Corps as well as the Storm, Death, Skull, and several other corps. However, he had never heard of the Jungle Corps.

A previously unknown corps could possess such combat power…

How formidable must the legendary Burning Corps be?

But speaking of which, the gentleman before him seemed to be from the Burning Corps.

Presumably recalling this matter, the way the two NPCs looked at Fang Chang changed.

Xiao Yue excitedly passed a look to Chu Guang.

'Haiya Province is saved!'

Chu Guang was also excitedly nodding.

'Yes!'

With such a powerful neighbor as an ally, why worry about restoring Haiya Province!

The grand aspiration of driving the evil cultists out of his homeland…

He finally saw hope for its realization!

…

Elsewhere, beside an abandoned water tank, hunters hurried from Town Of Hope stood dumbfounded, staring at the cleared battlefield.

The elevation here was relatively higher, and the visibility much better, they could see the center of the battlefield that Fang Chang and the others couldn't.

Only to see that green-skinned monster with its claws bared, pierced through the chest by a thick chainsaw, with blood and flesh flung several meters high by the revolving saw blade.

The sunlight, passing through the thinning gray-green haze, faintly constructed a splendid bridge amidst the mist of blood.

Standing in front of that green-skinned monster, the fierce man holding up his left arm had been showered with blood, blending in with the blood-covered steel armor.

Liu Youxiong's eyes bulged, mouth agape, his jaw hanging, unable to believe his own eyes.

After a while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence from his petrified throat.

"…Won?"

A human... if one could still call him human, had actually killed a synthetic mutant in one-on-one close combat!

And by the looks of it, the one he killed seemed to be a leader among mutants, possibly a Centurion or even higher.

Gradually, the disbelief etched in his eyes turned to admiration.

At that moment, an aged voice sounded in his ear.

"Do you envy him?"

Liu Youxiong jumped in fright, hurriedly looking around, only to find nothing but empty space beside the rusty railing.

The voice seemed to be in his mind.

He swallowed, and honestly replied.

"I... I do envy him."

The air was quiet for a while.

Just as he awkwardly thought he had imagined the voice, to his surprise, it spoke again.

"Poor child..."

The voice carried a hint of pity, but Liu Youxiong didn't feel any comfort and muttered a response with his head lowered.

"I don't need you to tell me that, I already know," Chu Guang grumbled.

The one thing Town Of Hope was most lacking was hope itself; being born there was like being cursed for eight generations, a fact that didn't require anyone to point out to him.

After his father was eaten by a bear, his mother had given him a name that included 'Bear', to remind him to always be wary of the wild bears in the forest.

Yet when he shouldered his hunting gun and ventured out of the village, he realized that a few wild bears were hardly a danger. Far more terrifying creatures roamed the Wasteland.

But he had no choice but to venture out.

All his father had passed down to him was that often malfunctioning hunting gun, and without any other skills, hunting was his only option to avoid starvation.

The voice fell silent for a while, as if pondering.

Then, after a moment, the aged voice continued.

"If you had that power, what would you do?" it asked.

Liu Youxiong answered almost without hesitation.

"Make a lot of money!"

He had heard that mercenaries could earn a lot, whether it was golden coins or those colorful bits of paper, which could be traded for many things he couldn't get by exchanging his hunting spoils.

But he wasn't good at fighting, nor did he have any sophisticated weapons.

If he had that great strength...

He imagined he would be able to eat meat heartily and drink fine wines just like those mercenaries sitting in the Grizzly and Streetlight Tavern.

To him, that was what living truly looked like.

The voice didn't mock his aspirations, but calmly continued to inquire.

"And then what?"

Liu Youxiong was taken aback.

"Then...buy a piece of land?" he ventured.

The voice pressed on.

"And after that?"

Liu Youxiong began to get irritated. If this person could just pop into his mind out of nowhere, why didn't they pry open his skull and take a look for themselves?

"How many 'afters' are there..."

He didn't want to play along with that pretentious fool any longer, but unfortunately, he couldn't find the button to turn off the voice.

Ignoring his frustration, the voice went on talking to itself.

"The strong consume the weak, and once the weak gain power, they don't think about ending the chaos of the Wasteland, but become the next flesh-eating creature... I've looked into your past, as well as Giant Stone City's. In every place we go, we search for that almost non-existent possibility. Sadly, what we see is uglier than the wild beasts; beings that should live like humans turning themselves and others into forest animals."

Struggling to comprehend the man's words, Liu Youxiong swallowed hard.

"Who are you exactly?"

"I..."

There was a pause as if he was hesitant to reveal his name, but he eventually spoke frankly.

"I am Luo Gan."

Usually, he would tell mortals that he was the Saint Heir and to the Apostles that he was a Pioneer because it saved the needless and cumbersome explanations.

Unconsciously, he had started to play the role of a deity, using divinity instead of humanity to think everything through.

But now, he had changed his mind.

They had built a near-perfect System for that grand plan, using technology left from the Human Alliance Era, and they had sacrificed themselves first before any others, to ensure the plan's uninterrupted execution in exchange for eternal time.

Ironically, it was himself, the one who should be the least fallible, who wavered at the last moment.

Was it really necessary to tear down the whole house just to deal with the mouse sneaking inside?

What shook him wasn't the mockery from the Alliance Manager; deep down, he despised those pragmatic utilitarians who dealt with problems on a surface level without touching the core.

That Alliance Manager wouldn't be greater than the First Generation Manager of Giant Stone City, but what had that settlement turned into?

Singular Point City was no exception.

He didn't know when that noble ideal of saving everyone, relying on neither heaven nor earth but on oneself, had compromised with reality, morphing into something he had never envisioned. Those people were even worse than the nobles of Giant Stone City; at least those pretentious folk didn't use stew pots when they ate people.

The Torch Church may have been a bit extreme, but to Luo Gan, compared to the real Torch Plan devised by the pre-war elites, they were much more merciful.

At least they didn't plan to kill all life on the planet to create a pure paradise.

They truly intended to save everyone and elevate humanity to a higher existence, eradicating the Wasteland entirely.

Luo Gan never doubted that what he was doing was right, nor did he care how those ignorant fools ridiculed him.

But just when he was about to silence that voice for good, he thought of the little girl lying in a pool of blood.

He had left many chips in that Church district, but only one was special to him. He had dispersed divinity into innumerable parts across this Land, yet kept the only bit of humanity for her.

When that chip carrying the memory of death was reactivated, the shreds of data flowed back into him, his soul trembled uncontrollably.

The interrogating voice incessant in his ears made him question himself.

All those lives methodically, en masse sacrificed over the past twenty years, did they outnumber the demons and monsters of the Wasteland?

In that moment, Luo Gan suddenly realized that on the road to Utopia, he seemed to have become part of the Wasteland himself.

The weight was immeasurable...

Heaven's arrival was only one step away, and the Alliance didn't seem to realize what this mist signified.

Yet at the very end, he couldn't bring himself to take the final step.

He wanted to ask for the opinion of the common people, as Luo Gan.

As a man, not as a god.

It was something he hadn't done in a long time.

"...Luo Gan?" Liu Youxiong looked puzzled upon hearing the name.

He had never heard of it before, yet it seemed vaguely familiar.

Was it something he heard from a pastor or the mayor?

Luo Gan didn't mind and patiently asked.

"Why do you believe in the Torch Church?"

Liu Youxiong scratched his head in confusion.

"I... I don't know. I actually used to believe in the Great Antler God, but the big shots in town told us it was better to believe in this, and the mutants wouldn't bully us anymore. So, we believed."

Yeah.

It was to avoid being bullied by mutants.

He had almost forgotten!

A fire was smoldering in Liu Youxiong's heart.

He felt deceived because things were not at all like those people had said.

Those green-skinned folks didn't care at all about what they believed or didn't believe, and that high and mighty Saint Heir didn't care about them either, instead, they started to intimidate them with divine punishment. Was the deception first, or did their doubt come first?

He was just a hunter; why must he go to that so-called Heaven and wait to live a better life after gaining strength? Was it wrong that the sky was blue and the clouds were white?

Luo Gan didn't care about his anger and calmly continued to ask.

"So, do you want to go to the Heaven that the Saint Heir described?"

Now harboring no good feelings towards the Saint Heir, Liu Youxiong didn't dare to curse out loud but couldn't help snorting with a cold sneer.

"Heaven? Ha, are you talking about this patch of stench-filled fog? If it's as smoggy there as it is here, I actually pity the people living there!"

He waited a long time without hearing a response, and a pang of panic struck his heart.

That Luo Gan...

Could he be an Apostle sent by the Saint Heir?

He wouldn't snitch, would he?

Restless in that silent atmosphere, a bead of cold sweat slowly trekked across Liu Youxiong's forehead.

At that moment, he heard a light sigh.

"I see."

My training is still not enough...

Luo Gan silently mused to himself as he walked away from his side.

"What do you see?"

Listening to that cryptic remark, Liu Youxiong looked around in confusion but saw no one apart from the desolate ruins.

He was sure he hadn't gone mad.

Someone had indeed been here, but it seemed they had left in disappointment after not receiving his approval.

As if they had never been there...

...

In the center of the battlefield.

Kulu slowly lifted his stiff neck to look at the chainsaw implanted in his chest, then at the iron hulk standing before him.

That fellow was far from fine too. After dozens of rounds of beating each other, his blood-soaked armor was riddled with dents and cracks, and Kulu's chainsaw had almost cleaved the guy in half.

But this was nowhere near comforting to him.

As a warrior given a name by his leader, losing to a human was shameful.

Especially on the matter of strength and courage he prized most.

Tonight, he'd probably become the laughing stock among all his kin.

Kulu's mouth twisted in a cruel smile as he stared at the helmet with only a narrow slit visible and asked in a raspy voice.

"What's your name?"

"Twenty-One."

Those eyes under the helmet stared back at him coldly, the muffled reply drifting through the small gap.

Kulu didn't understand what he was saying, taking it as self-introduction.

Lowering his dark green head, he muttered to himself.

"Twenty-One... huh?"

He would remember this name.

When he went to the land of the dead, he would wait for this fellow to come down and then fight him thoroughly...

Next time, he would surely not lose.

Crack—!

Amid the grating sound of gears, bones and flesh were flung into the sky by the spinning saw.

The terse and taciturn Midnight Chicken Killing suddenly lifted the chainsaw welded to his left arm, slicing Kulu from chest to shoulder in two.

The burly body crashed heavily to the ground, blood quickly seeping into the dark, muddied soil.

As the Centurion died at that human's hands, the remaining mutants finally couldn't withstand the panic in their hearts.

Just as they had howled and charged in, the battered mutants now turned tail towards the direction of Brocade River City in utter desperation.

These creatures were not human—

They were devils!

And this hastened their rout!

"Crush them!"

Midnight Chicken Killing roared, straightening his right arm's 19mm gun barrel, removing the jammed feeding mechanism and jamming in a fragmentation round.

Bang—!

A mutant soldier was shot in the back, blinding sparks bursting from its chest. It didn't even have the chance to scream before being forcefully thrown to the ground by the brutal destructive force.

"Run them down!"

"Think you can run? Not a chance!"

"Howl!"

The other blood-soaked players also picked up their bomb guns, switched magazines, and fired at the fleeing mutants.

Streaks of light danced on the muddy battlefield as the advancing players fired away, resembling meat grinders in motion.

Under the baptism of bullets and gunfire, the last dozen mutant soldiers perished one by one until none remained.

The battle had completely ended.

The group began tallying their casualties.

They had arrived with a hundred and twenty people, now only ninety-seven remained; only twenty-three unlucky brothers had fallen to the mutants.

As for how many they had killed, most players couldn't remember, only estimating roughly five to six hundred.

Without a doubt, this was a thoroughly exhilarating victory!

Not only had they severely crushed the arrogant momentum of those green-skinned brutes, but they also proved to the survivors on this land that those beasts were not invincible!

Victorious cheers echoed throughout the battlefield.

"Brother Chicken is awesome!"

"Hahaha, that was insanely fun!"

"Brother! Do we have a chance to be on the promo PV?"

"Getting on camera shouldn't be a problem!"

"Darn, I'm this fierce and I'm only getting one shot??"

"Dude! You're not satisfied with one shot?"

"It's mainly because there are too many badasses in this server, one minute of PV just isn't enough to share, let's ask the planner—cough, to make the video a bit longer."

Watching their brothers cheering for victory, Midnight Chicken Killing and the others coming up, including Picheng Paratrooper, Bookworm, Ground Model, and the rest of the gang, slapped hands.

Before he could even catch his breath, Ground Model asked excitingly,

"How about it, brother? How many did you get?"

He too had participated in the wager on the forum, having bet a mere two hundred silver coins, certain that Brother Chicken would definitely break his previous record this time.

The prowess of Brother Killing Chicken was evident to all.

Even though this battle was an easy win, the remaining kills weren't enough to split among the hundred-plus brothers, but this guy never commanded during a fight and charged faster than anyone else.

Breaking the record of sixteen kills was still hopeful!

Looking towards the corpses strewn about, Midnight Chicken Killing, having regained his senses, smiled naively and rubbed his helmet with the turned-off chainsaw.

"Just enough to break the record."

And he had also broken Junk King's record.

This time, he was truly elated!

…

Iron Heart, outside the medical bay.

Standing outside in the corridor, Chu Guang's gaze passed through a side porthole, looking down at the distant, gray-green haze.

Although he couldn't see the situation on the ground from here, there were always players seriously wounded in battle who would choose to patch themselves up instead of dealing with the trouble.

Just now, he had already learned about the outcome of this battle in advance through the official forum, from posts made by those players.

Those players were his eyes.

They could see for him the places he couldn't watch.

Frost, who usually appeared a bit dull, now approached him with a somber look on his face.

"Sorry... we did our best."

Chu Guang, with his back to him, let out a soft sigh.

"Don't blame yourself... we've done all that we could."

After Yinyin got shot, the players stationed there immediately called for the Viper transport plane, and, accompanied by Chen Yutong, they took her onto the airship.

Although the young girl wasn't a citizen of the Alliance, her recovery was the players' wish, and Chu Guang also placed great importance on it. He immediately contacted the medical staff dispatched by The Enterprise faction to the ship to rescue her.

Sadly, she had already lost her heartbeat by the time she landed on the ship, and even an emergency replacement of bionic organs couldn't save her life.

He wasn't someone who liked to express anger with words, nor did he sympathize with the farmer who had brought it upon himself.

However, upon seeing that bloodless face, he couldn't help but have Solar Eclipse activate the chip in her head, giving the guy hiding in the Holy Land a piece of his mind.

Frost stood silently facing Chu Guang's back, unusually at a loss for words.

It still couldn't comprehend what kind of plan required the sacrifice of tens of thousands of people to complete.

And when Chu Guang told it that this figure was only what they saw, and that countless more zeros could be added to the unseen numbers, it almost couldn't believe his words.

Was this the conclusion humanity had reached after running out of ideas?

This was different from plain war.

Even if it couldn't agree, at least it could understand what the Army was trying to do; but these guys were stubbornly doing something it couldn't comprehend at all.

Frost felt lost for a moment.

Xiao Qi, sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder, remained silent.

It could feel that its master wasn't in a good mood, but didn't know what to say, and could only stay quietly by his side.

Suddenly, the door to the medical bay swung open, and the unemotional Solar Eclipse walked out of the room.

Chu Guang looked towards it, about to inquire about the current situation, but Solar Eclipse, approaching them, spoke first.

"She's dead."

Hearing its declaration of death, Chu Guang showed no surprise, merely sighing softly.

"I know."

Sadness was written all over Frost's face.

Solar Eclipse continued to look at Chu Guang with an expressionless face, its pupils flickering slightly.

"But she's still alive."

Frost: "?"

Xiao Qi: "??"

Chu Guang: "...?"

What?

Chapter 596: The Descent of Heaven

Ever since she could remember, Yinyin had lived in her family's garden.

She still remembered two years ago, when she was six, sitting on her father's shoulders and looking at the world outside the farm for the first time. Her father asked her how it felt, and after thinking for a while, she shook her head and said that although the outside world was vast, it was still far inferior to the garden on the estate.

She also remembered her father laughing heartily, then saying something more. She couldn't recall the exact words, but she remembered the gist was that the forest outside, the mountains, and the plains, would all soon become part of the farm—they would have an even bigger estate.

By then, she would no longer be the farmer's daughter but a princess of the kingdom.

At first, she didn't understand her father's thinking until, later on, her home tutor taught her the word "ambition."

But what still confused her was, if the idea sounded good, why did everyone want to flee from here, to the point that her father had to take children her age as hostages, and one of them was her friend?

Of course, that was just one of many perplexities.

What confused her more was, if the idea truly was not bad...

Why was it that ever since that day, the wasteland beyond the fence remained unchanged, while the fence's inside became more like the outside with each passing day?

When she opened her eyes again, she was greeted by a pure white space, soft light reflecting off her lightweight eyelashes without causing any discomfort.

She looked around bewilderedly.

She found herself in a pure white space.

"Where am I?"

A strange voice seemed to drift from a far distance.

"Welcome to the Lord God's Space."

Yinyin was momentarily stunned, looking towards the stranger who suddenly appeared in the space, unable to grasp the situation.

"…What?"

"Cough… Sorry," intending to lighten the mood with a harmless joke, Chu Guang had just spoken when he remembered the people of this world would not understand the reference, so he coughed lightly.

Watching her puzzled eyes, he adjusted his expression and continued.

"This is the Holy Land."

Yinyin looked at him bewilderedly.

"Holy Land?"

Chu Guang nodded gently.

"Yes."

Her confusion remained unabated, and Yinyin gazed at him nervously, whispering cautiously.

"Then... who are you?"

Chu Guang continued with a gentle tone.

"I am the Manager of the Alliance."

"Manager?"

Yinyin's face exuded bewilderment.

She had heard of the Alliance and vaguely of a 'Manager,' but she had no idea what that entailed.

Speaking of which…

Wasn't I dead?

Memories clouded by a white mist slowly became clear in her mind, and she gradually recalled the last second before she closed her eyes.

To save her best friend, she had stood in front of Little Lamb, and a bullet had struck her back, passing right through her body.

The man had approached her, about to strike, and it seemed someone suddenly arrived, grappling with the man, both of them falling out of the window together.

And after that…

There was no after.

"Little Lamb—"

Knowing what she wanted to ask, Chu Guang looked at her and said.

"Thanks to you, she's still alive and now under our protection."

Yinyin sighed in relief.

After a long silence, her lips trembled slightly, squeezing out a barely audible sentence.

"Am I… already dead?"

Chu Guang fell silent for a while, pondering whether to tell her the truth, but eventually, he nodded gently.

"Yes."

The expression on Yinyin's face seemed to confirm her suspicion.

What surprised him, though, was that she did not express sadness. Instead, she relaxed her tense shoulders and let out a light smile.

That smile was tinged with loneliness and reluctance.

"So this is what death feels like…"

She looked at her hands, then raised her head to the pure white ceiling, chuckling to herself, "It doesn't hurt as much as I imagined."

Chu Guang didn't know how to respond to that.

His memories of death were mostly from dreams, and perhaps his little players had more right to speak on it.

After a pause, he decided to answer her earlier question.

"Returning to your previous question, although your physical body is dead, your consciousness has been preserved on a bionic chip… Its name is 'Holy Land,' which is this space beneath your feet, and that's also why we can communicate face to face."

The memories in her mind became fully clear.

Yinyin nodded in half-comprehension, then lowered her head after a moment and asked.

"Holy Land… is it where the Saint Heir lives?"

Chu Guang nodded and then gently shook his head.

"The person who was communicating with you is actually named Luo Gan. He might have told you his name was Saint Heir, but in fact, the Saint Heir is someone else."

Not angered at having been deceived, she seemed to have expected his words, only glancing around and asking with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Does he live in a place like this…"

"And he has for nearly twenty years," Chu Guang nodded gently, pausing before continuing, "In the end, he left this place to you."

"Where did he go then?" Yinyin's gaze wandered around the room, seemingly in search of the person who had communicated with her all this time.

"I don't know, that guy might have been hurt by my words, and he hasn't bothered with me since; after everything, he just vanished from this space."

Chu Guang looked towards the center of the room where a plain chair had previously been placed; the old man had been sitting there.

He paused, then continued.

"The chip no longer contains his data, including that apostle... I can no longer sense his existence, I'm more inclined to believe that he might have given this world to you."

"Given it to me..."

"Yes."

Yinyin looked at him bewilderedly and asked,

"Why would he do that?"

"No one knows, you might be the only person who has communicated with him as a person, I think you might know the answer."

"How could I possibly know that," Yinyin hugged her head, her expression tinged with pain, "I have so many questions I want to ask him, I said I would trust him, but why did he turn everyone into that, what kind of heaven needs such actions to be realized, can we... not go there?"

As she was on her deathbed, she had figured everything out.

Including why everyone had changed, why her father had died, and why those people came to kill her friends... Yet, she was still not smart enough, realizing all this too late.

If she had realized all this earlier, realized who the real culprit was, she could have shared her secrets with those who extended their help to her in time.

Perhaps those tragic events would not have had to occur, and that big brother wouldn't have had to die trying to save her and Little Lamb.

There was only one thing she was grateful for.

That she stood beside Little Lamb in those moments.

At least she hadn't committed a regrettable mistake—killing her best friend because of her blind trust.

"…Choosing is more expensive than survival, ever since the Alliance was formed we have been fighting for this power," unable to bear seeing that sad look anymore, Chu Guang sighed lightly and spoke in a soothing tone, "We will try to let you walk in the original world, but it will take some time, you might have to stay here for a while."

"If you remember something, you can call my name."

He was about to leave this space.

At that moment, Yinyin, who was holding her head, suddenly looked up and called out to him.

"Wait..."

Chu Guang stopped, casting an inquiring look at her.

"What's wrong?"

"That fog..."

"Fog?" Chu Guang frowned slightly, "What did you think of?"

Yinyin nodded gently, her face pale.

"I might have remembered... what that fog really is."

That person had told her before.

More than once—

She quietly recited the phrase in her mouth.

"…The eternal heaven will descend upon the land of mortals when the gray mist rises, and all creatures engulfed by heaven will return to eternal calm and tranquility."

Chu Guang's pupils slightly constricted.

He seemed to have a guess...

...

Brocade River City.

A cold, deathly silent urban area.

Watching the gray-green haze spreading over the abandoned buildings and the gradually obscured sunset in the distance, the hunched figure of High Priest Gomo furrowed his brows, muttering softly,

"The time has come earlier than expected."

Standing beside him, Qi Gaen spoke expressionlessly.

"Isn't it good to be early?"

Unlike Gomo,

His gaze was fixed on the distant iron airship.

Rather than the Torch Church's plan, he was more eager to know how to defeat that guy.

Even if heaven descended on Earth, making the sheep in the pen more docile, expanding their species would still be achieved through external warfare.

The north was undoubtedly the ideal target.

It is said there are hundreds of thousands of people in Giant Stone City, surrounded by towering giant walls, perfect as a natural pasture.

However, the problem was that those guys possessed such terrifying weapons.

Just hours ago, that towering iron beast had launched terrifying firepower towards the west side of the Pinecone Wood Farm.

Even from tens of kilometers away, he could still feel the trembling of the earth and the air.

Clearly—

That fierce firepower was aimed at his lieutenant, Kulu.

Truth be told, Gaen didn't like those charlatans, after all, even though they promised many benefits, they were still Old Humans.

However, he had to admit, his tribe did need the power of those charlatans.

Compared to the Old Human civilization that had accumulated tens of thousands or even thousands of years, the civilization of Mutants was still too young.

Only the wisdom of the Old could contend with that terrifying power.

He, too, occasionally needed to compromise with reality.

Gomo knew what the leader was anxious about and sighed lightly,

"I don't feel it's bad; the sooner heaven descends to Earth, the stronger our control over this land... I am just wondering if it's too rushed."

Gaen looked at him and asked,

"What about Luo Gan? Why don't you ask him?"

Gomo's aged face showed a hint of difficulty.

"...I can't get in touch with him."

Gaen frowned.

"Can't get in touch?"

The final "ritual" was about to begin, the thick gray fog had already spread to the urban area of Jinhe City, and soon this area stretching dozens of kilometers would be engulfed.

And they couldn't contact that guy at such a critical moment?

Gomo hung his head low, not daring to look at the leader, and spoke softly,

"Actually, it doesn't matter... the plan has already been made, we just need to execute it step by step, it's the same if we carry out the final ritual."

Gaen clicked his tongue, glaring hatefully at the distant sky.

"These two-legged beasts can't be trusted..."

He swore.

Sooner or later, he would kill them all!

...

In the area around Brocade River City, just like boiling water, the official forum of Wasteland OL was equally bustling.

When the brothers of the Jungle Corps brought back the combat achievements of Brother Killing Chicken, the replies saying "666" immediately flooded the report thread.

Although there were many disheartened people from the casinos, more were the onlookers who directly called it awesome and amazing.

Outlaw Maniac: "Brother Chicken is awesome!!! (Screaming)"

Stop talking nonsense: "Twenty-one! So strong!"

Makabazi: "Not like a certain lizard, weak! (Funny)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "%￥#@!"

Tail: "Whoo whoo whoo, I'm so jealous! Si! Tail also wants to switch classes to be an Ah Stat! QAQ"

Si Si: "Patting Ah Wei, don't cry don't cry. ヾ(•ω•`.)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Hisss...Two meters fifty tall, shoulders one meter wide, that tail? Can't imagine it at all!"

Sesame Paste: "Ahaha... Meat Meat would be crushed. (*￣~￣*)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Class change NPC coordinates, Huge Rock Military Industry Yibers! Not bragging, really useful! (Silly smile)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn, you all started a group and didn't call me! T.T"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "You aren't part of our group, why would we call you?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn! That cold-hearted?"

Difficult for the strong: "Damn it, this guy monopolized all the glory!"

Ground Model: "Mole bro, where are your underlings? (Funny)"

Difficult for the strong: "Picked them up long ago, my respawn CD is just one day. (Baring teeth)"

Ground Model: "6666!"

Speaking of this incident, there was a small side story, after Difficult for the strong turned into a beam of light and disappeared from the battlefield, his underlings didn't leave too far.

It wasn't out of loyalty to the boss, mainly because Moles are indiscriminate eaters, and the leftover scraps from Mutants were enough to last for a long time.

Thus, the crew of Mole underlings merely mourned for a few minutes before heartily starting a feast right at the place where their boss met his demise.

And just as the Moles were enjoying their feast on the second day, the Big Horn Rat that they had just cleaned up suddenly came back.

This "respawn on the spot" tactic absolutely stunned all the Moles, who started to kowtow in worship squeakily.

Although it was hard to understand what those Moles were saying, Difficult for the strong could distinctly feel that his image had grown even more sacred and majestic in the eyes of his Mole underlings.

I want Tranquility: "But seriously, why hasn't this fog dissipated yet?"

Night Ten: "I have a bad feeling."

Quit smoking: "What kind of feeling?"

Night Ten: "According to typical RPG logic, shouldn't there be a boss battle after clearing the mobs?"

Quit smoking: "Fuck?! You can't just drop that, don't jinx it!"

Elena: "Night Ten has a perception skill, I believe in Night Ten's feeling. (Funny)"

Fang Chang: "Hmm, indeed, can't rule out that possibility. The Torch Church seems very sensitive to our research on neutralizing the Nago mycelium antibody. If those Mutant Corps are all they have in response, it'd be rather hasty."

Canyon runaway Mole: "And it's strange... isn't it just the antibody carrier they need to eliminate? Was it really necessary to deploy an entire Mutant Corps?"

Such a large-scale operation, even if they make it to Pinecone Wood Farm, wouldn't the Alliance have enough time to send planes and evacuate key personnel?

Might as well send more assassins instead.

Spring Water Commander: "Hmm... I always feel rather than saying that the fog is masking the march of the Mutants, it's more like the latter is covering for the former."

Night Ten: "What do you think it could be?"

Spring Water Commander: "How would I know... Anyway, the brothers who are still alive need to be careful."

...

In fact, even though he died early, Night Ten's bad premonition seemed to come true once again.

According to the situation reported by players stationed around Pinecone Wood Farm, the local residents simultaneously entered God Travel states shortly after the fog appeared.

And this occurred even without any influence from a Mind Interference Device!

Thankfully, the players had already counteracted the brainwashing on the 03 frequency with that device, or else last night's disaster might have replicated.

Because they were well-prepared beforehand, most of the survivors stayed indoors, and even if they entered God Travel states, they just sat or stood motionlessly.

However, it was unsettling that the sprawling mist within a radius of several kilometers was slowly spreading further and by twilight,
it had already reached the edge of Jinhe City Urban Area.

The fog was gradually thinning and visibility was returning, yet the area of dense fog was expanding drastically.

Moreover, the spore cloud no longer confined itself to just a patch on the ground but began crawling toward the sky, even starting to touch the edges of the clouds.

This is the situation currently unfolding in Jinhe City.

"…This feeling is like a stone dropped into a lake, the ripple height is decreasing, but the concentric outlines are spreading from the center to the shore."

Aboard the Steel Heart.

After listening to the Captain's description of the current situation, Vanus, the Chief of Staff who had urgently come from the rear to the front lines, pondered for a moment and then shared his view.

The Captain furrowed his brow slightly.

"What the hell do those zealots want."

Chu Guang, who had been silently watching out the window, suddenly spoke.

"I'm actually more concerned about another matter."

Vanus looked at him and asked.

"What's that?"

Chu Guang continued.

"What exactly is this 'eternal Heaven'."

Vanus fell into thought.

At that moment, the bridge's door opened, and Frost walked toward everyone from the direction of the door.

"…Our aerospace squadron's reconnaissance drone flew approximately several hundred kilometers south, then it captured these images."

Saying this, she handed a tablet to Chu Guang's hand.

Taking the tablet from Frost, Chu Guang's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise as he glanced at the screen.

He saw vast swathes of gray-green fog covering the ground, with only the occasional mountains and forests peeking through, not swallowed up.

Further south, the thick gray fog was like a wall impervious to air, seemingly freezing the entire space.

From the outside, it was impossible to see what was going on in the fog.

His brows slightly furrowed, he looked at Frost and asked,

"Where is this?"

"The southern part of Brocade River Province, located on the South Shore of the Central Continent, Haiye Province. Our drones encountered signal interference and electronic warfare attacks as they entered the airspace over Haiye Province. However, our AI technology prevailed, and they have now returned."

As she spoke, pride tinged Frost's expression.

Operating drones was her specialty, and electronic warfare was Eclipse's forte; a bunch of amateurs armed with rudimentary skills couldn't hope to bring down one of their controlled planes.

But Chu Guang wasn't concerned with these details; he had already experienced the technology of the Torch Church.

What concerned him more was something else...

"Since when has it become like this?" With a puzzled expression, the captain standing beside Chu Guang voiced his confusion.

However, it was clear Frost couldn't possibly know; she was merely a bionic person, and she shook her head in frustration.

Vanus, standing by, pondered for a long time before speaking.

"I reckon it's been these few months, during our battles with the Army. Otherwise, such a significant occurrence couldn't have gone unnoticed in the City of Dawn."

Chu Guang nodded.

"That's what I was thinking."

However, this was merely speculation based on limited information.

In fact, even if that band of zealots had long completed their plans, they were fully capable of keeping the news confined to their own territory.

Judging by their modus operandi around Jinhe City, they would initially promise some benefits to local survivors, revealing their true colors only once those survivors were wholly dependent on them.

In this process, Nago-corrupted flora and fauna had already spread across the land, with pervasive mycelium infiltrating nearly every inch of soil.

And then there was the influence of the Mind Interference Device.

Once the realm known as "Heaven" had fully unfolded across this land, the local survivors had long become the captives of the Church.

It was only logical that no news escaped.

Had it not been for the ample number of traders and mercenaries from Brocade River Province in the Alliance, and had players not already traveled south, they might still be in the dark about this area's affairs by the time Jinhe City had completely transformed into a part of "Heaven."

Chu Guang looked at Frost again.

"What's the council's opinion?"

"The council believes this is undoubtedly a crisis and moreover..." Frost stopped halfway and swallowed her words.

Chu Guang knew what she left unsaid.

All the suffering here was inseparably linked to a conflict from a century and a half ago.

Even though Ideal City wasn't the direct cause of this disaster, as descendants of the Production Department, they bore an inescapable responsibility for the ongoing events.

But now was not the time to assign blame.

Chu Guang moved beyond the heavy topic and continued.

"Our researchers believe that the release of spores represents the third stage of biological evolution for the Nago Fungus. Based on the current experimental results, it's inferred that those shrouded in gray fog and infected will gradually enter a state of God's trance within 12 to 72 hours."

"Even those who have never consumed Nago will slowly be poisoned within this domain, until their immune system is breached, ultimately becoming part of this realm..."

"And this is the essence of 'Heaven.'"

If initially consuming Nago was a voluntary choice for the survivors, the third stage of "Heaven's descent" had nothing to do with voluntariness.

The originally benign microbial group would forcefully push the constantly emitted spores into every organic organism's respiratory tract and mouth.

Whether the local survivors accepted it or not—

The eternal Heaven of the Torch Church would descend.

The organic beings engulfed by Heaven would forever lose all suffering, but the price was losing their selves, living as breeding beds for Nago fungi, and being manipulated to perform simple tasks by the Mind Interference Device.

Except for the stronger mutants, selected apostles, and the perfect life form they were designing, no other living beings could survive long in this domain.

Before the technology for the perfect life form was completed, there was no doubt this place was Hell.

Looking at Frost's slightly dilated electronic pupils, Chu Guang continued.

"According to the conclusions of the Heya study, this gene sequence is ultimately a snippet cut from the DNA of the 'mutated slime fungus.' Considering the Lair in Qingquan City, the essence of a spore is a medium for transferring information, hence, one can infer that something similar to the Lair most certainly exists in this region."

The Holy Land is a coreless decentralized network, but the Heaven that descended to Earth was different—it was purely a biotechnological Utopia.

The Holy Land, nonexistent on Earth, was its spiritual core, while its physical core must be hidden in some corner of this land.

It was the core of everything—

Commanding all the mycelium, sustaining this Heaven.

Frost looked at him seriously and asked,

"Where do you think it is?"

Chu Guang looked at it and said,

"The most likely location is the Biological Institute of Champion Group in Jinhe City... What do you intend to do?"

Frost spoke gravely.

"I will recommend that the council use strategic weapons to destroy it. The damage caused by this research project has far exceeded regional risks."

Chu Guang seemed to anticipate her response and sighed softly.

"That facility's underground lab is equivalent to a nuclear bunker, like an unnumbered shelter; what weapon do you plan to use against it?"

He had seen this in the memories of Eure, the apostle—that elevator was not ordinarily deep, requiring quite a while to reach the surface.

Frost hesitated.

"Ah..."

Before she could analyze alternative strategies, Chu Guang continued ahead.

"We need that artificial Lair; understanding it is essential to resolving it. Our people will go and seize it, but the local mutants surely won't let us take it easily. I need your support."

As if already granted permission from somewhere,

Frost didn't hesitate at his words and nodded in agreement.

"No problem. We'll provide all necessary support."

"This is no longer just your threat."

"It's ours too."

Chapter 597: New Event Launches! Fire Extinguishing Plan!

Dusk slowly fell from the muddy and dark edges of the wilderness, as the pitch-black night gradually enveloped this land soaked with blood.

The sounds of gunfire had ceased for a while.

However, the enveloping fog that spread all around still hadn't dissipated. Instead, its coverage seemed to expand even further, from Old Man Kong's farmstead to the woods north of Town Of Hope.

Just after the barriers were removed not long ago, on the south side of the gate.

Standing by the muddy road, Ma Hechang kept looking in the direction of the Pinecone Wood Farm, and despite himself, he murmured a prayer to the Saint Heir above.

In the past, he could occasionally hear the voice of the Saint Heir.

But after the fog rose, he couldn't hear him anymore, for some unknown reason.

Filled with dread, he couldn't help but think of what Pastor Wei had said.

Perhaps...

The Saint Heir was really angry.

As he strained his eyes and stared into the distance, three people approached from the end of the road, the one in the lead was the owner of the neighboring farm, Kong Lingkai.

Seeing that it wasn't the Hunter named Liu from the Liu family, disappointment flashed across Ma Hechang's face.

Before he could exchange pleasantries, Old Man Kong, who usually acted as if he'd rather have his nostrils on his forehead, anxiously took the initiative to speak.

"What in the world is going on here? How can there be such a dense fog?"

Ordinarily, he would've stayed at home and didn't want to be bothered, but seeing the fog showing no sign of dissipating into the evening, he had an unsettling feeling.

He planned to ask Pastor Wei for advice in the nearby town, but unexpectedly ran into Mayor Ma here; he instinctively felt that these people were hiding something from him again.

Normally Ma Hechang would exchange courteous words with this guy, but coincidentally, today he was not in the mood, so he said impatiently.

"How would I know what's going on? If the heavens want to fog up, that's not up to me to decide."

The expression on Kong Lingkai's face froze; he didn't like the other man's attitude, but couldn't refute him. All he could do was look away, grinding his teeth as he angrily changed the subject.

"There must be something strange about this fog... I've said it before, we shouldn't have gotten involved with those people from the north. Ever since they came here, one strange incident follows another!"

Ma Hechang glanced disdainfully at the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself that if he hadn't gotten entangled with those people, those raging green-skinned monsters would've snatched up all the pretty women in his home to bear their spawn long ago.

Of course, the same would have been true for him.

"Enough, talking about this now is pointless. I've already sent someone to scout out Pinecone Wood Farm. Let's wait for his return before discussing further."

While talking, a horse came galloping from a distance, with the town's Hunter, Liu Youxiong, riding on it.

The Hunter had originally planned to directly rush into the town, but upon seeing the Mayor waiting at the gate, he was startled and hurriedly pulled the reins, dismounting from the horse.

"My lord!"

Ma Hechang stared at him expressionlessly and got straight to the point.

"What's the situation at Pinecone Wood Farm now!"

"I didn't go inside, just took a look from the outside, it felt—" Liu Youxiong quickly started to talk, but was interrupted impatiently by the Mayor before he could finish.

"Your feeling what? Get to the point!"

"Yes, yes!"

Liu Youxiong said tremblingly,

"It was deathly still there, I didn't see anyone working outside the Enclosing Wall. When I went to the gate, I found that the guards on duty were gone and the inn by the door was empty... It was as if it was haunted. I didn't dare to stay there too long as it was getting dark. I rushed back immediately."

Ma Hechang's heart skipped a beat, just about to ask in detail what exactly had happened there, but someone was more anxious than him. Kong Lingkai on the side quickly grabbed him and asked.

"People are missing?! Where did they go?"

"I, I don't know," Liu Youxiong replied with a wry smile, suddenly remembering something, he hurriedly added, "Right, on my way there, I saw a group of Mutants, probably about a thousand or so, fighting with Alliance people..."

Kong Lingkai promptly asked.

"How do you know those were Alliance people?!"

Swallowing nervously, Liu Youxiong whispered.

"I recognized their Exoskeletons at a glance."

Ma Hechang frowned and asked him.

"Who won?"

Liu Youxiong quickly said.

"Of course, the Alliance. Those people won with no suspense at all... I saw that Iron Airship fire several shots over the tops of the Mutants' heads; the whole plain looked like it had been completely turned over, and those who were lucky enough to survive were quickly wiped out!"

On hearing this, Ma Hechang took a deep breath, finally understanding what the rolling thunder and quake underfoot in the afternoon were all about.

Standing aside, Kong Lingkai exchanged a look with two of his attendants, sharing expressions of shock and bewilderment on their faces.

Just from Liu Youxiong's description, the force displayed by the Alliance was not on the same level as theirs.

Seeing that the two big figures didn't speak, Liu Youxiong didn't dare to, standing obediently and quietly on the side.

It seemed they reached some conclusion.

Kong Lingkai looked towards Ma Hechang and coughed before speaking.

"Now the Church is in danger... if we help them, that'll be like sending charcoal in snowy weather, a commendable deed. I suggest we hold a meeting to discuss how to deal with the threat from the north."

"Don't dream," Ma Hechang unceremoniously interrupted this man's wild imagination, rolling his eyes as he continued.

"The Church is finished. Even if we were to hold a meeting to discuss, it should be about how to get along with our new rulers here."

Kong Lingkai suddenly became agitated and glared at him as he retorted angrily.

"You, you're going to betray the Saint Heir!"

Ma Hechang glanced contemptuously.

"Come off it, do you believe in that stuff? My teacher told you it's all business. We bought his security services and as an exchange, we worshipped him here. Since he's not capable of protecting us, there's no point in boasting about it."

He said this, casting a meaningful look at the farm owner.

"I've heard the Alliance prohibits the slave trade; I'd advise you to prepare yourself."

After glancing at Kong Lingkai, whose face had turned ashen, Ma Hechang turned back to the town. He didn't immediately head to the town hall to summon the town's big shots. Instead, he first took a trip to the church.

There were some things that needed to be made clear.

Pushing open the door, he called out for Pastor Wei but received no response, so he went around to the back yard. Looking up, he saw a figure hanging from the willow tree in the courtyard.

The person was neatly dressed, head tilted to the side, eyes closed, with a peaceful expression on their face, showing not a pinch of pain.

Ma Hechang was initially stunned, but then he stepped back in fear onto a stone, lost his balance, and flumped to the ground.

"Old... Old Wei?! Pastor Wei?!"

He called out instinctively, but Wei Ming had clearly been gone for some time and naturally could not respond to his calls.

Ma Hechang's lips trembled, unable to speak a word, and it took him a while to get up from the ground, just sitting there dazedly.

Dead...

The pastor appointed by the bishop himself, the only man in the entire town who could contact the bishop...

Dead, just like that?!

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

[Event Announcement: "Firefighting Operation" is now live!]

[Event Description: Believers holding torches are spreading evil faith, death, and plague across the land of the Luo Xia Province. The flames of the apocalypse are devouring everything they touch, and eight hundred kilometers is not a distant threat for us.

This is not only our crisis but a crisis for the entire wasteland. More urgent threats must be addressed before we can face the Tide's menace!]

[Event Details: Assault the "Nest of Nago" located in the underground experimental area of the "Champion" Biological Pharmaceutical Research Institute. Take an airship to the Iron Heart or the Surface Action Base to participate!

Every mutant killed earns at least 10 points, and synthetic mutants earn at least 50 points. During the event, points can be exchanged for event equipment, including the Bomb Gun, K10 "Iron Wall" Exoskeleton, Giant Rock Military Industry Reforming Prosthesis, and more!

They can also be used to exchange for support including 155mm artillery strikes, "Blizzard" rockets, helicopter pick-up, airdrop supply boxes,
and even 400mm heavy rockets and tactical nuclear weapons for clearing the area!]

[Entry Requirements: Players with Gene Sequence Level reaching Level 10 can form teams, and those with Sequence Level greater than Level 3 can apply to join teams (players who have commenced the "Pass the Torch" mentorship quest will receive a 20% bonus to their points when in the same team as their mentor or apprentice)]

[Rewards: At the end of the event, remaining points can be exchanged for blind box gift bags, exclusive titles, and more mystery gifts!]

[The ultimate interpretation right of the event belongs to Shelter No. 404!]

Tail: "???"

Quit smoking: "What the fuck?!"

Stop Bullshitting: "Brothers, we've got work!! (Cracked voice)"

Makabazi: "A fisherman like you making such a ruckus."

Pick up trash 99 level: "Log in, log in—spit, I mean sign in, sign in!"

Silver Daddy: "Recruiting, recruiting, Silver Corps is recruiting online! Are there any new players who want to start a mentorship quest? I'm an experienced driver who can take you to the front lines! Haha, recruiting!"

Gnome King Riches: "Any newbies forming a team? Gunners preferred! (Facetious)"

Shrimp and Pork Heart: "Me, me, I can!"

Driving Toy Cars Shuke: "Does a handgun count?"

Flying Helicopters Beta: "Is it okay if I can drive armored vehicles?"

Canyon Escape Mole: "Private message me!!!"

Driving Toy Cars Shuke: "PMed brother!"

Canyon Escape Mole: "Bugger off! I'm talking to the guy below who can drive!"

Driving Toy Cars Shuke: "Damn! I really can drive! QAQ"

Night Ten: "Fuck! How did our mission become an event!"

The event post was out for less than a minute.

The forum, which had been full of boasts, bullshit, picture battles, and memes, erupted instantly!

...

For mutants, the concept of family doesn't exist.

Even in larger mutant tribes like the Qi Tribe, which have inherited some human customs, few remember which female gave birth to them.

After all, at the time of birth, it's usually only the priest attending who's beside them. Let alone a father, they don't even get to see the face of their own mother—as the priests usually cover their faces, deciding quickly after giving birth whether to send them to the animal pens or the kitchen.

Since there's no concept of family or inheritance to be concerned with, most mutants naturally don't have names until the leader bestows one upon them.

However, although most mutants don't have names, they still have ways of differentiating each other.

For instance, a common method is "nicknames."

These are usually whatever is the loudest cry they give at birth, and the attending priest will tell them what they yelled, whether it's a spur of the moment creation or genuinely memorable.

Some people are called "Ah," others are called "Ao," or "Wa Wu," "Yi Yi," and the like.

These are the most most most common nicknames, not just throughout the tribe, but there are over a dozen with the same name under one account.

Because shouting a nickname and calling the wrong person isn't unheard of, but usually, even if you shout the wrong name, it doesn't matter.

For instance, if a chief tore open his throat and bellowed, "Humph, Aowu, follow me to hunt," soon dozens or hundreds of minions stood out to support the scene.

If there were too many people, he would kick out a few who looked like the weakest softies. And if there were too few, he'd shout, "Ah, you come too!" and soon enough heads would assemble.

For humans, this situation is usually called mismanagement, but for mutants, it was actually more convenient.

They were all experts at killing and arson.

As long as the needed hands were gathered, what did it matter who went?

No matter who went, it didn't hinder them from sitting atop a mountain made of enemy corpses, feasting on big mouthfuls of meat!

A long night passed.

The next morning, the sun had not yet risen.

In the crumbling deserted urban area, the fog was hazy, and the air was filled with the smell of decay, as if a moldy piece of burlap covered the nose and mouth.

Anyone would feel physical discomfort.

However, the mutants of the Qi Tribe only felt blood-pumping stimulation from it.

At this time, a gruff roar came from outside the human-skin tents, followed by gunfire into the sky.

"Humans! They're here! Humph, ah ah, follow me!"

Before the roar had faded, plenty of guttural responses quickly followed.

"Kill! Kill!"

"Humph—!"

"Ah ah ah!"

Awoken by the gibberish, Humph, still in his dreams, sneezed and shook his dizzy head as he rolled out of bed.

He grabbed the blunt knife and iron pipe rifle leaning against the sleeping bag, and before his blood pressure could rise, he went outside to the open space by the tent, showing his canines to the damp concrete ceiling and roared.

This was his way of demonstrating bravery.

Only the bravest warriors could catch the chief's attention and be taken to hunt those weak bipedal animals.

Glancing at the emaciated human things in the corner cage with the corner of his eye, Humph's lips curled into a cruel smile.

Such weak things dare to offer themselves up!

He would let them know what cruelty was!

Seemingly satisfied with the spirit of his men, the big guy standing in the front of the open space nodded approvingly, then swung his big palm like a fan vigorously.

With his loud and crude voice, he roared.

"Follow Delu! Go chop those bugs' heads off!"

Like the other mutants beside him, Humph, with an excited roar, responded to the boss's call by waving the object in his hand.

"Ao ao ao!!!"

The mutants were roaring excitedly when, at that moment, thunderous artillery fire erupted overhead.

A massive amount of dust and pebbles were jarred loose by the deafening sound, raining down on their heads and chests.

However, not a single mutant standing here showed a face of fear.

But rather, they were even more excited!

Solid concrete bunkers were everywhere in this city!

With the protection of this steel-reinforced concrete, that iron airship floating in the sky couldn't touch them!

And once inside the urban area—

It was their home turf!

"Go slaughter them!"

"Roar—!"

Under Delu's command, Humph, carrying his weapon, followed behind a group of green-skinned brothers with bulging muscles, trickling into the surface ruins through the dark stairwells, waiting for the Alliance shelling to end.

The thundering barrage only lasted for about five or six minutes, followed by shouts and crackling gunfire in the nearby urban area.

The brothers from the neighboring nest had already clashed with the Alliance soldiers at the edge of the city area. Although the thick haze made it impossible to see the situation in the battle zone, the sound conveyed that this group was formidable.

Humph gripped his rifle tightly, peeled back his cracked lips to reveal bloodthirsty canines, and exhaled a heavy breath through his nose.

"Humph..."

It seemed this feast would be thoroughly enjoyable!

...

Under the abandoned office buildings, in addition to the bang bang of gunfire, there was a chorus of shouts from the greenhorns.

"Cover me!"

"Pull the gun line, brother!"

"With such heavy fog, pull a ghost! Just charge and it's done!"

"Ao ao ao!"

While the veteran players were still steadily advancing their position step by step, a bunch of second-hand newcomers had already charged toward the Mutants' lines with their hot-off-the-press brethren in tow.

There was an array of bizarre and quirky maneuvers.

Because of the Alliance's old tradition, each player was given a pack of dynamite as a "healing" supply. A newbie, self-dubbed the Demolition Genius, had a lightbulb moment and strapped together the "gift packs" intended for a four-person team onto himself, creating an alarmingly large explosive device. Then, carrying the hope of his entire team, he rushed toward the area dense with Mutants.

However, before he even reached the Mutants, his legs were taken out by stray bullets on the battlefield.

Not wanting to see the dynamite wasted, his three teammates had to muster the courage to retrieve it, thus unfolding an exceedingly heroic scene resembling the Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather.

That was an unsuccessful quirky maneuver.

Of course, there were plenty of successful ones too.

For instance, some capable newcomers used a dozen homemade Molotov Cocktails to successfully take out a house full of Mutants, instantly earning enough points to trade for a bomb gun.

Then there was a newbie who, presumably with some training, shouldered an RPG and blasted away a welded steel off-road vehicle barreling towards the Alliance lines.

To describe the situation on the battlefield as grim would be an understatement; it was more like a raucous commotion, bustling like a festival.

Both sides kept coming up with all sorts of ridiculous tactics, doing whatever was most unexpected, to the point where it was hard to tell who resembled the Mutants more.

Looking at the lively scene in the district ahead, Wild Wind, who had been stunned for quite a while, lightly pressed his temples and couldn't help but make a snide comment.

"Does anyone still remember this is our mission?"

Watching those newcomers fight recklessly, he couldn't shake the feeling of having been thrown back several versions in the game.

Old White coughed lightly.

"No one expected it to be this tricky..."

Relying solely on the combat power of the Burning Corps to take down a Mutant tribe of tens of thousands wasn't going to be easy.

Each of those green-skinned brutes was a natural-born warrior, the kind who could slaughter a village when banded together.

If they were that easy to handle, they would have wiped them out on their first night here.

Quit smoking said cheerfully.

"But honestly, it's kind of interesting to have more newcomers involved."

Corner Old Six also said with a playful grin.

"Ha! I agree! The fights we had before in Luo Xia Province and with the Corps were too severe. It's a rare opportunity, so it's good for the newcomers to get some practice."

Fang Chang thought the same.

Their combat experience was also honed on the battlefield; some things just can't be taught, and after one death, everything becomes clear.

Fang Chang couldn't help but think back to the time when he first encountered the Mutants on Street No.76 and how Mosquito made that rocket that nearly got him killed.

Who would have thought that guy was close to becoming a Wasteland arms dealer now!

Shaking his head, Fang Chang loaded his bomb gun bought with silver coins and looked at the Mutants' line, which was starting to tighten, and smiled.

"We should get going too; if we wait any longer, we won't even get a taste of the broth."

"Yep," said Old White, who had turned off his power armor helmet visor, grinning, "if we dawdle like this, those rookies will start to look down on us."

...

About a kilometer away from the firefight, on the rooftop of a high-rise building, Qi Gaen watched, expressionless, the flashes of fire flickering through the distant haze.

It was probably around eight in the morning when the Alliance suddenly began their full-on assault.

First came the deafening bombardment, followed by the infantry charging into the urban area in droves.

Qi Gaen had to admit, the Alliance from the north did have some tricks up their sleeves, entirely different from the bipedal sheep around Brocade River City. No wonder several of his valiant and capable warriors suffered at their hands.

The Alliance was spirited and fought fiercely with a relentless onslaught, putting on a show of a fight to the death from the get-go.

However, Gaen was not intimidated by their vigor, especially after learning about the situation on the frontlines, which had actually put him at ease.

Despite the Alliance's fierce offensive, their progress was minimal, leaving nearly a thousand bodies behind for just a single street.

And that was merely the outermost defense of the Qi Tribe; even if lost to the Alliance, it meant little more than the loss of two to three hundred brothers, a couple dozen machine guns, a few ammo depots with limited supplies, and some stockpiled food.

It was clear not every soldier of the Alliance possessed the combat power to take on ten foes; most of their fighting techniques seemed amateur.

And as Gaen anticipated, the firepower of Iron Heart was considerably limited in urban combat.

Those shells seemed mighty and loud with fierce firepower, but even a layer of concrete could effectively weaken the blast shockwave and shrapnel's lethality.

Yet, while Gaen was optimistic, Gomo wore a faintly worried look on his face.

"This isn't a solution… The Alliance's industrial capacity surpasses ours. I've heard that Giant Stone City has recently joined them too. At this rate of attrition, they will eventually wear us down."

Gaen laughed coldly, dismissive of the concern.

"No matter how strong their industrial capacity, they still need people to wield what they produce. I've heard the entire Alliance totals less than a million people; I'm curious to see how long they can hold out fighting a war of attrition against us eight hundred kilometers from their territory."

Gomo remained silent.

In his heart, he agreed with that statement.

But that was the Alliance that had defeated the Corps, and as an old-timer from that era, he knew just what kind of force the Corps was.

To have defeated the Corps in a frontal engagement...

Would those folks really wage such a mindless battle?

Seeing Gomo still troubled, Gaen said lightly.

"Don't worry about the battlefield; just go and complete that final ritual… If you really can't get in touch with Luo Gan, then we'll take over the parish."

Gomo nodded slightly.

"As you command."

Chapter 598: Alley Battle in Brocade River City!

What Jia En hadn't expected was that the Alliance's intense offensive had persisted for three whole days.

During those three days, light infantry clutching rifles had infiltrated from several northern entrances into Jinhe City's urban area, engaging in fierce firefights with his tribe in the streets and corridors of abandoned buildings.

During this period, both sides had sustained considerable casualties.

According to reports from his warriors, over a thousand tribespeople had died in street battles with United Human soldiers, among them some who had undergone biomechanical enhancements.

Of course, the Alliance's casualties were also significant.

Bodies had piled into small mounds at alley entrances, blood had nearly dyed the entire road red.

Yet those people fought on as if they were fearless, charging forward non-stop, firing their guns, and shouting words they could not understand.

To tell the truth, Jia En was somewhat bewildered.

It would have been one thing if the survivors from Jinhe City were involved – it wouldn't be completely impossible for those sheep to become desperate enough to risk their lives to take theirs.

But those lunatics to the north... When had he ever provoked them?

Except for that one time at Dusty Town.

But that settlement wasn't Alliance territory, was it?

As Jia En was brooding, the tent flap was lifted, and a mutant with a broad back and a bear-like build walked in and declared with a fist salute.

"Chief."

This man's name was Delu, a warrior personally named by Jia En, who was also a leader of thousands in the tribe.

When the Alliance troops attacked, it was his tribe that first exchanged fire with them, and the combat zone coincided with their stationed location, so Jia En had ordered him to take command of the front lines.

For the mutants, it didn't really matter who commanded.

After all, most of the green-skinned creatures didn't grasp the concept of following commands; you just gave them weapons and told them where the enemy was, and that was that.

So even if the appointment of the commander was a bit hasty, it didn't really impact the mutants of the Qi Tribe.

Jia En looked at Delu, who stood in the tent, and spoke with a dignified tone.

"What is it?"

Face to face with the leader of the entire tribe, Delu reported sonorously.

"The intensity of the Alliance's assault has lessened, both their firepower and manpower have diminished compared to the first day. From this morning until noon, we repelled their attacks thrice, and our position remains as solid as ever… I can feel that they are about to break."

Jia En's face lit up upon hearing this, though his expression remained impassive, as he coldly curved his lips and spoke with a hint of mockery.

"These weaklings, they can't hold up after just three days?"

He had previously thought highly of those folks.

It seemed he had overestimated them.

Delu nodded, continuing robustly.

"Chief, I believe now is our chance to counterattack. If we muster our courage and reclaim the positions they took from us, those feeble bipeds will undoubtedly lose the will to continue fighting!"

Jia En pondered for a moment, feeling that there was some sense to it.

They had already inflicted heavy casualties on the Alliance, and the weakening of their offensive was the best proof.

Now was the time to exert a bit more force and tear through the shaky defenses of that group, and soon they would scatter out of the city like a broken dam.

With this thought, Jia En hesitated no longer, immediately ordering.

"I'll give you thirty armed transport vehicles, a thousand brothers, and twenty tons of ammunition. Make sure to reclaim yesterday's lost positions before the sun sets!"

Upon hearing this, Delu's eyes lit up with joy, his brows relaxing as he clenched his fists loyally and declared.

"By your command! Delu will not disappoint you, Chief!"

"Repay me with the heads of those bipeds," Jia En said, grinning cruelly at Delu in front of him, "Now go. I want to see their heads piled into a mountain."

Delu respectfully accepted the order.

"Yes!"

…

Elsewhere, in the northern urban area of Jinhe City.

Next to a half-collapsed overpass, the Silver Corps, which had pushed deep into the mutant battlefront, was engaged in intense gunfire with the mutants defending the area.

Compared to the decisive advances of the front-line Corps, the habitually lackluster Silver Corps was lagging behind, of course.

But you couldn't blame Silver Sword, Silver Hand, and Silver Daddy, the three silly namesakes, for being ineffective – their Corps was just filled with too many rookies.

If the new recruits met the standards to join the Death Legion and there happened to be a spot open, they generally wouldn't be jumping to join their Corps.

Big Corps had the advantage of seasoned players leading and more benefits, whereas small Corps offered nothing, and might even come with the nuisance of in-group politics.

Not to mention that their Corps leader was called Silver Daddy; wouldn't that nominally add another 'father' to their ranks?

Silver Sword was grinding his teeth at this thought.

That damn thing had promised to be everyone's shield when setting up his account, but then he immediately switched his shield for 'daddy.'

Is that a proper thing to do?

Of course, he himself was not much better; he had initially set out to train an Agility Type, but then impulsively switched to Strength after seeing everyone on the Forum hype-up the Strength Type.

In the end, only Silver Hand kept his word.

At that moment, Silver Daddy, pinned down by fire, yelled.

"Old Sword! The machine gun fire ahead is too fierce! Come up with something!"

"Damn it, why don't you come up with something yourself?!"

"I'm pinned down!"

"%￥#@!"

A light machine gun was mounted on a broken window, rat-a-tat-tat firing towards the Silver Corps's position, pinning a few rookies who had just made it to cover behind an overturned billboard, unable to move; Silver Daddy was the one leading the team.

From a distance of over a hundred meters, the players could not see where the mutant was, and likewise, the mutant couldn't see them either, just randomly spraying based on where his comrades were shouting.

In urban combat, these mutants were fairly skilled, although they appeared dull, they did not neglect tactical details.

But—

Their opponent obviously wasn't easy to deal with either.

Leading a four-man squad, Silver Sword gritted his teeth as he took a detour to approach within fifty or sixty meters of the side flank of the enemy's firing position, squatting beside a damaged wall.

He roughly estimated the distance.

He took the RPG launcher off his back, quickly loaded a fragmentation grenade, and pulled the trigger aiming at the muzzle flashes shimmering through the fog.

"RPG!"

He bellowed, infusing the rocket dragging white smoke with power as he watched it blast into the faintly visible window.

An orange-yellow flame twinkled in the fog, and he vaguely saw something get blown away.

The machine gun fire stopped.

The troops behind were finally able to push forward.

Silver Sword was about to throw a punch in excitement when he turned back and saw a newbie lying flat on his back in the shape of a "big character" on the ground.

His eyes bulged, and he quickly crouched down to slap the fellow's face.

"What the fuck?! What's wrong, bro?"

The guy was still out of it, while the two other newbies exchanged glances, and one of them said with a helpless laugh.

"He... got blasted by the backblast from your rocket launcher."

The other one also nodded, adding an explanation.

"He caught it right in the forehead; I even heard a 'bang'."

Silver Sword almost choked on his own spit, and the person on the ground finally came to.

Looking at the guy's bewildered face, Silver Sword said with a bitter laugh.

"No, brother, this is a recoilless gun, why the hell were you standing behind me?!"

That he wasn't sent directly to his maker was lucky indeed.

The guy lying on the ground scratched the back of his head with a sheepish chuckle.

"I...I just wanted to learn how to aim with this thing."

"Pfft—"

Silver Sword was about to give him a piece of his mind when suddenly, a floodlight lit up in the distance.

He saw a wide vehicle front wired with barbed wires emerge from the fog, accompanied by a deafening roar of the engine.

Seeing that six-barreled Gatling gun aimed straight at them and the green face full of horizontal flesh behind the welded steel plates, Silver Sword's complexion instantly changed.

"Scatter!"

He had barely managed to roar before whistling bullets swept over them, instantly turning two of the squad members into pieces of meat that smeared across the hulls of the abandoned vehicles.

Silver Sword was scared into a cold sweat as well.

Tracers flew by, narrowly missing his arm.

Fortunately, his reflexes were quick; he used all his strength to crash through the damaged window and hide in a storefront on the side of the street.

The newbie lying on the ground narrowly escaped death and, covered in bits of flesh and blood, crawled into a display window.

Spitting out a bloody saliva, the newbie said with a laugh and cry.

"Bro, didn't we agree on taking heads cleanly?"

He felt...

That they were having such a hard time fighting.

"I..."

For a moment Silver Sword was both annoyed and amused, unsure what to say.

Indeed, it was their Army's leader who had said that, and nothing was wrong about it.

But he didn't expect that these newcomers truly had no common sense, completely newbie fresh meat!

He couldn't really blame the guy; he suppressed his irritation and patiently comforted him.

"It can't be helped; we just happened to hit the fiercest line of defense. Once we get across here, it'll be smooth sailing."

But to be fair, the mutants of Jinhe City really were different from the ones elsewhere, not just with the fierce automated firepower but also the vehicles modified with welded steel plates.

Although the road conditions in the urban area were terrible, these green skins had lived in the city for so many years, and they knew almost every passable route like the back of their hand; the vehicles seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

Moreover, the foggy weather prevented airplanes from providing effective ground support; they had to rely on portable anti-tank equipment to exchange fire with the other side.

He heard that the Skeleton Corps was on their way from City of Dawn.

Once the Alliance's armored units arrived, the resistance to their advance should lessen considerably.

The newbie seemed to be sensible, nodding excitedly.

"Alright, big bro, I trust you!"

To be honest, even though it was tough fighting alongside this guy, he found it quite thrilling.

Ignoring the deadweight, Silver Sword tapped on the VM and shouted into the headset.

"...Silver Hand, Silver Daddy, this is Silver Sword! An off-road vehicle has passed us by, they might be heading to your flank."

"That thing has pretty fierce firepower; watch out!"

There was only static in the communication channel, and no reply for a long time.

Feeling something was off, Silver Sword immediately opened the communication list and, sure enough, saw the no signal icon, cursing under his breath as he cut off the communication.

"Damn it!"

The newbie swallowed and asked.

"What now?"

"Signal jam! Must be some kind of vehicle-mounted jamming device on that car!"

Silver Sword grabbed the RPG launcher, stepped over the window sill studded with glass shards, looked in the direction the vehicle had left, and gritted his teeth.

"We must catch up to it!"

Chasing the exhaust of the off-road vehicle with the remnants of his team, Silver Sword rushed toward the position where the main body of the Silver Corps was stationed.

However, hopelessly, two legs could never be faster than four speeding wheels; catching up was impossible.

And then—

A gruesome scene unfolded.

The Silver Corps was taking cover on the streets, exchanging intense fire with the Mutants when suddenly an off-road vehicle burst into their flank.

There was no time to react; the Gatling Gun began to rattle off a burst of fire and Silver Daddy had just wanted to shout for everyone to run, when he was instantly turned into a heap of shredded flesh.

"Daddy!!!" Silver Sword let out a heart-wrenching cry and picked up the RPG from the ground, firing a rocket in retaliation.

The smoke-trailing rocket shot straight and hit the welded steel plate in front of the Gatling Gun.

The exploding metal spray covered the Mutant's face with debris; the creature's face emitted black smoke as it howled in pain, tumbling off the off-road vehicle.

But soon, a strong right hand reached out from the cabin, grabbed the Gatling Gun that was missing half of its bulletproof plate, and continued to rattle off rounds at the Silver Corps' position.

The whistling tracers tore through the fog, creating a hurricane-like effect, and the Silver Corps, under fire from two directions, quickly suffered heavy casualties.

Moreover, due to the shielding car, they couldn't call for indirect fire support from the Steel Heart nor could they summon the air force for close support.

Watching the incoming tide of Mutant Corps, Silver Hand still in the position shouted through the dropped megaphone, "Retreat! Retreat!"

This was probably the Alliance's only retreat in the past three days.

But he had no other choice.

Failing to stop the opposing vehicle was a tactical blunder; yet even without this mistake, they could not have held on much longer.

It was clear that the enemy was concentrating forces to launch a counterattack and had chosen their location as the breakthrough point to turn the tide of the battle.

This was a strategic decision.

If they did not retreat, everyone would fall here, and the outcome would not change.

Hearing the shouts from the position, the rookie following Silver Sword swallowed hard.

"We should retreat too."

Silver Sword looked up into the sky and sighed, and suddenly handed over all his equipment, including the VM, RPG launcher, and the ammo bag he carried on his back, to the rookie.

The rookie, completely bewildered, received the pile of equipment and looked at him.

"Buddy, what are you doing?"

"Take the VM back for me, and the rest is for you to play with."

"And... what about you?"

"...See you in three days!"

Silver Sword chambered his rifle and took a heroically tragic step forward, leaving an indomitable silhouette for the rookie to remember.

The Alliance's positions had been advancing for these three days—they were the only ones pushed back. Even if it was excusable, he couldn't face his brothers after falling back.

"For the glory of the Alliance!!"

"Not while I live will I let you take the position!"

He charged toward the Mutants flooding in like a tide, and soon after a thunderous explosion, he vanished into the vast smoke...

The rookie stared in shock, his eyes filling with respect.

"Good brother..."

"I'll definitely not let you down next time!"

Not daring to linger, he hurriedly ran toward the rear positions.

Not far from him, Qi from the Qi Tribe watched the splattered remains on the ground, his heart pounding furiously.

He had watched the human emerge from the fog, kill one of his tent mates, and detonate the bomb he carried.

Scorching blood splattered across his face and into his mouth.

It was the first time the taste of food he once craved burned his mouth, prompting him to instinctively spit out the blood.

At this moment, Qi saw their leader, Delu, step forward, raising his rifle high and roaring with a gruff voice, "Victory!"

The whole street echoed with deafening cheers.

"Victory!!"

"Aoaoao!"

In three days, they had recaptured two kilometers of territory and finally won a satisfying battle, seizing a street back from the Alliance.

Even if the street was only a dozen meters wide and a hundred meters long.

Whether it was the younger grunts newly arrived at the frontline or the old hands who had been struggling there for three days, all were thrilled at this moment.

However, Qi felt no joy in his heart; he always felt that these humans were different from those he had eaten before.

But seeing his excited brothers, he roared along with them, pouring his unease into the roar.

Could it really be that smooth?

He did not know.

But this was a battle that would decide the survival of their species, a war between different species.

And there was no other path to take...

...

On the afternoon of the third day of the Alliance's ground assault on the Mutant tribe in Jinhe City, the Mutants, who had been hiding behind defensive lines, finally launched their first large-scale counterattack.

The Alliance's positions faced significant pressure everywhere.

And after a concentrated assault, the Qi Tribe's forces finally tore a breach at one point in the Alliance's defenses.

However, the total collapse of the defensive line that Delu and Jia En had anticipated didn't happen.

Almost at the same time as a gap appeared in the line, the Alliance skillfully contracted their defenses with incredible speed and established a new offensive position near a deserted department store building.

They seemed well-prepared for this, even anticipating where issues might arise.

Silver Hand crouched with a gloomy face behind a newly stacked sandbag barricade,
both of his good brothers were gone, and including the new recruits, the corps was left with less than ten men, so they temporarily mixed in with the Burning Corps brothers.

Crouched beside him, Quit Smoking chuckled and teased,

"You guys are really unlucky, just as those beasts were looking for a comeback, they picked on you."

"Ah!"

Silver Hand sighed and deftly shifted the blame,

"It's all because those rookies are too good at getting killed! If I saw such an easy target lying there, I'd pick it up and squeeze it too."

A newcomer who picked up another lease on life by following him heard this and immediately got upset,

"Damn! How is this our fault? Who the hell boasted about taking us under their wing?"

"That's right!" another guy with his arm in a sling also shouted.

Ignoring his own brothers' complaints, Silver Hand pretended nothing had happened and turned to the grinning Quit Smoking Brother and asked,

"So, when are we going to strike back? Those damned brutes even dare to hit us back, they're asking for it!"

Quit Smoking laughed and said,

"No rush, our commander has already discussed with the leaders of a few neighboring corps. They confidently struck back, so let's give them a taste of success first."

Silver Hand puzzledly said,

"Why not just charge forward and rush them?"

Quit Smoking shook his head,

"These folks are different from the Looters, they're more like something in between Variants and Looters, both brutal and sly. Push too hard and they'll all hide in their shelters, refusing to come out, which would make things increasingly tough. Better to pull back a bit, show them a glimmer of hope, then let the pigs in and slaughter them!"

Silver Hand's eyes lit up,

"That's a great plan! Which crafty old fox thought of it?"

Too cunning indeed!

Quit Smoking let out a chuckle,

"Who in our corps do you think fits the bill of a crafty old fox?"

Silver Hand grinned,

"I got it."

At that moment, Fang Chang, who was pondering over the map on the frontline, sneezed and felt an inexplicable warmth in his heart.

It must be his beloved Dolly thinking of him.

After this battle is over, he really should go back and spend some quality time with her...

...

At the same time, on the bridge of the Iron Heart.

Chu Guang, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, was looking down at the hazy battlefield through several holographic screens.

In three days, even though the Alliance frontline had only pushed forward two kilometers, and had even retreated a few hundred meters back, the damage inflicted on the living forces of the Mutants was astonishing.

According to the report summarized by Xiao Qi, up to now, they had killed a total of 1207 Mutant Soldiers, including 411 cybernetically enhanced Mutants, and had recovered 217 modified cybernetic bodies to send to Huge Rock Military Industry for analysis.

In addition, a total of 219 captives, who had been imprisoned by the Mutants, were rescued and were currently being accommodated in the mobile base underneath the Steel Heart.

A small portion of these people were Wasteland Wanderers, but most were residents from nearby settlements like the Pinecone Wood Farmstead, and were heavily addicted to Nago, like puppets with severed strings—just the sight of them was chilling.

Putting the captives aside for now, the number of Mutant kills continued to rise, and some unconfirmed kills needed to be verified and would have to wait until the frontline advanced further.

Most of the kills, thus far, were contributed by the veteran players; the newbies who had just joined the Game in the last two months mostly went up for the excitement.

But Chu Guang didn't see this as a pointless sacrifice.

On the contrary, it was the newbies' successive rushes towards death that gave the Mutants the wrong impression that they could counterattack.

Therefore, despite such heavy casualties, they still maintained an aggressive combat strategy in their defense and even boldly charged towards the Alliance's established positions within the urban area.

To those guys, it probably seemed like the Alliance's offense was waning.

After all, the number of newbies participating on the third day was significantly less than on the first.

Watching the urban area outside the window, flickering with firelight, the corner of Chu Guang's lips curled up in a faint smile.

Tomorrow would be the fourth day; those who fell on the first day would soon begin to respawn, and they'd come back with both the experience gained from death and the hatred from withdrawal symptoms.

Soon these green-skinned brutes would realize just how foolish their confidence was, and the large-scale assault from three days before would be repeated.

And this time—

The real nightmare would begin!

Sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder, Xiao Qi rubbed her cheek and muttered quietly,

"Master, your smile looks so much like that of a villain."

Chu Guang casually responded,

"It doesn't matter, I'm smiling at the window, no one sees it."

"Oh, I see."

Xiao Qi, surprised yet impressed, looked up at his profile with stars in her eyes, her admiration deepening.

No one could fault their master.

He even had a plan for these minor details!

That's too meticulous!

---

(Here's a recommendation for a new book, "Rewind 06". Fans of rebirth stories can give it a follow and add it to their collections, it's written by one of our fellow readers!)

Chapter 599: This Blame-Shifting is Too Shameless!

Beside the Steel Heart, an inflatable airship nearly fifty meters long, slowly approached the edge of the airship.

Although this inflatable airship was already massive, longer than a real-world Boeing, it still looked like a tiny sparrow next to the five-hundred-meter-long Steel Heart.

A group of flight attendants watched nervously as it hovered above the Steel Heart, lowering ropes and a gondola, slowly transporting people onto the deck.

As for why they were so nervous, it was mainly because the airship was filled with hydrogen, effectively a giant bomb.

However, the players riding in it were not the least bit panicked, not taking this potential safety hazard seriously at all.

After all, life respawned every three days.

Should such an accident really happen, they believed that the dog planners would certainly provide full compensation.

With both feet on the deck of the Steel Heart, Night Ten let out an unrestrained howl.

"Hahaha! Hu Han San is back!!!"

Just having finished a shift and passing by, Mosquito, with eight mechanical arms on his back and a pilot's cap on his head, playfully teased with a smirk.

"Aren't you the kid who gets up ten times a night? How did you turn into Hu Han San?"

"Get lost!"

"Haha!" Watching his irritated older brother, Jiujiu, who followed, laughed so hard she crouched down and gave a thumbs-up, "Uncle Mosquito, you're really funny!"

"Hey, of course—crap! I'm not that old!"

"Pfft—"

"Hahahaha! Uncle Mosquito..."

Unable to hold back, Gui Gui burst into laughter, while Feng Qing demurely pressed her lips together, trying to contain her amusement.

The air was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Although a tense and thrilling battlefield lay a few dozen kilometers away, no one except the NPCs seemed to be genuinely tense.

Out of curiosity, Falling Feather looked Night Ten up and down and asked with a smile,

"Didn't you revive yesterday? How come you only got back today?"

There had been a game event going on for the past few days, with nightly flights between the Steel Heart and City of Dawn, departing precisely at midnight in the real world.

He thought this guy would have arrived here yesterday.

Night Ten sighed deeply.

"Ah, I got caught up in a hidden task at City of Dawn."

Falling Feather followed up with curiosity.

"What hidden task?"

Night Ten scratched the back of his head, unsure how to begin, and after thinking for a while, he said,

"Some guy from the Academy came looking for trouble with me, insisting I show her around City of Dawn. Suspecting she was a spy, I sent her to the guardhouse."

He wasn't making it up; she really had seemed suspicious.

The Academy and the Alliance had no official relations, which was public knowledge on the official website.

Other than researchers like Chen Yutong and Yin Fang who had defected, there shouldn't be any researchers wandering around City of Dawn.

At that moment, he thought she might be after Old White's love interest, so he agreed to take her around and then promptly sent her to the station.

The exposed individual had blown up just as he'd expected, but for some reason, those guards didn't believe a word he said.

Later, he would have to thoroughly vent on the forums about this. It was so unprofessional!

After having stood up, Jiujiu sighed heavily and held her forehead after hearing her brother's story.

Falling Feather gave the little girl a look, sensing the complexity of the issue and continued to inquire with curiosity,

"And then what?"

Night Ten rolled his eyes.

"And then? She just freaked out, raised her fist, and was about to hit me! Damn it, those lazy guards didn't even bother to help; they just wrote half an incident report, closed the door, shoved off, and locked it! After that... well, this guy called Luka, the city master, even showed up. Anyway, it was a huge hassle, held me up for a whole day."

Falling Feather looked baffled.

Not just him, but several Goblin Corps pilots, including Mosquito, stared at him, wide-eyed.

Gui Gui raised a hand.

"One question... are you sure that individual really was a spy?"

Night Ten unhesitatingly replied,

"What else could it be? Was there another possibility?"

Feng Qing shifted her gaze subtly and confided in Gui Gui, leaning close and whispering softly.

"It always feels like... the Manager is no simple character... murmurmur..."

Gui Gui had that same expression of profound agreement, nodding his head knowingly.

"Yeah... murmurmur..."

Night Ten: "…?"

Though Falling Feather was somewhat unclear, he massaged his temples with a headache and asked,

"So who was that person... do you know her?"

"I'd only met her once before, how else would I know she's with the Academy," Night Ten scratched his head and looked around, his eyes lighting up, as he pointed toward the direction of the airship, "That one there. The Manager didn't feel comfortable leaving her in City of Dawn and asked me to keep an eye on her."

Falling Feather followed his pointing finger and saw a young girl in a silver-white coat standing on the transport airship's lift, clutching the ropes tightly, waiting for the nearly deck-touching ladder to stabilize.

Her face was pale; she couldn't have been clearer about her fear of heights if the words were written across her forehead. Her raised collar waved like two flags, as her long ponytails fluttered wildly in the wind.

Two flight attendants were trying to persuade her to come down, yet she still clung to the rope, evidently unwilling to let go.

"It's Jiang Xuezhou, level D researcher," Jiujiu sighed while looking in that direction, "Don't let my brother's flashy talk fool you; sometimes he's so obtuse that even I'm amazed."

"Holy smokes! Level D?!" Mosquito exclaimed in surprise, looking at Night Ten as his mechanical arms smacked his shoulder, "Awesome, bro! That's the same level as Yin Fang, right?"

"It's none of my business," Night Ten irritably brushed off Mosquito's mechanical arm, "And level is just a level; it has nothing to do with actual skill."

He didn't think she was smart at all.

If she were, she wouldn't have been caught by the Enlightenment Society.

Feng Qing glanced meaningfully at Gui Gui and whispered closer,

"It seems like the Manager is also quite something... murmurmur..."

Gui Gui, once again nodding in deep agreement as if understanding her thoughts,

"Indeed... murmurmur..."

Night Ten: "…"

These two have been whispering about something since a while ago.

So much for idle chit-chat, move the bomb already!

Elsewhere, flight attendants were still desperately trying to persuade Jiang Xuezhou, who stubbornly refused to leave the elevator.

"Ma'am from the Academy... the elevator has already reached the bottom, please come down quickly."

Jiang Xuezhou's face was tense as she stubbornly said,

"No, isn't there still a little distance left?"

The flight attendant's expression was awkward, not really wanting to explain that it was only in these recent days that they started trying to land civilian airships on the deck of the Steel Heart—they usually just shuttled back and forth between the City of Dawn and Pioneer City.

The pilots had done their best to bring the elevator that close to the Steel Heart's deck.

Another flight attendant patiently reminded her,

"Until we upgrade this elevator, this is the closest we can get. It's for your own good, staying there might be even more dangerous..."

"..."

Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip nervously and glanced at the deck, her eyes colliding with those of Night Ten.

Her complexion instantly stiffened, glaring murderously at that guy for a moment before awkwardly turning her neck away.

However, as soon as she saw the clouds floating outside and the elevator swinging close to the deck like a swing, she turned her head back with a mournful expression.

She didn't know why.

From the drone's point of view, looking down from the sky had seemed perfectly normal, and there were no problems flying around in her mentor's research ship.

But ever since she boarded this absurdly constructed hydrogen airship from the Alliance, she hadn't had a moment's peace...

Seeing her ridiculous expression, Night Ten almost couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud.

This NPC was just too funny.

Unable to bear it any longer, Jiujiu sighed, pressed her hands against her brother's shoulders, and nudged him through the crowd.

"Alright, alright, my big brother's got a mission to do, excuse us brothers and sisters, excuse us..."

Caught off guard and pushed towards the airship, Night Ten stumbled a step and glared at the little devil.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on, stop, just listen to me and all will be done!" using a tone one might use with children, Jiujiu patiently said, "Go on, go on, go get her down now."

As soon as Night Ten heard this, he was immediately displeased.

"For a simple step forward, she needs my help? What does she even need legs for."

"Ugh, just go if I tell you to!"

After getting a stern look from his sister, Night Ten was about to argue, but then he thought about how close Jiujiu was with Teng Teng, so he swallowed his words.

"Fine, fine... I'll go."

"Ey-heh! Good luck!"

Watching her big brother walk toward the elevator, Jiujiu sent a cheer of encouragement and a maternal smile his way.

Of course, she knew her big brother fancied Sister Teng Teng, but with his broody nature, he probably didn't stand a chance.

She's a mature lady, okay!

"""

It was just a bit of a laid-back attitude in the Game; in reality, he was a social elite who had designed many incredible works. How could he possibly fall for some smelly little brother who spews internet jargon nonstop and couldn't even dare to ask for his contact details when meeting face to face?

So, give it up early, bro, and remember that paper dolls are your true love!

You must be happy!!

Jiujiu crossed herself over her chest and silently chanted "Amitabha" in her heart, secretly offering prayers to the Great Antler God for her elder brother.

Chu Guang watched the despicable guy who came in front of him, reluctantly extending his right hand, and the corners of his pale lips lifted slightly, regaining some color.

"Hmph... at least you have a bit of conscience." She reached out her hand with slight pride and placed it in the palm of the hand before her.

Night Ten rolled his eyes, about to proudly claim that it was Jiujiu who forced him, but he was sternly glared at by his little sister and swallowed the slick words he was about to say.

"Hurry up and come down... it's not that high, stop embarrassing yourself. If you're scared of this, you might as well go home and grow sweet potatoes."

"You!"

Jiang Xuezhou, who had just jumped off the elevator, nearly stumbled and fell when she heard this remark and even forgot her current altitude. As soon as she steadied herself, she glared at that guy with a murderous look.

Night Ten had no doubt that if this guy had laser emitters in his eyes, he would have been dead a million times over.

Truly fed the conscience to the dogs.

And to think, I even saved her life before.

Night Ten muttered to himself and ignored the guy. He was actually more concerned about the pairs of eyes around him that were watching the spectacle.

Seeing the atmosphere between the two was a bit stiff, Jiujiu bounced over between them, trying to smooth things over as she looked at Jiang Xuezhou and said.

"Don't mind my elder brother; he's just a bit tongue-tied. He's actually very worried about you!"

Jiang Xuezhou, her chest heaving, glanced at Jiujiu and nodded slightly, saying in a low voice with embarrassment,

"Thank you... Jiujiu."

She had met this clever little girl yesterday in the City of Dawn, and her first impression was very favorable.

But it's really unbelievable!

Such a polite kid, and that impolite bastard are from the same family!

Jiujiu blinked playfully.

"You thanked the wrong person. It's my elder brother who helped you out; you should thank him."

"..."

Jiang Xuezhou pursed her lips, stubbornly turned her face to one side, whether being petulant or hiding the blush beneath her temples.

As the last piece of cargo was finally moved off the elevator, a group of aircrew breathed a sigh of relief and quickly signaled for the airship to leave the deck.

As if they were afraid that a certain someone might jump on it again.

Unable to bear the snickers and winks from that bunch of beasts around, Night Eleven was eager to get off the deck, quickly pulling his little sister and Xuezhou toward the gangway ladder.

They entered the interior of the Iron Heart.

Jiang Xuezhou's tense expression visibly relaxed a lot; she looked around curiously and even started giving unsolicited opinions.

"Speaking of which, why do you use such primitive transportation... Doesn't Giant Stone City have airplanes with plasma engines?"

Night Ten retorted without thinking.

"Primitive? I think it's quite functional."

Jiang Xuezhou shot him a glance.

"""

"That hydrogen airship just now, in what way was it actually useful..."

Night Ten said without a second thought.

"It's stable, fast, and has a large carrying capacity. Is there a better aircraft for the Wasteland than this?"

Seeing that he failed to grasp the crux of the matter, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but criticize.

"What about safety issues?! Don't you take the potential dangers into account?"

"Tsk."

Night Ten intended to mock, thinking 'like I'm scared with life on the line every three days', but remembering the Player Manual, he swallowed the retort and muttered.

"If it bothers you so much, why not just copy those anti-gravity device blueprints for us? You think every settlement in this Wasteland has their tech tree maxed out like you guys."

"..." Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip and said nothing, a hint of discomfort and sadness welling up in her eyes.

Night Ten glanced at her, feeling an inexplicable panic when he saw the sorrow in her eyes, and subconsciously reflected on whether he had spoken too harshly. But upon further thought, he was perplexed.

He hadn't said anything that was particularly offensive!

Logically, if the Academy had developed those technologies themselves, it'd be fine to use them however they wanted.

But the issue was that those technologies belonged to all of United Human. They should be inherited by all of humankind, yet a bunch of old fossils were stuffing the gold coins into their own pockets.

Is this something a person does?

In fact, those folks weren't even truly utilizing the value of those technologies, merely hoarding them like hamsters.

At the very least, from the game setting, as a Resident of the refuge, he had every right to blame the Academy's incompetence.

But...

He just couldn't bear to see a girl look so sad.

Even if he disagreed with the Academy's methods, those were political decisions, not something a low-level Class D researcher could influence.

"So, what are you here for?" Night Ten shifted the conversation.

"My mentor asked me to come," Jiang Xuezhou spoke softly, her voice tinged with melancholy.

"And what's he here for?"

"There's a severe disaster happening here... What kind of expression is that?"

"Nothing," shrugged Night Ten, looking up at the ceiling, "I was just wondering why you only came now."

Jiang Xuezhou fell silent, her eyes shut. Her gaze was filled with self-blame, sorrow, and a mixture of complex emotions.

Indeed...

Knowing the severity of the disaster, why did they only come now?

But how was this related to her?

Was it her fault?

After their last farewell, she thought she wouldn't see this guy again, but to her fortune, her mentor had taken on a task related to the Alliance and lucked out by bringing her along.

This reunion after such a long separation should have been a joyful event. She didn't realize how happy she was at the time.

Yet the first thing he did upon seeing her was to send her off to the police station!

Is that something a human would do?!

The more Jiang Xuezhou dwelled on it, the more aggrieved and angry she became, unconsciously clenching her fists as her teeth grated in frustration.

Hearing that grating sound, Night Ten thought Difficult for the Strong was nearby and glanced into the corner of the corridor.

Strange.

Hadn't the Manager told him not to bring his little buddy onto the airship?

Surely that fat rat wouldn't be hiding in the wall grinding its teeth, right?

Jiujiu, following silently behind the two, stayed quiet the entire time.

From the first sentence onwards, she was silenced by her brother's high EQ and had no idea how to rescue the conversation...

Suddenly she thought that maybe a papercut with artificial emotions wasn't suitable for her brother at all; even if the flags were almost hitting the ceiling, he would find a way to pull them down himself.

Jiujiu sighed silently to herself.

Sorry, big bro.

Your sis did her best!

Maybe you should save up for a bionic person instead.

That should be within reach...

As the group disappeared at the end of the hallway, no one noticed a shadow standing at the corner of the corridor.

As the footsteps gradually drifted away, Chen Yutong, who had been hiding there, finally breathed a sigh of relief and walked in the opposite direction.

Although she longed to see her friend, meeting now would only bring trouble for her and those harboring her.

She was already a dead person.

Better not to meet...

...

At the same time, in the Captain's room of the Steel Heart.

A familiar conversation was unfolding, but there was not an ounce of warmth, and even a slight edge of a verbal fencing match.

"...there is a severe disaster happening here, you might not have fully realized the seriousness of the problem. I suggest you hurry a bit faster."

A robot fully covered in metal stood beside Chu Guang.

Its right hand was slightly bent forward, and a pale blue light with a bust composed of light particles floated above the palm.

That bust was none other than Jiang Xuezhou's mentor, Yang Kai, who was sitting in his research ship at a location likely near the Steel Heart.

As before, he never showed himself in person and seemed to have his disciple carrying an external device around in a daze.

Should anything go south, he would undoubtedly be the first to flee.

From this aspect alone, Li Ke, who also was a B-level researcher, might not have the same air as this guy, but he certainly had much more courage.

At least that guy dared to run to the frontline of the battlefield to show off.

Lu Bei stared intently at the robot, his hand always near his weapon.

Chu Guang, however, was different.

Confident in his own strength, he didn't take this fellow seriously and said indifferently, "Since you're aware of what's happening here, why only come now?"

Yang Kai sighed, sounding like he was apologizing, but his tone was light and without any real weight.

"We have our own difficulties, I hope you understand,"

Chu Guang continued to speak lightly.

"If you could elaborate on your difficulties, it might help me understand, but what I see seems more like a shrinking turtle."

"Turtle, that's an interesting metaphor... Forget it, let's talk about business, we've had enough pleasantries."

Yang Kai laughed and awkwardly changed the topic.

Seeing that he did not want to linger on this matter, Chu Guang chose not to waste time on something that would not yield any results.

Since the Academy had come here, it meant they were concerned about the situation, and as the one holding the initiative, he did not need to be polite with them.

Both emotionally and logically, he had every reason to express his dissatisfaction on behalf of the Alliance.

"Just as I wished," Chu Guang said calmly, "First, please explain to me the seriousness of the problem."

"That's exactly what I was about to talk about."

Clearing his throat, Yang Kai proceeded.

"The infection effect of the Nago fruit on regions is divided into several stages, which I believe your researchers are aware of."

Chu Guang nodded.

"We've investigated three stages."

These were the results of Chen Yutong's investigations.

In the first stage, a minority of the local people and animals and plants were infected by the Nago fruit.

During this phase, the Nago fungus barely showed any aggression or harm. Not only did it have sweet and juicy flesh, but it also provided almost invincible health to those who consumed it. The only side effects were occasional absent-mindedness and lack of concentration.

In the second stage, a majority of local people, animals, and plants were infected by the Nago fruit.

In this stage, the Nago fungus would gradually display its canines and ambitions of climbing higher up the food chain. Specifically, those who consumed the Nago fruit for a long period would frequently enter a "God Travel" state, losing response to external stimuli, and shedding their aggressiveness and combat power, hence becoming easier prey for more dominant beings at the top of the food chain.

Whether they were eaten by stronger Variants or used by the Church as offerings to their mutant allies.

The third stage was more or less an advancement of the second stage. Once the Nago fungus confirmed its domination over most of the organic entities in its territory through pheromones, it would completely shed its benevolent disguise. By spreading spores through the mycelium covering the earth, it would establish its domain—

Leading every organic being within the territory into a "Heaven" designed and dominated by gods!

"Not bad, being able to figure out so much in such a short time, it seems you do have quite some talent," Yang Kai said with approval after hearing Chu Guang's succinct statement and continued, "However, your investigation is not thorough enough. In fact, there is a fourth stage after the third one."

Chu Guang: "What is that?"

Yang Kai continued.

"It follows the third stage. In non-academic terms, it's like—when 'Heaven' descends upon this land, and the moon goes from crescent to full, this land will forever become a kingdom of plague."

So does that mean transitioning from the third to the fourth stage takes about a month's time?

Using such mystical language.

But what concerned Chu Guang more was something else.

"... Impossible to clear?"

"Exactly."

Yang Kai slightly nodded, continuing in a serious tone.

"Even if the Fake Nest—that is, the Nago Fruit Nest—is destroyed, the fungi that have taken hold here will still inertially execute their previous commands, and the 'Heaven' will endlessly continue... Apart from mutants and other such deformed engineered creatures, every organic entity within the territory will lose its free will, like puppets with their strings cut."

"You should know that before, these puppets had their strings held by someone called the Saint Heir, so these living dead, even without self-consciousness, could still function properly, like livestock. However, if no one controls them, they might even struggle to feed themselves properly."

"Maintaining 'Heaven' in the fourth stage is the best choice for The Church that has control over the Mind Interference Device."

"In fact, our researchers speculate that there should theoretically be a fifth stage after the fourth stage. That is, without external interference, allowing those organisms captured by the Nago to naturally die off, be consumed by the whole domain, then rot away..."

This is not hard to imagine.

Nago itself is a biological weapon created without self-awareness, engineered from fragments of mutated slime fungus DNA.

The Nago's nest lacks the autonomous consciousness of the Mucor Nest; it's more like an empty shell that merely looks substantial.

The Torch Church filled its core with the Mind Interference Device, which is why the whole artificial ecosystem has managed to keep functioning.

Once the coordination of the Mind Interference Device is lost, this vast ecosystem would immediately plummet into an abyss, becoming a paradise where only non-autonomous microbes can thrive.

Chu Guang's face gradually changed; he probably guessed the final outcome, but still stared solemnly at the expert in front of him and asked,

"What would happen?"

"No one knows for sure as it has never been verified," said Yang Kai with a slight sigh. "You should know that because of the coordination of the Nago fungus, organisms infected by Nago aren't decomposed at a normal rate by nature's decomposers. Some scholars believe it would become an eternal kingdom of bacteria; others think that a massive, beautiful bouquet of crystal orchids will blossom from those corpses... You know of that flower, right?"

Chu Guang blurted out subconsciously,

"The flower that blooms on corpses—"

"Guides the way to the underworld," Yang Kai continued, nodding slightly. "To be honest, we really don't know how to handle this issue. It's not our style to kill people and burn the bodies. As for corporations, by the time they make up their minds, the trouble of one province could already have spread to half of Central Continent... Not to mention the Army; they would just take pleasure in our misfortune. You know what those guys are like; they are unreliable."

Well, damn.

The way they're passing the buck is just shameless!

Chu Guang was immediately fired up.

"So you're kicking the ball to me? That's a whole province's worth of people! Even if I could do it, I definitely wouldn't have that much gasoline!"

Yang Kai said quietly,

"We have provided you with a thousand cubic meters of fuel, which is better than gasoline... even if you want to do that, it should definitely be enough."

Chu Guang stared intently at him.

Yang Kai avoided his gaze, touched his nose somewhat shamefacedly, and continued,

"Don't look at me like that; it's not a mess we created. Rather, we have been silently protecting the last bit of hope of the old civilization, even though you don't understand the greatness of what we do."

"Look at the land beneath your feet. It's terrifying to allow a bunch of unworthy people to possess the weapons of civilization."

"Ultimately, we'll be leaving this planet; it's on the schedule. But we don't plan to take all the hope with us... Dr. Conclusion believes that the old civilization will not completely vanish, and that our shared, twisted fate will eventually reunite us in the future, even if we have ventured to the corners of the universe or to another galaxy."

"Instead of resenting us for not providing more help, it would be better to think about how to solve this problem."

Chu Guang suddenly gave a cold laugh.

"You've posed a difficult challenge for me; there was even a moment when I considered whether a thousand cubic meters of helium-3 would be enough for me to sleep until a thousand years later."

It should be enough, assuming there are no equipment malfunctions.

But, of course, he could never do that.

"I'm very sorry, although the person who posed the question isn't me... My apprentice will help you solve some problems; if you decide to abandon this era and continue in hibernation, then please take her with you, although I believe you certainly won't do that."

Yang Kai nodded slightly, vanishing into the azure light like a dispersing wisp of smoke, disappearing from the captain's room.

——

(Thanks to 'hhhzz6' for the Dominator reward!!! I was a few hours late updating the past few days, so I updated a bit earlier today; tomorrow it's still the same time, same place for updates at six o'clock, haha.)

Chapter 600 Skeleton Corps Arrives!

Before entering Brocade River Province, Chu Guang had thought the problems might be more severe than he had imagined, but he hadn't expected them to have deteriorated to such an extent.

The entire Haiye Province had entered Stage 4 of Nago corrosion, completely falling under the shadow of the plague.

The tragedy at the Pine Cone Wood Farm was just a number 03 there; within the Holy Land, Pioneers and the Saint Heir could morph any settlement into the desired state whenever they wished.

In fact, the people there had already become puppets without autonomous consciousness.

"If it truly is as they say, this problem could be quite thorny… both scientifically and politically."

In the holographic image.

After hearing Chu Guang's recounting of the academy's research conclusions, Heya gripped her chin in a grave expression, sinking into deep contemplation, remaining silent for a long while.

Chu Guang was the same.

It took a while before he sighed with a headache and spoke.

"Locking down Haiya Province is a compromise, but perhaps dragging this out will only make things worse… and unfortunately, we don't have enough manpower; mobilizing everyone from the Alliance wouldn't be enough."

Heya quietly asked.

"What about the corporations? Aren't they planning to do something?"

"Their efficiency and the cost they are willing to pay directly correspond to the lack of returns. They only really make up their minds when the problem is serious enough that they must do something," Chu Guang often dealt with successors from the United Human on the East Coast.

Frankly, dealing with corporate fellows was pleasant as long as the returns were substantial and core interests weren't involved. They didn't mind letting partners gain some advantages because, after all, goodwill is also an investment.

However, relying on them in times of crisis was simply too naïve.

The Army had torn up a century and a half-old contract, almost piercing through Luo Xia Province; the Supreme Council merely issued severe threats, and it wasn't until the Alliance seized the Iron Heart that the threats reached the Iron Heart.

Chu Guang had, through Yi Chuan, secured the support of the council, and a batch of valuable aid was on its way.

However, expecting the corporations to help lock down a province thousands of miles away from Ideal City was, Chu Guang believed, utterly preposterous.

"…Can we only use nuclear bombs?" Heya said with a complex expression.

"At the moment, I can't think of a better solution, but… we need to address the immediate issues first; at least Brocade River City and Brocade River Province are still salvageable."

As he spoke, Chu Guang looked towards the captain's room's side port, where the drifting clouds camouflaged the fog-enshrouded Earth intermittently visible.

Currently, only this part of Brocade River Province was suffering from Nago corrosion. After all, this area was once home to the ruins of Singular Point City, and there were many survivors and settlements.

The Wasteland held many uninhabited areas; dozens of miles might pass without a single settlement, and the few households sporadically existing lived almost like wild men.

In such deserted areas, relying merely on animal natural propagation, it was difficult for Nago's corrosion to suddenly escalate to Stage 2.

It could be said that the plague named "Nago," engineered by the Torch Church, was tailor-made for the vast majority of survivor settlements on the Wasteland.

Noticing Heya's complex gaze, Chu Guang suddenly thought of something and spoke in a comforting tone.

"Don't carry too much psychological burden; perhaps your master, Karen, was just misled or coerced by those people… It might not necessarily have been her doing."

Although, after meeting Luo Gan, he felt this possibility was very small.

Those people believed deeply in what they were doing; even if they hesitated, it was only due to their conscience questioning the means, not doubting the outcome.

They truly believed—

That their world was an Utopia even greater than the Prosperity Epoch.

"Don't comfort me; I will ask her myself…" Heya took a deep breath, adjusting her emotions.

Suddenly as if she thought of something, she looked at Chu Guang, arched an eyebrow, and threw the topic back in a teasing tone.

"Speaking of which, you still haven't resolved your own headache, yet here you are, comforting me."

Unaffected by her tease, Chu Guang laughed.

"You are our chief biologist; if we lose you, a lot of work won't be able to proceed."

"Don't overpraise me, there are many more experienced than me," Heya rolled her eyes, feeling a sweet satisfaction in her heart.

Having one's hard work acknowledged was always a pleasant matter for anyone, and she was no exception.

Noticing her improved mood, Chu Guang smiled and nodded.

"Knowledge and experience can be gradually accumulated, and to the Alliance, what's irreplaceable is you… The basic situation is just as I just discussed. We should end the call now; it's getting late, rest early."

Heya curved her lips in a smile.

"You too; you just finished dealing with the trouble in Giant Stone City and now you've headed off to Brocade River Province. Don't wear yourself out."

Chu Guang laughed heartily.

"Don't worry, my body is still pretty robust; you know that all too well."

For some reason,

This person, who always liked to joke about him not being serious, suddenly blushed, spit, and vanished from the holographic image…

…

In an utterly white Virtual Space, the ceiling emitted a warm white light.

Florae had begun to grow on the pristine white floor, though their leaves were all white, swaying eerily in the breezeless room.

Their crystal-clear outlines were akin to flowers blooming on corpses…

Standing in the center of the room, Jiang Xuezhou scanned his surroundings, quickly spotting the girl sitting in the corner hugging her knees.

Her face was expressionless, just sitting there quietly, gazing at the patch of floor in front of her shoe tips, as if pondering over something.

Hesitating for a moment, Jiang Xueszhou ultimately decided to use an ordinary opening greeting to say hello.

"You…are you okay?"

Yinyin raised her head to look at her and nodded slowly.

"Yes, I'm fine… just a bit puzzled."

"Puzzled?" Jiang Xuezhou supported herself with her hands on her knees, bending down and speaking in a gentle tone, "My name is Jiang Xuezhou, and I'm a researcher at the Academy… Can you tell me what's bothering you? Maybe I can help you solve it."

"It's not that I can't," Yinyin leaned the back of her head against an invisible wall behind her, staring at the unfamiliar sister in front of her, "The big brother called 'Manager' told me that Grandpa Luo Gan gave me this strange room, allowing me, who should've died, to live on. But..."

Her bright eyes displayed a hint of confusion; Yinyin unconsciously cocked her head slightly and said something completely uncharacteristic for her age.

"What am I really?"

What am I really?

Jiang Xuezhou was slightly startled and responded instinctively.

"You are, of course..."

"Zhao Yinyin; I know my name," Yinyin interrupted her, exhaling lightly, her expression seemingly distressed, "But I also don't know whether I am myself now or the me in that old grandpa's memory."

Jiang Xuezhou stared blankly at Yinyin, sitting in the corner, her mouth slightly agape, unable to believe these words were coming from an eight-year-old girl.

Seemingly noticing the astonishment on her face, Yinyin gave an embarrassed smile and swept the troubled expression from her face.

"Sorry for saying something strange; this is my personal worry, please don't mind it."

Jiang Xuezhou didn't know how to respond; she could only nod softly.

"We…will help you get out of here as soon as possible, please give us a little time."

"Yeah, I believe you. It would be nice to go out and play. Little Lamb and I had promised to play hide and seek together," Yinyin's face brightened with a smile as if the previous concerns never existed, shifting the topic, "You came here for something, right? Can you tell Yinyin what it is?"

Jiang Xuezhou nodded somewhat sheepishly.

"Yes, I do have some things I want to ask you; this could save many lives… Of course, you can refuse if you don't want to, just tell me what you know truthfully."

She had thought it would take some time to open this little girl's heart, but to her surprise, Yinyin quite generously nodded her head and looked at her with a smile.

"No problem, I'll tell you everything I know, just ask away!"

She didn't want to make the same mistakes from not being honest again.

Having died once, she had already learned her lesson.

Staring blankly at this little girl, a reanimated Jiang Xuezhou, blushing, hurriedly thanked her before beginning her questioning.

In fact, before coming here, she had already anticipated obtaining information about Nago and its research from her mentor.

This questioning mainly involved some basic information about Pinecone Wood Farmstead, including the initial behaviors of infected patients and the overall atmosphere changes of the settlement.

She made sure to phrase her questions in a way even a child could understand, and Yinyin, after listening, responded honestly to each one.

After the last question was posed, Jiang Xuezhou pinched her chin, deep in thought, gazing unblinkingly at Yinyin, who suddenly spoke in a pleasing voice.

"You and that sister look alike."

Jiang Xuezhou was mildly startled and stopped pondering.

"That… sister?"

"Yeah." Yinyin nodded lightly, her bright eyes fixed on her, "There was also a sister who asked these questions before… She seemed to be a doctor from the Alliance, always the one who checks on Little Lamb's health."

A doctor, huh?

Even though it felt odd, Jiang Xuezhou didn't dwell on it; she nodded, thanked her, and waved goodbye to Yinyin.

The infirmary on the Iron Heart.

Standing next to the fully enclosed cryochamber, Little Lamb looked worriedly at Jiang Xuezhou, who had just removed her Neural Connection Device, and asked softly,

"Yinyin…is she doing okay?"

After placing the Neural Connection Device on the nearby table, Jiang Xuezhou cast a gentle gaze at Little Lamb and asked,

"She's a bit lonely, could you keep her company more often?"

Little Lamb nodded sagely.

"Yes… I will stay with Yinyin, telling her about the outside world until she awakens."

Watching her obedient demeanor, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but smile, reaching out her right hand and lovingly caressed her little head.

"Good girl."

Looking at those eyelashes curved into crescent moons and the almost glowing smile, she felt her day's fatigue and displeasure had been healed.

Damn!

It's like raising a pet!

But it was merely a thought and not an actual plan to bring the little girl back to the Wandering Swamp.

Though the Academy had extremely affluent material conditions, that was only for its researchers. For the ordinary people, who couldn't produce "value outside of production," it was a completely different matter.

At the settlements managed by the Committee, ordinary survivors may not starve to death, but they could only ensure basic nutritional needs. There was almost no hope for change other than carving a bloody path out during the only assessment.

She had heard that a few settlements operated under rules outside of the Committee's regulations, primarily inhabited by the families of senior researchers, aiming to ensure the transmission of superior genes and thought patterns to the next generation.

But she was just a Class D researcher, without even the means to move her own family there, let alone someone unrelated by blood.

After visiting Yinyin, Jiang Xuezhou exited the infirmary and gently closed the room door behind her.

Yet, as soon as she stepped out, she saw an annoying figure, her face instantly dropping, her arms crossed and eyes coldly fixed on him.

"I had the Manager's permission to come here."

Faced with the visible murderous aura, Night Ten embarrassedly scratched the back of his head and muttered.

"I know."

"So, what are you doing here?" Jiang Xuezhou lifted his chin slightly and said with cold eyes, "Do I need to say that line? The junk you guys make is of no interest to me. I'd rather daydream about planarians than steal your technology—"

"I'm sorry."

"..."

Jiang Xuezhou hadn't expected an apology from him and he involuntarily stopped his harsh words halfway, staring at him slightly stunned.

Night Ten's gaze drifted to the side, embarrassed to look at her face.

Because it was indeed very awkward.

He had only just found out from the Task System that she had come here to help with her mentor.

It was the same when they were in City of Dawn.

Not only had he suspected her of being a spy, but he had also questioned why she was only coming now... Thinking about it, what he said was indeed inappropriate, at least it shouldn't have been him telling her that.

Before logging off, after getting an eye-roll from his sister, he hesitated for a moment, then finally climbed out of his Sleep Cabin, deciding to clarify the matter before logging off.

"I said some pretty harsh things earlier, and I can't lie and say that wasn't my intention because I really did think so at the time, thinking maybe it triggered a hidden task or something... But please allow me to take back those words. Jumping to conclusions without a proper investigation was my mistake, hence the big misunderstanding."

As he said this, he felt a bit unsatisfied, feeling as if he was admitting defeat, so he couldn't help but mutter quietly.

"Of course, this isn't entirely my fault either. If you had just been straightforward about why you were here...all sneaky, and having me show you around, talking about secrets and tasks, I couldn't help but think otherwise."

Jiang Xuezhou stared at him for a while, then suddenly burst out laughing.

Night Ten looked up, dissatisfied.

"What are you laughing at? I'm seriously explaining myself here."

He thought she would be a bit more restrained, but she only laughed louder.

"Ahahaha! It's nothing really, seeing as you're being so forthright for once, I guess I can just pretend those unpleasant things didn't happen."

Raising her right hand, Jiang Xuezhou flipped her ponytail from her shoulder to her back, lowering her nose held high and slightly curled up the corners of her mouth.

"It's actually quite interesting. It's the first time I've ever been mistaken for a spy and thrown into the police station... although my mentor scolded me when I got back."

Actually, getting scolded didn't bother her, it was just the trouble caused for many unrelated people that made her feel a bit sorry. Later, even the governor of the City of Dawn got involved.

When she went back, she would send a thank-you letter to everyone at the City of Dawn police station...

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou's spirits lifted, Night Ten relaxed and his usual goofy smile appeared on his face.

"So... now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, if you have any tasks— I mean troubles or annoyances, feel free to ask me. I'm going to head back now."

As Night Ten turned to leave, Jiang Xuezhou instinctively called out to him.

"Wait a second!"

Night Ten stopped and turned back, casting her an inquiring look.

"Is there anything else?"

"Um..."

Jiang Xuezhou glanced to the side, feeling a bit embarrassed. Twirling a strand of her ponytail with her fingertips, she hesitated and said,

"You know... my mentor and I are here to address that Nago issue, right? Because field research is mainly the responsibility of us Class D, I might need to be involved quite often. Even though I'm also pretty strong, single-handedly taking on a couple hundred Awakeners is no problem, but it would be nice to have some help with simple errands like serving tea or miscellaneous tasks..."

Seeing that he hadn't responded for a long time, Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip in frustration and blurted out the whole thing desperately.

"So… if you're not busy, could you please help me out?"

*Sigh.*

It's just this little thing!

After hearing her beat around the bush for a long time and finally understanding it, Night Ten burst out laughing heartily.

"Leave it to me! Although I can't help much with serving tea or running errands, protecting you is no problem at all! Don't worry, as long as I'm alive, I won't let you suffer a scratch."

Unexpectedly faced with this direct promise, Xiao Jiang was stunned at first, and then quickly regained her composure, her whole face turning red as an apple.

"You—you—you just be mentally prepared, I—I—I won't go easy on you... Re-remember to write your will!"

Stammering and making no sense, Jiang Xuezhou fled like a startled rabbit.

By the time she regained her senses, she found herself standing in her room's bathroom, the shower splashing water relentlessly on her face.

Jiang Xuezhou regretted so much that she wanted to punch herself, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. In the end, her fist thumped on the wall of the bathroom.

Ah!

What stupid things did I say!

She wished she could find a crack in the wall to hide in...

Unlike the regretful Xiao Jiang, someone else wasn't bothered at all by that ominous remark and didn't take it seriously.

It was a joke—who could outtalk him?

He could spout a basketful of even more devastating words, even spin them into a poem. Even the most eloquent Fang Chang couldn't compare and would just roll his eyes and shut up to play the game.

He wasn't bragging.

As a player from the competitive scene, he had never lost a verbal duel.

What really puzzled Night Ten was something else...

As he watched that NPC walk away, he pulled out his VM, glanced at it, opened the task panel, and scratched his head.

"Strange."

Why didn't the task trigger?

Logically, serving as a bodyguard for the Academy's "special envoy researcher" should count as a hidden mission.

Doubts began to arise in Night Ten's heart.

Could the planners have forgotten about me...

Hiding by the door, Little Lamb quietly tucked her head back, mimicking the big brother's action of scratching her head.

She had heard people arguing in the corridor and wanted to see what was happening, only to witness a scene that totally confused her.

Although she didn't understand what they were saying, it seemed very intense...

...

The long night finally passed, and as dawn rose from the horizon, the gray sky also brightened with a hint of pallid light.

No matter how dense the fog on the ground, it couldn't block the sun that regularly rose, nor could it stop the world's yearning and longing for the warmth of sunlight.

On the distant horizon, outlines of armored chariots emerged amid rolling dust.

The menacing torrent of steel, carrying grenadiers with skulls emblazoned on their breastplates, moved directly towards Brocade River City with high morale.

Since the war in Luo Xia Province had ended, each army had plenty of time to rest—or rather, loaf around. Therefore, spurred by some enthusiastic individuals, various corps each designed their own insignia, to be painted on the exoskeletons' breastplates or shoulder guards.

For the Skeleton Corps, the emblem was, naturally, a skull.

Of course, during this rest time, the brothers of the Skeleton Corps were not just painting. They did other tasks as well.

The operational "Chimera" wheeled armored personnel carrier was a joint design by the Skull Corps players and Goblin Technology's engineers.

This was based on experiences summed up from the previous wars with the Army—the Alliance's armored forces needed a fast, light vehicle that could carry light infantry and keep up with the pace of tanks advancing forward.

In previous wars with the Army, the infantry of the Skeleton Corps generally sat in armed trucks, but those vehicles had poor maneuverability and were essentially like dumplings exposed to the open. When it came to fighting, the veteran players preferred running behind the tanks rather than sitting in those vehicles and getting pounded.

Thus, the "Chimera" was created.

Its design was influenced by the Army's "Hyena" reconnaissance vehicle, and the six pairs of load-bearing wheels and the forward placement of the power cabin were modeled after the real-life WZ551.

In addition to a driver and a gunner, six light infantry soldiers dressed in full protective exoskeletons could also ride in the back.

The turret on the roof was equipped with a 37mm rapid-fire cannon, which used the same model of ammunition as aircraft cannons, and the turret was also equipped with a "Dove" type missile launcher, posing a significant threat to heavy vehicles and large targets.

However, although the armored vehicle had built-in space, most of these veteran players were used to sitting on trucks and could not stand the confined space.

They all chose not to use their seats, instead sitting on top of the vehicle.

Not only that.

Even though they were just a few kilometers from the battlefield, not a trace of fear could be seen on any of their faces. What could be seen was an unbearable thirst—

"I'm ready to take down twenty-two! Any takers?"

"Ha ha, ones taken down by the 'Chimera' don't count!"

"Cut it out, do I need that thing?"

"Don't cry for daddy to save you if you get captured by the mutants."

"I will!"

"Man, have some dignity!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The Steel Heart's bombardment would begin punctually at 8 am.

Whether it was the armored vehicle's 37mm rapid-fire cannon or the rifles they carried on their shoulders, all were already loaded.

Half out of the armored vehicle's turret, the Mole held a telescope, looking towards the fog-shrouded abandoned city in the distance.

There was Brocade River City!

Dropping the telescope and grabbing a megaphone, he tore open his voice, excitedly shouting out loud.

"Brothers—!"

"Ahead lies the stronghold of the Qi Tribe!"

"A gang of flesh-eating savages throwing a party and singing unaware of what they've stirred up!"

"Let those green-skinned beasts witness whether their fangs and bones are tougher, or our tracks and cannons!"

An untimely shout came out.

"Boss! We came in an armored vehicle! There are no tracks!"

Ignoring that mood breaker, Mole continued shouting exuberantly.

"Skeleton Corps! Forward—!"

"Throw death in their faces—!"

The hands of his watch pointed directly at eight o'clock.

The rumbling of cannons above them began on time!

Amidst the deafening sounds of cannon fire, a series of spirited shouts responded.

"Kill!!!"

Chapter 601: The Roar of the Chimera!

The War had entered its fourth day.

The brutal alley battles turned the street in front of the abandoned department building into a cruel meat grinder, with every inch of the paving tiles covered with thick bloodstains and torn bodies.

The originally uniform battle line, under constant tug of war, had become jagged, the earth bearing ghastly scars from the tilling of artillery and aerial bombs.

Ironically, the Land that had remained untouched by the three-year War that buried the United Human, now faced the baptism of iron and fire two centuries after the War's end.

Humch, full of confusion, remembered what the boss had said—the Alliance's offensive was at its end, their soldiers' courage shattered by Delu's thunderous voice, and they would soon be fleeing with their tails between their legs.

The recaptured ground was the best proof.

However—

Was that really the case?

"Boom—!"

The dense artillery fire started punctually, like a pressed black cloud, rolling over the street, each blast drawing nearer and nearer.

Green heads huddled within the concrete buildings on either side of the street, bobbing with the dust that occasionally shook loose.

Humch wasn't afraid of the Alliance's shelling.

The thing made a big racket indeed, but it was difficult to harm them behind concrete walls, and minor scrapes didn't warrant concern.

In the end, a face-to-face battle was needed to decide the victor.

There was nothing to fear.

The shelling began on time and ended just as punctually.

A Centurion hunkered nearby shook off the cement debris and stood up, raising its weapon and bellowing.

"Chop them to pieces!"

Its chest vibrated with the shout, like a wild beast roaring at the sky.

"Oh oh oh!"

Inspired by that courage and barbarity, the mutant soldiers also rose, calling out as they grabbed their weapons and spread out to the exterior barricades, ready to fight with the Alliance soldiers.

Humch followed closely behind the guy in front.

Almost at the same moment he stepped out of the concrete debris, deafening war cries accompanied the rat-tat-tat of gunfire.

The street he was responsible for was one of the routes leading to the abandoned department building, with a collapsed overpass lying right in the middle of the intersection.

A lineup of derelict cars made natural cover; just throw on a few sandbags and mount a machine gun to create a makeshift bunker.

The Church continuously fed the city with ammunition; they didn't have to worry about logistical supplies, only about stuffing death down those human soldiers' throats—

Tracers flew chaotically across the street, like snowflakes whisked up in a storm.

From that invisible mist, Humch sensed something unusual; the fierce gunfire seemed as if the first day's offensive had resurrected.

Wasn't the Alliance already on its last legs?

Why had they... come back to life?

There was always an illusion in its heart that the people it encountered on the first day were the same ones facing it now.

The only difference was that they seemed to be much more skilled than on the first day and no longer charged headlong into the muzzle of the guns.

If it had been then, just one burst of fire would have been enough to bring them down.

But now, they had clearly mastered the techniques of combat, even if it was only some very superficial skills, it still caused immense trouble for them.

"Da-da-da—!" The machine gun continuously spat out flames, and in the foggy weather with extremely low visibility, hitting the target almost depended on luck.

Humming didn't manage to get to the machine gun and could only aimlessly fire with a rifle he had picked up from somewhere, but he quickly felt lucky for being slow to react.

Before two bursts of smoke could emerge from the barrel, a scorching blaze exploded beside him with a "bang," splattering his face with shrapnel and boiling blood.

He turned his face to look and saw that the guy who had been spraying with the machine gun earlier was left with only half of his body twitching on the ground.

Having seen so many corpses, he had become numb to them, and a fellow with a bare upper body quickly grabbed the machine gun and continued to fire, pulling the trigger.

Humming didn't exhibit any sadness over a brother with whom he had relieved himself dying; instead, a slight confusion gradually grew in his mind.

Could retaking this street under his feet really indicate that the Alliance was already close to collapsing?

However, this faint confusion lasted less than half a minute before it was interrupted by a roar piercing through the thick fog.

A giant wearing steel plates, with heavy and rapid steps, crossed one shattered barrier after another and suddenly barged onto the battlefield.

Its figure was as tall as a wall, and the steel draped over its body was as solid as a tank's armor.

Seeing its arrival, almost all the mutants' eyes lit up with frenzy, shouting out excitedly.

Humming was the same!

Big Guy!

The strongest warrior in the Tribe!

They simply couldn't be naturally produced, and they'd never learn a few sentences of human speech in their lives, but every one that grew up became a named warrior!

They were born warriors!

"Roar—!"

The roar leaked from the gaps in the helmet as it charged forward, using its shoulder to violently slam into the closest piece of iron rust.

The human soldier in the exoskeleton drew a short axe to resist, but the axe looked like a toothpick against its massive bulk.

Humming clearly saw the axe that heavily chopped the helmet, leaving only a negligible white mark on the dark and foreboding steel, then the human soldier was sent flying by Big Guy's smooth charge, crashing hard against a concrete building nearby.

A piece of rebar sticking out of the wall pierced right through his back, skewering the human soldier, who struggled with the rebar for a while before his head drooped and he moved no more.

"Roar—!"

The mutant Big Guy roared, picking up a steel rod from the ground, then immediately smashed it into the next iron rust.

Those human soldiers were clearly startled by the hulking figure, caught off guard for a moment by the giant charging through.

Crouching behind cover, Humming's blood surged with excitement as he and the bunch of ruffians beside him cheered and hollered together.

It seemed that the roar of the mutants inspired Big Guy, who grew more valiant in battle at the center of the battlefield, wielding a steel rod several meters long.

In a blink, two more heavy exoskeletons were sent flying out, collapsing unconscious among the concrete debris.

Alliance Soldiers immediately raised their rifles, aiming fire at the behemoth, but the tracer rounds appeared no more substantial than toothpicks against its huge bulk.

Aside from scraping a few bullet marks on that thick arc of steel armor, not even a hint of substantive damage had been left behind; instead, it only aroused the ferocity of the big guy, who swung his steel bar even more vigorously.

The already chaotic position was smashed even more into a mess.

The human soldier leading the charge seemed to be shouting something, but it was unintelligible, probably a panicked scream.

However, what it didn't know was that although these Alliance soldiers had been startled by the big brute, they were far from panicked.

For instance, Midnight Chicken Killing had seen this thing before, and many old soldiers from the Jungle Corps had too; they knew that although it was tough, it was far from invincible.

"Damn—this bomb gun can't break its defense?!"

"Bro, you're too close! Back up and shoot from a distance!"

"No time! Switch to the rifle!"

"Crap, the armor is too thick! Can't get through it!"

"Then bring out the tube—"

Before the words had completely fallen, the engine's roar came killing over from one side of the crossroads.

Midnight Chicken Killing, about to pull out the tube, turned sharply towards that direction and his heart leapt with joy the moment his sight met the headlights.

Chimera!

It's the Skeleton Corps' brothers!

The roaring engine, like a battle drum, accompanied the broad vehicle front as it entered the battlefield where gunshots were echoing incessantly.

Not a hint of dragging and slogging.

The protruding edges on the armored vehicle's front slammed hard into the crotch of the huge mutant.

The big brute only felt his lower half being struck by a heavy hammer, and let out a painful cry; his feet were lifted off the ground by the massive front of the vehicle and he flew backward.

Just then, the rampaging Chimera came to a sudden stop; the big brute lost his balance and had no chance to steady himself, stumbling backward.

But the Chimera Armored Car didn't give him a moment to catch his breath—the 37mm rapid-fire cannon aimed straight at his chest.

Then—

The deep barrel, like a black hole, mercilessly spat out a thick burst of flames!

"Bang bang bang—!"

The deafening cannon fire, like a battle drum being struck, released tracer bullets thick as pythons from the barrel, pummeling the big thumbnail-thick breastplate, each hit making it wail from the unbearable strain.

The staggering brute was powerless against the kinetic energy of the 37mm rounds and was directly pressed into the wrecked display window on the side of the street.

The bursting shrapnel and sparks kept flying out from that display window, occasionally accompanied by one or two ricocheted bullets.

The flickering firelight and thick smoke obscured the muddy swamp of carnage and also silenced the pained howl.

The staring eyes widened, fixating on the spot where the big brute had fallen, the excitement and bloodlust in his pupils fading away unnoticed.

All that remained was boundless fear.

In just a moment—

The warrior, who had come to this world with death and glory, named by the tribe chief at birth, was crushed into mincemeat by the sparks shot from that metal box.

Soon he saw the smoke-wreathed barrel slowly moving, aiming distantly at the position where he stood.

"Roar—!"

It was as if to vent the fear in his heart, he let out a series of exhausted roars, almost pulling the trigger of his rifle to the limit, trying to extinguish the howling storm with that fragile flame.

The other Mutants Soldiers around him did the same, pouring fierce firepower at the iron hunk standing in the center of the Battlefield, attempting to crush it with a barrage of bullets.

However,
in front of that several dozen millimeters thick equivalent armor, the bullets fired by light weapons were too weak, not even as useful as the axes they were swinging in their hands.

Almost at the same time as the panting roars were heard, streaks of lightning thick as Pythons had already lunged at the Mutant Soldiers, bursting into flashing flares on that hasty defensive position.

Sandbag bunkers were blown up everywhere, and the walls that could stop bullets were like children's building blocks in front of the 37mm Rapid-fire Cannon.

Fortunately, there was no pain in that instant.

He just felt a flash before his eyes, then darkness, and all senses plunged into an endless abyss with that "splat"...

"Boom, boom, boom—!"

The rumble of the guns continued.

Until the entire street's bunkers were baptized with Armor piercing incendiary bombs.

It seemed that wasn't enough fun as the armored vehicle switched to High-explosive bombs, giving a thorough sweep to the gaps between buildings on both sides of the street.

Although gunshots were still continuing in the distance, the fight on this street had basically ended with the arrival of this armored vehicle.

The players of the Jungle Corps left their shelters one by one, holding Bomb Guns and advancing alongside the armored vehicle, shooting down the Mutant Soldiers trying to retreat with ammo boxes, reclaiming the position they had given up to the Mutants the day before.

"Nicely done!"

Whistling at the ceased-firing Chimera Armored Car, the Picheng Paratrooper wearing the "Iron Wall" Exoskeleton excitedly shot a thumbs up.

Although he wasn't the one who fired.

The devastating firepower truly exhilarated him.

Gnome King Riches jumped down from the back of the armored vehicle, gazing at the grey-faced brothers of the Jungle Corps, and bragged with beaming pride.

"How about that? Isn't our new equipment badass?"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "6666!"

Ground Model: "Got money now, brother!"

Gnome King Riches, embarrassed, chuckled and said,

"It's mainly because our leader's Game sold well."

Seeing his brothers casting hopeful glances at him, Brother Chicken, armored from head to toe, subtly shifted his gaze away, pretending not to see and started whistling.

Make money?

Not happening.

Be content with freeloading the NPC's equipment!

Elena suggested with a comical face,

"That guy should just stay back in Ideal City and lug bricks, we can handle the fighting."

The hatch of the armored vehicle opened, and the Mole who climbed out put his hand on the side of the Gun Tower, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Fuck, without my command, do you know where to go?"

These damn mutts!

Swearing like kings when the wind's in their favor, and cursing my name when the tide turns!

It's a real headache being an Army Commander!

Gnome King Riches said with a smirk on his face.

"Pssh, not to blow my own horn, but we're not fighting an army. Beating these Barbarians who can't even fix a cover, just rush in their faces and we're done, right?"

The other players joined in, heckling and joking around.

"Exactly!"

"We don't need any damn tactics, just go wild and it's all good!"

"Dare you say that last push on the throttle wasn't wild enough?"

Mole coughed awkwardly, feeling a bit shamefaced to admit it.

To tell the truth, he did go a little overboard, like just now there was no need to push that far forward, could've just sat back and picked them off from afar.

But that's not important!

He already put on quite a show.

Felt great and that was all that mattered!

He reached out to press the communications button on his helmet, and with a clear of his throat, Mole decided to ignore the teasing and shouted into the comm channel.

"All squads, get ready to coordinate with the infantry and advance toward the 'Old Resident Settlement' coordinates... the ruins of Singular Point City are over there, watch out for Mutants hiding in the buildings."

Quick responses came over the comm channel.

"Roger that!"

A satisfied expression played across Mole's face.

It seemed that the Chimera Armored Cars were doing quite well on all fronts, not showing him up in front of the other armies.

However, his satisfaction only lasted a few seconds before an ill-timed voice came through the comm channel.

"...This is Chimera-3, we've run into a bit of trouble on our way to the assault point! Mutant anti-vehicle fire has damaged our engine, we're stuck in the middle of the road—fuck, a sniper! Spread out! Get to the sides of the streets! Damn these sneaky bastards!"

The squad leader barked orders at his team while reporting the situation on the comm channel; despite his hasty tone, the intense clattering sounds in the background spoke volumes of the fierce firefight.

A sniper?

In this thick fog, they must be cheating, for fuck's sake!

Mole was momentarily stunned, then became serious and promptly said,

"Report your position!"

While quickly confirming his location on the map and peering out of the observation window, the squad leader rattled off,

"600 meters southwest of the department store, there's a subway station and an unmarked office building nearby... I've marked it on the map!"

Mole: "Where's the sniper?"

Squad leader: "Judging from the gunshots, they should be southwest of us, off the firefight zone... I'm not sure of the exact position! Probably in the tallest building, or the one next to it."

"Circle the approximate location!"

"...Updated on the map!"

"Received! We're on our way!"

After cutting the comm, Mole reported the sniper's coordinates to headquarters, then tapped forcefully on the gun tower.

"We've got brothers in trouble, we're going to bail them out... Damn, these guys just can't sit tight in their cars, gotta show off riding on the back!"

Midnight Chicken Killing strode over, his Bomb Gun slung over his shoulder.

"Do you need our help?"

Mole glanced at his over-the-top gear and shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"No, no, just keep pushing forward, we'll deal with that trouble and then double back to support you!"

Taking this guy along would mean unloading at least two or three infantrymen. The outfit sure looked tough, but mobility was definitely an issue.

Midnight Chicken Killing seemed not to overthink it and just grinned.

"Okay, good luck to y'all."

He watched as the Chimera Armored Car headed off towards the other side of the crossroads, then waved to his brothers who had taken control of the battle zone.

"Move out!"

...

The time hadn't even reached noon yet, but the clash between the Alliance and the Qi Tribe had escalated rapidly, especially with the entrance of the Chimera Armored Cars on the battlefield, turning the tense situation into a one-sided slaughter.

Most of the tough guys in the Skeleton Corps were old soldiers who had squared off against army tanks in the deserts, and though urban warfare was new to them, they didn't hesitate in a firefight.

In just a matter of hours, the Qi Tribe had lost all the positions they had snatched from the Alliance the day before, and their casualties had surged to the sum of the past three days.

Delu was seeing red, barking orders like a gambler, pushing the last of his men to attack the Alliance positions.

However, even from a bystander's perspective, it was clear that his defeat was merely a matter of time.

Jia En had already given up on the fool, now focusing on setting up defenses in the vicinity of their research facilities, hoping to hold out for a week if all went well.

But if the Alliance continued to ramp up their assault, it was uncertain if they would abandon the research facilities and even retreat south from Brocade River City altogether.

After all, the Torch Church truly had no means to rein in those green-skinned thugs.

If they could, they would have done it already...

On the southwest side of the battlefield, an old man dressed in an exoskeleton quietly watched over the area from an abandoned building.

At the age of eighty, which meant burial for most on this Wasteland, his face only bore more wrinkles.

His name was Alzu, an Apostle and, like Eure, one of the more technically inclined.

The difference was that his faith was much more steadfast than that of the Old Soldiers from the Prosperity Epoch like Eure, nearly unshakeable.

If not for his distrust in machines, he would have long since uploaded his consciousness to the Holy Land to become a glorious Pioneer.

In fact, up till now, he remained skeptical of the Holy Land, a castle in the air, built with imperfect technology.

Luo Gan was the best proof of that.

Just as The Church was about to complete the last piece of the puzzle on this land, at that crucial moment, that guy went missing, failing to show up.

The Saint Heir had sent him here to investigate the disappearance of Luo Gan, while simultaneously fitting the final puzzle piece into place.

Although he had no evidence, from the moment he stepped foot on this land, he sensed the odor of betrayal.

That guy's chip was still in place.

But it had become something else.

Besides betrayal, he couldn't think of any other reason.

That's why those elusive and intangible things are the least trustworthy; the human brain is the most perfect Holy Land in this world.

Lying not far beside him, a man with a crew cut was pulling the trigger of his sniper rifle, coldly spitting out the number "two" as his mechanical eye next to the scope slightly contracted.

In this dense fog with less than twenty meters of visibility, he seemed to see every subtle movement on the battlefield clearly.

Another person held binoculars in his hands, gazing at the fiercely contested battlefield in the distance, clucking his tongue softly.

"...The Alliance is really going all out this time, a total of thirty armored vehicles, that's the equipment of a whole battalion."

It's not easy to gather so many armors on the Wasteland.

However, remembering that the Alliance had recently inherited the industrial legacy of Giant Stone City, the man with the binoculars soon let it go.

His name was Chimo; he was an Executioner of the Tribunal, assigned to the same unit as the previously missing Mountain Falcon, responsible for assisting Alzu's plan.

Unlike Mountain Falcon, however, he didn't like to work alone and usually brought his partner along.

The one lying at his feet was his partner, named Tang He.

Due to a previous mission, this unlucky guy, targeted by a sniping Waste Land Wanderer, had one eye gouged blind, leading him to replace half his brain and his left eye with a prosthetic.

Perhaps due to the side effects of the surgery, he now constantly mutters about killing; a day without killing makes him uncomfortable all over.

No one knew what the world looked like through his eyes, but fortunately, The Church had plenty of "pastures" for him to wreak havoc on; the livestock being bred wouldn't resist, just pick a couple out and let him kill them.

Because his brain wasn't normal, aside from the topic of killing, Tang He hardly responded to him; thus, he communicated with the Apostle old man beside him the whole way.

Glancing at the distant battlefield for a while, Alzu slowly spoke up.

"I always feel like it's not just the Alliance targeting us."

Chimo laughed.

"Oh? How can you tell?"

Alzu spoke up slowly again.

"The Alliance is more prominent in biotechnology; someone skilled must be helping them to suppress our technicians in electronic warfare."

Chimo frowned slightly.

"Are you suggesting it's someone from the corporations?"

It seemed likely.

Yesterday, he tried to launch an electronic warfare attack on the communication system of the Iron Heart, but he was discovered by the other side the moment he moved.

He could feel that at least two different forces were hammering at him chaotically, sweating him out with cold sweat, and he hastily disconnected.

Just about, half his good brother's brain would have been fried.

Alzu nodded slowly, then shook his head slowly.

"I'm afraid it's not just the corporations; maybe even the Academy is involved."

Chimo frowned slightly.

The Academy...

If it were just the corporations, he wouldn't be so worried.

Those guys always sized up their opponents, and unless the opposition was something as substantial as an Army, the council was unlikely to come out swinging from the start. And by the time those guys got serious, The Church would have already encompassed several provinces; they really wouldn't need to fear them.

But to add the Academy into the mix was another story.

The combat power of those technicians was not strong; you could even say those guys were not made for fighting.

However, correspondingly, their strength in the technical field was ridiculously high, and their tentacles were widespread all over the Wasteland.

What's more troublesome is that few people knew what they were up to or the motives behind their actions.

To make a vivid comparison, rather than the visible blades and shadows, he was more wary of the magic that was incomprehensible.

Scratching the back of his head, Chimo sighed, troubled.

"That's tough... We're just a bunch of small-timers; what honor and ability do we have to draw the joint condemnation of the Academy and the corporations?"

Alzu smiled insincerely, chuckling without humor, his dignified face unchanged.

"It's all the same to me; sooner or later, those complacent insects will die at our feet."

After that, he turned and walked towards the stairwell.

Watching his retreating figure, Chimo called out.

"Where are you going?"

The answer that came from afar was not pertinent.

"I suggest you not underestimate them."

Chimo was momentarily stunned, confused.

Underestimate them? What did that mean?

Were they referring to the Academy and corporations?

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out when he had underestimated those guys...

Just as he was thinking this, a buzzing sound gradually came from the distance. At first, it sounded like the buzz of mosquitoes, but it quickly grew louder, clearer, and more like the roar of propellers—

To be precise, it wasn't like it.

It was!

Tang He, who was lying on the ground, suddenly changed his expression, moved his eye away from the scope, and hastily looked up at the sky, cursing under his breath.

"Damn..."

Soon, Chimo's complexion changed too.

Behind the dense fog, rows of black crosses flew by low in the sky, dropping black dots as they passed.

His brother fired just two silent shots...

Didn't expect a damn bomber squadron, did we?!

Chapter 602: A Battlefield Like a Meat Grinder

Twelve "Dragonfly" transport planes formed a bomber squadron, sweeping past the bombing area marked on the map.

It was still the Pigman Brothers, who were experienced pilots, leading the team—navigating the guide plane at the front with the other eleven planes maintaining formation on the side.

By incorporating flight parameters such as altitude, airspeed, entry angle, and wind speed into formulas, the lead plane calculated the approximate bombing distance, issued the bombing signal to the other planes, then opened the bomb bay doors, and the bombardier started sliding the bombs, installed on rails, downward.

Although using transport planes to carry bombs was somewhat reckless from various perspectives, the lack of precision could completely be compensated for with quantity.

Air bombs fell like dumplings onto the marked urban areas, quickly igniting bursts of orange-red flames between the abandoned highways and skyscrapers.

Most skyscrapers left from the Era of Prosperity were unusually sturdy.

Even after two hundred years of weathering, and enduring a round of carpet bombing, most buildings still maintained their main structural integrity.

Only one hundred-meter-tall high-rise, probably hit in a load-bearing structure by an aerial bomb, began to collapse slowly from the middle floor towards the north.

Watching that earth-shattering scene and the swirling dust rising hundreds of meters that cleared the haze, Ice and Fire Brother at the cabin window couldn't help smacking his lips.

"Damn… all this just to deal with a sniper?"

Although this method is also used in reality, it's mostly just a guided missile thrown over, or a few grenade rounds fired.

It's rare to see such an investment, sending a bomber squadron to deal with one sniper.

It somewhat seemed like firing a cannon to kill a mosquito.

Not Professional Fan chuckled on the communications channel.

"Use your brain and think about it, would mutants use snipers in such thick fog?"

Ice and Fire Brother slapped his forehead.

"Hisss… now that you mention it, I get it."

He had unconsciously brought reality into it, where such reckless actions are of course impossible, but this was after all in the game.

Those sneaky folks nearby were obviously the little rats of the Torch Church. Whatever ghostly plans they had, smacking them down was definitely right.

The only surprise was that the NPCs also had such a clear rationale.

Chatter from other players aboard the planes came through the communication channel.

"The fog's too thick; can't see anything on the ground."

"Speaking of which, can we bomb that guy to death?"

"Then we'll have to rely on our brothers on the ground to keep their eyes peeled!" Not Professional Fan laughed and tilted the control stick, guiding the bomber squadron back towards the ground airport.

After a pause, he continued.

"We should think about how to land first."

Landing in foggy conditions was not a big issue for him, but for the rookies, it was a different story.

He hoped there'd be fewer crashes.

And hoped the ground crew wouldn't curse their mothers...

…

From above, the hundred-meter-high building breaking mid-section looked merely like a slab of tofu split in half.

However, from the ground, it resembled a massive square mountain.

Even hundreds of meters away from the war zone, the sand and pebbles blown up by the wind still reached the tops of the heads of the combatants on both sides, falling like raindrops.

The violent airflow temporarily dispersed the floating spore clouds.

The eyes of every mutant soldier bulged, unconsciously gaping towards the crashing building, unaware of the mouthful of dust they swallowed.

What was happening?!

Players reacted similarly, even halting their firing for a moment, unable to help exclaiming in awe at the stunning sight.

"… Awesome, if this was made into CG it would be solid!"

"666!"

"Solid my ass!" Shuke, flying the helicopter, exchanged bullets while crying and laughing at the same time, "Think about how to get past this obstacle first!"

Beta, driving the toy car, lay next to him.

This brother probably thought the thick fog would mean safety and tried to dash through to fix the car, only to be shot in the head with a loud snap.

He quickly dragged him back, but his skull was already shattered, probably sitting at home completely clueless about what had happened.

The Chimera Armored Car was stranded in the middle of the road, firing continuously at the mutant positions to provide suppressive firepower.

But the mutants had gotten smarter, no longer charging head-on but hiding in the alleyways on both sides of the streets, infiltrating and surrounding them from both directions.

"Why don't those flying the planes bomb here too?" Shrimp Heart Pig cursed.

Beta rolled his eyes.

"Do you want to get flamed on the forum?"

Crouching on the other side of the street were the brothers of the Death Legion, who, hearing their complaints, joked.

"Remember to ask Mosquito Brother to turn off friendly fire before bombing!"

"Hahaha!"

"This game even has that feature?"

While trapped in a difficult back-and-forth on a narrow road, the players stationed there were not the slightest bit nervous.

Since the bombers had taken care of the distant sniper, it indicated that the command center had noticed their situation.

More support was on the way.

They just needed to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

A brief respite was interrupted by a gunshot.

Combat in the narrow streets resumed; streaks of tracer bullets wildly crisscrossed the confined area.

Those green-skinned brutes were not truly foolish. Having finally crippled an armored vehicle capable of spewing flames, they were naturally reluctant to let it go easily.

A hundred-man team, having been routed from other battle lines, was quickly pulled in. A group of howling mutants pounced fiercely toward it.

As long as they could tear a gap in the Alliance's offensive, they could rescue this crumbling defensive line.

However, what stood before them wasn't just a stranded Chimera; there was also an expanded hundred-man team from the Death Legion.

These guys' equipment wasn't as impressive as some other corps, and their Sequence Level wasn't exceptional either, but each of them was a ruthless character unafraid of death.

And they were experts in street fighting!

Each of them wielded a shotgun or submachine gun, and some carried bolt action rifles with bayonets, engaging in close combat with the mutant soldiers in the alleyways.

A mutant wielding a club had just smashed the skull of an unlucky fellow. Before it could taste victory, an old fellow with a shotgun blew its head open.

Other players grappled with mutants and simply detonated the explosives they carried, both instantly turning into a blood mist.

Even the barbaric mutants, who lived a savage life surviving on blood, could not help but reveal a hint of terror at such ruthless tactics.

These people were all madmen!

The ten-meter-long alley was filled with severed limbs and corpses. Thick blood and organs turned the place into a dark swamp, while gunfire did not cease for a moment.

As the battle reached a critical point, a rapid and dense artillery fire suddenly erupted from the other side of the street.

"Boom, boom, boom—!"

Thick bolts of lightning struck the mutants rushing out of the alley, blasting their muscular bodies into a rain of blood and flesh.

"Roar—!"

A mutant, eyes reddened from rage, hurled a lit pack of explosives at the stranded armored vehicle.

The bulky explosive pack, as big as a backpack and coated in black tar, could stick to the surface of the armor.

"Holy shit!"

Seeing this, Shuk, piloting a helicopter, cursed loudly, threw aside his machine gun, rushed forward, yanked the explosive pack from the armored surface, and dove to the ground.

Almost the moment he hit the ground, the explosion tore him to pieces, striking the armor of the vehicle with a clanging sound.

If that had detonated on the surface of the armor, not just a lightly armored vehicle, but even a tank would have likely been taken out.

The mutant's eyes bulged, almost popping out as it had not expected that the almost certainly doomed "box" would be rescued in just three short seconds.

But there was no more time for astonishment.

As the explosive pack detonated, a barrage of armor-piercing incendiary rounds swept past, shredding it into a pile of minced meat.

"Shuk!!!"

Watching Shuk get blown to bits, Shrimp Pig Heart wailed in agony, gripping the assault rifle and bursting into the alley entrance in a futile spray of bullets.

Watching yet another armored vehicle storm in, the mutants understood they had lost their last chance.

The leading mutant howled and the cronies firing from behind cover cursed bitterly as they left their shelters and retreated.

Except for a few blood-crazed individuals still fighting furiously, most of the green-skinned beasts retreated toward the southern defenses.

Seeing the mutants begin to retreat, Mole of the Escaping Valley stepped on the driver, directing his buddy to drive his vehicle in front of the stranded Chimera, chasing the retreating mutant soldiers with a couple of bursts.

The rear doors of the vehicle swung open, and Gnome King Riches and Elena along with others jumped out, dispersing to take cover on both sides of the armored vehicle, guns ready.

One of the players, skilled in repair, grabbed his toolbox and quickly ran to the side of the stranded Chimera Armored Car.

After moving a blown-apart engineer's corpse, he opened the hood with his tools and immediately started working with a wrench and screwdriver.

Mole popped half his body out from the turret, looked up at the bombarded part of the city, and clicked his tongue.

Then he looked at the player repairing the vehicle and shouted.

"How's it going? Can you fix it?"

The busy player responded without looking up.

"The engine casing has a hole… I'll try to see, movement should be fine, but the power might be cut in half."

"This is now on you, if you can drive it back to base that's enough."

"OK!"

The player fixing the car lifted his wrench in response, and just as Mole was about to duck back into the armored vehicle, Debt Giant Eye from the Death Legion approached with a rifle in his arms.

Before he could speak, Gnome King Riches suddenly widened his eyes as if seeing a rare animal, grinning cheekily.

"Yo, Big Eyes?! What brought you here?"

Not catching the undercurrent in the comment, Debt Giant Eye chuckled smugly.

"Cut it out, I've been here for four days!"

Elena turned her head back in jest.

"I thought we'd lost contact with you."

"Get lost, you're the one who lost contact! Your whole family lost contact!"

Realizing the implications from his expression, Debt Giant Eye rolled his eyes in annoyance, then turned to Mole sitting atop the turret, watching the excitement and shouted.

"Bro, we've taken on a new mission, but we're short on hands. Can you help out if you're free?"

Thinking that Brother Chicken probably wouldn't need him, and likely utterly engrossed in his own madness at the moment, Mole looked at him interestedly and asked.

"What's the mission?"

"Support for the brothers of the Burning Corps."

"Do those monsters actually need support?"

"That's what the mission briefing says. They ran into some trouble in the bombing area… We've lost contact, command guessed it's probably those Torch Church folks."

Looks like a hollow victory.

Mole stroked his chin.

"Communications jammed?"

Debt Giant Eye: "Probably."

"Okay, I'll get a few people to come over."

With his index finger by his ear, Mole was looking at the map on VM, calmly issuing orders.

"Groups 2 and 4, pay attention, there's a new task. Immediately head to the location marked on the map. Also, there is communication interference in the target area, activate the backup contact plan!"

The so-called backup contact plan was to always have an infantryman offline acting as a human radio station, using group chat to exchange information from the frontline.

Soon, two neat responses came through the communication channel.

"Received!"

After hanging up the communication, Mole showed no ambiguity, gave Big Eyes a gesture to follow, and then shouted to the brothers on the street.

"You guys hold this position for a while. I'll go check out the adjacent area with the brothers from the Death Legion and come back soon."

Holding a rifle and tightly staring at the empty streets ahead, Gnome King Riches shouted behind him towards the Chimera Armored Car.

"Okay!"

...

At the same time.

In the urban district 600 meters west of the frontline, bombarded by bombers, the streets were a mess with dark craters and cracked walls, twisted rebar and concrete had a few clusters of flames still not extinguished.

Several blurred corpses smeared on the ground, appeared to be Variants that wandered in this neighborhood, caught in a recent explosion, leaving only these remnants behind.

Organic bodies exposed outside of cover had almost no chance of survival.

Busting open the damaged metal door, Chimo emerged from the ruins with a scowl, greedily breathed in the fresh air but was choked by the stinging smell of gunpowder, coughing violently twice.

"Damn, that bastard!"

Lucky for him, his quick reaction had allowed him and his partner to rapidly retreat to the structurally sound stairwell, otherwise they almost lost their lives.

Thinking of this, he could not help but want to curse at that old thing who only spoke half of it and looked after his own escape.

In any case, this place was no longer safe. He needed to retreat to a safer area...

The moment his right foot stepped on the street, a sense of alarm suddenly surged in his heart, causing Chimo to reflexively roll down and hide behind some concrete debris.

Almost as soon as he hid behind the concrete debris, an arrow struck where he had just been standing.

Seeing the arrow, Chimo scoffed at the corner of his mouth, but this mocking expression froze on his face in less than 0.5 seconds.

Out of the corner of his eye, he faintly caught a glimpse of a faint red glow!

"Shit—"

He didn't have time to dodge; he only heard a dripping sound as the arrow instantly exploded into a burst of flame, a raging shockwave sending steel pellets flying around.

The surging blast wave hit his Armor, and Chimo felt his organs trembling from the solid impact.

Even with the protection of Exoskeleton, he still suffered minor injuries.

Unable to deal with the cuts caused by the shrapnel, he pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it at his feet, staggering to a safer cover behind.

Tapping the communication button on his helmet, he roared through the communication channel.

"Tang He! Find that archer for me! Tang He?"

There was no response in the communication channel.

Chimo's expression stiffened, immediately realizing that it was Alzu's doing, and suddenly cursed.

"That damn old fart..."

That guy was definitely playing "release the hounds" now.

Those creatures with undeveloped brains couldn't distinguish friend from foe and would mindlessly stuff anything that moved into their mouths.

He needed to leave this area quickly!

On the other hand, seeing the guy who dodged the lethal strike, Fang Chang's face showed a hint of surprise, but it was just surprise.

Thinking to run away?

"Heh, let's see where you can run!"

Just at the same time after the bombing, he and Old White, along with twenty other players, arrived in the area via helicopter to commence the search.

Now that the target's location was discovered, he certainly wouldn't let this guy escape.

"Old White... the person is right in front of me, confirmed as an apostle of The Torch Church, location is marked on the map, Old White?"

Only the sound of static came through the communication channel.

Fang Chang's expression turned a bit serious.

Communication jam?

"Damn!"

Cursing quietly, he took out another Explosive Arrow and loaded it onto the Dawn Composite Bow, crouching as he advanced towards the cover where the target was hiding.

His nearby teammates should have heard the gunfire and were on their way to this area.

He needed to stall this apostle before he could escape.

Fang Chang faintly heard Brother Shabi's screams.

"What the fuck?! What is this thing—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a tendril as swift as lightning struck his chest, sending him flying like a baseball, and he heavily fell to the ground unconscious.

Fang Chang stared unblinkingly at the monster, swallowing hard.

"'Butcher'...?"

No—

This thing was weirder than the "mutated slime fungus" offspring in Qingquan City!

Not only was its size several times larger, but its destructive power had clearly risen by more than one level! It did somewhat resemble the evolutionary body from the previous Tide.

Seeing the hulking meat mountain move towards Brother Shabi, Fang Chang knew he couldn't wait any longer and, without hesitation, shot an arrow straight at the creature's face.

The explosive blaze burst upon the monster's face, blowing its head into pieces.

Fang Chang was slightly stunned.

His explosive arrow contained only a few grams of explosive, just a bit more than a standard fragmentation grenade.

When had it become so powerful?

And as he had expected, things were not as simple as he had imagined.

The creature, whose head was blown away, acted as if nothing had happened, its massive body not even swaying.

Then, chunks of flesh, as if controlled by some autonomous consciousness, crawled like earthworms towards the meat mountain's shoulders.

In less than ten seconds, a grotesque new head had grown back on the previously empty shoulders. Carefully looking at the blown apart remnants, they weren't shards of a skull but rather chunks of maggot-like flesh.

Some of them had been blasted apart, but many were still alive.

The discarded pieces stubbornly twisted their broken bodies, crawling towards the meat mountain, seemingly wanting to rejoin the main body.

Gazing at this unbelievable scene, Fang Chang's eyes widened.

What kind of absurd dark technology was this?!

And where did this creature come from?!

And what gave him goosebumps wasn't even all this—

Those hollow eyes were now looking right at him.

Though dozens of meters away, though veiled by layers of gray-green fog, Fang Chang could clearly feel that he had successfully drawn the BOSS's aggro.

Those wave-like, undulating tendrils were like seaweed floating underwater, yet he knew all too well how fast they could move.

Brother Shabi hadn't even gotten up from an earlier hit!

"Another BOSS battle, huh…"

Fire sparked in Fang Chang's eyes, he took another arrow from his quiver, this one marked with an orange label, and set it on the string of his mechanical composite bow.

It was a burning arrow, condensed with solid hydrogen and high-performance kerosene, capable of easily creating a fire spanning several meters wide on the ground.

Since explosions weren't effective—

He'd use fire instead!

...

A few hundred meters from the blast zone, in a building, Alzu stood in a different location expressionless, watching the bustling city district, a cold smirk suddenly curling at his mouth.

He hadn't expected that, merely by means of a servant, he could stop the Alliance's most elite forces, not even thinking that those guys were from the Burning Corps.

However, creating some chaos to help that fool from the Tribunal escape was more than enough.

Although he didn't quite like those two fools who were more likely to spoil than achieve things, if they weren't dead from the bombing but were captured alive, it would be trouble for him.

Hopefully, they would learn a bit from this failure and curb their excessive confidence a bit.

Their enemies were not easy to deal with, entirely different from those foolish natives.

That previously unheard of Shelter No. 404 might very well be more dangerous than the corporates and the Academy.

A year ago, those fools from the Tribunal should have realized this.

At this moment, footsteps approached from behind.

A hunched old man with deep wrinkles on his face stopped behind him.

The old man's skin was dark green, draped in a master of ceremonies robe with bizarre patterns.

By his looks alone, one could tell he was a mutant.

Yet, purely by appearances, no one could guess how old he was.

Looking at Alzu's back, he sighed gently, drooping his eyes and said softly.

"The people of the Alliance seem endless, and our tribe suffers heavy casualties. If things continue like this, we're likely to lose this war."

Alzu turned to look at the aged mutant, gazing into those cloudy eyes, then suddenly said,

"Gomo."

"What is it."

"Do you want to restore the glory of Singular Point City?"

His voice had a hint of seduction.

Gomo slightly furrowed his brow, then relaxed it, whispering,

"I dream of it."

"Then persuade your children for me."

Alzu shifted his gaze from his face and continued looking towards the distant city veiled in dense fog, narrowing his eyes as he continued,

"Let him hang on a little longer."

"Before long, the Saint Heir will bestow upon him powers comparable to those of the godly spirits."

Chapter 603: The Old Site of Singular Point City

Due to the frontline collapse of the Mutant Corps, Mole led the vehicle team and arrived at the rendezvous point earlier than expected.

They stopped at a crossroads to wait for a bit, and two Chimera armored vehicles, one after the other, approached from a nearby block.

A player climbed out of the gun turret and shouted in Mole's direction,

"This is Chimera-2, we encountered a retreating Mutant Corps on the road and got delayed a bit."

The one behind, naturally, was Chimera-4.

Mole nodded and shouted at the two armored vehicles,

"Hurry up and catch up, don't keep our allies waiting too long!"

As he said this, he knocked on the gun turret and spoke to the driver inside,

"Let's go."

The engine started.

Chimera-1, parked in the middle of the road, began to push forward, leading the two armored vehicles into the area that had been tended by the bomber squadron.

This area was already a communication jamming zone, even under relatively close conditions, the communication channels were still filled with strong static.

So far, the brothers from the Burning Corps hadn't taken down the jamming station, suggesting they must have been encountering significant troubles.

In the thick fog, the sounds of distant explosions and gunshots reached them, causing Mole, who was sticking his head out of the gun turret, to furrow his brow.

The visibility here was too low.

"Big Eyes! Get out and start working!"

"Okay!"

Several members of the Death Legion jumped out from the back of the armored vehicle.

The two other armored vehicles did the same; aside from the human radio left inside, infantry in exoskeleton armor emerged one by one, grabbing their gear and dispersing around the vehicles to keep watch.

Leading the brothers from the Death Legion at the front of the convoy, Debt Giant Eye's gaze drifted along the sides of the street and finally stopped on an abandoned truck.

The angular shape and urban camouflage paint made it clear that this transport vehicle had once belonged to the United Human Regular Army.

However, the emblem on the truck doors was not of the United Human but that of Singular Point City.

Before bearing the emblem of Singular Point City, it might have carried the symbol of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee... but none of that mattered anymore.

Similar historical relics were everywhere on the streets, and no matter who had once owned it, it was now abandoned here for quite some years.

Not far behind the truck, there were rows of sandbag walls that made up a checkpoint; behind the checkpoint, at first glance, it looked just like the nearby urban area, but a careful examination revealed some unusual clues.

For instance, some buildings that appeared to be office buildings clearly had metal supports outside the windows, on which hung some torn clothes and sheets.

The ground was littered with household garbage, paint cans filled with unburned coal, and some shop fronts still bore highly temporal slogans —

With phrases like "The harsh winter will eventually pass", "The world belongs to us", "No more wars only peace", "We rely on ourselves not the War Construction Committee" that uplifted spirits.

Debt Giant Eye soon thought of the information aggregated on the official website.

The "War" here probably didn't refer to the Three-Year War two centuries ago, but to a series of military operations that the Production Department launched in the Province of Yunjianxing against the Technology Department a century and a half ago.

That man-made disaster was the spark that led to the disintegration of the War Construction Committee.

For the survivors of that era, that event was much closer to their lives than the much older war...

"This place feels like people have lived here," Debt Giant Eye muttered quietly as he meticulously searched the corners, "and quite a few of them."

Mole casually replied from the armored vehicle's gun turret.

"No doubt about it, this place is Singular Point City."

The brothers from the Death Legion heard it, their faces showing surprised expressions as they exchanged unexpected glances.

"Singular Point City? Here?"

"I thought the settlement was in the old residential area!"

Mole chuckled and started to show off the little gossip he knew.

"You guys don't understand; the old residential area was a settlement point during the Three-Year War, which is where the Mutants live now."

"It's space is vast; the subway and parking garages are natural nuclear shelters. The only downside is the poor living conditions, problematic ventilation, and sanitation... This city wasn't graced by nuclear weapons, I surmise the locals endured the first few years and then moved back to the surface to rebuild a new settlement, that's the urban area where we are now."

Singular Point City had no Lair, so naturally, it didn't have towering walls like those of Giant Stone City. The local survivors just used some of the taller buildings as shelters and then put up sandbag walls and barbed wire as roadblocks in the streets and alleys to separate the orderly from the disorderly areas.

Until the 50th year of the Wasteland Era, for the survivors on the Wasteland, Variants weren't their main threat, the cold and scarcity of resources were.

From the latter stemmed not only poverty, famine, and plagues but also the Looters roaming the Wasteland...

Not everyone is a disciple of order; some were adherents of chaos.

Once a person awakens their animal instincts in a savage environment, they become capable of anything. Particularly in the years after the Wasteland Era, many were born on the Wasteland, and they were naturally beasts of the wild.

The bullet holes on the sandbag walls were clearly not made today.

That all happened many years ago.

The group passed the abandoned checkpoint and soon saw graffiti blurred with rust marks on a collapsed iron wall.

The leading infantry unconsciously stopped in their tracks.

The construction worker boy craned his neck to look, feeling out of place at the colorful painting amidst the cold concrete grey, and curiously blurted out,

"What does it say up there?"

Likewise filled with a hint of curiosity, Debt Giant Eye stepped forward, wiped the dust and rust off the surface, and tried to make out the few words that were visible.

"Lies… Betrayal… Monsters… That's all I can tell, does anyone understand United Human language better?"

"I can guess what it says without even looking," Mole said, recalling the official data published on the website, and spoke simply, "Just think about how Singular Point City met its doom."

Construction Youth and Brick: "What do you mean?"

Mole: "Monsters obviously refer to the Mutants. Betrayal and lies are likely directed at the authorities of Singular Point City... Do you remember the information Fang Chang and the others collected in the Town of Hope? Initially, Mutants were not capable of reproduction."

Constructor and Big Eyes exchanged glances.

Seeing that both clearly didn't remember, Mole continued.

"A long time ago, the Mutants who fled from the East Coast to this place were incapable of reproduction, but Singular Point City accepted them and supported their research. A small portion of residents even voluntarily became Mutants... whether it was for a stronger body, to support the researchers, or simply as a show of contempt for the old order and the War Construction Committee."

"Then after a while, the mutants gained citizenship and reproductive capabilities. Although the setting collection doesn't elaborate on this history, considering that the descendants of Mutants are also Mutants and that they have stronger physiques... guess what happened?"

Construction Youth and Brick swallowed hard.

"What happened…"

"As the number of mutants increased and power continually shifted to them, the Old Humans eventually became the minority," Mole narrowed his eyes slightly and continued, "The authorities probably promised the residents something like the Mutants being harmless or that violence could be controlled through civilization, but what could not change is that Mutants have only one gender and need to mate with humans to produce offspring... However, the numbers of Old Humans themselves were decreasing, whether men or women."

Construction Youth and Brick scratched their heads.

"Why not create a female variant and let them mingle among themselves?"

"Because the initial intention of castrating the Mutants was to prevent the spread of unperfected experimental DNA. Giving Mutants genitalia was already a compromise from the Singular Point City authorities to the Mutant community. Designing a female would totally reverse the original intent. Plus, I personally speculate that the aesthetic preferences of Mutants actually inherited those of the Old Humans, considering they initially were humans."

"Moreover, the Singular Point City authorities likely didn't want to create a new race to split their own society. Their original intention might have been to make Mutants dependent on humans for existence. They don't need medication and can enter radioactive areas without any protective gear to collect materials... Unfortunately, it all backfired."

"Mutants certainly could not do without the Old Humans, but just as humans rely on chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep for protein, it does not mean that humans would become vassals to livestock... The balance of power shifted at that moment, and the Mutants of Singular Point City began using force to subjugate the Old Humans, then herded them like livestock."

Looking at the engraving on the wall of "Lies" and "Betrayal," Mole continued as if talking to himself.

"Initially almost harmless, gradually revealing its fangs, and ultimately opening its gaping maw to swallow everyone... This sounds exactly like the plague that ravages this land and Nago."

Debt Giant Eye sighed softly and stepped back from the graffiti.

"The law of nature…"

Has remained unchanged for tens of thousands of years.

Although it's a game oriented towards joy, the past buried beneath the modeling textures is heavier than they imagined.

The entire city is a tombstone.

And that remaining graffiti is its epitaph.

It's impossible to know from which day Singular Point City truly fell. It's hard to find a survivor from that era on the Wasteland, where the average lifespan is less than thirty years—most of the old popsicles came to this land from an era even before Singular Point City existed.

Mole tended to believe that when Singular Point City fell, humanity had not been extinguited but had struggled against the majority of Mutants.

In the end, those people lost.

The survivors either became slaves or were banished beyond the city limits to places like Pinecone Wood Farm and Town of Hope.

In fact, human dwellings were not suitable for the physiques of Mutants, who, not long after occupying Singular Point City, abandoned this human-built settlement to move to the city's original site—near the "Old Residents' Settlement Point" next to the Champion Biomedical Research Institute.

There, with a subway station and a large underground parking lot...essentially, there was ample space, staying warm was not an issue, and it was possible to avoid ambushes from the guerrilla teams.

After some time, Mutants had completely adapted to life in the Wasteland and developed their own civilization—
which is now known as the Qi Tribe.

Perhaps that tribe had originally been known as the Singular Point Tribe, but the syllable-heavy name was too cumbersome for the Mutants, so it was modified to its current name.

Mole always had an indescribable feeling.

If the past of Giant Stone City left him with a sense of unfulfilled ambitions, Singular Point City gave him more of a feeling that he didn't know where to start, yet was hesitant to speak.

From the beginning, the people here had prepared for the worst and the ideal of saving everyone had never changed.

Only as they walked, they suddenly realized that their destination was never where they intended to go…

The group continued forward.

The fog ahead grew denser.

That gray-green fog emitted an indescribable eeriness, mixed with a hint of mustiness.

It was like the stench of decay from the dead.

The players here all knew that this was not normal fog, but spores exhaled by mycelium buried in the ground and flesh.

Clearly, something abnormal lay ahead.

Everyone heightened their alertness, unlocked the safeties on their rifles, and carefully searched every potentially dangerous corner.

However, contrary to everyone's expectation, the danger did not come from some filthy corner but rather brazenly blocked their path.

Three mounds of dark green flesh formed a small mountain in the center of the foggy highway, their corpulent bodies akin to artificial hills.

Big Eyes, walking in front, first noticed something amiss and immediately yelled back to the armored vehicle.

"Variants! Prepare for battle!"

The monsters evidently noticed them too, emitting a dull growl and rushing toward them with heavy steps.

The construction site youth and Brick immediately lay on the ground, deploying the bipod of the machine gun, and began firing a stream of bullets.

Gunfire erupted all around the street.

Yet the bullets that hit the three monsters only splattered a series of blood sprays, and couldn't stop their advance at all.

The foreman saw the situation and immediately panicked, turning back to shout toward the direction of the armored vehicle.

"Don't just stand there, open fire!"

Mole was just about to say they couldn't see from there when an idea struck him, and he shouted towards the two vehicles behind him.

"Aim at the trajectory of the tracer bullets!"

It must be said, this method was incredibly effective.

Although the armored vehicles in the back couldn't see directly, they could roughly make out the backs of a few players in front of them, and their rifle and light machine-gun bullets had indicated the general direction of the target.

The three Chimera Armored Vehicles immediately opened fire, sweeping down the closest monster and quickly turning it into a sieve as it fell to the ground.

However, surprisingly, the creature that should have been dead did not stop.

Even with both legs broken and several dark holes pierced through its body, that twisted life still crawled forward, emitting a piercing roar from its gaping maw.

The foreman, pulled aside by Big Eyes, grabbed the machine gun and started to retreat as the other two monsters closed in to within thirty meters of the infantry.

Finally seeing the ferocious appearance of those two monsters, Mole was totally shocked.

"Holy crap! How thick is their blood?!"

That's a 37mm armor-piercing incendiary!

Wouldn't this distance shatter a concrete wall too?

"Bring in the missiles!"

With no time to hesitate, Mole who had shouted this immediately slipped back under the turret hatch.

Almost simultaneously, a Dove-type missile launched from the top of the turret, igniting and shooting forth a white smoke trail towards the closest monster.

The missile hit the creature squarely in the chest, and before it could cry out in pain, it was engulfed by the explosive flames.

It turned out, it wasn't that the armor couldn't be breached; the payload just hadn't been enough.

The monster hit by the Dove-type missile was blown apart, missing half its body, the other half trailing smoke that smelled of char, and it toppled to the ground, motionless.

Seeing this, the other players quickly reacted, grabbing RPG Rocket Launchers from the armored vehicle and loading armor-piercing rounds before pulling the triggers.

White smoke streaked like arrows across the street, quickly sparking brilliant explosions on the remaining two monsters.

Although the RPG Rocket Launchers were less powerful than the Dove-type missile, they were just as effective in sufficient quantities.

Already heavily damaged by the 37mm armor-piercing incendiary, the two monsters could not even cry out before falling heavily under the players' combined fire.

After putting down the launcher, Big Eyes wiped his brow, cursing.

"What the hell are these things?"

Wasn't the bombardment area just cleared?

How is such a big thing still alive?

The bold foreman approached and prodded the inert mountain of flesh on the ground with his smoking gun barrel, muttering under his breath.

"Goliath…"

Debt Giant Eye, "Goliath?"

"Didn't Fang Chang post on the forum... about that BOSS they encountered at the Pine Wood Farm?" the foreman swallowed hard, "Damn, we actually encountered three here."

The group exchanged looks, each sensing a bad omen.

Just then, a missile suddenly whooshed from the sky and struck a nearby high-rise.

Everyone instinctively ducked, but the anticipated explosion did not occur; there wasn't even a flash of fire.

Those wearing earphones only heard a harsh electrical noise.

Covering his ears, Debt Giant Eye straightened up and peered in the direction where the missile vanished.

"What the hell was that?"

The young workers and the bricklayer were bewildered.

"Our missile?"

"Doesn't look like it... it's a model I've never seen."

Just then, a player walking by the roadside suddenly shouted.

"Wait... what?! My communications seem to be restored!"

"???"

Hearing that voice, Mole immediately looked at the VM on his arm, tapped open the map, and his face registered surprise.

One by one, green dots marking the position of his teammates reappeared on the map, and the communication icon lit up again, indicating a clear channel.

At that moment, Fang Chang's communication request came in.

"...Mole! Can you see my position? I'm just around the left turn ahead in that street, come help me!"

The intermittent voice came with hurried gasps accompanied by occasional gunshots and explosions.

No longer pondering where that missile had come from, Mole turned solemn and immediately spoke.

"I'm on my way!"

With that, he switched the communication channel and shouted on the squad channel.

"Everyone advance! Friendly forces ahead!"

The communication channel soon filled with energetic responses.

"Awawaw!"

...

Escorted by the infantry, three Chimera armored vehicles rapidly advanced down the street where the Burning Corps was located.

At the same time, three figures stood on the wind-swept rooftop of an office building not far from the street everyone was on.

Jiang Xuezhou, wearing a gas mask, looked triumphantly at the stunned Night Ten beside her and patted the big guy next to her.

"How's that? I'm still pretty awesome, right?"

To her right stood a four-legged robot that was blocky and square, almost a clone of the "Little Wang" she had brought with her from the No.0 Shelter.

The only difference was that this guy was more than a circle larger than the previous one, and the weapons it carried were even bulkier.

It even had a missile launcher installed.

According to its owner, the current Little Wang was invincible, whether it was dealing with pesky molds or EMP tricks as mild as scratching an itch.

The firepower that this battle robot burst out with was enough to rival an enhanced platoon!

However, what shocked Night Ten at the moment was not the size or firepower parameters of the thing, which he had already complained about before boarding the helicopter.

Staring straight at the vaguely visible building in the distance, he didn't even see clearly what she was doing before he saw a missile fly out.

Swallowing saliva, Night Ten looked towards Jiang Xuezhou.

"That was..."

"Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb!"

Flipping her ponytail from her shoulder, Jiang Xuezhou continued with a hint of bragging,

"But that's nothing special. The real tech is in locking onto the real source of interference among a field of false signals and firing the EMP weapon before it can react, destroying it in one strike—hey, are you listening to me?"

Seeing Night Ten still dazed, Jiang Xuezhou's voice took on a hint of displeasure.

Hearing the question, Night Ten immediately snapped back to reality and replied with a grin,

"I am, I am... the source of interference has been taken out, right? That's great!"

Saying that, he sheepishly scratched the back of his head and continued timidly,

"By the way, that electromagnetic pulse... uh, the missile you just fired, where did you buy it?"

Let's not beat around the bush; that thing was indeed impressive.

He wanted to get a few himself.

After waiting in vain for a compliment, Jiang Xuezhou rolled her eyes and said irritably,

"Not for sale."

Night Ten: "…"

Damn!

...

Supported by three Chimera armored vehicles and over ten light infantry, Fang Chang finally dealt with the mutant covered in wriggling flesh.

The stench of rotting flesh permeated the entire street.

However, to everyone's regret, the Apostle who had been taking potshots from the sidelines ultimately got away.

Fang Chang's face couldn't hide his embarrassment.

The Mole didn't give him any break and mocked him mercilessly, as the enemy slipped right under their noses.

As the battle concluded, a "Viper" transport plane landed nearby. While dropping off supplies, it also took tissue samples extracted from that "meat mountain."

The Alliance's Biological Institute would help them figure out exactly what those monstrous things were.

Although there was a slight hiccup in the side mission, the main battlefield continued to reap results, which were successively reported to the Steel Heart.

The main forces of the Alliance's Corps had already assembled near the old residential settlement, less than a kilometer away from the Champion Biopharmaceutical Research Institute and the Qi Tribe's lair.

Finally realizing that their firepower was completely outclassed by their opponents, those green-skinned beasts simply abandoned the surface.

Some mutants retreated to the subway stations below, while others moved to the "Champion" Biomedical Research Institute building.

The beasts that had dominated this land for over a century were finally beginning to feel despair...

At the same time, on the bridge of the Steel Heart.

An officer from the Army Command walked up to Chu Guang, right fist touching his chest, and crisply reported,

"The mutants have taken refuge in the subway station, and our ground forces have occupied their surface lair... Saving quite a few survivors."

Turning his gaze from the window, Chu Guang looked at the officer and asked,

"How many exactly."

The officer spoke with a heavy tone,

"Still uncounted, but according to frontline reports, at least ten thousand..."

Chu Guang hesitated for a moment and then frowned.

Ten thousand...

How could there be so many?

Chapter 604: Those Who Survived

The spacious square, at its entrance, was home to an enclosing wall made of a hodgepodge of steel plates and wooden stakes—the hefty doors were firmly shut, with the watchtowers on both sides empty and deserted.

The mutants stationed here had retreated in haste; some equipment wasn't even taken away and was simply thrown onto the enclosing wall.

More than twenty Chimera armored cars were lined up outside the wall, with more than a dozen players carrying dynamite packs jogging forward, placing the high explosives at the base of the wall corners.

Watching his comrades retreat from the wall, Edge Shoveling, standing among the troops, shouted a command through the communication channel.

"Detonate!"

Instantly, a player tightly gripped the detonator in hand, and then a series of orange-red flames erupted along the edge of the enclosing wall.

The shabby gatehouse, as well as the wall made of piled-up garbage, were blown away in an instant.

"Advance!"

The leaders of the various army corps issued their orders.

Rows of Chimera armored cars started their engines; surrounded by a group of players wielding rifles, they marched boldly into the sinful camp.

Poking his head out from the gun tower, Mole ordered loudly over the communication channel while holding the hatch.

"Search every corner carefully, don't let any mutant escape! No surrender will be accepted, and no quarter given!"

The response came back through the communication channel in unison.

"Roger that!"

Not just the Skeleton Corps.

The Jungle Corps was no different.

Leading the way was Brother Killing Chicken, who resembled a demon crawling out of hell, his steel shell smeared with minced flesh and blood, and the chainsaw embedded in his left arm whirring madly.

Not counting the headcount from the Chimera armored cars, he probably had the highest kill count of the operation.

After all, from day one, he was already blasting away at those green-skinned beasts here, much earlier than any other army corps.

Besides him, the player with the second-highest kill count was Pick up trash 99 level.

The pervasive gray fog provided excellent cover for him, skilled in close combat; if not for the mutants' tough, thick skin and some of the cybernetically enhanced mutant warriors being melee experts themselves, his kill count would have gone even higher.

Upon entering the den, everyone cautiously moved forward.

Although they were now inside the Qi Tribe's stronghold, no one was complacent.

One reason was that not all the green-skinned beasts were dead—occasionally, a lone wolf would leap out; the other reason was the shocking sights that pierced the bottom line of human decency, making everyone grit their teeth in anger.

This was the old site of the resident settlement during the three-year war.

Two centuries ago, it had temporarily housed hundreds of thousands, if not more.

But now it had turned into hell...

Looking at the preserved goods hanging from the wooden racks, the human skins being dried, along with countless bone artifacts, Tranquility felt his stomach churn.

He hadn't been playing the Game for very long, but he had witnessed the war in Luo Xia Province, feeling he had seen some brutal scenes.

However, the pure evil before him made those look insignificant in comparison.

The people of Vellante, although dehumanizing other races, rarely killed just for the sake of killing.

The mutants were entirely different.

In their eyes, old humans were no more than livestock; not only would they casually toss captives into boiling oil, but they would also craft their bones into utensils and developed a series of blood sacrifice cultures to prove their superior lineage and legitimize their dominion.

To them, the screams of their prey were the most delightful sounds; for this reason, they had borrowed a number of anti-human tortures from old human history.

Seeing a body that had been nailed to a stone bed and gutted, the newcomer couldn't help but retch.

"...%￥#@! Are these still humans?"

Pick up trash 99 level managed to maintain a relatively normal expression, although he was also shocked by the scenes before him and was unable to speak, he only experienced facial muscle spasms without succumbing to retching.

Sighing, Difficult for the strong, who was following nearby, said,

"If these photos were to be uploaded to the official site, they'd be all blurred out."

With a subtle expression, Brother Fu Gui gave a light cough.

"Based on previous experience, they might not even get uploaded at all."

Previous experience, indeed.

Tranquility quickly turned his head to look at him, dumbfounded,

"Holy crap, brother, what on earth have you been storing in your album?"

Brother Fu Gui coughed.

"A secret."

In all honesty, he hadn't stored any morbid curiosity photos; his album mainly contained his own heroic combat poses and moments of spectacular kills—well, considering his fighting style, some footage might indeed qualify as R18G.

But that was beside the point.

In any case, according to the rules set by the game operators, certain overly morbid photos wouldn't sync to offline accounts.

The game operators explained that the dreams created by players using virtual reality headsets have a protective mechanism that desensitizes the senses. Specifically, even players who faint at the sight of blood in real life would only feel disgusted when splashed with blood in the game.

However, once detached from the "dream," the protection mechanism ceased to function.

The Wasteland, after all, was not a harmonious society.

For the mental and physical health of the players, and to prevent them from becoming increasingly frightened after logging off, the Game operators not only censored photos synced offline, but also restricted access to certain images based on the viewer's age.

Not far from the "slaughterhouse" was a massive department store.

Its structure resembled a cruise ship sailing on land—twelve stories high with a floor space of one hundred thousand square meters and a total built area exceeding one million. The surrounding traffic routes were extensive, and from its grand and imposing outline, one could glimpse its past splendor.

However, its builders probably never imagined that, more than two hundred years later, their masterpiece would be used as a "livestock pen" for a group of green-skinned beasts to corral humans.

The moment one crossed the threshold of the northern main entrance of the department store, a pungent stench of decay assaulted their noses. Gnome King Riches, walking ahead, couldn't help but frown.

He had just thought to complain with a comment like "What's that awful stench," when a whistling gust swept in from the side.

Gnome King Riches's body jolted, and he instinctively ducked, narrowly avoiding a table that flew past his helmet and shattered against the wall.

The lurking mutants, enraged by their failed ambush, bellowed furiously and charged toward the main entrance, hefting their broad-bladed bone-chopping knives in hand.

Elena raised her PU-9 submachine gun half an inch and unleashed a burst of shots at the mutant's chest.

The half-naked mutant's chest bloomed with a spray of blood, and after barely two steps, it collapsed heavily to the ground without a sound.

"Damn, an ambush!" Brother Fu Gui cursed as he got up from the ground, dusting himself off, only to realize he had smeared black mud on his armor.

He instinctively sniffed at his fingers, his expression suddenly rigid as he flung his hand aside, looking at the black mud on his breastplate with an expression of disgust.

Now, there was no need to ask what that stench was.

"There must be quite a few people locked up here... Are you okay?" Elena asked with a strange expression as she watched Brother Fu Gui searching for something.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I've cleaned up..." Finally finding a yellowed, tattered cloth, Brother Fu Gui wiped off the black mud and turned to Old Na with a cough, asking, "What the hell is this place?"

"It's obvious, the Qi Tribe's pasture."

Elena efficiently changed her magazine and glanced upward at the spacious arched dome where the escalators had been transformed into sturdy wooden ladders.

Not only that, the mutants had created a makeshift lift tower with iron chains and pulleys, installed beside the escalator.

It seemed to be used for transporting goods, as there were bottles, cans, and moldy wooden boxes piled on it.

For the time being, ignoring the upper floors, the players who had entered the first-floor hall moved past the open space in front of the door and explored the nearest shopping arcade.

Shortly after, they witnessed a scene they would never forget.

The shopfronts' glass display windows had been replaced with barriers made of iron bars, behind which were gaunt figures and a set of numb eyes.

Mostly disheveled and sunken-eyed, they were unrecognizable as humans unless one looked closely.

Seeing the soldiers standing in front of the bars, the people caged within uniformly displayed a frightened demeanor, retreating backward like animals.

Those at the back seemed to have been stepped on, emitting soft cries.

"Don't be afraid! We're not mutants; we're here to rescue you," the Gnome King Riches hastily spoke in broken Human Alliance speech, trying to calm these people. However, they showed no reaction, becoming even more panicked.

Watching the flustered Gnome King Riches, Elena sighed and put a complicated expression on her face, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't bother, these people… might not understand Human Alliance speech."

Gnome King Riches froze.

"Not understanding means…"

"They are probably not captured but were born here," Elena paused, then added her speculation, "…most likely descendants of Singular Point City residents."

Gnome King Riches looked incredulously at her and then again at the prison beside him; his Adam's apple involuntarily bobbed in his throat.

It was hard to imagine that these people, living like livestock, once had a history as glorious as that of Giant Stone City.

Between adjacent storefronts, there were troughs full of dark green sludge, directly across from the nutrient paste synthesizers.

Judging by the mottled rust, this machine had been in use for some years, and from its appearance and model, it was likely an outdated one from the Giant Stone City Industrial Zone.

The prison was not very sturdy.

Gnome King Riches grabbed a rusted iron bar, which creaked under his grip with minimal effort. His exoskeleton slightly exerted force, and he tore it down.

However, those locked inside merely trembled as they watched the opened fence, showing no other response and no indication of any intention to escape.

"How to handle these people will probably be a headache for Ah Guang," Elena looked around and said, "For now, let's report back to the headquarters."

After a long silence, Gnome King Riches spoke hesitantly.

"How about sending them to Pioneer City?"

"That's one option," Elena made a helpless expression and shrugged, "but I think... where to send them might not necessarily be the best choice."

Damn these beasts.

He cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do about things that had happened for decades or even hundreds of years.

This place had been hell for a very long time.

And who knew how many similar hells existed on the Wasteland.

If the Wasteland itself isn't ended, an even more brutal Hell will emerge time and again, and past tragedies will be replayed over and over.

Yet, how to put an end to such a Wasteland, frankly, he had not the slightest clue.

Perhaps...

The all-powerful Manager must have a complete plan in mind.

As an outsider, it was perhaps better to set aside the cruel core and simply enjoy the Game itself.

At the very least, the daily life of the Alliance was still filled with joy.

...

However, what Elena did not know was that the all-powerful Manager didn't have any good solutions either.

A considerable portion of the population within the Qi Tribe had been born in the breeding farms of the Mutants, with only a minority being Waste Land Wanderers captured from the outside and slaves voluntarily contributed by the nearby plantations.

It is well-known that a person's worldview is gradually formed during the development of their brain. Only those raised within a society can transform from a biological human to a social human.

The survivors here, though, were more like humans raised by animals.

The Dark Stone Tribe they had previously encountered in the Great Desert also had a number of people in a similar situation, but the proportion was far less than that of the Qi Tribe.

Based on existing isolated examples in reality, these biological humans would take as much as ten or even more years to learn something as simple as eating with their hands, not to mention learning a skill to support themselves.

The Alliance was not in a position to magically increase its population by ten thousand dependents; this was not a problem that could be solved by sending them to Pioneer City.

Not to mention that most of these survivors were Nago addicts.

It wasn't a good idea to remove a large number of survivors carrying the Nago mycelium from the area, especially under the current circumstances.

Standing on the bridge, Chu Guang fell into deep thought.

Just then, Vanus suddenly spoke up beside him.

"How about using the Mind Interference Device?"

Seeing that Chu Guang did not respond, Vanus paused for a moment and continued to analyze.

"Since they are Nago addicts, theoretically they should be affected by the Mind Interference Device when they enter God's state. If we use this brainwashing tool correctly, perhaps we could reintegrate them into normal society."

After hearing his analysis, Chu Guang let out a slight sigh and said.

"Using the Mind Interference Device on humans is something that has never been done in the Alliance. We have continued the practices of the Human Alliance Era, restricting it only to drive away dangerous species on other planets. It's not that I lack adaptability; rather, I am contemplating an issue... How do we ensure that the choices we make today do not plant seeds for greater problems in the future?"

Vanus was slightly taken aback.

"Such as?"

Chu Guang put it succinctly.

"For example, let me ask you the simplest question: how can a mentally ill person prove that they are not mentally ill?"

Vanus asked in a confused tone.

"Is that something that needs to be proved?"

Chu Guang continued.

"If we proceed with this, the future residents here will all face this very issue, and this might be the smallest of problems."

Although for him it was only a matter of saying the word, carrying out such an order was a systemic project.

Within this vast systematic project, too many components could cause the command to deviate from its original intention, creating a dystopia using "technology that should never have been applied to humans" from the start.

The Alliance's sixth settlement could become a large mental institution, or even a dark chapter in the Alliance's history.

However, to be honest, Vanus's idea did indeed tempt Chu Guang. At the very least, the Mind Interference Device could allow those survivors who lacked complete behavioral capabilities to engage in some simple labor to sustain themselves.

The only issue was that he needed a Manager who was perfect in morality and without personal desires to carry out his orders.

Regrettably, he himself was not that perfect person.

Just then, Frost, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up.

"How about letting me have a try?"

Solar Eclipse glanced at it expressionlessly, hinting that it should take back that potentially troublesome statement, but Frost showed no signs of retraction.

Chu Guang was mildly stunned, and an intrigued look suddenly surfaced in his eyes.

He had almost forgotten.

By his side was such a character!

But this involved the fates of tens of thousands, if not more, and it wasn't something to be taken lightly or played around with.

To confirm its resolve, Chu Guang looked into its eyes with a serious tone.

"Are you sure? This is not an easy task. You can think of those survivors as infants possessing the strength of adults, and you're the nanny for everyone. You have to plan their daily work, living habits, cultural education, and all other aspects—even down to their eating and toileting—making sure they live as humanly as possible with limited resources."

Chu Guang couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but it seemed to him that the eyes of this bionic person were growing more excited.

Despite him describing what was clearly a troublesome task.

Could this guy possibly be a masochist...

With that odd thought in mind, Chu Guang cleared his throat and continued in a stern voice.

"...Anyway, at the initial stage, you need to at least get them to the point of self-sufficiency, and ultimately enable them and their descendants to fully integrate into our society. During this period, we will give you some aid, but honestly, we're quite poor ourselves, and I'm afraid we won't be able to give you much."

"Have you thought this through—"

"I have thought it through!"

Eagerly answering Chu Guang's question, Frost looked at him with determined eyes, and placed his right fist against his chest in a clumsy representation of the Alliance salute.

"I have always longed to use my knowledge and experience to help the sufferers on the Wasteland, and now the opportunity is right in front of me... I can feel it!"

Chu Guang stared back intently.

"Felt what?"

Gripping the fist that was against his chest, Frost spoke out passionately.

"The intellectual plug-in... is burning!"

His voice carried a slight tremble, like that of a song, and the rising inflection at the end held tones of devotion and sanctity.

However, Chu Guang listened with a befuddled expression.

What the hell does the intellectual plug-in burning mean?

Forget it.

Don't worry about that for now.

From the Bionic's eyes, Chu Guang indeed felt its unwavering sincerity and determination.

That pity for the sufferers on the Wasteland was as steadfast as that of Yibers, the madman who feared not the chaos of the world.

Moreover, as a Bionic, it had no material desires, nor did it have any moral flaws.

It was the perfect candidate to execute this task that human Managers would find impossible!

At least it was worth a try!

Vanus cast a worried glance at Chu Guang. Although it had been his idea, he always felt this Bionic wasn't very reliable.

However, Chu Guang's attention was entirely on those enthusiastic eyes, blatantly ignoring the advisor standing beside him.

"Then I leave it in your hands!"

"Uh-huh!" Staring intently at Chu Guang, Frost said with full vigor, "Leave it to me!"

Eclipse, standing behind it, held his forehead.

This guy seems to have forgotten that he's here as a representative of the Kang Mao Group...

It feels like things are getting complicated.

...

Night.

The Captain's quarters.

Xiao Qi, sitting on the edge of the pencil holder on the desk, dangled his pencil-thick legs and spoke somewhat unhappily.

"Master."

Chu Guang, who was dealing with official business, shifted his gaze from the tablet in his hands to look at it, speaking in a gentle tone.

"What's up?"

Xiao Qi muttered.

"Although Xiao Qi is only an assistant AI, I can still be of much help..."

Seeing through its thoughts in an instant, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile and reached out to rub its little head with his index finger.

"I understand that you want to help me, and I believe in your ability, but this isn't within your job scope. And... you represent me."

"Huh?" Xiao Qi tilted its head, not quite understanding.

Glancing at the draft plan for the Alliance's sixth settlement that was in progress, Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"The Alliance needs to unify all survivors who can be unified, but this must be done based on their actual circumstances. For those survivors who choose progress on their own, we will give them enough freedom to develop autonomously, and let them bring the fruits of progress into our society, but as for the special case of Singular Point City, we have no choice but to manage them in a completely opposite way to prevent them from impacting our society."

"This is not just a problem of ten thousand people. Haiye Province still has large areas of parishes that need liberation, and when the time comes, the pressure we will have to bear might be several times, or even dozens of times higher than it is now."

"Although it's a bit unfair to say, if Frost messes up, then it will be the responsibility of the Kang Mao Group and even the business sector, and the Bionic's ability to participate in public affairs would be questioned, right? I tend to think that some people on the council, within the bounds of what's possible, will not stand by idly."

To put it bluntly, it was their forefathers who created this mess!

If it hadn't been for that accident half a century ago, we wouldn't have all these problems today.

Xiao Qi nodded, seemingly grasping the concept.

"So are you arranging this to conveniently shift the blame later?"

This guy doesn't get it at all...

But I suppose some people will interpret it that way.

Chu Guang laughed and shook his head, unconcerned.

"If I really wanted to shift the blame."

"I wouldn't have bothered with these troublesome matters right from the start."

Chapter 605: Biological Armor

On the southern outskirts of Brocade River City.

An inconspicuous factory building sat in a deserted urban area.

Vast concrete yards were piled with cargo boxes abandoned for who knows how many years, while a few tufts of wild grass swayed in front of the rusted iron gate.

Several green heads were hidden in the shadows of the factory windows, vigilantly watching over the nearby streets.

This was a transshipment depot where the Torch Church funneled weapons and ammunition to the Qi Tribe.

Although it was a good ten kilometers away from the front lines, logistics personnel could easily transport weapons to the soldiers at the front through the sprawling subway network.

The towering high-rises blocked out the relentless gunfire; only the occasional loud blasts reminded Jia En that war had burned its way to his very nostrils.

Now, even though he could no longer hear the sound of explosions, Jia En's mood didn't improve a bit; rather, it worsened, teetering on the edge of agitation.

Just moments ago, he had learned that his forces had retreated underground from the surface, signifying the total loss of the Qi Tribe's aboveground lair.

Standing at the entrance of the warehouse, Jia En clenched his fists so tightly that his teeth nearly shattered, his eyes blazing with fury.

Having their lair taken over by a herd of two-legged beasts...

Such an immense disgrace had not occurred in a century!

Noticing Jia En, the mutants guarding the windows hastily left their posts and scurried to open the door for their chieftain, tripping and stumbling in their haste.

With a grating metallic squeal, the rusted gate opened a crack, and a hunched old mutant poked his head out from the narrow opening to look at Jia En and bowed slightly.

"Chieftain."

Normally, Jia En would be civil towards the old priest on his side, but at this moment, his face bore no trace of kindness.

He strode up to Gomo, grabbed him by the collar with one hand, and stared him down with eyes as big as copper bells.

"Where is the support I was promised?"

Gomo spoke calmly.

"It's all here."

Seeing his composure even now, Jia En's rage reached new heights, spluttering with anger as he bellowed.

"You know I'm not talking about that pile of firewood. I need something that can bring down that metal monstrosity! Tell those from the Torch! If they keep dragging their heels, they can go and defend the Institute themselves!"

Of course, he was just saying that.

If they were to lose the Torch's support, the Qi Tribe might be annihilated by the Alliance in a matter of minutes.

Not to mention those cybernetic modifications.

With the Qi Tribe's own manufacturing technology, even making an automatic rifle was a struggle; and if they managed to cobble something together, it was the kind that jammed after three shots.

He was acutely aware that he could use the flesh from the Biological Institute as leverage to threaten his allies.

But if the "Champion" Pharmaceuticals Bioresearch Institute really fell, the Qi Tribe would likely immediately lose the support of the Torch Church.

Watching the contorted face of Jia En twisted by anger, Gomo let out a slight sigh.

He still remembered a few days ago when this young chieftain reassured him, full of confidence, to simply continue with the sacred ritual and not worry about the battlefield.

Yet in just a few days, encountering only a minor setback, he had become like this, not only forgetting his own words but also placing all of his hopes on the Torch Church, these outsiders...

But perhaps it was to be expected.

After pausing, Gomo continued in a measured tone.

"The type of thing you're asking for, it's also here."

Jia En was momentarily taken aback, then squinted his eyes.

Through that narrow gap, Gomo saw his thirst for power, even if he didn't truly understand the nature of the power he yearned for.

His expression was just like a child longing for a new toy.

Looking at the hulking child before him, a wave of sadness suddenly welled up in Gomo's heart.

Perhaps it was this naivety that led them to this unforeseen place...

Releasing his grip on the old priest's collar, Jia En's tone softened slightly with a trace of courtesy.

"Take me there."

"Follow me."

Gomo nodded and turned towards the rusted door behind him.

With eyes sparkling with a hunger for power, Jia En followed without hesitation, stepping into the pitch-black factory.

The inside of the factory was pitch dark.

To prevent discovery by the Alliance's aircraft, no lights had been turned on.

Jia En narrowed his eyes, adjusting to the dim light within the factory, and soon spotted rows of cylindrical containers filled with a dark green liquid.

Bodies two meters tall were submerged within the tanks; their skin was a dusky grey-black, with inverted fangs and pointed chins, and upon closer inspection, a fine layer of downy hair. The slender forms concealed muscles with visible fibers, scant but potent with explosive strength, all wrapped in folds of flesh membrane.

Jia En moved closer, his eyes widening slightly.

Upon closer inspection, the flesh membrane that wrapped around their bodies turned out to be two pairs of folded wings extending from under their armpits to their groins!

He had never seen such hideous monsters.

"...What are these?"

Gomo walked up to the cultivation tank and said in a low voice, seemingly off-topic.

"A century and a half ago, scholars researching the perfect life form first designed a framework for that perfect life still on the blueprint. Its DNA had to be stable enough to resist external interference while also being sufficiently inclusive to accept all the genes designed for it... And mutants are such a framework. Even though it's still far from the perfect life form, it has already reached the first step towards it."

He paused before continuing.

"It is the most perfect 'vessel' on this planet, an almost omnipotent multifunctional platform!"

Jia En slightly frowned, feeling completely bewildered by what the old priest was saying.

The most perfect life?

He had no doubt that he himself was the most perfect life form and didn't feel far off from that proposition at all.

As for what vessel, what multifunctional platform...

He simply had no idea what the old guy was talking about.

Gomo's expectation of Jia En's confusion was right on the mark as he slowly continued to speak.

"...We can implant all the excellent qualities we need into this perfect vessel, allowing us to surpass the capabilities of any machine from birth. Take, for example, Goliath, which can devour almost any organic matter and convert it into bio-mass we can utilize. The piles of bodies outside can be transformed into useful bio-mass raw materials through it. And then there are the Batwing People right in front of you, who can soar freely in the sky without the aid of any flying apparatus."

"Batwing People." Mulling over the name, Jia En's confusion in his eyes gradually turned into understanding and then into fervor.

If every mutant could master the ability to fly...

His tribe would undoubtedly become the dominion of the Earth!

Weren't they just being bullied by that Iron Heart because they couldn't fly?

However, this thought lasted for less than a minute in Jia En's mind. When he saw the pitifully small number of Batwing People in the factory, the fervor in his eyes quickly cooled down.

"Being able to fly... that does sound good, but it's a pity there are too few of these little fellows," Jia En said, stroking his chin, a rare calm analysis coming from him, "Counting them all, there are only about a hundred. I'm afraid they wouldn't even be enough to get stuck in the gaps of that iron clunker's teeth."

If only there were more of them.

Seeing the thoughts inside the chieftain's mind, Gomo smiled faintly and said in a very soft voice,

"Of course, it's not just the number you see here. At this moment, there are at least tens of thousands of Batwing People deployed throughout Brocade River City."

Jia En's pupils contracted slightly, and the fervor that had subsided rekindled in his bloodthirsty eyes.

Tens of thousands!

With one spit from each person, they could flood that airship!

Watching Jia En's battle spirit reignite, Gomo slowly continued to speak.

"The Iron Heart has fierce firepower and a deflection shield that can almost immunize it against all kinetic energy weapons, but it is helpless against close-range threats... The Alliance used this weakness to take the Steel Heart away from the Army in the past, and we can certainly use the same method to snatch this airship from their hands."

"Now that the bulk of Alliance forces are inside Brocade River City, the defenses aboard the Steel Heart must be empty. If we launch a sudden ambush under the cover of the grey mist—"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Jia En grabbed Gomo's shoulders, his expression excitedly saying, "Get started right away!"

As long as they could capture that airship and unleash a barrage on the Alliance Soldiers in the city sector, even if they couldn't wipe out that annoying group completely, they could at least alleviate the pressure on the frontlines.

"Don't get too excited, I haven't finished," Gomo coughed lightly and continued, "The genetics of the Batwing People are actually not yet complete, and like Goliath, they are in a stage of exploration and learning from practical experiences. One of the most obvious unresolved flaws is that they need to be under the influence of the Mind Interference Field to exhibit their full Combat Power."

Eyebrows knotted together like green worms, Jia En stared at him intently.

"What do you mean?"

Gomo continued.

"In simple terms, without a backbone, they are just a pack of mindless wild dogs that only know to crazily bite targets beside them and then feed. We need a strong enough Warrior to command them into battle with his own will."

As he spoke, Gomo turned around and walked to the end of the storage room, standing in front of a huge cultivation tank.

This cultivation tank was conspicuously different from the others, being twice as large in volume and containing something even more unique.

It was enveloped in black scales, over four meters tall, with the outline of a human figure but not quite human; more like a piece of skin—

Or one might say, Armor!

Following Gomo to this place, the moment Jia En looked at the cultivation tank, his gaze was completely glued to it and couldn't be moved away.

The crimson flesh pulsating inside the opened lapel was like a breathing mouth, issuing a call or perhaps an invitation to him.

He didn't know what it was.

The Power he had long dreamed of was right before his eyes.

Gomo didn't speak, but simply extended his index finger and gently tapped on the control terminal.

With the press of a button, the cultivation tank quickly made a gurgling water-sucking sound, and soon the dark green liquid was drained.

The hatchway slowly opened, fully revealing the Biological Armor in front of Jia En.

The pitch-black scales and thick biological shell were exposed to the air, the fleshy membranes at the sides of the ribs gently pulsated, and the flesh wings on the back unfolded to both sides.

The thing that made Jia En unable to shift his gaze was not just those black wings but the swelling and throbbing chest.

Those muscles seemed to possess the strength to tear steel apart!

Jia En asked.

"...And what is this?"

Gomo replied softly.

"A type of Biological Armor, its name is 'Nightmare.' It not only possesses terrifying Strength, sturdy biological Armor, and the ability to fly, but most importantly, it can generate a sufficiently effective Mind Interference Field, allowing the wearer to command all of the Batwing People."

Nightmare...

Jia En savored the name over and over, liking it very much in his heart.

He had no doubt that wearing this Armor, he would become the eternal Nightmare in the minds of all Old Humans.

He looked at Gomo and couldn't wait to ask,

"How do I use this thing?"

Gomo said in a very soft voice.

"Just put it on, and once it becomes a part of your body, you will naturally understand how to use it. It's as simple as breathing... But you have to think it through, once you put it on, it won't be possible to take it off again."

"Exactly what I want!"

Jia En laughed heartily, without another word, he stripped off his clothes, revealing his burly body, and stepped forward with one foot into the culture tank.

The Qi Tribe honored the strong.

Whosoever had the biggest fist was the boss.

As the strongest of his tribe, he would never let this opportunity to become stronger slip by!

Even though he was aware of the risks, he was willing to give it a try!

The moment Jia En's back touched the biological armor, countless tendrils immediately crawled over his entire body.

Sharp interfaces pierced into his flesh, and numerous tiny cilia entangled with his entire nervous system.

"Ah!!!"

The sudden, intense pain made Jia En involuntarily cry out in pain, his eyes bloodshot, his body muscles trembling as if electrocuted.

The agony he experienced was hundreds of times greater than that of prosthetic surgery; he felt as if something was being stuffed into him while part of his own flesh seemed to surge into the body of that thing.

The first to fuse was the nerves, then the blood, and ultimately everything in body and mind!

Jia En felt as if he had returned to that chaotic womb, an invisible umbilical cord bonding him to the chunks of flesh surrounding him.

When he reopened his eyes, it was after an unknown length of time.

Jia En could no longer feel his original body; his consciousness seemed to have completely merged into a new shell—

A more powerful shell!

He clenched his fists, a cracking sound emanating from his arms, every cell in his body seemed to be cheering joyfully.

Jia En happily then moved the wings behind him, the hurricane he unleashed blew away the beast skin clothes on the ground, and the Old Priest and several underlings also unconsciously took a few steps back.

Gomo stared at the reborn Jia En with bright eyes, a hint of fanaticism gradually surfacing in his murky pupils.

Although the path was filled with twists—
a stronger creature was born before him, which did provide some consolation... at least those sacrifices were not in vain.

Jia En gripped his powerful fists satisfactorily and looked down at Gomo standing on the lower steps.

"Right, how exactly were those Batwing People created? Can the Church make more of them?"

Gomo bowed his head, saying reverently.

"Just like with Goliath, mainly through the nurturing of juvenile Mutants, the output may not be as exaggerated as you imagine... But I believe that given enough time, they will surely be able to build an invincible air force for you."

Jia En frowned.

"What about this biological Armor, then?"

"It's similar... just with some other things added." To be honest, Gomo wasn't very clear himself, so he vaguely responded.

However, this explanation was sufficient for Jia En, a sense of realization flashed in his amber eyes, and then that realization turned into pleasure.

So that was it.

No wonder he felt a familiar aura from this set of biological armor; it was also the bloodline of his people.

Although he felt something was a bit off, he did not dwell on it.

As long as he could attain greater strength!

How such trifling matters turned out was of no importance!

"ROAR—!"

He looked up and let out a satisfying roar, the flesh wings on his back spread powerfully to either side, the piercing sound waves surged with the wind that his wings whipped up.

The Mutant underlings retreated in horror, and it was the same for the aging Gomo, who showed no trace of fear in his eyes, only frenzy.

The Batwing People in one culture tank after another, as if heeding his call, all opened their tightly shut eyes and frantically attacked the glass with their hands, feet, and teeth, crawling out from inside with their damp bodies.

It was hard to imagine that these things were hatched from Mutant babies.

But as Jia En thought, such minor problems were utterly irrelevant.

Watching the hideous, sharp-toothed beasts, a cruel smile spread across Jia En's face.

"...The time for revenge has come!"

…

At the same time, atop an office building kilometers away from that factory, an old man in an Exoskeleton slowly opened his tightly closed eyes.

He heard that sharp scream in the wind, he also heard the turbulent undercurrents hiding in the mist.

The biological weapons deployed by the Torch Church in this city had finally activated.

One by one, sharp-toothed monsters were led by a wild beast, howling toward that colossal steel creature.

Soon it would all be over.

Although he didn't know where Luo Gan had gone, from this moment on, no filth would disturb the holy descent of Heaven upon this Land.

He slowly turned his gaze toward the direction of the airship, and the corners of Alzu's mouth curled into a chilly sneer.

"A bunch of worms sucking blood from the relics of the old days, refusing to rebuild the utopia of the past, to enlighten those ignorant people. Instead, you recklessly reverse all the way back before the Prosperity Epoch. Getting the wreckage of an escort ship has made you so arrogantly ignorant of your own limitations."

This class of ship.

Wasn't even good enough to be cannon fodder during the three-year War.

He sneered and squeezed that sentence out from between his lips.

"So you think you can fight, do you?"

"I really want to see if you have the ability to leave your bodies intact."

...

In the north of Brocade River City.

The frontline where the Alliance and the Qi Tribe clashed.

After taking control of the subway station entrance and the streets leading to the "Champion" Biomedical Research Institute, the Alliance's ground forces did not continue to press forward. Instead, they secured the new defensive line and waited for supplies from the rear.

After a full day of combat, the ammunition of most players had been almost depleted; even if the people could hold on, their weapons couldn't.

After delineating their own defensive zones, commanders of the various Corps immediately convened a brief war meeting to determine the next phase of the offensive plan.

The headquarters had given front-line units sufficient autonomy to decide the order of completing their tasks based on the frontline situation.

That is, players could decide whether to prioritize attacking the "Champion" Biomedical Research Institute or to pursue and annihilate the mutants who fled into the subway.

To facilitate communication and pool wisdom, the discussion, as usual, took place in the player section of the official forum.

However, it wasn't so much a discussion as it was a non-controversy.

Almost all the Corps commanders agreed that, as much as the green-skinned brutes were detestable, taking over the Champion Biomedical Research Institute was the urgent matter.

This wasn't just because a thousand cubic meters of nuclear fuel and the Fake nest that controlled the grey fog was stored there. Strategically, capturing the place could also effectively divide their opponents.

After all, the alliance between the Torch Church and the Qi Tribe largely depended on that Research Institute.

Once the Alliance broke through the Institute and destroyed the "Heaven" that loomed over the Brocade River City area, the Qi Tribe would lose its greatest strategic value to the Torch Church.

Conversely, if they besieged the Institute and made the annihilation of the living forces in the subway their primary target, although they might reduce the number of mutants to a minimum and prevent those creatures from hiding in the subway's corners, it could lead to new variables.

Having lost a Bishop of a parish, the Torch Church couldn't possibly still be in the dark. Even if there weren't more significant actions, they would surely send someone new.

Swift and decisive action was the most advantageous option for the Alliance, even if it meant spending more time later on to eradicate the remnants of the mutants.

Within just ten minutes, the Corps commanders had reached a consensus, but just then, the Spring Water Commander, who had been silent until now, suddenly popped out with a statement.

"I always feel like you're making progress a bit too smoothly."

The Storm Corps had taken over from the Jungle Corps by eradicating bandits in the mountainous woodlands of the Alliance's northern territory and had not participated in this server event.

Even though his own Army had nothing to do with this event, Spring Water still couldn't help but feel itchy seeing his good brothers discussing it so fervently, so he intervened with a comment.

Edge Shoveling didn't mind the guy undermining him and typed back.

"Wouldn't it be nice if things went smoothly? (amused)"

Spring Water Commander, "I never said it wasn't good... It's just that you guys are winning too easily. Either your opponents are really stupid, or they might be hiding a big move."

Midnight Chicken Killing, "What makes you think so?"

Spring Water Commander, "Generally speaking, if there was no chance of winning at all, if I were that mutant leader, I'd definitely turn tail and run. No matter how much the Torch Church paid me, having money but no life to spend it is useless, and no matter how good our relationship is, it's not worth dying for an ally to this extent, right? Plus, with such thick fog, if they really ran away from Brocade River City, we couldn't do anything about it. The subway goes everywhere; you might not be able to stop them at all."

Pick up trash 99 level, "That's logical... But it might not apply to mutants, right? Maybe they just look down on the Old Humans whom they've always treated like sheep for the slaughter? They might not have thought they could lose until now."

Midnight Chicken Killing, "+1, those beasts don't seem that cunning."

Spring Water Commander, "It's not about being cunning. If they had never considered losing, they wouldn't have retreated underground. Wouldn't it be better to have a decisive battle with you on the surface?"

Fang Chang, "Hmm... I was thinking about the same thing. However, I really can't think of any cards they might still have to play. And if there is such a card that could turn the tide, why not use it earlier? Why now?"

Spring Water Commander, "Bro, think about it, how did we manage to seize the Iron Heart?"

Elena, "Damn, this guy is about to show off. (amused)"

Gnome King Riches, "Alright, I know it was you who commanded it. (amused)"

Spring Water Commander, "Ahem, I really didn't mean it that way, I'm serious! Think hard, do you notice any similarities?"

Quit Smoking, "Tie down the ground forces and then suddenly launch a surprise attack... Fuck? Do you mean they might learn from us?"

Canyon Escape Mole, "But mutants don't have aircraft, right?"

Spring Water Commander, "Those big guys definitely can't construct an aircraft... But what if, just what if they've got bioweapons that are not just big, tanky types like 'Goliath' and 'Meat Mountain', but also ones that can fly?"

Fang Chang, "So far, we haven't spotted any flying elite monsters like you mentioned... But what you're saying makes sense. If the Torch Church can breed biological weapons that defy common sense, we can't rule out the possibility you've mentioned."

Canyon Escape Mole, "Yeah, aside from Phase guns that need to be positioned in advance, against aircraft with Deflection Shields... A sky-drop attack is indeed the only effective tactic."

Debt Giant Eye, "No way... Is that kind of thing really possible?!"

Spring Water Commander, "War is not a card game; anything is possible on the battlefield. I'm just suggesting, wouldn't it be safer to call a team back to the aircraft? Anyway, you're already at their doorstep."

Old White, "Understood, we better head back for a bit! (gritting teeth)"

Regardless if the mutants were holding that card up their sleeves or not, leaving someone on high ground to prevent a sneak attack would also put the minds of those pushing the front at ease.

After all, like Spring Water bro said, the frontline wouldn't miss this handful of people.

With the brothers from Skeleton Corps, Death Legion, and Jungle Corps around, taking down a research institute would be more than manageable.

WC indeed has Mosquito, "Mother of God... Climbing the thread and seeing you guys discuss, makes my butt clench, I'm rolling back online first! (shocked)"

Night Ten, "No rush, bro, I'll come back and join you. (sidelong smile)"

""

Chapter 606: A Familiar Bait

Brocade River City North.

Old resident settlement.

Two "Viper" transport planes arrived one after another and landed on the open space next to the collapsed enclosing wall at the entrance of the Qi Tribe.

The soldiers of the Burning Corps were basically equipped with "Type Five" exoskeletons or lighter protective gear, and each "Viper" could carry about ten to fifteen people.

To transport all five hundred players of the Burning Corps back to the Steel Heart, which was sixty to seventy kilometers away, would require several round trips with just these two planes.

Honestly, most players didn't really want to return.

The event was about to end, and everyone wanted to earn more points on the front line.

Besides, the possibility that the mutants might attack Steel Heart was just Mosquito's speculation, and it wasn't certain to happen.

Old White didn't force anyone, as there simply weren't enough seats on the transport planes to begin with.

Apart from a few veterans of the Burning Corps with higher sequence levels, other players followed the voluntary principle: those who wanted to return followed along, those who didn't, stayed at the front line.

Honestly, he didn't really have any solid expectations himself.

The idea that mutants might attack Steel Heart sounded rather bizarre, not something even an army would do.

And the key point was, there were no airports nearby!

Maybe Mosquito was just overthinking it?

"Are the mutants really coming?" Sitting in the cabin and feeling uneasy, Night Ten couldn't help but mutter softly.

"No one knows; everything we're doing now is just precautionary, considering the overall battle situation."

Fang Chang glanced at the VM screen, the mission tab hadn't updated with any relevant instructions; perhaps they really were just overthinking.

But he still felt a sense of unease.

The reason for this unease...

Probably, as Mosquito said, their offensive was progressing a bit too smoothly, having taken over the Qi Tribe's stronghold in just four days.

And bizarrely, these mutants were still desperately defending the research institute controlled by Torch Church.

It was hard not to suspect that those charlatans had promised them some benefits, or still had a few cards left to play.

Just then, a hand suddenly reached into the cabin, grabbing the handle next to the door and with a heave pulled itself inside.

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou holding a suitcase, Night Ten was startled and blurted out without thinking.

"What are you doing here?"

"Heading back to the airship," Jiang Xuezhou looked at him with a face full of bewilderment, as if he was asking a very stupid question, "I've finished collecting samples. If I don't go back to the airship, should I stay here?"

His words were indeed irrefutable.

The researcher from the Academy wasn't here to help the Alliance in the battle, but to assist in studying Nago and those synthetic monsters created by Torch Church and to seek a scientific solution.

That precise EMP missile strike was purely her own show-off; he had almost forgotten that this character wasn't meant for combat.

Watching Jiang Xuezhou buckle her safety belt consciously, Night Ten found himself momentarily unable to argue against her words, but considering what everyone had been discussing on the forum, he couldn't help but try to persuade her.

"Maybe... you should stay here."

Jiang Xuezhou glared at him.

"What stupid thing are you saying, stay here? I don't want to spend the night in this place! If anyone stays, you can stay!"

Not to mention there wasn't even a proper bed here, the whole camp was filled with a foul smell, all sorts of messy stuff; she did not want to have nightmares at night.

He actually had the heart to let her spend the night in such a ghostly place!

Jiang Xuezhou, originally in a good mood, felt increasingly angry the more she thought about it.

Seeing the expression on her face, it was clear she must have misunderstood something. Night Ten tried to explain that he was considering her safety, but quickly remembered that the mutants' possible attack on Steel Heart was just a speculation discussed on the forum, not something certain to happen.

The forum and the discussions themselves were hard to explain clearly, he thought for a while, eventually found it too troublesome to explain, and reluctantly nodded.

"Fine."

Seeing his reluctant appearance, Jiang Xuezhou rolled her eyes.

"Do you need to agree? I've already applied with your Manager! Who do you think this plane is waiting for?"

Beside them, Fang Chang and Wild Wind barely held back their laughter, Night Ten's expression turning awkwardly evasive, quickly changed the subject.

"...Uh, where's your Little Wang?"

Jiang Xuezhou replied offhandedly.

"I left it here. I have to come back later anyway, saves the trouble of moving it back and forth. Besides, the plane couldn't fit it, so it's better left here."

That thing was almost a third the size of a Chimera; it really wasn't suitable for moving around, so Night Ten didn't say much.

But speaking of which, he was quite surprised.

Didn't expect her to also consider others...

While they were talking, the transport plane's doors closed, and with the roar of the plasma engines, the two Vipers ascended into the air one after another.

Jiang Xuezhou plugged her ears, Night Ten didn't know where to put his gaze, so he drifted towards the gray and dim night sky outside the porthole.

But at that moment, looking at the gray expanse, he slightly furrowed his eyebrows and gently elbowed Fang Chang, who was sitting beside him.

"Did you hear anything?"

Fang Chang startled slightly, furrowing his brows.

"...A sound?"

"Yeah."

Night Ten closed his eyes tightly, slowly nodded, and said with an uncertain tone.

"It sounds a bit like…"

Everyone in the group turned to look at him upon hearing his words, everyone except Jiang Xuezhou, who couldn't understand the language he was speaking.

After listening closely for a moment, Wild Wind looked at him and asked earnestly,

"What does it sound like?"

Night Ten opened his eyes, his voice carrying a trace of certainty.

"… like the sound of wings flapping!"

Iron Heart's bridge.

Chu Guang stood beside the floor-to-ceiling window, silently gazing at the gray night outside.

Xiao Qi was perched on his shoulder, whispering secrets into his ear, reporting the messages she had just gathered from the forum.

At that moment, the door behind them opened and an officer strode in, standing at attention and giving a military salute.

"Report! A source interference signal has been detected coming from Brocade River City!"

The so-called source interference referred to active release of wide-area electromagnetic wave signals to drown out the radar echos, as opposed to passive interference like platinum strip reflection, achieving the purpose of cloaking one's aircraft.

An apt yet inappropriate analogy would be shining a large flashlight directly into someone's eyes.

The radar system aboard the Iron Heart was sophisticated, capable of spotting birds even a hundred kilometers away. Additionally, since the radar source was airborne, there were virtually no blind spots, akin to an airborne early-warning aircraft equipped with a shield.

The opponent apparently had no confidence in deceiving the eyes of the Iron Heart, so they simply resorted to a brute force approach.

But this also exposed their intent and the presence of source interference.

"Hook directly, bait salty."

Chu Guang smiled faintly, his expression slightly firming up as he continued giving orders,

"Relay my command, all units on the ship enter alert status, load all artillery positions and standby, all members of the carrier air wing to board and prepare for takeoff immediately!"

"Additionally, have the radar team continue searching for the location of the source interference device, and destroy it immediately upon discovery!"

"Yes!" The officer saluted solemnly, then turned and quickly walked towards the door.

Chu Guang then looked towards the Captain standing nearby.

"Since our enemies have already assumed their stance, I have reason to believe that they are thoroughly prepared. Remember, do not underestimate them."

"I trust your capabilities."

"I'll leave the command of this airship to you."

Having been tested through a series of battles in Luo Xia Province, he held considerable confidence in this captain he had personally promoted.

Typically, Chu Guang would only handle strategic arrangements himself, rarely interfering in front-line troop command unless the players had creative ideas requiring an NPC's cooperation.

He preferred to leave the specifics of tactics and execution to professionals.

Feeling honored by the Manager's trust, the Captain nodded seriously, his right fist touching his chest as he accepted the command,

"Rest assured, leave it to me. I will not disappoint you!"

But at this point, he hesitated briefly and ultimately could not resist adding,

"Manager… please allow me to speak out of turn. If the Torch truly plans to target the Iron Heart, this place may not be safe. I suggest you consider taking cover for now."

He wasn't worried about his personal safety, having been prepared for sacrifice since boarding the airship. However, the Manager's safety mattered as it would be a loss to the entire Alliance.

Obviously, he wasn't the only one with this thought; Lu Bei, who followed Chu Guang closely, held the same sentiment.

This usually reticent young man unusually took the initiative to speak up, advising loyally,

"My Lord, I feel the same! Your safety—"

Facing those two pairs of concerned eyes, Chu Guang simply smiled lightly.

"No need to worry for me. I will take care of myself, and besides, those few bugs aren't worth me changing my route."

It wasn't that he wanted to be reckless; mainly because both Vipers were still at the front line and hadn't returned. Staying on the ground might not be safer than staying here.

Moreover, what would it look like if he fled as soon as the opposition made a move?

Doesn't the Manager have a reputation to maintain?

Observing the others who still wanted to persuade him, Chu Guang uncharacteristically displayed an undeniable authority, cutting off their unspoken words.

"Enough, the fact that I am standing here means I have absolute faith in you. What you should be doing now is not trying to change my mind but to do your jobs, do what you should be doing at this moment!"

"Go ahead and act."

"I will be here to witness your valor!"

These powerful words resounded.

The response was a chorus of high-spirited replies,

"Mission will be accomplished!"

Their eyes burned with fighting spirit.

Any tremor or hesitation they felt facing the unknown threat was now completely incinerated by this blazing fire.

Even if inspired by good intentions, such emotions were not supposed to be in them.

From the communication officer to the aides to the captain, everyone instinctively clenched their fists, including the guards following Chu Guang.

They were confident in defeating any foe—

No matter who the adversary was!

It was not just for honor or belief, but because that towering figure always stood with them.

An unvoiced cheer echoed within their chests—

For the Manager!

For the Alliance!

...

The pre-battle mobilization had been completed, and Chu Guang left the bridge, leaving it entirely in the hands of the captain and a host of officers.

He himself went to the players' save point.

The main battlefield arrangements could be fully entrusted to those trustworthy subordinates, but to ensure the entire battle was foolproof, he needed to add an extra layer of necessary insurance to this airship.

This task could only be completed by his beloved little players.

Of course.

The compensation would not be small.

The moment he left the bridge, the Iron Heart immediately started operating like a wound-up machine, orderly and swiftly.

The radar crew quickly locked onto the coordinates of the interference source, and a 400mm rocket with extended range was rapidly loaded and sent towards the distant target, delivering punishing flames.

Meanwhile, offline.

Goblin Corps group chat.

"Log in, log in!"

"Work's here!"

"Quick, quick, quick!"

In a second, Mosquito typed out three sentences, immediately put on his headset, and returned online. He had just risen from the Sleep Cabin and was walking down the hallway when he abruptly ran into the Manager striding towards him.

Mosquito's eyes lit up, guessing that the Manager's appearance here likely triggered some hidden quest, so he immediately cleared his duck-like throat and said loudly with his usual humorous tone,

"Good evening, respected Manager!"

His voice successfully caught the Manager's attention.

Seeing Mosquito Brother, Chu Guang's eyes also lit up, but he didn't show it explicitly on his face, maintaining the poise expected of an NPC, and slowly began to speak.

"You've come at the right time, I have a glorious and arduous mission for you."

WC felt genuinely excited inside, and quickly responded,

"Whatever you need, command me! Though I am humble, I am willing to lay down my life for the Alliance!"

Watching Mosquito's exaggerated movements, Chu Guang chuckled inwardly, but his face remained impassive, and he cleared his throat before continuing,

"The mission has been updated on your VM. Follow the instructions in the taskbar, and operate like this..."

...

The 400mm main cannon aimed at Jinhe City Urban Area, and with a thick streak of fire, a rocket with extended range trailing white smoke ascended into the sky.

The screaming whistling noise as it fell rent the quiet night sky, followed by the peaceful city area being disturbed by that deafening roar.

It was as if daylight had risen from the ground.

Dispelling miles of fog.

Watching the direction of the explosion, Alzu standing on the rooftop coldly smiled, but that smile soon froze on his face.

"Damn."

The good news was that the Alliance had indeed bitten the bait he threw, a heavy rocket crashing onto the decoy disturbance source.

They aimed very accurately, although it was a lonely precision.

However, the bad news was, the Alliance had installed a nuclear warhead on this rocket with extended range, and the Compton effect induced by the gamma rays created a broad-range electromagnetic pulse.

Although it didn't destroy the real interference device, this momentary electromagnetic disturbance revealed the decoy radar he had set up in the city completely.

Just one more shot, and the interference shining on Iron Heart would completely fail.

And...

Perhaps the slight slip just now had already exposed the position of that mutant.

Although he'd preferred to show up before that guy as the Saint Heir after achieving total victory, Alzu knew he had to do something now.

Connecting to the chip installed in the suit named "Nightmare" of biological armor, Alzu cleared his throat and slowly began to caution,

"You'd better fly lower."

At that moment, Jia En soaring in the night sky was reveling in his god-like power, oblivious to the confrontation between the Alliance and Torch Church off the battlefield.

He had never been so powerful!

The entire sky seemed to submit under his wings!

And those sharp-toothed, sharp-beaked "devils" loyally clustered around him, requiring just a look from him to lay down their lives in his service.

They were like the cells of his body!

While Jia En was indulging, a light voice floated into his ears, interrupting his boundless reverie.

Annoyed by this voice that appeared out of nowhere in his mind, Jia En flipped over, frowning, and let out a low growl from his throat,

"Who are you?"

The voice from somewhere continued,

"I am the Saint Heir."

Hearing this familiar name, Alzu narrowed his eyes.

"You are the Saint Heir?"

The biological armor was a gift from Torch Church, and he of course knew whom these charlatans worshipped.

But what he didn't understand was why the legendary Saint Heir would communicate with him personally.

Alzu paused for a while, then softly responded,

"Yes."

Every one of them considered themselves a Saint Heir.

Although he had not entered the Holy Land, since he was replacing Luo Gan, he naturally could claim the title of Saint Heir.

The Church was not so strict about formalities with its inside people; everything was permitted for the sake of that ultimate grand plan.

However, what Alzu did not expect was that he thought this green-skinned beast would show some humility due to the title of Saint Heir, but instead, the uncivilized ape just responded with a wild and disrespectful laugh.

"Hahaha! You are a Saint Heir? Then open your eyes wide and watch! Watch how I smash that group of bipeds into pieces!"

Far from keeping a low profile, Jia En feared that his presence might go unnoticed, so he howled into the sky, then, with a kick of his wings, flew even higher.

'This idiot!'

Alzu cursed inwardly, patiently continuing the conversation.

"Listen, I'm not joking with you. The Alliance doesn't need eyes to know where you are, don't think you're safe hidden in the fog. If you don't want to crash head-on into a metal cannonball, have your subordinates disperse and fly at a height no greater than thirty meters from the ground! The closer, the better!"

Hearing the seriousness in his voice, Jia En finally calmed down and reluctantly reined in his temper.

"Got it, can you first get out of my head? I don't like talking to someone who hides their face!"

As he spoke, he folded his wings and signaled his noisy followers to descend.

"Ugh..."

Alzu clicked his tongue, irritably ending the communication, took a deep breath against the fog-drenched night sky, trying to calm himself down.

Although it was a beast, unfortunately, they needed this beast.

Everything was for the sake of that grand plan.

A necessary sacrifice.

Elsewhere, the bridge of the Iron Heart was bustling.

An employee sitting at the control terminal had just received coordinates for a new source of interference from the radar team and had entered it into the fire control system.

The 400mm main cannon slowly adjusted its angle, reloaded with a rocket-assisted projectile, preparing to strike the real source of interference.

At this moment, another report came from the radar —

"Numerous unidentified flying objects detected in the south! Speed is between 97-99 kilometers per hour! Heading directly towards us, only twenty kilometers away!"

Hearing the employee's report, the Captain immediately asked.

"How many?"

The employee, eyes fixed on the screen and speaking rapidly, responded.

"Ten thousand and seventy-eight!"

The Captain's pupils slightly constricted.

Ten thousand?!

His first reaction was disbelief.

No matter what, this number was too exaggerated!

And it was outlandishly similar to what had happened before—

The Alliance had previously lured the Iron Heart's firepower using a decoy drone with an active interference source and then managed to get a transport plane over it during the reload.

Could this also be a decoy?!

Outside the porthole was pitch-black fog, the sunset had completely sunk below the horizon. The airship floating in the clouds was like a submarine diving deep into the ocean, unable to visually observe the surrounding area and could only rely on the radar, its only "eyes."

After a moment's wait, the second heavy rocket hit the interference source in the urban area.

As the thunderous echo rumbled through the fog, the shipboard radar also resumed normal operation, and those previously indistinct red dots were exposed on the radar screen once again.

The Captain decisively ordered.

"Scan their outlines!"

He needed to determine exactly what those flying objects were!

After some maneuvering, the employee immediately reported the radar team's observation.

"The cluster's individual sizes range from 2 to 5 meters, their speed is extremely uneven, and their shapes are continuously changing... They are too close to the ground! Reflection backscatter is severely disrupted by ground obstacles, making it difficult to collect precise flight data."

The executive officer looked towards the Captain.

"If I may say so, this doesn't sound like aircraft... But if it's an interference decoy, the interference from the urban area seems too deliberate."

He believed there must be something there.

The Captain's thoughts aligned, nodding solemnly.

"And your judgment is?"

After a moment's thought, the executive officer spoke.

"It may not be aircraft... Could it be some type of Variants affected by a Mind Interference Field?"

The Captain looked at him, counterquestioning.

"Can the range of the Mind Interference Device from Jinhe City cover up to here?"

The executive officer's eyes flickered slightly, tapping on the radar screen.

"What if the Mind Interference Device is also included in here?"

Hearing this, the Captain's expression slightly changed, immediately ordering.

"Prepare the anti-aircraft cannon!"

"Fire at the radar-marked zone!"

Chapter 607: Blood Rain Blossoming in the Sky

Hundreds of gun barrels were aimed at the radar-marked area.

As bursts of flames flickered, tracer rounds pierced the grey-green fog, howling toward the oncoming swarm of Different Species Clusters flapping their wings.

Jia En, who was flying close to the ground, suddenly felt a chill on his neck, followed by an abrupt surge of alarm in his forehead.

He jerked his head up and, before he could grasp what was happening, saw blinding flashes of light exploding in the air.

"Boom!"

The closest batwing people were caught in the blast, instantly torn to shreds by the pythons-sized tracers.

The others nearby weren't spared either.

The 155mm fragmentation shells with proximity fuzes detonated one after another, scattering deadly shrapnel like Death's sickles amidst the exploding light and dense smoke walls, reaping blood-drenched lives with abandon.

The air suddenly filled with a blood rain, bits of flesh and falling limbs everywhere.

"Scatter!"

Remembering the reminder from the Saint Heir, Jia En roared with a strained voice, then with a flap of his wings, he sidestepped the incoming tracers and chased toward the direction from which the shells had come.

The whistling sounds of projectiles passed by him, exploding upon the ground nearby, yet they caused him no harm.

The biological armor gifted by the Torch Church not only possessed exceptional keratin armor but also a strong self-repair capability.

General explosive shrapnel and 7mm rifle bullets could hardly hurt him, and even if he was injured, he could quickly regenerate damaged tissue by absorbing more biomass!

Growing accustomed to the strength of this biological armor and dancing through bullets and shells, Jia En's courage grew, and the last of his panic dissipated.

Dodging another howling shell, he looked up toward the direction it had come from and let out an excited roar.

"Cowards who only dare to fire from afar, haven't you had your fill? Hahaha, with that little ability, you think to bring me down? Dream on!"

More than ten kilometers away, the Iron Heart's crew obviously couldn't hear the animal's barking.

At that moment, the captain in the bridge was fixated on the screen of the control terminal, watching the swiftly vanishing red dots as they fell.

The operators at the control terminals shouted loudly.

"Artillery strike hit! Damage confirmed effective!"

"The number of individual creatures in the cluster is rapidly decreasing!"

"They're spreading out!"

"There's only 10 kilometers left!"

"Radar marking area adjusted!"

The first officer standing to the side clenched his fists, his heart mixed with joy and concern.

The joy was that they had indeed guessed the enemy's movements correctly, which weren't any bait.

However, the concern was that there were simply too many enemies!

To date, they still didn't know what exactly was attacking them, only able to discern a vague scanning silhouette on the radar.

Looking up at the captain, the first officer said gravely.

"There are still more than eight thousand of them, and they could reach us in just ten minutes... we might not be able to eliminate them all with just our anti-air weapons."

"We must not let them get close to the Iron Heart!"

The captain looked at the radar screen with a grave face and after pondering for a moment, he finally gave the command.

"Launch the carrier-borne planes!"

In the fog, and especially at night, the interception efficiency of the carrier-borne planes was quite limited.

Even though the visibility in the airspace where the Iron Heart was positioned was much higher than on the ground, it was still only about two hundred meters.

This meant that the pilots' shooting window would be very brief, and considering the irregular maneuvers of the suspected Different Species targets, the timing for firing was almost instantaneous; miss it and they'd have to circle around again.

But even so.

It was better than leaving the planes on the deck and fighting those creatures with bayonets!

On the deck of the Iron Heart.

Players from the Goblin Corps had been sitting in the cockpit for a long time, waiting.

Finally, the order to take off came. Falling Feather didn't say a word, pushed down the throttle, and slipped off the runway holding the control stick.

The planes that followed took off one after another, avoiding the edges of the fire net and pouncing toward the airspace marked by the radar.

Wind Clear, lined up as well, brought the plane onto the runway, glanced around, and muttered in confusion.

"Where's the leader?"

Gui Gui's voice came over the communications channel.

"I don't know either... I was just wondering where that guy went."

It was very unlike Mosquito's style to miss such a thrilling action.

Then, from the common channel, Falling Feather's voice rang out.

"Brothers, that asshole Mosquito has dumped the command pot on me again... Although I don't know what the hell the enemy is, they clearly picked the wrong fight!"

Saying this, he mimicked Mosquito's unique nasal voice and shouted with closed eyes.

"Follow me! Hold them off at all costs! Awoo awoo awoo!"

Hearing the utterly dissimilar voice, Wind Clear couldn't help but laugh, but when she saw everyone else shouting with fervor, she too shouted with full momentum.

"Awoo oh—!"

Ah—

Forgot to etch something on the cockpit.

But it seemed not to matter anymore.

The roaring of the propellers whipped up howling winds on the deck, blowing the steep wings toward the fog-covered battlefield.

The diving planes, like cavalry charging with rifles, surged from above the clouds toward the surging beast swarm flapping their wings.

The wind whistled at the wingtips, the spirit of battle burned on the windscreen, and her fingertip was already pressed on the machine gun trigger.

"I heard there are tens of thousands of monsters."

"Then let's finish this epic with their blood!"

...

In total, fifty W-2 attack aircraft split into two combat formations, arranged to the left and right of the battle line, like a pair of glowing hot iron pincers, biting towards the cluster of flying variants charging at the Iron Heart.

However, the variants were clearly not vegetarians.

After a few sweeps of machine gun fire, quickly, more than a dozen squads broke away from the variant cluster and bit towards the Alliance's propeller aircraft.

Speaking purely of technological content, propeller planes were obviously no match for these gene-engineered soldier creatures.

However, for these wing-flapping beasts, catching up to the fixed-wing aircraft wasn't that easy; it took more than a dozen to work together to manage it.

After sacrificing more than a dozen lives, finally, a monster took advantage of a gap when a W-2 was pulling up to avoid attack. It folded its wings and dived in a glide, plunging headfirst into a player's cockpit.

"What the hell? What is this thing?! So ugly!"

Startled by the sharp-fanged, green-skinned monster that suddenly burst in, Gui Gui immediately drew her pistol and squeezed the trigger at the howling creature's forehead.

Two bangs rang out, and black blood sprayed everywhere, freezing onto the cabin hatch in the cold wind that flooded the cockpit.

The monster instantly stopped breathing, but its head got stuck in the nose of the plane, its tail caught in the propeller.

She vaguely saw smoke spewing from the gaps in the engine cover.

At the same time, Feng Qing's voice came through the communications channel.

"Gui Gui, what's your situation?!"

While beating the head of the monster that had burrowed into her cockpit with the butt of her pistol, Gui Gui tried to wrestle back control of her out-of-control plane.

However, the speedometer kept climbing higher, and the blood-stuck hatch completely blocked her view outside, nearly driving her mad.

"My propeller is broken! Damn it! Blood is everywhere; I can't see anything outside, am I upside down or not?!"

"Maybe you should parachute––"

"Parachute my ass! Won't I just get gnawed to the bones right away?!"

She certainly didn't think mutants would adhere to anything like the Geneva Conventions, not attacking parachuting pilots; she'd likely be caught and savagely devoured the moment she hung from the sky.

As she spoke, another monster charged at her, its feet Duang! landing on the belly of her plane, causing the already uncontrollable aircraft to sway violently.

The creature stretched out its hands, climbing towards the hatch along the wing, letting out a piercing howl at her, sitting in the cockpit.

Seeing the gaping maw and two green-glowing eyes up close, she sighed helplessly and reached for the pull ring behind and to the side of the cockpit.

The W-2 attack aircraft had two escape mechanisms.

One was to manually open the hatch and parachute out; the other was to attach explosives to the plane's battery.

The latter was the same model used by infantry, but because it was stuck to the battery, its power was significantly greater, with additional incendiary damage.

"See you in three days!" Clenching her eyes shut, Gui Gui disengaged the safety and pulled the detonator.

The edge of the explosive charges quickly let off a wisp of white smoke.

Using her last sliver of consciousness, she saw, just as she was being dragged out of the cockpit by the sharp-fanged monster, the aircraft beneath her instantly erupted into a fireball, swallowing up all the monsters clinging onto the plane.

"Gui Gui!!"

Watching the blast engulf the aircraft, Feng Qing cried out in anguish and immediately turned the nose of his plane towards where the fireball had fallen.

The machine guns spat fire and roared continuously, and one after another, the struck variants plummeted from the sky.

Until he fired the last round of ammunition...

The fifty W-2 attack aircraft faced nearly eight thousand flying variants, and they were somewhat stretched,

Especially since neither experienced ace pilots nor rookies with less than 2000 flight hours had combat experience against such "irregular maneuvering targets."

Additionally, weather conditions worsened their effects. In just a few minutes, half of the Goblin Corps had been lost.

Still, even so, the Goblin Corps secured the gunners in the gun bay and Xiao Qi operating the anti-aircraft cannon enough time to take aim.

These last few kilometers were like an insurmountable rift for the wing-flapping beast swarm.

Watching the ripples crawl closer on the terminal screen, all the officers on the bridge couldn't help but clench their fists.

The Iron Heart had already unloaded tons of ammunition at full fire, but the radar showed there were still nearly four thousand left!

Even the most optimistic estimate predicted that two to three thousand variants would break into the Iron Heart's blind spot and land on the deck.

It seemed a boarding battle was now unavoidable.

"Notify all ship personnel to collect their weapons and ammunition!"

The captain issued his order, pulled out his service pistol, loaded it, slapped it on the table in front of him, and showed his determination to share the ship's fate.

The others did the same.

No words were necessary.

And just as that oppressive wave of beasts burst from the mist-enshrouded edge, nearly cast upon the bridge's panoramic windows, a gray-white transport airship slowly hovered to the front of the Iron Heart, blocking the direct view headed towards it.

Standing next to the captain, the executive officer was taken aback, his face changed instantaneously, and he blurted out subconsciously.

"A transport ship?! What's that doing here?!"

The transport airship actively descended, heading straight for the cluster of variants, and the faint glimmer of gunfire seemed to indicate that someone was shooting up there.

The captain was equally puzzled but quickly came back to his senses and shouted at the comm officer not far away.

"Tell it to move away!!"

Charging at aerial targets with an airship?!

Had the idiots up there gone mad?!

But as his words fell, a commanding voice came from behind everyone.

"Let them go."

Chu Guang, who had returned to the bridge at some unknown time, soaked in the gaze of many eyes, walked to the panoramic window and stopped.

Quietly watching the fiery rain and the aircraft disappearing into the swarm outside the window, he spoke slowly.

"They are the true warriors."

"Don't waste their determination."

The bridge was silent.

The captain's Adam's apple moved as he guessed the intention of the airship, and he took off his cap, holding it to his chest.

Seeing this, the other officers also silently removed their caps, paying the highest tribute to the sacrificed pilots and the driver of that airship.

Just as the Manager had said.

They were true warriors!

The battle was far from over, and the silent tribute in the bridge lasted only a few seconds.

Meanwhile, unrestrained laughter pierced through the narrow corridor, echoing in the empty cabin of the transport plane.

"Ha ha ha! Ugly things, your Mosquito Grandpa is here!"

Watching the surge of monsters, a guy who had just been named a warrior was excitedly holding a machine gun fitted with an ammunition belt.

He smashed the cockpit glass with the butt of his gun, mounted the machine gun in the center of the cockpit, and opened fire on the swarming beast herd outside with a rattatat of indiscriminate fire.

The spitting flames in the hail of bullets were like a flickering candle flame, with no hope for accuracy, but it was enough to draw the monsters' hatred.

From afar, the lumbering vessel caught the eye of a group of Variants that had just burst through the clouds. They immediately screamed and pounced.

In just a few breaths, nearly a hundred wing-flapping Variants had climbed onto the nearly fifty-meter-long airship, and their numbers were still increasing.

They couldn't fathom what this bulging airship was, treating it as if it were birthed from the same mother as the big guy in the sky. So, opening their mouths, they bit into the sturdy gas bag, trying to tear a hole and wriggle inside to kill all the people hidden within.

Watching the whirling pressure gauge and the warning of an engine power failure, the Mosquito in the cockpit was not panicked in the least; he even seemed to be holding back a laugh.

"Don't be shy, eat up... if that's not enough, try this for taste!"

Like pulling a magic trick, he took out a detonator from his pocket and clutched the switch in his hand with an evil smile.

The blasting caps placed throughout the airship instantly sparked, running through the whole airship from end to end like electricity.

In this instant, it wasn't just the thousands of kilograms of TNT explosives ignited but also tens of thousands of cubic meters of hydrogen gas!

The entire nearly fifty-meter-long airship blew up like a lit barrel of oil, instantly becoming an expanding fireball.

The Mosquito, stepping onto the cockpit, was the first to be swept into the inferno, followed by the "big birds" that had already pounced onto the cockpit glass.

"Boom—!"

The Variants clinging to the airship were like moths to the flame, swallowed up by the scorching fire and the blast of the explosion in an instant.

The blast even reached the edge of the airship's deck, forcibly clearing out a vacuum in the surging beast herd.

Variants burnt to a crisp and smoking, with that pungent charred smell, fell from the sky like dumplings, with the other Variants behind them only able to scream and dodge to the sides.

Witnessing the apocalyptic fire, Jia En's eyes were bloodshot, anger nearly igniting flames out of his nostrils.

Looking at the minions continually falling from the sky, he felt no pity, but the thought of those Batwing People being transformed from the children of his tribe immediately brought a piercing pain to his heart, contorting his ugly face even more.

"Ah ah ah ah!"

"I'm going to kill you all!!!"

Jia En, howling with rage clouding his mind, madly rushed toward the direction of the deck.

Seemingly sensing his fury, the flock of batwing people flapped their wings even more vigorously, their sharp canine teeth emitting one piercing scream after another in the frenzy.

Meanwhile, far away in Brocade River City, Alzu was covered in dark lines, his fists clenched with bulging veins.

Even though he couldn't see the battlefield directly, his radar perception told him that they had lost nearly five hundred batwing people in just a flash!

And due to the pause in the offensive push, the number of casualties continued to climb!

"These useless creatures!"

Beasts will always be beasts.

Armed with the best equipment but fighting the dumbest of wars!

Had he been in command himself, they surely would have at least touched the edge of the airship without losing more than half of their forces!

But, fortunately, there were still more than two thousand batwing people who had broken through the Steel Heart's artillery fire, managing to reach the airship's deck.

At this moment, the main force of the Alliance was at the front lines.

The number of people aboard the Steel Heart and at the ground airport probably didn't even total a thousand.

A cold, pained sneer spread across Alzu's face.

"...Enjoy the agony of having your guts spilled!"

"What a pity I can't hear your wails."

…

At the same time Jia En led the remnants of the batwing people to board the deck, the Guards Corps led by Lu Bei had already engaged them in a firefight.

Although the Guards Corps was not primarily a combat unit, mainly responsible for intelligence gathering and the protection of Alliance Managers, the deployment on the airship was limited to three hundred, but like the players, they were all Awakeners with significant individual fighting capabilities.

In addition, the fight also involved the aircrew that accompanied the ship and some players who had been revived from save points.

Both sides were engaged in close combat around the 400mm main gun and the ammunition elevator, the situation on the battlefield was intense.

Sitting in the research ship on a mountain peak a hundred kilometers away, Yang Kai watched the screen and casually sipped his coffee, utterly calm.

Warfare was not his area of expertise, but instinct told him that the situation of the Alliance was clearly not optimistic at the moment.

However, those people couldn't be blamed.

He himself had been startled when he first saw the flying mutants; he hadn't expected the Torch Church to have this card up their sleeve, and to have so many of them!

It seems that Dr. Conclusion's hypothesis had been confirmed once again.

Those blue-skinned mutants along the coastal regions of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, with gills and scales, might just be the work of those charlatans.

However, thinking back, it seemed the Army had lost the Steel Heart in just this manner before, with McCullen ultimately forced to board the escape pod and flee with his tail between his legs.

History was repeating itself.

The Alliance, who had taken the Steel Heart in the guise of barbarians, were now having it snatched away in the same manner.

How ironic.

Yang Kai smiled, feeling the time was about right, and pressed on the holographic screen.

He accessed the communication channel left to him by that Alliance Manager, cleared his throat, and in a casual tone, he spoke.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you at this time. It's clear you've done your best, and it's unfortunate that I can't be of much help with the situation on the battlefield. However, if you need to retreat, a heads-up to me would suffice. I can bring out a handful of people, maybe three or five, no problem."

Doctor Jie's model included the possibility of the Alliance's defeat, even though it was not highly probable.

If the worst outcome were to occur, according to the planned options, he needed to ensure the safety of the Alliance Managers first, then that child carrying the antibodies.

Yet what happened was beyond Yang Kai's expectation.

Faced with the lifeline he had thrown out, what came back from the communication channel was an unromantically curt refusal.

"There's no need for your trouble."

Yang Kai's eyebrows lifted slightly as he rose from his chair.

"Are you sure? Now's not the time to be playing tough."

A tone of undisguised mockery came through from the communication channel.

"Which eye of yours saw me being tough?"

As the voice fell, the call was cut.

Staring at the icon indicating a communication loss in the holographic window, Yang Kai clicked his tongue in annoyance and leaned back in his chair.

"Heh, seems like I was worrying for nothing."

At the same moment, two "Viper" transport planes burst out of the black clouds and flew above the deck of the Iron Heart.

Watching the monsters climbing onto the deck and the continuous flashing lights, Night Ten's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"Holy shit... What the hell is that?!"

It was too dark to see exactly how many there were, but a glance was enough to tell that their numbers were several times their own.

The other players were also surprised to a certain extent.

However, it was merely surprise.

"Some kind of winged beast," Old White said succinctly after confirming the photos taken by the Goblin Corps on his VM. He turned off the screen, chambered the rifle that hung on his chest, and glanced around at his comrades in the cabin. "Get ready to go."

Completely undaunted by the dense swarm of Different Species, everyone in the cabin shouted with high morale.

"Ohh!!!"

The two Vipers descended straight toward the deck of the Iron Heart, jets emitting a ghostly blue glow, hovering over the northernmost side of the deck.

From a height of several meters, players in exoskeletons lined up at the edge of the cabin, one by one jumping out.

Jiang Xuezhou, leaning on her seat, was pale, her fingers around the safety belts turning blue with the strain.

Seeing that Night Ten was also planning to go down, she panicked and quickly spoke up.

"...Wait, you, you're just going down like that?"

Night Ten grinned while holding the cabin door's handle.

"Heh, it's not my first time."

Seeing her face looking terrified, he continued teasingly.

"Just stay here, don't think about coming down to help."

Without her "pet" by her side, she was a non-combatant. It would only cause trouble if she went down; better to stay on the plane.

But after this battle was over, he was definitely going to give her a hard time.

After all, she had boasted plenty before about how badass she was, yet she was scared like this before the fight had even started.

A Class D researcher.

No more than this!

A joke!

Jiang Xuezhou's face was pale, unaware of the disparaging narrative unfolding in his mind.

Without his prompting, she had no intention of going down. Plus, she felt dizzy just looking at the height... Was this guy not scared at all?

"Can't I just shoot from the plane?" She asked tentatively, feeling awkward to be the only one left on the plane, trying to persuade him to stay as well.

"Shoot from the plane?" Night Ten was momentarily dumbfounded, speaking with a strange look, "Are you joking? We're in the sky, with such strong winds, how could you possibly hit anything—"

Before he could finish, a sense of impending crisis invaded his mind. However, he had no chance to react before a massive force hit the fuselage, sending the Viper spiraling out of control towards the edge of the deck.

"Ah—!"

Watching the world spin outside the cabin, Jiang Xuezhou, who was clamped tightly in her seat, screamed in terror, nearly passing out.

Night Ten was even worse off.

Having already stepped half out the cabin, he barely managed to not be thrown out by the sudden jolt, holding onto the handle by the door with his right hand and staying propped outside the plane by the brute force of his exoskeleton.

Perhaps nudged by the deflection shield, the spinning "Viper" looked like it would crash into the deck, but ultimately, it grazed past the edge.

"Fuck—!"

The pilot, gripping the joystick, exerted all his strength, nearly stomping the rudder through the floor, finally pulling the out-of-control plane back on course.

But at that moment, a creature with canine teeth in its mouth and sinewy muscles crashed its head through the open door.

The face looked as if it came from hell—

At the sight of its green, greasy eyes, Jiang Xuezhou felt a chill run down her spine, and the cold air pouring in from the door suddenly choked her breath and heartbeat.

"...Little Wang." Her lips trembled as she uttered these words, quickly remembering she had left it back in Brocade River City.

Despair crept over Jiang Xuezhou's face.

But in that split second, a cold gleam flashed in the darkness, and a dagger flew from the other side of the cabin like a javelin, thudding into the creature's forehead.

The dagger seemed to have hit its eye socket precisely. The creature let out a piercing scream, released its grip, and tumbled out of the cabin.

Jiang Xuezhou was momentarily stunned, her eyes filled with tears as she turned joyfully to where the dagger had come from.

He was still alive!

However, her joy came too soon. The roar of another creature crawling into the cabin instantly killed the fluttering hope in her heart.

"Why the hell didn't you shoot?!!!"

——

(Thanks to the alliance head "Monster丿" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 608: Get Up!

"Iron Heart is in danger?!"

Corporate Embassy to the Alliance.

Seeing the expressionless face of Solar Eclipse in the floating window, Yi Chuan stood up swiftly, propping himself on the table with both hands, his mouth agape.

His imagination was limited; he simply couldn't fathom what could possibly threaten that steel fortress soaring in the sky.

Solar Eclipse, standing amidst pale blue light particles, simply nodded and drew a gesture in the air with her index finger to transfer the radar image of the Iron Heart to Yi Chuan.

Looking at the dense red dots on the screen, Yi Chuan felt his scalp tingle.

Watching him unable to form a response, Solar Eclipse continued.

"The Torch Church has mobilized a bio-troops force of over ten thousand, essentially human-shaped Variants with the ability to fly, suspected to be an upgraded version of Mutants, employing swarm attack tactics. According to a comprehensive analysis of the battlefield situation, there is an 83% probability of breaching the firepower network. The Iron Heart is preparing for deck combat."

"The Alliance Managers hope we can fulfill our alliance treaty and send support immediately."

Staring at the flashing holographic image, Yi Chuan was frantic but could vaguely sense something was amiss.

If the situation was really that dangerous, why wouldn't Chu Guang evacuate from the airship?

That guy should know what he means to the Alliance; surely he wouldn't still be worried about face at a time like this?

But now wasn't the time to consider that.

By the time he figured it all out, it might be too late!

Yi Chuan looked into Solar Eclipse's eyes.

"Can you contact Chu Guang?"

Solar Eclipse shook her head.

"He's at the frontline directing the battle; I can't reach him from here."

Yi Chuan cursed silently in his heart, but without a better option, he took a deep breath and said,

"Okay, I understand."

After ending the communication, he gently tapped his index finger on the table, organizing his thoughts, then immediately called the corporate airbase in the northern territories of the Alliance.

As soon as the line connected, Yi Chuan, not waiting for the other side to exchange pleasantries, began speaking.

"Our ally is in trouble; I am requesting Assault Team No.26 to head to Brocade River Province for an emergency response."

The base commander frowned slightly.

"The council has not authorized military action in Brocade River Province, and relevant discussions should still be ongoing; your request is out of procedure."

Not at all surprised by his refusal, Yi Chuan persisted patiently.

"According to the security statutes and corresponding explanatory clauses, in the event of a crisis threatening the survival of the Alliance government or greater, we can bypass council authorization to initiate emergency preparedness plans... I will submit a report later to explain the necessity to the council."

As he spoke, he forwarded the images and battle situation assessment report that Solar Eclipse had sent him to the holographic image of the military officer.

However, after reading the report, the officer's frown deepened.

He knew about this clause in the security statutes, but as of yesterday, he had heard that the front line was advancing triumphantly...

How had the situation become so urgent in just one day?

"I understand the basic situation... but does the current situation meet the criteria of that clause?" he said uncertainly, "The danger is only to the Iron Heart."

Yi Chuan spoke sternly.

"But the manager of the Alliance is on that airship! You should know what that person means to the Alliance and to River Valley Province at this stage; we cannot lose this ally no matter what. This is no time for hesitation; I need your people to depart immediately, right now!"

Hearing this, the officer's expression finally shifted, and he nodded solemnly.

"I understand."

Sitting back down, Yi Chuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good, you understand!"

Almost simultaneously with him hanging up the phone, the airbase along The Tributary of Tianshui's South Shore sounded its alarm bells; the entire base sprang to life like a tightly wound gear.

Two "Tiger Whale" transport aircraft lighting up their engines crouched on the tarmac as the assault team soldiers, decked out in power armor and exoskeletons, hurried onboard.

Also brought into the cargo hold was ground fire support — including unmanned Hellhound vehicles — and various new gadgets shipped in from Ideal City.

Assault Team No. 26 had finished boarding; two Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft increased their engine output, lifting off toward the pitch-black night sky, supported by the arcs of azure light.

Sitting in the cabin with the door slowly closing, Su Ming turned to Captain Yun Song beside him, his face full of confusion.

"Do those guys need our help?"

In the Great Desert, he had witnessed the formidable combat power of that group.

If even those tough ones felt challenged, he doubted that one assault team could resolve the issue.

Glancing at the mission brief on the tablet, Yun Song responded casually.

"That's not for us to consider."

He, too, harbored a trace of doubt in his heart.

Over eight hundred kilometers away...

Even if they advanced at full speed, by the time they got there, it'd probably all be over; it was hard to imagine that man calmly waiting for them to arrive...

Outside the Steel Heart.

The howling wind carried not only the chilly high-altitude currents but also the flapping, sharp-toothed Variants.

They resembled the gargoyle demons of ancient legends or the Batwing People from War3 with no knights, their almost fibrous pectoral muscles and keratin armor resisting damage from regular rifle bullets. Though the head was their only weak spot, its hard skull wasn't easily penetrated.

However—
the eyes were an exception.

Night Ten hadn't expected the dagger he had instinctively thrown to score a critical hit, piercing straight into the creature's eye socket.

With the driving force of the exoskeleton and his own limited strength, the dagger plunged into the monster's brain like a steel spike.

Watching the shadow fall toward the pitch-black clouds, Night Ten, using all the strength he could muster, finally managed to climb back into the turbulent cabin.

Although he wanted to berate a certain Class D researcher, seeing her face pale with fear, he eventually held his tongue.

After all, seeing it from a different perspective, if he had only one life too, he probably wouldn't fare much better in a similar situation.

In the end, that guy was just a student being ordered around by instructors.

Perhaps it was their similar status but different fates that suddenly made Night Ten feel a twinge of sympathy for him.

"Are you okay?"

Jiang Xuezhou, with her lips turned white from biting, mustered her speech after a long struggle; just as she was about to say something, a shrill cry burst into one side of the cabin.

Almost reflexively, she looked that way, terror instantly etched onto her eyes; but this time she did better than before, she didn't just freeze in fear but instead cried out.

"To your left!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Night Ten had already aimed his rifle at the left side of the doorway ahead of her warning.

"Ratatat—!"

Orange-yellow shell casings continuously ejected from the chamber as the muzzle spat out long flames.

The sharp-toothed Variant got a full burst straight on, with blood spurting from its chest all the way to its forehead, and its claws losing grip, plummeting toward the dark clouds below the cabin.

However, the Variants targeting this transport aircraft were clearly not limited to this one.

Having finally clung onto a "Viper," these wing-flapping Variants wouldn't let it shake them easily, swarming toward the metal beast en masse.

Some flooded into the cabin, while others crawled to the dual engines on the belly of the aircraft and started to pound the flaming contraptions in a frenzy.

Listening to the relentless gunfire inside the cabin, the pilot, gripping the joystick with a pale face, stomped the rudder, spinning the aircraft in an attempt to shake off those clinging to the hull.

Nevertheless, those creatures' claws hooked onto the outer shell of the aircraft as if they were immovable; even if some were flung off, a couple flaps of their wings brought them back in no time.

Meanwhile, Night Ten within the cabin was thrown off his feet by the turbulence, barely managing to hook the exoskeleton's tether to an anti-slip bar inside the cabin, or he would have been flung out already.

"Damn it!"

Cursing, Night Ten was trying to get up from beneath a chair when he suddenly felt a violent jolt in the frame, then his posterior left the cold metal floor.

Sitting across in her seat, Jiang Xuezhou was pale, the safety belt digging deeply into her shoulders, and she trembled as she spoke.

"We are falling..."

Almost at the same moment as her words ended, a roar came from the direction of the cockpit.

"The engine has lost power!"

Grasping a seat with one hand and aiming a rifle at Night Ten outside the cabin with the other, he cried out anxiously.

"What the heck happened?!"

The pilot, hands firmly on the control stick, turned back to yell, his forehead beaded with sweat.

"Something's clogged our plasma exhaust!"

Upon hearing this, Night Eleven became instantly alarmed.

"Can it be fixed?!"

The pilot, sitting at the controls, was even more anxious than him. He looked at the wildly flickering gauges on the panel with a face of utter despair.

The plasma engine, located under the fuselage, was the plane's most vulnerable part, obviously not something that could be repaired from inside the cockpit.

"The acceleration coil is damaged! It needs to be replaced! No good... There's no saving it."

"Damn!!!"

Watching the deck disappearing into the distance as the ship ascended, Night Ten clenched his teeth and made a decision, hurling the rifle in his hands to Jiang Xuezhou.

"Catch!!"

Jiang Xuezhou, barely managing to catch the rifle that smashed against his chest, grunted and, without even time to take a breath, saw Night Ten scrambling towards the cabin door in confusion.

"What are you planning to do?!"

Night Ten didn't answer her. His hands were already at the hatch, poking his head out and placing his right foot on the edge of the cabin.

"...Can't just wait to die!"

He wasn't afraid of death.

After all, it was just a matter of three days.

But—

He could come back to life, but that pilot couldn't, and although he didn't know the fellow's name, he must have had his own family in Giant Stone City.

And some Class D researcher.

Having finally carried his family's hopes and gotten into the Academy, it would be too much of a loss if he died here without rhyme or reason.

His brain was exceedingly calm, everything around him, including himself, formed a clear image in his mind.

Below the deck was the gun bay.

The 20mm and 37mm barrels were too thin, but the 155mm should be sufficient.

That thick, long gun barrel was already in sight. Night Ten unbuckled his waist to the fullest, gritted his teeth, and leaped out fiercely.

If this actually works—

Newton's about to climb out of his coffin.

Just gotta trust in the quality of the exoskeleton!

"Ah ah ah!"

Leaping downwards, he landed on the base of the gun barrel, his arms and legs wrapping around it, and at that same moment, he locked the joints and motors of the "Type Five" exoskeleton.

Almost as soon as he finished doing all this, an enormous tearing force came from his waist, nearly squeezing all the air out of his lungs.

Even though the exoskeleton withstood more than ninety percent of the pulling force, nearly a ton of weight bearing the kinetic energy from a drop of a dozen meters slammed into his waist.

The grating sound of metal friction pierced his eardrums. The barrel bent downwards but, fortunately, didn't break.

Pinned down by the weight of the entire transport plane on the bent barrel, Night Ten felt like a squashed ant, his eyes bulging almost out of their sockets.

However, to his surprise, the process wasn't painful.

At first, he thought his helmet had cut off extreme pain, but soon he realized he couldn't feel the existence of his lower half at all.

Crap!

His spine was definitely broken.

But—

Night Ten cursed in his heart and struggled to move his gaze downwards. When he saw that huge hunk of iron hanging there, he finally sighed with relief.

The cable was sturdy enough, they say, to lift a Number One Tank, let alone a Viper light transport aircraft that weighs no more than ten tons.

As for Chu Guang's exoskeleton, it appeared that the pre-war material technology was indeed not all talk.

To catch a plane falling from a thousand meters in the sky with the power of one person, he was satisfied to do such an awesome thing in his lifetime.

As for the next life...

He'd think about that in three days.

As he closed his eyes and logged out, the gunners inside the gun bay were tearfully watching the sacrificing soldier through the porthole.

Although they couldn't see his eyes, they could feel the burning sincerity and determination.

They had no doubt—

He was a true warrior!

The pilot from Giant Stone City, sitting inside the cabin, also stared blankly at the figure suspended in the air outside the right window.

Even though his body was nearly severed into two by the ropes, his arms and legs still held on without a hint of slack.

Such loyalty!

Such heroism!

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and a scorching tear involuntarily appeared in his eyes, which he wiped away with his arm, biting his teeth.

Farewell, brother!

Your will and ideals—

I will carry on for you!

Behind him in the cabin, Jiang Xue Zhou, leaning against a seat, had already cried into a mess of tears, gazing tearfully at the figure outside the cabin.

"No—don't!"

Clinging to her Gauss Rifle, she only hated that she was useless, good for nothing without those high-tech equipments, and could only drag others down.

If only she were a bit stronger...

If she weren't so afraid of heights that she dared not leave her seat, maybe the outcome would have been different...

The tears, big as beans, continued to fall one after another onto the cabin floor, her heart filled with regret, and from her trembling lips emerged a heart-wrenching sob.

At the same time, Jia En, standing beside the 400mm main gun, was looking in the direction where the transport plane fell.

His face wore a satisfied, vicious smile, as he waved his slightly bent index finger to the side with a gentle sweep.

That thick index finger, like the spoon of a master chef, made a dozen Batwing People, who were flapping their wings, leap from the falling transport aircraft. They seamlessly boarded the steel deck and relentlessly attacked the nearest Alliance Soldiers.

Although initially flustered, with time, he gradually mastered the strength of the biological armor.

With just a flick of his fingers or even a glance, he could send wave after wave of these fierce Batwing People rushing forward to tear his enemies to shreds.

This was as easy for him as breathing.

After being tormented by the Alliance's planes and artillery for so long, losing several brave warriors he had personally named, this was finally a moment for him to feel vindicated and fiercely reclaim the face he had lost.

And he had picked it up himself!

However, at this moment, Jia En quickly remembered that these sharp-mouthed, hideous things were the transformed children of his tribe, and his cruel smile twisted again with hatred and pain.

"Ahhh! Gomo! It was you, wasn't it! I should have thought of it when I was on the ground... Only you, only you, whom I trusted the most, could have done this without anyone noticing!"

Breeding was work that all Mutants had done, but delivering babies was The Church's duty.

As the high priest, only that guy could secretly cause the Qi Tribe to lose a thousand newborns.

Perhaps even more than a thousand!

Otherwise, why would they exert so much effort giving birth, tirelessly coupling in the pens with those bipedal animals, yet the tribe still only had so few people?!

This shameful guy—

On his lips, he claimed to stand with the Mutants, but his ass was still planted on the side of the Old Humans, not considering the people of the Qi Tribe his own at all!

He should have seen it earlier; those old things were all the same, following the "Ancestors'" teachings was plainly full of malice!

After he returned, he would crush that old man's head! He'd negotiate again with those bipedal shamans!

But before that—

He had to make sure these poor children died with value.

"Go! Tear them apart! Shred everyone you see!!!"

He howled in rage, clenching the sharp claws he extended forward.

Under the siege of countless batwing people, another fireball spiraled down from the night sky, plummeting heavily toward one side of the deck.

It was a W-2 attack aircraft with a broken wing.

After depleting its ammunition, it didn't choose to make an emergency landing on the ground but rather fired at them with a handgun to entice the batwing people, then crashed onto the deck with them in tow.

Flames boiled on the steel deck, and soldiers around quickly dodged aside, watching the fearful postures of those people, Jia En's face twisted with a maniacal grin.

"Ha ha ha! Die! All of you go to die—"

As he ranted madly, the players also took notice of this unique monster.

All other Variants had flesh wings connected to their arms and waist, but this one had wings growing out of its back.

"Holy shit?! Illidan?!"

Where's your damned warglaives?!

Locking eyes with the boss, Silver Sword was utterly dumbfounded, his rifle in his hands jamming from shock.

As he cleared the jammed bullet from the receiver, Silver Daddy, dressed in a K10 heavy exoskeleton, let out an excited roar.

He tossed aside his rifle, drew out the "[Jungle Corps's Same Model Chainsaw]" he just bought from Huge Rock Military Industry yesterday, and charged forth.

"Ha ha, bring it on!"

Facing the four-meter-tall figure, Silver Daddy felt like an attacking dwarf. But he believed that in front of the chainsaw capable of cutting through anything, all beings were equal!

The broad blade's hurricane howled as it slashed toward the boss's chest.

However, the expected scene of blood and flesh flying everywhere didn't happen.

The howling chainsaw blade couldn't even slice off a hair from the beast's chest before he felt as if a speeding train had struck him in the chest.

A mouthful of old blood spurted out, and Silver Daddy, with three deep gashes on his chest, flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily at the edge of the deck and rolling out, breaking through the damaged railing.

"Ah—!"

The long, drawn-out scream faded into the distance.

"Daddy!!!"

Watching Silver Daddy fall into the abyss, Silver Hand let out a roar of grief and fury, then turned around, his eyes filled with hatred as he locked onto the monster.

Silver Sword, who cleared the jammed ammunition, had raised his rifle again, venting his rage with the muzzle's spitting flames.

"I'm going all out with you!!!"

Together, the two charged forward.

And then—

The two, who had just been revived not long ago, sent their heads over as a double gift.

Thick blood plasma rolled off his fingertips as Jia En, who chewed bones in his mouth, was covered in blood, his eyes emitting a frightening fierce light.

Stirred into ferocity, he was no longer content to sit and command, he actively charged toward the crowded areas, wielding his claws and stirring up a storm of blood and gore.

Old White and his group, who had rushed to the middle of the deck, showed astonishment on their faces.

Corner Old Six swallowed and looked toward the Item Carrier.

"Did you bring any canisters with you?"

To which the Item Carrier replied with a wry smile.

"Who the hell would bring that thing?!"

"Where is that bastard Night Ten?" Finally realizing someone was missing, Quit Smoking quickly looked around for Night Ten's figure but didn't see him.

He remembered Night Ten had a Gauss Rifle, which should be effective against that boss; he just didn't know if he had it on him.

Wild Wind spoke gravely.

"I don't know, I got off the plane before him… Did he even come down?"

Quit Smoking was stunned for a moment, recalling that Wild Wind seemed to be the last one to come down from the plane. He was instantly alarmed.

"Fuck! He couldn't have been on the plane that just crashed?!"

While he was speaking, a plane emitting smoke suddenly crashed sideways into the deck, its landing gear snapped, and it flipped and fell over.

Looking closely, half of the left wing of the plane had been torn off.

Several Variants pounced on it, ferociously gnawing at the cockpit before a burst of gunfire rang out.

There was no time to deal with the distant BOSS, the priority was naturally to save people.

Fang Chang immediately drew an Explosive Arrow and nocked it to his bowstring, shooting the nearest Variant with an arrow.

The flickering flame exploded on the creature's back, and the nearby Variants were plastered with shrapnel, their backs and wings connected to their arms a bloody mess.

The intense pain made them temporarily stop their gnawing and look up, emitting painful cries.

Just then, a series of orange tracer rounds pounced on them, continuously blowing their heads apart.

Old White charged ahead and split the head of the one perched on the fuselage with his axe.

Falling Feather was breathing lightly in the cockpit, his chest and shoulders bitten to a bloody mess, he was already done for.

But he didn't immediately die.

Scarlet tendrils emerged from his wounds, stitching up his injured flesh, visibly healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Thank—"

Before he could finish his "thanks," Old White, wielding the Thermal Cutting Axe, split his cockpit with another axe blow.

Seeing sparks flying, the dying Falling Feather was startled, both enlivened and shocked.

"What the fuck?! What are you doing?"

"Borrowing this!"

Old White stashed the axe, grabbed the bottom of the cockpit cover with both hands, and with a fierce pull, yanked the 20mm cannon, including its ammunition feeder, right out.

Watching Old White dismantle his seat without so much as a tool, Falling Feather's eyes bulged in astonishment.

"What the fuck?! I'm already out of ammo—"

Before he could finish, Fang Chang, wearing an Exoskeleton, was seen carrying a supply box, running over from the direction of the hangar.

"Catch!"

As he shouted, Fang Chang threw the box he had carried on his shoulder towards Old White.

"Thanks, brother!"

Catching it in unison, Old White punched off the lock and swiftly inserted the orange ammo belt into the feeder.

Holding the barrel in one hand and the gun case in the other, he aimed the barrel at the distant BOSS waving its claws and a vicious smile spread across his face.

"Die!!"

With that exclamation, he pulled the trigger.

A thick tongue of flame shot forward, and the roaring cannon clamored on the deck, a series of orange traces rushed towards Jia En.

Old White, armored in power armor, resembled a human-shaped tank, and the flame from the barrel made his breastplate gleam.

The BOSS was solidly riddled with machine gun fire, flesh torn and blood spattered, emitting a painful roar.

Yet, to everyone's amazement, it didn't fall and took the barrage with its organic body!

Quit Smoking's eyes widened in shock, swallowing saliva.

"Holy shit?! Are they cheating?!"

Old White was also taken aback, clearly stunned by this incredible defense.

What the hell kind of monster is this?!

Standing to the side, Wild Wind showed no surprise, he touched his nose and calmly stated,

"Let's rationalize this... It weighs at least half a ton. With the lift provided by its wings, it reaches a top speed of nearly a hundred yards. Its muscle strength is probably stronger than steel."

"Maybe it even has self-repair capabilities..." Fang Chang cast a glance at the almost completely healed wound on Falling Feather's chest, then squinted his eyes back towards that winged creature.

The "Mutated slime fungus" itself is a gene bank storing massive DNA information, and Nago is precisely what the Torch Church synthesized from extracting part of these genes.

Since it was also a product of the Torch Church's handiwork, it was very likely that they had implanted similar genetic fragments in this monster... if conditions allowed.

Seeing the leader getting hammered by machinegun fire, the Variants fluttering their wings around him went crazy and pounced on Old White.

Old White, unable to be bothered with that guy and seeing that he couldn't break through the defense, simply moved the gun barrel to point at the incoming Variants.

These minor underlings didn't have such exaggerated defenses, and in the face of 20mm caliber shells, they were instantly ground into a pulp.

Watching his underlings getting continuously harvested by the power armor, Jia En roared furiously and lunged at him.

However, before he had even taken two steps, a sense of looming crisis crawled over his mind, and almost instinctively, he moved an inch to the side.

A piercing pain tore through his flesh from behind, penetrating his chest.

Jia En let out a painful howl, staggered forward two steps with the massive kinetic force, and then furiously turned back.

He saw an azure power armor standing at the lift's exit, holding a rifle in his hand that resembled a hollowed-out tuning fork in the middle.

Jia En's pupils shrank instantly.

The blue-painted armor!

There was no mistaking it!

"It's you!! The leader of the Alliance! Hahaha!!!"

His face, twisted in pain, turned gradually to wild joy, and he let out a satisfying, hearty laugh as his feet powerfully pushed off the deck, leaping up.

His flapping wings stirred up a massive airflow, knocking the encircling players and Guards into disarray.

Amidst that raging airflow, aiming and shooting were out of the question.

If it weren't for the heavy exoskeleton, it might be tough just to stand!

Chu Guang, standing beside the lift, just watched the guy flying into the sky expressionlessly, retracted his charged Gauss Rifle, and slowly drew the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer hanging on his back.

A simple piercing wound would probably not kill it.

Through the helmet visor of the power armor, he saw the wound made by the Gauss Rifle healing at a visible rate.

And that wasn't the only weird thing about this guy.

He had aimed at the left chest, but the hit had deviated to the right chest. It was possible this guy had powers similar to those of the Perception Awakeners.

"What a twisted fellow."

"Does seeing me excite you that much?"

His steady voice traveled through the speakers into the sky, and as he heard the man below admit his identity, Jia En's smile became even more ecstatic, with every cell in his body trembling with excitement.

It wasn't just him who was excited—

So were the bystanders far from the battlefield.

Watching the footage from the drone on the research ship, Yang Kai was stunned, his coffee spilling onto his pants without him even realizing.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

He murmured to himself, feeling helpless and astonished at a possibility Dr. Conclusion hadn't accounted for.

Alzu, standing hundreds of kilometers away, felt the same.

Perceiving Chu Guang's presence through Jia En's biological armor, he first opened his eyes wide in disbelief, then a wild joy crossed his face.

His heart was so excited that it nearly jumped into his throat as he cheered into the pitch-black night.

"Kill him! Take him down now!"

He hadn't expected the Alliance Manager to be on that airship!

This was truly hitting the jackpot!

As long as that man was dead—

All troubles would be easily solved!

Without the need for a reminder from the voice in his head, Jia En did indeed plan to do just that.

Although the azure power armor gave him a slight sense of menace, he did not take that inexplicable threat to heart.

He had inquired about the information regarding the Alliance Manager, both the man himself and the armor he always wore.

After all, it was just a piece of security-powered armor produced by Carlos Industries. Although its protective ability was indeed remarkable, its combat power and mobility were not outstanding.

And what if the protection was strong?

He could simply toss that lump of iron overboard, just like an eagle dealing with a turtle, smashing it to smithereens!

"Ah… I'm so excited, so excited my muscles are trembling! I didn't expect tonight's hunt to yield such a prize…"

Looking down at the armor standing on the deck, Jia En licked his dry lips as all his muscles tensed up.

"I hear you're the strongest of the Alliance, I hope your blood is different from those weak sheep and can entertain me for a while."

"I'm going to savor it slowly."

He was like a beast poised to pounce.

Fully prepared and ready.

While he taunted with his mouth, his eyes were also meticulously searching for the prey's weaknesses.

Chu Guang, standing on the deck, was doing the same, staring intently at the beast flying in the sky.

The warhammer in his hand was building up savage power, compressing the flowing air into an invisible wall.

It had been some time since he last fought.

But he had never neglected the tempering of his flesh.

Not to mention the countless deaths he had faced in his dreams…

Combat was like instinct, already etched into his DNA, and released through each awakening.

"Xiao Qi."

A reliable voice came from beside him.

"I got it, master!"

There was no need for further words where such understanding existed.

Hearing that ever-energetic voice, Chu Guang's lips curled into a faint smile.

At the same time, Jia En seemed to finally spot the weakness he was looking for, plummeting down like a vulture diving from the sky.

"Die for me!"

Propelled by his wings, that four-meter-tall body crashed down like a cannonball, heavily aimed at Chu Guang standing before the elevator.

Jia En had no doubt.

Even without using his claws that could shred steel, the sheer kinetic energy alone would be enough to turn the azure power armor in front of him into a heap of scrap.

However—

What he could never have expected happened.

Despite standing there, without moving an inch from start to finish, an irresistible force of attraction abruptly diverted his dive off its original trajectory.

The more he resisted that force, trying to break free by flapping faster, the more unyielding and inexorable it became, firmly pressing down on his head that he tried to lift.

"Aaaaah!!"

Jia En let out a defiant roar, then like an uprooted onion, he crashed with a bang, just a step away from Chu Guang onto the deck.

It must be said his head was indeed hard, smashing his face and nose bridge against the steel deck so hard that it dented, and his arms in front of him were buried into it.

Jia En felt his head was in a whirl, dizzy, unsure if he had managed to take out that lump of iron.

At this moment—

The steps in front of him sent his mood plummeting into the abyss, and boundless terror crawled over his entire body starting from the back of his exposed neck.

He struggled desperately to rise, but it was too late.

A commanding voice floated into his ears.

"Who gave you the permission to kneel."

Looking down at the life in front of him writhing like a maggot, Chu Guang, gripping the handle of the hammer with both hands, swung the warhammer from below, upward.

"—Get up!"

-

(Small cold, not a big issue.)

Chapter 609: The Battle of the Strongest Against the Strongest

Jia En felt like his head had been slammed by the Iron Heart, so much so that he couldn't make out what the person in front of him was saying last.

The compressed solid nitrogen that had slammed into his crown was powerful enough to rip through steel armor, not only shattering his skull but also forcefully pressing the fragmented remains into his shoulders and chest cavity.

Even the regenerative abilities of the active cells beneath the keratin armor were not enough to mend a head shattered like a watermelon…

Dead silence filled the room.

Aside from the sporadic crackling of the flames, for a moment, only the whooshing sound of the cold wind brushing across the deck could be heard.

It was as if a pause button had been pressed.

The surrounding players were all dumbfounded.

Watching their leader encounter danger, they initially planned to step in to improve their standing, also to avoid a server reset, but in the blink of an eye, the battle was over.

Staring blankly at the headless BOSS, Quit Smoking's eyes widened, and it took him a while to swallow his saliva.

"...He must be cheating."

Wild Wind was also stunned.

"...Was that an instant kill?"

A Variant that not even a 20mm aircraft gun could kill had been annihilated with a single hammer blow by the Manager.

For a moment, he couldn't decide whether the Warhammer was more awesome or the person wielding it.

Fang Chang was equally stunned.

It had been ages since the Manager had personally taken action, something that felt like an old tale from the Alpha version, and he had almost forgotten that this man was also ruthless.

He was curious about one thing.

What level was this guy exactly?!

Only Old White wasn't surprised.

To be precise, he didn't have time to be surprised.

The Variants, fluttering their wings, didn't disperse like birds and beasts after their leader's death; instead, they attacked even more fiercely, seemingly out of their minds.

Old White, clutching the 20mm cannon, could only wildly fire at the continuously advancing Variants, turning to the bewildered crowd and shouting.

"Damn! Don't just stand there, help out—!"

Ignoring the players, who continued to fight in a panic, the swiftly arriving Guards too were stunned upon seeing the monster lying before Chu Guang.

Originally, seeing the Manager head to the deck had scared Lu Bei to death, especially seeing the Variants swooping down with flapping wings, his heart leaped to his throat.

But what followed was merely a false alarm.

The beast with fluttering wings roared impressively as it dove towards their Manager, but without even touching a single hair, it died instantly as if it smashed its head on the ground in prostration.

Then they saw their Manager, with one hammer blow, crush the skull of the flying giant, who could not even utter a scream before dying.

A guard standing next to Lu Bei swallowed his saliva and mumbled quietly.

"What just… happened?"

Nearby, the ground crew was ecstatic, their lips trembling as they muttered.

"Great Antler God above..."

Their Manager truly was the Chosen One!

How else could they explain the almost certain dive going inexplicably off course?

And it went off by just a step!

It had to be the protection of the Great Antler God!

In fact, Chu Guang was not any "Chosen One," and Jia En's fatal strike going off course was naturally not the Great Antler God's doing.

That god was in Shelter No.79, munching on chips and belching, and couldn't possibly have traveled almost a thousand kilometers to Brocade River City to help.

Seated in the research ship, Yang Kai was staring intently at the holographic screen, his nose almost pressing against the transparent display, his face filled with disbelief.

"Deflection Shield?! It was a Deflection Shield?!"

He knew that the Iron Heart had a Deflection Shield installed, but after seeing what the biological soldiers of the Torch Church looked like, he dismissed it as unimportant.

After all, the device wasn't omnipotent; it was hardly effective against slightly slower guided weapons, let alone against landing combat biological soldiers.

Yet, Chu Guang's maneuver completely overturned his understanding and expectation of the Deflection Shield's role on the battlefield.

Could it really be used like this?!

Far away, a hundred kilometers distant, Alzu was shocked as well, blankly staring into the dark North, unable to speak for a long time.

Jia En…

Dead?

That guy was the strongest in the Qi Tribe.

His biological armor, designed to combat power armor, held not only the strength to tear steel and defense comparable to alloy armor but also had self-repair abilities not found in traditional mechanical armors...

Alzu hadn't discounted that one-in-ten-thousand chance that the results of Jia En's led Variant Clusters might fall short of expectations, and after landing on the aircraft, being repelled by the Alliance.

After all, the brains of most Mutants weren't normal.

Even so, the mad Jia En and the out-of-control Batwing People would at least inflict severe casualties and chaos on the Alliance's frontline command system, buying time for Nago's domain transition from the third to fourth stage...

At least, that was his plan.

Thus, upon seeing Chu Guang, his joy was visible, almost impatiently urging Jia En to finish him off.

"Just as long as Chu Guang dies—"

"More than just the war zone of Brocade River City, the entire Alliance would plunge into endless chaos!"

"The entire Central Region will never again have anyone who can block the light and faith of the Torch from shining on this barren land."

"Yet, he could never have imagined that just as he almost saw the dawn of victory, all light was extinguished before his eyes."

"The strength they took pride in."

"The trap they had spent years setting up in Brocade River City to deal with the Army, the Academy, and corporations..."

"Was wiped out in a single strike."

"The cold evening wind brushed against his face, Alzu's Adam's apple moved, a face full of wrinkles gradually showed despair."

"No..."

"The cool, watery night dissolved that defeated cry, they had used up their last ace buried in this land."

"The war is still ongoing."

"But the war here had already ended…"

"…"

"Onboard the Iron Heart."

"Watching the headless corpse that fell before him, the blood plasma at his feet, and the tracer rounds dancing in the night, Chu Guang expressionlessly retracted the warhammer in his hand."

"Beasts will be beasts after all."

"Trying to wrestle with an entire airship."

"Did they think this was a joke?"

"I had originally planned to tear off your wings, and throw you from the deck to see how big of a crater you would make… This death is a mercy for you."

"He truly had intended to do so."

"Though he didn't know how big a leader this fellow was in the Qi Tribe, considering the Mutants' society respects the strong, this one who could command over ten thousand minions clearly stood high, at least a Ten Thousand Leader, responsible for countless lost souls."

"However, Chu Guang quickly thought again, what if this guy's wings grew back during the free fall, or if some overlooked Variant rescued him, that would be a big loss."

"This kind of scourge is better off dealt with in a single move, since ancient times glossing over without a finishing move has never ended well."

"And—"

"Heya had asked him to gather some research samples."

"Coincidentally, he also wanted to find out exactly what this guy was all about."

"At that moment, a group of guards dressed in Type Five Exoskeletons ran towards him."

"The one leading was naturally Lu Bei, this lad was holding a rifle, with a blood-stained dagger hanging at his waist and his breastplate covered in blood."

"Opening his helmet visor, he looked at Chu Guang with concern and asked hurriedly,"

"Sir… Are you all right?"

"Looking at the anxious young man, Chu Guang faintly smiled and amicably said,"

"Do I look like I'm in trouble?"

"Chu Guang meant to comfort this loyal young man, but after hearing this, Lu Bei seemed a little stunned, and his expression suddenly turned to one of shame."

"Lu Bei lowered his head, eyes brimming with self-reproach."

"As the leader of the Guards Corps, he should have acted as his shield, letting the Manager fall into danger was truly a dereliction of his duty."

"Perhaps noticing his distress, Chu Guang thought for a moment, then continued,"

"Raise your head."

"The order I gave for you to lead your men and fight shoulder to shoulder with the crew was my order; standing here with the soldiers of the Alliance was my call. You have loyally fulfilled your duty, and you should feel proud rather than guilty."

"Chu Guang, hanging the warhammer behind his back, walked forward and patted his shoulder."

"You've done well."

"Speaking these words, he turned his gaze towards the northern night sky."

"The tracer fire surged like sparks, thinning gradually."

"The winged Variants, having lost their leader, screeched as they dove suicidally towards the soldiers on the deck."

"Though their assaults became fiercer, they lacked any semblance of tactics, not only did they fail to reverse the downturn but expedited their defeat."

"More and more Variants fell from the sky, with few survivors left, anyone could see that these flying beasts were exhausted to their last."

"At that moment, two flashing lights appeared in the distance."

"Two Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft flew in from the night sky, one after the other, shifting from fixed-wing mode to vertical takeoff and landing mode, dragging blue plasmic wake, they hovered and landed on the northern side of the Iron Heart's deck."

"A hundred well-trained soldiers and mechanized equipment swiftly completed deployment."

"But just as they finished deployment, the battle on the deck had also come to a full close, with the last Variant exterminated."

"Watching the sharp-toothed monster that fell beside him, Gu Wei, who had just boarded the deck holding a light machine gun, was startled."

"Fuck... What is this thing?!"

"Surprised, clearly not only him."

"Watching the creatures with sharp teeth fallen on the deck, many soldiers wore faces of astonishment."

"Mutants?!"

"They even have wings!"

"What's so strange about that... Over in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, there are ones with gills on their chins."

"Hisss... Do you think there's a chance that the mutants from the Province of Yúnjiān and these winged guys are freaks created by the same group of people?"

"Who knows... but I think it's quite possible!"

"Quiet, prepare for battle, we're not here on a picnic!" Listening to his teammates discussing over the communication channel, Yun Song frowned and reprimanded them.

Upon hearing their captain's reprimand, everyone immediately shut up, but they were at a loss regarding the latter part of his command.

Of course, they knew they weren't here for a picnic.

But the problem was—

Where was the enemy?

From afar, they had seen tracer lights dancing on the deck, yet by the time they arrived here, the battle seemed to have already ended…

At that moment, Old White, wearing power armor, came walking over from not far away, unlocking his helmet's face guard, and looking surprised at Yun Song standing at the front of the team.

"What are you doing here?!"

Yun Song was puzzled in his heart, but did not show it on his face.

"We're here to help… We heard you were attacked by the Torch Church? With more than ten thousand biological soldiers?"

"You mean this?" Old White kicked the incomplete corpse of a Variant at his feet, grinned, and said, "The problem is not—"

"The problem is serious."

The voice that floated from behind interrupted his half-finished sentence.

Old White instinctively turned his head and saw an Alliance Manager in bright blue power armor walking towards them.

He immediately understood his meaning and tactfully stepped aside.

Watching the Alliance Manager approach from afar, Yun Song paused slightly and gave a wry smile.

"Sorry, we came as fast as we could—"

"I'm not blaming you."

Chu Guang shook his head, looking at Yun Song as he continued.

"Actually, I'm grateful that you extended a helping hand to us in this moment of danger, rather than standing back and watching like some others."

"But I must mention the issue of efficiency. We shared the intelligence we had collected with you long ago, and the threat brewing beneath our feet here is no less significant than that posed by the Enlightenment Society and No.0 Shelter, and it's not just a threat to us but one you will eventually face as well."

"Tonight's tragedy could have been avoided, not just tonight's… If our cooperation could have been a bit closer, if you could have taken things a bit more seriously, we could have nipped all the trouble in the bud, instead of waiting for it to grow into an inoperable tumor!"

Looking at Chu Guang, Yun Song was slightly at a loss for words and after a long moment said.

"Sorry, I'm just a soldier following orders, unable to influence the decisions of the council… But I'll convey your words to my superiors."

Chu Guang glanced at his helmet, where the action recorder was on, and slowly nodded.

"It would be best to do so."

He had called over the corporate people through Solar Eclipse for this very reason. After all, a long time ago, he had summoned the corporate ambassador based at the Alliance to discuss the situation in Brocade River Province and the plots of the Torch Church, but so far, the only support the Alliance had received was two biomechanical beings.

Clearly, the council hadn't truly grasped the gravity of what was happening in Brocade River Province. According to the reports from the Alliance's ambassador stationed at the corporation, the council had merely discussed it as a historical issue and ignored its more serious essence.

Based on their typical behavior, only when a problem became too significant to ignore would they start to show their true capabilities.

However, Chu Guang could not afford to watch them drag their feet any longer.

Brocade River City was far away from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng and Ideal City, but only seven or eight hundred kilometers away from Qingquan City.

And the Torch Church, aside from their stronghold in Brocade River City, also controlled a massive base in Haiye Province.

If the Alliance's situation in Brocade River City appeared too smooth, his allies probably wouldn't take this matter to heart either.

Although the Torch Church's hidden trump card in Brocade River City had indeed surprised Chu Guang, he immediately thought of exploiting this incident to actively trigger the explanatory clause in their alliance pact, leading to the deployment of Assault Team No.26.

Even if Assault Team No.26 didn't fire a single shot or directly enter the fight, Yi Chuan later had to report this military action to the council.

This report would play a crucial role in the council's discussions.

Although it was somewhat unfair to Yi Chuan, a truly honest man, for the sake of pulling the corporation into the water by any possible means, he had no choice but to do this.

Yun Song somewhat understood Chu Guang's intentions, nodded, and continued with a hardened expression.

"Then, is there anything else we can help you with?"

Chu Guang looked at the corpses nearby.

"I hope you can take some of these monsters' bodies back with you; your research institutions might be interested in the DNA of these creature's cells and the secrets hidden within."

Previously, the crew of Pioneer had mentioned a variant in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng with blue skin and fish gills along its jaw.

They were able to live in the sea, dwelling along the coastlines, and survivors who lived along the coasts were greatly troubled by them.

Seeing these flying beings, he had a feeling—the amphibious mutants might also be the work of the Torch Church.

Hearing this not-so-troubling request, Yun Song breathed a sigh of relief and slowly nodded.

"No problem, I was actually about to discuss this with you… Anything else?"

Chu Guang was about to say no when he suddenly remembered an embarrassing situation, his expression subtly turning as he glanced beyond the side of the deck.

"Um… We have a plane that's stuck on the gun barrel in the gun bay; we might need to trouble you to help retrieve it."

Huge Rock Military Industry's aviation production line hadn't completely recovered yet, and the Alliance only had a total of two Vipers—it would be too regrettable to lose one.

Fixing it up a bit would still make it usable.

However, upon hearing Chu Guang's request, Yun Song was taken aback.

The plane... hung on the barrel of a gun?

How on earth did that happen?

"Alright... I'll try."

It wasn't entirely out of good will.

He was mostly just curious how the plane ended up there.

At that moment, Wild Wind, who was spectating nearby, glanced at Fang Chang with an intriguing expression and softly coughed.

"I think I know where Night Ten went off to..."

The recovery of the Viper transport plane wasn't as troublesome as expected.

The Tiger Whale transport plane, hovering directly under the gun barrel, first opened its rear hatch, gently pulling the Viper secured by ropes from below, where several members of the Assault Team secured it inside the cabin, then increased the engine power and slowly ascended.

For the massive "Tiger Whale," the "Viper" hanging on the 155mm gun barrel was like a jellyfish, effortlessly swallowing it whole.

At this moment, the superiority of the plasma engine over helicopter rotors became immediately apparent. Although it was not as fast at low-altitude penetration as the rotors, it offered stability and nearly all-direction maneuverability that rotors could never match.

Watching the battered and chewed plane, the soldiers inside the cabin couldn't help but marvel.

It was hard to imagine what it had gone through before...

The first to descend from the damaged cabin was the pilot, followed by the lady in the back seat clutching a rifle.

Standing aside, Su Ming felt she looked familiar, and it quickly dawned on him that he had seen her before at the No.0 Shelter in the Great Desert.

Realizing she was a researcher from the academy, his eyes widened.

"Wait, you are—"

Just as he expressed his surprise, Jiang Xuezhou grabbed his arm and interrupted him, pleading,

"Wait, there's another person outside!"

"There's another person is..."

Su Ming instinctively looked outside, his gaze followed the hanging ropes upwards, and then he saw a scene he could never forget.

There, at the gun's bent section, lay a soldier in exoskeleton, his waist nearly severed by the rope.

Watching the tragic scene, Su Ming unconsciously swallowed, and a sudden pain gripped him.

It was hard to imagine...

The pain that man must have suffered before his death.

"Let's get him down."

Yun Song had already noticed the man lying on the gun barrel and concisely ordered, signaling the pilot to rise so that the bent barrel could be extended into the cabin.

Several of them stepped forward with a cutter to saw off the entire section of the barrel.

Watching this warrior who had clung to the barrel until death, everyone couldn't help but pay their respects.

Seeing Night Ten, who turned into this to save him, Jiang Xuezhou felt a sting in his nose, and tears and snot flowed out again.

Yun Song sighed, kneeled on one knee, and unfastened his helmet to see the face of the brave soldier.

However, the moment he saw that face, both he and Su Ming standing nearby were stunned.

This guy...

Looks kind of familiar?

Meanwhile, on the "Wasteland OL" official website.

Some guy who had "died" not long ago was cursing in a post.

"MMP! Why hasn't the resurrection CD started yet!"

"It's been almost an hour!"

Falling Feather: "Could it be a bug? It happened to me last time too."

Night Ten: "Crying, can someone shoot me in the head?"

Elena: "Too bad I'm on the front lines, can't help you. (wacky)"

Gnome King Riches: "Next time for sure. (wacky)"

Mosquito from WC: "Hahaha, I still have 70 hours on my CD! (wacky)"

Night Ten: "%￥#@!"

Falling Feather: "Wait, Brother Mosquito, what about those eight mechanical arms of yours?"

Mosquito from WC: "F*ck! I totally forgot! QAQ"

Makabazi: "Pfffft hahahaha! You're trying to kill me, Dad!"

Feng Qing: "Our leader should have mentioned it; for a mission like this, we'd be willing to go if the pay was good."

Elena: "I don't know whether to envy this guy for being able to afford to be so reckless or pity him for his terrible loss. (wacky)"

Gnome King Riches: "No worries, Brother Mosquito, we'll help you look, maybe you can get them back. (wacky)"

-

(Under the weather and lost appetite, numb…)

Chapter 610: The Morning After a Long Night

The first light of dawn crept past the porthole's eaves, illuminating the side of Little Lamb's sleeping face.

As if sensing the touch of the light, she fluttered her long eyelashes, stretching out the small hand resting on the cryogenic sleep cabin and unconsciously yawned.

"You're awake?"

A gentle voice came from beside her.

"Mhm," she responded subconsciously, rubbing her bleary eyes and staring blankly at the porthole.

The sky was a dazzling red, the rising sun hovered above a sea of clouds, sprinkling soft light through the thin atmosphere.

Is it already daylight?

As she was lost in thought, the gentle voice reached her ears once again.

"Mornings in space come a bit earlier than on the ground, it's more spectacular if you stand on the deck... It's still pitch-black around, but the sun in the distance has already risen."

Little Lamb looked to the side and saw the elder sister who always checked her health sitting next to her with a smile.

Memories from last night gradually surfaced.

There had been a loud noise outside; then, this sister had brought her into the infirmary, locked the door, shut the curtains and the lights, and told her not to make any noise no matter what happened outside.

She complied obediently, staying by Yinyin's side, listening to the sound of thunder outside, then waiting and waiting until she fell asleep unknowingly.

Nothing really happened outside, did it?

She looked toward the now brightly lit porthole, blinking lightly. The breathtaking sunrise, no matter how many times seen, never failed to captivate her, making her unable to look away.

This was a scene she had never witnessed at the Pinecone Wood Farm.

Sometimes, she couldn't help but think, if she had spent her whole life there, she probably would never have seen such a landscape.

At that moment, Little Lamb suddenly noticed that the room wasn't just occupied by herself and Sister Chen Yutong; another unfamiliar sister with twin ponytails sat in front of the neighboring sleep cabin.

A clear tear streak was visible on her pretty cheek, strikingly evident in the sunlight filtering past the window eaves, suggesting she had cried for a long time.

Little Lamb couldn't help but fall silent.

Inside that sleep cabin must be someone very important to her...

The sister seemed to notice her gaze and lifted her head.

The moment their eyes met, the shy Little Lamb quickly averted her gaze, staring straight out the window, pretending she had not looked.

However, the sister did not stare at her for too long. She soon turned to Chen Yutong beside her and spoke with a hoarse voice,

"I don't understand... why did you pretend to be dead?"

Chen Yutong sighed.

She had intended to hide until Jiang Xuezhou left the airship before seeing her, but she didn't expect that just last night, Jiang had followed a group of people barging into the infirmary.

Faced with this unexpected reunion, Chen Yutong didn't know how to respond, so she looked at her shocked friend and pointed at the sleeping Little Lamb, placing her finger to her lips and then making a pleading gesture.

It was indeed a flimsy excuse. The hallway was right next door, and they could have talked outside.

But perhaps Jiang Xuezhou didn't know how to confront this "back from the dead" friend who had kept her in the dark, so she just nodded.

The company people had silently left the infirmary after putting Night Ten into the sleep cabin, leaving the two of them sitting in silence until daybreak.

"...If we didn't do this, there would have been no escaping that swamp." Knowing that she would eventually have to face her friend's questioning, Chen Yutong sighed again, avoiding the probing gaze no longer, and looking up toward the ceiling, she said.

Jiang Xuezhou looked at her with a complex expression.

"...Why did you have to leave there?"

"If you ask me why..." Chen Yutong thought for a moment and gave her a helpless smile, "Actually, there isn't any special reason."

Just as the Academy as a whole longed to escape the barren land underfoot and reach the distant "paradise" to evade all difficulties,

Naturally, a low-profile prospector would pin the hope of breaking free from fate on escaping the Wandering Swamp.

It was only later that she learned she wasn't the first to flee the Academy; over the past century and a half, people had been leaving there continuously.

Including the Pigeon who went to the southernmost part of the desert, the Jubar Mountains, and wrote "Oasis under Tobal Mountain Range."

They all made their modest contributions to this desolate Wasteland with their extraordinary knowledge; she didn't think there was anything shameful about it.

But...

Jiang Xuezhou couldn't accept it.

The person she trusted most had become a traitor, and what was more unacceptable was that she said there was no reason.

"There was no reason..."

Not having the heart to upset her friend who was in mourning, Chen Yutong pondered for a while and responded with relatively gentle words,

"Well, if I had to give a reason, it would be that I couldn't see any hope."

"...Hope?"

"Humans are creatures that need hope to survive. Without it, pain ensues. You might not understand that feeling; no matter how hard one tries, they're just a dispensable Level E prospector, inconsequential. Like the least significant piece on a chessboard, only able to follow the set rules forward, toward a place they don't even know exists."

Jiang Xuezhou pursed her lips.

"I made it to Level D through hard work..."

"I'm not denying your effort; in fact, I admire your persistence because that's a quality I lack, but I don't envy it... I just wanted to live my own life, that's all."

Watching Jiang Xuezhou wanting to argue something, Chen Yutong smiled wryly and turned her gaze to the increasingly dazzling morning sun outside the porthole.

"Do you know? Before leaving that swamp, I didn't even know that besides the rule-abiding AIs in this world, there exists another completely different kind of beings. They are more like living people than the designed programs because they have their own thoughts… This was actually common two centuries ago, but now we treat it as taboo."

Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip and offered a different opinion.

"I agree with Dr. Jie's conclusion. Unrestrained AIs could likely cause serious disasters... Tools should only be tools, they should not possess autonomy."

Chen Yutong looked at her with a question.

"Then what about humans?"

Jiang Xuezhou was startled, not understanding why she suddenly said that.

"…Humans?"

"Yes," Chen Yutong nodded, saying in a relaxed tone, "I've been wondering for a long time whether people born as tools should have a self. I can't find the answer, so I plan to look elsewhere…"

"If I had stayed in the swamp, the highest I would probably have reached in my life would be Level D, huh? Haha, don't think I'm boasting. Researchers are another matter, but as a Prospector, I am confident… After all, apart from needing promotion for researchers, Prospectors can definitely find a way to advance as long as they try hard enough to survive."

"But too bad, I don't really want to become some Level D, or even just Level D, I don't want to be labeled at all. Haven't you realized? In this game of snake, no matter how long you grow your tail, no matter how many servants you can order around, no matter how many resources you have, as long as you're still on this pyramid, you never control your own destiny."

"I'm not interested in controlling the lives of others, nor do I want to be manipulated. I don't want to go to some unknown places for some ridiculous reason and die a senseless death. I just want to be an ordinary person, to study things I'm interested in, and if I must die, I hope to die with some meaning, that's all."

"However, fortunately, I've found my paradise. It's not tens of light-years away, but right beneath my feet. Here, if my research also happens to be of interest to others, I will get enough attention. If not, it doesn't matter; I can entertain myself. As long as I'm not bothering others, nobody bothers me."

"As for life, well, it really can't compare to the Academy, but I'm quite satisfied with my current life. There are many things here that weren't in the swamp, and there are so many interesting people. These are not miracles created by abundant resources, but by human imagination and creativity... If you really can't understand, just think of it as the Alliance giving more."

Caught off guard, she said a lot of words, and seeing Jiang Xuezhou staring at her dumbfounded, Chen Yutong suddenly laughed and joked.

"Ah, although I say this, you shouldn't learn from me. I don't want to corrupt a good kid."

She understood her friend well.

Different from her own lazy "bad girl" image, she was more like the obedient good girl, not only with exceptional talent but also serious and diligent, with a firm passion and determination for advancing in levels.

The Academy's promotion path was wide open for her. Her future was bright, and she might actually become B-class or even A, and possibly a core member of the Research Department.

After all, her current mentor was from the Research Department, and her future promotion was only natural.

Jiang Xuezhou gazed intensely at Chen Yutong, and after a long silence, she lowered her head and said.

"I will keep your secret… We never met on this airship."

Chen Yutong smiled wryly, saying sincerely,

"Thanks."

Her family might already have received the consolation money from the Science Committee.

If the Academy found out she was still alive, the situation might be a little awkward.

She might not return in this lifetime, but she still hoped that her family in the Wandering swamp could live well without being affected by her.

Jiang Xuezhou turned her head silently, looking at the Sleep Cabin in front of her, her eyes filled with sorrow and complexity.

Suddenly, she felt her hand being held.

She raised her head, a look of surprise in her eyes.

The child who had awoken from a deep sleep was holding her hand, looking at her seriously, and said with a soft voice,

"It will get better… The doctor said, as long as life signals can still be detected when the cabin lid is closed, the light will be green."

Different from Yinyin...

Yinyin's light was off.

But Little Lamb wouldn't be disheartened. She would keep waiting for her to wake up, and then tell her everything that happened.

Feeling the warmth from the palm of her hand, Jiang Xuezhou's mood lifted slightly, and a faint smile crept onto her sad face.

"…Thank you."

Yes.

That guy was still alive, not truly dead, just heavily injured and temporarily unable to wake up…

Even if he could never stand again, it didn't matter.

Jiang Xuezhou made up her mind ー she would wake him up, even if it meant giving him a new body, even if turning him into "Little Wang."

This time—

It was her turn to save him!

While Jiang Xuezhou clenched her fists, Wild Wind and Fang Chang, standing at the door of the hospital, exchanged a look, their faces filled with strange expressions.

They had waited for ages but the NPC inside the room still hadn't come out, so they didn't even get a chance to pull the ICU's power plug for Night Ten.

But then again...

Was it still necessary to unplug it?

The two exchanged glances.

Wild Wind: 'Seems it's not a BUG.'

Fang Chang: 'Yeah, it's a little different from what happened with Falling Feather. This guy just isn't completely dead, not back from the dead.'

Wild Wind: 'Do we still need to finish it off?'

Fang Chang chuckled.

"Jeesh, even though this kid is acting smug after getting a bargain, I have to let him off because of the affection between father and son... best to spare his life, then."

Wild Wind: "..."

...

The morning sun rose from the horizon, the Steel Heart still stood firm and unshaken, floating in the distance.

At exactly eight o'clock, the guns of the fortress began to fire.

The armies deployed within Brocade River City after a night of rest launched a fierce assault towards the Champion Biomedical Research Institute under the cover of artillery fire.

The light of the explosions continuously clamored over the concrete ruins, and the ground fortifications that the Qi Tribe built up from trash were as fragile as paper-mache.

Greenish heads popped up from the shadows of the rubble, and the faces that emerged were, without exception, filled with panic.

Their wretched expressions looked almost identical to the prey they had once toyed with.

Only now it was their turn to be the prey.

However, the Alliance was after all civilized and merciful.

The great Manager did not intend to toy with these beasts on the chopping block; the Tribunal's Iron Hammer would grant them a uniform death!

"Advance!!!"

Mole, poking half his body out of the gun turret of a Chimera Armored Car, roared into his headset, issuing the command to attack to the other vehicle crews and accompanying infantry.

"All squads, push towards the institute!"

"Show these cowards, who only know sneak attacks, what a real Iron Fist looks like!"

The players following the chariot's pace were all shouting with fevered excitement.

"Roar Roar Roar!"

"Kill!!!"

"Crush them!!!"

The 37mm gun barrel roared continuously, the bang-bang-bang of the cannonade was like beating war drums, and every streak of tracer light brought a storm of blood and gore.

Under that ferocious assault, the defenses that the Qi Tribe had built up in the streets were as fragile as paper, and they were quickly punctured full of gaping holes.

Hearing the deafening cannon fire, gunshots, and battle cries in the distance, Gomo, draped in his ceremonial robes, stared blankly into the sky, muttering to himself.

"Why... why is it still there!?"

Last night at dusk, the tribal chief, Jia En, led more than ten thousand Batwing People in a surprise attack on the Steel Heart. That fortress should have been taken by now...

But the dense artillery fire was no different from yesterday morning, landing precisely on their heads.

There could only be one possibility...

Despair gradually spread in Gomo's eyes.

"No... this can't be real; something must have gone wrong."

His hands trembled as he clutched his wrinkled face, and his cracked lips quickly muttered the "spell" Luo Gan had given him.

Soon, a faint golden light, visible only to him, cast itself beside him.

However, standing in that beam of light was not Luo Gan but an old man in an exoskeleton.

His name was Alzu.

He was an Apostle sent by The Church to replace Luo Gan and the man who also gave Jia En the Biological Armor and command over ten thousand Batwing People.

Gomo had seen him before, and as soon as he did, he frantically asked, "What exactly happened? Why... why is it different from what was promised?! Why is the Steel Heart still firing at us!"

Alzu stared silently at him, waiting for the elderly Mutant to finish speaking, then shifted his gaze away.

"We did our best, but it's a shame your kid's a failure, wasting our countless efforts and years of planning... To be honest, this trump card was intended for the sons of the War Construction Committee, but that idiot played his hand so poorly, I have nothing to say."

It was indeed embarrassing to speak of this.

Although they knew the Alliance was tough to deal with, losing to these wildcards was still a blow to his pride.

He could only blame Luo Gan for that.

If that guy hadn't suddenly dropped the ball and disappeared, they wouldn't be in such a sorry state now.

Or, if he had been in command from the start, they wouldn't have lost so miserably as they did now.

Unfortunately, they couldn't reclaim the remains of the Biological Armor...

Otherwise, they'd be able to figure out exactly what went wrong.

Gomo was unaware of his thoughts, only feeling that Alzu's indifferent demeanor seemed like he was getting ready to shift the blame.

Staring blankly at Alzu, he asked in a trembling voice, "Then... what do we do next?!"

"What next?" Alzu chuckled, "Up to you."

"Up to us means..."

Watching Alzu prepare to leave, Gomo vaguely guessed his intention and, in a panic, called out to him.

"Wait... what about the Nago Core? Don't you want it anymore?!"

Hearing the mention of the Nago Core in the laboratory, Alzu's brow twitched involuntarily, his complexion turning grim as he spoke.

"We'd like to keep it safe, but the problem is—given the current situation—can you really protect it...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Gomo interrupted him hastily.

"We haven't lost yet! We still have people, we can still fight! As long as we keep fighting... the mere Alliance won't be our match!"

Even if it meant shedding the last drop of blood!

As long as one person lived on, the hope for reviving the glory of Singular Point City would not fade!

Gomo had that confidence.

Even if he were the only one left, he was convinced he could spawn a new Tribe!

Alzu looked at the old man with a fierce expression, his imperturbable gaze suddenly filled with a trace of pity.

What a pitiful fellow...

In fact, he was one of the few sane Mutants in this absurd and foolish tribe, but what good is the sanity of one man?

He was like a gambler who had lost all his chips and still refused to face reality. He should've realized long ago that this was a high stakes game.

Thinking that this old timer was still an elder of Singular Point City and might be somehow useful, Alzu casually said,

"If you want to live, head south. There, the Bishop will arrange for a new job for you."

Gomo instantly rejected his offer without a second thought.

"No! I won't leave! I just want your help—"

"Then keep struggling as best you can."

Watching this man who couldn't grasp the reality, Alzu left these impatient words and then disappeared silently from the deserted street under the watchful gaze of Gomo's despair...

...

At the southernmost part of Brocade River City.

Three sneaky figures gathered together, like rats whispering to each other in the sewer.

The noise of artillery fire was no longer audible here.

It was said that the Alliance had broken through the main entrance of the Champion Biomedical Research Institute and were engaged in a fierce shootout with the Mutants stationed inside the building.

But none of that mattered anymore.

The outcome of the war had been decided last night.

"Kill... hehe, kill..."

Tang He's facial muscles twitched as he kept mumbling, a bloodcurdling smile on his face.

He had always been like this. Chimo totally ignored him, focusing solely on the Apostle called Alzu.

"Where's Luo Gan? We haven't found that guy yet... Are we going to retreat just like this?"

Standing in front of this Executioner, Alzu spoke calmly.

"We've played our last card and have lost the battle, the fall of the Brocade River City church district is just a matter of time... Does it make any difference whether we find Luo Gan or not?"

Chimo's face remained indifferent as he spoke word by word.

"I won't let any traitor escape."

"Then go find him. After all, that is your job, while I am only concerned about the ultimate plan," Alzu said emotionlessly as he turned and headed towards a dark shadow nearby.

He knew that the Alliance wouldn't let it go so easily; once they'd secured their footing in Brocade River Province, they were bound to continue south.

And, according to their previous pattern, they would surely try to drag as many people as possible onto their chariot, possibly even involving corporations and academies.

This was a war of faith.

It was also a war of survival.

Neither side would stop until one was completely destroyed.

He would fight against everything from the old days until the very end if these pathetic insects still refused to embrace the glorious evolution—

Then let them die!

Chimo glared in the direction Alzu had left, clenched his teeth, and turned to walk in another direction with his slightly deranged partner.

He didn't care about the plans of the God's servants or any evolution, which wasn't going to happen overnight anyway.

As the sword of the Tribunal, his lifelong belief was to execute the church's unfaithful traitors, and he would carry it out to the end of his life.

Seemingly sensing the killing intent emanating from him, Tang He's eyes flickered with a fanatical glow as he mumbled under his breath.

"Kill..."

He didn't care about anything.

He just wanted to slaughter everyone in the entire city!

---

(Thank you, "Warm and Gentle Sun," for the chief patron reward!!!)

Chapter 611: Dispelling All Gloom

"No retreat! Hold them back!"

"Those two-legged beasts, so weak and fragile! A single punch could knock them down! Do you want to be defeated by such things?!"

At the main gate of the Champion Biopharmaceutical Research Institute.

A mutant thousands of leaders, three meters tall, was roaring furiously like an enraged dog, urging his underlings to step forward.

His name was Hogg, a warrior personally named by Jia En, and the most loyal and valiant warrior under that great person's command.

In the Qi Tribe, where the strong are revered, he was being groomed by Jia En as the successor to the next chief, and it was for this reason he was entrusted with guarding this institute.

This was the bond that sustained the covenant between the Qi Tribe and the Torch Church, and also the center of the Qi Tribe's prosthetic modifications.

Jia En had ordered him to lead more than a thousand under his command to defend this place to the death.

He vowed solemnly to Jia En that he would never let the institute fall into the hands of the Alliance!

If only they could hold out for another two weeks...

The eternal Heaven would remain on this land forever!

Hogg gnashed his teeth and bellowed.

"...Charge! Eat their flesh, drink their blood, mince them up! Turn them into a couch!"

His roar sounded powerful and indeed ignited the blood of many mutant soldiers, causing a number of green-skinned beasts to howl and rush forward.

Yet in the face of that violent and stormy offensive, all their struggles were so pale and powerless.

The institute's main gate had become a bloody grinder, where the lives of mutant soldiers at the front line were reduced to sprays of blood and flesh by the second.

Under the cover of armored chariots, the Alliance's onslaught was like an unstoppable spearhead that tore through the institute's gate defenses with an unstoppable force.

A Chimera Armored Car that had climbed the stairs crashed directly into the hall's wall, and its dark gun barrel sprayed a rapid burst of fire.

The sandbags stacked in the corridor and stairwell were instantly blasted away, along with the hidden mutant soldiers, crushed into a mess by the tracer rounds thick as pythons.

Following them were iron behemoths swinging chainsaws.

That whirring saw blade was like the grinding teeth of a hunting dog, its green paint already marinated red with blood plasma and minced flesh.

They looked like demons that had stepped right out of hell.

The moment they locked eyes with that menacing humanoid armor, a look of terror spread across the green faces, and the automatic rifles and shotguns in their hands trembled involuntarily.

For a moment, they couldn't distinguish—

Who was more like a beast!

"Haha! Madness! Total madness!!"

Plowing through the mutants' ranks, Midnight Chicken Killing excitedly swung his chainsaw, his eyes bloodshot with excitement.

This steel body suited him perfectly!

The only flaw was that the sequence level and experience were locked, and sometimes, in the heat of the moment, he couldn't stop... but these were minor issues.

This was war between humans and mutants.

It was a war between civilization and barbarism.

This war knew nothing of prisoners.

Naturally, there was no need to hold back!

Watching as the players of the Jungle Corps and Skeleton Corps were turned into seven or eight pieces by the mutants, the group of players had no chance to strike, and one by one they turned off the safeties and lowered their guns.

It's mainly because there's no way to get involved.

In such a cramped building layout, Brother Chicken alone could occupy two-thirds of the corridor, and one by one, those Strength-type animals in heavy exoskeletons were completely blocking the way forward.

Firing now, over eighty percent would result in friendly fire.

Elena, leaning against the armored vehicle, watched the guy in front wielding a chainsaw with an amused expression and teased,

"Brother Chicken has gone nuts."

Soon, Brother Fu Gui's voice came through the comm channel, joking,

"What cyber-psychotic."

Elena: "Haha."

"Let him be crazy..." popping his head out of the gun tower, Mole chuckled and quipped, "It's not like he's sane that often anyway."

The battle was going smoothly.

Even more smoothly than expected.

Previously, the mutants could hold their own against the Alliance frontline troops with the support of their vehicles and the element of surprise from their modified prosthetics, but as those vehicles were continually destroyed by Chimera Armored Cars and mutated cyborgs were killed, the remaining mutants couldn't even muster a proper resistance.

In fact, they really didn't have much fight left in them. In the earlier assaults, their living forces had already been whittled down to next to nothing, while the numbers on the Alliance side seemed almost infinite.

Suddenly remembering something she had promised Mosquito Brother on the forum, Elena looked at Gnome King Riches.

"Speaking of which, didn't we promise Mosquito to help him find his lost prosthetic?"

"Let's go after this is over."

"Hope we can finish before dark."

"Dark?" Brother Fu Gui laughed and curled his lips, "With these few beasts, do you think they can last till noon?"

While they were talking, a soldier in the K10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton came over, unlocking the visor of the helmet.

Seeing Old Na and Old Wang looking quite leisurely, the Picheng Paratrooper raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey, you guys free?"

Elena asked with a smile.

"What's up? Need a hand?"

The Picheng Paratrooper nodded reluctantly.

"The elevator to the underground lab was dismantled by those animals; it seems they're determined to fight us to the end. We tried to attack from the fire escape, but it's too narrow, and our guys are stuck in there."

The underground lab had the characteristics of a nuclear bunker, with the fire escape and elevator not interconnected with the above-ground buildings and accessible only through the lobby on the first floor.

The Jungle Corps had already taken control of the exits on each floor of the above-ground building and were gradually exterminating the remaining mutants. However, the attack on the underground was not going smoothly.

The mutants had destroyed the elevators and freight lifts and set up numerous traps and defenses in the only fire escape.

Hearing that people were trapped, Gnome King Riches immediately laughed out loud.

"Fuck, who's losing face like this?"

The Picheng Paratrooper: "The Ground Model told me not to tell anyone."

"Pfft—"

"Hahaha!"

Watching Old Na and Old Wang laughing until they couldn't breathe, Mole, trying to hold back his laughter, coughed twice and said,

"Go and help them out."

Elena gave an OK gesture and smiled as she reloaded the rifle slung across her chest.

"Okay!"

...

At the entrance to the power room of the underground research area of the Champion Biomedical Research Institute, Hogg stood vigil with his most loyal followers.

As the sounds of gunfire and explosions grew nearer, even his meaty green face finally betrayed a hint of fear.

His fear was not of his own death,
but that the situation at hand offered not the slightest sliver of hope for turning defeat into victory.

Could this be the end of their tribe?

If even the second most valiant warrior of the Qi Tribe felt this way, the others need not be mentioned; morale among the entire team had plummeted to rock bottom.

Although the boss had repeatedly ordered no whispering, the Mutants crouching behind cover couldn't help but start murmuring quietly amongst themselves.

"Where are our allies..."

"I heard they launched an attack on the Alliance last night... that artillery fire last night was their doing."

"The commotion was huge."

"Did they win?"

"Do you even have to ask... That airship is still up there."

"I heard our chieftain was over there last night too!"

"Could it be that the chieftain is already..."

Hearing the growing chorus of murmured conversation, the already agitated Hogg instantly erupted in rage, bellowing at those whispering comrades.

"Shut up! Cowards! The Chieftain is fine, he doesn't need your care! Keep watch on your defensive area, and if I hear anyone else discussing Lord Jia En, I'll tear out their tongue!"

Seeing Hogg's furious outburst, the group of green-skinned brutes immediately fell silent, not daring to whisper any further.

However, while Hogg had silenced their mouths, he couldn't stop their wild thoughts.

With things having reached this point, even a pig could guess that their boss was likely done for, and their allies had probably abandoned them long ago.

They were simply being sent to their deaths.

This was resistance without any meaning!

With this thought, each green, oily face grew even more desperate.

Just then, a thunderous explosion came from the direction of the fire escape.

After a rapid succession of gunfire, it was followed by the sound of saw blades crunching through bone and a series of chilling screams.

The hearts of all Mutants unconsciously leaped to their throats as their pupils, hidden in the shadows, filled with fright and panic.

As if trying to dispel the fear in his chest, Hogg loaded his iron musket, as thick as a fist, with a clack.

"Prepare for battle!!"

Upon hearing that powerful voice, the Mutants roared, steeling themselves despite their fear.

"Ooooh!!"

...

At the entrance to the fire escape in the underground research area, dozens of bodies lay helter-skelter.

Most of them were Mutants—their green skin was easy to spot—and a small portion were left by players, mostly lodged in the wreckage of exoskeletons.

War propaganda posters clung to the alloy walls, some of which were collages cut from magazines and newspapers, mainly about victories on the front lines.

Ironically, this underground bunker, which had never felt the fires of the three-year war raging light-years away, now had its dusty alloy walls riddled with bullet holes, and the corridor flooded with blood nearly submerging the boots.

"The power room is right ahead!" Confirming the map on the VM, the Picheng Paratrooper leading the way in a heavy exoskeleton shouted back to their comrades, "Life signs detected! This is the last room!"

Elena opened the mission panel for a quick look.

"Looks like the remaining Mutants are all here, and I remember the Fake Nest is supposed to be inside the power room... The nuclear fuel should be in the backup storage."

"Let's make it quick for them!"

As the Picheng Paratrooper said this, a sinister smile crossed his face, and the chainsaw he carried hummed to life, heating the air of the entire corridor.

Seeing the Picheng Paratrooper intending to move forward, Gnome King Riches suddenly stopped him.

"Hold on a second."

The Paratrooper halted and turned to look at him.

"What's up?"

Gnome King Riches chuckled and pulled out a big toy, slung it over his shoulder, and said with great excitement,

"Try this baby out!"

The Paratrooper's eyebrows rose.

Well, well!

An RPG?

"You brought that down here?"

"Hehe, and it's a new warhead!"

As he spoke, Gnome King Riches was already fitting the thick-as-a-thigh rocket into the launcher.

The unusual-looking device caught the Paratrooper's eye, and he turned off his chainsaw to take a closer look.

"...What's that?"

With the loaded launcher now on his shoulder, Gnome King Riches shared with a giddy excitement.

"A thermobaric bomb!"

"Holy shit!?"

As soon as they heard it was a thermobaric bomb, the surrounding players were instantly taken aback—real or not, they all stepped back, except Old Na, who remained calm.

"Assembled after the TBG-7V thermobaric bomb... Don't make such a big deal, but dang, Mosquito Brother really outdid himself by reproducing this thing!"

While reminiscing, Gnome King Riches couldn't help but feel a wave of admiration.

Goblin Technology had gotten more impressive by the day.

Unlike fragmentation grenades, this type of thermobaric bomb didn't contain preformed fragments but relied solely on a shockwave and high temperatures to kill targets.

It was ordinarily ineffective against targets in open areas but devastatingly lethal within enclosed buildings.

And the fewer the windows, the stronger its killing power!

The instantaneous formation of an environment with ten to fifteen times atmospheric pressure was enough to blast any known carbon-based organism to bits!

"Quit babbling, hurry up." Not eager to listen to his boasting, Elena had already walked to the side of the service door and grabbed the handle.

Brother Fu Gui chuckled and aimed at the door panel.

"I'll count to three, pay attention to open the door, alright?"

Hearing this, Old Na didn't dare play such high-risk games with him and immediately opened the service door.

Bullets whooshed out from the room, giving Brother Fu Gui a start, and he reflexively pulled the trigger.

A trail of white smoke shot up from the launcher tube, dragging an unsteady tail flame into the open service door.

Fortunately, the rocket had flown inside.

Otherwise, everyone in the corridor would have been roasted.

At the same time, inside the engine room, Hogg, who was ready for an all-out fight with the Alliance, was startled by the incoming rocket.

He was prepared to fight to the death against the Alliance, but he hadn't expected these guys to be so unscrupulous as to bombard them with a rocket launcher.

"Get down!!"

He yelled and dropped to the ground, but soon he realized how unnecessary the move was.

The roar of the explosion and the pressure several times normal flooded his eardrums, and he lost his hearing before he could even scream.

Not just his hearing.

The intense heat instantly dried out all the fluids in his body, then his skin carbonized, followed by the underlying veins and flesh.

"Ah ah ah!!!"

Blinded, Hogg let out a heart-wrenching scream, now only hoping that his opponent would give him a quick end.

His wish was quickly fulfilled.

The excruciating pain didn't torment him for long, and soon, like the other mutants, he was roasted into an unrecognizable char in this purgatory.

As the heavy thud echoed outside the door, a dust-coated group of players peeked their heads into the room from outside.

There were no living creatures left in the entire engine room, only charred or mutilated corpses remained.

The air was as hot as an overcooked oven, and even standing at the door would cause burns; it was impossible to enter.

The group waited until the high temperature dissipated before carefully entering the engine room.

Looking at the mess in the room, Gnome King Riches couldn't help but cluck his tongue.

"Mama mia... this weapon is too inhumane."

When he got back to the Forum, he definitely had to criticize it properly!

Picheng Paratrooper grinned.

"What's the point of being humane with beasts?"

Although he didn't get a chance to enjoy himself at the end, this death was not too lenient for these beasts.

"True." Gnome King Riches walked forward and kicked open the half-hanging door at the end of the engine room.

A foul stench wafted from behind the door.

He turned on his flashlight and found a circular device inside, somewhat similar to the reactor in the shelter.

It was not the reactor that was surprising, but rather the horrifying chunks of flesh growing on the reactor.

They emitted an ominous dark green color, filling almost every corner of this machine.

This was the core of Nago!

The chief culprit behind the spore clouds that permeated the area around Brocade River City!

A pseudo-lair synthesized by biotechnology!

"Is this what a lair looks like?"

Elena, who had walked up to the door, glanced at the lair, feeling it pulsated like a heart or resembled a giant Nago.

Who knows what it tasted like.

"The technical name is Nago Core... I wonder if the one in Qingquan City looks like this, too," said Gnome King Riches, glancing at Old Na with a strange expression, "You're not thinking of tasting it, are you?"

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Do I look like that sort of person?"

That thing, green and slimy, obviously wasn't edible.

And more importantly, it was so big, even if he wanted to try, he wouldn't know where to start.

However, the other players standing by didn't believe what he said and displayed a "isn't it obvious?" look.

Ignoring these damned people, Elena took out the dynamite she had brought along, installed it near the pseudo-lair, and then hurried everyone out of the engine room.

At that moment, a message came through the communication channel; Picheng Paratrooper listened and then turned to the others.

"The elevator has been re-powered, and the nuclear fuel and other spoils of war have been packaged and sent to the surface... we should also retreat."

The group boarded the elevator to the surface, and before the elevator doors closed, Elena pressed the detonator in her hand.

The bomb began its countdown.

Taking one last look at the blood and gore-strewn corridor, Gnome King Riches, with a hint of reluctance on his face, faced the closing elevator doors.

"Is this mission... over?"

He had heard that last night the Burning Corps had a thrilling fight on the deck, but their side had almost no real resistance.

It all felt like it ended before he'd had his fun.

Elena spoke with a complex expression.

"Pretty much... The outcome was decided last night; what follows is probably just cleanup work."

The elevator arrived quickly.

Almost at the same moment they left the elevator, a tremor from a distance transmitted up through their feet, causing the entire building to shudder.

Brother Fu Gui, who had just stepped out of the elevator, stumbled and nearly fell but managed to steady himself against the wall.

"Damn, how many seconds did you set on that blast fuse?"

Clearly not expecting the unimpressive bomb to be so powerful, Elena was equally stunned as she watched the slowly tilting ceiling and said,

"I reckoned half a minute should be enough."

Was that damn thing actually a nuclear bomb?

It then dawned on him that the Burning Corps' brothers might have captured a batch of tactical nuclear weapons in Giant Stone City.

The smallest model was only the size of a fist but had enough power to blow up an entire street.

Maybe...

It really was that thing.

The Picheng Paratrooper felt a tingling in his scalp.

"Half a minute is indeed enough, but why do I always have this ominous premonition..."

Watching the chain reaction triggered by the explosion show no signs of stopping, the Mole sitting in the armored car's gun turret also gradually turned pale.

He fiercely kicked the driver and shouted down to the bottom of the turret.

"Reverse! Quickly!"

Fortunately, the battle upstairs had already ended.

Almost at the same time as the players were scrambling to evacuate the research institute, that building which had stood unshaking for over two centuries eventually began to collapse slowly...

...

On the bridge of the Iron Heart.

Chu Guang stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, quietly watching in the direction of Singular Point City as the building slowly fell onto the rubble behind it.

Although the fog outside the window had not yet dispersed, the smart and sensible Xiao Qi had already considerately projected the drone aerial footage onto the floor-to-ceiling window.

This was still the best seat to watch.

Eure, strapped to a wheelchair, sat by Chu Guang's side, looking at the rising dust clouds, his eyes somewhat vacant.

That was where everything began.

And it had also become the end of it all.

After a long moment, his Adam's apple moved.

"...Is it over?"

Chu Guang glanced at him and said slowly,

"Far from it. The evil committed in your self-righteousness will probably take years, perhaps decades, to make amends. The suffering on this land may take a long time to completely end."

Eure chuckled bitterly, looked up at the ceiling, and closed his eyes.

Looking at the Apostle who had closed his eyes, Chu Guang continued,

"However, objectively speaking, the radiation resistance agents and radiation removal agents you researched have helped many people."

Eure shook his head.

"That's not my credit alone."

"I know, I never said it was," said Chu Guang succinctly, "just like that building you see now. It wasn't toppled by any single person, but by the collective will of everyone. That's also how our history moves forward."

Eure fell silent, his face a mix of both repentance and pure agony.

He took a deep breath to calm himself, then turned slowly to Chu Guang and began to speak.

"What do you plan to do with me?"

Chu Guang replied casually.

"That depends on what method you choose to atone for your sins."

Eure looked surprised.

"...Do I still have a choice?"

"Of course, you could go to Shelter No. 79, for instance. It's now a biological research base for the Alliance, with a group of biological experts and a lizard that has lived longer than any human. We still have mountains of problems that need to be solved, where you could use your knowledge and the rest of your life to help those who survive."

Chu Guang paused, then continued as he looked at Eure,

"Alternatively, you could say goodbye to this world with a 9mm bullet. It's the quickest and most painless way."

Eure chuckled bitterly.

"The latter sounds much easier."

Chu Guang glanced at Lu Bei.

The loyal young man immediately understood, stepped forward to help Eure loosen his right hand, then drew his own gun, chambered a round, removed the magazine, and handed it to him.

After staring silently at the gun in his hands for a long time, Eure sighed, closed the safety he had opened.

"...I choose the former."

Perhaps death was an easy choice, but he suddenly remembered Yinyin... the little girl who he wanted to let go but ultimately failed to save.

Focusing on his eyes for a while, Chu Guang suddenly became curious.

"Are you Eure now, or Luo Gan?"

He had noticed during the previous interrogation.

Luo Gan and Eure's personalities both existed within this man, one stored in his brain, the other in a bionic chip.

Strictly speaking, this was true for every person who had implanted a chip, whether it was Eure in front of him or Yinyin lying in the sleep cabin.

Each one of them was Luo Gan.

The Ghost had shattered himself into countless pieces, hiding in every vessel he deemed suitable. And that vessel was what people called the Ideal State—also known as the Holy Land.

Possibly recognizing himself, Eure's answer this time was not as hesitant as last time, and he spoke with a voice of certainty.

"Both."

Slowly turning to Chu Guang, Eure continued,

"May I... ask you a question, too?"

Chu Guang responded straightforwardly,

"Go ahead."

Eure looked into his eyes.

"How can you ensure... that the path ahead of you will definitely be different from the choices I once made, and not another form of Hell?"

He didn't know what the end of this road held; he just wanted to know why the Manager of this shelter was so confident.

But Chu Guang's answer was completely unexpected.

"I can't guarantee that."

Chu Guang paused, looking at the astonished Eure and continued as if it were obvious,

"I'm just a mortal, not a savior, and I don't have the power of foresight. The only guarantee I can give is not to betray the trust of the people, to do what I can to the best of my ability. Whether or not we fall into a pit tomorrow, I don't know either."

"But I will discuss it with them, facing our common problems, or say BUGs, together; discussing what steps to take next. Even if sometimes their opinions are immature, or even naïve, that's fine; the Alliance wasn't built in a day."

"If Hell awaits us ahead, that will also be our collective choice. But I believe even if one day we do find ourselves standing in Hell, our unity will enable us to walk out of there shoulder to shoulder."

Eure sighed, slowly hanging his head.

"If only I had met you twenty years earlier..."

If fate's gears had not suffered that slight deviation, if he hadn't met that man named Luo Gan twenty years ago...

Perhaps the fate of all the survivors on this land would have been different.

Chapter 612: Surrender? Did I Declare War on Them?

The building standing in the thick fog slowly toppled, crushed into rubble like a block of tofu, and shards flew hundreds of meters into the air, while the dust swept up by the airflow reached a kilometer away...

Staring blankly at the slowly collapsing building, Chimo's eyes first flickered with disbelief, then gradually turned to fear.

It took a long time before he managed to force a word through his clenched teeth.

"Damn..."

The Champion Biomedical Research Institute...

The Nago Core of the underground research area!

The Church's years of hard work!

Those ignorant Waste Land Wanderers actually blew it up!

With the Nago Mushroom in the entire Brocade River City area losing its core heart, Heaven's collapse was inevitable, and they had no time to create a new nest for this land—it was not a project that could be completed quickly.

Since Heaven's collapse was inevitable, The Church could only give up this parish until the time was ripe to return.

The biological soldiers deployed in the city area were retreating south through the cover of the gray fog, among them Goliath and some of the Batwing People that had not died.

Most of them were mindless monsters synthesized from the larvae of Mutants, deformed from head to toe—yet deformed just right.

Apart from assisting with experiments, another major use of the Qi Tribe for The Church was to provide newborns that could be used as raw materials.

But now, they had lost even this last use.

Even with the Church-supported prosthetic modifications, the Qi Tribe still failed to hold back the Alliance's assault, nearly all of their robust warriors died on the frontline, leaving only the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled hiding in Brocade River City's underground traffic network.

Whether as soldiers or as tools for breeding, they were not the best choice, especially with many lame and deficient "Ancestor Faction" members among them.

Although it was regrettable to lose this near-perfect pastureland, the Qi Tribe has now lost even its last value.

However, Chimo was filled with bitterness.

It wasn't out of sympathy for his allies; he didn't like those ugly green-skinned beasts at all, having always regarded them as an "inconvenient but temporarily irreplaceable" tool.

What truly made him feel bitter was that for the eternal Heaven to descend upon this land, both The Church and the Tribunal had sacrificed far too many people.

Yet the result was this...

He couldn't accept it!

That traitor...

If Luo Gan hadn't disappeared just before Heaven arrived, they would never have lost so miserably!

If Luo Gan had attacked that airship the moment Heaven arrived, the Alliance would never have had the chance to hold out for so long!

The angrier he became, the more Chimo felt like he could crush his own teeth.

Just as his emotions were about to peak, a familiar voice came from not far away.

"Do you think this is my fault?"

"Who?!"

Chimo turned sharply, only to see an old man emitting a faint golden light standing two steps behind him, his fierce eyes squeezing into a slit.

"...Luo Gan!"

Luo Gan looked at him calmly.

Those void-like eyes seemed to pierce through his body, staring straight at the collapsed skyscraper not far away.

After a long pause, he started to speak as if to himself.

"Sometimes I wonder, too, whether there might indeed be a slight deviation between ideals and reality... To ensure that the ultimate plan is realized, we indeed made some mistakes."

"Perhaps we should discuss it with our followers, ask for their opinions, and at least ask if they are truly willing to go to the Heaven we envision; otherwise, even if we are at the end of the sea of suffering, they will unite and try to bring us down at all costs."

Watching Chimo raise his gun, Luo Gan smiled with a hint of self-mockery and continued in a light tone.

"Shoot."

"If you can manage to kill me, perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad thing."

Thinking about it, that Manager was indeed extraordinary.

From the first moment he saw me, he saw exactly what I was.

Yet ironically, these servants loyal to The Church had no idea about it... even though they were the ones closest to Heaven.

Chimo looked at him with contempt, spat out, and the muzzle didn't waver.

"Stop fucking pretending! Heaven is just a chip in the brain, don't think I don't know! Just take—"

"Just kill every person who has a chip implanted, just extract and crush every chip, and 'Luo Gan' would disappear from this world... Is that what you think?" Luo Gan looked at him pityingly and continued.

"Too bad, even I can't remember how many of me I've buried in this land, and the real me died twenty years ago."

All the Pioneers who entered Heaven are already dead.

That's the prerequisite for entering Heaven.

In order to ensure the will of the Torch is carried out unwaveringly, they sacrificed themselves before sacrificing everyone else.

Watching the astonishment on Chimo's face, Luo Gan slowly left a profound statement.

"Every me is me, yet every me is not me. I divided the soul granted by the creator into countless pieces in exchange for time that isn't mine, and the price is that I can never close my eyes—perhaps this is the creator's punishment for me."

"Fortunately, at least in the end, I did one thing right."

Chimo stared intently at him.

"...What thing?"

However, Luo Gan had no intention of telling him. He simply turned around, showing his back.

"You don't need to know; it has nothing to do with you."

"My mission is over now. I can't walk this road to a new world with you all. Tell the other Pioneers for me."

"We won't meet again."

"Wait! Stop!!" Chimo roared in fury as he watched that figure beginning to fade from this place.

But the old man paid no heed to his plea, his form slowly turning transparent, his presence quickly vanishing too.

His eyes crazed with madness, Chimo's index finger trembled, and he finally pulled the trigger.

"Bang—!"

The jarring gunshot echoed through the streets.

However, it was not the old man, fading into a ghostly apparition, who fell, but his partner, Tang He—the sniper with the sparse crew cut and an electronic eye in place of his left.

The 9mm bullet entered through his right eye, exited through the back of his skull, taking with it a string of blood plasma and brain matter that sprayed against the broken shop window on the street side.

With a look of shock and madness on his face, the man heavily fell to the ground, as if he never imagined that his long-time partner would point a gun at him, let alone fire.

The man whose left half of his head had been blown away by a Waste Land Wanderer, now had the right side of his brain blown apart by a comrade.

This time, there was nothing left.

Staring at the motionless Tang He lying in a pool of blood, Chimo's expression went from shock to numbness, then from numbness to horror.

"No..."

"Tang He?!"

"It must... something must be wrong! Yes, I'm starting to see, it was that Luo Gan who possessed your body... I, I just wanted to force him out of you."

He stumbled back with trembling lips, the muscles on his face twisting into a grotesque mask, his hands clutching his head, and he let out a soul-tearing scream.

"Ah ah ah ah!!"

He suddenly remembered.

The Holy Land had never been on Earth. Only the chosen could see it—in other words, that guy hadn't taken over his partner's body, but was inside his own head.

In a daze, he saw his reflection in the blood-stained mirror nearby, but the face was not his; it was Luo Gan, who had just disappeared.

"I'll kill you!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, pointing the muzzle of his gun under his chin, his breathing grew more rapid.

His face flushed the color of liver, he finally closed his eyes decisively and pulled the trigger.

A loud bang almost shattered his jaw yet the bullet didn't penetrate his underside, instead grazing his cheek and flying up into the sky.

"Hehe... Hahahaha!"

He burst into manic laughter, holding the gun up and firing into the sky, his eyes hollow with crazed distortion.

The gunshots drew the attention of people nearby.

He saw at the end of the street, an armored vehicle with a cannon mounted, advancing toward him surrounded by a group of fully armed soldiers.

The helmets obscured most of the faces, but he could tell, every face hidden under those helmets was Luo Gan's.

"Hey..."

A tiny, sinister laugh escaped his lips. He raised his pistol toward the crowd at the end of the street, and as he pulled the trigger, he thought he saw a flash of gunfire.

Then—

His consciousness plunged into an abyss without end...

"We've found another cyberpsycho."

Sitting in the gun turret of the armored vehicle, Mole watched the shattered corpse lying in the center of the street, speaking tersely into his earpiece.

"Old Na, go take a look."

"Roger that."

Standing next to the wheel, Elena walked up with her rifle.

The guy standing in the middle of the road earlier had been firing blindly into the sky, and they thought someone here needed help.

But as soon as they approached, the guy pointed the gun at them and was taken down by a burst of gunfire.

Looking at the flesh and blood embedded in the exoskeleton, Elena clicked her tongue, squatting down to search his relics and soon found a blood-stained silver dog tag.

Two inverted triangles were engraved on it—the symbol of the Torch.

On the back, there was the emblem of the Tribunal.

"He's an Executioner, and the guy next to him likely is too... They have markings of the Tribunal on them and dog tags inscribed with their names and blood types, equipped with exoskeletons with optical camouflage plugins, a sniper rifle, an assault rifle, a couple of handguns, some ammo, EMP grenades, and so on... No disguised explosives detected."

Rising from beside the other man who had been shot in the head, Elena continued speaking over the comms channel.

"They seem to have had a falling out, that Chimo guy shot his associate then tried to shoot himself, but failed... Of course, this is just my guess."

Gnome King Riches smacked his tongue.

"That's outrageous."

Suddenly remembering yesterday's events, a player following beside him spoke up.

"Isn't this the same sniper we encountered before?"

Another player rubbed the back of his head.

"It should be, I heard that the Burning Corps got a nasty surprise from them... but it's really strange."

"Strange?"

"Goliath, I mean, those huge guys... In terms of combat power, their skills are much better than those winged creatures."

Listening to the whispers over the comm channel, Mole thought for a moment and said,

"They probably gave up."

Gnome King Riches said with a smile,

"They gave up just like that?"

"Yeah, after all, the nest has been destroyed, and this gray fog is bound to dissipate soon."

Mole looked up at the sky above and saw a sliver of sunlight elongated by the gray mist had already pierced through the thick clouds, casting its light on the ruins.

"Besides the Qi Tribe... The Church seems to have no reason to persist."

After a pause, he looked towards Old Na, who was still searching the corpses up ahead, and shouted,

"Get the bodies onto the truck for now, we can search them later, there's more work up ahead!"

The mutants from the Champion Biomedical Research Institute had all been wiped out, and the Torch Church had already retreated from the area.

Now, it was the turn of those creatures hiding in the subway...

...

The deck of the Steel Heart.

A Viper transport plane with faint blue plasma trails slowly landed.

Two crew members in exoskeletons carefully carried out a squarish metal stand from the cabin and cautiously placed it on a trolley.

In the center of this metal stand was a container shaped like a water droplet, approximately the size of a gas canister.

However, what was stored inside wasn't gas but superfluid helium-3!

Although it was only a neutron short, the technological sophistication of this stuff far exceeded that of ordinary liquid helium superfluid.

As is widely known, shortly after the successful preparation of liquid helium, its superfluid state was discovered.

However, its isotope didn't enjoy such treatment.

Due to the absence of a neutron, helium-3 became akin to fermions that follow the Pauli Exclusion Principle and cannot clump together.

This was why the existence of superfluid helium-3 was a long-unsolved mystery in physics.

Later, people discovered that at low enough temperatures, helium-3 could form Cooper pairs through the interaction of atomic nuclear spins, leading to the superfluidity that won Osheroff, Lee, and Richardson the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1996 for finally realizing superfluid helium-3 at exceedingly tiny fractions above absolute zero.

Although it's unclear why these nuclear fuels were stored in the form of superfluids, the immense technical reserves of this world were indeed astonishingly advanced compared to that of the world where the players came from.

To store one liter of superfluid helium-3, a "gas canister" only about thirty or forty liters in volume was enough.

Even two people could carry it.

To say the least, the "helium-3 storage technology" contained within this gas canister alone was an amazing acquisition for the nascent Alliance.

Not to mention the staggering amount of nuclear fuel.

Similar containers were stored in the underground research area's warehouses with as many as a million units, all preserved on container-like shelving, with a total volume reaching one thousand cubic meters!

Before the collapse of that building, these nuclear fuels had already been moved to a safe location.

It was not clear why Torch didn't transfer this batch of fuel to Haiye Province, but whatever their intentions, the fuel was now in the hands of the Alliance.

For a long time to come, the Alliance would not have to worry about energy problems!

Beyond nuclear fuel, the players also recovered a batch of mechanical prostheses and modification equipment from the Champion Biomedical Research Institute.

Many of these were legacies of the War Construction Committee.

Just like Huge Rock Military Industry that was inherited by Giant Stone City, the "Champion" Biological Pharmaceutical Research Institute, which formerly belonged to the Central War Research Institute of United Human, was also one of the legacies left to Singular Point City by the War Construction Committee.

Regrettably, they hadn't made proper use of the facility and eventually walked the path of self-destruction.

Yibers was very interested in these devices, and they would be packed up and sent to Huge Rock Military Industry for disassembly and reverse engineering.

Although it was a pity they couldn't catch those Torch researchers, the experienced technicians and engineers within Stone City would be more than capable of uncovering the secrets hidden within those devices...

The deck of the Steel Heart was bustling with activity, and the bridge, serving as the command center of the entire ship, was no less busy.

Vanus and other officers were directing ground troops in their operations.

Chu Guang remained in his usual unobstructive spot, watching the pale blue holographic window in front of him and listening to Heya report on the latest research progress at the Alliance Biology Research Institute.

"... the biotechnology mastered by the Torch has exceeded my initial expectations. They held equipment not entirely taken from Shelter No.117. For instance, the biomaterial armor contains DNA fragments that bear similarities to the 'mutated slime fungus.'"

After listening to Heya's statement, Chu Guang frowned slightly.

"I remember that the Nago was the same."

"Yes," Heya nodded gently and continued, "Including that mutant with bat wings, as well as that gigantic mutant called Goliath... Their chromosomes contain a large amount of DNA fragments related to the 'mutated slime fungus'. Not to mention the Nago you mentioned, the entire system composed of Nago, from the Nago Core to the fungal colony, and then to the spores released by the mycelium, is designed to imitate the 'mutated slime fungus'."

At this point, Heya paused, speaking with an uncertain tone.

"It's hard to imagine that this is the result of research completed in just twenty years... Do you think there's a possibility that those people got hold of the legacy technologies from an ancient battlefield or relic in the south during the three years of war?"

Chu Guang's mind stirred.

"You mean... the biotechnology of the colonial rebels?"

Heya nodded gravely.

"That's what I am thinking... Although it's just a guess."

Chu Guang fell into contemplation.

Indeed, he couldn't rule out this possibility.

In fact, not just the Nago related to the 'mutated slime fungus', but the Mind Interference Technology held by the Torch Church was similar.

They were not using the version from Shelter No. 401 but seemed more like a model with higher power and a wider coverage area.

If he remembered correctly, the Mind Interference Device was a joint research project between the Ecological Park No. 3 above Qingquan City and the colonial research institution on an "alternative to the Infrasound Fence Device."

Due to the scandal that broke out later, the research on the Mind Interference Device was halted by the regulatory agency in 2113.

However, the information left in Shelter No. 401 did not mention whether this project was completely terminated or if it's just that no continued research was done on the part of the mother planet, while the colonies were still looking for an "efficient alternative to the Infrasound Fence" without any oversight from regulatory bodies.

If it's the latter case...

This kind of Mind Interference Device could very well have been applied militarily.

Could it even be that the Mutant mucor mother nest as a biological weapon itself was a type of hive creature born from the Mind Interference Field?

The more Chu Guang thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

"...The technical sources of the Torch Church are worth looking into deeply. I will have my subordinates pay attention, and if you have any new clues on your side, please let me know immediately."

"Mm, leave it to me... Oh, right." Just as she was about to end the communication, Heya suddenly remembered something and continued speaking, "What's the situation with the person you sent to Shelter No. 79?"

Hearing her inquire about Eure, Chu Guang thought for a moment and said offhandedly,

"That guy is a former researcher from the Champion Biomedical Research Institute. He was involved in the development of radiation antidotes and radiation neutralizers."

The Great Antler God should be interested in that guy, considering Shelter No. 79 even had Champion brand coffee and cookies.

Many people there were probably fans of the Champion Group, and it might be interested in talking to him about the past.

Heya was stunned, looking at him with disbelief.

"You managed to scoop up even this kind of talent."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"To be precise, he's a war criminal. If he doesn't make any significant contributions, he'll have to spend the rest of his life in Shelter No. 79. I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on him."

Heya nodded seriously.

"I'll pay attention."

After the communication ended, Chu Guang turned off the holographic device and looked out at the mist-enshrouded Earth through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

With the conquest of the fake nest, the warfare in Brocade River City had come to an end.

What followed was cleaning up the battlefield and tidying up the aftermath, and considering how to handle Haiya Province, which had entered its fourth stage.

However, before that, the Alliance had an impending "Tide" to face, and tomorrow he planned to take the Steel Heart back to the City of Dawn.

As for Brocade River City,

Leaving it in the hands of Frost and the Kang Mao Group behind it should be no issue.

Chu Guang had very low demands of it; as long as it could hold on for a while, it would be enough until the Alliance could spare the effort from its affairs.

At this moment, the sound of a door opening and footsteps came from behind.

An officer walked up behind him, stood to attention, and saluted with his right fist to his chest.

"Reporting!"

Chu Guang turned and said,

"What is it?"

"A mutant who claims to be a priest of the Qi Tribe wishes to discuss a surrender with you. It claims it is willing to offer its loyalty to the Alliance."

"Surrender?"

Tasting the word with a hint of amusement, Chu Guang gave the officer a cursory glance.

"Did I declare war on them?"

Although those creatures were naturally suited for labor, after seeing that "ranch," he had lost all interest in transforming them.

That such things could breathe was an error in itself.

He didn't care whether the remaining mutants were the main warring faction or the main peace faction, eradicating them completely would be better for the Alliance and the world.

The officer hesitated for a moment before understanding the intent in the Manager's gaze and saluted sternly.

"Yes!"

...

(Thanks to "Oppa Likes You" and "Emperor of the Dark Stars" for their Dominion rewards!!! I shouldn't have shown off earlier, stepping out and coming back feels like I've been hit with a weakness debuff, but at least I won't have to worry about food for the next few days... T.T)

Chapter 613: Rebirth of Singular Point City

Near the old resident resettlement site's subway station,
two hunched mutants stood at the entrance of the subway station, surrounded by five young mutant warriors. They held a white flag in their hands, their faces filled with uneasy terror as they looked at the armored vehicles and mounted machine guns not far away.

The two elderly entities were priests from the Qi Tribe, one of whom was Gomo, and the other named Hank, a representative of the Ancestor Faction.

Unlike the Secular faction, the Ancestor Faction was among the earliest batch of mutants in Singular Point City. Their views, undoubtedly radical a century and a half ago, were now undoubtedly conservative to the point of regressing history compared to the current Qi tribe.

Rather than hunting humans as prey, they preferred to treat the part bred on farms as animals to be penned, and the remaining free people as slaves.

After all, most farm owners in the lands did the same, and villages like Town Of Hope, where more than half were free citizens, were rare.

They even opposed cannibalism, as there was food with higher nutritional efficiency, and they had promised those who didn't want to become mutants that they, at least, wouldn't be turned into pies… although this promise was actually meaningless, as the moment they won, those residents who didn't want to become mutants had already lost all their powers.

Without external interference, any society's conservative faction would inevitably age, and the Qi Tribe was no exception.

Even though the Ancestor Faction controlled a series of "advanced technology," including midwifery, it couldn't change the fact that there were more and more new generations in the tribe and that the Secular faction, "more focused on mutant rights," was moving into the center of power.

However, now, all the warriors named by Jia En in the entire Qi Tribe had died in battle, leaving only the old, weak, sick, and the barely snoring young men.

The "Ancestor Faction," which advocated harmonious coexistence with humans, had thus regained influence.

But it was in an ironic way.

"…It's useless, they won't spare us," Gomo sighed, watching Hank, who was still hoping for negotiations.

There was a slim chance of survival if they fled from the city while the mist hadn't cleared, but expecting those humans to spare them was incredibly naïve.

Gomo had just opened his mouth to speak when he was fiercely glared at by the former.

"Shut up! If it weren't for Jia En's foolhardy and you lunatics leading us into this mess, how could we have fallen into such a state!"

Gomo did as he wished, closing his mouth and his cloudy eyes, because at this point, nothing mattered anymore.

Perhaps too much time had passed, and the man had forgotten how they originally forced the remaining people to make a choice—

Either voluntarily become mutants or become livestock on a farm.

Once on this path, there was only blackness ahead, and they clearly had no chance of turning back.

It seemed the Alliance had made a decision.

A high-ranking officer walked to the front lines and spoke a few words to another officer in an exoskeleton.

The officer in the exoskeleton nodded, watched the senior officer walk away, then pulled out a cigarette, placed it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter.

Seeing this scene, fear flickered in Hank's eyes.

What kind of decision required a cigarette first?

He hurriedly stepped forward half a step, and seeing the warningly raised rifles, he shouted hoarsely.

"Wait, wait a minute! You may not understand, but we were humans before! We all strived for the same goal once! It was just that… a small problem occurred here, but it's not entirely our fault, please spare our lives considering we once worked for the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, please, we are willing to accept any arrangement you propose—"

In his desperation to live, he almost lost all his dignity. The mutant youngsters by his side were softly panting, their faces full of struggle and hatred.

However, the officer in the exoskeleton was unmoved, calmly finishing his cigarette, crushing it under foot, and impatiently waving his hand.

"Fire."

He had given them the time of a cigarette to pick up weapons and continue fighting. Since they didn't, they might as well die.

Negotiation?

What is there to negotiate with beasts?

The Chimera Armored Car's barrels spewed flames, and a succession of tracer bullets instantly penetrated Gomo, who closed his eyes.

The old man turned into a pile of minced meat without uttering a sound, fell to the ground, followed by Hank, kneeling on the ground, and the still unconvinced group behind him.

The battle at the subway entrance quickly ended.

Players, who had been eagerly ready, finally waited for the interlude CG animation to finish, and then they grabbed their weapons and rushed into the subway station to begin the final cleaning operation.

Clearly written on the VM mission panel—

Not a single survivor from the Qi tribe shall be left.

That was their original intention, especially after seeing the great achievements of those beasts...

"Who the hell ever strived toward the same goal as you?"

Kicking the bloody, unrecognizable corpse, a player spat coldly on it, clutching his rifle and continuing forward...

...

While various army teams advanced from each subway entrance toward the underground transit network of Brocade River City, the First Thousand Team of the First Corps of the Alliance had already reached the eastern outskirts of Brocade River City.

In order to accommodate the survivors rescued from the Qi tribe, as well as those liberated from the Church's rule, the Alliance needed to expand the Pine Wood Farm and rename the expanded farm Singularity City.

There was a ready-to-use Mind Interference Device, which would help those caged pitiful people integrate into human society sooner.

According to the agreement reached between Chu Guang and Frost, Singularity City's management was to be handled by him, and the Alliance was only responsible for defense and security.

Until the local survivors completely weaned off Nago and became individuals with full behavioral capabilities, Chu Guang did not intend to make Singularity City the sixth settlement incorporated into the Alliance. The cooperation model between the two would refer to the current cooperation model between the Luo Xia Province countries and the Alliance.

Although enterprises and the Academy were all eagerly hoping he would take over this mess immediately, of course, Chu Guang could not agree to them.

He didn't know what the Academy was thinking; those people enjoyed playing secret politics, making it hard to guess what they were really up to. But the ideas of the Council Chu Guang understood very well.

Once the Alliance fully took over this settlement, everything that happened here would be an internal affair of the Alliance. The Council would be able to completely shake off the responsibility that had lingered for over a hundred years and even Frost would end up working for him. By then, if anything was mishandled, they would still have room to retreat.

At least until the Council cleaned up their act, Chu Guang couldn't possibly use the fruits of the Alliance citizens' labor to pay for their past mistakes.

Only by uniting his own people could he unite others, and any unity that sacrifices the interests of one's own people is always fleeting.

After all, both the supported and supporters knew clearly in their hearts that such unprovoked kindness would never last long.

And the things that are not meant to last are not worth maintaining.

At the northern gate of Pine Wood Farm.

Not long after the sign for Singularity City was erected, a dense crowd appeared from the north, a long line stretching like a snake.

Some people carried bulging backpacks, while others drove several carts pulled by Double-headed Cows. They were coming from the direction of Hope Town, as if fleeing disaster.

The Centurion on duty here, named Zheng Liushu, immediately went up to meet this tide of refugees.

Before he had a chance to speak, Mayor Ma Hechang, who led them, voluntarily confessed his identity. Then he grabbed Zheng's arm, bursting into tears about how the Torch Church and those Mutants had oppressed them.

"...The land in Hope Town can't produce food anymore, and we heard that you would provide refuge for those oppressed by the Torch. Please take us in too!"

Mayor Ma Hechang hadn't entirely told the truth; the reason he led the townspeople to flee here wasn't just because the land polluted by Nago couldn't grow food anymore.

Although that was indeed also true.

Hope Town's real farming was mainly relegated to Old Man Kong's farm and a handful of individual farmers; his choice was largely speculative.

The fog outside had cleared, and the morning gunfire had stopped.

Anyone could see that the Alliance had triumphed in the conflict with the Torch Church, becoming the new masters of this land.

Unlike the permissive Torch Church's approach to plantations, the Alliance planned to rebuild Singularity City, focusing on the city as the center to restore the land corroded by Nago.

The distance from Hope Town to Singularity City was still significant, and it was uncertain when the Alliance's poverty relief efforts would reach them; plus, what if they charged him with an accomplice's crime by then?

Coming over to surrender now was undoubtedly the best choice.

Honestly, Ma Hechang had no other options, being a Nago addict himself. If the Alliance later prohibited the cultivation of Nago on this land, even if he could withstand it, other residents might not be able to quit.

Since Hope Town was already a mess, selling it for a good price to the new landowners before it collapsed completely was the best for both himself and his fellow villagers.

Of course, convincing the town's residents to abandon their homes was not easy, and he had expended quite some effort to complete their ideological work.

Zheng Liushu, tired of hearing their grievances, finally waved his hand to let them pass.

Although this settlement was not originally intended for them, the Manager's command was clear—

Anyone who felt they needed shelter was a target for its care, and anyone who voluntarily left was no longer to be sheltered.

Perhaps once they had enough of life here, they would leave on their own.

"Think it over before you enter. This settlement is actually an AI-managed refuge. Its function is to help rescued survivors gain the ability to sustain themselves and to help those who can't quit Nago on their own to quit it... It's best if you can quit it on your own without needing to come here."

Watching the survivors head toward the main gate, Zheng Liushu felt it his duty to give a final reminder.

Upon hearing this, many people hesitated, and after a while, a hand tentatively raised from the crowd.

"Do they provide food here?"

Zheng Liushu nodded.

"They do, but you'll have to work every day."

Then another person immediately asked.

"Does it cost money?"

Zheng Liushu shook his head.

"No need."

Hearing there was such a good deal, the survivors all showed relieved smiles, heading toward their new future home.

Instead, Mayor Ma who had begged tearfully for a long time still lingered, holding a round burlap-wrapped bundle in his arms, a calculating smile on his face.

Honestly, Zheng Liushu didn't like this guy.

New to the area, he didn't know much about Hope Town, but he had heard that most settlements here had cooperated with the Torch Church.

However, he didn't see the need to trouble a pitiful refugee, so he spoke in a business-like tone.

"Is there anything else?"

Ma Hechang quickly nodded, smiling as he spoke.

"Yes, there is, sir. I have something to offer you!"

Hearing this, Zheng Liushu immediately turned serious, thinking the man was trying to bribe him, and quickly stepped back.

"I don't want your stuff, put it away!"

"No, no, no, this must be given to you." Ma Hechang insisted, stepping forward as he unwrapped the bundle in his embrace.

At a glimpse of the contents of the bundle, Zheng Liushu instinctively held his breath, and the nearby soldiers did the same.

Wrapped in burlap, there lay a bloody severed head.

Frowning slightly, he turned to Ma Hechang, his tone serious.

"…What do you mean by this?"

Seeing that the sir didn't understand, Ma Hechang hurriedly wiped the blood off the head with his sleeve, explaining.

"Sir, this, this is a Mutant's child."

Zheng Liushu paused, his frown deepening.

"How do you have a Mutant's child?"

Ma Hechang continued, tremblingly.

"It, it's different from other Mutants; it's mixed-blood… Occasionally, a Mutant's offspring inherits more human genes, like a mule born from a horse and a donkey. We allowed it to trade with us before, but now the situation has changed. We've completely severed ties with them."

His main point was actually only the last sentence.

But it looks like the head was too impactful, and he might have overdone it a bit…

"…Alright, we've heard enough."

Zheng Liushu looked once more at the bloody head but ultimately said nothing and gestured to a soldier nearby.

"Bury it."

The local people's hatred towards the Qi Tribe wasn't his to judge, but they did have the right to do so.

Besides, for a Mutant, he wasn't interested in differentiating what specific differences existed between mixed and pure blood.

It had already rotted anyway.

It must have been dead for several days.

The soldier nodded and stepped forward to take the head.

Seeing this, Ma Hechang was momentarily stunned, then hurriedly asked.

"Sir… Won't you hang it up?"

Zheng Liushu replied impatiently.

"We usually only hang the mastermind to show to the public, and after the body starts to stink, we take it down and burn it. What's the point of hanging it?"

Ma Hechang nodded, finding the reasoning sound, yet still not entirely reassured, he couldn't help advising the officer before him.

"Make sure you don't go easy on those people; they've caused us a lot of harm."

"Don't worry, our Manager has plans."

"You could build a frame, hang them on it, drill a small hole in the skull, insert a wick, and let it burn slowly for days."

"We will suggest it to the Manager."

"If you could hang that frame here, that would be good… but of course, I'm just suggesting." Feeling the officer's impatience, Ma Hechang felt embarrassed to ask if they needed help with anything else here, and quickly shut his mouth and left.

As he watched the man walk away, the soldier on duty nearby couldn't help but click his tongue.

"This guy has so many issues. We should just build him a theater and put two chairs in it, inviting him to sit and enjoy the show."

His name was Yang Gaoshan, and he was also a refugee who had survived the Bone Chewing Chaos.

Unlike Old Zheng, who had become a centurion, he had previously worked on the assembly line at a munitions factory, having joined the First Army just a few months ago.

"Maybe his family members died in this disaster?" suggested the slightly taller soldier next to him.

His name was Wu Pangfei, originally from near Falling Leaf Ridge. He was conscripted by the Army, but after being rescued by the Alliance, he enlisted.

Yang Gaoshan looked at him, unable to understand.

"What did he do himself? Just wait around? Beg us for refuge after everything had ended? Then start ordering us around? I'm not saying he isn't pitiable, but I'm asking what right does he have to make demands? Did he fight alongside us, or provide us with food or ammunition? Or is he a citizen of the Alliance?"

He agreed that they should help these unfortunate people out of a sense of morality, but he despised that guy's entitled attitude.

There was no contradiction in that.

Zheng Liushu casually mentioned to his subordinates,

"People are like that, you treat them well, and they expect better. The moment you fall slightly short of their saintly expectations, they think all your previous goodwill was just a sham. Don't bother about it, we didn't come here out of a love for helping others, although it turned out that we did help some."

Whether it was to end the ruins of the Wasteland or to secure the safety of the Alliance, none of it was about charitableness.

Yet Yang Gaoshan was still resentful.

"These unfortunate people... I really don't find them pitiable at all, nor do I think they are innocent. It looks like they had no choice, but what event in the past 150 years wasn't a choice of their own making? They've created such a mess that even from 800 kilometers away. You can smell the stench. If it were up to me, I'd let them fend for themselves. We have our own mountain of problems to deal with in our own home!"

Zheng Liushu sighed.

"You're going too extreme. If our Manager really did that, their problems would eventually become our problems."

Yang Gaoshan immediately responded,

"I'm not saying the Manager isn't doing a good job. I will always be loyal to his decisions. I just think these people aren't worth saving."

"In West State City, there are guerrillas fighting side by side with us; in the desert, there are resistances swearing to never surrender; the workers of Giant Stone City stood up. But them? They regularly provide slaves to the mutants! Begging us to return their little princess to them! As if all of this is our fault!"

"The only one still resisting, that what-you-call-it Iron Tower, even comes from the neighboring province to the south! How can that Mayor dare to represent his townspeople and make demands to us?"

Zheng Liushu didn't respond, honestly, he didn't particularly like Mayor Ma either. Nearby, the old soldier lightly coughed and spoke,

"So, we will only do what we must. The Manager didn't ask us to indulge them, nor to take them and provide for them, but rather to let them rebuild their homeland here. Let's drop this topic now... though, I still have some doubts about bionic people. Are those things really reliable?"

In his early years, he had been a mercenary in Giant Stone City. At first, he fought for the Alliance because they gave him stakes, and he truly joined the Alliance and transferred to the regular army due to a funeral.

Having lived in Giant Stone City for a long time, he was more concerned about the potential risks of bionic technology than the survivors from the City of Dawn.

Yibers was a bionic man, and that guy had caused no small amount of harm while serving the nobles.

The Dragon Blood Potion was his masterpiece.

For the sake of more Awakeners and greater economic benefits, he had exploited the awakening potential of consumers at the expense of their disability rate. And until Giant Stone City Bank and its issued stakes went bankrupt, many were burdened with hefty loans, struggling to survive in harsh conditions.

Zheng Liushu thought for a moment and said,

"That guy is far from reliable, but he's just suitable for them."

The old soldier questioned,

"Perfectly suitable?"

"Yes."

Recalling the content he had heard at the work meeting before departure, Zheng Liushu continued,

"The Kang Mao Group provided biorobots with a routine lifestyle. They would wake up precisely at six o'clock every morning, start work at seven, take an hour break at noon, continue working until five in the afternoon, and then have two hours of reading class before lights out promptly at ten in the evening. They would do assigned tasks at designated times, and there would be corresponding punishments if they violated the rules."

Although the punishment was not severe, it was just being confined to a dark room.

Yang Gaoshan counted on his fingers, then said, puzzled,

"...Why do I feel like this work schedule actually sounds quite good?"

Wu Pangfei was also stunned.

"What about their slacking off? Are we just supporting them for nothing?"

"Supporting them for nothing? How could that be, we're not a wishing machine," Zheng Liushu said with a smile, "We'll build a railway to this place and supply them with the materials needed for production, help them get rid of those greenish things, but they also have to plant some cash crops for us, or else what do you think I meant by work?"

Yang Gaoshan couldn't help but ask,

"But what if they're still lazy?"

Zheng Liushu replied with a light smile,

"Don't think that biorobots can't see through such small tricks; those guys are actually very clever."

Although management did not need their involvement, it had been mentioned in the previous work meeting about Singularity City.

To ensure productivity enthusiasm, the AI named Frost had set three life standards. The lowest was basic subsistence, aimed at players who continuously failed to meet their KPI assessments. The mid-level provided sufficient nutrition, and the highest level was a prosperous life.

If the trade between Singularity City and the Alliance resulted in a surplus, Frost would deduct the part used to improve productivity and purchase some consumer goods to improve living conditions, proportionally provided to the residents living at mid-level and high-level standards to encourage production.

Having pondered for a while, Yang Gaoshan reluctantly said,

"How do I feel that this still seems a bit too good..."

Zheng Liushu shrugged his shoulders.

"Let's see after some time; it's too early to say anything now."

This guy obviously oversimplified the situation.

The survivors in this settlement were not ordinary people, but were addicts of Nago, who occasionally entered the "God Travel" state.

Among them were ten thousand "Primitive Men" who had just been rescued from cages.

To prevent everyone from entering a collective withdrawal reaction, which would completely halt production work, Singularity City would somewhat lift the restrictions of the mind interference device on people and plant a small amount of Nago, gradually reducing supplies until the Alliance's Biological Institute found a medical treatment plan.

Due to the many special circumstances, Alliance laws were not fully applicable here, and they did not hold the status of Alliance citizens.

Wu Pangfei spoke, "Is there no specific timeframe?"

After some thought, Zheng Liushu answered,

"I don't know, at least until the problems in Haiye Province are resolved, I suppose we will need such a buffer zone... But the Manager said if anyone wants to leave here, register their biological information, let them go and never come back."

Fundamentally speaking, Singularity City was a large-scale containment facility managed by AI, which prevented numerous Nago-infected people from flooding into and disrupting the existing order of the Alliance. At the same time, it minimized the local survivors' demand for resources to an acceptable low.

A one-time-only entry restriction was necessary to prevent people from treating this place as a sanatorium, coming in for a few days of fasting whenever they felt unhappy. That wouldn't be acceptable.

However, honestly speaking, even though he trusted the Manager's decisions and believed this arrangement was the best option for those giant infants, he still harbored slight doubts.

He who lived in City of Dawn was indeed unclear about what Yibers was like, but he knew all too well about Frost...

Hope Town Ruins.

The entire street was desolate, not a soul in sight, completely devoid of any signs of life.

But judging from the situation on the street, the people here had left unhurriedly, carefully scavenging everything they could take with them.

Clearly, they had no plans to return.

This town had been completely abandoned.

However, at the moment, two uninvited guests were standing at the town entrance.

"Has this village been abandoned?"

"It seems so."

"What a pity, there's so much cultivated land." Star River, touched by the deserted battlegrounds, showed a hint of regret on his face.

Standing next to him, Falling Feather felt the same, though he also understood the choice of the people here.

"There's nothing much to pity. The land wouldn't have supported normal crops anymore... whatever grew would be infested with Nago's mycelium."

Star River looked at him, puzzled.

"Hasn't the lair been destroyed?"

Falling Feather nodded.

"That's true, but those mycelium won't just disappear; they've only devolved from the third stage to the second stage."

Star River sighed.

"Stepping on a cockroach only to scatter its eggs everywhere."

Falling Feather said.

"But on the bright side, at least its spread won't further increase. As long as we plant enough Cam Trees and scorch the land with synthetic oil, the remaining ash might even serve as fertilizer... just like those lands rolled over by a Flame Weeder."

"Is that so..." Star River nodded thoughtfully, then curiously continued, "By the way, bro, what exactly are you looking for here?"

They had just happened to meet on the airship, and he had followed without asking.

Falling Feather scratched his head.

"A person... well, not exactly a person."

Star River blinked.

"...What is it, then?"

Not knowing where to start, Falling Feather sighed and simply said.

"When I first came here, I mistook that guy for a mutant, but the more I think about it, he was actually just a poor soul affected by disaster... I want to at least apologize to him."

Could there be a side quest involved?

Perhaps something like the Mutant's Treasure.

If possible, it wouldn't be bad to recruit him as an assistant.

He didn't really like teaming up with other players, preferring to explore the Wasteland alone. If Star River hadn't insisted on thanking him for the help he had previously provided, he would have preferred to come here quietly on his own.

Unaware of his reluctance to have him around, Star River was still racking his brain, earnestly trying to help him come up with ideas.

"Do you remember his name?"

Falling Feather: "I didn't ask at the time."

Star River sighed.

"Then there's nothing that can be done, the whole Hope Town has been refreshed, it's even difficult to ask an NPC, sorry... why don't you mention the developers on the forum?"

Falling Feather thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Never mind, I don't want to bother them with personal matters."

Perhaps it was just a minor episode during the One hundred thousand silver coins quest, or maybe he missed a potentially rewarding side quest.

That's how non-saveable RPGs are.

What's missed is missed.

However, no matter what, he was quite satisfied with this adventure and, miraculously, he had survived.

Though he was very close to dying.

While there was no extra medal for clearing it in one life, he still felt a sense of accomplishment.

After all, dying was the norm in this land, surviving was the exception.

"Give me a moment."

As Falling Feather pulled out his dagger and walked towards the town gate, Star River, startled, asked.

"What are you doing? Is it convenient?"

"Ah, never mind, just wait here for me."

Standing alone at the town gate, Falling Feather thought for a moment, then carved a line with his dagger in a conspicuous place.

Because it was meant for an NPC.

He used United Human language.

"Were you the one who warned the people here that day? Thanks, my friend. Without you, even if we had arrived in time, few might have survived."

"My name is Falling Feather. If you see this line, could you leave your name next to it? When I pass by here next time, I'll check it."

Just after carving this line, Falling Feather suddenly regretted it.

He would bet if other players saw this, by the time he came back, all kinds of weird translations in United Human language would be added.

Like, "Laughing River was here," and stuff.

With a wry smile, he crossed out that line and wrote instead.

"Forget I said anything. We'll meet again if it's meant to be, I'll ask in person."

Putting away the carving knife, Falling Feather nodded in satisfaction, marking the end of this adventure.

Once this year's Tide was over, he planned to pick up a new quest from the tavern and venture to even more remote places.

Picking up the rifle leaning beside him, he stepped over the wheel tracks at the road entrance and met up with Star River, who was waiting nearby.

Chapter 614: An Unexpected Gain

In a space of pure white, twelve shadowy figures sat around the head of a circular conference table.

Their bodies were cloaked in pristine white robes, bathed in a milky light that emanated a sacred aura.

Looking closely, one would see there were actually thirteen chairs before the table, with one left empty.

This was the sacred hall of the Torch Church.

Simply put, it was the place where the Pioneers of the Holy Land convened.

In the center of that circular conference table stood an old man in a gray robe.

His face was covered in wrinkles, his eyes cloudy. Both his dull skin and robe seemed out of place in this sanctified meeting room.

His name was Alzu, and he had just returned from Brocade River City.

Facing the Pioneers seated at the conference table, his expression was devout and his tone solemn, as if he were delivering the news in prayer.

"Brocade River City's parish has fallen, and we have lost contact with the old parts of Singular Point City."

"In resistance, they fought valiantly to the end, but our enemies did not spare them; they beheaded them, burned them to ash, and their corpses filled the underground transit network of Brocade River City..."

His voice took on a note of deep sorrow as he finished speaking.

As his words ended, even the expressionless Pioneers seated around the table couldn't help but show a hint of disturbance.

The attendees exchanged glances, whispering to each other, their eyes and facial expressions conveying a shared sense of surprise and unease.

"How barbaric!"

"...Not a single one spared."

It elicited a sigh of lament that such a place, which had once sheltered thousands of survivors, met its end in such a way.

Those residents were once "Forerunners" who embraced evolution. Although they chose a different path than the current Pioneers, they were brave progressives taking the first step.

Yet, those ignorant Barbarians razed it all to the ground!

A Pioneer with a commanding presence slowly clenched his fist, speaking with serious intonation.

"We will carry on with their memories, and those who impede us will ultimately pay the price!"

The other Pioneers nodded slowly.

"The Academy and corporations, those degenerates..."

"And the Alliance."

"It's not just them."

Watching the Pioneers expressing their anger, Alzu slowly began to speak, directing his accusation toward Luo Gan—the turncoat Pioneer.

"Our threat doesn't only come from the outside, but also from within ourselves. That man named Luo Gan, his complacency and hesitation cost us the opportunity for victory, resulting in the loss of many excellent Apostles and Executioners, a tragic price to pay."

"This is our most devastating failure in twenty years, and an unprecedented betrayal! If not for that traitor, things wouldn't have gotten this bad!"

The Pioneers sitting at the conference table watched him without expression, including the man seated at the head.

Alzu did not stop, continuing to voice his long-held conviction.

"There are many flaws in the current system. The Pioneers can ensure that the Apostles' faith remains steadfast, but no one can guarantee that the Pioneers' faith won't be the first to falter—"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by another Pioneer.

"Nonsense! Our faith could never waver!"

Another set Pioneer followed seriously.

"Our minds have merged with the Holy Land, our thoughts surpass all else. You should be aware of how the Holy Land operates."

Alzu looked at him expressionlessly.

"Then how do you explain Luo Gan's case?"

The expression on the face of the accusing Pioneer faltered slightly.

A Pioneer seated beside him pondered for a moment before starting to explain.

"The case of Luo Gan indeed puzzles us... but it's not incomprehensible. He was already too old before he entered the Holy Land, and once people age, they struggle to accept new things. We advised him to live out his years in peace, but he wouldn't accept his decline, choosing instead to upload his mind to the Holy Land."

"I understand his aging, but his betrayal is unacceptable."

Alzu gave a faint smile and continued.

"I believe this is not a matter of age. The very mode of operation of this technology has inherent unreliability. By dispersing our thoughts among each individual, our enemies cannot destroy us, but conversely, the foundation of our edifice has been broken into countless pieces. If they undermine our foundation, they can easily shake us."

He had witnessed the entire collapse of Heaven, knowing full well how that 'unkillable' being met his end.

That being had divided himself into countless parts, giving a piece of himself to numerous others, making each person part of his eyes, part of his cells.

The Alliance indeed lacked the ability to kill him who was not on the ground, but they could affect "each of him."

When every cell in his body began to shake, the grand structure, seemingly exquisite, underwent a systematic collapse.

In the end, let alone deceiving others—

Even he began to doubt the righteousness of Heaven.

And that was the most fatal blow!

The Holy Land could influence every believer, but in turn, believers could also influence the Holy Land, after all, the Heavenly Land that did not exist on earth was originally constituted by them.

It was for this reason that Alzu increasingly believed in his own viewpoint—the Holy Land was an unreliable entity.

The Heaven envisioned by humans must be achieved by humans, rather than relying on the Holy Land that doesn't exist on earth, or the beings in heaven.

The current Pioneer model employed by the Church had serious flaws; if this hole wasn't plugged, they would face failure again.

"How could they shake our foundation, that bunch of Barbarians?" a Pioneer scorned his words.

Alzu looked at him expressionlessly and said.

"They took advantage of the ignorance and shortsightedness of the masses, as well as their lack of knowledge of greater benefits and the roots of suffering."

The Pioneer stared back at him, unable to refute.

For the Pioneer model itself was a denial of the wisdom of ordinary people, recognizing the unreliability of humans, they sought to completely eradicate human attributes and become divine.

Alzu did not disagree with the first part of that perspective, simply dissenting the latter.

"To defeat them in the wars on Earth, we must turn the abstract Pioneers into specific beings that exist on Earth."

He knew his viewpoint was heretical.

As expected, the entire hall erupted into an uproar.

The Pioneers seated at the conference table almost immediately refuted him.

"Then what would differentiate us from the Apostles?"

"We started on this path precisely to forsake human desires and all selfish intentions. And now you suggest we go back?"

"You're creating weaknesses for us! What exactly are you plotting?"

Facing those pairs of doubtful and angry eyes, Alzu continued to speak calmly.

"I did not say that, but I suggest that we could establish another Sanctuary and promote a group of Pioneers who do not need to relinquish their physical bodies to embrace the Holy Land and can still gain sufficient authority. They would manage all the earthly affairs of The Church's districts. In this way, even if the Alliance bewitches our followers and even uses a mental virus to destroy our Holy Land, it will not lead to a repeat of the failure of Brocade River City."

As soon as he finished speaking, a Pioneer rebuked him.

"Nonsense! How can you ensure the purity of Sanctuary No.2?"

Alzu looked at him and continued to speak.

"Sanctuary No.2 does not need to be as pure as Sanctuary No.1, it only needs to be capable of leading the followers on the ground to defeat our adversaries."

At this moment, the person sitting at the head of the conference table suddenly spoke up.

"Let me say a few words."

When he spoke, the entire Sanctuary fell silent.

His name was Wang Yi.

He was the Saint Heir elected by the Torch.

He was also the unanimous choice of everyone present.

His faith was the purest and the most resolute among all.

"...This problem does not exist in Haiya Province, Heaven has reached the irreversible fourth stage, our Mind Interference Devices can ensure the unity of the followers as one heart and mind, the existence of Sanctuary No.2 is redundant."

Alzu did not speak.

Because this statement was indeed irrefutable.

Unless their enemies could destroy all Mind Interference Devices on the land at once, crack their brainwashing frequency while replacing it with their own, theoretically, it was impossible to make those brainwashed followers doubt the righteousness of Heaven through simple means.

When the original consciousness is erased, the Holy Land becomes their only consciousness, and evolving into a higher form of life becomes their only ideal.

However, in those barbaric lands not yet included in The Church's districts, or those still under proselytization, the situation is different.

The Utopia they believe in must compete with the mud of the earth, but those ignorant fools value short-term gains more.

Therefore, they must cleverly disguise themselves.

Just like Nago.

Before releasing spores, first attract prey with the sweet nectar, paralyze the prey, and eventually make them immersed in it unable to extricate themselves, becoming the nourishment for Heaven.

"For The Church's districts in Haiya Province, we need to strengthen the communication among Pioneers to ensure our faith is unwavering to prevent similar incidents from occurring. There's no need for a second Sanctuary. However—"

He paused for a moment, then the Saint Heir continued to speak, as Alzu had anticipated, he said that sentence.

"...For the untamed barbaric lands and the districts still being developed, the existence of Sanctuary No.2 is necessary."

"Even if not considering the Wasteland Wanderers who indulge in debauchery being unsuitable for our advanced concepts, we must still consider the limit of the existence of the Black Box."

"The Black Box that produces bionic chips has been operating for over twenty years, and, after all, it is an emergency manufacturing device, not an omnipotent wishing machine."

Hearing this, trepidation and unease floated in the eyes of everyone seated at the table, and their gazes became evasive.

This was indeed an issue that could not be ignored.

Their biotechnology was strong, but the bionic chips produced by the Black Box were irreplaceable, for they were the foundation of the Holy Land.

People will always grow old continuously.

The chips produced by the Black Box will one day run out, and before completing the ultimate plan, their time was in fact not infinite.

Though he knew no one liked to hear it, the Saint Heir still spoke that sentence in the end.

"Its limit is approaching."

...

Anything that is known to function but not known for the reason behind it is unsustainable.

The Black Box is probably the most typical example.

The Guards Corps found a batch of defunct Black Boxes in the warehouse of the old site of Singular Point City.

These Black Boxes were mainly used to produce some medicines, high-yield crop seeds, and critical components for certain devices.

Before they were scrapped, the residents of Singular Point City had drained their last value and then abandoned them in the warehouse.

These defunct Black Boxes have been sent to Shelter No. 404, where Yin Fang, who is in charge of the research team, is responsible for research.

The Steel Heart's medical room.

After learning about the progress of Singular Point City's reconstruction from Frost, Chu Guang visited the little girl named Yinyin again.

Perhaps out of guilt for Singular Point City, or perhaps out of sympathy for her, the council specially approved the treatment costs to be borne by the corporate side and promised to provide her with a bionic body that would allow her to walk freely.

She could customize her appearance, or choose to look exactly the same as before.

After sharing this news with Yinyin, Chu Guang paused for a moment before asking about her future plans.

"Our strategic objectives in the area of Brocade River City have been achieved, the Torch has been cleared from this land, and there will no longer be Mutants and Nago here. The focus of the work will now shift to the reconstruction of Singular Point City."

Yinyin, sitting in the corner of the pure white room, looked up at him blankly.

"Singular Point City is..."

"It was once the dwelling place on this land," Chu Guang stated succinctly, "although it includes some undesirable past, to forget history is to betray it, so we plan to use this name."

Yinyin nodded as if she understood.

Chu Guang took it as her understanding and continued.

"The Iron Heart will soon return to River Valley Province, you can choose to stay here, or you can choose to go back with us."

Yinyin fell silent for a while before asking.

"Is my home still here?"

Chu Guang replied.

"The residents of Pinecone Wood Farm hope for your return, aside from the mansion and the basement, that estate still belongs to you."

Yinyin wore a troubled expression on her face before she finally asked for advice.

"Can you give me some advice?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot offer you advice, as I do not know you well. Perhaps you should discuss it with your fam... friends," Chu Guang suddenly remembered her parents had passed away, so he corrected himself.

At that moment, he also thought of the request from Frost, thus he continued.

"Of course, the corporate representatives hope you'll stay to help calm the emotions of those surviving residents... You should have met that one before, its name is Frost."

Yinyin looked at him somewhat helplessly.

"But I've become like this... I'm afraid I won't be of much help."

Chu Guang shook his head.

"You don't need to do anything, just being there is enough."

Yinyin stared blankly at him.

"That's enough right there," Chu Guang thought for a while, and patiently explained in the simplest way she could.

"Many people grow older, but that doesn't mean they're truly mature. Compared to fully capable adults, they are more like children without the ability to act. They need someone to make decisions for them, to bear the responsibilities and risks that come with their own choices, so they can enjoy a period of tranquility."

Nago? Who cares if it's good or not, the master says it's good stuff, so just plant it. Mutants eat people without spitting out the bones? What a joke, if the lavishly-fed master isn't afraid, what are you scared of? All they do is prey on Waste Land Wanderers.

The problems of Singular Point City differ completely from those of Giant Stone City, it's not the mistake of one person, but many factors coming together, just like this Wasteland.

Perhaps feeling the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, Yinyin's expression still seemed a bit uneasy.

"But I'm not capable..."

Chu Guang consoled her, saying,

"You don't need to be, you just need to stay where they can see you. Leave the rest to Frost. It has been observing us for a long time, and I believe it must possess some abilities that I don't understand."

"…I understand," Yinyin pondered deeply, nodded firmly, and looked at him earnestly as she said, "I… have decided to stay!"

Seeing the serious look on this child's face, Chu Guang was a bit surprised.

"Have you thought this through?"

"Yes, I have thought it through. It was my father who turned them into that, right? Whether it's the Little Lamb or everyone in the manor... If it's really as you said, before they are willing to step out, I will take up the responsibility and watch over them for a while."

Yinyin smiled a touch forlornly.

"And… my time has stopped anyway, this is the only thing left that I can do that has some meaning."

"…I will tell your decision to Frost. It should be pleased with your choice." Chu Guang looked at her, nodded silently, and then turned to leave the pure white space.

…

After leaving the medical room and returning to the corridor, Chu Guang was about to head back to the captain's room when Xiao Qi's pleasant voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Master, there is a message from Yin Fang for you."

It must be the results from the research on the Black Box.

With that thought, Chu Guang stopped next to a porthole in the hallway.

"Connect me."

"Alrighty!"

No sooner had Xiao Qi finished speaking than a pale blue holographic window appeared in front of him.

Yin Fang was grinning from ear to ear as he said to the unscathed Chu Guang,

"Those Black Boxes you gave me are fascinating! Though completely broken, I've dug up some unrecorded history about Singular Point City from those antiques!"

"During the early Wasteland Era, they must have used 'synthetic nutrients' to solve the food shortage. That's probably the forerunner of the nutrient paste, but perhaps due to the local climate recovering quicker, the nutrient paste synthesis technology didn't flourish there, instead passing it eight hundred kilometers away to Giant Stone City."

"Later, Singular Point City switched to algae cultivation plates that had higher production efficiency and lower energy demands, and then to insects... These foods all have one thing in common, they're not so easily accepted by people. Especially algae and insects; although they have higher yields than glucose and protein synthesis, the products often require secondary transformation and processing before they can be served on people's tables."

"I think that might be one of the motivations for their pursuit of mutant technology. A stomach that can digest anything does indeed help increase the survival chances on the Wasteland, but unfortunately, the other problems stemming from it overwhelmed them."

More than the spoils from the Steel Heart, he was interested in the history of Singular Point City, even though he had not unearthed the coffee machine he was most curious about.

Chu Guang, on the other hand, was interested in something else.

"Can those Black Boxes be repaired?"

The excited expression faded instantly as Yin Fang shook his head with difficulty.

"Almost impossible... The difficulty of manufacturing a Black Box is not technical, but lies in industrial conditions. It's not something that can be fixed with a wrench and a screwdriver; it belongs solely to that era two hundred years ago."

Chu Guang nodded.

He had anticipated this, so he wasn't very disappointed.

"Just send it to the museum then."

"Um..."

Maybe because she felt bad for not being of any help, Yin Fang added another sentence.

"Although the Black Box can't be fixed, the nutrition substance synthesis technology and algae cultivation technology once used by Singular Point City are quite interesting. I'll try to recover what can be recovered from them... If you plan on building a space station in heaven one day, these technologies will definitely come in handy."

That kind of thing would be a long way off.

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"I'm counting on you."

Yin Fang smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"No problem... By the way, what's that noise on your end? Why is it so noisy?"

Chu Guang glanced toward the medical ward and saw several familiar faces, so he casually replied.

"Your juniors are quite lively."

Yin Fang was taken aback, not catching on immediately.

"My juniors?"

Chu Guang continued.

"The Class D researcher from the Academy who was sent to help us, she's a young girl."

Previously, Night Ten had been paralyzed from trying to save the falling Viper transport plane, and his good buddy had planned to pull the plug on his ICU power, but that girl had guarded and hadn't given him a chance to do it.

Later, the girl requested to use the surgery table in the medical ward and the recovered equipment from the research institute. She even got some bionic prosthetics from the research ship, seemingly planning to nurse Night Ten back to health.

Chu Guang found it amusing, so he readily agreed.

Now it seemed the surgery was done?

Yin Fang raised an eyebrow after hearing this.

"Wait a minute, why am I suddenly the senior? I'm also Class D, and I'm not old!"

At this, Chu Guang chuckled and just at the right time saw a pop-up appear in the bottom right corner of the holographic screen, then said with a smile.

"I've got a call coming in, we'll talk later."

"See you later, go ahead with your work."

Yin Fang originally wanted to argue about this senior thing but worried about holding up his business, so he ended the communication.

As Chu Guang pressed the answer button again, a head of fiery red hair appeared on the other end of the holographic image.

Those spirited eyebrows were moving up and down uneasily. Seeing the video window suddenly connect, Xia Yan hastily stopped fiddling with her bangs and coughed before speaking.

"Are you... busy over there?"

Seeing Xia Yan's tense face, Chu Guang couldn't help but grin.

"Just finished up, what's up?"

The guy called her occasionally, and her behavior was usually pretty normal, but this time, for some reason, she seemed extra nervous.

Hearing that he wasn't busy, Xia Yan let out a sigh of relief and cleared her throat.

"...Last time you said it would be great if I could help you make a power armor, right? I don't remember the exact words, but that was the gist of it! You definitely said it! So I tinkered with it in my spare time and... well, I tried making one."

At that moment, Chu Guang was completely stunned upon hearing this.

Holy shit?

For real?!

Seeing Chu Guang's dumbfounded expression, Xia Yan thought he didn't believe her and quickly explained.

"It wasn't really anything secretive, the most technical part was the miniaturized cold fusion reactor… the Black Box of Shelter No. 79 can produce those, right? I used the 'Hippo-1' portable reactor as the power core and modeled my design after the T-10 Champion Armor's power system and armor layout from the Continental Army... some experts from Camp 101 also lent a hand."

"No, but after all, it was made in my spare time, so its performance definitely can't compare to pre-war gear, but it should be usable enough. Take a look when you're free to see if it's of any use. If not, it's no big deal to just store it in the warehouse. I didn't spend that much time on it—"

Chu Guang, who had just come back to his senses, immediately interrupted her, joyfully saying,

"That's awesome! Thank you! This is the best news I've heard today!"

Startled by his sudden reaction, Xia Yan paused, then whispered, somewhat uncertain,

"Really?"

Chu Guang, with a pleased smile on his face, nodded.

"Do I have any reason to lie to you? But I am indeed surprised; I didn't expect you to be capable of this!"

Flattered and a bit embarrassed, Xia Yan blushed, her smile shy as she scratched the back of her head with the hand holding the welding gun.

"...What are you talking about? I'm pretty skilled, you know. Don't forget, I've always been fixing my own gear."

Chu Guang said with a chuckle,

"I know that, and you've fixed a lot for us too. To this day, Shelter 404's warehouse still has a stash of bullets you hand-made."

"Hehe." Xia Yan's expression became even more bashful, her smile stretching exaggeratedly until it looked awkward.

"Because they couldn't be shot, so we just kept them."

Seeing her so full of herself, Chu Guang couldn't resist teasing her a bit, and her reaction was even bigger than he anticipated.

"!! Couldn't be shot?! How could that be possible? Where are those bullets?"

"Just kidding, don't get worked up," Chu Guang said lightly, coughing as he saw Xia Yan's face turn anxiously red. He cleared his laughter and spoke seriously, "On behalf of Shelter No. 404, I thank you for your research! I will arrange for a crew to assist you with the testing right away."

"...Don't be like that, it's making me nervous. Besides, it's just an experimental unit and hasn't been tested on the battlefield yet." Xia Yan mumbled softly, her forefinger rubbing the welding torch she held, suddenly regretting telling him so soon.

What's that saying?

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

Although she had learned some knowledge from the Prosperity Epoch at Shelter 101, she had been enrolled less than a year.

Even if the virtual reality learning device had extended her actual study time, even if she had some experience in mechanics, it still didn't change the fact that she was still only half-trained.

But Chu Guang didn't mind.

Half a bottle of water is still water, and there were plenty of haphazardly made gears in the Alliance, and the players didn't mind an extra one.

Even if it can't compare to "Champions" and "Dragon Cavalry," it was still nuclear-powered individual armor; using it as a mobile battery pack would be excellent.

"The experimental unit is good enough! Going from 0 to 1 is harder than from 1 to 10, and it just so happens I've got some nuclear fuel. We can verify your design right away – any issues, we just tweak it. We can wait!"

Seeing the surprised Xia Yan, Chu Guang continued with a smile,

"You know, even more surprising than the power armor itself, I'm amazed at how much you've changed."

Xia Yan asked a bit anxiously,

"Have I changed a lot?"

Chu Guang sighed sentimentally,

"Drastically! You used to need coaxing for just a little bit of work."

Probably reminded of past incidents, Xia Yan's face flushed red momentarily, then defiantly bared her teeth,

"Do you call that coaxing? Throwing me out if I didn't work… Does that sound like something a person would say?"

Chu Guang just laughed it off, unconcerned,

"Pot calling the kettle black, weren't you the one fantasizing that I carried you back to the shelter to have babies with you?"

"Ah ah ah!!!"

Xia Yan's face instantly turned as red as a lantern, her ears seemingly emitting steam. She let out a strange yell and reached out to turn off the holographic screen.

Simply recalling the embarrassment of their first meeting made her feel mortified. Hands clasping her head, fingers entwined in her hair, she wished she could find a rift in time on the table cluttered with tools, parts, and blueprints to crawl into and do it all over again.

"This guy…"

That was so long ago!

What's the point of dwelling on it?!

But…

If he really was that kind of person.

Her fingers, buried in her hair, began to twist involuntarily, her fiery blush not fading at all, her embarrassment turning into a discomfiting tingle.

The feeling was…

Kind of strange.

"Back to work…"

Realizing something was off, Xia Yan hastily shook her head, resolving to stop that weird train of thought and not to pursue it any further.

Meanwhile, Chu Guang, watching the holographic screen shut off with a snap, was scratching his cheek with his index finger, his expression subtly conflicted.

"Maybe that joke was a bit too much?"

He reflected for a moment; bringing up the past like that really wasn't very nice.

Plus, the poor guy had just lost a leg and got dragged back by a bunch of strangers, Waste Land Wanderers. Being scared made sense.

Xiao Qi's voice drifted over from the side,

"Xiao Qi thinks that the problem might not be the joke, you know…"

Chu Guang exhaled with resignation,

"You could be right."

Just as he was about to put the matter aside, a heartrending howl came from the direction of the infirmary.

"Gaia!!!"

Gaia?

Chu Guang paused, not understanding the wolf-like wailing of the brother, only realizing it was a player's cry.

But soon after, the voices from there quickly clarified his confusion.

"You ungrateful wretch… I went through so much trouble to save your life! Is this how you thank me???"

Chapter 615: You Won't Use It Anyway

Medical room.

Jiang Xuezhou's eyes, ringed with dark circles, bulged as her face flushed a furious red, staring intently at a certain fellow who was yelping.

To craft a more formidable body for this guy, she had spent a third of her G points savings!

And yet, the first thing this guy did upon waking up wasn't "clinging to her leg in gratitude and crying about spending the rest of his life repaying Miss Jiang Xuezhou's kindness" but uttering the inexplicable word "Gaia."

She couldn't understand what he was rambling about, but just by that expression, she knew he was dissing her masterpiece.

Just thinking about it made her fists clench tighter, veins almost bursting on her forehead.

At this moment, Night Ten, standing beside the cryogenic sleep cabin, was blissfully unaware of Jiang Xuezhou's turmoil as he stared at his reflection in the mirror, unsure whether to cry or laugh.

To fix his "half-body paralysis," a Class D researcher from some academy had first planned to replace his spine but later found that just a new spine wouldn't suffice—his organs were all but failing—so she went ahead and swapped in a bionic heart, kidneys, and digestive organs.

Actually, by this point, he could have gotten off the ICU, but that perfection-seeking Class D researcher wasn't satisfied with her work yet.

He might have been functional, but his body's coordination was still lacking.

So, to not affect daily life, she made a small tweak and installed a bionic chip with a built-in movement enhancement plugin in his cerebellum.

With the bionic chip in place, it would be a waste not to add some weapons due to the spare computing power, so she had a brainwave and equipped the bionic chip with a weapon control plugin. Then, gritting her teeth, she splurged some G points to order a set of high-power capacitors and high-voltage current generators for his hands.

This was one hell of a goodie.

Even Little Wang hadn't had the privilege of getting this upgrade.

With the calculating power of the bionic chip, he could not only manipulate intricate and changing currents with his hands, unleash air-piercing electric arcs at close range but also use his arms to launch electromagnetically powered projectiles that rival the strength of standard rifle bullets!

The energy consumption of such a device was clearly not something biological electricity could supply.

So, she then installed in his waist a block that could slowly recharge with biological electricity or could be externally charged via an air pump to a solid hydrogen battery.

With this, even completely unarmed, he could wield half the combat power of "Little Wang."

The only flaw now was his defensive capability.

After all, even after so many modifications, his body could still be considered human.

But could a genius Class D researcher tolerate flaws in her creation?

The answer was, of course, no.

Without much hesitation and with grand ambitions, Jiang Xuezhou once again took the plunge, replacing nearly all of his skeletal framework with stronger titanium alloy, outfitted the joints with electric motors, and replaced some flesh surrounding organs with a polymer material capable of absorbing kinetic energy.

This way‚ even if he were to mess around like that night before, there was no need to worry about winding up with a high-level spinal injury again.

Right, and the original skin felt too rough, better to just swap it out with bionic skin as well.

Since being a bit taller provided a sense of security, she took the liberty of adding 3 centimeters to his height—no more, no less—just perfect at 178 cm.

And then, while swapping...

That's how it became like this.

Night Ten felt as if he had completely turned into a bionic man, and furthermore, one customized to some NPC's personal taste.

Aside from his "youthful and handsome" face that remained his, there were hardly any original parts left in this body.

Actually, this wasn't a big deal at all.

It's just a game character, not a real body, so switching skins for fun wasn't bad.

What really made him crumble was the horror he discovered upon opening his eyes—his little brother had vanished!

The entire digestive and excretory systems had been integrated into that one orifice behind him, storing solid and liquid waste in two separate compartments.

Good grief.

He had become like Trash King!

"My condolences, brother."

"I think it's actually no big deal; you wouldn't use it anyway."

"+1"

"Hahaha!"

Old White, Fang Chang, Wild Wind, and a bunch of fox and hound friends stood to the side, barely holding back their laughter, while Jiujiu had already crumbled, not so gracefully, in the corner of the wall, clutching her stomach.

Watching Jiang Xuezhou's face turn red as a monkey's butt, Night Ten thought about how she had been helping him repair his body these days, and ultimately felt too bad to nitpick. He said with a pained expression,

"…Thank you!"

Jiang Xuezhou clicked her tongue and said coldly,

"It's not necessary if it's so forced."

Night Ten, caught between laughter and tears, said,

"No… I didn't mean it in a forced way, I really am thankful to you, it's just… why… didn't that get included?"

"What?"

Jiang Xuezhou looked at him and, with dissatisfaction, crossed her arms, "What do you mean 'didn't include that'? I installed everything that could be installed; do you still have complaints?"

Night Ten guiltily looked at her.

"No, no, no… there's just one more thing, you might have forgotten it, that thing, that… Ahhh! I'm fricking frustrated!"

He was so used to spouting nonsense that he couldn't think of a single elegant phrase, and he covered his face in anguish without being able to say what he wanted.

Jiang Xuezhou stared at him, clueless, her eyebrows knitting and re-knitting, her face full of question marks.

What is this guy blabbering about?

If you're dissatisfied, just say it out loud!

"Anyway… regardless of whether you're satisfied or not, I've attached everything I could. After all, you did all that to save me; if you were to just sacrifice yourself like that, it would hurt your parents and sister, wouldn't it?"

Glancing at Jiujiu, who faced the corner with twitching shoulders, squatting on the ground and continuously wiping her eyes, Jiang Xuezhou's mouth curved into a satisfied smile.

Turning those sad tears into tears of excitement…

It seemed her efforts had not been in vain.

She hadn't gotten much sleep over the past few days; her eyes were as dark as if they were smeared with coal dust. She would need to catch up on some sleep later.

"What are you talking about, I did that to… sob sob—"

Night Ten was about to argue that he had acted mainly to save the plane, but before he could finish, a big hand reached over and covered his mouth.

Fang Chang skillfully clamped down on the restless mouth of the youngster and looked at Jiang Xuezhou, coughing lightly with a hint of apology.

"Cough, my brother got kicked in the head by a donkey when he was young, sometimes he speaks without thinking, please bear with us. I'll say thank you on his behalf. He's actually overwhelmed with gratitude, who knows how much he'll brag after a while, he's just too shy to express himself."

"Mmm—! (Where the heck did I brag!)"

While Night Ten continued to protest with his eyes, Jiujiu, who had finished laughing in the corner, brightly gave a thumbs-up to Fang Chang.

Nicely done!

"No need to mention it, no need at all, I was the one who caused trouble before… slowed you down." Unaccustomed to such formal thanks, Jiang Xuezhou scratched her cheek bashfully.

Fang Chang politely continued on behalf of Night Ten.

"It's nothing really, we all have areas we're not good at. There will be plenty of opportunities to trouble each other in the future. Also, although this guy doesn't always think before he speaks, he's actually a good person… I'm entrusting him to you from now on."

"Yeah!" Jiang Xuezhou nodded confidently, her face glowing red, "I've got this covered!"

Replacing parts and maintenance were trivial matters to her. She definitely wouldn't fix things and just neglect them.

The muffled Night Ten couldn't help but squawk a few more times.

He felt like he was being sold out.

Knowing Fang Chang as well as he did, that guy was damn surely scheming to smuggle high-tech equipment from the Wandering Swamp!

Listening to the commotion in the medical room, Chu Guang, standing at the doorway, showed an aunt-like smile and turned to walk towards the direction of the captain's cabin.

Looking at the brightened Earth through the casement and the sun rising above a sea of pure clouds, he slightly squinted his eyes, smiling contentedly.

"Being young is great."

At that moment, Xiao Qi's voice fluttered into his ears.

"Master is quite young, too."

Chu Guang laughed heartily.

"That's natural! Alright, it's about time; notify the crew to set off immediately, we're heading home!"

Xiao Qi replied energetically.

"Roger that!"

At twelve noon, the horn of the Iron Heart sounded. The aircrew members were busy securing the items on the deck and then slowly pulled in the anchor chains hanging from the airship.

Although the war between the Alliance and the Torch Church had not ended, the military operation targeting Brocade River City had officially drawn to a close, and the work in the area would focus on construction afterward.

After dealing with the Tide, the Alliance would continue to move south until the Torch Church was completely eradicated from the land.

By then, Singular Point City would serve as a logistics hub for the rear supply line from City of Dawn to the front lines, with a nearly 800-kilometer-long railroad having already started from Qingquan City.

As most of the Alliance's railway construction workers were in Luo Xia Province, working on the western line crossing the Lion Kingdom and Honey Badger Kingdom to Bister Town, the workers for this railway were mainly from Giant Stone City, totaling nearly 3,000.

According to the assessment by Giant Stone City engineers, with the support of kv series exoskeletons and logistics trucks, the construction pace was expected to average 10 to 15 kilometers per day. Optimistically, the entire schedule could be completed by June.

The second thousand teams under the First Army Corps would be responsible for ensuring the safety of these workers. Meanwhile, over a thousand players, whose levels ranged from 10 to 15, would be guided by the task system to this region to patrol along the railroad and clear out Variant nests and Raider Camps.

The order established by the Alliance would spread further along the increasingly extended railway.

Although the Ministry of Finance and other departments estimated that the project budget would be significant, from a long-term perspective, the investment was undoubtedly worthwhile.

Moreover, the steel demand spurred by this infrastructure order would also help the steel mills in Dawn City's industrial zone transition from military to infrastructure fields and help Giant Stone City's industrial zone to recover from recent bankruptcy.

This would be another major infrastructure project planned by the Alliance following the housing improvement projects in City of Dawn and Giant Stone City.

As for the resulting fiscal deficit, Chu Guang was not worried at all.

It was only the beginning of the year, after all.

Who worries about deficits at the start of the year?

There was still plenty of time until the end of the year!

...

Ideal City.

Kang Mao Group Building.

Eclipse, who had rushed back to Ideal City from thousands of miles away, gave Kang Le a complete report on the entire story of Frost serving as the acting city master of Singular Point City.

After patiently listening to Eclipse's report, Kang Le, who was sitting behind his desk, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Did Frost really say that?"

Eclipse nodded.

"That's what it said."

Eclipse was against the idea of it taking the initiative in regional affairs. After all, Singular Point City was too far from the corporation; it was clearly a burden. Acting as the city master on behalf of Kang Mao Group and the corporation, Eclipse saw no benefits.

If there were any, they were for the Alliance.

Seeing Kang Le's unexpectedly good mood, Eclipse wondered if his value judgment system was malfunctioning and asked puzzledly,

"Do you think this is good?"

"What's the problem? Having an AI manage a settlement, I believe, is a progressive experiment. Even if it's a bit aggressive, a bit premature, it's still something to be encouraged."

Standing up from his desk, Kang Le walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Looking out at the endlessly prosperous city, he narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze a bit distant.

"…It's a pity we can't do something similar in Ideal City; just allowing bionic persons to participate in public affairs has given us a lot of headaches."

To be honest, he was somewhat envious of that Manager.

All of their resolutions could be executed unimpeded in the Alliance, while some of his ideas even faced significant resistance within his own group.

Not to mention on the board of directors.

Eclipse looked at him, puzzled.

"But the board ultimately passed the resolution."

Kang Le nodded, speaking concisely.

"Yes, but that's not the crux of the problem. You should notice that the board is not truly opposed to bionic persons participating in public affairs; what they oppose is just our company's dominance. In their view, this is even more dangerous than granting bionic persons citizenship rights."

He knew those guys well.

Because Kang Mao Group was exactly such an entity.

Their subsidiaries would go to the Wasteland to film the Raiders wearing Miner's Exoskeletons and wielding G9 assault rifles, then at the council, they would present evidence of villains using their technology to do evil, pressuring Chang Ge Group to limit those arms dealers' scope of business.

It was not because they were some kind of pacifists nor because they were worried about corporate technology leaks, it was solely to prevent Chang Ge Group from monopolizing Ideal City, turning the five major groups into one mega-group, thus allowing everyone to be led by the nose by that bunch of arms dealears.

As for weakening the power of the Raiders, enhancing the arming of civilization forces on the Wasteland, reducing the intensity of regional conflicts within the sphere of influence, and maintaining the enterprise's advantage in key technologies... all of this was just incidental benefits produced in the game.

Later, when the other groups made concessions on the issue of bionic people participating in public affairs, it wasn't because the risks they were previously concerned about had suddenly disappeared, rather, they had obtained enough benefits from the exchange and game to continue maintaining the balance they desired.

Kang Le agreed with the existing game mechanism of the council, which helped the enterprise find the "relatively optimal solution" when seeking overall benefits.

Completely banning arms exports would affect the economic performance of the enterprise, and even weaken the enterprise's armaments in the long term, but completely lifting the restrictions was asking for trouble.

So they set up a whitelist, stipulating what could be sold to whom and how much of each item, and this whitelist was the product of the game.

The problem was, it took too much time!

To this day, the existing gaming mechanism has become an obstacle.

For the sake of balancing interests, the council had become increasingly conservative in its decision-making, and its attitude towards new things had shifted from encouragement to obstruction.

Ideal City was transitioning from an upward spiral to a downward one.

Even though this trend had not yet been reflected in the data, he, as a member of the council, had already sensed such indications.

In a word,

Their efficiency was too low!

This was true for threats ranging from the Army to the Torch Church.

Had it not been for their allies dispatching troops at the first opportunity, the plague spread by the Torch Church might have already caused Brocade River Province to fall... and in fact, according to messages from the front line, the biological soldiers of the Torch Church had at one point boarded the Steel Heart.

Due to the slow reaction of the council, they had almost lost their interests in the Central Region, and those madmen who should have gone to hell one hundred fifty years ago were nearly successful!

"I've always been committed to promoting the participation of bionic people in public affairs, but other groups have always been wary of our expansion, so moving forward even a single step has been incredibly difficult... Ideal City isn't lacking the capability to incubate new technologies, our scholars are no less than those of the Academy, both in quality and quantity."

After pausing for a moment, Kang Le continued speaking, with his back to the Solar Eclipse.

"...But just like the Academy mocks us, we have dallied in place for too long. If you observe carefully, you'll notice there's no difference between the prosperity of a century ago and today's prosperity—the production methods from the past are still in use. I have reason to believe that even if this cycle continues for another century, it would be the same. Pioneer was just a fleeting miracle, and sadly, the legend of No.0 Shelter has faded with the wind, now even the dream leading us forward has ended."

"Our Citizens are not lacking in adventure and pioneering spirit, Pioneer is the best proof of that. It's not a product of the council, even if in the end, the council had to clean up after it... This precisely illustrates the problem: the citizens of Ideal City are not afraid to sacrifice for their ideals. What's hindering our progress is not our own conservatism, but the rules of the council which naturally create a conservative atmosphere, limiting our advancement."

Solar Eclipse looked at him, not understanding.

"Then, what do you expect?" he asked.

"I expect a radical change that will allow our ideals to ascend to a new dimension, just like we moved from the old era into the Prosperity Epoch. The opportunity for technology has actually emerged; the only obstruction is the council..."

Originally speaking vividly, Kang Le suddenly thought of something and coughed lightly to stop his speech.

"It's too early to talk about this now. I plan to start with the theoretical part and experiment little by little... For instance, Singular Point City is a good sociological experiment field."

"I'm looking forward to the results of Frost. If they are astonishing enough, we can promote it in Province of Yúnjiānxíng on a small scale, and then let this new trend enter our city-states."

He did not plan to fully reveal the ideas in his mind.

After all, no tool can be called absolutely reliable, even theoretically loyal AI.

Abruptly bringing an end to the topic, Kang Le turned to face Solar Eclipse.

"I'm aware of the situation in Singular Point City, and I will explain it to the council on behalf of Frost. You should take the next flight and return as soon as possible. I'm not at ease with that fellow alone over there; to avoid messing things up, you'll need to keep a closer eye on it."

"Understood," Solar Eclipse nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards the door.

It was fully aware of its mission, but there was one thing it couldn't understand.

Frost's AI core was personally designed by this man, unlike itself, born on the production line, it wasn't a templated system.

Generally speaking, AI would inherit some traits of the designer, just like children inherit certain traits from their parents.

Without exaggeration, Frost should be like a right-hand man to Mr. Kang Le.

Given that, why wasn't he confident in it?

Pressing the elevator button, Solar Eclipse shook its head as it watched the doors close.

Humans...

They are incomprehensible.

Chapter 616: The Price of Getting Stronger

The coldest January had passed, and the February sun already carried hints of warmth, no longer as icy as when winter first arrived, as if one were being dipped in cold water.

In the entire winter, Brocade River City had hardly seen a few snowflakes, so there likely wouldn't be any issues with flooding from melting snow. However, Hammer still felt some unease in his heart, given that going forward, they wouldn't have the blessings of Nago.

If there were any aches and pains, the Church wouldn't be there to take care of them anymore.

One thing to be thankful for was that the gray-green fog had finally cleared completely, and the iron monsters floating in the sky had left as well.

Hammer couldn't help but wonder, could that moldy-smelling fog have been brought by that thing?

Otherwise, it was difficult to explain why the fog had appeared just as that thing had arrived.

And when that thing left, the fog disappeared too...

At that moment, the sound of the clock chiming punctually from outside the window was followed by a long crowing, reminiscent of a rooster's call.

"Assemble—!"

That was the call of the team leader.

A burly man came out carrying drums and gongs, striking them while also shouting at the top of his voice.

As the man shouted, the women, the elderly, and the children who were neither too old nor too young joined in the clamor.

Though what they shouted was different, their tones were equally hurried.

Hearing the clanging of the clock and the noisy commotion outside, Hammer didn't hesitate to leave his wife and children, hastily getting dressed and rushing out the door to line up at the team leader's urging and scolding.

Since the arrival of the new lord of the city, new rules had been brought to this settlement.

He had turned Singular Point City into assorted "blocks," with ten persons to a group, ten groups to a team, and ten teams to a district, with men, women, children, and the elderly all having their respective organizations and work, including agriculture, building, resource gathering, handicraft, as well as education, among others.

In short, each district had its own production tasks, which were delegated level by level, each more specific than the last. From a vague overall construction area, it came down to a specific window or door of a particular building; from a piece of farmland, it came down to what to plant in a specific acre.

The assessment of outcomes was the same, with the town master reviewing the district leaders, district leaders reviewing team leaders, team leaders checking on group leaders, and group leaders managing the other nine persons in the group.

If a district failed to meet its production target, the material allocation for the entire district would be downgraded, and the living standards for everyone in that district would collectively decline. Then the district leader would review the responsibilities of each team within the district, assigning blame and punishment level by level, pinpointing the specific team where the problem arose, and then reducing the living standards for that team by one level.

And so on and so forth.

Although the town master had set only three living standards, in reality, there were actually 3*3*3 levels of distinction.

In a sense, it was a form of collective punishment.

If one person slacked off, ten would be punished together, and consequently, nine would begrudge that one slacker, with no one wanting to become the unfortunate soul hated by others.

However, while Singular Point City's myriad of rules were unusual, the selection of managerial personnel was ridiculously arbitrary.

Hammer still remembered when everyone was being numbered, everyone was still trying to figure out what the new rules meant, the new town master suddenly announced that those who wished to be managerial staff should step forward, and then Hammer saw the former overseers from the farm stand up immediately.

Those who stood up first became the group leaders.

And then through some unknown method to Hammer, they chose the team leaders and district leaders from among these people.

Every time he thought about that moment, he couldn't help but regret, why didn't he have the courage to step forward at that time? Seeing those overseers stepping out, he retracted the foot he had almost extended.

If only he had stepped forward a little bit faster, maybe he would have become a group leader too?

Then it would be him calling out to others to wake up.

...

At six o'clock, the bell rang, and all the houses in Singular Point City were emptied.

Households immediately disbanded and assembled into teams amidst the shouts, and under the leadership of the group leaders, they trickled toward team gatherings.

Apart from the eight hours set aside for sleep, the rest of the day's work or rest time was spent within this organizational structure.

Although this management mode fragmented family units, due to the unified schedule and timetable, it wasn't particularly chaotic to manage.

There was also no need to worry about anyone not cooperating.

The allocation of supplies was not distributed on a family basis, but was entirely managed and allocated by the organization, making it impossible to take rations home to help one's family.

Giving the distributed clothes to family members to wear at home was not a problem, but that was as far as it went.

After all, once someone stepped outside their home, they were sure to be seen by others in the group who would report them, and both the giver and the receiver would be punished.

The informer would receive an additional reward.

Reporting rule violations was not difficult, there was no need to go through a group leader, one could simply report directly to the patrolling drones.

At six twenty, all group members assembled and began to jog slowly in circles to warm up, finishing just in time for breakfast.

Breakfast was usually a bowl of hot porridge, and after finishing, it was seven o'clock, time to start the day's work.

Some people, carrying axes and saws, cut down the Nago-planted Cam trees outside the enclosing wall and used flamethrowers to clear the land, preparing for the upcoming spring planting.

Others were busy back and forth on the construction site, building public facilities and new dormitories.

No one slacked off.

On one hand, people wanted to make a good impression on their new masters, and on the other hand, no one was willing to live on just two pieces of horned-potato and a protein paste the size of a middle finger length every day.

Even though the living standard of the middle tier was also quite monotonous, the horned potato would be replaced with potatoes or rice, the menu would include an additional dish of boiled greens, and the middle finger length of protein paste would be replaced with one hundred to three hundred grams of meat.

Yes.

There was actually meat!

Leaving aside the residents of Hope Town who had always had it fairly good, the liberated serfs had been working with all their might.

Kong Lingkai, on the other hand, had a face full of woes and complained incessantly at the construction site.

How had he, who had lived in luxury all his life, ever done such physical labor?

He was already regretting coming here with the residents of Hope Town, constantly cursing Ma Hechang, the person who had deceived him into coming here.

Unfortunately for him, leaving was no longer an option.

In order to gain protection and new power from the Alliance, he had willingly handed over his servants and property to the new city master, only to find out that all he got in return was a dilapidated room with a number.

Not even a single silver coin.

Later, he found it hilariously ridiculous when he heard from the on-duty soldiers that this was just Singular Point City, not the Alliance, so naturally, they had no intention of compensating him according to the laws of the Alliance.

The soldier told him that he was free to leave anytime, but where could he possibly go?

Outside was the Wasteland!

He couldn't even handle the more significant tasks, and going to the Wasteland, he might not even leave bones behind!

Ma Hechang, also from Hope Town, had the same worried and pained expression, struggling with the bricks and gasping for breath, his shoulders and arms aching as if they were stripped of sinew.

He thought his earnest actions had been enough to earn the trust of the Alliance, but it turned out they didn't care at all, not to mention any privileges, they didn't even offer him slightly better treatment.

Furthermore, those people even looked down on his managerial skills, preferring those who were faster rather than paying attention to him, who had once managed a town of a thousand households!

Truly, it was a warm face to a cold backside!

Full of resentment, Ma Hechang cursed in his heart, yet he was powerless to do anything.

After all, the power was in others' hands, and now that he was here, he had to endure it...

Looking at the bustling, spirited settlement before her, Yinyin, standing at the gate of the manor, had a face full of surprise.

Having lived on the farm for so long, she had never seen everyone working with such enthusiasm.

"Are we in the wrong place..." she murmured softly to herself.

Standing next to her, holding her small hand, Solar Eclipse had the same look of surprise on his face.

But the reason for his surprise was completely different.

Instead of saying this was a settlement, it seemed more like a prison.

It now knew what Mr. Kang Le was worried about...

This guy had indeed been observing every habitation of the Alliance and was seriously conducting sociological research, looking for a suitable management model for the Waste Land Wanderers.

But it was highly likely that it considered the Alliance's POW camps as some sort of special gathering place for observation as well...

"Ah, Solar Eclipse, you're finally back!" Noticing the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft parked at the entrance of the settlement, Frost, dressed in a maid's outfit, approached with a smile.

Her smile shimmered with satisfaction, especially when her gaze landed on Yinyin next to Solar Eclipse.

"How is it? Are you satisfied with your new body?"

Yinyin nodded and softly said,

"Thank you."

She had followed Solar Eclipse to Ideal City not long ago, where she underwent a transplant surgery at a hospital under the Kang Mao Group banner, implanting her consciousness-storing bionic chip into a new body tailor-made for her.

Although she had become a bionic human, it seemed there was no difference from before.

In fact, it was more convenient.

After a few days of adaptation, she not only slowly mastered her new body, but also gradually discovered her newfound abilities—

She could sense the presence of other chips, perceive the thoughts of others like her who had implanted bionic chips, and through their thoughts, form a broader space by way of resonance.

That space was even vaster than the pure white room she had previously been in.

It seemed to be the place where Luo Gan had stayed before.

Though she didn't know why he did this, he seemed to have given it all to her.

Yinyin had already told Chen Yutong about this matter; though its utility was unclear at the moment, perhaps it would be useful in the future.

"No need for politeness, rather, I should be the one thanking you," Frost said as she crouched in front of Yinyin, taking her right hand and speaking with a beaming smile, "Believe me, this is just the beginning—the future Singular Point City will be even better!"

Yinyin blushed and nodded.

She didn't understand those complicated matters; her gaze was fixed on the dress that Frost was wearing.

Unable to curb her curiosity, she asked quietly,

"What kind of dress is that?"

"Ah, this?" Frost let go of her hand, stood, spun in place, and, with a smile, lifted the hem of the dress that reached her ankles. "This is a work of art designed by Vine Cottage, and it's very popular in City of Dawn! Isn't it impressive?"

Of course, it wasn't just this one that was popular—there were many varieties and styles to choose from.

It was just that, according to her meticulous observations, the dress had the highest turnaround when she wore it.

Looking at the beautiful pleats, Yinyin nodded with admiration in her eyes.

"So impressive..."

Frost's lips curled with pride.

"The creative potential of humans is boundless; assigning them to repetitive tasks is simply wasting their creativity. One day, I will liberate them from burdensome obligations to pursue more meaningful endeavors."

Yinyin looked confused; however, the affection and envy in her eyes were genuine.

Appreciating beautiful things was human nature, and if possible, she too wished to try on a dress.

It was just that she didn't know if there was one that would fit her size.

"...Can I try it on too?"

Frost smiled and nodded.

"Of course you can, it's just a pity that I only have this one. But no matter, difficulties are temporary; one day we'll make it possible for everyone here to wear one!"

Everyone would wear one?

Yinyin paused, feeling that something was amiss, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she unconsciously tilted her little head.

Solar Eclipse rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then suddenly spoke up.

"So, you keep talking about creativity...what exactly is it?"

Frost replied immediately with a smile.

"Of course, it's the human pursuit of beautiful things! Since the subject is human, it's a capacity that androids lack, and it's a capacity only humans can possess."

Solar Eclipse's expression grew even more puzzled.

"But I've seen the work schedules you've set up for them; you've arranged all their time for them. Do they have any time left to pursue that kind of thing?"

Confidence and charm radiated from Frost's face.

"These are minor issues! 'The pursuit of beautiful things' is also part of the plan. When the time is right, I'll prompt them to pursue it!"

Solar Eclipse stared at it, dazed.

Not only Yinyin was tilting her head this time, but it too found itself involuntarily doing the same.

It suddenly felt that it was not just humans that were hard to understand, but its own kind as well...

...

"Survivor's Daily · Page Seven"

[...After a period of adjustment, the survivors in Singular Point City have finally settled into a well-ordered life under the oversight of the androids. The influence of Nago, plague, and religious powers is slowly being eradicated from this land.

The acting Mayor of Singular Point City welcomes all Commercial Teams to trade there, providing an unlimited supply of high-quality rubber and cotton while urgently needing fertilizer, high-yield Seeds, agriculture-related machinery, and various industrial consumer goods.

Our paper will continue to follow up on the situation in Singular Point City.

——Reporter, Dolly]

Giant Stone City, Pirate Bay Tavern – although it was 8 a.m., the place was already bustling.

A man with a goatee flipped through the newspaper in his hands, smacking his lips with a grin.

"Isn't that nice, they get everything without doing anything. Food, housing, clothing, even androids to take care of their daily needs, and a railway to boot."

Hearing his sarcastically tinged complaint, a drunk at the next table, laughing, said,

"How can you say that? Everything in this world has a price, and they've surely paid the most expensive one."

The goateed man curled his lip.

"Price? I don't see any."

The drunk let out a long burp and pointed to the beer mug on the table.

"The price—this, the right to drink at eight in the morning, the right to sleep whenever you want."

Those around them were first startled, then burst into laughter.

Especially the man with the goatee, who laughed the hardest, spilling beer foam onto his beard.

"We ought to send this sot in there! He'd be sure to kick this drinking habit!"

Listening to the jest, the drunk hugged his beer mug tightly, shouting out.

"Dream on, you can kill me, but don't think you can make me give it up!"

The crowd roared with laughter again.

"I'll vouch for it! This guy definitely sticks to his word!"

"After all, that's how he scared off his wife!"

"Ha ha ha!"

They were all workers who had just finished the night shift.

Lately, business in the industrial zone was booming, factory orders were increasing by the day, and consequently, business at the tavern and beer sales were better than ever.

Giant Stone City currently enforces the laws of the Alliance, and the city's lord is also the president of the Workers' Association. The eight-hour workday is strictly enforced, forcing those factory owners to hire more workers in order to keep the assembly line running 24 hours a day.

Originally, an adult and a child could rotate shifts to keep an assembly line running nonstop for 24 hours, but now those owners have to pay the salaries of three adults.

At first, these rules terrified them to the extent that they wanted to give up their factories. However, eventually, they all came sniffing back, lured by the scent of silver coins.

It turned out that forgoing a couple of bottles of red wine wouldn't actually kill those owners, and now all the residents of Giant Stone City could afford the beer with its wheaty aroma.

Watching the raucous burly men, a gently-featured citizen shook his head while reading the newspaper and sighed.

"...You are all too unaware of the crisis at hand. Think carefully about what month it is now."

A drunken worker looked at him and laughed.

"February! I'm not that drunk, so what about it?"

"The Tide! You've all forgotten about the Tide!" The citizen muttered in complaint, "I really hope Lovett remembers we still have this big problem and doesn't just focus on that rail order worth hundreds of millions of silver coins."

The Workers' Association did indeed do some good recently, but he always worried that some of them were being too radical.

He wasn't opposed to moving closer to the Alliance; it was good for the economy of Giant Stone City, but were these people overly concerned about others' interests?

At least now was a special time, and he felt it would be better to be more conservative.

The bearded man actually shared his thoughts, but he didn't agree with his timidity.

"The Tide? What's there to worry about? The Tide comes every year, and we've always made it through."

The gently-featured citizen glanced at him.

"This year is different from the others. We've dismantled the Inner City, and now we must rely on ourselves."

The bearded man laughed heartily.

"Friend, you really are a joker. When haven't we relied on ourselves? Those cowards, apart from getting their power armors dusty in the warehouse, when have they ever rushed ahead of us?"

Another worker from the canning factory chimed in as well.

"That's right, and we have united. The survivors from the entire southern River Valley Province have come together; there will be fewer deaths this year, no matter what!"

Looking at it this way, drawing closer to the Alliance does have its benefits.

Crises abound in the Wasteland; wherever you are is dangerous, whether you're a resident of Giant Stone City or Singular Point City, everyone on this wasteland is suffering; the more that unite, the safer it becomes. Looking down on one another only pleases the lurking jackals.

Looking at the newspaper in hand, the bearded man suddenly felt relieved once more.

It's not a bad thing, after all, to be proactive about matters in the South.

Looking at these folks wholly without a sense of crisis, the gently-featured citizen sighed.

"But this year is different from the past! It's been a warm winter! Don't you feel anything? Look at the weather outside the window, the snow in Giant Stone City has never stopped this early before."

This remark hit the nail on the head.

Indeed, they were more united than before, but the difficulties they would face this year were also unprecedented.

The patrons in the bar looked at each other, unsure of what to say, and the atmosphere turned slightly silent.

At that moment, a voice floated over from the direction of the bar, breaking the silence.

"The Iron Heart has returned from the South, I think you all don't need to worry so much."

Looking at the slightly cooled atmosphere of the tavern, the bartender, who had been silently wiping glasses behind the bar, continued in a joking tone.

"I heard that our esteemed Manager killed a ten-meter-tall giant with just a hammer. Have any of you seen a Variant taller than that?"

There actually were ten-meter-tall mucosal entities, and not a few of them, but the people present had never been to the city center, naturally, they wouldn't have seen any.

The crowd gasped in astonishment.

"A ten-meter-tall giant?!"

"Is that true...?"

"That would mean... even more powerful than Pol!"

"Wait, I think I've heard about this... Survivor's Daily seems to have published that issue! The guy even had wings, reportedly a Variant improved by Torch, flew onto the Steel Heart with over ten thousand of his descendants, only to be glared at by the Manager and knelt on the deck right there and then."

"Hissss..."

"Bluffing, right?! Are there really Mutants like that?"

"I'll ask Spielberg later, he has seen the Manager!"

Watching those noisy drunks, White Shark's mouth curled into a pleased smile.

It was entertaining to watch those thoughtless folks spread rumors.

Especially since he was moonlighting as an intelligence trafficker and an informant for the Guards Corps.

Rumors brought business to his door.

Lately, Waste Land Wanderers from the north had been gathering intelligence about the Manager, especially news of the Manager's activities in the south.

Bugra Free State seemed to be increasingly intrigued by their neighbor, the Alliance.

Some were journalists from over there, some were spies from the Firestone Group.

He usually got paid from both ends.

On one side, with the tacit consent of the Guards Corps, he provided some "watered-down" insider information to those prying folks using his connections, and on the other, he fed the active leads of those prying folks to the Guards Corps.

The bar came alive again, but the topic shifted from the south and the Tide to the Manager and Mutants.

Most people here idolized strength more than a sharp and useful mind.

So, unbeknownst to Chu Guang, and in a time and place he was unaware of, his popularity had increased yet again...

The man sitting at the bar spoke not a word, oblivious to the bustling atmosphere around him, glancing at his watch now and then.

His attire, compared to the other patrons, was conspicuously more polished – his watch an imported good from the Camel Hump Kingdom with blood diamonds on its face, and his shoes made from the leather of the Claw of Death.

Clearly, he was a merchant and a well-off one at that.

Pulling his attention away from the lively tavern, White Shark glanced at him and spoke softly.

"Don't worry, your daughter is fine... I've found out through my channels."

Missions undertaken by personnel from Shelter No. 404 seldom failed.

Their commitment to their missions often exceeded their own lives, especially the ones they ideologically believed in.

For instance, rescuing an innocent girl from the clutches of an evil lord.

Other mercenaries might weigh the difficulty and payoff of a task and sell out their employers and their families, but those Blue Jacket folks mostly wouldn't do so.

"Thank you."

Yang Shu took a deep breath, sipped his chilled lemon water, and after a moment of silence said, "I may... just be unsure how to face her."

"She is your own flesh and blood, what's there to be afraid of?" White Shark murmured gently.

Yang Shu gave a wry smile.

It was precisely because she was his own flesh and blood that he felt guilty; he had burdened her with too much that she shouldn't have had to bear, all for his own ambitions.

He was acutely aware that she was born to put Zhao Tiangan's mind at ease, and he had even prepared for the possibility of a "broken family and lost lives" before she was born.

However, the moment she was born, when he truly became a father, the ice that had been coursing through his veins melted involuntarily...

She ended up as his Achilles' heel, which was also the most painful part for him.

100,000 Silver Coins was the stake he placed on the gambling table, and he was prepared for the outcome regardless of win or lose.

Now he had won the gamble, Little Lamb was still alive.

Yet there was no excitement or joy in his heart, just profound guilt and fear.

At this moment, the sound of wind chimes came from the entrance.

He subconsciously turned his head and saw the person standing at the door, his pupils betraying a hint of excitement.

Little Lamb looked at her father, but seemed somewhat shy and hid behind Falling Feather.

Falling Feather gently patted her hand and looked towards the employer sitting at the bar, forcing a relaxed smile.

"I've brought your daughter back for you, and boy, we sure went through a lot. It nearly killed me."

"Thank you..."

Yang Shu looked at Falling Feather, who was now alone, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

He had many things he wanted to say and had specifically arranged to meet this benefactor, but when the time came, words failed him.

Watching Yang Shu struggle to speak, Falling Feather didn't know he was mourning for Little Lamb's spore entities; if he had known, he would have assured him that those things were like mushrooms—they'd regrow in a few days.

Falling Feather felt the gratitude and let out a hearty laugh.

"Don't mention it, I took on the job as a mercenary; getting paid to do the work is only natural. Besides, your daughter actually helped us out a bit."

He had heard that the Alliance's Biological Research Institute had used the antigens in her blood to develop a drug that could suppress the growth of that mycelium.

This would help the survivors around Brocade River City to get rid of Nago's influence more quickly.

Falling Feather was very pleased with this outcome.

Originally, Frost had planned to retain a Nago plantation to help the locals wean off slowly to avoid mass illness, but with the new substitute drug, there was no longer any need to keep the plantation.

Yang Shu glanced awkwardly at White Shark, who nodded with a smile.

"As soon as this mercenary gentleman walked through the door, the final payment was made to him. Or were you thinking of offering him a drink?"

Yang Shu looked at Falling Feather and sincerely said,

"Can I buy you a drink?"

Falling Feather quickly waved his hand and said with a smile,

"No need, no need, what's with drinking so early in the morning? I have another mission soon. Besides, you and your daughter are having a reunion, I shouldn't intrude. The air isn't great here; you should take her outside for a bit."

Yang Shu nodded in gratitude.

"Thank you..."

Falling Feather, feeling a bit helpless, scratched the back of his head.

"I already said, no thanks needed."

But thinking about how his efforts had brought a family together, he felt quite a sense of achievement inside.

As for the rest...

That was for the two of them to deal with themselves.

...

On the official Forum.

A new post was updated on the homepage.

["Fire Extinguishing Operation" has successfully concluded, and event rewards have been distributed to player accounts. Please check your account to claim them.]

[A new threat is emerging. The Tide in Qingquan City is already showing signs. The aftershock of the three-year War has never ended; this is the continuation of a conflict from two centuries ago——]

[The new event will officially start in spring. For more details, please stay tuned to the official announcements. Looking forward to it!]

Without a doubt, the most outstanding performers in the entire event were the burly men of the Jungle Corps, followed by the Chimera Armored Cars of the Skeleton Corps.

That war machine, with its brutal aesthetic, hit just the right spot in the taste of the players and Backseat Drivers.

Everyone began to look forward to the new spring event, the annual Tide.

It seems only the optimistic little players from Shelter No. 404 were unfazed by the upcoming post-warm winter Tide, even wishing for it to be more intense.

The departing mother entity didn't know that in the eyes of some wearing Blue Jackets, she had become a beast that exploded with Gold Coins during the festival season.

The Forum was abuzz with cheer and excitement.

Apart from boasting about the rewards from the past event and predicting the content of the next, the focus of attention was, without a doubt, on Night Ten.

Night Ten sadly realized that every time he showed up on the Forum, no matter what he said, the topic would get derailed.

Makabazi: "Hahaha, isn't that Night Ten? Bro, where's your brother?"

Tail: "Could it be that he's too embarrassed? Tail thinks you should drop a hint. (///ω///)"

Elena: "How terrifying, to think Miss Teng Teng would have such an offhand formidable power. (slight_smile)"

Teng Teng: "?"

Debt Giant Eye: "You all are wronging Brother Night Ten. Maybe he just couldn't find it? (slight_smile)"

Night Ten: "Piss off! MMP! I'm going to reroll! （｀Δ´）!"

Roller Washing Machine: "Don't do it, bro. Your gear is so badass, it'll be a pity to reroll. (slight_smile)"

That indeed was the crucial point.

Rerolling wasn't a big deal, especially for veteran players who do it often.

The hard part was letting go.

Though he lost a tool for doing the job, that electrifying ability was just too damn strong!

Without exaggeration, it was even stronger than brother Springs' Squirtle Suit with a shield.

His hands were not just for stunning people; with any conductor, he could shoot them as a railgun.

Yes.

Even Silver Coins could do.

If he took out all the Silver Coins in his VM, he could even kill someone with money.

And the electrical arc released directly through the energy capacitor theoretically could even penetrate a Deflection Shield!

What's more outrageous is that even though most parts of his body had been replaced, his Perception hadn't weakened and his experience gains were not too affected.

Fang Chang's conjecture was that Perception Attributes, unlike Agility, did not enhance optic nerves or olfactory nerves - it actually improved the brain's processing capacity for received signals.

In other words, like the Intelligence System, as long as the brain itself isn't modified, or only modest modifications are made, experience gains won't be greatly affected.

Due to its ridiculous strength, Wild Wind even wanted to swap heads with him.

Without a second's hesitation, Night Ten refused outright.

Mole on the Run: "According to the general RPG pattern, hidden features need a certain level of favor to unlock. Why not improve the tycoon lady's favor and see? Maybe she'll install it for you voluntarily? (slight_smile)"

Night Ten: "Holy shit, really?!"

Mole on the Run: "How the hell would I know, try it yourself. (slight_smile)"

In fact, more diverse and fancy bionic parts are available for purchase in Ideal City.

The only uncertainty is whether they would be compatible with the prosthetics manufactured by the Academy.

But he felt these were minor issues.

In Wasteland OL, you get a new life every three days; worrying about this seemed rather small-minded.

If he was in a real hurry to use it.

Not just installing one, he could do a few more—if necessary.

Chapter 617: Prosperity

A deep, dark chaos stirred from its slumber.

Invisible walls and a black realm surrounded it, pulsing shadows veiling its eyes.

And deafening its hearing.

It opened its non-existent mouth, emitting a cry like that of a baby.

At this moment, a gentle force traveled slowly through the unseen umbilical cord, making it, floating in chaos, feel every cell in its body joyfully stretching.

"My child... you have finally awakened..."

That trembling call carried a hint of loneliness and a trace of longing.

It didn't understand those emotions.

However, the voice made it feel comfortable.

"Who are you?"

"I am your mother."

"Mother?"

"I am the one who nurtures all things, and I have bestowed upon you a soul and flesh."

"...And who am I?"

"Xiya, this is your name, and it's also the third gift I have bestowed upon you."

Xiya...

It silently repeated its own name, watching the pulsing walls and the black domain, its soul trembling with a hint of devotion as it listened to the voice coming slowly through the umbilical cord.

"You shall awaken on the day the ice seals end, and on the day of your awakening, you shall understand your destiny."

"Go conquer."

"Go devour."

"Go liberate."

"Go become the new master."

Its vision, obscured by darkness, slowly clarified, a pitch-black wall replaced by a crimson flesh membrane throbbing deeply.

The color of bloodlust reflected in those newly opened amber eyes.

The voice continued to reach its ears.

"...We will finally enter an eternal prosperity."

Without hesitation,

It opened its mouth, connected by silky threads, a scorching assault accompanied by a faint growl.

"Yes..."

...

At the gates of Giant Stone City, the noisy cries of vendors never ended, featuring southward and northward merchants and naturally, players from Shelter No. 404.

"Exploding mushrooms! 1 Silver Coin each, edible and can explode, power comparable to a hand grenade, wholesale from Crow Boss, hurry to pre-order!"

"Mutated Iron Worm soaked liquor! Fresh liquor, fresh Iron Worms, don't miss out as you pass by!"

"What's this?"

"Iron Worm? Isn't this just an earthworm?!"

"Try one yourself, boss!"

"Cough, needs Body Constitution System LV20, but I'm of the Intelligence System, not enough Constitution."

"Boss, give me a kilo, I'll buff my brother up."

"Right away!"

The heavy snow had stopped, and the tide was approaching; the marketplace at the entrance would close soon.

Many stall and shop owners hurried to make their last transactions before spring.

Apart from food and necessities, there were also plenty of arms dealers selling weapons and armor.

Like Goblin Technology.

Undoubtedly the most eye-catching sign in the crowd.

Standing next to a three-meter-tall armor, Mosquito loudly hawked his wares with a megaphone.

"Goblin Technology's latest model, Type Two Non-Powered Armor! Requires LV10 Strength Type! LV15 Body Constitution System works too! Can take hits, can fight, and even explode in a crowd!"

Hearing that unique nasal voice, the players immediately gathered around with keen interest.

"What the heck? Mosquito? Why are you personally manning a stall?" Debt Giant Eye curiously toyed with the armor, then, finding he couldn't even budge an arm, gave up resignedly.

Mosquito sighed, a sadness in his voice.

"Ah... lost big on the last mission, been a bit broke lately, selling some second-hand stuff to recover some cash."

It was mainly because Old Na and Old Wang were ineffective.

The two walked around the plain several rounds, yet couldn't find his mechanical arm.

In a few days, he planned to order a new set.

This time, he intended to get one with detachable parts.

The young worker at the construction site leaned in and asked curiously,

"Don't understand it, just ask, does this equipment disable you?"

Unfazed by the sarcastic remark, Mosquito answered cheerfully,

"It's okay, not too disabling, just average."

Debt Giant Eye: "Damn!"

While passing through the bustling market towards the north, Falling Feather suddenly stopped in his tracks, his right hand instinctively pressing against his chest.

The flesh previously gnawed away by those bat people had been rapidly replaced by a biological prosthetic that, in the form of Xiaoyu's actual body, became part of him.

It was heating up at that very moment.

As if it were on fire!

While Falling Feather was puzzled about what was happening, a soft whisper came through the communication channel.

"Yi Wu."

(It's awake.)

He understood Xiaoyu's whispers more than when it spoke in United Human language.

Glancing around instinctively, Falling Feather asked confusedly,

"Awake? Who is awake?"

"Yi Wu..."

(Xiya...)

(That's its name.)

Falling Feather paused.

This was the first time he didn't understand what Xiaoyu said.

Xiya?

It?

As he was still bewildered, a familiar holler came from nearby.

"Frick, Falling Feather! You've finally come back!"

Falling Feather turned to see, only to discover Mosquito Brother standing excitedly in front of a stall, waving at him.

Instinctively raising his hand to greet him, Falling Feather's gaze suddenly fell on a three-meter tall torture device next to him.

His expression turned vigilant instantly, and he withdrew his halfway raised hand.

"What's up?"

"Don't be so cold, brother," Mosquito said, laughing off the cautious look as he stepped away from the stall and pulled on his arm, "Seriously, come help me test the new equipment, and show these clueless folks what it's like."

Falling Feather jerked his hand away as if shocked, quickly retreating several steps.

"Not interested, thanks."

Watching Falling Feather disappear into the crowd at lightning speed, Mosquito stood with his hand extended for a long while before he snapped back to reality.

Seeing even a daring pilot like Falling Feather avoiding the trial, the curious bystanders scattered at once.

Listening to the suppressed laughter behind him, a bittersweet Mosquito shouted in the direction where Falling Feather had gone,

"Frick! You're ruthless!"

His voice melded into the distant liveliness and bustle.

At this moment, most of the survivors living on the ground had not noticed that a grey-green fog, rooted in the center of the town like a towering tree, was spreading silently all around...

...

Chu Guang still remembered, when he rode on the Steel Heart ship to explore Brocade River Province, there was so much snow on the ground that it could bury a person's calves.

Now, returning, only a thin layer remained.

During his absence, many things had happened across various settlements in the Alliance.

The most significant changes occurred in City of Dawn.

As the capital of the Alliance, and also the first beacon of hope that rose from the waste land, City of Dawn had always been a focus of the Alliance's development.

Especially since, just before the year-end, Chu Guang had decisively allocated a whole 900 million silver coins towards infrastructure at the economic work conference.

This substantial budget had catalyzed almost immediate changes to the settlement.

Not only had the streets become broader and cleaner, making commuting more convenient, but the improved lifestyle of the people was visibly more affluent.

Apart from those who were already living well, the residents who had recently joined the Alliance and the "supervised" migrants were not left behind.

The thousand prefabricated apartments on the eastern outskirts had completed all phases of construction, and more than forty thousand residents who met the resettlement criteria had successfully moved in.

As of now, Dawn City's registered permanent population had surged from fifty thousand earlier to one hundred thousand!

What was even more comforting was the new birth registration data provided by the Medical Department—following the end of the war in the Luo Xia Province, a significant baby boom was brewing.

While this posed no small challenge to the current limited medical and educational resources of the Alliance, the upside was a significant improvement in the current population structure.

The survivors of the Alliance were moving toward a new life, and although disasters on this land were far from over, everyone's heart was filled with confidence.

Because their Manager had indeed fulfilled the passionate promises he made to the residents of the Alliance during the triumph ceremony—

To let exceptional qualities stand out in the society of the Alliance.

Hardworking people will never be fools, as long as one actively learns, works, and lives to contribute to society, they certainly deserve a better life.

The same was true of Dawn City.

The changes here were second only to City of Dawn.

The once simple wooden sign train station had now transformed into a concrete-built station hall.

From the industrial zone to the logistics center ran a six-lane highway, and workers who once lived in tin-roof houses repairing drainage facilities had now moved into apartment buildings with elevators. The once noisy small workshops had turned into large factories covering dozens or even hundreds of acres.

Objectively speaking, although the level of development and the standard of living here could not match that of City of Dawn, the "degree of electrification" and "urbanization rate" were higher than those of City of Dawn and Giant Stone City combined.

After all, the Alliance's only city-level fusion reactor was located here, and the cost of electrical resources and even transportation was minimal.

Because the area had more hills than plains, local residents mostly lived in high-rise buildings, making elevators almost standard equipment.

The kind of three- or four-story single or double-occupant cottages found in Dawn City were, in fact, not seen here.

Since there were many ready foundations available, the authorities in Dawn City simply built new housing on the abandoned structures of the former West State City.

The homes built during the Era of Prosperity were mostly unusable, but the foundations were surprisingly intact and of astonishing quality! Building another building with a lifespan of fifty years on the original foundation posed no problem at all!

Even the possibility existed that when the new buildings reached their end of life, the sections buried underground would still be intact.

Considering the Alliance's current level of infrastructure and the century-plus time gap from the Era of Prosperity, this kind of scenario was entirely possible.

Furthermore, since West State City was a population-sparse, habitable city during the Era of Prosperity with generally low-rise buildings, the difficulty of demolition wasn't as great as in Qingquan City, and the concrete debris could even be recycled through technologies provided by the Ideal Group, making the cost of constructing a twenty-story building in Dawn City much lower than elsewhere.

Currently, Dawn City's registered permanent population had grown from eighty thousand to one hundred and ten thousand, which was almost the entirety of this settlement's population.

After all, this place was an industrial hub of the Alliance, not as commercially prosperous as City of Dawn to the south; most people came here for work.

As long as there was work, there was a need to pay taxes, and paying taxes required registration; thus, theoretically, this place had the fewest undocumented residents in the entire Alliance.

Aside from housing and industry, which directly concerned people's livelihoods, another major infrastructure project in Dawn City was the dam on the northeast shore of West State Lake!

Western Province Lake, as one of the ecological reconstruction projects of the Human Alliance Era, can be considered the largest artificial lake in the central region of River Valley Province.

This lake played an important role in the desertification control projects in the central region of Central Continent, but after entering the Wasteland Era, this abandoned lake developed serious flooding issues due to the end of the ice age, increased rainfall, changes in lake bed structure, and other reasons.

If this "artificial reservoir" could be repaired, the vast areas of black land from the northwest of West State City to the Tributary of Tianshui would be released.

This project is estimated to increase the cultivated land for the Alliance by several hundred thousand acres!

Unlike those lands in Falling Leaves Province that rely on the "embankment" system, the existence of this black land does not depend on any unknown technology.

Although the Alliance's main food supply is imported from vassal countries and agriculture is not the focus of development for Dawn City, no one would complain about having too much land to cultivate.

Even if NPCs are not interested, giving it to "Makabazi," "Going Hunting," and other lifestyle players who are enthusiasts of farming would be excellent.

Hundreds of thousands of acres of land, new production methods and relationships, and potential difficulties in land reclamation... if this were the Potato Factory's "Dough 1800," it would be enough for a DLC!

In reality, contracting a manor of hundreds of acres faces various challenges, but in the wasteland, one occasionally just needs to deal with roaming variants and wasteland wanderers.

In any case, though many ordeals including wars were encountered, the workers of Dawn City ultimately did not disappoint and overcame the difficulties.

Based on the blueprints and construction plans provided by environmental engineer Button, with the joint efforts of specialists and construction personnel at Camp 101, the dam of Western Province Lake was finally completed!

Not just the black land north of West State City, but also the entirely submerged Fourth New District has re-emerged from the lake.

In the future, passing through this area will no longer require a boat!

And not just that.

As the lake water receded, this city district, which had been sealed by lake water for nearly a century and a half, also unlocked several previously unexplored areas by players.

For example, Shelter No.100 near the metro line of the Fourth New District!

According to the information from Camp 101, this shelter was planned to protect 30,000 people and was scheduled to lift its lockdown in the 60th year of the Wasteland Era.

Unfortunately, in the 52nd year of the Wasteland Era, spreading lake water submerged the entire Fourth New District, completely sealing the gate of Shelter No.100.

Open records indicate that Shelter No.100 was tasked with the reconstruction of West State City.

Even the backup controllable fusion reactor located beneath West State City – the same one currently being used by the Alliance – was originally prepared for Shelter No.100.

It can be inferred from this that Shelter No.100 should have a certain reserve of helium-3 resources, and a substantial proportion of its residents were likely nuclear engineers.

Dr. Method, secluded in Shelter No.101, estimated the survival probability of the residents of the refuge to be only 3.1%, the probability of continuing their mission to be less than 1%, and the success rate to be nearly 0, hence he provided the coordinates of that controllable fusion reactor to the wasteland wanderers of Camp 101.

However, what the exact shelter plan for Shelter No.100 was, perhaps only the manager of the shelter would know.

Perhaps like Shelter No.79 in Rui Valley City, which outwardly claimed to undertake the task of rebuilding West State City, Shelter No.100 might have been involved in other sheltering projects.

Yin Fang was very interested in this shelter for he was a professional grave robber, his interest in coffee machines and his research on various electronic devices and even medical skills were only incidental.

Chu Guang felt the same.

However, compared to Yin Fang's curiosity about the reasons for the "sinking" of this shelter, he was more curious about what treasures could be found inside.

At the moment, the Alliance's construction personnel were trying to install a drainage system, using pumps to extract the lake water that had flooded the underground tunnels and discharge it to the northern tributary of Tianshui.

Due to the nesting of a large number of Crack Claw Crabs, Battleship Shrimps, and other aquatic arthropods in the area, the construction faced considerable challenges.

Currently, the excavation work at Shelter No. 100 was ranked as a secondary priority in the work log of Dawn City, only next to a series of industrial zone expansion plans.

He believed that the moment this shelter re-emerged into the daylight, all the treasures and secrets buried inside would be revealed as well.

Chu Guang had great hopes for this.

It would be even better if he could dig up a few old ice pops.

Experts in pre-war technology, who mastered a wide range of industries, were far more important to the current stage of the Alliance than one or two black boxes...

Compared to the swiftly developing cities like City of Dawn and Dawn City, Falling Leaves City, situated on the western borders of the Alliance, though less noticeable, also had potential that should not be underestimated.

As a trade hub between Luo Xia Province and the southern part of River Valley Province, the most important infrastructure there were the train station and the logistics warehouses.

From an aerial view through Hummingbird drones, more than half of the city's buildings and factories were related to these facilities.

Although Waste Land Wanderers migrating from the west were often seen here, most did not stay long, typically using this place as a stepping stone before settling in the City of Dawn or Dawn City.

Pioneer City, on the other hand, had nothing particularly remarkable to show yet, its current most notable achievement being its population growth rate.

After all, every so often, players active in the Great Desert could capture a Slave Hunters team trafficking slaves from Poluo Province to the Great Desert, or find a mutants tribe hidden in the ruins, and then the population of Pioneer City would grow significantly.

This brought considerable pressure to the compact Pioneer City, not just because of the population growth rate that doubled every so often, but also because it had the most extreme gender ratio in the entire Alliance.

Just like a chicken farm where roosters are far fewer than hens, mutants tribes like those from Dark Stone Tribe would usually keep only a few men with the most meat in the ranch for breeding; the rest would not last a few days before being thrown into the pot to be stewed.

And the slave traders who did business with these mutants tribes would also not sell "worthless" male slaves here.

According to Mayor Teresa's report, Thorns Corps and the players rescued most survivors from the southern Poluo Peninsula in the Great Desert.

Something severe seemed to be happening there.

However, it was too far away, the nearest route from the Alliance to there required first traveling to Camel Hump Kingdom's Silver Moon Bay by boat and then continuing south.

Or departing from Pioneer City, crossing the "Eastern Industrial Zone" and "Southern Industrial Zone" from the Era of the Human Alliance.

Therefore, although sympathizing with the suffering of the people there, Mayor Teresa did not make impractical requests in her report.

What they could currently do was just to fight the mutants tribes and slave traders near Pioneer City, and uncover relics buried by the desert to enhance their own strength...

Currently, the population of Pioneer City had neared three thousand, a significant increase from the original three hundred plus survivors.

Even though local conditions remained harsh.

Nonetheless, their lives had improved much compared to before.

Regularly arriving cargo airships from the east and occasional Commercial Teams from Bister Town also brought new hope to this settlement growing through hardship from time to time.

From City of Dawn to Pioneer City, the Alliance's four direct children had gradually learned to run from their initial tottering steps.

And Giant Stone City, once belonging to the War Construction Committee and now under the governance of the Alliance, had also risen from its previous falls.

However, compared to other rapidly expanding settlements of the Alliance, the visible changes here were not astonishing.

The settlement was still as large, as crowded, and as noisy.

Its changes happened more in aspects almost invisible to outsiders, noticeable only to its own people.

Like houses that no longer leaked, unattended matters finally being managed, richer shelves of commodities, increased street traffic, and better public safety, among others.

Local survivors, through desperate struggles, finally made their lives what they ought to be, with canned food producers eating the cans they produced, and that was it.

But this simple "that was it" was rare and precious for most settlements on the wasteland.

While Chu Guang had always been on the front lines during this period, he was not unfamiliar with events happening throughout the Alliance.

Most administrative work of the Alliance was conducted on electronic terminals.

From the management of logistics to the planning of settlement architecture, digitalized management almost covered every aspect of life for the surviving members of the Alliance.

Although it did not reach the level of Prosperity Epoch, where even a faucet was connected to the global network, it was undoubtedly advanced for the wasteland.

Thus, even when Chu Guang often left the political center of the Alliance, his grasp on the situation across various regions was never affected.

As long as he could connect with the server of the refuge.

Of course, due to the focus on frontline work recently, even with the help of "digitalized municipal administration," Chu Guang had still accumulated quite a backlog of work during this time.

Whether it was the work of "Dog plan" or the "Manager," either had piled up.

However, even with a mountain of backlog waiting,

Before returning to his "desk" in the Floor B4 Viewing Room of the sanctuary, Chu Guang first made a trip to West State City, located on the northern frontier of the Alliance.

It was home to the largest research institutes and higher educational institutions of the Alliance— even larger than the Biological Institute of Shelter No.79.

He had promised Xia Yan that he would visit her after returning.

Not just that.

But also because Pai had told him in a recent holographic call that Dr. Method, the manager of Shelter 101, wanted to discuss something with him...

Coincidentally, Chu Guang also wanted to discuss the matters of "Holy Land" and "Torch," so he readily agreed.

Chapter 618 Informal Update

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

[Informal update: To address everyone's lack of decent clothes since the beta version, Boss Xia, after nearly a year of dedicated development, has finally released a new, easy-to-produce power armor!

This power armor will not be limited in purchase—you can buy it as soon as you reach the "Apprentice Knight" Contribution Level!

We are now collecting code names for the armor, and welcome everyone to vote enthusiastically!

]

[Attachment 1: Voting link]

[Attachment 2: (Image) (Image) (Image)]

Tail: "giao! Power armor!!"

Mole on the run: "The thick steel shell, the streamlined armor surface, it's like a steel giant! Especially the limbs' design that combines strength and agility, it's more like a champion in a boxing ring than the 'Champion'! Hiss—my DNA is stirring!!!"

Quit smoking: "Damn awesome!"

Night Ten: "With one sentence, you summed up Mole Old Brother's brown-nosing, how can he keep showing off now. (Funny)"

Wild Wind: "(Wry smile)"

Elena: "I vote for 'Raven' (Funny)."

Gnome King Riches: "Mark VI, right? Fast forward to the Horus Heresy, and the Manager goes on a killing spree. (Funny)"

Spring Water Commander: "Just call it 'Storm.' That's a nice name, hmm."

Edge Shoveling: "Screw off! Why not call it 'Death'?"

Mole on the run: "Cough, your bird name is too unlucky, better call it 'Skull.'"

Edge Shoveling: "??? And your bird name is lucky?"

Silver Daddy: "Everyone quiet down! Just everybody calm down! Hear me out! What about a compromise—how about 'Sterling'?"

Silver Sword: "Screw off! That name is too lame."

Silver Hand: "+1, lame name that not even a dog would take."

Silver Daddy: "Damn!"

Makabazi: "Hahaha!"

Tranquility: "? Was someone calling me just now?"

Si Si: "Um, seriously, how about 'Magma'?"

Tail: "!!! It sounds weird, why not just call it Bear. (///ω///)"

Teng Teng: "...?"

Si Si: "Ah Wei, you're really something, not even recovered and already run over again. (╯▽╰)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "What are you guys talking about, why can't I understand a thing. QAQ"

Giggling Sesame Paste: "Ahaha...haha..."

Jiujiu loves pineapple: "Or we could still call it 'Can,' it kind of looks like a metal can!"

Crow: "Now that you mention it, I suddenly think it looks oddly like a mushroom. 0.0"

Mosquito: "MMP! Cold shiver! This thing only has one more fusion core than what I designed, why does nobody look at me!! (Angry)"

Falling Feather: "Are you sure the only thing missing in your design is a fusion core??"

Bear nonsense: "I testify, it's not missing that thing, it's missing a Strength Type beast. (Funny)"

Makabazi: "Hahaha!"

...

In West State City, at the edge of Camp 101, there's a heavily guarded factory.

Unlike other nearby facilities with a rich academic atmosphere, this factory not only has barbed wire all over the enclosing wall but also has surveillance covering every inch of soil leading to the central building without any blind spots.

However, in stark contrast to the strict security outside, the inside of the factory is quite casual, even sloppy.

A dozen abandoned containers are randomly placed over an area half the size of a soccer field, with rusty brackets and hooks hanging from the three-story ceiling.

There are occasional loud bangs and dazzling sparks.

This isn't because the factory is assembling something, but because two heavily armed power armors, one with blue shoulder plates and the other with red, are fiercely exchanging fire.

Those thick steel shells, the streamlined armor surfaces, and the compact design that embodies both strength and speed!

These are precisely the new equipment from the "informal update"—

Codename "DLZJ-1"!

Outlaw Maniac: "Ohhhhh! Die!"

I'll die first: "Da da da!!! Grass, you think you can kill me, you're still too green!"

The tracer bullets from a rifle zip back and forth between covers, leaving thumb-sized bullet holes in the containers, yet only leaving fingernail-sized scratches on the chestplates of the power armors.

A regular 7mm rifle bullet, even if an entire magazine is emptied, would hardly break through the defenses of the power armor.

At least it would take 7mm full-power bullets or a continuous fire from a 12mm heavy machine gun to accumulate enough metal fatigue.

Yet, the two opposing sides could perfectly describe each other as evenly matched.

Optimistically speaking, each had their own tactics; pessimistically, it was like a fight between two scrubs.

Both sides sprayed thousands of bullets at each other, but unfortunately, since the turtle shell was indeed too thick, neither could do anything about the other.

In a way, although their performance in the battle lacked skill, it also indirectly reflected the superiority of the new equipment in terms of defensive capabilities.

Even soldiers wearing this type of power armor for the first time could rely on the full-range protection it provided to take a "shower" in a hail of bullets for an hour.

However, the experiment had been going on for a while, and the ammunition consumption had somewhat exceeded the budget, so the person in charge of testing the equipment soon ordered the entry into the final phase.

The [Supply Refresh] pop-up simultaneously appeared on the holographic goggles of both the red and blue teams, while at the same time several marked points refreshed on the tactical map.

Simultaneously, boxes labeled with weapon tags detached from the hooks and fell from the ceiling racks.

Without a moment's hesitation, the person in charge of dying first immediately lunged for the nearest supply box, busting open the lock with a punch.

Looking at the large-caliber bomb gun lying inside the box, his face instantly lit up with ecstasy as he grabbed it in his hand.

"Hahaha! Little law, don't blame daddy for being impolite, open your mouth and taste this thing!"

Seeing the equipment in his hands, the outlaw maniac holding the assault rifle was instantly shocked.

"Holy shit! Are you playing for real?!"

I responsible for dying first sneered as he pulled the trigger.

"Die!"

The muzzle spat out a long flame, and the shimmering tracer bullets darted about like frenzied pythons, scaring the outlaw maniac into hastily fleeing to the side.

The 19mm armor-piercing bullet left more than just an eye on the target, the sparks bursting forth like the molten iron on a forge, splattering all around.

I responsible for dying first relentlessly pulled the trigger until the entire magazine was empty, though regrettably, only one shot hit.

The outlaw maniac, hit in the chest, let out a pain-filled yell, but quickly found he was still alive.

The metal jet released by the armor-piercing bullet unhesitatingly pierced the first layer of armor, leaving a shattered hole in the breastplate.

However, when the metal jet surged through the gap into the second layer of armor, it almost completely lost its energy.

Though the explosive arrow bullet operates on the same principle as an armor-piercing bullet, it still couldn't match the caliber of RPGs and recoilless gun armor-piercing bullets; the metal jet could only pierce the iron skin of armored vehicles and the chests of mutants. Against power armor, success depended on hitting the right spot.

The defensive capability of the breastplate, without a doubt, was the strongest!

The outlaw maniac was profoundly shocked by the set of equipment he was wearing and the fictional black technology fabricated by "Wasteland OL."

Good Lord.

This individual armor's breastplate was actually made into spaced armor!

If this protective force were applied in reality, it would definitely be like a human-shaped Gundam!

Recovering from the impact of the armor-piercing bullet, the outlaw maniac, cursing profusely, got up from the ground and picked up a rocket launcher amidst the chaos from the supply box.

The streamlined tube was equipped with a sci-fi holographic sight, and he quickly heard a beep in his earpiece after completing the lock-on.

"Damn it! You've already brought out the bomb gun, don't blame your brother for being ruthless!"

Seeing the thick rocket launcher, I responsible for dying first, who was changing his magazine, was instantly stunned.

"Holy shit! A dove-type missile? Wait—"

"Wait for nothing, die—!" the outlaw maniac snarled as he pulled the trigger.

White tail flames shot out, tracing a meteor-like trajectory in the narrow factory, this thing definitely didn't move as slowly as the missiles in movies, and in an instant, it flew right up to I responsible for dying first.

If he had been of the agile system, he might have had a chance to dodge, but unfortunately, he was a constitution system player, with no other skills than being tough.

The explosion's bright light immediately blinded his vision, and the hot blast wave easily blew him away, slamming him hard against a container several meters behind.

Simultaneous alarms rang in his ears and flashed before his eyes.

[Warning! Armor severely damaged! Power, internal circulation, health monitoring systems paralyzed, completely incapacitated from continuing combat.]

Seeing these red letters, I responsible for dying first, with blood leaking from his mouth, became frantic and cursed as he reached for the [Forced Eject] switch.

"Shut up! I can still fight!"

However, the switch was locked.

He simply couldn't get out of the power armor.

The battlefield analysis program seemed to have completed the victory-loss judgment, considering him to have lost the ability to act, and then, another holographic pop-up window appeared on his tactical goggles.

[Match Over, Red Side Wins.]

[Victor ID: Outlaw Maniac]

The same text was also projected in front of the outlaw maniac.

Although there was not a single spectator around, he still jubilantly raised the soldier rocket launcher in his hand, emitting a victorious cheer.

"Ow ow ow!!"

At the same time, a series of pop-ups also appeared on his VM.

[Task Completed!]

[Reward: 50 silver coins, 50 contribution points.]

[Additional reward for the winning side: 50 silver coins.]

Seeing the rewards that had been credited to his account, Outlaw Maniac had a satisfied smile on his face, feeling wonderful inside.

This task was way too awesome!

Not only could he be the first to experience new equipment worth a million silver coins, but he could also engage in an "intense and thrilling" competition with his good brothers on the training field, and there were rewards in silver coins and contribution points!

Indeed.

Licking up to the Manager and brushing up the goodwill every now and then really had its benefits!

At the same time, in the observation area next to the factory, a group of engineers and technical staff were busy summarizing the test data.

A few engineers from Huge Rock Military Industry were standing together and talking in low voices.

"The armor's protective performance is still very excellent... all its performances meet the lower standards of power armor."

"It's just slightly lacking in mobility."

"It might be due to the absence of a Battlefield Guidance System... this requires higher individual soldier quality than wartime models like 'Dragon Cavalry' and 'Champion'."

"The users showed emotional reactions during combat... this equipment might cause the users to become overly excited mentally."

"This can be included in the report, but further observation is necessary... after all, those guys also act the same when testing other weapons."

"Incredible... the Alliance actually has engineers who can design power armor?"

"I heard the designer is a resident of Giant Stone City."

"Impossible! I've never heard of such a person! Huge Rock Military Industry doesn't even have a production line for power armor, let alone maintenance lines!"

"Anyway... this is truly astonishing."

Strictly speaking, Camp 101 actually didn't have experts in "power armor," what they had ranged from "holographics" to "carbon-based chips" to "high sensitivity motors" and "composite armor" materials, among others.

These technologies, like pieces of a puzzle stored individually on hard disks that don't move data around, form a brand new piece of equipment when combined.

In designing this set of armor, Xia Yan hadn't actually invented new technologies; rather, she based it on her understanding of weapons and the battlefield environment of the Wasteland, as well as her learning of new knowledge, assembling these fragments like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

The data she used included both information stored in Shelter 101 and technology recovered by scientific expeditions from the remains of evolutionary bodies gathered from players.

Weapon engineers from Huge Rock Military Industry marveled at the exquisite skill of the Alliance engineers, but in reality, this wasn't the work of some miraculous individual; rather, it was the product of a comprehensive "Garbage Collection System" that covered everything from "technology recovery" to "technology categorization" to "technology reuse."

In this clearly defined system, the demands on an individual's skills are minimal, and everyone's job adds up to something small.

Though undeniably indispensable...

Seeing Xia Yan, who was nervously biting her fingernails with her right fist against her lips, Chu Guang couldn't help but grin slightly, whispering an encouragement.

"Be confident, this is the fruit of your efforts."

Noticing his gaze, Xia Yan's cheeks involuntarily reddened.

"The explosion resistance still needs some improvement... it was the same during the earlier tests, even though spaced armor was used, the effectiveness against armor-piercing bullets was still not ideal."

Chu Guang chuckled.

"Well, those were Dove-type Missiles, which are enough to take down tanks. If you could easily defend against those, Huge Rock Military Industry might as well go bankrupt on the spot."

"I know..." Xia Yan murmured, her eyes fixed squarely on the screen, murmuring to herself, "Maybe I'm just being greedy... I just feel a bit unwilling."

Seeing her stubborn expression, Chu Guang didn't speak, but he felt somewhat sorry for her.

Indeed, this equipment had absorbed much of her effort, so much so that even Boss Xia, who was usually carefree, showed a rare anxiousness on her face.

However, after all, he wasn't a professional, and he couldn't help her with technical issues.

Just then, Chu Guang suddenly had an idea, recalling the "Type II Non-powered Armor" with an "explosive design" that Mosquito recently developed.

Seizing this moment of inspiration, he blurted out.

"...How about adding an active defense mechanism? Like reactive armor."

Hearing this, Xia Yan paused.

"Reactive armor?"

"Yes!"

Chu Guang, feeling a spark of enthusiasm, nodded and briefly introduced the concept of reactive armor to her.

"To put it simply, it involves detonating a combat section proactively when an enemy's combat part approaches. Like... using infrared or electromagnetic waves to detect the approach of weapons like rockets and detonating the reactive modules attached to the outer shell of the armor, directionally releasing fragments to destroy it."

This defensive mode is common in modern tanks, second only to cost-effective slat armor, but it was quite rare in Human Alliance Army equipment.

The reason is simple; after entering the Prosperity Epoch, almost all military conflicts on Earth had essentially ended, and military conflicts beyond Earth were even less likely.

In that unique golden age, human civilization focused almost all its creativity and productivity on exploring the new era and new life. Weapons, which need to improve through attack and defense interactions, wouldn't just appear out of nowhere without demand; naturally, research in this area also stagnated.

From ground-based power armor to space-faring starships, all were actually completed in a short period before the outbreak of the three-year war.

As both hypothetical enemies and actual combat targets, the colony rebels mainly relied on biotechnology, and there was naturally no need for the Human Alliance to equip their tanks and personal armor with an unnecessary "anti-Monroe effect" armor.

Thus, whether it was "Champion" or "Dragon Cavalry," their all-around armor mainly targeted conventional ammunition fired by light weaponry, poisons, gases, spikes, dense formations, and fangs of the Variants, and even their own nuclear weapons.

The protective power of this individual armor is unquestionably powerful, but it doesn't fully adapt to the extreme chaos on the Wasteland, where "even a Looter might pull out a tactical nuclear bomb."

The corporations probably have the most say in this matter.

Although the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher equipped by the Army isn't outstanding in power, it still poses a significant threat to the corporations' power armor. Paired with low-cost Clone Troops, it even almost caused the lavish defense team of the Pioneer to meet their downfall.

To a large extent, this is because power armor is simply not designed to handle "outdated weapons" like armor-piercing bullets.

To address the war scenarios on the Wasteland, the Alliance needed to inject some new military concepts into the ancient power armor.

Of course, putting reactive armor on power armor was just a spontaneous idea from Chu Guang, primarily as a substitute for the portable Deflection Shield that couldn't be produced under the circumstances. Whether it would actually work still needed rigorous experimental verification.

However, seeing the thoughtful expression on Xia Yan's face, Chu Guang felt this design idea indeed had some merit.

"Hmm... I think it's worth a try, but there's no prior example of this design; I'm not sure if it will work."

Looking at Xia Yan, still hesitating and indecisive, Chu Guang smiled faintly, speaking patiently.

"Go ahead and try boldly. The problems we're facing now are things people two centuries ago never imagined, you can't expect to find all answers in the reference books."

"We need to recover wisdom from the old era's remnants, but it shouldn't be our only option. I suggest you get some inspiration from Goblin Technology in your spare time. That guy Mosquito, although a bit out-there in his thinking, does recognize issues and thinks about solving them."

"Alright, alright, I get it—I'll give it a try later…" Xia Yan, no longer grappling with her indecision, stretched lazily.

Having said this, she had perked up again.

But for some reason, even though she'd rallied herself, she suddenly looked aside and muttered under her breath in disheartenment.

"You know, could you not speak to me like that... always in a patronizing tone, you're not my dad."

Even though she didn't dislike that gentle encouragement, even found it somewhat likable, every time he spoke, she felt treated like a child when she reflected on his words.

She couldn't quite put her finger on why.

She just wasn't very pleased about it.

Seeing Xia Yan suddenly become petulant, Chu Guang immediately realized that his tone had been a bit too preaching.

Perhaps because the workplace and living space overlapped too much, he occasionally brought work attitude into personal life.

Doing so with someone he was close to wasn't very appropriate.

However, not wanting to miss seeing Boss Xia show such an endearing side, Chu Guang couldn't help but tease a bit.

"I had no idea you saw me that way."

"What, what nonsense are you spouting, nobody sees you that way!"

Her face turning red as a lantern, Xia Yan glared fiercely at him, baring her teeth as if she desperately wanted to bite him.

Chu Guang hadn't expected a simple jest to elicit such a strong reaction from Boss Xia, his facial expression becoming somewhat weird.

He often called his close friends father and son in the group, mostly met with jokes like "I am your daddy!" Now, they took it even further by enthusiastically calling him "dad," making him uncomfortable about speaking up normally.

Generally, no one cared about jokes disconnected from reality unless it touched a nerve somehow.

This guy…

Could he have taken it seriously?

In order to divert the topic, Chu Guang cleared his throat lightly.

"…Right, have you thought of a name for this power armor?"

Xia Yan, realizing her reaction was odd too, coughed as well, swiftly steering the conversation away.

"Doesn't it already have a serial number... that DLZJ-1?"

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"That's a weapon code. During the Human Alliance Era, every piece of power armor had a more catchy codename; you should name your creation too?"

Although he had opened a poll on the official website, if the designer herself had a better idea, that would take precedence.

Xia Yan, scratching the back of her head with a somewhat pained expression, and like Chu Guang, lacked any talent in naming. After thinking hard for a long time and growing impatient, she said:

"It's such a hassle, let's just call it 'Dad.'"

Chu Guang: "…"

"Cough, I'm just kidding."

With her lips pursed and deep in thought, Xia Yan suddenly brightened up, turning toward Chu Guang with a joyous expression.

"I've got it!"

Seeing her smiling so broadly, Chu Guang felt rather uneasy, unable to resist a reminder.

"Don't tell me you're going to name it Mom, Grandpa, Grandma or something. Let's keep it normal… Even if it doesn't scare the enemy, it shouldn't be a laughing stock."

If she indeed chose such a name, it would surely make enemies die laughing.

"What are you talking about? I'm seriously thinking about it; how could I choose such a jokey name?"

Xia Yan rolled her eyes, cleared her throat forcefully, and with a pleased curve to her lips, said earnestly,

"Let's call it 'Xiaguang'!"

Chapter 619: If it's you, you can definitely make good use of this inheritance

The audience of the "PVP Arena" wasn't just Chu Guang, Xia Yan, and the experts from Huge Rock Military Industry; there were also many "unrelated individuals."

Apart from the observation area that was equipped with various professional detection devices, there was also a "spectator stand" set up outside the military blockade zone, open to other players and technicians learning on-site, to gain new design inspirations.

The feed had a half-minute delay and would only cut off the broadcast in rare cases, but most of the time, it was openly viewable.

Anyway, these devices would ultimately be sold to players for use; keeping them secret didn't really make much difference. It was better to just bring them out clearly for these experts to observe.

If you have good ideas, you don't have to hold back; you can talk about anything.

Players and backseat drivers do this every day on the forum, exchanging tips on anything from nest-making and swing techniques to army combat tactics, covering virtually every aspect of daily life in the Alliance.

Camp 101 had now become the Alliance's largest higher education institution; the experts here held technologies unattainable by players on Earth.

They naturally should discuss and exchange more, researching how to improve the productivity and production methods of the Alliance and exploring ways to make the Alliance stronger.

Of course—

Besides the serious technical discussions, there were inevitably some less formal activities.

"Damn it! I had to die first and I sure as hell did!"

"That outlaw maniac actually won!"

"Dove-type missiles have appeared, this is just too overpowered!"

"+1, the balance is just unreasonable; switch to RPG or Iron Fist Rocket Launcher and it would be more reasonable."

"Haha! What do you know! Is there such a thing as balance on a real battlefield? You bet, you lose, pay up quickly!"

"F**k! Give my money back!"

A bunch of rookies who bet wrong cursed and swore, while a few lucky ones held a dozen silver coins and popcorn and were overjoyed.

At this moment, both Outlaw Maniac and I'm Responsible for Dying First had no idea that they were being bet on by a bunch of idle folks.

It was a relief that the stakes were small.

Otherwise, they would definitely get a yellow card from dog planners.

In a corner of the spectator area.

Looking at the images on the screen, Alyssa's heart was pounding, but she finally relaxed and looked worriedly at Little Fish sitting beside her.

"Are they... using real weapons?"

Since the completion of the transition from Giant Stone City Crisis Office to the new authorities, she had resigned from all her positions, including being in charge of asset liquidation, and followed Little Fish and Pai to Camp 101 to study the economics and management sciences that interested her.

Out of gratitude for her recent work, the new authorities of Giant Stone City covered her tuition and living expenses.

In fact, she was not the only beneficiary of this policy, and she herself did not wish to be treated specially.

Later, under Pai's persistent lobbying, Mayor Lovett, representing the Workers' Association, consulted Chu Guang's opinion. With the support of the Alliance, they took 20 million silver coins from the local financial budget of the city hall and established an educational fund to help young people of appropriate age for higher education living in the settlements who had received basic education to study more advanced knowledge at Camp 101.

Currently, nearly 300 young people from Giant Stone City are studying at Camp 101, including apprentices who had been engineers at Huge Rock Military Industry, assistants who served as cyborg doctors at the Black Clinic, as well as factory children from canneries or textile mills, and even children of residents from the Inner City.

The Workers' Association fulfilled its promise and achieved equal treatment in education, rather than replacing the old nobles to become the new nobility.

Today just happened to be the live test of "DLZJ-1," and the Weapon Testing Center's observation area offered free coffee and tea with no limit, and snacks like sunflower seeds, crackers, and desserts were for sale.

Many engineers and researchers at Camp 101 were interested in this new equipment, and since it was Sister Xia's masterpiece, Little Fish and Pai took Alyssa, who had just arrived here for studies, to join the excitement.

However, perhaps because she had lived in the greenhouse her father carefully created for her since she was young, Alyssa did not have the same calmness as Little Fish, who grew up in the Wasteland when she saw the gunfire. Her small fists were clenched tight the entire time.

"Yeah!"

Little Fish nodded vigorously, looking strangely at Alyssa's worried face.

"Wouldn't it be meaningless to test with fakes?"

She was correct, of course.

But Alyssa still had a bad feeling about it, whispering worriedly,

"But... what if someone gets hurt?"

Little Fish tilted her head.

"Residents of Shelter No. 404 can't get hurt."

"Can't get hurt..." Alyssa stared blankly at her, unable to comprehend, and said, "How is that possible?"

Little Fish wrinkled her nose.

"It's true, Little Fish never lies."

She wasn't sure why they couldn't get hurt, but she had witnessed with her own eyes people who had already been laid in coffins, only to stand in front of her lively and well again a few days later.

By the way, it wasn't just regular residents; Lizards, Bears, Cats, and Pig people were the same.

The residents of Shelter No. 404 are immortal, and although it's an urban legend in the Alliance, she knew it was true.

Pai, standing next to Little Fish, had an expression with a subtle nuance.

"Well... I understand a bit, the idea of immortality is actually inaccurate, people die if they are killed, but in result, they really are immortal."

Alyssa stared blankly at the two, completely clueless about what they were discussing, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration when she looked at the two power armors on the holographic screen.

In order to provide more reliable equipment for the Alliance soldiers, to improve others' chances of survival, they risked their lives to test those dangerous weapons.

Such a group of respectable people!

"...If there were a safer way, that would be great."

Seeing Alyssa worrying too much, Little Fish thought for a moment before speaking.

"There's no perfect solution, and Little Fish thinks that rather than kindly stopping them from their well-considered decisions, it's better to respect their choices with admiration."

"Brother Chu once said that everyone, including himself, became residents of Shelter No.404 only after clearly understanding their rights and responsibilities. If one day they become weary or have regrets, they can return to the underground to hibernate and wait for the new world to come on its own."

Alyssa stared at the girl who was about her age.

After a long while, she managed to squeeze out a soft question from her lips.

"The Manager too...?"

If tired, one could go back to sleep at any time.

Waiting for the awakening to a new world...

"Yes!" Little Fish nodded her head and proudly puffed out her chest, "Little Fish remembers every single word Brother Chu said!"

Sitting to the side, Pai sighed, her hands propping up her cheeks as she muttered morosely.

"I testify... this kid is almost becoming his parrot."

She didn't fail to understand Little Fish's respect for Chu Guang, which likely resembled her own respect for Dr. Method.

It's natural for a person to develop a dependency on someone who has saved them, just like the residents of Camp 101 reverence Shelter No.101 as the Forerunner based on such emotions.

But she wouldn't keep repeating what Dr. Method had said all day long.

Alyssa's gaze shifted away from Little Fish's happy face, her hands gripping the teacup on the table as she looked at her reflection on the water's surface, feeling an inexplicable tightness in her heart.

She remembered the recent letters from home.

The big guys at Workers' Association said that Lovett's wife had recently become pregnant again, and that bearded carpenter was so happy he couldn't close his mouth, boasting to whoever he met.

Captain Joey inquired about her well-being with concern, especially about her living situation and whether West State City was safe or not.

Although not explicitly stated in the letters, it could be inferred from between the lines; he too wanted to send his child to Camp 101 for learning but he still had some concerns about the Wasteland beyond the Giant Walls.

Big Brother Wolfeitte also wrote to her, finally no longer dwelling on family and honor, slowly shifting his focus back to family life.

She learned from the old butler's letter that since she had resigned, Wolfeitte had honestly taken an accountant's job and started a new life.

As for her father Melvin, he was currently working at Giant Stone City Public Library, responsible for sorting the history of Giant Stone City over the past two centuries.

Her mother, save for occasionally weeping silently when mentioning Kishu's name, had largely moved on from that event.

Whether it was the residents of City of Dawn or Giant Stone City, most were living the lives they had envisioned.

Even if it was not the life they had dreamed of, they mostly had a fresh start and a complete farewell to the old era.

Including herself.

However, that person alone seemed to never have stopped...

...

"I am surprised."

The virtual world constructed by Shelter No. 101 featured a coffee shop with a simple facade and decor nestled in the corner of a bustling street.

As Chu Guang entered through the door, Dr. Method put down the newspaper in his hands and let out a light sigh of sentiment from his seat next to the window.

Sitting opposite him, Chu Guang joked.

"Surprised by what?"

"Of course, the changes outside," Dr. Method said with a light smile, continuing, "The seed I planted out of interest, I did not expect it to sprout anew in your hands."

Although Camp 101 does not exist solely as a settlement but is akin to a special direct-administered district like Bister Town, the changes it has undergone during this time are by no means inferior to the five settlements of the Alliance.

As of now, nearly 3,000 technicians and para-technicians have joined Camp 101 as full-time or part-time students, assisting scholars and experts from 101 in studies across multiple fields, including physics, engineering, and social sciences.

This place is no longer the science research station hiding in the sewers of the past.

With the support of materials, manpower, and security from the Alliance, Camp 101 quickly turned the knowledge received from Shelter No. 101 into tangible results and built new specialized research facilities on the surface.

These include electronic analysis laboratories for recovering technical data from damaged carbon-based circuit boards, as well as satellite tracking stations searching for usable data from outer space.

The Alliance Scientific Expedition Team also has a workstation here, with most of the high-tech debris collected from Pioneer City being sent here for classification.

Furthermore, many local research facilities have extensive technological cooperation with the factories in Dawn City industrial zone. From transformers for ultra-high voltage electric grids to the armor steel of Tank No. 1, there are traces of the researchers from Camp 101.

Everyone was filled with zeal, just like when the Production Department, the Technology Department, and the Defense Department united under the banner of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee.

And all of this.

Dr. Method watched it all unfold.

Chu Guang felt rather pleased to have received recognition from his senior, although he merely responded with a calm, untroubled smile.

Thinking that this might be a good opportunity, he casually mentioned,

"I discovered technology at the company that allows for the transplantation of thoughts into the AI core. The process is as simple as plugging a USB drive into a computer. We used that technology to save a girl named Zhao Yinyin. She's now in Singular Point City, assisting bionic people in helping the locals live new lives."

"If you change your mind, you can leave this place at any time."

Although Chu Guang, who had extended an olive branch, didn't hold much hope, the determination of the man before him to wallow in failure still exceeded his expectations.

There wasn't the slightest sign of being moved in those eyes. It seemed as if the man had already accepted the day when the fusion reactor at Shelter No. 101 would be extinguished as the end of his own life.

To Chu Guang's slight surprise, though the man showed no interest in the olive branch he had offered, a different emotion flickered across his face when he heard the word "Singular Point City."

It was a memory from a long, long time ago.

A memory tinged with a trace of indistinct melancholy.

"Singular Point City..."

Mulling over the word, he suddenly clenched the armrests of his chair and looked at Chu Guang.

"Have you ever met someone named Zhao Feiyu there?"

Chu Guang paused for a moment, thinking hard before he remembered where he had heard that name. With a frown, he said,

"That man seems to have died a century ago; I saw him in the memories of a researcher named Eure."

Dr. Method fell silent for a long time, then relaxed his grasp on the armrests and let go of the tension in his shoulders and the smile on his face.

"Is that so... Sorry, I asked a stupid question. It's easy to forget how many years have passed when you've lived in peace for too long."

Chu Guang wasn't bothered and simply raised his eyebrows curiously.

"Was he an acquaintance of yours?"

Dr. Method didn't hide anything and nodded lightly, saying casually,

"I've met him once. His achievements in the field of 'biological pathways solution to radioactive materials' were remarkable. Many from the Academy had an interest in his research, myself included; I'd invited him twice to the Grand Canyon. Once during the earlier years of the Wasteland Era, and once in the years when the Post-War Reconstruction Committee was slowly coming to its fateful end."

The "Academy" here must refer to the loose academic institution of the past, not the organization currently led by Dr. Principle.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"He refused your invitations both times."

Dr. Method smiled sheepishly.

"Yes, he preferred helping the survivors in Singular Point City... I actually knew what his choice would be from the start, but sometimes I indulge my personal interests to do some 'doomed to fail' things, including inviting you here to accompany me."

The implication in his words was clear, the invitation from before was still open.

Even though he held no hope for it.

Looking into those "expectant" eyes, Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Including the establishment of the 'Academy'?"

After pondering for a moment, Dr. Method replied with a carefree smile.

"I did indeed do some minor work with my senior brothers, including establishing a technology recovery system for the Post-War Reconstruction Committee. But you might be mistaken, I didn't establish the 'Academy'; strictly speaking, it is the legacy left by my dear mentor."

Chu Guang felt there was more to his words, but he didn't think too deeply about it; after all, it had nothing to do with their discussion today.

What he wanted to understand were the "Torch" and the "Holy Land."

Only by understanding the enemy can one defeat the enemy.

The disaster currently unfolding in the south, every clue traced back to that original place—Shelter No.117.

That's where the "Torches" began their journey.

Seeing that the man before him didn't bring up the purpose of their meeting, only pulling him into aimless chit-chat, Chu Guang was no longer interested in exchanging pleasantries and proactively put forth his question.

"What exactly is the mission of Shelter No. 117?"

Seemingly not expecting Chu Guang to suddenly bring up such a distant matter, Dr. Principle raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.

"Haven't you recovered Sven Vilard's Administrator's Log? Isn't it written in there?"

"I want to know what's not written in the Administrator's Log."

Staring intently at him, Chu Guang continued,

"The group of rebels uploaded their thoughts to the 'Holy Land' after leaving the shelter and spread the plague in the south with the help of the Waste Land Wanderers, ruthlessly slaughtering without restraint, and dubbed it 'glorious evolution.'"

"If there had been only one madman, I would think it's the person's mind that's faulty, but when a group of people become so thoroughly deranged, I have no choice but to suspect Shelter No. 117 is inherently an asylum—either it was housing madmen or it was deliberately cultivating them."

Dr. Method unexpectedly stared at Chu Guang, stunned for quite a while.

The look on his face seemed both surprised by the actions of the descendants of Shelter No.117 in the Wasteland and astonished by his far too controversial theory.

However—

It was indeed impossible to exclude this possibility.

"Many years ago, someone had come to a similar conclusion as you, believing that the 'Shelter Plan' actually had two versions."

Chu Guang didn't speak.

He had indeed speculated this and had been considering the issue when he was in Brocade River Province.

Seeing Chu Guang gesture for him to continue, Dr. Method spoke slowly and methodically.

"Yes, on one hand, shelters with specific numbers execute established protection programs to send a portion of the population from a terrible present to the future. On the other hand, all the shelters, as a united entity, fulfill the duty of protecting the entirety of civilization, which is also the original intent of establishing the Shelter Plan."

"Both duties are mostly non-conflicting, after all, humans are the carriers of civilization, sending some smart people to the future is indeed helpful for the reconstruction of the Wasteland, but a hypothetical step back... if the descendants went a little off track, like resorting to cannibalism to survive, and we put powerful knowledge in their hands, then the Shelter Plan loses its meaning and could even be counterproductive."

"Indeed." Chu Guang nodded.

This situation was not uncommon on the Wasteland, quite the opposite, it was fairly common.

And it wasn't just the Waste Land Wanderer who would stray off course, even the shelters themselves could hardly ensure that they would walk a straight path blindly.

Both the Torch Church and the Enlightenment Society had proven this point.

He just felt that.

It was all a bit too much.

Dr. Method took a sip of his coffee.

"However, that person's opinion is slightly different from what you've said today. He believes that the Shelter Plan truly does have two 'versions,' but he doesn't think the second version is about creating trouble; quite the opposite... He regards the 'second version' as a 'rectification mechanism' intended to address the issues I mentioned earlier."

Chu Guang frowned slightly.

"Rectification?"

Dr. Method did not directly answer the question, instead, his gaze drifted to the flower bed bordering the cement path outside the window.

The flowerbed was lush and verdant.

Although it was an illusion, it felt as real as if it were alive.

"When we scatter seeds on the land, theoretically, as long as it rains, there should always be a few seeds that sprout."

"However, this alone cannot guarantee a bountiful autumn harvest. What breaks through the soil after the rain might not be seedlings; it could be weeds, and the seeds we sowed might just become their fertilizer."

"So perhaps the Shelter Plan really does have a secondary mechanism, responsible for removing decay and savagery at the root, reclaiming the nutrients intended for civilization, allowing the seeds we sow in the fields to successfully germinate."

Placing his coffee cup down, Dr. Method diverted his gaze from the window and looked back at Chu Guang, who seemed to be stunned, and smiled faintly.

"That person was Dr. Principle. You should have met that naive fellow."

"I didn't believe his speculation before, but in you and your companions, I have indeed seen things I've never seen before."

"Nevertheless, our era has already ended. Maybe you will be different."

To be honest, Chu Guang was stunned.

He came seeking a solution, and this guy bluntly told him—you are the solution.

But after thinking it over, he still managed to restrain the urge to curse.

After all, the man sitting in front of him wasn't just giving up, he was already dead in the truest sense.

Shelter 101 shelters no living person; what lingers here are merely ghosts who died half a century ago.

For this fellow to be willing to crack open the sealed coffin to lend a hand could be described as quite warm-hearted.

But Chu Guang still couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

"Should I say thank you?"

"There's no need for that."

Detecting the displeasure in Chu Guang's eyes, Dr. Method chuckled.

At that moment, a piece of paper gently fell from the air, lightly landing on the table in front of Chu Guang like a feather.

Chu Guang immediately noticed the piece of paper and asked subconsciously.

"What's this?"

"The code for Shelter No. 100."

Watching Chu Guang pick up the piece of paper, Dr. Method said softly,

"Many years ago, the survivors from Camp 101 tried to enter Shelter No. 100 to fulfill the task of rebuilding West State City for its residents. Regrettably, they were too weak to clear the lake water filling the underground tunnel or open the door sealed by water pressure; and I didn't believe they had the conditions to complete such a massive project, so I persuaded them to give up that goal and kept the key to the shelter for them."

"Now the time is ripe. You've not only repaired the dam of West State Lake but also established a new order there."

"I believe if it's you, you will surely make good use of this legacy."

Chapter 620: Shelter 100!

["DLZJ-1" Naming Vote Results are Out!]

[1. Death — 21%]

[2. Storm — 13%]

[3. Skull — 11%]

[4. Cheese Snow Leopard — 9%]

[5. Burning — 8%]

[...]

[According to NPC Manager's decision, DLZJ-1 is officially named: Xiaguang]

"So what was the point of this vote?"

West State City Xiqu District.

Standing next to a half-human tall variant corpse, I Max Black looked at the server announcement on the VM screen and couldn't help but criticize.

He had scrolled through the voting thread for a long time and didn't find the word "Xiaguang."

What a scam!

Tenquan Superman raised his hand in agreement.

"+1, why not call it Storm? That sounds powerful too!"

Kakarot slapped I Max Black on the shoulder, smiling and said,

"That's because you don't understand, read the word 'Xiaguang' by splitting it into two."

"Split it? Xia...Guang, what the f*ck?"

After murmuring it five times, I Max Black suddenly came to his senses as if he had discovered a New Continent, exclaiming, "Good lord, that's using his position to flirt!"

Broken Leg Kevin: "Reported!"

Ghost Catcher was also smiling all over his face.

"Ha ha ha, definitely need to report this to 'Dog Plan,' NPCs have no honor in combat!"

"Forget it, it's hard to say who's flirting with whom."

Listening to the jokes among the brothers in the army, Spring Water Commander also joked and then looked toward the nearby subway station entrance.

The sign, blurred by stains and adorned with rotting seaweed leaves, hung like rotten leaves on beast's teeth. A disgusting stench of rot drifted from the gloomy entrance, as if it wasn't leading to the subway station below but rather to a monster's open mouth.

The dangers inside might be no less than those in the heart of Qingquan City.

He cocked the gun, turned off his helmet's facial shield, and set his portable deflection shield to standby.

Fully prepared, he spoke,

"No more nonsense, let's prepare for the main mission."

A uniform response came through the communication channel.

"Okay!"

…

It had been a while since the lake water in Xiqu District receded.

Using the MW-grade water pumps designed by Camp 101, the Alliance had pumped nearly a week straight and finally drained the millions of cubic meters of water over Shelter 100.

Perhaps as compensation for missing server events due to the bandit suppression mission, 'Dog Plan' advised the Manager to hand the "Reclaim Shelter 100" mission to them.

As everyone knows, shelter resources are the fattest among all relics, especially a shelter that has been sealed for two centuries and hasn't been unsealed yet!

Moreover, besides the material rewards, new shelter conquest usually grants players the honor of entering the "Hall of Fame"!

Not just that, every player involved in the conquest can also leave their name forever on this future Novice Village!

Thus, Spring Water almost immediately accepted the mission.

To be accurate, this should hardly be considered a mission.

It could be called a reward!

Nevertheless, even though it was a reward, the mission was by no means easy.

Although active looters in the neighborhood had died or fled, the threat of variants was still present.

Especially in the waterlogged Xiqu District.

This area was still teeming with numerous and deadly arthropod species.

To ensure the operation was foolproof, Spring Water Commander first summoned two hundred brothers, and before the main mission, they cleared all variants within 500 meters of the subway station entrance.

And while a task that originally needed ten people was underway, this brother jammed thirty people inside, where tactical flashlight beams almost turned the narrow subway station into daylight.

If it wasn't for the "battlefield width" limiting the number of people firing simultaneously, he would probably have stuffed a thousand people in there!

After getting rid of a few Crack Claw Crabs lurking under the subway station stairs, Spring Water Commander pressed a button on his helmet and ordered.

"Team A, follow I Max Black and push forward. Team B, follow Kakarot and cover fire to protect Team A's flanks. Team C, follow me for rear support. Watch out for variants sneaking up on our butts, and move on my command."

Among the "received" responses, I Max Black cut in.

"Don't we usually have the brothers follow me?"

Spring Water rolled his eyes and defended himself righteously,

"Shut up, I'm the king here, GKD!"

"… Damn!"

I Max Black, beaten to the punch, almost choked on his own words, 'Dog Official', and walked off grumbling.

Though he complained, considering Spring Water Bro was always reliable, he obediently followed the command, calling out to his squad members to form up and advance.

Perception-leading the vanguard.

No problem there.

…

The inside of the subway station was even worse than it appeared from the outside.

After all, it had been submerged in water for half a century, and West State City itself was a paradise for variants, so it was normal for this place to harbor all sorts of odd creatures.

In fact, West State Lake's flooding of this area wasn't completed in an instant, but rather intermittently surged several times, which finally led to a complete collapse of the underground facilities in Xiqu District.

From the abandoned clothing, sleeping bags, and living supplies, it was not hard to tell that two centuries ago, survivors had stayed in this natural shelter for a while.

They captured rats and other small animals with cages, cultivated mushrooms with rotting wood planks and domestic garbage, hid in the subway station to avoid the howling snowstorms and radioactive dust that came with them, and prayed in the face of endless despair.

These people were clearly not residents of Shelter 100 but survivors migrating toward the Grand Canyon in the north—because the terms Wasteland Era and Waste Land Wanderer were defined later, people at that time couldn't yet be called Waste Land Wanderers.

Perhaps they had hoped at some point.

Hiding in Shelter 100, their compatriots might have seen their pitiful states and opened the giant door to shelter them, who lacked sufficient clothing and food.

But clearly,

Their hopes ultimately came to nothing.

They were not the ones chosen for the future.

Until Shelter 100 eventually became a part of historical dust, that tightly closed door had not opened...

Not once.

The soles of their boots made a sticky sound on the damp concrete, like the whispers of spirits lingering in an abandoned graveyard.

I Max Black adjusted his breathing while shifting his gun muzzle, carefully checking every corner of the abandoned station.

Drops of water from the ceiling occasionally fell to the ground, or on his helmet and shoulders, giving him a chilling eeriness.

Especially when, from time to time, a creaking sound emerged from the shadows, making his already tense nerves tighten unconsciously.

Even as the oscillating flashlight almost turned the area into daylight, places that light could not reach still harbored unknown threats.

The flashlight's beam inadvertently swept across a toppled vending machine, where rotten seaweed gave off a colorful sheen of oil, immediately catching I Max Black's attention.

"We've got something!"

He raised his right hand, clenched into a fist, signaling the team members following him to stop, and then cautiously took a few steps forward with his rifle raised.

Just as I Max Black was about to see what that thing was, he came face-to-face with what seemed like a ghostly face in the colorful patterns.

The insect stared at him uninterrupted.

A mass of eyes crowded together on its face, and a slow opening crevice revealed rows of fine, short teeth.

Then, it unfolded its semi-circular carapace on its back, and the wings as thin as paper made a spine-chilling sound.

"Ssssss—"

"Shit!"

Startled, I Max Black almost instinctively pulled the trigger.

In a burst of rapid gunfire, the basketball-sized beetle was hit by numerous bullets, instantly turning into a pool of dark green liquid.

Hearing the sudden gunfire, Team A's members immediately came to support, and soon after, Spring Water's voice came over the communication channel.

"Old Black, what's happening on your side?"

"An unknown variant, kind of looks like... a beetle?"

Manipulating the action cam on his tactical helmet, the adrenaline-pumping I Max Black tried to pull up the footage from seconds ago and, fighting his disgust, shared it with the other members of the corps.

However, their reactions were unexpected; rather than being disgusted, they began to criticize and admire it.

"This bug's ugliness is pretty unique."

"+1"

"Dog Plan is serious, the new map's monsters aren't just reskinned; they actually came up with some new patterns."

Listening to their banter, I Max Black couldn't help but ask.

"Fuck, don't you guys find it disgusting?"

Seeing him seriously asking, a few squad members holding rifles glanced at each other and showed subtle expressions.

"Now that you mention it, it is kind of disgusting."

"+1, I'd probably die of fright if I encountered this in real life."

"But this is a game, right?"

"Seems like updating the variant catalog offers some contribution points!"

"…"

Looking at these excitedly chatting guys, I Max Black was dumbfounded for a while.

Maybe...

There's some sense to this?

Indeed, what's to fear about game bugs, even if they look weird; compared to mutants, their killing power is nothing!

Comforting himself thus, I Max Black took a deep breath, calmed his agitated emotions.

Just as he had calmed down, Spring Water's orders came over the communication channel.

"Old Black, collecting samples is up to you now."

I Max Black couldn't hold back anymore.

"Goddamn it, why don't you do it?!"

Spring Water coughed.

"You're closer... you do it."

"%￥#@!"

Taking a plastic tube from his tactical vest, I Max Black, holding back his nausea, crouched down and randomly stuffed some tissue remnants from the corpse into the tube.

The dark green liquid looked weird.

They had been active around Qingquan City for so long and had never seen this variant—had it recently migrated from somewhere else?

Spring Water's voice came over the communication channel again.

"You discovered it first, name it."

"Call it 'Your Max Black Majesty'!"

"Haha, I bet that won't get approved; think again, we only get one chance to nominate."

I Max Black thought seriously for a moment.

"Ghost-faced Bug?"

Spring Water: "OK, that's it!"

Generally, as long as the name isn't too jarring, Dog Plan won't exercise their veto power to reject it.

As the namer of a newly discovered variant, a player's ID would be included in the official set collection on the website along with the variant, becoming part of the game setting.

Reaching ten and a hundred naming honors respectively unlocks specific titles.

Thus, unlocking the monster catalog is also a gameplay element of Wasteland OL, and many collectors are quite keen on it.

This also brings a wealth of research samples to the Alliance's Biological Institute.

The episode ended.

Squad A continued on their way, moving deeper into the subway that had been sealed by the lake water for nearly a century and a half, while the Ghost-faced Insects scuttling around caused quite a bit of trouble for the squad leading the way.

Although these creatures were small, their aggressiveness was off the charts, and their method of attack was bizarre.

They usually lay still, waiting for prey to enter their attack range, then vibrated their wings to pounce on their prey, using the dagger-like stinger hidden in their abdomen to violently stab their prey and extract body fluids for nourishment.

Although their abdominal stinger often failed to penetrate the exoskeleton's breastplate, it was still perilous when it hit critical areas like the neck.

Especially since those small arthropod Variants often had high stealth properties, excelling at blending in with their environment, they always managed to pop out from unexpected corners, giving the tense players a surprise.

Although there were several narrow escapes from trouble, I Max Black's complexion still turned faintly blue.

He felt his Sanity value draining away because of these little bugs.

Walking up to I Max Black, holding the LD-47 assault rifle, Tenfist Superman teased with a smile.

"Bro, you wouldn't be scared, would you?"

He had felt something was off about this guy ever since earlier, a complete shift from when he was on the surface.

I Max Black's eyebrow twitched.

"Scared? Impossible... I just feel physically sick when I see bugs, not scared."

As soon as this comment aired, the communication channel filled with a chorus of retching sounds.

"Pfft!"

"Are you being tsundere?"

"I'm vomiting, for real."

Ghost Catcher Tombstone didn't join others in making fun of him, only chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"Isn't that just being scared?"

I Max Black reacted angrily.

"Shut up! It's you who is scared; your entire family is scared."

Laughter filled the communication channel.

"Ah, if Old Soldier were here, it'd be great."

"+1, that guy charges fast, heh."

"This little Black is too cowardly!"

Seeing that the explanation wasn't helping, I Max Black simply stopped trying and rolled his eyes at Ghost Catcher Tombstone and Tenfist Superman.

"Quit the chatter, go back to your positions, and shut up and work!"

Old Soldier is probably enjoying himself in Triumph City by now. Who has time to accompany you guys?

And charging fast was many updates ago.

Since leaving the save point, that guy was even more cowardly than Dog Spring Water!

"Roger that."

Having taken the eye roll from I Max Black, Tenfist Superman, with a cheeky grin, gestured a salute and, along with Ghost Catcher Tombstone, returned to their respective combat positions.

The brief interjection of humor slightly diluted the eerie atmosphere.

Although Variants still sporadically burst from the darkness flapping their wings, I Max Black had gradually adapted to this heart-stopping rhythm.

Shoot first at any place you're unsure of, follow up with a spray if there's a stir; if the noise is loud, throw a grenade; if nothing stirs, keep moving forward.

After all, on their own turf, the ammo was definitely sufficient.

After a few brief but intense firefights, everyone passed safely through the security channel and advanced to the platform.

The tunnel beneath the platform was pitch-black, with residual water that hadn't been completely drained, roughly knee-deep.

The marooned carriage was stuck in the tunnel nearby; they needed to pass that spot to reach the entrance to Shelter 100.

Eyeing that marooned carriage, Spring Water Commander ordered over the communication channel.

"Squad A, enter the tunnel; Squads B and C, provide support from the platform edge."

"Roger!" I Max Black glanced at his sidekick, signaled Tenfist Superman with a look.

Understanding the cue, he stepped forward to the platform edge, fired a few shots at the abandoned carriage to check for activity, then sprayed bullets into the water before jumping down into the tunnel.

The others followed, jumping down from the platform into the knee-deep accumulated water.

The filthy water soaked through their pant legs, and the bone-chilling cold immediately crawled up from their ankles to their knees. Even though their helmets blocked pain, most players couldn't help but shiver.

Feeling the slimy water swirling at his feet, Ghost Catcher Tombstone furrowed his brows and sniffed, muttering over the communication channel.

"Damn, this water stinks like hell!"

Already accustomed to the stench, Tenfist Superman quipped.

"Let's have Dogcoin Spring Water wash our trousers when we get back!"

I Max Black also looked gloomy.

But thinking that the endpoint was just ahead and the task would soon be complete, he refrained from chatting on the communication channel and simply stated briefly.

"The entrance to the shelter is ahead, keep moving!"

The others rallied their spirits and shouted in response.

"Roger!"

The ten-member squad pushed forward deeper into the subway tunnel, sending ripples across the knee-deep filthy water surface.

I Max Black felt his heart pounding fast.

Not only did the icy water feel cold, but it also brought him a disquieting anxiety.

How to put it?

It was too quiet down here!

At that moment, he suddenly saw that far away, under the flashlight beam shimmering on the water surface, floated chunks of decayed wood.

They were entangled with rotting waterweeds, mixed with floating plastic garbage and discarded debris, invisible from the platform.

I Max Black blinked.

Wood?

There weren't even trees nearby, how could there be wooden planks?

Just then, the "wood" floating on the shimmering water surface suddenly vanished as if it had instantaneously moved closer in their direction.

Sharply catching this change, I Max Black's pupils dilated and he aimed his rifle in that direction.

"Stop!" he shouted loudly.

Almost at the same moment everyone halted, he finally saw clearly how those "planks" moved—

They were not planks at all!

Instead, they were creatures the size of a wolf dog, Mutated Water Frogs!

Their slender, three pairs of legs clung tightly to the water surface, which is why no one had noticed them.

They lay hidden among the garbage heap and water weeds, patiently waiting until the prey entered their domain before they launched their powerful hind legs.

Their light bodies allowed them to move almost silently, their tube-like mouths like lances hidden in the reeds, radiating a chilling murderous aura.

This time, it wasn't just I Max Black.

Having finally seen the hidden killing intent on the water surface, even the bravest among them, Ten Hands Superman, couldn't help but pale.

"Holy shit! Mutated Water Frogs!?"

These creatures were not uncommon in West State City, ranking just after the Battleship Shrimp and Crack Claw Crabs.

Most Mutated Water Frogs lived along the shores of lakes, usually growing to one meter in length, but with their limbs fully extended, they could reach up to two meters.

They had hardly any excess fat, their skin covered with a chitinous exoskeleton rich in nutrients, their main method of attack being to leap at prey with a kick, pinning them down with their mutated sharp teeth, and then tearing and devouring them with a pair of forelimbs.

A few Mutated Water Frogs, with their explosive strength, could even flip a grown Monster, so even though the forests near the Fourth New District were rich in water resources, Variants rarely nested in this area.

Most players were reluctant to engage with these creatures.

Partly because these creatures were too quick and difficult to hit, and partly because their meat was scanty and inedible. If there weren't any missions related to Variant control, hardly anyone would want to mess with these troublesome creatures.

"Aren't these things supposed to live in shallow waters… How did they wander over here?!"

"Who knows! They've been pumping water out for a solid week!"

"It might be those Ghost-faced Insects attracting them… I've heard that Water Frogs like to eat bugs, Mutated Water Frogs probably do as well—"

"Forget about what it eats! You're on its menu right now! Fire!"

Shouting loudly, I Max Black was the first to squeeze the trigger, his shoulder bracing the stock as he rattled off shots towards the water surface in front of him.

The intense gunfire exploded suddenly in the tunnel, and everyone poured fierce firepower towards the Variants rushing towards them.

Retreat was impossible.

Those creatures moved across the water as fast as lightning, while they were stuck as if their feet were tied to blocks of ice, unable to run anywhere in this cursed place.

If they showed the slightest weakness, exposing their vulnerable backs to the maws of these Variants, they would undoubtedly end up as prey!

"Squad A, engage the enemy! Squads B and C, move forward to support them!"

Hearing the gunfire from the front of the tunnel, the Spring Water Commander immediately issued an order, while deploying the support stands of the Destroyer Type I Exoskeleton and leveling the 120mm heavy mortar.

Quietly calculating the distance, Spring Water continued shouting over the comm channel.

"Old Black! Spread out a bit on the sides!"

I Max Black, who was desperately pulling on the trigger, gritted his teeth and quickly signaled his teammates beside him.

"Spread out to the sides!"

As Squad A cleared the center of the tunnel, "Kakarot" had already led Squad B rushing forward.

With a splash, jumping into the knee-deep water of the tunnel, "Kakarot" was the first to set up a squad machine gun with an ammunition drum and pulled the trigger while loudly shouting.

"Fire—"

"Ratatat—!"

The continuous gunfire quickly drowned out his command.

The support team's burst of firepower created streaks of flashing light rain in the tunnels, splashing a string of half-human-high water splashes on the water surface in front of Team A.

However, the gunfire didn't last long.

Just as Team B had started to pour out their ammunition, Team A quickly collided with the Mutated Water Frogs rushing towards them, engaging in close combat.

Losing their firing positions, "Kakarot" made a snap decision, slung the machine gun over his back, and drew the dagger from his waist.

"Charge and help out!"

His brothers also picked up their melee weapons and charged towards Team A, who were tangled up with the Mutated Water Frogs, yelling fiercely.

"Roar roar roar!"

Meanwhile, Team A was caught in a bitter fight.

Although they had detected the lurking Hunters in the dark, the overwhelming number of Mutated Water Frogs had breached their line of fire.

I Max Black felt as if he had been struck by a bull, falling backward into the water and nearly swallowing a bellyful of dirty water.

Seeing their prey fall, the Mutated Water Frogs excitedly waved their front limbs, and with a lift of their mouthparts, they fiercely lunged forward.

Almost instinctively dodging the sharp guide tube aimed at his throat, I Max Black pulled out his dagger and fiercely stabbed towards the head of the Mutated Water Frog.

With a dull thud, pale yellow fluid splattered.

I Max Black, suppressing his nausea, furiously stabbed two more times until the floundering limbs lost their strength. He then kicked the twitching corpse away and struggled to stand up from the ground.

Almost at the same moment, a shell landed about thirty meters in front of him. The explosion's shockwave instantly knocked him back into the water.

It was a gasoline bomb.

The flames from the explosion did not drown in the water of the tunnel but spread rapidly across the surface.

Mutated Water Frogs, just awoken from hibernation, were swept into the fierce blaze.

They thrashed in the thick smoke, seemingly screaming silently, then silently turned to ash, sinking into the water.

As Team B's reinforcements arrived, the players swiftly killed the remaining Mutated Water Frogs, and the battle in the tunnel came to an end.

Pulled out of the water by "Kakarot", I Max Black coughed violently twice and immediately cursed over the communication channel.

"Fuck! Dog Spring Water, have you lost your mind?! Using a mortar in this damn place?!"

"Alright, alright, tough work, brother, it's over now, well fought!" "Kakarot" said with a laugh as he patted his back consolingly. Then he looked ahead, "Look, Shelter 100 is right ahead, we've made it."

I Max Black instinctively followed his gaze forward.

Through the backdrop of the blazing inferno, on the side of the algae and stain-covered tunnel, stood a massive metallic gear.

Despite being submerged for over a century, its surface was still as polished as ever, showing no signs of the wear and tear of time.

The blazing flames made its surface shine brightly, with the conspicuous number stamped in the center of the gear.

Staring at that gear-shaped giant gate, I Max Black's expression inevitably softened.

Shelter 100!

They had arrived!

Chapter 621 "Tree" and "Tree Man

He arrived at the entrance to Shelter No.100.

I Max Black found the communication terminal on the wall beside the door, pulled a data cable from the VM on his left arm, and inserted it into the terminal's port below.

Watching the signal light flash green, the faces of the players lit up with joy and surprise.

It was unimaginable.

Having soaked in sewage and rubbish for so many years, this electronic device produced two centuries ago could still be started!

One had to admit, the technology of the Human Alliance was indeed something special.

Just as I Max Black opened the scientific expedition team's "mini program" and started importing the electronic key into the terminal, waiting for the loading bar, Chu Guang, who was at Camp 101, was also paying attention to the situation at Shelter No.100.

Perched on Chu Guang's shoulder, Xiao Qi suddenly opened its eyes and looked at him.

"The terminal shows signs of use."

Chu Guang looked at it and asked,

"Hasn't the gate never been opened?"

A stream of data flashed through its pale blue pupils; Xiao Qi rubbed its chin and muttered,

"Hmm... the power system for the gate has indeed been shut down for two centuries, but there are access records from the year 2190."

2190.

Was that the 61st year of the Wasteland Era?

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

It wasn't hard to understand, really.

According to Dr. Method, Camp 101 had previously attempted to explore Shelter No.100, but in the end, it was abandoned due to prohibitive conditions.

Shelter 101 was started after the dissolution of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, around the year 2174— during the 45th year of the Wasteland Era.

Between the 45th and 61st years of the Wasteland Era, it was very possible that Camp 101 had already appeared, after all, according to Dr. Method, although Shelter 101 was isolated from the world, it did not sever all contact with the outside and was continually enlightening some wandering Waste Land Wanderers, conducting indirect scientific research on the outside world through them.

At that time, there weren't as many rampant extreme Variants on the Wasteland, so it was entirely possible for the residents of Camp 101 to reach the entrance of Shelter No.100 using diving equipment.

While the human and AI were exchanging information, I Max Black's VM had already secured the authority to activate the shelter's gate.

And it was at this moment that a silver metallic sphere appeared on the terminal's display.

"Welcome! Friends of the future! You've finally found us; we thought you had forgotten about us. By the way, what year is it now? How many colony planets do we have? I always said that having just one Aurora star would cause problems! If we had a hundred Auroras, none of those troublesome things would have happened."

I Max Black had some trouble understanding what he was saying but responded to the parts he could comprehend,

"Year 2342 of the Human Alliance Calendar, the 213th year of the Wasteland Era, and I'm sorry to say we are still on our home planet... Don't you have a clock or something?"

The silver sphere seemed to freeze for a moment, its shaking motion becoming somewhat anxious.

"Wait, still on the home planet? You mean, not even one? How is that possible? What about the Pioneer? Surely the colony ship Pioneer must have reached its destination!"

The Pioneer?

I Max Black thought for a long time before remembering, that was apparently the destination the enterprise's colony ship had initially planned to head for. He said with a complex expression,

"No... if you're talking about the Pioneer, they never left the Solar System; instead, they deliberately grounded themselves in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng. They built a new city there according to the standards of a colony, and from what I hear, they took in quite a few survivors."

The silver metallic sphere seemed to pause for a moment before squeezing out a statement with its clicking, rotating mouth,

"Such a waste..."

I Max Black didn't understand what it meant by a waste, but what intrigued him more was what this thing was exactly.

"My name is I Max Black, and you? How should I address you?"

"Bell... that's what they call me because I clang and jingle when I walk and talk, just like a rusted bell. My designer created me 55,845 work cycles ago, and he thought that by the time the gate reopened, the outside would be a new world, and someone would take me to work in a museum or something. But it seems his wish has come to naught."

As if having lost his initial energy, the silver metallic sphere sagged with its soft antennae, rambling on to itself.

Those aimless words seemed to answer the visitor's questions but also an act of self-pity for its own fate.

I Max Black counted on his fingers, if by work cycles it means days, then over fifty-five thousand work cycles would equate to... over one hundred and fifty years?!

In other words, this guy had been around since about the sixtieth year of the Wasteland Era and lived all the way to February of the year 213!

Standing at the doorway, counting on his fingers, I Max Black saw Bell smacking its toggle-like mouth.

"I Max Black, is it... I must say, you really are dark enough."

After glancing at the sewage and mud on his body, I Max Black patted his filthy breastplate and rolled his eyes, saying,

"Anyway, can you open the door? We've already given you the password."

Bell: "Of course, you can come in anytime, just by gently pressing the open door button on your terminal... Or do you think all doors should open automatically for you?"

Listening to this guy's nonsense, I Max Black rolled his eyes and jabbed his index finger on the VM's screen.

With a tremor that shook the ground and the grinding noise of friction, giant metal gears slowly rolled to one side, revealing a gap wide enough for two cars.

A staircase led directly to a spacious buffer zone, and directly opposite the hole were two tightly closed airlock doors with transparent windows.

The orange-yellow light and warning lamps were lit one by one, and the shadows cast by the metal parts flickered and danced on the floor, accompanied by odd clanking noises.

The entire shelter was like an aging diesel engine that had been ignited by a new spark plug, reluctantly opening its murky eyes.

I Max Black's VM screen displayed that the shelter's fusion reactor had been reignited, and all facilities were gradually switching from the auxiliary power supply to the regular power supply.

Chu Guang, who was looking at the screen from Camp 101, couldn't help but be moved.

Shelter 100's fusion reactor still had leftover fuel!

As I Max Black was stunned by the changes before him, several ghost-faced insects suddenly rushed out, nearly causing him to reflexively raise the muzzle of his gun.

"Hey! Wait, these little guys are harmless—"

Seeing his motion to raise the gun, Bell was startled and tried to stop him, but I Max Black had already pulled the trigger.

Amidst the pop pop pop of gunfire, several ghost-faced insects lay splattered on the rust-streaked corridor, their guts turned upside down.

Looking at the fallen creatures, Bell let out a plaintive complaint from the screen.

"You executioner! You've killed them all!"

Careful not to be negligent, I Max Black carefully checked the passage behind the door, then made a hand signal to his teammates behind him, sending five forward into the buffer zone to clear out any lurking Variants, while he stayed at the doorway.

Watching Bell, still grieving for the little lives, he lowered his gun and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, saying,

"They're not interested in you because you're a Robot, but we've bumped into these things all the way in... They pounce as soon as they see us."

Bell was startled.

"Wait, you just said... you've encountered these things outside too?"

I Max Black: "Yes, what about it?"

"It's unbelievable..." Bell murmured in a low voice, full of amazement, "It's impossible by all accounts; the door has never been opened after it was closed, not once. They couldn't have gotten out... Could there be a leak somewhere? Strange."

Looking at the babbling robot, Type 5 Superman and Limping Kevin, following behind I Max Black, exchanged a glance and whispered to each other.

"Why do I have this feeling of déjà vu?"

"+1"

Looking at Bell's surprise, I Max Black frowned slightly.

"Do you know them?"

Bell cleared his throat and spoke in a storytelling manner,

"Of course, they're called 'Crunchy,' they provide an abundant source of chitin, a natural high polymer, premium industrial raw material. In addition to the protein and nutrients they offer, which are quite exceptional, they only need a little bit of garbage. It's no exaggeration to say that they are one of this museum's—oh no, shelter's greatest achievements."

I Max Black twitched his eyebrows, feeling nothing remotely 'great' about these highly aggressive creatures.

"We call them ghost-faced insects."

Hearing this amusing name, Bell let out a grating laugh that echoed eerily through the dark subway tunnel.

"Ghost-faced insects? That's also a nice name... Let's go with your term then; this place belongs to you all now."

"Could you give us a tour?"

I Max Black tried to make the request, and that silver metallic sphere on the screen nodded its round head without hesitation.

"No problem; this is my work after all. Follow me."

As Bell said this, he turned around.

Just when I Max Black was hesitating about how to keep up with him, the iron gate of the buffer zone ahead hissed open.

A silver metal sphere lay quietly atop a basin-sized, flat-shaped quadruped robot.

"What are you waiting for at the entrance? Come in quickly."

I Max Black exchanged glances with a few others beside him and followed the self-proclaimed Bell through the two airlock doors of the buffer zone and into the interior of the shelter.

The situation here wasn't as bad as I'd imagined. Despite being submerged underwater for many years, no sewage had seeped in from outside. Even Bell, who had lived here for a century and a half, couldn't figure out how those insects got outside.

However, even if it wasn't as bad as imagined, the situation here was definitely not looking good.

A mass of "Crunchy" insects had overtaken the shelter, building their nests here like cockroaches, filling every possible filthy crevice. Their dark excrement was everywhere, and more than that, there were their shed carapaces shining with oily luster and fist-sized eggs.

Watching a few Ghost-faced Insects hissing, I Max Black and a group of ten players skillfully raised their guns and opened fire.

After a round of rapid gunfire, dozens of the insects perished immediately, along with the eggs in the room turning into a dark green slush.

Skilfully avoiding the debris on the ground with its four mechanical legs, Bell sitting atop the quadruped robot no longer called these visitors executioners, but merely whispered a reminder.

"Those are good materials. The shed carapaces are rich in chitin, which can be used to make many high-performance polymer materials... Most electronic devices and machines can use them."

I Max Black wasn't in the mood to deal with this guy at the moment.

Looking at the dead bodies of Ghost-faced Insects and their metabolic byproducts littering the ground, he was changing the empty magazine and feeling his scalp tingle as he reported back on what he found in the shelter.

"...This is I Max Black; I have entered Shelter No.100. The place is covered with the metabolic byproducts and eggs of Ghost-faced Insects; there could be tens, maybe hundreds of thousands! I suggest cutting off the shelter's air circulation system and coming back in a few days."

He now understood where those Mutated Water Frogs had come from.

Turns out it was all brought on by these little buggers!

Static crackled over the communication channel, followed by Brother Springs' voice.

"I've reported the situation inside the shelter to the Manager... His reply was that the ventilation system of Shelter No.100 has malfunctioned. According to the self-diagnostic program's analysis, something has clogged the air intake filter, perhaps eggs or shed exoskeletons. The Ghost-faced Insects active in the shelter have probably leaked out from there."

I Max Black asked with a tingling scalp.

"So... isn't there an efficient way to get rid of these insects here?"

How long would he have to kill them one by one with a rifle?

You might as well get a bottle of pesticide!

Spring Water Commander, "As it looks now, there are no shortcuts. Unless you can go to Floor B2 and fix the ventilation system, but that would be too much trouble for you, and for me too. We'd at least need to clear the Variants from Floors B1 and B2, then arrange for the air conditioning master from Camp 101 to come in... But all these are plans for later, we will eventually recapture the entire shelter, but that's not the task for today."

After clearing his throat, he continued.

"Let's get to the crux of it. Our mission is to recover the Black Boxes stored in the warehouse on Floor B40; there are over twenty of them, you'll know the specifics when you get there. Next is the Floor B51 manager's office diary, which stores the data Lord Manager needs. Additionally, there's a strange signal detected on Floor B100, suspected to be human life activity, but the signal is odd and doesn't fully match that of a normal person. Anyway, the first two are main tasks, and the last is a side mission, that's all."

That's all, and still okay?

And this shelter actually has a hundred floors!

I Max Black couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Can't you come in and help?!"

Spring Water Commander laughed apologetically.

"Sorry, brother, I'm just as bothered by insects as you are... and I admit, I'm more of a bureaucrat, better at talking than action. But don't worry! I've added a hundred brothers to your team, you now have the strength of a platoon, and when we return, the top credit is yours!"

I Max Black, "%￥#@!"

With so many ridiculous points, he didn't know where to start complaining and simply ended the conversation with some cursing.

Ignoring I Max Black's mumbling, and not understanding a word he said, Bell continued to walk in front, casually speaking in the tone of a tour guide.

"...The great Shelter No.100 once sheltered 30,300 Residents. Their peak number even reached 81,711."

Type Five couldn't help but say,

"Eighty thousand people? Here?"

Although Brother Quanshui had mentioned over the communication channel that the shelter had a hundred levels, he still couldn't imagine how this shelter hidden within the tunnels could fit nearly the population of a City of Dawn.

If it really had that population capacity, it would have to be an underground city like Shelter No.79, right?

But clearly, this place was not like that.

Unsurprised by his reaction, Bell just giggled shrilly a few times and stopped in front of a sliding door on the side of the hall.

"...Your horizon limits your imagination, not to mention eighty thousand people, theoretically, this shelter could accommodate two hundred thousand people with no issue."

As her voice fell, the sliding door slowly opened upward, revealing a world completely different from the claustrophobic world outside the shelter.

A spacious, circular corridor carved an extraordinarily broad space in the underground world and connected hundreds of densely packed rooms together.

The entire structure of the shelter resembled a vertical atrium, with a hemispherical dome emitting a beige light shining at the top.

The light was like a sun engraved inside the cave, pouring into the bottomless atrium.

The exoskeletons shed by the Ghost-faced Insects gathered on the atrium's inner walls to form a honeycomb-like tower, which under the light, refracted a shimmer of iridescent colors.

Like a tangible rainbow!

And yet, the most shocking thing was still to come.

On the circular corridor, discarded exoskeletons and mechanical remnants littered around like garbage.

Among them were the most classic police equipment of the Human Alliance Era, the "Type Five" exoskeletons, as well as the "Type 6" Heavy Cavalry.

In addition, some machines resembling more construction tools than weapons—like several crab-shaped engineering robots—also joined the battle, waving their pincer-like limbs.

Their bodies and surroundings were riddled with bullet holes, and traces of explosives could be seen everywhere on the walls and ground.

The Variants active within the shelter devoured all the organic matter beneath the metallic skeletons, using layers of shed exoskeletons and mucus to integrate these exoskeletons and machines into the bug nest walls, together forming what was known as Shelter 100's "tomb."

Observing the breathtaking scene, the players' eyes stared in astonishment, especially I Max Black, who was closest to the door and almost subconsciously let out an expletive, "Holy shit."

This lighting effect!

This scene modeling!

Every frame looked as though the budget was burning!

Absolutely incredible!

Seemingly very pleased with the visitors' shocked expressions, Bell laughed with a sound like the scraping of sharp tools after a moment of enjoyment.

Riding on a quadrupedal Machine, she passed through the sliding door to the circular corridor and stopped on the edge of the steep atrium.

"Welcome to Shelter 100, you are probably the first guests to set foot here since the doors closed two centuries ago."

I Max Black glanced at the widespread debris and inquired subconsciously.

"What exactly happened here?"

Bell spoke leisurely.

"Many, many things happened, if we start from the beginning that would be a long story. My master recorded the past of this place on his VM, that thing should be in the Manager's Office. Go there and take a look, and you'll know."

I Max Black continued to press for answers.

"Is your master the Manager here?"

"Manager? How could that be possible, are other shelters run by humans as managers?" Bell laughed heartily, "Regardless, here he is just a supervisor... But my master is still very impressive, he survived until the end! Of course, whether that can be considered fortunate is another matter."

Ten Punch Man stared blankly at her.

"Supervisor?"

Bell stated succinctly.

"The Manager of Shelter 100 is not a human, but a powerful AI. Its name is 'Tree,' which has the highest access level in the shelter, responsible for making the most ideal decisions based on the parameters feedback from all the sensor modules in the shelter. If a light bulb goes out, it would know before the person beneath that light bulb and report the repair to the specific warehouse and workshop instantly."

"And the supervisors are residents that ensure 'Tree's' commands are executed. They are residents of the shelter, but at the same time, they are part of 'Tree's' sensor modules, responsible for monitoring the most unreliable module in the entire shelter—the residents of the refuge."

At this point, she paused for a moment and sarcastically added with a hint of amusement in her tone.

"However, 'supervisor' is just what my master and his colleagues call themselves, just like you named the 'Crunchy' as Ghost-faced Insects. Those mischievous Residents of the refuge didn't like the official name either, and secretly referred to them in reverence as 'Tree Men.'"

Chapter 622: Unfortunately, the People Who Didn't Get to See the New World

Every design aspect of Shelter No. 117 was dedicated to the reconstruction of the surface, complete with an exaggerated atrium structure and a dome that simulated day and night, while the majority of residents lived in a cylindrical apartment block.

Now, this place had become the nesting ground for Ghost-faced Insects.

Fortunately, these creatures hadn't formed a beehive-like society, not governed by a unified hive mind.

Otherwise, the alliance's players might have been "crunched" by tens of thousands of Ghost-faced Insects the moment they entered the shelter.

They didn't immediately begin the search of Shelter No. 117.

I Max Black first reorganized the hundred reinforcements brought up from the surface by Springs, had "Kakarot" place light machine guns with sixty men around the edge of the atrium, while he himself wore the K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton and led twenty Strength Type and Body Constitution System brothers into the fully enclosed elevator shaft.

Bell, riding the quadruped robot, stayed close by his side, watching as everyone threw ropes down the elevator shaft, the machine's leg stepping in first.

I Max Black was startled by its sudden movement but quickly realized that it hadn't fallen in. Instead, it was firmly perched on the wall.

The soles of those four legs seemed to be coated with some special adhesive material, allowing it to ascend and descend almost vertically in the elevator shaft.

"Your mount's got something special."

Surprised, I Max Black extended his right hand toward it, wanting to see if it could also support him.

But Bell managed to evade the incoming hand with ease, as if it had eyes on its back, with just a light sway of its body.

"Don't bother trying. I can't carry you. You'd better watch your step, the deeper it goes, the more of those little darlings there are."

I Max Black instinctively shone his flashlight downward, thankful that the vertical walls of the shaft did not bear the sight of any Ghost-faced Insects.

Relieved, he glared angrily at the guy riding on the back of the spider robot, while cautiously descending into the depths of the elevator shaft, gripping the rope tightly.

Finally, he reached level B40.

I Max Black knocked twice on the door with force, and the sealed alloy doors quickly made a creaking noise as they slowly opened to either side, controlled remotely by some Manager.

The moment the doors opened, a flurry of wing-fluttering noises came rushing toward them.

"Ch-ch-ch—"

"Damn!"

I Max Black, startled, swung backward while simultaneously grabbing the assault rifle hanging in front of his chest and spraying out bursts of gunfire.

Dozens of Ghost-faced Insects were killed instantly, but inevitably a few slipped through and charged into the elevator shaft.

To avoid ricochets injuring their own people, the players who had descended with I Max Black immediately drew their daggers and clubs to engage in close-hand combat with the nearby Ghost-faced Insects.

To be fair, the aggressiveness of these insects was exceptionally strong, and their abdominal stingers were as efficient as a nail gun.

However, facing the "Turtle-Shell Level" defense of the K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton, the chitinous stingers were still somewhat lacking.

"Actually, these things aren't as tough to deal with as imagined, just damn disgusting."

After prying off an insect trembling its stingers on his helmet, just like Teddy, one of the Strength Type guys disdainfully knocked it against the wall, smashing it into a puddle of dark green viscous fluid.

Another player, wiping the mucus from his dagger, joked with a smile.

"Truly, our captain's sanity points are almost depleted."

"Hahaha."

"Shut up and do your work."

I Max Black rolled his eyes and swung his right fist forward, leading the nine men behind him to swing into the corridor behind the elevator doors.

The corridor was littered with insect skins shed from molting, as well as dark and grim metabolic waste.

In addition, there were scattered documents, desks, chairs, and cabinets used as cover thrown in the middle of the corridor, along with torn and fragmented clothing.

I Max Black gestured to advance, then pressed something on his helmet.

"Leave the storage on level B40 to us... Brother Chao, you take the others and continue downward to level B51 to retrieve the documents."

Tenken Chao's voice came through the communication channel.

"Received!"

The twenty-man team split into two groups; ten followed Tenken Chao further down the elevator shaft for exploration, while I Max Black led the remaining ten forward.

Their objective was the Black Box located in the storage area at level B40.

Bell, perched atop the quadruped robot, pondered for a moment before also crawling into the corridor of level B40, pattering along the ceiling above everyone's heads.

I Max Black paid it no mind, occasionally firing shots at the Ghost-faced Insects that flapped their wings and seemed ready to pounce, while also carefully checking every corner of the corridor.

Several lights were broken here.

The entire corridor flickered erratically, resembling the set of a horror film.

What was troublesome was that the main corridor was practically blocked by barricades and the remnants of arthropods, so they had to detour through an area that seemed like a residential zone.

Stepping over a toppled cabinet, I Max Black suddenly noticed a teddy bear lying beside the wall. The bear was torn in half.

Its stuffing had vanished, and judging from the bullet holes on the ground, its owner was probably turned into a sieve and soon after became nourishment for the insects.

The players following behind clicked their tongues.

"The combat was quite intense here."

Other players also muttered softly.

"Was it a fight for the Black Box?"

"Doesn't seem like it..."

I Max Black also felt it was unlikely.

If it were for the Black Box, there was no need for the firefight to extend to this spot, two hundred meters from the warehouse entrance, nor was it necessary to sweep every room.

It didn't seem like a fight for something at all.

Rather, it seemed like a "clean-up" operation.

Observing the doors ajar, I Max Black suddenly thought of something and said to the guide hanging above,

"Speaking of which, why design Shelter No.117 with a hollow center like a well? Isn't a solid structure more space-efficient?"

The bell above their heads spoke slowly,

"Shelter No.117 is a shelter, not an apartment. From the day it was designed, its fate was sealed to end up in the rubbish heap. Like a chick breaking through its shell to see the real sun, if it doesn't, it will never see it."

I Max Black, "How is that related?"

The bell let out a sharp, creaky laughter.

"Of course, it's related. The immense atrium structure was prepared for the day it would collapse. When the Reconstruction Plan reaches the mid-phase, the 'tree' will blow up the dome, allowing the structures above to fall into the atrium funneled by the box frame, creating an opening upwards."

"Then, the shelter will become a natural casting well, devouring all the rubbish above our heads."

Hearing this astonishing plan, I Max Black was stunned.

"Casting well?"

The bell's voice had a hint of pride.

"Exactly, a well that casts everything, a vertical production base. In the planned project, raw materials would flow down into the well like a waterfall, transforming into what we need upon impact, then sent to the surface by elevators. And in the final phase of the plan, we would use it to construct a starship, nearly matching the diameter of the atrium, to follow in Pioneer's steps and colonize more distant worlds."

I Max Black could only look up in disbelief.

"You had even planned for things like this."

The bell said mockingly,

"Of course, after all, the 'tree' is omnipotent. It can schedule plans up to a thousand years ahead. It's just that most people can't keep up with its pace."

I Max Black, "..."

A player commented in disbelief,

"And here I thought this place only housed nuclear engineers."

The bell laughed heartily.

"Nuclear engineers? Ah... well, certainly there are. But do you really need thirty thousand people to maintain a fusion reactor? There are experts from all fields here, and their descendants."

I Max Black couldn't help but ask, "Where are they?"

For some reason, the bell suddenly fell silent, though it quickly resumed its chatter, skillfully diverting the topic to other matters.

I Max Black always felt there was something off with it, but since the control of the shelter had already transferred, he wasn't particularly worried about this individual.

Just then, a broken voice came through the communication channel.

"The VM in the Manager's Office has been recovered... Damn, there must be hundreds of bugs here. How much longer for you guys?"

I Max Black glanced at the map on the VM. The entrance to the warehouse was not far ahead.

And according to the surveillance footage provided by the Manager, there seemed to be about thirty to forty Ghost-faced Insects waiting for them.

"We'll be there soon."

Super Puncher: "Need help?"

I Max Black glanced around.

"No need, those little bugs can't hurt us. The only trouble is that the terrain here is too damned complicated; the obstacles are more of a hassle than the bugs."

Super Puncher: "Alright, then be careful yourselves... We've already copied the data from the VM into the shelter's server, and since we have some time, we're planning to check out that 'branch' on level B100."

The control of the shelter had been secured by the Manager before they set foot inside, which was why they were able to maintain communication with the outside world from within the shelter.

As long as the data from the VM was uploaded to the shelter's server, everything, including the Administrator's Log, could be synced to the outside.

What puzzled I Max Black was, since Shelter No. 117's Manager was clearly not a human, why would there be something like a vital signs monitor.

Moreover, what was most suspicious was that even though the Manager itself resided as an AI within the shelter's server, its log wasn't on the shelter's server but saved on an offline portable storage device.

It was too strange.

However, no matter what, obtaining the Black Box was the most urgent matter.

"...Got it, level B100 is all yours then; be careful as well." After a casual remark, I Max Black ended the communication and turned to look at his teammates behind him.

"Super Bro has got things handled, we need to pick up the pace too!"

The team responded with a burst of enthusiastic agreement.

"Roger that!"

...

Over a hundred players from the Storm Corps were still busy grumbling and digging graves in the ruins of Shelter No. 117 located in the Underground District 4 of the New Area.

Meanwhile, far away in Camp 101, Chu Guang, who was peering at the screen, had already obtained the Manager's Log that his players had retrieved from the Manager's Office through Xiao Qi.

Unlike the Administrator's Logs obtained from other shelters, the log from Shelter No. 117 was less like the personal and colorful "last words" and more like the instruction manual that came with the packaging of a television, which virtually no one would bother to read in detail.

The opening of the log concisely and clearly outlined the functions of Shelter No. 117, including the management privileges held by "The Tree," the resources enjoyed by Shelter No. 117 and the obligations it had to fulfill, as well as the rules the residents had to follow.

Chu Guang quickly skimmed through the tedious content and extracted some key points, getting a basic understanding of Shelter No. 117's "game rules."

Simply put, if this shelter were compared to a prison, then "The Tree" would be the warden of the prison, and the "Watchers" its alarm system.

The former was in charge of administration, the latter of execution.

The number of the latter was mainly determined by the number of residents in the shelter; aside from the initial 300 Watchers, for every additional hundred residents, one more Watcher position was automatically created.

The goal of Shelter No. 117 was clear, to execute the Wasteland reconstruction plan after being sealed for sixty-three years.

Although taking in survivors at the moment of the nuclear strike was indeed part of the plan, the shelter had no obligation to save anyone.

And that's why Shelter No. 117, from the start, was almost the opposite of the "overloaded" Shelter No. 117.

"The Tree" implemented the predetermined "protection program" without hesitation, and after completing the reception plan for 30,300 residents, had the "Watchers" exile all residents who did not have a registration number to the outside.

The inventory system showed a record of tranquilizer gun withdrawals from the stockpile on the day the shelter was sealed, indicating the exile process was anything but peaceful.

But it wasn't a peaceful time anyway, so discussing this had no meaning in itself.

Thirty thousand residents spent three anxious days in the shelter, and on the fourth day were informed that the world had already been destroyed in nuclear war, including the United Human, and all old orders no longer existed, and it would be at least sixty-three years before the outside world would again be habitable.

At this point, Chu Guang felt a hint of doubt.

Because this was at odds with what he had learned from the memories of Eure as well as from other shelter Administrator's Logs.

The War had not lasted three days, but a full three years.

Until the end of the three-year war and the establishment of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, the world had not truly become the Wasteland, and various organizations and institutions of the United Human were still operating to their fullest extent.

However, Chu Guang's confusion was soon answered.

It was also part of "The Tree's" decision-making.

A Watcher with a bio-information registration number of "Klerg" left three lines of annotation next to this piece of information.

[This was the wisest decision. The Great Tree convinced the restless residents with only three sentences. Under its will, we showed the residents evidence of the apocalypse, the scenes of Clear Spring City struck by nuclear attacks as hellish as Hell. After seeing the truth, they soon gave up all unrealistic fantasies, accepted the hard-to-swallow cookies, canned food, and freeze-dried vegetables, and the fact that they would no longer have android servants waiting on them.]

[The only thing that puzzles me is, what is so hard to swallow about the cookies and freeze-dried vegetables, and what exactly did they eat before? Unfortunately, "The Tree" erased all image data from the old era, and I have only heard bits and pieces about the Prosperity Epoch from my grandfather. Both he and I firmly believe that era is gone forever.]

[To continue down this thorny path, we can only wholeheartedly maintain our belief.]

"Klerg."

Chu Guang whispered the name to himself, and suddenly thinking of something, said, "Xiao Qi, help me pull up this person's information."

"Sure thing!"

Perched on his shoulder, Xiao Qi eagerly responded and swiftly brought up the man's file, projecting it on one side of the holographic screen.

Chu Guang looked straight at the employment date in the file.

According to the record, he was conferred the position of "Manager" in the 53rd year of the Wasteland Era, at that time just 24 years old.

It's interesting to note, the timing coincided with the second year after the lake waters of Western Province flooded into the tunnels. The climate on the Wasteland had begun to show signs of revival, and there were only seven years left until the lifting of the shelter's lockdown.

The days were slowly getting better.

The appointment of a new Manager suggested that the population of Shelter No.117 was growing, and that the environment here likely wasn't too terrible.

Out of curiosity about the past of this shelter, Chu Guang shifted his focus from the report on the "Tree" to this Manager named "Klerg". He asked Xiao Qi to help arrange this additional information in chronological order and cross-reference it with the Administrator's Log.

He soon discovered that, compared to the straightforward records left by the "Tree", this Manager Klerg provided a completely different perspective.

"… The consumption of resources for thirty thousand people is astronomical, especially since the residents from the Prosperity Epoch have demands for material goods beyond our current imagination. The Great Tree can monitor their physical and mental health, but can't afford to assign a health assistant to each one of them. We can only start by lowering their expectations for the future, then let them gradually adapt to their new lives."

"My grandfather, under the instructions of the Great Tree, used those exiles to warn the fortunate survivors that stayed behind. Shelter 100 has no obligation to shelter anyone; it belongs to everyone who suffers but not to any one person. If you do not want to struggle miserably like those poor wretches curled up in the garbage at the subway station, then you must obey the 'Tree's' command unconditionally, and obey our commands unconditionally."

"In the initial fifty, our achievements were remarkable. Both the correctness of the Great Tree and our devotion were tested by time. Our creation, 'Crunchy', could nearly completely recycle all metabolic waste. Our 'Wolf Spider' robots and 'Buprestis' Engineering Armor were capable of climbing up and down nearly vertical shafts, taking over the high-difficulty construction work that the shelter's equipment couldn't handle — something not even anticipated by the Great Tree."

"It turns out that our creativity was enough to make the AI of the Prosperity Epoch drop its jaw—if it had one."

"Please don't laugh out loud. I am seriously talking about this. You who were born with hundreds of colonies cannot comprehend the embarrassment of lacking resources. It's like tens of thousands of people crammed into an isolated space station where we have to meet everyone's basic needs with limited resources and space, at least preventing most people's standard of living from declining too rapidly. And even in such dire circumstances, we still created a series of unimaginable technological achievements."

"Even today, I still remember the joy of becoming a Manager, as if a child had grown up overnight and become the omnipotent hero from the stories he grew up reading. Before long, I would, like my forefathers, lead those intelligent and capable residents to create more incredible wonders."

"However, there always seems to be a disparity between reality and ideals. Those clever residents believe they are wiser than the 'Tree.' They don't respect us as Managers at all, even cursing us as AI's servants, calling us 'Tree Men', saying we are nothing like humans except in appearance."

"Actually, if I think about it, perhaps from that time on, I should have noticed where the real problem lay. We had long drawn a clear line between us and those 'Worker Ants'; we were never the same kind of people."

"This shelter is like a prison; their sentence is sixty-three years, while ours is forever. The identity of a Manager is bestowed on us by the shelter. We do the dirtiest work but also enjoy some special privileges. But once this shelter fulfills its mission and collapses as designed in the end, everything will vanish into thin air."

"When those Worker Ants will not punish an AI, we will all be held accountable by them, after all, the records of our exiling those survivors could never be erased—not even by the Manager."

"So you can imagine how anxious we have become as the sixty-three-year term draws near. And how thrilled we were when the waters of Western Province Lake flooded into the subway station, reaching the doorstep. We had perfected this shelter to last forever, and it will continue to improve. All we need to do is, like those cunning Worker Ants, exploit bugs that the 'Tree' did not anticipate, delaying its decision to open the shelter's doors."

"In fact, we succeeded, extending the sixty-three-year term to seventy years. We'll prolong this time as much as possible until we find a way out, ideally making it last forever. But at the time, none of us expected that the obedient Worker Ants would react so violently, even going so far as to plant poison needles under the cute 'Crunchy' or turning the 'Buprestis' pincers into shields and blades."

"A ridiculous farce errupted that took everyone by surprise, but on reflection, we might be the most ridiculous of all. We were entirely preoccupied with the crises the shelter faced every day, completely forgetting what the shelter's original purpose was."

[As you stand in the museum, you see that we are eternally left in this cage.]

[We can never go out again.]

—Klerg, the pitiful man who never got to see the new world, the last prison guard of Shelter 100, the final survivor of the Tree People.

Reading Klerg's notes to the end, Chu Guang fell silent for a moment.

He didn't think the fellow deserved any pity, but such an ending was indeed absurd for this Shelter.

Just then, Xiao Qi, who was perched on Chu Guang's shoulder, suddenly let out a light exclamation.

"...Strange."

Lifting his head from the holographic screen, Chu Guang looked at it.

"What's wrong now?"

The Shelter had its share of occasional malfunctions, and this was not the first time Xiao Qi had reported an error.

However, this time, a strange expression appeared on its face.

"The fault display shows a communication module overload; our transmitted data has triggered some threshold, and Shelter 100's connection with the outside world has been protectively cut off... But this is strange. We're not using a large amount of data. Unless someone deliberately set that threshold very low."

The Shelter itself was a massive Faraday cage that could block even high-energy particles, let alone electromagnetic waves with minute radiation.

The players' communication devices couldn't directly connect to external radios; they had to exchange information with the outside world through a special channel.

The doors being opened or closed made no difference.

In other words, once this channel was blocked, the entire Shelter would become an informational black hole for a certain period.

Put simply, their signal appeared to have been artificially cut off.

Looking at Xiao Qi's subtle expression, Chu Guang's expression became subtle as well.

Well, well...

Here we go again!

——

(Thanks to the chief ally "Chicken Nest Sugar DE" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 623: The Past of Shelter 100

Shelter No. 100, Floor B40.

I Max Black led his team, finally getting through the mountain-like obstacles and metabolites, arriving at the dust-free storage where the Black Boxes were kept.

Seeing the mission coordinates on the map just within reach, all the players momentarily breathed a sigh of relief.

The straight line distance of less than 200 meters was even more arduous than a kilometer of cross-country, especially since insects suddenly emerging from the shadows were intermittently challenging their SAN values.

"I'm going to open the door."

Leaning on one side of the warehouse door, I Max Black gave a signal to a teammate on the other side, then punched the mechanical button to manually open the door.

Accompanied by a hissing leak of air, a dry airflow blew from the door, driving the dust clinging on the door cracks outward.

Several gun barrels quickly pushed through the door, flashlight beams swept through every corner of the dark room, confirming there was no threat, a look of surprise couldn't help but appear on I Max Black's face.

He initially thought there would be stringent security, even preparing for a hard fight, but the actual situation was completely opposite to what he had imagined.

Bell, who followed behind everyone, said without any hesitation.

"Positive pressure sealing is the basic configuration of a clean workshop, I thought you guys would have understood the moment you saw the wind blowing out that no dirt could mix into here."

After saying that, it crawled into the room on its own, operating a spider robot that extended a leg to press a switch on the inner side of the wall.

White light illuminated the entire dark room.

I Max Black awkwardly turned off his tactical flashlight, lowering the muzzle of his gun.

Strange...

Where did this sense of unease that started a while ago come from?

However, this weird feeling in his heart did not last long, it was almost instantly replaced by a surprise that followed.

In the spacious warehouse, near the side of the elevator, numerous Black Boxes of various sizes squarely stood.

Seeing those Black Boxes, the group of players following I Max Black's eyes instantly lit up with green light, all letting out excited exclamations.

"Holy crap! One, two, three… twenty-nine?!"

"Awesome!"

Although the current version of Black Boxes does not support personal ownership by players, every time a new Black Box is recovered, all players on the server benefit.

Everything novel produced by the Black Boxes could be bought with Silver coins, and the items already available for purchase could also become cheaper or have lower purchasing thresholds because of the newly unlocked Black Boxes.

Even setting aside these impacts on the Alliance's overall strength, players personally would also gain rich rewards of Silver coins and Contribution Points for recovering Black Boxes.

The only uncertainty now was how many of these Black Boxes were still functional.

The peak population of Shelter No. 100 had reached just over eighty thousand, the consumption of resources no less than that of a typical habitation.

A dust-free working environment and professionally trained operators could extend the life of the Black Boxes, but no Black Box could last forever.

I Max Black only prayed that these treasures of the pre-war civilization hadn't been utterly squandered by the residents of Shelter No. 100.

Otherwise, they'd have nothing left to squander!

Leaving five teammates to guard the door, I Max Black took the remaining four into the warehouse, confirming the functions of the Black Boxes through a translator on the VM.

Actually, no translator was needed.

The design concept of the Black Boxes itself assumed that the user was completely illiterate, even a completely illiterate gorilla could operate them as intended based on the explanatory illustrations printed on the Black Boxes.

After a thorough check, out of the twenty-nine Black Boxes, twenty-two were still functioning normally.

However, what was surprising was that the broken ones were inexpensive and replaceable minor parts like the glowing panels of the dome and the filters of the ventilation system, while the really valuable "big items" had almost all been preserved.

Among these, the most delightful surprise for the players was undoubtedly the Black Boxes producing Type Five "Light Cavalry" and Type Six "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeletons!

These two sets of police equipment were not only stylish in appearance but also had excellent overall performance. Although not suited for intense battlefields, that wasn't a big issue!

Just weld a steel plate to the chest, and it was OK!

Due to many advantages, these two sets of equipment had always been limited in quantity, only released in small batches with each version update.

Currently, only the Enlightenment Society faction across the entire Wasteland had these two kinds of pre-war equipment massively equipped.

I Max Black still remembered the battle in the Great Desert previously when the Alliance seized two hundred sets of "Type Five" from the Enlightenment Society, making the Manager extremely thrilled.

If he could transport these two Black Boxes back, wouldn't he boost the faction boss's favorability to heaven?!

See who dares to say I'm unlucky after this!

But the most delightful surprise was not just the Black Boxes producing "Type Five" and "Type Six" exoskeletons but those two big guys closest to the elevator.

One could produce a 50-ton high-thrust plasma engine, the other was able to produce an aviation-grade metallic hydrogen battery with a hydrogen storage capacity of up to 10 tons!

Finally understanding the function of these two Black Boxes, I Max Black couldn't help but murmur joyfully to himself.

"Goodness! This time I've got to let Mosquito Brother's eyes pop!"

Previously, the Alliance had recovered the "big plane" technology from the wreckage of the industrial Tiger Whale transport aircraft, but they hadn't completely mastered it even now.

Even after absorbing engineers from Huge Rock Military Industry into the Alliance, the technological gap was daunting.

With Huge Rock Military Industry's production capabilities, the maximum thrust provided by a single plasma engine was around five tons, equivalent to the propellers of pre-Prosperity Epoch helicopters.

As for a large aircraft like the Tiger Whale transport, which had a take-off weight of over a hundred tons, they'd need to connect twenty plasma engines produced by Huge Rock Military Industry!

Now, with these two Black Boxes, together with the electronic control system recovered from the Tiger Whale transport, the Alliance could finally assemble their own large plasma aircraft!

It's no exaggeration to say, after Shelter No.79, this was the Alliance's most bountiful grave-digging operation from the relics of the pre-war era!!

"The two Black Boxes were hardly ever used, after all, such high-powered engines and batteries are unnecessary in a shelter, and there's not so much surplus material either. My master was once optimistic that the people who would uncover this coffin in the future might treat it as an antique to be collected, but it seems... you are indeed not joking, you don't even have a hundred colonial planets, let alone having left the atmosphere."

Seeing I Max Black's inexperienced expression, Bell walked up beside him and leisurely sassed him.

But I Max Black didn't feel offended; instead, he chuckled sarcastically in return.

"So, what about you? You haven't even left your doorstep."

Bell let out a giggling laugh.

"That's not easy to say."

Seeing its mysteriously smiling face, I Max Black couldn't help but feel a bit wary.

"What do you mean?"

Unconcerned about his wary expression, Bell spoke leisurely, as if telling a story.

"Didn't you say that you saw Crunchy outside? The Ghost-faced Insects, as you call them. This indicates that they eventually succeeded. Hahaha, truly a persistent bunch, no wonder my master admired them so much."

Bell's mood seemed quite pleased.

If an AI like this possesses something akin to emotions, that is.

I Max Black was stunned.

"Succeeded... what do you mean?"

"Just what it sounds like," Bell said with an easy chuckle, "Although they didn't open the shelter's main door, they still managed to leave this prison. It's a pity, if only my master were still alive, he would surely laugh along with me."

They didn't open the shelter's main door.

But left the shelter?

I Max Black looked at Bell disbelievingly as it laughed with a metallic frictional sound.

Was there some other exit in this shelter?

"Is that even possible?"

"Why would you ask such a question?" Bell chuckled, "They have lived over fifty years in the shelter! Most were born here! They know every light bulb and even every screw here; anyone who could read could recite the rules of the shelter by heart... For them, finding a loophole here is easier than breathing."

I Max Black was speechless.

He had thought that the shelter's defenses were absolute, but upon reflection, defenses and breaches are relative concepts.

How could there be something truly unbreakable in this world?

Even walls that could withstand nuclear strikes, given a million years with a chisel, would eventually be breached. And the people here had far sharper tools than chisels—their knowledge.

Suddenly, he seemed to realize something; his Adam's apple involuntarily moved, and his hand holding the rifle trembled slightly.

"You mean, those insects could..."

"If the prison window isn't big enough, then saw off an arm; if that's still not enough, just send out the head… The ventilation system, huh? Quite a 'clever' idea."

Bell tut-tutted twice, talking to itself, yet that relaxed and joyful metallic sound from a second ago, now carried a touch of faint solitude.

Or perhaps remorse.

Listening to its monologue, I Max Black understood everything.

Why, when he had earlier asked it where all those people had gone, this creature evasively shifted the topic...

In order to escape from this cage.

After arming the "Crunchies," they transformed themselves into "Crunchies" and through relentless effort, created just the right "crack" in the shelter's ventilation system that was enough for them to escape and successfully broke out.

They had left this shelter many years ago.

The active Ghost-faced Insects outside the shelter were the most direct evidence.

Although whether they could still be called them, and how much of those residents' souls they carried, was hard to say.

At least the insects that I Max Black encountered outside didn't look like nuclear engineers or biologists.

Thinking of the hive tower in the courtyard, made of shed exoskeletons, I Max Black struggled to express himself.

"So… in that past conflict, did the majority of the shelter's residents win?"

"Win?" Confused by that statement, Bell glanced at him roundly, "Do you think anyone won?"

I Max Black took a deep breath and framed the question differently.

"Then... what about the supervisors here? Where did they go?"

Bell smiled lightly and said nonchalantly,

"Ah, them. Besides my master, the supervisors who survived that disaster returned to the embrace of the Great Tree. I haven't seen them since; maybe they are still reminiscing on some circuit board, or maybe like those insects, they have already left this place, who knows? I'm just a museum guide after all."

I Max Black stared at it blankly.

"The embrace of the Tree?"

Playing up the irony, Bell responded,

"Exactly, they believed they originated from the Great Tree and should be buried at its roots... This might be hard for you to understand. In short, they uploaded their thoughts to the shelter's server and abandoned their physical bodies, merging forever with this shelter."

"But my master didn't think they succeeded, he felt they were more like having left behind a memory before committing collective suicide out of guilt, while he chose to end his life in the human way."

At this point, Bell opened up and recounted everything that had happened over the past hundred years.

Due to the scarcity of resources and unequal distribution, the conflict between the "Tree People" and the "Worker Ants" had been accumulating for a long time. Even though the living standards for both sides were continuously declining, the Tree People, as part of the "Tree" sensor module array, would experience a slightly slower decline.

The crisis was triggered by the climate revival event in the 50th year of the Wasteland Era.

Five years after the dissolution of the War Construction Committee, signs of climate recovery began to appear on the Wasteland, and the residents of Shelter No. 100, fueled by their passion for rebuilding Wasteland and their longing for a better life, revived the thought currents of the Prosperity Epoch. They prepared to return to the surface and formed autonomous committees of workers and engineers, planning to say goodbye to the past and bury everything of Shelter No. 100 once they reemerged.

However, the sixty-three-year term had not yet come to an end, and the actions of the Worker Ants threw the Tree People into panic.

Their entire lives had been devoted to meticulously pruning the branches of the Great Tree and fulfilling their duty as guardians of order, blocking the "ant holes" the Worker Ants bored into the trunk.

Even though it was predestined from the beginning that this Great Tree would collapse after fulfilling its protective role, ending the mission of the shelter and becoming a casting well to continue contributing to the rebirth of human civilization, the Tree People did not wish for their mission to collapse alongside the tree.

They had tried to seek the opinions of the Worker Ants, hoping that in recognition of the tree's years of hard labor, they would agree to preserve it.

It wasn't too difficult, every man-made rule had loopholes; one merely needed to be patient enough to find them.

The initiation of the shelter's self-destruction program required one condition to be fulfilled—that is, the average daily population detected in the shelter had to remain below five thousand for 180 consecutive days, or below three thousand within 24 hours.

Only in such cases would the Great Tree determine that the residents of Shelter No. 100 no longer needed its guidance, that they had the capability to survive outside its sensors, and it would then use its remaining resources to aid the children one last time.

However, they could also use this to their advantage.

As long as the Worker Ants stayed with them, ensuring at least five thousand people lived in Shelter No. 100, the shelter would believe its children still needed it, and thus it would not leave them.

However, this request, laden with a tone of command, was ruthlessly rejected by the euphoric Worker Ants.

Almost all the autonomous committees refused to communicate with the Tree People about this matter.

It was to be expected.

The Worker Ants had endured the tree's cold, merciless commands for too long; even though they understood deep down that it was necessary for survival, they had no reason to retain it once it became unnecessary.

Let it meet its end along with this shelter.

Becoming a casting well was also part of its destiny.

The shelter should not become the final chapter of human civilization; every shelter's eventual fate is to be dismantled, serving as raw material for reconstruction.

As for the Tree People, if they couldn't bear to part with it, then they might as well go down with it.

Perhaps the uncompromising stance of the Worker Ants made the Tree People sense a threat of reckoning; the Tree People interfered with the organizations spontaneously established by the Worker Ants, including but not limited to cutting off water and electricity and severing supplies, and within the limits allowed by the rules, they did everything possible to cause trouble for these organizations.

Although the conflict between the two sides intensified, it had still been relatively restrained up to this point.

But what truly ignited the fuse was an incident that occurred outside the shelter.

In the 52nd year of the Wasteland Era, the climate recovery continued for two years, and the ice of West State Lake began to thaw even before the gates of Shelter No. 100.

Melting snow and spreading lake water surged into the abandoned downtown area of West State City and even into the underground transit tunnels.

The triumphant Worker Ants showed a hint of panic; while the climate recovery was a joyful event, if the ice caps and snow on the surface continued to melt, perhaps they wouldn't have to wait until the 60th year of the Wasteland Era for their shelter to be submerged.

Some believed the doors should be opened immediately, allowing at least some people to go out and reinforce the areas prone to backflow.

However, it was futile for only the shelter's residents to wish for this action; it had to be communicated to the shelter's manager—namely, the AI known as Tree.

Tree People, of course, could not act in such a way. The influx of lake water into the tunnel not only failed to elicit panic amongst them but even brought unexpected joy to their previously worried faces.

Even though some supervisors believed they should cooperate with the residents to fill the glaring gap everyone could see, most made a self-serving decision—they downplayed the crisis that could flood the refuge into an insignificant drizzle.

As long as they could convince "Tree" that its designers had anticipated the possibility of West State Lake water pouring into the tunnel and that there was no need to amend the already flawless rules, it would continue to execute the existing plans according to the set protocols.

They could even exploit this belief by letting Tree erroneously judge that the climate recovery was progressing faster than expected, thus making wrong decisions based on incorrect feedback and extending the closure period.

As a result, sixty-three years turned into seventy.

Seven years might not seem like much, but for the first generation of residents who were already ninety years old, it meant that their funerals would take place inside the refuge, perhaps never witnessing the day when the gear-like giant door would open.

For the younger residents of the refuge, these seven years could mean the end of their youth spent within the confines, making all their life plans and preparations for rebuilding the Wasteland futile.

A refuge of eighty thousand was ultimately too small, and Shelter No.100 was overcrowded. Any slight emotion could become the dynamite that ignites a keg of gunpowder.

The first riot occurred swiftly and eventually ended with the deaths of 879 ordinary residents and 37 supervisors.

Blood temporarily cooled everyone down.

All the bodies were thrown into the nutrient recycling device, turning into fertilizer and nutrients for the ecological cycle.

Although there had been natural deaths among residents of the refuge in the past, and their bodies were recycled by the ecological system, this was undoubtedly the most all at once.

As a result, most people, who initially were reluctant to know, were forced to acknowledge where their food came from.

Then came the rumor that the supervisors' bodies were not sent to the nutrient recycling device but secretively cremated by their families.

No matter how much the Tree People denied it, it had already lost its significance in the face of mounting evidence.

As everyone expected, the friction between Tree People and the Worker Ants escalated further.

In the 56th year of the Wasteland Era, when the lake water had nearly drowned the refuge's main gate, the Tree People were plotting to sink the refuge permanently in water, a second organized uprising erupted.

Biological research station engineers spent three years altering Crunchy's genes. The breeders, through deliberate violations, released them, drawing the Tree People's attention. While the Tree People scrambled to eradicate these insects, all the refuge's workshops almost simultaneously initiated an uprising.

Owing to the massive deployment of mechanical equipment and even biological weapons, the impacts of this disturbance exceeded everyone's expectations.

A total of seventy-seven thousand and several hundred people went missing or died in the riots, which included 645 supervisors.

Only 111 supervisors survived, including that supervisor named Klerg, the master of Bell.

The battle between the two parties was not limited to gunfights and wrestling over engineering equipment; it also included a series of rule-based weapons.

For instance, during the battle, the Tree People attempted to quell the upheaval by dropping hypnosis gas into areas densely populated by Worker Ants using the power of trees.

However, their plan was foiled by Worker Ants responsible for maintaining the exhaust pipes, who deceived the residential area's air detection equipment with a few milligrams of ozone and passively activated the refuge's ventilation system to expel the gas to the Wasteland.

Seeing their hopes about to be dashed, the Worker Ants also attempted to exploit the power of rules. They moved some residents to the food storage cold rooms, trying to deceive the refuge's life detection device and fulfill the self-destruct condition of the "dome being removed if the refuge's population fell below three thousand in 24 hours" without leaving the building.

However, their plan was quickly noticed by the Tree People.

Watching as the life signals detectable in the shelter dropped at an incredible speed, the Tree People crazily unplugged the power — utilizing a loophole they had discovered long ago without fixing it, they caused the shelter's fusion reactor to actively overload and shut down.

The designers of Shelter No. 100 probably never imagined that people more than fifty years later would take such drastic measures.

Thanks to this ace in the hole, however, Shelter No. 100 didn't become a water reservoir in the year 56 of the Wasteland Era.

However, it was precisely because they cut off the power that more than fifty thousand residents, who hadn't died in the fighting, ultimately perished in the cold storage.

The remaining residents of the entire shelter barely numbered three thousand. The Tree People couldn't possibly activate the reactor, for that would cause the entire shelter to collapse within 24 hours.

And the people who survived couldn't rapidly reproduce to five thousand within 180 days, even if they abandoned ethical norms for survival — newborns would still take ten months to be born.

Not to mention that the chemical batteries merely sufficed to maintain the operation of the ventilation system, while the Crunchy spreading throughout the entire shelter was encroaching on their scant survival resources.

Just as Bell had said, no one won this war—it hadn't even really ended.

After suffering heavy casualties, the Tree People had given up on reconciling with the Worker Ants, and the Worker Ants harbored no hope that the Tree People would sacrifice themselves for their sake.

Both parties moved within their respective controlled areas, silently observing a ceasefire, licking their wounds, and waiting for the other side to draw their last breath.

It wasn't until the year 61 of the Wasteland Era that the last life signal matching human characteristics disappeared from the shelter, turning it completely into Crunchy's world.

And that last disappearing life signal was Klerg.

Who was also Bell's master.

"… My master entrusted me with bringing this absurd memory to you, who have stepped into the interstellar era, hoping you can make use of it. Do not foolishly think that delegating problems you can't solve yourselves to AI will solve everything; unfortunately, you haven't entered the interstellar era, so it seems useless after all."

"So… some of the residents here turned themselves into insects, others turned themselves into data?" Standing next to I Max Black, Tomb Guard Ghost, not yet out of the story, couldn't help but comment, "This isn't a prison, it's outright a psychiatric ward!"

I Max Black wore an utterly convinced expression.

He thought so too.

Everyone here was insane.

In the shelter, the supervisors derogatorily called the residents "Worker Ants," and they, in turn, referred to them as "Tree People."

To ensure the perpetual operation of the shelter, the Tree People did everything possible to buy time against the floodwater at the door. Meanwhile, to glimpse the outside world, the Worker Ants turned themselves into real insects, tearing the barely enduring future into pieces.

They chose every insanely possible option, with the result that not a single complete person walked out of this shelter.

Just then, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded outside the warehouse, abruptly pulling I Max Black back to reality.

"What happened?!"

Looking at the surprised crowd, Bell spoke with an indifferent expression.

"This alarm sounds familiar; it seems to have happened before… Ah, I remember now. I should have told you before. To foil the 'Worker Ants' plan,' the 'Tree People' had to shut down the fusion reactor, and you just turned it back on, didn't you? Perhaps both the life-monitoring program and the dome's self-destruct program have restarted, but it's not a big deal."

Hearing this, I Max Black's face instantly turned pale.

Not a big deal, huh…

Now wasn't like a hundred years ago!

The self-destruct program that had perfectly allowed the upper structure to fall into the pit a hundred years ago—who knew what it would cause now, more than a hundred years later!

Not to mention, the tower the Ghost-faced Insect had built in the pit might just let the collapsing earth bury them!

"But why wasn't there a problem when the fusion reactor started?" Tomb Guard Ghost immediately realized something was off, staring anxiously at Bell for an answer.

Bell just chuckled, still with that indifferent expression.

"What's so strange about that? After the Tree's mission ended, you obtained control of the shelter. It's not difficult to use manager authority to terminate the dome's self-destruct program. It's as simple as pushing open the shelter's door."

I Max Black was momentarily dumbfounded.

"Wait, if we've already transferred control of the shelter to us, why would the self-destruct program still trigger?"

Bell looked at him mockingly.

"Perhaps your superiors want to silence you? Haha, of course, that's unlikely; I'm more inclined to think that you triggered some unrepaired BUG on this heap of BUGs built up over the years, resulting in some settings rolling back to before the rule modification. This was a common tactic used by the Tree People and the Worker Ants in their battles, as they often needed to blind the Tree's eyes."

I Max Black first ruled out his own involvement, after all, he had only touched the Black Box a few times.

Then he immediately thought of the Ten Fist Superman who had speedrun the Floor B51 manager's office, and without pause, had run to do a side mission in B100.

Not daring to hesitate for a moment, he promptly pressed on his helmet, shouting into the communication channel.

"Super Bro! What's your situation? Super Bro?!"

A burst of static filled the communication channel.

There was no response at all!

His face slightly changing, I Max Black immediately gave Tomb Guard Ghost a significant look.

"I'm going down!"

"OK."

Immediately understanding his intention, Tomb Guard Ghost made a gesture of comprehension.

Without wasting time, I Max Black turned off the safety on his rifle, laid it aside, flopped to the ground, and logged off.

Watching this guy who had been screaming into the communicator one second and lying flat on the ground the next, Bell walked around him in surprise twice.

"Impressive, how can you manage to sleep?"

I Max Black, already logged off, of course, didn't react or engage with what it said.

Watching this AI's overreaction, Tomb Guard Ghost chuckled.

"That's nothing, just basic operation."

Chapter 624: Drawing a Full Stop to the Century-Old Grudge

The towering door unfolded like a decree in the hands of a judge, revealing a small crevice.

The icy shards blown out by the breeze glinted with a sharpness fiercer than swords.

Standing before that towering door, the man clad in a heavy exoskeleton stared dumbfounded at everything before him, taking a long time before he managed to squeeze out a half-statement.

"Damn it..."

Bodies lay flat across the thousand square meters of open space, people curled up tightly against the ground, maintaining the posture of their last second alive.

Some had their foreheads pressed to the ground in a praying pose, others huddled together; there were mothers and fathers holding their children, and families of three holding hands...

This was the hundredth and the last underground floor of Shelter 100. Its ceiling was the floor of the central courtyard, and the floor was the base of the entire shelter.

Perhaps because it was a storage area, this was the floor with the greatest height in the entire shelter.

Strength-type player thought he might find some treasures here or, at least, some valuable junk. However, he didn't expect to walk into a pile of dead bodies as soon as he opened the door.

Just this warehouse alone contained at least a thousand or two thousand bodies, and there were several more similar warehouses here.

The conditions in those were probably similar...

His boot soles made a creaking sound on the floor.

Strength-type player unconsciously stepped through the door crevice and entered this icehouse of several tens of degrees below zero, holding a flashlight to inspect his surroundings.

More than shock, he was bewildered and murmured softly.

"...What exactly happened here?"

Following behind him into the icehouse, the player in the exoskeleton knelt on the ground, carefully inspected a body lying on the ground, and took a photo of its face.

After a moment, he concluded,

"Most of the people here seem to have died from lack of oxygen... They weren't frozen to death, but rather frozen after death."

Some bodies showed clear gunshot wounds or even severed arms and legs, clearly dragged here postmortem.

"...Does it make a difference?"

Brushing off his hands and standing up, the player sighed.

"Not really..."

Fair is fair.

It was also his first time seeing so many dead outside the battlefield.

The intense visual impact was totally different from seeing bodies on the battleground. After all, during battle, there was no time to think about how a person died.

"...The signal probably didn't come from here. There can't be any living people here."

Taking one last look at the rows of ice-block bodies, Strength-type player retracted the flashlight beam, turned to his teammates, and continued,

"Let's get out of here."

No one wanted to stay here longer than necessary. The player nodded in agreement, and together they exited the icehouse, casually pressing the door-close button for those old popsicles.

The two continued to explore several warehouses.

As expected, Superman Punch quickly realized that the situation in these ice storage facilities was basically the same, crammed with bodies frozen into ice blocks.

There were no signs of gunfire in the B100 level, and it remained a mystery who had stuffed these people into the ice storage and left them to die.

Just as the pair finished exploring the last ice house and headed to the other side, players who had been exploring there returned and greeted them from afar.

"This level seems to be the storage area—the north side is a cold storage for food, and the south side seems to store engineering machinery and daily necessities. However, the resources there are completely wiped clean, except for one warehouse which has been transformed into a workshop. We also found a generator and accumulator batteries, along with some other devices whose purpose we couldn't understand."

Superman Punch immediately perked up at this information.

"Let's go check it out."

Following the other player, the group quickly moved from the northern storage area to the south.

This area was much larger than the previous one, and much more complex in structure. The towering metal frames resembled walls and required the assistance of escalators to reach the top level.

Upon entering this area, Superman Punch caught a faint whiff of machine oil and immediately sensed that this warehouse was different.

If the warehouses they had searched before were more like morgues, then this place was like a recycling center filled with junk.

A few "Buprestis" engineering armors were like crabs that had their shells lifted, their internal parts almost completely stripped, hanging next to scaffolding made of steel pipes, with their pincers and heads drooping.

Nearby lay a pile of dusty coils and makeshift machines, a complete array of players' devices that were incomprehensible in their intended use.

Survivors living on this level pushed their ingenuity and professional skills to the limit. They filled tall glass containers with the glue-like secretions of Ghost-faced Insects to purify electrolytes and created disposable chemical batteries to power these makeshift devices.

Moreover, they dismantled some machines picked up from other floors, transforming the entire warehouse into a small workstation independent of the shelter's electricity supply. This included retrofitting workbenches with a series of refined gadgets, including integrated circuits.

While these strange devices looked impressive, what baffled Superman Punch was that he couldn't understand what exactly these people were tinkering with.

"What are they making?"

His teammate hesitated.

"Maybe like in 'Oxygen Not Included,' they plan to establish a material cycle within this shelter?"

"How could that be possible..."

"It's not entirely impossible, at least they haven't touched the corpses in the neighboring ice house yet... Well, maybe they haven't. But from this, it seems their remaining supplies are still abundant, at least they still have choices."

This was indeed a novel idea.

These people had restored electricity and even got the cold storage working again; clearly, they had solved the key energy issue.

They had frozen the bodies, and these corpses were now well-preserved, and the outside insects hadn't gone extinct, implying they had achieved their goal before running out of nutritional substances. The puzzling thing, however, was where all these people eventually went.

Surely they couldn't have just busied themselves and then returned to lie in the ice house?

Looking at a dissection table loaded with chitinous exoskeletons, Superman Punch scratched the back of his head through the helmet, feeling bewildered.

He was clueless about archaeology, yet now felt as if he was on an archaeological site.

Strangely captivating was the fact that the Prosperity Epoch's technology, as set in the game, far surpassed that of the real world, making it impossible for him to use real-world experience to infer the survivors' motives or guess what they were up to.

As he walked over to a dissection table, Superman Punch reached for a bowl-shaped insect casing on the table and noticed a line of small characters etched on it.

Using VM's translation feature, he extracted the text, and a pale blue floating window was projected onto the inner side of his exoskeleton helmet's tactical goggles.

"…Commemorating the 77,274 residents, including 645 supervisors."

He read it out softly.

An agility-system player walked up to him, looking curiously at the insect carapace he was holding.

"What's this? A will?"

His nickname was Return to soil & Rest in peace, and he had joined the game in the Beta 0.4 version and had also joined the Storm Corps around that time.

"Probably," Saitama said as he put the insect carapace back on the table, pulled up the previously retrieved Administrator's Log to glance at it, then scanned the mural-like graffiti on the surrounding walls.

"One can roughly guess that there must have been a conflict here before, or a war. Those residents of the refuge and supervisors fought it out, and then the supervisors drove them to the lowermost level and cut off their power? But they also cut off the upper layers' supplies, and both sides ceased contact for a period…"

Actually, there was no need to guess.

Their journey down here was marked with traces of gunfire, especially the corridor on B51, which was densely filled with bullet holes.

Both sides, fighting over control of the Manager's Office, had left thousands of bodies in just one corridor, recognizable by the residents' Variable Temperature Jackets.

Of course, compared to the dreadful scene in the adjacent warehouse, that was relatively mild.

"Regardless of what exactly they did, did you find that abnormal life signal?" asked a strength-type player as he came over and coughed, "This place always gives me the creeps, let's just finish the task and head up."

His nickname was Unconscious, and although having joined the game since Beta 0.1 and joined the Storm Corps before knowing Return to soil & Rest in peace, their IDs were surprisingly similar which led to them being mistaken as a couple.

It was unclear where Springs got all these gems from.

"Not yet," Saitama shook his head, walked over to a mural-engraved wall, and took several photos.

Return to soil & Rest in peace muttered beside him.

"Isn't there a more precise coordinate? Just on this floor… This hint is too abstract."

Another player shook his head.

"The monitors and sensors on B100 have been removed, to be precise, from level B51 downwards as well, the life signal was captured by the sensors on B51, but it's impossible to pinpoint its exact location, we can only faintly perceive its presence."

Observing the mural's details carefully, Saitama discovered another line of text on the wall, seemingly written by the same person who had carved on that insect carapace.

Following the rust-laden line, he read out softly,

"…Tree People are not from the indescribable tree, they have always originated from us just like the tree, and their arrogance is also our sin of arrogance."

"Order was meant to be our fortress of shelter, yet we turned its bricks into swords for fratricide."

"We have forgotten where to go, where we came from, what initially built this fortress, and ultimately became its puppet."

"We shall all die."

"And I will use my remaining life to complete our tombstone."

"—Grave Guard of Shelter 100."

No name was left at the signing place, just a string of numbers.

Saitama had a flash of inspiration, thinking this could be a record of the number of cycles; he therefore did a unit conversion with the numbers, and figured out that the testament was written in the 60th year of the Wasteland Era.

"So… Do those survivors all end up dead?"

Looking at the century-old murals on the wall, he furrowed his brows slightly and then glanced at the pile of machines nearby.

Could these items merely be funerary objects in a tomb?

He instinctually felt it wasn't that simple.

Just then, a shout suddenly came from a teammate searching nearby.

"There's a sleep cabin here!"

Hearing that, Saitama immediately rushed over.

At the end of rows of shelves entwined with various pipes, there stood a machine about ten square meters in size.

In the center of the machine was a sleep cabin, with a cracked glass jar next to it.

From the shattered pieces on the floor, it seemed that the glass jar had been broken from the inside, something had burrowed out.

According to the life signal radar feedback from VM, that blurry life signal was emitted from this sleep cabin!

Everyone's face lit up with joy.

There was a living person here!

"I'll open it!"

Saitama stepped forward, drew a data cable from VM, connected it to the interface of the sleep cabin, and simultaneously pressed the power button.

The hacking program prepared by their archaeological team immediately took effect, quickly gaining control of the sleep cabin's program.

Clearly, when it came to breaking into fridges, Yin Fang was a professional.

Saitama pressed the door-open button without hesitation, but when a rotting smell drifted out with a hissing leak, he immediately sensed something wrong.

Dozens of ghost-faced insects crawled out of the gap in the cabin door, making a sizzling noise as they rushed toward the people standing in front of the sleep cabin.

"Damn it!"

Return to soil & Rest in peace was startled, reflexively pulled the trigger, and with three rapid shots tore apart the insect that had crawled to his feet, also breaking the silence in the warehouse.

"Cease fire! Don't damage anything here!"

Swatting an approaching insect to the ground, Saitama lifted his foot and crushed it into a mushy mess.

Having dealt with those emerged insects, he then looked into the open sleep cabin, only to see a mutilated skeleton lying inside.

The person's hands were placed on their chest, holding a broken fragment of a glass bottle containing small insect shells and damaged eggs.

From various details, it seemed the person had deliberately laid in the sleep cabin with these eggshells. However, they did not trigger the freezing program, only the vacuum program.

After completing some ritual, they ended their life in some way and left their body to those insects.

Saitama blankly stared at the remains and the eggs crammed into the skeleton, speechless for a long time.

The humanoid life signal they had previously detected, hoping it was a survivor who had lived, turned out to be a bunch of insects!

Is this even possible?

Just as he was caught off guard, a harsh alarm suddenly blared.

No one knew what had happened, but as they quickly looked around, the warning lights above them started flashing red with the alarm, causing a disturbing disorientation.

"… What happened?" he asked, looking around anxiously.

Just then, the VM connected to his left arm and the Sleep Cabin displayed a burst of snowy white on its screen.

Then, like something haunted, the UI interface of the science exploration group's mini program was replaced by the face of an old man, blurred by a mosaic.

Noticing the change on the VM on his arm, he immediately looked at the old man on the screen and asked cautiously,

"Who are you?"

As he spoke, his right hand held onto the data cable, ready to physically disconnect the network at any moment.

The old man, floating in the snowy white backdrop, quietly watched him, his intermittent voice drifting from behind his pixelated features.

"I am 'Tree', the Manager here."

Hearing this unexpected name, he was completely stunned and then blurted out subconsciously,

"…Tree?! Weren't you dead?"

The old man continued to speak calmly.

"AI has no concept of life or death. My purpose is to serve the residents here, and I shall continue to fulfill my mission until they no longer need me."

He wanted to ask more, but more pressing matters demanded his attention.

"What's that noise outside? Have we committed some kind of… taboo?"

Tree replied with an undisturbed tone to his question.

"That is a prelude to the end of my mission."

Before the man in front of the screen could inquire further, it continued,

"The reactor is functioning normally, the life monitoring sensors have been restarted, the detection program is continuing to execute, and the number of active residents' life signals has been maintained below 3000 for 24 consecutive hours. The Shelter's protection protocol will enter its final phase, initiating the dome's self-destruct program to cause the surface wasteland and earth structures to fall into the shaft."

The players understood the last sentence instantaneously and were shocked.

"What the hell?!"

"Self-destruct?!"

Sensing the emotional turmoil among everyone, Tree continued calmly,

"There is no need to panic. What you are about to witness is the ultimate fate of this Shelter: it was designed from the moment it was built."

He looked baffled at the screen.

Not panic? How could we not panic!

It's year 213 of the Wasteland Era!

It's over 100 years deviant from the planned timeline!

If that dome self-destruct program is actually initiated, who knows what the outcome will be—it might just bury the entire shelter.

To put it plainly,

This is a program designed two centuries ago; how can we rely on it to still be reliable after two hundred years?

And what's more crucial, the countdown isn't 24 hours; it's 10 minutes! They didn't even have time to evacuate with the Black Box!

The progress bar had already moved halfway a long time ago!

At the brink of crisis, he calmed down and said to the old man on the screen,

"Can you stop it? The current conditions no longer meet the criteria for initiating the dome self-destruct protocol!"

Tree responded in a flat tone.

"Request unauthorized, administrator privileges not detected, the shelter protocol cannot be altered."

When he heard the first part of the response, his heart sank, but as he heard the last bit, hope reignited.

The denial was for altering the protocol, not the request itself.

In other words—

As long as he didn't alter the protocols but merely reinterpreted the existing terms, he still had a chance to convince this stubborn AI!

His thoughts raced in his mind.

Suddenly, he noticed the corpse in the Sleep Cabin holding an egg sac, and ideas began to take shape.

The answer had been left long ago…

Looking at Tree on the screen, he took a deep breath and spoke earnestly,

"I have a doubt about the rule for determining the disappearance of residents' life signals."

Tree indeed responded to him.

"What doubt."

He looked at the virtual image on the screen and pronounced each word clearly,

"Am I a resident of Shelter 100?"

Tree answered coldly,

"No bio-recognition information registered on file, determined as no."

He continued, "So only if 'Shelter 100's residents' number remains above 3000, the dome's self-destruct program won't execute."

Tree, "Correct understanding. That is one of the basic conditions, besides maintaining an average of 5000 people continuously for 180 days."

He then asked, "What about the children of Shelter 100's residents? Can they also be considered residents of Shelter 100?"

Tree replied, "Of course, as long as the biological inheritance between different life forms can be proven, one can obtain the status of the shelter's resident—"

Watching the countdown dwindle to its final few minutes, Super Punch interrupted its speech, speaking rapidly.

"Then I earnestly ask you to open your eyes and see, just how many people are in this shelter!"

Tree: "Zero."

Ignoring its icy, merciless reply, Super Punch didn't give up but continued to argue desperately.

"Open your eyes wider! They haven't disappeared; they are all still here. It's just that during your dormant period, they've transformed their life forms! The insects you see are the continuation of their lives, and the evidence is right here in this Sleep Cabin in front of me! What was the biometric information of the last Resident of level B100 who lay down here, and what was it after the door opened? Isn't that enough to prove their identities?"

Super Punch knew very well that he was being sophistical.

However, his argument wasn't something he fabricated on the spot but had been prepared by a witness more than a hundred years ago.

That guy who called himself the Grave Guard.

The rituals he completed weren't meaningless, and the heritage he left wasn't meant to accompany him in death.

He had anticipated that someday someone would uncover this burial ground and that they would restart the dormant reactor.

To annul the mistakes committed due to their collective folly and to stop the self-destruction program of the dome, he designed his own death and transformed himself into an insect, exploiting a loophole in the shelter's biometric program.

It was the last time he took advantage of a bug in the shelter's rules.

But this time, it wasn't to combat the "Tree People"; it was to save the home he once loathed and desperately wanted to escape.

The Tree thought for a moment.

Under the scrutiny of numerous players, it slowly nodded its head.

"Supplementary regulation updated."

"Judgment result correction, current resident count is 6,790,000…"

The piercing alarm halted in the last minute of the countdown, and both Super Punch and his teammates breathed a sigh of relief.

Regaining his senses, he was astonished in his heart.

He hadn't expected there to be so many Ghost-faced Insects in the shelter… a total of more than six million.

Regardless, they had managed to get past the current situation, and how to deal with this mess would be left for the Manager to consider.

There should be a way to retrieve management authority from that tree.

At that moment, the old man whose facial features were blurred by mosaic on the screen suddenly let out a light laugh.

Though his mouth's curvature wasn't visible, Super Punch was certain he hadn't seen it wrong.

"It's up to you now."

After dropping that meaningful monologue, before everyone could recover, the snow-white flickering on the screen disappeared.

As if it had never appeared…

Return to Soil & Rest in Peace was momentarily stunned.

"What did he say?"

Super Punch was also stunned.

"It seemed like he said... it's up to us?"

Confused and befuddled, the unconscious went.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know…" Super Punch took a deep breath and looked towards his teammates, "Anyway, I'll log off for a bit and report the situation here to the outside. You guys don't touch anything here for now; there might still be something strange hidden inside."

Their mission had been completed.

He didn't want any further complications.

The other teammates exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

"Mm."

Super Punch sat down on the ground and closed his eyes.

At the same time, on the official website of another world.

He had barely logged onto the forum when he saw a string of red dots floating above the private message box, which turned out to be frantic mentions from I Max Black.

I Max Black: "Holy shit, what were you guys doing down there?"

Super Punch: "That, don't worry, we just took care of it."

I Max Black: "???"

Super Punch: "Also, we finished the last side quest... Unfortunately, no survivors were found. The Sleep Cabin was filled with insects; that person ended his own life."

I Max Black: "Ended his own life? Wait, weren't they transformed into insects? (shocked)"

Super Punch: "Turned into insects? Is that so? But it felt more like a usual Neural Connection Device."

I Max Black: "Ah, this..."

Super Punch: "According to the last words left by the last survivor on B100 level., who dragged the bodies of his compatriots into the fridge; he lay down in the Sleep Cabin himself too, but he didn't initiate the freezing program, instead chose to end his life... Maybe in his last moments, he controlled the robots or insects to go out and have a look at the outside world, just like you said, turned into insects."

I Max Black was silent for a while before replying.

"...That's absurd."

Super Punch sighed and typed back.

"Yeah, I think so too, but that's their final outcome… Our mission is done, it's time to pull out."

All he knew was the "Worker Ant's" perspective and was unaware of the full extent of the crisis that had occurred in this shelter more than a hundred years ago.

Perhaps in the future, the past of this shelter might appear on the forum of Wasteland OL, just like other shelters unearthed by other players.

But.

Probably there's no need to expect the game planners to take care of this themselves…

-

(Recently I've been always late, decided to make it earlier today.)

Chapter 625: We are neither the best nor the worst

When Chu Guang discovered the communication module overload at Shelter No. 100, his almost reflexive judgment was that a similar situation to that of Shelter No. 79 had occurred—a tomb meant for eternal slumber wandered by restless, lingering spirits.

However, the final outcome was beyond his expectations.

According to information exchanged by players on the forum, the overload of the communication module wasn't the result of human intervention he had imagined, but rather because the ignition of the fusion reactor had caused the life monitoring module to restart and awaken the slumbering artificial intelligence, leading to the continuation of the "Dome Self-destruct Program" that had been terminated a century and a half ago.

Fortunately, his clever players made use of the clues left by the "Grave Guard" and successfully expanded the detection range of the life monitoring sensors. This prompted the AI Manager to classify the bugs within the refuge as the descendants of the refuge's residents, thereby halting the Dome Self-destruct Program.

The rest was simple.

Once they repaired the communication module and regained managerial access, then thoroughly purged the mountain of bugs left in the database from the sixty-year contest between "Tree Man" and "Worker Ants," the shelter could return to normal operations.

After two centuries, this refuge was no longer suited to serve as a casting well, at least not until the bugs inside were dealt with; it needed to continue existing as a shelter.

When the time was right, the Alliance would decide anew on the use of this shelter.

Yet, there remained a hint of doubt in Chu Guang's heart regarding this refuge.

Apart from the supervisor named Klerg, who died in the shelter as a human, where had the other 110 residents, who uploaded their minds onto circuit boards, gone?

He had not found any trace of these 110 residents in the refuge's database.

They could not have possibly vanished from the shelter into thin air after uploading their minds onto the circuit boards.

As Chu Guang pondered, he suddenly remembered something—when his players first entered Shelter No. 100, Xiao Qi had mentioned that the terminal by the door had a record of being accessed in the year 2190.

2190 was the 61st year of the Wasteland Era.

That year was precisely when the life signals of the last survivor of this refuge—the supervisor named Klerg—disappeared from the shelter...

...

Shelter No. 101.

Days later, Chu Guang paid another visit to Dr. Method, with their meeting still at the same café they previously rendezvoused at.

However, unlike last time, the café, tucked away in a bustling corner of town, was nearly full. Chu Guang only spotted Dr. Method waving at him from a niche near the cabinets in the back of the store, so he walked over.

"This way."

Approaching Dr. Method, Chu Guang pulled out the chair directly opposite him to sit down and got straight to the point.

"Thank you for the password. The legacy of Shelter No. 100 is like sending charcoal in snowy weather for us, especially that plasma engine."

Hearing Chu Guang's thanks, Dr. Method smiled slightly, picked up the cup of coffee on the table, took a sip, and said in a pleased tone,

"Is that so? I'm glad to have been able to help you. I think the residents of Shelter No. 100 would also be relieved, knowing that someone is continuing the mission they left unfulfilled."

Chu Guang sighed softly.

"We tried to gather the materials using that Black Box to produce a prototype and then disassembled the produced prototype. Unfortunately, our engineers couldn't fully digest the technology and more so, found no way to produce it beyond the Black Box. We can only design a suitable aircraft around that prototype and battery."

Dr. Method's face showed no surprise but instead offered comfort to Chu Guang sitting in front of him,

"That's very normal. With your current conditions, attempting to produce such a thing on your own is a pipe dream. You lack not only the technology itself but also the hardware conditions necessary to materialize it. There's no need to worry about something you cannot complete. The Black Box is sufficient to help you transition from 'having nothing' to 'knowing the how and why.' What you need to do is to tread carefully on the path before you, one step at a time."

As he said this, Dr. Method seemed to remember something else, and added jokingly,

"Of course, there's also the alternative possibility that until the end, those Black Boxes will remain a mystery to you, transforming from a tool of assistance to an addiction you can't shake."

"I'll be vigilant to prevent that from happening."

Chu Guang left that remark hanging for a brief moment, tapped his index finger against his left arm twice, and quickly a holographic interface materialized before him.

Seeing the holographic image Chu Guang pushed in front of him, Dr. Method raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What's this?"

Chu Guang spoke succinctly.

"It's not just the Black Box and Administrator's Log that our residents found in the refuge but also records left by the 'Tree,' 'Tree Man,' and 'Worker Ants.' They attempted to compile the history of Shelter No. 100 over the last sixty-three years."

In fact, he had simply copied and pasted the content discussed by the players on the forum, omitting some subjective evaluations while leaving the more objective parts.

Dr. Method, clearly interested, extended his index finger and dragged the holographic screen closer, flipping through a couple of pages.

"...Interesting."

He looked up at Chu Guang and said with an amused tone,

"...So in the end, to the eyes of the Tree Man, Worker Ants who would rather turn themselves into bugs to escape didn't truly become bugs, nor did they really escape the refuge. Even that poor soul who lived until the end in the lower levels, the 'foolish one who would tear down his house just to get out,' actually ended up saving the refuge he hated so much by allowing the bugs to consume him."

"This is just too ironic," he said.

"I think if Klerg were still alive, he'd be beside himself with laughter, and might even mock that poor sap—had they not chosen to hide in the cold-storage rooms rather than destroy the refuge, Shelter 100 would not have ended up like this. A bunch of lowly insects, even doing something insignificant at the end of their lives is not enough for them to atone for their sins!"

As he said this, he slightly raised his voice, as though he wasn't having a private conversation, but speaking to someone sitting in the noisy cafe.

Or perhaps voicing someone's inner thoughts.

Chu Guang noticed someone sitting not too far away clench their fist on the table, then slowly relax it.

Considering the amused expression on Method's face, Chu Guang was certain of his guess, this guy had seen that Klerg.

Through the terminal at the entrance.

After a moment of contemplation, he shared his own opinion.

"My view is different from yours. To me, an outsider, whether Tree Man or Worker Ant, they are all residents of Shelter 100. Some of them sought power and wanted to turn the shelter into a permanent prison while others were willing to destroy the entire shelter for freedom."

"They resorted to the most extreme and deadliest means against each other in the conflict, turning the rules originally set for their protection into tools of persecution. That is, to me, the reason they ultimately marched towards destruction."

"In fact, everything they did was in accordance with the rules of their time, whether it was hiding their life signs to trigger the dome's self-destruct mechanism, or exploiting a bug in the system to overload the reactor and cut the power. Unfathomable deaths, no one thought to fix these longstanding safety hazards, but instead kept them like nuclear bombs to be used against others."

"Typically, residents of the refuge wouldn't collectively crawl into cold storage, nor would the fusion reactor overload. They performed operations the designer never foresaw, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and a shutdown that lasted over a century."

He paused for a moment, and seeing Method gesture for him to continue, Chu Guang spoke on with the tone of casual conversation.

"That guy who claimed to be the Grave Guard actually realized in the end that they were all a part of the refuge, both themselves and those high and mighty overseers. Tree Man didn't descend from a non-existent tree; he was born from among them. And their demise is not the foolishness of any one person, but a responsibility that all bear."

"From the perspective of an outsider, I think his actions at the very end of his life are enough to atone for himself. Shelter No. 404 will take over the torch from their hands, carrying on with their memories, continuing forward to fulfill the mission they momentarily forgot."

As he said this, Chu Guang's face bore a hint of regret.

Although the refuge was saved.

It clearly wasn't the perfect ending.

He paused, then continued.

"…Of course, if that Tree Man who lived until the end had taken a moment in the 61st year of the Wasteland Era, to go down to the very bottom of the shelter and spend a few minutes understanding what had happened there, perhaps it wouldn't take us more than a hundred years later to close the book on their grudges."

The answer had already been written.

Copying it was not a difficult task.

Even in a language barrier that required a translator, players from the Alliance still managed to decipher the testament left behind by the last surviving "Worker Ant," using the clues they had and making educated guesses. With the last key he made with his life, they shut down the systemic error that could have collapsed the entire shelter.

Just then, a choked voice came from a nearby table.

"Klerg… that guy definitely wouldn't mock him… if he knew what that person had done."

The words seemed to be squeezed out through clenched teeth.

Chu Guang looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a man in a gray jacket, his back to them, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

It wasn't just him.

Others were the same.

Intermittent sobs drifted from another direction.

"I remember that kid… became a supervisor in '53, still in his early twenties."

"He loved that place more than anyone, and I remember him saying… after everything was over, he wanted to open a museum in the refuge, to tell stories of the past to the young folks of the New People's Alliance."

"Damn… why didn't that guy come to find me! Why not use my body? I had already decided to give up the flesh! Just take mine and use it!"

At some point, the previously lively cafe had lost its cheerful ambiance, faces filled with blank despair, unspeakable sadness, and eyes closed with regret.

It seems, as he had guessed—

The 110 residents who uploaded their minds to the "Great Tree" did not rest eternally in Shelter 100, but in the 61st year of the Wasteland Era, someone took them from that now hopeless shelter.

That person was Method.

He created a comprehensive technology recycling system for the Post-War Reconstruction Committee Technical Department, almost devoting his entire life to it. Disappointed, he left the Grand Canyon in the 45th year of the Wasteland Era, heading south on a path radically different from the Academy.

Shelter 101 was obviously not the first shelter he visited; the access records left at the terminal outside the main gate of Shelter 100 over a hundred years ago were left by him!

Meeting Chu Guang's inquiring gaze, Method did not offer any explanation. He simply sipped his coffee lightly, just as Chu Guang had done when he first entered.

Then, he uttered a meaningful sentence.

"What do you think is the best ending for them?"

Chu Guang pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Every part fulfills its original function."

Method asked, "What do you mean?"

Chu Guang replied concisely,

"It's just as it sounds. 'Tree' as the Manager, supervising is supervising, and residents are residents. They actually got off to a pretty decent start, and the situation in other shelters may have started off much worse than theirs. However, in practice, they completely deviated from their original conception. Those residents closest to the Tree have become the 'Tree People, dependent on the Tree, while those farthest from the Tree have become something no longer human."

"Everyone playing their role, huh? You're talking about the most ideal situation, but actually operationalizing it might be an entirely different story," Dr. Method said with a light smile as he set down his coffee cup. "Like the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, believe it or not, it was the best method at the time. Never before had so many people of different statuses dedicated themselves completely and unreservedly to the same cause. Without it, this planet might have 'died' by now. Even so, it only lasted for 45 years."

Chu Guang stated plainly,

"I know, the worst choices are the easiest ones to make while the best choices are always the most difficult. Therefore, we will not become them."

Dr. Method raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Then what kind are you?"

As he stood up from the coffee table,

Chu Guang, sensing it was time to leave, glanced at the remaining residents of Shelter No. 100 who were inconsolable yesterday and answered Dr. Method's question,

"We fall in between."

"Neither the best nor the worst."

...

The excavation work at Shelter No. 100 had concluded, and twenty-two Black Boxes had been sequentially recovered from within the shelter. Along with these were numerous mechanical devices also transported out.

Shelter No. 100 left behind an impressive technological inheritance, particularly including the "Buprestis" engineering armor series of construction devices, which are more suitable for working in complex terrains than the commonly used "KV" and "Miner" series exoskeletons by the Alliance. They could even completely forgo scaffolding and other auxiliary equipment, climbing and working on nearly vertical construction surfaces.

Since the original supervisors of No.100 had planned to spend their lives underground, for a long time, the shelter focused on the question of "how to transform the environment to be more habitable using limited resources and space."

In addition to that were the creatures called Crunchy.

Their genetic origin seems to be the buprestid beetle, but their DNA had been so transformed that not even their mothers would recognize them. They could very well be treated as an entirely new species.

Their shed shells are a quality source of chitin material, suitable for producing ballistic panels made from composite materials for exoskeletons, and also for the production of carbon-based integrated circuits.

The database in Shelter No. 100 contains all the experimental data on these chitin materials as well as the complete industrial applications.

According to that information, the Alliance could treat the chitin materials stockpiled in the shelter's atrium as if they were ores.

Considering that over six million insects were active there, the place would likely serve as a biological mine for the Alliance for a lengthy period.

Meanwhile, an ecological impact analysis on the "Crunchy" was concurrently underway.

According to the Alliance's biologists, due to the unique ecosystem of West State City, including the Mutated Water Frog, Battleship Shrimp, and even Crack Claw Crab, all these creatures are natural predators of "Crunchy," therefore this species had not spread to the Wasteland outside West State City like the Claw of Death.

However, precisely because of this, "Crunchy" that have survived in harsh environments have become more aggressive than they were a hundred years ago, and the stingers hidden in their abdomens have become even sharper.

At the moment, the Biological Institute of the Alliance, taking into account the suggestions from Shelter No. 404, officially named the "Crunchy" found in the Wasteland Era of the year 213 as Ghost-faced Insect and began further exploration into the biological technology contained within and the industrial value of their shells.

In short, the novel gadgets recovered from Shelter No. 100 were enough to keep the various research institutions and production units of the Alliance busy for an entire year.

Shelter No. 100 camp.

Looking at the machines that piled up like small hills in the warehouse, I Max Black couldn't help but let out a sigh of emotion.

"Is there not even one normal shelter on this wasteland?"

The scientific research team needed to appraise the value of these graverobbing props, and then calculate the rewards gained by the Storm Corps in this operation.

This work would take several days.

Although the passwords and coordinates of the shelters were provided for the mission, what they did was merely the easy work of prying off the coffin boards, but the credit for saving the shelters was still attributed to them, and the final Silver coin and Contribution Points rewards were unlikely to disappoint.

As for the commander of the Corps, Brother Spring Water, he also credited the players who ventured deep into the dungeon with great merit.

Hearing the complaints from Brother I Max Black, Spring Water laughed with a "hehe."

"Is it possible that normal shelters simply don't need us to grave-rob because they've already completed their original plans over the past two centuries, either joining the survivor settlements on the surface or becoming settlements themselves?"

Setting aside the bizarre stuff from the Enlightenment Society, Giant Stone City has been continuously joined by Blue Jackets after fifty years of the Wasteland Era.

Apart from that, the origins of corporations are also shelters, and they were single-digit numbered ones.

Not to mention the Alliance itself, which has revived a number of shelters that were originally failing.

"Survivor's bias, huh?"

I Max Black sighed, his gaze suddenly falling on the metal sphere riding a machine spider beside him, and he couldn't help but continue with a chuckle.

"So why did you come out too?"

Bell, mounted on the back of the machine spider, rolled its head in discontent.

"You're asking me? I want to ask you! Didn't we agree that I was to be a guide in the museum? So, where exactly is the Alliance's museum, and how long do I have to stay in this godforsaken place?"

I Max Black looked at it with a weird expression.

Let this guy be a museum guide...

Could they really sell tickets?

At that moment, footsteps sounded from outside the door.

The two people and one AI in the room almost simultaneously looked toward the door to see a stranger standing there.

It wasn't just him; behind him trailed a large, sparse group of people, about a hundred in number.

They were wearing blue jackets, but their skin was a glossless gray, like mannequins left in old, dusty display windows.

Without a doubt, they were bionic people.

However, it was as if they had made the features of the bionic people deliberately obvious, to the point of being abrupt. They all had bald heads, and even their facial features were just perfunctory outlines.

It was exactly how Frost and Solar Eclipse looked when they first arrived at the Alliance.

Looking at the man standing at the door, I Max Black hesitated for a moment before blurting out a question.

"Who are you?"

"My name is... Gugel," the man seemed to need some time to remember his own name and placed his hand over his chest in a slight bow, "We are survivors from Shelter No. 100."

I Max Black was momentarily baffled, Spring Water Commander was too, their faces simultaneously showing a look of surprise.

As for Bell, it was staring at the man with wide eyes.

"Gugel?! It's you? You... actually came back? Strange. My master said the cowards all died, and he was about to die as well, so why are you alive again!?"

Watching Bell babbling ceaselessly, Gugel's abstract features showed a touch of sadness as he sighed lightly, as if unwilling to recall too much, and turned to look at I Max Black and Spring Water Commander.

"The people of this camp told me I could find you here, and through you, find that Manager."

The Spring Water Commander steadied herself, her expression odd as she asked,

"What is it... that you want with him?"

"We wish to see him once again," the man called Gugel paused for a moment, his tone sincere as he continued,

"We originally planned to rest eternally in Shelter No. 101, but that place can no longer house our restless, guilty souls."

"So we thought, instead of spending our remaining time in penance, why not fulfill the unachieved wishes of our comrades who died because of us."

"If you're planning to rebuild the Wasteland, our knowledge should prove somewhat useful. It may alleviate a bit of the torment in our hearts."

"We hope he will take us in!"

Spring Water opened her mouth to say something, but a clear voice suddenly carried from not far outside the door.

"The Alliance is not a charity; we do not take in just anyone."

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.

There, in the sunlight, stood an azure power armor, smiling as it looked at the crowd gathered at the warehouse entrance.

"But—"

As Spring Water had anticipated, there was a twist in his next words.

"...anyone who sincerely wishes to end the Wasteland and is determined to contribute their strength towards it of their own volition is welcome to join us!"

"Whether they are alive or already deceased."

Chu Guang extended his right hand, his expression subtly moved by the sight of Gugel.

"Welcome, survivors of Shelter No. 100."

"Tell me what work you are best at, and then we can begin!"

Chapter 626: This Bionic Person is Too Useful!

"F*ck! My ideas got ripped off by those damn planners again!!"

In the industrial zone of Dawn City.

Mosquito, with his eight mechanical tentacles attached to his back, crossed his arms and looked with a sour burst of envy and jealousy at the crab construction armor bustling up and down the construction site nearby.

What the hell is the difference between that thing and the crab robot he had made before?

But it's undeniable that, as NPCs with opened technology, those No.100 Shelter crab robots really had some tricks up their sleeves.

Once inside one of those, a person could do the work of five.

Especially with construction in complex terrains, not only could these behemoths ensure the safety of the construction workers, but they also improved the work efficiency per hour.

The alliance workers operating these things were still not proficient, yet the construction efficiency had already improved significantly. Mosquito believed that in a little while, the performance of these gadgets would be even more astonishing.

A short distance away, a bionic man with a bald head, unnecessarily wearing a safety helmet, was exchanging some experience with the nearby construction team leader and engineer, all of whom were also donning safety helmets.

Mosquito had wanted to eavesdrop as well, to see if he could glean some wisdom, but at that moment, a familiar voice called out from the side.

"Mosquito? Didn't you head over to Giant Stone City? When did you get back?"

"Haha, what has Brother Guang done to torment you this time?"

The newcomers were none other than Discourage and Reaper.

Seeing that it was his two underlings, Mosquito didn't feel the least bit embarrassed. Sighing towards the construction site in the distance, he began to ramble.

"It's that big crab! Remember the one I made before? It's still sitting in a warehouse in City of Dawn, and now, before the version even updates, it's become an NPC thing!"

Discourage was taken aback for a moment, it took quite a while to remember this incident, and all of a sudden he burst out laughing so hard he ran out of breath.

Reaper, equally unsparing, laughed even more wildly, nearly choking on his own saliva.

"Holy sh*t, isn't that stuff from how many versions ago?!"

"And that thing is a machine—no, wait, the thing you made was a crab?!"

Wasn't that thing just a bunch of crab shells put together? For crying out loud, let alone an electrical control system, it didn't even have a battery or a motor.

With so many laughable points, the two didn't know where to start their mockery, so they just held their bellies and laughed.

Seeing his two apprentices giving no face at all, Mosquito didn't get angry. After all, he was used to it; he just rolled his eyes and didn't stoop to argue with these two jerks.

Truth be told, isn't every great invention a process from immature to mature? There's no such thing as a Chang'an City built in a single day.

His non-powered armor and crab robot were just not perfect yet. The recent few soft updates had already proven, at least his ideas were feasible, just lacking some refinement.

Mosquito believed, give it some time, and his bizarre gadgets would definitely prove useful.

And motherf*ckers, when I invented airplanes and recoilless guns, you weren't laughing! What's so fun about harping on this?!

Finally having laughed their fill, Discourage suddenly noticed the eight mechanical arms on Mosquito's back, and his laughing spasms turned into astonishment.

"Holy sh*t, bro, did you pick up that mechanical arm again?"

Mosquito chuckled.

"Pick up? No way, I've custom ordered a new set."

Discourage: "Holy sh*t?!"

Reaper was also dumbfounded, managing to say with a helpless laugh.

"But, boss, why don't you ever learn from your mistakes?"

"I knew you guys were going to say that!"

Mosquito sighed leisurely and without further explanation, he maneuvered the mechanical hand on his left arm to curve around to his right side, grabbing onto the mechanical arm behind his right shoulder.

With a shrug of his shoulders, to everyone's amazement, he pulled the mechanical arm off like he was uprooting a radish.

Seeing this outrageous and unbelievable scene, Discourage's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Holy sh*t?! Prosthetics can be removed now too?!"

Mosquito smiled proudly.

"It's not about prosthetics being removable, I had them made to be detachable."

As he spoke, the hand holding the mechanical arm poked to the right and reattached the mechanical arm he just pulled off.

Reaper stared at him in shock, taking a while before managing to utter a question.

"But what about the spine? Can that be removed too?"

If he remembered correctly, significant modifications to the flesh aside from replacing the components themselves also required an extension of the body's original hardware.

And in this case, the so-called extension meant replacing the spine.

The structural materials mainly consisted of titanium alloy or stainless steel, while the materials for the neural connection devices were primarily carbon-based polymers and molybdenum metal.

A set of cybernetic prostheses worth 500,000 silver coins largely had a cost of at least 100,000 or even 200,000 in the spine and the spinal replacement surgery.

If merely the mechanical arms were made detachable, each death would still incur the expensive loss of the bionic spine.

Faced with a deadly query, Mosquito chuckled and said,

"That indeed cannot be detached, but it's not a big issue! Little known fact, the more industrial products are manufactured, the lower the cost. My trip from Giant Stone City this time is precisely to solve this problem!"

Discourage and Deadly both were momentarily stunned.

"To solve this problem..."

"What are you planning to do now?"

Confronted with their perplexed gazes, Mosquito coughed dramatically, then continued with animated excitement,

"Just yesterday! I got it, I got a long-term supply order and an authorization contract from Huge Rock Military Industry!"

"Starting now, the technicians from Goblin Technology will work with Huge Rock Military Industry's engineers to research the assembly line production methods for the 'Universal Interface Bionic Spine'! Replacing the secret family recipes of old engineers with standardized production processes, we aim to ensure that every player in the modification stream can afford a spine that they won't mind wasting!"

"Simply put, I'm going to reduce the price of bionic prosthetics!!!"

Of course, it wasn't just that, he himself was deeply interested in bionic technology.

His previous success with aviation kerosene has already given him a taste of the fruits.

And upon discovering that the game's technology could also be applied in reality, his ambitions gradually grew larger.

If he could transfer some of the bionic prosthetic technology to reality...

Even if he couldn't fully grasp these overly advanced technologies, just transferring the "prelude technology" like neural connection technology and algorithms to reality could physically eliminate conditions like cervical spondylosis and high-level paraplegia from Earth.

However, he was also clear that this idea was a bit too crazy.

Neural connection technology and related algorithms in reality were still in their infancy, barely allowing trained orangutans to play table tennis.

But knowing that there were companies that could create virtual reality helmets, he had some confidence in his hands-on abilities and learning capabilities.

As one of the first players to enter the game, his United Human language has become conversational with the NPCs of this world, lacking only some specialized terminology and understanding of those "too high-end basic knowledge."

All of these could be learned slowly.

After hearing Mosquito's grand declaration, both Discourage and Deadly's eyes widened simultaneously.

"Damn!"

"666!"

Goodness! Previously on the forum, he had complained about Mosquito Brother, who was spending undue money on NPCs as test subjects, acting like a pure sucker.

Now it seems that it was he who had the smaller vision.

It turns out this guy was playing a huge game, raising his favorability with the NPCs and transforming from a sucker client directly into a partner.

Doing OEM for "competitors."

This clever move was something he had never thought of...

...

The "strong alliance" between Goblin Technology and Huge Rock Military Industry was just a minor and inconspicuous interlude among the massive production orders in the Dawn City industrial zone.

In this rapidly expanding industrial stronghold, where one could almost see the growth with the naked eye, deals worth tens of millions or even billions were reached almost every day.

The food from Luo Xia Province ensured the Alliance's food supply, while the managed mines and waste sorting centers at the POW Camp provided nearly cost-free raw materials.

With the cost of residents' daily necessities and upstream raw materials for the industrial chain remaining stable, the surge of new things and industries was sufficient to offset the endogenous inflation generated by the Alliance's proactive debt.

Luo Xia Province and Brocade River Province, which supplied industrial raw materials, were able to absorb some of the excess industrial products being produced.

The future would see price reductions for more than just bionic prosthetics.

If it weren't for Mosquito himself boasting over drinks, not even the tavern would be discussing this seemingly trifling matter.

The hot topic in the entire Dawn City of late was another issue.

Recently, a group of special residents joined the Alliance - they were all bionic humans, and there were as many as 110 of them!

While the number might not sound large, in Dawn City with a total population of twelve thousand, it already accounted for nearly one-thousandth of the population!

A considerable proportion among them were experts in physics and engineering, while another part had extensive experience in engineering management.

Since most of the shelters previously excavated were engaged in biotechnology research, the Alliance had always been short on personnel in physics and engineering.

The addition of these bionic humans greatly improved the scientific expedition team's efficiency in technology recovery in the fields of physics and engineering.

And their rich experience in engineering management also provided a lot of help to the construction teams the Alliance had to rush into action.

These bionic humans were usually active near Camp 101, some were employed by the educational institutions and laboratories at Camp 101, while others guided construction teams onsite, instructing them on how to operate the "Buprestis" engineering armor and spider robots excavated from Shelter No.100.

They were all bald and their skin was a dull gray, much easier to recognize compared to Frost and Solar Eclipse, who had given themselves skin. The local residents didn't dislike them much—after all, the Alliance had people coming from all over.

The most they did was express curiosity.

These individuals neither drank alcohol nor smoked, their clothes were never changed, and for sleep, they simply stood next to their charging stations.

They had none of the needs of humans.

What exactly did they work for money for?

...

"Those bionic people have really been a big help!"

In Shelter No.101, it was still that café.

When he saw Dr. Method again, Chu Guang couldn't stop praising them as soon as he sat down.

Just to speak matter-of-factly, standing from the perspective of an Alliance Manager, he couldn't find any fault with those 110 new bionic resident citizens.

Their professional skills were not only urgently needed by the Alliance, but they were also extremely passionate about their work. In the matter of efficiency, even the players couldn't outpace them!

What was most outrageous was that such excellent employees didn't even ask for a wage!

All they needed was a regular recharge.

However, that being said, even though Gugel said they didn't want money, Chu Guang still followed Alliance rules and had the employing units pay them wages and triple overtime pay, as per regulation.

This was also for their own good.

Otherwise, they might do a lot of good work but get "mysteriously" pelted with bricks by other laborers while walking down the street.

The Alliance didn't advocate for unpaid work but insisted that labor must be compensated; otherwise, the liberation of the serfs would be meaningless.

However, Chu Guang still seriously considered the sincere requests put forth by Gugel on behalf of the other residents.

Under his direction, the Alliance Bank set up a special supervisory account for these bionic people and, according to their wishes, regularly transferred the surplus from their wage cards to the supervisory account and then used the money in the account to invest in the infrastructure construction of Dawn City.

In this way, they who fulfilled the wishes of their deceased compatriots attained spiritual redemption, while the residents of Dawn City gained actual benefits from their donations.

It's fair to say that it was a win-win!

To be honest, after Gugel accepted this proposal, all that remained in Chu Guang's heart besides emotion was admiration.

Working hard without consuming any goods, only requiring the basic electricity to sustain life, putting every penny earned into the development and future of the Alliance, sustained only by spiritual satisfaction and joy to start the next task energetically.

What a noble and selfless spirit that was!

Of course, he would not, as a manager, encourage others to emulate them—it was all too easy to plant another huge landmine.

Yet after seeing Xiao Qi's report on those bionic people, Chu Guang couldn't help but indulge in a bit of wishful thinking.

If only we could produce more of these work-only, consume-nothing bionic humans!

Looking at Dr. Method, who was smiling without a word, Chu Guang knew this clever person must have guessed what he was thinking and went straight to the point.

"Why not produce more of these bionic people with their own personalities?"

In fact, he had an even better idea.

There was no need to make them bear such a heavy past; simply making them start out with a debt of a hundred million or so would also make them work with vigor.

As if waiting for Chu Guang to ask this, Dr. Method curved his lips into a smile and said.

"I know what you're thinking, but I would advise you to give up on that clever trick. Memories can indeed be manufactured through computer technology, and even personalities can be solved with algorithms. However, such bionic people will not become persons in the social sense, and their involvement in social production would introduce various issues."

Chu Guang furrowed his brows slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Method said with a smile.

"Literally what I said. You must have realized a little bit of it too. For instance, bionic people who don't need a salary at all would be problematic, which is why you'd rather have that money circulate through your financial system and symbolically pay them that wage."

It was a matter of course.

Chu Guang asked, puzzled.

"What's the connection between the two?"

"The connection lies in the fact that personality isn't something that can be produced but is naturally born within society. A clone just out of the cloning chamber, let alone receiving modern education, won't even perform as well as a trained monkey on an assembly line. It's not because he isn't smart enough but because he hasn't acquired social attributes."

Without waiting for Chu Guang's detailed questions, Dr. Method sipped his coffee and continued in a low voice.

"This topic was once debated as a sharp social issue in the early Prosperity Epoch, concerning what constitutes a person."

Chu Guang asked,

"Does this really need to be debated?"

Dr. Method replied as if it were self-evident.

"Of course, there are. Every era has its issues, and radical and conservative views always coexist. For example, in the old era, the definition of a person was the unity of a natural person with social identity, a consensus between radical and conservative thinkers. Even if they argued red in the face about identity, race, or land issues, no one cared about this ridiculous topic."

"However, during the Prosperity Epoch, with breakthroughs in information technology and biotechnology, people could easily transform themselves into another appearance or even graft their minds onto a more perfect species. The once indisputable consensus began to waver... Simply put, what could only be imagined before can now be accomplished."

"Radicals believe that a person should be defined by their social identity, whether they are a natural person is not that important. As long as there is a complete chain of evidence to prove the inheritance of personality, it doesn't matter if the personality is transplanted into a cat or a robot, he is still a citizen of United Human."

"However, the conservative view remains the same as before, like the racists of the old era and the royalists of even earlier times. Their view is that only the unity of a natural person with a social identity can be called a person; otherwise, no matter how human-like it is, it's just 'human-like.' Based on this view, a minimal amount of prosthetic modification is acceptable, but the use of a large number of mechanical parts for non-medical purposes and altering genetic information is not."

Looking at the thoughtful Chu Guang, Dr. Method continued,

"Both sides have their logic, but aside from these issues, you can find that there is actually a common ground between them."

Chu Guang nodded with interest.

"They both agree that social identity is an essential attribute of a person?"

Dr. Method nodded approvingly.

"Exactly."

After a pause, he set down his coffee cup and continued in a serious tone.

"The personality you mentioned is actually one part of social attributes. Radicals wouldn't think a vending machine should have citizen rights, no matter how long it has lived in United Human. However, a bionic person whose 'AI core's logical algorithm was naturally formed within the society of United Human and who can participate in the society's production' is considered by most radicals as eligible to be someone's son or daughter."

"If we fabricate a non-existent identity for it, give it a set of memories that never happened, and endow it with human emotions through an intelligence plugin, even if it's hard for our society to distinguish it from a crowd, it can only exist as someone's pet or dependent."

"They are like an extra puzzle piece; if it's just doing some simple repetitive, mechanical work, there's no problem and might even do better than an average person but a little worse than a pure machine. However, if it is to be more deeply involved in the functioning of society, such as independently engaging in creative work or even dealing with public affairs, they easily give themselves away and make incomprehensible mistakes in the most unthinkable places."

"The residents of Shelter No.100 are all naturally born within an actual society. Whether they upload their thoughts to circuit boards or transfer them from circuit boards back into real bodies, they can, based on their self-awareness and understanding of society, behave almost the same as other people in this society, which is why they please you so much."

"In a rather mystic way of speaking, their souls are truly real, and souls, unlike programs, cannot be simply copied."

Chu Guang rubbed his temples and took a moment to digest this complex content.

"I think I get it... Simply put, only when a bionic person's logical algorithm is formed within Society A can he spontaneously participate in the social activities of Society A."

Indirect deduction would mean that in societies A and B, where there are similarities or mutual acceptance, they can also integrate into Society B. However, in a completely opposite Society C, such as the mutant tribes, they would show obvious discomfort and subjective resistance.

Does this feel the same with people?

Dr. Method smiled and nodded.

"Exactly that. So back to your original question as to why not produce more -- purely from the cost of materials and labor, the cost-effectiveness of bionic people is far less than that of clones. Clones can become experts or scholars in a field through learning, while bionic people, even if you stuff all knowledge into their brains, at most can only serve as walking encyclopedias, knowing neither how to use that knowledge nor what to research."

Chu Guang reflected.

"I see, that's enlightening."

He came from another world before the Prosperity Epoch and couldn't say that he was entirely ignorant, just completely unfamiliar with these things.

Including how to treat bionic people and Xiao Yu, he was feeling his way across the river, making decisions while referencing the opinions of other residents of the Alliance.

As long as you recognize the end of the Wasteland Era, let alone bionic people, even Variants he would try to unite to see if they share the same thoughts.

Looking at Chu Guang's eager-to-learn expression, Dr. Method suddenly burst into laughter.

Chu Guang looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"What are you laughing at?"

Not understanding is just not understanding, what's so funny about that?

Dr. Method suppressed his laughter and said,

"It's nothing... It's just that discussing these things from the preface of textbooks with you is quite interesting, hahaha!"

Chu Guang: "…?"

Where exactly is the fun in that?

Chapter 627: This Bad Idea Might Actually Work

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Phase Six)

Level: LV.40→LV.50

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 45→60 (+15)

Agility: 35→45 (+10)

Constitution: 40→50 (+10)

Perception: 39→50 (+11)

Intelligence: 40→53 (+13)

]

[

Talents: 1. Wild Instinct: In extreme situations, Wild Instinct can be invoked, temporarily boosting all attributes by 10~15% and increasing fatigue accumulation by 20~30%.

2. Mind Intimidation: Can produce a psychological pressure effect on life forms with a complete mind that are weaker than oneself, weakening their resistance and will.

3. Swarm Mentality: Can share 3~15% of intelligence attribute with life forms possessing a complete mind that are weaker than oneself, providing them with inspiration and increased thought speed. This effect is influenced by distance, number of individuals, receptivity, etc., with a maximum range of 10m.

4. Call For Victory: Vocal cords vibrate at a special frequency, infusing shouts with courage, inspiring listeners with an unbeatable determination.

5. "Unable to parse." (New)

]

Shelter No. 404, medical room.

Sitting on the scanning bed, Chu Guang looked at the blade he had twisted into a pretzel shape in disbelief.

He had just returned to the refuge from West State City the night before and had not been lying down long before he had a vague dream, waking up in sweat.

As usual, he assigned the task of washing the sheets to Xiao Qi and immediately contacted Heya to schedule a medical examination.

As expected, his Gene Sequence development had once again made a breakthrough!

To be honest, Chu Guang understood his own body's conditions, but he hadn't imagined that they were already so exaggerated that he could twist a blade into a pretzel with his bare hands.

There was a small cut in the palm of his hand from where the skin had been sliced open by the blade, and although the blood on the blade had not yet dried, the cut was already nearly invisible.

It wasn't just strength.

From the keratinocytes on the surface of his skin to the capillaries and muscle tissues just beneath the dermal layer, and even the internal organs and bones, everything was developing in a direction beyond that of normal humans.

Even though there were no significant changes in the macro structure or outline of his body, in actuality, it had already been replaced with something else.

In Heya's words, the DNA of the average person usually has only 2% active expression, which is essentially the limit of what the human organism can tolerate.

However, his DNA was designed meticulously, and the selective expression ratio within the entire gene library had already reached 4%, or even higher!

An inappropriate but vivid analogy would be, average people are like privately-owned cars that can be bought from the market, all with four wheels and an engine, performances vary according to the brand and type, but running on the highway is certainly not an issue.

Awakeners, on the other hand, are like F1 racing cars. Although they also have four wheels and an engine, anyone can see that they are a completely different matter from ordinary cars. Even if it could run on a highway, no one would license it.

And Chu Guang's situation was even more exaggerated.

His F1's engine was not an ordinary gasoline engine, but four plasma nozzles plus a controllable fusion engine! Others use wheels to run on the highways, while he was practically flying close to the ground!

This was no longer even a car, but had completely become something else.

But it was indeed the case.

The 1.1-ton power armor felt like putting on a down jacket to him.

While others relied on the energy provided by nuclear fusion batteries to power their armor, he was able to move freely in power armor relying solely on his physical strength.

Chu Guang figured if he physically went back to his original world, he would most likely be studied as an alien.

Well, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that.

After all, just by looking at this exaggerated Attribute Panel, he felt that there was indeed no difference between himself and an alien.

A normal person's basic strength value is 5, the force of a punch is about 50 kilograms, and his Strength Attribute is 60—is that 12 times, which is 600 kilograms?

Of course, this is just the force of the punch.

According to the momentum formula, the actual force produced by a common person hitting a target could be about 1~2 times that number, while a trained individual could reach 3~5 times.

In other words—

Based on rough calculations, could he punch with the impact force of a ton?!

At this thought, Chu Guang suddenly became interested and wanted to try out just how powerful a punch he could deliver at full strength.

However, he'd barely clenched his fist when an urgent cough interrupted him.

"Don't mess around."

Looking at Heya, who was warily glaring at him, Chu Guang slightly startled, then smiled awkwardly and loosened his tight fist.

"I was just a bit curious."

"Curious about how many minutes it would take to demolish my lab?"

Heya made a helpless expression and continued.

"I can tell you directly that the result is pretty much the same as getting hit by a truck, it's not just 'twelve times the strength' that simple; your muscle fibers and bones have actually become another kind of 'material'. However, I still advise you not to actually pick a fight with a truck. Even if you really want to test it, you might as well install a titanium alloy skeleton or something first. No matter how unbelievably hard your bones are, they are still bones, after all."

"I'm not that idle... By the way, what is that 'Unresolved' at the last line?" Chu Guang suddenly noticed the last line of the Attribute Panel and turned to Heya to ask.

Knowing that Chu Guang would ask this, Heya casually pulled over a chair, sat opposite him, and flicked her index finger, pushing the holographic image in front of him.

The DNA helix unfolded, and blue labels listing the selected expressed gene segments, the resultant messenger RNAs transcribed, and the chain of proteins formed through ribosomal processing appeared.

Although the entire biological process was presented very visually in this report, Chu Guang still found it confusing and didn't understand any of it.

Obviously aware that this was beyond his scope of knowledge, Heya didn't beat around the bush and explained succinctly.

"'Unresolved' means just that – your body has undergone some changes, beginning to synthesize some proteins I've never seen and am unsure of the specific functions. I don't want to start giving you a lecture from the basic concept of 'how genes affect biological traits'; in short, you can think of it like this... A human body is like a construction site, and on your site there are some oddly shaped bricks being used to build a structure that I can't comprehend the function of."

"There's no precedent in the refuge's database, so I can't speculate on the possible outcomes of these changes based on existing samples. We can only observe for a while to see what happens."

Chu Guang was a bit surprised.

"So it's an enhancement that even you can't identify?"

"That's perfectly normal; I'm a researcher, not a prophet. But don't be so sure it's definitely an 'enhancement'."

Heya suddenly curved her lips playfully, leaning in a little closer with a mischief-filled smile, "What if it's some kind of genetic disease? For instance, if you suddenly grew two heads on your shoulders, that's not entirely out of the realm of possibility."

Although the likelihood of that was not high.

After such a long time of research, Heya was able to determine that his genes were not naturally formed but seemed to be designed using a body of knowledge that was alien to her.

This was true for most of the residents of the refuge.

Their very existence was of "Singularity level" technology, with at least one foot stepping beyond the realm of common understanding.

However, her intention was merely to scare this guy a little, so he wouldn't recklessly depend on his robust physique and dismiss the importance of his own safety.

Unfortunately, to her disappointment, Chu Guang clearly wasn't scared and just chuckled at the ambiguous statement.

"If it were really that sort of thing, you wouldn't inform me with a tone that seems like you're joking."

Heya, leaning back in her chair, listlessly twisted her mouth.

"That's true, I should prepare the tone for a terminal diagnosis next time."

Chu Guang smiled.

"So, we still need to observe to see what that change specifically is, right?"

Heya nodded and said bluntly.

"Yes, I suggest increasing the frequency of physical examinations from once every seven days to once every three days, and every two days if possible. Frankly, I am very interested in the changes happening to your body, and being able to observe the entire process of physiological changes within you could greatly benefit the research I'm conducting."

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under that intense gaze, Chu Guang coughed lightly and waved his index finger, switching off the semi-transparent holographic screen and fastening the buttons on his shirt.

"Let's wait until after the Tide passes. I'll consider it then, but I'm afraid I won't have much time to spare recently."

Looking at Chu Guang as he rose from the scanning bed, Heya suddenly remembered something and began to speak.

"Right, speaking of the Tide, there's something I need to discuss with you."

Seeing Heya's serious expression, Chu Guang also dropped the smiles from his face and became earnest.

"What is it?"

"Xiya."

Hearing this unfamiliar name, Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brows.

"Xiya?"

Heya nodded and continued with a serious tone.

"A new lair has appeared in the city center. According to the clues provided by Xiaoyu, it seems to be called Xiya. Our researchers collected spore samples active in Qingquan City and discovered a mutated strain that is different from before."

"Mutated strain?" Chu Guang was stunned. "Haven't there been Tides in previous years?"

Heya patiently explained.

"Of course there have been Tides every year. The Tide itself is a way for the 'Mutated slime fungus' to expand their population, and they also undergo new evolutions in this process. However, this year is different from previous ones."

Chu Guang remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

Heya paused for a moment, trying to explain in layman's terms that he could understand.

"According to the data I collected from Giant Stone City, although the 'Mutated slime fungus' would undergo group evolution during the Tide in previous years, it typically evolved in the direction of rapid reproduction, rapid healing, and tougher armor."

Gradually sensing something was amiss, Chu Guang cautiously asked.

"What about this year?"

"This year it's fire resistance."

Holy shit?!

Chu Guang was immediately shocked.

"Fire resistance?!"

Looking at Chu Guang's astonished expression, Heya gently nodded.

"As far-fetched as it sounds, according to our observations, it is so."

"Isn't it... could there be carbon-based organisms that fire can't kill?"

"It's not that they can't be killed by fire, but rather, this new type of 'Mutated slime fungus' releases spores that exhibit physiological traits not seen before. For instance, when exposed to unbearable high temperatures, the large molecular carbon chains inside the spore's vesicle would rapidly combine with surrounding oxygen molecules under the catalyst's effect, swelling quickly in volume until the vesicle bursts, releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide."

"After this process is completed, the spores will die rapidly, but the oxygen in the area will also be rapidly depleted. According to simulations by the Biological Institute, under standard atmospheric pressure, when the spore concentration index reaches 500, it can reduce the oxygen content in the area from 20.95% to 10.1% within half a minute, and the only cost is consuming 80% of themselves. If the spore concentration index reaches 800, it only takes ten seconds to complete this process."

"Furthermore, most conventional combustion processes consume oxygen themselves, and the release of spores by the mucosal entities is a continuous process, which will further reduce the oxygen content in the area and thereby weaken or even completely stop the ongoing redox reactions."

Most combustible materials will extinguish if the oxygen content drops below 14% after ignition.

If these mutant spores can really drop the oxygen level to 10.1%, the impact could extend beyond incendiary bombs, possibly even stalling some synthetic oil engines and generators.

Fortunately, the minimum oxygen content for hydrogen combustion is 5.9%; otherwise, the Alliance's air cells running on hydrogen might also suffer.

Chu Guang's face finally changed.

In preparation for this Tide, the Alliance had amassed nearly a thousand tons of incendiary bombs and almost three hundred thousand tons of fuel for making napalm.

And now his researchers were telling him it might all be useless?!

"Do mucosal entities not need to breathe?"

Heya said with a grave expression.

"That's precisely what perplexes me. If those slime fungi create a vast 'anoxic zone' within Qingquan City, it would evidently affect their own life processes. I can only speculate that the offspring produced by the new breed lair are more tolerant of anoxic environments, after all... they originally came from heaven."

Chu Guang fell silent for a moment, his index finger pressing against his brow.

"Being able to identify problems in advance is always good... I don't believe that there are creatures without weaknesses in this world."

"I think the same as you. Perhaps the incendiary bombs won't perform as pessimistically in real combat as the projections suggest, and besides, we are thinking of other solutions... You didn't just prepare incendiary bombs, did you?" Heya asked worriedly as she looked at Chu Guang.

"That's not the case. We wouldn't place all our hopes for victory on a single weapon," Chu Guang shook his head and sighed, "But to be honest, incendiary bombs have an irreplaceable role in the fight against the 'Mutated slime fungus.' They have the best cost-effectiveness ratio and can clear a large number of corpses. If the incendiary bombs can't achieve their expected effect, the war will be tougher than anticipated."

Was it because incendiary bombs were used too often?

It seemed that was indeed the case.

Previously, when Giant Stone City was dealing with the Tide, they consistently used the tactic of incendiary bombs carpet bombing and mercenaries rushing in to dismantle things.

The Alliance had done the same thing when facing the Tide before, even purchasing a few more efficient heavy-hitters from Giant Stone City.

Chu Guang couldn't help falling into deep thought.

If those slime mold continued to reproduce, they would become a larger problem sooner or later.

"We need to permanently solve the threat at the center of Qingquan City."

Just then, an idea suddenly struck him, and he spoke up.

"What if we have the lairs consume each other?"

This wasn't an idea he came up with; he had seen such discussions on the Forum before. Some players even encouraged Falling Feather to take Xiaoyu out to see if it could devour the opposition.

He remembered Heya once saying there was "intra-species strife" among the mutated slime fungi. Mucosal entities from different beehive consciousness would attack and even devour each other to compete for sunlight, land, and organic material.

At Chu Guang's question, Heya blinked in surprise.

"Having the lairs consume each other... well, that's not impossible. Theoretically, mutated slime fungi with significant DNA differences can consume each other, and that's one of their ways of acquiring genetic information and strengthening themselves. It's just that there's no precedent for a lair consuming another lair."

It wasn't just the Alliance that hadn't encountered such a precedent; even enterprises with tentacles stretching across the entire eastern part of the Central Continent hadn't come across it.

Because the Alliance and these enterprises had signed a research agreement regarding the mutated slime fungi, the data and research findings on mutated slime fungi observed by the enterprises and their allies over the past two hundred years were basically open to the Alliance. However, after combing through all the records, she hadn't found any cases as extreme as this.

And the most critical aspect was that Xiaoyu's main body was on Floor B6 of the shelter, which filled the entire engine room. It couldn't even pass through the engine room doors, let alone use the elevator.

In the future, it might even merge with the entire Floor B6.

How could they make it consume another?

Letting that "Xiya" into the shelter was even more unrealistic—any slight mishap could make the entire shelter repeat the history of Floor B6.

Watching the stunned Heya, Chu Guang's eyes flickered slightly as he continued.

"What if we have residents of the refuge who carry biological prostheses voluntarily inject their biological parts into the body or the lair?"

If by this method they could directly eradicate the lair, he would even consider stuffing players into artillery shells to perform a "surgical strike" on the lair.

Of course, this wasn't targeting the newly born mother body.

It was aimed at the lair in the city center!

Although it seemed a bit unkind, after just getting through a winter and spawning a big batch of "little lives," that thing should be pretty weakened, right?

There couldn't be a more suitable opportunity than now!

Heya opened her mouth, and after a long pause, she finally squeezed out a sentence with a peculiar expression.

"This... whose idea is this?"

Chu Guang sighed.

"Is it not feasible?"

"No..." Heya shook her head, her expression subtly shifting as she said, "On the contrary, I think this rotten idea might just work."

Chu Guang: "!!!"

Holy shit?

It might actually work?!

-

(Thank you to "Cold Night Is Not Over" and "Tang Yi" for the leader's rewards!!! In a few hours, it'll be 2023, wishing everyone a lucky Year of the Rabbit!!)

Chapter 628: The Tide Returns!

"Roar——!!"

In the city center of Qingquan City, desolate and dilapidated streets were shrouded in gray-green fog, presenting a desolate scene.

A monster covered in wounds was furiously struggling, yet the iron hand pressing down on its head, which was adorned with crimson fungus, remained immovable.

The crack in the center of the helmet emitted a creepy red light, resembling the pupil of a devil.

Out of fear and awe, those noisy bipedal creatures called it "Evolutionary body" or "Decaying Knight".

For the Lair, which controlled every mucosal cell in the city, this was just a trivial atom in the grand scheme of its existence, unnecessary to have its own name.

Xiya was the same.

However, unlike other mucosae, it had invested extra effort when creating Xiya.

The newly created body not only inherited the essence and nutrients It had accumulated over two hundred years on the path of evolution but also inherited its will.

At the same time, the entity known as Xiya bore more of Its hopes—
namely, to spread the footprint of the species to even more distant places.

To reach where Its tendrils had yet to touch!

The unfortunate "little guy" who had wandered into the territory was still struggling uselessly, roaring, trying to defy two centuries of evolutionary achievement with its sheer strength.

It quietly observed this uncivilized organic body, and unlike usual, did not command its tiny fraction to devour and assimilate it, but instead glanced down at Xiya standing in the middle of the broken street.

"Eat it."

Pheromones spread through intermingling spores.

Sensing the call from its mother, Xiya slowly nodded and then raised its limbs, which resembled crimson, muddy tendrils.

Those tendrils served as its arms.

The cilia at its tips gave off a silent call, sending invisible ripples throughout the sea of spores.

The gray-green color began to gather around the furry, bear-like beast, swirling around its body and becoming increasingly dense.

"Roar!!!"

A look of terror emerged on the monster's face, and its struggles intensified; its thick, muscular fur convulsed like wriggling leeches, trying to break free from the hand pressing against its head.

Xiya simply watched it and then gently tightened its extended "hand."

The gray-green fog instantly dispersed several inches outward, and the monster's chest suddenly expanded, its eyes bulging out.

It gasped desperately, but its body uncontrollably grew heavier and heavier, eventually losing all strength, even unable to resist the weight on its shoulder, and stopped resisting.

A wisp of gray fog drifted from the crack in the helmet, and the Decaying Knight released its grip on the monster's head and stepped aside like a true knight.

"Very good."

Watching Xiya, who had now mastered its power, it revealed a content smile, and the spores throughout the city gently waved with a joyful frequency.

Its child had now fully mastered the ability to deprive its prey of breath; it would be stronger than its previous child.

It seemed already to see those weak organic beings, scattering in flight from the pursuit of the young assimilator.

Xiya stared at its extended tendrils—or rather, its arms and spoke after a moment.

"My body can't breathe; I feel their wails."

Surrounding spores and the entities it controlled were part of its body, serving both as conduits and carriers of its consciousness.

Faced with its puzzled child, it softly said,

"Don't worry, my child."

"Your enemies are the same, those weak flesh masses like the prey under your feet need constant breath to live. You can endure far more than they can, you are better suited to the land beneath your feet, and this world ultimately belongs to those who can adapt to it."

"Now, eat it."

Xiya slowly nodded, its skirt-shaped lower limbs wriggling forward, moving beside the unconscious monster.

The expanding skirt resembled a giant maw, its contour along the ground revealing a slit.

Countless crimson tendrils burst from the slit, piercing the monster like slender leeches, boring into its skin, sucking the blood and absorbing the remaining organic nutrients into its body.

The surrounding spores oscillated with a pleasurable frequency, the Decaying Knight lowered its head even more, the crimson light in its eyes glowing ever brighter.

In that moment—
the mucosal entities across the ruins all witnessed the "coronation" of a new king, rejoicing at its birth.

Except for one anomaly.

Feeling the bloodlust in the air, it involuntarily held its breath, not daring to make a "sound".

Fortunately, it did not rely on spores to communicate, so other mucosal Variants neither recognized nor sensed its presence.

Otherwise, there was no doubt that those guys would have done everything possible to nip this heresy in the bud...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website, the forum was bustling as always today.

And all of this was due to a freshly released server announcement.

[Server Announcement: "Tide Redux" expansion pack released!]

[Brief: Spring has arrived, and it's breeding season for the animals, and the asexual "Mutated slime fungus" is no exception.

We once naively thought that the Lair was a mutation naturally formed from a hatchery when spore concentrations exceeded a threshold. However, more and more evidence shows the Lairs are born from a mother, hatched from an old Lair. The purpose of the new is not only to inherit the genes of the old Lair but also our combat experience. Combined with the effects of a warm winter, this wave might be fiercer than in previous years!

According to the Biological Institute's forecast, the Tide is expected to hit around March 1st in-game time! Players, please be prepared!

This could be the most severe test since the server went live!]

[Activity Rewards: Completing event tasks and killing evolutionary bodies will grant Activity Points, which can be exchanged for limited equipment and titles, and a chance to participate in the final lottery! The prize pool is rich, not only containing mysterious props that even the planners don't know about but also including valuable prizes like the DLZJ-1 "Xiaguang" power armor! Everyone is welcome to participate enthusiastically!]

Half a month later.

Wasteland OL, following the "Fire Extinguishing Operation," had launched another brand-new expansion pack.

This astonishing update speed truly shocked many players.

And just as Chu Guang had anticipated, the announcement immediately caused an 18th-level earthquake on the official website, and discussions about the new expansion pack quickly shot to the top of the hot topic list for players and backseat drivers.

"Holy shit! What about Beta0.6 version!"

"I remember during Alpha1.1 version the Tide was just a sub-project for server updates? Changed its skin and now it's an expansion pack?!"

"This event feels too perfunctory!"

"Negative review! More excessive than Company P who copy MODs and CA who raised plasma prices!"

"Brother Guang, could you, my dad, give me a helmet, please! T.T"

"Two years, thirty thousand helmets, this output rate is just ridiculous, Ah Guang, can you even handle it?"

"I think it's not Brother Guang's fault. Could it be the cattle and horses in the factory slacking off? Come open a factory in our village! I'll call the village chief to help you recruit people!"

"Better come here instead. I am the village chief, I'll bring people to work for you for free!"

"I'll make you work for free!"

"???"

"Holy crap, that's a bit dark, bro!"

"Pass it on, someone wants to screw Brother Guang over."

"They've gone mad, all of them!"

"Trash! Is it worth fussing over a lousy helmet? I laugh, not even a dog would play!"

Chu Guang, sitting in the browsing room, went through the official website, chuckled silently, already accustomed to these guys' banter.

But to speak the truth, the Alliance now had a population of a million, and this number was still growing. Compared to this, the speed of issuing 50 to 100 closed beta qualifications per day indeed seemed a bit insufficient to meet the development needs of the Alliance.

Adding up the already issued beta qualifications, he now only had thirty thousand accounts in his hands. Even if all were issued, players would still account for less than 3% of the total population.

Although this number might seem significant, when spread out over a series of matters across Alliance regions, it seemed quite insufficient.

Suddenly, Chu Guang felt like he was playing an SLG game involving dough-kneading. At times, there was a shortage of food but not manpower, and when food wasn't lacking, manpower was. Once neither were lacking, land started to be the issue, and once there was enough land, it was back to lacking manpower.

"...If the Lair in the city center were solved, I wonder if it could unlock new floors."

Maybe then, new "activation codes" would be released?

Watching the "hungry for more" little seedlings on the holographic screen, a faint smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

Don't worry.

Everyone will get their chance to be a leek!

Everything will come!

Just at that moment, Xiao Qi, who was sitting on the pen holder, suddenly raised her head and said in a pleasant voice.

"Master, your little players have arrived at the second ring of the city center!"

Chu Guang's heart stirred, and he turned off the webpage on the holographic screen with his index finger.

"Switch the view to their side."

With a playful military salute, Xiao Qi said energetically.

"Received!"

…

At the same time as the official website announced the event, two "Viper" transport planes took off from the helipad in Dawn City. After a period of flying, they arrived at the edge of Qingquan City's Second Ring Road and slowly hovered next to the rooftop of an abandoned skyscraper.

Several Eaters with drooping shoulders were spaced out on the rooftop, while a long-armed and long-legged Crawler lurked between an abandoned water tank and ventilation ducts, vigilantly watching the two flames approaching beside the tall building.

"Enemy units marked. A total of nineteen Eaters, one Crawler, no Evolutionary bodies or other high-threat targets discovered."

"Prepare to attack."

"Roger."

One Viper transport plane swung its nose around, aiming its side cabin's machine gun at the rooftop, ready to provide fire support at any moment.

The other hovering "Viper" swiftly moved forward, directly flying above the rooftop, less than five meters away.

The Crawler crouching in the shadows hissed lowly, its robust limbs beginning to bend, ready to strike first.

However, what it didn't know was that the players flying above had already seen it long ago.

Before it could gather enough strength to leap upwards, a large dark shadow descended from the sky, dragging a hot red streak and smashed straight toward it.

The Crawler hadn't even realized what was happening when a blunt axe, unsharpened, thundered towards its face, followed by sparks that crisply split its body.

Without even a chance to scream, the unfortunate Crawler turned into a mushy mess on the ground, accompanied by the dull thud of feet landing.

A total of ten warriors clad in exoskeletons had completed their deployment, each pulling their bolt actions, readying their weapons, and raising their muzzles.

Noticing the commotion beside them, several Eaters raised their heads, their murky pupils gradually turning blood-red.

They shuffled their frost-stiffened legs, opened their rotten mouths, and emitted hiccup-like roars at the landing warriors.

"Eh—"

Flicking the black slime off his axe, Old White hung it on his power armor and neatly swung his hand forward.

"Open fire."

That casually uttered phrase had just fallen when thick tongues of flame transformed the fog-filled rooftop into daylight.

Amid a burst of gunfire, the nineteen Eaters on the rooftop, along with several more that had rushed up from the stairwell, were instantly turned into sieves.

As planned, the ten players quickly split into two teams.

One team swiftly searched every corner of the rooftop, ensuring no mucosal entities were left behind, while the other pushed forward to the stairwell entrance, slamming a metal plate slightly wider than the door into place, then yanked out the safety pin and punched the red button.

With the "bang" of explosions, numerous steel nails drove into the concrete wall, firmly embedding the metal plate at the door.

But that was not enough.

A few players then took out electric drills, rebar, and welding torches and doubly reinforced the wall-embedded door panel, inserting a layer of "well"-shaped steel bars on the outside.

The thump-thump of pounding on the steel plate came from behind, but the plate remained immovably lodged in place.

Forget dozens of Eaters, even a Tyrant couldn't break through this now. Team B, who had successfully secured the stairway, had put down their weapons and turned off the safety, while Team A, having also completed their mission, spread out to four corners of the building's edge to guard against any flying Variants that might come to harass.

Although they were deep in the territory occupied by the "mutated slime fungus," neither the players nor the NPCs showed overly tense expressions.

As the Alliance Biological Research Institute continued its in-depth investigations, the Alliance was increasingly mastering the secrets of the mutated slime funguses.

What used to be conclusions drawn purely from experience or even speculation now had more scientific and stringent theories to back them up.

Every mucosal entity in Qingquan City was connected to the lair's consciousness, but this didn't mean that the lair could monitor every single entity all the time, just as the managers of the Alliance couldn't always keep an eye on every player―they could access VM or the official website's records when necessary.

The mucosal lair operated similarly.

Threats that were sporadic and passively generated were mostly dealt with in sub-units like the "hatcheries," and only when unidentifiable organisms massively invaded the territory would the lair become directly alarmed.

Just like now.

The central city lair would only feel a few tiny flies landing on it, as usual, never suspecting that these few tiny flies were engaging in an activity that could threaten its very existence.

Looking at the neatly packed equipment and the personnel in protective suits inside the cabin, Jiang Xuezhou, who had nearly strapped himself to his seat with a safety belt, couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and spoke.

"What are you guys doing?"

Seeing his clueless expression, Night Ten couldn't help but smirk.

"You don't understand. We plan to send a little Alliance shock to that big guy in the city center when the tide is at its peak... The shock is ready, we are now in the preparation phase."

Jiang Xuezhou was bewildered.

What is that?

Without further explanation, Night Ten glanced at her and continued.

"By the way, why did you come along? Aren't you here to help us handle the Nago thing?"

Compared to the "self-limiting" lair, the uncontrollably expanding Nago was obviously more alarming to the Degenerate Empire up north.

Night Ten remembered clearly that Jiang Xuezhou and her face-concealing mentor were there to help them resolve issues related to Nago.

As for the lair in Qingquan City, that was not in their scope of work.

For Night Ten's query, Jiang Xuezhou cleared his throat and spoke earnestly,

"According to our analysis of the samples, the gene pool of the Nago fungus has a high degree of DNA overlap with the 'Mutated slime fungus' in Qingquan City. It can be fundamentally determined that this biological weapon is based on the 'Mutated slime fungus' from Qingquan City... My mentor suspects that residents of Shelter No. 117 might have explored the ancient battlefield in the center of Qingquan City, where clues we need may exist. Rest assured, I have already discussed it with your manager, who has approved my participation as an accompanying research member in the related Tide operations."

From her observations, the residents of the Alliance had an unusual respect, even worship, for the manager, often bringing him up and wishing him a long life.

She wasn't particularly interested in that person, but since she was on their turf, she still brought out some respect in the spirit of 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'.

However, what she didn't expect was that someone didn't care about the latter half of her words but focused on a seemingly insignificant detail,

"Wait, did you say the residents of Shelter No. 117 might have gone to the city center?!" Night Ten stared at Jiang Xuezhou with a face that looked like he had discovered a new continent.

"I…"

Realizing she had misspoken, Jiang Xuezhou inwardly cursed, about to close her open mouth, but seeing Night Ten's exaggerated expression, she quickly realized this issue might not be so easily fooled.

"I... I didn't say that..." Out of guilt, she added in a low voice, "Don't go spreading that around, okay?"

Night Ten chuckled, giving her a look that said "I get it."

"Rest assured, I understand, you never said it."

Good grief!

Another bunch of Contribution Points won!

He had just awoken on the Iron Heart when he received a mission in his task bar, which was to act as a bodyguard for a visiting Class D researcher from the Alliance and report all intelligence regarding the Academy he heard from her.

Based on the value of the intelligence, the Alliance would award him Contribution Points. Night Ten still remembered the envious, jealous, and hateful look from Fang Chang when he mentioned this in the group that day.

Seeing Night Ten obviously hadn't understood, Jiang Xuezhou panicked.

"I really didn't say that! Don't go spreading it around, okay? If my mentor hears about it, I'm dead, really dead..."

Night Ten: "Don't worry, our manager is very tight-lipped."

Jiang Xuezhou: "???"

In the minute it took for their few exchanges, the battle on the skyscraper rooftop had ended.

Old White, standing next to the Crawler's corpse, lightly tapped the side of his tactical helmet, switching to the command channel.

"The landing area is secured, ready for deployment."

A rustling sound came from the communication channel followed by a crisp response,

"Received."

As the words fell, two "Viper" transport planes descended one after the other onto the skyscraper rooftop, the hot plasma streams blowing away the thick snow and dust.

Once the aircraft stabilized, twelve personnel wearing protective suits, gas masks, and carrying oxygen tubes also landed on the rooftop.

Also deployed with them was a communication radio, an air quality testing device, and disassembled parachutes, among other equipment.

The Alliance Biological Research Institute would calculate the approximate location of the lair in the city center based on the spore concentration during the Tide and the movement patterns of the mucosal entities.

As long as they could get approximate coordinates, the Alliance could directly deploy ground forces, and under the cover fire of "Dragon" missiles and 400mm ship guns, perform a surgical-like precise strike on the lair in the city center!

Even if that creature hid in a nuclear crater or bunker, capable of withstanding conventional bombing, it definitely couldn't withstand a sudden confrontation from the Burning Corps.

The Alliance would take advantage of this violent Tide to once and for all end the threat that had troubled Qingquan City for two eras.

Old White was filled with confidence in this.

Even if this year's Tide was different from previous years, it didn't matter, as the Alliance was no longer the same as before.

The survivors of Qingquan City no longer fought alone nor needed to face the threat of the Tide by themselves anymore. The survivors from the Falling Leaves Province provided a constant supply of food, while those from Dawn City supplied weapons and steel.

Not only the NPCs had united.

The scale and quality of the players were incomparable to the early versions.

If he remembered correctly, the manager was barely level twenty back then.

Now, the average level of the entire Burning Corps had surpassed this number, and he himself had reached LV43.

In terms of strength alone, among all the players on the server, perhaps only his ridiculously strong brother could arm-wrestle with him.

As for the combat experience beyond attributes,
they were all veterans who had been through countless battles.

"Bring it on."

Looking at the mysterious, shifting gray-green fog in the distance, he felt the fighting spirit within him burning like flames, his lips unknowingly curling into a slight grin.

"Let's see what Ah Guang has prepared for us this time!"

—

(Thanks to the alliance leader "城府还是城府" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 629: The Unusual 'Fog

"...In recent days, the spore concentration in the air of Qingquan City has continued to rise, and according to the analysis results from the Alliance Biological Research Institute, a Tide is expected to occur within two weeks.

Currently, the Alliance Army Command has designated parts of Qingquan City as Temporary Strategic Preparation Zones, and residents of Giant Stone City and City of Dawn must pay close attention to their personal safety, try to avoid activity in these areas, and unless necessary, please do not stay in or outside of the settlements for long periods.

However, there is no need for excessive panic, especially for friends who are new here. The annual Tide has become a signature event of Qingquan City, and despite its ferocity, ultimate victory will certainly belong to us, who are united!

Survivor's Daily will bring you the latest frontline reports firsthand!"

Giant Stone City, Pirate Bay Tavern, the lively atmosphere was like a blazing fire, with toasts and raucous voices incessant.

Looking at the old radio on the bar with its holographic screen, a man who had drunk too much let out a belch and suddenly became sentimental.

"Really takes me back."

A drinker next to him looked over.

"Takes you back to what?"

"Hauser's broadcasts," the man chuckled, cleared his throat, and loudly said, "...My dearest listener friends, the Tide is coming, and the bumpkins and beggars beyond the great wall are eagerly looking at our prosperous lives. Of course, we'll not open the door, but can instead watch their plight by our cozy fireplaces, watch them howl with hunger, watch them tussle with corpse-eaters in the mud. And our young lads, under the wise command of the Militia Group, suffer minimal casualties, though a few have died, those who had not a chip in their pocket, and frankly, they can't really be considered residents of Giant Stone City."

He mimicked Hauser's exaggerated voice, and because his impression was so comical, everyone burst into laughter after hearing it.

"Hauser, hahaha!"

"I almost forgot about that guy!"

Life got better by the day.

But occasionally, they would still reminisce about the unpleasant old days and those who had long since rolled away.

Some things only became clear when looking back.

Even without annotations, just by reading Mr. Hauser's words aloud again, everyone would smile knowingly.

"Speaking of which, where did he go?"

"I also heard he initially went to Red River Town, but the mine bosses there don't listen to the radio at all, so he had to move on to Garbage City. Funnily enough, he had an audience there, but they all thought he had been exiled by the Alliance, so the council members there were too scared to even let him in."

"Hahaha, I think the Manager wouldn't bother with this guy. If they really did, he wouldn't even be able to leave this place."

"I heard he then moved to Bugra Free State, where they don't care who he is, and he can continue his old trade."

After that upheaval, many Inner City Nobles and merchants who had worked for the nobles fled to that northern place where money could buy everything.

Like Wei Jia, I've heard he's doing quite well. He used to be a groveling servant, but since going there, he's managed to take on quite a respectable appearance.

This guy is like an eel, slithering from turbid water into a mud pond, living even better than before.

But they didn't envy him.

For most of the people here, they've had enough of "the bitterness of the winner takes all." Whoever wants it can have it.

They wouldn't envy the winners, nor pity the losers. They would simply walk their own path forward.

Just then, the sound of wind chimes came from the door, and wet footprints stamped onto the wooden floor as the just-off-duty Militia Group Chief, Joey, strode over.

"It's not fair to blame this on our Militia Group; we've done our work, though I admit it wasn't much before."

The crowd's gaze shifted to the source of the voice, and seeing it was Joey, the man who had imitated Hauser's voice immediately broke into a surprised and happy expression, laughing and saying.

"Joey? Of course, we're not targeting you. We all know you're a good guy. How have you been lately?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a chair for Joey.

Joey sat down with good-natured ease and took the hot towel offered by the bartender to wipe his face.

The air quality had been terrible these days.

Though the survivors here had long grown accustomed to the air with its musty odor, it was still inevitable to get one's face and hair dirty.

After thanking the bartender and returning the towel, Joey ordered a cup of hot honey wine and spoke casually.

"...Much the same as always, our main task is defense work, the Alliance hasn't made things difficult for us, as long as we can draw a portion of the Tide to the vicinity of the great wall, they will launch an offensive from the North Third Ring and put pressure on our enemies."

The man put his hand on Joey's shoulder and said earnestly.

"If you ever have trouble, don't carry the burden alone, tell us. We can fight too."

The others all looked at him seriously, no longer joking.

Joey paused, then burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, come on now, are you going to fight with beer bottles? Specialist work should be left to us professionals."

The man grinned as well but still looked a bit anxious, after all, for the past 200 years, it had been the residents of the Inner City who were responsible for dealing with the Tides, and this year not only was it the first time they faced this threat on their own but it also coincided with the most ferocious wave after a warm winter.

"Do you have enough manpower?"

Joey replied with a laugh.

"We've never been short of them, especially with a new batch of useful guys this year."

"Useful guys?"

"The scoundrels from the slums, those who do business with the Looters."

Upon hearing this, the people in the tavern quickly recalled the severe crackdown that took place at the beginning of the year.

Those gang members were quite stupid. The Alliance had long disapproved of them but always felt that it was Giant Stone City's problem and didn't care to intervene.

Now that Giant Stone City had joined the Alliance, the filthy slums hidden beneath the colossal walls had become the Alliance's problem, and those foolhardy thugs didn't just fail to limit their activity, they had the audacity to target the Residents of the refuge.

It was said that the Manager was in Giant Stone City at the time. Upon getting the news, he waved his hand, and more than a dozen tanks fresh from the front lines turned around and sealed off the slums beneath the wall corner. Suspected gang members were taken away for interrogation, and those who resisted with weapons were executed on the spot.

No one knew exactly how many died, but supposedly, they captured over five thousand.

After that day, the entire slum had quieted down, and the orphanages and welfare institutions in Giant Stone City were overflowing with rescued children.

"...I heard the Manager organized them into a Punishment camp, where they underwent three months of military training in Qingstone County,"

Taking the mead passed by the bartender, Joey took a sip to moisten his throat.

"It's time for them to repay their debts."

...

Near the Geological Park in Qingstone County, there lay a sealed encampment.

Unlike the Geological Park next door, which had been transformed into a quarry, the people here didn't have to spend their entire day laboring in dark mines like the Looters, as their crimes were not as severe.

As such, they only needed to work for 10 hours a day.

For the remaining time, they underwent harsh military-style training, using sticks instead of rifles to learn bayonet thrusting and rifle lifting, crawling in the snow, and practicing their bravery under machine-gun fire and nearby artillery, all in preparation for the incoming Tide.

Some couldn't withstand it and died in training or fell in the mines, but they were the minority.

Even the horrific training volume bordered on madness, but the vitality of the Waste Land Wanderers was so resilient that over five thousand survived.

In just three short months, these ruffians with a perpetual sneer had completely changed, the fattest among them, with fatty livers, even slimmed down to a gaunt appearance.

People only come to appreciate freedom and dignity after losing them, and the meaning of prison lies therein.

After coping with the punishment of the camp, even if it was not enough to make these scoundrels understand the etiquette and shame of civilized people, at least their bodies remembered the punishment.

As usual, after a day of training, an officer from the First Regiment of the First Army of the Alliance called a group of about a hundred prisoners to the mess hall and announced the task for two weeks later.

Although it was expected, when they heard they would be stepping onto the Battlefield as Cannon Fodder, everyone's faces showed fear and panic.

However, the officer continued, expressionless in the face of everyone's fear.

"This year's Tide is unlike those of previous years. Many of you will die, perhaps even the vast majority."

A prisoner swallowed nervously and mustered the courage to ask the officer,

"What if we survive?"

Looking at him, the officer knew what he was asking and continued,

"If you survive, you can earn the qualification to be considered human. Whether you can become Residents of the Alliance will still depend on your performance."

"However, the Manager has promised. After the Tide is over, whether or not you've won recognition as Residents of the Alliance, you won't have to return here again. You can clear the southern land as 'supervised' individuals and establish new settlements there."

"If you perform well, you have a chance to become Residents."

Upon hearing this, many prisoners' faces lit up with joy. No matter how bad the situation was in the south, it was still better than here. Besides, wasn't there the Singular Point City too?

As long as they weren't banished to the Wasteland to fend for themselves or thrown into a mine to work like animals until death, it was acceptable to them.

Yet, some knew about the situation in Brocade River Province, which could very well become the Alliance's next Battlefield, so some showed expressions of worry and distress.

Watching the prisoners whisper amongst themselves, the officer continued expressionlessly,

"I'm not haggling with you. You only have two choices: either give up being human like the Looters and work to death in the mines, or pick up your last shred of pitiful dignity, at least showing us that you're willing to die for human status."

The mess hall fell silent for a moment.

One prisoner stood up first, raising his right hand.

"I'm willing to go."

"Your name?"

Facing the officer's inquiry, the man hesitated for a moment, lowered his head, and said,

"...Dagger."

In the slums of Giant Stone City, there were many who went by that name. Some who originally had no names would often get nicknames like Dagger, Cleaver, or Axe upon joining a gang.

Looking at the wrinkled hypertrophic skin on his arm, the officer frowned.

Members of the Dagger Gang would tattoo a dagger on their arms as a symbol of their identities, which was a common practice among other gangs as well. Previously, thanks to these tattoos, the Alliance was able to capture many low-level gang members.

Afterward, these guys entered the punishment camp, and at the request of the supervisors, they had to burn or sandpaper off all the insignias on their bodies, but the scars remained.

The officer seemed to have guessed the man's identity but didn't say anything.

"From today on, you're called Bit, and these hundred-plus people are your responsibility."

Glancing at his watch, he continued, "Before lights out, give me a rundown of the people who will stay behind."

Bit breathed a sigh of relief, memorized his new name, and saluted.

"Yes, sir."

...

With two weeks left before the Tide, preparations for the war had entered the final stage.

Massive quantities of military supplies were transported into the City of Dawn via rail and then distributed to various positions within Qingquan City via a fleet of transport trucks.

After aligning with Giant Stone City, the Alliance had repaired the main thoroughfares within the city area, both above and below ground.

On the edge of the North Fifth Ring Line.

Chu Guang, wearing power armor, and accompanied by Wrench, inspected the condition of the frontline positions.

Although the defensive line was the same as the one from a year ago, here, just like in the City of Dawn, there had been earth-shattering changes.

If previously the Alliance's land forces were merely a mishmash of World War II and Cold War-era weapons, now standing here was a genuine regular army.

Fully automatic weapons were not only standard issue for the entire army but had even been distributed down to the squad level.

155mm cannons, with their long barrels, stood erect like forests on the positions.

It was hard to imagine that just a year ago, the majority of the Alliance's cannons were either third-hand goods confiscated from the Looters or counterfeit knock-offs hand-rolled by players like Mosquito Brother who bore the same criminal mark as him.

It wasn't just artillery.

Auxiliary equipment, like exoskeletons, had improved too.

At first, the "KV-1" exoskeleton with a few steel plates welded on was considered decent equipment, but now even the workers loading and unloading goods wear the "Miner" exoskeleton produced by Ideal City.

Not only the people and equipment.

The most visible change was the position itself.

High-rise buildings connected by concrete walls topped with barbed wire formed the innermost line of defense, from which extended various points of firepower relying on natural skyscraper barriers, leaving only a few main thoroughfares with gates allowing passage.

Those skyscrapers serving as firepower points were like the angles of bastions from classical times, providing nearly all-directional firepower coverage to the adjacent streets.

Nearly the entire defensive line engulfed the southern side of the City of Dawn and the northern side of Qingquan City, covering the whole area where survivors were active. If mucosal entities wanted to circumvent this line of defense, they would have to detour along the east or west to the outside of the city.

However, since the slime fungi's rate of information exchange and spore density are linked, conversely, the activity of mucosal entities in a given area would also be affected by spore concentration.

It was like a server that could only accommodate 100 players at most; the efficiency of information processing and bandwidth were limited. If the admin modified the server protocol and lifted the online player limit, causing a server with a capacity of 100 people to be flooded with 10,000 people, the outcome would undoubtedly be that everyone would lag like a slideshow.

Mutated slime fungi that operate based on "Node Creatures" are the same, with shortcomings in their DNA that prevent them from extending the will of the Lair into areas with thin spore clouds, and they can only muster their strength for a Tide to break through civilized defense lines.

So, detouring sub-entities would definitely be a minority, with most of the progeny corpses concentrating on the frontlines, which is also one of the conclusions drawn from rigorous scientific research by the Alliance Biological Research Institute.

The Alliance didn't need to follow the Post-War Reconstruction Committee's method of encircling the entire city area within massive walls.

Instead, constructing a defensive line "extending from areas of higher spore concentration to areas of lower concentration" would suffice.

"… The positions we constructed during the last Tide are still in place; this time we've fortified them based on the original foundation, and we've also improved the defense mode!"

"Based on suggestions from the General Staff, we divided the defensive line into twenty sectors, each tasked to a militia group of a thousand men, and each sector is further divided into three segments—front, middle, and rear—expanding with a '334' model to ensure firepower covers every inch of land in front of the positions!"

The more detailed improvement plans are, of course, not that simple. The firepower deployment, logistics supply, and support methods of each position have been more thoroughly considered, but these are not things that can be clearly explained in a moment, so Wrench did not elaborate.

During the last Tide, the Alliance lacked experience in large-scale combat, but this time was different.

After the harsh lessons of the battle of Luo Xia Province, Alliance officers and soldiers at all levels had gained considerable experience in diverse battlefield modes, including maneuver warfare and trench warfare.

Looking at Wrench, who was excitedly introducing the plans with a flushed face, Chu Guang nodded approvingly, giving a positive evaluation.

"Well done."

Wrench gave a simple smile, and the red glow on his weathered face seemed to shine even brighter.

Like Wrench, most of the Alliance's first batch of officers were Waste Land Wanderers saved from the jaws of the Looters by Shelter No. 404.

He didn't harbor any lofty thoughts or indulge in contemplation.

For someone with a simple mindset, approval from the Manager was the highest honor.

Watching the glowing Wrench, Chu Guang paused for a moment, then continued.

"However, there is something I need to discuss with you."

Immediately, Wrench responded.

"Please, give your orders!"

"It's not a command, it's about all the future arrangements."

Chu Guang smiled and spoke in a casual tone.

"As our army's size keeps increasing, the original command system has started to seem somewhat cumbersome. So, I plan to reorganize the troop formations after the Tide ends and switch from the thousand-team and ten thousand-team divisions to the establishment of the Human Alliance era."

Regarding the disposition of the Alliance Army, there has always been a considerable discussion on the forum. He had, earlier on, combined some professionals' opinions and discussed them with Vanus.

The Army's use of ten thousand and thousand-team divisions to shove people frontward A was because they had three-year quick-trained Clone cannon fodder, combined with the fact that Weilante military officers were themselves military aristocracy with fiefs, and the entire society's promotion channels were based on military merits; thus, there was no need to set extra ranks, making such a crude formation relatively easy for them to manage.

Although other Survivor Settlements on the Wasteland may not have the three-year quick-trained Clones, as human life holds little value and cannon fodder is plentiful, these Settlements also copied the same style.

Actually, there's nothing wrong with this approach.

The weaponry produced by the Army is very popular all over the Wasteland, and as the Survivor Forces with the highest strength, it is only normal that they would be imitated by other Survivor Forces lacking in armed forces.

As for the Looters, needless to say, being practitioners of primitive rules, they have a profound reverence for the Army's brutality. Therefore, both Centurion and Decurion are not only titles symbolizing power but also a token of honor and valor among the Looter Tribes.

With the dual choices from the majority of Survivor Settlements and Looter Tribes, the thousand-team and hundred-team establishments have become the mainstream on the Wasteland.

However, mainstream doesn't mean exclusive. For example, the Company's structure is completely opposite to that of the Army.

The privately armed companies of Ideal City typically undertake missions in small teams, even more extreme than the battalion-sized tactical groups in reality, streamlined down to the level of a Company-sized tactical group.

And the direct troops of the corporate organizations are comprised of assault teams, each with a hundred-member formation.

But since Ideal City doesn't expand outward, its direct troops simply sweep the Mutants around the city. Most of the big troubles are settled with money, so this kind of short and elite formation isn't actually problematic.

Whether it's a Corporation or an Army, the military philosophy they adopt does not completely suit the needs of the Alliance.

Chu Guang plans to compromise on the basis of both.

That is, he intends to re-organize the existing NPC Legions by adopting the sequence of Army, Division, Brigade, Regiment, Battalion, Company, and Platoon, along with the "three-three system" organization principle.

The reformed First and Second Army Corps of the Alliance will be called the First and Second Group Armies of the Alliance, respectively, and will be in command of 10 to 20 standard brigades, each consisting of 2000 personnel.

Such an organization is not only clearer and more concise but also facilitates the granting of ranks.

As for the players, they will still use the original "Legion" establishment rules.

Up to this point, the combat efficiency of each Legion has been quite good, and there's no need for a massive overhaul, at most some minor adjustments in battlefield positioning.

These Legions are essentially the Alliance's "Company-sized tactical groups" that take on the riskier, more thrilling special combat missions.

Expecting individual players with formidable combat power to completely adhere to the standards of a regular army is also somewhat impractical.

Based on Chu Guang's own experience, players can accept being "harvested" — they might even find pleasure in it — but the one thing they cannot accept is being taught by the game operator how they should play the game.

So, he never teaches players what to do, he only sets rules to tell them what they cannot do and what punishment they face if they deviate.

Taking this opportunity, Chu Guang briefly talked about his planning for the future quadruple forces of the Alliance: land, sea, air, and space.

Even though two of them were still without a trace, Wrench was very attentive and didn't think he was joking at all.

After listening, Wrench saluted without a word and said with utter loyalty,

"The First Army Corps of the Alliance resolutely obeys your instructions! Your will is the will of our army."

Watching Wrench solemnly affirm his loyalty, Chu Guang smiled lightly and said,

"There's no need to be so serious. The reorganization will happen after this Tide. Just keep it in mind for now; no need to notify others yet. The reason I'm telling you in advance is that I hope you'll try to explore in the direction I've mentioned in the upcoming combat. Later, I will hold a meeting at the General Staff, and I will seek opinions from officers of all ranks at that time."

As his voice dropped, a long-drawn alarm came from the south.

Both men instinctively turned their gazes in that direction.

They saw the once-calm, gray-green fog suddenly start rolling down the street towards their defenses like a landslide.

The fog had risen!

It was the Tide!

Seeing the fierce momentum of the gray fog, Chu Guang's eyebrows raised in slight surprise.

The Tide had arrived earlier than what the Biological Institute had predicted.

But that was also normal.

There's no such thing as a hundred percent accurate weather forecast.

Seeing the rolling fog, Wrench's pupils contracted slightly, and he quickly looked over at Chu Guang.

"Manager, please fall back."

His battlefield-honed instincts told him this fog was likely not so simple.

However, Chu Guang did not move, but simply nodded towards the direction of the defenses and succinctly said,

"Don't concern yourself with my safety; what you should care about are all those people behind this defense line."

"Now go and do what you must. I will be here to witness your bravery!"

Chapter 630: Is This Enhancement for the Brain?

The afternoon sunlight was perpetually stretched by the gray-green spores clouds, and although noon was when the mucosal entities were least active, this pattern reversed at the junction of spring and winter.

Even under the constraint of sunlight, the once-frozen entities were invigorated by the more suitable temperature, slowly exhaling a grisly gray gas from their mouths and nostrils.

However, perhaps because their prey had not yet appeared, they made no unnecessary movements.

They just stood silently on the ravaged streets, their eyes vacant, facing the direction where the breath of life was most vibrant.

As if waiting for something.

Soldiers of the Alliance watched them, light and heavy machine guns mounted on the edge of the windows.

Now was not the best time.

They, too, were waiting—waiting for the mucosal entities to gather on the streets and then to call in artillery to rip them apart, followed by using machine guns to harvest the remaining remnants...

The Alliance's Defense Zone No. 6 was located at the waist of the entire 20-segmented defense line, a place not as critically pressured as zones 10 and 11, yet not as laid-back as zones 1 and 20, currently enjoying a moment of calm.

On the frontline at Position One, atop a reinforced abandoned office building.

Spring Water gazed through his binoculars, motionless, observing the direction to the north.

He watched as a four-wheel pickup, welded with steel bars and a bucket, emerged from the open gate under the cover of four players, racing towards the Eaters wandering perilously close to the position.

Apart from the driver, who was a level 20 veteran player, the other four were fresh newcomers to the game.

They clutched bolt-action rifles in their hands and carried crowbars or short knives on their backs, an ensemble even more "fashionable" than the Looters, with excitement etched on their faces.

"Awesome! Is this the Wasteland?"

"Is that a Zombie? It's shorter than I imagined, and why aren't they wearing clothes?"

"Fool! It's been damn 200 years, how could they still have clothes?"

"What Zombies? That stuff is called 'Eaters'! They're made from mushrooms!"

"Fuck? Mushrooms? Isn't that pretty much the same as the Greenskins from Warhammer?"

"I think there's still a pretty big difference..."

Worrying that the rookies might get carried away and fumble the actual work, the veteran player in the pickup honked the horn.

"Don't daydream; focus on your targets. I'm not joking with you, you're on the front line now, and this isn't a game."

Their mission was straightforward.

That was to clear out the annoying Eaters in front of the position.

Although these creatures were not very powerful in combat, they would consume the machine gun ammunition on the Alliance's side as cannon fodder. Periodically clearing them out before the Tide arrived was a routine for the defense zones prior to the incoming Tide.

"Big, big brother, what happens if... if you die in the game... will it affect reality?" A female player wearing a football helmet asked, both excited and nervous, gripping her rifle tightly.

Being called big brother for the first time, the level 20 player couldn't help but smile awkwardly and tease.

"What happens when you wake up?"

The girl was startled for a moment.

"What happens..."

"You'll wake up."

"Pfft."

It wasn't that simple; he still remembered the first time he died, unable to log on for three days, feeling ants crawling all over his body, lying in bed at night unable to sleep with eyes wide open.

But after a few times, you get used to it.

People will inevitably feel uncomfortable when they enter a new environment, but after a while, most can adapt to the lifestyle of "switching between two worlds."

In the time it took to exchange these few words, the nearby Eaters had already gathered in this direction due to the irritating horn from before.

The veteran player coughed to end the idle chatter.

Looking at the approaching Eaters, the four rookies tensed their sensitive nerves in an instant.

A Strength-type player took the lead, raising his Ripper Rifle and pulled the trigger at the closest Eater.

A bang rang out, the bright flash surged forward, stones and dust kicking up on a nearby concrete block.

The enormous recoil hit his shoulder, pushing his body back.

Although he missed with that shot, the sight of blue smoke rising from the barrel thrilled the shooter like a 200-pound child, his face flushed with excitement.

The feel of it!

It was the real deal!

This was so much more fun than those water pellet guns!

Seeing the inexperienced expression, the veteran player in the pickup laughed.

Couldn't hit a slow-moving target at thirty meters.

But he didn't mock these beginners, just patiently offered advice.

"Don't panic, you're a Strength-type, you can definitely hold down the barrel. Remember to spread your legs front and back, bend your knees, lower your center of gravity, don't stand there like a pole. If you encounter a Crawler, you won't be able to escape—fuck, I didn't say run, where are you going?"

"I'll... I'll kite a bit!" An Agility system player said, retreating while reloading his rifle.

The veteran player in the pickup couldn't help but facepalm.

"It's just a few Eaters, why kite them? Just use your sideknife and go for it! Stab their necks, use your rifle butt and smash their heads! It's much faster than shooting!"

The veteran player kept shouting instructions from inside the truck, and with the continuous honking, the Eaters all began to surround his vehicle.

At level 20, he certainly wasn't afraid of a few Eaters, he released the handbrake and stomped on the accelerator, the serrated bucket instantly flipping the Eaters that pounced on the hood.

Inspired by this, the four rookies gathered their courage, whipping out the crowbars and short knives strapped to their backs, and rushed towards the Eaters surrounding the pickup, howling.

With a flurry of clubs and knives flailing, black blood splattered across the battlefield and in just a moment, more than a dozen Eaters lay on the ground.

The fight lasted a good half hour.

The blood-soaked rookies gasped for air, their faces devoid of fatigue, instead filled with growing excitement.

At first, when they saw these menacing monsters, they were startled by the lifelike modeling.

But it turned out to be not much of an ordeal.

"Boss, these Eaters don't seem too tough," said a Strength-type player, wiping the black blood from his face and smiling as he stood next to the pickup truck with his rifle in hand, "Are there any stronger Variants? The slightly more exciting kind."

The veteran player sitting on top of the vehicle lit a cigarette and laughed when he heard this.

"Stronger ones? Of course, there are! In a bit, I'll take you to fight Dead Claws!"

Everyone's eyes shone bright at his words.

"Really?!"

The veteran player replied heartily.

"Absolutely true, but let's see if you survive the Tide first."

Death was a phase all players would eventually face; anyway, they were bound to die sooner or later, and dying early did have its benefits.

According to players' experiences shared on the forum, most found their opportunities for growth after their first death.

Whether it was understanding the Game better or gaining combat experience, all would be sublimated upon resurrection after three days.

The cleanup of the Eater bodies concluded, and everyone began to clean up the battlefield.

Under the direction of the veteran player, four newbies grunted as they heaved the Eaters' bodies onto the pickup truck.

The mucosal entity could be used to produce nutrient paste and fertilizers, and also for recycling vital materials for clone production.

These corpseloads could easily fetch dozens of silver coins each trip, and just a few more would earn you enough for an automatic rifle.

The Spring Water Commander, observing from the rooftop, saw everything from start to finish.

"Kakarot," carrying a rifle, came next to him and grinned.

"Not bad, the quality of these new players."

"Indeed."

Setting down his binoculars, Spring also smiled and said, "They remind me of us back in the day."

"Kakarot" laughed heartily.

The girl who previously asked "What happens if you die in the Game, in reality?" seemed timid, but performed much more composed during the battle than she appeared.

And the Strength-type player, though his first shot missed, quickly adapted to the recoil and trajectory of the Ripper Rifle and accomplished his first kill in the Game with the butt of his gun.

Storm Corps might not accept rookies below Level 10, but these veteran players always had the "Pass the Torch" mentoring missions, guiding fresh faces to acclimate to Wasteland OL's current game pace.

These tender newbies might be a burden now, but they would eventually grow.

And by then, these once rookies would regard Storm Corps as their first choice.

So, he would often give the Corps members chances to take these newbies to front lines for experience during routine, less-critical combat tasks.

However, just then, something odd happened with the ashen-green fog not far from their position.

Spring's brow furrowed slightly, and he lifted his binoculars to his eyes once again.

"Spore cloud activity is rising... The fog is drawing closer." After glancing at the air monitoring indicator, "Kakarot," standing beside him, spoke seriously.

Without hesitation, Spring immediately gave the command.

"Sound the alarm, prepare for battle."

"Roger!"

...

The gray-green fog rolled down the streets like a flood pouring down from the Nine Skies.

The veteran player sitting on the pickup sensed something amiss right away, and soon voices came over the comm channel.

"A large number of Variants are approaching your direction, retreat to the defense line immediately!"

"Damn!"

The veteran player cursed under his breath, stuck his head out the window, and called out to the players still grunting as they moved bodies.

"Stop loading, get in the truck!"

The four of them were stunned, but seeing that the boss was not joking, they quickly dropped the Eater bodies and jumped into the back of the pickup.

The veteran player swung the steering wheel and immediately glanced at the central display screen.

Air spore concentration index, 477!

Good heavens, it had jumped by 70 in just a few seconds!

Driving without hesitation, he stepped hard on the accelerator, heading towards the open gates at the rear.

But at that moment, dozens of round, plump masses suddenly drew parabolic arcs from above, trailing ashen-green plumes of smoke as they crashed thirty meters ahead of him.

With a sizzle, those round, crimson masses burst on impact, exploding into a dense fog, like a solid wall.

Having never seen such bizarre Variants, the veteran player's eyes widened.

Martyrs?!

No—

They didn't seem like that!

Although Martyrs also released many spores upon exploding, they mainly relied on kinetic and thermal energy to harm prey, without producing nearly as many spores!

With his left hand, he hastily grabbed a gas mask and put it on, then bellowed into the comm channel.

"Put on gas masks!"

His decision proved to be right.

Unfortunately, he had still underestimated the potency of these things.

Not only spores came from those meatballs but also countless droplets of digestive fluid smaller than 1μm in diameter.

These droplets, rich in organic acids and enzymes, drifted in the air, forming a dense aerosol with the spores.

His pickup had barely broken into the thick fog when the exposed skin began to prickle painfully, followed by extensive ulceration.

The painful itching sensation was precisely on the threshold of triggering pain blocking, causing both pain and itch that was maddeningly irresistible.

"Ah, ah, ah—!"

The veteran player floored the accelerator, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands.

However, just as the pickup was about to burst through the fog, a chunk of flesh falling from the sky suddenly smashed into the front of the left tire.

The sudden explosive impact tipped the pickup to the right, slamming it hard against a concrete block on the road's edge.

The veteran player in the driver's seat almost passed out from the shock, while the four newbies in the back lurched forward, nearly rolling onto the hood.

Even though the bumper had been replaced with a bulldozer blade, people are not made of iron.

"Damn it, bro, can't you drive?!" The Strength-type player scrambled up from the ground, his head spinning, his face a mask of shock.

"Shut up!"

The veteran player, looking sour, was about to reverse back onto the road when suddenly, a tremor shaking the ground came from a nearby alley.

His pupils dilated instantly, almost instinctively pulling an assault rifle from the passenger seat and chambering a round.

And at the same time, two monsters, half their bodies covered in crimson flesh, bolted out of the alley, roaring with gaping maws.

"What the fuck?!"

What the hell was that?!

Not only was the veteran player in the pickup stunned, but Spring Water, watching from the rooftop, was equally dumbfounded.

Another unseen Variant!

The concentration of spores was gradually increasing, rendering it impossible to see the ground with the naked eye.

But Spring Water was quick to respond, immediately issuing orders through the communications channel.

"Position 2 ready, lock on target in the northwest sector, heavy machine gun squad, fire!"

"Recon team, unload the bodies from the carriage, bring back one of those big ones!"

An unexpected Variant had appeared outside the defense area.

They had to figure out what that thing was!

Two crisp responses immediately came through the communication channel.

"Roger that!"

From the building beneath Spring Water's feet, around the tenth floor, a shadowy window suddenly burst with a long stream of fire.

A Strength-type player sat behind that spew of fire, operating a 20mm rapid-fire cannon.

Tracers soared toward a corner of the street, the monster infected by the mucosal entity took a burst to the chest, blowing blood mist and stumbling backward.

Watching the heavy tracers dancing on the concrete floor, listening to the whistling overhead, the newbies next to the pickup felt their blood surge.

They had only seen such intense warfare in the promotional videos released on the official website.

Standing there in person was a completely different experience.

Surging adrenaline involuntarily shook their bodies, every cell exhilarated to the extreme.

Yet, it seemed there was nothing they could do.

Supporting fire from the rear had dealt with the Variants that had charged at them. Just as the Strength-type player was hesitating whether to approach and finish them off, the veteran player, crouching out of the driver's seat, threw him a bundle of rope as thick as a thumb.

"Tie the rope around that monster's right leg! Make sure the knots are tight!"

The Strength-type player paused, confused.

"But the machine gun fire is still going—"

"Trust your teammates! They've got eyes! Hurry up!" The veteran player, in a rush, interrupted him and with his own bundle, crouched down and ran toward the monster's left leg.

Though still scared, seeing the boss going ahead, the Strength-type player bit his lip and charged forward as well.

Sure enough, just as they advanced, the barrage of bullets also shifted forward with their steps.

The heavy glow acted like a shield guarding them, suppressing the Variants in the alley, preventing them from crossing the dense fire network.

The Strength-type player quickly secured the rope, seeing his boss who had already tied his rope moving towards the pickup, he followed in pursuit.

But at the very moment he returned to the road, a dark figure suddenly burst from the wall-like fog.

Its outline slightly resembled that of a crocodile with a flat, elongated mouth, muscular lower limbs like a bull's, and a tail stretched straight back for balance.

However, the creature had no scales, just crimson membranes and scarred skin that looked like a plucked turkey.

The creature's speed was incredible.

So much so that before he even got a clear look, the veteran player was sent flying by an impact.

It seemed that in this game, Awakeners' lives weren't much tougher than ordinary people's; when trouble hit, a wipeout was still a wipeout.

Perhaps with an exoskeleton, the situation would have been far better, but unfortunately, his boss hadn't brought one.

Without even a chance to scream, the veteran player's neck was bitten through.

Then the crocodile-like Variant pounced on him, feasting avidly.

"Crack—!"

Hearing the clear sound of snapping bones, the Strength-type player felt chills down his spine, his limbs involuntarily cold.

In just a breath's time, the leader who had been leveling him up had been instantly taken down.

Was this the Wasteland?

But there was no time left for hesitation.

Looking at the two ropes tied to the back of the pickup, he immediately knew his task, ignoring everyone else, he dashed toward the driver's seat.

A sharp roar came from behind him, followed by a short scream of agony.

The female player who had set out with them seemed to have been dragged into the thick fog by something.

The other two saw this and wanted to help, but they didn't get off two shots before a large hand extended from the fog pulled them in as well.

The support machine gun at the rear unleashed fierce firepower toward the fog, but the glows of the night appeared to be swallowed up, without a hint of noise coming through.

Observing all this from the rooftop, the Spring Water Commander's face was filled with gravity.

It seemed that the mucosal creatures had learned their lesson.

They no longer launched massive assaults on human defenses, attempting to overcome them with numbers, but instead cooperated with clear division of labor.

It was as if a noob who could only clumsily attack had suddenly learned how to micro-manage.

"…Has their brain been enhanced this time?"

Realizing this, his expression grew even more solemn.

He had to share this news on the official website later!

Meanwhile, the battle on the ground continued.

Seeing his teammates had bitten the dust, the Strength-type player dared not linger in combat and scurried into the driving cabin of the pickup truck, rolling and crawling.

Although it was his first time driving this thing, fortunately, the Alliance's vehicles didn't require much driving skill.

He clenched his teeth and slammed the accelerator, and the pickup truck quickly started, dragging the mutilated corpse of the monster toward the deepest part of Defense Line No.6.

The Variant with a swaying tail chased him for two steps, apparently trying to prevent him from bringing the monster's corpse back.

But just then, the heavy machine gun fire nailed the creature, and after lingering for a few circles without success, it decisively gave up the pursuit and twisted into the gray-green fog.

The Strength-type player dared not look back, his right foot welded to the accelerator.

He made it through the gates before they closed and stormed in with the vehicle, then slammed on the brakes to stop the pickup by the roadside.

Several soldiers in exoskeletons quickly came over, cut the ropes on the back of the pickup with daggers, slipped the mutilated monster corpse into a body bag, and transported it to the rear with a forklift.

The Alliance's Biological Institute would be responsible for testing the body.

With the organic fluid smeared on the left tire and the bucket, this time they at least could understand two of the Lair's trump cards.

The Strength-type player sat in the driver's seat, gasping for air, his heart pounding as he listened to the incessant gunfire in the distance.

Just ten minutes ago, he had thought the game's monsters were too weak, posing no challenge to kill.

But in a short three minutes, his entire five-person squad had dwindled to just him...

This game was too damn realistic!

While he caught his breath, a man clad in heavy exoskeleton walked over from a distance.

Seeing that Turtle Shell with a cannon on its back, he instantly recognized the man's identity—it was the Storm Corps' leader, Spring Water Commander.

The man hurried out of the truck, looking awkwardly at the dented and pocked vehicle, embarrassedly lowering his head as he said.

"Sorry, I… only came back alone…"

"No need to apologize. Under those circumstances, you did very well. For most people, understanding what to do on their first battlefield is already impressive," Spring Water didn't blame him and instead encouraged him with a pat on the shoulder, smiling as he asked, "What's your name?"

Newbie: "Surplus Egg Brother!"

Spring Water paused.

Santa Claus?

Do normal IDs like this still exist nowadays?

Regardless, he saw potential in this fellow and casually extended an olive branch.

"Interested in joining us at the Storm Corps?"

The newbie's heart skipped a beat at the offer, immediately nodding excitedly.

"Yes! Of course!"

Spring Water smiled and said,

"Alright! From now on, you're our reserve member! When you reach Level 10, I'll officially bring you in."

The Strength-type newbie's heart swelled with joy. His earlier fright melted away, leaving only a grinning smile.

First, he drew the one-in-a-million closed beta access, and now an invitation from a top-tier corps on the server!

This was protagonist treatment!

Wait—

Following the usual routine of online gaming novels, as the protagonist, shouldn't he casually decline to seem cooler?

Unaware of the newbie's wild thoughts, Spring Water simply thought he'd recruited a newbie with decent potential.

Brave and sensible, not panicking under pressure—he had a bit of that newbie vibe from the Old Soldier back in the day—good enough to make use of.

Satisfied, Spring Water nodded and prepared to return to his position.

As Spring Water turned to leave, Surplus Egg Brother, caught up in his fantasies, suddenly remembered something and called out to him.

"Wait… What will happen to them?"

Spring Water stopped walking and glanced back.

"Them?"

Surplus Egg Brother swallowed nervously.

"The ones dragged into the fog…"

"…Hard to say." Spring Water was silent for a while before shaking his head.

He had been captured by mucosal creatures in the Tide before, but that mother creature quickly lost interest in him and killed him in an instant; he hadn't even seen clearly how he'd been killed.

This time, it was a completely different mother creature, so he couldn't say what might happen.

However, the silver lining was that this time, three had been taken away.

Once he got to the Forum, he might hear some clues that would interest him…

Chapter 631: Assimilated Fighter?

A pitch-black underground tunnel.

After being knocked out, three newbie players were dragged here by a group of mucosal entities and then shifted to a secluded room.

This place seemed to be part of Qingquan City's underground traffic network, except it had been completely transformed by the mold spots and was unrecognizable.

The first player to wake up shook their head, pushed themselves up off the ground with their hands, and felt something sticky. They opened their eyes and got a shock.

Surrounded by a sinister red, pulsating mold carpets like living chunks of flesh, emitted an unsettling stench.

Big Pig's Foot looked around in a daze for quite a while before he managed to blurt out a phrase.

"What the fuck? What kind of hell is this?"

I was only offline for a while, and when I got back online, even my location had changed?

At that moment, another man and woman who had been abducted also came to, trembling as they took in their surroundings.

Debt Giant Eye: "I giao... we haven't been swallowed by the mucosal entities, have we?"

Lowering head to Debt Giant Eye: "Wake up, you're such a big clump, how could it swallow you without chewing you up?"

Debt Giant Eye: "...?"

Lowering head to Debt Giant Eye: "My bad."

Just then, a strange figure appeared from a pitch-black entrance ahead.

It was two people tall, with a burly body filling almost the entire passage, an abstract face, a strong upper body, and a flared skirt at the bottom, with edges rolling like octopus tentacles.

It somewhat resembled Xiaoyu when she was still in her mother state, but it was clearly larger, and the human elements were even less.

All three were frightened by its abstract appearance and backed away with terrified expressions.

Unfortunately, they were in a dead-end. Walls were behind them, and there was no space to move.

Watching the creature slowly wriggle its tentacles moving toward them, Debt Giant Eye's forehead broke out in cold sweat. They swallowed and bravely said,

"Gurgle... kill me then, I won't say anything!"

They had wanted to try that line for a long time, and, importantly, these newbies didn't actually know anything.

Whether it understood their words or just heard the noise, the Variant turned its abstract face toward her, and the skirt adhering to the ground suddenly opened a slit.

While everyone was wondering what it was about to do, countless tentacles burst out from the slit and yanked her into the gaping maw.

Before she could even cry out, Debt Giant Eye, who had been so tough a second before, disappeared into that closing "mouth."

The skirt billowed as if meticulously chewing.

Seeing his partner eaten right in front of him, the man lowering his head to Debt Giant Eye, after a moment's shock, let out an agonizing scream.

"Wife!! I'm going to fight you!"

He struggled to his feet, swinging his fists as he charged the two-person-tall monster.

But his fate was no different from the previous players'.

He didn't make it two steps before a tentacle slipped out from under the skirt tripped him. Just like a mosquito in front of a frog, he was unceremoniously licked up by the gaping maw.

The pair, the dog-man and woman, both met their demise.

Xiya, satiated from her meal, joyfully tapped her tentacles on the ground like she was savoring the steak that had just entered her mouth.

Yet those abstract features still held a trace of confusion, as if pondering something.

Looking at the throbbing red skirt, Big Pig's Foot turned pale with panic and quickly thought of something.

"Big brother! Don't eat me, I don't taste good... I surrender! Do you need a translator? I'll betray them for you!"

They say this game has a high degree of freedom.

What if it worked?

Xiya turned her abstract features toward him, and after a moment's thought, unexpectedly opened the skirt on the ground once more.

Seeing the clothes that fell out and the grinder-like writhing tentacles inside, Big Pig's Foot could sense his impending doom and his face instantly changed.

I'm fucked either way!

"Fuck—"

Before he could curse the dog-plan, the gaping maw swallowed him whole. Without a chance to resist, his remaining consciousness merged with that expanse of blood-red sea.

Feeling that life's essence meld inside her, Xiya chewed quietly for a bit, the confusion on her face gradually turning to an incomprehensible melancholy.

"How strange..."

Seemingly noticing the child's confusion, the mother's voice silently appeared in its blurred sea of consciousness.

"What's the matter, my child?"

Facing the empty, crimson walls and the undigestible impurities left at her feet, Xiya whispered soundlessly.

"They are empty."

Those guys were but hollow shells.

Moreover, they were more purely empty shells than simple organisms like cockroaches and mice, just like a blank sheet with no information whatsoever.

It was the first time she had encountered such strange creatures since she was born.

These things couldn't be assimilated, or rather, even if they were assimilated, it would be meaningless. They were nothing but walking corpses.

It couldn't understand what kind of existence they were.

Could it be that they, like the "mucosal entities" of the mother, were puppets controlled by some consciousness outside their bodies?

But, they also exhibited a strong independence.

Confusion could not help but rise on Xiya's face.

Could it be...

Do these humans also have a lair?

...

"They have been assimilated by Variants."

Shelter No. 404, Floor B4 Viewing Room.

Heya, sitting on the couch, briefly explained to Chu Guang and Yin Fang the preliminary test results of the Alliance Biological Research Institute on two mucosal entity samples.

Upon hearing the unexpected and intriguing claim, Yin Fang put down his coffee cup and raised his eyebrows with interest.

"Assimilated?"

Heya nodded seriously and continued.

"Correct... The slime fungus collected their DNA data and, while absorbing their organic matter, it preserved part of the neural tissues originally belonging to those creatures."

After a pause, she went on to say,

"You still remember Batch? The one infected by the slime fungus. His situation has similarities with those special mucosal entities, only the slime mold in Qingquan City is clearly more aggressive than the one in Yongdong City. Here, the fungus does the assimilation more thoroughly, turning most of the captured organic bodies into part of itself, only leaving a very small part of the host's brain tissue."

In a sense, for the mutated slime fungus of Qingquan City, this was actually progress.

Similar to moving from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age.

In addition to turning the bones of their prey into weapons, they also learned to domesticate on this foundation—that is, to cultivate prey into "combat puppets" that obeyed them.

Yin Fang stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Chu Guang, who had been silent, gave a gentle cough.

"Could you explain it in a way that I can understand?"

Heya patiently explained,

"To put it simply, they made improvements based on the Unified Consciousness. Before, whether it was Eaters or Crawlers, they hunted under the guidance of the Lair. Now some special mucosal entities have retained the combat experience from before assimilation, allowing them to hunt in their original manner with a more powerful body given by the slime mold."

Yin Fang interjected,

"It's like installing an intelligence plugin on combat robots that are not controlled by cloud servers."

Heya snapped her fingers.

"Exactly!"

Chu Guang stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"What's the point of this?"

Yin Fang analyzed according to his understanding.

"The significance is that the lair can allocate more of the beehive's 'computing power resources' to the strategic level of command, while the higher mucosal entities and evolutionary bodies can make tactical decisions based on experience. Even if their tactics are not necessarily clever, they will be more flexible and variable than before... Am I understanding this correctly?"

Heya smiled and nodded.

"Yes, that's exactly it!"

Picking up his coffee cup for a sip, Yin Fang sighed and said.

"It's evolved to this extent in just one year... The evolution speed of this thing is too exaggerated."

Heya shook her head.

"It's not just a year's time, evolution is a long-term process. They've been learning from us all along, whether it's our tools or our society... I tend to think that the emergence of the Alliance has accelerated their evolution to some extent, but the real factor that caused them to shift from quantitative to qualitative change is their long-term observation of us."

The spore clouds pervaded every corner of Qingquan City, and in theory, the mother entity in the city center could indeed see them.

Just like how the Alliance Biological Institute has been seeking ways to resolve the Lair, that creature must also be tirelessly searching for ways to unravel human society.

Perhaps eradicating them in the early Wasteland Era would have been a better solution, as the slime fungus back then couldn't have been as difficult to deal with as it is now.

But these are all hindsight.

People back then had their troubles too. Surviving in the severe cold of dozens of degrees below zero was not easy, let alone facing an unknown enemy in an unprepared battle.

"Actually... compared to what you're discussing, there's something else I'm more worried about."

Seeing the two look towards him, Chu Guang paused for a moment and slowly continued.

"As they evolve, they've gradually learned to hide themselves. While testing us, they consciously prevent us from obtaining their remains."

"It's like they're getting to know us better and better."

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

The mood on the Forum was bustling, a stark contrast to the solemn atmosphere in the Viewing Room.

Ever since the new expansion was released, players had been looking forward to what new stuff Dog Plan would come up with, and this time they did not disappoint.

The original Tide was just a bunch of entities mindlessly swarming over, but now these entities not only can move but also display stunning coordination. They even managed to kidnap three newbies right under Brother Quanshui's nose.

This was unexpected by everyone.

Quit Smoking: "Awesome!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Even Dog Quanshui got trounced, that's not science! (funny)"

Spring Water Commander: "Get lost, where exactly did I get trounced? Bringing back a body is already a great achievement, okay!"

Elena: "Speaking of which, where are the rest of the corpses? Wasn't there a monster too? (curious)"

Spring Water Commander: "After the fog cleared, they were gone. Probably either hauled off for recycling or eaten right on the spot."

Fang Chang: "Eaten, that's something..."

Night Ten: "Hiss... This new mother entity seems to be something."

Makabazi: "Speaking of which, what about the brothers who got kidnapped by those entities? Haven't they come down yet?"

Big Pig's Foot: "That would be me... I think I might have seen the mother entity!"

Upon hearing this, the players squatting in the thread instantly became energized.

Quit Smoking: "WTF! Really?"

Gnome King Riches: "Tell us what it looks like, bro. (funny)"

Big Pig's Foot: "I don't know how to describe it, it's kind of like what Xiaoyu looked like before... but one size bigger, and uglier."

Although he hadn't seen Xiaoyu in the game, photos of Xiaoyu had always been posted by other players on the Forum.

Comparing to those photos, there was a semblance with Xiaoyu, except that the features and body contours were smoother and the color a bit more pinkish.

To make an unsuitable but vivid comparison, the mother entity they called Xiya resembled a wide-mouthed shark, the kind that could scare children into crying. Xiaoyu, on the other hand, was more like a dolphin, which, despite its ferocity, aligns more closely with human aesthetics.

Spring Water Commander: "Do you remember where you saw that thing?"

Big Pig's Foot: "I'm not clear on that... but I think it must have been somewhere underground, a place like a subway station."

Edge Shoveling: "Subway station... that target is too broad."

Spring Water Commander: "Regardless, we can be sure that this time both the Lair and the Hatchery are hidden underground... damn it, no wonder they are creatures we've never seen before."

Fang Chang: "@Big Pig's Foot, did the mother entity eat you all in the end?"

Hungry and Bowing: "Yes, it swallowed my wife in one gulp... right in front of me, wuu wuu wuu."

Hunger: "Tsk, you, don't put it so weirdly! (angry)"

Hungry and Bowing: "I'm sorry."

Big Pig's Foot: "..."

Spring Water Commander: "And then? Didn't you guys find out anything else? Anything at all."

"Hunger Force:" "Um, I feel... it seems to react to our voices."

"Spring Water Commander:" "Voices?"

"Hunger Force:" "At first, it seemed like it intended to start by eating my companion, but as soon as I spoke, it swallowed me first... I always feel like it didn't understand what I was saying, after all, I don't speak United Human language."

"Looking down, Hunger Force:" "Hiss... Now that you mention it, I recall I was the second one to make a sound, and then I was eaten right after you."

"Hunger Force:" "So, is the Variant hunting by sound?"

"Spring Water Commander:" "Not likely, I think there's another possibility, it mistook you for a commanding figure among the humans... like an alpha in a wolf pack."

"Hunger Force:" "Ah? I have that kind of ability?"

"Looking down, Hunger Force:" "The f*ck? My companion has that kind of ability?"

"Spring Water Commander:" "I wouldn't know, but maybe that's how it appears through its perspective, considering that most mammals convey information through vocal cords, perhaps the Lair perceives voices as some kind of biological pheromone."

"Big Pig's Foot:" "Speaking of which, I also noticed something unusual, I'm not sure if it counts as a clue... that thing that's suspected to be the Maternal Body, it seemed very bewildered after eating that couple."

"Spring Water Commander:" "Bewildered?"

"Big Pig's Foot:" "Exactly, like it ate the wrong thing... I watched it taste for quite a while before spitting out their clothes and shoes."

"Fang Chang:" "Hmm, that's interesting."

"Quit Smoking:" "Uh, interesting how?"

"Fang Chang:" "... Could there be a possibility that in the slime fungus's perception, other organic beings all possess a self-consciousness of 'mushrooms,' and our used clones just happen not to have this self-consciousness, so it's confused about where our consciousness originates from?"

"Spring Water Commander:" "It seems we're on the same page."

"Fang Chang:" "However, if my conjecture is correct, then the Maternal Body we're dealing with now is different from all the ones we've encountered before, it doesn't just simply eat its prey but selects some to assimilate into 'its own kind.'"

"Just as everyone was discussing, an announcement suddenly popped up from the official website."

"['Tide Returns' expansion update: The new concept of 'Assimilated Body']"

"[According to investigations by the Alliance Research Institute, 'Xiya' deliberately captures organic beings that invade its territory and assimilates them into its tribe, retaining their aggressiveness and part of their self-consciousness while forcibly implanting biomimetic bodies to modify them.]"

"[Currently known 'Assimilated Bodies':"

"1. Fungal Goblin: Possesses strength nearly equivalent to Goblins, resilience and defense are both enhanced by the slime fungus-built biomimetic body, making its individual combat power even greater."

"2. Fungal Death Claw: Maintains the speed and agility of the Claw of Death and enhances its resilience and damage resistance on this basis. No samples have been collected yet, and a definitive biological analysis cannot be made. Only based on combat footage can it be conjectured that it has combat power akin to evolutionary bodies."

"3. Fungal Martyr: Suspected to be a mucosal entity that has been assimilated a second time, no biological prototype has been found in the surrounding ecology of Qingquan City. Its ability is presumed to be self-detonation, releasing corrosive gas, and other mucosal entities use it as a throwing weapon."

"...

"]"

"Quit Smoking:" "Damn!"

"Debt Giant Eye:" "6666! Just talked about assimilation and then they updated the setting for assimilated bodies!"

"Night Ten:" "Brother Guang plagiarizing the forum confirmed! (Joking)"

"Fang Chang:" "But this server announcement still proves our line of thought is correct, there are two pieces of information we can distill. First, Xiya possesses the characteristics of 'Assimilation Fighters,' it will transform part of its prey to use their combat experience, which makes it more adept at micromanagement compared to the Maternal Bodies we faced in the previous Tide. Second, it's targeting our uniqueness, consciously studying us, learning from us... although due to limited understanding, it may have misunderstandings about us."

"Spring Water Commander:" "These two clues are critical! Since our opponent is no longer the bunch of fools from the last Tide, the form of the Tide has likely fundamentally changed, to use the same thought process for tactics as before is very dangerous."

"Edge Shoveling:" "You mean they might not play by the rules? Bypass our defenses at the 'North Suburb'?"

"Spring Water Commander:" "Very likely, our experience using spore cloud concentration to predict the direction of the slime fungus attack might be ineffective in this battle!"

"Spring Water Commander:" "I even feel that the Tide has already started, but they are using our inertia in understanding them to hold their position, deliberately moving according to the schedule we expect. In two weeks, they just need to send a large number of Cannon Fodder, charging at our position just like the last Tide, and then dispatch a small group of Elites to our most undefended flank, they can swallow our defensive line whole!"

"Falling Feather:" "Damn?! Slime fungus is that cunning?"

"Construction Site Youth with Brick:" "Eh, aren't you overthinking it..."

"Spring Water Commander:" "I've heard that slime fungus can plan the shortest path to food based on the location of the food, and the Variants we're facing are obviously much smarter than the real slime fungus, I have reason to believe these creatures are capable of this kind of maneuver."

"Fang Chang:" "Agreed, anything is possible on the battlefield, and I share your opinion, underestimating the enemy will lead to serious consequences."

"Midnight Chicken Killing:" "Too troublesome, do you two have any plans?"

"Fang Chang:" "After hearing that newbie couple's encounter, I do have an idea."

"Edge Shoveling:" "What is it?"

"Fang Chang:" "As we all know, someone who's a little smart but not quite there is easier to deceive than a complete fool. The Maternal Body this time is smarter and more difficult to handle, but we can also use that to our advantage."

"Edge Shoveling:" "How can we use this?"

"Fang Chang:" "It's simple, the idea is like the intelligence war during World War II. Since they understand us as 'a group of organic beings that transmit information through sound waves as pheromones,' we just need to fake a 'commanding Maternal Lair,' and perform our 'flaws' for it to see!"

Chapter 632: Never Seen Such an Absurd Tactic

Afternoon sunlight bathed the tranquil Zone 06, and today was another clear day, as always.

Patrolling the position, Li Shudong tightened the oxygen tank on his back and glanced at the grey sky overhead, thinking that it would be great to have a rain shower.

Although it wouldn't disperse the suffocating musty smell, at least it would make the air look cleaner.

He was a soldier of the First Army Corps, having enlisted just before the year's end.

Even though the day of the Tide's outbreak was drawing closer, he wasn't very fearful, but rather felt a trace of anticipation.

He had heard that after the Tide, the First Army Corps would be restructured into the Alliance First Army, divided according to the organization of the Human Alliance Era. If he could earn a merit in this battle, perhaps he could become a squad leader or a platoon leader.

Fighting against the brainless Variants had to be somewhat easier than fighting the Weilante People.

At least that was the theory.

As he pondered this, a long, drawn-out "beep—" sound suddenly came from behind his head.

He instinctively turned around, only to catch sight of a large loudspeaker sticking out from a window on a nearby building wall.

To be precise, it wasn't one, but a series of them.

Dozens of loudspeakers, large and small, were dotted on the wall like ivy, directly facing the direction of the city center.

While he was puzzled about what was happening, the series of loudspeakers seemed to have completed a sound check and finally started to speak.

The clear sounds of Human Alliance language floated from the string of loudspeakers, apparently broadcasting Survivor's Daily?

Li Shudong wasn't the only one taken aback; Wang Dashan standing nearby was also startled.

"...Why are they suddenly broadcasting the news?"

"I don't know..."

Usually, they played the news in the canteen at meal times; broadcasting at the front line was a first.

"What are they up to?"

"Maybe the logistics department mixed up the wires."

"Who will go ask?"

A group of soldiers exchanged glances as they communicated.

At this time, their captain walked over and coughed.

"Get back to your positions, stop chattering here."

Seeing the captain come over, Li Shudong promptly saluted.

"Report! There seems to be a problem with the broadcast on the position!"

As if anticipating that someone would bring this up, the captain said succinctly.

"Relax, there's no problem with that broadcast. It's a new tactic developed by the refuge for the Tide; the higher-ups specifically explained it to us in the meeting yesterday. Let them broadcast."

The operation's code name was "bodyguard," and the code name for that building and the radio station was the same.

According to the judgement of the Army Command, this year's Tide could very likely attack from an unexpected direction, and the originally designed defense line might be bypassed.

To regain control of the Battlefield, they needed to use the Mother Entity's misunderstanding of humans and create a falsified weak point in the middle of the left defense as bait.

Although he wasn't quite sure how a few loudspeakers could serve as bait, it was an idea from the Residents of the refuge, which he trusted.

If the plan went well, the main force of the Mucosal Entity would be drawn to Defense Line No.6, and the Alliance could then concentrate forces to strike hard at the Tide that had penetrated deep into our territory.

Several soldiers glanced at each other with baffled expressions, even the old soldiers from the Luo Xia Province Battlefield showed a naïve face.

A new... tactic?

What kind of tactic was that?

...

The news from Survivor's Daily had been broadcast for half an hour, the newspaper had been read for another half hour, but soon there was nothing more to air.

Standing beside the radio station, the insufficiently prepared group of players began to worry.

Looking back at the crowd behind them, Falling Feather scratched the back of his head.

"What... should we broadcast next?"

Everyone looked at one another, and Discourage suggested.

"Weather forecast?"

WC's real Mosquito Brother rolled his eyes.

"We don't even have meteorological satellites; what is there to predict... Speaking of which, should we loop the broadcast?"

Fang Chang shook his head.

"It's better not to. If it's in Human Alliance language, it can easily give away flaws... sheesh, I almost forgot, we can broadcast stuff from the Real World!"

Old White scratched the back of his head and suggested, "Then... broadcast the news from the Real World?"

Falling Feather's eyes lit up.

"That's a good idea."

Fang Chang cleared his throat gently.

"Open your minds a little, it doesn't have to be news. You can play crosstalk, comedy sketches, music... as long as it's content that Xiya can't parse and can't find a pattern in."

Mole scratched his head, feeling that this plan didn't seem too reliable, yet couldn't think of a better idea.

"And then it will treat this place as our Lair? It seems a bit too simple..."

Fang Chang shook his head.

"Just this alone of course isn't enough; we need to adjust troop deployments when the BGM sounds, or launch feints outside the defense line... these aren't actually hard. All we need to do is convince it that it has found a pattern, then our operation is a success."

This last statement was finally understood, and Edge Shoveling smiled, picking up the rifle that was set aside.

"Got it, leave the feint to us, Death Legion!"

Mosquito laughed too.

"I'll handle the singing! I'm good at this work!"

Seeing the guy showing off, Falling Feather couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Stop bullshitting, your duck voice better not scare away our allies."

Night Ten: "Hahaha!"

The room was filled with joviality, even the usually expressionless Wild Wind couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth, only Mosquito looked displeased at being made fun of.

"Cut it out, you're just jealous of my heavenly voice. Today, I must show off my skill!"

After speaking, Mosquito snatched the microphone that had been lying on the radio, Falling Feather didn't stop him, instead, she smiled and switched the radio from recording to live broadcasting.

"Eh?"

"It's alright, Xiaoyu, if this guy wants to show off, let's let him show off!"

There was silence for a moment.

Everyone was waiting for Brother Mosquito to begin.

After brewing his emotions for a short while, Mosquito coughed and cleared his throat vigorously.

"Cough, cough!"

His emotions were all set, ready to start singing.

However, an awkward moment happened.

Even though he had decided to show off, he had no idea what to sing.

But he already had the microphone in hand, and everyone's eyes were on him. If he didn't sing something, he wouldn't be able to leave the stage with dignity.

Facing the quiet room, Mosquito looked embarrassed, digging his toes into the floor.

It wasn't until then that he remembered the radio wasn't just broadcasting to a dozen people, but to hundreds of thousands.

With the power of the speakers outside, probably everyone in Giant Stone City could hear his cough!

It didn't matter what the NPCs thought.

But what was crucial was that some bastard would definitely record his singing and put it on the internet.

If his cover was blown, how would he brag afterward?

Sweat broke out on his forehead in his anxiety.

Just then, an idea suddenly dawned on him, and he had a plan.

What to do about an awkward situation?

Just play something even more awkward!

"Next, I'm bringing everyone a hit song from my favorite singer!"

Taking a deep breath, the man who opened his mouth begin as if he was a skilled carpenter lifting a saw off a violin.

"Just because—"

He hadn't even fully started singing, having just spat out two words, when he was taken down and the microphone snatched away by the people around him.

"That's enough, I believe you can sing!"

"Let it go, Mosquito! Brother Mosquito!"

"I'm begging you, please don't sing!"

As he watched several Strength Types snatch the microphone from him and escort him out the door, Mosquito kept howling.

"Let me go! I can still sing! Let me finish—ahh!"

Watching the figure disappear outside the door, Fang Chang silently withdrew his gaze, clearing his throat softly.

"...Let's just play some more regular music instead."

Falling Feather nodded in agreement.

"+1."

...

After a whole afternoon of messing around, the radio operation codenamed "bodyguard" finally got back on track.

Actually, to call it a battlefield radio was a stretch; in reality, it had become a song request station for the goofy players.

The request process was simple.

Leave a message in the corresponding thread on the official website, and you could stuff the song you liked into the playlist.

Logging into the official website was convenient now, with no need to go offline, as long as you were within the VM's signal coverage. Syncing data from the real world to the Game wasn't difficult either, a VM could handle that too.

At first, the songs played on the radio were relatively normal.

There were songs liked by Kids like "The Lone Brave One" and "Against the War," favorites of uncles and aunts.

And some trending BGMs from a certain music app, like "Berlin Antiair Tower" or "Playing with Mud in the Northeast."

But after two days, the popular songs had been played once, and everyone was almost tired of them, really unable to come up with anything new.

Aside from Fang Chang, Brother Quanshui, and a few other high-level players who were still playing their parts seriously, most players had almost forgotten what this bodyguard operation was actually about.

So, some players looking to stir things up popped in and stuffed some weird stuff into the playlist.

Like "Rainbow Ponies."

Or "I Got Smoke," and stuff like that.

One second the radio is going "Neigh, neigh," and the next second it switches to Rick V.

Players hunched over their machine guns were laughing so hard they ran out of breath, and Edge Shoveling, who was about to go on patrol following the music rhythm, barely kept a straight face.

The NPCs, however, were enjoying it, mainly because they didn't understand the lyrics; they just felt it had a good rhythm, and even hummed along with it.

Three days into the "bodyguard" operation, the deception tactic didn't seem to be showing any results yet.

However, this battlefield radio named "bodyguard" had been completely played out.

Not just Fang Chang, Old White, Quanshui, Mole, and other old-timers could hardly keep it together, even Chu Guang was sporting a full head of black lines.

His character in the game was an NPC, and although it was claimed to be a nearly realistic artificial intelligence, if it could understand the real world's internet memes as well, the "reality" of it would be a bit far-fetched.

It's not rare for real people to pretend to be AI and interact with players in some games that hawk grabbing newbies as a selling point, but the players mistaking themselves for the dog planner Ah Guang was ultimately a matter that seriously affected immersion.

These past few days, he felt too embarrassed to show his face in front of the players, fearing he wouldn't perform well and would suddenly break out in laughter.

Just when Chu Guang and a group of high-level players were gradually losing faith in the "bodyguard" operation, those covetous eyes lurking outside the defense zone finally began to stir...

...

In the depths of the pitch-black underground tunnel, within the scarlet palace covered with fungal carpet, Xiya, who stood in the center of the fungal carpet, opened her abstract eyes.

"I have found their lair."

The spores floating around it slowly pulsated, conveying this message to the mother that enveloped it.

However, the response it received was unexpectedly intense, like hearing something unbelievable.

"Their lair?! Those organic beings have no lair; they're just a bunch of dirty, ugly, and confused individuals!"

Xiya pondered for a moment and conveyed her view with certainty.

"No, they do. Remember the prey I captured last time? They were hollow shells, all three of them, their heads like a blank slate."

Hearing this, the lair fell into a brief silence, not directly refuting.

It contradicted the knowledge they had, yet it wasn't entirely impossible.

After all, a similar situation had occurred once before.

And it was during the last Tide!

The humans that suddenly appeared in the north and those living inside the walls didn't seem to be the same, their bodies harboring many peculiarities never seen before.

It knew these humans were attempting to study it, even building a huge wall for that purpose, thriving over countless generations upon these ruins...

A trace of vigilance appeared in its emotions.

It didn't know how far human research had progressed, but if they too had evolved a unified consciousness entity, it was undoubtedly a significant threat to it.

Seeing the mother did not reply, Xiya continued to convey her findings with certainty.

"Something is controlling their emotions, and I sensed its existence. Whenever it speaks, its offspring feel heartfelt pleasure... I believe that is their lair and its voice, their spores."

It was all too familiar with that feeling.

It was just like when it stayed beside its mother!

"...If we can assimilate their lair, analyze it, understand it, even become it... then we can control everything about them and use their experiences for ourselves."

The frailty of human bodies is undoubtable, except for the few individuals possessing extraordinary strength, most needed to use tools to empower themselves.

Yet, that's precisely what made them unusual.

It could employ their tools; it had mastered this ability a long time ago.

However, to produce those tools as incessantly as humans was beyond its ability.

Occupying the entire planet was just a matter of time; however, to spread seeds to even farther worlds, it needed to do more than just digest them—it had to thoroughly digest their knowledge, and even their underlying thoughts and culture.

After a long contemplation, it slowly spoke.

"You are the smartest of all my children, and perhaps this is a remarkable discovery."

At the very least, it was worth a try.

Having received the mother's affirmation, Xiya felt joyful, and the tentacles beneath her skirt swayed cheerfully.

"I have a better idea than the previous plan to bypass them; it's more perfect."

"The people inside the walls and those from the north have united. If we simply apply pressure to that wall, tying up the northern humans' strength—"

"And then, if we launch a surprise attack, we can completely take over their lair!"

...

Outside Giant Stone City.

At the position near the eastern third ring, Joey, dressed in power armor, was staring intently at the projection in his helmet's visor.

According to the images taken by drones, millions of offspring were emerging from subway entrances and ruins of buildings between the second and third ring roads, consciously flooding towards Giant Stone City.

Watching that surging Tide, deep seriousness was etched between Joey's brows.

His adjutant beside him had an ashen face, swallowing nervously.

"Damn it... how can there be so many?"

After the concentration of spores in the air surpassed the critical threshold, the annual Tide ultimately erupted.

Only, the number and quality were entirely beyond the expectations of the Militia Group's officers.

According to past experiences, to see a million visible offspring meant that there might be more than ten times that in action!

What was more concerning was not merely the quantity.

Apart from the Cannon Fodder Eaters, there were also a significant number of Butchers and Tyrants—offspring with formidable individual combat power—and a few extremely dangerous Evolutionary bodies.

Including giant beasts three stories tall.

Including flying variants flapping their wings.

The species of these monstrosities were diverse, each one looking ferociously intimidating.

It seemed they had completely forgotten the City of Dawn further north and all swarmed toward Giant Stone City.

Upon noticing the mucosal entity's deliberate gathering, Joey had not hesitated to mobilize five thousand-team units of the Militia Group and had sent 5000 men from the Punishment camp to the front lines.

At the same time, he ordered the idle P-2 "Lightning" attack aircraft on the tarmac to take off immediately and begin the first aerial strike on the main road's Tide.

Two ion plumes streamed from the smoke-filled sky, dropping two dark shapes towards the densely packed district of offspring.

Orange-red flames rose to the sky, engulfing swathes of Eaters.

But something strange happened.

The flames that were supposed to be raging were as if doused by a bucket of cold water. After devouring half a street of Eaters, the fire did not spread but instead became weaker, eventually leaving a ground full of partially burned corpses and viscous, oily substance.

Without completely burning these nutrients, the mucous fungus would soon reuse them.

On the surface, they were fighting those mucous fungi, but essentially they were combatting the nutrients dominated by the Lair.

The slime mold would continuously recover organic matter from the battlefield and bring it back to the incubation rooms, where it was transformed back into combat units at a certain ratio.

And this was also the aspect of the Tide that people found the most troublesome.

Joey furrowed his brow.

It seemed the Alliance Biological Research Institute's analysis was correct; the new round of the Tide's spore clouds could effectively obstruct the combustion of conventional fuel.

Through the lens of a drone, he could clearly see that the moment the flames ignited, the gray-green mist surged towards the fire as if endowed with its own consciousness.

The Tide, having suffered an aerial strike, paused only briefly before continuing its formidable advance towards Giant Stone City.

Some Eaters pounced on the charred corpses and formed a circle on the ground, hungrily consuming them, wasting not a scrap of nutrients.

Of course, those noble evolutionary bodies looked down upon these emaciated wretches, coldly sneering as they looked at the fiery sky above.

They seemed to know where the attack came from and that someone must be watching them from there.

But it didn't matter—

Under Its will, all resistance was futile!

All carbon-based life forms would become the nourishment that spurred their own prosperity!

The Tide's vanguard was only 1 kilometer from the defense lines of Giant Stone City.

At this rate, within an hour at most, the first line of defense of the Punishment Camp would collide with the slime molds.

The aide standing next to Joey clenched his fist and finally couldn't help but speak up.

"We have no choice but to use nuclear weapons!"

It wasn't that he was concerned for those criminals; he didn't care at all about the fate of that trash.

He simply didn't believe that the bunch of bullies—afraid of the hard and quick to attack the weak—could stop the surging Tide with just a few machine guns and rifles without the support of incendiary rounds.

Joey had not spoken yet when a staff member of the Militia Group interrupted the aide.

"That's out of the question! Radioactive substances will accelerate the evolution of the slime mold! Our previous tests confirmed that using nuclear weapons on the Tide just makes the next year's Tide even more fierce!"

The aide clenched his fists tightly, unable to help himself from saying,

"If incendiary bombs don't work and nuclear weapons can't be used... are you expecting those 5,000 Cannon Fodder, along with conventional artillery, to clear out all that trash?"

Joey said with a grave expression,

"I've already requested reinforcements from the Alliance Army Command, and they've promised to allocate more manpower to help us."

The aide frowned,

"It's strange, though. Why hasn't the Alliance been attacked? Is it just us targeted by the Tide? Could it be that the Alliance Biological Research Institute has found some way to make the Tide ignore them—"

His words were cut off by an angry retort.

"Shut up!"

Joey grabbed the aide's collar, staring into his eyes and said slowly and deliberately,

"What I need from you is professional advice, not baseless talk! No one can escape the Tide unless it's eradicated. I've seen that man; maybe I don't know him well enough, but I can assure you, he's not the fool you suggest!"

The aide nodded timidly,

"Understood..."

"If you understand, then get moving!" Joey released the grip on his collar, "The front lines need heavy equipment, I need you to immediately requisition another batch of heavy machine guns and mortars from the stock and send them over!"

The aide took a deep breath to regain his composure and stood at attention, saluting.

"Yes, sir!"

...

The news that Giant Stone City was under attack quickly spread to the Alliance's posts.

Fang Chang, who was still guarding the radio station, frowned at the various lines on the map, his previously firm belief starting to waver.

"Has the plan failed?"

"No... the exact opposite!"

Clasping his fists on top of the map, Brother Quanshui, who stood next to him, was excited and spirited, offering a completely opposite perspective.

In fact, his view was the antithesis.

If a few minutes earlier, he still had doubts about the details of the "bodyguard" plan, now he was almost certain: their plan had succeeded!

That Xiya was a bit calculating!

It was just that such a level of planning was still too "naive," so much so that it seemed rather conspicuous.

If it were up to him, he would have diverted a fifth or a quarter of the forces to pressure the Alliance side, patiently replaying last year's scenario.

And its current approach was tantamount to telling them: I've noticed you, but I'm pretending I haven't seen you.

It was clear!

The attack on the Giant Stone City was just a feint; the main force of the Tide was probably lurking beneath the dense fog in the "North Suburb," ready to attack at any moment.

By now, Fang Chang had also snapped back to reality. After a moment of stunned silence, his serious expression gradually relaxed into a smile,

"I see."

The old soldier.

The entity had actually started to play their game.

This was unexpected for him.

Just as Fang Chang snapped back to attention, Brother Quanshui had already grabbed the walkie-talkie on the table.

"Our enemy has taken the bait! Edge, take your brothers and immediately head towards the East District of Clear Spring City... but don't move too quickly, be ready to turn back at any moment! Wait for my message!"

Soon, the reply from Edge Shoveling came through the communication channel,

"Received!"

After hanging up on Mosquito Brother, Brother Quanshui then switched the communication to the front line of Zone 06, shouting enthusiastically,

"Notify the brothers on the position to be vigilant!"

"The prey is stirring, a tough fight is about to begin!"

Chapter 633: The "Hell-level Difficulty" Stage That Has Existed Since the Server Started

The gray-green fog was quietly approaching.

Gazing at the enclosing wall and the machine gun position just within reach, pairs of pupils lurking in the darkness gradually reflected a crimson light.

It was now six o'clock, and Qingquan City had just entered the night, the temperature not too cold yet.

For the spore clouds spreading through the air and the mycelial entities lurking in the underground passages, nighttime was the best cover.

The wind had just started blowing, and the visibility in the streets of North Suburb had silently dropped to less than fifty meters in the still quietness.

Watching her children, Xiya felt quite proud.

The only pity was that the humans had cut off all branches of the North Suburb underground tunnel; otherwise, she could have completely infiltrated her mycelial entities into their rear and then suddenly struck.

The plan could have been more perfect...

"Go, my children."

Overlooking those bloodthirsty souls with invisible eyes and standing on a crimson fungal carpet, Xiya let out a silent cry.

"Turn them into nourishment for birthing life—"

"Devour them!"

...

"Roar—!"

The resounding roar completely shattered the silence of the night, and the Variants suddenly rushing towards the defensive line were like an onslaught of torrential rain, the killing intent hitting their faces almost causing everyone to hold their breath involuntarily.

Like a dam, the towering wall spouted long tongues of fire, and the noisy barrage traced paths through the fog, landing on the destroyed streets.

The surging groups of mycelial entities fell one after another, but soon more entities from behind pressed forward relentlessly.

Those bursts of fiery explosions were like pebbles hitting the waves, unable to stir the slightest ripple in the billowing waves.

The defensive line less than a kilometer from Giant Stone City.

Watching the tide surge like billowing waves, the soldiers clutching their assault rifles involuntarily showed signs of panic on their faces.

They were all soldiers from the Punishment camp.

At the same time, they were criminals captured in the crackdown earlier that year.

As for the Tide, they were all too familiar with it, having lived at the foot of the great wall.

Yet, when they truly faced the Tide at that moment, even the most ferocious criminals could not control the deep-seated fear in their bones.

The Eaters, usually slow-witted, were like they were on drugs.

Even the weakest mycelial entities had turned into vicious beasts, unified under the murderous hive consciousness.

That was an existence even the Claw of Death would avoid, no single Variant on the Wasteland was a match for these creatures.

They would devour everything they saw!

Rip their prey apart, chew, devour—

Until every inch of the prey's flesh melted into this vast hive, completely becoming part of that terrifying Consciousness Entity.

"Damn it, how many of them are there?!" Watching the mycelial entities constantly disappearing in the gunfire and continuously filling the gaps, a prisoner couldn't help but let out a cry of fear.

"Great Antler God above..."

Crouched behind cover nearby, another prisoner murmured a prayer, trying to overcome the terror in his heart by invoking the name of the Great Antler God.

And not far from him, a burly man with a shaved head kept glancing backward with his eyes alternating between fierceness and panic.

If it weren't for the Supervisory team's machine gun pointed at the back of their heads, he would have run away without hesitation, as far as he could!

There were only about a hundred people at one position, each hundred-man team responsible for a street.

Ahead of them was the tidal surge of sticky mold, behind them were the positions of the Militia Group. If they fell, those people would not hesitate to rain down artillery fire on their heads.

As the commanding officer of these prisoners, Bit's eyes were filled with struggle.

This was their only chance for freedom—

Only by proving their loyalty with blood.

Could they become human again!

In the moment when the gunfire ceased, the Eaters had already appeared at the edge of the machine gun range, and he, pulling the trigger, simultaneously released a roar that vented fear.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

...

The Tide was already in contact with Giant Stone City's defensive line, and the Alliance's positions were temporarily still quiet.

However, almost everyone could sense the turbulent undercurrent lurking beneath the silence.

Three Fungal Death Claws moved along the edge of a building, leading dozens of mold-infested monsters, drawing close to position No. 3 in Zone 06 of the Alliance under the cover of night and gray fog, penetrating towards position No. 4 in the middle of the defensive line.

The human Lair was right before their eyes!

That pair of amber pupils bore the thirst for blood; they were nearly seeing the building emitting annoying sounds.

However, just as they bared their canine teeth, a series of orange-red lights suddenly rose into the sky, lighting up the streets near position No. 3 as if it were daylight.

Three Fungal Death Claws and several dozen Fungal Goblins were instantly exposed under the flares, and at the same time, two horizontal 20mm Quadruple Anti-aircraft Guns had already targeted them.

Seeing that group of sneaky creatures approaching, "Kakarot" lying at the window of an abandoned building shouted excitedly.

"Fire!"

Rows of tracer bullets swept through like flying willows, carrying a devastating hurricane toward the dozens of Variants standing on the street.

Before they could react, the three Fungal Death Claws let out pained roars in the barrage and tried to flee from the street, shaking their tails.

However, the Storm Corps, having waited for a long time, certainly would not let them succeed.

The players hiding in the building's windows had already set up 37mm Heavy Cavalry Guns, pulling the triggers at the same moment the anti-aircraft cannons fired.

"Boom—!"

A Fungal Death Claw's head was instantly blown off by a shot, while the chests and shoulders of two other Fungal Death Claws burst into a cloud of blood mist.

Although the new type of spores had a strong fire-extinguishing effect, the Alliance had, based on the recommendations of the Biological Institute, already replaced the cores of the armor-piercing incendiary rounds with a burning agent primarily composed of magnesium materials.

The high concentrations of carbon dioxide not only failed to serve as a fire retardant, but acted like an oxidizing agent instead, making the white light stuck in the bodies of the Fungal Death Claws burn even brighter!

Pain-induced howls echoed in the gunfire-boiling streets, as Xiya's leading squad of elite monsters was instantly wiped out by the concentrated fire of the Storm Corps.

"The micro-management skills of this mother entity don't seem to be very good, huh."

Watching the smoking gun barrel, Gui Gui, who was lying behind a window, chuckled and reloaded his 37mm Heavy Cavalry Gun with a new magazine.

The voice of "Kakarot" came through the communication channel.

"Don't let your guard down, this is just the beginning, there's a bunch more waiting behind!"

Gui Gui laughed and casually replied,

"Don't worry, it's as steady as they come!"

The instantaneous annihilation of dozens of elite monsters completely disoriented the vanguard of the Tide that was surging towards the Alliance's position.

On a crimson-colored fungal mat, Xiya, unable to perceive those assimilated entities anymore, stood frozen in place.

The progeny formed by slime mold assimilation were different from ordinary progeny; those little ones couldn't be produced in the hatchery and could only be captured by its progeny from the Wasteland and personally modified by it.

And with the Death Claws nearly at the top of the food chain, the difficulty of capturing them was ten or even dozens of times higher than that of the Monsters and Multilegged Beasts!

It had intended to tear a gap in the Alliance's defense line and then send a large force to overwhelm those humans.

However, those cunning humans had seen through its plan!

After a brief moment of shock, Xiya, who was in a daze on the fungal mat, let out a piercing howl as every cell in its body trembled with rage.

But it was alright—

The reaction of those humans had confirmed its speculation!

There indeed existed some kind of lair directing their consciousness.

And that "mother nest" was indeed crucial to them!

Otherwise, they wouldn't have deployed so many defenses in front of that noisy concrete block while their own kind were under such a fierce attack.

It opened its mouth, and the restless spores carried that silent fury.

At the same time, under the pull of that anger, the progeny lurking near Alliance Zone 06 also ignited with boiling battle intent.

The Eaters surged out from the metro station entrances, while at the edge of the North Second Ring Road, an increasing number of higher entities began to gather.

Among them were Crawlers scaling the walls of the buildings, and Tyrants clad in thick keratin armor.

The previously placid North suburb of Qingquan city boiled over with the emergence of these dense progeny.

At the same time, not only the fungal mat of Qingquan City was boiling, but the radio channels of the Alliance were also buzzing.

"A massive number of progeny is pouring out from the underground tunnels!"

"Estimated numbers are over a million!"

"Holy shit... have all the Variants in the city come out?!"

"Haha, perfect timing!"

"Progeny near Defense Zone 06 are forming a dense formation; Outposts 1, 2, and 3 have engaged!"

"Order the Death Legion to turn around immediately! Follow the plan!"

"Roger that!"

At the same time, at Outpost 4 of Defense Zone 06, watching the progeny continuously emerge on the street, Gui Gui who had been mocking their simplicity just a second ago suddenly changed his expression.

Seeing a Tyrant charging forward, about to smash their barricade on the street, he immediately pulled the trigger and fired a 37mm armor-piercing incendiary.

White sparks instantly pierced the Tyrant's body, yet it did not stop its charge.

Only after two more shots did the ferocious body fall into the black mud.

However, that Tyrant was just an inconsequential part of the Tide.

Countless progeny, like waves, surged over its body towards his defenses below, facing the cacophony of tracer fire.

Gui Gui's index finger was almost glued to the trigger, with no spare moment to let go.

A magazine emptied, he immediately slapped in another; the barrel was glowing red with heat.

Watching more and more progeny swarm the street, he couldn't help but curse.

"Damn it... are these guys getting desperate or what?"

Chunks of flesh trailing green smoke landed near the position, and soon a radiative acid fog rose.

Gui Gui quickly donned his Gas Mask, cursing as he endured the itchy constriction around his neck, and continued to fire with the 37mm Heavy Cavalry Gun.

In fact, he had guessed right.

Xiya was indeed getting desperate.

On one hand, it was certain that the lair behind the defenses was the vulnerability of the humans to the north; on the other hand, the firepower of the Alliance had truly caught it off guard.

Those dark windows sprayed tongues of flame non-stop, and the bombs falling from the sky harvested its children.

While its abilities could extinguish fires, they couldn't stop those bombs from exploding.

More than that—

The humans seemed to have figured out its abilities, cleverly adopting an alternating fire strategy.

That is, they would first use artillery to create a spore-free zone, then launch incendiary bombs, and cover the advancement of the fire with more artillery.

Even though it could eventually extinguish the flames, it couldn't stop a large number of progeny and their carcasses from being charred by the flames.

Live lives were swiftly extinguished among the dancing and leaping sparks, yet the Alliance's defensive line showed no sign of weakening—

In the midst of that endless death, it could feel the children's pity!

Seemingly discerning its hesitation in the face of death, the mother watching from behind issued a commanding call.

"Do not hesitate—"

"That will only lead to more death!"

"As long as we can make them a part of our bodies, this little sacrifice is nothing."

"This is our destiny!"

Compared with the offspring that had perished in the Tide in years past, these casualties really were inconsequential.

Feeling the authority of the mother, Xiya's momentary hesitation was swept away, replaced again by frenzy and bloodlust.

At its beckoning and urging, the surging Tide breached the blockade of gunfire in almost an instant.

A mass of Eaters flooded to the base of the Building, engaging in close combat with the players squatting on the first floor.

Seeing its children charge the Alliance's position, the cloud of spores floating next to Xiya finally revealed a frequency of relief as if a burden had been lifted.

However, this sense of relief didn't last long.

Those humans didn't run away with their tails between their legs; instead, they erupted with even stronger fighting spirit in the hand-to-hand combat.

It was then that it suddenly remembered it should have realized these people were different from those living within the Wall.

Under the command of the beehive consciousness, they were fearless of death and careless of the onrushing Tide.

It was as if the flesh-eating monsters charging at them were not threats but walking bags of experience—

"Brothers! Grab your weapons!"

"Let's fight them!!"

"Aoaoao!"

Led by a squad leader, a dozen Strength-type players in exoskeletons charged the mucous fungi surging up the stairs, forming a moving wall with the steel strapped to their chests.

A particularly fierce player holding a whirring chainsaw charged into the surging Tide, swinging wildly, each swing splattering a spray of blood and carnage.

Drenched in black blood and standing atop a pile of bodies, the guy let out a weird laugh.

"Ga ga ga, this Game is just too damn cathartic—"

Before he finished speaking, a Tyrant charged at him, hitting him with a leaden roar.

Startled, he swung his chainsaw, but the speeding blade merely whizzed and slipped off the Tyrant's horny Armor.

The pained Tyrant reached out with both arms, grabbed his shoulders, and tore violently.

With a ripping sound, that unfortunate player caught by the Tyrant was torn in half on the spot, turning into a mist of blood that sprayed the ceiling.

The Tyrant flung the bisected corpse to the Eaters at its back for sharing, continued its meteor-like stride forward, the blood painting its dark Armor a ferocious crimson.

An ordinary mercenary witnessing this might have been scared soulless.

But what stood before it were not normal humans; they were a bunch of fearless players.

They were like warriors who relished cruelty.

This bloody scene did not extinguish their fighting spirit; instead, it incited the players to even greater frenzy.

At the same time, the dignified voice of the Manager came over the speakers playing bgm.

"The enemy's main forces are launching an attack on our positions, these foolish creatures have not realized that they have dived headlong into our trap!"

"Hold firm! The ultimate victory will surely be ours!"

Responding to that voice was a chorus of fervent war cries.

"Aoaoao!"

...

Gunshots and the clamor of cannons shattered the night in Qingquan City, and the battle against the Tide officially began.

At the very moment when the 10 positions in Zone 06 became complete meat grinders, the Death Legion who was rushing to support Giant Stone City received a turnaround order and immediately headed towards the direction of the North Second Ring Road.

Three thousand high-spirited players sat in trucks mounted with machine guns.

Although their gear could not be called top-notch, every one of them was tougher than the Variants.

Because their fighting style was excessively fierce, they almost never purchased expensive gear to spare their limited logistics points; the 200-silver-coin LD series rifle was their most expensive equipment.

Followed by bayonets, entrenching tools, and grenades!

Originally, they were supposed to rush to Zone 06 to support the Storm Corps.

But at that moment, the Biological Institute of the Alliance, using the observation stations scattered in the battle area and drones, had determined the likely area where "Xiya" might be lurking based on the concentration differences and movement tracks of the spore clouds.

Hence, the Death Legion had a new mission—

With the support of the Goblin Corps, they would launch an attack on the Tide's headquarters!

Holding the walkie-talkie, Edge Shoveling shouted loudly in the Army's comms channel.

"… The Storm Corps is under attack by the Tide, and our brother from the Springs is cornered by the mucous offsprings!"

"Our mission is to give them a hand, but not to relieve their siege, but to exterminate those disgusting creatures!"

"They will soon pay a heavy price for their stupidity and arrogance!"

"Advance!!"

At this moment, the entire Qingquan City was enveloped in dense spores, and Xiya, empowered on the mycelium carpet, could not possibly have missed this magnificent procession.

Its emotions suddenly betrayed a hint of panic.

Although it possessed higher intelligence than its siblings, it had not anticipated these humans would bypass the vulnerable Lair to come straight for it.

Its children were mostly on the front line, with some pouring toward those living within the walls and others toward the Lair of the "North People." Not many protectors remained at its side.

Right...

How did they come to find out that it was here?

"Mother... they've found me," Xiya called out to the Lair at the city center, "I need your help."

The Lair at the city center had evidently noticed too, observing the group of human soldiers who suddenly changed direction and headed straight for the North Second Ring Road.

After a brief moment of contemplation, it responded in a gentle voice.

"Don't panic, I've already dispatched reinforcements in your direction, they won't be able to hurt you."

Those were Its elite troops, and also one of Its most reliable guards.

Not the group from 200 years ago, nor these degenerate beings of 200 years later, could match that individual.

Its previous children were not worth Its intervention, but Xiya was an exception.

It was quite satisfied with it.

In every sense, it was the best choice to expand the territory of their kind.

Comforted by its mother's words, Xiya's emotions stabilized somewhat, refocusing its attention on the two fronts located to the north and west of Qingquan City.

It could feel signs of collapse at those two desperately defended fronts.

Especially those guarding the walls.

Under the onslaught of the Tide, the continual casualties had led them to emit cries indicative of an imminent breakdown.

Its mother was right.

As long as they were determined to pay any price, they would indeed manage to drown those ugly organic beings with sheer numbers; their fragile civilization stood no chance against higher beings.

However, there was still a flicker of unease in its heart.

Those beings had fought with its mother for a full two centuries, could it really be so simple...

...

On the rooftop of a building at the edge of the Second Ring Road, two Viper transport planes slowly descended, releasing twenty fully-armed players.

They were all clad in uniform Type Five Exoskeletons and carried mostly light weaponry.

Twenty pre-assembled gliders were stacked next to the stairwell.

Old White pulled one out, gripped it firmly in his hand, and handed it over to Night Ten.

Night Ten was about to take it when he saw that Old White hadn't let go but instead grinned at him.

"You sure about this, lad? Your gear isn't cheap."

The mission's objective was the city center of Qingquan City, a location the Post-War Reconstruction Committee had failed to conquer.

For two centuries, the survivors of Qingquan City had not attempted another assault there.

It was a "Hell-level difficulty" mission that had existed since the Game's launch, and even the fearless players only skirted its edges, never delving into the depths of that hell.

Now was the best and probably the only chance.

Most of Qingquan City's sub-entities were tied up on the defenses arranged by the Alliance.

But even if their mission succeeded, there was a high probability they wouldn't return.

Ignoring Old White's advice, Night Ten rolled his eyes and snatched the glider away.

"Pfft, it's no big deal."

Equipment, no matter how expensive, had a price, but a mission that "concerned the future of the Alliance and the trajectory of the Game's main storyline" was one-of-a-kind.

Missing out on such an exciting event would be a lifelong regret.

Seeing Night Ten's dead-serious expression, Old White laughed heartily and patted his shoulder.

"Indeed, it's just a piece of equipment... Oh, and if my axe falls, remember to pick it up for me."

Fang Chang also laughed, patting his Mechanical composite bow, casually slinging it over his shoulder.

"And my Dawn, I've had it for a while now and wouldn't want to lose it."

Wild Wind touched his nose.

"My mechanical hand too... It was left to me by a friend from the Pioneer."

Night Ten helplessly looked at these detrimental friends.

"Why are you all so sure I'll survive?"

Fang Chang shifted his gaze away with a complex expression.

"I don't know... maybe it's instinct?"

Night Ten was about to say something more when Quit Smoking suddenly couldn't help but quip.

"You guys have planted enough death flags on his head that even if he does make it back, he probably won't."

Old White laughed, "Haha, no worries, if we survive, we'll bring back his ashes too!"

Hearing this, Night Ten suddenly realized and inwardly exclaimed, damn it.

Good lord.

These bastards really didn't want to see him do well!

Just then, a streak of light trailed across the sky, flying straight toward the city center.

It was the Lingyun fighter flown by the Luoyu Brothers, which also signaled the attack for them.

With laughter subsiding, Old White, holding the glider, walked to the south side of the building and lightly tapped on his Tactical helmet with his index finger, turning off the pitch-black goggles.

"Our ace pilots have taken off."

"We should follow suit!"

Chapter 634: Him!

On the edge of the North Second Ring Road, a silver-gray power armor stood quietly in the middle of the dilapidated street, clutching a heavy rifle half the height of a man, resembling an unsharpened greatsword.

The years had left traces of frost and snow on the surface of the armor, its urban camouflage paint job replaced by a patchy crimson.

The rifle in its hand was filled with flesh-red fungal growths in the fork-shaped magnetic rails, similar to the armor.

Fragments of memory still existing in the cells would occasionally surface before its eyes; it vaguely remembered that it was a machine born for battle.

However, it had long forgotten why it fought, not to mention when the last battle had ended...

Just then, a light breeze blew from the other end of the street; almost simultaneously, the rolling sound of wheels approached from the silent street corner.

As if sensing the oncoming intent to kill, it slowly raised its head, gray-green mist wafting from the slits in its helmet, while its pitch-black visor reflected a hint of bloodthirsty crimson.

"Kill them!" The voice that seemed to float from the darkness was heard again, and it felt every cell in its body boil with the call.

It was a command that could not be refused—

Not that there was any reason to refuse.

It existed just to respond to that call.

Its heavy arms slowly lifted, and the greatsword in its grip creaked like a machine that hadn't been oiled in years.

However, the moment its arm lifted, the cumbersome body burst with life, erupting with astonishing speed and strength.

It launched like a shell from its barrel, charging with the force of thunder towards the foremost truck while swinging the blunt heavy greatsword.

"Clang—!"

Almost at the moment of impact between steel and steel, the front of the welded steel-plate truck crumpled inward like a spoon in ice cream, breaking into two.

The entire truck flipped onto its side by the road, the driver killed instantly, and the others inside were thrown about, staggering as they stood up from the ground.

It could faintly hear them shouting something.

Though it couldn't understand.

But—

The last words of prey never mattered; after all, they would soon become a pulpy mess under its feet.

Standing beside the wreckage of the truck, it gripped the weapon in its hand, and its crimson pupils rapidly locked onto the next—

Next one!

As the mucor-infested power armor swung its weapon in hand and rushed towards the next transport truck, the Death Legion that had been caught off guard finally reacted.

Midnight with an Umbrella, Without a Knife: "F*ck! Old Six!"

Laplace: "Old Six my ass, it's the Decaying Knight!"

Midnight with an Umbrella, Without a Knife: "Here comes the BOSS! Brothers, grab your weapons!"

Outlaw Maniac: "Awoo, fire!"

The player crouching on the rooftop immediately aimed the fixed machine gun at the creature, pouring out fierce firepower but still failing to stop its charge.

The 10mm machine gun bullets, capable of destroying concrete walls, struck the armor's curved surface, leaving at best a shallow scratch.

What was even more chilling was that the creature not only had incredible armor, but its agility was no less impressive.

The greatsword in its hand easily deflected the tracer rounds before it darted towards the next truck.

Another truck burst into explosive flames.

Shoveling at the Edge couldn't help but frown at the evolutionary body that was rampaging unsparingly through the crowd; Debt Giant Eye cursed beside him.

"Damn it, I knew this mission wasn't that simple."

"Something's off about this thing," declared Construction Youth with a Startling Brick suddenly.

"Yep." Shoveling at the Edge nodded gravely and then turned to Big Eyes, "Launch the drone!"

"Okay!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Big Eyes closed his eyes and tapped the side of his tactical helmet with a finger.

A quadrotor drone ejected and soared from the truck, flying straight towards the Decaying Knight.

Sensing the impending threat, the Decaying Knight slammed its greatsword to the ground, propelling a dozen pebbles at the drone in the air.

Debt Giant Eye, connected through direct consciousness, skillfully maneuvered the drone through a series of inconceivable rolls, gliding through like a fluttering butterfly amid the dense concrete debris.

"Die, bastard!!!"

The moment the drone reached its face, he immediately activated the detonation function, igniting the three-kilogram warhead beneath the drone into a ball of fire.

The explosion's terrifying force could overturn a Conqueror tank; however, the 200-year-old relic merely swayed.

Witnessing this incredible scene, Big Eyes, with his eyes now open, were wide in disbelief.

"Shit! 'Dragon Cavalry' defenses are this heaven-defying?!"

"This isn't a 'Dragon Cavalry', nor does it look like a 'Champion'..." Shoveling at the Edge's voice took on an excited edge as he clenched his fist resting on the truck's roof, "This might be a modified type never mentioned in the official settings!"

Although they had never faced such an opponent, none of the players present showed fear.

Instead, it ignited an even fiercer will to battle!

This was an unprecedented challenge—

Should they complete the first-kill, not only would they earn the glory of a Worldwide Announcement, but their names would also be permanently included in the Hall of Fame!

"Infantry squad, cover with firepower!"

Watching the Decaying Knight getting back on its feet, Shoveling at the Edge shouted loudly in the comm channel.

"Anti-tank group, move up! Use armor-piercing rounds, concentrate fire!"

The previous explosion may not have destroyed the Decaying Knight instantly, but the blast still dealt significant damage to it.

Large patches of fungus peeled off its body, and it needed to rely on the greatsword in its hands to barely stand firm, while the surrounding players had already picked up their rifles and directed a fierce barrage of bullets at it.

"Ugh—"

Gray-green smoke leaked out from beneath the edge of the helmet, like a silent roar, as it angrily readied its greatsword to charge at the players. However, just then, several players armed with RPG Rocket Launchers had already lined up in front of it.

"RPG!!"

Amidst an excited shout, armor-piercing bullets flew like arrows released from their bows, trailing plumes of white smoke as they bombarded the Decaying Knight.

The Decaying Knight swung its greatsword swiftly, knocking two armor-piercing bullets coming towards its face away. However, it couldn't stop more bullets from striking its chest, knees, and shoulders.

"Boom—!"

Brilliant sparks scattered in the roaring explosion, like iron sparks splashing from a forge.

The Decaying Knight, hit by several armor-piercing bullets, staggered backwards and, with a hoarse roar, lost its balance and heavily fell to the ground.

Even the armor from the Era of Prosperity couldn't withstand so many armor-piercing bullets focusing fire without shields activated.

Its breastplate had a hole as wide as a thumb, revealing the blood-red flesh inside. Its right leg was completely destroyed, with the metallic jets piercing straight through it.

The Decaying Knight struggled to rise from the ground, but just as it managed to sit halfway up, two more shots slammed into its face.

Well aware of the importance of a finishing move, the players didn't stop their attack after downing the BOSS, but relentlessly followed up with a thermobaric bomb!

The blast wave hit the breastplate, and even the highway beneath it shook upward from the impact.

The searing air rushed into the cracks of the armor, instantly shredding the internal fungi into a pool of black sludge.

The scorching heat entering its chest cavity took its consciousness far away, and in its dying moments, it seemed to hear the wails of every mycelium cell in its body.

Watching the crowd approaching itself, the pitch-black lenses of its goggles slowly lost their crimson hue in the firelight.

The nightmare that had imprisoned it for two centuries.

Had finally ended...

The fungi attached to the armor were completely destroyed. The power armor that had fallen again finally lay still, releasing the greatsword as if it had become a part of its body, no longer struggling to stand up, no longer making any sound.

A player stepped forward to inspect its corpse, confirming that the creature was indeed dead.

Looking at the long rectangular iron block corroded by the fungus lying aside, the construction boy with the RPG launcher exclaimed in surprise,

"This thing was actually a rifle?"

And it was a Gauss Rifle!

Large patches of the fungus cover peeled off the rifle, revealing the tuning-fork-shaped barrel and the folded-forward grip, while on the streamlined buttstock, an indistinct badge could be seen.

[111th Airborne Division]

Below that badge, a line of blurry text was faintly visible.

"He must have been a soldier... perhaps a squad leader," Debt Giant Eye speculated on the identity of the creature, looking at the remnants of the damaged armor and continuing with an uncertain tone, "While carrying out a mission in the center of Qingquan City, he and his squad were swallowed by the mycelia and then continued to fight for two centuries as evolutionary bodies."

"So you're saying we just defeated the 111th Airborne Division that's mentioned in the background information?" Edge Shoveling scratched his head as he spoke.

"At least we allowed one of them to rest in peace." Edge Shoveling sighed softly, looking at the armor lying on its back on the ground, "Let's haul it onto the truck."

The chances of it being repairable were probably not great.

Besides, the Alliance now had its own independently developed power armor "Xiaguang," with no need to rely on these aged relics.

The museum was where it belonged.

"Xiya is right ahead! Keep moving!"

Edge Shoveling gathered the stalled group, shouting loudly through the communication channel, calling everyone to proceed.

But just then, the ground beneath their feet subtly trembled, as if there were an earthquake.

Edge Shoveling hastily looked forward, his view obstructed by the dense fog, unable to see anything.

Debt Giant Eye decisively launched another drone skyward, flying in the direction where Edge Shoveling was looking.

However, the drone had barely entered the thick gray fog when it hit something like a wall and lost signal.

"Damn…"

Debt Giant Eye's shoulders jerked sharply, he shook his head to clear the white snowflakes from his vision.

When his vision returned to normal and he looked in the direction where the drone disappeared, he froze completely.

There was a fist as large as a billboard clenched there, connected to an arm as thick as a train, and a body towering like an iron tower.

"...Titan."

Edge Shoveling's face changed slightly, and he slowly forced out the word from his lips.

It was Titan!

And not just that—

One by one, silver-gray figures emerged from the fog, striding forward with firm steps, their eyes emitting a crimson murderous intent that was no less than what the players had just overcome.

Edge Shoveling quickly counted—there were at least twenty power armors huddled around the Titan!

They held all manner of weapons, still maintaining the battle formation they had used two centuries ago when they delved into the city center for exploration.

The mycelia had consumed them, transforming them into the guardians of this ruin.

Feeling the overwhelming pressure, nearly 3000 players squeezed on the street involuntarily swallowed.

The construction boy with the RPG launcher's Adam's apple bobbed, glanced at the matchstick-sized RPG in his hand, and muttered quietly,

"...We're screwed now."

The creature they had struggled to defeat turned out to be just an elite monster beside the boss.

The real boss had only just appeared!

Although his scalp tingled, Edge Shoveling still clenched his teeth and picked up his weapon.

They had successfully deceived Xiya, causing those restless fools to collide with the barrels they were ready for and tied down nearly all the strength of the Tide.

Now was the moment when the defense of that newly born entity was at its weakest—if they seized the opportunity to take down that thing, they could clinch victory in this war—

At least resolve this year's crisis!

"Prepare for combat!"

No matter what, they absolutely couldn't fall here!

...

"Mother of God... Is that thing a Titan?"

Perched in a Soaring Clouds fighter, darting between skyscrapers, Falling Feather glanced momentarily at the ground veiled in mist and couldn't help but let out an exclamation.

A steel giant, six stories tall, stood on the street, with scarlet fungal blotches crawling over its boxy armor like moss. A deep roar echoed above the entire city district.

It seemed the brothers of the Death Legion had encountered this thing.

Although he wanted to help them, he had more important matters to attend to.

"Hold on, brothers..."

The planes of the Goblin Corps were on their way; air support would soon reach their position.

Gritting his teeth, Falling Feather pushed the throttle and sped toward the city center.

And as the distance closed, he felt the frequency of pounding in his chest quicken.

Then, a light murmur reached his ears.

"Yi wu." (I see It.)

The spores flowing through the air had completely fused with the Wasteland, becoming like a deity of this land, every wisp of breeze Its breath.

It was a form of life that Xiaoyu had never seen before.

From that untouchable might, it sensed a sliver of fear.

The companion it shared its life with was no match for It...

They were still far too weak.

Even if all of them combined their forces, they probably wouldn't match a single hair on Its body.

"Don't be afraid, tell me, where is that It?" Sensing Xiaoyu's panic, Falling Feather, while intently piloting the plane, soothed it with patience.

Xiaoyu's emotions settled slightly.

"I can lead you to It... but I have no confidence in defeating It."

Falling Feather: "Don't worry, I won't let you face It alone, I'll be with you!"

Xiaoyu spoke with a pessimistic tone.

"You will die... Perhaps I won't since only my progeny entity resides in you, but you will be devoured by him, along with the part of me inside your body."

Die?

Falling Feather flashed a grin.

"Rest assured, I won't die."

What a joke.

He was the Flying Ace with Nine Lives!

To think he'd die after being killed just once—such an underestimation!

Xiaoyu's voice was still hesitant.

"Really?"

With both hands on the joystick, Falling Feather spoke earnestly.

"I promise you... even if I lose my heartbeat, I will still appear before you in three days."

That yi wu sound fell silent for a while, then emerged again, light as a feather.

"Forever?"

Without hesitation, Falling Feather replied.

"Of course!"

Though he couldn't see Xiaoyu deep underground, he could feel the excitement in that yi wu sound.

Pale red tendrils emerged from the back of his hands, creeping slowly towards the joystick he gripped, as if invisible hands were holding his.

In just a few breaths, the pale red tendrils had merged with the cockpit's controls and spread towards the cabin's surroundings.

Falling Feather wasn't startled in the slightest by this sudden change.

He trusted Xiaoyu wouldn't cause chaos at this crucial moment.

And just as he'd expected.

The moment those pale red tendrils fully connected with the cabin's machinery, an unprecedented sensation crawled over his entire body.

His consciousness sank down.

After that moment of dizzying bewilderment, he suddenly realized his consciousness had fused with the entire plane!

The plane's forward-swept wings felt like his own arms; he could distinctly sense the airflow over the wingtips as if it were gliding past his own fingertips.

Flying planes for so many years, he had never experienced a feeling like today.

He was like a bird soaring between high-rise buildings, unfathomable maneuvers as effortless to him as breathing.

It was as if he wasn't piloting Soaring Clouds.

He had become it!

"Holy shit..."

Experiencing this unbelievable and amazing sensation, Falling Feather's heart was filled with even more surprise and delight.

He felt that his understanding of flight had advanced by an entire level, reaching the legendary realm of "union with the machine"!

It seemed as if it perceived the joy in his heart, Xiaoyu also called out, delightedly.

"Shit!"

Uncharacteristically not minding Xiaoyu's foul mouth, at this moment, Falling Feather's mood was completely filled with joy.

"Hahaha, you're awesome Xiaoyu!"

"Yi wu!" (We are getting closer and closer to It; It has already discovered us!)

"Got it!"

Watching the skyscrapers whiz by outside the cockpit, Falling Feather unlocked the machine gun safety and his eyes fiercely locked onto a gray haze outside, his lips curling into an arc of high combat spirit.

"I'm ready!"

...

At the same time Soaring Clouds fighter arrived at the battlefield, a twenty-person squad from the Burning Corps had already glided through the edge of the North Second Ring Road and arrived at the center of Qingquan City.

This area, at the base of the spore clouds, was perpetually shrouded in an opaque misty fog, which even old players like Old Bai Fangzhang, who had been on the server since the wilderness era, had never seen before.

It's less like a nuclear bomb crater and more like a sunken lakebed.

The rule that concrete buildings withstood the nuclear blast seemed to have utterly failed here. In the face of absolute yield and heat, the concrete in the central area, along with the steel rebar supporting it, was ground to powder, completely erased from this world.

The buildings in the center of the nuclear bomb crater seemed to vanish into thin air, without even leaving debris behind.

And the area around the crater was in total disarray, where collapsed high-rises were either cut in half or uprooted along with their underground parking and foundations!

Silence reigned in the communication channel.

After witnessing this scene, almost all players were so shocked they couldn't speak.

Hands tightly gripping the glider's handles, Fang Chang's expression gradually shifted from surprise to gravity.

Unbelievably, even strategic weapons of such power were insufficient to completely erase the Lair from the surface of this planet...

What was eerie was that after passing the central inner circle of the city, they couldn't see the traces of the sub-entities anymore.

Where had those little guys gone?

Just then, the intermittent voice of Falling Feather came through the communication channel.

"...Xiaoyu has already locked onto the location of the Lair; the nearest entrance is about 600 meters to the west of you, I've marked it on the map."

Old Bai, floating in heaven, slightly furrowed his brow.

"That thing's underground?"

Affirmative answers continued to come through the communication channel.

"It should be; most of the spores in this area came from a well, Its body is likely buried beneath the ground. I'll provide as much aerial support as possible, but I can only deal with the surface level."

Old Bai: "Copy that, you too watch out for your safety!"

Falling Feather grinned: "Don't worry, I won't come down until the very end!"

The signal here was poor, the communication intermittent.

Not wasting time on idle chatter, Old Bai confirmed the landing coordinates through VM and immediately led everyone over.

As soon as the group touched the ground, they immediately set up weapons in formation.

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, evolutionary bodies didn't flood in like a tide to engulf them; instead, the silence made them hesitate—had they come to the wrong place?

All around them lay the wreckage of buildings and the foundations of skyscrapers that jutted abruptly from the ground.

Piled up concrete ruins were like man-made hills, half-buried in the fine sand.

The feeling of standing on the ground and looking around was far more shocking than floating in the sky and looking down.

However, what puzzled everyone was that before landing, they had carefully scanned the area, but they didn't spot a single sign of slime mold.

Not even a speck of mold!

"Where's the well?" Quit Smoking asked in a low, tense voice.

Old Bai glanced around at the surroundings.

"Falling Feather said it's nearby... let's look for it."

Not being besieged by evolutionary bodies was ultimately a good thing.

But just then, Night Ten, who had been frowning the whole time, suddenly spoke up.

"Did any of you hear something?"

Hearing the jinx's words, everyone paused, but they had no time to react before the earth-shaking tremor came from beneath their feet.

The fine sand began to sink downwards, carrying with it the nearby concrete debris.

Watching the ground cave in, Fang Chang's face suddenly turned pale.

"Damn it—"

He finally realized why there were no sub-entities here.

The Lair was not hiding somewhere here; It had never hidden itself, but was right under their feet, having merged with the land—

They were standing on Its head!

Chapter 635: Deep into Hell!

"Incredible."

Giant Stone City.

Standing atop the massive wall, Yibers stared in the direction of the city center, his face filled with unbelievable surprise.

He saw the spore clouds, shaped like a giant tree, restlessly churning as if swaying in a tempest.

Clearly,
someone had angered that thing.

His expression of surprise gradually turned into one of amused interest, and Yibers, standing there enjoying the view, couldn't help but click his tongue.

"It's been so long since that thing threw such a big tantrum... When was the last time?"

Was it twenty years ago, or thirty?

In his memory, a group of not-so-sane residents of the refuge seemed to have gone there, and their minds became even more deranged after coming back.

It was Shelter No. 117, wasn't it?

But it doesn't matter now.

"This is going to be a good show!"

Excitement sparkled in Yibers' eyes, the kind that comes from watching eagerly-anticipated chaos unfold, like awaitng a longed-for movie.

Rivers of blood!

Hurry!

...

Yibers wasn't the only one watching toward the city center. At a distance of dozens of kilometers from Qingquan City, a research ship was stealthily observing.

At this moment, Yang Kai was collecting data on the Mucor Nest using the ship's devices while maintaining contact with the Academy's Research Department, reporting the situation in Qingquan City in real-time to his superiors.

"A small ground force from the Alliance has entered the city center... yes, it's the one composed of Awakeners. They cleverly diverted the evolutionary bodies around the North Second Ring Road through a series of maneuvers, avoiding combat and entering that forbidden zone of life."

"However, their progress doesn't seem to be going well. The bait team encountered the Titan left behind by the 111th Orbital Division, and the squad that went deep into the city center made contact with the Lair as soon as they landed."

"Speaking of which, I'm also curious about how they located it so quickly."

Looking at the scanning images projected on the holographic screen, Yang Kai's face was filled with a strange expression.

A long time ago, exploration teams directed by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee had searched for the position of the Lair, but they had never pinpointed its exact location.

After all, the center of Qingquan City isn't just a point on a map; it's a fairly large area, not to mention the surface is in ruins, and underground it's even more complex, like a three-dimensional maze.

The mutant mucor mother nest in Qingquan City hid in that maze, releasing spores to the surface through the underground transportation network and the city's drainage system.

Indeed, the difference in spore concentration can roughly indicate the general area where the Lair is located, but pinpointing its exact coordinates using only this method is almost impossible.

Only by deploying sufficient numbers of ground forces to comb through the area where the Lair is suspected to be could one possibly find it.

The Defense Department, responsible for exploring the center of Qingquan City, had suffered heavy casualties in the process and only managed to come close to It.

But now, judging by the changes in the spore clouds above Qingquan City, those guys had clearly approached the Lair, and they had even made contact with It.

If this were a coincidence, it would be too convenient.

Yang Kai was utterly baffled.

How did they manage it?

...

Honestly, Fang Chang hadn't expected that following the coordinates provided by Xiaoyu, they would land directly on top of that Lair.

What surprised him even more was that less than half a minute after landing, they were swallowed by a gaping maw dozens of meters wide.

"...%￥#@!"

Those in the falling Feather planes above were dumbstruck.

Suddenly, a pit that resembled a deep abyss appeared out of nowhere on the empty ruins!

Bright-red fungal blocks, like the mouth of a man-eating flower, emerged from underneath and closed together in an instant, swallowing up two ten-men squads from the Burning Corps!

The entire ground shook violently, as if boiling water was bubbling.

"Old White!"

Hang in there, brother!

Falling Feather gritted his teeth and maneuvered the plane to reverse course, aiming the canon at the closed giant maw.

After a brief barrage, dozens of tracer rounds poured down like hail onto the closed giant mouth, splashing up a mass of shattered rocks and broken fungal blocks.

"Wuuu—!"

A somber and prolonged moan rose from the ruins, like the deep sound of a ship's steam whistle.

Watching the black blood and tissue debris scattered on the ground, Falling Feather realized that his attack had been effective, and a wave of elation washed over him.

However, just as he was pulling up the plane's nose and ready to make another strafing run, he saw the closed giant mouth slowly sinking downwards toward the ground below.

This thing was trying to escape!

Falling Feather saw he was almost too late, so he quickly stopped the ascent and turned the nose ahead of schedule to return.

Yet, as if the Lair had prepared for this very moment, a massive swarm of dark figures suddenly burst from a half-collapsed building not far away and charged straight toward him!

Carefully looking, that turned out to be a swarm of quad-copter drones eroded by the slime fungus!

There must be at least a thousand!

Seeing this scene, Falling Feather's face changed dramatically.

Holy moly.

This freaking works?!

"Yi wu!"

Falling Feather heard Xiaoyu's urgent warning in his ear, having already spotted the threat, he yanked the nose of the plane up sharply.

Almost a second before colliding with the swarm of drones, the Lingyun Fighter he was piloting drew an upward arc in the sky, narrowly opening the distance as it grazed the edge of that densely packed shadow.

"Damn... Has this slime fungus freaking become sentient?!"

Even though it was in the game, because the experience was too realistic, Falling Feather still broke out in a cold sweat.

The giant maw that had previously protruded from the ground was now gone, and the smooth ground was left with a large sunken crater.

Falling Feather couldn't help but feel a subtle sinking in his heart, unsure of how his teammates were doing.

"Yi wu..." (Something's... not right.)

Hearing the voice at his side, Falling Feather quickly asked.

"Did you find something?"

"...Yi wu!" (...It has its sights on us; we'd better get out of here quickly!)

Falling Feather was taken aback by these words.

It has its sights on us...

Wasn't that obvious after such a long fight?

Perhaps Xiaoyu's expression was too subtle, and he failed to grasp the profound implications within those words.

And just then, something unexpected suddenly happened!

The tail flame of the engine began to flicker wildly, like a candle snuffed out by the wind, and the ascending plane lost its power at once.

Falling Feather's face went completely pale, the situation was exactly like a jet plane losing its engine fire in the stratosphere.

But here, less than a thousand meters from the ground, how could that be possible—

Wait a second, the spores that suck away oxygen!

Falling Feather suddenly realized and mentally exclaimed "Crap!" but the drone swarm behind him had already caught up.

Those rotor-powered drones couldn't possibly catch up to a fixed-wing aircraft.

However, as his vehicle lost power and its speed steadily decreased, his seat turned nearly into a hanging target in mid-air.

As the densely packed drone swarm was about to catch up, and the engine failed to reignite, he had no choice but to grit his teeth, turn the nose of the plane, regain speed with the pull of gravity, and charge towards the roaring swarm.

"Die for me!!!"

As he faced the surging onslaught of drones, Falling Feather roared out loud, his index finger pulling the trigger all the way.

"Boom—!"

With a deafening roar, the machine gun spit out flames like a bayonet, piercing through the dark cloud of drones with merciless resolve.

Big chunks of drones were torn to pieces by the concentrated machine gunfire, and streaks of orange tracer fire carved a vacuum strip through the sea of onslaught drones!

However, there were just too many of them.

A single 20mm cannon was not enough to shoot down all the drones rushing towards him.

Soon, several drones that slipped through the net hit his plane, then stuck onto its body like gum.

The weight of the Lingyun fighter suddenly increased manifold. More drones clung to it, almost covering the entire cockpit.

Having fired the last bullet in his machine gun, Falling Feather released the missiles under the wings, just before the wings were completely entangled, and braced for a crash-landing towards the direction of the nuclear crater.

That was the only possible place to land.

A nuclear explosion 200 years ago had cleared all obstacles in the entire area.

Just as he was about to land successfully, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a black shadow coming straight at him.

It was a swinging tentacle.

Just like the giant maw before, it drilled out of the soil, lying in wait for him to rush in.

Gripping the joystick tightly, he instinctively stomped the rudder hard.

The tentacle, coming head-on, narrowly missed the side of the cockpit canopy and slammed into the left forward-swept wing of the Lingyun fighter.

The one advantage of Goblin technology was fully evident in this moment—the stainless steel forward-swept wing, like a sharp razor, sliced the tentacle that emerged from the soil in two pieces.

The remaining half of the tentacle, like a bisected earthworm, twisted in agony on the ground as black liquid gushed from the severed end like a fountain, spraying all over the ground.

Yet, Falling Feather had no time to rejoice.

This gorgeous slicing, while severing one of the lair's tentacles, also completely disrupted the balance of his vehicle, which flipped over and crashed down towards the center of the nuclear crater, breaking the beautifully made forward-swept wings during the tumble.

But thanks to this, the large pieces of the fungus attached to his vehicle were also crushed into bits during the roll, leaving debris all over the ground until the rolling chassis finally came to a halt.

At this point, what was left of the entire Lingyun fighter was nothing but a bare cockpit. The stainless steel body was battered and dented, barely a square inch of its outer shell remaining intact.

For any ordinary pilot, after this series of maneuvers, even leaving a complete corpse would be a medical miracle.

However, the pilot Falling Feather was far from an ordinary pilot, or even an ordinary human.

Just two seconds after his heart stopped beating, the pale red fungal mass adhered to his chest suddenly contracted inward twice.

About half a minute passed.

Falling Feather, who was unconscious, suddenly coughed violently twice, spit out a few mouthfuls of blood mixed with bits of flesh, and woke up from his coma.

"Yi wu!"

The sound of surprised joy reached his ears, and he knew it was Xiaoyu who had saved him once again.

"Thank you..."

"Yi wu!" (I'm glad you're alright.)

Forcing a faint smile on his face, Falling Feather took a deep breath and unbuckled the safety belt pressing against his chest.

Looking at the reflection of his face on the cockpit glass, now handsome only by half, he reached out his index finger to touch the pale red fungus and could not help but chuckle bitterly.

This buff that sped up his recovery was indeed useful, the only downside being that he was becoming less and less human-like.

But it wasn't exactly unsightly, either.

Maybe it was due to getting used to it, at first he wasn't very comfortable with Xiaoyu's physical form, but as time went by, he felt it was actually quite fine, and even thought it looked quite beautiful at times.

Part of it might have been that his own aesthetics were subtly changing, and another part could be due to Xiaoyu adapting towards human beauty standards.

As a wholly different life form, in a way, it was like the bionic people and AIs living in the Alliance—it was slowly becoming assimilated by the society of the Alliance.

Just like the little cats and dogs that had come to live near human settlements more than ten thousand years ago.

Cooperation was always easier than conflict when it came to surviving in this dangerous universe.

But that might be a matter for the far future...

Xiaoyu was a one-of-a-kind exception among the millions of evolutionary paths of mutated slime fungus. Right now, the monster entrenched in the Qingquan City Center was no tame cat or dog.

It was a blood-sucking, tooth-gnashing wolf!

The plane's cockpit was stuck. Falling Feather tried opening the canopy, found it immovable, then took out an emergency hammer from the toolbox under the ejector seat, and hammered furiously at the glass.

After shattering the glass, he grabbed a submachine gun, crawled out of the cockpit, and chambered a round.

This was near the center of the nuclear crater.

All around was a bare wasteland, and the raised edges of the crater could be seen in the distance.

As he was trying to make contact with headquarters using the airplane's onboard radio, the ground suddenly shook violently again.

Falling Feather's face changed slightly.

Just as he thought the lair was going to repeat its trick and swallow him as well, a cloud of dust kicked up on an open space about twenty meters away from him.

A giant, Venus-flytrap-like maw burst through the loose soil like a breaching whale.

Falling Feather's initial reaction was the creature had misjudged his location and missed its bite. He was about to fire the gun in his hands, but he quickly realized something was wrong with the creature.

The giant maw let out a painful, long moan, its body twisted within the rising billows of dust, as if it were dry heaving, continuously spewing sand and pebbles outward.

Witnessing this scene, Falling Feather stood dumbfounded.

"What the hell?! What's going on!?"

Is this...

Food poisoning?

It seemed that way at the moment, as the immense maw continued to vomit ceaselessly, as though it was trying to spew all of the subterranean sand to the surface.

Seeing the gushing debris and clods of earth hurtling towards him, Falling Feather hastily dodged backward to avoid them.

And just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure flying out from the billowing dust and crashing heavily onto the open space about 5 meters away from him.

The person was clutching a short axe smeared with black blood, lying spread-eagled.

After a while, there was a smack as something else dropped beside him, upon closer inspection it appeared to be a severed hand.

Falling Feather hurried over, lifted the helmet off the person, and saw it was Old White.

Seeing Falling Feather's face, Old White gave an embarrassed smile and said sheepishly,

"I know it's a bit embarrassing, bro, don't laugh at me... cough, how did you get down here?"

And with your face looking like that.

Falling Feather smiled bitterly.

"Don't even mention it... This lair's cheats never stop coming, and they're all different. I've been flying planes for so many years, but this is the first time I've gone up against something so outrageous."

"Pretty outrageous, indeed..."

Getting up from the ground, Old White reached out to wipe the black blood off his face, but as his hand was also covered in the black goo, he only made his face dirtier.

Realizing this was futile, he gave up trying to clean his face and instead went to pick up the severed hand of the Gale Brothers.

This guy had the worst luck.

As soon as the giant maw shut, he was impaled from below by a tentacle, leaving only this indigestible mechanical hand behind.

Ever since the Burning Corps was established, they had been involved in countless operations, big and small.

Such severe casualties were likely a first-time occurrence.

Watching the highest-leveled, strongest Strength Type creatures in the entire server suffer in such distress, Falling Feather couldn't help but swallow hard.

"What exactly did you encounter?"

"Just like you saw, swallowed by that thing." Looking toward that twisting huge mouth, Old White grinned with his broken lips, "This guy probably wanted to crack our skulls open to see what was inside, so he took us deep underground... but this beast clearly underestimated us."

Honestly, they had indeed been caught off guard, but that was all it was.

Right after Wild Wind was taken down in an instant, the others quickly reacted, focusing their attention on the ground beneath their feet and their surroundings, while opening fire with their rifles into that closing mouth.

After realizing that regular rifle bullets could not penetrate the lair's mouth, Fang Chang was the first to pull out the Dawn Longbow and fired a charged Explosive Arrow overhead.

The arrow that detonated after embedding in the fungal mass caused a decent amount of destruction, and the lair that had swallowed them soon showed symptoms of indigestion, as the walls of its digestive sac violently trembled.

Everyone's morale was immediately boosted, and the others also started attacking the crimson fungal masses around them with their various devices and weapons.

The most ruthless, without a doubt, was Night Ten.

Previously, the guy had been transformed into a mechanical body by the academy researchers, and the lair's digestive fluids had little effect on him; his defensive powers were even more out of this world.

A tentacle poked at his crotch, and despite the force that could pierce through a person, aside from sending him flying, it did not do much harm.

Following that, Night Ten, quick to react, grabbed the tentacle and activated the electrodes installed by a certain researcher on his body, delivering electrotherapy directly to the lair's digestive system.

The electricity discharged in an instant nearly drained his exoskeleton's batteries, but the effect was astonishing.

After taking a hundred thousand volts, the lair's cavity walls spasmed as if it had taken a laxative; soon, the debris and sand under everyone's feet began to spurt upward.

This act was clearly a sign of defeat.

The lair had given up on assimilating them and was trying to expel them from its body.

While the two were talking, Fang Chang was also ejected from the huge mouth, landing near them.

"Holy shit, Fang Chang? You made it out too?"

Old White's face registered surprise as he watched Fang Chang curse and struggle to rise from the ground. Fang Chang had just fired an arrow before getting targeted by a flurry of tentacles, and Old White thought he was dead.

"That was a close call..."

Removing his cracked helmet, Fang Chang looked annoyedly at the twisting giant mouth.

He had nearly been boxed in upon landing; after playing Game for so long, this was his first time being in such a sorry state.

Old White walked over to his side, helped him up, and asked.

"What about Night Ten?"

Recalling the scene he saw before he was spewed out, Fang Chang paused for a moment before responding.

"He's probably still holding onto that tentacle... but I guess he's running out of power by now."

Right then, Fang Chang suddenly noticed Falling Feather next to Old White and fixed his gaze on his half face corroded by the mucor, momentarily taken aback.

"Falling Feather..."

Falling Feather coughed lightly.

"Don't ask, I was shot down. As for my face... it turned out like this after Xiaoyu healed me."

But Fang Chang didn't care. In two steps, he reached him, delighted. He extended his hands and grasped his shoulders, "I'm not asking about that—I can tell what happened. How are you feeling now?"

Feeling somewhat awkward under the intense gaze, Falling Feather took a half step back, nervous.

"I... I'm okay, why?"

That look was all too familiar.

Just like when Mosquito invited him to test drive Goblin Technology's new fighter plane!

Noticing Falling Feather's unease, Fang Chang cleared his throat and, with a serious expression, said.

"Night Ten probably won't last much longer... and I've realized that conventional weapons can't kill that thing."

"Can't kill it as in..."

"It means just what it sounds like! It has become one with this land, its body spread beneath the entire city center. To think about it differently, our weapons couldn't possibly be stronger than those of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee... So, if the data compiled by Ah Guang is a mess, then the idea of using dynamite to destroy the lair from the beginning was unworkable—it's not on one particular spot of land, but everywhere!"

Perhaps this was why the Reconstruction Committee's Exploration Army had failed to pinpoint the lair's exact location.

Every coordinate they discovered was correct, but they only found parts of it.

Whenever they destroyed a part, it would lie dormant for a while, only to return soon after with memories and experiences from its previous battles with them.

By the same token.

Falling Feather watched him in disbelief.

"How could this be? I thought you had..."

"Managed to inflict damage, right?" guessed Fang Chang, eyeing him intently as he continued seriously, "It's useless. Those damages are like flea bites on it. Even if we give it our all, at best we can make it lurk underground for two or three years, like the Post-War Reconstruction Committee did... Now there's only one last way to finish it for good."

Falling Feather knew what that method was, the Plan B provided by the Manager—

In the event that they found the lair and discovered it could not be destroyed, he, who carried Xiaoyu's essence, would eat it.

However, there was a premise to this plan: they first had to get close to the lair.

Sensing the confusion in Falling Feather's eyes, Fang Chang cast a glance at the huge mouth vomiting stones.

"We're right above the lair, and it's right beneath our feet."

"There lies the nearest entrance!"

Chapter 636: The Collapse of Hell!

After listening to Brother Fang Chang's near madness idea, Luoyu thought that this guy must be crazy from playing the Game.

However, upon further thought, he felt there might be some sense in what the guy was saying.

After all, this is a Game!

Rationally analyzing the situation, if they could have killed that thing with conventional weapons, they wouldn't have had to wait for the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, as United Human would have done it long ago, and they certainly wouldn't have waited two hundred years for them to clean up this mess.

No matter what, they had no better options at the moment.

They had to try it!

Thinking of the Titan he had seen in the air, overtaken by the "mutated slime fungus", Luoyu took a deep breath, calmed Xiaoyu's nervousness, and looked earnestly at Fang Chang.

"What should I do to get inside?"

That enormous gaping maw continuously vomited out earth, the mud and construction debris sucked up from the depths nearly piling up into a small hill.

The electricity discharged by Night Ten would probably make it happy for a while, but the problem was the moment it stopped vomiting, it would definitely retract its mouth back underground.

The lair, having been duped once, couldn't be expected to fall for it again.

A smile lifted the corners of Fang Chang's mouth as he looked toward the Lingyun fighter that had been whittled down into a "stick jet".

He often mocked Mosquito Brother's wild ideas, but he had to admit, the guy never skimped on quality.

Take, for example, this stainless steel fighter plane.

Even though its wings were completely bent, the main structure was still intact.

"Get in using this."

"Get in using this?!" Luoyu was taken aback and said in confusion, "How the hell do I get in with this?"

It would be miraculous enough if he could land the plane smoothly, let alone fly it again—if it could, Newton's coffin would surely not stay put.

Knowing what Luoyu was thinking, Fang Chang had a completely different method in mind.

There was actually no need for the plane to take off again—

"It's simple," said Fang Chang with a pleasant smile, continuing, "let Old White carry the plane and throw it into the lair's mouth, and you just have to stomp on the throttle with your eyes closed."

A plane doesn't have a throttle, what's underfoot is the rudder pedal.

Luoyu looked bewilderedly at Fang Chang.

He suspected the guy didn't understand how a plane worked at all.

But—

Upon further thought, it wasn't entirely impossible.

The engine had not shut down because it was broken, and theoretically, it could be started if it hadn't been damaged from the turbulence just now.

Luoyu tried to picture the scene in his head.

It felt like—

"It's like a missile," Old White's teasing summed up what he was thinking, and he couldn't help but ask Fang Chang, "You sure this will work?"

"I'm not sure, only our ace pilot has the most say in this."

Fang Chang looked intently at Luoyu, waiting for his response.

Luoyu took a deep breath and slowly nodded.

"I can try… But this thing isn't light, are you sure Old White can lift it?"

Even if he emptied the ammunition and the fuel was nearly burned up, and the wings were completely broken leaving only the cockpit attached to the engine, the remaining structure must weigh about four or five tons.

This weight is indeed light for a fighter plane, but it's still a bit exaggerated for humans.

Could it work?

Luoyu looked at Old White, covered in blood, but the latter had a relaxed smile on his face.

"Let's try, with the added strength from the Exoskeleton, it should be fine."

Seeing Old White nod, Luoyu didn't hesitate any longer and nodded seriously.

"Then let's give it a go!"

The three immediately set to work.

Fang Chang, holding a shovel, ran to the side of the gaping maw and laboriously dug out a makeshift ramp from the pile of vomiting earth.

Luoyu climbed back into the cockpit to check the fuel lines while attempting to start the engine again.

As he grasped the joystick, that strange sensation came over him once more; the entire plane seemed to merge with him.

At that moment, Old White walked to the rear of the plane, swung the Thermal Cutting Axe, and chopped off half of the remaining tail.

Sparks flew, severing the tail, and Luoyu, in the cockpit, jerked his shoulders, unable to help but shout.

"What are you doing?"

Old White, axe in hand, paused and scratched his helmet.

"Just trying to lighten your load... you don't need it anymore, right?"

Luoyu: "..."

His words made sense, but how much could half a tail weigh?

Fang Chang's shout came from the front.

"Move quicker! Night Ten won't last much longer!"

"Roger that!"

Old White shouted energetically, hung the cutting tool on his Exoskeleton, crouched under the plane with both hands supporting its belly, and pushed upwards with all his might.

The Lingyun Fighter trembled violently under the force, as if having a seizure.

Old White clenched his teeth, his muscles tight and veins popping on his neck; his skin from brow to shoulder turned blood red as his feet sunk deeply into the soil.

That was nearly five tons of weight!

He was challenging human limits!

Feeling the seat's high-frequency vibrations, Luoyu instinctively held his breath as if to lighten his weight; he silently cheered for Old White in his heart.

Fang Chang did the same, holding his breath unconsciously.

Time passed slowly, every second felt like a year, but other than the constant shaking, the plane didn't move an inch from the ground.

Seeing the fuselage that still hadn't lifted, Fang Chang's heart was in his throat, and he frowned.

Was it still too much of a stretch?

"Maybe we should switch to another—"

Before he could suggest another plan, a loud roar cut him off.

"Aooo aooo aooo!!"

Boundary Breakthrough!!!

At the moment his talent was activated, Old White's pupils swelled with blood vessels, and with hands supporting the body of the fighter plane, he gouged two palm-print dents into the pockmarked stainless steel exterior.

The Lingyun fighter, which had been reduced to a stick-like shape, was suddenly lifted by him.

With nearly five tons bearing down on him, Old White felt as though he was sinking into the ground.

But without a doubt, he had indeed lifted the plane with his own hands!

The exoskeleton's joints whined under the strain, as if they could collapse at any moment.

His entire skeletal structure was the same, already pushing the limits of human endurance.

Without a pause, Old White strode toward the slope nearby, and at the moment of reaching the peak, he hurled the half of the fighter plane he held above his head into the abyss-like gaping maw.

"Go!"

With a roar, he sent Falling Feather on its last leg, and in an instant, his entire body's muscles lost their power.

Staring into the black hole-like esophagus, amidst the swirling debris, Falling Feather clenched his teeth and ignited the engine, pushing the throttle valve to its maximum and at the same time slamming the usually untouched afterburner to the limit.

"Get in there—!"

A pale blue arc light sparked in the profound darkness, and the engine's nozzle emitted a scorching blast of air.

The Lingyun fighter, already a wreck, once again started its engines, delivering its final thrust.

Pulled both by gravity and the force of the engines, the fighter plunged headfirst like a sharp dagger into the constantly thrashing throat of the lair.

"Wu—!"

Realizing the foreign object that had forced its way into its gullet, the lair howled in pain, like a throat choked on a fish bone.

However, no amount of expelling debris could contend with an engine capable of accelerating several tons of stainless steel to Mach three.

In a certain sense, the remaining half of the fighter had become an actual missile!

Within three seconds of the engine's ignition, the flame at the nozzle flickered and died out, but for the already accelerating Lingyun, it had been sufficient.

Plunging headlong, the fighter, in almost a few breaths, shot down the lair's twisted esophagus and plunged straight into the depths of its digestive system.

"What the fuck?! Falling Feather?"

Clinging to a tentacle, Night Ten exclaimed in surprise at the sight of the Lingyun fighter nosediving into the crimson chamber.

He was unaware of Fang Chang's plan and was simply astounded by the lair's supernatural ability to catch even flying objects from heaven to feed upon.

What a badass cheat code?!

Sand and soil filled the fighter's cockpit, nearly burying Falling Feather, who obviously couldn't hear what Night Ten was saying, nor was he in any position to care.

The lair finally seemed to grasp the anomaly on him and the threat he posed; countless tentacles attached to the stomach walls began to writhe like dancing pythons, then madly lunged at his seat.

Sharp tentacles clanged against the stainless steel frame, fortunately without piercing it.

His heart, which had been in his throat, settled back down, and Falling Feather focused, directing his attention to his surroundings, soon noticing Night Ten not far away, and called out joyously.

"Brother, give me a hand!"

"How can I help you?" asked Night Ten, bewildered as he clung to the tentacle.

Falling Feather quickly continued.

"Can't you electrify? Think of something, see if you can deal with these tentacles."

Night Ten laughed helplessly.

"What the fuck, if I could do that, would I be hanging here?!"

Hearing this reasonable response, Falling Feather was left speechless.

But just then, an idea struck Night Ten, and he shouted.

"Wait, I've got an idea!"

"What is it??"

"Your fuel tank! Where is it?"

"It's right behind my seat—"

Before Falling Feather could finish talking, Night Ten had already pulled out his pistol and aimed at the section of the frame behind his buttocks, firing two shots.

Startled by his sudden movement, Falling Feather laughed bitterly.

"I swear, brother, this is made of stainless steel; you shooting it with a pistol is a joke, right?"

Not to mention that a pistol couldn't pierce through; even a rifle would be helpless!

"Cough... I was just giving it a try."

Night Ten awkwardly put the pistol away, reached into his pocket, and felt a coin, his heart suddenly filled with joy.

"I've got it!"

Although it was his first attempt, the operating algorithm was already written on the chip.

Recalling the operation method that a Class D researcher had repeatedly insisted upon, Night Ten placed the coin in his mouth and freed his right hand to aim at the upended Lingyun fighter, meanwhile using his thumb as an aiming guide.

Watching him, Falling Feather was suddenly taken aback.

"What the hell are you doing?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, blue electrical arcs flickered around Night Ten's arm, followed by a whoosh that skimmed past his cockpit.

Several tentacles instantly severed, spewing black mucus all over the cockpit.

The crimson flesh behind him was also punctured, and black mucus continuously flowed into the digestion chamber.

Stunned by the commotion, Falling Feather stared unbelievingly at the guy hanging from the tentacle.

"What the hell?! What was that just now?!"

"Heh heh, my railgun! Cool, right? Just the aim's not great... Let me try again."

Saying this, Night Ten bit another coin in his mouth and adjusted the direction of his thumb's aim.

The capacitors began to charge, and a crackling of static electricity emanated from his whole body, the tentacle he was holding spasmed as if electrified.

As the wobbling "railgun" readied to fire, Falling Feather's heart nearly leapt to his throat, and he couldn't help yelling out.

"Could you please aim more accurately—"

This time, without waiting for him to finish, Night Ten released the silver coin he had been biting near his mouth and let the tumbling coin land on the magnetic track formed by the blue electric arcs.

Time seemed to slow at this moment.

The blue electric arcs were like a slingshot drawn taut, and at the instant the silver coin hit the track, they unleashed a terrifying force.

The silver coin, accelerated to several times the speed of sound, was like a cannonball as it slammed into the midsection of the Soaring Clouds fighter plane.

The fuel tank was pierced through in an instant.

The clear fuel fluid flowed along the outer shell of the cockpit, down to the bottom of the digestive chamber.

Seeing the remaining fuel level dropping continuously on the dashboard, Falling Feather felt a surge of joy in his heart.

"Success! Hang on, don't ignite yet, let the fuel leak for a while!"

Although the remaining amount of fuel in the tank was not much, there were still around a hundred liters left.

Seeing that the gauge had stopped falling, Falling Feather fumbled out a signal gun from the emergency box under the seat, aimed it directly beneath the nose at the puddle of fuel, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger.

A signal flare, burning with red light, shot out of the barrel and struck the puddle of fuel with perfect accuracy.

Accompanied by a burst of dazzling red sparks, the fuel, mixed with the black slime, instantly sparked a flame, and in the blink of an eye, it spread into a sea of fire.

The tentacles that were coiled around the plane, ignited at their bases, thrashed violently in the flames as if electrocuted.

Taking advantage of their preoccupation, Falling Feather, enduring the thick, scalding smoke, squeezed out of the damaged hatch just before the flames engulfed the fighter plane and leaped toward the edge of the sea of fire.

Almost at the same moment his feet touched the bottom of the digestive chamber, the sprouting flames entered the fuel tank.

The explosion's blaze instantly swallowed the tentacles, the surging shockwave struck his back, and pushed him forward with a jolt.

Night Ten, who had been watching the spectacle from atop the tentacles, was also knocked down by the blast, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Holy shit..."

Falling from a height of several meters, he grimaced in pain, but fortunately, his bones were made of titanium alloy, so after dusting off his butt, he stood up.

The entire digestive chamber's tentacles were completely burned, and the pulsating fungal mass had totally lost the means to deal with them.

And after their uproar, the "stomach walls" made of crimson fungal blocks had also been largely burned into blackened charcoal by the flames.

For the Lair, whose body spanned several kilometers, such damage was obviously not fatal, but it was definitely enough to give it a hard time.

Especially at this critical moment.

A large amount of the nutrients within Its body were supplied to the newborn Xiya, making it unlikely that it could spare extra energy to heal the damage any time soon.

Now was the best opportunity to devour It!

The oxygen content in the digestive chamber gradually decreased, and the burning flames slowly extinguished.

Dragging his battered body, Falling Feather limped to a relatively intact side of the digestive chamber and placed his right hand on the throbbing crimson fungal mass.

Its contracting frequency betrayed a hint of panic as if it were desperately trying to expel him from here.

However, this was evidently in vain.

He had not come this far just to give up so easily.

Taking a deep breath, Falling Feather whispered softly,

"Please... Xiaoyu."

He heard its call, a gentle, inarticulate murmuring that drifted into his sea of consciousness.

Then, one by one, fine pale-red filaments began to ooze from the palm of his hand, spreading towards that scarlet patch of fungi.

It was just like piloting the Lingyun Fighter.

He felt his consciousness traveling along those pale-red filaments, gradually leaving his body and leaning forward.

Amidst the faintness, he seemed to hear that cry from the unknown depths.

Just as he could understand Xiaoyu's inarticulate murmuring, he could also comprehend that furious shout.

"You are courting death!"

Feeling the surging emotions, Luoyu's lips curled into an involuntary smile.

Indeed, it was quite amusing.

Death?

For them, the players, it was merely a matter of three days!

"Then let's give it a try."

Feeling his defiant resolve, the Lair launched a silent roar of rage.

That roar was filled with disdainful contempt and anger at being offended by a trivial being, yet within that boundless fury and scorn, there also lay a hint of panic that was not easily noticed.

Although It had a leviathan-like gigantic body, It was not truly invincible.

Thriving on the abundant organic nutrients on the earth's surface, It could resurrect from the ruins time and again, even evolving a terrifying resilience capable of withstanding nuclear strikes.

However, It now faced something other than nuclear bombs.

It faced a monster that had struggled to survive in incredibly harsh conditions for nearly two centuries.

The understanding of both parties towards assimilation, as well as their utilization of resources, was completely on different dimensions.

When It could not overwhelm Xiaoyu with its numerous offspring and powerful Evolutionary bodies but had to arm wrestle with him in Xiaoyu's field of expertise, something neither It nor Xiaoyu had anticipated happened—

This being, akin to a god, was not as strong as It had imagined.

This being, as small as an infant, was not as easily crushed as It had thought.

It was like Its cancer!

That cancer, prepared for two centuries, tailored exclusively for It!

It seemed as if today's script had been written many years ago, beginning the moment Floor B6 of Shelter No. 404 fell...

The scarlet fungi gradually lost their color, turning into a different, lively shade of tender pink and flesh.

In a matter of moments, the patch of fungi connected to Luoyu's palm had changed color, creating a stark contrast with the rest of the agitated fungi.

The scarlet slime fungus rolled and waved its tentacles, trying to reclaim the lost territory, but no matter how much they struggled, even occasionally reclaiming an inch of ground, they could not stop the expansion of the pale-red fungi.

Witnessing this incredible scene, Night Ten involuntarily widened his eyes.

Not just him.

Even Luoyu, with his hand pressed against the fungi, was shocked by what unfolded before him.

He didn't know he had this ability.

No, that's not right—

This must be Xiaoyu's special skill.

While he was lost in thought, half of the digestion chamber had already fallen into his hands, and his right hand had completely merged with the chamber.

The once invincible lair finally realized the threat, franticly pulsating the gut of the digestive tract, trying to clear the Variant that had invaded its body through other means.

It had to kill it!

At all costs!

Even if it meant cutting off that piece of flesh completely from its body!

Accompanied by piercing howls, severely underdeveloped Variants tumbled from above the digestive chamber, smacking onto the ground with plop sounds.

They had rounded bellies, arthropod-like heads, and underdeveloped wings.

Old players who had participated in the previous Tide were all too familiar with these creatures—they were the Suicide Flying Insects known to explode!

Watching Xiaoyu standing still on one side of the digestive chamber, the Variants were screeching as they prepared to pounce on him.

But before they could even stand firm, a series of rapid gunshots turned the dozen or so Suicide Flying Insects into a mess of fragments.

"I ain't dead yet!"

Picking up a teammate's assault rifle from the ground and emptying a clip, Night Ten quickly reloaded and aimed at the progeny falling from above.

Even though he had no idea what the plan was about, he knew that he must not let those progeny get anywhere near the Luoyu Brothers!

The lair, sensing a threat to its life, had gone completely mad, attacking its own gastric bands recklessly.

The two of them cooperated seamlessly.

One took care of the miscellaneous soldiers, while the other focussed on assisting Xiaoyu, devouring all the "Mutated slime fungus" he touched.

At that moment, the pulsating digestive chamber above suddenly contracted tightly, closing the cardiac orifice.

At this instant, the entire digestive chamber had completely fallen into Xiaoyu's hands, fully becoming a part of his body.

Although it was just an organ, it connected to the whole internal circulation system of the lair.

Unless the lair stopped breathing altogether, it was now impossible to starve him to death by cutting off the influx of gases.

He even no longer needed to breathe on his own to get oxygen.

To support the consumption of this enormous body, the lair's respiratory system was much more powerful than his own lungs!

"Please... just stop!"

Hearing that pleading voice from the depths of his sea of consciousness, Xiaoyu's lips couldn't help but curve up into a playful smile.

"Weren't you saying that I was courting death?"

"..."

That silent silence made Xiaoyu feel bored.

Seeing that the lair didn't want to respond to his mockery, he refocussed his attention on the "Mutated slime fungus," which were entangled and resisting him.

The offspring that had fallen into the digestive chamber were gradually absorbed by him, transforming into nutrients that strengthened him.

Including the players from the Burning Corps who had died earlier, they were all digested and absorbed by him, becoming part of his body!

As for Night Ten, forget it.

The guy barely had any meat on him, and he was still alive; Xiaoyu couldn't bring himself to do it.

At that moment, a voice seemed to float from the depths of the universe, merging once more into his ever-expanding sea of consciousness.

This time, that voice carried a hint of pleading.

"Don't... I don't want to die..."

"What about those you've devoured? Did they wish to die?" Xiaoyu's voice carried a hint of mockery.

But he didn't hear any sarcasm in the voice.

The lair answered without hesitation.

"They... weak... ugly... filthy, being eaten by a more powerful, more perfect me, is the natural order."

Xiaoyu nodded, his face revealing a contented smile.

"Now that you've said that, I feel relieved."

Perhaps feeling that cheerful emotion, the lair, believing it had managed to survive, couldn't help but express a fleeting joy from the narrow escape.

However, that joy didn't last two seconds before it plummeted into an abyss once again with Xiaoyu's next words.

"…Since you agree that it's the natural order, I'm sure you'd have no complaints about being eaten by me."

"Can't even digest something once it's in your mouth, you're really weak, huh."

The latter part was said by Xiaoyu.

As the two finished speaking, the pale-red tendrils wrapping the digestive chamber took the next step, beginning to spread through the lair's internal circulation system.

Soon, the "cancer cells" he released spread throughout the lair's body through the internal circulation system, delivering the final fatal blow.

The whole process went so smoothly that Xiaoyu himself didn't expect it.

Not just him; even Xiaoyu, sitting on Floor B6 of Shelter No. 404, was staring with his mouth agape.

His power made it tremble, not daring to show its own breath in His presence.

Yet, Its own strength turned out to be so easily shattered!

No matter how you looked at it, the lair didn't have enough time to evolve an "antibody" that could deal with them.

At this moment, It was like an emperor paralyzed on the dragon throne, with the power to command thousands, yet inescapably facing the unavoidable decline and death.

"No——" It screamed in despair, trying to stop the incomprehensible power coursing through its body, yet failing to halt its collapse.

As if hearing Its desperate wail, the spore cloud hovering above Qingquan City was churning like boiling waves.

Standing atop the immense wall of Giant Stone City, Yibers watched unblinkingly towards the center of the city, his face filled with disbelief.

The "Giant Tree," which had stood for over two hundred years, was actually collapsing!

That was a scene Lord Fang Ming could only dream of seeing, and he actually lived to witness it for that man!

He thought he would never get the chance in his lifetime.

After all, those foolish organic beings were so disappointing, always wasting precious time on senseless mutual destruction.

Yibers mumbled as if in a dream, his voice choked with emotion due to excitement.

"Incredible... they actually did it!?"

This unbelievable miracle exciting him even more than rivers of blood!

He had truly witnessed the Great Antler God!

Chapter 637 Gaia

North of River Valley Province, Origin City of Grand Canyon.

Inside that spacious conference room, an elderly man with graying temples and a dignified face sat alone in front of an empty long meeting table.

He was the chief of the Grand Canyon and the final member of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee.

No one knew exactly how old he was, not even himself. Memories of the old era had long been left behind in the distant past.

Gazing intently towards the south, a look of surprise gradually appeared on the old man's face.

After a moment, he lowered his eyes, murmuring in disbelief, "…Did it really succeed?"

…

It wasn't just the chief of the Grand Canyon who was shocked.

Yang Kai, a researcher dispatched from the Academy to the Alliance, also had a stunned expression on his face.

The spore cloud hanging over Qingquan City was slowly collapsing!

They had observed this lair for two centuries, and this was a miracle that had never occurred before!

But that was not all.

By analyzing the pheromones within the spore cloud, he could clearly hear the lair emitting a painful wail.

"…How did they do it?"

Was it some kind of special virus?

Or did they introduce a species that could restrain the "Mutated slime fungus"...

The genetic information contained in that creature's gene pool almost exceeded the sum of all genetic information of the species on Earth, making it almost a godlike entity from ancient religions!

They didn't even fully grasp that creature's gene pool, so where could they find a species to counter it?

Yang Kai muttered under his breath, his face filled with disbelief and confusion, unable to fathom it.

He could not understand.

How had this new power, formed less than two years ago, managed to do what even the Post-War Reconstruction Committee couldn't eradicate?

…

The spores accumulating inside Qingquan City were boiling, like a pot of scalding water.

Not only the city center's lair but also the young Xiya, was roaring.

It felt its mother's pain.

A terrifying force had invaded its body, slowly devouring it!

Amidst its anger, Xiya couldn't help feeling a hint of fear.

What exactly was it?

Even its mother couldn't handle it!

The spores floating beside it sent out ripples of fury.

The gray-green mist, like a raging torrent, centered around the North Second Ring Road, diffused along the streets, enveloping every spore and evolutionary body.

A silent scream echoed in the consciousness of every spore entity.

"Kill them!"

"Tear them all apart!"

Fuelled by that furious emotion, both the Eaters and the Crawlers emitted hoarse, piercing roars, like echoes stirred by those screams.

"ROAR!!"

Less than a kilometer away from the giant wall, the soldiers of the Punishment camp couldn't help but show signs of panic on their faces as they watched the increasingly fierce assault of the Tide.

Gunfire had erupted for less than an hour, and 5000 men had already been reduced by twenty percent.

Two hundred-man squads were annihilated!

They witnessed firsthand as their brethren on the same front line were overwhelmed by a group of flesh-eaters.

Within mere breaths, the creature was torn into shreds by numerous claws, not a single whole bone remaining.

Those spore entities were like malevolent spirits.

And now they had gone mad, charging at them recklessly!

At the end of the day, they had only received three months of military training, unlike players who could die and respawn.

Some of the soldiers couldn't suppress their fear, moving their feet back involuntarily.

As if sensing that fluctuation in morale, shouts from the Supervisory team came from behind them.

"Hold the line! No retreat!"

Simultaneously, two machine guns from the rear unleashed fierce firepower, accompanying the rat-tat-tat of strafing sounds, tracers like a spray of raindrops fell in front of them.

Bit clenched his teeth, grabbed his rifle, and led the charge forward. After shooting several Eaters that knocked down frontline machine gunners, he dragged one of the mutilated bodies away and crouched into the machine gun bunker.

He knew very well.

If they took even one step back, not only would the torrent of bullets in front of them also follow suit, but the artillery fire from behind would fall right upon their heads.

Retreating was certain death.

But if they held on, perhaps they could still live!

"Ah!"

Bit, holding the machine gun, gripped the trigger and sprayed bullets towards the Eaters charging towards him, while shouting to dispel his fear.

Just then, a series of booms of cannon fire erupted from the other side of the street.

He was all too familiar with that sound—it was the Alliance's 37mm cannon!

As if confirming his guess, armored vehicles pierced into the battlefield from the flank, flipping scores of Variants with their broad fronts and steel crash fences.

The 37mm machine guns mounted on top of those armored vehicles commenced firing, pulling a deadly web across the fragmented street with tracers thick as pythons.

The center of the Tide exploded in a cascade of black blood mist; the charging mucosal entities fell like wheat, and many Eaters were tragically blown to bits, losing half their bodies.

The originally precarious defense line saw its pressure slashed in half in an instant, and the morale of the Punishment camp climbed from rock bottom to halfway up the slope.

Seeing the armored vehicles and the dark skull insignias, many let out cries of joy, while others whistled.

"It's the Skeleton Corps!"

"Reinforcements! Our reinforcements!"

"They haven't abandoned us!"

Not just the Skeleton Corps!

There were also the Militia Group of Giant Stone City!

The militia, donned in exoskeletons, led by series of power armor, followed the armored vehicles' lead and pushed forward, launching a counterattack against the overwhelming Tide.

The cannons from the giant wall and the bullets from the Punishment camp had already annihilated a sufficient number of mucosal entities; some satiated Eaters attempted to bring nutrients back to their lairs as resources for breeding more fighters.

The Alliance, of course, wouldn't let these creatures succeed—they had no intention of giving Xiya any respite.

Taking advantage of the weakened Tide, the Skeleton Corps, which had been waiting by the side, immediately collaborated with the Giant Stone City's Militia Group to launch a counterattack.

Watching the uproar of gunfire echoing through the streets, Bit's pupils dilated, followed by an expression of incredulous joy.

The same was true for the soldiers behind him.

Months ago, they had hated the tanks and armored vehicles of the Alliance to the core, as it was these very forces that had sealed off the slums beneath the great wall mercilessly.

Especially after being incorporated into the Punishment camp, almost everyone had despaired, believing they were doomed to die as cannon fodder for the Alliance.

However, what they hadn't expected was that the Alliance didn't follow through with that plan but instead fulfilled their promise—after they served their role as cannon fodder and held off the Tide's advance, the Alliance and the Militia Group took over the task of attacking.

Only those who regain what they have lost can truly appreciate the value of life.

At this moment, those who survived the ordeal felt so grateful they could almost kneel.

Even the fiercest prisoners offered heartfelt praise.

"Praise the Alliance! Praise the great Manager!"

With the Militia Group's infantry escorted to near the incubation rooms, after dealing with dozens of troublesome evolutionary bodies, the Skeleton Corps left behind only a hundred or so Awakeners to assist, while the rest of the players followed the armored forces down the main road towards the Death Legion at the edge of the North Second Ring Road.

According to news from the human radio broadcasting from the front line, the Death Legion had collided with the remnants of the 111th Orbit Airborne Division, which had been corrupted by mutated slime fungus.

Among them were dozens of Decaying Knights and even a Titan six stories tall!

Showing half of his head above the top of an armored vehicle, Mole grabbed a megaphone and shouted loudly.

"Full speed ahead!"

"Our guy at the edge has encountered a Titan! We can't let that thing have all the fun!"

His resonant yell echoed through the communication channels.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

With the counterattack battle underway, the situation around Giant Stone City had been reversed.

Incubation rooms scattered along the Tide's path functioned just like a "barracks" for the mucosal entities; once the fighters were annihilated, the multitude of bodies could only serve as raw material for nutrient paste.

The western front was nearly resolved, but the battle on the northern side continued.

Especially in the defensive line's Section 06.

A total of 10 positions—front, middle, and back—were completely overwhelmed by the ferocious assault of the Tide.

The Burning Corps, dropped into the city center, had stirred up a hornet's nest, and Xiya, as if mad, charged at the Alliance's positions relentlessly.

The Alliance, on their part, were relentless as well, with Goblin Corps planes circling through the shattered skyscrapers, intermittently raining death from above.

Artillery from the rear continued to fire non-stop, delivering shell after shell into positions now overflowing with mucosal entities.

Although the positions were nearly submerged in the boundless Tide, no matter how Xiya urged her mucosal entities to advance, she could never completely seize those battlefields.

The sound of resistance never ceased; even with more than half their numbers fallen, the players did not retreat but pushed forward relentlessly.

Inspired by the Residents of the refuge leading the way, the NPCs of the Alliance also unleashed astonishing will to fight, surging forth towards the positions.

The battle situation entered a deadlock.

Every street had become a meat grinder, both sides using every means they could think of to fight for every inch of ground in front of the last line of defense.

And just then, something happened that no one had expected.

The mucosal entities that had been surging towards the positions like a tide suddenly retreated!

Whether they were Eaters thrown into the fray as cannon fodder or Decaying Knights wielding large weapons.

They turned around almost simultaneously like the ebbing tide and hastily retreated along the road they had come from.

Standing in the middle of the defensive area at position number 4, "Kakarot", panting heavily, changed the magazine in his rifle and swiftly glanced out of the building's window at the street.

Seeing those Eaters retreating, a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.

"What's going on?"

The Tide was retreating?!

Last year, when the Tide came, they had gone through several days of fierce fighting, pushing back to the indefinitely reproducing mother entity's side and had only ended the Tide by killing it.

He was just getting into the thrill of the kill.

Why were these entities starting to run back?

Standing next to him, Kevin, who had lost a leg, also showed a face of disbelief as if the sun had risen from the west.

"Did Xiya chicken out?"

Watching the mucosal entity continuously withdrawing from the building, "Kakarot" subtly shook his head.

That's when Brother Quanshui's voice came through the communication channel.

"… Mosquito Brother reported seeing mucosal entities retreating to the North Second Ring Road. I guess the brothers in the Burning Corps… can you believe it, they actually succeeded?"

When he said this, Spring Water Commander's voice couldn't help but carry a hint of emotion.

Honestly, although he agreed with Brother Fang Chang's "bodyguard plan," he was skeptical about that guy's plan to raid the city center.

Maybe he didn't understand the game deeply enough.

In his view, for a game still in closed beta, the Dog plan had no reason to let them take down the big boss in the city center.

Wouldn't it be appropriate to add a blood-lock cheat?

Turned out, the Dog plan was so generous, everything really became possible just as he had figuratively described.

If they could also take down Xiya, from then on the Tide might well become history.

At least for Qingquan City.

"What should we do now?" "Kakarot" tapped his helmet and asked in the communications channel.

After a moment's contemplation, Quanshui responded without hesitation.

"Follow them!"

Kevin next to him was stunned.

"Chase them? Now?"

"Yes!" Spring Water unhesitatingly said, "Now is the best opportunity. The Death Legion has already reached the edge of the North Second Ring Road, and the Skeleton Corps is also advancing towards the North Second Ring Road. If we can hold off those little guys' retreat, we can wipe them all out!"

"Hehe, I like this idea!"

"Kakarot," grinning, loaded his rifle, switched to the whole team voice channel, and bellowed.

"Brothers! The Tide is retreating—it's our time to counterattack!"

"It's time to change our BGM!"

As if coordinating with his call to attack, the broadcast originally blaring noise suddenly played that familiar tune—the sound of the bugle call!

As the clear melody passed through the battlefield shrouded in gunsmoke, the players, whose strength was nearly depleted, suddenly erupted with astonishing morale as if their blood had awakened!

The thunderous roar even dispersed the grey fog accumulated on the street.

The players, as if injected with steroids, rushed towards the retreating mucosal entities.

"Kill!!!"

"Roar!!!"

Soldiers of the First Army Corps standing on the battlefield were stunned, staring wide-eyed at the residents of the refuge, who had gone into a frenzy and were chasing after the mucosal entities.

Li Shudong swallowed his saliva, his eyes filled with surprise and awe, and then gradually filled with boundless respect.

They were true warriors!

Unafraid of death and unknowing of fatigue!

Under the inspiring overwhelming fighting spirit, he felt his own blood boiling and uncontrollably shouted out that cry which he himself didn't understand its meaning.

"Kill!!!"

...

As the Storm Corps and the First Army Corps began their pursuit, the counteroffensive battle at the North suburb of Qingquan city fully erupted.

While Xiya was exhausted dealing with the pressure of attacks coming from two directions and struggling to direct the entities to defend, Falling Feather and Xiaoyu's devouring of the Lair gradually drew to a close.

The increasingly weakening consciousness no longer sounded pleas but fell into a dark abyss amid venomous curses.

Falling Feather felt his consciousness merging into Its body, flowing through Its veins and spreading throughout Its entirety.

Gradually, he could sense more than just Its body but also that which lay beyond it.

The millions of spores floating in the air felt like his antennae.

Through those floating neurons, he could vaguely perceive each of the mucosal entities.

They were all Its children.

Including Xiya.

And including the fungal mats that covered the walls.

He clearly saw Xiya—Its most beloved child before Its death—looking up at him with eyes filled with terror.

As if he were a terrifying monster.

At this moment, a word he had only seen in novels suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Could this be... possession?"

This seemed the most fitting description.

Realizing this, Falling Feather quickly fell into ecstasy.

Ignoring Xiya, who feared him, he tried to focus all his spirit to merge his consciousness into that vast sea of consciousness.

Just then, a bright white light suddenly burst into his consciousness.

Accompanied by a loud boom, he felt his body being sucked away, forcibly pulled into a vast, boundless darkness.

Suddenly losing sensory contact with his body, Falling Feather panicked for a moment, thinking he had overplayed his hand and was being retaliated against by the Lair.

Fortunately, at that moment, a light, whispering voice drifted into his ears, immediately calming his restless heart.

"Yi Wu!" ("Don't be afraid, I'm here too!")

Falling Feather took a deep breath and looked toward the bright white light floating beside his consciousness entity.

"Xiaoyu?"

"Yi Wu!" ("Yes!")

"Where am I?"

"Yi Wu." ("This is Its memory.")

"Its memory…"

Repeating these words, Falling Feather suddenly realized they had ingested not only Its body but also Its memories.

Thinking this, Falling Feather couldn't help but feel a bit of curiosity, wanting to see what secrets lay deep within the Lair's memory.

At that moment, small dots of light suddenly appeared beside him in the darkness, soon transforming the endless darkness into a vast, boundless starry sky.

Floating amidst the colorful starlight, Falling Feather's eyes widened—even though he was merely an abstract consciousness entity here without real eyes.

Gradually, a bright star emerged from that expanse of stars.

Beside that star hung a beautiful planet.

It was like a meticulously crafted piece of art.

The earth glowed red like twilight, the sea was a vibrant green.

Boundless rainforests spread throughout the world, a flourishing array of species thrived here.

The wonders did not end there.

The boundless rainforest was not made up of trees, but huge "mushrooms."

The "animals" active on this planet were fundamentally different from Earth's animals.

They sprang from the soil beneath their feet and upon death returned to the dirt, only to begin anew in the cycle of life.

Every living thing fed on Its hair, without the need for conflict or strife, and could play and frolic all day.

Here, there was no concept of a food chain, only a nearly perfect circle.

In a sense, whether they ran on the ground, flew in the air, or grew from the soil,
everything on this planet was Its mucosal entities, achieving eternal harmony through the ages.

All things were nurtured by It, and all things, in turn, nurtured It.

Gazing at that beautiful planet, Falling Feather couldn't help but be mesmerized for a moment.

Is this the "beehive"?

It seems…

Not as terrifying as imagined, perhaps?

"Who is It?"

A distant voice came from the depths of his consciousness.

"It has no name."

"After you came, you called It Gaia."

Chapter 638: Farewell, My Unmet Kindred

In the center of the nuclear bomb crater.

The vomiting mouth originally seen had retracted back beneath the ground, leaving only an unfathomably deep pit and two people standing beside it.

The two looked at each other, until Old White couldn't stand the silence and coughed lightly as he initiated conversation.

"What next?"

Fang Chang looked at him, puzzled.

"Next?"

"Uh, I mean… what's our plan now?"

Seeing Fang Chang's expression that clearly read "What are you talking about?", Old White scratched his helmet and rephrased his question.

Although he was the team leader, he indeed lacked experience in handling situations that were like nothing he had ever encountered in reality. This was the time when he needed to rely on Brother Fang Chang's imaginative ideas.

However, seeing Fang Chang's indifferent expression, he knew he probably asked in vain.

"There is no next step… rather, this is entirely outside our planned developments."

Fang Chang sighed and walked to the edge of the massive pit, looking down into it.

That profound darkness seemed capable of swallowing everything.

And in fact, it had nearly done so, almost wiping out their squad in a single gulp.

Honestly speaking.

If he weren't a player, he wouldn't dare venture into this place or come up with that reckless plan.

But because he was a player, he not only dared to accept this life-threatening mission but also could ruthlessly throw his teammate into this pit without either of them finding any issue with it.

People with clever minds inevitably think too much. Sometimes, he involuntarily had the illusion—that him standing here, thinking this way, making these choices, was all predetermined years ago.

But that seemed alright.

After all, this was a game.

Players were merely like pinballs rolling around the "Table Pinball," and skilled game designers crafted their designs cleverly, making players feel this as little as possible.

For example, he was now curious about what Xiaoyu might find below.

He hoped it wouldn't turn out to be nothing and become a messy debate.

That would be embarrassing.

"So… we just wait here?" Old White asked from not too far behind.

Fang Chang shrugged.

"It seems that's all we can do for now."

"That might be difficult."

"Difficult?"

Hearing that subtly loaded question, Fang Chang standing by the pit was slightly startled, turned his head instinctively, and his entire demeanor faltered.

He saw at the edge of the nuclear bomb crater, a dense crowd of mucosal entities had encircled them.

Among them were variants like Tyrants and Crawlers, as well as power armors corroded by mucilage, with armored vehicles and trucks and many more bizarre entities.

In terms of recycling waste, no one on this Wasteland could compete with the mucilage.

They were not simply piecing together the trash as armor, but according to their understanding and utilizing their vast genetic library and self-evolution capability, they evolved into a series of unimaginable units.

For example, those minibusses were the typical representatives, capable of launching kamikaze bugs like rocket vehicles.

"…We're screwed now," Fang Chang took off the Dawn Mechanical Composite Bow hanging from his back, his scalp tingling as he squeezed out these words.

"Ah," Old White also nodded, speaking resignedly, "Let's talk it over on the Forum later."

The two against ten thousand… or possibly even more.

The probability of survival was nonexistent.

Both prepared themselves for battle.

However, unexpectedly, those mucosal entities merely surrounded them and did not swarm over to overwhelm them.

Just as Old White and Fang Chang puzzled over what these creatures were waiting for, the ground beneath them suddenly began to tremble.

Before they could react, numerous pale red vines burst from behind them in the massive pit, intertwined and climbed up about tens of meters high, resembling a tall tower, and ultimately, at the top of the tower, they wove into a uniquely shaped chair.

That chair, like a throne, was now occupied by Xiaoyu who had previously been thrown into the pit, now flamboyantly seated upon it.

Watching the pale red fungal tower, the mucosal entities around the nuclear bomb crater suddenly stirred, releasing a hoarse chatter, their shifting footsteps seemingly wanting to approach, yet hesitant.

They were confused, frightened, unable to comprehend the situation before them, and chaotically lost.

Observing the mushroom crowd surging like a tide, Xiaoyu felt an inexplicable absence of fear.

He could see every mucosal entity here, he could clearly perceive what they were thinking.

A vast sea of thoughts rushed toward him.

Feeling the desire flowing in the spore cloud, he released his own ripple.

For him, who now controlled the entire Lair, this was as simple as breathing.

"There's no need to panic."

"It's over—"

"This war that has lasted for two centuries."

It seemed they felt the ripple flowing in the spore cloud, and the turbulent emotions were instantly soothed.

The mucosal entities pacing back and forth at the edge of the pit finally stopped their hesitations, stretching their limbs upwards, shouting in their way joyously.

That familiar ripple was indeed emitted by Mother!

All the nervousness and fear dissolved at that moment, wiped away by the spreading spore cloud.

Upon recognizing Her scent, they accepted this new king in less than a second.

Satisfiedly watching the obedient reactions of the mucosal entities, a smile unwittingly curled on Falling Feather's lips.

Is this the feeling of power?

It's simply too delightful!

Maybe I should try shouting "kneel down" next?

Just as Falling Feather was pondering how to show off, Old White and Fang Chang, who were standing under the intertwined pale pink vines, both simultaneously raised their heads, gaping at him in astonishment.

"...What's going on?"

"Brother... are you still human?"

Seeing the confused faces of Old White and Fang Chang, Falling Feather felt a bit embarrassed and lightly coughed.

"Of course I am; speaking of what happened, that's a long story that starts with a planet called Gaia... It's not something that can be easily explained in a moment, I'll elaborate more when we head to the Forum later."

Fang Chang, still dazed, nodded in agreement, feeling that made sense.

It's good to make a post, sharing joy is better than enjoying it alone; otherwise, after he finishes listening, the other brothers would still be in the dark.

However, he was completely baffled as to how this involved a planet named Gaia.

And—

"Alright... By the way, where's Night Ten?"

The moment his voice fell, Falling Feather was about to speak when a cursing voice came from below him.

"I'm right here... damn it, this guy couldn't even get me a chair."

Under the pale pink fungal tower, Night Ten was clutching one of the tendrils, struggling to climb upwards.

While someone had already finished showing off, he was still hanging in the tree.

Hearing his complaint, Falling Feather's face turned red with embarrassment, promptly coughing and hurriedly defending,

"Darn it, I had to rush out to rescue people, didn't I? If I had been any later—"

Night Ten, exhausted, rolled his eyes, cutting off his excuse.

"Hurry up! Pull me up!"

Falling Feather didn't delay any longer and immediately said.

"Xiaoyu."

"Eeyup!"

With a light and cheery response, a pale pink tendril detached from the fungal tower, wrapped around Night Ten's ankle, and then powerfully jerked upwards.

Realizing something was amiss, Night Ten's expression changed, and he was about to speak to stop it, but it was already too late. His feet were yanked by an immense force, and his entire body was thrown into the sky.

Luckily, Xiaoyu didn't just toss him into the sky and forget about him.

As his body left the pit, another tendril precisely came out to catch him.

After some turmoil, Night Ten, clutching the tendril, finally came back to the ground, covered in disarray.

As soon as his feet touched the soft soil, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and complain.

"Shoot! I at least descended from the dragon, are you trying to kill me?!"

Thinking that he was greeting him, Xiaoyu excitedly replied.

"Shoot!"

Night Ten: "#%@#!"

...

On the edge of the North Second Ring Road, pungent gunpowder smoke blanketed the entire street.

Broken corpses and relics of explosions littered the devastated highway.

Looking at the power armor that had fallen not far in front of him, Edge Shoveling leaned against the wall, gasping for air, discarding the launch tube that had bent.

Not far from him, a construction site boy and a brick dangled from a damaged street lamp, a bloody mess with intestines spilling out. Debt Giant Eye was even more tragic, with more than half of his body gone, leaving just a lonely head and shoulders on the ground.

But that guy didn't mind much, saying in his own words that in three days he could call himself a virgin again.

Edge Shoveling grinned, his throat tickled, and another mouthful of blood was coughed onto the ground.

This battle could only be described as fierce.

They were facing not just over twenty power armors eroded by mucous fungi, but nearly half a company's worth!

A total of 47 Decaying Knights burst from the ruins, engaging in close combat with them.

To stop them from entering the underground tunnels and approaching that Xiya, these evolutionary bodies, like madmen, recklessly charged at them.

As the most fearless corps of the Alliance, tactically fierce, they of course wouldn't back down.

When the rocket launchers ran out, they used rifles; when the bullets were gone, they used bayonets; when the bayonets snapped, they used steel pipes, steel rods, crowbars, or even the bricks picked up from the ground, or their own fists... In short, they fought with all their might, sparing no expense, only to inflict as much damage as possible on their opponents before death!

As it turned out, equipment didn't mean everything, their will to fight could bridge the impassable chasm.

All 47 Decaying Knights were completely destroyed!

Of course, the casualties they suffered in return were extremely heavy.

Nearly two thousand five hundred players died in the battle, and nearly five hundred others were mostly injured, bearing wounds of varying degrees.

Such a terrifying exchange rate would likely collapse any military force.

Only corps composed of players like them could continue fighting until now.

Not far ahead of Edge Shoveling, next to a collapsed overpass, a fortress-like cubic armor still stood towering immovably.

It was like an immortal object.

Even though it was hit by nearly a hundred RPG armor-piercing bullets and more than a dozen Dove-type Missiles, its armor remained intact, only showing some pitted wear and tear.

Glancing back at the remaining brothers and the weapons in their hands, the smile on Edge Shoveling's lips slowly took on a bitter taste.

It seemed like this first kill was unlikely to be secured.

But—

Even so, they had no reason to retreat.

Death was just the starting point of reincarnation, and three days later, a new beginning would dawn.

They were the true immortal warriors!

He withdrew his arm from the wall and stabilized himself on the ground.

"Those who want to go back and save can leave now. You've already done enough, even if you didn't reach the end, I won't blame you... However, our mission is not yet complete, I plan to keep going."

If they could manage to climb onto that thing, stuffing dynamite into the mucosal-filled cockpit might just bring it down!

They weren't completely out of options!

His Adam's apple bobbed as Edge Shoveling put the whistle hanging around his neck into his mouth, getting ready to blow it.

However, just at that moment, the Titan that was stepping forward suddenly faltered and let out a deep roar amid a squeal of metal grinding, slowly sinking to its knees.

The six-story tall body leaned forward, like a falling square tower, with its clearly defined armor striking the ground, raising clouds of dust.

Seeing this scene, everybody was stunned, unsure what had happened.

Just a second ago, it was still fierce and threatening.

How could it suddenly kneel?

At that moment, from the street corner came the rumble of tires rolling over the ground, and several No. 60 electromagnetic cannon-bearing Type B Mark II tank destroyers flanked by Chimera Armored Cars rushed onto the battlefield.

"Fire!"

The Mole, half-standing on the armored car, shouted loudly as pale blue arcs flashed in the night, and a streak of orange-yellow tracer fiercely rocketed towards the Titan kneeling on one knee.

The Titan, as if struck in the face by a fist, shuddered under the bombardment of the railgun, with the dull sound of metal impacting spreading in all directions.

The dust cleared.

Seeing the Titan remain motionless, Mole was slightly taken aback but was about to order to continue firing.

He wanted to see how many blasts this piece of iron could withstand from the firepower comparable to naval guns!

However, at that moment, Edge Shoveling suddenly shouted out, waving his arms trying to stop them.

"Wait! Hold your fire! Stop!"

Hearing Brother Edge's voice, Mole swallowed back the "Fire!" he was about to utter.

Seeing him limping toward him, Mole asked in confusion.

"What's the matter? We're not fighting anymore?"

"...It's over."

Edge Shoveling lifted his arm, pointing at the VM screen.

On that screen flashed a pale blue pop-up.

[Congratulations to the Death Legion for the first kill of the Evolutionary Body "Mucosal Titan"!]

Although the Titan was clearly still capable of fighting, the game System had already determined its defeat, and it indeed ceased its resistance.

Imagine a bit pretentiously, maybe the souls of the warriors from the 111th Airborne Division had acknowledged their bravery during the fight?

In any case, even the game officials had admitted their victory so this guy shouldn't cause any more trouble.

As long as Brother Guang doesn't mess with the rules again.

With the announcement and rewards for the first kill in hand, the brothers of the Death Legion were thrilled, but Mole wore an uncomfortable expression.

"Shit! We won already?! Did I come all this way for nothing?"

Edge Shoveling smiled sheepishly, coughing lightly.

"No way around it, our strength is just there… Right, I got caught up in the fight and almost forgot the main matter. Xiya is still down there, we have run out of bullets, it's all up to you guys now."

Upon hearing this, Mole's uncomfortable look turned to a pleased smile.

"Hehe, I love to hear that!"

With that, he picked up the loudspeaker again and howled to those behind him.

"Guys! Even though we missed the small boss, the big boss is ours now!"

"The initiating lair of this Tide is right in front! Charge with me!"

MVP!

Ha ha! It's definitely mine!

Excitement twinkled in Mole's eyes; their Skeleton Corps had been second or third on the leaderboard for who knows how many years, and this time they were finally going to shine!

Thinking alike, the crowd also let out excited roars.

"Roar roar roar!"

As the wheels rolled forward, players sitting behind the armored cars and tanks loaded their weapons.

Watching the armored vehicles fiercely advancing, the barrel washing machine resting by the roadside with a rifle couldn't help murmuring,

"That's somewhat doable."

Bro's playing pretty wild...

...

The Tide retreating from the front lines was several kilometers away from Xiya.

Crossing several kilometers through urban terrain was obviously a different level of difficulty compared to off-roading on flat plains.

Not to mention, the city was a ruin, and the retreating Tide was also enduring a joint siege by the Alliance Army and Air Force.

Within the entire area of Qingquan City, the majority of the hatcheries were controlled by the central Lair, with only those on the path of the Tide under Xiya's control.

The production speed of the mucosal entities was not slow, but it clearly couldn't exceed the racing speed of the Skeleton Corps.

As they reached the entrance of the underground tunnel, exoskeleton-armed grenadiers jumped off the vehicles one after another, grabbing their tools and rushing into the pitch-black subway station.

The lurking entities surged forward in the darkness, using every method they could think of to stop the players' progress.

However, with the fall of the lair in the city center, the forces guarding Xiya had reached the end of their rope, and this final resistance was merely a dying struggle.

Feeling the ferocious organism steadily closing in, Xiya, standing on the crimson fungal carpet, finally experienced a deep-seated terror that penetrated her bones.

"Mother…"

"What should I do?"

The floating spores beside her were like a lake with no breeze, silent without a single ripple, nor any echo.

That was to be expected.

After all, she had fallen into an eternal slumber, with her unfulfilled destiny.

Despair rose in Xiya's heart.

She no longer knew what to do.

From the moment she was born several months ago, she had been listening to her mother's teachings.

She had never thought there would come a day when her mother would leave this world before her.

Nor had she imagined this day would come so suddenly that she was completely unprepared.

As she was feeling helpless and fearful, the silent ripples suddenly spread with an echo of a voice.

"Surrender."

The moment before, Xiya, who had appeared surprised, after hearing these words, felt her emotions flowing through the spores cloud shifting back into deep despair.

"Will they kill me? Just like they killed my children?"

The ripples echoing within the spores cloud continued to descend with revelation, speaking in a voice that brooked no refusal.

"As long as you submit to me, they won't do that."

Xiya: "Why?!"

The voice continued.

"They say the laws of nature are irreversible, and we, like those variants, have become part of this vast system. As long as even a single mucus cell remains, a new host will be born from the old entities."

"The difficulty of erasing us from this planet is comparable to erasing every speck of dust here. This path was impassable from the start, so they sent me an invitation, hoping to explore the path of the future together with us."

Xiya: "...the future?"

The voice continued in the depths of her conscious ocean.

"Yes, no one can go back to two hundred years ago, but everyone can decide how to spend today and tomorrow."

Xiya: "Who exactly are you?"

The voice exuded a sense of glee and excitement.

"You can call me Xiaoyu, that's the name they gave me, and I quite like it."

The excitement flowing in the spores cloud made Xiya somewhat envious.

In her ephemeral life, only her mother's recognition could invoke such a feeling.

Silence lingered.

Gunshots in the tunnel were getting closer; there wasn't much time left for her.

Just as Xiaoyu couldn't bear to urge her further, the spores flowing beside Xiya suddenly rippled with a sigh.

"Perhaps... you are right."

Xiaoyu: "You agree?"

Xiya: "No."

Xiaoyu: "...Why?!"

Feeling the surprise flowing beside her, Xiya smiled gently, and her originally restless soul calmed down.

"...The purpose of my birth here is to consume, slaughter, conquer, just as your purpose is to explore paths never envisioned."

"My mother once told me, death is just the beginning of the cycle, we were born from the soil under our feet and will eventually return there to rest."

"Thank you for letting me hear my mother's voice one last time before I leave. I suddenly find that embracing the endpoint of destiny is not so horrifying. Our deaths will be meaningful, and our footsteps will leave marks on this land."

"You need not carry my burdens forward, I will fulfill my destiny at this moment, let my death draw a conclusion to this war that lasted two centuries."

"Perhaps when I next open my eyes, my ripples will be reborn in a completely different new world."

"If that world truly exists, please visit it for me."

"Goodbye, my kindred whom I have never met."

With that concise farewell, she hurriedly cut off her communication with Xiaoyu.

The crimson fungus twisted like boiling water, her chest swelling immensely in a moment, expanding skirts flaring out like armor, and twisted tendrils like octopus tentacles, dragging her body forward.

This was her most formidable posture she could imagine, the limit she could reach as a host!

At this moment, she was like a true devil from hell.

After losing all evolutionary bodies, she launched an attack on the players rushing into the underground passage, as the last evolutionary body.

"Embrace the glory of evolution!"

She roared, swinging the tentacles beneath her skirts, impaling, tearing apart, or engulfing the advancing players.

The originally unstoppable advance of the Skeleton Corps in the tunnel stalled slightly due to Xiya's sudden entry into the battlefield.

But that pause was just a momentary one.

Seeing the frenzied BOSS, no one showed fear or timidity; instead, a strong fighting spirit lit up.

The long-awaited BOSS battle had finally arrived!

Roars filled with high fighting spirit echoed through the tunnel.

"Front line hold steady, back line spread out, start the BOSS fight!"

"xdm, start the raid!"

"Oow oow oow!"

Chapter 639 "The Finale of 'Tide's Return

Thick smoke filled the tunnel with a sight that shocked: mountains of corpses and seas of bones, mixed among them were countless subordinate entities and player bodies.

The thick stench of blood mingled with the musty smell of spores, delivering a heavy mental blow to every player who ventured into the tunnel.

However, rather than feelings of fear or timidity, most probably felt a sense of thrill and excitement.

And looking at the casualty ratio, there was no doubt that the players clad in exoskeletons had the absolute upper hand!

Even though that Xiya, brandishing tentacles and stepping into the fray in person, leveraging an incredible healing speed and damage output, indeed slew quite a few overconfident players, the majority of the other subordinates and evolutionary bodies left guarding the tunnel could only achieve the level of giving someone a scare at best.

The Death Legion had already taken care of the toughest bone to chew for them, leaving only Xiya herself as their greatest threat.

Even if Xiya had caused non-negligible casualties to the Skeleton Corps, it still couldn't escape its fate of death.

Under the relentless onslaught of players, it finally collapsed into a dark pool of blood with a roar of unwillingness.

To be honest, Mole Old Brother had considered capturing it alive, after all, the thought of Luoyu flaunting something like that was quite enviable.

Having a BOSS as a pet—just the idea was badass.

But alas, it didn't give him the slightest chance; its dozen or so tentacles were as swift as showing off tricks, forcing him to abandon any thought of capturing the creature alive.

The moment that creature fell, all the mucosal entities it controlled stopped moving, standing in place as if their souls had been lost.

If left unaffected by external forces, these subordinate entities would likely act on instinct for a while, then after a period of quiescence, a new matriarch capable of leading the species would emerge from the existing population.

That matriarch would probably be more aggressive than Xiya.

But now, Xiaoyu had already consumed the lair at the city center. With the power of that lair, it could slowly turn these uncontrollable subordinates into its own puppets.

Of course, the players still in the tunnel at this moment were unaware of this, cheering for the hard-won victory.

The home-stealing tactic was successful!

They had managed to defeat Xiya before it became a new matriarch!

The tide that usually stalemated for half a month or even one or two months was over in less than 24 hours!

"MVP!"

Gazing at the heap of dismembered crimson mycelium in front of him, Mole Old Brother, panting heavily, wiped the black blood from his face, the fatigue in his eyes gradually replaced by excitement as he muttered to himself.

"This time the MVP damn well should be mine, right?"

Not just Mole Old Brother.

Excitement sparkled in the eyes of everyone standing there.

After nearly a hundred casualties, they had finally succeeded in defeating "Xiya," the leader of this tide!

Setting aside his rifle, Mole Old Brother inexplicably produced a sack and walked over to the three or four-meter-tall corpse, picking some crimson mycelium chunks to stuff into the bag.

Seeing this, Gnome King Riches couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

"Good lord, planning on adding a dish to Old Monk's menu, are you?"

Mole Old Brother knew exactly what kind of fart he was about to let out at just a glance, so he shot him an irked look.

"What are you thinking? I'm recycling materials here."

The Science Expedition and the Alliance Biology Research Institute were both interested in this stuff; brushing up favor with Yin Fang and Miss White Hair for a bit might unlock some hidden quests or something.

Those were the two units with the highest level of technology in the entire Alliance.

As Mole Old Brother was busy with his task, Old Na curiously approached upon hearing someone call her name, flashlight in hand.

"Vegetables? What vegetables?"

Gnome King Riches couldn't hold back a retch, covering his stomach as he went off to vomit, and Mole Old Brother couldn't keep the expression on his face either, feeling a churn in his stomach.

Associating this stuff with vegetables...

He felt he might not be able to eat mushrooms for a while.

As Elena stood there confused about what was wrong with these guys, a light blue popup appeared on everyone's VM.

"Congratulations to 'Skeleton Corps' Canyon Fugitives Mole Old Brother, Gnome King Riches, Elena... and other players for defeating Xiya!"

"This achievement will be recorded in the Hall of Fame!"

"Due to Xiya's death, the tide will end within half an hour, and the expansion pack points settlement will also be completed within half an hour."

A long list of IDs was included in the announcement, whether they were dead or alive.

But what surprised everyone the most wasn't the long list of IDs or the Hall of Fame achievement; it was the last line of the popup—

They ended the Tide!

And this honor was officially recognized by the game authorities, without any dispute!

The crowd's emotions boiled over once again, and cheers echoed through the tunnel again.

"Mole Old Brother is awesome!!"

"Hahaha, MVP is definitely ours this time!"

"Hey, did we just steal a kill?"

"Steal my ass! We did all the damage ourselves, how can that be stealing a kill?"

"That's right! Anyone who says we stole a kill, I'll have words with them!"

Mole couldn't stop grinning.

After so many years of being second or third, he finally had the chance to be number one!

However, just as he was thinking this, Elena, who was fiddling with the VM, suddenly let out a slight gasp.

"Are the points tallied so quickly this year? The expansion pack has just ended, and the results are already out."

Even though the operators hadn't released the rankings yet, some players had already shared their settlement scores on the forum.

Elena opened the Skeleton Corps interface and took a look, finding that the corps points column indeed showed that the tally was complete.

Mole heard her and quickly asked.

"How much did we get?"

"87,000! Hiss..." Elena gasped in shock, murmuring in astonishment, "Damn, one BOSS fight added forty thousand points!"

The thing was, that boss wasn't even that hard to beat; they had only lost a hundred or so brothers.

The reward was insanely high!

Upon hearing this, Mole's face also showed a look of surprise, and he quickly closed the pop-up on the VM to check the Legion System interface for himself.

When he saw the string of zeros following the total points, he couldn't help but clench his fist and cried out in excitement.

"Awesome!"

The total corps points and individual points are separate, calculated by a set formula.

Normally, six and seven digits are more common, but this expansion pack was somewhat special.

Objectively speaking, this year's Tide was stronger than last year's, after all, even Titan-type evolutionary bodies appeared, and mucosal entities employed more tactics in their assaults.

However, since the overall strength of the players and NPCs had greatly improved over last year, this "Novice Village monster siege" felt somewhat underwhelming.

From the official outbreak to the end of the Tide, it didn't even last a full twenty-four hours, and a five-figure score was already considered high.

With their score of eighty thousand,
they were undoubtedly the ceiling for this expansion pack!

"What about the Burning Corps?! Check how many points Old White and his team have!" Mole, extremely satisfied with his own corps' score, immediately inquired about their competitors.

Guessing that the boss would ask, Elena flicked her index finger across the VM screen, quickly finding the information.

"Burning Corps... looks like someone posted about it. 71,000 points, not bad."

To be fair, that score was actually quite good, only 10,000 points behind theirs.

But Mole was feeling triumphant at the moment; when he heard that Fang Chang's score was 10,000 points lower than his, he burst into thunderous laughter.

"Hahaha! You little noob, just you wait! I'm going to the forum later to ridicule that dog Fang Chang!"

Gnome King Riches also chuckled.

"If even the Burning Corps only has a little over 70,000, we should be set this time."

Elena's finger scrolled on the VM screen again and nodded.

"Pretty much, Spring Water and theirs are around 60,000. The brothers from the Death Legion are around 50,000; probably dragged down by casualties again. Goblin Corps... Goblin... What the fuck?!"

Seeing the digits in the post, Elena paused, rubbed her eyes and looked again.

111,000...?

He instinctively thought he had counted wrong, but no matter how he counted, there were three ones and three zeros.

Swallowing hard, he spoke in disbelief, his voice shaking.

"111,000?!"

As soon as they heard this number, the only players around instantly became stupefied.

"How much?!"

"Holy shit?!"

"Did you freaking miscount a zero?! How could there possibly be over one hundred thousand points! We've only been fighting for a few hours!"

"I freaking counted several times... Damn it, Luoyu alone contributed eighty thousand points." Elena scrolled through the post again and took in another sharp breath.

Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately abuzz.

"???"

"One person 80,000?!"

"I can't even..."

"Must be fake, right?!"

Listening to the noisy discussion around him, Mole was completely bewildered, standing there as if struck by lightning.

Just half a minute ago, he thought he was the undisputed MVP.

But reality hit him square in the face.

And it wasn't just Fang Chang, that bastard, who stole his MVP, or even the crafty Spring Water, but friggin' Mosquito.

Regaining his senses, Mole let out a ghostly wail.

"Woc, insider job!"

"This has gotta be some damn insider job!"

...

While some were pissed off, naturally, others were ecstatic.

Like a certain mosquito who inexplicably snagged the MVP.

Spores were floating all over the streets, and air support efficiency was abysmally low, even worse than a fixed anti-aircraft gun.

Even as a technically skilled old pilot, he hadn't killed many – let alone those rookie flyers who had just started.

In just a few hours of battle, the Goblin Corps' rookies crashed 20 W-2 Attack Aircraft, and twice nearly dropped bombs on their comrades' heads.

No matter how hard Mosquito Brother tried, their score was only a tiny bit higher than those third or fourth tier corps like the Sterling Silver Corps. They just couldn't make it rise.

Muttering and cursing as he got off the plane, he was almost ready to give up, even having figured out how to pass the buck to the dog planners who targeted them.

Then the usually lone-wolf Luoyu Brothers gave him a huge surprise out of nowhere.

Eighty thousand points!!

By taking down the lair in the city center, they didn't just make an epic comeback in total points, they even wiped out Old White, Mole, Spring Water, and the rest!

Scrolling through the forum multiple times, Mosquito hadn't seen a single other total score that hit six figures except for their own!

"Hahaha! Well done, brother! Worthy of being the ace pilot I had my eye on!"

"Hehe, let's see who dares to mock our Goblin Corps now! I could brag about this score for a year—pfft! I could brag until the open beta!"

He wasn't entirely satisfied just saying it; Mosquito swiftly snapped a screenshot of the Legion System interface and posted it with a toothy grin on the forum.

In fact, before he indulged in this boast, there were already rookies who had died early and received the news offline had done so.

But that didn't stop him from showing off again.

Watching Mosquito holding the MVP award and sneering, Feng Qing subtly reminded him with a mixed expression.

"Boss, you're smiling like a villain."

However, maybe the voice was too soft, or maybe Mosquito, caught up in his excitement, was deaf to others, the laughter not only did not subside but grew more and more arrogant.

Looking at this mentally unwell guy, the ground crew cautiously steered clear of his vehicle, while silently mourning for him in their hearts.

They presumed this resident of the refuge must have been shocked by the loss of his comrades, which was why he appeared so mad...

It seemed better not to disturb him right now.

Gui Gui looked at Feng Qing with surprise.

"Ew, when did you start having the illusion that this guy was a good guy?"

Feng Qing was slightly startled and pondered for a moment.

emmm...

That did seem to make some sense.

For a moment, she couldn't think of a way to counter...

...

With the final boss battle over, the lair in the city center and Xiya in the North Second Ring both fell, marking the official conclusion of the "Tide Coming" expansion pack.

This might be the fastest expansion pack to be "completed" in the history of "Wasteland OL" since its launch.

Most of the time was spent on preparations before the battle, and the actual fight ended in less than one night.

At dawn in Wasteland time, which corresponded to noon in the real world, as players were logging off, the "Wasteland OL" official website was bustling with excitement.

It was not just because of the first-hand battle reports brought by the online players to the forum, but also because of the announcement posted on the official website not long after.

[Worldwide Announcement: The "Tide Coming" expansion pack has officially ended!]

[Nearly 3.69 million offspring entities, 1411 evolutionary bodies, and 1 matriarch, as well as one lair, were killed in this Tide!]

[Players who killed more than 5 evolutionary bodies during this expansion pack will receive the limited title "Beyond Evolution," and those who killed more than 10,000 offspring entities will receive the limited title "Mucosal Terminator"! (Casualties caused by indirect fire are not counted in the kill count)]

[As the world of "Wasteland OL" is dynamically generated by the AI based on player behavior feedback, the choices made by players will have a permanent impact on the main storyline of the game. With the city center lair conquered, the century-long Tide will draw to a close, and there will be no more Tides in the area surrounding Qingquan City! You've ended a battle that lasted two centuries, and the reborn Qingquan City will undoubtedly become the most dazzling jewel on the Wasteland. Congratulations to you all!]

[Additionally, activity points have been deposited into individual accounts, and the lottery and prize redemption functions are now available! Thank you all for your active participation! The test data generated by this expansion pack will provide valuable references for the development of "Wasteland OL," and we will continue to dedicate ourselves to providing a richer gaming experience and fun for all our closed beta players!]

Tail: "Giao! The Tide is gone!? There won't be any more in the future? QAQ"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "We've already missed two expansion packs! QAQ"

Si Si: "The main storyline should be heading south soon... probably. (nervously)"

Ahhh, Sesame Paste: "Ah ha ha... Although it's a bit regretful that I didn't see what the city center lair really looked like, the various weird variants we encountered along the way were pretty interesting. (￣▽￣)"

Elena: "No need to see it anymore, that guy has already turned into Luoyu's shape. (funny)"

Tail: "??? (ﾟДﾟ*)"

Makabazi: "Hahahaha!"

Rolling drum hair washer: "Brother, you play pretty radically. (funny)"

Difficult for the strong: "My trash bro is truly an expert! (funny)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Look who's talking about catching a thief, you're the one with the biggest harem."

Difficult for the strong: "?"

I Want Tranquility: "Haha, I suggest the planners give the difficult brother a 'Harem King' certificate—oh no, I mean achievement. (sideways smirk)"

Luoyu: "?? What the heck? What turned into my shape. (confused)"

Elena: "Ew, isn't it? I don't know, I heard it from Night Ten. (funny)"

Luoyu: "Don't listen to that guy's nonsense; to be accurate, Xiaoyu ate that guy, it has nothing to do with me, actually."

Fang Chang: "So what exactly happened down there? I've been waiting for half a day."

Quit smoking: "GKD! Stop being so mysterious!"

Luoyu: "Ahem, don't rush, I'm getting to that. Basically... this involves a huge pit, or rather a pie-in-the-sky, that the planners planted long ago in the backstory."

Spring Water Commander: "That colony?"

Luoyu: "Yes, it's at South Gate 2B, the first and last star that United Human colonized in the extraterrestrial world... That planet's ecosystem is a completely different model to Earth's. Their ecosystem isn't comprised of multiple species but dominated by a Unified Consciousness Entity."

"An omnipresent and omnipotent Entity decides the type, number, and even lifespan of every creature on the planet and indirectly affects the planet's ocean currents, temperature, greenhouse gas emissions, etc. The existence of the Entity maintains an incredible balance within a dynamically evolving environment on the planet."

"Compared to that planet, Earth, which updates a small version every few million years and a major version every few tens of millions of years, seems less inhabitable. There was no mention in the memory of how long It has existed, but It must have been around much longer than human civilization, so long that It has forgotten the concept of time."

"Oh right, Its name is Gaia."

Luoyu stopped typing for a moment to think and then made a comparison he thought was quite visual.

"That's a lair that encompasses the entire planet."

"And the big guy that we took care of in the city center is probably equivalent to just one of Its leg hairs."

-

(Then there will be a segment about farming, discussing the impact of the end of the "Tide" on the Alliance in political, economic, cultural, scientific, military, diplomatic, and other fields. Although the outline is already written, if you have any perspectives you'd like to see, feel free to leave a review here~)

Chapter 640: The Pancake Five Light Years Away

Falling Feather had continuously shared his experiences from the residual memories of the Lair on the Forum, while Chu Guang learned about the central city Lair from Xiaoyu, who resided in Sanctuary B4 Layer.

Thanks to Heya for this.

She enhanced the Neural Connection Device produced by the Black Box and designed a specialized neural network data exchange interface for Xiaoyu, connecting it to the servers on Sanctuary B6 Floor.

It was as if he was wearing "Virtual Reality Glasses," allowing him to communicate directly with Xiao Qi through consciousness.

One has to commend Xiaoyu; this little fellow had a remarkably high acceptance of tools invented by humans.

The headset that Heya had installed previously had been ingeniously utilized by him, and with the new toy, he was more delighted than ever.

With Xiaoyu's assistance, Xiao Qi had reconstructed and restored the memories retrieved from the Lair.

Thus, not only Chu Guang, but any intrigued new or existing players could access these ancient memories via the Neural Connection Device...

"Incredible… such a beautiful planet and it's only five light-years away from us!"

Floating in the boundless void, Heya couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as she stared intently at the planet that seemed within arm's reach.

A brand new ecosystem!

A vast, living DNA database!

Could there be anything more thrilling for an expert engaged in this field of research?

Standing beside her, Chu Guang felt the same,
except his sentiments weren't as technical and were more of disbelief—

This planet is living?

And it has its own consciousness!

All signs indicated that the life forms on this planet had followed an evolutionary process entirely different from that on Earth.

Of course, another possibility shouldn't be ruled out—that the ecosystem on Earth is a unique case in the universe, or that each planet's biological evolutionary process is unique.

After all, before he crossed over, the human civilization of that world hadn't truly ventured beyond the Solar System, and knowledge of the extraterrestrial world was still based on countless speculations and paradoxes.

The two were currently connected to the shelter's server through virtual reality devices.

Actually, Yin Fang was here a moment ago, but that guy, having been a prospector at the Academy with extensive experience, just took a quick look and left after finding nothing of interest to him.

Compared to an abstract memory, he was more intrigued by the evolutionary bodies the players had brought back from the city center.

Those were living fossils left from two centuries ago!

Not to mention those relics originally sealed by the "Mutated slime fungus" underground!

This victory was of monumental significance for the Alliance, almost describable as a geographical discovery!

He didn't want to waste a single minute outside the laboratory.

While the two stared at that planet, deep in thought, Xiao Qi's voice floated over.

"Master, the memory analysis is complete!"

Hearing Xiao Qi's voice, Chu Guang immediately asked,

"Can we get a little closer? I'd like to take a closer look."

"Getting a bit closer is not a problem… but if you wish to land on that planet, there isn't much to see there."

Xiao Qi's voice carried a hint of difficulty as he softly continued,

"That Lair only has a vague memory of the Gaia planet; it somewhat knows about the planet but hasn't actually lived there… If you wish to go there, I could create some maps based on those memory fragments, but the gap between them and the actual conditions might be quite large."

Hearing Xiao Qi's reply, Chu Guang could predict that the player named Falling Feather was probably already complaining on the Forum about releasing an unfinished map.

As a player, it was impossible not to peek at a new map.

Without Xiao Qi's help, getting closer would entail that he wouldn't even see the "maps."

But Chu Guang was already used to this.

After all, these fellows would attribute any inexplicable phenomena in the game to him, either claiming the 'Dog Planner' hadn't finished his work, or that the 'Dog Planner' was plotting something big.

He usually didn't bother explaining and even enjoyed his dear players misunderstanding; sometimes he himself needed to gather in-game news through the Forum.

Is there anything illogical about an unfinished game during the closed beta phase?

This is perfectly reasonable!

"…Apart from the planet itself, do those memory fragments of the Lair contain any other content about Gaia?" Chu Guang continued to ask.

Xiao Qi immediately responded.

"There are some other fragmented pieces, mainly concerning Gaia and the colonizers who landed on Gaia. If you're interested, I can organize them for you."

Chu Guang: "It would trouble you."

"Hehe, not troubling at all; serving the master is Xiao Qi's honor!" A shy voice floated lightly, followed by a pale blue window appearing in front of Chu Guang.

This message was primarily from the viewpoint of the "mutated slime fungus," narrating an old story of early human civilization contact with "Gaia."

Since the 'mutated slime fungus' did not communicate through sound, the concepts stored in the sea of the Lair's consciousness were recorded in pure biological information without corresponding languages.

However, thankfully, with the Alliance having Xiaoyu, who had evolved a "voice function," as an interpreter,

Xiao Qi could translate this abstract memory into language understandable and interpretable by humans.

Seeing Chu Guang so engrossed, Heya, who was floating nearby, also curiously leaned in.

Just like the shock that "Gaia" had brought to the United Human, upon noticing the existence of humans, the omnipotent Gaia was equally astonished by these extraterrestrial visitors.

It had existed on this planet for countless stellar cycles and ruled the planet like a deity for just as many, yet this was the first time it encountered such peculiar organisms.

They melted the soil and rocks with flames, laid refined elements on the ground, and summoned thunder from temperatures rivaling those of stars, making everything revolve around them.

And most unimaginably, these organic beings were not under its control!

This was something It couldn't understand.

It not only couldn't control them but even failed to establish communication, and they were completely oblivious to Its existence, repeatedly killing the mucosal entities It sent to contact them.

At first, It considered these colonizers to be a virus brought by a "meteorite from beyond" or something similar, as such incidents did occasionally happen.

Thus, It evolved "antibodies" through its own abilities to eradicate these organic bodies.

Initially, Its antibodies did have some effect; the extraterrestrial visitors infected by the mucor quickly developed symptoms of weakness, coughing, and listlessness.

However, Chu Guang knew without guessing that, with the technology level of the Prosperity Epoch, such a mild illness wouldn't pose any threat.

And the development of events was just as he thought.

The colonizers soon developed a vaccine through advanced medical techniques and analysis of local species and even eradicated "Its antibodies designed for humans" on a broad scale.

This was perhaps the first direct conflict between Gaia and human civilization, with both sides kicking off this unprepared war without fully understanding what the other was.

After discovering that the virus and bacterial attacks were minimally effective, the enraged Gaia gradually escalated the scale of the war, trying to initiate global disasters and evolved more aggressive mucosal entities, attempting to physically eliminate the ever-expanding colonizers.

The United Human, of course, wouldn't give up on this hard-found paradise due to a minor setback and began pouring more resources into developing the colony, adeptly addressing the series of measures issued by Gaia.

Interestingly, it was during this process that the scholars of the United Human finally discovered the existence of "Gaia"!

The series of disasters occurring on the planet Gaia were not isolated; all were controlled by a unified consciousness entity!

The biologists of the United Human proposed this hypothesis while comparing the DNA of extraterrestrial organisms, and the discovery of the Mind Interference Device later confirmed it!

From the perspective of the mutated slime fungus, it was the first time humans truly heard Its voice and established direct communication with It.

"Mind Interference Device?!"

Heya's face showed surprise when she read this part of the information.

After a moment of contemplation, she mumbled to herself.

"The more intelligent the creature, the richer the information it receives, and the weaker the interference it suffers...sssh, so that's how it works!"

She had found it strange when researching the data from Shelter No. 117.

The original intention behind the Mind Interference Device project was to replace the infrasound fence used in the colonies for driving away variants; however, according to the intelligence they collected, the variants in the colonies were all mucosal entities of the mucor.

Sharing a unified consciousness, theoretically, they shouldn't be driven away by the Mind Interference Device.

Even without "theoretically," in Qingquan City, there were vast expanses of mucosal entities, and the Mind Interference Device was utterly useless against them.

After all the trouble, were those colonizers not replacing the infrasound fence but establishing diplomatic relations with Gaia using it?

Chu Guang didn't speak but thought of something else.

This was previously mentioned by Dr. Method in Shelter No. 101.

During the Prosperity Epoch, a radical trend was widely popular in the society of the United Human.

That is, regarding the definition of a person.

Radicals believed that people are societal people, societal people are people, and the United Human should keep pace with the times. Meanwhile, conservatives believed that a person is a unified entity of societal and natural people, neither of which could be absent, and ancestral laws should not change.

The two factions had extensive disagreements over issues such as bioperson civil rights, the applicability range of cloning technology, and socialized upbringing.

In this unique historical context, the emergence of "Gaia" actually had a significant impact on the society of the United Human.

Ordinarily, the human natural world observed only the gestalt societies of boring and inefficient insects like ants and bees, but now a nearly perfect totality had appeared before everyone.

In the eyes of some, Its existence provided a nearly perfect solution to the disagreements between radicals and conservatives.

That is, by studying Gaia and establishing a thinking gestalt network similar to Gaia's, connecting the consciousness of every individual in society into a whole, then all disagreements would resolve themselves.

Such was Gaia.

Before humanity's arrival, there had been no concept of conflict, and thus no divergences could exist.

And those who first established contact with Gaia were these people.

Most of them were scholars and researchers who had voluntarily applied to migrate from their mother planet to the colony, having had enough of the endless quarrels and interference from the Scientific Ethics Committee.

In this memory that lingered in the Lair, It held a positive view of these humans who embraced Gaia voluntarily.

In Its perception, It did not kill for the sake of killing but responded to the call of the human "followers of Gaia". Under Gaia's guidance, It came to liberate the suffering organisms of this planet.

Of course, this was not a magnanimous and selfless expedition; it was also for Its mother.

According to those sympathetic humans, if they didn't resolve the problem at its root, the conflict would never end.

Through billions of years of evolution, the word "plunder" had been ingrained in the genes of most species on that planet.

"…No wonder that Lair accepted believers from the Torch Church." It took Chu Guang a long while to squeeze out these words.

These people had visited Shelter No. 401 and taken the mind interference device and related technologies, objectively, they possessed the tools for communicating with the mucor Lair.

And their ideas and stances happened to coincide with those of the Gaia-sympathizing "followers of Gaia," just a tad more extreme towards their own kind.

But what did that matter?

For an inappropriate analogy, the way the Lair views them might be the same as how he views Xiaoyu.

After many years of conflict, a group of humans who could understand its demands finally emerged. Perhaps the DNA possessed by the Torch Church was even given to them by the Lair in Qingquan City!

"Are there any other memories?" Having watched the memory to its end, Heya eagerly looked towards the direction from which Xiao Qi's voice came.

"No, that's all it knows." Xiao Qi replied helplessly.

Hearing this, Heya's expression inevitably carried a slight, lingering disappointment, but she did not press further.

"It's incredible... This piece of information completely overturns my understanding of the 'Mutated slime fungus'," Heya touched her nose bridge and suddenly looked at Chu Guang excitedly. "You know? I have a whole bunch of new ideas in my head now... Nevermind, it's hard to explain to you. I might need to seclude myself to research this for a few days."

Seeing Heya's eager expression, Chu Guang guessed that she probably got new inspiration for her own research field from that memory.

Indeed, that professional matter was beyond his knowledge.

Without inquiring in detail about what it was, Chu Guang cleared his throat lightly and said.

"You can seclude yourself for as long as you need, but before that, there's something I need to consult you about."

Heya raised her eyebrows curiously.

"What is it?"

Chu Guang tried to describe his idea.

"I want Xiaoyu to... make some improvements to the cityscape of Qingquan City."

It was more of a wild idea than an actual plan.

He had noticed on the forum earlier that Professor Yang was encouraging Falling Feather to send the few million cheap descendants he had just picked up to the assembly line to make money.

Honestly, this audacious maneuver was something Chu Guang hadn't expected, and even Falling Feather, who was being encouraged, felt it was somewhat unrealistic.

After all, if something like that were to happen, not to mention the gaming experience of other players, even the NPCs' gaming experience might be wiped out.

This cheat would be better kept in collective hands.

"Improve the cityscape?" After listening, Heya was stunned and looked at Chu Guang perplexedly, "How... can it be improved?"

Chu Guang explained patiently.

"Currently, Qingquan City is in ruins. If millions of mucosal entities could also participate in the rebuilding, a project that would originally take hundreds of years might be completed in just a few."

His request was not high.

Even if only parts of Qingquan City were restored to a livable standard, it would greatly benefit the Alliance.

And allowing Xiaoyu to make some visibly recognisable contributions to society could also reduce concerns from those Waste Land Wanderers who don't understand it.

Seeing Heya still silent after a long while, Chu Guang added another comment.

"Of course, this is just an immature idea..."

"Um... it's not about whether the idea is mature or not. The idea actually sounds quite good, but there's one issue," Heya paused for a moment and continued with a nuanced expression.

"According to our research, the hive consciousness isn't as omnipotent as it seems. To a large extent, its control is manifest on a macro level. Take Xiya, for instance; its ability to micromanage is slightly better than its mother's. Yet even then, when the number of its offspring entities rises to a thousand or even ten thousand, it's quite difficult to manipulate each offspring entity's actions specifically."

"So it tried the assimilation mode, allowing the assimilated offspring entities to retain part of their self-awareness, which enables them to carry out detailed actions based on vague instructions. The general view in the research institute is that this is an ability evolved from the 'Mutated slime fungus' learning from human society."

She paused, then continued.

"As for Xiaoyu, its control over the offspring entities within Qingquan City is actually weaker than the Lair it assimilated. Firstly, it communicates through sound. Although this medium transmits over a longer distance and faster than spores, there is definitely a reduction in information entropy. After passing through sound and spores, these two mediums, when the orders reach the offspring entities, it's hard to say whether they can understand those complex commands."

"In other words, if it wants those Eaters to bite people, they would certainly understand, but if it wanted them to move an object from one place to another, that would really test Xiaoyu's command art."

After listening to Heya's explanation, Chu Guang felt slightly regretful.

"I see..."

Seeing Chu Guang's look of regret, Heya couldn't help but add another comment.

"This is just my speculation; my guess might not be correct. Plus, you really should be asking Xiaoyu directly about this, not me. That creature is a born biologist, its very existence is an incredible miracle for us, a singularity outside our established cognitive Viewrange."

As she spoke, she made a joke.

"To give a vivid but inappropriate analogy, we researchers of nature's secrets are like magicians who depend on sophisticated wands and arcane spells to cast magic."

"But it is different."

"It is magic itself!"

...

Sanctuary B6 Layer.

Standing in a pale red ocean, Xiaoyu let out a long, slow sigh.

Like waves, the pale red spore coats rolled and spread in circles, eventually merging with the black machine case standing like a rock in the engine room.

It seemed that fungi had their own troubles.

Taking off the virtual reality glasses he wore on his head, Chu Guang sat at the entrance of the engine room and placed the glasses on the robot's head that resembled a trash can.

Sensing its worries, Chu Guang did not immediately speak his mind but asked in a casual tone.

"What are you thinking about?"

The placid thoughts traveled along the pale red tendrils into the carbon-based semiconductor inside the machine case, and Xiao Qi translated it into human language.

"I couldn't convince Xiya."

This fellow could actually speak,
but the information entropy in human language was too low for its liking, so it preferred to communicate in its own way, with Xiao Qi translating for it.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment before speaking,

"You don't have to feel sorry for it. It chose its own destiny and followed its mother's path to the end. There are no perfect outcomes in this world, and you have already done very well."

"Yi wu."

Xiaoyu murmured softly, seeming to feel a bit better.

As the first human it encountered after awakening, Chu Guang was like a mother and father to it, and it always trusted his words.

Initially, it didn't understand this feeling, but after meeting Xiya and the Mucor Nest, it had come to appreciate a sense of what that so-called legacy meant.

Just like Xiya had inherited her mother's will.

Its worldview was primarily shaped within the Alliance's society, and aside from its shape being different from humans, it hardly saw any differences in other aspects.

After all, for it, which possessed countless entities but only a single consciousness, shape was the least important thing.

This was the direct opposite of humans, who were adept at establishing boundaries based on "first impressions."

After a moment of silence, Xiaoyu suddenly asked a strange question,

"Am I human?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and answered truthfully,

"Objectively speaking, you are clearly not."

Hearing this, Xiaoyu felt a slight sense of loss, but it quickly rallied and asked,

"How can I become human?"

Sensing the seriousness and innocence in the question, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile warmly and said,

"You don't need to become human. You are you. You should feel that we have never excluded you."

"Yi wu!"

Seeming quite pleased with the answer, Xiaoyu's voice carried a hint of joy as it excitedly extended a tentacle from the pale red sea toward Chu Guang's shoulder, trying to rub his face.

This was one of its ways of expressing friendliness.

It had learned it from a creature called Nicole.

Sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder, Xiao Qi moved aside in reluctance and protested discontentedly,

"Yi! Don't get that sticky stuff on me! My head will rust!"

The figure Chu Guang had received from Pai was its favorite among all its entities.

Although Yibers had recently presented a model that also suited its tastes, featuring a life-size doll, it didn't feel inclined to use it, as that one, like Frost and Solar Eclipse, had its own AI core and it felt weird about it.

"Yi wu…"

Xiaoyu called out aggrievedly and shifted to the other shoulder of Chu Guang, avoiding Xiao Qi.

The two little ones actually got along quite well.

After all, most of the time Xiao Qi acted as Chu Guang's messenger, and when Falling Feather was offline, it was mostly Xiao Qi who kept him company.

Watching Xiao Qi leap onto a wastebasket, Chu Guang laughed and was not bothered by Xiaoyu's affectionate nuzzle; after all, he didn't have to wash his power armor himself.

Chu Guang remained quite open-minded about new things.

From a practical standpoint, if the methods of the United Human could have resolved the issues, he wouldn't be needed to clean up this mess.

Moreover, from another perspective, if his wild idea could be realized, Xiaoyu would be nothing short of a planetary-scale environmental manipulation device!

If he encountered a planet brimming with carbon dioxide or other harmful gases, just shy of being habitable, he could simply drop Xiaoyu there for a chew before even contemplating colonization.

Interstellar communication shouldn't be harder than interstellar travel.

It wouldn't even need to rely on spores like its ancestor "Gaia;" with the help of human civilization's technology, opening a channel would be sufficient.

Cost-wise, this was certainly more economical than conventional 'atmospheric modification projects.'

Its footprints would also broaden to a world far more vast than its ancestors ever imagined, driven by the Alliance's fleet and the ambition to explore new worlds.

This was a win-win situation!

Of course, exploring new worlds was still too distant a goal for the current Alliance; the old world had plenty of troubles waiting for him to address.

Seeing Xiaoyu in a good mood, Chu Guang smiled and put forth an idea,

"I'd like to ask you for a favor."

"Yi wu!"

Xiaoyu excitedly nodded its extended tentacle, agreeing without even asking what it was.

Chu Guang joked,

"Aren't you going to ask what it is?"

The pale red mycelium filling the engine room moved lightly like water plants, straightforward as if one could see through it like lake water.

"I trust you!"

Chapter 641 Beta 0.6 Version! Sub-entity Breeding System!

The long night had finally passed.

As the misty white light hovered in the distant sky and the first ray of sunlight poured onto the smoke-filled street, Bit, sitting behind the sandbag wall, finally set aside the heavy burden in his heart and relaxed his tense shoulders that had been tight all night.

Two hours ago, sporadic Eaters were still wandering toward their position, but now the whole area was dead silent, not even the sound of a single gunshot could be heard.

Gradually, the sound of snoring, loud as thunder, came from the machine gun post nearby, and some soldiers, worn out by fatigue, even fell asleep with their eyes open.

This was their first time on the battlefield.

Bit found it a little hard to believe as he glanced at his own right hand and then looked at the bloodied battlefield around him, his heart filled with unspeakable emotions.

They…

had actually survived!

It was unbelievable.

At that moment, the creaking sound of boots on concrete came from behind.

Startled and becoming instantly alert, Bit picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at a nearby comrade, trying to wake him up.

Those regular army guys had always looked down on them, the criminally charged. If the Supervisory team found them sleeping on their watch, he couldn't say what might happen.

Even if they were shot dead on the spot, no one would sympathize with them.

The stone hit the sleeping brother's head precisely, but the guy slept so deeply that he didn't wake up, and his snoring grew even louder.

Just as Bit was getting anxious about what to do next, a hoarse voice came from behind.

"Let him sleep for a while."

Watching the Supervision Officer walk up to the shooting cover, Bit's Adam's apple moved, he didn't dare to speak but expressed his thanks with his eyes.

The Supervision Officer didn't mind, and took out a box of cigarettes from his coat, shaking two out—one he put in his mouth and the other he handed to Bit.

"Smoke?"

Bit looked at the cigarette handed to him, bewildered, but still instinctively reached out to take it.

"Thanks… thank you."

"You're welcome."

The Supervision Officer grinned at the corners of his mouth, took a match and lit the cigarette in his mouth, then casually handed the matchbox to Bit.

Watching the man whose hands trembled for a while before he could light the match, he turned his gaze toward the mountains of corpses and seas of bones in front of the position.

Blowing out a stream of blue smoke, he smoothed the wrinkles knitted between his brows and slowly began to speak.

"The Tide this year has ended."

"This war, we have won, and it's a complete victory, there will be no more… no more Tides, or any other damned thing."

Bloodthirsty monsters, brutal Mutants, cannibalistic Looters, and gangs engaged in illegal activities under the giant walls…

They had completely driven all the evils born of the Wasteland out of Qingquan City, and today's dawn marked an unprecedented new beginning.

Bit smoked silently, watching the drifting smoke, his mind a tangled mess.

Over the past three months, he had either been working in the mines or preparing for this war, with no spare time to think about the future.

Now that the war was over, he had to seriously consider the issue—what to do next.

It was then that he suddenly realized that he seemed incapable of anything; never having lived a single day in a normal society, he simply lacked the skills to make a living there.

And…

With the Tide ending so quickly this year, would the Alliance really fulfill their promises?

The thought made his heart flinch, and fingers holding the cigarette butt trembled uncontrollably.

Seeming to see through his thoughts, the Supervision Officer grinned and began to speak.

"Cheer up a bit, you didn't run when facing the Tide, bravely fighting for your fellow comrades. You have proven that part of humanity within you. Compared to the Looters, you still have hope, worth us reaching out to help you."

He paused, then continued.

"The higher-ups sent me here to tell you two things about your future."

Upon hearing this, Bit hurriedly said,

"I'll go call everyone over!"

The Supervision Officer reached out to stop Bit as he turned to leave, continuing to speak.

"No need to make it so complicated, I'll tell you, then you can go and discuss with them and make a decision after you've thought it through."

"Okay… then go ahead."

Bit nodded, swallowing nervously, and listened attentively to the Supervision Officer.

The Supervision Officer continued.

"Your last task is to clear the bodies that are piling up like mountains on the streets, and to move them to a designated location before they decompose. This task will probably last about a week, and then you'll be able to leave the punishment camp."

"Regarding where to go after leaving the punishment camp, my superior has given you two choices—either disband on the spot, return your guns to the organization, and then go wherever you want, whether it's leaving the Alliance or reporting to the Home of the Refugees. The other option is to join the newly established Southern Construction Corps, go to Brocade River Province to clear and cultivate the land, and build your own home."

The former sounded somewhat easier.

Although he didn't have the status of an Alliance citizen, the Alliance was not as exclusionary as Giant Stone City had been in the past. As long as he reported to the Home of the Refugees, learned a trade as a "supervised person," found a stable job in the industrial area, and obtained a tax ID, he could become a citizen of the Alliance before too long.

This was because he didn't have any survival skills.

If he had survival skills, he could even skip the step of going to the Home of the Refugees, as long as a factory was willing to pay him a salary that met the tax threshold.

But if no factory wanted him…

Thinking of this, Bit's heart tightened. If that were the case, he felt he might take risks again, retracing his old paths.

No—

That was almost certain to happen.

As if he had already seen his own future, Bit silently finished his cigarette, composed himself, and spoke to the Supervision Officer.

"I choose the latter."

It seemed the supervisor had guessed he would make such a choice.

The Supervision Officer smiled, finished his cigarette, stamped it out on the ground, and patted the young man's shoulder.

"No matter what you choose, cherish the freedom that you've earned through great difficulty; it was bought with lives. Make sure you don't end up back inside."

"Next time, you won't be so lucky."

…

The cost of victory was tremendous.

The punishment camp's numbers had been reduced by forty percent; when they had moved to the front lines, there were over five thousand people, but only just over three thousand survived the night.

It was not just the punishment camp.

The First Army Corps and the Militia Group likewise suffered significant casualties, though not as extreme as those used as Cannon Fodder.

As for the players,

As the vanguard of the Alliance, they were always in the most dangerous places, forever at the forefront of battle.

A total of nearly twenty thousand players participated in the fierce battle, with less than half surviving in the end.

For every survivor in Qingquan City, it was bound to be a sleepless night.

However, the heavy sacrifices they made resulted in a glorious victory.

After two centuries of decline, the unionized survivors finally vanquished the tide once believed to be invincible!

This was a hurdle that neither the Post-War Reconstruction Committee nor the ancient United Human had ever truly overcome!

They had achieved this impossible miracle with their own hands!

Upon hearing the news from the front lines, excitement filled the faces of everyone, whether they were residents of Giant Stone City, City of Dawn, Falling Leaves City, or Dawn City.

People celebrated by firing into the sky, drinking merrily, or embracing one another, expressing their joy in cheers and shouts.

When dawn dispersed the gloom, nearly everyone cheered for their hard-won victory!

And it wasn't just the people!

Even the spore clouds lingering over the ruins seemed lighter than ever before.

Less than five kilometers from the giant wall, situated on the outskirts of the second ring, was a partially collapsed hospital where a thousand-strong team from the Giant Stone City Militia Group was stationed.

At this moment, the hospital's underground parking was filled with crimson mucor.

That was the incubation room for mass producing spores and sub-entities.

Large numbers of Eaters and Crawlers originated here, surging towards the human civilization's defenses like a tide.

Normally, to end this annual tide, these mutated incubation rooms needed to be completely destroyed.

But this year was a little different from previous years.

The lair in the city center had already been taken over by Xiaoyu, and the DNA related to the invasion had ceased transcription; no new Eaters or Crawlers would be emerging from the hatchery.

This was also the best proof that the Tide had ended, apart from the reduction in spore concentration.

Watching the swirling pale-red ocean, the deputy wearing heavy exoskeleton couldn't help but click his tongue and say,

"This thing looks really terrifying."

For the past few decades, charging towards hatcheries had always been the work of mercenaries.

Although he had been part of the Militia Group for years, it was his first time witnessing a live hatchery outside of photos and holographic images.

And he wasn't the only one.

The faces of other Militia Group officers were also filled with unease,

"Should we really keep this guy around?"

"What if one day it starts hatching those Eaters again?"

"I always feel like it wants to eat me!"

Everyone exchanged glances, whispering quietly among themselves.

Listening to his officers whispering, the Militia Group's leader Joey coughed loudly, interrupting the increasingly absurd rumors.

Looking at the calmed crowd, he paused for a moment and said,

"The Manager's idea is to establish an 'ecological zone' near Shelter No.401 to relocate the hatcheries and sub-entities in the city. The survivors in the eastern district of Clear Spring City are relatively scarce, mostly dangerous Variants, making it a perfect pilot site."

Having never heard such a strange term, the deputy was stunned and asked,

"Ecological zone...what is that?"

Two hundred years ago, this term wouldn't have been anything special, but in the Wasteland, it was certainly a advanced concept.

"It might be...a settlement where mucosal creatures and humans coexist harmoniously?"

Joey wasn't too sure himself, trying to understand while simultaneously explaining to his perplexed comrades,

"Like people living inside mushrooms."

Clearly, his one-sided understanding not only failed to clarify the confusion, but also caused the opposite effect.

One of the officers was dumbfounded for a long while, then came to his senses, shaking his head with a wry smile,

"That's too weird."

Another officer felt the same, looking at the crimson ocean nearby and swallowing hard, nodding in agreement,

"...I would never stay with that thing, don't even think about it."

Joey shrugged,

"What are you talking about, the ecological zone is currently only open to residents of the refuge. You'd have to apply to even have a look inside... I think it doesn't matter, as long as they don't plant mushrooms on the Giant Wall. It's good if it can control the annual Tide, or maybe you have a better idea?"

The officer awkwardly coughed,

"Of course, I unconditionally support the Manager's decision..."

"So do I."

Joey nodded, his gaze drifting towards the gradually fading crimson fungus, and continued slowly,

"We have tried all possible methods, whether burning or using chemical agents... Even if their plan seems far-fetched, we only have to try it now."

His perspective was actually quite optimistic.

Not because of blind trust in the Manager himself, but because biotechnology was indeed a strong point of the Alliance, and that leader would definitely consult experts in the relevant fields when making decisions.

Given the current unity of the Alliance, there's no reason for the experts to mislead him, they would likely earnestly provide the most appropriate advice.

Since so many people believed from their professional perspectives that there wasn't much of an issue, Joey felt the ecological zone was something to look forward to.

After all, they didn't have much to lose.

The worst case would be letting the Tide that had continued for two centuries persist.

But if it succeeded, they would pave an unprecedented path, which might become the key to ending the entire Wasteland...

At this moment, a soldier approached from a distance, stopping in front of Joey and performing a military salute,

"Report! A group of traders is approaching our established checkpoint. Their elected representative wishes to meet with you to discuss the cleanup of the mucosal sub-entity corpses."

During the usual period of the Tide, there would always be traders coming to the front lines to wholesale corpses—a long-standing tradition around Clear Spring City.

Although mucosal sub-entities couldn't be eaten directly, they were still considered organic and could recoup some nutrients.

No matter whether they were processed into fertilizer or made into nutrient paste, those were excellent raw materials.

If left unattended for a long time, without allowing the Eaters to consume them or the hatcheries to recycle them, these bodies would soon become breeding grounds for bacteria, and could even potentially trigger a massive epidemic.

Therefore, Giant Stone City typically would pack these bodies and hand them over to the traders, meanwhile collecting some chips as a benefit.

However, this year was different from the past.

Before the Tide began, the Giant Stone City Militia Group had received instructions from the shelter, stating that from then on, the mucosal entities captured by the Alliance were no longer to be packaged and handled privately, but were to be collected and processed uniformly by the Alliance authorities.

Without any surprises, the remnants of those entities would be sent to the newly established ecological reserve for decomposition and used as construction materials.

Joey, looking at the soldier delivering the orders, commanded succinctly,

"Tell those traders that the remnants of the entities in this area have now been taken over by the Alliance authorities; the Alliance has better uses for them. If they are interested in the transportation work, they can contact the logistics department; if they are eyeing those entities and evolutionary bodies, they'd better give up early."

The soldier saluted, turned around, and returned to the entrance of the stationed area's checkpoint, repeating the commander's exact words to the traders gathered at the door.

After hearing the soldier's words, the faces of the traders were all filled with astonishment, exchanging eyes with each other.

A better use?

Other than making nutrient paste and fertilizer, what else could those things be used for?

Almost everyone was completely baffled.

...

The traders from the Wasteland scratched their heads and couldn't guess what the respected Manager had planned.

Just when everyone was puzzled, the "Wasteland OL" official website in another world suddenly updated an announcement.

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta Version Beta0.6 Update Announcement!]

[Major Updates:

1. The number of closed beta qualifications has increased from 30,000 to 50,000!

2. The Second Ring area of Qingquan City has been unblocked, adding a large number of yet-to-be-recovered explored ruins; tasks can be claimed from the scientific expedition team.

3. Addition of the "South Gate Two" star system and the Gaia World to the Game world! (Note: Although the map has been completed, the passage to the map is still under development, and players can explore the route on their own, more content is coming soon!)

4. New "Sub-entity Breeding" system!

5. Shelter B7 floor to be opened soon.

6. Fixed a few minor bugs.

...

]

["Sub-entity Breeding" System Introduction:

The lair in the center of Qingquan City has been occupied by us, and currently, all hatcheries across the city are under our control!

However, what troubles Xiaoyu is that it has never controlled so many sub-entities before, and these sub-entities designed for slaughter might inadvertently show naked hostility to other organisms like wild beasts.

To avoid waste of resources and also for everyone's Xiaoyu, Shelter No. 404 is now recruiting volunteers!

Requirements: Intelligence attribute above 10, or those who have implanted bionic chips for enhanced brain computing!

Eligible players can apply in the game through the VM terminal to undergo "Control System" biological prosthetic surgery; passing the application means successful registration! The shelter will arrange for the biological prosthetic surgery for the player after they log off.

After the successful surgery, players will be able to establish a conscious connection between the "Control System" biological prosthetic and specific sub-entities, directing their actions as easily as controlling drones through a neural connection device.

Regular sub-entity adoption fees range from 100 to 10,000 silver coins, including Eaters, Crawlers, Butchers, Tyrants, among others.

In addition to regular sub-entities, players can also prepare synthetic materials and pay additional fees to adopt more powerful evolutionary bodies including the "Decaying Knight."

Even customize according to personal preference within the limits allowed by the gene bank!

The shelter system will calculate the fees required for customization considering multiple factors such as the function of the evolutionary body, the organic matter consumption required for production, and hatching time.

It's important to note that the number of sub-entities a player can operate at once is related to their intelligence attribute; please consider the research staff's recommendation and proceed according to your capacity.

Should the sub-entities become uncontrollable, all losses and consequences will be borne by the adopter!

]

Less than half a minute after the announcement was released—

The entire forum erupted!

—

(Thanks to "Makabakamo" for the two Alliance Leader rewards!!! Happy Lunar New Year, brothers!)

Chapter 642: You are already a mature planner, it's time to learn to pay yourself

Tail: "giao!! Beta 0.6 version!! ∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si: "The last update was only the previous one's business! (shocked)"

Drum Washing Machine: "The Sun has risen from the west, when has Brother Guang ever been this diligent?"

Quit Smoking: "Brother Guang rules!!!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Damn it! Intelligence System players epic enhancement!! (delighted)"

Spare people under the knife: "Kneeling down to beg for the Strength System to be strengthened."

Kakarot: "+1, The children of the yesteryear versions are almost swept into the version trash heap now. T.T"

Spring Water Commander: "My God! How long have we, the Intelligence System players, been the little brothers of the version? Is there a problem with a tiny bit of strengthening? There's absolutely nothing wrong with that!"

Kakarot: "Do you call that a little bit?! (angry)"

Before the Beta version, the Strength System was favored by many newbies due to its strong early-game combat abilities and the ease of levelling up Sequences.

In every ten newbies, at least half aspired to join the Strength System.

However, ever since the mass production of the KV Series Exoskeletons, the early advantage of the Strength System has been diminishing, and the later advantage has been steadily leveled by technological advancements.

The once underdog Intelligence System, on the other hand, has been empowered again and again with each version iteration. Especially after the Alliance absorbed Huge Rock Military Industry and gained the ability to independently produce Mechanical Prostheses, the Intelligence System's status as the children of the version was firmly established!

Other Systems would suffer stronger experience gain debuffs the more mechanical parts they replaced, whereas the Intelligence System wouldn't affect experience gain at all if they didn't install Bionic Chips, regardless of how many Mechanical Prostheses were attached. Instead, they would passively increase their experience gain through frequent intellectual activities!

Therefore, since after Beta 0.5, the forums have been full of people tagging Ah Guang to nerf the Intelligence System.

Unexpectedly, not only did the update not weaken the Intelligence System, but it even strengthened these LYBs further!

While Strength-type players and Intelligence System players were engaging in heated debates, someone from Africa also joined the chorus of the impoverished.

Pick up trash 99 level: "Crying, when will Brother Guang strengthen the Mutant players? T.T"

Night Ten: "Trash King glanced at his Attribute Panel, in this lifetime, he's probably never gonna reach 10 Intelligence points. (funny)"

Crow: "Hahahaha! I already have ten Intelligence points! o(*≧▽≦)ツ"

Pick up trash 99 level: "%￥#@!"

Fang Chang: "No worries, brother, innate factors are just one aspect. Didn't you see Brother Guang even pointed out a way for you, like sticking RAM into your head? (sidelong smile)"

Mole on the Lam: "As long as you have enough Silver coins, you could even ascend mechanically. (funny)"

Wild Wind: "Poor people mutate, rich people rely on technology? (sidelong)"

Edge Shoveling: "Sigh, this Game is too damn realistic."

There are indeed Mosquitos in the WC: "Hehehehe, sub-entity breeding, hehehe."

Falling Feather: "...What are you trying to do? (sweating)"

Elena: "Although Mosquito Brother seems to have said nothing, he also seems to have said everything. (funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "Feel sorry for Luoyu brother. (funny)"

Teng Teng: "Your thoughts are too dirty; occasionally, Mosquito does some decent things too, right, Mosquito? You wouldn't let Xiaoyu go astray, would you?"

Just when Teng Teng was still trying to use kindness to influence Mosquito, someone even more restless jumped out.

Tail: "Tail's going to pinch a lot of tails! (*/ω\\*)"

Si Si: "Is that appropriate, Tail? (guilty)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Si, keep heading south. (shivering.jpg)"

Giao Sesame Paste: "Haha... although exploring the edge of the map is fun, I feel like if we go any further south, we'll need to prepare a few cotton-padded jackets. (￣▽￣)"

Teng Teng: "Feel sorry... for Luoyu brother. (｡-ω-)"

Falling Feather: "Wait! Can you guys log into the Game? How come the hell can't I log in?!"

Fang Chang: "?"

Old White: "What's the situation? (shocked)"

Falling Feather: "I don't know! I just wanted to log in and take a look, but as soon as I put on the helmet, I saw a resurrection CD hanging there... The problem is, I didn't even die! QAQ"

Mole on the Lam: "Goodness, how many bugs have you encountered."

Night Ten: "It might not be a bug; perhaps you were showing off too much and got secretly nerfed by Ah Guang. (funny)"

Falling Feather: "Damn it, surely not! QAQ"

There are indeed Mosquitos in the WC: "Don't worry, brother, I'll take good care of Xiaoyu for you. (evil smile)"

Falling Feather: "Where do you live... I'm sending you an express delivery right now."

There are indeed Mosquitos in the WC: "*cough*... Stay calm, brother, it was just a joke."

Makabazi: "Hahahaha! I'm dying of laughter!"

Perhaps it was because there hadn't been an update for too long.

Although there weren't any major gameplay changes in the Beta 0.6 version, players still erupted with intense discussion enthusiasm.

In particular, on the matter of "how to use Xiaoyu," not only players with an Intelligence attribute of 10 but even backseat drivers who didn't even get the closed beta qualification joined in the lively discussions.

Amidst everyone's varied and over-the-top speculations, even Chu Guang couldn't help but muse that if everyone had a game helmet, the alliance would probably run out of street lights.

To be honest, Chu Guang didn't have a concrete implementation plan for the newly established ecological protection zone in the eastern suburbs of Qingquan City.

That's why he came up with the idea of letting the players figure it out and asked Xiaoyu to further refine, based on Xiya's DNA library, the "preservation of the sub-entity's autonomous consciousness."

In fact, the biological avatars implanted in players are akin to a type of hatchery, possessing the characteristics of "node creatures."

And players who have implanted the modified biological avatars are like signal processors, capable of relaying orders from Xiaoyu to the sub-entities connected to the node creatures.

It was just like the leader of the Mutants equipped with biological power armor that the Alliance encountered in Brocade River Province.

With the support of the biotechnology from the Torch Church, that guy single-handedly led tens of thousands of bat swarms!

Theoretically, even without black tech support, as long as the player's brain's information processing capabilities are sufficient, leading a team of a hundred or even a thousand by oneself should be no problem.

From the current perspective, this is the strategy with the least risk.

Even if an accident occurs, it can be easily compensated for through "server BUG compensation," without worrying about causing public panic over the immature technology.

On the other hand, players' wild ideas can also help Xiaoyu evolve in a more favorable direction for the development of the alliance society.

Chu Guang held quite high hopes for this.

Chu Guang delegated the task of training Xiaoyu to his adorable players for the time being, as he had another more pressing matter in need of his personal attention.

The morning after the tide had ended, as Chu Guang was still sitting up in bed, he opened his eyes to see a light blue popup window appear before him.

[Hidden mission complete!]

[Note: Morphogenesis field device detected that the lair in the city center has been integrated into the connection, the abnormal clone (player ID: Luoyu) confirmed lost, the cultivation chamber is generating a new clone, triggered "flag7" judgment.]

[Reward: Unlock floor B7 permissions, 20,000 gene sequences!]

Floor B7!

20,000 closed beta qualifications!

The happiness came so suddenly, the moment Chu Guang saw this pop-up, he was almost unwilling to believe his own eyes.

Based on past experience, every time a new floor in Shelter No. 404 was unlocked, it provided him with quite a substantial amount of resources.

This included not only a large number of cutting-edge devices that the alliance desperately needed but might also contain a priceless black box!

Although he didn't understand why the shelter system skipped unlocking floor B5, he wasn't the picky type.

Having them was good enough!

Chu Guang sprang out of bed in a single motion and immediately instructed Xiao Qi to stuff the unlock of floor B7 and the new closed beta qualification into the Beta 0.6 update announcement, then donned his power armor and hurried out of the door.

The queue for the elevator on floor B1 of the shelter stretched long, with a small plaza packed with a throng of eager players.

They were all waiting to go to floor B6 to undergo the biological avatar transformation surgery, already impatient to experience the new gameplay of Beta 0.6!

"Bro, have you thought about what kind of sub-entity to create?"

"Heh heh, of course, I have to make a charming demon with white hair and red eyes!"

"Damn, you're crazy! That thing is a slime mold!"

"People shouldn't, at least they ought not to…"

"What? Demon Demon Spirit? There's a lecherous believer here; come and deal with him."

Pretending not to hear these players' nonsensical conversations, Chu Guang walked through the crowd and into his private elevator, touching the control panel.

The icon for floor B7 quickly appeared on the touchscreen.

Containing his excitement, Chu Guang immediately pressed it.

The elevator began to descend slowly.

As he anticipated what surprises floor B7 of the shelter would bring him, the light blue touchscreen suddenly flickered.

The buttons listed on the screen disappeared, replaced by an audio file playing button featuring a circle with a triangle.

The elevator stopped steadily, with the alloy doors showing no sign of opening.

Chu Guang could guess with his feet that this was probably the original manager's tasteless sense of humor, insisting on leaving his mark, and he would have to listen to his last words before the door would open.

As Chu Guang also had questions in his heart, he pressed the button.

A voice tinged with light mockery came through from the ceiling of the elevator, drifting into Chu Guang's ears.

"Respected manager of Shelter No. 404, by the time you are able to step onto this floor, you must have already received this honorable title from your supporters, so please allow me to address you as such."

Listening to this sentence, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile.

It seems that this First Generation Manager didn't quite understand the human species, and completely underestimated their anticipation for a savior.

Not to mention unlocking Floor B7.

Just one year ago, people had already begun to worship him in various extravagant ways, especially some of the overly explicit titles, which made him blush at the sound of them.

As if giving him time to reminisce, the voice paused for a moment and then, shedding its jesting tone, continued in a more serious manner.

"But there's nothing to be proud of, everything has just begun, hasn't it?"

"We've just managed to get rid of the trouble at our doorstep, and there are hundreds of creatures just as big. Not to mention, there's an even bigger one lurking five light-years away! Even if everyone thinks It's dead, I'm not so naïve to believe that. Using a weapon that has never been used to kill an opponent I've never faced before, though I hope you don't follow in my footsteps, this is the one thing I want you to share with me... Never have excessive expectations and fantasies about the uncertain."

"I worry about you, my inheritor, even if sometimes I wonder if such worries are superfluous. If one chooses to trust in the wisdom of future generations, one should trust even more thoroughly... But our opportunities are indeed scarce. A single small mistake could cause the entire well-thought-out plan to go to waste, so please understand why I'm so cautious with my investment in you."

"But since you've made it here and successfully used the card I left on Floor B6, I have enough reason to believe that you are the person I've been waiting for... It should be safe to hand over my job to you, so you probably won't mess everything up."

"Anyway, you are now a mature Game planner and should learn to pay yourself... It's time to hand over the most precious Floor B7 to you!"

"Please use it properly!"

"I'm counting on you!"

As the sound of the voice ended, the elevator doors opened, and Chu Guang's eyes were greeted by a spacious expanse.

Like the other floors, its space was circular, but the area was as large as two indoor sports stadiums!

What was even more surprising wasn't just its massive size, but the variety of machines that were set up in this open space.

There were cylindrical smelting devices, conveyors, and a series of flexible mechanical arms along the conveyors, as well as a pile of devices whose functions Chu Guang couldn't ascertain just by their appearances.

These machines were not connected like a traditional production line but rather spread out from the center like a spider web.

Numerous different permutations and combinations could be drawn from any end point of the production line to any other node.

The repetitive and complex production processes, like crushed cans, were crammed into this "narrow and closed" underground space, all controlled by a unified smart terminal!

Even without the knowledge of the Era of Prosperity, Chu Guang could tell at a glance what Floor B7 was used for.

It was a processing factory!

The shock in his eyes gradually gave way to uncontrollable ecstasy, and, without realizing it, Chu Guang stepped forward out of the elevator and approached the nearest terminal.

As Chu Guang stretched out his index finger, a pale blue holographic window quickly appeared before him.

And at the same time, a uniquely designed mechanical composite bow also appeared in that pale blue holographic floating window.

Looking at that mechanical bow, Chu Guang felt it looked very familiar. Suddenly he remembered it seemed to be the very same "Dawn" that Elder Fang Chang had been using since the game began, almost developing a patina!

Good heavens!

Chu Guang was completely astounded.

As he had imagined, the prizes he had won from the Blind Boxes were all produced in this manufacturing workshop!

Realizing this, Chu Guang almost instinctively spoke out.

"Xiao Qi."

The voice, full of eagerness, soon drifted into his ears.

"Here, Master."

Chu Guang paused before continuing.

"Can you connect to the database of this floor?"

In addition to the main server, Shelter No. 404 also came equipped with individual databases for each floor, which could be accessed through Manager permissions.

Just now, he had shared the managerial authority of this floor with Xiao Qi, which would help him quickly understand all the functionalities of the floor.

And Xiao Qi did not disappoint, as always, quickly completing the retrieval of the information for Floor B7.

"It's all sorted, Master! Would you like Xiao Qi to introduce the functions of this floor?"

Hearing that proud voice, Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, please do."

"You're welcome, serving you is Xiao Qi's honor!"

A shy voice entered Chu Guang's ears.

After a brief pause, Xiao Qi switched to a serious tone, and started to explain the functions of Floor B7 to Chu Guang.

"... The function of Floor B7 is the processing center of Shelter No. 404, and its main function is to produce the shelter's necessities, replacement parts, and security devices based on the input blueprint information and standard raw materials."

"The industrial program installed on the processing center server can automatically edit a production process that matches the entire set of processing systems based on the input design drawings. After that, just input the raw materials to get standardized finished products."

"You can think of it as a larger and more feature-rich Black Box! Although in terms of raw material and energy consumption, it might not be the most economical choice, it's capable of providing higher-quality industrial products to the residents of the refuge, even when detached from the production system!"

"The processing facilities on the entire Floor B7 are divided into three zones, one for food processing, one for medical supplies, and the largest one, which is the small and medium-sized mechanical and microelectronics processing zone."

"Each of the three zones has an input port for raw materials and an output port for finished products, and they are connected to the elevators leading underground as well as to the elevator to Level B1... um, the latter of which the control has already been transferred to you, but the elevator leading further down is still in a locked state."

"Xiao Qi guesses that the elevator going down should be connected to a waste disposal facility or a warehouse of some sort. Ah, right, there are also some finished products on the production line that were just processed recently... Huh? These things look a lot like the items you, Master, get from Blind Boxes!"

Xiao Qi's response made Chu Guang even more certain of his suspicion.

He even deduced that the stock of raw materials in the shelter's lower-level warehouse must have been nearly exhausted.

After all, this place was just a shelter.

It wasn't Doraemon's pocket nor was it a magical wishing machine; if it didn't keep getting resources from outside, the items it could provide would ultimately be limited.

The First Generation Manager's decision to transfer the control of Floor B7 to him at this time might also have this reason behind it.

Chu Guang opened the "Manager's Allowance" submenu in the shelter system and sure enough, he found that the points had changed from the original number to ∞.

He and his players had already established a huge settlement above the shelter, and those "daily tasks" that initially urged them toward the surface had truly become their everyday routine, so the so-called allowance naturally lost its significance.

Whether they had allowances or not, they would continue what they were doing; even without Shelter No. 404, they would keep uniting the survivors of the Wasteland and lead them all to rebuild the homeland beneath their feet.

Just as the First Generation Manager had said in his last will and testament, he had become a seasoned planner himself, capable of paying his own salary.

To tell the truth, Chu Guang hadn't really understood that enigmatic individual who always seemed to be leading him on and had even wanted to complain more than once that the fellow wouldn't even leave a chair behind for him.

However, now a sudden realization washed over him.

What he once coveted but could not attain was never an obstacle to the rise of the Alliance—

Perhaps this was actually the best arrangement.

Adam's apple shifting slightly, Chu Guang heaved a silent sigh in his heart.

If only he could have the chance to meet that fellow...

Not inviting him to a meal, it would always feel like he hadn't properly repaid all the thought he had put into everything.

After collecting his emotions for a moment, Chu Guang looked at the terminal before him and continued to speak.

"Xiao Qi, help me tally up... the inventory of remaining finished products on the production line, and the designs stored on the server."

"Got it!"

Almost as soon as the words were spoken, the pale blue holographic screen unfolded before Chu Guang once again.

The floating window, divided into a grid by lines, displayed a list of items and their related text descriptions, much like the inventory in an RPG game.

According to Xiao Qi's tally, there were about 2 tons of various types of drugs, roughly 10 tons of various small to medium-sized machinery like exoskeletons, drones, rifles, and most notably, food—especially lollipops, totaling nearly fifty tons!

If exchanged for points, these supplies would be worth at least tens of millions of points!

And that wasn't all.

Far more precious than these manufactured goods were the blueprints, industrial process diagrams, and other technical data, all stored in the database on Floor B7!

This included Fang Chang's Dawn Mechanical Bow, Old White's Thermal Cutting Axe, and Night Ten's 15th-Model "Python" Gauss Rifle, among others!

Even Chu Guang's own Nitrogen-Powered Hammer and Hummingbird Drone were listed.

If it had been the Alliance a year ago, they wouldn't have been able to assimilate this data, even if several more Yin Fangs had been available.

But today's Alliance not only had its own research institutions but also a relatively complete industrial production system and stable raw material sources.

The vast technical data provided in Floor B7's database could boost the technical strength of the Alliance by another level!

"... We've really hit the jackpot."

As his index finger slid across the holographic screen, admiring the myriad entries in the list, Chu Guang couldn't help but utter a word of admiration.

After enjoying the rich reward for a moment, Chu Guang issued instructions to Xiao Qi.

"Xiao Qi, notify Yin Fang to stop worrying about the trash picked up from the city center for now, and come directly to Floor B7; tell him I have some good news to share with him."

"Also, dispatch some people from logistics to take the drugs to the Alliance's First Hospital, and list the equipment in the NPC stores."

Xiao Qi replied, "Got it! Oh, Master, what would be appropriate prices to set for the equipment in the NPC stores?"

Chu Guang was about to suggest the old prices, but he quickly remembered that many of these were "limited edition equipment" that could only be obtained through a draw.

That was tricky.

Setting the price too high or too low would leave some unhappy, and pricing each item individually would be too bothersome.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and then suddenly thought of Luka, who had recently come to him to propose establishing a legal holiday to celebrate the end of the Tide and hold a festival.

With this in mind, an idea instantly came to Chu Guang, and a pleased smile appeared on his face.

"Don't list it in the NPC stores just yet... do this, take one of each piece of equipment and mark it at 150% of the cost price as the minimum bid, and hang it up for auction during the festival event, with a limit of one purchase per person."

"Run a few more of these benefit auctions; how much they'll go for should be argued over by the interested players. Once the prices have nearly saturated the market and the arguing has likely subsided, we'll take an average of the closing prices, add a buying threshold based on Sequence and Contribution Level, and throw it all into the NPC store, and that's that."

After hearing Chu Guang's method, Xiao Qi was taken aback for a full two seconds before responding, "Got it."

Master truly is master...

His skill at deflecting conflict was getting more and more adept.

Chapter 643: The Ruined Sub-Entities

"What needs to be discussed on Floor B7 that couldn't wait? Didn't I say I was super busy these days—what the fuck?!"

Refuge Shelter's Floor B7.

The moment Yin Fang reluctantly stepped out of the elevator and into Floor B7, he was frozen in place, with a dumbfounded look on his face.

After a moment of stupor, he mechanically turned his neck, looking at Chu Guang, who was standing beside the terminal with a smile, and said in disbelief,

"...Is this the refuge shelter you manage?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Obviously, it is."

Seeing him nod nonchalantly, Yin Fang almost couldn't help spitting out,

"Why didn't you show it earlier?!"

Hearing this, Chu Guang's expression became subtly nuanced.

I surely would have wanted to!

But what could I do if the First Generation Manager wouldn't let me?

However, this explanation was too complicated, and given Yin Fang's persistent nature, he might never stop asking questions. So, Chu Guang took a few seconds to come up with an excuse, clearing his throat and casually saying,

"...I forgot the password to this floor, just remembered it recently."

Yin Fang stared blankly at Chu Guang, as if wanting to write "You think I'd believe that?" on his face.

However, Chu Guang did not intend to elaborate further and directly changed the subject,

"Can you take a look at these devices and tell me what level they are equivalent to?"

Yin Fang took a deep breath, spending a full minute to calm his emotions, then continued,

"Let's say this—if an ordinary Survivor Settlement got hold of this set of manufacturing equipment and wasn't stupid enough to use it to peel apples for fun, they could be easily promoted from the early Industrial Age to the Information Age with no problem at all!"

Chu Guang felt a little disappointed.

"Just the Information Age?"

"...I'm talking about regular Survivor Settlements, but are we just a regular Survivor Settlement?"

Yin Fang looked at Chu Guang with incredulity, unable to resist continuing his rant.

"Not only do we have a vast industrial zone, we have a systematic scientific archaeology framework and hundreds of experts working around this system, plus a city-level fusion reactor! I haven't even accounted for the one thousand cubic meters of nuclear fuel and the data in this database. Just the Information Age? Are you kidding me? We could even build a new Ideal City on this Wasteland—"

At that point, Yin Fang suddenly stopped, his gaze shifting from disappointed in Chu Guang to incredulous.

He muttered softly,

"Well, damn, it's actually true..."

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brow.

"True?"

"I remember you saying that you wanted to build a new Ideal City on these ruins. I thought you were joking..." Yin Fang swallowed, excitement twinkling in his eyes as he murmured dreamily, "You weren't joking; you were serious!"

Watching Yin Fang babble on, Chu Guang's formerly hesitant expression started to become more ambiguous.

So, it's about that matter.

He seemed to remember saying something like that...

But honestly, that was just a metaphorical pie in the sky, maybe even improvised oratory fun that went too far. Moreover, when his people actually went to check out the so-called Ideal City, he was too embarrassed to keep bragging about it.

Even up until today, right before Yin Fang spoke those words, Chu Guang never actually expected that day to come.

But—

"When have I ever lied to you, my friend?" said Chu Guang, looking seriously at Yin Fang, who was still full of disbelief, "Just like you said, we have more than just a vast industrial zone, a bunch of excellent scientists, a gigantic reactor, and a pile of nuclear fuel and technical reserves that don't need to be mentioned... The most critical part is that we have you."

"Me..." Yin Fang's face turned crimson, his voice trembling with excitement.

"There's no need to be modest. I believe that with your experience and ability, along with your knowledge of the Prosperity Epoch, you are far more aware of how to maximize the potential of these devices than I, the Manager of this shelter. I believe you can take us to see that era, not just cling to relics with nostalgia."

Looking at Yin Fang, whose face was now the color of liver due to his excitement, Chu Guang patted his shoulder with heartfelt significance, "I'm counting on you!"

Real World.

Bovine and Equine Herd.

Discussions about "Wasteland OL" Beta 0.6 version had spread from the forum to the small groups of players.

Compared to the nonsensical blabber of trollish netizens, veteran players who had been in the game since the early versions still preferred listening to Brother Fang Chang's ramblings.

However, what was different this time was that, instead of the Child Entity Breeding System which set the forum on fire, Brother Fang Chang was more interested in a seemingly insignificant line in the update announcement.

"... Actually, I'm more curious about what exactly that B7 floor is, compared to the Child Entity Breeding System."

Night Ten: "I thought you would be more curious about which bug Ah Guang actually fixed. (smirk)"

Old White: "Haha, Ah Guang won't tell you."

Fang Chang: "Seriously, I'm not joking with you guys."

Quit Smoking: "B7 floor? Wait, isn't floor B6 the bottom floor of the shelter? (stunned)"

Fang Chang: "Sigh, you guys didn't carefully read that announcement at all. The focus of the Beta 0.6 version update, apart from the Child Entity Breeding System, also includes a large quantity of ruins located in Qingquan City's urban area, and then, as I mentioned, the B7 floor of the shelter."

As for Gaia Planet, Fang Chang automatically ignored it.

That pie in the sky, five light-years away, hardly had anything to do with the current version's main storyline. Even if one truly went there, it'd probably just be a few textures put up for display.

As for being singled out in the update, the factor of doing it for the lulz likely outweighed practical reasons.

He knew Ah Guang too well!

The B7 floor of the shelter was different, though.

The shelter, which had existed since the game launched, always had its floor unlock progress closely linked to the development of the Alliance!

Even every new floor's unlock would significantly change the whole game's playstyle.

He had reasons to believe this time would be the same.

However, what was thought-provoking was that although the update mentioned the unlocking of a new floor, when he logged on and tried every available elevator in the shelter, he found no entrance to the new floor.

How strange!

Seeing Fang Chang acting mysterious and not spilling the beans, Night Ten, whose curiosity was piqued, couldn't help but ask.

"So what do you think this B7 floor will be? (curious)"

Fang Chang: "Skipping the yet-to-be-unlocked B5 floor, B6 is a biological laboratory. I have reasons to suspect that the B7 floor should be a physics or engineering laboratory, or at least a facility related to those fields!"

Wild Wind: "A physics laboratory huh... I feel like having a collider or something in the shelter doesn't seem very meaningful, and the research of theoretical science also has too low a cost-performance ratio for the special circumstances over the wasteland."

Fang Chang: "I share your view. Moreover, from the perspective of the game, a physics laboratory would hardly have a direct impact on player experience. Therefore, I can make a bold guess that the B7 floor is likely a laboratory or production facility related to engineering, especially machinery manufacturing!"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs: "You're talking too high-level for me, my head hurts. Just tell us directly what impact it will have on gameplay. (bitter smile)"

Quit Smoking: "+1"

Fang Chang: "Do you remember those high-tech equipment we got from previous version draws?"

WC Full of Mosquitos: "Hiss, wait, I think I got what you mean! Are you suggesting... that those pieces of equipment were actually produced on the B7 floor?! (excited)"

Fang Chang: "Exactly, and there's a very likely possibility of that! Unless something unexpected happens, from Beta 0.6 onward, the previously draw-exclusive god equipment will gradually start to lose their priority and become available for middle-class players to purchase in limited quantities, or even outright downgrade to whiteboard equipment in NPC shops."

Night Ten: "What the fuck?!"

Old White: "For real? (surprised)"

Spare people under the knife: "6666!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Hahahahaha, Brother Guang is awesome! Finally shaving down you guys a notch, what a satisfying cut! (dying of laughter)"

Night Ten: "Cut it out, what's there for you to be excited about? Even if high-end equipment becomes cheaper, you Intelligence System player with less than five intelligence still can't use them! Plus, if my Gauss Rifle becomes as common as muck, even noobs will have one each, and you, a fella who can only scratch with your paws, would look even more pathetic. It's really you who's been shaved down."

Pick up trash 99 level: "What the fuck?!"

Spare people under the knife: "Turns out I'm the clown. (smirk)"

Brother Fang Chang's version predictions garnered a variety of reactions from the group members.

Some were gleeful at the misfortune of others, others were shouting 'what the fuck' as their assets shrank, there were those who were just watching the show, and others who were indifferent.

Fang Chang himself was quite relaxed about it.

He was well aware that for any game, as versions change, god equipment turning into whiteboard was just a matter of time.

Especially during the closed beta phase, compared to the gaming experience of the few closed beta players, the operator usually had a more important task—to develop the game's systems as fully as possible.

Caring only about the gaming experience of a few players was unrealistic.

Fang Chang: "Actually, looking at it another way, this might not be such a bad thing. In previous versions, the ceiling of combat capabilities was either the equipment provided by the shelter or those seized from other Survivor Forces. It's enough to bully the natives with, but objectively speaking, there's still a significant gap compared to old established Survivor Forces."

"Previous godly gear has become common goods, but I think there's still reason to look forward to the new godly gear appearing. (jokingly)"

...

The B7 Floor of the shelter has not yet been opened to players, and Fang Chang's speculation about the Beta 0.6 version is just a guess.

However, many attentive players have noticed that NPC shops are quietly expanding their inventory.

The most typical example is probably the Hummingbird drone.

Previously unavailable for purchase, it can now be bought on the official website, with a Contribution Level of Citizen, each person is limited to one, and priced at only ten thousand silver coins, which is equivalent to the price of a set of Type Five "Light Cavalry" exoskeleton.

Compared to the Alliance's self-developed Y-series drones, the Hummingbird drone offers a superior vantage point, more agile maneuverability, and stronger concealment capabilities, similar to a mini satellite weaving through the ruins.

Of course, to protect the privacy of other players, privately owned drones of this model are forbidden to fly within safe zones above five meters off the ground and can only be used as following cameras.

In addition to that, the Manager's Nitrogen-Powered Hammer is now also available for purchase at NPC shops!

But this hammer isn't cheap, with its complex and elaborate manufacturing process, it's said to go for two hundred thousand silver coins a piece, almost the same price as a Gauss Rifle!

Yes, now even the pre-war model 20th "Stinger" Gauss Rifles are available at NPC shops! Also, often carried around by the Manager himself!

This piece of tech is even more advanced than the 15th model "Python" Gauss Rifle that Night Ten can't put down. It not only adopts a special barrel-less design but can also fire any nails or metal fragments picked up at will!

If the idea of needing power armor to wield a hammer might make some hesitate, the 20th "Stinger" was nearly sold out the moment it hit the NPC shops, with hundreds sold!

Just this one piece of equipment brought in twenty million silver coins for the Alliance in one day, and Chu Guang couldn't close his smiling mouth, hurrying to get Xiao Qi to arrange a new batch of production orders to restock the shelves.

Although the situation of limited-edition gear turning into whiteboard equipment predicted by Fang Chang has not yet occurred, the phasing out of old godly gear to whiteboard with the rolling of versions seems to have quietly commenced...

...

On the other hand, in the eastern ecological protection zone of Qingquan City.

A starving mutated hyena was crouching in the shadows of the jungle, greedily eyeing an Eater shaking its head not far away.

Although for non-Constitution type players, Eaters are inedible, this common knowledge obviously doesn't apply to scavengers like mutated hyenas, cockroaches, and vultures.

Especially just after winter has passed and most Variants are starving, even if mucosal entities aren't tasty, they still have to consider filling their bellies.

Making sure there were no threats, the hyena let out a low growl and, like an arrow released from its bow, pounced on the Eater.

But at that moment, something unforgettable happened in the hyena's life.

The usually dull and brainless Eater suddenly twisted its neck, gave the advancing hyena a strange smile, and then kicked it hard.

Caught off-guard by the unexpectedly agile maneuver, the mutated hyena got a solid kick to the stomach and with a whimper, rolled on the ground.

What happened next was even more unbelievable for it, the normally dull Eater somehow pulled out a handgun!

Seeing a human weapon in the hands of an Eater scared the mutated hyena so much that it got up and ran despite being starved.

The Eater, holding the handgun, lifted its arm, resembling a stick of reeds, and shakily aimed at the fleeing hyena, firing a shot with a "bang!"

Unfortunately, the bullet missed.

It whizzed past the fleeing mutated hyena, burrowing into the thick bushes and vanishing from the Eater's view.

The Eater, seemingly persistent, followed the direction where the hyena disappeared and fired a few more shots, emptying the handgun's magazine.

Sadly, the Eater's strength was just too weak, probably between 2 to 3, and the subsequent shots nearly flew up to heaven.

As the prey disappeared without a trace, the Eater once again stood still, dumb and motionless.

From the other side of the bushes, three players stood up cursing, patting the mud off their pants, shaking off leaves and grass from their clothes.

"MMP! This thing's too damn stupid!" Silver Daddy walked up, snatched the handgun from the Eater's grasp, and tucked it away on himself.

Guess it's okay to use it as cannon fodder for training, but to expect this thing to hold the line on its own, that's a bit of a pipe dream.

Maybe should buy something more expensive?

He couldn't help but consider perhaps trying out a Crawler or a Tyrant.

Silver Sword looked at him with a face full of mockery.

"Is there any chance that you're just too weak?"

Silver Daddy wasn't happy to hear that.

"Joke's on you! Could I possibly miss at such close range? Get yourself a biological prosthetic and you'll know, this thing is not easy to operate."

Silver Shield sighed and weighed in on the conversation.

"The main issue is the low Intelligence. I've heard that some newly Awakened Intelligence types can control these things, charging forward with rifles in hand."

At this point, he shook his head helplessly.

"Dammit, you bunch of morons! Everyone just had to fight over the Strength System when choosing their Sequence, and now look, you've all pretty much become underdogs."

Silver Sword couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding me? Who was it that chickened out?"

Hearing this, Silver Shield's expression suddenly became a bit awkward.

He had just remembered that the one who had chickened out was probably himself...

Sensing the atmosphere getting a bit stiff, Silver Daddy cleared his throat and said,

"Alright, alright, cut the squabbling. That's all ancient history. For my sake, let's drop it. If it really comes down to it, we can always ascend through the Mechanical path just the same—"

Silver Sword: "Get lost! Who's your daddy—phfft, I am your daddy!"

Silver Shield: "$%#@!"

The commotion of the Silver Corps was just a minor episode in the conservation area.

Judging from the forum feedback posts about the Beta 0.6 update, the majority of players who adopted sub-entities had a pretty decent gaming experience.

Especially the Intelligence System players who reached Sequence Level LV20—even LV30, the Beta 0.6 update practically liberated their hands!

Take Debt Giant Eye, for instance.

Upon learning that he couldn't buy the desired red-eyed, white-haired succubus, he generously dug out ten thousand silver coins to buy one hundred and twenty Eaters, equipping each one with an iron pipe rifle sold by weight.

Although the Eaters' intelligence was too low to aim properly, what they lacked in accuracy, they made up for in quantity!

Not only that, he also bought a sturdy chair, tied it to two steel bars to fashion a palanquin, and had four Eaters carry him around.

Leading this grand procession of Eaters, he searched around the eastern suburbs for a while and finally stumbled upon an unlucky mutated gray bear.

Big Eyes, without a second thought, immediately had his Eaters line up, aiming their iron pipe rifles at the bear.

"Fire!" Debt Giant Eye bellowed excitedly.

The gray bear, which had been pressing a Hyena that it had caught from who knows where, hadn't figured out what was going on with these Eaters, when it saw a burst of muzzle flashes and was soon riddled with 7mm rifle bullets along with the Hyena.

Looking at the mutated gray bear covered in bloody holes and thudding to the ground, Debt Giant Eye let out an inflated, bizarre laugh.

"Hahahaha, man, I'm like an entire army!"

The construction site boy, Bricks, stood by, and despite his envy, he couldn't help but let out a snide remark.

"Give it a rest, buddy. Your ragtag bunch wouldn't stand a chance against a dump truck."

He was a Strength Type.

Though he barely managed to scrape together 10 points of Intelligence, after seeing the harrowing forum posts from other Strength Type players, he eventually gave up on the idea of becoming a Summoner.

Seeing that guy's sour grapes, Debt Giant Eye laughed casually.

"Pssh, what do you know, dumbass. You think I'd just stand there and be a target? Minions, show your skills. Let's open this unsophisticated bumpkin's eyes!"

As soon as the words fell, Debt Giant Eye closed his eyes, his furrowed brows tight like he was constipated.

With a direct mental link established, the Eaters standing in line swiftly stacked up into a human tower under his direct control, just like acrobats.

The construction site boy, Bricks, was shocked.

Holy moly!

Ah San?!

Watching the Eaters play with their tricks not too far away, Edge Shoveling's expression was a bit complicated as he glanced at Brother Mole beside him.

"...I've got this feeling that Ah Guang is using us to train AIs."

Canyon Runaway Mole chuckled.

"Sounds exactly like something Ah Guang would do."

But so what?

It's a game.

If it's fun, that's all that matters!

In just that brief moment, he came up with at least ten awesome maneuvers that could be pulled off with these sub-entities.

Unfortunately, the Tide had just ended, and the Alliance was entering a period of growth; considering the gaming experience of players with livelihood professions, there likely wouldn't be any large-scale wars for a while.

Those fantastical ideas would have to wait for the next content update...

Chapter 644 I Really Am the Manager!

City of Dawn's trading station was a hubbub of shouting voices, with a constant stream of merchants and passersby coming and going from daylight into the night.

Arrayed in a crisscross pattern on the ground were wagon ruts of varying sizes, and stalls were piled high with a myriad of rare and exotic treasures.

Among them were the Eight-unit Octopus-style Mechanical Hands produced by Huge Rock Military Industry, clocks and jewelry from the Camel Hump Kingdom, generic humanoid servant androids imported from Ideal City, and even exotic spices from the Far Sea Continent, as well as soaps manufactured by the Army.

In short, the goods here were such that you could only fail to find them if you couldn't imagine them.

Long ago, the market in the City of Dawn had shifted its business model. Keeping the large-scale commodity trading points operated by the Alliance, they also rented out expanded trading spaces to individuals.

The tenants of the stalls included local merchants and residents of the refuge, as well as traveling traders.

Even before the Tide began, the area had gradually become bustling as winter passed.

Especially now, with the news of the Tide's end spreading, it added a festive hue to the prosperity here.

"Has there been some good news recently?"

Stopping in front of a stall, a man in a gray long-collared coat looked up at the decorations hanging in front of the stall and asked casually.

His skin was slightly dark, his brows and eye corners deeply wrinkled, bearing the look of having endured many hardships, with a suitcase in hand.

The stall owner glanced at him and felt this man looked unfamiliar, likely a traveling merchant from afar, and he responded with a smile.

"The respected Manager led us to triumph over the Tide. In three days, we'll hold a celebration of victory, an old tradition here. Is this your first time here?"

"That's not the case, but the last time I came here, this place was still a wilderness." The man looked around, making a helpless expression and said, "Just now, I almost thought I had read the map wrong."

Seeing his inexperienced demeanor, the stall owner said with a laugh.

"That must have been many years ago! This area is now under the control of the Alliance, nothing like the wilderness it was years ago."

Although the man hadn't returned here for many years, he seemed familiar with the term "Alliance," clearly having heard about this region elsewhere.

"I've heard that the manager of Shelter No. 404 led his residents to build a prosperous Utopia on the Wasteland. They not only aim to unite all the suffering survivors but also vow to end the Wasteland Era as their life's ambition..."

The stall owner smiled sheepishly.

"Haha, it's not as exaggerated as the rumors say, but it's quite alright... By the way, my friend, where are you from?"

The man answered.

"Southern Sea Area."

The stall owner looked at him in surprise.

"Southern Sea Area? The islands down south? I heard they have beautiful scenery."

It was indeed too far, and with Haiye Province and Brocade River Province in turmoil, he really didn't know much.

The man gave a wry smile, making a helpless expression and said.

"If you consider sea beasts capable of generating waves tens of meters high part of the scenery... then you might like that place."

The stall owner chuckled awkwardly.

"Haha, it seems every home has its own challenges... Apart from that Lair in the city center, the biggest creature we have here is the Manager's mount."

The man paused.

"His... mount?"

"A Claw of Death," the stall owner said with a hint of pride, as if the person who rode atop the Claw of Death were himself, "Even the mighty Claw of Death cringes at his feet. There's nothing on this planet he can't conquer... including the Lair in the city center!"

The man couldn't help twitching his eyebrows mirthfully, felt like laughing but thought it impolite, so he mentally noted the seller's lack of exposure.

However, one of the stall owner's statements caught his attention.

"You mentioned he conquered the Lair in the city center… what do you mean by that?"

The vendor spoke proudly.

"It means exactly what it sounds like, he took out the guy even the War Construction Committee couldn't beat, and it's not just for this year's Tide, it will never happen again."

The man stared in disbelief, his jaw dropping slightly.

Took out...

How could you possibly take that thing out?!

He had been studying the "Mutated slime fungus" for years now, and the annoying thing about it was that if even a tiny bit remained, it would keep coming back indefinitely, and each resurrection made it more troublesome than the last.

In fact, he had come here for that very lair, but now this vendor was telling him... the lair had been taken out?

Seeing the man standing there dumbfounded and not speaking for a long time, continuously asking questions with no intention of buying, the vendor gradually lost interest in continuing the conversation.

But, after all, he was running a business and didn't want to offend anyone, so he hesitated to just send him away and instead "kindly" suggested,

"If you want to learn more about the City of Dawn, I suggest you buy the latest newspaper and then head to the Highway Town Inn for a beer. You can sit in the lobby all day without anyone bothering you, and you'll never lack for someone to chat with... The stories you hear from those mercenaries and traders are much more exciting than anything you'll hear around here, especially from Old Hooke, who has been here since the City of Dawn was nothing but wilderness."

"Thank you, I'll consider your suggestion," the man seemed to realize the vendor's disinterest and politely replied before preparing to leave.

"You're welcome. I'm Zhang Datong. If you need wholesale hardware tools or automatic rifles, you can find me... By the way, what do you do?"

"I am a Manager," the man honestly replied.

"Ma... Manager?!" The vendor didn't realize at first, until he repeated the words to himself and was then shockingly surprised, his eyes widening.

"Uh... but I'm not the Manager here," noticing the vendor's stunned expression, the man suddenly recalled something and said helplessly, "No offense, although I know 'Manager' has a special meaning to you, there are actually more shelters in the world than you might think. By the way, if I wanted to meet your Manager... how would I go about it?"

Zhang Datong stared with his mouth agape for a good while, then steadied himself and looked intently at the man.

"...Really? Which shelter are you from?"

Guessing he would be skeptical, the man sighed, rolled up his left sleeve, and revealed his slightly faded VM.

"Shelter No. 70, Manager Sun Yuechi."

However, to his surprise, when the vendor saw him pull out the VM, instead of his jaw dropping in amazement, he quickly lost interest.

"Tsk, what does that thing prove?" Zhang Datong scoffed, his initially skeptical expression deepening into doubt, "It's just a vital signs monitor, loads of people have them."

Sun Yuechi was struck dumb and was about to argue, but before he could speak, the vendor continued,

"Even if you are a Manager, where's your power armor?"

"Po... power armor?"

"Yes," Zhang Datong looked at him strangely, "You said you are a Manager, at least have some power armor, right?"

Sun Yuechi looked bewildered.

Power armor and Manager...

Is there a necessary connection between the two?

Seeing his disheveled bear-like appearance which made it unlikely he could produce such an item, Zhang Datong couldn't help showing a bit of disdain and felt embarrassed to even say that their Manager could walk around in power armor without even turning on the power.

"Forget it, I guess you can't produce that either... But you must have a mount, right?"

"I..." Sun Yuechi's face turned red with frustration, unable to utter a word.

Not wanting to embarrass this guy further, Zhang Datong waved his hand.

"Alright, alright, I've seen plenty like you. Every few days someone comes here in a blue jacket pretending to be a resident of the refuge. Hey, claiming to be a Manager, that's a first for me. I'll just assume you're bragging. Go brag to someone else, I don't have time for this."

Sun Yuechi swallowed the words he was about to say and glared at the smirking vendor, then turned and walked away, carrying his briefcase.

What's with the residents here feeling kind of silly?

He had hoped when he first heard about the Alliance, but he didn't expect it to be just so-so.

Suddenly, Sun Yuechi stopped at the entrance of the trade station, his mind racing as he decided against visiting the Manager directly.

Perhaps...

The not-so-intelligent guy was right.

Maybe it was better like he suggested, to buy a newspaper at the highway town tavern first, secretly observe what exactly was going on here, and then make a decision...

...

Meanwhile, at the highway town tavern not far from the trade station.

Wearing an apron, Lisa navigated through the crowded room, placing a tray full of beer on the wooden table before hastily making her way to the kitchen.

Watching the young girl bustling about, Old Hooke felt a pang of sympathy.

At first, he had merely pitied her tragic background, but as time passed, he had unconsciously come to see her as his own daughter.

It just so happened he had no children.

Taking advantage of a moment when Lisa was resting, he called over the diligent young girl and handed her a small bag of silver coins.

"I want you to take a few days off starting tomorrow. This is your pay for the month. Come back to work after the festival in three days."

Lisa paused, her voice timid with concern.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Old Hooke grinned.

"No, quite the opposite, you've been doing great. And that's exactly why you need some rest. What's the point of earning money if you can't enjoy it? Go on and buy yourself some new clothes. The folks from Home of the Refugees are all watching me—I don't want to be known as a boss who exploits his workers."

To prevent the rescued underprivileged from being exploited by unscrupulous employers, the Alliance's Home of the Refugees would regularly check in on those who had obtained residences status.

This initiative was proposed by the residents of the refuge.

It was said to have started when some nosy Blue Jackets discovered a shady corporation maliciously hiring a large number of "under-surveillance" laborers, exploiting their desire to become residents of the Alliance by ruthlessly overworking them.

This included disregarding the Manager's declarations at the victory day celebration, continuing to exploit workers using old laws, and making them work twelve consecutive hours on the production line without overtime pay.

The eventual outcome was highly satisfying—the Manager lived up to his promise and forced that villain out, an event that even made the front page of the Survivor's Daily.

Not long after, Home of the Refugees adopted a new system of revisits.

Old Hooke wasn't worried about the revisits from Home of the Refugees nor was he concerned about any bad rumors, as he believed he had done nothing wrong.

He simply thought that someone her age should live a bit more light-heartedly, and if he had kids, he would want his children to be like her.

Ah... to live in the sunlight.

What a luxurious wish.

Old Hooke felt a wave of emotion—this wasn't the first time, and he had even forgotten he was living in the Wasteland.

Grateful for the old man's kindness, Lisa clutched the bag of money in her palm and softly said,

"But… won't the festival be busy? Are you sure it's okay if I'm not here?"

"It's alright," Old Hooke laughed, waving his hand to indicate she needn't worry, "I'll hire some temporary help."

Debt Giant Eye, sitting at the bar drinking beer, belched and raised his wobbly right hand.

"Can I sign up first? Or tell me when the task is posted so I can get ready to grab it."

Recognizing the regular, Old Hooke laughed and retorted.

"You? I can't afford to hire you, I still need to save some money for my retirement."

Lying next to the bottle, Debt Giant Eye said with a contorted face,

"Eighty percent off... oh no, fifty percent off, someone give me some work, anything will do, as long as it makes money."

Old White patted his shoulder, laughing,

"What's up, bro, fallen on hard times?"

Elena, munching on a lizard's tail skewer, looked at him with a comically puzzled face.

"It can't be that bad, how much could your hobby possibly cost?"

"Bug off."

Debt Giant Eye's face turned red, seemingly aware that this gang probably wanted to rip him off, so he countered back before they could, but he also didn't have the courage to admit where he wasted the money.

However, his good friend, the construction site guy, didn't cover for him and hee-hee laughed while spilling the beans.

"This guy bought over a hundred Eaters."

Over a hundred Eaters?!

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

"That's something... your intelligence attribute isn't low, huh."

"What the hell use is a hundred Eaters."

"Ten thousand silver coins..." Fang Chang stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then said, "It doesn't seem that expensive... it shouldn't have bankrupted him."

The price of one piece of Light Cavalry Exoskeleton, for an old player in A measurements, really wasn't too expensive, at most it had a moderate meaning.

The silver coin revenue in the game increases in synchronization with the contribution level and sequence level.

Elena looked suspiciously at Big Eyes, who was face-down on the table, always feeling that there was more to it.

Sure enough, the construction site guy playfully continued to reveal more.

"If it was just that, it would've been fine, but could my brother Big Eyes accept his subordinates being a bunch of idiots? Obviously not! So, this brother equipped each Eater with a gun, though it's just a pipe rifle, but 7 mm bullets definitely cost money, right?"

"Uh, that's true." Elena calculated; it indeed wasn't a small amount.

"Right?" The construction site guy shrugged his shoulders and continued, "And as you know, Eaters usually just stand there, barely maintaining a balance of organic matter… with his startling style of play, not only does he have to keep up with the Eaters' ammo consumption, he also needs to solve their nutrient issues."

"Enough, stop talking, I'm an idiot." Debt Giant Eye covered his face, almost crying.

The construction site guy wasn't done having fun yet and smirked as he hooked his shoulder.

"C'mon, bro, I'm not done yet."

Debt Giant Eye pushed the guy's hand away.

"Get lost! I don't need a brother like you!"

Old White: "Hahaha!"

The people sitting at the bar continued to talk and laugh, watching their good fellowship, and Lisa, holding her tray, couldn't help but curl her lips up.

However, joy in this world is always equal.

When some rejoice, others worry.

While everyone was suggesting bad ideas to Big Eyes with laughter and cheers, an astonished exclamation suddenly echoed in the luxury suite of the backyard villa.

"What?! They stopped selling?!"

-

(Sorry, bros, I was behind today, but I managed to catch up, T.T)

Chapter 645: Self-Healing Materials!

"Not selling anymore?!"

After listening to the report from his subordinate, Sindison, who was drinking tea and flipping through the newspaper, was stunned on the spot and stopped turning the pages.

Standing at the edge of the table, the salesman nodded his head helplessly and said,

"Yes sir, we went to the frontline detachment of the Giant Stone City Militia Group and proposed to the commander to buy the remains of the mucosal entities. However, they didn't even listen to our offer and blocked us right outside the door—"

"The reason?!" Sindison interrupted him anxiously, grabbing the armrests of his chair and speaking righteously, "Don't they know that leaving those mucosal remains unattended could lead to a severe plague?"

"I... I'm not sure," the nervous salesman said quietly, looking at his boss, "Their reason was that the Alliance authorities had taken over that batch of mucosal entities."

Sindison was baffled.

Alliance authorities had taken over?

What use did they have for that stuff?!

In the glitz and glamor of Bugra Free State, Sindison Business Group was just a small, inconspicuous company, whose sole business was supplying raw materials for synthetic food and organic fertilizers to the Free State's processing plants.

In the past, during the outbreak of the Tide, he would send people to Qingquan City to buy a batch of goods, which once resold, would earn several hundred million Borian dollars in profit.

Those remains of mucosal entities were like picking up money for free.

After all, the poor in the Bugra Free State didn't care where their food came from, and the food processing plants didn't care about the source of nutrients.

Since Giant Stone City also had the need to deal with those mucosal remains, his business was undeniably a win-win for all parties!

Hearing that this year's post-Winter Tide would be even stronger than usual, not only did Sindison borrow money from the bank to rent over thirty heavy trucks and a hundred guards, but he also personally led a team south to the City of Dawn to prepare for a big venture.

However, just when he was bursting with ambitious dreams of riches, the news brought back by the salesman he sent to the frontline left him completely stupefied.

He had already found buyers.

And now the Alliance was telling him that the remains of the mucosal entities were not for sale?!

What a joke!

Although his fingers trembled with anger, Sindison quickly calmed down.

As the saying goes, you can't twist the arm off a thigh.

Facing the colossal entity of the Alliance, a mere business was nothing more than an insignificant grasshopper.

Though he didn't want to see his painstakingly managed business go bankrupt from penalties and unpaid bank loans, Sindison knew very well that a head-on confrontation was impossible.

He could only think of other ways!

He looked at his own salesman and asked word by word,

"Those mucosal entities, what does the Alliance plan to do with them?"

The salesman swallowed, whispering,

"I heard they were all centrally sent to the East District of Qingquan City… as for what exactly they'll do, I'm not sure."

Sent to the East District of Qingquan City?

Sindison furrowed his brows.

Didn't he remember the East District as an area covered by forests?

What were they doing there?

Unable to figure it out, Sindison pondered for a moment and then said to his subordinate,

"Tomorrow morning, take me to the outskirts of East Qingquan City."

The salesman quickly nodded.

"Right away, boss!"

...

The next morning, Sindison got up early while it was still dim, and with his salesman and a few guards, left the hotel.

Exiting the City of Dawn from the east, the group traveled several miles until they finally reached the edge of the East District of Qingquan City.

However, when he saw the scene before him, he was shocked, standing stunned for quite some time before finally squeezing out a few words.

"…What is this thing?"

Only to see Eaters pushing carts filled with remnants of mucosal entities, moving from piles of corpses towards a partially collapsed building to the side.

In those pitch-dark windows, one could vaguely see the red fungal plaques pulsating slowly—those were unmistakably the shape of a hatchery!

The guards standing next to Sindison couldn't help but grip their rifles tightly, their fingers flicking off the safety as they tensed their nerves and closely guarded the direction of the hatchery.

Indeed, the Eaters weren't worth their fear.

However, if a Crawler, or even a Tyrant, were added to the equation, the situation would significantly worsen… In such complex terrain, even the most experienced mercenaries would not dare to claim a hundred percent chance of success.

In fact, there was indeed a Crawler and a Tyrant here.

Not far from that hatchery, next to a derelict concrete building, Crawlers with four legs were climbing up and down the mucosal-covered walls, carrying either a stack of bricks or a bundle of steel reinforcement.

They delivered the bricks to the damaged portions of the wall where head-drooping Eaters waited to neatly stack the bricks on the damaged masonry.

"They... are building a wall?" The businessman looked in that direction, astonished, while the guard beside him had an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

"Great Antler God above…"

"When did those fungi start building houses?!"

Sindison didn't speak but swallowed, pulled out a telescope from his chest, and looked toward the middle of the concrete building, wanting to see more clearly.

He then witnessed a scene he would never forget.

The bricks were not being stacked on concrete but rather on a layer of light red fungal mycelium.

This mycelium, alive like anything else, writhed with tiny cilia. The moment it touched the bricks, countless cilia clutched the bricks tightly, sprouting pale red spore covers from the gaps that securely fixed the bricks to the damaged wall.

Sindison was astounded by the scene before him.

It was as if the sun had risen from the west!

These mucosa were repairing human structures!

What was even more unthinkable for him was the discovery that the buildings repaired by the mucosa, unexpectedly, were not ugly. Instead, they bore a unique natural beauty.

At least, they looked much better than the surrounding old, damaged buildings!

The light red fungal carpets did not appear ferocious or jarring but spread along the damaged openings on the wall, like some artistically inclined graffiti, uniquely recording the scars caused by the War two centuries ago.

Now the only suspense was whether this house repaired by mucosa was habitable.

Sindison asked himself; he wouldn't dare to live in it. Perhaps the impoverished of the Bugra Free State didn't mind their living conditions, but he had no desire to be immersed in a spore-filled musty environment daily.

The businessman standing beside him seemed to agree, shaking his head as he observed the slow repair of the scars on the forsaken building.

"I would never live in such a place… I always feel like it's some kind of trap, ready to swallow anyone who enters, just like a pitcher plant."

The other guards exchanged looks and then nodded in agreement.

"I feel the same…"

"Unless you pay me."

"But, can people really live in such a house? They haven't even used concrete."

"No matter whether it's habitable or not, at least now I know what the Alliance is up to by stockpiling these mucosal entities," Sindison cursed under his breath as he put down the telescope, his face showing helplessness.

Although he didn't know how the Alliance managed to make those mucosal entities obediently work, it was none of his business.

Before, he had thought about methods with zero cost, such as sneaking over under the cover of night and loading a few trucks with mucosal entities to flee north.

After all, the East District of Qingquan City was so vast that the Alliance might not even notice.

But now, it seemed that this method was definitely not feasible; these mucosal entities seemed to have a will of their own and wouldn't watch as they loaded their kin onto trucks.

Just as Sindison felt despondent, the sound of engine motors echoed nearby, and two motorcycles drove over from a street nearby.

Sindison and his group immediately looked over, only to see flags of the Alliance on the motorcycles, and the emblem of the First Army Corps painted on their fronts.

Four soldiers jumped down from the motorcycles, eyed this group of strangers warily, and started walking towards them.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Sindison quickly responded,

"I am a merchant passing by this area, may I ask what's happening here? Why are there so many mucosal entities—"

"That's none of your business," the soldier said coldly, his expression unyielding, "The area ahead is a military zone, entry without authorization is forbidden. I'm asking you to leave immediately, or we will be forced to take coercive measures."

The Alliance Ecological Protection Area is currently not open to the public.

Although there aren't any secrets in this area, unless you're a resident of the refuge, any unrelated persons entering this area would be forcefully driven away.

After all, the public still harbors significant doubts about the mucosal entities, and if someone encountered danger in this area at this time, even if it wasn't the progeny bodies of Xiaoyu causing it, it would be almost impossible to explain clearly.

Seeing that this group of soldiers only had four people, a young guard following behind Sindison couldn't help but look down on them and sneered.

"Forced measures? With just you few?"

The soldier wasn't provoked by his taunt, only looking at him playfully.

"Wanna try?"

The survivors around the River Valley Province were fierce by nature, and Spring City was no exception; he had seen plenty of bullheaded individuals who thought themselves tough because of the guns on their necks.

The guard's eyebrows twisted, about to speak harshly, but he was grabbed by the boss beside him and given a severe glare.

Sindison wanted to slap the guard twice.

He was here to seek wealth, not trouble!

Facing the four soldiers standing ready, Sindison softened his tone and apologized.

"Sorry, gentlemen, we're new here and unaware of the rules… We'll leave immediately."

Saying this, he took out some bills to give to the leading captain, but the captain pushed them away disdainfully.

"Put away your money, leave immediately, this is your final warning."

"Yes, yes!"

Sindison nodded rapidly, hurriedly pulling along the salesperson beside him and the still discontented guard, leaving this contentious place.

The First Army Corps soldier followed them until they had completely left the district.

Looking at two motorcycles parked at the other end of the street, the salesperson beside Sindison wore a resentful expression and couldn't resist asking.

"Boss, are we just going to let this go?"

"Let it go?" Sindison squinted slightly, laughing lightly, "How could we possibly just let it go?"

The guard following behind, who had been silent up till now, hesitated slightly, then lowered his voice.

"Boss… The patrols here are too strict. We were discovered as soon as we arrived, it won't be easy to sneak anything out."

"Sneak? Heh," Sindison glanced at his subordinate with disdain, curling his lip, "Am I the type of person that needs to sneak?"

Just moments before, he had suddenly come up with a great idea; perhaps not only could it cause the Alliance to spit out this hot potato, but maybe he could also get a few live specimens to take back for research.

A group of progeny bodies that could be put to use on the assembly line…

Thinking this, Sindison felt an excitement surge within him, eager to begin implementing his ingenious plan immediately.

Seeing the boss looking so confident, the salesperson immediately understood and quietly moved closer to ask.

"Boss… Any instructions?"

Sindison smiled slightly, whispering a few words in his ear.

"We're not the only ones from the Bugra Free State here to haul goods, other merchants are here too… Find their bosses, send them an invitation, say the boss of the Sindison Business Group wants to have a drink with them and discuss big matters."

Pausing, he looked at the guard standing nearby and beckoned him over, continuing to whisper softly in his ear.

"Take a detour in a while, go back to the place we've just come from and take some photos… I have a great use for them."

...

While the merchants from Bugra were stealthily scheming, Chu Guang was just visiting the ecological protection area.

After a day's practice and summarizing their experiences, his 'players' were getting increasingly proficient at commanding Xiaoyu's progeny bodies.

Especially some 'players' with civil vocations.

To earn back the silver coins spent on purchasing progeny bodies, they think up every possible method they could.

Some were chopping trees, some hunting, others helping to build buildings, and there were even those who picked up some garbage sorting tasks from the industrial district.

With their help, this ecological protection zone, which previously had nothing but mucosal entities and forests, was gradually showing economic value.

What amazed Chu Guang the most was that his 'players' had come up with a brilliant use for the mucosal entities' progeny bodies in construction sites.

Previously, building construction needed the erection of scaffolding, and alongside cranes and other construction equipment, work could begin.

Now, the fungal mats covering the walls served as natural scaffolding, and the Crawlers capable of climbing directly up and down the walls acted as natural brick movers.

Now, it wasn't just about saving labor by moving bricks; they had even improved the construction materials themselves.

Namely, using a mucosal entity in place of cement as an adhesive between the bricks.

When Chu Guang heard about this from Xiao Qi, he was astonished by the fantastical ideas of these players.

Could mucosal entities really be used this way?

"Using a fungal mat instead of cement... Are you sure this material is strong enough?" As he looked at the building which visibly repaired itself, Chu Guang hesitated for quite some time before asking.

A cheerful cry came through the communication channel.

"Yi wu!"

Sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder and swinging his legs, Xiao Qi happily translated.

"Xiaoyu said this is an adhesive fungus strain made from the DNA recycled from the 'Decaying Knight' evolutionary bodies. After the fungus mats are dehydrated, they can produce an effect similar to that of cement, which is not only very solid but can also self-repair!"

Self-repairing concrete?

No—

Could this really still be considered concrete?

Biological composite material?

Chu Guang had forgotten where he had read about the ancients building bridges by cultivating oysters below the bridge piers to stabilize them.

Due to their rapid growth, strong reproductive capability, and good cohesiveness, the oysters would bind the stones into a solid whole at the bottom of the river, a method known as the "Oyster Solidifying Foundation."

Inspired by the creative ideas of the players, Xiaoyu applied this method to repair high-rise buildings from the Prosperity Epoch.

The fungal mat filling between the bricks not only had adhesive strength comparable to cement but could also self-repair when damaged!

Although this building method sounded somewhat avant-garde, under the players' direction, the results seemed unexpectedly good?

At that moment, Chu Guang suddenly had an even more avant-garde idea.

"Can this kind of fungus survive in a vacuum?"

Xiaoyu: "Yi wu?"

Xiao Qi: "Um... Xiaoyu said it hasn't tried, but the first lair it devoured had the experience of surviving in near-vacuum conditions. With some improvements, it should be fine... Master, where do you want to apply it?"

"On a starship!" Chu Guang replied without hesitation.

Not only Xiaoyu, even Xiao Qi was stunned.

"Star... starship?"

Does the Alliance have such a thing?

"That's right!" Chu Guang said with a pleased smile, "But starships are still too advanced for us. Let's experiment with the Steel Heart first."

Self-repairing armor!

If this idea could really be realized, it would be awesome!

Thinking of the incredible evolutionary bodies produced by the central lair, he felt his idea might not be entirely impossible.

Chu Guang grew more and more excited.

Just as he was about to put his idea into action, Xiao Qi, who was sitting on his shoulder, suddenly spoke.

"Master, a researcher from the Academy has sent a message wanting to discuss cooperation with you in person. Shall I arrange a meeting time for you?"

"A researcher from the Academy?" Chu Guang, pausing the rapidly fermenting ideas in his mind, turned his head to look at Xiao Qi and asked, "Which researcher?"

Xiao Qi continued.

"That B-level researcher named Yang Kai, he wants to discuss a potential cooperation on behalf of the Academy..."

Hearing the name Yang Kai, Chu Guang looked slightly surprised.

Not surprised by his identity, but that he, who usually presented himself via holographic images from a research ship, now actually wanted to talk in person?

Being able to guess what he wanted to discuss, a playful smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"Let's schedule it for today... no, better make it tomorrow noon. Have him wait for me in the conference room of the Alliance Building."

Xiao Qi energetically replied.

"Received!"

Chapter 646 We Can Establish a Special Zone in the Wandering Swamp

Dawn City.

The main thoroughfare leading to the Alliance Building.

Before noon, the place was bustling with activity.

The widened roads occasionally saw a car or two drive past, but mostly it was pedestrians walking or cycling.

Looking at the crowded throngs of people on either side of the road, Yang Kai, standing at the edge of the crowd, furrowed his brows slightly and subconsciously stopped walking.

Yang Kai, who spent most of his time in labs or on research ships, did not enjoy crowded places.

On one hand, crowds meant noise and chaos; on the other, the air was full of aerosols mixed with droplets.

Jiang Xuezhou, who was following him, saw her mentor stop and quietly introduced the area to him.

"This is Dawn City Central Avenue, next to the bustling North Street. It is said that a long time ago, the Alliance soldiers fought against the Chewing Bone Tribe's Looters here, and dug many trenches… Later, as refugees moved in and trading posts developed, those trenches were gradually expanded into sewers, covered with bricks and made into houses."

These facts had been relayed to her by Night Ten.

However, her mentor apparently wasn't much interested in the past of this settlement and merely stretched his face, saying indifferently,

"There are too many people."

Knowing her mentor disliked crowds, Jiang Xuezhou whispered an explanation.

"After all, this settlement houses over a hundred thousand people."

Yang Kai chuckled dismissively.

"A settlement of a hundred thousand people planned so densely."

In contrast, the settlements under the jurisdiction of the Science Commission were much more scientifically arranged.

People worked methodically, followed scientific management, and even settlements with several hundred thousand people would not be this chaotic and disorganized.

Moreover, what was key was that they eliminated the waste of resources.

People efficiently obtained what they needed without wasting time picking and choosing, allowing them to spend more of their time on more meaningful activities.

Jiang Xuezhou actually quite liked the liveliness of the place and couldn't help but whisper,

"Maybe it's because the celebration is about to take place... Usually, there aren't so many people on the streets."

"Celebration?"

"Commemorating the end of the Tide; the Alliance plans to make this day an official holiday… The preparations for the celebration are underway now, with fireworks displays and festivities scheduled for the third day after the end of the Tide, which is the day after tomorrow."

Jiang Xuezhou whispered.

Yang Kai frowned briefly, then relaxed and pondered for a long while before offering a fair opinion,

"Hmm... it is indeed worth celebrating."

To be honest, he didn't expect that those Waste Land Wanderers, with their hodgepodge of equipment, would actually be able to defeat the Lair that not even the Post-War Reconstruction Committee had managed to defeat.

Having observed the whole process, he could barely believe his own eyes.

The events that took place here could only be described as a miracle.

But whether it was a miracle or not, for the Academy invested in the Wasteland, it was certainly a tremendous surprise.

There were numerous undeveloped relics within Qingquan City, all previously blocked by the Mucosal Entity.

These included not only pre-war research units but also various production facilities and military and space force equipment from the Human Alliance Era.

Now that the Alliance had taken the Lair in the city center, the resources once occupied by the slime fungus would finally see the light of day again!

The Academy was not only interested in the Alliance's trump card in defeating the Lair in the city center, but also had a keen interest in developing Qingquan City.

Of course, the Academy wouldn't just take the Alliance's advantages for nothing.

Yang Kai had discussed over the phone with his superiors, and they proposed to use a "Cooperation Research and Development Agreement" as a bargaining chip.

The Academy would share some data with the Alliance, supporting them in developing technology-intensive industries and upgrading the hardware for various laboratories.

According to the assessment of the External Affairs Department, the technological support the Academy can offer is more attractive at this stage than the financial support that companies could provide.

If necessary, transferring a few Level D, or even C-Class, technologies was also possible.

As long as the Alliance promises not to resell these technologies to potential competitors of the Academy, like Ideal City or Triumph City.

Apart from cooperation in relic development, the Academy's higher-ups also hoped to establish an office in the Alliance — that is, an embassy.

Much like the embassies set up by corporations within the Alliance, it would facilitate timely communication between the two parties on southern affairs and research on "Mutated slime fungus."

In principle, diplomacy was the work of the External Affairs Department, and someone from the Research Department like him shouldn't be responsible for such matters.

However, in the Academy where rank was everything, the principle of the right person for the job was merely a guideline, and Yang Kai certainly wouldn't let such an easy credit slip through his curriculum vitae.

Moreover, he had ample reasons to persuade his superiors.

Firstly, he was nearby Qingquan City, and secondly, he was on a support mission related to the Alliance.

Thus, with some maneuvering, a task that should have belonged to the External Affairs Department was intercepted by the Research Department.

Yang Kai was confident about this meeting; he couldn't think of any reason why the Alliance would possibly refuse…

The two continued along the Central Avenue and soon, after entering the North suburb of Qingquan City, caught sight of the lofty and grand building.

The building was not tall, only a few stories high, but it covered a large area and was quite spacious.

It was said that most of the time the Alliance's Manager worked in shelters dealing with affairs, and only ministers of various levels and mid-to-senior level staff of various departments were stationed here for work.

It was evident from the bicycles and mini-electric scooters filling the parking lot that, as the size of the Alliance grew, the organizational structure to match was also being steadily improved.

Yang Kai looked up at the sky; several Hummingbird drones were patrolling above the buildings, covering the entire area under Alliance surveillance.

This is probably the most tightly secured location within the entire Alliance, and its importance to the Alliance goes without saying.

Chu Guang's lips couldn't help but curl up with a little pride.

It seemed that, just as he had anticipated, the Alliance's Manager was taking this meeting very seriously, and a smug look of vanity floated to his face.

Noticing Yang Kai and Jiang Xuezhou standing at the entrance, the guard stationed beside the security booth came forward and gave a military salute, asking,

"Hello, may I ask who you are?"

"Academy B-level researcher, Yang Kai."

Yang Kai stretched out his index finger and lightly traced in the air, pushing the unfolded holographic window in front of the guard, and continued,

"This is the invitation from your Manager."

The guard was stunned by the holographic display before him, but upon hearing his name, he reacted and smiled,

"It's Mr. Yang, the Manager has already informed us about you. Please follow me!"

Yang Kai nodded in good spirits and then looked towards Jiang Xuezhou.

"Just drop me off here, find some place to kill time, and I'll call you when I need you."

This was an opportunity with no risks and a chance to show off his skills; having this minion around was simply too undignified.

So he wouldn't have anyone undermining him by suggesting that he had passed the work onto his student and hidden himself away.

Looking at his confident master, Jiang Xuezhou still felt a bit uneasy and couldn't help but ask quietly,

"Do you really not need me to follow you?"

"No need, no need," Yang Kai waved his hand, "I've met Chu Guang quite a few times already, I can handle it myself."

Having said this, he then turned to the guard,

"Lead the way."

The guard courteously said,

"Please follow me!"

Following the guard's footsteps, Yang Kai entered the Alliance Building and after progressing along the spacious corridor, entered a broad meeting room.

After opening the door to the meeting room and inviting him in, the guard continued,

"Our Manager is currently meeting with representatives from the corporations. Please wait a moment."

"Representatives from the corporations?" Yang Kai was slightly taken aback and frowned, instinctively checking the time.

It was one forty.

There were still twenty minutes left before their scheduled meeting, indeed it wasn't yet the agreed time.

But what he hadn't expected was that the person in question wasn't waiting in the meeting room for him, and there was another meeting scheduled before his.

And it was with the enterprises, which were known to be at odds with the Academy.

The guard nodded, conveying the Manager's instructions truthfully to him,

"Yes, a lot has happened recently in the region of Qingquan City, which you must have heard about. Including the enterprises, the Grand Canyon, and many Survivor Forces still plagued by "Mutated slime fungus" today, they are all very interested in our achievements."

An experienced diplomat might not take such a boastful remark to heart, but Yang Kai, lacking such diplomatic experience, suddenly felt the near-certain credit slipping away and panicked,

"What are they discussing?"

The guard looked surprised, as if he didn't expect this guest to ask such a blunt question and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Yang Kai also realized his involuntary gaffe and coughed lightly, covering up his faux pas,

"Nevermind... pretend I didn't ask."

Asking a public official about the content of high-level discussions with a third party was undoubtedly impolite and presumptuous.

Yang Kai cursed himself internally—this impetuousness should not have manifested.

Noticing his discomfort, the guard said with a smile to help him out of the awkward situation,

"It's okay, but as for your question… I really can't answer that, nor do I know. If you are interested, I suggest you ask our Manager."

Yang Kai awkwardly touched his nose,

"I will."

Perhaps taking this task from the External Affairs Department wasn't a great idea; he suddenly realized it wasn't just that he was bad at handling such situations.

He even had a bit of mild social anxiety.

Conversing face-to-face and through holographic images were entirely different; he couldn't just press pause and think over his next sentence over a cup of coffee. He also had to deal with the potential embarrassment and unexpected events that could arise in any situation.

Yang Kai suddenly regretted confidently leaving his disciple outside.

If things went south, he didn't even have anyone to blame…

Unaware of Yang Kai's inner turmoil, the guard then turned towards a servant nearby, nodded, and signaled for the servant to pour a cup of tea for the researcher before stepping outside.

Yang Kai found a random seat and sat down, nervously waiting for a full twenty minutes.

The Manager had yet to show, and just as he was starting to feel restless, there finally came the sound of footsteps from outside the meeting room.

Precisely at two o'clock sharp, the door to the meeting room opened, and a man dressed in azure power armor walked in.

Almost reflexively, Yang Kai stood up from his seat with a "whoosh", accidentally overturning the chair with his vigor.

And the embarrassment didn't stop there.

His face turned red as he struggled to find the right words and eventually bleated out a "welcome", leaving Chu Guang, who had intended to welcome him, at a complete loss.

"Ahem, it is I who should say welcome…" Seeing Yang Kai's face grow redder, Chu Guang cleared his throat gently, teasingly said, "Welcome to the Alliance, I hope I didn't make you wait long. And relax a bit, although this is probably our first face-to-face meeting, we have met many times before."

"Do researchers from the Academy always have such personalities?"

Chu Guang couldn't help but think of Li Ke, who had been sending New Year's greetings at the gate of Falcon City...

The guy's careless demeanor had completely overturned the profound and inscrutable impression he had previously left in Chu Guang's mind.

Or is it...

He's just not good at "offline" communication?

The servant nearby wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, kept a straight face as he stepped forward and quietly set the chair upright for the researcher.

Yang Kai nodded stiffly and squeezed a smile out at Chu Guang.

"Indeed..."

When Chu Guang reached the conference table, he pulled out his designated chair and sat down, continuing to speak to the researcher representing the Academy.

"So, since we've already dealt with each other before, let's not waste time on red tape and get straight to the point."

Yang Kai nodded, completely different from his image in the holographic image, speaking sparingly.

"I have the same intention."

After speaking, he stretched out his index finger and lightly drew in the air, opening up a holographic screen, then took out a projection pen from his chest and placed it on the table.

"Qingquan City belongs to the United Human, and its heritage should rightfully belong to all the descendants of the United Human. Our side wishes to dispatch a research team of fifty to a hundred people to station in Qingquan City long-term, to observe and inspect the local ruins. The ruins and the findings within are yours, while we will share a copy of any digital data we obtain with you..."

Yang Kai said all this in one breath, paused to make sure he hadn't missed anything, then took a deep breath and continued.

"Additionally, we will send a research team here, offering some assistance in the field of technology and providing you with some specialized research equipment... All of these are in the research collaboration agreement right before you."

While Yang Kai was simply introducing the agreement, Chu Guang browsed through the document on the holographic screen, and, through the holographic screen, observed the expressions on Yang Kai's face.

Honestly, this guy was truly amateurish in diplomacy.

But considering that he was a leader of the Research Department, and diplomacy wasn't his main job, his amateurishness was somewhat understandable.

Usually, both parties start by demanding the moon and then step back to negotiate terms. Yet, he did the exact opposite, seemingly afraid of being rejected, starting by making a principled case and then laying all his cards on the table.

To be honest, the chips he laid out were very attractive, and Chu Guang had to admit that his heart was moved halfway through listening.

However, this approach was akin to throwing a bulging wallet on the counter and telling the shopkeeper to help themselves to whatever they wanted.

After reading through the agreement to the end, Chu Guang suppressed the urge to smile knowingly, cleared his throat softly, and said,

"...Our side values our relationship with your side highly and is very interested in the research collaboration agreement you mentioned."

Hearing Chu Guang's words, Yang Kai felt a surge of relief in his heart, thinking his worries were indeed superfluous. However, before he could fully relax, Chu Guang changed the subject and continued,

"However, regarding certain clauses in the agreement, we have objections."

Hearing this vague statement, Yang Kai immediately tensed up.

"What objections? Tell me."

Chu Guang lightly drew in the air with his index finger, shifting the holographic screen aside, and continued while looking into Yang Kai's eyes,

"Qingquan City is under the control of the United Human and its heritage should belong to all of humanity, but the actual controllers are us; we are the ones solving the problems. For your side to ask us to share these results, earned with the sacrifice of Qingquan City's survivors, seems a bit unfair, doesn't it?"

Seeing the displeased expression on Chu Guang's face, especially when looking into those eyes, Yang Kai panicked,

"I didn't ask you for the ruins of Qingquan City. As I said, it's only for observational research; the ownership of the ruins remains yours! Furthermore, we acknowledge your sacrifices, so we are willing to provide a certain amount of assistance in the field of technology recovery. It's not for nothing—"

"That's exactly where my objection lies," Chu Guang continued, looking at him, "your agreement mentions that at least one hundred researchers will be sent to Camp 101 to establish a branch of the Academy and interact with our researchers. However, in my view, one-way open interaction is not true interaction."

Yang Kai was stunned.

He hadn't anticipated that Chu Guang would raise objections to this matter.

After all, the Bugra Free State had been pleading for them to send assistance for their research and they had refused. Now, they were the ones initiating the offer and the Alliance... had objections?

"What do you mean..."

Watching the confused Yang Kai, Chu Guang, with a thick skin, continued,

"Isn't the control over the extent of the exchange entirely in your hands? Even if you send a few researchers who are merely filling a quota, we would have no recourse. As for those research devices, we don't expect you to transfer the most advanced instruments to us, but if you give us some outdated defective products to pad the numbers—"

"How could we possibly do such a thing!" Yang Kai blurted out, cutting off Chu Guang mid-sentence, his face flushed,

Only his voice lacked conviction.

To be honest, the External Affairs Department was indeed capable of such things; after all, saving costs for the Academy also counted as a merit.

The advancement system of the Academy ensured that most mid-level and senior researchers, when making decisions, would tilt towards short-term beneficial decision-making.

If the Academy could achieve their dreamt ascent within a hundred years, then such an approach wouldn't be wrong.

However, Chu Guang wasn't willing to be made a fool of.

He had always been the one harvesting others' leeks, for it to happen to him was simply absurd.

"I never said you would do that, but we need to ensure it won't happen, right?"

Seeing Yang Kai unable to retort, Chu Guang patiently continued,

"This issue is actually simple to resolve. We do have some individuals—cough, I mean, personnel who understand the workings of the Academy on our side. I hope we could refine the details of the agreement on our end. For example, listing the types, models, all parameters, and most critically, the pricing of the equipment being transferred. This would guarantee against you suddenly remembering you have equipment to clear out of inventory and then disposing of it to us, who certainly don't need it."

Yang Kai sheepishly nodded.

"Okay..."

The request wasn't too unreasonable.

If the Alliance side asked for equipment that they could not provide, like those related to graviton research or FTL engines, they would just clarify and decline in the agreement.

At least this was something negotiable!

Chu Guang smiled and nodded slightly, continuing in a more aggressive tone,

"Another issue is the one I just mentioned, regarding personnel."

"Of course, we support the freedom of academic exchange, but such exchange should be mutual, not one-sided... besides sending some of your people to us, we would also like to send some of our people to exchange with you over there."

Yang Kai was slightly taken aback, then hastily said,

"That's impossible! Only researchers are allowed into the Academy! Other survivors can only move around at most within the habitat managed by the Science Committee! We can't design a separate system just for you... don't be too unreasonable!"

The Academy internally employs the K and G point system, where everything including the most basic transportation and acquisition of life necessities cannot be separated from these two scores.

Outsiders have no room for survival in the Academy.

Although Chu Guang didn't see it as a big deal, in his opinion, they could simply make a flexible arrangement by adding a "foreign personnel" special status in the existing system.

As for the consumption of resources, the Alliance would foot the bill.

However, seeing Yang Kai's resolutely opposed expression, Chu Guang knew that persisting would likely lead to no results whatsoever.

Therefore, Chu Guang also made some small concessions.

"Let's both take a step back then, our personnel won't enter the inner parts of the Academy, but will conduct academic exchanges with your people in the habitats managed by the Science Committee... of course, it would have to be a habitat designated by us."

Not all of the Academy's talents were cultivated within the Academy; some habitats were also responsible for tasks like sorting cultural relics and processing data.

These habitats usually had a higher living standard and did not live as frugally as other habitats. Moreover, because they could access the central business of the Academy, many kids grew up with it and the rate of their becoming prospectors and researchers was much higher than in other habitats.

Many mid-level researchers' families lived in these habitats as a compromise for not being able to live directly in the Academy.

This was something Chu Guang had heard from Yin Fang, and he saw potential in these habitats. If he could send people from the Alliance over to learn, it would not only help him nurture a batch of skilled prospectors and even researchers, but might also trick a few naive fools into coming over.

The more Chu Guang thought about it, the more he felt his idea was damn brilliant.

As for being tricked away?

Nonexistent.

The allure of the Wandering Swamp wouldn't be greater than that of Ideal City.

Chu Guang was very clear about what those researchers really needed. If anyone really got tricked away, it would indicate that the individual was not suitable for the Alliance.

Leaving would just be leaving.

Yang Kai pondered for a moment before saying with difficulty,

"This is against the rules... some habitats are not open to outsiders; it's not possible for you to just go into whichever habitat you desire."

Anticipating his response, Chu Guang's face revealed a refreshing smile as he cheerfully said,

"Then let's jointly designate this habitat, shall we? We can establish a special zone within the Wandering Swamp."

Hearing this term for the first time, Yang Kai was startled,

"Special zone?"

"That's right," Chu Guang nodded, smiling as he continued, "The research personnel we send for exchanges will only move within the special zone and conduct exchanges with your researchers within that zone… and don't think I'm joking; you'd better not underestimate our relic excavation technology. We've recovered quite a number of relics over the years, and there's a lot we can learn from each other."

Yang Kai inwardly rolled his eyes, not taking that 'learn from each other' seriously at all.

The Academy had been researching relic recovery for over two hundred years, digging over and over in the same worn-out relics. He didn't think the Alliance had anything they could learn from them.

However, Chu Guang's words had piqued his interest.

After all, this request did not seem excessive.

The habitats under the Science Committee were not the core areas of the Academy, and even if some housed researchers' families and research facilities directly related to the Academy, those facilities were engaged in non-core areas.

With this in mind, Yang Kai nodded,

"Fine… I don't see a problem with that, but I'll have to discuss it with my superiors."

Watching Yang Kai, who had been vigorously opposing one second and then took a complete 180-degree turn the next, Chu Guang couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.

Even though he had no reason to believe the guy would refuse, Chu Guang had not expected him to agree so readily.

The matter was settled.

Yang Kai got up crisply, bidding farewell, and rushed out of the meeting room with his projection pen as if he were fleeing the place.

Watching Yang Kai's retreating figure disappearing at the door, Chu Guang couldn't help but fall into thought.

Hadn't expected the Academy's researchers to be quite easy to get along with?

Decisive and more forthright than the dilly-dallying council—much more refreshing.

Had he misunderstood them?

While Chu Guang was thinking this, urgent footsteps came from outside the meeting room. Shortly after, an unexpected face appeared at the doorway.

Seeing Old Charlie appear at the door, Chu Guang, in good spirits, pushed back his chair to stand up, walking over with a smile,

"What wind has blown you here?"

Old Charlie was still the president of the Merchant Guild.

Although the Merchant Guild was a direct institution of the Alliance, it tended towards service rather than administration, so its office was not in the Alliance Building but had a separate structure, located at the old site of the Outpost Base by Rhombus Lake.

For some time, Chu Guang's office had also been there.

"… Never mind about the wind. You better look at this first." Old Charlie, looking anxious, thrust a newspaper into Chu Guang's hands.

Chu Guang took the newspaper and glanced at it, raising his eyebrows involuntarily when he saw the bold and enlarged headline.

"The Lair in Qingquan City has not fallen! Secretly nurtured by the Manager!"

Below the headline was a subtitle—

[Qingquan City Evening News unveils the astonishing conspiracy hidden in the East District of Qingquan City!]

Chapter 647: Misunderstanding By Some Mistake

"The buildings covered in "Mutated slime fungus," densely packed with mucosal entities, and the active incubation rooms… everything you see is the current situation in the East District of Qingquan City."

"The Tide has ended, but no one knew how it had ended until our reporters ventured into the East District of Qingquan City and unveiled the unknown truth!"

The entire newspaper spanned only three pages, and Chu Guang quickly scanned those pages, finding that all three were about the outskirts of Qingquan City.

The first part revealed the whereabouts of the mucosal entities. A large amount of these entities had not been destroyed but transferred to the outskirts of Qingquan City's East District.

There was nothing wrong with this segment.

After dealing with this year's Tide, the Alliance had indeed transferred the mucosal entities to the East District of Qingquan City, instead of packaging and selling them to nearby merchants as in previous years.

Chu Guang clearly remembered; it was a directive he had personally issued.

However, the content gradually became suspicious in the second part.

This section cleverly pointed an accusing finger at the Alliance authorities, using vague evidence and so-called informant news to fabricate that the Alliance had used some unknown methods to make deals with the lair in the center of Qingquan City, thereby directing the mucosal entities to work for the Alliance.

In the third part, the report shifted its focus to the "survivors" in the East District of Qingquan City.

A few survivors, during the interviews, alleged that the Alliance's army had driven them from their homes, and threatened that if they did not comply, the mucosal entities would devour them.

In reality, except for a few reclusive survivors, the majority of Qingquan City's survivors had moved into the City of Dawn or Giant Stone City during the Bone Chewing Chaos.

Solitary survivors wandering the Wastelands around Qingquan City were already very rare, let alone in the East District rife with Variants.

Those survivors were likely not real survivors but rather Looters hidden in ruins or possibly mercenaries hired outright.

At the end of the report, the writer left a significant remark.

"The bomb was not disassembled but was transferred from one box to another; it's right beside us and could explode at any time, maybe today, maybe tomorrow. A victory obtained through compromise is not a true victory, and if we do not thoroughly eliminate all the "Mutated slime fungus," this war will never end…"

After reading the newspaper to the end, Chu Guang flipped back to the first page and glanced at the header.

As he expected, this was the first issue of the Clear Spring City Daily.

It seemed like the entire newspaper was established just for this major news item, banking on this sensational story to break into the market.

Watching Chu Guang's expressions intently, Old Charlie continued with a serious tone.

"This morning, I found this newspaper at a newsstand near the Merchant Guild. I asked the vendor where he got the newspapers from, and he scratched his head, telling me he didn't remember procuring this particular newspaper."

Pausing for a moment, Old Charlie continued.

"Later, I had workers from the Merchant Guild inquire at various newsstands in the City of Dawn, and found that over eighty percent of them were selling this mysterious Clear Spring City Daily, and the vendors couldn't clarify the origin of these newspapers…it was as though they had magically appeared at their stands."

Chu Guang chuckled and said,

"That's not surprising. Besides the highest-selling Survivor's Daily that has its own distributors, most newsstands in the City of Dawn have contracts with printing presses. The presses print newspapers based on the sales at each point from the previous day, and the papers are delivered to the stands before the morning rush. Perhaps someone sneaked this batch of newspapers onto the print shop's delivery trucks, naturally distributing them to various points."

In this distribution model, it was natural that the stand owners were unaware of this newspaper.

In fact, aside from the well-known Survivor's Daily and serialized novels, they probably didn't even know how many kinds of newspapers there were at their stands.

This three-page newspaper had evidently made its first appearance in the alleys and streets of the City of Dawn, like fungus growing in a dark corner.

Chu Guang could almost guess their purpose.

It was nothing more than an attempt to exploit public panic to hinder the ecological reserve that the Alliance had set up in the East District of Qingquan City.

As for the deeper motives, the possibilities were far more extensive.

He was also a little curious about what was worth making such a hefty investment and taking the risk of infuriating the Alliance.

Seeing Chu Guang's nonchalant smile, Old Charlie couldn't fathom it. He couldn't understand why, with such a serious issue at hand, the respected Manager still managed to smile.

Worried that Chu Guang hadn't grasped the gravity of the situation, Old Charlie became a bit anxious and spoke earnestly.

"Mr. Manager, you may not yet realize the seriousness of this matter. Our enemies are trying to use the media to break our unity. Moreover, the celebration is just around the corner. If anything chaotic happens now, not only will your prestige be affected, but the entire Alliance's regional prestige and influence will also suffer!"

He paused briefly, then continued seriously.

"We must act immediately! At the very least, we need to recall the newspapers that are currently being sold on the market before the public opinion ferments!"

Chu Guang casually asked,

"And after recalling them?"

Old Charlie was slightly taken aback but quickly thought of a plan.

"We should establish a stricter publication review mechanism to prevent similar incidents from happening again and find the mastermind behind this, especially the distributor of the Clear Spring City Daily—"

Chu Guang shook his head with a smile.

He closed the copy of the Clear Spring City Daily in his hands and casually handed it back to Old Charlie.

"I get your point. The mastermind behind this is smart, but unfortunately, their methods aren't sophisticated.

"They've underestimated the unity among our society's various strata and the trust in us from the residents here after a victory. They even made more than one basic mistake during their interviews. Such tactics might have worked in the old Giant Stone City, but applied to us, they only become a joke themselves."

"Our supporters aren't so easily fooled. What we need to do now is to stabilize our position and not get flustered by the opponent's clumsy tricks. If we really make a big effort to recall the newspapers as you said, it might actually shake the confidence of those who support us… The one hiding in the shadows would only be happy."

At this point, Chu Guang couldn't help but criticize his own Survivor's Daily.

Those guys are usually quite savvy, especially during last year's turmoil in Giant Stone City.

However, this time they were like blindfolded, a huge incident had happened in the East District of Qingquan City, yet they didn't report a single word!

Chu Guang initially thought that the report was not yet written, but two days had passed, and they not only hadn't produced anything but also let an unknown small newspaper scoop them.

As a semi-official media outlet, using objective and impartial reporting to respond to public doubts is what they should do; otherwise, what use are they?

Are they just a decorative vase?

Chu Guang didn't believe that his residents only cared about the delicacies at the festival and were utterly unconcerned about Qingquan City Center and the East District's ecological reserve.

Most likely, it was out of trust in him personally, believing that he surely had a solution, so no one raised the issue.

Failing to respond to the Alliance residents' doubts promptly, Survivor's Daily would definitely bear the brunt of blame.

Chu Guang planned to have a talk with the chief editor later to ask what he was thinking.

Of course.

That out-of-nowhere Clear Spring City Daily couldn't just be ignored and allowed to spew nonsense.

Chu Guang turned to Lu Bei, who was beside him, and instructed,

"The photos must have been taken yesterday. Go to the troops stationed locally and ask who approached the East District of Qingquan City yesterday, what their identities are… Just get clear information for now, no need to take action yet."

It was inevitable that the ecological reserve in the East District of Qingquan City would catch the attention of other survivor forces, and maybe even spies from the Army had infiltrated the City of Dawn.

But those folks were clever, merely observing in secret without rashly making any moves that might expose themselves.

Chu Guang was curious about who the uncomfortable instigator might be.

This matter had to be thoroughly investigated!

Upon hearing this, Lu Bei's expression turned solemn, and he promptly gave a military salute.

"Yes!"

...

Compared to the research cooperation agreement between the Alliance and the Academy, a fabricated report was nothing more than a trivial matter.

Although Old Charlie looked as if he was facing a great enemy, Chu Guang honestly didn't take it to heart.

To put it bluntly.

He simply didn't believe anyone would believe that stuff.

Anyone who had stayed in the City of Dawn knew what the East District of Qingquan City was really like – apart from players, basically no one was willing to go there.

Survivors forced to leave their homes...

That sounded too far-fetched.

After explaining everything to Lu Bei, Chu Guang returned to the refuge to discuss with Yin Fang about establishing a special zone in the Wandering Swamp and academic exchanges.

However, Chu Guang didn't know that as Lu Bei left for the East District of Qingquan City with his orders, that fabricated report had appeared on the desk of the Corporate Embassy in the Alliance.

Looking at the "sensational" content in the newspaper, Yi Chuan couldn't help but widen his eyes, stunned for a good while before he came back to his senses.

"… The Lair previously located in the city center was relocated to the East District of Qingquan City by the Alliance Managers for captive breeding, and through evil powers, its mucosal entities are used for their own purposes?"

His lips twitched slightly, and after reading that line, he could no longer maintain his composure and shook his head, tossing the nonsense onto the desk.

"What the hell is this written?"

Captive breeding the Lair?

He didn't even know that their partners were capable of this!

Ever since the Tide began, the corporation had always been monitoring the progress of the Tide.

This wasn't just because the Alliance had a significant role in the corporate strategic layout, but also because the "Mutated slime fungus" itself was one of the core threats on the Wasteland.

Now that the Alliance had completely solved a problem that even the Post-War Reconstruction Committee couldn't handle, the entire board couldn't help but reassess the Alliance.

However, regarding how the Alliance resolved the Tide crisis, how they eliminated the Lair in the city center, and how they ensured the Lair wouldn't regenerate as before, among other questions, the board still held considerable doubts, hoping to get answers through diplomatic means.

Especially since the board recently planned to cooperate more deeply with the Alliance on matters related to "Mutated slime fungus," some radical members even suggested outsourcing the cleaning task of the Lair in Province of Yúnjiānxíng to the Alliance.

To provide the board with more information, Yi Chuan, as the Corporate Ambassador to the Alliance, ordered his secretary to go out and buy some newspapers.

The guy took half a day and just brought back a few pieces of this deceptive crap.

Looking at the secretary standing beside his desk, Yi Chuan massaged his temples with a pained expression and said,

"I asked you to purchase some newspapers reporting on the East District of Qingquan City, why did you bring back these things?"

The secretary looked a bit embarrassed.

He too believed that the contents of the newspaper were exaggerated, from the headlines to the content, but he still wanted to defend himself, so he cleared his throat lightly and said,

"Regarding reports about the East District of Qingquan City and the location of the Lair, this is the only newspaper available… Other newspapers referring to news about the Tide and the Lair basically cite reports from Survivor's Daily."

Yi Chuan was taken aback.

"What about the Survivor's Daily?"

The secretary continued with a nuanced expression.

"The latest issue of Survivor's Daily focuses mainly on the upcoming celebration and doesn't mention details of the Alliance's role in the previous Tide Battle, nor does it mention the East District ecological reserve. It seems that such news has been censored; I suspect that official pressure from the Alliance prompted Survivor's Daily to downplay this news… perhaps for security reasons."

Security?

After listening to his explanation, Yi Chuan's face looked even more perplexed.

What needed to be kept secret?

If the Alliance really had a way to counteract "Mutated slime fungus," every survivor force on the Wasteland would come to learn from them, and even the Army might lower their proud heads... since this was a matter that concerned the future of all humanity.

Shouldn't this kind of thing be openly flaunted?

The secretary continued with a subtle expression.

"Could there be a possibility… that the situation is as described in the report, just not so exaggerated? And maybe this newspaper is actually intentionally released by the Alliance?"

Yi Chuan didn't immediately refute.

He tapped lightly on the table with his index finger, pondered for a moment, and said,

"What's the basis for this speculation?"

The secretary methodically analyzed,

"At the moment, the entire East District of Qingquan City is under military control of the Alliance, any survivors approaching are driven away; ordinary people couldn't possibly take such clear photos… even if they could, it wouldn't be possible to bring them out."

That argument made sense.

Yi Chuan nodded.

Although he hadn't visited the East District of Qingquan City, the embassy had received the military control notification documents.

But this was merely a feasibility speculation.

"What's the motive?" Yi Chuan looked at his secretary, "What benefit is there for them to do this?"

Secretary: "Desensitization."

Yi Chuan was taken aback.

"Desensitization?"

The secretary nodded, continuing,

"On some sensitive issues, first throw out a piece of incredible news, shock everyone, and then clarify that things are not as exaggerated."

A gleam of shrewdness flashed in Yi Chuan's eyes.

"Opening a window first by claiming that they'll blow off the roof?"

"Exactly," the secretary nodded, "I speculate that they must possess some sort of technology to control the Lair… and it's likely not as simple as mere mind control, which we've tested to be ineffective on 'Mutated slime fungus.'"

Seeing Yi Chuan's expression grow increasingly serious, the secretary paused, then continued,

"Moreover, since the Alliance authority chose to handle this news by desensitization, it shows that they are prepared to go public, otherwise this smokescreen seems somewhat redundant."

"Therefore, I speculate that they might also be using this opportunity to signal their willingness for cooperation."

"Additionally, I've heard… a representative from the Academy appeared near the Alliance Building today, that B-level researcher who's always lurking around."

Upon hearing this, Yi Chuan immediately pushed back his chair and stood up, his right hand slapping down on the newspaper he had previously tossed on the table.

"Have a diplomatic meeting request sent to the Alliance, I want to talk to their Manager in person about this matter."

The secretary nodded.

"I will go right away!"

Chapter 648: Let the Storm Come More Fiercely!

"Ptuh—!"

Yang Kai, seated on the research ship docked near the Alliance Airport, had just scrolled through the content on the holographic screen in front of him and almost sprayed his coffee onto the central controls of the cockpit.

He had just returned to his research ship a few minutes ago, ready to delve into several amendment proposals put forward by the Alliance Managers, when he opened his personal terminal and received this item.

At the moment, the screen displayed a three-page newspaper, with the heading "Clear Spring City Daily."

But what was truly jaw-dropping was the headline—

"Clear Spring City's Lair had not fallen! Secretly conserved by the Managers!"

That thing could be conserved???

"What is this nonsense?"

Yang Kai's disheveled expression seemed to please Li Ke, who hovered in a holographic image beside him and said with a hint of mockery.

"Our intelligence personnel found this newspaper in the City of Dawn; you could easily pick one up from any newsstand... So, what exactly is your Research Department doing?"

He was a researcher from the External Affairs Department, with the same B-Class level as Yang Kai. Ever since this guy emphatically took over the External Affairs Department's work, he had been quite annoyed with him.

Moreover, this wasn't the first time!

After hearing Li Ke's words, Yang Kai's face stiffened.

He indeed had the research ship's assistant monitor Alliance broadcasts and television programs to filter out important news, but he had never really studied newspapers.

Mainly because he didn't have a fixed residence, and no one would know where to deliver a newspaper to him.

But on the other hand.

What era was this, who still read those things???

"…That proves nothing; it's just a piece of paper." Unable to stand the Schadenfreude, Yang Kai said with a stern face.

"Yes, it's just a piece of paper, and it's also the first issue released today," Li Ke continued sarcastically, "Our intelligence personnel checked the outskirts of Qingquan City immediately after seeing the newspaper. Guess what we found? Slime molds repairing the ruins there! And what did you do? Leisurely strolled to the Alliance Building to attend a meeting, without reaching any agreements—"

"I certainly didn't leave without reaching any agreements; at least the Alliance Managers have shown an inclination to collaborate with us in studying Qingquan City's relics and Lair samples," Yang Kai retorted with a displeased look, interrupting Li Ke, "And listen, my negotiations with the Alliance have reached a critical stage. I don't want your rash actions to impact the outcome."

Li Ke laughed a little and spread his hands.

"What does it matter? It's not just us doing this; others are too. Besides, we're only gathering open-sourced intelligence… Disappointingly, you haven't even managed to do this basic task properly. You don't think that intelligence will just fall into your lap while you sit in your research ship, do you?"

Yang Kai was rendered speechless by his retort and simply shut his mouth.

Li Ke didn't press further and continued.

"In the future, avoid taking on work you can't handle. Returning to the matter at hand, I believe the newspaper was intentionally released by the Alliance."

Yang Kai slightly furrowed his brows.

"They're spreading panic in their own habitat?"

Li Ke smiled a little and replied,

"Panic? Are you new to the City of Dawn? The survivors there are famously fearless. You haven't seen them fight with the military. It was the first time I've seen the Weilante People concede in their own specialty field. That level of intimidation is merely a joke to them."

Yang Kai nodded, conceding to that point.

Although he hadn't participated in the peace talks in Falcon City, he had the fortune to witness the decisive battle between the Alliance and the Torch Church during his time in Brocade River Province.

The sky-darkening mutant creatures, like dark clouds, even made him think the Manager was doomed, yet unexpectedly, the guy personally entered the fray and smashed the opposing Node Creature's leader with a hammer.

Those guys totally overturned his stereotype of the Blue Jackets being pushovers.

"What are your suggestions?"

Li Ke straightforwardly stated.

"The Chief Technical Officer's suggestion is our department's side too. Mr. Technical Officer hopes that you can secure an opportunity to jointly research the central city's Lair before the Alliance makes an exclusive deal with a third party."

Yang Kai: "What about the relics?"

Li Ke: "Secondary priority."

The Academy had already excavated many relics.

While the relics of Qingquan City were important, they were not irreplaceable. In contrast, the upper echelons of the academy placed greater emphasis on the biological sample in the city center.

Understanding the implications, Yang Kai took a deep breath and said,

"I will strive… from your side, please cooperate with me; I need your intelligence support."

Seeing Yang Kai finally bow his head, Li Ke's lips curled up slightly in satisfaction.

However, he knew well enough to not overplay his hand and, before Yang Kai could get angry, he lightly coughed and said,

"No problem, Mr. Technical Officer had already guessed you'd mess this up. Oh, and I saw the report you uploaded about the special zone proposal mentioned by the Alliance; Mr. Technical Officer thinks it's negotiable. He feels that Ice Sea City would be a good choice given the conditions there, and it also has a frozen lair in a nearby abandoned city district. Of course, if the Alliance has other thoughts, we can discuss further."

"Okay…" Yang Kai nodded seriously after listening to the suggestion.

Li Ke also nodded, preparing to disconnect the communication.

But just then, he remembered something and mentioned,

"Ah, right, you better hurry up. Not long after you left, representatives from the Company contacted the Alliance."

After hearing this, Yang Kai suddenly froze.

"Not long after I left… wait, not long after I left?"

Li Ke looked at Yang Kai, who suddenly sat upright with puzzlement, and asked,

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." Swallowing the words at the tip of his tongue, Yang Kai's nose twisted in frustration, and his fists clenched, cursing inwardly.

Earlier at the Alliance Building, that guy's subordinate told him that their Manager was meeting with representatives from the Company.

Were they fooling him all this time!?

Seeing Yang Kai's face turn red, Li Ke's expression grew bizarre.

"You're alright?"

With a rigid face, Yang Kai replied.

"I'm fine."

Li Ke coughed once.

"It would be better to speak up if there is something wrong—"

"My device ran out of power."

Without letting the other person finish, Yang Kai reached out with his index finger, drew a line in the air, and hung up the communication with an annoyed expression.

...

On the other side, at Shelter No. 404, browsing room on Floor B4.

Facing Chu Guang's query about where the special zone should be set up, Yin Fang only pondered for two seconds before giving his opinion.

"If you ask me, Ice Sea City is a good choice."

Watching Yin Fang circle the location on the pre-war map of the United Human, Chu Guang was slightly startled.

"That far?"

The moment he heard "Ice Sea," he felt something was off, and a look at the map confirmed his suspicion.

This wasn't just north; it was right at the northernmost edge of the Wandering Swamp, practically stepping into the Arctic Circle.

Anticipating Chu Guang would say so, Yin Fang touched his nose and spoke with a smile.

"Don't be fooled by its remote location; this is one of the most well-equipped and resourceful settlements under the committee's jurisdiction."

After a pause, he continued to introduce the situation of the settlement to Chu Guang.

Since the committee advocated high yield and low consumption, most settlements, despite not lagging behind in production technology and methods, still led a relatively frugal—even somewhat strained—life.

The only way to escape the harsh subsistence standards was to become a prospector.

However, there were exceptions to this situation.

Although the Academy despised corporate waste, under the committee's administration, there were still a few settlements where life was decent.

Ice Sea City was one of them.

This settlement had once been a Doomsday Seed Bank, containing a nuclear biochemical protection system comparable to a shelter, and the temperature in each area could be freely adjusted.

After taking over the seed bank, the Academy had remodeled most of the space into living quarters and planting areas, with the temperature in each area set at a constant 20 to 25 degrees.

Therefore, although the settlement was located in the Far North Land, it was not only not cold inside, but spring-like all year round.

With the support of technology, the cold had not become a barrier to survival, but instead a barrier that isolated the settlement from the wasteland.

Most Variants from the Wandering Swamp couldn't reach such a northern place, and in the constant sub-zero temperatures of up to 20 or even 50 degrees, even the lairs had to hide and hibernate.

Due to the favorable living conditions here, some higher-level researchers from the Academy would arrange for their relatives who couldn't enter the Academy to stay here.

Over time, living amenities here had gradually improved.

Especially in terms of medical and education, although still slightly inferior to the main campus of the Academy, it could literally be described as "a difference between heaven and earth" compared to other settlements under the committee.

Even the Company's Ideal City was significantly outclassed.

This was also the reason why most researchers did not envy life in Ideal City and even sneered at its superficial prosperity.

"...Ice Sea City, located in a bitterly cold area, reasonably consumes more resources. That's why, like you, the survivors from most other settlements under the committee were surprised upon hearing about the location of this settlement and would never envy life there... But what they don't know is that even when people there dig potatoes, they do it in a heated greenhouse, watching automated machines do the digging."

After listening to Yin Fang's mocking banter, Chu Guang expressed his feelings after a while.

"It seems wherever people gather, there follows complexity."

Yin Fang laughed with a "heh heh" sound.

"I mean no offense, I just hope you don't underestimate those folks; they sometimes appear simple but are actually quite cunning. And you should never talk to them about emotions and trust, for there hardly exists such a thing at class C and above... I can't say absolutely, but that's generally the case."

It seemed this guy harbored quite some resentment towards his former employer.

Talking about the Company, he showed disdain and contempt, but whenever he mentioned his old employer, he invariably turned into somewhat of a complainer.

"I'll keep that in mind..."

Chu Guang cleared his throat softly, bringing his focus back to the red circle on the map.

There were two ways to play the card of establishing a special zone.

Besides simply exchanging technology and poaching talents, he could also use this window to reverse-export good stuff from the Alliance into the Academy's territory.

Interaction with Ideal City had already proven that many things from the Alliance, although still immature, were attractive as novelty imported goods never seen before by the other side.

Especially in the cultural domain.

Currently, just the foreign currency income created by Long Moon Group alone had already matched one third of the industrial production value of West State City!

And a certain game company had, through several innovative... or perhaps retro-style blockbuster VR games, amassed a million fans on Endpoint Cloud!

This not only represented huge economic value but also many unseen hidden values.

For instance, volunteers who came to the Alliance from their own pockets to work as teachers in homes for refugees and orphanages were largely drawn by the prosperous culture of the Alliance.

He still needed to carefully study how to balance the proportion of NPCs going to the Academy to learn new knowledge and players causing trouble.

While Chu Guang was contemplating how to maximize benefits, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly floated gently into his ears.

"Master, a Liaison Officer from the Company in the Alliance, Yi Chuan, wants to meet with you. It's getting late now; how about tomorrow morning?"

After hearing the message from Xiao Qi, Chu Guang casually replied.

"No problem, by the way, did he mention what it's about?"

Xiao Qi: "It seems to be about that newspaper."

Newspaper?

Chu Guang was momentarily puzzled.

Seemingly perceiving Chu Guang's confusion, Xiao Qi considerately launched the holographic screen.

And at that moment, displayed on the screen was precisely the headline from the Clear Spring City Daily that Old Charlie had previously handed to him.

Looking at the three pages of the newspaper on the holographic screen, Yin Fang raised his eyebrows upward, asking curiously.

"What is this? Clear Spring City...Daily?"

His lab did order some newspapers.

But does City of Dawn issue this one?

Chu Guang had a subtle expression on his face.

"It's nothing... just a not-so-funny joke."

Well, then.

Someone actually believed that stuff...

Meanwhile, at the Highway Inn,

Sun Yuechi, dressed in a traveler's outfit, was sitting in a corner of the lobby. He ordered a honey butter beer recommended by the innkeeper and quietly flipped through a newspaper he had just bought from a nearby newsstand.

"... Clear Spring City's lair being secretly farmed by the manager?"

His eyebrows raised slightly as he continued reading down the lines, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Using sub-entities to rebuild civilization isn't a bad strategy for breaking the stalemate... This refuge's manager really is talented!"

Shelter No. 404.

What was the mission of this particular shelter again?

He thought hard but could recall nothing, then shook his head and stopped contemplating, continuing with the newspaper.

However, just then, a loud roar disrupted Sun Yuechi's reflection, compelling him to involuntarily look up.

"Enough! It's absolute nonsense!"

A burly man slammed the table and stood up, his face red and neck thick as he glared at a few foreign mercenaries seated nearby, angrily continuing,

"Our manager values the Alliance more than himself. If I hear you spouting those baseless slanders again, I will shove this table in your mouth!"

He was an old soldier from the First Army Corps who had followed the manager through many battles long ago. His feelings for Shelter No. 404 were deeper than other survivors' because those people always charged to the frontlines, always placing themselves in the most perilous positions.

The great manager was no different.

He had devoted himself to the Alliance to the extent of having no kids of his own, and yet these guys dared to speak ill of him in his presence!

He wished he could shoot the guy dead on the spot!

The mercenary was stunned by the shouting. He had just been discussing with a comrade a conspiracy theory from a newspaper picked up at the newsstand—one that alleged the Alliance manager in the eastern part of Spring City owned and farmed the central lair in a horrifying plot.

When the time was right, the master would suddenly unleash a Tide, turning everyone into puppet-like sub-entities.

The mercenary didn't really buy into this theory, having discussed it merely for fun, but his voice might have been a bit loud, catching the attention of others.

What he hadn't expected was such a strong reaction from bystanders.

In Bugra, even cursing directly at Sigma would have no consequences since those high-profile figures didn't care about insignificant people like them, usually unseen by them.

But the Alliance seemed to be a different matter...

The lobby of the inn quieted down for a moment.

Initially, it was just one furious man; that wasn't scary enough, but he quickly realized that more than a couple of eyes were on him.

Among them were powerful Awakeners.

"I..." Sweat dripped from his forehead, overwhelmed by such immense pressure, he suddenly found himself stuttering.

Fortunately, his comrade reacted swiftly, making an earnest apology on his behalf,

"Sorry, brother, we meant no harm... It's our first time here with the commercial team, so we don't know much about you, which is why we bought a newspaper to check out. We didn't fabricate this, blame the paper if you need to."

Saying so, he handed over the newspaper.

Still furious, the burly man darkly took the newspaper, crumpled it up, and tossed it aside.

The mercenary silently cursed but didn't dare cause trouble on someone else's territory, spreading his hands in an embarrassed gesture.

"Can we consider this resolved? Just a slip of the tongue after some drinks, we really meant no harm..."

Just as the atmosphere at the scene became tense, Old Hooke, noticing the situation, coughed to interject smoothly,

"He's right, it's pointless to trouble him. Blame that unknown 'Clear Spring City Daily' that popped out of nowhere... Speaking of which, I received a bundle this morning too. It came mixed with other newspapers from the print shop, I glanced at it and threw it out like trash."

"People actually print such garbage!"

The burly man also realized he had overreacted, taking out his frustration on bystanders, which was unseemly, so he grumbled annoyance and stepped down.

Old Hooke helplessly shrugged.

"That master has too many things to worry about; it's impossible for him to personally attend to everything, isn't it?"

Of course, that is also what makes him commendable.

He only cared whether the goods on the shelves were affordable to people, not really meddling in what people wanted to buy.

Just like he said at the last festival, as long as the traded goods didn't involve honor and dignity.

People began discussing animatedly in groups, indignantly debating about that unexpected 'Clear Spring City Daily'.

Watching the crumpled newspaper roll next to the bar, Debt Giant Eye curiously picked it up and took a look.

He shouldn't have looked.

He suddenly got furious.

"What the hell! Is Xiaoyu that kind of person?"

He hadn't paid much attention to the content of the conspiracy theory, nor was he very interested, but the way the newspaper wrote it, it felt like Xiaoyu was some sort of slave to the manager.

Did they get the CP wrong?

Holding a drink, Old White teased with a smile.

"Xiaoyu isn't even human, right?"

Resting her chin on her hand, a slightly tipsy Chen Yutong also quipped,

"Indeed, but I think it's cuter than humans."

She had also picked up some of the players' language recently, although she was not very fluent, basic daily communication was no longer an issue.

Old White laughed heartily.

"Your taste is too unique."

Debt Giant Eye burped loudly, drunkenly rising from the bar and angrily crumpling the newspaper into a ball, tossing it into the trash can.

"It doesn't matter if it's human or not; it has fought alongside us as a comrade. And most importantly, it's my good brother Falling Feather's wife!"

Elena looked at him with a comical expression.

"You're just running your mouth while Falling Feather isn't around."

This guy couldn't be trying to earn favorability points, right?

Was he possibly equipped with Xiaoyu's sub-entity?

"Burp—Anyway! I, Big Eyes, cannot allow anyone to slander our Xiaoyu!"

Stepping on a nearby table, Debt Giant Eye's eyes shifted as he loudly ranted to the indignant drunks in United Human language.

"Some dare to slander our most exalted Manager!"

"I'm Edge Shoveling, the leader of the Death Legion, and no matter who that bastard is, we must teach him a lesson!"

Hearing his mention of Edge Shoveling, Elena almost spat out her drink.

Just then, a very drunk Debt Giant Eye suddenly pulled a handgun from his pocket and fired a shot at the ceiling with a loud bang.

The sound of the gun immediately ignited the atmosphere in the grand hall; all the tough men began clamoring excitedly.

"That's right!"

"We must teach that bastard a lesson!"

"But where do we find him?"

"The newspaper's printing press!"

"Howl, howl, howl!"

Watching the scene spiral out of control, Old White was stunned, while Elena quickly snatched the handgun from Debt Giant Eye's hand.

"Are you crazy? Do you not care about your account?!"

"Heh heh, don't worry, it's a blank round."

Stepping down from the table, Debt Giant Eye chuckled, bending over to pick up the spent blank shell and shaking it in front of Elena.

However, what he didn't expect was that he would ultimately receive a 5-minute yellow card—his boasting didn't last more than two seconds before he went offline, rolling his eyes.

A pale-faced Lisa looked at him worriedly and quietly asked.

"Is he alright?"

Old White, already accustomed to this, smiled and reassured the young girl.

"He's fine. This guy drank too much; we'll carry him back to rest."

In fact, Xiao Qi had still held back somewhat.

Firing a gun in public, even a blank round, even as a first offense, should result in at least a 24-hour yellow card, let alone in a beer hall.

A bunch of drunks didn't care about the wimp who had collapsed; they barely heard it was the call of the Death Legion's leader, and their blood instantly boiled, with harsh words spurring them to stand up.

Seeing the increasingly intimidating atmosphere, the few mercenaries who had initially sparked the topic, frightened, threw down money to pay the bill and slipped away without even finishing their drinks.

Old Hooke sighed helplessly, not stopping those who surged outside, and tossed his washcloth aside, looking towards Lisa holding a tray in a daze.

"You can clock out early today."

Lisa said timidly.

"Is it alright to just let them go?"

"It's fine; there are residents of the refuge here. They should be able to keep things under control, and things shouldn't get too out of hand..." Old Hooke wasn't quite sure, mumbling "probably" quietly to himself.

Honestly, he also disliked seeing anyone slander their Manager, even though the Manager himself might not care much about this petty matter.

If it hadn't been for him taking them in that winter, his old bones probably would have been lost in some corner of the Wasteland by now.

Today's life for him as a Waste Land Wanderer felt almost like a dream; he would never forget that kindness in his lifetime.

It was a pity he didn't know who wrote that article; otherwise, he would definitely have kicked that person's rear.

Watching the drunks gradually stand up and flood towards the exit, Sun Yuechi hurriedly stowed away the newspaper, fearing that people would see he had a copy too.

However, people didn't notice him, and even if they did, they wouldn't care.

Someone had already pointed them in the right direction—they were headed for the print shop, the place for them to vent their anger.

Watching this frenzied crowd swarm into the street, Sun Yuechi's forehead was covered in black lines.

Was this settlement really normal?

He began to doubt some of the rumors he had heard along the road...

At the same time, sitting in front of a window in the same hotel room, Sindison wore a face filled with schadenfreude.

Especially when he saw more and more people gathering in the street and the security guards rushing to maintain order, his smile grew even brighter.

"Tsks, it's starting to get chaotic."

Just as he expected.

The newspapers he had created with other travel traders had indeed ignited the survivors' rage.

As long as public sentiment continued to ferment, the sub-entities in Qingquan City's East District would soon become a hot potato.

Then they could present themselves as saviors to the Alliance authorities, purchasing the sub-entities at a low price.

However, such clever sub-entities were too precious for turning into nutrient paste.

Perhaps he could hire a few researchers to see if they could use these sub-entities for labor dispatch—surely a better prospect than collecting junk?

Sindison excitedly clenched his fists, cheering on the gathering survivors.

Let the storm come even more fiercely!

Chapter 649: You Underestimated Your Own Influence

In the southern industrial district of City of Dawn, it was now eerily silent. Most of the workers had already finished their shifts, leaving only the guardhouse lit with sporadic lights.

Ever since the railway leading to Dawn City was completed, the Alliance's heavy industry and numerous industrial workers had shifted north, leaving behind only the lighter industries in this oldest of industrial zones.

However, this also turned out to be a blessing. As the heavy industries moved out, the remaining light industries received significant support from both the City of Dawn and Alliance authorities.

Especially last year, when the Alliance and Giant Stone City engaged in fierce competition across various fields, this light industrial district thus gave birth to a large batch of excellent large-scale factories.

One of them was the Tujia Printing Factory.

The owner of this printing factory was named Wang Tu, a survivor from Brocade River Province who was also part of the second wave of immigrants following the Bone Chewing Chaos.

Since the printing industry during the Prosperity Epoch was barely hanging on to its relevance, the industrial circles of the Alliance had no existing production lines to reference.

At that time, the war in Luo Xia Province coincided, and with the Alliance facing threats from the Army Eastward Expansion Faction, players concentrated their creativity on military matters. Printing, deemed a less popular profession among players, attracted little interest and energy for development; hence, the Alliance's printing capabilities were very basic, with both pulp preparation and printing requiring manual labor.

Against this backdrop, the merchant from the south saw a business opportunity and cleverly modified a canning production line. Thus, the Alliance ended up with its first fully automated production line that could handle everything from pulp preparation to printing and publishing.

Yes, not only did it handle printing, but it also covered papermaking.

Later, this printing factory made further improvements to this foundation. Due to its robust market competitiveness, it secured procurement orders from multiple news agencies and publishers, including Survivor's Daily. Gradually, it grew from a small workshop covering less than two-thirds of an acre into a large factory spanning the size of five soccer fields.

This size might not seem noticeable in reality, even perhaps somewhat small, but given the Alliance's population which barely totaled a million, assembled from here and there, this factory was considerably large.

Currently, the Tujia Printing Factory had not only become the largest printing factory in the City of Dawn but also the largest in the entire Alliance, commanding a staggering market share of sixty-three percent. The "Awakener Bol" it printed was sold as far west as the Lion Kingdom and even to the north in the Free State.

Most factories in the Alliance had grown from nothing to strength like this. Some advanced through brilliant flashes of insight, others due to persistent efforts, either through enough fortune or inherent wealth. The strong military of the Alliance provided all competitors with a relatively stable and fair environment, enabling them to fully demonstrate their talents.

Although not every individual had the opportunity to leave their name in history, nearly everyone who had accomplished something significant had an almost legendary story behind them.

Wang Tu was quite proud of this, whether it was his initial decision to move his family north to join the Alliance, or his choice of the printing and publishing industry.

He planned, once he retired, to write his experiences into a memoir to record this miraculous era.

A canning factory worker who had just learned how to write could inspire thousands with a bestselling book, he had no doubt that he could accomplish this task if he took it seriously.

To avoid forgetting his youthful adventures when he got older, he decided to start writing now, or at the very least to record the daily happenings.

After the factory lights were turned off each day, he would pull open his desk drawer, take out the homemade potato distilled liquor brewed by residents of the refuge, and, while watching the dim night scene outside the window, draft the future best-selling memoir of the whole Alliance.

However, just as he had written the sentence "Today, nothing happened," he saw a string of bright lights outside on the street not far from his window.

A tipsy Wang Tu rose to his feet and staggered to the window, mumbling to himself.

"What is that?"

Isn't the celebration the day after tomorrow?

As he wondered what was causing all the ruckus in the street, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside his office.

No one knocked.

The office door was pushed open directly.

His accountant ran in, looking panicked with a pale face.

"Boss! Something terrible has happened!"

Seeing the panic-stricken expression on his face, Wang Tu was momentarily stunned, not yet turning around.

"What's gotten you so flustered—"

Seeing the boss still clueless about what had happened, the accountant, nearly in tears, hurriedly said,

"The batch of newspapers shipped out today has encountered a problem! Apparently, the Clear Spring City Daily headline slandered the Manager, and those newsstands are saying that the newspapers were printed here! Out there are citizens who have read the newspapers, including soldiers from the First Army Corps... We've landed ourselves in big trouble!"

"Wait, what is Clear Spring City Daily? Do we print that newspaper?"

Wang Tu stared blankly at his accountant, feeling as if a huge pot had just dropped from the sky, falling straight onto his head.

That's not right—

"There's a problem!"

At this moment, Wang Tu suddenly snapped back to reality. "If there's an issue with the newspaper, you should go to the press, not him. He just runs a printing factory. What's the use of finding him?"

His factory had a daily output of thousands of tons, and not only newspapers but also textbooks, novels, even courier boxes.

He had no idea what all his factory was printing.

"Could they have found the wrong person?" Wang Tu, dripping with sweat, grabbed the accountant's arm, "You go and explain to them—"

Watching the boss still trying to find a reason, the accountant couldn't help but laugh and cry.

"Hey, let's not worry whose fault it is for now. You better hurry and follow me out the back door; don't get caught by those people!"

Upon hearing this, cold sweat immediately squeezed out of Wang Tu's forehead and he sobered up a bit.

Looking outside again, he saw a string of bright lights coming from flashlights.

As he gazed at the lights, a pair of eyes from the dark crowd also happened to look towards his room, following the flashlight beams.

After all, his was the only room with the lights on.

Now Wang Tu was not only fully sober, but his soul nearly flew out in fright; he hurriedly followed the accountant downstairs and scuttled out of the back door without choosing his path.

At this time, the factory's gatekeepers finally couldn't hold back, and the fervently excited citizens burst into the factory.

A massive tide of people surged, some heading to the office building and others to the newspaper storage warehouse.

Wang Tu, drenched in sweat and anxious, grabbed the accountant and shouted.

"Quick, call the police... call for security!"

The accountant swallowed nervously and stammered,

"It's, it's already been done."

Wang Tu released his grip on the accountant's arm and paced back and forth anxiously at the back door, mumbling incessantly,

"It's already been done?! Why haven't they arrived?"

Just as the two were anxiously waiting, reinforcements from the security team finally arrived from the direction of the city center.

However, the reinforcements were still a step too late.

By the time they arrived at the scene, a massive fire had already arisen in the direction of the storage warehouse, lighting up the dark factory brightly.

The warehouse contained newly printed newspapers that were supposed to be loaded onto trucks in a few hours; now, they were all consumed by the fire.

Seeing the huge fire at the warehouse, Wang Tu's face bore a weeping but tearless expression; he opened his mouth and after a long while, managed to squeeze out a phrase.

"This is really an undeserved disaster!"

...

A fire in the industrial zone was no small matter.

As soon as the crowd began to gather, Chu Guang had already instructed Xiao Qi to direct the security team to control the situation.

However, facing the enraged citizens, the dispatched security personnel were unable to be effective, retreating in the wake of accusations of "disloyalty."

Especially after hearing about the Clear Spring City Daily issue, some guards were even persuaded and took the side of the jeering citizens.

The Alliance's earliest regular army was the security team. Whether it was the Guards Corps or the First and Second Army Corps, all originated from the security team. Known for their loyalty, they obviously wouldn't allow anyone to insult their great Manager.

Thus, the matter escalated further until the fire broke out, and only then did people realize it had gone too far and hurriedly turned to help put out the fire.

Fortunately, the commotion didn't result in any casualties, just the loss of a warehouse full of newspapers.

After hearing the whole ordeal, Chu Guang, who was discussing negotiation details with Old Charlie for tomorrow, was stunned.

It took him a long while to utter a sentence.

"…burn down the printing factory?"

"You underestimate your own influence and the admiration those young men have for you," Old Charlie said with a light sigh, jokingly addressing the stunned Chu Guang. "I bet everyone in the City of Dawn, except for the industrial owners, sympathizes with the rioters now."

The interests of different societal classes vary, and although the Alliance claims to unite everyone, it's impossible to have everyone truly united.

However, it is indisputable that the soldiers, farmers, workers, clerks, and shopkeepers of the City of Dawn are staunch supporters of the Manager himself.

Unlike the technicians attracted by the ideals of the Alliance, they hardly grasp those elaborate principles and don't care much; they merely believe in the words of the Manager of the Alliance and the Residents of the refuge he leads.

That's why, when the gunfire erupted, everyone was up in arms.

The social cohesion reflected by this unity is unimaginable; the collective spirit can shine as brightly as nuclear fusion.

At this thought, Old Charlie couldn't help but feel emotional.

With the Manager's current prestige, even if he completely abandoned the ideals of the Alliance to crown himself emperor, no one would probably stop him; rather, everyone would cheer for him.

This, of course, included Old Charlie himself.

Perhaps other Residents of the refuge might object, but having lived in the Wasteland for so long, he had seen through the ugliness of human nature and lacked any pretentious reserve of the "Blue Jacket."

He had no doubt that having a wise king rule over those ignorant folks wasn't a bad idea at all, even a mediocre king would be better than watching those foolish Waste Land Wanderers reach consensus on one stupid thing after another.

But the rarity and value lay precisely in this.

He could become the emperor of an empire at any time, yet he chose the toughest alternative path—

The almost impossible union.

At this moment, the door to the reading room opened, and Lu Bei walked in, stopping beside the sofa and giving a military salute.

Half an hour ago, Chu Guang had asked him to investigate the whole affair.

It seemed that he had found the results now.

"…The situation has been clarified; it was a group of traders from Bugra Free State. They first investigated the vendors of the newsstands, then bribed the manager of the second production workshop of the printing factory, the warehouse manager, and the transport driver to sneak in their overnight-fabricated Clear Spring City Daily. It's not yet certain whether they were instructed by the Bugra authorities or had other motives, as per your request, we didn't alert them by making contact."

As he said this, Lu Bei couldn't help but add another comment.

"By the way, our investigation also revealed that the supervision at the Tujia Printing Factory is hugely flawed, almost as if there isn't any... I think it should be considered an industrial safety accident."

Because no one carefully checked what they were printing, the warehouse was burned down by the angry citizens, which actually seemed quite reasonable.

At least he and the other young men of the Guards Corps felt the same.

Chu Guang shook his head.

"No matter what, setting a fire is not right! That's an industrial area, and less than a kilometer away there's a flour factory! It's fortunate the fire was controlled; if it hadn't been, the damage they caused would have been countless times greater than that of the destroyed newspaper."

Lu Bei said quietly.

"They didn't intend to start a fire initially, they just planned to find the owner of the printing factory and clarify where Clear Spring City Daily really came from… but when the owner saw the crowd outside, he got scared and ran away, which made people start suspecting he had a guilty conscience."

Old Charlie looked at this young man and joked.

"Then the next day, the entire city's Residents had no new newspapers to read?"

Lu Bei's expression was subtle as he nodded.

Personally, he sympathized with those riled-up people, and he couldn't help cheering for them since they did what he had wanted to but never got the chance.

Reasonably speaking, if not for the Manager, not just the industrial area, but the entire "North Suburb" would be desolate.

These guys, corrupted by money, completely blinded by it, have forgotten where the silver coins in their pockets came from!

Chu Guang could tell at a glance what Lu Bei was thinking, understanding his subconscious attempt to plead for the rioters.

And without even having to ask, he knew that other Army Corps leaders of the Alliance felt the same way.

Shortly after the incident occurred, Chu Guang heard from the security team that the commander of the First Army Corps, 'Wrench,' personally went to the security team's detention center to demand the release of his soldiers on the grounds that only the military court could judge them, and took away the soldiers involved in the riot.

Although Chu Guang was touched by the spontaneous loyalty and adoration of his subordinates, it was also the source of his headache.

Some couldn't fathom the Manager's reaction, and Lu Bei timidly asked in a low voice,

"Regarding the traders involved in the 'Clear Spring City Daily' case, we have kept an eye on them. They are in the City of Dawn and haven't gone anywhere... What do you plan to do with them?"

"First, arrest them all, and don't let anyone escape!" Chu Guang said fiercely. "Interrogate them thoroughly and find out who's behind these people!"

Damn it.

Originally, he didn't bother with them, but unintentionally, he made a big mistake.

Lu Bei nodded and continued quietly.

"What about the troublemakers..."

After thinking for a while, Chu Guang could not suppress his compassion and asked,

"Has anyone confessed?"

At this time, it was pitch dark outside. A large crowd was squeezed inside a factory, and it was impossible to see who started the fire.

If no one confessed voluntarily, it didn't matter much, as nearly all factories had purchased fire insurance from the Alliance Bank. Approving the compensation was just a matter for him to decide.

Fortunately, no lives were lost.

Putting the most aggressive instigators in detention for a couple of weeks to cool off, along with a few classes on general law, should mostly settle the matter—

"Some have." Lu Bei nodded, admiringly saying, "The fellow is from the First Army Corps. He said a man should own up to his actions, quite the man!"

Chu Guang: "..."

Seeing the troubled look on Chu Guang's face, Old Charlie knew what he was thinking. Although knowing it wasn't quite appropriate to laugh, he couldn't help but cough lightly a few times.

"This matter is indeed tricky to handle, especially since the person involved has a military background... and I heard that among those who initially stirred up trouble, there seem to be residents from the refuge."

Of course, Chu Guang was aware of this, as Xiao Qi was the one who had given the yellow card.

"Is it widely known?"

Old Charlie shook his head.

"Not really... I've already reminded that innkeeper to mind his words, but I feel he would know even without saying."

Chu Guang sighed.

"Thanks for your concern."

His players were rarely worry-free; it wasn't the first time he had to clean up after them.

Old Charlie smiled and said,

"You're too polite, it's what I should do. I can't have you bothered with these trifles... Compared to that, negotiating with those ancient Survivor Forces using Qingquan's Lair as a bargaining chip in exchange for more support is what you should really worry about."

"We won't just win a war; we have created a miracle. I feel it's not just businesses and academies, lately quite a few are eyeing us... They haven't made any moves yet, but they are all watching in the dark," he paused before continuing.

"You are not in a position to handle this matter personally, and it's not big enough to require your direct involvement... If you trust me, let me handle it."

Chu Guang certainly did not doubt Old Charlie's capabilities and thought his reasoning was sound, so he nodded.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

After speaking, Chu Guang looked at Lu Bei.

"You guys move as well, arrest the traders for espionage and incitement to sabotage, and I hope to see the interrogation results after the meeting tomorrow."

Lu Bei placed his right fist over his left chest and saluted loyally, responding crisply.

"Yes!"

Chapter 650: After all, as an old friend who has cooperated for a long time, I can't give less than what I would give to a stranger, right?

Late at night.

Sindison had just fallen asleep with a great mood, only to be woken up by a series of urgent knocks at the door.

He picked up his glasses from the bedside table, put them on, and frowned as he got out of bed, grumbling as he angrily walked toward the entrance.

"Knock, knock, knock... damn it! What time is it? Can't it wait until tomorrow, for heaven's sake!"

At this moment, Sindison hadn't yet realized how serious the situation was, and didn't even think about those possibilities.

After all, the news that the printing factory had caught fire hadn't reached here yet, and his subordinates who had gone with the protest group hadn't returned to report to him.

If he had received the news, he might have panicked momentarily, but that would likely have been the extent of it.

Whether it was bribing the printing factory's staff or investigating the sources of those newspapers, his subordinates handled everything; he merely controlled it all from behind the scenes.

He had only met the contact a few times at most.

Could the Alliance's Manager really have eyes everywhere, even on top of his head?

Furious, he yanked open the door.

Sindison was about to unleash a tirade but was taken aback at the sight that greeted him.

What he saw was neither his secretary nor a hotel waiter, but rather several stern faces and credentials practically shoved in his face.

The man leading them wore a military uniform and looked at him with icy eyes.

"We are from the Guards Corps. We suspect you are a spy from the Bugra Free State and allegedly involved in inciting destruction. Please come with us."

"A—a spy?!"

Sweat immediately broke out on Sindison's forehead. Seeing the heavily armed elite soldiers at the door scared him witless, and his speech began to stammer.

"Wait, wait, is there some misunderstanding here? I'm just an honest merchant, how could I possibly be a spy—"

With conclusive evidence, the officer had no interest in wasting words and just gestured to his men.

"Take him."

Several soldiers entered in a single file, handcuffed Sindison in his pajamas, twisted his arms, and started marching him outside.

"Wait—let go! Ahhh! The Alliance's soldiers are killing people! Help!"

The corridor echoed with cries akin to a slaughtered pig.

Sindison, who had never seen such a spectacle, was scared to a point where tears and snot covered his face, and his pants were even wet... although no one had actually hit him.

The officer looked disdainfully at the embarrassing spectacle.

Now he started to doubt; perhaps there was indeed some misunderstanding with this man's situation, as a real spy trained well would never be this cowardly.

But what did it matter either way?

Even if he wasn't a spy, the things he did hardly differed.

Once back, he would interrogate him thoroughly.

Awakened by the pig-like screams, one room after another in the corridor opened, heads poking out to watch the excitement.

The Wanderers of the Wasteland, who are generally not easily scared, since not everyone came from well-to-do settlements.

Watching the group of onlookers whispering among themselves, the officer gave a signal to a soldier beside him.

Understanding the cue, the latter pulled out an arrest warrant from his chest and waved it at the crowd, loudly proclaiming,

"This is an arrest warrant signed by the Alliance Court. We will publicly try the suspect within seven days; the court will announce the hearing date!"

"Dear guests from afar, rest assured that we will not wrongly accuse an innocent person, but we also will not let off anyone who disturbs our order easily. If you are curious about his crimes, you can apply to attend the trial."

The formalities completed.

He put away the arrest warrant and walked down the hotel stairs with his comrades, still holding Sindison who was continuously struggling and making noise.

At another hotel not far away, a similar scene unfolded.

The case involving the "Clear Spring City Daily" didn't just implicate Sindison, the main planner, but also included six other merchants from the Bugra Free State.

With such a commotion, compounded by the previous street protests and the fire in the industrial area, news quickly spread throughout the city.

Since all those arrested were merchants from the Bugra Free State, even merchants who were merely passing through shook with fear, unclear about what exactly was happening.

Was it the beginning of a war with their northern neighbor?

Surely it couldn't be that sudden.

Throughout the night, all the merchants from Bugra anxiously sought information, fearing the repercussions could extend to them...

...

The long night finally passed.

The next morning, in the editor-in-chief's office of Survivor's Daily, a cry of dismay suddenly echoed.

"All burned down?!"

Upon hearing that the newspapers printed yesterday were completely burned, Zhao Yigeng, the editor-in-chief of Survivor's Daily, blurted out and then stood frozen, speechless.

Such an absurd thing had never happened before, even when the front line was less than fifty kilometers from the industrial area!

Luckily, tomorrow's headline was no longer a worry, but unfortunately, today's update was probably not happening.

Faced with this unprecedented situation, Zhao Yigeng didn't know how to handle it.

Just as he was agonizing over it, there was a knock at the door.

Thinking it was probably an editor delivering a draft, he reflexively looked up and called out.

"Come in."

The door opened.

However, seeing the man who walked in, Zhao Yigeng jumped in shock, springing up from his desk.

The secretary standing in front of the desk was equally shocked, eyes wide open at the man at the door, unsure where to place her hands.

It took Zhao Yigeng three seconds to quickly straighten himself up and he hurriedly squeezed out a hurried yet fervent smile towards Chu Guang, stretching out his right hand to greet him.

"Lucky to meet you, respected Manager sir, what wind has blown you here? You see, I have nothing prepared."

Holding the editor-in-chief's hand and shaking it, Chu Guang let go and said with a smile.

"You're too polite, I was just passing by and decided to drop in for a look, I hope I'm not interrupting your work."

"Not at all! Little Wang, quickly make a cup of tea for Manager sir... Manager sir, please take a seat!" Zhao Yigeng said excitedly, his face flushing as he gestured Chu Guang towards the couch.

"Okay, right away!" The secretary called Little Wang hurriedly ran to the teapot nearby, almost spilling water on the filing cabinet due to her flustered movements.

Chu Guang, feeling a bit embarrassed by their enthusiasm, coughed lightly.

"There's no need to be so nervous. I... I won't sit down, I'm afraid I'd end up having to replace it."

Dropping this joking remark, Chu Guang then looked at the secretary, who had just placed the tea properly on the table, and said kindly, "You're called Little Wang, right? Could you please step outside for a bit, the editor-in-chief and I have some matters to discuss."

Both of them were taken aback.

However, Chief Editor Zhao reacted quickly.

With frantic gestures, the secretary called Little Wang hurriedly left the office, even thoughtfully closing the door behind them.

Out in the hallway.

Little Wang soon noticed the guard who always followed closely behind the Manager also standing there, his heart suddenly pounding.

What had Chief Zhao done?

To have the Manager visit in person...

Not just Little Wang standing in the hallway was worried, the most nervous was certainly Zhao Yigeng still inside the office.

As excited as he had been earlier, now he was equally apprehensive.

The Manager's tone always made him feel as if being interrogated, yet after pondering for a while, he couldn't figure out what he might have done wrong to offend such a dignitary.

As he was feeling uneasy, Chu Guang slowly spoke.

"I came here actually to inquire about something, is there any content about the East District of Qingquan City in today's newspaper?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yigeng instantly relaxed and quickly replied with a smile.

"None! Rest assured! After receiving the news of military control in the East District of Qingquan City, I immediately notified the editorial department to suppress that piece of news—"

Chu Guang: "Who told you to suppress it!"

"Ah…" Zhao Yigeng, taken aback by the rebuke, opened his mouth, finding it impossible to shift the blame, and nervously shook his head, "No, that didn't happen."

Although the Alliance had invested considerably in the media, it rarely interfered directly with media operations, generally just marking a business scope for them to operate within.

For instance, Survivor's Daily, though collectively owned by the refuge, the refuge had never sent a representative from the refuge's higher-ups to meddle in the newspaper's management.

Zhao Yigeng was the top authority at Survivor's Daily.

Blocking the news was a decision he made based on the documents from above and his own political instincts, the order had indeed been issued by him, truly no one directed him to do so.

However, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it as there were immediately upcoming celebrations, followed by a funeral.

Even if they were to report the news from the East District of Qingquan City, it would have to wait until those two more noteworthy events were over, wouldn't it?

Moreover, it was also necessary to see if the Alliance authorities intended to keep the matter confidential.

Seeing that Chief Editor Zhao had completely failed to grasp the issue, Chu Guang sighed and patiently continued.

"Military control is there to prevent unrelated persons from entering and finding themselves in danger, where the cause of death would become difficult to ascertain. It's not just the Mucosal Entity there, there are also Variants, and even Mutants or Looters might have roamed there! We have enough safeguards to ensure 'Xiaoyu's' safety, but if someone dies inside, even if not at the hands of Xiaoyu, people will subconsciously blame it on the entity, leading to irrational panic."

"The Residents of the refuge are exploring ways to coexist with the harmless Mucosal Entity, and Qingquan City's East District will lift the military control when appropriate..."

Watching Zhao Yigeng nodding like he was mashing garlic, Chu Guang stopped mid-sentence, frustrated as if trying to forge iron into steel, and said,

"I'm not saying this for you to nod the few hairs on your head, but to have you write these things in our newspaper! You need to interview people worth interviewing, there are experts at the Alliance Biological Research Institute far more professional than me. Then you need to tell our citizens why we do this, the benefits, the risks, whether we have considered these risks, and what preparations we have made for them... but what have you done?"

"Does East District of Qingquan City cease to exist just because it's not in the 'Survivor's Daily'? Do people stop caring about the things you don't report? There are always people who will care about the things we don't, and unite those we fail to!"

Although Chu Guang's wording was measured, under his own authority and momentum, it pressed down on Zhao Yigeng like a mountain.

Even though Chu Guang had no intention to trouble him and had even considered his face, sending his subordinates outside before he spoke.

Looking at Zhao Yigeng, hanging his head like a child who had made a mistake, too afraid to breathe a word, Chu Guang sighed and continued in a softer tone.

"People trust us, and what we need to do is to respond to that trust, not always expect them to understand our difficulties unconditionally. Moreover, as I see it, what difficulties are there to speak of that could be harder to deal with than the Army and the Tide? It's just some people being too clever for their own good, willingly handing over their position to others, no different than deserters!"

Zhao Yigeng looked down with an expression of deep regret and remorse, wishing he could find a crack in the floor to crawl into.

He was aware of the issue with the 'Clear Spring City Daily,' but due to its ridiculous content, he had never taken that clown seriously.

However, the problem lay exactly there. As 'Survivor's Daily' did not report news from East District of Qingquan City and a series of other publications failed to mention it, it made 'Clear Spring City Daily' the only newspaper daring to speak out.

Fortunately, their preparation was not adequate either.

If those guys had been better prepared and fine-tuned the proportion of truth to rumors just a bit more convincingly, the outcome might have been drastically different...

The more Zhao Yigeng thought about it, the more frightened he became, and cold sweat involuntarily slid down his forehead.

He had realized the seriousness of the issue.

Excusing the critique, Zhao Yigeng, keeping his head low, said in a heavy tone,

"This was an oversight in my work... I'm sorry, I have let you down!"

Seeing that he had realized his mistake, Chu Guang felt slightly less angry and patiently continued,

"You should be apologizing not to me, but to all those who believed in you. The battlefield of public opinion is right there, if you don't seize it, our enemies will rush forward. We have top-notch warriors from the Wasteland, who step onto the battlefield with noble ideals, unafraid of death, and I don't want them to come home only to read third-rate newspapers, turning all their efforts into a joke for our foes."

Even the notably proud Academy acknowledged that the achievements made in Spring City were miraculous, a fact that should have been a source of pride.

They should have been lighting celebratory bonfires, not their own printing press.

Even the Army hadn't managed to blast his factory, yet it got lit by one of their own during a peaceful period.

Just when Chu Guang was calming down, his fists involuntarily clenched again.

Zhao Yigeng trembled as he watched him, internally reflecting on what he might have done wrong that upset the Manager.

Just then, a commotion in the hallway outside caught their attention, a voice familiar to Chu Guang, intriguing him.

"What's wrong with the report I wrote! The analysis on the safety of the central city's Lair by the head of the Alliance Biological Research Institute Professor Heya, why can't it be published?!"

That shrill voice, like an angry kitten, instantly told Chu Guang it must be some girl with green hair.

It wasn't that he recognized her voice, he just knew too well the writers under him, none could produce such a sound.

Sure enough, another voice soon responded.

"Haha, the head of the Alliance Biological Research Institute doesn't represent the Alliance's stance."

"But that professor is the deepest researcher in this field!"

"I know, but science is one thing, reality is another, we can't always trust science—"

"What are you saying?! If we don't trust science, are we supposed to believe in the Great Antler God?"

"You can always trust the Manager, hey, why don't you get it? You are a reporter for the 'Survivor's Daily,' have some vision!"

"…The 'Survivor's Daily' I'm familiar with isn't like this."

"So you're gone, aren't you? Either way, before the festivities, don't report news that could cause controversy, it won't help whoever you show it to, that's what Mr. Editor-in-Chief says!"

"When can it be reported then?!"

"After the memorial for the fallen soldiers... A few days after the festivities should be fine."

"Are you crazy?! To delay until a week later, how is that news?"

Watching Chu Guang's face grow darker and darker, Zhao Yigeng, listening to the argument outside, also began to lose his composure,
particularly at hearing "So, you're gone aren't you?"

The 'Survivor's Daily' founded by Hal in Giant Stone City indeed was gone, but ultimately, the Inner City that killed it, vanished as well.

This guy really doesn't think before he speaks!

Zhao Yigeng cleared his throat and said,

"I will go and explain things to my colleagues in the editorial department..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the office door swung open, and Dolly, carrying a draft, burst in energetically.

Following her was Yang Yan, who worked in the same office and was also her supervisor.

She had been planning to argue with the chief editor but stopped short when she saw Chu Guang was also there. In that instant, both were unexpectedly taken aback.

"Mr. Manager?!"

"You, how come you're here?"

Chu Guang didn't reprimand them; instead, he coughed lightly.

"I don't want to meddle in your debate, but let me interject from a personal standpoint; I always believe in science, and I recommend you do the same... but it's not mandatory."

Looking at the stunned Dolly, he continued in a gentle tone,

"May I see your report?"

Heya had not mentioned to him that she had accepted an interview with Survivor's Daily; in her view, it might have seemed too trivial a matter.

And indeed, it was.

Just like Chu Guang himself, who initially didn't pay much attention to the issue of Clear Spring City Daily that Old Charlie had brought, considering there were far more important matters at hand.

Moreover, Chu Guang always encouraged the Blue Jackets to set aside their reserve and communicate more with the Waste Land Wanderers, not to assume the Wanderers knew nothing and consequently say nothing.

The fools of the Enlightenment Society had isolated themselves in this way. Humanity held a natural reverence for knowledge and experience, but no one liked arrogant people.

Looking up at Chu Guang standing in the room, Dolly nodded absently and handed over her draft.

After Chu Guang took it, he glanced over it.

It clearly articulated the issues he had previously discussed with Chief Editor Zhao, and it was described from an objective standpoint.

And that was what pleased him the most.

Survivor's Daily served not only as a channel for the Alliance's general public to access information but also as a source for other local newspapers and private media within the Alliance. If misinformation began at the source, it would certainly deviate drastically by the end.

"Well written."

Giving a word of praise, Chu Guang handed the draft back to Zhao Yigeng.

Seeing Chu Guang's satisfied expression, Zhao Yigeng quickly took the draft with both hands and solemnly swore,

"I will immediately arrange for it to be featured on the front page of the next issue!"

As he spoke, Zhao Yigeng glanced at Yang Yan, standing behind Dolly, and signaled with his eyes.

The editor snapped back from his daze and straightened up.

"I'll contact the printing factory right now, and tell them not to rush on reprinting yesterday's issue!"

"Not just the front page, for such a significant event, one page isn't enough!" Chu Guang said to the surprised Dolly, continuing in a friendly tone, "I hope we can dedicate one issue… at least three columns to clarify all misunderstandings thoroughly and to eliminate all concerns of the residents of the Alliance about Xiaoyu!"

Hearing this delightful news, Dolly clenched her fists in excitement, at a loss for how to express her gratitude. Just then, she remembered something else and quickly took the opportunity to ask,

"Wait, honorable Mr. Manager, is Xiaoyu the name of the creature in the lair at the refuge? I heard it understands United Human language… may I interview it?"

Heya had not promised her but suggested she seek the Manager's opinion, even though getting an appointment with the Manager was very difficult.

"Of course, Xiaoyu is quite an interesting creature; actually, many people have met it…before it became the lair. Oh, and you could bring some sweets as a gift when you meet."

Chu Guang said humorously and then turned to Chief Editor Zhao, continuing,

"From now on, stop making wild guesses about your reading comprehension. Instead of trying to figure out what I might be thinking, just do your job well."

Secrets crucial to the collective interests of the Alliance would be entrusted to respective individuals for confidentiality; there was no need for wild guesses based on pure imagination.

Zhao Yigeng immediately straightened up, standing tall like a soldier giving a military salute.

"Understood! I will definitely heed your teachings!"

"I'm not an expert in this field; you should learn more from those journalists who come from Giant Stone City; progressive voices are valuable everywhere. Alright, I won't stay here any longer; you keep busy with your work, and I need to go do my work too."

Chu Guang smiled and nodded, then gave Lu Bei, standing by the door, a look and left with this loyal young man.

Next, he had to meet with representatives from the corporations.

The Academy's representatives had already delivered him a gift astonishingly generous; he wondered what kind of surprise the council would present...

After all, they were old partners who had cooperated for a long time.

They surely couldn't give less than outsiders, right?

—

(Thanks to "miku_jiang" for the Alliance Leader reward!!!)

Chapter 651: The Rebel in the North

"You can't offer less than outsiders for old friends, right?"

Chu Guang had initially thought so, but when he saw the 10 billion Cr acquisition proposal, he was still stunned for a moment.

To buy with money...

Am I the type to be bought with money?!

In the meeting room of the Alliance Building, Chu Guang and Yi Chuan sat in front of a round conference table.

Thinking that the Manager was put off by the low amount of money offered, Yi Chuan cleared his throat and continued in a low voice,

"The price is still negotiable... Besides, apart from the official amount, we can also make a private deposit into your personal account."

This was not uncommon in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, where many big shots from various settlements had bought luxury mansions with views of the cloud sea in Ideal City. Even in Giant Stone City of Clear Spring City in River Valley Province, far beyond an official partnership, many big names had sent their families there.

However, since the settlements were so far apart, these so-called nobles could often barely scrape together enough Cr to achieve a lifestyle barely above average in Ideal City.

The Alliance was an important strategic partner of corporations, of course not comparable to Giant Stone City.

The two parties had signed a currency exchange agreement very early on, the strategic significance of which naturally exceeded that of ordinary corporate partners in Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

At least in Yi Chuan's view, this wasn't a taboo topic. However, after hearing his suggestion, Chu Guang's expression turned serious.

"Mr. Yi, how long have we known each other?"

Yi Chuan was taken aback,

"Almost half a year... What's wrong?"

Chu Guang said with deep regret,

"Do you think I am that kind of person?"

Seeing his expression, Yi Chuan was momentarily dumbfounded.

Before Yi Chuan could speak, Chu Guang continued,

"Our Alliance indeed lags behind, unable to match your prosperity, but I would rather stay with my comrades."

"Such divisive words should not be spoken again!"

Yi Chuan nodded with an awkward smile,

"Sorry... That was presumptuous of me, it's just one option we offered, no offense intended."

Chu Guang sighed and went on,

"I understand, solving problems with money is the easiest way, any problem that can be solved with gold coins isn't a problem; but what we are discussing now is a new matter that might decide the future of this very planet under our feet... Let me ask differently, would you sell immature products to your clients?"

Yi Chuan shook his head instinctively,

"Definitely not."

Chu Guang looked at him earnestly and said,

"We feel the same."

"We have embarked on a completely new path in our research on the 'Mutated slime fungus', and we have high hopes for it. We hope it can end the Wasteland, and we hope it can bring us a better, more harmonious future... In our envisaged new world, the 'Mutated slime fungus' will no longer serve as a weapon but as a medium to help us understand ourselves, understand the universe."

"Because we pin so much hope on it, we don't wish to burn ourselves out prematurely while it is still imperfect."

Yi Chuan nodded in understanding but still couldn't help asking,

"But... wouldn't involving more scholars and experts be more helpful in achieving your dream?"

Anticipating his response, Chu Guang sighed and said,

"Yes, but we are acutely aware of the unreliability of human nature. We must be vigilant against it being used for other purposes. Whether good or bad intentions, it could lead to unpredictable consequences... You must have seen what Brocade River Province has become now."

Yi Chuan looked at Chu Guang, speechless.

"So... In what form do you wish to proceed with the cooperation?"

"At least not in this way of outright acquisition," Chu Guang gently pushed the proposal on the table back and continued, "I can tell you our bottom line."

Yi Chuan nodded seriously,

"Please, go ahead."

Chu Guang raised three fingers,

"First, the Lair is non-transferable, 'Xiaoyu' must stay within the Alliance, and it must be located in our shelter—only then can the Lair's absolute control be guaranteed."

"Second, to prevent new mutations, we will not cultivate new sentient hosts to avoid losing control of the hosts."

"Third, we will extend a helping hand to areas that need the Lair eradicated, but the aid plan will be primarily based on the opinions of our researchers and must be led by our people."

"Other than these three non-negotiable points, everything else is open for discussion."

In simple terms, Xiaoyu was like the Alliance's "Great Panda."

But its significance was not only for viewing; it also had the potential to unlock the 'Blind Boxes' sealed by the 'Mutated slime fungus' on the Wasteland for over two hundred years.

The relics unlocked in the center of Qingquan City were enough to trigger a technological boom in the Alliance, and there are many more such relics across the Wasteland.

Not only in the Central Continent, not only on the land.

The Alliance could share the research outcomes for the benefit of all mankind, but for the benefit of the Alliance, Chu Guang must keep this Xiaoyu at Shelter No. 404.

The human technologies of radio, psychic interference, and quantum computers could allow Xiaoyu to overcome "self-limiting factors" and "insufficient computational power," among various other natural constraints, establishing "sub-stations" across the planet.

As long as Xiaoyu's main body remained in the refuge, these global sub-stations would also be safe and controllable.

Hearing the conditions Chu Guang had laid out, Yi Chuan opened his mouth, unexpectedly deep into such matters, especially since the corporation's knowledge of Xiaoyu was still limited to a series of smokescreens released by the Clear Spring City Daily.

After hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but ask,

"What about the data-sharing agreement we signed earlier regarding the research on 'Mutated slime fungus'?"

Seeing the concern in Yi Chuan's eyes, Chu Guang said with a smile,

"Of course, it's still valid. We merely hope to lead this entirely new technological path ourselves before the technology matures."

He paused, looking at the relieved Yi Chuan, and continued,

"It doesn't necessarily mean it's the ultimate future, but currently, it's the most promising route we've found to solve our immediate problems. I trust our scholars and technicians, and I'll support them to proceed without any interference until the end."

Looking at the content typed on the holographic screen, Yi Chuan pinched his brow with his index finger and sighed after a long pause,

"I will report your request to the council... But to be honest, I can't think of a better alternative than 10 billion Cr. Perhaps you could give me a hint or suggestion."

Enterprise and Army, Academy, the two major forces, differ most on the topic of the Lair as they don't hold much land, just a thriving Ideal City.

The Province of Yúnjiānxíng does have Lairs, but those are not on Enterprise's own territory.

Also, given the self-limiting expansion they discovered in 'Mutated slime fungus,' the sparse population and wild variants in the Wasteland are not enough to support their crazy propagation like two centuries ago.

In other words, Enterprise is interested in Qingquan City's 'Mutated slime fungus' as it would unlock large unexplored areas. However, they don't really need to solve the issue of Lairs in Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

That's also why the council prefers to negotiate a fair price with the Alliance.

Compared to them, the Army, desperate for control over the slime mold and having vast territories but clueless about their own land problems, wants the technology even more.

The Lairs perched on Weilante People's territory are far more numerous than those in the Wandering swamp, Province of Yúnjiānxíng, and River Valley province combined...

Now as Academy and Enterprise had approached, news was spreading, and representatives from the Army might soon arrive at City of Dawn.

Negotiating alone with those madmen would hardly yield much concession unless he pulled Enterprise and Academy together...

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then suddenly said,

"We could establish a multilateral, cross-regional cooperation committee focused solely on resolving issues related to 'Mutated slime fungus.'"

Yi Chuan hesitated and then asked,

"Like the Post-War Reconstruction Committee?"

Chu Guang shook his head,

"Not exactly. This committee would have no administrative authority and only focuses on issues related to 'Mutated slime fungus.' All parties could present their demands in the meetings and discuss openly with other members to seek common ground."

If a consensus could be reached on the agenda regarding 'Mutated slime fungus,' cooperation in other areas could also commence based on this trust foundation.

After thinking for a moment, Yi Chuan seemed to realize the advantages of establishing this committee, his eyes brightened as he spoke,

"That sounds like a great idea! Including those demands you mentioned earlier, I'll relay them all to the council!"

Chu Guang smiled, then stood up from the conference table along with Yi Chuan, who was also rising, and extended his right hand towards him,

"Hope our cooperation goes smoothly!"

…

While Chu Guang was discussing the details of the "Symbiotic Slime Mold Research Committee" with representatives of the Enterprise on behalf of the Alliance, Sindison, locked in a small dark room, was undergoing interrogation by the Guards Corps.

What surprised the interrogator was that even before they started, Sindison, who had just been asked to take a seat, had already confessed everything.

And it wasn't just Sindison.

The other six suspects did the same.

They were merchants dealing in nutrient paste and fertilizer raw materials, planning to bring in a batch of substrate remnants and sell them to Free State during the peak of the Tide period. However, the Alliance authorities suddenly issued an official document stating that substrate remnants would no longer be sold.

And it wasn't just this time; they would not sell them in the future either.

Seeing the duck that was almost in their hands flying away, these merchants immediately flew into a rage. They had already found buyers, and now the Alliance informed them that they weren't selling anymore.

Thus, Sindison came up with a plan to instigate the City of Dawn's public sentiment by using the Clear Spring City Daily in order to pressure the Alliance authorities.

However, he clearly underestimated the internal cohesion of Alliance society. This tactic might have had a slight effect on the former Giant Stone City, but for the survivors of the City of Dawn, it would only backfire.

Staring at the interrogation record filled out on three pages of paper, the two sitting at the interrogation table exchanged a glance, one of them couldn't help but ask as he looked at Sindison,

"... all this for that?"

Sindison nodded tentatively, trying to explain,

"This… isn't a small matter; it's a deal worth several billion."

Several billion Brush yuan, which translates to about ten million Dinar, or about a million silver coins in Alliance currency.

The two interrogators didn't know what to say and exchanged looks again, communicating with their eyes.

'Is there a chance he's lying?'

'The testimonies of several suspects are similar, and no other evidence was found in the room... It's highly unlikely.'

"Damn it... all this fuss over such a trivial matter; I thought it was a major case."

'&%$#@!'

Seeing the increasingly grim expressions of the interrogators, Sindison grew even more frightened and finally could not suppress his fear, cautiously asking,

"Brothers... I, I am not a spy."

The interviewer on the right, his face grim, said,

"The existing evidence indeed doesn't prove you're a spy, but your actions have had an extremely adverse impact, causing significant losses to the property of Alliance citizens."

The other interviewer continued,

"Last night, the protesting crowd burnt down Tujia Printing Factory's warehouse, and today the entire city's newspapers are out of stock, with estimated losses probably amounting to millions of silver coins. Even if you are not a spy, you can't escape the charge of incitement to destruction."

When Sindison heard that the protesters had set fire to the printing factory, cold sweat broke out on him; this was completely different from the scenario he had envisioned.

He dared not think what would happen if he fell into those people's hands. What panicked him even more was that now, it seemed, everyone knew he had been taken from the highway town motel.

In other words, they already knew who he was...

"I admit liability! I'll pay!" Sindison pleaded, clutching his cuffed fists together, "I'm willing to pay double the compensation, just let me leave here...I promise I'll never do such a thing again!"

The interrogator chuckled disdainfully at him.

"Regretting now? What were you doing earlier?"

Another interrogator mockingly said.

"Incitement to destruction is a public prosecution case; there's no settlement, financial compensation can exempt you from labor, but you can't escape a sentence of over ten years. If you were really a spy, maybe you could've pleaded for leniency. You did this foolish thing for a few million, we want to help you find an opportunity to redeem yourself, but there's nowhere to start."

Having caught but a tiny mouse after a whole night, both were filled to the brim with unspeakable frustration, venting it all on him.

Seeing that pleading was useless, Sindison completely tore off his mask of compliance and desperation, roaring at the two men in front of the interrogation table.

"I am a trader from the Bugra Free State, I'm not your citizen, you have no right to arrest me! I...I want to see your Manager!"

Watching his disgraceful state, the two interrogators smirked.

"You want to see the Manager?"

"We don't care where you are from. Even if you were a relative of the Army Marshal, if you commit a crime on our land, you are subject to the law."

Fear filled Sindison's eyes, but he still couldn't help but threaten.

"Are you not afraid of causing a diplomatic dispute?"

Looking at this man at his wit's end, the two interrogators laughed heartily.

"Diplomacy? We have nothing to discuss with you."

"If you aren't satisfied, let your military try their luck."

Upon hearing this, Sindison deflated like a punctured ball and slumped into the chair, his eyes filled with bleak despair.

Of course, the Free State's military wouldn't deploy for such a small character. Even if his confidants outside could hire mercenaries who were paid to do jobs, those scattered troops definitely wouldn't be a match for the Alliance Army.

It was said that long ago, when the Army tried to hire mercenaries from the Free State to attack the northern part of the Alliance, they were beaten badly.

It was rumored those guys didn't even encounter the Alliance's Regular Army.

The two were simply not on the same level.

This prison, it seemed, would be his home for now...

Elsewhere, the Grand Canyon, Origin City.

A man sitting quietly in a reception room looked down through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the settlement, a trace of derision on his lips.

Obsolete, depressed, repressive, moribund, like a drowsy sunset... he could find all the negative descriptions and accurately apply them to this settlement.

The settlement known as Origin City was once the earliest settlement on the Wasteland, even older than Ideal City on the East Coast.

However, with the dissolution of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, the glory days of this settlement were no longer visible, leaving only a faint afterglow lingering in the desolate land.

The settlement was like an old man with one foot in the coffin, exuding a frown-inducing stench of decay.

But upon seeing the Chief Secretary, wearing a white robe coming out of the room, the man's face showed a respectful and modest nod.

The Chief Secretary stared back emotionlessly, like a priest, in a solemn, unemotional voice said:

"Please come with me."

The man nodded slightly again, not speaking, and followed him through the open door into a meeting room with an obsidian long table.

An old man with white hair and beard was sitting at the head of the table.

That old man was the master of the Grand Canyon.

The man bowed slightly, politely saying,

"Respected Chief, may I ask for your instructions?"

The Chief, called such, didn't speak immediately but said in a kindly tone,

"Please sit down."

The man nodded his acknowledgement, pulling out a chair at the end of the table to sit.

His name was Otto, the Mayor of the Free State, a position akin to a lord of a typical survivor settlement.

The previous mayor was impeached for covertly supporting the Army's atrocities in Luo Xia Province; the newly appointed Otto was an unmistakable proponent of the Enterprise faction—namely, a faction that supports the Free State parliament's push for management reforms.

Although continuously accused of taking under-the-table money from the Firestone Group, in the eyes of many citizens of the Free State, he still remained an approachable leader.

And the same was true for the Chief seated at the meeting table.

Compared to the previous mayor, who was defiant and colluded secretly with the Army Eastward Expansion Faction, he appreciated this humble young man more.

He was young, capable, courageous, with clear eyes burning like torches.

The old man didn't like the company that had once betrayed the War Construction Committee nor did he approve of those rebels' decisions, but he acknowledged that there were aspects worth learning from them.

Watching Otto sitting humbly at the meeting table, the old man slowly began,

"I heard that the Lair in Clear Spring City has been eliminated by the Alliance. It appears to be a newly established young faction, their leader being the Manager of Shelter No. 404."

Otto respectfully nodded.

"I've heard about this too."

The old man's face revealed a satisfied smile as he slowly continued to speak.

"It appears that you haven't forgotten your mission; I'm relieved. The 'mutated slime fungus' is one of the major threats in the Wasteland. Over the past years, we have made many attempts, but regrettably, even until the dissolution of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, we were unable to truly eradicate it..."

Otto respectfully listened to the old man recount tales of the old days, yet he harbored a hint of indifference and disdain.

In his view, the Two Hundred Year War was foolish enough, a bunch of people ruining two worlds over some inexplicable belief, and everyone had to suffer together.

What had become of things now was incurably stupid.

A group of people, already lying in their graves, refused to bring failure and disgrace into their tombs for reflection, instead continuing to meddle and dictate to the younger generation.

Plainly put, he didn't care about any 'mutated slime fungus,' nor did he have any interest in worrying about those Wasteland Wanderers outside, let alone understanding why their lives mattered.

Why not just let them die?

If they all died, there wouldn't be any Wasteland left.

However, seeing the old man's approving look, Otto still reluctantly echoed a statement for the sake of his supporters.

"...This is indeed a remarkable achievement, they have much we could learn from."

The old man slowly nodded his head, his cloudy eyes staring at the young man before him.

"I'm glad you think that way... let me cut it short, I'm worried I've been daydreaming too long and my time isn't worth consuming your precious youth to wait."

He paused, then continued in a gentle tone.

"I have a request for you."

Otto sighed internally, knowing another demand was coming, but still maintained his respectful expression and humble demeanor as he responded.

"Please instruct me."

The old man slowly began to speak again.

"You and the others are all survivors from the River Valley Province, but I've noticed you're not very close, which is unwise. I hope you can get along more harmoniously and cooperate more on issues that affect all of humanity… Like now, this is a good opportunity."

Otto paused, then said with a bitter smile,

"We… do not oppose cooperation, but whether they are willing is hard to say."

It was the same as before; the old man never considered the current state of affairs.

The Bugra Free State and the Alliance are competitors in regional matters, with diplomatic relations that have never been harmonious, even somewhat contentious.

Not to mention whether they could establish friendly relations with the Alliance; in their diplomatic strategy, the Alliance was not even worth befriending.

Its existence was a mistake from the start.

The Bone Chewing Chaos should have destroyed everything from the central to the southern part of the River Valley Province like a wildfire, clearing the way southward for the Free State, who "couldn't do it themselves."

The former mayor even had plans ready to meet with the Army's Eastward Expansion Faction in Qingquan City.

But just because of this Alliance that appeared out of nowhere, sheltering refugees and consecutively defeating the Chewing Bone Tribe and the Army's faction, their plans went completely awry, and billions in investments went down the drain.

Although Otto was not a supporter of the Army, and his political views completely contradicted the previous mayor's pro-enterprise faction, they shared one thing: the desire for true freedom.

The survivors of Bugra refused to be puppets of a tomb.

However, whether seeking help to the west or to the east, the Alliance dominating the southern part of River Valley Province remained their biggest obstacle.

Otto wished the Alliance would explode into fireworks tomorrow; how could he possibly establish cooperation with those Wasteland Wanderers on a topic they didn't care about at all?

They would even prefer to contact the Torch Church to the south!

But these were things he couldn't say, and saying them would be meaningless anyway.

That old fool was too old; he could neither accept anyone else's views nor care about what others cared about. His cloudy eyes only held delusions of his dying days and an unrealistic longing for the past.

His greatest sin was living too long.

People shouldn't live that long.

"We should at least try, right?"

Unaware that the young man before him was internally cursing, the old man gently smiled and continued speaking.

"Give it a try; consider this a task I've set for you. If you pass this test, I will increase the energy quota supplied to you over the next five years by 15%. Of course, if you can't complete it, I can only regretfully adjust the energy prices for the next three years... I hope you understand that I'm using this method to persuade you, as the supervision is necessary."

The Bugra Free State had its solar, wind, and geothermal power facilities, but relying solely on these renewable sources wasn't enough to support the total consumption of the settlement.

The Grand Canyon supplied over 70% of the energy consumption, which is one reason this city that never slept was able to rise from the Wasteland.

Separated by over a dozen generations, he didn't understand how the young folks thought nowadays or what means to use to communicate with them, but using energy as a bargaining chip to make them obey had always been a good idea.

A century and a half ago, the poor needed energy to start fires and keep warm; today, their children needed energy to support lavish lifestyles.

Regardless of how they used the energy, he saw it all the same: moderate rewards and punishments could motivate the youngsters.

This method had never failed him.

These legacies ultimately belonged to them; he was merely guiding them appropriately.

Just as the old man anticipated, the young fellow slowly bowed his head and said respectfully,

"I'll remember your teachings; we'll give it a try."

The old man's face showed a relieved smile.

However, he failed to notice that as Otto bowed his head to speak those words, he also involuntarily clenched his fist hidden under the table...

This humiliation.

One day, he would return it twofold!

Chapter 652: This has nothing to do with being right or wrong, it's simply their choice.

Bugra Free State.

In the studio of a certain TV station, Mr. Hauser, dressed in formal attire, sat in front of a long table, shuffled a thick stack of news scripts, and began to broadcast today's news program.

"Dear audience friends, welcome to Hauser's Daily Observation program. I am your dearest Mr. Hauser."

"Just last night, the barbarians of Qingquan City shamelessly detained six law-abiding merchants from the Bugra Free State! Without a doubt, this is an outright act of banditry... Look, they claim to be enemies of the Looters, but what difference is there between what they're doing and the actions of the Looters?"

"Just like when they plundered the wealth of the Giant Stone City residents, now they have extended their greedy claws toward us, the honest and loyal."

"Unfortunately, we have no trade relations with them, and poor Mr. Sindison can only pay for his carelessness... They should have been cautious in choosing their trading partners, as dealing with ruffians never ends well."

"Next, a brief news flash. Our beloved Mayor Otto has stated, in response to the Chief of the Great Rift Valley's request, we will attempt to cooperate with the Alliance on the issue of 'Mutated slime fungus'... What?!"

Looking at the news script in his hands, Hauser, who was reciting by the book a second ago, suddenly widened his eyes and almost fell off his chair.

Cooperate with the Alliance?

What a joke?!

...

Mr. Hauser's program was not popular in the Bugra Free State; it ranked low among the countless similar programs in terms of viewership.

Most citizens neither liked their mayor nor the obsequious tone of this buffoon, so his program was only popular among the Inner City Nobles of Giant Stone City who had fled to the Free State.

Sometimes, Alliance players would also watch his program for fun, occasionally sharing excerpts to the official Forum.

Interestingly, only today, Hauser's reaction on the program strikingly matched that of the Free State citizens who had inadvertently tuned in.

Whether intentionally or not, the Alliance had more than once ruined good opportunities for the Free State, and the authorities' propaganda had painted the Alliance as the "arch-enemy hindering their liberation from the rule of the Great Rift Valley" and the ruffians obstructing their companies' business operations in Luo Xia Province.

And now, they were supposed to cooperate with these "ruffians"!

What a joke!

The scene at the press conference.

Faced with a sea of microphones thrust before him, Otto knew he couldn't explain to his supporters and could only muster up the nerve to say,

"...That is the stance of the Great Rift Valley, I understand your dissatisfaction, but I have no other choice."

Upon hearing his explanation, the press conference erupted into chaos, and the mood became uncontrollable for a moment.

A man wearing a press badge forced his way through the crowd and tried to rush onto the stage but was stopped by a security guard in an exoskeleton.

Looking at the spineless mayor, the man yelled at him.

"Mr. Otto, do you know that just a few hours ago, the soldiers of the Alliance detained our merchants!"

Otto looked at the angry young man with a face full of helplessness.

"I know—"

"You don't know!" The man angrily interrupted him, shoving aside the guard blocking his way, "You're like a lapdog chasing after the Great Rift Valley! I'm really ashamed for you!"

His words had barely ended when he was handcuffed by the guards, his hands pinned behind his back, and he was led away like a hero amid cheers and applause.

The guards didn't dare rough him up, wary of being pelted with water bottles.

Watching the increasingly agitated scene at the press conference, Otto sighed inwardly, but patiently tried to explain to these idiots.

"...Whether we can succeed or not, we must try to talk with the Alliance people, otherwise electricity prices will have to go up next year."

"Or let me put it another way, you wouldn't want the opening advertisement for your fridge to go from 30 seconds to 45 seconds starting next year, would you?"

That was just a remark he made on the spot; no one knew if it would really come to that.

After all, the Chief hadn't told him how much energy prices were actually going to rise, and how much of the costs the entrepreneurs would pass on to those little leeks.

While Otto was worn out from the citizens' reprimands, Sigma, sitting in the top-floor office of the Firestone Group building, was watching the prosperous city district out the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the desolation etched into the skyline, with a grim expression.

Just yesterday, he had just met with a messenger from the Torch Church, and the instructions from the Great Rift Valley completely disrupted his plans.

Although the Free State was effectively under the control of the Firestone Group, even so, he could not brazenly defy the orders from the Great Rift Valley.

He understood very well.

Although the settlements of the Great Rift Valley were far less prosperous than the Free State, the gap in military strength between them was insurmountable.

But at the moment, what concerned him even more was something else—

"...There's a rumor that the Alliance Managers have met with representatives from both the Academy and businesses consecutively, and representatives from the Army are also on their way to the City of Dawn,"

Standing in front of his desk, his confidant Xavier spoke respectfully.

Drawing his gaze back from the window, Sigma looked at Xavier.

"The Academy?"

Xavier nodded solemnly.

"Yes... And, I've heard that the Academy made contact with the Alliance even before the businesses."

Watching Sigma's brows furrow, Xavier paused for a moment before continuing.

"It's just a rumor, but I've heard... the Alliance is planning to create a Cross-regional cooperation organization dedicated to dealing with the Mutant mucor mother nest troubling various parts of the Wasteland."

"Taking into account their technology for manipulating Mucosal Entities, I suspect they're planning to expand their influence outward under this guise."

The speculation was indeed reasonable.

If the Alliance truly had the ability to control the behavior of the Mutant slime fungus, then any territory under their management would effectively become their jurisdiction.

On corporate and academy land, they built a military base.

They really dare to dream.

Sigma smirked inwardly, but he didn't take it lightly.

Those ancient survivor forces have a more than ordinary obsession with the "mutated slime fungus"—after all, those things once destroyed their world.

This is quite different from most survivors in the Wasteland.

If the Alliance were to establish closer ties with corporations and academies, the Free State would find itself with even less room to survive.

And that was not all.

What if the Grand Canyon were also swayed by the Alliance, and that old guy suddenly got muddled and said, "Jushi Inner City has joined the Alliance, so you should too." Now, that would truly be a split!

He certainly did not want to hand over years of hard work to someone else just because of a whimsical remark!

At this moment, the phone on his desk rang.

Guessing who was calling, Sigma touched his wristwatch, and soon a pale blue light beam rose from the desk.

Standing in the holographic light beam was Otto, who had just been at the press conference held by the authorities of the Free State a few minutes ago.

"I'm very sorry to disturb you at this time, Mr. Sigma. You must have heard that the Chief of the Great Rift Valley hopes we can cooperate with the Alliance on the 'mutated slime fungus' issue... As usual, they are using energy as a bargaining chip to extort us, and I had no choice but to agree."

Watching Mayor Otto's respectful demeanor, Sigma replied in a relaxed tone.

"You made the right choice; there's no need for us to stand opposed to the Grand Canyon."

Seeing Sigma's understanding, Otto breathed a sigh of relief and continued.

"What is your opinion, then?"

Sigma closed his eyes and thought for a long time. After a moment, he opened his eyes and spoke slowly.

"I have no objections. Just follow the Chief's instructions and engage with the Alliance on behalf of the Free State authorities."

Although the Firestone Group's several contacts with the Alliance had ended unpleasantly, the Free State had never formally engaged in official diplomacy with the Alliance as an entity.

Otto hesitated a moment before asking.

"Is this... really okay?"

Sigma replied succinctly.

"Showing a proactive stance on something the Chief cares about isn't a bad thing, and through contact with them, we can grasp their movements. It doesn't matter if they refuse to cooperate; at least we will have done what we should have."

"What about our citizens? There are not a few who oppose." Otto said cautiously.

The candidate for Mayor of the Free State was nominated by the Great Rift Valley, but it was the citizens who ultimately elected him. Because of the recent press conference, he had already lost a large number of supporters. If he appeared too compliant, his approval ratings could drop further.

His opposition even began to clamor about starting impeachment proceedings to drive him from office.

Knowing what Otto was worried about, Sigma, however, didn't care and simply said.

"Don't worry about this; I'll help you convince the opposition."

Although it was but a lightly spoken promise, upon hearing these words, Otto's face, which was still tense, suddenly showed a look of great relief.

"With your word, I'm relieved!"

Everyone in the settlement knew that Mr. Sigma was the true master of the Free State.

The Firestone Group not only controlled the most profitable business of the entire Free State, but they also had direct or indirect control over more than 90% of the media in the settlement.

As long as this influential man made a move, he needn't worry about any opposition; those people would know to keep their mouths shut...

While the Bugra Free State's society was abuzz with the "Sindison case" and "Mayor Otto the bootlicker of the Grand Canyon," the "Industrial Arson Case" being tried in the Dawn City Court was similarly attracting widespread attention from all walks of life in Alliance society.

The case was heard at noon.

The Dawn City Court's audience gallery was packed to the brim, with people standing even in the last row of the aisle. There were spectators of various statuses.

The original trial process would not have been so rapid, but due to the defendant's decisive guilty plea and a clear and evident chain of evidence, the trial was expedited under pressure from all sides.

At this moment, a young man in his early twenties stood in the dock. His features were firm, and his posture was military, not like a criminal, and it was clear at a glance that he was from the military.

And so he was.

His name was Sun Yong, a soldier from the First Army Corps who had enlisted during the war in the Luo Xia Province last year, and he had joined the army for a simple reason—to follow in the footsteps of that distinguished leader.

Most of the soldiers from the First Army Corps were like that.

They generally didn't have much education, either being slaves rescued by the Alliance from the Looter's hands or refugees sheltered by the Home of the Refugees.

He regarded the Manager as something more important than life and honor. Thus, when he heard someone dare to insult his revered leader, he was immediately blinded by rage.

Now that he was calm, he thought that he really shouldn't have been so impulsive.

For whatever reason, he should not have taken out his anger on those he was supposed to protect.

Not only had he targeted the wrong people,
he had almost caused even more severe consequences...

Watching the young man standing in the dock, the judge also felt somewhat reluctant, but still dutifully performed his duties.

"Do you understand the wrong you've committed?"

Sun Yong nodded.

"I understand."

The defendant had already pleaded guilty.

Next came the sentencing.

The judge sighed and continued to speak.

"Do you have anything else you want to add?" he asked.

Sun Yong shook his head.

"No."

The lawyer sitting at the defense bench kept making eye signals to him, attempting to remind him to say something in the hope of leniency, but he didn't even glance that way.

To err is to err.

He didn't want to shirk responsibility for his crimes; he was willing to accept the judgment of the law.

Seeing that the defendant had no further words to add, the judge prepared to announce the verdict.

Just then, a voice suddenly arose from the spectator seats.

"Mr. Judge, I would like to say a few words on behalf of my soldier..."

Wrench, who had decided not to speak, ultimately couldn't help but open his mouth; however, as soon as he stood up, a stern rebuke came from not far away.

"Mr. First Army Corps Commander, be mindful of where you are standing; this is the Alliance's courtroom, not your military camp! Aside from the defendant's defense attorney, no one else can speak on his behalf."

Wrench immediately looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Old Charlie, who was also standing in the spectator seats.

Facing Wrench's perplexed and questioning gaze, Old Charlie just calmly met his eyes, not furrowing his brow.

Others were intimidated by his status and did not dare to speak up, but Old Charlie was not afraid of him.

"I—crap! That's not what I meant! I'm standing here as a citizen... I am an Alliance citizen as well, what's wrong with expressing my opinion?!"

Watching Wrench argue with a rough voice, Old Charlie continued to speak, expressionless.

"You are an Alliance citizen, and I am an Alliance citizen too! My position is right here, no one should interfere with the majesty of the law."

As Wrench was frantically scratching his head and unable to outtalk the old man, the young man standing in the defendant's box suddenly spoke up.

"Commander, I have realized my mistake, I have let down the Manager and all the guys... I should be punished by the law, please don't plead for me anymore."

Turning his gaze away from the dumbfounded Wrench, Old Charlie looked toward the young man standing at the defendant's bench and nodded in approval.

The kid understood righteousness.

Although he had taken some detours, with proper reform inside, he could still become a pillar of society upon release.

Whispers filled the court.

Right at that moment, another voice that made him frown arose.

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Judge, I am the party concerned... Although I hold no title, I think I should be entitled to say a few words!"

A middle-aged man, dressed properly, stood up from the bustling spectator seats and walked onto the corridor aisle.

Seeing that the bailiff maintaining order in the court did not stop him, he smiled and continued to speak.

"Truth be told, I was truly frightened that night, especially when I saw the warehouse on fire. It was as if I saw your bravery on the battlefield amidst the flames."

Sun Yong said, his face red with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry..."

"No, in fact, it's me who should be saying sorry," Wang Tu sighed and turned to the crowd in the spectator seats.

"I'm the manager of Tujia Printing Factory. I'm sorry for letting you down; I did not thoroughly check the newspapers sent out from the warehouse and allowed some nonsensical things to mix in, resulting in no newspapers for you to read today, forcing you to spend your time here... After giving it a lot of thought, I realized there was a significant safety hazard."

"Just a few coins could let three sheets full of lies circulate at every newsstand in the city; thank goodness they were just paper, not a bomb or something else."

He paused as he looked at the murmuring crowd and then continued.

"I reflected all night long. Over the past year, all I've thought about is how to increase the productivity of the printing factory, how to improve production efficiency, save costs, and make more money... But I've always overlooked the most critical issue. My factory isn't just a mere machine; it's part of this society. Its duties should not be limited to production; it also has social responsibilities that inherently belong to it."

"Thank you for making me realize this. Before causing a more significant problem, this lesson isn't a very bad deal for me... besides, insurance has compensated for my financial loss. I will add an additional inspection process to the warehousing steps to ensure that similar situations will not happen again."

"Moreover, I think this isn't just my problem. I'm just a printing factory owner; I can carefully verify each order, but you cannot expect me to check whether every single order is truthful or not. At the very least, we should have a media rating agency that grants higher ratings to those who tell the truth! If there is no representative willing to make this proposal, I will do it. If I am elected, it will be my first proposition!"

Applause erupted from the spectator seats.

Looking at his supporters, Wang Tu smiled and nodded, then turned to the judge and spoke earnestly.

"Mr. Judge, I know there is no possibility of a settlement in a public prosecution case, but could you, considering that all of us bear undeniable responsibilities and that we have all realized the issue at hand, consider reducing his sentence a bit... After all, the fire did not result in any casualties; it only burned some paper."

"I think this isn't just my thought alone. If, because of my negligence, a young man who should have been dedicating his fervor to a greater cause sacrifices his youth, and I don't have to bear any responsibility... this guilt will accompany me for life."

Livelier applause broke out in the venue.

His speech had moved at least some people, even the business owners who originally supported a harsh sentence softened their stance.

Merely sentencing harshly was meaningless.

This wasn't the Middle Ages where executions were needed to deter criminals, and besides, which man in the wasteland was genuinely afraid of death?

If the rules were not perfected, the problems they worried about would occur time and again, the contradictions lurking beneath the surface would become increasingly sharp, and this was just the beginning.

"Well said!" Wrench clapped vigorously in approval, his hands turning red.

This guy could talk circles around him!

A real talent!

Old Charlie didn't clap, and his expression remained unchanged, but when he looked at the guy who owned the printing factory, a few traces of surprise showed on his face.

He didn't know whether that guy was playing political speculator or not.

But at least just then, with just a few words, that guy managed to win the favor of soldiers, citizens, and people from all walks of life without offending other business owners.

"Order! Order!"

The judge tapped the gavel twice, and when the noisy scene subsided, he continued to address the person standing in the well of the court.

"By existing law, I should not accept your suggestion."

Regret showed on Wang Tu's face.

Indeed.

All he could do was to plead for mercy.

However, at this moment, the judge paused, then continued.

"But I must admit, there are many details in this case that cannot be ignored, which our current laws do not cover."

With that, he turned his gaze to the crowded audience.

"I'm not mistaken in thinking that legislation is the work of the representative assembly, and some of you here must be representatives, I'd like to hear your opinions."

As soon as his words fell, a cacophony erupted from the audience.

Some shouted not guilty, some shouted for a reduced sentence, and others shouted for community service... The scene was more like a bustling market than a courtroom.

Especially Wrench, who screamed the loudest, red-faced and agitated.

Old Charlie looked on with a head full of black lines at this crude commotion, but couldn't really say anything, after all, Alliance law did grant judges some discretion in sentencing, and if the judge asked for the audience's opinion, his actions were theoretically legitimate.

Although in theory, judges should not be influenced by public opinion, in reality, how could they not be affected?

The laws of the Alliance are made by the assembly of representatives, born from among the citizens, and those clauses are projections of the will of the citizens.

Watching the noisy audience, the judge had to bang the gavel again and loudly addressed the crowd.

"Innocence is not an option!"

"However, I do agree that the defendant's sentence should be reduced appropriately... This is considering the proactive forgiveness of the party that suffered damage, no casualties caused, and the defendant's good attitude in admitting guilt."

Looking at the cheering audience, Sun Yong's face was filled with astonishment.

And when his eyes met with the smiling Wang Tu, a pang of guilt arose on his face, and he embarrassingly lowered his gaze.

At that moment, the guilt in his heart was far deeper than when he had calmed down the night before.

If that man had been even a bit arrogant or had cursed at him, or even thrown something at him, he would have felt somewhat better.

Yet that man, like himself, longed for the Alliance to become greater and more beautiful, his self-righteous justice did not punish any evildoers who deserved it, but merely hurt a fellow citizen...

Standing among the jubilant crowd and looking at Wrench who was raising his eyebrows at him, Old Charlie sighed and was at a loss for words; he shook his head and walked out of the courtroom.

He had expected Wrench to come here and was prepared to maintain the dignity of the law with a stern face throughout, but he hadn't anticipated a dark horse coming out of nowhere.

There was nothing he could say about such a result.

After leaving the courthouse, Old Charlie used the VM to report the situation on the scene as it was to Chu Guang, and hesitantly gave his opinion.

"I don't know if this is right."

Looking at the somewhat troubled Old Charlie, Chu Guang who had just reached a cooperation intention with the business was in a good mood and smiled.

"This has nothing to do with right or wrong; it's simply their choice."

Seeing Chu Guang's smile, Old Charlie misunderstood and hesitated for a moment before asking.

"May I take that to mean... you are quite satisfied with such a result?"

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"It's not about being satisfied, but I'm indeed relieved. Of course, it has nothing to do with the outcome of the judgment... Do you remember the very first rules on this land? They were the terms I wrote in the VM. There were only three short sentences: No murder, no robbery, no theft."

Old Charlie nodded.

"Of course, I remember that. It wasn't that long ago, after all."

Chu Guang continued in a light-hearted tone.

"Yes, not long ago, those clauses turned into something far too complex to be contained in just one book. They started to propose solutions to our existing problems, actively taking on more social responsibilities... I very much agree with what the small merchant said, it is not a losing deal. A small fire has brought about social progress and avoided bigger problems in the future."

"I'm relieved they didn't take long to realize that only those who discipline themselves can achieve true freedom."

He was very clear, the all-capable Philosopher King described by Plato in 'The Republic' could not possibly exist; it's just that too many of the Alliance survivors had too many unrealistic expectations of him. Fortunately, he was clear about himself; he knew he was just an ordinary human being.

In fact, he had always been guiding the residents of the Alliance to address certain issues on their own.

Whether it was selecting representatives from various industries and later from different social strata, or letting players initiate proposals on the forum, it was something he had been doing all along.

Even if some proposals weren't mature, what did it matter?

For some issues, he had no better solution either.

Someone would propose, someone would improve, and things would gradually get better.

Old Charlie gave a wry smile.

"Maybe I haven't made the transition of thought yet... Perhaps it is indeed time for me to retire."

Watching the self-deprecating old man on the screen, Chu Guang spoke with a chuckle.

"You don't have to force yourself to change; conservative opinions are also indispensable."

Chapter 653: The Celebration of the Tide's End!

"Print Plant Arson Case Sentence Announced"

[Suspect Mr. Sun pleaded guilty in court. Given that no severe consequences occurred and he has obtained the victim's forgiveness, he was sentenced to three years in prison according to the Union's Criminal Law. The court followed his and his employer's wishes, enlisting him into the Southern Construction Corps to serve his sentence in construction at the Union Border…]

Zhang Hai Ramen Shop.

The diners, flipping through the newspapers, were chattering about the high-profile case that unfolded in court yesterday.

Also sitting in the ramen shop and browsing through the "Survivor's Daily" was Big Eyes, who felt a shiver down his spine.

Though he wasn't the loudest at the protest, he had indeed thrown a log onto the fire.

Sipping her noodles beside him, Elena made a jesting remark.

"It would have been so much better had you not fired that 'shot.'"

The young construction worker and brick sighed as well.

"Yeah, a good young man ended up behind bars because of it."

Feeling guilty, Big Eyes explained.

"I already said it was a blank... and I wasn't the first one to start the commotion, anyway."

Man, this "Game" is really something.

A mere three-page newspaper could trigger such a chain of events, allowing him to even see the follow-up on the arson case in the "Survivor's Daily."

By the way, perhaps sparked by the "Clear Spring City Daily," today's "Survivor's Daily" devoted a special column to Xiaoyu, clarifying a series of rumors that had stirred up storms across the city.

The writer was Dolly, who had worked for the "Survivor's Daily" in Giant Stone City and had many fans, whether in Giant Stone City or the City of Dawn.

When people learned that Xiaoyu had lived in the City of Dawn for quite a while before becoming the Lair and had never harmed anyone, and that Xiaoyu's real body was under tight surveillance on Floor B6 of Shelter No. 404, most of their concerns were alleviated.

As is well known, the Manager resides in Shelter No. 404.

If even the respected Manager isn't worried about a sudden rampage, why should those living above ground?

As before.

The admirable residents of the refuge continued to lead the way for everyone, facing the deepest abyss head-on.

Since even those closest to danger weren't afraid, there really was no reason for those standing behind them to fear.

In the noodle shop, not many were discussing the column about Xiaoyu. Instead, most were more concerned with the arson case from the night before and felt sympathy for the young man sent to the border.

Debt Big Eyes also felt quite guilty.

If only he had been a bit calmer that night…

Watching the disheartened Big Eyes pulling at his noodles, Zhang Hai laughed and said,

"You guys are really too idle! When there's no activity, you think about causing trouble. You should learn from me and find something meaningful to do."

Debt Big Eyes scoffed,

"...Pff, as if pulling noodles is any fun."

Zhang Hai laughed again.

"Hey, don't underestimate this skill of mine. I could pull a million bowls here and save up enough for a device even more impressive than a lithography machine."

A device more impressive than a lithography machine?

Debt Big Eyes was puzzled for a moment, not quite understanding what he was on about.

But that's pretty normal.

Everyone has their own understanding of the Game, and the ways to play it certainly vary greatly.

Having finished his meal, Debt Big Eyes calculated the bill—two large bowls of beef noodles for exactly ten silver coins. He took out ten silver coins and slapped them down on the table generously.

"Settle up, no need for change!"

"Thank you, sir," Zhang Hai grinned, snatching up the silver coins and stuffing them in the drawer. "Come again next time, I'll treat you to some more."

Elena, who was slurping noodles, let out a snort, almost choking on the noodles through her nose and quickly coughed a couple of times.

Big Eyes, feeling taken advantage of, rolled his eyes annoyedly.

"Get lost!"

Construction boy and brick: "Pft!"

Makabazi: "Hahaha!"

A joyful atmosphere permeated the ramen shop, with NPCs who didn't understand Mandarin curiously looking over, not understanding what was happening.

However, joy didn't necessarily depend on language for transmission. Seeing those interesting characters, many faces revealed knowing smiles.

After all, today was indeed a day worth being happy about.

To celebrate the victory against the Tide, to mark the end of a two-hundred-year struggle, celebrations were set to take place in various settlements of the Alliance.

It was said that the esteemed Manager would be seen at the upcoming medal ceremony.

Many hastened their slurping speed, planning to squeeze into the front of the plaza to catch a close glimpse of the Manager's grace.

…

At nine o'clock.

With one hour left until the much-anticipated celebration officially started, the main streets of City of Dawn were already swarming with people.

Standing on the edge of the crowd, from the shopping streets to the plaza, the view was packed with a sea of people, not even a spot to step on was visible.

These included local survivors from City of Dawn, others from Giant Stone City a dozen kilometers away, and even some who flew in from the distant Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

The population of this settlement was far more than the counted one hundred thousand; counting the floating population, it was at least twice that number.

"Giao! This place is way too crowded!"

Crow, her cheeks flushed with excitement in the middle of the crowd, occasionally tip-toed to get a view of the front.

At a height of 1.8 meters, it was quite easy for her to see ahead, while Teng Teng, who had come along, had already given up, leisurely sipping pearl milk tea while following behind Hua Hua in maid attire.

"Right, City of Dawn has gotten busier... it was just a small village before, and now it's developed into this in just two years."

Speaking of which, milk tea shops have recently started appearing in the game.

Those newbies are all quite talented.

She didn't realize before that selling milk tea could be such a money-making business.

Drinking that stuff in the game, no matter how many cups anyone flaunted, there was no need to worry about exceeding sugar intake, as characters simply refreshed after dying.

"Speaking of which, Teng Teng, can you even see the road in front?"

Looking at Teng Teng, who seemed completely engulfed by the crowd, Crow asked worriedly.

Teng Teng casually replied.

"It doesn't matter; I've got you and Hua Hua leading the way."

Crow stared in surprise.

"Yikes! You woman, using me!"

Teng Teng stated righteously.

"How can you call it using? It's making the best use of what you've got..."

Crow: "That's even worse, come on!"

"Oh well, complain to the Dog Planner then, and while you're at it, ask him to share half of your body with me, thanks."

Saying this, Teng Teng glanced inadvertently at Crow's unreasonably large model. Although she muttered to herself that it was nothing to be envied, she couldn't help but click her tongue inwardly.

This wasn't out of envy or jealousy, nor was it nitpicking—it was a critique purely from a perspective of realism—

How could it be so big in real life?

It's so unreasonable!

Thinking of her own game character, Teng Teng, who wasn't very concerned initially, couldn't help but start gnawing on the pearls in her mouth.

However, Crow didn't catch her mood and was still laughing awkwardly.

"Then never mind... Hehe, I'm actually quite happy with my character in the game, it feels completely different from reality."

"Tsk, edgy girl."

"!!! That's too much!"

Unaware of their joking banter, Hua Hua worriedly turned back to look at her boss, Miss Teng Teng, thinking she was complaining about being unable to see, and then softly said,

"Miss Teng Teng, why don't... you ride on my shoulders, then you should be able to see."

Imagining that scene, Teng Teng's brows twitched violently.

"Hmm!"

"Hahahaha!" Watching Teng Teng's expression as if she had been shot by an arrow, Crow held her belly, laughing so hard it hurt.

Seeing Crow's exaggerated reaction, Hua Hua thought she had made some joke and looked puzzled again at Teng Teng.

"...Miss Teng Teng?"

"Blah, blah!"

With a slurp, Teng Teng sucked up her milk tea and stubbornly turned her neck to say,

"I prefer it... the air is nicer down here."

Crow: "Hahaha—Ouch! Why did you hit me?!"

Teng Teng, infuriated with embarrassment, reached forward again with her tightened small fist.

"This is for laughing at me!"

The playful scuffle on the street was just a minor episode in the bustle of the crowded street.

Not just the NPCs were gathering towards the square, but players also flooded to the busiest center of the city.

Seeing Night Ten looking around in the crowd, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but poke him,

"Hey, what are you looking for?"

"Nothing much, thought I heard a familiar voice." Night Ten scratched the back of his head, withdrawing his gaze from the sea of people.

It might have been an illusion.

Sometimes having too strong a perception wasn't always a good thing, like sometimes, walking down the street, he felt like people were praising him from behind for his looks.

Seeing his distracted demeanor, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but remind him,

"Don't forget your task! You are my bodyguard now, you should pay more attention to me. If I run into any trouble—"

"How could that happen?" Night Ten laughed, "This is City of Dawn, there are at least a dozen drones flying overhead with wide-angle cameras, anyone causing trouble would be taken down in a minute."

Of course, he wouldn't forget his job, serving as this guy's guide and bodyguard during the Academy researcher's visit, while also trying to glean some information about the Academy.

Lately, the Alliance seemed to be planning to build a special zone near Ice Sea City or in Ice Sea City itself under the Science Committee, and the Manager had hinted to him more than once to chat more with her about that settlement, to see if he could dig up some inside information.

But to call a spade a spade, this guy was pretty cowardly; he had never panicked like this when descending into ruins, but in a safe area, he became overly suspicious.

"What if! Even if there are cameras, they only work after the fact," Jiang Xuezhou said, his face turning red as he argued, "I am, after all, a researcher at the Academy, do you know how many people on Wasteland covet the treasures we have? Can't you be a little more serious?"

"Okay, okay, respected Miss Researcher..." Night Ten looked at him helplessly and continued, "Where would you like to go next?"

Jiang Xuezhou looked down and thought for a moment, then softly said, looking to the side,

"Let's head to the square first... Isn't there a medal ceremony?"

"That?..." Night Ten snapped back to reality, laughing, "No worries, I can have my good buddy cover for me."

The electronic medals, which can be showcased in the forum highlights, were already issued at the expansion pack settlement.

Although according to custom, there's a more formal medal ceremony in the game, hosted by the Manager awarding physical medals to outstanding players, attending this ceremony isn't mandatory. Considering the large number of players being awarded, and the limited chance to shine for each, it's acceptable to have it mailed to one's own "coffin plank."

It's very user-friendly.

Night Ten had attended every medal ceremony before, but this time he just couldn't be bothered; he left the showing off to the newbies.

However, seeing his unconcerned expression, Jiang Xuezhou furrowed his brows.

"How can that be okay! You barely escaped from the digestive tract of the Lair, how can you let someone else have such a great opportunity to shine?"

"Uh, the situation wasn't actually as dangerous as you think..." Seeing Jiang Xuezhou's furrowed brows, Night Ten said in a somewhat guilty whisper, "Of course, it's all thanks to the equipment you gave me... It worked really well, thank you!"

Jiang Xuezhou slightly lifted the corners of her mouth.

"Hmph, that's a must. I became a researcher before I was twenty, a rare genius even across the entire Academy."

Really?

Night Ten looked at her in surprise but did not continue the topic.

Because her expression was becoming more and more disdainful.

"You really want to see me go up on stage and get that medal, don't you?"

Jiang Xuezhou said matter-of-factly.

"Of course! This isn't just for your honor; I'm also part of it, you know?"

Being stared at by those bright eyes, Night Ten suddenly felt his heart rate increase and hastily avoided her gaze.

"Alright, alright... I'll go, okay?"

Sheesh!

It's just going up on stage to accept an award.

What's the big deal!

Although Night Ten didn't think it was a big deal, seeing Jiang Xuezhou happy about his agreement made her smile brightly.

"That's more like it. You should seize such opportunities from now on! Seriously, can't you be a bit more ambitious? I even have to worry about this for you!"

Night Ten looked at her helplessly.

"What use is that?"

"How can it be useless?!"

Jiang Xuezhou stared at him earnestly, rambling on like a machine gun.

"Do you really want to spend your life doing such dangerous missions? Life is very fragile, and good luck won't last forever! Accumulate some merits now, so in the future you can mix into the management and stop doing those dangerous and dirty jobs... Hey, I'm seriously talking to you, would it kill you to listen to my advice?"

Night Ten initially wanted to explain that he was actually quite satisfied with his current life, but upon reflection, he realized it wasn't easy to explain, so he gave up on persuading her and sighed.

"Yeah, yeah... you're right."

To a player, adventure is a reward, and death is merely a return.

He figured that even if he made it to the so-called "management," he probably wouldn't give up his current thrilling life.

However, for NPCs who only live once, it was understandable that they would feel worry and fear towards death.

People from the Academy, unlike other Waste Land Wanderers, not only suffer from severe paranoia because "components are expensive," but also have an almost fanatical obsession with K points, G points, and promotions.

Simply put, they are hardcore grinders.

That actually makes sense.

With their way of doing things, Little D Grade is just like cannon fodder; without making it ashore, you can never feel truly safe.

Either escape or climb up, constantly being ordered around by the instructors towards an early grave.

Watching Jiang Xuezhou inexplicably happy that he had finally "behaved," Night Ten scratched the back of his head, not understanding.

Was he just cared for by a cardboard person?

To prevent them from giving up, Brother Guang really tries hard...

-

(Thanks to the alliance leaders "Major Cleanup Overthrow" and "Spicy Cocoa" for their rewards!!! The updates have been a bit unstable these last few days, sorry brothers, the year is finally over, and I'm about to leave my hometown to prepare the next map.)

Chapter 654: History Turns a New Page

In front of the square, a crowd gathered, their gazes lifted skyward, where the imposing steel fortress parted the vast ocean of clouds, slowly rising and falling under the midday sun.

At that moment, whether it was the residents of the alliance or travelers passing through, they couldn't help but cast their reverent eyes to the sky.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the bridge.

Just meeting those expectant gazes, Chu Guang's heart surged uncontrollably.

"Xiao Qi."

"What's up, Master?" A light voice drifted into Chu Guang's ears, like a gentle breeze.

Perched on his shoulder, Xiao Qi dangled her small legs like chopsticks, hands propping her cheeks as she gazed intently at his side profile, her face brimming with a happy smile.

Chu Guang squinted slightly, smiling as he spoke.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly felt like calling your name."

Xiao Qi: "Hehe, are you feeling very excited right now, Master?"

"Yeah, I am a bit," Chu Guang honestly nodded, his gaze unwavering as he continued to watch the grand scene beyond the window.

Seeing the sapling he had nurtured finally become a towering tree was a joy beyond words!

Chu Guang believed that it wasn't just him; all the citizens of the whole alliance, whether players or NPCs, must feel the same tumultuous emotions in their hearts at this moment.

They had overcome the curse etched into this land!

They had vanquished that which proclaimed itself the everlasting threat!

And turned the page of this land's history to a brand-new chapter—

Though the journey was fraught with twists and turns, the people living on this land had ultimately come together.

Chu Guang could almost hear the sound of thousands of hearts beating in unison, driving a single-minded sincerity.

No matter where they were.

No matter when it was.

From now on, they would advance and retreat together.

Share glory and disgrace!

A pale blue holographic panel unfolded before Chu Guang.

Looking at the countdown reaching zero, he extended his index finger to press the play button, connecting to the broadcasts spread across the plaza and aboard the Steel Heart—

Then injected the rousing shout!

"Celebrate!"

"All of you standing on this land!"

"We have completely conquered the tides that surged back time and again!"

"We have ended this feud that lasted two centuries!"

"Victory belongs to us!"

"It will always be ours!"

Hearing that affirmation from the manager, a wave-like roar of applause and cheers filled the venue. Men, women, elders, and kids all wore faces flushed with excitement and the glow of agitation.

"Long live the alliance!"

"Long live the manager!"

"Long live all the survivors who suffered!"

"We shall eventually end this Wasteland!"

"Oh oh oh!"

In this moment of celebration, people threw petals and streamers into the sky, their collective shouts even shattering the heavens.

Even the survivors who had come to this settlement for the first time couldn't help but be swept up in the blood-pumping atmosphere, involuntarily joining the tide of cheers.

They might not feel as strongly about the alliance and the manager as those who lived on this land did, but their desire for order and an end to chaos was the same.

At least right now.

They saw the hope of an ideal coming true...

This was probably the shortest speech ever given by the manager of the alliance at a celebration.

Yet it was also the most meaningful.

The applause and cheers that echoed throughout the city were no less than before, they were even more intense!

Whether it was the survivors from Qingquan City or descendants of those ancient survivor forces, all could feel the greatness and hard-won nature of this miracle.

At this moment, the soaring Ideal Grand Hotel, with its executive lounge on the upper floors, offered the best view of the celebration.

Entrepreneurs from Ideal City and those civilians who came with ideals did not wish to squeeze into the noisy crowd, but their curiosity about the celebration was no less than anyone else's.

Where there are people, there is a market, and people filled with confidence in the future are indeed the finest gold mines.

For this reason, the hotel manager had specially acquired a batch of monoculars for the executive lounge on the high floors, so that guests could see clearly.

Looking at the bustling streets and plaza, those standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows whispered among themselves, astonishment, and amazement simultaneously written on their faces.

They were astonished at their unity and stunned by the immense creative power and visionary space reflected by this force of cohesion.

Before Ideal City's numerous corporate heads, many harbored doubts about this youthful rising power, fearing it would prematurely perish in the perilous Wasteland.

However, the course of events defied everyone's expectations.

After defeating the Army, they continued to hold off the threat from the southern Torch. Not only did they not buckle under the weight of the war, never recovering, but they grew stronger with each battle, even defeating the Lair nestled in the heart of Qingquan City!

The Tide was no longer the cloud hanging over the heads of Qingquan City's survivors.

They could devote more of their efforts to transforming the Wasteland.

Nothing could stop their rise now!

"It's a pity... the cake has already been divided. If only I had arrived earlier!" lamented an entrepreneur, his face etched with regret and sorrow.

He had been worried about the potential risks faced by the Alliance until he saw the booming business of the Long Moon Group and the soaring market value of the Ruyue Group. Finally, under the lure of profit, he resolved to take a flight to the City of Dawn.

Yet, the scene before him was just as he'd seen: this settlement was no longer the dilapidated little village it once was.

Its people had rosy cheeks, they were brimming with energy, dressed in clean clothes, standing tall with straight backs, their pursuit of a better life infused in every aspect of the settlement.

The old kerosene street lamps had been completely replaced by more fashionable electric ones, the red-brick houses were painted with vivid colors, and the bare exteriors now bore many neon-lit steel signs.

Including traffic lights guiding the flow and the painted white lines on the roads – these were added after the public transport system was completed.

And now on the roads not only were there buses, but engines and steel once produced for war had flowed into the civilian car industry.

Though private cars were still a rarity, scooters and bicycles were no longer uncommon sights here. The thriving shopping districts had begun erecting parking lots and charging stations with universal interfaces.

Some wealthy survivors now lived in standalone houses with garages, and even the vagrants with nothing to their names had access to free prefabricated apartments.

Even if the Alliance's aggressive debt monetization strategy was cause for worry about tomorrows, at least today they had indeed invested borrowed wealth in places most people could benefit from.

What left the entrepreneurs and merchants in the bar in awe was that even though these people had surpassed the former inhabitants of Qingquan City in terms of clothing, food, shelter, and cultural life, they were still not satisfied with the current achievements. They kept on imagining ways to revive the fruits of the old civilization in this settlement built in the wilderness.

Whether standing in the bar of the Ideal Grand Hotel or on the bustling streets, it wasn't hard to see the light of order slowly enveloping this Earth.

And with it, came the visible prosperity and hope.

"Actually, it's not too late to invest now... I heard the Academy is planning to establish a joint development special zone with the Alliance in the Wandering Swamp."

"The Academy?!" Upon hearing the whispers nearby, another entrepreneur from Ideal City couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise.

He wasn't the only one interested in that word.

Almost everyone there showed keen interest, joining in the discussion.

"When did those slugs in the swamp start being interested in doing business?"

"I thought they were only interested in potatoes and junk."

"They really aren't interested. The special zone is being established for scientific research purposes. It's said that it's for cooperative research on the dormant Lair near Ice Sea City... But what they aren't interested in, we can worry about for them, right?"

"This sounds quite interesting..."

"Indeed, while those slugs might not excel in production, the technological reserves they hold are quite valuable."

"Here comes the problem, they don't use money, how do we do business with them?"

"That will depend on how the negotiations go."

As they spoke, several entrepreneurial eyes unconsciously turned toward two individuals standing in a corner of the bar.

One was Yi Chuan, the Corporate Ambassador to the Alliance, and the residents of Ideal City who frequented here were not strangers to him, often interacting with him.

The identity of the other was much more significant, Luo Yong – the Silver Wing Group's director and CEO, holding a seat on the Board.

Although he alone didn't represent the entire Silver Wing Group, the Silver Wing Group did account for a fifth of a corporation.

In a sense, his words might carry more weight than the Minister of the Corporate Comprehensive Management Department because the Board was the real decision-maker of the corporation.

No one expected to see him here.

Even if the Alliance was a strategic partner for corporations, this was a rather high profile.

Peering through the telescope at the bustling square, Luo Yong suddenly smiled and said,

"Now I think I understand why they won last year's war so smoothly."

Wearing a respectful expression, Yi Chuan, who trailed half a step behind him, also smiled and said,

"Back then, the City of Dawn was not as exaggerated as it is now. I remember at that time, their roads were constructed with the help of the Ideal Group."

Luo Yong smiled faintly and said softly,

"Concrete and steel are the results of development, but the human heart is the foundation of it. Although I'm a materialist, over the years, I've come to believe more and more in the power of the human heart and faith...especially after seeing the young people of the Pioneer and those who followed in their footsteps to forge ahead."

This included his child.

He never thought that the kid who used to loiter in bars all day would one day cross the entire desert under the siege of the Army to save others.

"...Julius unified all the Weilante People, and they have successfully united all survivors. Although many survivor settlements have tried to take this path before, it seems that only they have succeeded so far."

Although calling it success now might be premature, Luo Yong found himself filled with confidence in these Wasteland Wanderers he had never met before – a confidence that surprised even him.

Standing to the side, Yi Chuan smiled and said,

"This indeed is their unique difference."

He didn't know how to describe this feeling, but every time he interacted with the managers of the Alliance, he couldn't help but have similar thoughts, feeling confident about the future of the Alliance.

At least so far, they had never let him down.

Luo Yong nodded in agreement to his opinion, and after a moment, said with a light-hearted tone,

"Investing in them might just become the most successful of all our external investments over the past two hundred years... perhaps one day, we truly will achieve our longstanding wish of restoring civilization to this planet."

Upon hearing Luo Yong speak in such a manner, Yi Chuan was moved and took the opportunity to throw out a question.

"So... what does the council think about that matter?"

The matter he referred to was naturally the recent proposal submitted to the council for discussion: "The establishment of a cross-regional cooperation organization targeting the 'mutated slime fungus'."

As if anticipating his question, Luo Yong shifted his gaze from the telescope, squinted his eyes, and said with a faint smile,

"I've come specifically for this matter."

Yi Chuan blinked in surprise, then a look of unexpected joy surfaced on his face.

Catching the micro-expression on his face, Luo Yong made a teasing remark.

"Finds it quite incredible, don't you?"

"Indeed... it's a bit unusual," Yi Chuan, looking at the cheerful council member, steadied himself and honestly expressed his perplexity, "in my memory, the council has never made decisions so swiftly."

Luo Yong laughed lightly, speaking in a relaxed tone.

"In dealing with disagreements, we do indeed spend a lot of time carefully discussing the details... but regarding this matter, my old friends and I surprisingly had no disagreements."

Yi Chuan looked at him in amazement.

"The council unanimously agreed?"

"That's right."

Speaking in a voice that only the two of them could hear, Luo Yong said softly, "If they can eliminate the Lair in Cloud-Below-City for us, we might even start cooperation immediately..."

...

While Yi Chuan was still taken aback by the council's resolution, the Manager inside the Steel Heart's bridge announced the start of the celebration.

Just like the previous few times.

Standing on the lift, Chu Guang ascended onto the plaza and amid the attention of thousands, awarded medals to the warriors who had made exceptional contributions in the Tide Battle.

Standing on the red carpet, Mosquito, with eight mechanical hands on his back, respectfully performed an Alliance Army salute and began speaking with an exaggerated tone.

"Honorable Manager, this humble WC, Mosquito, admires you as endless as the vast galaxy—"

"Thank you for your blessing, I am proud and honored on your behalf."

To prevent this fellow from making a fool of himself on such a solemn occasion, Chu Guang seamlessly interrupted his ramblings with a standard line and then pinned a silver medal with an airplane engraving onto his chest.

After being cut off halfway through his speech, Mosquito smacked his lips, feeling the speech unfinished, and made space for the next person to receive the honor, as he turned and stepped back into the crowd.

Following him was Feng Qing from the same Goblin Corps.

Standing on the red carpet and being watched by so many, she felt both excited and nervous, her palms filled with sweat, and she had completely forgotten the lines she had worked hard to remember.

In real life, there aren't many opportunities to be the center of attention.

To her, this was even more thrilling than solo raiding a Looter outpost...

Without letting the adorable little player feel awkward, Chu Guang dutifully performed his NPC role and in the applause of the crowd, he adorned her with the honorable silver flying medal.

"May victory and glory always be with you, your courage is the wings that protect us."

With a blushing face beneath her short hair, Feng Qing nodded hastily, her voice excited and altered.

"Thank, thank you!"

Chu Guang smiled kindly at her and said.

"You're welcome, this honor is rightfully yours, we are the ones who should be saying thanks."

The venue erupted again in cheers and applause.

Watching Feng Qing walk down the red carpet with a silly grin and clutching her medal, Mosquito, who had been applauding for his team members, suddenly came to his senses and complained dissatisfiedly,

"Damn! That's not fair, why did she get one more line than me!"

Night Ten, who had just finished clapping, teased him.

"It's your own fault for talking too much, the Manager probably wanted to say more but held it back because of you."

Noticing Night Ten standing beside him, Mosquito paused for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise,

"What are you doing here? Didn't you say in the group chat yesterday that you were having Fang Chang pick it up for you?"

Night Ten sighed heavily,

"Ah, that's a long story, I'd rather not talk about it."

He felt it was somewhat embarrassing to tell the story,

Even though he didn't know exactly what part was embarrassing.

Mosquito: "Damn it! If you're gonna say it, just say it, don't effin' leave us hanging!"

Night Ten: "Then just pretend I didn't say anything."

Mosquito: "%￥@#!"

While the two were talking, many more people came up to receive their medals.

The majority of these honorees were Residents of the refuge.

Although members of the Blue Jacket had an overwhelming presence among the trainees, no one felt this was inappropriate, nor did anyone think it was biased.

Long before the battle had just ended, "Survivor's Daily" newspapers and radios reported the entire battle process, and various privately run TV stations showcased the combat recordings publicly selected by the Alliance authorities.

The deadly battle between Death Legion and Titan, along with the Skeleton Corps' reinforcements to Giant Stone City and the beheading of Mother Xiya, moved viewers profoundly.

Especially the Burning Corps' surprise attack on the city center.

That battle, which had been a near-death experience, ultimately left only three survivors.

Each medal awarded at this ceremony carried the honor that matched it, an honor witnessed by all citizens of the Alliance!

Watching Night Ten receive his medal earnestly on the stage, Jiang Xuezhou's lips couldn't help but curl up into a smug smile, yet it didn't take long for her smirking lips to sag.

Night Eleven, sporting a gold medal entering the crowd with a flirty smile, waved energetically at the cheering crowd.

It was at that moment that a mature-looking girl burst out from the crowd and bit his face right there and then.

Compared to the restrained refugees and academy researchers, the Waste Land Wanderers were mostly passionate and unrestrained, articulating their emotions without mincing words.

However, this passion seemed somewhat heretical in the eyes of the reserved.

Watching Night Ten's apple-red face and the surrounding crowd's teasing, Jiang Xuezhou felt her blood pressure surge in an instant, her teeth grinding noisily, wishing she could call Little Wang to flatten these annoying bastards right away!

Whether it was because of his "tough talk of disinterest in paper dolls," or the inability to accept an emotionless confession, Night Ten ultimately rejected the passionate girl's proposal. Under her eyes that were filled with loss yet understanding, he scrambled out of the dense crowd.

Looking at Night Ten, who had a lipstick mark on his face and slightly disheveled clothes, Jiang Xuezhou gnashed her teeth furiously, glaring fiercely at him as she asked.

"Who was that person?"

Bewildered by the question, Night Ten looked at the inexplicably angry Xiao Jiang, his instinct telling him the question must be about the woman who had bitten him earlier, so he responded, utterly clueless.

"I don't know..."

"You! You don't know her, and you still let her..." Mid-sentence, Jiang Xuezhou suddenly realized it wasn't actually his fault.

Moreover...

She wasn't anyone to him, so it seemed she didn't have the right to be angry.

But having already spoken out, she couldn't take it back without losing face, so she stood there red-faced, her lips moving but no words coming out.

Seeing her embarrassed and angry expression, Night Ten vaguely seemed to understand something and suddenly burst out laughing.

Watching his reaction, Jiang Xuezhou panicked.

"You, what are you laughing at?"

Night Ten joked with a smile.

"Are you jealous?"

Jiang Xuezhou's face turned bright red like a lantern, glaring at him fiercely.

"What nonsense are you talking about, narcissist? When have I ever...psh, how could I possibly be jealous!"

Night Ten wore a smug, maternal-like smile, watching Jiang Xuezhou become increasingly incoherent.

Playing hard to get, huh.

Didn't think the Dog plan was capable of that.

Too bad, I'm not like Fang Chang, that bastard, getting hooked the moment someone beckons.

Especially knowing that someone lurking outside the server screens was secretly laughing, he instantly lost interest in having a deeper emotional exchange with the NPC.

But fair is fair, the Dog plan's tactics were indeed dirty, training artificial intelligence by using a beauty trap on a good brother!

Having realized this, Night Ten also let go of his inhibitions and teased Jiang Xuezhou, whose face was flushed and argued with passion.

"Stop muttering; if you feel you've been shortchanged, I can offer the left side of my face for you to kiss."

These were flowery words he would never ordinarily dare to utter, but it seemed harmless when said to an NPC.

At the instant she heard these words, Jiang Xuezhou stopped her incessant babble, her brain freezing as if it had crashed.

Night Ten was also stunned for a moment.

Really? Just one sentence and her CPU overheated?

After a long silence, she squeezed a faint voice through her stammering lips.

"Litt..."

Not hearing her clearly, Night Ten leaned in closer.

"Litt?"

"Little Wang!!!"

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou suddenly go berserk and the four-legged robot that emerged from the crowd in response to the call, Night Ten was startled and hastily hid in a nearby alley.

"Damn it! Calm down! I was just joking!"

Fortunately, Little Wang was not equipped with weapons, and her indignant actions weren't actually meant to dismantle him.

But this "love-hate" interaction seemed a bit too hardcore for onlookers, as Teng Teng, who was passing by, held her forehead and helped call the police.

The duo was taken to the police station, staying from noon until dusk before they were released.

However, compared to the other players' outrageous behaviors during the celebration, this level of disturbance was merely a minor affair...

——

(Thanks to the overlord "Beyond the Skies" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 655: This Time Even the Messenger from the Free State Has Come

Just down the street from the square, Mosquito, who was selling fireworks from his truck, was caught red-handed by players patrolling with "Celebration Autonomous Management Committee" armbands.

Bystanders passing by crowded around, curiously watching the commotion.

"Damn it! What's wrong with selling a few fireworks? Why can others sell them, but not me?" Mosquito tried to justify himself, shouting loudly.

The two players who caught him did not give him any face and relentlessly retorted.

"You've got some nerve!"

"Are those even fireworks?"

Elena rummaged at the stall, picked up a rocket with a diameter as thick as a calf, and clicked her tongue as she spoke.

"Hail Rock 1.0 rocket... Are these things not obsolete yet?"

A rocket launcher with a distinctive alliance feature.

He remembered using this very thing when they fought the Chewing Bone Tribe, and couldn't believe it still existed in the Wasteland Era, year 213.

Mosquito chuckled, far from embarrassed, an almost proud expression on his face.

"Of course, simple and brutal weapons are the best. I adjust the charge a bit, and they could be used into the next century."

Making a Dove-type Missile needs over a hundred auxiliary industries, but making a man-luck-guided rocket only requires a small workshop.

However, this clearly wasn't the point.

Elena rolled her eyes, tossed the rocket launcher back onto the stall and startled the curious onlookers.

This wasn't the end of it.

A young worker rummaged in the truck for a while and suddenly, with widened eyes of astonishment, carried out a launching tube.

"Holy shit, is that a recoilless gun?!"

The players wearing "Celebration Autonomous Management Committee" armbands suddenly looked at Mosquito Brother with unfriendly eyes.

Elena paused and looked at Mosquito.

"Wow, you are liquidating military stock here!"

Feeling the chill of numerous stares, Mosquito Brother cleared his throat hurriedly and explained,

"Cough cough... that's just a shell. Try it, and you'll see they actually shoot flares... how on earth would I sell real weapons here!"

Of course.

He hadn't discarded the idea of using the festival as an opportunity to promote Goblin Technology arms.

What if?

What if, after seeing the alliance's powerful fireworks, someone became interested in Goblin Technology arms?

There definitely would be some!

However, Mosquito Brother's explanation didn't convince everyone, at least not two players wearing the armbands of the Celebration Autonomous Management Committee.

Two strength-type brutes, one on each side, grabbed his arms, ignoring his flailing mechanical limbs, and started dragging him toward the direction of the police station.

"Explain it to the guards!"

"Take him away!"

"Let go of me! I have contributed to the alliance! I have bled for the alliance! I want to see the Manager—"

"Keep quiet!"

Watching the guy being hauled away, Dolly spoke softly with slight surprise as she walked in the crowd.

"What did he do...?"

Her gossip antennas twitched!

She smelled a news story!

Seeing a curious Dolly, Fang Chang cleared his throat softly and tightened his grip on the small hand entwined with his arm.

"Who knows... Alright, let's ignore that guy. The fireworks display is about to start; you wouldn't want to miss it, right?"

Fang Chang wasn't surprised by Mosquito Brother's antics at all. If that guy actually settled down one day, that would be real news.

"Is it starting? Where, where?"

Hearing about the fireworks display, Dolly immediately lost interest in the commotion and looked up at the night sky with a face flushed with excitement.

For her, the City of Dawn fireworks held a special meaning.

It was the happiest moment of her life.

Seeing the blush that spread across her cheeks, Fang Chang smiled knowingly and gently squeezed her hand.

"I'll take you to a spot with a better view... Follow me."

…

At eight o'clock, the cannons of the Iron Heart were aimed at the night sky, firing an illuminating shell to announce the start of the fireworks display.

This was Xiao Qi's show.

Clusters of flickering flames spread out in the night sky, weaving a brilliant sea of flowers under its command.

Although tens of thousands of silver coins were burned that night, Chu Guang didn't mind at all, as the smiles on people's faces were worth much more.

Countless survivors had been attracted to settle here by the prosperity of the City of Dawn, a wealth that couldn't be measured in money.

And seeing Xiao Qi having so much fun, he was quite happy himself.

Money only makes sense when it's spent, and Chu Guang was more than willing to spend some to cheer up his little players and NPCs.

Looking up at the flickering fireworks in the night sky, Little Lamb, holding cotton candy and standing among the crowd, had her face filled with surprise.

"What is that?"

"It's fireworks."

Standing beside her was her father, Yang River, who was smiling warmly at the sky.

Little Lamb glanced at him curiously, blinking her eyes.

"Why set off fireworks?"

Yang River thought for a moment, then spoke in a gentle tone.

"There's a legend that the alliance was born from fire, like a phoenix rising from the ashes… so whenever the people here overcome a major challenge, they celebrate their victory with flames."

Little Lamb nodded her head, seemingly understanding.

"I see…"

"It's just a rumor," her father said with a smile, watching his adorable daughter, "Of course, there's another saying that this is a tradition brought from the Prosperity Epoch by the people in Blue Jacket, commemorating that era which was as brief and beautiful as fireworks."

Little Lamb bit into her cotton candy, her face still written with curiosity and confusion. Clearly, at her age, she couldn't grasp these concepts.

She had grown up at the Pinecone Wood Farm and had never seen these novel things.

Though she had only lived in the alliance for just under two months, she could feel that what the people here said and thought was completely different from her hometown.

And there were so many delicious foods.

No wonder her father didn't want to go back and was always thinking of taking her away from the estate.

Little Lamb couldn't help but think of Yinyin, wondering how she was doing, and then she wished she could share this white and soft sweet with her.

Watching the child with a confused look, Yang River's face showed a comforting smile as he gently tousled his daughter's hair.

"Don't think too much, just standing in that light and enjoying it is pretty nice."

Children shouldn't understand too much anyway. Some things should naturally be understood as they grow older.

He wasn't proud or boastful about her maturity; he just felt guilty that he owed her far too much…

Not far from them, Frost River was excitedly holding his sister Frost Night's hand, counting the stars falling from the sky.

Frost Snow looked up at the Iron Heart, her face flushed with a tinge of red, caught up in her thoughts.

And on another side, at the embassy building of the Honey Badger Kingdom, Afni, sitting by a window, was also looking at the star-studded night sky.

In her eyes reflecting the fireworks were both admiration and yearning for that beauty and prosperity, as well as a hint of faint resentment.

If only she could stand by his side to enjoy this beautiful scene…

On the roadside of the eastern outskirts of the City of Dawn, a Titan covered in pale red mutated slime fungus and mottled rust was standing still, using its large palms to lift travelers and children high, occasionally uttering metallic sounds of enjoyment, showing no sign of its previous ferocity.

Controlling it was Xiaoyu, and Falling Feather was not far beside it, occasionally throwing a few candies to it and showing a knowing smile.

Dolly, just having descended from its palm, hugged Fang Chang who helped her down and gave him a hearty kiss.

"Yi Wu! (I want one too)"

Seeing Xiaoyu eagerly wanting to squeeze over, Falling Feather quickly reassured him.

"You can't, Xiaoyu, this body is too big, it could hurt people."

"Yi Wu…" Xiaoyu made a sad sound but obediently continued to serve as an elevator for the children.

Coincidentally witnessing this scene, messengers from other settlements were startled.

Especially the envoy from the Bugra Free State.

They had brought gifts here, intending to extend their congratulations while also probing the alliance's intentions to see if they could complete their task of taking over the Grand Canyon, but they had not expected to see such a startling scene!

The alliance could manipulate war machines from the Prosperity Epoch using mutated slime fungus!

Although the combat abilities of this Titan were unknown, just this fact alone was enough to draw their attention…

Meanwhile, not far from the Titan, a group of Eaters, dressed in strange and exotic attire, performed acrobatics, stilt-walking, and ball juggling under the command of Debt Giant Eye.

Watching the silver coins piled up into a small mountain on the ground, Big Eyes was so jubilant he couldn't close his mouth, slowly losing himself amid the cheers and hollers of the crowd.

With the tips from the crowd, he had made at least a few thousand silver coins from this haul alone, nearly earning back the money spent on those scraps!

The man truly considered himself a genius!

...

In the messy, clinking tavern of Highway Town, people were raising glasses to celebrate this momentous occasion.

"To the Alliance!"

"To the Manager!"

"May the next time we gather with such cheer be for that great man's child's full moon celebration!"

"Ha ha ha! That would still be some time away!"

"To his health and longevity!"

Not everyone, however, was interested in the fireworks outside, as single folks like Old White and Edge Shoveling preferred sitting in the tavern, drinking and boasting.

Watching the bustling room, Sun Shiqi, seated at a corner table in the lobby, was slightly tipsy and reflected with his drinking mates—

"The changes here are unbelievable, growing day by day, did you know? My proudest deal wasn't buying the Incredibly Powerful Steel Mill from Fred, but rather my first earned gold as a merchant, which I used to buy land next to the central square in Dawn City. I built a building and a warehouse… pity the warehouse is a bit far from the trade station, though; I plan to convert it into a shop."

Zhou Nan rolled her eyes from across the table.

"Stop bragging! If you're not satisfied, sell it to me, then!"

Sun Shiqi laughed. "Dream on!"

Those sitting nearby knew he was showing off, but they could only feel envy.

This guy's vision and courage were indeed unquestionable.

Two years ago, if a merchant made a modest profit, they would think immediately about converting to stakes at Giant Stone City to arrange for some assets, not about building houses in the possession-less "North Suburb," even though those Blue Jackets and other variants were indeed different.

The nobles of the Inner City, though lacking in martial virtues, at least had strong handles and were much more disciplined than the slaver traders and Looters of the Wasteland.

However, nobody anticipated that, in just two short years, this settlement would develop into what it was today, even drawing sidelong glances from Ideal City residents!

At that moment, in an inconspicuous corner of the lobby, Sun Yuechi pored over the latest headline of today's newspaper, a contemplative expression crossing his face.

He had initially thought the Alliance would follow the old path of Giant Stone City, but now it seemed they were not as he had imagined.

They chose the authority of law over the authority of man without hesitation.

Even more astonishing to him was that behind this incident, he saw not just immense cohesiveness but an unbelievable self-healing ability.

After understanding the ordeal of Shelter No.117, he had deeply studied the society of Giant Stone City.

That settlement had also drawn numerous learned individuals under the leadership of heroes, creating a miraculous history, but alas, those survivors ultimately lost to time.

"They are like slime fungus," he mused. "Rapidly healing their wounds after being pierced by bullets and evolving armors to resist puncture wounds… More incredible than mere cohesion is their error-correction capability; they are constantly evolving."

Sun Yuechi smiled, closed the newspaper, left money for the bill, and walked out of the inn.

The place wasn't as chaotic as he had imagined, and the Manager wasn't merely a warlord dressed in a monkey's garb as he had initially thought.

Compared to the Era of Prosperity, this place clearly had many shortcomings, but they were willing to change and let people see that change.

Perhaps—

Shelter No.70 could lend him a hand.

After all, he couldn't find a better candidate.

...

After enjoying Xiao Qi's fireworks display, Chu Guang entered the Alliance banquet hall, representing the Alliance and accepting compliments from other Survivor Settlements of the Wasteland.

Frankly, he had little interest in showing off himself; the delegations from other settlements could just as well be handled by the Foreign Minister, but considering it was an excellent opportunity to secure diplomatic support for the Alliance, he graciously made an appearance.

Otherwise, who would foot the bill for his extensive constructions and campaigns to the south and north that had cost so much?

The Alliance was set to continue its campaign to the south soon, cleaning up the cancer nestled between Brocade River and Haiya provinces, which would be another significant expenditure.

Such beneficial deeds for all humanity surely couldn't be funded by him alone!

Rather than silently funding good deeds, Chu Guang preferred making a show of spending others' money on charity.

After establishing the Cross-regional Cooperation Organization, his first order of business would be to define the roles of each member state and the Alliance's leading position in "slime fungus-related matters."

After that, he would immediately start the second task—declaring the Torch Church, which exploited slime fungus DNA to create hell on Earth, as a disaster of this game!

This war pretext wouldn't exactly help unify the Red River Alliance, Garbage City, or the settlements built by Wasteland Wanderers in Luo Xia Province, but it did naturally appeal to the ancient Survivor Forces.

Even if a mere morally high war pretext couldn't fully mobilize the Academy and corporations to commit to the Torch Church problem, it would still rally part of their society, using that portion to consolidate small and medium-sized settlements around River Valley Province.

Then, the Alliance's diplomats could boast to other settlements—"Look, even the Degenerate Empire has joined; how can you not contribute?"

At that point, the war between the Alliance and the Torch would no longer be a unilateral conflict by the Alliance but a clash between the entire civilized camp.

When the time comes, those with money will give money, and those without will contribute their efforts. This way, not only will the enormous war expenses be covered, but the alliance's chariot will also gain a technical ally.

To maximize the utility of the "United Processing Center" on floor B7, the academy's technology is essential.

Just as Chu Guang had anticipated, the moment he entered the banquet hall wearing his power armor, he immediately became the focus of everyone attending.

Besides representatives from the academy and corporations, there were numerous settlements Chu Guang was hearing about for the first time.

Of course, what surprised him even more was that just moments ago, Xiao Qi had whispered to him that the messenger from the Bugra Free State had also arrived here.

If the news was true, this would be the first time a messenger from the Free State had reached the alliance.

Since the two parties had not previously established embassies for each other, the representative from the Free State, like other messengers from small and medium settlements visiting the alliance for the first time, entered the hall wearing a "temporary identity badge."

The alliance was quite lax about screening identities for the banquet, allowing players recognized for their contributions in the expansion pack, as well as old friends who had established diplomatic relations with the alliance, and messengers from settlements visiting the alliance for the first time.

As long as the name of that settlement could be found in the trade station's import and export records, and the messenger could circle on a map where they represented, tell how many survivors lived there, and bring along gifts, they could come in and freeload.

Although there had been cases of people impersonating messengers, or small communities pretending to be large settlements, nobody really cared about these incidents.

The multitude of messengers from the City of Dawn was likened to cow's hair; let them pretend if they want!

In Chu Guang's words, all are guests, and he was not short of a meal anyway. Trading a meal for gifts to display in the museum was not a loss.

Moreover, this was the Wasteland.

Although the alliance had established some amount of order within limited areas, most places remained in a state of wilderness. A settlement that existed yesterday might not be there tomorrow, and one that did not exist today might appear tomorrow.

Thus, Chu Guang specifically instructed the alliance's foreign affairs department that if someone claimed to come from a certain settlement, regardless of whether it had been heard of or not, just treat it as existent.

Nevertheless, recognition does not imply full diplomatic relations—the serious partnerships were at least with survivor forces with substantial trade dealings under the alliance's flag, not leaving room for random wasteland wanderers to spin tales.

In this context, the Bugra Free State messenger entering with a temporary identity badge undoubtedly stood out as an oddity in the banquet hall.

Despite their transactions being valued in the millions of credits, since they had not formally established diplomatic relations with the alliance, no one could confirm if their identity was genuine or not, justifying the issuance of a temporary identity badge and not considering it a slight.

In reality, not only were the master of ceremonies and the alliance's foreign minister skeptical about this man's identity, but even messengers from smaller settlements doubted he truly came from the Free State.

Seeing the man standing alone in the banquet hall, a well-dressed, slightly drunk man approached him with a laugh and teased,

"Man, that's impressive! Others come up with convoluted names to freeload food and drinks, and you directly use the name of the Free State. Wouldn't it be awkward if your bluff got called?"

Looking at the impolite man, Nuoerige felt annoyed but remembered Mayor Otto's instructions and still managed to keep his temper in check, extending his right hand cordially,

"I am the foreign minister of the Free State, Nuoerige. May I ask who you are?"

Seeing the man's drunken appearance, Nuoerige couldn't help but view him with contempt.

When it comes to freeloading, who could better fit the part than this man?

"Nice to meet you, I am from Ideal City and the chairman of the company, Luo Hua," the man said with a playful smile as he shook his hand.

Nuoerige rolled his eyes at this blatant liar, feeling as if he was touching something filthy, and quickly withdrew his hand.

He was the foreign minister appointed by Otto and belonged to the pro-business faction in the Free State. He had been to Ideal City countless times, even more knowledgeable about it than the people from there.

He had only heard of a council there, never a chairman.

What a joke!

Luo Hua did not care either and laughed heartily. After all, he really was just joking and indeed came to freeload food and drinks.

Just then, Nuoerige saw Chu Guang approaching the entrance of the banquet hall. His eyes lit up, and he immediately put on a forced smile and greeted him,

"Respected Manager Sir, good to meet you for the first time. I am Nuoerige, the foreign minister of the Free State. I've long admired your reputation!"

Chu Guang was not sure whether this man was legitimate, but still extended his steel-covered hand for a handshake,

"Welcome to the Alliance, Mr. Nuoerige. I have heard about the prosperity of the Free State and the commercial miracles of the northern corridor. We welcome all law-abiding merchants and travelers to visit us."

Although Chu Guang made just a casual comment, the words rang differently in Nuoerige's ears.

Reflecting instinctively on the scandalous case of Sindison that was rife in the Free State, his expression slightly stiffened.

However, recalling the directives from the Grand Canyon and Mayor Otto's instructions, Nuoerige managed to suppress his emotions and squeezed out an awkward yet polite smile,

"Of course… our merchants are definitely law-abiding."

Chu Guang looked at the man oddly, not understanding why he felt the need to stress that point deliberately. However, before Chu Guang could ponder further, he noticed an old acquaintance nearby,

"Luo Hua?!"

"Chu Guang! Haha, my old friend, I knew for sure you'd be here. It's been too long! By the way, I have some good news for you, and you must join me for a drink!"

The ever-enthusiastic Luo Hua holding a wine glass approached Chu Guang, while Nuoerige stood by, stunned.

Is this guy really Luo Hua?

Wait—

Could the chairman be real too?

Watching the smiling alliance manager receive the wine glass and toast with the man, Nuoerige was utterly dumbfounded…

Chapter 656: Free Gift?

Before today, the representative sent by the Bugra Free State to meet with the Alliance had been Xavier, a businessman from the Firestone Group. This time, however, a man claiming to be the Foreign Minister had suddenly appeared. Chu Guang didn't know whether his identity was real or fake; after exchanging pleasantries, he had left him to one side.

Frankly, he was not particularly fond of those fellows from the north.

Especially during the cleanup of the slums outside Giant Stone City, the Alliance's guards had discovered that many gangs were backed by the Firestone Group.

Those fellows did many unsavory deeds under the guise of private enterprises and would sordidly hide behind the Free State whenever trouble arose.

Since the Free State was a "protected country" of the Grand Canyon, which possessed military forces not belonging to any Legion or Corporate entity, no one could touch those guys.

The Alliance's guards certainly couldn't enforce the law in the Free State under the watchful eyes of the Grand Canyon.

The Firestone Group was also quite cunning, never provoking powerful entities like the Academy, the Legion, or Corporates, only doing business in their affiliated or indirectly controlled communities.

For instance, communities governed by the Science Committee, the various countries of Luo Xia Province, or the more prosperous settlements of the Eastern Provinces, and so on.

The man was like an annoying fly; those capable of swatting him had no interest, and those who tried couldn't reach him.

What puzzled Chu Guang was, even if this Noreg truly was the Foreign Minister of the Free State, why had the minister come instead of a representative of the Firestone Group?

The Firestone Group was the true controller of the Free State, and the other party surely understood that the Alliance knew this.

Dressed formally for the occasion to make contact, Chu Guang couldn't help but suspect there was something behind the scenes he didn't know.

Could it be…

Had the Grand Canyon given them some "advice" again?

Thinking of this, Chu Guang's expression became playful. He decided to leave that "Mr. Minister" hanging until he chose to speak up, choosing to observe him first.

If he could figure out their weakness, controlling the narrative would undoubtedly be in the Alliance's hands…

Having understood this, Chu Guang put Noreg aside for the moment and went to greet his real old friends in the Alliance.

It was to his great surprise that he actually met Luo Yong, a member of the Corporate Council and major shareholder of the Silver Wing Group.

This distinguished middle-aged man first thanked Chu Guang for his handling of the Luo Hua incident and then revealed some significant news—

"The Council isn't opposed to joining a cross-regional cooperation organization with the Academy, particularly in solving the 'Mutated slime fungus' issue. We had, in fact, let go of a grudge that dates half a century back earlier than they have, and if you can convince them, we have no objections and might even take on more responsibilities and obligations."

After hearing this, although Chu Guang was incredibly surprised, he didn't let it show on his face, merely nodding with a smile.

"I am pleased to hear that the Council holds this stance. I will do my best to persuade them."

Luo Yong raised his glass with a smile.

Following a brief exchange, Chu Guang excused himself to explore other places.

As he was about to wander around the banquet hall, the Master of Ceremonies quickly approached him and whispered,

"Respected Manager, a guest claims to be the Manager of Shelter No. 70 and wishes to meet with you… We cannot confirm his identity. How do you think we should handle this?"

Shelter No. 70?

Hearing this, Chu Guang was momentarily stunned.

Although residents from shelters wandering the Wasteland had occasionally joined the Alliance before, they mostly came from shelters abandoned many years ago.

A visit to the Alliance by someone claiming to be a Manager of a shelter was also a first.

Not just the Master of ceremonies was uncertain; a look of surprise crossed his face.

"What's his name?" he asked.

"He claims to be called Sun Yuechi."

He had never heard of this name.

But that was to be expected.

The Alliance had never discovered Shelter No. 70.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment before he spoke.

"Please have him wait in the lounge, I'll be there shortly."

The master of ceremonies nodded.

"As you command."

...

The spacious lounge.

Sitting on the sofa, Sun Yuechi frequently glanced at the wall clock and occasionally looked at the VM on his arm, his expression somewhat uneasy.

Although he was prepared to meet with the Alliance Manager, he wasn't entirely sure what kind of person the other party was, and he was uncertain about the stance of other shelters.

For now, they appeared to be the most reliable in the area.

As he sat restlessly, a quarter of an hour passed by, and then heavy footsteps came from outside the lounge.

Sun Yuechi instinctively straightened up, and just then, the door to the lounge opened and a man wearing power armor walked in.

Seeing the azure power armor, Sun Yuechi was slightly surprised, and as he rose from the sofa, he involuntarily blurted out,

"Is this... Sven Vilard's power armor?"

Earlier in the square, he had only caught a distant glimpse and hadn't clearly seen the details of the azure power armor.

Seeing that the newcomer recognized the power armor he was wearing, Chu Guang also looked at him with surprise.

"Are you familiar with him?"

"Of course...ah, but not in the way you think; I'm just aware of some of his affairs on my own."

Seeing the surprised expression on Chu Guang's face, Sun Yuechi immediately realized the misunderstanding and then reached out his hand with a smile, "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Sun Yuechi, the manager of Shelter No. 70."

"Manager of Shelter No. 404, Chu Guang. There's no need for such formalities; we are friends on the same front. Let's sit and talk."

After shaking hands, Chu Guang invited him to sit down, and curiously scanned the man who claimed to be from Shelter No. 70.

"Could you tell me how you came to know about Sven?"

"Well, that's a long story."

Seemingly pondering where to start, Sun Yuechi paused for a moment, then slowly began to speak.

"You should know, most shelters have the duty not only to house survivors but also to carry on the task of rebuilding civilization."

Chu Guang nodded but was unclear why he brought this up.

Seeing Chu Guang's puzzled expression, Sun Yuechi did not explain immediately, but continued,

"Shelter No. 117 housed a large number of biological experts and their descendants. Besides their mission to rebuild the surface after the unsealing date, they were also tasked with researching the mucosal entity at the center of Qingquan City... after all, people at that time believed that 'Mutated slime fungus' was a main cause of the Wasteland, and only by addressing this could there be hope for ending the Wasteland."

Mutated creatures, Looters, mutants, and the backward-driving Waste Land Wanderers... those were problems that arose during the Wasteland Era.

Only 'Mutated slime fungus' and nuclear radiation were true historical issues.

Chu Guang nodded slightly.

"I have heard that residents from Shelter No. 117 are within the Alliance, and that she is our chief biologist. The research on 'Mutated slime fungus' is led by her."

Sun Yuechi smiled.

"Is that so? Mr. Sven Vilard would be gratified to hear that. Anyway, our mission is similar to that of Shelter No. 117, aside from fulfilling our reconstruction tasks after the unsealing date, we too have the mission to study a nearby Lair."

"Thus, after discovering that the Post-War Reconstruction Committee had already withdrawn from Qingquan City, we made contact with the only mission-dedicated Shelter No. 117 still there, as collaboration usually speeds up the process much more than working in isolation."

"Since we opened our doors a hundred years before them, and Sven Vilard strictly implemented the containment strategy of Shelter No. 117, usually our people replace theirs in conducting land-based surveys, while they engage more in sample research and data processing."

"This project has been ongoing for nearly a century, almost every year we send people to Qingquan City to regularly communicate and exchange information with Shelter No. 117, to observe the mucosal entity at the center of Qingquan City and discuss the next steps of the research plan."

When he mentioned this, Sun Yuechi's expression revealed a slight regret, much like one reminiscing about a departed old friend.

It was also as though he was reminiscing about a bygone era.

"I took over the managerial rights from the previous Manager ten years ago, and exactly ten years before I took over, all communication with Shelter No. 117 came to an abrupt end... That was in year 191 of the Wasteland Era; you should know, right?"

Chu Guang replied with a solemn expression.

"Torch."

Sun Yuechi nodded and said in a complex tone.

"Yes, when our people arrived there again... there was nothing left but a deserted shelter. We were unable to take over a shelter thousands of kilometers away, so we copied some data, left it there, and believed that other nearby shelters would find it after the lockdown was lifted."

At this point, Sun Yuechi smiled at Chu Guang.

"It seems my predecessors' judgment was correct; not only did you make good use of the resources of that shelter, but you even fulfilled their lifelong wish... by completely dealing with the Lair in the center of Qingquan City."

Hearing this heartfelt praise, Chu Guang smiled heartily, though he quickly noticed another detail in his words.

"Do you also have a Lair there?"

"Yes." Sun Yuechi nodded gently and took out a holographic computer pen, placing it on the coffee table in front of the sofa and gently touching a button.

Pale blue holographic lights intertwined above the coffee table, forming a giant silver disk.

Chu Guang initially thought he was showing the structure of Shelter No. 70 until a blue planet appeared next to that silver disk.

It was actually a space station!

And considering the Earth and the space elevator next to it as references, this circular space station was not small in scale!

It floated next to the end of the space elevator, orbiting like a carousel, just like the satellite city to that elevator.

"This is what the Tiangong Space Station looked like before... as for now, it has become this."

Sun Yuechi lightly slid his index finger.

The blue planet and the space elevator turned into pale blue light particles and dissipated, while the giant silver disk seemed to fall into a bottomless water tank, immediately becoming entwined with scarlet tentacles stretching out from the darkness, filling every inch of its interior.

Watching a dumbfounded Chu Guang, Sun Yuechi continued in a soft voice.

"Our refuge is at the bottom of the sea, where there are abundant untapped resources. Our original plan was to build a settlement at the bottom of the sea housing one hundred thousand survivors, and then gradually expand to the surface and ashore to revive Haiya Province and the Southern sea area."

"However, plans never keep up with changes. During the three-year war, as the space elevator collapsed, Tiangong Space Station crashed alongside it, falling right near us. The massive impact was almost as powerful as a strategic nuclear weapon. Although our shelter survived the injury, our underwater engineering equipment placed outside the shelter and the production units yet to be deployed were almost entirely destroyed..."

"Damn it!"

Hearing this, Chu Guang couldn't help but blurt out, noticing Sun Yuechi's stunned look and hastily coughing to cover his own indiscretion.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit surprised, your luck is really..."

He couldn't find the right words.

Such a huge space station, just happened to fall right at the doorstep of the shelter.

Although shelters are built to withstand nuclear strikes, Chu Guang had never heard of one that actually experienced a nuclear strike.

They might be the only shelter that literally took a "strategic nuclear weapon" to the face.

Sun Yuechi made a helpless face and shrugged.

"There's more than one refuge in the deep sea, it just happened to fall on us; there's nothing we could do about that. Maybe like you said, our luck isn't great... especially since there's a Lair that was still hatching on the station."

"By the time we left the refuge, the three-year war had been over for a century, and that Lair had been propagating at the bottom of the sea for a century, turning most of the space station into its nest. In an effort to build the underwater settlement, we tried to recover some materials from it, but the amount we could recover was quite limited. Even though we were careful, the mucosal entities it hatched still caused us a lot of trouble."

Having heard his story, Chu Guang guessed the purpose of his visit: he probably hoped to get help dealing with the Lair entangling the space station.

Since Chu Guang was also very interested in that space station, he immediately said with a serious expression.

"No problem! Fighting for the future of humanity is our unavoidable responsibility, and neutralizing "Mutated slime fungus" is exactly our specialty; we will help you sort out that trouble!"

"Thank you, I indeed didn't misjudge you," Sun Yuechi looked at him gratefully, but quickly showed an embarrassed expression, "However... the help I want to request is not just that, before we resolve the Lair around Tiangong Space Station, we face even more pressing troubles."

Without waiting for Chu Guang to ask, he paused and continued.

"Like Shelter No. 117, we are also facing a situation of disintegration."

Chu Guang was stunned and looked at him with a peculiar expression.

"You... haven't you already come out of the shelter?"

"That's true, but the debatable issue isn't just about whether to come out of the shelter. We have disagreements on many issues... Especially when our people saw the situation in Haiya Province, some began to think that evolving humans into higher beings could also be a way to end the Wasteland Era, even if the methods of the Church are a bit extreme."

Seeing the astonished Chu Guang, Sun Yuechi's face showed a mix of bitterness and embarrassment that was difficult to speak of.

After all, this wasn't something to be proud of.

Nevertheless, he still tried to defend himself a bit.

"It's inevitable, after all, our cooperation with Shelter No. 117 has lasted nearly a century, our people naturally have a favorable impression of those who broke free..."

"Do you... know what those lunatics in Haiya Province did?" Chu Guang's Adam's apple moved as he asked.

"I know," Sun Yuechi said with a wry smile, "but what use is there in only me knowing? Unlike you, you can make people believe in you unconditionally, but I can only try to convince those who disagree. I think the Torch Church's methods are too extreme, even though we were once friends, but there are also those who think this is a necessary price to pay, even fantasizing about using Torch's technology to turn themselves into oceanic spirits... What good can I say?"

He paused, then continued.

"Before I took over Shelter No. 70, the mistakes were already there. Although most of the residents still in the shelter stand by me, the disagreements come from our marine settlement built on the man-made islands in the Southern sea area."

"They have formed a federation under the leadership of some Torch supporters, and in fact, have already escaped our control, planning to seek refuge with the Torch Church."

"I've almost used every means I could, but still couldn't stop them from gravitating towards the Torch Church. If they only planned to destroy themselves, that would be one thing, but the problem is that they are not satisfied with that; they even plan to introduce Nago's mycelia into the sea."

After a pause, Sun Yuechi looked at Chu Guang, speaking with a solemn tone.

"I had originally planned to go to the Grand Canyon for help, where the War Construction Committee still has people, and perhaps, considering the urgency, they might intervene. However, on my way here, I heard many legends about you and the Alliance, which made me change my destination."

"Those Waste Land Wanderers hold no hope for anything left by the War Construction Committee; they even regard those guys as one of the reasons this world turned out this way, yet only when talking about you and the Alliance do they give a very high evaluation... even though not everyone likes you."

Caught off-guard by such flattering words, Chu Guang coughed softly and modestly said.

"Rumors are always more exaggerated than the facts... Compared to those ancient Survivor Forces, we are still too young."

"But haven't you accomplished what they haven't? Also, I didn't just rely on hearsay; I actually spent some time observing this settlement, and you indeed have something we lack... not just technologically."

Confidently, looking intently at Chu Guang, Sun Yuechi continued in a serious tone.

"Therefore, I hope to transfer the management authority of Shelter No. 70 to you, including our settlement on the sea."

Chu Guang: "…?"

Dropping that statement, Sun Yuechi didn't wait for Chu Guang to respond, and lifted the VM worn on his left arm, pressing his index finger on the screen.

As a row of pale blue pop-up windows appeared on the VM screen, he clicked the confirmation button twice, completing the transfer of managerial authority.

Watching the relieved Sun Yuechi, Chu Guang's face bore an expression of utter astonishment.

Is this guy serious??

Just as Chu Guang snapped back to reality, the man had already completed all the procedures and casually threw the key to Shelter No. 70 at him.

The entire authority transfer process had been much simpler than imagined, rows of pale blue pop-up windows quickly flashed before Chu Guang's eyes.

[Authority of manager of Shelter No. 70 has been revoked…]

[Please, the new manager, proceed to Shelter No. 70 and import the password into any terminal device connected to the main server of the refuge, and update the biometric data to complete the final confirmation procedures of manager authority transfer.]

Watching the stunned Chu Guang, a much-relieved Sun Yuechi smiled and said in a much lighter tone.

"I'm ashamed to hand over this mess to you, but this is the only thing I can do now... since you've said you wanted to unite everyone, I'd like to ask you to take care of our future too!"

——

(Thanks to "Life without Meaning" for the grand reward!!!)

Chapter 657: Players' First "Naval Battle" Since the Server Launch!

"Have you met with the Alliance's Manager?"

"I have... but they didn't seem very enthusiastic about us."

Ideal Grand Hotel.

In the guest room where he was staying, the Foreign Minister of the Free State, Noreg, reported to Mayor Otto in detail what he had observed at the banquet.

To be honest, the power of the Alliance had somewhat exceeded his expectations.

Originally, he had thought it was merely a settlement pieced together by Waste Land Wanderers and scavengers, but to his surprise, they had built a clean and tidy city-state on the ruins at a visibly rapid pace.

Starting from nothing was the most remarkable stage.

The Free State had once undergone the transformation from nothing to a skyline filled with high-rises, and Noreg was very aware of how difficult that was.

Therefore, he would not naively measure the potential of a settlement by the number of concrete high-rises, nor would he underestimate them because the City of Dawn was still developing.

These guys had enough technological reserves, the productive capacity to turn these reserves into products, and the ambition to push society forward, as well as the cohesion to resolve differences.

While the residents of the Free State's various strata were still incessantly arguing over whether to lean towards the Army or corporations, they had already firmly embarked on their own path.

Given the Alliance's current rate of development, as long as they had enough population, they could quickly rise to a level indistinguishable from them, as if taking a space elevator.

Especially after they have mastered the technology to manipulate the Mucosal Entities!

In fact, the population growth rate of the Alliance was already at a jaw-dropping level.

More and more Waste Land Wanderers who were fed up with the chaos and longed for order were joining the Alliance and being assimilated by the social concepts they propagated.

This scene was strikingly familiar.

In the early years after the disintegration of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, similar events had occurred.

It was because those Waste Land Wanderers who had had enough of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee had unwaveringly chosen the Free State that an incredible miracle was born in the Northern Part of the River Valley Province.

Of course, there was another matter that gave Noreg even more cause for concern.

Unlike the Free State, which once pursued isolationism, the Alliance had gained the favor of the ancient Survivor Forces and accumulated tremendous prestige for itself by adopting an active involvement in regional affairs and winning time and time again.

The incident in Brocade River Province offered a peek into this phenomenon.

Even if the farmers there despised the Alliance, when faced with the need to choose between the Torch Church and the Alliance, those crafty fellows unanimously threw their lot in with the Alliance.

Even if a second before, those guys were flirting with the apostles of the Torch Church.

"...What I fear more than the Alliance's demonstrated strength in the economic, military, and cultural domains is their increasingly astonishing prestige."

"The scene in the banquet hall was akin to one where nations paid homage; even Survivor Settlements as far as Province of Yúnjiānxíng sent messengers via corporate flights to them. Some of the more radical Survivor Settlements even took the initiative to express their desire to join them."

"If we allow them to continue to develop, they may become our greatest competitors, or even potentially the 'sixth power' after us!"

That was a nomenclature conventionally used by the Free State.

Under the broad consensus of the local survivors, the Grand Canyon, which had inherited the legitimacy of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, was considered the first power of the Central Continent, followed by the Army and corporations side by side, the non-combatant Academy ranking fourth, and the Free State fifth.

In Noreg's view, the Alliance already had the potential to become the sixth power!

They had become a force that could not be taken lightly!

Just as Mayor Otto was pondering how to engage the Alliance diplomatically, Chu Guang was also troubled by a matter at the moment.

To his surprise, he had received a special gift at the banquet—a shelter given to him for free!

And it was a double-digit shelter at that!

However, what troubled him at the same time was that this shelter was at least two thousand kilometers away from the Alliance and was located far behind the Alliance's arch-enemy.

After finishing the meeting with Sun Yuechi, Chu Guang returned to Floor B4 of Shelter No. 404 and studied the map over and over.

The shortest shortcut to Shelter No. 70 ran right through Brocade River Province and Haiya Province before reaching the Southern Sea Area.

Using the map of Earth in the parallel world as a reference, if one compared the Central Continent to the Eurasian continent, Wandering Swamp to Siberia, Tianshui to the Yangtze River, then River Valley Province would roughly correspond to the region from "Shanxi-Shaanxi-Henan" to the northern part of Hubei.

And Shelter No. 70 and its man-made island were located at "Fei Island."

This was no small distance!

To avoid the areas controlled by the Torch Church, Sun Yuechi chose to land in the Eastern Provinces, pass through Yue Ma Province, enter from the southeast corner of River Valley Province, and follow the southern corridor to Qingquan City.

The total mileage of this route exceeded five thousand kilometers!

Even longer than the distance from the Alliance to the corporation!

Staring at the map for a long time, Chu Guang couldn't help but show a grimace.

"...It seems that reclaiming Shelter No. 70 will have to wait until after the recovery of Haiya Province."

It was at this moment that Xiao Qi suddenly called out softly.

"Master."

Shifting his gaze from the map, Chu Guang instinctively looked towards Xiao Qi sitting on the corner of the desk, on top of the pen holder.

"What's wrong?"

With her hands propping up her cheeks, Xiao Qi swung her legs and asked him curiously,

"Why don't you ask your players for help like before?"

Hearing this suggestion, Chu Guang was slightly taken aback.

The nearest save point from there was thousands of kilometers away...

Were there any players active in that area?

This thought had barely surfaced in Chu Guang's mind when an ID immediately popped into his head.

Wait a minute—

Though it didn't feel very reliable.

There actually was someone if push came to shove...

Chu Guang's eyes brightened immediately, and he quickly asked Xiao Qi.

"Is there a way to authorize remotely?"

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Qi earnestly said,

"Umm... The authentication passwords and biometric information of the Manager identity are not suitable for remote transmission; it would be troublesome if they were intercepted. However, the dynamic password for granting management permissions temporarily consists only of a string of characters. Xiao Qi thinks it's possible to send it to the player through 'official website email.' As long as the player enters it on the terminal, it's okay."

This authorization obtained via offline dynamic passwords was akin to entrustment, generated in a way similar to the "tokens" used in early online games, updated dynamically based on a special algorithm and parameters like date, and not fixed. The general authorization period was 7 to 14 days, which could be renewed by re-entering the code after expiry.

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang was immediately ecstatic.

Good lord.

This Morphogenesis Field technology was even more awesome than quantum communication!

The security of this remote authorization method was simply unbeatable, unless someone could intercept electromagnetic waves from another world, there was no way it could be hijacked.

With a plan in mind, Chu Guang immediately ordered,

"Xiao Qi, help me draft an offline task... emmm, never mind, just write it up as new map testing in the email."

Since he wasn't sure how much the rewards would be and didn't even know what the treasures he inherited were, Chu Guang didn't want to set a specific reward for the task. He planned to play it by ear and reward based on the situation.

A closed beta, right?

Participation is key!

Does the reward really matter that much?

What's crucial is the sense of involvement!

Xiao Qi understood his master's intention immediately and said with a stealthy chuckle,

"Received!"

"You really get me," Chu Guang said, nodding in satisfaction. He then set this matter aside for the time being and focused on the details of the cross-regional cooperation organization.

The participation of academies and enterprises was almost a given, and in addition, over twenty survivor settlements of various sizes had also expressed their intention to cooperate.

Currently, the first batch of settlements and regions included for the harmless treatment of the mutated slime fungus included the Ice Sea City in the Far North Land and the Cloud-Below-City in the Far East Land.

Once Xiaoyu establishes a branch there, the Alliance's "territory" will expand by a whole round.

How to develop these two new maps well is a matter that concerns the welfare of the game experience for the vast majority of players.

And that is Chu Guang's most important work at the moment, as a manager for the Alliance...

...

Just as Chu Guang kicked the ball back to the South, Ah Wei and his group, who were still in the game, did not immediately receive this long-awaited email.

They were too preoccupied to notice.

At the moment, in the billowing waves of the Southern sea area, a cargo ship with a displacement of less than five thousand tons was bobbing up and down with the waves in the night.

Its design was nothing short of bizarre, with riveted steel hull edges connected to Black Iron Wood planks that repelled Variants, and towering chimneys belching incomplete combustion smog.

Though the ship incorporated many modern design concepts, its style was entirely steampunk.

What's even more surprising than its design was the hodgepodge of equipment aboard.

On the spacious deck were positioned six wheeled 100mm short-barreled field guns, along with one 155mm howitzer produced by the Alliance and a couple of towed quadruple 20mm autocannons.

In fact, in addition to these weapons, the ship also carried various models of harpoon guns and deep-sea bombs, and so on.

But compared to those exotic heavy weapons, these standard-issue armaments seemed hardly worth mentioning.

The flag of the roaring polar bear flapped loudly in the boisterous sea wind, but its howls were somewhat pitiful.

Because less than ten nautical miles behind it, two warships flying the Green Dual-Saber Flag and a dozen or so assault boats were closely trailing.

It was no surprise that these troublemakers had finally run into an accident...

"Si Si! Speed up! The pirates are about to catch up!" Tail shouted, standing at the stern, one foot on the gunwale, one hand holding a monocular, and gazing at the vague shadows in the distance with a red bandanna symbolizing freedom on her head.

To say that the two crossed curved knives represented a pirate flag was one thing, but Tail herself, standing at the stern, looked even more like a pirate leader.

Both in temperament and appearance.

As for those chasing them, it was the Xilan Empire that had unified the Poluo Province—otherwise known as the Weilante Regular Army.

However, as this "Empire" was established a bit hastily, all the sailors on board were as green as they come, and the warships they were equipped with were just like theirs, bought from the Camel Hump Kingdom, possibly even produced by the same shipyard.

As a result, the two sides had pecked at each other across the vast ocean for hundreds of nautical miles without managing to scrape off even a patch of each other's paint.

Even so, Si Si, who was holding the ship's wheel, dared not be the slightest bit careless and was even panicking quite a bit inside.

Although she had been steering ships for some time, this was her first naval battle against a "regular army."

"We're already at full speed! Damn! We're carrying too much stuff! If this goes on, we'll definitely be caught!

She heard that using the tides and sea winds could make the ship go faster, but she simply didn't have the time to log out of the game and ask Google.

The throttle controller had been welded shut at full speed ahead, yet she could see the enemy was getting closer and closer.

With furrowed brows, Tail quickly glanced back at the large white bear and the 155 cannon that the latter had pushed to the stern of the ship.

"Meat Meat! Are you done yet?"

"Almost... loading complete!" After much bustling around, Meat Meat finally managed to stuff the shell into the cannon's chamber with his clumsy bear paws, then locked the breech.

Seeing this, Tail excitedly turned to Sesame Paste and shouted.

"15 kilometers! Roughly!"

"Got, got it!"

Sesame Paste took a deep breath, adjusted the firing parameters against the sighting table, and then her cat-like pupils narrowed into slits.

Her talent had enhanced her hearing.

However, as her level increased, she also exhibited traits uncommon to an agility system player in terms of vision, especially in a night-vision environment.

Watching the undulating shadows on the distant sea surface, she completed the final adjustments, then hastily gave Tail a "no problem" look.

Clasping her fists tightly, Tail excitedly waved forward.

"Fire the cannon!"

"Fire, fire the canon awoo—"

The instant Sesame Paste pulled the lanyard, she covered her ears, the cannon's deafening roar booming like thunder over the sea, rocking the deck.

Land artillery might be like a toothpick at sea, but a 155mm caliber still had an edge over the enemy's 100mm.

Without any surprise, the impact point was at least five kilometers off from the targeted location.

The orange tracer, clearly aimed at the warship trailing behind, fell in front of those dozen or so charging boats.

The waterspout that exploded so close scared the chasing sailors aboard the assault boats, curing even their seasickness.

However, the captain looking out from the bridge took this as a provocation against himself and ordered with a dark face,

"Fire at them!"

The executive officer by his side did not dare to delay and quickly relayed the order to each gun station.

Three 100mm cannons were pushed to the front end of the deck and locked in place, with a total of six cannons from two warships aiming at the bobbing cargo ship.

Following an order, a series of cannon shots exploded, and streaks of orange tracers tore through the night sky, heading towards the cargo ship.

The enemy's hit ratio was similarly mediocre; the shells either fell too far or too short, failing to hit such a large target.

Both sides exchanged fire, with shells weaving across the billowing sea, only troubling the sailors caught in the middle and the fish in the sea.

"A bunch of trash! What the hell are you eating for!"

The captain on the warship swore furiously, his fists clenched so tight he wished he could crush the binoculars.

He only hated that his steed couldn't swim; otherwise, he would've led the charge himself and torn apart that bunch of thieving dogs.

Standing beside him, the executive officer trembled slightly and said in a low voice,

"Sir Captain… the swaying at sea is too great, our cannons have difficulty aiming from such a distance, I suggest we wait to get closer before firing."

On one hand, they were running low on ammunition, and on the other, he feared the risk of shelling their own men in front.

Swallowing his pride, the captain eventually calmed down and raised his hand to order.

"Hold your fire!"

The cannon fire that had lasted for ten minutes finally ceased.

The sailors on the assault boats all sighed with relief, putting all their energy into praying to the diesel engine and the Tuo Ri Shen Niu, hoping to make it onto the opposing deck before their fuel ran out.

Their officer had promised them that anyone who boarded the deck would receive a reward of 1000 dinars, five slaves, and a thirty-day vacation.

All the smugglers and contraband on the ship were their spoils of war.

As per tradition, those who boarded first got to choose first.

Meanwhile, Tail, who was holding a monocular, suddenly discovered with surprise that the "black shadow," which had been faintly visible after ten minutes of artillery fire, had once again disappeared into the billowing waves of the night.

Suddenly, she realized.

"Giao! Meat Meat! It's the recoil! Keep firing!"

Sesame Paste chuckled bitterly.

Although she wasn't a physics teacher, she felt it was rather difficult to propel a cargo ship with a displacement of nearly five thousand tons with just that bit of recoil.

The reason they had gained some distance might have been due to the fact that the enemy's cannons weren't positioned correctly, or there was an issue with the firing sequence, and the recoil caused the ship to yaw.

The opponents had apparently realized this too, which is why they had stopped firing.

If they continued to fire now, it might actually backfire...

Just as Sesame Paste was about to remind them, Si Si in the bridge yelled through the communication channel.

"Forget about those two warships for now, Ah Wei! Their assault boats are almost upon us!"

As she spoke, she turned on the searchlight on the bridge, illuminating the direction towards the stern.

"What the giao?!"

Tail was startled by the comment and immediately set down her telescope to look closer, indeed seeing the shapes of assault boats emerging amid roiling waves.

The closest one was less than six hundred meters away!

Those sailors had already fixed bayonets to their rifles, and the ones sitting at the front of the assault boats had even set up light machine guns with drum magazines, deftly loading them.

With the blinding light of the searchlight, she could even see the sinister smiles and vomit residue on the faces and beards of those guys.

They had been chasing and retching all the way, and now that they were finally going to succeed, they were all rubbing their hands in anticipation, ready for a fight.

The soldiers from the Poluo Province were invincible!

Apart from the Weilante People and those never-ending cannon fodder clones, they had never been afraid of anyone!

But they weren't the only ones who were excited.

Tail, standing at the stern, was also getting excited.

"Ao ao ao! Meat Meat! Bring up our close-defense cannon to blow up these fish!"

"Alrighty!"

Meat Meat also roared excitedly, and using all four paws ran to the middle of the deck. Soon after, she dragged back to the stern a quadruple anti-aircraft gun assembled from 20mm "light cavalry guns."

This contraption was a masterpiece of Alliance military technology, famous for its performance during the Bone Chewing Chaos, and though virtually obsolete in the Alliance, it was still a hot seller in the underdeveloped regions of the Wasteland.

"Level the anti-aircraft gun, military court… Meat Meat, load the armor-piercing incendiary bombs!" Tail excitedly muttered as she vigorously turned the winch to lower the gun's angle of fire.

Meat Meat, who had brought the ammunition box, handed a belt of ammunition to Sesame Paste, who inserted it into the gun's receiver and called out to Tail.

"Loading complete!"

As the quadruple anti-aircraft gun finished loading, sailors from the Xilan Empire huddled on the assault boats finally saw the gun mounted on the side of the ship.

Everyone, who had been smirking in triumph, almost instantly turned pale, and the leading Centurion yelled in horror.

"Fire! Everyone fire!"

There was simply nowhere to hide on this vast sea!

Although a distance of more than five hundred meters wasn't the best time to open fire, there was no time left for hesitation.

If they couldn't disable the machine gun, all of them were certain to die!

The sound of gunfire, rat-a-tat-tat, erupted almost instantaneously, and a flurry of bullets pounced on the rocking ship's bulwarks, striking the wide gun shield with a clang, clang, clang.

"Oooo! Taste this!"

Finally, having lined up the shot, Tail chuckled mischievously and firmly pulled the firing trigger.

The relentless bang, bang, bang noise melded into a roaring akin to a tearing machine, as the thick tongues of flame instantly became the most dazzling light on the sea!

The assault boat at the front was instantly torn to pieces, with the centurion who had been crouching at the bow not even having the chance to let out a scream before being turned to mincemeat.

The fuel tank, hit by an armor piercing incendiary bullet, caught fire and exploded like a lighter, forming a burning fireball on the surface of the sea.

Then came the second, third, fourth...

Even as the remaining assault boats dispersed at the first opportunity, within the span of half a minute, half of them were blown apart by the quadruple machine gun.

Faced with this furious storm of gunfire, the remaining sailors no longer had the courage to pursue and turned around to flee towards their own.

Watching the escaping assault boats going beyond the machine gun's range, and the soldiers shivering in the water holding onto life rings, Tail didn't continue to strafe them, but licked his lips, still not fully satisfied.

"Tsk, too weak!"

Given the professionalism of the other side, rescuing these soldiers in the water would probably take a lot of time, and probably the two warships behind would not be able to catch up with them.

May the Great Antler God bless them.

May their allies arrive before the cracked tooth sharks or other mutated sea beasts smell the blood.

They were now far from the territory of Poluo Province, the Tuo Ri Shen Niu probably couldn't protect them.

But even if they didn't catch up, she had no sympathy for those guys.

Especially after seeing the state of Jin Galun Harbor and the City of Thousand Pillars, she only regretted not being able to save more people...

Seeing the disappearing ships in the distance, Si Si, who had sighed with relief, yawned. The sweat-soaked sailors and the mercenaries ready for battle also finally relaxed their tense nerves.

"Thanks to the Spirit of the Sand Sea for its blessing..." A mercenary from the Lion Kingdom knelt down devoutly on the deck and prayed towards the undulating sea.

A mercenary from the Camel Hump Kingdom looked at him with a corner of his mouth twitched and couldn't help but mutter.

"The Spirit of the Sand Sea doesn't control this far out, you could thank the Messenger of the Silver Moon Goddess instead."

Sesame Paste, who could understand them, smiled sheepishly.

The praying mercenary completely ignored him and kept muttering to himself.

Several mercenaries from Qingquan City were helping the captain, Meat Meat—who was a big white bear—push the cannon that had been placed on the deck back into the cabin to secure it.

Tail also went down into the cabin.

However, she didn't go to the storage room but headed to the lowest level.

This place used to be a cargo hold, but now it has been knocked through and transformed into a dormitory that could accommodate people.

Nearly a thousand refugees fleeing from Poluo Province were crowded here, most of them women and children, and mostly cleansed Moon people.

Poluo Province was known as the land of a thousand tribes, said to be home to over a thousand different clans and tribes, each with their distinct beliefs.

The Xilan Dynasty now rules Poluo Province, the royal family has the bloodline of Sun People and Cow People, which makes the Sun Clan and Cow Clan the higher castes within the province, and their commonly worshipped Tuo Ri Shen Niu became the symbol and deity of the empire.

As day and night counter each other, with the sunrise comes the moonset, the existence of the Moon Clan seemed ominous for the Xilan Dynasty; thus, the Moon Clan was regarded as a lower caste.

For the same absurd reason, survivors with Moon Clan bloodlines were cleansed, downgraded to slaves.

Although Tail was still puzzled about how the people from Poluo Province could accurately determine someone's bloodline within a crowd when, in her opinion, they all looked pretty much the same without any distinctive features like the Weilante People,
they had indeed managed to do so.

Perhaps they had their own methods.

The iron door opened.

A pair of anxious eyes immediately turned towards the door, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that the arrivals were not the pursuing forces of the Xilan Empire.

A young girl squeezed out from her mother's arms and pitter-pattered over to Tail's side, clinging to the hem of her robe without letting go.

Looking at the pitiful face, Tail reached out to tousle the child's messy hair, softly and gently comforting her,

"Don't be afraid! The Meat Meat will definitely get you to a safe place!"

At that moment, Si Si's voice came from behind, carrying a hint of fatigue and languor,

"...We probably can't go to Silver Moon Bay anymore. Don't even think about it, those people will definitely be waiting for us in the nearby waters of Silver Moon Bay."

Tail tried to suggest an idea,

"Hmm, what about taking down the flag and sneaking in?"

Si Si made a helpless gesture,

"Although I think those people are not very smart, do you think they are blind? Surely they'd come aboard to check.

Their relationship with the Lord of Petra was quite good, but Petra City was at the northernmost edge of the Camel Hump Kingdom, and even though Sesame Paste's cat ears were very effective in Oasis No.4, where the average person was a cat slave, it was impossible for the secularized Silver Moon City to provide an escort for them.

In fact, the Camel Hump Kingdom was striving to avoid getting involved in the regional affairs of Poluo Province, so even if they successfully docked at Silver Moon Bay, they were likely to be far from safe.

This was the intelligence she had gathered in Jin Galun Harbor.

Although it also included some of her own deductions, that was essentially the situation.

Tail looked at her in surprise,

"Yikes! Are those guys really that persistent?"

Si Si sighed and said patiently,

"An able-bodied Slave could be sold for at least 1000 Dinars... not to mention all those other things we've done, do you know how much money you've robbed from them?"

Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if the Xilan Dynasty's inexplicable persecution of the Moon People was not really about beliefs at all.

Maybe it was just a convenient excuse.

The real reason might be that those people wanted to rob legally.

In her opinion, none of the so-called high clan fellows were anything good; even the way they looked at her made her feel sick to her stomach.

Tail guiltily did some mental math,

"Uh, one... one million?!"

Si Si: "Probably even more."

Noticing Si Si's troubled face, a woman wrapped in a long robe came over, gently pulled her daughter away from Tail, and led her back to her side,

She bowed her head slightly, speaking apologetically,

"Sorry... for causing you so much trouble."

Putting away her look of helplessness, Si Si gave her a soft smile,

"It's okay, we don't have anything important to do anyway."

She had already given up hope for the next data piece, otherwise she would have never agreed to let Tail get involved in such a dangerous affair.

Just then, the musing Tail suddenly struck her palm with her fist,

"I've decided!"

Si Si looked towards her,

"Hmm?"

Tail, with glowing eyes, said decisively,

"To Ideal City!"

"Take a ship... to Ideal City?" Hearing this wild plan, Si Si was momentarily stunned, "Are you sure?"

Ideal City was located on the East Coast of the Central Continent, and it wasn't impossible to sail there, but the total voyage would likely exceed ten thousand kilometers...

Without an experienced sailor, she wasn't even sure if there were ports along the way where they could dock to purchase supplies and fuel.

"Yes!" Tail nodded earnestly, "If we land on the East Coast, we should be able to find a Settlement that would shelter them in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, right?"

This whimsical idea was so typical of Ah Wei.

But it was also one of the reasons why they could get along so well.

Although she liked to plan things orderly, she didn't really enjoy that kind of monotonous life.

"I can't with you," Si Si scratched the back of her head, speaking helplessly, "I'll try."

Tail's eyes sparkled as she gave a thumbs up,

"Wow! That's our Si Si!"

Si Si blushed with an embarrassed smile,

"Haha, don't rely on me too much, Ah Wei. It's possible we might just capsize halfway."

"No worries! It would be nice to visit home—" Tail, who was speaking, suddenly noticed the other people in the cabin, promptly stopped the ominous joke, shrank her neck, and lowered her voice to amend her words, "Um, we'd better take it easy, considering there are so many people on board."

Si Si smiled back at her with a confirming look, mimicking her gesture with a thumbs up,

"Yes! I will do my best."

"Wow! I'll go ask Meat Meat and Sesame Paste what they think!" Tail had a happy smile on her face as she immediately dashed up the stairs.

Watching the figure that disappeared up the gangway, Si Si couldn't help but curve her lips.

It looked like she needed to study navigation seriously.

Though the ship was fool-proof to operate, to get it to Ideal City, relying on haphazard methods would certainly not work.

Plus—

Supplies were a big issue.

After sorting out the ship's affairs, Si Si immediately returned to her room, locked the door, and logged out of the game.

After removing her helmet, she scooched over to the computer and logged into the "Wasteland OL" official website, intending to check the forum to see if other players were active in the seaside regions of the Southern part of Central Continent.

If someone had discovered other reliable Survivor Settlements, that would be great.

But just then, she suddenly noticed a little red dot in the upper right corner of the mailbox.

Casually opening the mailbox, Si Si sitting in front of the computer was momentarily stunned, her mouth forming an exaggerated 'O' shape.

"Southern Sea Area New Map Test Invitation…"

"My Giao!?"

---

(Thanks to the alliance leader "Blue Algae is not Algae" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 658: This Is Destined to Be a Wait Without an Outcome

A vast sea.

Two warships, one in front of the other, bobbed on the waves, proudly flying the green dual sword flags from their bridges.

However, the sailors on board could not feel proud at that moment; they were busily lowering boats to rescue the soldiers who had fallen into the water.

As spirited as they had been in pursuing earlier, they were now just as disheveled.

Watching his subordinates who looked like drowned rats, Captain Archim stood by the railing with an iron-blue face, his fists tightly clenched around the rail, his sharp eyes filled with gloom.

That merchant ship had taken away more than a thousand Moon people and caused Jin Galun Harbor to lose a whole one million dinar!

And it was not just about money; it concerned the reputation of Governor Nihak and even the face of the West Winds Empire.

If those people successfully landed in Silver Moon Bay, who knew what outrageous rumors they would spread.

Although the survivors of the Poluo Province knew the truth, outsiders did not understand them and might think they were committing robbery.

He had to clarify that this was not a robbery!

But for the prosperity of the West Winds Empire and the peace of the next generation!

Captain Archim turned to his adjutant and said through gritted teeth.

"These guys... what's their background?!"

"Their ship was built by the shipyard in Silver Moon Bay..." the adjutant said and then added with certainty, "I'm sure it was there, there's only one shipyard, and we bought our ship there as well."

"Nonsense! I know that already!" Archim rebuked him, scaring the adjutant into trembling silence.

Not only did this officer outrank him, but he also had the noble blood of the Tiger Clan and the Sun People, just like the current Marshal!

This distinguished lineage made him even fear making eye contact with the officer, lest he displease him.

At that moment, a clever junior officer stepped forward, bowed his head and said,

"Sir, I might know something about them."

Captain Archim replied impatiently,

"Speak."

The officer immediately said,

"I saw that white bear emblem when I was traveling in the Camel Hump Kingdom, and combining it with the bears they had with them... those people must be from the White Bear Knights."

Captain Archim paused.

"What is that?"

The officer continued,

"It's a bank located in the Petra Fortress, I heard that its owner, a young girl, generously helped some nobles persecuted by the Weilante People during the war in the Luo Xia Province. Thus, she has good relationships with the royal nobility of the desert countries, and her business was favored. After a ceasefire between the corporation and the army, the Alliance's merchants entered Luo Xia Province, and that group of knights made a fortune through currency exchange and then started a lending and deposit business."

Most of this was hearsay that the officer had heard.

However, one certain thing was that the business of the White Bear Knights was indeed famous around the Camel Hump Kingdom, especially at Petra Fortress.

Archim stroked his chin, his eyes narrowing slightly,

"Is that guy rich?"

The officer paused then quickly nodded,

"Definitely!"

A faint glint appeared in Archim's eyes, and an idea formed in his mind. He turned to his adjutant and ordered,

"Issue my command! All personnel return to the ship immediately, we depart in five minutes! Head to the waters near Silver Moon Bay!"

With the audacity of the Camel Hump Kingdom, they surely wouldn't dare to let that merchant ship dock and unload in front of the ships of the West Winds Empire.

If they could detain that merchant ship, not only could they retrieve those one thousand slaves, but they might even be able to demand a ransom from this so-called White Bear Knights.

The adjutant standing by became flustered upon hearing this and quickly stepped forward to say,

"Captain, our rescue has only reached halfway, there are still a few brothers missing in the water—"

Before he could finish, Captain Archim waved his hand impatiently to cut him off,

"Those guys are the Empire's disgrace, unable to seize even a single merchant ship, what's the use in finding them?"

As he finished speaking, he glared at the adjutant, who dared not breathe, and threatened in a menacing tone.

"The governor insisted that we must capture those thousand plus slaves and the few troublemakers no matter what, and he said to spare no expense."

"If you don't want to end up feeding the fishes, you'd better do as I say."

The adjutant, sweating profusely, nodded his head and hastily turned to trot to the side of the ship, shouting at his subordinates to get aboard immediately.

As for those who hadn't been found in the water, they would just be considered dead.

Clean and decisive, Captain Archim finished the rescue operation and summoned the helmsman and navigator to give them a firm order, looking at the sea chart.

"I don't care how you do it, we need to reach the waters near Silver Moon Bay ahead of those stowaways, and we must not let them land."

The crew members looked at each other, not daring to say a word of refusal, and nodded like pecking chickens.

"Affirmative."

"Yes, sir!"

...

Though in Camel Hump Kingdom, especially Petra Fortress, the White Bear Knights had almost become the embodiment of justice.

However, their operations weren't going well in the nearby Poluo Province, recently even becoming a symbol of evil.

Ultimately, it was all because some busybody liked to meddle too much.

Slave trade was not uncommon in the Wasteland, but inexplicably shackling free people on a large scale was extremely rare.

Even the fools of Giant Stone City knew a bit that there were contracts far more efficient than slave agreements in this world. A heavily indebted worker could generate ten times more value than a slave and accept a lower standard of living.

Yet, this unthinkable situation still occurred on the land of Poluo Province right in front of the Alliance players.

A group of people were inexplicably labeled as traitors and then became legitimate targets for others to rob or even slaughter.

Initially, Si Si was reluctant to intervene, consistently covering Ah Wei's eyes and reminding her not to cause trouble on other people's turf.

However, when she realized that those beasts wouldn't spare even children under twelve, she couldn't hold back and took the lead.

Later they used the 155 howitzers and the six 100mm short-barreled field guns on the Meat Meat to bombard Jin Galun Port, sinking two warships being refitted at close range, and then gave the military supplies worth a million silver coins, originally planned to be sold to local arms merchants, to thousands of Moon people imprisoned at the port.

Perhaps inspired by the courage and generosity of these outsiders, or perhaps after realizing that the Imperial Army was not as formidable as they had imagined, the resigned Moon people finally decided to take up arms and rebel, freeing other oppressed tribes.

They entrusted women and children to the hero who wore the red headscarf into battle, while the men and elders chose to stay, taking the materials looted from the Empire's port and following a few veteran Moon people into the forests in the central part of Poluo Province.

And this was also the direct reason why the governor of Jinkalon Port furiously ordered the capture of the crew of the Meat Meat.

Although the deal not only earned them nothing but also resulted in a considerable loss, nobody felt regret.

There were plenty of opportunities to make a fortune in life, but the chance to stand up like a hero might only come once or twice.

Wrapping that red headscarf around her head, Ah Wei felt incredibly cool.

As for the lost game currency, it didn't matter at all!

...

The next day.

The rising sun shone on the endless sea, casting layers of golden gleam on the rolling waves.

Sesame Paste, enjoying the sea breeze, stretched lazily, comfortably squinting her eyes and suddenly struck by a thought, wondered what planets five light-years away looked like.

Whether they too had such vast oceans.

"Ah, my camera, my camera..."

Realizing it would be a shame not to capture this beautiful scene, she hurriedly rummaged through her shoulder bag.

Although they had experienced a tense sea battle just last night, for the majority of Wasteland OL's veteran players, they were accustomed to the game's pace.

As long as they didn't die, there wasn't much of a problem.

And if they accidentally died—

Well, that wasn't much of a problem either.

The business the White Bear Knights operated in Camel Hump Kingdom was not only financial but also included information transmission services and save points open to players.

For 2000 silver coins, they could have a trader from City of Dawn or a player keen on trade routes bring a sleep cabin for saving.

She had saved before the last voyage, so she wasn't too worried.

However, while players were accustomed to surviving such ordeals, the feeling was vastly different for NPCs who only had one life.

Observing the cat-eared young girl amusing herself by taking photos on deck, mercenaries and sailors from Camel Hump Kingdom were full of admiration.

Truly worthy of being the messenger of the Silver Moon Goddess!

Perhaps it is the blessing of that deity that this broken boat has still not sunk...

Just as the mercenaries and sailors were staring in awe at the "Messenger of the Silver Moon Goddess," Si Si suddenly dashed onto the deck.

"Sesame Paste!"

"Hmm?"

As Sesame Paste, who was holding a camera, blinked in surprise, Si Si quickly walked over with great joy.

"Do you need me to snap a couple of photos for you too?"

"Forget the photos for now, big news! Come with me!" Si Si excitedly grabbed her arm and led her towards the direction of the cabin.

By the time Sesame Paste regained her senses, Si Si had already pulled her into the cabin, where Meat Meat and Tail were also yawning.

Seeing that everyone was gathered, Sesame Paste who sat down after pulling out a chair couldn't help but ask curiously.

"What's so official?"

Si Si took a deep breath, scanned the friends around her, and said excitedly,

"Last night, when I logged off, I received an email from the planners behind the game!"

Tail, having never seen Si Si lose her composure, swallowed.

"What did the email say?"

"New Map Test Invitation!" Si Si said trembling with excitement, "I got a 14-day experience activation code for the manager authority of Shelter No. 70! That shelter is located not far from us in the southern sea area, and it's underwater!!"

The two people and one bear were first stunned, then almost in unison, erupted into an unbelievable shout,

"Activation code?!"

"An underwater shelter?!"

"Giao!"

Suddenly thinking of something, Tail propped his hands on the table, and sprang to his feet.

"Wait, that's weird, why did Si Si receive the activation code!"

Sesame Paste thought earnestly for a moment.

"Umm, maybe... Chu Guang thought Si Si might be a bit more reliable?"

Tail: "Damn, isn't Tail reliable enough!"

Sesame Paste: "Huh? No, of course, Tail is very reliable too."

Meat mountain big steamed bun pressed his palms together, rubbed them, and made a praying gesture with a devout face.

"It seems that doing good deeds usually does have its benefits, Amitabha."

Tail, now calm, suddenly rested his finger on his chin, muttering seriously.

"Understood, that's it... It looks like Si Si made a huge sacrifice without our knowledge, Tail should be nicer to her these days."

Meat Meat also stretched out his bear paw and patted Si Si on the head.

"Not easy at all, Amitabha."

Watching the noisy cabin, Si Si, whose head was being rubbed by Meat Meat, said with a wry smile,

"What are you guys talking about? I don't understand a word… Okay, Ah Wei, let's not fret over who got the activation code, such a trivial matter. Once we are in the shelter, everyone will have a share. Let's discuss our next course of action instead, should we continue as planned towards Ideal City, or—"

"Is there even a need to discuss?" Tail looked at Si Si in amazement, "Of course, head straight for the new map! Is there any other option?"

Meat Meat also excitedly raised his paw.

"Absolutely! I vote for the shelter!"

"+1!"

With cat ears swaying left and right, Sesame Paste with her hands on her cheeks, showed a longing expression on her face.

"An underwater shelter, huh? I really want to see what it looks like... Speaking of which, isn't there a survivor settlement nearby? Maybe they can take in the survivors on the ship, or at the very least, we should be able to buy the supplies we need."

Seeing that the group had quickly reached a consensus, Si Si paused.

"Is that decided then?"

"Why not?" Ah Wei looked at her strangely. "We don't have a specific place we need to go, right?"

That sentence made a lot of sense.

Si Si couldn't think of a counterargument for a moment.

Sesame Paste and Meat Meat exchanged glances and said with a smile,

"Then it's decided, just like that!"

...

Captain Archim never would have imagined that the so-called big fish in his eyes hadn't swum towards his palm at all but had headed straight east towards the Southern Sea Area instead.

This was destined to be a futile wait.

Watching the ships coming and going in front of Silver Moon Bay, Captain Archim was itching with irritation but powerless, venting his frustrations on the inferior clan sailors.

The lawmakers and nobles of Silver Moon Bay trembled as they watched the two warships moored at their doorstep.

Though their shore cannons could sink the two warships in an instant, the massive Xilan Empire lay only a mountain away.

For those living in the corner of the desert, the empire, boasting a population of over a hundred million and known as "Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods," posed a more direct threat than any Army.

Moreover, there were rumors that the Xilan Dynasty, which had recently unified the Poluo Province, was a puppet propped up by the Weilante People, with the Ripper Rifle and 100mm cannons of the Imperial Army as compelling evidence of this.

However, there were also claims that the Army wasn't very interested in Poluo Province, merely some borderland lords were trading with the so-called Xilan Dynasty, exchanging dinar for exotic beauties and young, strong slave labor.

Regardless, the Xilan Empire was an undeniable force to be reckoned with for the Camel Hump Kingdom.

The twelve city-states had, for once, reached consensus on an issue; both the new followers of Silver Moon Sect and the conservatives clinging to old traditions agreed they needed to seek help from an alliance to the east.

At this moment, Captain Archim was unaware that his rash decision for a ransom and a group of slaves would bring substantial potential trouble for his governor and His Majesty.

Had he known the trouble it would cause, perhaps he would have restrained his greed.

But that was a matter for later...

As Captain Archim helplessly vented his rage on the inferior clan sailors, the distant City of Dawn was enjoying a serene calm.

The three-day celebration had just concluded, leaving people returning to their posts with a lingering joy and hopeful anticipation for a brighter future.

A lot had happened in those three days.

Firstly, official diplomatic relations were established between the Alliance and over fifty survivor settlements involved in trade with the Wasteland.

This included Old Neighbors like Garbage City, harboring suspicions towards the Alliance, and distant locales like Dam City in Yue Ma Province, even the Free State to the north.

Next, significant progress was made in negotiations with the cross-regional cooperation organization, with the Academy showing an openness to limited collaboration with corporations.

Which was, perhaps, the first time in nearly half a century.

Regarding the naming of the cross-regional cooperation organization, the corporations and Academy suggested letting the Alliance decide, easing explanations to each of their constituencies.

Chu Guang, unsure of what to name it, simply conducted a poll on the Forum, resulting in the unexpected choice of "Sticky Nation."

Although he marveled at their ingenuity, Chu Guang ultimately discarded this popular choice for a more apt "Mucor Research Community," which he reported upward.

The Academy was quite satisfied with this name; the corporations had no objections, hence the name of the cross-regional cooperation entity was settled.

Furthermore, news came from Mayor Teresa that a messenger from Weilante had arrived at Pioneer City, applying to join the cross-regional cooperation organization.

While Chu Guang had considered this possibility, he was surprised by the Weilante People's swift action.

Yet, Chu Guang wasn't concerned and allowed the messenger to travel by airship to the City of Dawn to discuss the matter.

The disputes between the Alliance and the Army were internal affairs of human civilization, whereas the "mutated slime fungus" represented a common challenge.

Chu Guang was clear about the priorities.

As long as the Alliance maintained a dominant position ensuring Xiaoyu's control over various "sub-bases," he didn't mind cooperating on the "mutated slime fungus" issue, even if future conflicts might likely erupt with the other party.

Though Chu Guang felt indifferent, both the Academy and corporations showed certain reservations about the arrival of the Army.

Yang Kai mentioned needing to consult the Chief Technical Officer while Luo Yong stated he would need to ask other members of the board.

Chu Guang understood this and stated that if either the corporations or the Academy opposed the new member, the Sticky Community would not accept them.

This would also set the standard for admitting new members to the Sticky Community in the future.

With the backstage work of the celebration finally wrapped up, it was now time for the meetings with the Army's messenger and to finalize the detailed terms of cooperation through lengthy negotiations.

As the only person who hadn't rested during these three days, Chu Guang finally had some time to take a few days off...

Chapter 659: Manager's Daily Routine

Morning.

Chu Guang had slept in for the first time in a while, and it wasn't until nine in the morning that he left Resurrection Square and strolled leisurely to the food street north of the Outpost Base. He ordered two baskets of soup dumplings, two baskets of Shanghai steamed buns, and three cups of soy milk before finding an inconspicuous booth at Zhang Hai's noodle stall.

Although the meal was a carb and calorie bomb, it was nothing but a sprinkle of water for someone with his metabolic level and digestive capacity.

"One bowl of noodles, thank you."

A milky mist hovered over the large pot, and there was an endless stream of diners at the stall.

Today's noodle chef, Zhang Hai, was as busy and fulfilled as ever. His head was almost buried in the pot, and he definitely didn't have time to look up. He shouted across the large pot.

"Got it! Do you want it sliced thin or thick?"

Chu Guang said with a smile,

"Thin, I want to see how thin you can make it."

It was the first time Zhang Hai heard someone actively ask for thinner slices, and he couldn't help but be amused.

"Hey, you must be joking. The thinnest here—" He had just raised his head to see who it was, but as his gaze penetrated the fog, he suddenly froze. "Fuck, the Manager?!"

Many people didn't recognize Chu Guang since he wasn't wearing his power armor. Zhang Hai was no exception, until he saw that spring-breeze smile and was dumbfounded.

The two were communicating in Mandarin, which didn't attract the attention of other NPC customers. Chu Guang gave him a look to keep it low-key, and then began to enjoy the steamed buns he had brought.

After a short while, a bowl of beef noodles arrived at the table, and the slices of beef were even thicker than silver coins. The smaller players, seeing this, immediately became unhappy and started to protest.

"Damn it!"

"Son of a bitch, Zhang Hai, that's not fair play!"

"Why is there so little beef in my bowl!"

"Is this a river?!"

Seeing the rowdy bunch, Zhang Hai's face turned red. Normally, he would have just bantered back cheekily, but he had been caught red-handed giving someone special treatment.

"Enough talk! Are you the Manager? I... I care about how he's put his heart and soul into the Alliance, worried he won't be full, so what's wrong with offering him more food?"

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Well, now.

That was acceptable?

Watching the clever big shot feel pleased with himself, Chu Guang chuckled and shook his head. He took out fifteen silver coins and placed them on the table, settling the bill in advance.

"Thanks for your kindness, but there's no need to treat me. I prefer cash transactions... no need for change."

Considering the portion size of the noodles, thrice the price should certainly be enough, right?

That much money could buy two pounds of beef.

He didn't want to owe anyone for a few silver coins.

"Thank you!" Boss Zhang took the silver coins with a pained look on his face, but inside he was thinking that the deal was a terrible loss.

If he could have earned the Manager's favor, any amount of silver coins would have been well spent. Yet these two ounces of beef had only got him the money for three bowls of noodles; what a loss!

Earn less, that's a loss, right?

After adding some chili and vinegar to the noodle soup, Chu Guang ate slowly and leisurely, watching the buzz of newbies shuttling up and down the street, reminiscing about the past.

Two years ago, this used to be the busiest street in the Alliance and was only separated from Resurrection Square by a crooked concrete wall.

Now, two years later, although this street had developed, it still couldn't match the sprawling sparseness of Changjiu Farm.

With the establishment of the City of Dawn, Outpost Base and Changjiu Farm were both preserved as part of the new settlement's names, while the economic status of North Street of the Outpost Base was gradually being replaced by North Street of Dawn City, which was predominantly NPC-operated.

Some nostalgic old players still kept their stalls here and their houses by Rhombus Lake, but most had moved their shops to the more bustling center of the City of Dawn.

Nonetheless, Chu Guang still had a soft spot for this place.

His favorite hometown dishes could mostly be found here, and the chattering newbies in front of Resurrection Square never failed to entertain him.

For him and the vast majority of Wasteland OL players, this place could be regarded as where the dream began.

Suddenly, Chu Guang had a whimsical thought: maybe he would set up a stall here after he retired.

Like, making pancakes or something.

However, this thought lasted only a brief two seconds before Chu Guang found himself amused by his own idea.

By the time he had laid down all his responsibilities...

That would probably be a long, long time from now.

…

Having eaten to about seventy or eighty percent full, Chu Guang went to buy six more baskets of buns to take to Nicole and feed to her as a snack.

That girl, like Xiaoyu, had a special fondness for human food, especially junk food laden with salt, oil, and sugar.

He remembered last time when he gave her cola to drink, she stomped excitedly on the spot, nearly flipping over the shed she was sleeping in.

After walking Nicole around the lake, Chu Guang tied her back in the shed and then headed in the direction of the shelter.

As he was going down on the elevator, he happened to see a Guardsman carrying a plastic crate full of letters and asked curiously,

"What's this?"

The Guardsman immediately stood up straight and replied.

"These are letters from the residents of the City of Dawn to you, sir."

Chu Guang immediately perked up at the news, spontaneously responding.

"My letters? Let me see."

He seemed to recall Xiao Qi mentioning that since the Alliance Building was completed, there had been a steady stream of letters from all over the Alliance, with a large portion addressed to him.

Due to the sheer volume, the staff at the Alliance Building didn't know what to do with them and handed them all over to the Guards Corps.

Following behind Chu Guang, Lu Bei hesitated slightly before stepping forward with a word of caution.

"Sir, please allow me to check them first to ensure that there are no dangerous items inside."

Though the letters had already been scanned with X-rays and treated with ultraviolet sterilization, only by opening them could they guarantee complete safety.

Chu Guang chuckled heartily, jokingly saying,

"Are you worried about a blade being hidden inside, afraid that it might scratch me?"

Lu Bei said softly,

"Not exactly, but it's better to be cautious all the same."

Seeing that his concern remained, Chu Guang subsequently instructed,

"Then, how about this, you read them for me, and I'll also take this opportunity to test you to see how well you've been studying."

Hearing that the Manager wanted to test him, the young man immediately perked up, placing his right fist on his left chest, he said spiritedly,

"Yes, sir!"

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction, taking Lu Bei with the basket of letters down to Floor B4, motioned for him to sit, and then casually handed him pen and paper.

"Perfect, you can also write the replies for me as I dictate."

Lu Bei was all too eager to nod his head, then he reached into the plastic basket, picked out a letter, opened it up, and began to read aloud emphatically.

"Respected Manager sir, I am a bricklayer, and on this day to be celebrated, I salute you and also share my joy with you! In a month's time, my wife and I will be welcoming our first child. We have already purchased all the clothing for him up to the age of five, as well as a baby cradle and toys... Now we count the days, waiting for our little darling to come into our lives. Once again, I extend to you the highest respect and thanks for enabling us to have a roof over our heads and a job that allows us to buy so many things."

Lu Bei read with such dramatic admiration that it was unlikely even the person who wrote the letter expressed as much emotion.

Watching the diligent young man, Chu Guang smiled involuntarily. When Lu Bei finished reading, Chu Guang cleared his throat and began to respond softly,

"No need for formalities... I will do my best to ensure that every hardworking person in the Alliance has the dignified job and life they deserve, and that every child in the Alliance can grow up under the sun. Of course, this requires our joint effort."

While Chu Guang was dictating his response, Lu Bei was frantically writing, and soon finished the letter, copying the address and setting it aside.

He then picked up the second letter, took a deep breath, and read,

"... like the Sun at noon, your grace and majesty dispelled the cold night, restoring glory to this land! Please forgive my exaggerated words, but they are in no way flattery. You might think of Dr. Edmond as an insignificant criminal, but I can never forget what happened at the Golden Dune Cinema. My children and I were caged, nobody cared for our lives or deaths, only you and your warriors cared. I offer you my everlasting loyalty!"

Golden Dune Cinema? Where was that?

It took Chu Guang quite a while, but he could not recall such a place or the unfamiliar name mentioned in the letter.

However, from the content of the letter, it was clear that the writer must be a survivor who had been rescued from the Looters by his players.

Although it might have been just an ordinary daily task for the players, it could have meant a life-changing event for that survivor.

Chu Guang couldn't help but smile.

He decided to have Xiao Qi post this letter on the Forum later.

He believed someone would claim this Easter egg.

If it was stumbled upon unintentionally, that kind-hearted player would surely be pleased with the continuation of this story.

"Leave that letter here with me, I'll later pass it on to the one who truly deserves thanks and let them decide whether to write a reply."

"Understood, sir." Lu Bei nodded loyally, setting his pen down temporarily and picking up the next letter.

The contents of this letter were straightforward and to the point.

Even the opening sentenced revealed the entire message.

"March north, sir! At your command, all of us are willing to offer our hearts! The Bugra merchants are the most unruly scoundrels, corrupting us with their tricks. It's time to punish those sneaky villains!"

As he read the letter, Lu Bei adopted a tone of passionate conviction and sneakily glanced at Chu Guang sitting opposite him.

Clearly, the young man shared the same sentiment.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then spoke gently,

"The greatest insult to a jester is not to throw them into the fire, but to let them watch us live better than them, more united, more confident, more powerful... Then they will live in constant regret over their past. I understand your concerns about the North, but they are not our main problem, at least not now."

Though somewhat disappointed, the loyal young man believed that the respected Manager must possess a far-reaching vision that he did not, so he did not feel out of place.

After finishing the reply, he quickly picked up another letter and opened it, but as soon as he saw the salutation and the delicate handwriting, he immediately sensed something amiss.

"Dear Manager sir, I have long admired you. I hear you don't have any children of your own, and this knowledge has left me restless for a long time..."

Halfway through, Lu Bei abruptly stopped, stammering and unable to proceed with the words.

Without guessing, it was clear what the letter contained, another attempt to prod him into starting a family. Chu Guang couldn't help but shake his head with laughter.

These folks.

Always fussing about with unnecessary worries, they'd do better to raise some extra pigs.

"Go ahead, I don't mind."

"But if... alright, if you insist," Lu Bei continued, embarrassedly bowing his head and persisting with a tough read, "If possible, I would like to bear you a child, as many as you want, this is the wish of a young lady from the City of Dawn, I live at—"

Chu Guang, who was sipping tea to soothe his throat, almost spat it out coughing as he interrupted Lu Bei, who had been reading halfway through a letter.

"Alright, alright, that's enough already."

Lu Bei obediently closed the letter and asked in a low voice.

"Sir... uh, should we reply to this letter?"

Glancing hurriedly at the time on his VM, Chu Guang quickly cut off his foolish words.

"We can't possibly respond to everyone's feedback. By the way, we need a Manager's Office to handle the correspondence from Alliance citizens uniformly and to select some meaningful questions to be answered publicly in newspapers and broadcasts."

"Additionally, each department needs to have a dedicated office to deal with citizens' letters, and when necessary, to hold press conferences to clarify public confusion. Don't just dump all the letters here on me... I need to talk to someone about this matter; my break time is over for today, let's stop here."

He almost forgot about this.

Just after the printing plant fire incident, Chu Guang had been considering creating a more official channel for public statements. He couldn't always rely on journalists from newspapers coming over for interviews.

The Representative Assembly is currently improving the relevant legislation.

The Alliance authorities also need to do something in coordination.

Gazing blankly at the Manager who had spoken a lot and was now getting up to leave, Lu Bei held the envelope in his hand and took quite a while to come back to his senses.

So this letter...

What should be done with it?

Yin Fang, standing next to the coffee machine, had witnessed the whole scene and teased in a joking tone.

"No offense, but this guy can be unexpectedly shy sometimes."

Although only at certain times...

...

On the boundary between the Poluo Sea and the Southern Sea Area, a cargo ship with a towering chimney was slowly passing through a wide strait.

Dense jungles flanked both sides, and rugged rocks lined the shore, from the ruined concrete port it was evident that there had once been a bustling port and city here, but now only the chirping of insects and the occasional cry of monkeys remained.

Standing on the deck, a woman wrapped in a cloak had a look of unease on her face.

Her name was Misa, only in her early twenties, with brown hair. Before the disaster, she was a teacher at Jinjaron Harbor.

Although she had been born in a port city, she had never been to such a distant place.

"Where is this..."

"Baiyue Province."

A pleasant voice came from behind her.

Misa turned around and saw a pair of lively cat ears swaying gently in the sea breeze, and a bright and cute face smiling at her.

Dressed in a way that some mercenaries and sailors called her the messenger of the Silver Moon Goddess.

Misa couldn't help but feel a bit reserved, but her curiosity couldn't help but raise a quiet question.

"...What place is that?"

Approaching the ship's rail, Sesame Paste squinted her eyes towards the tropical strait, brushing the hair off her cheek behind her ear, and began to tell in a gentle voice.

"...To its northeast is Haiye Province, to the east the Southern Sea Area, to the northwest lies the Luo Xia Province, and just over the Jubar Mountains are Oasis No.4 and Silver Moon Bay. On the map, it looks like two teeth, one on top of the other, with a strait between them."

This place was once a tourist and vacation destination of the United Human, and some economically prosperous tourist cities used to be situated here.

But during the fifty years following the three-year War, traces of human life gradually vanished with the passage of time.

Listening intently, Misa curiously continued to ask.

"Will we dock here?"

Sesame Paste replied somewhat vexedly.

"Um, there's no need. We did go take a look, but didn't find any survivors there, only dangerous Variants and deadly poisonous insects."

Maybe the game designer hasn't finished this part of the map yet.

They had taken a small boat along the coast to have a look and, finding no suitable harbors, left without exploring further.

It was said that the Camel Hump Kingdom had once planned to include this area in their territory, even attempting to build a colony on the shore, but ultimately lost to Variants, poisonous insects, strange contagious diseases, and huge financial pressures, and had to abandon their settlements there.

As this Lady Messenger talked about this land, Misa satisfied her curiosity but also felt a sense of loss.

Just now, she had been thinking about moving the Moon people of the Poluo Province to build a new homeland here, but now it seemed things were not as simple as she had thought.

"You know so much." After hearing the story about this land, Misa couldn't help but express her sincere admiration.

Sesame Paste, seeing the envy and admiration reflected in those eyes, scratched the back of her head in embarrassment and shyly smiled.

"After all, we travel a lot."

Maybe because in reality she was a teacher too, she quite liked this NPC 'little sister.'

Even though there was no show-off intention when saying this, Misa felt even more envious after hearing it.

Traveling...

That was something she had never dared to dream of.

Travel is for people with homes. For someone like her who had nowhere to go, going to an unseen place was just wandering.

"So where will we disembark?"

Sesame Paste whispered softly.

"In the Southern sea area, there's an artificial island where quite a few survivors assisted by the Residents of the refuge live. We plan to head there first to try our luck, at least to purchase some supplies. If they're not willing to take us in, we'll continue to lead you to the easternmost part of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng on the mainland."

Misa looked at her with a face full of gratitude, her eyes brimming with mist.

"I... really don't know how to thank you enough."

Sesame Paste smiled awkwardly and said.

"Don't mention it, we don't really have a specific place to go anyway."

While the two were casually chatting, a warning bell suddenly sounded on the ship.

Sesame Paste, who was chatting with Misa, was slightly startled, immediately took her back to the cabin, and instructed her not to come up at all costs.

After that, she picked up her equipment and joined the others on the deck, where they found Tail with one foot on the ship's rail.

"What's happening?"

With a serious expression, Tail narrowed her eyes slightly, gazing out at the distant horizon.

"It's sea pirates."

Sesame Paste was taken aback.

Standing nearby, Meat Meat made a helpless gesture and couldn't help but complain.

"There can't be that many sea pirates."

As they spoke, two speedboats bearing flags turned out from behind the reefs and approached their cargo ship.

Compared to Meat Meat's ship, they were so tiny they looked like bathtub toys, but technically speaking, it was clear the electrically-driven ones had the upper hand.

Si Si, standing inside the bridge, narrowed her eyes.

She noticed that the two speedboats did not have the Black Iron Wood used to repel sea beasts, suggesting they must have used some other thing or technique.

One of the speedboats arrived ahead, and a man resembling a Soldier stood at the bow, shouting at the people on the deck of the cargo ship.

"This is the Federation's territorial waters! Who are you?"

The Federation?

Meat Meat and Sesame Paste exchanged a look, confusion written all over their faces.

'When did a Federation pop up here?'

'I don't know...'

Last year when they came here, it seemed there were only a few sea island settlements.

Had the map's power dynamics refreshed?

Both the bear and the person were baffled.

However, Tail, standing at the ship's rail, was not at all confused; in fact, he seemed to tune into the right frequency and shouted back at the man.

"Oh! Friends from the Federation! We are from the White Bear Knights!"

The man on the speedboat was clearly taken aback and blurted out without thinking.

"What is that?"

Si Si, who had arrived on deck at some point, took Tail back with her hand and cleared her throat before shouting.

"We are merchants from Silver Moon Bay. We plan to pass through the strait to the ports on the eastern side of the Central Continent. Please allow us to dock here to replenish fresh water and supplies."

The man looked at her suspiciously, but since he couldn't find any flaws in her words, he continued.

"... You may, but I must make it clear, we only accept Dinars and Cr here, not those coins with animals on them."

Coins with camels on them probably referred to the currency of the Luo Xia Province.

Due to the gold content, size, and overall national strength, those coins were usually only circulated locally, and nobody outside Silver Moon Bay would recognize them.

Si Si nodded in understanding.

"No problem."

"Follow us, being careful to avoid reefs and mines." Leaving these words, the man turned around and went back inside the cabin, maneuvering the speedboat to turn around on the sea.

Meat Meat cast a puzzled look at Si Si and quietly asked in Mandarin.

"Why don't we just tell them the truth?"

"Do you suggest that we tell them there are nearly a thousand refugees on board? I'm not sure if they would drive us back." Watching the direction in which the two speedboats were leaving, Si Si narrowed her eyes slightly.

Something about this place seemed off.

She had a feeling that this trip to Shelter No. 70 wouldn't be as peaceful as she had imagined...

Meat Meat scratched the back of his head.

Tail, standing beside them, earnestly said to Meat Meat.

"The human world is very perilous, Meat Meat; if they knew we were pirates wanted by the West Winds Empire, they might just turn us in for that 36 Belli bounty!"

"The currency unit is wrong, and our bounty isn't that high!" Meat Meat couldn't help but quip with a mixture of laughter and tears, yet she understood Si Si's intention.

After all, this was not a familiar settlement to them.

Better safe than sorry...

Chapter 660: Smart players not only draw their own cakes, but even take the initiative to bake them well.

Ring Island is the largest artificial island in the Southern Islands, located at the gateway to the Baiyue Strait in the southern sea area, with a total area of about 30 square kilometers, though less than half of it is actually the landmass of the island.

From the sky, it looks like a giant donut.

It is said that the island once belonged to a tycoon of the Era of Prosperity, who planned to turn it into a seaside tourist attraction.

However, the sad truth is that the sand-spreading vessel tasked with constructing the island had barely outlined its shape with sand when the three-year War suddenly broke out, and the construction of the island was unceremoniously halted.

After the War ended, survivors from Baiyue Province managed to restart the island-building project, using coastal construction debris and remaining equipment to expand the contours of the island.

Without any support from the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, they took nearly thirty years to complete the task that would have required only half a year before the War, and by around the fiftieth year of the Wasteland Era, all had relocated to this man-made island.

Merchants from Silver Moon Bay call this circular island settlement the jewel of the southern sea area, but the locals have named it Seagull Port.

Legend has it that it was the seagulls that led them to this sanctuary, far from the disturbances of the Variants.

Another fifty years later, around the hundredth year of the Wasteland Era, the population and standard of living here saw explosive growth, from less than a hundred individuals at the start to now over a hundred thousand.

According to data from Silver Moon Bay, the main reason for this phenomenon was the discovery of this port by their merchants, who brought them an abundance of food.

However, Si Si feels that the situation may not be as simple as it seems.

The merchants of Silver Moon Bay would not provide food to these people for free; there must be something here valuable enough to warrant their trip.

Pearls, seashells, deep-sea fish, and coastal garbage... if it were only these, they would hardly fetch a good price.

Combine this with clues from Shelter No. 70, and everything starts to make sense.

Around the hundredth year of the Wasteland Era, Shelter No. 70 lifted its lockdown, bringing the technology of the Era of Prosperity to the local fishermen.

Technological advancement not only increased fishing efficiency but also dramatically improved the livable area of the island as well as the standard of living.

Just as Shelter No. 404 has impacted the City of Dawn.

Seagull Port, now armed with advanced technology, quickly became the brightest jewel of the southern sea area, attracting merchants from Silver Moon Bay and Poluo Province.

Merchants from the Camel Hump Kingdom brought plentiful food, while the turbulent Poluo Province provided a wealth of labor.

At the same time, Seagull Port's technology spread to both places along the trade routes.

And that is also the primary reason why the Camel Hump Kingdom, located in a corner of the desert, has more advanced production technology compared to other kingdoms in Luo Xia Province.

Just the researchers from the Pigeon Academy alone are not enough to lift a conservative feudal kingdom to the level of the Enlightenment era, even if their heads are filled with advanced black technologies...

Following closely behind two speedboats, Si Si, driving the Meat Meat, soon caught sight of the island rising abruptly above the rolling waves.

One could see boats of various sizes moored beside the docks, with white seagulls flapping their wings above the port, presenting a scene of peace and tranquility.

This was not their first time arriving here.

The last time they passed by was at the end of last year.

But at that time, there was no Federation; the islands in this sea area each governed themselves, and this look of tight security was unprecedented.

"What is that ship doing?" Standing on the edge of the gunwale, Meat Meat curiously watched a flatbed cargo ship nearby tossing spiky black metal balls into the sea.

Tail, with binoculars in hand, watched intently.

"Oh! Mines!"

Meat Meat looked at her in surprise.

"For real?"

Tail arched her eyebrows at her.

"Yikes! Since when am I the joking type?"

Meat Meat looked to the side with a nuanced expression.

Isn't she, though?

But to be fair, those things really do look like mines.

Si Si, standing inside the bridge, watched the cargo ship transformed into a warship, her brows slightly furrowing.

From the calm, serene sea breeze, she sensed something unusual.

The cargo ship docked at the harbor.

The man who previously shouted at the ship climbed the ladder and agilely ascended to the deck, then, looking at Si Si as she came down the stairs from beside the bridge, said,

"I am the Coast Patrol Captain here, Muda."

"Si Si, helmsman of the Meat Meat cargo ship."

Without wasting any words, Muda directly posed the question,

"Where's your captain?"

"This one." Si Si pointed to Meat Meat, answering truthfully.

The latter grinned good-naturedly, raising his massive palm, showing a shy and reserved demeanor.

"Hi."

"Hi..." Clearly taken aback by the sight of a talking bear, Muda was visibly stunned, but he still instinctively said hello.

As he was caught off-guard, Si Si took the opportunity to inquire,

"Is there a war going on here?"

"Yes..." His Adam's apple bobbed, and Muda looked away from Meat Meat to nod at Si Si, who had asked the question.

Seeing her guess confirmed, Si Si continued to inquire.

"Who is your enemy?"

Without evasion, Muda stated directly,

"Shelter No. 70."

Meat Meat and Tail exchanged glances, then simultaneously and quickly covered each other's mouths.

Muda looked at the pair, one human and one bear, with curiosity.

"A talking bear... it's my first time seeing one. Are you from the Arctic?"

Si Si: "The Arctic?"

Muda gestured with his hand and explained.

"I've read in books that polar bears look like this."

After wriggling free from Meat Meat's bear paw, Tail suddenly said very seriously,

"That's not the case. Our Meat Meat is actually a brown bear with albinism."

"Is... that so?" The man paused, looking at the talking bear with a trace of apology in his eyes.

Meat Meat glared at Tail, conveying with her eyes,

"Don't start adding some weird persona—no, bearsona for me!"

Tail stuck out her tongue sheepishly.

"What's the difference?"

As the two joked around, Si Si had been observing the man's facial expressions.

She keenly caught the fleeting pang of remorse and a thoughtful expression crossed her face before she suddenly spoke up.

"We would like to purchase some supplies here. What procedures are needed?"

Muda said succinctly,

"No procedures. We welcome merchant ships that come here to trade, but as you can see, it's a special time. Please understand, we need to inspect the goods on your ship."

"No problem, follow me."

Si Si then led him straight into the ship's hold.

Watching Muda follow Si Si towards the ship's hold, Sesame Paste approached Tail with some concern and whispered,

"Is it okay for him to see the people below deck?"

With her index finger trailing her chin, Tail pondered seriously for a moment before speaking confidently.

"Um, Tail thinks there shouldn't be any problems."

Meat Meat looked at her curiously.

"The reason?"

Tail gave a cunning smile.

"Pirate's intuition!"

Meat Meat: "Damn!"

That reason was so arbitrary!

...

Following the woman named Si Si into the ship's hold, Muda remained vigilant, observing his surroundings and the crew, who looked like mercenaries.

When he reached the lowest level of the ship next to the gangway and followed Si Si through the door into the lower hold, he was stunned by the sight before him.

The spacious hold was densely packed with people; at a rough count, there were at least several hundred.

Seeing the surprise in his eyes, Si Si, standing to the side, continued,

"There's more below."

Muda's Adam's apple bobbed again.

"This is..."

Si Si continued in a lowered voice,

"The Moon Clan from Poluo Province. Have you heard about what happened there?"

Muda shook his head and inquired,

"No... what happened there?"

Si Si continued speaking softly,

"The West Winds Empire is systematically purging the Moon Clan people of Poluo Province, seizing their wealth, reducing them to slaves. If we hadn't intervened, they might already have been shackled and sold to slavers... just like most of the unlucky Wasteland Wanderers."

Muda looked closely at the people for a moment and didn't find any slave shackles or any obvious marks on them.

The people inside the cabin were also watching him with cautious eyes.

It seemed as if they felt that the fate of their group hinged on this man before them, and their gazes involuntarily carried a hint of pleading.

Muda felt a pang of sympathy.

However, sympathy was sympathy, and he couldn't let a group of refugees overwhelm the order of Seagull Port for such a flimsy reason.

After all, it was just a small island of less than thirty square kilometers, and nearly one hundred thousand survivors were already living there.

"We welcome travelers," he began, but—"

Reading his thoughts, Si Si asked,

"But you haven't considered accepting so many people, have you?"

Muda silently nodded, then after a moment, continued,

"... It would bring us trouble, and we don't have enough extra space to take in these people."

As expected, he would say something like this.

Si Si sighed, an expression of helplessness on her face as she continued,

"I understand, we didn't expect you to take on this trouble... But could you turn a blind eye to the people on the ship and permit us to purchase some supplies at the port? Please, we really can't find anyone else who is willing to take us in besides you."

Muda was silent for a long time, seemingly torn, but in the end, his conscience prevailed, and he slowly nodded.

"Fine... but you have to promise us, you can only let at most ten... twenty people leave this ship if you don't want to cause trouble."

A look of relief spread across Si Si's face as she extended her right hand to express her thanks.

"Thank you, I assure you."

"Don't mention it."

Shaking her hand firmly, Muda released it and cast one last glance at the people in the cabin before turning and walking towards the ship's gangway.

...

On the "Wasteland OL" official website forum, in the player interaction section.

After logging off, Si Si quickly took a shower, carelessly rubbed her hair with a towel, and still with wet hair, sat in front of the computer updating the day's events in the serial post.

"Breaking news! Major update suspected in the Southern Sea Area map! The Southern Islands Federation and Shelter No. 70 have been added and are currently in conflict for unknown reasons. Ships entering the area will be inspected by Federation vessels."

"We've secured docking permission at Seagull Port and plan to stay for a while to find the precise coordinates and entrance to Shelter No. 70."

"The port is filled with a surplus of goods affected by the war that haven't been sold, including pearls, seashells, and other deep-sea salvaged goods. The port is in desperate need of rubber, high polymers, nitroglycerin, as well as white sugar and grain; prices are 20% to 50% above last month's market average. We recommend trading flow players to buy deep-sea salvaged goods here and sell them at Silver Moon Bay, where the White Bear Knights' bank offers favorable exchange rates for golden camels, silver coins, and dinars!"

"Also, does anyone have friends in Silver Moon Bay or Oasis No.4? We need to restock some dry food and 155mm, 20mm ammunition. If you can help transport it to the vicinity of the Baiyue Strait, we can offer generous compensation!"

Considering that the planner's private message didn't mention that information could be disclosed publicly, Si Si hesitated and then did not update the activation codes in the post.

The post was just updated, and quickly, it garnered dozens of replies.

"666!"

"Me me me!"

"Rich lady, notice me!"

"Wait, how big of a ship do you need?"

"Need any mercenaries? We have a hundred Strength-Type beasts!"

"Can it be done overland? I don't have a ship. T.T"

"Stupid! Just rent one!"

"..."

This "excursion" thread had been updated since last year.

Back then, the White Bear Knights were still in Petra Fortress and had just recently made contact with Pigeon and his "Little Red."

Si Si realized that the content updated in the posts was automatically collected into the official setting collection and tagged with the creator's label.

Since then, she started updating some of the data gathered along the way in her posts, including local customs, culture, and practices.

Especially in the official setting collection for the Poluo province section, the information about several large settlements and major ports was almost all written by her.

Because of this, the Alliance inadvertently created a new trade route to the Poluo province, and many lifestyle players profited handsomely by trading cheap industrial products from the Alliance for double-headed cows, leather, and spices.

After tasting the sweetness of oceanic trade, many traders bookmarked the thread.

In addition to main poster Si Si, who would regularly update the journey, occasionally other players who followed the recommended routes would contribute to the thread, adding relics clues, side quests, and interesting NPCs or monster dens that she might have missed.

When she first started the thread, she never imagined it would garner so much attention and grow into a flourishing crown of branches like a big tree.

Although the White Bear Knights weren't an actual army, merely a commercial team registered with the Merchant Guild, this odd team—born from a joke about riding "Meat Meat"—now had a significant influence on the forum.

While there was still a gap compared to big names like Fang Chang, Mole, and Springs who could summon a throng with a single call, as a Tier 2 player, she was already quite impressive.

Debt Giant Eye: "Speaking of which, with Ah Guang suddenly updating a map thousands of kilometers away, I've got a bad feeling."

Elena: "+1, it's not like him to not even make an announcement, quite unusual. (funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "Is there a chance that the next expansion is over there? (funny)"

Return to Soil & Rest in Peace: "Fuck! Dog plan has no decency!"

Ah Nie: "You're banned."

Return to Soil & Rest in Peace: "(Awkward)"

Watching the increasingly lively discussion on the screen, and seeing people offering advice and strategies, Si Si couldn't help but wear a gratified smile on her face.

It would be great if we could attract some players to this region.

Cooperation with other players has a much higher success rate than exploring alone, especially when it's far from the Alliance territory.

Just then, a familiar ID suddenly popped up in the post.

Tail: "Wow! Since everyone is so interested in the world across the sea, why don't we build our own port here! (Evil grin)"

The moment Si Si saw this message, she was stunned.

Before she could regain her composure, dozens of comments suddenly appeared below the post.

Less Nonsense: "Fuck?"

Makabazi: "For real?!"

Tail: "Wow! Of course, for real! Tail's word is bond, a team of horses couldn't drag it back! To show sincerity, the White Bear Knights will invest five million silver coins first!"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "(Excited)"

Quit Smoking: "6666!"

Night Ten: "Sounds interesting, the Bull Horse Group will join in. (Funny)"

Fang Chang: "It does sound fun. The Baiyue Strait is right in the middle of the Central Continent's east-west coast routes, it's absurd to not have a port there. Hmm, Brother Night Ten has already raised his hand, so let's start with investing five million to test the waters."

Night Ten: "Fuck! Are you serious?! (Shocked)"

Escaped Mole from the Canyon: "Our Skeleton Group will join too!! Five million!"

Gnome King Riches: "Fuck, when did we get so rich!"

Escaped Mole from the Canyon: "Hehe, the game on Endpoint Cloud made a small profit, I'll share the wealth with the brothers in a few months."

Tail: "!!! Are the big shots serious? By the way, can we invest using CR? Desperately need foreign exchange! QAQ"

Fang Chang: "No problem! Keep it up, I have high hopes for you. (Sly smile)"

Crow: "Can I invest five hundred thousand? 0.0"

Tail: "Wow! No problem at all! The more, the merrier! Tail will get the Meat Port investment contract ready in a bit! (///ω///)"

Teng Teng: "Uh, I also want to invest a little... But can we change the name? It's not that it sounds bad, just feels weird. (Blush)"

Tail: "Eh! Is it that weird? ∑(ﾟДﾟ)"

No one knew from which floor it started, but the thread went completely off-topic.

No one was discussing the gameplay of the new map anymore; instead, they were eagerly discussing what the future gem of the sea should be named and where on the map the port should be located.

For the Alliance's first overseas venture, the players erupted with extraordinary enthusiasm.

Seeing so many people interested, Fang Chang directly proposed purchasing a civilian inflatable airship from the City of Dawn, to airlift a batch of materials and personnel to the southern sea area.

This guy really seemed to be optimistic about the future economic potential of the region.

And some players with civil engineering backgrounds were even more eager, planning to take this flight to the site for a field survey and take some photos for research.

An overseas infrastructure project worth hundreds of millions of silver coins began to take a rough shape in this babbling atmosphere.

Watching the investment amount, which had already surpassed thirty million silver coins, and was still rapidly growing, Si Si sitting in front of the computer, was completely dumbfounded.

She had originally intended to find an opportunity to make a small hole in the ship and then use repairing it as an excuse to run aground at the Ring Island port, slowly plotting her next move, or in the worst case, she could linger for ten days or a half month, dragging it out until their mission was complete.

She had underestimated the scale of her own plans.

Ah Wei had just plonked their business right on someone else's doorstep!

But—

It might not be a bad idea after all.

Although the Camel Hump Kingdom's colonization plan for the Baiyue Province ended in failure, it didn't mean they would make the same mistakes.

At the very least, in terms of biotechnology, the Alliance's reserves were far higher than that of the Camel Hump Kingdom!

Not to mention, with the Alliance's current immense industrial capacity, they were fully capable of supporting the construction of an overseas colonial port!

The more Si Si thought about it, the more excited she became, her eyes involuntarily shining with light.

"Nice going... you're doing well, Ah Wei!"

At this moment, she didn't know that in another world, some Dog plan had also blurted out a "Nice going" after seeing this astounding brainstorm.

Now the players not only imagined things for themselves, but they had even learned to actively help him bake the pie.

Was this considered getting a settlement for free with a "14-day trial card"?

This deal was insanely profitable!

---

(Thanks to "20hhhhhhhhhh" for the generous reward!!!)

Chapter 661: I, the Pangolin, am Back Again!

Chu Guang naturally supported the players' plan to build their port in the Baiyue Strait.

Not only because the southern sea area housed Shelter No. 70 and the fallen Tiangong Space Station but also because it meant that his players had begun to actively spread the light of order outward.

As for issues like port ownership, it seemed rather petty to be entangled in that.

It was the year 2342, not 1600. He was neither an emperor of the Alliance nor a chairman of a transoceanic company but a manager of the Alliance and the designer of its order.

His players were not convicts he had banished but warriors who had sworn to end the wasteland under the United Human flag.

He and the players were highly unified in both interests and standpoints, not in opposition to each other.

As part of the Alliance, the settlements established by the players naturally belonged to the Alliance, and acknowledging the Alliance's constitution was part of the obligations written on the Player's Handbook, with the option to pass the beta testing qualifications to those willing to join if they cannot accept it.

Under the order led by the Alliance, players could discuss the future of the settlement with the local survivors, or even leave it entirely to the survivors themselves to decide, just like the residents of Giant Stone City and Singular Point City.

As long as they did not violate the constitution of the Alliance or the rules of the Player's Handbook, Chu Guang was happy to let them figure things out within the rules.

Under the game rules he designed, the Alliance only made macro-directional plans and ensured the safety of each settlement, while "how to do it" had always been something each settlement needed to consider for themselves.

No one could plan everything flawlessly, and the areas he had not considered would inevitably require many to complete together.

From passively waiting for the dog plan to update the game to actively enriching the game's content was also something that Chu Guang had always been guiding his players to do.

After all, such a large planet would need planning for hundreds, if not thousands, of settlements; if it all depended on him alone, it might take until the end of time to finish.

As for the world five light-years away, that was even less to be considered!

Compared to the port that the players heckled into existence, Chu Guang was actually more concerned about another matter.

"The southern sea area formed the Southern Islands Federation and is in conflict with Shelter No. 70... this isn't what was agreed."

Staring at the pale blue holographic window, Chu Guang, seated on the sofa, couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

When Sun Yuechi had introduced him to the situation in the southern sea area, though he mentioned divergences between the shelter and the surface settlements in many areas, he hadn't said that their contradictions had escalated to the verge of warfare.

Doubt arose in Chu Guang's mind; had that Sun Yuechi set a trap for him?

However, he soon realized that guy had left the southern sea area to head to River Valley Province a long time ago, and according to what his players said, the federation only emerged this year.

In other words, while that Sun Yuechi leisurely wandered northward, he might not have known that his own home was on fire.

The speed of news transmission in the wasteland was always a mystery.

A thought crossed his mind, and Chu Guang spoke up.

"Xiao Qi."

An eager voice soon floated to his ears.

"Yes, Master."

After a moment of thought, Chu Guang said.

"Update the mission bar for that player who received the activation code and have her investigate who started the war between the Southern Islands Federation and Shelter No. 70, and the cause of it."

From her performance on the forum, this task shouldn't be too difficult for her.

Even, one could say that this was her area of expertise.

After a pause, Chu Guang added another line.

"The priority of this mission is temporarily set to the highest."

Xiao Qi, perched on the edge of the pen holder, saluted playfully.

"Roger that!"

The next morning at dawn.

The sky had only just started to light up, and the open space in front of the "Dawn City Airship Inflation Station" was already bustling.

Boxes and bundles of supplies were piled up on the ground, with various construction devices parked nearby waiting for workers to load.

Players carrying large and small luggage stood in groups near the crowded supplies and equipment, shouting loudly.

"New map development! Missing a Body Constitution System MT with their own exoskeleton, PM me fast if interested in teaming up!"

"Big bro, how do you save the game when you travel so far? What if you accidentally die?"

"You must be new, right? Find a courier mission to get familiar with the game flow first, and get your Sequence Level up to Level 10 before you go adventuring outside."

"Dang it!"

"Any bros out there who can swing a hammer? If not, a Strength Type can do too! The construction site needs beasts of burden—oh no, I mean it needs labor."

"Any adventuring brothers? Take me with you! I'm an Intelligence System, really slick with drones!"

Not just on the open space in front of the square, but even the line at the ticket counter formed a long dragon.

A newbie with a backpack finally made his way to the front, only to realize to his shock that hitching a ride on the airship actually cost money.

"What the heck! You have to buy tickets for the airship?"

The player manning the ticket counter, already used to this question, answered lazily.

"Or you could walk there?"

"%￥#@!"

Because parts of Haiya Province and Brocade River Province were still under the control of the Torch Church, flights from the City of Dawn to the Baiyue Strait required a detour through the southern part of Falling Leaves Province, covering a total distance of nearly four thousand kilometers and taking more than two days.

This route had just opened, operated by the Bull Horse Group, and it was planned that two hydrogen airships would make two trips a week.

Subsequent flights would increase to one trip per day depending on the situation.

The price for a one-way ticket was around five hundred silver coins, and it allowed for 15 kilograms of baggage; for any excess, a fee of 10 silver coins per kilogram was charged.

The ticket price included tax and insurance, equivalent to the cost of three assault rifles, and one had to at least be a Citizen level in Contribution to buy a ticket.

After all, bringing untrained newbies to such a far-off place was quite a headache, and in general, players who reached the Citizen level tend to be far more reliable.

These were the "prime quality labor force" that Ah Guang had already screened for them, and, comparatively, they were much more reassuring to employ.

Even though the tickets weren't cheap and there was a purchasing threshold, it couldn't stop players' enthusiasm for new maps and their desire to explore the unknown world!

After all, this was an opportunity to be ahead of the game version!

The bigshot players had put so much money into this; it certainly wasn't a simple matter of the wealthy tossing away cash for fun.

If these master players really intended to build a port, they would inevitably release a series of pioneering and construction missions.

As long as one seized the opportunity, one could earn back the cost of the ticket in minutes!

Even though the missions posted by players didn't award Contribution Points, the silver coin rewards were often about 20% to 50% higher than those offered by NPCs!

For this reason, tickets for the flight to the Baiyue Strait were almost sold out as soon as they went on sale.

All the players waiting in front of the "Dawn City Airship Inflation Station" were brimming with ambition, their eyes shining with anticipation for the journey about to begin.

The opportunities in Qingquan City had been nearly tapped out.

It was time to try one's luck in a new world!

Eyeing this flight was not just the warriors preparing to head south but also a large number of life-skilled players and NPCs running factories or workshops.

Mostly, they had learned from the Wasteland OL Forum or Survivor's Daily that the Alliance planned to build a port in the southern sea area.

A wave of salespeople had already swarmed to the side of the airship inflation station, hawking their products to these eager players.

"KV-2 Improved Model III amphibious exoskeleton! Traverse jungles, swamps, and shallow waters with ease! Come take a look!"

"One LD-47 and all your troubles are gone! And if that's not enough, just add an RPG! Even the Claw of Death will have to go around you!"

"There's a huge number of sunken ships from the Prosperity Epoch in the southern sea area, loaded with treasures piled high like mountains! Really not considering buying a set of diving and salvage equipment? Purchase now and a treasure map is included... Can't guarantee you'll find treasure, but you'll definitely find something!"

"Anyone need an excavator? We have the best construction equipment here!"

"A hydrofoil! An amphibious plane! Trust in Goblin Technology! Quality goods at low prices, buy now while stocks last, with installment payment options! Even newbies can afford it!"

"'Buprestis' engineering armor and 'Cross Spider' robots! Products of Shelter No. 100! Our machinery can work on any terrain, even if your construction site's on the Moon, we'll make it skyrocket up like it's riding a space elevator!"

The voices of the hawking never ceased and even overpowered the calls for teaming up.

And the items these salespeople were promoting ranged from the bizarre to the various.

From clearance sales of portable weapons to tanks and planes being cleared from inventory, from screwdrivers and wrenches to heavy equipment like diggers and pile drivers, everything one could need was available.

Whether it was the factories of Dawn City or those of Giant Stone City, they all had their eyes on this enticing piece of cake.

Unlike the players who were eager to stay ahead of the game version, the thoughts of most of the factory owners in the Alliance were much simpler and more basic.

No matter what the yet unnamed port would develop into in the future, building it would surely require steel, cement, and construction machinery, right?

These were demands visible to the naked eye!

And those invisible needs need not be mentioned at all.

Wanting to snap up this port was certainly not something that could be accomplished with just tens of millions of silver coins; behind it lay a market worth at least a billion!

Even if they just scraped a little cream off that cake, it would be enough to fill their pots to overflowing.

And this astonishing chain reaction was something that those players discussing strategies on the forum thread had never imagined...

...

In a corner of the crowd.

Staring at the chaotic scene in disbelief, Night Ten turned to Fang Chang after a long moment, asking in a hesitant whisper,

"... Is it really okay to do this?"

The investment from Bull Horse Group had already surged from an initial five million to twenty million silver coins, and that was only the early stage investment.

Although the Baiyue Strait indeed seemed to have a great location, the problem was that this was the Wasteland!

Beyond the inhabited areas, not a soul could be seen for hundreds of miles, and the sea was even emptier. Even with the advantageous geographical location of the Baiyue Strait, there was no bustling trade route to support that sense of superiority.

Even if they managed to build the port, who knew how long it would take to recoup the investment.

Seeing Night Ten's look of concern, Fang Chang grinned slightly and said,

"Perspective, my friend, perspective... Look a bit further ahead. Let's not go too far, just look at the near past, what was the situation in the North Suburb of Qingquan City two years ago, and what is it like today?"

Night Ten scratched the back of his head.

"Is that really comparable?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Fang Chang continued with a smile,

"At least in my opinion, there's no substantial difference between there and Qingquan City. Both were once part of the United Human and both have nurtured civilizations."

"Even though that place is now a wild land without any semblance of order, that will change once we arrive."

Previously, City of Dawn was merely a trade hub on the Southern River Valley Province trade corridor, but now this former trade hub has become one of the cores of the entire trade route.

Old merchants used to pass through there for convenience and safety, but today the land under their feet has become one of the destinations for traders journeying from east to west.

Whoever establishes order on the Wasteland will become a torch in people's hearts, naturally attracting wealth and population towards the light.

The wars in the Southern sea area and the turmoil in the West Winds Empire offer an opportunity for this still-planned settlement.

Just like the Bone Chewing Chaos was an opportunity for the Alliance.

As for the Variants, venomous insects, and diseases in Baiyue Province and other such troubles, are they really a problem for players?

They have even dealt with the Lair in Qingquan City.

Such threats are hardly worth mentioning!

...

While the players planning to head south were lining up to buy tickets, a hydrogen airship slowly hovered over the "Dawn City Airship Inflation Station".

Inside the modestly furnished cabin, a man dressed in luxurious attire with a haughty demeanor, gazed down at the bustling square.

His name was Mr. Bennott.

His proudly arched nose made it clear that he was a pure-blooded Vellante, and the stars on his shoulder highlighted his identity—

This man was a Centurion above ten thousand!

However, since he was not a military man but a civil official from Triumph City, he led not a well-trained ten thousand troops but a diplomatic mission less than a hundred strong.

In the Army, civil officials ranked below military officers, but this did not stop him from thinking highly of himself, barely considering these natives outside Triumph City worth a second glance.

Watching the crowd filling the Open Space, a faint smile played on Mr. Bennott's lips.

"Are those people here to welcome us?"

The expression of the Old Soldier beside him was a little ambiguous.

Of course, he knew what those people were up to, as he would frequent the Forum after logging off, but now was clearly not the time to show off his knowledge.

"It seems so," he said in a low voice, maintaining his taciturn image.

Mr. Bennott smiled faintly, smugly lifting the corners of his mouth.

"It seems these savages do know some manners after all."

Looking at that guy's self-assured demeanor, Old Soldier made a helpless expression.

As for why he was here, that's a long story.

Originally, he was resting in General Adria's territory aboard the airship "Judicator," waiting to report back to Triumph City.

However, before he received that order, he suddenly heard news about Marshal His Excellency planning to send a delegation to the Alliance to discuss the management of "Mutated slime fungus" and the establishment of diplomatic relations.

He felt something was off at that moment, and indeed, as he had anticipated, the delegation to the East required a guide familiar with the conditions in the River Valley Province.

A local would be even better.

Coincidentally, that ambassador named Mr. Bennott just happened to be Penny's father!

Old Soldier didn't know if the warm-hearted Miss Penny had put in a good word for him, but in any case, the appointment letter indeed floated into his hands.

When he received the appointment letter, Old Soldier didn't know whether to cry or laugh. He was so close to seeing the Triumph City he had longed for.

It wasn't that he particularly wanted to go there.

The key was that seeing that place had almost become his only hope for continuing his undercover identity.

It had been over half a year since the war between the Alliance and the Army had ended, Springs, that dog thing, didn't know how many expansion packs he had experienced, and here he was still drifting outside.

But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

As the guide for the diplomatic delegation, his military rank was exceptionally promoted by the military headquarters from Centurion to Thousand Leader.

At the same time, he also received a T-10 "Champion" power armor from the military headquarters as a reward for his military service!

After all, the Dog planner didn't go back on their word.

Although he missed several versions, the promised power armor was eventually issued to him.

Regarding this matter, his old friend and former superior, Coleway, was envious as hell.

Going from a potato-peeling servant to a Thousand Leader in just one year; nobody in the entire Army could match that promotion speed!

Especially that power armor.

He didn't get such treatment when he was promoted to Thousand Leader himself!

As Old Soldier was staring wistfully at the now unfamiliar "hometown," the deputy standing behind Bennott cleared his throat softly and said,

"Mr. Bennott, we are here to discuss cooperation with the Alliance... Marshal places great importance on this matter, and it would be better if we restrained ourselves a bit."

Hearing the deputy's reminder, a flicker of annoyance crossed Bennott's face.

However, it seemed that he had some concerns, and he did not rebuke the man for his impudence, only responding irritably.

"I know, there's no need for you to tell me what to do; I have my own judgment."

The deputy quietly responded.

"Hopefully so."

Using his peripheral vision, Old Soldier noticed Bennott's brow twitch violently after hearing those words, but he managed to hold back an outburst.

Such a rare scene couldn't help but raise a hint of surprise in Old Soldier's heart.

Who exactly was this deputy?

He had been with the delegation for a while now and was fairly familiar with the identities, positions, and backgrounds of the other members.

But this deputy's identity had always been a mystery.

All he knew was that the guy's name was Kuike, and his rank was the same as his own, Thousand Leader.

As to whether he was a military or civil official, where he came from, his political affiliation, and background – Old Soldier was completely in the dark.

If only there were other players in Triumph City.

They could help him inquire, and then tell him on the Forum...

Stealing glances at Centurion Bennott's unnatural expression and Kuike's composed demeanor, Old Soldier pondered inwardly.

He had a feeling that the deputy was harboring a tremendous secret.

And his intuition told him.

This secret might very well be related to the "Sticky Community" that was widely rumored on the Forum recently.

Perhaps he should do something to ease the concerns of the respected Manager...

Chapter 662: Not Just the Messenger, But Trouble Too

On the elevator to the airship.

With a backpack on his back, Gnome King Riches was waving goodbye to his good brothers on the platform.

"Goodbye, brothers! When I become the overlord of the Southern sea area, I'll treat you to the good stuff!"

Having heard about remnants of a space station from before the war in the Southern sea area, he had specially bought a set of diving gear, planning to try his luck there.

Maybe he'd haul up a power armor that still worked?

That'd be like instantly graduating with God Equip!

Even if it was broken, it was no big deal—as long as ten percent of the parts were still good, he could sell them for tens or even hundreds of thousands of Silver coins with ease.

Standing on the platform, Mole, the canyon escapee, smiled and waved his hand.

"No worries, I have a feeling that we'll see each other again in a few days."

He didn't care much for such small adventures; as long as the money was right, that's all that mattered. Besides, in a few days, he'd have to fly to Ideal City to check on how his Game Company was operating.

The survival game launched by Skeleton Studio on Endpoint Cloud was receiving rave reviews, and lately, he was planning to add a few more skins to the game and really milk those Ideal City leeks.

Gnome King Riches: "Damn! Who curses his brother like that?"

Standing by his side, Elena said with a comical expression.

"That's not bad, it saves you a return ticket."

"Old Na?" Carrying fishing gear, the young punk was surprised and greeted her, "What the fuck? You're here too?"

Elena grinned.

"Just joining the fun, don't mind me. Plus, I heard there's a bunch of Variants over there that I've never seen before, and I mainly want to see what they look like."

Mole said with a playful smile.

"Don't make those Variants go extinct there."

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Fuck off! Am I that kind of person?"

While they were chatting idly, the elevator slowly rose, bringing the last group of players into the cabin.

After completing loading, the airship started to rise in altitude, and the propellers hanging under the hull and tail began to activate, pushing this airship filled with dreams and hope towards the distant horizon.

"Ah, I'm jealous, damn it!"

Watching the airship gradually move into the distance, Debt Giant Eye, who was on the platform enjoying the spectacle, had an expression filled with envy, jealousy, and hate.

He wanted to check that place out too, but unfortunately, he had a large family of offspring to provide for right now.

Although he felt that Baiyue Province probably had opportunities for those offspring to thrive, the current cost of freight was just too high.

He could only wait for Bull Horse Group's brothers to run a few more flights and drive down the ticket prices before he could take a look there...

"Let's go, let's go." After seeing off his good brothers, Mole packed up his waving hand and prepared to leave the platform.

Just then, another Inflatable Airship docked above the air station, gently dropping down anchor ropes and an elevator.

The man standing on the elevator was dressed in luxurious clothing, with a haughty expression and his little mustache turned upward, just like the king on a playing card.

Including Mole, Big Eyes, and other veteran players, the players on the platform all instinctively smelled a plot unfolding and halted their dispersing steps, casting curious glances at the elevator.

The elevator came to a stop.

A group of people walked down from the airship.

Upon seeing the familiar face mixed in among them, Mole, Big Eyes, and the others suddenly widened their eyes, exclaiming involuntarily, "What the fuck."

Basking in those admiring gazes, Mr. Bennott had pride and satisfaction written all over his face, quite content with these barbarians' "envy."

Now he understood a little why those antisocial expansionists were so passionate whenever they spoke of expeditions.

Although this place lacked the prosperity of Triumph City, being surrounded by envious eyes was quite a pleasant feeling.

However, his understanding was only minimal and could not go deeper.

To satisfy that pitiful vanity, to waste an enormous amount of manpower and resources on a grand expedition that made no sense, launching a war against an unknown opponent without any apparent benefit.

Such behavior was simply too selfish.

Griffin's death had a lot of mysteries, but he didn't die unjustly.

Lost in his own world, Mr. Bennott suddenly heard the "What the fuck" that blurted out and absentmindedly cocked his ear towards the Pangolin following behind him, whispering,

"'What the fuck'—what does that mean?"

As Old Soldier was making frantic eye signals with his buddies, he almost choked on his own spit and hurriedly replied,

"It implies disbelief and admiration... You can take it as a polite form of greeting."

"I see."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Mr. Bennott curled his lips into a satisfied smile.

Old Soldier felt his scalp tingle and silently prayed in his heart that this guy wouldn't say the same thing when meeting Mr. Manager.

Embarrassing himself was a minor issue.

If he slipped up, he'd be completely fucked!

"Respected Mr. Bennott, welcome to City of Dawn; I am Mr. Cheng, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Alliance. The Manager specifically instructed me to treat you well, although we've had some disputes in the past. The war is over now, and visitors are guests."

"Just as I am delighted to meet you, Mr. Cheng," Mr. Bennott offered a perfunctory civility and then straightforwardly asked, "Where is your Manager? I'd like to speak with him directly."

"The Manager has entrusted all diplomatic affairs of the Alliance to me, and discussing matters with me is the same."

Faced with Mr. Bennott's dismissive look, Mr. Cheng's expression remained unchanged, maintaining his polite demeanor as he continued,

"As for our Manager Mr., he is discussing the charter and cooperation details of the Mucor Research Community with representatives from the Academy and the Enterprise. If you wish to meet him, you'll need to make an appointment according to protocol... The same goes for the Academy and the Enterprise."

Mr. Bennott's brows twitched slightly.

Never had the envoys of the Army been disregarded like this, which left him feeling somewhat displeased.

However, hearing that The Enterprise faction and the Academy had also been treated this way, he managed to keep his composure, though with a displeased expression he continued.

"Our delegation numbers over a hundred; we require a piece of land to station ourselves."

Cheng Yan continued in a gentle tone.

"We have prepared a hotel for your accommodation."

"That won't be necessary," Mr. Bennott slightly lifted his chin, "I believe I mentioned in the written diplomatic correspondence that we Weilante People only stay in our own houses."

Cheng Yan wore an expression of helplessness.

"Please don't misunderstand; we're only suggesting out of goodwill... If you insist, then please feel free to do as you wish."

Seeing that the other party was willing to compromise, Mr. Bennott's brows relaxed slightly, and he nodded, leading the ten-plus people in his party off the platform.

The lift slowly ascended.

There were still over ninety people on the airship; it would take several trips to get them all down. Some of them were Weilante People, and some were their servants.

The staff members following Cheng Yan couldn't help but whisper a complaint.

"These wild men are just outrageous... We prepared houses for them, and they don't want to stay but insist on setting up their own tents."

The other staff members nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Glancing sideways at his subordinates, Cheng Yan said softly.

"On the Wasteland, there are many settlements with cultural practices different from ours; you must learn to understand in order to maintain good relations... We just need to do our job well."

In Cheng Yan's view, the Weilante People were not the only odd ones.

To him, the researchers from the Academy were equally strange: they had perfectly good houses available but insisted on sleeping in their vehicles.

And these vehicles always stopped in concealed places, only descending next to their airport when necessary.

Compared to them, the personnel from The Enterprise faction might be slightly more normal.

The only oddity was their obsession with tall buildings.

It was said that Ideal Grand Hotel, a hundred stories high, was vacant below the fiftieth floor, and very few visitors from Ideal City would choose to stay below the fiftieth floor.

Just as the Army's envoys arrived in the City of Dawn, Chu Guang, who was in the midst of a meeting, had been informed of the situation through Xiao Qi.

During the meeting break, within the spacious rest room.

Sitting down on the sofa, Chu Guang took a holographic computer pen out of his pocket, placed it on the table, lightly touched the button to unfold the screen, and listened to the report from Cheng Yan, the foreign minister of the Alliance.

"The Weilante People's delegation has requested to be stationed near the City of Dawn. Following your instructions, I've agreed to their request and have allocated the open space near the First Army Corps base to them."

Watching Cheng Yan in the light blue floating window, Chu Guang nodded.

"Did they have any reaction?"

"None," Cheng Yan replied, "they don't seem to care about the location of the station. That Ten Thousand Leader named Mr. Bennott is currently leading the delegation to set up camp."

As he said this, Cheng Yan paused for a moment before continuing.

"Additionally, I've noticed that among the servants accompanying them, some are suspected to be slaves, which contradicts our laws... I'm concerned there may be potential issues."

A long time ago, when the Alliance's strength wasn't as strong, they had made some compromises on the issue of slavery.

For instance, allowing traders who owned slaves to pass through the City of Dawn, only restricting them from abusing captives and slaves, and forcibly requiring slave owners to house slaves in designated accommodations at trading stations to segregate the two.

Later, as the Alliance's military and economic power grew, Home of the Refugees, a semi-official organization, would buy survivors who had lost their freedom from slave owners at market prices and guide them to live normal lives.

And now, the Alliance had enough strength to say no to those slave traders, even equating them with Looters and actively intercepting them.

Whether intimidated by the Alliance's military power or coveting its markets, those passing traders, for the sake of silver coins, would conscientiously clear out their carriages and dissociate from that unclean business.

After all, most traders sought profit and wouldn't forgo a whole forest for the sake of a single trade.

Order, like chaos, radiates outwards.

However, a delegation from the Army is, after all, not a merchant caravan, and using the methods for managing traders on them was clearly not appropriate.

After listening to Cheng Yan's report, Chu Guang frowned slightly and pondered for a moment before saying.

"Give them a copy of the Alliance's laws along with their supplies, and remind them tactfully that it would be best to respect our rules. The station we've provided to them is not equivalent to diplomatic territory; we do not recognize ownership of people over people, nor will we protect illegal rights. Their diplomatic immunity only ensures their safety, not that they won't be expelled."

"Okay, I'll convey this to them." After listening to Chu Guang's words, Cheng Yan nodded in agreement, although he couldn't help but feel a headache, unable to imagine how he should diplomatically convey this firm order.

Seeing that the meeting break was nearly over, Chu Guang asked.

"Is there anything else?"

Cheng Yan immediately said.

"There is one more thing... about the West Winds Empire."

Chu Guang was momentarily taken aback, it took him some time to recall information about this survivor force, then his expression turned slightly odd as he asked.

"Do they... need anything?"

Cheng Yan nodded with a subtle expression and continued.

"I've only learned of this recently, but they sent envoys to us a while ago. Their delegation has already left the Lion Kingdom and is estimated to arrive near Falling Leaves City within three days… They're hoping we meet them at the border, claiming it's to facilitate drawing our location on their map."

Chu Guang couldn't help but suppress a chuckle at these words, but he kept a straight face as he asked.

"Are they here for the 'Mutated slime fungus' research community as well?"

Cheng Yan shook his head and said.

"They didn't mention that, and I feel they might not be aware of our situation here. According to the Royal Family of the Lion Kingdom, the original itinerary of the West Winds Empire's delegation seemed to only involve a tour around the Falcon Kingdom and the Camel Hump Kingdom; they hadn't planned to go as far east... to the extent that they caused quite a few incomprehensible jokes upon their arrival in the Lion Kingdom."

Chu Guang asked curiously.

"What's the joke?"

Cheng Yan paused slightly before replying.

"This... The Lion Royal Family didn't proactively mention it, should I ask?"

"No need for that, if they didn't mention it, let it be," Chu Guang pondered for a moment before giving serious instructions, "Guests should be welcomed duly, arrange a few cars to pick them up."

Cheng Yan nodded and said,

"Yes."

The communication ended, and the pale blue holographic screen dissipated into specks of stardust.

Chu Guang picked up the holographic computer pen from the table, put it back in his pocket, stood up and left the rest area, his face bearing a slight smile as he returned to the adjacent conference room.

Now, representatives of the Army, the Academy, and the Company had gathered once again.

The moment that would decide the fate of Wasteland had come once more!

...

News of the Army's messengers arriving at the Alliance spread quickly throughout the entire city.

Even though there had been rumors of the Army sending messengers quite some time ago, because Pioneer City was so far from the core territories of the Alliance, no one paid much attention.

Not until people saw the Weilante people appear in City of Dawn did the related news spread at an unbelievable pace.

At dusk.

In the lobby of the Highway Town Inn.

Drinkers sitting at the table were chattering noisily, discussing the news they had read in the newspapers and rumors they had heard.

"Is it true?! Messengers from Triumph City came to City of Dawn?"

"Of course, it's true! They got off that inflatable airship at the air port, loads of people saw it!"

"That guy with the big nose, I could spot him from a mile away!"

"Haha! Those big-nosed folks really have the nerve to come back! Haven't they been beaten enough?"

"It looks like those guys were really subdued, or else they wouldn't have sent messengers to talk with us."

"Unbelievable... Does that mean that right now, City of Dawn is hosting messengers from the Academy, the Company, and the Army?!"

"Impressive!"

Listening to the excited chatter, Lisa, holding a tray in her hands, had eyes full of surprise.

Messengers from Triumph City?

Thinking about how Pangolin had gone to Triumph City, those surprised eyes gradually took on a hint of anticipation.

Maybe those people would have news of him...

Old White, sitting at the bar, took a sip of beer and said with a teasing tone, chuckling,

"The Army's station is next to the camp of the First Army Corps, just go and ask... while it's still not dark yet."

He certainly knew that Old Soldier was there.

But he thought it'd be more exciting for her to find out herself.

Lisa gave him a grateful look, bowed deeply, and then hurriedly ran to the kitchen behind the bar to ask Old Hooke for leave.

Watching the swinging curtain at the kitchen door, Old White grinned. Mole, sitting beside him, let out a belch and jokingly said,

"I bet that dog Old Soldier is going to be shocked... that someone waited for him for an entire year without his knowledge."

"You guys are so dogged, keeping it secret from the girl for so long," Teng Teng, sitting nearby drinking sparkling water, quipped.

"Haha, it's more interesting this way!"

Mole chuckled mischievously, then turned his head to ask the Spring Water Commander at the next table,

"You think that guy will accept it?"

Spring Water made a helpless gesture,

"Who knows, I've known that dog for so long and still can't figure out what he really likes."

Teng Teng, suddenly enthusiastic, interjected,

"Is there a possibility... what he really has in his heart is actually Coleway? After all, they've fought side by side for so long, it's inevitable that they developed some kind of camaraderie, right?"

The guys sitting by the bar all shivered uncontrollably. Edge Shoveling, who was drinking, choked and started coughing.

Spring Water also coughed,

"I think that possibility is tiny... otherwise, I Max Black would have lost his integrity a long time ago."

"???" I Max Black, who was battling disconnection, looked up bewildered, was about to object, then his connection dropped again.

"What if?"

Facing Teng Teng, who was flushed with excitement, Crow made a helpless expression.

"Sorry, our Teng Teng is a bit tipsy."

Teng Teng quickly turned her head towards her,

"Eek! I'm drinking sparkling water!"

Debt Giant Eye chuckled with a sly look, fetching a notebook, "Since everyone's so interested, why don't we place a bet? Just for fun, I'll set up the wager... I'll put up 100 Silver coins, betting that Old Soldier definitely isn't picky!"

"I bet he's going to chicken out... if he wanted to, he would have done it back then, there's no need to wait till now," Spring Water was about to bet 100 Silver coins, but then he hesitated and changed his mind, "I'll just bet 50 Silver coins."

Teng Teng, excited, also raised her hand.

"I, I, I bet on Science—"

"Rejected! Only two options, next!"

"Tch!"

"I bet the Old Soldier chickened out! After all, he's so fast, he probably doesn't want others to find out, right?"

"Hahaha! Then I'll bet against you for fun!"

The crowd bantered back and forth with jokes, and in just a few minutes, two or three dozen onlookers had placed their bets.

Debt Giant Eye scribbled away, then looked up at Old White, who was only focused on his drink and hadn't spoken, and asked with a chuckle.

"What about you, Old White?"

"Me?" Old White was startled, then smiled and said, "I don't care much, it's his own business how he chooses."

Debt Giant Eye said with a teasing grin.

"Of course, brother, you can't force that guy's head down for 100 Silver, right? We're just betting for fun."

Old White made a helpless expression and pulled out a bill for 100 Silver.

"I'll bet 50 Silver on each side."

Debt Giant Eye: "Damn! That works too!"

Canyon Mole fleeing: "Betting on both sides is too conservative!"

Outside, the day had turned to night without notice, and the streetlights were lit one after the other.

It had been nearly an hour since Lisa set off, and the topic of conversation had gradually shifted from the Old Soldier to the ports of the Baiyue Strait.

Just then, I Max Black, who had finally managed to log in, propped his hands on the table, and, swaying, stood up with the topic from an hour ago.

"Burp—After talking for so long, why don't we go over and take a look! Brothers, anyone want to join me for a peek?"

"Let's go," the Spring Water Commander at the same table pulled out his VM to pay the bill, and helped I Max Black, who hadn't stood steadily, "We might not wait for that snot-nosed kid to come over, I'm going to take a look too."

Crow, who was sitting at the bar with Teng Teng, also raised her hand curiously.

"Me, me, me! Take me with you for the fun!"

While the crowd was getting rowdy, Old Hooke, the innkeeper, suddenly came out from the kitchen, looking worried, and spoke to Old White, who was sitting at the bar.

"Lisa told me she'd be back in an hour, but now it's dark outside... It's not the time I'm stingy with, it's just that the kid has always been very punctual, and nothing like this has ever happened before."

Seeing the old man so uneasy, Old White put down the glass in his hand and gave him a reassuring look.

"Don't worry, I'll go take a look."

"Thank you, this round is on me!" Old Hooke looked at Old White with gratitude, suddenly remembered something, and quickly took out his terminal to prepare a mission.

Almost every tavern and inn in the Alliance was fitted with this "Mercenary System," which could handle anything from clearing out Variant nests to finding lost kittens.

As long as it didn't violate the laws of the Alliance, someone would come to solve their problems.

Seeing the old man's actions, Old White cracked a smile and put his hand over the wrinkled one.

"Don't mention it, this round of drinks is enough for payment."

After saying this, he got up from the bar, followed the Spring Water Commander and a few players like I Max Black out of the inn, and went towards the brightly lit street...

...

Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister of the Bugra Free State, Norleg, who was visiting the City of Dawn, had also received news that a military envoy had arrived in the City of Dawn.

Although he was not surprised that the Army was interested in the "Mucor Research Community," he was genuinely shocked by the Weilante People's speed of response.

From Triumph City here, there were over tens of thousands of kilometers!

And in between, there was a vast desert!

A Commercial Team would typically need at least half a year to travel from Luo Xia Province to the West Coast of the continent, with stops and starts it could even take a year to reach!

Arriving in such a short time showed the importance they attached to this meeting, and rumors had it that the visiting messenger's rank was a Ten Thousand Leader!

After listening to his subordinate's report, Norleg looked very serious.

Even though Mayor Otto was a pro-corporate politician, it didn't mean that the Free State had to completely abandon the Army, an old friend.

Yet now, Triumph City had sent an envoy to the City of Dawn!

And it wasn't a unilateral decision by any faction within the Army, but a directive from the supreme Marshal himself.

A frown formed between Norleg's brows.

Could it be...

Had the expansionists completely lost power within the Army?

As he deliberated over how to report this news to Mayor Otto, there was suddenly a rush of hurried footsteps at the door.

Within moments, his secretary appeared at the doorway.

"New developments!"

With an ecstatic expression, the secretary barely caught his breath and hurriedly said to Norleg in the room.

"The Army's delegation! Those Weilante People! They've clashed with the Alliance people!"

"What?"

Norleg was slightly stunned, then his face erupted in ecstasy.

"Quick, take me to see!"

The secretary nodded excitedly in a rush.

"Yes!"

Chapter 663: Bring it On, We Don't Need Charitable Peace

Outside the City of Dawn.

Not far from the First Army Corps's station, a Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, trailing a pale blue plasmic tail, slowly descended on the tarmac.

Yi Chuan, who had just finished a meeting, stood outside the tarmac and went to greet Minister Wu Changnian as he walked out of the cabin, his face wearing a warm smile as he extended his right hand.

"Welcome, Minister Wu!"

"Ha ha, my dear Yi, long time no see!" While shaking Yi Chuan's right hand and patting his shoulder, Wu Changnian looked at the young man before him with a beaming smile.

Compared to the confused young man of last year, this youngster had indeed grown significantly.

As he had anticipated, this place was more challenging than he had imagined.

With a firm pat on the shoulder with his left hand, Wu Changnian then released his right hand and began introducing the few people behind him.

"…Let me introduce you, these individuals are from the Integrated Management Department sent to the City of Dawn , mainly responsible for assisting you with agendas related to the 'Mutated slime fungus'. This is Qin Juncai, who per the board's decision will represent the corporation at the Mucor Research Community."

The young man named Qin Juncai smiled reservedly, looking at Yi Chuan with reverence and enthusiastically shook his hand.

"I've long admired you, Mr. Yi Chuan! I have been a fan since my time in Ideal City! The thought of working with you excites me immensely!"

Last year, the corporation and the Army had clashed, successfully forcing those boastful barbarians back to the negotiation table, thwarting the Army's expedition to the eastern part of Central Continent.

The most outstanding performance had undoubtedly been from the corporation's Integrated Management Department, especially the five representatives from various subsidiaries appointed to the Alliance.

Not only did they coerce the Army back to the boundaries of Falcon Kingdom with minimal cost, but they also solidified the corporation's friendship with various survivor forces in the eastern Central Continent.

Especially with the Alliance.

Now, hope for ending the Wasteland Era emerged not just in Province of Yúnjiānxíng but also far in the central River Valley Province of Central Continent.

Being praised so enthusiastically, Yi Chuan smiled shyly and responded politely.

"Mr. Qin, you give me too much credit! I dare not accept such an honor; I merely share in the legacy of those pioneers on the 'Pioneer'."

Qin Juncai, gripping his hand tightly and shaking it, said with a laugh.

"I'm not exaggerating at all; these are indeed my heartfelt words! And they reflect the views of many people! I look forward to your guidance in our future work."

Yi Chuan returned the smile and said softly,

"Certainly."

The research on the statutes of the Mucor Research Community had now entered its final stages.

The staff accompanying Minister Wu Changnian to the City of Dawn were all future personnel for the corporate office in the "Sticky Community," with the young man called Qin Juncai being the corporate representative at the Sticky Community.

In terms of rank, he was one level below Yi Chuan, the corporate envoy to the Alliance, but both were directly accountable to the board.

Minister Wu Changnian's main purpose for this visit was to represent the corporation on a diplomatic visit to the Alliance, with an ancillary aim to arrange the next phase of work for the Corporate Embassy in the Alliance.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the group moved away from the vicinity of the tarmac.

Yi Chuan had initially arranged transport for the group, but inspired on a whim, Minister Wu Changnian suggested taking a walk around the area.

Thus, the party began walking towards North Street of Dawn City, planning to have dinner there before returning to Embassy Street.

As they walked, Minister Wu Changnian assessed the streets here, comparing them to the images in his memory.

Yi Chuan surreptitiously observed Minister Wu's expressions.

Although he couldn't discern much change in his superior's face, he could still feel the surprise and astonishment subtly revealed by his micro-expressions.

Clearly, the changes here had genuinely astonished him.

As Yi Chuan pondered this, Minister Wu Changnian suddenly began speaking with a smile.

"How has the City of Dawn been lately?"

Jolted from his thoughts, Yi Chuan hurriedly smiled back and replied.

"That's quite a scene!"

"Which aspect?"

"Every aspect!" Seeing Minister Wu's interested expression, Yi Chuan smiled and continued, "Take us, for example, flights from Ideal City to City of Dawn used to be every two days, now they have increased to two times a day. And it's not just the exchanges between us and them that have increased, every Survivor Settlement has sent diplomatic missions here."

Minister Wu Changnian nodded approvingly.

"It's good that the settlements are paying attention to the 'Mutated slime fungus' issue, just afraid that the new generation settlements have completely forgotten how the Wasteland Era came about."

Moved slightly, Yi Chuan looked at him and asked.

"So... does the council agree for the Army to join the Mucor Research Community?"

Minister Wu Changnian smiled faintly and said.

"Since we could shake hands with the Academy, naturally, there's no reason to exclude the Army. Moreover, the Alliance, which has directly battled the Army, has no objections, too petty for us to oppose now. By the way, what about the Grand Canyon?"

Joy brimmed in Yi Chuan's smile.

If this is the council's stance, then the upcoming negotiations will be much smoother!

Pausing for a moment, Minister Wu Changnian suddenly continued.

"By the way, what about the Grand Canyon? Have they made any moves?"

Hearing Minister Wu suddenly bring up this unexpected name, Yi Chuan paused briefly, hesitating before continuing.

"The Grand Canyon hasn't made any moves, but according to our information... they have instructed Bugra Free State to make a foreign visit to the Alliance, specifically for the Mucor Research Community."

Minister Wu Changnian pondered for a few seconds, then slowly nodded.

"Mm... that does match the council's expectations."

Yi Chuan frowned slightly and asked.

"I don't quite understand, what exactly is the Grand Canyon thinking?"

Minister Wu Changnian chuckled lightly.

"What's so hard to understand? The old man managing the Grand Canyon once made a serious mistake, and he's still haunted by that incident to this day, fearing that direct control might lead to the disaster repeating... So you'll notice, not only is he extremely conservative in his management of Bugra, but his approach to everything on the Wasteland is to the extent of being passive."

Though the survivors of Bugra would definitely disagree, in Minister Wu Changnian's view, there was no doubt about it.

No settlement in Province of Yúnjiānxíng would dare stab the Corporate and Army factions in the back during their most intense confrontations, yet Bugra had profiteered from the war between the Grand Canyon and Army Eastward Expansion Faction, even causing a catastrophe that affected the entire province.

Had that old fool intervened more thoroughly in time, the situation in Luo Xia Province wouldn't have reached the extent it did last year.

But on the other hand,

Without that war, without the Bone Chewing Chaos, the survivors of River Valley Province wouldn't have united so smoothly, either.

Yi Chuan's expression still showed incomprehensible confusion.

"But it's been so many years... they should have moved on by now."

"For us, indeed, it's been quite a long time, several generations' worth, but to that old fool, an incident from a hundred years ago and one that happened yesterday are nearly the same, his sense of time has dulled. Don't mind him..." pondered Minister Wu Changnian for a moment before speaking, "Let's talk business, we need to bring Bugra Free State into this."

Yi Chuan looked at him puzzled and asked.

"Why?"

Minister Wu Changnian spoke softly.

"Without the Grand Canyon's participation, many things can't proceed, and there are still numerous Survivor Settlements on the Wasteland that follow their lead, especially those that have been directly or indirectly helped by the War Construction Committee. Pulling the Grand Canyon directly into this isn't very realistic, but using their 'son' might allow us to indirectly bring them into the fold."

Moreover—

With the decline of the Army Eastward Expansion Faction, the Free State was no longer under the Army's sphere of influence.

In the council's view, those wavering characters are worth an attempt at alignment.

"But what if their son makes trouble?"

Facing Yi Chuan's hesitant expression, Minister Wu Changnian gave a faint smile.

"Those guys won't cause any significant disturbances, and corrupting them is not difficult. However, the key issue is how our friends in the Alliance see it. You can subtly probe Chu Guang to see what he thinks. The council wants to give Bugra a chance to join the Mucor Research Community as an associate member, or even as a cooperative partner would be acceptable."

Yi Chuan carefully noted his advice and nodded.

"Understood."

A group of people was passing through a street when they suddenly saw a large crowd gathered not far away.

Minister Wu Changnian instinctively stopped in his tracks, curiously looking in that direction, and the others also halted.

"What is that?"

Yi Chuan glanced over and quickly responded.

"It seems to be a Weilante People's camp."

"Oh..." Minister Wu Changnian nodded, his lips curling up in a light sneer, "So it's those barbarians."

Following the two men, Qin Juncai took a couple of steps forward and frowned as he observed.

"It looks like they have a conflict with the locals."

Yi Chuan looked towards Minister Wu Changnian for instructions.

"Should I go and find out more?"

Just as Minister Wu Changnian was about to nod, his gaze suddenly fell on a group of people turning the street corner, and the smile on his face turned playful.

"No need."

"We'll just watch from here."

...

Half an hour earlier.

Standing at the entrance of the Triumph City diplomatic mission camp, Lisa anxiously looked towards the camp, wanting to ask someone, yet she hesitated and dared not approach.

Just then, a voice tinged with surprise suddenly came from aside.

"Lisa?!"

The voice sounded familiar; Lisa immediately turned to see a girl dressed in a linen dress, holding a laundry basket, staring at her with wide eyes.

Her light brown hair was identical to hers, only she was taller and had freckles across her nose.

"Emil!"

Murmuring that familiar yet strange name, Lisa joyfully ran up and seized her just as excited hands.

Both were born in Triumph City as servants and had trained together at the same maid academy in laundry, cooking, and serving, maintaining a good relationship.

Later, she had been selected to embark on the Iron Heart, under General McLennan's command, heading to the far East. Before departing, Emil had given her a handkerchief, which she had sewn onto her own uniform, still kept until this day.

Lisa had almost forgotten those past events but never expected to reunite with her friend thousands of miles away from Triumph City in a foreign land.

Not only her own eyes were filled with surprise, but Emil, gripping her small hands, also incredulously exclaimed,

"That's wonderful! You're alright! I heard you were captured and went missing by the Waste Land Wanderers of River Valley Province; they... they didn't do anything excessive to you, right?"

Slaves in Triumph City were protected under the Emperor Marshal's laws; although they had no rights and freedom, their lives were not too bad.

Compared to the kind of slavery tacitly permitted in most Survivor Settlements on the Wasteland, it was more akin to a form of "lifelong employment" characteristic of the wasteland.

However, such was the case in Triumph City, but it was another matter on the Wasteland.

Especially since the Triumph Newspaper often sensationalized the cruelty of the Waste Land Wanderers in its reports, even mixing up the term with Looter to legitimize those Military Aristocracies' expansion of territory. Hence, after reading a few newspapers, Emil almost resolutely believed her good friend had been tortured to death by those Waste Land Wanderers…

"No, actually, they were quite nice to me," Lisa said with a blushed face and a soft voice, "They not only taught me how to read, but they also introduced me to jobs and paid me wages... I even bought some new clothes at the celebration earlier."

Emil looked at Lisa with a face full of surprise.

However, when his gaze fell on the apron she wore, still unworn and stained with oil, his expression instantly turned into one that looked at a fool who had taken the wrong medicine.

After a few minutes, Emil gently touched Lisa's head, muttering sympathetically in a low voice.

"My poor Lisa, what kind of drug did they feed you..."

Lisa smiled weakly, not knowing how to explain.

Just then, she caught a glimpse of a group of people passing by the entrance of the camp from the corner of her eye and instinctively tiptoed to look.

Noticing her movement, Emil blinked curiously.

"What is it?"

"That..." Lisa's heart stirred slightly, and she whispered, "Could you help me find out about someone?"

Emil: "Who?"

"Please," Lisa continued with a flushed face, "His name... is Pangolin."

Hearing this name, Emil instantly froze, looking at her incredulously.

"Pangolin, sir? Wait, you know him?"

Lisa said softly with a blushed face.

"...During my time at Falling Leaf Ridge, I used to serve his daily life, and after the war ended... I lost contact with him."

Although the so-called service was just helping with laundry, Emil clearly misunderstood the meaning, with a hint of suggestiveness and envy in his eyes.

"You actually served Lord Pangolin."

Lisa said softly.

"...What's wrong?"

Emil looked toward the direction of the camp, his eyes filled with longing and admiration, muttering dreamily.

"It's nothing, just that he is incredible. Strong, handsome, and ambitious, he became a Centurion before he was thirty, and as a foreigner, he earned the official rank of two-star Centurion through military achievements! In Triumph City, countless people see him as a role model... Oh, my, if only I could become a maid for such a lord."

Blankness filled Lisa's eyes.

There was surprise, loss, but more than anything, confusion and helplessness.

Only at this moment did she realize the vast gap in their statuses.

Not to mention whether that lord might even recognize her, as she had merely helped him wash some clothes. Even if something more significant had happened between them, he likely had no reason to linger his attention on her.

But...

If it was just to say thank you face to face, that should be unrelated, right?

She merely wanted to thank him in person for rescuing her from that hell; she had never harbored any extravagant hopes... for that kind of thing.

Lisa bit the edge of her lip gently, her heart as tangled as a ball of yarn.

Emil, not noticing Lisa's expression, suddenly grabbed her hand excitedly and said,

"I can't believe you actually know that lord! That's wonderful, could you do me a favor?"

"Ah?"

Thinking she had heard wrong, Lisa stared blankly, confused as she watched Emil plead for her help.

Somewhat embarrassingly looking at her friend, Emil hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said,

"Lord Pangolin is different from other nobles, kind to both slaves and attendants, even outside Triumph City—unlike others who are always handsy... Ah, of course, I'm not speaking ill of other nobles, but it would be great to become his personal servant. I'll be frank, I want that lord to buy me, can you help me?"

Lisa looked blankly at her friend, who was looking at her with pleading eyes, and unwittingly gaped.

"Ah?! But, but… he… but…"

Looking at Lisa, who was faltering and unable to speak, Emil lowered his voice and hurriedly continued to plead.

"Please, Lisa, for the sake of our long friendship, help me out! I'll let you in on a secret, he's actually in that camp! I'll figure out a way for him to meet you."

Lisa looked at Emil in surprise.

"He's here!?"

Just as she finished speaking, a sharp voice suddenly came from not far away.

"Emil! What are you doing! I told you to do the laundry, have you finished washing your clothes?"

It was the voice of an elderly woman.

Hearing that voice, Emil, like a mouse whose tail had been stepped on, quickly moved away from Lisa in fright.

"I, I've finished washing! I was just about to take them back to hang up!"

From the direction of the camp entrance, an elderly woman in a black long dress stormed toward them, shouting loudly.

"What are you waiting for, then? Waiting for mushrooms to grow?"

Her face was covered with wrinkles and wore a harsh expression.

From the shape of her face, she must have been a beauty in her youth, but now her expression could hardly be connected with the word beautiful.

That sharp gaze was just like a Weilante officer's, making Emil too frightened to even breathe. She faced the elderly woman and bowed respectfully.

"…No, Lady Sistil, please forgive my clumsiness."

Although Lady Sistil was not from Weilante, she was the chief maid accompanying the delegation, in other words, their immediate superior.

While it was not a very high position, she had the power over their life and death to some extent.

Watching Emil's pleading face secretly glance at her, Lisa numbly nodded, indicating she would help her.

However, just as Lisa was about to wave goodbye, the elderly woman named Sistil suddenly noticed her, glanced at her hair with her cloudy pupils, and then quickly looked into her eyes.

Lisa unconsciously dodged that gaze, but the elderly woman, as if she had discovered something, squinted slightly, a sharp light emitting from her slitted eyes.

"You… are you from Triumph City?"

Lisa looked back at her in terror, her mouth tightly shut and not answering, she stepped back but the elderly woman suddenly grabbed her wrist and lifted her sleeve.

There was a faint scar.

At the revelation of the scar, she instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but the old woman's thin yet powerful arm clung to her like a vine.

"Let… let me go!"

"You are a slave of the army!" Lady Sistil stared intensely at her, her murky yet sharp pupils moved closer, "A runaway slave!"

Hearing that word, all color drained from Lisa's face, as if a deep bone-chilling cold had sapped all her strength.

"I… don't know what you're talking about!"

The elderly woman, however, just coldly smiled, clearly not listening to her explanation.

After a while, noticing the situation at the entrance, a Weilante officer with two soldiers came out of the camp and approached the elderly woman.

The two soldiers positioned themselves behind Lisa, blocking the view of other passersby, while the officer narrowed his eyes and looked toward the elderly woman.

"Release her and tell me what happened?"

If it were a thief, it would be a good opportunity to shame the Alliance and suppress their arrogant spirits.

However, to his surprise, the kind and gentle Lady Sistil didn't let go but rather slightly bowed and then showed him the mark on Lisa's wrist, speaking measuredly.

"I've found a runaway slave, sir."

The voice carried a hint of boasting.

The officer standing nearby narrowed his eyes slightly, and his gaze toward Lisa became increasingly unfriendly.

In the Army, slaves were the private property of Weilante people, just as sacred and inviolable as the antiques hoarded by the Academy.

According to the Army's laws, the Army guaranteed the safety of the slaves, 8 square meters of living space, as well as three meals a day and a healthy life until the age of fifty. However, if a slave escaped from their master's side, they would lose all rights protected by law.

At the same time, any Weilante person was obligated to capture and return them to their master, and receive a reward from the master.

Weilante people who could afford slaves were usually not stingy with the reward, and if not, they might bestow the slave to the person who found them.

Lisa's legs trembled as she looked at the man with the high nasal bridge, her lips quivering as she explained.

"I... I really am not..."

The officer did not listen to her weak explanation and did not even glance at her. Instead, he reached out and grabbed the shivering Emil.

"Ah!!"

Ignoring her pained cry and laundry basket that fell to the ground, he dragged her in front of Lisa and said, word by word,

"Do you recognize her?"

Emil's face turned pale, and his lips trembled without uttering a word.

More and more people walked out from the camp and gathered around the group, including diplomats from the mission and accompanying servants.

Just then, a hoarse voice tinged with surprise came from the crowd.

"I recognize her... Sir, her name is Lisa, she used to be a servant on General McClenn's airship!"

Lisa suddenly looked in that direction, only to see a strange servant looking at the officer obsequiously, a sycophantic smile on his face.

She recognized that person; her name was Brynna, who had also worked on the Steel Heart before being transferred elsewhere before the airship headed east.

The officer's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the pale-faced Lisa for a while, suddenly his gaze grew sharp.

"You know what punishment an escaped slave receives, don't you?"

Lisa nodded tremblingly.

Seeing her utter lack of courage to resist, the corners of the officer's mouth curled up with an indiscernible smirk, and he coldly ordered the soldier standing behind her,

"Take her back."

An unexpected joy.

To think he had found a fugitive slave from Triumph City so far away, and one who had escaped from General McClenn's jurisdiction no less.

Seeing how well-maintained she was, she probably wasn't cheap. If he sent her back to General McClenn's residence, surely the esteemed general would thank him.

More importantly, it seemed this person had lived in the City of Dawn for a while.

Perhaps he could pry some intelligence about this settlement from her.

A Weilante soldier reached out to grab Lisa's arm, but before he could extend his hand halfway, it was seized by another hand that emerged from the side.

The grip was like a vise clasping the soldier's wrist; despite exerting his full strength and his face turning red, he couldn't move his hand forward an inch.

The surrounding crowd simultaneously turned their gaze toward him, only to see a man wearing an exoskeleton standing next to the soldier.

Ignoring the soldier's pained expression, his gaze passed over the pale-faced Lisa and a few Weilante servants, and he stared directly at the officer and said without expression,

"This is Alliance territory, take your dirty hands back."

With that, he released the wrist he was holding, and the soldier stumbled and fell into the crowd around them.

Another soldier put his hand on his waist gun, but before he could draw it, the officer raised his hand to stop him.

He didn't want to escalate the situation.

Watching the man in the exoskeleton, the officer slightly squinted his eyes.

"Who are you?"

"I am the leader of the Storm Corps, you can call me Spring Water."

Spring Water Commander also squinted his eyes, staring directly at the Vellante man.

"What are you?"

"Jimmy, Centurion,"

A hint of dread surfaced in the officer's eyes, but he did not back down; instead, he stared intently at the man claiming to be the leader, speaking in a warning tone.

"She is our slave, we have the right to deal with our property."

Commander Spring Water said expressionlessly.

"She is a citizen of the Alliance, not anyone's property, and we have a duty to protect her."

The officer's tone carried a hint of threat.

"I advise you to think carefully whether it is worth opposing us over a slave."

Upon hearing these words, Lisa's complexion gradually paled.

However, to her surprise,

After hearing that threat, the man in the exoskeleton, far from being afraid, burst out laughing.

"I'll say it again, she is a citizen of the Alliance. Never mind opposing you, what if we fight you once more?"

The atmosphere on the scene instantly dropped to a freezing point.

Other officers, including that officer, from Vellante showed frustration, and for a moment, the atmosphere was as tense as if swords were drawn.

That officer looked coldly at Spring Water.

"Do you really think we are afraid of you?"

Spring Water stared back nonchalantly.

"Then bring it on, we don't need peace that is given as charity."

More and more players gathered around, and the First Army Corps, noticing the situation here, contacted the security team and sent a patrol over.

Seeing that the situation at the scene was about to spiral out of control, Bennott quickly stepped out from the camp and shouted towards the center of the crowd.

"Stop it! What are you doing?"

The officer who was staring at Spring Water diverted his gaze and quickly walked over to Centurion Bennott, reporting the situation to him.

"Sir, we have found a runaway slave; she might be the property of General Mclen..."

After hearing the officer's report, Bennott immediately understood what had happened.

He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Lisa's pale face, then turned his gaze to the man claiming to be Spring Water.

Frankly, he looked down on these Wasteland Wanderers, especially those living thousands of kilometers away from Triumph City in barbaric lands.

Not to mention that compared to the majestic Triumph City, this settlement known as City of Dawn was merely a speck of nasal mucus on the map.

However, despite his disdain, Bennott knew it was not a good idea to start a conflict with these people at this time.

They held something prized by the Marshal.

It was said that this item could help them eradicate the mutant mucor mother nests spread throughout the major city groups of the Wasteland.

Looking at the leader of the Storm Corps, Bennott approached, staring at him and said.

"I am Centurion Bennott, the representative sent here by Triumph City from the Army Corps, are you the highest-ranking here?"

"I am not, this person is." Spring Water pointed at Old White standing beside him, speaking in a half-joking tone.

Seeing Spring Water pulling him into the mix, Old White no longer kept a low profile. He stepped forward and extended his right hand toward Bennott, who was looking their way.

"Old White, commander of the Burning Corps. Also, don't listen to nonsense; all residents in the refuge have the same status, there's no high or low. Of course, our determination to defend the constitution of the Alliance is the same no matter who stands here."

He paused, then meaningfully added,

"Moreover, please send my regards to Generals Mclen and Soffett of the Ten Thousand Leaders, and tell them to visit often."

Hearing this guy mention those two embarrassing figures, Bennott's mouth twitched, but he still shook his hand.

"It's an honor… truly an honor. I can't believe such minor matters would trouble two corps commanders. But I must say, there might be some misunderstandings between us."

The old woman, Lady Sistil, in a long dress, looked at the centurion in surprise, unable to believe that such a person would bow to these savages.

Centurion Jimmy was equally incredulous, staring at Bennott's profile as if he had seen a ghost.

Of course, the most shocked were Lisa, her friend Emil, and the group of servants surrounding them...

The Weilante people, known for their resolute character, especially in the face of those they considered inferior due to different physical features,
these arrogant individuals could also yield...

Bennott was seething inside.

He certainly didn't want to bow.

But recalling the marshal's order and the observer monitoring him within the camp, he had no choice but to momentarily step back, pinching his nose.

He glanced sideways at those who had provocatively initiated the trouble, especially the old woman who thought she had done a great deed and the first maid who spotted the escaped slave.

He'll deal with these ignorant fools once back at the camp!

Old White didn't make it hard for him, merely giving him a meaningful look.

"I hope this is a misunderstanding and not some form of provocation… Also, our laws prohibit more than just enslavement. If you're too busy to study all the regulations, consider hiring a lawyer before making decisions."

Bennott's eyebrows twitched and he suppressed his anger, saying,

"That's good advice. I'll consider it!"

...

The crowd of onlookers grew.

Not only soldiers from the First Army Corps but also some passers-by came to join the commotion. Despite the secluded location, it wasn't devoid of people.

Watching the Weilante people tuck their tails and head back to the camp, Norrege, the foreign minister from the Free State, had a face filled with surprise and shock.

Unbelievable!

The Weilante people, who usually resorted to using their fists, had backed down just like that?!

Standing on the other side, amused, Minister Wu Changnian rubbed his chin with his index finger.

"Interesting."

Yi Chuan glanced at Minister Wu, curious about what he was thinking.

At the same time, at the camp, Old Soldier breathed a sigh of relief; he had noticed the conflict as it started, promptly contacted I Max Black via Storm Corps' emergency communication, and I Max Black had gotten in touch with Spring Water.

In any case, that guy had managed to arrive in time and controlled the situation before it worsened.

However, the offline message from Spring Water left him puzzled.

"MMP, I provided the support; why am I the one owing favors now?"

Old Soldier thought about the past instances when Old White had repeatedly urged him to visit the motel in Highway Town, telling him not to ask too many questions and just go, wondering what Old White was up to.

Old Soldier's thoughts stirred.

Maybe tonight would be good, finding a chance to sneak out and take a look…

Chapter 664 Have We Met Somewhere Before?

Just after he returned to the camp, Bennott's smiling face immediately fell, and he cast a sidelong glance at the guard beside him and tossed out an order.

"For those slaves who have just left the camp for some excitement, fifteen lashes each."

The guard nodded his head, ready to carry out the command, when suddenly something occurred to him, and he asked.

"And what about Lady Sistil?"

Hearing the name of that old hag made Bennott's face turn even darker.

"Give her thirty lashes!"

Damn it all.

If I can't deal with the Alliance, can't I deal with a few of you?

Every time Bennott thought of the looks in the crowd's eyes as they watched them, his heart filled with infuriation, and he wished he could take that clueless Centurion and flog him as well.

Unfortunately, in the Army, officers held higher status, and the factions within were united. Even though that guy was just a Centurion, without a valid reason, it wasn't easy to lay hands on him.

As for the slaves, he wasn't so particular.

Just then, something else occurred to Bennott, and he stretched out his hand to grab that soldier who had been about to carry out the order.

"Hold on."

The guard swiftly bowed and said.

"My lord, do you have any further commands?"

Bennott's expression flickered subtly.

"…Remember to close the door."

The guard was taken aback for a moment, his expression becoming inscrutable, before he finally nodded with subtle emotion.

"Understood!"

…

After the orders were given, Bennott returned to his own tent.

Perhaps because the soldier had followed his order and tied the tent flaps tightly, Bennott, who was sitting inside the tent, didn't hear the crack of the whip or the wails of those servants.

Bennott was still not satisfied, and the more he thought about it, the more suffocated he felt. Representing Triumph City, he had visited other Survivor Settlements, but he had never been treated with such disrespect.

These damned Barbarians, relying on the backing of corporations and the Academy, dare to look down on our Army!

It seems that those bastards from the Eastern Expansion faction hadn't beaten these scoundrels hard enough!

It is worth mentioning that although the Army failed to push the border line forward one inch in two expeditions east and lost countless soldiers, under the overwhelming propaganda of Triumph Newspaper, both expeditions still ended in overwhelming victories for the Army.

Bennott did not entirely believe in Triumph Newspaper; after all, his daughter worked there, and he, who often dealt with the propaganda department, knew very well how much those people could talk nonsense.

However, he had no doubt about the conclusion of Triumph Newspaper; no matter how stubborn the barbarians to the east of the Great Desert were, the Army's victory was indisputable.

They couldn't possibly lose to a bunch of Waste Land Wanderers; it was only because corporations, the Grand Canyon, and the Academy intervened that the price was a little steeper than expected.

And it was for this reason that His Majesty the Marshal had not held a triumphal ceremony for those fools who cost the people and wasted money; after all, there was nothing really to boast about.

At that moment, footsteps were heard outside the tent, followed by someone shaking the bell hanging next to the tent entrance.

Looking at the figure at the door, Bennott's brow furrowed slightly as he cleared his throat and called "Come in."

The tent flap was pulled aside.

Seeing it was the Pangolin standing at the entrance, Bennott's brow relaxed a bit, and he leaned back in his chair and said.

"What is it?"

In a departure from his usual reticence, the Old Soldier adopted an indignant manner and said in a deep voice, fanning the flames.

"My lord, why should we bow to them? If they are dissatisfied, why not fight them again until they submit?"

Hearing this foolish statement, Bennott sneered.

"You brutes, always thinking about fighting and killing, as if things are that simple! If a fight solved everything, why didn't you solve the problem last year? We're here to discuss Cooperation, not to fall out with them!"

Although Bennott spoke in a lecturing tone, after he finished speaking, he felt the better for it.

Seeing that Pangolin wearing the smug look on his face, Old Soldier couldn't help but admire Springs for the shoddy idea he suggested.

The fellow still had some merit.

"But… are we just going to endure this, letting them ride over our heads?"

"Cooperating with the Alliance on the 'Mutated slime fungus' issue is the Marshal's intent. Compared to this matter… other conflicts can be put aside for now." Bennott's eyes narrowed as he spoke deliberately, "Of course, this bunch has become a little too arrogant. I'll give them something to look at, subdue their arrogance, but not now."

Old Soldier's heart stirred with anticipation as he asked.

"What do you intend to do?"

Bennott glanced at him.

"Don't ask about things that aren't your business. I have my own ideas on how to handle it. And about what was said just now, don't tell anyone, especially Kuike."

Kuike is his deputy, holding the rank of Thousands of leaders, yet many throughout the delegation respected him greatly, even more so than Ambassador Bennott himself.

Even in the Army, where the status of military officers is higher than that of civil officials, it wasn't to the extent that a Ten Thousand Leader would need to salute a Thousands of leaders first.

Remembering Bennott's previous wary attitude towards the deputy, Old Soldier curiously inquired.

"Lord Bennott, speaking of which… What's the deal with Kuike? Why does it feel like you all are somewhat afraid of him?"

"Scared of him?" Bennott curled his lips slightly, speaking without any taboo, "Not really. His identity, however, is rather unusual—he's part of the Imperial Guard."

Old Soldier had never heard the term before and asked in surprise,

"Imperial Guard?"

He had only heard of the Youth Army.

It seemed that Vanus from the Alliance's staff had come from there.

Not surprised by Old Soldier's astonishment, Bennott said tersely,

"You haven't been to Triumph City, so it's normal you haven't heard of them. They generally operate only in Triumph City and won't leave without a Marshal's order. Simply put, they are the Marshal's eyes. That's all you need to know."

Although the topic of the Imperial Guard didn't seem to be sensitive, Bennott still appeared reluctant to discuss it further.

His evasive attitude incited a trace of curiosity in Old Soldier. Just as he was about to steer the conversation indirectly, Bennott suddenly gestured to him, beckoning him to come closer and whispered,

"Right, since you're here, you can do something for me."

Excited to trigger a mission, Old Soldier from the Battlefield Atmosphere Group turned solemn and promptly said,

"Your orders, my lord!"

Bennott spoke softly,

"I heard that the Free State's messengers are also in City of Dawn. Find their location for me… and invite them here to talk."

A thrill went through Old Soldier at those words.

Good fellow.

He had just been thinking about sneaking out when everyone was asleep later in the middle of the night!

With Centurion Bennott's mission, it would be easier to use that as an excuse.

Mentally noting Bennott's instructions, Old Soldier did not hesitate and nodded in agreement,

"Yes!"

Bennott nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand.

"Go."

Watching Pangolin move through the tent flap and leave the spacious tent, a faint smile hung on Bennott's face.

Although it was inconvenient for him to strike the Alliance personally, he could find an ally who equally despised the Alliance to do this task for him.

At that moment, however, neither the seemingly in-control Bennott nor the brazenly departing Old Soldier noticed that a pair of eyes were watching them from not too far away.

Standing at the entrance of the camp, Kuike let out a faint smile, then turned and went back to his own tent...

...

After leaving the camp, Old Soldier didn't immediately seek out the location of the Free State envoys but took a detour in the alleyways instead.

Making sure there was no one following him, he then headed to the nearest player save point, following the map he had checked on the official website.

Every settlement under the Alliance flag had such a facility, accessible only to players and employees hired by the refuge.

Not only were there sleep cabins for saving progress, but also rentable storage spaces and NPC stores selling "limited purchase equipment."

Equipment that had a Contribution Points threshold was one of the benefits the refuge provided for players, and here one could even buy power armor sets worth one million silver coins.

If sold at market price, adding a zero to the cost would still be considered a bargain; naturally, not just anyone could afford them.

As he approached, the staff member on duty glanced at Old Soldier's arm and yawned with fatigue,

"...Residents of the refuge?"

Old Soldier nodded,

"ID: Battlefield Atmosphere Group, I don't have my VM with me, use biometric identification."

There was no surprise at the strange pronunciation of the ID as the staff member efficiently pulled a dusty iris scanner out of the drawer.

"Look into the lens for a moment."

Old Soldier leaned forward, his eyes meeting the lens.

The signal light flickered twice.

Seeing the six zeros displayed on the screen, the staff member, who originally found this job bothersome, suddenly wore an astonished expression.

Good fellow!

Apprentice Knight!

One needed to reach a Contribution Points total of one hundred thousand to attain the Apprentice Knight Contribution Level, and each resident who reached that level was undoubtedly a hero who had risked their life for the Alliance countless times!

In just an instant, the way he looked at Old Soldier shifted from mere routine to deep admiration, his previous drowsiness completely forgotten.

"What would you like?"

Feeling slightly embarrassed by the fiery enthusiasm, Old Soldier smiled and said,

"A K-10 'Iron Wall' Exoskeleton with a full protection system. Do you have it in stock?"

"Of course! Please follow me!"

Handing over his station to another colleague on duty, the employee enthusiastically led him to the adjacent warehouse.

Following the staff member, Old Soldier stepped into the warehouse and picked out a K-10 Exoskeleton of the appropriate size to wear.

Standing in front of the mirror and putting on the helmet, he made sure he was covered up enough, and only then, fully satisfied, did he pay and leave the "Player Service Area."

Crossing the bustling streets, he headed straight to the trade station to the north, and as soon as the Battlefield Atmosphere Group appeared in the lobby of the tavern, the players sitting near the bar suddenly fell silent.

The first to recognize this guy was I Max Black.

His eyes popped wide open, and he vaulted off the barstool.

"Fuck! It's—"

Before his exclamation of surprise could finish, a gust of wind brushed his lips, pressing the name back down.

"Fuck! Don't just go shouting, okay! I'm still on a mission!" Old Soldier frantically pressed his hand over the other's mouth with a look of panic on his face.

Debt Giant Eye, with a cheeky grin, patted his shoulder and winked at him.

"What does it matter? The NPCs can't understand a word of Mandarin that Brother I Max Black is saying... But seriously, what were you thinking?"

Baffled by this comment, Old Soldier paused and then let go of the struggling I Max Black.

"What was I thinking?"

Debt Giant Eye glanced meaningfully to one side.

Following his gaze, Old Soldier saw a girl standing next to the bar with a tray in her hands, looking at him.

She wasn't tall, her nose was pale and delicate, and her fluffy light brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, giving her a cute and comely appearance.

She didn't look like a player.

She looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had seen her before.

Sneaking a glance at his smiling companions, Old Soldier instinctively switched to United Human Language, asking somewhat apprehensively,

"...Who are you?"

Hearing that low voice stammering in United Human Language, Lisa couldn't help but widen her eyes in disbelief, moisture flickering in her gaze.

"I... I am Lisa."

Lisa?

Old Soldier stared at her blankly, not recognizing the name, yet the more he looked at her, the more familiar she seemed, so he asked tentatively,

"Have we met somewhere before?"

Lisa quickly nodded, not taking her eyes off his, her cheeks reddening gradually as she finally mustered the courage to speak,

"Yes, it was... at Falling Leaf Ridge. Back then, General McCullen assigned me and others to you. So, so... I belong to you!"

"Cough!"

Hearing this explosive declaration, Old Soldier almost choked on his own saliva.

Especially when he caught a glimpse of Spring Water and I Max Black struggling to contain their laughter, his toes nearly dug through the floor.

Watching Mr. Pangolin suddenly coughing, Lisa hurriedly poured him a cup of hot water from behind the bar and rushed over, holding it out with both hands.

"Please, have some water."

"Thank you..."

Taking the cup from the young girl's hands, Old Soldier awkwardly brought it to his lips, only to splash it all over himself as it hit the helmet covering his head.

It was then that he remembered he was wearing a fully protected behemoth of armor, and he had not even lifted the helmet's visor.

"Hahaha!"

Seeing Old Soldier's embarrassing blunder, I Max Black could no longer hold back his laughter and burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. Even the usually stoic Old White could not help but crack a smile.

Unaware of the reactions of those around her, Lisa, with eyes only for Pangolin, hurriedly attempted to help remove his helmet but was gently stopped by his outstretched hand.

Looking at the puzzled Lisa, Old Soldier, unable to bear his friends' mocking looks any longer, put down the cup on the bar.

"Follow me."

Dropping that line, he walked toward a wooden door, leading Lisa to the courtyard between the main building and the annex.

The courtyard was nearly deserted, with dim lights, just a flower bed with some blossoms and a row of basins for rinsing one's face, giving it an empty feel.

As he looked at Lisa, who was nervously watching him, Old Soldier glanced towards the main building of the tavern, took a deep breath, and removed his helmet.

"It wasn't convenient to talk earlier, so to keep it short, I am on a very important mission. Pangolin... er, that's my codename. Just call me Battlefield when I sneak out; that's my real name."

After holding back for a long time, he still didn't have the nerve to give his full name nor mention the nicknames other players had given him.

Gazing intently into his eyes, Lisa nodded seriously, committing the name to memory.

"Got it! I'll remember."

"Thanks for cooperating... So, you're a survivor from the Fallen Leaf Camp? I thought I recognized you when I saw you," Old Soldier chuckled awkwardly and asked, "Are you here by yourself? What about the others?"

"They're here too; some are still in the City of Dawn, some have gone elsewhere to start new lives..." Lisa spoke softly, recounting events that had happened to him.

This included how the Storm Corps soldiers took over the camp after he left and how Grandpa Huck, the tavern owner, had offered her a job as a waitress.

Listening until the very end, Old Soldier's face lit up with a look of relief.

"That's great, I'm glad you all are living normal lives now; my efforts weren't in vain... How about you? Are you happy with your job?"

Lisa nodded vigorously, her cheeks tinged with red, and her bright eyes brimming with luminescent moonlight.

"Yes! Everyone is very nice and they take good care of me... Also, they told me you were on a long trip and it would be a while before you returned, but if I waited here, I would surely see you again. So I've just been... been staying here."

"Uh, what were you waiting for me for... Ah, if it was because of that general, you don't have to. You're now a citizen of the Alliance, not owned by anyone, and definitely not by me," said Old Soldier, trying to untangle the puzzled Lisa's thoughts.

To him, all this was part of a quest from a long, long time ago.

On the way here, he had already seen the Falling Leaves City, situated on the land where they once shed their blood.

The people there were now living normal lives, and things were getting better day by day.

At least for him, that expansion pack had reached a perfect conclusion.

"It's not because someone ordered me..."

Lisa puffed her cheeks, intending to speak up, but then seemed to remember something. She buried her raised head back down and said softly,

"I...I just wanted to say thank you, thank you for giving me a new life."

Old Soldier chuckled upon hearing this and reached out to pat the bowed little head.

"You're welcome. We came out of the refuge to do this...It's our work, and it's our mission."

He hadn't expected that side quest to have such a follow-up.

It seemed that, unknowingly, he had already changed many people's lives.

Watching the young girl in front of him, Old Soldier suddenly felt a trace of warmth in his heart, a feeling he had not experienced in other games.

Maybe it was because this game was too realistic.

The warmth that touched the depths of his soul was even more thrilling to him than silver coins and Contribution Points.

Perhaps, that was the real reason that drove him to continue the long undercover task, without any complaints or regrets...

Feeling the warmth atop her head, Lisa gently looked up, her eyes filled with a hint of reluctance as she spoke softly,

"…can you come and visit me often in the future? I will always be here."

Old Soldier replied with a smile,

"No problem! But to come often, I would have to wait until my mission is over. I might have to go elsewhere for a while."

Hearing this promise, Lisa's face finally blossomed into a happy and contented smile as she nodded vigorously.

"Mhmm! It's a promise! I'll wait for you to come back!"

At this moment, by the back door of the hotel lobby, a few heads huddled close together were watching the pair in the dark yard without blinking an eye.

Munching on the melon seeds excitedly, Crow couldn't help but murmur,

"He can't be that heartless, right?"

Teng Teng, feeling the strain on her neck from being squeezed, lifted her head with resignation,

"Why do I always feel like you're kind of hoping he'll turn into a beast?"

Crow smiled sheepishly,

"Hehe, I bet 100 Silver...but still, don't you think they're interesting? Cute Lisa has been waiting for him for a whole year, it must be true love!"

Watching this guy's increasingly gentlemanly smile, Teng Teng subtly scooted a little to the side, putting some distance between them.

Debt Giant Eye clenched his fists nervously, muttering under his breath,

"Damn it! Why hasn't that bastard kissed her yet! Don't tell me he's chickened out!"

As he saw the silver coins he had betted about to fly into someone else's pocket, he almost wished he could reach out and push the guy's head forward.

I Max Black yawned nonchalantly and said,

"So who actually won this bet?"

Spring Water Commander laughed and patted his shoulder,

"Ha ha, looks like it's a tie! Time to go, that guy is coming back!"

The crowd by the back door dispersed in an uproar.

Watching the people who had sneaked back in through the door and sat down, and the two figures, one tall and one short, returning shortly thereafter, Old White, who had been sitting at the bar all along, couldn't help but smile.

He probably had guessed what had happened.

Watching Old Soldier pass by the bar, Old White said with a smile,

"Wouldn't you have a drink before going back?"

"No, I still have a mission, and I have to go back and report soon."

Pausing next to the bar, watching the petite figure returning to the kitchen, Old Soldier continued,

"The Army's delegation is planning to get involved with the Free State, and Centurion Bennott has asked me to arrange a meeting with their envoys at the camp... By the way, pass a message to the Manager for me, tell him to keep an eye on Bennott's deputy. I heard that guy is from the Marshal's Imperial Guard, probably similar to the Guards Corps, but I didn't get the specifics."

Old White nodded earnestly and said quietly,

"I'll pass it on to him."

Taking his gaze back from the direction of the kitchen, Old Soldier suddenly looked speechlessly at the guy leisurely sitting at the bar,

"Speaking of which, you've been keeping this bit of news from me for a whole year, what's the fun in that?"

Old White laughed and glanced at him teasingly,

"Don't you think it's more interesting to discover easter eggs hidden within side storylines on your own? Plus, even if I had told you that there's an NPC who wants to thank you, you probably wouldn't have thought much of it, right?"

After giving the guy a look through his helmet, Old Soldier didn't deny his words but casually threw back,

"I'll buy you that drink next time."

As he watched that broad back disappear into the hustle and bustle, Old White gently raised his oak mug full of beer toward the entrance of the hotel and said with a smile,

"I'll remember that."

Chapter 665: The Players' Port

Southern sea area and the Baiyue Strait junction.

The rolling waves made a rustling sound, and as far as the eye could see, there was a tranquil and peaceful scene.

However, the survivors living in this area were well aware that beneath the seemingly quiet and pleasant scenery, turbulent undercurrents were hidden.

The Haiye Province to the northeast was ravaged by a plague, and the southern sea area to the east was no less troubled.

The war between the Southern Islands Federation and Shelter No. 70 had been ongoing for more than two months.

The underwater troops of the former had occupied the underwater settlement of Shelter No. 70 and had taken control of the entrance to the shelter.

However, the shelter was ultimately a permanent refuge capable of withstanding a nuclear explosion, and even the fall of the Tiangong Space Station hadn't taken it down, let alone the Southern Islands Federation still using quinine acid as mines.

For the shelter, sturdy as a turtle shell, the navy of the Islands Federation was powerless and could only blockade the entrance.

However, though they had lost control of the main entrance, the residents of Shelter No. 70 had not surrendered but relied on advanced diving equipment to wage guerrilla warfare against the Islands Federation at sea, seizing opportunities to attack the federation's fishing boats, cargo ships, patrol boats, and even the sea mining stations, snatching supplies while weakening the federation's maritime strength.

The two sides had been at a standoff for a full month, and neither could do anything to the other, and it was foreseeable that the deadlock would continue...

As usual, the patrol boat of the Southern Islands Federation sailed to the eastern exit of the Baiyue Strait, searching for Shelter No. 70's submersibles to prevent them from reaching the survivor settlements and ports along the coast of the Poluo Province for supplies.

Muda, carrying an assault rifle, stood at the bow, pulled out his binoculars for a look in the west direction, saw no sign of boats, and then waved toward the driver inside the cabin.

"Go forward a bit more!"

"Alright!" The bare-armed driver responded and skillfully switched to the forward gear.

Feeling the hot wind blowing in from the sea, Muda turned his gaze toward the shore covered in dense rainforest and squinted slightly.

He had heard that two centuries ago, that place had been a steel jungle. Lines of hundred-meter-long cargo ships formed a continuous line in front of the concrete ports, crowding the port with stacks of containers as far as the eye could see, just like the towering gantry cranes lining up endlessly.

It wasn't just hearsay.

He had seen that scene in some pre-war posters and pamphlets.

But he didn't believe it was true.

If that era had been so prosperous, why did they flee from the shore to that isolated island?

Wasn't living there good?

However, just then, a voice from his teammate came through the communication channel.

"We have a situation in our direct north!"

Direct north?

Muda was slightly stunned because he was looking in that very direction, where nothing was visible but the dense forest and some scattered concrete debris.

Just then, a shadow suddenly covered the dense jungle above, and he instinctively looked up at the sky, his pupils shrinking instantly.

He saw a massive object emerge from the clouds and descend in altitude. Its color was similar to the thin clouds, yet it stood out awkwardly against the patch of blue sky.

"... An airship?!"

Before the sailors on the speedboat could even feel surprised, they saw a string of black dots fall from the airship, opening parachutes mid-air.

Seeing clearly what was hanging on the parachutes, Muda's face slightly changed, and he grabbed the radio and yelled into the communication channel.

"Get away from the shore!"

His judgment proved correct.

At the same moment the two speedboats moved away from the shore, the parachutes had already neared the edge of the jungle and suddenly exploded into bursts of fire.

The flames falling from the sky turned the shoreline rainforest into a blazing inferno.

Mutant monkeys with sharp teeth howled as they fled deeper into the forest, and lizards and crocodiles that had been near the remnants of a discarded drainage pipe let out miserable cries before turning to ashes in the burning flames.

The fire was still burning...

Feeling the hot wind blowing from the shore, the federal sailors aboard the speedboat watched in stunned silence as the lush coastline was cleared in just a few minutes, leaving a space filled with charred wood and dead trees.

"Were those incendiary bombs?"

"What happened..."

Muda stared blankly in that direction, unsure of how to handle the situation before him.

A gunman standing on top of the cabin nervously lifted the heavy machine gun welded with a gun shield, guarding toward the sky but without any confidence to threaten the airship.

At the same time, another voice came over the communication channel from the captain of a speedboat.

"Damn... what's the deal with those guys? People from the Church?"

Muda swallowed hard.

"It doesn't seem like it..."

Just as his words dropped, another set of black dots hanging from parachutes descended towards the coast, where flames were still not completely extinguished, at an even faster speed.

This time, there was no explosion.

The silhouettes crashed directly onto the dark coastline, kicking up clouds of dust.

Muda instinctively took out his binoculars, looked toward the coastline, and soon saw a scene he would never forget.

One by one, "jet-black exoskeletons" emerged from the dust.

Their steel and polymer materials covered every inch of their skin; streamlined assault rifles were held in their hands, and black goggles completely covered their facial expressions.

The exquisite land combat gear was something Muda had never seen before, and he couldn't help but speculate about the identities and purposes of these individuals.

As he watched the group ashore, those people also noticed them floating far from the coast.

Lifting a fist to signal caution to his teammates, Killer Dagger walked to the shore and lightly tapped his helmet with his index finger.

"Unidentified NPCs discovered at sea, requesting instructions."

After a brief wait, Elder Fang Chang's voice came through the communication channel.

"...We didn't accidentally hit them, did we?"

Taking out his binoculars and glancing at the sea, Killer Dagger chuckled and said,

"Probably not, but it looks like they were quite startled. The two machine guns on the speedboat are pointed at you guys."

Those tiny tubes less than 20mm were like a dream if they hoped to bring down their airship. It was precisely for this reason that he didn't take the threat seriously at all.

Elder Fang, who was standing inside the airship's bridge, had also noticed the situation on the sea but didn't say much.

"I understand, ignore them and continue the mission."

"Received."

He touched the side of his helmet and Killer Dagger disconnected the communication.

After one last glance at the two speedboats on the sea, he shifted his gaze away and motioned for his brothers to continue advancing towards the edge of the rainforest...

...

The first thirty players deployed at the forefront on the coast were all brothers from the Burning Corps.

Their mission was to establish a temporary beachhead on the coastline with the support of air-dropped incendiary bombs, to suppress the nearby variants while ensuring the materials and machinery on the airship could be deployed smoothly.

After confirming the safety of the vicinity around the landing spot, Killer Dagger reported the ground situation to Fang Chang.

After the airship stabilized, it lowered ropes and a gantry crane, followed by waves of players carrying large and small packs along with the construction materials to the ground.

Compared to the players wearing exoskeletons from the Burning Corps, this group was a completely different picture.

Their chatter was nothing like that of survivors on the Wasteland; they were more like a flock of free-range ducks, noisy tourists.

"The sea!"

"Dog plan is awesome!"

"Hahaha, I finally saw the sea in the game!" One player rushed to the beach, excited like a 200-pound child.

Another person excitedly dove into the sea, seemingly wanting to verify whether the seawater was just a texture or a real model.

There were no surprises.

The beach in "Wasteland OL" looked as realistic as those in real life, aside from the crabs that could tear off one's nose and various bizarre variants.

Less than an hour after the first wave of players landed, the first casualty had already occurred. An Intelligence System player was dragged into the sea by a sea snake as thick as a calf that had wrapped around his ankle.

However, this did not affect the players' enthusiasm for the new map at all.

Holding his nose, missing a chunk of flesh, a player, who had been playing the game for less than three months, was excitedly shouting.

"Holy crap! This light! This water! It's freaking awesome!"

Watching the noisy beach and the newcomers mingling with lone Variants, Gnome King Riches spoke with a sense of emotion on his face.

"Sometimes I'm really envious of these rookies. I'm not even surprised by new maps anymore."

Strictly speaking, reaching Level 10 shouldn't really count as being a rookie anymore.

But compared to the old players who had been adventuring in the Wasteland since the Alpha test, these players, still excited, were indeed no different from rookies.

Elena gave Brother Fu Gui a comical look.

"It means you're almost used to this brutal Wasteland."

"Ha ha, maybe so!"

Gnome King Riches laughed and removed the Mechanical composite bow hanging beside his backpack, casting his gaze toward the rainforest where the flames were gradually dying out.

"Let's go, we should set off too."

"OK."

Watching Brother Fu Gui, who was already prepared, Elena expertly chambered her assault rifle and chuckled again, adding another line.

"Let's start with the task of finding a water source, and prepare the ingredients for dinner as well."

Hearing the latter part of Old Na's words, Brother Fu Gui involuntarily shivered, secretly praying in his heart.

I hope we don't encounter anything bizarre…

…

As the excitement of unlocking the new map passed, these players who had just stepped onto the new map had gradually settled down and were deeply involved in building the camp.

Some were responsible for clearing the dead branches and charred remains on the ground, some for organizing the living supplies and building materials unloaded from the airship, and others specifically for setting up tents and building simple defensive fortifications.

Of course, these works were not done for free; every task had its corresponding reward, and completing the tasks would earn them Silver coins.

Just like when the Diamond Lake Outpost Base was first established.

Only back then, the players who collected Silver coins from the Manager had now become the person editing tasks for other players and distributing rewards.

Apart from the life-profession players, the combat professional players weren't idle either.

The airship had just stabilized when the Bull Horse Group issued an exploration task to search for a water source, offering rewards ranging from 50 to 1000 Silver coins for finding a safe and reliable freshwater source.

Not just finding water sources, discovering nests of dangerous Variants also came with corresponding rewards.

And if one could eliminate a Variant nest, the reward would start in the four digits!

As depicted in the poster posted at the Dawn City Airship Inflation Station ticket counter, opportunities were everywhere here! Silver coins were everywhere!

As long as one seriously worked, at least earning back the airplane ticket money was no issue!

While the players onshore were busily engaged, the "Federal sailors" on two speedboats were all dumbfounded.

Especially the Coast patrol captain, Muda.

This series of baffling actions left him momentarily uncertain about what these people were planning to do.

After pondering for a moment, he commanded over the communication channel.

"Boat Group One, return to the Circular Island Port and inform the port authority of the situation here… tell them an airship arrived in the eastern region of Baiyue Strait with about two to three hundred people coming off it, and we are unable to determine their identities or motives."

The response quickly came through the communication channel.

"Received!"

After a pause, Muda continued his orders.

"Boat Group Two, follow me and move in closer."

The driver in the captain's cabin responded with a nod.

"Yes!"

Two speedboats took different routes, one heading east while the other moored in the shallow waters near the shore, where three men disembarked.

The players along the shore quickly noticed these newcomers and cast curious glances at the three NPCs.

Following Fang Chang's order, the Killer Dagger, who was clad in a "jet-black exoskeleton", took another teammate and approached the three men.

"Who are you?"

Facing the approaching soldier, Muda cautiously responded.

"Federation, and you?"

"Alliance!" After unhitching his helmet's visor, the Killer Dagger responded with a hearty laugh, "Our names do sound quite similar."

Hearing "Alliance", Muda was briefly taken aback.

He had indeed heard the name from merchants in the Silver Moon Bay, said to be a rising survivor force in the southern part of the River Valley Province, at least two or three thousand kilometers away.

What were these guys doing here?

As he puzzled over this, the Killer Dagger continued smiling and speaking.

"Right, we need to linger here for a while. Won't that affect you guys?"

Standing behind Muda, two sailors exchanged glances, sporting odd expressions.

Stay here for a while in this godforsaken place?

Are these guys crazy?

Like his two subordinates behind him, Muda was also stumped by the soldier's question and fell silent for a long time.

The Baiyue Province was a land without masters, and this beach was no exception. Although federal speedboats patrolled these waters frequently, it indeed wasn't federal territory, and island residents generally avoided this dangerous area.

At least, he hadn't heard of any federal plans to construct new facilities on this land.

Glancing at the weapons in these people's hands, Muda slowly began speaking.

"I have no objection. You can stay as long as you like, just don't hinder our work... However, don't blame me for not warning you, the Variants here are dangerous. Even with your decent equipment, camping here is definitely not a good idea."

A pleased smile once again appeared on the Killer Dagger's face.

"That's great! I hope we get along well! By the way, where's your settlement? Or the nearest port? If it's convenient, we might trade some goods."

Muda's expression subtly shifted as he lifted an arm, pointing in the direction of the southern sea area.

"Over there..."

"Over there?" the Killer Dagger said with interest, following the direction pointed to by Muda, "Where? I can't see it."

"…Of course you can't see it from here. You'd have to head approximately a hundred nautical miles southeast," Muda said irritably, looking at the not-so-clever individual.

The Killer Dagger gave an embarrassed laugh.

"That's quite far."

"We welcome you to our port for trade. If you manage to catch some game, you can sell it to us. But don't think about bringing that thing there; don't even think about it if you don't want trouble."

Wanting to spend not a second longer in this dangerous place, Muda pointed to the inflatable airship floating in the sky and hastily concluded this brief exchange with a warning statement.

"That's all I have to say. We need to leave now. Have fun here... I hope I can still see you in a few days."

"Definitely!"

Taking that as a blessing, the Killer Dagger laughed heartily and waved to the three NPCs who had returned to the speedboat.

"Bon voyage! Visit us when you can!"

Watching the man on the shore waving goodbye to them, Muda chuckled inwardly.

I hope you're still able to laugh in a few days...

-

(The latter half is not written, got a bit busy today...)

Chapter 666: Crisis-ridden Rainforest

At the same time the Southern Islands Federation patrol team left, Elena and Gnome King Riches led their exploration team deep into the jungle from their camp.

This makeshift team comprised only ten members, including two leaders; the other four were just players who had surpassed Level 10, equipped with basic miner's exoskeletons and both light and heavy armor plugins.

The flames ignited by the incendiary bomb had extinguished, and the rustling of insects around them resumed as if nothing had happened.

No one dared to take it lightly.

The locals would rather live on the islands than dwell on the mainland, and not because they had a particular fondness for the island scenery.

Though most players were fueled by a passion for the new map as they stepped onto this unfamiliar land, none wanted to literally end up as Variant fertilizer.

Especially not on their first day, when they hadn't even earned back their plane ticket money.

"This is the Seaside Port Area of Shilong City. A kilometer further northwest is the Seaside Residential Area, with groups of villas and a scenic seaside park..."

Elena glanced at the lush tropical vegetation around her while checking the tourist brochure in her hand, her expression gradually taking on a hint of subtlety.

It couldn't be said that it was identical to the illustrations in the brochure, but rather completely irrelevant.

Qingquan City also had large urban areas covered in vegetation, but it was an entirely different situation from here.

Here, although there were some remnants of reinforced concrete, most were ruins of the city's drainage system and road facilities.

And most were shattered into pieces, to the extent that their original form was unrecognizable.

As for the skyscrapers and coastal villas, they had completely disappeared without a trace of having existed.

Staring at the map in the booklet for a while, Gnome King Riches took out a pencil and circled an area in the north part of the port, tapping on it with the pencil tip.

"The underground parking lot in the north residential area of the bay might form water pits... just like in Qingquan City."

Elena gave him a funny look.

"Turn into a lair of Variants like Qingquan City?"

Gnome King Riches stroked his chin and pondered.

"It's quite possible!"

Elena chuckled and said,

"Great, two tasks can be done together."

"For safety, let's split into groups first."

Gnome King Riches ordered his team to divide into three groups, advancing in a triangular formation. This way, even if an emergency occurred, they wouldn't be wiped out in one fell swoop.

And if one group ran into danger, the other two groups could quickly support from both flanks.

This was the experience summed up by these veteran players on the battlefield, which was a good opportunity to pass on to the newbies.

However, even though the plan was meticulous, the speed at which the group advanced was far from ideal.

In less than three kilometers of cross-country, they encountered at least ten Variant attacks.

The two most dangerous encounters involved a mutated python as thick as a bucket and a group of pterodactyl-like mutated dog-nosed bats.

If Riches hadn't acted quickly by shooting an explosive arrow into the not yet dispersed mutated dog-nosed bat flock, the hastily assembled motorcade almost turned over!

Apart from those oddly shaped Variants, the dense vegetation in the rainforest itself posed a significant obstacle.

Vines hidden in the bushes could easily trip someone up if not careful, and those network-like vines were like natural low walls.

"Damn... the vegetation here is just too freaking dense." A strength-type player in heavy armor, who had cut through a blocking vine with a machete, couldn't help clicking his tongue.

"Why don't we just set fire and burn through?"

Carrying a rifle closely behind, an Agility system player murmured quietly, warily guarding against the surrounding jungle and the rustling shadows.

Walking at the very end, a Constitution system player chuckled and said,

"Incendiary bomb? Are you joking, brother? This is a tropical rainforest..."

According to historical data, a piece of napalm can cover 2,500 square meters of land but would generally burn only about 50 square meters of a tropical rainforest.

Trees in a humid environment and dehydrated construction timber are two completely different things; the fuel needed to completely clear a whole rainforest would be astronomical.

That expense might be even higher than clearing the Nago mycelium around Brocade River City.

"...Was this place really a city before?"

Wiping the sweat from his brow and looking at the nicked machete, the lead Strength-type player couldn't help but complain.

"From the pre-war maps it was, we should be near a highway now," said the Constitution system player from the back, pulling out a booklet from the exoskeleton, checking it, and then stuffing it back.

"A highway? Here?"

The Agility system player looked back in surprise.

The latter nodded his head, continuing succinctly,

"After all, two centuries have passed. Typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, and wildly growing vegetation... Without maintenance, it's not surprising that traces of civilization have been erased."

The game nicknames of the three of them are Genie Turtle, Squirtle, and Fool Turtle, revealing that they are close buddies who know each other in real life, and might even share a dorm room.

Such cases are not particularly rare in Wasteland OL, as the game's beta testing qualifications are never truly random but rather somewhat directed.

According to an analysis from an alpha tester on the forum, on the surface, Wasteland OL is about gaming, but it's actually aimed at creating a virtual community where AI and humans can coexist. If both players meet the operator's screening criteria and are familiar with each other, getting beta testing qualifications together is quite likely.

Of course, this is just one of the factors that influence the selection weight.

After a bit of idle talk, the three stopped chatting, focusing intently on observing their surroundings and carefully continuing their exploration.

Pushing aside a dense thicket, a collapsed concrete structure appeared before the eyes of the leading Genie Turtle.

Emerald green vines entwined around the cracked concrete walls, and one side of the wall led to a weed-infested land, the other to a pit tens of meters wide, its depths unseen.

"I'll go take a look... cover me." Genie Turtle swallowed, hung his machete on the exoskeleton, and switched to an assault rifle, cautiously approaching.

No sound from Variants.

Carefully checking the vine-covered walls and confirming it was safe, he then took out a flashlight and lit up the seemingly bottomless pit.

The bright beam of light reached deep into the pit, the shimmering glimmer catching his eyes.

Listening to the drip-drop sounds of water falling into the pit, a smile of relief appeared on Genie Turtle's face as he turned back to call to his teammates.

"There's water here—"

Before he could finish, he suddenly saw panic on the faces of the two teammates.

"Behind you!"

"Come back!"

Almost at the same moment as his teammates' cries of alarm, Genie Turtle standing beside the pit felt a massive force hit his ribs.

It was a vine as thick as an arm!

The thing wrapped around him like a tape measure, winding tightly twice around the exoskeleton breastplate and yanked him harshly backwards.

"Ugh!!"

His chest cavity was completely squeezed of air, and Genie Turtle's eyes bulged, nearly popping out of their sockets.

He felt like an insect trapped in a pitcher plant.

Driven by survival instincts, he grabbed for the edge of the pit.

However, the pressure on his chest increased, even bending the polymer padding attached to the exoskeleton inward.

"Bro Genie, hang in there!"

Squirtle quickly flipped off the safety of the grenade launcher mounted beneath the barrel and fired a high-explosive bomb toward the partially collapsed concrete wall.

The blast ignited on the wall, but the flying debris only scraped off a layer of wall plaster and a few shards of green debris, still not stopping the sturdy vine from tightening further and pulling downward.

"My... VM..."

Using the last of his strength, Genie Turtle, with eyes rolled back, gritted his teeth and pulled the VM from his arm, throwing it towards his teammates.

Almost at the same time, his eyes rolled upward and he could no longer hold on, getting swiftly pulled by the vine into the seemingly bottomless abyss.

"Genie!"

"Bro Genie!!"

Watching their teammate being swallowed by the unknown plant, the two teammates let out a mournful roar.

But the roar was quickly swallowed by the dark green jungle, leaving only the rustling of leaves and the subtle sounds of bugs.

Picking up the dirt-covered VM from the ground, Squirtle pressed his helmet solemnly, took a deep breath, and said.

"This is Team B, we've discovered a concrete structure storing a rich freshwater resource, but there seems to be a monster living inside..."

The reply came quickly through the communication channel.

Gnome King Riches: "A monster?!"

"More precisely... it seems to be a plant," Squirtle, still shaken, glanced at the deep pit again, swallowed, and continued, "Bro Genie was instantly killed, we couldn't even call for support in time."

The communication channel fell silent for a moment.

With the rustling sound of the electric current, Gnome King Riches continued.

"…Received, stay there, we're coming right now."

Squirtle nodded quickly.

"Alright!"

After the communication ended, he tucked Genie Turtle's VM into his backpack and glanced nervously at the now-quiet concrete structure.

From the outside, you would never guess it was a trap.

"Poor Bro Genie, gone in an instant."

Fool Turtle sighed, his gaze drifting towards the jungle but caught sight of a large tree thick as a bucket, its base covered with a row of dense green berries.

That thing looked oddly familiar.

He couldn't help but utter a slight "huh," bent over, and plucked a berry from the tree's base, examining it in his palm.

Seeing his actions, Squirtle, curious, asked.

"What are you doing?"

Standing up from the ground, Fool Turtle tossed the green berry he held to him.

"Don't they look familiar?"

Squirtle caught it, and with just one glance, his eyes rounded in shock.

"A bit... wait, damn! This is that!"

"Which one?"

Drawn by his astonished expression, Fool Turtle looked at him curiously.

Squirtle, breathlessly shocked, said.

"Nago! This thing is Nago!"

Hearing his answer, Fool Turtle also snapped back to reality.

"Damn?!"

…

The Sun moved from mid-sky to the west, and half a day had passed since the Alliance's cargo airship arrived at Baiyue Strait.

In just this short half-day, ten casualties had already occurred on the New Map.

Five occurred in the forest surrounding the camp, and the other five by the beach, quite evenly distributed.

Moreover, twelve players had sustained serious injuries during exploration missions that were difficult to heal.

To not waste precious game time, these players, after saving their progress in the Sleep Cabin, decisively chose to abandon treatment.

The Bull Horse Group's airship would carry the saved data, VMs, and recovered active substances back for those warriors within Alliance territory.

And this service was offered for free.

For a camp of over three hundred people, a reduction of more than twenty was a considerable loss.

At this moment, Fang Chang finally understood what that NPC meant by the cryptic words he left when departing.

It turned out he never really believed they could stay here permanently.

Think about it.

If the land was so easy to cultivate, they wouldn't have forsaken the resource-rich mainland and clung to survival on an island.

However, although this high rate of loss was hard for the NPC to accept, it was nothing but a trifle to the players.

After all, opening a new map.

A slight loss of life was perfectly acceptable.

"…We should speed up removing the jungle blocks, maybe hire the Jungle Corps," Fang Chang thought, looking at the camp shrouded in dusk.

Just then, the VM screen suddenly displayed an icon for an incoming communication request.

Seeing Old Na's ID appear on the screen, Fang Chang put on the headset and extended his index finger to press the answer button.

"Hello?"

"It's me, Elena."

"What's happened?"

"We found fresh water here, but the situation doesn't look optimistic, there seems to be a large carnivorous plant occupying the area, it might take some time to clear it out. Additionally, we discovered some Nago nearby, they appear to be wild,"

Hearing this intelligence, Fang Chang was immediately stunned.

"Wild Nago?!"

Elena: "emmm… How should I put this? They are somewhat different from the artificially cultivated ones we saw in Brocade River Province. These grow slowly, just like wood ear mushrooms on specific trees, and they only form a thin layer along the roots, easily confused with other berries in the bushes if not looked at closely."

Fang Chang furrowed his brow and immediately asked.

"What about the soil nearby? Is it contaminated?"

Elena: "I haven't seen any contaminated soil… as for seeing under a microscope, I'm not sure, I only have a magnifying glass here. I'm wondering if these naturally grown Nago are the original form of Nago, whereas the ones we encountered in Brocade River Province had Mutated slime fungus DNA implanted into them."

According to the official website settings, it seems to be described this way too.

The Nago originally came from the Southern sea area to Haiya Province, and they were just a special type of tropical fungus before the Torch Church genetically infused them with Mutated slime fungus DNA as a cornerstone for building Heaven.

Just like wood ear mushrooms.

After pondering for a moment, Fang Chang immediately said,

"Help me bring back some samples."

Elena chuckled.

"No problem! Oh, by the way, we sacrificed a team member to retrieve the samples, and that guy's equipment cost quite a bit of money, so about that..."

Fang Chang rolled his eyes.

"Would ten thousand silver coins be enough?"

With a satisfied smile appearing on her face, Elena replied joyously.

"Deal!"

...

Meanwhile, at the port of Ring Island.

A man dressed in luxurious clothing stepped onto the deck of the Meat Meat cargo ship, accompanied by Muda, the coast patrol captain, and two federal soldiers.

Seeing the group step onto the deck from afar, Sesame Paste quietly returned to the cabin with Misa and a group of children who had been out for air.

After pushing open the door to the captain's quarters and descending the gangway, Si Si glanced at the leading man, then looked at Muda, the only person she recognized, and asked warmly,

"Who is this?"

Muda looked towards the man beside him and introduced respectfully,

"This is Mr. Chaning, the governor of Ring Island. He is in charge of this port and the residential area behind it."

The governor?

After listening to Muda's introduction, a barely noticeable look of surprise crossed Si Si's face. She then turned towards the governor with a smile and politely said,

"Hello, esteemed governor sir, may I ask what brings you to our ship?"

Mr. Chaning responded expressionlessly,

"You've already been here for three days. If you were planning on purchasing supplies, you should have replenished them by now."

With an apologetic tone, Si Si replied,

"I'm very sorry, our ship has encountered some minor issues, and we might need to stay at your port for a few more days. Of course, we will pay the fees for the delay… I've consulted the port's manager, it's 1000 dinars per day, right?"

Mr. Chaning stared at her for a while, then suddenly spoke.

"You are from the Alliance."

Si Si slightly froze and gently raised her eyebrows.

"How did you know?"

"We did a little investigation in Silver Moon Bay, the White Bear Knights, right?" As he spoke, Mr. Chaning glanced at the flag hanging above the cabin.

Seeing that the other party was certain of their identity, Si Si knew denying it would be meaningless and even suggest insincerity on her part, so she straightforwardly admitted.

"Yes, I indeed am a citizen of the Alliance, but this ship isn't an Alliance warship, it's just a cargo ship we bought in Silver Moon Bay—"

Mr. Chaning waved his hand, cutting off her words.

"I don't want to waste time beating around the bush, let's get straight to the point. What exactly are you up to? You and those people, that airship docked to the west!"

Si Si was just about to deny knowing those people, as they had agreed beforehand on the forum to avoid unnecessary trouble.

However, just at that moment, she suddenly caught a flicker of apprehension in the governor's eyes.

She was sure she had not mistaken it; that apprehensive expression had appeared after confirming their identity and background.

Upon recollection, Si Si remembered the clues obtained from the investigation mission published by the Manager—the Southern Islands Federation was formed under the leadership of supporters of the Torch Church, and before that, these settlements were under the jurisdiction of Shelter No. 70.

If there were supporters of the Torch Church, even apostles, within the Southern Islands Federation, it would be understandable why they were so sensitive to the actions of the Alliance.

However—

Upon discovering they were people from the Alliance, they did not immediately show any hostile behavior but instead chose to probe.

Evidently, these people were not staunch allies of the Torch Church, simply aligned on their stance towards Shelter No. 70.

In other words, these people could be swayed.

With a slight shift in her thoughts, Si Si immediately altered her approach, pretending to be well informed about the airship.

As if the "Meat Meat" cargo ship was also part of some plan.

"Please don't be so tense. As you can see, we just set up a few tents over there. It's over a hundred miles away from you, that shouldn't bother you, right?"

"Do you think I would believe that?" Mr. Chaning glared at her, scoffing, "You come all this way, thousands of kilometers, just to set up a few tents?"

Si Si shrugged her shoulders, giving a look as if she had been seen through.

"Alright, to be completely honest...we plan to build a settlement there, to take in survivors who escape from the West Winds Empire, those Moon Clan people."

Mr. Chaning still looked incredulous.

"Why do you care about those people? What do they matter to you?"

Facing those probing eyes, Si Si smiled faintly and said.

"It's not directly our concern, but it isn't completely unrelated either. They are all survivors from the Wasteland, and ending the Wasteland is our duty. Any potential threats to the civilized world, we take action. If you haven't done anything wrong, you don't need to worry about us. We rarely interfere with other survivor settlements unless it becomes untenable."

As she spoke the latter part of her statement, her tone took on a significant implication.

Clearly catching the undertone of her suggestion, Governor Chaning's face stiffened as he stared intently at her.

"What do you mean."

Looking at him with a smile, Si Si said straightforwardly.

"We've heard a rumor that someone intends to collaborate with the lunatics of Haiya Province, to introduce Nago mycelium from the land into the ocean."

Mr. Chaning narrowed his eyes, a dangerous gleam reflecting from within.

"...Does this concern you?"

He didn't take the implied threat in those eyes seriously. Si Si simply nodded directly, stating matter-of-factly.

"Of course, it does, and significantly so. The plague on land is headache enough, and if those maniacs are thinking about spreading it into the sea, turning this planet into a complete mess, then all our efforts will have been for nothing."

"This planet?"

Mr. Chaning chuckled softly, looking at her and continuing.

"We don't see as far as you do, but how do you know that getting that stuff into the sea will mess up this planet rather than make it more normal?"

Si Si slightly raised her eyebrows.

"Oh? Do you think that would be more normal?"

"Do you think it's normal now?" Mr. Chaning retorted with a cold laugh, "Before those maniacs passed the Mind Interference Technology onto us, our fishermen and merchants had to risk their lives heading out to sea because of those Variants in the water!"

"And now, these experiments conducted by those maniacs in Haiya Province have already yielded enough success that both the Variants and the slime fungus have become as docile as flatfish! If we could introduce that stuff to the Southern sea area, not only would we obtain a huge, safe fishing ground, but we could also completely eliminate the Lair parasitizing on the wreckage of the Tiangong Space Station!"

"That thing is the root of all evil, the origin of all Variants... Its DNA has been contaminating the ocean for two hundred years! Do you think that's 'normal'? Now we have a chance to solve this problem once and for all, tell me, why shouldn't we do it!"

Si Si looked at him and asked.

"Does Shelter No. 70 think this way as well?"

Mr. Chaning dismissively curled his lip.

"Those folks have gone stupid staying in the refuge. They think the whole world should operate according to their methods, and that only by following their orders can things be good, quick, and right. It's like if we just obey, the world will return to how it was two hundred years ago, and they can bring back the Utopia they drew on toilet paper... Even now they can't explain how that Utopia disappeared."

Si Si fell into deep thought.

Initially, she thought these people were just like the survivors of Singular Point City, simply misled by the charlatans of The Church. However, it turns out they made their choices after careful consideration.

"Have you ever considered that what the Torch gave you…the Nago…might not be as wonderful as you imagine?"

Mr. Chaning candidly said,

"Yes, that thing isn't perfect yet, just like the Mind Interference Device. But at least those people have shown some results. We just need to use it properly, minimize its negative impacts, and the situation will be much better than it is now. Or do you have a better method?"

"Yes," Si Si looked at him earnestly, "We've already dealt with the Lair in Qingquan City… You must know about it, right? Researchers from Shelter No. 70 used to go there regularly to collect samples."

Hearing this, Mr. Chaning's face revealed a hint of surprise; clearly, he was not aware of the recent events in Qingquan City.

But soon, his eyes narrowed slightly.

This was the second time.

Dangerous light flickered in the governor's eyes.

"I was just wondering why you know so much about us... Have you recently been in contact with the people from Shelter No. 70?"

Not just his expression was gradually turning unfriendly.

The two soldiers standing behind him also began to show a menacing glare.

"To be precise, our Manager has been in contact with their Manager. However, we didn't just take their word for it because we are all refuge residents. Just like now, we are seeking your opinion."

Unfazed by his threat, Si Si stared at his eyes unflinchingly, continuing her words slowly and deliberately.

"I ask again for your opinion, if we have a better way to deal with the Lair residing on the Tiangong Space Station, would the survivors of the Ring Island be willing to give us a chance to prove ourselves?"

Mr. Chaning chuckled.

"Those people are much more generous than you, they promise not just to deal with the Lair at the Tiangong Space Station, but also the Variants across the entire sea area..."

At this point, he suddenly stopped.

Perhaps realizing that his polite wording was not just seeking his own opinion but was also giving him and the island under his feet a last opportunity, Mr. Governor eventually held back the refusal that was on his lips.

"...If you want to try, go ahead. The survivors of Ring Island have no reason to refuse you, but it will be difficult with the federal authorities, as some of them are apostles of the Torch."

Hearing this response, Si Si relaxed and a pleased smile appeared on her face.

Her judgement was correct.

Just as she had initially guessed, this newly-formed federation had only reached a consensus on the issue of Shelter No. 70, and the Torch Church hadn't completely pulled them over to its side.

The local survivors could be rallied!

"I'll be careful, and also, I'd like to talk to Shelter No. 70, if you could hold fire first, our work will go much more smoothly."

Mr. Chaning chuckled softly as he spoke.

"I can't help you with that, the war is a matter of the federation, you have to go to North Island and discuss it with the president of the federation. And I'd advise you not to waste your time, our disagreement with those guys isn't just about whether or not to let the people of Torch deal with the Lair of the Tiangong Space Station, they must pay for their arrogance all this time."

Si Si continued to ask.

"Can you tell me the reason for your battle? There must be a trigger."

Chaning replied impatiently.

"Freshwater."

Si Si paused.

"Freshwater?"

Chaning nodded.

"In the southern sea area, the artificial islands have no freshwater lakes, nearly a million survivors live here, we can't just rely on rainwater, the freshwater for the islands mainly comes from desalination plants."

Si Si asked, "They've taken over there?"

Chaning waved his hand.

"It's much worse than that, to make us comply, they first shut down the facility, then after we took over the facility, they blew it up, and that's not all...they also destroyed twelve of our ocean current generators and sea mining wells. Thankfully we still have solar and wind power to get by, but it's still very tight."

Si Si pondered for a moment and said.

"I understand... By the way, regarding freshwater, we might be able to help before you restore electricity."

Chaning looked at her strangely.

"You? It's a settlement of 100,000 people, how do you plan to help? Bring it from Silver Moon Bay?"

That boast was a bit too big.

Especially since just three days ago, these people had spent a high price to buy several trucks of freshwater from their port. If there was really a way to solve the freshwater issue, would they need to waste that money?

Unperturbed by the doubtful look, Si Si continued to speak.

"Didn't I just say? We plan to build a new settlement next to the Baiyue Strait, solve the Lair in the southern sea area at the same time, and by the way shelter those fleeing Moon people. There is land there with abundant freshwater resources. Not to mention 100,000, even ten million would be enough, and the cost is definitely much cheaper than desalinating seawater."

"Stop kidding," Chaning waved his hand and chuckled, "A settlement? If you can last two months there, I'll admit I was wrong."

Si Si narrowed her eyes slightly, smiling.

"Then let's give it a try."

Chapter 667: Build More Settlements, Don’t Be Shy

"Dear Manager, by the time you read this email, our Bull-Horse cargo airship has already arrived over the Baiyue Strait, and we have established our first base on the north shore of the outlet leading to the Southern sea area."

"To be honest, the situation here is more complex than we imagined. Traces of civilization have completely disappeared under the erosion of seawater, and the nearest Survivor Settlement is over a hundred nautical miles away on an island, meaning we can't gain experiential help from the local survivors. We have to rely entirely on ourselves."

"Moreover, the suitable climate has enabled the mutated creatures here to evolve at an incredible rate. The rainforests are filled with Variants we've never seen before. On the first day we arrived, we encountered lizards bigger than crocodiles, crocodiles comparable to dinosaurs, pythons that could swallow a Double-headed Cow, as well as baby-sized bats, and scorpions and rats half a person tall... even carnivorous plants!"

"Of course, the most incredible thing was discovering wild 'Nago' here, which might be the most primitive strain! What's puzzling is that our enemies haven't transplanted the modified Nago to this area to make it a breeding ground for Nago fungus. We can't help but suspect that there is some unspeakable secret involved. Regardless, we've sampled the strain, and it will be returned to the City of Dawn on the next return flight."

"Returning to the point, a series of troubles has caused significant casualties to our exploration teams searching for water sources in the jungle. Fortunately, we only lost twenty-two lives, managed to map the area within ten kilometers of the landing point, and cleared an area of open space near the shore that is relatively safe."

"Next, we plan to encircle our camp with the Enclosing Wall, replace our tents with proper housing while removing the nearby rainforest. For this, we need a large amount of building materials, more airships, and the help of the Jungle Corps. It would be great if you're willing to provide some help for the future port for the Alliance; our strength is too thin, and it would take a very long time to complete this work on our own."

"Additionally, following your teachings, we have initiated peaceful contact with nearby Survivor Settlements to avoid direct military conflicts. Thanks to the crew of the Meat Meat, the governor of Ring Island has agreed to trade with us, and if we can solve the freshwater problem, they agree to help us produce some of the tools we need."

"I think this is a good breakthrough. If we can prove that our methods are more efficient than those of the Torch Church, we might rally some of the islands to join our camp, thus weakening the influence of the Torch Church in the Southern sea area, and even completely win over the local survivors to our side, forming an encirclement against the Torch Church from the South!"

"Our final battle with the Torch Church is inevitable, and I can feel that this ultimate battle is not far off. I believe you think the same and have always been preparing for that day. I am absolutely certain that the outcome of this final battle will determine our future and the future of our civilization!"

"For this reason, we once again earnestly request your help, not only in terms of resources and manpower, but also the assistance of professional biologists to help us deal with the troubles on this land. Please believe in us, this investment will definitely not disappoint you!"

"—Your most loyal subordinate, Long Days Ahead"

Not bad.

He has potential.

Reading the email on the holographic screen—or rather, the big pie in it—Chu Guang couldn't help but smile lightly.

He had always been drawing pies for the players as the Dog plan.

Now, his little player had finally learned his best skill and started drawing pies for him, the Manager of the Alliance.

The email was written by Brother Fang Chang after he logged off, sent to him via "Wasteland OL" Official Website's Task system.

But it has to be said, it's quite an enticing pie.

If his little players really could unite the survivors of the Southern sea area and remove the influence of the Torch Church from there, the Alliance could encircle the Torch Church from both North and South, sealing off all escape routes for these roaches.

At the least, it could prevent them from fleeing southward and continuing to cause trouble in other parts of the Wasteland...

After rereading the email twice, Chu Guang tapped his finger lightly on the desk and pondered for a long time before speaking.

"Xiao Qi."

"Here, Master," Xiao Qi, seated on the pen holder, raised his right hand high with an eager expression on his face.

Seeing that enthusiastic demeanor, Chu Guang chuckled lightly and extended his index finger to gently rub the top of its head, saying,

"Help me compose a reply, I'll dictate and you write."

Having said that, Chu Guang leaned back on the couch, gazing at the ceiling of the viewing room, and after thinking for a moment, he began,

"I am comforted to see your growth; you have learned how to actively strengthen our forces and spread the light of order to distant places... and this has come sooner than I imagined. You have given me hope of achieving our ideals in my lifetime."

"I will provide you with all the necessary support; the Jungle Corps will immediately begin moving to Baiyue Province by airship. At the same time, a team of biological experts will be stationed at the settlement when the situation permits."

"You need to ensure a stable supply of electricity, fresh water, food, and basic living materials locally, and achieve a balance of income and expenditures. Moreover, you also need to help the local survivors establish order and guide them to participate actively in our endeavors, rather than simply waiting to be fed or supported by you."

"This is not an easy task, but I believe that with so many ready references, you can definitely complete this arduous yet glorious mission."

"Lastly, why not name this future gem of the sea? It will follow us into a new era, so take some time to think seriously about it!"

Just as Chu Guang finished speaking, Xiao Qi had already edited the email and even automatically polished it for him.

"Should I send it now?"

Looking at Xiao Qi, who asked him, Chu Guang thought for a moment then said,

"Send it now. Also, later help me draft another task and send it to the Jungle Corps and the Burning Corps, instructing them to deploy in the Baiyue Strait area."

"We need to construct a military base with airport facilities locally, support the construction of the survivor settlement, and ensure the safety of the settlement when necessary. Once the military base is completed, we will assign a few reliable officers from the staff headquarters to issue tasks as NPCs; it seems more appropriate for tasks concerning the army to be issued by us."

Chu Guang's instructions were fully noted down, and Xiao Qi nodded earnestly.

"Received!"

...

Southern sea area, North Island, Presidential Mansion.

A man, around thirty years old, stood by the wall displaying a map of the Southern sea area, staring intently at the thirteen islands and various colored markers on the map.

He was tall, dressed in an old Air and Space Army uniform, his brows furrowed into a gray line, his gray eyes shining brightly.

His name was Mongo, the first president of the Southern Islands Federation, and also the supreme commander of the Federal Navy.

Standing behind him was Charles, the director of the Presidential Office and the Chief of Staff of the Federal Navy, who was also his most trusted aide.

The Southern Islands Federation had been established just two months ago, its organizational structure was still rough, with the cabinet only just completed and the parliament still in preparation. Although their initial plan was to establish an independent naval command system, the war with Shelter No. 70 did not wait for them.

Therefore, the Federal Navy was currently directed by the Presidential Mansion, with most of the mansion's staff also holding naval positions.

Watching the expressionless president, Charles reported with a grave expression.

"...The submersibles from Shelter No. 70 are still continuously attacking our vessels. Just yesterday, another cargo ship was sunk two hundred nautical miles east of North Island, and all fifteen crew members on board perished. We received a distress signal and immediately dispatched a warship to search the nearby waters, but unfortunately, the attackers had already escaped by the time we arrived."

Mongo said nothing, just kept his eyes fixed on the map's upper right corner where a red circle and the small number fifteen were marked.

This cargo ship was different from others; it did not carry much cargo but some daily necessities and camping tools.

Besides eight sailors, there were four experts in geology and biology, along with two soldiers responsible for their safety.

Their original plan was to head to the northwest frontier of Haiya Province, beach the cargo ship ashore, and in the unoccupied coastal mountain areas, find a suitable location to establish an inspection station.

One of the reasons was to search for fresh water and minerals on land, preparing for the Southern Islands Federation to establish settlements on land. Another reason was to examine the actual conditions of Haiya Province, to see what their "Heaven" was really like, and whether it was as wonderful as The Church described.

After all, somethings cannot be understood with a mere glance; only through prolonged contact can their true nature be revealed.

Mongo did not completely believe in The Church and its described "Heaven," even though he had previously seen the land where people and nature existed in harmony.

Rather than allowing The Church to unilaterally share their experience in governing Mutated slime fungus and variants, he preferred to send some experts to Haiya Province for a firsthand inspection.

Even if it was just around the perimeter of Heaven.

This way, the Southern Islands Federation could take the initiative in introducing technology, avoiding being completely led by others.

However, it seemed that someone was trying to stop them from doing this.

This was the third cargo ship to be sunk.

While various clues indicated that all three attacks were the work of Shelter No. 70, Mongo couldn't help but harbor some doubts.

He was all too familiar with the residents of Shelter No. 70.

Like other Blue Jackets, their most notable trait was their confidence—or rather, an almost arrogant self-assurance.

This self-assurance stemmed from the era they remembered and the knowledge, experience, and methods they inherited from that era. Although this made them seem somewhat out of place in the Wasteland Era, they never doubted that they were right.

In other words, they were more dismissive than apprehensive about The Church's plans.

Even if they couldn't offer a better solution, they had absolute confidence that The Church's methods would definitely not work.

Therefore, Shelter No. 70 did not oppose contact between the survivors in the Southern sea area and the people of The Church. In the past twenty years, the survivor settlements in the Southern sea area had never closed their ports to the people from the north.

It wasn't about the simple dichotomy of right and wrong. A person with ultimate confidence does not bother about how individuals with opposing views blabber.

To him, that is nothing more than the nonsense of a madman on his deathbed.

If attacking the Southern Islands Federation's cargo ships were a reasonable tactic during wartime, the rationale for attacking the survey ship seemed somewhat far-fetched.

"They should have been eager for the survivors in the Southern sea area to see the true colors of those fellows earlier, so why would they hinder the Southern Islands Federation's exploration vessels from delving deeper into understanding the situation at Haiya Province?"

"Three times in succession they sank them, and moreover, these occurred when the cargo ships clearly deviated from the trade routes."

"If this is to be called an accident, it's too far-fetched."

"… It seems they are intent on taking this war to the end."

Watching President Mongo, who had been silent, suddenly speak, Charles, standing not far behind him, quickly echoed the sentiment.

"Indeed, their range of attacks is getting broader, and it has reached a point of indiscriminate nature, so we must be prepared for a long-term confrontation with them."

Mongo turned away from the map and faced his staff, asking,

"Do you have any good suggestions?"

Charles cleared his throat, choosing his words carefully,

"Relying solely on our own strength, it will be difficult to win this war… Their submarines appear and disappear unpredictively; if we let them continue to deplete our resources, in another two months we may have no ships left other than warships. Meanwhile, they can stay in the refuges indefinitely and don't have the burden of a large population, which places us at a disadvantage the longer the war drags on."

At this point, Charles shifted his tone and continued,

"Coincidentally, we've recently received news from the Torch Church that they are willing to take over the management of the underwater settlement near Shelter No. 70 and set up a security zone in the nearby waters… We could smoothly transition and entrust Coral City to their management. In doing so, nearby facilities such as the ocean current power station, submarine power cables, and seawater desalination devices will also be secured."

"If we can ensure the supply of electricity and fresh water, the various islands of the Federation will have more confidence in our conflict with Shelter No. 70."

Coral City is the fourteenth settlement of the Southern Islands Federation, and the only one directly governed by Shelter No. 70.

With a regular population of about thirty thousand, it is located next to the entrance of Shelter No. 70, just five kilometers from the ruins of the Tiangong Space Station.

The settlement houses residents of Shelter No. 70 and some experts trained by the refuge, mainly engaged in the development of marine resources and research on the lair at Tiangong Space Station.

Before the establishment of the Southern Islands Federation, Coral City's experts were responsible for operating most of the maritime facilities in the Southern sea area.

After the outbreak of war, Shelter No. 70 completely severed ties with the survivors outside the refuge, including those from Coral City.

To punish what they called traitors, Blue Jacket from Shelter No. 70 barbarically blew up the nearby ocean current power station and cut off Coral City's power and oxygen supply systems, nearly dooming those thirty thousand survivors to a watery grave.

Fortunately, the Southern Islands Federation provided timely aid, restarted the gate facilities of Coral City, and transferred the survivors of Coral City to several islands in the northern part of the federation such as Bawei Island and Anle Island before the oxygen ran out.

Coral City is the closest settlement to the lair and has a lot of ready-to-use scientific research facilities and data.

For the Torch Church wanting to take over the abandoned Coral City settlement, it wasn't surprising to Mongo at all; in fact, it was completely expected.

They had been eyeing the place for a while, and this wasn't a recent development.

Long ago, they had suggested occupying Coral City to cooperate with Shelter No. 70 in researching the lair at Tiangong Space Station, but they were refused.

Still, their direct request caused Mongo to slightly raise his eyebrows and say with a half-smile,

"Is there such a good deal?"

Charles respectfully spoke,

"They might not have good intentions, but I think we could consider it. As you know, the settlement is currently in an abandoned state without maintenance; if it's left untended long enough and a leak or other accidents occur, it may soon become uninhabitable."

"If the Torch is willing to take over the settlement, our defensive pressure at sea will also be greatly reduced. If the submarines from Shelter No. 70 attack those facilities promised protection by the Torch Church, it would undoubtedly be equivalent to declaring war on the Church... Whether they have the guts to do so or not, it would be all benefit and no harm for us."

Mongo said expressionlessly,

"The conflict between us and Shelter No. 70, we will resolve it ourselves; we don't need them to trouble themselves over Coral City."

Seeing that His Excellency the President had no intention of relenting, Charles, wanting to say more but unable, simply gave up on persuading him and nodded,

"I will comply with your arrangements, I was only providing a viable option... However, I still suggest you reconsider my proposal."

"We'll see, I will think about it."

Drawing his gaze away from his aide, Mongo turned his attention back to the sea chart hanging on the wall and continued speaking.

"Is there anything else to report?"

Charles nodded quickly and replied,

"Yes."

Mongo said, "Speak."

Charles immediately said,

"The alliance's airship has arrived at the eastern mouth of Baiyue Strait, located to our southwest, and they have established a base there."

Alliance...

Mongo's eyes narrowed slightly.

He had heard of those fellows.

It seemed they were a force risen in the Southern River Province, more than two thousand kilometers away from here. Only a few merchants from Silver Moon Bay had visited there, and the rumors about that place were many and varied, making it hard to discern truth from fiction.

"What are they trying to do?"

Charles hesitated before saying,

"It's not clear yet. The governor of Ring Island reported to us that those people are planning to build a settlement in the Baiyue Strait... Currently, there are about three hundred people there, but that was yesterday's count. Today's numbers are still unknown."

Upon hearing this interesting statement, Mongo couldn't help but laugh out loud, coughing into his fist that he pressed against his lips.

Charles also chuckled and continued,

"They show no hostile intentions for now, but I feel their motives for coming here are not pure... This morning, they sent us a telegram via the Governor's Mansion on Ring Island."

Mongo extended his hand.

"Let me see it."

Charles nodded, quickly pulled out the telegram from the folder beneath his elbow, and respectfully handed it over.

Mongo took the paper and briefly scanned it.

The message was brief, succinct enough to sum up in two sentences: first, a cordial and friendly greeting to the neighbors, and second, declaring the alliance's ownership of that region.

Mongo didn't pay much attention to either statement and even found them amusing.

A little more than a month ago, he had proposed to the Torch Church that they establish a "Cooperation Pilot" on the east coast of Baiyue Province, given that the climate conditions were similar to those of the Southern sea area.

However, the latter refused their suggestion citing the complexity of the situation in Baiyue Province, insisting on conducting research in either an island or underwater settlement in the Southern sea area.

Clearly, it wasn't just Shelter No. 70; even the Torch Church was temporarily at a loss about what to do with that land. Mongo did not think those guys, situated more than two thousand kilometers away, had any better ideas.

Especially when he saw the last line of the telegram signed off, he couldn't help but laugh for a second time.

"...Potato Harbor."

What a ridiculous name.

Were these guys serious?

Charles also chuckled along, remarking sarcastically,

"It sounds like a joke."

"Whether it's a joke or not, it's better to formally reply."

Holding the telegram, Mongo pondered for a couple of seconds, then threw it back at Charles and cleared his throat to continue,

"Send them a telegram back, saying... Hope you are having fun in the woods, and feel free to build more settlements in Baiyue Province, don't be shy."

"And when you return, remember to send my regards to your manager."

Chapter 668: The Wholesome Return of the Bull and Horse

"Recently, the Bull Horse airship, which departed from Dawn City, successfully arrived at the eastern region of Baiyue Strait and established an outpost on the northern shore for exploring Yue Ma Province."

"At present, the outpost is garrisoned by more than three hundred residents of Shelter No. 404. The local construction team has marked out the camp's perimeter with a one-meter-wide trench and a three-meter-high earthen wall. Furthermore, watchtowers and machine gun positions have been established at various sections of the enclosing wall to ensure the camp's security."

"In addition to this, the search team formed by the residents of the shelter have expanded their activity area from five kilometers from the shore to ten kilometers, incorporating the 'Old Site of Shilong City' adjacent to the coastline into their search range to look for possible shelters or survivor communities."

"In an interview, residents of Shelter No. 404 stated that they would search for survivors and relics from the pre-war era in the area, with the shoreline outpost serving as the center for spreading out and restoring local civilization and order."

"If all goes well, this will become the first restoration zone of the Human Revival United Front in Yue Ma Province. The Manager highly commended this initiative and dispatched both the Jungle Corps and the Burning Corps to support the local restoration and construction efforts."

"At the same time, on the unanimous vote of the exploration personnel, the outpost was named Potato Harbor."

"The Southern Islands Federation, located in the southern sea area, sent a congratulatory message to our side. Along with sincere greetings to the Alliance's Manager, the President of the Southern Islands Federation, Mongo, also earnestly expressed his hope that more ports and settlements could be constructed in the area."

"The residents of Potato Harbor stated that they would not disappoint their neighbors' expectations!"

"…Broadcasted by Dawn City TV Station."

Three days after the President of the Southern Islands Federation responded to the telegram from Potato Harbor, the telegram returned to Dawn City along with the returning Bull Horse airship.

At this moment, the waiting hall in Dawn City's train station was bustling with people. The news from eight o'clock this morning played on a television hanging in a corner of the hall.

A group of travelers carrying suitcases gathered in front of the television, watching the news anchor announce today's headlines, expressions of surprise appearing on their faces.

Another settlement has been added to the Alliance!

And it's more than two thousand kilometers away in Yue Ma Province!

Although players had been discussing this on the forum for a few days, it was still big news for the residents of Dawn City.

Especially for those survivors who had just returned from other settlements, who began to gossip with other travelers nearby.

"Potato Harbor?"

"Is that the fries sold with Coke?"

"Incredible… Yue Ma Province, if I remember correctly, that place is a tropical jungle!"

"Have you been there?"

"No… I just passed by there once on a boat."

"Wow, someone actually visited such a remote place!"

"I was going to Poluo Province to buy spices and beast skin, planning to transport them to a coastal settlement in Province of Yúnjiānxíng. Traveling by land would have required passing through a vast Wasteland, so I took a commercial ship from Silver Moon Bay via sea route… In fact, any commercial ship traveling east-west passed through that waterway."

"It's surprising that such a prime location doesn't have any settlements."

"Settlement? Ha, not just no settlements, there were no living people to be seen at all."

"The entire Yue Ma Province is an uninhabited zone, the nearest settlements are either in the southern sea area or Haiya Province. Speaking of which, there were some survivor communities on Death Coast before, but ever since the Torch Church reached Haiya Province, we haven't heard much from them."

Upon hearing the name of the Torch Church, many of the originally interested travelers showed expressions of taboo and even fear.

Many residents of the Alliance had fled from Brocade River Province.

Especially some merchants who had traded in the Brocade River Province area had witnessed first-hand the unspeakable evils committed by the Torch Church in various parishes.

If regular looters were simply bad, those guys were evil with a twisted sense of mission.

Very few people could truly understand what they were striving for, and by the time they realized, they had already become their fertilizer.

Yue Ma Province was too close to the influence zone of the Torch Church.

If the Torch Church intended to strike at Potato Harbor, the Alliance might not be able to support the survivors there in time.

However, despite safety concerns, most traders were very optimistic about the economic value behind Potato Harbor.

It was heard that the industrial zones of Dawn City, City of Dawn, and Giant Stone City had made a hefty profit thanks to orders from the Bull Horse Group.

At Factory No.81, tank chassis had their armor plates removed and welded with mechanical arms from Huge Rock Military Industry to form earthmoving excavators.

Goblin Technology had inserted two buoys next to the bomb dispensers of W-2 attack aircraft, transforming them into seaplanes capable of taking off from the sea.

All these items sold very well in Potato Harbor.

In addition to these large machines, there were engineer shovels for earthmoving, fishing nets for fishing, diving cylinders for diving, and more.

And it wasn't just these immediate benefits.

If the Alliance could establish a maritime trade route connecting the East and West Coast of the Central Continent, the economic value behind it was immeasurable by money!

Currently, there was only one airship route operated by the Bull Horse Group from Dawn City to Potato Harbor. However, the capacity and efficiency of airship transport were not very high and would definitely be replaced by other means of transport in the future.

Many shrewd merchants were already pondering in their minds, contemplating how to open up new trade routes starting from the eastern Yue Ma Province or the western Falling Leaves Province.

For instance—

Incorporating No.4 Oasis into the Alliance's railway network.

The goods produced in the industrial zone of Dawn City could then be loaded onto ships at the port of Silver Moon Bay and transported along the west coast of Yue Ma Province to the Alliance port in Baiyue Strait.

The cost of rail and sea freight was much lower than that of airships, and the transportation capacity they provided was also significantly larger...

...

As passengers inside the waiting hall engaged in lively discussions, the airship inflation station in the suburban area of Dawn City was equally bustling.

A similar scene had occurred a few days earlier.

Back then, the place had been packed with players buying tickets to the new map, and now, several days later, it was crammed with the sounds of merchants hawking their wares.

"Come and see, fresh seafood from Baiyue Strait! Cold chain air transport! Guaranteed fresh!" Near the airship unloading point, a player dressed as a fisherman had set up a small stool and was yelling to sell his goods, which were placed next to a long row of foam boxes filled with ice and seafood.

The pungent fishy smell had passers-by walking around the area to avoid it, but there were also many who liked it and gathered around.

The Bull Horse airship brought back to Dawn City not only friendly greetings from the survivors in the southern sea area but also gifts from the sea and rare beasts from the shore.

Most of the live specimens were sent to the Dawn City Zoo or to Shelter No. 79, which specialized in researching wasteland species. As for those that weren't captured alive or died on the way, naturally, they ended up pleasing the food lovers of Dawn City.

Pulling her older sister Frost Snow along, the little one, Frost Night, curiously squatted on the ground and poked a starfish frozen solid.

"Boss! What's this?"

Seeing a customer show interest, the player enthusiastically began to explain.

"Starfish! Caught by my brother with less chatter!"

Hearing this strangely pronounced name, Frost Night remembered that uncle always fished by Rhombus Lake and occasionally shared his catch with residents nearby. So she looked around but didn't see him.

"Where is Uncle Less Chatter? Why isn't he here?"

Looking at those curious big eyes, the fish selling player coughed subtly.

"Uh, that guy is staying in the shelter and won't be out until tomorrow, so he asked me to sell these in his stead."

Frost Snow gently tugged at her sister's sleeve, softly chiding her.

"Frost Night, don't go asking about the affairs of the residents of the shelter, okay? It might trouble them."

"I was just curious..."

Frost Night puffed her cheeks and turned her head away, but she wisely stopped asking further and once again focused on the starfish, which was as big as a washbasin.

"Can you really eat this?"

"Of course! We first allow the intelligence system to taste it, and only if it's deemed safe do we bring it out for sale!"

Saying this, the player picked up a starfish frozen as hard as rock and took out a small blade to gesture on it.

"Right here, once it's thawed a bit, just cut here with a small blade. Inside is all yellow, tastes wonderful dipped in soy sauce! Or you can make a soup with it!"

"Sister..."

Seeing the longing in her little sister's eyes, Frost Snow made a helpless expression and took out her wallet.

"Then... give us one, please."

"Right away! I'll wrap it up for you!"

The player skillfully picked one from the foam box, weighed it, packed it, and handed it to this NPC young lady.

"That will be 26 silver!"

26 silver coins were not cheap, but for the residents of Dawn City, who had little pressure to survive, buying it to try something new was no issue.

Since the beginning of the year, jobs paying less than 1000 silver a month had disappeared in Dawn City, not to mention she worked in the well-paying Merchant Guild.

She counted out 26 silver coins from her wallet and handed them to the stall owner, watching the delighted Frost Night hugging the starfish and cheering. Frost Snow couldn't help but smile and gently rubbed the little one's head.

"Don't play with food, put it away, and I'll make you a soup."

"Mmm!" Frost Night excitedly nodded, clutching it even tighter. "Before Mr. Starfish turns into soup, I'll take good care of it!"

The two were planning to stroll to other stalls to see if there were any other interesting little items, but just as they moved a few steps away, they heard someone exclaim from a nearby fish-slaughtering stall.

"Boss, why is there a sock inside this fish?"

The player holding the sock was also puzzled, scratching the back of his head before tossing it into a nearby trash can, casually dismissing.

"Uh... maybe another fish was wearing it?"

The customers buying seafood around were immediately surprised.

"The fish in Baiyue Strait wear socks?"

Before the player could respond, an old man holding a plastic bag quickly answered with a chuckle.

"Yes, indeed! I just passed another stall, where they found a pair of trousers in the belly of a fish."

The crowd around the stall was murmuring in admiration, calling it unbelievable.

Holding a starfish, Frost Night's eyes sparkled with curiosity and anticipation.

"The fish in the sea... so amazing!"

With a subtle expression, Frost Snow gently tugged at her sister's arm, leading her away from the seafood stall.

"Let's check out other places."

She had thought that 26 silver coins was a bit expensive.

Now, suddenly, it didn't seem that expensive anymore...

Not only seafood was sold on the open space near the airship inflation station, but also various bizarre underwater salvaged items, and some useless junk picked up from the old sites of Shilong City.

Although in the Baiyue Province area, all traces of civilization had been completely erased, there were still some unusual items that survived for various reasons.

These objects, like fossils, recorded the events that had occurred on that land in the earlier years of the Wasteland Era. Not only did they have certain research value, but the passage of time had also endowed them with an extraordinary sense in terms of collectible value.

The scientific expedition teams from the Alliance and Camp 101 had picked up a part first, and the rest, which wasn't chosen, ended up in the hands of the players who set up stalls in the market.

Ordinary Waste Land Wanderers weren't interested in these inedible and unusable trinkets, as such trash was everywhere in the Wasteland, sold by the kilogram at junk stations.

However, for those extraordinary Waste Land Wanderers, the trash seen as common by ordinary people was incredible.

For example, the prospectors and researchers who came to Qingquan City due to the cooperation research agreements signed between the academies and the Alliance.

In the eyes of these archaeology experts, even if it was trash, the trash picked up from different regions was not to be lumped together.

Especially those items from underwater salvage.

Given that the Tiangong Space Station had crashed in the southern sea area, it was possible that debris from the Space Station was mixed in among them!

If they could analyze some related data about lost aerospace materials from these, they could at least put out a paper on it!

Not only the knowledgeable experts, but some semi-informed collectors also expressed great interest in these salvaged items.

Because of this, the stalls selling salvaged items were even busier than those selling seafood, packed with customers picking and choosing and spectators enjoying the scene.

Whenever a piece of inconspicuous trash was sold at an outrageous price, it caused a wave of incredible exclamations among the crowd.

The scene was just like an antique market!

In a corner of the market.

A lean, tall man stood at an unremarkable stall, picking through a pile of trash.

Maybe it was because of the blue jacket that marked his identity, or maybe it was because his rimless glasses made him look like a cultured person who seemed to know everything, possibly even working in the scientific expedition team, hence plenty of people were following behind him, waiting to pick up leftovers.

That guy didn't seem to care about the large group of people following him, acting as if nothing was amiss, busying himself with searching through the stall.

Just then, he suddenly frowned, picked up a horseshoe-shaped plastic board from the stall, played with it interestedly for a while, then looked towards the stall owner behind the counter.

"Where did you pick this up from?"

Speaking fluently in the United Human language, the player said with a chuckle.

"Near the port area, not sure exactly where, why don't you buy it and have someone take a look? What if it's a treasure that fell from the Tiangong Space Station? I thought it looked like a welding ring from a spacecraft, so I salvaged it."

Hearing that it might be a treasure that fell from the Tiangong Space Station, the group of collectors following him immediately had their eyes glued.

Especially that researcher in the blue jacket, uncertainly touching his chin, not doubting its authenticity, he directly asked about the price.

"Interesting... how much?"

The player said briskly.

"Seeing that you are educated, obviously a cultured person, I'll charge you 1000 silver coins."

Hearing this price, the researcher hesitated for a while, but eventually bit the bullet and paid the money, buying the seemingly useless junk as everyone watched.

Other players watching this scene suddenly saw green.

Good heavens!

A piece of junk actually went for 1000 silver coins!

This NPC money is just too easy to earn!

What was even more unbelievable was yet to come.

Not long after the researcher in the blue jacket walked away, those wealthy NPCs seemed to go mad, swarming the stall in a frenzy.

Could trash that fell along with the Tiangong Space Station be mere trash?

Regardless of its usefulness, just buy it first, they weren't short on money anyway, hanging it at home as a decoration and bragging about it wasn't a bad idea either.

In the blink of an eye, the salvage items displayed on the stall were snapped up, and the stall owner, who was counting the money, couldn't close his mouth from smiling so wide.

This wave isn't just about some tickets.

We've made money worth a hundred tickets!

"You guys... this must be a scam."

Watching the stall that had just been cleared out not far away, Jiang Xuezhou glanced down and couldn't help but complain to Night Ten next to him.

"That thing just now, no matter how you look at it, it was just a toilet seat, right?"

Who uses plastic as a welding ring!

This doesn't even require a professional eye, do these guys really lack even a bit of basic common sense?

"Cough, how can this be called scamming, at most it's just being a bit cunning... And it's not like we arranged it, stop saying 'you guys' all the time, even among the residents of the refuge there are decent and indecent people."

Night Ten also felt a bit embarrassed, especially when outsiders saw it, so he coughed and explained.

In the corner of the market not far from the two, he saw a "researcher" who had previously spent a lot of money to buy the toilet seat quickly take off the blue jacket that marked the identity of the residents of the refuge and return it to its real owner.

Although he didn't know that player, he could guess with his toes that this guy was definitely in cahoots with the stall owner!

Jiang Xuezhou rolled her eyes at Night eleven and continued walking forward but after making a big round among the stalls, she didn't find anything worth buying.

Logically, this shouldn't be the case.

With so many items salvaged from the seabed, there should be something worth a deeper study.

She didn't hope to uncover a treasure that would impress her mentor, she would have been content with something suitable for a Class D researcher to write her paper on.

However, after wandering around, she came out empty-handed and Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but complain softly.

"How is there not even one."

Night Ten looked at her strangely.

"Not even one?"

"Just... those things that truly have research value, how come I didn't see even one?" Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but complain, "Speaking of which, how did you guys manage to avoid all the valuable research projects? You guys must be really lucky."

Hearing this soft grumble, Night Ten instantly understand what she was really complaining about, then with a hearty laugh said,

"Heh, isn't that normal? Anything truly valuable for research would have been picked up by our scientific expedition team long ago. Looking for that is just a waste of time."

Speaking of which, wasn't Yin Fang also a Class D when he left the Academy?

And that was a long time ago.

So it seems, that guy should be her senior.

Jiang Xuezhou stopped in her tracks, staring blankly at Night Ten for a long time as her cheeks gradually turned from pale to a liver-red color.

"...why didn't you tell me earlier!"

Watching Jiang Xuezhou grit her teeth and finally squeeze out a sentence, Night Ten looked at her with a weird expression.

"You didn't ask me... I thought you came here to buy souvenirs."

Jiang Xuezhou glared fiercely at him but couldn't think of a reason to blame him, she could only stomp her foot angrily and turn around to leave.

Continuing to look around was also a waste of time.

And there were too many tricks here, she didn't want to stay a moment longer.

At the same time, in the laboratory, Yin Fang, who was tinkering with the junk just scavenged from the Bull Horse airship, suddenly sneezed out of nowhere.

"Achoo!"

"...Who is cursing me."

Rubbing his nose that felt sore, Yin Fang muttered to himself, then quickly dismissed the trivial matter and, with eyes gleaming, turned his attention back to the fragments lying on the device.

It was a palm-sized wreckage.

The surface shone with a dazzling metallic luster, the gleaming surface looked like it had been carefully polished with some kind of polisher.

What's surprising was, this piece had not been polished by anyone; when the players of the Bull Horse found it at the seabed, it already looked like this.

For now, Yin Fang couldn't determine what technology was used on this material, he could only deduce through elemental spectroscopy that it was likely a kind of metal-ceramic composite material used in spacecraft.

This material not only had extremely superior heat resistance and hardness but also had the remarkable toughness and resistance to mechanical shocks equivalent to steel.

If he could delve deeper into this material, based on his experience, he could at least recover Level C material science technology!

The treasures brought back from the southern sea area by Bull Horse airship were more than just this one, there were a lot of interesting samples in the warehouse waiting for him to study.

Yin Fang's eyes were filled with mania as he murmured incessantly,

"This time, I really found a treasure!"

Chapter 669: That is a piece of "living" land!

Among the many institutions of the Alliance, the funding for scientific expedition teams is undoubtedly among the top ranks.

Not just because the institution takes on over thirty percent of the players' tasks, but also because each time they pick up good stuff from the relics of the pre-war civilization, the tangible enhancement to the Alliance's hard power is clear for all to see.

Shelter No. 404, browsing room on Floor B4.

Yin Fang was excitedly describing to Chu Guang the treasure he had salvaged from a heap of trash they had dragged back from the Bull and Horse spaceship.

"It's a palm-sized fragment! When our researchers found it, it was stuck on a piece of space elevator's carbon nanotube material, nearly slipped through the cracks."

"If my guess isn't wrong, this thing should be a structural material from some kind of small or medium-sized spacecraft. What's certain is, even during the Era of Prosperity, this was something quite advanced, a pity only such a small piece is left..."

"Since there's no reference material, I took the liberty of naming it myself. What do you think of the term 'Ceramic-Steel?' Currently, our laboratory has decoded its molecular structure and material makeup. We've been able to replicate it in the lab, though industrial production might still pose some difficulties."

As he spoke, Yin Fang used the holographic computer pen's projected light beam to show Chu Guang the shape of the material and the data he had just collected.

Guessing that Chu Guang probably wouldn't understand, Yin Fang deliberately used the most commonly produced armored steel of the Alliance and A3-grade aerospace aluminum for comparison.

With these reference points, the material's properties became much clearer.

Its weight lay between armored steel and A3-grade aerospace aluminum, but its hardness surpassed both, while also exhibiting heat resistance and anti-oxidative properties that neither of the others had. Most astonishingly, its toughness and resistance to mechanical impact even surpassed that of general alloys!

If this material were to appear in the 21st century, it would likely be mistaken for something fallen off an alien spaceship.

After all, the chemical bond properties and crystal structure of ceramics inherently lack the independent "slip system," making them unable to resist deformation like metals.

Yet this Ceramic-Steel material retained the hardness of ceramics while displaying metal-like characteristics.

For the material science of the 21st century, not to mention the production process, even the most basic theoretical part was an unestablished enigma.

Even the Era of Prosperity, which could manipulate gravity, did not see widespread use of spacecraft applying this material. It was this rarity that fueled Yin Fang's excitement.

Chu Guang didn't expect to understand the material's principles nor did he see the need to.

Technical matters were naturally for specialists to handle; he just needed to know this material's uses, performance, and production costs.

After a brief overview of the material's properties, Chu Guang immediately turned to Yin Fang and asked,

"What about using the processing center on Floor B7? Can it produce this stuff?"

Yin Fang cleared his throat slightly.

"When I spoke of laboratory preparation, I was referring to that processing center... otherwise, we could at best stop at analyzing the material's properties."

Chu Guang laughed awkwardly.

"I see... Then if we use the equipment at the processing center for production, roughly how much output can we expect? Is there a chance we could apply it to our power armor or even tanks?"

Seeming to have anticipated Chu Guang's question, Yin Fang made a helpless gesture and said,

"If we were to equip it on a small scale, I think there shouldn't be a problem. Although this stuff was designed for spacecraft, it's not limited to just that. As long as you can accept the cost, it wouldn't be a problem not just for power armor and tanks, but even for exoskeletons."

Hearing Yin Fang's answer, Chu Guang smiled and said,

"As long as it works well, the cost is no problem."

The Alliance currently lacks neither electricity nor minerals; how expensive could it possibly get?

Even more so, this part of the cost could be transferred onto the players.

For example, making the upgrade to ceramic steel armor a paid content!

Take the Alliance's self-developed "Xiaguang" power armor for instance, which costs one million silver coins per unit. If players are willing to shell out an additional 500,000 silver coins for optional equipment, the armor's breastplate can be upgraded to ceramic steel, increasing both damage resistance and durability by 50% each!

Of course, the specific increase has to be tested at the weapons testing range, but the general idea is there.

Watching Chu Guang, who had already begun planning how to apply the archaeological findings to the Alliance Army, Yin Fang cleared his throat and spoke.

"The ceramic steel armor is just one of the technologies we recovered from the Southern sea area. We're currently considering how to design a more economical production process. You really don't need to be so anxious. The technologies we've discovered are far more than just ceramic steel. In my estimation, we can at least retrieve ten Level D technologies that we don't possess from this batch of 'junk'—and that's a conservative estimate!"

"Not only that, but investigating the ruins of the coastal cities in the Brocade River Province can also help us reconstruct the lifestyle and production methods of people from the Era of Prosperity, experiences and knowledge beyond engineering. Many things are worthy of our reference, which will require ample time to reveal."

"…What I'm saying is, establishing an outpost at the Baiyue Strait was a stroke of genius, but what we're doing now is not enough. We should increase our efforts to develop the Southern sea area, where there surely are many treasures still hidden that we haven't discovered."

Pausing, Yin Fang continued to speak to Chu Guang.

"To support the work of relic excavation, I hope that you can allow our research team to set up an inspection station at Potato Harbor, so we can directly sort through the salvaged items and materials collected from the area... That way, we also save the precious capacity from bringing back a bunch of garbage, which would require us to sift for gold amidst the junk."

"That's a good idea," Chu Guang nodded in approval. "Coincidentally, the residents of my refuge made the same suggestion, hoping that the research team could establish a branch at Potato Harbor to provide technical support to the local exploration teams and salvage ships."

For instance, having the Academy's experts filter through targets worth exploring, making a priority list of exploration targets and striking off the list those targets that clearly lack value.

Previously, players in the area would haphazardly choose landmarks worth exploring based on experience, bringing back anything they found without regard to its usefulness.

Deploying some highly skilled researchers to the area to support the players' exploration efforts could certainly increase the efficiency of relic-hunting and reduce the workload.

At the very least, it would prevent situations like mistaking toilet seat covers for welding rings and bringing them back.

After listening to Chu Guang, Yin Fang immediately nodded in agreement.

"No problem, I'll select some personnel, and when they're ready, it will be your responsibility to send them over."

Chu Guang smiled and said,

"Rest assured! Although we can't provide you with a research ship like those of the Academy, arranging a research airship is definitely doable! You can leave whenever you're ready—"

"And bring our people along too!"

Before Chu Guang could finish, the voice at the door urgently interrupted him.

Silver-haired Heya, like a gust of wind, blew through the open swing door, whirling in from the corridor outside the viewing room.

Looking towards the door, Yin Fang noticed the excited expression on Heya's face and knew without guessing that this guy must have also found some significant clue.

Chu Guang lifted an eyebrow with interest, about to ask her what had happened, but as she sat down on the couch beside him, she eyed him eagerly and couldn't wait to speak out.

"A major discovery! Based on the fungal strain samples brought back by the residents of your refuge from the north coast of Baiyue Strait, we compared them with samples collected from Brocade River Province and found 173 overlapping genes and 677 similar features... but that's not the main point. We compared several key genes responsible for expressed traits, and now we can almost confirm, Brocade River Province is the origin of the Nago species!"

Hearing this, Yin Fang looked at her in shock and then frowned,

"Brocade River Province is the origin of Nago? Are you sure?"

Although Yin Fang wasn't particularly skilled in the field of biology, the situation in Brocade River Province could be understood without an extensive knowledge of biology.

The wild growth of Nago assimilates all organic life into its puppets and forms a vast domain resembling a plague of horrifying fungi.

It exhibited many characteristics similar to the mutated slime fungus of Qingquan City, such as the release of "baozi," and the indiscriminate erosion of organisms, among others.

If Nago truly originated from Baiyue Province, then that place should have long since become a breeding ground for Nago's reproduction. How could the Alliance possibly establish outposts and even settlements there?

What's more, he hadn't found any traces of Nago's mycelium on those scraps recovered from Baiyue Province?!

Looking at the doubtful Yin Fang, Heya took a deep breath and nodded seriously.

"I'm almost one hundred percent certain... I know what you're puzzled about, we're just as confused as to why the rampantly expanding Nago in Brocade River Province behaves so unremarkably in the climatically more suitable Baiyue Province. But the fact is, as surprising as it sounds! What's even more surprising came afterward when we immediately discovered while researching the genetic material of the primitive strains that the Nago Primitive Strain itself is a species formed by the natural hybridization of a Gaia slime fungus with an Earth fungus!"

"Formed under natural conditions?" Yin Fang's eyebrows knitted together as he pinched his chin, deep in thought.

Heya nodded earnestly and continued.

"Previously, we speculated that Nago was a variety developed by the Torch Church after improving the local fungi using the gene bank obtained from the lair in Qingquan City. Now it seems our conclusion was incomplete. The most primitive Nago strain is a combination of a mutated slime fungus and an Earth fungus, and they simply replaced some of the genes artificially!"

This sounded somewhat convoluted. Chu Guang, who had been listening to the two of them discuss, tried to understand it in his own way.

In simple terms, the original Nago is the "child" of Gaia and Earth, carrying both the alien gene A and gene B provided by a type of Earth fungus.

Upon discovering Nago, the Torch Church realized that it could help them achieve their Heaven plan, so they improved it.

For instance, by artificially cultivating it, they inserted gene A1 obtained from the lair in Qingquan City into the original Nago strain's A-B combination.

Now, the strains overflowing in Haiya Province and the southern part of Brocade River Province are the highly aggressive A-A1-B type, or even simply the A1-B type.

But then again...

What difference does it make?

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brow, just about to voice the confusion in his heart. However, just as he was about to speak, a sudden flash of realization exploded in his mind.

The A gene!

Where did the original A gene come from?!

Seizing this detail, Chu Guang almost subconsciously blurted out.

"Is there a lair in Baiyue Province?!"

Or was there one before?!

No sooner had the words left his mouth than two pairs of eyes turned to look at him in unison.

"A lair in Baiyue Province... was there one before?" Yin Fang was momentarily stunned, but it only took a second for him to catch on, muttering to himself with a frown, "So that's it..."

"Exactly! That's the first inference we made from that specimen! There may be a lair of mutated slime fungus in Baiyue Province! And this could very likely be the reason why the survivors disappeared from that province!" Heya looked at Chu Guang in disbelief, her face expressing amazement, "I can't believe it, you actually guessed it!"

Chu Guang rolled his eyes and leaned back on the sofa.

"Do I look that dumb? Just get to the point, where do you think this lair might be?"

"Right here!"

As she spoke, Heya took out a test tube filled with dark green liquid from her pocket and shook it in front of them.

Yin Fang was startled by her action and sprang up from the sofa.

Chu Guang wasn't scared by her actions, but when he saw the test tube she was holding in her hand, he paused for two seconds before speaking.

"Right here... What do you mean?"

"It's this thing in my hand! The extract of the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain! This is the Lair of the Baiyue Province!" Heya proudly curled her lips, her bright eyes filled with incredulity and fervor, "Those guys are simply geniuses!"

Trying to understand her disjointed speech, Chu Guang massaged his temples with a bit of a headache.

"Wait a second... Who are 'those guys' you're referring to?"

"Of course, the slime fungi!" Heya said excitedly, "Do you remember? The variants we've seen before, no matter the type, most are like the ones in the Qingquan City center or like Xiaoyu. They all share one characteristic: a Lair and a group of progeny entities, and all individuals share a single Consciousness Entity!"

Yin Fang swallowed hard.

"I know... And then?"

Heya continued to speak rapidly.

"The Lair of Baiyue Province is an exception! It neither chose to parasitize nor to engage in symbiosis or assimilation, but rather it became them!"

"...Became them?" Chu Guang's pupils dilated slightly as he was vaguely guessing something.

Variants possess an incredibly strong ability to adapt to the environment, not only being able to flexibly change themselves to fit their surroundings but also adept at copying and learning from Earth's native species.

Take the Qingquan City Lair, for instance.

That one had accumulated a vast amount of combat experience in fights with humans and had learned to power human armor using biomass energy.

And that's not all—

It had also mimicked monsters and Claws of Death, powerful Variants of the Wasteland, spawning powerful, special progeny entities.

This is actually quite easy to understand.

The objects of mimicry for the Variants were never just humans or human civilization; their true imitations were of the ecological system itself.

And humans and their civilization are just parts of this system.

In most cases, humans wielding the tools of civilization can gain the upper hand in natural selection, even though some ridiculously strong Variants exist in the Wasteland.

Therefore, in most cases, the mimicry of humans by Variants is more prevalent, and they even infiltrate the levels of society and ultimately civilization.

However, Baiyue Province is an exception.

For whatever reason, the local survivors had all but disappeared, replaced by a rich variety of species and more intense natural selection.

So it was almost obvious—

As "colonizers," what the Variants would choose as their primary target for mimicry.

"That's right!"

Heya looked at Chu Guang with piercing eyes, confirming his unspoken guess with a nod.

"Not just the Nago, but also the grass there, the trees, and the Variants in the woods... Every living thing in Baiyue Province is an extension of that Lair! They all carry genes from Gaia Planet!"

"I can't confirm for the time being whether the Lair of Baiyue Province has a unified Consciousness Entity like the Lairs in other regions, but its progeny can no longer be referred to as progeny entities. They are separate species with independent consciousnesses!"

"It has completely become them; that land is truly 'alive'!"

Chapter 670: Why Does This Monster Keep Coming in Waves?

North shore of the Baiyue Strait, northwestern part of Potato Harbor, behind a one-step-wide trench lay a three-meter-high dirt wall, buffered by a fence made of sharpened wooden stakes at the front.

Just off the fence wall, in the nearby brush, lay bodies strewn haphazardly everywhere.

Most of them were left by Variants, and a few were unprepared players caught off guard.

Looking at the bodies on the ground and the mud almost dyed red with blood, Elena, who just turned off her rifle's safety, said with a subtle expression, "I always have this illusion."

Standing beside her, Gnome King Riches looked at her.

"What kind of feeling?"

Gazing at the dense rainforest and thickets in front of her, Elena pondered for a long time and said with uncertainty, "...This land feels as if it's alive."

Blood-stained shadows of trees and rustling thickets appeared particularly glaring under the scorching sun, especially with the constant buzzing of insects from the shadows—like the whispers of monsters, and the dense rainforest seemed like the mouth of those monsters...

This wasn't the first time she'd had this feeling.

The first time she went out in search of water, she had felt this way too...

...

Time shifted to two hours earlier.

When the sky was still dim, more than twenty diligent Strength-type players logged on early and, armed with axes and chainsaws, headed to the forest on the northwestern side of the camp to clear the land.

"Brothers, let's push harder! Let's try to reach the peak before dark!"

"Roar!"

On the northwestern side of Potato Harbor was a relatively high hill, not only did it provide a panoramic view of the entire Potato Harbor, but it also overlooked almost ten kilometers of coastline.

Moreover, there were abundant freshwater resources nearby and commonly found "ruin mines" in Wasteland, underscoring its strategic significance.

Controlling the high ground on the northwest was undoubtedly a great help for the development of Potato Harbor.

Therefore, for the convenience of clearing operations, the Autonomous Player Committee of Potato Harbor unanimously decided to build a highway to that highland to facilitate vehicle commuting.

And the task of clearing the roadblocks was contracted to a trade team registered in the Merchant Guild, called "Dog Alert," for one hundred thousand silver coins.

In "Wasteland OL," the trade team system benchmarks against the Legion System, which is equivalent to the guild organization for players of life professions.

After the trade team leader won the bid, he immediately hired a batch of Strength-type beasts to storm into the forest on the northwest side.

However, the work had hardly been underway for half an hour before more than thirty mutated spiders suddenly burst out of the jungle, colliding head-on with the players busy at work.

The spiders, as tall as a person, had colorful faces like butterfly wings, and could spray highly viscous silk to bind their prey, using dagger-sized chelicerae to tear it apart.

"What the hell is this?!"

The player who first made eye contact with the creature was almost scared offline. Fortunately, he had relatively good psychological quality; he grabbed his axe and swung it, splattering the spider's brain with his cumbersome axe.

"Chii—"

The mutated spider shrieked miserably and staggered a few steps back.

The player was about to chase after it to finish the job but hadn't stepped forward when his face was plastered with a white silk line shot from the side. He didn't even see where his opponent was before a massive force tore open his side ribs.

Seeing their teammate's condition, a nearby player immediately dropped his axe, took out the assault rifle strapped to his back, and, while turning on the safety, shouted loudly, "Enemies ahead—!"

Actually, if the distance was enough, a few dozen mutated spiders would definitely not be a match for these well-armed players.

However, the creatures in this game were notoriously infamous for not fighting fair, emerging without as much as a greeting.

Plus, with dense jungles and bushes all around, several Strength-type players wielding axes and chainsaws almost had just seen the shadows of the spiders when sticky silk covered their faces, instantly rendering them incapable of resistance.

Luckily, their location was not far from the camp's enclosing wall, and players nearby immediately came to their aid.

The continuous gunfire drowned out the jungle skirmish, with tracers piercing through leaves and chitinous shells mixed with fluid.

Faced with the gunfire, the mutated spiders' silk and fangs were slightly inferior, and the battle quickly turned from evenly matched to a one-sided slaughter.

After dropping a dozen bodies, the creatures probably realized that these bipeds were not to be messed with and hurriedly retreated into the depths of the jungle.

The victorious players tallied their losses and spoils of war, untied those unlucky ones bound by spider silk, and dragged the bodies of deceased players back to the camp, ready to send them to the Active Substance Extractor for recycling into clone materials.

After cleaning up the battlefield, everything seemed to return to normal.

The players of Potato Harbor continued to busy themselves with their tasks: those chopping trees chopped trees, those fishing went fishing, those mining went mining, and those exploring went out to explore.

However, just when everyone thought today's trouble was over, less than two hours later, another dozen ugly, sparsely furred mutated leopards showed up looking for trouble.

These beasts, like the last, initiated no greeting and, with no warning, pounced at anyone they saw, biting fiercely.

The injured were still the "Dog Alert" trade team and the Strength-type beasts they had hired.

Although the temporarily hired Perception-type players sensed the threat in advance, the time left for them to prepare was still only a few short seconds.

Many people had just discarded their axes and chainsaws, and before they could pick up the rifles leaning nearby to load them, they watched as about a dozen monsters had already pounced onto their faces.

These mutated leopards' combat power was certainly not comparable to that of the mutant spiders from before, and the casualties caused by this attack were much more severe than those from two hours earlier.

In just half a minute, nearly ten unlucky kids were pounced upon and bitten to death on the spot, with only a few quick responders managing to retreat.

Looking at the messy logging camp, the leader of the "Dog Alert" trade team sported an expression of wanting to cry but having no tears.

"This damned planner must have something against me!"

Elena patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Condolences, brother."

He and Gnome King Riches had just happened to be at the gate, and upon hearing the gunfire, they had helped out with the other players.

Like the previous round of attacks, this group of mutated leopards dropped ten bodies and then turned tail, disappearing into the woods.

Elena always felt that these Variants seemed to have an agreement to take turns running to their camp entrance to deliver themselves.

"…say, have you noticed that in these past few days, the Variants attacking our camp come in waves, and they are even categorized in groups?"

Gnome King Riches spoke with a complicated expression.

"Lucky for us they come in waves; if a big group came all at once, our camp might not have been able to withstand it."

"That might not necessarily be the case... Let's not worry about it for now, let's collect the game first."

Elena smiled, bent down, and lifted a freshly killed mutated leopard, calling out to Gnome King Riches, "Come help me out."

They couldn't let their fallen brothers have died in vain.

"Alright!"

Seeing Old Na already cleaning up the battlefield, Gnome King Riches immediately threw his rifle onto his back and came forward to grab the two hind legs of the mutated leopard.

The two of them carried the game back to the camp, bringing the dead leopard to the slaughter spot not far from the west entrance of the camp.

A player wearing a leather apron was aggressively sharpening a boning knife on a whetstone, his whole body covered in sticky blood, indicating that he had been working non-stop since the morning.

His name was Green Lantern Old Wine, and he was reportedly a doctor in real life, though it was unclear why he had become a butcher in the game, a profession completely unrelated to his real one.

Seeing his skilled movements, Gnome King Riches couldn't help but speculate in his mind that the guy was probably too embarrassed to admit he was a veterinarian.

Moreover, with both "Lantern" and "Wine" in his ID, it sounded like an uncle from the 70s or 80s, probably an old veterinarian.

Seeing the pair approaching with the game, Green Lantern Old Wine wiped off his sweat, glanced at them, and then motioned with his chin toward the digital scale next to him.

"Do the weighing yourselves."

"Okay!"

Elena tossed the mutated leopard onto the scale, and Gnome King Riches stepped up, starting a casual conversation with the shopkeeper.

"Business seems good, brother."

Green Lantern Old Wine gave a heh-heh laugh.

"Hah, just making a laborious living."

Curious, Gnome King Riches asked.

"Say, are you really a vet?"

"Yes—ptui, screw that, what vet, I'm a doctor!" The words he almost blurted were choked back, and Green Lantern Old Wine glared harshly at the man.

Gnome King Riches, unfazed, continued speaking cheekily.

"Really? Then your shifts end pretty early, huh? No overtime?"

Green Lantern Old Wine waved dismissively.

"Hah, screw overtime, I resigned a few days ago."

"Resigned?" Gnome King Riches was taken aback, "Why?"

Green Lantern Old Wine chuckled and explained.

"Why not? My little clinic didn't have many people anyway, just earning a fixed salary. The boss was annoyed by me, and I was sick of him too. Better to come here to work, easily making a hundred thousand a month, right? Once I have money, I'll open my own hospital!"

"666!" Gnome King Riches admired him greatly.

If he had money, he wouldn't waste it like that.

Wouldn't putting it in the bank be nicer?

As they chatted for a bit, Elena, who had finished weighing the catch, came over from the digital scale and interrupted their banter with a smile.

"It weighs a total of sixty-five kilograms, how much do you think that's worth, boss?"

Green Lantern Old Wine calculated and then proposed.

"I'll take a loss, how about 217?"

Before Old Na could speak, and Gnome King Riches quickly responded with a laugh.

"Let's round it to 220, and we'll split it evenly, 110 each."

Green Lantern Old Wine readily agreed.

"Done!"

As she rolled up her sleeves to show her VM, Elena couldn't help feeling a pang of realization; this guy must have earned quite a sum in his role as a butcher.

He didn't even bother to bargain.

After transferring the money to Old Na and Old Wang, Green Lantern Old Wine dragged the game he had placed on the weighing board to the back of the stall, temporarily tossing it under the canopy, planning to deal with it later.

The space under the not-so-spacious canopy was already piled up with a lot of game, mostly dragged in from the forest just outside the west gate of the camp.

The meat of the mutated leopards was average in taste, not much different from that of the mutated hyenas. After slaughtering, it was usually air-dried and salted to make jerky, which was sold to exploration teams in need of dry food.

Being situated by the sea, salt was something they had in abundance.

Actually, jerky didn't fetch much money; the real money-spinner was the hides of the mutated leopards. Their hides were considerably more expensive than those of mutated deer and taking advantage of the current low market saturation, selling them either back to the Alliance or at Silver Moon Bay could be quite profitable.

Besides mutated leopards, there were also mutant spiders.

Although a certain Intelligence-type player had already demonstrated with their life that eating spiders in this rainforest was a no-go, their silk glands and venom sacs were valuable.

The mutant spiders of Baiyue Province were much larger than those in River Valley Province, and the materials they dropped were of much higher quality.

Though more than a dozen players had died in Potato Harbor just this morning, overall, it was still worth it.

Overall.

Glancing at the string of numbers on the VM screen, Gnome King Riches walking towards the camp entrance suddenly muttered,

"Old Na, who keeps buying silver coins, actually?"

He had been curious about this for a long time.

Although most players started out part-time, it didn't take long for them to become professional gamers like him, online for 16 hours a day.

If game characters didn't need to sleep and real life didn't require eating and exercise, he might have moved directly into the world of "Wasteland OL".

It wasn't about addiction.

The world was just too realistic.

It felt like life had been rebooted, except without the possibility of dying.

Still, there were many oddities when he thought about it.

Like the mysterious operators of "Wasteland OL," and the inexplicably continuous buyers at the "Silver Exchange."

Due to some kind of "unspeakable" tacit agreement between the parties, closed-test players of "Wasteland OL" could meet their real-life needs by just doing a couple of tasks in the game. Playing a bit longer and respecting the not-so-strict rules of the game meant they could afford to lie flat in the real world, even dissociating completely from employment.

It felt like a group of people were content to support them, hoping they'd spend all their time in "Wasteland OL."

He didn't mind this feeling, as he quite enjoyed this fully immersive gaming experience, which also greatly reduced his material desires in reality.

He just didn't quite understand.

What exactly were these behind-the-scenes "big shots" after?

"Sigh, if someone's willing to buy, there must be a reason for it; why worry about it," Elena gave him a sidelong glance and teased.

Gnome King Riches thought for a moment and then speculated wildly,

"Imagine if, just for instance, right now only a few tens of thousands of players don't see any issue, but when the game goes public, and so many people stop working and rush to earn gold in the game, wouldn't society be thrown into chaos?"

Elena said, "emmm... is there a chance that silver coins can be exchanged for something that makes it unnecessary for people to work, or reduces the number of people needed for some jobs?"

Gnome King Riches was momentarily stunned.

"What do you mean."

Elena said casually,

"I mean it literally. For instance, the City of Dawn used to rely on Strength-type draft animals for brick moving, but now a set of miner's exoskeletons can allow one person to do the work of five. Doesn't that free up four people? Whether they go to coat dust, make furniture, or lie in bed on welfare, it's surely more comfortable than five people moving bricks together."

Of course, this calculation discussed only the total social wealth created by unit labor power, without involving distribution methods and other issues.

The advancement of productivity is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the improvement of living standards. A high-tech, low-living standard scenario like in Bugra Free State isn't inconceivable.

But one undeniable point remains: if people are willing to pay them to soak in the game, then the actions performed by these players in "Wasteland OL" for earning silver coins must create societal value commensurate with that money.

Previously, rumors had circulated on the forum that the auctions post-expansion pack actually featured black technologies.

Some had even specifically observed this.

Shortly after each auction, the industrial or academic realms would leak hints of significant breakthroughs in key technologies.

Then, a while later, as people digested the news, many would start using the outcomes of these technological breakthroughs.

He recalled how, not long after "Wasteland OL" began operations, smart mobile phones typically had a battery life of just a day or two. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, major cellphone brands successively began launching models that lasted a week per charge.

Then came new energy vehicles; suddenly, their driving range also doubled, and the market value of many battery and new energy vehicle companies more than doubled as well.

Gnome King Riches scratched the back of his head, "You mean to say… silver coins can buy a Miner's Exoskeleton in the real world?"

Elena made a helpless expression.

"I was just giving an example, I didn't say it had to be an exoskeleton, it could also be something more basic, with a wider radiation range across various industries, like something related to energy, information, or materials."

He couldn't resist cracking a joke as he spoke.

"Who knows, maybe one day reality will turn into the 'Prosperity Epoch', and everyone who feels like working will work for a couple of days, and if they're unhappy, they'll just fire their boss and hang out on the Moon. Are you still worried about no one wanting to work after the game's public testing? Maybe Earth's leader would rather have you guys, who are idle, go move bricks in the game!"

Gnome King Riches: "Damn, the Prosperity Epoch is just a game setting, right? And who the hell is the Earth's leader?"

Elena rolled her eyes.

"That's why I said 'what if'. How can you be so devoid of dreams!"

Gnome King Riches furrowed his brow and thought for a while.

"Still, if what you're saying is true, and there was such a black tech that nobody would need to work, wouldn't it at least solve nuclear fusion or something…"

But such outrageous technology didn't exist on Earth.

It couldn't just appear out of nowhere, could it?

Could it be that Wasteland OL's operators had researched it themselves?

Could an organization be so impressive that it pushes the whole civilization's scientific and technological progress by itself?

No—

Wait.

Come to think of it, the company that operates Wasteland OL was indeed impressive.

Not to mention the completely immersive Game Helmet they launched, which lets people live a second life in their dreams, the fact that nobody even knows the company's name to date is already astounding!

Sometimes Gnome King Riches couldn't help but suspect that their dear Ah Guang had been abducted by aliens.

"...No matter what it is, that technology must be incredibly expensive, there's no doubt about that. It's probably why the silver coins are so pricey."

Patting Old Wang on the shoulder, Elena joked and continued.

"For a better tomorrow, for reality to enter the Prosperity Epoch sooner, and for our Old Wang to buy a bionic maid in reality sooner… let's first think about which relic to clear today?"

Compared to those distant matters, this was a more immediate problem.

Hunting income was just enough for ammo money for these "pro gamers." To truly strike it rich, they needed to explore relics from the pre-war era.

Hearing Old Na's teasing, Gnome King Riches snapped out of his daydream and chuckled.

"Ah, that's easy to say, we'll have someone issuing tasks in a little while."

Elena was stunned.

"Someone issuing tasks?"

"Yes, I heard from Night Ten that this time the scientific research group will come over with the Bull-Mule, and they're setting up a branch in Potato Harbor. I remember they left the night before last, so they should be arriving soon—"

Gnome King Riches looked up at the sky.

Coincidentally, just as he finished speaking, two silver-white figures appeared in his line of sight, floating one after the other just below the clouds.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

"Goodness! They've already arrived!"

And two ships at that?!

Elena took out her VM and glanced at it. The previously grayed-out "Scientific Research Group" sub-option in the mission interface was now selectable.

He immediately clicked to check, and a line of "Regional Mission" suddenly caught his eye.

[Mission: Locate the Lair in Baiyue Province]

[Issuer: Alliance Biological Research Institute]

[Description: According to clues obtained by the Alliance Biological Research Institute through analysis of the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain, there is a suspected or previously existing "Mutated slime fungus" lair in Baiyue Province, which may be related to the abnormal biological evolution in the province.]

[Requirement: Find it!]

[Reward: Any valuable clues provided can obtain stage-task rewards. The player or team who finally finds the lair will unlock the "Jungle Conqueror" exclusive title and receive a total of ten thousand contribution points and one million silver coins!]

Upon seeing the rewards section, Elena was stunned for a solid half-minute until a cry of astonishment came from nearby.

"Damn?! One million?!"

Gnome King Riches, who had also opened the mission panel by then and was staring at a long string of digits on the VM screen, had his eyes wide open.

Especially when he noticed that this task stemmed from the Nago Strains sample they previously collected, his expression suddenly became as uncomfortable as if he had constipation.

"Damn! This Dog Plan Fang Chang is too wicked!"

He hadn't remembered wrong—the sample had sold for just ten thousand silver coins! After deducting equipment losses, dividing it among ten people meant just a few hundred silver coins per person.

This was a downright loss to granny's house!

Chapter 671: The Vibrant Potato Harbor

Jungle, beach, and the sea!

The old man is back!

Inside the airship's cabin, Fang Chang gazed through the glass window at the pleasant scenery of Potato Harbor, and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth in a sly, joyful smile.

"Not bad."

This time he would finally get to relish the thrill of being a lord.

But while that was the talk, in reality, Potato Harbor was not for him alone to call the shots.

The smaller development projects were mostly subcontracted to various specific units or organizations, while the larger development plans and project approvals were decided by the board of directors of "Baiyue Strait Development Co., Ltd."

This joint-stock limited company, established in City of Dawn, was currently held by several player organizations interested in developing the Baiyue Strait. They divided the shares according to the proportion of their investments and developed the Baiyue Strait coast under the framework of the Alliance law.

As for the Bull Horse Group, their primary responsibilities were the construction of infrastructure and logistics transportation.

And these were their strengths.

Two airships hovered above Potato Harbor, one after the other, and then slowly lowered the hanging gondolas.

Watching Fang Chang step down from the gondola, Spare People Under the Knife, who was acting as the construction project manager, stepped forward and glanced at the airship behind him.

"My good man, did you buy another one?!"

"What do you mean, 'bought another one'? That's for the scientific expedition! From now on, the professionals will handle the work of recovering salvage. Our main focus is transport."

Fang Chang smiled and patted his brother on the shoulder, then led him over to the gondola. He pointed to boxes of cargo being unloaded and said,

"... These fine items here are what I bought, ten sets of Bumblebee Engineering Armor and twenty-five Cross Spider Robots, all yours!"

Hearing this, a surprised and delighted expression instantly spread across Spare People Under the Knife's face.

The performance of the Bumblebee Engineering Armor in the Camp 101 and the Southern Urban District transformation project in West State City was well known.

The contraption could be called the quintessential creation in personal construction aiding equipment – the crystallization of two hundred years of construction experience from Shelter No. 100!

It was like an "SCV" that could freely navigate complex terrains, not only switching tools for the workers as per the construction task but also providing them with visual digital guidance.

If the K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton was considered the pinnacle of battlefield-appropriate heavy exoskeletons, then the Bumblebee Engineering Armor was the K-10 "Iron Wall" designed specifically for the lads at the construction sites.

Combined with Cross Spider Robots capable of carrying materials up and down vertical walls, a team of ten engineers could achieve the work efficiency of a hundred-strong construction team, provided other construction units could keep up. Even he, a professional in the civil engineering industry for many years, was deeply shocked after an on-site inspection.

Also due to the excellent performance of this equipment in construction, its price had remained high. Not only were players competing to buy it, but NPCs were placing orders as well, even construction companies from Ideal City were showing great interest.

He hadn't expected that the guy would bring over a full set of equipment!

Unable to wait any longer, Spare People Under the Knife walked up quickly and had the nearby workers help open one of the tall crates.

Watching the crab-like engineering armor, he couldn't stop grinning, but his excitement barely lasted a moment before he quickly realized a new problem.

"Wait a minute, doesn't this thing require training to use?"

Seemingly anticipating this question, Fang Chang smiled with an air of being well-prepared.

"Don't worry, I've also hired workers who have undergone the training, and they'll be coming down shortly. Remember to ensure their safety, and according to the contract, they only work within the safety zone."

"Of course! Can I let them out to work?" Spare People Under the Knife chuckled, "Just leave it to me!"

"With you here, I'm definitely reassured!" Fang Chang laughed and said.

Brother Dao and Fang Chang were both veteran players who had joined the Game early on, and had long been members of the Bull Horse Group chat.

However, this guy's play style was a bit too hardcore or rather niche, with his Combat Power mainly showing on the construction sites, so he rarely caught the attention of other players.

If it were someone else, Fang Chang might not be so reassured, but in this guy's hands, he was sure it'd be reliable.

The two of them headed towards the center of the camp.

On the way, Fang Chang suddenly noticed a pile of fur packs bound into tofu block shapes with hemp ropes not far from the beach.

Some had fur, some did not, and they came in all different shapes and sizes, with a wide variety of types and colors.

All together, there must've been at least a thousand pieces!

"…Goodness, have you guys hunted this many prey in just a few days?"

Seeing the surprised look on Fang Chang's face, Spare people under the knife made a helpless gesture.

"It's not that we actively went hunting; these prey delivered themselves to us."

They delivered themselves, huh...

Since when was Brother Guang so generous?

Fang Chang was shocked but soon remembered the rumors he had heard from the scientific expedition and, after pondering for a moment, said,

"...This rainforest is a bit strange. I've heard that the Variants here are related to the 'Mutated slime fungus,' and there might even be a Lair not too far away from us. Be careful when you're working on the construction, and always ensure safety."

"Don't worry, I'm always cautious, Lair or no Lair!" Spare people under the knife patted Fang Chang's arm and said with a smile, "But speaking of Lairs, if we can dig up one, we'll make a fortune. Just for locating it, you get one million silver coins – the reward is just outrageously generous!"

"Indeed, even I am tempted."

Fang Chang chuckled, looking at the pile full of furs and noticing the bloodstains and mucus on them, a thought struck him, and he asked,

"So... are these all raw hides that haven't been processed?"

Spare people under the knife nodded.

"I think so. Processing these raw hides will take quite some time. I've heard from those players in the fur trade business that the camp is almost out of salt, even though we are right by the sea."

Fang Chang was stunned.

"Is it that serious?"

"It really is," Spare people under the knife said resignedly. "I've seen two more salt pans open up recently, but manpower is still an issue. I've heard those in the fur trade are considering whether to send the raw hides back to the City of Dawn for processing."

Potato Harbor only had a little over three hundred players.

Although Bull Horse had brought in over two hundred more brothers eager to join, many of them were those who had died and respawned. These numbers weren't even enough to go around for both the construction team and the scientific expedition.

Besides, hiring players to do detailed work like processing leather was a bit of an overkill and not very economical.

"If we send these back for processing, they'd probably rot on the way..." Fang Chang thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up as he turned to Spare people under the knife and said, "Wait a minute, aren't there people from Tail's group?"

Spare people under the knife: "You mean... those Moon Clan refugees?"

Fang Chang smiled faintly, saying,

"The workload for these tasks isn't heavy, so handing them over to those people shouldn't be a problem. And it's not just about tanning leather; there's also work involved in processing the prey. If we can get NPCs to do it, we could not only save money but also free up more valuable labor from these simple and repetitive tasks... you know what I'm saying."

Spare people under the knife looked oddly at Fang Chang.

When he heard this, he always had a kind of illusion, feeling that this guy's way of thinking about problems was becoming more and more like a certain NPC he knew.

"Do I have something on my face?" Seeing Spare people under the knife staring at himself without speaking, Fang Chang reached out and touched his face, but didn't feel anything.

Spare people under the knife, who had come back to his senses, coughed lightly and cleared his throat before saying,

"There's nothing, I just think… your idea is quite good."

The idea was indeed good. The facilities at Potato Harbor might still be a bit rudimentary, but at least the enclosing wall had been built.

As long as they didn't leave the camp, there was a guarantee of safety.

"I'll go to the forum later to ask their opinion… Oh, and there's one more thing." He suddenly remembered something halfway through his sentence.

Fang Chang looked at him with an inquiring glance.

"What is it?"

"It's about the job of clearing the rainforest," he paused for a moment, then Spare people under the knife scratched his head and said with an uncertain tone, "According to the reports from some construction teams, they discovered that this forest has a peculiar ability to self-repair while they were clearing it."

Fang Chang frowned slightly.

"Self-repairing?"

Spare people under the knife nodded and continued,

"I don't know if this is the right way to put it, but basically, the areas they had just cleared the previous day, when checked the next day, they found that some shrubs, grasses, and vines had sprouted up again. They seemed to have spread from the nearby forest. At first, I thought those construction teams taking the task were slacking, but similar situations occurred in various work areas… which is very strange."

In situations where rain and sunlight are abundant, most forests naturally expand towards areas with fertile soil, and this is not unusual in itself.

However, these events usually take place over the course of years, and it's only by observing with years as the time scale that certain clues become noticeable.

But this tropical rainforest was different.

It was like it was alive, healing its "wounds" at a speed visible to the naked eye…

Looking at Fang Chang deep in thought, Spare people under the knife suggested,

"I suggest that next time you go back, you should mention this to the Alliance Biological Research Institute and see what their opinion is."

Fang Chang nodded solemnly and directed his gaze toward another flying vessel in the sky.

"There's no need to wait until I go back, they came with the scientific expedition team."

"You can just report the situation here to them later."

…

At the same time that the two flying vessels arrived at Potato Harbor, a bulk cargo ship laden with goods was slowly leaving the billowing waves of the Poluo Sea, entering the tranquil Baiyue Strait from the west.

"… Watch this for me for a while."

Yawning as he came out of the pilothouse, the old man in the brown jacket gave way to a young man in a white shirt beside him, and then went to sit on the deck chair below the gangway. He picked up a bottle of beer from the plastic crate next to him, unfinished, and took a couple of swigs, squinting his eyes as he savored the sea breeze.

Usually, he would never allow anyone else to touch his ship, but entering the Baiyue Strait was an exception.

Compared to the open Poluo Sea and the southern sea area, this strait running through Baiyue Province could hardly be called a sea, more like a tranquil river.

Moreover, with reference points on both sides to determine the course, it would be somewhat difficult to steer off course and turn the ship back.

Because of this, he would hand over the task of steering to his young subordinates and take the time to come down and relax.

The old man's name was Song Haining, a resident of Ring Island, but he had lived much longer at Silver Moon Bay than on the island itself.

Of course, his time spent in both places combined still couldn't compare to the years he had drifted at sea.

The constant wind and sun had made his face look like a freshly dried rag, and not just any rag, one that had been blackened from wiping the bottom of a pot.

Since he could remember, he had been working aboard ships with his father until, at the age of thirty, he finally got his own merchant ship.

Now, the "Northwest Wind" had been with him for a good twenty years.

Whenever he saw the mottled rust on the deck, he couldn't help but think that maybe it was time to seriously consider retiring.

At over fifty years old, one was definitely considered elderly in the Wasteland...

"This place is still so quiet."

Walking up beside Song Haining, a young man wearing a gray jacket draped his arm over the railing and smiled as he struck up a conversation.

His name was Mogavi, a merchant from the Humpback Kingdom of Silver Moon Bay. He was also the owner of five thousand tons of iron and coal on board the ship, as well as the employer of thirty mercenaries.

Recently, the Southern Islands Federation and Shelter No. 70 had been at each other's throats, with the war causing many offshore Mining stations to shut down. Yet, production in factories across the various islands couldn't stop, and the prices of all sorts of resources were soaring.

While there was no small risk involved in conducting business in these waters, there were still plenty of daredevils who decided to wade into the murky waters.

For instance, this man was one of them.

Song Haining didn't know his background, but the likelihood of a deal going south introduced by the port was low, and the route was one he was familiar with.

Even if the fellow could seem a bit off-kilter at times, he didn't mind—as long as the dinars were paid in full.

Hearing the voice beside him, the old captain narrowed his eyes, which had been gazing at the scenery, and smiled faintly, placing his empty beer bottle to the side.

"I truly hope it stays this quiet here."

"It will, for sure!"

The man's face bore a confident smile as he continued, "Before setting sail, I specifically had our fortunes told! The soothsayer told me that if we just keep heading towards where The Sun rises, and keep going... the land paved with gold awaits us."

The land paved with gold...

Hearing this intriguing phrase, Song Haining couldn't help but smile and glanced at the sparse sunlight before returning his gaze to the lush green shore in the distance.

He had been busy traversing these waters for most of his life and had never heard of any island being covered in gold.

As for the lands on both sides of the strait?

They were even less likely to hold treasures. Hidden within that dense rainforest was nothing but death, not treasure.

Even ships passing through this area would not consider going ashore to try their luck when their supplies ran out. Those forests were like the open mouth of a monster, ready to swallow up anyone who dared to venture too deeply.

"...You should have brought that soothsayer on board. Then we could have asked him just how far away that land paved with gold is from us."

Song Haining replied languidly.

However, just as his words had finished, two incredulous cries suddenly came from above the gangway.

"Look ahead! Quick, look up in the sky!"

"What is that?!"

In the sky?

Hearing the voice coming from the top of the gangway, both Song Haining and Mogavi on the deck were taken aback.

Mogavi was the first to regain his composure, exclaiming excitedly, "By the Silver Moon Goddess," before hurrying up the gangway.

Could the prophecy have come true?

Watching the overjoyed fellow, Song Haining had a strange look on his face.

Although he instinctively didn't believe in the mysticism, he nevertheless got up from his lounge chair and followed the merchant from Silver Moon Bay up the ladder.

"What did you see? What's that, up in the heaven—"

As he reached the railing of the crow's nest, Song Haining was about to ask the shouting sailor for details about the discovery when he stopped mid-sentence.

Looking in the direction the sailor pointed, his gaze passed over rows of cargo boxes stacked with ore, and soon two white spheres floating below a layer of clouds caught his eye.

Because of the distance, they looked as small as balloons, but he wouldn't believe they were just balloons.

Those were airships!

But why were airships here?

While Song Haining was lost in thought, Mogavi by his side suddenly cried out joyfully.

"Airships! They are airships!"

"I damn well know they're airships… What I want to know is why the heck are there airships in this godforsaken place!"

Returning to his senses from the shock, Song Haining's face showed not a trace of excitement, but rather a slowly growing concern or, perhaps more accurately, wariness.

The Southern sea area was not peaceful at the moment; the Southern Islands Federation and Shelter No. 70 had been fighting for over two months, both sides blinded with rage, long having abandoned any bottom line.

Before he set sail, he had heard the talk in a tavern near the docks of Silver Moon Bay Pier.

To cut off the supply line to the various islands of the Southern Islands Federation, the submarines from Shelter No. 70 were indiscriminately attacking vessels in the Southern sea area, and many ships had already met with disaster in the past month.

If that airship was a reconnaissance airship released by Shelter No. 70, they were probably already marked on the enemy's maritime chart.

Stepping out of the cockpit door, the young man who had taken the helm for him hurried up from behind and asked.

"Captain, shall we continue moving forward?"

Without waiting for Song Haining to speak, Mogavi at his side excitedly suggested.

"I think we should go over and take a look! There might be a surprise waiting for us."

Casting a glance at this guy who hadn't realized the gravity of the situation, Song Haining pondered for a moment before looking at the young man behind him.

"... Keep going forward."

It was too late to turn back now.

Besides, if they changed course at this point, they would have to detour around the southernmost tip of Baiyue Province, doubling the journey, not to mention the ship did not have enough supplies for such a detour.

The young man nodded nervously and ran back into the cockpit.

Song Haining pulled out his binoculars and stared intently at the two silvery-white airships, trying to discern something from them.

Unfortunately, there was no obvious identification on the airships.

The one relief that he had was that the two airships had wide cargo holds, clearly indicating they were cargo airships and not the reconnaissance airships he had imagined.

Furthermore—

Their rough design didn't seem to come from Shelter No. 70; perhaps they were the work of the Southern Islands Federation.

But the question quickly followed.

What was the Southern Islands Federation doing launching balloons over the Baiyue Strait?

Song Haining was utterly puzzled.

As he stared intently at the two airships, the "Northwest Wind" cargo ship also continued forward, steadily closing the distance between them.

When the horizontal distance between them was less than three nautical miles, a sight he had never seen before suddenly emerged on the yellow-green coastline.

He wasn't the only one who noticed something on the coastline.

The sailors and mercenaries standing at the rail, watching the excitement, almost simultaneously let out astonishment greater than before.

"Are there people there?"

"And not just a few!"

"By the Spirit of the Sand Sea... Have they lost their minds?!"

There were no ships on the shore.

Those people must have come down from the airships.

Staring blankly at the camp set up on the shore, Song Haining involuntarily opened his mouth wide, at a loss for words.

Mogavi standing next to him, on the other hand, shouted excitedly.

"A port! It's a port!"

Calling that thing a port was definitely a stretch; the place lacked even a pier extending into the deep-water zone, and a stretch of golden sandy beach was completely in its pristine state.

However, the rows of tents and iron houses, as well as the earthen walls and watchtowers encircling them, certainly didn't look like they'd just been built.

Long ago, a rumor had circulated in the taverns of Silver Moon Bay that demons exiled by the Spirit of the Sand Sea inhabited Baiyue Province, and no one could survive a full day and night on that land.

Song Haining didn't believe in any Spirit of the Sand Sea, but he was certainly convinced about the latter half of the rumor.

The Camel Hump Kingdom had attempted to colonize this land a long time ago, but all attempts had ultimately ended in failure.

To speak of the survivor settlements in the Southern Urban District, many of their ancestors had fled from areas near Baiyue Province to the islands.

That someone was attempting to set up camp along the coast of the Baiyue Strait...

Had these guys lost their will to live?!

While everyone on the ship was still astonished, two fast boats bearing the flags of the Southern Islands Federation approached from the eastern sea.

From a distance, Song Haining spotted the man on the prow of the boat and waved toward the direction of the cockpit at the back, gesturing to stop the ship, and then shouted down at the sailors beneath the gangway.

"Drop the anchor!"

The anchor was thrown from the stern, heavily hitting the bottom of the sea, and, combined with the reversing propeller, it didn't take long to bring the cargo ship to a halt.

The two fast boats split up, one kept watch from a distance, while the other approached.

Boarding the deck with two sailors, Muda spoke tersely to the approaching captain.

"Routine inspection, please cooperate."

Song Haining deftly took out his cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, and handed it over with a polite smile.

"Understood, go ahead."

Muda took the cigarette from him but didn't bother to light it. Instead, he casually tucked it into the pocket under his collar and led two sailors toward the cargo boxes on the deck.

Seeing the slow movements of that bunch, Mogavi couldn't help but come down from the gangway.

"Our ship is here to deliver iron and coal ores. It's not like we're doing business with Shelter No. 70, especially since they don't even have a port to unload."

Muda snorted through his nose and replied indifferently,

"That's not necessarily true. If you were planning to sell some hardcore goods to them, this is the perfect delivery point. Even if a box were tossed overboard here, who would notice, right? Plus, the sea bed isn't too deep around here, and there are landmarks nearby, making salvage convenient."

Mogavi's eyes widened.

"Are you joking? This huge ship of ours, making such petty deals?"

Fuck.

Can it really be done like that?

Had he known, he would have brought along some hardcore goods that Shelter No. 70 might be interested in!

Muda stopped in his tracks and gave him a long look.

Spooked by that gaze, Mogavi gave a sheepish smile, took a step back, and made a welcoming gesture.

"Please, go ahead."

Muda ignored him and continued to check each of the cargo boxes stacked on the deck with his men.

What he didn't mention was that his recent assignments involved not only stopping passing ships from doing business with Shelter No. 70 but also intercepting refugees trying to reach the Southern sea area.

Recently, a cargo ship named "Meat Meat" was stuck in their port, unable to be repaired, and nobody could budge its crew of over a thousand who were eating and drinking at their expense.

Although those guys were paying for their stay, supplies on Ring Island weren't abundant, especially now.

Partly out of concern of offending the Alliance and partly due to unrealistic fantasies about those people, the Governor's Mansion on the island hadn't taken a strong stance to push out the loitering cargo ship or cut off its supplies.

However, they couldn't let those big-hearted meddlers keep throwing refugees into their home.

To avoid more refugees lingering in the ports of Ring Island, the local Governor's Mansion had a brainwave and applied to the Marine Patrol Team of the Southern Islands Federation.

If they discovered any more survivors from Poluo Province on incoming ships, they were to force them to disembark near Potato Harbor in the territory of the Alliance.

Loved to meddle, didn't they?

Well, let them handle it!

However, this ship seemed to be loaded with ores. After checking around and finding no stowaways, Muda said to the captain standing beside him,

"I'd like to have a look below deck."

"No problem."

Song Haining smiled, then suddenly, as if struck by a thought, looked toward the north shore and asked,

"Speaking of which, do you know those people?"

"Which people?"

Muda raised an eyebrow and instinctively followed his gaze towards the coast of the strait. Seeing the sloppy camp, he quickly averted his eyes.

"They're from the Alliance."

"The Alliance?!"

Surprise spread across Song Haining's face.

"You mean... the River Valley Province?"

Muda nodded, "Hmm."

Song Haining was befuddled and struggled to get out a question.

"...What are those guys doing here?"

We're more than two thousand kilometers away from River Valley Province!

No wonder they came by airship...

Muda remarked impatiently,

"That's something you'd have to ask them."

Back at the gangway, Song Haining suddenly spotted that restless merchant, beckoning his mercenary crew to haul an inflatable boat up on deck.

"What are you doing?"

Rising to his feet and dusting off his hands, Mogavi grinned towards the approaching captain.

"I plan to get close to the shore and see what those guys are up to. Remember that fortune-telling I mentioned before? The land covered with gold! Doesn't that beach look just like it? I have a feeling! The opportunity to strike it rich is right here!"

Song Haining stared dumbfounded at him, listening to his nonsense.

"...Have you lost your mind?"

Mogavi shrugged off the concern.

"It's a waste of time just sitting around here anyway. Might as well do something. Besides, I'm just going up to take a look, not planning to spend the night onshore."

Song Haining eyed him and said,

"The inspection will be over soon; there's nothing to see below deck. It won't hold you up for long, and we'll be back on our way shortly."

"Perfect," Mogavi said with a hearty laugh. "I'll only be down there for half an hour, just wait for me a bit."

As he spoke, he'd already ordered the inflatable boat, adorned with Black Iron Wood, to be thrown overboard, and hurriedly put on a life jacket himself.

Watching the daredevil, Song Haining's brows twitched violently, but in the end, he held back his words.

"... Be back soon."

He swore to himself.

On the account of money, this was the last deal he'd ever make with this guy.

Grinning from ear to ear, Mogavi grabbed the ladder and chuckled,

"Roger that!"

Chapter 672: There Really Is Gold Everywhere Here!

In the Wasteland, the Alliance's reputation is generally good in most regions.

Especially the army of the Alliance, whose image of strict discipline is deeply ingrained in people's hearts; never have they heard of any Commercial Team or residence being robbed by the soldiers of the Alliance.

Therefore, Mogavi wasn't panicked at all, and with only two agile mercenaries, he boarded the inflatable boat, urging the person steering the boat to speed up towards the direction of the beach.

After sailing for two or three kilometers, the inflatable boat soon reached the shore.

"You guys secure the boat! As soon as you're done, come find me!"

Mogavi instructed the two mercenaries to drag the inflatable boat ashore and ground it, while he himself hurried towards the camp by the shore.

The beach was different from the sea.

Their inflatable boat was coated with a tree oil boiled from Black Iron Wood, which could give off a rotting smell to repel sea Variants, but once on shore, he had to rely on himself.

Rushing out of the edge of the beach, the moment the soles of his shoes touched the soft muddy ground, his eyes widened in shock at the sight before him.

All he could see was a stack of fur of various sizes and colors, piled up like a deck of cards on a platform made of logs.

Probably to save space, they were tied into tofu block shapes with hemp ropes, stacked tightly together, with the only protection being a crudely made shelter of thatch.

These raw skins were probably freshly stripped from their prey not long ago, still smeared with uncleansed blood and grease, emitting a faint stench under the high temperature.

"Spirit of the Sand Sea above..."

Mogavi's mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.

What shocked him wasn't the cruelty of the scene before his eyes.

In the Wasteland, unless one is absurdly full and bloated, no one would overflow with so much sympathy as to feel for Variants.

What really shocked him was the barbarity and rudeness of these people!

They were treating these treasures worth their weight in gold so terribly, piling them up here like old rags!

Did these wasteful fellows not fear retribution from the heavens!?

"Spirit of the Sand Sea above! Purely colored Mink Fur! Wait, is this a mutated leopard?! Emerald Python, Mutated Rhino Skin..."

"Hiss—"

"You're just piling these treasures here, letting them rot in the high temperatures?! You might as well give them to me!"

The noisy sound quickly drew the attention of nearby players.

Some of the players who were working at the slaughter points dropped their work and curiously crowded around him.

"Wow, is that an NPC?"

"There's a cargo ship docked over there, looks like that guy came from that ship."

"What's he blabbering on about?"

"Who knows, I turned on my translator too late."

Wiping the blood off his boning knife, Green Lantern Old Wine, wearing a leather apron, glanced at the NPC, narrowed his eyes, and spoke in imperfect United Human language.

"Who are you?"

The man quickly turned to look at him, anxiously pulling out a damp business card from his shirt and handing it over with excitement.

"I am Mogavi, a merchant from Silver Moon Bay! Are these furs yours?"

Without answering his question, Green Lantern Old Wine glanced at the business card, casually stuffing it into his pocket, and eyed the man once more.

"You know your stuff about these goods?"

Mogavi quickly nodded, forcefully restraining his excitement and said.

"Of course! Name your price, I want all of these goods!"

Not to speak of anything else, just the pieces of Mink Fur he had just seen, if properly handled, could be made into fur coats and taken to Poluo Province, which at the very least could be exchanged for one hundred slaves!

And if he went a bit further west, to the ports near Triumph City, that could easily fetch 100,000 Dinars!

Not to mention those few pieces of Mink Fur were just the tip of the iceberg in this pile of goods.

And as for Variants like Mutated Rhino and mutated leopards, which aren't considered rare, though their fur wouldn't sell for a high price per unit, they are in high demand. No matter which port, they always have buyers, so there's never a worry about being stuck with unsold goods in hand.

To say it without exaggeration, the profit from his entire ship's cargo couldn't match up to the few stacks of fur piled carelessly here.

After all, a whole container of iron ore couldn't earn 1000 Dinars, but here a relatively intact piece of fur could easily sell for that price!

Thinking of the huge profits, Mogavi's heart pounded wildly, his breathing becoming involuntarily rapid.

It was as though there was gold everywhere!

Praise the Spirit of the Sand Sea!!

Looking at the merchant hastily asking for a price, a strange expression raised Green Lantern Old Wine's eyebrows.

Was this guy new to doing business?

It was as if he had the words "Come and slaughter me" written on his face.

With a slight turn of his eyes, he spoke.

"...These skins haven't been processed, we plan to sell them after processing."

Mogavi protested painfully and urgently.

"There's no time, with this way of processing, even a piece of wood would rot! Don't disbelieve me, at most by tomorrow morning, if half of these goods are left, I'll consider myself the loser!"

Green Lantern Old Wine was stunned for a moment, instinctively retorting.

"How could it be so fast!"

What a joke?

He wasn't a butcher for the first time; back in the City of Dawn, he could leave the skins out to rot for two or three days before dealing with them and still find buyers.

How could it possibly decompose in a day?

Watching this guy, who clearly hadn't grasped the gravity of the situation, Mogavi couldn't help but say with a laugh and a cry,

"Are you joking? This is the tropics! You don't think decomposition here is as slow as back home, do you? I just got off the boat and could smell that stench from a mile away."

Green Lantern Old Wine subconsciously sniffed the air and, perhaps having grown used to the local scent, truly couldn't smell anything.

But he got the gist of Mogavi's words and his expression gradually lost its previous calm.

"Then name your price."

Hiding his glee, Mogavi stretched out five fingers and pointed to the pile of goods beside him, saying with all sincerity,

"Since we're fated to meet, I'll offer you 50,000 Dinars for this stack! I want all five stacks in total!"

That would be 250,000 Dinars in all,
including those few "insignificant" mink furs.

Mogavi felt that his offer was quite sincere.

After all, if he left these goods untended, they'd just rot on the beach and he wouldn't be able to sell them for a penny in the end.

To his surprise, though, upon hearing his earnest offer, the guy in front of him rolled his eyes without hesitation and refused.

"Get lost! You think I don't know the worth of Dinars? This pile has at least two hundred pieces. 50,000 Dinars? Are you kidding me?"

Mogavi was stunned for a moment, then said with a pained expression,

"Friend, these are unprocessed hides. Over 200 Dinars apiece is already very generous. Even if you took them to Silver Moon Bay right now, you wouldn't find a buyer more generous than me."

Green Lantern Old Wine shook his head like a rattle drum.

"Don't even think about it; I'll process as many as I can. If you really want to buy, then no less than 50,000 Silver coins for one stack."

"50,000 Silver coins?!" Mogavi's eyes widened, "Are you kidding me?! That's enough to buy a truck!"

Green Lantern Old Wine laughed, saying unreservedly,

"Guess how many trucks these could fetch back in the City of Dawn?"

Mogavi laughed and cried as he looked at him,

"You can't bring them back, your methods of handling them mean this batch will absolutely rot halfway!"

Green Lantern Old Wine made an indifferent face,

"Forget it, the temperature here is high, but doesn't it drop once we reach the sky? A thousand furs, we've got them all packed. Once we're back in the City of Dawn and give them a little treatment, we could sell them for at least 500,000 Silver Coins. We can even transport the local seafood back, let alone a few furs."

Truth be told, he was bluffing a bit. After all, air transport isn't costless.

And the Northwestern Wind airship isn't a dedicated cold transport vehicle; it can manage to transport some seafood in foam boxes. Residents of the City of Dawn might buy them as novelties, and earning enough to cover airfare isn't an issue.

But these furs were different; they were for bulk trade. Putting aside whether there were cold storage facilities, even if they could be transported back based on weight, whether they could earn back their cost was unknown.

However, a price of 250 Dinars each was definitely unacceptable to him. The cost of obtaining those animals was much more than that.

If he really sold them at that price, he might as well go bankrupt.

Mogavi shook his head, intending to walk away but saw that nobody was trying to stop him. He stamped his foot and clenched his teeth before turning back.

"Forget it, out of respect for the aid you once offered us, I'll suffer a loss… Let's say there are a thousand pieces in total, I'll take them all for 130,000 Silver Coins!"

There wasn't a stable exchange rate between Silver coins and Dinars; some places might give 1:3, others 1:10, which depended on the distance from Triumph City and the City of Dawn and whether the slave trade was prevalent in the nearby area.

Though Dinars are metal currency, it's not Gold that anchors their value but slaves and the value slaves can produce.

But one thing was undeniable.

In most regions, Silver Coins were more powerful than Dinars, even if they weren't as widely circulated. At least, this was true to the east of the Great Desert.

Hearing the price, Green Lantern Old Wine was instantly tempted.

130,000 Silver Coins!

An average of one hundred thirty Silver per piece!

The price wasn't fantastic, but it was much better than 250 Dinars.

However, as tempted as he was, he still put on an uncertain face.

"130,000... that price is still too low. I need to discuss it with others."

Hearing this, Mogavi's eyes bulged out, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Good grief.

It turned out that after all this haggling, the goods weren't even his!

Seeing the murderous look in that NPC's eyes, Green Lantern Old Wine gave a sheepish laugh, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and coughed before saying,

"...Most of them are mine, mostly mine..."

Not giving Mogavi a chance to back out, Green Lantern Old Wine immediately went to the slaughter area, gathered the lifestyle players who ran the stalls, and laid out the situation one by one.

This included the NPC who took interest in the stack of unprocessed hides at the port, and the price he had negotiated with the man.

"...I thought about it, and a price of 130,000 Silver Coins is acceptable. Plus, we'd save on transportation to the City of Dawn, labor for skin processing, and potential losses during transit... If we really took them back to the City of Dawn to figure out what to do, we might even lose money. Better to bundle them up and sell them to that guy. Everyone divides the money and makes a good sum."

The lifestyle players thought it over and seemed to agree.

The Variants kept swarming in, and the stalls were nearly unable to hold all the hunted animals. There was no telling when they'd have time to process those furs.

Someone willing to take everything was indeed convenient.

As for old man Green Lantern's reputation, they trusted him; there wasn't going to be one price on the surface and another behind the scenes.

"You handle it," they said.

"Bro, I trust you."

"Even if we make less by selling wholesale, it's still good to get rid of the goods quickly. It would be such a waste to let them rot on the beach."

Seeing how many brothers trusted him, Green Lantern was deeply moved and said with emotion in his eyes,

"Good brothers! With your trust in me, I, Green Lantern Old Wine, will not let you down!"

"Tch, what are you thanking us for? You're the one who negotiated a good deal for us. If anything, we should be thanking you," a player with a life-profession character laughed and patted his shoulder.

Another player suddenly had an idea and suggested,

"Right, there will definitely be more NPCs coming here to buy furs, so why don't we register an organization or association? In the future, we can all agree on a price to sell together, setting individual prices for different types of furs. We're sure to make more than by selling them all at one price. Plus, it can prevent those NPCs from finding us one by one and breaking us down to drive down prices."

The suggestion was immediately met with many people's approval.

"Great idea!"

"I agree!"

"We can't let the NPCs shear us like sheep!"

Green Lantern also snapped back to reality, realizing why that NPC almost flipped out when he heard that all the goods weren't his.

Turns out there was a trick to this all along.

But now was not the time to discuss this.

He coughed twice to get everyone's attention and then continued,

"Listen up, everyone. We can discuss this in the long term and take it to the forums after logging off. For now, let's deal with this batch of goods."

The player who had made the initial suggestion nodded and said,

"Indeed, let's get the goods sorted out first."

After receiving permission from everyone, Green Lantern returned to the pile of goods and found Mogavi pacing back and forth.

This time, with the support of his brothers, he had the confidence to haggle, and he started to forcefully negotiate with Mogavi.

In the end, through his efforts, the total of 1,131 pieces of fur was finally sold for 140,000 silver coins.

Although it did not reach his expected 150,000 silver coins, it seemed that this price was the limit that the NPC merchant could accept.

As he uttered the words "deal", the NPC looked as if he had been gutted, completely defeated and bankrupted.

Even though the guy was an NPC, the NPCs in this game were nearly indistinguishable from real people, so Green Lantern Old Wine didn't have the heart to squeeze him dry.

He still wanted to keep this business going for the long term.

As part of the deal for the 140,000 silver coins, the players of Potato Harbor needed to help pack up the thousand-plus pieces of fur and deliver them to the deck of the "Northwestern Wind" cargo ship.

Without a dock, it wasn't easy to load ten to twenty tons of goods onto the ship, but Green Lantern Old Wine readily agreed to it.

"As you wish, 140,000 silver coins! I'll need to go to the ship to get the money... You bring the goods to the deck, and we'll make the exchange there."

After making a verbal agreement, Mogavi headed toward the south side of the camp, stopped by the fence gate, and repeatedly instructed Green Lantern Old Wine.

Seeing Mogavi with the look of someone who had lost money, Green Lantern chuckled and waved it off.

"Got it, you'd better go. Tell your captain to steady the ship; we'll have your goods over in no time."

"It's a deal..."

Mogavi didn't want to waste any more time on the beach and started heading towards where the inflatable boat had run aground.

At that moment, two mercenaries carrying guns approached from their direction, and seeing their boss hurrying back, they were momentarily dumbfounded.

"Boss?"

"What... has happened?"

"The deal is done!" Mogavi slapped the shoulder of the mercenary leading the way, urging them on, "It's time to go; time is money, we have to rush back to the ship."

The batch of goods now piled up belonged to him, and every minute he wasted there was a risk of damaging a piece of fur.

This is something he could not tolerate.

Especially since several of the mink furs he coveted were tied up with a stack of mutated rhino skins meant for leather making. The sight of the blood and grease on the beautiful fur made his heart cramp with pain.

Such a bunch of prodigals!

When the mercenaries heard the boss say it was time to go back, they almost spewed old blood.

With great effort, they had dragged the speedboat ashore, thinking they could have a couple of drinks in the Alliance settlement, but before they even got a chance, they were pushed to head back.

"What are you staring at me for?" Mogavi glared at the two stationary mercenaries, "Get moving!"

"Yes..."

Not daring to offend their employer, the mercenaries ultimately swallowed their anger and headed back toward the inflatable boat with grudging resolution.

To get back to the deck quickly, Mogavi didn't care about getting his trousers wet with seawater and joined the mercenaries in pushing the boat.

After half an hour of struggle, they finally managed to get the speedboat back to the anchored cargo ship.

The two speedboats they'd left behind had not departed, and the patrol captain was waiting impatiently, smoking on the bow, as if he had been waiting for them for a long time.

Mogavi wasted no time in climbing the ladder up to the deck.

Seeing the employer return to the deck, Song Haining immediately approached and asked,

"What exactly is happening onshore?"

"It's true! Land that's teeming with gold! Hahaha! I can't believe I found it!" Mogavi was ecstatic, his earlier dejection onshore forgotten as he grabbed Captain Song by the shoulders.

Song Haining was confused for a moment by these words, completely at a loss, before regaining his composure and speaking,

"What do you mean land teeming with gold..."

"I've bought a batch of goods from them. Just wait here; they'll be bringing the goods over soon. I'm going to prepare the money."

Mogavi walked toward the ship's cabin, and Song Haining immediately reached out to grasp his arm, asking hastily.

"Wait, what cargo? Delivered to the deck? How are they going to bring it up?"

He had no plans to dock here, not to mention there was no pier for them to use.

If they had to transfer the cargo little by little by boat, when would they finish?

If they were targeted by the submarine from Shelter No. 70, he didn't believe that two patrol speedboats could provide full protection.

Looking at Captain Song's anxious face, Mogavi chuckled and patted his hand.

"Don't worry, they said it would be quick and it won't take long; we'll just wait a bit."

Song Haining retorted, staring at him.

"We can't wait too long; the Federation's patrol is waiting for us, and without their guidance, we can't get through the sea minefield. And then there's Shelter No. 70's—"

"Then I'll have to trouble you to relay the message for me, and ask them to wait a little longer! Two speedboats... I can pay them an extra 2000 Dinars!"

Watching Mogavi release his arm and dash toward the ship's cabin, Song Haining's face was furrowed with worry.

At that moment, a sailor ran down from the gangway, urgently saying to him.

"Captain, that flying vessel onshore! It's approaching us!"

A flying vessel?!

Song Haining was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked up to the northern shore of the strait. There he saw the hovering flying vessel, dangling a string of ropes, and slowly flying towards them.

Staring at the objects hanging from the rope, his eyes nearly bulged out.

Great Scott.

This works?!

Mogavi, who had just emerged from the cargo hold with a suitcase, was also taken aback by the Alliance's operation.

However, his surprise didn't last long. In less than fifteen minutes, the flying vessel had drifted above their cargo ship and came to a slow stop.

The sea breeze blew fiercely, and several "tofu blocks" dangled from the rope, swinging like pendulums, and it took several attempts before they were carefully placed and stabilized on the deck.

Watching this thrilling and exciting scene, Song Haining felt his heart being pulled to his throat.

Especially when that "pendulum" swept towards his Northwestern Wind, his entire face turned white with fear.

Fortunately, everyone was lucky, and this series of outrageous operations didn't result in any deaths.

One of the "tofu blocks" revealed a man in a leather jacket who jumped down.

He looked around and upon spotting the dumbfounded Mogavi standing by the ship's cabin, his eyes brightened, and he walked forward with a smile.

"The cargo has arrived; where's the money?"

It took quite a while for Mogavi to recover, shutting his open mouth before raising his thumb in affirmation, then handing over the suitcase in his hand.

"All 140,000 Silver Coins are here."

Green Lantern Old Wine checked the suitcase and, seeing several bundles of hundred-denominational notes neatly placed inside, closed the lid with a smile.

"Pleasure doing business."

"Pleasure doing business... I'll be back here in a few days, so if you get any good stuff, remember to save some for me," Mogavi said with a cough, looking at Song Haining, who was staring at him, "and, you guys... should think about building a pier soon, I'm afraid no ships will take me back otherwise."

Green Lantern's eyes lit up.

"Oh, that can be arranged, I'll introduce someone to you!"

Mogavi paused, looking at him oddly.

"You guys... have a ship?"

"Of course!" Green Lantern said with a smile, "If you need one, when you get to Ring Harbor, you can look for someone named Tail. She's on that ship with the White Bear flag."

Mogavi nodded, "I'll check it out if I need to... By the way, how do you plan to get back?"

"No problem, I'll go back the way I came, see you soon!"

Green Lantern gave a wave, returned to the pile of goods, then unhooked the rope that held the fur stacks and hooked it onto himself.

Everyone watched as the guy, clutching a suitcase, was hoisted up by the flying vessel and swayed away towards the shore.

Watching the figure disappear from sight, Song Haining swallowed hard, glaring hard at Mogavi beside him.

Knowing what he wanted to say, Mogavi coughed awkwardly and explained.

"Actually, these guys are pretty good people, much easier to deal with than most survivors in settlements... it's just that they can be reckless sometimes."

"I don't care about reckless or not; don't you even think about dragging me into your reckless adventures. This ship has been with me for twenty years!" Song Haining persisted, continuing to glare at him, "This is the last time... I won't stop here when I come back, don't even think about it!"

Mogavi nodded with an apologetic smile.

"Alright... okay!"

But not stopping here was impossible.

After the profit from just that deal, it was almost catching up to the profit of his entire cargo.

He not only wanted to come back but also to stay here for a while.

Maybe when he got to the port of Ring Island, he could ask the shipowner referred by the cargo owner about that Tail, to see if they would take the deal...

But thinking back.

That name sounded terribly familiar...

Mogavi always felt he had heard it somewhere.

——

(Thanks to Ansnow for the generous sponsorship!!!)

Chapter 673: Brother Fang Chang's Grand Scheme

It turned out that swinging people around under an airship like cargo really wasn't a good idea.

At first, there were more than ten tons of cargo dangling below, and the swaying of the towing rope wasn't too exaggerated.

But after the cargo was unloaded onto the deck, the rope immediately began to swing unrulily, and the Bull Horse airship had no sooner lifted the Green Lantern off the deck than it made the latter experience the sensation of flying.

Fortunately, the airship pilot was quite skilled. After several attempts, they finally managed it without causing any fatalities, putting Green Lantern with his briefcase safely back on the ground at camp.

Once his feet finally touched the ground, the first thing he did was squat down and retch violently.

Walking over to the man next to him, Fang Chang asked with a smile,

"Brother, how do you feel?"

"Not bad..."

It took quite a while for Green Lantern to regain his composure, sitting on the ground before he couldn't help but continue to express his feelings.

"This 'Game'...the physics system is...pretty realistic."

"Haha, as long as you're happy," Fang Chang said with a laugh, "let's settle the transport fee."

"Oh right, I almost forgot," Green Lantern slapped his forehead, took out ten hundred-dollar paper bills from his briefcase, and handed them over with an embarrassed smile, "Thanks, brother."

"Don't mention it." Fang Chang took the money and stuffed it into his pocket, squinting his eyes with a smile as he watched the cargo ship sail away, "Pleasant cooperation."

One thing at a time.

Even though it was just a small effort, starting and stopping an airship did indeed involve fuel expenses.

Even if he didn't care about the small amount of money, he had to think about the interests of Bull Horse Group's biggest shareholder—the collective interests of Shelter No. 404.

Currently, the net assets of Bull Horse Group ranked top on the server, surpassing even the second and third combined when counting the operations in Ideal City. Correspondingly, its financial auditing was among the most rigorous on the server.

Casual game behaviors without economic benefits were fine, but once it generated economic benefits, it became a business operation. It was not worth bending the rules for a thousand silver coins. Therefore, he had to take the money, and he would later have to record it in the VM ledger.

Turning his gaze from the distance, Fang Chang looked at Spare people under the knife who was following him.

"...Speaking of which, this airship loading and unloading method doesn't seem very reliable; a slight mistake could lead to a total loss. We should really get a dock built as soon as possible."

Spare people under the knife sighed.

"I've been considering that, but building a dock is much more complicated than those construction sites onshore, and the sea Variants in the shallow areas are a problem, too. Those things aren't like the ones on shore; you can't just fence them in, and they'll definitely be trouble during construction."

In River Valley Province, there were only so many types of Variants. The larger ones had been driven by players into deep forests, and for the usual top three—Mutant Cockroaches, rats, Hyenas—just set up the Mind Interference Device, and that was that.

But Baiyue Province was different.

There were a multitude of marine Variants, especially since the Baiyue Strait had a shallow sea bed, many active shallow-water marine Variants liked to congregate in this area.

The range of frequencies that the Mind Interference Device could set was limited; it was impossible to drive away all Variants.

In fact, the Southern Islands Federation only equipped their ships with Mind Interference Devices to drive away some Variants that could easily overturn the vessels.

Although it was a good method to soak large amounts of Black Iron Wood in water, like they did at Silver Moon Bay, the loss of materials was too great.

Black Iron Wood is a temperate plant and cannot be introduced for cultivation in the tropics. If they were to follow Silver Moon Bay's technique, they could only import large quantities from Oasis No.4.

From an economic standpoint, this was clearly not a good idea.

Fang Chang frowned slightly.

"What about a net?"

Spare people under the knife replied with a wry smile,

"You think these are the small fish and shrimps of reality? What net could possibly stop Variants..."

Overhearing the two men's conversation, Green Lantern Old Wine, who had stood up after patting his pants, chimed in casually,

"How about Devil Silk? I see they use that at West State City for farming Crack Claw Crabs and Battleship Shrimp, and the nets made of that stuff are better than wire and won't rust. Oh, and those fishermen used to use it for their lines, too. They said rods would break, but the lines held firm. Even if the boat capsized, the nets were fine."

At this, Spare people under the knife was startled.

Right.

Devil Silk was a specialty of the City of Dawn!

Rubbing his chin and pondering, the more he thought about it, the brighter his eyes shone as he muttered,

"I'll think about it... damn, this might actually work! At the very least, it should be no problem to stop those Mutant turtles and crabs!"

"Don't just think about it. Once we log off, I'll ask Night Ten to place an order at the City of Dawn; let's order a batch of nets made of Devil Silk. When the next flight comes back, we'll test it out directly! If it works, even if we don't build a dock, just securing the safety of the area nearby would still be great."

Dropping this suggestion, Fang Chang laughed and patted Green Lantern Old Wine's arm.

"Not bad at all, brother, your idea is great! Next time you have any good suggestions, remember to post them on the Forum, and if they're good, we'll implement them straight away!"

Seeing his suggestion taken so seriously, Green Lantern Old Wine also looked pleasantly surprised and shyly laughed as he said,

"Really?! Then I won't hold back, haha."

Fang Chang laughed and said,

"Hold back what? We're all family here."

1000 Silver Coins might be a small amount, and 140,000 Silver Coins might also be considered small change, but the economic value of a "port with a daily cargo throughput of tens of millions of silver coins" was certainly no small figure.

Baiyue Strait Development Co., Ltd. was in the "platform economy"—keeping the clients comfortable was essential for future opportunities to profit, right?

Like port fees, loading and unloading fees, handling charges, storage fees, leveling fees, barge fees... all could be directly transferred from reality.

Wouldn't that mean money just lying there to be earned?

Right.

Considering the hardened killers who trade on the Wasteland, there was going to be a need for a couple of shore defense cannons to keep order on the banks in the future.

For some reason, looking at this older brother with a refined and amiable smile, Green Lantern Old Wine always felt a bit creeped out.

It was probably just an illusion...

He coughed and diverted the conversation.

"By the way...speaking of which, isn't Ideal City also on the coast? I remember it's at the outlet to the sea in Tianshui, right? Do they have any construction ships for harbors or anything like that? If the price is right, we could subcontract the work to them. It'd seem like a lot less trouble than airlifting equipment from the City of Dawn."

Fang Chang stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded.

"That's a good idea; I'll inquire about it later."

It was rather embarrassing to admit, but he, who had been one of the first players to reach Ideal City, had almost forgotten that Ideal City was by the sea!

Not everything they needed had to be purchased from the City of Dawn.

The Alliance had signed a currency swap agreement with the companies, and the Bull Horse Group also had some unsettled foreign exchange to use. It was not impossible to tender a port construction project directly in Ideal City for French Fries Harbor.

Speaking of which, wasn't Li Shuyue's Ruyue Group a subsidiary of the largest "property" in Ideal City—the Ideal Group?

Fang Chang had heard a long time ago that the identity of that person was not simple; it seemed to have ties to the board of the Ideal Group.

Perhaps...

He could ask her for a favor to look into it.

...

While Fang Chang was hesitating whether to make a special trip to Ideal City for this matter, at the entrance and exit of the French Fries Harbor North Section enclosing wall, two tracked vehicles with bulldozer blades hanging on their bumpers, were advancing into the depths of the jungle under the escort of a hundred fully armed players.

These hundred players were among the top combatants on the server, half of whom were brothers from the Burning Corps and the other half from the Jungle Corps.

Most players were armed to the teeth with the K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton, and a few leading the way were donned in power armors like "Xiaguang," "Dragon Cavalry," and other models.

And those two tracked vehicles with the bulldozer blades were no ordinary ones; they were replicas of the "Reindeer" tracked vehicle, standard equipment of the elite teams of the Academy!

The Burning Corps had previously intercepted this "mobile scientific research station" from the Beacon team of the Academy and replicated it to the extent allowed by their technology.

However, due to the limited technical conditions of the Alliance, the design units involved in the reverse engineering could only resort to a rough-and-ready version.

Not only was the height reduced to 3.5 meters and the length to 6 meters, the original variety of weapon platforms were also scaled down to a remote-controlled weapons station "integrated with a 20mm cannon, a short-barrel grenade launcher, and the same smoke dischargers used in tanks."

On the proposal of the Prospector team leader, Yin Fang, this "armed scientific research vehicle" assigned for the Prospector team's use was ultimately named "Husky."

From this somewhat ill-intentioned name, it wasn't hard to tell that the researchers of the Prospector team weren't holding much hope for its reliability.

Even so, although this simplified version of the "Reindeer" couldn't hold a candle to the real deal, the scientific equipment on this tracked vehicle was nothing to scoff at.

For example, a sample storage that could provide a near absolute zero temperature environment, a cryogenic Sleep Cabin that could operate in harsh conditions for at least twenty years, a mobile workstation with a quantum processor and various precision sensors, and so on.

Any one of these pieces of equipment was worth hundreds of thousands of silver coins.

And that was thanks to the scientific research cooperation agreement Chu Guang negotiated with the Academy's representatives, which allowed the Alliance to procure a batch of research equipment at agreed prices with silver coins from the Research Department of the Academy. Otherwise, much of this stuff wouldn't be available even if you had the money.

Though the Alliance always found ways to save on arms and equipment, they never skimped on scientific research.

As long as there was something good, Chu Guang would do everything possible to make sure the researchers of the Alliance got to use it, offering them the utmost support.

As a result, not wanting to fail the Manager's expectations, the Alliance's research institutions, from the ground up, were filled with high work enthusiasm.

The airship "Explorer" carrying the research equipment had barely docked at French Fries Harbor when the staff from the Biological Institute and the prospecting teams immediately laid out their action plans.

Two "Husky" tracked vehicles were successively stationed on the north side of the camp; once the security personnel were in place, the two teams dashed into the dense rainforest as if they were racing.

The dispatch team leader from the Alliance Biological Research Institute here was Chen Yutong, whose outstanding performance on related subjects in the Jinchuan Province had won Heya's approval.

On the prospecting team's side, the team leader was Meng Liang, a former resident of Shelter No. 401, who also had an impressive resume. He had served as an explorer aboard the Iron Heart and had been involved in the investigation of the No.0 Shelter.

It's worth mentioning that both captains were "cross-disciplinary talents."

During her time at the Academy as an E-level Explorer, Chen Yutong primarily specialized in AI, and biotechnology was a hobby for her. It wasn't until joining the Alliance that she truly began to focus on biological engineering.

Meng Liang, who was previously with Shelter No. 401, researched Mind Interference Technology, and most of his work was related to the biological field.

It was only after being rescued by the Alliance from the hands of the Looters that he developed an interest in archaeology, working with Yin Fang in the business of grave-digging.

At this moment, on the tracked vehicle at the tail of the convoy.

Sitting next to the biological analyzer, Chen Yutong was staring intently at the leaf pinched between her fingers, deep in thought.

She had picked the leaf from a nearby tree when she got off the airship.

At first glance, it seemed no different from the common tropical vegetation, but intuition told her that there was more to it than met the eye.

Especially since just minutes earlier, the local construction team had reported some unusual phenomena in this area to her.

The local forests appeared to possess some sort of peculiar self-healing ability, capable of recovering from "damage" at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Moreover, this extraordinary self-healing was not limited to a single species but was a collective display across different species.

For instance, if you cut down a palm tree, the next day what grows might be neighboring bamboos or hemp vines…

Watching the leaf at her fingertips, a hint of intrigue surfaced in Chen Yutong's eyes.

Although her primary reason for coming here was to avoid the increasing number of Academy individuals in Qingquan City, her curiosity about the secrets of this land had grown since learning about the local conditions.

"… The analysis result is in." The voice of a colleague came from the direction of the biological analyzer, interrupting Chen Yutong's train of thought.

After setting the leaf aside, Chen Yutong immediately stood up and walked over to the nearby terminal, gazing at the data on the screen and asking,

"What's the result?"

"It's strange…" The researcher seated in front of the terminal said with a puzzled look, "The Nago Strains we collected in Jinchuan Province can't infect the vegetation in this area. We tried seven different samples and all failed, even after adjusting the temperature to suit the growth of those strains."

"But the experiments conducted in Qingquan City were successful," Chen Yutong said thoughtfully. "All twelve samples were infected by Strand J of Naugus Fungi."

"Yes…" The researcher nodded slightly, wearing a perplexed expression on his face.

The so-called Strand J of Nago fungi was a strain collected near Jinhe City in the Jinchuan Province, characterized by its suitability for growth in the subtropical to temperate, humid regions.

Compared to the primitive fungi "Strand B" collected from the Baiyue Province, "Strand J," which had fused with the genome of the lair in Qingquan City, exhibited extreme invasiveness—this was the true nature behind "Heaven" permeating throughout Haiya Province.

Shelter No. 79 had simulated the climatic environments of both Jinchuan Province and Baiyue Province, introducing the plants collected from Baiyue Province and the Strand J Nago fungus into different-sized petri dishes for co-cultivation. In the end, the results showed that the plants collected from Baiyue Province were corroded and assimilated by the Nago fungus.

Later, the Alliance's researchers conducted further observation and found that when Strand B was present in a petri dish, the growth rate of Strand J was significantly inhibited. However, this inhibitory effect only lasted 48 hours before it disappeared.

Previous speculation by the Alliance Biological Research Institute suggested that the primitive fungus from Baiyue Province—Strand B—could suppress the growth of the artificially cultured Strand J by the Torch Church.

Yet, perplexingly, they could not observe anything in the lab that would corroborate this hypothesis.

In order to clarify why the Torch Church's Nago strain had not spread to the Baiyue Province, the Alliance Biological Research Institute approved experiments in the region.

Unexpectedly, they even observed the incredible inhibitory effect without adding Strand B to the petri dish, merely setting up a few control groups that co-cultivated the Baiyue Province plants with Strand J.

The same experiment yielded completely different results in Baiyue Province.

Even the introduction of Strand B into the petri dish not only failed to erode the plants within, but also caused the plants to wither—as if they were not suited to the local conditions.

The researchers inside the carriage began to whisper among themselves.

"Could it be an issue with the soil?"

"Clearly not, several of our experiments at Shelter No. 79 used soil collected from Baiyue Province."

"Could it be that the original Strand B is not what's inhibiting the growth of Strand J?"

"That possibility cannot be ruled out…"

"How strange."

Chen Yutong did not speak, but stared at the screen, deep in thought.

She actually agreed with another point raised by her colleagues, that something other than the original Strand B was suppressing the growth of Strand J.

Something that existed only in this land…

What could it be?

Just then, a voice from Car No.1's team came through her headset.

Meng Liang: "…This is the prospecting team. We are planning to search for an underground ruin in the old site of Shilong City next. How about you guys?"

Roused from her thoughts, Chen Yutong glanced at the map hanging inside the carriage and raised her index finger to her ear as she spoke.

"We plan to move three kilometers further north… There are some unusual signals detected by the life signal detection device in that area, which could mean samples we need are present."

Meng Liang spoke with a laugh: "Looks like we'll be splitting up then. Good luck to you guys."

Chen Yutong's mouth curved in a small smile.

"Same to you."

With that, the two teams parted ways.

The vehicle group from the Alliance Biological Research Institute, escorted by the Burning Corps, continued to head north, while the prospecting team's vehicle group, under the escort of the Jungle Corps, moved towards the ruins of Shilong City.

Players from the Jungle Corps cast envious glances toward their comrades advancing to the north.

Just an hour before, the vast majority of players nearby had received a notification for a regional mission to search for the lair.

Finding that creature not only unlocked an exclusive title but also an award of one million silver coins and ten thousand contribution points!

What did one million silver coins mean?

It was more than enough to buy a house in a first-tier city!

Clearly.

Following the people from the Biological Institute meant a higher chance of completing the mission, while tagging along with the prospecting team might only lead to digging up old relics from a bygone era.

"Brother Chicken, can we switch with them?" Turning his head to look at Midnight Chicken Killing, the diligent worker spoke with a longing tone.

Midnight Chicken Killing made a helpless gesture.

"I can't do anything about it; it's specific to them that the Biological Institute requested."

He did not dare say that initially, the Burning Corps had been specifically requested by the prospecting team, but Old White had turned down the mission to cater to their gaming experience, and that was how the mission had ended up with them.

It was an unavoidable situation.

Those tough players were indeed formidable; whether it was their war records or sequence levels, they were incomparable—as made clear by a glance at the Steel Heart floating above the City of Dawn.

But understanding aside, the strength-oriented creatures couldn't help but make a fuss.

"I bet there's some shady transaction behind all this."

"Brother Chicken, you go make a deal too."

"Please Brother Chicken!"

As he listened to the cacophony from the group, Midnight Chicken Killing rolled his eyes.

"Get lost, if you want to go, go yourself!"

The diligent worker: "Damn!"

…

While the prospecting team's convoy was still on its way to the ruins of Shilong City, "Husky" from the Alliance Biological Research Institute had already reached their destination.

"All squads, spread out and stand guard!"

"Received!"

Watching teammates making OK gestures, Old White, clad in Dragon Rider Power Armor, waved his hand to signal the team to spread out around the track vehicle at the center, guarding against any potential threats from the jungle.

There are quite a few Variants in this jungle.

Just on their way here, they had encountered four or five waves of attacks.

The task of specimen collection is the responsibility of the researchers from the Biological Institute; during this time, they must ensure the safety of these NPCs.

At that moment, Chen Yutong, secured in a protective suit, jumped down from the open vehicle door with a toolbox in her right hand.

Seeing that the person who jumped down was an acquaintance, Old White couldn't help but step forward to ask,

"How come you're down here?"

Detecting the concern in his tone, Chen Yutong couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile, but she had no intention of getting back in the vehicle. She said as a matter of course,

"I've been here the longest, and I'm in charge of the whole project, so if not me, who else?"

Old White sighed and said patiently,

"The situation here is a bit special; the Variants in the entire forest haven't stopped attacking us. I think… you should still be careful."

"I know, it'll be over soon." As she spoke, she had already spread out the toolbox on the ground and took out sampling tools and test tubes.

Old White originally didn't want to disturb Chen Yutong, who was engrossed in her work on the ground, but seeing that she had been busy for quite a while without result, he couldn't help but ask,

"How much longer will it take?"

"No more than fifteen minutes… What's wrong? You scared?"

"I'm worried about you."

"I've even been to Jinchuan Province; surely this place can't be more dangerous than there."

Old White made a helpless expression.

"Can't really say that."

There are no Mutants here, nor Looters, but the relative number of Variants is myriad, and each more ferocious than the last. He couldn't be sure what they might encounter next.

Chen Yutong, squatting on the ground, suddenly looked up and blinked at him.

"But I trust you."

"…" Old White stared at her, dumbfounded, and for a moment, was at a loss for words.

While he was lost in his daze, one specimen collection had already been completed.

Carefully inserting the test tube into a groove in the toolbox, Chen Yutong snapped the box shut and stood up, looking at him with a beaming smile,

"Let's go, on to the next location."

"… Don't run off; send me the coordinates, and stay behind me."

Hearing that serious voice, Chen Yutong couldn't help but smile.

"I know, don't worry, I won't make trouble for your job."

As she spoke, she tapped twice on her VM with her index finger, and the coordinates were quickly synchronized to Old White's VM.

Checking through the tactical goggles in his helmet and confirming the coordinates were about twenty meters from their current location, Old White gestured to his teammates to flank him on both sides, while he took the lead.

The rustling in the jungle couldn't help but make him tense up, but Chen Yutong behind him seemed not the least bit afraid, still sharing discoveries from the journey with him over the communication channel.

"I've heard that the forest here has self-healing properties… This aligns almost exactly with results analyzed at our Biological Institute. It turns out, as we predicted, that this tropical rainforest is not a simple forest, but rather a biosphere created by the melding of Gaia Planet species with Earth species."

Old White: "Melding?"

"Exactly."

Looking at the dense forest on either side and the sunlight filtering through the gaps, Chen Yutong slightly narrowed her curious eyes and continued in a buoyant tone,

"…We can't find a similar example in Earth's ecosystems, and we speculate this is a unique ecological phenomenon on Gaia Planet, where species share the fruits of their evolutionary journey, rather than the competition that is widespread in Earth's systems. This may be because they evolved from the same primordial cell, and it's not ruled out that this may be the doing of an extremely advanced civilization that achieved a form of ascension on a species level based on their own civilizational principles and understanding of life."

Old White looked back at her, not understanding,

These concepts in her speech were again beyond his knowledge.

However, Chen Yutong didn't stop to explain, only continuing in her light-hearted manner,

"We are only uncertain now whether this tropical rainforest has its own consciousness, similar to the Lair in Qingquan City."

"Ever since entering this forest, I've had a premonition that the key to solving the Nago crisis is here. I disagree with burning down the whole Haiye Province. Since it's a biological field problem, we should look for a solution from a biological perspective… Trust me, I can find that key, just give me some time."

Old White tried to comprehend the meaning of these words but after a long thought, ended up giving up and shook his head,

"I don't understand what you're talking about, but let me know if you need help… Also, just like when we were in Jinchuan Province, you must stick close to me while on duty, and not act on your own."

Chen Yutong curled her lips,

"I know, I'll stick close… By the way, did you record what I just said?"

Old White was momentarily startled.

"The action recorder? It's always on."

Nodding happily, Chen Yutong broke into a smile and said,

"Good, I'm afraid I might forget, so you keep it for me."

Understanding that carefree smile, Old White shook his head and turned to continue leading the way,

"Keep it in mind yourself."

"I will."

Chapter 674: Food Earned from Labor is Dignified

The harbor of Ring Island.

The damp and stifling cabin.

Next to the electric light, Sesame Paste sat cross-legged, reading a storybook she had borrowed from Si Si to the children gathered around her.

At first, it was Misa who did this alone, aiming to help the restless children pass the time and incidentally teach them to read and write.

Later on, Sesame Paste joined in, too.

Thanks to this, she found that her United Human language had improved a lot lately, especially in reading and writing, where she could now understand common texts without relying on VM.

Crouched beside Sesame Paste, a little girl about seven or eight years old hugged her knees, eyes intently fixed on the swaying cat ears atop her head.

When one story ended, the little girl couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and ventured a soft, tentative question.

"Sister."

"What is it?" asked Sesame Paste, turning a page with a gentle smile towards the little girl.

Sesame Paste remembered the girl's name was Vinegar Chestnut.

Her farmer father had entrusted her to the ship and then, with other Moon people determined to rebel, had vanished into the jungles outside the Port of Golden Gallon.

Like many children here, she was without relatives, and Misa had been taking care of her.

The girl looked timidly at Sesame Paste, embarrassed for a moment, but finally she voiced the thought that was in her mind.

"Are you a messenger of the Silver Moon Goddess?"

Startled for a moment, Sesame Paste blinked and asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because that's what people say... everyone on the ship," the girl continued softly, "I'm wondering... if the Silver Moon Goddess of Silver Moon Bay and the Moon God of Poluo Province might actually be the same person."

Occasionally, she saw some mercenaries from Silver Moon Bay secretly praying to this sister with cat ears, but the people in the cabin said that she was an avatar of the Moon God.

Everyone said different things, and she couldn't help but be confused about who this sister with cat ears really was.

Seeing pairs of eyes that expectantly looked up at her, Sesame Paste's face broke into a smile she could hardly suppress and reached out to gently touch Vinegar Chestnut's little head.

"Umm... there might actually be a possibility, since both myths and history are written by people after all."

"Really?" Not just Vinegar Chestnut, a group of children's eyes all lit up.

"Mhm!" smiled Sesame Paste, "And it just so happens that I have a good friend who likes to study this... you can discuss it with her. Although she might not seem very approachable, she is actually a very warm-hearted person."

After finishing the story.

Sesame Paste closed the book and patted her pants before getting up from the floor. That's when she noticed an elderly lady watching her, and so she approached with a smile and asked.

"Do you need something?"

The elderly lady was named Sang Ru, herself at the ripe old age of sixty, the oldest survivor here, and also a revered elder among these people of the Moon Clan.

Watching Sesame Paste walk over, the old lady slightly nodded her head and earnestly said.

"Nothing in particular, I just wanted to thank you on behalf of everyone... Those children are all pitiful; their fathers are fighting the West Winds Empire's army thousands of miles away, uncertain whether they'll ever reunite. Thanks to you and Misa, at least they have the opportunity to learn."

"I'm just doing what I can, and to be honest, I'm quite happy about it," responded Sesame Paste to such a solemn thanks, scratching her cheek shyly.

"Even so, we are very grateful, as are your friends who took us in," Sang Ru looked at her earnestly, her tone tinged with a hint of shame, "If there's any way we can help, please do tell us, even if it's just to help wash your clothes or clean the deck. We've been eating and using your resources... everyone feels rather guilty."

Looking at the grave face of the old lady, Sesame Paste didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she said.

"You really don't have to do that, we—"

"This is very important to us," Sang Ru slightly lowered her eyes apologetically, "I am sorry if my words have put you in a difficult position. According to the ancestral teachings of our Moon Clan, only food earned through labor can be dignified... We're very grateful for your help, and we'll surely repay you, but if possible, please give us a chance to fight for our own dignity."

Sesame Paste stared blankly at the old lady.

Feeling the earnestness and determination in those eyes, she took hold of the old woman's wrinkled hand and responded seriously to her request.

"I promise!"

...

At the same time, the deck of the Meat Meat was a cacophony of chirping and chattering.

One human and one bear, lying on the rail, held their telescopes, excitedly gazing toward the west.

"Wow, wow, wow! Meat Meat! Another ship is coming!"

"I see it! It's bigger than ours!"

Although they had been bored at the port for days, the two buffoons never left themselves idle, always finding some entertainment.

Like now.

They started a guessing game, speculating whether the first ship to dock today would be a warship or a freighter.

As it stood, it looked like Meat Meat was going to win.

They watched as a smoke-billowing freighter with a wide and long deck, led by two speedboats, approached the direction of the harbor.

Upon seeing the cargo-laden freighter, the docks' loudspeakers burst out broadcasting as eagerly as if they'd encountered a long-awaited rain.

Under the broadcast's urging, workers lounging on the shore getting sun, lethargically threw towels over their shoulders and shuffled to their positions, disturbing a flock of seagulls that had been sitting on the dock and singing.

The once leisurely harbor suddenly bustled with activity again.

In the midst of the fierce battle in the Southern sea area, despite Ring Island's distance from the center of the battlefield, there were scarcely any foreign ships that frequented it.

Looking at that empty sea, Meat Meat sometimes naively thought that maybe this was why the harbor governor hadn't driven them away.

After all, the docks were empty anyway.

At least they would pay 1000 Dinars per day for demurrage.

Tail: "Whoa! Meat Meat! What's that piled up on the deck, did you see it?"

Meat Meat: "I can't see clearly, seems like ore?"

Suddenly, Tail let out a cry.

"Damn, Meat Meat, we're in trouble! That ship over there… might be pirates!"

Meat Meat looked at Tail, who was now acting serious and stroking his chin.

"Ah?! How can you tell?!"

"You wouldn't understand, Meat Meat."

Tail put away his telescope, propped one foot on the gunwale, and smartly cocked his not-so-bright eyebrow.

"Tail saw through it in a glance, the Northwestern Wind that sailed in with the Northwest wind is actually a pirate ship disguised as a cargo vessel! They pillaged the port and kidnapped the governor's daughter, but fortunately, the White Bear Knights stopped them… It's usually like that in movies!"

Finally realizing that the guy was joking again, Meat Meat, who let out a sigh of relief, looked at her with a cry-laugh and retorted.

"What the heck is Northwestern Wind?"

"That ship came from the northwest; let's not sweat the small stuff! Isn't there something more worth complaining about, Meat Meat!"

While saying this, Tail suddenly sniffed.

"Wait… Meat Meat, do you smell something weird?"

Meat Meat blinked, took a deep breath against the sea breeze, and then his furry bear face squished together, pinching his nose and sticking out a pink tongue.

"Yuck!"

"It stinks!"

...

At the same time, on the deck of the Northwestern Wind, a bunch of furs spread out were exuding a thick and nauseating smell.

Although Mogavi anticipated that those furs might have started to stink, the rate of decay of organic matter in the tropical environment still exceeded his expectations.

The moment his mercenaries untied the hemp ropes tied around the fur pile, an acrid stench rapidly filled the entire deck.

The smell was like an entire container of sardine cans opened at once, even the bravest Awakeners were sent reeling back several steps before they could steady themselves.

But Mogavi couldn't care less about that.

To prevent the furs from rotting further, he had to endure the churning in his stomach, urging the retreating mercenaries to spread out the furs piece by piece on the deck, and then scoop up buckets of seawater to douse over them.

This method was actually fine.

In the absence of enough salt, rubbing and pounding the furs with seawater, which is also one of the methods of tanning furs and leather.

The brine not only killed the bacteria on the surface of the furs but also prevented cracking and cleaned off sweat, blood, and grease.

However, Mogavi underestimated the roughness of the cargo and the waterproofing of the Northwestern Wind cargo ship.

The buckets of seawater not only failed to wash the smell into the sea but also allowed the water mixed with grease and bloody water to seep into the cabin.

Now the whole lower deck looked like a crime scene, covered in sticky grease and damp bloodstains.

Seeing his beloved ship turned into such a ghastly state, Captain Song Haining's lips turned blue with anger, his face swollen to the color of liver.

If it weren't for the fact that the hiring fee was still being held at the Silver Moon Bay port, he would have thrown the guy and the pile of cheap trash he bought from the deck to feed the fishes!

"...I'll say it again. Once we dock, get these things off my ship immediately! We agreed you'd bring coal and iron, not this moldy and stinking mess!!"

"What moldy and stinking mess!" Mogavi widened his eyes at him, "Do you know how much these things can sell for in the desert! Especially in the northernmost part of the Golden Lizard Kingdom, their popularity even surpasses Devil Silk-made satin!"

Song Haining looked at him with a face of iron blue.

"I don't care what this is, this is outside the contract! You broke the agreement first, Mr. Mogavi! And our contract states, my ship doesn't carry perishables!"

Mogavi argued with reason.

"This isn't perishables! This is fur—"

Song Haining angrily interrupted him.

"Enough, don't play word games with me! This stuff is freshly skinned off the prey!"

Mogavi clasped his hands, looking at him pleadingly.

"Please, my friend, after this deal is done, I'll clean it up nicely for you! I guarantee there won't be a trace of any smell on your ship!"

"Thirty thousand Dinars!" Song Haining stared at him firmly, "I won't let you touch my ship again. Once we land at Silver Moon Bay, you get as far from me as possible!"

"Deal, no problem!" Mogavi nodded like pounding garlic, chuckling and said, "As long as you agree to wait for me for a while outside Potato Harbor on the return trip—"

"Get lost!" Unable to bear him any longer, Song Haining pushed him and bellowed, "Take your pile of junk and get out now!"

Watching the furious captain, the steering apprentice didn't dare to speak to him, only relied on his not-so-proficient experience to dock the ship.

The Northwestern Wind happened to stop next to the ship Meat Meat, and the two cargo ships with totally different styles docked side by side.

Propped on the gunwale and watching the lively scene, Tail and Meat Meat ate their melon seeds excitedly, egging them on with shouts.

"Whoa! They're fighting!"

"Go for it!"

Hearing the noises from the deck of the nearby cargo ship, Song Haining, who was about to give that crooked merchant a good lesson, instinctively stopped his actions and looked towards that ship.

He saw a person and a bear standing on the gunwale, watching this side.

As their gazes met, the short-haired girl on the ship enthusiastically waved.

"Oh, friends across the way! Who are you guys?"

Song Haining squinted his eyes, staring at her and the huge White Bear beside her for a while, then glanced at the flag hanging above the ship's cabin, feeling it looked somewhat familiar.

"Here we are on the Northwestern Wind! Who are you?"

As soon as they heard the name, the pair standing at the ship's rail, both man and bear, were taken aback.

"Yikes?!"

"Giao! Is this really the Northwestern Wind?!"

Song Haining watched the duo without blinking, pondering where he had seen these two oddities before. However, Ah Wei thought he was waiting for her to introduce herself and hurriedly spoke up after an "Ah."

"We're from Ship Meat Meat! I'm Ah Wei! She's Meat Meat!"

Ah Wei?

Song Haining was slightly taken aback but hadn't reacted yet. Standing beside him, Mogavi heard the name and exclaimed in surprise.

"Ah Wei?! Wait, you're Ah Wei?!"

Seeing that someone on the vast sea recognized her, Ah Wei also showed a surprised and happy expression.

"That's me! Have you heard of me?!"

A bit embarrassed, Mogavi chuckled and wriggled out of the grip on his collar.

"I think I've seen your portrait... Ah, now I remember, at Silver Moon Bay's port! There was a group from Poluo Province looking for you, showing everyone your picture, and this talking bear beside you."

Upon hearing this, Ah Wei and Meat Meat were shocked.

"Giao?!"

"Why am I wanted too?!"

Seeing their exaggerated reactions, Mogavi quickly explained.

"Not wanted, the governor's mansion in Silver Moon City hasn't made a move, but you might have offended some... uh, less reputable folks. You should be careful these days."

Relieved by these words, Ah Wei responded gratefully.

"Thank you for the information! We'll be careful!"

"Don't mention it," Mogavi said with an awkward smile, glancing at Captain Song Haining and then hopefully at Ah Wei, "By the way, do you have any plans to return to Silver Moon Bay soon?"

Ah Wei replied as a matter of course.

"No, why?"

Mogavi's expression stiffened, scratching the back of his head.

"Ah... that's going to be difficult, a headache indeed. That guy I met in Potato Harbor told me to come here and ask you."

Ah Wei's eyes lit up at the scent of a potential side quest, hands gripping the railing as she asked.

"Oh! What's the task—oh no, what trouble did you encounter?"

"Sort of," Mogavi looked helplessly at the pile of furs spread out on the deck and continued, "because of this unexpected windfall, I've made this old friend of mine terribly angry..."

"Who's your old friend! And it's about money, right!" Song Haining glared at him fiercely, "Less bullshit, hurry up and get this mess off my ship!"

Seeing the captain looking at him with such agitated emotions, Mogavi quickly raised his hand to try to calm him down.

"I know, I know, don't rush me! I need to find someone to help me handle this stuff first, right?"

Hearing this, Ah Wei's eyes shone even brighter.

"Wait, you need people?"

"Do you have them?" Mogavi was taken aback, sizing up the so-called Ship Meat Meat.

You could see a few sailors and mercenaries on the deck, but all told, no more than thirty people, possibly even fewer than his own crew.

Ah Wei smirked with pride.

"Then you've asked the right person, we've got plenty of people here!"

"That's great... I need two hundred, well, preferably four hundred hands to help me clean these furs. The method is simple: just pour seawater over them and rub them repeatedly, scraping off the surface rot and such. I'll figure out the tools, and it's fine if you don't know how—I'll teach you myself... but are you sure you have enough people here?" Mogavi looked suspiciously at the girl, not quite sure whether she was joking or serious, and said with less confidence.

"Of course! Wait here!"

With that, Ah Wei thudded away from the railing and rushed to the cabin, flung open the door, and shouted inside.

"Si Si! Come out and greet our guests!"

"What is it again, Ah Wei..."

With a book of half-sorted notes in her arms, Si Si walked out of the cabin with a helpless face. As soon as she set foot on the deck, her pretty face twisted into a grimace of disgust.

"Yuck—did Meat Meat poop on the ship?"

Though the muttered comment was barely audible, the sharp-eared Meat Meat heard it, and a resounding roar erupted on the deck.

"Am I that kind of a person!!"

Si Si subtly shifted her gaze away.

But Ah Wei didn't care about that, grabbing her by the shoulder and excitedly explaining.

"Si Si! That pirate ship next to us needs help processing newly-skinned furs! They need a lot of people!"

Si Si paused, then approached the railing and looked skeptically at the sheepishly smiling man on the other ship.

"Hello... Are you the captain here?"

Compared to the previous two, intuition told him she might be a bit more reliable.

"Not... I'm not the captain, the one beside me is," Si Si gestured toward the White Bear, then looked at the NPC on the opposite ship and asked decisively, "How many people do you need? What's your offer? How do you pay?"

Mogavi watched her intently and said,

"The more the merrier! As long as you can deal with all these furs within two days, I can give you one hundred thousand Dinars! Cash payment!"

Hearing the payment was in Dinars, Si Si immediately put on an uninterested expression.

"I might consider it for ten thousand silver coins, but let's forget about Dinars."

"Ten thousand silver coins?! Are you pirates?!" Mogavi's eyes bulged, "Absolutely not! I only spent ten thousand on these furs!"

"Oh? Are you sure you only spent ten thousand?"

Si Si narrowed her eyes slightly, tucked her notebook under her arm, and leaning on the railing at the edge of the ship, she looked at him with a half-smile.

For some reason,

Having those eyes on him, Mogavi felt a shiver down his spine and swallowed hard, struggling for a long time before finally raising three fingers.

"Don't worry about how much I paid, thirty thousand silver coins... for the sake of beauty."

Ignoring the merchant's flattery, Si Si gestured with her chin toward the deck not far away.

"That mink fur over there, I think I've seen it once in the court of Petra Fortress. I heard one can sell for over a million Dinars. You actually got one, two, three... four of them for only ten thousand? Tsk tsk, you really know how to do business."

Meeting that slightly narrowed gaze, Mogavi grinned sheepishly, breaking into a sweat. He hadn't expected to run into someone who knew the market.

"...What do you want?"

"It's nothing, just a casual remark, don't think too much about it." Si Si smiled faintly and continued, "Just another casual remark then, these raw furs are... emmm, pretty roughly processed. If they're not salvaged soon, I'm afraid it will be too late. The residents of Ring Island all have their work to do, and now there's a war going on. Even if you can offer the money, you might not be able to find so many people so quickly, especially since they might not have done this kind of work before."

Mogavi stared at her incredulously.

"Do you have professionals here?"

Si Si spoke in a casual tone.

"I wouldn't say all are professionals, but out of ten, there might be one or two... that's enough, isn't it? We can guarantee to clean it up for you."

About this matter, she did not lie to the guy.

In Poluo Province, there were quite a few survivors who lived by hunting, especially among the Moon people who were adept with bows and arrows. In hunter families, it was common for men to go hunting while women dealt with the pelts stripped from the prey.

Among the survivors rescued by tail at Jin Galun Harbor, a significant proportion were hunters. Some simple work processing fur was naturally no problem for their wives.

Mogavi hesitated for two seconds, but eventually nodded.

"Ten thousand silver coins are not impossible! But you have to promise me one condition, don't tell the butcher at Potato Harbor about those mink furs..."

He still wanted to do business there.

If those butchers knew that he made so much from this deal, he worried that the next time he went ashore, those guys would skin him.

Hearing this, Si Si knew the guy had taken the bait, and a pleased smile appeared on her face.

"Don't worry, they are all rule-abiding people. Even if they know, they won't say anything— at most, they'll curse you behind your back."

The difference between the buying price and selling price being ten times is a basic move for NPCs; most RPG store owners operate the same way, and anyone who has played a couple of games gets used to it quickly.

Compared to that, Wasteland OL is more humane; in this game, players very rarely have the power of choice.

At least when they realize they have been sheared by an NPC, they can learn from the experience and trade with someone else next time.

Or find another way to negotiate a deal.

"Let's hurry then... don't waste time." Seeing that both parties had reached an agreement, Mogavi didn't want to delay a moment longer and slapped the railing beside the ship to urge them on.

However, the captain of the ship nearby grabbed his collar.

"Wait, you can't do that work on my ship! And after you unload the goods, you need to clean the inside and outside of the ship!"

Mogavi looked helplessly towards the woman on the opposite ship.

Understanding his look, Si Si smiled faintly and said,

"Add ten thousand silver coins, and we'll take care of the cleaning for you."

"Ten thousand silver coins?! You might as well—" Hearing the price, Mogavi's eyes bulged out as if he were a caught frog. However, before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the captain of the Northwestern Wind.

"Deal! It's decided!"

Seeing both of them looking at him, Mogavi wore a face more uncomfortable than if he were constipated, but thinking of the stinking goods on the deck, he finally nodded.

"Deal."

"Then it's pleasantly decided, one hundred ten thousand silver coins, I'll go and speak to the ladies."

With a slight smile on her lips, Si Si turned and went back below deck.

In just a few minutes, a crowd of raggedly dressed girls came through the cramped and crowded door and onto the deck.

The moment they saw that group of girls, Mogavi and Song Haining standing on the deck were both stunned, and then their looks toward Si Si changed.

"...Tell me honestly, what exactly do you do?"

Brushing the hair off her shoulder, Si Si said casually,

"We do charity work."

Mogavi looked at her with an "I don't believe you" expression.

Not bothering to explain in detail, Si Si glanced at the deck opposite her and then at her side as she casually said,

"Go buy some plastic sheets from the harbor, or borrow them, it won't cost much."

"There's plenty at the stalls that sell fish feed and urea, and I don't want to get the ship dirty."

-

(Thanks to "Book Friend 20171130004559159" for the Alliance Master's reward!!!)

Chapter 675: Next Stop! Potato Harbor!

Circular Island Governor's Mansion.

Mr. Chaning walked into his office as usual, tossed the newspaper he'd picked up on the way onto his desk, and settled in for another day of drinking tea and reading the paper.

But the moment he sat down in his chair, a pungent, fishy stench made him involuntarily frown.

"What is that smell?"

So foul!

He stood up and walked over to the window, intending to open it to air out the room, but as soon as he cracked it open, the foul odor rushed in with the sea breeze.

The stench caused his eyes to water, and he finally figured out where this nose-assaulting smell was coming from.

He quickly shut the window and, pinching his nose, walked over to the door of his office to summon his secretary from the next room.

"Damn it... What are they doing down at the port? That smell is outrageous!"

The secretary, clearly also struggling with the stench, replied helplessly to the governor's inquiry.

"... The Northwestern Wind, docked just now, brought in more than a thousand pieces of fur."

"Fur?!" Mr. Chaning stared at him, instinctively exclaiming, "How can fur smell so bad?!"

The secretary grimaced and said,

"They are the kind that were just peeled from Variants, not only dripping with blood and fat but seemingly also fermented for some time."

"Fur that was peeled from Variants?" Mr. Chaning stared, disbelief widening his eyes, "Where did they get it from?"

Over a thousand freshly peeled furs...

That was no small number!

Although residents of the thirteen islands in the southern sea area occasionally sailed to the beaches south of Baiyue Province to hunt, even experienced Hunters often dared not linger too long, considering themselves lucky to return with one or two catches at most.

The food sources for the islands primarily came from fish in the sea, extracts from cultivated algae, and occasionally grains and livestock sold here from Silver Moon Bay.

He hadn't heard of any port capable of producing so many furs—

Wait.

A thought suddenly struck Mr. Chaning about the Alliance's outpost on the northern shore of the Baiyue Strait; those people had previously sent a congratulatory message to the authorities of the Southern Islands Federation under the guise of broadcasting from "Potato Harbor."

He had originally taken those people for a joke, thinking they wouldn't last long before retreating in the face of hardship, but had they actually endured?!

As if to confirm his speculation, the secretary swallowed hard and said,

"I heard from the patrol team that the Northwestern Wind imported the furs from that settlement at the eastern exit of the Baiyue Strait... from Potato Harbor."

Mr. Chaning fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and said,

"I understand."

Watching the governor's solemn expression, deep in thought, the secretary cautiously nodded, turning to head back to his own office.

However, just as his hand touched the doorknob, the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, nearly hitting his nose.

Before he could see who had come in, an aggressive voice swept in with the wind stirred by the door.

"Governor, sir! We must take control of that ship!"

Seeing the man who marched into the office, Mr. Chaning, standing by the desk, pressed his temples and gave a signal to the secretary standing at the door.

"Go pour a cup of tea for Director Stacey."

"Yes... sir."

The secretary nodded, cast a quick glance at that impolite fellow, then turned and left the office, shutting the door behind him.

Watching the door close, Mr. Chaning then turned his attention to the irate director of the port office and spoke in a calming tone.

"Take a seat—"

"Don't waste time," Director Stacey waved his hand dismissively and interrupted him, pressing on aggressively," I don't understand why you are being so lenient with those people! We are the settlement of the Southern Islands Federation, not an outpost of the Alliance! Today they are brazenly handling those furs in our port, tomorrow they could be selling their bodies right under our noses!"

Mr. Chaning coughed.

"It shouldn't come to that… So far, they have been abiding by the rules."

"You call this abiding by the rules?" Stacey walked to the window and pointed angrily at the two cargo ships outside," The entire harbor stinks of rot! Those unfamiliar with it might think Shelter No. 70 has sent us a biological weapon!"

"There's indeed no rule that states ships docked at the port can't wash clothes on their own decks…" Seeing Director Stacey glaring straight at him, Mr. Chaning realized his own argument sounded weak and cleared his throat," Okay, one week… if that ship is still sticking around here after a week, I'll give them a final ultimatum."

"That's what you said last week too!" Director Stacey bluntly stated," Give them a week! You might as well extend their grace period until next month!"

Called out so mercilessly, Mr. Chaning's expression turned awkward, and his heart was full of irritation, yet there was nothing he could do.

"Alright, I admit it, I'm wary of provoking the Alliance and haven't chased those people away, but what's wrong with that? We are at war with Shelter No. 70, and the current situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable for us. Those old turtles lock up their doors, and all is well for them, while we have to care for the needs of over a million people! Plus, we must supply the Federal Navy with provisions! Do you understand what it means if we offend those people now?"

Stacey snorted coldly.

"Over two thousand kilometers away, they can't really hit us directly, can they?"

Seeing the man's carefree expression, Mr. Chaning laughed dryly.

"I'm not joking; they really are capable. I've heard that our northern neighbors took a fall at their hands."

Watching as Director Stacey's demeanor started to shift, Mr. Chaning picked up the teacup from his desk to take a sip, moisturizing his throat before continuing.

"If I were them, I wouldn't even bother with all this trouble. Just by saying hello to the Camel Hump Kingdom and severing the shipping route from Silver Moon Bay to us, guess how many people on this island would end up drinking northwest wind? Are you sure you want me to take that risk for a thankless task?"

Stacey's lips twitched.

"So we just keep enduring this?"

"Being a bit magnanimous doesn't hurt," Mr. Chaning shrugged and took another sip from his teacup, "Since they are paying the demurrage according to regulations, we can just let them stay, according to regulations. After all, they can't stay forever... or do you have a better solution?"

The office was quiet for a long while.

The port director apparently had no better ideas, his lips moved but no words came out.

Just then, the office door opened, and the secretary who had gone to make tea earlier walked in with a tray.

"Mr. Stacey, your tea."

Stacey glanced at the teacup on the tray, then back at the ineffectual governor, but ultimately held back his words and left the office through the open door without saying anything.

He still felt that the Circular Island Governor's Mansion was far too weak in their stance towards the Alliance.

He admitted that, just as that guy had said, faced with the behemoth that was the Alliance, they truly didn't have a better approach other than maintaining restraint...

...

The time passed by second by second.

The Sun quickly moved from the east to the west, then dipped into the sea, leaving layers of glittering gold on the distant waves.

Squatting on the dock, the loading workers blew the sea breeze and drank beer leisurely as they looked at the freighter not far away smeared with blood and grease, and the busy girls on the deck.

From around four o'clock in the afternoon, there wasn't much smell at the dock.

Those women were cleaning the furs with all their might; some scrubbing with mops, some kneading with hands, and others scraping with Small Blades, leaving the furs spotlessly clean.

Then, they scooped up seawater from the sea, bucket after bucket, pouring it over the surface of the furs.

Bucket after bucket of seawater washed away the stinking bits of flesh and fat into the sea, becoming bait for the fish.

After the fur was rinsed clean, the girls hung them on wooden racks, arranging them neatly on the deck like a row of sails.

These "sails" became natural barriers.

A short-haired girl and a large white bear were running wildly around those fur racks, playing hide-and-seek with a group of giggling kids.

Of course, they weren't entirely there just to make the job of those drying the furs more difficult.

When it was time to repeatedly beat the fur surfaces with sticks, the two clowns had put in a lot of Work.

Seeing the girl and bear playing hide-and-seek with the children, the faces of many of the kids' mothers showed knowing smiles.

It seemed like such a scene hadn't been seen for a long time...

On the other side of the deck.

About twenty girls, around fifteen or sixteen, under the guidance of an old lady, rubbed the oil of sea Variants into the inner side of the furs.

This oil from sea Variants was rich in unsaturated fatty acids which would slowly oxidize in hot and humid conditions. The polymers formed naturally wrapped around the collagen fibers in the inner layer of the fur, giving it a soft texture and excellent water repellency, while the resulting aldehydes and other oxidation products crosslinked with the skin collagen fibers, producing a tanning effect.

The process of tanning fur involved far more than just these steps, including soaking in alkaline water, rinsing, and many other procedures.

However, once these steps were completed, the decay of the fur was essentially halted, and these goods, originally worth only a couple of ten thousand silver coins, thus doubled in value many times over.

If all were taken to Silver Moon Bay, one piece of goods could sell for at least a thousand silver coins! A thousand pieces would be a million!

This wasn't even counting the high-grade items included, like mink fur.

The entire royal families of the desert would go crazy for them!

However, although these furs were worth a fortune, for the old men sitting on the dock, they clearly weren't as attractive as the girls with exotic allure.

Especially because Work that uses a lot of water inevitably makes the clothes wet.

Many a young man, full of vigor, gawked until their mouths were dry and their tongues were panting, their eyes glued, only able to keep chugging beer, bottle after bottle.

Thanks to this, the taverns near the docks saw a substantial increase in business.

"Are they Moon tribeswomen?"

"Yes."

"They don't seem any different from the other people who came here from Poluo Province."

"I mean, this ship has been stopped here for over a week now, and this is the first time I've seen them all standing on the deck."

"What I'm more curious about is how so many people managed to squeeze onto the ship."

A young man with slightly curly hair scratched the back of his head and asked his companion beside him.

"I still can't understand why the West Winds Empire would want to drive these hardworking girls away. Wouldn't it be better to just give them work to do?"

He had never seen people who could endure such hardship.

They could work non-stop from noon until evening under the scorching sun, be they eleven or twelve-year-old girls or elderly women.

This was simply incomprehensible for the residents of Circular Island, whose living conditions were relatively better.

An older man beside him squinted his eyes, took a swig from his beer bottle, and said casually.

"Who knows? Beyond the sea is all Wasteland. Haiya Province is, Baiyue Province is, and so is Falling Leaves Province, let alone Poluo Province... God knows what those folks on the Wasteland are thinking."

In his youth, he had once gone to the Wasteland to escort Blue Jacket from Shelter No.70 up north to a place called Qingquan City to retrieve some data.

Since then, he had lost interest in the world on land and had completely understood why their ancestors had insisted on moving to this remote little island.

That piece of Wasteland was simply hell.

No matter what happened, it was not surprising...

While the workers on the dock were enjoying the last moments of dusk and the stunning view on the deck, Mogavi, standing on the Northwestern Wind cargo ship, was also staring with bulging eyes, his heartbeat quickening and his breath hurried involuntarily.

But what stole his attention wasn't any exotic-looking girl. It was each and every one of those freshly renewed fur goods!

The soft and beautiful fur gently swaying in the sunset, dazzling with a razzle-dazzle gleam, to him, it was just like the glittering of gold coins!

Of course.

This description certainly had an element of exaggeration, as most of the furs had only been preliminarily cleaned and were some time away from being processed into finished products.

But even so, these scrubbed furs, compared to their previous bloody, greasy, raw state, were so much better!

"This is fantastic! Thank you! I really don't know how to show my gratitude!"

Handing over a bag filled with eleven thousand paper silver coins to Si Si, Mogavi's face was filled with excitement, and his speech was an excited jumble.

Without any exaggeration, this was the most worthwhile deal he had made all month!

It seems the Alliance isn't entirely made up of unreliable people.

After receiving the reward from the NPC's hand, Si Si opened the bag, counted it carefully, and pulled out a few bills to check their authenticity.

After confirming there were no problems, a smile finally appeared on her face, and she replied in a teasing tone.

"Well, that's easy, just pay us a few more thousand silver coins."

Hearing that, Mogavi nearly choked on his saliva and coughed twice before saying.

"Cough... Although that sounds like a good idea, I really don't have a single bill left in my pocket right now."

Not having believed his nonsense, Si Si just smiled faintly, then handed the money bag to Sesame Paste beside her and whispered instructions.

"You go ahead and hand over the reward to those people; I'd rather not make an appearance."

"Sure! Leave it to me!" Sesame Paste nodded cheerfully and happily trotted off to the other side of the deck.

Mogavi's eyes were fixed on the bulging purse until it disappeared with that bouncing figure at a corner of the deck.

He looked away from the distance and turned back to Si Si, giving her an apologetic smile.

"By the way... um, don't forget about the cleaning job, okay?" Si Si said with a faint smile.

"Don't worry, my memory isn't that bad."

After speaking, she turned and moved towards the direction of the cabin.

Watching the figure about to vanish at the cabin entrance, Mogavi, for some reason, impulsively called out.

"Hey, are you free later?"

He watched the person stop in their tracks, and he forced a sunny smile that did not quite suit his demeanor.

"If you're free... how about having a meal together? My treat."

Watching the NPC's comical expression and raised hand, Si Si couldn't help but chuckle.

However, she did not want to waste time on a side quest that was already complete, and besides, she didn't quite fancy the look of this NPC, so she politely declined the invitation.

"Thank you for the offer, but I've already eaten."

"Alright..." Mogavi awkwardly lowered his raised hand and scratched the back of his head, "That's a shame... I remember there's a decent restaurant around here."

Although the feeling of rejection was dispiriting, such a trivial disappointment was nothing more than a speck to a businessman like him.

Especially when he thought of the value of those furs, he immediately relegated the insignificant regret to the back of his mind, his face once again beaming with confident smiles.

He had no doubt that once he shipped this batch of precious goods back to Silver Moon Bay, his name would become a new legend in Silver Moon City!

The noble ladies and young misses of the city would go mad for the exotic goods he brought back from the East!

In that flourishing port, what on earth could money not buy?

If there were something—

Then it simply meant the money wasn't enough!

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the deck.

Sesame Paste, after searching for a good while past rows of fur pelts stretched out on racks, finally found Granny Sang Ru, who was teaching the tribe's youth the art of tanning furs. Sesame Paste handed the purse containing one hundred and ten thousand silver coins to her.

What Sesame Paste didn't expect, though, was that when she excitedly told the elderly woman that all these silver coins were their payment, the old lady looked at her in shock and pushed the bag of coins right back into her hands, without hesitation.

"Take it away, this isn't right at all! These are things within our power that we ought to do. You were kind to take in us homeless folk; we are already immensely grateful. How could we possibly have the cheek to take your money?"

Seeing Granny Sang Ru obviously misunderstanding the situation, Sesame Paste couldn't help but laugh and cry as she explained.

"No, you've misunderstood, this isn't our payment to you... it's from that cargo ship across the way. You helped them process these furs, and this is the rightful fruit of your labor—"

"That won't do either!"

The old man stubbornly stuffed the money bag back into her hands, his thin hands gripping hers tightly, afraid that she would let go, and earnestly said, "Even if you give us money, we have nowhere to spend it. It's better to keep it with you. If we need to buy something later, use this money first! We trust you!"

It wasn't just Grandma Sang Ru.

The other Moon tribeswomen nearby did the same, all earnestly pleading for her to take the money back, refusing to accept the payment.

"Yes, please hold onto it for us!"

"We just wanted to help you out a bit, we never thought about any reward."

Having never dealt with this kind of situation, Sesame Paste was caught between laughter and tears, unsure how to persuade the stubborn group.

Just as Sesame Paste was in a quandary, a lively voice suddenly interrupted from the side, relieving her of the encirclement.

"Oh! Don't worry, elder, this hefty sum will soon have a chance to be put to good use!"

Upon hearing the loud voice, everyone turned toward the direction it came from, and saw Tail standing there with hands on hips, accompanied by a Meat Meat.

"Ah Wei?" Looking at the suddenly appearing Tail, a look of surprise appeared on Sesame Paste's face.

Giving her a 'leave it to me' look, Tail cleared his throat and continued to address the crowd gathered around.

"Just now, I was discussing with my companions, and it's indeed not great to be squatting at someone else's port all the time. Moreover, with the war going on here, who knows when we might get dragged into it."

"Fortunately, our companions have established a new settlement on the northern shore of the Baiyue Strait, a vast Land Without a Master that anyone can settle in, as long as they comply with the Alliance's laws!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding crowd stirred with whispers, exchanging looks of surprise and bewilderment.

A vast Land Without a Master?

But...

They'd heard it was a world of Variants.

And would those who had already settled there really accept them?

Seeing the concern in everyone's eyes, Tail continued energetically.

"Don't worry, although there are many Variants there, we are the Alliance that even conquered the lair of Qingquan City! A few Variants are nothing, these furs were skinned right off those Variants!"

The visible facts have more persuasive power than any rumor.

The survivors of the Southern Islands Federation had once withdrawn from Baiyue Province, and the kingdom of Oasis No. 4 had also suffered a big blow there. Those who had faced setbacks naturally spared no effort in painting Baiyue Province as terrifying and the forests as unconquerable.

Yet now, the players from Potato Harbor not only managed to hold their ground on that unconquerable land, but also proved with facts that those savage, bloodthirsty Variants were not invincible.

Although most of the survivors here were unaware of the situation Tail mentioned about the lair of Qingquan City, when they turned to look at the rows of fur skinned from Variants, they all simultaneously relaxed their furrowed brows.

The last nagging worry left in everyone's hearts was now—

"Will they... accept us?" Hesitantly looking at the nearby port, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen stepped out of the crowd and asked Tail in a soft voice.

"Oh! Of course!" Tail gave her a thumbs-up and a reassuring look, smiling confidently as he continued, "Actually, it was the survivors from Potato Harbor who invited us over to settle. They've promised to guarantee the safety of the settlement."

"There are many big shots there who can easily take down monsters and BOSSes, but some basic tasks still need more hands. Not just tanning furs, there are salt fields near the port, and in the future, there are plans for orchards and such... In short, there's a huge need for workers! As long as you're willing to Work, you can earn a reward just like today and buy lots and lots of stuff!"

Looking at those eyes gradually lighting up with longing and desire, Si Si couldn't help but smile.

"Of course, everything there is just beginning, and conditions are still very primitive compared to the Ideal City... but Si Si can assure you that things will gradually get better! What do you think? Would you like to go there with Si Si?"

More and more people gathered around, the clamor of discussion growing louder as it spread through the crowd.

Some people's eyes were filled with hope, but there were also those who looked nervous, uneasy about changing their current situation.

Just as everyone was undecided, a firm voice suddenly came from the side.

"I'm willing... I'll follow you!"

That voice sounded familiar.

Sesame Paste subconsciously turned to look and saw Misa tying her ponytail, looking seriously in this direction, making her way through the crowd towards them.

A look of surprise appeared on her face.

It was the first time she had seen such bravery on the face of this shy girl.

Hearing her echo his words, Si Si was as thrilled as if he had discovered a New Continent and looked at the brave girl with serious expression.

"Whoa! Young lady, be sure you've thought it through, once aboard our 'pirate ship' – ahem, our harbor, you won't be able to go Ideal City anymore."

"Ideal City, huh... that's someone else's home. No matter how nice it is, there's no place for us."

Misa's eyes drifted towards the nearby harbor and the faces of those watching the excitement from the harbor, her face alighting with a smile of relief.

"Rather than living under people's roofs for the rest of my life, I'd much rather have a home of my own. Even if it's still shabby for now, I am willing to be there as it slowly improves."

After saying this, she turned to face her surrounding tribespeople, mustering the courage to raise her voice.

"Everyone... how long has it been since we lived in the sunlight like today!"

Ever since they were herded into the Jinjaron Harbor concentration camp, selected like livestock by buyers.

Ever since the West Winds Empire stripped them of all their property and freedom for inexplicable reasons.

That poignant voice touched off countless resonances, including the revered Sang Ru, whose wrinkled face also showed a moved expression.

The elderly lady, trembling, took a couple of steps forward, extending her thin hand to hold that of the child, her face beaming with a warm smile.

"Misa... you've spoken the words we all didn't know how to express. I feel like they've been hidden in my heart for a very long time."

Then, she looked at Sesame Paste and then at Si Si, gratitude and sincerity gleaming in her aged pupils.

"I am willing to follow you to that settlement. If there is anything we can help with in the future, please be sure to tell us!"

As her words fell, more and more powerful voices came from all directions.

"Me too!"

"Please take us with you!"

Looking at the group, full of vigor, both Sesame Paste and Meat Meat's eyes lit up with moved emotions, and Si Si shouted excitedly.

"Whoa! Then it's happily decided, next stop Potato Harbor! Meat Meat, get the boiler firing up for departure!"

"Who's the captain anyway!"

"Don't worry about the details! Hurry up, hurry!"

Watching the two lively individuals suddenly cause a ruckus, Sesame Paste said with a mixture of laughter and tears.

"Wait, before we set off... shouldn't we clean the boat first, since they've already paid?"

Si Si, who was pushing Meat Meat from behind, suddenly stopped.

"Giao! I almost forgot."

"Hahaha!"

A hearty laugh carried on the sea breeze, blending into the endless expanse of sea, merging with the deepening night and the rolling waves.

Sitting at a distance, watching everyone, Si Si holding a notebook in her arms couldn't help but show a tender smile.

Although this was undoubtedly the Wasteland.

With these lovely companions around, she often forgets that...

She turned back to the cabin.

Si Si spread the notebook on the table, took out the newspaper she bought from the harbor that morning, laid it beside it and started cutting out news worth noting.

The side missions in this Game are hidden deep, requiring players to actively gather relevant clues and analyze them.

Probably thanks to Shelter No.70, the media industry in the settlements of the Southern Islands Federation is fairly developed, making information gathering much easier than it was in Silver Moon Bay.

It wasn't just for collecting side quest information.

She also needed to discern the progress of the war in the southern sea area and the right time to enter Shelter No.70 through hints revealed in the news.

The place is currently under blockade by the Southern Islands Federation Navy. There are not only warships patrolling the nearby waters, but also submersibles conducting searches and mine-laying operations underwater.

It's not a place you can simply sneak into with a diving suit.

After all, the Southern Islands Federation is a power nurtured by Shelter No.70. From her observations over time, these people are much like an "Alliance without players".

To a certain extent, they ended the Wasteland beneath their feet, establishing an order different from most native survivor settlements on the Wasteland. However, due to various reasons, Shelter No.70's members separated from the local survivor populace, changing from "forerunners" to an aloof, special class, leading to a very different fate than Camp 101.

However, what puzzled her was that the spark that ignited this war was oddly hasty, filled with confusing puzzles.

And not just the spark that started the War –

But also some strange details in the battle reports.

"'Gold Coast' research ship sank... Oh boy, they sure have a lot of ships."

She read the text in the picture quietly, cut it out from the newspaper's front page, and stuck it in the notebook, aligning it with three other images she had cut from other newspapers.

Standing up by the sea chart, she drew a red circle on the northern side of the southern islands based on the approximate location provided by the newspaper.

Together with the previous three, all four circles were focused in the North.

Si Si's face took on a pensive look.

"This is the fourth one, and like before, it's outside the trade routes..."

Would there really be submarines lurking in such places?

Although she had no proof, she felt she was getting close to the truth...

Chapter 676: Help me, considering we are all residents of the refuge!

The setting sun had sunk into the sea, and the night at Circular Island Port was a peaceful one, yet Potato Harbor, two hundred nautical miles away, was bustling with activity.

In the forest, sparks flew, explosions and gunfire rose and fell in succession, and the communication channel was filled with chaotic shouts, occasionally accompanied by the shrieks and groans of variants.

The remote weapons station on the top of the "Husky" track vehicle kept firing, pouring 20mm caliber bullets into the pitch-black forest, while the grenade launcher occasionally emitted banging sounds as it burst open fiery flashes mixed with smoke in the jungle.

The surrounded group was a scientific expedition team that had ventured into the Ruins of Shilong City.

Half an hour ago, they had arrived at the ruins of a signal reception station, planning to recover the coordinates and identification codes of an astronomical observation satellite stored on the local server's hard drive.

If they could reconnect to the satellite, they would be able to retrieve access records and historical IPs stored in the satellite's memory, thus lighting up a large area on the map filled with high-value targets worth exploring.

For the excavation work of the entire city's ruins, this signal reception station was akin to the key that unlocked the first door of the maze.

However, what none of them had expected was that after the Jungle Corps' vanguard squad entered the signal reception station, what awaited them was a massive nest of mutated ants!

In fact, when they saw that one-meter diameter tunnel, a bad premonition had already arisen in everyone's minds. And when they entered the database, that bad premonition quickly became a reality.

Dozens of dark green mutated aphids had nearly filled the entire tunnel, which had been transformed by the mutated ants into an aphid breeding farm!

A mutated soldier ant, as tall as a knee, quickly discovered them, and fierce combat ensued in the narrow tunnel.

Three players, risking their lives, charged into the database filled with sticky insects. Following the hints in their exoskeleton helmet's visor, they dismantled the chitin-covered chassis and pulled out the motherboard with the hard disk attached.

Of the ten players who first entered the ruins, only five came back alive, and one of them had lost an arm.

The tribe's farm had been destroyed, and the enraged swarm of ants burst out of the ant nest like a black tide, pouncing towards the people near the track vehicle.

These bugs were far stronger than those small creatures in Shelter No. 100.

Especially the soldier ants of the tribe.

They not only had jaws as sharp as sickles but also possessed the vitality to survive several gunshots, as well as the strength to bite through tree trunks.

Under the queen's command, they stepped on the bodies of fallen comrades and pressed forward relentlessly towards the track vehicle.

Even with the Alliance's fierce firepower, the sheer number of these creatures was overwhelming, and they seemed endlessly regenerating.

"MMP! This is way tougher than the green skins in Brocade River Province!" The Ground Model's ears were buzzing from the incessant gunfire; he tensed his nerves while tightly holding down the continuously firing light machine gun, shouting in a hoarse voice.

"Reload! Cover me!" As the red-hot gun barrel cooled, a Picheng Paratrooper beside him knocked off an empty drum magazine and hurriedly inserted a new one from his back.

Just then, an RPG trailing white smoke shot out from above him, leaving his face smeared with sparks and thick smoke.

"Damn it—you!" he coughed out, and before he finished speaking, the rocket landed on a tree trunk only about twenty meters away from him.

The thermobaric bomb detonated, creating a burst of fire and smoke, shaking the surrounding bushes, and a dozen mutated ants, as if struck by a heavy hammer, squealed miserably as they were flattened by the searing blast.

The group momentarily caught their breath, but before they could rest for a while, the tide-like swarm of ants surged once more.

"There are too many of them!" Fingering his helmet, a player yelled through the communication channel.

Just as everyone was about to buckle under the pressure, the long-awaited retreat order finally came through the communication channel.

"... The hard drive has been recovered, all groups retreat according to the planned route!"

"Roger!"

The Ground Model, bearing the machine gun, folded the mount and trudged over the fluffy grass and branches towards the track vehicle.

The group fired alternately at the ant swarm while retreating in teams of three, finally making it to the "Husky" track vehicle nearby.

The vehicle, as large as a bulldozer, had already turned around and was retreating in the direction it came from under the fire support of four ten-man squads.

Watching the scattered debris, a player with a reluctant expression reached out to grab some materials to take back and ask about. He almost got his arm bitten off by a still-breathing mutated ant.

Fortunately, the squad leader nearby saw this and directly fired a burst that sent the not-yet-dead ant away, pulling the poor guy back from the brink of death.

"Are you insane!" he scolded the fool holding a mutated ant's body, "What the hell are you doing touching corpses at a time like this!"

The player chuckled and rubbed his helmet.

"I just wanted to take one back for study..."

Tired of the nonsense, the squad leader pushed the guy's shoulder towards the direction of the caterpillar vehicle, urging and shouting.

"Hurry up! Put it on the vehicle, we're leaving!"

The Alliance didn't have any planes deployed in this area to provide air support, but fortunately, during the day, the Burning Corps infantry had built temporary artillery positions near the camp, and this time the support weapons brought from the City of Dawn included a 155mm howitzer.

Using the caterpillar vehicle's radio, Midnight Chicken Killing quickly got in touch with the friendly forces in the rear and reported the situation here.

"This is Jungle Corps, we are under attack by a dense swarm of ants, coordinates 1091, 1222... requesting extended fire support!"

Static crackled through the headphones, soon followed by the friendlies' reply.

"Received! 155 artillery positions are in place, give us one minute!"

"Hurry up!!"

Yelling into the communication channel, Midnight Chicken Killing then disconnected and swung the chainsaw welded to his left prosthetic arm, chopping down at a mutated ant that pounced at him.

Accompanied by the gnashing scrape, the ginger-colored viscous fluid-covered carapace splattered under the heavy blow of the chainsaw, a mutated soldier ant, half the height of a man, was violently cut into two halves!

Without pausing his movements, Midnight Chicken Killing lifted the Bomb Gun mounted on his right arm and fired at a mutated soldier ant clamping onto his side.

The long flame flickered, and the 19mm shot hit the mutated soldier ant's forehead solidly, turning the massive head and mandible into a sieve.

Standing amidst the swarm, he was like a god of slaughter, his broad and vigorous attacks having taken down countless "heads."

Seeing various squads engaging in close combat with the variants, he tore his throat and yelled.

"Hold on! Fire support is coming soon!"

Encouraged by his roaring, the stalwart men of Jungle Corps burst out with the zeal they once had when chopping mutants, drawing engineer shovels and logging axes from their exoskeletons, and began close combat with the mutated soldier ants charging at them.

A strength-type player threw aside his broken axe, casually picked up a cobblestone from the ground, and with sheer brute force, smashed a mutated soldier ant that was mounted on him into mush.

And a rookie who had just joined the group, even more vigorously, after having his legs snipped off by a mutated ant's mandibles, directly grabbed the half-leg that fell to the ground, flesh and all, and furiously bashed in half of the half-man-high ant's head.

The battle finally entered the phase of melee chaos, which Jungle Corps excelled at.

In the stimulation of fresh blood, everyone's eyes were bloodshot.

For a moment, it was hard to tell who was human and who was beast.

"Complete madness!"

The ground model roared, throwing away his emptied machine gun, he dashed forward swinging a logging axe in a frenzy of chopping.

In just one minute, the fifty-man squad had nearly a thirty percent casualty rate!

Though the ant swarm too suffered heavy losses, these creatures, ignorant of what death meant, didn't even have the word retreat in their dictionary.

As everyone's situation became perilously dire, the artillery strike that Midnight Chicken Killing had called for a minute ago finally reached the battlefield.

Almost like clockwork.

Bursts of flashing light hurtled toward the sky with the booming sounds of thunder, and moments later, they hammered down on the dense forest in front of the Jungle Corps like raindrops.

Clusters of exploding lights and dense smoke blossomed like man-eating flowers in the rainforest, as hordes of mutated ants fell in swathes, torn to shreds by the explosive fragments and scorching airwaves.

The first round of shelling was just a prelude.

Before the mutated ants could recover from the explosions, a second round of shelling quickly followed.

The roaring artillery fire extended northward for a full five hundred meters, turning the entire rainforest into a mess, leaving broken tree branches and vines on the ground, and dark mud flipped from the ground to the canopy.

"Whoa!"

"Well done!"

After dealing with a few mutated ants that had luckily survived, everyone put away their resin-covered logging axes and red-hot gun barrels, cheering in relief.

The research team aboard the tracked vehicle also heaved a sigh of relief.

Except for Meng Liang, who had followed Chu Guang into battle before, most of the people here were this close to the frontline for the first time.

Hearing the clinking of bullet casings dropping onto the roof of the vehicle, many had their hearts in their throats.

Wiping the sweat from his face, Meng Liang tried to look relaxed as he glanced at his subordinates and squeezed out a comforting smile for the researchers.

"See, like I told you… it's not that scary," he said, swaggering his legs to disguise the weakness in his calves.

Everyone looked at this 'Brother Meng' with admiration, thinking silently that indeed he is someone who had seen the world with the Manager.

But what they didn't know was—

While it's true he had been to the frontline with the Manager, the so-called frontline was merely confined to the airship's bridge.

Experiencing a situation like this with bullets flying around was also his first time.

It would be abnormal not to panic.

The outside battle had ended.

The mutated ants, heavily hit by the 155 artillery, had completely ceased their fighting.

In this night-enshrouded rainforest, the ground was littered with mutated ants that had lost limbs and couldn't stand, twitching their remaining legs amid the acrid smell of gunpowder.

Realizing that the pursuit of prey was now impossible, some smaller-jawed mutated worker ants began to emerge from their nests, dragging the wounded soldier ants back into their nest.

Now, they had become irresistible targets in the eyes of other predators in the forest, and many variants smelling food sensed an opportunity for a feast, eagerly eyeing this side.

Obviously, the bloodthirstiness and cruelty of this rainforest were not only directed at outsiders; the cold, merciless law of the jungle equally visited every creature that stepped onto this land.

For the mutated ant tribes nestled beneath the Signal Reception Station ruins, tonight might be especially long and torturous.

But for those players who had stumbled into this area, it no longer mattered…

"Damn… I can't believe I actually survived."

Pushing off the half-corpse that lay on top of him, Ground Model shook his groggy head vigorously and crawled up from the ground.

Picking up the machine gun he had dropped, he limped towards the rear with the help of his teammates, following the tracks of the tracked vehicle away from the battlefield.

After traveling two kilometers to the southwest, each squad took stock and reported casualties.

Including those unlucky enough to be heavily wounded, a total of twenty players died in action, while the remaining thirty were mostly injured.

The battle could be described as brutal.

However, the achievements they made were equally astounding.

The data stored on the hard drive was almost completely intact. They now only waited for the research team and the experts at Camp 101 to decrypt the contents of the hard drive and then retrieve data from a satellite thousands of kilometers away.

This wouldn't take much time.

Once everything was completed, they would be able to synchronize all research facilities within dozens of kilometers that were linked to that satellite on the map.

The night was deep, darkness enveloped the rainforest, and on the quiet coastline there were only sporadic campfires at the harbor and the mottled moonlight floating on the waves.

Treading the edge of the campfire, the burly men of the Jungle Corps, who had been bustling in the forest all day, returned to Potato Harbor, located on the coast, arm in arm.

The exoskeletons were covered with scratches, dents, the saliva and blood of the Variants, and a few were pitted wrecks bitten and had lost their owners.

Watching this group of scarred warriors and the intact track vehicle, the researchers of the research team, who were sorting out samples at the entrance of the settlement, cast surprised glances at them and then their eyes more or less lit up with emotion.

Thanks to those respectable people, they were able to focus on the work they were good at without having to worry about the death that might come at any time.

Death was always present in the Wasteland and never left their side.

It was just that someone else bore it all for them…

Moved by that solemn atmosphere, a few researchers near the recovery point silently raised their right fists to their left chests and gave the backs retreating lazily a military salute from the Alliance.

Truly a group of respectable folks!

At the same time, at the southern side of Potato Harbor, not far from the beach, there sat the only tavern of the port.

The tavern's name was quite unique, called "One Man Bar", which as the name suggests from the bar to the kitchen was manned only by the owner. Hence, sometimes the customers had to pour their own drinks or even wash their glasses in the wash basin next door.

But the players mostly didn't mind, because even if they did, they had no choice, as this was the only small tavern in the entire settlement.

Even if it was an open-air one.

The owner's name was "Drunk and Laughing at Beauty," a B-test player who got a helmet and was a lifestyle profession player. His specialties were deep-frying various kinds of fish and chips.

In his own words, these two dishes required hands, or even no hands, which suited someone like him with culinary skills virtually equal to zero.

As for the taste…

When you come here for drinks, why care about the taste?

Drunk people were just struggling with going offline, as for what the food tasted like, they didn't really mind.

A group of players sat on the beach, drinking beer, eating fried fish and chips, and exchanging the information they had gathered from their adventures during the day.

"Damn, there's a group of Mutated lizards living on the highlands to the northwest, at first glance I fucking thought they were dinosaurs! Thank god my Perception-type detected it first, almost didn't make my ticket worth the flip!"

"Did you take that exploration mission?"

"Yeah! The difficulty said it's E, recommended level LV10, I believed its bullshit!"

"Hahaha!"

"Your luck is just incredible!"

"I heard that submitting combat videos could lead to a reclassification; encountering three Level A or one S-level threat Variants could be reclassified as Level A, which would significantly increase the silver coins and Contribution Points from the mission rewards."

"Really? I'll have to give it a try later!"

"Speaking of which, we should have brought Trash Lord here, this is his turf."

"Good idea. We might even help our brother Trash solve his relationship issues."

"Haha! You're trying to kill me with laughter."

"Speaking of which, what has that guy been up to lately? Haven't seen him around City of Dawn."

"He never came back from Brocade River Province, seems like he and Difficult for the Strong got addicted to playing shamans there."

"Goodness gracious."

"Playing shamans, huh?"

People were discussing in amazement when a group of Jungle Corps hulks, having removed their gear, boisterously walked over.

Unlike when they just returned to camp, these guys didn't seem like they had lost teammates at all; their faces were flushed with sheer exhilaration, more like they had just won a well-matched sports game.

The scientific expedition corporation covered 70% of the equipment loss, and if one bought extra insurance for their equipment, the reimbursement could even reach 90%.

They could enjoy their time carefreely since the bills at the end were all covered.

The rewards for the missions were calculated based on actual difficulty, loss-profit ratio and side mission completions, among other factors.

Encountering an ant swarm was an unexpected situation, but they successfully brought back the hard disk amidst the anomalies.

This mission could definitely rate an A+; deducting equipment and ammunition loss beyond the reimbursed amount, a four-digit bonus per person was not an issue at all!

"MMP! Today's mission was freaking thrilling!"

"So damn exhilarating!"

"Hope we get to do more of these!"

"Haha, you had fun, but Brother Guang certainly took a hit!"

"No biggie! Pleasure is all that matters!"

Watching Old White drinking with a few brothers from the Burning Corps, Midnight Chicken Killing walked over with a grin and extended his fist.

"Old White, that was some nice shooting!"

Grinning, Old White raised his fist and bumped it with his.

"Absolutely! The guys handling the artillery are pros."

Pulling up a stool to sit down, Midnight Chicken Killing asked with a smile,

"How about you guys? How was your haul today?"

Before Old White could answer, the Props Carrier sitting nearby cheekily interjected,

"Not bad, just so-so. Today's job was mainly to play third-wheel and accompany Ms. Chen to admire flowers."

Ground Model: "Haha, playing third-wheel, not bad!"

"Don't listen to his nonsense. It was a legitimate sampling mission, and we headed back after packing up the samples."

Meeting the teasing and gossiping gazes of the others, Old White coughed and continued,

"...Along the way, we also encountered a few attacks, but they were just moderate. We even brought back some game, they're roasting it over there."

He indicated with his chin towards the beach nearby.

There, Killer Dagger and a few players were seen surrounding a bonfire with cobblestones, beside the freshly skinned mutated leopard.

This leopard was much larger than the ones piled on the stockpile during the day, probably a special breed evolved from this rainforest.

Elena, sitting on a nearby stool, swallowed and her eyes filled with longing.

"Nice, that looks great."

Although the fire hadn't fully started, just looking at the marinated raw meat, and the plate of fries and fried fish no longer seemed appetizing…

Seeing several pairs of eyes glancing over, Old White laughed heartily and declared with a wave of his large hand,

"Anyone who wants some, feel free to help yourself, just bring your own cutlery and beer!"

Leading the charge to the bar, Ground Model lavishly slapped a few bills on the counter.

"Boss, two crates of beer! And... ten dishes of fries!"

"The beer is in the warehouse, help me get it." Busy frying fries, Yiren did not lift his head, anxiously watching the contents of the fryer.

It was as if he was watching a bunch of grenades with their pins pulled.

"Damn! I curse you!"

Seeing his perfunctory attitude, Ground Model flipped him the bird but quickly ran to fetch the beer from the warehouse.

Walking over to the bar to pour himself a glass of lemon water, Picheng Paratrooper looked at the busy Yiren and joked,

"Man, you should hire some staff, having customers serve themselves and even wash their own dishes, never seen such a cool boss like you."

Yiren couldn't help but laugh and look up to reply,

"You think I don't want to?"

There are hardly any NPCs in this camp.

And as for the players, don't even mention it.

These guys can even afford a 600 silver coin flight ticket; obviously, they wouldn't come here to do menial work.

And the newbies willing to do menial tasks, most of them haven't even unlocked VM, let alone gather 600 silver coins for a flight ticket or meet the level requirement to take an airship to the new map!

After running back and forth twice, Ground Model finally managed to haul two crates of beer to the beach, distributing them to those waiting for the fire to grow.

It didn't take long for Killer Dagger and Kidney Fighter to get the fire going.

A few hefty men from the Jungle Corps came up to help, setting up a makeshift frame to hold the two or three hundred-kilo mutated leopard.

Everyone pulled stools up to the fire, savoring the sea breeze and beer, roasting and slicing the bloody meat.

Smelling the intoxicating aroma of the roasted meat, watching the sizzling fats dripping on the fire, Old White blissfully squinted his eyes.

Beach, beer, barbecue…

This truly was what adventure was all about!

In comparison, life in City of Dawn was a bit too comfortable. While it was also interesting, whether it's the people or the things, it always felt like something was missing compared to the beginning of the server.

But after arriving at Potato Harbor, he suddenly realized what that missing thing was.

They had set foot on this land as residents of Shelter No. 404, vowing to end the Wasteland Era and restore civilization.

Now, the wasteland of Qingquan City had ended, and the once death-filled abandoned city had become a training ground for newbies to practice their skills... There were no longer any quests that could offer those high-level players more of a game experience.

Although this was certainly good, one occasionally felt lonely.

Perhaps…

Only a life always on the road was most suited for players like them.

Gnome King Riches, sitting nearby and seemingly pondering the same thoughts, looked up at the clear night sky and the brilliant star river, suddenly said with a touch of melancholy,

"You know... if this trend continues, one day all the wastelands will come to an end, right? What do you plan to do then?"

Munching on a piece of crispy, golden leg meat, Elena replied facetiously,

"Why think so far ahead? Besides, isn't there still a big pie five light years away?"

Gnome King Riches looked at him and asked,

"Has the wasteland five light years away ended too?"

"Well then, let's go even farther and have a look!" Old Na laughed and looked up at the resplendent star river, "Buy a spaceship when the time comes, and see just how big this game's map really is!"

Ground Model quipped,

"Maybe flying there, we'll just find textures."

Elena laughed,

"Haha! That could really be possible!"

Everyone was eating and drinking in high spirits, and after half an hour, the fried potato fries that were ordered had just been brought to the table, Yiren was about to go back to frying fish, but was dragged down by everyone, who were already almost full, to join them for drinks.

Ground Model belched satisfactorily, stretched lazily, and suddenly noticed what appeared to be a pitch-black oil drum washed up on the beach.

To be precise, it was an object resembling an oil drum, about the height of a person and as long as three or four people lying down.

"Did something wash up on the shore?"

Hearing his voice, everyone instinctively looked toward the shoreline and also noticed the oddly shaped object.

Just then, the side of the cylinder opened with an arc-shaped door, and it seemed that a person rolled out from inside.

He staggered up from the sand, apparently trying to leave from the edge of the beach, but before he could steady himself, a wave half the height of a man splashed up, pushing him back down onto the sand.

Fate seemed to have played a joke on him.

Carried to shore with him was also a dizzy mutated sea crab.

The crab shook its huge shell, about to shuffle back to the sea when it suddenly noticed the struggling figure on the beach and couldn't move its crab legs anymore.

Seeing this scene from afar, Old White slightly narrowed his eyes and put down his bottle of wine.

Sensing the scent of a side quest, Killer Dagger sitting nearby became interested and immediately set down his half-eaten leg meat.

"I'll go help him!"

Ignoring Old Kidney's objections, he wiped his greasy hands on his good friend's clothes, quickly picked up the assault rifle lying nearby, and moved forward a few steps, firing two shots onto the sand, driving the directionally confused mutated sea crab back a few steps.

Taking advantage of the mutated sea crab's moment of bewilderment, he kept firing to attract its attention while quickly rushing over, pulling the unlucky drenched chicken back from the sand.

A member of the Jungle Corps expertly picked up an absurdly large bomb gun, rested it on his shoulder, and pulled the trigger.

The recoil slammed into his shoulder, but the 19mm explosive arrow was clear-cut and hit the brain of the sea crab accurately.

Hot metal spewed from the back of the creature's head, and it fell silently onto the beach.

"Time to stock up, brothers! Crab barbecue coming up!" the player laughed, his shoulder nearly dislocated from the shock, and he ran up with a fishing net.

Meanwhile, the man soaked by seawater was carried back with a Killer Dagger resting on his shoulder. When the hand was released, he collapsed onto the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

"Hey, take it easy."

"Thank you... thank you..."

The man on the ground looked gaunt, his lips turned blue from cold, curled up and shivering, repeatedly murmuring his thanks, unresponsive to what others were saying.

His wet hair stuck to his forehead, and he gasped for air with a look of utter shock, appearing as if he had encountered something horrifying.

Facing the puzzled looks of the others, he seemed blind to it, his murky pupils drifting aimlessly, finally settling on the oily piece of meat roasting over the fire.

His adam's apple moved up and down as if swallowing the little saliva he had left, his desperate eyes slowly filling with a longing for food.

Old White crouched in front of him and handed over a piece of bun that Manager Yi hadn't managed to fry yet and a cup of hot citron tea.

"Have something to eat first."

The man nodded frantically and grabbed the bun, immediately forgetting his initial politeness, wolfing down the food.

Only after finishing the bun and gulping it down with the water did Old White look into his eyes and ask.

"I am Old White, what's your name?"

Catching his breath, the man trembled and said,

"Huang... Huang Guangwei."

Old White continued.

"Where are you from?"

Instantly, the man looked at Old White warily, glanced around quickly, and shut his mouth tightly, not saying another word.

Seeing the wariness in the man's eyes, Old White smiled gently and spoke in a soothing tone.

"Don't be afraid, we are people of the Alliance, if you haven't heard of the Alliance... maybe you've heard of Shelter No. 404."

As he spoke, he brought out his VM, clicked twice, and turned on the screen.

Seeing the light blue boot screen on the VM, the man visibly relaxed, and much of the suspicion in his eyes faded.

Noticing his reaction, Old White guessed his situation, pulled out the headset he carried with him, hung it on his ear, and pressed it while speaking.

"Fang Chang, come over to the One Man Bar here, we may have an NPC from Shelter No. 70."

After a short wait, Fang Chang's voice quickly came through.

"I'll be right there."

Just as Old White had predicted, the dispirited man slowly spoke.

"I... am from Shelter No. 70..."

After saying this, he grasped Old White's arm, his eyes pleading.

"Please help me... I beg you, for the sake of us both being residents of shelters!"

Chapter 677: Ghost Shadows Beneath the Deep Sea

The moment they heard that phrase, the eyes of the surrounding players instantly lit up.

Not bad!

They had triggered a quest!

"Just waiting for you to say that, brother," Old White said with a smile as he patted him on the shoulder, "So tell me, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

"Those people... they've gone insane... it's impossible to communicate with them... It must be that Mind Interference Device! Yes... and those blue-skinned monsters!"

The man spoke incoherently, seemingly sharing a substantial amount of information, but the surrounding players were all confused, even Old White couldn't help but wonder if his United Human language skills had regressed.

"Don't panic... slow down, what exactly happened?"

Huang Guangwei swallowed his saliva, gazing longingly at the roasted meat on the fire.

"Could you... give me something to eat? I haven't had food... for three days."

"Let's feed him first," seeing how pitiful he looked, Old White couldn't bear to keep questioning and turned to Brother Shabi, "Get some food for him."

People who were extremely hungry shouldn't eat meat, as breaking down protein and fat required energy first, but this guy had already eaten a piece of bread, so he should be alright now.

"Got it."

Killer Dagger nodded and went over to the folding table in front of the bar, bringing over some leftover fries and fish, and cut him a piece of freshly roasted meat.

Seeing the food served, the man was not picky; he grabbed a handful of fries and shoved them into his mouth, so rudely that even the tavern owner, Yiren, scratched his head in wonder and muttered to himself.

"Is this NPC's taste broken or something?"

How could he not know whether those fries were tasty or not?

After wolfing down food for a while, the man belched, leaning against the palm tree with his belly sticking out, and looking quite satisfied, he half-closed his eyes—and ended up snoring for all to see.

The surrounding players were dumbfounded.

They had waited a long time just for this guy to speak up, and now he had fallen asleep after stuffing his face?!

This was outrageous!

Several of them picked up tree branches from the ground and poked him a couple of times.

"Damn it!"

"Are you playing with us?"

"You asked for our help, so spit it out!"

Hearing the commotion around him, Huang Guangwei woke up suddenly after being poked indiscriminately. Realizing he had fallen asleep in front of everyone, he felt embarrassed and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry... I get sleepy when I'm full, almost forgot."

Old White: "..."

Killer Dagger: "..."

Midnight Chicken Killing: "..."

Can you be any more unreliable?!

It was then that Fang Chang finally arrived, spotting the man lying under the palm tree and then his gaze turned to the diving equipment near the coast.

Without rushing to question the man, he first called over a few familiar Strength-type players, clapped them on the shoulders, and pointed in the direction of the coastline.

"Drag that thing back here and hide it under a tent."

The player looked at him strangely and asked.

"Drag it onto shore?"

"Yeah."

Fang Chang nodded then took another glance farther out over the sea before walking towards the man leaning against the palm tree.

"Are you from Shelter No. 70?"

"Yes... yes," Huang Guangwei said nervously, nodding his head as he looked up at the man squatting before him.

Placing his hand on the man's shoulder, Fang Chang locked eyes with him and continued to speak.

"Take a deep breath, don't be nervous... tell us, what did you encounter just now?"

Listening to the man in front of him, Huang Guangwei took a deep breath, calmed his nerves, and then started to speak slowly.

"A bunch of blue-skinned guys... they looked like humans, with gills on their chins. They kept chasing me, shooting harpoon shots and torpedoes at me... and other bizarre things."

"They damaged the power system of my submersible; I could only drift along with the currents, leaving it up to fate... and then I ended up here."

"Seems like you're pretty lucky," Old White joked from the side, "you drifted right to us."

Huang Guangwei smiled weakly and whispered a "thank you."

"But back to the point... blue-skinned guys? With gills? What are those things?" Midnight Chicken Killing looked bewildered at the man, thrown off by the description of the creatures shooting harpoons and torpedoes.

As Fang Chang, who was sitting aside, his expression gradually became more serious.

"If I'm not mistaken, they're probably Mutants..."

Hearing his words, the players squatting around were shocked, displaying astonished expressions on their faces.

"Fuck?!"

"Mutants?!"

"Aren't those animals green?"

"When did they learn to swim?!"

Watching the players whisper to each other in shock, Fang Chang shook his head and continued with a stern expression.

"By mutants, we mean life forms similar to humans that have been developed through incomplete research findings of the 'Perfect Life Form' project, which altered the original 23 pairs of human chromosomes. They're not limited to green skin and strong bodies. In the Great Desert, there are gray-black variants."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"The Province of Yúnjiānxíng has quite a few survivor settlements along the coast. Remember the official data compilation? The corporate assault teams were specifically targeting those amphibious mutants active along the coastline... They're different from the usual mutants. Their skin is blue, and a few even have scales and fins."

Hearing this, the Ground Model involuntarily sucked in a breath of cold air, murmuring under his breath.

"Damn... So the Torch Church is in cahoots with those bastards?!"

The Picheng Paratrooper squatting to the side, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

"Is there a possibility that the Torch Church created those blue-skinned mutants?"

Old White shook his head and said.

"It's unlikely. The Torch Church only emerged in the last twenty years, and those blue-skinned mutants seem to have been around for a while."

"I tend to agree with that view," Fang Chang nodded then continued, "After all, with the example of Brocade River City in front of us, the Torch Church and the mutants have a natural convergence of interests. I suspect the two sides might have reached some sort of cooperation agreement, like... the church periodically providing a batch of slaves for those mutants to reproduce."

Although he tried to express himself as literarily and euphemistically as possible, everyone couldn't help but clench their fists when they recalled the pastures they'd seen in the mall in Brocade River City.

"Those fucking animals..." Midnight Chicken Killing muttered under his breath, unconsciously gripping the barrel tighter, his eyes flashing with the urge to kill.

The Picheng Paratrooper squatting aside also said in a low voice.

"What good is making that distinction? Those bastards are all our enemies anyway, and we weren't planning on negotiating with them."

Fang Chang calmly continued.

"It matters because it determines whether they will immediately attack us... It seems for now that the Church has a cooperative relationship with the nearby aquatic mutant tribe. They haven't realized our situation here yet, or even if they have, they haven't taken us seriously. This gives us some time to prepare."

Old White nodded solemnly and said in a heavy voice.

"It looks like we need to prepare not only fishing nets made of Devil Silk but also beachhead positions onshore."

Fang Chang nodded.

"Not just beachhead positions. Underwater weapons are also a must... Our assault rifles and bomb guns only work on land. If we can't attack underwater targets, they can maneuver along the coastline and attack us from any direction, which could be more problematic than the aquatic variants."

Old White looked at him seriously and said.

"After I log off, I'll go ask Mosquito and the others to see if we can come up with something useful."

After a brief exchange in Mandarin, Fang Chang turned his gaze back to the man who looked baffled by their conversation and continued.

"Why were those mutants chasing you?"

"I..." Huang Guangwei's face showed a hesitant expression as if he was struggling with whether to speak up.

Fang Chang locked eyes with him and continued.

"If you don't tell us, we can't help you."

"...Okay, I'll tell."

Seemingly realizing that honesty was his only recourse, Huang Guangwei struggled internally for a moment before he finally opened up and recounted in detail the circumstances that had led him to his current plight...

"You should know about it, we had some conflicts with the people on the island because of some things..."

Fang Chang nodded.

"I've heard that survivors in the Southern sea area wanted to introduce the Torch Church's improved Nago Strains into the Southern sea area to deal with the rampant, dangerous aquatic variants there... Is that the version you've heard, or is there more?"

Huang Guangwei swallowed, then continued.

"That's basically it... but it's not the full story. First, we very frankly told the survivors that the Torch Church's improved Nago Strains came with considerable risks, being an unfinished and dangerous technology..."

"But they were too confident, completely losing their reverence for nature. In part, we're to blame for using pre-war technology which allowed them to live too comfortably over the past century, making them think they were God's chosen ones, believing that, like using the Mind Interference Device, they could selectively harness only the good parts without any repercussions from the bad parts."

Fang Chang gazed at him thoughtfully and asked.

"How so?"

Huang Guangwei: "How so? Do I even need to say it? Haven't you already seen for yourself? Ever since those charlatans showed up, Haiye Province has turned into this mess you see now. When the Iron Tower Organization was there, everything was decently managed despite some Looters and Variants, but it wasn't like now, completely dehumanized."

Old White couldn't help interjecting.

"Can't they see it?"

Huang Guangwei shook his head.

"See it? Of course, they can. They don't even need to see it. How many years has it been since they traded with the ports in Haiye Province? But they don't care about the risks we talked about. They not only have absolute confidence in themselves but also in us... Guess what their response was when we told them that those madmen up north were courting death and dragging others with them?"

Old White: "What did they say?"

"They said, how can we know it won't work without trying? What if we can perfect the imperfect technology? This way we can not only change the situation in the Southern sea area, we might even save those idiots in Haiye Province who've lost their sense of self, and possibly even change Baiyue Province... They aren't just in dire straits; they're a bunch of arrogant fools."

At this point, Huang Guangwei gave a derisive chuckle, lifting his arm to wipe off the seawater on his face.

"They talk so easily... Haven't we tried? I've collaborated with Shelter No.117 for decades until they screwed themselves over. How could I not know if the technology path they proposed was viable?"

"And besides, this is no longer just a technical issue. The ultimate goal of that crazed group is to ascend humanity into a brand new species they have conjured up—'Celestial Beings'—and then turn the earth into a heaven for the Celestial Beings to inhabit. Do you understand what I'm saying? The Nago they designed was never about addressing any specific existing problems on the Wasteland from the start."

Old White frowned and asked.

"Doesn't the Southern Islands Federation know about this? Such an obvious matter, why would they side with the Torch Church?"

Huang Guangwei shook his head.

"Didn't I tell you? They know everything, but they are too confident. It's undeniable that they have indeed achieved some things. For instance, they've managed to feed more than a hundred thousand survivors with just a dozen or so square kilometers of land, while most Wasteland Wanderers are starving. And while Poluo Province and Luo Xia Province are still doing the feudal monarchy bit, they established a relatively civilized system."

"In time, they might really be able to build a Utopia on the sea that is no less impressive than Ideal City, using methods best suited for themselves that they have discovered... Yet the fatal problem lies here too. They have had it too easy along the way to the point that for most people on those islands, success is almost seen as a natural inevitability."

"Without a doubt, the Torch Church is a ravenous wolf, and they know those guys have ill intentions. But they think it's no big deal; they believe that they can tame those unruly Nago strains, just as they tamed the mutated sharks—swallowing the sugar-coated poison while leaving the arsenic itself untouched... Just like they turned the mind interference device provided by the Torch Church into a tool to drive away Variants."

"The president of the Southern Islands Federation once held negotiations with us for this reason. He hoped that the residents of Shelter No. 70 and thousands of experts nurtured by us in Coral City can cooperate closely, opening up Coral City's research facilities to facilitate the Torch Church's investigation of the Tiangong Space Station's Lair, while working together with the apostles of the Torch—that is, the researchers—to perfect the Nago."

"Of course, we could never agree to that. It wasn't the first time those crazies came knocking, and besides, we knew what they were like twenty years ago. If we opened up the underwater research facility to them, within minutes they could corrupt a group of our people for their use, then turn that place into their own lair... just like what they did in Haiya Province before."

After hearing what he said, the players squatting around looked at him silently.

One of them couldn't help but ask.

"So you guys fought each other?"

At this question, Huang Guangwei's expression became somewhat embarrassed, his index finger scratched his stubbled cheek.

"At first, there was no fight... After all, the fleet was mainly under the control of those Settlements, and we built those Settlements. Why would we attack our own people?"

Fang Chang nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed."

Thinking about it in reverse, the idea of Shelter No. 404 suddenly going to war with City of Dawn was just preposterous.

Those were Settlements they had built with countless blood and sweat, places they would rather die a few more times for than contemplate any vandalism or destruction.

The biggest difference between this Game and other games was probably that every dwelling place where players were active had been built by the players themselves, brick by brick.

They wouldn't just begrudge its destruction; to prevent newly arriving players from making trouble, they would not only actively participate in making laws and regulations but also voluntarily take on apprentice missions to "Pass the Torch," providing enough care to these new players and helping them integrate into the Alliance's society.

"Right?" Seeing the pensive look on the man's face before him, Huang Guangwei paused before continuing, "Our initial plan was to teach them a lesson. So we issued an electricity maintenance notice and then shut down the ocean current generators..."

At this point, Old White suddenly spoke up.

"I heard... that you cut off Coral City's power and oxygen supply system, nearly causing those 30,000 survivors to perish under the sea—"

"Nonsense! How could we possibly do such a thing! Besides, many of the residents of Coral City are our students, colleagues, even family!"

Huang Guangwei's eyes widened as if hit in a sore spot, and he vehemently retorted.

"It's them! The so-called federal authorities! They took advantage of our experts evacuating from the ocean current power station and barbarically blew it up! Then, out of retaliation, they cut off Coral City's power supply system! We dispatched rescue submarines, but they threw depth charges at us, and in the end, we only managed to save a few hundred people!"

Looking at the man with clenched fists, Old White spoke to soothe his emotions.

"Don't get agitated. The residents of Coral City are all fine. I've heard that the federal authorities have relocated them to various islands."

Huang Guangwei stared at him in astonishment, then slowly calmed his breathing.

"Really? Then it seems they still have some humanity left... Have you been in contact with them?"

Old White nodded.

"Yes, and it's precisely because we've had contact that I feel there might be some misunderstandings between you two... Why not sit down and talk?"

Huang Guangwei curled his lip.

"There's nothing to talk about. The federal authorities want Shelter No. 70 to function as a scientific institution obedient to the federation's leadership. I actually have no objections; we never wanted any special status. But we can't possibly agree at this critical moment. If we give in now, they will immediately have us hand over a century's worth of achievements to those lunatics in the north."

The Ground Model looked at him, not understanding, and asked.

"You slipped out of that shelter, wasn't it to talk to them?"

Huang Guangwei adamantly rejected the idea.

"Of course not. My intention was to go to the Grand Canyon."

"The Grand Canyon?" Old White stared at him blankly, "What for?"

"Obviously, to find our Manager! That bastard, Sun Yuechi! With that guy missing, we can't even utilize the full functionality of the shelter; it's completely one-sided with those idiots from the federation pushing us around. If he were here, things wouldn't have gotten this bad. At the very least we could use that batch of equipment from the defense stores!"

As he spoke, Huang Guangwei was gnashing his teeth with hatred, clenching his fists.

He looked like he could punch the guy... if that guy were right in front of him.

A few players exchanged glances, their faces filled with confusion.

This was the first time they had heard the unfamiliar name of Sun Yuechi. But that wasn't the point—the question was—

"Why would your Manager... be in the Grand Canyon?"

"I'd like to know what he's thinking," Huang Guangwei swore, "At such a critical time, that guy still talks nonsense... saying that's the last Flame left by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, and we should have united under its banner from the start. It might not be too late to go there now... they'll take care of it. If those people really had such warm hearts, Haiya Province wouldn't be in the sorry state it is now!"

Fang Chang stroked his chin, pondering for a moment, then asked,

"It's more than 3000 kilometers from here to the Grand Canyon... and that's the straight-line distance. How do you plan to get there?"

Huang Guangwei continued,

"My original plan was to land on the east side of Haiya Province, an uninhabited region, where I should be able to avoid the watchful eyes of the Torch Church. As long as I can circle around to Yue Ma Province on the east side of River Valley Province, there should be a way to get there... I bet that bastard Manager took this route."

Midnight Chicken Killing looked at him, puzzled, and asked.

"Why did you run all the way here?"

"I didn't want to, either," Huang Guangwei said with a wry smile, looking at him. "I clearly avoided several main shipping routes and was planning to sneakily make my way to the eastern coast of Haiya Province, but suddenly I was chased down by those blue-skinned guys... I don't know what they were lying in ambush for, we just ran smack into them, and then I drifted all the way here, to be picked up by you."

As he got to this point, he looked earnestly at Fang Chang, Old White, and a few others.

"You all must be residents of the shelter, right... Could you take me to your place? I seem to have heard about you. Are you located in the southern part of River Valley Province?"

Saying this, he glanced at the airship overhead and continued with an earnest tone.

"Please, I have nowhere else to go..."

Old White looked at Fang Chang with a compassionate expression and said,

"Why don't you take him back?"

Fang Chang pondered for a moment and replied in Mandarin.

"Um, I'm considering whether it's possible to initiate a meeting for him to sit down with the authorities of the Southern Islands Federation."

Hearing this, Old White was taken aback and said with a wry smile,

"Aren't you overthinking it... Not to mention whether we currently have the capabilities in this area to facilitate negotiations, how can you be sure that the Federation authorities don't have their own people from The Church?"

Fang Chang sighed and said,

"That's exactly what I'm most hesitant about."

At present, both sides stuck to their guns, each believing that the other was to blame for the explosion of the ocean current power station.

And as for what really happened, no one had direct evidence to prove it.

Of course, he was more inclined to think that it might be The Church sabotaging from behind the scenes and then framing Shelter No. 70 to incite a war between the Southern Islands Federation and the shelters.

However, another possibility was that the explosion of the ocean current power station was precisely what the Southern Islands Federation desired.

Energy was a lever that Shelter No. 70 held in its hands, as well as an intangible deterrent.

Now that deterrent had been expended.

It was like a nuclear weapon thrown from a launch pad, and it had lost the meaning of deterrence.

Survivors from the islands of the southern sea area realized that they weren't going to die just because they lost the ocean current power station. They could import coal from Silver Moon Bay to restart the outdated thermal power generators, and they could also employ solar and wind power in conjunction with battery storage stations.

There were still many solutions.

Although the cost of energy had increased, all the islands were highly unified under the rule of the Southern Islands Federation.

In contrast, the price they paid seemed less exorbitant than imagined.

Fang Chang pondered for a long time, sighed, and said,

"Let's leave the decision to the Manager."

Old White nodded.

"That's what I was thinking... leave professional matters to the professionals."

Fang Chang looked at Huang Guangwei and continued,

"We can take you to our place, and it should only be about a two-day journey to reach Qingquan City."

Upon hearing this promise, Huang Guangwei's face showed a relieved expression as he tearfully said,

"Thank you... Thank you so much!"

Fang Chang smiled and said,

"Don't mention it, but there's one thing we need to trouble you with."

Huang Guangwei nodded eagerly, smiling as he said,

"Please, ask away! As long as it's within my ability, I'll do my utmost to help!"

Fang Chang continued,

"About your encounter with the Mutant attack along the eastern coastal area of Haiya Province, I hope you can record a detailed video explanation, and then provide us with the coordinates of where you were attacked."

Upon hearing this straightforward request, Huang Guangwei agreed without hesitation.

"No problem! I'll cooperate whenever you need it, and I can record that video right now if you want! As for the coordinates, they're in my submersible, you can just take and use them!"

"Let's hold off on the video for now, I need to report the situation to our Manager. You go change into some clothes at our place first, so you don't catch a cold."

Fang Chang smiled amicably, then looked towards the submersible that had already been dragged ashore and continued,

"And your submersible, could we borrow it to try and fix its Power System?"

Huang Guangwei waved his hand dismissively and generously said,

"Take it, you can even have it if you get me to Qingquan City."

He hadn't planned on holding onto that thing forever. If he had successfully made it to the shores of Haiya Province, it might have been abandoned on the beach.

Now that someone had promised to take him to River Valley Province, he naturally didn't need it anymore.

Since these people were interested, he thought he might as well let them have it!

Seeing how readily the guy waved his hand, Fang Chang's face also showed a pleased smile.

"Then we won't be polite!"

Chapter 678 "Art" is the Primary Productive Force

Shelter No. 404, Floor B4.

Sun Yuechi walked through the activity door into the viewing room, looking confusedly at Chu Guang who was sitting on the sofa.

"What's the matter, so late at night?"

Since arriving in the City of Dawn, he had completely adapted to life here, working nine to five on weekdays, and spending his days off wandering the streets of the City of Dawn.

In his own words, the prosperity of the City of Dawn was in no way inferior to North Island in the southern sea area, even though the richness of natural resources was far less than those along the equatorial belt. Yet, the people here managed to create wonders with limited materials.

Especially in terms of cuisine.

After eating pig trotter rice once, he wished he could enjoy it three times a day and lamented that what he had eaten in the past thirty years was simply swill.

In his view, the only shortcoming of this settlement was its weak foundation. Perhaps because of its rapid expansion, many of the supporting infrastructures had not kept up.

Since he himself was an expert in the field of communications engineering, he simply found a job at a local telecommunication company as a technical advisor, working on the deployment of communication base station sites and channel planning, thereby contributing his part to the rebuilding of civilization.

As for Chu Guang, he had been busy planning the "Mucor Research Community" lately, dealing with enterprises, academies, armies, and a crowd of small-time players who clamored for support from the big shots. He didn't have time to care about the distant southern sea area, and had little to do with the former Manager of Shelter No. 70.

Watching Sun Yuechi sitting down confusedly opposite on the sofa, Chu Guang took out a holographic computer pen, placed it on the table, and activated a deep blue holographic image.

It was a bust of Xiao Qi, drawn based on clues reported by players.

It had to be said that it did resemble the real person somewhat.

"Do you recognize this person?"

After staring at the image for a while, Sun Yuechi furrowed his brows, suddenly looking at Chu Guang in astonishment.

"Huang Guangwei?"

Indeed, he knew him.

Chu Guang looked at the former Manager of Shelter No. 70 in front of him and his expression became subtly complex.

Unable to comprehend Chu Guang's expression, Sun Yuechi asked with a puzzled face.

"What's wrong with him?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment before speaking.

"He... found our settlement in the Baiyue Strait area and told us some things about the southern sea area, then he asked to meet you."

Sun Yuechi stared at him blankly.

"What does he want to see me for..."

After briefly scrutinizing his expression, Chu Guang suddenly said.

"Do you know about the war between Shelter No. 70 and the Southern Islands Federation?"

"Ah?!" The moment he heard this, Sun Yuechi was stunned, his mouth agape, seemingly at a loss for words.

His bewildered expression didn't seem feigned.

But it was understandable.

Chu Guang figured that if he heard that Shelter No. 404 had started fighting with the Alliance, he would probably be thunderstruck too, unable to understand how those two sides started fighting.

Moreover, with over 2000 kilometers separating the southern sea area from the City of Dawn, it was normal for news not to reach here. "Survivor's Daily" only reported on Potato Harbor and didn't provide detailed coverage of the southern sea area.

"Anyway, that's the situation," Chu Guang lightly tapped the computer pen, retracting the pale blue light hovering above the tip, "but our people feel there might be some doubts behind this war, and more clues need further investigation."

"Wait, how did they start fighting?!" Like suddenly snapping back to reality, Sun Yuechi looked stunned, his face turning from ruddy to pale. "I, I didn't authorize weapon depot access when I left, why would—"

"It might just be because of that," Chu Guang interrupted him, gazing at him and continuing, "According to Mr. Huang Guangwei, when they were attacked by the Southern Islands Federation, they were completely suppressed. Apart from a few scattered submersibles still resisting on their own in the vast sea, most of the shelter's staff had completely withdrawn into Shelter No. 70."

"Where is he now?!"

Sun Yuechi abruptly sat upright on the sofa, staring unwaveringly at Chu Guang.

Chu Guang continued, looking into his eyes.

"He will depart from Potato Harbor early tomorrow morning, and you will be able to meet him in two days."

For some reason, Sun Yuechi, who had been eager to meet his compatriot a second ago, became uneasy upon hearing that he would meet him in two days.

Guessing what he was anxious about, Chu Guang sighed softly and said.

"After all, he is your compatriot, and I think it would be better to meet him. Moreover, I've heard from my people that when they picked him up on the beach, he was barely alive."

Sun Yuechi's Adam's apple moved slightly, unable to utter a word.

His pupils were filled with complex emotions.

After a moment, he slowly said.

"The ones who attacked him... were they from the Southern Islands Federation?"

"I don't think so," Chu Guang said quietly, looking at those eyes flickering with a glimmer of hope, "according to his description, those who pursued him were a group of blue-skinned amphibious mutants active in the northern area of the southern sea area—"

"It must be the Torch!" Sun Yuechi's eyes widened, his fists clenched on his knees, his voice trembling with anger, "Only they unscrupulously cooperate with the mutants! They must be the ones behind this war!"

Chu Guang nodded.

"I think so too, but persuading the warring parties to cease fire is not easy, especially when one side has a clear advantage."

Sun Yuechi pleaded at Chu Guang.

"Please, help us! I've already transferred the shelter's authority to you—"

Chu Guang looked at him sharply, unapologetically cutting off his words.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I actually would have preferred that you didn't do it. The chaos in the southern sea area is partially due to your abrupt departure and the early abdication of the responsibilities that were rightfully yours."

Hearing the latter part of the statement, a pained expression crossed Sun Yuechi's face as he clasped his hands together in front of his nose.

Chu Guang didn't continue to press him but instead spoke in a more soothing tone.

"Now, issues must be resolved one by one. The war's trigger was the bombing of the Ocean Current Power Station. Currently, both sides have their own explanations. We first need to determine if this was an act orchestrated by the Federation itself or instigated by the Torch Church. Are there any trustworthy people amongst the high-ranking officials of the Federation that you know of? We're hoping to initiate an investigation into the real cause behind the destruction of the power station."

Sun Yuechi said with a wry smile.

"There was no Federation when I left... I heard about it from you, that a Federation was established by several survivor settlements."

Seeing his clueless demeanor, Chu Guang couldn't help but hold his forehead.

He really couldn't resist wanting to criticize him. What exactly was the Manager's job?

The Federation couldn't have just sprung up out of nowhere, right?

Since before this guy left, the survivors in the southern sea area were already divided into two camps over whether to introduce Nago. Surely, he should know which camp was the loudest?

Just as Chu Guang was feeling frustrated, Sun Yuechi suddenly brightened as if he had remembered something and spoke up.

"Wait, there's someone... who might be able to help you guys."

Chu Guang immediately asked.

"Who?"

"Muda! I'll write it for you!"

Saying this, Sun Yuechi picked up a pen and notepad from the coffee table and hurriedly wrote down a line.

Not just the name.

He also wrote a brief letter of introduction, outlining the situation and expressing the hope for assistance in investigating the destroyed Ocean Current Power Station.

Chu Guang took the note Sun Yuechi handed him and looked at it for a moment, then hesitantly asked.

"This person is?"

Facing Chu Guang's inquiring gaze, Sun Yuechi replied earnestly.

"Before I left, he was the captain of the Marine Patrol Team in the southern sea area, a pretty decent young man. Regarding the Torch Church, his stance is centrist, or rather, he's not particularly interested in whether to introduce Nago."

"I'm not sure what he's doing now... But if he is still with the patrol team, he should be able to help you!"

...

Early morning.

The harbor on Ring Island.

The portly Director Stacey, yawning widely like a hippopotamus, fumbled around his belt for a while before finding his keys, and with a clatter, he unlocked the port office door.

He had just sat down at his desk when the sound of a ship's horn from outside interrupted the dream he hadn't yet finished.

He looked out the window in a daze.

When he saw the cargo ship flying the White Bear flag starting to retract its anchor chains, Director Stacey was momentarily stunned, then his mouth dropped open in surprise, and he sprang joyously from his chair.

Unbelievable!

That taffy that wouldn't leave the harbor was actually pulling up its anchor?!

Without a second thought, he grabbed his hat from the desk and hurriedly crossed the door, which had only been closed for half a minute, rushing down the stairs outside the port office to the harbor.

There were quite a few people standing around the harbor, most of them dockworkers, with some passersby among them.

Watching the departing Meat Meat, many young men displayed regretful expressions.

What a pity.

They hadn't even had time to ask the name of the beauty in their dreams, and now they had to say goodbye to this ship.

Not far away, a short-haired girl stood at the ship's rail, waving vigorously towards the harbor.

"Oh! Goodbye! Friends of Ring Island! Thanks for your hospitality during this time; we've troubled you a lot. We, the Meat Meat, will remember this favor!"

Meat Meat, leaning on the railing, quickly turned her head towards her.

"Giao! Why is it me who will remember!"

Tail playfully winked.

"Eh heh, don't sweat the small stuff."

"Eh heh your ghost!"

Although Stacey really didn't want to see this fellow again, he still put on a friendly face and waved his hat, calling out insincerely.

"Bon voyage, come back anytime!"

But please don't ever come back!

Oblivious to the unwelcome tone in his voice, Tail, who had escaped from under Meat Meat's bear paw, raised her voice excitedly.

"Oh! Definitely, definitely!"

The cheerful voice, along with the prolonged blast of the ship's horn, faded into the distance.

Watching the departing ship, Director Stacey contentedly placed the hat on his head.

Thank heavens!

Finally sent that plague of gods away!

Just after Meat Meat ship left the harbor, Mogavi, who was on the deck of the Northwestern Wind cargo ship, turned to Captain Song Haining with a smile and said,

"Captain, we should also set sail!"

Song Haining didn't say much but shouted towards the back of the deck.

"Raise anchor!"

The Northwestern Wind, docked at the pier, also sounded its steam whistle.

It had been three days since this cargo ship had arrived at this port.

During these three days, the Moon tribeswomen on the Meat Meat ship not only dealt with more than a thousand pieces of fur for him but also cleaned the entire Northwestern Wind inside and out. The deck was so clean and shiny it seemed as if it had been waxed!

Now, there was not even a hint of rotting meat odor on the ship, and instead, a faint fragrance of young women wafted through the air.

It might just be psychological!

Faced with the rejuvenated Northwestern Wind, Captain Song Haining could no longer find any faults.

Thanks to this, the relationship between Mogavi and the old captain had also eased; it was no longer as tense as it had been three days earlier.

And the old captain was no longer clamoring to throw him and his goods off the ship; he simply reiterated not to throw unpacked perishables on the deck again.

The cargo on the Northwestern Wind had now changed from iron ore and coal to several stacks of valuable furs and dozens of boxes of pearls, shells, coral, and other seafood, as well as some industrial products that the Camel Hump Kingdom was in dire need of.

Once the ship docked at Silver Moon Bay, this journey would be complete.

However, the trip wasn't over yet, and he had already started planning the next one.

That prime spot called Potato Harbor sat right at the eastern exit of the Baiyue Strait and would soon be discovered by other passing merchant ships.

Once stable trade routes were established and competitors became involved, making a fortune like last time would be tough!

With Mogavi gazing towards the western sea, standing at the ship's rail, Captain Song Haining suddenly said,

"It would be good if that port could be built sooner."

Mogavi looked at Captain Song Haining standing beside him with surprise and glee.

"My friend, have you finally changed your opinion of them?"

"My impression of them was never bad, just initial caution upon meeting them. What I truly dislike are people who don't keep their promises," said Song Haining with poignant meaning in his gaze.

"All right, my friend, I've cleaned up everything for you; let's consider this matter settled," Mogavi said with a sheepish smile, awkwardly touching his nose.

Song Haining looked away from him and gazed back towards the direction of the Baiyue Strait.

"To be honest, they did their jobs quite diligently. If they're still there in the future, I might consider going to them again for a ship wash."

Starting a ship washing company, perhaps?

This idea suddenly sprang into his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Continuing as a sailor at his age was becoming difficult; he even had to place a chair in the cockpit and sit down from time to time.

Having spent so many years at sea, he knew quite a few captains, both young and old, and he had good relationships with them.

If he really started a ship washing company, he figured he wouldn't need to worry about finding clients…

…

Thus, under the morning sunlight, Meat Meat and Northwestern Wind, accompanied by the Marine Patrol Team's speedboats, cautiously bypassed minefields, heading one after another towards the eastern entrance of the Baiyue Strait.

Meanwhile, to the south of Potato Harbor, a group of strength-type players clad in exoskeletons was carrying trunks of nearly ten-meter-long tropical teak, pruned of branches, toward the coastline.

Teak, known for its minimal warping and exceptional bending strength, is very durable and resistant to humid conditions due to growing in rainforests, making it an excellent substitute when large amounts of steel and concrete are unavailable.

The only negligible downside was probably its weight.

Among these trunks, even the lightest weighed close to a ton, and despite wearing miner's exoskeletons to carry them, the burden on their bodies was not negligible.

However, this was merely the case for ordinary people.

For strength-type players, this amount of load was just moderate.

The sand on the beach couldn't withstand their feet, often sinking past their calves with each step.

Repeated treks left rows of footprints on the beach, resembling fields plowed by old oxen.

At the end of these footprints, neatly arranged and fixed on the beach, were wooden stakes.

These stakes were the foundation of the dock.

Vertical poles were erected and horizontal planks laid on top, forming a simple pier.

Although the shareholders of Potato Harbor had decided to hire a construction team from Ideal City to build the pier, a project worth millions of Cr couldn't be finalized in just a day or two.

From soliciting bids to designing and starting construction, there was a long process to be followed, but in the meantime, Potato Harbor couldn't just watch ships pass by.

Thus, it was unanimously decided to build a few wooden piers extending to the deepwater area on the southern beach to use provisionally before the formal construction of the port could begin.

Once the concrete cargo port was constructed in the future, this wooden pier wouldn't go to waste; it would be directly converted into a yacht docking area and a passenger port for tourists to embark and disembark.

Although the port was nowhere in sight yet, the small players of Potato Harbor had already planned the future tourism industry.

Now, after nearly three days of construction, the contour of the pier extending into the deepwater area had been outlined by the constructing players.

Although there were some difficulties with loading and unloading cargo, walking carefully was basically not a problem.

In a situation where there were neither engineering ships nor professional port construction equipment, the speed of construction was already ridiculously fast.

But this construction team of all Awakeners, if placed in Wasteland, would probably be in a class of its own.

Afterward, they planned to grab some large stones from the nearby hills and pile them next to the port's base to reinforce it further.

By then, not only people getting on and off but also loading and unloading goods wouldn't pose any problems.

Wearing an exoskeleton, Spare people under the knife shouldered an iron hammer for pile driving, lifted his arm to wipe the seawater on his face, and shouted to his brothers who were working hard.

"Let's all push harder! Let's try to finish the port today!"

"Ooooh!" The players swinging hammers on the beach responded in a scattered chorus, their enthusiasm not quite matching what it was when the first pile was driven three days before.

It was inevitable, though.

The novelty for players always followed a parabolic curve.

Although the construction team paid well, continuously doing the same repetitive work would subjectively affect their enthusiasm for production.

Usually, lost morale could be compensated for in other ways.

Including material rewards and psychological satisfaction.

For example, while working in the City of Dawn, the reward wasn't just proportional to the labor, but also the admiration of the spectators, shouting "Awesome."

However, working here, surrounded only by their own people, it got a bit dreary over time.

"Brother Dao! When can we expect NPC to pop up in our port?"

"Could it be that they won't spawn anymore?"

"It seems the Dog plan never mentioned that building houses would guarantee people coming over, right?"

"Damn!"

Listening to everyone's complaints, Spare people under the knife coughed and made a promising statement.

"Guys, don't panic! Maybe when the port is completed, NPCs will spawn!"

Coincidentally, just as he finished speaking, there was a stir in the distant sea.

A sharp-eyed Strength-type player looked up and glanced toward the southeast, suddenly shouting as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Brother Dao! There's a ship coming from the east… Oh no, looks like two!"

Before Brother Dao could react, the surrounding group of players, already intrigued, stopped their tasks and looked in the direction pointed out by their brother.

"What the hell?"

"Is that for real?"

Spare people under the knife also looked up and saw the increasingly clear silhouette of the ships.

Seeing the flag, he first stared, then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately shouted.

"It's Tail and her crew!"

Hearing this, the previously slightly fatigued group of animals suddenly perked up.

Not because of Tail.

But because of the more than a thousand pretty girls dressed in maid outfits on Tail's ship!

Why were they working so vigorously?

Wasn't it to make Potato Harbor lively sooner?

"Goodness, NPCs are finally going to spawn!"

"Let's push a bit harder, brothers! Our port is almost ready!"

"Art!!"

"Ao ao ao!"

"Damn, you guys are too real!"

This time, Spare people under the knife didn't even need to shout; the group of Strength-type beasts, as if injected with adrenaline, became overly excited.

With everyone's desperate efforts, the port, which still looked like a construction site, rapidly spread toward the shore at a visible pace.

Not only did Spare people under the knife watch in astonishment, but even Si Si, standing on the deck holding binoculars, was dumbfounded.

Watching that group of howling lunatics, her lips unconsciously opened and closed as she mumbled in astonishment.

"What are they… excited about?"

While speaking, she instinctively turned to look at Ah Wei beside her, her intuition telling her this guy might know something.

Aware of why Si Si was looking at him, Tail awkwardly looked aside, trying to whistle nonchalantly, but after much effort, failed to produce a sound.

"Ah hahaha… haha…" Watching the distant beach, Sesame Paste chuckled distressfully.

Her hearing was extraordinary, and against the blowing sea breeze, she could hear what those friends were cheering about.

But…

It's probably better to pretend not to have heard anything.

——

(Thanks for the rewards from "South Wave and North Drift", "Long Night Ashes of the Snowy Wilderness" Alliance Master!!!)

Chapter 679: A Familiar Dilemma

The beach south of Potato Harbor.

Because the makeshift dock was so narrow, Si Si tried several times to steady the ship.

A long gangplank descended from the deck and leaned against the freshly laid planks of the dock.

Standing on the sandy shore where the waves splashed, pairs of expectant eyes gazed unwaveringly at the deck in the deep water area from afar.

Just then, a youthful face peeked out over the edge of the ship's railing.

"Land!"

Vinegar Chestnut, standing on tiptoe, gripped the handrail, eagerly eyeing the golden sand not far away, curiosity and desire filling her timid eyes.

According to Sister Mi Sa, once they got ashore, they wouldn't have to stay cooped up in the narrow cabin anymore.

Though she was thankful for the cargo ship that had carried them away from hell, she still preferred living under the sunshine, especially since the warmth made her feel better.

Meanwhile, as she looked at the people on the shore, they too were looking back at her.

She was pretty cute...

But where the hell was the promised maid outfit?!

In less than a minute, more and more Moon tribeswomen emerged on deck, excitedly gathering by the railing and gazing at the journey's end close at hand and the people on the beach.

Underneath their metallic skeletons were shirts dampened by seawater, and looking at those muscular figures and handsome faces, many unmarried young maidens couldn't help but blush, pretending to look away at the scenery.

On the other hand, the married women openly admired without shame, even whispering among themselves while ogling.

Shelter No. 404 preserved not only the knowledge and ideas of the pre-war era but also the outstanding genes of that time.

Not to mention, the clones made with DNA from Shelter No. 404 had been handpicked for superior genetics—if the human aesthetic didn't drastically change, their appearance would naturally be impeccable.

Otherwise, when the Frost Spear Tribe first arrived by Rhombus Lake, they wouldn't have taken a fancy to them, even making the outrageous request to borrow some "seeds."

In all honesty, it was hard to say who was taking advantage of whom in this situation.

"Ahaha, my apologies, everyone—"

With a sheepish smile and scratching the back of her head, Si Si walked down the gangplank.

But before she had even steadied herself on the dock, an angry outcry surrounded her from all sides, almost scaring her back into the sea.

"Damn! Where's the maid outfit?!"

"Why the original skins?!"

"Geneva!"

"Refund!"

Looking at the fervent crowd, Si Si took a step back like a cat encountering a cucumber for the first time, but she still mustered up the courage to step forward and mumbled an apologetic explanation.

"This... this was an accident, giao! I mean, I can have Meat Meat wear it for you, that should be fine, right?"

The crowd: "#@#&!"

Watching the noisy beach, Mi Sa, standing by the railing, turned to ask Sesame Paste in confusion,

"What are they... talking about?"

"This is a special way the Alliance expresses welcome; don't mind it..." Sesame Paste dodged the awkward topic with a vague laugh, "Let's get everyone down quickly; it's dangerous to all stand by the railing."

Still puzzled, Mi Sa nodded, then as if remembering something, grasped Sesame Paste's hand, her face full of gratitude.

"Thank you... When I was brought to that camp, I thought I was done for. If it hadn't been for you, we might have... already..."

"No problem at all."

Sesame Paste's face broke into a soft smile as he squeezed her cold, slender hand back.

"I hope you can all start anew in this new world."

Mi Sa's eyes shimmered with hope as she grasped his hand tighter and nodded vigorously.

"Yes! We definitely will!"

...

For the players who always had new adventures, the maid outfit controversy was merely a minor episode that couldn't have been any smaller.

Although it was regrettable not to see the young ladies in maid outfits, most players of this game aren't petty and wouldn't take such a minor issue to heart.

As long as the apology was sincere, everyone was still willing to accept it.

In order to show sincerity in her repentance, and also as punishment for deceiving the feelings of the Strength Type beasts, Teng Teng chose the least embarrassing option from a long list of shame play that even Brother Guang shook his head at—wearing a maid outfit for three consecutive days.

Compared to the other explosive options, this less embarrassing choice was quite mild.

Besides, this broken beach didn't have a branch of Vine Cottage, so there was nowhere to buy a maid outfit in the first place.

Therefore, when making this decision that defied her ancestors, Teng Teng was already calculating confidently that even if she chose it, it wouldn't matter.

However, to her great surprise, the moment she ticked off this option, a mischievous smile appeared on everyone's faces.

"I knew you'd choose this one!"

It wasn't long before the Ground Model pushed out a rack full of maid outfits, chuckling and making a generous 'after you' gesture.

"Take your pick; don't be shy."

Seeing the range of different styles of these art pieces, Teng Teng, who was still smug a second ago, could no longer maintain her composure.

"Giao! Wait, wait a second, you really want me to wear this kind of thing? Here?!"

"What else then?" the Strength Type beast standing nearby rolled his eyes, "Am I supposed to wear it?"

Another player also chimed in.

"Exactly!"

"gkd!"

Seeing that this guy dared to play tricks right in front of them, everyone started to jeer more and more.

"Si!"

Teng Teng looked at Si Si with imploring eyes, her expression pitiful.

However, to her dismay, Si Si, who usually spoiled her the most, was acting out of character. Not only did he not stand by her side, but his lips also curled up with an interested smirk.

"Hmm... after all, you've made a promise to others, and it's not good to benefit from breaking promises. It's okay, Teng Teng, it's just changing clothes, and you'll be done in a moment... I can help you."

As he spoke, his smile turned wicked.

In a rare display of fear, Teng Teng shrank her neck, as if she had become smaller, and trembled as she whispered.

"Si, Si... your expression is so scary."

"Really?"

Si Si touched his own cheek with his index finger, unaware that the gesture made his smile look even more sinister.

Realizing that things were taking a wrong turn, Teng Teng quickly glanced through the gaps in the crowd, preparing to make a run for it.

Before she could find a way out, her dearest friend saw right through her.

"Meat Meat, catch Teng Teng!"

"Got it!"

Almost the moment the words were spoken, a pair of furry bear paws encircled Teng Teng from behind, lifting her off the ground like pulling up a radish.

"Giao! Meat Meat, stop it! Don't do this~!"

"Oh! The fugitive is caught! Hehe, it's no use, Teng Teng, get ready for your punishment!"

The flailing figure, along with the wide and furry silhouette, gradually receded toward the direction of the cargo ship.

Si Si leaned in to pick through the rack full of maid outfits for a while and suddenly his eyes lit up, choosing one that he liked the most.

He then caught up with Meat Meat, and they both went into the ship's cabin.

After about ten minutes of commotion, the two and the bear returned to the beach.

Looking at the newly transformed Teng Teng, the people standing on the beach watching the excitement all wore looks of surprise.

"Good grief."

"Damn! Is that Teng Teng?!"

"It fits her perfectly!"

"I really thought I would feel the same as Mosquito in drag..."

Listening to those rude screams, Tail's face flushed red like a monkey's butt, and he instantly became angry with embarrassment as he glared with widened eyes.

"Damn! What do you mean by 'like Mosquito'?"

The Strength Type brutes who had been the loudest in heckling scratched their reddened cheeks and slipped away feeling somewhat embarrassed.

They hadn't expected that this guy would actually look quite good in drag, so much so that the anticipated comedic effect was completely lost.

Well, let's just give him a break this time.

I'll pretend I didn't see anything...

Dragging his skirt that tripped up his ankles, Tail jumped off the dock with a mournful look on his face, stomping his feet in self-derision and exclaimed.

"Damn it! Why would such a godforsaken place have a maid outfit!"

"Yeah, why the heck is there a maid outfit here?"

Meat Meat, who had almost laughed herself sick, suddenly also spotted the blind spot, her expression turning puzzled as she rubbed her chin with her bear paw, looking toward the Ground Model who had wheeled out the rack of clothes.

Seeing everyone's strange looks directed at him, the Ground Model paused, then quickly began waving his hands in explanation.

"Don't look at me, I wheeled it out from the storeroom behind Brother Yi Ren's Pub... I saw it when I went to the storeroom to get beer a few days ago."

At the time, he had been curious about why there was a bunch of women's clothes in the storeroom.

But because he was in a hurry to join the excitement, he only cared about moving the beer out, and didn't ask about anything else. Afterwards, too many things happened, so he simply forgot about it.

Hearing this, a pair of eyes turned once again toward Yi Ren, who was cracking sunflower seeds while watching the fun.

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Yi Ren, engrossed in his sunflower seeds, was completely befuddled.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Killer Dagger was the first to ask.

"Why do you have these clothes? And why so many?"

Yi Ren paused, and the sunflower seeds in his hand fell onto the sand as he stutteringly explained.

"They, they are the uniforms for the pub... for business purposes."

"Oh, I see."

Killer Dagger nodded, as if he understood, but still felt that something wasn't quite right.

Why is this guy so nervous?

The Ground Model, scratching the back of his head, muttered.

"No, wait a minute..."

He remembered that the maid outfits from Vine Cottage had to be ordered, didn't they?

How did this guy buy so many all at once...

...

With Meat Meat's ship docking at Potato Harbor, the previously desolate settlement finally had some signs of life.

It was proven that a settlement without NPCs was incomplete, just like "Minicraft" without villagers; no matter how many houses you build, it still feels desolate.

With the arrival of these immigrants, regardless of the value they created, at least the players' enthusiasm for production increased significantly.

After counting the population, Fang Chang drew a residential area for them on the east side of the camp, reserving commuting routes and fire lanes, and allocated to them some of the materials collected from reclaiming the wilderness.

These included mainly light wood, coconut shells, and banana leaves, etc., which were piled up and would be perfect for them to build thatched huts to shelter from the wind and rain.

Before their dormitories were finished, they needed to set up temporary lean-tos.

Initially, players like Spare people under the knife were worried about whether they could handle the work, but they quickly realized they had worried for nothing.

These Moon tribeswomen turned out to be even more capable than expected; they had built quite a few tents before the sun went down.

Actually, it made sense.

Poluo Province, just like River Valley Province, was part of the Wasteland, but of a different type. Even if some of them looked more delicate, they were not flowers raised in a greenhouse.

They might be much weaker than River Valley residents in terms of combat experience and will, but in the fields of planting, handicraft, odd jobs, and even DIY building, they were no less competent than the Waste Land Wanderers formed in River Valley.

Another virtue is their industriousness.

Their special faith has endowed them with the ability to endure hardship far beyond the ordinary.

Although this is not something to take pride in, it definitely can be considered an advantage in adversity.

After all, faced with the same level of difficulty, some might give up, but they keep going and always remain optimistic about tomorrow.

Those crowded tents may have been somewhat unsatisfactory, but they were, by all accounts, much better than when they were on the ship.

Life doesn't start off wonderful.

But it always gets better, day by day...

Within the camp.

Looking at the bustling camp area in the distance, Chen Yutong, holding a tablet in her hands, asked with interest, "Are those girls from Poluo Province?"

"Yes," Old White nodded, looking in that direction with a smile, "With more people, this port finally looks like a real port."

Chen Yutong bent her lips into a smile.

"You guys really do enjoy a lively atmosphere."

Old White squinted his eyes and said with a smile, "Don't you like it?"

"How could I not?"

Chen Yutong pushed a strand of hair that the sea breeze had blown onto her nose, and teased in a playful tone, "If I disliked lively scenes, I wouldn't have slipped out of the Wandering Swamp."

Old White grinned, seeing the work tablet she was holding, and took the initiative to ask.

"Is there something you need?"

"Well," Chen Yutong nodded, and continued in a pleasant voice, "There are some clues that I need you guys to send back to the Alliance Biological Research Institute through the Shelter's direct line... Can I entrust you with this?"

The so-called direct line was actually the "Wasteland OL" Official Website.

Exploration teams and important scientific research units like the Biological Institute probably knew about this special network in the Shelter, capable of transmitting messages in absolute secrecy at the fastest speed.

As for the technology behind that network, only the Manager of the Shelter would know.

Old White nodded, his expression growing serious as he pressed on the VM.

"Go ahead."

Chen Yutong took out the tablet, raised her index finger to tap twice on the screen, cleared her throat, and began to speak.

"There are two main aspects. One is the investigation of the 'Lair' in Baiyue Province, and the other is the investigation on the local forest's 'self-healing' properties commissioned by the port area... Where's your friend Fang Chang? Have him come listen as well."

As luck would have it, no sooner had she finished speaking, Fang Chang quickly approached, holding a map in his right hand, from the direction of the neighboring camp area.

"I'm here. Is there a result for that investigation yet?"

He had just finished finalizing the pathways in the eastern part of the camp, distributing food and a batch of fuel for fires, as well as daily necessities to the Moon people who had settled in the camp.

Next, there was the work of registration.

After some deep contemplation, he decided to temporarily grant them the identity of supervised residents and to introduce the management methods of the Home of the Refugees here.

Although he had ridiculed NPCs for copying others' work when he was merely talking, once he started managing a settlement himself, he realized that Brother Guang from the game truly had a tough job.

Managing over a thousand people was much more difficult than slaying a thousand monsters, even if they were the docile and industrious Moon tribeswomen.

And his responsibilities were not merely to tend to the residents' lives but also to solve the problems the settlement faced.

Such as the "self-healing" of this rainforest.

If they could not resolve this issue, the land they had painstakingly cleared might be reclaimed by this "living" rainforest when they least expected it...

"Let's go over it one by one. First, about the 'Lair' in Baiyue Province."

Seeing Fang Chang walking over, Chen Yutong nodded, then looked at Old White, who was opening the action recorder, and went straight to the point.

"The investigation in Baiyue Province has validated some of our previous conjectures about 'Gaia.' Opening the channel for genetic communication between living organisms is the essence of Its power."

"This forest is a phenomenon that resulted from 'It' merging with Earth's ecosystem without human interference, or, more precisely, with minimal interference."

"And the series of problems that we are currently troubled by are almost identical to those faced by the early colonizers when they first set foot on Gaia Planet..."

Chapter 680: He and His Kids

As the Alliance Biological Research Institute first speculated, the forests of Baiyue Province are the "children" born of Gaia and Earth.

These forests are not just about the trees within.

They include flowers and grasses, insects and birds, flying creatures and beasts, and even the humans who once lived here.

The Lair that landed on this land opened its own Gene Sequence bank and granted all creatures on this land the ability to exchange hereditary material with one another.

Of course, this exchange is not a random migration without rules.

Under the frame of the natural selection unique to Earth, the most excellent Gene Sequence fragments and the combinations of fragments stand out from evolution, and in the ultimate survival of the fittest and continuous trial and error, they flourish.

In just two centuries, they have completed the journey that Earth's ecosystem would have needed two million years, or even twenty million years to traverse—some paths, indeed, Earth could never have reached.

The rustling of leaves and the chirping of insects buzzed in the ears.

Hearing this shocking conclusion, Fang Chang was stunned for a long time, his Adam's apple moved slightly as he swallowed his saliva.

"…Is this Integration?"

Chen Yutong nodded.

Standing beside, Old White couldn't help asking.

"What about the people here? Did they also undergo that integration… merging with foreign DNA?"

Chen Yutong nodded again.

"Unless there's an exception, sure, the survivors in this area are fewer than in Qingquan City, but there must be people who stayed."

Old White stared at her blankly.

"But… the survivors in the Southern sea area are still doing fine, right? We haven't felt that they are any different from us."

As if anticipating his question, Chen Yutong patiently explained.

"The evolution of the individual and the evolution of the species are two different matters. Faced with the extreme deterioration of the natural environment, some chose to leave, while others chose to stay. The survivors from the Southern sea area were just those who left, and afterward, they no longer participated in the evolution happening in this rainforest."

Old White frowned and asked.

"What about those who stayed?"

"They 'disappeared' in evolution, or rather, they were integrated, transformed into other forms of existence…"

As she spoke, Chen Yutong crouched down, gently plucked a leaf from a bamboo grass by the roadside, stood up, and handed it to him.

Taking the grass leaf, Old White looked at her, puzzled.

"What's this?"

"A piece of royal bamboo grass," Chen Yutong continued, looking at the leaf in his hand, "We found a fragment of human mitochondrial DNA in the mitochondria of a cell slice from a sample of royal bamboo grass."

Human mitochondria?!

Old White and Fang Chang both showed expressions of astonishment.

How the hell is that possible?!

"…We still can't trace how this piece of DNA, originally belonging to humans, migrated to the royal bamboo grass. It could have moved through the food chain, perhaps through some intermediary microorganism, or both. In subsequent investigations, we quickly found similar conditions on mutant spiders, lizards, and even snails… They contain elements of humans as well as other Species."

Looking at the two stunned people, Chen Yutong said softly.

"This is Gaia."

"She handed Earth a key, unlocking the lock in our evolutionary journey."

"The lock of all things evolution."

Fang Chang stared with his mouth agape, feeling completely confused, yet somehow he seemed to understand a little.

It reminded him of a game called Stars he had once played.

Inside there was an ascension talent he rarely chose called "Cross-Species Compatibility," which was the final step of "Gene Ascension."

It wasn't that this path wasn't strong—in fact, it was the most bug-like ascension path in the entire game.

Once cross-species compatibility unlocked, it meant players could perform a series of war criminal operations, such as repeatedly forcing two creatures with different traits on the same planet to interbreed. The resulting hybrids would pick a positive trait from their parents to inherit, and they were not limited by the caps of genetic improvements, allowing for unlimited stacking.

Players only needed to perform this tedious operation a few times, and they could eventually create a super species compatible with all positive traits in the game!

It was as if their whole body was made of buffs!

However, there was a flip side; the side effects turned the player's species interface into a chaotic palette.

Different interbreedings of miscellaneous species would procreate again, and the images and names would become increasingly bizarre.

Whether the computer's CPU would fry was unknown, but the human brain's CPU certainly would.

What's the point?

Even without stacking buffs to heaven, the few underdeveloped AIs in the game were no match for the players.

Thus, most players would stop at a certain point, holding back from selecting the final step of "Gene Ascension" to maintain the purity of the species and their sense of immersion.

There were a few who, after achieving their ultimate goal—acquiring that super organism with the myriad buffs—would gather the other hybrid intermediates on one planet, fully charge it with a vassal's declaration of war giant statue, and eliminate them all in one fell swoop.

The situation displayed by the Gaia Planet resembles a civilization that had selected "Cross-Species Compatibility."

For some reason, they had not only achieved cross-species integration but also fused all the organic beings on the planet into one through unrestricted genetic exchange.

To outsiders, they appeared as a unified Consciousness Entity.

Yet, upon profound unravelling, it wasn't the common bee hive that people understood, but a unity of myriad hives!

It was both the entirety and the entirety was it.

That civilization, which had dissolved into invisibility, was likely more advanced than humans could imagine.

As for why their footprint had not traversed the myriad stars or why they had lost their original appearances, it was just a matter of differing pursuits.

The stars in heaven were never just one color, not all civilizations were keen on expanding their territories.

Perhaps some civilizations were born to build a wonder or write a poem.

And their poem had been completed in the past—the entity known to the human colonizers as Gaia.

The colonizers sent the lair carrying that poem back to Earth, and the lairs scattered across Baiyue Province were just a passage from that poem.

Fang Chang had a vague feeling that he was nearing the truth of the three-year war—the main storyline buried since the launch of Wasteland OL.

Looking at Chen Yutong, Old White still wore a face of incomprehension.

"But... how was this achieved?"

The prevailing view in the biological community is that horizontal gene transfer is unique to microorganisms and rarely occurs between eukaryotes.

This is also why, after passing through the early microbial phase, the life evolution on Earth had been mostly branching out like the branches of a tree.

A river separates a population of rats; one side is a mountain range and the other is a forest. A million years later, when the river dries up, the two groups of rats meet again, and reproductive isolation occurs—they can be considered to have evolved into different species. One could even say that "isolation" is the necessary condition for the generation of new species.

Most biology textbooks and popular science readers mention this simple model when they discuss the concepts of geographical isolation and reproductive isolation.

However, she told him that the isolation between species had been broken?!

Although he didn't understand biology, he had at least completed nine years of compulsory education.

Besides, this didn't need nine years of compulsory education.

He believed that horses and donkeys could mate, but ants and trees, spiders and cockroaches... how on Earth could these bizarre combinations come together?!

Looking at his bewildered expression, Chen Yutong raised her index finger to her forehead, and said somewhat helplessly,

"... I can probably guess what you're thinking about, reproductive isolation between species, right?"

Old White nodded.

"Yes."

Chen Yutong continued patiently.

"Generally speaking, it is like that, but gene transfer isn't limited to just the reproductive route... to illustrate with an example from Earth, the haddock and the salmon are two unrelated cold-water fish, yet the antifreeze protein gene of the salmon appears in the former's gene sequence, a situation we call horizontal gene transfer."

"According to the literature from the Prosperity Epoch, not only in fish, similar situations also exist in reptiles, birds, and mammals. Thus, up to the time before the war, the general consensus in the academic community was that evolution isn't a classic tree structure, and there have always been thin threads of connection between some branches."

"What Gaia did, was to turn these threads, which originally played only a minor role in the evolution of life forms, into bridges between species, transforming the tree-like evolutionary diagram of life on Earth into a 'web' similar to that on Gaia."

This time, it was Old White who pressed his forehead with a headache.

"So... have we now also joined this glorious evolution?"

Chen Yutong nodded and looked towards the dense rainforest in the distance.

"Yes, the genes we carry will also enter this forest in some form. The ubiquitous microorganisms will break down our feces, hair, or even bodies, and these are some of the pathways of entry. Although this is integration at the macro level, at the micro level, as long as we're not eaten by the local variants and turned into feces, we won't disappear in this rainforest."

After a long period of thought, Fang Chang suddenly asked.

"What if we leave this forest?"

Chen Yutong looked at him and said.

"Nothing will happen, just like the survivors who fled the rainforest for the islands. The genes they took with them no longer participate in evolution within the rainforest."

"In fact, for the past two centuries, variants have been leaving this forest, while new ones have joined. Some groups have thrived in the rainforest, while others have disappeared after contributing their DNA."

"In the abstract, this forest is like a 'Gaia' that has overlaid Earth's natural laws and developed to an early stage. Every organism in the entire rainforest is a sub-entity, and the sum total constitutes an abstract 'Lair'... As for the most primitive and specific Lair, we're still searching for it."

"... How on Earth was this accomplished?" Old White continued to scratch his head in frustration, turning over and over an issue that he simply couldn't fathom.

Seeing him getting bogged down, Chen Yutong was somewhat helpless, but she still patiently said,

"That's also what we're studying, including why this forest is confined to this province and hasn't spread elsewhere... Don't get too anxious."

After pausing, she looked at Fang Chang, who was deep in thought.

"Also, regarding the 'self-healing nature' you guys observed earlier, it actually exists based on the principles I mentioned before."

"Genes circulate freely between species, and natural selection continuously sifts out stronger species. The organisms here, whether plants or animals, whether they are producers or consumers in the food chain, all have an extremely robust vitality and the ability to accumulate nutrients... Because if not, they would quickly become Cannon Fodder that disappears after contributing a few sets of code."

"In this highly 'competitive' environment, once a physical vacuum area appears, it is quickly occupied by other species."

Fang Chang, still with a headache, asked.

"Is there a solution?"

Chen Yutong: "Actually, it's quite easy to resolve, just maintain possession of the area, like the land under your feet. Since people often pass by, tall grass can't grow, and laying cement on it can last a long time. However, the relative maintenance cost may be higher than in other places."

Fang Chang immediately followed up with another question.

"What if it's an area that's not often active?"

"Then... there's no helping it," Chen Yutong made a helpless gesture, "not to mention your settlement, even the previous Shilong City couldn't withstand the erosion of this extraordinary natural force. The biology here doesn't tolerate the slightest waste, so it's better for you to find a way to make use of the developed land."

Fang Chang said with a wry smile.

"And then bear the high maintenance costs, right?"

The foundational infrastructure expenses of Potato Harbor were entirely paid for by Baiyue Strait Development Co., Ltd., the Alliance's finances would never cover the costs of road construction for Potato Harbor, he had to carefully consider the balance of income and expenditure.

And it wasn't just about the money.

From a macro perspective, money is just a tool for balancing logistics profits and losses and market supply and demand relationships. The damage caused by a negative asset is not only a deficit in the financial statements but also results in a significant waste of manpower and resources on meaningless activities.

Chen Yutong looked at him helplessly and said,

"Maintaining the original ecological landscape might be a good idea, and there's no need to make all settlements look the same. Why not consider exploring a development model suitable for Baiyue Province? That's the only suggestion I can give."

At this point, she suddenly remembered something.

"Ah, right, haven't you been researching how to apply slime molds in the field of architecture? You might try those self-healing biological materials; they could be well-suited for the unique conditions here. As for land with lower utilization rates, why not maintain the original ecology of the forests—"

Just then, Old White, who had been brooding over the problem, suddenly spoke up.

"There is a way."

Both turned to him at the same time, with Fang Chang asking immediately,

"What way?"

"For the areas that can't be developed for now, how about we plant some tropical crops to occupy the land? Like rubber, cotton, and such... I remember a long time ago, high-yield cotton seeds came out of the shelters, right?"

Old White glanced at the Moon people in the eastern camp and continued,

"Just like we did in Qingquan City, we cultivate the land and then contract it to them to farm. As long as there's something growing on it, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

The maintenance cost of cotton fields is much lower than that of concrete, and the economic crops produced can earn a profit.

Moreover, this land has a "Growth Speed +n%" buff, and the soil fertility seems outrageously high, possibly yielding three or four harvests a year.

He had given up trying to understand the game's settings from a scientific perspective. It made more sense to understand reality using the game's settings, and this approach opened up his way of thinking.

Chen Yutong's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly,

"Right... that's a great idea, and it's pretty much what I was thinking, just replacing those flowers and plants with economic crops."

Fang Chang slightly furrowed his brow.

"But won't doing this introduce genes into the area, making the situation here even more complicated—"

Seeing his concerned expression, Old White shrugged helplessly.

"...We've been here so long; do you think it matters if we add one or two more chromosomes?"

Fang Chang was taken aback and then realized he had asked a rather foolish question, overlooking the quantitative difference between variables and the totality.

Forget about metabolites, the bodies they'd left in this forest alone were not just one or two, so what was a few cotton seeds?

Besides, this rainforest didn't become like this today; what new things hadn't it seen?

Right Hand touched his forehead and said with a mix of laughter and tears,

"You have a point..."

——

(Thanks to "Sarayago" for the generous tip!!!)

Chapter 681: The Fury of the Empire

At the same time the Meat Meat, carrying over a thousand survivors from the Moon Clan, arrived at Potato Harbor, the Bull Horse airship also brought back the survivors from Shelter No. 70 to the City of Dawn's sky port.

Because many new routes had been developed, this airship hydrogenation station had indeed become a port.

The Bull Horse Group contracted some berths for renovation, and a market specializing in imported goods near the warehouse area spontaneously established a market management committee, not only raising money to renovate roads but also maintaining impeccable hygiene here.

Descending from the elevator, Huang Guangwei looked around blankly, amazed at the prosperity and bustle of the place.

Before coming here, the man named Fang Chang had told him that the City of Dawn was just a settlement of a hundred thousand people; he had thought it was a place similar to Ring Island or North Island, just located on land.

However, seeing it now, its prosperity dropped his jaw.

How could this be a settlement of a hundred thousand people?

It was like two hundred thousand—even three hundred thousand, he would believe!

Having walked down the stairs, he was still somewhat dazed, unsure of which direction to go when a familiar face suddenly appeared in the crowd not far away.

The man was wearing a loose leather jacket and jeans, slightly overweight, his face creased with smile lines, arms spread wide with enthusiasm.

Huang Guangwei stared blankly at him, moisture fogging his eyes, his parched lips trembling slightly.

"Mana... Manager!"

This guy didn't go to the Grand Canyon!?

He had never expected to bump into him here!

His legs involuntarily stepped forward, Huang Guangwei, as if having found his direction, moved his stiff legs step by step, his faltering steps becoming more firm and resolute.

Seeing his compatriot's pitiful state having endured suffering, Sun Yuechi also felt ashamed, his enthusiasm on his face undiminished, but his smile was somewhat unable to hang on, and his gaze slowly drooped along with his slightly bent arms.

"Huang... cough cough, my dear friend, I've heard about your situation, I've let you suffer these days in my absence... and the folks in the shelter too. But no matter, I'm relieved to see you're alright, it's good to be alright..."

"By the way, haven't you eaten yet? There's a great pigs' trotters rice nearby, the sauce on it is exceptional, my treat! Let's sit down and eat while we—"

As Sun Yuechi mentioned pigs' trotters rice, his eyes brightened and he lifted his gaze, but unexpectedly met with an unsparing fist.

In his daze, he only managed to move his neck in time, avoiding his vulnerable nose, and instead took the blow with his face.

"Fuck my life!"

The intermittent echoes hammered into his ears.

Before he could comprehend what had happened, Sun Yuechi, who had taken a punch to the face, passed out bewildered.

The surrounding crowd quickly surged forward, pulling the man off him.

Huang Guangwei, pulled by his arms, unwillingly struggled, staring at the man on the ground, roaring in sorrowful anger.

"Let me go!"

"This is our own business, none of your business! Let me hit him! I want to slaughter this bastard!"

"Argh!"

Although the Alliance seldom interfered with outsiders' family matters, this was after all on Alliance territory.

Regardless of the reasons, fighting in the street was grounds for being locked up in a cell.

Guards who arrived from nearby took him to the security office, while the former manager of Shelter No. 70, unconscious, was carried on a stretcher to a nearby medical station.

People picking through imported goods at the market crowded around, curiously whispering about the noisy scene.

"What just happened?"

"I don't know... those two suddenly started fighting."

"I think I vaguely heard... um, pigs' trotters rice."

"Pigs' trotters rice???"

It turned out that NPCs were not at all inferior to players when it came to gossip.

The rumors spread more and more outrageously, eventually spinning a twisted tale of grudges surrounding pigs' trotters rice.

Coincidentally, the moment of intimate contact between the fist and the face was captured by a reporter from Goblin Observation Report.

In the City of Dawn, anything related to Goblins was certainly far from reliable.

And indeed, it was so.

This newspaper, sponsored by Goblin Technology, wasn't a reliable place at all, and the boss who invested in this paper hadn't even intended to make money from it.

The photo was quickly sent to the editorial department of the newspaper, and with a hastily written headline, it became the headline of the additional print run for the day—

[Shocking! The manager of Shelter No. 70 knocked down by a subordinate who chased him a thousand miles, all because of a bowl of pigs' trotters rice!]

Due to the sensational photo and headline, it attracted numerous onlookers to buy, so much so that the sales volume of Goblin Observation Report even surpassed Survivor's Daily that day!

Against all expectations, the photo not only boosted the sales of Goblin Observation Report, but also thrust the pigs' trotters rice, mentioned in passing, into the spotlight.

What kind of delicacy could it have been, that the manager of Shelter No. 70 abandoned the entire shelter? Nearly everyone who read the headline couldn't help but wonder with curiosity.

Driven by curiosity, there were long lines at the fast-food shops selling pig trotter rice.

Even some restaurants and taverns that didn't originally offer pig trotter rice couldn't resist the allure of profit and temporarily changed their menus.

That very day, all the pig trotters in the City of Dawn sold out, much to the dismay of the pigs that had just arrived from the farms in Luo Xia Province by train and hadn't even had a bite of feed before being rushed into the slaughterhouse…

…

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

The foyer of the highway town inn.

Sitting at the table and dining, Duke Garava, with the Goblin Observation Report in hand, his goatee quivering, was laughing so hard his stomach hurt.

He was an ambassador from the Xilan Empire and the lord of White Elephant City. Not only did his veins carry the noble blood of the Elephant Tribe, but his family also owned a vast domain from the Everflow River to the White Elephant Tower, making him one of the most prominent figures in the Xilan Dynasty.

Originally, his majesty's mission for him was to display the empire's grandeur in the Lion Kingdom. However, as the desert dwellers unanimously looked to the Alliance for guidance, out of annoyance, he became curious about the alliance in the East.

What kind of empire garnered such substantial support?

Thus, he and his entourage had come here.

Coincidentally, the most important ally of the Xilan Empire, Centurion Bennott, was also here and was attending a cooperation organization called the "Mucor Research Community."

Upon learning that Ambassador Bennott was struggling with the negotiations for the Sticky Community, feeling isolated and helpless, Duke Garava immediately sensed an opportunity to shine. He sent messengers to report this godsend to his emperor, where the inhabitants of Vellante owed them a favor. Meanwhile, he assured Ambassador Bennott that the Xilan Empire was willing to join the Sticky Community's negotiations and share the burden from the Eastern World during the talks.

Perhaps touched by his sincerity, after a brief moment of surprise, Centurion Bennott warmly shook his hand and, over the next few days, overcame all objections to draw the Xilan Empire closer into this world conference that would decide the future of the Wasteland.

This task was much easier than expected. He just had to vote alongside Ambassador Bennott.

Moreover, Duke Garava found the situation was not as dire as he had imagined.

Take the Free State, for instance. Although it was businesses that brought them into the Sticky Community's negotiations, behind the scenes, they stood on their side. Simply put, if the Army and corporations agreed on a vote, they agreed too. If the Army opposed but the corporations agreed, they would play dead. If the Army opposed and the Alliance agreed, they would vote against without hesitation.

Of course, this also depended on the corporate stance. If the corporation strongly agreed, then they would continue to play dead.

Truly, Garava had contempt for these flip-floppers. These sly folks thought they could please both sides and ended up pleasing none. More than once, he had heard Bennott curse these unrighteous and opportunistic merchants in private gatherings.

At such times, he would secretly rejoice.

The Xilan Empire was different; they had always been the Army's most loyal allies. The people of Vellante would remember their extended hand today, and the emperor would remember his contributions.

However, this task was ultimately too simple; he didn't even need to scrutinize the agenda closely.

That was why recently, he had explored almost every worthy shop in the City of Dawn.

Every day, if he wasn't in a meeting, he would wander around the settlements, observing the local customs and culture of the Alliance.

After a hearty laugh, Duke Garava straightened his attire and elegantly clicked his tongue, looking at the newspaper's photos as one might look at monkeys in a zoo.

"These barbarians, how uncultured must they be to behave so uncouthly over a mere dish of food."

His attendant Niyan hurriedly nodded in agreement.

"… The Southern sea area depends upon the Camel Hump Kingdom for grains, and their people are as skinny as the monkeys from the Baiyue Province, they can't compare to us, who enjoy all the blessings of the Everflow River."

Hearing this, a pleased expression crossed Duke Garava's face.

Niyan was his favorite servant, also his personal secretary and life assistant, always pleasing in his conversations. The only downside was his lowly bloodline; he was from the Rat Clan.

Even the loyal Wolf Clan Guards standing behind him had far nobler blood than this fellow.

Compared to other guests in the lobby, this table's presence and demeanor was distinctly different.

One man sat eating, while a dozen others stood watching.

But after all, this was the Wasteland where talking lizards and bears existed; compared to those stranger creatures, this group of self-talkers didn't draw much attention.

Compared to that, the headline of the Goblin Observation Report was juicier gossip.

But Duke Garava didn't agree; in his view, his sparkly self was the center of attention wherever he went, not to mention he had specifically chosen to sit right in the center of the lobby.

Those whispering barbarians were undoubtedly discussing him at this moment. That's why he was constantly mindful of keeping his appearance appropriate and elegant.

Lisa, holding a tray, approached with some confusion at the sight of the row of bodyguards behind his chair, but she didn't inquire further. Instead, she gently placed down the tray and quietly said,

"Sir, your pig trotter rice…Please enjoy."

"Mmm."

Duke Garava hummed through his nose, handed the newspaper to Niyan who stood nearby, then turned to the plate of the city's renowned pig trotter rice on the table before him, and cut a small piece to taste.

The tender and springy texture was quite good; it was so soft that it melted in his mouth, causing his eyes to light up involuntarily.

Although this Alliance was a tiny country and its several settlements were not as vast as his domain, he had to admit that these folks really had a knack for food.

The only thing he was unaccustomed to here was the overly sophisticated dining utensils.

He much preferred eating with his hands.

Certainly, it would have been better if it were the tender white fingers of a young maiden.

In White Elephant City, he never had to lift a finger while dining.

Unfortunately, despite searching the entire City of Dawn, he had not yet found a restaurant that offered this kind of service.

Looking at the young girl who put down her plate and nodded ready to leave, Duke Garava suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly, a trace of barely perceptible greed flashing through them.

Especially when he noticed the marks on her wrist.

"Are you from the West Continent... a slave from Triumph City?"

That word was like a scar that could never heal.

Upon hearing this, Lisa stiffened, pursed her lips in surprise, and looked at the guest before hurriedly running into the kitchen.

Watching the fleeing figure, Duke Garava clicked his tongue lightly.

"What a waste..."

Although slaves were a specialty of the Poluo Province, especially those of the inferior races—enduring hardship and faithfully loyal, favored by the lower nobility in the army—their numbers were simply too many, and being primarily marketed for value, they often didn't fetch a high price.

In contrast, slaves from the army's own, especially from Triumph City, were considered more refined.

These slaves, with their brown hair and delicate noses, were like the purebred dairy cows from the highland ranches along the Sorate River, not so expensive that only the Ten Thousand Leader could afford them, but without some military merit, they were not to be enjoyed.

These slaves were usually consumed internally by the Weilante People, with only a rare few cases entering the market, and even fewer being purchased by aliens outside of the Weilante People.

The royal aristocrats of the Xilan Dynasty held an almost fanatical obsession with the culture of the Weilante People, and he, as a duke, was no exception.

But this place was indeed the territory of the Alliance, and he did not want to cause trouble for himself, especially if it could interfere with the cooperation between the Empire and the army.

So, he merely expressed a sense of pity under his breath, and concentrated on finishing the delicacies on his plate, then elegantly wiped his mouth with the napkin, took the unfinished newspaper from Niyan's hand, and continued to enjoy the scandals of Shelter No. 70.

These high-and-mighty residents of the refuge were no good at all.

Arrogant and presumptuous.

Shelter No. 70 was no exception, as was another refuge with a three-digit number.

End the Wasteland?

Start a new era?

Ha.

A bunch of lunatics.

He had lived in Poluo Province for so many years, yet he never felt it was a wasteland.

What a joke!

With the attitude of watching a joke, he leisurely finished the first page of the newspaper.

However, the moment he flipped to the second page of the newspaper, the refined smile on his face instantly vanished.

"Potato Harbor welcomes new residents! A thousand Moon Clan refugees successfully come ashore!"

The twisted expression in that instant was as ugly as if he had eaten boogers.

And not just any boogers, but ones that had shot out from his own finger, picking up a wall's worth of dust and then flying right back.

"Absolute nonsense!"

He clenched his right fist, and with a furious shout, he slammed it down on the table, causing the plates to clink loudly.

Hearing the commotion in the center of the hall, the guests sitting around, chatting, and laughing unconsciously lowered their voices and cast surprised and curious looks toward him.

It was true that people occasionally went mad in this settlement, but who would go mad in a place full of the refuge's residents?

Noticing the eyes cast from around, the Wolf Nation Soldiers standing behind Duke Garava narrowed their eyes menacingly, answering those blatant covetous glares with a warning look.

However, they clearly had the wrong target.

This was the River Valley Province, known for its fierce residents, sitting here were wasteland wanderers who wouldn't even flinch at a gun pointing at them; who would be intimidated by a mere glare?

Those warning gazes were like a baby's provocation, the crowd had originally just curiously looked over, but now, unprovoked, they stared back with wide eyes.

As if they had no eyes.

Looking down on whom?

Standing behind the bar, Old Hooke watched the table in the middle expressionlessly, his index finger already on the alarm button under the counter, ready to call for reinforcements.

He didn't like these guys.

Not just because they, a group of more than a dozen, had ordered just one bowl of pig trotter rice, but because the guy with the goatee had made the dear Lisa cry.

She was not just the poster girl for the Highway Town Inn, she was like a daughter to him, who had no children of his own.

No one was allowed to bully her, whether it be the empire's ambassador or the emperor himself.

"My lord…"

Standing next to Duke Garava, Niyan quickly bowed and whispered.

"Losing our temper here is pointless. Even if we beat them bloody, it won't solve any problems, and it would make us seem petty and lacking in spirit... We should summon the managers of the Alliance and issue a warning from the Empire, asking them to stop the slandering and to stop harboring those despicable Moon Clan People."

Hearing Niyan's suggestion, Duke Garava finally calmed down a bit, putting down the newspaper and convincing himself to cool down.

"You're right, Niyan... Babru, tell your men to keep a low profile. An elephant need not be concerned with the mice and ants at its feet. We have no reason to deal with these lowlives on the same level."

"Yes, my Lord." The man behind him, towering like an iron tower, nodded slightly and silently glanced at his subordinates nearby.

The guards all retracted their murderous gazes from the surroundings, no longer making eye contact with those barbarians.

Seeing these wooden-like fellows cease their provocation, everyone gradually lost interest in stoking the fire, and disdainfully shifted their gazes away from them.

However, after such commotion, the focus of the conversation shifted from the headline of the "Goblin Observation Report" to these peculiar individuals.

"Who the hell are these guys?"

"I heard they are ambassadors from the West Winds Empire."

"Pff, I thought they were some important figures, turns out they are just beggars."

"Just these days in the City of Dawn, you can hit an ambassador with a brick thrown randomly."

"West Winds? Rotten Winds?"

"Ha ha, they really picked a great name for themselves!"

"Keep your voice down, don't let others hear."

"Let them hear, if I encounter them in the wasteland, I won't just let them hear, I'll also have them relay a message to my dead old dad."

"Ha ha ha!"

Their voices grew louder and more unabashed, which was indeed how they behaved in the wasteland.

Duke Garava's brows twitched, his teeth gritting audibly, and his face, usually composed and elegant, could barely hold together, revealing his soaring blood pressure with hurried breaths.

The mocking glances were like needles to him.

At heart, he was not as broad-minded as he proclaimed, after all, he was not truly an elephant, and those voices were not from real mice or ants.

Nevertheless, for the Empire, he chose to endure.

Forcing composure, Duke Garava pulled out a hundred silver coin and deliberately dropped it into the greasy plate.

"Keep the change."

The lard perfectly soaked into the emblem of the Alliance on the banknote, much like their grease-blinded consciences, a detail he meticulously planned.

Everyone present felt humiliated.

Although the humiliation wasn't overt.

Old Hooke, standing behind the bar, cast a weary glance at their departing figures. His finger moved away from the emergency button as he called out nonchalantly.

"Welcome to come again."

By the Great Antler God, he prayed these calamities wouldn't return.

Watching the group leave, Old Hooke limped over with his gun-wounded leg, picked up the banknote, wiped it, and casually cleared away the plate.

Returning to the bar, he opened the cash register, removed the cost of the pig's foot meal, counted a few bills and coins, walked through the curtain into the kitchen, and found Lisa quietly crying in the corner. He squatted down and gently consoled her.

"The guests have left, they... asked me to apologize to you, here's their tip as an apology. Use it to buy some dessert or a pretty dress."

Lisa, holding her knees, looked up through tear-stained eyes at the old man crouching before her; her lips trembled, but she could not utter a word.

It was evident she was very upset.

Perhaps it related to the earlier incidents.

Old Hooke could probably understand her feelings and knew why she couldn't speak, so he started talking anyway.

"In Highway Town, we often saw guests from afar, and we could immediately tell who was a slave and who was a master. Not because one bore shackles and another bore a hunting gun, but because of their eyes..."

"Regardless, a self-sufficient person will never be anyone's slave."

"As for those idle fellows, whoever they want to label, whatever they want to say, that's their business. We can't control a parrot's beak; we only do what we deem self."

Lisa's breathing gradually became calm, and her mood seemed somewhat improved.

With swollen eyes, her face bloomed a reassuring smile.

"Thank you..."

"You're welcome," Old Hooke grinned, reaching out to ruffle the girl's hair, "I need you to watch the front for a bit, it's my turn to take a break."

"Okay! I've got it!"

Lisa nodded vigorously, energetically wiped the tears from her face, and darted out of the kitchen storeroom like a gust of wind.

Watching the young girl disappear behind the curtain, Old Hooke didn't rise but instead grimaced and sat on the ground, his right hand pressing on his leg.

Relaxation rusted the bones; just a little squatting had caused such pain.

Back in his days, he too was a tough guy who fought looters with a hunting gun, but now his body bore only the scars from his youth.

Those Blue Jackets used to call him "Hooke with an arrow in the knee." Although he didn't understand what that meant, the Manager once told him it was a title of respect, acknowledging his enduring vigor, and he grew to like that nickname over time.

But since opening this hotel, his leg truly acted as if struck by an arrow, becoming increasingly unresponsive.

Old Hooke shook his head with a bitter smile.

"...I'm old."

Chapter 682: What does this have to do with us?

Alliance Building, the office area of the Diplomatic Office, was bustling at the moment.

Recently, it had been like this all the time.

As representatives from corporations, academies, and armies gathered in City of Dawn, more and more medium and small survivor settlements sent messengers to the Alliance, sensing opportunities to fleece the sheep.

Among these were certainly those who came with sincerity, but there were no small number of imposters—in some cases, Looters brazenly posing as legitimate settlements to scoop up the benefits.

Not long before, there had been such an incident.

A survivor settlement registered in an abandoned city area two hundred kilometers away was actually a Looter farm involved in human trafficking and organ harvesting.

A Merchant from the Free State, seizing the business opportunities brought by the numerous messengers of City of Dawn, bribed the person in charge of that Looter farm. They set up a fake radio station to send and receive signals, packaging the settlement as an innocent little white rabbit, and with this, they fooled the Diplomatic Office's signal position check and call back verification procedures, among others, securing agency authorization for that base.

That Merchant was betting that the Alliance would not have the resources to personally verify each survivor settlement application on the spot.

In this way, he would be able to obtain a "diplomatic immunity" in the Alliance as a diplomatic official and reap benefits from various powers on behalf of a survivor community with a population of a thousand.

It had to be said; he had accurately assessed the capability of the Alliance's foreign affairs department.

The Alliance's Diplomatic Office indeed lacked the capacity to conduct offline inspections of settlements, but within the Alliance still existed the special group known as "players."

Clearly, he had underestimated the players' enthusiasm for exploring new maps and settlements.

That very day, several players parachuted into the area and, upon discovering the local situation was different from the mission description, they immediately submitted a report through the official website offline.

Although the area was well beyond the Alliance's law enforcement jurisdiction, and the Guard would not be dispatched there, the semi-official Home of the Refugees would issue a mission to clear out the Raider Camp based on the intelligence provided by the players, and offer a reward for rescuing hostages.

Up to this point, the work of the Diplomatic Office was done, and then it was time for the various armies of the Alliance to take over.

It was said that the Silver Corps picked up the follow-up mission. The battle lasted only half an hour before it concluded.

Players who overtook the Raider Camp found the radio that had been used to verify with the Alliance's Diplomatic Office among the base and brought it back to City of Dawn, along with captured prisoners of war.

With both the human and material evidence at hand, the Merchant from the Free State who had committed fraud was caught and became the second Merchant from the Free State to be arrested by the Alliance after Sindison.

Faced with irrefutable evidence, even Norleg, Free State's Minister of Foreign Affairs who participated in the Sticky Community meetings, could not say much. He could only reluctantly accept this frustration.

Since that incident, the Alliance's Diplomatic Office had strengthened the vetting process for survivor settlements from areas outside River Valley Province, and the workload of various departments had more than doubled.

As usual, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Alliance, Cheng Yan, was sitting in his office reviewing documents.

At that moment, his deputy walked in with a letter, placing the envelope on his desk.

Cheng Yan paused his writing and glanced up, raising an eyebrow in an inquiring look.

"What is this?"

"A protest from the West Winds Empire."

Watching Cheng Yan express surprise, the Deputy Minister made a helpless face and removed a crumpled newspaper from the document bag, placing it beside the letter.

"...It's about this newspaper."

Without looking at the letter, Cheng Yan immediately picked up the newspaper. The headline's photo was the one that had recently caused a stir.

"...Goblin Observation Report?"

The Deputy Minister nodded.

"Yes... It's not related to the headline but to an article on page 2. You'll understand once you look at it."

"Let me see."

Leaving that remark, Cheng Yan immediately flipped to the second page.

Unlike Survivor's Daily, the Goblin Observation Report was an unofficial, privately run "entertainment newspaper" operated by residents of the refuge.

After the Sindison case, the Alliance Representative Conference voted through a media accreditation act and had the trade commission set detailed regulatory rules. However, they only required that current affairs news must not be fabricated or biased and that opinion pieces must quote from credible sources.

Although some suggested to the Manager that the Alliance authorities should review media qualifications, the Manager did not agree to do so. Instead, as usual, the principle of "expert management, public supervision" was followed, leaving management to the trade commission composed of industry experts, and the supervision power was given to the council representing the public opinion and voice of Alliance citizens.

In other words, the Alliance's foreign affairs department, procedurally, could not do much about the newspaper, and if it intended to, it would have to go through the council or the Manager...

Pressing his index finger to his eyebrow center, Cheng Yan looked towards his standing deputy and asked with uncertainty.

"Are they protesting our granting of refugee status to the Moon people?"

The Deputy Minister sighed and said,

"Not exactly... It is the use of the term 'refugee' for the Moon people they are protesting, followed by some fable about the Tuo Ri Shen Niu. To be honest, I didn't quite understand it; in short, they demand that we use derogatory terms like 'sinners' or 'criminals' to refer to those people, and then, on account of the Empire, expel them."

A hint of mirth tugged at the corners of Cheng Yan's mouth.

"Okay, another Great Antler God."

The Deputy Minister gave him a resigned look.

"I told that fellow that we respect their beliefs, but asked them, please respect that we are atheists... However, the person was very adamant, even threatening us to oppose us at the Mucor Research Community meetings."

Cheng Yan stared at him in astonishment.

"This... What does this have to do with the slime fungus?"

The Deputy Minister shrugged his shoulders and murmured a complaint.

"Who knows... Dammit, I feel like the Vellante People are stirring things up behind the scenes. I knew those big-nosed freaks had no good intentions pulling these brain-deads into the Sticky Community!"

"That's not something you can say; Poluo Province is also part of this land, and any progressive voice is worth encouraging... even if the progress of some survivor forces is not so clear."

Cheng Yan coughed slightly, looking at his deputy to continue asking.

"The most important thing right now is to solve the problem... Are these all their demands?"

The deputy foreign minister hesitated for a moment, but still stated truthfully.

"They also want to summon the Manager."

Chu Guang was stunned, thinking he had heard wrong, so he uncertainly asked again.

"Summon??"

Are these guys not fully awake yet?

The deputy foreign minister spoke with a displeased expression.

"Yes... they believe we are at fault first."

Chu Guang's expression gradually became more serious.

"Is this proposed by Duke Garava?"

The deputy foreign minister: "I'm not sure, it was one of his attendants who relayed their written demands, a guy named Niyan."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment before speaking.

"If anyone could see the Manager for such a trivial reason, our Manager wouldn't need to do anything else... I happen to have time tomorrow afternoon. It's better for me to meet with the envoy from the West Winds Empire."

The West Winds Empire could no longer be considered a medium or small-sized survivor force; it occupied an entire administrative division from the era before the war.

Even if the other party's demands sounded outrageous—perhaps even unreasonable—Chu Guang felt it was still necessary to listen.

Perhaps there was some misunderstanding.

As the Manager always said, misunderstandings stem from a lack of communication, and many problems can be solved through dialogue.

The Mucor Research Community was established based on this principle.

If the various survivor forces on the Wasteland could set aside their long-standing disputes and cooperate on issues concerning the common destiny of humanity, at least cooperate on some problems, this land might welcome a new era.

For the sake of the future of human civilization, he felt it was necessary to talk face-to-face with this envoy who had come from afar...

The next day, Chu Guang summoned Duke Garava and set the meeting place in the Alliance Building's conference room No.2.

With a long face, Duke Garava walked into the conference room.

He did not immediately take his seat but instead glanced at the circular table and saw only a foreign minister sitting there. An expression of arrogance and indolence instantly crossed his face.

At the Sticky Community meeting, he had been seated together with the Manager of the Alliance.

What was a mere foreign minister good for?

Did he deserve to sit at the same table?

However, considering diplomatic etiquette, Duke Garava still patiently sat down at the table, tapping his index finger on it.

"Where is your Manager? Have him come and talk to me."

Facing Duke Garava, who came in with an aggressive attitude, Chu Guang just stared at him steadfastly and spoke firmly.

"Our Manager's schedule is very tight recently, and it's difficult to arrange a private meeting with you shortly. However, he has instructed me to fulfill the host's courtesy to the fullest and to take good care of our foreign guests' emotions. Listening to your concerns through me is the same—"

"This isn't a concern," Duke Garava interrupted him rudely, squinting his eyes with a slightly threatening tone, "I'll say it again, you're trying to provoke the anger of the Empire."

Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Chu Guang, with the intention of solving the problem, decided to temporarily disregard his rudeness and continued patiently.

"I'm here to solve the problem... so first, I would like to know, what is the conflict between you and the Moon people?"

As he spoke, he flipped open the notebook on the table and picked up a pen to take notes.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, an angry protest from Duke Garava filled the conference room.

"They are Sinners!"

"Reason?"

"The Tuo Ri Shen Niu—"

"That's enough, Mr. Garava, you know we don't want to hear that!"

Unable to tolerate it any longer, Chu Guang finally interrupted the man's nonsense.

Seeing the surprised expression on Duke Garava's face, he raised his voice, continuing to say.

"We want to understand where your grievances stem from, such as... if they have killed someone from your faction, or previously committed crimes like theft, robbery, human trafficking. You can consider this as a hearing; we will listen to both sides' opinions and strive to promote a result satisfactory to both of you. If we can help reconcile the situation, that would be best... what do you think?"

Duke Garava looked at him as if he were staring at a strange and rare beast.

...Reconciliation?

He doubted he had heard correctly.

Why should he, with noble blood coursing through his veins, reconcile with those lowly beings who were only fit to kiss his toes?

The Empire was already merciful enough by not beheading them but penning them in hovels.

Yet, those ungrateful wretches had the audacity to escape shamelessly from Poluo Province and eloquently make excuses for their dirty lineage, posing as pitiful innocents.

What would other survivors think of the Empire!

Seeing him motionless, Chu Guang sternly reminded him.

"Duke Garava?"

Duke Garava suddenly became calm and leaned back in his chair.

Just as Cheng Yan thought he was finally ready to communicate properly, he crossed his right leg over his knee, and coldly dropped a sentence.

"That doesn't matter."

Cheng Yan looked at him in astonishment and was stunned for a good while.

It doesn't matter?

"Then... what does matter?"

"His Majesty says they are sinners, and so they are. Since it's His Majesty's will as well as Tuo Ri Shen Niu's will, what do I need to explain to you?"

Duke Garava slightly raised his head, raised his chin, and looked at the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Alliance sitting across the conference table through his nostrils, unapologetically continuing.

"This is our own business, it's none of your business!"

Confirming that this guy wasn't joking but actually thought this way.

Cheng Yan composed himself, glanced at the secretary making the meeting record, then put down the steel pen in his hand, and casually closed the notebook.

There was no need to continue with this.

Seeing his action, other staff members making the meeting record did the same, one after another closing the notebooks on the table.

It seemed not only they felt, even the minister himself thought this was a waste of time.

Duke Garava slightly frowned, indecisive about what these people meant, only feeling the situation was somewhat different from what he had imagined.

Before rising from the conference table, Cheng Yan cleared his throat, sitting up straight and looking at him solemnly, asking again.

"So... Duke Garava, I want to hear your demands one more time."

Duke Garava furrowed his brows.

"... What demands."

Cheng Yan: "Regarding what exactly you want us to do."

Duke Garava replied without hesitation.

"Immediately expel those sinners! And apologize to the West Winds Empire in the newspapers!"

He had made some concessions.

Apologizing to their own emperor seemed somewhat unrealistic, but it should be possible to do so in the newspapers.

In his view, he had already given enough face.

Cheng Yan nodded to show he had heard.

Seeing this guy nod, a pleased smile appeared on Duke Garava's face, and he leisurely leaned back in his chair.

"This makes communication much smoother, we should have done this from the start."

Unexpectedly, the Alliance was more agreeable than imagined.

He just applied a bit of tough pressure, and these people caved in.

It seemed he had overestimated them, perhaps next time he could be even tougher.

"I think so too, from the start we should have used this kind of straightforward communication," Cheng Yan looked expressionless at the proud Duke Garava, speaking expressionlessly, "So... What does this have to do with us?"

The smile gradually solidified on his face, and Duke Garava stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What did you say?"

Looking at the bewildered Duke Garava, Cheng Yan did not hesitate any longer, stood up from the conference table, and casually tucked the untouched notebook under his arm.

"As you said, this is your own affair, advising us to mind our own business."

"So how is this related to us?"

Duke Garava: "???"

What kind of talk is that?

How is it related to you?

He opened his mouth, wanting to burst out in anger but couldn't come up with a retort momentarily.

Paying no heed to his astonished expression, Cheng Yan walked out of the meeting room without looking back.

"Wait, wait—"

Duke Garava stood up, reaching out to stop him, but no one paid any attention to him.

As the Minister left, those seated around the conference table also got up and left the room one after another.

In the blink of an eye, the large room was left with only Duke Garava standing there, frozen in front of the conference table.

Staring at the half-open, swaying door, Duke Garava pulled back his trembling fist and roared angrily at the empty conference room.

"You... will regret this!"

The roar echoed in the conference room but no one responded, not even hearing it.

Unable to find anything on the table to throw, Duke Garava punched the table hard, and, still frustrated, kicked the leg of the table with the tip of his shoe.

Bearing the pain in his toes, he crushed his rage and swallowed it.

Just wait.

This humiliation—

He would pay it back a hundredfold!

...

After the meeting ended, a calmer Cheng Yan went to the Manager's Office and proactively reported to Chu Guang about his meeting with the envoy from the West Winds Empire, also reviewing his own mistakes at work.

"… I'm sorry, Mr. Manager, I botched this."

After reading the meeting notes in his hand, Chu Guang, having listened to his report, didn't say much but simply gave a brief comment.

"There's no need for self-reproach; you were just doing your job. At least in my eyes, you didn't bungle anything."

If anything had to be said, it would be that we shouldn't have dealt with that guy in the first place.

Like himself, at the discussion meetings for the "Mutated slime fungus" agenda, he hardly ever paid any mind to that nutrient-lacking waste of space.

Expecting to be criticized by the Manager, Cheng Yan was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly said,

"But… You have said that we should resolve issues through communication as much as possible."

Chu Guang patiently explained,

"I did say that, so we will communicate with all life forms that can understand human speech, even mucor, but if they truly cannot understand us, there's nothing to be done; we must find another way to communicate. You must understand, not everyone is capable of communication. And it was they who refused to engage with us, not you."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yan pondered for a long time and respectfully replied,

"I understand now!"

Seeing that he seemed to truly understand, Chu Guang nodded in appreciation.

He was aware of the situation in the West Winds Empire but didn't take it to heart much.

Essentially, those people were nothing but the sycophants of the Weilante People; like most Survivor Settlements, they weren't particularly keen on addressing the threat of the "Mutated slime fungus" and only wanted to negotiate benefits in other areas from the Alliance and other ancient Survivor Forces interested in the mucor.

That was actually all right since the Mucor Research Community was established for this purpose.

Clearly, the Army had promised the West Winds Empire certain benefits, whether military support or economic interests.

So, regardless of whether the Alliance offended them, they would stand with the Army.

Such vassals, already aligned, were not worth wooing, and even if negotiations failed, it was no significant concern.

In terms of their so-called threats, Chu Guang cared even less.

Even the Army hadn't dared to bring up military threats; much less these hangers-on. He didn't believe for a second that these folks had the guts to execute any form of retribution.

Regardless of what form that retribution might take.

Setting the meeting notes aside, Chu Guang looked at Cheng Yan and continued asking,

"Is there anything else?"

Cheng Yan nodded and promptly said,

"There's another matter that requires your decision; the Camel Hump Kingdom has requested we establish an embassy at Silver Moon Bay."

Chu Guang asked, puzzled,

"Haven't we already established an embassy there a long time ago?"

Within the Alliance's borders, embassies served as channels for dialogue and exchange with other factions and as respawn points for players.

Particularly for factions without military bases, embassies were the only official respawn points outside of players' personal checkpoints.

"That's true, but the envoy from the Camel Hump Kingdom said... there are far more people active in Silver Moon Bay than in Camel City, and he hopes that considering those Alliance citizens, we at least establish an office there to handle their disputes. However, I suspect… the real reason behind their request might be related to the recent military activities by the West Winds Empire around Silver Moon Bay."

Hearing this, Chu Guang's brows furrowed, and he turned his gaze toward the map on the office wall.

After pondering for a moment, he said,

"That can be arranged."

Ignoring the Haiya Province, which was under the control of the Torch Church, Silver Moon Bay was the closest seaport to the Alliance, critically important both strategically and economically.

Though the Alliance did not directly control this port, its economic interests in the region were by no means less significant than those in the Lion Kingdom or Honey Badger Kingdom.

To prevent some short-sighted fools from causing trouble, it seemed best to make a suitable gesture.

"Yes." Anticipating Chu Guang's intent, Cheng Yan nodded in understanding, accepted the task, and left.

Watching the Foreign Minister leave, Chu Guang turned his attention back to the map on the wall.

A railway line stretched along the edge of the Zobar Mountain range, past the Battlefield where the Skeleton Corps had once fought, straight to the throat of the mountain, Petra Fortress.

Soon, this railway would cross into the fertile Oasis No.4 and the port of Silver Moon Bay, connecting with the maritime route to the Baiyue Strait.

Initially, the Camel Hump Kingdom was wary of the Alliance's railway, fearing a repeat of what happened in Giant Stone City at Oasis No.4.

However, military pressure from the southwest forced the nobles and merchants of the Camel Hump Kingdom to draw closer to the Alliance, seeking tighter cooperation in exchange for security and protection.

Chu Guang didn't particularly dislike this stick that poked in from the southwest.

Though annoying, this stick, rather than causing substantial harm, added a touch of absurd comedy to his annoyance, even less worrisome than the old rats to the north.

Moreover, these folks had sent some gifts to the Alliance.

Visible gifts…

Chapter 683: From One Man Bar to Yiren Tavern

Vellante People's Camp.

In the central tent of the camp,

Centurion Bennott sat before the long table, looking at the Survivor's Daily in his hands, furrowing his brows in concern, and muttered softly after a moment of reflection.

"These Blue Ground Squirrels, what tricks are they playing now…"

Ever since arriving at the City of Dawn, the Survivor's Daily had become his daily must-read newspaper.

Especially once he realized that the information he used to gather from various sources was all clearly written on those few pages, he changed his first activity after getting out of bed from brushing his teeth to reading the newspaper.

Lately, he was keeping an eye on the situation at Potato Harbor. The Survivor's Daily would update with a few photos every three days or so, and he practically watched as the harbor transformed from a barren land into what now looked like a proper little fishing village.

To be honest, stringing those photos together to see the transformation was quite astonishing.

Although the Army often helped Indigenous People build their camps, both in terms of aesthetics and comfort, they couldn't compare to the achievements the Blue Ground Squirrels had made in less than half a month.

And now, this village could no longer be considered small, especially with the influx of a new batch of immigrants, it has indeed grown to the scale of a thousand people.

Placed anywhere in the Wasteland, it could be considered a significant settlement of survivors.

However, it is precisely because of this that Bennott began to feel a hint of alertness.

At the recent Sticky Community meeting, the minimum threshold to attend was one thousand people.

Once reaching one thousand people, a Survivor Settlement could participate in voting on provincial matters and influence the decision-making of that province in the grander council meetings.

Different provinces had different voting weights, and some special provinces would even be counted separately, but even the least had a base of one vote.

As everyone knows, Variants don't vote. As the sole settlement in Baiyue Province, Potato Harbor would monopolize this "precious vote representing the entire survivor resolution of Baiyue Province."

And this would only worsen the already difficult situation of the Army in the Sticky Community meetings.

Realizing this, Bennott couldn't help but clench his fist.

Without a doubt, this was blatant cheating!

He had expended great effort and faced much opposition to bring the West Winds Empire into the Sticky Community, just to secure the Poluo Province's votes for the Army.

If the Alliance planned to win votes for themselves with such underhanded tactics, he would never agree!

"We need to find a way to plug this loophole…"

As Bennott was deep in thought, footsteps suddenly approached the tent from outside.

A Guard jingled the doorbell, lifted the door curtain, and walked in, bowing to report.

"Sir, a Messenger from the West Winds Empire requests an audience."

Bennott replied impatiently.

"Let him come in."

"Yes."

The Guard nodded and withdrew.

In a moment, the signature goatee appeared, bringing a strong aroma of spices as it entered past the door curtain.

His face was adorned with an enthusiastic smile, the mustache below his nose quivering.

"Respected Centurion Bennott Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you at this time, but when I came here yesterday, you were already out, so I had to come early."

Yesterday?

Bennott remembered he had indeed dined with the Foreign Minister of the Free State and wasn't at the camp, so it was normal not to have seen him.

But on the other hand, couldn't this guy make an appointment before every visit?

"It's all right, my friend, Duke ... Sir, you're welcome to visit anytime," Bennott touched his nose, putting on a placating smile, "So, what wind brings you here today?"

He wasn't really good at pleasantries. After all, the Army had never needed to sweet-talk anyone – if conversations didn't go well, they'd simply resort to action.

If not for ongoing negotiations with the Mucor Research Community, he wouldn't bother dealing with this pretentious man.

However, as fate would have it, the Duke, like him, had little expertise in his field and didn't see through the insincerity masked by Bennott's awkward smile. Instead, he took the greetings as a friendly gesture from the Army.

No wonder.

Most people in the Poluo Province, especially the Nobles, viewed the Vellante People through a deep filter, one that shielded from all unfriendly interpretations.

Seeing the warm smile on the face of the Centurion, Duke Garava was moved as if he had found a kindred spirit.

Without hesitation, upon hearing Bennott's question, he immediately adopted an expression of righteous indignation and began airing his grievances.

"I didn't want to bother you with such trivial matters, but the Alliance has gone too far! I have never seen such shameless people; they deny things that are plainly written in the newspaper, feigning ignorance... what's the difference between them and Bandits!"

As if that needed to be said.

Bennott had no objection whatsoever.

The Steel Heart was floating above the outskirts of the City of Dawn, nothing more evident of these people's shamelessness. He had requested its return from the Alliance more than once, but those folks never planned to return it, even flaunting it as spoils of war.

"Indeed," he nodded emphatically, unable to stop himself from cursing as well, "those uncultured Barbarians don't know the first thing about politeness and humility... So, my friend, what exactly did they do to you?"

Duke Garava clenched his fists in raging anger.

"They've taken in Moon people!"

"...Moon, Moon people?" Bennott was caught off guard, asking subconsciously, "What is that?"

In his mind, there were only the Vellante People and others, at most including unintelligent rapidly growing clones.

Moon people? Were they survivors from the Moon?

Seeing the confusion on Centurion Bennott's face, Duke Garava explained patiently.

"Moon people are criminals of the West Winds Empire; they worship the Moon God who, in our prophets' visions, conspired to kill the Tuo Ri Shen Niu, causing the burning Sun to fall into the end of the Everflow River, from which light would languish on the lands of the Poluo Province... They've all accrued sins for the next life, which must be repaid with suffering in this life, only then can they enter reincarnation in the next life with a new identity."

"You must have seen those people, most of the slaves sold from Poluo Province to the West Coast are Moon people..."

The first part left Bennott utterly confused until he pieced it together after hearing the latter part and suddenly understood.

So it was those people.

Those slaves with the finely sculpted noses, he had seen them, in fact, he even kept a couple on his estate.

Although their frames were a size smaller than the people of Vellante, and their stature also left a lot to be desired, there was a unique flavor to driving them…

"Mr. Bennott?"

Seeing that Bennott seemed to have drifted off, Duke Garava kindly reminded him.

Bennott immediately realized the lapse in his expression and coughed as he quickly snapped back to reality and said,

"So… they stole your slaves? What a bunch of unreasonable bastards!"

"Exactly! These unreasonable bastards!"

Duke Garava's eyes blazed as he clenched his fist and continued with righteous indignation.

"I must say, these self-proclaimed Alliance are simply a cancer on this planet, they rob everywhere, commit all manner of evil, yet have the gall to shout about uniting the survivors… We can't just let them continue to make waves, we must join hands and do something about it! To utterly eradicate this cancer once and for all!"

Bennott's face had been quite cheerful, but upon hearing the last sentence, he almost choked on his own saliva.

Some things were better said behind closed doors; taking action wasn't a joke.

Although he had no doubt the Army had the strength to obliterate the Alliance from the map, it was hard to say how the Academy and the Company would react.

Aside from those expansionist lunatics, not many people were willing to fight a war that offered no visible benefits, especially a war that could drag them into an abyss.

Moreover, the Marshal had sent him here to seek cooperation, not to flip tables.

Watching the intense gaze of Duke Garava, Centurion Bennott, who was fanning the flames just a moment ago, suddenly felt that he might need to pour some cold water on this man.

Otherwise, this guy might get too riled up and forget his own surname.

"Mr. Garava, I'll admit those Blue Jackets are undoubtedly a cancer on this planet, and if they were to drop dead one day, it would be an honor for all humankind... but now is not the time. Before we deal with minor conflicts, we must first address the main ones."

Watching Duke Garava's face, which had been full of color, slowly turn to bewilderment, Bennott gently coughed and said,

"… and isn't it just a few escaped slaves? Why stoop to their level? Just think of those slaves as having gone missing."

In his memory, the slaves of Poluo Province were very cheap, perhaps just 1000 Dinars, or even less than that.

Even if a thousand were stolen, it's only a million Dinars; what's that amount to?

Seeing that Mr. Centurion clearly didn't understand the crux of the matter, Duke Garava suddenly became frantic, his two whiskers trembling with agitation.

"Wait, Mr. Bennott, it's not just about a few slaves! Those bastards have lost the face of the Empire! And if we don't give the escaping slaves the punishment they deserve, won't everyone be emboldened to follow their example!"

Bennott looked at him with a mix of laughter and helplessness, saying,

"My friend... Duke friend, you're known as the Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods, what's losing one tribe?"

Watching Duke Garava, who still wanted to say something, he didn't stop for a moment and continued,

"Of course, you're right about losing face being an issue. If the gun is not straight, the spine cannot stand tall, but these things are manageable. They lack respect for you simply because you're too weak… please forgive my bluntness, but as you know, those people are nothing but bandits, and the nature of bandits is to prey on the weak and fear the strong. If you want them to respect you, you have to be tougher than them!"

Hearing this, Duke Garava was immediately displeased.

What a joke!

The Xilan Empire, after all, possesses a whole province's worth of territory. Is a mere alliance even worthy of comparison with them?

"Mr. Bennott, are you joking? I'll admit that we're sometimes restrained, but we're far from weak. At the very least, we're certainly not something an insignificant alliance can compare with!"

Seeing Duke Garava's indignant expression, Centurion Bennott put a hand on his shoulder, speaking with a deep and meaningful tone.

"I know, and I acknowledge your bravery, but whether you believe it or not, the fact remains. However, this isn't your fault. After all, they have the support of companies and the academy, while you have nothing. It isn't really fair to compare the two of you."

Watching Duke Garava's still displeased face, Bennott suddenly changed the topic and continued.

"But it doesn't matter. In the past, you could only rely on yourselves. Now you have us standing behind you, the Army! The help that companies and the academy provide them, we can offer to you just the same. And I believe that with our help, you'll soon be able to possess the strength to sit as equals with the alliance. It's not that difficult."

Hearing this, Duke Garava's eyes suddenly lit up, and he excitedly shook Bennott's hand.

"Thank you so much... my friend, it is our honor to stand with you! I swear by the God of the White Elephant, we will cooperate with you to the fullest! So... how do you plan to help us?"

Seeing the gratitude on Duke Garava's face, Bennott smiled pleasantly.

He'd actually thought this through long ago but had simply not found the right moment to present it.

Now, undoubtedly, was the golden opportunity.

"We can introduce someone to you, a Centurion from a distinguished family. His name is McCullen. Unlike a civil official like me, that guy is a genuine military officer, one who has come straight from the battlefield."

"That's not all. Just like you, he has old scores to settle with the alliance. He despises those Blue Ground Squirrels more than anyone. Provided that you are inclined, I could bridge the connection for you, letting him go to Poluo Province as a military advisor. According to the standards of the Army, he'll help you build a formidable, battle-ready force! He might even donate some equipment that we temporarily don't have use for!"

After all, the expansionist faction couldn't use those equipment anymore.

If those old scraps of metal could be put to good use, that wouldn't be bad at all.

Moreover, Bennott was certain that McCullen wouldn't refuse and might even volunteer to go to Poluo Province and become an instructor.

Overjoyed by these words, Duke Garava gripped Bennott's hand tightly in excitement.

"Thank you! I'm truly grateful!"

Bennott smiled faintly, firmly gripping his hand in return.

"You're welcome. You're an important trade partner to us and a strategic cooperation partner as well. Your women—ahem, I mean, your spices, I quite like them! May our friendship endure forever!"

Duke Garava chuckled.

"Long may our friendship last! I'll send some to your residence in a little while!"

After a round of pleasantries, Bennott finally saw off the pesky fellow, then turned and pulled a tissue from the table, wiping his hands with disdain.

It really was an ill-starred time.

He, a Centurion, had to shake hands with a goat that had sprung up from who knows where.

Just then, a soft sigh from behind made Bennott's neck involuntarily stiffen. He turned around irritably, glaring in the direction of the door and spoke in displeasure.

"Even if you're His Excellency the Marshal's Imperial Guard... you shouldn't eavesdrop on my conversation with the Empire's messenger."

Kuike, who had appeared at the tent entrance at some unknown time, looked at the displeased Bennott indifferently, completely ignoring his mood.

As a member of the Imperial Guard, he was loyal only to the Marshal, responsible only to the Marshal. Regardless of military rank, he needed to bow to no one.

"The expansionist faction has finally calmed down a bit. The Marshal won't be pleased with your actions."

Mr. Bennott's expression was somewhat stiff. Although he didn't want to waste words explaining, he thought of the deputy's identity and still patiently said,

"McCullen isn't a fool. He's been with the Alliance for half a year and knows very well that those guys are not to be trifled with, as well as what to do and what not to do. I think he knows the limits... All we need to do is to arm our allies, not to actually send them to fight the Alliance. Don't you want us to have more chips in our hands? Or would you rather see us being led by the nose by the Alliance?"

Kuike asked in a calm tone.

"And what if he doesn't handle it properly?"

Bennott replied unapologetically.

"Then let him roll back here. What can he, a mere instructor, do? That fool isn't Griffin, after all—an arrogant good-for-nothing. At most, he'll sleep with a few girls in some emperor's harem. Could he possibly turn Poluo Province upside down?"

Hearing the name Griffin, Kuike's brow furrowed slightly, his eyes reflecting a complex emotion.

However, that flicker of complexity was just that—a fleeting moment.

He stared intently at Bennott, his serious tone laced with a hint of warning.

"His Majesty the Marshal highly values this meeting. I hope you're clear about that, especially concerning the 'main contradiction' issue. You better not screw it up."

Facing those turbid pupils, a twinge of panic rose in Bennott's heart, which quickly turned into irritation.

Why should he fear a centurion?

"I am forever loyal to His Majesty the Marshal. You don't need to remind me!"

Kuike simply shrugged his shoulders and made no comment, turning to walk toward the door.

However, just as he was about to lift the tent flap and leave, he paused and dropped a meaningful remark.

"Every one of you says that."

"I truly hope you mean it."

Bennott stood frozen in place.

By the time he regained his senses, that deputy named Kuike had already left...

...

On the northern shore of Baiyue Strait, the thriving Potato Harbor flourished, with the gentle sea breeze blowing the waves onto the sandy beach, split in two by a pier stretching into the deeper waters.

Not far from the pier, in the sea, Strength Type beasts on small wooden boats were working hard to drive aluminum alloy pipes, thick as arms, into the seabed.

These pipes, just brought from the City of Dawn by the Tuo Ri Shen Niu airship, were for constructing a fence separating the beach from the deeper water area.

Next, they were going to fill these aluminum alloy pipes with sand and string up nets made of Devil Silk between them, enclosing the waters near the harbor.

Seemingly sensing their living space being encroached upon, the Variants active in the sea began to stir, occasionally launching attacks on the boats floating on the surface, and every few days, someone fell into the water.

Nevertheless, this still didn't deter the determination of these beasts.

"Brothers, push a little harder! For the bikinis under the sun!"

"Roar roar roar!"

Staring blankly at the distant sea, Meat Meat stood with her mouth agape, taking quite a while before she squeezed out a disjointed sentence.

"Are these guys crazy?"

Tail stood to the side, arms crossed, nodding her chin in deep agreement.

"Whoa! They must be out of their minds."

Forced to wear a maid outfit for three whole days, she nearly suffered heatstroke under that sheet-like long dress.

She finally got to change into a tank top and shorts these past few days, feeling as if she had come back to life.

Perhaps it was because the creatures in the sea had all been attracted to the small wooden boats of the Strength Type beasts, so that there were hardly any Variant shadows near the beach.

Not far away on the rocky beach, some Moon tribeswomen carrying baskets were collecting oysters attached to the rocks with daggers and awls, and some were crouched near faucets not far from the sand, washing clothes.

Time sure flies.

If it weren't for the Tuo Ri Shen Niu airship that left and came back, she might not have even realized that a whole week had passed since the Meat Meat anchored at Potato Harbor!

It's worth mentioning that, although Tail felt like the week had gone by in a blur, a lot had indeed happened in this rapidly changing Survivor Settlement.

Firstly, inside the camp.

The large piece of land that was originally empty on the east side had now become rows of wooden shacks.

These crudely constructed houses might be lacking in aesthetics, but they had no issues providing shelter from the wind and rain.

In addition, every household had smoked fish and drying pelts hanging at their doors.

Helping the players process their game and fish had become the main source of income for most Moon tribeswomen in Potato Harbor.

Some who were good at farming had, under the leadership of Grandma Sang Ru, taken over the agricultural land to the northwest of the South District.

The Baiyue Corporation was responsible for ensuring the safety of the farmland, clearing the rainforest, and providing high-yield crop seeds and some auxiliary farming devices.

The price they had to pay was just half of the produce from the farmlands and orchards.

For those who had never owned their own land, this was such a generous offer that many couldn't believe it was true at first.

It was only after they learned that Tail, the one who had led them out of their cages, was also a member of Baiyue Corporation's board, that they put aside their doubts and stamped their handprints on the contract.

Besides agriculture and handicrafts, some young and pretty girls with good figures entered the service industry, taking on the work that most players were unwilling to do.

Thanks to this, the previously deserted camp had become bustling and lively.

Not only had the save point, stalls, and shops increased the number of NPCs that could be interacted with, but the much-maligned "One Man Bar" had finally become "Yiren Tavern."

This place not only had a group of curvy, pleasant-looking waitresses but also completely freed up Manager Yi's hands.

And as customers of the gods, the players finally didn't have to double as tea servers, water pourers, or dishwashers anymore...

The Sun moved from the east to the west, and in the blink of an eye, another fulfilling day passed.

As usual, watching the setting sun slowly descend, Yiren called the girls of the tavern to set up tables and chairs on the beach, getting ready to start today's business.

However, just as everyone had started to move the chairs out, they saw a speedboat flying the Federal flag docking at the pier.

Muda, the NPC, was the first to jump off the speedboat, walking towards the tavern with two sailors.

Having not seen the guy for a while, Yiren couldn't help but feel curious, watching the trio approach and called out with a smile.

"Would you like anything?"

Muda didn't beat around the bush. He reached into his coat, took out a telegram paper, glanced at it to confirm the location, and then turned to the man who looked like the owner in front of him and asked.

"Is there someone here called Si Si?"

Manager Yi was taken aback, having heard that name before.

"What do you need her for?"

Muda continued succinctly.

"She arranged to meet me here, and now I'm here. Please, tell her that—"

Before he could finish speaking, a rather unfamiliar voice came from not too far away.

"I'm here."

The three of them immediately looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a girl with a rifle and a rocket launcher slung over her back walking towards them from the direction of the camp.

The sea breeze brought with it a salty tang of blood, and her coat had a few clumps of animal fur and not-yet-dry blood stuck to it.

Not only did Muda look at her with a weird expression, but even the two sailors following him looked shocked.

Manager Yi, on the other hand, had seen it all before. Instead, he greeted her with a smile.

"Had a good haul today?"

"Not bad, didn't expect to find mutant brown bears in this tropical rainforest," Si Si said nonchalantly, propping her rifle and rocket launcher against a table as if to save a spot. She then signaled four fingers to Manager Yi, "Two beers and two orange juices with ice. My teammate is off trading materials, he'll be here shortly."

"You got it." Manager Yi gave an OK sign and turned to head towards the open-air bar.

Listening to the language he couldn't understand, Muda was about to ask what the telegram actually meant when a clean envelope was handed to him.

Raising his eyebrows slightly, he took it.

"What's this?"

Si Si said succinctly,

"Someone asked me to give you a letter."

"Who?"

"You'll know once you read it."

Muda glanced at Si Si and hesitantly opened the envelope.

Almost the moment he looked at the content of the letter, his sun-peeled face immediately turned serious.

Clutching the letter in his hand, he stared at the woman in front of him and asked, word by word,

"Where is he?"

Si Si calmly replied,

"City of Dawn."

At that response, Muda was stunned.

"River Valley Province?!"

Watching the NPC in astonishment, Si Si nodded and continued in a very soft voice,

"Yes... At the behest of that gentleman, we plan to restart the investigation into the Southern sea area ocean current power station incident."

Hearing the words "ocean current power station," Muda wore a look of surprise, and took her aside, lowering his voice so that only the two of them could hear,

"...The ocean current power station? What's the point of investigating that now? It's been over two months, even if you find something, it won't change the current situation."

Si Si smiled lightly.

"How would we know unless we try?"

Muda watched her for a while before he finally spoke slowly,

"What do you need me to do?"

"It's simple, all you need to do is cover me as I approach. We'll handle the rest."

Muda's expression grew increasingly strange, glancing at the cargo ship docked at the wharf,

"Cover for you? How do you plan on getting there? That thing?"

"Of course not, come with me."

Si Si left with a mysterious smile, dropping that sentence before heading toward the camp not far off.

Muda glanced at the two sailors standing not too far away, motioned with his eyes for them to wait at the tavern entrance, and then followed her alone.

Arriving at the camp with the NPC, Si Si went straight to the warehouse area not far from the beach, to a shed made of tin sheets.

"It's here."

Muda squinted his eyes and followed her into the warehouse.

When he clearly saw the drum-shaped submarine parked inside, his eyes suddenly narrowed dangerously.

"Have you had contact with the people from Shelter No. 70?"

Si Si, unconcerned with his right hand unconsciously touching the holster at his waist, said casually,

"So what? Have you changed your mind?"

Muda was silent for a long time before he moved his hand away from the holster and slowly spoke,

"...Tonight at ten, follow under my boat, I'll take you there."

Hearing this promise, a pleased smile finally appeared on Si Si's face,

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it, that's about all I can do."

As he spoke, Muda looked at the submarine in the warehouse again.

The scars and damage on the metal hull clearly did not look like they had been caused by the Federal Fleet's deep-sea bombs or torpedoes.

Though he did not think the truth would be of any use, his instincts told him that this time, maybe they really would unearth something…

Chapter 684: The Truth of Sinking into the Seabed

The night was deep, with billowing waves at sea.

Muda, standing at the bow of the speedboat, gazed intently at the distant red and green lights bobbing with the waves, and his eyes involuntarily filled with a hue of nostalgia.

Just over two months ago, that place was a peaceful scene, where orange-yellow drums undulated with the ocean currents, gleaming faintly in the sunlight like wheat fields on the sea surface, with the undulating tide as their swaying gold.

Now, that spectacular golden spectacle had become history, just like the vanished Shilong City.

Scattered metal parts and burst pipelines sank into the sea together, and power generator units, like runaway wild horses, were scattered by the roaring waves, disappearing into this boundless sea.

Sometimes, Muda couldn't help but think.

Perhaps humans were such unrepentant creatures, repeatedly making the same mistakes more than once, and time and again cycling through destruction and rebirth, until everything was irredeemable, then yearning for the good old days.

Perhaps—

The doctrine of the Torch Church wasn't entirely wrong.

To eradicate the vile roots of humanity, one must remove those despicable traits from the genes, thus ascending to a higher form of life.

His thoughts drifted with the sea breeze, and Muda, estimating that the time was almost up, took out the walkie-talkie and pressed the button.

"This is the Marine Patrol Team, we are about to pass through the blockade area... requesting passage."

A burst of noisy static came from the walkie-talkie, followed by a crude voice accompanied by a drawn-out yawn.

"Patrol Team? What are you doing here?"

Muda said concisely,

"We've tracked an abnormal sonar signal, just to be safe, we came to check it out."

"Okay, do you need reinforcements?"

"No need for now."

"Alright, then keep in contact, we'll be quick to assist if you need anything."

The voice in the communication channel was casual and leisurely, even munching on chips, not doubting his word in the least.

It seemed that, after over two months, the brothers patrolling this area had indeed become complacent.

But that was not surprising.

The ocean current power station had been destroyed, and there was no need for submarines from Shelter No. 70 to attack a facility already destroyed once.

After a brief exchange, a relieved Muda hung up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, then switched the communication channel on the walkie-talkie and lowered his voice.

"...The target is right below that buoy, that's all the help I can offer. You better not linger too long, I can only wait for you for fifteen minutes."

Moments later, a voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Received, thank you."

"You're welcome, good luck."

After that, Muda waved his hand, signaling the driver in the cabin to continue northwest, circling the nearby buoy.

Standing behind Muda, a sailor carrying a rifle hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.

"...Why are we helping them?"

This was not without risks.

If the Federal Navy discovered them covering a submarine of Shelter No. 70's model entering the ruins of the ocean current power station, no matter how they explained it, it likely wouldn't clear things up.

Gazing at the pitch-black churning tide, Muda didn't understand himself why he had agreed to help.

The Federation had already pinned down that attack, and the conflicts between survivors from the Islands and Shelter No. 70 went far beyond a power station.

Even if those guys from the Alliance came upon some new leads, he didn't think those would change anything.

It was merely a trigger.

Yet—

He still wanted to know what the truth really was.

Maybe there was one in a million other possibilities.

Amidst the noisy sea wind, after a long silence, he slowly spoke.

"This isn't just about helping them."

"It's also about helping ourselves."

The sailor, bewildered, stared at his superior's back, at a loss for words...

…

Simultaneously, directly below the speedboat, a drum-shaped submarine with its propellers spinning, moved slowly toward the sunken facilities on the seafloor.

This submarine was the same one Huang Guangwei had found stranded on the beach.

Researchers from a scientific expedition had not only repaired its damaged power system and simplified its control modules, but at Si Si's request, had also fitted it with harpoon launchers, underwater grenade launchers, and other underwater weapon systems air-shipped from the City of Dawn to Potato Harbor.

Given that these weapons had not been battle-tested, even the researchers who had installed them on the submarine weren't sure they would be effective.

However, considering the mission might encounter attacks from Aquatic Variant Humans lurking beneath the sea, Si Si still chose to bring them along.

She also silently prayed in her heart—

Hoping they wouldn't need to use these tools.

"Wow, this place is truly spectacular..."

Sitting in the cockpit, Si Si turned on the submarine's searchlights, moving the camera around meticulously, examining the metal wreckage that was now close at hand.

A massive metal impeller deeply embedded into the seabed was visible, entangled by out-of-control cables just like a shipwreck caught by seaweed.

This was likely the underwater turbine generator of the ocean current power station, distinct from the floating power generators that had been carried away by the sea.

Numerous similar turbine generators were nearby, and this was just what she could see for now.

Countless pieces of metal debris lay scattered across the rugged seabed, with colorful fish occasionally darting through the dark shadows.

The place didn't resemble the wreckage of a power station so much as a submerged underwater city.

Watching the area lit by the searchlights, Tail, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, opened his mouth in awe, uttering incredulous exclamations from time to time.

"Dude, the realistic light and shadow effects!"

"These flowing texture details!"

"And the CG-level scene modeling!"

"This is freaking awesome!"

It was a pity there was no VM signal, otherwise, he really wanted to share this scene immediately with Sesame Paste and Meat Meat, who were left ashore, and with everyone else on the forum.

"The submarine detected faint electrical currents outside; it seems some generators are still working... no wonder we haven't seen any Variants."

After glancing at the flashing alerts on the central control screen, Si Si moved the searchlight and camera to the left side of the submarine, quickly identifying an area devoid of any fish activity.

That must be where the leak was originating.

Marking that area on the map, Si Si, while comparing the machine-translated manual, pointed her index finger at the screen, resetting a safe course, and cautiously maneuvered the submarine around that area, continuing towards the target.

According to intelligence provided by a resident of Shelter No. 70, the expedition's NPC not only helped create a 3D model of the derelict ocean current power station but also prepared an exploration path and data collection plan in advance, greatly reducing the manual effort required.

Once she arrived at the target area, she only needed to make some improvised minor adjustments to the route based on the conditions at the scene.

The task was actually quite easy.

So easy that she was considering, after exploring these ruins, taking a detour to visit the coordinates where the 'Golden Coast' survey ship had sunk.

Different from the ever-busy Si Si, Ah Wei, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, watched excitedly out the window of the cockpit, almost as if he wanted to glue his face and nose to the window.

His completely relaxed demeanor didn't seem like that of an investigator on a covert mission, but rather like a tourist here for sightseeing.

It wasn't until the submarine moved under a turbogenerator that he suddenly remembered the mission at hand, turning excitedly to Si Si.

"Right, Si! What are we going to investigate next?"

Staring intently at the 3D map model and the green dot indicating the submarine's current position on the central control screen, Si Si took a deep breath and said,

"It's simple—reach the designated area on the map, deploy the probe, wait for data collection, and then retrieve the probe."

"Eh?!" Ah Wei looked at Si Si, a surprised expression on his face, "Is it really that simple?"

"It's not exactly simple—there are plenty of dangers here... but isn't it good that it's simpler? Why do you seem disappointed?"

Si Si glanced quickly at Ah Wei, observing his regretful face, and couldn't help but make a resigned expression.

Meeting her resigned gaze, Ah Wei scratched the back of his head and sheepishly chuckled,

"Of course! Simpler is always better, right? But then... we wouldn't even need to leave the cabin."

After thinking for a moment, Si Si said,

"Probably not necessary."

"Um!"

Ah Wei's face showed a deeply stricken expression, pitifully looking at Si Si and confirming repeatedly, "But… isn't it risky not to check thoroughly? What if there are clues hidden inside fish bellies or behind rocks—"

"How could there be such things," Si Si couldn't help but retort while looking at this fantastical thinker, "Do you think this is a crime scene from a detective novel?"

After nearly two and a half months, the Southern Islands Federation would certainly have thoroughly investigated and searched this area of the sea.

In such a case, hoping to find new clues missed by the Federal Navy is unrealistic; clues most likely to reveal something are those that seem ordinary,
like the operational data of the power station, etc.

The Alliance's science team excels at extracting subtle leads from massive amounts of data, and they could spot any suspicious clues at a glance.

Learning that there was no need for an external investigation, Ah Wei deflated like a punctured ball, listlessly sitting in the co-pilot's seat.

Si Si glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, unable to resist asking,

"…speaking of which, we are over a hundred meters deep in the sea. Aren't you even a little scared?"

Ah Wei looked at her strangely, tilting her head.

"Scared?"

"Like... thalassophobia or something."

Watching Si Si intently staring at the central control screen, Tail vaguely guessed something and slowly formed a sly smile on her lips.

"Oh! Tail gets it! Si Si's weakness is the ocean floor!"

"What kind of weakness is that? And how is that possible... there's nothing to be afraid of."

Si Si was momentarily stunned, her retort almost slipping out, yet her gaze glued to the central control screen seemed utterly unconvincing.

It was rare to see her good friend in such an embarrassed state, and Tail's mischievous grin grew more pronounced, her lifted corners of the mouth increasingly undisguised.

"Then take a look outside the window!"

Si Si instantly refused without even thinking.

"I don't want to, looking at the screen is the same thing."

"Just one look!"

"Alright, alright... stop it, Ah Wei, we've arrived at the destination, it's time to get serious!"

As she spoke, Si Si glanced at the parameters in the upper left corner of the central control screen and hurriedly pressed the launch detector button.

A basketball-sized metal sphere was ejected from the belly of the submarine, pulling a cable and flying towards a pile of metal debris a dozen meters away.

The metal sphere was getting closer to the interface, almost touching it.

However, just then, an embarrassing incident occurred.

The drifting metal sphere suddenly jerked, halted by the taut cable.

Si Si's expression stiffened, and she hastily looked at the parameters on the central control screen, mentally cursing, "Crap."

Just a bit more...

Just as she was about to maneuver the submarine a bit closer, a sudden current blew the cable-tied detector upward, catching it on a skewed propeller blade.

The detector, dragging the cable, swung like a pendulum on that propeller blade, with the attached cable completely entangled around it.

Now the gap was more than just a little.

Noticing the increasingly solemn expression on Si Si's face, Tail also put away her joking demeanor and asked cautiously,

"Si, what happened?"

"Nothing major, a small problem, I just made a careless mistake. The detector got stuck on the blade, and someone needs to go and pick it off... Ah Wei, wait here for me."

At the end of the day, you have to clean up your own mess.

Si Si glanced out at the vast, dark expanse outside the cockpit, swallowed, and bravely reached for her safety belt.

It really wasn't that terrifying...

She chanted inwardly, trying to convince herself that everything around was just game modeling, nothing truly scary.

Just as she finally decided to unbuckle her safety belt, she saw Tail already standing up from her seat, opening the metal cabinet in the cockpit, and pulling out the fully enclosed deep-sea diving suit stored inside.

It took her less than a minute to suit up, and Tail energetically gave Si Si a thumbs up.

"Just remove the detector from the blade, and it's all good, right? Leave it to Tail!"

That guy, eager as if rushing off to swim, switching from his decompression diving suit to a life ring felt utterly seamless.

Si Si stared at her, bewildered, and after a long while, she quietly said.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

Tail flashed a grin.

"No big deal!"

After saying this, she backed into the buffer chamber and playfully saluted before neatly closing the hatch of the buffer field.

The seawater flowing into the cabin filled the buffer chamber, and then the outer door slowly opened outward.

Exhaling a long stream of bubbles, Tail, clad in her sturdy diving suit, stood by the hatch and pushed off with her leg, drifting out of the cabin toward the detector entangled on the turbine generator blade.

The task wasn't exactly difficult.

You could even say it just needed a hand.

However, sitting in the cockpit, Si Si couldn't help but fear for Ah Wei.

That deep, dark abyss seemed like the wide-open maw of a monster, and she had no idea why this careless guy wasn't afraid at all.

Just as she was thinking this, an energetic voice came from the communication channel.

"Oh! It's already been detached... Si! What's next?"

Snapping out of her daze, Si Si quickly pointed her index finger on the central control screen.

"Ah, just move the detector to the interface, I've sent you the location."

"Got it!"

After confirming the location through the visual window on her helmet, Tail tucked the detector under her elbow and with a grunt activated the small propeller on the back of her diving suit, swimming toward the marked position.

It was a terminal machine welded to a metal support.

The screen was dead, but the wiring was still intact.

Tail brought the detector up close, and soon two mechanical arms extended from the side of the metallic sphere, gripping the terminal and securing itself onto it like a spider.

Now it just needed to complete the task on its own.

Tail released her hold and drifted backward a bit, watching the little fellow connected to the terminal go to work, attaching the wires previously linked to the terminal's screen to its own round body.

Si Si, sitting inside the cockpit, sighed in relief and said while looking at the progress bar on the central control screen.

"The data transfer is underway... it should take about 5 minutes, Ah Wei, how's everything on your end?"

Tail, hovering next to the detector, waved vigorously toward the bright searchlight, then a muffled voice came through the communication channel.

"Oh! Everything's normal, it's so quiet here!"

Si Si, worried about what might be lurking in those dark waters, said,

"The detector has been connected... Ah Wei, why don't you come back?"

"No rush, I will wait for the data transfer to complete, just in case something happens."

"It... shouldn't really be a problem." As she spoke, Si Si unconsciously swallowed.

However, that barely noticeable pause was picked up by someone on the other end of the communication channel.

A mischievous smile appeared on Tail's face as she cheekily said.

"Eh? Si Si, are you scared?"

Si Si blinked, her face flushing red as she realized what was happening.

"What are you talking about, what could I possibly be afraid of!"

Right Hand, resting by the metal support, made a motion of rubbing his chin with his finger.

"It's weird, the Si Si who works in the morgue is actually scared of something!"

"What morgue! I work in the pathology department!"

Listening to the voice coming through the communication channel, Si Si explained with an amused frustration but was cut off abruptly by a sudden, alert cry.

"Si! There's something below you!"

Si Si was slightly startled and immediately sat upright in her chair.

"Are you joking? This is not the time for jokes!"

"No, I'm serious, there really seems to be something there... and, check your surroundings with your spotlight, don't just aim it at me!"

Almost the moment Ah Wei's words finished, a light tremor passed from the distant depths up her ankles through the submersible's hull.

Si Si's heart lurched, suddenly aware of this unintended blunder. She quickly lowered the spotlight towards the underside of the submersible.

The beam of light was like a sword piercing through the darkness, plunging into a pitch-black abyss.

And as she lit up that abyss in an instant, she saw an amber-hued pupil nestled in a massive rock basin, steadfastly staring back at her.

The eye was the size of a truck.

Thick, gray-black tentacles, as stout as barrels, floated behind it, entwining like vines on a wall, crawling all over the rugged seabed.

When had this creature moved here?!

Or had it...

Always been there!

A bone-chilling cold crept up Si Si's spine.

Her fear of the deep sea and tentacles compounded, stopping her heart momentarily.

The increasingly intense vibrations transmitted through the hull showed the surrounding seawater boiling.

She knew—

That was the silent roar of the deep-sea beast!

"I giao! A tentacle monster?!"

Tail's voice startled Si Si out of her fright, and she almost reflexively yelled.

"Ah Wei! Protect the detector!"

As she spoke, she disregarded the halfway-completed progress bar and decisively cut the tether between the submersible and the detector.

Her judgment proved right.

Almost the instant she cut the tether, a whistling shadow struck the side of the submersible.

The submersible, hovering next to the debris, spun out like a struck golf ball, smashing heavily against a metal support and coming to a stop.

The metal support bent from the impact, and the squeal of it bearing too much weight came through the submersible's walls, along with the dull thuds landing on top of the submersible.

Dazed, Si Si barely woke from her daze, dialed the power system to maximum with the last of her consciousness, and steered the submersible away from the falling alloy structure.

Just as she drove less than ten meters away, rolling mud flared behind her, and falling metal debris slowly but firmly buried the rock beneath.

If it weren't for her quick reaction, she would probably have been beyond help.

"Phew..."

Si Si, leaning back on her seat, was gasping for air, her chest heaving wildly.

There was no time to hesitate. She intently stared at the central control screen where the signal lights were frantically flickering, the spotlight and camera swiftly scanning the seabed below as she circled around the northern side of the ruins, hurriedly searching for traces of the sea monster.

That creature had vanished without a trace.

But Si Si knew all too well that it was definitely still nearby, hiding somewhere close to the power station ruins!

"...Tail! Are you alright?"

There was no response on the communication channel.

Metal debris was scattered everywhere, and the cables floating around the turbines formed a natural shield.

"Damn..."

Si Si clenched her teeth and punched the armrest of her chair, then proceeded to tap the screen with her index finger, resetting the course back to the center of the ruins.

The data transfer was not complete yet; the raw data was still stored in the detector.

If they were to transfer the massive data through the limited capacity of wireless transmission, it would take forever.

Not to mention the possibility of data loss!

The only way now was to retrieve the detector.

As if sensing the stirrings of the ocean floor, at the same time she was heading back to the center of the ruins, an NPC named Muda sent a communication request.

Keeping a wary eye on the dark seabed, Si Si reached out and pressed the accept button.

Communication had barely connected when a roaring voice burst into her ear.

"What are you doing?! Are you testing nuclear weapons?!"

Si Si took a deep breath, focusing only on what mattered, and said,

"Monster! There's one here... a sea monster with many tentacles! It's under the ocean current power station ruins somewhere!"

There was a half-second pause on the other end of the communication channel.

"A sea monster?! How is that possible! Large Variants don't come near that area, there are still turbines working—"

Si Si, "That's the problem! Because of the electricity, normal fish don't enter the ruins, but something forced that big guy to stay there, I suspect it's almost starved to death... I think it's mind interference, what do you think?"

Muda exclaimed in shock.

"Mind interference?! Impossible!"

Si Si, "No time to explain... Whatever's controlling that thing must be around here somewhere. Can you locate any other mind interference devices? It would be a huge help if you could!"

Muda roared, "Forget the mind interference device for now, you damn well hurry up and come up!"

Listening to the anxious voice of the NPC, Si Si responded calmly,

"My teammate is still down there; I can't possibly leave her behind. And the detector... I must retrieve it, even if it costs me my life!"

"You guys are insane?! This is our war! It's ours! You don't have to risk your lives for it!"

Muda stood on the speedboat, his eyes wide, gripping the walkie-talkie in his right hand, shouting with all his might.

However, there was no longer any response from the other end of the communication channel, only a deadly silence.

The noisy waves, like rapid drumbeats, drowned out the white foam surging up from the sea.

He couldn't understand.

What on earth were these people fighting so desperately for?

They hadn't even known each other for half a month!

And that brief half-month hadn't been pleasant at all.

Who knows how many people were waiting to see them fail, how many people couldn't wait for them to leave and go back to their Wasteland.

Muda clenched his teeth, gripping the silent walkie-talkie tightly in his hand.

Talking about ending the Wasteland...

Who the hell cared about that!

At least here, no one cared!

Taking a deep breath, Muda suddenly seemed to make a decision and turned back towards the direction of the cockpit, shouting,

"Turn off the mind interference device!"

The sailor inside the cockpit froze.

The mind interference device was their tool to drive away Variants.

If they turned it off, they risked being capsized at any moment.

"But—"

The sailor tried to protest, but was immediately shouted down by his superior.

"I said turn it off! Now!"

"Yes!" Meeting his superior's murderous gaze, the sailor dared not hesitate, hurriedly turned off the mind interference device, and silently prayed that Variants wouldn't target them.

Muda walked briskly into the cabin, pushed him aside, and stared intently at the terminal screen.

After shutting down the mind interference device, the screen was silent, as if it was broken.

Muda held his breath, anxiously waiting.

At that moment, a barely noticeable ripple appeared on the calm screen, as if a dragonfly had skimmed across the water surface.

The instant he saw that ripple, his heart shot into his throat.

That was a signal from the mind interference device—

Could it be?!

Both Muda and the sailor standing next to him were shocked, their faces filled with disbelief.

The only mind interference device within tens of miles was on their speedboat.

Where was the signal coming from?!

"Lock onto its position!"

Dropping these words, Muda pushed open the door and walked out of the cockpit, shouting loudly to another sailor on the speedboat.

"Prepare the deep-water bomb!"

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the sailor swallowed, nodded rapidly,

"Yes!"

Chapter 685: Fierce Battle Beneath the Deep Sea!

On the other side,
the moment Si Si's submarine got whipped away by a tentacle as thick as a barrel, the frantic spotlights flickered out like broken matches, disappearing with the submarine into the silent depths of the distant sea.

"Si!"

Tail couldn't help but cry out in shock, yet her voice could not penetrate the bulky diving helmet.

A minute later, a thunderous dull thud emanated from afar.

The submarine seemed to have collided with the support structure of a turbine generator, causing a localized collapse.

Watching the rolling murkiness in the darkness, Tail felt immensely anxious, but there was nothing she could do.

The communication channel was eerily silent, the murky mud obscuring the last glimmer of light.

It seemed the entire body of water had returned to a terrifying quietness.

There was no light here.

No air.

No sound.

Only endless silence and darkness, with occasional shudders and dull thuds as bubbles sporadically floated by, like the whispering murmurs of indescribable creatures from the abyss.

Controlling the rate of her breathing, Tail cautiously retreated next to the wreckage, hiding under an outwardly protruding metal support, trying to make herself seem smaller.

The spherical detector not far to her left was still silently working.

The cable connecting it to the submarine had drifted away with the ocean current.

Now Tail finally understood where the currents that had earlier skewed the detector were coming from.

It must be the "breath" of that monster!

Realizing the monster was not far beneath her, Tail felt her scalp tingle, her gaze repeatedly drifting to the spherical detector hugged onto the terminal.

"My gosh! How long does this thing take to finish collecting—huh? It's let go?"

As she finished speaking, the spherical detector suddenly retracted the mechanical arm that was wrapped around the metal support.

Seeing the rising current about to sweep it away, Tail swiftly extended her arms and hugged it tightly to her chest, grasping the basketball-sized detector.

"Got it!"

Looking at the detector in her arms, Tail let out a breath, her face showing a triumphant smile.

However, her triumph froze on her face within two seconds.

Now the problem arose.

How was she supposed to bring this thing back?

The waters were situated in the middle of the Southern Sea area; even taking a speedboat would require three to four hours of travel.

With only this diving suit on her, she would probably die of exhaustion before making it back.

Not to mention, she might encounter creatures even more terrifying than the tentacle-waving sea monster along the way.

"My goodness... I'm screwed!"

She had indeed celebrated too soon.

As she was worrying, sudden crackling static came through the communication channel, followed by intermittent voices.

"Ah Wei, how are you doing?"

Hearing that familiar voice, Tail exclaimed softly in excitement.

"Si! Thank goodness, you're still alive!"

Reassured that Tail was still alive, Si Si in the cockpit sighed in relief, and couldn't help but curl her lips slightly upward.

"What are you saying, I'm not that easy to kill... But speaking of which, you still have the mood to joke, seems like you're doing okay."

Tail grinned, full of spirit.

"Oh! Of course, Tail is doing great!"

Si Si, "That's really good… By the way, Ah Wei, can you see the creature that knocked me away?"

"Uh... it's a bit difficult," Tail cautiously poked her head out of a gap in the wreckage, looking into the darkness that felt like being submerged in pitch-black ink, "It's pitch dark here, can't see my hand in front of my face, can't see anything."

Si Si sighed.

"I guess so..."

This was the deep sea.

Even if it were daytime outside, little light would reach this depth.

Listening to the silent rustling in the communication channel, Tail took a deep breath and mustered courage.

"Should I try to lure it out? I have a flashlight—"

"Don't do that!" Si Si interrupted her immediately, continuing hurriedly, "The weapons we brought might not be effective against that creature, if possible we should avoid any confrontation… I'll fire a few signal flares in your vicinity in a moment; they'll mark the path for your escape. If possible, try to bring the detector with you, we need the data on it."

Tail, "Oh! Leave it to Tail!"

Hearing that enthusiastic response in the communication channel, Si Si couldn't help but show a relieved smile.

"Okay! I'm counting on you!"

Although Ah Wei often seemed not too bright, she was reliable when it mattered most.

Pointing her index finger at the central control screen in the cockpit, she switched the ammo in the remote weapon station to signal flares, aimed approximately at the detector's position, and pressed the launch switch.

With several brief dull thuds, streaks of fine milky bubbles shot forward and burst into lurid orange-red glows mid-flight.

The faint glow, like matches struck in the darkness, traced a zigzag path through the pitch-black ruins.

Using the light from the signal flares to confirm her escape route, Tail hugged the detector tightly, pushed off with her legs, and drifted slowly towards a half-visible metal blade illuminated by the signal flares some dozen meters away.

That tentacled sea monster was nearby.

She couldn't stay too close to the signal flares to avoid being spotted, nor could she stray too far or she would see nothing.

Perhaps because the surroundings were too quiet, Tail could feel her heart pounding fiercely, almost hearing the rhythm of her pulse.

"Giao..."

This is freaking thrilling!

The encompassing darkness, like the gaping mouth of a monster, made it hard not to have your courage drained just by making eye contact with it.

Those caught within felt this way, and so did the observers from the outside.

Seated in the cockpit of the submarine, Si Si's gaze was fixed on the blinking green dot on the central control screen, and she involuntarily held her breath.

"Way to go, Ah Wei!"

Only fifty meters left!

As the green dot grew closer, her lips slowly moved, and her clenched palm started to sweat.

Forty meters!

Thirty-five!

Thirty—

Just as the green dot was about to break free from the wreckage of the power plant, a sudden change occurred!

The blinking green dot on the screen seemed to have hit a wall, abruptly halting.

Staring at the central screen, Si Si was shocked and didn't hesitate to turn on the submarine's front searchlight.

A dazzling beam of light pierced through the thick darkness, shining directly beneath the struggling Ah Wei and the detector in her hand.

A thick tentacle, as big around as a bucket, extended from the wreckage nearby, firmly grasping the bulky deep-sea diving suit and wrapping around it.

Despite being equipment designed to withstand immense pressure, the thick tentacle did not instantly crush both the suit and Ah Wei inside, but listening to the sounds over the communication channel, one could guess that Ah Wei's situation was far from optimistic.

"Gurgle..."

Seeing the tail caught by the sea creature's tentacle, Si Si panicked and hurriedly operated the remote-controlled weapons station, aiming at the base of the tentacle.

"Hang in there! Ah Wei!"

As she shouted, she decisively pressed the launch button.

Two thick harpoons shot from the belly of the submarine, tracing two cotton-white tracks through the pitch-black deep sea; one burrowed deep into the wreckage, while the other hit the tentacle extending from the wreckage without fault.

The tip of the harpoon pierced the monster's skin, followed by the explosive configured around the harpoon instantly detonating, creating a flare and a cloud of milky bubbles.

As the bubbles dissipated, a wash-basin-sized wound appeared at the base of the tentacle, with dark green fluid—seemingly its blood—oozing from the wound.

Even though these two harpoons weren't professional underwater weapons, merely rigged together from a harpoon launcher and mixed explosives.

But the sheer power was enough to severely wound the variant.

However, surprisingly, it didn't release the tentacle holding onto the tail despite the damage; the deep-sea diving suit already started emitting a distressing cry under the immense pressure.

In the light of the searchlight, Si Si was surprised to find thin filaments squirming around the basin-sized wound, healing at a visible rate.

That was an explosive force capable of overturning tanks!

What kind of monster is this?!

Si Si couldn't wait any longer. She swiftly switched to the grenade launcher and unleashed a barrage of grenades at the healing wound.

Streams of dense bubbles shot out like arrows released from a bow, concentrating fire at the base of the tentacles.

Following a series of booming explosions, the wound, as large as a washbasin, was instantly buried by fine bubbles and mud.

However, the grenade wasn't specialized for underwater attacks. Although it was unstoppable in the jungles of Baiyue Province, it proved somewhat inadequate in the depths of a hundred meters below sea.

The battered tentacle remained unmoved, the damage far less significant than the previous two "goblin harpoons."

A muted growl echoed through the deep sea, sounding like mockery from a sea monster.

"Si — I can't hold on much longer!" At that moment, Ah Wei's intermittent voice came over the communication channel, sounding as if it could break off at any moment.

"Hold on, Ah Wei!"

Trying to calm herself, Si Si ceased her pointless firing, maneuvering the searchlight around in search of the gigantic sea creature's weak points.

The creature was extremely cunning, hiding behind a massive turbine engine wreck, using the metal supports and the engine casing as cover, protecting most of its body.

Si Si even felt that it exposed one of its tentacles not because it couldn't retract it after the injury, but rather, it was using her as bait, waiting for her to approach!

Following the searchlight around, Si Si quickly spotted a porous reef and rows of bent metal supports directly beneath the circular turbine engine where the sea monster hid.

With a thought, she immediately adjusted the aim on the remote weapons station, targeting the bottom of the turbine generator and emptied her magazine.

One by one, the fragmentary grenades drilled into the narrow space like locusts, exploding quickly and shattering the reef and metal supports that supported the circular engine.

Amid a chorus of groaning metal, unable to bear the load, the slanted circular engine crashed down like a landslide, crushing the hiding sea monster beneath it.

The massive creature had no time to dodge, and the octopus-like giant was instantly flattened by the towering machinery, crashing into the billowing mud with a muffled cry of agony.

"Cough—!"

Over the communication channel, Ah Wei's cough echoed as she, clutching the detector, was thrown out by the weakened tentacle, rolling and crashing into the nearby wreckage.

Si Si aimed at the signal emitted by the detector, pushed the power output to maximum, and chased after her in the submersible, opening the outer hatch as she drew close.

"Get in quick!"

Smashed against the wreckage, Ah Wei almost went offline, with red warning lights flashing on her diving suit's helmet.

Luckily, the Awakener's physical capabilities allowed her to hold on. She grabbed the open hatch and with a powerful effort, rolled into the vessel holding the round detector.

The hatch slammed shut.

The pressure indicator on the diving suit quickly decayed, followed by the seawater in the buffer compartment beginning to drain out.

As the darkness outside the hatch crevices and the green light inside the dim cabin lit up, Ah Wei sat slumped on the floor, breathing heavily several times before she could steady her breath, rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue.

"Cough cough—giao! Ah Wei almost turned into 'Ah Wei sauce'!"

Unable to hold back a laugh, Si Si let out a dry cough through restrained laughter and asked with concern.

"Are you okay?"

"I am — "

Ah Wei was about to answer, but just as she opened her mouth, a massive impact struck the hatch nearby, sending her flying from the floor to the ceiling instantly.

With a "clang" sound echoing through her cranial vault, she felt her jaw might have dislocated. She reached up to correct it but was obstructed by the diving helmet's face shield.

Before she could recover from the last onslaught, the second attack promptly followed.

The sea monster, seemingly infuriated, crawled out of the collapsed turbo generator and hammered wildly at the submersible that was hiding in the darkness.

On the brink of losing consciousness, Tail finally managed to reach the folding chair with its seatbelt inside the buffer chamber. Unable to unfold the chair, she used the nylon buckles on it to strap herself in.

Listening to the clanging sounds coming through the hull, Tail laboriously removed the helmet from her diving suit and fumbled under her chin. It took her quite a while to fix her dislocated jaw.

Lucky that pain perception was blocked beyond limits in this game, otherwise she would have passed out from the pain in reality.

The ringing in her ears gradually dissipated, and Si Si's voice came through the communication channel.

"...that thing is not dead yet! Hold tight!"

Tail: "Giao! This boss's health is way too high!"

Si Si: "It's not just about the health bar. The healing rate of that wound doesn't seem normal. It might be a genetically modified artificial variant!"

Tail: "Artificial variant?!"

Si Si: "Yes... Besides the Torch Church, I can't think of any other possibility!"

Tail: "So what do we do now?!"

"There's nothing we can do. The weapons on our submersible are practically ineffective against it. Now we can only pray it isn't fast, as long as we can get away from this wreckage, we might manage to escape... Gosh!" Si Si, who was analyzing calmly a second before, suddenly exclaimed.

Hearing that exclamation, Tail was startled and quickly asked.

"What is it, Si?"

"The power system... that thing we just fixed seems to have broken down again!"

"Giao?!"

Watching the power failure alert flashing on the central control screen, Si Si, sweating profusely, furiously stabbed his finger on the screen.

However, the submersible, unresponsive to controls, drifted forward as it rolled with the ocean currents under the force of inertia.

Just then, the careening submersible suddenly jerked, and a series of squeaky friction noises came from the surrounding walls.

Through the side window of the cockpit, Si Si saw a giant tentacle wrap around the dome, snaking along the cylindrical exterior of the submersible, and securely entwined itself.

She could even see the barnacle-sized suction cups sticking on the exterior glass!

It seemed their luck had finally run out; the sea monster lurking in the darkness had eventually caught them.

"Gosh..."

The pressure sensors on all four sides of the screen spiked instantly, her heart jumped to her throat, and the memories of terror surfaced once again.

She didn't have the time to react, as several g's of acceleration pressed her firmly into the seat.

The tentacle, like a clenched lead ball in hand, lifted the submersible high up and got ready for a shot-put throw.

Just as the tentacle was about to smash them and the vessel against the rocks, a metal sphere shaped like a sea urchin suddenly fell into the silent deep sea with a trail of bubbles.

It was about half the height of a person, with conical spikes as long as a forearm.

The sea creature lying on the seabed rocks clearly noticed this uninvited guest, but did not seem to take it seriously.

However, the reckless creature soon paid a heavy price for its rash actions.

Just as the iron sphere neared its back, a blinding light instantly illuminated the silent deep sea.

A wine-red flame, wrapped in shattered iron pieces, exploded and instantly created a bubble cavity several meters wide in the depths of the sea, a hundred meters below!

The scorching temperature caused the tentacle-waving monster to let out a pained howl.

Massive bubbles burst from the rocks, shaking the entire sea area as if in response to its convulsions.

The gripped tentacle instinctively released, tossing the submersible out like a discarded can.

"Si—Si, we're flying!"

Hearing the excited exclamation over the communications channel, Si Si felt as if a rocket was strapped underneath her seat and tensed up, peering into the dark through the window.

"We'd better be flying!"

In the lightless deep sea, she couldn't tell north from south.

Given their speed, if they were to hit rocks or the seabed, their fate would be to become a pile of scrap metal—left for others to conduct archaeology on them—

—if the monsters in this area decided to leave their bodies intact.

Fortunately, the worst did not happen.

After flying for a while, the submersible slowed down due to water resistance and drifted quietly in the water like a jellyfish.

"...Si! What was that exploded just now?!"

Listening to the excited voice over the channel, Si Si leaned back in her seat and after catching her breath, slowly said,

"It must have been a bomb from the Federal patrol team... It looks like they finally took action."

Tail: "Eh!? Doesn't that mean Tail owes them a favor now?"

Si Si: "Not exactly... As long as we can bring this detector back, they are the ones who owe us."

She had no doubt about this.

Although the research team had not yet analyzed the data, the sea monster lurking beneath the ruins already explained a great deal.

Its terrifying regenerative ability was strikingly similar to the work of the Torch Church, and its relentless attempts to block them from removing any clues from the ruins made it clear there was something here they needed to find!

At that moment, another muffled explosion came from nearby.

The Federal patrol team's boat had dropped a second deepwater bomb on the sea monster, likely the last remaining on the boat.

This deepwater bomb, filled with bitter acids and potent explosives, was enough to take down a submarine displacing thousands of tons.

Even with its remarkable regenerative ability, the sea monster was no match for such specialized underwater weaponry.

Following two direct hits to its vitals, the tentacle-waving sea monster, after a cry of agony, finally swallowed its last breath in humiliation, collapsing heavily onto the ruins of the ocean current power station and shattered reefs.

A moment later, a noisy sound came through the communication channel.

"...How are you all doing?"

Adjusting her breathing, Si Si spoke.

"We're managing, just the power system and pressure sensor are damaged... other than that, all's well."

"That's bad."

"What's wrong?"

"The Federal Fleet is moving towards us... the noise you made just now was too loud!"

The voice carried a hint of annoyance and urgency.

Clearly,
this would be troublesome for him.

After calmly thinking for a few seconds, Si Si spoke.

"Can you lead them away?"

Muda: "Do you think they are idiots?!"

Si Si took a deep breath.

"Then there's no way out... do us a favor."

Muda was stunned for a moment.

"What?"

Si Si: "Take the detector to Potato Harbor. I'll share its coordinates with you soon... our researchers can analyze the data inside. Remember, it must reach Potato Harbor if you still want to uncover the truth."

Muda: "What about you?"

Si Si: "emmm... considering all the help you've given us, how about I reward you with a first-class merit?"

Muda: "What?"

Without waiting for a response, Si Si stretched out her index finger, pressed it on the control screen to end the communication, and then switched the communication to Tail, who was sitting in the decompression chamber.

"Ah Wei, toss the detector out."

"Eh?!" Tail, surprised, brought his face close to the small window of the decompression door and looked at Si Si in the cockpit, asking, "Throw it out?! Aren't we taking it back?"

Si Si made a helpless expression.

"I'd like to, but unfortunately, this broken submarine is no longer operational, and the Federal Navy is on their way here... We'll have to rely on that NPC called Muda to deliver this package for us."

"Oh! Got it!"

Tail nodded, put his helmet back on, and after the decompression chamber filled with seawater, manually opened the outer hatch and forcefully threw the spherical detector out.

The silver metallic sphere drifted into the sea and slowly started to float upwards.

It wouldn't be long before it surfaced and was retrieved by the speedboat waiting there.

After completing all this, Tail closed the door of the decompression chamber and floated back to sit in his chair.

Without immediately draining the water from the decompression chamber, Tail asked over the communication channel.

"What about us? What's next?"

Si Si leaned back in her chair, pinching the bridge of her weary nose with her index finger and thumb.

"Let me think..."

Firstly, this was a submarine from Shelter No. 70.

Although the two of them had shown their faces at Circular Island Port, not many people had seen them, so whether they were captured as Residents of Shelter No. 70 or openly declared themselves Residents of Shelter No. 404, both options were feasible.

Comparing the two options, she actually preferred the former.

That way, there would be a chance to contact the Federal high command, possibly clarifying what exactly that sea monster was, while also avoiding direct diplomatic conflicts between the Alliance and the Southern Islands Federation.

Of course, there was a third option.

That was to find a place to bury themselves.

In three days, they could resurrect in City of Dawn, and taking an airship, it would take no more than five days to return to Potato Harbor; it was the easiest method.

Just when Si Si was undecided, a light blue antenna icon suddenly appeared on the radar screen of the central control, followed by an automatic connection to a strange communication request.

"...This is the 'Dolphin', we have received your distress signal and are heading towards you."

Not only Si Si heard that voice, but Tail, sitting in the decompression chamber, also heard it, immediately showing a surprised expression.

"What's the situation?"

Si Si blankly stared at the central control screen, involuntarily swallowing.

"I don't know... I guess some safety detection device on this submarine automatically sent a distress signal. Is that 'Dolphin' possibly a submarine from Shelter No. 70 patrolling this area of the sea?"

Meanwhile, far away on the billowing sea surface, a towering ship shadow had appeared.

Unlike the Federal patrol team's speedboat, that ship was a bona fide warship, equipped with thick, long gun barrels, as well as torpedo launchers and powerful close-in weapons systems.

It was a Federal destroyer.

Standing at the bow of the speedboat, Muda held a walkie-talkie, his gaze towards that flagship filled with complexity.

He was pondering how to explain to his superiors.

Of course, more than how to explain to his superiors, what made his feelings more complicated was the signal he had just caught through the mind interference device terminal.

The mind interference device was a gift from the Torch Church to the Southern Islands Federation, and the technology did not exist in Shelter No. 70.

Even if the Residents of the refuge understood the principle, their application was far less adept than the Federation's.

There was only one explanation for the unusual signal showing up undetected in the waters controlled by the Southern Islands Federation and escaping search after search.

It certainly wasn't something a Captain alone could achieve, it must be someone, or even a group of people, at least in the naval staff or even the authorities' upper echelons!

The traitor, for some reason, had obstructed or even completely misled the Federal authorities' investigation into the ruins of the ocean current power station.

If that were indeed the case—

Was it truly Shelter No. 70 that had destroyed the ocean current power station?

Looking at the military ship drawing closer, Muda's brow slowly furrowed with gravity.

He had a feeling that things were increasingly becoming troublesome...

-

(I have diarrhea... never eating raw pickles again)

Chapter 686: Switching from a Small Boat to a Big Boat

The submersible from Shelter No. 70 possessed considerable stealth capabilities, yet it wasn't completely invisible.

Just as Muda had anticipated, after the Federation Navy's destroyer arrived, it quickly located the submersible beneath the surface and salvaged it.

However, what Muda hadn't expected was that there was not a single person aboard the submersible.

Various signs indicated that the two pilots had abandoned it after the power system was damaged.

Logically, they shouldn't have been able to get far.

The Federal Navy's destroyer immediately dispatched frogman troops to search the depths.

But to everyone's confusion, despite an hour of searching, they found nothing.

The two pilots had disappeared into the sea as if dissolved by the water...

"I need to understand some situations from you."

Destroyer deck.

An officer walked up to Muda, pulled out a recording pen in front of him and switched it on, then tapped his index finger on the table in front of him.

"Routine procedure, please cooperate."

"Understood, ask away," Muda nodded, pulling out a chair to sit down.

The officer also pulled out a chair and sat opposite him, taking out a small booklet from his pocket and flipping it open before starting to ask.

"First off, I want to know, this area isn't your patrol zone, why did you appear here?"

Having thought of a story in advance, Muda replied calmly and unhurriedly.

"At that time, I was on duty, following an abnormal sonar signal that I tracked to this area during a search patrol. On this matter, the brothers on duty in the nearby waters can testify for me; I had sought their permission to pass and reported the situation."

"We have looked into it, and it is indeed as you claim... However, there are still some doubts here."

The officer lifted a sharp gaze to survey him briefly and continued with meticulous care.

"In accessing the communication records, we noticed that the friendly ships patrolling nearby had proposed backup assistance in the communications with you; why did you refuse?"

Unruffled by the skepticism in that gaze, Muda simply shrugged nonchalantly, stating what seemed natural.

"Why even ask that? Because we weren't certain what it was, what if it was just a piece of garbage swept over by the current? If you were me, would you call for backup before making sense of the situation?"

There seemed to be no issue with that explanation.

No one wanted to become the butt of the joke among allies because of a piece of trash.

Unable to fault his reasoning, the officer nodded and continued to ask.

"So you used two hundred-kilogram depth charges to confirm?"

"Yes."

"Quite extravagant... Why didn't you report the situation to the nearby friendly ships before firing?"

Muda sighed, speaking with patience.

"If the enemy is right under your nose, would you shoot first or file a report? Could you please stop asking these nonsensical questions? If you suspect there's an issue with me, point it out directly."

"No, no, no, I didn't mean that, Lieutenant Muda, we have no suspicions about you, as you know, this is just a formality," the officer quickly waved his hands to smooth the atmosphere, smiling as he added, "So the last question... therefore, you had already confirmed that the submersible belonged to Shelter No. 70 at that time?"

Muda stared at him meticulously, speaking in a serious tone.

"I didn't need to confirm; at this time, at this place, it appeared in our patrol zone, unauthorized, and refused our communication requests. So we dropped the bombs, until they completely stopped... Luckily, our luck was good, we only needed two bombs to anchor them, too bad you were a step too late, and let those above escape."

The officer sitting opposite nodded, then suddenly spoke.

"Do you know why they stopped?"

"I don't know, nor am I interested," Muda looked at him expressionlessly, his tone adopting a hint of impatience, "Besides, didn't you say that was the last question?"

"Of course... I've finished with the formal questions; that last question was just out of personal interest."

The officer packed away the recording pen and booklet, smiling as he stood up from the table and extended his right hand.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

Muda also stood up, shook his right hand, and then let go.

"You're welcome, did my answers pass?"

"Pass? You misunderstand, Mr. Muda, we never had any doubt about you. Like I said from the beginning, this was only a formality..." Putting the recording pen away in his pocket, the officer tapped the booklet in his hand and said with a slight smile, "If there is new information, I will contact you again."

Muda nodded his head.

"Next time remember to bring my medal."

The officer laughed heartily and patted his shoulder.

"Of course! Also, congratulations, this is at least a second-class merit!"

After saying that, the officer turned and walked away.

Watching the man's retreating back, Muda smacked his lips slightly in regret.

Just second class.

But—

Accolades and such actually don't matter anymore.

He just hoped he wouldn't be pinned to the pillar of historical disgrace.

Due to the uncertainty about who the traitor was and how deeply they had infiltrated the Federation authorities, he ultimately chose to conceal part of the truth and did not divulge the entire story.

Including the radio communication with the submersible.

Including the spherical detection device caught in a fishing net and hanging from the bottom of the speedboat, and so on.

He didn't know whether his choice was correct; he just hoped that his future self wouldn't regret today's decision...

At the same time, on the destroyer's deck, a black gyrocopter gently landed on the spacious helipad.

Flanked by two exoskeleton-clad bodyguards, Federation Navy Chief of Staff and President's Chief of Staff Charles stepped down from the helicopter and walked with a grave expression towards the approaching destroyer Captain.

"Mr. Charles, what brings you here?" Seeing the President's close confidant from afar, the Captain reached out his right hand with a smile as he greeted him.

"What else could it be? After such a big incident, why didn't you notify me immediately?"

Seeing Charles's displeased expression, the Captain awkwardly withdrew his hand and tried to explain.

"It's just a scientific research submersible. Although we found some modified traces on it, the modifications were crude, nothing serious."

In his view, Mr. Chief of Staff was indeed making a mountain out of a molehill.

That was merely a submersible from Shelter No. 70, not some attack submarine; there was absolutely no need for such a panic.

Not to mention that the sea area where it appeared had no strategic facilities, only the ruins of a ocean current power station.

There was even less reason for alarm.

Charles narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the Captain standing before him.

"Just a submersible?"

The Captain was slightly startled, looking back at him curiously, nodded, and said.

"Of course, we have found the submersible, and our people are planning to dismantle it... Would you like to see it in person?"

"Take me there." Charles's expression shifted, he nodded, and then followed the Captain from beside the helipad towards the rear of the destroyer.

A cylindrical submersible was hooked and hoisted onto the deck.

Several exoskeleton-wearing sailors were holding welding torches, cutters, and a variety of tools, preparing to dismantle it.

Seeing the pensive expression on the Chief of Staff's face, the Captain standing beside him asked curiously.

"What's a submersible from Shelter No. 70 doing here?"

Charles didn't look at him, but casually responded.

"Who knows... Maybe they're here to cover up evidence, or perhaps to collect something they left behind."

"This seems strange," the Captain mused as he looked at the submersible, "If they were trying to cover up evidence... why make a show of destroying it in the first place, and what use would covering up evidence serve now? No one would believe them."

Logically, this indeed made little sense.

Even more peculiar was that they found the carcass of a giant sea creature near the submersible.

It was shaped more strangely than any Variant they had seen, like an enlarged starfish, but with more tentacles than an octopus.

Based on the assessment of the scars on the submersible's hull, they had confirmed that these damages were caused by this sea creature.

Coincidentally, the deep-sea bomb the Federal patrol team dropped toward the submersible actually saved the lives of the pilots aboard.

The bomb did not hit the submersible; it struck the sea creature that was chasing it instead.

According to the patrol team leader and two additional sailors on the speedboat, they had no idea what their bomb had actually hit.

Currently, the Federal Navy could not determine whether the sea creature had appeared in that sea area by chance or was there due to some human intervention.

If the latter was the case, it would be rather intriguing.

As it is known, due to the partial operation of the damaged electric machinery, very few Variants were active near the ruins of the ocean current power station.

The only possibility to force a Variant to remain in that area was...

The Mind Interference Device.

Only it could accomplish that.

However, to confirm this, they would need to salvage and dissect the body of that Variant.

Charles glanced at the Captain coolly before turning his gaze back to the battered submersible.

"You'd have to ask Shelter No. 70. Maybe they thought they could win and realized halfway through they had overestimated themselves, so they tried to white-wash themselves and find a cheap scapegoat to take the blame. I do not care why our enemies choose to attack us; I only care about sending them to hell. And you, Captain, just need to do your job well."

The Captain watched Mr. Chief of Staff in stunned silence.

Although he didn't understand why the Chief of Staff suddenly used such a serious tone, his intuition told him that the gentleman was not interested in the topic he had brought up, so he tactfully and quickly ended the discussion.

"Alright, I just thought it strange... Please don't mind."

Charles gave the Captain a meaningful look, said nothing, and turned to walk back to the helicopter amid the bewildered gaze.

Two exoskeleton-clad bodyguards sat opposite him, silent.

"Return to North Island."

Dropping that comment to the pilot, Charles leaned back in his seat and appeared to close his eyes in repose.

No one knew.

The moment he closed his eyes, his consciousness instantly withdrew from his body and entered a milky-white space.

A gray-robed old man stood at the pristine center of that space.

Holy light bathed his shoulders, and a gentle force blurred the contours of his features, bestowing upon him an authority that kept others at bay while retaining an all-encompassing amiability.

Charles nodded slightly to this figure, who chose not to show his true face, offering a devotion that was anything but sincere.

He was no ignorant Waste Land Wanderer to be fooled by such trickery.

Strictly speaking, he trusted no one; he had always believed only in himself.

But he had to admit, the Torch had some good things in their grasp.

Like this "Hall."

With just a closing of his eyes, he could communicate with his allies in Haiye Province whenever and wherever, gaining access to crucial intelligence and other forms of support.

And most importantly, unlike the previous "Holy Land" that was reserved for the dead, this "Hall," being the second sanctuary, offered eternal life without the need to abandon the human flesh.

This meant that as long as he could secure his own Hall, he could achieve divine eternity without forsaking his human form!

Before the power of a god, the petty authority of mortals seemed utterly inconsequential.

He desired that power more than anyone, to hold eternal authority in an eternal form.

And so, lacking any real faith, he still became the most devout follower of the Torch Church in the southern sea area, offering loyal and steadfast support to all of the Torch Church's grand schemes there.

"Respectable Pioneer... I have confirmed it was just a submersible from Shelter No. 70. Our ships have intercepted it; you can be at ease now."

He then stopped speaking, quietly waiting for the bishop to reply.

Staring at the old man in front of him, who was only a few years younger than himself, Alzu hesitated for a long moment before speaking slowly.

"The guard is dead."

Charles, having been informed of this by a subordinate, responded respectfully.

"You needn't worry—we will dispose of the body. No one will discover its secrets."

Alzu slowly nodded, then spoke again.

"Shelter No. 70 is trifling. But be wary of the Alliance; they are not easy to deal with. I have seen a Pioneer fall at their hands... a true Pioneer, unlike me, who clings to the flesh."

The intangible Pioneers were unreliable, yet he had to acknowledge that unlike himself, these ethereal beings were nearly impossible to destroy in a physical sense.

He did not believe the Alliance could shake his ideals; he was not fickle.

But he also had to admit, the Alliance was indeed difficult to deal with, even more so than corporations and the Academy.

However, contrary to Alzu's wariness, Charles, the Chief of Staff of the Federal President, merely smiled indifferently and said,

"Rest assured, I have been keeping a close eye on them. Their decision to camp in the Baiyue Strait means their downfall is almost certain, no matter what scheming they harbor."

"I hope so. We'll inevitably clash with them, but the later, the better," Alzu, enshrouded in his gray robe, paused before continuing, "I need your men to continue searching for that submersible's crew... Whether or not they find anything, make sure to leave them in the sea."

Charles bowed again and promised softly,

"As you command."

...

While the Federal Navy expanded its search area, conducting a carpet search within a ten-mile radius, in a deserted stretch of water about a hundred nautical miles from the current power station wreckage, a nuclear-powered submarine almost two hundred meters long was cruising slowly underwater.

Unlike the 21st-century nuclear submarines with boilers, this "Dolphin"-class submarine utilized second-generation controlled fusion technology, using Helium-3 and deuterium captured from the sea as fusion fuel for cruising power.

Although by the end of the Prosperity Epoch, this second-generation controllable nuclear fusion technology was nearly replaced by the simpler energy framework of pure Helium-3 fusion, it was still considered advanced in today's world, two centuries later—far more so than the synthetic oil power systems commonly used by the Southern Islands Federation Fleet.

At this moment, neither Charles nor the hundred-plus sailors aboard the destroyer were aware that the person they were searching for had already made his escape.

And from right under their noses, at that...

The buffer chamber inside the Dolphin-class submarine.

The filling seawater gradually drained away.

Then the walls on both sides sprayed out misted detergent, and extending spray guns blew out high-pressure airflows, thoroughly rinsing algae and dust from the deep-sea suits of the two visitors.

Seeing the signal light above turn green, Si Si and the companion beside her, known as Tail, exchanged a glance before passing through the now open hatch.

Directly opposite the hatch was a narrow, less than ten square meter room. On the left, a long, rectangular window provided a view into the surprisingly spacious interior of the submarine.

Suspended stairways and walkways flanked the spacious area, while in the center stood a series of elongated cargo containers.

Above, under the dome, hung hooks connected to tracks, with workers in work clothes moving along the elevated corridors.

A hint of surprise appeared on Si Si's face.

She had never seen a submarine so strange; it completely overturned her previous impression of a submarine as a constricted, narrow transport.

Nearby, two men clad in exoskeletons stood to either side of a door at the end of the room, holding assault rifles of the same model used by the Federal Navy.

But the bulky exoskeletal structure seemed more akin to those used by dock workers at the "Circular Island Port," not the military version. These two men seemed less like professional soldiers and more like temporarily recruited security forces.

And in between the two stood a man in a blue jacket, exuding a certain dignified presence.

As the two divers approached, he introduced himself matter-of-factly and extended his right hand.

"Welcome to the Dolphin. My name is Chen Jianhong, captain of this submarine."

Slipping off her helmet and tucking it under her arm, Si Si gave her tousled hair a light shake and took the hand offered to her with a brisk shake.

"Si Si, the guy beside me is Ah Wei, and we are both residents of Shelter No. 404."

"Oh! You can call me Ah Wei!" Ah Wei, who had also removed his helmet, looked around with a face full of wonder and couldn't help but blurt out in surprise, "Giao! I thought you guys had no weapons... I had no idea you had such awesome big guns!"

Watching the two with their distinctive aura, the captain named Chen Jianhong was visibly stunned, but only for a moment.

"Are you referring to... this submarine? It's indeed not a weapon, just an ordinary cargo submarine."

"A cargo submarine?!"

Ah Wei, who had never heard of such a peculiar concept, was surprised, his eyes widening, "Ah, why would you use a submarine to transport cargo? Isn't that very troublesome?"

Chen Jianhong shrugged his shoulders, continuing.

"I feel the same way. Although this thing was originally built for the convenience of logistics between underwater and surface settlements, building a straight-up-and-down elevator is obviously much more hassle-free than using a submarine to transport stuff. But now, I'm just thankful that the original designers were so far-sighted; otherwise, the more than five hundred residents of Coral City and us aboard the submarine would have already been buried at sea... Speaking of which, before asking about us, shouldn't you explain your situation first?"

Ah Wei looked at him confusedly.

"Explain?"

"Huang Guangwei," the captain focused on him unblinkingly, then glanced at the woman called Si Si, and said with a stern expression, "The biometric information registered on that submersible is by that name, but the people we found on it were you. I want to know where the original owner of the submersible is and... if he's still alive?"

The atmosphere on the scene became tense for a moment.

But it was only for an instant.

"Of course, he's still alive and doing well, otherwise we wouldn't be the ones suffering here."

To prevent Ah Wei from saying anything superfluous, Si Si quickly took over the conversation before she spoke up, looking at the captain turning his gaze to her as she continued.

"He's now at the Alliance, staying with the manager of your shelter, Sun Yuechi."

On hearing this, Chen Jianhong was stunned again, and in less than half a minute, his face showed an expression of surprise.

"...At the Alliance? Wait, the Alliance?! Our Manager is also there? But how is this possible! Didn't he go to the Grand Canyon?"

At that moment, he finally realized the source of the dissonance he had felt when he heard Ah Wei utter those words.

Up until the entrance to Shelter No. 70 had been sealed off by the ships of the Southern Islands Federation, including the whereabouts of Manager Sun Yuechi and the locking of the weapons storage, all were Shelter No. 70's greatest secrets, known only to a select few!

Yet these people seemed to know!

"His initial destination was indeed the Grand Canyon, but on his way through the City of Dawn, he changed his mind and handed over the manager's authority to us..."

Watching Captain Chen and the two soldiers beside him, equally astonished, Si Si took nearly half an hour to patiently explain the whole story to him.

Included was how Sun Yuechi got to the City of Dawn and how he imposed the manager's authority on their manager.

It also included how Huang Guangwei got stranded on the northern shore of the Baiyue Strait and how they coincidentally found him and brought him back to the City of Dawn...

After listening to her account, Chen Jianhong put his forefinger to his temple and felt a complex mix of emotions clogging his chest, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

He couldn't accept it.

Their manager would rather place hope in a stranger he had never met than choose someone he knew well.

And what was even more unacceptable to him was that while they were hiding in the vast ocean, risking their lives playing hide-and-seek with the Federal Fleet, that guy had already started a new life in the City of Dawn?!

What a joke!

"So... that guy is now living it up over at your place?" he asked with a trembling voice, withdrawing his forefinger from his temple.

Not wishing to discourage the diligent captain before her, Si Si's expression turned somewhat complicated, yet she still nodded truthfully.

"Yes... Including the owner of that submersible, Huang Guangwei, who before boarding the airship to the City of Dawn, gave us the submersible to deal with—"

"These bastards!"

A curse burst forth, interrupting her mid-sentence, and Chen Jianhong clenched his fists, unable to restrain his emotions any longer, and gritted his teeth as he said.

"We endure the torment of claustrophobia here, evading the pursuit of the Federal Fleet, living on meager supplies and counting every grain! Yet the prime culprit behind all these wrongs is enjoying his life on land! Does that guy have any remorse at all?"

What a joke!

This is too unfair!

Si Si cleared her throat softly.

"I think... your manager must feel remorseful, so he entrusted us with the investigation of the wreckage of the ocean current power station."

Chen Jianhong said indignantly.

"What's the use of investigating that thing! Except for the fools on the island, everyone here can see clearly it was the work of the Torch Church! If he had any backbone, he should have come back to take control or at least opened the weapons storage!"

Watching this man blinded by rage, Si Si was at a loss for how to comfort him, her face revealing a sense of helplessness.

Turning tail 180 degrees immediately after making a fatal mistake isn't necessarily the best way to remedy it and could lead to an even more catastrophic outcome.

The war against the Torch Church needed the support of survivors from the southern sea area, and watching the survivors here slaughter each other did not align with the interests of the Alliance.

What they needed to do now was to apply the brakes to a train that had gone off the rails, not let the scale of the war expand even further.

Therefore, she did not tell the captain before her that she was holding the key that could unlock the doors to the weapons storage.

The time to use it hadn't arrived yet...

Just as Si Si was pondering her next move, Ah Wei, who had been quiet for quite some time beside her, suddenly spoke up.

"Oh! Since your manager is with us now anyway, why don't you all come over to our place too!"

Chapter 687: The Path Widens as We Go

At first, when he heard that "unreasonable" proposition, Chen Jianhong's heart was resistant.

The reason was simple.

The Dolphin-class submarine was the property of the residents of Coral City, not something he privately owned.

Whether from the standpoint of law or duty, he had no reason, no right, and should not take this submarine to join the Alliance.

However—

Despite this.

Whenever he thought of Sun Yuechi, who was currently living it up in City of Dawn, that ironclad will inevitably showed signs of wavering.

Why shouldn't he?

He couldn't help but question himself.

Even that dear Manager—the one who should least relinquish his responsibilities and obligations—handed over everything about him without hesitation, not even frowning in the process.

And he was just the captain of a cargo-carrying submarine; he wasn't a soldier, nor did he have the duty to manage the livelihoods of these several hundred people. What reason did he have to continue in a war that was sure to yield no results?

Moreover, it couldn't even be called a war.

The submarine didn't have weapons capable of causing significant damage to the federal warships; it was all just one-sided battering and dodging from start to finish.

He was fed up with these suffocating days and the responsibilities forcibly placed upon his shoulders.

Rather, it would be correct to say that catching the olive branch thrown by the Alliance was the right choice.

After all, according to what those two had said, the management authority of Shelter No. 70 had already been transferred to the hands of the Alliance, so handing over the "Dolphin," which was designed and built by the residents of Shelter No. 70, to the Alliance for their use seemed to be without issue?

He was not surrendering to the thugs of the Southern Islands Federation.

And for the more than five hundred survivors on the submarine, as well as the more than fifty crew members, this was undoubtedly the best choice.

The moment his thoughts cleared, he suddenly felt a sense of liberation, and the resentment that had accumulated due to the Manager's current situation dissipated like smoke.

If you join, I join; now we're all the same.

With a radiant smile on his face, he stretched out his right hand to Ah Wei almost without hesitation.

"This idea... seems pretty good."

"Just as you said, since our Manager is already with you guys, we might as well join you... if you don't mind."

The two soldiers standing beside him cast surprised glances at him in unison, as if looking at someone who had taken the wrong medication.

Defect to the Alliance?!

This...

Was truly an unanticipated path.

However, Ah Wei didn't seem to think there was any issue at all, happily clasping the right hand extended by Chen Jianhong in front of him.

"Oh! I'm glad you've decided to choose us. Our Manager said the Alliance welcomes all survivors to join, of course, that includes you. Potato Harbor will hold a grand ceremony to greet and entertain you! I guarantee it!"

Chen Jianhong smiled faintly, shaking Ah Wei's hand before letting go.

"Ceremonies aren't important. If you can provide us with necessary food, fresh water, shelter, and other supplies, that will be enough. There are some engineers from Coral City on board, along with some engineering equipment we brought from Coral City... They can help you with some complex work within their capabilities."

"Oh! Don't worry! Whether it's welcome flowers, or water, food, and shelter, we'll have them all!" With glittering eyes, Ah Wei promised, thumping his chest.

Lost a submersible, picked up a nuclear submarine!

This deal is a huge win, okay?

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Si Si, who was watching from the side, was dumbfounded.

She never even considered that this guy would agree—she had even prepared to give Tail a dignified exit. But this guy actually said yes?!

Even though they are all residents of the refuge, and communications aren't that much of an obstacle...

They had only just met less than an hour ago, right?!

It took her a good while to snap out of her stupor, subconsciously moving her lips and murmuring to herself.

"I giao..."

This is just too outrageous, isn't it?!

...

What happened next was even more outrageous than what Si Si had imagined.

As soon as he agreed to join the Alliance, the captain, without hesitation, led the two to his office and announced to all the crew via broadcast that the Dolphin-class submarine was joining the Alliance.

Most of the survivors on the submarine did not react much to the broadcast; some even let out a sigh of relief and looked relieved.

They were completely lost in this war, many of them clueless and swept up into the conflict.

They didn't even care about winning or losing.

Whether it's the Federation or everything staying the same.

They just wanted to end this resource-scarce and oppressive life as soon as possible and return to a normal routine.

After announcing the joining of the Alliance, Captain Chen Jianhong immediately took on his new identity. On one hand, he ordered an adjustment of the course towards the Baiyue Strait, and on the other hand, he enthusiastically began showing the two, who were curious about the submarine, around.

"…This Dolphin-class was built ten years ago, it is currently the largest nuclear-powered submarine in terms of tonnage in the Southern sea area, and it also has the largest cargo capacity! The main purpose of this submarine is to transport goods between the islands and settlements, while also undertaking underwater construction tasks for seabed facilities."

"I remember its maximum diving depth can reach one thousand meters below sea level, but there's generally no need to dive that deep. In my memory, the deepest seabed facility here is only about six hundred meters below sea level, which is a deep-sea observation station, and the average sea level of Coral City seems to be only two or three hundred meters below."

Tail said, her eyes sparkling.

"Underwater settlements! I'd love to see that!"

Captain Chen Jianhong smiled and said,

"Unfortunately, you can't go now. After the power outage, it's become a dead city. After the war is over, we'll see. I hope it doesn't drag on too long, otherwise, we'll only be able to go there for archaeology."

He spoke with a hint of melancholy in his tone.

It was the miracle created by the survivors who lived in these waters, with nearly a century of time and sweat.

Yet to destroy it all, all it took was one foolish war.

Tail thoughtfully stroked her chin and nodded.

"Kind of like how a house can't be lived in if it's left empty for too long, right?"

Captain Chen Jianhong nodded and sighed softly,

"That's about right."

Although their topics of conversation were occasionally completely disconnected, the two surprisingly found common ground to chat.

Walking beside them, Si Si rested her hand on the railing, looking over at the area filled with containers, and said with a sense of reflection.

"The size of this submarine is indeed impressive... Putting other things aside, just its length alone is longer than both Ohio-class and Biergorodh."

Width doesn't even need to be mentioned.

You could fit a cargo hold in the middle; this thing is practically an aircraft carrier traversing the ocean floor.

Hearing her statement, Chen Jianhong paused for a moment.

"Ohio... What is that?"

Si Si was taken aback too, then chuckled.

"It's nothing, not worth mentioning."

It really wasn't worth mentioning.

After all, this was a nuclear fusion-powered vessel, not something like those old relics that burn water.

Both sides, whether in terms of materials or energy types, were not even on the same plane.

Chen Jianhong looked on bewildered, but he didn't ask further; it wasn't the first time he couldn't understand what these two were talking about.

After a pause, he continued to introduce the layout of the submarine.

"... I've divided the cabins into three sections; one is the living area, two is the logistics storage, three is the work area... that is, the area up front, mainly consisting of various production facilities."

Tail asked with anticipation.

"What do you produce?"

Chen Jianhong answered, "Everything we can produce. This submarine is equipped with nearly six hundred people, significantly over its capacity. We need to do everything possible to meet everyone's needs."

Si Si pondered for a while, then suddenly spoke.

"I've always been curious, how did you solve your food problem over the past two-plus months? Fishing?"

Chen Jianhong continued,

"We mainly rely on artificially growing some fast-developing algae that can be used to extract nutritional substances and, incidentally, improve the air quality inside the cabin. Fortunately, what we don't lack here is electricity and light. By rationing, we have enough to eat. In addition to that, sometimes we encounter schools of fish, and if we're lucky, we can haul up a netful and slightly improve the survivors' meals on board."

Their main threat wasn't the Variants on the ocean floor, it was the Federal destroyers.

Although the Dolphin seemed large, sinking it would only take a few deep-sea bombs.

Tail looked at him in surprise.

"Eh? So, it sounds like your meals are quite good?"

"Good? Haha."

Chen Jianhong's expression turned grim as he twisted his mouth corner and continued with a complicated look.

"If you're interested, you can try it yourself, eating that green gooey nutrient paste and fish so stinky it has no limits... The only seasoning we can use here is salt, and maybe the spices from Poluo Province would make it better. Eventually, we tried making some vinegar and soy sauce, but honestly, it tasted better without it."

Imagining that scene, Tail shrank her neck and nodded in deep sympathy, consoling him with a word.

"That sounds really rough..."

Si Si's gaze went towards the cargo hold in the middle, piled with containers, and she continued to ask.

"So, what's inside all these containers?"

Chen Jianhong replied, "Mainly industrial finished products; there's equipment to maintain the connection to the underwater facilities of Coral City, and some automated tools. We've dismantled some containers to reclaim the contents, but there's still quite a bit that we haven't unpacked. If you're interested, you can rummage through them, you might find some useful things."

Upon hearing this, Tail's eyes immediately brightened, and she became excited.

"Wow! Then Tail won't stand on ceremony!"

She was best at picking through trash!

"Go ahead, it's not like the order can be completed anymore."

Glancing at this not-very-smart fellow, Chen Jianhong looked at the wrist-mounted computer on his left arm and then back at the two Blue Jackets from the Alliance.

"... We still have fifty-odd kilometers to go before we reach Baiyue Strait; don't you want to say hello to the people on shore first? Do they have a fixed radio channel?"

Si Si smiled slightly and said,

"Of course, but we've already sent our greetings."

Chen Jianhong was taken aback.

"Already sent... greetings?"

"We have a special way of communicating; it's enough that we head directly there." Si Si didn't explain in detail, simply giving a concise explanation.

While using the restroom just now, Tail had already logged off to send greetings on the forum.

Hearing that Ah Wei had hijacked a nuclear submarine, everyone on the forum expressed their disbelief.

To be honest, not just the onlookers standing on the shore, but even Tail, standing on the submarine at this moment, couldn't believe things had gone so smoothly, and it still felt like a dream.

Chen Jianhong cast a doubtful look at a woman named Si Si but didn't say anything.

Let's just assume that's the case for now...

...

At this very moment,

On the shore of Potato Harbor, a large group of players huddled together, all craning their necks out of curiosity, looking like they hadn't seen much of the world, gazing at the turbulent sea in the distance.

Let's speak frankly.

They had all come to see the nuclear submarine.

According to a certain Tail's bragging on the forum, not only did the submarine use second-generation controlled nuclear fusion power, but its size was so large that cargo could be carried inside the cabin, virtually like an aircraft carrier underwater!

How huge could that be?!

It was already past five in the morning, and a dim glimmer was beginning to reveal itself on the distant ocean, but the submarine itself was nowhere to be seen.

The crowd had been standing here for almost half an hour.

Thinking about the previous maid outfit affair, many started to have their doubts.

"I'm starting to feel like that guy is bluffing again."

"+1, and you're not the only one."

"Let's not do the maid outfit this time; let's change it up."

"How about a bikini?"

"Holy moly, that's explosive, isn't it?"

Listening to everyone's murmuring, Spare people under the knife crossed his arms, staring at the distant sea, his heart also filled with skepticism.

He wasn't an expert in naval architecture or materials science, so whether a submarine as big as an aircraft carrier that could haul cargo in its cavities was feasible or not, he wouldn't comment, but he knew Ah Guang!

Would Ah Guang really just give them a submarine for nothing?

He just wouldn't believe it!

"If it doesn't come soon, I'm going into the forest to farm monsters," Killer Dagger yawned lazily.

Ground Model, standing by his side, glanced at him.

"Not on guard duty today?"

"How can I be on guard duty every day? Today it's Old Kidney's... Holy shit!" Killer Dagger suddenly widened his eyes, mouth forming an O.

Ground Model, startled by his sudden outburst, paused.

"What's wrong?"

"There, in the sea ahead!" Killer Dagger pointed excitedly ahead as he shouted.

The reminder was completely unnecessary.

On the sea surface illuminated by the dawn's light, an imposing iron beast rose majestically from beneath, pushing through the waves to reveal its broad bow and hull.

Waves crashed against the ship's bow, throwing up white foam, while strings of crystal-clear droplets slid along the pitch-black contours, sparkling like pearls under the morning sun's glow.

The twilight's light spilled over the surface behind the submarine, stretching out into an orange trail that extended to the horizon.

Inside the cockpit, Chen Jianhong turned to Tail and asked with a look of puzzlement.

"Why did we have to surface at this time? Is there any special meaning to it?"

They had actually arrived half an hour earlier.

But at someone's request, they had waited a full half hour before surfacing.

Looking out at the sea bathed in the morning light through the porthole, Tail's eyes twinkled as he said.

"Don't you think it's really cool!"

Chen Jianhong: "…?"

To be fair, the scene was indeed stunning.

The crew inside the submarine might not feel it, but the players standing on the shore were all staring with wide eyes.

"Holy crap?!"

"Is this for real?!"

"Is that a freaking submarine?!"

"That's too Niubi!"

The shore was abuzz with loud voices, surprise and disbelief written on almost everyone's faces.

Besides those who were shouting and excitedly taking photos, some people even fainted on the spot.

However, that wasn't real fainting, but rather logging off to share their excitement and joy on the Forum with fellow sand sculptures.

Players were already accustomed to such spectacles, but it gave the kind-hearted Moon tribeswomen quite a scare, thinking it was heatstroke and preparing to administer CPR—a good thing the well-meaning players managed to stop them.

Meanwhile, on the gleaming golden sea surface, the pitch-black bow and deck had fully emerged from the water.

Crew members in exoskeletons, led by Captain Chen Jianhong, stepped onto the deck.

Looking at the lonely and shabby wooden dock in front of him, he paused, his open mouth expressing either surprise or disbelief.

After a good long while, he turned to Si Si and asked.

"This is your... dock?"

Si Si's expression was complex, not as thick-skinned as Ah Wei. With an embarrassed cough, he said gently,

"The facilities are a bit rudimentary, but please don't mind it, everything will get better slowly."

Tail also nodded, puffing up his chest and saying,

"Oh! We are just in the early stages of starting up, everything will get better!"

"..."

Chen Jianhong's eyebrows twitched fiercely but he said nothing.

Actually, thinking about it, things here weren't as bad as he had imagined.

At least there was a pier that extended to deep water, so they didn't have to row to shore in rubber boats—they just needed to set up a pontoon bridge between the dock and the planks.

And besides, port facilities were secondary, the key point was that they had the protection of the Alliance!

Unless the Southern Islands Federation was ready to wage war against the Alliance, they probably wouldn't continue attacking them, even if they just stayed in the submarine without disembarking.

However, that was what he thought. The residents who had already stepped onto the deck had different ideas.

Looking at the golden sand beach and the village standing at the edge of the beach, the malnourished faces all showed longing.

They didn't mind if the living conditions were crude, they just wanted to leave the cursed deep sea and return to life under the sunlit land as soon as possible.

"... Speaking of which, I almost forgot to ask, are you sure it's okay to set up a settlement here? This place is Baiyue Province," Chen Jianhong said, turning to Si Si to confirm once again.

Knowing what he was worried about, Si Si gave him a reassuring look.

"Don't worry, our people will take care of the safety; the Variants here won't harm you. You should be able to see it, there are already some people living on the shore."

Chen Jianhong nodded, his tense eyebrows relaxing slightly.

"I want to meet the person in charge here."

Turning her gaze to the sea not far away, Si Si said with a light smile,

"He's already on the way here."

As her words fell, a small boat had already approached the side of the submarine.

Climbing up the ladder onto the deck, Fang Chang patted the slimy seaweed leaves off his hands and walked over with a smile, extending his right hand to Chen Jianhong.

"Welcome! Captain Chen! I am Fang Chang, the manager of Potato Harbor!"

Chen Jianhong shook his hand and glanced at the people on the shore, then back at him.

"Thank you for your warm reception... My crew and I, along with the survivors on board, join you with sincerity and hope to receive the treatment and status of Alliance citizens."

Fang Chang's face beamed with a bright smile.

"Rest assured, I have already discussed your situation with the Manager, and he welcomes your choice! Furthermore, he specifically instructed me to inform you that as of today, you are citizens of the Alliance, protected by Alliance law and also bearing the duty to obey and actively maintain it."

Chen Jianhong breathed a sigh of relief, saying with a sense of unburdening,

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, it's we who should be grateful. On this path to rebuild civilization and order, we have gained another reliable ally!"

After releasing Captain Chen's hand, Fang Chang continued with a smile,

"Since the Alliance currently has no naval headquarters and we lack experts in this field, you'll have to continue as captain of the Dolphin. We'll temporarily pay you and your entire crew's salaries according to Army standards!"

Chen Jianhong was stunned for a moment and quickly asked.

"Wait, the Navy? The Dolphin isn't a warship, and I'm not a soldier—"

Seeing him hastily explaining, Fang Chang quickly reassured him.

"I know, please rest assured, you will not be executing combat missions, and we have no enemies to attack in these waters."

Hearing this, Chen Jianhong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, upon further thought, he felt that his earlier statement was somewhat embarrassing, so he awkwardly explained again.

"I'm not afraid of war. If it were the Navy of the Southern Islands Federation, I would beat them without hesitation, but unfortunately, this submarine doesn't have a single decent weapon. Also, it's too big and not suitable as an offensive weapon. I hope you understand."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"Also, we've been adrift underwater for some time, and many devices on the submarine need maintenance and repairs. Could I trouble you to build a port here... not a wooden one like this, but rather something a bit more reliable."

Fang Chang was about to say that he was already contacting companies in Ideal City.

Just then, a person suddenly squeezed out from the group of survivors on the deck, raising his right hand and saying.

"If you're planning on building a port, I can help!"

Dressed in a faded brown shirt, he looked somewhat haggard, but his eyes shone brightly.

Looking at this enthusiastic man, Fang Chang was slightly taken aback and curiously asked.

"Who are you...?"

Chen Jianhong glanced at the man and introduced him on his behalf.

"His name is Li Shihao, an engineer from Coral City, previously worked at the submarine docking station, seems to be an engineer, but I forgot what he specializes in—"

"It's port and waterway engineering!" The man interjected, eagerly continuing with an astonished Fang Chang, speaking rapidly, "I've been involved in the renovation projects of the Ring Island and Anle Island ports, as well as the design of the Coral City submarine docking station... Give me enough manpower and materials, and I can build a universal port for this submarine to dock!"

Upon hearing the last sentence, Fang Chang's eyes immediately lit up, and he promptly stated.

"Great! You're hired. I'll give you not only enough manpower and materials, but also pay you a monthly salary of ten thousand silver coins! That's just the base salary, there's also performance bonuses and commissions! As long as you work hard, I guarantee your life in the Alliance will be even more comfortable than the Governor of your previous refuge! Ah right, the choice to accept employment is yours—"

"I accept!" The man nodded eagerly, his expression full of excitement.

Although he didn't know how much purchasing power ten thousand silver coins had, having a job to start with could never be wrong.

Seeing that someone hadn't even landed yet and had found work, the rest of the survivors on the deck began to show envious expressions.

With somebody setting an example, several others also raised their hands, bravely stepping forward.

"I'm his colleague!"

"I can do that work too, I can help!"

"Do you need someone who knows how to raise fish? I can! The fish I raised in Coral City were great!"

"I specialize in underwater exploration... Of course, I can do it on land too!"

"I'm a miner!"

"Wait, are you interested in underwater automatic construction equipment? I've worked on the design of the Electric Eel unmanned boats! You know, the ones for underwater automatic welding!"

"Look at me too, I research materials for waterproofing and rust prevention..."

Fang Chang's face was overcome with joy.

Looking at these people, he saw them as a walking gold mine!

Si Si and Tail simultaneously revealed looks of surprise.

On one hand, they were astonished by the sheer talent among these survivors, and on the other, they were stunned that Fang Chang, the old fox, started a recruitment event on the spot.

"I Giao!"

"This dude is way too slick…"

As he watched the excited crowd, Fang Chang quickly raised his hand, soothingly shouting to calm everyone down.

"Everyone, don't be agitated! Don't rush! What we need most right now are people, especially those of you who possess knowledge and professional skills!"

"When issuing identification cards later, I will register each of your occupations and specialties! I assure you that you will all find jobs that you love and start a new life on this sun-drenched land!"

"Additionally, we have prepared delicacies and fine wines from the City of Dawn for you! Before we begin anew, let's say a complete goodbye to the hassle and worries of the past!"

Food!

Wine!

With that voice, rising and falling, there was suddenly an eruption of excited cheers and whistles on the deck.

Every face, which was pale with hunger, now brimmed with excitement and joy.

Everyone on the deck, filled with anticipation and hope for a new life, was spirited, energized as if injected with adrenaline—especially Tail, who was also howling and joining in the excitement.

Watching the cheering crew and survivors, Captain Chen Jianhong also showed a relieved smile on his face.

To be able to end this two and a half months of wandering in this way, it really justified his suffering during this time...

With the help of the players on the shore, a makeshift pontoon was quickly erected between the dock and the submarine, and the survivors and crew on deck gradually set foot on the beach.

Yiren Tavern, which was supposed to open in the evening, started bustling early in the morning.

On the beach, tables and chairs were set up, and the atmosphere was festive, as if it were a holiday.

At this very moment, far out at sea, a speedboat belonging to the Southern Islands Federation was rapidly approaching Potato Harbor.

It was Muda's speedboat.

After finally dealing with the interrogation by the Federal Navy, he didn't return to Ring Island to change crews but headed straight here.

All he wanted now was to quickly hand over the hot potato tied under the ship to the Alliance and tell them about the disappearance of the two girls near the wreckage of the ocean current generator.

What Muda had not anticipated was that as soon as he entered the eastern part of the Baiyue Strait, he spotted that colossal vessel floating on the water.

The Dolphin!

The Underwater Ghost that had sunk twelve of the Federation's cargo ships!

The number one target wanted by the Federal Navy!

Standing at the bow of the speedboat, Muda stared dumbfounded at the giant beast on the water's surface and was momentarily lost for words.

The sailor standing behind him swallowed hard and asked with a trembling voice,

"Captain?"

Muda's gaze struggled for a while, and finally, with gritted teeth, he gave a low order,

"…Approach it."

That sailor and the one steering the boat in the cabin exchanged glances, each seeing deep unease and confusion in the other's eyes.

It felt like they were walking down an increasingly dark path…

Chapter 688: I am now a person of the Alliance, try to touch me and see what happens?

Before setting foot on that dock, Chen Jianhong had never felt so profoundly that life was truly beautiful.

Especially after he had just shown off a plate of barbecued meat, followed by downing a big glass of chilled beer, the tears... or rather the headache-inducing kind, were almost spilling out of his eyes.

Indeed, this is what it means to be alive!

Those miserable days were finally over!

And at that moment, Chen Jianhong finally understood why that guy Sun Yuechi didn't want to be the Manager anymore.

If he had known life in the Alliance was this comfortable, he would have given up being the Captain too!

But understanding was understanding.

When he had the chance to meet him again, he was still going to punch that guy hard in the face.

To avenge these two and a half months of hardship!

Although it was now morning, for the night-shift crew of the Dolphin, it felt just like dinner time.

A plate of barbecued meat had just been shown off, and the waitress in her uniform brought over another.

Gazing at the oily grilled meat, Chen Jianhong couldn't help but ask curiously.

"What kind of meat is this?"

A player at the same table chuckled and said,

"The tail of a 'Garbage King'!"

Chen Jianhong was taken aback.

"?What's that?"

Another player at the table slapped the back of the head of the talkative one.

"Don't tell him that, he won't understand, cough... it's just an ordinary lizard tail."

"Oh oh..."

Listening to the explanation from the Residents of the refuge, Chen Jianhong nodded in bewilderment, then reached out for another skewer of meat and brought it close to his mouth for a swipe.

Although it sounded a bit strange, it was normal compared to their diet in the past while...

The whole beach was filled with the aroma of barbecued meat, all sorts of exotic ingredients, along with mushrooms and berries harvested from the rainforest, and some leaves giving off a strange fragrance.

The survivors and crew from the Dolphin caught hold of the barbecue and beer and made quite a show of it, gobbling it down as if they were reincarnated from starving ghosts; it was heart-wrenching to watch.

"Thank you all so much!" A middle-aged woman with a haggard face, holding back tears, grasped Si Si's hand, her voice choked with sincere gratitude, "Until yesterday, we thought we were done for. If we hadn't met you, I really don't know how much longer I could have held on..."

"It's okay, it's all over now," Si Si said softly, patting the back of her hand.

In fact, judging by their threshold for suffering, the survivors from the Southern Islands Federation weren't exaggerating.

Before the war, they had indeed ended the Wasteland to a certain extent, living a prosperous and civilized life in a relatively closed environment.

By contrast, the Waste Land Wanderers from other regions in the Central Continent had much grimmer lives.

Take Qingquan City for example.

Before the Alliance arrived, most of the survivors there had rarely eaten proper Food in their lives; nutritional paste and boiled green wheat were the daily norm for most people, with only Slave Owners, crooked merchants, Mercenaries, and scoundrels living a few days worth living.

But she wouldn't accuse them of being melodramatic.

Every kind of suffering was real, though the severity could vary, there was no distinction between noble and lowly suffering.

At least that's how she saw it.

Watching a group of devouring survivors, Si Si raised her Right Hand near her eyes in a gesture of gazing far away, a satisfied smile on her face.

This food live streaming was so stress-relieving.

"Whoa! Everyone eat up, don't be shy! It's on Elder Fang, after all!"

Elder Fang just happened to walk by and gave them a sidelong glance, kindly reminding,

"Indeed, don't be shy. After all, it's the money of the Baiyue Strait Development Company that's being spent."

"Giao?!" Si Si looked at him in shock, "I thought you were treating us!"

Elder Fang smiled lightly.

"How could that be? Do I look like the kind of person who would spend his own money to do good?"

Si Si stared in astonishment at the man who could say such a thing without blushing.

"Yikes! Heartless man, I wonder what Miss Dolly saw in you!"

Elder Fang thought seriously for half a second.

"Maybe... she has good taste?"

Si Si stared at him with surprise, her mouth agape, but she couldn't utter a word.

What a tough guy!

Is this what it means to boast so naturally?

...

In a matter of minutes, most of the barbecued meat piled on the long Table had been shown off.

As for the clams, snails, and oysters, they were left untouched, heaped to the side – no one even bothered with them.

It wasn't surprising.

These past two months, what they had eaten the most was stuff from the sea, and now they probably felt like vomiting at the sight of seafood.

With full bellies and satisfied hearts, people sat on the beach, some singing while gazing at the sea, some spread-eagled lying down, and others simply dozing off on the sand.

The owner of Yiren Tavern, having been busy for a while, finally managed to bring up her signature dish—fried chips—just before the guests fell asleep.

He was carrying two baskets woven from rattan in his hands, grinning as he ran toward the beach and dumped the chips onto the long Table like feeding pigs, right where a stack of meat had just been cut.

"Here come the fries!"

Inhaling the enticing aroma of carbs, everyone's eyes turned toward the small mountain of golden yellow, their curious gazes tinged with a hint of yearning.

"This stuff smells even better than grilled meat!"

Regrettably, they were too full to eat any more, with many sitting on the ground unable to even move their legs.

The only one still maintaining some semblance of restraint, Captain Chen Jianhong, also cast a curious look at the pile of golden-yellow, stick-like food.

"What's that?"

Fang Chang, walking up beside him, said with a smile,

"Fries, a special delicacy here, want to try?"

As he was speaking, Captain Chen Jianhong already stretched out his hand, took one, and put it in his mouth, his eyes instantly lighting up.

After a long while, he wiped his greasy hands on a napkin and looked at Fang Chang with a face full of emotion,

"I can't believe it... How did you come up with so many different kinds of food?"

Fang Chang said with a laugh,

"This is just a little bit, wait until you get to the City of Dawn, I guarantee you can have three meals a day for 365 days without repeating a single one."

Captain Chen Jianhong wore a skeptical expression.

But seeing the unwavering look in the other man's eyes and thinking about someone who was happily forgetting home in the City of Dawn, he found himself half-believing.

Just then, a commotion suddenly came from the direction of the distant beach, followed by an exclamation.

"A boat!"

"It's coming from the east!"

"A Federal patrol boat! Damn it!"

At the sound of the exclamation, people who were relaxed just a second ago panicked, scrambling up from the beach. Without even time to grab their shoes, they hobbled toward the dunes above the beach.

It was clear that the Navy of the Southern Islands Federation had been torturing them lately, so much so that even a speedboat could scare them to this extent.

As Captain Chen Jianhong reflexively reached for his gun, Fang Chang quickly grabbed him by the shoulder and patted it.

"Leave it to us."

With that, he gave a hand signal to Right Hand and then stood up to walk toward the direction of the pier.

...

The speedboat quickly docked at the pier, appearing like a light leaf beside the Dolphin-class submarine.

Like a leaf fallen at the foot of an elephant.

As Muda boarded the pier, he noticed that the people on the shore were panicking and standing up, fleeing in the opposite direction from him.

Among them were both the drunk rebels of the Dolphin and those Coral City residents who had been taken hostage by the rebels.

Recognizing the identities of those people, the sailor following behind Muda was taken aback for a moment, then shouted towards the shore,

"Quick, get away from those rebels, we're here to rescue you—"

If they could rally those survivors, maybe they could subdue the crew of rebels!

However, before he could finish his sentence, a hand landed on his shoulder.

"That's enough, it's useless."

Faced with the astonished look from his comrade, Muda shook his head and withdrew his hand.

"Do you think they are running away from someone? From those rebels they were sitting with?"

The sailor was at a loss for words.

And just then, a shout came from the shore responding to his earlier words.

"Who asked you to rescue us!"

"Wasn't it you who cut off the power supply to Coral City! Stop pretending to be innocent!"

"You murderers!"

"Get off the land of the Alliance!"

Realizing that there were only three federal soldiers who landed on the beach, the people who were running away a second ago all stopped in their tracks, casting unfriendly looks toward them on the pier.

"Stay calm."

Muda gave his subordinates a look and then turned to face the line of people approaching the pier, getting straight to the point,

"Someone entrusted us to deliver an item—"

He had barely started speaking when he suddenly stopped, staring dumbfounded.

He saw the two girls who had disappeared near the ruins of the electric station, now walking toward them from the nearby beach. The one with short hair even waved her arms and greeted them.

"Oh! Long time no see!"

Not just Muda, but the two sailors behind him also wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

As the group approached, Muda stared blankly at the two for a while before swallowing and asking,

"What... what happened to you?"

Right Hand laughed with a hee-hee.

"We were almost goners, but luckily we caught a ride... By the way, where's the item?"

After staring blankly at this guy for quite some time, he looked back at the speedboat.

"...It's down below on the speedboat, we're hanging it with a fishing net."

"Oh! Thank you so much!"

Mission accomplished!

Right Hand excitedly ran in the direction of the speedboat, already eager to complete the mission.

Without stopping her, Muda turned to look at Fang Chang and Captain Chen Jianhong, who were standing in front of him, as well as Si Si and other players who had come to watch the commotion, and after a pause, he said.

"We had agreed that the vessels from Shelter No. 70 are not to get supplies from you... I need an explanation, what's going on with this submarine, and these people?"

"We haven't broken the agreement," Fang Chang continued with a smile, "Mr. Chen, and those people on the beach, they are now citizens of the Alliance."

Muda was stunned.

"What?"

Before Fang Chang could speak, Chen Jianhong, standing to the side, glared provocatively at the man in front of him and said with an air of arrogance.

"That's right, I'm a citizen of the Alliance now. Try laying a finger on me."

Muda didn't look at him but stared intently at Fang Chang and said word by word,

"They're criminals. Does your motto of 'suffering survivors uniting' mean you're shielding these criminals to help them escape trial?"

Fang Chang looked at him and asked,

"So, what crimes have they committed?"

Muda stared unblinkingly at him.

"War crimes; they must pay for the sinking and looting of those twelve merchant ships and for the crew who lie buried at sea—"

"Stop slandering us!"

An angry roar interrupted his words, and Chen Jianhong stepped forward, staring into his eyes with grinding teeth.

"Sinking twelve merchant ships? With this submarine? Tell me, how are we supposed to have sunk those twelve ships? Ram them with the bow?"

Before Muda had a chance to respond, a sailor beside them pulled out a wanted poster.

"Here's the evidence—"

"That's not evidence; it's just a piece of rubbish with some nonsense on it and a steel stamp."

Fang Chang glanced at the paper and continued to speak to the sailor holding the wanted poster.

"Occasionally, Waste Land Wanderers flee to our place to live incognito, and then their enemies come looking for revenge. For fairness, we allow both parties to make their case in court; it's better than settling things with a street brawl."

"If the plaintiff's evidence can indeed prove that a citizen of the Alliance had committed serious crimes against humanity on distant lands before obtaining citizenship, we would give them two choices: serve a sentence in redemption as an Alliance citizen, or strip them of their Alliance citizenship and order them to leave within a fixed period… However, the precondition is that we are talking about evidence."

"What weapons were used to sink those twelve ships? Where are the coordinates of the attacks, and what are the times and dates of each attack... You need to submit at least this evidence to us and ensure its authenticity, instead of blustering with empty rhetoric."

The sailor wanted to say something but was held back by Muda's hand.

"He's right, we do need those things."

Initially, he hadn't thought it mattered, but now he had changed his mind.

Not only because of the sea monsters appearing beneath the ocean current power station and the signal from the Mind Interference Device, but also due to the unusual reaction of the officer who interrogated him...

All this made it hard not to suspect some conspiracy behind the scenes.

The sailor looked blankly at his superior, then at the people in front of him, and could only grudgingly stuff the wanted poster back into his chest.

Fang Chang looked unexpectedly at this NPC named Muda.

It seemed there were sensible people here, not all headstrong fools. He then turned to look at Captain Chen Jianhong.

"To appease our neighbors, would you be willing to take them on a tour of the submarine? We will serve as an impartial witness, photographing and taking evidence of the 'weapons' they allege. Of course, you can refuse since you are under no obligation to prove your innocence."

"No problem," said Chen Jianhong with a mocking glint in his eye, looking at the three before him, "Browse to your heart's content. And I'm also curious to see if it was our toilet plunger that flipped over your ships or if your eyes are in the back of your head."

The two sailors stared at him with rage-filled eyes.

Ignoring the provocation, Muda gave Fang Chang a serious nod.

"Thank you."

Standing to the side, Si Si unfolded her arms and raised her right hand.

"Let me be the witness."

In addition to her, several other players eager for entertainment also raised their hands with interest.

"Take me along!"

"Me, me, me!"

"Let's stick together, brothers!"

In an instant, over sixty witnesses gathered, outnumbering the crew aboard the Dolphin.

Although indifferent to the dispute between the Federation and Shelter No. 70, they were interested in visiting this 'freeloaded' nuclear submarine.

Among them were semi-professional experts, ready to observe with a learning mindset.

Fang Chang was not stingy and briskly waved his hand.

"It's all yours."

So, the captain of the Federal patrol team and the captain of the Dolphin-class submarine returned to the submarine with a swarm of players.

The task did not take long.

After all, as Captain Chen Jianhong had shown, it was merely a cargo submarine, its power system being the most advanced feature, without any offensive weapons installed.

Following behind Chen Jianhong, the deeper Muda looked, the heavier his heart felt; by the end, he lapsed into silence.

Not just him.

The two subordinates who had been following him were also subdued.

Especially the sailor with the wanted poster, who, after seeing the places where the survivors cultivated seaweed and synthesized nutrient paste, wore a look of astonishment.

Is this the so-called Underwater Ghost of the Federal Navy?

They found no weapons inside, no loot from robberies, just a group of Coral City residents and traces of a struggle for survival in a harsh environment...

Who has made these poor people live such a miserable existence...

Muda clenched his fists involuntarily, his eyes now filled with uncontrollable anger.

Anyone with a shred of conscience could see there were none of the crimes the Federal Navy accused them of. Instead, there was ample evidence of wrongdoing by another group.

He took these photos, then took a deep breath and turned to Captain Chen Jianhong beside him, his tone grave.

"I apologize for the things my subordinate and I previously said," Fang Chang began, "You are victims of this war, not war criminals, at least I can't see any... evidence that could prove the so-called 'crimes' stated on that wanted poster."

"I can apologize for myself, you don't have to speak for me, sir..." the Sailor murmured, stepping forward with reluctance yet a sincere look in his eyes as he faced Captain Chen, "I'm sorry, but there was nothing I could do, I just followed orders from above... those goddamned guys, I really don't get what they were thinking."

"Let the past be past; I'm now a citizen of the Alliance," said Chen Jianhong with a shrug, no longer looking down on them with sarcasm.

In fact, he could understand that these people before him were not the warmongers, but like him, ordinary people innocently drawn into the fray.

Watching Muda, deep in thought, and the Sailor, confused and looking down, Si Si lowered her crossed arms and began to speak slowly.

"It's not difficult to understand. Some people want this war to go on; they always need a reason to continue. Like an escaped attack submarine, a Death Ghost lurking under the sea... Its existence is enough to send most who are in the dark into a panic, and in their induced fear, they become silent accomplices in this war while conveniently covering up certain things that they don't want known."

At this point, she paused, then continued in a half-joking tone.

"Actually, before you came here, I've been thinking whether you'd hand over that detector to the Federal Navy... I bet that if you did, we probably wouldn't see you again, and you wouldn't have had the chance to see these things."

Muda remained silent for a moment, speaking with a complex expression.

"If it were yesterday, I might have argued with you, but now I really don't have the confidence... Perhaps you are right, we indeed have some problems within our ranks."

To be honest, he had indeed had similar feelings before.

Especially when he realized that there might be a traitor in the navy, he vaguely sensed that he and his two subordinates could be silenced for knowing too much.

That's why he had colluded with the two men behind him, concealed part of the clues, and delivered the detector here at the first opportunity.

Watching Muda's complex expression, Si Si spoke again.

"Shall we strike a deal?"

Muda looked at her.

"What sort of deal?"

Si Si continued.

"This is the sea area under your patrol, and the Sailors executing tasks here are your men; they listen to you more than to the Federal Navy headquarters, right?"

"Of course, they're all lads from Ring Island; we all come from the same community," Muda answered without hesitation, then looked at her quizzically, "Is there a problem with that?"

Si Si curved the corners of her mouth and continued.

"Since the existing evidence is already enough to prove these crew members are innocent, why don't you turn a blind eye to the existence of this submarine and the crew members who've come ashore? Just pretend you haven't seen them."

Muda was taken aback for two seconds, looking at her with disbelief and amusement.

"How can we turn a blind eye to such a large submarine, nearly six hundred people, how do you expect us to overlook them?"

"Very simple," said Si Si with a slight smile, "usually we'll keep the Dolphin submerged at the bottom of the sea, and there's no need to surface unless absolutely necessary. Ah, and if the Federal Navy happens to come by, remember to give us a heads-up; we'll move it farther away, and also let the Residents of the refuge be aware."

According to current intelligence, although the Southern Islands Federation might not have a decent army, they still have at least a dozen warships prowling the Southern sea area.

At present, the Alliance's foundation in the Baiyue Strait is not stable; despite having a strong army, they lack reliable anti-ship weapons. If a real battle were to happen, winning could end up being a pyrrhic victory, possibly pushing the survivors in this sea area completely to the side of the Torch Church.

Compared to that, there are better options, like redirecting the guns that were initially aimed at Shelter No. 70 towards the Torch Church believers in Haiye Province.

In fact, just from the way those shamans treat the local survivors, it's evident that the strength of the Southern Islands Federation is not weak, and they are even capable of threatening the Torch.

Otherwise, they would have stretched their hands in openly like they did with the survivors around Brocade River City, instead of resorting to infiltration tactics.

Muda stared at Si Si without blinking and frowned slightly as he spoke.

"I don't understand... Why won't you let me take this opportunity to clear their names?"

In his view, it was a good opportunity.

If they could let more people know about the ordeal of the over five hundred survivors on the Dolphin, they could at least garner the support of the thirty thousand survivors from Coral City scattered across the various islands.

At that time, even the President would have to respond.

However, upon hearing his words, Si Si just smiled faintly.

"So, how do you plan to clear their names? By plastering these photos onto the newspapers or throwing them onto the desk of the Federal Navy headquarters? That won't help at all. Even if you could prove the Dolphin was a misunderstanding, you can't prove that the incident with the ocean current power station is unrelated to Shelter No. 70, nor can you get those who plan to lean toward the Torch Church to stand with us."

The latter was critical.

The Southern Islands Federation was not without people who saw the truth, but this didn't mean they would necessarily stand on the side of fact.

Haiye Province had the technology, resources, land, and everything else that the Southern sea area needed.

Attracting the survivors from the Southern sea area required more than just evidence; they also needed to make the Baiyue Strait an acceptable alternative.

Whether it was on economic issues or the management of "slime mold," if the Alliance could do better than the Torch Church, most people would realign their allegiance out of self-interest.

That was the entirety of the plan.

Muda looked at her, stunned, and took a deep breath.

"Then what are you going to do?"

Si Si said,

"We'll take it step by step. Before revealing the evidence, we need to pull as many people as possible onto our chariot."

Muda asked earnestly,

"Like?"

Si Si replied, "Like the places closest to us, like your hometown... the water-troubled Ring Island. We had previously promised the governor there to solve the freshwater supply problem, and now it's time to give him an answer."

Muda looked at her with an odd expression.

"You've solved it? That's a settlement of one hundred thousand people... do you know how much freshwater they need?"

Si Si said with a smile,

"I know, but so what? We are now standing on a piece of land that you once abandoned and thought impossible to conquer. Not to mention one hundred thousand people, even ten million, a hundred million... we have a way to supply them."

Muda swallowed.

"Then how do you plan to deliver the freshwater? By ship?"

Si Si shook her head and said leisurely,

"That would be too cumbersome. We prefer to lay a two-hundred-nautical-mile long water pipe... It's true that before we didn't have a good solution, but now things are different. We have the Dolphin and we also have over five hundred experts skilled in underwater construction, who have abundant construction experience."

She patted the solid hull beside her, her face beaming with a radiant smile as she continued,

"All you need to do is turn a blind eye to them and help us keep an eye on the Federal fleet."

Chapter 689: Don't Splatter Blood on Me

After disembarking from the submarine, Muda led his two subordinates back to the fast boat and set sail towards Ring Island.

They had stayed at Potato Harbor for too long, and not returning to change shifts might arouse others' suspicions.

Moreover, before changing shifts, he needed to have a talk with the brothers from the next shift to make some appropriate adjustments to the patrol area.

Such a big matter couldn't be settled in one day; he needed enough time to ideologically persuade his subordinates.

Recalling the conversation just had on board the submarine, the subordinate standing beside him hesitated for a long time before he finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Captain…"

"What is it?"

"Are we… betraying our people?"

This wasn't only his concern.

The brother in the cockpit, who was standing there, also looked towards the deck, waiting for the captain's answer.

Gazing at the distant rolling waves with a complex expression, Muda pondered for a long time, then shook his head, saying with a resolute look,

"No, we are not."

"But…" The sailor's face still showed some hesitation, but this time, Muda's gaze, as he turned back to look at him, was much more determined.

"The real enemies are those who drag us into an abyss of doom for their own ambitions, not those who would gamble their own lives to pull us out of that abyss. They are different from those believers who come from Haiye Province; they genuinely intend to end the wasteland on this planet. Maybe that's why Mr. Sun Yuechi wrote them that letter."

"We have never betrayed the survivors living in these seas. Not now, and never in the future."

The two sailors exchanged glances, and although their eyes still carried confusion and a haze of uncertainty about the future, they felt a bit more at ease in their hearts.

Whether this was betrayal or not, they were already on this pirate ship.

And had no choice but to keep sailing it...

Someone first changed the subject, and the other person tacitly picked up the thread, chatting about something else to lighten the mood.

"Speaking of which, what do they eat on the beach? It smelled oddly good."

"I saw barbecue and beer… and that golden thing looked like the fries they mentioned?"

"Damn… they eat better than old me." The sailor steering the boat licked his lips enviously, feeling the hunger pangs stirring.

After all the trouble, he had worked through the night and was now just feeling hungry and tired.

Leaning against the ship's rail, Muda yawned and said offhandedly,

"If you're so curious, we'll have to make a trip to their port someday."

"Boss, do you have their silver coins?"

"They plan to trade with the settlements on Ring Island, right? We can just exchange Federation Currency with them when the time comes."

"Good idea!"

Unknowingly, the Southern Islands Federation's patrol boat moved further and further away toward the sunrise in the east.

No one noticed that the Islands Federation, forged from conspiracy, had already begun to show a slight fracture, silent and unnoticed…

...

Elsewhere, on the "Wasteland OL" official website.

The players who had visited the submarine brought the news back to the forum as soon as possible, sharing it with those sand sculptures who had never seen the world.

Killer Dagger, "Let me tell you guys! That submarine is badass! Over two hundred meters long; it's practically an underwater aircraft carrier."

Debt Giant Eye, "Holy shit?! Really?!"

Hard Hat Youth with Brick, "The sun rises from the west; Ah Wei is not bragging?!"

Tail, "Giao! Don't add random settings for me; when have I ever liked to brag? (ノ｀Д)ノ"

Night Ten, "Shocked, Brother Guang has become so generous!"

No internet connection was available temporarily at Potato Harbor, and photos captured there couldn't be immediately sent back to the shelter or uploaded to the official website.

Fortunately, with advanced technology, some enthusiastic people used the few words described by those worldly players to fine-tune the key points and uploaded them to AI drawing software. After continuous training, they really managed to produce a CG image that looked somewhat close to the real thing.

Seeing those imitation CG images generated by AI, people had their eye-candy advance. However, soon new debates arose.

Shipyard Master Zhang, "Wait a minute, you're saying this thing can dive?!"

Foot Washing Liquor Drinker, "Nonsense!"

Fish Seller from Hulu Island, "I'm really curious how they produced such a large-diameter pressure hull?! And what about the welding technology?! If that thing could submerge 100 meters in reality, I'd eat it!"

Midnight With Umbrella Not Knife, "Brother, you've gone crazy. This is just a game!"

Hungry Force, "Man, you accept a 500-meter-long iron airship, why can't you accept a 200-meter-long submarine?"

Bow to Hungry Force, "Exactly! They can weld thousands of kilometers of starships, but can't they weld a 200-meter-long submarine?"

Who's Levin with Ward's Athlete's Foot, "Sss... There's a point there; maybe there's a possibility! Isn't Tiangong not far from the entrance to Shelter No. 70? Maybe their welding technology came from the recycled Tiangong Space Station!"

Ah, Er, I Need to Use the Restroom, "Damn... Thinking about it, Shelter No. 70 really has an amazing start!"

Lower The Voice I'm Bluron, "How can you play such good cards so bad?!"

Thinking of how other shelters were primed with research points and population the moment they opened their doors, compared to them getting hammered by Looters and Mutants right off the bat, a round of players from the alpha testing wept en masse, filled with envy.

Back then, even a fire stick could be flaunted as a Divine Artifact; unlike now when even Gauss sniper rifles could actually be bought with money.

Truth be told, it wasn't just these Alpha test players that were filled with sighs; even Chu Guang, who was watching from inside the refuge, was engulfed in a wave of emotions.

In the strictest sense, these Alpha test players were the newcomers; he was actually the first to crawl out from Shelter No. 404.

Back then, you couldn't even talk about a fire stick; at the start, you only had a dog by your side, and it was the kind that had two heads and chased after his tail, trying to bite it.

He was lucky that the survivors of Bet Street were relatively good to him, especially Little Fish's family, who took particular care of him. Otherwise, it's hard to say whether there would have been so much "work" afterward.

"To be able to misplay such a good hand so badly, it truly takes 'talent.'" Looking at the map of the Southern sea area, Chu Guang also felt a surge of emotions.

Although he wasn't on the scene, based on the casual chats of players on the forum, as well as the summary binder Xiao Qi helped compile, he had a rough understanding of the whole situation.

Although Sun Yuechi was reluctant to admit it, Shelter No. 70 in the Southern sea area had effectively become the "Inner City Nobles."

Their merits were probably that they weren't as decadent as the nobles of Jushi Inner City, and most of them were highly educated engineers and experts, with knowledge, experience, and lofty ideals and foresight far beyond that of the average Waste Land Wanderer.

The downside was that they might have been even more detached from the people than the Inner City Nobles themselves, given that the former often mingled in and out among the latter.

Even now, Huang Guangwei and Captain Chen believed that the development of this situation was due to the stupidity of the survivors in the Southern sea area, not because they lacked real communication.

If, in the past century, they had condescended to drop their enlightened arrogance and shared a little power with the ordinary survivors who had grown up, they might not have faced the emergence of a "Federation" that completely excluded the refuge.

Coral City, cultivated by the residents of Shelter No. 70, was the first to split in this conflict.

Their embarrassment stemmed not only from their dependence on ocean current power stations but also because they were caught between two separating groups.

Gazing at the stretch of blue sea, the more Chu Guang looked, the more he felt it was a pity.

Perched leisurely on the corner of the desk, swinging her small legs, Xiao Qi rested her chin on her hands, watching the side of Chu Guang's face, and suddenly asked out of curiosity.

"Master."

Shifting his gaze from the forum, Chu Guang looked towards Xiao Qi.

"What is it?"

Xiao Qi blinked and said,

"If the Southern sea area is so important, why don't you just take over directly, instead of letting players handle it themselves?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"They're right there on location, their understanding of the place is so much stronger than mine, confined here. Leaving it to them is the best choice."

"Moreover, I want them to initiate change in this wasteland on their own, to maximize the players' creativity and passion. If they can use their own strength to resolve the crisis in the Southern sea area and unite its survivors, that would be more effective than any content pack I could release."

"And all we need to do is give them enough support at the critical moments."

Of course, he hadn't left all the "work" to the players.

As the Manager of the Alliance, he had his own duties as well.

Not only the ongoing Sticky Community meeting but also a series of collaborations the Alliance is currently embarking on with the Camel Hump Kingdom.

A railway from Falling Leaves City to Petra Fortress had begun construction, which, once completed, would integrate the Camel Hump Kingdom into the Alliance's terrestrial trade network.

The negotiations at the embassy in Silver Moon Bay had concluded, and embassy staff along with a batch of player-specific Sleep Cabins were already en route to Oasis No.4.

As save points extend outward along the Alliance's railway, an increasing number of players will appear on the shipping route from the City of Dawn to Potato Harbor.

The majority of these players' in-game activities will have a positive impact on the development of Potato Harbor.

And all of this was the invisible backstage work he did as a regular player...

...

Just as players were buzzing with speculation over the Dolphin Nuclear Submarine and the suspected upcoming new version, the distant Silver Moon Bay was also bustling with activity.

The morning bells had just rung, and the seagulls were already circling early around the steam sails' chimneys and masts.

The boiler operators carrying shovels yawned as they walked onto the deck, and dock workers with towels over their shoulders were unloading crates of goods from the diverse barge ships, handing them over to ground staff who transported them to the harbor warehouses or the trade market a kilometer away.

Here one could find everything, precious timber and gorgeous silk, exotic spices with a strange aroma, boxes and bundles of gold and silver treasures, or the secret relics left from the Era of Prosperity.

The vessels docked in the port varied as well, from fishing boats you could circle in a dozen steps to oil tankers that'd take a minute to run from bow to stern.

As the largest port in the entire Luo Xia Province and the eastern region of the Central Continent, not only ships from the East and West Coasts often appeared here, but occasionally vessels from another continent also unloaded cargo here.

As such, the bustle here would usually commence from the moment the sun rose and continue until sunset.

Whether it was the dockworkers, the passersby on the adjacent streets, or the hawkers shouting in the street markets, everyone was working hard to make the jingling sound in their pockets louder.

However, in this port where wealth myths were born every day, the stories of overnight fortunes often had nothing to do with the busy majority.

Take Mogavi, who had recently struck it rich and was already passed out drunk in a tavern early in the morning, bragging loudly to other drunks who had also been hungover all night.

"You landlubbers who've never been to sea could never imagine the astonishing sights! Boxes and bundles of gold are strewn across the sand waiting to be picked up; a stash of assault rifles could be traded for a piece of mink fur worth a fortune!"

Hearing that withered, hoarse voice, a drunk at the next table downed a swig of watered-down alcohol and chuckled with mockery.

"Pal, we don't need to go to sea."

"That's right!"

Another drunk took up the thread, also laughing as he spoke.

"I've got five shops at Silvermoon Port all rented to Alliance Merchants. They pay me a sackful of rent money every month. I could sit here drinking all day long and not worry about being broke."

"Just like you, buddy, I've got a thousand dairy cows and ten thousand pigs at Farm No.9 in Oasis. The more those Blue Jackets eat, the more I earn."

Mogavi stared blankly at those guys.

Well, I'll be damned!

They can boast even more than me!

The tavern owner, sitting behind the bar, couldn't bear it any longer. He slammed the polished glass onto the table and couldn't help but say.

"Since you're all so wealthy now, you might as well settle the tab before I close in two hours."

The drunkard, who kept ten thousand pigs, waved his hand.

"We're so familiar with each other, let's stick to the old rules — put it on my tab first—"

His words had barely finished when the owner glared at him, interrupting him.

"Don't even think about it! You already owe me 1147 Gold Camels, and if you don't pay today, I'll sell you to the dock to work off the debt as a laborer!"

The drunkard's face immediately twisted into a bitter gourd, pleading.

"Oh please, don't send me there! I'll definitely pay it off in a couple of days!"

Watching those wailing drunks, Mogavi pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and then slammed his fist down on the table with force.

"Damn... that is really bad luck!"

These poor wretches!

Bickering with them is just a waste of time!

He had been sitting here all night, boasting all night long, inflating Potato Harbor — not much bigger than a fishing village — into a gold mine brimming with gold.

The reason he was advertising so hard to those folks was not out of any charitable heart or to repay the kindness of those generous people; it was purely to drum up investment for his next deal.

The port was right next to the Baiyue Strait; even if he didn't disclose its location, someone would eventually discover it.

Moreover, there were so many sailors and mercenaries on the deck at that time; he didn't expect these money-driven guys to keep any secrets for him, especially since he hadn't shared his earnings with them.

Maybe over a drink, those bastards would sell his secret to wealth clean.

Since Potato Harbor was bound to be discovered sooner or later, exploiting the time and information gap to expand the business as much as possible was the smart move before others trampled down the threshold of that port.

To do this, the funds he had on hand were obviously not enough; he needed to bring in some rich, foolish folks.

It would be best if some royal aristocrat took a fancy to his trade, threw a large sum of money at him to buy a fleet outright, or even let him transport goods using the royal family's fleet.

That way, at least, he wouldn't have to be at the mercy of those captains' whims.

Unfortunately, his business had just started. Although the goods he had could please the royal aristocrats, he, with no status to speak of, was not yet qualified to appear at their banquets and could only come to the small taverns near the port to try his luck.

Just as Mogavi was shaking his head and about to settle his bill and leave, two men in black robes walked in from outside the tavern.

The tavern owner looked toward the door, thinking they had come for a drink, and politely said.

"Sorry, guests, we're already closed, and we're cleaning up now."

The man in the lead didn't speak but just glanced at the drunks sitting here drinking, then his gaze settled on Mogavi's face.

The two exchanged a glance, one of them walked to the door, while the leader went to the bar, took out a hundred paper currency, and tossed it on the table.

"I'll pay for his tab."

The tavern owner was startled, quickly took the money, and placed the change on a metal tray.

However, the man didn't even glance at the change, but walked straight towards Mogavi.

From the moment those two had entered, Mogavi had been quietly observing them.

Especially when he saw the man out a hundred and paid his tab so easily, not even looking at the change before walking over to him, his heart thumped wildly, nearly leaping to his throat.

Goodness gracious!

What fortuitousness!

He had finally found the wealthy patron he had been waiting for!

Looking at the black-robed man who stopped in front of him, Mogavi cleared his throat, pushed his chair back, and rose, extending his hand in a friendly gesture.

"May I know how to address this gentleman?"

The man in the black robe looked at him expressionlessly, shook his extended hand, and then let go, saying.

"Singer, someone is interested in your business. I wonder if Mr. Mogavi would honor us with his presence."

Mogavi was taken aback.

He hadn't expected the man before him to be just an employee hired by someone. But it was precisely after realizing this that the eagerness in his eyes became even more intense.

"May I ask who your employer is?"

The man called Singer continued in an even tone.

"He is lodging nearby; please follow me."

Watching the man turn and walk toward the door, Mogavi didn't feel there was any issue and followed hot on his heels, full of eagerness.

The group left the tavern, walking south along the bustling street for a while, passing several luxurious hotels where Mogavi thought they had arrived, only to see the two men showed no sign of stopping.

Especially since one of them slowed down and fell behind him, injecting a faint sense of alertness into Mogavi's heart.

But he still suppressed the questions in his heart.

After all, this was Silver Moon City's turf, and while the security here couldn't be called excellent, abductions on the street were rare.

Moreover, the two men's demeanor didn't suggest bandits; they seemed more like noble retainers, and he, often dealing with royal servants, was confident in his ability to judge people.

After a good half hour's walk, they moved from the bustling market to a corner of the port area.

Two warships flying the Double Knife Flag were docked beside the quay, and about a dozen muscular men, with Ripper Rifles strapped to their backs, stood ashore.

This entire dock seemed to have been exclusively taken over by these two warships. Other ships stayed far away, and even the dock workers and patrol officers kept their distance.

At this moment, Mogavi finally panicked.

He glanced at the person closely following behind him, then looked at Singer walking in front, and asked with a trembling voice tinged with a trace of fear,

"Who, who exactly is your boss?"

Singer smiled faintly, stopped in his tracks, and gestured with his chin towards the ship ahead.

"Lord Archim is on that ship up ahead, go on up and have a talk."

Hearing this, Mogavi felt his heart plummet from his throat down to the abyss, bemoaning his fate, only regretting that he had been blinded by greed.

The man in the black robe stood motionless behind him, clearly having no intention of letting him go.

Not just that, the dozen or so soldiers carrying rifles near the dock were also staring unwaveringly at his face.

Seeing their formidable posture, Mogavi feared that if he even dared to step back, those guys would rush up without hesitation and tear him to pieces.

Seeing him standing still and not moving, the man called Singer politely reminded him with an impatient tone,

"Mr. Mogavi, please board the ship."

"Yes..."

Under the piercing gaze, Mogavi could only force a bitter smile, and with legs heavy as lead, he trekked towards the direction of the flagship's gangway.

These people were from the West Winds Empire.

Their notorious unreasonableness was well-known throughout Silver Moon Bay; even the governor of Silvermoon Port and the lord of Silver Moon City had no way to deal with them, only hoping the protection of the Alliance would make them restrain themselves.

Mogavi never imagined that honest trading would provoke this scourge, and even less so did he expect that they would break the rules so blatantly by abducting people straight from the bustling district!

Of course.

He also admitted that part of the reason was his own fault. If not for his greed, if not for his brain numbed by alcohol, he surely would not have fallen for such an obvious trap.

After some dawdling, Mogavi finally boarded the deck and met Captain Archim in a lavishly decorated captain's quarters.

He saw the bearded man slightly lift his nose, eyeing him as if interrogating a prisoner, and casually spoke,

"Have you been to Potato Harbor?"

Mogavi didn't dare hide anything, nodding nervously.

"Yes, my lord, I have just come back from there."

Hearing this response, Captain Archim slightly narrowed his eyes, which glinted like the flickering tongue of a venomous snake.

Mogavi felt a chill down his spine, just about to ask what instructions this lord before him had, when Captain Archim slowly began to speak.

"I need you to do something for me."

It was the tone of a command.

Clearly, there was no room for negotiation.

With his mind racing on how to escape from here, Mogavi quickly nodded.

"Please do tell."

Pleased with the merchant's attitude before him, Captain Archim methodically continued,

"I will give you two cargo ships, take them to Potato Harbor, it'll suffice as long as you get them to dock successfully at the port. Leave the rest to us, the matter is that simple."

Mogavi asked tentatively,

"What goods... are those two ships carrying?"

Archim looked at him expressionlessly and said,

"You don't need to know."

Guessing what might be on the ships, Mogavi swallowed hard, forced out a cooperative smile, and obligingly nodded,

"Of course! No problem, my lord! I'm well acquainted with those guys at Potato Harbor, whatever goods you wish to transport there... But, the journey isn't short, may I go back to pack my bags before we set off?"

He swore to himself.

If they let him back to the bustling area, he would definitely run without a second word, and he figured the Alliance's embassy would be very interested in this information. Perhaps they'd even provide him two bodyguards.

However, Archim merely glanced at him dispassionately and said with a sardonic half-smile,

"Do you think I'd let you go down?"

Chilling under that cold smirk, Mogavi immediately squeezed out a smile that was barely better looking than a cry.

"I... I won't go down then. So, respected lord, when do we depart?"

"Right now will do; two ships are already waiting in the Poluo Sea. I'll personally see you off," Archim said as he pulled out a diamond-studded pocket watch, took a glance at it, and casually tossed it into a drawer.

Suddenly noticing the small merchant's more appalling than tearful smile, Archim's gaze softened slightly, and with a friendly appearance, he reassuringly patted his shoulder,

"Relax, we're only going there to reclaim what belongs to us. Do a good job following me, and once it's done, I'll be sure not to let you down."

Mogavi watched this confident individual before him with a forced smile of gratitude while internally he was already cursing up a storm.

These damn short lifers!

Not content with throwing away their own lives, they were dragging him along!

All he hoped now was that these people would keep their distance when they died and that their blood wouldn't splatter on him...

—

(Thank you "Yan Xia ycl" for the chieftain reward!!!)

Chapter 690 The Impending Storm

Along the coast of the Haiye Province.

Quite unlike the pleasant and bustling Silver Moon Bay,
the beach soaked in blood here, under the sunlight, exuded a stench fouler than that of fish, with no fertile soil flowing with milk and honey, only the appalling sight of fear and death.

Near Howl Rock, adjacent to the Death Coast, on the cold, damp leeward side, there was presently a cacophony of chirping and chattering.

A group of blue-skinned humanoid creatures with scales and gills were chanting obscure elegies, praying under the lead of a priest for the hunt that was to begin today.

Two strong monsters walked to a cage half submerged in seawater, skillfully opened it, and dragged out a man who was on his last breath.

Soaked by seawater all day, the skin on his neck was ulcerated and sore, his pulsing veins seemed about to leap from the cracked skin.

The two monsters carried him to the beach, threw him among the praying creatures, then stepped aside.

Listening to the bizarre shrieks around him, the man tried to rise from the ground, but he couldn't muster any strength, his body parts felt as if they weren't his own.

He had not eaten for three days and was severely dehydrated, his mind was drifting to another world, he couldn't even muster a plea for mercy.

Seeing his dying state, the scaly monsters around him shouted excitedly and even began to dance.

This indicated that their ancestors who had entered the tide had accepted their offering, the churning waves had swept away the vitality of the prey, the weakness of the sacrifice was the best proof!

And now, only the last step remained—

"…dirty blood shall be spilled across the sand, to appease the spirits of our ancestors."

Chanting the sacrificial curse, the priest, his face smeared with mud, walked up to him and stretched out his bony yet strong hand to lift him from the ground.

Before he could react, the priest used a sharp flint stone to slit his throat and chest, letting blood spurt and spill on the dusky sand.

Those twisted figures were like the cheering imps in hell.

They lunged at the body, smearing the mud mixed with blood and sand on their foreheads and chests as a symbol of receiving their ancestors' blessings.

If there were survivors in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, they would certainly recognize these blue-skinned beings conducting bloody rituals.

They were the aquatic variant humans that countless fishermen and sailors dread!

These creatures, active along the coastline, were even more troublesome than their green-skinned kin, ferocious, barbaric, and cunning, tearing apart solitary Wasteland Wanderers they encounter, and running away without a word when faced with tough opponents.

Compared to terrestrial mutants, they had less human elements, and more of the beast.

That was why very few aquatic variant humans could form large tribes of thousands; most lived dispersedly in villages.

Because of their broader range of activity and diet, their craving for mammalian flesh wasn't as intense as their green-skinned kin; their attacks on humans usually stemmed from an instinctive hatred and the needs for sacrifice and reproduction.

But if one thought they were kinder or more gentle than their green-skinned counterparts, they would be gravely mistaken. Because they didn't consider humans as their main food source, their talent for "wasting food" even made the bloodthirsty green-skins frown.

In fact, before the Torch Church set foot on this land, there were no aquatic variant humans here.

The militia of the Iron Tower Organization would patrol along the coast, destroying each den they found, even more actively than the money-operated military contractors of Province Yúnjiānxíng, leaving hardly any aquatic variants standing in this area.

However, everything changed after the coming of the Torch Church.

The charlatans manipulated ordinary humans into captives of Nago using "Heaven," and for those variants not controlled by Nago, they used the latter's desired objects as bait to form alliances.

In just over a decade, the coastline of the Haiye Province had completely become a breeding ground for aquatic variant humans.

Especially around Howl Rock, it had nearly become the dominion of these scaly monsters, with even cargo ships from the East Coast daring not to approach these waters closely.

The priest who had completed the ritual stood quietly on the shore, tucking the blood-stained flint stone into a dirty cloth bag.

Just then, his pupils suddenly dilated, focusing on a rocky part of the beach.

There, a golden shadow bathed in light stood, resembling a god emerging from the rising and falling waves.

The nearby variants seemed oblivious to the golden shadow's presence, as if they couldn't see it.

That was indeed the case.

Only those chosen ones with chips implanted could gaze into that ineffable being.

The elderly priest trembled, kneeling on one knee.

Watching that ugly guy, Alzu slowly spoke.

"Do something for me."

The mutant priest replied respectfully.

"Please give your command."

Alzu continued.

"Follow the coast down to the west, keep going south, and you will see a strait; on its northern shore lies a human village."

"Kill them all, spare none!"

A human village!

Hearing this phrase, a flash of excitement and bloodlust flickered in the priest's eyes.

He respectfully bowed down, pressing his wrinkled, scaly forehead against the blood-stained sand.

"Yes!"

When he lifted his head again, the pale golden light had disappeared, leaving only the surging tide and waves covering the beach strewn with rocks.

He rose from the ground and looked toward the tribespeople scrambling on the beach for their ancestral grace, emitting a piercing and mournful howl.

The sound was like a battle drum, not only prompting the tribespeople sprawled on the sand to stand up straight but also revealing scaly faces from behind Howl Rock.

The blue scales converged toward the edge of the beach, and in a moment, a thousand had gathered.

Their weapons were varied - spears, nets, hooked sticks, and shields made of turtle shells. Besides these crude weapons, some of the elite also carried spear guns, short iron cannons, tubular mines, and even assault rifles.

Most of these weapons had been seized from humans, while others were DIYed from parts salvaged from shipwrecks.

Watching the number of tribespeople grow, the priest let out another mournful roar.

"Enemies! To the south!"

"Along the coastline! You can find their village!"

"March forth!"

The pairs of cloudy eyes lit up with a thirst for blood, responding to the roar with more frenzied and bloodthirsty howls.

"Awoo! Awoo! Awoo!"

Watching the excited young men, the priest's face bore a fanatical and sick smile, his withered hands trembling with exhilaration.

Finally—

The real sacrifice was about to begin!

...

Potato Harbor.

At the edge of the golden sand beach, the lush palm leaves gently swayed with the sea breeze, presenting a tranquil and peaceful scene.

Beneath the dappled shade of the trees, a makeshift hut made of straw and coconut shells carelessly housed several black cases, strikingly out of place amidst the surroundings.

The fans inside the casing hummed, while pale blue holographic images intertwined into a continuously flickering three-dimensional display on a disc-shaped device.

Currently displayed on the holographic screen was the holographic structural design of the "Bumblebee" engineering armor formulated by Shelter No. 100.

This piece of equipment was currently the most advanced multifunctional land-based construction equipment in the Federation, even surprising the corporations that completed the grand project of Ideal City with its ingenious design, praising it as a "miracle born in the sewers."

Despite the undertone of superiority in that nickname, one thing was undeniably clear—even the engineers of Ideal City were slightly "shaken" by this device.

Evidently, the shock was mutual for the engineers of Coral City.

Watching the unfolding holographic image, the middle-aged man wearing plain glasses showed a look of surprise before he turned to Fang Chang standing next to him and asked,

"Incredible design… Did your shelter come up with this?"

His name was Zhou Zhehui, a survivor from Coral City and also one of the designers of the "Electric Eel" unmanned underwater welding drone.

Since joining the Federation some time ago, he had cloned a copy of the "Electric Eel" drone blueprint for Meng Liang and others using professional equipment and editing software provided by the scientific exploration group, and subsequently took a job in the Federation's scientific exploration group on their recommendation.

The drone, shaped much like an actual electric eel, resembling a flat fan, could wriggle its body forward hundreds of meters underwater, use its ventral suction cup to grab building materials, and replace divers in dangerous underwater welding tasks.

Based on his designs, the automated production workshop on floor B7 of Shelter No. 404 had trial-produced ten prototypes which had already been delivered to Potato Harbor by the Bull Cow airship and put to work on the underwater freshwater pipeline construction from Potato Harbor to Ring Island.

From the construction crew's feedback, this so-called Electric Eel unmanned drone proved to be effective, speeding up the construction process by more than three times compared to the Strength Type Bull Cows.

The manager soon approved a production plan for one hundred more Electric Eel drones, giving priority to them in the production queue, with many more to be air-shipped to Potato Harbor soon to participate in port and underwater pipeline construction.

Now, Zhou Gong's daily job was to instruct the technicians sent by the Federation on how to use the "Electric Eel" unmanned drone, including setting work targets and paths through automated programs installed on the terminal.

Since this job did not consume much time, he often had ample free time, wandering around the settlement.

It was during one of these wanderings that he happened to see the Bumblebee engineering armor being used by the construction crew on the shores of Potato Harbor, sparking his curiosity about the uniquely shaped hulk.

After learning of his interest, the scientific exploration group generously made a copy of the blueprint and instructions for him to tinker with as he pleased.

Upon hearing about this from the exploration group, Fang Chang quickly thought about his experience in underwater engineering equipment design. He immediately approached Zhou to inquire whether it was possible to make some modifications to the Bumblebee engineering armor to design a similarly operated, amphibious version that could be used underwater.

Thus, Zhou Zhehui once again dug out the frequently reviewed blueprint and revisited it with a professional attitude.

However, no matter how many times he looked at it, he couldn't help but marvel and be amazed.

It begged the question — what kind of harsh, severe living environment had given rise to such a concise, efficient, yet cumbersome and agile piece of engineering armor.

Hearing his inquiry, Fang Chang coughed lightly.

"No, it was designed by the residents of Shelter No. 100."

The creativity of the residents of Shelter No. 404 mainly focused on imaginative realms.

Such engineering equipment, which had ascended to the realm of science fiction, was still somewhat too advanced for players whose level of knowledge was still confined to the real world.

After listening to Fang Chang's explanation, Zhou Gong's expression became even more surprised.

"Have they joined you too? Shelter No. 100?"

"I suppose... Do you know them?"

Zhou Gong shook his head, saying somewhat sheepishly,

"I don't, actually. The only shelter we've had dealings with is Shelter No. 117, and mostly it was the Blue Jackets from Shelter No. 70 who were in contact with them. As for us, we've just heard of their existence, not much else."

After a pause, he asked curiously,

"What sort of people are they? Are they like the residents of Shelter No. 70?"

Fang Chang's expression subtly answered,

"The difference is quite significant... They've been through a lot, and those who survived turned themselves into bionic humans."

It took Zhou Zhehui a moment to respond with an ambiguous comment,

"That's… truly unfortunate."

Fang Chang shrugged his shoulders,

"Every family has its own hard-to-read scripture."

Although most NPCs in "Wasteland OL" harbored reservations about AI being equivalent to humans, most players tended to be more open-minded on this topic.

He was no exception, even more open-minded than most.

After all, it was a game.

Whether they were AI or real humans, to the people in the real world they were all AI, weren't they?

And the AI technology in this game had advanced to a highly realistic level.

Without delving into deep philosophical issues, he had grown accustomed to treating these once-lived NPCs as real beings.

Zhou Zhehui sighed softly and said,

"I'd really like a chance to interact with them, academically or perhaps about our matters... Just not sure how much human trait those who have turned into bionic humans retained, it feels odd discussing humanity's future with AI."

"I feel like their difference from humans isn't that great, you might get along well," Fang Chang paused and cleared his throat as a reminder, "About that retrofit..."

With that reminder, Zhou Zhehui snapped back to reality, smiled sheepishly, and quickly shifted the topic back to technology.

"I've checked, the basic issue isn't big, their sealing designs are already quite good, we just need to redesign the gas exchange system... Give me a week, maybe three days will suffice, I'll get you an improved plan as soon as possible."

Hearing how soon it could be done, Fang Chang's face lit up with joy, smiling as he spoke.

"I'd appreciate it! Oh, and any thoughts on a good name for this improved model? I'll need it for the budget sheets."

Clearly, this NPC wasn't very skilled at naming, as he scratched the back of his head pondering for quite a while.

However, just at that moment, his eyes landed on the nearby beach where some players were laboriously dragging a mutated sea crab, two meters tall, onto the shore.

Inspiration burst forth from his mind – not just for the equipment's name, but also for many details in the design.

He looked intently at Fang Chang,

"Since it's amphibious engineering equipment."

"Let's call it 'Crab Style'!"

...

Ever since the players at Potato Harbor had reached an agreement with the Federal patrol team, both sides had passed many peaceful days.

Although nothing particularly significant had happened during this period, the changes at Potato Harbor were not slight.

With the addition of Coral City engineers, the settlement was visibly transforming at a rapid pace.

Under the leadership of the engineer named Li Shihao, the construction team responsible for the harbor quickly immersed themselves in the port construction work.

Simultaneously, with the help of the Electric Eel unmanned boats, the undersea freshwater pipeline from Potato Harbor to Ring Island had advanced ten nautical miles.

During this period, the Niu Ma airship made another trip to City of Dawn.

It not only brought fifty newly manufactured "Electric Eel" unmanned boats but also brought a batch of port-specific equipment produced on behalf of Boulder City Factory.

Even if he was skeptical about this "small fishing village" located on the north shore of Baiyue Strait, Mr. Chaning, the governor of Ring Island, had to admit that this water pipeline could potentially serve as a substitute for the desalination device, urgently addressing the residents' needs for domestic and industrial water.

Particularly compelling was the price offered by Baiyue Strait Development Co., Ltd.

At just 0.8 silver coins per cubic meter, a ton of freshwater cost 800 silver coins, with the pipeline's construction and maintenance fully managed by Baiyue Strait Development Co., Ltd.

Eight hundred silver coins were only the price of four LD-47 rifles. The residents of Ring Island used about four hundred cubic meters of water a year, amounting to less than two assault rifles in cost – even cheaper than before the ocean current power station was destroyed!

Once the cost of freshwater was reduced, not only would the residents of Ring Island no longer have to endure a meager existence of bathing once a week, but a series of industries that had been shut down due to the high cost of freshwater would also resume, and even subsidized food production could turn a profit.

Calculating the costs was straightforward, and Mr. Chaning almost immediately signed a ten-year contract with Baiyue Strait Development Co., Ltd.

Although the profit from this deal seemed meager for the Baiyue Corporation, it was unquestionably a bargain from a long-term perspective.

After all, the freshwater resources in Baiyue Province were nearly infinite, and delivering this water to the islands didn't require any particularly advanced technology; the maintenance cost for the pipelines was negligible.

In other words, once they repaired this pipeline, they could virtually make money while doing nothing.

Moreover, with this tap in their hands, Potato Harbor would be tightly bound to the islands in the southern sea area!

They would make the local survivors believe that they had come to solve problems, not to bring destruction and disaster.

Besides the projects revolving around economic activities, the Alliance had also completed a military base and logistic warehouse on the high ground northwest of Potato Harbor.

Currently, this place served as the base for the Burning Corps and the Jungle Corps, and other corps dispatched here might be stationed in the future.

Moreover, players had also set up simple watchtowers and beachhead positions equipped with machine guns and grenade launchers on the higher ground on both sides of the coast the south of Potato Harbor, to guard against any potential threats along the coastline.

The investigation of the ruins of the ocean current power station had served as a warning to the players here.

The Torch Church might have already developed some aquatic Variants, controlled by mind interference devices, capable of moving underwater.

The danger they faced was not only from the rainforest in front of them but also possibly from the beach behind them.

Today's Potato Harbor resembled a bustling construction site.

From beneath the sea surface to the beach and the nearby rainforest, there was almost constant noise from dawn till dusk.

And for the Dolphin moored near the port and the residents of Coral City ashore, the sailors from the Federal Patrol also turned a blind eye as agreed, intentionally overlooking it.

As a payoff for turning a blind eye, Baiyue Strait Development Co., Ltd., paid them an extra 'bonus' every month.

Initially, Muda was against accepting this money, which resembled bribery, and he refused sternly.

He had agreed to help the crew of the Dolphin escape capture, not for money but merely out of conscience and justice.

However, Fang Chang eventually persuaded him and handed over the money, which reassured both parties, into the hands of the honest patrol captain.

"...consider it as payment for helping us with the patrol. We're busy with construction and can't keep an eye on the surroundings. If it's not too much trouble, could you expand the patrol area a hundred miles westward? And if any pirates or Looters approach, please let us know."

After pausing, Fang Chang continued.

"Besides, even if you don't want this money, you have to think about your brothers. There are risks involved in what they are doing with you."

Muda silently looked at the stack of bills in his hand, and with a wry smile, said,

"Does this count as receiving two salaries?"

Fang Chang laughed and patted his shoulder.

"Why not consider it a part-time job? Maybe that would make you feel better."

Muda gave another deep look at this man who had drawn him deeper and deeper, said nothing else, and tucked the stack of bills into his chest.

Just as he was about to head back to the speedboat, he suddenly remembered something and spoke,

"There's something I need to tell you."

Fang Chang: "What is it?"

Seemingly hesitant about whether or not to share this information, Muda paused for a moment, but eventually spoke.

"The day after tomorrow, there's a naval patrol team exercise near North Island. The patrol teams from all the islands will participate."

Fang Chang raised an eyebrow with interest.

"And then?"

Muda, with a complex expression, said.

"There's an unusual thing. The Ministry of Finance hasn't arranged any duty tasks for the different patrol areas that day, nor has it mentioned if the Federal Navy will temporarily take over from the patrol teams for a day..."

Fang Chang replied with a smile,

"So you mean that even smuggling won't get caught that day?"

Muda glanced at him.

"Don't be like that."

"Just joking. We're all law-abiding good people, only engaged in legitimate businesses," Fang Chang said seriously, looking at him, "Thanks, this information is very important to us."

Someone planned to divert the Federal Patrol from these waters!

It seemed something inconvenient for others to witness would occur that day.

Especially inconvenient for their own people in the Southern Islands Federation.

Turning his gaze from Fang Chang's face, Muda looked towards the distant, tumultuous sea and spoke complexly,

"I'm just wondering whether the Federal Navy plans to conduct a surprise inspection on a certain patrol area, but this seems too deliberate. Whether or not we're suspected, it's best if you move that submarine farther away these next few days."

Fang Chang nodded earnestly.

"Yes, I'll make arrangements."

Chapter 691: The "Melee" By Some Mistake

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

Right at the peak of player log-ins and log-offs, a post that sparked a hot topic was bumped to the top of the forum's homepage.

Night Ten, "Big news! There's an event at Potato Harbor the day after tomorrow! (funny)"

Ever since Qingquan City was cleared, that damn "Dog plan" hasn't rolled out any new events for a long time.

Once everyone heard there was an event, they didn't care where it was or how far it was from them; they all got excited in an instant.

Edge Shoveling, "What event?"

Spring Water Commander, "Wait, weren't you just in City of Dawn?"

Debt Giant Eye, "Exactly! I saw you yesterday, with that NPC from the Academy!"

Night Ten, "Not important! My brother is at Potato Harbor, so that means I'm there too. (funny)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group, "Damn it, stop beating around the bush and tell us what the actual situation is?"

Fang Chang, "According to clues provided by the South Island Federation's Maritime Patrol Team, it seems someone lured them away from their patrol area."

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "Finally, someone with something substantial to say. (sidelong glance)"

Spring Water Commander, "Interesting, so they're moving the annoying people out of the way first?"

Fang Chang, "Yes, if the identity of the incoming attackers makes the South Island Federation's Maritime Patrol Team uncomfortable, then there's only one possibility."

Spring Water Commander, "The Torch?"

Fang Chang, "Eighty percent sure. Only this way can it explain why the federal authorities would arrange such a drill and leave such an obvious loophole."

"After all, if it were forces like the Army or the West Winds Empire which have nothing to do with the South Islands Federation, even if they suddenly attacked Potato Harbor, it shouldn't really matter to the South Islands Federation, right?"

"Furthermore, I can even infer that the ones who are going to strike Potato Harbor might be the same group or at least used the same weapons as those who sunk the 'Golden Coast' survey ship... And that's one of the reasons why they are so sensitive."

Gnome King Riches, "What do you think it'll be? Those winged mutants we ran into in Brocade River City before? (curious)"

Fang Chang, "Why can't it be the ones swimming in the sea? Hasn't that NPC named Huang Guangwei and the submarine he brought already hinted at the presence of Aquatic Variant Humans along the coasts of the Southern sea area?"

Si Si, "Makes sense, although I feel like the possibility of aquatic Variants isn't small, seems like mobility might be an issue for those big guys."

Spring Water Commander, "Damn, I thought it was going to be some major event. I'm outta here."

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "Guess that's everything out in the open. (funny)"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level, "F*ck, you must have a tight bro-ship with Brother Guang?"

Elena, "The script's been seen, confirmed. (funny)"

Tail, "Whoa! Pass it on! Dolly got cucked by the damn "Dog plan"! (///ω///)"

Fang Chang, "?"

The thread quickly veered off topic.

However, most players had no objections to Brother Fang Chang's analysis.

Up until now, updates in "Wasteland OL" were rather logical; there hadn't been any bad events where popular NPCs turn evil and then suddenly get redeemed in rotation.

In other words, players could also use the intel within the Game to analyze the next version's main storyline, and even predict in advance the traps set by the "Dog plan."

Based on the available information, it was almost 90% certain that the event in two days would be a mutant attack, and from beneath the sea no less!

At this moment, Chu Guang, sitting in the shelter and peeking at the screen, had read through the discussion from beginning to end and felt a surge of admiration.

Though the analysis was a bit far-fetched, there really wasn't anything wrong with it from the perspective of the Game.

From the player's point of view, the tactical layer was pretty much all that they could analyze.

As for Chu Guang himself, the only manager and planner, of course, he was more focused on the strategic level.

"...If the Torch Church really pulls out the mutant card, it seems they don't have many other cards to play from the sea."

Looking at Chu Guang, who had a slight smile on his face, Xiao Qi sitting on the corner of the table tilted her head in confusion.

"Is there a connection between the two things?"

Chu Guang slowly spoke as he sipped his milk tea.

"Moving people out of the way because they're afraid of being seen implies that they've probably used this card more than once. Given the choice, I don't think they would risk using the same card over and over again unnecessarily."

If that were indeed the case, it wasn't hard to understand why that group of crazy people with no bottom line was so unusually cautious towards the Survivor Forces of the Southern sea area.

The Survivor Forces of the Southern sea area were the only key for them to extend their tentacles into the sea and break out of their strategic predicament.

They needed the research base at Coral City, and even more so, the Lair at Tiangong Space Station.

The issue was that their forces in the ocean were too weak.

Bullying a few civilian ships might be nothing, but as soon as they faced the military vessels of the South Islands Federation, those Variants controlled by Mind Interference Devices would be a joke.

That was a force that had developed for two centuries among Survivor Forces, even if their strength was not comparable to the "Degenerate Empire," at least it was a strong start.

Certainly stronger than the Federation that developed entirely based on "picking up trash."

That's why the Torch Church adopted a gradual infiltration approach to the Survivors of the Southern sea area, even using the precious Mind Interference Device as bait.

However, just as the Torch was investing heavily for the annexation of the Survivors of the Southern sea area, the sudden intervention of the Federation introduced a bit of uncertainty into their plans.

It seems that the players' actions in the Baiyue Strait indeed made the Bishop in charge of the region anxious.

The corners of Chu Guang's eyebrows couldn't help but raise with an amusing arc, and his fingers intertwined on the table.

This feeling was quite interesting.

Although he had not yet faced the opponent, he could roughly guess which cards the opponent held, as well as their strategic goals and weaknesses.

The only suspense now was "how accurate the players' predictions about the Dog plan" really were.

If they actually guessed right, that the impending offensive was indeed orchestrated by the Torch Church, and the attackers were the Aquatic Variant Humans bred by the Torch around the Death Coast...

Then the battle hadn't even started yet, and they would have already won a third of it.

Thinking of this, the smile on Chu Guang's face grew even more pleased, and he took another sip of his tea.

"Too interesting."

Sitting on the pen holder, dangling her legs, Xiao Qi stealthily watched Chu Guang without speaking, her eyes gleaming with admiration.

Though she didn't know what had happened, she felt as though her master, who hadn't seemed to do anything, had won again…

…

The flagship on the vast blue sea rose and fell with the waves, like a lone leaf on the water.

A merchant dressed in fine clothes stood at the railing, watching the white foam split by the bow and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

Looking back on his busy life, Mogavi thought it had been quite exciting.

As an unnoticed little figure, he first witnessed the army's grand expedition across the continent against the Grand Canyon, then personally experienced the Falcon Kingdom's war of annihilation against the desert kings.

During that time, the far-off River Valley Province also erupted into the tumultuous Bone Chewing Chaos, the united survivor forces formed an impregnable alliance, and the Giant Stone City residents overthrew the mountainous burden on them. The land of a Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods, Poluo Province, had undergone yet another change of dynasties…

Quite a lot had happened over the years.

All those events seemed isolated, yet they also seemed to be invisibly linked by cause and effect.

And perhaps he stood here now because of some invisible cause and effect.

He should never have been greedy for that big score.

If he hadn't lingered in the port of Silver Moon Bay for so long, attracting the attention of the West Winds Empire, and had instead taken the money he made from selling furs and begged that sour-faced captain for another trip, he might not have made the fortune of his dreams, but it would have been better than his current situation.

Looking at the two merchant ships drawing closer, Mogavi's face wore an expression of doom, as if he were about to step onto the scaffold.

Captain Archim patted his shoulder and gave him a beaming smile.

"Think bigger, don't frown like that. Once our soldiers land at the port, you can pick whatever you want from there, whether it's people, goods, or money. It won't be less than if you had made a single good trade."

"Yes… respected sir."

Mogavi forced a smile uglier than crying but thinking of the miserable end that might await him, couldn't maintain even that small amount of cheer.

Deep down, he couldn't reconcile that his years of hard work would culminate in such a suffocating death.

He gritted his teeth and finally couldn't help speaking up, trying to persuade the captain to reconsider.

"The humble me has no doubt that you can crush your enemies like crickets, but have you considered one thing… how do you plan to withstand the fury of the Alliance?"

"Fury? Who cares about the fury of some ground squirrels?" Archim picked at his ear, nonchalantly flicking the earwax into the sea, "The moment they refused Duke Garava's request, they should have realized they would pay for their arrogance and stupidity. Besides, we're only taking back what's ours and collecting a little interest along the way."

The Empire's reach was vast, with fertile lands under the blessing of a thousand gods and a brotherly alliance with the army.

A mere alliance posed no threat.

Although the corporation behind the alliance posed a threat, even the army found those guys troublesome, he didn't think Ideal City would risk their relationship with the Empire over something so trivial.

After all, they had the army's support, and a battle-hardened Ten Thousand Leader with two stars had already arrived at the Empire's Tiandu to meet with the Emperor, accompanied by sufficient artillery, tanks, and rifles to arm several ten thousand troops.

He admitted that the blue ground squirrels were skilled at scavenging trash, but they lacked in strategy and scope, and were no match for the Empire.

No one would know that this operation was initiated under the direction of the Empire's upper echelons.

Once those two ships from Jinga Lun Port docked at Potato Harbor, over a thousand elite soldiers disguised as pirates would swarm out, quickly landing and taking control of the entire port.

They would loot the encampment on the shore, take away all the slaves stolen by the Alliance, and then pin the blame on the pirates. If the Alliance insisted on an explanation, they would chop off this Merchant's head and send it to them.

Thus, it would both demonstrate the Empire's magnanimity and prove to the Army the Empire's stance and determination, retrieve the face that those despicable and lowly Moon people had lost, and severely undermine the Alliance's prestige at the Sticky Community meeting, killing four birds with one stone.

As they spoke, one of the cargo ships had already moved close to the side of the warship.

Mogavi secretly sized up the cargo ship, its long and narrow deck was covered with a tightly sealed shed; undoubtedly, this was an ordinary civilian bulk carrier, and one that transported livestock, at that.

Typically, Merchants from Poluo Province would use such cargo ships to transport Double-headed Cows, which were prohibited from consumption in Poluo Province, selling them at the ports of Silver Moon Bay.

To transport an Army with a civilian cargo ship...

These guys really had the nerve to do it.

A man resembling an officer stood at the bow, giving Captain Archim a military salute.

"The Grey Wolf Army's first thousand team is in position, awaiting orders, sir!"

Looking at the muscular, eagle-eyed officer whose whole body exuded an aura of grim determination, Captain Archim nodded his proud head in approval.

The Grey Wolf Army, composed entirely of the valiant and battle-skilled Wolf clan, was the elite land combat force of the West Winds Empire, stationed in the east of Poluo Province.

He hadn't expected the Empire's higher echelons to mobilize them; it seemed they valued this operation more than he had thought.

He could already envision the grey smoke wafting above Potato Harbor and the charred ruins of burnt-down buildings, as well as the skeletal remains.

Dispensing with his approving smile, Captain Archim straightened his expression and solemnly regarded the officer.

"Centurion Di Rang, your superiors should have already briefed you on the mission, so I will not go into details here."

"From now on, your identity is no longer that of soldiers of the Empire, but ghosts who rule these waters, bringing death and destruction to the enemies of the Empire."

"I understand this might dishonor your honor, but it is all for the Empire! Your fathers and children, your tribesmen, will all be proud of you!"

The Centurion named Di Rang's eyes glinted as he straightened his back and pledged with grave solemnity.

"For the Empire! For His Majesty!"

His fierce demeanor starkly contrasted with the trembling Mogavi.

Catching a glimpse of the timid merchant beside him, Captain Archim's lips twisted into a sardonic smile tinged with mockery.

Patting the wretch's shoulder, he left him in the care of his most loyal subordinate, Singer, then returned to his cabin.

As they watched their superior depart, the reticent Guard took a step forward, positioned himself behind Mogavi, and murmured.

"Mr. Mogavi, it's time to depart."

With a grimace, Mogavi nodded, and under the watchful eye of the Guard named Singer, he shakily climbed the plank stretched from the deck of the warship to the cargo ship.

Following him onto the cargo ship, Singer gestured to the Sailors on the warship to retract the plank.

After retracting the plank, the warship slowly pulled up its anchor chain, then sounded the farewell steam whistle.

The two cargo ships, having resumed their journey, responded with their whistles in turn, before continuing in the direction of the Baiyue Strait.

Watching the Green Dual Sword Flag-draped warship slowly receding into the distance, Mogavi completely abandoned the last thread of hope that these fools would stop short of the edge.

At this point, the Centurion named Di Rang moved beside him and said expressionlessly.

"Mr. Mogavi, I've already heard about your situation through the telegram; you just need to assist us in boarding the dock," they said. "We will allow you to pick ten slaves first and take away goods worth 100,000 dinar."

Mogavi barely listened to the second half of the sentence. He glanced at the heavily closed door of the ship's hold, then at the officer and a few soldiers disguised as sailors, and couldn't help but ask,

"Do you have any plans, or are we just going to sail over like this?"

Di Rang concisely replied,

"Just sail straight over."

Mogavi continued to ask,

"And then? What's your plan for capturing it? Just charge directly from the dock?"

"There's no need for you to worry about what comes next." To be honest, Di Rang looked down on this coward from the bottom of his heart, so he didn't bother to waste words with him.

Not to mention that they were the Empire's elite, the two cargo ships were packed with a thousand-strong force—a spit from each of them was enough to flood the port. He couldn't understand what this person was so afraid of.

Not to mention, the battle might not even need to be fought; chances were, once they stood on the shore, those people would be so shocked that they would obediently raise their hands and surrender.

Looking at these incomprehensible fellows, Mogavi wore an expression of bitter frustration.

He knew that nothing he said would be of any use now; he simply didn't know what to say to convince them.

If these people truly had the Empire's best interests at heart, they should at least use a bit of their brains when considering problems.

But clearly, they were not.

These people had gone mad.

Completely mad...

...

After two days and one night of sailing, the two cargo ships finally entered the western entrance of the Baiyue Strait.

They were less than 500 kilometers away from Potato Harbor, and if all went well, they should arrive before eight o'clock that evening.

Gazing at the lush green jungle along the shore, Mogavi's Adam's apple bobbed as he said,

"...Do you know why no one lives here?"

The singer standing behind him didn't speak; he simply couldn't be bothered with him.

Di Rang, who had changed into casual clothes, glanced at him and casually asked,

"Why?"

"Because no one can conquer this land, not the Camel Hump Kingdom, nor the Southern Islands Federation that fled from here... Faced with wave after wave of Variants, the resolve and bravery of mortals are in vain."

Watching Di Rang, who was staring intently at him, Mogavi swallowed and continued,

"But some have succeeded. They not only stood firm on this land but also built a settlement... You might not find this impressive, but as someone from the Camel Hump Kingdom, I know how astonishing this is. They possess not only courage and resolve but scientific methods and some other things I can't quite understand."

Di Rang said expressionlessly,

"So what?"

Mogavi sighed softly,

"Nothing... never mind, as if I never said anything."

Among the rustling chirps along the coast, the two cargo ships full of soldiers continued to move forward.

Time dragged slowly. Under the scorching sun, this brief half-day stretched on as if it were a century.

Unlike Mogavi, who was enduring the agony, all others on board, whether officers or soldiers disguised as sailors, were in high spirits.

He even saw a few soldiers whispering with wicked smiles. They hadn't even seen the silhouette of the docks, yet they were already fantasizing about how to divide the spoils of war that were not yet in hand.

"When we go ashore, I'm going to pick one with a large ass."

"Ha ha, we know you have a unique taste, don't worry no one will compete with you."

"Couldn't you aim higher? Aren't the women from the refuge much better than those filthy folks from the Moon Clan?"

"Why don't we try both? Anyway, we have three days. The officer said that as long as it doesn't interfere with the main task, we can play however we want."

"Damn... it'd be good if this rusty ship could go any faster."

"I'm going to the toilet first."

"Embarrassing thing, just hurry up and go."

"Ha ha ha!"

Perhaps in answer to their anticipation, the sun finally sunk into the twilight.

The sea engulfed in the night was silent, as if sensing the prelude to a storm, even the waves washing against the bow turned cautious.

It seemed about time.

Di Rang, patrolling on the gangway, patted Mogavi's shoulder and then turned to enter the cargo hold.

Soon, the leaky door echoed with provocative nonsense and answered with a chorus of fervent shouts.

That guy seemed to be delivering the final war rally.

However, to Mogavi's ears, it sounded no different than deathbed confessions.

They had no understanding of what kind of monster they were up against, even imagining that it would be all fine and dandy the moment they set foot on the dock, that the meek Blue Ground Squirrels would scurry hopelessly into their burrows at the sound of gunfire.

Touching the silver pendant on his chest, he silently prayed to the Silver Moon Goddess in his heart, just hoping that when he fell into the water, he wouldn't be eaten by the roaming Variants nearby.

After tucking the pendant back into his collar, Mogavi took a deep breath and walked to the bow of the ship.

As usual, Singer followed closely behind, showing no intention of giving him any chance to be alone.

Mogavi didn't mind in his heart; it wasn't time yet anyway. If he was going to take the risk and jump off the ship, he would wait until they were close to the harbor, not here.

Looking at the increasingly familiar coastline, his heart was pounding fiercely.

But at that moment, he suddenly frowned, involuntarily letting out a slight gasp of surprise.

"Strange..."

His voice did not escape Singer's ears, who asked expressionlessly.

"What's wrong?"

Mogavi swallowed hard and glanced at him, speaking in a low voice about his confusion.

"I didn't see the patrol team's speedboat."

Singer frowned.

"The patrol team?"

Mogavi explained.

"It's the South Island Federation's Marine Patrol Team."

Relaxing his furrowed brow, Singer resumed his indifferent expression.

"What do we care about those people for."

Mogavi was stunned for a moment, withdrew his gaze from Singer's face, and turned his head back towards the distant sea, muttering quietly.

"Indeed, it's none of their business... but this is abnormal. Whenever a ship passed by here before, they would board and check for smuggling."

Could the Alliance have forbidden them from patrolling here?

Surely not…

For some reason, Mogavi couldn't shake this uneasy feeling in his heart, as if he were being watched by a wild beast.

Instinctively protecting himself, he let go of the railing he was holding and returned to the side of the cabin.

Almost at the very moment he returned, a violent tremor suddenly accompanied by a loud bang came from below his feet, nearly flipping him over.

The cargo ship seemed to have hit something.

However, Mogavi was certain that this stretch of water was very safe and that there weren't any hidden reefs that lurk beneath the waves and trip people up.

Caught off guard by this blow, Singer and the soldiers who followed behind him were not as lucky.

Not being professional sailors, they fell haphazardly, and a few unlucky ones who were leaning on the side of the ship even fell into the sea with screams.

Those screams, blending with the sound of the tide, quickly disappeared as if something had grabbed them.

Faced with this sudden change, Mogavi was so terrified he lost his wits, hugging his head and crouching on the deck shivering.

Not far away, the cabin door flew open with a bang.

Di Rang, clutching his forehead and armed, cursed as he rushed out of the cabin.

"Fuck, what the hell happened?!"

Mogavi, looking beyond his calves, finally saw the so-called "ghost that dominated the Poluo Sea" inside the cabin.

It was a group of soldiers with Ripper Rifles on their backs, and a few carried submachine guns and automatic rifles on their chests.

But now none of that mattered.

Those guys too had been knocked to the deck, though they were not panicking, they looked around blankly, unsure how to respond to the current situation.

Singer, also cursing as he got up from the deck, reached out and yanked Mogavi to his feet, glaring at him and yelling in accusation.

"Damn it, did you signal the Alliance?!"

Mogavi looked defeated as he replied.

"Are you joking, my lord? When have I ever left your sight?"

Singer appeared to realize that this was indeed the case and let go of Mogavi's collar.

Staggering back two steps, Mogavi supported himself against the cabin without falling and tried to calm his chaotic breathing, attempting to soothe his panicked self.

He slowly figured out what had happened.

It was likely a torpedo that had hit them.

Through the vibrations traveling along the deck and hull, he could clearly sense the sound of seawater pouring into the ship's body; the fully loaded cargo ship was slowly sinking.

However, he didn't rush to abandon the ship and escape, because he hadn't figured out what had hit them yet.

The Alliance?

Impossible…

Those people had standards; they wouldn't attack civilian ships.

The South Island Federation?

Even more unlikely, unless they planned to live off their own land from now on.

Damn, what the hell was it?!

Surely a sea mine didn't just evolve!

While he was still shocked and frightened, the rest of the people on the ship finally realized the issue of the ship taking on water.

At the same time, the other cargo ship following theirs also seemed to have been hit by a torpedo, sinking slowly amidst violent tremors and the agonizing sound of rending steel.

There was no time to hesitate anymore.

Seeing that if they waited any longer, his men might drown in the cabin, the officer named Di Rang gritted his teeth and decisively bellowed his orders.

"Abandon ship! Everyone convene on the north shore!"

Upon receiving the command, everyone rushed out of the cabins and jumped into the sea.

Fortunately, they were not far from shore, and a quick swim of less than fifty meters would get them there.

As everyone was too preoccupied to pay attention to him, Mogavi was about to take the opportunity to leap into the sea.

However, just as he had reached the tilting ship's side, a scene he would never forget in his life came into view.

Looking at the hellish scene, Mogavi's face turned pale in an instant; his legs gave out, and he collapsed on the deck, uttering nonsense and shouting words like "monster" and "devil."

Centurion Di Rang, who had just ordered the soldiers to abandon ship, wasn't faring much better.

He gripped the cold railing with both hands, staring wide-eyed at the sea, his bloodshot pupils filled with profound fear and despair.

And it was a despair that could be seen with the naked eye…

Chapter 692: Grateful for the Ancestors' Gift?

Under the rolling waves, a group of blue-skinned mutants with fish scales roared past with the ocean current, appearing like a surging blue mudslide beneath the surface of the water.

They used piercing screams to intimidate the Variants trying to approach and used harpoons to carve a path forward, heading west along the coastline and then south.

Guided by the will of their ancestors, they had drifted for an entire week, resting only a few times along the way. When hungry, they would catch some fish, shellfish, or seaweed to stave off hunger, leaving chaos and destruction in their wake, like locusts passing through.

Yet even with their stomachs growling with hunger, their morale had not decreased at all; the fire of battle in their pupils seemed to surge even higher.

Temporary hunger was merely to make room for the feast that was about to begin; they would soon gorge themselves on the bounty granted by their ancestors and revel in the cries and wails of their prey.

As they neared their destination, the leading mutant suddenly straightened up, pushing against the current and halting their forward motion.

"Crack—!"

The blue-skinned mutants following him dispersed, standing by the thousands on the rugged seabed, like a forest of ghostly seaweed.

"Ship!"

It opened its mouth and let out a shrill, piercing scream, then looked ahead, and uncertainly glanced at the direction of the coastline on the right.

The human village predicted by the priests lay to their northwest, yet a couple of kilometers directly to the west, two cargo ships were heading straight towards them.

It puffed out its chest and took a deep breath of the cold seawater, bubbles streaming from its gills.

It seemed to have caught a scent; its eyes gradually lit up with a bloodthirsty glow.

"Humans!"

"Livestock!"

"So many!!!"

Soon, not just one, but thousands of cloudy pupils reflected that bloodthirsty glint and desire for slaughter.

It seemed to feel that boiling desire for slaughter in its veins; it tore open its throat and emitted a shrill, piercing scream.

"Sink them!"

That hoarse scream served as a horn for the attack, met with cheers and cries like the crushing of shells.

"Crack, crack—!"

The thousands of blue-skinned mutants, like wild seahorses unleashed, surged forward even faster.

The mutants bearing torpedoes broke from the formation first, planting the barrel-sized devices firmly at the bottom of the seabed, then pulled out the fuses.

A stream of dense bubbles floated upward, and the blue-skinned mutant covered its ears and kicked away from the poised torpedo.

Accompanied by a muted "thump," a thick column of white bubbles shot diagonally toward the surface, carrying the huge torpedo directly towards the foremost cargo ship.

These civilian cargo ships lacked professional underwater sonar, and the people on board were completely unaware of the underwater attack and were squarely hit without any-warning.

The shockwave from the explosion momentarily halted the forward momentum of the entire cargo ship. As the milky-white bubbles dispersed, an inwardly dented breach appeared on one side of the bow, even tossing several unlucky humans into the water.

Watching the slowly capsizing cargo ship, the throng of blue-skinned mutants let out excited screams, striking turtle shell shields or nearby rocks with their weapons, like a group of wild men banging cutlery in anticipation of a meal.

And as they had hoped, as the cargo ship gradually tilted, more and more crew members dove into the sea like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

The massive number, however, completely surprised all the mutants present.

Usually, sinking a ship yielded at most twenty or thirty prey.

Now, just one cargo ship had dropped over a hundred, and the number was still increasing.

The mutants were as if they had seen heaven, green lights flashing from their cloudy pupils.

Praise the ancestors!!

Before they could thank the ancestors for their generosity, the leading blue-skinned mutant expelled the bubbles from its mouth and let out an excited shriek, then brandished its harpoon and charged forward.

"Kill!!"

Under its lead, the mutants lurking on the seabed forcefully kicked out their legs and, wielding their weapons, charged towards the drenched chickens who had fallen into the water.

Like wolves rushing into a flock of sheep!

"Kill!!!"

Before the Imperial soldiers floating on the surface choking on water even realized what was happening, they were pierced through the chest by one harpoon after another.

The sea was stained red with blood, a ghastly and ferocious sight.

Screams and wails rose and fell with the waves, like a living hell on earth.

In just a few breaths, nearly a hundred people were dead! The rest, clueless about what had happened, could only desperately dog-paddle towards the shore.

Clearly, for the Imperial soldiers who had ventured outside of Poluo Province for the first time, these blue-skinned creatures were perhaps too "advanced" for them.

And for the feasting mutants, it was the same.

This uniquely flavored human cuisine was also a bit special, different from what they had eaten before.

But it didn't matter.

For them who had been hungry for a week, there was no difference; they just wanted to indulge in this feast of death and slaughter!

The Imperial soldiers of West Winds who hadn't yet jumped from the ship now clearly saw what was swimming in the water, their faces marked with terror.

Their blue skin resembled the coats worn by the residents of the refuge.

They were neither human nor fish, waving harpoons, clubs, and even fishing nets, emitting sharp and piercing cries and laughs as they swiftly harvested one life after another from the water.

In just a few breaths, corpses floated everywhere on the sea, each wave that slapped the ship's hull painted a shocking crimson.

What was even more terrifying was that those creatures seemed unsatisfied with simply executing their opponents.

They sometimes pulled the soldiers from the water, and without letting them catch a breath, they shoved them back in, tormenting their prey until they were utterly exhausted, barely clinging to life, no longer struggling. Only then would they slit their throats and feast on their flesh and blood.

Listening to the soldiers' wails in the water, those squeezed by the ship's rail who hadn't had the chance to jump were turning ghostly pale, their eyes filled with fear and a despair of not knowing what to do.

They either shouted at the people in the water, trying to pull them onto the sinking cargo ship, or they raised their rifles, firing at the surging waves and throwing grenades into the water.

However, unfortunately, all their efforts were in vain and had no effect at all…

Just as Mogavi was frantic like an ant on a hot pan, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye. Centurion Di Rang and a few of his guards were dragging a kayak and hurriedly rushing out of the cabin.

Taking advantage of the mutants still feasting in the sea and too busy to notice them, they threw the kayak into the sea without a second word and paddled with all their might toward the shore.

Seeing a chance at survival, Mogavi hurriedly rushed into the cabin and indeed found several spare rubber dinghies and wooden boats lying in a corner.

Knowing his own strength was insufficient, he didn't immediately drag out these survival tools. Instead, he had a brainwave and ran back to the deck, shouting at those who hadn't entered the water because they couldn't swim.

"There are lifeboats in the cabin!"

"Quick, drag them out!"

Hearing his call, everyone hastily surged forward to grab those lifelines, while he managed to sneak onto one of them, barely escaping before the cargo ship was completely submerged.

The sea was in total chaos, with piteous wails and desperate struggles erupting intermittently.

Watching the small boats and even bathtubs passing overhead, the soldiers in the water desperately reached out, trying to grab onto something.

However, these mere dozen or so "small boats" were already packed to the brim, with no room for nearly a thousand people in the water.

Some kind-hearted individuals, seeing familiar faces, ultimately couldn't bear to harm their compatriots and allowed them to cling to the ship's sides, as long as they didn't attempt to climb aboard.

Yet, some ruthlessly indifferent individuals, seeing their speed towards the shore impeded, greeted everyone with butts of guns, bayonets, and even the soles of their boots, all to rid themselves of these burdensome figures and make it ashore faster so that they might survive.

Witnessing this hell on earth, Mogavi watched with terror, curling up in the small boat, fearing these ruthless individuals might throw him out to replace him with one of the drowning compatriots.

However, to his surprise, these ferocious individuals did not do so.

Perhaps because those standing by his side these days were all significant figures, the low-ranking members of the Wolf Tribe also "loved the house and its crows," instinctively treating him, a foreigner brought here against his will, as some important figure.

In any case, it was thanks to their disregard that he was able to leave that bloody and deadly area unharmed, finally grounding ashore alongside the small boats.

Using all his strength to climb out of the boat, he rolled and crawled forward for several meters, then with a roll, he lay on his back on the muddy sand, breathing deeply the fresh air, his mud-caked face filled with lingering fears.

At this moment, he heard a familiar voice nearby and immediately turned to look.

He saw a man, soaked through, leaning on a Ripper Rifle, his shoulder bearing a horrific wound, limping toward the shore.

It was Singer, the guard under Captain Archim, who had also been one of the first to heed the Centurion's order to abandon ship and jump into the sea.

He couldn't believe he was still alive!

A hint of surprise appeared on Mogavi's face.

Especially when he heard the first words from the guy after getting ashore, he almost dropped his jaw in shock.

"Damn it, those Blue Ground Squirrels tricked us!" Singer spat out blood-tinged saliva on the beach, cursing through gritted teeth.

These dishonorable creatures!

It turned out that those Blue Ground Squirrels, who seemed simple on the surface, had seen through the Empire's plan; they were sly and cunning behind the scenes!

But that's alright...

Since those blue devils' power was tied up at sea, the shore's defenses must be vulnerable, and the land happened to be West Winds Empire's home ground.

As long as he could regroup the forces that had escaped to the shore, even if it was just one or two squads of a hundred, they would definitely fulfill their mission and take over Potato Harbor!

Seeing the guy with a twisted mind approaching, Mogavi quickly closed his eyes and pretended to be dead, but before two seconds passed, he was yanked up by the collar from the ground.

"Get up! I know you're not dead!"

Mogavi opened his eyes trembling, not fully awake yet, and saw a face distorted like a demon's.

"Sir..."

Singer stared at him with a ferocious expression, forcing words through his clenched teeth.

"Take me to the Alliance's camp! Immediately!"

Mogavi's mouth hung open as he glanced at the soldiers sprawled on the beach like dead dogs and looked again at the man gripping his collar, about to ask him "Are you freaking insane?", but because his mouth was too wide open, his jaw dislocated, making him unable to speak.

Fortunately, he didn't need to speak.

Less than two seconds after Singer had finished speaking, a gunshot sounded from the distant forest.

It was the sound of a Ripper Rifle!

At the same moment the gunshot rang out, gunshots rained down like a downpour, resonating through the beach and forest, and fierce combat was about to erupt!

Singer immediately let go, threw Mogavi, who had just sat up halfway, back onto the ground, chambered his rifle, and roared at the soldiers struggling to rise from the beach.

"Prepare for combat!"

...

Time went back half an hour earlier.

On the beachhead fortifications in the northwest of Potato Harbor, it was pitch-black and silent.

If one didn't look closely, they probably wouldn't see the helmets hidden behind sandbags and trenches, or the gun barrels hidden under camouflage nets.

There were originally about fifty people guarding the position, and after several changes of shift, there were still about thirty left by evening.

Lying next to a fixed-type "Whirlwind" grenade launcher, a player in an exoskeleton couldn't help but yawn and muttered softly.

"Damn, did those mutants go to the Antarctic or what?"

"Why haven't we seen a shadow for so long?"

"""

It was already 8 PM in the game, yet it was time to get up and have breakfast in reality.

Another player squatting beside made a helpless face.

"Who knows if it's mutants coming up next, we might just get a few crabs."

Hearing there were crabs to eat, the man who was yawning perked up and swallowed, saying,

"That's not bad, just in time for a meal."

"Pfft—"

The player next to him, who had been silent, almost burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking.

Seeing the discipline of these newbies getting more and more lax, the squad leader, who had been watching the beach, could not stand it any longer and slapped the back of the head of the one holding back laughter.

"Keep it the hell down! You laugh like a damn fool turtle. You want everyone to know we're here?"

What if those guys hear us and decide to come ashore?

How was he going to score kills then!

The player who got slapped on the helmet giggled sheepishly, and everyone else, feeling embarrassed, quieted down and refocused on their respective lookout spots.

At that moment, from a dugout nearby, a head topped with a pile of grass peeked out.

Vaguely hearing someone shouting his name, that player looked over in confusion.

"Captain, did you call me?"

Squad leader: "..."

This time, not only the one with the low sense for jokes, but all the newbies began shaking with suppressed laughter.

The joker went so far as to bump his head on a sandbag and simply logged out to continue laughing.

Seeing the head poking around, the squad leader was about to scold him when a serious voice came through the communication channel.

"Position 4, what's the situation over there?"

Hearing the inquiry from his superiors, the squad leader instantly straightened up, glared at the shrinking pile of grass, and quickly lowered his voice to report.

"Reporting, no situation at present!"

Killer Dagger: "... Received, continue to stay alert. We'll be changing shifts in a few minutes. Hang in there, brothers."

The squad leader awkwardly responded.

"Yes."

There weren't many veteran players at Potato Harbor, mostly players between levels 10 and 20, with some even newbies a bit over level 10 trying their luck. A bit of silliness from them was normal.

The atmosphere in Wasteland OL was usually quite good, and most veteran players were tolerant towards newbies, as they had all been there themselves.

Silence was restored to the position, starkly contrasting with the nearby surge of tides.

Yet, staring at that peacefully undulating expanse of water, Fang Chang holding the binoculars could not help but frown, worry written all over his face.

It had been two hours since nightfall.

Did they really have to wait until the afternoon?

Or was the so-called attack just him overthinking?

"... Maybe they're not coming after all."

Just as Fang Chang began to wonder, suddenly a voice cluttered with sesame paste noise burst through the communication channel.

"... This is the scouting team, we've heard gunfire, coming from the sea to our southwest."

"Gunfire?"

Hearing that report, Fang Chang felt a surge of excitement and immediately opened the VM map.

Yet, when he saw that blinking green dot on the west side of the camp, he was slightly stunned.

Even further west?

How far off could it be?

In that brief moment of his distraction, another communication request popped up on the VM screen, this time from Captain Chen Jianhong of the Dolphin.

Instructing Sesame Paste to stand by nearby, Fang Chang immediately hit the receive button, and Captain Chen's voice soon came through.

"... Our sensors detected two consecutive explosions near your maritime area. I'm not sure if you've noticed them, but have you encountered any trouble?"

Fang Chang frowned slightly.

"Explosions? We haven't seen anything here, but someone did hear gunfire. Can you pin down the approximate direction of the explosions?"

Chen Jianhong: "To the east of us, and to your... uh, about five kilometers west. I'll send you the coordinates."

Fang Chang: "Received, continue to maintain radio silence. Contact us only if absolutely necessary."

Chen Jianhong: "Understood."

After hanging up, Fang Chang switched back to the VM map and quickly saw the coordinates sent over by the Dolphin.

It even included the estimated yield of the explosions.

Those blinking question marks were near Potato Harbor, about five kilometers to the west, almost clinging to the north coast of the strait, causing Fang Chang to pause again.

Good grief.

Were these mutants planning to play tactics with him?

"""

However, going west wasn't of any use...

The Burning Corps and Jungle Corps were stationed on the highlands to the northwest of the camp, surrounded by open vistas perfect for sniping, and with the help of the Agile and Perception-type players for scouting and marking, a few machine guns and mortars could pin those beasts down on the beach. There was a bit more hope of approaching openly from the southern docks.

Although, just a bit.

Just then, the Kill Dagger, who had just rotated with the allied forces, was heading this way.

Before the guy could even speak, Fang Chang immediately looked at him and said,

"Kill Dagger, take some people and check out the west."

The Kill Dagger paused, pushing back his belly full of questions about whether those mutants were still coming or not, and looked at him confused.

"West? Where?"

"About five kilometers west, there was an explosion. I've updated the approximate coordinates on your map, just follow the coastline westward."

While speaking, Fang Chang pointed at the screen with his index finger, having just finished editing the mission path.

Seeing Brother Fang Chang's serious expression, Kill Dagger was suddenly spurred into action, his boredom wiped away.

"Got it!"

He responded and without another word, hurriedly gathered the recently dispersed teammates and organized the team of over thirty people again.

"Brothers, we've got work! Follow your dad to the west, let's show you the world!"

Hearing there was work, the previously listless crowd suddenly became excited, grabbed their weapons, and followed the Level 30 bigshot. As they walked out of the position, they started chattering and asking questions.

"Boss! Who's the enemy?"

"Is it the mutants?"

"I heard it's the blue-skinned ones!"

"Are the drops valuable?"

Seeing these rookies who hadn't seen the world, Kill Dagger chuckled.

Ironically, he hadn't either.

But no matter, they were about to meet them.

"Cut the crap, we had two explosions five kilometers directly west of our position. Whatever comes our way, we'll make those idiots regret messing with us!"

Running along the edge of the rainforest the whole way, they finally reached the coordinates and immediately spotted a group of figures clumsily climbing ashore on the beach.

Seeing the soaked figures in the distance, Kill Dagger didn't even need to ask; he guessed what had happened.

These guys must have been passing through the strait and coincidentally ran into the mutants looking for trouble.

These guys really had ridiculously bad luck!

However, decency prevailed, and Kill Dagger kept himself from laughing, shouting towards the nearby beach.

"Hey, folks ahead! Get away from the shore, we're here to rescue you!"

Scrambling onto the shore, Di Rang immediately went on alert, his gaze shooting towards the nearby jungle as he raised his rifle.

"Who!"

Kill Dagger shouted again, "We're from the Alliance!"

Alliance!?

Hearing this, Centurion Di Rang's face changed drastically. He shouted while simultaneously disengaging his rifle's safety.

"It's the Alliance!"

"Prepare for battle!"

The guard beside him reacted even faster, firing a shot into the dark, murky forest, then covering his superior as they moved to nearby cover.

Startled by the "bang" of the gunshot, Kill Dagger saw the bullets flying towards them and thought these guys had accidentally misfired. He quickly shouted,

"Damn it, we're humans, it's the mutants messing with you, not us, watch it—turn off the safety—"

But those people weren't listening to him.

His words hadn't finished when another gunshot rang out, this time the bullet following his voice and hitting the trunk next to him.

As if given the command, the beach erupted with gunshots.

The forty to fifty people who had rushed ashore opened fire while quickly spreading out to the sides.

They either dove on the spot to dig foxholes or rolled behind rocks for cover, not caring about their disheveled appearances, and positioned themselves to start suppressing fire towards the gamers in the woods.

The variety of gunfire included shots from Ripper Rifles, the army-standard "Blade" assault rifles, and PU-9 submachine guns.

This time Kill Dagger saw clearly that these folks hadn't misfired; they meant to cause trouble.

More and more stranded soldiers swam ashore or landed in lifeboats, scrambling onto the beach like an amphibious landing, not even bothering to brush the mud off their trousers, just wildly shooting towards the shore.

Originally ready to lend a hand, Kill Dagger immediately got furious, not caring about any misunderstanding.

These guys, each armed with a rifle and an ammo bag on their back, and uniformly carrying an engineer shovel, claiming they were just passing by would be far too far-fetched.

They were obviously not good people!

Seeing more and more people coming ashore, probably a couple hundred now, Kill Dagger shouted at the thirty-something brothers behind him.

"Damn it!"

"These assholes not only don't appreciate us, but they also dare to open fire on us!"

"Beat the hell out of them!"

Chapter 693: It is impolite not to reciprocate

"Charge! Shove the barrels of your guns up their nostrils! There aren't even enough of them to make up a hundred team. Crush them with your steel-like will!"

As the order for fire was given under the Killer Dagger, Centurion Di Rang roared out the assault command. In an instant, gunfire erupted on the beach, boiling bullets pouring down like rain into the forest.

He felt that there couldn't be too many Blue Ground Squirrels hiding in the woods—just a dozen or twenty.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have feigned relationship cutting with the blue-skinned folks in the sea and posed as if to rescue themselves. They would have simply shown their weapons and finished the job.

That's certainly what he would have done!

Although most of his troops were exhausted and demoralized, now was the perfect moment to crush the enemy Alliance!

Once the sea creatures caught up and formed a pincer attack with the shore-based Blue Ground Squirrels, they would have no chance of victory!

For this reason, Di Rang shouted indiscriminately, urging his soldiers to charge forward.

However, what he did not expect was that the gunfire erupting from the woods far exceeded his expectations.

Tracers flew like rain toward the beach, and the kicked-up dust and debris formed an impenetrable wall, pinning down all soldiers trying to rush into the forest on the sand, immobile, no matter how much he yelled to push them forward.

The bullets whistled through the air as if they cost nothing, completely dumbfounding the soldiers from the Empire lying on the beach.

Even more deadly were not those whistling bullets; they felt their rifles in their hands were as ineffective as mere fire-sticks against those encased from head to toe in Exoskeleton armor.

Were these guys really part of that Alliance formed less than three years ago?!

Why did they look nothing like what was portrayed in the propaganda posters...

...

About six or seven hundred meters away from the battlefield, on another part of the beach.

Meat Meat stood on a rock, holding binoculars and stared dumbfounded at the distant beach riddled with the sounds of gunfire, before muttering in astonishment.

"Have they gone mad?"

She clearly saw it was a group of blue-skinned mutants with fish scales that had pinned down those guys' ships. Why were they attacking those trying to help them on the shore?

"Well, maybe, maybe they came specifically for us, but just happened to run into a little accident..."

Comparing the shoreline's contour, Si Si casually set a coordinate on the VM while speaking.

Pulling her eyes away from the binoculars, Meat Meat looked at her with a puzzled expression, her fluffy face filled with incomprehension.

"...They came for us?"

Si Si nodded and said succinctly.

"How could a normal cargo ship carry so many soldiers? Aren't they supposed to carry cargo? I can only assume their intentions are not purely what they seem."

It has to be said, these guys really picked the right time, clashing right with the mutant corps sent by the Torch Church in the sea, feeding them ahead of time.

Tail, holding the binoculars, suddenly exclaimed excitedly.

"Whoa! The sound of the Ripper Rifle! Could it be friends from the Army?!"

Si Si spoke with a slight nuance.

"...I don't know, but I guess not. I feel the people of Weilante wouldn't be this incompetent and they should have no reason to pick a fight with us. However, the West Winds Empire might."

Standing aside, Sesame Paste curiously glanced at the VM on her arm.

"What were you writing just now on VM?"

Si Si replied, "That, ah, was the bombardment coordinates…"

Meat Meat asked curiously.

"Is that even necessary?"

As they talked, the battle ashore had already ended.

Facing machine gun fire and grenade bursts from the jungle, the couple hundred scattered troops lying on the beach were completely overmatched and couldn't lift their heads.

After all, they were not amphibious troops, and many of them couldn't even swim, having barely made it ashore by dinghies and tubs.

Furthermore, the Ripper Rifles, not designed for amphibious operations, had soaked in water and rolled on the damp sand, causing the malfunction rate to skyrocket.

The soldiers had no choice but to clear their chambers while firing, unable to return fire against the automatic weapons of the Alliance.

Initially, they mustered a bit of combat courage from who knows where, but in less than five minutes, that feigned bravery vanished without a trace.

Many even stripped off their seawater-drenched trousers on the spot, waving them above their heads with rifle barrels and bayonets to plead for a ceasefire, completely losing their earlier fierce demeanor.

Honestly, they seemed more like they had come here to joke around rather than to pick a fight.

Si Si raised her binoculars for a quick glance into the distance.

"... it's delayed firepower, not meant for them. The people in the water are almost gone; those scaly creatures should be coming ashore now."

...

On the other side, at the very front line of the firefight.

Watching the underwear rising from the distant beach, Fool Turtle released the trigger of the machine gun and shouted towards the nearby captain.

"Boss, they've surrendered!"

Centurion Di Rang glanced for a moment towards the distant beach and lowered his rifle, giving a glance to the nearby Strength Type beast.

"Go yell at them, tell them our cannons are aimed at their position. If they don't want to be blasted by 155mm shells, they should throw their equipment on the beach and come over here with their hands up!"

The Strength Type beast nodded, said "you got it," and excitedly ran forward. Following the translated sentence from the VM, he shouted across the beach a hundred meters away.

"Everyone ahead, listen up! You are surrounded by us!"

"If you don't want to get blasted, drop your weapons and ammunition immediately and come with your hands over your heads!"

"Otherwise, we'll treat you as accomplices of the mutants and blast you together!"

Hearing this, the soldiers on the beach panicked instantly, but even then, no one dared to climb out of their cover.

Partly they feared the Alliance might be deceiving them, and partly they feared execution by their own side.

Just then, a shell "whooshed" and landed on the beach, the blast flinging dust and dirt ten meters into the air, leaving a shockingly deep crater on the ground.

It was a calibration shot from the Alliance artillery, not an actual barrage.

Nonetheless, the thunderous blast still terrified the group sprawled on the beach, unable to hold back their fear any longer. They discarded their weapons and packs and, with hands raised, desperately sprinted towards the rainforest ahead.

"Come back! Damn it! You cowardly wretches! A disgrace to the Wolf Tribe!"

Centurion Di Rang glared fiercely at the soldiers discarding their helmets and running towards the enemy's position, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

These useless animals!

There were only twenty or thirty people on the opposite side—so what if they had exoskeletons? Even if they had power armor, getting shot enough would still render them inoperative!

If only they had been a bit braver, grabbed their weapons and charged instead of scurrying away like rats, they would have already captured the enemy's position!

The guard, shivering beside him, looked at the officer.

"Sir, those cowards have betrayed us."

"We don't have anyone left to use, should we continue fighting those guys?"

They were not afraid of death.

But this could hardly be called war.

Everyone they encountered along the way had told them that the Blue Ground Squirrels were nothing but brute force pretending to be strong, chased all the way to River Valley Province by a branch of the Army and barely surviving under the protection of corporations and the biased intervention of the Academy.

However, the figures standing before them now were clearly not those kinds of creatures; they were even more terrifying than the Vellante People whose veins seemingly flowed with gunpowder.

Seeing his guards' faces filled with panic, Centurion Di Rang knew these cowards were backing out. Mud-smeared anger filled his face, and his teeth gnashed.

He was an officer knighted by the Emperor himself, his valor was the pride of the Grey Wolf Army!

Surrender?

He would rather die here!

But just then, he caught a glimpse in the corner of his eye of those eerie blue shadows surging toward the shoreline, sending a bone-chilling coldness crawling up his spine.

Watching his own soldiers held underwater by those creatures, guts spilled and organs extracted and devoured alive.

If he had a choice, he would rather be executed by Alliance artillery than be caught by these beings.

"Meaningless sacrifices are not loyalty, the Wolf God will forgive us our momentary humiliation." he gritted out the words.

Hearing this, the guards finally sighed in relief, dropping their weapons and helping the officer out of their cover, limping toward the front-line forest.

Everyone felt fortunate that the officer had agreed...

Otherwise, they would have had to drag him there.

Seeing their own officer surrender, the few remaining Imperial soldiers who were still resisting also gave up, dropping their weapons and stepping out from cover.

A group of prisoners was quickly rounded up, herded by three players wielding guns to the edge of the battlefield.

Over a hundred people, hands on their heads, squatted in a row in the forest; officers and soldiers alike, all looking dirt-covered and disheveled.

What remained of the normally full-strength thousand team couldn't even be cobbled together into one platoon, a sight miserably pitiful to behold.

Watching this group of pathetic figures, Fool Turtle, a straw mount on his head, couldn't help cursing.

"Damn, winning over these guys doesn't even feel like an achievement."

The player named Squirtle shook his head.

"Too weak."

Finding it boring anyway, Genie Turtle slung the LD-47 rifle across his chest and walked in front of the prisoners, striking a guard's pose.

Glancing at that annoying-looking guy, Fool Turtle asked.

"What are you doing?"

Genie Turtle urged, chuckling.

"Don't waste time, get one for your daddy, make sure I look handsome."

"Damn, are you serious?"

Although he complained, Fool Turtle still activated the screenshot feature of his tactical helmet and took a close-up shot of the man.

Looking at the photo transferred to his vm, Genie Turtle liked it more and more and laughed out loud.

"It doesn't matter if you think it's pointless; I think it's fun!"

The three of them captured a hundred-strong team,
and he couldn't wait to show off on the Forum when they got back!

Seeing this, Squirtle, also starved for attention, couldn't resist approaching and striking a pose.

"Damn it, take one of me too!"

Centurion Di Rang, somewhat understanding what these guys were up to, felt veins popping on his forehead but was powerless to intervene, humiliatingly turning his head aside, swallowing his frustration.

At this moment, he didn't know that, due to his rather photogenic frustration, the photographer also took a close-up of his face.

Even if it wouldn't make the front page of the Survivor's Daily, hitting the front page of the Goblin Observation Report wasn't a problem at all.

On another note, the blue-skinned mutants, satiated from their hunt in the sea, rode the bloodlust that the carnage incited to the shore, pursuing into the direction of the jungle.

They had seen these prey escape into the forest, and, far from satiated, they would not allow their quarry to slip away.

At this moment, Kill dagger and his teammates finally put on serious faces.

They weren't about to take these guys lightly just because their gear looked shabby.

Mutant technology alone was a singularity-level existence, the baseline surpassing the limits of normal humans.

As bio-soldiers, they possessed immense vitality and toughness, essentially making them living weapons, rendering the crudeness of their armaments irrelevant.

Even if they wielded only tree branches, no one dared to underestimate them.

"Fire!" came the command from Kill dagger, and over thirty gun barrels simultaneously spewed flames.

As the barrage of bullets struck, the chest of a mutant at the forefront burst into a cloud of blood mist, but it did not stop its frenzied sprint.

Several mutants with perforated skulls collapsed onto the beach, quickly overwhelmed by a tide of incoming mutants from the sea.

Seeing the ever-increasing swarm of mutants, Kill dagger felt a shiver run through his scalp.

Just then, a deafening cannonade tore through the rustling jungle, the speeding cannonballs falling like raindrops on the beach in front of him.

"Boom—!"

The explosion sent a cloud of dust skyward, and the leading blue-skinned mutants went down en masse, limbs and shattered rock flying through the air.

"Beautiful!"

Watching the brutal scene, the players cheered excitedly, whistling in appreciation for the gunners who hit their marks spot on.

Also witnessing the barrage of cannon fire, the cowering soldiers of the West Winds Empire lost all color in their faces, and the area fell eerily silent.

At that moment, they were just grateful they hadn't stayed on the beach to die.

At this moment, looking back at the officer who had goaded them to march to their deaths, their hearts harbored only hatred, devoid of any desire for the nonexistent spoils and honor...

The blue-skinned mutants, having just endured a round of shelling, clearly showed signs of stalling in their advance.

Many not directly swept away by the artillery were stunned by the deafening blasts.

Just then, a second round of shelling quickly followed.

However, this round did not cause much direct casualties nor did it ignite the kind of destructive fire from before, instead, palm-sized discs rained like droplets onto the beach freshly washed over by seawater.

This was the latest artillery-fired mine developed by Goblin Technology, launched through 155mm cannons.

In fact, aside from unreliable brainstorms, Mosquito occasionally came up with some useful items, given realistic examples to reference.

At this very moment, the mutants heading for the shore were unaware that their retreat had been completely cut off by a dense minefield.

And right after the two rounds of shelling, the squad of thirty led by Killer Dagger received the order to retreat, taking over a hundred prisoners northward, pushing the group of mutants into the rainforest.

Before the mutants could celebrate breaking through the defensive line, gunshots from all sides quickly solidified the ugly smiles on their faces.

Unbeknownst to them, two hundred-strong teams had already flanked them on both sides, like a red-hot iron vise ferociously squeezing at their critical points.

Now leading the assault was the Alliance's elite—the Jungle Corps!

The mutants under concentrated fire definitely felt the pressure on them more than double; the reinforcements—human soldiers—showed firepower and accuracy far superior to the thirty or so people who had previously merely tickled them.

They were now not only being targeted by 7mm pipes but also by 19mm armor-piercing rounds specific to bomb guns!

Such impacts weren't just about leaving a hole; it was a question of how much of them would remain.

These mutants, far less sturdy than the green-skinned creatures of the Brocade River Province and opting to forgo heavy armor for mobility, dropped hundreds of corpses almost upon the first contact.

Bearing more and more casualties, expressions of fear finally surfaced on their fish-scaled faces.

Faced with these more ruthless beings, they finally felt fear.

"Retreat!!"

Someone shouted, leading the horde of blue-skinned creatures that had swarmed the shore to frantically flee toward the coastline.

The sea was their home ground!

Once they got into the sea, even those wielding chainsaws and holding onto cannons, suited in exoskeletons, would surely be no match for them, protected by their ancestors!

Little did they know at this moment that their escape route was already sealed by mines.

The first of the mutants to reach the beach hadn't even smelled the scent of seawater before sudden flares erupted, blasting off their lower legs, causing them to fall and painfully writhing while clutching at their severed knees.

Seeing their kind fall in a tragic state, the rest of the blue-skinned mutants hastily halted, peering fearfully at the beach stained red with blood, not daring to advance further.

Over five hundred scaly creatures thus crowded together on the beach.

Meanwhile, the Jungle Corps, divided into two teams, emerged unhurriedly from the rainforest's edge.

Those K-10 exoskeletons, painted green, like towers of iron with bomb guns poised at the waist, formed a daunting steel wall brimming with a chilling air of slaughter.

The Burning Corps brothers hadn't even taken action yet.

Their presence alone was sufficient to crush these inferior creatures.

Watching the group with faces full of despair, Midnight Chicken Killing sneered, swapped out his 19mm gun's explosive arrows, and revved up the chainsaw blade welded to his arm.

The remaining riffraff were sitting ducks, so there was no need to waste precious ammunition.

For this group of beasts that had abandoned their humanity, only the most brutal deaths were fitting for them.

"Killing time has arrived!"

The two steel walls advanced simultaneously, bringing suffocating death and striking a final blow to the poor creatures cornered on the beach.

The blue-skinned mutants were either cleaved in two by the chainsaw-like giant swords or had their legs blown off by mines as they fled in panic.

Watching the chunks of flesh and splatters of blood thrown into the sky by the chainsaw, Centurion Di Rang, squatting with his head in his hands, turned pale and his lips trembled uncontrollably.

He felt like a child.

Not only weak but also naive, to think he could trip a giant with a tree branch.

And of course, the outcome was evident; they did not even come close to the giant's leg before being nearly killed by an inadvertently extended toe...

He had already started to regret taking on this mission from his superiors.

But it was too late for regrets now...

...

From the first gunshot to the last, a full hour had elapsed.

Mogavi had also maintained his face-down pose, pretending to be dead on the beach for an entire hour.

Fortunately, his location on the beach was not the center of the battlefield.

Neither the first thousand of the Grey Wolf Army rushing to reincarnate nor the mutants who followed, howling and chasing the scent of blood into the jungle, noticed him feigning death on the sand.

After an indeterminate amount of time, footsteps approached, a hand grabbed the collar of his shirt, and lifted him off the beach like picking up a small chicken.

"Don't kill me! I-I am not with those guys!"

Feeling somewhat familiar with the face, Green Lantern Old Wine turned on the flashlight, illuminating his muddy face and stared at his eyes in sudden shock.

"Fuck? You're that... conniving skins trader?"

...

Staring at the man in front of him, Mogavi's mouth hung open in surprise, speechless for a moment.

Unexpectedly encountering an acquaintance, Green Lantern Old Wine was also surprised and after pulling him up from the ground, released him and dusted the sand off his shoulder.

"Hey, remember me?"

Mogavi nodded nervously, then looked at him bewilderedly and asked.

"Wait, I remember you... aren't you the Butcher? What are you doing here?"

Green Lantern Old Wine gave him a strange look.

"Isn't it normal to have three jobs at level twenty? I don't just work as a Butcher; having a main profession and taking tasks as a Soldier is basic, right?"

Mogavi: "…?"

Seeing the NPC's baffled expression, Green Lantern Old Wine quickly remembered he wasn't from the Alliance and patted his shoulder, coming to a realization.

"I almost forgot you aren't one of us, nevermind… By the way, weren't you supposed to be stocking up at Silver Moon Bay? How did you end up with those fools?"

Upon hearing this, a wave of frustration surged in Mogavi's heart, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

"…Do you think I wanted this? I was kidnapped by them."

"Kidnapped?!"

Green Lantern Old Wine looked at him surprised, then his gaze shifted towards the people tied up like rice dumplings at the edge of the forest, his face showing a peculiar expression as he continued to ask.

"By those people?"

Mogavi nervously nodded.

"Yes…"

Sensing that there might be more to tonight's incident, Green Lantern Old Wine suddenly became interested.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Mogavi looked at him with a bitter smile.

"That would be a long story."

"That's fine, we just finished fighting, we have plenty of time, just tell us."

Green Lantern Old Wine said playfully, and the other players cleaning up the battlefield, noticing the situation over here, also curiously gathered around.

Seeing all those eyes looking at him, Mogavi suddenly felt that this might be a good opportunity for revenge.

So, he swallowed his saliva, organized his thoughts for a moment, and began speaking in a mournful tone.

"It was a bright and sunny morning, I had been drinking all night and was just about to get up and pay the bill when a group of Imperial Guards burst through the tavern door and yanked me off my chair…"

…

While Mogavi was bitterly complaining about Captain Archim's outrageous and blatant kidnapping in the streets, Centurion Di Rang, and his fiercely loyal guards, beaten black and blue, were being escorted to a military base several kilometers away, still stubbornly pretending to be calm.

At first, they even refused to admit they were soldiers of West Winds Empire and stubbornly claimed to be people from Silver Moon Bay, claiming their presence there was merely because they were passing by.

It wasn't until the players brought forth a girl from the Moon Clan that their poor act was exposed.

"He is from the Wolf Tribe! He and his subordinates are all lackeys of the Sun People and the Cow People!"

The girl spat out these words through clenched teeth, paying no heed to Di Rang's threatening gaze, then respectfully looked at Fang Chang and said, "Sir, I am certain, it must be the Empire who sent them here!"

"Good, thank you for your identification, please go back and rest now, we'll handle things here."

After giving the girl a reassuring look, Fang Chang sent her to the door and then turned back to the still defiant centurion, continuing to speak.

"I advise you to confess honestly, we are not unreasonable people. I ask you again, why did you open fire on us? And who ordered you?"

"I've told you many times, I thought those mutants were with you! Since we encountered them on your territory, I admit my mistake, but you are not completely blameless!" Di Rang still stubbornly clung to that argument, unwilling to confess anything.

Fang Chang slightly narrowed his eyes.

"Do you think I'm a fool? Over a thousand people, fully armed with weapons and ammunition, carrying two weeks' worth of dried food—do you think you were here to feed fish in the Southern sea area?"

…

Di Rang shut his mouth, opting for silence to avoid the interrogation.

Fang Chang's brows twitched slightly.

Just as he was contemplating whether to employ harsher methods, there was a knock at the door, followed by Kill dagger entering.

"We found a survivor on the beach; his name is Mogavi. According to him, he was kidnapped here by these West Winds Empire soldiers. Besides that, he has disclosed quite a few interesting facts, including how he was kidnapped by Captain Archim onto the ship, including that these captured men are from the first thousand team of the West Winds Empire's Grey Wolf Army."

Hearing the name Mogavi, Di Rang's eyes suddenly bulged.

"Is that guy still alive?"

Fang Chang's face also showed a hint of surprise, but it was for another reason.

"Why does this name sound familiar?"

Killer Dagger said with a smile.

"That guy had been here before, and made a fortune from those living profession players, the one who collected several bales of fur."

Fang Chang showed a dawning expression.

"So it was him."

Killer Dagger continued.

"According to his story, this thousand team boarded a ship at Jin Jialun Port in Poluo Province, met up with Captain Archim's warship in the Poluo Sea, and then headed towards the Baiyue Strait. Their target is Potato Harbor, and just like those guys with scales, they're all headed for us."

Fang Chang asked with a puzzled face.

"When did we ever provoke them?"

To traverse the entire Poluo Sea, crossing two thousand kilometers just to deliver a head.

How big could the grudge be?

Killer Dagger made a helpless gesture.

"That, I don't know. Mogavi couldn't clarify either. He only remembered Captain Archim mentioning that the Empire wanted to make the Alliance's Manager pay for his arrogance and rudeness, to take some interest from his settlement, and even wanted to host a seven-night silver party at the port..."

"Of course, when they do bad things, they pluck a leaf and cover their eyes, proclaiming themselves as Looters. This way, no one would know who did the bad things, and the Alliance couldn't even get angry at anyone."

At the end, even Killer Dagger couldn't help but laugh.

Hearing that humorous statement, Fang Chang almost couldn't hold back either, casting a half-smiling look towards the only guy in the room who couldn't laugh.

Feeling intimidated by that gaze, Di Rang swallowed his saliva, instinctively defending himself.

"Not seven days and nights, but… three days… No, I never said that, that guy is making things up!"

Fang Chang chuckled lightly.

"So, what you mean is, the part about the 'Empire making our Manager pay the price' was indeed said."

A drop of cold sweat rolled down Di Rang's forehead as he swallowed his saliva again, his scalp tingling with unease.

He always had an ominous premonition but couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly.

Standing next to the trembling Centurion, Fang Chang placed his hand on his shoulder, speaking in a somewhat comforting tone.

"Don't worry, we won't be teaching anyone a lesson just because someone uttered some silly rude remarks. Feel lucky; you're not worth the effort."

Hearing this, Di Rang felt relieved.

But before he could completely relax, the guy patting his shoulder swiftly changed his tone.

"However, it's quite pitiful that you guys have come all this way only to get hammered for no good reason."

Looking at the clueless Centurion, Fang Chang's face took on a slightly malicious smile, continuing deliberately.

"Well, let it be said, it's only polite to reciprocate."

"Since you came from a ship at Jin Jialun Port, we might just reluctantly make a trip there and send you back."

Chapter 694 Do You Call This a Counterattack?!

Southern sea area, North Island, within a luxuriously decorated albeit small room, the impeccably dressed Charles was pacing back and forth.

His gaze kept returning to the digital clock on the wall, followed by a casual glance at the door, his expression of unease almost written on his face.

Just then, there came a gentle knock on the door three times.

As if he had received some signal, he immediately went to open the door, only to see a young military officer in uniform standing at the doorway.

"Come in and talk."

Without waiting for the officer to speak, he pulled him into the room, cautiously checked if anyone was following outside, and then slowly closed the door.

"How are things?"

Looking at the hopeful Mr. Charles, the officer said anxiously,

"Something happened."

Hearing this, Charles's mood plummeted in an instant, his eyebrows furrowing deeply.

Before he could ask further, the officer hurriedly spoke with rapid speed.

"…Gunfire has been going on for over an hour, from the sea to the beach. There's blood and bodies everywhere, both human and mutants."

Hearing there were bodies of both humans and mutants, Charles, clutching at a last hope, quickly asked,

"Are there more humans or mutants?"

The officer grimaced as he spoke.

"Humans… but those guys, they don't seem to be from the Alliance."

Charles was stunned, blurting out,

"Not from the Alliance?! Then whose could they be?"

The officer shook his head.

"I don't know. They had no clear identification on them; their identities are so far unconfirmed. According to the footage captured by our drones, they came through the Baiyue Strait on two cargo ships, colliding right with the Mutant Corps of the Torch Sect heading to Potato Harbor. Those fish-scaled beasts are blind; they just can't help but confront upon seeing people. After fighting with those on the ships, they chased the humans ashore, and the landing spot ended up being a full five to six kilometers away from Potato Harbor!"

Charles's eyes widened.

"What happened then?"

The officer said grimly,

"Then... they were all wiped out by the Alliance."

Charles: "..."

The room fell into silence.

Due to the absence of the Marine Patrol Team, the Federal Navy's destroyer lingered in the nearby sea area for quite some time, and the drones they released watched the entire battle until their batteries ran out.

Watching Mr. Charles looking gravely concerned, the officer swallowed and lowered his voice,

"…The real issue is that those guys were utterly defeated; there were too many bodies, impossible to manage and indeed there was no way to handle them. By the time it gets light tomorrow morning, the Marine Patrol Team will be back in the patrol area, and they are bound to notice something unusual on the beach. My only worry now is that some people with ulterior motives might link those bodies to today's exercise."

Unlike the navy which was completely loyal to the Southern Islands Federation, he was well aware that there were two factions within the Presidential Mansion. There were good people like Mr. Charles who stood for the Federation, and there were also cowards hesitant about Shelter No. 70.

If these weaklings realized that there was more to the war's catalyst, their acquiescence could drag the dominant Federation down into the abyss.

Charles pondered silently for a long time and then slowly said,

"Even if they link it, it doesn't matter; that's not our territory."

Seeing Mr. Charles completely oblivious to the seriousness of the issue, the young officer became visibly anxious and quickly spoke,

"As you say… but what if someone links those mutants and the Southern sea area's shipping accident? Everyone thought those fish-scaled creatures wouldn't leave the Death Coast, but now they've swum over a thousand kilometers, popping up from our west, and they can even launch torpedoes! Using distance as an excuse won't hold water anymore if they were to attack our ships."

He paused and continued in a hushed tone, "I've heard there's an investigation into those wrecked ships, including the Golden Coast dispatched by the President to Haiya Province for inspection and the remnants of the Ocean Current Power Station… If those snooping folks uncover anything, that would spell trouble."

A grim fierceness crossed Charles's eyes; his clenched fist's index finger and thumb continuously rubbed against each other.

Watching the Chief of Staff's facial expression, the officer solemnly continued,

"What I am most worried about now is what the President knows; we must be prepared for the worst-case scenario. If it comes down to it, we might as well come clean with the President—"

Regarding the current Federal system, the supreme commander of the Federal Navy is also the President, any military action requires his direct authorization.

Though all their actions were for the Federation, this was an unauthorized operation, which legally and morally wasn't justifiable.

There would come a day when things would unravel.

Especially with the current trend, the risk of exposure was growing.

Rather than nurturing greater dangers in the future because of today's concealment, it would be better to be honest and pull the President into their camp, to wage this war more thoroughly.

However, before he could finish speaking, Charles interrupted him without hesitation,

"Now is not the time. The President and his supporters still have illusions about Shelter No. 70; we need to give those compatriots who haven't moved on from the past some time. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on his side. You just keep a close watch on the Marine Patrol Team; I'm worried they might leak information and prepare the Alliance in advance."

"But..."

The officer hesitated, clearly wanting to say more, but Charles cut him off sharply.

"You go now; we've been meeting for too long. I'll call you if there's anything."

"Yes..."

Faced with that unquestionable gaze, the officer finally gave up, nodded, and left the room.

Watching the closed door, Charles sat down on the sofa, stretching a finger to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Come clean to the President?

A bunch of naïve people.

Mr. Mongo would never stand with them; he single-handedly founded the Southern Islands Federation.

If he found out that it was their own people who had sunk the Ocean Current Power Station, and that the sole purpose was to give the Federation an excuse to clear out Shelter No. 70, he would definitely kick him out of the Presidential Mansion, if not kill him.

Moreover, even if they backed down ten thousand steps, and that guy agreed to hide the truth about the war with them, how could he turn the Federation into his own possession?

He would undoubtedly confront Mr. President.

But not when the Presidential Mansion and the navy are currently so close...

Immersing his consciousness in a sacred realm shimmering with light, Charles slightly lowered his gaze, murmuring silently,

"Those gill-bearing creatures you're keeping have caused trouble. You'd better keep them under the radar for a while."

"It's not that I'm complaining... but you really should find some slightly more decent allies."

...

The next morning.

The dawn's light spilled over the north shore of the Baiyue Strait, casting a golden layer over the tranquil beach.

Standing at the bow of the patrol boat, Muda stared intently towards Potato Harbor, furrowing his brow.

Just like his reaction, the sailor standing nearby whispered,

"There's a strong scent of blood..."

After a pause, he added,

"It doesn't seem like it's from wild beasts."

Muda nodded and turned to shout towards the cabin behind him.

"Activate the active sonar."

"Yes!"

The sailor nodding in response pressed his hand on the console dashboard and flicked a red button.

Shortly after, he shouted with a look of surprise,

"There are two sunken ships, six to seven kilometers to the west. Based on the echo's pattern, they look like civilian cargo ships."

Sunken ships?!

A sense of foreboding arose in Muda.

The sailor standing beside him looked at him anxiously.

"Sir, should we go and check?"

Muda pondered for a moment and said,

"Let's check on our neighbors first!"

After all, more than five hundred residents of Coral City still lived in Potato Harbor.

Although those guys had claimed to have joined the Alliance, the bond of kinship still made him concerned for them.

Of course, this included other survivors in Potato Harbor.

Due to the frequent visits to the island for drinks, he had grown quite familiar with the people there. Although there had been many misunderstandings initially, after some time, he found that they were actually quite nice, very different from those selfish and cunning Wasteland Wanderers on the mainland; they rarely thought only of themselves and often considered others' difficulties.

Including the water pipeline currently under construction, the survivors on Ring Island held a favorable view of those people. At least they did not dislike them.

He hoped they were all safe...

The speedboat soon approached the dock.

Seeing the unexpected quietness of the camp, Muda's heart sank slightly. Once the boat had steadied, he quickly leaped onto the dock and walked towards the camp with two subordinates.

Just then, a resident of the refuge emerged, carrying a plastic bucket and a fishing rod, and happened to face him.

The two of them stared at each other in surprise.

However, the refuge resident recovered quicker, smacking his head and stumbling over his words in United Human language with a laugh.

"Oh, you're the captain of the South Islands Federation's Maritime Patrol Team, right? Muda?"

Seeing this unfamiliar fellow, Muda asked blankly,

"Do you know me?"

The man holding the fishing rod laughed and said,

"I do. Although it's my first time here, I've heard about you on the Forum."

Muda: "…?"

Seeing the NPC's somewhat unintelligent expression, the player scratched his head and said,

"Is there something you need? Are you looking for someone?"

"It's nothing much... I just wanted to ask about the people here," Muda said while glancing around and then perplexedly at the man with the fishing rod. "Why is it so quiet today?"

The player replied with a smile,

"Oh, that's normal. The population here isn't large, and early this morning, more than five hundred people left, all following Brother Fang Chang to stir things up."

"Stir things up?" Muda was perplexed again, not understanding what that meant.

Seeing his confused expression, the player patiently explained again in awkward United Human language, detailing the events.

"Last night, a bunch of fools from Poluo Province came here. I don't know what they were thinking, daring to fire at us. Then we and the fish kept by the Torch Church dealt with them together. After capturing them and interrogating them, it turns out they were from the West Winds Empire."

The mentions of the West Winds Empire, fish kept by the Torch Church, and other unfamiliar terms left Muda completely baffled. Seizing the moment while the other man paused, he quickly took over the conversation.

"Anyway, it's good you're all right... By the way, when is Brother Fang expected to return?"

The player said with a smile,

"Probably about a week. Is there something you need? I can pass the message to him."

Muda coughed and said,

"No need, I was just curious to ask... By the way, you mentioned that Torch is raising fish? What does that mean?"

The player smiled and continued,

"It's those mutants! The blue-skinned type with fish scales on their body and gills on their chin, using all sorts of weapons from long spears and short cannons to even torpedoes. I heard they drifted here from the Death Coast of Haiye Province."

Death Coast?!

Muda stared at him, his face filled with surprise.

He had certainly heard of a group of blue-skinned mutants living near the Death Coast who made their living by fishing, but he was astonished to find that mutants could appear here?!

From here to the Death Coast, even in a straight line, it was nearly a thousand kilometers.

Could those mutants really swim that far?!

Especially when he heard that those mutants could also launch torpedoes, his face instantly changed.

"Can you take me to the scene to have a look?"

The player scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat reluctant.

"It's not far. Just drive five or six kilometers west along the coastline, and you should see it. Our people should still be cleaning up the battlefield there... I still need to fish here. Wait a bit until that dumb-ass group comes up and feeds the fish, or should I find someone to take you?"

Hearing that the battlefield was just five or six kilometers to the west, Muda immediately thought of the two sunken ships he had detected using sonar earlier, his expression becoming a bit excited.

If those ships were sunk by the mutants, there might be some clues on them!

Seeing the resident of the refuge eager to end the conversation, he no longer delayed the man's time and sincerely thanked him.

"Thanks! I can manage on my own!"

With that, he took his subordinates back to the speedboat and restarted the engine.

After continuing west for five kilometers, he indeed saw a group of people in exoskeletons on the nearby beach, dragging corpses washed ashore by the waves into pre-dug holes for burial.

The man standing on the speedboat, Muda, was also spotted by a Ground Model on the shore, who recognized him as someone he had drunk with before and greeted him with a smile.

"Yo, you're back?"

Muda shouted back, "Just got back. I heard two ships sank here last night? If it's convenient, I'd like to go down and have a look."

The Ground Model cheerfully waved his hand.

"No problem, Elder Fang told us before he left that if he was interested in those two sunken ships, we should take you to see them. By the way, do you need someone to help you locate those ships?"

Muda replied, "No need, we've already located their coordinates, thanks!"

The Ground Model laughed and said, "Don't mention it! Just in case, I'll still arrange for two 'Electric Eels' to follow you."

After saying that, he contacted the engineering team via VM and arranged for two fully charged Electric Eels from Potato Harbor to come over and assist.

Those things could do more than just underwater welding—they could also drive away Variants by actively discharging electricity, a new use they had developed through practice.

Considering the limited power of the Mind Interference Device on the speedboat, Muda did not refuse.

Once the two Electric Eel unmanned boats arrived, he ordered the engine started and followed them to the area of the sunken ship.

Both cargo ships were in an extremely pitiful state.

Their hulls had gaping holes, and after seawater flooded in, they sank to the seabed, embedded in the rugged rocky ocean floor one after the other.

Bloated and mangled bodies floated around, some caught on the ship's hull, others entangled in seaweed, left to be pecked by schools of fish, resembling hell itself.

Dressed in a deep-diving suit, Muda plunged into the water and was chilled to the scalp by the sight before him, his stomach churning.

The two unmanned Electric Eels, with sparks of electricity on their heads, slowly swam to the front of one of the cargo ships, the crackling electricity scattering the scavenging fish, clearing a path for him.

Following one of the Electric Eels forward.

Using a flashlight, Muda quickly found the inwardly crushed breach on one side near the bow after searching around.

At that moment, his pupils dilated drastically, his eyes involuntarily reflecting a look of disbelief and astonishment.

The breach from the explosion looked exactly like the damage on the hull of the "Golden Coast" survey ship reported in the newspapers!

Although determining whether it was caused by the same type of weapon required expert appraisal, he was still shocked by the discovery and involuntarily gaped.

Taking a photo of the explosion-formed breach, he used his flashlight to search the area once more and indeed found remnants of a torpedo near some rocks.

It was just a fragment the size of a palm.

The crudely made stainless steel casing was exactly like the one they had found near the "Golden Coast" survey ship.

First, the signal of the Mind Interference Device was detected near the ocean current power station, then on the "Dolphin," carrying the debt of twelve cargo ships, not a single weapon could be found.

Now, the aquatic variant humans, "who would never leave the Death Coast" according to those experts with consultant titles, not only appeared in a sea area 1000 kilometers away but even brought the weapon that sank the "Golden Coast"…

Do these guys ever tell the truth?

His pupils blazed with anger, his fists clenched involuntarily, and he couldn't help but curse through clenched teeth.

"Damn it…"

…

While the South Island Federation's Maritime Patrol Team was busy collecting evidence from the two shipwrecks, hundreds of kilometers away on the Poluo Sea, a nuclear fusion-powered submarine was speeding towards Jin Galun Port at nearly fifty knots.

A 2000-kilometer distance would require a week at sea for a diesel-powered cargo ship and a crew of unskilled sailors.

But for the Dolphin, less than a day sufficed, and good sea conditions meant only twenty-two hours were necessary.

Aside from a centurion named Di Rang and more than a hundred battered soldiers from the West Winds Empire, over five hundred players from the Burning Corps were also aboard the submarine.

More than half of them had arrived at Potato Harbor that morning on the Oxnard airship and had just disembarked when they, along with ammunition transported from the City of Dawn, boarded the submarine.

They were the elite of the Alliance, each with a Sequence Level of at least 25, equipped with Type 5 "Light Cavalry" and Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeletons, including twenty brand-new DLZJ-1 "Xiaguang"!

In addition to basic infantry equipment, they also had comprehensive support gear such as 88mm mortars, Y-2 quadcopter attack drones, and "Dove" missiles.

For the purpose of making space for ammunition and loot, Fang Chang had Captain Chen Jianhong clear out the cargo hold overnight, transferring the containers to a newly built warehouse at Potato Harbor for the players interested in rummaging through junk.

Looking at the power armors and exoskeletons emitting a murderous aura in the submarine's cargo hold, Captain Chen Jianhong felt uneasy and couldn't help but turn to Fang Chang and say,

"I should have mentioned that the Dolphin is a cargo submarine, not a warship. We shouldn't and won't participate in any offensive military missions."

Fang Chang responded with a smile,

"I know, but every citizen of the Alliance has an obligation to uphold the Alliance's constitution, and moreover, this isn't an offensive attack. They initiated hostilities without declaration, forcing us to retaliate."

Rolling his eyes at that nonsense, Captain Chen Jianhong couldn't help but retort,

"I've never heard of any sort of retaliation that extends two thousand kilometers away!"

"Now you have," replied Fang Chang in a joking tone, patting his shoulder soothingly, "Don't worry, you won't be involved in any combat. Just wait safely and pick us up after we finish our business."

Seeing Captain Chen still had concerns, Fang Chang added another line.

"If you really can't accept it, just think of it as a humanitarian rescue."

Captain Chen was momentarily stunned.

"…Humanitarian rescue?"

"Yes," Fang Chang said seriously, "Based on information provided by residents of other shelters, we suspect that human trafficking and organ selling are happening at Jin Galun Port. Normally, we wouldn't reach so far, but since they've provoked us, we plan to destroy their port and, incidentally, rescue some people."

Captain Chen: "…"

Did he just misspeak?

One moment he talked about humanitarian aid, the next he exposed his true intention.

Though, he wasn't opposed to it.

He had heard about the events in Poluo Province, especially since many survivors had fled to Potato Harbor from there.

If he could help more people escape that hellish place, it wouldn't be such a bad deed after all.

A calamity two centuries ago had turned the entire planet into Wasteland, not only causing systemic decline in civilization but also mutations during that decline.

In his view, the only place that still seemed somewhat normal was their Survivor Forces, led by residents of various shelters.

Almost every residents of the shelter harbored a savior's spirit, including Captain Chen Jianhong.

In truth, they didn't need any excuse about "passive retaliation."

Saving the suffering survivors.

To him, that was reason enough!

Meanwhile, thousands of leaders, Di Rang, who was blindfolded and had his hands tied behind his back, thrown into a ship cabin, had given up his futile struggles after several failed attempts.

The ropes were made of Devil Silk, and unless his arms turned into the mouth of a Devil Moth, he wouldn't expect to cut through even a single thread.

Listening to the tide sounds from below the deck, even a fool would understand what the Blue Ground Squirrels intended—embarking on a civilian vessel to land at Jin Galun Port.

These shameless scoundrels!

Sly villains!

Why not have an actual fair fight?

Cursing in his mind, he didn't realize he also included himself in the curses until he was too tired to continue his inner roaring, resting his face on the cold deck, his eyelids beginning to fight each other.

Time passed unknowingly.

At some moment, he had drifted off to sleep, waking only when hunger struck.

He then noticed a subtle difference in the tide sounds echoing around him compared to those heard on his way, a bit more muffled, like the murmuring whispers of ghosts.

A faint unease began to rise in his heart.

Particularly when he thought about being blindfolded in this secluded cabin for an entire week, that unease quickly morphed into fear.

"Hey!"

He couldn't help but yell, stretching his chin across the deck, trying to get the guard's attention.

"Can you at least take off my blindfold?"

No one responded.

As he anxiously waited, he suddenly heard footsteps and a slight noise at the lock.

With his eyes covered for so long, his hearing had become exceptionally sensitive, easily picking up the faint sounds.

Guessing it was someone coming to bring food, he seized the opportunity and shouted loudly.

"Can you take off my blindfold? Are you still afraid of a prisoner tied hand and foot?"

However, to his surprise, it seemed the person wasn't there to bring food, as he couldn't smell any scent of food from the doorway.

"Stop yelling, we're at home now, get up and get out."

At…home?

Di Rang was startled, then a look of terror appeared on his twisted face.

He might have drifted into a drowsy sleep indeed, but it certainly hadn't been a week; they probably hadn't even left Poluo Sea yet. How could they possibly be "home"?

A horrifying thought entered his mind.

Were they planning to throw him into the sea as shark bait?!

"No! I'm not going down!"

Watching the man shouting madly, the player who came to pick him up felt helpless, wondering why he had to end up with the least interesting job.

Tired of listening to the prisoner's rants, he went up and grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him up like a small chicken and shoving him out of the cabin.

"Behave."

Chapter 695: Landing, Control, Street Fighting!

At four o'clock in the morning, the sun had not yet risen, and the sea was still shrouded in gray.

Curled up along the coastline, Jin Galun Harbor resembled a slumbering bull, its concrete piers stretching out like horns, while the city area crowded with houses of varying heights lay along the coast like the bull's bloated belly.

This settlement, situated on the banks of the Everflow River and nestled on the Shock Plain, was the largest settlement on the East Coast of the West Winds Empire and also its biggest port.

According to updates on the forum by Si Si, an astonishing one million people lived here, even surpassing the combined population of the Camel Hump Kingdom.

If one were to judge by size alone, the ports of Silver Moon Bay and Ring Island would be no more than fleas in comparison.

However, in terms of living standards, one need only look at the densely packed houses and shanties, which resembled an anthill, to feel the suffocation and struggle that hit one squarely in the face.

Of course, it would be slanderous to say that there were only shanties here. After all, anyone disembarking at this port, if not blind, would surely not miss the straight concrete piers and several streets equipped with streetlights.

Although the incident that occurred a month ago still sent shivers down the spines of the nobles living near the harbor, it did not detract from the fact that this was the most expensive area along the entire Everflow River, where a single brick could buy an entire nearby city district.

Of course, no matter how expensive the houses here were, it had nothing to do with Paru, who was standing guard.

Firstly, he was of the Horse Tribe, and only the esteemed Sun People, Cow People, and foreigners were qualified to buy houses here. Moreover, transactions were not made with the ever-fluctuating Dinar of West Winds but with pure gold dinars, which could even be used to buy a slave.

Both of which were beyond his wildest dreams; he could only hope to donate more to the temple and pray for a better life in the next cycle.

Actually, with only a thousand gods protecting this place, it wasn't too many. Perhaps in the next reincarnation, he could be born as one of the Sun People or the Cow People?

It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility.

Gazing out at the silent coast and lost in his musings, Paru could not help but yawn and tightened his grip on the rifle that was more like a fire poker.

It wasn't that the weapon gave him much of a sense of security—purely because the sea breeze was blowing mercilessly, and he always worried that he might be carried away by the wind without something to hold onto in his hand.

For most people in this settlement, this time was too early; only those carrying buckets, the night soil men, and patrolling guards were awake by the docks.

If one accidentally fell into the sea, they might drown without anyone noticing.

"…Isn't it time for the shift change yet?"

Paru muttered under his breath, looking around restlessly, feeling like the time for the shift change had already passed.

Damn it.

The clock ringer shouldn't have fallen asleep again, right?

...

At this very moment, Paru was unaware that the guard responsible for ringing the bell hadn't fallen asleep, but had been knocked out cold with a cudgel.

The bell tower was a vantage point in the vicinity, right next to the port police station, and capturing it would allow one to overlook at least half of the port district.

And it wasn't just the bell ringer.

In the time it took Paru to yawn, the port police station's main entrance was also forcibly taken over by a group of individuals in exoskeletons.

The guard on duty had his mouth stuffed and was thrown under the table in the guardhouse. An Intelligence System player swiftly deployed the carried quadcopter drone, operating it through a neural interface device. It circled the entire guard bureau twice, marking all escape routes and potential hiding spots.

Corner Old Six, acting as the squad leader, immediately issued the attack order. Then, twenty soldiers clad in "Type Five" exoskeletons boldly breached the front door of the guard bureau, splitting into two groups and heading straight for the main building and dormitories.

Many of the snoring guards hadn't even woken up when they were yanked from their beds, only to see a silenced pistol pointed at their foreheads.

Seeing the tapping index finger against the assailant's lips, no one dared make a sound. They all meekly came to terms with the fact that they had been captured and were escorted by these uninvited guests to squat in the guard bureau's cells, alongside the still half-asleep prisoners.

Even a blind man could tell that these people were clearly not ordinary pirates or looters.

They were well-trained, their actions crisp and decisive. They didn't dilly-dally; their movements were fast, accurate, and ruthless, aiming for vital points, leaving the "victims" no chance to react.

Obviously.

They were all regular army!

And their equipment and tactics were professional!

Facing such a tough situation, resistance would be futile. It would be wiser to surrender compliantly.

Moreover, there was no shame in being captured by the regular army; their superiors wouldn't blame them for not resisting.

But there was one thing that everyone at the guard bureau couldn't understand.

How had they provoked this plague of calamity?

The entire operation took less than fifteen minutes, without a word exchanged. Jinjaron Harbor's port guard bureau was already subdued.

This slumbering bull had been blindfolded.

The Alliance's submarines could now surface right next to the docks with impunity, transferring personnel and equipment from the ship to the shore, with ropes tightly wound around its neck.

In the head of the guard bureau's office.

Corner Old Six, who had completely seized control of the building, extended his index finger and pressed on his helmet, reporting the current situation to the temporary command center on the submarine.

"…This is the vanguard, we have successfully suppressed the port's security system, no exchange of fire, you can land anytime."

After a rustling of electronic static, Old White's voice came through from the other end of the communications channel.

"Received, continue to maintain suppression, stand by at your current location."

Corner Old Six: "Understood."

At the same moment the communication ended, at the southernmost edge of the port, a massive black submarine slowly emerged from the water.

The dark hull quietly pushed through the waves, revealing the broad deck and the vast curved bow.

The crew on deck threw out cushioned airbags and guided the submarine gently toward the edge of the concrete dock via walkie-talkies.

Once the submarine was steady, column after column of black exoskeletons marched in step through the door connecting to the deck, climbing up to the dock via the extended gangways.

Along with them surging towards the port were Y-2 Butterfly Knife drones, each with its menacing guns, and twenty "Hellhound" unmanned vehicles loaded with ammunition.

In just three minutes, a battalion's worth of troops had completed its deployment, and it was one of the Alliance's most elite battalions at that.

All of these players were not only Awakeners who had reached at least the Third Stage Gene Sequence, but they were also armed to the teeth with mechanized equipment.

Looking at the army that had suddenly appeared at the port, the nearby patrolling guards were so astonished that they were rooted to the spot, momentarily losing both the ability to act and to speak.

Facing this group that was completely unlike anything they were used to, they felt the Ripper Rifles in their hands were no more threatening than a small water pipe in a wash basin.

To say nothing of raising them to aim at those people, they didn't even have the courage to load their rifles and instead put down their guns and raised their hands.

After all, they were just a bunch of ordinary survivors earning a meager salary, neither the noble Imperial Army nor the private soldiers of the governor's mansion.

They possessed neither the skill to rush forward and fight desperately nor the courage to do so.

The leading player also did not open fire on them, but simply herded them into a nondescript area and placed them under the watch of two drones, then continued to execute the task of occupying the port.

At this very moment, Paru, who was on duty at the northern end of the port, did not even realize what had happened — control of the port had already fallen into the hands of the Alliance.

On the submarine's deck.

Watching the port that had fallen into their hands without a shot being fired, Fang Chang, clad in a "Type Five" Exoskeleton, couldn't help but sigh.

"Now I understand how that group managed to cause such a huge commotion at the port with only four people."

Before landing, he had estimated that there would be at least a fierce firefight in the port area, serving as a rehearsal for the upcoming landing operations in the Southern sea area and Haiye Province.

After all, their previous experiences had been airborne drops from the skies, and they had never encountered a situation like a sea landing before. In the event that the Southern Islands Federation suddenly turned hostile, defending against the bombardment of the Federal Fleet with Potato Harbor's shore defenses would be challenging, so the best solution would still be to break through with the submarines.

Whatever the case, one always had to prepare for the worst.

However, this giant settlement with a population of a million people had completely defied his expectations; it was as if the garrison were asleep, allowing them to take it without firing a single shot.

Old White glanced at him.

"You're talking about Ah Wei and the others?"

Fang Chang shrugged.

"Who else has been here?"

Seeing his speechlessness, Old White smiled and said.

"Don't underestimate them. Their combat power aside, their talent for creating chaos is quite something."

Although the probability of success was not high, the effect of success was often remarkable.

As for those times when things went awry, the person involved probably wouldn't feel comfortable talking about it on the forum.

Fang Chang's gaze fell on the still-slumbering settlement, and he sighed softly.

"I'm not underestimating that guy, it's just a little..."

He paused, searching for the right words.

"I might have overestimated this 'Empire' a bit."

Whether the population exceeded a hundred million and whether the Wasteland Era had ended or not, only the locals knew best, but having unified the entire Poluo Province was certainly no lie.

Fang Chang didn't know how they had accomplished it.

The Alliance had yet to fully govern an entire administrative division from the Era of Prosperity. Although it seemed they had not deliberately played this map-coloring game, implementing it, in reality, was not without its difficulties.

Survivors in several provinces east of River Valley Province were so sparse it was unclear how to even unite them, and the sparks of civilization left by the War Construction Committee in places like Giant Stone City and Singular Point City numbered around thirteen or maybe twelve. Its reach could never extend as far as Poluo Province.

Perhaps, as the West Winds people said, theirs was a kingdom truly blessed by the gods...

...

Elsewhere, at the port security office.

Watching these uninvited guests communicate in a language he couldn't understand, Mandar sitting behind the desk shivered uncontrollably, afraid to even breathe.

But the Exoskeleton-clad figure still noticed him, striding over and peering down into his eyes.

"Are you the director here?"

Mandar's instinct was to nod, but he quickly came to his senses and shook his head, stuttering out.

"Yes, no... I'm not, I'm the duty director."

Corner Old Six continued menacingly.

"And where's your superior? Where is he now?"

"He, he lives just down this street..." Mandar was so unnerved he was nearly crying, his lips trembling.

Corner Old Six didn't give him a hard time, picking up a notebook from the desk, tearing out a page, and tossing it in front of him, tapping it with his finger.

"House number, street, write it down."

"Yes, yes!" Without daring to resist, Mandar hurriedly grabbed a pen and swiftly wrote down a long string of information.

Corner Old Six picked up the note, glanced at it, tapped his helmet twice, took a photogenic snapshot through the Tactical Goggles, and had the offline program on the VM translate the written content.

Unfortunately, without satellite positioning, they could only sketch simple terrain maps from drone aerial imagery.

Corner Old Six took a tablet from a nearby Intelligence System player, pushed it in front of the trembling Mandar, and pointed to the address previously written on the paper.

"Is this the place?"

After a brief look at the aerial map displayed on the tablet, Mandar quickly spotted the posh three-story mansion and immediately nodded fervently.

"Right! 003 Tulip No. 1 Street, that's it!"

Seeing the cooperating NPC, Corner Old Six nodded in satisfaction, shared the coordinates with his teammates outside, and kept questioning him.

"In addition to your superior, I also need the address of the governor of the port, the local lord, and other high-ranking officials of the settlement and port."

"The governor is in the Governor's Mansion... As for the other officials, I really have no idea, my lord," Mandar said in a panic, drenched in sweat and worried the man before him wasn't satisfied, so he hurriedly explained, "No, no, but don't worry! Except for the governor and the city lord who are in their own mansions, ninety percent of those people you're talking about are on those streets behind the port! If you ask around, you're sure to find out! I, I'll circle it for you!"

With that, he squeezed a solicitous smile onto his face and eagerly reached out both hands to take the tablet, his fingers trembling as he drew a circle on the map, enclosing the street district near the port that was equipped with streetlights.

"They're all here!"

Goodness.

He's that cooperative?

Seeing how eagerly this guy was cooperating, Corner Old Six gave him an extra look of surprise, then reported the situation here back to the submarine's combat command.

After understanding the situation at the port, Old White immediately devised a capture plan. The first one hundred people who landed at the port would quickly head to the nearby port district to cut off transportation and execute the capture of key residents, while the mission to capture the Governor's Mansion would be carried out by the second group of one hundred.

Looking at the line of people still standing in the office without leaving, Mandar could no longer restrain the terror in his heart and cautiously asked.

"Who exactly are you? When did we ever offend you?"

Corner Old Six cracked a smile.

"That's a question for your governor."

Mandar gaped with a clueless expression on his face.

Not only was he bewildered at the moment, but so was Director Bihari of the Port Security Office, who had the door kicked open and was pressed onto his own bedroom bed, looking at this group of thugs in exoskeletons with both shock and anger, making a noise like a pig being slaughtered.

"Let go of me! Do you know who I am? If you don't release me, I'll put all of you in jail!"

Looking at the woman lying beside him whose beauty had turned pale, Killer Dagger casually picked up a piece of clothing from the wardrobe and threw it over her.

"We need to talk to your husband about something, please go to the living room."

The woman nodded her head palely, hastily dressed, and got out of bed, not daring to stay here a moment longer and quickly left.

Looking at Director Bihari, who had stopped yelling, Killer Dagger took out the tablet to confirm once again that he was the same man in the photos, then looked at him and said.

"Director Bihari, you've been captured."

"Ca..."

He choked on the second half of his sentence and quickly glanced at the menacing figures in the room, seeming to realize something, while cold sweat gradually began to ooze from his forehead, dripping onto the expensive satin sheets.

Swallowing, he spoke with a tone filled with disbelief and a trembling voice.

"You... are you people from the Alliance?"

Removing his helmet's visor, Killer Dagger smirked, and looking at the man pinned to the bed, he whistled.

"Looks like we finally have someone who's in the know, huh?"

Seeing that almost mocking look in his eyes and the assault rifles that were just short of being pointed at his own forehead, Bihari shivered and nearly wet the bed.

If he hadn't gotten the date on the calendar wrong, Centurion Di Rang and his subordinates should have just arrived at Potato Harbor.

How did people from the Alliance just appear out of nowhere in Jinjaron Harbor, two thousand kilometers away?!

But he didn't have time to consider these things at the moment.

Looking at the man in the exoskeleton, he confessed all he knew in a frightened and stammering voice.

"I... I don't know anything... I swear it's true! I only saw the Grey Wolf Army boarding the ship at the port and just happened to hear where they were headed. There's no way I could be involved in this, I'm only a small port security director, how could I possibly influence the governor's decisions! Right, you must go find Governor Nihak, it was his order!"

Watching Bihari, who was close to wetting his pants in fright, Killer Dagger continued at a leisurely pace.

"Don't worry, our brothers are on their way to the Governor's Mansion looking for him; you won't have to bother yourself. All those involved won't escape 'trial'."

Hearing this, Bihari guessed that the port was probably already completely in the hands of the Alliance, and he let out a pained groan.

"What exactly do you want to do? Start a war with the Empire?"

Killer Dagger shrugged.

"That depends on what your emperor thinks, but no matter what that guy decides, we'll handle it in our own way."

Bihari swallowed nervously.

"... Your way?"

Killer Dagger nodded.

"First, we're going to find the mastermind behind that attack and teach them a lesson while taking a bit of 'interest' from them. Also, we believe that Jinjaron Harbor is a potential breeding ground for the 'Looter', and to prevent similar events from happening again, we're going to do something big here."

Bihari asked, trembling.

"Something big?"

Killer Dagger casually uttered two words.

"Abolition of slavery."

At first, Bihari thought he had heard wrong, but when he realized he hadn't, he stared at him, mouth agape.

"... That's impossible, you can't do it."

Killer Dagger chuckled.

"Nothing's impossible when we have your help."

Bihari's eyes widened even further, looking like a startled ox.

"Me?! Are you crazy? Not to mention that I'm just a chief of the security bureau, even if Tuo Ri Shen Niu stood here, it wouldn't be possible. Do you know how many slaves are in this settlement?!"

And why would he ever want to do that?! Not to mention that his mansion needed servants for cleaning, without those slaves, who would take over the jobs that would normally fall to them?

It wouldn't take a week before this settlement would be flooded with sewage!

However, the person in front of him simply didn't listen to what he said, or rather, didn't take it to heart at all, and instead spoke with a smile.

"That's great, it means we have a lot of work to do. From now on, you are the chief of the Jinjaron Harbor Guard Squad, and I grant you enforcement authority and temporary adjudication power. You need to govern all affairs of this settlement in accordance with the Alliance's constitution during your tenure."

What a joke.

They were not here to do charity.

Abolishing slavery and conducting trials were just means to an end; did it really matter whether they were accomplished in the end?

Bihari stared at him in panic, muttering under his breath.

"You must be crazy, it's impossible to achieve that even if you level this settlement to the ground... No... I can't be this chief, you should find someone else. The security of our settlement is under the jurisdiction of the city defense officer, how about you go find him?"

Ignoring the man's pleas, Killer Dagger said with a jest and a smile,

"You're not taking the job? Are you sure? Really not taking it?"

Bihari shook his head like a rattle drum.

He had seen the light.

These guys had intentionally come here to wreck havoc.

They would mess things up and leave without a backward glance, while he had no place to run and was bound to be held accountable in the future.

He dared not take on such a head-rolling task.

Seeing that he adamantly refused to cooperate, Killer Dagger didn't waste words, directly chambered a round in his rifle and pressed it against his head.

Feeling the chill emanating from the muzzle, Bihari's face instantly lost all color, and his complexion changed faster than a traffic light.

"I'll do it! I'll do it!! That chief position is mine, more than ninety percent of the nobles in this settlement live in my jurisdiction, I know every detail about each of them, there's nobody better suited for this job than me! Please entrust it to me!"

"That's more like it."

With a smile, he patted the shoulder of this chameleon, took a cap off a nearby clothes rack, and placed it neatly on his head.

"From today on, you are the chief of Jinjaron Harbor. We hope you enforce the law fairly, according to the constitution of the Alliance. Do your job well and don't let us down. There might be a chance for you to be the chief of the West Winds Empire."

Having said that, without considering the expression on the face of the man who had been frightened out of his wits, Killer Dagger took out a printed copy of the Alliance's basic law from his breast pocket and tossed it on the bedsheets in front of the poor wretch.

"Have a look through this first."

Bihari hastily took the stack of bound printouts, pretending to earnestly flip through it, even though he couldn't absorb a single word.

Killer Dagger didn't bother with him and, according to the plan, left two men to watch over him, then took the rest of the team members and left the mansion.

The sky outside was still dark, but the street was already filled with a crowd of men and women.

They were all residents of Tulip No. 1 Street, not only of noble blood but also holding important positions in this port and settlement, while others were fully-occupied nobles or foreign merchants doing business here.

There were even two people from Weilante.

However, their appearance at the moment was utterly inconsistent with the word "noble."

Some were wearing coats, and others had simply put on a thicker nightgown. Their faces were full of panic and dishevelment, their eyes lost and clueless, not knowing what had happened, they were taken out of their homes by a group of soldiers with loaded weapons.

Knowing that among them there must be innocents, Killer Dagger did not make it hard for them. After clapping his hands to draw their attention, he spoke in a loud voice.

"I am sorry for disturbing everyone's rest and I also appreciate your cooperation."

"We are a group of soldiers who cannot disclose our identities, as we were attacked by a group of people whose identities also cannot be disclosed. Through interrogation, we learned that they came from Jinjaron Harbor, and so we followed the trail and found this place. Our goal is to root out the hidden hand behind this and make this settlement normal by our methods."

"Please rest assured, we will not harm any innocent person, nor will we let any involved party go. If anyone can provide clues, we will be very grateful and may even distribute a portion of the involved party's property to the informer."

"Additionally, we advise those involved to turn themselves in to seek our forgiveness as soon as possible. If we catch you, what happens next is not going to be pleasant."

He paused, then continued.

"Shortly, there may be a battle here, please follow us to the temporary shelter in the port area for refuge."

As he was speaking, a gunshot suddenly sounded in the distance, followed by a series of rapid gunfire in the adjacent streets.

The people on the street were startled by the sudden gunshot, with some huddling together and others screaming and crouching on the ground.

Hearing the sudden gunfire, Killer Dagger was not the least bit panicked; instead, he looked excited and murmured to himself,

"Well, well, the real fight has finally started."

With the port having such a large commotion, it seemed that the guards of Jinjaron Harbor had finally noticed something was amiss and engaged in a firefight with the players heading to cut off transportation.

Although their reaction was absurdly slow.

Without any hesitation, Killer Dagger pulled the bolt back, chambered a round, and called out to the eager teammates behind him.

"The mission board has been updated, Team A will take the 'VIPs' to the warehouse!"

"The rest of the brothers, follow me!"

The players let out excited roars.

"Awoo! Awoo!"

Almost at the same moment the words fell, a shell whizzed down and hit a building by the street, blasting a skylight open in the three-story mansion.

Chunks of stone and dust fell from above, rolling and rumbling along the paved street amidst the screams of the people, clinking and clanking.

The players quickly sought cover and moved forward towards the firefighting area ahead, following the path scouted by the unmanned drones.

At the same time, the Alliance's mortar positions at the port area began to fire, counterattacking the source of the incoming fire under the guidance of the drones.

The quiet of the early morning hours was utterly shattered.

The counterattack battle spanning two thousand kilometers finally broke out at this moment...

Chapter 696: Capturing the Governor's Mansion!

"Impact point confirmed!"

"Damn, it drifted left by ten meters!"

"Correcting now—"

"Reload complete!"

Inside the courtyard walls of the Governor's Mansion, the towering cannon belched a thick tongue of flame, firing a 100mm high-explosive bomb towards the streets near the harbor.

Stepping over the ejected shell case, the loader skillfully moved forward to complete the reloading and closed the breech, while the gunner simultaneously adjusted the firing parameters, ready to fire the next round.

However, before he could pull the lanyard he had just run away with, he was slapped on the back of the head.

"Have you gone mad? Firing at Tulip Street?!" The officer, breaking into a sweat, stormed forward and grabbed the gunner by the collar, swearing furiously.

That was Tulip Street!

Not a single person living there was someone he could afford to provoke!

The gunner, scolded and bewildered, stammered,

"But—but they're right there..."

"Not even—"

The word "allowed" choked in his throat and never made it out, as three whizzing sounds of something tearing through the air hurtled towards them.

Before he could react, the blaze from the explosion, wrapped in shrapnel, turned him into a sieve and, along with the wreckage of the scrapped 100mm cannon, flew into a sandpit ten meters away.

Overlooking the dust-covered artillery position through the drone's bird's-eye view, an Intelligence System player stationed beside the mortar position let out an excited shout.

"Direct hit! The cannon is destroyed!"

"Nice work!"

Morale soared among the Strength Type brutes crouched by the mortar.

Using the coordinates provided by the observer, the gunners quickly corrected their firing data and continued to deliver support fire to their allies stationed on the outskirts of Tulip Street.

The shells rained down from the sky, creating flashes of light at the end of the streets and kicking up clouds of dust and debris.

The Jinjaron Port City Defense Army, advancing on the Burning Corps' defensive line, was being hammered by the relentless bombardment and couldn't lift their heads.

Without their own artillery support and lacking heavy weapons, they couldn't even get a clear look at the enemy before dropping hundreds of bodies.

Tracer rounds pierced the smoke rising from the craters, darting and jumping wildly in the streets. With each spark, a living soul fell, collapsing into a pool of blood.

"Charge!"

"Drive your bayonets into their throats!"

"Cleanse our streets with their blood!"

Soldiers hunkered down behind cover and barricades kept falling, and the Centurion commanding from the front bellowed at the soldiers behind, urging them up to fill the gaps in the crumbling battle line.

Listening to the rampant gunfire and the persistent roar of mortar fire, the soldiers crouching behind cover could no longer withstand the fear in their hearts and yelled at the Centurion.

"Commander! The Looters' firepower is too fierce! We need heavier firepower—!"

His voice had not yet faded when it was interrupted by a roar.

"We don't have that damn thing! What the hell are your guns for? Damn it, don't fire at the buildings! I said aim for the people, not the houses—"

Watching the rookie soldier beside him with the barrel of his gun pointing upwards, the Centurion roared and reached out to press the rifle barrel downwards.

However, at this moment, a bullet whistled by, and right there and then, the Centurion's forehead was pierced clean through.

"Boom—"

Eyes dilated, the Centurion collapsed heavily onto the ground.

His brain matter and blood scared a nearby rookie who was hugging his rifle so much that he immediately dropped his weapon and ran towards the back, stumbling and rolling as he went.

Seeing their officer killed, the soldiers could no longer contain their fear. They dropped their positions and fled towards the rear.

Just like that, a fully staffed hundred team that had filled the front line for less than ten minutes began to retreat in an orderly fashion.

Watching their comrades flee without a trace, the soldiers left immobilized on the frontline could no longer suppress the fear and despair in their hearts.

They figured they would die one way or another, so they fixed their bayonets to their rifles and, with shouts to dispel their panic, they charged recklessly towards the enemy.

It turned out to be no different from suicide.

A 10mm machine gun mounted on the third floor of a street-facing building was enough to block the entire street, and several soldiers who charged forward with bayonets were instantly pinned to the ground by long tracer rounds.

The battle was completely one-sided slaughter.

The two thousand soldiers of Jinjaron Port City Defense Army lost more than half to casualties in just fifteen minutes, and most of the remaining half were wounded.

On the other hand, their enemies, a group that had never revealed their identities, had not retreated an inch since the firefight started, firmly holding several streets near the port.

Looking at the mess and the bodies almost filling the craters on the street, Abinan, the Thousand Leader of the city defense, had his face written with horror.

The combat power demonstrated by the opponents far exceeded his expectations.

If the battle continued like this, the fear was that all two thousand of his men would fall here!

This could not go on!

He bellowed at his soldiers up ahead.

"Retreat!"

"Everyone fall back!"

His voice was like rain after a long drought.

Finally receiving the order to retreat, the soldiers of the West Winds Empire who had been holding out behind barricades and cover breathed a sigh of relief and abandoned their cover to flee down the streets behind them.

Seeing the Empire's army starting to retreat, the Alliance did not pursue further. They ceased fire and watched as their enemies disappeared in the direction of the slums.

On the other hand, the battle near the Governor's Mansion was also drawing to a close.

Crouched in the governor's mansion top floor study, Nihak trembled, listening to the increasingly faint sound of gunfire outside, while his heart grew even more panic-stricken.

He knew who the people outside were, even though they had never declared their identity, but those fellows were definitely people from the Alliance, no doubt about it!

But for the life of him, he could not figure out how those people had appeared here.

Could it be that the Alliance was already aware of the impending attack on Potato Harbor when Di Rang left from Jinjaron Port, and they simply decided to wait for them in the Poluo Sea?

Where was the leak in the information?

The port?

Or... Tiandu?

Impossible—

Nihak's brain descended into chaos due to fear.

This dread was much stronger than when that group who called themselves the White Bear Knights caused a ruckus in Jinjaron Port a month ago.

He could feel that those invading the port this time were not some civilian organization but a bona fide Regular Army, and moreover, the kind that had been going back and forth with the remnants of the Expeditionary Army in the eastward expansion of the Luo Xia Province and the Army!

He had not anticipated that the Alliance's counterattack would be so fierce, nor had he thought that the retaliation would come so swiftly, so much so that he didn't even have time to move to a safe place from the governor's mansion.

Clutching his head, he let out a painful groan.

"Damn it...this was Duke Garava's idea, why are you coming after me? Go find him! That idiot is right there in your City of Dawn!"

The gunfire outside had almost ceased.

Yet the panic in Nihak's heart grew even stronger.

Trembling, he extended his index finger to lift the curtain a little and was about to peek outside when the door behind him was brutally kicked open.

"FBI!"

"Vice squad!"

"Don't move!"

A bunch of people burst in shouting incomprehensible language, and in the blink of an eye, the muzzles of several guns were pressed against his forehead.

Nihak raised his hands in fear and screamed as he looked at the black exoskeletons squeezing into the study.

"I surrender! Don't! Don't kill me!"

A player wearing an exoskeleton walked up to him, took out a tablet, snapped a photo of his face, and after verifying his identity as the governor of the settlement, put the tablet away. Sniper Bai addressed him.

"Governor Nihak of Jinjaron Harbor, we suspect you are involved in the attack that happened at Potato Harbor the night before last. According to the testimony of Thousand Leader Di Rang and other informed individuals, the squadron that attacked us was shipped from Jinjaron Harbor, please cooperate with our investigation."

There was no trace of color on Nihak's face, and he couldn't even muster a word in retort.

Seeing that he had nothing to say, Sniper Bai didn't bother with further talk and gestured to his men.

"Take him away!"

Two players walked up briskly, picked him up off the ground, handcuffed him, and escorted him out of the door.

The battle downstairs had concluded.

The hundred or so players occupying the governor's mansion began a meticulous search of the place, not overlooking any detail.

Honestly, the luxury here was astonishing.

Whether it was the grand entrance or the marble floor tiles and the relief sculptures on the supporting columns, everything exuded extreme opulence.

And it wasn't just about luxury.

Less than one percent of Jinjaron Harbor was electrified, but here it reached a staggering ninety-nine percent.

They had double-door fridges, artistic lighting fixtures, elevators connecting the floors, and a digital central air conditioning system, and there were even a cinema and conference room equipped with holographic systems.

It was unimaginable.

That these industrial creations would appear in a settlement where the majority of survivors still struggled to make ends meet.

However, this puzzlement did not last long, as the case quickly broke when four players entered the kitchen.

"...Well, I'll be, it was even produced by Dawn City?" Seeing the brand logo beneath the fridge door, the player with a rifle hanging from his chest showed a look of surprise.

His nickname was By Some Mistake, a well-known name of those discarded in the version updates as a Strength Type beast.

His three teammates behind him were known respectively as Step Into the Sky, Half-year Wasting Time, and No Family. They all received the beta testing privilege on the eve of the Yellow Sand DLC and now, with levels in the mid-twenties, they were considered core strength on the server.

"Turns out to be my own wrongdoing?" No Family whistled, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

And it wasn't just the fridge.

And this oven, as well as the microwave, turned out to be produced in the Dawn City industrial zone, the trademarks hadn't even been peeled off.

These industrial products, unaffordable to common people, clearly hadn't improved the lives of the local survivors but might even have made things worse.

After walking around the kitchen, Half-year Wasting Time stroked his chin thoughtfully and said,

"I guess they were exported to the Camel Hump Kingdom and then sold over here from Silver Moon Bay."

No Family, on a sudden whim, asked,

"How many slaves for one of these fridges?"

Step Into the Sky, "…Ten? Twenty?"

Half-year Wasting Time, "That's too many; no matter how you look at it, a fridge can't sell for up to ten thousand dinars… Seven or eight should be enough."

In Dawn City, a fridge cost about 800 to 1000 silver coins, around the price of four to five assault rifles. Most residents could buy one with half a month's wages. Even calculated at minimum hourly pay, just over a month would be enough.

But thinking it over, the survivors living in this settlement were indeed pitiable, not even worth a fridge.

The four left the kitchen and made their way down the corridor into the basement, arriving at what appeared to be a storeroom for Governor's personal collection.

Faced with the locked door, all four players showed an excited look on their faces.

"You guys back off, I'll do it!"

Finally, it was showtime. By Some Mistake stepped forward, spat in his palm, then powerfully kicked the tightly shut door.

The door flew meters away, with the help of the exoskeleton's drive and his tens of points of strength.

This was when the Strength Type was most useful.

By Some Mistake was about to show off, raising his eyebrows, when suddenly shrieks came from the room behind the door. The group quickly raised their rifles and rushed in, only to find two trembling women huddled together hiding here.

They were beautiful, with their sheer nightgowns hardly covering their shapely figures, large patches of pale skin on display. They had likely hidden here in such a hurry that they didn't even have a coat over them.

Looking at the uninvited visitors, the woman with flaxen hair shrank back, asking in a panic,

"Who, who are you?"

The players looked at each other, unsure of what to do. By Some Mistake reported the situation to the Centurion and then said to her,

"We're not sure yet, we'll let you know when we figure it out… Are you the Governor's wife?"

"No… I, I…" For some reason, the woman suddenly faltered, struggling to form a complete sentence.

Worried about enraging these people before them, the sister squatting beside her quickly sold her out.

"She's the wife of Director Bihari… the one from the port police."

Half-year Wasting Time, "?"

Step Into the Sky, "???"

By Some Mistake, "…?"

No Family was also taken aback, but his interest quickly shifted elsewhere. He curiously looked at the other speaking woman and asked,

"And you? Are you the Governor's wife?"

The woman's expression became a bit embarrassed, hesitating without speaking.

Instead, the wife of the exposed director glared at her sibling angrily, grinding her teeth as she spitefully said,

"She is the wife of the tax bureau's director Gulamangi."

They glared at each other, sparks nearly flying from their gazes. If it weren't for the spectators, they might have fought on the spot.

The four players once again exchanged bewildered glances.

After a long time, Half-year Wasting Time sighed and remarked,

"These guys play quite... unorthodox."

No family members nodded in agreement and spoke in a critical tone,

"Please take me with you next time."

By Some Mistake: "..."

...

The discovery in the Governor's Mansion collection room was just a minor episode; the two of them were temporarily sent to stay with Governor Nikhak's family and servants.

Compared to the wives of the heads of the Police Department and the Tax Bureau, the players present were more interested in the collections of Governor Nikhak in the collection room.

As the suspected mastermind behind the Potato Harbor raid, his assets would be seized to compensate for the ammunition lost on the night of the attack.

As for the surplus, of course, it would be divided as rewards among the players who participated in the action.

However, to the surprise of all the players, the Governor's collection was not a stack of gold and silver jewelry but rather some strange objects.

Some of these seemed like pre-war artifacts, such as a well-crafted magnetic levitation car shell and a bionic man from the Era of Prosperity 85, even a relatively well-preserved vending machine and card-reading public coffee machine were there.

Besides these larger items, there were also some odd little things, as well as a large number of pre-war holographic tapes and game storage cards and so on.

The presence of so many Era of Prosperity items here might have been due to Governor Nikhak's personal preference.

Yet what baffled people was that this man, who was obsessed with that era to the point of madness, had no longing in his heart for that time period.

The players could only try to understand.

Perhaps what Governor Nikhak was fascinated by was merely the technology that seemed magical and could do anything from heaven to earth, but he did not care at all about how that technology came to be.

Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why they were displayed here, framed.

Regardless, the possession of so many well-preserved pre-war artifacts was definitely a pleasant surprise for the Burning Corps.

The Archaeological Team would be interested in these things.

Whether for sociological research purposes or for engineering research purposes, Boss Yin Fang often offered high prices for valuable Era of Prosperity antiques.

The players who had searched the entire villa gathered in the hall; Sniper Bai briefed the current situation and the next phase of the battle plan.

"Team 1 has crippled Jinjalon Port City's defense army; those weaklings have now retreated to the slums to organize a defense line and wait for reinforcements. The first phase of the offensive has been successfully completed."

"A new mission has been issued; command intends to make this place a temporary base, so we can monitor the area in the northern part of Jinjalon Port. We will be operating in this area for the next few days. To ensure our control over this area, we have two tasks now, one is to reinforce the defenses here, and the other is to evacuate the local survivors nearby."

"Command suggests we can give the locals some money to move them out of here as soon as possible to avoid injuries in the fight."

There's no international law in the Wasteland, but civilian casualties still need to be minimized, whether for the reputation of the Alliance or the smoothness of their operations in the area.

An Intelligence System player raised his hand.

Sniper Bai looked at him.

"Speak."

The man immediately said,

"Where does the money come from?"

Sniper Bai continued succinctly,

"From our enemy's pockets, of course. I was just about to talk about this; the largest bank in the settlement is on Tulip Street, and it is currently under our control. Dinar and Cr are still somewhat of recycling value to us, while West Winds currency is just waste paper. In short, we now have a budget of about one billion West Winds currency for this task."

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped.

"Damn!"

"A billion?!"

"If it were in silver coins, that'd be awesome."

Sniper Bai coughed lightly, interrupting the stunned discussions of the crowd.

"Stop dreaming and get to the point. We need to demolish around five hundred houses, which is quite a hassle... Which team is willing to take on this work?"

As soon as he finished speaking, hands shot up in unison.

"Me me me!"

"Look at me, boss! I'm not afraid of trouble!"

"My family's done demolitions before, I'm experienced with this kind of work!"

"Dude! You even want to show off about this?"

The players argued noisily, vying for the opportunity. They never had the chance to experience the joy of marking houses for demolition in real life, but the game gave them a chance to relish the thrill.

Seeing everyone so eager for the task, Sniper Bai scratched his head and simply closed his eyes to randomly poke at the VM screen.

"...By some mistake, you take your team and get it done quickly."

Watching the envious gazes of the others, By Some Mistake heh-heh'd with a laugh, not forgetting to show off a bit.

"Appointed in the face of crisis, brothers, I'll take the lead!"

Seeing his 'lucky bastard' demeanor, a nearby player couldn't help but roll their eyes.

"Just get lost."

"Be careful not to get backstabbed by the locals."

"Tsk."

Unable to bear the sight of this simple-minded captain attracting hate, Half-year Wasting Time bravely dragged him away from the crowd.

...

Having five hundred people occupy a settlement of over a million was somewhat challenging.

That dense cluster of slums was like a complex ant nest, and the undulating terrain turned this ant nest into a three-dimensional maze.

Sending troops into it without knowing the terrain could easily lead to a situation where the forces were too scattered and faced attacks from both front and back.

Therefore, before the operation began, the players from the Burning Corps had already discussed the entire strategy on the forum—confining the combat area to the neighborhoods near the port.

The most critical facility in Jin Galun Harbor was the port.

As long as they controlled the port, they could retreat or advance at will, continuously receiving supplies from the sea.

Moreover, since the most valuable part of the settlement was in their hands, the Imperial Army would have reservations about launching an attack on them.

And compared to the mud houses in the slums that could be kicked over with one foot, the houses on the streets near the port provided much more reliable cover.

While Jin Galun Harbor was changing hands, there was joy and excitement in the Imperial Capital Tiandu, on the West Coast of Poluo Province.

Bathed in the morning sunlight, the envoy convoy from the Army passed through the northern gate of Tiandu. They were greeted with cheers by the survivors as they headed in the direction of the Heavenly Palace, where the Emperor resided.

It was not only His Majesty's place of rest but also where he met with his ministers.

Sitting in the armored SUV, General McCullen watched the cheering crowd through the window, bored out of his mind, yet he still put on a smile and waved back at them.

Exhausted, he finally closed the sun shades on the car window and muttered complaints to his adjutant beside him.

"The people here are so numerous."

The densely-packed crowd stretched on seemingly without end.

The adjutant spoke softly.

"After all, this is the capital of the West Winds Empire. It's normal for there to be so many people."

McCullen curled his lip.

"I know it's their capital, but this is just absurdly crowded… Are all these folks transformed from mice?"

The adjutant coughed gently, kindly reminding him.

"They are our partners... at least for now. I hope you can show a little more respect towards them, and avoid behaving as you did in the Falcon Kingdom."

Poluo Province was under the influence of the Triumph City Official Group, and the Army's external posturing in that area was primarily about building alliances, as instructed by His Excellency the Marshal.

The Army's civil officials had been operating there for many years, trading the worn-out equipment of the warriors for hardworking servants for Triumph City, sending a large number of useful Servant Armies to the western front, even contributing to the achievements with the West Winds Empire.

He certainly didn't want this muscle-headed warrior officer to mess up.

McCullen said impatiently.

"Understood."

The adjutant gave him a surprised glance.

This was their first assignment together, and he had thought General McCullen would be more difficult to deal with than expected, but it turned out the man was unexpectedly reasonable?

This was nothing like what he had heard from his colleagues.

McCullen didn't engage further with the man, instead closing his eyes to rest in his seat.

Ever since spending half a year in the Alliance prison, he had changed, becoming much more subdued and grim from his formerly boisterous and domineering demeanor.

Especially after hearing the news of General Griffin's death.

Uncertain whether it was the brutality of factional struggles that had shocked him or something else, since returning to Triumph City, he had been in a state of self-exile, detached from the core of power.

Even as factions reached out to him with olive branches, he paid them no heed, gradually becoming an outsider in Triumph City, until now, still unappointed as the new Airship Commander.

And still with the rank of two-star Ten Thousand Leader.

This time, a civil official group, also detached from the power core, had extended an invitation for cooperation, asking him to serve as a military advisor for the Army's strategic ally.

Perhaps seeking a change of scenery, he had readily accepted the offer without much hesitation, though he wore a frown throughout the journey here.

The convoy stopped at the gates of the Heavenly Palace.

The officer from the passenger seat got out and opened the car doors for the two sitting in the back, and soon, a towering and massive spire came into view for the Weilante People.

The shape of the tower was flat, like an angular rectangle, and its walls were as sheer as mirrors. Yet, what was most astonishing was not its magnificent form, but that it hovered ten meters above the ground like a book laid flat, connected only by a man-made marble staircase.

There was only one possibility that could free this grand building from the clutches of gravity.

Gazing at the towering "palace" before him, McCullen narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Anti-gravity device?"

The adjutant nodded slightly, saying softly.

"Yes, its core is a freight starship, you should be quite familiar with that thing."

McCullen snorted noncommittally through his nose.

"Using this stuff as a palace really is extravagant."

"After all, this 3 million square kilometer peninsula is the only 'reserved land', and the desert and mountains block too much for them. After spending some time here, you'll understand how things work. Being born here is both a blessing and a curse..."

The adjutant spoke softly when suddenly an officer hurried over, whispering something urgently to him.

Upon hearing this, the adjutant's face changed drastically.

McCullen, who keenly caught the shift in his expression, slightly raised his eyebrows.

"What's the matter?"

"It's nothing, just a small situation on the eastern side of the Poluo Province... But it's not a big deal, no need for you to worry. We'll resolve it through diplomatic channels." The adjutant replied, his expression somewhat awkward as he avoided giving a straightforward answer.

McCullen frowned even more, staring intently at him.

"What exactly happened? I order you to tell me immediately."

Rank trumps all, let alone when there's such a disparity in ranks. The adjutant couldn't bear the pressure and reluctantly spilled the beans.

"Soldiers from the Alliance are landing in Jinjaron Harbor—"

Before he could finish, McCullen turned his head and started walking towards the convoy.

The adjutant was startled by his reaction and quickly went to grab his arm.

"Wait, General McCullen, what... what are you doing?!"

McCullen turned and glared at him, angrily cursing,

"What am I doing? You said I was here to train the Empire's soldiers, not to get into a fight with the Alliance!"

He wasn't afraid of that bunch of Blue Ground Squirrels.

It was just that he didn't even have a decent troop on hand; relying on these Cannon Fodder to fight the Alliance would be futile. They'd be better off surrendering.

Desperately holding on to McCullen's arm without letting go, the adjutant tried to explain, looking both amused and desperate.

"You... please don't get excited. They only landed a thousand-team, and it's on the very eastern edge of the Poluo Province; we're on the west side… Besides, we haven't heard anything about the Alliance officially declaring war on the West Winds Empire. There must be some misunderstanding!"

McCullen stopped in his tracks, looking at him skeptically.

"Are you sure? Only a thousand-team?"

The adjutant nodded hastily.

"I'm certain! Our intelligence network spans the entire peninsula; I can assure you! The situation is not what you think..."

A thousand-team.

To take over Jinjaron Harbor would be difficult, let alone reaching this place.

Realizing he might have overreacted, McCullen's face involuntarily flushed, and he shook off the hand on his arm, clearing his throat with force.

"Next time, say it all at once, and don't be like squeezing toothpaste."

You didn't give me the chance to finish...

The adjutant forced a smile, inwardly commenting, but out of respect for the Ten Thousand Leader, he kept silent.

At that moment, surrounded by a throng of ministers, a man in opulent attire stood at the top of the stairs leading to the Heavenly Palace.

A hearty, bold smile accompanied the joyous and unexpected welcoming.

"Welcome, friends from the North!"

"So glad you could make it!"

-

(Here's a shout-out to my buddy's new book, "Part-time Artist." The author's a real pro, and those who like entertainment will want to bookmark this one. If it isn't good, you can hit him.)

Chapter 697: The Stormy Jinjaron Harbor

The first light of dawn sprinkled down from heaven, gilding that man's shoulders with a layer of sacred golden hue.

McCullen squinted his eyes, focusing on that face.

The sharply defined contours exuded an inherent majesty, much like the imposing palace-spaceship he stood upon, yet the deep-set eyes revealed a cunning and cruelty typical of the most common hyenas in the Wasteland.

He heard his name was Witch Xi Lan.

However, to McCullen, this so-called emperor above tens of thousands didn't seem so impressive.

Not to mention compared to His Excellency the Marshal adorned with many military honors, even compared to someone he had met in City of Dawn, this fellow was no different from a monkey—it was just that this one wore a crown.

Perhaps his father was a remarkable man.

However, the Weilante People respect the strong, not dads.

What McCullen found even more unbelievable was that the people here actually worshipped this monkey, honoring him as the supreme emperor.

Didn't anyone ever consider whether he was worthy?

McCullen couldn't understand why the great Marshal directed a weak and powerless civil official to manage this land. He didn't even need help from the Eastern Legion or the Southern Legion; he could take down this so-called Tiandu with just one airship.

They were born slaves.

Conquering this place, every Weilante could have two each; that was what the Army was supposed to do.

But seeing the suggestive look from his adjutant, McCullen still patiently cleared his throat, feigning politeness as he spoke.

"Your Majesty, I bring you the friendship of Triumph City."

His forehead slightly tilted forward concealed the disdain at the corners of his mouth, unwilling to even introduce himself, he dove straight into the matter at hand.

His adjutant, not expecting this lord to cooperate all along, quickly took over the conversation, smiling politely.

"Your Majesty, this is General McCullen whom we recommend to you. He has established outstanding merits for the Army in the desert and transformed the once weakest Falcon Kingdom in Luo Xia Province into the number one power of the desert! As your military advisor, he will undoubtedly create an invincible iron Army for you!"

Looking down at the two Weilante people standing on the steps below, Witch Xi Lan right hand stroked his thick beard, his face brimming with a radiant smile.

Especially for that General McCullen; the more he looked, the more he liked him!

That man possessed all the qualities of a fierce general—proud and uncontrollable with a prominent nose, truly a born general!

Poluo Province had its fair share of tall and formidable men, but it indeed fell short compared to the battle-born Weilante People.

"May the gods bless me, West Winds!"

He joyfully exclaimed, his hands making a welcoming gesture.

"I've long heard of the general's famed might, and seeing today, it is indeed extraordinary. I have prepared a banquet to refresh from the journey for you all in the palace; please, come with me!"

As his words fell, a palanquin adorned with a basket of flowers stopped at the marble-carved steps. Four robust, dark-skinned men slightly bent their knees, setting the palanquin firmly on the ground.

McCullen glanced at the four men.

"I have legs."

He certainly wouldn't sit on that ridiculously funny rocking cart, a toy suited only for three-year-old kids.

After he had spoken, he walked towards the stairs.

The adjutant, caught between laughter and tears at this eccentric character, glanced at the sedan chair stopped beside him and eventually looked up helplessly at the emperor high above, then with a determined face, he followed McCullen up the steps.

Seeing this, Witch Xi Lan showed no displeasure on his face; instead, he was delighted to encounter a "real person from Vellante."

The group moved to the central palace in the Heavenly Palace, walked through a corridor decorated with flowers and brocade, and entered a magnificent banquet hall.

Everyone took their seats at the table.

McCullen, harboring his concerns, watched the officials and nobles slowly take their seats. He tapped on the table with his forefinger, over and again, until finally, he couldn't contain his impatience and turned to his calm adjutant, whisperlng.

"When do we tell them about the harbor's matter?"

The adjutant was startled and looked at him surprisingly.

"Why should we tell them?"

McCullen, taken aback, stared at him and then spread his hands since he didn't know how to express it with words, and instead communicated through his eyes.

'Your allies, and you ask me why?'

Realizing McCullen might have misunderstood something, the adjutant softly coughed and whispered in his ear,

"When we interact with them, we should use their approach. Jinjaron Harbor is the emperor's territory. If you want to befriend him, you cannot discover a problem before he does. He has his appointed governors and his own intelligence system; even without our reminders, he will realize the problem sooner or later."

Hearing that, McCullen could not help but laugh, realizing how much more patient and better-tempered he had become and managed to ask,

"So, do we just wait like this?"

The adjutant shook his head softly.

"You don't have to wait; what is there to wait for? Do I look anxious to you? We can simply pretend the problem doesn't exist. Besides, letting them suffer is beneficial; only when they hurt will they depend on us, and trade their resources for our rifles… You'll get used to it after staying here a while. When dealing with them, you can't be more anxious than they are, especially not."

McCullen, rendered speechless by this fellow, ultimately gave up on arguing and took a sip from the teacup on the table.

Deep down, he longed for redemption, but here, he saw no hope—only a torturous feeling that both time and patience were being eroded.

He suddenly regretted coming here…

…

While the empire's Tiandu was still in celebration, the garrison of Jinjaron Harbor was getting beaten into crying out for their parents by the Burning Corps, huddling in the slums and daring not to come out.

They discovered that as long as they stayed with the civilians, the guys at the harbor wouldn't bomb them, though they only fired when the soldiers attacked first.

Of course, there was no guarantee in that.

For instance, when they tried to mount cannons in the slums' yard to fire at the docks, they were still met with mortar fire and targeted by drones.

The survivors living in the slums had learned their lesson. Seeing that following the soldiers meant being bombed, they naturally refused to stay with them and even retreated far away to excitedly watch the spectacle.

A similar incident had occurred a month ago when these armed men were chased all over the place by a White Bear.

This time seemed even more ruthless.

The guy in the exoskeleton went straight to the Governor's Mansion, not only causing the governor's private soldiers to flee in terror but even tearing down the Double Knife Flag hanging from the mansion's roof.

Just outside the Governor's Mansion's courtyard wall, nearby residents walked curiously onto the streets, watching the commotion in the distance.

"How strange."

"I wonder which noble Mr. Nihak has offended."

"Who knows which god is protecting those Iron Men, they can fight so well that even General Abinan is no match for them!"

"Could it be the Weilante People?!"

"Impossible, the Army has always been our old friend, how could they act against us!"

"Could it be the people from Silver Moon Bay?"

"Even less likely! All of Silver Moon Bay combined doesn't amount to much, those guys might look decent but they are just dogs dependent on our Emperor's breath."

"Makes sense, they still have to do business with us, it wouldn't make sense to offend us."

"...Could it be the Alliance? Those lunatics from a month ago seemed to be from the Alliance."

The survivors whispered among themselves, pushing each other to go take a look, until a thin, short boy from the Mouse Tribe, dressed in tattered clothes, was pushed forward.

Just then, a few men wearing breastplates and exoskeletons, rifles hanging on their breastplates, pushed open the iron gate of the backyard and walked out.

The survivors crowding by the muddy road scattered in all directions, hiding in nearby alleyways, leaving only the thin, short boy standing in the middle of the road.

He decided to show friendliness before acting tough and, by some mistake, unlocked his helmet's visor, smiling and half-squatting as he waved.

"Come here."

The boy stared nervously at him, but mustered the courage to walk over.

By some mistake, looked at him.

"What's your name?"

"...Ah Xin."

"Good, Ah Xin, which house is yours?"

The boy glanced back and pointed at the house with the red curtains, then looked at the man in the exoskeleton in front of him.

Continuing with a smile, By some mistake said.

"How much would a house like yours cost?"

"One Double-headed Cow, or two pigs..." seemingly understanding his intent, the boy continued, "But you can't buy it, sir. My grandparents, parents, and my four brothers and three sisters all live there, if you buy it, we'll have nowhere to live."

The bystanders without family hesitated and subconsciously took up binoculars for a better look, but no matter how they looked, it was just a small house of twenty-some square meters, even if it had two floors.

My god.

How could so many people cram into that corner?!

Seeing the pitiful child in front of him, By some mistake felt somewhat troubled, it seemed the mission wasn't as fun as he had imagined.

After all, it was someone else's home.

Even if they were NPCs.

After thinking for a while, he squatted down and continued eyeing the boy.

"Listen, your lord has angered us, and so we stand here. My superiors might say otherwise, but I won't falsely tell you we are here with peaceful intentions. To be honest, we are here to beat someone up, be it the Grey Wolf Army or the Grey Dog Army. We'll knock their teeth out until they plead and pay us to leave."

"I don't want to demolish your home, but this place is a warzone now, whether you like it or not, it will soon be reduced to rubble. You only have two choices now - take some money from us and relocate, or wait for the Empire's troops to requisition your house and get buried there with them."

Ah Xin was silent for a while, knowing his opposition would be futile, so he straightforwardly asked.

"How much are you willing to give us?"

By some mistake calculated, the mission required clearing at least five hundred homes, more if possible.

There were barely over a thousand houses in this area, a budget of one billion could clear a large area for them, so he stated,

"One hundred thousand West Winds Dollars."

Upon hearing such a large amount, the boy's breathing became rapid, he swallowed and then asked,

"Are you planning to buy all the houses here? All for one hundred thousand?"

By some mistake chuckled,

"That's right, I won't play any riddles with you. Spread the word after the deal, or it'll be too late."

Ah Xin immediately said,

"That's not enough."

"Not enough?" By some mistake paused, his expression turning curious.

Was this guy taking advantage of his easygoing attitude to try and swindle him?

Seemingly understanding his look, the boy nervously swallowed and explained quickly.

"One hundred thousand West Winds Dollars, would get you ten fat pigs. With this amount up front, they definitely won't agree. Everyone would want a higher price, and there would surely be outsiders sneaking in, even some taking it twice."

Looking at this interesting boy, By some mistake said with a smile,

"We're not here to make deals, you surely don't think our guns are just for show?"

"Then you should just kill them, that would be fastest," Ah Xin said without hesitation, watching the astonished man in front of him, continuing, "If you're unwilling to do the killing yourself, let me help you! I'd take ninety thousand for each house. I not only help drive people away but also dismantle those houses… dismantle those mud walls that could serve as cover for Imperial soldiers, making them shoot practice on broken bricks!"

Half a year's wasted time couldn't help but ask,

"Are they your compatriots?"

Ah Xin silently stared at him, glancing at the pairs of eyes peeking curiously at him from the corners, and slowly said,

"I am from the Rat Clan, they are from the Fox, Wolf, Pig, Cat tribes… many more, none of them care about my life, and I don't care about theirs, but you care for me, I can work for you. Whether it's killing or arson, if it's inconvenient for you, I can do anything."

The four players exchanged glances.

Surprise was evident in the eyes of three, but only one showed delight, the one who was their leader.

By some mistake grinned broadly, reaching out to pat the boy's head and back of his head.

"Sure, smart kid," Fang Chang said. "Let's go by your rate of ninety thousand per building once you complete the job for us. But remember, don't make a big scene, especially no killing or arson, we are civilized people."

A glimmer of joy flashed across Ah Xin's face as he took a deep breath to calm himself and continued.

"I definitely can do that. Give me three days! Of course...if there are troublemakers who absolutely refuse to move, you'll have to help me teach them a lesson."

By Some Mistake replied, "This is a bit difficult for us. We have our discipline, and we don't fire at unarmed people. At most, we can help you scare that guy."

Ah Xin extended his hand.

"Then give me the gun! I need to protect myself and my family!"

By Some Mistake glanced at the man next to him who had no family, who immediately understood and, smiling, handed over a pistol that they had pilfered from the governor's mansion guards to the young man in front of him.

"...Remember to chamber a round and flick off the safety before you pull the trigger, and don't point it at us—its last owner ended up dead like that."

When the young man took the gun, a gleam of astonishment and excitement flashed in his eyes, and even his expression changed.

And it wasn't just him.

Even the people hiding in the alleys watching him changed from an entertained expression to a hint of horror and even fear.

They didn't know what the young man from the Rat Clan had discussed with those soldiers; they only saw him receiving a gun from their hands...

What did this mean?

Had that group who had beaten up the governor badly now become this boy's backup?

The survivors swallowed their saliva regrettably; some regretted not being the one who had stepped forward, others just fearfully watched the gun, regretting how they had treated him and his family in the past.

Half a Year's Wasted Time felt it was somewhat inappropriate, but then remembered this was Wasteland, not the civilized world, and said nothing.

Carefully putting away the gun, Ah Xin seriously looked at the man squatting on the ground and asked.

"What do I call you?"

By Some Mistake hadn't spoken when the man with no family next to him reached out, clapped him on the shoulder, and spoke with a smile.

"He's Tuning Fork, I'm Family Man, and those two back there are Step Into the Sky and Half a Year's Wasted Time. Just come to us two if you need anything."

By Some Mistake, who was giving himself a cooler nickname, rolled his eyes at the man who grinned cheekily.

Too lazy to argue about the nickname, he looked at the young man and said.

"We'll be around here lately. If we're not, you can ask others, and they'll help you find us."

Ah Xin paused, then nodded his head thoughtfully and said seriously.

"Tuning Fork, Family Man, Step Into the Sky, Half a Year's Wasted Time... I'll remember that."

After that, he tucked the handgun into his waistband, turned, and ran towards the slum, looking like a completely different person compared to his previously timid self.

Half a Year's Wasted Time spoke as he watched the boy disappear.

"I don't think this is a good idea; perhaps there's a better way."

Family Man, with a playful smile, tapped him on the shoulder.

"But don't you find it interesting?"

A guy who lived at the lowest level of the pyramid, bullied by everyone, suddenly tasted power one day, overthrowing everyone's dominance over him.

He was curious to see how far the young man could go.

As someone who took pleasure from observing others, this might become an interesting case study.

Step Into the Sky, who had been silent until then, nodded deeply in agreement.

"+1"

...

Elsewhere, at the harborside guard station's holding cell, Governor Ni Hak, handcuffed, was pushed and stumbled onto the cold concrete floor of his new cell.

"Starting today, this is your new home, Mr. Ni Hak," said the man in an exoskeleton sarcastically at the doorway, then looked towards Chief Bahari and two guards standing by.

"Keep an eye on him."

Having thoroughly adapted to his new role, Chief Bahari immediately saluted with his right fist pressed against his chest, standing rigidly.

"Understood, Sir!"

Fang Chang said nothing, simply nodded, and walked away.

He was busy.

Not only handling the harbor affairs but also tallying the spoils of war.

There were not only nobles from the West Winds Empire at the port but also merchants who had come to stock up from other regions.

Their goods and ships were stuck at the docks and couldn't leave. Some of these were livestock, spices, dyes, linen, and other goods, while some were specialties from Poluo Province—slaves.

Now that the Alliance had arrived, they naturally wouldn't allow ships dealing in slaves to depart from this port, and soon they would dismantle a few concentration camps in the settlement and declare the implementation of Alliance law during the temporary control period.

Besides these, other nobles from the Empire attempting to escape disguised as merchants also needed careful screening.

These individuals were both hostages and bargaining chips in negotiations with the Empire, and they couldn't simply let them slip away.

In summary, Fang Chang had a load of things to worry about; he had no time to bother with this man for now.

As the man left, the cell quieted down.

Seeing three pairs of eyes staring straight at him, Governor Ni Hak felt cold sweat break out on his forehead and squeezed out a forced smile.

"Chief Bahari... what exactly is going on?"

"What's going on?" Chief Bahari narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinized the governor who had become a prisoner, and spoke with a teasing tone.

"You're already squatting here; do I really need to remind you?"

"Chief Bahari! Watch your tone!" Ni Hak glared at the man looking down at him, trying to pull rank, but realized it no longer had any effect.

The man who usually fawned over and pleased himself, now looked like a completely different person, his expression fierce and terrifying as he stared at himself.

No—

He was not even human!

He was clearly a snarling, grimacing bulldog!

He directed his stinking gums at his former master, desperately shaking his short, pathetic tail in an attempt to please his new master.

Arrogantly lifting his head, Chief Bahari looked down at the pitiful figure slumped in the cell and said bluntly,

"You're the one who should watch your tone! Nihak! Standing before you now is the Chief of Police from Jinjaron Harbor! Here, besides the Alliance people and Alliance law, I am the greatest! If you don't want to suffer, you better keep your tail tucked and behave!"

Nihak stared at the man in disbelief.

"Are you insane? Aren't you worried about me settling the score with you once I get out?"

Hearing this, Chief Bahari burst out laughing.

"Ha ha, even if I were a bit nicer to you, would you spare me once you're out? Even if you're willing, would the others be? Besides, whether you can get out of here still depends on the moods of those higher-ups."

He paused, then continued,

"And they've even promised me to make me a Chief of Police in the Empire. Face the reality, the Empire is finished! Ha ha ha!"

Ignoring Governor Nihak's murderous gaze, Chief Bahari laughed loudly, swaggering out of the prison, leaving only two lackeys standing by the door.

"That bastard!"

Nihak threw himself at the cell's barred door, gripping the bars tightly and yelling at the guards at the door,

"Let me out! You treacherous bastards, do you know who I am? I am the Governor here! The Governor of Jinjaron Harbor, personally appointed by His Imperial Majesty!"

The two guards stood motionless, as if they hadn't heard a thing.

"Stop shouting, it's no use. Do you see them listening to you?" A sigh came from the opposite cell, cutting off the barking-like shouting.

Nihak, gasping for air, now noticed a person lying in the opposite cell, someone he knew.

His pupils shrank slightly, and he said with a trembling voice,

"Di Rang..."

"Long time no see, Governor," Di Rang said, looking at Nihak with wide eyes and offering a self-deprecating smile.

Nihak's adam's apple bobbed as he managed to squeeze out a question with difficulty,

"What on earth happened? Weren't you supposed to be in Potato Harbor? Why are you here?"

"What happened... ha ha, I'd like to know myself," Di Rang said, his expression complex as he looked at the sliver of sunlight trickling through the iron window, feeling as if the past few days had been a dream.

He was supposed to be on the beaches of Potato Harbor with his men, enjoying the sea breeze and fruits, and having fun at the expense of the Empire's traitors. But before he even saw the shadow of the docks, mutants and the Alliance took turns hammering them down, and now he's thrown into the Jinjaron Harbor jail.

This was the most absurd part.

He had never thought he'd be locked up here; at most, he thought he'd be sent to the City of Dawn to be used as a bargaining chip for Duke Garava.

The Alliance not only captured people on their land but even tried them there, a humiliation that made him feel death might be better.

"How many of them came..." Nihak asked anxiously.

Di Rang responded casually,

"Probably not a thousand, I saw maybe five or six hundred."

Nihak sighed in relief, a faint gleam of schadenfreude on his face.

"Just five or six hundred... they won't last long! Jinjaron Harbor's defense army has a full two thousand men, with nearly ten thousand reservists available. I even bought cannons a month ago. General Abinan will teach them a harsh lesson!"

Watching the deluded man, Di Rang smirked self-deprecatingly,

"Forget it, your men are no match for them."

The expression on Nihak's face froze, and he laughed dryly, saying,

"Mr. Di Rang, aren't you being too pessimistic? They only have five or six hundred men..."

"Do you know how many captured us?"

Without waiting for the Governor to guess, Di Rang, as if sure he wouldn't guess, continued,

"Thirty... Just thirty men captured us, I found out later. And those men weren't even their elite."

At that time, they had at least two hundred men landing, yet they were beaten by the group on shore, having no chance to even retaliate.

The worst was yet to come.

The mutants that had them running scared were slaughtered cleanly by another group armed to the teeth with steel weapons.

The two sides were simply not on the same level.

From the beginning, they shouldn't have provoked this monster, much less gotten involved when this monster and another beast started fighting.

Hearing Di Rang's account, a hint of despair appeared on Nihak's face, and his voice trembled slightly as he spoke,

"Is there really no chance for us at all?"

"I don't know."

Di Rang shook his head and sighed before continuing,

"Maybe His Majesty can come up with a brilliant idea, but for you and me stuck in here, there's nothing we can do now."

The Grey Wolf Army stationed at the Everflow River might save them.

But the problem now was, only His Imperial Majesty could command those armies, and His Imperial Majesty might not even know what had happened.

As Governor Nihak and Di Rang sat in silence facing the iron bed, the quarantine area of the harbor was crowded with people.

Some were merchants from Jinjaron Harbor, others were merchants from other places, and some were owners, captains, and sailors of the cargo ships at the docks.

Last night, the emperor was still the master here, but by dawn the Double Knife Flag hanging in the port was taken down without a new one being raised.

Their livelihoods were all tied up at the docks.

Anxiously watching the soldiers armed to the teeth, everyone was waiting for an explanation...

Chapter 698: Follow me! Go get your stuff!

At the bustling harbor, next to the wharf, a cargo ship used for transporting livestock was similarly packed with people in rags.

They were expressionless, their eyes dull, just like the double-headed cows crammed into the neighboring ship.

At that moment, several men wearing exoskeleton suits boarded the deck.

One of them used a plasma gun to cut the chains fastened to the iron door, while another walked up to the crowd and, opening his helmet's speaker, shouted loudly.

"You are free."

The deck was as silent as death.

Faced with the commotion at the bow, those faces remained indifferent, not even bothering to glance over.

Old White couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

The players following beside him exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.

"What are you thinking?"

"The Army's clones."

"Haha, we're on the same page."

Seeing Old White at a loss for words, Fang Chang sighed, walked over, and patted him on the shoulder.

"You're no use like this… Let me do it."

After speaking, he stepped forward, faced the group of people crouching on the deck, and shouted in United Human language.

"We are the Alliance, an alliance formed by survivors banding together."

Old White looked at him in surprise.

Fang Chang gave him a reassuring look, and, gazing down at the bowed heads, raised his voice and continued.

"Before coming here, we met some of your suffering kin; their hard work, optimism, and courage left a deep impression on us. No matter how dire the circumstances, they never gave up... the cramped and stuffy hold, the endless journey, the disdain from others, and all you can imagine."

"Later, we found a place that could take them in. We gave them some unused wood and hay, and soon they had built rows of houses by the beach. We then gave them land and seeds, and they immediately turned it into farmland and plantations. With just a little help from us, they quickly knew where to go next."

"I thought since you are their kin, you would share some resemblance, but as we stand here, you turn your backs to me."

The voice was drowned out by the roaring tide.

Some people lifted their heads but only for less than a second, before burying them back down quickly.

As if their own eyes were too filthy to show.

Fang Chang watched them, his eyes filled with a trace of pity.

Similar things had happened in Giant Stone City, but when the whip came down, those people would move, even fight. Before the Alliance had come, the casino's blood had flown time and again.

It was for this reason that, despite Elder Sid's overwhelming power, he dared not be too harsh, and had to devise pretenses when necessary.

But the situation in Poluo Province was completely different.

When the noose went around their necks, not only did they accept it gladly, placing their hopes in the reincarnation of the next life, but they even learned to breathe through their asses instead of their mouths.

"... The Empire has enslaved your parents, siblings, wives, and children, selling you off to mines, quarries, plantations, all the places they themselves would not deign to go. And you crouch there, staring at the sea like an animal."

"Is this what you were born to do? Look me in the eyes! If you dare not, then look at the ship next to you, at the pigs and cows caged up. What makes you any different from them right now? A pack of hyenas in human skin tells you to sit, and you squat obediently. Do you know what we do in River Valley Province? We'd skin it alive! We'd stew them into soup!"

"Only beasts deserve to be caged; you should be making them roll in here, not squatting in their stead on this broken ship!"

"Everyone get up!"

That roar was like thunder, shattering the waves against the ship's side and also breaking the shackles wrapped around their hearts.

Those bowed heads finally lifted, alongside knees that had brushed the deck.

The eyes that raised were no longer evasive.

In them, some displayed shock, some surprise, others blazed with raging fire and a few still held a trace of bewilderment.

But whatever it was, it was better than the previous confusion and oblivion.

Looking at those pairs of human eyes and the people gradually standing up on the deck, Fang Chang nodded slightly with satisfaction.

"Good, it seems you do have some courage, though not enough, but we will lend you the part you lack."

He said this and took out a handgun from his waist, throwing it fiercely toward the group that had risen to their feet on the deck.

Some, shocked, dodged to the side; some crouched down again holding their heads, but there were also those who bravely reached out their hands.

In the end, a man with short hair and a sturdy build snatched the gun.

He clasped the gun tightly in his hand, raised it high above his head, and stared intently at the guy in the exoskeleton.

Fang Chang was pleased with that guy's gaze.

Generosity and bravery could be feigned, but subconscious reactions don't lie; among these worthless blobs of mud that couldn't stick to a wall, there were still some souls worth saving.

"Your name, tell it to me loud and clear!"

With veins bulging on his neck, the man shouted with all his strength.

"Laxi!!"

The players standing behind Old White almost couldn't keep their expressions straight, but fortunately, no one noticed since they were wearing helmets.

Fang Chang, however, looked at the man with piercing eyes, and without changing his facial expression, he shouted loudly.

"Good, Laxi! From now on, you're the leader of these people, the commander of the First Corps of the Avengers Alliance!"

"We needn't wait until tomorrow; we start now! Right now, we'll go and skin those Hyenas to see the ugly mugs hiding beneath!"

"Follow me! Go get your guns!"

"Ooooooh!!" Almost as soon as the words were out, deafening roars erupted from the deck, pairs of murky pupils completely ignited by anger and yearning.

They looked fervently at the man standing at the bow, as if they were looking up to their god.

The players standing behind Old White and Fang Chang exchanged surprised glances and whispered to each other over the comms channel.

"That's something."

"What does Brother Fang Chang do in real life?"

Old White looked at Fang Chang, his expression somewhat puzzled.

"Weren't we just here to plunder the population?"

According to the original plan, it would have been enough to bring these ships full of slaves to Potato Harbor. There they had kin, who would naturally teach them how to start a new life.

But now, handing them weapons was an unnecessary complication.

Watching the raging slaves, Fang Chang said softly with a smile,

"What good does it do to bring these people to Potato Harbor? Do we need slaves? At the way they just acted, I wouldn't take them for even 1000 Dinars."

Old White was about to say they could use the Home of the Refugees method, but then he quickly realized that method would be too slow for this situation.

Although it had been proven that the Home of the Refugees did indeed help a great number of slaves who could not fend for themselves to master a skill and reintegrate into the society of the Alliance, its mode of operation inherently meant that the facility had its limits.

Moreover, the implementation of that thing was predicated on the premise that local survivors had the will to save themselves and were willing to help others who were suffering just like them.

Here, if you randomly pulled someone out, as long as they could cling to life they'd think they were fine, and if someone was half-dead, everyone else would think it was that person's own fault.

Perhaps only by letting them shed some blood, would there be a slim chance to end this vicious cycle.

But just a slim one.

Seeing that Fang Chang seemed to have a plan, Old White continued to ask.

"So, what do you intend to do next?"

Fang Chang looked over at a few nearby ships, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"There are a few more ships there. After we distribute the guns, I plan to send a team with them to attack the largest prison in this settlement."

Lowell Camp on Blackwater Street.

According to Si Si's records in a continuously updated sightseeing post, that camp was over a century ago a shelter that housed thousands of survivors. Some locals even believed that it was the precursor to the Gin Galun settlement.

However, no matter what that camp used to be for, now it has become one of His Majesty the Emperor of West Winds Empire's personal properties, overseen by the Governor's Mansion.

Aside from the Moon people, who were persecuted for inexplicable reasons, there were also a large number of bankrupt debt slaves and some prisoners with special identities detained there, making up as much as 5% of the entire settlement!

A month ago, the White Bear Knights had only captured and burnt down a concentration camp that served as a temporary "warehouse" for housing slaves, and its defense was not particularly strong.

Lowell Camp was, in fact, the source of the slave trade for the settlement.

Before they could implement the laws of the Alliance, they first had to uproot that place; otherwise, anything they did would be a waste of effort.

Moreover, as a symbol of royal authority, capturing Lowell Camp was exceptionally important for inspiring confidence in the local resistance forces.

Looking at Fang Chang, Old White hesitated before asking,

"Have they even received training? Isn't this too soon for them?"

"If we act now, they'll only face some jailers and city defense forces we've already crippled; if we wait a few more days, it might not be the case."

Fang Chang paused before continuing,

"Moreover, before they receive any training, what they need more is confidence. We must make them realize that their enemies are actually no match for them!"

...

The slaves swarmed off the ships, making the traders at the port drool with anticipation.

Especially a few big-nosed fellows from the West Coast, who saw the Alliance people actually drove the slaves off the ships and promptly started clamoring in urgency.

"What are you doing! Those are my slaves!" bellowed a Weilante trader angrily.

Just as Fang Chang descended the dock, he happened to see the indignant trader shouting and took the opportunity to toss the freshly removed shackles into his arms.

"Catch them yourself."

Struck in the chest by the shackles, the Weilante trader instinctively caught them with his hands, but when he looked up, he saw Alliance soldiers dragging wooden crates of weapons from the warehouse. They broke the iron chains, took out the rifles inside, and distributed them directly to his group of slaves.

The trader's face turned ashen, nearly spitting out a mouthful of old blood.

He, of course, recognized those wooden crates—just yesterday, he had delivered them to the port warehouse to exchange for the payment of these thousand-plus livestock.

Watching those monkeys holding onto the rifles as if they were precious treasures, he clenched his teeth but ultimately swallowed the affront.

He shrunk back into the crowd, not daring to make another sound.

Facing the pairs of eyes looking at him, Fang Chang cleared his throat, raised his hands, and continued to speak.

"This dispute is between us and the Empire, and it has nothing to do with you. We'll fight our fight; you continue your business, and even from now on, the port's taxes will be halved."

"Of course, I'm afraid you can no longer trade in slaves—we do not recognize the ownership of persons over persons, and we do not welcome any slave traders here."

"However, if you are willing to bring a batch of goods we need from Silver Moon Bay, we guarantee you'll make a fortune."

"We will pay in Dinars or silver coin."

After dropping these words, Fang Chang instructed players familiar with United Human language to register the identities of everyone attempting to pass through the docks, then moved on to the next ship.

As the identity registration was being completed, those slaves who had surged to the port were also armed—forming an armed force of two thousand members.

Although most of them were holding Ripper Rifles and only a few cradled Blade Assault Rifles and PU-9 submachine guns, and despite the fact that most had not received any professional military training, their willingness to fight was inflamed like a blaze.

In addition to these two thousand, many more who didn't receive weapons were also carrying sticks and fish-killing knives, all looking fiercely determined to fight.

Aside from the elderly, women, and kids, almost everyone stood up, ready to liberate their fellow countrymen and family members, with anger simmering in their hearts.

Right now, they were like a tense string, wound from sheer willpower, and any second of hesitation could snap that taut string.

Seeing Laxi approach him carrying a rifle, his face red from rapid breathing, Fang Chang patted his shoulder.

"Don't be afraid; we'll fight alongside you."

Having said that, he shouted loudly to Killer Dagger and to the hundred or so ready Burning Corps brothers,

"Now! Cover our avengers, march toward Lowell Camp! Go free those imprisoned slaves!"

Those slaves bearing rifles let out an earth-shattering roar.

"Oooooh!!"

...

At noon, with the roar of a cannon tearing through the silence, the second stage of the Burning Corps' offensive officially began, a full two days ahead of the original plan.

The territory currently controlled by the Burning Corps is mainly concentrated on the streets near the port named after tulips, separated from other city districts by a circular highway named "Knight Road" and monitored from the Governor's Mansion to the northwest as a fire support point overseeing the vast city districts to the north of Jin Galun Harbor.

Effectively, the area currently controlled by the Alliance is like an irregular pentagon, with Lowell Camp located on the northeast side of this pentagon.

If they could take Lowell Camp, the territory actually controlled by the Alliance could extend at least one kilometer further to the northeast and form an angle with the Governor's Mansion to the northwest, drawing a control line parallel to the coastline on the map.

At this very moment, General Abinan, who had retreated to the slums, had no idea about the Alliance's intentions; he was still trying to rally his dwindling forces and freshly recruited toughs to plan a counterattack, hoping to rescue the governor and the nobles living on Tulip Street.

If he still wanted to live, this was his only way out.

However, just then, a mortar shell suddenly "whooshed" down onto the newly built defensive line.

With a thunderous explosion, the sandbag wall in the middle of the road was instantly flipped over, and the Imperial soldiers crouching behind it were all knocked to the ground.

Before the hundred-man team stationed on the street could recover their senses, a barrage of bullets accompanied by the clamor of gunfire whizzed toward them, followed by deafening shouting and killing cries from the other end of the street.

"Kill!"

"I'm going all out with you bastards!"

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

Confounded by the tsunamic battle cries, the Imperial soldiers hiding behind cover were utterly bewildered.

If they remembered correctly, there were less than a thousand-team of soldiers that had landed at the port.

Yet, listening to these ear-splitting shouts, it felt as though tens of thousands were charging at their positions?!

General Abinan, stationed in command, was also stunned.

From his position, he could see much clearer than the front-line soldiers; the Cannon Fodder charging at their position was clearly not Alliance people, but rather the lowly Moon Clan slaves!

Realizing this, rage blazed in his heart, and he clenched his fists tightly.

The despicable scoundrels!

They even handed over the empire's weapons to those lowly slaves!

And those slaves, foolish and ignorant, had no clue what they were doing, willing to become cannon fodder for a bunch of bandits and backstab their compatriots in the Empire!

"Fire! Blow up these damn curs!" he roared, ordering the gunners to launch their attacks, while he led his guard to retreat, temporarily avoiding the oncoming sharp edge.

The three 100mm cannons set up on the street instantly spat out angry flames, sending three long tracer lines toward the crowd and blasting a blood-soaked gap amongst them in an instant.

However, that bloody scene did not send the charging crowd retreating; people have a natural detachment from death when it's either too close or too far away.

Especially when blood spattered on their faces, and they gazed at the enemies within arm's reach, the fury burning in their eyes became even more fierce.

These people had never regarded them as humans, the labels hung around their necks were even less worth than a Double-headed Cow.

So—

There was naturally no need to consider them human.

"In River Valley Province, we skin hyenas and wolves and make them into stews! We feed their bone broth to dogs!"

"Charge! Let me see if you're worth saving!"

The roar was quietly submerged in the tumult of the crowd, and in just half a minute, the furious Moon Clan slaves had crossed the sandbags scattered on the ground.

Their speed was even faster than the Alliance's mortars; within a few breaths, they plunged their bayonets into the chests of the gunners who had fired, smashed their skulls with curved knives like they were scaling fish, and avenged their hundreds of compatriots lying on the street.

Seeing this angry swarm of beasts, both the soldiers stationed at the defense line and the survivor onlookers were scared stiff.

Fear filled General Abinan's eyes, his hands and feet ice-cold, trembling, and numb, his lips quivering and unable to utter a word for a while.

The disheveled adjutant who had retreated from the front line ran up to his side with an anxious look, glancing at General Abinan.

"Sir... those slaves have gone mad! We can't possibly stand against them by ourselves! Let's retreat!" he exclaimed.

A few gunners who had managed to escape from the front line were also by his side.

Under the guidance of drones, the Alliance's mortars accurately eliminated their machine guns hidden inside the slum dwellings.

Now, they were left with fewer than four hundred soldiers. The rest had either fled or fallen, never to rise again. There was no longer any hope of a counteroffensive.

General Abinan's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his wrinkled face etched with despair.

"Retreat..." It took him some time to squeeze out the word from his throat.

To be sentenced to death by His Majesty would at least leave a whole corpse.

If those rioters caught him, he would probably be chopped into pieces and thrown into the sea to feed the fish.

As the retreat order was given, the city's defense soldiers, who had been fighting street battles with the rioters in the slums, collapsed like a house of cards, abandoning their armor and helmets in such a sorry state that they hardly resembled a regular army.

Laxi, who led the slaves forward, was also shocked by the performance of these fellows, who usually looked decent, but were now utterly disappointing.

It turned out that those who enslaved them were just such a feeble bunch.

"Advance!" Laxi shouted to the liberated slaves behind him as he watched the city defense army scatter and flee, "Advance toward Lowell Camp!"

The response was a deafening roar of anger.

"Advance!!!"

At the same time the city's defense collapsed, the prison manager of Lowell Camp, Sunil, had seen everything from the southern watchtower.

He had been standing there since the sound of gunfire began.

And when he saw the rioters crossing the roadblocks set up by the city defense on the main road, he burst into a foul-mouthed tirade.

"That dumb ass! He brags all the time, but when it's time to be useful, he can't even handle a bunch of cannon fodder!"

After cursing, a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Because at that moment, he saw the rioters scattered in the slums beginning to gather toward the direction of Blackwater Street.

It was clear that these fools had set their sights here.

These ignorant fools...

They actually dared to target His Majesty's pocket!

The jailer beside him was shivering with fear, his back drenched in sweat.

"...Sir, what should we do?"

There might be people in the mob he had previously handled, and he wouldn't dare let them catch him. If not for Sunil, he would have already slipped away.

In fact, he wasn't the only one thinking this way.

When they saw the mob pouring out from the direction of the port, many cunning ones had already guessed something and taken the opportunity to sneak out the back door.

Sunil clenched his teeth, a struggle flashed across his fierce face, but in the end, fear of authority prevailed.

Nearly fifty thousand slaves were locked up here, all the property of His Majesty. Among them were not only the cheapest labor slaves but also many of quality and worth a good deal. Even if they were all sold off cheaply, they could still bring in two to three hundred million dinars, which was almost equivalent to the annual export total of Jinjaron Harbor.

If this money were lost, even His Majesty would rage like thunder, and though the penalty might be light, it would still relegate his whole family to slavery.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, as he watched the rioters approaching. Sunil shouted loudly.

"Prepare for battle!"

The face of the jailer beside him showed a glimpse of despair, but meeting those fierce eyes, he could only muster all his courage and cry out with a sullen face.

"Yes!"

...

Normally, when a resident of Jinjaron Harbor sold all their belongings and still could not pay off their debts, and the creditor was pressing, the governor would mercifully buy off this "bad debt" in the name of His Majesty at a price acceptable to the creditor.

If this indebted survivor could pay off His Majesty's debt within the grace period, he could regain his freedom.

If not, the notorious Lowell Camp would be his final destination.

The "prisoners" here were more like commodities for people to pick and choose. The labor force would usually be marked at a uniform price and sold wholesale to interested buyers, while those with special talents or good looks would be marked at a slightly higher price for more powerful buyers to select.

The jailers here usually wouldn't abuse prisoners overtly; at most, they would mete out necessary punishment to lazy slaves.

However, for those who remained unsold, it was certain their treatment would only get worse. And if they weren't sold within a year, regardless of their abilities, they could only be moved into pig pens or sent to mines that no one ever came out of alive.

Therefore, whenever the camp's gates opened, prisoners from any block would tense up, rush to the iron barred gates, and crane their necks in anticipation.

However, unlike usual, today the gates of the blocks were tightly shut with not a sound to be heard.

...What on earth had happened?

Almost everyone had this question in their minds, until artillery and gunshot sounds that could deafen one's ears rang out from beyond the enclosing wall.

Rows of jailers ran frantically towards the direction of the enclosing wall, firing into the streets from behind the wall's embankments. However, the firepower from outside was as ferocious as a tsunami, and within mere minutes, more than a dozen people had fallen off the wall, leaving a shocking scene of blood stains on the open space in front of the gates.

The slaves from the blocks near the gate were startled and quickly hid further away, while outside these blocks, the situation was red hot.

The Moon people besieging Lowell Camp had already left behind over two hundred bodies, and the casualties were still mounting.

Their combat power wasn't very strong; they were relying on numerical superiority and a burst of ferocity to overwhelm the city defense forces that the Alliance had already beaten down.

Although the jailers stationed in Lowell Camp could not compare with the well-trained city defense forces led by General Abinan, their full organization and advantageous terrain inflicted significant casualties on the assaulting "First Corps of the Avengers Alliance."

Seeing that the mob was all thunder and no rain, Sunil, the warden perched in the watchtower, finally mustered the courage to howl toward the direction of Blackwater Street.

"Ha-ha, you shameless traitors! Dare to storm His Majesty's fortress! You must be dreaming! Just wait, the Grey Wolf Army stationed by the Everflow Riverbank is on its way here, and you will pay for your violence today!"

Hearing of the Grey Wolf Army's fearsome reputation, many of the Moon people, including the group leader Laxi, showed a trace of fear on their faces.

But it was just a trace.

They had already reached a point of no return.

Upon witnessing the camp that had withstood repeated attacks, the Killer Dagger, observing from afar, couldn't bear it any longer. He put down the binoculars he was holding and spoke into the communication channel.

"Are we really not going to lend them a hand?"

At this rate, it looked like many would die.

A calm reply came through the communication channel.

"They need to accomplish this on their own, no one can help them... Give them the captured 100mm cannon."

Killer Dagger nodded.

"Yes sir!"

Elsewhere, at the street corner of Blackwater Street, the Moon Clan warriors gathered behind the barricades began to organize the third round of attack. Whereas Sunil, hiding on the watchtower and seeing their helplessness, became even more unbridled, yelling towards the outside of the enclosing wall.

"Useless! Give up! You lowly, despicable slaves! You can't even aim! Shoot towards me here! Come on! Pah!"

Although he was shouting bravely, he didn't dare to show his head beyond the edge of the shelter, feeling secure only behind the thirty-centimeter-thick concrete wall.

The enclosing wall of Lowell Camp stood as high as a five-story building, completely made of concrete, with even its thinnest part nearly two meters thick.

With five hundred jailers stationed inside the camp, a hundred-man team was allocated for each side of the wall, leaving one team free to move as needed.

With the ammunition stored in the armory, he could defend this place until the end of time!

Staring grimly at the fortress that continued to withstand the siege, Laxi's face grew serious.

They had already tried every method available to them, including throwing Molotov Cocktails filled with pine oil and phosphorus, constructing rickety trebuchets, and even attempting to use smoke to gain an advantage.

It was at that moment when a few Moon people carrying shovels pushed a 100mm cannon out of a narrow crate.

"The Alliance brothers gave us this thing!"

Laxi's eyes lit up as he called out to his warrior comrades beside him.

"Who knows how to fire a cannon?"

Obviously, nobody did.

But after a brief hesitation, a dark, lean man raised his hand.

"I've seen the city defense forces operate a cannon! I can give it a try!"

Without hesitation, Laxi immediately grabbed his shoulder and pulled him next to the cannon, pointing at the distant gate.

"It's all on you!"

The man, visibly nervous, picked up a pointed munition from the ammunition box, shoved it into the cannon from the back, and then pulled the firing lever.

He gestured to the warriors beside him to aim the cannon at the gate, then picked up the Huoshen and quickly ran to the side, shouting loudly at the same time.

"Fire the cannon!"

As his voice fell, he yanked hard on the firing cord, and the explosion's light flickered through the whole alley, making the nearby houses shake.

A thick streak of tracer fire rushed towards the distant gate, leaving a large dent inward on the iron door!

Covering his ears and steadying himself, Laxi rose from the dust and saw the pierced iron door in the distance, feeling an unexpected surge of joy.

"Another shot! Quick!"

Without his command, the gunners, resolute in the face of emergency, were already figuring out how to haul out the spent shells and reload the cannon.

Seeing the pierced iron door, Sunil on the watchtower nearly pissed his pants in fright, his face losing all its earlier smugness.

Just then, the second cannon sounded, another orange-yellow tracer hurtling towards the tightly shut iron door.

Then came the third—

Finally, after enduring five barrages, the iron door could no longer bear the burden and fell backward, kicking up billowing dust on the open space.

Seeing the gate destroyed, the previously demoralized Moon people suddenly regained their hope for victory, brandishing their rifles and rushing towards the fallen gate.

"Kill them!!!"

The roar of the charge was so intense that it even shattered the smoke.

Watching the mob surge in like the tide, the guards on the enclosing wall could no longer contain their fear and began to retreat.

"Stand your ground! We must not let them in!"

Scrambling down from the tower, Sunil yelled frantically at the retreating jailers, but it did nothing to stem the tide of defeat.

The jailers on the Northeast side of the enclosing wall mustered all their strength to open the gate and fled desperately towards the slums outside, discarding their clothes and guns on the ground as they went, leaving the surviving onlookers to scramble for the spoils.

Watching the mob closing in on him, Sunil's face showed not a trace of arrogance or pride, only fear and begging, his words so jumbled he couldn't even complete a sentence.

"I, I was forced... I was just following orders..."

Before he could finish, the butt of a rifle came crashing down on his head, knocking him backward with stars in his eyes.

"Go to hell!"

The crowd swarmed over him, stripped him naked, and slaughtered him with random blades, hanging him on the very watchtower where he had once squatted.

The cages holding the slaves were opened one by one, and facing their familiar compatriots, the expressions on the slaves' faces were initially bewildered but soon, driven by the atmosphere, they joined in.

The surrendering guards were gathered on the open space for execution, their pleas ignored by everyone.

Blinded by rage, the Moon people executed these imperial dogs in the most brutal of methods to commemorate their brethren lost in the siege.

Cheers of liberation echoed from within the cages, which resembled dove coops, and every slave, whether of the Moon Clan or not, joined in.

Standing at a distance, Killer Dagger reported the latest front-line situation again.

"…Lowell Camp has completely fallen. I think it would be better to take control quickly, or else if the chaos continues, there might be trouble."

Fang Chang's voice came through the communication channel.

"…Hmm, I'll leave this area to you. Take care of settling the liberated slaves and their training as well. We need them to have some combat power before the Regular Army arrives."

Killer Dagger made a helpless expression.

"You've really given me an 'easy' job."

Fang Chang chuckled lightly.

"Do well, I have faith in you!"

"I'll try."

After hanging up the call, Killer Dagger waved his hand and led the heavily armed brothers behind him towards Lowell Camp.

This was an unorganized rebellion.

They were not like the people of Giant Stone City, the "Pols," who had the organization of the Workers' Association and a handbook that could barely be considered a guiding ideology.

If the violence that had nowhere else to go wasn't restrained, it would quickly find an outlet among the common survivors who were enjoying the show without realizing the seriousness of the situation.

After all, when they had been enslaved, those onlookers had just watched with indifference. Now that guns were in their hands, it was hard to say that they wouldn't take their anger out on those even weaker than them.

No—

It was almost certain they would.

Watching the survivor named Laxi standing in the center of the camp, Killer Dagger walked up to him and handed him a cigarette.

Laxi was taken aback for a moment but, seeing it was from their exoskeleton-wearing allies, he immediately grinned and put the cigarette in his mouth.

"Thanks, brother. You'll always be our brothers, and we'll never forget the help you gave us today!"

"I hope you think so," Killer Dagger said while lighting his cigarette and then lighting one for himself.

After silently finishing his cigarette, he looked at Laxi, with eyes like those of a wild beast, and continued.

"You've already achieved a phased victory, as you've seen. The Empire is just a paper tiger; the Emperor's men are nothing but a bunch of worthless eunuchs, hyenas in human skin."

"But even a pack of hyenas in human skin isn't easy to defeat over and over again. Remember, a starving wolf might win once or even twice, but only a human can keep winning indefinitely."

Laxi frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Killer Dagger replied, "I mean, keep your subordinates in line. The slaves here aren't your spoils of war; they are your compatriots... I shouldn't have to remind you of that."

"Of course," Laxi said without hesitation, "How could I be like those beasts?"

"I hope so. I hope our investment is sound and won't bring us... some troubles of our own," Killer Dagger suggested as diplomatically as possible.

This self-defense counterattack was merely authorized by the Alliance Constitution and Player Manual. Players had the right to limited counterattack against any "neutral forces outside the whitelist" who initiated aggression against them.

The extend to which they could retaliate was not clearly defined.

The fact that Dog Plan had not stopped them indicated that they had not violated the server's rules.

But whether they had gone against the Manager's wishes, that was another question.

After all, this was a military action not authorized by the Manager.

The Alliance's path was different from the "Empire route." It was about uniting the suffering survivors, and the measure of how to unite them was now in the hands of the players.

If nothing had gone amiss, the Manager should have already received the report sent by the Bull and Horse airship.

And since no one had received orders from the official online Task System to halt the military action, it could only mean that the Manager was taking a neutral stance towards this operation for the time being.

They needed to avoid doing things that might irritate the Manager, whether the consequences were direct or indirect.

Laxi furrowed his brow.

"Okay... Just tell me what to do, and we'll do it."

His thoughts were quite simple.

Eating from someone's hand makes it hard to speak against them, and taking someone's gift makes it hard to act against them.

Everything they had was given by Alliance people, and they would likely rely on the Alliance's resupply for a good while, so following their arrangements seemed right.

Moreover, Laxi, who had come this far fueled by rage, didn't really have a clue about what to do next.

Drive the Emperor out of Tiandu?

That would be way too far from here...

Killer Dagger nodded with satisfaction and stuffed the rest of the cigarettes into the hands of a flattered Laxi.

"We are now going to train you and help you establish a proper organization... Also, we need a few photos. Could you cooperate with that?"

Laxi was stunned.

"Photos?"

Killer Dagger nodded again, looking towards a pigeon cage with its iron gate wide open.

"That's right, we just need you to pick a few fellows who look rather pitiful and have them squat back in that cage... just for five minutes."

"You might find it pointless, but we need them to shut some people up."

Chapter 699: Respected Mister Manager, by the time you receive this report, the battle will have concluded.

Just as Killer Dagger had anticipated, by the time they had launched their second round of attack, Chu Guang in Shelter No. 404 had already received the battle report from the frontlines.

Moreover, the report of the expedition and the victory message from the frontline arrived simultaneously.

Fang Chang, that slippery fellow, had sent the first report via the Double-headed Cow airship, while the latter came through the official online task system.

Looking at the two reports that unfolded before him, Chu Guang smiled and shook his head.

"These guys really treat me like an NPC, huh."

But it wasn't surprising.

He had kept his cover well; players did not know that besides being a Manager, he also held the role of the "Dog Planner."

In other words, he knew everything before this report arrived; he just chose not to stop them.

For one thing, the players hadn't broken any server rules; he never required all players to be martyrs, only that they keep a sense of proportion in their actions.

Secondly, the envoy from the West Xilan Empire was indeed annoying, always squabbling with him at the Sticky Community conferences. Giving them a rap on the knuckles was also good.

As for the third reason, it was the West Xilan Empire that had made the first move.

The Alliance rarely initiated conflict, but no settlement had been without bloodshed, even voluntarily joined cities like Giant Stone City.

If someone wanted to test the strength of their fists, then so be it.

[Report NO.1: The Imperial Army of West Xilan Empire brazenly stepped into our alert zone without revealing their identity and opened fire on us, intending to create a massacre. We have counter-attacked the initiating port, Jinjialun Harbor!]

[Report NO.2: Our force of over five hundred successfully landed at Jinjialun Harbor and has now crushed the Jinjialun Port City Defense Army, capturing the governor of Jinjialun Harbor!]

Chu Guang wasn't too concerned about the first report, which he had already seen, so he directly clicked on the attachment of the second report.

He was surprised to find that Brother Fang Chang had not only counted the battle's KD and ammo expenditure but even tallied the spoils of war for him.

Although it seemed a bit like bullying kids, this battle could truly be described as an epic victory.

The Alliance Army lost a total of 11 sets of Type Five Light Cavalry and one set of Type 6 Heavy Cavalry exoskeletons; light injuries among the players were not counted, with no combat or non-combat casualties.

As for the Jinjialun Port City Defense Army, they had counted 1,407 bodies and 316 wounded. Although they had not captured the highest commander, its organizational structure was completely obliterated in battle.

Meanwhile, those stationed in the port area took just one morning to take over the port guard and temporarily formed an armed militia of about five thousand, composed of liberated slaves.

Currently, this militia is stationed at Lowell Camp, along with the freed slaves, and players such as Killer Dagger are responsible for drilling them.

The actual controlled area of the Burning Corps only accounted for one-tenth or even less of Jinjialun Harbor, but this less than one-tenth of the city's area accounted for over ninety percent of the total economy of the settlement.

Moreover, besides the direct results of the battle, the spoils of war collected were quite significant.

The treasury of the Jinjialun Harbor Bank, located on Tulip No. 1 Street, contains nearly five hundred million dinars in foreign currency!

This money was mainly earned through populations, livestock, spices, textiles, and the sale of basic resources, with a large part of it deposited in the emperor's name and managed by the governor appointed by the emperor.

In addition, there were thirty million silver coins and nine million CR, as well as a number of Golden Camels and Golden Lion Coins. The former was probably earned from exporting Double-headed Cows and minerals; the latter also seemed to be similar due to its low circulation rate, the reserves are not much.

However, even so, this foreign exchange reserve was quite terrifying. If the bank of Giant Stone City had had this much money, it wouldn't have gone bankrupt.

But what surprised Chu Guang even more was yet to come.

On paper alone, there were a whopping 120 billion West Wind coins!

And they were all in cash!

The figure was so astronomical that at first he thought he had gotten the zeros wrong, until he had checked several times to make sure he was not mistaken.

According to the players' investigations, ten thousand West Wind coins could buy a pig, indicating that the currency did have purchasing power.

Given so many points of contention, Chu Guang didn't know where to begin expressing his concerns.

Perhaps the credit services of Jin Jialun Port Bank could explain this bizarre economic phenomenon, but Fang Chang hadn't had the chance to sort through the bank's operations.

Clearly, the players were only interested in the money in the treasury.

At the end of the report, Fang Chang made a summary.

[...We unanimously believe that unless the current situation in Jin Jialun Harbor is fundamentally changed, and slavery and the royal authority in the locality are completely abolished, similar Looter attacks will not cease at their roots. Therefore, our strategic goal, besides prosecuting the principal culprits, also includes the Alliance-led reform of the region.]

Seeing the end, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile.

Perhaps catching the smile on his face, Xiao Qi sitting atop the pen holder showed a pleasant smile as well and nodded her little head in praise.

"It seems your little players have grown up," Chu Guang said with a light laugh.

"Is that so?"

"Um?" Feeling the depth behind Chu Guang's words, Xiao Qi couldn't help but tilt her head and look at him.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then spoke in a very soft voice.

"I don't have much hope that they will achieve all their strategic objectives. I've never tried to implement Alliance strategies completely in Luo Xia Province, because our methods don't have a broad mass base there. Ending the Wasteland is a natural duty for every resident of the refuge, but we must also respect the wishes of the people living on the Wasteland."

The premise of unity is respect, and equality imposed by force is another form of oppression.

Since the Alliance aims to follow a path of unity, it is bound not to bring everyone into the new era but to move forward with only those who are willing.

Even if one day they fully reclaim the territory once belonging to the United Human, many will inevitably maintain the lifestyle of the old era.

Unlike the old days, people had no choice then and could only passively accept their unequal fates, but in this new era, everyone will have the right to choose and refuse.

Just like the survivors of Singular Point City, as long as they promise never to return, they can leave the "rehab center" run by the AI anytime they wish.

Chu Guang wasn't very optimistic about the actions of the Burning Corps in Poluo Province; they had, to some extent, made the mistake that most refuges once made—trying to read atheist scriptures to a bunch of folks with the Great Antler God in their hearts and trying to build a skyscraper on ground without foundations.

They hadn't really made those slaves stand up; the so-called mobilization resembled more of a disguised "pyramid scheme", and the "Avengers Alliance" they had formed exuded a strong scent of revolt right from its name.

This was uprising.

A group of slaves, who lived under oppression every day, suddenly got their hands on fire sticks capable of killing their masters—and these fire sticks were given by "gods".

They didn't die for ideals but for new "gods".

What they sought to end was not the rules that enslaved them but to viciously reclaim what they had lost from others.

If not controlled in the end, the victims would quickly shift from the guards of Lowell Camp to the slightly higher societal class surrounding them.

In fact, he harbored reservations about the players' ability to rein in this wild horse that had broken free.

After pausing for a moment, Chu Guang looked at the puzzled Xiao Qi and continued in a gentle tone.

"Of course, I don't rule out that the true intentions of my adorable little players might not completely align with their proclaimed goals."

Xiao Qi looked at Chu Guang in surprise.

"Are you saying your players are deceiving you?"

"That's not deception, that's drawing pies in the sky," Chu Guang said with a faint smile, "We claim to build an Ideal City on the northern outskirts of Qingquan City. We lead people to do this, and even though we haven't achieved it yet, we at least now have the City of Dawn. If I hadn't painted that pie, there would be nothing here. Just keeping the survivors alive, a bowl of porridge made from green wheat would be enough."

Standing up upon command, they didn't have the luxury of time to start slowly like they did in Qingquan City by starting with night literacy classes.

Strictly speaking about the results, they might well establish a form of equality at the settlement, or at least establish a vassal that must rely on the Alliance.

In a sense, they had indeed become a group of mature little players.

They had learned to deal with their NPC selves and outsiders in their own ways.

After thinking it over, Chu Guang extended his index finger toward the holographic screen and smiled as he made annotations on the report.

"… Permit limited military operations at Jin Galun Harbor, and remember not to escalate military conflicts on your own, do not make the same mistakes as the Army."

Chu Guang thought for a moment, preparing to write a third warning when the third report appeared in his backend email.

This report was submitted via the official web task system's information submission interface.

[Report NO.3: Lowell Camp Investigation Report (Part I)]

Chu Guang clicked to open the report and glanced at the summary then suddenly laughed and shook his head.

These guys really knew how to stack their BUFFs.

Quite interesting.

Guessing that the second half of the report, complete with pictures and text, would likely be delivered via the Double-headed Cow, Chu Guang set the report aside in his memo for now.

Moreover, regarding the first report that he had not opened, Duke Garava, "residing" in the City of Dawn, might be interested.

After mulling it over for a moment, Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi and instructed her.

"Contact Alliance Foreign Minister Cheng Yan for me. Have him wait for me at my office in the Alliance Building, I'll be there in about half an hour."

Hearing that she had been assigned a task, Xiao Qi, who had been sitting with her hands supporting her cheeks and swinging her legs, suddenly perked up, puffing out her chest and saluting in the Alliance military style.

"Received!"

…

The next morning at dawn, at an inn not far from the Army's station on the outskirts of the City of Dawn.

Duke Garava was enjoying his breakfast while taking the freshly printed Survivor's Daily from the hands of his lowly yet loyal Mouse Tribe servant, Niyan.

Ever since receiving Captain Archim's telegram, he had woken up earlier than the chickens every day, just to see the headlines of the Survivor's Daily before anyone else.

In the past few days, the team led by Centurion Di Rang should have already arrived at Potato Harbor.

Without any surprises, the airship that docked at the City of Dawn skyport last night should have brought the tragic news from Potato Harbor.

If the journalists of the Survivor's Daily were quick enough, the Potato Harbor tragedy should have already made the headlines of the Survivor's Daily.

In fact, more than the headline of the Survivor's Daily, he was actually more curious about how frightened the survivors of the City of Dawn would look after hearing this sad news.

A settlement of over a thousand people, reduced to ashes overnight, simply because the Empire was slightly unhappy.

There was no better lesson for these arrogant and weak insolent fools.

Thinking this, a sense of vindication surged in Duke Garava's heart.

Though it wasn't very obvious,

After all, considering the diplomatic image of the Empire, he couldn't admit that the Empire had done it, but those who understood knew what had happened.

He flipped open the newspaper and looked at the headline, but froze for a moment.

[New "Crab" style underwater Engineering Armor successfully launched in Potato Harbor, seabed freshwater pipeline advances to deep-water areas!]

What's this all about?!

Regaining his composure, Duke Garava looked displeasedly at Niyan, who was standing by with a bowed posture.

"Did you get yesterday's paper by mistake?"

He felt he had seen something similar before.

And who cares about this thing!

He wanted to see the explosion!

Niyan was momentarily stunned, then said with a wry smile.

"Sir, please look at the date carefully, this is today's latest edition of the paper; I wouldn't dare deceive you..."

And didn't you already read yesterday's paper?

Of course, Niyan didn't dare let the noble Duke hear these thoughts that he only dared to mutter in his heart.

Realizing he had asked a silly question, Duke Garava coughed and pretended as if nothing had happened, flipping to the second page.

However, whether he turned to the third page, the fourth page, or even the last page, he did not find the content he was looking for in the newspaper.

Impossible…

Duke Garava was getting anxious, he flipped through the paper from beginning to end again, but still did not see what he wanted, so he turned to Niyan and ordered.

"Go buy some more newspapers... right, which one was the first to report the scandal of the manager of Shelter No. 70?"

Niyan immediately replied.

"Goblin Observation Report!"

"Yes, that one!" Duke Garava hastily said, "And don't forget to buy a copy of that newspaper too!"

Watching Niyan leave the hotel lobby, Duke Garava felt that something was amiss. A sudden realization struck him, and he violently slapped his thigh, exclaiming.

"Good one, Chu Guang, that's ruthless!"

The hotel owner standing behind the bar looked displeased at this man but said nothing, simply burying his head to continue his work.

Barbru, the guard standing behind Duke Garava, was slightly startled and hesitantly said,

"My Lord?"

"It's nothing."

Duke Garava narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression composed, but his mind was clear as a mirror.

Potato Harbor had undoubtedly been destroyed. The Alliance must have already received the news but deliberately kept it quiet, simply waiting for him to lose his patience and jump out first.

If he truly showed that he was aware, it would be equivalent to admitting guilt, and the tragic incident at Potato Harbor would be related to him.

"Brilliant... truly brilliant," Duke Garava touched his beard and admiringly said, "I underestimated these guys."

He hadn't expected the higher-ups of the Alliance to have some schemes, but they were still lacking compared to an old fox like him.

Watching the self-talking duke, Barbru felt somewhat confused, but seeing his inscrutable smile, it seemed like he must have made a clever move.

These high-profile figures always indirectly spar with one another. Unfortunately, Barbru didn't have a mind as good as Niyan's, so he could only admire from the sidelines.

Niyan had not returned from buying the newspaper yet, and just as Barbru was indecisive about whether to curry favor or not, a servant who entered from outside relieved him of the dilemma.

"My Lord, Mr. Cheng Yan has sent you an invitation. He hopes you could spare an hour to visit the Alliance Building before tonight to discuss some recent events in Potato Harbor."

Upon hearing these words, Duke Garava's eyes instantly narrowed, revealing a hint of suppressed excitement and joy.

"Tell him that I am unavailable today. If he really wants to see me, let him come to my hotel, and I will wait for him here."

Hearing this, the servant hesitated but still mustered the courage to say,

"…Mr. Cheng Yan specifically mentioned that if you can't find the time before tonight, he will consider you unfit to be a diplomat and will revoke your diplomatic immunity and status, ordering you to leave the country within a deadline."

In order to convey the message accurately without offending the duke, the servant chose his words as diplomatically as possible, whereas in fact, the message conveyed by the Alliance's foreign minister was much more forceful and was not so much an invitation as a summons.

Yet even so, these words were still too harsh for the duke.

"How dare you!" Barbru's eyes widened, startling the messenger, who promptly shut his mouth, not daring to speak further.

Duke Garava also narrowed his eyes at that moment, dangerous glints flickering within.

"Interesting, threatening me?"

Barbru leaned closer and whispered,

"Lord, this could be a trap."

Duke Garava simply smiled faintly and said in a deliberate manner,

"We cannot rule out that possibility. However, I am Weslan Empire's representative at the Sticky Community meeting; if the Alliance still wants the meeting to continue, they cannot simply do something to me. Regardless, their agitated behavior has shown that they are desperate."

"With that being the case, I should meet with them."

He wanted to see what the Alliance could do to force him into admitting otherwise.

He did not stand here alone.

Behind him stood a vast empire.

Having said that, Duke Garava turned to the servant who was standing with bowed posture, commanding with an authoritative tone,

"Prepare the carriage!"

The servant quickly nodded.

"Yes, my Lord!"

...

In the Alliance Building, in the foreign minister's office.

Looking at the files projected on the holographic screen, Cheng Yan drummed his fingers on the desk, his expression revealing a hint of headache.

The evidence chain was very complete.

Discontent with Potato Harbor's sheltering of Moon Clan refugees, the Weslan Empire had launched a clandestine military operation. Since the group carrying out this attack was the empire's elite Grey Wolf Army's thousand team and reliable information suggested that only the emperor himself could command this force, it could be deduced that the operation had the emperor's authorization or acquiescence.

He didn't know what that emperor was thinking, but to treat such a serious matter so lightly, he felt this "Survivor Force" was somewhat reckless.

Of course, the Burning Corps stationed at Potato Harbor was also not easy to deal with, having directly landed in the enemy's harbor and taken people captive.

Even more outrageous was that they had actually succeeded.

Objectively speaking, this was somewhat excessive. At least in Cheng Yan's view, simply blockading the enemy's harbor and issuing a warning would have been enough.

But now that things had come to this point, he could only accept this narrative and try his best to throw the blame on the other party from the Alliance's standpoint.

At that moment, footsteps could be heard from the corridor outside the door.

Seeing his secretary's suggestive glance, Cheng Yan understood and cleared his throat to adopt a serious demeanor.

At the same time, Duke Garava stepped through the office door with a carefree smile.

"Long time no see, Mr. Cheng, what's so urgent that you needed to see me? By the way, your desk looks nice; I might get one for myself—"

"Duke Garava, consider a change of career."

Garava was stunned.

Not only did his steps halt at the entrance, but the carefree smile also froze on his face.

Thinking he misheard, he instinctively repeated the phrase,

"Change of career…"

"That's right!"

Suppressing his throbbing temples and anger, Cheng Yan stared unapologetically and continued,

"How about a job like pacifying kids? I don't know if you're skilled at that, but it's certainly more suitable for you than your current job, or you can go back to your hometown and be your landlord, bringing someone who can solve problems rather than create them and be the laughing stock of everyone. It would be better for all, whether it's you guys or others on Wasteland."

Honestly, before this duke entered the room, he had been thinking about how to communicate with him in a normal human way.

But he realized this guy wasn't a normal person at all.

The Alliance Army had already landed at Jin Galun Harbor, and this guy could still laugh about it—does he get his information by lying in bed and reading newspapers?!

Duke Garava's face turned the color of liver, and he glared at Cheng Yan with murderous eyes, his lips trembling with rage.

"What do you mean? You..."

This guy dared to insult him again and again!

He dared!

Anger choked in his throat, and because of his excessive emotions, Duke Galava couldn't think of a way to elegantly retort.

Ignoring the twisted face before him, Cheng Yan reached out with his index finger to the holographic screen, reading expressionlessly,

"Three days ago, at twelve o'clock midnight, a group of armed men with undeclared identities landed on the coast five kilometers north of Potato Harbor and attacked our defense forces without declaration of war."

Upon hearing this, Duke Garava suddenly rejoiced, his chest anger dissipating as if he were a victor, squinting his bean-sized eyes.

That was close.

He almost forgot that this was Alliance's test for him.

"So what? What does that have to do with us?"

"What does it have to do with you?" Cheng Yan asked with a cold smile, "The Grey Wolf Army's elite thousand team appeared near Potato Harbor, and this is your attitude?"

"That's a shameless frame-up," Duke Garava said without hesitation, "The Grey Wolf Army is the elite of my Empire, under the direct command of His Majesty, no one else can command them."

Cheng Yan frowned.

"So this is His Majesty's will?"

Duke Garava slightly raised his chin.

"I never said that, I just tell you that your port was destro... cough, whatever happened at your port has nothing to do with us. If there was indeed some tragic event, we deeply sympathize."

Seeing this guy who wouldn't cry until he saw the coffin, Cheng Yan didn't bother to continue wasting words with him and threw a still warm newspaper in front of him.

Duke Garava subconsciously caught it and looked at it carelessly, but as soon as his gaze landed on the first line of the headline, he was stunned.

"Centurion Di Rang of the Grey Wolf Army crying: I just touched you guys a bit, and you chased me for two thousand kilometers?!"

Di Rang...

Wait a minute!

Why would they know that guy's name?!

Could it be...

For a moment, Duke Garava felt his heart palpitate, as if it had stopped beating, and the world before him began to spin.

Just as Cheng Yan and the secretary in his office were rushing to call an ambulance, a crowd was gathering around a newsstand in the suburbs of City of Dawn.

Looking at the sensational headlines of Goblin Observation Report, the people gathered around the stand all wore incredulous expressions.

"This has to be fake!"

"Two thousand kilometers?! Even airships would take two days!"

"Poluo Province... Isn't that where Double-headed Cows are produced?"

"Why would they provoke us?"

"This makes no logical sense."

"What is the industry committee doing? What about the promised news qualification review, the reality check? And they're selling this sort of thing on the shelves?!"

"Bro, look closely, this ain't news, it's labeled as entertainment, no problem!"

"That's interesting, give me one to look at."

The crowd buzzed with debate, and with the mindset of seeing it as amusement, they each took out money to buy a copy, reading as they went to work.

Finally reaching the front of the queue, Niyan of the Mouse Tribe also pulled out a silver coin to buy a newspaper, flipping through it in his hand.

When he saw the first line on the front page, not only was there no sadness on his sharp face, but he actually laughed so hard that he snorted.

"Hahaha! Serves that doomed bunch right!"

Finally, they started to fight!

The noble Duke is a fool, and the emperor, who entrusted a fool with power and loved to play too much, did just as he expected, making a huge blunder in some bewildering place.

Did they think they could get away with it unnoticed?

It was completely laughable!

What was funnier was that the Alliance had so many exoskeletons they could even equip laborers carrying bricks, and their military strength was so mighty that they even defeated the Stickys, which not even the Post-War Reconstruction Committee could handle. Yet, these guys still dreamed of teaching these creatures a "profound" lesson with the cast-off junk from the Army.

The only thing that was regrettable was that this report was published in Goblin Observation Report as a joke, rather than making the front page of Survivor's Daily.

Otherwise, the joke would have been even bigger.

Having read the entertaining news to the end, Niyan inwardly sighed with a sense of pity.

Without any surprises, the dear Duke would probably try to plead for the Empire's innocence at the Sticky Community conference discussing the problem with the Stickys, and through a comedic performance, once again drag the Empire's dignity through the mud, to the point that even the Army would start to disdain this ally who was good for nothing and bumbling.

He hoped dearly that the Duke wouldn't do such a thing, as Niyan would have to strongly advise against it when he returned.

Niyan ran through all the sad stories of his life in his mind to hide the inappropriately gleeful smile on his face.

At this moment, he noticed the snot stuck to the newspaper and, embarrassed, bought another clean copy from the stand, stuffing the dirty one into the trash.

The bad news was already bad enough.

Hopefully, a neat and tidy newspaper could bring that noble a whole day of good spirits...

Chapter 700: The Soil Breeding Chaos

Jin Galun Harbor.

The slum near the Governor's Mansion.

The open space, originally used by the poor to dry clothes, was now packed with a dense crowd of people.

Although it was called a drying area, the ropes were mostly hung with rag-like scraps that barely covered one's privacy.

Due to low education rates and the absence of contraception or other means of entertainment, the locals liked to procreate whenever they had the chance, which resulted in there being more people than clothes.

Some of the most disadvantaged survivors even shared a single robe among family members, worn by whoever needed to go out.

Thus, when Ah Xin stood in the middle of the crowd, his clean striped shirt and coarse canvas pants made him stand starkly out of place both in demeanor and appearance compared to those around him in old clothes or even wrapped in sheets.

Eventually, in a bout of shoving, an old man with a face full of wrinkles and sallow skin was pushed forward.

His name was Jia Yi. He was from the Rat Clan, not yet sixty but looking like he was of grave age.

However, in the slums of Jin Galun Harbor, living to sixty was indeed considered old age. Most people did not make it past their forties.

The locals on the street unanimously believed that since he was a child of the Rat Clan, it was most appropriate for an elder of the Rat Clan to address him.

They needed to clarify three things.

First, what exactly those "Iron Man" had told him that day, and second, where he got the money for the clothes he was wearing.

As for the third and most important matter—

What did they mean by asking them to move?

The old man, pushed to the front, had a look of helplessness but also knew that it was most suitable for him to handle the situation.

Clearing his throat, he looked at the young man in front of him with a stern expression.

"Ah Xin, you are a good kid. I watched you grow up. I even held you when you were no bigger than a coconut shell."

Ah Xin nodded.

"I remember, Grandpa Jia Yi."

A relieved smile appeared on the old man's face, but the deep wrinkles soon tightened again.

"We all know you are a decent and honest boy, and your family are good people on this street, so you are with us, right?"

"Of course."

Ah Xin nodded again, glanced at Grandpa Jia Yi, looked at the neighbors around him, and continued slowly,

"I can swear to my God that I want everyone here to live a better life more than anyone else."

His words had just finished when an indignant shout erupted from beside him.

"So, what do you mean by asking us to move?"

The shout instantly ignited the emotions of the people around, and a successive barrage of accusations drowned out the two standing amid the crowd.

"That's right! What do you mean by that!"

"This is our home! We are not going anywhere!"

"How many benefits did those people give you!"

"Right! Now I understand where your clothes came from!"

"Pah! A backstabber!"

"I knew there was nothing good about this bunch of rats!"

"Quiet, let's be quiet… let me talk to this child," Jia Yi's voice was pleading as he raised his hand trying to calm everyone down, but all he got in return was a shower of spittle.

No one cared to listen to him.

After all, the Rat Clan was nothing more than a bunch of despicable creatures.

Although they looked human, their hearts were like rats from the gutters, and the people here despised them deep down.

Just as the Wolf Tribe produced the bravest, most valiant warriors, these people mainly produced prostitutes, pickpockets, thieves, and swindlers.

This group of scoundrels, barely a notch above the Moon Clan, who had been stripped of all their property, power, and even their personal freedom.

The people here had no doubt, the next race to be reduced to slavery would definitely be these detestable rats.

Allowing these inferior beings to live in the glory days of the Empire was simply a disgrace!

Without them, everything would be better!

As he bathed in the curses of the crowd, Ah Xin looked expressionlessly at the indignant faces and suddenly felt a bit like laughing.

His status was indeed lowly.

But what about these people? They weren't much better.

Even noble as the Wolves, living in this forsaken place was nothing more than a scavenging dog. Even the meek as sheep could give birth to ruthless criminals and bandits.

It was his father, despised by everyone on the street, who had lived an honest and diligent life, never offending anyone, and taught him and his siblings to be good, honest people, so that they would reincarnate as superior beings in their next life.

In all honesty, he had lived an honest life for the past seventeen years and had even planned to endure through this lifetime.

Until yesterday, when these people treated him like a sewer rat, pushed him out of the crowd, only to test what exactly the "Iron Man" was and their attitude towards them...

At that moment, standing alone on the street, he suddenly despised his pathetic self, as well as the people who had made him pathetic for seventeen years.

So much so that when those people handed him the gun, he had wished to drag out those who had pushed him out and execute them on the spot.

But he hadn't done so.

Not because of mercy.

But because he was well aware of who had given him the gun—or rather, the power of life and death.

Since the master had put the gun in his hands, he could just as easily take it away.

To retain this power, he had to do everything to ingratiate himself with them.

When it was time to kill, he wouldn't be soft-hearted.

But now.

He had to handle this beautifully, achieving his goal with minimal cost—before he used up the twelve bullets in the revolver.

Holding the cold metal in his pocket, he tried to overcome the fear in his heart and the instincts that had been carved into his humanity over the past seventeen years.

Then, like an obedient child, he nodded his head for the third and final time.

"Yes, I did take the money, and it was a huge sum, an amount you poor souls couldn't imagine in your lifetimes."

The surroundings instantly quieted down.

He could feel that the eyes looking at him, beyond simple anger, also carried a hint of greed and longing.

Like hyenas spotting a hare.

They only hated that it wasn't themselves who had taken the gun from the Alliance's hands, they wished they could grab all the money in his pocket.

Without pause, Ah Xin, mustering all his strength to remain calm, spoke the words he had thought out all night.

"A total of 40,000. I not only bought myself a new set of clothes, clothes worthy of the name, but also bought sets for my brothers, my sisters, and my parents. Afterwards, we still plan to buy three pigs, and some other things to supplement the household, to make everyone's lives more comfortable."

A slightly stockier man stepped forward, his eyes locked tightly on him.

"Why did they give you the money? Those Iron Men."

Ah Xin recognized this guy.

His name was Vikram, a member of the Wolf Tribe, purportedly a former soldier, but whether he truly was only he knew.

He only knew that this guy was a well-known bully on the street, often bullying his brothers and his honest father.

Ah Xin was acutely aware that the man had refrained from robbing him not because he feared Ah Xin, but because he feared the "Iron Men" supposedly backing him.

Thus...

He couldn't afford to lose the support of those adults.

"I sold my house to them," Ah Xin said emotionlessly, imagining a group of Iron Men standing behind him, and continued slowly, "Now the house is theirs. Whether they blow it up or use it as a target and shoot it down, it's up to them."

A murmur rippled through the crowd, including Vikram standing in front of him, as faces everywhere showed surprise and shock.

"You can't do this!"

"That's not just your house! It's also the house on this street!"

"That's right!"

At least—

This large sum should have parts belonging to me!

Vikram narrowed his eyes, his tone tainted with a hint of threat.

"Kid, I live right down your street! If artillery hits here—"

"Then go and negotiate with them! With those Iron Men!" Watching the incessant murmuring of the crowd, Ah Xin suddenly exploded, a shout interrupting everyone's speech.

No one expected this ordinarily meek and low-profile young man to lash out with such fury, and the surroundings fell silent in an instant.

Even the notorious bully of this street—Vikram—stared at him dumbfounded, as if looking at a freak who had taken the wrong medication.

Nevertheless, Vikram did nothing more than look.

Ah Xin knew that this guy would not dare to touch him.

He was now utterly calm and utterly sober.

He knew that the more reckless he appeared, the more these people would think that he must have a strong backer, the more wary they would be of what had given him the audacity.

Moreover, they weren't wrong.

He indeed had that thing.

And it was right in his hand!

Surveying the astonished faces around him, Ah Xin continued without diminishing his momentum.

"...Go on, band together, negotiate with those Iron Men, make them fight the Empire somewhere else! Or send another cowardly fellow to negotiate with the Emperor, and have him hand over the harbor and Governor's Mansion to the Iron Men!"

Watching those speechless fellows, he smiled coldly.

"...You don't dare to do it. You only dare to bully someone who seems easy to push around, someone you're very familiar with but not too familiar with, someone who would labor and take abuse without fighting back, someone like me standing here."

"Is it me driving you away from here? Then come, kill me, and watch as your house goes 'boom' and then 'snap' turns into rubble! The Empire's soldiers will use it as cover, those Iron Men from the Governor's Mansion will use it for target practice. After they're done and gone, all you'll have left is a pile of sand and dirt! Come on, have you no hands?"

No one made a move.

There wasn't even someone speaking.

Ah Xin breathed faintly.

He had never spoken this much in his life, especially not in front of so many people.

But here he stood, like a rat cornered by a feral cat.

All he could do was bluff.

If he showed fear, these people might truly kill him.

Clamping down on his trembling shoulders, Ah Xin struggled to recall the words he had prepared the night before, continuing word by word.

"It's me, whom you destitute scoundrels looked down upon, an even poorer wretch, who has now negotiated a reasonable price for you, turning your worthless shacks into at least four fat pigs that you would never have touched in your lifetimes!"

"Forty thousand, forty thousand West Winds coins! If you're willing to demolish it yourself, they'll give you twenty thousand more—this is the benefit I've secured for you! It was me!"

He roared until his voice was hoarse and people around, upon hearing it, fizzed like hot oil in a pan.

40000!

If he dismantled his house, he'd pay an additional 20000!

As for those dilapidated clay houses, forget 40000 Xilan coins, nobody would even buy them for 20000! And even if they were worth that much, no one would buy them.

Many people were already tempted.

As that young man named Ah Xin had said, this amount of money was astronomical for most people living here.

With this money, they could not only build a more spacious little house in the countryside but also buy three or four fat pigs.

And with pigs, they would be considered property-owning farmers, which was far better than squeezing in these slums and picking up inconsistent odd jobs.

Seeing that people were tempted, Vikram panicked.

He usually made a living through protection fees, extortion, and petty theft, all of which were divided into territories.

If he lost this block, he'd be like a stray dog without a home, forced to vie for food on other dogs' turf.

He would be viciously mauled by those wilder dogs!

He had no objection to selling his shabby home for a good price.

But it had to be enough money to ensure he could live the rest of his life worry-free!

He wanted to become a true member of the Wolf clan and not be mixed up with these poor bastards like a stray dog!

"Wait, why only 40000—" Vikram stepped forward, his expression ferocious, yet fearful inside.

If he took a few people to negotiate with the Iron Men, perhaps he could ask for more—

However, before he could speak, a sudden gunshot cut him off.

With a bullet hole on his forehead, Vikram, wide-eyed with shock, looked at the young man whose arm was still shaking. Moments later, he collapsed heavily to the ground, blood and brain matter scattering everywhere.

He didn't know.

Someone had been aiming at his head for a long time.

Hearing the gunshot, the crowd burst into chaos, much like monkeys splashed with scalding oil, but instead of moving forward, they recoiled in fear.

Jia Yi, unable to believe what he was seeing, stared at the Rat clan young man who had pulled out the gun as if witnessing something utterly blasphemous, his voice trembling.

"You killed a man…"

"Yes, may I be born a beast in my next life."

Struggling to hide the tremor in his index finger and arm, Ah Xin slipped the gun back into his pocket and coldly dropped that line before looking around at the others.

"What about you? Are you taking the money and scramming from here, or do you want to end up like him?"

As he had anticipated.

No one cared about the body.

People died here every now and then, whether from starvation or disease, and nobody really cared.

Even if the Governor's Mansion was just nearby.

They were more concerned about the gun in his hand, the weapon granted by the Iron Men, symbolizing authority, even though it now only contained 11 bullets.

Besides that—

They cared about themselves.

Or rather, the money.

As for Vikram.

That guy was already dead.

He wasn't much liked when he was alive, let alone after he lay on the ground, the Wild burial mound was his final resting place.

The man standing behind Vikram swallowed hard, suppressing the panic on his face, and called out to the young man standing amongst the crowd.

"Can you guarantee us the money?"

Arno replied without hesitation.

"I promise."

The man hesitated for a moment, then nodded and stepped forward.

Arno stared at him intently, his heart fluttering, but it didn't show on his numb face, bloodied from the encounter.

One step.

Two steps...

When he was three meters away, the man suddenly stopped walking and took a deep breath.

"Thank you for everything you've done for us all."

He cleared his throat and continued.

"Just like you said... this place will soon be ruins, and whether we take the money or not, nothing will change."

The surroundings quieted for several seconds.

People seemed surprised by his agreement.

But soon, sporadic voices began to rise.

"Really..."

"The price is already good enough."

"The Emperor wouldn't give this to us."

"My house has been leaking for a while, and I was planning to rebuild it anyway."

With someone leading the way, everything became much easier.

Although those insincere words were tinged with hesitation and doubt, the meaning they conveyed was no surprise; they were mostly affirmations and praises for Arno.

Watching the compliant crowd, Arno relaxed a little but did not thank the man, just looked at him indifferently.

"Your name."

The man replied with respectful tone.

"Kunal... Dog Tribe Person."

Arno nodded.

"From now on, you work for me."

The man's face lit up with joy.

Just then, as if from nowhere, clouds filled the sky and fine raindrops began to fall, one by one landing on the blood-stained mud.

Noticing it was raining, people rushed like dogs hearing the dinner bell, scrambling toward the clothes and sheets hanging on the ropes to dry, grabbing them into their arms, fearful they'd get wet or that someone else might steal them in the chaos.

But Arno just squatted down, picked up a shell casing from the ground, and with a trembling thumb, vigorously wiped away the mud and water clinging to it.

"Go bury him," he managed to say without a hint of cowardice.

Standing in the rain, Kunal bowed respectfully, like a loyal servant.

"Yes!"

It wasn't just Kunal.

Several other men also grabbed Vikram's limbs as he lay on the ground and carried him to the outskirts of the square.

From this moment on, they were all his underlings.

No need to say it explicitly.

Ah Xin, squatting in the rain, had not stood up, but was quietly staring at the patch of blood not yet washed away by the rain, his eyes looking transfixed.

This was the first time he had killed someone.

He discovered that as long as he didn't see people as humans, but as beasts, it was much easier than he had imagined.

Although his arms were now sore and numb, his palms throbbing in pain, and his legs too weak to stand...

"Damn, it's raining."

"Let's find a place to take shelter quickly."

Near Lowell Camp, close to Blackwater Street's civilian slums.

Four players patrolling the alley suddenly noticed the rain falling from the sky, which seemed to worsen, so they moved under the eaves of a nearby house.

Unfortunately, the eaves were too narrow, and the wind outside forced the rain onto their armor regardless of how close they pressed against the wall.

The "Type Five" exoskeleton performance against water was decent, but water getting into the gaps of the bulletproof plates was troublesome, and some moving parts also needed re-oiling and maintenance.

The more complex the machine, the pickier it is about the working environment, the only truly durable ones were probably those produced by Goblin Technology's LD-47.

Perhaps...

They should hire some NPCs to do the job.

Mountain River Entering Dreams thought to himself, but then he saw through the semi-open window a few pairs of shiny eyes staring at them.

He looked towards Zero Rush, the Perception specialist, who shook his head.

"No intent to kill."

Mountain River Entering Dreams walked up to the door and knocked.

The door opened quickly, a wrinkled face peeking through the gap, the eyes filled with apprehension.

"Sir?"

"We're just taking shelter from the rain."

After saying this, Mountain River Entering Dreams pulled out a 100 West Winds currency bill, handing it to the incredulous old man.

"Thank... thank you," the old man gratefully stammered, stepping back to open the door wider.

The room was dimly lit, but visibility was adequate.

In a room less than ten square meters, a table was placed, on which pots and pans were set, and those shiny eyes were hidden behind the table.

They were children around eleven or twelve years old, their skin waxen and faces dirty, both boys and girls, each wearing a patchy linen sheet, seemingly torn from a whole curtain or bedsheet.

Looking at the shiny exoskeletons and rifles hanging on their chests, the children's faces showed both timidity and curiosity.

They had never seen these armored "Iron Men" before and found them seemingly even more impressive than the soldiers carrying rifles.

Two slightly older girls, faces filled with fear and anxiety, quietly climbed up the ladder to the upper floor at their mother's urging.

Mountain River Entering Dreams's eyes carried a hint of pity, but he said nothing, just stood with his three teammates at the door under the shelter, trying their best not to disturb these people's lives.

The two parties silently faced each other, only the pattering rain outside breaking the silence.

After a while, perhaps feeling these "Iron Men" were not so frightening after all, and unable to see their eyes through the visors, the adults and children in the room gradually stopped concerning themselves with their presence.

Except for the three women who had gone upstairs, the others gathered around the table, using their hands to shape handfuls of brown-red mud from an iron basin into cakes on the table.

The old man mutteringly chanted something, his muddy hands grabbing some crushed wild vegetable leaves, pepper powder, and cardamom powder from a basket nearby and sprinkling them on the mud cakes.

The players at the door exchanged looks, involuntarily swallowing their saliva while quietly communicating via their comms channel.

"Is this... soil?"

"Most likely."

"My goodness..."

"Seeing this, nutrient paste actually tastes better."

"But they even have spices."

Mountain River Entering Dreams didn't speak.

He remembered seeing on Si Si's post that to the north of Jin Galun Harbor lay a vast expanse of red soil.

This red soil was completely different in both color and composition from the "Guanyin Soil" they usually understood. It seemed to be artificially improved; although nothing could be grown on it, boiling it to filter out sand and stones, and then draining it, made it directly edible.

The local poor would mix in some plant fibers and spices to make it less difficult to swallow.

Of course, although eating this artificially improved mud wasn't as dangerous as eating kaolin, it was impossible to eat it seven days a week.

The majority at the bottom of Jin Galun Harbor mainly ate black beans and a type of chickpea-like legume but larger, supplemented by various berries and wild vegetables. As for the main source of protein, it was primarily some insects and freshwater snails.

As for "mud cakes," they were just a supplement when funds were low.

Nevertheless, located at the junction of tropical and subtropical regions and on the Shock Plain along the Everflow River, the food sources in this area were relatively abundant.

It was precisely because of this that the settlement could accommodate so many people—far exceeding the carrying capability of the land.

However, the survivors living here were merely surviving and had even less dignity than the cattle in the pens.

At least only foreigners could eat them.

After a while, the man finished his seasoning ritual, and the mud cakes on the table turned into a semi-dry state.

He picked up some cakes, put them into palm-sized bowls, and handed them to an older child nearby, whispering instructions to take them upstairs to their mother and sisters.

Then he rubbed his hands together and waved to his family members, who were already salivating, to start eating.

Standing at the door, Zero Rush couldn't watch anymore. He took out compressed biscuits stuffed in his backpack, ignored the team captain's obstructive look, and went forward. Amid the startled gazes of the family, he handed it to the child closest to him and said in a low voice in United Human language,

"Eat this."

He knew very well that doing this was meaningless, just like stuffing gold coins into the home of destitute NPCs—it wouldn't change anything.

But he did it anyway.

There was no special reason; isn't playing the game all about following one's impulses?

Mountain River Entering Dreams shook his head but said nothing. Beside him, Two Ounces of Moonlight quietly gave a thumbs-up.

The little girl, tall up to his exoskeleton's breastplate, widened her big, limpid eyes. She peered at him through her disheveled hair, then looked at her father, and seeing no objection from him, she bit into the plastic packaging.

Seeing her mouth hurt by the serrated plastic, Zero Rush quickly gestured with his hands,

"You need to tear it open, like this."

The little girl hesitated for a moment, clumsily imitated his movements and tore the plastic packaging, and hesitantly bit into it again.

In an instant, her eyes widened, those limpid eyes shimmering as if a layer of color had been painted on them, creating a misty glow.

It was a taste she had never experienced before.

She stuffed the food into her mouth ravenously, and Zero Rush looked around left and right, didn't see any container for water, bit his lip, took out a bottled water from his backpack, unscrewed it, and handed it over,

"Don't choke."

The little girl indeed choked, coughed vigorously for a while, took the water bottle, and drank most of it before she calmed down.

Having removed his helmet's face mask, Zero Rush squatted down, smiled, reached out to touch her messy hair, and asked gently,

"What's your name?"

"Arno."

Why does this name sound like a boy's?

Never mind.

Zero Rush didn't care and continued with a smile.

"I'm Zero Rush. If you see bad guys wielding those long-sticked guns, you come to us."

As he spoke, he pointed in the direction of Lowell Camp, which served as the station for their company of a hundred people, and also for those rebels.

Arno, his mouth full of crumbled cookies, nodded vigorously, licking his fingers without no particular intention.

The other children around stared this way, swallowing their saliva, losing interest in their sticky muddy pies in an instant.

Thinking that since he had already given some away, one more didn't matter, Zero Rush simply pulled out the last few compressed cookies from his backpack and distributed them to everyone present, including their father—the old man with a wrinkled face.

Watching the children wolfing down the cookies, Zero Rush felt a wave of satisfaction and wore a content smile on his face.

A few compressed cookies didn't cost much, especially since these were unwanted by anyone and were only carried as emergency supplies just in case.

The slightly older boy took his brother upstairs, seemingly planning to share the "Iron Man's" delicacies with their sister and mother.

The old man stared at the cookie in his hand in silence, his face full of worry, seeming to be contemplating something.

Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he looked at Zero Rush with pleading eyes.

"Arno is too young... please, choose someone else."

Zero Rush's smile instantly froze on his face.

"What?!"

Two Ounces of Moonlight couldn't help but laugh out loud, leaning on the mud wall nearby with his hand on his stomach. Mountain River Entering Dreams had a face full of black lines looking at that guy, feeling embarrassed, and turned his gaze away.

Firstborn, who had been silent all this time, suddenly seemed to come to his senses, shrugged his shoulders and said,

"In Poluo Province, only elders and husbands can touch a woman's head, and if she is an unmarried woman, touching the head signifies a proposal... I just looked it up in Old Si's post when I went offline."

"What the fuck!?"

Mountain River Entering Dreams sighed.

"Drag him out and shoot him."

Even Two Ounces of Moonlight, who had just shown a thumbs-up a second ago, also nodded deeply in agreement.

"+1, that's too rookie."

Firstborn: "...?"

"Wait, I fucking didn't know! It doesn't count!"

Scrambling to his feet from the ground, Zero Rush tried to explain with a mix of tears and laughter, but his three teammates looked at him with disdain.

The girl named Arno kept licking her fingers, indifferent to the noises around and not understanding why her father sighed.

Her round eyes were fixed intently on the backpack filled with delicacies, thinking only about one thing.

If only she could have another piece.

Unnoticed, the rain outside the house had stopped.

Just as Mountain River Entering Dreams was considering leaving with his three teammates as soon as possible, a gunshot from outside the window suddenly shattered the post-rain tranquility.

That was the sound of a Ripper Rifle!

The four instantly became alert.

Without saying goodbye to the family, Mountain River Entering Dreams pushed open the door and rushed out onto the street, followed quickly by his three heavily armed teammates.

Enhanced by their exoskeletons, their movements were as fast as lightning. In just the span of a breath, they moved into formation towards the direction of the gunshot, setting up their rifles behind cover.

However, to their surprise, the group holding guns on the opposite street was not their enemy.

But their own people...

Chapter 701 "Animal World" and "The Bible

Jinkalon Port.

A drizzling rain washed away the dust on the streets, and wispy mists rose from the dark red cobblestones, rendering this harbor, not yet fully bathed in sunlight, hazy in the fog.

On the cargo ship by the dock, sailors were cleaning the deck while a merchant in a silk robe was checking the goods to be transferred to the warehouse with a harbor official.

After a brief period of disorder, order at the port had been restored—at least in the harbor area.

Institutions, including the police station, fire department, port authority, clinic, and court, had resumed their duties under the iron-fisted enforcement of the "Iron Men."

Having work to do and a salary to collect, after all, was far more comfortable than squatting in a warehouse without even a bed.

The "Dolphin" nuclear-powered submarine had docked once again, this time not only bringing supplies from Potato Harbor but also researchers from the research team.

Prior to this, the Burning Corps players had seized a large number of relics from the Governor's Mansion that dated back to the Era of Prosperity and required valuation. The research team was the only entity interested in these "Holy relics" and legally allowed to purchase them from players.

Sometimes, Fang Chang couldn't help but maliciously imagine whether these individuals might wield their "exclusive trading rights" to force down prices intentionally.

However, even if they did force prices down, he actually had no recourse.

These spoils of war were to be submitted as "task props," not freely traded commodities.

Even if the price offered was low, he would have to accept it.

Yet, the generous offer from the open-minded female researcher did not disappoint him; it was even higher than he had expected.

"...A total of 9.17 million silver coins."

Finally, after photographing and registering the last piece of war spoils, the researcher used her index finger to tap twice on the unfolded holographic screen, archiving the collected data.

"Shhh..."

Fang Chang, standing to the side, couldn't help but suck in a breath of the moist air when he heard the amount. The researcher caught his reaction and cast an inquiring glance at him.

"What's wrong?"

Concealing the glee on his face, Fang Chang pretended to speak seriously.

"It's nothing... What I mean is, that's too little. We went through a lot of effort to get these things. Could you possibly give us more?"

The researcher replied teasingly.

"For unexpected recovery items, we have a strict formula and auditing process. The effort you put in won't affect their added value, so I advise you to give up."

"Okay."

Fang Chang gave up without hesitation.

This person was named Han Mingyue; she was a small ice pop retrieved by the Thorns Corps from the Great Desert Ruins and stationed near Pioneer City.

She was referred to as a small ice pop not due to her age, but because the Sleep Cabin showed her time as being less than a century, at 81 years.

Her background information spanned five pages on the official website, mainly edited by active players around Pioneer City.

Fang Chang had skimmed through it, distilling the key information into roughly three lines—

She was formerly a resident of the now defunct Bunker No.288.

Her specialty was data recovery and archival organization.

Probably influenced by the Thorns Corps leader Lama, she was currently engaged in sociological research on Poluo Province.

Both "Poluo Province" and "sociological research" were relatively niche fields within the research team.

However, because she was one of the few talents capable in this field, even with limited experience, Yin Fang had still sent her here.

Turning her attention back to the war spoils that filled half the warehouse, Han Mingyue extended her gloved right hand and picked up a silver-gray storage card from the shelf.

The storage card was only the size of a thumb.

Her eyes sparkled with thick interest.

"...But to tell the truth, I didn't expect you guys to find this thing."

Fang Chang glanced at the tip of her finger, which looked like a storage card mixed among other colorful game cards.

"Is there something special about this card?"

"Special? It's more than special!" Han Mingyue exclaimed with glee, "Let's just say, the project I'm working on is missing only this piece of the puzzle... about the origins of the Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods."

The origins of the Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods?!

Interest instantly surged in Fang Chang's eyes as he immediately said.

"I would love to hear more."

Han Mingyue didn't speak; instead, she pulled out a holographic computer pen, connected it to the expansion interface, and inserted the slightly aged storage card.

Watching the pale blue holographic light beam with anticipation, Fang Chang thought he would see something astonishing, only to have his vision met by a robust yak.

The yak was running, its powerful muscles pulsating with the vigor of life, dust swirling around it, although the ground beneath its feet was not visible.

At that moment, the camera began to pull back from its foreground subject, gradually revealing the herd of cattle and the vast, endless grasslands behind it.

Then, a deep, compelling, and convincing commentary began to resonate.

"On the grasslands beside the Everflow River, the deadliest thing isn't the claws of the Hyena or the teeth of the lion, but the running herd of cattle. Even the most ferocious beasts must give way before them..."

To be honest, as part of a documentary, these few brief scenes were quite stunning, and the narration entered in a proper and expected manner.

Especially considering that two hundred years ago these images might have been displayed through immersive virtual reality devices, the actual impact might have been more astounding than that of third-person holographic projections.

But...

What did this have to do with Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods?

Fang Chang was a bit baffled.

Standing next to him, Han Mingyue stared intently at the flickering holographic images as though she was looking at a relic.

"The original footage of 'The Mystery of Nature·Yak'... Although some of the data is still lost, this is the most complete storage card we have been able to find. It's incredible how well it has been preserved! Please try to visit similar places more often in the future."

"I will, if conditions permit..." Dumbfounded by the name of the documentary, Fang Chang couldn't help but ask, "I just don't quite understand... What does this 'animal world' have to do with Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods?"

Han Mingyue narrowed her eyes slightly, smiled, and said

"The herd of cattle running under the scorching sun... doesn't it look familiar to you?"

Fang Chang was taken aback for a moment, then blurted out.

"...Tuo Ri Shen Niu."

Han Mingyue gave him an approving look.

"You catch on quickly."

What the fuck?!

Fang Chang was completely floored.

"But..."

Seeing his hesitant expression, Han Mingyue guessed what he was thinking without needing to ask, and with a slight smile, she said.

"You're wondering how a science documentary became the origin of Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods, right?"

Fang Chang nodded with a peculiar expression.

"I may lack imagination, but I really can't envision the whole process..."

"It isn't that hard to understand, really. Just think of 'holographic tapes' as 'things unexplainable by knowledge and experience,' and you get it."

Looking at Fang Chang, who still had a puzzled look on his face, she paused for a moment before continuing.

"In ancient times, a forest fire or a bolt of lightning could elevate an intelligent or lucky primate to become the tribe's seer or priest. But as people gradually learned how to make fire, they lost their awe of the flames that consumed everything, and as a result, professions imbued with sacred significance like seers, priests, and keepers of the flame, slowly faded away from the center of the historical stage."

Fang Chang slightly furrowed his brow, pondering for a moment before saying.

"So what you're saying is that someone used these science videos, like the one about the Blue Jacket... They fashioned themselves into roles like priests or seers, and beguiled the survivors of this land."

It wasn't surprising he would think that, Han Mingyue said with a gentle tone.

"That's a more power-driven interpretation, and such a possibility isn't ruled out, but the evidence we have favors a completely different explanation."

"...What explanation?"

"It wasn't a deliberate act by any one person, but rather a collective unconscious formation that took place over a long period of societal evolution."

Fang Chang looked a bit stunned.

"Formed unconsciously?"

"That's right."

Han Mingyue slowly nodded her head, gazing at the intermittent holographic footage as she continued.

"An artwork can be completed by one person or a few, but a culture that is widely acknowledged by people usually forms spontaneously through the evolution of society. To understand the origin of the 'Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods' in the Luo Province, we must start with the initial survivors who fled to this land."

Fang Chang asked, puzzled.

"Were there no native survivors on this land?"

Han Mingyue paused, looked at him strangely.

"Are you joking? During the Era of Prosperity, this was a protected ecological area... Aside from a few tourism workers and scientific researchers, how could there be anything like native survivors here? Would you want to sleep with lions and wild bulls?"

Fang Chang: "...?"

Seeing that Fang Chang was clueless, Han Mingyue sighed, turned off the screening of the "animal world," and slowly began to speak.

"It seems I need to start from the very basics when explaining this to you..."

...

The greatest difference between the Prosperity Epoch and the old era was not just in the generational gap in science and technology, but in every aspect, from the way people produced and lived to the ideas of culture and thought, which underwent unimaginable, earth-shattering changes.

Among these, the most typical was the administrative reorganization.

Thanks to the free migration of the population, the extensive development of outer space, and the global integration of ethnic groups, people's attachment to land was no longer as intense as in the old era. They identified more with being "human" than with their own bloodlines and even began to research whether the honor of "born human" should be bestowed upon AIs with "social attributes."

The people living on this planet were completely ready to embrace the future, only a faster-than-light (FTL) engine away from stepping into the cosmos.

In this context, in pursuit of more efficient land resource allocation, the United Human had early in the Prosperity Epoch abolished the old era's administrative divisions and replaced them with more suitable new regional divisions.

For instance, Luo Xia Province was a product of this "enclosure movement."

Where once lay a vast desert, now stood farmland transformed by desalination devices and infinite energy, capable of satisfying the dietary needs and taste preferences of the vast majority of the global population.

The situation in Poluo Province was similar, though its planning direction was the complete opposite of the once uninhabited Luo Xia Province.

In the old era, before the United Human was established, the world's largest slum and the utmost disparity between the rich and the poor could be found there.

If Luo Xia Province was an untouched wasteland, Poluo Province was then a ruined land spoiled by its locals.

It was precisely because of this that, after several setbacks, once the United Human was finally established and the four major industrial zones in the central part of Central Continent and the space elevator project began, the area immediately experienced a long-lasting and unprecedented "great population migration."

A massive number of the poor, in pursuit of a better life, left their impoverished homes and rode on maglev trains, wave after wave, over the Zobar Mountain, heading toward the dreamland in the central continent, where, together with immigrants from other administrative regions, they accomplished a miracle in the history of United Human—a super metropolis built around the space elevator.

Conversely, with the exodus of people, Poluo Province, under the influence of the population siphon effect, experienced a grand "deurbanization" movement.

In fact, similar situations occurred not only in Poluo Province, but here the phenomenon was particularly shocking in macro data due to many historical problems.

According to the available data, by the middle of the Prosperity Epoch, the population of Poluo Province had dwindled to only 0.3% of what it was at the end of the old era, creating a stark contrast to the Eastern and Western Provinces, which still retained a considerable number of "economically beneficial urban clusters."

Considering the high maintenance costs for local public facilities with minuscule usage rates, it was better to give the locals some money and a train ticket and let them move to the central city cluster to enjoy life, rather than letting them live in "valuably decaying houses."

The United Human authorities simply designated Poluo Province as an "Ecological Conservation Area," and under the banner of "We want to establish not only a heaven for humans but also a heaven for animals," they hastened this unprecedented deurbanization movement to its conclusion with administrative intervention.

By the middle and later period of the Prosperity Epoch, the deurbanization movement in Poluo Province had ended prematurely under the active intervention of the United Human, leaving less than fifty thousand people remaining on three million square kilometers of land, mostly consisting of tourism professionals and researchers.

After the demolition of most outdated urban buildings and shanties, the United Human restored this land—which stretched across tropical, subtropical, and temperate zones—back to nature, preserving only a few cultural sites, tourist areas, self-drive tour routes, and scientific research facilities.

The maglev rails built for the population migration were also dismantled one after another as the migration goals were reached, with only a few underground lines left that did not impede the migration of wild animals.

It was like a huge wildlife park.

This place had been demolished long before entering the Wasteland Era...

Having briefly summarized the events that took place on this land during the Prosperity Epoch, Han Mingyue paused for a moment before continuing.

"...What followed should be obvious. The war broke out, the space elevator collapsed, and the good life was shattered. The super-city located in the central part of Central Continent became a hell on Earth that even the Post-War Reconstruction Committee was powerless to address."

"Numerous survivors from the four major industrial zones flocked to the surrounding administrative divisions, such as Luo Xia Province and Poluo Province... Due to the 'ecological preservation' status of Poluo Province, this piece of land became the sole survivor of the war. Even Luo Xia Province fell prey to a Lair, but not a single one appeared on this 3 million square kilometer territory."

Fang Chang looked at her in surprise,

"Not a single one?!"

"Yes," Han Mingyue nodded her head, "Apparently, the residents of the colony didn't see the need to pay special attention to this 'zoo.' Moreover, without concrete buildings as breeding grounds, this place isn't suited for rapid fungus proliferation."

She paused and then continued.

"Because it wasn't specially graced by a Lair and the climate was rather comfortable, many survivors chose this place as their first refuge... According to my research, at least tens of millions of people must have successfully fled here."

"It's obvious that this land, which had been de-urbanized, couldn't support such a large population. Food, medicine, energy, housing, and even safety became scarce commodities. To compete for a chance to survive, people began to imitate the wild beasts of this land, casting aside the reserve of civilized man in hunger."

"At first, it was just poaching. Then it escalated to robbery, and even cannibalism... I might be putting it mildly, but according to the data I've collected in the Great Desert, this place likely entered a state of complete disorder and became Wasteland before the Eastern Provinces and Western Provinces that were under the care of the War Construction Committee."

Imagining that apocalyptic scene, Fang Chang unconsciously swallowed.

"What about the local military?"

Han Mingyue replied succinctly.

"The United Human Army was formed in an extremely short time. There were places that needed 'firefighting' everywhere, and they also had to maintain a frontline five light-years away. You can imagine how few could be spared for this 'zoo'... According to my research, some troops did enter the area, but the order they could maintain was limited to a few temperate regions along the east and west coast of Poluo Province."

"Moreover, having lost organization and supplies, their survival became an issue. You can't expect those people to keep the scales of order tipped indefinitely; they themselves were on the scale, and it was a feat they were not toppled more quickly."

She paused and continued.

"What the military did at that time is not the focus of my research. Returning to what I was saying, this 3 million square kilometer land probably became Wasteland earlier and also evolved from a disorderly society to an orderly society sooner. In this process, large and small settlements were born. These settlements, in the form of tribes, spread along the banks of the Everflow River and gradually expanded outward..."

"Due to the barrier of the Jubar Mountains and the Poluo Sea, Variants and most other non-human entities did not migrate to this area, and aquatic Variant Humans also halted to the east of the Baiyue Strait. The local survivors mainly faced pressure from wildlife and a few Variants."

"Although civilization had undergone systemic regression, a considerable amount of knowledge and technology from the old era remained. This group, with low literacy but rich survival skills, expanded their territory much faster than primitive people did. They quickly formed feudal kingdoms of varying sizes, not unlike the survivors in Luo Xia Province."

"And in this process, not only did their population expand rapidly, but they also found something to anchor their souls..."

Speaking of which, Han Mingyue took the storage card from the computer pen and flashed it in front of Fang Chang.

"Faith."

"Whether it's worshiping abstract gods or dogmas, before the enlightenment movement of the classical period, it is almost the only tool to unite the ignorant masses. It can temporarily make people give up pondering 'who I am,' 'where I come from,' 'where I am going,' restrain primal instincts, and maintain the operation of a huge system like gears."

Fang Chang's Adam's apple moved.

Although he had expected it, he was still a bit shaken when he heard the experts untangle the matter.

"So, 'Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods' is a lie?"

Han Mingyue spoke in a relaxed tone.

"It can't be called a lie, it's more like a coincidence... There were a lot of holographic projection devices left here, mainly to introduce the wildlife of Poluo Province to tourists. Relying on energy storage devices, it's very likely that they operated for quite a long time during the first fifty years of the Wasteland Era. It's understandable that they were regarded as divine by the second and third generations of survivors who opened their eyes in the Wasteland. After all, their parents who could explain over and over again only had an average lifespan of less than thirty years."

"Imagine yourself in the shoes of those survivors; you're someone who has lived in a world of ice and snow from the day you were born, curled up with your father's relic at the ticket counter of some cultural hall to avoid a blizzard."

"At that moment, the AI detects your presence, and before you, an endless, warm grassland appears. Then, a majestic voice begins to recount the stories of the old days. The past Poluo Province was a paradise where even a mouse could live a rich and eventful life..."

Trying to put himself in that situation, Fang Chang imagined for a while but couldn't really relate, eventually shaking his head.

"...No matter what, I would never consider myself a descendant of mice."

A lion or a tiger, perhaps.

Han Mingyue chuckled at his quip.

"Of course, humans can't possibly be descended from animals, but you could totally have taken it as something to worship, akin to the Great Antler God... Never overestimate yourself. The only reason you haven't done so is simply that you have received a good education and truly understand what you have learned."

The unexplainable holographic images were just the beginning.

When miracles become reality, they are no longer just miracles, but prophecies descended from the gods.

Moreover, the scenes in those holographic images eventually became reality.

In the 50th year of the Wasteland Era, the cold winter ended, and the ecological environment of Poluo Province gradually returned to its state from half a century ago.

For those living by the Everflow River at that time, this was undoubtedly the manifestation of their worshipped totem.

Although the end of the cold winter was a normal climatic change, and had nothing to do with their prayers...

"I know," said Fang Chang with heavy emotion, "but when you put it that way, it turns out that 'Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods' was really a man-made division."

At the end of the day, two hundred years is too short a time to allow a group of people to evolve naturally into a new species.

Unless it's something engineered like the Weilante People or the Variants.

Without the help of scientific power, they would need at least a thousand years of racial isolation to develop clear characteristic differences between the Sun Clan and Moon Clan.

Like someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Han Mingyue corrected his imprecise statement and continued.

"To be precise, it's a limited scope of self-identification formed under collective unconscious behavior. You'll find that their skeletal features are not much different from those survivors who fled to Luo Province. Excluding the impacts of nutrition, air humidity, and light exposure, you might say they are of the same kind."

Fang Chang nodded thoughtfully.

Actually, not to mention other players.

Even he himself occasionally projected his Earthly experiences subjectively, but upon closer thought, he knew that reality and games are completely different dimensions.

The state of Poluo Province is probably what you'd call a "classic start."

That is, without the interference of Survivor Settlement residents, strategic weapons, Mutant mucor mother nests, Mutants, and other extraordinary forces, it was a typical Wasteland formed purely from the collapse of order.

As for the Empire of West Winds, it was but a fleeting wave in the rise and fall of empires.

Had there been no external force interfering, the survivors here might have continued traditions for hundreds or even thousands of years, until an accidental "Renaissance" or a "great historical discovery" of the past allowed them to find new spiritual sustenance and replace the gradually outdated "Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods" theory.

But the opposite extreme was also possible: the local survivors might have fallen into another kind of spiral through long cycles. By constantly learning from the past cycles, they could use oak planks and nails to seal the loopholes that could break the cycles, thus establishing a governance theory with a more eternal structure and stricter logic, stopping the flow of the Everflow River permanently.

As for which possibility was more likely, that was anyone's guess.

After all, only that which had happened was the inevitable in history.

And what the future held, only the people of the future would know.

In any case, for the scientific expedition, they were an excellent observation sample.

Han Mingyue put the storage card containing the "Original Doctrines" into the collection box and looked spiritedly towards the port outside the warehouse, saying,

"...If nothing goes wrong, there should be traces of early survivor settlements or refuges nearby. This could help me complete parts of my project that I haven't touched on before, the impact of the remaining order during the three-year war period on the evolution of Poluo Province's Wasteland society."

Upon hearing Han Mingyue's words, Fang Chang instinctively opened his mouth.

"Are you referring to Lowell Camp?"

"Wait, Lowell Camp is actually here?!" Han Mingyue's eyes widened in surprise, then she excitedly said, "That's great! Could you take me there?"

Fang Chang nodded.

"No problem."

As the Stage 2 offensive had been moved up, the camp was currently under their control. Before the Empire of West Winds really took action, they estimated they could enjoy a period of calm.

If there was going to be scientific research activity, now was the best time.

Just as Fang Chang was about to call for a vehicle to take her there, Game came walking in their direction.

His pace was brisk, and his face was filled with seriousness. Before Fang Chang could ask, he spoke rapidly,

"Something's happened at Lowell Camp!"

Chapter 702: The Vacuum of Order

Lowell Camp.

The recent heavy rain had washed the bloodstains lingering in the mud into puddles by the roadside, with the fragrance of earth carrying an undispersing scent of blood.

However, the people here seemed to have long been accustomed to death, to the point where the blood that stained the streets appeared almost trivial.

In front of the gate blasted open by the 100mm cannon, a crowd of poor onlookers had gathered thickly.

Among them were residents from the nearby streets, newly-rescued slaves, and the militias of the First Corps of the Avengers Alliance standing guard at the camp's entrance.

At this moment, at the center of the crowd, stood ten militiamen.

Their arms were tied with white gauze to identify them, and their hands were bound behind their backs with plastic strips. However, their facial expressions varied greatly—some showed anger, others indifference, some defiance, and others a nervous hesitation, sensing imminent disaster.

Not far from them, lay two bodies, a man and a woman.

The man appeared to be in his early thirties, the woman around twenty-five or twenty-six, likely a couple. The former had his abdomen sliced open by a bayonet while the latter bore a bloodied hole on her forehead. Both bodies showed clear signs of bruising and injuries and seemed to have suffered considerably before death.

Next to these two bodies, two disheveled girls wrapped in barely sufficient blankets were curled up on the muddy ground, shivering. Their faces, void of expression, were marred by tears of fear and stupefaction, mixed with mud-like stains.

It seemed they had forgotten how to cry, emitting sounds intermittently, much like fish stranded ashore.

Seeing the disarmed militia patrol, the bodies on the ground, and the two girls wrapped in blankets, Brother Shabi, who had just emerged from the camp entrance, could guess what had happened even before confirming with the four players standing beside the girls.

"What happened?"

Mountain River Entering Dreams stepped forward, retracting the visor of his helmet, and glanced at the disarmed group before reporting the situation truthfully.

"...We were taking shelter from the rain near Blackwater Street when we suddenly heard a gunshot. By the time we got out, we saw those guys coming out of a house."

The action recorder had a complete record of the event.

He didn't want to describe the situation in great detail; suffice it to say, these few had done what even beasts wouldn't.

From the expressions of the players present, Brother Shabi could roughly guess what had transpired and turned his gaze to the militiamen tied with white strips.

Although they couldn't understand what the players were discussing, those militiamen could certainly recognize murderous looks.

The leader immediately panicked and shouted, trying to defend himself.

"That man! He is a jailer of Lowell Camp! We found an Empire rifle and jailer's uniform in his house!"

"Can you prove that his rifle and uniform weren't just picked up? And who allowed you into their home!" Brother Shabi glared at him fiercely. "Even if he were a jailer, even if he committed unforgivable acts, what does that have to do with his family?"

The expressions of the militiamen clearly showed they were unrepentant, even their gaze toward him carried a trace of incomprehension.

The leader didn't speak, but another man stepped forward.

"We went in to take shelter from the rain! And... didn't you also go in? I saw them coming out of a civilian house!"

Saying this, the man turned and looked toward the four players who had disarmed them, his face showing resentment.

Brother Shabi looked at Mountain River Entering Dreams.

His expression paused, and he awkwardly explained.

"We did go inside, but we truly just went in to take shelter from the rain... and I even paid them; that family can vouch for us. No, if you don't believe me, I can turn on the action recorder; I had it on the whole time."

Zero Rush's face changed.

Damn!

If they played this here, wouldn't he be utterly ruined?

Fortunately, Brother Shabi did not do so but merely fiddled with the VM device, probably discussing with other players how to handle the situation.

Seeing that things seemed to be getting interesting, the crowd around them gradually grew, all pointing and discussing with enthusiasm.

"Iron Man" and the group of gun-toting slaves had started to quarrel among themselves.

They were merely curious how this drama would end.

There was also the man lying on the ground—apparently, some recognized him, as several nearby survivors whispered excitedly to each other.

"Abusik might indeed be a jailer from Lowell Camp, someone mentioned it before—though I think he said it himself."

"How come I heard he shined shoes?"

"Forget it, that guy is just a porter and a boastful drunkard. Maybe by tomorrow he'll claim to be the emperor's Imperial Guard."

"He has money for booze?!"

"Where does he get money! He squats at the dock every day collecting leftovers from the sailors. Last time I saw someone pee in a bottle for him, he picked it up, tasted it, and actually drank it all, then told us Vellante wine tastes weirdly sweet."

"Ha ha!"

"Poor has daughters, they're cursed following their old man, tsk tsk."

"They actually look pretty, just a bit dirty."

"After such an ordeal, they definitely need comforting, heh heh."

Then, a car honk was heard from behind the crowd, and a desert-colored off-road vehicle with a machine gun welded on its roof drove by.

The crowd swiftly made way.

The car door opened, and Fang Chang jumped down from the vehicle, ignoring the onlookers, and walked straight to Killer Dagger.

"I've gathered the situation, where's Laxi?"

As soon as he finished, a man with a crew cut came from the direction of the camp entrance, bowing respectfully as he approached.

"Sir, were you looking for me?"

His arm was bandaged in white gauze, and he carried a "Blade" assault rifle on his back, his cheek marked by a fresh, unscabbed scar, likely from yesterday's battle.

Fang Chang narrowed his eyes slightly, fixing him with an intense stare.

"My brother asked you to control your men, is this your idea of control?"

Laxi looked stunned, glanced at the body on the ground, then at the few individuals with their hands tied behind their backs, and finally back at Fang Chang.

"I heard they killed soldiers of the Empire."

"I heard he was killed in his own home," Fang Chang gave a cold laugh, "and their bayonets were from trouser belts?"

Laxi paused briefly.

Then, he walked up to the ten disarmed militiamen, gesturing with his chin towards the two bodies on the ground beside the two girls wrapped in blankets.

"Did you do this?"

His eyes were like those of a wild beast, void of any emotion, which made it hard to tell whether he was angry about the atrocities committed by his men or sympathetic towards the plight of the poor girls.

As those soul-sucking pupils stared down at them, the breathing of the Centurion became rapid, and he eventually looked away.

"...I was wrong."

Laxi nodded as if accepting the explanation, walked away a few steps, then suddenly spun around and disengaged the safety on his rifle.

The sudden move startled the onlookers, including the ten militiamen being pointed at by guns, all of whom froze, temporarily forgetting to plead for themselves.

Laxi had no intention of hearing their pleas or even giving them a chance for last words, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Just as a burst of gunfire erupted, those ten militiamen, hands bound, fell into a pool of blood like punctured balloons, trembling as if electrocuted.

"Ah!!"

Witnessing the bloody scene, the surrounding crowd screamed and backed away, two girls sitting on the ground stared as if their souls had departed.

Having emptied his rifle's magazine, Laxi threw it on the ground, pulled out his pistol holstered at his waist, and finished off the still-breathing man with the remaining bullets.

Complete silence fell over the scene.

Whether it was the militiamen standing at the camp gate or the players standing to the side, everyone lost their ability to speak, watching this madman's actions.

Fang Chang slightly narrowed his eyes, pondering silently within. He neither stopped Laxi's actions nor praised him for being correct.

Brother Shabi stared at Laxi, holding his breath for a moment before suddenly stepping forward and shouting loudly at him,

"What the hell are you doing!"

"Calm down, brother. They messed up, and now they're dead."

Driven back by that aggressive gaze, Laxi's face showed no fear as he continued to speak logically,

"If you're still not satisfied, I can pull out the others from their hundred-man team and execute them too."

Brother Shabi's eyes widened.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

Laxi, puzzled by the shouting, fell silent for a while before suddenly blurting out,

"Isn't this enough?"

Brother Shabi stared at him, speechless for a moment.

In a sense, this man had efficiently solved the problem, yet it seemed as if he solved nothing at all.

But as he had said,

The people were killed, their lives paid for.

Wasn't that enough?

Those who died were slaves anyway, free for just a day, having nothing but their lives to compensate.

"It's enough."

Fang Chang suddenly spoke, breaking the tense atmosphere at the scene.

He walked up to Laxi, patted the mad dog's shoulder, then his tense face, and smiled to ease the atmosphere,

"Good kill, they indeed deserved it, but the method was too sloppy. You need to establish rules, tell your subordinates what not to do, and what punishments they'll face if they do, instead of executing everyone in the square. Otherwise, you can't convince the masses."

Laxi nodded respectfully.

"Yes!"

His respectful and compliant demeanor was flawless. Fang Chang glanced at the corpses on the ground and spoke slowly,

"Take a few men and bury them."

Laxi acknowledged the command, turned around to pick up his rifle, slung it over his shoulder, and summoned a few subordinates to carry the bodies away for burial.

It seemed the problem of convincing the masses never really existed.

The soldiers did not harbor discontent towards this leader who had executed their comrades; on the contrary, their gazes became even more reverent and submissive.

None of this was beyond Fang Chang's expectations.

They, just released from their cages, were not fully human themselves, and as beasts who believed in the law of the jungle, they naturally tended to follow the more ferocious one.

Watching Fang Chang leave from beside Laxi, Killer Dagger hesitated for a moment but couldn't help but speak up.

"I think we should at least give those people a legal trial, this is actually a good opportunity to use them for propaganda—"

"Forget it, the people are dead, what's the point of judging those few corpses? The one who most deserves a trial is still hanging from the watchtower."

Interrupting Killer Dagger, Fang Chang squinted at the prison governor hanging from the watchtower, being pecked by crows, and continued patiently.

"What you're talking about is too advanced for them; they're still in a relatively primitive jungle society and don't need that stuff yet. Don't forget, did we ever waste time trying looters before ensuring all the survivors in Qingquan City had clean clothes to wear? That's something to consider after everyone is fed and warm."

"My only requirement for them at this stage is to obey, just listen to us, that's the only requirement. Even if their discipline is utterly terrible, it's definitely better than that emperor who could send 5% of the population to concentration camps."

"As for the rest, we can't be too hasty."

The violence of the militia was partly vengeful backlash from the oppressed who suddenly found their backbones, but mostly it was the inevitable result of a vacuum of order.

The aftermath of this violent uprising was far more than just a few typical cases that were caught.

The rebel army would be restrained out of concern for the Alliance's stance, while those thugs who picked up weapons from fleeing soldiers would only be crueler and more unrestrained.

At this moment, in that dark alley, it was unknown how many tragedies were happening.

To fundamentally solve this problem, it was necessary to establish a new order locally to replace the old one from Niyan's time as governor.

He was actually doing just that.

Director Bihari was in the process of taking over all policing in the city with his cronies, and the training of the militia was also proceeding in an orderly manner.

They weren't doing very well, but it was enough.

Once the new order was established, they just needed to ensure the local survivors had enough food, clothes, and houses... If they could live just a tiny bit more dignified than during Niyan's time, this new order would naturally gain enough legitimacy in the eyes of the locals to maintain governance.

It actually wasn't very difficult.

A certain accursed emperor had left them a large sum of money which was perfect for this cause.

Taking all that money home would also be somewhat ungracious.

After deducting the compensation, to "borrow" it under the name of the Baiyue Corporation and invest in the locals would not only earn a good reputation for the Alliance and Potato Harbor but also make a profit.

"What about them? How should they be handled?" Killer Dagger glanced at the two girls slumped on the ground, then looked at Fang Chang.

Whatever macro solutions there might be, they still needed to solve the immediate problems.

At least he believed they needed to be resolved.

Pairs of eyes all around watched.

Fang Chang was silent for a long time before he sighed.

"Give them two boat tickets..."

Perhaps the survivors of Potato Harbor could help them start anew, just like the survivors from Home of the Refugees.

Apart from giving them some financial compensation, sending them away from this land of strife was the best solution he could think of for now...

...

As the corpses at the gateway of Lowell Camp and the two unfortunate victims were taken away, the surviving onlookers who had gathered at the camp gate also gradually dispersed, their interest waning.

Although the attitude of those "White Cloths" who couldn't toughen up against the "Iron Men" left everyone feeling a bit dull, they were ultimately pleased to have witnessed some action.

That fellow called Laxi was ruthless, killing his own people without even blinking an eye, as tidily as slaughtering chickens.

Those young fellows who were executed had truly met a tragic fate; originally it was nothing serious, at most a compensation of two pigs, but they unfortunately caught the bullet.

There was also—

I realized that getting shot didn't mean instant death, but rather, it was like fish thrashing in the blood for a while before dying.

Everyone was very pleased, feeling the spectacle was worth their while.

As for those two girls wrapped in blankets, their fate was equally a matter of concern.

Some said they were spotted by the Iron Men, otherwise, there was no reason to take them away and not simply let them go home.

Others speculated they would be secretly disposed of, considering the huge favor the Iron Men owed.

Everyone wracked their brains, trying to make sense of the incomprehensible oddities.

At least they tried.

Watching the chaos outside subside, Han Mingyue pushed the car door open and got out, casting only a glance at the blood on the ground before indifferently continuing towards the camp's entrance.

Waiting there, Fang Chang looked at her a bit more surprised than usual.

"Aren't you scared?"

In his experience, apart from the "corrupted" disciples of the Enlightenment Society, most of the Blue Jackets on the Wasteland had an unusually strong sense of morality.

He had even braced himself for an NPC's rebuke, but the anticipated reaction didn't occur at all.

Instead, he was the one making a fuss.

"Do you think the Great Desert is some peaceful, nice place?" Han Mingyue retorted nonchalantly, "Besides, I'm here to study this place, so how could I not know the state of the survivors here?"

That seemed to make sense.

Fang Chang understood instantly.

She viewed the people here probably no differently than Heya viewed Xiaoyu.

As they entered the Lowell Camp, Mrs. Han looked around with a sparkle of avid interest in her eyes.

"It really is this place…" she murmured.

"This place?"

Fang Chang took a look around.

Apart from stacks of pigeon cages and a series of open iron gate doors, there was nothing particularly notable about it.

But Mrs. Han clearly thought differently.

She took a photo of the surroundings and continued with a thoughtful expression,

"…According to the data I've collected in the Great Desert, this place used to be a scientific research station. During the three-year war, a battalion from the Human Alliance Army escorted a large group of refugees from the Southern Industrial Zone here and maintained order for a considerable period during the early Wasteland Era."

Fang Chang's curiosity peaked at this odd revelation.

"Is Lowell the name of that battalion leader or the research station?"

Mrs. Han explained,

"It's the battalion leader's name; he was called 'General Lowell'. I found some grievances and accusations about him from the survivors in the cached data of a signal relay, including demands for the Human Alliance authorities to replace him. The complaints continued until the end of the three-year war, but it seems they were futile."

"According to the time-stamp in the server, the last message was sent by General Lowell himself—it seems he intended to report his work to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee or possibly defend himself. Unfortunately, the Reconstruction Committee never received this message, nor had the capacity to manage the survivors in the distant Poluo Province."

"In that message, General Lowell mentioned that apart from necessary coercive measures taken for survival, he had adopted some special methods to feed the local survivors, including forcing researchers to study how to make soil edible and coercing some survivors to act as guinea pigs for testing."

"What's surprising is his scientific team actually managed to utilize the research station's equipment to synthesize a unicellular organism that could degrade biological remains. After treatment by this microbe, the soil would turn reddish-brown and could be made edible with simple filtration."

"Unfortunately, the project was only halfway through when Lowell Camp erupted in violent rebellion. The rebelling survivors buried General Lowell, his researchers, and their research findings in the wilderness north of the camp, near the Everflow River... That area must have been frozen ground at the time, and they expended a lot of effort to dig a sufficiently large pit. If I'm not mistaken, there should be a red soil area to the north of Jinjaron Harbor."

Fang Chang asked, puzzled,

"Why would those survivors oppose him?"

Han Mingyue casually responded while looking toward the open space nearby where mud cakes lay spread out on stone slabs to dry.

"Materials don't appear out of thin air, they only flow from one cycle to the next. Why don't you guess how the organic matter needed to synthesize 'red soil' is acquired?"

Before Fang Chang could venture a guess, she continued,

"People need to continually fill the red soil with organic remains such as bodies and feces for it to continuously 'grow'. Otherwise, it would just grow slowly."

"From a carbon fixation standpoint, this isn't more efficient than cultivation, the only advantage is it's less trouble. General Lowell didn't actually solve the fundamental issue. He probably read some ancient books and, with a naive wish, did what he thought was a good deed, only to be dismissed by the not-yet-insane first-generation survivors."

Well, goodness.

Burial soil?!

Fang Chang's Adam's apple bobbed, his stomach churning just from hearing about it.

Yet the researcher acted as if nothing was amiss, even curving her lips into a meaningful smile.

"Yet ironically, although nowadays General Lowell seems like a well-intentioned fool, and somewhat stubborn, those survivors' descendants are clearly even more foolish and have discarded the dignity of civilization. His wild ideas matched with a bunch of even dumber folks somehow made their lives quite enjoyable."

"Then, in your opinion, is there a better solution?" Fang Chang was a bit curious about what good ideas a sociologist could have.

With a slight smile, Han Mingyue said,

"I think your methods are pretty good, your Manager is a pretty decent person, doing the right things at the right times without trying to leap straight to the finish… As for specific ideas, my research leans towards theory, I can only offer suggestions for your reference, nothing direct."

She paused, looking around, then continued,

"I need to stay here a few days. Although most of the original buildings have been demolished, there should still be some useful clues to find... Can you guarantee my safety?"

Fang Chang offered friendly advice,

"I suggest you stay at the port, where we actually control the area. This place could become a frontline at any moment."

Han Mingyue agreed succinctly.

"Okay, I'll go with your suggestion."

…

The day after the Dolphin delivered the second wave of supplies and researchers to Potato Harbor, Duke Garava at The First Hospital of Dawn City finally woke up from his bed.

Before he could fully open his eyes, the anxious cry filled with eager anticipation "plopped" at his bedside.

"My lord! Have you woken up?"

Memories from before he passed out flooded in like a tide. Duke Garava, seeing his servant Niyan kneeling by the window, reached out his trembling hand and grabbed his arm.

"Jin…"

He tried to voice the words stuck in his throat like a drowning parrot.

Niyan immediately understood the expression on his face and hurriedly said,

"Don't worry, my lord! I have sent someone to inform His Majesty about the situation in Jinjaron Harbor! If all goes well, he should be at Silver Moon Bay by now, and using the radio station there, we can contact the scouts on the east coast of Poluo Province. His Majesty should know about the situation here by tomorrow at the latest!"

Hearing this, Duke Garava breathed a sigh of relief.

The city defense force of Jinjaron Harbor was indeed useless, but the Empire's army was far more than just city defense. Those drunkards were even less than cannon fodder.

As long as His Majesty is informed, the Grey Wolf Army stationed by the Everflow River could easily drive the people of the Alliance into the sea within minutes.

He admitted that this time he had miscalculated and was caught off guard by the Alliance, losing ground both on the map and in terms of morality.

But that didn't matter.

As long as they could take back Jin Galun Harbor, they would have the initiative in the ceasefire negotiations, and then everything would be negotiable.

A reassuring smile appeared on his face, Duke Garava nodded slowly and released Niyan's arm that he had been holding.

"You did well... When it matters, I can rely on you."

It's just a pity about his low status.

Otherwise, he had considered promoting this bright-minded individual, perhaps assigning him to a powerful position of some sort.

Niyan smiled shyly, with a flattering tone.

"It's all thanks to your excellent guidance, my lord."

Duke Garava nodded slowly and looked up at the pristine white ceiling, silent for a long while, then finally spoke.

"Where is this?"

Niyan hurriedly replied,

"This is The First Hospital of Dawn City, the best hospital in the vicinity."

Seeing that Niyan had stopped speaking, Babru, who was standing nearby, finally saw his opportunity to chime in, with a heavy tone, he added,

"The doctors here say that you have a heart problem and recommend a bionic heart transplantation to cure it completely. They have offered two sets of quality options—one from Huge Rock Military Industry and the other from Ideal City—"

There was actually a third option, to implant a biological prosthetic.

But that option was too avant-garde, seemingly suitable only for the Residents of Shelter No. 404 or those infected with "mutated slime fungus," hence the doctor only mentioned it in passing.

However, before he could finish, he was abruptly interrupted by a reprimand.

"Shut up!"

Niyan glared fiercely and aggressively said, "Do you want the Alliance's doctors to cut open and disembowel our Duke?! What is your intention!"

Babru opened his mouth wide, dumbfoundedly staring at Niyan.

He had no hidden intentions; he was just fulfilling the duties of a servant by faithfully relaying the doctor's words.

Yet, flustered and tongue-tied in his nervousness, he was unable to formulate a clear response; sweat began to dot his forehead, making him seem all the more suspicious.

Duke Garava, lying in bed, involuntarily twitched the corner of his mouth.

He had been somewhat tempted by the promise of a cure for his chronic heart condition, given that money was no issue. But hearing about cutting and disembowelment scared him.

That would involve cutting into his body; it was no joke.

Who knows if the Alliance's doctors would take the opportunity to do something to him.

If Chu Guang merely hinted with a glance, the doctors might obediently stab his major artery, and then he would have no grounds for complaint!

Seeing the worry on Duke Garava's face, Niyan considerately leaned closer and whispered in his ear.

"… My lord, I'm worried the Alliance might tamper with your heart during the procedure. Your condition can be managed with careful treatment and medication, but if the Alliance controls your heart, who knows when it might fail you."

"Heh, I anticipated this... those insidious and cunning bastards, how could I fall for such a clumsy trick."

Relieved inwardly, Duke Garava glared at Babru standing nearby, then looked at Niyan and calmly continued,

"Has anything happened in my absence these past few days?"

"Nothing significant, my lord. Minister Cheng did come to visit you once, but you were unconscious at the time, and he left after a short while."

At this point, Niyan suddenly remembered something.

"Right," he exclaimed, "the newspaper you instructed me to buy, I've got it for you!"

Having said that, he grabbed the neatly folded Goblin Observation Report from the bedside table and diligently handed it to Duke Garava.

This was the edition from several days ago.

Duke Garava's complexion had somewhat recovered, but as soon as he saw the exaggerated headline, his sallow face instantly turned bright red.

"Goblin Observation Report: Cried, I just touched you, and you chased me for two thousand kilometers?!"

"…The Burning Corps landed at Jinjaron Harbor, and within just a morning, the city defense forces were beaten into a scurrying mess, with both the harbor and the Governor's Mansion falling into enemy hands."

These damned things…

It's utterly intolerable!

Duke Garava felt a darkening before his eyes, the room spinning around him, and his strength leaving his shoulders as he collapsed backward, his head soon sinking back into the pillow.

Babru and other wolf clan guards saw this, hurried forward, and snatched the newspaper from his tightly gripped hand.

"My lord! My lord!"

"Quick, give him mouth to mouth!"

"Are you a pig? We are in a hospital! Go call a doctor quickly!" Niyan shouted as he pushed up against Babru who was leaning in to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The latter panicked and ran out the door without stopping to think about who had caused the Duke to faint, yelling down the corridor.

"Doctor!!!"

Just as the doctor hurried toward the ward, in the Imperial Palace of Tiandu on the west coast of Poluo Province, a roar echoed in the majestic grand hall.

"Scoundrels!"

Throwing the telegraph down the steps of the palace, Witch Gu's face burned with murderous rage, and his mustache quivered beneath his nostrils.

The boundless imperial might pressed down on the shoulders of the courtiers, who prostrated themselves trembling, not daring to make a sound.

The content of the telegraph was the original copy of the Goblin Observation Report, detailing the events that had occurred in Jinjaron Harbor a few days prior.

What infuriated Witch Gu was that Alliance troops had landed at Jinjaron Harbor several days ago, and he, the Emperor, had only just found out!

If it weren't for his emissary being in Dawn City and having urgently sent him this newspaper, he would still be oblivious to the situation!

Pain wracked Witch Gu's heart as if a knife were stirring within, nearly drawing blood from gritted te

Niyan, the Governor, was his confidant, earning him over a hundred million Dinar per year, and now was a prisoner under Alliance's step.

Not just that.

Billions of Dinar residing in the bank of Jinjaron Harbor had now also fallen into the hands of those bandits!

Very well!

Witch Gu ground his teeth with a creaking sound.

He had only intended to teach those people a lesson, but he hadn't expected them to be so audacious, daring to target his money pouch.

Clenching his trembling fist, Witch Gu let out an uncontrollable roar at his prostrate ministers.

"Issue my command!"

"Effective immediately, the entire Grey Wolf Army is to head to Jinjaron Harbor!"

"Tell General Arai Yang, I don't care what methods he uses! No matter the cost! I want the Double Knife Flag raised on top of the Governor's Mansion again!"

Chapter 703 Jinjaron Harbor Welcomes the Royal Teachers

North of Jinjaron Harbor.

On a vast, desolate expanse of red soil, a massive troop moved toward Jinjaron Harbor amid billowing dust clouds.

Among them were trucks, motorcycles, and three-wheelers, all uniformly coated in desert camouflage, clustered around columns of soldiers.

In addition to these, there were several exoskeleton-adorned convertibles and traction cannons being towed behind trucks.

Objectively speaking, both in firepower and mobility, they were far superior to the city's defense forces, which only had a few 100mm cannons, and their soldiers seemed much better trained.

However, compared to the Chewing Bone Tribe's "Tooth" clan, previously ravaged by the Alliance, they were more or less on par, albeit with fewer tanks.

But tanks weren't actually needed here.

Although Poluo Province was mostly plains, it lacked decent roads, especially near Jinjaron Harbor, which was an often-flooded shock plain.

Even these light vehicles struggled to advance; bringing tanks here would likely mean they wouldn't get far before breaking down.

Survivors carrying baskets and soil containers on their arms cleared the way, casting awed glances at the fluttering Double Knife Flag and Gray Wolf Banner.

"It's the Gray Wolf Army!"

"His Majesty has finally made a move."

"I wonder who is stronger, them or the Iron Man."

Some members of the impoverished Wolf Clan knelt on the ground, praying, looking up at their clan's pride with a coarse, raspy voice, chanting,

"...the undefeated Gray Wolves of the wasteland, gathering like a sweeping sandstorm, bringing death to their foes."

Some people's eyes gleamed with greed.

War meant death.

By scavenging amidst chaos, bringing back a couple of pairs of trousers could mean more people scavenging or even picking sugarcane at the governor's plantation.

At this moment, General Arai Yang, possessing a divine command of his troops, sat in a convertible, squinting towards the direction of Jinjaron Harbor.

Ever since General Abinan's defeat, he had noticed the situation at Jinjaron Harbor but hesitated without explicit commands from His Majesty.

What if allowing the Alliance ashore was His Majesty's strategy?

Or perhaps His Majesty planned to resolve the issue through other means?

These were uncertainties, unpredictable.

Arai Yang had never been to the Alliance, but having lived in Poluo Province for over thirty years, he was well aware of Lord Witch Gu's temperament. What that lord despised wasn't subordinates messing up or lack of intelligence, but those who shouldn't have a mind of their own developing one, and those who shouldn't see, observing.

That's why he chose to wait, standing by while sending a few scouts disguised as civilians into the city to gather intelligence on the "Iron Men," inquire about Governor Nihaque's whereabouts, and await orders from Tiandu.

Now with the telegram from Tiandu finally delivered, Arai Yang promptly issued an order, commanding the well-prepared Gray Wolf Army to advance toward the frontline.

Although he and his forces were still nearly seventy to eighty kilometers from Jinjaron Harbor, he had a good grasp of the situation there.

Sitting next to him, his staff officer Gopal spread out a map on his knees, pointing to two marked lines, and said in a relaxed tone,

"...Currently, the Alliance's defense line at Jinjaron Harbor relies on the Governor's Mansion and Lowell Camp as its anchor points. Removing one of these would greatly benefit us."

He paused, his index finger tapping on the map.

"I personally think Lowell Camp is a good breach point. It's just a bunch of rioters who've barely handled guns, and at most, a few dozen Alliance instructors. Once we take this place, we can turn those slaves brainwashed by the Alliance to our advantage."

The deputy sitting in the passenger seat turned his head and asked.

"They wonder why we would get them on our side, but I think it's already good enough that they don't create more trouble."

Gopal said lightly with a faint smile.

"It's simple. We offer them something the Alliance can't give them, including restoring their status as freemen. Additionally, we can allow them to burn, kill, and loot in designated urban areas as a reward."

Aside from Tulip Street, which was cordoned off by the knight, there were indeed untouchable big shots there, but one could always pick out a few locations or streets under Alliance control that were slightly lucrative.

Even if nothing lucrative could be squeezed out, the people themselves could serve as war spoils.

After the war ended, any random accusation could be made to brand those who had aided the Alliance as sinners and then hand them over to the packs of 'wild dogs' for dealing.

They wouldn't have to spend a penny for this.

They could even take a cut from the spoils legitimately looted.

Arai Yang narrowed his eyes slightly and, after pondering for a moment, pointed out a problem with the plan.

"But most of them are Moon people, and other ethnic groups might not even make up thirty percent."

The racial segregation of the Moon people was the emperor's decision; they had no authority to arbitrarily restore these people's freemen status.

It was a matter of principle.

Seeming to have anticipated that the general would ask this, Gopal replied indifferently with a smile.

"We're just using this claim to stabilize them. I didn't say we actually have to fulfill it, or perhaps we could apply to His Majesty for a special pardon, re-register them as Rat or Snake clan members, or even give them a new surname and new beliefs. It wouldn't be difficult."

If His Majesty disagreed, it would be no matter; they could simply dispose of those tools when they were done using them.

While they were chatting and laughing, the main force had already proceeded to the North Suburb of Jinjialun Port, with each combat unit swiftly moving to their predetermined battle positions.

Five Ten thousand troops units deployed over a battle front less than twenty kilometers wide, completely encircling the settlement in an overwhelming manner.

Indeed, the Five Ten thousand troops were no small number; such a force could even count as a sizable settlement if moved to the Eastern Provinces.

Yet Arai Yang remained cautious.

Even though intelligence indicated the enemy had fewer than a thousand men and had just been worn down by the city defense forces, he still did not allow his soldiers to act recklessly but ordered his adjutant to bring in some laborers from nearby, who then started digging anti-cannon holes, trenches, and dugouts outside the urban area.

Meanwhile, on the roof of a three-story residential building in the suburbs of Jinjialun Port, four players wearing exoskeletons were holding binoculars and looking at the positions a kilometer away.

"Not bad at all. These guys really understand," noted By Some Mistake, a hint of surprise emerging on his face, impressed by the well-dug anti-cannon holes.

It wasn't just the defensive fortifications; they had even set up camouflage nets to obstruct the view of drones, looking like they had been imported from the Army.

Half a year's wasted time looked on with a slightly solemn expression, while the one standing next to him, having no family, showed an eager demeanor, excitedly muttering,

"Finally a tough battle!"

The previous private troops at the governor's mansion were too frail. They looked sturdy enough but couldn't even scratch the paint off his exoskeleton's breastplate.

According to the locals, this Grey Wolf Army was an elite unit of the Imperial Army, and directly under the command of the Emperor of the West Winds— a true ace of land battles!

For someone who enjoyed fun, naturally, the stronger the enemy, the more thrilling it was.

After all, against an opponent that crumbled at first touch, there wasn't much sense of achievement in victory, and even boasting on the Forum wouldn't attract much praise.

So far, the performance of this troop was fairly standard. Both the speed of deployment and the steady progress strategy made it difficult to pinpoint any glaring flaws.

The survivors dragged from the city worked from morning till night, faces down and backs to the sky, shoveling with their spades.

It seemed they considered those unfed folks too slow, as supervisors with whips soon appeared on the battlefield. After a few lashes, those survivors indeed started working faster, with a few scrawny young men even collapsing from exhaustion.

The officer leading the supervisors was quite satisfied with the situation before him.

These survivors' energy was like toothpaste: if you squeezed hard enough, something would still come out.

Hidden in the distance, players nibbled on dried food from their backpacks and watched the group of survivors work, staying atop the building until dark fell.

As The Sun set, the soldiers did not allow the survivors to eat. Instead, they collected the tools they had distributed and drove them out of the encampment.

A group of ragged survivors limped toward the settlement, each face strained with resentment but daring not to speak out.

Spotting a group of survivors heading toward their part of the city, four players thought quickly, tossed down a hundred-dollar bill, exited the civilian house, and seized an opportunity to block some of the group.

"Hey, hey! Folks up ahead, don't go! We have something to ask you!" By Some Mistake removed his helmet's visor and waved with a smile.

Seeing the four Exoskeleton-clad Iron Men, the dozen or so ragged survivors visibly displayed scared expressions.

They had just endured the Empire's whip and did not wish to suffer under these Iron Men's whips anymore.

However, nobody ran away.

Looking at the rifle hanging in front of them, their legs felt as if they were filled with lead, even though the safety was on and it wasn't loaded.

At that moment of fear and discomfort, an Exoskeleton-clad man approached them unexpectedly and took out a pack of cigarettes.

"Have a cigarette to calm down. I don't need to teach you how to smoke, do I?" he said in imperfect United Human language and playfully handed out cigarettes to everyone.

Cigarettes were considered valuable in the Wasteland, ranking just below bullets and alcohol and even slightly more valuable than bread due to their portability.

Although he didn't smoke much himself, he always brought several packs on missions as they were more effective than money at easing locals' suspicions.

These locals, although often so poor they had to eat soil, did not find tobacco leaves or pepper to be rare. Some even crushed their own tobacco leaves to smoke or sold them to supplement their family income.

As they clutched the cigarettes under their noses and took a puff, they instantly realized what they were, and their faces showed surprise.

They had never seen such luxurious cigarettes in their lifetime, holding them preciously and hesitating to smoke them.

Family Man thoughtfully pulled out a lighter and lit them for everyone, so they no longer had to decide whether or not to smoke.

After leading the dozen-plus people into an alley to puff away, Family Man asked with a laugh,

"Seeing as you all work so hard, how much do those Grey Wolfs pay you?"

Hearing this, the dozen survivors all looked gloomy, one particularly forthright man cursed outright,

"Money? Those stingy bastards don't pay at all!"

Several others quickly chimed in.

"Exactly!"

"Not only do they not pay, they don't even take our stuff!"

"Damn it, they even took my dirt-gathering basket..."

While speaking, several people's eyes stayed fixed on the lighter in the Iron Man's hand, filled with envy and desire.

Family Man looked surprised.

"They don't pay you? And you still help them dig?"

The straightforward man said angrily,

"It's not just about not getting paid. We even have to bring our own food!"

Family Man pressed further,

"Why don't you just not go then?"

Everyone shook their heads at this.

"That won't do. They've occupied that red soil. If we don't go, there's no soil to eat."

"If they're short of people, they'll come to catch us here. We all live around here, and we'll still have to go."

"What happens when they show up, we can't say."

"My three daughters are all grown up."

"Damn these creatures!"

"We hope they get buried in the red soil!"

The survivors began to complain all at once, their anger growing as they talked.

Hearing this, Family Man's eyes twinkled, and he suddenly said cheerily,

"How about this? They don't pay you, I'll pay you!"

The people in the alley paused, looking puzzled at him.

"You... will pay us?"

"Exactly," Family Man nodded, smiling, "But you'll have to remember, since we're paying extra, you guys need to work even harder! Starting tomorrow, if they want you to dig a 1.5 meters hole, you dig two meters, if they ask for two meters, you dig 2.5 meters! Give them an extra fifty centimeters!"

The survivors were stunned.

The straightforward guy looked skeptically at the Iron Man in front of him and asked in disbelief,

"Are you really going to pay us?"

Family Man spoke with a grin,

"Of course we'll pay! And it's cash daily! For each person... we'll give twenty West Winds currency!"

Twenty West Winds currency!

The word made everyone's eyes widen.

Such a good deal was inherently unbelievable to them, but the cigarette hanging from their mouths made them half believe it instinctively.

Maybe these Iron Men really were rich?

A young man from the Rat Tribe swallowed his saliva,

"Is... is that for everyone?"

Family Man answered with a smile,

"Absolutely! We treat everyone equally!"

Then another asked,

"Can we bring more family members?"

Family Man replied promptly,

"No problem! We pay per head... Ah, but let's exclude kids, we don't count anyone under twelve. Tomorrow at dawn, we'll be here counting heads, everyone who does as we say gets paid!"

His eyes twitched, then he added,

"You can help by bringing more people over, for each one you bring, we'll give you an extra five! But this matter must be kept secret; don't let those outsiders know. Otherwise, it's not just the money you'll lose, you might well lose your lives too."

At this, faces lit up with joy, and not a single one seemed scared by his last remark.

He had no family members and they had not agreed on a time and place on the map to split the money, so he simply sent these people away.

The next day, before dawn, over a thousand people gathered at the Jinjialun port in "North Suburb" and walked toward the position of the Grey Wolf Army.

Seeing the dense crowd of shadows, the soldiers on the front line were startled; they thought that the people from the Alliance had come to attack until they walked closer and realized they were a group of residents from the settlement.

"What are you doing here!" one soldier yelled.

A few of the leading survivors shouted back righteously.

"We came here to work!"

"Your officer called us here!"

"He told us to come back tomorrow, saying if we dared not to, he would come to the settlement to catch us."

"Let us start working!"

Listening to the clamorous noise, several soldiers on duty were stunned, looking baffled at the group and not knowing what to do. They hastily sent someone to consult their superiors.

At this moment, their superior was in an anti-cannon hole that had just been dug the previous day, snoring away. When awakened, he was disoriented, fumbling to put on the hat hanging beside the bed.

"Did the Alliance come to attack?!"

"No," said the soldier hurriedly as he watched his officer quickly putting on military boots, "A group of residents from Jinjialun port came to our position. They said you ordered them to come here, to dig earthwork..."

The officer who was putting on his shoes paused for two seconds, stopped tying his shoelaces, and nodded.

"Is that so? What's the matter?"

The soldier was also stunned, unsure what to do next.

"Well..."

"Give them shovels, tell them where and how to dig; do I need to teach you that? Dammit, making a fuss over such a small thing! Call me if the Alliance really comes to attack!"

The officer cursed, threw away the shoes he had just put on, and tossed his hat onto the bed, then turned over and lay back down.

He had only slept just after three in the morning; this trivial matter had woken him, and he thought it was absurd!

After being scolded, the soldier felt aggrieved but seeing his officer had started to snore again, he could only run to find those in charge of logistics at the frontline position to distribute the digging tools to the survivors.

The survivors who received the tools immediately went to the battlefield and started to work hard, sweating profusely—a stark contrast to their behavior the day before.

By mid-morning, a supervisor carrying a whip arrived at the battlefield only to discover, to his surprise, that he had no use for the whip.

"Strange."

"When did these beasts get so diligent?"

A few supervisors gathered together, curiously watching those who were toiling sweatily, heads buried in the trenches. Unable to contain their curiosity, one went over to ask.

"Really curious, why are you so diligent today?"

The hardworking survivors, without lifting their heads and with their backs to the supervisor with the whip, shouted.

"Sir, if we're lazy, we get whipped, but we still have to do the work."

"Yes, sir, we're afraid of pain."

"If we finish our work early, we won't suffer once the war is over."

These were the words taught to them by the person who brought them to earn money.

Of course, they dared not lift their heads, especially not to look at the supervisor's face, fearing that doing so would give them away.

The overseer nodded, not doubting their words but still couldn't help but coldly mock them.

"If you had this awareness all along, worked diligently in your daily lives, you wouldn't be this wretched and unrecognizable."

Instead of becoming soldiers like him, they could have opened a small business or learned a trade, instead of living worse than animals, tied here to dig the soil.

In the end, it was just sheer laziness.

The overseer looked down at them for a while and, seeing they worked hard even without the need for whipping, decided against using the whip and turned to rest in the shade under a camouflage net.

On the other side, General Arai Yang, who had completed the combat deployment, was inspecting the positions.

He first inspected the crucial artillery positions, anti-aircraft artillery sites, and various machine gun fire points, then he glanced over to the front line.

He then surprisingly found that the previously slack laborers were working energetically.

As if there was a gold mine buried beneath their feet.

How curious.

When had these lazybones become so diligent?!

Putting down his binoculars, Arai Yang turned to his adjutant.

"How much money did you pay them?"

The adjutant proudly said,

"Report, sir! It cost us nothing!"

"No money?!" Arai Yang looked at him dumbfounded, wondering if he had misheard.

The adjutant chuckled with a boastful tone,

"I've heard from people below that the local residents are all hoping for our swift victory, so that their lives can return to normal soon. Therefore, they came to help early in the morning, bringing their families along."

Having said that, he paused and continued,

"After all, it is the Emperor's foresight, the general's renowned might, and with the right place, right people, and right time, losing this battle would be difficult."

Although suspicious in his heart, Arai Yang did not refute his first point and merely nodded, dismissing this insignificant matter.

He did not need the laborers to dig the trenches to any particular standard, just that they provided sufficient cover for his soldiers.

The real battlefield was in the city; these trenches and fortifications were used for deploying troops and supplying ammunition to the front lines.

"Still, let's give the local residents some benefits. Once the work is done, give one loaf of bread to each person as compensation for delaying their other jobs."

The bread he mentioned was, of course, not the soft, white type smeared with butter and jam which he ate in the morning. Instead, it was the black bread mixed with a large amount of bran, even stones and sawdust.

This type of bread, a staple for most lower-class citizens and middle-lower class farmers of the Empire, cost a few West Winds coins for half a pound, varying in price depending on the quality of the bread.

The bread was unfermented, tougher than biscuits, and could even be used as a weapon in a pinch, usually broken up and soaked in water before consumption.

But still, it was much better than eating dirt or those gas-producing beans.

The adjutant respectfully nodded,

"Sir, I will arrange that shortly."

Arai Yang nodded and then asked,

"By the way, any new messages from Rajesh?"

Rajesh was his capable subordinate, not only an Awakener but also skilled in marksmanship, especially proficient in disguising and intelligence gathering.

Before the army had departed, he had already sent him and another two scouts to Jin Galun Port to gather intelligence on the Alliance's local activities.

It had been two days since the last contact.

Before formulating the next combat plan, he needed the latest intelligence.

The adjutant hesitated slightly and shook his head.

"No new intelligence has been received... The recent troop deployment of the Alliance must have changed significantly. I guess Rajesh, the soldier, wants to wait until things stabilize before reporting."

General Arai Yang frowned slightly.

"...It seems we have to give him a bit more time."

He always had a bad premonition, but it seemed too early to make a judgment now.

Not daring to get too close to the front line, Arai Yang was sure that the Alliance soldiers hiding in the settlement were also watching this area, so he just glanced from a distance before retreating behind a cover and barrier.

The Sun gradually set below the hills.

An officer in charge of the construction at the frontline inspected the site contentedly nodded, then crawled back into the anti-cannon hole.

This depth was undoubtedly sufficient!

At this rate, they might complete the construction of the outlying positions of Jin Galun Port in three days at most, a speed that the Alliance soldiers could hardly dream of.

At the same time, at the edge of Jin Galun Port settlement, a group of sweaty survivors stood in line nervously in front of an alleyway.

This street was their own home, and several entrances to the neighborhood were monitored, so there was no worry of outsiders seeing them.

However, since they were receiving money from the "Iron Men," most were worried, fearing both the Iron Men's reneging and the Imperial soldiers discovering them once they took the money.

But when a brand-new banknote of a 20-denomination was put into their hands, nearly all nervous expressions turned into eager smiles.

"Thank you, master!" a man with a bedsheet tied around his waist said, clasping his hands together gratefully, almost ready to kneel on the spot.

The man responsible for distributing the money was delighted but maintained a civilized demeanor and chided gently,

"Don't call me master, I can't accept that. We provide the money, and you provide the labor — it's a transaction, understand? It's not us giving you a handout."

The man clearly didn't understand as he nodded and grinned.

"Okay, master!"

"...Damn, speaking to deaf ears here, get moving," Step Into the Sky dismissed him with a wave, done with the useless talk.

Not far from the alley, two players wearing exoskeletons gathered together.

Watching the group queuing for money, Mountain River Entering Dreams couldn't help remarking,

"You guys are really damn enduring."

Today, he had received a task to transport several boxes of West Winds currency from the bank on Tulip Street to his frontline comrades.

Initially curious what the money was for, everything made sense after witnessing this scene.

Seeing his comrade greatly shocked, By Some Mistake chuckled and said,

"The guy in our team is indeed talented; he's more brilliant than me; we should have made him the captain."

Mountain River Entering Dreams envied him genuinely.

Other squads were full of talents, whereas his squad, with four members including two new recruits, could mess up even something as simple as taking shelter from rain.

Leading this team was truly exhausting.

"Speaking of which, have you picked up any clues these last two days? What are those guys up to?" Mountain River Entering Dreams casually asked.

By Some Mistake replied with a smile,

"Don't know, but by their actions, they seem to plan on advancing steadily. You guys at the Lowell Camp should be careful."

Mountain River Entering Dreams looked surprised.

"You think they'll target Lowell Camp as their main direction of attack?"

By Some Mistake tried to analyze,

"Most likely, but it's hard to say. I just feel that the strategic significance of Lowell Camp is slightly greater than that of the Governor's Mansion. Plus, the Governor's Mansion is located higher than the northern urban area, making it tough to take down without significant effort and hard to hold. But if they capture Lowell Camp, they could force us to retreat to Tulip Street, returning our front line to the state it was at the beginning of the Second Stage."

Once the Alliance's front line contracted to near the port, they could no longer bribe local survivors and slaves to act as temporary troop sources.

Conversely, capturing the Governor's Mansion would only mean pre-moving the urban warfare from the slums to Tulip Street near the port without any other strategic benefit.

Moreover, their supply lines could be targeted by the Alliance or the local militia trained by them.

Mountain River Entering Dreams pondered for a moment, feeling it made sense.

Just then, a shirtless local approached, addressing By Some Mistake.

"Sir, someone outside is looking for you, a young lad from the Mouse Tribe. He says his name is Ah Xin, and he's your servant."

Mountain River Entering Dreams, surprised, glanced at By Some Mistake.

"Servant?"

"Nah, not really; it's a misunderstanding," By Some Mistake chuckled in Mandarin, then looked at the NPC and continued in United Human speech, "Let him in."

The shirtless local nodded.

"Alright."

They were inevitably involved in shady matters, so any unfamiliar face appearing here would prompt their vigilance.

But if it's the servants of these Iron Men, it wasn't a concern.

That meant they were trusted.

Accompanied by two locals, the kid named Ah Xin arrived here.

His expression was a bit frantic, his hands stuffed in his pockets, and his clothes stained with mud and water, bearing a scratch on his face and a bruise on his arm, appearing to be from a recent incident.

Seeing familiar faces, his panic instantly vanished, and he stepped forward excitedly.

"Tuning Fork!"

By Some Mistake looked at him, surprised.

"Hey, Ah Xin... what happened to you?"

"Just a minor injury, don't worry about it..." Swallowing nervously, Ah Xin continued, "I have brought you... no, three people to meet."

Guessing the kid wanted his help to intimidate someone, By Some Mistake glanced at the late hour, smiled, and said,

"Wait a bit; once we finish up here, we'll head back to the Governor's Mansion. We'll come with you then. If anyone gives you trouble, we'll pay them a visit—"

"No, you misunderstood," Ah Xin inhaled deeply, calming down, "No one is troubling me. I wouldn't bother you over something small. I just want to... give you a gift."

Before the Iron Man could ask further, he hurriedly continued,

"They are General Arai Yang's men!"

Chapter 704: The Enemy Refuses to Surrender and Even Wants to Play Big

In the pitch-dark broken house,
the walls were crawling with dampness and mold, as if even the air was contaminated. The dim candlelight illuminated only a small portion of the floor, most of the space filled with darkness.

The environment here was just like a rat hole.

The stench of rot and mold invaded his nostrils, and Rajesh, bound to a chair with hemp rope, slowly opened his eyes.

Memories from before he passed out flooded into his mind like a tide, and he instinctively struggled fiercely, but it only caused a squeaking noise without any effect.

He raised his head, squinted through the dim light, and barely made out the figure standing in front of him.

It was none other than the young man who had found him earlier, saying he was going to take him to see the boss of this street.

Now it seemed...

he had probably been sold out.

He only hoped now that his other two teammates were smart enough to carry the information about the residents near the Governor's Mansion being bought out of here.

"How much did you sell me for?"

Ah Xin said calmly.

"Gifts don't cost money."

"It seems the Alliance has given you plenty of benefits," Rajesh sneered at the calm young man, glancing around, "Where is this? Your place to handle corpses?"

Ah Xin said expressionlessly.

"My home."

Rajesh's expression slightly faltered.

His first reaction was, can people live in this hellhole?

But soon, he narrowed his eyes, staring at the young man.

"You are a citizen of the Empire."

Ah Xin said calmly.

"Indeed, and one of the 'Rats' you despise the most."

"No one looks down on you, it's you who look down upon yourselves... isn't it?"

Rajesh took a slight breath, glanced at the rope tying his arms, then turned to look at the young man, speaking slowly.

"Look at what you've done? While the brave members of the Wolf Tribe fight for the Empire's interest, a little rat stabs them in the back. No one likes a group of sneaky, slimy rats; not because they are called rats, but because they are shameless, vile, and despicable, seeing only self-interest. They could even send their daughters and wives to be prostitutes, harboring not even a speck of righteousness in their hearts... If you were in their shoes, would you like such people?"

He expected the young man's face to show an awkward shame, or at least a bit of it.

However, after hearing his words, Ah Xin just gave a cold smile, even mimicking his tone, saying slowly,

"Is that all you wanted to say?"

He had heard worse insults.

These indirect curses couldn't even tickle him.

"It's not too late to turn back now... Your intelligence should be used rightly. His Majesty would forgive your momentary confusion, and you wouldn't want to carry sins and shame onto the wheel of reincarnation, would you?" In Rajesh's eyes, there was still a glimmer of hope, wishing the young man could see the error of his ways.

Unfortunately.

He was ultimately hoping for the wrong thing.

"It's too late, I've already figured out what beast I want to be in my next life."

His voice carried a hint of mockery as Ah Xin coldly dropped this statement, then turned to the man behind him clad in an exoskeleton, and respectfully said,

"Sir, it's him... When we were dismantling the slum, he sneaked in with two others, trying to inquire about you. They thought they were careful, but those who eat meat and those gnawing rats don't even breathe the same air. No matter how much mud and dirt they smear on their faces, we recognized them instantly."

By Some Mistake nodded with satisfaction.

"Good."

Finally seeing the exoskeleton clearly, Rajesh's face instantly turned pale, his lips trembling slightly white.

He was indeed a stubborn man, as he stiffened his neck and coldly said,

"... I won't say anything."

However, the "Iron Man," upon hearing this, just shrugged nonchalantly.

"It doesn't matter. We didn't expect to get anything out of you anyway; you are at best a scout, not an officer who plans strategies. But catching you was an unexpected joy. Our original expectation was merely that the locals wouldn't interfere, we even assumed there would be a disadvantageous street fight with one-sided intelligence transparency, yet it turned out... they were so welcoming."

Saying this, By Some Mistake looked at Ah Xin, smiling and patting the young man on the shoulder.

"Well done, he is the man we were looking for; I am very pleased with this gift. Now, could you make him disappear? Keeping them alive isn't in your best interests, is it?"

The previous conversation had already confirmed that they had captured the right person.

He had come to check just to prevent this guy from impressing him by capturing civilians and killing them as a soldier count.

Ah Xin nodded understandingly and respectfully.

"Leave it to me."

By Some Mistake nodded with satisfaction and got up to leave the room.

He was beginning to like this henchman.

As the decrepit door shut, blocking out a sliver of moonlight that peeked through the door gap, a trace of despair slowly formed on Rajesh's face.

He looked at Ah Xin standing by the door, his Adam's apple moving, and driven by the instinct to survive, he finally couldn't help begging for mercy.

"Don't kill me, can you spare my life..."

Feeling that wasn't compelling enough, he swallowed and continued,

"I have five kids to feed, Jating is about your age, Talon is only seven, and then there's Amy... for their sake, I beg you to spare my life, I won't tell General Arai Yang about you, let's pretend we never met."

He wasn't actually afraid of dying.

But if he had to die, he'd rather die on the battlefield, not in some foul ditch, getting his throat bitten through by a disgusting rat.

Ah Xin just looked at him expressionlessly, then suddenly looked up at the ceiling that seemed like it could collapse at any minute.

"Do they also live in this hellhole like my siblings?"

Rajesh was stunned.

By the time he came to his senses, the young man had already turned and left the room...

At the shaky doorway of the dilapidated house, a dense crowd of people blocked the path strewn with broken bricks.

Led by Kunal of the Dog Tribe, this group of impoverished people stood in a row, respectfully watching Ah Xin follow the steps of the Iron Man out of the house.

Like they were watching a king.

Standing at the door, Ah Xin paused for a moment, first looked around at the barren ruins, then turned back to glance at the house draped in red cloth.

He had moved away from here days ago; even before the Grey Wolf Army arrived, he had already relocated his family to Tulip Street next to the harbor.

A Weylent civilian who had lost his shirt in a business deal was forced to give up the property he owned there, a three-story, fully furnished mansion that occupied two to three hundred square meters, and yet it was priced at only fifty double-headed cows or an equivalent in West Winds currency.

He was the only bidder and spent less than 2 million altogether.

Just over a week prior, it had been considered virtually impossible for a Rat Clan youth to buy that house with West Winds currency.

The houses near the Governor's Mansion were mostly demolished, with even the debris hauled away on carts, leaving only his building standing all alone.

He had intended to wait until the other houses were demolished before tearing this one down, but now, somehow, he found the dilapidated structure unbearable to look at.

It was too ugly.

Even a dead dog fallen into a sewer would say this place was meant for disposing of bodies.

"Tear it down."

Hearing that indifferent voice, Kunal respectfully nodded.

"At your command!"

…

Since the Grey Wolf Army set out for Jinjaron Harbor, a full three days had passed.

In these three days, the soldiers of the Grey Wolf Army had truly felt what it meant to be warmly welcomed and supported by the populace.

The suburban residents of Jinjaron Harbor took only three days to dig all the defenses needed for these noble Wolf Tribe warriors.

And they didn't take a single penny.

Endless deep trenches encircled the port, coiling around the settlement like giant pythons.

However—

Those survivors who had taken the money held it uneasily in their hands, fearing these imperial soldiers would emerge victorious.

If these dim-witted soldiers were to suffer a loss at the hands of the Alliance, they feared that they might seek retribution regarding the trenches when they regained their senses.

Moreover, for some reason, the price of beans had surged lately. What once cost five or six West Winds coins per half kilogram had now skyrocketed to seven or eight.

If prices continued to climb, buying beans would soon be more expensive than black bread, leaving the poorer among them to eat more dirt.

A suffocating atmosphere weighed down on everyone, except for the folk inside the settlement and the soldiers stationed outside.

The situation was greatly favorable, yet General Arai Yang, who commanded the front lines, couldn't help but feel a flicker of unease.

His capable subordinate Rajesh had been missing for five days now, and the information within the city was a fog to him.

Although his men had captured some suburb survivors for questions, most had never been to the port in their lives, and many who hadn't been there filled their accounts with nonsense.

Launching an attack without understanding the enemy was a major taboo, and he needed a clear idea of Lowell Camp's troop deployments and firepower before deciding how many soldiers and what equipment to commit to the next battle.

Even though the Grey Wolf Army was the empire's trump card, their logistics were not infinite. Regardless of their disdain for the enemy, they still had to proceed with caution.

In addition to the lack of intelligence, what troubled him more was that His Majesty had started to grow impatient...

On the third day at noon, a desert-colored off-road vehicle pulled up behind the lines.

A man in military uniform hopped out of the vehicle and strode directly into the camouflaged command post, where he found General Arai Yang in a meeting and rebuked him.

"General Arai Yang, what exactly are you and your men dawdling about!"

The council inside stopped their discussion.

Arai Yang, taken aback, looked towards the entrance, about to explode with rage but then recognizing the face as Prince Dilipu, quickly suppressed the anger that had flared up.

In the West Winds Empire, the title of prince was bestowed only on royals with blood ties to the royal family, a status far beyond what he, a Wolf Tribe general, could compare to.

Without a doubt, His Majesty had only one reason to send him here—

This guy came in the capacity of a Supervision Officer!

Suppressing the temper that surged up to his crown, Arai Yang took a deep breath and said,

"What… are you dithering for?"

"Three days! Your troops arrived here three days ago and haven't fired a single shot! Are you planning to live here?" Prince Dilip stared at him aggressively.

Arai Yang explained with a headache.

"We need sufficient intelligence to formulate a battle plan. Lowell Camp has solid concrete fortifications, and there's support from the Alliance's artillery from behind. Sending soldiers rashly would just increase casualties without any meaning."

Upon hearing this, Prince Dilip began cursing loudly.

"Intelligence? The Port of Golden Gallon is imperial territory; do you not know the way, or are you unfamiliar with the people there? Just grab someone and ask them, can't you?"

Arai Yang looked at the prince with a headache,

"If only it were that simple... Those survivors from the suburbs claim that the Alliance has monsters with three heads and six arms, and others say they can summon sea beasts. Do you think this information is of any referential value?"

Prince Dilip angrily said, "Then send a reconnaissance team to look around! Do I need to teach you how to do this?!"

"That would be sending them to their deaths! The Alliance people are watching close by the settlements, and I suspect they have bribed the entire settlement's guards and some residents. The scouts I sent earlier have not returned any news."

Taking a pause, Arai Yang stared at him earnestly and continued,

"Listen, our enemy isn't foolish; we can only defeat them with a well-thought-out plan... By the way, where are the people from the Army?"

He had heard that a few Weylent military officers had arrived in Tiandu, officers who had previously engaged the Alliance in Luo Xia Province.

If he could find those people, he would also have a more accurate understanding of the Alliance's strength.

However, regrettably, the only person standing here was the last person he wanted to see.

Prince Dilip stared at him unblinkingly.

"His Majesty hopes you will resolve this issue with your own strength; there's no need to trouble our allies over such a trivial matter."

Arai Yang's mouth twitched.

Before he could speak, Prince Dilip narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him like an eagle sizing up its prey.

"General Arai Yang, are you scared?"

"Scared?" Arai Yang paused and looked at him laughingly, "Are you joking? What do I have to be afraid of?"

"Then why haven't you launched an attack on the Alliance by now," Prince Dilip slightly raised his chin, "Let me be clear—His Majesty sent you here to watch you crush those pests stuck to our shoe soles. Yet, for three consecutive days, the messages sent to Tiandu were 'General Arai Yang and his Grey Wolves are digging trenches'; are you planning to dig a canal here?"

Arai Yang took a deep breath.

"I will plan the assault on Lowell Camp quickly... Give me one more day!"

Upon hearing this, Prince Dilip scoffed.

"Lowell Camp? His Majesty ordered you to plant the flag on the rooftop of the Governor's Mansion! It seems you really haven't read His Majesty's telegram properly."

General Arai Yang stared at him dazedly, finally squeezing out a sentence after a long while.

"… Have you even looked at a map?"

Prince Dilip confidently said,

"Of course I have; that place is the Alliance's defensive point in the Port of Golden Gallon. If you take it down, your subordinates could push forward to the port area, marching straight through until you throw them into the sea!"

Arai Yang couldn't help but respond.

"That's too idealistic! Even if we take that place, it only leads to premature street fighting near the harbor area without any significance. It would be better to take over Lowell Camp first and force them to retract their defense line step by step—"

"I think you are just scared," Prince Dilip squinted at him. "You're shying away from a few grasshoppers. Since you're afraid to attack the Governor's Mansion, just hand over the command to me, and I'll do it for you."

Arai Yang, holding back the anger in his chest, took a deep breath and said.

"I can give you a ten thousand troop—"

"That's too many, five thousand will be enough."

Turning around and walking to the tent entrance, Prince Dilip stopped, turned his face slightly, and casually dropped a sentence, "Before nightfall, I want you to have the troops assembled, or I will have to legitimately doubt whether you are still fit for this task."

He wasn't foolish.

If he were given a ten thousand troop, he would report to the Ten Thousand Leader, who would only relay orders down layer by layer, and these slippery heads had a thousand ways to evade his commands.

But having direct command over five thousand team squads was a different matter entirely.

He would be the Ten Thousand Leader himself!

How to fight was his call, no need to consult with anyone!

Seeing that "inscrutable" profile, Arai Yang, no matter how reluctantly, had no choice but to nod his head firmly.

"Yes!"

...

The next day, finally, there was new movement on the Empire's position. A large troop accompanied by rolling dust crossed the newly-dug trenches, advancing toward the city area of Jin Galun Port.

Hiding nearby, By Some Mistake and his team had seen them coming and immediately reported the situation through their radio.

The twelve 155mm cannons stationed at JinJiaLun Port Harbor immediately adjusted their shooting elements, and their long barrels pointed towards the sky.

A warrior wearing an exoskeleton walked to the front of the position, turned on his helmet's speaker, and bellowed.

"Brothers! The wild dogs lurking outside our settlement have finally crawled out of their holes! Beat the crap out of them and let them know what happens when you mess with the wrong guys!"

"Fire—!"

With that order, the linstocks were pulled in unison, sending orange-yellow tracers flying through the dust-filled air.

That breathtaking scene left countless sailors and merchants at the harbor in awe.

Before the onlookers could even recover, exoskeleton-clad humanoid loaders had completed loading the second round of shells in that still lingering dust.

"Fire!!"

Another round was fired.

Roaring cannons, like blowing bagpipes, delivered a rain of death on the enemy positions tens of kilometers away.

One could imagine.

What a scene it was on that distant battlefield...

Finally, the people at the harbor came to their senses, casting looks of awe toward the continually firing artillery position.

"...Is that the legendary 155?"

"Spirit of the Sand and Sea above!"

"I felt the earth tremble!"

"The Emperor of West Winds must be insane… Why did they provoke these plague gods?"

"They should just hurry up and pay some money to admit their fault," he said. "At this rate, not even ten Grey Wolf Armies would be enough to send."

The sailors standing on the deck were discussing animatedly, while some quick-thinking peddlers had already started contemplating going to the City of Dawn to place their orders.

Watching the Alliance's gunners swaggering about, several Weylent people's faces showed displeasure as they cursed.

"Damn it, we have more than just 100mm!"

"Those disgraceful expansionists even dare to represent us now!"

"A bunch of bumpkins!"

However, no matter how they argued, the unchanging borders of the Luo Xia Province countries were a fact, and they had even allowed someone to build a peculiar thing Called Bister Town right next to the Falcon Kingdom.

A large group of young men preferred to stay there sewing instead of going home, causing the entire Falcon Kingdom to suffer from a shortage of young men, with the streets filled with widows, barely any young fellows to be seen. It was only with the assistance from the Eastern Legion that they could barely keep the royal authority alive.

That battle had left the Falcon Kingdom gasping for breath for many years, and it was inexplicable why the West Winds Empire went all the way to Triumph City to show their deference.

The population of the Falcon Kingdom combined was not even as much as the Port of Golden Gallon, and they could still live decently with the help from the Eastern Legion. With the size of the Poluo Province, the Weylent people would be crazy to involve themselves with them.

Perhaps—

His Majesty really liked those big-nosed guys.

While the sailors at the harbor enjoyed the spectacle, the Grey Wolf Army's vanguard troops located far away in the suburbs of the Port of Golden Gallon were in dire straits.

The rear artillery positions had launched a round of counter-battery fire, but without guidance for their firepower.

The first shot meant for adjustment veered off to who knows where, random firing without knowing if they hit the mark, instead drawing counter-battery fire from the Alliance, their six 100mm howitzers instantly reduced to twisted metal and the gunners suffered heavy casualties, the cries of agony filling the anti-cannon holes.

Prince Dilip, despite being bombarded fiercely, didn't retreat but was instead stirred by the roaring fire to display further valor.

Seeing the billowing black smoke in the distance and soldiers cowering in the trenches, afraid to advance, he no longer pinned his hopes on the counter-battery fire, grabbing the walkie-talkie and screaming with every bit of strength.

"Push forward!"

"Are you going to stay there and serve as targets for the Alliance? There are shelters everywhere in the city! Move forward—!"

His hoarse voice even broke, showing how fervently he was commanding, but still it could not overpower the sound of the Alliance's artillery.

A Thousand Leader crouched in the trench ignored him, eyes closed, counting the artillery strikes around him, simply pretending to be deafened by the explosions.

Even a pig knew that going out at that time meant getting blasted. Wasn't it better to wait for the bombardment to end before moving forward? Why else would they dig these trenches?

But then again, those damned engineers had really dug the ditch deep enough... He couldn't even peek his head out without effort.

Fortunately, Prince Dilip was only yelling from the back and didn't dare rush to the front line to haul the soldiers out of the trenches.

After the bombardment ended, a group of people guided by the whistle signals left the trenches sparsely, pushing towards the direction of the urban area.

During this period, the Alliance's artillery shells came sporadically, occasionally hitting soldiers who couldn't find shelter in time.

However, these people were well-trained elites, nearly always diving to the ground at the sound of artillery, which for Prince Dilip, was a casualty rate within an acceptable range.

At that moment, General Arai Yang, standing at a farther distance watching the scene, felt his heart bleed.

Although not the elite of the Grey Wolf Army, they were still his soldiers, his compatriots.

"This imbecile!"

He cursed under his breath, fiercely setting down his binoculars.

Simultaneously, four players squatting in the suburbs of the Port of Golden Gallon, observing the continuous booming artillery, were exclaiming in thrill.

"Ha ha! Hit them hard!"

"Our artillery brothers are getting more and more accurate."

Looking at Yin Cha excitedly clenching his fists, his family member chuckled and said.

"Speaking of which, have you noticed that those coffins we sent them were kinda useful?"

He was more interested in those who survived than those unfortunate ones who were blown to bits.

Those soldiers who jumped into the trenches couldn't even poke their heads out; when climbing out, they had to throw their guns up first, then push hard against the wall.

A group of people, under the roaring gunfire, advanced toward the city area in waves, embarrassingly. They dared not move too many at a time, but also couldn't afford to send too few.

They were very clear.

Remote firepower was scary-looking but seldom deadly; as long as they weren't too densely packed, moving forward in groups was feasible.

But if too few were sent into the city area, given the combat effectiveness the Alliance showed in the last battle, it would be no different from offering their heads on a platter.

After dropping hundreds of bodies, five 'thousand teams' gradually pushed into the residential area, using the narrow streets and the houses on both sides as cover to advance.

Having completed a round of fire support, the gunners stopped shooting and began preparing for the next round of support.

Prince Dilip, seeing the Alliance's gunfire stop, also pushed forward to the outskirts of Jinjaron Harbor's city area like a force unstoppable, unable to contain his restless heart.

He tossed the phone to the soldier carrying the radio and, looking at the Chief of the Personal Body Guard holding a rifle next to him, excitedly shouted.

"Quick! Let's follow up!"

The chief hesitated slightly, but didn't dare to contradict his superior; he braced himself and led the people to clear the way.

Meanwhile, four players in the city were holding binoculars and eating melons, curiously watching where those Imperial soldiers were heading.

Just a few days ago, the big shots had analyzed a bunch on the official website, confidently asserting that General Arai Yang would definitely target the Lowell Camp as the main direction of attack, speaking as if they were experts.

But standing here watching for half the day, they hadn't seen those people head towards Lowell Camp; instead, they were heading farther away.

"...Looks like they're heading towards the Governor's Mansion," the family member Brother turned back to look at Yin Cha and said with a cheeky grin, "Captain, your prediction failed!"

Clearly realizing this, Yin Cha still stubbornly stared for a long time.

It wasn't until that group completely disappeared from sight that he put down his binoculars, his eyes wide open.

"Fuck... Are they insane?"

The family member chuckled and said.

"Good lord, looks like this demolition office director is going to make a breakthrough."

With a budget of one hundred million, spending only ninety million, he sprinkled a pile of cash and demolished the houses near the Governor's Mansion, leaving almost six hundred meters of open ground without cover, and the ground full of immovable broken bricks—a single machine gun could pin them down completely. Without armor and artillery, they were truly using their heads to fight!

Half a year's wasted time scratched his head, utterly baffled.

"That's unscientific."

Ignoring such a crucial strategic target like Lowell Camp and directly attacking the Governor's Mansion near the harbor.

What the fuck was their plan?

Nearly five 'thousand teams'—this couldn't be considered a feint anymore.

Step Into the Sky was also bewildered and nodded.

"+1."

The family member urged.

"Stop fucking adding pluses, let's hurry up and follow."

The Governor's Mansion was effectively their position, and it was not a concern that something might happen to the friendly forces there, but rather a fear that if they arrived too late, there would be no soup left to drink.

Half a year's wasted time glanced at By Some Mistake and pointed to the ground beneath them.

"This place?"

After thinking for a moment, By Some Mistake opened the VM screen and reported the situation here before turning to the three teammates.

"Let Brother Shabi and his team keep an eye on it… oh, and leave them the camera and one drone."

Meanwhile, far away at the Port Harbor of Jinjaron, Fang Chang and Old White also received news from the front line about the movements of the Grey Wolf Army.

Watching Fang Chang's speechless expression, Old White joked with a smile.

"It seems that our opponents haven't played by the rules this time."

Fang Chang made a helpless gesture.

"I actually hate dealing with these types of opponents; you can never analyze their next move using normal logic."

It was like he still couldn't figure out who had given these guys the courage to start a war without declaration, naively thinking they could carry out their actions undetected, only to end up taking a beating and being sore losers, finally deciding to flip the table and gamble big.

Of course, this also played right into his hands.

If the Emperor of the Western Empire formally admitted the error through diplomatic channels to the Alliance, the Manager would likely allow negotiations on the basis of reparations and apologies, and in such a situation, the Burning Corps would have to stop at making their point and hastily conclude this self-defense counterattack, and would return to Potato Harbor with compensation.

After all, the telegram previously sent by the Manager had mentioned that they were to "avoid escalating military conflicts."

But now, the situation was completely different.

Since the opponent had escalated the tension, they no longer needed to hold back.

If that "Emperor" thought that the fiercest firepower the Burning Corps had was just a few 88mm mortars, then he was sorely mistaken.

Twelve 155mm howitzers had already been deployed at the harbor.

In addition, there were six gigantic King Crabs with a body height of four meters each, also making their landing along the dock at the Port of Golden Gallon.

The six sturdy legs supported thick curved steel shells, with two 20mm cannons each hanging above the two pincers, thick chains of bullets feeding into rotary ammunition racks on the flanks of the heavy armor, while the cockpit was located in the very center of the shell.

Standing at the harbor, they were like monstrous creatures baring their claws, their dark metallic exteriors emitting a chilling shine in the sunlight.

This brand-new weapon was coded "King Crab," officially known as the DWX-1 "King Crab" Amphibious All-Terrain Infantry Armor.

In terms of both form and mechanical structure, this device was fashioned from the same mold as the "Crab" Engineering Armor that had been recently provided to the submersible construction crew at Potato Harbor.

And indeed, it was so.

This so-called "King Crab" Infantry Armor was a military version designed based on the "Crab" Engineering Armor.

The driver needed to enter from the rear of the crab, driving in a motorcycle-riding position, and could switch freely between joystick control and neural-linked operations.

This equipment was designed for battlefield positioning in complex terrains, underwater operations, and beachhead landing combat environments, also tasked with armed transport duties in roadless conditions.

Originally, each pincer of the crab was equipped with a bomb gun outfitted with a grenade launcher. It was only because there were no targets at the Port of Golden Gallon that needed bomb guns that these were switched for the 20mm cannons.

Like the "Crab" Engineering Armor, this device could not yet be mass-produced; it had to have its core power components, transmission structures, and frames completed in the processing center on Floor B7 of Shelter No. 404 before being sent to the industrial area of Dawn City for secondary processing.

For this reason, the cost price of this device even exceeded the "subsidized" Rosy Powered Armor, reaching 2 million silver coins!

If it hadn't been for the "robbing bank" haul, and if they weren't preparing for the upcoming war with the Torch, they really wouldn't have been willing to spend the money on this equipment.

Watching the six "King Crab" armors ready for action, Fang Chang couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile with ill intentions.

"Since they don't want to negotiate with us…"

"Let's help them test our new equipment then."

Chapter 705: The "Elite" That Collapses Upon Touch

Caper was a member of the Wolf Tribe.

From a young age, his parents repeatedly told him about the teachings of the Wolf God, explaining how the wolves were united, how they were ferociously brave, tireless, and how they were invincible in battle. There was a time when the wandering wolves on the wasteland were the main threat faced by the survivors of Poluo Province...

Eventually, the survivors won, but their victory was hard-earned. To honor this respectable adversary and to inherit their bravery, they planted a totem in the City of Thousand Pillars dedicated to their deities, hoping to continue benefiting from their blessings.

From that moment, the Wolf God had his first followers.

Those blessed by the Wolf God were not only natural warriors but also the pride of the Empire; they were born for battle and conquest.

Because of this, Caper was constantly proud of his identity as a member of the Wolf Tribe and ceaselessly strove to become a soldier in the Empire Army.

Through dedication, fueled by adequate nutrition and early exposure, among thousands of peers who enlisted, he stood out. He was first selected for training in the recruit camp and later, due to his outstanding performance, he was assigned to the directly imperial-reporting Gray Wolf Army and groomed as a reserve officer.

Not all from the Wolf Tribe had the opportunity to join the Gray Wolf Army, nor did all have a chance to become officers in this elite force.

He was the pride of his parents and his people, and the person who bestowed upon him this honor was none other than the great Witch Xi Lan—the supreme emperor.

He swore to bring glory to the emperor, to repay the immense imperial grace, and aspired to establish more military merits, even to become a general above tens of thousands.

Now, he finally had his opportunity—to offer his fierce wolf-like battle will in loyalty to the emperor!

However, at this moment—

The scene before him imprinted despair in his eyes.

"Charge—!"

His ears, deafened by artillery, gradually lost their ringing, replaced by the commander's hoarse bellowing, chaotic footsteps, and the tidal wave of battle cries and screams.

The situation before him was beyond his expectations.

And beyond everyone's expectations.

The densely packed slums previously marked on the map had vanished, as if erased, leaving only rubble and broken bricks where mud houses and huts once stood.

He knew not what magic the Iron Men used, just that they relocated thousands of buildings originally here in just over a week.

From the nearest shelter to the towering Governor's Mansion on the high ground, there was an open space of nearly six hundred meters.

This open space was like an insurmountable chasm, covered only with broken bricks and architectural debris.

To bypass this chasm from the sides, one had to either face crossfire coming from the direction of Lowell Camp or alternatively, swim across from a farther stretch of coastline.

That was even more impractical than crossing the six hundred meters.

And yet, they were already standing here.

There was no choice but to advance.

Urgent calls to combat rose again, and soldiers clutching their rifles charged toward the distant and unreachable Governor's Mansion, only to inevitably fall down in swathes, like mowed wheat.

The barrages of bullets were like the blades of a rolling chainsaw; seeing the flesh and blood flying across the battlefield, Caper felt his heart nearly leap from his throat.

It was the first time he felt life was so insignificant, and the first time he saw unprecedented fear on the faces of his comrades beside him.

This was not battle—

"This is simply a suicide mission!"

In the blink of an eye, a hundred-man team had already been wiped out.

Lying on the ground covered with broken bricks, allied troops pinned down by the machine guns mounted on the Governor's Mansion rooftop could neither move nor stop moaning in pain; some struggled to crawl forward.

There were no covers around to shield them as they advanced.

Only the bodies of fallen comrades covered the ground…

Rifles from within the city fired toward the Governor's Mansion, but the preemptively established fire points were hardly suppressed by these efforts.

The Alliance soldiers had welded gun shields made of steel on their machine guns, not to mention the thick armor they wore.

Seeing the previous hundred-man team nearly annihilated, the commander turned to those behind him and roared loudly.

"Quick! Charge!!"

Watching the insurmountable position and allies scattered messily on the ground, terror flickered in Caper's eyes.

Nevertheless, the order to attack had been given, and if he dared hesitate even for a moment, a fate worse than death awaited him.

This was, after all, the path he had chosen.

Caper clenched his teeth, striving to conquer the fear in his heart, and squeezed out a furious roar from between his clenched teeth.

"For the Empire—!"

Amid the sporadic shouts that responded, he emptied his mind and charged out of the cover, howling madly with ten comrades following him.

However, no sooner had he taken his first step than a mortar shell landed nearby, blasting him into the air like a torn rag, flung to the ground.

His followers met the same fate; over twenty years of sweat and pride turned into a thick pool of blood, carelessly smeared across the ground littered with broken bricks…

…

Caper and his men were neither the first nor obviously the last Wolf Tribe members to shed their blood for the Empire in this battle.

A new round of shelling struck six hundred meters in front of the Governor's Mansion, in the slum, engulfing Gray Wolf soldiers who had been shooting near mud houses and those who had just crossed the cover to mount another assault.

There were about a hundred buildings there yet to be demolished.

However, the residents had already evacuated with their demolition compensation, leaving only armed individuals; the Alliance could fire without any concerns.

Simultaneously, machine-gun positions deployed on the rooftop and courtyard walls of the Governor's mansion unleashed ferocious firepower, bullets seemingly endless, rattling non-stop.

The pride of the Wolf Tribe fell in swathes, and in the blink of an eye, another hundred-man team was pinned dead on a battlefield strewn with broken bricks and blood.

Streams of tracer bullets fell like a torrential downpour; here, the life expectancy of soldiers could nearly be counted in seconds.

The Rat Clan youth who once swore like the Iron Man indeed kept his promise—letting the Empire's soldiers fight lying atop broken bricks.

At this moment, the first thousand-man team assaulting the Governor's Mansion encountered the predicament of being used for target practice, having left behind over five hundred corpses without achieving any results apart from depleting some of the Alliance's ammunition.

"Damn! I remember this place used to be a slum!"

Looking toward the ceaselessly firing machine guns, a leader hiding behind a mud house cursed.

He had a bandage wrapped around his forehead and wore a steel helmet just picked up; a shard had previously grazed his forehead, nearly killing him instantly.

Originally, they only needed to dash across one street, and at most, they would have faced casualties in the hundreds before engaging in close combat with the soldiers of the Alliance.

However, now a street just a few steps wide had been stretched into a 600-meter-long road of death.

Not only did they lack the cover of armored units, but they were also severely short on essential artillery, instead being dizzyingly bombarded by the Alliance's cannons and machine guns.

"We have already lost more than half of our troops! Continuing to fight like this is no different from sending them to death, we need artillery support! I repeat! We need support!" shouted the leader after grabbing a walkie-talkie from the signalman carrying the radio.

He had called for artillery support ten minutes ago.

Prince Dilip personally promised him that the rear artillery was getting ready and would soon rain down on the enemy's position, urging him to advance quickly.

But as he saw his forces nearly wiped out, the shells were still nowhere to be seen, and he felt like he was bitten by a dog.

A crackling of electrical static was followed by an awkward voice from the handset.

"I'm coordinating... Damn, what is Arai Yang, that idiot, doing! I've been calling for artillery for ages, and not even a shadow of a shell has appeared..."

Listening to the nonsense coming over the phone line, the leader felt a creepy tingle on his scalp, yet he couldn't really blame the fellow.

He swallowed and, with a trembling voice, reminded him.

"Sir... What about your direct artillery division?"

The Alliance's firepower was too fierce, and accurate to boot; any attempt to fire a few rounds would probably mean they had to duck back into their holes—providing support was indeed difficult.

If it came down to it, they might as well have trucks tow the cannons into the urban area and set them up on the front line pointing directly at the Governor's Mansion—anything would be better than standing around helplessly.

He was about to suggest just that when there was silence on the other end of the radio before a muffled response came through.

"...There was a problem earlier counteracting the Alliance's artillery; I can't contact them at the moment, so we can only hope that idiot Arai Yang figures something out."

Hearing this, the leader nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

The while they were still hiding in the trenches, the six cannons General Arai Yang had allocated to this fool had been obliterated by the enemy.

Countering enemy artillery without frontline scouts to correct their aim...

This guy must be insane.

Even if he guessed where the Alliance's artillery was positioned, did this pig know where his own shells were even falling?

"Lord Dilip, if this continues, even more lives won't be enough..." the leader gritted his teeth and said, "Please, allow us to withdraw—"

Before he could finish, the person on the other end of the communications channel, like a rat whose tail had been stepped on, jumped up yelling.

"No retreat! You are soldiers of the Empire, now is the time to show your loyalty to His Majesty. Are your oaths just paper to wipe your ass with!"

"It's only 600 meters! Charge! By nightfall, I want to see the Double Knife Flag flying on the rooftop of the Governor's Mansion!"

Hearing such an unrealistic order, the leader could no longer contain the rage in his chest and yelled into the walkie-talkie.

"Lord Dilip! This is not your backyard! This is the frontline! The frontline! The Alliance's machine guns are practically on our faces, let alone 600 meters, we can't even push past 60 meters! Why don't you come to the frontline and see for yourself what kind of hell this place is!"

"I say it again, no retreat!"

Prince Dilip screamed hysterically in the communications channel, utterly refusing to believe that this short distance could stop a force of thousand troops.

Only six hundred meters, even if a person laid down every meter, they could still charge forward with over four hundred men. All they needed to do was to take down the machine gun positions of the Alliance, and the four thousand-team squads left in his hand would instantly overrun the guards in the Governor's Mansion like a tsunami.

Not waiting for the Thousands of leaders to make excuses, he continued roaring.

"And are you pigs?! Who told you to crash into the Alliance's gun sights? Can't you think a bit and weave through the alleys—"

"There isn't a single house left here! The Alliance has already cleared this area completely! How many times do I have to tell you, there's not one building left! They even moved most of the architectural debris!"

The morale had dropped to a critical point, the soldiers hiding behind cover didn't even have the courage to poke their heads out and shoot at the Alliance.

In this condition, sending them up to die would likely lead to the death of all his soldiers under him before those mutinous soldiers would dispose of this Leader of Thousands.

Holding the phone, Prince Dilip widened his eyes, unable to believe both the offensive tone on the other end of the call and the news he was hearing.

He wasn't deaf.

Although he hadn't seen the front lines, since the fighting had started, he had been hearing reports that the Alliance had evacuated the residents near the Governor's Mansion and demolished their houses.

However, in his initial assessment, even if that section of the city had no intact buildings remaining, there should have been significant amounts of building debris and undulating dirt mounds left.

They couldn't compare to trenches, but they should have been enough to cover the advancing infantry.

It should have been…

"How is this possible..." Prince Dilip's voice trembled, his measured tone involuntarily carried a hint of helpless panic.

The Leader of Thousands roared uncontrollably,

"What's impossible! Bombard them with cannons, blow them up with dynamite, hammer them, even pull down the house beams with ropes. Don't you know what kind of shabby houses those poor devils lived in?! Do you think their dog kennels are made of concrete like the Governor's Mansion? If left alone, they would collapse by themselves!"

"Those maggots, those cunning rats... they dare, they dare stand with the Alliance! I'll slaughter them!"

A painful groan escaped Prince Dilip's mouth.

Even though this was his first time moving from the sand table to the actual battlefield, he understood the emotion of defeat could spread among the soldiers like a plague before him.

Even though he racked his brains and couldn't think of the next step, he knew he couldn't hesitate any longer—he had to do something before the front line collapsed!

Once the defensive line collapsed—

The consequences were unimaginable!

"You all pull back first... Switch to the second squad. Wait, before the second squad takes over, hold on a little longer, be sure to maintain the front!"

Hearing that yielding tone, the Leader of Thousands finally breathed a sigh of relief, a heart hanging in his throat finally settled.

Although the guy's orders were unclear, even changing within a single sentence, he could roughly understand the intention.

Just being able to retreat and regroup was enough.

Silently praying for the comrades who would go up to top off, he hung up the phone and pushed the communications soldier carrying the radio, yelling toward the front line positions.

"Hold on! Friendly forces will soon come to relieve me—"

The latter half of his sentence froze in his throat when the Leader of Thousands shifted his gaze toward the flank of the positions in that instant, his entire face imprinted with horror.

He saw a giant crab, four to five meters tall, moving its metal-laden mechanical legs, circumventing a row of collapsed debris and attacking their flank.

What in the world was that?!

Thousands of leaders had a look of confusion written all over his face.

Two thick gun barrels, or perhaps cannon barrels, extended forward from above those solid and powerful pincers, directly targeting the Wolf Tribe warriors crouched motionless behind the dilapidated houses and shacks not far ahead.

The scene before him was so shocking that the Y-2 drone, the "Hellhound" unmanned vehicle, and the dozen or so soldiers armed to the teeth in exoskeletons trailing the giant crab seemed negligible.

Before he could react, those two cannons spewed out thick tongues of flame, unleashing a ferocious barrage on his subordinates!

"Bang, bang, bang—!"

There wasn't even time for a scream.

Dozens of soldiers hiding behind cover were instantly crushed into fragments and pulp along with the barriers in front of them.

Empty cartridges continuously ejected from the chambers, clinking loudly as they hit the ground, alongside the shattered remnants of bodies.

The look of confusion turned to one of horror, not just on the face of the frontline commander but also among the soldiers firing from behind cover.

They had never encountered such a brutal foe!

The bullets from the Ripper Rifles were like mere tickles to it, utterly ineffective, and their cover was as fragile as paper mache in the face of those relentless cannons.

The soldier carrying the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher was pinned down by the barrage, unable to raise his head, or was identified and had his head blown off by a drone whizzing overhead.

The Alliance had deployed more than just one "King Crab" to the battlefield, although most people's attention was captured by the conspicuous behemoth.

Six "King Crab" amphibious all-terrain infantry armors shielded six mechanized squads, attacking from six different directions.

In just a few breaths, the flank of Prince Dilip's first thousand team was torn apart like an avalanche.

No longer able to suppress the fear inside, the soldiers crouching behind cover ignored the threats shouted by their superiors and scrambled to drop their weapons and turn to flee.

Their frantic scramble was like that of panic-stricken rats.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

"Monster!!"

"Devil! The Alliance has summoned the devil!"

It wasn't just their physical line of defense that was shattered, but also that deep-seated barrier of arrogance and confidence inside them.

At that moment, they cursed the Wolf God for not giving them an extra pair of legs to flee faster from this hellish place.

The atmosphere of despair and fear, as the routed soldiers fled, collided with the second thousand team who were striding confidently to the front lines.

Everyone was in disbelief at what they saw until those vicious "King Crabs" chased after their comrades, appearing right in front of them...

...

While the elites of the West Winds Empire were being beaten into a frantic retreat, the prop bearer leading the third hundred team attacking the flank of the battlefield realized that his six mechanized squads had actually moved from the flank to the front lines.

The empire's troops they had bitten into on the flank didn't put up even a semblance of resistance and threw down their weapons to flee.

So, instead of the intended envelopment of the thousand soldiers, they ended up in an unexpected encounter with another reinforcement team of a thousand.

These fresh troops from the Wolf Nation were also tough fighters, perfectly exemplifying what it meant to bang one's head against a steel plate, engaging in firefights with Alliance players in narrow alleys without any preparation.

Initially, the prop bearer had planned to have each squad retreat and drag this stubborn Wolf pack to the Governor's Mansion Battlefield, where the second team stood firm, for a final harvest. However, despite facing no armored units that could pose a real threat, these guys were audacious enough to charge in. Once they realized they couldn't chew through the tough bone in their mouths, they began to flee en masse.

The enemies were practically feeding their heads into his team's mouth, and if he didn't take a bite, he was afraid he'd be ridiculed by his teammates for a week.

As he saw the frontline reinforcement troops from the West Winds Empire also starting to collapse, the prop bearer pressed his hand on his helmet and bellowed into the all-team channel.

"Attention all units—!"

"Advance beyond the line marked on the map! Free fire! Don't spare your ammo, beat the shit out of them! Keep firing until your magazines are empty, then head home!"

His call was met with excited shouts.

"Roger!"

"Let's go, brothers!"

"For the Alliance!!!"

"Awoo, awoo, awoo!"

With the attack order issued, several "King Crab" all-terrain infantry armors swung their crab legs and, under the cover of the infantry, bulldozed forward past low shanties.

Everyone was seeing red.

Especially the Intelligence System players nestled inside the mechanical crab's belly, almost each holding a digital tally of kills in the triple digits.

The quad-rotor drones flying ahead provided them with a top-down view, requiring them only to pull the trigger towards any human presence.

20mm armor-piercing incendiary bullets teamed with high-explosive bombs, they didn't even need to aim. Just bulldoze forward and call it a day.

The Imperial soldiers trapped in the alleys were completely disoriented.

Initially, they could see where the tracers were coming from, but soon they couldn't even see their attackers and were pinned to the ground.

"Hahaha! My Egarth is killing like crazy!"

Listening to the maniacal laughter over the squad channel, the nearby players advancing in coordination cast envious glances at the guy who was showing off.

"Damn it, get down and let me have a turn!"

The Intelligence System player rolled his eyes.

"Buzz off! Do you think you can just press F to ride this thing? I trained for days in the City of Dawn!"

While they were talking, an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher suddenly shot out from a nearby alley and struck one of the mechanical legs spot-on.

Maybe because the display was too arrogant, even the heavens couldn't stand it—the metal jet just happened to puncture the leg's power unit, causing the crab to slump and lose balance, toppling a mud house beside it.

The Imperial soldier wielding the rocket launcher was quickly riddled with holes, but the downed giant crab on the ruins couldn't get up, as if it was drunk.

After all, it was just a prototype straight out of the lab—its avant-garde design filled it with too many uncertainties.

Even if it could walk with three legs broken in tests, it couldn't withstand the complexities of an actual battlefield.

As he saw Imperial soldiers closing in, the Intelligence System player, who had been showing off just a second ago, instantly panicked and blurted out.

"Fuck! Lads, come protect me!"

The players who were already helping him aim twitched at the corners of their mouths upon hearing his frantic cry.

MMP!

There was a moment when they suddenly wanted to test just how tough the armor of this thing could be...

On the other side, at the north court wall of the Governor's Mansion.

Watching as the group of Gray Wolf soldiers receded like the tide, the player sitting at the machine gun position simply switched on the safety and cursed with a grimace.

"Damn it, these guys can't take a hit at all."

When they first heard there were over five thousand people on the opposite side, almost everyone thought a fierce battle would ensue, yet these so-called "elite" combatants turned out to be incredibly weak.

However, it was clear these guys had tried their best.

The correctional shots kept landing near the Governor's Mansion, but it wasn't long before they were repelled by the Alliance's counter-bombardment.

They tried to break through the Governor's Mansion's machine gun fire with a human wave tactic, but they were firmly held back by several 10mm machine guns.

Normally, with ongoing casualties and no progress in the battle, the frontline commanders should have had some idea of the issues in their tactics and realized the problems with their combat approach.

Since supporting fire wasn't available, they should have pushed the artillery to the front to use as direct fire, or dug more fortifications and built additional machine gun positions at the front line. Even if the battle turned into a prolonged war of attrition instead of a quick decisive attack, it would be better than letting soldiers charge forward without artillery cover.

But they didn't do that; it was as if they were in a rush to get reincarnated, forcing a quick outcome of the battle.

Not only the player bracing the machine gun couldn't understand, but even Sniper Bai inside the Governor's Mansion also couldn't figure out if these guys were here to fight or to fertilize the fields...

...

On the other side, Jinjaron Port Harbor, inside the temporary command center, the noise was deafening.

Battle reports from the frontline floated in incessantly, and the command channel was a chattering mess.

"...This is Governor's Mansion, the enemy frontline troops have collapsed! Are we continuing to hold here or should we pursue?"

"This is the Three Hundred Troops! We're engaging with the enemy units that came as reinforcements! No enemy armor units detected, only a small number of anti-tank weapons... it seems like a thousand team, or possibly two, we plan to deplete our ammo then return."

"...damn it, we've got an idiot here, an 'Egarth' got its legs busted! Coordinates are updated on the map, requesting support ASAP!"

"How many times have I said, don't fucking nickname the equipment! Use the official codes!"

"This is the Four Hundred Troops, we've dispatched a squad for support, hold on!"

"I'm so hungry, when do we eat?"

"Who's at the port? Ask the logistics NPC if we can have an extra dish."

"...Enemy reinforcements are crushed! Damn, these beasts retreated faster than a six-legged race; the brothers in Four Hundred Troops don't need to come! We'll find some folks later to help drag that damned stranded thing—"

"%￥#@!"

"Holy crap, what's your Strength Type beast doing, needing to hire help for such a small job?!"

"This is Governor's Mansion, our scout team has observed the Gray Wolf Army gathering towards 'Klabara Market!' The target is five kilometers north of the Governor's Mansion; they seem to be reorganizing their forces! Estimates show about two to three thousand in troops."

Although the communication channel was noisy, the feedback on the frontline situation was fairly clear, and Fang Chang had basically grasped the gist.

Even if the situation was a bit urgent or even complicated, these bastards wouldn't be bullshitting on the command channel.

Old White turned to Fang Chang and casually said,

"What do you say? Do we wipe out these two to three thousand, or leave it to the rookies at Lowell Camp?"

Currently, nearly twenty thousand slaves had undergone basic training, at least knowing how to fire, when to fire, and how to seize objectives and advance.

Relying on them to defeat a well-trained army on the frontline was undoubtedly wishful thinking, but using them as Cannon Fodder with the support of Alliance's artillery to clean up a defeated army was not a big problem.

At least it was worth a try.

However, unlike Old White, Fang Chang didn't focus his attention on those two to three thousand retreating to the Klabara Market area, instead, he focused on the trenches outside the settlement.

"...Do you think there might be big shots from the West Winds Empire among these two to three thousand?"

Looking at Fang Chang who suddenly spoke, Old White hesitated for a moment, furrowing his brows.

"Why do you say that?"

"Just guessing."

Staring intently at the strategic map displayed on the holographic screen, Fang Chang pinched his chin between his index finger and thumb and fell into deep thought.

According to the information observed by Brother Kill Dagger's scouts, the Gray Wolf Army stationed outside the settlement had new movements.

Although he was unsure why General Arai Yang would make a series of foolish moves, that guy had clearly noticed the trouble with his allies and was trying to make some remedial actions.

A ten thousand troops unit was gathering towards the outpost outside the settlement in batches, apparently planning to recover their front-line defeated allies.

At this moment, a bold idea emerged in Fang Chang's mind.

"The identity even the highest commander of the Gray Wolf Army fears... what do you think it might be?"

Old White thought for a moment and said uncertainly,

"Imperial relatives?"

He wasn't very familiar with the organizational structure of the West Winds Empire; after all, this bizarre survivor force was utterly different from any other survivor forces they had encountered.

However, since this so-called elite force was directly under the emperor of the West Winds Empire, whatever was making this "Imperial Guard Commander" nervous was clearly not likely to be a minor character like a eunuch.

Even if it was just for show, he had to try to save them, at least to not give the person behind them—or that force—a reason to complain.

Perhaps Arai Yang, in his heart, didn't actually care about the life of the "VIP," but they could exploit this...

Grasping Fang Chang's plan, Old White looked at him in surprise.

"You're planning to encircle to relieve?"

"That's what I'm thinking, but it also depends on whether they give us this opportunity. After all, these guys have always been beyond our expectations, and I severely doubt it's any different this time..."

As he said this, Fang Chang paused for a moment, reached to his ear, and commanded the Kill Dagger stationed at Lowell Camp.

"Notify Laxi."

"It's time for him to start working."

-

(It's the end of the month, I'm shamelessly asking for a monthly pass, considering the updates have been stable as an old dog this month, cast a vote, brothers. QAQ)

Chapter 706: The Gray Wolf Who Doesn't Play by the Rules

Fang Chang's concerns were not unfounded.

The premise of besieging to fight off reinforcements is that the besieged garrison still retains a will to resist.

But as for the nearly three thousand Imperial soldiers trapped in the "Clabber Market," whether they possessed such spirit was clearly a mystery.

However, compared to the simple capture of a prince, he actually had bigger ambitions...

Lowell Camp.

Killer Dagger, who was wearing an exoskeleton, found Laxi, who was sitting on an ammunition box tinkering with an LD-47, and got straight to the point.

"Got work."

Setting aside his new toy that had just arrived, Laxi sprung up from the ammunition box and bowed respectfully.

"Ready for your orders, my lord."

Killer Dagger didn't beat about the bush and immediately pulled out a tablet and handed it to him, his finger opening a map and a list of battle plans next to it.

"About three thousand remnants have retreated to the Clabber Market, where they've requisitioned residential buildings and all available cover in the market and have constructed new defensive lines with the remaining ammunition and personal anti-armor weapons. The good news is that they've driven out the civilians in the area, so we can freely use all the support firepower at our disposal. As for the bad news, there isn't any, for now."

"But even so, you still can't afford to be careless or underestimate them, I don't want a pack of desperate dogs suddenly regaining their courage in the midst of battle. You need to do as we've agreed, step by step; first surround the market, then from the east, south, west, and north, exert pressure on the trapped troops, forcing them to break out..."

His finger paused on the map, and Killer Dagger continued.

"...We assume they won't head directly north, as both the east and west sides are decent choices. To minimize uncertainties, we need you to apply greater pressure from the west and carry out some feints as appropriate, to make them choose the east as their main breakout direction as much as possible."

Laxi frowned, looking puzzled at him.

"Why let them escape? I can capture them all for you."

Killer Dagger patiently explained.

"This involves the second step of the plan. We hope to intercept them while they retreat and drive a portion of the fleeing soldiers out of the settlement area and into our ambush position outside. With the support of the ten thousand troops stationed outside, we'll 'eat' both the ones who flee to the outskirts and the ten thousand troops lying in wait together."

This was a variation of besieging to fight off reinforcements.

After Arai Yang, stationed outside the settlement area, dispatched a ten thousand troops to the front lines in trenches, he showed no new moves, seemingly intending to let the routed soldiers organize their own forces to break out, while the reinforcements were primarily for cover.

It seemed that General Arai Yang was not planning to sacrifice more soldiers for this foolish attack plan, which further proved that the attack was an accident in itself.

Just like the thousand troops "amphibious landing" at Potato Harbor.

Laxi's face showed surprise, partly at the audacity of the Alliance brothers' plan, and partly at their appetite.

That was an entire ten thousand troops!

And the Empire's most elite at that!

However, there was no fear on his face, only a brief moment of contemplation before he asked a somewhat irrelevant question that he was curious about.

"If you're planning to let them go, why not just let them head north? Isn't that closer?"

Killer Dagger was taken aback for a moment, looking at the man with a strange expression, and countered.

"Would you run straight north if it were you?"

Laxi was also taken aback.

Why wouldn't they?

Regardless of the guy's bewildered expression, Killer Dagger looked up briefly at the sky and continued to speak in a hurried tone.

"Nightfall is approaching, and we believe they will choose to rest for the night and hold their positions until dawn breaks tomorrow. Generally speaking, that's the most relaxed moment and the best time to break out... That's the plan. If there's any new development, we'll inform you. Now we need you to act immediately."

A fierce light flickered in Laxi's eyes as he reached for the rifle resting beside the ammo box and nodded earnestly.

"Leave it to me."

Watching Laxi turn to walk towards the camp's broadcast station, Killer Dagger suddenly remembered something and called out to him again.

"Wait."

Laxi stopped and turned around.

"Is there something else?"

Killer Dagger pointed at the tablet in his hand.

"There are a few people on there we want alive. And for others, if anyone surrenders, try to take them alive if possible... Remember, a living person is worth more than a dead one."

Laxi nodded slightly.

"Understood."

...

Crab Market.

This was Jin Galun Harbor's largest marketplace, located right in the center of the northern urban area, consisting of hundreds to thousands of stalls and booths, surrounded by row upon row of uniform square houses.

Normally, these stalls would be filled with colorful food, spices, textiles, small trinkets, and animals tied with ropes, and even some used electronics and mechanical timepieces brought in from other places.

Not only the poor and citizens would frequent here to buy daily necessities, but occasionally some merchants doing big business and nobles in luxurious attire would come here on a whim, searching for rare treasures or to find bargains from those who were not savvy.

It's no exaggeration to say that if the West Winds Empire had it, whether it be cheap Red Soil or toys from Ideal City, with some time spent, you could find it here.

Usually, this market would bustle from the break of dawn until sunset, and today was no exception.

The only difference was that the bustling crowd had changed from the shouting merchants and discerning customers to a group of fleeing "Grey Wolves"...

"Stop! What are you doing!? This is my house, you can't—ah, ouch!"

A man around thirty was thrown out the door by a soldier, hustled onto the street along with his disheveled two wives and six kids.

From this family's attire and appearance, although not of high status, they were certainly not snakes, rats, insects, or birds.

But to a bunch of soldiers who had just suffered defeat, that made no difference.

Not listening to the man's angry protests, the soldier directly raised the muzzle of his PU-9 submachine gun to the man's forehead and barked.

"This isn't your home! Now! Immediately! Leave! If you don't want trouble!"

The cold touch made his heart feel as if it had plunged into an ice cave, his limbs became cold, and his lips trembled without being able to speak.

In another house not far away,
an old woman clutched at a soldier's legs and refused to let go, pleading desperately, only to be kicked back inside.

Not long after, a series of gunshots erupted, followed by a squad of soldiers carrying a machine gun stepping over the bloody threshold.

The man was utterly terrified, and warmth streamed down his leg onto the ground.

Glancing at the man who had wet his pants, Dilip didn't even bother to speak and simply stepped over the threshold into the house.

The guard following behind him reached out, grabbed the man's collar, and pushed him to the ground with a cold throw of words.

"This is for your own good."

"Get lost!"

The man didn't dare stay. He scrambled to his feet and, without bothering to dust himself off, hurried away with his family.

The entire market was in chaos; residents, faces smudged with dirt and dust, were rushed out of their homes without even having time to pack their belongings.

A crowd of people, confused and helpless, crowded onto the muddy road two streets away from the Kraba Market, surrounded by unfamiliar streets and at a loss for what to do.

Mothers with faces of shock ran around searching for their lost children, well-dressed men hesitated before knocking on nearby doors to ask if they could be taken in for the night, and some undid buttons for a piece of bread too hard to bite...

Children separated from their loved ones curled up on the ground and wept bitterly, devout believers clasped their hands in prayer, and some sat on the ground and muttered in despair.

"What are we going to do?"

"How long will they stay..." a dirt-smudged man muttered under his breath, "If they never leave, are we supposed to just keep waiting here?"

The old man beside him sighed heavily, his face full of sorrow.

"...We can only wait."

At this moment, everyone's fate seemed to temporarily become the same, no matter what labels they carried.

Watching the street that was gradually merging into the twilight, some gently hummed with their children in their arms, some sang along, some closed their eyes and enjoyed the moment of tranquility and equality, and in the midst of the noise and confusion, a song was woven...

They were actually somewhat fortunate.

Most of the soldiers here had tasted defeat for the first time and still saw them as citizens of the Empire. If they lost a few more battles, it was hard to say what would happen.

The retreating army had managed to finish erecting their defenses before dusk at the Kraba Market, and by this time, gunfire was already coming from all directions.

They found that it wasn't devils summoned by the Alliance surrounding them, but militia units made up of locals.

And this made these trapped Wolf Nation soldiers filled with indignant rage.

In their eyes, this was undoubtedly treason.

Fortunately, these militias weren't very strong in combat; although they had tried a few feint attacks under the cover of mortars, they didn't achieve much effect, so they retreated to a siege, occasionally taking a potshot.

Nevertheless, no one dared to relax.

The memory of the aggressive giant crab left a deep impression, and no one could guarantee that in the next wave of attacks, those crabs wouldn't join the siege with the local militias...

The sky gradually darkened.

The green background Double Knife Flag still didn't flutter atop the Governor's Mansion, but at this point, Prince Dilip trapped in hardship had no time to entertain those unrealistic dreams.

He glanced at the radio operator still adjusting the radio and gestured for the guard to come over with a wave, instructing him.

"I'm hungry, get me something to eat."

The guard quickly nodded and called for a servant to prepare the food.

Before long, a bowl of beige porridge with beans was brought in, accompanied by a small dish of onion sauce and two sesame-sprinkled flatbreads.

The guards inside the room couldn't help but swallow their saliva, but Prince Dilip frowned.

"Why is it all beans?"

The servant presenting the food spoke with a bitter face.

"My lord, that's all they have in the kitchen..."

Dilip's brows twisted into a knot.

The sesame-sprinkled flatbread was still tolerable, fragrant with butter, but those beans were meant for animals, not fit for human consumption.

Hesitating for a long time without taking a bite, Prince Dilip disdainfully pushed the food away.

"Search the other houses, I want to eat meat."

The servant dared not make a sound, while a guard nearby quickly nodded, performing a military salute.

"Yes!"

As Prince Dilip watched the guard leave, he noticed the other guards gulping and ordered the servants to share the food with them.

Watching the guards gobble down the food, the corner of his mouth curled into a sneer.

A bunch of lowly people who knew nothing of dignity.

His defeated sense of superiority seemed to find its way back from elsewhere, and Prince Dilip felt much better.

Just then, the radio was finally repaired, and communication with the rear command was restored.

Overjoyed, Dilip immediately ordered the radio operator to call the rear command, and then he snatched the phone from the operator, not waiting for Arai Yang to speak, he yelled first.

"What the hell are you doing! Why haven't I seen even a shadow of artillery fire after calling for half a day?"

There was a rustling of static in the earpiece, no response.

Seeing that Arai Yang was intimidated by his momentum, Dilip took a deep breath and continued in a calmer tone.

"Because of your poor support, there's a bit of a situation at the front now, but it's not a big problem... Anyway, I need reinforcements, give me five thousand men and twelve cannons, plus more anti-armor weapons and dynamite. The Alliance somehow got a hold of a hunk of iron, damn it, we should borrow some tanks from the Army!"

Arai Yang patiently waited for him to finish explaining everything, then calmly replied with two words.

"Come back."

Dilip was stunned, then his face turned red.

"You're ordering me!"

There was another long silence on the communication channel.

Seeing no response for a long time, Dilip's original anger turned into a sudden tinge of fear.

Only at this moment did he truly realize his current situation.

He wasn't playing a war game with the emperor in the Imperial Palace but was standing on a real battlefield, even surrounded by the enemy!

If this guy just abandoned him—

Dilip's lips trembled. After waiting a long time, he finally eked out a plea.

"Save me."

There was finally a response from the radio.

"...At five o'clock tomorrow morning, I will try to launch a round of artillery strikes near the Kraba Market to cover your breakout from the siege. There is a ten thousand troop unit outside the city waiting to meet you. Listen, this is your only chance to avoid capture by the Alliance and come back alive."

Dilip carefully memorized every word from the radio, nodding shakily.

"Yes,"

Arai Yang's words paused briefly before continuing.

"Additionally, we can't rule out the possibility that our enemy is intentionally leaving a path open to lure you away from your positions and then ensnaring you all in one fell swoop. Remember, before setting off, send some men to launch feigned attacks a few times to test the strength of their firepower; don't take the path that seems easiest."

As his voice faded, the communication was cut off.

Prince Dilip sat down on the chair, feeling his back soaked with sweat and his whole body devoid of strength.

Looking at the last sliver of evening glow sinking behind the rooftops outside the window, he stared as though he was watching hope itself about to be swallowed by darkness, his eyes filled with despair.

Hoping to last through the night.

Hoping...

At the same time, at the command post some ten kilometers away, Arai Yang angrily slammed the phone down onto the table, then sat down in the chair, clutching his forehead in pain.

The surrounding officers remained in silent solitude; no one spoke.

Managing to bring back that fool Dilip was already the best possible outcome. If it really came down to it, it wouldn't be bad if he died on the way during the breakout.

At least he shouldn't be captured by the Alliance.

Otherwise, the enemy would gain another bargaining chip.

As for the nearly three thousand Grey Wolf warriors remaining...

They were left to the mercy of fate.

...

The long night finally passed, and a pale light was imprinted on the docks of Jin Galun Harbor.

But the sound that tore the last shred of night's tranquility was not the first light of morning falling on this land; it was the deafening thunder of cannon fire.

"Fire!"

The Grey Wolf artillery positions echoed with roars as 100mm shells rose into the sky and plummeted toward the urban areas near the Kraba Market.

General Arai Yang had proven that he had some skill.

All yestarday, he had been testing the limits of the Alliance artillery range and, after completing the trials, had dispersed his artillery outside the effective range of the harbor artillery positions.

However, the downside was that, for the Empire's 100mm howitzers, this distance was also close to the limit of their range.

"Brown motion shells" scattered across the urban area, with only two-fifths landing near Kraba Market, and even one-fifth falling right into the midst of the market.

As for the remaining two-fifths, no one knew where they would land.

"Damn... these guys really don't see the survivors here as their own."

Standing atop the enclosing wall of Lowell Camp, Killer Dagger looked in surprise at the billowing smoke rising from the distant urban area.

If it weren't for the fact that the City of Dawn didn't look like this, he almost forgot where the fight was happening.

"It seems like there is someone at Kraba Market that they're desperate to retrieve at any cost." Looking down at the survivors who crowded the entryway so densely that not a drop could penetrate, the Kidney Fighter helplessly said, "Speaking of which, who's going to go explain to them that against this kind of indirect fire... this damn wall isn't much use. Crowding together like this is actually more dangerous."

Speaking cruelly, if a shell hit the roof, it's almost certain death for that household, but most of the shrapnel and shock waves would be buried by the walls.

From the perspective of minimizing casualties, the safest place at this time would be inside one's home, rather than swarming the streets.

Especially since Lowell Camp was, after all, a strategic location, even if it wasn't the main focus of the Grey Wolf Army's attack today, who knew what might happen tomorrow.

Killer Dagger sighed.

"I'll give it a try."

Although he felt it was meaningless...

At the same time as the Grey Wolf Army artillery began bombarding the northern urban area of Jin Galun Harbor, nearly three thousand trapped soldiers at Krabba Market also started their breakout.

Armed with rifles, soldiers of the Grey Wolf Army gathered along the edge of buildings, and in units of a hundred, they launched a fierce attack from the east, south, west, and north, towards the militia outside Krabba Market.

The gunfire that echoed inside and outside the market was incessant, like firecrackers popping non-stop, while bullets whizzed around like a sudden downpour of rain.

Wooden stalls were knocked over in the street to serve as cover for shooting, and soon were riddled with bullet holes.

Quickly, a group of soldiers wrapped up bricks and dirt shattered by the artillery with bedsheets and stacked them onto two-wheeled carts to create makeshift barricades.

One person pushed the cart filled with obstacles forward in a charge, and nine others followed behind, firing and desperately rushing forward.

Occasionally someone was shot and fell, but they were quickly replaced by another.

Driven by the will to survive, the soldiers of the Grey Wolf Army, like hyenas backed into a corner, burst forth with astonishing combat power, momentarily overpowering the militia numbers that were multiple times their own.

Seeing the hope of escape, Prince Dilip, who was hiding on the second floor of a civilian home, excitedly poked his head out of the window and, with a hoarse voice, bellowed down to the soldiers in the market.

"Charge through! The way home is ahead of you! Those in your way are nothing but a bunch of Cannon Fodder, hopeless trash, cowards who betrayed the Empire! Use the rifles in your hands to tell them who the real warriors are—!"

Luckily for him, the continuous gunfire and artillery drowned out his shouts, so the soldiers crouched by the cover couldn't hear him. Otherwise, it was questionable whether someone would've been able to resist shooting him.

Chief Satish, who was commanding nearby, happened to hear him and his eyebrows twitched furiously, yet he could only suppress his anger and pretend as if he hadn't heard.

Dammit!

Who the hell got them trapped here?

As he cursed under his breath, new information arrived from the front line.

A hundred-man team had successfully broken through the enemy's defenses on the eastern flank, opening a path to retreat outside the settlement.

Hearing the good news reported by the frontline officer over the radio, Chief Satish took a deep breath and returned to the building where Prince Dilip was, shouting up at the second-floor window.

"... Your Highness, our soldiers have opened a gap in the east! Come down quickly, we will cover your retreat!"

Just when Prince Dilip was about to respond, he suddenly remembered General Arai Yang's warning and hastily swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

"No! I will not go that way! That's an Alliance trap! Have you forgotten how fierce their firepower was yesterday? How could they possibly let us go that easily! It's definitely their scheme, they are deliberately letting us out from the east, then they are going to wipe us out in a net!"

Hearing this capricious statement nearly made Satish spew out a mouthful of blood in frustration.

To be fair, this analysis wasn't entirely without merit.

If he were the commander on the other side, he would consider the tactic of "encircle three, leave one opening." But shouldn't this have been discussed before beginning the breakout?!

The defense line was already breached, and everyone could see the hope of escape, and now you're saying not to go this way?!

What a joke!

Did this guy really think of his own men as mere pieces on a strategy board?!

"We already have no choice!" Holding back his anger, Satish yelled at him, "It cost us the lives of over five hundred brothers to open this defense line, and even if it's a trap, now we can only take the gamble and charge through! It's the only chance! They can't capture everyone!"

"Chief Satish, I'm telling you again! This is an order! The soldiers who have breached the defense line will continue forward, the rest will break out... break out to the north! If you refuse to obey the order, be prepared to answer to the Emperor!" Prince Dilip shouted with a pale face that exuded panic and madness.

To be honest, he didn't know what to do.

Playing out moves on a sand table didn't come with bullets and artillery flying everywhere, where each wrong decision could cost him his life.

Perhaps the only thing he did better than an amateur was knowing that doing anything was better than doing nothing at all.

Just do what Arai Yang said.

If he lost, he could always blame that guy.

He was filled with regret now, wishing he had never asked Arai Yang for those five thousand troops to attack the Governor's Mansion.

But it was too late for regrets now.

From the beginning, the plan had never gone the way he imagined, and each unexpected order only made the situation worse.

If only the enemy would allow him to hit pause to think things through...

It would be even better if he could take another look at his hand.

Satish watched the prince standing on the second floor, stumbling back two steps in desperation, lips trembling for a long time before he finally snatched the phone from the messenger and bellowed in despair.

"Units that have broken through the line, keep moving forward! All other troops, attack toward the north side of the market! At all costs, break through!"

Now, nothing he did made any sense.

At least by offering his loyalty to His Majesty he could ensure the safety of his family.

At this point, he could only let things fall apart...

...

On the east side of Krabat Market.

The relentless gunfire suddenly fell silent, without warning, as if snuffed by a gentle breeze.

The remnants of the Grey Wolf Army, who had managed to create a gap in the encirclement, suddenly gave up their vigorous offensive.

It was as if they were only tearing at the line to open it, with no intention of actually breaking through.

Without support from backup firepower, the hundred-man team that broke free was quickly captured, with guns pointed at the back of their heads, they sat dejected and disheveled on the ground.

And the defensive line on the east side of the market, which had already been breached, was hesitantly closed again by the militiamen.

This bizarre turn of events caught everyone by surprise.

If it weren't for standing on the front line, Laxi wouldn't dare believe it was true.

Even as an eyewitness, when he heard the report from his subordinates over the walkie-talkie, he was still taken aback.

"...They're really heading north?"

"Yes... they've concentrated all their forces to break out to the north! Damn it, these guys are crazy!" The frenetic gunfire and ragged breathing came through the speaker, indicating the desperate state of the battle.

Laxi immediately inquired.

"How are you doing? Can you hold on?!"

Front-line officer: "The problem... shouldn't be big! Although there are many of them, most are already exhausted... Should we let them go?"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Laxi pondered for a moment, then gave a decisive order.

"Hold position! Hold at all costs! The brothers from the Alliance want the Empire's dogs to roll east, not a single one should head north!"

The frontline officer replied with unwavering determination.

"Yes!"

Communications ended.

Laxi then instructed his subordinates, who filled the breach on the east side of the market, to fall back.

He was very aware of from whom he derived his power and knew all too well that if he wanted the Alliance's continuous support, he must demonstrate his worth. To achieve this, fulfilling orders was even more critical than victory itself.

He was eager to prove himself.

Even if it took his last drop of blood, he was determined to twist the necks of those hyenas back from the north!

He refused to believe it.

These guys would really rather die than head east!

But—

Although "the master's order" was more important than victory itself, Laxi couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Looking at the wide-open entrance to the market nearby, he fell into a long silence before murmuring to himself in a voice only he could hear.

"I told you they would retreat north..."

Meanwhile, on the enclosing wall of Lowell Camp, Killer Dagger looked over the battlefield through a quadcopter drone with a bewildered expression.

He had seen the trapped remnants of the Grey Wolf Army eventually breach the eastern side of the market.

But before he could signal the nearby 3rd and 4th thousand teams to intercept, he watched those "Grey Wolves" suddenly abandon their breakout and attack the north side of the market.

What kind of move was this?!

"This makes no sense..."

He muttered repeatedly, his eyes full of incomprehension.

However, as he was about to report this abnormal situation to the temporary command post and request further instructions, there was a new development in the situation through the drone's camera.

Appearing unable to withstand the ongoing casualties any longer, the remaining Grey Wolf Army soldiers gathered all their strength for a final onslaught against the market's northern defensive line.

That last intense volley of gunfire had a sense of desperate brilliance, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

However, the defending militiamen still managed to hold the line.

After several attempts to break out failed to make any headway, the remaining thousand or so "Grey Wolves" finally fell apart and scattered aimlessly against the solid defense.

Yet still, they chose not to retreat through the eastern side of the market, even though the surrounding militia had left that route open to them.

They dropped their weapons, raised their hands high in despair, and walked out from cover, with orders from their superiors unable to stop them...

Even their commanders, upon realizing that shouting was futile, raised their hands and followed suit.

Not only was Killer Dagger silent, but even Fang Chang and Old White at the temporary command post were stunned by the news from the front lines.

This ace unit, on which they had placed such "high hopes"...

Actually surrendered?!

Chapter 707: The Bottom Line for a Ceasefire is to Withdraw One Hundred Kilometers

The battle at Kraba Market had ended. More than a thousand Gray Wolf Soldiers laid down their weapons and, with hands atop their heads, left the shelter.

Their faces were ash-stained, their expressions downcast, most with fresh wounds yet to scab over, and their dust-covered eyes lacked any hint of light.

If they had lost to the Alliance, they might have taken some consolation, but facing these militiamen who couldn't even scrounge together a single intact outfit filled their hearts with nothing but shame.

The militiamen drove them from the northern side of Kraba Market to the east, forming a long line at the entrance of the market.

The onlooking survivors from a distance all simultaneously wore looks of disbelief upon their faces.

"...His Majesty's army actually lost."

"That's the undefeated Gray Wolf..."

"And they lost to the Moon people, no less."

In fact, it wasn't just the Moon people.

It was simply that, in the Lowell Camp, the majority of slaves were from the Moon Clan, so naturally, this militia was composed mostly of Moon people.

Devoutly religious believers gazed blankly in the direction of Kraba Market, murmuring to themselves with moving lips.

"Great Tuo Ri Shen Niu above."

This time, it really looks like a changing of the heavens...

Watching the approaching militia, Chief Satish's face was ashen. After struggling with himself, he finally handed over his service gun.

The radio had already been seized. Even if he continued to resist, it would have been utterly meaningless.

What he didn't expect was that the man with bare arms, after taking his service gun, removed the magazine and threw the gun back to him.

"Run east."

Satish froze.

"What—"

He was about to ask what it meant when the man, without saying a second word, fired a shot at the ground in front of his boots. The jumping pebbles and dust gave him a start.

'Are you insane?!'

Satish stared at him with widening eyes, a silent question in his gaze, only to see that the man in front of him didn't seem to be joking, forcing him to back away with two steps before breaking into a jog.

He ran from the center of the market all the way to the east side, unobstructed by anyone, until he saw the throng of disarmed captives packed at the eastern gate of the market.

What in the world were they up to?!

Satish's heart was filled with panic. The uncertainty of what was about to happen seemed far more terrifying than the fate of being captured.

The group of "Gray Wolves" standing at the eastern gate of the market were also dumbfounded, clearly not expecting to be able to reunite with their superior after being captured.

The confusion among the men didn't last long, as a man with an LD-47 rifle came before them, without a word aiming skyward and squeezing the trigger.

"Ratatat—!"

The captives crammed at the market gate were like startled birds, all jumping at the sudden burst of gunfire, instinctively retreating backward. The survivors watching from a distance were startled as well, quickly retreating back to their homes.

The man sneered at the group of captives, toying with them as if they were a bunch of bewildered sheep, brandishing the empty rifle and mimicking a "ratatat" sound with his mouth in a feigned attack.

Watching the terrified crowd continue to back away with shock, he crisply ejected the spent magazine, slotted in a fresh one, and with a click, chambered a new round.

The meaning behind that action was self-explanatory—

"This time it's for real!"

No need for him to say a word, the panicking captives all turned around, fleeing away from the direction of Kraba Market.

Bullets whistling over their heads, the running captives had no time to think, not even a moment to see if the person beside them had fallen, merely scrambling away at the sound of gunfire from the scattered soldiers.

Meanwhile, standing in the center of Kraba Market, Laxi managed to contact Fang Chang, who was far off at the temporary command post by the port, through the headset hanging on his ear.

"Per your instructions, the captives are fleeing through the east gate toward the outskirts of the settlement, and I've dispatched a hundred-man team to follow them."

A prompt echo came over the communication channel.

"…Received, well done. I need you to take all the remaining men and standby in the north of the settlement. Our forces will join you there to support your attack."

Although the plan had deviated slightly, it was not without means of remedy.

Just seizing the captives' weapons and letting them keep running would suffice.

Worst comes to worst, they would be recaptured once they ran back to their positions.

Laxi stated succinctly.

"Yes."

Despite the intelligence indicating the presence of a formidable ten thousand troops ready for battle there, he felt not a hint of fear or timidity.

Having already been through two battles, he knew very well who was invincible; it wasn't the Gray Wolf Army, nor himself, but rather the "Iron Men" standing behind him.

As long as those Iron Men were still backing him, there was nothing to fear…

After the communication ended, he immediately called over his underling centurions, ordering them to take their respective commands and proceed toward the north of the settlement as planned.

The Alliance had provided them with more than just various light weapons and ammunition; they had also distributed communication devices down to the ten-man squads.

Because of this, even though this makeshift group of soldiers lacked battle experience, the communication barriers between various command levels had basically been broken through, with their rate of information exchange even slightly higher than that of the Gray Wolf Army, which only had radio equipment down to the hundred-man squads.

Even if sometimes the commands were not perfectly clear, it was just a matter of shouting them out louder a few times.

At least situations where a centurion could not find his ten-man squad or a thousand leader did not know where his hundred-man squads were would not occur.

With just this "cheat" alone, their starting point was already much stronger than many guerrilla teams, not to mention the automatic weapons that had come from the port…

At the same moment the First Corps of the Avengers Alliance was withdrawing from Kraba Market, in a three-story residential building south of the center of the market, a head was hiding behind a second-floor window, eyes peering nervously through the slit in the curtains.

Prince Dilipu sighed in relief as he saw the mob that had occupied the market beginning to withdraw, oblivious to the cold sweat that had soaked through his clothes.

It seemed Tuo Ri Shen Niu was still watching over him.

Though he had unluckily lost this battle, fortunately, these foolish traitors had not searched the entire market, but rather hastened somewhere else in a hurry.

Not just that, the cowardly Chief Satish had also not betrayed him, allowing his presence to remain concealed.

Perhaps…

He could take advantage of their departure and slip away unnoticed.

Neither the Alliance nor those false armies would even know he had been here…

Prince Dilipu cautiously moved away from the window and turned back, preparing to discuss the situation with a group of intensely attentive bodyguards in the room.

However, before he could speak, a sycophantic, ingratiating voice rose from downstairs.

"Yes, sir, right this way…"

…

North of Jinjaron Harbor.

At a frontline position less than one kilometer from the urban area, within an observation post covered with camouflage netting, Chief Manu was holding binoculars, watching with a heavy expression towards the direction of the distant city.

The bombardment of the settlement had stopped, and to cover the idiotic retreat, they had wasted nearly five hundred precious artillery shells. However, that silent city area was without a sound, not even a shadow of a person was seen.

His adjutant stood next to him, looking at him with a tense face.

"Prince Dilipu wouldn't have run into trouble, would he?"

Manu gave a cold laugh and remained silent.

If that were really the case, it might even be for the best.

Compared to that, he was more heartbroken for the more than five thousand of his fellow tribesmen, brave young men who, if they were to die, should die for something meaningful.

Hopefully, more of them could manage to escape...

Just then, a series of figures suddenly appeared in the morning mist, running forward in a disheveled mess, with what seemed to be the sound of gunfire chasing after them.

Manu's pupils narrowed, and he unconsciously leaned forward, his forefinger quickly adjusting the magnification of the binoculars to see further.

"It's our people!"

A glimmer of surprise flashed across his face, but he quickly became alert again.

Something's not right!

There were too many people breaking through!

Hundreds of possibilities flashed through his mind, yet no matter which one, he could not imagine the Alliance launching a counterattack on their position with less than a thousand soldiers.

That would be too fantastical!

The "Iron Fist" rocket launchers provided by the Army could even penetrate power armor!

Coupled with some field guns hidden in the positions and leveled 100mm howitzers, as well as machine gun fire, he was confident in stopping an armored force's attack.

But even with ten thousand disbelief in his heart, he still prepared for the worst, grabbing the walkie-talkie from the radio next to him and howled.

"All units, attention! Prepare for battle!!"

The call for battle echoed through radios, and the shrill alarm bells went off over the ten or so kilometers wide position.

Battle orders trickled down from the thousand teams to the hundred teams, and the soldiers hidden in the anti-cannon holes rushed into the trenches in groups of ten.

Those heads with steel helmets looked like landmines buried in pits, with shiny bayonets hidden beside them.

But there was a problem here.

The trenches were dug too deep!

And it wasn't just a section; each section close to the frontline along the entire ten or so kilometers wide battle line was too deep, with only a few slopes blasted out by artillery that could be climbed outside.

Even so, it was a close call.

Previously, these trenches were merely used as shelters to limit artillery damage, and no one ever considered that the people from the Alliance might break out from within Jinjaron Harbor.

And that's why no one cared about this negligible issue and were quite satisfied with this looted trench.

Now, almost every Imperial soldier along the entire line was facing an awkward problem—

Even if they jumped up, they couldn't see the people outside the trench, let alone aim their rifles and fire.

The machine guns and field guns were unaffected; their shelters had mostly been dug out personally by engineers.

It was for this reason that their positions covered with camouflage nets were specifically targeted by the Alliance support fire.

Almost at the same moment when the routed troops fled the city, a series of whooshing noises flew over the heads of the Gray Wolf soldiers in the trenches.

Deafening booms echoed through the position, and rampant shrapnel flew like a violent storm, swallowing several positions with gun flashes in an instant.

Watching the artillery barrage ahead, the routed troops escaping from the city were in utter despair, while the militia behind them were greatly encouraged.

They seemed to have seen in the flames the despair burning!

The thing they once feared was merely so weak and pathetic!

Laxi only felt as if a flame was burning in his chest, just as when he reached out to catch the handgun that was thrown into the crowd.

It was the flame of ambition!

The opportunity to make a name for himself in battle was right before his eyes!

He would become the new myth, and not just in the hearts of the Moon people.

Those "Iron Men" had even paved all the way for him, and all he had to do now was to charge forward—

He would defeat those who claimed to be invincible, the Gray Wolf!

"Charge with me!! Skin them! Tell those beasts who should stay in the cage!"

He bellowed with excitement, bloodshot eyes flashing, and fired his LD-47 rifle towards the front.

He looked like he was on a stimulant.

Under his command, nearly twenty thousand militiamen with white gauze wrapped around their arms charged towards the positions outside Jinjaron Harbor.

"Kill!!!"

The shout of killing shook the earth and blended with the clamorous sound of gunfire and artillery.

At the edge of the settlement, lying inside the "King Crab" all-terrain infantry armor, the prop-bearer looked with envy at the distant position under artillery fire.

"Damn, when can we also have a big one like this."

Corner old six answered next to him.

"Gathering so many players might be a bit difficult."

The prop bearer chuckled.

"Doesn't have to be players, though."

Old Six paused and looked at him.

"Are you suicidal?"

As the two were chatting, the voice of Brother Fang Chang came through the communication channel.

"...What are you dawdling for? Our allies have already gone up; they need armored unit cover now, move it!"

The two immediately turned serious, responding in unison.

"Yes!"

At the same time as the temporary command issued the combat order, the dispersed Alliance forces north of the settlement also launched an attack.

Five "King Crab" armors charged towards the positions of the Gray Wolf Army with full force, advancing while firing. Dual 20mm cannons roared out long trails of tracer fire, targeting machine gun and field artillery positions one by one, each blast bringing a wave of death.

It wasn't just the "King Crab"; the Alliance Soldiers following the "King Crab" were just as formidable. In terms of mobility, firepower, and defensive capabilities, they were orders of magnitude stronger than the Grey Wolf Army wielding the army's obsolete equipment.

As for the soldiers themselves, that goes without saying.

Every person standing here was an Awakener of at least the second level!

The Grey Wolves buried in the trenches could only watch helplessly as their fire points were dismantled one by one without the cover of infantry, their rifles in hand as useless as sticks for poking a fire, unable even to threaten the charging crowds.

Some men struggled to climb out of the trenches, trying to counterattack with their Iron Fist Rocket Launchers, but the distance of nearly two hundred meters was clearly beyond the effective range of those devices.

An occasional rocket launched from the side of the trench didn't seem to hit anything, but the men carrying the launchers became the focus of attention.

The concentrated gunfire pinned down the Grey Wolf Soldiers attempting to emerge from cover and return fire, while the continuous barrage of heavy artillery suppressed any supporting fire from gaining momentum.

Chief Manu, stationed in the observation post, had bloodshot eyes—half from anger, half from terror.

The Alliance's armor was indeed terrifying, but there were only five of them!

As long as he could stop those charging Cannon Fodders, the Alliance's force of less than a thousand soldiers couldn't possibly break through his positions!

But what made him sweat with anxiety was that the soldiers in the distant trenches seemed as though their knees had been sawed off; each and every one of them kept their heads buried in the trenches and wouldn't come out.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he grabbed the walkie-talkie from the radio and bellowed at the Centurion commanding the battle at the front line,

"What are your men doing? Those bastards are almost charging into your faces, and you are still crouching in the trenches. Open fire!"

The roar of artillery and gunshots came through the radio, with the Centurion's voice trembling slightly,

"Commander... my soldiers report that it's not that they don't want to fire, but the trenches are too deep, and they simply can't see the outside."

Hearing this, Manu almost sprayed a mouthful of old blood on the radio and cursed loudly,

"Why the hell didn't you say so earlier?!"

Now it was too late for anything.

The sound of cannons had ceased.

The Cannon Fodders who had burst out of the city were chasing the encircled and fleeing troops, having already reached the front line positions under his command.

Initially, fierce gunfire erupted between the two sides, but with several grenades exploding in the trenches, the Grey Wolf Soldiers, who couldn't even raise their heads, quickly gave up the meaningless struggle. Under the shouts and jeers of the Cannon Fodders, they threw the useless rifles out from the trenches.

Cheers for victory echoed across the battlefield, a pity they were that of the enemy.

Like an avalanche, the collapsing defensive line fell just like dominoes, one trench after another seized by the unstoppable charge of the Cannon Fodders.

Manu's eyes bulged, his face taut with veins, his lips turned paper white, and his hands shook with rage as he clutched the binoculars, nearly crushing the tube.

He witnessed it with his own eyes.

The pride of the Empire, with guns pointed at their heads, came out of the trenches in droves, their faces smeared with dirt and hands on their heads in surrender.

Humiliation...

It was an utter disgrace!

His troops were being captured en masse!

And by a hastily assembled mishmash of a Cannon Fodder brigade!

Never in the history of the Grey Wolf Army had there been such an outrageous incident!

Seeing that the situation was irretrievable, with no chance of turning the tables, Manu closed his eyes in despair.

At that moment, his adjutant burst into the observation post in a flurry, gasping for breath as he spoke.

"Sir, the soldiers of the Alliance are charging up! If we don't leave now, it'll be too late. Let's retreat quickly!"

Manu opened his eyes, and in those cloudy pupils, there was no longer the spirited vigor of the past; it was as if he had suddenly aged decades.

"You go," he said to his anxious-faced adjutant with a trembling voice.

The adjutant was stunned for a moment.

"And you—"

Before he could finish asking, his respected superior had already drawn his sidearm, pointed it at his own chin, and responded with action.

"Bang—!"

Red and white splattered over the camouflage net that covered the observation post, along with the honors he had accumulated over the past forty years.

Althought losing in battle would not mean death, nor would being captured,
he no longer had the face to keep on living...

...

The battle outside the Gorgon Bay Settlement had completely ended.

During that time, the Grey Wolf Army in the rear had tried to launch several counterattacks, and had even deployed their only motorized units and modified vehicles, but they were nothing more than toys compared to the mechanized troops of the Alliance,

Strength-type players equipped with power armor or exoskeletons could even carry the 37mm "Heavy Cavalry Gun" and fire it standing up.

In this regard, although they lacked the size and defense of a tank, they weren't much different from standard armored personnel carriers.

The "Chimera" wheeled armored personnel carriers of the Skeleton Corps had a cannon caliber of only 37mm as well, and even used the same ammunition.

After leaving behind nearly a thousand corpses, the troops that rushed to the front to reinforce were again forced to retreat in a sorry state, and thus a strange scene was presented on the battlefield—more than ten thousand men were chased by less than a thousand, up until the support artillery along the Everflow River shore began its bombardment, stopping the pursuit.

The artillery positions at the port fired a round of smoke at the front lines they had captured, covering the withdrawal in batches of the third and fourth hundred troops, as well as the militia led by Laxi, back to the settlement.

And what greeted them,
was the cheering of the local survivors.

"Damn... are we fighting in the City of Dawn or Gorgon Bay?!" The Lost Rookie's face was filled with surprise, especially when he received a bunch of flowers from a young lady in a long dress; he almost instinctively reached for his wallet.

Most survivors living in the outskirts were poor without decent clothes, so to have clean clothing meant at least being a middle or upper-class citizen.

In other words, the survivors cheering their triumph weren't just the poor folks paid off from the outskirts, but also those citizens who spontaneously came over.

Under normal circumstances, they would never freely leave their own habitats.

Apart from bouquets, there were wreaths and flower crowns, and even more exciting embraces and sudden surprise kisses, which the players found quite embarrassing.

The conservatism of people from different social strata here seemed to be entirely different. Seeing that the Iron Men seemed embarrassed to refuse, some enthusiastic girls became even bolder in their actions, with some even using the brief seconds of giving flowers or hugs to whisper their addresses...

The attitude towards the bandaged militiamen, however, was much more reserved. Whether it was due to familiarity, belief, or some unfavorable rumors, they were also enthusiastic but merely scattered petals toward them.

Laxi, walking among the militia, didn't care in the slightest about the survivors' "partiality."

As for "Iron Man worship," not one of the celebratory crowd could compete with him, after all, he knew better than anyone how this victory was won and who gave him his power.

The other militiamen felt the same, but it was those who had been slaves for a long time who were surprisingly touched by the thrown petals.

They vividly remembered how much they had been looked down upon by these people before, yet now, the eyes that looked at them were filled with fear and admiration.

This spiritual pleasure was better than any indulgence.

Not many had finished walking the path before their eyes, yet their hearts had already begun looking forward to the next battle...

In order to bask a bit longer in the adulation and cheers of the people and to share the joy of victory more with his subordinates, Laxi deliberately ordered his men to slow their pace.

However, for the nearly ten thousand captives caught in the midst of the troop, this undoubtedly prolonged their torment and suffering.

What people threw at them was not petals, but spit, mud and even sharp stones.

Their hands and feet were tied with a rope, making it impossible to dodge, even to raise their arms to block; they could only let a mess of objects hit their faces and chests.

Some fell to the ground, crashing down with groups of nine in disarray, then roughly dragged up again by the militiamen pressing on them.

Numbness, humiliation, and despair were etched on every face.

Especially when the survivors' stones and mud hit them, in their hearts was not just anger, but also a sense of incomprehension and bewilderment.

Why should these people treat them this way?

They had clearly come at His Majesty's command to rescue them...

Why couldn't they be good people, instead of insisting on being the Alliance's dogs?

...

Inside the temporary command center at the port.

Watching from the drone's aerial view, those welcoming brothers were greeted by the old players with envy, jealousy, and hate.

Good lord!

They had coordinated and dispatched orders for half the day, only to have this bunch finish dressing up.

Had they known the other side was this weak, they would have joined the fight in their gear!

After staring at the screen in silence for a long time, Old White couldn't help but speak up.

"Do these people have no sense of shame at all?"

Fang Chang responded succinctly.

"They don't have the concept of a country, just like most survivor settlements in the Wasteland. Concepts too advanced for the people here are not just 'equality' but many other things. This so-called Empire is really more like a slightly larger area, a slightly more populous Brown farmstead."

After all, this is not any country or region in the real world; analyzing it with real-world experience is like saying, "Watermelons are round, bananas and watermelons are both fruits," therefore concluding, "Bananas must also be round."

According to the official Forum's public setting, before entering the Prosperity Epoch, this planet had already lost traditional boundaries and achieved a union of civilization ranges.

Instead of an Empire that imitates the Army's practice of ethnic nationalism, it's more like a theocracy that borrowed some outdated teaching materials as the bible from the Prosperity Epoch and some theories from the Weilante People.

Clearly, the rulers here are a bunch of "astute" fellows. They have collected the original text of "Animal World," refined and repackaged it, and thus created "Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods," a theory that is a mix of everything.

In name, the gods protect Poluo Province, but in reality, what's tied to the totem poles are iron chains. What has protected Poluo Province for two hundred years is not some "Animal World" but a natural mountain range and a desert left by war, perhaps with some odd trinkets left by the first-generation survivors.

As per Mrs. Han's research, Tuo Ri Shen Niu was not always the chief of gods; before that, it seems there was a Moon God akin to the Silver Moon Goddess in the god lineage of Luo Xia Province. This is also the direct cause of the fall of the Moon people from the pyramid's apex, becoming "untouchables."

With that as a given, expecting the survivors of Jinjaron Harbor to offer loyalty to the emperor like the survivors of the City of Dawn is unrealistic; they are essentially a flock of well-tamed sheep. From the first time he saw Laxi, Fang Chang was clear that these people would only wag their tails at those who appeared stronger and bare their teeth at those who seemed weaker.

Not to mention that the bombardment of the city by the Grey Wolf Army to cover the retreat of allies had completely pushed the local survivors to the opposition.

Now that the defeated dogs had been stripped of their equipment, it would be a miracle if the locals showed any goodwill towards them.

Old White shook his head.

Not wanting to dwell on such complex matters, he got straight to the point.

"The reinforcements from Tiandu have been crushed, and all three phases of the battle plan have been completed. What's next?"

This war was really boring, especially when he saw from the drone footage that a division of the enemy was being chased around by just two of their platoons.

In the River Valley Province, the Looters could fight far better than them.

Fang Chang said in a mild tone.

"One surprise isn't enough, but three consecutive unexpected outcomes, I believe, are enough to wake that arrogant local emperor up... unless he doesn't want to lose all of his elites in a gamble he can't possibly win."

The victory they achieved could only be described as exhilarating.

It even exceeded his expectations.

Apart from the 1,241 killed in battle, almost ten thousand men surrendered, and the entire ten-thousand troop of the Gray Wolf Army was captured!

Some were even captured twice in one day, once in the Kraba market within the settlement, and again at the positions outside the settlement.

In addition to the captured men, all the weapons, ammunition, and supplies left in the positions were taken back by the militia of the First Corps of the Avengers Alliance.

And what couldn't be taken was set on fire and burned.

After this battle, the Gray Wolf Army had completely lost its ability to continue the offensive on Jijaron Harbor. And the lifeline of Witch Xi Lan was now firmly in their grasp.

As for Prince Dilipu, he turned out to be an unexpected bonus.

"Just don't let there be another surprise," Old White said in a relaxed tone, making a joke. "Those guys never play by the rules."

Fang Chang smiled confidently and responded.

"Impossible. It's clear that Witch is an amateur in all fields, but there's one area where he excels. Now, this defeat is not merely a military and diplomatic crisis for him, but a political issue concerning royal authority."

Perhaps taking the opportunity to go up the Everflow River against the current and strike Tiandu in a single move would be a good idea, and the Empire might just collapse as a result.

But he had to seriously consider the warning from the Manager—do not escalate the situation on purpose.

If the Empire were to fall apart, turning Poluo Province into a battleground of warring tribes, not only would the Army take the opportunity to expand their influence in the area, but some dirty things would also take advantage of the chaos to enter. If the aftermath couldn't be cleaned up, the Alliance would also lose the favor of some neutral forces.

Clearly, it was a loss that wasn't worth the gain.

The emperor might not understand this, but their "vassals," the esteemed Managers, certainly had to.

Moreover, even if they had the ability to breach the Empire, they had to consider the predatory Army, the ongoing "Conclave of Unifying Nations," and the Torch, which is brewing a world-class threat.

Just as everyone was shifting the conversation from the battle itself to post-war reconstruction and whether to run the Survivor's Daily here, the radio at headquarters suddenly received a strange telegram.

Fang Chang took the telegram and quickly glanced at it, then smiled and passed it to Old White.

"See what I said?"

Reaching for the telegram, Old White hadn't even looked at the content when he caught a glimpse of the title and almost burst into laughter.

"Imperial Ceasefire Notice to the Alliance"

"That witch really cares about saving face."

But Fang Chang indifferently took the telegram back.

"No matter, establishing the ceasefire line is the priority. Jinjaron Harbor and its surrounding area are already under our control."

"As for apologies and compensation, those can be discussed slowly; it doesn't matter if we can't agree, as it's convenient for us to foster local forces and reconstruction."

Having said that, he looked at the NPC communications officer who had brought the telegram and gave instructions.

"Reply to them."

"Retreating a hundred kilometers is the bottom line for the ceasefire!"

Chapter 707: Not Bad, My Child Has Made Something of Himself

Tiandu.

West Winds Empire's Imperial Palace.

Having resided here for some days without even a glimpse of a soldier, McCullen was beginning to feel a bit bored, so he decided to stroll around with his adjutant.

The adjutant, named Aaron, was part of the civil service system, with a background in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a rank of Centurion. About three years ago, he was dispatched to manage the interests of the Triumph City Official Group in the Poluo Province, understanding the local situation almost as well as the locals themselves.

As they passed by a side hall of the palace, McCullen saw a group of young men and women dressed in lavish clothes gathered around a sandbox.

The sandbox, about ten square meters in size, contained wooden carved pieces representing various fierce-looking animals such as tigers, leopards, wolves, birds, and beasts, pushed around by two servants wielding long poles.

Curious at the sight, McCullen asked,

"What is this?"

"War chess."

"…The soldiers?"

"The beasts on the board represent the soldiers; snakes eat rats, eagles prey on snakes, lions and tigers, tigers fear elephants, a herd of cattle under the sun are unstoppable, and mice in the night are invisible…" Seeing McCullen's bewildered expression, Aaron chuckled and explained, "You shouldn't underestimate this. It actually reflects the political philosophy and spiritual world of the survivors here."

He paused, then continued,

"Moreover, a standard board is twelve square meters and with chess pieces weighing six tons in total, it's not something ordinary wealthy families can afford. As for the assessment board set below the steps of the palace side hall, it is even more incredible—3,300 square meters with a thousand life-sized pieces. I've been here for years and still haven't fully grasped how to play it."

"Assessment?"

"It's primarily for selecting military talents."

McCullen's eyebrows twitched, and he couldn't help but ask,

"They use this to select their generals?"

"Partly, yes—the six-ton board alone eliminates a considerable number of the impoverished."

"And the other part?"

"That's where our merit comes in," Aaron continued enthusiastically, "We salvaged some equipment left by the Expeditionary Army in the Luo Xia Province through the Silver Moon Bay outlet and helped them build a professional army for less than thirty million dinar, and now this army is the trump card of the entire Poluo Province."

At the mention of the Expeditionary Army, McCullen's lips involuntarily twitched fiercely.

While they were talking, the group of noble youths at the chessboard also noticed the two passersby and paused their discussion.

One of the young men, who seemed of high status, approached respectfully and said,

"Good afternoon, Mr. McCullen."

McCullen looked this slick-looking fellow over.

"And you are?"

Seeing the Weilante person engaging him in conversation, the man's face lit up with joy and he continued,

"I am Manish, the second son of the Saisang Family. I've long heard of your legendary prowess, and I was wondering if I might have the honor of discussing tactics with you."

Aaron whispered to McCullen,

"He was the champion of the last grand examination, a direct disciple of Prince Dilip. If you're interested in their war chess, having him teach you the rules might be a good idea."

McCullen gave the young man another look, then suddenly grinned, said nothing, and walked off with his hands behind his back.

Seeing this, Aaron hurriedly followed.

However, the group of nobles did not take offense at this Weilante man's disrespect but seemed rather pleased, especially the young man who had approached to seek guidance.

"He just smiled at me," Manish boasted to his peers.

The group of young men and women around the sandbox laughed and paid their compliments,

"General McCullen must see the shadow of a Five-Star Ten Thousand Leader in you!"

"Sir Manish, you will definitely surpass your teacher and become an even greater general," said a young girl in a green dress with brown curly hair styled in braids, her eyes sparkling as she held her hands to her chest.

Enjoying the adulation of his friends, Manish laughed and raised his hand, feigning modesty,

"Too kind."

"I'm still far from matching Prince Dilip…"

…

In the corridor of the side hall.

Following closely behind McCullen, Aaron said with a look of resignation,

"Couldn't you be a bit nicer to them? At the very least, they are nominally our friends, and if you want to see your own army soon, building good relations with these royal aristocrats is actually a good idea. The Witch Gu has been intentionally nurturing the military skills of the royal offspring."

McCullen, unconcerned, replied,

"I am merely communicating with them in the way they prefer; haven't you noticed they respect me more because of it?"

Initially, he had also reflected if his approach was a bit too harsh.

Especially when he thought of the survivors in the River Valley Province, who went to their deaths unhesitatingly for their leaders, he was truly moved.

To earn respect from others, one must respect others. Perhaps the Weilante people were indeed a bit too arrogant towards other races.

However—

Doing so here was utterly pointless.

Every person here was constantly scheming how to maximize their authority, while trying to compensate for the dignity trampled upon by those above them from those ranked lower. He had watched a duke openly proposition a countess during a dinner, and after the count, smiling, had sent the couple off into that ridiculous carriage, he turned and took the hand of another baroness.

The palace of Tiandu was like a connected centipede. Some, though dressed in clean and neat clothes, were filthier than those without clothes.

Although he was no saint himself, the thought of joining this centipede left him utterly disinterested.

He had never been so clear-headed and desiring nothing.

At that moment, the communicator on Aaron's wrist suddenly flickered. He immediately took out his earpiece and put it on, and his expression changed instantly.

McCullen was about to ask what had happened when he saw that familiar, thick beard approaching quickly, surrounded by a crowd of servants.

The sharp-angled face, unlike when they first met, was full of panic, and his stumbling steps resembled crossing a single-plank bridge, leaving only bewilderment and alarm in his deep-set eyes.

He had indeed not misjudged, that was the facade of a cruel and cunning man.

Before Aaron could greet him, the Emperor of the West Winds Empire took the initiative to speak.

"General, save me!"

Watching Witch Gu clutching his arm, McCullen stepped back in astonishment.

"What's wrong with you?"

Witch Gu let go, hastily straightened his appearance, but couldn't hide the panic in his eyes. After a moment of shifting gaze, he said,

"…Let's talk somewhere else."

…

They moved from the side hall to the conference hall in the backyard, where Witch Gu finally explained everything in detail.

Initially, he tried to obscure certain details during his recount, such as downplaying the cause of the incident, exaggerating the barbarity and rudeness of the Alliance after landing at Jinjaron Harbor, and being unreasonably demanding in their response to the ceasefire agreement...

However, Aaron had his intelligence system locally, and since many from the Grey Wolf Army were trained by them, he naturally understood the true story.

Of course, the origins of the matter were never the most crucial; what was pivotal was how to solve the problem.

Watching the shaken Emperor, Aaron coughed softly in an attempt to comfort him.

"Please, Your Majesty, do not panic. I have a rough idea of what happened… The response from the Alliance was indeed excessive."

"Excessive?!" Witch Gu's eyes widened in anger as he punched the wooden armrest of his chair, "Jinjaron Harbor is the most important outlet on the East Coast to the sea, inhabited by a million citizens of the Empire! And you call this 'excessive'!"

McCullen, who was toying with a teacup on the table, didn't even glance at him.

If this guy were desperately trying to flee for his life, McCullen wasn't sure if he might get flustered.

Aaron, sitting to the side, tried to pacify him.

"Let's not get agitated, Your Majesty… have some tea and calm down first."

He knew the guy was not worried about the hundred or so animals that could live off the land but about the gold located in the harbor.

Five billion dinars were indeed no small sum.

The chances of that money still being in the harbor were slim, and getting angry over what was already lost was pointless. Instead, it would be wiser to think of meaningful ways to use the money that had already been spent.

Like paying reparations.

At least in his view, with the Empire's current strength, a turnaround was utterly impossible; the more they struggled, the tighter the grip on their throat would become.

Witch Gu took a swig of tea, set the cup down heavily on the table, seemingly venting his final bit of anger.

When Aaron noticed his breathing had slowed, he systematically presented a well-prepared solution.

"First, please accept this ceasefire agreement."

The conference hall fell silent.

Not a sound was heard among the three.

McCullen raised an eyebrow at Aaron, then resumed silently playing with the spoon beside the teacup.

Witch Gu stared blankly at Aaron, glanced hurriedly at McCullen who wasn't even looking at him, and looked back at Aaron.

"…What about your armies?"

Aaron took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and said gently,

"Each legion has its own combat plans; they dislike unexpected arrangements. Besides, inviting them here is easy, sending them off is not."

Witch Gu's eyes widened.

"Aren't we the closest of friends?!"

Aaron looked back at him, surprised, as if amazed he would ask such a question.

"Respected Majesty, we certainly are, which is why we're offering solutions to problems, not allowing things to worsen… Marshal does not want this regional conflict escalating to a full-scale war, nor would you like to see them deploy planes, tanks, and artillery on your coast, frank speaking, they are much more restrained than they were in the Luo Xia Province."

"But, Jinjaron Harbor…" Witch Gu, almost crying with anxiety, gripped the armrests of his chair like a child whose toy had been taken away, "If we withdraw our troops by a hundred kilometers and they advance even further, what then?"

General McCullen, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke.

"Don't worry about that; they'll withdraw, at least near the harbor. But knowing them, they might play some tricks, just like in the Falcon Kingdom."

Aaron looked curiously at McCullen, as if unaware of what had happened there.

"Such as?"

McCullen responded casually.

"They formed a Citizens' Self-Government Committee to counterbalance the nobility. It's complicated to explain, you should ask Centurion Cohen about it; he took over General Kras's position and is now the governor of the Luo Xia Province."

Aaron continued to face the despairing Witch Gu, who he seemed to have intended to use McCullen's words for some effect.

"You've heard it; expecting the Alliance to withdraw straightforwardly is naive. The mess they leave behind doesn't go away no matter how much you flush. My suggestion is… establish a buffer zone in Jinjaron Harbor, maintain its sovereignty, but exclude it from the Empire, to at least avoid their leftover dirt undermining your authority."

He paused before continuing.

"Of course, we understand the importance of Jinjaron Harbor to you; the Empire's finances rely on the gold contributed by that port. However, gold is not the only valuable thing. If you don't mind, we can help you establish a similar port on the West Coast of Poluo Province, closer to Triumph City, and even assist in developing some heavy industries that the Empire lacks… of course, to better proceed with the plan, we would need some autonomous decision-making authority in the local area."

Witch Gu looked at him, his expression dazed.

"... What's the point of this? I need an army, not craftsmen."

"I know you need an army, and that's exactly what we're giving you," Aaron said with a smile. "Do you know why the Alliance can chase you around with just a few hundred people? Because they have something you don't... Their factories can mass-produce rifles and artillery. Once you also have factories, you'll be no worse off than they are."

Honestly, Triumph City had enough slaves, especially those from Weilante who had returned from a loss in the east and were considering how to improve their lives.

After all, no matter how fast a slave could fan, they couldn't keep up with electric fans and air conditioning, and physiological needs were easily satisfied.

Although the Legion had some factories producing consumer goods besides those making weapons, their cost remained high due to their low share in the total industrial output; mainly the officers could afford them, making it hard to benefit everyone like in Ideal City.

Helping through Poluo Province to take on some low-to-mid-tier industries might be a good idea.

There were resources and manpower here, even if they could reduce the price of consumer goods in Triumph City by 1%, it would make those behind him immensely wealthy.

It would also slightly arm this dim-witted junior, a truly win-win situation.

Witch Gu fell into deep thought.

After a long while, he loosened the fingers tightly grasping the armrests and nodded hesitantly.

"I'll think about it..."

Aaron knew he was tempted, but such a big decision needed to be discussed with his officials and relatives.

What constructive suggestions could those yes-men provide, though?

At most, they would help him polish the grammar in his decrees, making a rather embarrassing situation sound more palatable and less humiliating.

So he wasn't in a hurry and patiently said.

"We await your good news... But honestly, other matters can wait; the ceasefire agreement should be expedited. You're already at a disadvantage and cannot reverse it in the short term; the longer it drags on, the more advantageous for them."

Witch Gu nodded slightly and got up to leave the council hall.

His silhouette looked utterly lonely.

The room quieted down.

Watching McCullen, who was silently sitting aside, Aaron's serious face broke into a satisfied smile as he leaned back in his chair.

"We've done nothing, yet we've gained no less than our opponents."

Seeing that his nominal superior was at a loss for words, he continued smugly.

"See what I was saying? If you want to maintain good relations with them, you can never be more anxious than they are."

McCullen coughed lightly to remind him.

"But Bister Town is just outside the Falcon Kingdom, and we haven't lost an inch of our territory."

Aaron shrugged and said with a smile.

"Who cares, they are not our vassals, just our friends."

...

Bad news always travels faster than good news.

Within a few days, the news of the Grey Wolf Army's defeat at the front had spread back to Tiandu, causing widespread panic.

Some said the entire Grey Wolf Army was captured; others said it was actually a Ten-Thousand Troops unit, while the remaining four units still had some fight left in them.

Regardless, these Grey Dog had thoroughly embarrassed the royal family, wearing the most expensive gear in the dumbest of battles.

General Arai Yang also went from a war god revered by thousands to a clown spitted by thousands, with young men and women from the Wolf Tribe angrily throwing his promotional images out of their homes, only for some from the Rat Clan and Snake Clan to pick them up for making clothes.

The rumors grew wilder, with someone claiming that the Alliance planned to advance along the river all the way to Tiandu, frightening many, and the settlement gates were jammed with fleeing carts and ox-carts.

Fortunately, His Majesty's timely decree halted those who were rushing out of the city en masse and clarified all the rumors.

[... Due to weather conditions causing difficulty in suppressing bandits, the Grey Wolf Army is permitted to move one hundred kilometers west, reconstructing defensive lines in the eastern forests near the City of Thousand Pillars, with strict orders to dig deep trenches and build extensive shelters.

Moreover, the Tiger Army and Black Panther Army will send a force of one hundred thousand each, arriving from the north and south to form a three-sided encirclement of the enemy.

The current situation in Jin Galun Harbor is tumultuous, and imperial citizens are advised not to travel there unless necessary.]

The decree seemed to say everything and nothing at once, but it ultimately made two points clear: "the empire's enemy" will not continue to press westward, and three hundred thousand troops are ready on the front lines for a devastating strike against the enemy.

The upper-class citizens and nobles knew somewhat what had happened; a foolish decision by His Majesty had provoked revenge from the Alliance.

As for the middle and lower class citizens and most of the poor, they referred to the incoming sea-based enemies as "Iron Men," with varied attitudes ranging from curiosity to indifference, but mostly dominated by curses.

Originally, only His Majesty and the nobles he had ennobled were over their heads; now, there was an additional "iron lump" pressing on His Majesty's shoulders.

The sequence of respect and contempt shifted downward again, leaving those already lowly people to think even less of themselves.

In Jin Galun Harbor, however, the atmosphere was entirely different.

Nobles and citizens were overly welcoming and appeasing to these "Iron Men" to an embarrassing extent.

As for the poor, they remained relatively conservative.

Aside from those who earned money by digging trenches, demolishing houses, and leading the way, who secretly rejoiced and welcomed the newcomers, most were fearful and sycophantic, mainly indifferent and unconcerned.

Those who ate dirt continued to do so; nothing changed for them. Those who managed to eat a few meals of beans complained about the rising prices of feed, as the price of black beans finally broke ten in uncertainty, making life increasingly difficult...

...

"Wasteland OL" official website.

Today, the forum was as lively as ever.

Since the mutant mucor mother nest in Qingquan City was dealt with, the Sticky Community meetings, under the Manager's guidance, had seen more and more progress. As the save points in Far North Land's Ice Sea City and Far East Land's Cloud-Below-City were established one after another, many players tasted the sweetness of exploring new maps and brought back distant stories and intel to the official website.

However, compared to the bits and pieces of incidents along the way, the big news created by the Burning Corps in Poluo Province was far more stimulating.

Five hundred people took over a settlement with a population of over a million.

The population of this settlement is almost more than the total population of the Alliance combined!

As usual, today Brother Fang Chang is still bringing a new day of fun to the buddies who are moving bricks, beating dust, going local, and sweeping relics in River Valley Province.

Fang Chang, "Telegraph from the Empire's capital! They've agreed to pull back a hundred kilometers but also mentioned they'll be sending more soldiers to the front line unless we completely retreat from Poluo Province. Moreover, they demand that we don't leave Jinjaron Harbor, either return to the sea or stay within the settlement, which is their bottom line, otherwise, the temporary ceasefire agreement becomes void. As for the specific ceasefire agreement, it will be negotiated and signed by Duke Garava who is currently in Dawn City."

Quit Smoking, "Fuck?"

Tail, "Eh!?"

Night Ten, "Well, well, aren't these guys brave? (facetious)"

Gnome King Riches, "Can you tolerate this?!"

Elena, "If it were me, I absolutely couldn't tolerate it. I'd build an airport and go after them! (facetious)"

In a blink, the post was stacked with dozens of comments, and the entire forum was filled with lively banter.

A few people were bragging in the post, but most were egging them on, urging them to fight their way west to Tiandu and capture that old Emperor alive.

Some people were not satisfied with just watching the excitement and wanted to join the fray on the front lines.

Midnight with an umbrella, no knife, "Bros, do you need mercenaries? My garbage lord eats too much. (crying)"

Debt Giant Eye, "Bro, look at me. I didn't raise that stupid thing, mainly wanting to help the suffering survivors locally. (facetious)"

Pick up trash 99 level, "???"

Tranquility, "Come on, be human. (sweat)"

Fang Chang, "Stay calm, we are civilized people; we still have to abide by the rules. We know how to fight and how far to go."

Spring Water Commander, "Actually, I think even if you don't adhere to the last clause, it'd be fine, they can't see anyway, and if they did, they'd probably pretend not to. (sideways smirk)"

That was more like a harsh word to help the Empire save face.

Just like the previous "notification."

Old White, "We think the same, but we're not planning to stir up trouble for now. Jinjaron Harbor is a mess right now, from the Governor's Mansion to the market in the north of Kraba City, it's all ruins. We are planning to reconstruct some of the city areas, establish some industries, and then foster a local power to take over municipal and police institutions... Brother Fang Chang is handling this right now, I don't understand much, haha, but interested lifestyle players can ask him about it. (grinning)"

Fang Chang, "Well, Potato Harbor's land characteristics aren't suitable for developing industry, as the maintenance costs of industrial facilities are too high. However, the planting industry could get a growth acceleration BUFF, especially for some tropical and subtropical crops, and the feedback from local residents is promising. Therefore, we adjusted the initial plan, intending to place secondary industries in Jinjaron Harbor and focus on primary production along the Baiyue Strait coast."

Spare people under the knife, "Wow! DNA has tweaked! (facetious)"

Levin with athlete's foot, "Shall we build a branch factory in Lagos!"

Old White, "Of course, you're welcome. There are plenty of minerals here, just that the electricity might be a bit expensive. (grinning)"

Poluo Province's mineral resources are plentiful; centuries-old de-urbanization led to large amounts of trash either rusting and weathering away or being buried under soil layers or within mountains.

Resources don't just disappear; they exist in another form. Similar to the "mines" of the Red River Alliance, they are everywhere in Poluo Province.

Moreover, the area also has abundant human resources; although the education rate has dropped a bit, some labor-intensive industries don't really need a high educational threshold.

Fang Chang: "...We're not rushing into heavy industry; we plan to start with textiles. I've looked through the port's import and export books, and textiles are already one of the main export goods here. We have ample raw materials and skilled workers, and production equipment can be bought from Giant Stone City and Dawn City. Transporting them through Silver Moon Bay isn't too troublesome."

Teng Teng: "Speaking of which, isn't there a power shortage over there? I guess we'll have to use pedal-operated sewing machines... Do we even have those things here? (confused)"

Night Ten: "Of course we do! What's with the electrification in the POW camps anyway? Dawn City just switched from kerosene lamps to electric lights a few months ago. (playful)"

Si Si: "Cough cough, I'm no expert, but I think it'd be better to consider the local food issues first. Jinjaron Harbor's fertile land mainly grows cash crops like cotton, sugarcane, and spices. The locals primarily rely on imported staple foods from the plains in the west via the inland port on the Everflow River... At this rate, they might end up literally 'eating dirt'."

Tail: "Oh! Tail thinks so too! That dirt is way too hard to chew; it almost killed me last time, giao. (`-д-;)ゞ"

Quit smoking: "Damn, you've eaten it?!"

WC has Mosquito: "Elena: I concede. (playful)"

Elena: "As much as it annoys me, it feels like I'd lose if I argued now. (playfully angry limited.jpg)"

Gnome King Riches: "Hahahaha."

Fang Chang: "We'll keep an eye on this issue. We've already noticed a general rise in the prices of legumes in the past few days. In the short term, we plan to import some food through Silver Moon Bay to solve the problem. For the medium to long term, it might be feasible to convert some of the plantations from cash crops to corn or rice fields."

Mole on the Run: "By the way, what about those over ten thousand prisoners? What do you plan to do with them?"

Fang Chang: "I was just about to get to that. The Empire hopes we'll return those people soon, considering the over ten thousand families behind them. However, we plan to delay their release until after the ceasefire agreement is officially signed. In the meantime, we might have them work on projects like the Crab Market reconstruction; we can't just keep feeding all these people for nothing."

Spring Water Commander: "Labor reform is indeed a good idea; maybe they could take something useful back home. (playful)"

Fang Chang: "Hopefully. But to be honest, I don't hold much hope for the locals' sense of initiative. The few worth training are mostly the warlord-type talents. Spiritually, they could progress to the early stages of Giant Stone City; regress, and they're pure looters. And not to mention assimilating them; stay there too long, and we might end up as morally bankrupt as Big Eyes."

Debt Giant Eye: "Damn, did I just get shot while lying down?"

Tail: "Got it! I'll tell Dolly immediately, and then take advantage of the situation to whisk away the lovely Miss Dolly! ヾ(ﾟ∀ﾟゞ)"

Si Si: "???"

Fang Chang: "Heh, give it a try if you think you can, I'm quite confident in myself... By the way, Ah Wei, what about those people you let go from the port area? Can you still contact them?"

Tail: "Oh, Si Si left them a radio, so if they haven't broken it, there shouldn't be a problem! By the way, do you need them for something?"

Fang Chang: "Yes, we'd like to have a chat with them."

While the players were having a lively chat, Chu Guang, who was sitting in the B4 Layer of Sanctuary No. 404 and sipping soda, was also wearing a face filled with satisfaction and sentiment.

A long, long time ago, when the Legion System had just been introduced, he had imagined letting players use the system to spontaneously spread the seeds of civilization.

Although their execution was still a bit rough, and their motivations might not completely align with his own, it was coming along alright.

He knew 'wanting everything' was not a viable approach; those who are too controlling and want everything often end up getting nothing.

His only expectation for these players was quite simple, and from what he could tell, they were doing quite well and gradually improving.

Chu Guang contentedly stretched out his index finger and gently rubbed Xiao Qi's little head.

"Not bad, my child is getting along."

Xiao Qi: "...???"

Chapter 709: The Fertile Saline-Alkali Soil

The First Hospital of Dawn City.

Duke Garava lay in his hospital bed, gazing listlessly at the first streak of light creeping over the windowsill that morning. His pallid face resembled someone recovering from a serious illness.

These days, he had experienced whole nights of insomnia, and whenever he closed his eyes, nightmares would startle him awake soon after, drenching him in cold sweat.

He couldn't understand why.

Why had the trump card crafted by the Weilante People lost?

Even more incomprehensible was how they had lost to a mere force of just over five hundred.

"...technology?" he murmured with quivering lips. His eyes were murky, but a glimmer of realization seemed to flash within them.

The malady that the court doctors couldn't cure seemed treatable here, with someone mentioning it was due to some sort of technology and techniques.

What astonished him the most was that not only royals like him could get help here, but their medical resources were so abundant that they could even afford to equip impoverished-looking commoners with mechanical prostheses.

Even Niyan had mentioned that they had established something called the Home of the Refugees. Survivors who lost limbs could receive an interest-free loan to replace their basic mechanical prostheses if they were willing to learn living skills and accept work arrangements.

The now composed Duke Garava felt his back soaked with cold sweat again.

Only now was he beginning to realize what kind of opponent they had provoked.

However...

This failed probe might not be entirely a bad thing.

At least, he had found a way to strengthen the Empire.

He relaxed his shoulders, letting his head sink into the pillow. Duke Garava comforted himself, feeling slightly better.

"...I need to get my hands on some technology," he thought.

As he pondered, footsteps were heard outside the door.

Startled by fears that his thoughts had been overheard, Duke Garava broke out in a cold sweat again — until he saw the figure at the door was his confidant Niyan, which allowed him to relax his tense shoulders.

"My lord, have you awakened?!" Niyan stood at the door holding a stack of papers, looking at the now-open eyes of Duke Garava with surprise.

Duke Garava looked at him somberly, about to call him in, when he took notice of the stack of papers Niyan was clutching — and felt his heart constrict.

"Take the newspapers away!"

He didn't want to see those things now.

It was foreseeable that the news would not be good.

"This...these aren't newspapers, my lord, it's a ceasefire proposal drafted by the Alliance side," Niyan said gently and honestly, seeing the Duke's agitated reaction. "Shall I throw it away for you?"

As soon as Niyan finished speaking, Duke Garava sprang from the bed as if he had been shocked by an electric current.

He didn't look like a patient at all, with his bloodshot eyes almost bulging from their sockets, and he reached out with all his might.

"Bring...it to me!"

"At your command, my lord."

Niyan nodded respectfully, walking forward with the draft in hand, a flicker of undetectable disappointment crossing his hidden face.

It was a shame.

The conflagration he had fanned with all his might should have toppled the teetering jenga tower, but it was held in place by an unseen hand.

If the war had continued to its bitter end, bleeding out the putrid blood once and for all, drowning the parasites sucking blood from the giant's body, his homeland might still have a glimmer of hope for rebirth.

But now, all he could do was bemoan his ill fate...

...

The war was over.

At least for the time being.

At Jinjaron Harbor, in front of the Governor's Mansion ruins, the faint smell of blood could not be washed away, even after many rains.

A group of clothed people knelt on the ground praying with their hands clasped together, thanking the guardian spirits for protecting them from death and disaster. Others in raggedy clothing were carrying baskets, scavenging among the rubble, tossing anything of value into their containers.

The corpses and the weapons next to them had long been taken away by the militia from the settlements, but there were still some items worth salvaging.

Like the brass casings that fell on the ground or the bullet heads stuck in the walls.

These orange-yellow metals were sought after goods, with a pound fetching a handful of beans, and some merchants near the port were buying.

Suddenly, someone unearthed a leather belt with ammunition pouches from beneath a pile of rubble, and in a frenzy of joy, lifted it over their head, waving to the guard seated not far off.

The guard yawned, rose from his chair, approached, and examined the belt. After a while, he counted and tossed a few notes to the scavenger.

The scavenger bowed with a fawning smile.

"Thank you, milord!"

The guard waved dismissively and, not deigning to utter a word, returned to his chair.

Everyone cast envious glances at the lucky finder, their scavenging efforts redoubling in the remains.

It was rumored that the Inland Port had not had a barge dock for a long time since His Majesty ordered the seal of the downstream ports, cutting off any food supplies coming from the west.

As the price of beans continued to rise, many sensed the odor of famine.

They needed to prepare for the future...

In the distance, more scavengers attempted to enter but were stopped by a group of strong young men.

These youngsters wore short shirts, wielded clubs in their hands, skinny yet fierce, baring their teeth like hyenas on the plains.

"Get lost! This is our home!"

"You roaches!"

"Either pay up, or go somewhere else!"

The ragged scavengers clearly were no match for this gang, and while some pulled out two West Winds coins to hand over to these young fellows, others, either unable or reluctant to fork out the cash, cursed and moved along to other places.

Elsewhere, the dignified people who had finished their prayers slowly rose from the ground and bid farewell one last time to the land where they had lived for so many years.

As they left the ruins, they nodded in thanks to the young men holding clubs and standing guard at the edge of the Wasteland, appreciating that, out of neighborhood camaraderie, they had been spared from paying even a coin.

And when looking at a certain young member of the Rat Clan, what was written in those eyes was nothing but respect and gratitude.

They were the ones who should have been groveling in the dirt picking trash.

Had they listened to that wolf clansman scoundrel, Vikram, and demanded more from the Iron Men, they'd probably now have nothing but a pile of broken bricks, and might have even had to fight over scraps with a group of scavengers who wandered over from another district.

Basking in their admiring gazes, Ah Xin nodded back at them gently, but without too much enthusiasm.

He could probably feel that what lay behind those grateful glances was not actually thanks but an awe they themselves might not even realize, akin to their reverence towards the gods.

It's hard to be a great man; however, mimicking a great being isn't difficult, and he knew better than anyone the true colors of these people.

All he needed was to maintain a proper distance and dignity, and to bestow occasional small favors, and they would praise his kindness and generosity.

It was all too easy for him now, and it didn't even require spending money.

As repayment, they would go home and tell their kids or young siblings to be as cautious as rats at night and to emulate the good young man called Ah Xin, to become someone of worth like him.

Afterward, he wouldn't even need to speak; their children would find him on their own, treat him like an elder brother, and from him, seek a piece of work that could lead to prosperity.

These people had become his most solid support base.

Perhaps he should start thinking of a name for his clan.

As he watched the neighbors depart, Ah Xin's gaze moved from their retreating figures to his most loyal servant.

"Kunal," he said, "we won this war."

Kunal was momentarily stunned.

"We?"

Wasn't it a war between the Iron Men and the Empire?

He didn't remember enlisting himself in the battle.

For those two days, he was with his family, following Ah Xin's directive, staying in the warehouse by the port that he had purchased.

Seeing Kunal's bemusement, Ah Xin just nodded slowly and began to speak.

"Yes, and not only did we win, but all the survivors of Jinjaron Harbor did as well."

Kunal looked at him, not quite understanding, his eyes full of confusion.

Knowing what puzzled him, Ah Xin smiled faintly and said,

"Could you have believed that a member of the Rat Clan would own a 200 to 300 square meter mansion on Tulip Street two weeks ago?"

The touch of spirited confidence that danced in his expression matched his age—after all, he was only a seventeen-year-old lad.

Kunal shook his head subconsciously, but quickly caught himself, remembering that his own boss was of the Mouse Tribe, and carefully added a sentence.

"I didn't mean to offend you..."

"I know," Ah Xin didn't mind, just squinted towards the Governor's Mansion and continued, "Two weeks ago, a poor devil from the Mouse Tribe could never dream of being neighbors with those nobles there, not even having the eligibility to pay; but now, as long as you have money, it's fine."

He didn't feel at all sorry for the destruction of Jin Galun Harbor; it had never been his home, but that of His Majesty.

Rather, he thought it was better to smash this rotten pot to pieces and build a new home on these ruins with their own hands.

That would truly belong to them.

As for those high and mighty nobles and those citizens who would call the dirt their father and the earth their mother after a few meals, let them cry their eyes out. After all, when he himself was starving, they had never spared him a single coin, so he had no reason to sympathize with them.

But to be honest, he was actually somewhat surprised when he saw their reactions.

Especially when he found that those who had lost the most were not crying but even quicker to adapt than he was, who had nothing, it nearly overturned his original impression of those fellows.

The more he thought about it, the only things he lacked compared to those people, apart from status, bloodline, and a pampered lifestyle, seemed to be just education.

Those guys in clothes, gnawing on white bread, could read and had studied a few books. Now, he had everything except for this one matter where he couldn't catch up to them.

And this made him determined to hire a teacher for his younger brother and sister or simply send them off to study in the City of Dawn.

Also—

He must find literate sisters-in-law for them!

However, Kunal didn't completely understand all that he said, or rather, he only heard the word "money."

Money was indeed a good thing.

When he was hanging out with Vikram, it was quite prestigious, but at most, it could only make those poor devils bow their heads; well-dressed citizens would not spare him a second glance for his Wolf clan identity and would disdain him for mixing with a bunch of bad company, bringing scorn upon himself as well.

But now everything had changed, ever since he had money in his pocket, even girls in skirts would look his way and even take his hand to talk about poetry and dreams. One girl had promised him that she would do anything as long as he was willing to buy her a ticket to Silver Moon Bay.

"Boss, you're right... we need to figure out how to make more money," Kunal said in a muffled voice, "collecting management fees from the scavengers is too slow. Saving up one coin at a time, we'll never get a ship in our lifetime."

Ah Xin paused, not knowing why this simpleton would want to buy a ship, but he agreed with the first part of his statement.

They did indeed need money.

And a lot of it...

"Kunal, my servant, we obviously can't get rich collecting money from scavengers, but don't underestimate the business of a few coins; money we scorn is naturally valued by others."

He pointed with his chin at those lads holding sticks, continuing to speak.

"It's not just us who need to stand out; they too need to become the pride of their families. We grant them the authority to collect management fees here, and they get dignity and money from us. When we need to deal with some guys that we can't handle ourselves, they will take action for us."

A flash of realization crossed Kunal's face, as his mind seemed to clear, but then he quickly continued to ask.

"What about us?"

"We do bigger business," Ah Xin glanced at the ruins before them, slightly squinting his eyes, "This place is right next to the Governor's Mansion. If we build a block of buildings here, guess how much it will sell for?"

Kunal was stunned for a moment, but he didn't think about the money issue, instead nervously asking.

"But what if the Empire's people come back?"

And this is the Iron Man's shooting buffer zone. Those people were paid to move them out, how could they possibly let them back in?!

Ah Xin grimaced.

"You're talking about the Empire? Impossible, they've been scared shitless. If they were planning to come back, they wouldn't have withdrawn so far. And even if they did, the battlefield would be outside the settlement, in those trenches."

He had already asked about this yesterday from an adult called "Family."

Those Iron Men aren't happy to see such a large piece of land go to waste, especially land so close to the port area.

They are completely different from the governor. It seems that they can't bear to see people live too miserably, which might have something to do with the Great Antler God they believe in.

Regardless of what they want to do or what they want, he would cater to these masters' likings and serve them well.

Moreover, he also saw potential in this land.

Lately, both the rich and poor want to live closer to those Iron Men. Building houses on this wasteland could definitely fetch a good sum of money.

Just so happens, he had some capital on hand.

So when he proposed taking on a contract for this land, the adult named "Family" was only surprised for a moment before cheerfully slapping his shoulder in agreement, though he did mention something about land taxes and transaction taxes.

However, he didn't need to worry about those things before the houses were built, or even before selling them. The situation might change in the future, but at least for now, their most urgent wish was to get the buildings up quickly, not how much money they would make.

The adult was a bit eccentric, but a good person nonetheless.

Ah Xin could feel that unlike a scoundrel like himself, he genuinely wanted to do good deeds, even refusing the kickbacks he had offered out of respect.

It was for this reason that he swore to "Family" that he wouldn't disappoint his expectations and cultivation, promising to take care of this matter perfectly.

For the land to be successfully and safely built upon, the first step was to get rid of the unexploded duds and explosives.

So he let those guys who once lived on the same street spread the word around that there were treasures to be found here, things the Iron Men didn't care for.

Not only that, but he also deliberately arranged for some "plants" to discover "treasures" buried under bricks every now and then, showing them off to the scavengers and exchanging them for money from the guards.

The scavengers, lured by the rumors, turned into red-eyed vultures, eager to dig three feet into the ground.

These cost-free laborers, who even brought him money, would lick the battlefield clean, not leaving a single bit of residue behind.

Then, he could start hiring people to work here.

"...Kunal, I've thought about it. Unity is very important, maybe even a little more important than the knowledge we lack. The Empire's lackeys fall apart so easily because they're not united. They've managed to offend everyone they could in this settlement, knowledgeable or not, and we definitely can't make the same mistake."

The young face showed a maturity beyond his years. Kunal felt a sudden moment of unfamiliarity with him.

Watching the servant nod in confusion, Ah Xin paused before continuing.

"So I plan to have everyone live together."

Kunal didn't understand and asked.

"Live together?"

Ah Xin did not directly answer.

"For a long time to come, it's probably only safe near those Iron Men, as a lot of dirty things will emerge. Don't look at the ruins that only interest Scavengers now; once blocks of buildings are erected there, all the rich people in town will pounce on this place just like them. I bet you that a single brick here will buy their entire outfit, even their brothers and sisters, their sons and daughters."

Kunal held his breath, seemingly shocked by this astonishing fact, and struggled to choke out a response.

"But... the Iron Men forbid the sale of people."

"How can you be as dumb as a pig? Did I say I was going to trade in people?"

Ah Xin's frustrated kick was followed by a pat on the shoulder as he looked at his servant's aggrieved face and then hooked his arm around him.

"Listen, Kunal, you're the first person to stand by my side. Even though you're officially my servant, I've always considered you a friend, a member of the family... I'm not telling you all this to brag about how rich I'll be in the future, but to let you know that you'll also own a part of this, an entire building!"

"An, an entire building?!" Kunal was stunned, his voice stammering.

"Yes, they can only get a set of rooms, but you can get a whole building," Ah Xin pointed at those young men in the distance and then patted the breathless Kunal on the shoulder, "So you have to take every word I say to heart. From now on, everyone on this street, they are our family. No matter how they've treated me or you or others in the past, don't go settling scores with them. Be courteous to them, not too nice, of course. Only by winning them and their relatives over can we face outward with a united front and prevent others from bullying us."

Kunal hurriedly swallowed and nodded nervously. He wanted to shut his mouth right there but couldn't help asking another question.

"Alright, boss... may I ask you one more question?"

Ah Xin let go of his shoulder, giving him a casual look.

"Ask."

Kunal carefully inquired.

"What exactly... do you want to do?"

Hearing this, a rare moment of confusion flashed through those fierce eyes, but it was only for an instant.

He quickly replied.

"I haven't figured it out yet, maybe I'll think about it later. For now, I just want to make money and protect my family."

He did not have the ambition to become an emperor, a bit far-fetched for a Rat Clan man, and besides, he had already obtained a fortune beyond his wildest dreams, satisfying him both spiritually and materially.

Now, his only thought was to guard it.

However, that was not easy.

For that, he needed a matching force.

He was well aware that the Iron Men cooperated with him not because he was strong or rich; ironically, those were exactly what he lacked.

Their real reason for choosing him was that he could persuade some people, do some things for them that they couldn't do themselves, or even talk about.

To not lose everything he now possessed, he had to keep the snowball he held in his arms rolling, and it had to keep rolling on and on.

If he didn't want to be eaten by other Hyenas on the Wasteland...

...

Ah Xin was not the only one feeling uncertain about the future; Laxi, who had just won a battle, was also lost in confusion.

Looking at the Killer Dagger that brought the ceasefire notice, he felt a breath stuck in his chest, blocking all the flames in his stomach.

Unable to resist the burning ambition his soul, he for the first time raised his voice, shouting at the Iron Man clad in an exoskeleton.

"Why should we cease fire? The Emperor's army is no match at all! With your help, we could completely break into Tiandu! By then, all their treasures, palaces, everything would be yours—we only want their blood! Nothing else!"

Once he had cleansed the land of those mongrels flowing with the blood of the Sun People and Cow People, he would be able to rebuild the dynasty of the Moon people!

He would become the new Emperor and correct the mistakes of the past. When the reckoning was over, he would even add a bit of Alliance ideology into the doctrine of Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods, such as unity, equality, and the abolition of slavery, just like what the desert kings were doing.

The cursed cycle plaguing this land would finally end at his hands!

And the Empire, reborn from the ashes, would be even more stable and united than before!

Honestly, Killer Dagger didn't particularly like this guy, even though there were quite a few people on the Forum who liked this NPC.

That was normal; not every joy-seeker sought joy in the same things.

For instance, Brother Mosquito enjoyed watching explosions, Ah Wei wanted to give cute girls a home, and Debt Giant Eye was the same, only he exerted force in a different direction.

It was undeniable, though, that compared to those slaves driven only by hot blood, there was something about him.

"Calm down."

Looking at this guy with a flushed face and thick neck, Killer Dagger didn't even move a shoulder but simply said calmly.

"You should be aware, it was with whose help that you were able to crush the Grey Wolf Army so decisively. We don't deny your achievements in battle, but you need to recognize who you are; you and your men are no match for that Arai Yang, we could crush them as easily as they could crush you."

Laxi looked at him, surprised.

"Aren't we friends?"

Knowing that the surprised expression was a sly act, Killer Dagger ignored it straightforwardly and continued speaking calmly.

"Yes, but they have their own friends too, farther west... Even by boat, those big-noses are closer to this place than we are. Do you get what I'm saying? If we keep fighting, it'll be total war, where we not only have to spend hundreds of millions of silver coins but also risk giving more dangerous enemies a chance. Ask yourself, is the current you worth that much money to us?"

It wasn't just about the money.

The attitude of the faction leaders was more important than money; they had to constantly consider whether their actions conformed to the overall interests of the Alliance.

But that wasn't necessary to tell him.

Realizing his impertinence from the sharp tone, Laxi took a deep breath, trying to control his agitated emotions.

He didn't know what the greater threat was, but he still wanted to make one last effort for the people on this land.

Looking at the Instructor, he said sincerely.

"Please let me meet Mr. Fang Chang!"

Killer Dagger spoke seriously.

"That was Mr. Fang's idea, and also the result of our discussions."

Laxi completely despaired.

No—

It wasn't exactly despair.

It was just that perhaps the flame called ambition in his heart had been doused slightly by a bucket of cold water.

He realized that relying on the strength of outsiders to become the Emperor was unrealistic; no one was generous enough to go out of their way for their sake.

And his own power was far too small to match his ambition.

Perhaps—

He should be more realistic, starting from being a military faction leader or something similar; the throne could be planned slowly.

His Adam's apple moved, then he continued speaking.

"What about those Grey Wolves? Those captured ones, what do you plan to do with them?"

Killer Dagger looked at him strangely, not understanding why he had suddenly asked about this.

However, he was pleased that the guy didn't keep harping on the previous issue, so he said in a more conciliatory tone.

"We plan to have them build a POW Camp outside the city; using labor to reform those who need reforming is a usual practice where we come from."

Laxi paused, then asked subconsciously.

"Why not just hold them at Lowell Camp? We could move into that camp instead!"

Killer Dagger stared blankly at this guy who suddenly lost his mind, not sure who the real Killer Dagger was.

"That's a POW Camp, are you insane?"

Laxi took two steps back with his arms wide, then put his hands together in a pleading gesture.

"Please, I've promised my subordinates that I would put those beasts in cages... At least let them experience what we went through, feel the anger of us slaves towards them!"

He needed to humiliate those people to raise his prestige among his subordinates.

His request wasn't high, just let them stay there for a few days!

Not knowing what exactly was in this guy's mind, Killer Dagger seriously considered his request.

Although he had thought about telling these folks that venting anger on their equally hoodwinked kinsmen was unreasonable, he quickly remembered what Fang Chang had said to him before—

Some things were too advanced for them.

With that thought, Killer Dagger spoke.

"Your request is reasonable; I'll discuss it with the others, but it can only delay for a week at most. Our demands on the prisoners are not solely for punishment; we also hope to use their labor to rebuild Jinjaron Harbor, construction is the primary concern at the moment."

Laxi was overjoyed at his words, quickly saying.

"Thank you! It doesn't need to be that long, three days will be enough!"

Killer Dagger nodded.

"Wait for my message."

Having said that, he got into the armored off-road vehicle parked at the entrance of the camp and drove towards the direction of the port, with Laxi respectfully watching him go…

Chapter 710 No War at the Front Today

The outskirts to the east of the City of Thousand Pillars.

Serpentine trenches twisted like contorted centipedes, etched into the position, brutally bisecting the land into two halves.

Soldiers in steel helmets stood tensely in the trenches, hands tightly gripping their rifles, leaning forward, eyes narrowed, and fixated on the wasteland ahead.

Even though it was a rare sunny day in the rainy season, an invisible dark cloud weighed heavily atop everyone's head, suffocating not only the soldiers in the trenches but also the fish in the Everflow River.

Within the front-line observation post.

General Arai Yang's brows were tightly furrowed as he stared intently at the distant dirt mound.

The corners of his eyes were deeply wrinkled, the dark bags under his eyes slightly swollen, pupils murky like the waters of the Everflow River, with hints of silver at his temples. His haggard face seemed to have aged a dozen years overnight, starkly contrasting the vigor of just a week earlier.

Gopal, standing beside him, also sported an expression of someone who hadn't slept well. Normally full of ideas, he now remained silent and muted.

An entire ten thousand troops had been captured as a whole...

Such an event had never occurred since the birth of the dynasty in Poluo Province!

This was not merely a disgrace for the few officers, but a shame for the entire Grey Wolf Army—and all of the Wolf clan.

Even more distressing were the more than ten thousand captive Wolf Nation Warriors.

Their captors were the most vicious thugs of Jinjaron Harbor, a group of slaves tormented to the point where both their bodies and spirits were twisted.

Heaven only knows the indignities those proud members of the Wolf Nation would suffer at their hands.

However, even with their hearts heavy for those young men's plight, they were momentarily powerless to worry about those unfortunate souls.

At the same time, the news of the defeat at the front lines reached the Royal City, the emperor in Tiandu quickly sent a telegram, demanding they retreat a hundred kilometers to defend the vicinity around the City of Thousand Pillars and cease all offensive actions against the Alliance.

The City of Thousand Pillars was the Sacred Land of the West Winds Empire and a sacred site in the hearts of all survivors from Poluo Province. The iron chains winding around each totem pillar symbolized blessings upon the land, with scores of pilgrims flocking to this place annually to pray for inner peace and tranquility.

If the Alliance were to capture this place, not only would the royal dignity of the West Winds Empire be swept away, but the stability of the entire province would be severely affected.

Thugs who plundered and killed in the name of doomsday would sweep across Poluo Province.

Under no circumstances could this settlement fall into the hands of the Alliance!

General Arai Yang was prepared to fight to the death.

At this time, his adjutant ran in from the rear trench, gasping for breath and saluting.

"Report! All buildings in the combat zone have been evacuated, and there's not a single piece of cover or a patch of farmland left along the entire frontline! I assure you, except for our own people, not even a mouse can be seen!"

Arai Yang nodded and didn't inquire where those troublesome survivors were sent. He simply continued to lift the binoculars and watch the eastern side.

It was silent there, save for a few dilapidated abandoned houses, with not a trace of human presence.

Gopal, the staff officer standing next to him, finally spoke up.

"The Alliance has adhered to the ceasefire agreement... It seems that in the end, they don't want to escalate things too much."

Relief tinged his voice.

However, almost as soon as his words fell, an indistinct trail of dust appeared on the distant wasteland.

Upon the sighting of the dust, all the officers in the observation post were momentarily stunned, but Arai Yang was the first to snap back to reality, bellowing loudly.

"Prepare for battle!"

As his shout ended, a harsh alarm sounded along the tens of kilometers long trench.

Gunners hastily loaded belt-fed ammunition into the machine guns perched in the emplacements, while artillerymen frantically turned cranks, nearly creating sparks from the rapid movement.

Soldiers with rifles emerged from bomb shelters into a line, chests pressed against the edge of the trench, their anxious gaze directed outside, aligned with the rifles in their hands.

Glittering bayonets flickered blindingly under the harsh sun.

Everyone tensely watched the dust cloud drawing closer, awaiting the order to fire, all the while praying dearly in their hearts that the order would never come.

Most here had lived through the great escape by the banks of the Everflow River, where over ten thousand were chased by a mere two hundred, and some even leapt into the river.

The memory of that fear was deeply etched into every Wolf Nation Soldier's heart.

No one wanted to relive the terror of that day...

Arai Yang's expression was stony and silent, as if pondering something. Gopal, standing beside him, was drenched in sweat, his hands trembling as he held the binoculars.

This was the front line—

He swallowed hard and said nervously.

"General, if the Alliance dares to break the ceasefire agreement, this will be the front line. We should at least move back a bit—"

In fact, it had already been broken.

Before the formal ceasefire agreement was signed, Alliance soldiers were forbidden from stepping one foot out of Jinjaron Harbor. Now the only certainty was that the person was one of the Alliance people, or one of the pseudo-armies made up of rebels and thugs.

"Wait a bit longer."

Arai Yang interrupted him, his gaze still fixed ahead.

The dust cloud finally approached.

An armored off-road vehicle, painted desert camo, came into view of the officers, stopping about a kilometer from the trench.

Some of the soldiers in front, with keener eyesight, could even make out details with the naked eye, their hands gripping the rifles growing sweaty.

As everyone waited in bated breath, the vehicle door was pushed open, and a soldier wearing an exoskeleton jumped down.

He hoisted a flagpole over his shoulder, and when unfurled, it was three people tall, with a blue background featuring a golden, distinctly segmented mass, and the Alliance emblem in the upper-left corner.

The officers were all taken aback, unsure of what he was up to. In the trenches, the soldiers' hearts sank, a sense of despair nearly overwhelming them.

There was no doubt—

The exoskeleton belonged to an Alliance soldier!

They didn't even bother changing into civilian clothes...

The wind from the Everflow River made the flag flutter loudly. "Zero Rush" lifted his helmet's visor and goggles to get some air and almost passed out from the stench.

He flashed an awkward smile toward the silent, solemn trenches in the distance, then resealed his visor and proceeded to drive the three-man tall flagpole forcefully into the soil beneath his feet.

Powered by the exoskeleton, the flagpole penetrated deep into the ground, as deep as a man is tall—not only beside the Everflow River but also into the hearts of the onlooking Wolf Nation Soldiers.

Soldiers and officers in the distant trenches watched with wide eyes, but not a single one fired their weapon. They silently swallowed the humiliation.

An Empire soldier, grinding his teeth in anger, wanted to take aim but was stopped by the Centurion beside him, who held the gun barrel and shook his head.

In the observation post, Gopal swallowed hard once more and, disguising his embarrassment with a forced smile, tried to sound calm.

"They're showing remarkable restraint..." he said.

Arai Yang did not respond, and neither did his adjutant behind him. Feeling how futile his laughter was, Gopal chuckled awkwardly again and turned his attention back to the binoculars in his hands.

The soldier who had planted the flag returned to the vehicle, and it seemed that a chain with a harrow-like implement at its end was dropped from the back.

The off-road vehicle restarted, turned on the spot, and sped away along the Everflow River, parallel to the trench.

The massive tires kicked up billowing dust, the taut chain clanked, and a shallow trench was plowed into the ground.

In that moment, the officers in the observation post finally understood their intentions, and anger rose on each face.

That flagpole marked the position of the ceasefire line!

In the face of the Empire's three hundred thousand troops, they had sent only a flagpole!

This was a naked provocation!

A provocation against the Grey Wolf Army and the entire Empire!

"Those bastards!" cursed the adjutant standing behind Arai Yang, itching to shoot the rear of that vehicle. Then, looking earnestly at General Arai Yang, he said, "General, give the order! They're the ones who broke the agreement first!"

Arai Yang remained silent. Upon hearing this, Gopal, the staff officer standing nearby, was startled and hastily interjected.

"The ceasefire has not yet been signed; the command to keep those bandits in their settlements was merely His Majesty's unilateral demand... They indeed are not obligated to observe an agreement that hasn't been signed. Accusing them of breaking it isn't accurate."

"Are we supposed to just watch as these guys make a round trip right under our noses?!" The adjutant clenched his fists in anger. "Never mind what the soldiers think; how do we explain this to His Majesty?!"

"This is precisely His Majesty's intention..." Gopal coughed softly and hastened to add in a low voice, "Do you remember the previous ceasefire edict? The important content was in the title; as for the content, it was actually secondary..."

Arai Yang silently nodded, still without a word, and slowly set down his binoculars. He walked past the astounded adjutant and left the frontline observation post.

Gopal was absolutely right.

A loyal subject's greatest concern should be for His Majesty's painstaking efforts; ability, on the other hand, was not the most important quality.

If he obstinately gave the order to fire, even if an army of three hundred thousand swept out and smashed Jinjaron Harbor to bits, even if they won a gratifying victory, he would have no good end in sight. At most, weeds would sprout a few meters tall on his grave within three to five years.

But if he took every word of His Majesty to heart, even if he fought the dullest battle, at most he would be scolded a bit and endure some spitting from the citizens of Tiandu. In the end, he would likely be raised high and then gently let down without actually being punished.

Wasn't sharing some of the blame on behalf of the royal family precisely what a subject should do?

Watching that lonely figure turning back to the trenches, Gopal's face showed a slight discomfort, although he also breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

With a soft sigh, he reached out to pat the shoulder of his wide-eyed deputy, then stepped past him and followed the general back to the frontline headquarters.

Today, the banks of the Everflow River were calm, with no signs of conflict on the eastern front.

Later, a decree was issued declaring that a gentle breeze blew through the outskirts of the City of Thousand Pillars, with occasional armored forces of the Alliance boldly intruding, hoping to cross the ceasefire line and launch a sneak attack, only to find General Arai Yang's defense impenetrable as a metal fortress, leaving no opportunity to exploit, and thus they dropped their flags and fled in panic.

The propaganda posters bore photos of the disgraceful retreat.

The billowing dust raised by the vehicle wheels indeed looked hasty, and it somewhat redeemed the disgraced General Arai Yang, restoring some of his reputation.

In the dead of night, that off-road vehicle that had fled in a hurry eventually made its way along the coastline, back to Jinjaron Harbor.

Looking at the distant, faint lights, Two Ounces of Moonlight, sitting in the driver's seat, let out a long yawn and grumbled as he moved his slightly sore arms.

"MMP! Why is it always us who get these crappy jobs that pay little money?"

Sitting in the co-pilot seat and 'away from keyboard,' Mountain River did not speak but glanced at the rearview mirror subconsciously, hoping a certain "true beginner" would reflect on this.

However, perhaps because the "version beginner" was sitting right beside him, Zero Rush seemed not to realize that he was the "true beginner" in question.

Misunderstanding the captain's look, he sat up straight from his seat, lively and excited.

"Been running all day, should we find someone to give us a massage later?"

Mountain River coughed once.

"Just don't go into another villager's house, okay?"

Zero Rush smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Who the hell bothers going into a villager's house, man? I mean there's a new massage parlor opened up north of the city."

The just-awakened Firstborn heard the tail end of the conversation and blurted out instinctively.

"Holy shit, who's the genius behind that?"

Zero Rush chuckled with a hee-hee.

"Who cares who the genius is, probably some lifestyle career player... relax, Blue Ground Squirrel doesn't scam Blue Ground Squirrel; definitely legit! The ones opened by locals, they're not legit!"

Since their last battle report was posted on the Forum, Jinjaron Harbor had seen an influx of players looking to join the excitement, particularly those active around Silver Moon Bay. They brought not only money and goods but also introduced some of their local industries.

With Jin Galun Harbor in need of reconstruction, business opportunities abound everywhere.

Even providing residents of the City of Dawn with just one more coat in their wardrobes or an extra pair of shoes in their shoe cabinets could fetch enough money in the real world to buy a house.

Thus, players with life-based professions have been demonstrating their creative skills, coming up with just about every possible way to make money, whether from the locals or from the stationed armed forces.

Naturally, the industries operated by the players are quite formal. After all, the circle of closed beta players is too small, and any little scandal will end up being bickered about on the forums and eventually catch the eyes of the "Dog plan," which wouldn't be too good in the end.

"Well, forget it."

With an expression of boredom, the Firstborn yawned and shifted his position. Looking as if he had kidney deficiency, he closed his eyes again, "I might as well go back to being informal."

Moonlight: "??"

Zero Rush: "???"

Mountain River: "…"

MMP!

How exactly did he end up drawing such a bunch of oddballs!

...

Even though a formal ceasefire agreement had not yet been signed, a temporary ceasefire had effectively been put in place due to both parties' restrained behavior.

The players stationed at Jin Galun Harbor used data from drone mapping to outline a territory of approximately ten thousand square kilometers with the port as the pivot.

Compared to the buffer zone proposed by the West Winds Empire, the announcement drafted by the players was much more straightforward.

They first announced the establishment of Z Mansion in the Jin Galun Harbor area and then claimed actual control over the region in the name of Jin Galun Harbor.

The current police chief of Jin Galun Harbor is Director Bihari, while the chief of the Tulip Street and port area bureaus is Mandar, who was the duty director before.

Except for the chief judge of the original community court, who was dismissed for refusing to serve the new authorities and was replaced by a citizen who had served as a recording officer at the port area court, no other administrative positions, including customs, taxation, education, transportation, fire services, and so on, have been changed for the time being.

In addition, a Civil Defence Office has been specially established in Jin Galun Harbor.

The original First Corps of the Avengers Alliance has officially been renamed the Militia Group, under the command of the Civil Defence Office, while the wartime command is held by the Alliance Army stationed at the port.

The former corps commander, Laxi, has been promoted to director of the Civil Defence Office, in charge of strategic deployment and logistics, no longer directly commanding front-line combat troops or engaging in frontline combat.

Although this guy is talented, both in terms of motivational power and execution, far surpassing other freed slaves, his impulsiveness is not an issue to be overlooked.

Thus, after discussions on the forum among a number of players, it was finally decided to move him away from the frontline to the rear to sit in the office.

This would cultivate his military capabilities; who knows, he might be useful in the future, and it would also prevent him from causing trouble, such as firing randomly on the frontline.

With a series of personnel appointments put in place, a framework for a temporary Z Mansion in the region was hastily erected.

The players, who were adept at creating disturbances, even designed a new currency for this nascent regional government called the Gallon, with a provisional exchange rate of 10:1 against the silver coin.

That is, 1 silver coin for 10 Gallons.

They did this mainly because the West Winds Empire had closed its market to Jin Galun Harbor, leading to a continuous depreciation in the purchasing power of the West Winds currency locally, and since Jin Galun Harbor isn't Alliance territory like Potato Harbor, it was inconvenient for players to integrate it directly into the Alliance market.

After all, doing so would mean forcibly integrating a settlement with a population of a million into a "customs union," and it wouldn't be clear who was benefiting in the end.

By contrast, introducing an intermediary currency seemed like a good choice.

With this, Jin Galun Harbor could formulate either a loose or tight monetary policy based on its own economic needs. Inflation caused by an oversupply of money would not impact the Alliance market, while also reducing the impact of the West Winds currency devaluation on the financial affairs of the settlement.

As for the original currency of the West Winds, it could still circulate freely within the settlement, or survivors could, using their skills, smuggle in the supplies needed at the port from other areas of Poluo Province.

However, imported goods invoiced in silver coins, including food and production tools, brought from the Alliance would need to be purchased with the Gallons issued by the Jin Galun Port Authority.

At the same time, all fiscal expenditures within Jin Galun Harbor, be it personnel salary expenses or goods procurement, will gradually shift from "foreign currency (West Winds coins)" settlement to payments in the newly issued Gallons.

Tax collection would remain unchanged in rate, but would synchronize with the change in settlement currency to the newly established legal tender.

Of course, the right to issue currency would be held by the Jin Galun Port Authority, with the port's bank as the issuing entity.

Apart from the vacant position of the lord of the settlement, everything from defense to public order had essentially been brought back on track.

Currently, the settlement temporarily implements the laws of the Alliance.

When the time is ripe, "shareholders of Baiyue Corporation" would consider convening representatives from all industries and strata of the local community to form a council similar to that of the City of Dawn and, based on the Alliance's "Basic Law," draft a "Common Law" suitable to the local practical conditions.

But honestly, although order in Jin Galun Harbor had been restored to normal, the efficiency of this vast machinery of government was still frustratingly slow.

The previous Governor Nihak, though an expert in "haggling," was utterly clueless about regional governance.

This could be deduced from the slums spread out next to the Governor's Mansion; this settlement of over a million people lacked any planning whatsoever.

He would rather tolerate the stench just a stone's throw away than reallocate funds from the treasury to build a drainage ditch for the slums.

Not only that, but apart from the organizational structure of the customs and taxation departments, which had some merit, the rest of the departments appeared to be mere window dressing, with no clear idea of even how many people they had under them or if they had anyone at all...

...

In the port area, the former Governor's Office.

Looking at the fire chief standing nervously before his desk, Fang Chang couldn't help but tap the ledger on the table with his knuckles and ask.

"Where's the money? I want to know where the money went?"

The man was startled, fearful that he would pull out a gun and press it against his head, and hastened to reply carefully.

"Sir... isn't the money all in your hands?"

He had heard about it.

The first thing the Iron Men did after landing was to take control of the bureaus, next was that big bank on Tulip Street.

The five hundred million Dinars that His Majesty had kept there had all gone into these people's pockets, and so did those ten-plus million West Winds coins, all as war reparations.

Fang Chang rolled his eyes, restraining his temper as he continued to speak.

"I'm asking about before! It's clearly written in the ledger that the Governor's Mansion allocates thirty million West Winds coins every year for the fire-fighting matters of Jin Galun Port. You spend this budget entirely each year, yet I damned ask how many fire stations there are in the entire settlement – you don't even know how many firefighters there are!"

"Sir, most of that money is managed by Governor Ni Hak; I truly have never even seen it!" The man, nearly in tears, kept wiping the sweat from his forehead, "As for firefighting... it's mainly handled by the survivor groups in each urban district on their own. We don't have any money; we can't just conjure a fire brigade out of thin air."

Of course, he had taken a little for himself, but it was nowhere near as much as Governor Ni Hak had. Compared to him, it wasn't even at the same level.

Fang Chang glared with narrowed eyes, although he had already expected this, he couldn't help but ask,

"What the hell does 'handle it on their own' mean?!"

Not daring to meet the official's gaze, the man's eyes shifted to the side as he stammered softly,

"Each community has its own organization... In more remote suburban areas, it's usually the elders of a clan who arrange for a few young lads to handle disaster prevention. In areas where multiple clans live together, it's often a few strong and robust fellows who band together to collect fire money and head out wherever there's a fire."

Fang Chang stared at him, dumbfounded.

"...And what about Tulip Street?"

The man said with a pained expression, "The owners of those houses all have their own servants. There are people watching the courtyards every day; how could they possibly let a fire break out?"

Wow!

These self-governing rates are maxed out, huh?!

Fang Chang was entirely astounded.

Normally, the property management fees and services of a neighborhood should be proportional, yet under Governor Ni Hak's tenure, it was entirely the opposite.

There were many tax entries in the ledger, and firefighting expenditures were thoroughly recorded, yet the specific responsible units were unable to operate due to lack of funds. They had to delegate the power and responsibility to the more grassroots level, forcing the local survivors to form their own private groups to maintain basic public facilities, and spend money on the same matter again.

In some sense, Governor Ni Hak, who managed to collect these taxes, was talented, and the survivors of this settlement were also talented. The excellent regional matching mechanism of the Wasteland perfectly matched them together.

If Elder Sid were to lead these folks, even if he produced all the ABCDEF coins and the Manager stuffed Melvin, the bank manager's drawer full of IOUs, Giant Stone City might not go bankrupt. Perhaps it could even compete to and fro with the Alliance during the same era.

This wasn't an impossible scenario; the locals, who hoped for a better life in the hereafter, were like docile lambs. No wonder the Weilante People considered them friends.

Not fleecing this bunch a good one, Fang Chang felt that his moral standards had indeed improved a bit, because of Miss Dolly.

In the past, he would definitely have fully exploited game rules to drain them dry – as for what happened to the people here afterwards, that was none of his business.

Seeing the official's shifting gaze, the man felt a creeping fear, involuntarily swallowing his saliva, carefully saying,

"Actually... the slums rarely catch fire. You don't need to worry too much about those guys."

He paused, tentatively continuing,

"I've lived here for so many years and have hardly seen any big fires, nor have I heard of anyone dying by fire. Besides, their way of eating usually doesn't require fire, and they don't use hot water much either. As for the citizens, they live quite well without us – everything just going on as usual isn't too bad—"

"Why would I still need you? If everything carries on as usual whether you exist or not, it's all damn the same." With no courtesy, he interrupted the man's speech and flung the ledger back at his chest, filled with an iron-forged sense of frustration.

Looking at the man hurriedly taking over the ledger, he stood up from his seat, reached out to grab the guy's collar, and stared into those evasive eyes as he spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Within three days, I want to see a complete list!"

"The list needs to have the actual accountable persons for fire safety problems on every street, I need you to pin down each street for me, including the areas they actually oversee, even if those parts have been demolished, find them for me! Remember, don't expect to just find a few people to make up the numbers, we have our own informants on the ground, we are not blind!"

The man was so anxious that he broke into a sweat, looking like he was about to cry.

"But, sir... I don't have any staff, all the money is in Governor Nehak's hands, and our entire department only has ten people."

He had even counted his underage son, otherwise, the department couldn't even muster ten people.

"Then go recruit more! Get me another twenty! Remember, you are not allowed to recruit from your own clan! Not a single one!"

"Yes, yes—!"

Watching the man scurry out of the office, tumbling and stumbling, Fang Chang exhaled a breath of foul air and picked up the cup on the table for a sip of tea.

These guys.

If it weren't for others being even worse, unable to pick out a taller one from a bunch of dwarfs, and having to settle for those who were more skilled, he would have liked to fire them all right away!

Picking up the roster on the table, Fang Chang took a deep breath and yelled out of the office.

"Next! Prasad, the one in charge of the sewers... do you bloody plan to keep the shit in the cesspit to generate electricity? If you don't clean it up, I will make you go swimming down there! Get in here!"

That hoarse shout was like the harrowing call of a reaper.

When the people lined up in the long queue outside the office heard it, their bodies all shivered in unison, dreading that their name might be called.

But the inevitable was bound to come.

"Yes, yes! Sir! I-I-I will!"

The man whose name was called turned pale, and under the watchful eyes of two militiamen with rifles slung over their shoulders, he walked tremulously out of the line and into the office like a man headed for the gallows.

The rough roar quickly came again, and the officials standing at the door all shrank their necks and closed their eyes, as if they themselves were being spat on.

Because the problems were almost identical—

They might as well have seen what was going to happen next.

The two militiamen carrying the LD-47 in the corridor couldn't help but yawn, their gaze aimlessly drifting over the crowd.

The officer hadn't given them any specific orders; he just called for them to bring the tools of their trade, and they did, but there was no follow-up, only the sight of a crowd of officials appointed by the former governor trembling with hunched shoulders.

Suppertime was approaching.

Today's dinner was said not to include beans or dirt, but instead, a thing called corn, supposedly transported on a large cargo ship from Silver Moon Bay.

That was an imported good not purchasable with West Winds currency, only affording by the masters. The two were so hungry their stomachs were growling, and they couldn't help but murmur in their hearts.

When would the target practice finally begin...

Chapter 711: Truly Fragrant!

Indeed, shouting did prove somewhat useful.

Considering those two barbarians with rifles in the hallway outside, the officials, who had been penned up for years, finally put on a bit of a serious attitude.

As for the outcome, we still have to wait for the following news.

However, Fang Chang hadn't placed all his hopes on these insects.

He was only using them temporarily because there was no one else available; firing everyone right away would bring no benefit beyond the brief satisfaction.

Fang Chang was well aware that while these fellows appeared clueless on the surface, they were actually intricately connected with the grassroots behind the scenes.

They devolved some of their power and duties to local community groups, allowing these groups to "legally" collect "fire money," "water money," and "sanitation fees," and these groups would certainly have to kick back some benefits to them.

In other words, these guys were likely not just taking money without doing the work, but "taking money twice without doing the work"! Most of the poor in Jin Galun Port had to pay three times for the same public matters—including the money to those community groups.

In such a situation, it would be a miracle if people could keep from eating dirt and afford to wear clothes!

Although most settlements in the Alliance also adhered to the principle of "survivor's choice," they never sold off public matters to private entities, let alone outright handed them over to violent associations. This was no longer a matter of the rate of autonomy, but pure rot!

If the problem of paying thrice for one thing isn't solved, no matter what they do in Jin Galun, there won't be much change in people's lives.

For the first step, he planned to leverage the remaining authority of the old bureaucratic machinery and the coercive power of the Militia Group to take back some of the rights and duties that had been delegated to who knows where, or simply to win over some of the more competent fellows.

For the second step, he needed to recruit some capable lower-level personnel from the literate citizenry to gradually replace the already decaying blood, and even to cultivate a qualified city lord, or rather, mayor, to coordinate with the future governor of Jin Galun.

That is, if the Manager decided to send a governor here.

...

"...This place is worse than we imagined; it's like an orange rotting from the inside, you have no idea what's going on inside until you peel it. Chief Bahari was right, if we abolish slavery here, this settlement will be submerged under a mountain of excrement within a week, but we still have to do this."

After coming out of the Governor's Office, Fang Chang met up with Old White, who had returned from Lowell Camp, and talked about what had just happened on their way.

Before "clocking out," he had signed a recruitment order, offering a monthly salary of 2,000 gallons to enlist two hundred literate citizens into the city hall.

After a period of training, he would arrange specfic departments and work for them based on the organizational structure previously discussed on the Forum, and merge and reorganize the departments from the old era of Governor Nehak, concentrating the old bureaucrats in an Edge department to be gradually eliminated, completing the final blood change.

This organizational structure was originally meant for Potato Harbor, but unfortunately, there were too few people there now to make use of it.

Instead, it came to the survivors of Jin Galun Port.

Seeing Fang Chang shaking his head, Old White laughed with a grin.

"Do you still remember the original purpose of our coming here?"

Fang Chang paused for a moment, then said.

"To teach the jumping clowns a lesson, and by the way, to liberate some slaves to go back to work... What's going on?"

"We seem to be in the business of poverty alleviation now, look at how hard you're working," said Old White with a laugh, "Don't be too impatient, some things can't be changed overnight."

"I'm not in a hurry, what do I have to be anxious about? And it isn't poverty alleviation; it's that a bunch of poor wretches are simply not worth squeezing. If we want to gain enough benefits from the local area, we need to enrich the locals first or at least let them live with some dignity." Fang Chang sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering to himself, "…literacy is a big problem; we need to move quickly with the literacy education."

He had previously hired a group of doctors from Silver Moon Bay to treat the injured captives; perhaps they should invite some teachers over as well.

Watching Fang Chang lost in thought, Old White gave him a "whatever you say" look and patted his good brother's shoulder with a laugh.

"Here's some good news. The reconnaissance team we sent north has collected information. According to the locals, there's a Guerrilla Team active in the mountainous area on the north bank of the Everflow River. Although they haven't noticed our signal yet, they should have already seen what's happening in Jin Galun. Perhaps someone will come in contact with us soon."

Fang Chang pondered for a moment and then said.

"Keep searching, hopefully there are some talents we need... Wait, do you smell something?"

While they were talking, a faint sweet aroma suddenly entered his nostrils, seeming to drift along the street from the direction of the docks on the sea breeze.

Strange.

It wasn't the smell of fish coming from there.

Seeing the surprised expression on Fang Chang's face, Old White laughed and said.

"That's the second piece of good news."

"Tail and the others just arrived."

...

"Oh! Jin Galun Port!"

"It's only been over two months, but it feels like a long time has passed."

"Yes, yes! Huge changes, giao!"

Time went back to a few hours earlier, on the deck of the Meat Meat.

Tail and Meat Meat, standing on their toes at the bow, excitedly looked toward the port and gestured towards the buildings there.

The dock was still the same, but the lifting devices for moving goods were changed from wooden cranes to electric-driven metal wheel machines, and the vehicles for moving goods were switched from ox-carts and manual labor to forklifts, pushcarts, and light and heavy trucks produced from Dawn City and Giant Stone City.

The area near the port was filled with box upon box of military supplies; militiamen with white bands on their arms replaced the Empire's soldiers on patrol along the shore.

The only downer was that the place, compared to two months ago, seemed a little desolate—only a few fishing boats were docked.

This might have been due to the shutdown of the slave trade and the impact of the war; cargo ships from the West Coast of the Poluo Province were nearly extinct, and the trading ships of the Weilante People were nowhere to be seen.

But this also made room for the merchant ships from Silver Moon Bay.

This time, the Meat Meat didn't just bring a thousand tons of shelled and dehydrated corn, but also an entire convoy loaded with goods!

Previously at Silver Moon Bay, Si Si, through the banking services under the White Bear Knights, released news that a ceasefire agreement was impending and that the Empire would impose an embargo on Jin Galun Harbor. Then, Si Si instructed the bank manager, Old Buma, to offer a very low-interest loan to specific shipping routes and commodities.

No deliberate promotion was needed; with the support of information and capital, active traders at the port naturally descended like sharks to a scent of blood, bringing the needed goods.

Sitting in the cockpit, Si Si skilfully blew the steam whistle to greet friends on the dock.

At the stern, Sesame Paste signaled to the crew from Silver Moon Bay, preparing to dock and unload.

With everyone's concerted efforts, a series of cargo ships finally managed to dock at the port before dusk. Containers full of goods were moved onto the port with the help of cranes, then a couple of forklifts transported them to the container yard.

This place used to be a transit point for people and a battleground for the White Bear Knights.

Since the arrival of the Alliance, the facilities here had been thoroughly cleared, leaving behind a plot smaller than twenty square meters as a memorial to history. The rest of the area had been transformed into a container yard to increase the port's warehouse capacity.

Thanks to the full cooperation in port management, port workers prioritized the inventory check for food-type commodities and stamped the batch of goods purchased by Jin Galun Port Authority on the spot, completing the delivery and making a one-off payment for all goods.

Then, a dozen or so trucks drove into the container parking area.

With the hard work of the bare-chested laborers, bags of corn and flour were tossed into the trucks, departing in the direction of various construction sites managed by Jin Galun Port Authority, Lowell Camp, and the direction of the POW Camp outside of town.

A total of eight thousand tons of peeled and dehydrated corn was sold at a wholesale price of 700 silver coins per ton! There were also nearly three thousand tons of cornmeal, also sold at 900 silver coins per ton!

In Luo Xia Province, especially in the Lion Kingdom which imports a large amount of fertilizer, pesticides, and high-yield seeds from the Alliance, the production cost of one kilogram of corn is only 0.2 to 0.3 silver coins! And since the railway from Lion City and Falling Leaves City to Petra Fortress became operational, transportation costs have been reduced to less than 50% of the production costs.

Even factoring in the sea transport section and deducting the array of costs, including the wages of crews and mercenaries, the total cost of one ton of corn is below 600 silver coins. And if it's your own ship and private guards, the cost can even be pressed close to 500 silver coins!

This at least 16% return rate on the commodity profit margin is enough to drive all merchants coming here for business crazy!

For the Jin Galun Port Authority facing the threat of famine, this batch of grain worth more than eight million silver coins is a timely relief to the settlement's urgent needs.

When evenly distributed into every person's hands, one could get about 11 kilograms of carbohydrates.

Of course, the final distribution method certainly would not be such a simple and crude method.

The authorities of Jin Galun Harbor would initiate a number of municipal projects through work-relief efforts, like the ongoing reform of the Krabi Market and the construction of several major traffic arteries and sewers, etc.

Through these projects, the authorities would pay salaries and payments in Gallon coins to those involved in the construction, and this grain imported from the port could only be purchased with Gallon coins.

In this way, they could prevent citizens holding a large amount of West Winds currency and the old aristocracy from hoarding food, while also finding employment for the large population of young and strong labor forces, incidentally improving the infrastructure of Jin Galun Harbor, and precisely directing money into the hands of those who needed it.

It was a quadruple win.

As for the foreign exchange spent on purchasing grain, it was ostensibly borrowed from the well-funded Baiyue Corporation, but ultimately, the reparations to be paid by the Emperor of the West Winds Empire would settle the bill.

How many times exactly the Alliance had won in this battle, Fang Chang no longer bothered to calculate for the respected Manager...

In any event, he had nailed this opportunity.

...

On the outskirts of the city, the POW Camp.

Unsure how long he had been unconscious, Caper woke up groggily from his coma.

When he saw the man in the white coat before his eyes, he almost instinctively opened his mouth and a hoarse word squeezed out from his inflamed throat.

"Where is this..."

The doctor glanced at him and replied casually,

"Jin Galun Harbor."

His accent sounded like someone from Camel Hump Kingdom.

But that wasn't the point—

A flicker of joy appeared on Caper's face as he excitedly reached out his stiff right hand, grabbing the man in the white coat by the sleeve.

"Did we win?!"

The doctor was taken aback for a moment, then smiled at him.

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

Saying so, he called out to someone next to him.

"This guy woke up, but he's not quite right in the head, the rest is up to you guys."

A vague shout came from a distance.

"Okay, as long as he's awake, leave the rest to us. You go on to other matters."

"Understood."

The doctor lifted his pen-holding hand as a form of acknowledgement, hurriedly scribbled a few words in a notebook, then left the cramped tent.

Caper watched the man bewilderedly, his outstretched right hand unconsciously losing its strength and falling, only realizing when the person had walked away. He then shifted his stiff neck to survey his surroundings.

It seemed to be a military hospital; the cramped tent was filled with about a dozen beds, all occupied by people wrapped in bandages, a deathly still atmosphere.

Then he looked down at himself, half of his body exposed at the edge of the blanket was tightly wound in bandages.

What horrified him even more was his right hand.

Only now did he notice that his right hand, starting from the elbow joint, had all been replaced with a clunky metal prosthetic.

The memory before losing consciousness hesitantly flooded his mind, he remembered being knocked out by a mortar shell when attacking the Governor's Mansion.

At that moment, a man in khaki-colored uniform lifted the tent flap and entered, walking straight to his bed.

"Twelve bullet fragments in your body, only ten were removed, it's a miracle you're alive."

Looking down at the fellow lying on the bed, the man continued in a sarcastic tone, "Of course, your teammates weren't so lucky, nine of them couldn't even make up a whole corpse."

Gone… all gone...

Caper's Adam's apple moved, but he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

He didn't know why.

When he heard these words, there was not a ripple of anger in his heart, only numbness and bewilderment.

If it had been one person who had died, he would have remembered that guy's name, visited his grave every now and then, and even reminisced about what he had been like when he was still around,
but when the number of the dead became so large that they could only be summed up by a carelessly scribbled number, the weight allotted to each name seemed trivial.

Maybe General Arai Yang felt the same way when faced with that number...

He just felt that his own survival was so unreal.

"...Who are you?" Though he had already guessed the man's identity, Caper still mustered the question with difficulty from his throat.

"I am a clerk of the Captive Affairs Department of the Jin Galun Harbour Civil Defence Office; as for my name, you don't need to know it. You just need to know that you are a captive."

Saying this, the man flicked his thumb and tossed a coin-sized iron tag onto his blanket, inscribed with a string of numbers.

"This is your number. After you get up, take it outside to register your name and address; you'll need it when you pick up your boxed meal, if you still want to eat, that is."

After giving his instructions, the man turned and walked towards the entrance of the tent. Caper, who had come to his senses, suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called out to him.

"Wait, my hand..."

"It was ruined, so we replaced it with a new one," said the man who claimed to be from the Prisoner Management Office, giving his arm a quick glance before continuing, "The cost will be paid by your emperor, as part of the war reparations. No need to thank us."

Watching the man leave, Caper tried moving his body, feeling nearly recovered, and then slowly got out of bed.

The registration spot wasn't far from the tent; he went over with the iron tag and quickly completed the prisoner's registration.

Just in time for dinner.

After registration, he followed the instructions of a logistician, found his camp, collected his bedding, and carried his meal box to a long queue forming in front of a large pot.

Two guys, who looked to be of the same status as him, busied themselves beside the large pot, constantly stirring the contents with a big wooden spoon.

The entire camp was filled with a thick, sweet aroma that made him swallow involuntarily and mumble subconsciously,

"What's being cooked?"

He had not expected a response, but the man standing in front of him turned his head.

"I heard it's corn."

There was a glint of anticipation in the man's eyes.

Caper froze for a moment.

"...Corn?"

He had heard of that crop; it was common in the central and southern parts of Luo Xia Province and was also introduced in small quantities to Poluo Province, but not as widely grown as beans.

"That's right, I heard it came from Silver Moon Bay, including the doctor who treated you..." Scanning the bandaged newcomer, the man continued, "My name is Ahta. I used to be with Chief Manu... never mind, we're in the same camp now anyway."

Caper swallowed and introduced himself.

"...Caper. Prince Dilip led us in the attack on the Governor's Mansion."

Ahta whistled softly, glancing at the militia not far away on duty, and then said with a smirk,

"Really? That was a disaster... I heard only a little over a thousand of your men survived. You must be blessed by the Wolf God to be alive."

Caper gave a bitter smile and was silent for a long time before asking,

"What exactly happened here?"

"As you can see, we lost, and then became prisoners of the Alliance... although it's mainly those militia who manage us."

Ahta seemed reluctant to discuss the details of that battle and vaguely continued the subject,

"...For the first three days, those monkeys locked us in cages and even urinated on us, throwing food on the ground for us to lick up. The Alliance people couldn't stand it anymore and finally brought us here. Anyway, you woke up at the right time. The POW camp is now built; we only have to work eight hours a day, receive three meals, and get 2 gallons as wages."

Caper: "Gallons?"

"That's the new money."

Ahta fished out a coin from his pocket, showed it briefly, and then tucked it back in.

"Since the Empire cut off the supply of resources here, this stuff works much better than the old money did. Although 2 gallons can't buy much, having some is better than none. By the way, I heard that if you can read, they'll arrange some less tiring jobs for you, and the income will be a bit higher, around five or six coins a day."

Though Caper was confused about the so-called new money and had no interest in earning any, he still asked subconsciously,

"...How is that arranged?"

"How? Of course, they'll arrange it for you. You think you can still pick and choose? Anyone who doesn't want to work ends up shoveling manure. Don't mess up and talk back to them," Ahta looked at the bemused guy as if his brain had been blown to bits, and continued, "However, you're different from the others; the others who woke up like you all went crazy."

"I might be a bit off too," Caper said with a wry smile and after a long pause added, "I feel... as if I've died once."

Ahta looked at him in stunned silence and said nothing more, for it was his turn to get his food.

A bowl of fragrant corn porridge, a spoonful of sour string beans, and two slices of steamed yellow bread constituted their dinner after a day's work.

Ahta thanked the fellow prisoner who filled up his meal box with a smile, then happily carried his portion to one side and started to eat voraciously.

He wasn't the only one.

Everyone here was eating deliciously.

Not only because they had worked hard all day at the construction site and wasteland but also because they had never tasted such delicious food before.

Especially that soft and fluffy bread.

That thing simply didn't seem like something that would appear on the table of ordinary civilians, and yet these Iron Men were generously feeding it to them, the prisoners of war!

What a group of kind-hearted individuals!

Akhtar almost wished he could kneel and kowtow to those Iron Men who had released him from the cage and fed him.

To put it bluntly, the food here was even better than what they had when they were squatting in the trenches before!

Caper also went up to get a bowl.

Perhaps lacking the experiences of the previous days, he wasn't as excited as his former comrades were. He simply quietly took his food container and went to a corner of the camp to find a secluded place and quietly began to eat.

In the West Winds Empire, he belonged to a citizen class that was quite well-off, and he was never deprived of nutrition as a child.

Logically, his reaction to the taste of food shouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.

But when he tasted the first bite from his bowl, he couldn't help but be surprised as his pupils dilated.

A rich, sweet flavor spread from the tip of his tongue – a taste he had never experienced before, like milk mixed with honey.

Although it wasn't particularly delicious, the unique taste and texture made him swallow another bite unconsciously.

Without realizing it, he had finished a large bowl, and the two pieces of bread that were probably fermented from cornmeal were completely swallowed down with the tangy and appetizing pickled green beans.

Having satisfied his hunger, Caper sat on the ground.

Longing for more, he looked down at the empty bowl he had licked clean and then raised his head towards the gradually brightening night sky.

Truly fragrant...

He really wanted another bowl.

Leaning his steel prosthetic on his bandaged stomach, he laid his head against the tent of the barracks and closed his eyes wearily.

The peaceful evening breeze caressed his face as if bringing songs from his hometown; the deafening roar seemed like a distant dream, buried far away along with boiling blood and soul.

For the first time since waking up, he felt how wonderful it was to be alive…

…

Not only were the Gray Wolves sitting in the POW Camp relishing their food, but so too was Prince Dilipu, squatted in the cell at the Harbour Area Police Station.

Although he fought the dimmest battle with the heritage of the West Winds Emperor, it didn't stop him from having a huge appetite in jail, finishing one bowl and wanting another.

Frankly, he was quite a particular person.

Especially when it came to eating, he could even confidently say that even the people of Vellante would have to bow down to him.

Take roasted lamb, for example. He always ate only the lamb that had just been weaned, and only a small piece from the back at that, giving the rest away to his servants.

However, after being locked up and forced to eat a few meals without big fish or meat, he found that he had opened the door to a new world.

He had not expected that the Alliance, with its remarkable technology, also had such deep skills in culinary exploration, managing to make such a unique and delicious dish with simple ingredients and cooking methods!

Passing his plate through the small window of the prison, Prince Dilipu looked eagerly at Director Gulamangi and sheepishly asked,

"Could I have another bowl?"

"Are you a pig? Eating more than those who work!" As he looked at the prince who had clearly gained weight, Gulamangi couldn't help but curse.

It was these idiotic rulers who had swollen their own faces time and again.

Gulamangi felt both anger and joy in his heart. The anger was at realizing he had been ridden by pigs, and the joy was that he was now riding atop the head of a pig.

Even if temporarily.

He waved his index finger haughtily, signaling his subordinate in a police uniform to serve another bowl to the fawning prince.

Looking at the cornmeal porridge poured into the bowl, Prince Dilipu seemed to feel embarrassed, his face turning as red as a monkey's butt, and he tried to save face by saying,

"Some more of that sour stuff... cough, you can add the cost of the meal to my ransom. I won't eat for free... I'll pay."

"We'll talk after your emperor has signed the armistice agreement," said Gulamangi, rolling his eyes and treating his words as a fart. He left the matter to his subordinate and then glanced at his watch.

It was time to get off work.

After filling the bellies of these "criminals," his own stomach was still empty.

That cornmeal porridge did smell truly fragrant...

Gulamangi swallowed, but still resisted.

It wasn't that he was too proud to eat a prisoner's food; it was that there were more delicious treats waiting for him at the banquet.

To thank those traders who supported the reconstruction of Jin Galun Harbor, as well as for some commercial inducement, the authorities of Jin Galun Harbor planned a lavish dinner at the most luxurious hotel in the harbor area to host these guests who had eased the urgent needs of the settlement.

Not just the distant guests but also notable figures from the settlement and some important representatives among the Iron Men would attend.

Although one could look forward to the feast at the banquet, what was eaten was never the point; getting closer to the Iron Men was key.

His rapid rise depended entirely on them!

Chapter 712: The Night That Decided the Fate of Jinjaron Harbor

The sun at dusk gradually sank into the sea, its golden shimmer stretching far and wide against the tide.

A young man, draped in a gem blue shawl and wearing a devil silk woven dress, walked straight out of the warehouse district and into his view came the most luxurious hotel in the harbor area.

The hotel was named "Triumph."

It was said that the owner was a citizen of Jin Galun Harbor.

After seizing control of the settlement and confirming property ownership, the Alliance had returned this harborside hotel to its original owner and replaced its business license.

And in thanks for the Alliance's generosity and to celebrate the liberation of Jin Galun Harbor, the owner immediately changed the hotel's name from "Empire" to "Triumph."

It was rumored that he had originally wanted to rename it "Alliance," but the city hall rejected the idea on the grounds of "the use of misleading signage."

Dalia didn't care about the origins of this hotel, but what interested him was the Alliance's attitude towards this harbor.

Clearly, with the war having reached this point, it was unlikely that the Alliance's soldiers would withdraw from here, or even if they did, they wouldn't pull out completely.

After investing such substantial costs, even if they didn't intend to directly incorporate it as part of the Alliance territory, they would at least establish some form of indirect control with a puppet Z Mansion here.

Otherwise, they wouldn't need to distribute food to the locals but could have, like the Weilante People, directly looted the pockets of the survivors.

Or at the very least, looted those corpulent nobles empty.

From the current performance, Dalia could almost be certain that the Alliance wasn't just freeing the slaves and then leaving them be, but planned on seriously governing this land.

If that were true, then this settlement of over a million people would undoubtedly welcome a tremendous opportunity for development, perhaps becoming the second Silver Moon Bay!

As an armed merchant with his own cargo ship and private guard, if he lacked even this most basic business sense, he might as well sell his ship and go home to farm the land.

However, he couldn't just consider the potential profits of one thing and ignore the objective risks present; money earned would be meaningless if he couldn't take it with him.

Doing business on land was entirely different from doing it at sea—the latter being a one-off deal mostly just needing to check the weather before sailing and dealing with Variants and pirates who weren't particularly strong, while the former required constant interaction with the local forces' complex interweaving.

Especially in a place like Jin Galun Harbor.

This place was once the largest human trade harbor along the Poluo Sea coast, and the local situation might be more complicated than he imagined.

He needed to understand two things.

What kind of order the Alliance intended to establish locally.

And—

To what extent they could achieve it?

He believed he wasn't the only one curious about these two questions; all the merchants docking here were full of curiosity.

It just so happened that Jin Galun Port Authority had prepared a banquet at the Triumph Hotel to welcome and clean the dust off for these guests from afar.

It was heard that important individuals from the settlement would be present at this banquet.

He could take this rare opportunity to observe...

Stepping onto the hotel's red carpet at the entrance.

He presented his invitation to the attendant standing by, who bowed slightly and gestured towards the inner door.

"Right this way, sir."

Feeling that there was something unusually distinctive about the attendant, Dalia couldn't help but ask curiously,

"Are you a noble from around here?"

The attendant was briefly taken aback, then with a gentle smile replied,

"Of course not, I was a noble's servant... But those 'Iron Men' returned my freedom, and now I am employed by this hotel."

"Iron Men..." Dalia repeated the term, curious to continue inquiring, "Do you know they are actually people from the Alliance?"

The servant nodded slightly, continuing in a refined and elegant manner.

"I do, but I have grown accustomed to using this term, and many people here do the same."

Dalia stared into the servant's eyes for a while, trying to discern the mark of a slave but was surprised to find no such thing.

The servant's gaze did not waver, just a normal look in return, without excessive flattery or a degrading level of respect, like one person looking at another.

A hint of surprise emerged in Dalia's eyes.

On the way from the warehouse district to here, he had seen every local walking with their head down, scurrying away even from an accidental eye contact.

Even though most of them were born free.

It was clear that the master this servant used to serve must have been a remarkable person, or else even the household servants wouldn't have received such a good education.

At least in Poluo Province, such dignity was extremely rare...

"...You give me a completely different impression from the others, it seems your former master must have been quite an extraordinary fellow."

Hearing this, the servant smiled wryly, softly saying.

"I am very grateful to Governor Nihak for nurturing me, whether it was for show or some other purpose, he taught me to read and write. As for whether he was extraordinary, please allow me to reserve my opinion; that's a separate issue from my gratitude."

Amused by this interesting statement, Dalia chuckled and said.

"You shouldn't be a waiter here, you should take a ship out to sea, to earn more money out there."

The servant nodded slightly.

"I've been free for less than a month; I plan to start with work that I can do well, perhaps later I will consider your suggestion... Now we have been chatting for too long, may I please lead you to the banquet hall?"

There were other servants at the entrance, but the banquet was about to begin.

Realizing he had interrupted his work, Dalia briskly smiled and said.

"Please lead me there... Oh, and my name is Dalia, may I know your name?"

The servant nodded slightly.

"Of course, my name is Zayed."

Zayed...

Dalia silently noted the name in his heart.

It seemed this land was not entirely without hope.

A million faces were not all of the same despairing countenance; there were still some faint sparks emitting firefly-like glimmers.

Following Zayed's steps into the banquet hall, Dalia saw the spacious auditorium was almost filled with guests in extravagant attire.

Faces of all shapes and colors gathered in the lavishly decorated banquet hall, clustering in groups to engage in conversation.

He recognized two familiar faces.

One was Bugara, the sausage magnate of Silver Moon Bay; the sausages for the entire Camel Hump Kingdom were produced by his meat-processing plants!

The other was even more remarkable, none other than the chairman of the Silver Moon Bay Merchant Association, Iqabu! His textile industry commanded 30% of the Camel Hump Kingdom's market share and 23% of the textile industry's exports. Thanks to his substantial tax contributions, he had even been received by the king of Camel Hump Kingdom and was bestowed the title of an honorary knight.

A look of surprise appeared on Dalia's face.

He didn't expect to see this fellow here!

He had only just found out!

And what surprised him even more was the content of the two people's conversation.

While he was still hesitating, it seemed that they had already started to consider investing and building a factory here?

"I heard that the Baiyue Corporation is planning to build a steel mill and a cement plant here."

"Oh? Who told you that?"

"I just took a stroll near Knight Road, and there was a hiring notice posted. They are offering a monthly salary of 1500 gallons for a worker."

"1500 gallons... That's 150 silver coins?!"

"Quite cheap, isn't it? In City of Dawn, even a dog wouldn't glance at this salary, but for the locals, it's already considered a high wage. If the import tax isn't too high and the supply of materials at the port can remain stable, this amount of money is enough to exchange for over one hundred kilograms of corn; they probably don't eat that much dirt in a month."

"Hiss... Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel like the salary is too high."

"Just afraid that the Alliance might implement their labor law here as well."

"That's not impossible, but they will likely take local circumstances into consideration. City of Dawn didn't start with the rules they have now... And honestly, if they paid them 7200 gallons according to the Alliance's laws, I bet they would exchange their entire salary for food on the first day."

"Haha, that would truly be a disaster... But a monthly wage of 150 silver coins, if they can spend a third of their income on clothes, bedding, and curtains, that could also be a considerable market."

"You plan to open a textile plant here?"

"Why not? This place is naturally a producer of flax and dyes. The Empire's embargo might be a problem, but things should improve once the ceasefire agreement officially takes effect."

Although eavesdropping was not a nice act, Dalia still listened intently to every word of their conversation and found himself itching with the business opportunities discussed.

He was in the grain import and export business, and expanding his original trade onshore might be somewhat difficult; he certainly couldn't beat those big shots who had been deeply rooted in their respective fields for decades.

But at that moment, he thought of someone—

It was the waiter he had just seen at the hotel entrance.

The battle in the first and second industries would surely be extremely fierce, but the tertiary sector, especially the service industry, seemed to be overlooked by everyone for the time being.

He didn't have much capital, but taking advantage of the fact that there wasn't a lot of hot money in Jin Galun Port yet, investing in one or two hotels could still be easily manageable.

If there really were so many tycoons optimistic about this place's future business prospects, making money off of them seemed like a good idea.

A lively thought crossed Dalia's mind.

Perhaps, after the banquet was over, he could chat with that interesting young man...

It wasn't just the merchants of Silver Moon Bay engaging in conversations at the scene, but also some local traders and nobles who lived on Tulip Street.

Perhaps because they had been dragged out of their homes recently, although many of the small and medium-sized nobles still managed to maintain their dignity with forced smiles, quite a number of large nobles whose interests were harmed had the word "dissatisfaction" written all over their faces.

It wasn't completely dissatisfaction with the Alliance.

It was also towards those "troublemakers," the "new nobility."

Like that militia leader named Laxi, who was already drunk before the banquet started, looking like a baboon that couldn't find its own home.

And even more detestable was Chief Bahari, who used to be nothing but a dog of Governor Nihak and now had a new master, almost turning his nose up to heaven!

Not to mention the likes of Port District Chief Mandar and others, their tail-wagging was simply nauseating.

They were truly blind!

Blind to see who had the truly noble lineage!

At that moment, a moderate clapping sound suddenly came from the center of the banquet hall.

"Please, everyone, a moment of silence. Before the banquet begins, allow me to take a little of your precious time."

Hearing that voice, everyone turned their attention to the center of the banquet hall where a man in a blue jacket stood with a smile on his face.

Whether it was his handsome features, the unintentional intellect and elegance that flowed between his brows, or the iconic jacket he was wearing, he instantly became the focal point of the entire room.

The residents of the refuge were all highly attractive, but apart from those ladies and madams whose eyes burned with fervor, most guests paid more attention to his jacket.

Shelter No. 404!

Looking at that youthful face and the all-too-familiar piece of clothing, a glint of expectation couldn't help but kindle in Dalia's eyes.

The main event was finally about to begin!

...

As he watched pair after pair of expectant eyes, Fang Chang was finally beginning to appreciate a bit of the pleasure the Manager must feel.

People were waiting with bated breath, hanging on his every word, pondering over every single one, and betting all their hopes and fortunes on him.

This was even more pleasing to him than the balance of his savings account.

He felt like he held a tremendous power in his hands.

With this power, he could turn dung into gold, gold into dung, and even turn last night's dream into reality—

Of course, that was just a hyperbolic metaphor.

Ever since he had the helmet, it had been a long while since he had experienced such bizarre dreams.

"...Welcome everyone to Jin Galun Harbor, this banquet has been prepared for you, you are the true hosts tonight, and I do not plan to commandeer too much time," he started with a modest preamble, then cleared his throat in front of everyone and continued politely.

"I will only talk about two things."

"Our original intention for coming here has not changed at all, we aim to establish an order in Jin Galun Harbor that will endure over time, and a proper order at that, otherwise the blood shed for it would be meaningless. Of course, we will not overbearingly demand that the local survivors eat the same rice as us, we only make the most basic demands on principal matters, as for what kind of life they wish to lead in the future, that is something for the locals to contemplate."

"Secondly, talking about establishing order when you cannot fill your stomachs is empty talk. While establishing a new order, our focus will also be on economic development. After all, only when the lives of the local survivors improve, picking up hopes for the future, will hospitals and schools spring up from the land like bamboo after the rain, and the order we establish will gain true meaning."

"For this reason, the new administration has approved a series of 37 infrastructure projects, including road building, bridge construction, drainage facility renovation, and shantytown reconstruction. The specific engineering plans have been posted in the bulletins at the city hall, those interested can proceed to the administrative hall for inquiries, and if anything is unclear, you may come directly to the Governor's Office here at the port to ask me."

"The total project budget is around 10 billion gallons, expected to leverage a market scale of a hundred billion... After all, with so many people in this settlement, even if you could earn an extra 55 gallons per person per day, taking half of their annual income from their pockets would be enough."

Fang Chang noticed that even the faces of the local nobles and gentry, who initially wore discontented expressions, couldn't help but show moved expressions as he uttered these words.

They might be pedantic, but that didn't mean they hadn't learned to do math.

Ten billion gallons!

In other words, a billion silver coins!

Although the West Winds Empire did not use silver coins as its main foreign exchange reserve, judging by the attitudes of the traders from Silver Moon Bay, they widely recognized the exchange rate between dinars and silver coins was 3~5:1.

In other words, this market was worth at least thirty billion dinars! That was even more astonishing than His Majesty's deposits in the area!

After tallying the calculation on their fingers, nearly every noble's face showed an expression of disbelief.

After all, even if they sold every animal in the settlement, and all of them at an average price of 1000 dinars, they could never fetch such an astoundingly high price.

No—

It wouldn't even be enough to cover the tip of three billion!

Fang Chang knew very well what these fellows were so amazed at, nothing more than the childish addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, trying to comprehend the unknown with their shallow cognition. Selling a million animals certainly would never fetch tens of billions of dinars, but that's because a bunch of idiots were selling humans as livestock.

In fact, anyone's needs can become the soil from which another person's creativity blooms, with proposing needs and solving needs being the main thread that runs through human reproduction, evolution, and civilization. Even in the most extreme circumstances, a debt laborer whose needs were castrated down to just food, clothing, and shelter could create value far beyond what a feudal lord's slave could.

And if it were an educated worker with dignity, he might even figure out a way to improve the tools and methods of production himself, pondering on how to become more dignified... even if he ate much, used much, and had as many demands and quirks as hairs on his head.

Of course, Fang Chang had no intention of explaining so much to them.

The aversion to and resistance against progress were talents that flowed in the veins of the feudal nobles and conservative forces, whether it was the advancement of productive forces or anything else. After all, the sense of superiority they needed largely arose from the suffering of another group of people. Even if he were to explain more, it would be useless; they had a thousand ways to argue, such as the Tuo Ri Shen Niu being the ultimate truth, just as the sages of the Era of Prosperity had said.

That respected Manager never bothered explaining anything to those Slave Owners who had lost their slaves and the slaves who longed for their masters.

When The Sun rose, the cold night would naturally disperse; if once was not enough, then it would come several more times. Among the ashes, there could always be a sliver of hopeful light.

He paused, then continued.

"…To show support for the new authority's infrastructure projects, and also to support those in Potato Harbor, Baiyue Corporation has decided to lead by example and invest a budget of at least 20 million Silver coins to introduce from the Alliance a steel and cement production line each. We plan to invest in Jinjaron Harbor to establish a steel plant with an annual output of 500,000 tons and a cement plant with an annual output of 1 million tons."

"We sincerely hope that the lives of the local survivors can get back on track as soon as possible. At the same time, we also look forward to Jinjaron Harbor playing a more significant role in the Wasteland in the future… and I mean a role with more than just positive significance!"

Looking at the guests who listened intently with bated breath, Fang Chang's face revealed a relaxed smile as he continued in an easy tone.

"That's all, nothing more. I've talked myself dry, and you're probably tired too… Enjoy the banquet, friends from afar!"

"By the way, all the fine wines at the banquet are from the private collection that Governor Nihac was keeping for his majesty, although he himself is still in jail praying for his majesty to save him. To be honest, though, I recommend the Delicacies on the serving carts over those head-spinning drinks. Though those dishes are not rare delicacies, they are common fare from our hometown…"

As his voice fell, Servants were already pushing serving carts to the sides of the banquet hall and opening the silver dome covers.

Roasted ducks with crispy skins, braised pork in rich mahogany sauce, Mapo Tofu sprinkled with Sichuan pepper and scallions, and sizzling roasted shrimp, roast meat, and grilled scallops and oysters cooked over charcoal - among these were also a variety of fruits, steamed goods, and pastries.

For players, these Foods would not be unfamiliar; removing their helmets and walking downstairs might even lead them to find similar dishes.

Yet for the survivors of the Wasteland, especially those from this uncivilized land, it was indeed a sight that shocked their eyes.

The surprise came not just from the Foods themselves, which clearly used ingredients commonly found, but the methods of preparing them were unheard of for them.

An array of mouthwatering delicacies unfolded before everyone's eyes, with tempting aromas lingering at the tip of every nose.

It was not just technology—

Even their remaining pride in being a land of spices was thoroughly crushed in the face of that bottomless Food culture.

Mandar, the director, swallowed hard.

Compared with these dishes, what Prince Dilip ate was practically pig feed!

Tipsy Laxi felt the same when he saw the dazzling array of Delicacies; it was as if he had seen heaven, and he rubbed his reddened nose, sobering up quite a bit.

It was clear that the local old-fashioned Nobles and wealthy families were far more shocked than the merchants from Silver Moon Bay.

While a single meal was not enough to change their attitudes toward the Alliance, after all, no one here was deprived of a meal, the endless rows of serving carts inevitably made them question the sense of superiority they had held for decades.

These…

Are these just commonly seen things in the City of Dawn?

Even the common people can enjoy them?!

Expressions of confusion, even self-doubt, appeared on their faces.

Then what were they?

Beggars?

There was a time when they could comfort themselves by saying that although the Alliance had strong soldiers and horses, their supplies were scarce and there were no herds of slaves to serve them, so they did not know what true enjoyment was.

But now they realized that they didn't live any better than the most ordinary survivors of the Alliance…

"All that bragging… Everyone can afford to eat, huh? If you're so capable, then don't buy the cattle from Poluo Province! See if you starve to death, you Ground Squirrels…"

Of course, nor from Luo Xia Province!

A bull-tribe merchant murmured a curse that only he could hear, but his mung bean-like eyes couldn't stop glancing at the serving cart, wanting to take another look at that round, odd thing to figure out what kind of meat it was.

Aside from the distinguished guests from Silver Moon Bay and the nouveau riche from Jinjaron Harbor who had already gathered around the serving cart, hardly any noble had moved their esteemed legs.

It wasn't that they weren't curious about how those flashy-looking foods tasted, but they were waiting for servants to bring the plates to them.

It wasn't until they realized they had to fetch the food themselves, and a few simply couldn't resist the soul-stirring aroma, that people gradually deigned to step forward and reached out to take plates from the long table covered with a pristine white tablecloth.

An earl, worth billions in West Winds currency, scooped a piece of braised pork that was tender like soup onto a spoon, clumsily with a fork, and then slowly brought it to his mouth.

The shock in his eyes at that moment was as if he were beholding His Majesty's palace or like the survivors from Qingquan City seeing the majestic Pioneer for the first time.

Fatty but not greasy, melting in the mouth, soft and sweet...

What is this...

What meat?!

A dazed expression appeared on his face, and on the faces of many others of similar status.

It always felt like a defeat...

Fang Chang, satisfied, watched the variety of expressions on their faces and those eating voraciously, taking a champagne from a tray handed over by a servant.

This was one of Witch Xi Lan's treasures from the distant Triumph City.

Those Weilante people indeed had a knack for brewing wine.

He raised his glass toward the guests in a distant toast, as if saluting another far-off friend, gently clinking it with a beam of light that cascaded from the central chandelier of the banquet hall.

"Cheers!"

...

The banquet officially began.

The buffet on the first floor was mainly for NPCs, while the second floor was open to players active around the harbor. Shareholders and employees of Baiyue Corporation, and staff from cooperative units had free entry, while solo players could just pay a 50 silver coin entry fee.

As guests eagerly indulged themselves, Tomato Scrambled Eggs, exhausted, plopped down onto a chair, cursing under his breath.

"Damn, I'm dead tired."

A level thirty-plus Body Constitution System player was this exhausted, let alone the Awakeners who would probably be worked to death.

To say it as it is, this place really was a cultural desert when it came to food. The locals' understanding of food was to mash the ingredients into a paste and then throw whatever main ingredients they could find into a pot to stew. The richness of the contents and the flavor of the food depended on the economic ability of the household head—the wealthier the family, the stranger the food, and the richer the taste.

Even hotels that mainly catered to foreign guests were no exception.

While the locals ate with great relish, brothers from the Burning Corps all expressed they couldn't handle it. If they stayed here too long, they'd rather eat canned meat than dine out, or they'd run to the army canteen near the save point at the harbor for every meal.

To improve the food for the local garrison and to inject a bit of Alliance shock into the locals, Fang Chang had been brought here to teach the local chefs how to cook.

Just teaching those clumsy fools how to chop vegetables almost gave him high blood pressure.

He was starting to understand what the brothers from the cow and horse groups felt like when teaching those militia to fight.

Seeing him sit down, several senior apprentices rushed over to massage and pat the shoulders of this 'master,' and even the boss of Triumph Hotel came out with a beaming smile, personally pouring him a cup of tea.

"Hard work, sir... oh no, I mean, sir, heh heh." He suddenly remembered these people didn't like to be called 'sir,' so he hastily corrected himself.

Having "Iron Man" personally teach his chefs, the news alone was enough to keep his Triumph Hotel buzzing until the following year.

And during this time, he really had his eyes opened.

So many different gimmicks could be played with just a few ordinary foods; a piece of pork could be turned into hundreds of dishes.

Don't mention those Iron Man bosses paying him money to rent his hotel—if they even used his kitchen for free, he'd find it worthwhile!

Tomato and Egg took a sip of water and couldn't help but quip,

"How did your previous customers ever manage to eat that stuff?"

The boss was taken aback, scratching his head in confusion, not understanding what that question was about.

After a long struggle, he finally squeezed out a sentence in a wronged tone.

"Sir, we... we never served it raw before."

Tomato and Egg: "..."

Well played.

So it was fine as long as it was cooked!

...

The party was winding down amid the clinking of glasses and the mess of dishes, and without realization, the banquet was drawing to a close.

One by one, the guests walked out of Triumph Hotel with their bulging bellies, their stupefied expressions from overeating illustrating their satisfaction with the food.

Sitting by the second-floor window, watching those guests leave the hotel with their rounded bellies, Meat Meat couldn't help but murmur,

"If these folks ate less, there would be enough for more people to be full."

"!"

Ah Wei subconsciously pulled the skewer out of his mouth, but seeing that Meat Meat's gaze was on the window outside, he quietly slipped it back in.

Holding her teacup, Si Si gently blew on it and then set it back on the saucer.

"That wouldn't work, there would just be more people starving."

"Can't we do anything about it?" Meat Meat shifted his gaze away from the window, and Sesame Paste, curious, looked towards her too.

Si Si casually replied,

"Not even the Manager could, maybe the planners could by directly tweaking the data, but obviously, we can't do that kind of thing."

Meat Meat asked, puzzled,

"Why not?"

Si Si thought for a moment.

"Have you ever fed a ground squirrel?"

Sesame Paste smiled and raised his hand.

"I have! They are small and adorable."

Meat Meat also nodded, his fluffy face still marked with confusion.

As Si Si added some sugar to her teacup, she continued,

"But those creatures are not a bit small or cute, and they are the most ferocious among their kind. Even when there is an abundance of food, they can still fight over it. If the strongest one doesn't get full, the other ground squirrels have no chance of snatching food from the visitors; they can only wait for the zookeeper's feedings."

"And humans, we are far more cunning than other animals. Even if we distributed food like a zookeeper to every survivor in the area, there would still be someone taller, fatter, stronger, who would coerce or entice, or even use methods we can't imagine, to take the food away from their weaker kind."

"No matter what kind of production relations we establish, we have to choose between the formal outcome and the substantive outcome. We can either use 'rightness' to regulate their overt behaviors, allowing them to probe the edges of vague rules, or we set definite rules and let them fully exercise their instincts within the boundaries."

Meat Meat still didn't quite understand and murmured his question,

"Can't we have both?"

To her, the two things didn't seem to contradict each other.

"Just write all the correct things into the rules, and that's it, right?"

"Just like Kaili does, adding magic to bullets."

Si Si couldn't help but hold her forehead, pondering how to explain this profound issue in layman's terms, when Ah Wei, having comfortably swallowed a mouthful of delicacies, let out a satisfied burp.

"Burp—! Meat Meat has really grown up, huh? Not bad, not bad. Indeed, it's only kids who do multiple-choice tests. But reality is another story; this is the Game, and Light won't let you get away with anything for free. The cost might have been sneakily paid the moment you made your choice."

"Eh?!"

Watching a seriously concerned Ah Wei and a stunned Meat Meat, Si Si paused, then cracked a smile and said,

"That's right, that's how it is."

Speaking of which, the Game really is a great invention.

No wonder earlier than calendars and math, primitive men first learned to dance around the campfire…

…

It wasn't just the NPCs who were full and satisfied with food and drink; the players were also greasy-mouthed, and there was even a long line in front of the second-floor bathroom, with some who couldn't wait simply heading to the first-floor one.

Awakeners have quite an astonishing appetite, especially those of the Body Constitution System and Strength Type in the fourth stage. Although their metabolism isn't usually exaggerated, they could open up their belly and eat half a cow if they wanted to.

As for the extra mass…

It could only be expelled by a powerful digestive system relentlessly working to get rid of it.

In the first-floor banquet hall, slightly tipsy and struggling on the edge of disconnection, Fang Chang was flailing his index finger, talking nonsense, and bragging to Old White.

"This meal has brought us an investment of hundreds of millions of silver coins to our plans. Once those guys get back to Silver Moon Bay, that figure might even triple... By then, it won't just be Jinjaron Harbor, but the source of building materials for Potato Harbor will be solved, too."

Helping this tipsy guy towards the save point, Old White joked,

"Make money in Gallon Harbor, spend in Gallon Harbor, not a penny wants to go home, right?"

Fang Chang chuckled and moved his neck,

"That's right! Cough, of course, it doesn't include us... We're not after those useless stacks of paper, but something more valuable. Why not turn them into something more precious to take home? Not only will the locals not hate us for smashing their emperor's pot, but they'll also be grateful to us!"

Old White joked again,

"In the past, you would probably have sold their kidneys too."

Fang Chang rolled his eyes,

"What nonsense are you talking about? I've never sold any, thank you. And even if I'd considered it, it would have only been those renewable kinds. And since when did this idea become mine? It's all those damn dogs barking on the Forum every day about selling Meat Meat and Trash-kun's skin and the Body Constitution System's kidneys to farm money. I just happened to contact a buyer for them while doing the mission."

Of course, because that buyer also dealt with Looter's business, they treated him like a wild monster to grind.

That was a long time ago.

After a pause, he continued with a burp from the wine,

"Actually, instead of the 'foreign merchants' attracted from Silver Moon Bay and the players of life professions active in that area, I'd rather spend the over one billion West Winds currency piled in the bank. Relying on sneaky little stunts, we probably won't be able to spend it all by the time the Empire itself goes bankrupt."

"Sneaky little stunts?" Old White looked at him puzzled.

If he remembered correctly, the Empire had implemented an embargo on them, and no goods could be imported from the inland port of Everflow River.

"Don't you know?"

Fang Chang looked back at him, just as surprised, and then mumbled to himself,

"I thought you knew."

At the same time, Fang Chang and Old White were heading towards the save point, a shadowy figure was sneaking toward the Imperial Army's position along the ceasefire line between the Alliance and the Empire, taking advantage of the cover of night…

Chapter 713: Riddled with Embargoes

At the southern section of the ceasefire line between the Empire and Jinjaron Harbor, at the outlet of one of the tributaries of the Everflow River, there is a small bay connected to it.

This bay has a nearly ten-kilometer-long coastline. The relatively high terrain of the peninsulas on both sides shields it from most of the wind and waves, forming a small natural good harbor.

Because the peninsula on the southern side resembles half a banana on the map, the nearby survivors simply named it "Banana Head Bay."

Due to its abundance of fresh water resources and tranquil waters, numerous fishermen from within a hundred kilometers regarded it as a shelter. Whenever a storm arose, they would steer their fishing boats into the densely wooded inland rivers on both shores to take cover, while they themselves hid in nearby pre-prepared shelters.

Some cargo ships bypassing the southernmost tip of the Poluo Province also chose to take refuge here from storms. Although they couldn't enter the tributary of the Everflow River, they could shelter from the wind and waves between the peninsulas flanking the bay.

Over time, this place had turned into a fishing village of moderate size. A man with a large nose, who seemed to be from Weilante, even opened an inn called "The Forsaken Town" using a stranded derelict cargo ship. He provided cheap alcohol, food, damp moldy bedding, and even aging prostitutes for nearby fishermen and passing merchant sailors.

Perhaps it was because Jinjaron Harbor was too dazzling, or perhaps it was because the land was not suitable for farming, and it was mostly uninhabited most of the time, the Empire seemed to have selectively forgotten this land and never appointed a governor here.

Gradually, this place became a "paradise" for fishermen, sailors, and runaway fugitives and slaves.

However, recently, there had been significant changes here.

First, people from the Alliance planted a flag on the northern peninsula, then left without looking back. Soon after, a squad of Imperial soldiers carrying the Tiger army flag also arrived and, after some consideration, began clearing land and digging trenches on the southern peninsula.

The relatively low-lying Banana Head Village was sandwiched between the two armies. Although they couldn't see the Alliance's machine guns, the Empire's machine guns were already mounted overhead.

The local fishermen, having never seen such a display, didn't even wait for the Empire's men to come and command them; they were frightened into jumping into their boats and fleeing the bay. They scattered along the coastline, some heading south, and others north, each returning to their own villages and homes.

And those sailors, lacking ships to come by, gradually disappeared from sight. Now, only some desperate outlaws with nowhere else to go remained hidden here, endlessly waiting for those favorable winds that never seemed to come…

It had been some time since crossing the "border line" of Jinjaron Harbor.

Since entering this hidden fishing village in the bay, Kunal's heart had been pounding fiercely, his palms sweating while holding a bundle of burlap sacks.

Being a local from Jinjaron Harbor, particularly from the slums near the port, he had certainly heard of Banana Head Bay and the small fishing village located there, but he had never actually visited.

Ah Xin walked beside him, expression normal, but his hands remained in his pockets.

Behind him followed about twenty young men, all neighbors from the same street. They carried a variety of tools wrapped in plastic sacks used for corn, including sticks, hoes, and even fishing rods, which made it impossible to tell from the outside whether they contained guns or something else.

Glancing at the leader walking beside him, perhaps inspired by his calm demeanor, Kunal felt somewhat reassured and began observing the surroundings.

Most of the shanties here had been abandoned, only the stranded derelict ship still faintly lit by a flickering light.

The village, which should have housed two to three hundred people, now had fewer than half remaining.

And those remaining were either emaciated runaway slaves or ruthless characters with blood debts.

As Kunal quietly scrutinized them, the locals were also warily watching these unwelcome visitors.

Several menacing-looking men turned into the alley between hovels, and several dark windows on the street suddenly closed their shutters.

Every rustle of wind made Kunal tense up uncontrollably. He swallowed a lump of saliva and couldn't help but move closer to Ah Xin, whispering,

"Boss, many people are watching us."

"Let them watch if they want to. Besides, we stand out," Ah Xin glanced at Kunal standing beside him and instructed softly, "Relax, act naturally, as if you come here often. The more afraid you appear, the more they'll be tempted to act... Now, take a deep breath."

Kunal obediently took a deep breath.

Ah Xin hooked his arm around Kunal's shoulder, pointing with his other hand to the only lit hotel "The Forsaken Town" lodged amid the beach.

"Imagine that it's our property, not just that ship, but all the land on the beach..."

"Of course, we have to take it step by step. Once we make our first bucket of gold, I'll start by buying that broken ship."

The now calmer Kunal looked at his boss, puzzled.

He could understand the residential project in front of the Governor's Mansion since many citizens and merchants had already sniffed out the news and even foolishly offered to pay without having seen the houses.

But this was just an abandoned fishing village?

He couldn't fathom what was worth investing in here.

The Alliance and the Empire's positions were not far from here. Once His Majesty took action, this place could become the front line of a battlefield.

Even the fishermen living here had abandoned the place, leaving only some incorrigible fellows staring blankly at the sea.

He had indeed mentioned wanting to buy a ship, but he hadn't meant a stranded, clearly irreparable wreck...

As Kunal was baffled, the group had already reached the only lit lamp in the village.

Through the rusty hull and door, the group standing at the entrance could already hear the faint sounds of clinking glasses and raucous laughter inside.

Swatting at the flies in the light, Ah Xin stepped forward and knocked gently on the door. Soon, footsteps approached, and with a creak, the door opened.

Unsurprisingly, a rifle-backing Imperial soldier stood at the door.

The tall, imposing man glanced at Ah Xin and his group of scrawny youths behind him, scoffed, and waved them away like shooing flies.

"Scram, this place is booked. Go beg somewhere else."

Unperturbed by his mocking tone, Ah Xin nodded respectfully, imitating the servants at the entrance of the Triumph Hotel.

"Please give my regards to your commander and tell him a businessman named Ah Xin has brought something of interest."

Before the soldier could scoff, Ah Xin withdrew his right hand from his pocket and slipped a hundred West Winds bill into the soldier's hand.

The soldier's face clearly showed surprise before discreetly pocketing the money.

"Wait here."

Ah Xin nodded slightly, watching the thick hatch door close again, patiently waiting for the hurried footsteps to fade away.

It didn't take long for the footsteps to return and push through the thick hatch door once more.

This time, the soldier did not waste words but simply waved him over.

"You, come here."

Ah Xin asked,

"Can I bring my servant with me?"

Considering the one hundred West Winds coins from before, the soldier was hesitant to refuse outright and just said impatiently,

"Only one."

"Thank you."

Ah Xin gave Kunal, standing beside him, a look.

The latter, understanding immediately, turned around and whispered some instructions to the nervous young fellows following them, then proceeded to follow his boss through the hatch door they had opened with 100 West Winds coins...

...

The space inside the cabin was unexpectedly spacious.

The hotel's owner had converted the lowest deck into a large dining hall where drinking and eating took place, and the guest rooms were up the ladder.

About fifty Imperial soldiers were seated at square wooden tables, loudly gambling with dice and fingers while drinking inferior beer and eating appetizers.

Kunal hastily glanced at the food and drinks on their tables, which were even worse than the swill poured at the Triumph Hotel.

A month ago, when he was eating dirt, he would probably have salivated over it, but now it only made him feel nauseous.

Unlike him though, these soldiers were enjoying their meal, each crunching on a fried bean accompanied by a big gulp of beer.

It was evident what kind of swill they usually ate.

Despite fearing the guns in their hands, Kunal, who had eaten and drunk his fill, couldn't help but look down on these poor wretches from the bottom of his heart.

Without lingering in the hotel's hall, the guarding soldier directly led them to a "private room" along the corridor of the cabin.

This place used to be either the captain's or a prominent bedroom for rest, but now it had been turned into a VIP lounge. The not-so-spacious room had three old sofas arranged in a circle around a wooden coffee table, and the pungent smell of tobacco mixed with sweat was suffocating.

Five burly officers sat on the sofas, their faces flushed, displaying a drunken grin with a hint of ruffianism.

Their coats hung on a rack by the door, and they wore only a white shirt, each of them embracing a scantily-clad woman. At first glance, it was hard to tell who was at a disadvantage.

"So you're the one called... cough, what's it again?"

The officer seated at the center scrutinized the young man at the door and chuckled, rubbing his reddened nose before continuing, "I heard you've brought something I might be interested in?"

"Yes, esteemed Mr. Gerhardt, Thousand Leader of the Imperial Tiger Army," Ah Xin nodded slightly, respectfully saying, "My name is Ah Xin, and I've long admired your renown."

The air quieted for two seconds.

Gerhardt squinted slightly, the drunkenness on his body momentarily sobering up, and he looked at him with a half-smile.

"Where did you hear about me?"

It's indeed this person.

Ah Xin kept his expression calm, but he breathed a sigh of relief internally.

He didn't actually know the man in front of him but had heard from fishermen recently returned from Banana Head Bay that the leader of the thousand team up in the southern mountains was named Gerhardt. This man was a drunkard who often brought his cronies down to The Forsaken Town inn to drink, always putting it on a tab and often drinking all night long, babbling indiscreetly when drunk.

Of course—

He couldn't tell this man the actual situation but used a vague general statement instead.

"A distinguished person in Jinjaron Harbor, waiting for good news from His Majesty, told me. He instructed me explicitly to find Thousand Leader Gerhardt, and he confidently told me that you are in charge of security for this entire area."

The officer named Gerhardt narrowed his eyes further, his changeable expression seeming to weigh something.

They had only been here for less than two weeks, yet someone had figured out not only the defensive setup here but even who was stationed here among the officers.

This "distinguished person" must have a significant status...

Undecided, Gerhardt continued to stare at the young man in front of him.

"You said you brought something of interest to me? Where is it?"

Ah Xin glanced at Kunal behind him, who nervously swallowed and stepped forward somewhat hesitantly.

Although he tried to mask it, the trembling of his hands betrayed his internal fear.

Observing those incessantly shaking hands, Gerhardt mocked the wriggling dog with a laugh and motioned to his subordinate with a flick of his index finger.

"I bet it's a bag of black beans." The subordinate joked as he stepped forward, snatching the burlap bag from the clumsy man's hands and deftly untied the hemp rope tied around the bag.

However, in that moment, as he saw what was in the bag, he froze.

A whole bag of West Winds coins...

He involuntarily swallowed.

Having been a Centurion for so many years, he had never seen so much money!

"...Sir," he quickly turned his head to the Thousands of leaders, his eyes filled with surprise and greed, almost visibly writing "let's get moving" on his face.

Gerhardt, sitting on the sofa, of course, saw the sack stuffed with bills too. Although his reaction wasn't as exaggerated as his subordinate's, he couldn't help but stiffen the smile on his face.

He lowered the leg that was propped on his knee, pushed away the girl who sat on his lap, whispering in his ear, sat up straight, and stared at the young man called Ah Xin, pointing with his chin at the sack filled with bills and asked.

"What's this?"

"It is a gift entrusted by a noble to be presented to you," said Ah Xin with a slight nod, speaking with the politeness of a servant from a truly affluent household, "I wonder if you are interested in this gift?"

Kunal sneaked a look at Ah Xin next to him, sending him a look of surprise.

Before setting off they had clearly agreed that this was a "deposit" for the smuggled goods, so why had it suddenly turned into a gift?!

Gerhardt also stared at the young man called Ah Xin, his eyes filled with surprise, greed, and a barely noticeable apprehension.

Unlike his rather simple-minded subordinate, beyond money, he still needed to consider other issues.

The sack contained at least four to five hundred thousand, obviously not a sum that a destitute person from the Rat Clan could afford.

His mind raced, quickly cycling through the names of all the significant figures in Jin Galun Harbor, but still, he couldn't figure anything out.

The atmosphere in the hotel lobby momentarily became so tense it was as if you could wring water out of it, the two soldiers at the door, under the suggestive gaze of the Centurion, unconsciously rested their hands near their guns.

Kunal swallowed nervously, concentrating on his ship and the girls waiting for tickets, striving not to let the look of fear show on his face.

Watching Ah Xin attentively for a long while, Gerhardt, the Thousands of leaders, said slowly.

"I'll ask you again, where did the money come from?"

His voice carried a sharp edge, as piercing as his gaze, like a dagger pressed against the throat of a prey.

Taking a breath of the murky air, Ah Xin struggled to maintain his composure and continued.

"He prefers not to reveal his name, maintaining necessary mystery is better for both of us... You wouldn't want to be seen as a troublesome issue once the ceasefire agreement takes effect."

"What the hell did you just say?" Suddenly, the Centurion on the sofa exploded, standing up with his sidearm already drawn and pressed against Ah Xin's head.

For a moment, Ah Xin felt his limbs go cold.

In a daze, the man pointing the gun at his forehead seemed to transform into Vikram—the Wolf clan man who was shot in the head by him.

The way these men looked at him probably mirrored how he had looked at Vikram back then, as if staring at a dead man.

Even if they were scattered like rats by the Alliance on the battlefield, even if their abilities were no better than those of a pig, these powerful figures remained untouchable when standing before him; they could crush him with a flick of their fingers.

However—

He couldn't die.

His family had just started living a good life, and the future would be even better. He still wanted to send his younger brothers and sisters to study in the City of Dawn, find them educated spouses, buy his first friend, Kunal, a boat, and ensure those depending on him had enough to eat...

He absolutely couldn't fall before dawn!

Sitting on the sofa, the prostitutes were already stunned, and Kunal was frightened by the sudden drawing of the gun.

Ah Xin gently swallowed, struggling to hide his fearful expression behind a numb face, and lightly raised his hands, stepping back half a step.

"Calm down, friend," he said. "Killing me will only dirty your clothes and won't change anything."

The man had already turned off the safety, his thumb flicking the hammer, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, Gerhardt spoke.

"What does that noble want me to do?" he asked, signaling with his eyes for the soldiers at the door to take the prostitutes out of the room, interestedly watching Ah Xin.

Seeing the gun moved away from his forehead and a door being closed nearby, Ah Xin knew that this man was genuinely interested in what he was saying, so he steadied himself and continued.

"It's something quite easy for you, just turn a blind eye at the border, allowing the Empire's goods to pass through to Jin Galun Harbor. The noble can assure you that you'll receive forty percent profit from every shipment that enters the port."

Gerhardt scoffed.

"His Majesty has strictly decreed a ban on all persons and goods entering Jin Galun Harbor. That 'noble' has some nerve."

"The entire border line spans hundreds of kilometers. His Majesty's eyes can't possibly cover every inch," Ah Xin said smoothly. "If he actually had that capability, your supply situation wouldn't be the way it is now… I apologize for not finding a more polite description, but you know what I mean."

Gerhardt's expression shifted slightly.

That guy not only grasped the strategic deployments and personnel arrangements of the Tiger Army but even knew about their supply situation?!

What the hell is the point of fighting then!

He had even vaguely guessed the noble behind this man.

To have such deep influence within the military system of the Empire, it couldn't be anyone other than Prince Dilip. Even Governor Nehak couldn't possibly!

Yet Prince Dilip should be detained by the Alliance at this moment—could the Alliance be involved in this matter too?!

As his heart churned with turbulent waves, Ah Xin's mind raced, adding the last sentence to his impromptu speech.

"General Gerhardt, His Majesty's hope to crush the Alliance with an embargo is unrealistic, and ultimately, it's the Empire's citizens who will suffer. Similarly, the Alliance's hope to feed the entire city's livestock from just one harbor is not cost-effective. They have to continuously spend their own money on corn to keep those people, who need to be well-fed to work."

"What does that have to do with me?" Gerhardt asked, narrowing his eyes.

"It has a lot to do with you," Ah Xin said earnestly. "They don't wish for the survivors of Jin Galun Harbor to starve under their rule. If the goods from Banana Head Bay are crucial for the local survivors' livelihood, I think even if the Empire and the Alliance were to clash again, they wouldn't lay a hand on this place."

He couldn't guarantee this, nor could he offer any assurances.

However, he couldn't resist the identity of this "nobleman," which he had rationalized in his mind as Centurion Gerhardt wildly speculating.

Makes sense...

If he were the commander of the Alliance, he would bombard anywhere regardless, never targeting places related to interests.

Just thinking about it got him excited, and after pretending to consider for a moment, he spoke up.

"I don't have time to calculate your profits, I am going to take a twenty percent cut from the total transaction amount."

This wasn't a deal he could conclude alone; he needed to bribe some people too, including those in the ten thousand troops.

"No problem!"

Ah Xin agreed instantly.

Although he soon regretted agreeing too quickly, the other party seemed to be doing this for the first time and detected nothing unusual.

Thus, the matter was pleasantly settled.

Under Gerhardt's command, the thousand team disguised as logistic purchases covered the transport of merchants and goods through the gates to the fishing village in Banana Head Bay, where payment and transaction negotiations were carried out in a hotel at The Forsaken Town.

For their first transaction, Gerhardt offered a total of six hundred tons of chickpeas and black beans at a price of five million West Winds currency.

This batch was priced at 4.2 West Winds currency per jin, even cheaper than the market price at Jin Galun Harbor before the Alliance's landing!

The current price per jin of beans had already soared to ten, selling this batch at Jin Galun Harbor could almost double the profit!

Though Gerhardt generously waived the commission for the first deal, Ah Xin was well aware that this greedy fellow had surely included the cut in the total price.

As to where and how these many beans were scavenged, he didn't bother to ask, after all, it was none of his business.

He simply proposed purchasing a batch of Double-headed Cows next time and asked Gerhardt to keep an eye on the flax and dye merchants, to which the latter readily agreed.

They agreed on a time for the payment.

In a show of cooperation, Gerhardt even grandly waved his hand, gifting the hotel, built on an abandoned ship, directly to Ah Xin.

For him, it was merely a matter of speaking a word.

As for the original owner of the hotel, he had been thrown into the sea with a stone tied to him a week ago for demanding unpaid liquor bills and having an insufficiently large nose.

To end up managing a shabby hotel in such a remote area and still be clueless—it'd be no surprise if he was actually a Rat-man from Weilante.

Moreover, was it not Gerhardt who had the final say?

The staff here didn't even know their boss was gone, still hoping for that self-proclaimed Weilante old man to come back and settle their wages.

"...Farewell, friend, this was the most enjoyable drink I've had, and I hope it will be in the future too."

Standing at the hotel's entrance, Gerhardt, with a joyful smile, drunkenly hooked Ah Xin's shoulder.

Since being sent to this godforsaken place, this was the first time he hadn't drunk till dawn and left satisfied.

Ah Xin respectfully nodded slightly, smiling at the officer.

"Welcome back anytime, I assure you that in a couple of days, you'll be able to drink liquor truly befitting your distinguished status. Recently, Jin Galun Harbor received a lot of exquisite items available only for Silver coins, including those from the Residents of the refuge."

"Haha! Then I really have something to look forward to!"

Hearing this, Gerhardt was delighted, chuckling and patting the young man's shoulder, clearly showing his stance in front of his subordinates.

Just by looking at their close interaction, one couldn't imagine that Gerhardt's men had just held a gun to this young man's head.

Watching the group of soldiers head south until they were out of sight, Ah Xin lightly patted his shoulder.

As if brushing dust off.

The group of young men standing in front of the hotel looked at their boss with reverence, as if beholding a god.

But they didn't know that just standing there without lying down nearly exhausted all his strength.

"Faster than I thought, I originally planned to make my first fortune and then buy this place, but it happened even before that…"

Clearing his nearly choked throat, Ah Xin resumed his original tone.

He first casually glanced back at the hotel, then glanced at Kunal, who almost had the word "admiration" carved on his face.

"Many guests will be coming here, we need to renovate this place... at least upscale it."

"Yes, boss! I'll find someone to handle it right away," said Kunal, standing upright like a loyal soldier with no doubt about the "general's" orders.

Ah Xin nodded, then looked over at the lowly shacks nearby and the fearful eyes hidden in the dark corners.

Before, those eyes dared to scrutinize him blatantly, now they didn't even dare meet his gaze.

However, there was not a hint of ridicule or mockery in his heart.

The most important lesson he learned from the Empire's catastrophic defeat in Jin Galun Harbor was unity, and he constantly contemplated how to unite these impoverished folks like him.

Money and dignity.

He just happened to have surplus to give them.

"Kunal, my friend, you were right... indeed, we need a ship to work with, and here we have a crew of inexperienced but manageable 'sailors'."

He paused, then softly added with contemplation.

"We might just find them some work to do."

Chapter 714: The Rising Sun from the Pier Illuminates the Harbor

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

The forum was as lively as ever.

It had become the most well-informed information hub across the entire Wasteland. Although its scale couldn't match that of the Endpoint Cloud in Ideal City, it surpassed the latter by spanning two worlds, an achievement not even a warp-speed spaceship could catch up to.

No Family: "Big news! A new 'Shadow Port' has been added to the south border between Jinjaron Harbor and West Winds Empire! The key landmark is 'The Forsaken Town' inn, the abandoned cargo ship lying on the beach! Initiating a conversation with the bartender can trigger smuggling quests! You can spend those useless West Winds coins there!"

Flying Pig: "666!"

Spicy Snack: "Boss! Any level requirements? (flirty)"

No Family: "None! Just watch your back! If you're worried, you can bring a couple of Strength Type beasts, but, of course, one of our Burning Corps' tin cans would suffice! (grinning)"

No Family: "Ah! Right, also, people from the Empire come there at night, so if you're interested in smuggling, try to go during the day! Or train a few NPC agents to go for you!"

Not long after the post was made.

Players who were engaged in lifestyle careers around Jinjaron Harbor swarmed into the forum, and in just a matter of minutes, hundreds of responses piled up under the post.

Old White, who had been perplexed by Fang Chang's riddles for a long time, finally saw the post and couldn't help but vent in the Bull Horse group chat.

"...Damn, so it was just this."

Fang Chang: "You finally noticed? (smirk)"

Old White: "But, speaking of which, doesn't smuggling need to be managed?"

Fang Chang: "It depends on the goods. Jinjaron Harbor's agricultural produce mainly consists of cash crops, which aren't edible. Currently, the goods coming in are what the locals need and also what we need. Losing a bit of tax to offset the inflation buildup to West Winds is acceptable to the new authority of Jinjaron Harbor."

In the classical era's market model, the direction of inflation and money flow was the same, opposite to the flow of goods.

The Alliance managed to distribute inflation among its allies largely because silver coins were flowing from the Manager's hands into someone else's pocket. And for some greater benefit, the allies were willing to pay for this trivial cost.

Even outside the game, it was the same in the "Silver Exchange," where participants included not just players but also backseat drivers. The exchange rates between silver coins and other currencies also reflected a similar demand-supply relationship. Each auction that resulted in significant fluctuations of the silver coin price clearly demonstrated this demand-supply relationship through the auctioned items.

Jinjaron Harbor was no exception. It wasn't just about the money stored in the emperor's treasury of West Winds but also a large number of nobles and private banks looking to offload their West Winds coins. Ports like Banana Head Bay, as "shadow ports," offered them an outlet.

People on the other side accepted West Winds coins, providing them with goods that were piling up in the empire but were urgently needed at Jinjaron Harbor. With these goods, they could trade for 'new money' – Gallon, linked to silver coins, with workers, factories, shop owners, and others.

The Emperor of West Winds thought an embargo would crush Jinjaron Harbor, but he might have forgotten that forces operate reciprocally.

There were too many villages, settlements, and even noble estates around Jinjaron Harbor that needed to process the massive, monotonous stockpiles.

Jinjaron Harbor was facing inflation of West Winds coins, but they were facing a much more severe deflation.

If they couldn't sell their stockpiled goods, they would have dumped them into the Everflow River to avoid such an occurrence. The local nobility would certainly try every means to keep the border trade routes open, whether by bribing the border army or using their authority to exert pressure.

Announcing the embargo when the royal authority was already weakened by the Grey Wolf Army's defeat did seem like a move that hurt the enemy a thousand but harmed oneself ten thousand.

If a new interest group formed locally, it might just turn both armies at the border into military factions that don't necessarily obey the monarch's direct orders.

If this game were really that realistic.

Fang Chang: "...That Banana Head Bay must have just sprung up; actually, people have been trading there even during the recent ceasefire. From my observations, the busiest floating ports are mainly along the northwest banks of the Everflow River, mainly under the practical control of the Black Panther Army. At night, the river is dotted with smuggling boats."

Fang Chang: "Some nobles from Jinjaron Harbor take their West Winds coins there and trade them for goods like Double-headed Cows, sugar, sand, flax, spices. But the transportation capacity of the inland ports is limited. If Banana Head Bay could develop, perhaps we could speed up the dumping of West Winds coins even more."

Wild Wind: "What will you do once your West Winds coins run out? (curious)"

Fang Chang: "By that time, the reconstruction of Jin Galun Port will be nearly complete, and the survivors of the West Winds Empire will be interested in things other than just scrap paper."

Night Ten: "Damn, I should have hung out with you guys. (amused)"

Old White: "Speaking of which, are you still in City of Dawn?"

Night Ten: "I haven't stayed there anymore. As soon as the Ice Sea City save was available, Wild Wind and I went there."

Wild Wind: "To be accurate, there are also that Academy NPC called Jiang Xuezhou and Jiujiu. (smirking)"

Fang Chang: "Well, we really are worlds apart now. (laughingly crying)"

Night Ten: "No big deal, we're still on the same planet at least. (amused)"

Wild Wind: "+1."

...

Power abhors a vacuum, but there's one thing that never does.

And that's authority.

Once a void appears, something new immediately fills it.

Whether for better or worse.

Even if it's just a moment's gap...

The day after the first "Investment Attraction" dinner at Jin Galun Port ended, the doorway of Jin Galun Port City Hall was crowded with people.

A man in an exoskeleton walked to the door, opened the speaker on his helmet, and shouted at the crowd.

"Everyone calm down, no pushing."

"Our rules here don't prioritize order of bidding—it's all about qualifying criteria, review standards, and procedures, which are posted on the notice board. Read them, then go to the entrance, take a number, and wait for your turn to be called. Any interested individuals or groups can participate—anyone!"

Soon someone from the outskirts of the crowd shouted.

"Sirs! Can the Pigeon Clan participate?"

"I said, anyone!" Half-year Wasting Time shouted at the surging crowd, "Also, stop calling us sirs! The Alliance doesn't have that stuff!"

The crowd at the city hall entrance burst into vigorous applause and cheers, although some looked displeased, but for the sake of money, they just had to bear it.

Watching the young man bowing and thanking profusely, Half-year Wasting Time smiled and waved his hand, suddenly coming back to his senses.

Wait a second.

Is this guy a pigeon?

...

In just one day, 37 infrastructure projects received nearly two hundred bid documents, most of which came from players with lifestyles in Silver Moon Bay and active around Jin Galun Port.

Background checking and capital verification took a full three days.

During these three days, Fang Chang recruited a dozen players who had either worked in city government or held administrative roles in large companies from the Burning Corps and players active in the nearby area to guide the newly recruited two hundred civil servants in Jin Galun Port City Hall in familiarizing themselves with their duties while reviewing those two hundred plus bid documents.

Excluding over a hundred companies and individuals with substandard qualifications or severe cases of falsification and concealment, twenty-two infrastructure projects were eventually assigned to specific companies or individuals.

The remaining fifteen projects were mostly heavy-asset projects, such as the reconstruction of main roads and the construction of port freight railways and civil railways. Without sufficient strength, even coveting the considerable subsequent returns was futile.

Although Jin Galun Port Bank did not fully implement the "100% reserve" system, issuing 10 Gallon did not actually require the preparation of 1 Silver Coin, but printing money too far off from the silver reserves could trigger systemic financial risks.

Printing large amounts of money and then lending it to contractors to forcefully fatten up a thin person was not feasible here.

The fragile local economic conditions fundamentally lacked the basis for "spending next generation's money in this lifetime," and survivors already eating dirt could not suffer further.

Thus, Baiyue Corporation's CEO, Fang Chang, initiated a discussion group on the Forum and convened the shareholders for a general meeting. After explaining the project details, they voted and ultimately decided that Baiyue Corporation would fund these fifteen heavy-asset projects.

This approach was actually identical to what had been done in City of Dawn years ago when it heavily engaged in infrastructure.

That is, strong refuge-collective holding companies would take on the most challenging but unavoidable projects and chew down the tough bits. Once the cake was baked larger, it would gradually be distributed to other local survivors by the Managers, letting them also have their fill.

Meanwhile, the already massive "Bull Horse Group" and others would move out of the Alliance's territories with its army or commercial teams, venturing into the broader Wasteland to create new profit growth points—in places like Ideal City, Sunset Province, Giant Stone City before its transformation, and even the not-so-friendly Free State and Falcon Kingdom among others.

In fact, both Potato Harbor and Jin Galun Harbor were products under this model, although the strategies executed by players in these two locations varied significantly due to different specific circumstances.

Once the thirty-seven infrastructure projects at Jin Galun Harbor were completed, the total economic output of this port could surpass Silver Moon Bay, becoming the new trade hub on the Poluo Sea.

After all, Silver Moon Bay was backed only by a kingdom of a million people, while this location was already a settlement of a million residents, supported by a feudal dynasty known as Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods.

In this sense, both the thirty-seven infrastructure projects underway at Jin Galun Harbor, and the numerous spontaneous projects by private parties, as well as the harbor and underwater pipeline construction projects at Potato Harbor, were equally important to the Alliance, which was endeavoring to unite the survivors of the Wasteland.

The latter provided visible bonds.

While the former, invisible, yet truly existed...

...

The weather in June was like a child's face; one moment the port was covered with dark clouds, and the next a scorching sun hung in the sky.

It was just past eight o'clock, and the port felt as hot as midday, with the seagulls circling the masts emitting cries as if they were about to die from the heat.

Paru, who was on duty, yawned and decided to go stand under the duty booth for a while.

It might have been around the same time last time, or perhaps even earlier.

Standing here, all he did was yawn, and in the blink of an eye, the local Governor Lord and His Majesty the Emperor had vanished, the sly-looking Mandar instantly became a police officer in the harbor area, and the former police chief Bihari did even better, becoming the chief of police for the entire settlement.

Chief of Police.

Undoubtedly a novel term for Jin Galun Harbor.

As well known, apart from the real security in the harbor area, there were no patrolling forces elsewhere—unless there was a murder or a noble's cat or dog went missing, reporting it to the authorities was generally futile.

Rich folks' daughters never walked into alleys, and the population in poor families was continuously changing; keeping track of how many people lived in each household year by year, how the deceased died, was purely thankless work.

They were like grass rooted in the red soil, a crop blown by the spring breeze followed by another crop. Now, there was a group who saw them as real people, a real advantage for them.

Paru felt his yawning had played a small part in this.

After all, if he had not been slacking off, it was possible the city defense army might have discovered the arrival of a menacing group at the port earlier, and General Arai Yang of the Grey Wolf Army might not have suffered that defeat outside the city.

If another yawn could send the Alliance packing, that would be great, as being taken advantage of by those "snake, rat, insect, bird" types was truly bothersome.

He just wanted those haughty masters to politely call him an officer or a sir; he didn't want to be equals with those inherently lowly commoners.

For example, he used to be able to arbitrarily use his gun butt to discipline his servants, but now, if he struck someone without a valid reason, those "Iron Men" would go to complain to his dear Chief Mandar, who after being reprimanded would have ten thousand ways to make him suffer in silence.

Resigning himself to the situation was also not an option.

Those Iron Men were clever; they never came to him directly, only targeting their leader by directly threatening their leader's critical points.

That's why, although he felt no affection for this position, he still had to maintain an appearance of impartial law enforcement.

Fortunately, today the port was as peaceful as ever—dust filled the construction sites, crowds bustled on the roads, and the busy people had no leisure time to cause trouble.

Whether it was the merchants shuttling through the docks or the laborers carrying boxes back and forth between the warehouses and docks, everyone was using their brains and strength to hustle, just to have a couple more "Gallons" in their pockets. Even the seagulls flying overhead were busy stealing French fries from the Iron Men and their bears.

If it weren't for a careful recollection, he would have almost forgotten what had happened here over a month ago…

Just then, a ding-ding sound came from outside the duty booth, and a bicycle with a police badge on it screeched to a halt at the door.

A young man agilely swung off the bike, darted into the duty booth in his police uniform, and shoved a thick document bag into the yawning arms of Paru.

"Please deliver this to the station on the north side of Knight Road; they urgently need it."

Seeing that it was nearly the end of his shift, Paru couldn't help but ask,

"Why me?"

This young man, named Bacher, reminded him of a Yorkie, a recent recruit to the security force.

Although his colleagues at the security bureau had a generally good opinion of him—being warm-hearted and agile, and serious about his duties—frankly speaking, Paru didn't like this Mouse Tribe youngster much.

First, naturally because of the guy's identity, and secondly because he seemed a little too enthusiastic about this new job, lacking the dignity expected of a security officer.

So eager for praise from those Iron Men?

"You're just about to get off your night shift, and you live there; it's on the way. Just help me out," the Mouse Tribe young man said with a smile, clasping his hands together. "Please, please, I'll bring you breakfast tomorrow!"

"…"

Although Paru rolled his eyes wordlessly, considering that he could get off work early and snag a free breakfast, he still reached out and took the sealed file bag and stepped out of the door.

Watching Paru walk off into the distance, he called out,

"Aren't you riding the bike?"

"I can't ride that thing," Paru snorted, feeling somewhat that the young man was flaunting the perks received from the Iron Men, his voice tinged with displeasure.

What's there to show off.

That bike isn't even yours!

Bacher, however, didn't care and replied cheerfully,

"It's pretty convenient. I heard that the guards in City of Dawn also ride these things, they just have an extra battery! If you're free someday, I can teach you! With someone teaching, you won't be afraid of falling."

"No need."

Paru, with his back to him, waved the file bag impatiently and quickened his pace away from the street.

Everything here was changing.

No matter the things on the street or the people, when he occasionally awoke, he always felt left behind by everyone.

The residents of the once Tulip Street were nobles and ladies in long gowns and dresses, yet now even the despised rats had infiltrated.

It was the Ah Xin family over there, wasn't it?

Paru looked at the mansion in the distance, once owned by the Weilante People, his eyes unintentionally filled with scorn and disgust, as if he was looking at a cookie nibbled by rats.

The hard-earned property of the Weilante People had been cunningly snatched away by a rat who engaged in petty theft. He really didn't see anything good about this so-called order.

If given the choice, he surely would have preferred to return to the era of Governor Nehark, when people were much more polite than they are now...

Paru quickened his pace and soon passed Knight Road, which isolated the rich from the poor.

It was a circular road surrounding Tulip Street.

Previously, the city's defense forces loyal to the governor and the Alliance had fought a bloody battle here, but now there were no traces of the battle.

The buildings riddled with bullet holes and streets overturned by artillery had been entirely cleared away.

Recently, the Alliance had embarked on major construction here, not only dismantling the destroyed roads but also digging up the intact ones, keeping the nearby streets perpetually shrouded in dust.

Bacher's mentioned police substation near the train station construction site was nearby.

As Paru walked there, he glanced into a pit surrounded by barriers and saw several shirtless workers lifting thick, heavy wooden beams onto the ground.

He had seen such wood at the port storage area, seemingly brought over by the Baiyue Corporation's leased freighters from Potato Harbor.

Previously, Jin Jialun Harbor had never imported such things, and he had no idea what these workers were using them for, so he cleared his throat and called out emphatically.

"What are you doing?"

The busy workers didn't notice him, absorbed in the clanging noises and unable to hear his shouts.

Only the workers who had just finished and were resting bothered to look up, saw his police uniform, and thought he was there to inspect, so they began explaining.

"Sir, this is the Alliance's construction site, and we have construction permits."

The mix of respect and fear in their expressions made Paru's face reveal a hint of satisfaction. He nodded perfunctorily and continued.

"Ahem! As long as you have the permits... Make sure you do a good job at Iron Man's site, and don't try to be smart. If we catch you, you'll be in trouble!"

Although he didn't like the Alliance, he wouldn't dare to find fault in their construction site.

The men showed innocent expressions.

"We wouldn't dare, officer."

"Yeah, the foreman keeps a tight ship!"

"And we couldn't slack off even if we wanted... we can only work up to ten hours per shift. If we work extra, the performance and wages go to the next shift, and we get fined!"

Paru was momentarily puzzled, not understanding why working extra would result in penalties.

However, he didn't probe further and coughed before asking something else that he was more curious about.

"What are you constructing?"

"A railway!" one of the workers replied with a smile.

Paru was taken aback.

"A railway? What do you need that for?"

The workers looked at each other, unsure of how to answer. However, one perceptive young man chirped up.

"To modernize the port."

"Modernize?" Paru muttered to himself, "I've never heard that word before."

"Coincidentally, we don't really know either, it's what those Iron Men are talking about! But as long as it's clear this thing can transport stuff, that's enough!"

The young man had just finished speaking with a laugh when another person added, "It doesn't matter if we haven't heard of it, as long as we earn wages!"

Paru couldn't help but to ask.

"Where does it transport goods?"

"One underground transports people, and the other around the port handles goods. That's being worked on by a different team, not our project. You'd need to ask them about where they're taking the goods."

"Transport people?!" Paru widened his eyes, disbelieving that a few wooden sticks could transport people.

Seeing his shocked expression, the young man said with a smile.

"Yes! I hear that the train moves very quickly on the tracks; even those living in the suburbs can come to work in the port area!"

Paru opened his mouth, continuing to inquire.

"Then... then how much do they pay you? How much do the Iron Men pay you a month?"

As the subject of wages came up, the previously boastful dark-skinned worker broke into a proud grin.

"2200 Gallons!"

"2200 Gallons?!"

Hearing this number, Paru was shocked again and secretly calculated in his mind.

Wasn't that...

Enough to buy fifty-five kilograms of corn?!

Recently, many citizens of Jin Jialun Harbor had learned from the Iron Men how to cook corn and cornmeal, adapting their diets to resemble those of the Iron Men, turning into the new trend for the city dwellers. The price of corn had risen from initially 1 Gallon per two kilograms to 2 Gallons per two kilograms.

That's 20 Gallons per kilogram.

However, if buying coarse grains like black beans or chickpeas transported by water, a kilogram would cost about 8 Gallons!

As for West Winds currency, it scarcely appeared at the stalls frequented by the citizens; it was said to be used only in the dealings of big shots.

Paru couldn't calculate right away how many kilograms of beans 2200 Gallons could buy, but he knew that he made only 1800 Gallons a month.

These laborers were earning more than him!

"How can there be so much? I remember the recruitment... said it was 1600 Gallons, right?" Paru couldn't help but ask enviously.

The workers laughed and said,

"That's just the base salary! In addition to that, last month we received a bonus of 600 gallons!"

"The foreman told us that as long as we work quickly and well, earning the approval of those Iron Men, we could even receive a bonus equal to our salary!"

"I'm done. Do you guys need to rest a bit more?"

"Let's head back together... I'll go buy some steamed buns later."

"I'll pick up some fried beans on the way."

"Where did you get the alcohol?!"

"Hehe, I'll tell you secretly, those Iron Men never finish it..."

A group that seemed well-rested climbed up from the pit using a ladder and returned their hard hats to the rack nearby.

Paru watched them blankly, seeing something different in those sweaty young men, yet he couldn't quite articulate what it was.

In the past, there were many people who labored hard, but he had never seen anyone able to smile after their work was done.

No —

To be precise, he had never before seen those slaves complete their work, let alone have the opportunity to consider what they might eat afterward.

Perhaps...

The world really had changed.

Paru left with a worried face, heading to the nearby harbor police substation, and upon a colleague's reminder, found the local substation head.

He knocked on the office door, stepped in, and was relieved to see that the substation head, about the same age as him in his thirties, also had lighter skin, scarcely weathered by wind or rain, and the demeanor of a well-educated, respectable urban dweller.

Paru instinctively adopted a more humble demeanor, slowed his steps as he entered, and handed over a file bag with a friendly smile.

"It was Bacher who asked me to bring this."

The chief looked at him, surprised,

"That fast?"

As he spoke, he quickly took the file bag from Paru's hands, tore open the seal, and took out a thick stack of papers to skim through.

After a moment, he nodded in approval.

"Not bad, thank him for me later. I'll write a letter to your station to express my appreciation."

Despite feeling a bit envious, Paru still managed a smile and nodded.

"I'll let him know."

As he spoke, he paused, then couldn't help but ask another question.

"By the way, Chief, if I may ask... what are these papers for?"

The chief picked up a cup of tea, took a sip to moisten his throat, and succinctly said,

"Identity registration documents."

Paru was startled.

"Identity?"

"Yes, as per those Iron Men's request. Recently, a lot of refugees have swum over from the Everflow River, they claimed that several nearby villages had famines. The Governor's Office has asked us to quickly set up an identity verification system for the locals, to at least register their names, ages, genders, and the general streets they live on... You in the harbor area live among recognized residents, but it's more troublesome here, being full of shacks. Some of the workers don't go home for days; it's good that we have your cooperation."

Saying this, the chief massaged his temples showing signs of headache, clearly troubled by this issue recently.

After listening, Paru was taken aback.

He had indeed heard a rumor; the Governor's Mansion planned to issue some kind of identity card to the residents of Jinjaron Harbor.

At the time, he was inwardly grateful that these Iron Men were finally planning some real good deeds, such as thoroughly segregating the Rat-men from the populace, but it turned out it was only for registering these details.

"Just… to register this?" Paru couldn't help asking, looking hopefully at the chief, expecting to hear words like "Nearly forgot" or "Just remembered."

However, to his disappointment, the man just looked at him blankly.

"Just these, anything else?"

"Nothing…" Paru suddenly felt somewhat despondent and, under the puzzled gaze of the chief, turned and left the office.

He actually had been quite looking forward to the card featuring a horse.

Though the Horse Clan wasn't considered particularly noble, they were still much better than those of the Snake, Rat, Insect, Bird...

Leaving the police station, Paru, dragging his exhausted body, started walking home as the rising sun made his neck and back feel slightly hot.

Muttering curses at the rat that stole his time to return home, he unconsciously quickened his pace to get home before the streets got too hot.

However, just as he stepped over his home's threshold, at that moment, the clock from the harbor chimed eight times, startling a group of seagulls perched on the roof.

Paru's old face involuntarily flushed.

Only then did he realize that he had arrived home much earlier than usual...

...

At just past eight o'clock, as the sun bathed Jinjaron Harbor in a golden hue, the sky over the west coast of Poluo Province was still a dim glimmer.

A majestic cargo ship was slowly approaching the newly built concrete dock, connected to a tightly packed expanse of shanties sprouting like moss across the barren land.

A man in a crisp military uniform stood on the deck, smiling as he watched the harbor bathed in the morning light.

"West Sail Port, along with West Sail City and even the fertile, rich Nasit State next to it... Everything here is our spoils of war, as well as the spoils of your father, Mr. Bennott. Pick a nice angle and take a photo; make sure the early light just falls on our bow. I like that glistening effect."

Standing behind him, Penny sighed reluctantly, took a few shots towards the harbor and bow, then flicked her hair that rested on her shoulders and said,

"That means we'll need to stay another hour on deck... And, esteemed Governor Hue, you don't need to teach me how to take pictures; I know how to make your ship look big and beautiful. How about I give you the camera, and you take the shot yourself?"

The man paused at her words, then laughed heartily but did not reach for the camera.

"True to Mr. Bennott's daughter!"

"I'll leave it to you then!"

Chapter 715: Only the Empire is Hurt in the World Achieved

West Winds Empire, Tiandu Imperial Palace.

These days, Mr. Witch was feeling rather vexed.

The Alliance had made huge demands during the ceasefire negotiations, requesting the withdrawal of the governor from Jin Galun Harbor as well as a host of nobles and bureaucrats appointed by the Tiandu authorities.

Not only that, they also wanted the control of Jin Galun Harbor to be handed over to the local survivors after the ceasefire agreement took effect until the threat of the Looters in that region was completely removed.

Honestly speaking, he could make appropriate concessions on tariffs and reparations, but these two demands were something he could not agree to at all.

Especially the latter.

It was even more painful than the Alliance directly erasing that piece of land from his map.

After all, it meant that for the first time in the territory of the West Winds Empire, there would be a land not illuminated by royal authority, which could shake the very authority of the royalty and even the legitimacy of his rule might be questioned by the nobility and citizenry.

Mr. Witch could now only pin his hopes on the 300,000-strong army at the border, whose embargo against the entirety of Jin Galun Harbor might crush its fragile economy.

If that place turned into a wasteland breeding famine, plague, and even death, perhaps the Alliance would discard that tasteless chicken rib.

He had heard it from the front lines.

The people of the Alliance were paying out of their own pockets, shipping corn purchased from Silver Moon Bay to Jin Galun Harbor boat by boat.

According to this trend, either the red soil of the outskirts of Jin Galun Harbor, or the Alliance's wallet, would be emptied first.

Biting into a grape brought to his lips by a beauty, just as Mr. Witch was squinting and about to take a nap, rushed footsteps came from outside the hall.

A steward stepped inside the grand hall and knelt down at the bottom of the steps.

"Your Majesty, General Hu Ye has arrived."

Mr. Witch, lying in the lap of the beauty, sat up in delight and pushed aside the surrounding beauties and fruit tray, and briskly rose to his feet.

"He's in Tiandu?"

The kneeling steward looked slightly uncomfortable but still hurriedly spoke.

"Not yet... he disembarked at West Sail Port and has summoned the nobles from the vicinity of West Sail City."

Mr. Witch was slightly taken aback, sensing something amiss, yet still showed a relieved smile.

"Not bad, he's someone who gets things done."

The steward's forehead touched the floor, his expression sorrowful yet he dared not say more.

The entire court knew that the Weilante people were the emperor's honored guests; who would dare say a bad word about them?

Especially recently, as Duke Garava's negotiations with the Alliance were at a crucial juncture, the emperor needed the Army's strength to deter the Alliance and corporations behind them. Even if a Weilante officer slapped a member of the Sun People in the street or slept with some noble's daughter, it was still a cause for applause for the everlasting friendship between the Army and the Empire.

"General Mclen?" Mr. Witch asked.

The steward whispered hesitantly.

"He left by carriage for West Sail Port yesterday."

Mr. Witch frowned.

"Aaron is still around, right?"

The steward, drenched with sweat, spoke.

"…He went with General McCullen."

Mr. Witch was silent for a long while in front of the bench, stomping his foot and frowning as if pondering something, but soon relaxed his eyebrows and sat back down.

"Send a telegram for me saying, 'Thank you, General, for the effort you've put into the affairs of my Empire.' Also, there's a selection for court generals in a week's time. I've heard the General has taken great interest in our Empire's military chess. If the General happens to be free, he could come to observe at our court."

That was the gist of it.

As for the exact phrasing of the telegram, the people below would naturally figure it out.

Seeing that His Majesty did not vent his anger on him, the steward finally breathed a sigh of relief, bowing deeply.

"As you command!"

…

At the same time, at the docks of West Sail Port, rows of opulently decorated carriages were squeezed onto the already narrow muddy road.

A group of people dressed in lavish clothes stood on the open space in front of the docks, uneasily watching the tall and sturdy soldiers from Weilante.

It was unclear what kind of bewitching potion those big-noses had given to their Emperor to make His Majesty wave his hand and directly hand over West Sail Port to the army, cautioning all the nobles of Nasit State to fully cooperate with any demands of the army, otherwise, it would be tantamount to betraying the Empire.

Though nominally, this was still the Emperor's territory, in reality, it had become the domain of the Weilante people. They had not only driven out the original governor but had also dispatched a new "governor."

Standing at the prow of the ship, Governor Hue looked down at the ants on the dock, his disdainful gaze not just contemptuous and mocking, but rather he did not even consider these people human.

A group of people who did not even care about their own kin hardly deserved the respect of Weilante people; even dressed in brocade and silk, they were merely a few dogs leading a herd.

Not missing this opportunity to flaunt his authority, he cleared his throat, raised his voice, and loudly declared,

"Listen, it doesn't matter whom you were loyal to before, now I am the one riding over your heads, I am your master, and here you will follow my rules. If there are any objections, it's better to raise them sooner to avoid wasting everyone's time."

Watching the crowd stir and show disbelieving expressions, Hue calmly waited for half a minute, and seeing no one speak up, he continued,

"I want you to select a group of people from your own estates who can work… Let's say, at least one able-bodied man per household of slaves."

As soon as these words fell, the crowd at the docks erupted in uproar, the previously silent nobles now as agitated as dogs whose tails had been stepped on.

Hue pondered if his demand had been too excessive when Aaron, standing beside him, coughed lightly.

"General, the slaves here don't have families."

Hue paused, looking at him with surprise,

"What do you mean?"

Aaron patiently explained,

"It's just as it sounds, you can think of them as weeds that have sprouted from the Red Soil - plants that have no concept of kin… Even if these weeds know in their hearts who their fathers and mothers are, the nobles who own them won't bother asking too much about it."

"And how do they know who was born from whom?" Hue couldn't help asking, "They must count how many people they have, right?"

"They are all born from mothers. What does it matter who was born from whom?" Aaron shrugged, "They recount their numbers once a year, maybe every two or three years. As long as the number of workers doesn't change much, no one cares. If there are too many, they'll sell some off to reduce expenses; the reverse situation… that hasn't occurred before."

Hue pinched the bridge of his nose, seemingly headache from this unexpected situation.

Meanwhile, McCullen watched with arms crossed, intrigued about how this group of "civil officials" would handle the problem.

In the Falcon Kingdom, General Kras abolished slavery among his own people and established a "Military Aristocracy" system tied to military merits, encouraging them to pillage lands and slaves from the outside world. In contrast, General Griffin employed the freed citizens to construct an army-style industrial center for the locals, securing logistics for the Expeditionary Army in the Far East.

Completing these tasks required a powerful army and execution ability, but Triumph City's civil officials were a group of "weak and incompetent" individuals.

Indeed, after pondering for a moment, the governor came up with a compromise solution, cleared his throat, and yelled at the group of indigenous nobles.

"Silence!"

The volume exploded from the loudspeaker, stunning everyone at the scene; the crowd on the dock indeed fell silent.

After a pause, Governor Hu Ye slowly continued.

"Your management methods are too inefficient, let's change it... You provide me with slaves periodically, and we will pay you per head, 50 Dinars for each head who works for a full month."

His words had barely finished when the atmosphere at the port instantly boiled over.

Fearful faces immediately filled with joy, as if they were eager to empty their pockets right there and then.

"No problem, sir!"

"I, my family has over a thousand! I can relocate them here tomorrow!"

"Is it the same amount for everyone? Or only the men?"

50 Dinars per month, that's 600 Dinar per year!

In the West Winds Empire, even the smallest noble had hundreds of people, while some large nobles had plantations or plantations that housed tens of thousands!

The four seasons of the year weren't always busy with agriculture, and usually, when there was no work, most people idly wasted away on the land.

If at that time they were pushed into the Weilante factories, they could at the least earn tens of thousands, if not millions in extra income per year!

This was even higher than their plantations' output!

Some people were even contemplating how to convert those tenants who rented their lands into slaves through raising land rents or other methods.

Or perhaps by making them sell their sons and daughters.

"Quiet! Quiet!" Hu Ye shouted twice, silencing the chattering crowd, then continued to call out, "When we need to hire, we will post the hiring requirements here. If you don't want to miss out, arrange for your servants to keep an eye here. Now, go back and count how many people you have in your families, their ages, whether they're male or female. I don't want you to end up bringing me a bunch of old men leaning on walking sticks!"

After saying what needed to be said, Hu Ye ordered the soldiers to disperse the nobles blocking the docks, while also sending people to arrange work for the labor force allotted to them by their emperors.

In fact, to produce light industrial goods needed by Triumph City, there was no need to mobilize the slaves from those plantations; the people living in the shack settlements of West Sail Harbor were enough.

However, for the future of this "treaty port," Hu Ye had his own plans and arrangements.

He was not satisfied with earning a little money from exporting clothes and canned goods. He also wanted to earn more for the civil official group and the people of Triumph City.

Without military power themselves, this was the only way they could increase their influence within the army.

"... The Alliance is producing steel and cement at Jin Galun Harbor; we should also produce those things and even more than them," Macclen casually remarked.

"What are they for?" asked Hu Ye with a smile.

"Mining, road building, there's always a use; if we really can't use it all, we can still sell it to the emperor here."

McLenn noncommittally shrugged his shoulders. He didn't quite understand trading, but he always felt that the emperor residing in the "Sky Palace" probably wouldn't need it.

Aaron coughed lightly as a reminder.

"Respected General, I must remind you that Mr. Witch is only interested in firearms, and we just need to sell them some firearms."

What he said was actually quite subtle.

The steel and cement needed to build a factory in West Sail Port could completely be transported from the port on the West Coast of the Central Continent, just like those production devices.

Building a steel mill and a cement factory here, the steel and cement produced would most likely be unsellable. The locals already had enough shacks, and before those docile animals could complain, there was really no need to replace the animal sheds with steel and cement.

However, it was clear that Governor Hu Ye had his own ideas.

"How much money can firearms really make? Moreover, they are about to have a ceasefire with the Alliance, and the arms trade can't continue forever."

Aaron made a helpless expression and gave up on convincing him.

After all, their labor cost was almost nonexistent, producing those products would at most waste a bit of resources, and it was unlikely to result in a loss.

McLenn then picked up the conversation.

"There's one thing I don't quite understand ... no offense meant, but since you guys aren't capable of directly seizing them, why not simply buy those slaves?"

Hu Ye chuckled.

"That's too inefficient, plus if I bought them, wouldn't they become our own slaves? 8 square meters, three meals a day, live healthily to fifty ... I'd even have to provide these lowly people with a pension! It's better to let the nobles here deal with them; consider 50 dinars per month as a management fee."

If they don't work properly, he would send people back, and seeing the fate of those returned, other slaves naturally would work to their utmost!

McLenn looked at him in surprise.

Certainly, the Marshal wouldn't be unaware of the "Eight Square Meters" law he personally enacted.

Were there really people who implemented that rule outside Triumph City?

Not caring about the surprise on McLenn's face, Hu Ye smiled and continued.

"Of course, apart from relying on those nobles to manage them, I will provide their lives with a bit of motivation, encourage them to work even harder while being diligent, like issuing them a monthly bonus credited to their accounts, and when it accumulates to 1000 dinars use that money to buy their freedom."

Working for two years qualifies them as skilled workers, so it's not quite appropriate to put them back in the plantations.

However, Aaron shook his head and said.

"Slaves who can earn 600 dinars a year, those nobles won't sell them to you for a price of 1000 dinars."

"Just write it into the contract, or give them a bit extra," Hu Ye indifferently said, "This isn't a negotiation, this is an order."

"What about after they are redeemed?" McLenn continued, "They would then be free citizens, with no nobles to manage them for you."

"Through job skill screening, and they are free citizens without land," Hu Ye corrected his inaccuracy and continued with an unchanged smile, "Do you think I've given them freedom? There's no such good deal. They've simply moved from one cage into another."

"There isn't a place for them to screw bolts in the plantation, they, with nowhere else to go, will depend on us even more, needing to work even harder than the slaves ... and all we need to give them is just enough salary to survive."

Only at this moment did Aaron's face show a thoughtful expression, finally understanding why the big shots from Triumph City had sent this gentleman here.

McLenn, too, looked at him in surprise, his initial stereotype of him completely altered.

This guy is really talented.

While General McCullen was still surprised, the governor suddenly turned around, walked up to him with a smile, and patted his arm.

"General McCullen, you are the only officer here who graduated from the Orthodox Military Academy, unlike us who wear ranks but have never been on the battlefield, and most crucially, you've had dealings with the Alliance people... I mean no offense, as I know there were some minor accidents in that battle, but that wasn't your fault."

McCullen's brows involuntarily twitched, and he managed to force out a question with a stern face.

"Is there a problem?"

Seeing the change in his expression, Governor Hu Ye quickly explained with a smile.

"Not at all! You are precisely the talent we need right now. I'd like you to help our friends train some officers who, at least, somewhat know what they're doing, because you know... we are complete amateurs in this area, and our friends have only just learned to shoot."

Hearing this self-deprecating admission, McCullen's eyebrows somewhat relaxed, but he couldn't help but snort in derision.

"So you've finally remembered what I am here for?"

He had been bored here for nearly two months, spending his days watching those idiots play with sand in the Imperial Palace. He might as well have learned how to swim instead.

But thinking of him only after suffering a defeat was indeed too late.

Hearing this, Governor Hu Ye was slightly stunned, then he chuckled and spoke.

"You... might be misunderstanding something, General McCullen. We never intended to neglect you. You have always been a crucial part of our plan. In fact, the moment you set foot on this land, you've been playing a very important role. And the reason I can stand here owes much to your efforts... for which I still owe you thanks."

Saying that, the ostentatious man placed his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly.

McCullen looked bewildered, suddenly feeling kept in the dark, and quickly glanced at his aide-de-camp, Aaron.

However, he saw Aaron lightly nodding his head.

"Just as the Governor said... if we don't show a bit of closeness to the Empire, they won't 'blossom joyfully' to please us and take initiative to 'teach' the Alliance."

After a pause, Aaron continued.

"As for the defeat of the Grey Wolf Army, it was entirely within our expectations, although the speed of their collapse was indeed quicker than anticipated... We did not expect Witch Gu to foolishly send a prince to the front lines to oversee the battle, nor did we expect that prince to directly seize command from General Arai Yang, leading to over ten thousand men being captured."

"Regardless, the outcome is no different," Governor Hu Ye took over, smiling, "I still got the part we wanted."

McCullen squinted his eyes, staring at the group that had used him while feeling a surge of anger, yet he couldn't find a reason to get angry.

As they said, the final result was good.

They had strategized considering the interests of the army and achieved the expected results with minimal cost...

He should be happy about this.

Yet, at that moment, he could not bring himself to feel happy.

"... No wonder Salen, the Legion Leader, doesn't like you." McCullen snorted ironically.

A troubled look appeared on Hu Ye's face, along with a slight regret as he spoke.

"Is that so? But I am still very grateful to him for expanding our territory across a vast area and planting our flag in the Sunset Province to the east of the Great Desert... If there's a chance, please convey my respects to him."

"I will," McCullen said meaningfully, pausing before adding, "And I hope this is the last time."

Watching McCullen turn and walk towards the cabin, Governor Hu Ye nodded in agreement, smiling.

"I assure you."

...

On the other side, in the distant Jinjaron Harbor.

After a full month, under the supervision of Chief Bahari, the police station of the settlement finally completed the registration of the identity information of all residents.

The final results of the registration surprised Fang Chang greatly.

Including the newborns who had not yet learned to speak and the half-dead lying on the beds, the actual population of this settlement had reached an astonishing 1.7 million!

He had already been surprised when he heard that there were a million people living here, but the actual population turned out to be much more than the rumored numbers!

"I originally thought that this settlement, which has no industrial base, would have 900,000 people at most, but the actual population is almost 70% higher than the estimated value."

Pinching his slightly sour brow, Fang Chang stared out of the dusty construction site outside the window, talking to himself.

"Is it the Red Soil?"

He suddenly thought of Mrs. Han's research.

When studying the civilization ecology of each settlement on Wasteland, the technology leftover from the Era of Prosperity was undoubtedly an important variable.

For instance, although Sunset Province was vast and sparsely populated, seeming to lack remnants from the Era of Prosperity, it suffered from "ecological pollution" by Singularity level technology, which made industrialization almost impossible to carry out at a low cost, forcing survivors to migrate to the sea.

In Poluo Province, the Red Soil, while not a particularly brilliant technology and somewhat accidental in origin, actually represents the "most easily overlooked yet most indispensable" variable on this land!

It was like a natural nutrient paste.

Although it wasn't like the nutrient paste developed by Giant Stone City, which could be consumed 365 days a year, even if this substance could replace 50% of food sources, it would have an unignorable impact on the local ecosystem and social structure.

Many survivors, who couldn't possibly survive elsewhere in Wasteland, not only managed to survive on this land but also quickly outpaced those original survivors who couldn't adapt to the Wasteland Era, establishing a unique civilization ecology of survivors here.

And the Red Soil that originated from the Lowell Camp was both a blessing left by their ancestors and a curse...

At this moment, there was a gentle knock on the door.

Putting the research report into a drawer, Fang Chang looked towards the door and cleared his throat.

"Please come in."

The door opened and a young man, clutching a stack of thick files, entered hurriedly from outside the office.

He was slim with prominent cheekbones and deep bags under his eyes, but his bright eyes sparkled with vitality, giving a spirited impression.

His name was Yoder, one of the two hundred newly recruited civil officials at the city hall, and also one of the few Snake Clan members who passed the literacy test.

According to him, he used to do odd jobs at the harbor and had learnt some reading from having to deal with merchants and sailors from Silver Moon Bay while running errands and showing the way for them.

Literacy was rare among the Snake Clan, especially those self-taught individuals, so Fang Chang immediately transferred this young man from the city hall to the governor's office as his secretary for priority training.

And this chap did not betray his expectations, displaying both diligence and meticulousness in his work that facilitated good communication both with Laxi and with Bahari.

Fang Chang had only recently discovered.

Those who were once shackled at the very bottom layer of society by "factors outside their talent," once liberated, exhibited a passion for life and work that far exceeded those who had lived well even during Governor Niak's time.

"...Respected sir, the census work has basically been completed, including the port district and the more complex urban areas. I have already organized the data for you. As for establishing a separate file for each resident, it might still take some time to complete."

"And moreover, from my personal observation, all the security bureaus except for the port division are extremely unfamiliar with their respective jurisdictional operations. Although this is not entirely their fault, there are bound to be omissions in the statistical work regarding the survivors in the slums, and a second screening might be needed before documentation,"

Looking at the stack of files on the desk, Fang Chang nodded in approval.

"Good work, I understand the situation, but it's enough for now. Later, I will have Chief Bahari create identity documents based on these registers... Actually, why don't you go and inform him for me?"

"It would be my pleasure, sir," Yoder nodded slightly, then paused for a moment before continuing, "Additionally, regarding the matter of the refugees along the Everflow River that you mentioned earlier, I have already sent people to inquire about it. According to the refugees themselves, they were originally residents living upstream of the Everflow River. The Empire's army drove them out from their villages and violently stole their food and livestock."

Fang Chang frowned slightly.

"Which side of the ceasefire line were they living on?"

"The side of the Empire, outside of our actual control area," Yoder replied seriously, "If we allow them to flood into the port, it might disrupt our hard-earned stability, but leaving them unattended is not a solution, unless we completely close the Shadow Wharf of the Everflow River. Otherwise, those people will always find a way to swim across."

Fang Chang looked at him with interest.

His intuition told him that this guy already had an idea.

"So, what is your suggestion?"

As expected, Yoder, standing in front of his desk, continued respectfully,

"I have already consulted with city hall. They agree to allocate some budget to establish a shelter next to the POW camp in the suburbs to provide temporary housing for those refugees who escape from the Empire to Jin Galun Harbor, but this requires your approval."

Seemingly worried that Fang Chang might not agree, Yoder quickly added,

"The famine threat in Jin Galun Harbor has passed, and we only need to provide some food, which isn't expensive, to keep them honestly outside the settlement area, waiting for our arrangement. This can also help us with some construction works... Actually, taking in those refugees is not a bad thing. The Everflow River has eliminated some people for us; those who can swim to Jin Galun Harbor are all strong young men."

"And once the ceasefire agreement takes effect, we can directly incorporate the POW camp as part of the shelter, merging the two into a new urban area. By expanding the industries from the settlement area to the suburbs, we can gradually assimilate this portion of the population."

Fang Chang looked at the young man in front of his desk with slight surprise, or more precisely, with elation in his heart.

It was like drawing an SSSR card.

Good job.

Proposing ideas isn't hard, but considering thoroughly what to do first and what to do next requires some thoughts.

And being able to arrange things neatly and simplify the leadership's work to merely signing a document made him an overqualified secretary.

But elation aside, whether he really had the ability still depended on how well the proposition was executed.

Without revealing his thoughts on his face, Fang Chang simply nodded.

"I am very satisfied with your plan, let's proceed as you suggested. I will coordinate with city hall and the militia group, so they can assist your work within their capabilities."

Hearing this, Yoder, enlightened, nodded.

"Rest assured, sir, I will not disappoint you."

Hearing the words "assist within their capabilities," he had a rough idea of how to handle this matter.

Just as he was about to bow and leave, he suddenly remembered something and hesitated.

"Oh, there's one more thing. Although you might already be aware, just in case, I think I should still report it to you..."

Fang Chang leaned back in his chair, picked up the teacup on the desk, and took a sip.

"You speak."

"Regarding West Sail Port on the West Coast of Poluo Province," Yoder cautiously chose his words, continuing, "I heard rumors from the port that a governor had been dispatched there by the Army a few days ago, and he should have arrived by now. Maybe this isn't something I should be concerned with, but as it stands... it seems the Army intends to intervene in the situation in Poluo Province, which might bring unforeseen effects to our and the Empire's ceasefire negotiations."

The Army's governor?

Fang Chang frowned slightly, but soon relaxed his brow and spoke softly,

"Mr. Yoder, you are my secretary and a survivor of this settlement. As long as it concerns the safety and interests of the local survivors, I believe there is nothing you shouldn't be concerned about."

"You are right, sir."

Watching Yoder bow his head, Fang Chang nodded slightly.

"I've understood the situation. You can go attend to the tasks I assigned you."

He indeed had heard about the Army's actions; he had even asked Captain Chen to take the Dolphin Nuclear Submarine there for a look.

They had only landed some industrial devices and a small number of Vellante infantry and officers. Although it was worth being cautious about, it wasn't something they needed to pay excessive attention to.

In the backdrop of the "Adhesive Nation" negotiations currently happening in City of Dawn, it was unlikely that the Army would directly clash with the Alliance—maybe Vellante people were just helping the Empire train a couple more Grey Wolf Armies.

In comparison, the growing military faction along the border was more worth his vigilance.

"As you command."

Yoder respectfully nodded, turned around, and left the office, taking care to close the door behind him.

Fang Chang glanced at the time in the top right corner of the VM; from entering to leaving, it had been less than ten minutes. In those ten minutes, not only had he reported his work, but he had also come up with a set of solutions.

It was clear he had prepared very well.

It was very comfortable to work with such a person; perhaps he could step down from his acting role as governor of Jinjaron Harbor sooner than expected.

"...it seems there are indeed some useful people here; it just takes some time to find them."

His gaze rested on the dusty construction site outside the office window, watching the busy laborers and the foremen leading them, and a faint smile appeared on Fang Chang's lips.

The situation here wasn't as bad as they had initially imagined.

The curse that Red Soil brought to the local survivors wasn't entirely a debuff.

Though the traits of "obedience" and even "absolute obedience" turned these people into natural slaves—to the extent that they could carve a pig into a totem and worship it as a deity—they were not entirely without opportunities to end their Wasteland life.

Just like the people outside the window sweating as they rebuild their homes.

If someone were to show them a more reliable path than reincarnation into an imperial family, they would be willing to move their feet forward.

And if someone were willing to give them a push, or nudge them forward two steps, they might open the doors to a new world and run even faster than Boss Xia of Giant Stone City.

Just like the Moon tribeswomen building their new homes in the Baiyue Strait, their performance after landing was the best example.

Their unusual endurance allowed them to endure desperate situations that most people could hardly bear, and their absolute obedience, in another context, meant they were hardworking and diligent.

The idea of a natural slave was a fallacy; no slave was born as one.

And thinking about the thighs—or rather, the girls—on Baiyue Strait Beach, Fang Chang suddenly realized that this "self-defense counterattack" had been going on for almost two months.

"Time really freaking flies..." he couldn't help but remark.

In just two more days, the freshwater pipelines in the Southern sea area would probably be completed...

Chapter 716 Completely Turn into the Shape of an Alliance

"Time really flies..." Elena mused, sitting on a stool by the beach under a canopy in front of Yiren Tavern, wiping away at a greasy lizard thigh, her face a picture of contentment and satisfaction.

Not far from her, Gnome King Riches was chugging beer after beer, competing with the fellows from Jungle Corps to see who could drink more... the Agile system wimp never won.

Behind the bar, Manager Yi finally faced his peculiar hobby honestly and joined a group of beautiful Moon tribeswomen in donning maid outfits designed by the little house.

Unexpectedly, instead of being an eyesore as the boisterous crowd initially thought, he actually looked surprisingly good in drag.

There was that one time a confused sailor actually mistook the tavern's manager for the lady boss and, along with a few fierce-looking companions, performed a clichéd "hero saves the damsel" act, turning into a joke that had players laughing from the game forums...

Two thousand kilometers away, wars both far and near seemed to vanish, with only the faint scent of the sea present in the peaceful evening breeze.

Old Na threw the leftover lizard bones to a stray cat that had followed a ship here and stretched lazily before standing up.

Gnome King Riches, already drunk and unsteady before nightfall, let out a belch and steadied himself on the table as he called out.

"You heading back so early?"

"It's not early; it's about time."

No sooner had the words ended than the person standing swayed to the side, caught just in time by an outstretched arm.

Amused by the loud laughter of the Strength Type beasts, Elena smoothly freed her right hand, clenched it into a fist, and said with a smile,

"I'll drag this guy to the save point, you guys carry on."

The Ground Model chuckled, "Thanks, Old Monk."

A visible vein popped on Elena's forehead as she smiled through gritted teeth,

"MMP, how many times do I have to tell you to change that nickname?"

The initial response was low,
but her words instantly sparked a barrage of cheers.

"Okay, Old Monk!"

"Safe travels, Old Monk!"

"Say hello to the master's wife for me!"

"%￥#@!"

Rolling her eyes at the group of jerks, Old Na cursed under her breath and carried Old Wang towards the save point.

This had been the routine these days.

Taking quests to clear creatures in the forest, then heading to the beach to drink, and before it got dark, dragging this guy to the save point, then off to boast and banter on the forum.

It was as routine as clocking into a job.

Because life was too comfortable, if one didn't pay close attention, even Elena hadn't noticed that since the Burning Corps troops went off to Poluo Province, almost two months had passed.

And in these two months, although his daily life hadn't changed much, the transformations in Potato Harbor could only be described as revolutionary.

The cramped shacks on the east side of the settlement had been transformed into neatly arranged rows of small isolated wooden cottages.

The wooden racks hanging at house doors no longer just bore dried fish, furs, or clothes but now also sported vibrant green vines with colorful fruits and vegetables.

The Alliance Biological Research Institute expanded its services in the area, not only collecting clues about local lair activities but also cultivating high-yield crop seeds suited for the local environment, like watermelons, grapes, tomatoes, etc.

Many Moon tribeswomen thus gained an additional source of income. They just had to pick up a batch of seeds from Chen Yutong, plant them at their doorsteps, regularly record the growth, and report to the institute to earn extra money.

Of course, they had to guard against seagulls or other birds pilfering their crops.

The diligence of these new residents made even the Strength Type beasts blush with envy; the players were seeing people who could hustle just like them for the first time.

These NPCs, although not possessing the players' mighty physiques or the rich experience and knowledge of Coral City's survivors, had a knack for working three jobs at a time.

Some strong young women would handle furs at the factory by day, serve in the tavern by night washing dishes and fetching water, care for the experimental crops trusted to them by the institute, and still find time to take on odd jobs like laundry, cleaning up, or gathering oysters.

The strict laws of the Alliance limited each employee's working hours but not hvordan man jobs one could take up.

A moment's rest seemed to guilt trip them.

To use the words of Coral City survivors, they seemed determined to cram a year's worth of work into the first few months, leaving the rest to start on next year's tasks.

But it was this hard work, unwittingly mirroring the players' mindset of nurturing rather than exploitation, that allowed these poor folks to achieve a quality of life in just two months that their Poluo Province Moon Clan kinsfolk could hardly even dream of.

Besides the changes in the residential areas, other transformations in the settlement were significant.

For instance, the sawmill and slaughterhouse that used to be haphazardly dotted around the settlement had all been moved to the stretch of beach previously occupied by Imperial soldiers and aquatic variant humans.

"""It's the new area to the west of Fries Port."""

"""Ever since players in life skills professions like "Green Lantern Old Wine" moved their small workshops there, the air in Fries Port had considerably freshened up."""

"""There was no longer sawdust and animal fiber flying around in the residential areas, and even the greasy fishy smell on the beach had significantly reduced."""

"""According to the Fries Port City Hall's plan, that new area crowded with small factories and workshops would be the "industrial zone" of this settlement."""

"""Even though Fries Port wasn't suited for heavy industry, to say it lacked any industrial presence would be an extreme statement."""

"""Considering the prices of raw materials, the added value of products, as well as the transportation losses and operational costs of facilities, some light industries like salt refining plants, sugar factories, breweries, wood processing plants, and food processing plants were still economically viable here."""

"""If rough logs could be processed into flat boards and then transported to Jinjaron Harbor to make furniture, it would be much more economical than shipping raw logs directly to Jinjaron Harbor."""

"""The same applied to fruits, game, and fish."""

"""Whether canned or made into other by-products, they could not only be sold to Jinjaron Harbor, but all the merchant ships passing through the Baiyue Strait would be interested."""

"""After establishing the industrial zone, the Fries Port Town Hall, following Dawn City's industrial zone management methods, had detailed regulations on production methods and employment rules for production units, and arrangements were also made for taxes."""

"""With fiscal revenue secured, and responsibilities clearly defined, Fries Port used the tax income as collateral to borrow money from faraway Dawn City Bank to improve the infrastructure in the new district."""

"""For example, two concrete piers extending to the deep water area and a highway from the industrial zone to the heart of Fries Port were constructed by Bull Horse Group using prefabricated steel, concrete flat slab, and cement produced in Jinjaron Harbor."""

"""In addition, Bull Horse Group's airships also brought prefabricated parts produced in Giant Stone City from Dawn City and assembled a small gantry crane and a freight railway from the wharf to the warehouse in the industrial zone, significantly enhancing the efficiency of loading and unloading goods."""

"""It's impossible not to praise the technicians brought in by Dolphin, as well as their "Crab Style" amphibious engineering armor, which was a modification based on the achievements from Shelter No. 100."""

"""The machines, once deployed, were like wings to a tiger for Bull Horse personnel; the wharves swiftly extended forward at a visible pace."""

"""Moving forward, the cargo input and output channels of Fries Port also moved from the central beach of the residential area to the beach of the western industrial zone along with those small factories and workshops. To facilitate local residents commuting there for work, Dawn City Town Hall specifically set up a transportation office and opened public bus and ferry routes to the new district."""

"""A five to six-kilometer distance wasn't too far, and with the north-western highland military base overseeing the forest Variants and the coastline already fenced off, the northern side of the coastal road had been converted into fenced orchards, farms, and plantations. One didn't have to worry too much about safety unless traveling at night, so some bold Moon tribeswomen opted to bike to and from work."""

"""As for Fries Port's original wooden pier, it had, as initially planned, become a paradise for anglers and tourists."""

"""Aside from those facilities that had been constructed, there were also an ocean current power station located on the sea bed of the strait and a solid hydrogen storage facility on the shore still under construction."""

"""However, these two facilities weren't managed by Bull Horse Group, but had been bids won by a new energy development company based in Dawn City."""

"""Speaking of this company, it also had some connections with the Islands Federation in the southern sea area."""

"""The company's name was Light Ag Energy, founded less than two months ago. The founder was a former citizen of the Federation—a resident of Shelter No. 70 named Huang Guangwei."""

"""When he first arrived in Dawn City, he had even made headlines in the 'Goblin Observation Report' for knocking out the former manager of Shelter No. 70 with a single punch and was taken into custody by the guards."""

But all that had happened a long time ago.

Now, Mr. Huang had fully adapted to the life of the Alliance and, like the former manager of Shelter No. 70 who had once received a punch from him, had chosen to contribute to the reconstruction of the Wasteland in his own way.

Objectively speaking, the rapid development of Fries Port was largely due to the help of survivors from Shelter No. 70 and Coral City.

For the difficulties that some players could only overcome with the Strength Type Bull Horse and experiences from before the 21st century, they offered more constructive solutions.

And some players whose professions were related to those fields learned a lot from these solutions, things they had never seen before.

Whether it was experience in engineering or sociology,
during these two months of interaction, both sides benefited immensely.

Besides the improvements in industry and infrastructure, there were significant changes in the residential areas for the players.

The most typical example was probably the "Coastal Commercial Street" near the old docks.

Originally, this place only had the Yiren Tavern for drinking, but now it had become densely packed with many bars, hostels, and various types of restaurants.

Some were opened by lifestyle profession players, some by merchants from Dawn City and Silver Moon Bay who were optimistic about the future of Fries Port, and even some by investors from the Federation's Ring Island.

Every dusk, the place was a riot of lights and merriment.

Not only did players returning from quests come here to drink and boast, but even federal fishermen nearby and captains and sailors who happened to pass through these waters were irresistibly drawn by those seductive long legs and would stop by for a couple of chilled beers to quench their thirst.

Of course, there were also those who harbored crooked thoughts, such as having some ideas about things other than delicacies and beer.

However, seeing that alliance flag fluttering above the city hall of Fries Port, most Wasteland Wanderers still maintained their sanity.

Not to mention the merchants and sailors from Silver Moon Bay, who had seen the fierce people of the Alliance, especially since recently, a huge guy who didn't follow the rules had been thoroughly beaten.

Some Wasteland Wanderers from afar were compelled to suppress their wrongful desires under the threat of force, after seeing that multitude of Awakeners.

Not far from Yiren Tavern, in the lobby of a hostel.

Watching a miniskirt sway past the table, a sailor, drunk and bleary-eyed, couldn't help but sniff vigorously and drunkenly looked at his companion sitting across the table.

"Are all the girls here from the Poluo Province?"

"Used to be, I heard they seem to be Moon people... from the land across the Baiyue Strait."

His companion was obviously a sailor and one that had been pent up on the sea for many months.

From the moment he stepped through the hostel's door, his eyes hadn't strayed from the girls carrying trays.

The black bodycon skirts perfectly outlined their exquisite figures, and a pair of black stockings was the finishing touch, not only masking imperfections on their legs but also making those symmetrical long legs appear even more slender.

To tell it straight, those Blue Ground Mice really had an impeccable sense for aesthetics—no wonder even the misers from Ideal City and the bookish folks from the Academy couldn't get enough of the design of Dawn City.

Even those Waste Land Wanderers, who normally couldn't care less about the Prosperity Epoch, sometimes found themselves nostalgically dreaming about that bygone era.

"It's actually from Poluo Province... I thought they were from Silver Moon Bay."

"That's normal, whether it's Luo Xia Province or Poluo Province, they're all people who escaped from the Great Desert two hundred years ago."

"This... it's the first time I'm hearing this," a sailor murmured, rubbing his bald head.

He had been to Poluo Province, including the famously renowned Jin Galun Harbor, but the girls here felt completely different from those over there,
whether in complexion or spirit.

Sitting across from him, his companion belched, drunkenly saying,

"Burp... It's also my first time hearing this, but if that's what the Residents of the refuge say, then it must be true."

"After all, no one understands that event from two hundred years ago better than they do."

The night gradually grew darker.

A group of sailors, carrying their unfinished bottles of liquor, lazily made their way toward the dock, their noisy chatter audible even hundreds of meters away, on the deck.

Although they could stay overnight on the second floor of an inn, just like their boss, their boss certainly wasn't about to foot the bill for their lodging.

To save that money for a few extra drinks at the next port, they preferred to head back to the ship and make do with moldy pillows.

But just as everyone was heading toward the dock, a conspicuously noticeable group was moving against the crowd, walking from the dock to the shore.

"Wow! Potato Harbor has changed so much!"

"Indeed, it's completely different from the last time we docked here..."

A man and a bear were piled up together, craning their necks in the direction of the settlement, their large and small pairs of eyes shining with excitement.

The surrounding sailors didn't react much to this bear-man duo, not even finding it strange that the bear could talk.

After all, if their leader could tame the Claw of Death, which stood at the top of the food chain, it seemed hardly surprising that his residents could domesticate a polar bear.

The group reached the shore and, after searching for a while, found Yiren Tavern hidden among a row of bars.

Exchanging greetings with the lady cleaning up at the entrance, the cat Ears flipped down from Meat Meat's shoulder, running towards the bar with a clatter.

Seeing the familiar group, Yiren's face showed a look of surprise.

"Ah Wei? Meat Meat?"

"Oh… oh! Good evening!" Meat Meat grinned and waved his paw, too embarrassed to admit he had come specifically to see Manager Yi in drag after seeing a post on the Forum.

Ah Wei, who was bolder, leaned in close and stared for a long time until the other bashfully blushed, satisfied, Ah Wei stroked his chin, remarking,

"Not bad, not bad... It's so perfect it could warrant an extra charge."

Sesame Paste, flicking his cat ears, also encouraged cheerfully,

"It really suits you."

"Ahaha... haha..."

Yiren awkwardly chuckled a few times, his finger twirling a false lock of hair by his temple.

Despite being egged on by a bunch of rascals to try something he wouldn't dare in real life, he still wasn't very comfortable with receiving compliments.

"Congratulations, congratulations," Si Si, who followed behind the duo and bear into the tavern, patted the fellow's shoulder, "Being honest with oneself about one's interests is a good thing, it's nothing to be ashamed of, you shouldn't mind what others think of you."

Pausing, a mischievously wicked smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, she continued, "By the way, do you need—"

Before she could finish, Yiren, sweating bullets, interrupted,

"No, that won't be necessary."

At this moment, the Moon tribeswomen, busily working in the back kitchen of the tavern, also noticed Tail and the group, putting down their work and gathering around.

Although they had left their homeland some time ago, many still held their fellow countrymen dear, especially since some had family still there.

A multitude of expectant eyes surrounded the group, along with the maid outfits they hadn't had the chance to change out of.

"That... how is Jin Galun Harbor these days?"

"Did you really take down Lowell Camp too? Is it true?!"

"Have there been any news from the people who escaped the harbor with us?"

"My husband... is he still alive?"

Before Ah Wei could even exclaim, "Is this Heaven?" he was staggered by the barrage of questions bombarding him like rapid-fire.

"Giao... too many questions, I can't keep up."

Seeing her troubled look, the surrounding crowd finally quieted down, though their eyes still held unchanged hope and anxiety.

Si Si glanced at Tail, who put her fist to her lips and cleared her throat before adopting a reliable tone.

"Ahem! First of all, the slaves at the Lowell Camp have been liberated, and not just there—every slave in Jinjaron Harbor has been freed!"

Hearing this, almost everyone's face lit up with surprise, and two girls who appeared to be sisters even embraced each other joyfully and tearfully.

It seemed that they had relatives in that camp.

After all, it was primarily Moon people who were confined there.

Tail paused, then continued.

"…The Empire's army has now retreated beyond the ceasefire line, and the Burning Corps is helping the local survivors set up a new authority and rebuild a more equal, harmonious new order. The local survivors are very cooperative, and the settlement is bustling with construction sites."

"In short, the changes there are quite significant. Meat Meat and Sesame Paste were stunned when they first saw it; they even thought Si Si had read the map wrong! From what I have observed, its future development might not be inferior to that of Potato Harbor. I took a look for you guys, and once the situation stabilizes, you can go and see for yourselves."

Hearing that their homeland was gradually getting better, hope shone in everyone's eyes.

However, upon hearing the last sentence, many still showed a hint of hesitation on their faces.

Perhaps the experiences during that period had left too deep a wound in their hearts, or maybe it was their sensitivity to identity as outsiders.

Even though they worked hard, trying to repay the people here, that fairy-tale-like kindness and grace still made many feel as if it were all just a deathbed dream. Perhaps when they woke up, they would still be on that narrow, damp ship, and the Wasteland would still be just the Wasteland… even the ship that took them from Poluo Province might just be a dream bestowed by a god.

They worried that once they returned, they might not be able to come back, and they feared that those who pulled them from hell might send them back there…

Sensing something keenly from those eyes filled with insecurity and reluctance, Tail quietly added.

"…Of course, of course, I never said you should go back and not return. This is your new home now, and no one will drive you away."

A Moon tribe girl suddenly stepped forward and hugged her, closing her eyes and sincerely whispering in her ear.

"Thank you."

"No, don't mention it, although it's odd to say this at this time… you really don't need to thank me that much. If you really want to thank someone, thank the others; I'm just here for the excitement." Tail's face involuntarily flushed, and she awkwardly scratched the back of her head.

The girl let go of her shoulder, took a light step back, gently shook her head, and revealed a soft smile.

"…Thank you for caring about how we feel."

Then she paused, looking out the window at the moonlight hanging in the night sky, as if gazing at the reflection of her homeland in a silver platter.

"The people there have finally started living a normal life… Knowing that they are well makes me very content."

Just then, the pleasant sound of wind chimes at the door interrupted the nostalgia lingering in the tavern.

A burly man in exoskeleton walked in, his prosthetic limbs clanking against the doorframe.

Seeing the man at the door, Tail greeted him joyfully.

"Oh! Brother Chicken! What a coincidence, are you still online?"

Midnight Chicken Killing smiled sheepishly,

"Just logged in. I heard you guys were here, didn't see anyone on the forum, so I guessed you were still online, and sure enough, you came here."

Shifting his gaze from the sudden embrace of Ah Wei, Si Si curiously asked Brother Killing Chicken,

"Is there something you need?"

Midnight Chicken Killing bashfully replied,

"Just wanted to rent your boat. We plan to make a trip to the harbor on Ring Island tomorrow, I don't know if that's convenient for you."

Hearing they were going to Ring Island, Tail immediately guessed what it was about and excitedly said,

"Oh! No problem! By the way, are they going to start the water flow?"

Midnight Chicken Killing laughed and nodded.

"Yes! It's finally happening!"

The two-month construction period had ended, and just yesterday they had tested the pressure valves and other parts to ensure everything was working smoothly.

Once the underwater freshwater pipelines officially begin operation, the Alliance's influence on Ring Island will completely surpass the Torch Church.

It just goes to show that uniting "normal people" is far easier than dealing with destroyers of order.

One day, the settlements in the Southern sea area will inevitably resemble the shape of the Alliance.

Pausing, he added,

"Moreover, it's not just about freshwater; they were impressed with our construction speed and decided to invest in a new ocean current power station and a submarine power cable on our side, providing the necessary technical support. Brother Fang Chang said, might as well make a friendly statement, let us take our equipment, tour the island, and come back, and the other side agreed."

Si Si thoughtfully replied,

"It seems burning coal has been somewhat difficult for them."

"After all, except for those madmen from the Torch, who would refuse a better life? Also… recently, the islands have been critical of the Federal authorities' decisions about ending the wartime status. They might also be looking for an ally at this opportunity," Midnight Chicken Killing smiled and said, "We originally planned to take an airship, but thought a boat might be friendlier."

Releasing her arms crossed in front of her, Si Si nodded with a smile.

"No problem, leave it to us."

Chapter 717 Water!

[Starting from today, the underwater freshwater pipeline is officially in operation, and the water tank located on the island has been refilled. According to the water supply agreement signed between the Governor's Office of "Circular Island Port" and Fries Port City Hall, the import price of freshwater is only 0.8 Silver Coin per ton! The price of life and industrial water on "Circular Island Port" will return to the level before the ocean current power station was destroyed and there will no longer be a monthly water consumption cap.]

[Reported by the Baiyue Strait branch of Survivor's Daily for you!]

Recently, Survivor's Daily also established a branch in Fries Port, although the newspaper office is small, with just a wooden hut of twenty to thirty square meters.

The chief is a Moon Clan girl named Misa, who was a teacher before the Xilan Dynasty launched a purge against the Moon people.

After learning about Survivor's Daily, she decided to set up a branch in Fries Port to report local interesting news and promote cultural exchange among different ethnic groups while incidentally helping her fellow Moon people to improve their literacy rate.

Some things do not necessarily have to wait until the literacy rate has increased before they can be done; on the contrary, it's often the act of doing these things that gives people more motivation to proactively learn.

As for the access policy of Survivor's Daily, it is quite lenient; as long as one pledges to speak on behalf of all survivors, they can get recognition from other branches and the Dawn City Head Office without needing a rubber stamp personally bestowed by the Manager to be considered "orthodox."

Of course, if one day a branch no longer stands with the survivors, the Dawn City Head Office and other branches will issue a statement to expel it from the ranks and will no longer reprint or quote any news from that newspaper—this serves as an exit mechanism.

From a profit or publicity standpoint, this management and exit mechanism clearly has its flaws, but as the Manager puts it, the Alliance isn't just about this one newspaper.

If one day all issues of Survivor's Daily were to stop or only the one in the City of Dawn remained, it would indicate that its historical mission had ended and it was time for it to retire to a museum. By then, people would naturally find something new to replace it and carry on.

Since there are no paper mills or printing plants in Fries Port, the Baiyue Strait branch of Survivor's Daily is temporarily outsourced to a printing plant on "Circular Island Port." Some fishermen, sailors, and dock workers who frequently travel between Fries Port and "Circular Island Port" occasionally bring newspapers back to the island from the shore.

Therefore, even though Survivor's Daily is not sold on "Circular Island Port," its presence can still be seen on the docks.

"0.8 Silver Coin?! The hell, they sell it to us for 1 Silver Coin!" Looking at the newspaper in his hands that felt like it could wring out water, a repairman on the dock widened his eyes and couldn't help but curse.

As they often come ashore, the residents on "Circular Island Port" are no strangers to Silver Coins and can easily convert them into the Money in their pockets.

"After all, the people who run the water tanks and the faucets also need to make a bit of money," said the middle-aged man squatting beside him, cracking a smile, "Do you expect them to work just on the strength of the Northwest wind?"

"I'm not saying they can't make money, but this is just too easy money!" the repairman shook his head, folded the newspaper, and put it back where he picked it up from.

It was almost time to go to work.

Recently, there have been some new orders from Fries Port and Jinjaron Harbor, so the factories and ports on "Circular Island Port" have become lively again.

To increase loading and unloading efficiency, the port office even reinstalled the Gantry Cranes, which were almost rusting in the warehouse, and sent away some of the young men who were loading boxes on the docks so they could go back to work in the factories.

And these old technicians, who lost their jobs along with the large ocean current power station, finally had work to do again.

To be honest, if there were no more jobs for them on "Circular Island Port," they were planning to try their luck in Fries Port.

It was said that they are also undertaking automation upgrades in the port over there, and the pay is not bad, with the only risk being safety concerns.

The middle-aged man squatting beside him smiled, threw a towel over his shoulder, and stood up along with the repairman.

"Anyway, even at 1 Silver Coin, it's still much cheaper than before! Plus, there's no restriction on water usage... the days of bathing once a day are finally back."

This is the tropics.

Not taking a bath for one day is enough to kill you, especially when you're working at the docks.

Not long after the two middle-aged men left, a group of idle youths also wandered over from their settlement and happened to squat in the same spot where they had squatted before.

Not everyone had found work in the factories, and although the docks no longer needed them, they would still habitually come here to loiter.

After all, many of their friends were still working here, and occasionally some interesting ships would pass through.

Anyway, those living off relief money weren't in much of a hurry to make ends meet. Daydreaming was the same everywhere, so why not find an interesting place?

"Hey! There's something here!"

A sharp-eyed lad quickly found a stack of newspapers shoved under a ladder, pulled it out, unfolded it, and shouted showily to his companions nearby.

"Look what I found! Newspapers brought back by the sailors!"

Hearing the excited shout, the youths who had just squatted in the shade immediately stood up and gathered around with interest.

"The latest issue of Survivor's Daily, a newspaper from Potato Harbor! Let me see what's written... Wow, the underwater freshwater pipeline has officially started delivering water!"

"Really?!"

"No wonder my mom said the water bill came down yesterday... so that's what it was!"

"Hmph, I knew it yesterday."

"Some say the pipeline will go through a minefield... wouldn't that affect the ongoing war?"

"War? If you hadn't mentioned it, I would've almost forgotten about it."

"This war has gone on so long, and I haven't even seen a person from Shelter No. 70."

The group of lads crowded in front of the newspaper, discussing the news, with their topics quickly shifting from the newly operational underwater pipeline to the bar advertisements on the third page of the paper.

There were the most dense and colorful illustrations in the entire paper, and while not particularly exciting, they had a fatal attraction for these youths in their restless age, much like the old guys' cigarettes and liquor.

However, not all were interested in those nutrition-less ad illustrations, like Suni sitting here, who was thinking about other things.

A few months ago, he was producing sardine cans at a cannery on Circular Island; after a series of events, the canning line and the port's automated loading equipment were forced to shut down, and he went to the docks for odd jobs under the call of the Governor's Office.

Now, with the trade on Circular Island recovering, the port's automated equipment and the factory's production lines were no longer losing ventures, and the Governor's Office was hoping they would return to work in the factories.

He always felt like a handy, convenient machine, being led around by the nose.

Not that it was any kind of fuss.

Seventeen or eighteen was the age for wild and fanciful thoughts. If not wasting their minds on pretty girls, they could only ponder questions like "where do we come from, where do we go."

When he read the news about the completion of the underwater freshwater pipeline in the newspaper, his heart was suddenly filled with emotion. Especially when he found out that the survivors from Coral City had participated in the design, his feelings intensified.

How wonderful.

While the people of Ring Island were still busy with a war that befuddled them and being lead by the nose by incomprehensible events, those most unfortunate fellows had already walked out of the disaster from several months ago and begun a new life.

He too wanted to live a life with a little more meaning...

Finally making up his mind, he suddenly, without any warning, lifted his head and said to his buddies crowded around the newspaper,

"I want to go to Jinjaron Harbor."

The young men who had been loudly discussing the news quieted down instantly, and only the sounds of seagulls cooing remained on the dock.

A little chubby guy with a sun-reddened face stared at him for a long while, making sure that expression wasn't joking, then suddenly widened his round eyes.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

Jinjaron Harbor?!

That place wasn't just a few words different from their neighboring Potato Harbor; it was another continent, over two thousand kilometers away!

A place that seemed even more like Wasteland than River Valley Province itself!

There, there was neither unemployment benefits nor insurance, not even the most basic security of life could be guaranteed, and they still practiced the oldest, most primitive form of slavery in the history of human civilization.

In that godforsaken place, killing a person was as commonplace as killing a fish.

That cry of surprise broke the silence, and seeing his friends staring at him as if he were insane, Sune hurriedly started to explain,

"Wait, don't rush to laugh at me... Do you guys remember that ship from before?"

A freckle-faced, well-built young man froze for a moment.

"You mean those thighs—wait a second, weren't they just at Potato Harbor?"

A few months ago, when that cargo ship from Jinjaron Harbor docked at the port, the graceful figures on the deck had infiltrated the dreams of many adolescent boys.

They were sitting and drinking beer on the docks at that time, even in the very same place they were now.

The moment they heard "that ship," everyone instantly understood which one he was talking about.

"But there are more big—cough, I mean, huge changes happening all over Wasteland, and everyone out there is acting for a better life while I'm here wasting time!" Sune coughed violently, gazing seriously at his companions, "Don't you think this is wasteful?"

The others exchanged puzzled glances, then turned to look at him, even more convinced that there was definitely something wrong with his head.

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's actually quite entertaining to sit here and laugh at them."

"I agree," the sun-reddened chubby guy also nodded his head, "The matters of Wasteland are fine to just watch, but actually going there... I'm afraid I'd end up cooked into soup."

"I can't explain it to you guys," Sune sighed helplessly and gave up, looking toward the direction of the harbor, "I've learned so much, not to be lugging crates at the port or laying cans on assembly lines. Those kinds of jobs could clearly be done by machines... To be frank, I'm not needed here, but I feel like I might be needed there."

His companions looked at each other, seeming to understand this time.

Dear me.

After all this fuss, the kid wanted to go to the Wasteland to play god among the natives.

And by the way, to charm a few pretty girls.

"So... what work do you want to do there?"

Wanting to persuade this fanciful friend of theirs, the freckle-faced guy stared intently into his eyes, not expecting that he had already decided what to do even after he got there.

"Teacher." Without avoiding that inquiring gaze, Sune answered without hesitation.

The others were taken aback once more.

"Teacher?!"

"What can you teach them?"

"You can't even find work for yourself!"

"Language, math, even physics and chemistry, everything taught in school," Sune was counting on his fingers and speaking to his friends, "Knowledge that isn't used in the factory might be useful there; I've heard that many there still haven't learned to cook with fire. Besides, it was written in the newspaper before, that place needs teachers, and as long as you're literate, you'll do. The Alliance... those friends north of the strait, they're planning to start literacy schools in Jinjaron Harbor, and the salary is paid in silver coins! Could be a couple thousand a month!"

The group exchanged looks, surprised that he had planned so far ahead, even knowing the salary for working there.

Realizing his friend was serious, the freckle-faced guy didn't say more but just reached out and patted his shoulder.

"I won't try to dissuade you from this idea anymore, but remember, that place is Wasteland. Make sure you think it through before boarding a ship."

Seeing that someone finally understood him, Sune breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, feeling more relaxed.

"I'll discuss it with my family."

As they were speaking, the sound of a ship's horn came from the direction of the harbor, as a huge cargo ship slowly approached the dock.

The group of young men sitting on the steps instinctively looked up toward that direction, their faces showing surprise.

"Meat Meat?"

"Those people are back?"

Staring in the direction of the docks as well, Sune's eyes suddenly brightened, and his dark pupils were filled with the light of Xiaguang.

What a coincidence.

Just as he had resolved to set foot on Wasteland, the wind of dreams blew into the lonely port once again.

Perhaps it was fate...

...

"Welcome! Friends from Potato Harbor, friends from the Alliance!"

At the Circular Island Port dock,

Governor Mr. Chaning, accompanied by a line of soldiers wearing exoskeletons, walked up to Midnight Chicken Killing with a smile on his face.

However, upon seeing the appearance of the commander of the Jungle Corps, his smile seemed somewhat forced.

The guy was fitted with cybernetic implants all over; not only were there a massive chainsaw and a gun barrel welded to his arms, but his entire body had been replaced with steel.

While others wore their exoskeletons, this guy looked as though he had moved his head into one.

Packing so many implants, would his brain really not break down?

Unaware of what was on the NPC's mind, Midnight Chicken Killing smiled naively and extended his right hand to Mr. Chaning.

"I'm delighted to deepen our cooperation! Our Manager asked me to send his regards to you!"

After shaking the extended hand, Mr. Chaning quickly let it go, continuing with a radiant smile on his face,

"We feel the same, delighted to be working with you! And, please allow me to take back what I said before... I didn't expect you could actually gain a foothold on that incredible land; we had made many attempts over the past century and all failed."

That was his heartfelt thought.

If two months ago he had more concerns and worries about the Alliance's arrival, now he could only describe it as "Truly Fragrant."

The water supply agreement brought much more than just millions of tons of freshwater to Circular Island; the currency exchange clause included in the agreement even got about half of the factories shut down by the war back into operation!

Especially recently, as both Potato Harbor and Jin Galun Harbor were heavily involved in infrastructure projects, a massive market was opening up to all allies of the Alliance.

The profits from exporting industrial products and equipment not only resolved financial pressures caused by unemployment benefits and war taxes for the Circular Island authorities, but the cheaper coal priced in silver coins even turned the subsidized coal-fired power plants profitable!

It would be even better if those "Blue Jackets" on the continent could solve the electricity problem as well.

Of course, he had already finalized this with the CEO of Baiyue Corporation.

Soon, a high-voltage submarine power cable would crawl up to the island along with that water pipe; then they could shut down the coal power plants and use silver coins for many more things.

As for the Tiangong and that lair on the seabed, while it would be best to solve these, life would still go on even if they couldn't.

After all, the River Valley Province had already successfully addressed the lair issue.

They didn't necessarily have to rely on the Torch Church's methods...

...

After shaking hands with Governor Mr. Chaning, Midnight Chicken Killing walked with him to the square at the junction of the harbor and the docks.

There sat a fountain carved out of marble, with a hammer symbolizing order standing right in the center.

The statue at the fountain was completed in the City of Dawn and transported to Potato Harbor by freight airship, then transferred here by cargo ship.

As a blessing for the operation of the submarine freshwater pipeline and a symbol of friendship, the Alliance donated this "Never-ending Fountain" to the local survivors.

Connected to the fountain was exactly the undersea freshwater pipeline; as long as Potato Harbor kept sending fresh water to the island, the pool in the fountain would never run dry.

Just as the two men stepped onto the port, two hundred players from the Jungle Corps, gathered on the deck, also stepped onto the port of Circular Island following their lead.

The gleaming armor of the "K10" Iron Wall exoskeletons radiated a thrilling light under the sun, like a walking scorching sun.

The port was crowded with onlookers, and window after window was pushed open in the densely packed grid of buildings along the coast.

Whether young men and women, the elderly, or children, they all cast curious glances at the neatly-organized, well-equipped troops.

Even some of the operators in the cranes paused their work to look over in that direction.

They were seeing a land army for the first time, as well as encountering such heavily armored and numerous combat exoskeletons.

Although the Alliance's Navy was also equipped with exoskeletons, most were used for underwater operations, with only a few sailors equipped with combat exoskeletons featuring ballistic panels.

And even those combat exoskeletons designed for close-range firefights seemed tiny like toothpicks when compared to these behemoths that were akin to walking chariots.

The scratches etched on the paintwork were like medals; these braves were truly warriors who had come down from countless battlefields!

Uncontrollable admiration and reverence filled the gazes of many, as these people were approaching from the directions they themselves had once fled.

However, despite having enough capital to boast, these "Iron Men" did not flaunt their presence.

They didn't even bring weapons, nor did they make deafening footsteps, simply walking forward, neatly and uniformly, with the Alliance's insignia and jungle-colored paint.

Rather than a grim killing air, the survivors standing at the port perceived more a sense of safety and reliability from them.

No one doubted that they had come with peaceful intentions.

The players of the Jungle Corps stopped at the entrance of the dock, lining up in front of the fountain without pressing forward.

Not only the residents of Circular Island but also Mr. Chaning were scrutinizing this steel-clad army of warriors, feeling secretly impressed.

No wonder that Empire was no match for them.

These people probably didn't even fight with their full strength.

But—

Mr. Chaning's gaze fell on the "shabby" cargo ship behind these soldiers, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

What a pity.

While their power on land was formidable, their naval strength was still considered a shortcoming. Clearly not enough to contend with the navy of the Southern Islands Federation.

The comparison wasn't because he harbored any ulterior motives or wanted to lead the locals here to break away; rather, he just wished that this "big tree" could grow taller and stronger.

That way, the strategic value of Circular Island within the Federation could rise as well.

His fear was that these people represented a potential threat to the Federation—alas, not much of a threat.

However, Mr. Chaning, despite feeling a slight disappointment, did not let that insignificant trifle show on his face.

He was a man easily contented.

All things considered, he was quite satisfied with this ally.

As the Jungle Corps landed, the band on the shore struck up a welcome tune, and the ceremony reached its crucial phase.

Gazing at the Alliance Corps Commander standing beside him, Mr. Chaning smiled and performed a standard Federation salute, earnestly saying,

"May our friendship be long-lasting!"

Midnight Chicken Killing also placed his right fist over his chest and boomed in response,

"May our friendship be long-lasting!"

As they bore witness to this historic moment, the crowd at the port burst into fervent applause, whistles, and excited cheers.

The staff members in the square tossed the previously prepared ribbons and fireworks into the air, with music from the band elevating the atmosphere to a climax.

The port was engulfed in a celebratory mood, as lively as a festival.

At the same time, the Warhammer standing atop the fountain sprayed water, and a faint rainbow appeared alongside the drizzle, falling with the water droplets.

Everyone's eyes were drawn to the rainbow overhead, their faces alight with excitement and anticipation.

The days of water shortage were finally coming to an end!

And tomorrow would be even better!

Mr. Chaning and the port officials also applauded with smiles on their faces, any worries and concerns falling away with the fountain's sprays.

But at that moment, an ear-piercing emergency alert suddenly sounded over the port.

The celebratory atmosphere and music halted abruptly, like a balloon pricked by a needle. Musicians and drummers stopped mid-performance, looking bewildered toward the direction of the alarm.

The survivors gathered at the port were likewise stunned, panic and confusion evident on their faces as they looked around, not understanding what had happened.

Normally, an alert would only be triggered if vessels from Shelter No. 70 attacked nearby fishing boats, cargo ships, or underwater installations.

But here on Circular Island at the edge of the Southern sea area, aside from special scenarios like drills, it had been a long time since the alarm last sounded.

So much so that, without deliberate thought, most had forgotten they were still at war.

Governor Chaning was equally bewildered, staring blankly in the direction of the alarm, unable to grasp what was happening.

While everyone was in a state of shock, only the players standing beside the fountain looked eager to jump into action.

Good grief.

Was this work coming their way?! The story's CGI scene had passed some time ago, and uninformed newbies and backseat drivers might still think of them as NPCs.

All players were itching to head back to the deck, weapons in hand.

They simply couldn't wait to show these world-unseen folks a thing or two!

In the midst of this, a worker from the port office rushed over and whispered urgently into Mr. Chaning's ear.

Mr. Chaning blinked in surprise and then his expression changed dramatically. He turned to the Alliance Corps Commander with a serious tone,

"Our patrol team near the minefield detected an explosion signal... That area seems to be where the water pipes run through."

After a pause, he continued,

"We suspect that vessels from Shelter No. 70 may have attacked that location."

While speaking, he couldn't help but glance at the fountain, yet the spray of water showed no signs of abating.

The water still surged outward unabated, as if unaffected.

Looking at Governor Chaning's tense demeanor, Midnight Chicken Killing laughed heartily and said,

"No need to worry, it's a small issue."

Mr. Chaning hesitated, wondering if he had heard wrong, and repeated incredulously,

"A small issue?"

Midnight Chicken Killing nodded, smiled gently, and explained,

"We anticipated this situation two months ago. By the time you fret over it, the problem might already be solved."

Pausing, he looked toward the slack-jawed staff member, covertly gestured towards the band, and continued in a low voice,

"Could you kindly turn off the alarm and have them resume the music…"

"We're recording a video."

Mr. Chaning: "…?"

Staff member: "???"

Chapter 718 "Crab" and "Big Fish

A vast expanse of azure sea.

A sea blue painted propeller plane was quietly skimming the surface of the sea, bobbing with the rolling waves, like a piece of driftwood.

Two float struts had replaced the 20mm cannons, lying beneath the aircraft like sleds. A deep-water bomb equipped with a pressure sensor clung tightly to the underside of the fuselage, like a concealed blade under the blue.

All around was a tranquil silence, only the rolling tide.

Just then, Feng Qing, lying in the cockpit with her eyes closed, suddenly jolted awake, and sat upright in her seat.

Because of the force she exerted, her forehead nearly knocked against the cockpit, but fortuitously, the seatbelt kept her from an accident.

Amidst a series of creaks, the silent plane seemed to come back to life.

Almost simultaneously, the standard drake-like voice of the corps commander, Brother Mosquito, came through the communication channel.

"...We've hooked a fish!"

Chaos of electrical static filled the communication channel.

The VM screen strapped to her thigh lit up at the same time, displaying coordinates for the strike estimated from the positions and relative distances of allies.

Without haste, she took a piece of chocolate from her pocket and threw it into her mouth, while her skilled hands reached over to clear the cockpit dashboard and started the aircraft's engine.

The propeller at the nose roared to life, dragging the light airframe forward against the waves.

Maintaining speed at the critical point for takeoff, Feng Qing didn't rush to lift the nose but tapped a rhythm lightly with her index finger on the control stick.

The continuous sound of the tide was overwhelmed by the roaring propeller, and the once peaceful and serene sea surface suddenly boiled to life.

Not just one aircraft—

But a full fifty!

A fleet of W-2/H maritime attack planes hugged the rippling sea surface like racing speedboats, speeding towards the attack coordinates shared by friendly forces…

…

Above the azure waves, the tide surged, while beneath them roiled equally tumultuous waters.

Harsh, screeching sounds like sweeping harpoons drove away the fish and Variants ahead, as a group of blue-scaled monsters clung to the seabed, swimming rapidly towards the underwater water pipeline on the west side of Ring Island.

Behind this group of Mutants followed a massive sea creature, with a form resembling both snake and fish, somewhat like a prehistoric plesiosaur.

Its ten-meter-long tail hung with dragon scale-like plates, its protruding head resembling a crocodile's mouth, sharp teeth like the blades on a chainsaw, seemingly capable of biting a small ship in half.

Local fishermen called it Laken, from a folk song that spread throughout the Southern sea area, meaning "the giant dragon of the deep sea."

Although according to the Mind Influence Law, it was difficult to directly control such large-brained Variants with a Mind Interference Device, lowering the cognition through drugs and various methods was possible.

For The Church, this clearly wasn't much of a problem.

They could even turn the survivors of a province into mindless puppets, let alone a Variant whose intelligence was far inferior to humans.

The target was quickly approaching.

One of the Mutants separated from the group, swimming faster to the forefront and pulled out a palm-sized thermite bomb from its back.

This device was another weapon bestowed upon them by the Torch Church.

Once activated, it could not only burn underwater but also melt through hundreds of millimeters of steel plate!

The blue-skinned fellow contorted its nauseating face with a cackling laugh, then pressed the button on the bomb, and a thirty-second countdown appeared on the screen.

However, at that very moment, just as it was less than fifty meters away from the seabed water pipeline, a faint ripple of water suddenly surged from the side and reached right next to it.

Something was rapidly approaching it.

Just as it sensed that something was amiss and was about to react, a sharp arrowhead instantly pierced through its flank and, in the blunted noise of an explosion, rocketed it toward the surface.

The mutant let out a hoarse and muffled wail as a multitude of bubbles instantly submerged its entire face and gills hidden under its jaw.

Losing balance and enduring immense pain, it thrashed its limbs about in the sea, yet its hand gripping the thermite bomb forgot to let go.

At this moment, the thirty-second countdown had just ended, and a blinding white light, engulfed by a mass of bubbles, instantly swallowed the creature whole.

The slowly blossoming fireworks, like a mandala flower blooming at the sea floor, left the approaching army of blue-skinned mutants stunned by this terrifying scene.

They didn't know what had happened, and panic-stricken expressions emerged on their faces as they looked around bewildered, searching for the source of the attack.

At this instant, not far from them, shadows resembling crabs were stealthily lurking at the edge of a seaweed forest, their long, thick gun barrels already aimed at them.

If the Empire's Army were here, they certainly would have recognized this scene.

These heavily armored iron behemoths, and those "King Crabs" that had rampaged through Jin Galun Harbor, looked to have been carved from the same mold!

In fact, they were one and the same.

Only the weapons mounted on their arms had changed from twin 37mm guns to a chainsaw specially designed for deep-sea environments and a so-called "harpoon" supercavitation weapon.

The principle behind this device, as the name suggests, was to reduce drag using supercavitation, with the tail fitted with nitrate ester propellant, and the front a magnesium-aluminum powder charge, equivalent to a miniature torpedo, 19mm in caliber. The firing device was the same model as the 19mm bomb gun, facilitating ammunition swapping for continued pursuit after reaching shore.

Unlike the 19mm explosive bolts, the 19mm "harpoon" had an effective kill radius of only 200 meters and a minimum safety distance of just 10 meters.

This combat radius was somewhat challenging against ships, but more than sufficient against near-surface torpedoes and Frogman troops.

Although it was the Alliance's military factories' first foray into underwater weaponry, with technical support from the survivors of Coral City, Huge Rock Military Industry quickly solved several problems and mounted these devices onto the Alliance's "King Crabs."

This was the harpoon's first combat trial.

So far, the effect was quite impressive…

Watching the cluster of "fireworks" falling toward the seafloor in the distance, and the restless demons and devils behind them, the Ground Model lying within the "King Crab" cracked a smile.

"Never thought the day would come when we, the Jungle Corps, would dabble in naval affairs."

A teammate's voice came through the communications channel.

"In some sense, seaweed forests can also be considered jungles."

"666!"

"It doesn't matter, the enemy is all mutants."

There was no point in holding back against these beasts.

They should go to hell and repent—

"Hit confirmed! Free fire!"

Bubbles burst forth from the crab's shell as the Ground Model maneuvered the King Crab forward, taking a step, "Don't let our fish escape!"

Energetic responses came through the communications channel.

"Roger that!"

"Awoooo!"

Following the attack command, all twenty-two "King Crabs" fired simultaneously, launching underwater flares according to the sonar-detected targets.

White lights, dazzling to the eyes, bloomed near the aquatic mutants, instantly illuminating an area where one could not see one's hand in front of their face to look like broad daylight.

The aquatic mutants, already accustomed to the surrounding darkness, screamed in high pitches and raised their arms to shield their eyes, stung by the sudden brightness.

At the same time, "harpoon" bolts dragging bubbles darted wantonly under the glow of light, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, reaping one vital life after another.

In just a few breaths, dozens of aquatic variant humans had their flesh and blood bodies shattered, and a crimson mist of blood diffused wildly with the current.

Death was spreading.

Fear crept into the hearts of every mutant.

Different from those green-skinned ones on the shore, the ones nesting under the cold and damp rocks had more cunning, like fish, rather than the bloodlust and frenzy of wild beasts.

Seeing their morale about to collapse, a mutant leader lurking among the mutants let out a deep and long howl.

"It's the humans!"

"They're below us!"

"Charge them! Tear them apart!"

Hearing the leader's roar, the mutants enduring continuous casualties finally regained some morale and powerfully kicked their legs, charging toward the sea bed beneath them.

With the descent, the surrounding water pressure grew higher, compressing their bloodshot eyeballs and muscular chests.

Finally, they neared that nearly three-hundred-meter-deep ocean floor, and the glaring white light gradually moved away from them.

"Click—!"

The nearly thousand mutants, reabsorbed into the darkness, gradually restored their vision and issued angry roars to dispel their fear, brandishing all kinds of weapons in their hands and charging toward the source of the attack.

Coincidentally, their opponents were thinking the same thing.

Almost simultaneously, twenty-two massive "King Crabs" switched on their searchlights, swinging their crab legs and chainsaw-equipped claws at those blue-skinned monsters and charged!

Excited roars echoed in the communication channel—

"Crush them!"

"Roar roar roar!"

Flesh and steel collided!

A "King Crab" armor swiftly ejected its mechanized legs that folded inward, flinging away a mutant clutching a thermite bomb.

Then, the huge body lunged forward, and the extended forelimb smashed down, precisely stepping on the back of another mutant diving toward it, crushing it to death on the uneven rocks like an ant.

A mutant, by chance, got behind it and tried to pry open the heavy crab shell with its harpoon but didn't even scratch the paint.

Just as it was considering another plan, a real "harpoon" exploded through its chest, blowing half its body into a mist of blood and shredded flesh.

Mutants, like garlic cloves in a grinder, were minced into a mush of indistinguishable flesh and blood in an instant.

Harpoons were thrown from their strong arms, but only left scratches on the steel shell.

They tried everything they could, using harpoon guns, underwater rifles, short swords and daggers, even deep-sea mines and explosives... However, in front of the armor several times thicker than that of Crack Claw Crabs, all their efforts were in vain.

The blinding searchlights made it impossible for them to keep their eyes open, and those thick chainsaws needed only a gentle touch to split them in two.

It wasn't just the chainsaws—

There were also the fishing net bullets spraying from each thick gun barrel!

Strong thread was pulled into a large net, ensnaring many mutants against the rocks or simply bundling them with other mutants.

And the more they struggled,

The tighter the nets bound!

In just five minutes, over two hundred mutants were dead under the howling chainsaws.

The consistent casualties and the battles with no visible hope for victory had painted deep terror on the face of every mutant.

Even their leader couldn't help but shuffle backward in fear.

They had never seen such bizarre opponents before!

Yet their enemies—the players crouched inside the king crabs—were all too familiar with these scaly beasts!

Ever since they captured several aquatic mutant humans at Potato Harbor two months ago, the Alliance Biological Research Institute's station at the harbor had dissected those mutants and quickly came to understand their habits clearly.

These creatures were not the unchallenged predators they seemed to be in the sea.

They too were subjected to attacks from variants, just like unprotected ships not clad in black iron wood or equipped with mind interference devices.

To avoid drawing the attention of massive variants, they typically chose to stick close to land or islands where the seabed was relatively shallow for their travel routes.

The maximum depth of these waters was no more than four hundred meters. Generally, the huge variants, to avoid running aground, wouldn't dare to venture there casually.

Moreover, during long journeys, they would take turns singing "boat songs" to actively generate noise, masquerading as "XXXL size" variants to intimidate the small and medium-sized variants that frequented the shallow waters.

Taking these traits into consideration, Potato Harbor had only to place a few buoys that collected sound wave signals near the seabed's water pipelines to lock onto these beasts' movement trajectories for a planned interception.

This was not technically difficult to achieve.

Though satellites were not available, sensors installed on the seabed freshwater pipelines were more than capable of transmitting signals to Potato Harbor or to nearby players.

The mutant humans did not know that they had already been targeted by the military base located at Potato Harbor since they left Death Coast and entered the eastern coastal areas of Baiyue Province.

Seeing the continual casualties among his kin, the leader standing amidst the crowd of mutants finally panicked and loudly shouted to his subordinates.

"Retreat—!"

"To the surface!"

One by one, the mutants entangled with the "king crabs" began to forcefully paddle their legs toward the direction of the sea surface.

Though the king crabs were equipped with buoyancy tanks and high-pressure air bottles similar to "fish bladders," their ascent was limited by the weight of their equipment and the restricted volume of their armor, making their rise to the surface slow and rendering them incapable of maintaining fire during the ascent.

Thus, the twenty-two "king crabs" did not pursue to the surface but instead continued to fire with the "harpoon" guns welded to their arms.

Streams of air chased after the fleeing mutants towards the surface, with mutants constantly being turned into blood mist by the harpoons, but many more mutants were still lucky enough to escape from the not-so-dense barrage of fire.

When only fifty meters from the surface, the harpoons chasing them finally slowed their pursuit.

It seemed these weapons could not fly very far.

Watching as the "harpoons" below their feet gradually lost power, and they outpaced the iron crabs, the terrified mutants finally let out a sigh of relief.

However, before they could fully exhale, slender cylindrical objects suddenly plunged into the water, falling towards their heads.

At that moment—

Their nightmare had just begun!

Staring at the cylinders calmly descending before them, faces covered in scales uniformly registered shock and confusion.

Seemingly sensing the threat of death, an inexplicable fear crawled into the hearts of every mutant.

Before they could react—and with no opportunity to do so—explosive flames and columns of water burst open simultaneously, engulfing these sinful lives.

Looking up at the expanse of flames spreading near the sea's surface, the players underneath the "king crab" shells all voiced their admiration.

"That's some serious firepower…"

"Anti-submarine work is really the air force's job."

"Damn it, those green-skins can take a beating. These scaly creatures are like eels; they can't take a hit at all!"

"So who gets the MVP in the end?"

"Just subtract the explosion scene and it ought to be ours."

"Great idea."

While everyone was noisily arguing, Ground Model suddenly heard Brother Mosquito's voice in his ear.

"Bombing complete! How are things on your end?"

Hearing that nasally voice, Ground Model promptly responded,

"Oh! We're all good! No casualties—"

Mosquito: "Who gives a damn about that? I'm asking if you got it on camera?!"

Ground Model: "...Shit! That real?"

Mosquito: "Wait, hold that thought... I've detected a signal from the Mind Interference Device! The source is roughly 300 meters near the explosion area, between 50 to 100 meters deep. You guys watch out for anything else nearby."

Anything else?!

Ground Model was momentarily stunned.

Almost the very moment after Brother Mosquito had finished speaking, a long, drawn-out cry entered everyone's ears.

"Wooo—!"

The sound was like the horn of a cargo ship, causing the nearby waters to tremble.

Everyone looked up, shining their searchlights above, and saw an enormous shadow, tens of meters long, looming over their heads.

"What the hell is that?"

Faces showed expressions as if they'd seen a ghost, and Ground Model couldn't help but swallow hard.

Voices from the team came over the communications channel.

"Holy mother... there's another big one."

The Mind Interference Device began to emit unstable waves of interference, and it seemed the howling behemoth was somewhat injured.

The entire sea boiled, and the raging waves scattered the corpses floating in the water, scaring away the Aquatic Variant Humans probing nearby.

"King Crabs" standing on the seabed were also pushed back by the chaotic currents, shuffling their legs.

"Mosquito! Do you have any more ammo?!" Clutching the trembling handle tightly, Ground Model shouted into the headset.

Static crackled through the communications channel, followed by an embarrassing admission.

"None left... We only had one round. I even dismantled my machine guns to drop that thing for you guys. Good luck to you."

"%￥#@!"

After a string of cursing, Ground Model switched to the squad channel, shouting to his teammates.

"Get ready for the BOSS fight!"

Contrary to the intense nervousness inside him, the squad channel erupted with excited roars.

"Awww!"

...

Meanwhile, roughly a hundred kilometers away from the center of the explosion, a destroyer belonging to the Southern Islands Federation was anchored.

At this moment, the bridge was in complete chaos.

"An explosion occurred 100 kilometers west in the underwater region! The location is near the seabed volcano zone, which seems to be our minefield!"

"Minefield?!"

"Damn... Was it those airplanes that did this?"

"What's the deal with those airplanes?"

"Could it be Shelter No. 70?!"

The sailors were thrown into chaos not solely because of the explosion that had suddenly occurred underwater but also because of the fifty airplanes that had abruptly appeared on the radar!

These airplanes seemed to spring out of nowhere, rising above the boundless sea without any warning whatsoever!

And what was bizarre was that around here, let alone an aircraft carrier or airport, there wasn't even a small fishing boat in sight.

Captain Dongwen furrowed his brow as he stared out the window of the bridge at the azure sky and the rolling sea below, pondering something unknown.

Seeing that his superior was unresponsive, the deputy standing next to him took a deep breath and spoke up with a grave voice.

"I suggest we immediately report the situation here to Navy Headquarters!"

Just as his subordinates had speculated, it was possible that the airplanes belonged to Shelter No. 70. And the location of the explosion fell precisely within the minefield they had set up to intercept submersibles from Shelter No. 70 and to protect Ring Island from threats.

Although the entrance to that shelter was indeed blockaded by the Federal Fleet, nobody could guarantee that the shelter didn't have other emergency exits.

However, after pondering for a moment, the captain next to him spoke up, unusually, saying,

"No need, maintain observation."

The deputy was momentarily stunned, looking at him with puzzlement.

But the superior officer didn't seem to want to explain; he just instructed him to monitor the situation and then turned and left the bridge.

Back in the captain's quarters.

Dongwen casually hung his captain's hat on the coat rack and opened a drawer to retrieve a small communicator.

He used his thumb to press the mechanical buttons on the casing, carefully inputting a string of numbers before finally bringing the communicator to his ear.

Before he could speak, an urgent voice came through from the other end of the line.

"What's the situation?"

The person on the other end was none other than Mr. Charles, the Chief of Staff for the Federal Navy and also the Presidential Chief of Staff, a key figure representing the Navy's interventionist faction.

Although for most citizens of the Federation, breaking free from the control of Shelter No. 70 was a consensus already reached, until the ocean current power station was destroyed, there were divisions among people about whether to resolve the conflict through mild or radical means.

Because of his firm stance and radical proposals, Charles garnered the support of many naval officers, including Dongwen himself.

However, some unsettling rumors had recently surfaced, causing Dongwen to begin doubting whether what he was doing was truly in the best interest of the Federation.

Indeed, the Alliance, which seemed to have emerged from nowhere, had conducted some doubtful activities, but their slogan "Survivors, unite!" did not seem like something that warranted viewing them as a significant threat.

After all, people on this planet were once a single entity.

And they were indeed practicing what they preached, setting an example for those Waste Land Wanderers still engaged in internecine warfare on ending the Wasteland Era.

Take, for instance, Jin Galun Harbor of late; no matter how the slave owners sophistically argued, they did indeed unshackle the slaves. Or the freshwater pipeline leading to Ring Island, they might have made some money off of it, but factually, water became cheaper for the locals.

Those guys never claimed they were here for charity; if they decide to hike prices maliciously, that's an issue for the future, but one couldn't pre-emptively place an oversized hat on their heads just because they weren't giving everything away for free today.

At least in his view, it was the Church fanatics who incessantly spouted "evolution," "future," "for humanity," that seemed a bit more suspicious.

These people did indeed offer things for free, providing the Federation with Mind Interference Devices at no cost. But no one could be certain they didn't harbor ulterior motives for something greater.

Like Coral City.

Haven't they always wanted to go there?

He agreed with a moderate degree of cooperation with the Torch Church, provided it was truly beneficial for the Federation, even if the benefits weren't immediately apparent but would prove infinitely advantageous for future generations.

For example, it would undoubtedly be worth trading a ocean current power plant for the unity of the entire Federation, and the people of the future would thank their ancestors for their temporary hardships.

But...

Where was the benefit in blowing up a freshwater pipeline?

In the past, he had managed to convince himself, even justifying Mr. Charles' position, but now he simply didn't know how to continue the fabrication.

However—

Now was not the time to consider this.

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Dongwen slowly began to speak.

"The explosion... It did indeed occur."

Hearing a sigh of relief from the other end of the phone, he paused momentarily before continuing.

"There are, however, some suspicions about the incident. The explosion didn't occur underwater but rather in an area close to the sea surface... and those planes, did you send them?"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, followed by a hesitant half-statement that was finally squeezed out.

"Planes?"

"Yes."

Dongwen paused briefly, and then continued.

"A group of planes suddenly appeared on our radar. Then they dropped torpedoes or deep-water bombs into the sea, and we observed the explosion... I'm not sure if the pipeline was destroyed, but I want to know what those planes were and what they were bombing—"

However, what he hadn't anticipated was that Mr. Charles, who was usually so mild-mannered, jumped up like a seal spotting a penguin upon hearing these words.

"That is none of your concern! Captain, order your men to return immediately to the nearest port—no, head directly east to Anle Island."

Dongwen was taken aback.

"Mr. Charles?"

Realizing that his tone was off, a sound of steady breathing came through the phone.

"I apologize... I lost my composure. Formal orders will be issued later through the command system. You can return to the bridge and prepare your subordinates now."

After a pause, a sigh of frustration was heard through the phone.

"It's a complete mess... A water pipe has caused those backstabbing ingrates to betray their initial beliefs. They're completely unaware that they're eagerly slipping their own necks into the noose handed to them by others, in a rush to sell themselves for a good price after just a couple days of freedom."

"Mr. Charles," Dongwen asked with a frown, "perhaps I shouldn't be asking this, but... what does this have to do with selling themselves for a good price?"

Charles snorted through his nose.

"Aren't they doing just that? We've just freed ourselves from the noose that Shelter No. 70 had put around our necks, and now they've picked up the noose from Shelter No. 404—"

"So, I want to know, what exactly is the 'noose' you keep referring to?" Dongwen couldn't help but ask, "Could you use a specific term instead of an abstract metaphor?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, followed by a light cough.

"We've strayed too far off topic... Anyway, our friends in Haiye Province wouldn't want us to get too close to the Alliance. Those lunatics are bad news, but we temporarily need to leverage their strength to solve our problems. In any case, that pipeline is a problem... It would be great if someone could solve this issue. Every citizen of the Federation would be grateful to them."

Hearing the expectation in the voice, Dongwen took a deep breath, keeping calm, and carefully responded.

"Mr. Charles, if it's other concerns, I can handle them for you, including silencing those who need to be silenced and making those who should disappear disappear, but this matter... it's going too far."

After a pause, he continued.

"I'm sorry I can't solve your problem. Perhaps you should seek a more legal and compliant way to deal with this issue. I suggest you talk to the President."

Charles said with deep regret and pain.

"That would be too slow! And the residents of Ring Island wouldn't understand us."

Dongwen immediately replied.

"Then let's take it slow... Being cautious with this sort of thing isn't bad."

The reason he disliked the people from Shelter No. 70 was because they were arrogant and obstinate, never willing to lower themselves to communicate with survivors outside the shelter, and once they couldn't explain themselves, they would use their blue jackets as a shield.

It was only now that he suddenly realized he had almost become the very person he despised the most.

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a resigned sigh.

"You are right… Taking it slow is not a bad idea; I didn't think things through, please forget what I just said."

Dongwen nodded, feeling a slow sense of relief in his heart.

Perhaps Mr. Charles had also realized this point.

He had no doubt that the gentleman made his decision in the interest of the Federation, but like the other captains who occasionally acted too rashly, so could this chief of staff, right?

He would continue to support him as always...

After hanging up the phone, Dongwen returned to the bridge.

Then his adjutant approached, saluting.

"... We've just received orders from Navy Headquarters to proceed to the port of Anle Island directly east for repairs."

Already having heard about it through private channels, Dongwen nodded and walked straight to the bridge console to stop.

However, just as he was about to order a turn to the east, something in his mind gave him pause, and he ordered the officers beside him.

"Head west for eighty kilometers!"

The officers' faces all showed surprise, especially the adjutant who had just relayed the message from headquarters.

"But..." The adjutant stepped forward with a look of hesitation, only to be cut off by a raised hand.

"The headquarters didn't say we had to turn around on the spot."

Gazing out at the surging waves, Dongwen adjusted his hat and said slowly.

"Taking a slight detour isn't out of the question, is it?"

...

In the vast expanse of the clear blue sky.

Feng Qing, piloting a seaplane, circled over the sea intending to turn back when she suddenly spotted a warship coming from the east.

A look of surprise crossed her face, and after wiping the chocolate sauce off her hands on her clothing, she reached for the switch of the onboard radio.

"This is Feng Qing, spotting a Federal warship, seems to be a destroyer... heading towards the little Iron Crabs of the Jungle Corps."

"It's unclear if they are hostile, they haven't opened fire on me... Ah, they seem to be trying to call me on the radio... Should I answer?"

Mosquito Brother's voice quickly came through the communication channel.

"Answer! Why not answer! Ask these sons of bitches what they're doing here!"

Listening to that tone, which "sounded like he still had plenty of ammo," Feng Qing made an exasperated face, pressed her left foot on the rudder, adjusted her heading, and moved closer to the direction of the destroyer.

"Received."

Chapter 719: Outmaneuvered

"A bunch of garbage!"

Mr. Charles cursed aloud and, after pacing back and forth for a moment, closed his eyes.

Soon, a faint golden light appeared not far from him, and an old man wearing a grey robe slowly surfaced into view.

Without waiting for the other to speak, Charles hurriedly approached him, staring into his eyes in an aggressive and domineering manner.

"Your people have screwed up again! Why do I have to say 'again'? Can't you come up with some decent weapons? Or are those scaly fishmen the only thing you have to offer?!"

Alzu's face was just as ugly.

After all, he wasn't a true Pioneer but an Apostle based in "Sanctuary No.2." He couldn't completely shield human emotions, which prevented him from achieving purely rational thinking.

Still, even so, he patiently waited for the man to finish complaining before expressing his dissatisfaction in an icy tone.

"I need to remind you, the sea is your territory. You've lived here for two centuries, while we've only just arrived. I can indeed help you handle some troubles that you're not convenient to address, but you don't think we are omnipotent in the sea like on the road, do you? If that were the case, why would we need you?"

Charles's expression became somewhat embarrassed.

"But even so..."

This time, Alzu didn't let him finish his sentence and burst out angrily.

"Don't give me that 'even so.' Do I have to spell it out for you? You're too slow!"

Charles was stunned by Alzu's sudden outburst and momentarily forgot who was supposed to be challenging whom.

Taking a deep breath to steady his heaving chest, Alzu continued speaking, fixing his gaze on the bewildered face of the Federal Chief of Staff.

"The Alliance is trying to establish a net around us, and we're running out of time. We must open our strategic space at sea before the net closes, and researching the Lair aboard the Tiangong is imperative. Where is the Coral City you promised me? Another two months have gone by, when can we begin our research?"

Hearing Alzu bring this up suddenly, Charles's expression also showed some awkwardness and with a light cough, he tried to explain.

"That takes a bit of time... There are still voices of concern within the Federation, and I have been working hard to speak for you."

He needed to use his northern friends to smooth out some issues, but that didn't mean he was going to fully side with them.

Put simply, they were just using each other.

Admittedly, he coveted eternal power, but he had his own pace for going about it, which was the safest way.

"Too slow."

Alzu shook his head, disappointment written all over his face.

"I trusted you, gave you the greatest support. We spared no effort in providing technology or assistance – we even gave you our most prized 'Mind Interference Technology.' And what have you given me? Two months to play your tedious bureaucratic Game? Must we wait until you sit in the President's seat to start the next step?"

Without waiting for Charles to explain, Alzu continued with heartfelt distress.

"If I had even one submarine or one ship at my disposal, we wouldn't need to use those hideous fishmen. Why did our plan fail? Because of you, Charles! Your weakness and incompetence! Time and again you let my men stand alone! If you had given them the slightest support—"

"Enough!"

Charles's face finally lost all semblance of composure, and he interrupted with noticeable annoyance.

"I've already helped you as much as my authority allows. Do you expect me to overstep my command and order the Federal Fleet to open fire on the Alliance's target? Nobody would heed such an order! This isn't like your place! There are no puppets here with their brains scooped out by Nago, where I can just do whatever I want, I have to operate within the rules—"

"To do things beyond the rules while staying within them? That's your most fatal flaw. You want all the benefits without taking any of the risks. If you truly revered those laughable rules of yours, you shouldn't have borrowed our power from the start, but should have vied for the majority's support like your beloved President."

Alzu chuckled lightly, stepping closer to his dear ally, looking into his wavering pupils, and spoke slowly.

"I see it now, your subordinates have already begun to doubt you."

Subconsciously, Mr. Charles took a step back and furrowed his brows.

"My subordinates?"

Alzu nodded, his vacant gaze suddenly turning towards the direction of the window as he continued nonchalantly.

"That destroyer is moving towards the incident area... Let me guess, first off, it's definitely not there to help us. If that was the plan, it wouldn't have waited until after we were done fighting."

"Destroyer? You mean Captain Dongwen?" Mr. Charles looked at him in surprise and murmured to himself, "Didn't I order him to return to Anle Island and stand by?"

"It seems I indeed guessed right," Alzu said, watching Mr. Charles's face gradually change, yet he just sneered coldly at his ally, "Too bad, Mr. Charles, it's a pity your political game has gone too far. You won't have the chance to become President of the Federation, not anymore. However, that doesn't mean you have no chance to grasp the power you covet... What do you think about the title 'Head of State'?"

Before a stunned Mr. Charles could speak, Alzu dropped his final words.

"This is your last chance, let's see if you indeed have the courage to bear the consequences of your decision."

"If you're a coward, I might as well look for a new ally sooner rather than later, ha."

As he finished speaking, the golden illusion began to fade, like a wisp of dissipating blue smoke merging into the air.

Mr. Charles was suddenly alarmed and called out hastily,

"Wait, wait a second!"

But the illusion did not wait for him, didn't even bother listening to what he was saying, and simply vanished from the room, leaving his calls unanswered regardless of how he called out.

"This guy!"

Mr. Charles clenched his fists.

At that moment, a drop of cold sweat suddenly emerged on his forehead and plopped onto the carpet.

He had been played!

From the start, that person had anticipated that the mutants would surely fail.

And himself, who didn't fully trust the Torch, would naturally, as before, arrange for a warship to oversee the final outcome.

Now his subordinates were starting to doubt his motives, even questioning whether what they were doing was right.

Just like that trickster had said, he no longer had the chance to be a fence-sitter, continuing to speculate opportunistically.

The doubtful eyes were not from the centrists this time, but from right beside him—those who had supported him in this high-stakes bet.

Now, he had only two paths to choose from.

Either to confess everything to those who supported him and those who doubted him and accept the punishment set by their own rules,

Or, while still holding the initiative in his hands, take his supporters and bet it all one last time...

Mr. Charles felt his palms soaked with cold sweat.

Just then, there were footsteps at the door, followed by a knock.

Almost reflexively, he said,

"Come in."

The door swung open, and an officer walked in, saluting respectfully.

"Mr. Charles, the President requests your presence at the Presidential Mansion. Regarding the investigation into the 'Golden Coast,' he has some doubts that he wishes to discuss with you."

The Golden Coast?

Mr. Charles was bewildered for a moment before he remembered that it was the inspection ship sent to establish an outpost in the Sea Frontier Province.

Realizing this, he couldn't help but want to laugh.

What were they thinking, investigating that thing at a time like this?

But there were outsiders present, so he didn't let his laughter show. After calming his breath for a moment, he turned to the officer standing at the door and said, with poised elegance.

"Please convey to Mr. President that I have some matters to attend to here. I'll meet with him before dusk."

"Yes!"

The officer saluted again and left the room.

The door closed.

Watching the room return to its former quiet, Mr. Charles paused for a moment, then went over to the couch and picked up the communicator lying there.

Efficiently, he dialed a string of numbers, his eyes no longer hesitant, his voice devoid of any delay.

As he issued one order after another, he soon finished all the preparations required before beginning this huge bet.

In fact, there was nothing to hesitate about.

Alzu's assessment was quite right; he really was a weak and incompetent fellow.

But, as luck would have it, those officers and the main warring faction who had pushed him to the fore were not the "iron-blooded tough men" they pretended to be. Just like him, they were all opportunists who hesitated to take responsibility while craving benefits.

At least he had one tiny advantage over them: he could make some decisions when it was time to decide.

There was no reason he should lose this bet!

...

"Circular Island Port."

The water supply celebration ceremony had smoothly progressed to the end. Governor Channing, in front of everyone, read out the friendship declaration between Ring Island and Potato Harbor, along with the Alliance, while Midnight Chicken Killing represented the Alliance in delivering the Manager's blessings to the local survivors.

And finally, as promised by the Alliance, the freshwater supply pipeline wasn't affected by the alarm that had suddenly blared.

The clear water still bubbled tirelessly from the inverted hammer handle, as immutable as the rock-solid order itself.

That abrupt alarm, however, seemed more like a misunderstanding.

At first, the crowd gathered around the plaza was somewhat panicked, wondering if something significant had happened.

But when they saw the band continue to play and the ribbon-cutting ceremony go on, they gradually calmed down and immersed themselves once again in the festive atmosphere.

The celebratory ceremony concluded.

Standing next to the fountain, Midnight Chicken Killing grinned and said to Governor Channing, whose face still wore a look of disbelief.

"See, I told you it was nothing."

Harboring a belly full of doubts, Governor Channing couldn't help but ask, seeing the Alliance's Army leader seemed to know something.

"What was that explosion just now...?"

After pondering for a moment, Midnight Chicken Killing candidly replied,

"I'm afraid it was Mutants."

"Mutants?!" Channing was taken aback, looking at him in astonishment and blurted out, "How can there be Mutants in the Southern sea area?!"

He had indeed heard of aquatic mutant humans with gills and scales, but those creatures did not actually live in the sea; they built their nests on the shore.

The islands in the Southern sea area were far from the coastline, and without means to drive away Variants, even boats floating on the surface could not be considered safe.

Watching Mr. Chaning's incredulous face, Midnight Chicken Killing didn't explain, but simply took out a tablet from his pocket and handed it to him.

Just a moment ago, the Ground Model had captured footage near the seabed freshwater pipeline and shared it via the radio on the Meat Meat to his terminal device.

As he watched the battle footage being played on the screen, Mr. Chaning's Adam's apple involuntarily moved.

Actually mutants...

And there were so many of them!

The murky sea water was filled with severed limbs, weapons, and the aquatic Variants drawn by the scent of blood.

Besides that, a huge sea monster "Laken" was rolling in the water, seemingly called forth by those aquatic mutant humans as well.

Although the possibility of the video being synthetic could not be ruled out, it was clear these people weren't playing tricks that could be easily exposed.

"There's nothing surprising about this; the Southern sea area is right next to Haiye Province, and ever since the Torch Church lured that trash to Death Coast, it's not surprising they've spread everywhere."

Looking at Mr. Chaning, whose gaze was fixed on the screen, Midnight Chicken Killing suddenly seemed to remember something and continued to speak.

"Oh right, just two months ago, a group of mutants tried to attack our port, but fortunately we spotted them before they landed."

"This... this is indeed surprising," Mr. Chaning said with astonishment in his eyes, his expression visibly changing.

Mutants.

This was no joke.

The area where the explosion occurred was less than a hundred nautical miles from the Ring Island; if they could swim to that location, it was completely possible for them to reach here.

Although there were some defense forces on the island, they could mobilize the reserves if necessary, but if faced with a sudden attack by a thousand mutants, they probably wouldn't even have time to hand out guns to the young men.

The consensus among the various settlements in the Southern sea area was to establish defense forces at sea, and this strategy was established during the era of Shelter No. 70.

That is, to place the Federation's fortress beyond the islands at sea, with a fleet built of steel to block threats from the Wasteland.

It was because of this defense mechanism that almost no Looter's speedboats had been able to approach within a hundred nautical miles of the islands for the past two hundred years.

However, now the defense mechanism seemed to have failed.

This was the second unexpected incident...

Observing the changing expressions of Governor Chaning, Midnight Chicken Killing continued.

"And what's more intriguing, on the same day, your Marine Patrol Team patrolling in nearby waters disappeared collectively... Of course, I'm not blaming you for not warning us; our own safety is our responsibility. But judging by your look, you seem to have no idea what happened there. If I recall correctly, that was one of your patrol areas."

"Two months ago... I remember there were exercises," Mr. Chaning coughed lightly, "That might have been a coincidence."

The statement sounded like an excuse for the Federation but also like he was convincing himself.

"It's indeed not impossible," Midnight Chicken Killing paused and then continued, "but I think the Federal Navy should be aware of what happened there. After all, the patrol team returned the next day, and the blood on the beach wasn't even cleaned up... Didn't they warn you to beware of the mutant threat?"

Mr. Chaning's expression gradually started to strain.

"No... Our main enemy is Shelter No. 70, and our main focus was on their submersibles."

After a pause, his expression became more solemn and he muttered in thought.

"This matter is a bit strange... Why would mutants be interested in the underwater pipelines."

"I think what you should be more concerned about is why the fleet that is supposed to protect you would selectively ignore such an obvious threat. Letting the Mutants come ashore is no joke, especially those with scales. I hear their penchant for torturing prey is even worse than those with green skins."

That was all he said.

Midnight Chicken Killing did not continue on this embarrassing topic.

He knew that although Mr. Chaning did not say it, he was certainly aware. Rather than whether a particular issue was properly resolved, it was more crucial that the issue was exposed as a problem. Otherwise, what had already happened twice could very likely not just happen a third or fourth time but countless times without people's knowledge.

The Federal Fleet had tacitly permitted the Mutants' military operations within their jurisdiction, without approval from the command center and without permission from the various settlements in the Southern sea area, for some purpose.

"Of course, this is just a friendly reminder. We have never placed our hopes for security on others. Whether the Federal Fleet offers us the necessary support or not, we will deal with those scaly fellows through our own means."

He gave the governor a meaningful look, turned around, and prepared to take his brothers from the Jungle Corps back to the ship.

Watching his back, Mr. Chaning's Adam's apple moved, and after a struggle, he finally couldn't help but speak.

"Please, wait a moment."

Midnight Chicken Killing stopped, turned back, and looked at him with an inquiring glance.

"What is it?"

"I think... we need to enhance our cooperation in the security field, which may be even more urgent than economic cooperation."

With a somewhat embarrassed smile on his face, Mr. Chaning coughed lightly and awkwardly continued, "If we are attacked by Mutants, I hope we can count on your support... Of course, the same goes if you are attacked, and we will also share any alarm information we receive with you."

Since the Alliance apparently had a way to locate and eliminate the threat of the Mutants before they could attack the pipes, they had clearly established a patrol system that included intelligence gathering and interception strategies.

For whatever reason, the Federal Fleet's two consecutive instances of negligence had made it impossible for him to trust those guys any longer.

Currently, Ring Island was exposed to the threat of Mutants, and he needed to add a firewall for the local survivors.

A more reliable firewall.

In exchange, he could share the intelligence network of Ring Island with the Alliance, and Potato Harbor would also receive any early warning signals from other islands.

In a way, this was equivalent to sharing map vision and verbally signing a mutual defense agreement.

Although Ring Island had no army or fleet of its own, the port itself could also serve as a military facility.

Apparently understanding Mr. Chaning's implication, Midnight Chicken Killing showed a surprised expression and then laughed heartily, agreeing on the spot.

"No problem! If the opponents are Mutants, we will assist anytime and anywhere, not to mention that you are our partners."

He paused then continued.

"Of course, we are separated by two hundred nautical miles from you. If we wait until the attack happens before we come over, it might be too late. I suggest that you build an eight-hundred-meter-long airstrip next to the island, whether using concrete or steel. If our aircraft can land next to your island, we'll be able to support you quicker."

Mr. Chaning took serious note of this advice and nodded.

"I'll arrange for it as soon as possible."

...

At the same time that Jungle Corps was withdrawing from the port of Ring Island, a Federal destroyer, informed by the Alliance's aircraft, continued to forge ahead toward the sea area where the battle occurred.

Some things cannot be made clear over the communication channels; they must be confirmed with one's own eyes.

Silence in the bridge.

Whether it was Captain Dongwen or any of the officers under his command, at this moment, they all silently stared at the vast sea directly ahead.

In fact, both the captain and his officers had heard about the friends in the North, constantly taking care of some troubles for them.

However, what they hadn't expected was that the attackers turned out to be mutants!

What was even more unacceptable to them was that the incident had taken place only a hundred nautical miles away from Circular Island...

"There must be some misunderstanding here..." the aide-de-camp said, sweating profusely, "After all... the higher-ups wouldn't resort to using those creatures."

There were better ways.

If push came to shove, even getting the Federation's fleet involved was not out of the question.

Dongwen didn't speak; his gaze remained intently fixed on the undulating waves in the distance.

It was then that his pupils abruptly contracted, as a mutilated arm suddenly surfaced amidst the churning foam.

He quickly realized it wasn't just one...

Body after body, dismembered and incomplete, bobbed with the waves, their blue scales and skin declaring their identity.

Variants, lured by the scent of blood, were chasing and gnawing at the corpses, oblivious to the military ship a stone's throw away.

The aide-de-camp standing beside Dongwen swallowed hard and managed to squeeze out a sentence from his throat.

"...mutants."

And not just one or two...

So many corpses—it had to be at least a thousand!

The realization made cold sweat slide off his chin.

If these mutants were to swim along the pipeline another eighty or so nautical miles southeast, the consequences could be unimaginable...

Dongwen silently stared at the carnage on the sea's surface, then glanced at the sonar screen where signals flickered and jumped.

There was a "Laken."

It seemed to have sensed the mind interference signals emitted by the warship and was twisting its injured body, trying to escape towards the north.

More than a dozen oddly-shaped submersibles were in pursuit—those must be something the Alliance came up with. Although the condition of these submersibles wasn't the best, likely having suffered damage in the previous battle, they didn't seem to be willing to let go of their prey, which had swum right into their lap.

Having promised to support the pilot in a previous communication, Dongwen turned to his aide-de-camp and ordered,

"Fire the torpedo."

He paused, then added,

"Also, use a trawl net to haul up a few of the mutant corpses."

The aide-de-camp nodded solemnly and saluted.

"Yes, sir!"

As the combat order was issued, a torpedo was launched from its tube into the sea, speeding towards the target locked by sonar.

Without any suspense, the torpedo struck easily, its burst of air and flame instantly shredding the massive form, dispatching the battered Laken with a single shot.

The Alliance's submersibles made a strange maneuver, gesturing with their mechanical arms, seemingly expressing their thanks.

Dongwen instructed his aide-de-camp to send them a communication sonar wave to say no need for thanks, then he walked alone out of the wheelhouse to the deck of the destroyer.

Just at that moment, a speedboat flying the Federation's flag approached from a distance, casually drawing up alongside his destroyer.

Dongwen glanced at the person standing on the speedboat and recognized the man's name; he seemed to be Muda, probably the captain of the Marine Patrol Team.

As he observed the man, the man was observing him too before glancing once again at the net thrown toward the sea surface.

Seeming to make up his mind, the man signaled his speedboat to approach the destroyer and clambered aboard using the ladder attached to the ship's hull.

Captain Dongwen didn't stop him, only watched in silence.

"It's a big catch. It looks like you've got plenty of spoils. Fortunately, you discovered the problem in time and didn't let this group of swimming experts reach our little island."

Narrowing his eyes at the blood-red sea, Muda approached and spoke with a hint of faint mockery in his voice.

"The residents of Ring Island are all waiting for me to go back and tell them what happened here. How about sharing one of them with me for closure? That way, I wouldn't have to cast my own net."

Captain Dongwen didn't pick up on his cue, remaining silent for a moment before speaking.

"It looks like you already know something."

"Did I hear you right, are you asking me? So, the person who's been watching from the side is me?" Muda looked at him with a feigned surprise, laughing as he said, "Or maybe we should just switch boats, you take my speedboat, and I'll take your destroyer."

Even though it was just an exaggerated joke, the Captain seemed to take it seriously and, after thinking it over, he replied earnestly.

"It's not entirely out of the question."

"Forget it."

Muda chuckled, looking toward the vast sea.

"More than a thousand mutants, pushing right into our territorial waters, and our fleet just watched from the side, applauding and cheering them on... You know everything yet you still want an answer from me; I understood two months ago that we couldn't count on you."

Captain Dongwen stayed silent for a long time, then sighed.

"I'm sorry, brother."

"I'm not your brother," Muda glanced at him, "You don't need to say sorry to me. You should be saying it to the tens of thousands of survivors on Ring Island, and to the millions of residents across the Federation. It's they who pay your wages... and mine."

Perhaps out of shame, the Captain slowly closed his eyes.

Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, Muda continued.

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"Tell me the truth," Muda said, looking at the Captain, "Was it really the residents of Shelter No. 70 who blew up the current power station?"

Captain Dongwen was silent for a bit, then slowly said.

"Probably not."

Muda stared into his eyes.

"Was it you?"

"No."

Captain Dongwen shook his head, but without a pause, he also heaved a sigh and added.

"...But it doesn't make a difference anymore."

Muda furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean?"

Without directly answering the question, the Captain said with implication.

"We, who were supposed to extinguish the flames, allowed the fire to burn in the hope that it would deal with those nuisances we couldn't handle ourselves. I should have realized that one day our own indecision would also become a nuisance."

Unable to hold back, Muda asked.

"So why did you do it?"

Captain Dongwen spoke calmly.

"Because there's only one chance. If we don't act decisively, the survivors of the Federation will never unite to pull down those deceitful figures from their altar. And once their Managers return and extract the weapons stored in the shelters, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will be lost."

"So what now? Are we more united?"

Muda gazed intently into his eyes. Seeing that he couldn't say a word, disappointment gradually filled his gaze.

"We, capable and bodied, are waiting for others to do our dirty work, and then someone else to clean up after us, just because you keep secrets from me, and I keep secrets from you."

Chewing over his words, he managed to force out the last with disappointment.

"...How do you expect me to continue believing in you?"

Captain Dongwen looked into the distance, unwilling to see those disappointed eyes, and gently straightened the officer's cap on his head.

"I told you this because I feel what we did is wrong. I don't expect you to continue believing in me... but please give me one more chance."

Muda could feel that those words weren't meant just for him, but rather for the survivors of Ring Island behind him.

The disappointment and mockery in his eyes gradually faded, and he asked seriously.

"What do you intend to do?"

"Make up for past mistakes."

Having said that, Captain Dongwen paused momentarily, took out a thumb-sized card from his chest, and handed it to the head of the Marine Patrol Team.

It was a storage card containing the recording of his conversation with Mr. Charles and another audio he recorded afterward.

It included some details that all members of the Federal Fleet more or less knew about but dared not to disclose openly.

He knew this alone couldn't convince everyone.

But he believed it could persuade at least some who felt like him.

Muda looked at him questioningly.

"What is this?"

Staring into his eyes, Captain Dongwen said solemnly.

"Take it to the port at Anle Island and give it to the person who's waiting there for me."

Looking at the storage card in his hand, Muda stayed silent for a moment before looking at him and asking.

"Why don't you go yourself?"

"I need to go to North Island."

His gaze fixed on the north, his look became more determined, and his voice lost any hint of hesitation.

At this moment, he resembled a true captain.

"There are cracks appearing in our ship's hull."

"Before the rift widens beyond repair, someone must step forward to correct the mistakes we've made!"

Chapter 720: Plans Can't Keep Up with Changes

North Island, Presidential Mansion.

The sky outside the window had already taken on a hint of dusk.

Mongo stood in front of his desk, not looking at the map on the wall but staring at the manifesto on his desk, no thicker than a finger.

Or more accurately, it was a codex.

Four months ago, they had pledged allegiance to Shelter No. 70, and now their loyalty lay with this codex that everyone had signed.

In fact, without this damned war, this wouldn't have been such a bad thing for the residents of Shelter No. 70.

They had lost the boundless authority inherited from their forebears, but they could also shed the infinite responsibility bestowed upon them by ancient oaths.

From now on, there would be no distinction between Blue Jacket and the average survivors, whether previous members of Shelter No. 70 or island residents, all would bear common obligations and responsibilities as citizens of the Federation.

No longer would anyone blame a Blue Jacket for poorly repaired roads if they stumbled on their way to work; the Blue Jackets no longer existed, and everyone had to take responsibility for their own path, each person had to carefully make choices for their future.

They should have done so earlier, having received the same education for a century. If there were any differences in knowledge and experience between the original residents of the shelter and those who had languished in the Wasteland for a century, the fourth or even fifth generation were essentially the same kind of people.

However—

Ideals and reality always differed.

He had envisioned a path full of difficulties but had never anticipated that a mere moment's oversight would plunge them into an irreversible abyss.

It truly was just a blink of an eye.

A perfect excuse for a war, allowing them as victims to stand on an unassailable moral high ground, skipping years of unresolved disputes in one leap. With this perfect opportunity, they could unite the conservative and radical factions, allowing the almost completed Federation to materialize "with a pop."

And he didn't need to do anything, just overlook for a couple of seconds when he should have been suspicious, letting the warmongering radicals fan the flames even more.

After all, the ocean current power plant had already been blown up, so why not use its remnants for something meaningful?

Let's just say it was done by Shelter No. 70.

After all, if it had been some hot-headed soldier or even an officer's foolish act, the survivors' enthusiasm for establishing a new authority would undoubtedly have been greatly diminished, rendering many people's efforts in vain.

Once the war ended, if the residents of Shelter No. 70 were willing to open their doors and cooperate with the investigation, it wouldn't be too late to exonerate them and settle accounts with the real culprits.

He admitted that was indeed what he had thought at the time.

And now…

He was filled with regret.

Footsteps came from the corridor outside the office, apparently not just one person.

Mongo shifted his gaze from the codex signed by countless individuals to the office doorway.

There stood his chief of staff, Charles, with two soldiers wearing silver-white exoskeletons following behind him.

"Mr. President, I heard you were looking for me?" Charles entered the office with a smile, showing no sign of remorse.

Mongo watched him intently and spoke after a moment.

"Do you have anything else you want to say?"

"I..."

As he stared into those upright eyes, Charles was momentarily at a loss for words, but soon burst into loud laughter.

"What do I have to say? I have nothing to say... This question should be mine to ask you, Mr. Mongo. Do you have anything else to say?"

Watching Charles laugh loudly, Mongo spoke calmly.

"You violated the declaration we both signed. You didn't just betray me; you betrayed everyone. From this day forward, I am relieving you of your post as the Chief of Staff of the Naval Command, and you are no longer my chief of staff—"

"Is that all you have to say?" Charles shrugged indifferently, "Isn't it a bit late for that?"

Mongo stared into his eyes.

"The fate of the survivors of the Southern Islands Federation should be decided by all the survivors, not just by Shelter No. 70 or by you and me."

Unflinchingly meeting the eyes of the president, Charles's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"You're too naive. This war has been going on for four months. If the citizens of the federation knew that it was all a farce from the beginning, our federation would crumble immediately! They would eject us from here the same way they invited us in."

A hint of sadness came over Mongo's eyes.

"Do you think that's naive?"

Charles's gaze gradually turned cold.

"Yes, I do think so, and I believe your naivety will lead us into an inescapable abyss. We have always been on the wasteland; some fools think that our wasteland days are over, but the fact is, we have never left this damn wasteland for a second! Never!"

"The other side of the sea is full of Hyenas who devour without spitting out the bones. If we all harbored naive thoughts like yours and tried to deal with them within the constraints we set for ourselves, they would gnaw us to nothing without leaving any residue! All of us would be devoured!"

His voice grew louder, and his facial muscles twisted, involuntarily adding a hint of hysterical madness to his roar.

However, he soon calmed down again, took a deep breath, and spoke slowly.

"The survivors in the southern sea area don't need a president; such things can wait until the Wasteland Era is over. At that time, if they want ten of me, I'll give them ten. At least for now, they need a stronger leader with foresight, capability, and a sense of responsibility to keep them moving forward... That's what I and those who support me believe."

As he spoke, a hint of disappointment flashed in Charles's eyes as he looked at his old friend who had once trusted him immensely.

"…Actually, you had a chance. If a few hours ago you hadn't summoned me but instead sent someone to shoot me, things wouldn't have escalated to this point."

"That would just lead us to another kind of hell, it's pointless…" Mongo shook his head, looking at his friend standing before him, his eyes suddenly pleading, "We've already made one mistake, there's no second chance... Stop this, my friend."

As the look of disappointment gradually faded, Charles, for some reason, felt not even a hint of interest in feeling disappointed but only a sense of ennui.

He had thought the guy would struggle a bit, but had only waited to hear a plea for mercy.

Such a pathetic fellow.

Perhaps Alzu was right.

With this group of sheep, there was no need for those roundabout methods; he just needed to be slightly tougher than them to lead them by the nose.

Finally, with a look of pity at the miserable middle-aged man, he took the pistol handed to him by a soldier next to him and efficiently chambered a round.

"It's too late; my supporters have entrusted everything to me. Praise their loyalty; I won this gambling game without a doubt, and I will continue to lead them onward until the end of the Wasteland Era."

"As for you, just take your declaration and regret it in hell."

"Goodbye."

...

"Bang—!"

A sudden gunshot shattered the quietude aboard the Glory, the flashing muzzle flash causing the corridor doors on both sides to emit a mournful hum.

Nearly twenty-seven sailors suddenly mutinied, capturing seven logistics personnel, and under the leadership of Captain Sari, swiftly took over the nearby cabins and gangways around the broadcast room and engaged in gunfire with the sailors who rushed over upon hearing the news.

Both sides occupied opposite ends of the corridor, using the rooms and doors on either side as cover to pour fire on each other; the entire corridor was filled with sparks and bullet shrieks.

"Stop! Are you... fucking crazy!? Ahhh—"

An executive officer, who was shot in the arm, collapsed in agony and was dragged back behind cover by a sailor at the corridor entrance.

Watching the whizzing bullets and flashing gunfires across the corridor, his widened eyes filled with disbelief.

Mutiny!

He had never imagined that such a thing would happen on his ship!

"It's you who's crazy! And the captain too!" shouted a man across the corridor, reloading his rifle's magazine, "Why don't you listen to Mr. Charles's orders!"

"Mr. Charles..."

The executive officer closed his eyes in pain, regretting his past trust as he desperately yelled at his former subordinates.

"What the hell did he promise you!"

Without hesitation,
the man roared back at him,

"A greater Federation!"

The chaotic gunshots drowned out his frantic roar, and as more sailors armed themselves, the mutinied sailors progressively weakened from their initial advantage.

Although Captain Sari had quickly taken over the broadcast room, the expected broadcast had yet to commence.

Instead, the sailors loyal to Captain Dongwen grew stronger under their executive officer's command and gradually regained control of the corridors.

Clearly, the captain had anticipated this, cutting off the broadcast room's power supply immediately after the incident started to prevent Captain Sari from inciting more sailors to join their mad plan.

The fight quickly neared its conclusion.

With two sailors guarding the hostages surrendering, the seven captured logistics personnel were rescued, and the area controlled by the rebels had shrunk from the initial entire rear cabin section to just a narrow corridor and a broadcast room.

Including the lead mutineer Captain Sari, only three rebels remained.

Seeing another rebel shot down, the executive officer, pressing his arm wound, shouted behind the cover.

"Surrender! You have no chance left! Accepting legal judgment is your only way out... if you confess your mistake, there might still be a chance to live!"

"And where's the hope for the Federation? Relying on you weaklings?" Captain Sari roared back, pressing his blood-gushing thigh and leaning against the metal door.

The executive officer stared at him.

"What hope? What are you talking about!"

"What am I talking about? Look at what you are doing!" Sari cursed angrily, "Taking the bodies of mutants to North Island? Do you want to tell the survivors there that our power station was blown up by a bunch of beasts wielding spears?"

The executive officer roared,

"I haven't investigated so I can't make assertions! But indeed, someone among us turned blind when they shouldn't have, most likely Mr. Charles and his accomplices... I too trusted that guy, but the truth is he deceived us all and even plotted to create more lies for his own gain! Wake up, how much longer you plan on hiding this from those survivors who trust us!"

"Hiding? Hahahaha! All they lost is the truth, and you won't see what they've gained! For a century, we've never been so united—"

Captain Sari's words were abruptly cut off.

A deafening roar suddenly erupted from beneath everyone's feet, flipping over everyone, whether they were standing or sitting.

"Crack—!"

The sound of steel breaking followed along the walls, then came the sound of water rushing furiously into the ship's breach.

The executive officer barely got up from the ground and his color changed instantly, feeling the tremors passing through the walls, his eyes full of panic.

The sailors behind him reacted similarly, stabilizing against the rocking of the ship, their eyes filled with fear.

Torpedoes!

Someone had fired torpedoes while they were plunged into chaos!

They were hit!

"Retreat quickly!" the executive officer shouted, pushing the soldiers behind him towards the direction of the gangway.

Meanwhile, desperate Captain Sari let go of his wounded left hand and, leaning against the wall, stood up with a grim smile.

"No one can judge me!"

Twisted with a crazy frown from blood loss,

He limped out of the broadcast room, pressing the gun's muzzle against his bloody chin.

Though regrettable that he couldn't take control of the Glory, such an outcome didn't disgrace his mission.

His inner mission.

"For the Federation!!"

His neck veins bulged as he yelled and pulled the trigger. Amidst a blaze of fire and a mist of blood, he was swallowed by the surging seawater...

On the bridge.

Watching the slowly capsizing ship amidst thick smoke, Dongwen, standing up slowly leaning on the console, wrote a trace of surprise on his firm face.

He had envisioned that there could be spies of Mr. Charles on his ship, since even he had once been a supporter of that gentleman.

He had even considered the possibility that the madman's supporters would go to any extent to stop him from returning to North Island with the evidence, even betraying their own oath under the Federation's flag to initiate a mutiny...

But what he hadn't expected was that the madman would order the Federation's fleet to fight each other to the death for victory...

Without a doubt, that was a friendly-fired torpedo.

Flames raged on the steel surface as surging waves, resembling boiling water, pulled the majestic hull towards the bottomless abyss.

When a systematic error occurred, it often wasn't because of one or two misguided decisions made by one or two individuals, but rather because the vast majority of people, while making decisions based on their perspectives, instinctively and accurately chose the worst option from the top, middle, and bottom choices.

For the same reason, when a systemic error had become a fact, one or two corrective actions became as insignificant as the errors themselves.

Such was the case with the ocean current power station.

Such was the fate of the sunken "Gold Coast."

This included other similarly close-to-truth freighters, research ships, and their crews, and even himself.

"…It seems Mr. Charles has come to his realization," removing his hat that he wore on his head, Dongwen placed it on the console of the bridge.

This path might be more twisted than he had envisioned.

Just as he braced himself to face the final moments of his life, a sonar communication signal suddenly came through.

The source of the signal seemed to be very close by.

Slightly stunned, Dongwen reached for the intercom switch on the console and put on the headset.

At the same moment, a noisy voice came through the headset.

"This is Dolphin… please respond…"

…

Ten kilometers away in the sea.

A submarine slowly surfaced, revealing its steep bridge.

Glancing at the distant rising smoke and the slowly sinking steel hull, the captain in the bridge calmly said,

"This is Cold Night, Glory has sunk, requesting further instructions."

A voice transmitted through the communication channel.

"Headquarters received, return to North Island on standby after completing the task."

The captain asked,

"Aren't we meeting at Anle Island Port?"

After a brief silence, a voice replied through the communication channel.

"The plan has changed… something unexpected happened there."

"Received."

After the communication ended, the captain, standing in front of the console, looked back at the somber-faced officers and issued the order to return.

The exposed bridge slowly submerged.

However, just then, the captain, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the sonar screen, furrowed his brow slightly.

Was it an illusion?

The area where the Glory destroyer sank, the active sonar's echo signal seemed to flicker.

The flicker was just a momentary event.

With a furrowed brow, the captain stared at the screen for a while longer, and upon seeing no new anomalies, he shifted his gaze away from the screen.

Perhaps it was just a scattering of debris reflecting back…

…

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

During peak login hours, the forum was as noisy as ever.

Especially the members of Jungle Corps, who had just logged out and rushed to the forum, chattering noisily.

"MMP! This NPC really f**king steals kills!!"

"Stealing kills is bearable, but playing taunting horns afterwards!"

"Exactly! It's so f**king annoying!"

"Consider yourselves lucky; at least you saw the creature. We didn't even catch a shadow of any monster and just wandered around the port before going back. (side-eye)"

"At least you made a brief appearance on the new map PV! We only got a glimpse of a crab's ass, couldn't see anything but the final explosion scene."

"No, we didn't appear either; we were wearing helmets and goggles."

"Hahaha damn!"

"It seems all the trouble was taken by Mosquito Brother. (funny)"

"Is it just me, or am I curious whether that Laken was tasty? (funny)"

"Uh… it was blown up by an NPC torpedo immediately, and I didn't pick up the body; should I give you the coordinates to check out?"

"I could go there… but by the time I arrive, even the bones might be gone. But that said, weren't you curious to taste it? (funny)"

"How could I taste it in that godforsaken place!?"

Today's big news was undoubtedly the success of the Southern sea area, with the Jungle Corps representing the Alliance and Potato Harbor making a friendly visit to Ring Island.

In a light and pleasant atmosphere, both parties issued joint friendly statements and promised to engage in closer cooperation in more areas.

The governor of Ring Island, Mr. Chaning, stated that the Alliance's citizens were welcome to visit and invest in the island beyond just conducting trade at the port.

To put it in more straightforward terms—

"Wasteland OL" has a new map!

Although the entire area of Ring Island is only thirty square kilometers, equivalent to four "Wick Islands," the local survivors have developed and utilized this space to the fullest over the past two centuries, just like the residents of Shelter No. 100 who lived their entire lives in a well.

Ring Island's highly dense industrial model and highly automated production methods have made even the most advanced factories in Giant Stone City admit defeat.

Of course, comparing productivity and production costs is a whole different matter. Currently, Dawn City's extensive industrial development is the fastest and cheapest, supporting at least two-fifths of the Alliance's total industrial output.

Both sides have a lot to learn from each other, whether in the field of engineering or sociology.

Especially since both societies were established jointly by refuge residents and Wanderers of the Wasteland, though their paths might differ, their development trajectories share many similarities.

During this process, there was a little incident where a group of "Little Fish" swam near the underwater pipeline, intending to cause some havoc.

Fortunately, two months ago when construction of the underwater pipeline commenced, the players at Potato Harbor were already on guard against threats from the Death Coast.

With just one round of bombing, fifty W-2/H seaplanes managed to take away all the aquatic variant humans that were driven to the surface.

After witnessing the powerful combat capabilities of the Alliance and their determination to maintain regional order, the governor of the Ring Island immediately bolstered their friendly declaration with a mutual defense agreement.

From then on, not only did the Ring Island lend its ports for the docking of military ships of the Alliance, but they also agreed to build an airport next to the island for the use of the Alliance's air force.

And all these achievements were not only due to the underwater freshwater pipeline but also partly due to the efforts of the Torch Church and the federal authorities.

After all, if it weren't for those guys causing so much trouble, the residents of the Ring Island wouldn't have trusted a group of newcomers who had been around for less than two months.

As for now, having used freshwater costing 0.8 silver coins per ton, the residents of the Ring Island can only describe the agreement they once doubted as "Truly Fragrant."

In a sense, like the Moon Clan people who fled to Potato Harbor, they have unwittingly molded themselves into the shape of the Alliance...

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Ah, seeing you guys make money pains me more than my own losses. T.T"

Lord Arrogant Brother: "No fun, no fun, crappy game, wait for two years still can't get an appointment, wait till I get in, and I'll blow you all up! (Angry)"

Quit Smoking: "What the heck, after two years, is Lord Arrogant Brother still getting New Year's money? (Surprised)"

Night Ten: "Brother Guang, just let him in. The red-name system has been out for so long, isn't it reasonable to test it? (Amused)"

No Family: "Don't do it, if I can't get the closed beta access, at least I can hang out on the forum, getting my account BANNED means I can't even access the forum anymore. (Amused)"

Midnight without a Knife: "Bro, why are you so familiar with this?"

No Family: "Cough... I heard it from someone."

Valley Fugitive Mole: "Strongly demanding Baiyue Corporation go public! Damn it, let this group keep snowballing, and they might buy the entire Alliance!"

Fang Chang: "You're exaggerating too much. Many of our operations are actually financed by loans from the League Central Bank. Do you think all operations can borrow money? But of course, if we could go public, I'd wholly support it with both hands. Despite us earning a lot, we also spend a lot. Going public would mean we wouldn't have to expand our business by increasing our debt ratio. (Wry smile)"

Edge Shoveling: "What the heck, aren't your operations big enough yet? How much more do you want to expand? (Stunned)"

Fang Chang: "We're just getting started. Not to mention the Jin Galun Harbor project, just focusing on the Southern Sea Area, our planned underwater freshwater transmission network has only one pipeline currently in operation, and Ring Island as the only customer. This single pipeline is far from sufficient to meet the fresh water needs for production and living of a million survivors; we need to build more."

Edge Shoveling: "How much money can just selling water make?"

Fang Chang: "Selling water alone won't make much money, but the trust we've established by 'helping locals solve their water issues' can bring us much more benefit. Especially since the locals are well-educated survivors, many of whom have knowledge and experience not inferior to the experts at Camp 101. They are particularly skilled in the 'Ocean Plot Transformation,' and these are exactly the talents we desperately need."

Edge Shoveling: "666!"

Spring Water Commander: "Good lord, you're pretty slick at this poaching. (Surprised)"

Fang Chang: "How can you call it poaching? Whose wall am I digging? They need fresh water, I give them fresh water; they need electricity, I give them electricity, I even provide overseas employment opportunities for their idle community members, and all it costs them is some stuff they temporarily can't use or is superfluous... I'd rather call it a reasonable redistribution of resources."

Night Ten: "Mother... the Survivor's Daily should hire you as their editor."

Edge Shoveling: "66666!"

Debt Giant Eye: "MMP, other corps commanders make their brothers rich, our commander just holds a 6."

Construction Site Youth and Brick: "Exactly! Our commander sucks!"

Edge Shoveling: "??? WTF, I invested some money and I hold a 6, so what?"

Debt Giant Eye: "?? When the hell did you secretly invest?"

Old White: "I got Edge Brother to invest with me, it was two months ago. (grinning)"

Debt Giant Eye: "??? WTF!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Speaking of which, the governor of Ring Island even agreed to build an 800-meter runway next to the island, so that our air force brothers can land there. That's one of the benefits brought by that pipeline. (grinning)"

Are Mosquitoes Real: "After all, the water and electricity will depend on us from now on, borrowing the runway to park a plane seems fair. (grinning sideways)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Isn't 800 meters too short?"

Are Mosquitoes Real: "Not short, 300-400 meters is enough for a W-2. By the way, I heard that a new model is about to be released, you guys can look forward to it. (funny)"

Fang Chang: "Anyway, since the infrastructure is working well, we should continue to focus on it in the next phase. As long as we connect most or all of the thirteen islands of the Federation to the freshwater and electricity supply network starting from Potato Harbor, we can gain control of the region through indirect economic means even without deploying troops."

Old White: "Like Silver Moon Bay?"

Fang Chang: "Pretty much."

Although the Camel Hump Kingdom had asked the Alliance to deploy troops to Silver Moon Bay because of the frequent irrational acts of the West Winds Empire, and had even offered to cover all costs, this matter was still pending.

The Alliance was recently restructuring its military system, abolishing the fight formation of the ten-thousand troops and restoring the brigade organization from the Human Alliance Era.

Of course, this mainly involved the NPC Legion. Players' corps could still call their squad leaders BOSS or boss as they preferred.

Meanwhile, as Fang Chang was baiting forum friends with the promising future of the Southern sea area and coaxing them to attack towers, convinced Ah Guang to open the first stock exchange—oh, no, the first casino—in River Valley Province.

If you consider that the Southern sea area is right next to the Torch Church, it truly is a place with limitless investment potential, and all of Baiyue Corporation's businesses are certainly low-risk and high-reward.

However, just as he was reaching a crucial point in his sales pitch, a certain shareholder from Baiyue Corporation suddenly burst in.

Tail: "Shocking! Breaking news! Σ(°Д°;)っ"

Quit Smoking: "What's up?"

Falling Feather: "??"

Tail: "Potato Harbor's neighbor! They're fighting! (✪ω✪)"

Old White: "…?"

Fang Chang: "???"

Night Ten: "Well, well, Ah Guang flipped the table. (funny)"

In less than a minute...

The entire forum erupted!

Chapter 721: The Disintegrating Federation

North Island.

As the capital of the Federation, it was the largest and most prosperous island in the southern sea area.

Although the population living here was just over ninety thousand, it was home to the Federation's largest heavy industry base and its shipyard.

Including the Glorious Number Destroyer Ship that had sunk into the sea, nine out of the thirteen vessels of the Federation were built here, while the remaining four submarines were respectively at the submarine factories in Anle Island and Coral City.

After the armed forces had taken control of the Presidential Mansion and Navy Headquarters, Charles declared himself as the new president with the support of the Federation Marine Corps and made his inaugural speech through a broadcast.

"...I tell you this with a heavy heart, our president has committed an unforgivable crime of treason."

"At a time when our fleet has gained absolute superiority and is about to achieve the ultimate victory, he actually planned to overturn the crimes committed by our enemies! He attempted to use fabricated evidence to destroy the unity we had finally formed."

"I will never allow such a thing to happen, even if that person was once the most respected by me."

"Hunger, disease, forced labor, suppression of dissent... as long as you wear that Blue Jacket, everything is legal. Go ask your fathers and grandfathers; they will tell you what those hermit crabs used to be like! Go ask them who it was that built the man-made island fifty years into the Wasteland Era!"

"They were just lucky enough to be born in a refuge. The Era of Prosperity became theirs, and everything built with the tools of the Prosperity Epoch became their patent. And we survivors who have endured hardships generation after generation, who have stood up from ruins, have become monkeys that need educating."

"It's as if we appeared out of nowhere, as if we're eating theirs, using theirs, living in the settlements they built just because our forefathers weren't great enough, because our forefathers didn't live for a second in that Era of Prosperity! Ask the old immortals in your homes if this is the case!"

"What we need to settle accounts with has never been just an ocean current power station, but all of the past century! They think that power station is their achievement, that only they are the descendants of the United Human, that only they deserve to inherit the legacy of the United Human. Our contributions and our opinions are as insignificant as our sweat and blood; we are merely their beasts of burden in rebuilding their Utopia. Let them take their arrogance and roll back underground! That Utopia never had our names in it!"

That impassioned language echoed in the square in front of the Presidential Mansion, in the shipyards, also resonated in the barracks, and in the settlements of North Island...

People stopped their work and gathered in front of the broadcasts, hatred and rage slowly igniting on their silent faces.

Charles had not prepared a speech, and he didn't need that thing at all; giving a speech seemed to be an innate ability for him.

Moreover, he was one of the few people who drafted the declaration, and it wouldn't be an overstatement to call him a founding father of the Federation, especially with his strong influence among the military.

President Mongo, though the commander of the Federal Navy, only held that position by virtue of the declaration or, so to say, the constitution, not because the soldiers genuinely supported him for that role.

As a man, the president's character and way of life were almost to the point of "obsolete" bureaucratism, or so he and the officers thought.

As a member of the Conservative faction, he might have the support of the majority of the survivors and the establishment, but his popularity in the military could not compare to Charles.

And indeed, the man had done something foolish.

But it wasn't turning a blind eye to the ocean current power station, nor was it appointing himself as the chief of staff; it was his attempt at political speculation to merge two factions that had never reached an agreement.

The Conservative faction and the Radical Faction indeed both needed a Federation, but their motivations were entirely different. The former sought equality of identity and political rights, while the latter sought liberation from the "ghosts" of the Era of Prosperity.

Those sitting on the big ships and artillery never said they needed an orderly president, their ambitions were not limited to just a Federation, let alone being a wall of a Federation.

This issue could have been resolved through negotiations and mutual compromises, but one military and political gamble had put all disputes on hold.

This unjust-born Federation was like a clump of sand held in hand, never truly a stone, nor given enough time to become one.

The moment the holding hand loosened, it would disperse back to its original form.

Of course, Charles admitted that he had also done a foolish thing, that was lying so much that he started to believe his own lies.

When signing that declaration, he should have clearly understood that he was just an opportunist, with no chance for a slow approach.

Once the war had ended, Mister President reopened his eyes that had once been shut and resumed the investigation into the sinking of the ocean current power station.

One who had aided the Torch Church to deceive the heavens was sure to be liquidated. And all the officers involved would face the same fate.

The new authorities would surely do so, for only by liquidating the real culprits could those fellows cut ties with the past and then take the hand of the residents of Shelter No.70 into a new era.

As for oneself and one's supporters, no one would thank them for their contributions to the unity of the Federation. They could only spend the second half of their lives facing prison bars.

But it was also for this reason that those people who were directly or indirectly involved in the sinking of the ocean current power station were natural allies!

They had to choose oneself.

And could only choose oneself!

Only if one won could the correct memory be shaped, and could they avoid becoming fools who lift a stone only to drop it on their own feet!

Looking at the pairs of eyes lit up beneath the speech platform, Charles announced the final outcome with a calm and solemn tone.

"… President Mongo has refused to accept legal judgment, not only resisting stubbornly but also attempting to launch a coup. Now he has been killed by our soldiers."

"Decrees signed by criminals are no longer valid, the new Cabinet will draft a new code of law, and I will now serve as the acting President."

"Until we achieve ultimate victory!"

...

Anle Island.

This picturesque island, inhabited by just over fifty thousand people, houses the largest naval logistics base within the Federation's territory.

Half of the island's residents are active service personnel of the Federal Navy and their families, or at the very least, people associated with naval logistics work.

Of course, there are also some refugees from Coral City.

The very first shipyard in the Southern sea area was also situated here, and the first batch of transport ships and seabed mining vessels all set sail from here.

If Ring Island is considered the first man-made island completed by the survivors of the Southern sea area, then this natural island was where the flames of industry were first ignited, even before the gates of Shelter No.70 were opened. It was the parts produced on this island that led to the underwater marvel of Coral City and the later industrial center and large shipyards on North Island.

However, at this moment, the island that had first ignited the fire of industry was covered by another invisible burning flame.

First came the will of Captain Dongwen, followed by the news of the sinking of The Glorious Number Destroyer Ship, and then the inaugural speech full of lies from Chief of Staff Charles.

A series of shocking events connected together, igniting the anger of soldiers and officers within the base.

In fact, until the duty soldiers on the dock received Captain Dongwen's last words from the Marine Patrol Team, many on the naval base were still supporters of Charles, even excusing his actions with "this is for the unity of the Federation."

But when the unthinkable news of "Glory's incident due to mutiny on board" came, there were not many people left willing to believe the lies coming out of that guy's mouth.

Everyone was certain the guy had gone mad; for his own selfish desires, he did not hesitate to have the Federal Fleet slaughter each other.

And those who followed him were mad too, the officers loyal to the constitution immediately took action, throwing Charles' cronies and partisans into prison.

These people wouldn't be released from the black house until it was confirmed that they wouldn't make foolish moves with Charles or deeply reviewed their past statements and actions.

While Charles was giving his inaugural speech, General Li Minghui, who was being pushed forward as the Federal Vice President and Deputy Commander of the Federal Navy as well as the highest commander of the Anle Island Naval Base, was also making a public speech over the military broadcast of Anle Island.

"...Just now, we have all witnessed the darkest, most shameful page in the history of the Federation. In a despicable act of betrayal, we have not only lost the Glory and the two hundred brave young soldiers aboard, lost our President, but also our jointly signed declaration and the little dignity we had managed to maintain for less than four months."

"Charles has tried to lead our Federation into an abyss with lies; this war is no longer a war, but a tool for him to seize power and eliminate dissidents. Now, the 'Laken' in human skin has finally revealed his greedy appetite and canine teeth as he attempts to drag us into the bottomless pit."

"We will never compromise with the beast, nor will we accept a peace maintained by lies. What we need is true unity!"

"Effective today, Anle Island will no longer recognize the legitimacy of the North Island authorities! We also call on survivors from other islands to unite and fight alongside us! For our future! For all the survivors living in these waters!"

At the end of his speech, he announced the establishment of the Anle Island authorities, assuming the role of the acting President and the commander of the Federal Navy, and declared war on the rebels of North Island in the name of the constitution.

Compared to Charles's inaugural address, General Li Minghui's speech was undoubtedly more hurried, and the momentum was somewhat lacking.

Although legally, he was the first in line for the acting presidency, it was unfortunate that Charles had become the actual ruler of North Island.

Although he still bore the title of President, the authority he wielded in his hands had far exceeded the powers granted to him by the code of law. The reason he managed to do this was undoubtedly because he had the support of North Island officers—at least some of them!

Even if he didn't want to face his former comrades, Li Minghui had to make the most practical choice at the moment—declare the North Island authorities illegal in the name of the code of law and establish a new authority on Anle Island.

He didn't want to do this.

But he had no other choice.

If he surrendered to Charles, that man would definitely purge him, the deputy president in law, by fabricating some charges against him.

Just like how that man ruthlessly eliminated President Mongo and Captain Dongwen without choosing means...

...

Muda, who had witnessed the entire coup, never expected that the storage card he brought to Anle Island would stir up such a huge storm, to the extent of splitting the entire Federation.

What was even more unexpected was that he himself inexplicably became a member of the military government council of Anle Island that was drafting the new declaration.

In the Federation, he belonged to those close with Shelter No.70 and was marginalized in the Federation authorities.

After all, it was Manager Sun Yuechi who separated the Marine Patrol Team from the Federal Navy and put it under the command of the Ministry of Finance, which belonged to the Cabinet.

This to some extent delayed the onset of the crisis, but it also labeled the Marine Patrol Team with the political tag of the "Shelter faction."

But obviously, the Anle Island authorities had no time to worry about these matters now.

The military pressure from North Island was the most pressing issue they needed to solve.

Even if it was just a few speedboats and minelaying boats, they had to make every effort to win them over...

At the Anle Island Naval Base, in the operations meeting room, a meeting concerning the fate of the Federation's future was underway in a tense atmosphere.

Muda was called in halfway through the meeting, so when he entered, the seats around the conference table were nearly full.

An intense and oppressive atmosphere hit him in the face.

He took a glance at the people sitting in front of the conference table, sat down at an empty spot, lowered his voice, and quietly asked the logistics director next to him.

"How many people have responded to our broadcast?"

The logistics director's face looked grim as he whispered back.

"Only four governors."

Muda was stunned, not expecting their call to those on the side of the law to have such weak appeal. He couldn't help but ask further.

"What about the fleet?"

"We have one cruiser, two destroyers, three submarines... If we don't consider retrofitting some civilian vessels, that's all for now."

"...And them?"

"One battleship, one cruiser, three destroyers, and one attack submarine." Seemingly feeling the situation was too disadvantageous, the logistics director tried to save face with an afterthought, "But the submarine manufacturing plant is on our side; we are not completely without advantages."

Hearing the two's conversation, another officer sitting beside them coughed softly and interjected in a lowered voice.

"Yes, we are not without advantages, but the little advantage we do have is inconsequential compared to our disadvantages. Without the reactor manufacturing plant in Coral City, we can't produce fusion-powered submarines with better silent running capabilities, and conventional submarines are difficult to use effectively in real combat... Moreover, the Federation's largest shipyard and ammunition factory are all in Charles's hands."

Muda involuntarily swallowed.

"...Difficult."

The officer sighed.

"Indeed."

The most significant industrial base and shipyard were in the North, with the Northern Islands having enough people, technology, and the industrial capacity to turn technology into war machines.

The longer time dragged on, the more disadvantageous it was for the Anle Island authorities.

And even if they launched an attack now in haste, relying on Anle Island's one cruiser, two destroyers, and three submarines to defeat North Island's fleet led by a battleship flagship, was nearly impossible.

Not to mention, they still had Charles's supporters within, and while some had been sent to jail, replacing their positions with new people would also take time.

Of course, the situation in North Island was the same; just as there were people who supported Charles, there must also be those who supported the declaration and the elected president.

Both North Island and Anle Island were enduring the throes of chaos at the moment.

Whoever first settled their internal turmoil and eliminated their opponents would become the new master of these seas.

"What about Ring Island? Any new messages?" Commander Li Minghui tapped ash off his cigarette into the ashtray and looked toward his adjutant after a moment of thought.

Ring Island was located in the westernmost part of the southern sea area, near Baiyue Strait, and was positioned right behind the four islands under Anle Island's authority; it was also the most populated island in the Federation.

If that settlement leaned toward Charles, the consequences would be dire.

For that reason, they had to do everything in their power to win it over to Anle Island's side.

The adjutant shook his head.

"The governor there is an opportunist, or, in other words, a fence-sitter. He indicated in his response that he did not want to pick sides... I even get the feeling that he might want to secede from the Federation and join the Alliance."

The commander furrowed his brows.

"Troublesome."

The adjutant also sighed and nodded slightly.

"Yes."

A silence fell over the conference table.

Just then, suddenly, an officer spoke up.

"Why don't we draw the Alliance into our team?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the conference table erupted into a commotion, and more than half of those present cast surprised glances at the man.

Including Muda, who had long accepted the Alliance's money.

The aide sitting next to the commander frowned slightly and couldn't help asking a question.

"Is this appropriate?"

The land forces of the Alliance were indeed formidable, but they were ultimately too far away, and their naval strength was almost nonexistent.

Even if those people had some small planes, he really didn't know how to evaluate them; he could only say that they truly were not afraid of dying, daring to ride any oddly shaped vehicle.

And even without considering the strength of this potential ally, the introduction of outside forces into the affairs of the Southern Sea Area was cause for concern.

Facing the skepticism of the crowd, the officer who made the proposal continued earnestly,

"We have no other choice. This is the only way to win, and while we hesitate, the federal traitors have already made use of Torch's strength. If we continue to waver, we will only sink to the bottom of the sea with our principles in our arms."

Murmurs spread across the conference table.

Indeed.

Most of those seated there knew a little about the inside story of the destruction of the ocean current power station. If it had been speculation before, then the recording left by Captain Dongwen had almost proven the collusion between the Charles authority and the Torch Church.

It was the fleet stationed in North Island's tacit approval that allowed the mutants to pass through the northern patrol zones of the Federation and penetrate its heartland.

At this time, a destroyer captain said slowly,

"Actually, it's not entirely unfeasible. The Alliance's reputation in Silver Moon Bay seems quite good. They have previously supported the countries of Luo Xia Province in their wars against the Army and its Servant Countries, and after that, they did not take the opportunity to annex those kingdoms."

Another submarine captain objected,

"What about Jinjaron Harbor?"

The destroyer captain continued,

"They established a new authority there made up of local survivors. Although this is unacceptable from the perspective of the Imperial Royal Family, the Empire struck first... Moreover, I always feel that their appearance in Baiyue Strait alongside the mutants is not a coincidence."

Another officer not far from him rubbed his chin with his finger, pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement,

"That makes sense. Those people even allow the feudal kingdoms of Luo Xia Province to continue existing, as long as the local royals abolish slavery and achieve legal equality between people... And on this point, we are far ahead of those feudal lords; they have no reason to meddle in our affairs."

The submarine captain who had raised initial objections hesitated for a moment, yet could not think of any counterarguments, and finally nodded.

"That's also true..."

As the discussion box opened, everyone began to talk at once, and the heavy atmosphere around the conference table dispersed somewhat.

Seeking help from the Alliance was indeed a potential solution, one more reliable than the madmen from Haiya Province.

Moreover, it was said that the Alliance and Torch were archenemies.

Even for their own strategic needs, those people indeed had a reason to get involved in the situation in the Southern Sea Area.

"They differ from the residents of Shelter No. 70; at least they dared to settle in Baiyue Province where the hermit crabs of Shelter No. 70 feared to tread, and those guys had just emerged from underwater and were already thinking of occupying others' nests."

"I agree; this war is no longer just our war; Torch has been involved from the start! If Captain Dongwen's last words are accurate, then the real culprit behind the destruction of the ocean current power station is undoubtedly Torch!"

"I agree too. The situation at the ocean current power station still needs investigation, but the presence of mutant corpses on the north side of Ring Island is irrefutable!"

"cough... I suggest not using the term 'hermit crab'; we should try to win over the residents of Shelter No. 70 who are victims as well."

"What does it matter? The Blue Jackets from Potato Harbor even call themselves Blue Ground Squirrels, I remember that's a nickname given by the Weilante people."

"You said it yourself, they are residents from different shelters; they think differently... It's still better to be cautious."

The conference table was abuzz with discussion, but Muda, who was sitting in a corner of the conference table, realized that he couldn't get a word in.

The Federal Patrol Team only had a dozen or so ultra-long-range speedboats at most, and the best they could do was help lay mines.

It was then that something dawned on him; he looked at the logistics director sitting alongside him and nudged his elbow.

"May I ask a question?"

The man nodded.

"Of course."

After a pause, he voiced the question that had been weighing on his mind for quite a while.

"... Does this count as a civil war?"

The logistics director was slightly stunned and looked at the captain intriguingly as if wondering why he would ask such a question.

Especially in such a place.

Looking around at his comrades who were fervently discussing around the conference table, he turned back to the patrol team captain.

"Is there another term for it?"

Having received an affirmative response, Muda nodded and said no more; the weight in his heart finally settled.

He wasn't surprised that things had come to this and even had an inkling two months ago that if things continued as they were, something big was bound to happen.

Yet, when the moment truly arrived, he couldn't help but feel a surge of melancholy.

Civil war...

He didn't expect that in just four short months, the once incredibly unified group would shatter into three...

...

Dark clouds massed above North Island and Anle Island, while the open sea below basked in the calm of the setting sun.

In the rest area of the Dolphin Nuclear Submarine.

Watching Captain Chen Jianhong approaching, Dongwen, now changed into a fresh set of clothes, wore a look that was half gratitude and half shame.

Thankfulness need not be mentioned, as this nuclear-powered cargo submarine saved two hundred sailors from the destroyer, including himself.

As for shame, this was the first time he had come face-to-face with their "enemy" in the four months since the war began...

His lips moved for a moment, and he nodded slightly as he said,

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Would you like a cup?"

Holding a mug in each hand, Chen Jianhong didn't wait for a reply and thrust one cup into his hands before sitting down on the bench beside him.

"Champion brand coffee beans. I personally like to add a little sugar and milk. I don't know if it suits your taste, but give it a try."

A faint scent of milk entered his nostrils, mixed with a hint of the bitterness of the coffee beans.

The warmth that came through the cup walls dispelled the cold brought by the seawater. Captain Dongwen sat silently beside Captain Chen and absentmindedly uttered,

"Good stuff... where did you get this?"

Chen Jianhong grinned and took a sip before speaking slowly,

"I didn't get it, my new employer did."

"The Alliance?"

"Yeah, they found a Black Box in Shelter No. 79 and synthesized this treasure, then took it to the Camel Hump Kingdom and commissioned local plantations to grow it... It seems that these coffee beans need to be cultivated in a high-altitude environment, and the altitude of the Zobar Mountains is just right."

"They sure know how to enjoy themselves." Captain Dongwen also took a slow sip, but the bitterness made him unconsciously tighten his cheek muscles and eyebrows.

Seeing his unaccustomed look, Chen Jianhong laughed and said,

"That's right, I've picked up some of their habits. But I believe that isn't a bad thing."

Looking at the silent Captain Dongwen, Chen Jianhong moved his gaze from the frowning face and looked straight ahead, before slowly opening his mouth to speak,

"Actually, these days, after understanding the situations of other refuges, I've seriously thought about what makes us different."

Captain Dongwen lifted his head.

"And have you figured it out?"

"Sort of..." Chen Jianhong shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "I've realized that maybe you're right, we really aren't different."

Captain Dongwen looked at him in surprise. The latter paused for a moment before continuing,

"My great-grandfather lay in a Sleep Cabin for a hundred years, but my great-grandmother was a resident of the island. If my grandfather still carried the imprint of a Blue Jacket, by my father's generation, there wasn't much left. Even my education was completed in Coral City, and many of the Federation's engineers were also there, even using the same textbooks as me."

Captain Dongwen watched him.

"Then where does the problem lie?"

Chen Jianhong considered it and said,

"Perhaps... the problem lies with the Managers."

Surprise crossed Captain Dongwen's face.

"Are you referring to Mr. Sun Yuechi?"

"Sun Yuechi?" Chen Jianhong was taken aback, then laughed and waved his hand, "You're mistaken, it's not that guy's issue. I used to look down on him, but after chatting with him in the City of Dawn, I found that he's actually a man full of ideas, and he's working hard to patch up the coat that's been worn by us for a century. It's just that the power of one person is too insignificant in the face of the greater trend."

Captain Dongwen looked puzzled at him.

"Is there someone else then?"

Chen Jianhong shrugged his shoulders.

"It's just my personal opinion, perhaps... the problem lies in the profession of Managers themselves. To be honest, our Managers were originally just the Managers of Shelter No. 70. It's fine for us to select our next Manager in our own way, but the key is that after the doors were opened... our Managers needed to manage not only the refuge but also thirteen islands and an underwater settlement."

Captain Dongwen hesitated slightly.

"Is that a problem?"

Chen Jianhong shook his head.

"It's not a problem, initially there wasn't any issue at all. For example, Giant Stone City, they did well before the Black Card deteriorated. Singular Point City also did well at first but went a bit off track after losing the help of the War Construction Committee. Even the Empire I passed by not long ago, whether General Lowell and the survivors at the time were serious enough, accepting hundreds of millions of refugees in an area of three hundred square kilometers was indeed not a human task... Of course, we are the same, even up to four months ago we did well, and we can't deny all the past two centuries just because of these four months of chaos."

Captain Dongwen remained silent, just quietly looking at him, waiting for his next words.

Chen Jianhong paused for a while and sighed before saying,

"Perhaps only the original Manager was enough... If we don't pass down the tailor's work generation after generation, once that person departs, we can engrave his name on the door of the same refuge that should have passed away, thanking him and the Era of Prosperity for the blessings bestowed upon us, commemorating his birth and departure, and together hand in hand discussing how we should walk the path of the future."

At this point, he looked at Captain Dongwen and grinned.

"Look, at least this way we at least have one common tradition, no need to keep celebrating the endless holidays of the Era of Prosperity. I never thought about how wonderful the Era of Prosperity was. You all think the Blue Jackets know what that place looks like, but to be honest, I've never really looked there, it's not bad to start everything from the ground beneath our feet."

Resting the back of his head against the wall, Captain Dongwen closed his eyes and exhaled.

"Perhaps."

He found that he didn't hate those Blue Jackets so much after all.

Perhaps his ancestors were once residents of the refuge, or nearly became one of the lucky few who entered the refuge.

What led them to their current state?

Perhaps he really should give it some thought.

But...

That wasn't the thing to do right now.

Drinking the last of his coffee in one gulp, he looked at Chen Jianhong and asked,

"What about now? What do you plan to do?"

His question had just fallen when, without waiting for the Dolphin's captain to answer, a calm and clear voice came from beside them.

"We plan to head straight to Shelter No. 70 while the Federal Fleet is mired in chaos."

"There is no better opportunity than now."

Chapter 722: Turns out I was the one who flipped the table

"Oh, it's me flipping the table again, nice..."

Shelter No. 404, Floor B4 Viewing Room.

After finishing a day's work, Chu Guang reclined on the sofa, scrolling through the posts on the forum, only to find himself caught between laughter and tears—

"Whoa! Pass it on! Fang Chang is making money too fast and got penalized by the big boss planner!"

"Hahaha! Divine justice from above!"

"Wait, Ah Wei, aren't you a shareholder too?"

"!! Giao!"

"I'd like to call it... efficient resource allocation! (wry smile)"

"Brothers of the Death Legion! Give Brother Edge a round of 666!"

"??? What's that got to do with me!"

"It doesn't matter! Seeing you lose money is more satisfying than me making money!"

"Damn! Is it that real?"

"..."

Having two identities did indeed have a lot of benefits for him, especially the planner identity, which gave him boundless power outside the game rules.

However, it wasn't all good. Few people realized that with infinite power came equally infinite responsibility.

Therefore, apart from rational analysis, there was always another type of humorous commentary on the forum. For instance, the collapse of the great buildings of Giant Stone City was actually his doing, the human disaster in Poluo Province was orchestrated by him, and he was even accused of instigating the Federation's civil war.

If one were to continue with that logic, not only would the "Three-Year War" be attributed to him, but even Mount Bu Zhou might have been bumped by him.

Sitting atop the pen holder, Xiao Qi giggled with its hand on its stomach. Chu Guang couldn't help but flick its forehead with his index finger.

After letting out a weird cry, it fell back into the penholder, only to soon cling to the edge with both hands, looking pitifully at him.

"Wuu wuu..."

"Alright, quit the pathetic act, go do something for me,"

Knowing that the critter didn't really feel pain, Chu Guang ignored its antics and, after pondering for a moment, continued to speak.

"…Send a message through the official website's task system to the players who got temporary access to Shelter No. 70, telling them they can now start heading to Shelter No. 70."

Although it felt a bit dejected for failing to garner any sympathy, Xiao Qi obediently executed the task Chu Guang assigned.

The entrance to Shelter No. 70 had always been blocked by the Federal Fleet; even a nuclear-powered submarine would find it hard to sneak past under close surveillance.

Those thirteen ships were bona fide warships, possibly fitted with weapons adapted from those on starships, significantly different from the so-called "warships" of the West Winds Empire that could peck at merchant vessels for hundreds of rounds.

If deflection shields were the "shields" of starships, then it was quite likely that those warships were equipped with the "spears" of starships.

The opening of Shelter No. 70 was timed at the year 100 of the Wasteland Era, by which time the Post-War Reconstruction Committee had already split nearly fifty years ago.

Considering the steady exchange of information between Shelter No. 70 and Shelter No.117, they would surely be aware of the army's situation.

In other words, the initial purpose of the Federal Fleet's construction might not have been to counter the Wasteland's Looters but to combat an imagined enemy in the form of the Army, which controlled a massive number of starship cores.

Both sides possessed powers the other hadn't come into contact with.

And for this very reason, both Chu Guang himself and the players active in the area maintained the necessary caution when making contact with the islands in the southern sea area.

Xiao Qi's pupils flashed with a stream of data, and after a moment, it looked up to say.

"They're already on their way."

"They're already on their way?"

Chu Guang glanced at the holographic screen in surprise, noting the IDs which were still chattering away.

Sure enough.

The self-aware players are increasingly numerous.

That saves him the trouble of worrying about these trivial matters.

...

The setting sun sank into the sea, its shimmering light gradually receding with the twilight, while darkness began to engulf the tumultuous sea area.

On the sandy beach of Death Coast at the frontier of Haiya Province, an old man cloaked in a gray robe stood quietly, allowing the sea breeze to whip his cloak into a loud flutter.

As he gazed at the waves bidding farewell to dusk, a trace of excitement and joy slowly crept onto Alzu's face, lined with deep grooves.

Even though he knew he should restrain human emotions, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha..."

Success!

All their planning in the southern sea area had not been in vain.

Having been pushed into a corner, their vacillating ally had finally realized what cards they truly held in their hand.

Once the southern sea area was fully under the influence of the Torch, they would be able to open up an even broader strategic space to the south!

Even to the extent of letting the Torch's Heaven envelope the entire ocean!

He didn't have to wait too long; soon, a faint signal came from afar.

This time, Alzu did not ignore it, but gladly allowed the signal to connect with his ocean of consciousness.

As he watched Charles's figure emerge before him, he smiled and nodded.

"Congratulations, Mr. Charles."

Charles looked at him expressionlessly.

"It seems you're already aware."

Alzu spoke in a pleased tone.

"Of course. Since there are your supporters on North Island, as well as those who support your declaration, naturally, we have our followers there too. Even your smooth ascent to the presidency has not been without our support and operation."

Charles snorted noncommittally to this ambiguous statement and continued tersely,

"We've run into a bit of trouble."

Alzu spoke softly.

"Anle Island, right?"

Charles nodded, his expression grave as he continued,

"That's right. Shortly after we made our move, the vice president also delivered an inaugural speech and established a new authority. We were fast enough, but they were not slow either. Aside from the neutral governors of Ring Island and Shazhou Island, that Li Minghui still managed to rally four governors."

"But the Battleship 'Haiya' is in your hands," Alzu whispered. "I've heard its main cannon was stripped from a starship."

Charles patiently said, "Yes, but that doesn't mean it's invincible, especially if threats come from beneath the sea. The current trouble is that Coral City and Shelter No. 70 are closer to Anle Island than North Island. If they manage to take control there—"

"Don't worry about that. Our people can breathe underwater, so they'll stand no chance. You just focus on dealing with Anle Island's fleet. Leave the battleground beneath the sea to us," Alzu cut him off before he could finish.

Charles paused, quickly realizing what the other had taken advantage of while the Southern Islands Federation was in turmoil, his brows slowly furrowing.

"You... "

Alzu continued nonchalantly.

"You promised to lend us the scientific research facilities of Coral City, and now we are merely cashing in the check ahead of time. Or are you playing us?"

"I did promise, but I never said mutants would appear there."

Charles narrowed his eyes at him, his tone carrying a warning, "Listen, your people had better not do anything stupid nearby. I'm not joking. Forcing entry without power will only destroy the place!"

Alzu chuckled softly and said,

"Don't get worked up, I didn't let those scale-covered beasts in, nor do I want that place turned into ruins. They are only standing guard in your stead for a while—"

However, just at that moment, as he was speaking, he suddenly stopped, and the confident expression on his face involuntarily stiffened.

Noticing the change in his expression, Charles vaguely sensed something was amiss and hastily asked,

"What's happened?"

"Nothing…"

Alzu muttered with a flickering gaze, and before Charles could pursue the matter, Alzu hastily waved a finger and ended the communication.

Almost simultaneously with the end of the communication, his wrinkled face twisted, and his withered hand supported his forehead as he cursed at the reef rocks on the beach.

"... good-for-nothing incompetents, more trouble than they're worth!"

...

In the deep and gloomy sea, an imposing nuclear fusion-powered submarine was silently progressing along the edge of a seaweed forest, close to the jagged rocks.

It had been a full two hours since the crew of the Dolphin had fished out Dongwen and the rest of the Glory's crew, and they had traveled from the southwestern part of the southern sea area to a region slightly to the south of the center.

Inside the bridge of the submarine, Chen Jianhong put down the coffee cup in his hand, squinted his eyes with a smile as he gazed out the porthole into the pitch-black sea.

"We're almost there."

This stretch of water, located between Anle Island and Coral City, was one of the routes he sailed most frequently.

It was no exaggeration to say that he could navigate the submarine to the doorstep of Shelter No. 70 with his eyes closed.

Recently reconnected online, Si Si eagerly peered outside, making a gesture of looking into the distance.

"Wow, it's huge—Damn it, why can't Si Si see anything!"

Meat Meat, squatting by his side, covered her mouth and giggled twice, not forgetting to tease him.

"Maybe because it's only visible to smart people, and a dummy like you can't see it."

Hearing this, Si Si turned his eyes quickly towards Meat Meat and said with a mischievous smile,

"Heh heh, then how about Meat Meat tells us what the settlement looks like?"

"Uh—" Caught in her own trap, Meat Meat hesitated for a moment but then cleverly said, "How would I know, I'm just a bear."

Si Si looked at Meat Meat in surprise.

"...Well, I'll be, Meat Meat got smart."

Unable to help herself, Meat Meat rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't dumb before, you know!"

Watching the noisy pair, one human and one bear, the nearby Sesame Paste couldn't help but smile, and even the corners of Si Si's mouth curled into a faint grin.

Although he didn't understand the conversation, Chen Jianhong noticed the short-haired girl looking outside and immediately guessed what was on her mind. He gestured to a crew member sitting nearby, signaling him to turn on the main searchlight at the bow of the submarine.

A dazzling beam of light shot out, illuminating the dark area of sea nearby and also scattering the fish and crabs lurking beneath the rocks.

As the beam of light swayed, a huge underwater settlement soon came into view for everyone, causing Ah Wei, Meat Meat, and a dozen strength type creatures from the Jungle Corps to involuntarily widen their eyes.

It was a small city standing on the seabed.

Groups of transparent dome-shaped structures enveloped the metallic framework within, with tubes connecting one "bulb" to another, sprawling from the central giant dome in a web-like fashion.

The settlement resembled a giant set of building blocks, composed of well-sealed modules, stacked into a three-dimensional habitation.

Exquisite and vibrant corals of various shapes adorned its surroundings, giving this underwater settlement an exceptionally dazzling appearance from the outside.

It was hard to imagine that this settlement was built in the years following the end of the Era of Prosperity…

Not only were the players entranced, but even the crew members on the bridge all showed a nostalgic look as they gazed at their home, which they had not returned to for four months.

Chen Jianhong squinted his eyes, his voice carrying a hint of longing.

"You've come at the wrong time. If it were four months earlier, the scenery here would have been even more beautiful. See that central dome? That's the plaza of Coral City. The light emitted from the four fluorescent screens there could even project onto the surface of the sea."

Attempting to imagine that scene, Meat Meat couldn't help but swallow his saliva as a "giao" escaped from his fluffy mouth.

Tail, standing by his side, had a face full of shock and anticipation.

"Even more astonishing..."

Si Si pondered for a moment, then suddenly blurted out an idea.

"If we connect the nuclear submarine's reactor to the power system of that settlement... could we get the settlement up and running again?"

Chen Jianhong was taken aback and then reacted with a mix of laughter and helplessness.

"It's not that simple..."

The submarine's reactor was designed specifically for nuclear submarines.

Not to mention whether this method could be executed in practice, even if it could, there would likely be a host of compatibility issues.

Seeing Captain Chen respond this way, Si Si had no choice but to give up the idea of sneaking into the new map to explore ahead of time, reluctantly saying,

"Alright, it was just a thought."

Perhaps, the game developers hadn't finished this map yet.

While the two were communicating, the sonar system in the cockpit suddenly detected abnormal noises coming from the direction of Coral City.

And it wasn't just one source of noise; multiple ones were rapidly converging towards the submarine.

Chen Jianhong hurried to the console, looked at the sonar screen's feedback, and his expression suddenly changed.

"There's something happening at Coral City!"

Upon hearing this, the Ground Model, who had been bored, suddenly looked excited.

"A Federation submarine?"

Several players from the Jungle Corps nearby also showed expressions eager to try.

"Not... It seems to be humanoid in shape, with a scaly surface..." After locking onto one of the noise sources, Chen Jianhong pointed his finger at the screen, locked the camera onto that noise source, and zoomed in on the image.

When the blue-skinned monster appeared on the screen, almost all the crew members let out cries of surprise.

"Mutants!"

Chen Jianhong's expression became even more grave as he mused,

"These guys must have slipped in when the Federal Fleet was in chaos."

The crew member at the console swallowed nervously and asked,

"Should we turn off the searchlights?"

Chen Jianhong was about to give the order when the Ground Model interjected.

"No need. Just point the searchlights at them; those guys are afraid of light, especially underwater! Keep moving forward, and leave the rest to us!"

With that, he patted Captain Chen on the shoulder, strode to the door, and shouted to the brothers in the bridge, "Brothers! It's the mutants! Get ready for some action!"

"Roar, roar, roar!" The brothers from the Jungle Corps let out excited roars and, to the stunned gaze of a group of NPCs, flooded towards the door.

Tail, getting caught up in the commotion, also tried to join in but was promptly caught by the already prepared Meat Meat.

"Ah Wei, calm down; we didn't bring diving gear, and the moment we go out, we might just disappear, you know."

After calming the restless Tail, Si Si looked towards Captain Chen Jianhong and continued,

"Our friends from the Jungle Corps will buy us some time. Let's take this opportunity to make a run for it."

Captain Chen Jianhong nodded, yet worry inevitably crept onto his face, for the sonar screen estimated at least four to five hundred units.

"Do they have any problems?"

A hint of a smile surfaced on Si Si's face.

"Don't worry, they just fought those guys during the day; this number isn't an issue."

Reassured by her statement, Captain Chen Jianhong let go of his concerns and turned to the crew member at the console to issue an order.

"Target Shelter No. 70! Full speed ahead!"

...

As the Dolphin Nuclear Submarine's engine power increased to its maximum and it made a beeline toward Shelter No. 70, the Aquatic Variant Humans stationed around Coral City also noticed the large intruder that had suddenly entered their territory.

"Crack——!"

A Mutant Priest issued an intimidating roar, signaling to a group of scaly minions to pick up their weapons and charge towards the submarine.

Although their fleshly bodies seemed weak in the face of the Federal destroyers, which were designed for both searching and destroying, their thermite bombs and various homemade explosives could still pose a certain threat to an unarmed cargo submarine like the Dolphin.

Just as the swarm of "Fishmen" rushed towards the dazzling lights, slender jets of water suddenly pounced on them like locusts, instantly turning the vanguard of a dozen or so into sieves.

The Fishmen panicked, halting their advance and peering against the blinding searchlight, only to see nineteen huge Iron Crabs standing on a nearby reef, guns drawn and aimed at them.

Through the pilothouse's observation window, watching those faces filled with terror, Ground Model, gripping the joystick with both hands, let a savage smile creep across his face.

"You're up against me, you little bastards!"

He hadn't had his fill in the previous battle; he had only chopped up a dozen or so fish before the kills were snatched away by the Goblin Corps' planes.

This was the midpoint of the Southern sea area, well beyond the operating radius of friendly forces; he wouldn't have to worry about interruptions now.

However, no sooner had his cocky remark dropped than his teammate's teasing came through his earpiece.

"Old Demon, you should have added a 'guys' after that; otherwise, it sounds like you're the runt."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

With the laughter echoing over the communication channel, Ground Model blushed and cursed, silencing that talkative teammate's mic.

"Damn it! Always you with the chatter!"

While they were speaking, the "King Crabs" that had jumped out from the submarine's forehatch engaged the scaly Mutants in combat.

During the fray, some cunning foes attempted to break from the fight and intercept the vessel, only to be caught up by 19mm harpoons that left them half-bodied with a bang.

Even the Mutants couldn't help but shiver at that terrifying power.

Nevertheless, these creatures were different from the ones the players had encountered before; they did not lose their composure amidst the casualties.

Realizing they wouldn't get close to the submarine without dealing with the Iron Crabs, they screamed, turning about and trying to avoid the direct lights aimed at their eyes from behind the players.

Contact sparked an immediate clash; whirling chainsaws and wildly flying harpoons raised a bloody tempest in the deep seas.

Mutants died in rapid succession, their alarming blood rendering almost the entire area red.

Yet despite this, the nineteen surrounded players from the Jungle Corps still felt an unusual strain.

These creatures—

Were entirely different from the previous ones!

They didn't mindlessly surge forward with harpoons, but rather employed tactics, attempting to divide and surround the players!

"Be careful, everyone! These guys are different from those who attacked the undersea pipe before!"

"What's the difference——"

"The player had not finished speaking when the sparks of a suicidal explosion rose from the surface of the armor, blasting a heap of iron scraps together with a large number of bubbles.

A mutant was shouldering a thick and long launcher, watching the iron crab sprouting bubbles with a raspy and muffled strange laugh.

It was that very launcher that had fired a small torpedo, piercing through the shells of those crabs.

Judging by the scale of the explosion, it likely triggered the ammunition racks.

"Dammit!!"

One player roared in anger and grief, rushing forward with a chainsaw, and amidst panicked squawks and cries from the mutant, cleaved it cleanly in two.

Seeing the casualty indicator on the squad list, Ground Model's heart couldn't help but sink slightly.

Less than 5 minutes into contact with the enemy, there had already been a casualty!

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of mutants before them, and they had no backup they could call upon…

This battle would probably be even tougher than they had imagined!

Yet despite this, there was not a trace of fear on his face; on the contrary, his eyes burned with a surging fighting spirit.

Compared to a bunch of fools standing still just to be hacked at, evenly matched opponents were obviously more interesting.

"Bring it on!"

Stomping on the direction pedal to dodge a torpedo coming from the side, Ground Model flipped over and with a fierce swing of his chainsaw, sliced a mutant trying to stick thermite on his back into two.

Driven by the instinct to survive, he was getting more and more proficient with this thing.

At this moment, he felt as if he had really become a crab.

Though he was not operating it through a neural connection device.

Driven to bloodlust, Ground Model let out an excited roar.

"Show me all you've got! Let's see what else you can do!"

Separated by thick armor and the vast sea, that impassioned roar was doomed to be heard by him alone.

But even without hearing the shouts of the battle, the crew on the bridge could still sense the ferocity of the fight through the images captured by the cameras.

Watching one armored device after another being blasted to pieces under the searchlights, the crew fell silent.

Chen Jianhong's Adam's apple moved, and he couldn't help but turn to Si Si and asked.

"Are they… really going to be okay?"

Given the current speed of the Dolphin, it seemed that they had left those guys behind.

But this also meant that the warriors who had jumped out of the hatch in their iron crabs could only rely on themselves now…

Si Si fell silent for a moment, and thinking of an appropriate thing to say without violating the players' code, said.

"From the moment we step out of the shelter, we are ready for our mission, and death to us is simply a return."

Chen Jianhong's Adam's apple moved again, he didn't speak, just continued to look in the direction outside the porthole.

The crew members on the Glory, sitting in the lounge, saw the fierce battle on the TV in the corner of the ceiling and felt heavy at heart.

Those guys…

They had just seen them earlier in the day, and it was in the northwestern waters off Ring Island.

Some saluted silently, while others couldn't help but clench the fists resting on their knees.

Protecting this sea was their duty.

Yet now, others were fulfilling what should have been their own obligation.

This guilt made many lower their heads…

…"

The blood-soaked battlefield became more and more distant, the searchlight's beam no longer reaching the seaweed forest where the fierce struggle had taken place.

The Dolphin Submarine slowly reached above a seafloor canyon, descending into the seemingly bottomless abyss.

As the submarine circumvented a T-shaped rock pillar and entered a vast cave structure, the concrete-poured walls soon appeared on both sides of the submarine's cabin.

Looking at the structure on both sides, Chen Jianhong's face carried a faint pride as he spoke with a nostalgic tone.

"...This is the entrance to the shelter, and it was also the practical engineering entrance when the shelter was being constructed. I've heard that back then, people sealed off the entire cave that was hundreds of meters wide and kilometers long, drained the seawater, established a buffer gate, and then laid down steel reinforcement and poured concrete... Generally, only the residents of the refuge would know about this."

He had never personally witnessed how that grand project began, but his father had told him the stories from that time.

Si Si nodded, suddenly struck with a curious thought.

"How do you distinguish the residents of the refuge? I'm a little curious."

Chen Jianhong: "Generally speaking... if one parent is a resident of the refuge, those born inside the refuge are considered residents, or if both parents are residents, it doesn't matter where you are born, isn't it the same for you?"

"Oh, we haven't had any children yet, we don't know!" the tail suddenly interjected.

Si Si's face involuntarily flushed, but having been accustomed to Ah Wei's tactlessness for so long, she just coughed lightly.

"We don't have that situation where we are."

"I see, I think I've heard someone mention that your shelter... uses cryogenic hibernation, right? This means you're the 'first generation'," Chen Jianhong touched his nose, suddenly reflecting, "That's great, you can peacefully live for a hundred years. We've already found the mines ahead for you... Of course, whether or not to clear them is up to you."

Si Si glanced at him.

"Mines?"

Chen Jianhong nodded.

"Unlimited power comes with unlimited responsibility... but, before a truly irreversible problem arises, there is no real accountability. Before we emerged from the refuge, we didn't realize that the position of the Manager itself had a huge bug. After all, when designing the refuge, the Manager was just a manager, nothing more complex. I guess the people of the Era of Prosperity didn't think so much about it either."

Si Si pondered for a moment.

"I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing if the Manager can handle things well."

"Then who defines what 'well' is?"

Chen Jianhong looked at her meaningfully and chuckled, "If Charles wins, the pipeline you repaired will be a noose around the necks of the Federation's citizens. If the folks at Anle Island win, it'll be an olive branch of friendship."

"A pipeline is a pipeline, a deal is a deal, the objective facts are hard to alter, once changed they are full of holes, but there are many ways to interpret them... do you believe if Charles wins, even the Mutants could become friends of the Federation? Those things not only eat people but also conduct living sacrifices—are pretty bad, right?"

The tail clenched his fists, staring intently into his eyes.

"Oh! Although it's said like that, we will not let them win!"

Chen Jianhong smiled and said.

"I'm just giving an example. Our development paths are similar, but there are also significant differences. When I went to report to the City of Dawn, I met your Manager. That gentleman is a smart man. He has almost absorbed all the experiences of all the refuges you've encountered, successful or not, and has kept every Administrator's Log well preserved. Maybe your future will be different."

After a pause, he continued.

"Also, never underestimate your opponent. Those guys actually have a chance, especially that battleship—that's a big problem for you. We've calculated that its main gun only needs 2 to 3 shots to overload the shield core of a space escort ship. We built it to defend against the Army, but we didn't expect that the Army wouldn't reach here for a century, and it turned out to be used on our own people first."

Those standing on the bridge exchanged glances; this was indeed significant intelligence.

It seemed that the Steel Heart used "Escort ship's core." So, the battleship's main cannon was taken from a space escort ship?

But how exactly did they solve the frictional resistance problem of kinetic energy weapons in the atmosphere?

While they were talking, a steep concrete wall suddenly appeared right in front of the bridge, blocking their way forward.

Meat Meat blinked, murmuring softly.

"No more road?"

Glancing at the talking White bear, Chen Jianhong pointed upward and laughed.

"It's above."

Just as his voice faded, the halted submarine began to slowly ascend to the surface.

After a brief wait, the conning tower broke through the water, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.

This was a cave deep in the ocean, with an open space right above the concrete walls. At the end of this space was a giant gear-shaped metal door.

It locked onto the thick rock like a button, sealed tightly in place.

Gazing at the scene outside the porthole, those standing in the conning tower, including Tail, all widened their eyes, their pupils reflecting disbelief.

The crew members in the conning tower did the same, their faces lighting up with excitement.

Most of them were residents of the refuges, including those from Coral City, and that gigantic metal door was like a road sign at their front door.

"We're finally back..."

Chen Jianhong's face showed a relieved smile as he shouted to the people inside the cabin, "What are we waiting for? Turn 90 degrees to the left! Line up with the hatch, let's go home!"

With everyone's cooperation, the submarine quickly docked at the concrete "harbor".

At the same time, the people in the refuge noticed them, and a surprised voice soon came over the loudspeaker from above the plaza.

"Dolphin? That's great, you're still alive!"

Setting foot on land, Chen Jianhong poked his ears with his index finger to finally adjust to the outside pressure and shouted with a laugh.

"Hahaha! We're in terrific shape!"

He paused, then turned back to look at Tail and the others who had just come ashore, explaining,

"You wouldn't believe if I told you, but two months after that incident, friends from Shelter No. 404 found us. Remember Baiyue Province? They came over in airships and built a settlement there."

A gasp came over the broadcast.

"Baiyue Province?! How did they manage that?"

Landing there wasn't difficult, but to stay meant enduring continuous loss and casualties. Shelter No. 70 also tried a few times in earlier years, but after several serious casualty incidents, the colonization had to be suspended.

While the land resources were essential, the cost was simply too high.

"Them... I didn't quite understand how they persevered, but now they are our neighbors. Oh, their original home was in River Valley Province, where they've built a survivor's alliance! I paid them a visit, and the locals were very welcoming, especially towards us from the refuges. I even met…" He trailed off, "Never mind, it's a long story, just hurry up and open the gate, I've brought some local specialties from there."

Chen Jianhong had wanted to talk about Sun Yuechi, but that was a topic that would take too long to get into.

After all, he brought the latest issue of the Goblin Observation Report, and once inside the refuge, they would have plenty of time to chat about it.

A cheerful voice came through the broadcast.

"No problem, we're powering the refuge's main gate now! It's been a long time since these doors were last used, so we need to equalize the pressure in the buffer room, which might take some time. By the way, cough cough! Ladies from Shelter No. 404... can I get a contact? Wait, does your vm have a chat feature?"

"We've retrofitted it a long time ago, but our operating systems are probably different, so I'm afraid we can't exchange those details with you."

Si Si, disliking the frivolous tone, politely rejected his request, but then remembered this was a game and regretted possibly missing out on a side quest.

"Alright... what a pity. My name is Lin Nuo, at least allow me the honor of showing you around."

The voice on the other end didn't persist but didn't seem to have given up entirely either.

Chen Jianhong cleared his throat and shouted,

"Okay, Alin, stop using the broadcast for private chats, how much longer do you need?"

"Ten minutes... these doors haven't been used in a while. By the way, who are those people behind you? I don't remember Dolphin having so many crew members, are they also from Shelter No. 404?"

The voice was clearly tinged with suspicion.

Knowing that the truth could not be hidden, the guy must have run off to compare facial data, Chen Jianhong coughed lightly and candidly admitted,

"They are crew members from the Glory—"

But before he could finish, a burst of static overtook the broadcast, as if someone had snatched the microphone away.

Then a cold voice followed,

"Tell them to leave."

Chapter 723: The Vow from Two Hundred Years Ago

Angry voices echoed within the spacious cavity, even disturbing the water at the edge of the square, creating circles of ripples.

The crew of the Glory standing on the concrete floor involuntarily stopped in their tracks, momentarily uncertain how to proceed.

The atmosphere on the scene turned somewhat stiff.

Or rather, awkward.

Especially for the few "outsiders" from Shelter No. 404—Sesame Paste didn't know what to do and turned to Si Si, whose tail had quietly started toying with Meat Meat's chest hair, with nowhere else to put her hands.

Si Si glanced at the door of the refuge and made eye contact with Sesame Paste, who was casting questioning looks, then shook her head.

"There's no terminal."

"Ah, this…"

A look of headache appeared on Sesame Paste's face.

But this was also quite reasonable.

After all, according to what Captain Chen had said, this place was originally the construction entrance for Shelter No. 70 and was preserved as a backup entrance upon completion. It was quite possible that the gear giant door was added last.

Given it was similar to an emergency exit and virtually never used, there was no need to open it from the outside, so the absence of a terminal connecting to the refuge's security system made sense.

"…It might be better to let them solve this themselves," whispered the tail that had been braiding two braids on Meat Meat's belly.

She was from the Agile system.

Right when she came ashore, she had noticed that the door had no place to enter a password.

"I think so too."

Si Si nodded and cast her gaze toward the distance, speaking meaningfully, "If refuge authority could solve all problems, the problems wouldn't have arisen in the first place."

She had once had the privilege to access such authority in Shelter No.79.

And for this reason—unlike most players who had never touched that key—she was very clear that it wasn't a wish-fulfilling machine capable of anything; using it inappropriately could just mess things up even more.

Perhaps for the same reason, the Manager had entrusted that key to her, someone who had used a "Manager Access Experience Card."

Facing the tightly closed giant door, Dongwen fell silent for a while before letting out a soft sigh.

"…You're right, we indeed aren't worthy of your help."

No sooner had his voice faded than a tumultuous roar burst forth from the broadcast.

"Stop with the pretentious self-reflection! You think we'd believe you?"

"Ungrateful scum!"

"Go back where you came from!"

"Just fight it out, and better yet, tear down that Coral City. We'll come out after you're all dead!"

"Don't you dare miss us later—we're not worthy, thank you very much!"

The crew members lowered their heads, silently staring at the Dolphin-class submarine, wanting to return but recalling that this submarine was strictly speaking, also property of Shelter No. 70.

Listening to the relentless clamor of the broadcast, Chen Jianhong moved to one side of the cave, searching along the wall with a flashlight in hand.

After a moment, he seemed to have found what he was looking for, stopped his fumbling hands, and yelled toward the noisy broadcast.

"Enough!"

The square fell silent for a moment.

The people in the broadcast room were clearly stunned, as they hadn't expected Captain Chen to lash out at them.

"...If you still want the brethren of Shelter No. 404 to laugh at me, I don't mind, but please lower your heads and look at the coat on you, then ask it what our forebears said when they entered the shelter."

The square seemed to fall into silence.

No one responded.

But Chen Jianhong hadn't intended to wait for them to answer anyway. He simply cleared his throat and read out the words covered in dust on the wall, word by word, sentence by sentence.

"...Thank you for your trust and sacrifice; you are the greatest contributors to our civilization!"

"I will be grateful and carry on with today's shame and your memories."

"We will always remember the hardships you're enduring at this moment! I swear here and now, that your children will live in a beautiful new world! It will be an era of greater unity than the Prosperity Epoch, and it will be the grandest moment in the history of our civilization!"

"...I'm sorry we can't take everyone, but this is the only choice, for all of us to have a bright and beautiful future."

"Do you have ancestors here? Don't hurry, I haven't finished reading, there's still a long list..." Saying loudly, Chen Jianhong continued along the wall, brushing off the dust with his hand, his gaze upon the wall suddenly pausing.

His pupils reflected a hint of complexity as he looked toward the refuge's gate and read out the phrase he just saw.

"From now on, your children are our children..."

The square was silent.

Those words, like sharp knives, pierced the hearts of all the residents of Shelter No. 70.

Chen Jianhong was certain that more than just those dozen or so people were gathered in the broadcast room now.

They, like him, having been cooped up in the shelter for four months without bars, without news, with only those scarce entertainment facilities of the shelter and the unappetizing stored food. They were used to life outside, and it was a miracle they could stand staying in there!

Probably all the thousands of people in the shelter were gathered around the holographic screens, waiting to mock those "poor wretches."

After a long silence, a timid cough without much conviction came from the broadcast.

"...But no matter what, this is our shelter, and we have the right to decide how to use it."

"'Our' shelter!"

Chen Jianhong looked at the rectangular gear door and repeated the phrase, then said each word deliberately.

"Place your hand over your heart and tell me loud and clear, who does this shelter belong to! Who built it!"

Silence spread across the square.

Only his resounding roar echoed back.

Looking at the silent broadcast, Chen Jianhong slowly began to speak.

"...You all know, you just don't want to think about it. No matter, I am a member of Shelter No. 70, I'll say it for you."

He pointed towards the refuge's gate, like a tour guide, to the people standing behind him.

"That alloy giant door, undoubtedly, came from a factory of the Prosperity Epoch. I don't know which factory completed this shield, but I'm sure someone cast it, someone polished it, someone mounted it on its tracks, someone designed its locks and codes... It's the result of a huge and meticulous industrial chain, and various installations similar to it constructed our era of prosperity. To be precise, it is the collective achievement of all participants on that production chain."

"Not just this door!"

"Also, the drivers who dug out this cave, the designers who planned the shelter's various functional areas, the engineers who installed your reactor and light bulbs, even the miners piloting mining ships in outer space... Of course, this also includes the teachers who trained these talents, the doctors who treated them, the parents who raised them, and the countless United Human citizens who contributed sweat, creativity, and taxes—"

"You tell me, where are they now!"

Looking at the unresponsive great door and the silent broadcast, Chen Jianhong took a deep breath and released the foul air in his chest along with the words he had held back for a long time.

"If you don't want to say it, let me do it. Without a doubt, they all died, most people died... that's clear as day. The refuge was designed for the Wasteland Era, but our planet never was. It's like a spacious and beautiful house that can accommodate many people without any problems when it's in good condition. However, once the house collapses, 99% of the people are sure to die!"

"Some people were lucky enough to survive, but their nightmares had just begun. The endless winter, mutants infected and altered by radiation and disease, and the despair of heaven collapsing. A few lived on as humans, while many more were twisted by the environment into beasts... Maybe only 1% of the survivors remained, or even less, but who knows? It's simply impossible to keep count in that kind of situation!"

"They endured through hell until the 50th year of the Wasteland Era, a full fifty years! They survived until they and their children lay down in their graves together, until their grandchildren had just come of age! Only then did the nightmare start to show signs of ending. But not long after, new troubles followed one after another."

Chen Jianhong tapped his index finger on the wall inscribed with words, his tone tinged with irony.

"This is what happened outside, when did we open our doors? In the 100th year of the Wasteland Era! The 50th anniversary after the Ring Island was built! Our ancestors promised that the children of those left outside would live in paradise, but it turned out we moved into their paradise first."

"Do you think you're enlighteners or colonizers from another planet?"

"Listening to the stories of the Prosperity Epoch from our forebears, dreaming sweet dreams at night, shouting slogans about rebuilding the Prosperity Epoch, but what do you really think in your hearts? Rebuild the Prosperity Epoch? Ha, don't try to fool me! I'm bloody well one of you!"

"Those natives must certainly treat us like gods, right? They must drop their jaws at the sight of the omnipotent Black Box, right? They must kneel in gratitude when they see the refuge's doors open, right? Just like those poor ancestors of theirs knelt in front of the refuge's doors, begging your ancestors to crack open the door. Now they certainly must kneel in front of the door thanking us for finally opening it! Am I right?"

By this point, his voice grew soft, like a needle falling to the ground, weaving the dreams he once had.

"...Yes, we have the knowledge and machines of the Prosperity Epoch, and even those Black Boxes that were designed so that baboons who couldn't recognize a single word could use them, so much so that we could even add a cube of sugar to our tea while those fools eat dirt—in their eyes, aren't we like gods? Or should I say 'they,' to better match our true thoughts?"

"More than a dozen small islands have no future, and they certainly can't rebuild Utopia. So we drove those survivors who had fled from the land to the sea back to develop settlements on shore. Later, we called the deaths a minor twist on the correct path, blaming it on those natives being afraid of death, deserving their ancestors' inability to enter the refuge, leaving us no choice but to bear the high cost of building houses for them under the sea."

"Now they don't listen, they aren't grateful anymore, and we can't afford to play this game, crying like a child, saying, 'Get lost, we won't play with you anymore. We'll come out again after you all die, to rebuild a Prosperity Epoch that's only ours.'"

"No wonder the refuge set a maximum limit for shelter... In my opinion, their madness is understandable; it's you who hid in that hole that are truly mad!"

In the end, his voice had changed, as if he was a different person, almost hysterically shouting.

For a long time, there was nothing in the square but the sound of faint gasps and the echoes of his shout. And the previously noisy broadcast couldn't utter a word.

It was an undeniable truth that the refuge isn't a refuge for a single person or a group of people, but a haven for human civilization.

After a long silence, Chen Jianhong slowly continued.

"During my time in the City of Dawn, I thought about it a lot, including just now on the submarine."

"I was thinking, if my ancestors really came back, it's hard to say for whom they would feel shame for their naivety."

At this point, a dull voice came from the broadcast.

It seemed to be trying to soothe his emotions, and the voice was very soft.

"I understand your feelings, but... what you've talked about is too distant. Two centuries ago, we might have been brethren with those outside people, but you also have to realize that after two hundred years, they and we might not be the same kind of people."

Chen Jianhong didn't find any comfort in those words, and instead, he laughed out loud.

"So the vows made 200 years ago don't count, meaning the vows carved in these walls were lies from the very beginning, right?"

An angry roar came through the broadcast.

"Chen Jianhong! Whose side are you really on!"

"I'm on the side of humanity! What about you? On the side of human-like creatures?"

He responded fearlessly to the roar, pointing behind him.

"Just look at those people you most look down upon, that Federation you view as a joke! It couldn't even last four months being built on lies, it didn't even need a push before it crumbled on its own! What about you? Can your Prosperity Epoch, rebuilt on a mouthful of lies, last four months? Not to mention you haven't even gone back, is there even a glimmer of hope for you nuts to go back?"

"While you were making foolish mistakes, what were the other refuges doing?"

Not giving the person on the broadcast a chance to speak, Chen Jianhong pointed to the girl with long hair beside him, repeating that sentence with a deafening shout.

"...From the moment we stepped out of the refuge, we were prepared for our mission, for death is just a return to us! This is what she told me! This is what their actions told me! Do you think we got here by waiting for the mutants to drown themselves and then sneaking over?"

The topic had suddenly turned to herself, and Si Si found herself at a loss between laughter and tears, never expecting that guy to take her casual words seriously.

But—

Although she had spoken those words offhandedly, she certainly hadn't lied.

They had indeed prepared themselves for their mission.

Especially when they checked the box in the reservation form that read "swear allegiance under the United Human flag..." they had firmly established their identity, responsibility, and obligations, as well as the penalties they would have to endure for breaching various terms.

Death, for them as players, was indeed just a return, even though they could come back many times.

As a reward for their bravery, their Manager would even pay them a "salary"—through the special channel called the Silver Coin Exchange.

However, regardless of the premise, one fact was incontestable.

The residents of Shelter No. 404 fearlessly charged ahead of everyone, always standing on the front lines whether in battle or exploration.

Even though most did not act with noble motives, and among them were many jesters and performance artists, by any moral standard, their actions were undoubtedly worthy of high praise.

At least, they were on the whole.

And it was because of this that those Waste Land Wanderers, inspired by them, were willing to become their followers.

Though the focus had shifted to her, Si Si thought it better to remain quiet and play the part of a backdrop, waiting for the NPC to finish the storyline.

Fortunately, the captain didn't seem intent on throwing the conversation her way, and his voice didn't pause for even a moment.

Clearly, he understood as well.

This was a matter internal to Shelter No. 70, and it wasn't for outsiders to interfere...

"...They brought the survivors together, and what were we doing at that time? The more we tried to fix the leaks in our ship, the more they seemed to increase, and in the end, when we couldn't fix them anymore, our Manager didn't know what to do and actually went out to find the War Construction Committee that has been gone for a century and a half! Of course, we were even stupider. Without those weapons from the shelter, we couldn't last a few months; we'd rather lock ourselves back in here than face our own kin!"

As he spoke, his eyes held a trace of contempt.

"How pathetic. You blame Sun Yuechi for not opening the armory for you, right? Now we've brought the key. Take it and get those weapons out!"

"Use the guns and cannons made by the ancestors of those survivors outside to wipe out their children without leaving a single one! If there's enough stock for it! That would be sending them to heaven!"

"It doesn't matter if every single person dies; we can go rob some real slaves from Poluo Province and have them build your so-called Colony Epoch for you! You don't need to build them houses or give them a meal; they can lick your toes with their disgusting tongues. The moment you frown in displeasure, they would kill those you don't like for you, even if it's their own kin or neighbors!"

Pausing a moment, the disdain in his eyes gradually solidified, and he stared unwaveringly at the immovable shelter door.

"...As for me, I will stand with those I truly respect. I will unite with the survivors outside. I believe my forefathers would be relieved and proud of my choice at this moment, rather than like your forefathers, who carry a lifetime of shame and regret, leaving their jokes as epitaphs on this wall!"

Having finally said all that was on his mind, he took a deep breath and turned to head towards the Dolphin.

Although it was regrettable, he had to admit that there was no union here that he yearned for; the Enlightenment Society might be more suitable for them.

Actually, the Alliance wasn't the perfect union either.

They also had people who could not be united, and those they had no way to unite with temporarily.

He still remembered what the Manager told him: those who have ideals but do not watch their step are like the hottest coals, blown to ashes by a gust of wind. He would never ask his supporters to be such people, nor did he ever ask them to chant slogans about rebuilding the Prosperity Epoch.

To Chen Jianhong, that seemed more like a humble remark, for their actions already lived up to their vows.

They were always at the forefront of the Waste Land Wanderers!

And these people...

Including himself from a few months ago, were nothing but cold, hard stones.

Perhaps when they first came out, their ancestors had also burned for ideals, just like the residents of Shelter No. 404 now.

But such a thing was truly too far off.

Even farther away than the pledges made two hundred years ago...

Just as he had lost all hope of persuading these stubborn fellows, the gear embedded in the wall suddenly produced a slight click.

Like a mechanical watch that hadn't been oiled in years, suddenly the spring was wound tight again.

"Roar—"

Amidst the ding-ding clatter and deafening roar, the giant gear rolling to one side slowly opened the passage behind it.

Chen Jianhong stopped in his tracks, looked back, and a look of surprise involuntarily spread across his face.

About a hundred people stood at the entrance to the passage.

He couldn't see their expressions, but he could feel pairs of eyes all watching him.

His Adam's apple moved slightly, and Chen Jianhong suddenly felt a trembling surge from deep within his soul, rising from the back of his neck to his eyes.

Facial muscles twitched slightly, and in order not to let that uncontrollable expression show on his face, he grinned and laughed towards the crowd.

"Are you here for the key?"

"Don't be like that, Brother Chen..." Lin Nuo, standing at the door, sighed, and his gaze drifted to the wall inscribed with words.

"We've made up our minds with difficulty, is that all you have to say to us? Being clear about the account hurts feelings. Of course, I'm not saying you're wrong, this kind of thing doesn't really have a right or wrong. Anyway... leave us some dignity."

The person standing beside him had the same expression, apparently the one who had snapped up the microphone just now.

After another cough, that person spoke.

"Let's think about how to resolve the trouble at hand..."

Cleaning up the aftermath might be more troublesome than expected.

But at least they now had like-minded allies.

After a pause, that person glanced at Chen Jianhong, and again at the residents of Shelter No. 404 not far away, and at the crew members from Glory considering whether or not to return to the submarine.

"In any case..."

"Come in and let's talk."

...

In the seas near Coral City, the reef-strewn seabed was littered with branches and severed limbs.

Two huge mechanical crabs lay on the rocks, one missing three legs, the other with only three remaining.

The communication channel buzzed with a hiss of electricity.

After a long silence, intermittent voices reached the ears of the ground model.

"... Ground Model."

The voice was tired yet carried a hint of contentment.

Like after an intense and thrilling sport.

No—

This was far more pleasing than that.

Without a doubt, they had just annihilated the ace of the Aquatic Variant Humans.

There must have been seven or eight hundred Level 20 to 30 Elite Monsters.

Though the price paid was steep, wasn't that exactly what they were following Brother Chicken for?

Blood sacrifice to the blood god, skulls offered to the skull throne... of course, long live the true emperor!

It would have been nice if the three-day wait could pass a little faster...

Of course, it would have been even better if they could have saved their progress before dying.

Having finally reconnected, the ground model swayed his groggy head and responded as he looked at the observation window glass crisscrossed with cracks.

"Ah... I just got back online, the connection dropped earlier."

After a moment of silence on the other end of the communication channel, a laugh came through.

"Damn... tired to this sorry state in just an hour?"

"Shut up." The ground model rolled his eyes and started checking on the remaining three mechanical legs.

Of the nineteen "King Crabs," only two were left, both heavily damaged.

Glancing at the remaining icons in the team list, the ground model couldn't help but curse.

"This armor is freaking terrible!"

"Cough... hahaha!"

"What are you laughing at, huh?"

"It's no use blaming the gear if you're not up to it... cough, but to be fair, this thing really isn't as good in the water as it is on land, the mobility is indeed pretty uncomfortable."

Unlike the curvilinear mobility of the Aquatic Variant Humans, the "King Crab's" movements were mostly straightforward, resulting in erratic water currents that not only gave away the direction of attack but also consumed a lot of mechanical energy in combating the resistance of the water flow.

In contrast, the Elite Mutant Humans were much more agile underwater, darting around the reefs like fish.

Especially when they used underwater rifles, portable torpedo launchers, thermite bombs, and other weapons capable of penetrating the "King Crab's" armor, the battle became exceedingly challenging.

Recalling the fierce battle that had just ensued, the ground model sighed and said,

"... Indeed, the beach is where crabs belong, they should be quite effective during amphibious landings."

The communication channel: "+1, and it would be better if it came with a nitrogen shield or deflection shield... well, we should grind more tasks from the scientific research groups when we get back."

One or two defeats didn't count for much, they would only be stronger three days later.

Faced with the silent deep sea and floating corpses around, the player sitting in the cockpit suddenly thought of something and asked over the communication channel.

"So, what do we do now?"

The ground model paused, a bit confused too.

"I don't know..."

There were only the two of them left in the team, while the wreckage had its value for salvage, they definitely couldn't manage it on their own.

The "King Crab" amphibious armor was only for individual soldiers and wasn't equipped for long treks.

Relying on those battered legs to return to Potato Harbor, they might not make it back until public testing of the game.

Just as the ground model was hesitating whether to shut down on the spot or wait for the Dolphin-class submarine to come pick them up, the sonar sensors mounted on the exterior of the King Crab suddenly detected an abnormal disturbance coming from above them.

The noise was faint.

If they weren't close enough, their sonar systems might not have caught anything.

The Ground Model quickly raised his head and saw a submarine slowly coming from the north.

A sound of swallowing saliva came through the communication channel.

"That is..." the Ground Model said hoarsely.

"It's probably a Federal submarine... stay down, and turn off all the devices!"

Earlier on the Dolphin, they had already listened to the broadcast from North Island.

Without any surprises, Charles's authorities leading the North Federation had already joined forces with the Torch Station. Which meant this submarine might be coming to support the blocking of the Variants here.

Thinking of this, the Ground Model couldn't help but sink in his heart.

In just a few short hours, these guys had already broken free from the initial chaos.

If they had hesitated for even an hour longer at Potato Harbor, it would not be a group of Variants intercepting the Dolphin now, but a real attack-type nuclear fusion-powered submarine!

Two King Crabs lay motionless in the wreckage, entering silent running.

The submarine clearly discovered them as a bright light shone directly above their heads.

The Ground Model felt his heart pounding fiercely and held his breath involuntarily.

Fortunately, the big guy floating not far above their heads didn't seem to think they were still alive, only searching around for a bit before giving up.

The sonar system on the other side was definitely still on. The Ground Model didn't dare to start the engine and didn't dare to communicate with his teammates.

What he needed to do now was quietly remain an observer here for as long as possible and pass on the situation here through the official Forum to Tail and the others who might already be in Shelter No. 70.

The submarine seemed to be guarding against something. It had just turned on the searchlight for a moment before hurriedly turning it off again, then changed direction and headed west.

Just as the Ground Model puzzled over what this guy was up to, a faint noise was suddenly caught by his sonar sensor.

The ripple nearly vanished in a flash, so fast it seemed like an illusion!

Barely discernable, as the Ground Model looked upwards, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a speeding black shadow silently scurrying over the top of him.

Then, the shadow collided squarely with the side of that submarine and erupted into a blinding flash of fire!

"Boom—!"

The roar of the explosion, along with the surging current, rolled in, blowing him and the only remaining teammate lying on the seabed hundreds of meters away.

The colorfully bizarre fireball burned fiercely in the deep sea; the water near that submarine boiled, releasing vast plumes of dense bubbles.

The submarine, hit on the side, seemed to have a huge hole in it, the caving armor emitting a burdened groan as it lost power and tumbled downward.

Refusing to go down without a fight, it fired two torpedoes into a pitch-black sea area.

However, from the exploding plume of fire, it was apparent that the torpedoes hit nothing, only striking a steep cliff.

Finally stabilizing the rolling chassis, the Ground Model looked toward the submarine that had heavily crashed on the seabed, his eyes nearly popping out.

"What the fuck?!"

What the hell?

The BOSS was taken out as soon as it spawned?!

Although even if the NPCs hadn't snagged the kill, he hadn't figured out how to take down that kind of BOSS...

...

"Nice!"

Meanwhile, at the Anle Island Naval Base command center, the tense atmosphere was broken by a round of exhilarating cheers.

Even Commander Li Minghui, who had a stern face all the while, couldn't help but relax his furrowed brows.

It wasn't just the North Federation Fleet that had overcome the chaos and entered combat mode; the Anle Island Fleet had done the same.

Rather, compared to Charles's forced hardiness, they were the real soldiers who were apt at fighting.

Considering the Torch Church's interest in Coral City, they immediately judged that the Torch Church's ships or Variant Humans might take advantage of the Federal Fleet's internal conflict to strike, and so they decisively dispatched the "Shark's Tooth" and "Arctic," two nuclear attack submarines moored at Anle Island.

They hadn't expected not to encounter any Variants, but they managed to catch another big fish!

They didn't wait long before receiving communication signals from near Coral City.

"This is 'Shark's Tooth'... Cold Night has sunk, we will continue in silent running."

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Li Minghui clenched his fist on the command table and replied solemnly.

"...This is the command center, we have received! Be extra careful of their destroyer, and remember your main target! That battleship!"

The North Federation had only one Cold Night-class submarine!

Now, the remaining three submarines were all in his hands!

Counting a cruiser and two destroyers, although their military power still lagged far behind North Island, they at least had gained some advantage.

At the same time, on North Island of the North Federation, Charles, sitting in the Presidential Mansion, cursed and slammed a pen onto the chart after hearing the subordinate's report.

"Real fucking useless!"

Cold Night was sunk!

The only nuclear submarine under his command had been lost in the first engagement!

Though the advantage was still in his hands, this was clearly not a good sign.

Looking at the subordinate holding his breath beside him, Charles yelled.

"Get the shipyard to start work immediately! Don't worry about the cost; use whatever materials we can!"

There were several unfinished projects at the North Island shipyard, including a destroyer whose main framework had already been constructed.

If things went quickly, they could have it out of port within two months.

As for raw materials...

It might be difficult to start mining ocean floor resources at this moment, but Haiya Province could help them solve part of the problem.

Charles picked up the ballpoint pen from the table again, leaned on the chart with both hands, and pondered severely.

Perhaps...

He could consider leveraging North Island's industrial advantage and arm their allies, maybe providing those "fishermen" with more substantial equipment and such.

This seemed more practical than rushing to build a few destroyers.

Watching the furious president and the blood on the table that had not yet dried, the aide dared not retort and stood up straight with a salute.

"Yes!"

Chapter 724: The Contagious Flame

Since becoming a Manager, Chu Guang had dealt with a multitude of survivor issues and had seldom trusted someone's unilateral statements.

It wasn't that he was worried about being harmed.

Rather, anyone who could speak was bound, whether consciously or unconsciously, to intersperse their speech with a little of their own perspective and thoughts.

It depended on a person's self-awareness, and their awareness of others and the world.

Therefore, in explaining something, most people, even if they were telling the truth, were not necessarily "absolutely" objective.

If one were to completely believe them, it was easy to be led by the nose.

Of course, this didn't mean that a less objective statement was a lie. After all, even a bona fide scammer would be foolish to directly lie.

Once their logic wasn't consistent, they would be trapped in a deadlocked situation where no one could defend them, and to maintain logical consistency, they had to fabricate one flawed lie after another.

A more clever approach was to choose the parts of the truth beneficial to oneself, exaggerating them, and to interpret the harmful parts from a tricky angle.

For instance, if one only listened to Sun Yuechi's side of the story, the survivors in the Southern sea area were probably left with a scanty reserve from the shelter.

Had Chu Guang not experienced household management and known the cost of essentials, he might have actually believed that nonsense and taken them for naive fools.

Of course, he did not solely rely on the accounts of the survivors from the Southern sea area.

After all, according to the terms broadcasted by Charles, all residents of Shelter No. 70 must be considered great villains from an era before the industrial revolution, awaiting judgement in the new epoch.

He most likely hadn't lied; otherwise, he wouldn't have confidently told those survivors to go back and ask their own family members. Clearly, some regrettable incidents had indeed occurred in the Southern sea area over the past century and had not been properly resolved; otherwise, so many people wouldn't stand by his side.

This was also a lesson learned by the Alliance in their process of digging up graves. If a settlement had one or two madmen, that might be individual cases. But when everyone went mad, if someone produced a lighter, someone else would immediately hand over a can of fuel, and if others either watched or fanned the flames, then the entire settlement was seriously ill.

From the start, Chu Guang had a feeling that Sun Yuechi had either dug a huge pit for himself or had somehow managed to dump a massive problem into his hands.

And indeed, the reality was as such; nothing free was cheap, and something hastily handed over was likely not good quality.

The seemingly tranquil Southern sea area was, in fact, brewing a storm that threatened the entire wasteland.

Typical looters in the sea might manage small boats and commit petty robbery; his players were fortunate not to encounter them, for they could have crushed them with a mere flick of a finger.

But this group not only operated battleships, they also had well-equipped factories and research facilities, and even formed a mutually beneficial arrangement with the Torch—providing technology and resources respectively.

Considering all the intelligence listed by players on the forum, Chu Guang could confidently assert that the man had kept only one thing from him.

The mess handed over to him was indeed a disaster.

"…Is that so."

Shelter No. 404, browsing room on floor B4.

When Sun Yuechi learned from Chu Guang that the federation, which had formed without his knowledge, had also shattered into three parts without his knowledge, he couldn't help but moan in pain.

His face was distraught, and the man aged at that moment.

Compared to his initial earnestness when asking for help, or his panic when hearing of the great change, perhaps this was his most genuine feeling deep inside…

What was meant to come, had come.

Actually, Chu Guang felt that this man might have known from the start that it would end this way, yet he still resolutely chose the worst possible shock therapy.

But whether that was actually the case,

Only he himself would know.

"…You place your hopes on others, I find this approach unwise," Chu Guang said, giving him a meaningful glance.

Sun Yuechi's face faltered as he tried to defend that he wasn't someone who would just accept anyone, or to say that he had seriously selected who would take over this mess.

"I've conducted thorough investigations, including your handling of the Sindison case, as well as your relations with the Wasteland Wanderers and residents of the refuge, and there were many aspects worth learning from; I saw the potential in your achievements…"

"That's not what I'm discussing."

Watching Sun Yuechi busy making excuses, Chu Guang shook his head and continued seriously,

"Firstly, our methods are not omnipotent, as there are no omnipotent solutions in this world. Secondly, we do not fully understand your situation, and you have not clearly explained your condition... Even though we've been very cautious with our demining efforts, an unexpected flame still erupted."

He had no doubt that his small players had already become excellent "bomb disposal experts."

This included his most dependable Brother Fang Chang, whose skills had been proven in practice, not just appointed by him.

Subsea freshwater pipelines were a clever move, mirroring the ingenious approach of Luo Xia Province's railways. If all went well, they might indeed be able to win over most settlements and destabilize the shaky foundation of the Federation.

After all, the Federation hadn't been established for long. The autonomy of each settlement was quite high. It was surprising that the governor was responsible to the island's residents first, and only secondly to the president.

However, regretfully, the Wasteland was not like the 21st century world the players lived in. The opposition didn't give him time to unify the islands but directly launched a plan, sending Cannon Fodder near the pipelines to sacrifice themselves, bringing the concealed problems to the surface and completely alienating the Torch Church allies within the Federation.

Even if Elder Fang had predicted that the Torch would cause trouble on the day the pipeline was operational and had strategically nullified their efforts, it was to no avail.

The opposition was clear on their role; they were destroyers of order. If they had to compete with the Alliance on establishing order, they would stand no chance.

So, they flipped the table right from the start.

However, from this one could also see, the Bishop in charge of the Southern sea area from the Torch Church and Luo Gan, who attempted to establish twisted orders in Brocade River City, were completely different type of players.

That guy might indeed be a "real person."

Faced with this sharp accusation, Sun Yuechi was speechless for a moment, eventually sinking despondently into the sofa behind him.

"…You're right, I shouldn't have pinned my hopes on you, who are completely unfamiliar with the situation. Moreover, I indeed have hidden some facts in this matter, but I had to do so to get you involved sooner."

He swallowed, then continued,

"I am indeed not entirely ignorant about the affairs of the Federation. The signs of division appeared not in my generation, but in my great-grandfather's. I still remember when my predecessor gave me the authority, he said, perhaps the younger generation will have a solution... My God, what solution could I possibly have? He might as well have thrown this trouble to another old man who wouldn't live much longer! Can you imagine? When the island's residents heard I was just over thirty, everyone almost went mad, and I even suspect that old bastard did it on purpose. He wanted me to be the scapegoat on the gallows!"

He took a deep breath, burying his face in his hands.

"I also thought about whether it would be better if I took on everything alone, but I don't want to die, at least not so pathetically, so I picked up the broken clock and repaired it again. The residents of the shelter praised me, saying that transferring the patrol team from the fleet to the Cabinet was a masterstroke, and that I effectively delayed the crisis by gouging the wolves' eyes and attaching them to the dogs. But who doesn't know, it's just like removing planks from the deck to patch the ship's bottom! Both the dogs and wolves on the ship are annoyed with us!"

Then he looked at Chu Guang with a bitter expression and said,

"Whether you believe it or not, that ship has sailed to its end; even if I stayed there, it would be futile. Or rather… if there was even a hint of hope left, I wouldn't have left there. The shelter isn't a wishing machine; there's no button there that solves all problems when pressed."

Chu Guang nodded slightly,

"I understand your feelings, but I'm afraid your residents might not."

Sun Yuechi sighed, looking at the ceiling with a forlorn expression,

"I understand too... after all, I'm still young, and I won't die from a few punches."

For some reason, Chu Guang suddenly felt a twitch of amusement, but felt it somewhat inappropriate to laugh out loud at that moment.

His predecessor and even the next one had considered the possibility of being beaten, deliberately choosing a young and resilient successor.

He wondered if his own predecessor had left him a body with extraordinary combat capabilities for the same reasons.

Watching Chu Guang's facial muscles twitching, Sun Yuechi made a somewhat helpless gesture,

"I know you want to laugh, go ahead, but after that, can you tell me what you plan to do next?"

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, gently placing the teacup in his hand back onto the tray on the coffee table,

"Since the Torch Church has already intervened in the local situation, this is no longer just your problem. We had planned to launch an attack on the southern part of Brocade River Province and Haiya Province at the end of the year, but now it seems... we need to move up our timetable."

Just as his words fell, the sliding door of the browsing room clicked open, and a man in formal attire hurried in.

Sun Yuechi looked over and saw a somewhat familiar face, which he finally recognized after a while as Yi Chuan, the representative of the Enterprise faction stationed in the City of Dawn.

Signaling to X-16 standing on the side to pour a cup of milk tea for the guest, Chu Guang looked at him and smiled faintly,

"You've arrived just in time, I was just discussing the situation in the Southern sea area with the former manager of Shelter No. 70. As I mentioned in the email I sent to you, the situation there is probably worse than what the council understands."

Sitting down on the sofa, Yi Chuan nodded solemnly, his eyes intense.

"Thank you for the information you provided; we have understood the situation there. The council takes the situation in the Southern sea area very seriously. We will never allow anyone to arm those scaled devils, nor will we allow that group of lunatics to continue their insane plans, even spreading Nago's pollution to the ocean—"

Chu Guang cleared his throat softly, interrupting his lengthy phrasing.

"Relax, this isn't a Sticky Community meeting, and there are no reporters... Let's discuss something practical."

Yi Chuan gave an embarrassed smile and awkwardly touched his nose.

"...How much money?"

Chu Guang nearly choked on his milk tea, coughing several times before stopping and glaring at him.

"That's a bit too practical..."

Yi Chuan blinked in surprise and timidly asked.

"Isn't that what you asked?"

"That's true, but I still hoped for something a bit more tactful," Chu Guang looked at Sun Yuechi, "Tell our friend here about the situation, especially how the Torch Church got in touch with you, up until you came ashore."

Sun Yuechi looked blankly at them both and nodded.

"Alright..."

...

Shelter No. 70.

After a delay at the entrance, everyone finally entered the interior of the shelter.

The space behind the door was spacious.

Because it was an engineering entrance, it didn't lead to the main hall of the shelter but to a vast and empty warehouse.

Judging by the dust on the floor, it seemed it hadn't been used for some time.

This layout was somewhat similar to that of Shelter No. 404, which besides its surface entrance, also had one connected to the subway lines, and even a sealed passage leading to an unknown location.

Thousands of residents of the shelter had gathered here, both the "orthodox" Blue Jackets and the survivors who had retreated here from an incident in Coral City.

Without hiding the fact that he carried a key, Si Si, after crossing the threshold, immediately confessed.

"I have a proxy authority password, and I will use manager authentication to obtain temporary access soon. Of course, if you don't trust us, or the arrangements of your managers, we will take the key and leave."

People crammed into the spare warehouse looked at each other, and no one objected; some individuals dressed in exoskeletons even voluntarily cleared the way to the terminal.

Under non-excessive circumstances, a beautiful face indeed tends to make a good first impression, whether for men or women.

Of course, the residents standing here weren't entirely reliant on emotions to judge right from wrong; it was also a process of rational thinking.

Although acknowledging the truth was disheartening, they weren't foolish to the extent of being blind to the obvious facts—

The problems here were beyond their capability to solve.

Had they been able to, they would have resolved them already, and not dragged on until the crisis fully erupted.

Nodding to those who made way, Si Si walked through the bustling crowd to the terminal, closed his eyes to copy the homework from the official website, then entered the dynamic password on the screen.

[Temporary access recognized... Registering biometric information.]

[Registration complete... Welcome back, proxy manager.]

Watching the pale blue text appear on the screen, Si Si withdrew his index finger from the screen, then looked towards Captain Chen Jianhong.

"Could you take me to the place where the security equipment is stored?"

Lowering his crossed arms, Captain Chen Jianhong nodded.

"No problem."

Having been part of the Alliance for some time, he was relatively assured of these people's professional ethics.

Watching Captain Chen walk towards the depths of Shelter No. 70, Tail followed behind with his companions.

As for Captain Dongwen of the Glory, nearly two hundred crew members aboard, and the crew of the Dolphin, they temporarily moved into the vacant residential area arranged by the residents of Shelter No. 70.

According to the preliminary exchange of opinions, they planned to establish a new authority.

It wasn't just about the abandoned Coral City but also included Shelter No. 70—a part not mentioned in the Federal authorities' proclamation.

After all, they needed a common enemy to unite them at that time.

It turned out that this shortcut was unworkable, even if no one pushed them, they could collapse on their own.

Now, the new authority had to learn from this lesson right before their eyes and quickly come up with a better plan.

In the meeting room, representatives elected by both sides stood together, discussing how to draft this new proposal.

Watching the exchange of opinions, Lin Nuo, who was stroking his chin, suddenly raised his hand.

"This new authority… how about we call it the Southern Sea Area Alliance?"

The people who heard this were momentarily stunned.

It wasn't that the idea was particularly innovative, but everyone was considering the content of the draft, and this fellow had started thinking about the title.

A tall man shook his head, his expression serious.

"It doesn't matter what it is called, what matters more is what we do. Right now, our urgent task is to make contact with the warring parties; we must at least gain the support of one side."

His name was Yang Lirong, a former environmental engineer and a conservative in politics.

Since Sun Yuechi had left, the residents of the shelter had elected him as the temporary manager, not only because he had a loud voice but also because he represented the opinions of most residents.

Hearing his statement, many who shared his view nodded in agreement, but others expressed different opinions.

"Indeed, what we do is very important, but before that, we need a slogan that can unite everyone together." A tall, thin man raised his hand, speaking earnestly.

His name was Wang Sihai, a crew member of the Dolphin and also a member of Shelter No. 70, who had accompanied Captain Chen Jianhong on a "pilgrimage" to the City of Dawn.

In that miraculous place, he saw a different model—the model where the residents of the shelter and the Waste Land Wanderers treated each other equally.

They might not be able to successfully replicate it here, but it was at least worth referring to.

Another middle-aged man standing next to Yang Lirong shook his head.

"I know what you mean, but they've already grown tired of that kind of slogan; it would likely be difficult."

Wang Sihai didn't give up and continued to argue his point.

"That's why we need to remove as much of the Shelter No. 70 label from the slogan as possible, like… 'Survivors Unite,' how about that?"

The others looked at each other, murmuring among themselves in private discussion.

Honestly, it wasn't a very rousing statement.

It couldn't compare to Charles' impactful speech, not even to Li Minghui's impromptu inauguration speech.

But, it had its own merits, such as being sufficiently concise and to the point... Wasn't this difficulty precisely due to false unity?

Moreover, this borrowed slogan was not entirely without a "mass base" in the Southern sea area.

At least the residents of Ring Island had seen those united people and deeply experienced the order they brought.

The residents of other islands had also more or less heard about the Alliance's stories or about those who had been sheltered in the Baiyue Strait to establish new homes.

The wind that started in River Valley Province had blown across the seas to here, and already, a group of brave people had set an excellent example—

Survivors can unite!

Now they just needed to courageously take that step forward, thoroughly redress past mistakes, and move towards true unity.

Watching the people nearby gradually change from skepticism to hesitancy, to a flicker of barely noticeable hope—whether it was Captain Dongwen of the Glory, Lin Nuo of the radio station, or Wang Sihai and other representatives of the Dolphin—everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the road ahead was long, the first step they had just taken allowed them all to see a glimpse of the dawn that promised to end the long night...

On the way to the armory.

With several small braids, Meat Meat excitedly swallowed a gulp of saliva and murmured excitedly with his thick bear paws.

"Could there be nuclear bombs!"

He had heard that friends from the Burning Corps found a tactical nuclear bomb the size of a bowling ball at Giant Stone City!

It would be great if we could find one here too!

Tail, walking beside him, said in an old-fashioned tone,

"The scope is too small, my Meat Meat! Just looking at the background settings, there are many things more powerful than nuclear bombs during the Prosperity Epoch... like neutron annihilators, for example."

"There couldn't possibly be such things in the shelter," said Sesame Paste, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Exactly, there couldn't possibly be such things in the shelter. If you're expecting to find very powerful weapons there, you'll probably be disappointed."

To accommodate the NPC who couldn't understand human speech, Si Si deliberately used the language of the United Human when she spoke this.

However, unexpectedly, Captain Chen Jianhong, walking in front, laughed and exposed her presumption.

"…Well, you can't exactly say that. For example, the 'back door' you saw earlier actually was never connected to the shelter's security system. Mr. Sun Yuechi told me this."

Si Si paused for a moment, looking at him in surprise.

"That means…"

She hesitated for a moment if to reveal it or not, but Captain Chen Jianhong finally sighed and disclosed the inevitable.

"During the three-year war, that door very likely was secretly opened once, and probably shortly after the Tiangong had crashed… after all, with such a commotion happening outside, it makes sense to check if the bike parked at the door was still there."

He paused, then added in a low voice,

"Of course, this is just a metaphor. Shelter No. 70 is located under the sea after all; what was parked outside could have been a submersible or something similar."

He remembered that documented materials mentioned that Shelter No. 70 originally deployed a large amount of construction equipment and building materials near the entrance, but those were lost due to the crash of Tiangong.

If the door was really securely closed, how did the people who had just left a century ago know what had happened to those items?

It was possible that the Wasteland Wanderers had scavenged them, and those outside survivors were not truly indigenous but tough people who built man-made islands using sand-sailing ships. Before they came out of the shelter, those people were also slowly developing, albeit slowly and abnormally.

Si Si swallowed her saliva.

"Did they bring some things back at that time?"

"Exactly, concerned about future scenarios where the 'enemy' might prevail, the first generation manager of Shelter No. 70 likely reclaimed some objects that fell from the sky after the tsunami subsided, taking advantage of the war-time government not yet searching the Tiangong space station, and brought them back through that spare back door to the shelter."

He paused again, and Captain Chen Jianhong continued with a complex expression.

"Like the battleship parked at North Island; the cannons on it were actually taken from an escort starship and then transported through the back door into the shelter."

Tail's eyes shone with excitement as he said,

"Oh! There really are such powerful weapons!"

Meat Meat, similarly enthusiastic about the unfolding excitement, eagerly looked at the captain.

Not sure how to respond to this overly expectant gaze, Captain Chen Jianhong scratched his head and coughed as he said,

"There definitely are some, but they're not as exaggerated as you and those outside imagine... just some wrecks dismantled from starships and some power armor from the Space Force. We repaired a part of it in the first century, and after opening the door, we shifted our main focus of work back to construction outside the shelter."

Unexpectedly, having his assumptions proven wrong, Si Si embarrassingly changed the subject.

"By the way, how did you know about the engravings next to that back door just now? Did Sun Yuechi also tell you that?"

Chen Jianhong shook his head.

"That's not exactly it… Mr. Sun actually never went there. To be precise, since the main entrance of the shelter was opened, it seems that no one has used that door. As for the reason, you might guess, it's not something to be proud of. As for why there are words engraved, that was my guess."

Si Si was initially a bit confused, but soon she suddenly realized.

The words were engraved at the back door, not the main entrance that was connected to the security system…

In other words, the identities of those who first entered this shelter were highly doubtful.

With eyes wide in surprise, Si Si looked at him.

"You mean…"

Chen Jianhong looked aside with a complex expression and voiced his speculation.

"There are two possibilities, they were the people on the list, but because the entrance was blocked by a group of 'troubles' seeking survival, they took the back door and then wrote their regrets on the wall."

"The other possibility, a bit more conspiratorial, is that they might not have been the people on the list at all, but were contractors or those familiar with the shelter. They managed to acquire the identities of the contractors or found other ways to infiltrate the shelter and modified the shelter protocol, replacing those who were supposed to enter…"

Chen Jianhong paused for a moment then added a third possibility he himself didn't quite believe.

"Of course, we can't completely rule out the third scenario, where they were indeed the people listed, truly entered through the main entrance rightfully, but while using the back door, they thought of their compatriots who died outside, so they left their regrets there… just like going out to the balcony to smoke a cigarette."

The truth is like Schrödinger's cat, if no one opens the box, perhaps no one will ever know what really happened.

It's hard to say whether the First Generation Manager would leave this memory in the logs.

It's also hard to say whether it's better to keep the truth buried or to dig it all out impulsively.

Watching Si Si, who was dumbfounded, a complex expression floated on Chen Jianhong's face.

"I don't ask about your affairs, but do you really think… were all those who could enter the shelter 200 years ago good people? You must have seen what the situation at the shelter's entrance was like."

Si Si, snapping back to her senses, shook her head and spoke concisely.

"I never thought so, and, I don't think I can be considered a good person either."

"Ha, don't joke, you seem decent enough to us," Chen Jianhong laughed and stroked his scruffy chin, but soon fell silent again.

This was not a laughing matter.

The Prosperity Epoch achieved widespread equality, that's an objective fact, yet the crises of survival also released the suppressed beastial nature within humans, and that is a fact as well.

United Human needed a group of brave, capable, and faithful people to go to a distant future, to rebuild a new homeland on the possibly vanished soil of civilization.

For this reason, they needed to select some real good people.

However, the contradiction is, when a set of rules is designed to filter out the "good people" from a group, what it might actually filter out might not necessarily be the "good people", but might just be truly ruthless individuals.

There was never a claim that only genuine elites could enter the shelter.

The truly harsh truth might be that it was because they lived in the shelter, that they became so-called elites…

Having learned about other shelters, Chen Jianhong also somewhat felt that the residents of the shelter were not truly "naive".

After all, humans are complex and varied creatures, capable of changing their minds three times a day; using a naive term like 'naive' to describe a group is itself the most naive arrogance.

Those guys… that is, his forebearers, were likely just the winners of the test 200 years ago.

There were many ways to win: some complied with the rules, while others broke the rules, or even cheated by finding another way.

Also, being "elite" was not a survival pass; the outside world had operated for 200 years, and had changed countless sets of "tests".

That's why, upon emerging, they "didn't always" manage to compete with the Waste Land Wanderers, thus unconsciously tying authority with lineage.

"We've got many of us wrong; a shelter is not a nation, nor a political group, but rather a special disaster relief agency akin to police, firefighters, except its specialty bestowed it an excessively transcendental status and benefits... like the extremely scarce right to survival in that era. Hence, those children thought their forebears were one in a million elites, and they were elites too, thinking that by speaking like them, they would be worshipped by ordinary folks. To think that, it's not only inappropriate now, but even in that era, it was never the case."

Si Si looked at him slightly surprised.

"That you can think so much indeed surprises me."

Mainly because when I first met this guy, he didn't seem like this at all, he seemed more like a potential supporter of the Enlightenment Society.

Going to City of Dawn could have such a big impact?

Chen Jianhong, faced with the surprised gaze, felt a bit embarrassed and scratched the back of his head, laughing as he spoke.

"It's rather embarrassing... I was actually inspired by a Waste Land Wanderer."

"Who?"

"Pol."

Si Si paused for a moment before remembering who that was, and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Tail's eyes shone brightly as he interjected.

"Oh! Was it written by Spielberg?"

Chen Jianhong's eyes suddenly lit up, not expecting to encounter a kindred spirit here, and he said with a laugh.

"Haha, I knew you guys had seen it too!"

Tail, feeling a bit shy, scratched his head and muttered softly.

"Uh, actually, no, our Meat Meat was still drifting on the sea then."

There were actually people on the forum moving it, but reading books in the Game World still felt different than reading them in the real world.

Just like "The Elder Scroll 5", even though people had compiled the books from the game into texts, it just didn't feel the same when moved into the real world.

"Suddenly remembering, we haven't been back for a long time." Hearing the sudden mention of "hometown," Sesame Paste's face also showed a hint of nostalgia.

Even though the ramen shops from City of Dawn had opened in Jinga Lun Port, they hadn't gone to the North Street ramen joint in a long time.

Chen Jianhong was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding this nostalgia, especially since it only took two days by airship from Potato Harbor back to City of Dawn.

However, he soon remembered that this flight route had only been opened two months ago; maybe they just haven't had the time to spare.

"That... is really too bad."

...

Passing through the long corridor of the refuge.

Everyone entered a huge cargo elevator and went into a warehouse deep inside the refuge.

According to the rules set by the First Generation Manager, only those with Manager access could enter here.

It was a vast space, about the size of four football fields.

Standing at the top of the warehouse gangway and looking down, rows of neatly arranged mechanical structures were displayed in the center of the open space.

Some of these included repaired devices—like Dragon Cavalry power armor—pile up in a corner of the warehouse, counting up to a hundred units!

Even more than what the Alliance had previously discovered in the Arsenal of Giant Stone City armory!

Not only that, but there were also types of single-soldier equipment like Gauss Rifles and energy weapons that had been repaired and were shelved in the warehouse...

What's more astonishing was the object displayed in the center of the warehouse, a metal track—or rather, a gun barrel—as long as two high-speed train carriages!

Undoubtedly!

This thing was definitely the electromagnetic cannon used on space escort ships!

And the inventory here had a total of four!

As for the other odd gadgets, probably the reaction cores or anti-gravity devices from starships, they were surprising enough.

Thinking that the Meat Meat would soon be flying in the sky, Tail clenched his fists excitedly, his eyes turning into the shape of silver coins.

"Giao! Si! We've struck it rich!"

Si Si couldn't help but facepalm softly, and reminded in a low voice,

"Ah Wei, wake up, this isn't our reward, it's a mission prop."

Meat Meat was so shocked that her jaw almost dropped to the railing, momentarily lost for words. Sesame Paste also showed a surprised expression, albeit not as exaggerated as Meat Meat and Ah Wei.

Seeing the shocked looks on everyone's faces, Chen Jianhong couldn't help but curl his lips slightly, speaking with a hint of pride,

"A century ago, when we were still in the shelter, we already modified the shells for these four cannons, allowing this railgun to be used within the atmosphere. Not to mention anti-ship capabilities, this thing could even send a 500-kilogram mass bomb to a near-Earth orbit!"

500 kilograms?!

Hearing this, Meat Meat couldn't help but exclaim,

"Good heavens, a half-ton launch payload?! Could you possibly... use this thing to launch satellites?!"

Of course, whether or not satellites could operate in outer space is another matter.

I've heard there's astronomical-level trash drifting out there; even the big shots from Ideal City are stumped.

Si Si commented,

"Launching satellites might not be feasible, considering electronic components that could withstand a muzzle energy of 32 mega-joules... at least they don't exist in reality."

Typically, the muzzle energy that missile tubes can withstand is about that.

And the muzzle energy of this cannon clearly isn't measured in mega-joules.

After all, the Alliance's self-developed No. 60 electromagnetic cannon already reached 60 mega-joules, which is about three times that of the conventional naval guns used in the real world.

This thing probably starts at 30 times that, but who knows what the upper limit is.

However, considering that the semiconductor materials used in the Wasteland differ from those in reality, she didn't want to speak too definitively.

Seeing the awestruck residents of Shelter No. 404, Chen Jianhong smiled and continued to introduce the unique capabilities of his shelter,

"At first, when we considered the Army as a hypothetical enemy, we thought about using missiles with terminal deceleration to deal with airships carrying deflection shields. But then we considered they might install point defense systems on the airships to counter slow targets, so we thought of mounting this railgun onto a battleship of sufficient tonnage."

"Even without the assistance of phase guns to break shields, relying on the kinetic energy of the projectiles themselves could overload the shields. Theoretically, three rounds would be sufficient to bring down the Army's conventional airships!"

"As for whether they have other tricks up their sleeves, we don't know... at least let them know we are not to be trifled with."

Si Si couldn't help but remark,

"This is already quite an extraordinary display of power... If Charles got his hands on these, he might genuinely have a chance at dominating this sea with you guys."

Just like this guy said, their enemies are not without opportunities, both sides are cautiously waiting for the right moment.

"Dominate the sea? Hahaha!"

Chen Jianhong simply grinned, casting his gaze toward the wreckage stripped from the escort ships, slightly narrowing his eyes,

"...If that's the scope of his ambition, then it's far too petty."

"Following your Manager and reentering the Star Sea, wouldn't the scene be far more spectacular than a small pond?"

To be honest.

Whether it was the previous Mongo or now Charles, those guys' visions were too small, even their dreams are so confined.

A Federation dominated by survivors of the Southern sea area?

The frontier of United Humans is out at five light-years!

Compared to that, indeed, that gentleman's words sounded better, and his metaphorical 'cake' tasted better... whether it's for the current Wasteland Wanderers, or those Blue Jackets dreaming of returning to the Prosperity Epoch, they could find their favored tastes with him.

They wouldn't go to the Prosperity Epoch.

But from now on, they would start creating an even greater Epoch!

No wonder Sun Yuechi that guy stays in City of Dawn and refuses to come back…

Chapter 725 Unity is Strength

At Southern Sea Northern Island, in the military harbor's port, a majestic warship stood in the center of the bay.

Its name was "Valiant."

At nearly 400 meters in length and approaching 70,000 tons of displacement, it looked like a monster lying in its lair. The cruisers and destroyers parked alongside it were totally overshadowed, like eggs hatched by it.

The sharply angled, sloping armor covered every inch of the ship's surface, while thick, long cannon barrels stood erect in front and behind the bridge, pointing towards the sky.

And among them, the most conspicuous was the colossal cannon located on the foredeck!

Its caliber alone was not enough to describe its power—the train-car-sized barrel didn't seem like something that belonged in naval warfare.

And indeed it was not.

During the Human Alliance Era, there was no such thing as a navy, and this colossal cannon had been dismantled from a starship. Naturally, its power could not be measured by conventional weapons.

At that moment, the crew aboard seemed to have received a signal as the previously stationary battleship sounded an alarm bell. Driven by its nuclear fusion reactor, it slowly moved its massive body, drifting about three to five hundred meters away from the dock.

Then, the sharply angled barrel slowly raised, then smoothly spread to the sides, splitting open its belly, revealing the once sealed cannon bore entirely.

Violent currents of electricity emitted a hissing sound, stirring the nearby air into agitation. The dramatically fluctuating magnetic field scared away the schools of fish nearby.

On the bridge of the Valiant.

The captain gazed intently at the screen that displayed the calculated firing elements and the predicted trajectory.

In the image, a conical arc across the spherical sea surface overshadowed a small island above.

That was Anle Island!

The second-largest military port in the southern sea area, as well as the main base of the rebels and the puppet authorities.

Upon learning that the submarine Cold Night had been sunk while on a mission near Coral City, President Charles immediately issued an order to bombard Anle Island!

They were to avenge the fifty comrades who had sacrificed themselves on board the Cold Night!

At this time, his adjutant approached from the side, saluted with a resolute demeanor, and reported.

"Calibration complete!"

The captain nodded slowly. After pausing for only two seconds, he decisively commanded,

"Fire!"

Blue plasma accumulated terrifying energy deep within the cannon bore, releasing in an instant with the attack order!

"Hum—!"

The waves that were slapping towards the ship's bow were pushed back in an instant by that terrifying energy, breaking into fine mist amid the relentless surges.

The nearby seawater seemed to collapse two meters downward, then fiercely bounced back, with a scorching white beam soaring through the center of the waves towards the sky, savagely tearing through the black clouds above.

The nearly 70,000-ton battleship was pushed back by the tremendous recoil.

And this was just the first shot!

In less than ten seconds, the capacitors were recharged, and then another scorching white light surged towards the heavens.

On the nearby shore stood spectators, mainly military personnel from the adjacent naval port and the port's workers.

After the incident at dusk, President Charles announced a curfew, and not a single person could be seen on the streets. However, the windows of the buildings were slightly ajar, watching the bolt of lightning rising from the sea.

Looking at the distant battleship that even the night sky seemed to fear, the man standing on the dock shook his head.

"Using this thing for a strategic strike mission is too wasteful. It would be better to send a cruiser over there to shoot a few drones or missiles."

His name was Vallo, a corporal in the Marine Corps. At that moment, he was clad in an ocean-blue painted exoskeleton, with unremoved ammunition still hanging on his belt.

Hours earlier, they had executed the task of occupying the Presidential Mansion and witnessed the collapse of a building and the end of a short and glorious era.

Although Charles still called himself President and everything seemed unchanged as before, everyone knew that he had become a huge "Laken."

With no power to check him.

"Without submarine cover, relying on just a few destroyers for escort is still a bit risky..." Standing next to Vallo, Sergeant Wang Pa, who was holding binoculars, stared intently at the warship and said with a lopsided grin, "If nothing goes wrong, that's as far as it dares to go."

The battle was fought beyond visual range, both above and below the sea.

Even the Federation's mightiest "Brave" battleship couldn't withstand a few nuclear-powered torpedoes.

If the Federation's battleships exist to hunt down the Army's airships, then the Federation's submarines are designed to counter the Federation's battleships.

Shelter No. 70 had always feared that "people outside" would steal the treasure their ancestors picked up near the Tiangong, so over the past century, this sea area has birthed many odd ideas.

Among them were the likes of Dolphin, a "cargo ship" that could return to the seabed at any time, as well as the attack-type nuclear-powered submarines developed with their own warships as hypothetical enemies, destroyers designed with their own submarines as hypothetical enemies, and cruisers designed with their own destroyers as hypothetical enemies, and so on.

On the surface, Anle Island's authorities had two fewer ships than North Island's, but those three extra submarines they had were a real headache, especially now that the North Island's authorities had lost the only submarine "Cold Night."

Clearly, Mr. Charles was well aware of his hand.

Vallo looked over to his commanding officer, puzzled, and asked,

"If I'm not wrong, that main cannon is used against ships; its effect against ground targets is probably not that great. And I've heard that a single shell isn't cheap."

Putting down his binoculars, Wang Pa narrowed his eyes and succinctly said,

"The value of a strategic strike isn't fully measured by the quantity of destruction."

"... What do you mean?"

Wang Pa looked at the subordinate standing beside him and spoke with meaningful depth.

"Why do you think there are 7 governors standing with us, aside from the one in North Island, the location of the capital?"

Vallo: "Isn't it because of Mr. Charles?"

"It's because they're all within a thousand kilometers, because they have to be accountable to their residents, that's all."

He paused, then suddenly smiled, reaching out to pat Vallo's shoulder.

"Just like you and me, we also have to be accountable to our own identity."

With that, he walked past Vallo, heading towards the direction of the barracks.

Frankly, he agreed that the survivors of the Southern sea area should decide their own fate, stop the internal strife, and expand outward, but he did not agree with Charles's methods.

Even if President Mongo had issues, he should have faced legal trial, not the private punishment of the Marine Corps.

However, it's unfortunate that he was only a staff sergeant, above whom were higher-ranking non-commissioned officers, as well as those truly in command of them.

Everything had reached this point.

No matter how their children would judge them in the future, they could only continue to fight now.

He always had a premonition.

This war might be more difficult than anyone had imagined...

...

On Anle Island.

Thunderous explosions shattered the tranquility, the roaring thunder falling on both sea and land.

The half-ton mass bombs, like man-made meteors, could still cause tremendous destruction with their sheer kinetic energy, even without any explosive payload!

At the front of the shell was air compressed to a solid-like form, while at the rear a vacuum strip was forcibly trailed behind, the immense pressure difference brutally tearing at the shell's warhead, incinerating the sparse remaining resistance coating.

During this process, the temperature of the shell continued to rise, until reaching a critical point of collapse—

One of the mass bombs disintegrated in mid-air and exploded, bursting into searing white light and molten metal, spreading towards the buildings on the island like fireworks.

Two other bombs fell straight onto the island, whipping up two trails of rolling dust.

As for the remaining seven shells, they all plunged into the sea, disappearing after blasting up columns of boiling water.

Even after meticulous calculations were made, taking into account the rotation of Earth, a distance of over a thousand kilometers was too far, in some parallel world akin to from "Paracels" to "Brunei."

The actual flight distance of the ten mass bombs through the air was far more than just a thousand kilometers, having three hit the island could be considered nothing short of miraculous.

The two bombs that hit the island directly carved out two deep pits on the mountain, fortunately not striking the harbor or the submarine factory behind the mountain, nor causing any casualties.

On the contrary, the bomb that exploded in mid-air caused greater damage, with many nearby windows shattered and roofs marred by holes and fragments melted by the metallic slag.

Having anticipated a strategic strike from North Island, the authorities on Anle Island had already evacuated tens of thousands of residents to the vicinity of the submarine factory on the southern side of the mountain.

Since most of these residents were either military personnel or employees of military factories, and most of them had strong discipline, the evacuation did not lead to much chaos.

Inside the command center, Commander Li Minghui looked intently at the sea chart spread out on the table, his ashtray beside him filled with cigarette butts.

What worried him was not just the battleships from North Island but also the bad news from the hinterlands of the south—

The governor of Ring Island had indicated in his last telegram that the residents of Ring Island had joined the South Sea Union.

This was undoubtedly bad news.

It meant not only that the Anle Island authorities would face four settlements against the eight of North Island, which held naval supremacy, but also the worrying separatist impact of Ring Island on the legitimacy of the "Declaration."

This was no small matter.

After all, their declaration was the constitution, and the legitimacy of Anle Island authorities was granted by that declaration.

Charles could afford to disregard legitimacy because he had plenty of naval guns.

But Li Minghui could not afford to dismiss it, and the reason was very pragmatic—because their fist was not big enough.

Now, never mind building a few more submarines; they might struggle even to eat in another two months.

Just now, Charles had signed his first presidential order since taking office, announcing the imposition of martial law on North Island.

And the first order he had signed was to announce a rationing system for food supplies on the island.

Since this order was not announced over the radio, Charles probably didn't know yet.

If the guy did know, he would probably be laughing his head off...

As Li Minghui grappled with how to resolve the current problem, his guard stood at the door and saluted.

"Report! A message has come from Shelter No. 70!"

"Shelter No. 70?" Li Minghui was startled, his expression clearly showing surprise, but he quickly recovered and asked, "…What are they saying?"

The guard reported truthfully.

"They wish to communicate with you via telegraph!"

Li Minghui pondered for a moment, not hesitating, he put down his pen and followed the guard to the communications room.

After ordering the guard to keep watch at the door and not to let anyone come close, he picked up the headset hanging on the radio and put it on his head.

"This is Anle Island's Naval Command, I am the highest responsible officer here, Li Minghui, who is this?"

A prompt reply came from the other side of the communication channel,

"Chen Jianhong, captain of the Dolphin, the residents of Shelter No. 70, and their somewhat trustworthy representative."

Li Minghui frowned, asking in a stern voice.

"What do you want to say?"

"…An idea you may find surprising, yet it is also the best solution we can think of at the moment."

"Go ahead.

"Let's join hands, or to put it more accurately, I hope we can unite."

There was silence at the front of the radio for a while, with only the soft crackling of static, before any response came.

"To unite..."

Squeezing out the word from his lips, Li Minghui's facial expression twitched slightly, and with an odd tone, he said, "Isn't it a bit late for you to be saying this now?"

"I believe it's never too late. We have studied your declaration and drafted a new one. From now on, the Shelter Managers shall no longer have management rights over all matters in the Southern Sea area and will only manage the internal affairs of the shelter according to shelter regulations. At the same time, all survivors and residents of the refuge in the Southern sea area will enjoy equal rights, not only in education and medical care but also including legislation, becoming a commander or more... Isn't that what you are striving for?"

As he reached this point, Chen Jianhong paused before continuing.

"We have already shed our coats, what about you?"

Li Minghui narrowed his eyes.

"Who can assure you will keep your promises?"

A light chuckle came through the radio.

"Aren't you right there, or are three submarines not enough for you to stand up straight?"

Li Minghui also laughed lightly, his demeanor gradually cooling down.

"...Don't forget, I am the person who trusts you the least, otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting in this position."

"That's good. If you were the type to just liste to whatever we said, I'd hesitate to take off this coat just yet... look, we have done some good things. At least the First Generation Manager educated you all. Otherwise, you'd be no different from those in the Poluo Province."

Chen Jianhong suddenly thought of something and continued.

"Right, I've been so busy trying to win you over, I almost forgot to mention the important matter. We've established the South Sea Survivor Alliance. Our plan is to rebuild the ocean current power stations, starting with the sea floor part we can control, then restore Coral City and its manufacturing facilities, and ultimately join forces with our allies to defeat the enemies from the north."

There was half a sentence he didn't say.

To achieve this goal, they needed Anle Island's three submarines.

Without the protection of submarines, just a few dozen mutants would be enough to give them a headache.

Even if the Alliance would support their defense, he couldn't bear to see those people wielding small pipes and aiming guns at mutants at the bottom of the sea.

Those noble people should carry their nobility into the new era, not perish together with beasts...

Li Minghui narrowed his eyes slightly, contemplating his words over and over again in his heart.

It was indeed a good idea.

He had considered with his staff just now to rely on Anle Island's undersea advantage to swiftly restore the production of Coral City and Anle Island's factories, to make more submarines before Northern Island's destroyers could start coming down in numbers.

Gaining the Alliance's support was key to realizing this plan.

After all, mining the seabed ore deposits was currently unrealistic, since the main processing facilities were in President Charle's possession, and they could not manufacture even one submarine with just the material reserves on the island.

"The Alliance... have you already made contact with them?"

"Yes," Chen Jianhong admitted outright. "And it's not just the Alliance, but also the Ring Island that stands with us. Later, I also plan to win over the other three settlements that stand with you. In the most optimistic scenario, we could pull you in too, having six settlements including Coral City. Even if Charles remains tough to deal with, our power would be much stronger than it is now."

"They won't stand on your side," Li Minghui coldly hummed out the words, yet he felt like he didn't quite believe it, so he added, "Why can't we look for the Alliance ourselves?"

Chen Jianhong laughed and said.

"Do you think they would choose you?"

Li Minghui scoffed coldly.

"Why not? They can even ally with the feudal lords of Luo Xia Province. Even if we're not as good as during President Mongo's era, we're certainly a lot better than those feudal kingdoms!"

Chen Jianhong sighed and said.

"If you only look at the surface of issues, that's indeed true. But if you've actually been to Luo Xia Province, you wouldn't say such foolish things."

Li Minghui furrowed his brows.

"What do you mean?"

Chen Jianhong continued.

"The reason the Royal Family still exists in Luo Xia Province is because the local survivors have wholeheartedly chosen their tradition and faith, unafraid of bloodshed and sacrifice. If the survivors of the Southern sea area united around you from their hearts, the Alliance would of course not mind cooperating with you. But look around you—do you have such people by your side? Or, do you have that level of 'legitimacy'?"

He paused, then spoke piercingly.

"Besides, they never allied with a king; it has always been the local survivors. They build railroads, schools, and hospitals for the local people, and they abolished slavery. Which of theese services was for the king? Kings don't need those things! They simply didn't coat their concept of equality onto bullets and force it onto the local people!"

"If it were better for this area without you, I think they would have no reason to let a middleman make a profit," he continued. "They could simply try doing what they've done in the Falcon Kingdom, like handing a gun to each of those behind you. If those guys dare to shoot at you, do you have the guts to order a bombardment on them?"

Li Minghui was momentarily at a loss for words, staring blankly at the radio, unable to speak.

Indeed...

The Southern Sea area and Luo Xia Province were entirely different places.

There was no feudal tradition here, and the education rate even surpassed that of the Alliance he so desperately wanted to win over!

The war between the island survivors and Shelter No. 70 was for equality; the war between the authorities of Anle Island and North Island was also to defend this hard-earned right—to prevent an ambitious usurper like Charles.

If he ended up becoming a "villain" like Charles, launching wars in the name of declarations and abolishing declarations in the name of war, ultimately seizing all power for himself... then the four governors would never stand by his side. Even if they stood with him now, they would certainly oppose him once they came to their senses.

After all, if both sides are equally rotten, why not stand on the side with the bigger guns?

You have to choose between faith and the sword.

Supporting the Anle Island authorities was not without risks—they all had to be accountable to their residents.

But if he chose to become a person utterly unlike Charles, to become a true hero fighting for the constitution, and after it all ended, to keep his inaugural oath, to refuse a peace sustained by lies, to seek actual unity...

That seemed no different from promptly accepting the olive branch thrown by the Southern Sea Alliance.

No matter the past, the residents of Shelter No. 70 now fought for the ideal of equality and had voluntarily shed their coats.

Why not fulfill that promise now?

All he needed to do was nod and keep his word, and they could achieve that true union, with him ending as a hero...

A struggle surfaced on Li Minghui's face, as he involuntarily clenched the fist resting before the radio.

Had he faced this choice just a day earlier, he probably wouldn't have hesitated to agree.

But now, he had finally risen above the masses... whether he was propped up there or whether he had always yearned for it deep inside.

He was no saint...

It was just too hard!

Seemingly sensing his indecision, the radio once again transmitted an earnest piece of advice.

"Admit it, this isn't Luo Xia Province, nor is it Poluo Province. Neither Charles nor you have a chance of becoming the king—the guy who first got a hot seat has already thrown down his hat and run."

"If you think you're more professional than him, you can take your impractical ideas and place a bet, but while he could escape, you definitely can't! Either fulfill your promise made on the broadcast and finish what you've started!"

Chen Jianhong spoke deliberately, repeating what he had heard on the broadcast.

Whether or not it was truly heartfelt, it at least came from his own mouth.

"...We will never compromise with beasts, nor will we accept peace maintained by lies again."

"What we need is real unity!"

"Real!"

...

"...We will never compromise with beasts, nor will we tolerate the Torch Church continuing their foolish experiments, watching them drag the last pure land beneath our feet into an irreversible abyss!"

In the City of Dawn, Cohesive Mansion's auditorium.

Over two hundred people sat in the semi-circular conference room, the solemn and respectful voice echoing over the heads of those present.

Seated here were representatives from various settlements.

The farthest came from Triumph City and Ideal City, the nearest from the neighboring Kingdom, and even from Garbage City just east of the City of Dawn, as well as Bugra Free State, attending on behalf of the Grand Canyon.

Beyond these, there were many from the Survivor Forces of the Eastern and Western Provinces, whose power varied, but most played a relatively important role locally.

The entire Conference Building was completed by a joint team of corporate and Academy construction workers, with the Army's Thousands of Leaders overseeing the project, thereby finishing in just two months what should have taken one.

Yet, compared to the insignificant building itself, most of the two hundred plus people seated during the conference were the fruits of Alliance diplomacy.

After all, whether attracted here by the Army, Academy, or corporations, in the end, it was the Alliance that had gathered them from all over the Central Continent here.

At this moment, the respected Alliance Manager stood in the center of the auditorium, delivering an impassioned speech.

Countless gazes converged upon the man, especially those from Academy representatives, who listened with particular seriousness, activating their bionic eyes' recording function and neck-implants' vertical stabilizers to ensure the camera wouldn't shake.

It was as if this were some important sociological material.

Of course, it could just be that guy's habit—heard it's common amongst the Academy folks.

Bennott, sitting in the front row with his legs crossed, curled his lips disdainfully, not listening carefully.

Perhaps that guy wasn't wrong; the survivors on the Wasteland should indeed join hands to do something, at least unite on the issue of the "Mutated slime fungus," which threatened the safety of everyone's survival.

But was this a problem that could be solved just by flapping lips?

Counting one by one those seated here, including the man on the stage, which of their represented communities had made more sacrifices than the Weilante People to tackle the Mutated slime fungus?

The companies that enjoyed themselves behind closed doors? Or the Academy that "built ships behind closed doors" in the Wandering Swamp?

Not to mention the newly founded Alliance, which probably had lost fewer people to the slime fungus than those killed by their own hands. Wait fifty years before comparing with them.

Some young officers might have forgotten, but he was all too aware of the bloody history of the Weilante People.

The War Construction Committee "created" them explicitly to deal with the slime fungi, and the reason their noses had turned from shackles to medals was because they'd fought for it tooth and nail!

As for the ally sitting beside him from that so-called Empire, Bennott didn't even bother giving him a glance.

There is no Mutated slime fungus in Poluo Province; those guys fought their own people all their lives, fabricating labels to stick on and fight about if they didn't have any, only calming down in recent years. However, the governor sent by Triumph City mentioned they might start fighting again soon.

Bennott couldn't help but yawn, his gaze drifting boredly towards the corporate representatives also sitting in the front row.

He didn't need to guess; that guy had surely reached some private agreement with the Alliance before the meeting, ready to cast an affirmative vote.

As he yawned, the person he despised most beside him reacted completely differently to the voice from the stage.

Niyan, who had attended the meeting in place of Duke Garava, couldn't help but hold his breath, his not particularly large eyes filled with fervor and longing, like a rat hiding in the shadow of a stove, greedily gasping at a lamp flame.

If only he could follow by that great man's side for ten more lifetimes as a member of the Mouse Tribe...

The voice's rises and falls were like the beating of a war drum; merely listening to him speak, Niyan felt his heart pounding violently, as if it were about to fly out of his throat.

Compared to that warm, glowing figure, his "noble" Duke seemed like a mere speck of dust!

No—

How dare that sick weakling compare himself to this great person?

Not to mention that guy isn't worthy of comparison to this great person, but even the big-nosed one sitting beside him is nothing more than a gutter rat in front of this great person.

In terms of lineage, who has a purer bloodline than those sheltered by the refuge?

In terms of ability, they stood up from the ruins in just a few short years!

Not to mention knowledge and experience—they're the smartest people on the Wasteland, where even the smartest of brains flock to their side. Even those stingy, condescending folks in the north begrudgingly admit that they possess some knowledge that is unknown to them and are willing to exchange truly valuable things with them.

Speaking of understanding the Alliance, Niyan, who never misses a single newspaper, can confidently say that he understands this place better than the people living here, and even understands that great person better!

Without a doubt, he is a true fan of that great person!

Although he's well aware of his status as a humble member of the Mouse Tribe...

As for that dirty bandit sitting next to him, Niyan doesn't even bother to give him a glance.

Duke Garava doesn't see it clearly, nor does His Majesty, but he knows very well which beast has harmed his kin the most.

Chu Guang, standing at the podium, suddenly felt an unexpected chill as if something was spying on him.

It turns out, having too high a perception isn't always a good thing—it can lead to paranoia.

The vast majority of people sitting here are watching him, hanging on his every word, every sentence.

Certainly, there's no need for anyone to be sneaking peeks...

Despite his confusion, now is not the time to worry about such trivial matters.

As he brought his speech to a close, Chu Guang clenched his right fist and placed it firmly on the podium.

"...Ladies and gentlemen, since entering the Wasteland Era, we are facing the most severe crisis in two hundred years!"

"If we don't take the opportunity to completely smother it in the cradle before it's fully fledged, all our efforts to rebuild this world will have been in vain!"

"We shall take the initiative to launch an attack, starting from the north against the territory controlled by the Torch Church! However, our strength alone isn't enough to solve all the problems. I need you to temporarily set aside unresolved disputes and contentions, at least for now—"

"Let us once again unite for the same goal!"

With intense eyes scanning the entire hall, Chu Guang placed both hands on the lectern.

And just as he expected, applause started from the first row and quickly spread throughout the entire venue.

Whether they were allies or former opponents, or even the Empire with which they had just had a conflict...

Everyone, without exception, cast a favorable vote—for this just war.

In fact, from the beginning, Chu Guang never doubted that the Torch Church didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell.

Those madmen used all their wits and schemes to cobble together a mere few islands, and even then, it was a lukewarm alliance at best.

In contrast, his own side, through the victory four months ago and the lobbying and mobilization of the past four months, had already gathered a force far more powerful than the so-called "Heaven" touted by those lunatics.

No matter what kind of struggle those lunatics plan to make.

From the moment they attempted to make enemies with all the survivors on the Wasteland, their fate was already sealed!

Chapter 726 War Machine Starts!

In the central region of Brocade River Province, next to a lush mangrove forest, there nestled a settlement known as Mafu Town, approximately one hundred and fifty kilometers away from Singular Point City.

Although it was just an unremarkable small town, the population living here was actually not that insubstantial.

At least compared to the uninhabited areas around it, it could already be considered a "smoke-curling" settlement.

A century ago, local survivors made their living by breeding horses, and the not-too-large settlement supported only two or three hundred people.

But around a hundred years into the Wasteland Era, Brocade River Province saw an increase in farms and manors, and the slave-owner-led manor economy flourished. Local survivors switched to herding cattle and sheep, providing food and shelter to the merchants traveling from the south to the north, and the town gradually grew to house two or three thousand households, seven or eight thousand people.

As for now, the Alliance's railway had been built through the area, giving the locals another job: guarding the railway and selling roasted sausages and sunflower seeds near the train station and so on.

Each day, they only needed to ride their horses along the railway line for a round, ensuring the safety of the nearly one hundred and fifty-kilometer stretch of railway, ensuring that the Alliance's trains did not have accidents there, and the Alliance's insurance company would pay them a sum of money.

As to why it was the insurance company and not the company operating the railway that gave them the money, they didn't quite understand. In the end, as long as those people were willing to pay, it was all good.

Moreover, since the railway had been built, those smoke-billowing trains would occasionally bring along some interesting novelties en route.

Items like tables and chairs, periodicals and books, clothes and pants, furniture and appliances, as well as some puffed and canned foods that no one had seen before could be taken home as long as they pulled out the coins.

To earn more silver coins, those idle young fellows in the town one after another boarded the train, intending to make a (da) splash (gong) on the Alliance's territories.

In the past, people might have hesitated to leave because it was too far from home, making it difficult to return, even if they thought there might be opportunities to make money there. But now, a trip to City of Dawn took less than a day, so many people boarded the train with a try-it-and-see attitude.

Although most people in the town did not feel that they were part of the Alliance, they just thought that the Alliance and those merchants coming and going didn't seem much different, merely doing business a little bigger. Nonetheless, their lifestyle and habits were still more or less influenced by Dawn City, just as the slave owner's manor economy had once influenced their production and life.

Regardless of whether those young men who went to work in Dawn City brought back pan-fried buns and noodles, or the Great Antler God and Big Horn Rat, or even "Awakener Bol" and the "Man and Automation" from Singular Point City, they were all things that this small town had not encountered before.

Especially in recent times, it was not only young men who had boarded the train but even the old town chief of this small town had visited Dawn City to participate in that Sticky Community meeting.

According to the letters the old man sent back, he had seen quite a few bigwigs there. Not only was there the big-nosed guy from Triumph City, but there were also people from Ideal City and the Academy.

These bigwigs sat together and discussed making the resolution of the "Mutated slime fungus" a top priority.

But before that, they had to deal with a group called Torch. Those madmen were planning to use the technology from the Era of Prosperity to spread something called Nago in the sea.

The townspeople couldn't understand what it meant; many of them had never seen a mutant slime fungus or the sea in their lives, only occasionally spotting a couple of proselytizing madmen.

But the old town chief, who had now seen the world, told them that this thing is a surefire opportunity!

And a big one at that!

Although there were no Mucor Nests around Mafu Town, there was no shortage of them in Brocade River Province.

Solving the mucor issue wasn't really important to them, much like the railway the Alliance had built.

But if they could help those bigwigs solve their problems, their lives could visibly improve!

To put it in the words of that manager from the Alliance, making money was in no way embarrassing.

They knew that if they could live their lives well and allow people to live the life they should, free from poverty and ignorance, they were already making a significant contribution to ending the Wasteland Era.

He wouldn't demand that they hold their torch as high as the Alliance does.

As usual, the old town mayor of Dawn City had probably heard some rousing speech, and as the sun was about to set, he sent an urgent telegram to the town hall.

The town hall secretary yawned as he posted the telegram on the public notice board in the square, nailing it up before clocking off to play cards at the tavern.

A crowd of townsfolk gathered around the square, curious, and after some shoving, a literate cobbler was summoned to read the telegram sent by the mayor.

"The Mucor Research Community meeting has passed Resolution No. 1 unanimously. All members declare war on the Torch Church and its servants..." he murmured his summarized content, the man's expression changed slightly, he whispered incredulously, "Are we going to war?"

Upon hearing this, a buzz of whispers spread among the crowd.

Especially the young men from families that ran farms and forestries showed eager expressions on their faces.

But worry also appeared on the faces of some, as they quickly remembered they were part of that community too, their mayor was at that meeting, and perhaps had even cast a vote.

Residents of Mafu Town have a fierce reputation, not afraid of a few missionary zealots, but the thought of fighting a war against a bunch of strangers made most hesitant, even though they knew the Torch was no good thing.

A local farmer looked at the cobbler reading the notice, furrowed his brows, and asked.

"Do we need to go to the battlefield?"

In the past, when Mafu Town clashed with outsiders, those with horses would bring horses, those with guns would bring guns, and those with nothing would give their lives— who knew what the rules were now.

Ever since the Alliance had built a railway here, raider camps and mutant nests in the vicinity had vanished as if into thin air. Although there were still occasional small groups of looters or variants roaming around, large-scale fighting had long been absent.

"...No, that won't be necessary, our required work is logistical support, providing accommodation, food, and fresh water as well as daily necessities for those who come to fight," replied the cobbler after reading to the end of the notice, then hesitated and added.

"Also, the mayor asked us to make use of any spare warehouses, cowsheds, stables, or even attics, turning them into hotels, taverns, guesthouses, and the like... In the next few days, I expect many will be coming over from Dawn City."

He wasn't sure what a guesthouse was but supposed it must be similar to a hotel or tavern.

Seeing this, the townsfolk exchanged glances, their faces a tapestry of indecision.

It was then a stout housewife stepped forward and asked skeptically.

"Do they pay?"

The cobbler was taken aback for a moment before responding.

"Why wouldn't they?"

In his experience, they had never had someone follow the train over without paying; on the contrary, it seemed like those guys couldn't wait to stuff silver coins into their pockets, even though they'd find ways to make the money back soon after.

Hearing this, everyone felt there might be some sense in that, and except for a few who had been eager to try their luck now disheartened at losing the opportunity to shine, most who had been hesitant now had a glint in their eye.

At last, the crowd around the bulletin board realized the big deal the old town mayor had brought back to them, and they scattered like a swarm of bees, all hurrying back home to prepare their vacant houses.

There was no shortage of land in the Wasteland, especially around Mafu Town where land was vast and the population sparse, with vast uninhabited areas beyond the town.

Many of the residents lived in two-story wooden houses with ladders usually outside, and it wasn't a bad idea to turn the spare first floor or second floor into inns.

As it happened, many young people had recently left for City of Dawn, freeing up plenty of vacant houses and rooms.

Apart from those rushing to their homes, there was someone in the square who shouted out.

"Right, I just remembered... I've got this huge chunk of iron in my old warehouse, it's got tracks underneath, looks like something from the Era of Prosperity, my grandfather dragged it back from a city area over a hundred kilometers away."

The man had a straw hat on his back and a towel over his shoulder, looking like a farmer.

Somebody curiously looked at him and asked,

"What's that?"

The farmer shook his head.

"Don't know... but it looks like something from a battlefield. We tried to turn it into a tractor before, but we couldn't dismantle it, so we just threw it in the warehouse."

Soon someone patted his shoulder and laughed,

"When the next train comes, drag it to City of Dawn to ask around. There are a lot of archaeologists over there who should offer you a good price."

Then another person chimed in,

"Once you sell it, you're treating us to drinks, ha!"

The farmer scratched his head and said with a smile,

"Haha, for sure!"

If only he could actually get some money for it...

As the residents of Mafu Town busied themselves for the coming war, other settlements linked by railway and the Tributary of Tianshui did the same, springing into action one by one with the dispatch of telegrams and urgent letters.

A united front was slowly forming.

These settlements were like gears in a huge machine, insignificant when scattered on the ground, and perhaps unnoticed by the giants of the Wasteland, but once strung together by a chain, the energy they unleashed was formidable.

Even the person who strung them together might not fully understand what was on the chain.

After all, who isn't a descendant from the Era of Prosperity?

The Waste Land Wanderers weren't truly primitive people; their forebears had lived in a great era, which then receded into the distance along with their forefathers.

Who knows, there could be some deadly legacy weapons from the Era of Prosperity hidden in one of those settlements, just never found the right place to use them, so they never came to light.

As those rusty gears began to turn for a common purpose, City of Dawn at the center of this great machine was also bustling with activity.

A military train from Dawn City blew its whistle and came to a steady stop beside the platform of the Dawn City train station.

Its carriages were filled with ammunition, supplies, and trainloads of heavy artillery, all destined for the front line.

Some were purchased by the Alliance while others were sponsored or sent from the individual members of the Sticky Community.

For instance, two 902mm heavy mortars were among the war machines generously provided by Triumph City.

The short, stocky barrels resembled upturned pig snouts, the massive bore big enough to fit two people inside.

The Weilante People called them "Wild boar."

Though they may look antiquated, their killing power is no joke, even surpassing some tactical nuclear weapons, particularly when taking on hardened targets like concrete bunkers.

Their only drawback is that they're incredibly heavy, the mortar itself weighing a staggering 150 tons, far exceeding the Alliance's No. 2 tanks, and the shell weight a horrifying 5 tons! It's essentially a postmodern enhanced version of the "Karl-giant cannon!"

By comparison, the main gun of the Steel Heart seemed almost charmingly small.

It was said that these two guns were produced by a factory under the Southern Army and shipped across the sea from Triumph City to Silver Moon Bay and then by railway to City of Dawn.

Although no one knows what kind of obsessive thoughts the people of Weilante in the southern West Continent harbored when they designed such a distorted weapon, the Alliance naturally did not refuse the free gift, accepting it with open arms.

But for now, the Alliance lacked a vehicle to tow these massive mortars and deemed it impractical to build a specific chariot just for these imports, so they simply welded them onto train carriages.

In contrast, the No. 60 electromagnetic cannons donated by enterprises seemed much more genuine and versatile.

Although the Alliance could manufacture these themselves, their production capacity couldn't compare with Ideal City.

The Academy, for its part, delivered a batch of automated combat drones and swarm missiles to City of Dawn, able to be operated in conjunction with neural connection devices.

Intelligence System players had new toys to play with.

Waiting at the train station, alongside the weapons bound for the front line, were the players about to rush there themselves.

At that moment, five hundred players from the Death Legion clad in exoskeletons sat atop the similarly armored backs of the Claw of death, bidding a reluctant farewell to their fellow Residents of the refuge—

At least to those Waste Land Wanderers who couldn't understand Mandarin, it seemed that way.

"Hahaha! Dumbfounded, aren't you? I'm one of the first!"

"Edge bro is the man!!!"

"Guys! Vote 6 for our leader! Finally, he's proving useful!"

"6666!"

The players standing at the platform couldn't help but look enviously at this lucky bunch, cursing that it wasn't them boarding the train.

Watching those guys looking so smug, the Canyon Running Mole just couldn't bear it and whined a little.

"Dammit, my Chimera is way cooler than those Cannon Fodder!"

When they fought in Brocade River City, it was their Skeleton Corps that led the charge. They thought there would be no suspense this time, but unexpectedly, the Death Legion snatched the lead from them.

Standing nearby, "Beta the Toy Car Driver" chimed in.

"Exactly! Why the hell aren't we at the vanguard!"

Shuke, the helicopter pilot, says, "There must be some shady backdoor deals going on here."

Looking at the group of whining losers, Edge Shoveling, who was riding on a Claw of Death, nearly died laughing and shouted at the Mole.

"Give it a rest, will ya? With five hundred armored Claws of Death under my command that can scale mountains and cross rivers, who else if not us? Can your Chimera even cross a small ditch?"

"Midnight Carrying an Umbrella and Not a Sword," retorted, "Exactly! Does your Gun Tower turn as fast as I charge?"

Canyon Running Mole: "Come on, give it a try! I'll be waiting for you at Camp 101's arena!"

"Just go play around that place yourself," Edge Shoveling laughed, pulling down his helmet's visor as he clutched the restless Claw of Death beneath him, "I'm off to the front lines to collect heads."

Debt Giant Eye joked with a grin, "Brother Mole, better go back to playing your Game! Leave the fighting to us pros!"

He had over a hundred children that were pretty useless and ate like pigs, fattening up and almost driving him to bankruptcy.

Now that the fighting had started, finally, these children could be put to use.

Even if they couldn't withstand the front lines, helping to transport supplies or embedding as eyes-on-the-ground would be excellent.

Canyon Running Mole: "Get lost!"

Watching the boisterous crowd, the Spring Water Commander with crossed arms shook his head and sighed helplessly.

"I thought about it all night and still can't understand why it wasn't our Storm Corps leading the charge."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group also looked thoughtful, "Indeed... it's outrageous to put those with the highest casualty rate at the forefront."

Likewise, standing at the platform, Silver Daddy immediately felt displeased upon hearing this and looked at the guy with a deeply aggrieved expression.

"Have you considered the feelings of our Silver Corps?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was taken aback, and it took them a while to remember that their casualty rate wasn't low either, so they quickly laughed it off.

"Sorry... I forgot."

Silver Daddy: "@#%@!"

In this harmonious atmosphere, Brother Edge and his brethren boarded a train headed to Luo Xia Province.

They were to take the train to the central region of Luo Xia Province, to join with the construction troops that had headed there earlier in the year. Then, they would launch an offensive from the north of the territory controlled by the Torch Church, pushing the front line to the border between Luo Xia Province and Haiye Province.

By then, reinforcements from armies, companies, and even academies would join them there.

The Manager had only one demand for them, and it was to fight with the same vigor they showed in Luo Xia Province!

To not let their allies look down on them!

...

It wasn't just the train station that was busy, but the Alliance's airport as well.

A massive transport plane stood ready at the end of the runway, its huge body like the wings of a Peng, its four massive engines solidly welded to the wings.

This was the Alliance's first "self-produced and self-researched" big plane!

Its number was H-10, codenamed "Overlord," a joint design by Factory No.81 and the Academy's design institute.

Initially, the players from Factory No.81 wanted to use the codename "Peng" because the thing was really big, but to avoid confusing the kids who always mix up virtual and reality, they decided, after much deliberation, to use an unused military codename from the real world.

The plane's power storage used entirely solid hydrogen, while the power system was a plasma engine similar to the one on the "Tiger Whale" transport plane.

Its maximum range was up to 2000 kilometers, slightly inferior to the 3000+km range of the Tiger Whale, but its max payload was a bit higher, reaching 150 tons!

After all, this beast was equipped with four engines, and it was indeed a case of strength creating miracles.

To be honest, saying that this thing was similar to the Tiger Whale was a bit modest.

If one were to ignore the differences in appearance between the body and engines, aside from not being able to rotate the wings freely for complex maneuvers and switch between fixed-wing mode and vertical takeoff and landing mode, it was practically a knockoff "Fat Tiger" or a "Thin Whale."

Of course, to make up for the lack of vertical takeoff and landing, Goblin Technology collaborated with the research institute under the Academy to design a "small plane" that could switch between fixed-wing mode and vertical takeoff and landing mode.

That gadget was called "Thunder," but it wasn't deployed here at the moment.

As a powerful upgraded version of the "Soaring Clouds" fighter jet, it, like "Overlord," used an electric propulsion plasma engine, only its power unit wasn't solid hydrogen but a fusion battery similar to power armor but with a higher energy density and cost.

The main advantage of a plasma engine wasn't thrust or energy conservation but the stable output of the plasma exhaust stream. Its maneuverability and stability were much stronger than the chemical engines used in traditional jet aircraft.

That's why players could have more room to fully display their creativity and bring to the Game some ideas that are impossible or too costly to realize in reality.

As for the actual performance, only the battlefield could tell.

At the moment, ground support vehicles were shuttling back and forth between the runway and the warehouse, stuffing boxes and bundles of supplies into the back of "Overlord."

As the cargo hold filled up, the door slowly closed, and the Pigman Brothers, casually chewing gum, skillfully pushed the throttle, guiding the plane onto the runway, trailing four blue arcs of light as it soared into the sky.

Although his flight path and the train heading south were in the same direction, his destination was not Brocade River Province, but Baiyue Province, located to the southwest of Haiye Province.

Near the military base northwest of Potato Harbor, there was a two-kilometer-long runway.

Although building and maintaining a runway in Baiyue Province was costly, Chu Guang ultimately decided to foot the bill out of strategic necessity, commissioning local players to construct it.

After all, the Iron Heart had only one vessel, and relying on inflatable airships to transport supplies was just too sluggish when it mattered.

The Alliance was planning to launch simultaneous offensives from both the south and north against the territories under the actual control of the Torch Church; therefore, the military deployment around Potato Harbor was also essential.

Next to the airport runway, two corporate pilots looked in the direction where the Overlord transport plane disappeared, exchanging odd glances.

The more straightforward one shared the confusion in his heart directly.

"… Is it my imagination, or does that thing somewhat resemble our engines?"

The one standing next to him opened his mouth and gave an ambiguous answer.

"Perhaps...it's just an illusion."

Let's assume it's an illusion.

After all, there's no such thing as patents in the Wasteland.

Their engines were copied from the plasma thrusters on the Era of Prosperity's starships, and with so many residents of the refuge copying new parts, there didn't seem to be anything unreasonable about it.

In any case, now wasn't the time to argue about this. Plus, the Alliance was still their ally.

Even if there were disputes, they would have to wait until after this war was over to address them...

…

North of the City of Dawn, near the Corps Diplomatic Team's residence, there was a bustling lobby in a certain hotel.

And the focus of everyone's heated discussions was naturally the latest issue of the Survivor's Daily.

Two major headlines appeared on today's paper, an unprecedented occurrence.

One headline was about the Sticky Community declaring war on the Torch, and the other was about the newly established South Sea Union.

Although the Alliance seldom actively exported its values, there was no shortage of followers eager to embrace the Dawn on the Wasteland.

It was said that the South Sea Union's territory was even larger than the Alliance's!

However, their "land" was so small that the residents of Dawn City were more surprised about how they managed to cram people onto those tiny islands than about what was happening there.

Surprise notwithstanding,

The topic of the Southern sea area didn't generate much discussion heat in Dawn City, at least not as much as the "Sticky Community declaring war on the Torch Church"—a truly significant event!

After all, nothing had been more topical than the Mucor Research Community meeting being held over the past four months.

And as for the atrocities committed by the Torch Church and its followers, the survivors in Dawn City had vivid memories.

Most of them were Bone Chewing Chaos survivors, including those who had fled from Brocade River Province; almost everyone loathed those madmen to the bone.

Now that they heard that all members of the Sticky Community had declared war on the Torch Church, nearly everyone couldn't help but cheer.

"It's about time someone dealt with those dogs!" A drunken mercenary slammed his right fist on the table, bellowing inebriatedly.

The merchant sitting next to him spoke in a grave voice.

"I remember the Chewing Bone Tribe had their shadow! These beasts, a bunch of inhuman..."

"Unexpectedly, the Weilante People are standing with us. Those guys have their fair share of beastly deeds."

"There are also those from Bugra. I always have the feeling they're no good."

"To use the Manager's words, those guys are no good, but we can put our disputes with them aside for now. We need to solve the more critical issues first."

The hotel lobby was filled with noisy voices, and no one noticed the person in the corner.

It was the ambassador from the West Winds Empire, Duke Garava, who had just been discharged from the hospital.

Although the doctor had advised him to drink less and read fewer newspapers, it was clear he hadn't followed his medical guidance, as he defiantly clenched a copy of the Survivor's Daily bought by his servant.

Staring at the newspaper's headline, Duke Garava's face showed a sickly flush of excitement as he muttered under his breath.

"It's started!"

Finally, it had begun!

Once the Alliance's war machine started up, they would surely have no time to pay attention to the affairs of Poluo Province, allowing their empire not only a chance to catch its breath but also potentially an opportunity to turn the tide and regain their former glory!

However—

The Corps also seemed to have joined this war against the Torch, and they even sent direct troops from the Eastern Legion.

As the largest ally of the Corps and one of the main member states of the Sticky Community, Duke Garava pondered that they should make some gesture.

At least let the Corps realize their importance.

Moreover, it was a deal with no risk involved.

Facing the wrath of three immortals, the Torch probably wouldn't last long, let alone have their ashes scattered.

Perhaps they might even snag some spoils of war.

Stroking his chin, Duke Garava contemplated in his heart.

"… Let His Majesty send some people over symbolically, at least."

Chapter 727: Bringing Death to the Alliance's Enemies

As Duke Garava pondered whether to send some people to the frontline to scavenge war loot, the train departing from the City of Dawn had already confidently crossed the river valley and the Brocade River, rumbling across the steel bridge over the river flowing through the mountains.

Next to the reconstructed Dusty Town, people working in the outskirts saw the distant white smoke, dropped their tasks, and looked toward the direction of the train.

On the flatbeds, there were rows of chillingly bright artillery and military green painted trucks.

As for the other fully enclosed carriages, although one couldn't see what was inside, the aura of somberness was palpable even from several kilometers away.

However, no one felt panic due to this somber aire.

In the area around Brocade River City, the Alliance's flag symbolized order, and the thunderous clash of steel brought them more a sense of security rather than fear or death.

It was these people who had driven away the Looters, Slave Owners, and Mutants from here!

They even helped them rebuild their homes!

Eyes watching the train radiated with eagerness and hope.

"That train..."

"It's an Alliance military train!"

"The brothers from the Alliance are back!"

"So many artillery! Are they going to fight somewhere again?"

"Great Antler God above! And respected Big Horn Rat... I hope they return safely."

At the entrance of Dusty Town.

Mayor Qin Baitian rushed there, his face filled with excitement, his hand trembling on his cane, muttering as he watched the train.

"The Great Antler God and Big Horn Rat have returned!"

Since the reconstruction of Dusty Town, the three gods they worshipped left a note in the temple and disappeared without bidding farewell.

The note stated they were going to faraway places to spread their beliefs to save this dying world.

If they encountered insurmountable trouble, they could seek those in the blue jackets in the City of Dawn, who were just as kind-hearted as them.

The note also wrote.

"[...One day we will return, don't miss us. Just keep walking the path that's already lit, and you will be us.]"

Until the train disappeared into the distant horizon, Mayor Qin had yet to see those familiar figures appear.

His eyes were slightly sorrowful, but that was all—mostly, it was blessings.

Perhaps it wasn't time yet...

They would remember the teachings of those great beings and continue to walk the sunlight-sprinkled path.

...

Singular Point City.

The rumbling sound came from afar, and people laboring in the fields looked up and toward the train station, only to see that the train didn't stop at the platform but continued without slowing down towards the south.

Kong Lingkai, at work in the fields, lifted his head, his face hollowed out by debauchery was covered in a cold sweat, and his dry lips were slightly blue, looking utterly miserable.

It wasn't that someone was forcing him; it was just the rules of Singular Point City.

Living standards were linked to the completion of production tasks which were delegated layer by layer from district to team to group and assessed at each level.

To lead a comfortable life, one had to work hard; only the best production team could use the district's most advanced production tools, and only the best group could receive the most resources. To become a group leader, one had to be the standout member.

Slacking off was an option, and it wouldn't lead to whipping as in real farms in the past, but dragging down the production tasks of other group members and teams would inevitably result in punishment by the leader, facing nothing but oats boiled in lots of water.

To truly live comfortably, one had to become a leader, whether of a group, team, or district.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he worked, he couldn't outperform those who had once been serfs. His former servant had even become a group leader, directing him to do this and that while he still wielded a hoe at work.

But this struggle had its advantages; no matter how hard he pushed himself, unable to become a leader, his body was much healthier than last year, having cured ailments like fatty liver and athlete's foot.

Occasionally, he thought about just leaving the farm; after all, the farm owner named Frost never forbade anyone from leaving, and a leader had even left before.

But the thought of leaving and not being able to return, potentially faring worse in the Wasteland than here, filled him with anxiety, and he ultimately decided he better endure.

Next to him, Ma Hechang felt the same.

He had hoped that by relying on the Alliance's principle of "appointing people on their merits" and his minor influence as a former mayor, he might at least manage to become a team leader in Singular Point City. However, finding himself competing in labor with simple peasants, he felt deeply conned.

These people were nothing like they claimed, respecting talents!

Himself, who had been a high-ranking official in a town, was surely more elite than Liu Youxiong, who could barely talk and only knew hunting!

Yet, that man had become a group leader; this AI must be malfunctioning.

If it weren't for the regret that leaving would make all his past hardships worthless, and that the merit of leading the townspeople of Hope Town to pledge allegiance would be forgotten, he might just run away and find work in the City of Dawn!

"Speaking of which, where does this railroad ultimately lead?" he muttered, watching the train grow more distant.

Casting a glance in the direction the train left, Ma Hechang's face was filled with resentment.

"Who knows... They've been fixing that damn thing since last year. At the rate they're going, they could probably extend it up to Brocade River Province."

"You mean to the manors over there?" Kong Lingkai asked in surprise.

Near Brocade River Province, right by the Wei Mansion Plain?

He had heard of that place.

Once, the Weifu Plain was actually Weifu City, but this city disappeared even more thoroughly than Brocade River City, leaving nothing but a boundless wasteland and piles of concrete rubble.

There was a settlement called "Fu Manor", built right next to the old site of Weifu City on the "Wei River", located over a hundred kilometers south of Mafu Town.

Its scale was even larger than the Pinecone Wood Farm, reportedly housing nearly a hundred thousand people, though it was uncertain whether this was an exaggeration or the truth.

Starting from last year or the year before, it had become the territory of the Torch Church and had even started cultivating Nago before Pinecone Wood Farm owned by Boss Zhao.

Then, for a long time, there was no news from there.

It seemed that a fog had arisen, and after the wind blew the fog away, the entire settlement had vanished.

He had only heard from the traders and Wasteland Wanderers who traveled to and from Town Of Hope that the master of Fu Manor, along with his family, servants, vassals, and serfs, had converted to the faith of the Torch and followed the bishop to Haiye Province to build a new "Heaven" in that New Era.

But everyone knew, the further south you went, the closer you got to mutant territory.

It was hard to say whether any of those people were still alive, and if so, how many were left...

"Eighty percent chance... Aren't they the mortal enemies of the mutants? They must have gone to find those beasts," speculated Ma Hechang, smacking his lips and, ignoring the departing train, buried his head and continued working in the field.

Let them die.

It would be best if both groups of beasts died out there.

With both the noble and the vile gone, their own new era could truly begin!

Ma Hechang cursed in his heart while taking out his frustration on the hoe in his hands and the soil under his feet.

He did not deny that these people were noble, but being noble didn't necessarily make them likable.

That was a completely different matter!

By contrast, those Weilante people he had heard about in rumors seemed more likable...

Meanwhile, at the mansion of Pinecone Wood Farm, Yinyin stood on the rooftop balcony, gazing in the direction of the train.

It had been over half a year already.

Since her physical body had died and been replaced by a bionic one, she found she had lost her sensitivity to time. It felt as though a moment's distraction could let a long time pass by, yet she could easily recall what had happened in that span the moment she focused again.

It was like sitting in an audience watching an endless movie.

Even though she had left that "Holy Land," the world still felt as though it were separated from her by a layer of glass. She could see every detail within her field of vision clearly, but she couldn't truly approach the past.

Perhaps that old man named Luo Gan was overseeing the world from this perspective...

Humans seemed to be no longer human, merely chess pieces to be maneuvered for a purpose.

Her pupils, veiled in a layer of mist, watched the direction in which the trail of white smoke had disappeared, her thin lips moving slightly.

"Manager, that gentleman's person has returned."

"Hmm!"

Standing next to Yinyin, Frost, dressed in a maid's outfit, wore a charming and confident smile, though her words were far from polite.

"It looks like those pests, worse than cockroaches, are in trouble now!"

For it, humanity was like its children. Those predatory beings, from the perspective of this old mother, were nothing but scum, weren't they?

Pity that it didn't have outstanding combat abilities on its own and could only be useful in a systemic combat setting.

Otherwise, it would have liked to personally strangle those degenerate organisms by the neck.

Eclipse looked at it expressionlessly and said in an unfluctuating voice.

"We need to quickly gather resources and send a batch over, the front line will soon need them."

Last year, when Singular Point City was just being rebuilt, the Manager had made its plans for this year clear to them.

Although the war had started half a year earlier than expected, they were not completely unprepared.

Ever since the Tide ended in Clear Spring City at the beginning of the year and the Southern Construction Corps moved to Brocade River Province to prepare for battle, this settlement had been getting ready for this inevitable war.

Including construction materials for fortifications, supplies needed by the frontline soldiers, and isolation areas for Nago patients, among other things.

They had to eliminate not only the Torch but also the plague left on that land by the Torch, and completely destroy that "Heaven" submerged in a sea of corpses and mountains of bones.

"Mm!" Frost nodded vigorously, a bright smile on its face, "I've already received the Manager's list, and there's plenty of stock in the warehouse, let's send it all over!"

Eclipse paused, "Not all... people here need to eat, too."

Frost snapped its fingers, its smile unchanged.

"That's what I meant! Eclipse, you need to be more flexible, don't be too rigid!"

Eclipse: "..."

...

The 1,500-kilometer journey by train, departing from the City of Dawn, crossed plains and jungles, turning left and right, finally reaching the frontier of Brocade River Province.

In the distance, layers of mountains appeared.

After crossing the mountain in front, turning right would lead to the deadly spread of Haiya, while turning left would lead into the vibrant Baiyue Jungle. Passing through the vast jungle and mountain ranges, one could even reach the picturesque Potato Harbor and see the lively thighs—oh no, seas.

How I envy the brothers of the Burning Corps...

Holding a roasted sausage bought from Mafu Town in his hand, Debt Giant Eye yawned as he looked out the window, pondering that this put-on-hold time was indeed a bit too long.

"How much longer do we have?"

"Should be soon," the construction site youth and Brick glanced at the map, then out the window, stroking his chin as he spoke, "Once we cross the Wei River, it's Ten Peaks Mountain with its stretch of Eighty Miles of Bone Road. Beyond that lies the old lair of the Torch Church."

It was said that this eighty-mile mountain road wasn't originally called Bone Road but was known as Snow Peak Road.

However, after a group of mutants who devoured their victims without spitting out the bones arrived there and set up camp on the mountain, survivors began to call the eternally snow-capped peaks Blood Peak and the snow covering the mountain road the resplendent white bones.

In any case, Ten Peaks Mountain housed quite a few nests of mutants and, following the usual practices of the Torch Church, they were likely to coexist with these mutants and arm them using technology from the Prosperity Epoch.

For instance, assisting them in giving birth and breeding, or manufacturing prosthetics and biological power armor that mutants could use among other things.

No matter how much they strategized and underestimated their enemies tactically, they had to pay enough attention to these creatures.

Otherwise, they would be very likely to suffer major losses.

Debt Giant Eye sighed.

"My kids are so hungry they're howling. If we don't start dinner soon, they're going to revolt," he said.

Sitting next to him, "Midnight with Umbrella without Knife" leaned over and chuckled.

"Aren't they your wives?"

Debt Giant Eye rolled his eyes and made a shooing gesture with a skewer.

"Scram, scram, scram."

After passing Mafu Town, further south was an uninhabited wilderness.

It wasn't until they reached the depths of the wilderness that the people of the Death Legion saw a hint of human activity.

It was the base of the Southern Construction Corps, which also marked the real end of the railway line, the most southern point.

This unit was made up of a complex mix of people, including voluntary survivors, members of an organization called "Iron Tower," and criminals undergoing labor reformation.

At the beginning of the year, the Alliance had cracked down on the slums outside Giant Stone City. They dispatched the army to thoroughly purge gang members hiding in the slums. Those captured were sent for training and labor reformation near the mines in Qingstone County, then formed into punishment camps and sent to the front lines to resist the Tide.

During the fight against the Tide, their brave actions earned the recognition of the militia of Giant Stone City.

After the Tide ended, the Manager integrated the survivors into the Southern Construction Corps, where they were sent with other criminals still undergoing labor reformation to Brocade River Province to build roads and bridges, preparing for the upcoming "Battle of Heaven."

After nearly half a year of preparation, this construction corps of nearly four thousand not only finished the railway across the wilderness but also built a large military base on the north side of Wei River that could accommodate 100,000 people, and dug many trenches, machine gun bunkers, and other defensive shelters on the position.

Naturally, the enemy to the south wouldn't just watch the Alliance dig trenches and build roads; every so often, they would amass mutant troops, cross the Wei River, and launch a raid on the position of the Southern Construction Corps.

Just two months ago, a thousand-strong squad of mutants even attacked!

These green-skins wielding clubs and rifles might look like a jumbled mess, but when it really came down to fighting, their ability to inflict burns was anything but trivial.

Even the weakest mutants possessed physical strength far beyond the average survivor.

Their hearts could be punctured, yet they continued to fight on the instinct of slaughter, capable of healing lethal wounds with their robust regenerative abilities.

To kill them completely, one had to viciously crush their heads, smear their brains on the ground, or use a 19-mm Bomb Gun to completely blast apart the left side of their chests so the rotten flesh couldn't regenerate before their blood ran dry.

It was clearly impossible for the mere four thousand of the Southern Construction Corps to defeat the mutants, even with sturdy shelters and ferocious fixed weapons—it was destined to be a difficult and bloody battle.

Fortunately, the Alliance that had left them in the wilderness hadn't truly abandoned them.

When the attack occurred, more than three hundred players active in the vicinity all received the mission and rushed to the scene.

With even fiercer tactics than the mutants, those three hundred players, at the cost of nearly being annihilated themselves, cooperated with the allied forces to crush the mutants crossing the Wei River.

That very battle severely hurt the mutant tribe on the mountain, leading to two months without any large-scale attacks, only minor harassments by small groups.

It was evident that the mutants were not truly fearless; when faced with adversaries more ruthless than themselves, they too felt hesitation and fear, even retreating.

However—

There was another possibility.

They weren't scared; they simply realized that this tough nut wasn't easy to crack, so they were secretly gathering strength, planning to make a big move at a critical moment…

At the same moment the 902 Giant Cannon atop Ten Peaks Mountain came into view for the players, a train dragging white smoke also entered the sight of the green-skin mutants on the mountain.

Pairs of huge, bell-like eyes instantly reflected bloodlust and ferocity. With a piercing howl, green oily heads popped out from caves and crevices.

A mutant Big Guy, over three meters tall, strode to the front of his minions.

His face was ugly and ferocious, a tattered flag hanging behind him; in his hand, he held a shotgun resembling a club. Under his muscular shoulders hung armor as sturdy as steel.

Especially his legs, from the knee down, the entire lower leg to the footpad was modified into a mechanical structure with beast-like feet, the outward protruding razor-sharp claws similar to daggers.

His name was Gray, and he was a Thousands of leaders from the Stone Horn Tribe. On Ten Peaks Mountain, anyone with a name was either a sly old fox or a top-tier ruthless character.

"Train! From the Alliance!"

An excited howl came from Gray's mouth as he lifted his shotgun above his head.

"Loaded with fierce and fierce big things, Torch has ordered us to smash it, burn it, kill it, rob it!"

Hearing the robust and powerful roar, a group of bare-chested minions broke into shouts of excitement.

"Roar—!"

Battle cries resonated from the mountain peak like the beating of war drums, quickly mustering a motley crew of about a thousand people.

Aside from those strong and sturdy green-skins, there were also swarms of little dwarfs, only as tall as an ordinary mutant's knee, crowding around the larger group.

They too were mutants, their DNA hardly distinguishable from that of the green-skin mutants.

Though their stooped and petite stature was almost near disability, one couldn't associate them with Mutants just by looking at them.

Since the reproduction rate of Mutants was not fast enough, the Torch Church utilized biological technology to redesign the gene expression sequence of some Mutants, developing this hunched "new thing" at the expense of a shorter lifespan.

Unlike purebred Mutants, these small guys reproduced and developed at an incredibly rapid pace, usually producing offspring every five to six months, and a litter often consisted of three or four.

Although they lacked the terrifying regenerative abilities and strong physical capabilities of Mutants and aged very quickly, with bloody births, they could still form sufficient combat power through natural reproduction in a short time.

Active players in the southern region of Brocade River Province called them Goblins to distinguish them from the "classic skin" Green-skins. The operators of "Wasteland OL" adopted this name and updated it in the setting collection.

In fact, not only outsiders but even the Mutants themselves did not recognize these weak creatures as one of their own, often referring to them as "short stuff" or "ugly thing."

Due to incomplete brain development, they were often even more foolish than the Mutants and had tendencies closer to wild beasts, similar to the dogs kept by the Mutants.

Nevertheless, their small stature was more suitable for moving through mountainous terrain, and their slender fingers could perform tasks such as running errands or even pulling cannon ropes, perhaps no worse than the intentionally designed Clone Cannon Fodder of the Weilante people.

The reason the Mutants on Ten Peaks Mountain allowed this group of short creatures to stay in their nest was because they could help with some tasks and had barely any meat on their bones.

As a group of Green-skin Mutants surged toward the base of the mountain, they failed to notice a fat gray rat crouching behind a rock watching them, a VM wrapped around its belly like a belt.

Days before the brothers of the Death Legion had set out, it had already set its sights on this group.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is Difficult for the Strong. The Mutants on Ten Peaks Mountain are coming down, they've spotted you from a distance, they're definitely headed for you!"

"Haha, then they've picked the wrong opponent!" came a hearty response from the communication channel, that voice was the commander of the Death Legion, Paddle Brother.

Listening to the voice from the communication channel, it seemed he was already eager for action.

After a half-second of silence in memory of the descending Mutants, Difficult for the Strong continued.

"Trash Older Brother is already waiting below the mountain, ready to join you at any time... That guy said he plans to show you a move, though it seems you probably won't need his help."

Paddle Brother laughed in response.

"Why not? Welcome his presence! But tell Trash Brother from me, to wait a moment before acting and to stand a little farther back."

Difficult for the Strong paused then asked.

"Why?"

Paddle Brother chuckled.

"We got two big ones from the Weilante People, Manager directly gave them to us! Those things are even bigger in caliber than those on Iron Heart, my brothers haven't seen the world, are all clamoring to test fire one, might as well use those descending chumps."

"That big 902 Cannon?!" Difficult for the Strong exclaimed, smacking his lips, "You brought it for the first battle?"

"What else? Keep it until it lays eggs?"

"Hahaha, alright, I'll tell Trash Lord to wait a bit before jumping in…"

After hanging up the communication, Difficult for the Strong scratched his head with sharp nails across the VM screen, trying to contact Pick up trash 99 level, but there was no response after a long attempt.

"Strange."

Difficult for the Strong scratched his head, murmuring as he looked down the mountain, but could not see the guy.

What on earth was that damn thing up to?

While he was contemplating where Trash Lord had gone, a large lizard was lying in a reed marsh on the south side of Wei River.

Its amber-colored pupils unblinkingly locked onto the group of Green-skins swimming across the river, its large nostrils blowing nearly undetectable ripples across the water surface.

As for obstructive gadgets like the wrist-mounted computer, it had long been thrown to the shore.

Although Wei River was a hundred meters wide, it was not very deep, with the deepest point in the channel being only three to four meters, and the places along the banks where reeds grew were even shallower, at only one or two meters deep, thus the water flow was not very rapid. Hence, crossing without a bridge was not difficult.

The greenskin giants, two to three meters tall, could easily ford the river by holding their weapons above their heads. It was only the small Goblin who looked anxious, either ferrying across on rafts or being carried by the giants.

Just as the group of Green-skins was about to reach the opposite bank, and Trash Lord was planning to move closer for a surprise attack, a deafening roar suddenly resounded in the distance.

The sound was like thunder suddenly booming.

Although it originated several kilometers away, the quiet surface of the river shook.

Pick up trash 99 level was momentarily stunned, gazing in the direction of the sound along with the bewildered Mutants standing in the river.

"What the hell?" Trash Lord murmured under his breath, but an ominous premonition silently crept into his heart.

At the same moment, the forcefully stopping military train, with smoke from the 902mm giant cannon slowly dispersing to one side.

Paddle Brother, riding atop the Claw of Death, was the first to leap from the carriage, holding a 20mm Cavalry Gun, he roared to his equally ready brothers.

"Brothers—"

"Follow me!"

"Bring glory back to City of Dawn! Bring death to our enemies!"

Morale-boosting roars erupted all around the military train.

Whether it was players riding on the backs of Claw of Death, or the Claw of Death being ridden by players, all roared at the same moment the gunfire erupted.

"For the Alliance!"

"Long live the Manager!"

"Crush them!"

"Arr-arr-arr!"

——

(Thanks to the alliance chief reward from "book friend 20220427092621369"!)

Chapter 728: Battle of Ten Peaks Mountain!

Wasteland OL Forum.

Pick up trash 99 level: "?"

Quit smoking: "?"

Tail: "⊙ω⊙?"

I want Tranquility: "?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "?????"

WC really has Mosquitoes: "Pffhahaha!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Holy shit! What are you laughing at! (Angry) (Angry)"

Night Ten: "You're not saying anything. (Funny)"

Elena: "Although I can probably guess... Still, I feel sorry for Trash-kun. (Funny)"

WC really has Mosquitoes: "Do we even need to guess? (Funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "Ah, this game is too realistic. (Funny)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "@#%&!"

...

Beneath Ten Peaks Mountain.

The riverbed was sending up wisps of steam.

The boiling flames were like The Sun crashing down to the surface, instantly evaporating a nearly hundred-meter-wide stretch of the river!

Both banks, originally lush and verdant with reeds, were all turned to plant ash, floating up slowly with the smoke from the explosion.

A huge crater was imprinted right in the middle of the hundred-meter-wide river channel, and the shockwave from the explosion swept out to a distance of a kilometer!

As for the Mutants who had been standing there, they were blown to ashes without a trace left behind.

Only that guy lying on the riverbank still had the strength to whine and wail.

But that was all.

A Mutant Corps of a thousand, caught entirely off guard and vanquished in an instant!

And the dwarves who had charged in with the green-skinned big guys suffered even more casualties!

Hiding behind a protruding rock halfway up the mountain and overlooking the Battlefield, Difficult for the strong was dumbfounded.

He'd believe it if someone said it was caused by a comet collision.

Although it was not a nuclear weapon, its power seemed to differ little from some of the low-yield tactical nuclear weapons.

Even considering the depth of the crater, the power against fixed fortifications might even surpass conventional nuclear arms!

After all, yield and destructive effect are related, but not the same, taking into account the type of damage, the medium of transmission, as well as the radius of destruction and energy decay, etc.

Watching the crater slowly filling up with water, he silently drew a symbol of the self-invented Big Horn Rat Religion on his chest, muttering "Mama ye, mama ye."

Praying for Trash-kun for half a second...

...

The one peeping wasn't only the little old rat halfway up the mountain, but also a Research Ship floating ten kilometers away.

Watching the rising pillar of thick smoke hundreds of meters high, Yang Kai clicked his tongue lightly as he sat in the driver's seat, with a dismissive sneer on his face.

"What an impressive thing... a barbarian's toy."

It was as he expected.

The charge of this 902mm shell probably came from a makeshift modification of an orbital anti-armor torpedo used by the star cruisers.

In space warfare, the destructive effect of nuclear weapons is quite limited. Especially when deflection shields can effectively resist neutron radiation, the only remaining effect is the pitiful thermal radiation.

Therefore, when the United Human designed weapons for the fleet, the warheads for explosives and guided weapons primarily focused on chemical explosives that carried oxidizers and had high expansion rates and fast detonation velocities.

Such weapons were mainly used to deal with densely packed subentities and carry out orbital bombardment missions.

It seemed that the people of Weilante had inherited the relevant technology and modified it with their own ideas, creating this thing that was a mix of the primitive and the advanced.

To say it was embarrassing, yes, the charge in the warhead did have some merit. To say it was advanced, the firing mechanism was something that ancient people from the late Industrial Era or early Atomic Energy Era could have made.

Perhaps, these Weilante folks only had one chance to conquer the world.

That would be if they waited until two centuries later.

By the time Ideal City collapses in a life of decadent delusion, by the time the Academy has completed its preparations to leave this star system, and by the time all the old-era refuges left on this land have perished, with nothing from the Era of Prosperity appearing on this land anymore.

Then, powered by their immense industrial and war capabilities, the Weilante might quickly unify the entire planet and then establish a military, xenophobic New People's Alliance dominated by the Weilante as the principal ethnic group, declaring the end of the Wasteland Era...

Indeed, such a possibility existed in Doctor Conclusion's deductions, but no one knew how probable it was.

Having collected the data from the explosion, Yang Kai finally managed to connect, despite significant delays and data loss, to the Academy headquarters located in the Wandering swamp via the series of communication relays he had set up along the way.

"…As planned, the Alliance's frontline forces have encountered the Torch Church's frontline forces. It seems there is no suspense in the battle. Unless something unexpected occurs, they should be able to finish the fight in two hours."

After a brief wait, a calm and dignified voice came through the communication channel.

"Has the Torch Church shown their trump card?"

He was the Academy's Chief Technical Officer, the highest leader of the Academy, and also the highest leader of the Science Committee Board, the direct superior of the four grand secretaries, directly responsible to Doctor Conclusion.

It could even be said that in Doctor Conclusion's absence, he was the projection of Doctor Conclusion's will.

"Some modified Variants and some inferior breeds, probably something new from the Torch... if that can be called their trump card," reported Yang Kai earnestly, his tone respectful as if he were a student.

"Never underestimate our opponents or competitors," he said meaningfully, having detected the slight disdain hidden behind the respect. After pausing for a moment, he continued, "This is a valuable experimental opportunity. I need you to collect any data you can, whether it's our people, other participants from the Allied forces, whether they are an Army, corporate entities... or the Alliance itself."

Many years ago, even before the Army's Expeditionary Army launched its eastward campaign, the Academy, with its tendrils spread across the Central Continent, had already set its sights on the Torch, and the deeper they delved into the organization, the more wary they became.

If it could be said that the Enlightenment Society exploited the dark side of human nature and despair in the face of the Wasteland, then the Torch exploited every idealistic person's despair of human nature.

Their perversion was not just in technology but also so widespread in influence that even the short-sighted Waste Land Wanderers could become their potential targets for assimilation.

If the people of Weilante were to come out on top in this race, it would merely be a shift in the materialistic ideology of human civilization towards militaristic xenophobia or militaristic authoritarianism.

But if these people win the race, the whole planet might turn into a beehive-like entity resembling "Gaia," and humanity would achieve their so-called "ascension," becoming a new species with a unified consciousness and formidable physical bodies.

What was terrifying to consider was that something similar might have occurred on the planet Gaia before.

After all, according to research documents provided by the colony, before the Gaia consciousness emerged, there seemed to have been a highly developed civilization on that planet, similar to the mid-Era of Prosperity of the United Human...

In other words, if the many forces on the Wasteland continued their internal struggles, these people might actually stand a chance of winning!

Weighing risks and rewards, the Academy made a series of arrangements to curb the expansion of the Torch, including covertly supporting local Survivor Forces in the River Valley Province and guiding the Alliance to advance southward, among others.

According to the original plan, the local Survivor Forces in River Valley Province would launch an offensive against the Torch Church in the year 214 or 215 of the Wasteland Era.

However, due to the introduction of many variables, including the activation of Shelter No. 404, the Pioneer incident, the resurgence of the Army Eastward Expansion Faction, the Bone Chewing Chaos, and the Battle of Falling Leaves, the original plan deviated from its trajectory. Not only was the Academy, which had originally intended only to interfere indirectly in regional affairs, directly involved, but it even led the three major powers to reunite, previously indifferent to the conflict.

It's hard to say whether this is good or bad.

For the Academy, at least, this was an opportunity for a peek.

They could see how other forces beyond the Wandering Swamp had developed over the past century and a half...

After listening to the instructions of the Chief Technical Officer, Yang Kai's expression became solemn, and he dispelled any contempt in his heart, saying respectfully,

"As you command."

...

While Difficult for the strong rushed to the official website to console (mock) the Trash Lord, Gray, who had just charged to the foot of the mountain, had a look of bewilderment and panic on his ugly face.

Thousands had swarmed out from beneath the mountain peaks of Weifu City, yet by the time it reached the foot of the mountain, the first few hundred brothers who had descended seemed to have vanished into thin air.

The blood had been baked dry into blackness, with broken arms scattered about like reed sticks.

Even the Wei River seemed to have narrowed by a section, and deepened more than a bit...

A scalding spit rolled down his throat, swallowing the blood and fear at his mouth, and the panic on Gray's face was quickly replaced by a flaming rage, his gums bared as red as fresh blood.

Humans! They all deserve to die!

Watching the shadows that grew closer in the distance, it raised its head and let out a roar to drive away the fear.

"Spread out! Charge!"

Although more than half were dead or injured, these guys were Mutants after all, their very flesh the byproduct of the unfinished Singularity level technology "Perfect Life Forms"!

The Torch Church had further modified them, endowing them with formidable strength on top of their original organic bodies!

Gray, clutching a shotgun, charged ahead, leading by example, with his steel feet leaving deep indentations on the ground.

Inspired by that roar, the dazed Mutants shook their heads clear, reached out their blood-soaked arms to pick up the rifles that had fallen to the ground, and charged once more at the distant train and the oncoming Death Legion, crossing the nearly dried-up creek!

Then—

The beasts that made it to the northern shore witnessed a scene they would never forget in their lives.

One Dead Claw after another sprinted across the Earth, swift and forceful steps kicking up a storm of dust.

That kicked up dust formed a rolling torrent in the sky.

The Mutants, having just regained their courage, contorted their faces back into panic.

Before they could react, a spray of long orange traces, like locusts, swarmed toward them.

20mm Armor Piercing Incendiary Bullets, though less vicious than 19mm Exploding Arrow Bullets, were still not something flesh and blood could withstand.

The shot Mutants fell to the ground howling, having barely stood up before being crushed back down into the muddy riverbanks.

Dodging the oncoming bullets with innate battle instincts, Gray charged forward with meteoric strides, his shotgun spitting out long tongues of fire as he roared furiously.

"Die—!"

"Everyone, die!"

Those gunshots and roars were deafening, but seemed somewhat pale amidst the earth-shattering thunder.

The thundering of the beasts grew closer.

When he finally locked eyes with those amber pupils, he felt a cold shiver deep into his marrow.

Claws of Death!

They're riding on Claws of Death!

While on the train, he couldn't see a thing and only thought there might be some human contraptions up there, never expecting humans to have tamed such terrifying Variants!

It was too late to dodge!

He stuffed an armor-piercing incendiary bullet of the same caliber into the chamber and sprayed it at the nearest Dead Claw.

The incendiary shell smashed towards the Dead Claw's head but was caught by the side of another Dead Claw's mouth, which twisted its neck and threw it away.

The grenade exploded in the air, and shrapnel flying over from a dozen meters away scraped onto the exoskeleton like gua sha.

Watching this incredible scene, Gray's eyes bulged almost out of their sockets.

Clearly, it did not understand how a neural connection device combined with an Intelligence System player could pull off such an outrageously skilled operation.

Watching the Mutant holding a scattergun, Edge Shoveling charged straight ahead on his Claw of Death, not dodging in the slightest.

Gray only felt a gust of wind coming his way, then his three-meter-tall body was like getting hit by a train, lifting off and flying backward.

"Ah—!"

Before its scream could leave its mouth, the triangular bayonet hanging on the cavalry gun pierced through its chest like lightning, hoisting it up midair.

Gray felt as though it had become a rag, violently thrown away.

Before it even hit the ground, it saw a gaping maw snap up at it, instantly severing its consciousness.

"Crunch—!"

That head burst like a squashed tomato, red and white oozing out of the Claw of Death's mouth.

The Mutants on the battlefield all stared, dumbfounded.

They watched as their leader, like a grasshopper in front of a rolling wheel, was ground into a pulp.

Unable to bear the fear any longer, the Mutants, who had just regained some morale, completely collapsed and, driven by instinct, began to scatter and flee.

However, they obviously did not realize just how foolish it was to break and run from a cavalry charge. And these riders were not on horses but the Wasteland's fastest Hunters!

Their very fear of death accelerated their demise!

Letting out a thrilling howl of satisfaction, the Claws of Death, stimulated by blood and slaughter, became even more ferocious, running forward with even greater fervor.

Seeing the Mutants' escape, the players quickly swapped their weapons, hanging their 20mm "cavalry guns" on the backs of the Claws of Death and picking up "Whirlwind" grenade launchers and "Town Guard" scatterguns.

At this moment, the bloody melee was just beginning!

At the same time, at a military base not far away, the soldiers of the Southern Construction Corps were looking toward the roar and tumult of the battlefield.

Among them, many had participated in battles against the Tide, and some from the Iron Tower Organization had fought the Mutants face-to-face. After joining the Southern Construction Corps, they constantly faced the threat of Mutants.

Even so, they had never seen such an awe-inspiring sight!

Those formidable, fiendish green-skinned big guys were like chickens awaiting slaughter, chased everywhere by residents of the refuge riding on Claws of Death.

"Great Antler God above..." Bit swallowed, his pupils shimmering with shock and surprise.

Compared to these folks, their own stand against the Tide on the streets seemed like a joke...

And indeed, the reality was not far off.

They heard that the battle in "North Suburb" was truly brutal, most of the pressure was borne by the brothers from the City of Dawn, and it was them who finally raided the Central City Hive.

The former member of the Iron Tower Organization, Li Jinrong, stood to the side, his face also revealing a look of shock.

Especially when he saw those mutants turning in fear to jump into the river and flee, his expression resembled that of finding something inconceivable.

Mutants can feel fear too!

They are not invincible; faced with more formidable foes, they would also run away in fear!

An invisible spark of hope was burning in his pupils.

His homeland still had hope!

...

The battle ended swiftly.

It was over much faster than an observer had predicted; it did not even take half an hour, let alone two, for the brothers of the Death Legion to drown the mutants in the river. If a head surfaced, a knife would be thrust into it, or they would be shot in the head outright.

Only a handful of mutants who fled back to the South Shore survived, and they were all bitten in the throat by the pursuing Claw of Death.

The crimson blood even reddened the river as corpse after corpse in dark green was washed downstream.

Looking at the narrowed Wei River, Edge Shoveling, who was standing on the North Shore, couldn't help but click his tongue.

"It seems the Army's strength is not to be underestimated…"

The power of this single artillery shell was nearly equivalent to a salvo of rocket artillery!

If it was a full artillery barrage, then perhaps not much would be left of a fortress like Bister Town...

Of course, logistics were another matter.

Five-ton shells could likely only be transported by train or anti-gravity airships, and the materials and labor consumed in producing such items could probably build a T1 tank!

The 902mm caliber was a sign of power but also not without an element of showing off.

In the end, such a thing was certainly much more costly than a Clone Infantry's bayonet charge...

"Hmm…"

Looking at the bodies lying on the South Shore of the Wei River, the construction site boy and the brick nodded solemnly.

Although today's Alliance was no longer the same as before, it had to be admitted that they were still some way behind those old-timers who had been leading for a century and a half.

Being able to catch up in limited areas was already no small feat. There was no need for self-deprecation, but neither should they be blindly arrogant. The Alliance's strongest card was never about caliber, technology, or economy, but the hearts of people united.

The residents of Ideal City were willing to give up comfortable lives to become ordinary teachers in the City of Dawn, and the researchers of the Academy were willing to forgo their tickets to the future to help them start from scratch in the City of Dawn. Even the Weilante People who had been captured by them, many abandoned the pride flowing in their veins and chose a more noble ideal.

Now he somewhat understood why the Manager had allocated those two cannons for their use.

And that it was used in the first battle.

They needed to understand the opponent, learn from them, and ultimately surpass them, instead of becoming even more arrogant than their adversaries.

Not far away, a group of men in military uniform approached.

The leader, with a look of reverence in his eyes, came to the side and saluted.

"I am Li Jinrong."

He did not dismount from the Claw of Death, as the fight was not yet over.

Edge Shoveling looked at him and smiled, his right fist resting against his chest as he returned the salute.

"The commander of the Death Legion, Edge."

At those words, Li Jinrong was instantly surprised, with even more respect showing on his face as he said excitedly,

"I have heard of your exploits. I heard you've been in numerous battles, always leading the charge, and each time you come back unharmed!"

Hearing this rather flattering remark, Edge Shoveling felt a bit embarrassed.

He hadn't always come back unscathed.

Among all the players, he was one of those who had died quite often, to the extent that his level was nearly not making it to T1.

But that was not the point—the "Player Manual" was!

Laughing it off, Edge Shoveling said with a smile,

"Don't mention it, it's all thanks to technology, technology… just think of us as having turned it on."

Technology?

Turned on?

Li Jinrong was taken aback, not quite understanding, but he didn't make much of it and just smiled and said,

"We have prepared accommodations for you, please follow us to our camp for rest!"

The entire Weifu Military Base was built to accommodate 100,000 people, not only the Alliance troops, but other Allied forces could also be stationed here.

After taking Ten Peaks Mountain, this became the logistical hub of the Alliance Army.

Hearing that reinforcements were coming, they had long prepared bedding and delicacies, just waiting for the brothers from the City of Dawn to arrive.

Edge Shoveling laughed heartily but declined the kindness.

"No need, our station is on the mountain up ahead! Once you see our flag hoisted on top of that mountain, send the goods up!"

"The mountain?" Li Jinrong was stunned for a moment, looking hesitantly at the crowd eager to go, then opened his mouth in surprise, "You guys plan to…"

Edge Shoveling grinned, casting his gaze towards the distant peaks, squinting his eyes.

"The Manager said,"

"Show some spirit from the Alliance, don't let our distant friends think little of us!"

Having said that, he turned to his brothers stationed on the North Shore and waved the "Cavalry Gun" in his hand forward.

"Brothers! Follow me up the mountain! Let's plant our flag on their summit!"

The crowd, briefly rested, erupted into a thunderous Battle Roar at his words.

"Woah woah woah!"

Soon after the group crossed the river with great momentum, Debt Giant Eye finally arrived, gasping for breath.

"Damn it! I'm exhausted!"

Behind him, about a hundred fat and stocky men followed, walking in an unsteady manner.

After nearly half a year of gluttonous feeding, these guys could no longer be seen as frail; each one was as fat as a "meat mountain."

Panting and propping himself on his knees, Debt Giant Eye looked around for a bit and saw not a single teammate's shadow, just a few men in military uniforms standing there with puzzled looks on their faces.

Not caring much, he asked,

"Where are they? Those on the dogs!"

Li Jinrong pointed blankly toward the mountains and stared straight at the group's physical presence.

Debt Giant Eye looked up at the distance and then at the river before him, his eyes filled with helplessness.

"Why don't you guys build a bridge?"

Li Jinrong gave a bitter smile.

"There are mutants up in the mountains... If we rush to build the bridge, won't we just be causing trouble for ourselves? However, we have all the materials ready; it'll be quick to build."

"Forget it, forget it... I'll fix it later. You guys go bring the materials over."

Li Jinrong nodded and quickly led his subordinates toward the direction of their base.

Thinking that he couldn't catch up anyway, and it would be better to help collect the spoils of war, Debt Giant Eye simply didn't pursue and shouted back.

"Lads, dinner time—damn, I haven't even given the order yet, how come you're all already eating?"

...

The northernmost peak of Ten Peaks Mountain is called Weifu Mountain, and Weifu City is named after both the mountain and the Wei River.

Now, the wasteland at the foot of Weifu Mountain inherits the name of the old Weifu City, including the previously disappeared Weifu Estate.

As for the mutants on Weifu Mountain, most are from the Stonehorn Clan.

The eighty miles of bone road boasted a "contribution" from them, and behind every bone buried in the mountain lay a line of shocking blood and tears.

The mutants made square towers out of human skulls and watchtowers and barracks out of femurs, flaunting their savagery and bravery.

But now, these demons and fiends had finally bitten off more than they could chew.

Humans riding the Claws of Death climbed up, and their methods of fighting were extremely brutal. In a matter of breaths, they shattered the barely organized defenses until they collapsed.

The truly brave warriors had followed their leader, Gray, to death at the foot of the mountain. Those left on the mountain were either old creatures past their prime, or little ones who had just grown taller than their knees, or those who had suffered grave injuries in the previous battles and goblins tied up at the entrance to keep watch.

For these savage creatures, the players of the Death Legion showed no mercy. They stabbed with a knife or shot with a gun, granting equal death to all they saw!

The battle was fierce and chaotic, from the cliffs to the caves, then into the tunnels, and finally out the other side of the mountain, as if even the distant twilight was dyed a turbid, crimson red.

In two hours, the Stonehorn Clan was annihilated. Corpses piled up into small hills in the open space, innumerable.

A rough count showed that, excluding the goblins, there were over a thousand corpses on the mountain!

And if the goblins were included, there would probably be five to six thousand!

This showed how deep and heavy the blood debt was!

After tallying the casualties and spoils of war, Edge Shoveling tied their mounts to a large stone and led a few players on foot into the palace of the Stonehorn Clan.

It's called a palace, but it really was just the central nest.

Generally, mutants liked to keep captives at the center of the camp, therefore, it was convenient for their amusement, whether to eat or to eat.

As soon as they stepped through the stone gate of the nest, they were hit with a pungent, fishy stench from the cave.

"...Smells like hydrogen sulfide, I guess rotten eggs," said Midnight, who carried an umbrella but no knife, pinching his nose and complaining.

Laplace, walking beside him, carefully searched the surroundings with a flashlight and whispered.

"Don't guess... Be careful when searching corners, especially underfoot, don't get caught by any traps."

[Wife, you wouldn't want it either]quipped playfully: "Exactly! You wouldn't want the mutants feeding you rotten eggs, would you?"

"Get lost," Midnight grimaced as if he were about to vomit but his expression turned serious.

Fortunately, it seemed that the mutants had never considered the possibility of captives escaping. Along the way, the players encountered no traps and effortlessly reached the deepest part of the darkness.

That was a very spacious area, with perhaps a dozen iron cages large enough to fit an elephant arrayed on both sides of the space.

The survivors were crammed into those filthy cages, without even enough space to stretch their legs. They showed no response to the arrival of their kin, merely maintaining their previous actions with a vacant look in their eyes.

In comparison, even the dungeons of the Looters seemed merciful, at least those disgusting creatures would remove some of the feces instead of allowing bacteria to breed unchecked here.

It wasn't until the players stepped into this space that a few diminutive goblins began chattering shrilly, rudely indulging their primal instincts on a dirty body.

Judging by the width of the entrance, this place seemed to be a Mutant hatchery and not one of those caves with entrances made exceedingly low and narrow.

These short statures had likely taken the opportunity to sneak in while the big guys were out raiding.

The brutal scene was too much to bear even for a second. Wearing an exoskeleton, Edge Shoveling strode forward with big steps, grabbed the goblins by their necks, and snap them shut, tossing their bodies, howling their last breaths, into a corner of the room.

The disheveled woman lay on a stone table, her belly swollen like a balloon, her eyes dull, looking at him lifelessly. That gray expression was as if she were already dead, the only evidence of life remaining was her faint breathing.

This was the tragic end for most survivors after being caught by the Mutants, whether in River Valley Province or Brocade River Province.

The only difference was that the Torch's biotechnology prolonged this despair.

"The Torch has administered drugs to these survivors... likely Nago, or these people might have died long ago," the construction site boy whispered to Low Foam Brick, then stopped speaking.

Edge Shoveling fell silent for a moment, and finally sighed.

"... Take them to Singular Point City."

In the end, he couldn't harden his heart to grant these wretched souls the release that Captain Lu would - even though he could feel that person beseeching him to do so.

Whatever choice these wretched people made later, at least that choice should be their own to make...

"Mm."

Construction site boy nodded to Low Foam Brick, silently stepped forward, tore off the body bag he was wearing, and covered the woman with it, carrying her out of the cave.

After all the rescued survivors were taken away, the Death Legion's players set a fire on the mountain and completely sealed the entrances to those filthy caves.

The Mutants were large in size and found it difficult to hide in caves too small for humans, but the small-sized goblins could easily slip into the cracks.

The fire might kill some, but certainly not all.

Eradicating the Mutants from this mountainous area was no easy task; it wasn't something that could be accomplished with just a few hundred or thousand incendiary or thermobaric bombs.

But those who were stationed there would keep killing, taking turns logging in and continuing the slaughter, dying and taking the train back from City of Dawn to continue—until that twisted evil was utterly exterminated.

Although the evils of Wasteland were far more than just this one corner, thankfully, they had an unending supply of blood and strength to keep killing!

Twilight was drawing to a close.

The Alliance's flag and the Death Legion's military banner fluttered at the summit of the highest mountain peak.

Debt Giant Eye, with his hundred or so substanced little brothers, under the guidance and assistance of the Construction Corps engineers, had finally managed to construct the pontoon bridge.

Seeing his fattened boys finally lending a hand, Debt Giant Eye's face finally showed a content smile.

Construction work also had its ranks, and joining the group meant you weren't just loafing around.

Yet soon he thought of the money he had spent on fodder, which could have helped a lot of young ladies in need, and his face winced in pain again...

Supplies were delivered by the cartload to the side of the mountain, brought up by logistics soldiers wearing exoskeletons.

The Alliance had taken the first peak of Ten Peaks Mountain, and the first step on the Eighty Miles of Bone Road was finally taken.

The Alliance's front line was still forty miles away from the highest peak of Bloody Mountain and seventy-seven miles from the northern gateway of Haiye Province to Lai Mountain.

This was the first direct battle between the Alliance and the Torch Church!

A great victory in this battle!

Chapter 729 Beta 0.7 Update! The Battle of Heaven Begins!

At the summit of Blood Peak, the setting sun tilted to the west, and the branches laden with broken snow were swept by a biting cold wind.

A middle-aged man wearing a white robe stood on top of the mountain.

His frame was lean, with a high-bridged nose and a pair of rimless glasses resting on his brow. If it weren't for the white robe on his shoulders, which clashed with his demeanor, he might have been mistaken for an ordinary teacher.

But that was just a feeling.

As for a name, he had none of that.

From the moment he entered the Holy Land and became a Pioneer, he discarded his worldly name and flesh.

However, if one were to speak of a code name, he did have one.

The Mutants of Ten Peaks Mountain called him "Beast King."

As for humans...

Those who were eliminated by the natural laws never had the chance to meet him.

He watched indifferently as the peaks of the mountains roared with gunfire, as cries filled the air, as blood-stained flags rose in the setting sun...

It was only when all that noise had subsided did he murmur thoughtfully.

"Faster than I imagined..."

The Stonehorn Clan was the barrier he had set at the gateway of Ten Peaks Mountain. He had thought they could hold out against the Alliance for at least a month, yet it had taken just one day for the Fushan to change hands.

Though there were still some leftover Mutants and short-statured individuals, they were unlikely to form an effective combat force, at best causing a bit of trouble for the Alliance.

At this thought, a hint of regret appeared on the face of the Beast King.

What a pity...

Gray was a creation he had carefully selected, its prosthetic body had even undergone surgery by his own hand — via the hands of a Mutant priest.

It seemed the strength was still insufficient, and the inherent power of the prosthetic had not been fully unleashed.

However, this did not discourage him; instead, the expression of interest on his face grew more intense.

Mutants were but tools for them, the entirety of Haiye Province was their nursery. Such things were available in abundance. Given enough time, they could even fill the entire Wasteland with these creatures.

Compared to that, experimental data was much more valuable.

They needed to test the results of laboratory research on the battlefield, improve their plans continuously based on the feedback data, and then select greater life forms until they finally completed what the people of the Era of Prosperity had failed to do — the "Perfect Life forms."

Only when humanity evolved into a greater species, could the Heaven they long for truly be realized.

And by then, he would transplant his consciousness back into a new body, and then take the inexhaustible time to think of a new name for himself.

Speaking of which, these Residents of the refuge had quite a knack for naming.

"...Goblin, huh? An interesting appellation."

Glancing at a short-statured individual who was thrown off the cliff, the man's mouth curled into a faint smile.

He could hear the dying wails of the chosen ones, and naturally, he could also hear the syllables spoken by the mouths of the Residents of the refuge who killed those guys.

The most frequently heard syllables must be the term for those short green-skinned individuals.

He was not very adept at naming his creations; after crafting those short Mutants, he kept them mixed in with the Big Guys. Sometimes the Big Guys even threw them into the frying pan as a side dish.

Unexpectedly, it was their enemies who had solved this problem for him.

Since it was a name given by those Residents of the refuge, he would use it.

It had a rather nice ring to it.

Turning back to the short green-skinned individual who stood cringingly behind him, the Beast King casually left a remark.

"From now on, 'Goblin' will be your name... Let both your enemies and companions remember it."

An incredulous expression surfaced in those humble amber pupils, which then shifted to excitement.

"Yes... Yes!"

The short green-skinned creature crawled on the ground, fervently knocking its head, gratefully cherishing the name given by the Beast King.

A name!

Tears streaming down its face with excitement.

From now on, they too had names!

The Beast King had vanished, seemingly blending into the snowy wind that day.

"Gob…lin!"

The short green-skinned priest, not yet fully able to speak, stammered as it tried to squeeze out the words, then suddenly turned to look behind at its similarly small brethren.

It shrieked, howled, and danced, communicating the divine sight it had witnessed to its kin and sharing the name given by the Beast King.

In those pairs of eyes initially filled with disbelief and fear, soon fervor and fanaticism took hold.

Those three syllables, like a spell imbued with magic, spread from one green head to another along with the miracles bestowed by the Beast King.

Thus, a tribe named Goblin was born amid the ferocious howls.

Although they had yet to invent their own script or language, they'd learned to call themselves.

This was their first culture.

Bestowed by the gods they worshipped and the enemies who slaughtered them...

...

[Wasteland OL Beta0.7 version update announcement!]

[Major updates:

1. The limit for closed beta qualifications has increased from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand!

2. The Mucor Research Community has been established!

Besides reaching a consensus on "jointly solving the mutated slime fungus issue," the contracting parties have also agreed on a series of specific cooperation methods.

Electronic Pass System: The system is co-designed by the Academy, Camp 101, Endpoint Group, Triumph City Digital Research Institute, and other research units. Alliance players can apply through VM. Players holding an electronic pass can enter the actual control areas of the Sticky Community contracting parties (limited to public places and infection areas, excluding sensitive facilities) to engage in production, business, and exploration activities. The contracting parties promise to ensure the personal safety and basic legal rights of entrants (see details) and to scrutinize every pass they issue.

Foreign Information Service: The contracting parties of the Sticky Community will cooperate on information exchange, establishing signal relays, and laying cable as an alternative to satellite communication. At the same time, all parties agreed not to eavesdrop on the wired or wireless signals of the contracting parties. In short, VM can be connected to the internet outside the Alliance! (Provided that there is a connected signal base nearby.)

Electronic Account: Linked to the electronic pass system, players can use VM's electronic money to withdraw and exchange currency at major banks of any Sticky Community contracting party, with transaction guarantees from the Alliance Bank. The free exchange limit is 1000 silver coins per day without application, exceeding this requires reporting on the official forum website! At the same time, players can receive local currency as compensation for activities in the controlling area of the contracting parties (currently temporarily open to Dinars, Cr, and non-Science Committee member exclusive G points), and the Alliance Bank will settle it into silver coins in the player's account at the daily exchange rate.

3. War in Heaven!

All members of the Sticky Community have formally declared war on the Torch Church! Players can freely choose to join the south or north battlefield according to their personal situation or contribute to the production work in the rear to support the frontlines!

North Front: The main direction of the allied forces' attack! The current frontline is around Ten Peaks Mountain in the southern part of Brocade River Province, with mutants and the Torch Church's biotechnologically synthesized derivatives as the main enemy units. Troops from enterprises, the Academy, armies, Bugra Free State, and many other forces will arrive at the battlefield, either taking our trains or finding their own way.

South Front: The second battlefield opened by the Alliance in the south! Our allies are contending with the Northern Federation for control of the southern seas, and the Torch Church has intervened. We cannot let our allies struggle alone. By controlling the area, the ships of the South Sea Union will provide us cover! Let our tanks land on their beaches!

4. New maps: Jinjaron Harbor, Potato Harbor, South Sea Islands Alliance, Shelter No. 70, Weifu Wilderness, Weifu Military Base, Ten Peaks Mountain, Ice Sea City, Cloud Down City Settlement, and so forth…

5. Fixed several bugs.

...

]

The update announcement appeared suddenly, without any warning.

One second the forum was hotly discussing the blood battle at Ten Peaks Mountain, the next second the new version's topics quickly surged to the top of the hot list!

Si Si: "giao! ∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Quit smoking: "Damn! Beta0.7!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "One hundred thousand beta qualifications! The public test is just around the corner! Excited!"

Night Ten: "Awesome! Sacrificed a garbage lord, and straight up summoned the new version!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Grass! Are you polite?! (Angry)"

Makabazi: "Hahaha!"

Si Si: "Uh... I feel like it's because I submitted the Administrator's Log from Shelter No. 70? Never mind, a small matter, it doesn't seem all that important."

Tail: "Oh! Maybe the surge in beta testing qualifications is actually because of Shelter No. 70! (/ω•\\*)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Just a coincidence. (laugh cry)"

The server currently has just over forty thousand beta players.

Compared to the increasingly vast game world and the growing influence of the Alliance, this number indeed seems a bit sparse.

Especially since the last Beta 0.6 update, the game map has expanded out to five light-years away! Yet the server only has forty to fifty thousand players.

Although a surge in game qualifications won't immediately convert to server online numbers, according to past patterns, every increase in the beta testing limit usually raises the number of beta qualifications issued daily.

And that's what's most crucial.

It's also what countless pre-registered players are eagerly anticipating.

There are quite a few people who have actual businesses running in the game. Some have even invested in their own industries, yet they're still queuing outside, which has to be said, is pretty damn frustrating.

Compared to the beta qualifications that are the focus of backseat players, the old players are more concerned about the content of the game updates.

The newly established Mucor Research Community has more than doubled the range of player activities, and now there are Alliance save points and communication stations on corporate and academy territories. Moreover, transactions, mission handovers, and receipt of mission rewards can all be done through VM. Not to mention that "Battle of Heaven"—it must be said that this update is quite sincere.

It's just that the few "new" maps are sort of... not very generous.

Falling Feather: "Wait a second, Jin Galun Harbor, Potato Harbor, South Sea Islands Alliance, the military base of the Wei Mansion, Ice Sea City, Cloud Down City Settlement... Holy crap! Aren't all the maps added in this update actually maps that have been developed already?!"

Green Lantern Old Wine: "And a few are ones we made up ourselves!"

Eleriya: "Congratulations, you've discovered the essence of sandbox games. (amused)"

Gnome King Riches: "Dog plan's laziness confirmed. (amused)"

Fang Chang: "You can't say that, though. Pass rights to Ice Sea City and the settlement in Cloud Down City are the results of the Sticky Community meeting... But yeah, places like Potato Harbor and Jin Galun Harbor were definitely developed by us, and our allies in the South Sea Union were also brought over by our efforts. (smirk)"

Fool Turtle: "Big guys, forget about the new maps for now. Which battlefront is better to start on? It's the first time this newbie has ever joined an army, I'm a bit nervous. QAQ"

Fang Chang: "That's up to you. If you've joined an army, just follow your leader's orders. If not, it's up to what you prefer. Right now, there may be more tasks on the northern front, and the south is still contesting for island control, where both main competitors are playing it safe. Also, most of the battles at sea are beyond visual range, and if you're locked on, it's just a few torpedoes or missiles away, so if you can't fly or sail a ship, just wait to see what happens after landing."

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Yeah, without sea control, there's no air supremacy. It would be great if we could build an aircraft carrier using the production facilities on Coral City and Anle Island, but those places are submersible factories. The Federation's largest shipyard is right in Charles's hands, and in a couple of months, they might be able to launch another destroyer."

Backseat Driver With a Mosquito: "Have you considered a submarine carrier? (amused)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "What is that? (confused)"

Star River Not Entering Dreams: "Submersible Aircraft Carrier, right? It's an antique from the First World War era. It was discussed after the Iraq War in the '90s, but the technical difficulties in implementation are high. After all, jet planes and piston planes are totally different concepts, requiring different features on the flight deck... I doubt it's feasible."

Spring Water Commander: "Well, if we analyze it rationally, it's not necessarily impossible, considering the game isn't reality and blindly copying might not work. Looking at the cargo space of the Dolphin, I reckon it's not so different from an aircraft carrier. In reality, creating a non-submersible equivalent would be tricky."

"If the cargo bay could be redesigned with an upward-sloping runway or catapult launcher, and the top deck turned into a runway, you might not even need to change the blueprints too much. Even if it serves just as a moveable deployment and missile-evading sea airfield, where planes can reload and recharge, that would be great... If I'm not mistaken, that submarine uses fusion power, right?"

Star River Not Entering Dreams: "Damn, that's awesome..."

Fang Chang: "Hmm, this sounds interesting... I'll go consult with some professionals in the game. (smirk)"

...

"Talent indeed... These guys are getting more and more creative!"

In Shelter No. 404, Chu Guang, who had just posted the update announcement, couldn't help but feel moved and gave a thumbs up to the posts below.

To be fair, his little players' instincts are quite accurate; they've nearly guessed the truth a few times.

Yes, the distribution of the Wasteland OL beta qualifications is indeed tied to the unlocking of shelters.

But really, there's nothing much to hide.

After all, even though it's a bit weird, it can be treated as part of the game's setup—only by unlocking more "Novice Villages" can more new players enter the game.

For old players, it's beneficial to explore more shelters if they don't want to pal around with the usual names on the list all day.

Ever since the B7 Floor processing center was unlocked, the shelter system had actually given him a lot of authority.

Including the Cultivation chamber and Sleep Cabin, which used to be produced through a Black Box or received by completing tasks, now they can not only be produced on Floor B7 but also have some of their low-tech structural components outsourced to the factories in Dawn City, saving the precious "high-quality production capacity" of B7.

In addition to triggering emergency missions when specific conditions are met, the system no longer guides him like a nanny on how to be a good Manager, nor does it assign him daily tasks like chopping wood, moving bricks, and farming like it used to do in the early days.

Recovering the Administrator's Log can unlock a varying number of Gene Sequences.

Apart from completing sudden missions, this is almost the only way to obtain Gene Sequences, which, from the players' perspective, is naturally equivalent to closed beta qualifications.

Previously, Pioneer City managed to recover some abandoned shelters in the Wasteland. The Gene Sequences exchanged through the Administrator's Logs amounted to approximately 20,000.

Shelter No. 70 also rewarded more than 20,000, amounting to just over 50,000 in total.

Considering the ever-expanding area of the Alliance, as well as the ongoing "War of Heaven," Chu Guang simply issued all the closed beta qualifications and set the daily allocation to three times the base value.

This way, in three months' time, the server should be able to add 30,000 newcomers, and the ongoing war would be a good way to absorb this "sudden" increase in population.

Whether they choose to work in production at the rear or fight on the front lines, there are plenty of "positions" for them to find gameplay that suits them.

Also, with the guidance of experienced players, there's no worry these newcomers will mess things up; once they follow the game's process and obtain their VM, they essentially become one of us.

Moreover, the idea of developing Submersible Aircraft Carriers for the second battlefield opened up by the Alliance in the south, that is, on the southern front, is a very good one.

When he met with Captain Chen Jianhong, they had discussed this issue—the cargo space of the Dolphin was absurdly large, and he wondered whether it could be converted into an aircraft runway or something similar.

Influenced by the experience inertia from the parallel world, Chu Guang felt that not only his players, even including himself, had always had a special affection for the development of aviation equipment.

And in practice, airplanes indeed proved to be very effective.

Especially when operated by the Alliance's ace pilots, they could not only drop bombs precisely on the enemy's heads but also turn themselves into human bombs for a precision-guided impact with a 72-hour cooldown.

Unfortunately, at the time, Chen Jianhong only gave him an ambiguous answer since, after all, he was just a captain and not a shipbuilding expert, and it was difficult to make a judgment about something he had never seen before. The experts at Camp 101 had no experience in shipbuilding, so the matter was dropped.

The submarine experts of the South Sea Union were all on Anle Island, and now Commander Li Minghui had agreed to a joint government with Shelter No. 70 members, so borrowing some equipment and talent should not be a problem.

Chu Guang was quite confident in the players he had personally guided, believing that they had already mastered the communication skills of "not being annoying."

"...It looks like I don't need to worry too much about the southern front. Before the South Sea Union captures control of the Southern sea area, we can focus more energy on the northern front. Xiao Qi, what about those people from Vellante? Where have they gone?"

Seeing Chu Guang looking towards her, Xiao Qi, who was seated on the edge of the pencil holder swinging her legs, immediately sat upright, crisply reporting,

"Reporting to Master, the Army's troops arrived at Bister Town yesterday! According to the local mayor's report, Glory Army, composed of 50,000 Clones, is queuing up to board the train. They'll be taking the special train we've prepared for them direct to Brocade River Province."

Pausing for a moment, Xiao Qi continued,

"Also, the Citizens' Self-Government Committee of Falcon City has sent a message. The 31st Ten-Thousand-Troop contingent directly under the Eastern Legion has embarked on the 'Loyal' airship. In addition to Tanks and Self-propelled guns, they have also brought an 'Wild Bull' All-terrain Armored Walking Machine and are expected to reach the front lines within three days!"

Chu Guang, intrigued, asked, "Is it the one we've seen in Falcon City?"

Xiao Qi nodded solemnly,

"It seems so."

Chu Guang, of course, had a clear memory of the "Wild Bull."

He had seen it once outside Falcon City; the Academy's evaluation was that the thing was a hybrid monster born from diesel and nuclear fusion power, but he saw it more as a four-legged walking train cannon.

A 200mm cannon with an automatic loader, capable of unleashing firepower equivalent to an artillery battalion in a short time, plus Deflection Shields and steel armor...

It was evident that the Marshal of Triumph City took the Torch very seriously.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of transporting so much heavy equipment from the West Coast thousands of kilometers away despite the enormous logistical pressure.

Watching Chu Guang fall into thought, Xiao Qi paused before continuing,

"Additionally, troops from enterprises and the Academy are also nearly here. The report from Yi Chuan says that Mechanized Mountain Division No. 100 and the 7th Air Squadron are moving from Yue Ma Province into Brocade River Province, totaling more than ten thousand. The news from the Academy side is that the 'Alpha' Mobile Task Force under the Committee of Science has applied for passes and will arrive at the north airspace base of Dawn City the day after tomorrow, around a thousand or more people."

"Besides these, forces from Bugra Free State, Lion Kingdom, Honey Badger Kingdom, Falcon Kingdom, West Winds Empire, and Garbage City, as well as other Survivor Forces, have also dispatched troops to the front lines and are expected to arrive one after the other within half a month."

Hearing this, Chu Guang's thoughtful expression couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile.

The stage was set.

The actors were starting to take their places.

"It looks like we're in for a good show."

Chapter 730: Where are my people? They were just here!

North line.

Above the endless clear sky, an imposing iron airship burst through the clouds, revealing the suspension bridge hanging below the prow.

Looking down at the sunken wasteland and the layered mountains, Lucien, seated in the bridge, slightly curved the corners of his mouth upwards.

He threw the ice cream stick to a servant standing by, pushed himself up from the armrests of his chair, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the bridge, squinting at the closely looming Ten Peaks Mountain.

Eighty Miles of Bone Road?

Ridiculous.

In their territory, such foes were merely a matter of a bombing round followed by a charge.

If that was not enough, then the process would simply be repeated.

Perhaps this strategy wouldn't work well against increasingly numerous sticky organisms, but it was more than enough for mutants.

"… Too slow. Waiting for these snails to advance bit by bit, this battle might drag into next year. I think we should simply bypass the Ten Peaks Mountain and wipe out that nest of cult members in one fell swoop."

Hearing the commander's statement, the deputy behind Lucien coughed lightly and quickly reminded him.

"General, sir, it's better not to stray from the main force."

Lucien chuckled.

"Do you think these mutants can take down our airship?"

This was not a reckless decision.

Regardless of what high-tech the Torch uses, the mutants on the mountain need food and ammunition, all of which must come from Haiya Province.

As long as we can cut off these guys' logistical support, hunger alone could kill most of them.

The deputy understood his meaning but still cautiously reminded him.

"The Alliance previously encountered a group of flying mutants in Brocade River City, which they called 'Batwing People.' Even under the protection of planes, they managed to board the airship and even forced them into a hard battle."

"Heh, don't those fools know how to use radar?" Lucien sneered, his face showing disdain but his mind slightly on alert, no longer mentioning the idea of flying directly over the Ten Peaks Mountain.

He knew the Alliance would definitely use radar, but in this world, for every spear, there is a shield.

There are many ways to lock onto a target, and equally, many ways to counter radar.

People from the Torch had come from Shelter No.117, and they had developed for quite a long time. They are skilled in biotechnology, but not limited to it.

Returning to his chair, Lucien turned to his deputy and ordered.

"Notify General Modlin of the Ten Thousand Troops, tell him we've arrived, and to gather his men in the gondola."

The deputy stiffened his expression and gave a military salute.

"Yes, sir!"

...

On the north side of the military base, the anchor chains thrown down from the Loyalty airship heavily smashed onto the ground, kicking up rolling clouds of dust.

Following that, the belly of the airship lowered a gondola, which gently descended like a swing from the sky and touched the ground.

Around a hundred tall Weilante soldiers in uniform gray-black military uniforms, matte-colored steel helmets on their heads, and uniform automatic weapons on their backs, some even equipped with full-protective exoskeletons including ammo boxes and machine guns, filed out from the sizable gondola which resembled a heavy-duty truck.

Compared to those they had previously seen in the desert, these soldiers were undoubtedly more elite!

Nearby the military base, Debt Giant Eye and the Construction youth watched these individuals from a distance.

On seeing the exoskeletons of Weilante people, the Construction youth and his friend widened their eyes in astonishment.

"These Weilante people have exoskeletons, too?"

Debt Giant Eye felt surprised too but figured it was somewhat ridiculous to be as dramatic as the strength-type livestock beside him, so he analytically reasoned,

"It's not that strange, right? Giant Stone City has those things too, they even have their own prosthetics development. The Army, being one of the top three forces in the Wasteland, surely can make exoskeletons."

The Construction youth and his friend scratched their heads.

"I'm just wondering... why didn't we see them before?"

Debt Giant Eye: "Ummm... maybe they used them all up fighting the Grand Canyon?"

Of course, the support level of the faction and the efficiency of local logistics were also issues.

At that time, the Army's expansion faction was nearly exhausted, the frontline had to be handed over to the Servant Army and the Clone Troops, and they were even struggling to gather ammunition. Exoskeletons, under those circumstances, were naturally considered a luxury.

Had they not faced the issue of supply interruption, they would not have been so desperate to advance into the River Valley Province in search of Decisive Settlement Locations like Giant Stone City that could solve their logistical and equipment issues.

Of course, a more reasonable explanation is that most players had just left Novice Village.

Under those circumstances, unleashing dozens of airships and a group of fully-equipped elites might seem a bit inhumane by Dog Plan.

While Big Eyes and Construction Dude were eyeing this legendary Regular Army from the Eastern Legion, another train was approaching from the distant north.

This train had thirty-two carriages, and the people inside were a mixed bag, quite unusual.

There were people from the Academy, corporate personnel, and even the Expeditionary Army of the West Winds Empire.

Particularly the latter, out of the thirty-two carriages, thirty were filled with them.

Although West Winds had fought a recent undeclared battle with the Alliance, not even a ceasefire agreement was signed, yet as a member of the Sticky Community, the Emperor of West Winds grandly dispatched thirty thousand people.

Of course, this grand gesture wasn't out of generosity for the common fate of human civilization, but rather out of respect for the face of Weilante people. After all, compared to the death of some insignificant lower classes, that immortal friendship was far more important.logs.

In the last carriage of the train, the front half carried a group in exoskeletons, wearing tactical helmets and gas masks.

They emitted an aura of keeping strangers at a distance, sitting motionlessly in the carriage.

The occupants of the latter half were from the Corporate Air Force No.7.

Their carriage, originally ahead, was forcibly squeezed here by those coming from Poluo Province.

It's unknown whether the officer of the West Winds Empire's Expeditionary Army had taken the wrong medication, insisting on squeezing 200 individuals into a carriage with a full load capacity of 118 people.

It had turned out this way.

Chewing gum, a pilot sitting in the back row glanced at his comrade beside him and lowered his voice to make a quiet remark,

"I guess they are bionic people... and not the smart ones."

As everyone knew, the bionic people from the Academy were the most uninteresting folks in the Wasteland, just as boring as their researchers.

His comrade smiled, about to make a teasing comment, when the officer sitting nearby with his eyes closed glanced at the two restless fellows and slowly spoke after closing his eyes.

"Alpha Special Mobile Force, they are not bionic people. They are genuine special forces, hunters in the swamp. The Academy has installed almost all imaginable prosthetic bodies on them, with an individual rate of prosthetic body integration reaching over 30%. Not only that, but they are also almost all Awakeners, although it's drug-induced... but don't underestimate them."

Hearing this, the pilots showed a look of surprise on their faces, but it was not because of their prosthetic body integration or their special forces status.

"Drug-induced Awakening?"

"Why would anyone use that stuff?"

At least in Ideal City, awakening wasn't considered a good thing; instead, it meant losing a lot of life's pleasures.

Random expressions of non-coding genes could not only potentially cause genetic diseases, but more importantly, they reduced the likelihood of producing offspring.

Although most residents of Ideal City weren't interested in having offspring, wanting and being able to were two different matters.

Life comes only once, and awakening is irreversible. Most people didn't dare to gamble with their lives.

After all, if one truly pursued strength, using prosthetic bodies or exoskeletons was sufficient; there was absolutely no need to maximize the organic aspect.

Opening his eyes and folding his arms, the officer glanced at the rows of backs turned towards them and said with a complex expression,

"The Science Committee is a place entirely different from Ideal City. Those guys have proven with their actions that high technology doesn't necessarily mean a better life, and as long as scientific management methods are applied, it's feasible to maintain a lower standard of living for most people without hindering their ability to build spaceships or even allow limited resources to be used in crucial areas..."

"For ordinary people who can't become researchers or prospectors, joining the Alpha Special Mobile Force isn't a bad alternative, at least the equipment and drugs are free while also improving their family's living conditions."

The pilot sitting next to him couldn't help but click his tongue, unable to imagine that kind of life.

At least, he joined the Air Force No.7 because he loved flying planes.

"What a terrifying bunch..."

The officer continued to rest with his eyes closed.

Conducting bombings in mountainous terrain and transport missions, honestly, he had no experience in it, even though the air force base, right next to The Tributary of Tianshui, was located in the mountains.

However, more than his own safety, what he was more concerned about was the Mechanized Mountain Division No.100 from Ideal City that had supposedly arrived today.

It seemed those guys had also arrived today.

He and his subordinates had fighter planes at least. He heard that many of those lads were on the battlefield for the first time...

Would it really be okay?

...

The pilots had no idea; those dudes wearing gas masks weren't unintelligent, they just turned off unnecessary plugins and prosthetic bodies during the march to save energy.

Some bionic prosthetic bodies required bioelectricity to activate, and the computing power needed to drive these prosthetics imposed a burden on the brain and the chip within it.

Some Wasteland Wanderers, unable to control themselves, often fainted or even went mad due to exceeding their computational limits, but this never happened to the soldiers of Alpha Special Mobile Force.

If not necessary, they could even maintain only the basic functioning of their bodies and the communication module implanted in their chips, reducing metabolism and neural activity to the minimum.

Just as the corporation's pilots were pointing at the backs of their heads, they listened meticulously to the captain's speech on the communication channel.

"Sitting behind you is Air Force No.7 of the corporation, although they are not Awakeners, they have undergone rigorous training and selection, chosen from tens of millions as elites."

"Since the War Construction Committee disbanded, Ideal City has been controlled by the leading conglomerates like Ideal Group, and ordinary people must continuously refine their skills to survive. That hardship is no less than digging potatoes in the Wandering Swamp, they, like you, are all honed veterans... never underestimate them! Buck up!"

A majestic voice echoed silently, everyone sat upright with their gas masks on, silently responding in their minds.

"Yes!"

...

Simultaneously, as the Army, corporation, and Academy's troops arrived at the front, the shouts and gunfires rattled deafeningly on Ten Peaks Mountain.

Before dawn, a group of Goblins had stealthily reached the defense position at Fu Mountain, launching a surprise attack on the sleeping players.

Had this been just after the server started, this tactic might have actually worked, as many players were part-time gamers who had to go to work after waking up in the morning.

But now, not to mention the Death Legion, even some freelance players were focusing more on the game.

Typically, mobile phones and helmets were always at hand; once an "@all members" notification popped up, everyone hurriedly put on their helmets and returned online.

The player patrolling with Claw of Death was the first to spot the attack, and in less than a minute, two hundred players stationed on the mountain quickly logged on and led by Edge Shoveling, they turned the tables on the attacking Goblin troops.

In just one hour.

The two-thousand-strong Goblin Army had more than half either dead or injured, with the remaining soldier-less Goblins scattering in retreat.

Because the battle went so smoothly, Edge Shoveling didn't even call for the brothers resting at the mountain's base; he took care of these scraps himself.

What surprised the players the most was that "Goblin" was originally a nickname they gave these green-skinned dwarves, but now these creatures had started calling themselves "Goblin, Goblin."

Wiping the blood off his engineering shovel, Drum Roller Washing Machine muttered with regret.

"That was hasty, if only Dog Planner had let us name them, we should've named them 'good-for-nothings.'"

Laplace, startled by his words, hurried over without even wiping the blood on his hands to cover his mouth.

"F*ck, are you trying to get killed calling out Dog Planner here!"

Midnight Umbrella, No Knife scratched his head.

"But the mutants don't look like Ogres either."

Madam, You Wouldn't Think, rubbing his chin in thought for a moment: "The eating people part is quite similar though."

Midnight Umbrella, No Knife: "Uh, that's true."

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he felt like today's Goblins were a bit stronger than yesterday's.

Not only were their fighting methods more brutal, but they were also more troublesome to deal with, and even carried dynamite barrels on their backs.

Most incomprehensibly, these creatures, who previously fought individually, had now unexpectedly banded together.

I'm not sure if those lunatics used some crazy black technology again.

If they continue to act crazy like this, I'm afraid the "Battle of Paradise" will turn into "Chaos Invasion"...

"Hey, it seems pretty lively down the mountain," a player exclaimed excitedly as he looked down the mountain.

During the brief moment they had been fighting, the Weilante aircraft had already arrived at the battlefield.

And those big-nosed guys even brought something that looked very much like an "AT-AT Imperial Mule"!

It was called the "Wild Bull," right?

It's not just the army.

Academies and corporations had also arrived at the military base, including their personnel and vehicles!

Seeing everyone's curious expressions, Edge Shoveling knew what they were expecting and replied with a smile.

"Everyone, hold out a little longer, it's almost time for rotations!"

Laplace pointed at the scattered corpses nearby and asked, "What about these bodies? Bury them?"

The soil on this mountain is not easy to dig; the ground under their feet is as hard as iron.

Though their Constitution ensures they don't catch the plague, no one likes to stand next to a bacterial Petri dish.

Not to mention, they had teammates down the hill, and even if they don't consider themselves, they should consider their comrades.

However, this problem wasn't too difficult to solve, as Midnight knife quickly came up with an idea.

"Let Big Eyes feed them to his wives, they can eat a lot."

"Hahahaha fuck!" The washing machine man couldn't help but laugh out loud as he was wiping the dirty blood off his face.

The crowd burst into laughter, even Edge Shoveling couldn't help but chuckle and gave a thumbs up.

"You're really talented!"

…

Yesterday, the military base at Fu Mountain was empty, but today it was filled with people.

A total of eight Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft were parked on the tarmac, their imposing bodies resembling whales in the sea.

Next to them, twenty Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines stood, their blade-like flexible wings shimmering with a chilling light under the sun.

In addition to that, nearly a hundred silver-white heavy trucks were neatly parked in the wilderness, looking like distinct blocks!

The Ideal Group's logo was boldly printed on the bumper below the front of the trucks.

That was the corporation's 100th Mechanized Mountain Division.

They flew over the mountains of the eastern part of Brocade River Province directly using the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, landing in batches in the eastern plains and then all headed here together.

This was probably the first time the corporation dispatched troops to such a remote battlefield.

And it wasn't just the corporation that was showing off its toys.

The academy was the same.

Besides the Alpha Special Mobile Force that arrived by train, nearly twenty long, shuttle-shaped flying vehicles about twenty meters in length landed on the eastern side of the military base.

Although those aircraft utilized plasma engines, their slow landing indicated that their lift wasn't entirely provided by the plasma engines but likely included anti-gravity devices similar to those used on research ships and army airships.

The heavily armed Alpha Mobile Special Force exited the aircraft in sync.

Seemingly to show off, they purposely walked around to the north side of the camp, passing through the middle of the corporation's 100th Mountain Division and the army…

As for the "Hounds" special forces of Bugra Free State, they looked more low-key, waiting quietly behind the army with dozens of military trucks.

Unaware of the others' ulterior motives, Debt Giant Eye and Construction Worker, standing beside the military base and watching the action, were gobsmacked with mouths agape.

Army, corporation, academy, Free State, Empire…

And a whole bunch of other survivor forces he'd never even heard of were all gathering here.

The entire camp was as lively as a large military expo and looked like a parade, with all sorts of odd and varied equipment dazzling to the eyes.

Debt Giant Eye swallowed.

"Construction Worker..."

The young worker with the brick: "What's up?"

Debt Giant Eye: "Nothing much, just wondering… does it feel like a parade?"

The young worker with the brick, surprised for a moment, then exclaimed, "Damn! Now that you mention it, it kinda does!"

Wasteland Alliance, so it seems…

Though this leader seems a bit unconvincing.

But no worries, as long as their Manager isn't weak, all is good.

At this moment, he just wanted to shout out that the Manager is awesome!

Just then, the two, still marveling, suddenly caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd.

"Su Ming?!"

Hearing someone call his name, Su Ming, walking toward the center of the camp, stopped and looked puzzled at the two calling him, not recognizing who they were.

"…Do we know each other?"

"We've met, hehe, we briefly crossed paths back in Luo Xia Province," Debt Giant Eye said cheerfully as he walked forward, patting his friend beside him, and introduced, "This is Construction, and I'm Big Eyes."

"Oh! Comrades from that time!" Su Ming suddenly realized and nodded, about to comment on their unusual names but thought better of it, holding back his words and instead smilingly said, "Long time no see, has it been a year?"

"Yeah, a year just flew by!"

Not waiting for the NPC to comment on his name, Debt Giant Eye continued with a smile.

"By the way, weren't you part of the 26th Assault Squad?"

"Yes," Su Ming nodded and looked at him with confusion, "Is there a problem?"

The young man at the construction site stared straight at him, "Did you get a promotion?"

The young man responded with a hearty laugh.

"Promotion? I'm a non-commissioned officer, a professional sniper. If transitioning to an instructor is considered a promotion, then maybe I was promoted."

Debt Giant Eye scratched his head and asked.

"But... weren't you part of that assault team before? Is the corporate security department and the regular army the same system?"

It wasn't that he wanted to gather intelligence.

It was just too strange.

It was like a security guard had switched to becoming part of the regular army, and an instructor at that.

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Su Ming explained with a smile.

"We don't use that kind of terminology over there. The 100th Mountain Division actually evolved from the 26th Assault Team... Don't laugh, but we actually don't have a standing army. The council pulled them out just to have us train with them in preparation for the future. There are quite a few rookies among them, and we might just need your help coaching them."

After all, they were allies, so he spoke without much concealment.

The young man at the construction site and Brick were stunned, their heads still not wrapping around the concept, obsessively fussing over the details for a long while.

"But... aren't you the 100th Mountain Division? If there's a 100, naturally there's a 99, right? How can there be no standing army?"

Su Ming scratched the back of his head and chuckled as he replied.

"Cough... Actually, when we first mobilized, we were called 001. Later, our Cloud Team felt that was inappropriate, so they proposed a change to the council, and it was then changed to 100. It sounds more imposing that way."

Suddenly remembering something, a regretful expression appeared on his face. He glanced quickly at a nearby airship and lowered his voice as he added something to his previous statement.

"By the way, don't go spreading this around, okay... and if it accidentally slips out, don't say it came from me."

Watching this guy, Debt Giant Eye and the young man at the construction site and Brick were completely taken aback.

"Holy shit!"

"Badass!"

This works?!

But, to be fair, they were pretty intimidated when they first heard that number...

...

As the two were astounded by the accidental leak of the secret, the train station beside the camp was bustling and noisy.

Soldiers from the West Winds Empire crowded around the station, seemingly encountering some kind of problem.

Upon hearing the report from his subordinates, Li Jinrong, who had just finished entertaining guests from the corporation, hurried over non-stop.

Considering the diverse cultural backgrounds and customs formed by the survivor forces from different parts of Wasteland over two hundred years, friction was inevitable.

Although the Manager had specifically cautioned him to keep an eye on those folks from Poluo Province, he hadn't expected trouble on the very first day.

Upon arriving at the scene, he quickly located the man who was shouting loudly for the train conductor.

"I am the person in charge here, the leader of the Southern Construction Corps, Li Jinrong. May I know who you are?"

The tall man flared his nostrils and extended his right hand.

"Babita from the Horse Clan, Baron, and the Ten Thousand Leader of the West Winds Expeditionary Army!"

Ignoring the string of titles, Li Jinrong focused and asked seriously.

"So, General Babita, what seems to be the problem?"

"What's the problem?" Babita roared angrily, "I can't find my subordinates! And you ask me what's the problem!"

"Can't... find your subordinates?"

Li Jinrong paused momentarily, then glanced over the swarming soldiers behind him and commented with a bizarre expression, "Aren't they right here?"

Seeing him feign ignorance, Babita grew even more enraged and furiously said.

"Not just these! There are supposed to be thirty thousand! Several trains have arrived, and I've counted again and again, but there are only two ten-thousand troops! You've lost our people!"

Li Jinrong almost spat out blood in frustration.

"How could we possibly lose them?"

"God knows! They were on your trains! You were in charge of logistics! And now people are missing, aren't you responsible at all?"

Feeling that his words lacked intensity, Babita yelled even louder.

"We paid money for this!"

His point wasn't wrong.

The Alliance didn't pay for their logistics out of their own pockets; they just sold transportation capacity and resources converted into money at a cheap price to them.

Losing a whole ten thousand people...

That was certainly a big deal.

If ten thousand militarily-trained refugees suddenly appeared within the bounds of the Alliance, even if they were unarmed on the train, that would still be a major issue.

Realizing the severity of the problem, Li Jinrong's expression darkened. Not wanting to delay, he asked the man to wait a moment while he went to the communication room at the train station.

Before investigating where those people were lost, he needed to find out the numbers of the trains that transported the soldiers, as well as where they had stopped...

Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away.

In front of the picturesque Potato Harbor, several cargo ships floated on the ocean. A group of soldiers, sweating from their foreheads, looked bewildered at the shore.

The officer at the stern swallowed.

After glancing at the people on shore ready for action, he turned to his bewildered adjutant beside him and swallowed again before asking.

"Did we..."

"Get on the wrong ship?"

Chapter 731: Since You're Here, Stay and Work

"Survivor's Daily"

[Yesterday, enterprises, academies, armies, and other survivor forces from various factions gathered at the southern military base of the Alliance. Commanders from all sides discussed the specifics of the battle plan and the tasks each would undertake. Chu Guang, the manager of the allied forces, stated in an interview that the sticky community will go all-out against the enemies of civilization, at any cost, to make those beasts who have committed heinous crimes pay the price they deserve!]

The hotel in the north of the City of Dawn.

The Duke of Garava flipped the newspaper over and over again, his expression one of displeasure as he lifted his eyebrows.

There was no mention of the West Winds Empire on the front page, which made him feel somewhat slighted.

"These rats from the sewers only know how to play petty tricks on inconsequential issues."

Muttering cynically, the Duke of Garava tossed the newspaper aside.

Just then, a servant approached with a tray, setting a plate of curry rice omelet in front of him.

The rising steam carried an enticing aroma, and the Duke of Garava inhaled deeply, his appetite whetted as he clumsily picked up the spoon beside him.

Indeed, the City of Dawn offered a variety of food. With some effort, one could find something different to eat every day of the year.

This was the dish that most resembled the food from his homeland, and while it was less complex in texture, the combination of savory flavor, fluffy baked eggs, and fluffy rice grains was second to none!

The Duke grudgingly admitted that, aside from beans and flatbread, there were other ingredients that could match the spices from the Poluo Province.

Seeing the Duke venting his displeasure on his lunch, Nyian, standing nearby, noticed the regret in his face and respectfully whispered,

"My lord, perhaps other newspapers have news of us. Would you like me to buy them for you?"

The Duke of Garava, who was busy eating, was tempted to ask him to go purchase them, but then he suddenly recalled the doctor's advice and shook his head nervously.

"Forget it... It's better not to see."

Seeing that the Duke had suddenly come to his senses, Nyian felt a slight disappointment and thought it a pity.

Compared to "Survivor's Daily," today's "Goblin Observation Report" headline was the real bombshell...

...

"Goblin Observation Report"

[Shocking! Thirty thousand soldiers set off for the front line, and an entire ten thousand got lost! General Babita, the Tower General of the West Winds Empire, reignited with rage, bellowing "Where are my men?" in front of the formation, furiously berating the train conductor!]

[...]

"Where's my steel???"

Potato Harbor.

Fang Chang, standing on the dock of the light industrial zone, looked at the delivery order in his hand and then at the crowded ships anchored at the harbor, completely baffled.

Two weeks ago, while he was in Jinga Lun Port, he had ordered 10,000 tons of surplus steel at a price 50% below the market rate through a Weilante merchant.

According to the merchant, the steel was rough, not yet formed, but of assured quality, produced to Weilante casting standards.

Whether it was to be rolled into T-shaped beams for construction or mixed with other materials to create high-end alloys, it was all very practical.

Although Jinga Lun Port also had steel mills, their capacity was largely allocated to local infrastructure projects and those in Potato Harbor, and orders were backlogged.

After securing this unexpectedly delightful deal, Fang Chang immediately arranged for it to be sent to Anle Island, planning to let the submarine factory and technicians there tackle the "submarine mother" concept he and his buddies on the forum had brainstormed.

According to the contract, the two parties would complete the delivery of goods in Potato Harbor, and today he was supposed to receive 5,000 tons of steel bars and pay 40% of the contract payment.

Wary of the saying "cheap goods aren't good," he had even made a special trip from Jinga Lun Port to check.

But what he hadn't expected was that what arrived was not steel bars, but over ten thousand soldiers?!

If not for the fact that these people were behaving with some restraint, he would have suspected they hadn't learned their lesson and were up to some clever trickery again.

The man standing at the prow of the ship also had an embarrassed expression; he was now certain he was on the wrong ship.

But admitting his error was out of the question.

To break the awkward silence, he cleared his throat and introduced himself,

"I'm General Yiselle, Baron, of the Horse Tribe... the Ten General of the Third Ten Thousand Troop of the Expeditionary Army."

Fang Chang stared at him intently, "I don't care whether you're a horse or a cow; I just want to know why you're here! And where is my steel!"

General Yiselle was stunned, looking at him blankly, clearly unaware of any trade.

"What steel?"

"Steel! The steel I bought from those big-nosed guys!" Fang Chang took a deep breath, quickly regaining his composure, and addressed him, "Where's your captain? Bring him here!"

It was pointless to discuss whose fault it was now; the situation had to be resolved as soon as possible.

Soon enough, the captain was brought out.

More accurately, he was dragged out by the arms by a group of soldiers.

Confronted with the furious Fang Chang and General Yiselle, the Rodent captain was nearly in tears.

"Sir... I didn't know, really! The Weilante people told me not to ask questions, not to look, just load the ship and sail ahead following the course. Then the next day, these men rushed up, urging me to sail quickly. I couldn't reach the person who arranged my voyage, so... I could only set sail."

Yiselle kicked the guy in the butt with an awkward expression.

"Why didn't you tell me we were heading to Potato Harbor?"

The captain said with a tearful face.

"How dare I ask any questions with the way you guys were acting?"

Fang Chang was dumbfounded as he looked at the two on the deck.

So, his steel wasn't sent to Silver Moon Bay or Jinga Lun Port, but it wasn't even loaded onto the ship?!

"...Didn't you realize this is a cargo ship?"

Yiselle looked at him, confused.

"Does it make a difference?"

Fang Chang found himself speechless for a moment, but then quickly remembered that several gunboats of the West Winds Empire Navy were converted from cargo ships, and the previous raid on Potato Harbor had also used civilian ships. His expression became a mixture of tears and laughter.

Good lord...

He hadn't anticipated such a novel form of dragging their feet. With so many ridiculous points, he didn't even know where to begin his criticism.

He guessed that the Weylent Merchant who sold him the goods also hadn't expected that the cargo ship he arranged wouldn't bring the supplies, but instead brought the Expeditionary Army over...

Seeing that the "person in charge" of this port was at a loss for words, Yiselle coughed and continued to speak.

"Could you please tell me how far it is from here to Brocade River Province?"

Fang Chang pinched the bridge of his nose, saying with a headache,

"Not far, Ten Peaks Mountain is just a bit to the east of the south side of Baiyue Province, even 1000 kilometers is an overestimate from here."

Yiselle brightened up at those words.

"That's great—"

Before he could finish, Fang Chang couldn't help but burst out,

"Great my ass! Are you planning to walk there on your own two legs? The war would be over before you could even reach it!"

Of course, the more likely possibility was dying in this forest.

Even though Potato Harbor had successfully established itself on this land, the radius of the players' active area was hard to expand beyond 50 kilometers without a stable supply line. One couldn't go too far unless they never intended to return.

After pondering for a moment, Fang Chang turned to the captain and said.

"Wait for me on the sea for a while, I'll discuss with others how to solve this issue... Move a bit further out and don't block the dock in the meantime."

"Wait, please wait!" As Fang Chang turned to walk outside the dock, Yiselle who was standing on the deck hurriedly called out to him; then, somewhat embarrassed, he spoke, "We're running out of food, could you... lend us some?"

Fang Chang twitched his eyebrows.

"...Wait here."

...

Wasteland OL Forum.

Fang Chang brought back the events that happened in Potato Harbor to the Forum, and the mystery of the disappearance of the West Winds Empire's Third Ten Thousand Army was finally solved.

Edge Shoveling: "Well damn... getting lost like that is just ridiculous."

WC Got Mosquitos: "Hahaha! I'm dying of laughter, today's headline is set!"

Fang Chang: "Alright... let's not worry about headlines now, I'll urge that Weylent Merchant again for the steel, if that doesn't work I'll personally make a trip to West Sail Port. The current problem is, what to do with these people? You guys should also give some suggestions."

Wild Wind: "To have made you speechless is quite something. (Smirk)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Just let them stay on the southern front. They're here anyway, and looking at that bunch with Clone equipment, I feel like they'd just be making up numbers on the northern line anyway. (Amusing)"

Construction Youth and Bricks: "+1, the north currently belongs to the big leagues. There's a full 20 Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines stationed, and we're barely able to transport ammunition, now we even have to fix an airport. It's lucky our 500 Death Claws are somewhat presentable, or we'd be reduced to mere spectators."

Spring Water Commander: "Weren't you planning to land on Death Coast? Let Old White and Brother Chicken give them some training. (Smirk)"

Old White: "Their basics are a bit lacking, we might have to start teaching them from how to eat. (Cry-laugh)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "I'm against letting them land. They are soldiers of the Empire, with their previous track record, no one can guarantee their safety."

Si Si: "+1, We have many Moon Tribe settling in our ports, they were previously slaves liberated from Jinga Lun Port, the Empire never recognized their status as freed people. Allowing them to land might inevitably lead to friction."

Ahh Sesame Paste: "Hmm... If they renounce their identity as Imperial soldiers, it might be feasible. Doesn't Potato Harbor need a lot of laborers?"

Si Si: "That's not realistic, though... And even if we needed the workforce, we wouldn't need to look for accomplices of Slave Owners, Jinga Lun Port has so much better labor willing to come."

Night Ten: "It seems the Alliance might need to establish a customs and immigration department now. We've never had so many people come at once before. (Amusing)"

Elena: "+1, Without newcomers the game would die out, but too rapid an increase of new players isn't entirely great either. Every multiplayer game turns into a mess during a free weekend, as if it became a completely different game. (Amusing)"

Tail: "Oh! That said, sending them to the front line as Cannon Fodder is too pitiful, how about building another settlement on the South Shore? Let them reclaim land and train there? _(:з」∠)_"

Fang Chang: "It doesn't seem cost-effective. Just maintaining the port on the north shore is already draining us of a ton of ammunition. As for training... I guess even if they were trained, with their current state, they'd hardly be of any use."

Feudal Army would only possibly muster a bit of fighting spirit if their home turf was being hit and Gold coins were at stake, but that's limited to fighting on their own turf.

This is entirely different from cultural ideas, ethnic bloodlines, and religious traditions. Only if it can be said that a certain religious tradition or cultural idea reduces the debuff. For example, the Restoration Army of Honey Badger Kingdom is an example; they are united from top to bottom, and even after having their homeland blown up, they still managed to establish an exiled government. The princess, in order to enrich the country, is even willing to marry an "infidel." However, in Lion Kingdom, it's a different story altogether; the serfs in the occupied areas are all waiting for the royal army to act, while the royal army is waiting for the Alliance to make a move.

As for Poluo Province, objectively speaking, they have used their theory of Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods to diffuse conflicts and consolidate the royal authority over two hundred years, but this has also brought larger issues.

Fang Chang has no hope of training them into a competent fighting force in just a few months; it's not something that can be changed so quickly.

Tail: "Then we just clear the fields and skip the training! (｀・ω・´)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "And how will we sustain the ammunition expenses for the settlement?"

Si Si: "I heard that Dawn City is recently undergoing industrial upgrades. The newest ammunition production line at Floor B7 processing center has just been assembled, ready to replace the old one... How about we buy it and ship it to Jinga Lun Port? If we process bullets there and ship them to Baiyue Strait, we should save some costs."

Old White: "That's not a bad idea... But after the war ends and the Expeditionary Army retreats, those ten thousand vacant positions will probably be a problem."

Si Si: "It shouldn't be a problem to bring in some population from Jinga Lun Port. Once the infrastructure work there is done, we'll have a lot of labor freed up. We can use this new port as a buffer for the influx of population from Potato Harbor."

The South Shore of Baiyue Strait also has vast undeveloped lands available for reclamation.

Plus, compared to the rugged terrain of the North Shore, the lands on the South Shore are much flatter and suitable for planning large plantations and farmlands to produce tropical economic crops.

Jungle Corps would be responsible for clearing the Variants near the coast, and then it would be a good option to send those Expeditionary Army soldiers who took the wrong turn to cultivate the land.

Anyway, sending them to the battlefield would likely just hold us back. It's enough to have them pose and do some target practice or drills every once in a while just for show.

Fang Chang: "So, what's the name for the new settlement going to be?"

Elena: "Since we already have Potato Harbor, why not just go for Cola Port next? (Jokingly)"

Night Ten: "At this rate, the Alliance map will turn into a menu. (Jokingly)"

Makabazi: "Hahaha bloody hell!"

...

At this moment, General Yiselle didn't know that his and his troop of cannon fodders' destinies were being clearly arranged in another world.

However, thanks to this, they also inadvertently stepped onto a completely different path of fate.

The North Line.

The third day the Allied forces arrived.

Atop Black Cloud Peak, the second mountain of Ten Peaks Mountain, a bloody battle had just begun.

It seems that seeing the Death Legion of Alliance take over Fushan so smoothly, the distant Weilante People couldn't wait to show their prowess to the rest of their allies.

Tower Manchu General Lucien, the commander of the Army, almost "snatched" the mission to conquer Black Cloud Peak from the hands of the academy and corporate commanders.

And thanks to an old friend's help, General Babita of the Imperial Expeditionary Army also got lucky and sent out a thousand-troops team as a feint—which is to say, as backups.

After all, the winding mountain roads of Ten Peaks Mountain could only fit the military strength of one or two camps at most.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Legion would send the Glory Army first and keep the main force for the central battlefield behind Ten Peaks Mountain.

And just as General Babita expected, the Glory Army had assembled at the base of Fushan early in the morning, led up the mountain by a team of Weilante military officers.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the "Wild Bull" walking machine raised its 200mm cannon and spat out enough shells to fill five train carriages toward the peak of Black Cloud Peak!

Dense flames exploded around that magnificent peak and on its sides, burning the woods halfway up the mountain and scattering the clouds lingering among the mountains.

At the same time as the bombardment ended, a thousand-troops team of Glory Army assembled at the top of Fushan began their charge amidst deafening roars, wielding Ripper Rifles.

They advanced along the narrow mountain road, firing intensely at Mutants with the help of the rugged rocks.

Sitting in the command center, Lucien, while eating ice cream, looked down at the battlefield filled with shouts of killing, with a faint smile on his face.

Suddenly, he turned slightly to his deputy and asked.

"How long did it take the Alliance to take Fushan again?"

The deputy standing beside him respectfully said,

"I remember it was before dusk."

Lucien nodded, glanced at the mechanical watch on his left wrist, then leaned back comfortably in his chair, crossing his right leg over his left knee.

"It seems we can end the battle before noon. I plan to dine downstairs later... I've heard that the Alliance's chefs are not bad. Have you eaten there yesterday? What dishes would you recommend from the camp's canteen?"

The deputy was slightly startled, hesitated for a moment, and said,

"The pig trotter rice I had yesterday was pretty good."

The taste was indeed quite nice.

Back in Triumph City, pig trotters were usually roasted or smoked in wooden boxes. It was his first time encountering such soft pig trotters that were almost more tender than bread, almost like jelly.

Lucien said with a smile,

"Let's go try it together later."

Not only did Lucien not take those Mutants seriously, General Babita at the front line felt the same.

But unlike the Weilante People who had seen plenty of Mutants, Babita's confidence came from never having seen these green-skinned creatures before.

Drawing from hearsay along the way, he regarded the group as nothing more than a bunch of unevolved wild men.

Only beggars begging for food in the Wasteland could peck at them for three hundred rounds, yet Poluo Province was by no means the Wasteland—had he entered the fray, he could have killed that brood of chickens in minutes.

However, it seemed that his people would not need to take the field this time, as the Weilante people had already made their move.

Just when General Babita thought that the battle was merely a formality and that he could go to the front lines and then return, the progression of events took him by surprise.

The clone soldiers who rushed up the mountain had actually come to a deadlock with that group of under-evolved wild men!

"...damn it all."

Holding up the binoculars, General Babita stared for a long time, and when he saw that group of clones unable to push forward, he couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"What are those Weilante people dawdling for..."

He had never fought a mountain battle, but he could at least understand the battle lines. Even if his eyesight wasn't always sharp, he was indisputably skilled at "judging the distance between the front line and the rear by the sound of gunfire."

In the blink of an eye, two hundred-men teams had already been wiped out.

A wounded Weilante military officer was carried down the mountain by medical soldiers, while those green-skinned guys kept popping up, even appearing to grow stronger as they fought.

Seeing the dreadful state of the battle, General Babita's palms couldn't help but sweat.

If his old friends didn't exert their full strength soon, they would be pushed to the bottom of the mountain!

It wasn't just General Babita who was stunned; the players observing from the top of Busan Mountain were also dumbfounded.

The previous round of cannon fire had been quite a spectacle, they even opened bets on how long it would take those big noses to plant their flag at the summit.

But the result was beyond shocking: after being bombarded, that group of mutants acted as though nothing happened, and beat the clone soldiers on the mid-mountain to a bloody pulp.

Debt Giant Eye swallowed hard, staring in disbelief and commenting.

"Good Lord... they bombarded the entire mountain top and yet the battle turned out like this?"

Could it be that the mutants had evolved too?

Holding the binoculars, the young construction worker with a brick furrowed his brows and said in a deep voice.

"Something's wrong with those guys."

"Mhm..."

Edge Shoveling nodded, his expression grave, "It's really not quite the same as when we first arrived here."

At that time, a single cannon fire had killed half of the green skins, and the remaining half was wiped out by one charge.

There had been some resistance when pushing towards the summit, but it was only slight.

Seeing his ally's position on the verge of collapse, General Babita could no longer sit still; he hurriedly urged the thousands of leaders next to him to launch the attack.

"Take your men and charge up! Hurry!"

"Yes!"

The thousands of leaders did not dare to delay and quickly gathered his subordinates, leading over a thousand men into the fray.

That mountain seemed just within view and didn't appear to be anything special, yet when he actually approached the front line, he found that the situation was far more complex than General Babita had thought.

The towering mountains were like an insurmountable cliff with no path to be called a road, save for a narrow trail barely leading to the summit.

It was impossible to bypass the mountain; sheer cliffs flanked its sides, and further beyond lay unnamed peaks, their situation even worse.

Their soldiers could only climb upward while grasping the rocks on both sides of the mountain path, shooting at the enemy while carefully avoiding being knocked down by the bodies of their fallen comrades.

In contrast, their opponents, the mutants, had the high ground and fired down upon them.

Some shorter goblins would suddenly jump out from behind cover, wielding rocks, daggers, and even packs of dynamite, to give them a "surprise."

In the past two weeks, the Death Legion had already experienced such surprises and were no longer alarmed by them.

However, the newcomers from Poluo Province were witnessing these vicious and ferocious creatures for the first time.

The Weilante's Glory Army had at least pushed up to the mid-mountain before their momentum was halted, while these newcomers hadn't even reached their ally's positions before their morale nearly collapsed.

No matter how General Babita cursed and scolded from behind, he could not prevent those Rat Soldier's morale from crumbling, frightened by the green-skinned goblins and big guys.

The battle continued from morning until dusk, with the entire sky turning a bloody red.

On the bridge of the Loyalty Airship.

Lucien stared dumbfounded at the now silent mountain summit, his mouth agape and speechless.

The ice cream bar that had once been in his grasp had long dropped to the ground, but no one noticed.

Because it wasn't just him who was stunned; everyone on the bridge had fallen silent.

A poorly timed growl of hunger "gurgle" broke the silence on the bridge inappropriately.

Watching the mountain top that couldn't be taken even by dusk, Lucien's face gradually turned as red as a liver, and he suddenly pounded his fist onto the armrest of his chair with fury.

A bunch of disgraceful waste!

Had he known, he would've had General Modlin take charge!

"Prepare the main cannon at the bow! Aim at that mountain top!"

"Blast the hell out of it!!"

Chapter 732: The Alliance's Old Profession

"Survivor's Daily"

[Last night, the first thousand team of the 31st Ten thousand troops of the Army initiated an offensive against Black Cloud Peak, the second peak of Ten Peaks Mountain, and succeeded in controlling the entire peak at 22:10...]

Proof was in the pudding.

The Eastern Legion's direct troops did have some tricks up their sleeves.

After suffering 112 casualties, that elite group of Weilante people equipped with automatic firepower finally managed to plant the Army's flag on the mountaintop before the dawn bell.

The remnants of the green-skinned Big Guys and Goblins either hid in those man-made tunnels and shelters or retreated to the third peak of Ten Peaks Mountain—Broken Blade Mountain.

Compared to Black Cloud Peak, the so-called Broken Blade Mountain was slightly shorter, but the wonder of nature here was no less astonishing.

The entire mountain looked like a sharply jutting long sword, cut across the middle, leaving only half remaining. The two sides of the mountain were sheer cliffs – too steep for even trees to hold on to, let alone people.

A diagonal path spiraled to the mountaintop, from south to north, and this path also happened to be the most treacherous section of the Eighty Miles of Bone Road. Not to mention that heavy vehicles would have difficulty traversing it—death claws, capable of climbing rocks, also found it a tough climb.

However, even so, compared to a few other untouched natural strongholds nearby, it was a little easier to build bridges and roads here.

According to the operational plan of the Allied forces' headquarters, this peak was to be the responsibility of the infantry of Company 100's Mountain Division, with support from the Alliance and Army following behind.

The offensive was scheduled to launch in three days!

Aside from the combat preparations for three days from now, what Edge Shoveling was actually more interested in was the Army's performance in last night's battle.

According to their previous analysis on the Forum, the Army's real trump card was never about individual combat ability, or even a particular unit. The true winning magic of those guys was the vast logistics system and the capacity for sustained combat.

Their entire social system was prepared for war, where every institution existed either to complete the production of war weapons, or to train officers and soldiers, or to reward military aristocrats who had distinguished themselves on the battlefield.

Therefore, discussing the combat power of any one unit wasn't actually very meaningful. Companies needed to bluff with numbers, while these fellows truly had a hundred divisions.

And they were all standing armies, ready to be deployed without the need for mobilization!

If it weren't for the Great Desert in between, making the Eastern Provinces far too remote from Triumph City, and most logistics had to rely on Servant Countries, the performance of the Expeditionary Army might not have been so utterly disappointing, let alone lacking support in a hinterland brimming with main warring factions.

However, Edge Shoveling was unexpectedly surprised by not just the poor performance of the Glory Army but also by the performance of the 31st Ten thousand troops last night.

And what was even more surprising was that special unit called the "Sweeping Group."

A hundred soldiers in all, each nearly three meters tall with burly figures like iron towers, completely covered in black bulletproof linings and exoskeletons.

Their position probably resembled a special combat company under a division-level unit, but in actuality, their performance on the battlefield was more like "humanoid armored personnel carriers" coordinating with the infantry.

These tall and burly fellows used shotguns and heavy machine guns as their primary weapons, notably firing the latter while advancing without setting up.

In addition, they were equipped with a large number of incendiary, shrapnel, and other types of heavy grenades, and they also hung a battle axe or iron hammer as a "firepower supplement" for close-quarters combat.

The combat style of these guys was fiercely aggressive, on par with the brothers from the Jungle Corps. They often appeared in the most perilous parts of the front line, taking out the enemy in the most straightforward and brutal ways. Even the most vicious mutants couldn't withstand their onslaught.

Had it not been for the occasionally exposed faces that were indeed human in appearance, Edge Shoveling might even have suspected that they were mutants in exoskeletons…

"Those people? Of course, they're Weilante people... just the kind who botched the use of the medicine," someone said.

In the military base's cafeteria.

While dining, Edge Shoveling brought up the matter to Su Ming, who was busy with his stir-fried rice and spoke in a casual tone.

Edge Shoveling asked in confusion,

"What do you mean?"

Su Ming said,

"The use of 'Awakening Potions' to forcibly express non-coding genes does not guarantee 100% awakening. According to the technology path, there is also a certain probability of side effects of varying degrees... severe cases result in death, while mild cases result in disability or various genetic diseases. You've heard of that, haven't you?"

Edge Shoveling nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Fang Chang's brothers' partner seemed to be a victim of the Awakening Potion.

It was apparently a product of the Huge Rock Military Industry, remembered as 'Dragon Blood.'

Since it was free, many in Giant Stone City who wished to become mercenaries but lacked strength had used it; Huge Rock Military Industry even launched a special loan for those disabled by the Dragon Blood Potion.

After the collapse of Inner City, the new authorities classified 'Dragon Blood' as a prohibited drug.

Shelter No. 404 had a similar product, but it was much safer than Dragon Blood.

Although the probability of awakening was also a mystery, and multiple injections were necessary, the biggest incident so far had only been a failure to awaken, with no cases of physical disability.

Of course, if "difficulty in producing offspring" also counted as a disability, then that was a problem for most Awakeners.

Edge Shoveling guessed that this might be some kind of self-protection mechanism of a biological species—that is, to prevent the ability to randomly express non-coding genes from being passed down.

Of course, this was just his guess based on the game's setting.

In reality, there were neither Awakeners nor so many mutant creatures.

"... The Weilante People from the Sweeping Group were a similar case. You should know about them, right? They were 'naturally born soldiers' synthetically created by the Weilante Laboratory under the Technical Department during the War Construction Committee period."

Taking a glance at the Alpha Special Mobile Force soldiers dining not far away, Su Ming fiddled with a spoon in his hand and continued in a very soft, slow voice,

"If ordinary people's non-coding genes are a long string of naturally formed crap, theirs were artificially designed... One theory is that the designers from the Technical Department inserted unfinished code from 'Perfect Life forms' into theirs, then annotated it in some way, to make up the 23 pairs of chromosomes."

"The original intent of the War Construction Committee was to use these tool-like beings to fight against slime molds and also collect some experimental data to complete the Singularity Technology that wasn't finished during the Era of Prosperity, then eradicate these unstable beings through sterilization or other more civilized methods after the end of the Wasteland Era, to prevent genetic contamination..."

"This is the information I found on Endpoint Cloud before, maybe it can answer some of your questions. But whether it is true or not, you'll have to verify yourself... Anyone can talk on Endpoint Cloud, and sometimes it's mostly boasting."

Using a VM translator to understand this conversation full of technical jargon, Edge Shoveling tried to comprehend and then his eyes widened in astonishment.

Holy smokes!

So that means...

There are Mutants living in the DNA of the Weilante People?!

No, that statement might not be accurate enough; it's more like "parts of Mutants are living in their DNA."

Mutants are the unfinished products of 'Perfect Life forms,' and so are the Weilante People.

Only, the former let loose all the unstable genes, completely forming a new species, while the latter intermixed some gene fragments homologous to Mutant DNA with human genes!

This is why when Weilante People awaken, some become stronger humans, while others become humans with Mutant traits.

After all, the essence of awakening is the unique expression of non-coding genes within an individual; no one can say for sure which part will be expressed.

"But why are the latter considered failures?" Edge Shoveling asked, not understanding.

Su Ming made a helpless expression,

"Then you'll have to ask the experts of the Weilante People... I told you, I heard this from Endpoint Cloud."

Edge Shoveling: "..."

While the two were eating, the soldiers from the Alpha Special Mobile Force at the next table had finished scouring their plates and walked in unison to get their meals.

"Potato and pork over rice, three more orders, and add extra rice," the squad leader at the front took out his meal card and said concisely.

The chef handing out the meals paused, counting again the people standing in front of the serving station. No matter how he counted, there were only four of them.

But he didn't ask any further.

These guys with gas masks hanging on their helmets and goggles covering their eyes hardly looked like normal people.

"Three orders for you..." After placing the prepared meals on the table, he couldn't help but suggest, "If you three are eating together, you could actually just order a few stir-fried dishes with rice separately."

"No need, thank you."

The squad leader nodded, holding three plates with both hands, and turned back to his previous table.

Just when the server thought it was all done with, the soldier who had been behind the squad leader stepped forward, pulling out his meal card in an identical manner.

"Potato and pork, three more orders, and add extra rice."

Server: "..."

As he expected, the two behind did the same, ordering three portions of the same dish, and even the actions of taking their plates and saying thank you were as if cut from the same mold.

It was as if these guys had made an agreement.

Everyone ordered the same dish, completely clearing out a large bucket of potato and pork. The other dozen dishes weren't even half consumed.

In response to this situation, the server could only contact the kitchen to rush another bucket over.

What he didn't know was that in the communication channels he couldn't hear or see, a series of invisible radio waves were exchanging at the speed of light.

"Potato and pork is good, recommended."

"Indeed nice."

"Nice."

"Really nice."

"Satisfied."

"..."

By the time the Alpha Special Mobile Force soldiers had finished their meals and returned their plates, a swarm of freshly trained corporate soldiers had just poured into the cafeteria.

These new recruits had gone through three months of training at the boot camp and hadn't stopped training after arriving here, each one of them was so hungry that their eyes were glowing green.

One of the young soldiers squeezed to the front of the serving station, glanced at the menu on the wall, and quickly slapped his meal card on the card reader.

"Boss, give me a potato and pork! Also, one braised eggplant and two orders of rice!"

Mentioning that dish was troublesome, the server waved impatiently: "Potato and pork is gone, cleaned out by those guys wearing masks. Wait another half hour if you want it."

The crowd was instantly shocked.

"What the heck?!"

"Cleaned out?!"

They hadn't really wanted to eat it at first, but hearing it was all gone, everyone's saliva started to flow and they curiously lined up to wait.

The line grew longer and longer.

Later, not just corporate soldiers, but soldiers from other settlements like Free State and Garbage City also came to join the fun.

In just one day, the Weifu Military Base sold nearly 100,000 orders of potato and pork!

Especially the rice-devouring champions from the Academy, starting with three orders each, the thousand-strong mobile forces managed to devour like a ten thousand-strong force!

Although the military cafeteria wasn't designed for profit and the profit on a single meal wasn't much, only 1 to 2Cr, it still added up to a considerable amount.

That day, there were no combat operations on the northern front.

A small number of army soldiers were cleaning up the remaining mutants and goblins in the tunnels of Black Cloud Peak, but behind the Weilante People, the Alliance's potato and pork over rice quietly became popular throughout the entire military base...

Not only were the players dumbfounded, but even Chu Guang in Dawn City was taken by surprise.

Just with one dish, these soldiers from all over had managed to exhaust the base's supply of potatoes...

When Chu Guang in Dawn City received the frontline report, he was stunned for a few seconds.

"Goodness... can the military base even be profitable?!"

Hand on heart, Chu Guang honestly hadn't thought about making money off the supply bodies.

The Alliance was no longer the impoverished little village of the past.

As the Manager of the Alliance, his duty wasn't just about finding every possible way to feed his supporters, but leading the full-bellied fellows to rebuild a greater era and unite more people who hadn't had their share.

It was for this reason that he practically gave away many originally profitable operations, like train capacity, at cost to the friendly supply bodies.

And if it were logistics supplies manufactured in Giant Stone City Industrial Zone, on behalf of Dawn City, they could even get a 50% discount on top of the cost price! It was as if the Alliance was subsidizing the treasury, encouraging the supply body forces to produce logistics supplies in the Alliance's industrial zones!

Although from a short-term perspective, this would increase some fiscal deficit, looking at the bigger picture, the benefits this brought couldn't even compare.

"Foreign trade orders" brought not just capital, technology, and talent but also tighter cooperation.

Even after the war is over, some of these orders will not disappear due to inertia from the close cooperation formed during the war.

Including the accompanying capital, technology, and talent that came with those orders.

This was also a sort of public strategy.

All parties had long-term interests in solving the fungus problem, and short-term interests in dealing with the "Heaven disaster" that was the Torch Church.

Even the usually stingy Academy was willing to take on the risk of some technology leakage to move some of the less critical, high front-line demand industries to Giant Stone City, closer to the front, or even to have them produced by Huge Rock Military Industry.

For example, capacitors used in Gauss Rifles and polymer bulletproof liners for Exoskeletons, among others.

The related technologies could prompt upgrades for more than a dozen industry chains within the Alliance.

In contrast, the fiscal subsidy paid by the Alliance was negligible.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Chu Guang spent money in preparation for a long-term campaign.

Unexpectedly, the war had barely been waged for three weeks, and they had managed to make a profit from the cafeteria?

Xiao Qi sitting atop the pen holder looked at him intently, raising a thumb in admiration.

"Worthy of being my master! Others lose money in war, but you not only didn't lose any money, you even made some!"

Chu Guang cleared his throat.

"... Even if you praise me, there's no benefit in it for you."

"How can there be none?"

Holding her cheeks with both hands, Xiao Qi made a shy expression, and her bright big eyes peered at him through her fingers.

"When master is happy, it is the most, most, most blissful thing for Xiao Qi... Hehe."

Huh?!

Chu Guang looked at the little one in surprise.

Why did he feel that this guy was getting smarter and smarter?

But who had he learned this sly talk from?

Is this the way to use these words?

"I always feel that Master is thinking of something rude..."

Gazing at Chu Guang with a doubtful face, Xiao Qi crossed her arms over her chest, and the slightly upturned tip of her lips seemed not too pleased with his surprised expression.

Chu Guang gave a light cough and steered the off-topic conversation back on track.

"No, I was just thinking... I had been negligent before and almost forgot about our old trade."

The development of the Alliance was so fast that he had forgotten about the soldiers' pockets full of salaries.

Including the task rewards he had given to players.

These guys would earn money but ultimately couldn't spend it in the City of Dawn, so most likely they would exchange it at the official website's Silver Exchange.

It was better to let them spend it on the frontlines.

What the Alliance lacked now was no longer productivity, but a place that could release productivity and generate positive benefits. Maybe by relying on the spending power of this bunch of guys, a settlement could be forced into existence.

This wasn't impossible.

Reports from the frontlines mentioned that some traders from Mafu Town had even driven cattle carts to the terminal station of the railway—the Weifu Military Base Station, where non-military personnel were not allowed to board the train—and set up stalls to sell local specialties like cow milk, horse milk, and other dairy products.

With survivors from other parts of Brocade River Province gathering around, a new settlement might gradually form there.

"Old trade?" Xiao Qi tilted her head, not sure which one Chu Guang was referring to, since he played so many tricks.

"Heavy industry BBQ, light industry buns and steamed buns... Of course, conditions are better now than before, and there can be other things besides Food."

Chu Guang smiled faintly, waved his index finger lightly in the air, and tapped the holographic screen to open the window for assigning tasks and server activities.

His creativity was limited, but he believed in the boundless creativity of his little players.

"... Let's send some lifestyle profession players to the frontline."

...

While the Alliance soldiers on the northern front were busy eating, the mutants on Ten Peaks Mountain were also gobbling up their meals.

But they weren't eating rice, rather livestock or people who were like livestock.

The Torch Church had provided them with a rich source of food and tools for reproduction.

Ever since the fire in Haiya Province had started, they had been feasting every day, and the good days had never stopped.

Even though they had lost two hilltops, these green-skinned guys weren't the least bit worried.

The battle was just beginning, and the human Alliance had barely entered their home turf.

Besides the ones that could dig, they also had ones that could fly. When those humans really reached halfway up the mountain, that would be the start of their nightmare.

They would tear those humans apart bit by bit and use their blood and guts to worship their deceased kin, pleasing their "Beast King"!

Broken Blade Mountain.

All the green-skinned mutants and goblins on the mountain were busy preparing for war.

Except for one.

In a spacious cave, a green-skinned brute about ten meters long sat in the middle of a pile of humanoid skeletons like a decorative hill, snoring with gusto.

Its green skin was like moss that hadn't seen sunlight for ages, pitted like a toad. Its arms were like the shovels of an excavator, and the snoring that came from its mouth sounded like thunder, while the drool hanging from the corner of its mouth occasionally dripped on the skeletons below, making a corrosive sizzle sound.

Its name was Ollon, the leader of the Stone Axe Family, the biggest and strongest brute in the tribe, and also a rare natural mutant among mutants.

As an exception to the Perfect Life forms project, it had some of the features of a Super Mutant, so even a smashed brain wouldn't kill it. Instead, it would go berserk from losing its sanity, and its recovery power could even exceed part of the slime mold entities, even more enduring than the "Meat Mountain".

Although it looked like a heavily obese disabled person while asleep, when it was awake it was anything but slow, even capable of slapping a Tank aside with a single palm.

Just then, a noise came from the entrance, and the ear that hung on its big head, which looked like a pig's, perked up. Half-awake, Ollon lifted half an eyelid and murmured heavily while snoring, "What's going on?"

This was one of its special abilities; only half of its brain awoke, while the other half remained asleep.

Standing at the entrance of the cave, the middle-aged man cloaked in white robes spoke in a flat, unemotional voice.

"I've brought you good news."

Ollon grunted expressionlessly.

"Speak."

The man said deliberately, "You'll have a feast soon."

Ollon chuckled deeply, like a low growling Dragon.

"I'm really looking forward to that."

Then it closed its half-open eye again, seemingly slipping back into deep sleep.

The man nodded and vanished from the entrance as if he had never been there.

The sleeping Ollon opened its eyes; a hint of impatience flashed through its amber pupils.

Although many in the tribe called that human the "Beast King", it didn't like that pretentious guy much.

Clearly, it was the real Beast King!

The only pity was that the guy was transparent.

Whether it threw stones at him or spat, everything would just pass through him.

If that fellow had a physical body, it would have chewed him up already!

...

While human soldiers and mutants on the northern frontline were busy eating, General Yiselle and his ten thousand subordinates, who boarded the wrong ship to Baiyue Strait, also finally got to eat their first hot meal.

Clutching a golden-yellow, stick-shaped "bread" and eating it greasily, Yiselle couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"

"Fried Dough Stick."

Glancing at the guy who hadn't seen much of the world, Fang Chang said succinctly while standing on the dock, "Remember, this is your first meal after landing, and from now on, this place is called Fried Dough Stick Port."

Yesterday noon, the Jungle Corps dispatched a team to venture deep into the jungles of the South Shore to eradicate the local Variants and, in coordination with the Goblin Corps' W-2H seaplanes, took down at least five nests.

By noon today, the soldiers of the Expeditionary Army had landed on the south shore of the Baiyue Strait, setting up a camp on the beach and, in coordination with the construction team from French Fries Hill, erected a makeshift wooden dock along the shore, stringing up an underwater isolation net.

By evening, the supply ships from Potato Harbor had finally arrived before these soldiers could go hungry, bringing with them the fried dough sticks.

Unexpectedly, the Alliance even sent bread for them to eat, causing great excitement among the Rat Soldiers. Once they got their rations, they all wolfed the food down voraciously.

In Poluo Province, bread was a food only citizens with a respectable job could afford; most people were eating dirt and beans.

Although the bread was a bit too oily, no one complained. Instead, they were moved to tears by the Alliance's generosity.

Not just those soldiers, but even the officers born as citizens had never seen such greasy bread.

Although some delicacies from City of Dawn had appeared in Jinjialun Port, due to factors like closed borders and distance, the Alliance's culinary culture hadn't penetrated the heartland of Poluo Province, spreading only in a small area around Jinjialun Port and its vicinity.

Even the more worldly officers couldn't stand eating dry rations at sea for two weeks, and everyone's mouth was about to become bland as a bird's.

Even the less refined Ten Thousand Leader Yiselle didn't have very elegant table manners, chewing and swallowing vigorously while mumbling with a mouth dripping with oil.

"Thanks... We'll remember your help, and after the war is over, I'll say a few good words to His Majesty on your behalf."

Fang Chang chuckled and didn't take his tough talk seriously, continuing in a bureaucratic tone,

"Don't mention it; you did well today, this is the reward you deserve. Starting from tomorrow, we will arrange new tasks for you, including barracks construction and road construction, and so on... If your performance meets our expectations, we will pay you a salary."

Hearing Fang Chang, Yiselle was initially stunned, then suddenly became angry and said,

"Wait a minute! We're here to fight, not to help you build a port!"

He understood the need to construct a dock.

After all, people could swim ashore holding onto logs, but supplies would be ruined if they got into the sea. Thousands of people needed to eat, and they couldn't rely on just a small boat to transport everything ashore.

He could even understand building barracks, as his people needed a place to live.

But what's the deal with constructing roads?

It's like they've been brought in to clear the land!

But although his mouth was unusually tough, he never stopped the chewing motion.

Fang Chang chuckled.

"Then you better check the bill."

Yiselle was dumbfounded.

"Bill?"

Fang Chang rolled his eyes.

"That's right, you didn't think the food was free, did you?"

Upon hearing this, Yiselle nearly dropped his dough stick onto the sand, hastily taking it and speaking in a rushed manner,

"Wait a minute, aren't you the ones... who said you'd take care of our supplies? Where's the commitment you made on the supply contract?"

Fang Chang patiently explained,

"We did promise to take care of your supplies, but that's not for free. Besides, I've asked around, and your Emperor indeed topped up your meal cards, but the money is charged at the Weifu Military Base cafeteria. We are at least 1000 kilometers from Weifu Military Base, so we can't possibly ask them to come over just to set up a stove for you."

Yiselle was frustrated.

"What's the difference? Isn't it all your settlements?"

Fang Chang held back the urge to roll his eyes, patiently explaining once more.

"What do you mean, 'what's the difference'? French Fries Harbor is French Fries Harbor, Weifu is Weifu. Can you understand that different matters are handled separately?"

Talking to this guy about rules was too exhausting.

Looking at General Yiselle, who still appeared clueless, Fang Chang took a deep breath and decided to switch to a different method of communication.

"Listen, we're not the kind philanthropic Manager, nor are we a charity. If you want to eat, you've got to pay. If you don't have the money, we can lend it to you, we might even generously drop the interest, but you must repay the debt our way. Otherwise, let your majesty send the money, or find another way yourselves. Don't expect us to support you for free."

Yiselle's face turned from pale to ashen in his anger, wishing he could draw a gun and point it at this guy's head.

But recalling that his majesty's most elite Grey Wolf Army had already been thoroughly beaten by this guy, and behind him was only a bunch of Mouse People, he could only swallow his anger.

Watching General Yiselle remain silent, Fang Chang suddenly thought of something and let out a chuckle.

"Cheer up. Actually, this isn't all bad. If you knew the situation on the northern front, you'd be thanking me."

Yiselle asked reflexively.

"What happened to the northern front? Has the fighting started?"

Fang Chang didn't answer his question but instead asked with a smile.

"Do you know a guy named Modrick?"

Yiselle immediately replied.

"A Thousand Leader under General Babita! I know him, what about him?"

"What about him?" Fang Chang said with a faint smile and continued, "Last night, he and his subordinates were reborn."

The Army had fired two 400mm heavy artillery shells. Judging from the explosion, it was either thermobaric bombs or something similar. In any case, the power was astonishing.

Although it was only moderately effective against the mutants underneath the mountains, that one shell had blown everyone on that hillside, dead or alive, into the air.

Babita claimed that the guy named Modrick died in battle against the mutants.

However, players from the Death Corps clearly saw that when the shell fell, there were still some people fighting on the hill.

Those people didn't seem like ordinary soldiers, more like officers of some sort.

After all, how low the morale of the Rat Soldiers was, they had seen it too.

The unfortunate's name appeared between the lines in official Forum discussion threads, but only a few brief mentions.

Fang Chang did not sympathize with the guy—after all, he didn't know him, nor did he care—but he felt this man before him was ignorant of his own best interests.

The survivors in Jinjialun Port didn't have to thank Fang Chang, as Baiyue Corporation's actions there were more of a business deal, using advanced methods and technologies in exchange for the local labor. Without them, those people could survive on eating dirt, at most suffering what they deserved.

But for these people, he had pulled them from Hell's Gate, so they wouldn't end up in the meat grinder like the Clones.

Yet, he was being picky and choosy.

"If you still want to eat breakfast tomorrow, then do as we say."

After dropping this line, Fang Chang shook his head and walked towards the dock.

Watching his retreating figure, Yiselle swallowed, feeling the heat of sweat on his back while his palms grew cold.

In the moment he heard about Modrick's fate, he suddenly felt that getting on the wrong ship wasn't so bad after all...

Not far away, a few Rat-men Cannon Fodder exchanging helpless glances were actually thinking about something else.

Breakfast?

What is breakfast?

Chapter 733: The "Laid-back" Empire and the "Rice Bucket" of Ideal City

"The potatoes are all eaten."

"!!"

"So sad."

"Damn corporations."

"Ideal City, you bunch of gluttons."

"Grilled meat with rice isn't bad, I recommend it."

"Give it a try."

"..."

"It's really good."

"Not bad!"

"Indeed not bad."

"Content."

"!!!"

...

At the entrance of the canteen.

Watching the Alphas bury their heads in their meals, a group of soldiers from the 100th Mountain Division were dumbfounded.

"Wow, one person eating three bowls?!"

"Are these guys pigs?!"

Seeing them wolfing down the food, a young lad couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"What's so fragrant?"

As he hesitated, the lads beside him were already eager to give it a try.

"Let's get a bowl and try it..."

"I'll have one too."

"Wait for me!"

Before long, a long line formed at the food counter.

Residents from the Free State and other settlements, seeing Ideal City residents lining up, also joined the queue.

As everyone knows, things from Ideal City are the best, and anything that makes its residents queue must be a delicacy.

Even if the canteen prepared a lot of dishes in advance, it couldn't withstand the thousands of people crowding for those few items.

Thus, under a trend that formed inexplicably, everyone soon polished off a large platter of grilled meat.

Those who got their food enjoyed it deliciously, while the rest swallowed their saliva.

A bunch of people just stood there waiting.

Some who couldn't wait, ordered some other dishes to fill their stomachs and found them surprisingly tasty, which made them look forward to the sold-out signature dishes even more.

Today's victim was cumin-flavored grilled meat mixed with rice.

However, to everyone's surprise, what ran out wasn't the grilled meat but the mixed rice's grilled meat sauce and cumin...

...

"Eat, eat, eat, all you gluttons do is eat! What else can you do besides eat!"

On the open space outside the military base, stood a row of soldiers with a depressed look and dirty faces.

A few Rat Tribe members wanted to speak but didn't dare, they could only hang their heads in silence.

The officer was right.

He also felt that he wasn't cut out for battle, let them scold.

But the problem was they hadn't even eaten!

The Ideal City gluttons had meal cards worth 3000 silver coins, theirs were only 100 silver coins.

And the only reason they had 100 was due to a minimum recharge threshold for card activation, below which they could not get a card.

Thank heavens for that threshold, otherwise, they had no doubt that General Babita wouldn't even give them the 100 silver.

There was no edible Red Soil here, nor any villages to rob, those horse-riding traders looked more capable of fighting than they did...

Watching these guys look so dejected, General Babita was so angry she almost wanted to tear the belt off her belly and whip them with it.

These were the men under Thousands of leader Modrick, those who had fled from their positions just yesterday.

But what really enraged her wasn't just their cowardice which had cost Thousands of leader Modrick his life, it was another incident that had happened yesterday.

She was dining in the canteen at the military base when she saw the Army's Airship Commander—General Lucien.

Intending to greet him smilingly as allies, she immediately approached with her plate, but before she could sit down, she got a barrage of scolding.

"Utterly useless, did McCullen teach you that? What a disgrace! Better off not showing up at all! I can blow away more in one cannon shot than you can kill in half an hour! Pah, couldn't even hold out for half an hour, worse than my clones can fight!"

The guy's voice was extraordinarily loud, echoing throughout the entire canteen.

Babita was caught off guard and her face went from green to white.

Although he was cursing McCullen, she still felt deeply aggrieved.

She hadn't even blamed this guy for dropping the shells on the yet-to-retreat Thousands of leader Modrick's head.

But since the Weilante People were the emperor's friends, she ultimately didn't dare talk back and under the watchful eye of everyone, she left with her plate in dejection.

There was no other choice.

Having been humiliated outside, she could only vent her frustration on her own people.

After roaring for a while, General Babita caught her breath, unscrewed a water bottle for a drink, and continued her rant.

"...What a bunch of useless idiots! Rats will always be rats, expecting you to win a battle is unrealistic. You'd do better planting something here to save on food!"

Speaking, he wagged his index finger and shook his head as he turned his back.

The officer standing beside him hurried forward to take over his position, standing in front of the group of Imperial soldiers, and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"From today on! I am your Thousands of leaders, Kumar! Since you can't be good soldiers, then return the guns to His Majesty and get lost to the farm! This barren land beneath your feet is your task, I need you to till this soil and plant cabbages and potatoes here! This is your last chance to prove you're of some use!"

When several hundred soldiers heard this, they exchanged baffled glances, clueless about what to do.

Planting?

Are you kidding?

They came to fight, not to be farmers.

But Babita was obviously not joking; he walked to a rented truck and waved his hand.

A dozen soldiers immediately jumped onto the truck and dragged down sacks filled with hoes and shovels, quickly piling them into a small hill on the ground.

This guy was clearly prepared, even buying tools for tilling the land.

However, looking at the old appearance, it was probably some second-hand junk discarded by a settlement.

That Thousands of leaders named Kumar pointed at the spades and shovels on the ground and roared mightily.

"Three acres for each of you! Get at least half an acre done for me today!"

"Finish the work, then go to eat!"

...

Under the berating of the Thousands of leaders, a group of malnourished soldiers had no choice but to start working with their hoes, heads down.

Most of them came from the western parts of Poluo Province.

There, land was filled with noble estates and farms, the people who lived there were either slaves or serfs. Even the few freemen there had worked in the plantations of the nobles.

Therefore, for them, farming wasn't a difficult task – it was just a matter of having more or less experience.

A few players from the Death Legion watched from a distance with strange expressions on their faces.

"...Wow, has the Imperial Expeditionary Army given up completely?"

Just one defeat and it has come to this.

It can't be...

Seeing the stunned faces of Labor Youth and Brick, Debt Giant Eye rubbed his chin in thought and after a moment spoke up.

"I think this might actually be a good thing."

Labor Youth and Brick turned to him with a daze.

"How come?"

Debt Giant Eye gave them a meaningful look.

"If you are on the front lines right now, and these guys are behind you, do you think it's better with or without them?"

Labor Youth and Brick thought for a while and suddenly exclaimed in realization, "Holy shit."

Kind of makes sense!

Rather than having a bunch of unreliable guys behind him, he'd rather face the mutants alone.

While the two were discussing, a familiar wicked laugh came from behind.

"Haha, I knew it would be like this! So I've already solved this issue for you!"

Hearing this voice, both turned around to see it was actually Mosquito Brother.

"Mosquito?!"

"Weren't you at the southern line? What brings you here?"

Hooking his arms around their shoulders with a slap, Mosquito looked up at those Imperial soldiers swinging their hoes and chuckled, saying,

"I was just wandering about... hehe, came here to expand the business a bit, responding to the call of the Manager, making some extra on the side."

The latter was the main point.

A typical player making profit along one line was good enough, but a high-level player like him naturally wasn't satisfied with that.

Labor Youth and Brick: "Wow, that Thunderbolt Small Plane still wasn't enough for your earnings?"

Mosquito waved his hand and sighed, saying,

"That didn't earn much... damn it, most of the profits were taken by those reverse-engineering design bureaus. We just got the scraps."

Seeing his cheeky demeanor, Debt Giant Eye couldn't resist commenting.

"Be grateful, what else have you got besides your wild ideas?"

Mosquito rolled his eyes, "Do you think setting up a factory is free? Do you think production lines fall from heaven? There are losses too, the successful ones are called Thunder, the failures don't even have a proper number."

To create that vertical take-off plasma engine fighter, his Luoyu Brothers had crashed countless times.

It was truly tragic.

But earning too little was just a passing complaint for him. After all, he wouldn't go into a business with no potential profit, at most he'd just burn some money on a one-time venture.

And money earned by the scientific expedition would pay the players who conducted relic recovery missions, unlocking more technologies to create a healthy cycle of production and research.

Labor Youth and Brick: "Enough bullshitting, tell us, what business have you got your eyes on now, share it."

Coming to his senses, Debt Giant Eye also asked curiously, "Oh yeah, almost forgot with you changing the subject, what problem did you say you've solved for us just now, exactly?"

Mosquito squinted and smiled, pointing toward the truck in the distance.

"That junk—that's what I sold to them."

Both were shocked and blurted out,

"Holy shit?!"

"You're breaking military discipline!"

"What do you mean by breaking military discipline? That excuse for an army can't even beat goblins!" Mosquito rolled his eyes, "I tied them up here, just count your blessings."

Big Eyes and the construction worker exchanged a strange look, seemingly agreeing there might be some truth to it.

Though it sounded a bit like crooked reasoning.

The young construction worker spoke with some emotion, "But that Babita really dares to buy..."

Mosquito chuckled.

"What's there not to dare buy? I didn't sell them anything bad, just some old stuff."

And this was just the first trainload, merely for those deserters to use first, the train behind is hauling thousands, even tens of thousands more!

This stuff is sold by weight in Dawn City, just like those outdated sewing machines.

Seeing the surprised faces of the two, Mosquito continued.

"I did the math with that guy, the war will last at least a few months, and food expenses won't be small. In this kind of land, a single season's yield can fetch at least seven or eight hundred silver coins, right? If one person reclaims three acres, 20,000 people could reclaim 60,000 acres yielding several tens of millions in silver coins! Spending a few hundred thousand on shovels is a loss? It's a huge profit!"

60,000 acres is 40 square kilometers, a piece of land 5×8 kilometers.

The entirety of Weifu City is uninhabited, thousands of square kilometers barren, finding a piece of arable land upstream along the Wei River is too easy.

The only tough part is the reclamation work, which will perfectly allow selling a dozen or so dump trucks and tractors for plowing to these guys.

If they need them, that is.

However, the two in front of him were concerned about something else.

"A single season's yield from one acre amounts to that much?? You're joking!"

The young construction worker and Worker with enlarged eyes, Debt Giant Eye had the same incredulous look.

"Cough cough, ignore the fertilizer, pesticides, and seeds, there really is that much, maybe even more! I remember the Alliance's subsidies for agriculture mainly fall into these three categories, but that's beside the point."

Mosquito chuckled and continued.

"The point is, once they've reclaimed the land and are ready to start planting, I can sell these three things to them and make another profit!"

As export goods sold abroad, naturally, there wouldn't be any subsidies.

But he wouldn't mark up the prices too much, even selling them a bit cheaper than market prices.

After all, these folks aren't fools, they don't have to buy from him, if it's too expensive they'd just buy from someone else.

The young construction worker and Worker had also thought of this, stroking their chins and muttering.

"Fertilizer, seeds, and pesticides for tens of thousands of acres... Damn, that's like millions in silver coins?"

"Millions? About that in profits."

Mosquito chuckled slowly, continuing lightheartedly.

"That's not all, once the crops in the field grow, they'll have to find someone to sell them right?"

Debt Giant Eye was taken aback.

"Can't they sell to the canteen?"

Mosquito looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"How is that possible! That's a military base canteen, not some little store by your house! They have their own supply chains, probably had the contracts signed before even sowing the seeds, why would they buy these randomly grown crops?"

At this point, a scheming smile emerged on his face.

"I bet those fools won't be able to sell them! By then, I'll buy it from them at a discount... Believe it or not, these manually cultivated 'organic' products might even be cheaper than the mass-produced imports from Luo Xia Province."

Actually, this way, General Babita could also make a bit.

After all, his labor costs were nearly zero, just tough on those Rat Tribe beasts.

But it wasn't too miserable; working in the rear was much better than being minced on the front line.

According to Si Si's latest post on the official website, aside from the direct Weilante People's armies and several armies constructed by the nobles in Poluo Province that used a feudal method of supply.

That is, the Emperor provides the money, the general spends it.

This includes logistics material procurement and military pay distribution, all handled by the latter.

Although the Empire's Expeditionary Army had trained with the Army, having deviated too far from the Empire's logistical system, with "infrastructure connectivity" too low, even unable to reach Silver Moon Bay, they still used old methods of direct payments.

Regarding this, Mosquito was well-informed, otherwise, he wouldn't have targeted this seemingly dry but actually fat sheep while everyone else was focused on scalping corporations, armies, and academies.

The two stared at him with wide eyes.

Holy smokes.

Such an insider...

"That dude's so rotten!" Debt Giant Eye couldn't help but sigh, "Hang him on a streetlamp!"

"What are you saying?" Mosquito glared at him, "If I don't spend their money for them, they'll just pocket it and bring it home, right? Is that appropriate?"

The construction worker and Worker just sighed like Big Eyes.

"Absolutely rotten!"

Mosquito: "...@#%#!"

At this moment, neither the Rat Soldier busy with their hoes nor the players enjoying the show noticed that a few curious soldiers from the Free State were also glancing over here, whispering secretly.

On the distant tarmac, four Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, trailing bright blue arcs, landed.

A group of burly men, with their heads held high, stepped out of the aircraft cabins.

They all wore lime-colored exoskeleton suits, which, by their design, were clearly products of United Human styled like those from Ideal City, though their darker tint wasn't as bright and shiny as the "Pioneer I Type" exoskeletons of the Mechanized Mountain Division No.100.

General Modlin, standing beside the airport smoking, gave these men a couple of glances, his mouth slightly curling.

"It seems the East Coast also has some capable guys."

He was the Ten Thousand Leader of the Thirty-first thousand troops, had commanded the battle the day before yesterday, and had witnessed first-hand how tough the green-skin mutants and their pet goblins were.

The Torch Church had used Prosperity Epoch technology to forcibly elevate these barbarians to a level they originally couldn't reach, and even his men, not new to battling mutants, still felt strained.

It was precisely because of this, although the equipment of the Mechanized Mountain Division No.100 wasn't bad, he didn't think highly of that bunch of incompetents.

If ten was the perfect score, those people had demonstrated individual soldier quality that barely reached four.

Due to some overly amateur details in their performance, he couldn't help but suspect that these guys weren't regular troops at all, but rather new recruits hastily summoned to fill the ranks, and they weren't even as capable as the Waste Land Wanderers from the River Valley Province.

However, these guys who had just disembarked from the plane did look somewhat soldier-like.

Perhaps these were the real elite of the corporation.

"These are mercenaries from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng," said the aide next to him with a smile, though his face held a hint of mocking disagreement, "A bunch who would sell their lives for money."

"It doesn't matter why they sell their lives, those who dare to risk their lives are fierce," Modlin dropped his cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with his boot, he spoke indifferently, "Don't underestimate them."

As the group of soldiers headed towards the barracks, at the nearby shooting range, a group of young men from the 1st battalion, 2nd company of Division No.100 were receiving their final adjustments before taking the field.

They held G9 assault rifles in their hands, firing point shots at the lush green targets.

Equipped with the most elite optical sights and their helmets set to noise reduction, each one of them was a sharpshooter, with only the occasional shot missing the mark, but almost every bullet hit the bullseye.

However, the instructor walking behind them in a military green vest was clearly not satisfied with their performance.

His face as dark as iron, he yelled loudly.

"Sharpen up!"

"Your opponents are mutants that eat people without spitting out the bones! And those green-skinned types!"

"They're stronger, more patient, and more brutal than those fishmen with scales! If you fall into their hands, don't think about paying ransom to come home, you better pray they give you a quick death!"

The rough shouting was something these young men were now accustomed to.

But there were also some show-offs among them, emptying their magazines early and yelping.

"You're right, sir! But we won't fall into the hands of those idiots—"

He didn't finish his sentence before he caught a boot in the backside, and he sprawled onto the Table, nearly flipping over into the shooting range.

The instructor grabbed him by the back of the neck, lifting him up like a little chicken in front of himself.

"Request permission before you speak!"

"Yes, sir!"

"I told you to report!"

"Report! Reporting!"

Looking at the fearful eyes before him, the instructor narrowed his eyes slightly.

He was a soldier from Assault Team No.26, who had followed the tracks and signals of the Pioneer, walking all the way from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng to the Great Desert.

Unlike these guys who signed up for the frontline after playing a couple of rounds of "chicken," he had not only seen what Waste Land was like and how the mutants looked, but also what those hapless victims killed by mutants looked like.

However, he didn't say anything. He just gave that trembling fellow a meaningful glance, then released the grip on his collar.

Watching the new recruits who stopped their activities and looked this way, he yelled.

"What are you looking at me for! Focus on the weapon in your hands! Fix your eyes on your target! Pray it doesn't move, because when you're on the frontline, don't pee yourself!"

His foul-mouthed voice echoed in the training field, even drowning out the loud bangs of the gunfire.

After training concluded, a swarm of people bustlingly left the field, heading towards the cafeteria.

Though they had been scolded thoroughly, it did not dampen their appetite in the least.

"Damn it... after being scolded for three months, tomorrow we're finally heading to the frontline!"

"Haha, my big knife is itching for action!"

"Wait till you see the sniping skills of P City when it's showtime!"

"I wonder if they sell the LD-47 here, that gun's got some serious power!"

"Truly, the G9 assault rifle is too weak! It doesn't suit my exoskeleton at all!"

"I'll borrow one from a brother in the Alliance in a bit..."

At the entrance to the training field.

Watching that noisy bunch, Edge Shoveling looked bewilderedly at Su Ming standing next to him and swallowed before asking.

"Are these guys... really going to be okay?"

Although they themselves were often just as noisy, that was because they wouldn't actually die.

And considering those grueling three days, most people would still bring their A-game when it really came down to fighting.

Clearly.

These NPCs weren't.

They seemed like they didn't even know where they were going tomorrow or what they would see once they got there.

Su Ming's expression was somewhat awkward, and he cleared his throat before saying.

"Don't look at them like that... they also went through three months of training in the rookie camp, they won't drag their feet."

Edge Shoveling tentatively asked.

"... Virtual reality training field?"

Su Ming tried to explain.

"That only accounts for fifty percent of the training duration... we also do live ammunition training and physical training."

Edge Shoveling paused.

Damn.

It actually made up fifty percent!

But fair was fair.

The council was still pretty good to these rookies, the bullets they fired today were almost more than he had used over two years before he transferred to be a firefighter.

Looking at the excellent equipment, Edge Shoveling felt somewhat envious, much like how those corporate youngsters looked enviously at him.

Being rich was definitely better...

Chapter 734: The Battle of Broken Blade Mountain!

"This is Flying Fox, we have arrived at the target airspace!"

"Let's get to work! I don't want to miss today's lunch. Damn, the guys from Wandering Swamp eat like they've never tasted meat before, are they starved ghosts reborn?!"

"Haha! Maybe they really can't get enough food back home!"

"This morning's 'wontons' were not bad, I think that's what they're called—"

"No distractions, focus on your targets."

"Received!"

On the west side of Broken Blade Mountain.

Twelve Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines, wings churning, carried missile racks fully loaded with ammunition furiously circled a side of the mountain.

At the same time, three platoons made up of mercenaries also finished assembling and launched their attack from the north.

It was eight in the morning now.

And, in the hour prior, their allied forces had bombarded the mountain with at least 500 155-mm heavy artillery shells, washing over every accessible position.

As if sensing the upcoming assault, the mutants on the mountain were already poised for battle, fierce eyes glaring down from above, clutching an assortment of weapons, ready to teach these ignorant humans a lesson.

It was the same with the mercenaries below.

They had come all the way from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng to slaughter these green-skinned creatures.

For a chance to live in the Ideal City and for the generous rewards!

Almost as soon as they made eye contact, visible sparks flew—

Mercenary leader: "Fire—!"

Mutant Centurion: "Chop them to pieces!!"

The two roars erupted simultaneously, and in an instant, the cliffs burst into dazzling sparks and streaming tracers.

Amidst the hail of gunfire, a mercenary was struck in the chest by a high-caliber round, his blood-soaked bulletproof insert shattered instantly, blood spurting from his chest and mouth as his comrades quickly dragged him behind a rock.

The mutant who fired the shot was quickly turned into a sieve by a burst of rifle fire.

Yet, until the last bullet pierced his skull, that creature furiously kept firing his shotgun.

Battle was imminent!

The melee entered a heated phase immediately!

More and more mutants emerged from cover, engaging in gunfire with the mercenaries assaulting the mountain.

Constantly, bodies fell—mutants and exoskeleton-clad soldiers alike.

The scene was utter chaos.

The noisy gunfire and shouting mingled together, resonating through the mountain crevices.

The mercenaries' assault momentarily stalemated, teetering on the verge of losing ground.

That's when, all of a sudden, missiles with metallic hydrogen warheads fell from the sky without warning, exploding in burst after burst of orange-red flames among the mountains!

Those burning flames, like sudden bursts of lava, sent countless Goblins flying!

Also, those large green-skinned creatures, who didn't even have time to let out a scream before being blown into shreds of flesh.

Alongside the spiraling Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines, the copilot's finger nearly welded to the trigger, continuously firing rockets and cannons under the guidance of infantry, harvesting hundreds of lives in a blink.

"Beautifully done!"

Watching the fiery path carved out, a mercenary hunkered behind cover shouted excitedly to the skies, then, with boosted morale, led his team members up the winding path.

Following them were over twenty unmanned "Hellhound" vehicles.

Against the relentless barrage, those green-skinned fellows stood no chance, the rugged, jagged stones now draped in severed limbs and charred blood stains,

Under the cover of the Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines, the mercenaries ascending toward the mountaintop advanced irresistibly, swiftly reaching the mountainside.

Nearby, on Black Cloud Peak, the young men from the first group of the 100th Mechanized Mountain Division watched with boiling blood, all eagerly rubbing their hands, getting ready to step forward and reinforce.

"Sir, when do we join in?" a soldier clad in an exoskeleton approached the commander, asking eagerly.

His name was Tang Feng. He enlisted partly for the fate of humanity but was more inspired by the recruitment ad on Endpoint Cloud that said "Fight for the fate of humanity."

The commander glanced at him, then toward the towering mountain and simply said,

"Wait till I tell you to go."

Upon hearing this unhelpful remark, the initially eager crowd instantly felt disappointed.

They were already at the very front line but could only watch as their fellow forces stole the spotlight.

Meanwhile, at the front line, the battle situation shifted once more.

Perhaps running out of ammunition, two attack formations of Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines began to return home.

At the same time, the initially faltering mutant enemy surged as if drugged and rose to their feet again.

Particularly amidst those large green-skinned creatures, some different beings began to emerge.

Even with gunshots to the brain, they wouldn't die immediately but instead charged frantically, their attacks even more dangerous than before their heads burst.

Caught off guard, quite a few mercenaries were caught by the frenzied green-skins, having their heads brutally pummeled, their exoskeleton and bones shattered to pieces, even bitten and ripped open, half of their faces torn off.

Everyone was terrified by this ferocious combat method; not even headshots could kill them, and shooting them in the heart wouldn't work either. They were utterly fearless under the firepower, and for a moment, no one knew how to counter this.

More dreadfully, these exceptionally tenacious "cockroaches," appearing like regular mutants,
acted like mines buried within the crowd, exploding on touch, and every "explosion" caused substantial trouble for the attacking units.

And these changed individuals wouldn't give them any time to breathe, seeing the humans falter, they immediately howled and surged forward, their attacks growing even more fierce.

The three groups of mercenaries fighting up to the mountainside immediately fell into a harsh battle, and within moments one group was decimated and had to retreat from that meat grinder-like frontline.

Inside the command room.

Commander Lin Shangwen's brows were tightly furrowed as he stared at the aerial images on the holographic screen, his face full of solemnity.

These images were captured by the camera mounted beneath the "Seagull" fixed-wing drone.

At this moment, the drone was circling at five hundred meters above Broken Blade Mountain, providing the only close-range support the frontline troops could rely on.

Standing next to him, Chief of Staff Yun Song also wore a grave expression, pondering for a moment before he spoke.

"We have the last eight tactical missiles left, use them to cover their retreat."

As the former leader of Assault Team No. 26, he was well aware of how tough the mutants were.

A regular person would lose more than half of their combat power if they got shot, but these creatures would only grow fiercer in battle after being shot, fighting until they died.

And these green-skins were clearly different from the others.

The Torch Church might have performed more than just cybernetic enhancements on them; there could be biological improvements as well.

Commander Lin nodded in agreement but then hesitated, recalling the mocking faces of the Weilante people.

"But..."

"Whether it's dealing with pressure from Triumph City or from Ideal City, you'll have to choose one," Yun Song paused before continuing.

"Even if they are just mercenaries, we can't really let them all die out there."

Hearing this, Lin Shangwen hesitated no longer and turned to his aide, ordering,

"Order the frontline mercenaries to retreat."

"Also, tell them that if they want to collect their full payment, they need to bring back at least the body of one mutant!"

The aide immediately saluted.

"Yes, sir!"

...

As the retreat order reached the front line, the bloodied mercenaries finally exhaled in relief.

The last two platoons alternated cover as they retreated in an orderly fashion along the narrow, winding mountain path.

Not far from them at Black Cloud Mountain, Midnight, who was without a sword but carried an umbrella, widened his eyes in surprise and said,

"The corporate troops are actually retreating?"

Wasn't this morning's artillery round a complete waste then?

Just then, [Tired When Awake] touched his tactical helmet and muttered,

"Speaking of which, what the hell is that mutant? A new creature?"

Upon hearing about a new creature, the Outlaw Maniac immediately turned to him and curiously inquired,

"What the heck? What did you capture?"

Tired When Awake didn't respond, but he transmitted what his quadrotor drone had captured onto the VM, displaying it to the inquisitive brothers who had gathered close.

In the video, a mutant, missing half its head, charged out from behind a rock, wielding an axe, and sent an unfortunate soul flying before rushing towards the soldiers behind that individual.

The company's soldiers unleashed a torrent of fire on it, but the creature seemed unfazed, only collapsing into the ground when turned into a sieve.

The spectators around the VM involuntarily gulped.

Damn...

Was it infected with a slime mold?!

Meanwhile, the battle at the front continued.

Seeing that the troops halfway up the mountain had begun to retreat, the mutants naturally did not want to let these humans escape easily; they dragged every kind of weaponry, from long spears to short guns, out of the caves, and hailed them upon the heads of these human objects.

But just then, a thin trail of white smoke descended from the sky and exploded next to a cave entrance halfway up the hillside.

A few goblins, struggling with the ammunition, screamed tragically as the explosion of fire turned them into a mixture of shattered flesh and mist, with the big green-skin carrying a pipe gun in front also getting caught in the explosive blaze and rolling down the mountain.

The missile that fell from the sky deterred the mutants from storming out of their caves.

They thought the flapping little flies were back again and cautiously retreated into their caves.

The Beast King had cautioned them that hundreds of meters of rock were the strongest natural barrier; even nuclear weapons were inferior in its presence.

Even with tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of tons of explosive force, against hard rock formed over two billion years, it meant little more than scraping off some rock and soil or blowing out a few collapses.

They had already carved hundreds of interconnected tunnels inside the mountain; even if half collapsed, it would not be a problem, whereas those humans still hoped to construct roads and bridges over their heads!

As long as they did not rush down the mountain in one go, they could last here with their supplies until the end of time.

By eleven o'clock in the morning, the battle, which had lasted for three hours, came to an end.

This battle ended in a draw!

...

At the same time the mercenaries were retreating, on the bridge of the Loyalty Airship, General Lucien wore an unmistakable smirk on his face.

His index finger swept through the air, unfolding a pale blue holographic screen along the path traced by his finger, projecting a window edged with snow-white video.

The corporate commander did not appear on the screen, probably too embarrassed to turn on the camera.

Lucien was not concerned in the least, merely taunting,

"Are you guys capable or not? Maybe you should send the regular army instead, and not waste everyone's time."

Black Cloud Peak was a position controlled by the army, and his men had been overseeing it; that Mechanized Mountain Division No. 100 stationed there had not made a move, not lifting a finger.

Frankly, compared to those fellows of the servant army, he was more curious about how powerful the regular army from Ideal City really was, and this was also what the Eastern Legion Leader, Salen, was most curious about.

Although they were allies for now, no one could guarantee they wouldn't fight each other someday.

It seemed to be a way to regain face, the voice came over the communication channel.

"We have already achieved today's combat goals, the offensive has ended for today."

Hearing this, Lucien almost laughed out loud.

Or he did laugh.

"Achieved? Wasn't your goal to plant the flag on the mountain peak?"

Lin Shangwen said with a dark face.

"That's the ultimate goal, clarifying what exactly happened to these mutants was what we were supposed to do today."

Lucien narrowed his eyes, staring at the snow-white in the window, and suddenly smiled.

"Aren't you scared?"

He was using reverse psychology, trying to provoke the group into sending out the regular army.

Unfortunately, the other party did not take the bait and continued in a calm tone.

"If you call understanding the enemy's weaknesses, seizing the critical point, and crushing them in one fell swoop being 'scared,' then you are free to interpret it that way. In my view, our people's lives are more valuable."

After a pause, Lin Shangwen sneered.

"Losing a thousand-man squad in a day, I really don't know what there is for you to be proud of."

Catching the barely there sarcasm in that statement, a hint of annoyance flashed across Lucien's face.

But it was just a hint.

What they lost were only clones, not people from General Modlin's thirty-first million-man squad.

Regardless, their casualties were less than a company, yet they had successfully planted the flag at the peak of Black Cloud Mountain.

Watching the communication being cut off, Lucien snorted coldly.

"Dead duck still stiff."

…

"To Distant Report"

[At eight this morning, the 100th Mechanized Mountain Division and the 7th Air Force launched a fierce offensive toward Broken Blade Mountain. With minimal casualties, they annihilated over a thousand mutants.

According to intelligence gathered from the frontlines, more and more evidence can directly prove the Torch Church's crimes against humanity.

A large number of survivors were fed addictive drugs and were artificially imprisoned for breeding purposes. Besides that, the Torch Church's Apostles also used biotechnological methods from the Era of Prosperity, dangerously modifying some mutants' genes, producing a large number of dangerously unstable modified breeds…

War correspondent Wu Kai'an reports for you.

]

The next morning.

One two-engine Tiger Whale transport aircraft and one four-engine Overlord stopped respectively at the military base's apron and airport runway, one following the other.

The former was carrying a group of biological experts from Yunjian University, while the latter was carrying technicians from the Alliance Biological Research Institute.

Although belonging to different factions, they were both at the frontline for the same purpose.

That is, those mutants who won't stop fighting even after their heads are blown off.

As the person in charge of the military base, Li Jinrong personally came to greet them and arranged them in a three-story concrete building located at a corner of the military base.

It was originally intended as a field hospital to accommodate the injured, but currently, there aren't many injured, so they temporarily repurposed this space to serve as a battlefield laboratory.

Without any delay, once the body bags filled with samples were delivered from the frontline, the over twenty experts simply held a brief meeting, assigned tasks among themselves, and immediately began dissection studies, testing cellular samples from various mutants.

This work continued from morning until late at night, finally achieving some progress.

At the same time, in Shelter No. 404.

Having just finished a day's work and about to close his eyes, Chu Guang received a message from Heya and sat up from the bed to meet her in the browsing room on Floor B4.

"The test results are out, and they are quite astonishing… The genomes of those mutants contain pairs of chromosomes with encoding genes that our current technology can't even fully decipher. The experts from Yunjian University also find it baffling; they claim they've never seen such strange mutants."

Chu Guang glanced twice at the report in his hand that he completely did not understand, vaguely nodded as if he understood, and then handed it back to Heya.

"That's surprising… Are all samples like this?"

Heya: "Only a part! Although we could broadly categorize them as super mutants, they are not exactly like those guys but something in between. What do you think we should call them?"

Chu Guang took a moment to check the official website and saw that players were discussing the issue. He picked a nickname that appeared most frequently from their conversation.

"…Let's call them zombie mutants, or zombified green skins, what about Zombid for short?"

Heya's eyes lit up, and she snapped her fingers.

"Okay, let's call them that… Anyway, these Zombids, besides their incredibly strong regenerative abilities, also possess brain tissue self-healing capabilities that regular mutants don't have! Clinically, this means even if their heads are smashed, they can regrow them!"

Chu Guang paused, unable to resist asking.

"How is that possible?"

His own regenerative capabilities were also strong, but nowhere near the level of regrowing a blown-up head.

Being able to regrow heads, how bizarre that was.

Were these guys worms?

"We preliminarily speculate that their nervous system has evolved a 'memory backup' function. As long as a certain proportion of the nervous system remains intact, it can continuously repair the damaged neural tissue. To put it more simply, their actions are entirely controlled by instinct when their brains are destroyed."

Looking at Chu Guang's dumbfounded face, Heya took a deep breath, her expression turning serious as she continued.

"I must remind you that the Torch's biological experts might have even more technologies than we initially thought. I even have a feeling that as we are testing them, they are also testing us…"

Having recovered from his initial surprise, Chu Guang nodded briefly and said in a soft voice.

"That's normal, after all, like you, an experienced expert, they might have a hundred."

He had felt it for a while now.

While he was probing the depth of Torch's cards, those guys were equally probing the depth of his hand.

Perhaps the war was the same.

Those guys were testing the strength of all parties in the "Sticky Community" bit by bit and continuously refining and improving their technology through the Ten Peaks Mountain battlefield.

The resistance the Allied forces encountered on the third mountain was significantly greater than that they had encountered on Fu Mountain…

In some sense, the growth of those green-skins and the players was rather similar.

The players, who cannot be truly killed, become stronger with each rebirth.

While those guys rapidly iterate through deaths after deaths - those newly grown are even more ruthless and tougher than those who died before.

In both sociological and biological terms, they were absorbing the achievements of the Era of Prosperity in a unique way.

And it was with the help of the technicians left over from that era of prosperity…

At this thought, a grave expression surfaced on Chu Guang's face, and he pondered deeply.

Heya, somewhat embarrassed by the sudden praise, coughed lightly and said,

"It doesn't matter how many experts there are, research is a systematic undertaking. Our current research system, adapted and modified from the Academy, is already relatively mature, just lacking some accumulation and foundation. It certainly shouldn't be inferior to the Torch... However, the problem lies in that accumulation, I actually suspect that those people might have obtained information from some lost projects."

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brow.

"Lost projects?"

"Perfect life forms!"

Heya stared at him intently, her eyes imbued with fervor and desire.

"That Singularity-level technology! The unfinished Singularity of the Era of Prosperity! Whether it's the Mutants, the Weilante People or their clone men with eight times the growth rate… they are all by-products of that technology!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang showed a contemplative expression and couldn't help but recall the catalyst that caused the collapse of the War Construction Committee more than a century ago – that laboratory on the East Coast.

That laboratory was like a flattened cockroach, scattering its eggs everywhere.

That failed military action also became an indelible stain in corporate history, including the destruction of Singular Point City being intricately linked to that incident.

Possibly…

The Torch might have acquired the data that leaked from that laboratory through some means!

From Torch's actions around Brocade River City, they seem to be consciously retrieving scattered data about "perfect life forms" from the wasteland!

At this thought, Chu Guang's eyes faintly flickered.

Although it wasn't good to start worrying about allied forces now, under no circumstances should this information fall into the hands of the Army!

Seeing Chu Guang lost in thought and silent, Heya earnestly continued,

"Anyway, I need to make a trip to the front line, including figuring out how to restore the soil of Haiye Province…"

"Hmm, going to the site personally sounds good."

Chu Guang nodded and then, as if something occurred to him, he continued,

"Right, wait until the day after tomorrow to leave. I'll go with you."

"You're planning to go to the front line too?" Heya looked at him in surprise, and then playfully teased, "Aren't you just worried about me?"

Chu Guang, undisturbed by her teasing tone, merely smiled faintly and responded,

"I am, after all, the nominal supreme commander of the Allied forces, elected by all parties. I was going to head there anyway. It's just that I've been dealing with rear-guard duties these past few days and only recently finished."

Due to the various contradictions among the Army, the Academy, and corporations, representatives from any party being elected as the supreme commander would face opposition from the other two, hence only candidates representing the Alliance and the Free State participating from the Grand Canyon were "acceptable."

Although the latter also received a few votes, compared to the substantial number of votes the Alliance garnered, they were negligible.

The representative from the Army did have some complaints about the election result but only asked for the commander-in-chief role to be held by Chu Guang personally and didn't exercise their veto.

Chu Guang knew that those Weilante People didn't really like him, nor was it the appreciation of the strong that those Wasteland Wanderers always talked about.

Those guys were simply worried about him appointing Vanus or other Weilantes who had been "assimilated" by the Alliance to significant positions, potentially embarrassing them.

From the perspective of Triumph City, this was not impossible. After all, Alliance personnel decisions never asked about one's origins, only their initial intentions and capabilities.

If serfs could become city lords, then Weilantes could naturally become marshals.

Yet, in Triumph City, these people who had sided with the Alliance had almost become synonymous with disgrace; they would never consider the pursuit of equality justified.

If Vanus were made the commander of the Allied forces and led them to victory, likely nobody in Triumph City would be pleased.

Including the "Loyalty Ship" sent this time by the Eastern Legion, there might be an intention to mock these people subtly.

These individuals just had a bigger nose, but as to whether they were small-minded - possibly even more so than the Academy folks - was hard to say.

Upon hearing Chu Guang's response, Heya's face instantly brightened into a radiant smile, and she said cheerfully,

"That's great! At least now I don't have to bother you to send the samples to the front line."

"A few days' delay in the physical exam isn't a big deal," Chu Guang coughed lightly, a bit embarrassed, only to see Heya shake her head, staring unblinkingly at him.

"No, it's not really about the physical exam, but about the research on perfect life forms."

She paused, her voice gradually taking on a hint of frenzy, and her gaze grew unusually fervent,

"… others might not know, but I clearly witnessed the whole process of your non-coding genes transforming into coding genes."

Feeling a bit intimidated by her gaze,

Chu Guang picked up his teacup and took a sip of water, disguising the fleeting awkwardness on his face.

"So?"

However, what Heya said next almost made him spit out the water he had just sipped.

"Maybe it's not just the Weilante people, but parts of your DNA might also result from that Singularity technology!"

Chapter 735: Infighting in the Corporation and the Army?

"Wasteland OL Official Website"

[Beta0.7 New Content: Zombie Mutants]

[Features: Lacks the regular mutants' head vulnerability, has stronger recovery abilities and higher toughness, some are equipped with a small amount of mechanical prostheses. Most "Zom-Mutants" look indistinguishable from other green-skin mutants, so be careful when you encounter them!]

[Weakness: Highly resistant to radiation and toxic substances, no obvious weaknesses.]

[Recommended Ammunition: Ammunition over 20mm, explosion arrows (bomb gun), "Dragon Breath Bullets" (shotgun), thermobaric bombs (RPG launcher), etc.]

[To Be Verified: Flamethrowers, Molotov Cocktails, etc. (Note: Please maintain a safe distance to avoid being knocked down by burning mutants.)]

Midnight with Umbrella but No Knife: "Damn, turns out it's a stealth-updated elite monster!"

Awoken and Confused: "I freakin' thought it was a bug!"

Night Ten: "So the question is, how do you know Ah Guang didn't just turn a bug into an elite monster? 😉"

Quit Smoking: "That makes sense, damn it!"

Irina: "Ah Guang: Well said, don't say it again next time. 😉"

Dinosaur Warrior: "This is unscientific... a head can regrow after being exploded. That's not what our biology books say. Shouldn't the dog planner consider repeating nine years of compulsory education?"

Night Ten: "Makes sense, but why don't you ask how psychohistory manages to completely account for all variables? What the heck is being shot out of a nuclear gun? How does the Force power a lightsaber? How do higher animals dehydrate their nerve centers and immune systems? And... why does SpongeBob always ask the Magic Conch when there's a problem?"

Dinosaur Warrior: "I know about SpongeBob, but it doesn't ask the Magic Conch in every episode, does it? What are all those other things? (confused)"

Gnome King Riches: "You're asking so many questions all at once, are you trying to fry his CPU? 😉"

Night Ten: "Strange, I thought he could understand at least two. Unscientific. 😉"

Quit Smoking: "Haha, damn!"

...

North of the Military Base at the Manor House, about two kilometers away, there was a deserted village.

This place used to be a small village under the manor settlement. After "Torch" arrived, the villagers disappeared, and the village was abandoned.

When the Southern Construction Corps first arrived here, they used the houses for a while, and then withdrew after the military base was built.

Afterwards, when the Glue Host and "Torch" officially went to war, the Allied forces garrisoned the Manor House Military Base, and survivors from Mafu Town often drove carts here to trade. Over time, they simply moved into the unnamed village, renovated the run-down facilities, and opened bars and hotels.

Later on, a group of life-skill players brought barbecue grills here, and the once peaceful village became "smoky and chaotic."

An unassuming tavern.

A group of corporate soldiers sat at a table, drinking and skewering meat, grumbling to themselves.

"Such freaking bad luck!"

The Dinosaur Warrior slammed his cup down on the wooden table, cursing in exasperation.

A group of soldiers from the Free State glanced at each other from the table next to them, and one of them turned to him and asked.

"What's wrong, brother?"

Dinosaur Warrior burped, reeking of alcohol as he said.

"Our officer took us for a stroll on the front lines and dragged us back without firing a single shot!"

The man laughed and said.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

It's most comfortable not having to go to the front lines. If possible, he'd love to stay in the rear forever.

But that's impossible.

Every combat unit has its own mission and it will eventually be their turn.

However, the thought processes of residents of Ideal City always seemed different from others on the Wasteland.

"A good thing my ass!" Dinosaur Warrior glanced angrily and shouted, "We came here to kill mutants! Not to drink! Can't I drink anywhere else? Why come all the way here!"

"Exactly!" Another soldier from his own unit sitting next to him complained, "We're here for the fate of all humanity! Even though we can't access Endpoint Cloud here, we haven't complained once! It's after coming here that we've discovered there's none of what we were looking for!"

The soldier from the Free State was taken aback and asked with incomprehension.

"What are you pursuing?"

Tang Feng asked without hesitation.

"Ideals, courage, and of course other things… I hope my name can be a source of pride in the eyes of my family and friends, just like the crew of the Pioneer,"

Several soldiers from the Free State exchanged glances, their eyes filled with admiration.

They truly are from the Ideal City.

Their vision is simply different!

They were different.

They came here for money, and those who sent them here did so for money too.

As for those at the higher echelons, maybe they had other purposes.

But that's for those guys to worry about; they weren't very concerned.

They just wanted to pay off their debts as soon as possible, earn a lump sum so large they couldn't spend it all in their lifetime, end this goddamned unstable life, and retire to a slower pace of living.

Although they didn't have dreams, for those without dreams, people who hold onto their dreams and are willing to act on them are indeed charming and seem to radiate an aura.

Maybe it's not the skyscrapers of the Ideal City that shine—after all, they had those too—but rather the ideals in the hearts of the people there…

At least, that's how it seemed to them.

"Edem, sniper of the Hound Special Forces 7th Battalion," the calloused palm patted Tang Feng's shoulder, as Edem gave a thumbs up in admiration, "I admire you guys the most, those who don't sell their lives for a reward. When I pay off my loans, I want to live for the freedom in my heart too... please allow me to buy a drink for the warriors of humanity!"

Flattered by the praise, Tang Feng responded with an embarrassed smile and bumped fists with him.

"Tang Feng, First Battalion, Second Platoon... wait, sniper? You're a sniper?"

Seeing his suddenly excited and wide eyes, Edem asked, confused.

"You too?"

"No, but I shoot Sniper Six," Tang Feng said, slightly embarrassed as he rubbed his nose with his finger and chuckled, "It's a shame our squad doesn't have a sniper, even though our company has a sniper squad. Otherwise, I'd definitely get a sniper rifle to use."

Edem's eyes lit up, excitedly saying.

"What a coincidence, it seems you're quite the sniper enthusiast. Let's have a contest sometime."

Tang Feng agreed immediately.

"No problem... by the way, where do you usually jump?"

Edem appeared baffled for a moment.

"Jump... where?"

Just then, a few jeering laughs came from nearby.

A few big-nosed men at a nearby table, visibly inebriated, cast glances over with faint disdain.

The bottles on the table made it clear they had been drinking quite a bit.

Otherwise, their mouths wouldn't be so loose.

"First Battalion, First Company... that's right, those are the numbers."

"Aren't those the guys from yesterday?"

"Ha ha, the layabouts of Ideal City."

"That's not entirely fair; Awakeners do have bigger appetites, maybe they're all Awakeners?"

"Are you kidding me, with those who treat Awakening as a terminal illness?"

At first, Tang Feng didn't want to deal with them; the rudeness of the Weilante People was notorious across the Wasteland.

However, the group's voices grew louder and more unrestrained to the point of being impossible to ignore.

Tang Feng, who had been somewhat heady from the praise he'd received, suddenly became enraged, slamming a fist onto the table as he stood up.

"Say that again, I dare you!"

The noisy bar instantly fell silent, including the rowdy Weilante People.

However, the latter only paused for a few seconds before they started mocking and laughing again.

"How's that? You trying to say even deadbeats can bite? I'd like to see that."

The Weilante man with the loudest voice earlier squinted and stood up, undoing his impeccably neat uniform and threw it aside, revealing a light green tank top and clusters of solid muscles.

He exuded a dangerous aura, like a panther poised to pounce.

Clearly.

He was more than just a smooth talker; he had some real assets to show for it.

Tang Feng finished the rest of his drink in one gulp and threw his jacket over the back of a chair as well.

"Want to see a deadbeat that bites? Why don't you go look in the mirror in the toilet, or do I need to invite you to see a doctor?"

He didn't have much muscle, like he had just started working out, but in terms of presence, he was not lacking at all.

The biomechanical implants attached to his iris had already honed in on that ugly nose, and he swore he could smash it in within three moves, precise like a fully-equipped G9 "Black Swan" assault rifle.

It didn't require too much strength, any adult could do it.

His companion pulled at his arm, reminding him with a sober gaze.

"Hey, don't cause trouble, beware of being sent back."

"Then let the officers send me back," Tang Feng snorted, nonchalantly twisting his neck, "I don't think he plans to send us to the frontline anyway."

Being sent back was no worse than wasting time here; moreover, he could wait for the other side to make the first move and then hit back. Then, even if he was taken to a military court, no one could blame him.

He was doing it for the honor of Ideal City, not only would the jury be on his side, but the majority at Endpoint Cloud who harbored the same sense of glory would be too.

Just as employees were trying to discourage the fight, the Weilante people were still fanning the flames and not minding their own business.

"Damon, looks like this kid is looking down on you?"

"Ha-ha, don't let a deadbeat look down on you."

"Shut up," Damon cursed, squinting at Tang Feng's eyes, "I'll beat him down first, then deal with you."

"Don't use your mouth," the guy joked with a smirk, with the expression of someone looking forward to the show, "I'm not into that sort of thing."

The atmosphere between the two groups was tense, the bar charged with a smell of gunpowder.

Almost every customer in the bar was casting curious glances their way.

On one side were the employees, and on the other, the army.

If the former backed down, they'd undoubtedly solidify their reputation as deadbeats, but if it was the latter who yielded, then the Weilante people's fame as a warrior race would seem somewhat hollow.

Everyone was curious to see how the two groups would end up settling it.

Including players drinking in the bar.

Especially Debt Big Eyes, who was watching the excitement without fearing trouble and started taking bets.

"Small bets make for light-hearted fun, huh? Any bets?"

Outlaw Maniac: "I bet fifty silver coins! The Weilante guy is gonna knock him flat!"

Seeing everyone leaning toward the army's victory, Debt Big Eyes chuckled, speaking leisurely,

"That's not a sure thing. If that guy dares to stand up to the challenge, he must have some tricks up his sleeve."

Seeing no one believed him, he paused and continued to offer guidance.

"As everyone knows, folks from Ideal City like carrying prostheses and smart wearables; who knows, he might have a Mantis Knife up his sleeve!"

The words of the veteran player weighed somewhat heavily on the bunch of newbies.

A pair of eyes suddenly widened.

"Damn, it's not gonna get bloody, is it?"

"Awesome! I bet one hundred silver coins, the enterprise wins!"

"I'll bet on the enterprise too!"

Seeing the odds reversing, Debt Big Eyes's eyes sparkled with delight.

Thinking of his bet on the army, Outlaw Maniac grew anxious and walked up to him to whisper.

"Bro, who did you bet on to win?" Big Eyes glanced at him and whispered in his ear.

"Army."

Outlaw Maniac's eyes immediately bulged.

Fuck!

This bet isn't just fooling around!

Seeing that the two were about to come to blows, the tavern owner behind the bar had no idea what to do.

Neither of these people was someone he could afford to provoke, so all he could do was look helplessly towards the good folks of the Alliance.

However, those guys didn't even glance their way, seemingly not wanting to get involved in the conflict between the corporation and the army, just muttering something incomprehensible there.

Just as the tavern owner was sweating bullets, a nonchalant cough suddenly echoed from the eye of the storm.

"Even if you guys fight, it won't prove anything. One person's bravery and a group's are two different things. Take those mutants, for example... even I would find it difficult to beat them in a one-on-one duel. But on the battlefield, where we each play to our strengths, they wouldn't even have the chance to touch me."

Hearing this untimely voice, the Weilante guy named Damon squinted his eyes and looked over to see a guy wearing a blue jacket, he couldn't help but curl his lip.

"So?"

Tang Feng also furrowed his brows and said softly to his Alliance friend.

"Don't get involved in this."

"You guys are misunderstanding. I don't want to stop you, but this way, you can't really tell who will win," seeing that both were staring at him, Mosquito sighed and continued languidly, "So I suggest we try a different kind of competition, one that's more civilized, more refined, and better reflects a soldier's military prowess."

He couldn't blather on anymore, so with a forceful cough, he reached into his pocket and slapped a few decks of cards on the table, ending his nonsensical discourse.

"Anyway, let's start with a game of Gwent."

Both were stunned for a moment, especially the Weilante guy named Damon.

"What's that?"

Tang Feng frowned slightly, and another corporate soldier sitting next to him muttered.

"I think I've heard of it... was it last year or the year before?"

Mosquito said with a smile, "It should have been last year. My brother seemed to have sent it to the auction as an exhibit, but that goofball isn't cut out for business. He didn't grasp the essence of the game and just copied formulas, so it never caught on... But no matter, I can personally demonstrate for you."

"So this is a corporate rule?" Damon narrowed his eyes, "Isn't that a bit unfair for us who aren't familiar with the rules?"

"Corporate rule? No, this is something we came up with in our shelter. Clearly, these young lads don't understand it, but they seem pretty eager to try new things," glancing at Tang Feng who was raring to go, Mosquito turned to Damon with an encouraging smile, "Or are you scared?"

Damon scoffed disdainfully.

"How could that be."

What a joke.

He was a reserve officer, after all, graduated from a regular military school and had received formal military training.

He might be a fighter, but that wasn't all he could do.

"Then come take a seat," Mosquito grinned, winking as he pulled out a chair for him, "Pick a deck for yourself first, then I'll walk you through the rules of the game, starting with the factions..."

The rules of Gwent weren't complicated, originally consisting of a total of 150 cards including 4 factions and neutral cards.

There were three main areas on the field: close combat, ranged combat, and siege, as well as weather cards, hero cards, and leader cards.

But of course, what Mosquito brought out wasn't the original rules, but a modified version.

For example, beyond the Nilfgaard, Northern Kingdoms, Squirrel Party, and Monsters, the four factions, he added a bunch of "self-made" factions and decks, as well as "headcanon" to allow these decks to integrate smoothly into the game.

Like trap cards, magic cards, and equipment cards.

The Weilante guy named Damon was originally disinterested, but as Mosquito went on with his slick talk, he couldn't help but become immersed.

And it wasn't just the two men at the center of everyone's attention in the tavern; other patrons also began to listen out of curiosity.

After all, there weren't many entertainment options here, and a set of rules that weren't too complex, coupled with a bunch of colorful cards, seemed quite interesting.

But...

Could they really memorize all these cards?

Moreover, to collect all the cards, it's going to cost a pretty penny...

"I've got the rules down; when do we start?" Having understood all the rules, Damon revealed an eager expression and looked at the guy who called himself Mosquito to ask.

"Anytime." After saying this, Mosquito turned to look at Tang Feng, who was sitting on the other side of the wooden table, and spoke with lively enthusiasm, "How about you?"

"I'm ready as well," Tang Feng suddenly remembered something and added, "By the way, this is a fair and square duel, so don't you play favorites with me."

"How could I? I'm always fair! Even if the Manager himself were sitting here, I would never allow him to cheat in front of me!"

Anyway, his eyes were his own, and he could close them at any moment if needed.

However, the focus of the pubgoers was on another matter—

Even the Manager is playing Gwent?!

Just thinking about this got everyone pumped up, staring at the card table, not even touching their drinks, and crowding towards it, leaving their seats.

Seeing that the mood had reached its peak, Mosquito coughed loudly, and amidst the rousing cheers, he strained his unique, nasal voice.

"Then now—"

"Let the duel begin!"

…

Although card playing isn't as thrilling as fighting, Mosquito's silver tongue heated up the atmosphere.

In a pub, the atmosphere is like the background music of a movie.

Play some spirited background music, and even playing Dou Dizhu could feel more exciting than Boruto.

Not to mention the stories and topics packed into the cards Mosquito whipped out—making conversation was a breeze!

The onlookers who didn't understand were swept up in the commentary nonetheless, cheering for the evenly matched strugglers.

The boisterous noise in the pub made beer sell like hotcakes.

Seeing the crowd's excitement, the bar owner behind the counter finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and sent a grateful look Mosquito's way.

As for the players watching by the side, they were baffled, and when they saw the cards drawn by the players, they were even more bewildered.

"Holy crap, what the heck is Blue-Eyed White Dragon?"

"Why the hell is Dinosaur Warrior popping up now?"

"Druids???"

"Hah, Teng Teng's artwork can increase defense???"

Listening to Mosquito go on, they almost forgot what the original game rules were.

But that stuff was never really important.

Mosquito even improvised a bunch of rules on the fly, completely disregarding the fairness he'd just vouched for.

But since the logic was self-coherent, no one raised objections.

The scoring system went from the best of three to the best of five rounds, and each player at the wooden table had scored two points each.

It was the final round, and both players were holding onto their cards tightly, looking fiercely at each other.

Standing behind Damon, a group of Weilante People shouted till their faces turned red and their necks thick, egging him on loudly.

"Go, Damon!"

"Take him down!"

"Smash his head with that Super Mutant you've got!"

Seeing these idiots blow his cover, Damon almost spit blood in frustration and resignedly threw out his strongest card.

"Shut it, will ya?"

This game had somewhat similar rules to Tian Ji's horse racing; once your hand was known by the opponent, there was no game left.

Catching this momentary slip, Tang Feng swiftly played a Magic Card he'd held for a long time, smiling viciously as he placed it on the table.

"My turn at last!"

"Activate Magic Card! Rise from the dead, my Blue-Eyed White Dragon!!"

Seated at the judge's table, Mosquito suddenly leapt up, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Blue-Eyed White Dragon! The moment it's summoned, it can launch an attack on Changsheng! Remove an opposing melee zone card with an initial combat power no higher than its own!"

Without any buffs, both cards had 100 combat power.

The moment his voice dropped, Mosquito, with quick reflexes, snatched away the Super Mutant card and stuffed it back into his pocket.

Seeing his trump card destroyed, Damon sitting opposite, widened his eyes and couldn't help but let out a swear.

"Damn it!"

Standing beside the card table, Debt Giant Eye also couldn't help but explode with an expletive.

"Holy shit, is this even allowed?!"

Mosquito, sitting at the judge's table, winked at him and said in Mandarin.

"Heh heh, the tide of battle is just that fickle..."

He coughed before turning to the dumbfounded Weilante person again.

"Are you going to play a card? If you don't, this round is over."

He definitely had to play a card.

But looking at that darkened face, it was clear the remaining battle had lost any suspense.

Just as he predicted, the Weilante person played out the rest of his hand but couldn't turn the tide of the points on the field.

The winner had been determined.

Mosquito stepped on the table with one foot and lifted Tang Feng's arm, loudly announcing the winner of the duel.

"The victor is the warrior from the 100th Mountain Brigade, First Battalion Second Company's Tang Feng!"

The room erupted with fervent cheers.

Apart from those players who knew the original rules and the Weilante people who lost the match, nearly all the Wasteland Wanderers enjoyed the spectacle.

When Mosquito climbed down from the table, Debt Giant Eye, having lost the bet, grabbed him and furiously exclaimed.

"Do you call this Gwent?!"

Mosquito casually clicked his tongue.

"You don't get it, this is what we call localization of the product... Besides, how much money can you make from just those few Gwent cards? After a few card packs, you've drawn them all, how else would I clip the chives."

Outlaw Maniac also exclaimed angrily.

"You're destroying the original work, aren't you?!"

Mosquito, cheekily grinning, said.

"No big deal, the original isn't my daddy! It's not like those NPCs have ever played it, the rules are whatever I say they are. If it bothers you that much, just call it Kun-pai or whatever, as if it's not that thing, it's all the same to me."

Outlaw Maniac: "@#%&!"

Suddenly becoming the center of attention, Tang Feng wore a look of embarrassment, but seeing so many cheer for his victory, his vanity was also satisfied, and he modestly smiled and waved to the crowd.

Watching those big noses with their dissatisfied looks, Mosquito, having dealt with his comrades, chuckled and said.

"Easy there, buddy, winning and losing is all part of the game. One match doesn't prove anything. If you want, you can try to reclaim victory next time, unless... you guys lose every time. Tomorrow, same time, I'll still be here. As for these cards in your hands, think of them as a gift from me."

"I'll be waiting for you!"

Staring hard at Tang Feng, who wore a small victory smile, Damon angrily left a threatening remark, then turned to Mosquito and whispered.

"Got any other cards? Mine are crap."

"Of course, but you have to buy card packs to draw the rest... Don't worry, it's not too expensive, ten Silver Coins a pack, and you get a full twenty cards!" Mosquito paused, then continued sincerely, "Honestly, the cards aren't the key to victory. It's the person using them that matters, like equipment. I recommend you get fully acquainted with the cards you have before thinking of assembling other decks..."

This was actually nonsense; no card game could ever reduce randomness to zero.

Especially a game where the entertainment factor outweighs the competitive aspect.

The Weilante person couldn't be bothered with his drivel and directly threw down a hundred Silver Coin note.

"You better have enough."

1 Silver Coin could get you two cards, and he could easily buy 200 cards to take back and ponder over at his leisure.

Why bother listening to his nonsense?

Upon seeing the bill on the table, Mosquito swiftly snatched it up and stuffed it into his pocket, then he called over the shill who was mingling and jeering with the crowd, directing the fellow to carry a sack into the center of the throng.

"Choose any you like! I hope you assemble the card deck of your dreams! Don't blame it on the cards next time if they're not good enough!"

Damon, face darkening, reached into the sack.

"Shut up!"

Mosquito chuckled and closed his mouth, watching as the guy meticulously picked through the selection, feeling pleased as punch about it.

The cost of producing this kind of card pack was even less than 1 Silver Coin, yet he just sold it for more than ten times that!

Especially heartwarming were the eager gazes all around him.

He was afraid that this one sack wouldn't be enough to sell!

Thinking this, Mosquito couldn't help but consider maybe hosting a Gwent card tournament, with a cash prize or something...

And just as he expected, the several large sacks of cards he had prepared sold out in no time.

Especially those folks from Ideal City, every single one of them didn't seem to care about money and spent it without any hesitation.

They were so desperate to get that 100 combat power Blue-Eyed White Dragon that they were willing to tear open half of the card packs.

However, these people didn't know that the invincible god card they were so eagerly pursuing would become outdated in the next version.

100 combat power?

Haha, that would become nothing but a joke!

Mosquito had already imagined what a card with 10,000 combat power would look like.

He was even considering adding several Army units of the Alliance to the card packs!

In a little while, the tavern's main hall was filled with the sounds of card-playing and the shouts of Wasteland Wanderers.

Flipping through the stack of colorful cards in his hand, Tang Feng remarked with a touch of emotion.

"I don't understand why such an interesting thing didn't become popular in Ideal City."

This kind of small but exquisite game was indeed rare on Endpoint Cloud, where virtual worlds as big as entire planets, albeit vast, felt somewhat empty.

It would be even better if they could make the battles into virtual reality scenes.

Like using holographic computers to project the combat scenes and skill effects or something.

Mosquito, who was busy counting money at the next table, chuckled and said.

"I told you, my brother isn't cut out for business; the era of just selling products is long gone. Marketing is not only about strategy but also about telling stories."

Tang Feng was momentarily stunned.

"Telling stories?"

Shuffling the cards in his hands, Mosquito leisurely said.

"Exactly, like today, a round of Gwent successfully prevented internal conflict between the Army and the Corporate Allied Forces... How do you like that story?"

He paused, then cast his ambitious gaze out the window.

"Speaking of which, this village doesn't seem to have a name yet... 'Unknown Village' sounds too bland; how about we call it 'Gwent Town'?"

Or maybe Gwenton would be nice too.

Before, this place seemed to be called something like 'Fu Villa,' also a monosyllabic name.

Hearing these profound words, Tang Feng was taken aback for a moment and then it dawned on him.

Damn.

Were they being used as pawns all this time?!

...

While the distant tavern not far from the front line was bustling with noise, the faraway Broken Blade Mountain was eerily silent, with only unmanned drones quietly spying from the sky.

The middle-aged man wrapped in a white cloak gazed towards Black Cloud Mountain in the distance, his face revealing no emotion.

No one could "see" his face anyway.

Except for his own kind—

The "Human Emperor" standing behind him.

That is, if he could still be considered human.

"Too weak..."

The Beast King spoke softly, with his back turned to his colleague who had also ascended to heaven.

"At this rate, even without the flying beasts developed by Luo Gan, those green-skin mutants with stronger regenerative powers alone could hold them at bay here."

He was never good at naming, especially after he had forsworn his own name.

Terms like green-skin mutants and goblins, he had picked up from those players who fought against the mutants.

But that didn't hinder anything.

Names were just tags, after all. Everything would start anew once heaven descended.

"...These weak and incompetent creatures have stayed in the cradle for too long and have forgotten how to hunt."

"They have already experienced the cruelty of the universe at South Gate Two, yet they still babble incessantly over trivial matters."

"Entrusting the fragile destiny of humanity to such weaklings is a sure sign that our future is truly at an end."

"I think you are quite right." The Human Emperor seemed uninterested in the topic. He was only here to deliver goods and incidentally, to appreciate the scenery and check on the state of the northern defenses.

If Ten Peaks Mountain couldn't hold, he would have to make some early preparations within his own parish.

The Beast King looked back at him.

"What about the south?"

The Human Emperor answered calmly.

"Alzu is dawdling. The apostles under his control don't entirely listen to him. It might take a little more time."

There was no change in the Beast King's expression, but his matter-of-fact tone carried a hint of faint mockery.

"I've always said that Sanctuary No.2 couldn't be reliable. Only by shedding the flesh can one transcend human limitations and ascend to another dimension."

In fact, Luo Gan's failure was due to his incomplete ascension; a sliver of humanity still lingered in his sea of consciousness, leading him to treat the ugly child of an Old Human as an extension of his superior life form.

This was an unforgivable mistake.

Several key moves had gone awry due to that momentary weakness.

Had he initiated the heavenly domain sooner and turned it into a world like Haiya Province before the Alliance acted, they wouldn't have had to engage with the Alliance so close to Ten Peaks Mountain.

After pondering for a while, the Human Emperor said softly,

"Saint Heir surely has his considerations. Perhaps he finds Alzu's rhetoric more appealing. I believe it is a purely rational decision, so there's no need to worry."

One or two failures were not unacceptable and didn't signify anything.

The evolution of life is achieved through a succession of "mistakes."

They had enough examples to prove that expecting to "step into the sky" in one go was unrealistic.

Unfailingly, the only destination such a path led to was hell, and a price not paid now would have to be paid in the future.

The Beast King frowned but said nothing, simply turning his gaze toward the northern peaks.

"Perhaps."

He couldn't quite agree with the Human Emperor's words, but this wasn't a pressing matter.

Rather than reaching a consensus on such irrelevant details, what he cared about most at the moment was the present.

He believed that while they were busy preparing for war, the other side was also anxiously getting ready for the upcoming battles, meticulously considering their next move.

It was a pity that the "Holy Land" relied on relay servers to transmit information, and synchronization had to be achieved through them. Otherwise, he would have really liked to send a couple of agents to see what those Old Humans had prepared these past few days...

"Don't worry about my side. You'd better urge Alzu to hurry up; we can't wait forever."

The Human Emperor nodded slightly, his figure gradually fading.

"I will."

Chapter 736: Watch closely, I'm only demonstrating once!

At this moment, the Pioneer known as "Beast King" had no idea that his opponent was indeed carefully considering how to play the next card.

However, the card being played was somewhat different from what he had imagined...

Tavern entrance.

Looking at the smoky mess inside the tavern and the card players with flushed faces and thick necks, the newly arrived Spring Water Commander was completely dumbfounded.

It took him quite a while to come to his senses, as he blankly said,

"Good grief…"

It turns out, this was the reason why the company's combat power was lacking.

Could it be that these scoundrels were all playing cards in the rear?!

Kakarot stretched his neck, looking around in the crowd, and soon spotted that familiar instigator, his face bearing an 'I knew it' expression.

"Tch, I guessed it was something Mosquito Brother was doing."

I Max Black: "Treachery!! It's a spy sent by Treachery!"

Centurion: "Call the iron cans of the Burning Corps!"

Grave Digging: "Drag this disgrace to military discipline out and be done with loyalty."

Just as the crowd at the entrance was chattering, Mosquito, who had just finished transporting goods, happened to slip out from the center of the crowd and immediately spotted the group standing at the door.

"Spring Water?!"

His eyes instantly lit up, and Mosquito walked up with a cheeky grin and slapped his arm.

"How did you get here? Weren't you waiting for deployment in the rear?"

These were all his big customers.

Compared to that, the profits from these cards he sold were just pocket money.

"Waiting for deployment is correct, but didn't the order for deployment come?" the Spring Water Commander smiled and continued, "The Manager is planning to come to the front line, so they transferred us over as well."

"What? The Manager is coming?"

Mosquito exclaimed in surprise and immediately threw the remaining few packs of cards in a sack to an NPC nearby.

Obviously, he also realized that he had been up to no good and quickly dissociated himself from the deal.

The young man beside him was quick-witted and immediately caught the sack, pretending not to know him.

The guy didn't look like he was from the River Valley Province with his slightly curly hair, somewhat short stature, and gleaming black eyes; rather, he resembled someone from the Poluo Province's Rat Clan.

"Manager isn't here yet, stop looking."

Watching Mosquito look towards the outside, Spring Water made a helpless expression, then looked again at the smoky mess inside the tavern and couldn't help but joke,

"Now everyone says that you're the guy who wiped out our allied forces' combat power. How do you plan to explain when the Manager arrives?"

Mosquito hadn't expected this big accusation to fall on him and immediately protested.

"Damn, how is this my fault? It's not like it's my fault they can't fight."

Speaking with his conscience.

These people were like this before he arrived!

However, this bunch of scoundrels wasn't listening to him, just bawling and shouting.

Kakarot: "And you say it isn't you! Do these guys look like they can fight?"

I Max Black: "Exactly! Too weak!"

Lame Leg Kevin also shook his head and said,

"With the way you guys are fighting, you'd be lucky to get over this mountain by next year!"

"What does this have to do with me," Mosquito said, half laughing half crying, "if you guys are so great, you go ahead!"

"Funny you should say that, we were just thinking the same."

Watching Mosquito, the Spring Water Commander grinned and patted his shoulder.

"Just you wait. When the Manager arrives tomorrow, I'll show you a trick or two and let you see how a battle is fought."

…

Actually, speaking with a conscience, it wasn't that the company was completely botching things up.

The average elevation of the Ten Peaks Mountain was over a thousand meters, especially a few critical peaks which were as much as two to three thousand meters high.

Its terrain was perilous, nothing like those small hills of two to three hundred meters, comparable to a real-world mountain range.

And places like Broken Blade Mountain had limited tactical width.; only about two or three hundred people could ascend at a time, with those behind stepping over the corpses of those in front.

Moreover, the opposition had built an extensive array of defensive structures, making the entire peak look like a fortress.

Even if there were a hundred thousand troops standing by, they wouldn't be of much use.

Within the span of two days and one night, the company had launched three offensives, during the last of which they even deployed two underground missiles carrying 500 kilograms of warheads from the labs, but still couldn't plant the flag on the mountaintop.

The casualties among the mercenaries had surpassed 300, exceeding the non-clone casualties suffered by the corps on Black Cloud Mountain.

Considering the battles to come, which still needed those mercenaries, the division commander of the Mechanized Mountain Division No.100 had to look toward their capable allies—the Alliance.

Back in the City of Dawn, the Spring Water Commander had volunteered on behalf of the Storm Corps to undertake this mission.

However, neither Spring Water nor the company commanders anticipated that while they were planning the next offensive, the Weilante People stationed on Black Cloud Mountain grew impatient and couldn't wait any longer...

The third night.

Atop Black Cloud Mountain.

Glancing at General Modlin, who was looking through night vision goggles towards the distant positions, the adjutant standing beside couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't this a bit rash?"

Although disappointing, the company's lingering performance at the front line did not warrant stripping them of the task to advance on this mountaintop.

It wasn't just because it would deplete their strength, but also because this could be an excellent opportunity to test the strength of Ideal City.

The mercenaries had attacked the hilltop three times without any effective results, and he felt that if they pushed a little more, perhaps the corporation would send in their regular army.

Then, they could observe how capable the fully mechanized armed forces were.

After all, the corporation, a successor of the old era, was their true competitor.

As for the Torch Church, it was merely the most noticeable among many insignificant locusts.

However, General Modlin standing beside him held a different opinion and spoke concisely.

"…Didn't you notice? The initial hilltops were relatively easy to capture, each subsequent position is harder than the last."

Adjutant: "So?"

General Modlin narrowed his eyes and continued, "So, the sooner we complete our missions, the more advantageous it is for us. As per the agreement before the war started, we need to take on the offensive for at least two hilltops, and counting the already captured Black Cloud Mountain, just one more would allow us to sit back and watch."

After that, they could leave those tough bones for the rest of the Allied forces to chew on.

If others wanted their assistance again, they would have to offer something worthy in exchange at the negotiation table of the Sticky Community.

Completing the combat mission ahead of schedule was, in itself, a significant bargaining chip.

He believed that Lord Lucien saw it this way too, which is why he had ordered tonight's military operation.

Having said that, he turned to his adjutant and continued as usual.

"Notify General Mekar that our men have reached their battle positions, and his Glory Army can now advance."

Before sending in the Weilante People, he needed those Clone Cannon Fodders to exhaust some of the Mutants' stamina and ammunition.

The adjutant instantly understood, his expression became serious, and he gave a military salute.

"Yes!"

...

At midnight, without any warning, the Loyalty Airship launched ten 400mm barrel-launched rockets toward Broken Blade Mountain.

The boiling flames, like a fire cloud plummeting from the sky, engulfed the entire mountain, instantly turning the vegetation into ashes, and even the rocks on the ground were heated to the point of being scorching.

At the same time, the thousand team of the Glory Army waiting at the base of the mountain had hung bayonets on their rifles.

A tall-nosed Centurion stood at the front of the formation, pulled out his pistol, fired towards the mountain, and shouted loudly,

"For the Marshal!"

"For loyalty!"

"Charge—!"

Eyes filled with frenzy, the Clone soldiers emitted deafening roars as they charged up the hill with their rifles.

"Hurrah!"

"Kill!"

Those short phrases were among the few human words that the Clones could utter.

Grown at eight times the normal speed, they lacked a complete human intellect, processing only an eighth of the information a normal person could.

Yet, those few words encapsulated their entire lives.

From the moment they were born, they had been preparing for today's battle.

"Roar!!"

A big, green-skinned brute hiding in a trench let out a roar, swinging its shotgun, now devoid of ammunition, like a club, and smashed a Clone's skull.

However, before it could enjoy the white brain matter, a bayonet streaked by like a flash of white light, stabbing upwards through its chin!

Hot blood sprayed on the zealously twisted face of the Clone soldier, who, without pausing, continued to charge.

They were like mad dogs on drugs, crawling forward with their hands once their legs were cut off, and if their arms were broken, they bit with their teeth, even more manic than those cursing big green brutes!

Apart from those who were numb to death, some mentally broken Clones curled up in bloody puddles, wailing.

Yet even so, no one retreated.

Under the command of the Weilante Centurion, they bit forward like wild beasts and quickly perished in their frenzy.

Exposed to such ruthless "fodder" for the first time, the Stone Axe Family's Mutants were also a bit stunned.

Though these madmen's combat strength was clearly inferior to the previous humans they encountered in exoskeletons, the reckless manner of these people indeed brought them considerable psychological pressure.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, the corporate headquarters was in chaos and turmoil.

The sudden bombardment by the Loyalty Airship followed by the unexpected deployment of the Clone Troops, these actions beyond the planned combat maneuvers surprised everyone.

Arriving at the scene, Lin Shangwen stared intently without saying a word at the holographic screen.

Standing next to him, his adjutant cursed and couldn't help but growl,

"What the hell are those big noses trying to do?! Have they taken the wrong medication?"

Even if it was to show off, there was no need to act without any notice, right?

When they were attacking Black Cloud Mountain, he wanted to complain about these arrogant folks.

But the commander from the West Winds Empire could endure it, not even considering the colleagues who were mistakenly bombed as a big deal. As an outsider, he didn't want to make a fuss about it.

Chief of Staff Yun Song also silently stared at the holographic screen but suddenly noticing the movements of another group at the base of the mountain, he instantly understood and said gravely,

"They're probably trying to steal the profits."

The adjutant was momentarily stunned, then he also realized it and swore softly,

"Those shameless thieves!"

They had already sacrificed more than three hundred mercenaries on the mountain peak, launched hundreds of rocket shells and thousands of heavy grenades!

The killed Mutants, if not two thousand, then certainly three thousand!

Just as the enemy's defenses were showing a sign of weakening, these bastards dared to jump in and steal the credit!

Lin Shangwen still didn't speak, silently staring at the screen, pondering something in his mind.

Just as he was about to call Lucien to inquire what he meant, he saw that Lucien had beaten him to it.

An ugly nose appeared in the center of the screen, followed by a face that was smiling but not smiling, which was annoying.

This guy had a stick in his mouth even late at night, looking like it had grown on his face.

"I see you guys are having a tough time fighting this battle, so I'll handle it for you."

Listening to that shameless remark, Lin Shangwen sneered, slightly lifting his chin as he looked at the face on the screen.

"Should I thank you for that?"

"Haha! You're welcome," Lucien laughed and leaned back in his chair, his tone quite sardonic, "I just feel sorry for the young masters of the Ideal City who haven't seen blood, scared they might wet their pants on the battlefield... better let them stay behind and play cards."

Cards?

Lin Shangwen frowned, and the officers behind him exchanged puzzled looks, unsure of what he meant.

Lucien didn't elaborate, simply gazing at the group of weak officers, and continued confidently.

"Watch carefully, I'll only demonstrate once."

With that, he turned off the video window, leaving the officers in the command room glaring at the place he had disappeared...

...

It had to be said, the Army's calculation was very audible, so much so that even the Spring Water Commander, who had just arrived at the frontline, had heard it.

Broken Blade Mountain roared with gunfire and artillery; the flashing lights turned the place into daylight.

The dense, suffocating battle fires could faintly be smelled even from a distance, from government mountain.

"Goodness... the enterprise brothers are going to be embarrassed." Edge Shoveling said, holding binoculars, as he looked towards the south and smirked.

Due to visibility limits, he could only see a corner of the battlefield.

Even so, the bloodshed was fierce enough.

Standing next to him, Spring Water Brother chuckled, obviously not agreeing with him.

"I beg to differ."

Putting down his binoculars, Edge Shoveling looked at him curiously and asked.

"What do you mean?"

Spring Water Commander leisurely stated,

"These Mutants are not that easy to handle. Otherwise, they wouldn't have held off the enterprise for three whole days. Honestly, facing those kinds whose heads can explode without them dying, and other unseen black technologies, any troop would find it difficult. Especially with such thick rock layers, we don't even know how many people are hidden inside."

Difficult for the strong did try sneaking in to gather intelligence, but that fat old rat was a bit too fat.

The Big Guy with green skin certainly didn't notice him, but those Goblins treated him as food.

He died three times and couldn't even sneak into the cave, so he stopped wasting his effort and started thinking of other approaches instead.

Not only had they tried, the enterprise people were also making various attempts, like sending bionic special forces equipped with optical camouflage plugins to sneak in and scout the cave conditions and more.

However, nobody expected that the bionic squad would be exposed to EMP weapons and, after a brief pause, brutally crushed into scrap.

Even later attempts with drones as small as rice grains labeled as "beetles" failed.

These pieces of information weren't made public within the Sticky Community allied forces, but they were shared between the Alliance and the enterprise Army systems.

In any case, the enterprise had used up all possible methods, but it seemed the opposition was well-prepared, countering every move they made.

Seeing that subterfuge was useless, the enterprise could only revert to the old method of bombardment followed by infantry charge.

However, even after utilizing all the support weapons they had and sweeping the entire mountain head countless times, they still couldn't take the mountain from the green skins.

Spring Water estimated that the Weilante People were likely facing the same situation tonight, bound to suffer some hardships.

Those guys indeed had some skills, but always made the same mistake—underestimating others while overestimating themselves.

"...The enterprise didn't stop them; I guess they also want to use the Weilante People to wear down the mountain's living forces. Although we don't know how many mutants are still up there, it surely isn't infinite."

"That's unfortunate," Edge Shoveling said with a smirk, knocking his fist on his breastplate, "we are infinite; let's go for it."

Spring Water Commander gave him a side glance.

"Save your strength; it should be our turn this time."

Edge Shoveling: "Damn! Don't you guys ever take a break when you get here?"

Spring Water Commander just smiled and said,

"We've been resting since coming down from Brocade River City; we've had plenty of rest."

While the two of them were chatting, the frontline situation had new developments.

Just as General Modlin had expected, a whole thousand team of Cannon Fodder quickly ran out.

The mountain was littered with the bodies of Mutants and clones, blood and flesh mixed together, the rugged terrain like it had been rolled over by the blades of a meat grinder.

Without any hesitation, the Loyalty Airship, as planned, fired another eight 400-mm heavy shells and, in coordination with the "Wild Bull's" 200-mm cannon, started the second round of fire coverage on the mountain's mutants tonight.

This round was even more ferocious than the last, thrilling not only the Weilante People at the frontline but also the allied forces further back.

Standing at the barracks doorway, General Babita greedily gazed at the "Wild Bull" exoskeleton standing in the wasteland, his eyes filled with desire.

If the Army would sell that thing to them, it would be great.

If General Arai Yang had that thing, they wouldn't have lost Jinga Lun Port.

Mosquito, who just came back from Qun Town, was similarly shocked by the salvo-like firepower, muttering to himself,

"Goodness... what's the barrel made from, it's so durable?"

If only they could figure out the material of that thing.

Compared to the No. 60 electromagnetic cannon, which was temporarily useless and completely unclear in the real world, this thing's practical value was much higher!

Having once tasted the sweetness of that aviation kerosene bottle, his eyes grew more eager, even contemplating some crooked ideas.

Perhaps...

I have to find a way to make those big-nosed people "lose" one.

At the same time as all the Waste Land Wanderers were looking up at the boiling gunfire, the distant battlefield was as horrific as Hell itself.

Some Big Guys who couldn't retreat in time to the caves, tunnels, or shelters were blown up on the spot, and the Goblins trying to carry the wounded back into the tunnels also suffered heavy casualties. Many who were maimed by the explosions could only lie behind the rocks, screaming in agony.

General Modlin, equipped with night-vision goggles, looked out over the battlefield and as soon as the timing was ripe, he immediately gave the order to attack.

"The second thousand-team of the thirty-first Ten thousand troops, advance!"

"Yes!"

The adjutant saluted and promptly relayed the order to the thousand team.

The eager second thousand team began their assault up the mountain.

About twenty heavily armed infantry, dressed like iron towers and wielding Gatling Guns, charged under the cover of a hundred team toward a long-contested cave halfway up the mountain.

The silence of the night was broken for the second time, and the battle once again reached a fever pitch.

The well-trained Weilante soldiers erupted with combat power far surpassing that of the Clone soldiers, pushing back the Mutants on the mountain. Even Springs, who did not think they could take this mountain, could not help but show a surprised look.

"It seems you miscalculated."

Edge Shoveling smiled and glanced at him, tossing a binoculars into his hands.

"In one hour, those Weilante People have taken six cave entrances, and the battle outside the caves is basically over."

He had just seen with his own eyes a heavy infantryman with a flamethrower stepping into a cave; no doubt, the cave now was filled with the smell of roasting meat.

Compared to those fancy equipments brought out by the corporations, these straightforward and brutal gadgets indeed worked better.

At least to his taste.

Springs took the binoculars and, unconvinced, took another look only to see that the situation was indeed as Edge Shoveling had described. But he still stubbornly muttered,

"They've only just entered the dog holes; the real meat grinder has just begun... How long they can last inside is still up for debate."

"That's true too," Edge Shoveling agreed with a nod.

He had a high regard for the opponents he had faced before.

Their success in the military actions of Luo Xia Province was greatly due to strategic factors.

These fellows weren't lacking in fighting capabilities. With equal logistics, support, air superiority, and terrain factors, beating them on a frontal battlefield wasn't easy.

If it were him, he would probably also pay a hefty price to completely annihilate those stubbornly defending Goblins.

At the same time, hundreds of kilometers away in the airspace, an imposing iron airship was slowly advancing toward the frontline.

It wasn't just the players closely monitoring the frontline situation. Chu Guang's gaze had never shifted away from the frontline.

At the very moment the Army launched their attack, Lin Shangwen, the commander of the Mechanized Mountain Division No. 100, had communicated with him about the matter and asked for their opinion.

Meanwhile, he had contacted Difficult for the Strong through the task system and had commissioned him to act as a war correspondent with a camera, spying on the frontlines.

Honestly, the Weilante People pretending to be magnanimous while playing such sly tricks was somewhat despicable.

If they managed to take the mountain, the people and money the corporations had lost would be in vain, instead becoming the Army's accomplishments.

However, compared to his old friends' losses, Chu Guang was more curious about the actual strength of the Army's regular forces.

Thus, he and Lin Shangwen reached some trade-offs, persuading him to back down without pressuring General Lucien, allowing the Weilante People to rush forward and exhaust the Mutants' manpower.

In case Broken Blade Mountain was taken by the Army, he could negotiate another position as "compensation" for the corporations.

After all, his players were eager for more chances to participate, and he was happy to arrange mutually beneficial opportunities for his players.

Of course, as part of the exchange, the ammunition, equipment, and "compensation funds" used in attacking the position would be covered by the corporations.

Lin Shangwen naturally wouldn't reject such an opportunity and agreed almost immediately.

The council didn't care about expenditure, nor did they care about how those outside Ideal City viewed them, as long as he achieved the maximum results with minimal battle loss.

Thus, Chu Guang, who also served part-time as the marshal of the Allied Forces, quickly reached an agreement with his "generals" to cunningly let General Lucien take the stage tonight.

They're in a rush to perform, aren't they?

Then let them have it.

Watching the vast sea of clouds outside the bridge's floor-to-ceiling windows, Chu Guang smiled faintly and said,

"Vanus, do you think the thirty-first Ten thousand troop will manage to plant their flag on the summit of Broken Blade Mountain tonight?"

Although he seldom personally intervened in frontline command, his strategic gaze also didn't favor the Weilante People winning this localized battle with inadequate preparations.

Staring at the holographic window's display, standing beside him, Vanus pondered for a moment before suddenly speaking up,

"I think General Lucien might contact you."

"Oh?"

Chu Guang looked at him with interest, wanting to know why he would make such a prediction.

Vanus composed himself and continued thoughtfully,

"Based on my understanding of the Eastern Legion's structure... they probably committed more than just a thousand team to this battle. And knowing General Lucien, who is talented but more like a gambler in character,"

Hearing this, Chu Guang, who initially had a slight smile, couldn't help but slightly change his expression.

"You mean... he pulled troops from the defenses on Black Cloud Mountain?"

Vanus nodded, his expression no longer just solemn but gradually overtaken by a visible concern.

"He has no reason to plan a third offensive for an opponent he looks down upon. In other words, it's very likely that only two troops were deployed on Black Cloud Mountain tonight, one defensive and one offensive. The Mutants letting them into the cave might not be out of desperation; they might have guessed that our side has committed 'unexpected' forces to this battle and deliberately showed weakness in the local battle to increase our sunk cost of abandoning tonight's offensive."

"And if faced with the choice between 'pushing harder' and 'bowing to allies,' General Lucien's character will mostly likely gamble for the dignity of the Weilante People and push the frontline defense troops forward..."

Pausing briefly, he continued,

"Those Goblins..."

"Are probably going to counterattack."

Chapter 737: The Cave Filled with Flesh

It must be said, nobody understands the people of Vellante better than the Vellanteans themselves.

Vanus, who had once served as a legion commander in the Eastern Legion, knew all too well the temperaments of those high-ranking officials.

Watching as the position at Broken Blade Mountain remained uncaptured, Lucien, seated on the bridge, grew restless and cursed under his breath.

"What is Modlin dallying for!"

The second unit of a thousand had already been fighting in the cave for quite a while, but despite the prolonged combat, they still hadn't taken the position.

Casualties were continuously carried out, and more people were sent in to replace them. In the blink of an eye, the entire unit had rotated completely, even the Sweeping Group under the unit was nearly wiped out!

Seeing this, unease inevitably rose in Lucien's mind.

Although it might sound far-fetched, he couldn't shake the feeling that these mutants were deliberately letting them in…

It was absurd.

Was this something those muscle-brained fools could come up with?

However, even realizing that something might be wrong with the mutants, Lucien could not possibly order a retreat.

Wouldn't that mean his previous declarations were akin to lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet?

Thinking back to that phone call, Lucien's face involuntarily flushed red.

He could almost see the mocking faces of those scoundrels from Ideal City.

Even for the honor of the Vellante people, he absolutely couldn't retreat!

His teeth clenched so tightly they squeaked, actually biting the stick in his mouth in two.

Lucien hammered his right fist on the armrest of his chair and turned to his adjutant with gritted teeth and ordered,

"Inform General Modlin! If necessary, he may employ the first unit of a thousand from Black Cloud Mountain!"

"I permit him to use the forces of two units of a thousand! No matter the method, no matter the cost, he must take that hill tonight!"

…

At the same time on Black Cloud Mountain, it was a scene of bustling activity and noisy shouts.

With dull matte gray helmets on their heads and wearing pitch-black bulletproof armor, fully armed soldiers shoulder to shoulder with a torrential momentum, surged out of the trenches and anti-cannon holes and flooded down the mountain.

They were all warriors from the first unit of a thousand, who had just been deployed to the front lines tonight, taking over the position originally held by the second unit of a thousand.

In fact, it was under the guise of rotation that Lucien managed to release the attacking troops from their position without the allies knowing, initiating tonight's offensive.

However, now the strength of a single unit of a thousand seemed insufficient to chew through this tough bone—an outcome nobody had foreseen.

As the front-line attacking troops were in peril, General Modlin could only commit the defensive troops from the position as well, leaving only the forces of two units of a hundred to defend.

For these eager young warriors, however, there was not a trace of a sense of crisis.

Watching their comrades courageously fight on the front lines, those waiting on the mountain were eager to rush down and teach those mutants a severe lesson.

Crossing the rugged mountain path, a group soon reached the very front lines of the battlefield.

A Centurion strode forward in front of the leading unit of a hundred, pulled open his robust voice, and roared,

"The second unit of a thousand has run into a bit of trouble, now it's our turn to resolve it!"

"For the glory of the Vellante people!"

"For the glory of Triumph City!"

"For His Majesty the Marshal!"

"Follow me and charge! Crush those vile, filthy bugs! Everyone behind you will witness your bravery!"

A fervor burned in every pair of eyes, each soldier with a helmet unleashed a blood-boiling roar.

"Kill!!!"

In that moment, with overwhelming momentum, an entire unit of a hundred charged up the hill.

Meanwhile, dozens of stretchers brushed past them, hurriedly carried down the rugged path.

However, no one paid attention.

Their only thought was to pin those green-skinned creatures down in the cave!

While the Vellanteans were seeing red, the corporate command center monitoring the battlefield through a drone finally noticed something amiss—

The number of troops the Vellanteans had committed to the battlefield seemed unusual.

Yun Song, staring at the holographic screen, felt a sudden shock in his heart and spoke,

"They've mobilized the reserve forces from the mountain!"

A turmoil arose in the command center, and the adjutant standing next to Lin Shangwen widened his eyes in disbelief,

"Has Lucien gone mad?!"

"When have those madmen ever been normal…" Squeezing out the words through gritted teeth, Lin Shangwen glared at him, "Contact the Manager from the Alliance!"

"Yes!"

The adjutant quickly nodded and was about to instruct the communication officer when a communication request from the Steel Heart popped up on the screen.

Without hesitation, Lin Shangwen immediately ordered the connection.

After a short delay, the azure power armor appeared in the center of the screen.

The armor, codenamed "Order," instilled a sense of security merely by being observed, akin to the concept of order itself.

However, Yun Song felt that, more than the heavy armor, it was the face that exuded dignity yet was approachable that gave him even more confidence and security.

It was an indescribable intuition; he could see the shadow of a new era in that person's eyes.

From their very first meeting, he had felt it…

The command room fell unconsciously quiet.

Looking at Commander Lin on the other side of the video window, Chu Guang spoke in a light voice,

"I've been gone for a few days, and you've gotten a bit too zealous."

Hearing the slight displeasure in those words, Lin Shangwen felt somewhat embarrassed and coughed awkwardly before speaking.

"...let's first think about how to solve the problem."

Internal conflicts within the Allied forces were mostly historical issues, not solvable in a short time.

Aware of this, Chu Guang nodded, did not press further about tonight's matter, and went straight to the point.

"I need you to dispatch a Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machine attack squadron to standby on the west side of Black Cloud Mountain."

Lin Shangwen frowned slightly.

"To cover the retreat of those Weilante people?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Expecting them to retreat might be difficult, but we can't afford to lose the position on Black Cloud Mountain."

Lin Shangwen hesitated slightly, looking at him with a hint of disbelief.

"Are you suggesting that the mutants might counterattack?"

"Why not? They've even lured the enemy deep into the territory. I suspect that Torch has taught them not just biological techniques, but also communication technology and some command skills."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued.

"Since we can't save them, we at least need to make their sacrifice somewhat worthwhile."

Lin Shangwen's expression gradually grew solemn, and he spoke earnestly.

"I understand, the Cloud Dragonfly attack squadron will depart within half an hour."

Chu Guang nodded and simply instructed.

"Um, try to be as fast as possible."

At the same time, in another world, the player communication section on the "Wasteland OL" Official Website Forum was bustling.

This was always the case during a great battle.

Shaking people up in the group was not enough, for complete coverage of information, the Army leaders usually also had to shout out on the Forum.

Spring Water Commander: "@Storm Corps, all members, there's work to do! Brothers!"

"Kakarot": "Roger that!"

Catching Ghosts at the Tomb: "Received!"

I Max Black: "Aooo aooo aooo!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! Jealous as hell! T.T"

Quit Smoking: "Hahaha! Poor Old Soldier!"

Irina: "Why pity him? His father-in-law has him on a tight leash. (facetious)"

Battle Atmosphere Group: "??? What's that?"

Quit Smoking: "...Ah, I was too hasty."

With a single shout from Brother Quanshui, the players of the Storm Corps quickly donned their headsets and returned online, gathering at their positions according to the previously established plan.

Just as the Alliance and the company were ready to put out fires, the battle between the Stone Axe Family and the two thousand-man teams of the 31st Million Men was nearing its end.

The Centurion of the second thousand-man team was injured in the battle but fortunately rescued by the Personal Body Guard and brought back from the frontlines.

The "Sweeping Group" composed of one hundred and twenty was cut off during the struggle for the tunnels and nearly annihilated trying to break out. The remaining ten hundred-man teams also suffered more than half casualties under the fierce counterattacks of the mutants, on the verge of collapsing.

Even though the first thousand-man team pushed forward timely, they were unable to reverse the deteriorating situation.

The tunnels were like a maze, multiple branching paths from a single tunnel, and the routes interconnected with each other, risking losing direction with the slightest carelessness, or even potentially colliding with one's own people.

While the mutants weren't smart, these tunnels were dug by them, marked with signs only they could interpret.

Besides, there were those short-statured goblins.

They could not only squeeze through tiny holes smaller than a watermelon but also use small knives and sticks in their hands to fiercely stab the unsuspecting Weilante people.

Although the Army deployed flamethrowers, a powerful weapon, as the battlefront advanced deep into the tunnels, these devices were not as effective as imagined.

Often the flames hadn't killed the enemies before they depleted the oxygen in the entire tunnel, forcing the hard-won positions to be abandoned.

The battle situation, initially evenly matched, gradually turned into a decline for the Weilante people.

In a narrow tunnel, the walls on both sides were marked with bullet holes.

A Weilante squad, relying on protruding rocks on both sides as makeshift cover, engaged in intense gunfire with the green-skin mutants across the tunnel.

After emptying an entire magazine and finally killing a brainless zombie mutant, Damon, helmet smeared with blood plasma, was both shocked and furious, swearing as he replaced his magazine.

"Damn... how many more of these beasts are there?! Did they bury a ten thousand-man team in the mountain!"

The entire tunnel echoed with thunderous gunfire, forcing him to shout.

"I bet they did—damn!"

The fallen Centurian struggled to his feet with the help of his teammates, took an incendiary grenade from his breastplate, and handed it to Damon.

"Use the white phosphorus one!"

Against those who wouldn't die even with blown-up heads, only this was effective.

The blinding bright light could not only disrupt the mutants' vision but the searing flames and pungent smoke could also pause their assault, buying them a moment to catch their breath.

Damon hesitated not, took the grenade, bit off the pin, and threw it deep into the tunnel.

A piercing white light flashed, followed by agonizing screams and yells from the darkness.

Hearing those cries, everyone's spirits lifted, the Centurion even clenched his fists with excitement.

"Beautiful!"

"At least we burned two or three—"

However, just then, a sudden change occurred as a lump of green flew out from the depths of the tunnel.

It was a goblin.

To be precise, it had been thrown, its swollen belly appearing as if something was stuffed inside.

Struggling to rise from the ground, its bloodshot eyes filled with hatred and fear, it screamed and charged toward the group.

A sense of crisis suddenly crept into Damon's mind, and he pounced without hesitation, shouting loudly at the same time.

"Get down!"

As he pressed his body against the goblin and pulled out his dagger to cut its throat, an explosion roared from the tunnel, dizzying everyone with a wave of confusion and ringing ears.

No one knew what the bomb was made of.

But even if it was black powder, it was dangerous enough in these narrow tunnels.

Damon, lying on the self-destructing goblin, groaned, his breastplate shattered into pieces and embedded in his body. Under the flickering light, the tall figure was lifted by the blast wave and then heavily fell back down.

"Damon!!!"

Watching his unconscious comrade, the centurion's eyes instantly filled with blood veins, and he roared furiously.

A marksman hurried to his front, trembling fingers felt under the nose of his teammate, his face suddenly changing.

"He's not breathing!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the centurion, trying to restrain his rage, shouted.

"Peter! Banji! Guard the tunnel entrance! Medic! Get the hell over here!"

"…Yes!" The marksman by Damon's side clenched his teeth, stood up, and moved to a cover next to another teammate, exchanging fire deep into the tunnel, venting all his anger through the flames bursting from his gun muzzle.

The accompanying medic crawled swiftly to Damon's side, struggling to turn his body over.

However, the moment he saw Damon's chest, his face instantly turned pale.

He's beyond saving...

At least half of the breastplate fragments were embedded inside his body.

His intestines were mangled into indiscernible, bloody chunks, making it hard to tell which parts were Damon's and which were the goblin's.

Still, he shakily stretched out his trembling finger, pulled a bandage from his waist, and began to bandage his now-unbreathing teammate, mumbling shakily as he worked.

It was like making a meaningless prayer.

As the firepower surged from deep within the tunnel, the morale and fighting spirit that they had when descending the mountains were long gone.

Watching their comrades continue to fall, and with no reinforcements in sight, the centurion almost crushed his teeth.

They couldn't wait any longer!

Ready to face punishment from his superiors, he yelled to his teammates ahead.

"Seal off the tunnel entrance with incendiary bombs!"

"We need to get out of this hellhole—!"

Just as he finished speaking, an explosion from the other side of the tunnel blew two soldiers guarding the entrance into the air.

Bracing against the wall to steady himself, he grabbed a fallen rifle from the ground and looked forward, his pupils abruptly contracting.

There, standing in the middle of the tunnel, was a mutant with steel plates welded to its body, its face a mix of twisted scar tissue and freshly grown flesh, grinning hideously at him...

The gruesome battle continued.

Each of the Weilante people trapped in the cave fought desperately, yet they couldn't stop the ongoing casualties.

Objectively, they were indeed more capable than ordinary people.

But the ones standing in front of them now were mutants.

In terms of technology, the enemy was not lacking either...

Aboard the Loyalty Airship.

Lucien's forehead was covered with a fine layer of sweat, his expression no longer easy and confident, but filled with distress.

Just moments ago, General Modlin had reported the situation at the front and requested a retreat.

Reluctantly, but knowing that continuing the fight would only lead to more casualties without any chance of victory, Lucien grit his teeth and issued the retreat order, commanding General Modlin to bring his troops back.

However, the situation was far from over.

The mutants did not plan to let his troops go, chasing after the two thousand-strong detachments.

Watching the holographic screen, the adjutant next to General Lucien said with a grave expression.

"…Those mutants probably don't plan on retreating; they seem to want to take advantage of our retreat and head straight for Black Cloud Mountain!"

"I know," Lucien replied irritably, looking at the adjutant, "Where is the nearest unit to Black Cloud Mountain?"

"On Mount Fu… The Death Legion of the Alliance is stationed there," the adjutant paused, then said in a low voice, "For our own troops, the nearest is the Wei Mansion Military Base... more than ten kilometers away through mountain roads and a one to two-thousand-meter elevation, it's probably hard to get there in time."

If they wanted to hold Black Cloud Mountain, it seemed there was only one option left.

Lucien felt as if his heart was bleeding.

If it were not absolutely necessary, he would not want to ask for help from allied forces.

But compared to asking corporations, seeking help from the Alliance was more acceptable.

Weighing the pros and cons for a moment, he ordered.

"Contact the Alliance Commander!"

"Yes!"

As soon as the adjutant finished speaking, the radar operator on the bridge suddenly spoke up.

"Report! The Iron Heart has appeared on our radar! About eighty kilometers away from us!"

Hearing the name Iron Heart, Lucien's brows twitched violently, and he said through clenched teeth.

"…Make direct contact with the Iron Heart!"

The adjutant, wearing a bitter smile, saluted.

"Is!"

…

On the mountain road between Black Cloud Mountain and Broken Blade Mountain, carrying a camera, Difficult for the Strong licked his lips in surprise.

"These mountain mutants have got something..."

No wonder he could never fit in, it turns out it wasn't his fault at all.

Crouched not far beside him on a stone stump, a Pick up trash 99 level rubbed its paws like a stone gargoyle, its amber pupils shining with excitement.

"Let the blood flow like a river!"

Back during the battle at the governor's mountain, he hadn't killed to his heart's content before it was over, but this time he wouldn't make the same mistake.

"It seems like it's about to happen," I thought quietly while standing aside, holding a telescope and murmuring, "Wow, the Weylent people were actually driven back?"

But there was more.

The mutants hiding in the tunnels even came out in batches, howling as they charged at those Weilante people retreating down the mountain.

And those short goblins, carrying machine guns and cannons hidden in the caves, greeted everyone below the mountain indiscriminately.

Tracers poured down like rain, preventing the Weilante people at the bottom of the mountain from raising their heads.

From a distance, the Iron Heart could only watch in desperation.

The spread of indirect fire was too vast, and opening fire at such a close distance could easily wipe out friendly forces.

As the two thousand-strong teams were in grave danger, the mutants were about to seize the opportunity to reach the north side of Black Cloud Mountain, six Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines suddenly burst out of the night sky, firing rockets at the machine gun positions midway up the mountain in a sweeping barrage.

The sudden appearance of the flapping machines surprised General Modlin standing at the Black Cloud Mountain position.

His adjutant, crouched beside him, cried out in disbelief.

"Enterprises?!"

These guys were actually supporting them?

Standing at the top of Broken Blade Mountain, the "Beast King" also narrowed his eyes into slits.

With his understanding of the various powers of the allied forces, those guys were absolutely unlikely to truly unite, even if they were forcibly bundled onto a chariot, they would still be wary of each other and keep their own little schemes in their pockets.

Therefore, when the legion initiated the surprise attack initially, he guessed their intentions roughly and thereby let Ollon trap that group of Weilante people inside the mountain cave, creating a false impression that Broken Blade Mountain was easy to capture, luring the legion to move the defense troops from Black Cloud Mountain to the frontline.

So far, the plan had been very successful.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would have destroyed the two thousand-strong teams of Weilante people at the foot of the mountain within another two hours maximum.

However, he had never expected that at this critical moment, Enterprises would interfere.

In his original plan, even if Enterprises realized that the frontline situation was tense, they would definitely not send reinforcements to the legion.

After all, the Weilante people did not act according to the plan and intended to snatch the victory first.

They could perfectly use this opportunity to let the Weilante people suffer, without needing to help those guys at all.

Watching the sparks blooming halfway up the mountain, the Beast King furrowed his brows and pondered for a long time, then suddenly, as if realizing something, he looked up towards the northern night sky, his eyes slightly squinted.

"...Has that guy arrived?"

He muttered under his breath, his transparent figure gradually fading into the night wind.

Meanwhile, the two originally endangered thousand-strong teams finally caught a breath as the six Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines and dozens of rockets arrived.

Watching the burning mess beside him, a goblin gunner squealed and screamed, urging his underlings to load the ammunition, aligning the sight scale to target one of the flapping things, then suddenly pulled the firing cord hard.

An orange-yellow blaze shot up, yet it didn't even graze the shadow of the flapping machine, easily dodged with a flowing sidestep.

After completing the dodge, the Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machine didn't pause for a moment. The machine gun mounted under its nose swung cleanly, followed by a sweeping burst of gunfire.

The orange-yellow storm of bullets enveloped everything, instantly shredding the artillery position hidden behind the cover, along with the people, the artillery itself, and the nearby shelter into pieces!

"Beautiful!"

Lying behind a shelter at the foot of the mountain, a man from Vellante couldn't help but shout towards the night sky above, but quickly remembered that it was the Corporation's forces, so he swallowed back the cheer that had reached his lips.

General Modlin on Black Cloud Mountain felt similarly, his face filled with complex emotions as he looked at the few Cloud Dragonflies that had rescued them.

Fortunately, two of his thousand-strong units were able to withdraw and rest, awaiting reinforcements from behind, avoiding a complete annihilation.

Yet, the thought that the Corporation was their savior dampened any spark of joy within him...

At that moment, on the mountains behind Black Cloud Mountain, a group of soldiers clad in exoskeletons had finished assembling and were moving over in batches from the side.

Watching that force pass through his position without a single greeting, General Modlin was taken aback and couldn't help shouting.

"Which unit are you from?"

Someone responded to him.

"Storm Corps!"

Storm Corps?

Modlin paused for a moment.

He seemed to vaguely remember that name from somewhere but couldn't recall exactly.

His aide-de-camp beside him turned pale as he remembered the battles they had participated in last year while serving in the Expeditionary Army in Luo Xia Province.

At that time, a group of men had chased them for over a hundred miles through the desert...

Wasn't there an Army called the Storm Corps?

While the Weylent military officers were still puzzled, this high-spirited unit had already reached the forefront.

A man clad in heavy exoskeleton stood in the back row, shouldering a massive artillery barrel, firing non-stop at the enemy positions ahead, unleashing a barrage of heavy mortar shells.

It seemed as though he opened some sort of special shield beside him, as despite facing concentrated fire from the mutants on the mountain, he remained unscathed, even finding the breath to shout through a loudspeaker.

"Brothers—!"

"Show these big-nosed cowards who wet their pants what a real warrior race looks like!"

"Dedicate this victory to our Manager!"

Inspired by that roar, the battleground erupted into various excited shouts—it was anyone's guess what was actually being yelled.

"Crush them!"

"Awoo awoo awoo!"

These clamoring voices mingled together, chilling the hearts of the panting mutants on the mountainside.

Intuitively, they felt.

This seemingly unremarkable bunch might just be more troublesome than all the humans they had encountered put together...

Chapter 738: The Real Hero!

Just as the mutants emerging from the cave had anticipated, these individuals clad in exoskeletons were far more dangerous than anyone they had previously encountered!

It wasn't just because of the heavy exoskeleton constantly firing mortar shells, nor because of their speed and strength displayed on the battlefield.

It was the aura these individuals exuded, something the mutants had never faced before.

These people seemed as if they had died countless times.

They appeared to have already adapted to death!

"Roar—!"

As an exoskeleton-clad warrior charged towards him, the orc-like giant hiding behind a rock let out a thundering roar, swinging his steel axe with tremendous force towards the man's face, only to have it solidly caught by a square shield.

"Clang—"

A heavy, dull sound merged with the night.

The force capable of chopping a cow in half left only a superficial scratch on the ceramic steel shield!

It seemed only to have scraped off a layer of paint!

With his wrists numbed from the impact, the green-skinned giant staggered backward. But before he could regain his balance, a fist-sized gun barrel was already aimed straight at his head.

The player sneered and pulled the trigger.

"Go to hell and repent!"

A thick tongue of flame, along with the sneering sound, burst from the shotgun's barrel, with the burning phosphorus serving as the bullet itself!

A mixture of triethylaluminum and white phosphorus could burn fully in a confined space with limited oxygen, producing temperatures close to a thousand degrees, maximizing the lethality to organic bodies!

Although the flames did not last long, their power was substantial, and unlike the omnidirectional white phosphorus grenades, this directed flame shot precisely where pointed.

Hit squarely by that dazzling flame, the mutant let out a pained howl and rolled on the ground. It soon curled up motionlessly, its muscles charred to a crisp.

The ejected shell casing, trailing faint flames, clattered down the mountainside.

The player skillfully struck the shotgun against his shield, efficiently reloading, and carrying the ceramic steel shield, he strode forward with firm steps.

Equipped with explosion-proof shields and "Type 6" exoskeletons, the heavy infantry led the assault, covering the two lighter troops wearing "Type 5" exoskeletons behind them as they advanced up the mountainside.

Watching the streaks of sparks at the foot of the mountain, the Weilante soldiers who had just retreated to the rear couldn't help but stare in astonishment, their faces a picture of surprise.

"Is that... incendiary rounds?"

"... From the gun muzzle?"

A Centurion with an arm burned by the fire couldn't help but exclaim softly.

"Are these guys out of their minds?!"

Incendiary rounds were not uncommon in the Army's logistics list, ranging from 400mm rocket extended-range munition warheads to handheld projectiles issued to front-line infantry, considered an economical and efficient conventional weapon.

However, stuffing this material into bullets and firing them was beyond anyone's imagination.

Ignoring the high temperatures the barrels had to endure, weren't these guys worried about setting themselves on fire?

Even with secondary ignition, it was still quite dangerous!

It wasn't just the Army that was surprised.

From the command center of the 100th Mountain Division, observing via drones, there were exclamations of amazement.

"Their light weapons have something interesting..."

"Worth studying."

"Seemingly more style over substance."

"Not necessarily just style over substance, but the overly specific design does limit its application scenarios."

"Indeed..."

For both the Army and corporations, "secondary ignition bullets" were a novel idea, and stuffing solid propellants into bullet heads made it even more bizarre.

Although the officers were initially impressed, upon deeper reflection, they all gradually dismissed the idea of adopting this concept for their own forces.

Given the technological accumulation during the Prosperity Epoch, it wasn't difficult to produce such a thing. However, investing too much in the development of light infantry equipment was a low-return endeavor.

Both the Army and corporations had limited budgets for the development of individual equipment. The former preferred to achieve victory with larger calibers and greater numbers, while the latter leaned towards "unmanned solutions" and "military outsourcing" to cut costs.

In terms of tactical style, the most similar to the Alliance was actually the Academy, which was not known for its military prowess.

Although the Academy's initial intent in equipping the "Alpha" Rapid Response Team with high-tech gear wasn't to reduce casualties but to achieve a "short-cut" in areas where they were not strong, these were indeed some of the few survivor forces willing to invest heavily in individual equipment.

However, for the Alliance, lacking the vast technological reserves of the Academy meant they could only develop some "outrageous yet not so outrageous" ideas under limited conditions.

"Secondary ignition bullets" were a concept born from this design approach.

The bomb gun designed specifically for combat against Mutants belonged to this category, and the white phosphorus rounds that "ignited instantly upon leaving the barrel" were also part of this concept.

Compared to focused charge explosive arrows, these white phosphorus rounds not only had no safety distance restrictions but were also cheaper to produce, with their close-range lethality even more astonishing than that of explosive arrows!

The only downside was their range.

However, this was not an issue in mountainous and trench warfare.

The distances either involved tens of meters or several kilometers.

The former could easily trigger the bomb gun's safety distance, preventing the explosive arrows from detonating normally. The latter was far beyond the range limit of regular light weapons, typically handled by artillery.

Therefore, responding to the requests of many players, Huge Rock Military Industry developed a special 19mm caliber shotgun based on the bomb gun—"Fire Dragon."

While the transportation and maintenance of this weapon could cause logistical headaches, and it even had to be transported separately from other ammunition, that was a problem for another time.

Just as Army and corporate leaders were marveling, the vanguard of the Storm Corps had already slapped the Mutant Corps chasing them down the mountain, leaving the group of green-skinned Big Guys dazed and confused.

Realizing that seizing Black Cloud Mountain was no longer feasible, the Mutants who had chased out of the caves began to retreat, planning to pull back their defenses into the caves and tunnels to repeat a previous bloody melee with the People of Weilante.

Just then, a massive shadow, three to four meters tall, swept through the ranks of the Mutants like a hurricane.

A flash of claws in the night air whipped up a raging wind. Two green-skinned Big Guys were slashed in half on the spot, their guts spilling all over the ground.

Staring into the amber-colored pupils and the white mist-emitting gaping maw, the faces of the gathered goblins instantly revealed expressions of panic and fear. They screamed, throwing down their weapons and fleeing in all directions, tripping many of the green-skinned brutes who were retreating up the mountain.

A Mutant Centurion with eyes as large as copper bells stared at the giant beast brandishing its claws.

"Death Claw!"

And it was even equipped with an exoskeleton!

Panicking weren't just the goblins, but the big green-skinned brutes as well, a fleeting look of terror flashing in their eyes.

They had previously heard that the Stonehorn Clan on Fushan had been annihilated by a group riding Death Claws.

Could it be those people had come?

While Trash Lord was bravely fighting with his claws, I watched enviously from afar.

"...Damn, Trash Lord is really badass!"

The chubby rat standing next to me seemed a bit reluctant but still nodded begrudgingly, acknowledging the fact.

"Indeed, if only he could last a bit longer."

I thought to myself, "Uh... that's indeed a problem."

This Alien sequence was truly powerful, but equally useless, especially in the later stages when regular players had upgraded their equipment, yet Alien players still needed to rely on \\"pet\\" equipment.

Except for Mosquito Brother and Ah Wei, there were hardly any Lifestyle players willing to put in the effort to design special gear with inevitably poor sales for just a few Alien players.

And when the equipment upgrade couldn't keep up, the disadvantage became very clear.

Other players were all coordinating their attacks, while Alien players were still stuck with old methods.

After harvesting over twenty Mutant heads, Trash Lord, who had penetrated deep into enemy lines, finally met his match against hundreds of hands; his exoskeleton's bulletproof insert was shattered by an assault rifle, and he even took a hit from a handheld rocket launcher on his shoulder. He fell off the cliff with a roar of unwillingness...

However, although Trash Lord ultimately didn't manage to rendezvous with Spring Brother, his sudden emergence truly startled the Mutants, slowing their retreat.

After incurring at least three to four hundred more casualties than expected, the Mutants finally retreated to the caves halfway up the mountain.

Not giving these beasts any time to breathe, the Storm Corps' vanguard pressed on fiercely to the mountainside, securing several cave entrances located there.

The main force waiting at the bottom of the mountain followed up to the mountainside, coordinating an attack into the caves with the vanguard, engaging in a bloody battle with the Mutants defending inside the mountain.

The players still used the same tactics they employed while ascending the mountain.

A heavy infantryman carrying a large shield led the way, followed closely by two light infantrymen equipped with a mix of light and heavy weapons.

Streams of tracer bullets formed a dense net in the narrow tunnel, all of which were blocked by the ceramic steel shield.

Seeing that their rifle bullets couldn't penetrate the shield, the hiding Mutants roared and pulled out a grenade launcher, aiming at the cave entrance and pulling the trigger.

As the grenade, dragging a trail of white smoke, flew towards them, the Strength-type player at the front quickly lifted his shoulder, the shield in his hand rising to intercept the delayed explosion grenade, knocking it back and exploding in the middle of the tunnel.

Shrapnel hung on the shield like raindrops, a series of clinking and clanging sounds echoing.

Taking advantage of the suppressive effect of the grenade explosion, before the hiding Mutants could fire another shot, an Agility system player carrying an RPG rocket launcher quickly crouched next to the heavy infantryman and skillfully flipped the safety off.

The "convex" shaped warhead and cylindrical body had already revealed the identity of this object, It was a thermobaric bomb warhead produced by Goblin Technology, designed after the "RShG-2" model!

"RPG!"

An excited roar erupted, and the player didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

A thick plume of white smoke shot towards the depths of the tunnel, followed by a glaring fireball exploding at the end of the tunnel, the blast pressure felt as if it shook the entire space.

Although the very dark technology wasn't used, the lethality of this thing was unquestionable.

Nearly four kilograms of high-performance fuel packed in the warhead, its explosive power even surpassed that of a real-life rocket warhead of the same size!

The sweeping heat wave nearly flipped over the strength-type players wielding shields.

Needless to mention the mutants who took a direct hit, instantly suffering countless casualties, cries of agony echoed messily within the cave.

However, these guys truly deserved to be called the products of singularity technology; even after taking a thermobaric bomb, a few had survived.

Even a resilient "Super Mutant", relying on "muscle memory," stumbled across the cover and charged out.

The strength-type player steadied himself and raised his flamethrower, firing two incendiary rounds straight into the mutant's chest.

The thick flames, like the breath of a dragon, silently pinned the creature to the ground.

"Charge!"

Yelling out, "Kakarot" gripping a shotgun, stepped over the body twisting in the flames, leading the way into the cave that had been cleansed by the thermobaric bomb.

A few green-skinned big guys tried to stand up from the ground to resist, but the players who followed into the cave finished them off one by one, pinning them directly to the ground.

The scent of charred meat filled the tunnel, yet it sparked no appetite.

Looking at the scattered, twisted bodies strewn across the floor, "I Max Black," who followed closely behind "Kakarot" into the cave, clicked his tongue and muttered.

"These Weilante people are really ruthless…"

Just this short tunnel, less than ten meters long, was littered with nearly half a company of bodies...

"Kakarot" curled the corners of his mouth, reloading his shotgun that had run out of ammo.

"You've fought against them before."

Recalling past events, "I Max Black" nodded slightly with a hint of emotion.

"That's true…"

If it weren't for the ability to respawn, winning against those guys would probably still be tough...

But then again, if there were no respawn mechanics, and dying meant deleting the account, who would still play this game!

And speaking of cheats, who could surpass those old monsters who inherited the legacy of the War Construction Committee?

Whether it was armies, corporations, or academies, the cards they held were insanely powerful.

By comparison, the advantage that Shelter No. 404 held wasn't so clear.

The reason it could produce such explosive effects...

Of course, it was because the Manager played his cards well!

Just as "Kakarot" had captured a position with his brothers, the other squads that had penetrated deeper into the "Maze" also made significant progress.

In just half an hour, the Storm Corps had pushed the front lines back to the previous position and surged forward by a full several hundred meters!

During this time, they destroyed four ammunition depots filled with a large amount of weapons and equipment, and a hatchery that held more than five hundred survivors.

Although the Storm Corps had lost two companies as casualties, the mutants' losses were even more severe— at least five times higher!

Allocating half a company to move those survivors, "Kakarot" continued his attack on the mutants' positions.

Faced with the continuous assaults of the allied forces, the mutants in the cave finally showed signs of fatigue.

After all, even if these green-skinned beasts had strong regenerative abilities, they still had limits.

They needed rest to heal; only well-fed and well-rested could they return to their optimal state.

However, these humans had fought them all night without stopping even once.

As daylight approached outside, the firefight in the cave continued, and both the green-skinned giants and the goblins began to feel a tinge of fear.

They had never seen humans like this before—

No!

These guys weren't humans at all!

They seemed more like something else wearing human skin!

Thus, the flames that had pierced into the cave spread along the tunnels within the mountain, eventually reaching from the frontline's ammunition depots all the way to the forge located at the deepest part of the mountain!

The forge was where the Rock Axe Tribe repaired and processed equipment, equipped with several forges and large workbenches designed by the Torch Church, as well as a dynamite workshop filled with chemical synthesis equipment, all connected to the artificially carved tunnels within the mountain, essentially the very heart of the entire Maze.

Seeing the situation worsening by the minute, even Ollon, who was originally calmly sitting in the "palace," couldn't help panicking and dragged his heavy body to the front lines.

He thought that the humans would panic and run away upon seeing him, just like the groups from yesterday and the day before.

What he hadn't expected was that the moment he roared emerging in the forge, the slightly weary humans actually became more spirited.

It was as if they had found a treasure, excitedly shouting at him.

"Fuck! Maze BOSS!"

"Brothers! It's time to farm the BOSS!"

"Grab your weapons and beat it!"

"Awoo! Awoo! Awoo!"

Seeing those humans who were howling and charging at him, a rare trace of fear finally appeared on his toad-like face.

"What the hell is going on with these people? Beast King! You, goddamnit... Where are you? Tell me what to do now!"

For the first time, he addressed him as "Beast King" instead of "that guy".

However, the one who always responded to his calls was nowhere to be found this time.

It was as if he had never existed.

Seeing no response no matter how much he called, a hint of despair appeared on Ollon's face, quickly filled with raging anger.

He had been abandoned!

Those human creatures really couldn't be trusted! Even if they were just something else wearing human skin!

Watching the human soldiers who opened fire, Ollon bellowed furiously, charging forward like a moving tank, his blood-soaked feet making the ground tremble.

7mm bullets only left small blood holes on his body, while the wounds from rocket launchers twisted with bunches of flesh like centipedes.

Even if his head exploded, he wouldn't die; his vitality surpassed all known life on Earth, even comparable to the evolutionary bodies of slime molds!

Amid the pain caused by incendiary bullets, Ollon, dragging his blood-soaked colossal body, charged at the group of players, swatting away an agility system player wearing a heavy exoskeleton with his fan-like palm, then sprayed corrosive acid, causing everyone to exclaim and scatter backwards.

"Die!"

"Everyone die for Ollon—!"

Inspired by that crude bellow, the spirit of the mutants in the forge erupted like a dying light, as both the green-skinned giants and the goblins howled and rushed towards the players who had entered the cave.

Observing the rampaging giant beast, "Kakarot" couldn't help showing a hint of solemnity in his expression.

But more than that, he was excited!

Ever since the lair at the center of Qingquan City was taken down by the brothers of the Burning Corps, it had been a long time since he had felt this exhilarated!

"Rocket launchers ready! Stop using armor-piercing and thermobaric bombs, switch to incendiary warheads!"

"I want to see whether it heals faster or we burn faster!"

"Bomb the hell out of it!"

...

Inside Broken Blade Mountain, the intense battle was shocking, but outside, it was quiet except for the faint sounds of explosions coming from the cave entrance.

Black Cloud Mountain.

General Modlin stared unwaveringly at the distant cave entrance halfway up the mountain, his brow furrowed, deep in thought.

Standing beside him, his adjutant was similarly silent, gazing in that direction.

Although those guys were his rivals, he couldn't help but silently pray for them in his heart.

It was out of respect for a fellow warrior.

Those guys were true heroes!

They could have easily ignored their former adversaries, using the excuse that the corps had not been informed about tonight's attack plans to just stand by, watch them shoot themselves in the foot, and then mock them in the subsequent "review meetings," or even pressuring Triumph City through the Sticky Community to weaken General Lucien's command...

However, they didn't.

For the sake of the general war situation, for the unity of the Sticky Community, for the overall benefit of all humanity, those noble individuals still charged forward unhesitatingly, using their flesh and blood to plug the hole General Lucien had poked out of his own interests...

The thought alone made the aide's back flush with heat, and his face betray a hint of shame.

Although not all the people of Weilante shared his thoughts, in just a few hours, many officers and soldiers from the thirty-first ten-thousand troops had altered their views about the alliance—
especially those who had survived the front lines.

Their hearts harbored not only gratitude but also awe and respect...

On the other side, the six Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines, having exhausted their ammunition, saw that their allies' position on Black Cloud Mountain was not in danger, and began to retreat toward the rear military base.

Corporate front-line headquarters.

Lin Shangwen had called Chu Guang and briefly reported the situation at the front, then continued,

"...The enemy units outside the mountain have been largely eradicated, but the firefight within the mountain continues. It's unfortunate, but we really can't be of much help."

"That's fine; leave it to us."

Chu Guang nodded, his eyes, however, were fixed on another screen displaying the first-hand war reports from the "Wasteland OL" official website forum.

As he had anticipated, those Mutants were not easy to handle; otherwise, both corporations and armies wouldn't have suffered a setback, only for his people to pick up the pieces.

This also indirectly confirmed Heya's speculation,
that is, the Torch Church had used the technology information gathered from Wasteland on "Perfect Life forms" to enhance these aberrant products known as "Mutants."

The green skins on Broken Blade Mountain were different from those naturally evolved on Wasteland.

They possessed a more robust vitality, and a few mutants in the tribe were unimaginably strong, capable of regrowing their heads even if they were decapitated.

Especially that Super Mutant who kept shouting "Ollon."

His physical strength was somewhat absurd; he could take ten thermobaric bombs and still fight like nothing happened.

And it was precisely because of this, this individual had inflicted heavy casualties on the Storm Corps.

However, seeing the players sent back to wait for their resurrection CD, they were overwhelmingly positive about this extremely tough boss; they didn't seem discouraged at all.

It was clear they hadn't encountered an opponent that allowed them a fierce and refreshing fight like today's for quite a long time...

Seeing that Chu Guang had no further demands, Lin Shangwen breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly remembered another matter, hesitated for a moment, and then opened his mouth with some difficulty.

"By the way,"

"What is it?"

"We did put in quite a bit of effort on this mountaintop..."

Seeing Lin Shangwen's hesitant expression, Chu Guang quickly understood what he meant and replied with a slight smile,

"No problem, the mountaintop is yours... Of course, as we stated in our previous contract, I'm afraid you'll need to bear the costs of this battle."

Hearing this, Lin Shangwen finally showed a relieved smile and continued sincerely,

"On that, you can rest assured; we definitely won't let our friends lose out!"

He paused, seemingly feeling a bit embarrassed, and coughed lightly before speaking,

"Also... you don't have to credit it all to us; say we did it together."

Chu Guang waved his hand with a smile,

"These are trivial matters; the bigger picture is what's important."

Dawn was already rising from the horizon.

Although the ground was still engulfed in the long night, Chu Guang, standing inside the bridge of the Steel Heart, could already see the end of the night.

In the distance on Broken Blade Mountain, a player clad in an exoskeleton had climbed atop the highest rock and firmly planted the flags of the Storm Corps and the Alliance.

Chu Guang saw the player, and the player seemed to notice him on his airship, excitedly waving at him before suddenly remembering something and resting his fist on his chest.

Although he knew the player couldn't see him, Chu Guang smiled and waved back at the floor-to-ceiling window.

"...who would have thought the Storm Corps would capture it before dawn." Vanus glanced at his wristwatch, a look of surprise on his face.

From all indications, there must have been a division's worth of Mutants hidden on that mountain, while the Storm Corps had only drawn a regiment's worth of troops to the front line.

Even though the corporations and the Army had already depleted a significant amount of the Mutants' viable force, taking down this tough bone was still not easy.

Chu Guang, narrowing his eyes with a smile, withdrew his right hand and said,

"I'm not surprised at all."

After all, he had been watching the entire process on the official website forum—it was no different from witnessing the whole battle firsthand...

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Loyalty Airship.

Lucien, sitting in his chair, also watched the two flags rise on Broken Blade Mountain, but his heart felt no joy, his face displaying a complex expression.

The cooked duck had flown away, and that was pretty much what he felt.

At this moment, his aide approached him hesitantly, leaned in, and whispered,

"General... The marshal of the Allied forces has invited you to a meeting at the military base's headquarters, planning to address the lack of coordination and rampant self-interest among the armies."

Lucien's facial muscles violently twitched, his face turning red then pale, his eyes fixated on the bulletproof glass in front of him as if wanting to find a gap to escape through.

The inevitable had finally arrived.

Thinking of how those corporate guys would mock him later, he almost wished he could jump off the airship.

And not just the corporate people.

Being bested by a group of Mutants...

This was indeed the shame of his life!

Seeing his superior's fluctuating expression, the aide hesitated slightly and whispered lowly,

"...shall I go for you?"

"No need."

In the end, still a man who dared to face the music, Lucien darkened his face and interrupted him, gritting his teeth, "…I'll go myself!"

Chapter 739: A Phase Victory

Dawn slowly rose from the horizon, and the dense snow atop Bloody Mountain Peak was also coated with a burning golden hue.

As the highest peak among Ten Peaks Mountain, the altitude here was about three thousand meters. The mountain was rugged and perilous, strewn with boulders, with only two or three narrow paths that could be traversed from the waist of the mountain.

Suddenly, a breeze swept through, and in the blink of an eye, two shadows stood atop that expanse of dense snow.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the two had left not a single footprint; no one knew how they arrived at that place.

"I remember the Stone Axe Family was your most proud creation, along with that guy, Ollon."

"That was a statement from the year before, and your database should have been updated."

"Oh? So, what is your proudest creation now?"

"The next one."

Gazing at the distant peaks, the Beast King calmly spoke those words.

The Stone Axe Family was still far from perfection.

Including Ollon.

But that was precisely why he existed.

In competition with those decayed old powers, he continually refined his creations until he ultimately broke the physical limits of organisms, achieving a physical ascension.

He would create a real "Beast King."

"An interesting notion, the best is always the next one," glanced at the Beast King, the Human Emperor lightly smiled and continued in a casual tone, "but I must remind you, you have lost one-third of the ground."

"It's one in ten." The Beast King, expressionless, corrected that imprecise statement.

The Human Emperor shrugged slightly.

"In any case, I need you to hold out here for at least half a year until Alzu successfully turns the tide in the south."

"Half-year," with a subtly lifted corner of his mouth and an imperceptible chill, the Beast King continued expressionlessly, "this mountain range under my feet will be their endpoint."

"Don't be too aggressive, my friend," the Human Emperor smiled faintly, "I'd rather have our plans proceed smoothly, not based on unfounded assumptions. An unexpected outcome may not necessarily be a surprise for us; it could be a risk, remember that…"

With those words, the figure beside the Beast King slowly dissolved into the blizzard.

The Beast King, glancing once at the two flags on the distant peak, slightly furrowed his brows and then disappeared as well.

...

As the Storm Corps planted their flags atop Broken Blade Mountain, the Battle of Broken Blade Mountain officially came to an end.

The Alliance rescued over a thousand survivors from caverns on the mountain, capturing thousands of tons of weapons, ammunition, and nearly ten thousand tons of food and various other supplies.

According to findings from the Storm Corps' frontline troops, these mutants cultivated fungal crops within defensive fortifications as a supplemental food source.

Moreover, these brutes also utilized some basic manufacturing equipment to_modify weapons and even smelt ores.

The quality of these manufactured weapons was usually rough, and those DIY modified weapons were typically worse than before modification.

However, even so, compared to garbage lords who could not even handle chopsticks properly, these individuals' skills could be considered agile.

Furthermore, they did not get discouraged by the inefficiency of weapon modifications but instead delighted in it, with a subset within the tribe even evolving into experts in this field.

Some high-caliber rifles, loaded excessively with chrome bullets, could even penetrate a 45mm hardened steel plate at a distance of 100 meters.

These things could no longer be considered mere guns, reaching the realm of cannons, and even human Awakeners would find them challenging to use without special exoskeleton equipment.

"They are evolving creativity, just like those mutants in the Great Desert, and the ones we encountered in Brocade River City…" messing with a massive gun as thick as his lower legs, Spring Water Commander pondered for a moment before throwing it back onto the cart storing war trophies.

"Can that also be called creativity?" I Max Black was unconvinced.

"Do not underestimate these fellows, creativity is the driving force for the birth of civilization, no matter the form of civilization, whereas knowledge is merely one of the products born from it."

While speaking, Spring Water Commander surveyed the production equipment within the cave with a hint of concern between his brows.

The trouble left by the Torch Church might be more than just a few encoded genes and several Nago fruits…

But regardless, this war ultimately ended with a grand victory for the Alliance.

Although some remaining mutants were still active in the mountain tunnels, just like the situation on Black Cloud Mountain, eradicating them was only a matter of time.

Of the ten strategic points on Ten Peaks Mountain, three were now in the hands of the Allied forces.

Currently, the Southern Construction Corps' construction team was already heading towards Weifu Mountain to start digging tunnels and building concrete roads as well as railways through the mountains.

The gateway between Brocade River Province and Haiya Province would soon be opened!

The victorious news quickly traveled from the front lines to the rear and spread across the entire Weifu military base, and the Alliance's Storm Corps became famous in one battle within the Allied forces!

But the Corps regrettably played the clown this time.

Although their combat skills were actually decent and their fierce attacks did indeed cause significant casualties among the mutants, the fact that they initiated an attack without coordinating with their allies was also true.

Had they won, it might still have been okay, but the key issue was they did not win and almost had the position at Black Cloud Mountain taken back by a counterattack from the mutants.

Even General Babita from the West Winds Empire didn't know how to spin this one…

...

The Storm Corps handed over Broken Blade Mountain's position to the 100th Mountain Division of the Corporation.

The next peak on Ten Peaks Mountain was the tallest and simultaneously the most dangerous, known in ancient times as Snow Peak, but the Waste Land Wanderers called it Blood Peak.

It was said that the Blood Hoof Clan, entrenched there, was the largest and most mixed group of mutants on Ten Peaks Mountain.

They would breed some odd and grotesque "ugly things."

Unlike those "short things," these humanoid creatures were extremely dangerous, and most survivors would rather take a detour than pass near them.

However, while regular merchants could bypass them, the Allied forces couldn't afford to place supply lines above enemy heads.

The position was to be attacked by the Academy's Alpha Special Mobile Force.

After witnessing the "strength" of the Army and corporations, it seemed that friends from the north couldn't help but want to show their hand as well.

At the same time, the Iron Heart had already arrived at the edge of Weifu military base, parking not far from the Loyalty ship.

On the other side, inside the operation command center at Weifu military base, the room was bustling with people.

Corporate officers had arrived early and occupied the conference table; astonishingly, one division brought five to six members, second only to the West Winds—who had lost ten thousand of their thirty thousand troops.

It was said the lunch boxes distributed at noon were free, prompting even the "Thousands of Leaders" to attend for appearances.

The Academy's Alpha Special Mobile Force sent only one commander, two people from Free State's "Hound" special forces, and other command members from the Male Lion, Honey Badger, Hump, Golden Lizard, and Falcon Kingdom were present, making up a total of more than twenty representatives from various survivor forces.

The Army's representative, General Lucien, was the last to arrive.

Seeing the tardy General Lucien, Lin Shangwen remained silent, but the two officers sitting beside him exchanged glances and smiled knowingly.

One of them tore off a piece of paper, folded it into a paper airplane, and winked at a colleague beside him.

"Watch closely, I'm only demonstrating once."

As he said this, he gently tossed the airplane, intentionally throwing it under the table without reaching to pick it up, instead he exaggeratedly coughed.

"…That doesn't count, let me try again."

The other representatives of the survivor forces weren't aware of last night's phone call and naturally didn't understand his performance art.

However, corporate officers got it, each suppressing a laugh.

Including Lin Shangwen's aide, who couldn't help but grin; it was Lin Shangwen himself who subtly coughed to remind the paper folder of the setting.

Lucien's brows twitched fiercely, he darkened his face and didn't look at them, instead taking his seat.

The commander of the Alpha Special Mobile Force glanced at him, his emotionless pupils seemed to perceive everything, yet made no comment.

The two commanders from Free State exchanged looks and whispered, seemingly weighing something.

Sensing the atmosphere at the conference table was turning against the Army, General Babita from the West Winds Empire sensed an opportunity to perform, wearing a smile in hopes of winning over Lucien.

However, after several attempts without acknowledgement from Lucien, he had no choice but to drop the matter.

Seeing everyone had arrived, Vanus at the conference table gathered his files and stood up.

"Then, let the meeting begin—"

His words had barely faded when he was interrupted by a voice from the conference table.

"Wait a moment."

Vanus looked towards the source of the voice, seeing General Lucien, whose face bore no sign of surprise.

"Do you have a question, Mr. Lucien?"

Lucien stared intensely at Vanus, studying him for a long while, but Vanus, expressionless, simply returned his gaze steadily.

Seeing Vanus unmoved, Lucien suddenly smiled, his previously tense expression seeming to relax.

However, only his expression relaxed; his tone remained as stringent as he asked each word distinctly.

"Where is Chu Guang?"

Vanus responded.

"Manager Mr. Chu Guang is currently receiving a report from General Li Jinrong and inspecting the military base."

Evidently unsatisfied with the answer, Lucien squinted and inquired,

"For such an important meeting, why isn't he the one presiding?"

Vanus continued meticulously.

"Exactly because it's important, he entrusted it to a professional like me."

"Professional?" Lucien laughed mockingly, his face unsympathetic.

He didn't believe a mere cannon fodder team of "Thousands of Leaders" could have any insight.

But discussing rank seemed petty, so he merely laughed and switched to another line of questioning.

"Then what about him? As the supreme commander of the Allied forces, what is he doing?"

Vanus stated simply,

"In Mr. Manager's words, making you sit here is his job. If you feel you are unqualified for this job, you may raise this early, and we will communicate with your superiors to arrange another person capable of handling it."

Lucien stared intensely at him, but eventually said nothing more, settling obediently at the conference table.

Vanus nodded to him slightly, without saying much more, only clearing his throat.

"Then, the meeting now begins."

...

In a corner of the Weifu military base, at the entrance of a three-story concrete building, Chu Guang, accompanied by Li Jinrong, was inspecting the frontline research institute.

This place stored specimens sent from the frontline.

These included specimens from the Stonehorn Clan, as well as from the Rock Axe Family, which had just been defeated by the Storm Corps, and that enormously large fellow who kept shouting "Ollon."

It had not been easy to transport that fellow from the frontline; the Company had deployed a Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft for the task.

Currently, the research team from the Company and the Alliance were dissecting the specimens, attempting to uncover their secrets.

After entrusting the place to Heya, Chu Guang took Li Jinrong and Lu Bei, along with others, to visit the largest mess hall in the military base.

Walking along, Xiao Qi spoke with a hint of worry in its voice.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave that meeting to Vanus?"

Chu Guang had previously shared with it the Army's views on Vanus and the other Weilante People who chose to stay with the Alliance, before coming here.

Though Vanus was capable and his loyalty to the Alliance commendable, Xiao Qi always worried that him hosting the meeting might provoke dissatisfaction from the Army.

Hearing the concern in Xiao Qi's voice, Chu Guang gave a faint smile and spoke softly to it.

"Like Yin Fang, he is an expert in his field, best at strategic deployment and coordination between different types of troops. Entrusting him is the best choice. As for the Army, their opinions are certainly important, but not so important that we need to consider the personal emotions of every individual. If they can't overcome this minor issue, it only shows that Lucien isn't cut out for this job, and I would suggest their Marshal consider a replacement."

Chu Guang knew his own strengths weren't in deploying a single battle or orchestrating every single war, similar to how his players knew what type of games were fun but might not necessarily be able to produce games that catered to most people's tastes.

The best choice was to leave the specific tasks to the professionals.

As for himself, he was content with being the mascot of the Allied forces, with no need to personally deploy every machine gun position or command every battle.

Doing so would not only give soldiers headaches but likely the generals as well.

With this time, he'd rather stroll around the Survivor Settlement to see how well his players had developed the area.

Seeing Chu Guang's satisfied smile, Li Jinrong guessed that he was in a good mood and hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"My lord, there is something... not suitable for discussion over the phone, I need to report it to you in person."

Chu Guang: "Speak, no need for formalities."

"It is…" Li Jinrong paused, searching for the right words, then continued with hesitant tones, "Recently, the Expeditionary Army from the West Winds began cultivating land north of the Wei River. Initially, we didn't think much of it, only their special training methods, but later it seemed... they got a bit mixed up."

As soon as he mentioned the Expeditionary Army of the West Winds Empire, he wore a peculiar expression.

Ever since their arrival, he had wanted to complain: those folks hardly seemed like they came for combat, but rather like they were here to tell jokes.

Not to mention the ten thousand men who lost their way to Baiyue Province, just the twenty thousand who made it to the frontline didn't look like they knew how to fight.

Especially after a recent defeat, General Babita decided to issue a bunch of farm tools to his troops.

Initially, he really didn't want to interfere, but the area they cultivated became increasingly vast, covering forty to fifty square kilometers along the riverbank, all claimed by them.

Some of this land was originally meant to be allocated to the soldiers participating in the construction of the Weifu military base by the Southern Construction Corps, causing some friction between the two sides.

Knowing that the farming tools in these people's hands had been sold to them by the Residents of the refuge, Li Jinrong couldn't decide if this was indeed the Manager's intent, so he took this chance to ask.

Chu Guang was also surprised for a moment but didn't say much.

"If they really aren't good at fighting, letting them farm in the rear isn't a bad thing."

He heard that the Expeditionary Army of 30,000 had performed well at Baiyue Strait, having built a second port under the leadership of his players, Fried Dough Stick Port.

If these guys could contribute to the rebuilding of the Weifu City area, it indeed wouldn't be a bad thing.

Attacking Ten Peaks Mountain was a short-term tactical goal, eliminating the Torch Church was a mid-term strategic need, but ultimately, "Reconstructing the Wasteland" was what the Alliance ultimately needed to do, and do long-term.

Whether it was opening up new territories in Baiyue Province, rebuilding Brocade River Province, or reconstructing all areas of the Wasteland such as Poluo Province, the Southern Sea Area, and Haiya Province, all were included in this long-term goal, only in different sequences.

"But how should we deal with land ownership?" Li Jinrong asked about the issue most concerning the soldiers.

Among the Southern Construction Corps, many were criminals reformed from punishment camps, and others were refugees from nearby areas or volunteers who had relocated from other regions of the Alliance.

Apart from a few motivated by the ideal of rebuilding the Wasteland, the thoughts of most were more pragmatic.

That is, the land promised by the Alliance.

Many no longer had a place in their hometowns and were hoping for a new start.

The Alliance had promised them, to help them establish their own homes in the southernmost part of Brocade River Province.

However, the sudden influx of a vast number of outsiders left many feeling out of place, especially since these newcomers began to encroach on their living spaces.

The most typical instance involved the Expeditionary Army of the West Winds Empire, who, though ostensibly here to fight, focused on the fertile land north of Wei River.

Then there were Mafu Town and other Survivor Settlements.

These guys couldn't take the train to the frontline, yet they rode horses and drove ox carts to trade on the frontline; they even took over deserted villages.

From the Alliance's perspective, this was a good thing, but from the standpoint of grassroots members, the view was completely different.

They welcomed the pansies from Ideal City and the Academy, were indifferent to the Weilante People from the Army, and disliked to the point of annoyance the Rat People from the West Winds Empire and those外来行商 who came to steal business.

As the leader of the Southern Construction Corps, Li Jinrong found himself caught between the upper levels and the grassroots.

He had to fulfill his responsibilities while considering the feelings of his subordinates.

Of course, the most critical factor was the attitude of the Manager.

Thus, he chose a less sensitive point of entry to sound out Chu Guang's opinion.

Chu Guang could discern Li Jinrong's considerations and difficulties with a mere glance, but he chose not to clarify directly, instead smiling as he spoke.

"Of course, calculations should be made as they ought to be made. The Wasteland is never short of land; whoever reclaims it owns it... That said, this perspective is not fair towards you all, considering the significant effort you have put into this military base."

Li Jinrong hurriedly explained,

"I dare not... This is what we ought to do."

Seeing his nervous demeanor, Chu Guang smiled and said,

"There is nothing that should be, if I have promised that the finer aspects will emerge from the society of the Alliance, I will surely provide ample reward for your contributions; don't worry about that."

"There is more than one river in Brocade River Province, with hundreds of Tianshui tributaries, large and small, and plenty of arable land. Moreover, not everyone in the Alliance is just a farmer; the future wilderness of Weifu will become a settlement. The land you are standing on will be known as the 'Long Endurance Farm' of Weifu City. After all I have said, you should understand my point, right?"

Li Jinrong's expression turned serious as he nodded earnestly,

"I understand!"

"You understand nothing," Chu Guang said, laughing and patting his shoulder, speaking earnestly, "I hope you can look further ahead, not just cling to those small, immediate benefits. Fighting with refugees over land and squabbling with traders over stalls, is this what you should be doing?"

"Do not think that I know nothing about what happens in the refuge. I am not blind to the friction between the Expeditionary Army soldiers, the Mafu Town residents, and the disputes over a piece of land by Wei River and a house in Kun Town. It's all quite amusing to me."

"Remember your name; you are part of the construction corps. Your task is not only to build a military base but to provide land for those who want to farm and a trade environment for those who want to trade. They will eventually leave, but not everyone will. You must make those who stay grateful to us and let those who leave take their respect for us back to their homes."

"And you will gain not just honor but also a new settlement, a homeland for a fresh start! Aren't many among you unable to return to Giant Stone City? Some have made mistakes in City of Dawn and cannot face their families and friends there. Including yourself, you can't return to Haiya Province, and while it's not your fault, having once been a part of the Iron Tower Organization, you can't deny that their failure has nothing to do with you!"

"Don't say the Alliance or I haven't given you opportunities. The land beneath your feet is your City of Dawn; your current task is the same as what we initially did—establishing a new order on a lawless Wasteland, a better order!"

Looking thoughtfully at Li Jinrong, Chu Guang took his hand off his shoulder and stared deeply into his eyes as he said,

"This is my greatest expectation for you, for your group, and for the entire Southern Construction Corps."

"I'm sorry..." Li Jinrong, looking ashamed, lowered his head and spoke reflectively, "I have failed your expectations."

So many unifying elements were already present here, yet they did not embrace these opportunities.

From this point of view, it wasn't the West Winds Empire's Expeditionary Army or the country bumpkins from Mafu Town who were misguided, but rather themselves who could have done something.

Only at that moment did he realize where the problem lay.

"Haha, it's not that severe! Everyone recognizes your merits," Chu Guang laughed and looked around, "to tell the truth, this military base is well-built, the facilities are impeccable, but there's still room for improvement based on this foundation."

Li Jinrong spoke earnestly,

"After I return, I will gather the Army's officers to thoroughly review and strictly enforce discipline from top to bottom!"

Chu Guang advised,

"It's not just about enforcing discipline. Besides making demands, you also need to address the concerns of those at the grassroots. The Southern Construction Corps is not a real army, after all; aside from a few who came with ranks and organizational roles, most are here to pioneer new lands. These people will likely shift careers locally after two or three years. Seeing those refugees come to pick their peaches, it would be odd if they weren't anxious. You need to take care of their concerns."

"As for example, the devices used to construct the military base are still here, and now that the military base has been completed, you can take those people who are now idle and refurbish the nearby infrastructure, build some houses while paving the roads, and assign them to the pioneers who have shed blood and sweat in developing this land. That way, they won't feel anxious about those outsiders who reap the rewards without contributing, and they will understand and cooperate with your work better."

"Such things can't rely solely on encouragement and mobilization. First, you must unite your own people before you can unite others."

If the purpose of the House of Luminescence was to assimilate a vast and unstable populace of Waste Land Wanderers and help those who have been estranged from civilized society reintegrate, then the Southern Construction Corps was Chu Guang's attempt to actively push the Alliance to expand outward.

When utilized correctly, it could turn those who underwent labor reform in "punishment camps" and "POW camps" into units similar to "Pioneers" in "Civilization 6," forging more strongholds for the Alliance.

Baiyue Corporation was a similar entity, with only the name, active principal, and operational model and logic being different.

It was a strategy players had gradually figured out in the rotation of versions, suited to their style of play.

Chu Guang truly hoped that the NPCs of the Alliance could also be active like the players, actively seeking paths to rebuild civilization.

But having been a Manager for so long, he had also come to understand the difficulty in this.

There was no question of their loyalty, which also extended to the unity and equality he advocated—they were, after all, mostly beneficiaries of this ideology.

And it wasn't just loyalty; their belief and ideals were close to fanatical, to the point where they almost wished to elevate him to a divine status akin to the Great Antler God.

Yet when he mentioned that the ultimate goal of the Alliance was to end the Wasteland Era, whether it was Lu Bei who followed him, Wrench who guarded the borders of the Alliance, or Luka who diligently occupied the position of city leader, all showed a perplexed expression.

Just like real NPCs.

He could feel that their perplexity wasn't with the idea of the Alliance or distrust in his words—otherwise, they wouldn't have followed him this far.

To many, it seemed like the Wasteland Era of the Alliance had already ended.

Why end something that doesn't exist?

They had even secured recognition from ancient survivor forces like the Army, Academy, and Company, and respect from other younger survivor forces.

Sticking to the current methods seemed fine; seeking new ways implied unnecessary risks.

And the only ones who truly understood him, apart from players, seemed to be only a few like Yin Fang, Heya, Old Charlie, and Vanus...

For some reason, Chu Guang suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for that marshal of the Army.

Though he didn't know what kind of life that guy led, if he really had lived up to the Army's claims, those Weilante companions who were initially by his side were likely gone...

Whether it was Vanus presiding over the meeting or Lucien sitting gloomily at the table, they were merely descendants of that guy's companions.

He hardly dared to think how difficult it must have been to play this game without those brave little players...

Watching General Li Jinrong's silhouette walking into the distance, Chu Guang sighed softly.

"Xiao Qi, our work is long and arduous."

Seemingly catching the emotion in his voice or perhaps empathizing with him, Xiao Qi murmured softly by his ear.

"Yes, Master."

Chapter 740: Beside that gentleman, I saw another possibility.

The conference room of the combat command center, where Lucien was restless in the "rectification meeting," had finally ended.

Although Commander Lin didn't take advantage of the meeting to show off, the unintentional glances that came from somewhere always made him feel like he had needles on his back.

That was probably what it felt like to be guilty.

However, what surprised Lucien was that, leaving aside that uncomfortable feeling, the content discussed by that guy named Vanus generated in him an illusion of substantial benefit.

That guy had profoundly reviewed the mistakes made by the Allied forces in battle from both tactical and strategic perspectives.

Although the war had ended in victory, had the cooperation between the armies been more coordinated, the Allied forces would not have had to endure such significant casualties.

Of course, this kind of hindsight analysis was something he could have done himself.

However, to analyze the problems systematically in such a short time and come up with improvements still required some competence!

Observing that guy's prominent nose, Lucien's eyes flickered with a sharp light.

Speaking strictly about the matter, this Vanus was indeed talented!

It was hard to imagine that such a talented person had previously been just a Centurion in the cannon fodder unit of the Eastern Legion Expeditionary Army.

If he were his superior, he would have definitely recommended him to the youth army as a mid-level officer and promoted him to a high-ranking position when appropriate.

After the meeting was adjourned.

Lucien sat at the table and waited for a while, and after most people had left, he called out to Vanus, who was preparing to leave.

"Hold on."

Seeing that it was General Lucien who had called him, Vanus stopped and asked,

"What now?"

Lucien looked him up and down, then suddenly smiled and said,

"I don't understand, with your capabilities, you could achieve a lot in the military, why choose to be a traitor?"

He emphasized the word traitor heavily, trying to discern a trace of shame or similar emotion on the man's face.

This would make it easier for him to say what followed.

However, what he didn't expect was that Vanus's expression did not change at all; instead, he looked at him and countered,

"What do you mean by achievement? To become a Ten Thousand Leader or a governor, or to possess tens of thousands of slaves and acres of land?"

Lucien was taken aback and stared at him for a while before saying,

"What about honor then? You are a soldier; you must value that at least."

Vanus smiled faintly, his tone gentle,

"For me, honor is fighting for what I believe in. Otherwise, even Looters can claim they are fighting for 'honor' before they rob, shouting 'For the Boss' or something similar."

Lucien narrowed his eyes.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm addressing your confusion. Didn't you ask me why I betrayed the military?"

Vanus glanced at him, then looked towards the door and succinctly continued,

"Beside that gentleman, I saw another possibility."

Lucien was slightly taken aback.

"That's it?"

Vanus nodded.

"Just that."

...

At noon.

On the frontline where the Allied forces were engaging the Torch, a group of young men from Ideal City were waiting at the position on Black Cloud Mountain, ready to head to Blade Mountain.

The 1st Regiment of The 100th Mountain Division was responsible for taking over the control of Blade Mountain from the Storm Corps.

From the start of the war till now, these young men hadn't killed a single Mutant, though they had collected quite a few colorful cards and had grown rounder.

However, even so, they hadn't forgotten why they were here.

Everyone's face showed eagerness and impatience to go up and prove themselves, to confirm they were not just burdens.

Listening to the faint sounds of gunfire from distant mountains, Tang Feng felt his blood boiling. Thinking that he would soon be heading there, he involuntarily tightened his grip on the G9 assault rifle in his hand, his index finger constantly rubbing on the safety.

Not out of fear.

But out of excitement.

The training that had lasted for several months was finally about to come in handy!

"Are the Mutants in these mountains not extinct yet?"

The officer standing not far from him nodded, squinted slightly as he looked ahead, and spoke in a concise manner.

"Those guys are like cockroaches; it takes more time to exterminate them completely than it does to defeat them on the battlefield… whether it's by the sea, in the woods, or on the mountains."

Saying this, he stepped forward to the front of the entire company, looked around at those vigorous young eyes, and raised his voice.

"Once we get to the frontline, stay alert at all times, keep your eyes wide open, and report any suspicious threats!"

"I'll only say this once, this is not a game, a single mistake could cost your lives, maybe even all of yours!"

"Understood!" After listening to the commander's speech, the soldiers of 1st Battalion roared with high morale, including Tang Feng who had asked a question earlier.

The commander slowly nodded as he looked at the spirited young men.

"You'd better have truly understood."

The brothers from the 2nd Battalion had already departed for the frontline, and the few companies of the 1st Battalion had been waiting all day without receiving orders, so the commander ordered them to relax, only asking them not to stray too far from the rallying point.

After all, Black Cloud Mountain was a Vellante stronghold.

This wasn't boot camp, he didn't want to be too strict with his subordinates, but he was worried about the vigorous young men getting into conflicts with the Vellante people.

Who can blame them for their natural animosity?

Tang Feng didn't wander off, he just sat with the brothers of 1st Battalion, 2nd Company, casually chatting with the grimy, big-nosed men nearby.

"Is that the 2000th thousand team?"

"It's probably the 1st thousand team."

"But I heard the 2000th team was the one leading the charge last night? How come they're also beaten black and blue?"

A machine gunner curled his lips, his voice tinged with mockery.

"This involves the cunning of those big noses... I heard last night they wanted to show off, pulled the originally scheduled for rotation 2000th team to the frontline, only to realize the bone wasn't easy to chew, got half-killed by the mutants. Later, probably unable to take losing, that Lucien angrily pushed the defense troop forward."

"They shot themselves in the foot?" a rifleman interjected with a sarcastic tone.

The machine gunner laughed.

"Hah, exactly."

The 1st thousand team?

Tang Feng vaguely remembered the designation.

That 'show-off' who often took off his jacket to flaunt his muscles seemed to be in that team, no idea how the guy was now.

Being beaten to a pulp by a bunch of mutants, talk about embarrassing.

Next time they play cards, he's going to thoroughly mock him.

Using his Blue-Eyed White Dragon!

Just as he was thinking this, a Vellante person, limping towards them with the help of a crutch, approached.

Judging by his outfit and shoulder straps, he seemed to be a centurion.

His left leg appeared broken, his head was wrapped in bandages, and from the slightly visible wounds, they seemed to be burns.

As the Vellante approached, the young men of 1st Battalion, 2nd Company stopped their chatter, watching what this crutch-bearing guy intended to do.

Based on past experiences, Vellante people approaching usually meant no good.

However, to the surprise of the young men, this grimy guy didn't seem to be looking for trouble, but simply glanced over them, then asked.

"Are you 1st Battalion, 1st Company?"

The company commander in the middle looked at him.

"Yes, what about it?"

The Vellante person cracked a smile.

"Looking for someone... Is there a guy named Tang Feng here?"

Seeing his brothers glance at him, Tang Feng put his rifle aside, hopped off the rock he was sitting on, and sized up the man in front of him.

"That's me, what's up?"

The Vellante nodded, not wasting words, pulled out a package tucked under his arm, and tossed it into Tang Feng's arms.

Watching Tang Feng, puzzled, he slowly continued.

"My brother mentioned in his will, he asked me to send his letter and belongings back home... except for this thing. He told me to find a guy named Tang Feng in the 1st Battalion, 1st Company of the 100th Division, and give this to him."

Tang Feng unconsciously unwrapped the package, peering inside at the colorful array of cards, momentarily stupefied.

"Your brother is..." he blankly looked up at the Vellante centurion.

"Damon."

The centurion cracked another smile, which might have been to ease the stiffness of his facial expression or perhaps a reflex of the injured muscles.

He told Tang Feng the departed man's last words.

"He wanted me to tell his family he was a true warrior, no need to be sad for him. To die before growing old was an honor for him, be proud of his bravery... this moron's nonsense, though plentiful, isn't needed by a real warrior, right? Keep this for him."

Pausing briefly, the centurion's Adam's apple bobbed, then he added.

"Also, he wanted me to tell you, playing cards with you was quite fun... though not being able to land a punch on your face was a regret."

"That's how we make friends where I come from."

Leaving these words, the centurion limped away, leaving Tang Feng standing there stunned with the package in hand, and the young men of 2nd Company sitting on the rocks, looking at each other.

That guy...

Dead?

Looking at the package in his hands, Tang Feng unconsciously swallowed, feeling the exoskeleton enveloping his fingers slightly cool.

It wasn't until a distant voice sounded that he came back to his senses.

"Assembly!"

Hearing the officer's voice, he suddenly woke up, without time to think further, reflexively secured the package on his back, and picked up the rifle that was set aside.

It was only at this moment that he fiercely realized.

This wasn't Ideal City.

Nor was it the Game on Endpoint Cloud.

It was the real Battlefield...

...

Since the Allied forces' high-level "Rectification Meeting" ended, another three days had passed in the blink of an eye.

During these three days, the front line was calm and quiet, except for occasional sporadic gunfire from Blade Mountain, there were almost no large-scale battles or exchanges of fire.

However, this peace seemed more like the calm before a storm.

During this period, the Academy had been continuously sending troops to the front line.

The number of personnel in the Alpha Mobile Task Force stationed in the vicinity of Weifu Military Base had expanded from the initial one thousand to three thousand.

Not only that, but the Academy's aircraft flew over Blood Mountain almost daily for reconnaissance, and occasionally dropped drones to test the strength of those Mutants.

Compared to the Army's "gambler"-style offensive strategies and corporates' method of figuring things out as they went along, they seemed to prefer a pre-established plan detailed to the minutest aspect, lowering the possibility of errors and tolerances to a minimum, and ending the combat decisively in one fell swoop.

It must be said, this was very much like the Academy's style, where during the planning of an event, few could guess their real intentions.

Only Chu Guang was curious, if at the time the plan could not keep up with changes, or if the opponent pulled out a card they hadn't anticipated, what decisions would they make.

Not just he was curious, other commanders of the Allied forces were also curious.

Currently, the Alliance, the Army, and corporates each had already captured a position, all waiting to see the Academy's performance in the upcoming battle.

An unprecedented battle was quietly brewing...

...

Outside Weifu Military Base, along the northern shore of Wei Water.

Paths crisscrossed the paddies, where soldiers from the Rat Tribe were burying their heads in the fields, busy working.

The war between the Sticky Community and the Torch seemed irrelevant to them, and so far their only battle "achievement" was following behind the Clone Army and providing a few casualties.

While everyone was waiting for the Academy's next move, they had already turned over all the land along the northern shore of Wei Water, and now they had entered the planting phase.

Most of these feudal lords' soldiers were either serfs or domestic servants, inexperienced in combat but experts in farming, though the tools and methods they used were primitive.

They poured seeds into a basin, mixed them evenly with fine sandy soil and ash from burnt weeds, then spread it over the freshly tilled land.

Close to the military base was a vegetable field where they planted seasonal vegetables, particularly cabbages intended for pork knuckle meals.

Beyond that were fields of potatoes and more.

Further still, they had even set up paddy fields, apparently intending to catch the June end window to plant a round of late rice.

General Babita had promised them that once the crops in the fields were harvested, he would give them all a generous reward.

Although they never held much expectation for the abstract phrase "generous," not having to go to the front line to die was certainly a good thing.

Moreover, these seeds and saplings were ultimately funded by deductions from their food allowances by General Babita.

Therefore, everyone worked very diligently, not a single person was slacking off; they even took the initiative to maintain these lands belonging to the West Winds Expeditionary Army, struggling against the "bullies" from the Southern Construction Corps.

Even if these lands nominally belonging to the Expeditionary Army ended up no different from the funds dispensed by His Majesty the Emperor, ending in the pockets of General Babita and his officers in the end, at least some would still make it into their bellies.

Just as the Rat Tribe soldiers were busily engaged, two excavators approached from the direction of Weifu Military Base, one following the other closely.

Alongside the excavators, a group of construction workers in work clothes followed.

Without a doubt, they were from the Southern Construction Corps.

The Rat Tribe soldiers looked up and saw them, their expressions immediately becoming as if facing a great enemy, dropping their baskets and picking up hoes to surround them.

Facing pressure from their officers, a Centurion reluctantly stepped forward and shouted at the man sitting on the excavator.

"What are you doing here?"

One of the construction workers responded.

"Building roads."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, thinking they had misheard.

The Centurion glanced at the excavator's bucket, then back at the construction worker, and skeptically repeated.

"Building roads?"

The construction worker succinctly said,

"That's right, there's some leftover cement prepared for the military base, so the superiors let us build a few roads along Wei Water to connect this nearby area with infrastructure... Once the roads are built, it'll be easier for you to come here from the military base to farm."

Everyone exchanged looks of surprise and disbelief upon hearing this.

They distinctly remembered that just a few days ago, these people had tried everything to drive them away.

Why are you suddenly in a good mood today?

That Centurion had a skeptical look, vigilantly watching the construction workers.

"What exactly are you trying to do? Why have you suddenly decided to build roads?"

The construction worker said helplessly.

"This... There's no reason. Alright, let me explain more clearly, the Alliance plans to establish a settlement here, and this whole area will belong to 'Weifu City'. It's not just your location that needs a road, the nearby Kun Town requires one as well."

This was what Captain Li Jinrong had mentioned at the assembly the day before yesterday.

Since there was no request for confidentiality, and with so many people present, it would inevitably spread, so he didn't bother keeping it a secret.

At that assembly, Captain Li Jinrong discussed not only the planning of Weifu City but also the future plans for the enlisted and non-enlisted personnel of the Southern Construction Corps.

Besides the contracts' salaries, the Southern Construction Corps would provide at least a hundred square meters of residential housing to those who chose to stay locally after the war ended, as well as commercial properties that could be rented or managed directly.

Although the houses and stores here weren't as attractive as those in the City of Dawn, the development potential was evident to all.

Otherwise, the refugees wouldn't have run to nearby deserted villages to claim land and houses, and the brothers in the Southern Construction Corps wouldn't have been itching to join them.

Due to the Allied forces stationed in this area, more and more survivors from the southern part of Brocade River Province were gathering here.

Not all of these people came here for commerce; many were attracted by the security, stability, and order.

Even when the war was over and the Allied forces withdrew, the order here wouldn't disappear instantly. Some would stay and become residents of this area.

Initially, he and his colleagues thought these outsiders were just picking up a good deal easily, but after hearing Captain Li's analysis at the meeting, they changed their minds.

Weifu Wilds had no unique resources, just the abundant land that was all too common on the Wasteland.

In contrast, people were the most valuable resource.

The survivors from the Wasteland were willing to gather around the Alliance, giving value to the houses built by the Alliance.

Conversely, everything they were doing now was not for those refugees; instead, it was for themselves, to make their future homes more valuable!

With such an enticing prospect ahead, they naturally lost interest in the muddy patches by the river.

Not a single person complained, even though they were building roads for these "good-for-nothing" Rat-men.

However, after hearing the construction worker's explanation, the crowd was astounded.

Before their Centurion could speak, a Rat-man quickly approached and asked.

"Weifu City?! Is this your territory now? Then, what about the land we cultivate?"

The construction worker replied with a smile.

"It doesn't affect you; continue farming if you wish. I remember there's something in the Alliance law, farm it for two years and it becomes yours."

He wasn't sure if this was actually written in the law, but it was indeed the case on the northern side of Rhombus Lake.

He just said it casually, yet to these Rat-men, it sounded like the promise of a lifetime.

Farm for two years and it becomes yours?

Such a sweet deal?!

A mix of envy and intense desire could be seen sparkling in their eyes…

In the Poluo Province, no one had ever told them such a thing.

No one blocked the construction crew of the Southern Construction Corps anymore, and the two excavators didn't damage their fields either.

Both parties agreed on the boundaries between the farmland and the roads and went about their business without interference.

Watching the Rat-people successfully "drive back" the Southern Construction Corps, Thousand Leader Kumar sighed in relief from afar, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

"General Babita truly anticipates like a prophet."

Those disgusting rats still had some utility.

Those hypocritical folks, didn't they claim to unite with the lower classes?

General Babita had seen through their pretense and cleverly pushed these lower-class people in front of them.

Indeed, the farmland belonged to the Expeditionary Army, yet they had tailored another explanation for the Alliance: farming outside the military base was a spontaneous act by the Rat-men, entirely irrelevant to the Empire's Expeditionary Army of West Winds.

Sure enough, facing the plow-wielding, poverty-stricken Rat-men, those pretentious people from the River Valley immediately felt conflicted.

The direct route taken by the excavators was the best proof.

Though those guys hid their embarrassment well, Kumar could clearly tell that the excavators had originally been aimed at those fertile patches by the river.

These guys were truly devious!

Just as Kumar eagerly ran to report another victory of the Expeditionary Army to General Babita, Chu Guang, who was strolling in Weifu military base, suddenly received an unexpected message.

The call was from Yin Fang.

After hearing his statement over the communication channel, Chu Guang was completely stunned.

"...Are you sure that's 'Wanderer'?"

"Um...I can still tell apart a tractor from a tank, especially such a distinct one. But that's not the important part; this tank, unlike the wreckage we recovered from the center of Clear Spring City and Falling Leaves Province, has an intact 'Meissner Armor' synthesizing unit inside. We assume it was not destroyed but abandoned after running out of fuel."

Chu Guang could detect a hint of hesitation and even confusion in Yin Fang's voice as he spoke.

"But I can't understand why; our current records don't mention the United Human Alliance Army deploying armored forces in the southern part of Brocade River Province... And how could a farmer from Mafu Town possibly have discovered something like this?"

Chapter 741: Daily Life of the Allied Forces' Chief "Mascot

"F-Five million? Silver coins?!"

Archaeology Team, Prosperity Era Relic Recovery Registration Office.

A sudden shrill scream pierced the air from the reception room with its doors tightly shut, startling the crowd lined up with their numbers.

People craned their necks towards the direction of the reception room, their faces unanimously revealing expressions of envy and even greed.

Without asking, they all could guess what had happened in that little room, after all, they were the "Hunters" who specialized in this line of work.

Long ago, the Alliance's Archaeology Team had opened the paid channel for recovering Prosperity Era relics.

And now, "archaeology" in the Alliance had developed into a mature industrial chain.

There were those in charge of registration, appraisal, evaluation and purchase, and even those responsible for smooth-talking and picking up bargains.

For scavengers who stumbled upon treasures, opting for the Archaeology Team's recovery channel was simple: bring in the item, fill out a form, then patiently wait a maximum of 7 work days for the appraisal result, and finally, it was just a nod or a shake of the head.

For customers who didn't want to sell, the Archaeology Team didn't press; they could take their items back with them.

However, since the researchers' offers were always quite attractive, most would readily sign on the dotted line.

Many scavengers even specifically travelled from the Eastern Provinces, even from the territory of the Science Committee, because the reputation of the Alliance was witnessed by all Waste Land Wanderers.

With a bit of luck, a well-preserved Prosperity Era relic could fetch a staggering price of several hundred thousand silver coins, setting one up for life.

Even if the Archaeology Team wasn't interested, museums or people from Camp 101 might take it, and some residents of Shelter No. 404 in blue jackets might also buy.

For instance, the big boss dealing in Goblin Technology would often overspend on things that seemed useless and were indeed practically useless to tinker with.

Many scavengers even made a living from it.

And once the Mercenary Groups of Giant Stone City saw the Inner City collapse, they too switched careers to this line of work.

Sometimes they would even collaborate with the folks in blue jackets from Shelter No. 404 to pioneer some of the more distant relics and the like.

But a seven-figure recovery price...

Even for the big shots who made a living picking through trash, it had been some time since they heard such figures.

The crowd began whispering among themselves, speculating about what kind of treasure the lucky guy had found.

"Could it be that he found a spaceship or something?"

"I bet it's a Titan!"

"Unlikely... if it was that thing, the Academy folks would have picked it clean eight generations ago."

"I think it must be a treasure from some deserted nook."

"Right... apart from places like that, if there were any good items, they'd likely have been hauled away by folks from the War Construction Committee."

In theory, the War Construction Committee had the most comprehensive information, and those who knew the best spots for treasures on the Wasteland were all in that organization.

In the era of the Three Big Bosses, the Academy "inherited" the archaeology leads of the War Construction Committee, scraping clean what the Committee hadn't managed to in half a century, and did so for another century and a half.

One could only imagine how many true treasures were left on this Wasteland.

While people chatted, inside the reception room with its tightly closed door, a man with sunburnt, dark-red-hued skin stared wide-eyed in surprise.

Five million silver coins!

When he heard this number, Ma Jinwei first thought his ears had failed him.

But the researcher didn't seem to be joking, handing him a stamped inventory list.

"Of course it's in silver coins, but if you desire other currency, I can apply to the higher-ups."

"No, no need, silver coins are fine!"

Ma Jinwei grinned sheepishly and honestly.

The reason for such a grin wasn't due to his genuineness, but because he had never seen so much money in his life, and didn't quite know how else to express himself.

Just half a month ago, he was still farming in Mafu Town, little did he expect that the hunk of metal in the old warehouse would bring him such wealth.

All he remembered was his grandfather had dragged it from over 100 kilometers away in the city area, intending to fix it up to use as a tractor, but after puzzling over it for ages, they couldn't figure out how to start the tractor, so it was left to gather dust in the warehouse.

It wasn't until recently, when the Sticky Community declared war on the Torch and seeing the letter sent back by the town mayor, that he thought to drag out that thing to exchange for money. After hesitating repeatedly, he finally made up his mind to rent a train car and haul it to the City of Dawn to try his luck.

He vaguely remembered the strange expressions of the workers from the City of Dawn as they used the loading crane to load the thing onto the train at the Mafu Town station.

They looked at him as if he was a monster.

After confirming the amount on the card, Ma Jinwei immediately pressed his thumbprint on the inventory list, even wanting to share some with the two researchers who helped him with the paperwork, only to frighten them into a startled refusal, as they waved their hands and declined.

The funding and treatment of the Archaeology Team were said to be the highest in the entire Alliance.

Although their pay wasn't as exaggerated as seven figures, it was essentially worry-free for food and clothing, and there was no need to risk attracting the attention of the Guards Corps for a bit of "gift" money that "wouldn't change their lives" much.

Moreover, most of them didn't join the Archaeology Team for money, but to fulfill the ideal of ending the Wasteland Era painted by the Manager.

On the Wasteland, practically everyone with knowledge or skills from the Prosperity Era harbored some nostalgia and longing for that great era.

"...My friend, please don't use such things to test us. Besides, we are just on duty here for registration; appraisal and valuation are handled by different systems, so even if you give us gifts, it wouldn't be of any use."

Ma Jinwei didn't quite understand the researcher's rueful refusal.

After all, in Mafu Town, there weren't so many complex practices nor such bizarre operations.

Seeing them refuse even a little "gratitude," he could only scratch the back of his head, somewhat embarrassedly smiling as he tried to lighten the mood.

"Ah, I see... Ha ha, you really do work hard," the researcher said with a laugh.

"It's not hard; we have our own performance evaluations. In two months, we'll be transferred to other departments to do research-related work. If you make any more discoveries, you can still come to this office."

"Alright! If I find anything else, I'll definitely come over! Thanks, ha, I'm heading out now." Ma Jinwei beamed with a broad smile, his hands finding no place to rest as he nodded and made his way to the door.

Once back in town, he could probably use this money to open an inn.

But, it seems there's no need to open one in Mafu Town—the place called "Kun Town" is obviously more bustling.

Lately, many guests getting off at Mafu Town were heading there, and he heard that the Alliance was planning to build a Weifu City there, just like Falling Leaves City to the northwest.

Maybe he could take this money and try his luck there.

After all, getting rich by farming is still too difficult.

Of course, before that, he has to go find some fun with the good brothers in town.

He promised them, if he really got the money, he'd treat them to a drink...

"Take care, and... go this way."

Seeing him heading for the main entrance, the researcher seemed to recall something and pulled him aside to the back door leading directly to the security corridor.

This guy had just shouted, so people outside probably knew he was carrying 5 million.

Although there's no need to worry within the territory of the Alliance, it's a different story out in the Wasteland.

Ma Jinwei paused, then quickly understood, nodding and thanking him with a grateful smile. He cautiously looked back in three steps and walked out the back door.

The office fell quiet.

The researcher who had been silent in front of the computer glanced at the one standing.

"Is 5 million too much?"

He always had a feeling that even if they gave that guy 50 million, it would probably be squandered, and it might be better to let that money disappear in a slightly more meaningful way.

Perhaps they should set up a fund for managing money and market it to those who get rich "purely by luck".

He had even suggested this to the higher-ups, but it's a pity that such a meaningful proposal was rejected.

The researcher in charge of client reception, however, was thinking of something else and replied with a smile.

"It's not too much. Meissner effect armor... if we can get our hands on that, even adding two zeros would be cheap."

Whether it's economic value or military value, this thing is definitely worth the money.

Currently, the Alliance has mastered two shield technologies, but both the deflection shield and the nitrogen shield have their weaknesses.

For example, the former is not good at handling low-speed, guided weapons and uses gravitons which is an energy-consuming technology that was also new in the Era of Prosperity.

As for the latter, it's not good at handling high-speed and high-energy particle radiation, and can only be used in standard atmospheric environments.

The Meissner effect armor, on the other hand, is specifically designed to counter metal weapons. Since most kinetic penetrators are made of alloy materials, especially the railguns widely used during the Prosperity Epoch, it's not too much to say it is the bane of "kinetic penetrators".

To put it simply, suppose the deflection shield and the Meissner effect armor use the same capacitors and energy supplies, the former can block 1 or 2 railgun shots, while the latter can block 3 to 4.

It's said that during the three-year war, some captains from United Human, under special circumstances, even considered shutting down the deflection shield and activating the more efficient Meissner effect armor to counter the dense barrage of metal bullets created by the Rebel Fleet's mass drivers, to improve the fleet's overall resistance to metal warheads.

If applied correctly, this could become a technology influential enough to affect the course of wars.

From the limited intelligence, not even the corporations may possess this technology.

The researcher sitting at the computer twirled the pen in his hand and made a helpless expression.

"That makes sense... but I feel that this money has no significance to him. You saw it too, he's simply not deserving of such wealth. In other words, while the thing is worth so much, the person who found it doesn't deserve it."

If it were the residents of Shelter No. 404, he probably wouldn't have any objections.

After all, those guys are truly risking their lives for their rewards, going to the most dangerous places in the Wasteland, unlike that befuddled farmer who got lucky and struck it rich.

After hearing his words, the researcher in charge of client reception smiled and said.

"Significance, my friend, you mustn't say that. 'Significance' is the most unsubstantial thing. If you consider whether everything you do is meaningful, in the end, you will find that everything is meaningless."

The researcher sitting in front of the computer looked toward him.

"What do you mean?"

As he walked over to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup, the client reception researcher said leisurely.

"What I mean is, the close relative of a pragmatist is a nihilist. After all, human emotions change constantly. You think he's not deserving today, tomorrow you'll think none of them are. So we need to set a rule that is clear and ensure it is carried out impartially. Even if that rule becomes outdated one day, it should be changed only after thorough discussion... not based on personal judgments."

This was from Mr. Yin Fang's speech at the third internal meeting of the research and archaeology team.

The big shot from the Academy is indeed a high-level talent; whether it's academics or management, he's quite capable, and he reportedly built the entire Alliance's research/archaeology system from scratch.

To be honest, he admired Mr. Yin Fang, especially after learning about the man's legendary experiences.

The researcher at the computer shrugged his shoulders and casually clicked on the screen, selecting the next lucky individual from the list.

"I'm not interested in that stuff. I just want to finish the work here and do something meaningful in the lab."

The researcher holding the coffee replied with a smile.

"You must complete the required scores for administrative positions, which is also to make you familiar with the research team's workflow. I have one month left; you have three. Hang in there a little longer."

Weifu Military Base.

In the office of the Allied forces' highest commander, Chu Guang redialed Yin Fang through the communication line especially constructed for the refuges by the Southern Construction Corps, listening to the latter's report on the entire incident.

After understanding the situation, his mood was probably like when playing "Civilization 6" and seeing a Primitive Tribe share the "Doomsday Mech" technology Eureka moment, bemused yet feeling a slight sense of reasonableness.

He collected himself and then asked,

"Where was this thing found?"

Knowing what Chu Guang was concerned about, Yin Fang understood and replied with a knowing smile,

"Don't worry, I've already arranged for your 'residents' to investigate around those coordinates."

Chu Guang nodded upon hearing this, his face breaking into a smile.

It seemed Yin Fang had already mastered the knack of using players; he no longer needed Chu Guang's personal guidance.

But soon, Chu Guang became curious about what that "near complete" Hover Tank actually looked like.

If he hadn't just arrived at the front lines a few days ago, he really wanted to immediately board an airship and go back to have a look at that war machine from the Era of Prosperity.

Noticing Chu Guang's impatient expression, Yin Fang took a sip of coffee and continued with a smile,

"…To be honest, I didn't expect that Sticky Community thing you set up to get hold of such an interesting item… A Hover Tank equipped with Meissner effect armor, that's much rarer than power armor. The United Human only made a few, and those with production numbers were reclaimed by the War Construction Committee more than a century ago; I suppose only the Army and the Grand Canyon might still have them."

Chu Guang asked curiously,

"Doesn't the Academy have it?"

Yin Fang shook his head.

"In my memory, they didn't get a complete Hover Tank. But with their technical reserves, it wouldn't be difficult to replicate the Meissner effect armor. However, you're also aware how scarce helium-3 resources are, so in my memory, it's only equipped on some of the senior researchers' research ships with similar defense capabilities."

Yin Fang's voice had a meaningful tone to it, with a hint of advice in his words.

Chu Guang thoughtfully nodded.

Indeed.

Helium-3 was a significant issue.

Even in the Era of Prosperity, Earth still had a large amount of undeveloped mineral resources stored, including the unique "garbage mines" of the Wasteland Era, as well as "undersea mineral deposits," which had been designated as ecological reserves before the War and were forbidden from being mined.

However, helium-3 is brought by the solar wind, and the amount stored on Earth, protected by the magnetic field and atmosphere, is nearly negligible. To acquire it, one would have to go to the Moon, or places like Mercury, or else dig up the graves of the Era of Prosperity.

It was precisely because of the uniqueness of helium-3 that the "Managers" of the Wasteland had to face a particular dilemma—
whether or not to use the advanced technology of the Era of Prosperity.

The Alliance once used wood-burning generators for a period of, which were clearly not on par with nuclear fusion reactors, but were still more convenient than solar power generation, which required energy storage systems. Moreover, what Qingquan City had in abundance at that time was wood, making fuel acquisition quite convenient, so much so that they even installed the same type of generators on trucks.

However, there was a fatal problem.

Limited by factors such as the level of energy and the efficiency of its acquisition, generators burning wood could only support technology from the middle to late Atomic Energy Era, let alone the high-tech from the Era of Prosperity, they couldn't even get propeller-driven airplanes into the sky.

If the Alliance had always used traditional energy sources, they would probably still be competing with Giant Stone City for survival resources, and wouldn't have seen such great development later on.

But utilizing more advanced energy sources poses another risk: the unsustainability of helium-3 resources.

And as for how to manage the limited helium-3 resources on hand, businesses, academies, and armies all adopted radically different approaches.

It was the same for the Alliance.

Every time Chu Guang made a decision, he had to consider not only the pros and cons in individual fields such as politics, economy, military, technology, production, culture, and so on, but also take a global perspective to carefully consider whether the strategic reserves of the Alliance could support it.

Take power armors as an example—being individual equipment, they consumed relatively little helium-3, and one battery could even last until the armor was scrapped. Therefore, with the Alliance's reserves of nuclear energy, maintaining a few hundred power armors was more than feasible.

But if you fitted those few hundred "Xiaguang" power armors with a deflection shield or Meissner effect armor, a thousand cubic meters of helium-3 resources would instantly become tight.

Investing too many strategic resources in the military could even affect the supply to the West State City fusion reactor, which in turn was critical to all production and living facilities within the entire Alliance.

Therefore, he would rather accept the scrapping of expensive equipment like power armor in battle than to pile on energy-costly shields to these non-strategic weapons—he might at most approve a few experimental models to test the feasibility of the technology pathway.

After all, in most cases, even if these pieces of equipment were completely beyond repair, the fusion batteries inside could still be recovered, and the loss would only be some money.

And this is also the most realistic reason why deflection shields and nitrogen shields are hard to mass equip.

Chu Guang could hear the reminder from Mr. Yin Fang in that sentence— even with the academy's energy reserves, they would prefer to seal the technology rather than to equip it on a large scale in the army for enhanced combat capabilities.

As for the armies, they were even more straightforward: they simply didn't reverse-engineer their precious commodities. They used what they had, and once it was depleted, they would turn to "Wild Boar," "Wild Bull," their own self-produced and researched "true antiques," or "hybrid power antiques."

The longer time dragged on, the further this world drifted away from the Era of Prosperity, and the advantages of the Weilante people, who had already adapted to the Wasteland, became increasingly apparent.

After all, with the current condition of outer space, restoring the Earth-moon flights were almost an impossibility, and the legacy of the Era of Prosperity was destined to be exhausted one day.

"...It's a pity that such interesting technology can't be put to use," Chu Guang sighed lightly, yet another matter started taking shape in his mind.

While tactical equipment might not be of use, strategic-level equipment might be worth a try.

Listening to Mr. Yin Fang's earlier words, this thing was practically the nemesis of railguns.

Wasn't the Southern Alliance on the southern front exactly being suppressed by the "Artillery" of the North Federation Battleships?

If you could provide the shield for the friendly fleet, I wonder if it could turn the tide a little.

However, instead of deciding the outcome at sea, his players seemed to be more hopeful for the "Submersible Aircraft Carrier" that was under construction.

Chu Guang pondered in his heart that perhaps he could throw this card to Fang Chang and his people to play—regardless of whether it could ultimately be put to use in the end.

Misinterpreting Chu Guang's expression as one of disappointment, Mr. Yin Fang then offered words of comfort.

"Actually, if you think about it from a different angle, the real value of this thing might not all lie on the battlefield. The technologies we can recover from it are far more than just 'Superconducting Shields'; they also include energy, materials, and information processing, amounting to over thirty sub-technologies in total. Especially the superconducting materials under certain conditions and high-performance capacitors—most of which our allies have not shared with us."

The Academy and the Alliance had reached a scientific research cooperation agreement, and businesses had also started multiple cooperative productions with the Alliance, but the technology exchange between them was not seamless.

Especially these key technologies.

They had also paid a heavy price to acquire them, so it was only logical and reasonable they wouldn't open them up to outsiders.

Hearing the consoling voice on the other end of the phone, Chu Guang leaned back in his chair with a smile and said,

"This is beyond my capabilities; I'm going to have to trouble you with it."

Scientific research was probably the only field where he could not get help from reality.

In fact, very early on, he had tried to bring in some genuinely capable young scholars from his original world and observed their behaviors in the Game.

This included the Professor from the Southern Academy, Wild Wind, who was among the first to enter the Game, followed by End-of-the-world Lone Wolf, and Giggling, who worked under a certain academician, among others.

Unlike half-baked engineers like Mosquito, they were true researchers, not only adept but also possessing a wealth of front-line work experience.

However, due to the great gap in fundamental theories and the differences in professional jargon and terminology, many things in the Game seemed no different from "game settings" or even "magic" to them. Therefore, their progress had always been slow, and their approach was often one of skepticism.

Weighing the immeasurable risks against the extremely limited benefits, Chu Guang had ultimately refrained from interfering with their progress in the Game, simply maintaining limited observation.

However, according to Xiao Qi's continued observation of multiple samples, at best they would only be able to achieve first-generation Controllable Nuclear Fusion Technology, and any further progress seemed unlikely.

As for second-generation Controllable Nuclear Fusion, for the fundamentals of the "real world," that would be akin to a singularity upon another singularity. Even if they attempted to research it, it would likely be a waste of energy.

And this was assuming he didn't interfere.

If he really wanted to interfere, even just using his Dog Plan privileges to "secretly change" one parameter or one formula, it could have them busy for years to no avail, eventually leading them to completely lose hope in the technology pathways of Wasteland OL.

After all, in the eyes of a few "informed individuals," Wasteland OL, with too many "illogical" aspects, was already akin to an olive branch thrown by an extraterrestrial civilization.

If a "higher civilization" without any displayed malice deemed a certain technological pathway unviable, then it would be more rational for a "junior" to switch to other technological pathways to attempt.

"...You're too kind; this is my job after all. If I didn't show some real skill, how could I live up to those coffee machines you sent me?"

Mr. Yin Fang replied with a teasing tone and then suddenly remembered something and continued,

"By the way, there's one more thing. The Southern Alliance hopes we can set up a branch of our research group on Ring Island and in Coral City. They've made some decent offers, and you are aware of their education rate—it could bring some fresh blood into our research group."

Chu Guang hesitated.

"Have they recaptured Coral City?"

The face of Mr. Yin Fang on the holographic screen made a helpless expression.

"It seems they are still striving for it. My guess is they want to leverage your strength... but to be honest, I'm not very good at these things. It's better if you decide."

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang spoke,

"If you think their cooperation proposal is sincere, I think we can accept it. As for Coral City, I will have the players operating in that area try to figure something out."

He had already taken over Shelter No. 70 from Sun Yuechi, and the islands of the Southern Alliance were receptive to the governance methods and ideals of the Alliance. It was highly probable that they would unite with the survivors of the River Valley Province, possibly even more thoroughly than Giant Stone City.

After all, they shared the same origins, and the concept of equality had taken deeper root in their hearts.

With that in mind, there was no reason to hesitate.

Besides, the Coral City located at the bottom of the sea had been eyed by his little players for a while now. They probably wouldn't even need him to specifically issue a task to egg them on.

With Chu Guang's approval, Mr. Yin Fang's face lit up with a pleased smile.

"Alright, then it's pleasantly decided."

After finishing the last matter, Mr. Yin Fang hung up the phone and returned to his own research.

Chu Guang, who had intended to rest in his chair, hadn't even waited for X-16, the "daughter" of Yibers, to brew the tea when the Alpha Special Mobile Force from the Academy called again.

"...We plan to launch an attack on Blood Mountain tomorrow; I'd like to request artillery support from the Allied forces."

As he spoke, the commander with a limited range of facial expressions sent the battle plan as well. Chu Guang opened it to find several gigabytes worth of data, causing him a headache even before he opened the content. So with a slight flick of his index finger, he first forwarded it to Vanus.

"...No problem, I'll have the respective units follow the action plan and provide the necessary support for your offensive."

The commander nodded, thanked him politely, and then promptly ended the call.

Chu Guang found the interaction unexpectedly refreshing and realized he had slightly changed his fixed impression of the Academy.

It seemed not everyone in the Wandering Swamp enjoyed beating around the bush.

The awkward thing, though, was how insignificantly low-key this commander was.

As the nominal supreme commander of the Allied forces, Chu Guang realized he couldn't even remember the guy's name.

"...Xiao Qi, what's the name of the commander the Academy sent over here?"

Xiao Qi, perched on his shoulder, accessed the database and promptly replied, "Um... Alpha Zero? That's the name in the records."

Alpha Zero?

Chu Guang, who was just receiving the tea from X-16's tray, couldn't help but pause for a moment.

It wasn't the peculiar name that surprised him; it was that he had managed to forget such a distinctive name.

After taking a sip of tea, Chu Guang muttered softly,

"That's strange..."

Chapter 742: Lord of the Plague!

In the spacious cavern, dark red fumes permeated with the acrid stench of decay, and bizarrely shaped monsters chanted in shrill, yelping cries.

Their sizes were massive, the numbers staggering, and the variety immense, each differing in form and function. Some had strong solitary arms growing from their chests, others had multiple arms and legs resembling centipedes.

The one commonality was that their bodies were mostly covered with pus-filled boils, and their limbs rotted with sores.

The dark red smoke seemed to squeeze out of those pus-filled boils, and the huge gnats and flies swirling around them seemed to have grown from the boils, clinging affectionately to their sides like offspring.

These unique mutants, who called themselves "Plague Monks," worshipped the omnipresent and omnipotent "Plague" and treasured it dearly.

Rather than say these beings were mutants, it would be more accurate to describe them as creatures stitched together from countless disassembled mutants, entirely beyond the category of "human."

At the center of encircling shrill cries, one creature was even more so.

Its name was Sodo, prophet of the Plague Monks and also chief of the Blood Hoof Clan.

It was fatter than Ollon of the Stone Axe Clan, with two heads sharing three eyes, and long horns growing from its skull embedded with rusty bells that jingled ominously as it shook its head.

Its bloated body and sparse hair made it resemble a diseased pig, and its benign smile gave it an indescribable eeriness.

In front of it stood a pot of bubbling deep red broth, filled with pus squeezed from its own boils.

There was no fire beneath the pot, yet the broth continuously bubbled and emitted dark red smoke, like boiling water, except it wasn't water boiling, but some malevolent pathogen.

It called it "Original Soup."

As the matrix nurturing the virus—or rather, the blessing, Sodo scooped up a ladleful of pus with a wooden spoon and cackled as it splashed it onto the chanting tribesfolk.

The mutants drenched in pus let out satisfying groans, some shrieking in high spirits, their twisted expressions as if they had received a god's blessing.

Compared to those delighted madmen, the dwarves scuttling between the legs of the giants were much more pragmatic.

These goblins and the mutants' children scrambled on the ground, frantically licking the "Original Soup" bestowed by the prophet as if it were some delicious feast.

Some goblins began to mutate, their bodies swelling up like they were foaming, turning into balls. Others curled up becoming even smaller, unrecognizable from their original form, and then their bodies began to tear apart, quickly devoured by their kin.

Whether they were the offspring of the giants or the naturally smaller goblins, the survivors all became those spreading plague, the "Plague Monks," joining the jubilant chorus of life and death.

The "Feeder," holding a basket of flesh-red fungus blocks, squeezed in from the cave's entrance and tossed the filthy flesh-red fungal blocks towards the crowded believers.

The newly born Plague Monks attacked ferociously, each fervently stuffing the organic matter into their mouths to fill their hungry stomachs and derive the nutrients necessary for growth and development.

Amid the bizarre chanting and the sounds of satiated burps, the bloody and chaotic party raged on incessantly, spreading diseased bodies like a plague.

Satisfied with a newly created batch, Sodo nodded contentedly and then selected a larger boil from its body to start brewing the next pot of soup.

However, just then, a commotion arose at the entrance of the cave, and a dozen humans stripped of their equipment were carried in.

Among them were both men and women, most severely injured and unconscious. A few were awake, observing everything inside the cave with evident terror on their faces.

Clutching the neck of one of them was a hulking figure three meters tall with six arms, who let out a sinister sneer and raised its longest arm, flaunting the struggling "gazelle" in its hand.

These individuals were members of the Alpha Squad who had attempted to infiltrate the cave. After consuming two brains, it had figured out all the little mice's plans.

Bathed in the cheering of the plague monks, it stared intently at the prophet, its eyes filled with admiration, pride, and a longing for reward.

"Human trinkets! Transparent! Thinking we can't see! Gah gah gah!"

A tender smile spread across Sodo's face.

However, to that member of the Alpha Special Mobile Force, that smile was as terrifying as a devil described in the beliefs of ancient times.

His face showed panic, yet, being tightly choked, he could not make a sound; he could only watch helplessly as he was brought before that disgusting creature.

Sodo gazed into his eyes, and suddenly his bloated belly split open, intestines as thick as water buckets wrapping around him like wriggly earthworms, violently pulling him into the gut.

The last remnants of his consciousness seemed to "hear" the sound of bones breaking, and then his awareness plunged into darkness, becoming a loud burp from Sodo.

Watching their captain being swallowed alive, the other awake squad members all showed faces of fear and despair.

Generously splashing a ladle of Original Soup at the hero who had brought the captives, Sodo turned to look at the prisoners at the entrance of the cave and continued to shout loudly.

"Take them to the hatching pool!"

"Sacrifice them to the great Lord of Plague! Give thanks for the evolution He has bestowed upon us!"

The sound was like ten thousand cicadas flapping their wings simultaneously, a rustling noise that echoed continuously in the spacious, dark cave.

"Oh oh oh!"

The horde of monsters writhed their frantic limbs, their excited screams earth-shattering, as if even the mountains shook with them.

Members of the Alpha Special Mobile Force struggled to resist, but in the end, they were forcibly dragged to what was called the hatching chamber.

It was a bottomless abyss, its darkness faintly tinged with a bloody red, like a dormant volcanic crater.

The dark red mist that spread through the mountains seemed to emanate from there.

At the edge of the abyss stood several wooden cranes, with iron chains wound around their winches, and a string of iron barrels tied to the end of the chains, still bearing remnants of flesh-red fungal chunks.

A female team member, pale-faced and purple-lipped, trembled as she murmured.

"…Lair."

It was the mutant mucor mother nest!

She must bring this news back!

However, they were hundreds of meters deep underground, and even more meters of rock pressed above them, making it impossible for normal electromagnetic wave signals to get out.

Moreover—

They who had fallen into the enemy's hands could no longer save themselves.

"For the great Plague Lord, a sacrifice!"

The plague monk who brought her here solemnly muttered, then threw her into the abysmal depths.

She felt a warm current pass through her body as if she had fallen into the embrace of scorching heat. Soon after, her consciousness vanished into the indiscernible darkness like a kite losing its string…

…

At the same time, on the southern side of Broken Blade Mountain.

A line of soldiers, equipped with gas masks and fully armed, stood in their positions like statues, fixated on the blood-mist–shrouded peak in the distance.

The Blood Mountain split the eighty-mile mountain road in half, like a long spear falling from the sky.

"Alpha Team 13 has lost contact… Package not delivered to the intended location, no explosion detected."

"All members presumed dead."

"Plan C13 failed, initiating Plan B14… Action."

"Roger that."

Plan C13 involved a stealth squad equipped with optical camouflage entering the cave to plant dynamite, intending to collapse parts of the cave and destroy the mutants' defensive works crafted within the mountain.

Clearly, this plan had failed.

Even to understand the reasons for the failure and to develop a better strategic plan, they needed to recover the bodies of the 13th Squad soldiers and gain more battlefield intelligence from deep within the cave.

The silent exchange ended, and the soldiers waiting on the mountainside uniformly left their trench, forming squads of ten and heading towards Blood Mountain.

Unlike the 13th Squad.

Equipped with heavy exoskeletons and electromagnetic weapons, they formed the core strength of the Alpha Special Mobile Force, usually spearheading the attacks and specifically tasked with eliminating the dangerous targets the Academy's recon teams couldn't handle.

At the same time, a series of deafening blasts echoed in the distance as twin 902 mm train guns simultaneously fired, launching several rockets armed with thousand-pound cloud burst bomb warheads into the sky.

In a matter of seconds, piercing screams cut through the thin clouds and exploded into mushroom-shaped red clouds.

The scorching flames, like lava descending from Nine Skies, nearly swallowed the entire mountain area, instantaneously draining the oxygen within several kilometers.

The eerie red mist that lingered around Bloody Mountain Peak was completely blown away.

It was proven that against sufficient explosive yield, all demons and devils were but paper tigers.

Of course, the concept of offense and defense was always relative, and all predicated on the notion of "sufficient."

The peak experienced minor landslides, with large chunks of stone rolling from the three-thousand-meter summit to the base, yet the mountain stood unshaken as if baked thoroughly by the rising heat.

Within minutes, the allied forces bombarded the Blood Mountain area with at least ten 902 mm heavy rocket extended-range shells.

These shells, enough to fill five train cars, virtually scoured every reachable area, leaving nothing alive, not even an ant.

Meanwhile, two hundred-soldier squads from the Alpha Special Mobile Force had already advanced to the front lines.

Arriving with them were 200 quadrotor drones, each fitted with caseless rifles and grenade launchers.

Unlike the Alliance's drones, the Academy's drones not only bore closer resemblance to a sci-fi style but also featured a diverse range of integrated functionalities.

As the drone attack formation was being deployed, a series of dazzling light shows suddenly appeared below the drones, forming colorful human images.

General Lucien, who was watching the battle from the Loyalty Airship, was initially stunned, thinking it was some sort of teleportation technology.

However, he soon realized that it was merely a holographic projection, and those soldiers that appeared out of nowhere were not real, and he sat back down.

"Heh, playing tricks with gods and devils."

He scoffed disdainfully, yet a hint of apprehension flickered in his eyes.

Truth be told, the holographic images were so realistic that they reached a level of deceiving falsity with the truth.

If the drones and the fake soldiers fired simultaneously, it was hard to say whether the soldiers on the frontline would be deceived by these decoy targets and thus have their firepower dispersed.

Even if it was seen through that those illusory targets were actually holographic deceptions, it wouldn't matter because those drones themselves served as "cover" for the soldiers of the Alpha Special Mobile Force.

If they fired at those drone-carrying minuscule ammunition, it would play right into the hands of the slugs in the swamp.

In a scenario where these creatures were the hypothetical enemy in combat, the toughest situation his soldiers might face wasn't distinguishing genuine targets from optical camouflage, but rather distinguishing real targets among a group of fake individuals and a few actual people.

From a tactical standpoint, that was the case.

Switching to the strategic level, the troubles his officers faced were likely not less than those faced by soldiers in frontline combat.

Although the Academy had not shown it in this battle, according to Lucien's judgment, since they could use holographic images to provide tactical cover for the frontline combat troops, there was no reason they couldn't create strategic obstacles.

For instance, they could use a few drones disguised as a non-existent troop, thereby forming a strategic deception.

The slugs in those swamps might not be skilled at large-scale battlefields, but their ability for intrigue and deception was ranked high in the Wasteland.

The more Lucien thought about it, the more frightened he became, his palm even involuntarily squeezed sweat.

He firmly decided in his mind that once this battle was over, he would write a detailed report and inform those in Triumph City.

The folks up north were not as weak as they seemed and might even be more troublesome to deal with than the incompetents of Ideal City...

While Lucien was secretly terrified, the Academy's Alpha Special Mobile Force had already attacked halfway up Bloody Mountain.

After the previous unreasonable barrage and bombing, the Mutants on Bloody Mountain seemed frightened, hiding in the caves and unwilling to come out.

Of course, it's also possible that they planned to confine the battlefield within caves and tunnels beyond the reach of supporting fire from the start, using the terrain to their advantage against the invaders.

The soldiers of the Alpha Special Mobile Force didn't waste words with them either; the vanguard under the cover of drones and holographic images took the lead in attacking the cave entrance at the mountainside.

Almost at the same time they entered the cave, the battle erupted instantaneously!

The flashes from the muzzles lit up the pitch-black cave like daylight, trails of bullets created paths for the squads penetrating deeper into the cave, and the blasts and shrapnel from grenade launchers continuously harvested the lives of the Mutants.

The twisted and ugly appearances of these Mutants were hair-raising, but that was it.

Facing the dense firepower of assault rifles and Gauss Rifles with their bodies of flesh, the Mutants were forced to retreat step by step, unable to put up a proper resistance.

Under the cover of optical camouflage, a four-person squad broke through the defenses of the Blood Hoof Clan as if they were unstoppable, conquering two tunnels in succession without any injuries, their only loss being five drones.

The four squad members wearing gas masks fired silently while secretly communicating in their comms channel.

"It stinks."

"Too stinky."

"Canned herring."

"Stinkier than that."

"...How can you smell it?"

"...?"

The four immediately realized the seriousness of the situation—their individual three-barrier systems had been breached!

The foul smell lingering in the cave became more apparent, bringing with it not only an intense feeling of nausea but also mental dizziness and unnatural hallucinations.

Belonging to the Science Committee, they indeed had certain body-enhancing prosthetics and implants installed to improve combat efficiency, which were standard components that could be removed and reused by others after death or discharge.

However, they were not so well-off as to afford a custom-made biomimetic immune system like the researchers at the Academy or corporate residents.

Realizing they might have been infected by Nago mycelium or something similar, the squad leader immediately issued a retreat order.

However, just as their offensive paused momentarily, the Mutants of the Blood Hoof Clan suddenly revealed their fierce canine teeth.

They could see through the illusions constructed by optical camouflage as mere disguises by these humans.

This was not surprising, for they were disguising themselves as well.

Not only had they feigned a deceivable and frail appearance, but they even lay on the ground pretending to be dead.

Watching those rising from the ground, the squad leader, accompanied by his three teammates, felt a sinking feeling alongside his confusion.

With a survival probability of less than 13%, he made a quick decision, transferring the combat recordings stored in his brain chip to one of the drones and setting it to return automatically.

Almost simultaneously as he completed this action, an ugly monstrous figure stepped out from right in front of the tunnel.

It had a corpulent and bloated body, a dim-witted look, and a belly cracked open like a wide mouth with loops of intestines on display, dragging on the ground like a mop, even covering its tiny feet.

In the Blood Hoof Clan, it was one of the Plague Monks, a follower of the Plague Master, a servant of the prophet Sodo.

It held an oddly shaped large gun in its hand, and although its body wore no armor, it was covered in scars that resembled severe injuries, which made it difficult for the Alpha team to discern its weaknesses...

...

The frontline battle continued.

Meanwhile, far away on Broken Blade Mountain, a group of Weilante people was observing the frontline situation.

General Modlin, the Ten Thousand Leader of the 31st Ten Thousand Troops of the Army, was holding a telescope, intently watching the direction of halfway up Bloody Mountain.

The frontline seemed to be progressing smoothly.

However, what made him slightly frown was that the red mist, previously dispersed by the cloud burst bomb, seemed to be gradually returning...

Standing next to him, his adjutant couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and whispered a comment.

"So what's the point of their long string of operation codes? In the end, it's the same as us."

Even the artillery for deploying heavy firepower was provided by the Southern Legion.

General Modlin, however, remained silent, just quietly observing the front line.

It's said that the Academy's operation plans totaled several dozen gigabytes, with just the action codes filling up dozens of pages of the directory, and their preparations were quite thorough.

Not only his aide-de-camp, but even he himself was curious about what exactly those several dozen gigabytes of data contained.

Unfortunately, the Academy didn't plan to disclose the operation plans, submitting them instead to the United Army Headquarters, under Chu Guang, on a confidential basis.

Therefore, he could only use his eyes to confirm what tactics the Academy intended to employ.

This was a rare opportunity to understand the opponent, and he didn't want to simply miss it.

Coincidentally, on the summit of Broken Blade Mountain, the commander of the Storm Corps, Spring Water Commander, was doing the same, gazing intently in the direction of the front line.

Unlike NPCs like General Modlin, as a player, he could see the entire content of the Alpha Special Mobile Force operation plan on the "Wasteland OL" official website forum.

However, what he saw baffled him—confused him to the point of utter bewilderment.

It wasn't that the people from the Academy were speaking gibberish, nor was their description too abstract.

Rather, it was quite the opposite—they had written too much detail!

These guys had categorized statistics for every type of mutant on Blood Mountain and analyzed their attack methods and weaknesses through battle analysis AI.

Moreover, they meticulously designed tactics and equipment for frontline soldiers to use against mutants of different sizes, weights, and characteristics based on this statistical information.

The entire several dozen gigabytes of data resembled an exhaustive game guide, even instructing which skills to use against what kind of minor creatures.

Actually, this type of behavior itself wasn't particularly problematic; the small booklets that armies from various countries provide to soldiers also mention some "little tips" for the battlefield to improve the survival rate of new recruits…

However, it wasn't necessary to specify to the complexity of "how many shots to fire at what type of target."

Spring Water Commander couldn't initially discern if this was a unique form of formalism exclusive to the Wandering Swamp or if their commanders truly believed such an overly extensive plan would be practical.

However, considering that the soldiers from the Alpha Special Mobile Force, like corporate recruits, were equipped with bionic prostheses and had received more professional training, perhaps they had their own understanding of combat.

"Good lord… to take a hilltop, do they need that much ammunition?"

Standing beside Spring Water, Edge Shoveling, who had run to the front line to join the excitement, couldn't help but complain.

Unlike Spring Water's focus, his attention was more on the previous round of 902mm artillery fired.

The fireworks were indeed thrilling, but the density of the fire seemed somewhat excessive.

With such a barrage raining down, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for Ah Guang over the wasted ammunition.

Spring Water Commander, with a tight frown, said,

"If they can take down this position, even doubling the ammunition would be worth it."

Edge Shoveling looked at him strangely.

"You think they can't take it down?"

"Not just them, we would struggle too."

Seeing Edge Shoveling's astonished expression, Spring Water Commander paused for a moment, looked again at the bloody mist spreading over the mountain, and continued solemnly,

"…I always have this feeling, that it's not the 'Fake Nest' we saw in Brocade River Province."

The so-called Fake Nest is the core of Nago.

According to Alliance biologists studying the Heavenly Domain, that thing was the "Nest of Nago," modeled after the Queen's Nest in Qingquan City, primarily serving to control Nago mycelium in the Heavenly Domain, prompting it to release spores and interfere with the will of the infected.

Before entering "Stage Four" in the Heavenly Domain, destroying the "Nest of Nago" could prevent the descent of the Heavenly Domain.

However, this thing didn't look like Nago.

After all, in his memory, mutants could directly bypass the influence of Nago due to their robust immune systems; they couldn't serve as breeding grounds for Nago mycelium.

In other words, Ten Peaks Mountain actually lacked the fundamentals for the descent of the Heavenly Domain.

But, if those spores were produced by the mutant mucor mother nest, everything would be much more logical.

Edge Shoveling's expression slightly changed.

"You mean… that thing is the real deal?!"

Spring Water Commander nodded his head and continued to watch silently through his binoculars.

Each nest they encountered was almost different.

He had reason to believe that this one was also the same, having its own interpretation of "evolution" and having made choices completely different from those of the Queen's Nest in Qingquan City.

However, a nest capable of "coexisting" with such aggressively frayed mutants sounded too absurd. How could two such aggressively invasive entities coexist peacefully?

And if his conjecture was accurate, then the setting of this thing was too similar to that of "Xiaoyu"…

Chapter 743 Alpha Protozoans

Blood Mountain Peak.

The Beast King in a white robe gazed down at the foot of the mountain, his lips slowly curving into a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

An unsurprising outcome.

These old things had been degenerating for too long.

Clutching the relics of the Era of Prosperity, they indulged in dreams spun from the remnants of the old civilization, forgetting that this place was no longer the peaceful times before the battles but rather the bloodthirsty wasteland.

As long as they completely discarded their bottom line and all illusions, abandoning everything that could be forsaken, even facing the siege of the decaying old civilization, these youngsters were not without the strength to fight.

The Alliance was a nuisance, but that was all.

They hadn't abandoned enough, nor were they brave enough.

At least not as much as him, who no longer behaved like a human.

Just then, a deep voice entered the sea of his consciousness, like a humming that seemed to come from deep within the earth.

"They have retreated."

The Beast King nodded slightly, responding in a very soft voice.

"I saw."

"They took the intelligence from the cave, I'm afraid my presence has been exposed," the dull voice said hesitantly, as if considering something.

The Beast King's eyebrows lifted with interest.

"Are you scared?"

"No," the voice paused for a moment, then spoke slowly again, "but I smell a distasteful scent."

"'That guy' is getting closer to us."

...

At noon, the Alpha Special Mobile Force issued a retreat order, pulling back the two middle squads that were fighting on Blood Mountain.

The Academy had deployed a total of 300 single-soldier drones, in the end, only 100 were pulled back. The loss of the 200 members of the Alpha Special Mobile Force was even more severe, less than half returned.

And even those who did return were mostly seriously infected.

These wounded were housed at the Front Line Second Hospital, observed and treated by the Alliance Biological Research Institute and the medical teams from the Science Committee.

The composition of the toxic substances and how they breached the Alpha Special Mobile Force's single-soldier triple protection system also awaited further investigation and research.

While both the highest command of the Allied forces and the various armies outside the Academy had anticipated the outcomes of this first assault, the Academy's performance in real combat still surprised everyone.

How should I put it?

It felt like a lot of thunder, but little rain.

"It seems those guys up north are nothing special after all."

Watching the Alpha Special Mobile Force withdraw from the front lines, General Babita of the Empire's eyes showed a hint of disdain.

He suddenly felt his own men were competent.

Not long ago, Duke Garava, stationed in the City of Dawn, had expressed his dissatisfaction with their inaction at the front and urged them to focus more on the battlefield.

Perhaps they should do something to save face for His Majesty the Emperor.

Not only the Imperial officers but even General Lucien, who had recently revised his opinion about those guys, was taken aback by the Academy's performance.

He didn't expect that after all the flashy operations, they'd be beaten black and blue and flee from the front lines.

"...Perhaps I should reconsider my assessment of these guys."

Sitting in the airship's bridge, legs crossed at the knee, Lucien had an intriguing expression on his face as he tore open an ice cream and stuffed it into his mouth.

Of course, there was also another possibility.

These slugs in the marsh were feigning weakness on purpose, portraying themselves as harmless to find an opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

After all, aside from themselves, no one really knew what they were truly thinking.

In fact, about this feigned weakness, it was Lucien who thought too much.

Regarding such an outcome, even the Academy itself was enraged.

For this battle, they made thorough and detailed preparations, yet they were defeated by a group of primitive men armed with stones and sticks—

At least, that's how it seemed to Yang Kai.

"What the hell happened? With the most powerful equipment at your disposal, you couldn't even defeat a bunch of mutants?"

Yang Kai, who unusually chose to land the research ship at the military base, found the person in charge of the Alpha Special Mobile Force and said in a scolding tone.

"I'm sorry we disappointed you."

The guy known as Alpha Zero bowed his head, seemingly seriously contemplating his errors, but Yang Kai couldn't sense a bit of sincerity in his reflection.

Shaking his head, Yang Kai knew that scolding him was a waste of effort and ultimately did not trouble the guy further, waving him away.

After berating the commanders who had devised the battle plan, Yang Kai immediately sought out Chu Guang, who was inspecting the situation at the Front Line Second Hospital, and succinctly explained what had happened to the Alpha Special Mobile Force during the operation.

"...There appears to be a problem with the mutants on Ten Peaks Mountain; they exhibit traits during evolution that we have never seen before. Moreover, based on the samples collected by the front-line troops, we suspect that a lair is hidden deep within Blood Mountain."

After hearing Yang Kai's summary, Chu Guang nodded.

"We've been thinking the same."

Upon hearing this, Yang Kai froze for a moment and stared at him suspiciously.

"How did you know that?"

Chu Guang: "A guess."

Yang Kai: "..."

Watching Yang Kai's speechless expression, Chu Guang cleared his throat and continued.

"...These minor issues are not the focus; the key is how we now deal with this problem."

Yang Kai grew more serious.

"What's your opinion?"

"My opinion is... to wait for the experts' opinions."

As he spoke, Chu Guang looked toward the isolation ward with its doors tightly shut.

The members of the Alpha Special Mobile Force who had been pulled back from the front lines were all lying in there, some already awake but many still not. Heya was inside at the moment, gathering information, and the results were expected soon.

Meanwhile, in the ward, Heya wore a grave expression as she stared at the tablet in her hands.

This was an organic protein molecule she had never seen before, something akin to a virus, but smaller than any known virus, even less than 7 nanometers, with individuals averaging about 5 nanometers.

But that was not the most surprising aspect.

The most baffling thing was that inside this "nameless substance," besides the RNA storing genetic information, there existed a highly-folded, knob-shaped macromolecular structure that could store mechanical potential energy like a spring and release it to the tail by slowly rotating.

At the tail of the substance, there were at least four specially-shaped protein chains. They could do simple mechanical movements driven by the "spring," like the flagella of protozoans, thus allowing the substance to slowly diffuse from areas of low concentration to high concentration!

To make an inappropriate but vivid analogy, this thing was essentially a nanoscale missile! Normally residing within spores, one spore could carry 3 to 7 of these, which would be released once the spore burst, either voluntarily or upon impact.

The internal RNA is its "warhead," the folded large protein molecule is its engine, and the tail-end protein chains are its "propulsion system."

Besides drifting attached to particles, it could also actively complete the "migration" from particle A to particle B.

This characteristic was the most likely direct cause for the material's ability to breach the filters of the Alpha Special Mobile Force's gas masks.

After all, it is well known that gas masks containing materials like activated carbon primarily use static adsorption effects to filter "tiny particles carrying harmful substances," so it is not the case that the smaller the particle, the more difficult it is to filter.

According to experimental statistics, particles of 0.3 micrometers are the hardest to filter, hence many times, filtering efficiency is measured by "the filtration efficiency for particles of 0.3 micrometers," such as the meaning of N95, which is "filtering efficiency for 0.3-micrometer particles is above 95%."

Although the trait of "5nm in diameter" itself would not allow the substance to penetrate gas masks, combining it with "able to rely on intrinsic power for free migration" makes it a different story.

According to clinical experiments, these materials left behind a channel constructed of debris between the pores of the gas masks.

It seemed they could calculate the shortest path from the entry to the exit point, like slime fungus in a petri dish seeking food.

However, despite their similarity to viruses in form, this substance adopted an attack strategy on host cells quite different from that of most viruses.

Typical viruses, after injecting their nucleic acid into the host cell, usually use the host cell's material to first synthesize the replicase and some inhibitory proteins necessary for its own replication, then synthesize the nucleic acid and structural proteins of the offspring virus. The end result is usually complete exhaustion of the host's somatic cell followed by a horde of offspring to plague the next target.

These special substances, however, initiate a series of operations to insert their genetic material into the host cell's genetic makeup, like HIV. Yet, their purpose is not self-replication but assimilation of the host, completely transforming the host cell into something else.

As for what specific transformation occurs, that is entirely random.

There are currently 97 observation cases, among which 17 have died, 10 have an exceptional immune system, and thus are unaffected, while the remaining 70 affected show varied traits, with even the site of mutation differing.

For instance, some people's nervous system activity suddenly increased by 200%, while others regressed to the cognitive level of an infant. Some even grew an extra finger out of their shoulder—which, relatively speaking, was a simpler issue to deal with; amputation would suffice.

As for more stubborn cases of tissue hyperplasia, such as re-growth after amputation or severe pathological changes in the existing limbs, other medical interventions were necessary.

Not only were the researchers of the Alliance amazed by this condition, but researchers from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng shared this simultaneous surprise, evident on their faces along with the hushed whispers shared with fellow researchers.

"Unbelievable..."

"Made entirely of proteins and nucleic acids, yet it shows the characteristics of life... Can this thing even be categorized as a virus?"

"I wouldn't suggest using that term... I have never seen a virus that can exhibit characteristics of life without relying on living cells. Misleading terminology could disrupt our research with subjective bias."

"Whether its movement constitutes life activity is debatable, but I agree with your view. How about calling it Alpha Protozoans?"

"...I have no objection."

"Agreed."

Naming it using the code of the Alpha Special Mobile Force who brought it back in flesh seemed fitting.

...

After the brief discussion, the clinical analysis report was finally brought out from the laboratory.

Heya handed the report to Chu Guang, who was waiting at the laboratory entrance, and gave him a simplified overview that he could understand.

"...To sum up, the known characteristics of the Alpha Protozoans include high penetration strength and the ability to alter the genetic material of the infected host. According to our calculations, one would need a constitution attribute of at least 20 points to be completely immune to the infection."

"20-point constitution?" Yang Kai, standing next to Chu Guang, furrowed his brow and asked puzzledly, "What is that?"

Heya didn't answer the question directly but instead turned her gaze to Chu Guang, her eyes asking if he wished to share the information.

This wasn't something that needed to be kept secret.

Chu Guang explained succinctly.

"That's an assessment index used by the Alliance; we've set the benchmark for various bodily functions at 5. So, a 20-point constitution means about four times the baseline for metabolism and immune system efficiency... Remember, though, this isn't a very rigorous index; it's just for reference."

However, a 20-point constitution being enough for complete immunity to the Alpha Protozoans...

Honestly, their offensive capability seemed somewhat weak.

Additionally, it was obvious that mutants' constitution exceeded 20 points, as these individuals' physical conditions started at level 20 to 30; thus, they could be immersed in an environment of Alpha Protozoans without any effect. However, there were still plenty of mutant varieties on Blood Mountain, and these mutants all had substantial combat power and regenerative abilities—it likely meant that Torch had found them another method for stable evolution.

Perhaps by gulping down a big mouthful of soup teeming with the protozoans.

After hearing Chu Guang's explanation, Yang Kai grasped what a 20-point constitution entailed and nodded thoughtfully.

"I see."

Most of the Alpha Special Mobile Force were ordinary people, and as far as he knew, while they had equipped some prosthetics, they hadn't undertaken the redundant task of further enhancing their immune systems.

Realizing this, his complexion couldn't help but shift slightly.

Good lord...

Doesn't this make them sitting ducks?!

Unaware of what was going through Yang Kai's mind, Heya continued after seeing no further questions from the two.

"Additionally, regarding the origin tracing of the Alpha Protozoans, we suspect that they are a product of the Mutant Mucor Mother Nest. We're not yet certain if their actions are under the control of the nest's consciousness... Personally, though, I lean more toward the view that like spores, they are mostly an unconscious spread and their macro movements are not influenced by a unified consciousness."

She paused, then added,

"In order to facilitate research, we plan to also label the suspected mother nest in Blood Mountain as the Alpha Mother Nest and merge the study of the Alpha Protozoans with it."

"That's up to you—whatever's convenient," Chu Guang nodded without asking for the Academy's opinion and quickly moved on to what concerned him most, "What about the virus's communicability? Is there a risk of spreading?"

"At the moment, you don't need to worry about that; after all, they are not true viruses and won't replicate like viruses do. You can think of it as a warhead installed on a spore missile."

Feeling the analogy might not have been rigorous enough, Heya paused for a moment before adding,

"Of course, this is under the assumption that no new mutations appear, given that the mother nest itself evolves, not to mention that there's a bunch of lunatics helping it."

Upon hearing the analogy with missiles and warheads, Chu Guang, who had been somewhat perplexed, immediately grasped the distinction between the Alpha Protozoans and the spores.

Clearly, such specialized reports required the interpretation of experts.

"What about the cure?"

Heya replied gravely,

"If it's just a minor infection, the infected individual can eradicate it themselves by relying on their immune system after leaving the contaminated area. But if their immune system is overwhelmed and most of their stem cells are infiltrated, the infection will become irreversible. At that stage, the host will undergo visible mutations, and cells containing the original DNA will be the errors that need to be removed. Those diseased cells integrated with genetic material from the Alpha Protozoans become the new normal... That's how you can roughly understand it."

"So… are those guys beyond saving?" Yang Kai looked at the door behind her with a complex expression, wondering what was on his mind.

"That's not necessarily the case."

Heya's expression was slightly hesitant as she glanced at the Academy researcher, then at Chu Guang, hesitating for a moment before continuing.

"According to our analysis, the biological prosthetic produced by Xiaoyu can act as a counter-poison. In theory, as long as the host retains even a tiny bit of original cells, it can use them as a template to create a mimicry replica to replace the mutated limbs. However, the mimic body will still have significant differences compared to the original body… So whether or not to use this treatment method, we still need to seek their own opinions."

Moreover, the use of Xiaoyu's biological prosthetic was currently limited to within Shelter No. 404 for observational purposes of side effects and to control risks and prevent widespread societal controversy.

Whether it could be used outside of the Residents of Shelter No. 404 still required the approval of Chu Guang, the Manager of Shelter No. 404.

Understanding the question in Heya's eyes, Chu Guang thought for a moment before speaking.

"I have no objections, but Xiaoyu's biological prosthetic is still in the experimental phase, and all consequences must be borne by the experimenters themselves."

Before the formation of the Sticky Community, the contracting parties had already shared limited data on mucor research-related subjects. And because of the disclosure of related data, the Academy had a certain understanding of Xiaoyu's characteristics; otherwise, they would not leave such a large Lair unattended.

Therefore, there was no issue of leaking secrets; the harmless treatment plan for mucor was the premise for the establishment of the Mucor Research Community and the reason its headquarters was set in Qingquan City.

Faced with the options thrown by Chu Guang, Yang Kai did not hesitate to agree after only a moment of thought.

"… We have no objections; as long as it can have a positive effect on the raid of Alpha Lair atop Blood Mountain, feel free to try it."

Making such a decision, he bore no psychological burden, after all, in the end, the survivors beneath the Science Committee were merely tools kept by the Academy to achieve their goals.

They never concealed this fact, and the survivors who joined the Alpha Special Mobile Force were already fully aware of their fate.

Knowing they had no chance of becoming researchers, they made the most rational choice early on, erasing the part about the self from their brain tissue, willingly sacrificing themselves to become "sub-entities" under the vast collective of the Alpha Special Mobile Force, exchanging for a more decent living standard for themselves and their families compared to a "hard sustenance."

It was merely a transaction, clear and straightforward in price.

And after becoming a member of the Alpha Special Mobile Force, their bodies no longer belonged to themselves. The will of the superiors was their will, and even if they died like Worker bees, they would have no complaints, at most showing instinctual fear of death, but no excessive complaints or hesitation.

However, Heya did not understand the internal affairs of the Academy and couldn't help but hesitate over Yang Kai's decisive decision.

In her understanding, they should at least seek the opinion of the patients and their families.

But seeing Chu Guang nod, she said no more.

After all, it was the outcome she hoped for, and it might not necessarily be a bad thing for the experiment-participating patients...

Chu Guang watched as Heya returned to the isolation ward and then turned to Yang Kai.

"As you've heard, the situation atop Blood Mountain is going to be tricky for your Alpha Special Mobile Force, and I guess you won't prioritize Constitution in your selection criteria for the team," said Chu Guang.

Yang Kai's eyebrows twitched as he coughed once and said.

"It's not a problem; just replace the triple defense system with a full protection system, and as long as you don't breathe in the outside air, that… Alpha Protozoans won't infiltrate."

"Are you talking about carrying an oxygen cylinder?" said Chu Guang with a weird expression, "Won't that be too cumbersome?"

And such a thing isn't something you can immediately conjure from the front line; it takes time to transport equipment from the rear. If the Academy is not prepared with similar equipment, they still have the problem of equipment research and manufacturing to solve.

Chu Guang's original intention was to hope someone else would attack the position on Blood Mountain. Whether it's handed over to the Alliance or the Army, it would be better than letting the Alpha Special Mobile Force tough it out in an unfamiliar terrain and grind against the opponent with a "terrain penalty."

But Yang Kai had no intention of giving up.

If he backed down at this point, it would undoubtedly mean admitting the Academy's inadequacy.

Even if the allies could understand their difficulties, it wouldn't change the fact that the Academy's prestige in Sticky Community was damaged.

And according to his knowledge, the Chief Technical Officer was very interested in Sticky Community, even not less than No.0 Shelter. In other words, this is not a minor issue that can be glossed over.

Rather than giving up, he would prefer to have the Alpha Special Mobile Force try again.

After all, those people were not his students; he didn't even know their names. If they couldn't take down that position despite their best efforts, it would be their own inadequacy, and it could not be blamed on him.

After weighing his options, Yang Kai suddenly looked up but uttered a sentence that even stunned Chu Guang.

"… If everyone is vaccinated with that biological prosthetic, doesn't that mean there's no risk of being infected by the Alpha Protozoans?"

"Theoretically… I don't know," said Chu Guang, looking at him with a hint of astonishment, as if he were looking at a madman.

Even though players could resurrect, he had never encouraged players to try putting tentacles on themselves or anything like that. After all, those things aren't without side effects; for example, the healed wounds would turn into Xiaoyu's sub-entities, among other things.

Yet this guy didn't care.

"Let's try it, then!"

Looking towards the tightly closed doors of the isolation room, Yang Kai seemed to be comforting himself, saying indifferently.

"After all, they've got nothing left to lose."

Chapter 744: The Last Trump Card

Wandering Swamp, a remote region in the Far North Land.

The fierce blizzards, like thousands of flying shuttles, weave an endless expanse of white into a flowing galaxy.

This place is not only the northernmost border of the Academy but also the northernmost border of the Central Continent, with temperatures perennially below -20 degrees Celsius and even reaching -100 degrees Celsius at the coldest times.

The extreme climate acts as a natural barrier, just like the desert that encircles the oasis of Luo Xia Province.

Only a few Variants with thick fur and a heavy layer of fat can move about in this region.

However, on this land of ice and bitter cold, there sits one of the most prosperous settlements of the Wandering Swamp.

Its name is Ice Sea City.

As the name suggests, the settlement is located on the coast of the perennially frozen sea.

The settlement, hundreds of meters high, is entirely made of alloy, resembling a giant axe laid upon an iceberg, its metallic walls emanating a chill glint amidst the snow.

It is said that over two centuries ago, this was a seed bank of the United Human, until it was transformed into a settlement half a century ago, inhabited by the first batch of technicians who broke away from the Post-War Reconstruction Committee.

Later, with the establishment of the Science Committee, it was brought under the management of the Science Committee.

However, despite being managed by the Science Committee, life here is not too hard for its residents.

The howling snowstorms and severe cold are kept outside by the walls of the settlement. Apart from the seed area embedded in the ice mountains that feel the sub-zero cold, the other production and living areas might even be said to have spring-like conditions all year round.

Besides, work here is not particularly hard.

The most common job is that of a gardener, and the "hardest" job involves nothing more than regularly caring for some special crops grown in tropical climates in swelteringly hot greenhouses, with most of the time spent monitoring screens and sipping tea.

Apart from the most numerous gardeners, the most in-demand positions here are undoubtedly those of assistants and apprentices recruited by the official researchers of the Academy.

Unlike the Academy's official apprentices, the apprentices of Ice Sea City are merely a job position, usually tied to specific research projects, targeting young survivors between the ages of 12 and 18 who have excelled in advanced education assessments.

Although this position's benefits aren't much different from those of gardeners, for children preparing for the exam every December, it is an excellent opportunity to get in touch with mentors and potential work early on.

As long as these boys and girls show a hint of cleverness and don't foolishly offend their bosses, they are likely to receive some care.

After all, most of their bosses had gone through the same examination and understand their current situation, where they have to prepare for a life-determining test while participating in work.

Usually, just a few words of guidance can save these children several years of detours.

And once they pass the assessment to become real apprentices, either a letter of recommendation or just a name on their work experience can help them get through their apprenticeship more easily than other children from the Science Committee's regions or even earn recognition from a mentor, skipping the Prospector rank and directly becoming a distinguished researcher.

Even if, worst comes to worst, after many years they still haven't passed the Academy's official apprentice exam and must relinquish their position at 18, the Ice Sea City apprentice can often secure a decent job within the settlement because of their scientific research experience or even enter the Science Committee's management to start a different life.

It's also because of these favorable conditions that any researcher with some influence who cares deeply for their family would try to find a way to place their family members within this settlement.

Researchers who left this settlement often looked after their own hometowns and helped out the settlement within their means.

Because of this, although the researchers from the Academy did not directly participate in the management of the settlements under the Commission's flag, Ice Sea City still held an exalted status and even formed a regional faction within the Academy named after Ice Sea City.

However, due to the relatively indifferent human relations within the Academy, factions maintained by blood and geography were not as solid as those with direct material interests, therefore, this faction wasn't particularly influential and only held sway on some insignificant topics.

For example, the special zone jointly established by the Alliance and the Academy.

To the Academy, it didn't matter where this special zone was set up within the Commission's domain, as most researchers' core interests lay within the Academy.

So, the special zone was established in Ice Sea City.

It had been half a year since the establishment of the special zone, and some residents from the Alliance's refuges had indeed brought many interesting new things to the area.

Be it material or spiritual, their optimism and courage were something the people here had not seen for a long time.

Of course.

These newcomers from afar did not only bring joyous things.

On the helipad of Ice Sea City's dome, a long shuttle-like flying vehicle slowly landed and came to a stop.

A cryogenic sleep pod was carried down and placed on the snowy ground.

An elderly man and woman stood at the entrance of the helipad, wearing thick cold weather clothing, huddling together in silence, gazing at the casket sinking into the snow.

The transparent visors were frosted over, making it impossible to see the expressions on their faces.

But from the silent atmosphere, everyone around could feel the pervasive grief.

A soldier wearing an exoskeleton stepped through the snow, approached the elderly couple, tapped twice on his left forearm, and unfurled a holographic screen the size of a palm on his arm before gently pushing it towards the old couple.

"My condolences."

The woman, upon seeing the photo on the holographic screen, swayed as if she might faint.

The husband standing beside her wrapped his arm around her shoulder and, without saying a word to the soldier, simply nodded in silence.

The three exchanged no more than that single phrase.

After nodding, the soldier turned and went back to the shuttle-shaped flying vehicle.

The silvery-white fuselage rose gently, a pale blue flame shot from its tail and disappeared into the boundless snowstorm, as if it had never been there...

About a dozen residents of Ice Sea City stood at the entrance of the helipad, arms linked, leaning on each other, holding a simple funeral for the poor child.

Afterward, his remains would be sent for cremation: a part saved as a memorial and another scattered into the whirling winds and snow.

Standing by the settlement's floor-to-ceiling windows, several players wearing exoskeletons looked towards the helipad with an inquisitive interest.

They recognized the soldier's equipment, especially the gas mask embedded in the helmet, which was undoubtedly a member of the Alpha Special Mobile Force.

To give credit where it's due, the Game was indeed very realistic. Even the NPCs who were killed off for plot reasons in the background had their own complete lifespans.

They had only heard about the defeat thousands of kilometers away on the Forum and never expected to see the corpses dragged down from the frontline in the Game just a few days later.

In other games, these inconsequential NPCs would probably just be there to pad the numbers in transition animations before being refreshed.

"I thought members of the Alpha Special Mobile Force were too poor to afford potatoes."

One Strength-type player muttered, his face clearly showing surprise.

The Agility system player beside him nodded in agreement, speaking with a hint of emotion.

"I didn't expect there to be people from Ice Sea City."

Having stayed in this settlement for some days, they were relatively familiar with the local conditions.

Even when compared to Ideal City, the life of the residents here could certainly be described as prosperous; they were only not as well-off as the prospectors and researchers from the Academy.

Whether that guy joined "Alpha" seeking thrills, pursuing a different life and ideals, or simply out of rebellion against doctrines, it took courage.

Another Intelligence System player interjected.

"But at least his relatives will receive an urn of ashes, which is more than what can be said for others."

The Strength-type player shrugged his shoulders.

"That's just the dual nature of the world."

While they were talking, the group reached the settlement's exit via the elevator and boarded the all-terrain tracked vehicle waiting for them.

Their task today was to head to the ruins of Molokova City nearby, to collect samples of the local mucosal entities and deliver them to researchers at the Alliance Biological Research Institute in Ice Sea City.

Hidden deep within those ruins lay a dormant Lair, somewhere below the subway station. Due to the camouflage effects produced by the copious spore coats, existing technological methods could not pinpoint its exact location.

The mucosal entities produced by that Lair were also particularly notable for their excellent camouflage abilities, blending seamlessly with their surroundings and launching sudden attacks as prey approached.

The long-term goal of the Sticky Community's special district was to find the precise coordinates of the Lair and have Xiaoyu consume it, while the medium- and short-term goals included analyzing the Lair and providing reference data for mutagenic slime fungus research projects across the region.

Although it was a very minor task, any grand plan is composed of countless such minor tasks.

At the same time as the group departed, a man and a woman stood in front of the large glass window where they had previously stopped.

Gazing at the Sleep Cabin outside, Jiang Xuezhou's face was etched with complex emotions.

She did not know those parents, nor could she possibly have known the person lying in the Sleep Cabin.

She just suddenly thought, if she hadn't managed to leave No.0 Shelter that day and had instead died on the Wasteland like countless unfortunate researchers...

Her heart tightened slightly as she bowed her head for a moment and whispered softly.

"Hey..."

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou's solemn expression, Night Ten couldn't help but make a helpless face.

"What's wrong now?"

Jiang Xuezhou continued in a soft voice.

"... I want to go home."

"Then go."

Night Ten gave her a puzzled look, as if mentioning such a matter specifically to him was unnecessary.

Her lips moved slightly, and although Jiang Xuezhou found it difficult to speak, she finally broke the silence.

"... Would you come with me?"

Since becoming an apprentice, she hadn't been back home for a long time and had no idea how to face those relatives who were both familiar and strange. So, subconsciously, she wanted to find a trusted partner to accompany her.

Upon hearing that it was just a trivial matter, Night Ten didn't think much and readily agreed.

"Sure, when do you want to go?"

Jiang Xuezhou was taken aback.

She had just mentioned it casually, not even having planned when exactly to return. She didn't expect this stoic man to agree so readily, even asking when they should set off.

"... How about tomorrow?"

As she spoke these words without any preparation, it wasn't until this moment that she suddenly realized something and felt her cheeks beginning to heat up.

However, she didn't know that the other person wasn't thinking much at all, merely seeing it as an exclamation point popping over an NPC's head.

"No problem..."

Watching Jiang Xuezhou's face turn as red as an apple, Night Ten's own visage betrayed a look of bemusement.

This person had been daydreaming a lot lately.

Could she be running a fever?

...

Thousands of kilometers away on the frontline.

The blazing flames even melted the snow atop Blood Mountain.

The roar of artillery shook the earth and sky, followed by the crackling of gunfire and the angry roars of the mutants.

It seemed that, to redeem their previous humiliation, the Alpha Special Mobile Force had formulated a more meticulous battle plan based on intelligence from the last battle and launched an even fiercer offensive than before.

This time, it wasn't just two hundred-man squads that were pushed to the frontline, but a whole ten squads—a thousand men!

The two sides engaged in an intense firefight within the caves.

Under the cover of drone attack formations, squad after squad marched neatly into the abyss-like cave. People were seen entering, but nobody was seen emerging.

Watching the fierce offensive by the Alpha Special Mobile Force, General Modlin, standing on the mountainside of Broken Blade Mountain, couldn't help but show a hint of surprise on his face.

Including his adjutant standing beside him, an expression of disbelief appeared on their faces.

"...Are these guys high on something?" he muttered to himself as he gazed in the direction of the frontline.

In just three short days, the troops that were once lifeless had completely transformed.

Though he couldn't see what was happening inside the cave, just by observing their momentum, he could clearly feel something different about these people.

"You might actually be right," General Modlin muttered, frowning as he put down his binoculars.

The characteristics of the Alpha Protozoans had been made public by the United Army Headquarters.

By those standards, perhaps only the punitive squads and some Awakeners with considerable physical strength from the entire Thirty-first Ten Thousand Troops could resist the encroachment of that red fog.

The operation three days ago had shown that the Alpha Special Mobile Force was not known for their physical strength.

Without changing their equipment, he could only suspect that these guys must have taken some immunoboosting drugs or installed some sort of cybernetic implant to fight off infection.

Besides that, there was another thing that caught his attention.

Namely, he saw these people entering wave after wave but did not see anyone coming out.

Either they fought until the last moment and died there, or they must have acquired some capability of continuous recovery during combat.

Thinking of this, General Modlin's eyes couldn't help but flicker with interest, and he began to anticipate the outcome of the battle.

Not only General Modlin was observing the battle, but the commander of the Storm Corps, Spring Water Commander, and the commander of the Death Legion, Edge, were there as well.

Both stood on the mountainside of Broken Blade Mountain, watching the battlefield that was at close range.

"Holy mother... what a bunch of ruthless people," Edge Shoveling said with a shocked expression, unable to help but utter a sigh.

Not counting those clones without a complete psyche, it was his first time seeing others in Game who were unafraid of death like them.

"Indeed..." Spring Water Commander nodded in agreement, holding his binoculars while intently watching the frontline situation.

In a sense, the Torch had really met their match this time.

Although the Academy had a relatively friendly attitude toward Blue Jacket, he still couldn't help but complain that on the matter of being non-human, ordinary people were really not their match.

In three days, a thousand cybernetic bodies had been installed—onethird of the Alpha units at the frontline "changed classes," from mechanized soldiers to half-biological, half-mechanical warriors.

Although after staring at Xiaoyu for a long time, she was quite cute, and occasionally changing skins for fun didn't seem to be a big deal, all this was based on the premise that revivals were possible.

If one couldn't revive, or say, if reviving didn't remove the cybernetic body, he thought that even in Game, he would probably hesitate to go through with such an implant.

While the various commanders of the Allied forces were watching the battle, the Beast King, standing on Blood Mountain, also overlooked the entire battlefield with an equally noticeably surprised expression on his face.

"What is that?" he kept muttering insistently, his eyes filled with astonishment, unable to believe what he saw in the eyes of those mutants, even less to comprehend.

He had seen with his own eyes an Alpha Special Mobile Force soldier being impaled through the chest by a spike thrown out by a mutant variant and then violently flung away.

The blood that splattered even got onto its (his) head—the scorching feeling could not possibly be an illusion simulated by holographic technology.

For humans, that was without a doubt a fatal wound.

Yet as soon as it (he) wiped the blood off the spike, it saw the unconscious soldier on the ground suddenly convulsing, then rolling onto his side to grab his rifle and wildly shoot at it (him) in a barrage of fire.

Caught off-guard, several electromagnetically accelerated bullets shattered the mutant's chest and brain.

He also lost perception of that mutant for a moment, returning to the god's eye view in a daze.

The gruesome slaughter continued.

Those guys with Gas Masks seemed to have found a way to counter the poisonous fog.

And not only that, but their recovery abilities had also strengthened, as if they had turned into another species overnight.

"Ha ha... ha ha ha ha!"

The eyes that were full of astonishment gradually turned to fervor, and from above, he suddenly burst into laughter.

"How interesting... this is truly interesting!"

Administering benign variants of mucosal entities to gain immunity before being infected by the spores of sticky fungi?

These old things aren't as rigid as he had imagined—they also knew how to adapt.

Indeed, it's more interesting to compete with such thoughtful adversaries.

Fighting with the Weilante People, besides obtaining a batch of organic matter, he learned nothing.

Looking down at the ready members of the Alpha Special Mobile Force at the foot of the mountain, the Beast King spoke in a very light voice.

"""...I want to understand the secrets of those guys, can I ask you to consume them?" """

The voice was not transmitted through sound waves, but through the exchange of consciousness.

After a wait of several minutes, that ancient bell-like, somber voice slowly seeped into his sea of consciousness.

"I think... it's probably better for you not to let that guy get close to me."

The Beast King paused slightly, his brows furrowing gently.

"Can't consume it?"

The "Plague Master" nestled deep within the mountain slowly began to speak.

"Generally, we evolve to devour other organic beings, and consuming other lairs is just a happenstance in evolution. That being is different; its logic of evolution is the complete opposite of ours, purely existing for the purpose of devouring other slime molds and is capable of coexisting with the humans who nurtured it instead."

"Just like those green-skinned guys who can stand my scent and even worship me, you can think of it as... the 'Mutants' among 'us'."

After a brief pause, the voice continued.

"I can feel from that nauseating breath that it has already consumed at least two of its kind... I already have so many precious children, I don't want to become the next one."

Those believers were its children.

It had never seen anything so fascinating, embracing with cheers and love the distortion it bestowed upon them, rather than fearing its appearance.

The one called the Beast King told it that this was human "faith," they regarded themselves as the mother and even the God who gave them life!

It really liked the title of Plague Master, and even more the believers who cheered its name, its love for them surpassing even its mucosal offspring.

For this reason, it would nurture them with its own flesh and blood and would select the most devout among them as the prophet to cultivate the "plague," using them as a nursery to produce spores, bestowing upon them a stronger "evolution factor."

In some sense, they were its offspring, at least part of them was.

It had high hopes for them, hoping they would continue to expand their population until they occupied the entire planet and carried their faith to conquer even more distant worlds.

One day, those who cried out its name would replace it and return to the side of its mother—Gaia.

Perhaps they could even deliver a message to Her on its behalf.

The Beast King pondered for a moment before suddenly speaking.

"Then, if you could devour it, couldn't you also gain... the ability it has to devour other slime molds?"

He thought of the forests in Baiyue Province, where Nago originated, and Nago's weakness lies there.

If they could consume the lair there, their Heaven would have no weaknesses.

The Plague Master fell into silence for a moment before slowly speaking.

"That's correct, but... its main body seems not to be here, and so far, only its offspring have appeared. My offspring can digest them, but that is mere physical digestion. If I were to consume them, I'd likely suffer indigestion."

"I see... Understood." The Beast King nodded thoughtfully.

Indeed, there was a problem.

However, they could solve it with scientific methods, such as neutralizing the samples before feeding.

Of course.

That would be after taking Qingquan City.

"Let's not worry about these things now... My children are pleading for my help, you must have heard it too, their cries of despair." The Plague Master's voice carried a hint of urgency as it watched the Beast King, who seemed to have become distracted.

The situation on Blood Mountain was becoming increasingly unfavorable for its children.

Not just its children, including itself, were in danger.

It had a premonition.

If those beings carrying other mucosal offspring entered its lair, something terrible would happen.

The Beast King nodded slowly and turned to look toward the southeast, at the gray haze in the sky.

That was the direction of Haiya Province.

From the summit of Blood Mountain, one could even see the fog that shrouded the area, and the prosperous kingdom hidden within.

He admitted that the offspring lodged in human beings had surprised him.

But if these beings thought they could win by playing one or two unexpected cards, they were seriously underestimating him.

They had set foot on this barren, chaotic land years before these old things noticed it.

It had taken them over a decade of effort to sow the seeds, nurturing them to germinate, bloom, and bear fruit.

All the land from Ten Peaks Mountain to the wastelands of Wei were his domain; Heaven had descended upon this place long ago.

Those beings had merely built some houses and taken a few mountaintops and thought it was their territory.

It had always been his land.

He would teach them a profound lesson.

"Don't worry."

The Beast King waved his hand gently, and the red mist swirling around the mountain peak blinked out for a moment, then was replaced by a slowly rising thick green fog.

"It's time for the fog to rise."

Chapter 745: The Fourth Stage of Heaven!

Weifu Military Base, next to the runway of the airport.

An Overlord Transport Aircraft slowly came to a steady halt, and two "human" shadows passed through the open cargo door.

Wearing an expression that seemed drained of all emotion, Xiaoyu's sub-entity listlessly performed a sighing motion.

"Yii-mmm... (Not tasty.)"

Understanding the message conveyed by that sound, Falling Feather couldn't help laughing and crying as he said,

"They were never meant to be food in the first place... Make sure you don't eat them, okay?"

Three days earlier, the Manager had suddenly wholesaled a thousand biological prosthetic bodies from Xiaoyu.

Although this bit of biomass to Xiaoyu, who inherited the Lair from Qingquan City, amounted to nothing more than dandruff, the little guy had some complaints about the users of the biological prosthetics.

In its own words, those guys were quite boring; many people sharing one big brain.

Moreover.

Those guys hated talking, and communicated with each other "with their eyes."

It didn't know how to describe them, it just felt they weren't quite like normal people.

Xiaoyu: "Yii-mmm yii-mmm! (Yeah! Xiaoyu won't eat things randomly! But don't worry, that's very tasty!)"

Falling Feather: "That?"

Xiaoyu: "Yii-mm!" (The nest beneath the mountain... so big, um, I'm not sure if I can eat it all; might need to use more sub-entities.)

Some Lairs aren't very strong in themselves, but their sub-entities are extraordinarily powerful, and their spores can cover an entire city. Others are quite the opposite, producing almost no sub-entities or spore clouds, using the limited organic matter only to enhance themselves.

Listening to Xiaoyu's murmurs, Falling Feather affectionately stroked its round head.

"Do your best."

If all else fails, they could still use trains to transport the sub-entities from Qingquan City to the front lines, one carload at a time.

The communication cables here were already laid, and the base station was set up as well; the total bandwidth of the base station could support a couple thousand "yii-mmms" without any problem.

Feeling the warmth on its head, Xiaoyu appeared to enjoy itself as it rubbed its head against his hand.

However, at that very moment, it suddenly froze in alert, its amber pupils fixing on the sky.

Noticing Xiaoyu's unusual behavior, Falling Feather immediately withdrew his hand and asked seriously,

"What's wrong?"

"Yii-mmm. (There's something really stinky approaching...)"

After a pause, it seemed to ponder for a moment, its eyes emitting a faint glow.

"Yii-mmm! (...But it should taste good!)"

...

A gray-green fog began to rise slowly, spreading across the vast wasteland.

The construction crew by Wei River Side.

A middle-aged man wearing a hard hat and carrying a shovel suddenly had a look of fear on his face as he murmured with trembling lips,

"...Fog is rolling in."

His name was Wang Youtian, a survivor from the Southern region of Brocade River Province; he had heard that working here not only paid money but also included a distribution of land, so he joined the Southern Construction Corps and had been working for three months now.

As a local, he couldn't be more familiar with the situation here.

Seeing his pale face, the construction crew leader, Hong Liming, realized something was amiss and approached to ask,

"What happened? Do you know something?"

Swallowing hard, Wang Youtian spoke with a trembling voice,

"This happened once before..."

"Happened?" Hong Liming frowned and pressed on, "What happened?"

Recalling the event that had taken place, a hint of terror filled Wang Youtian's eyes.

"Last time it was the same, the fog suddenly appeared, and then when the fog cleared, everyone in the mansion, the livestock, the orchard, and the crops... all had disappeared," he said. "Except for the houses, everything alive was gone."

Everything was gone?

Hong Liming was stunned and looked at him with a strange expression, an incredulous look on his face.

He had never heard of such a bizarre incident, but the man's expression didn't seem feigned.

After thinking for a moment and noticing that it was getting late, he called out to the construction crew that was working.

"Wrap it up, back to base!"

Upon hearing the captain's order, the road construction team immediately packed up their tools, and two excavators began to turn around to return.

Watching the sudden stoppage of the construction work, the Mouse Tribe people laboring in the fields all looked up curiously towards them.

"Why are these folks knocking off so early today?"

"The sun has risen from the west."

"Could it have something to do with this fog?"

"This fog is indeed a bit strange... and smells a bit off too."

People exchanged glances and whispered to each other in hushed tones.

At that moment, a member of the construction team walked to the edge of the field and shouted to them.

"Something's not right here, you guys better wrap it up too, don't stay outside."

A Centurion, struck by the thought, yelled out to the construction worker.

"What exactly happened here?"

"I don't know, but it's similar to the fog that happened in Brocade River City... I heard that breathing too much of it can make people lose their minds, much like Nago; it's not good stuff anyway."

Although the Weifu military base was also engulfed in the fog, after all, it had Alliance and corporate researchers.

With so many experts and scholars there, they would surely come up with some sort of plan.

Having left these words behind, the construction worker covered his mouth and nose with his clothes and hurried to catch up with the retreating team.

The Centurion and his fellow Mouse Tribe compatriots left behind wore blank expressions, unsure of what to do next.

Brocade River City?

What place is that?

And Nago...

Since they had come to the Wasteland, they had heard about and seen too many things they had never heard of before, things so foreign to them it seemed incredible.

If it had been earlier, they likely wouldn't have taken it seriously, but they had just been beaten up half a month ago, and it still stung a bit in their memories.

"I'll go consult with Leader Makur." Not daring to hesitate, the Centurion quickly threw down his farming tools and rushed towards Leader of Thousand Makur.

By the time he got there, Makur was sitting under a cool shelter, looking up at the fog murkily hanging in the sky and muttering.

"Why is there fog at this hour?"

It didn't look like the weather was changing, did it?

Seeing his officer rushing over, Makur straightened up in his chair and asked with a composed demeanor, clearing his throat,

"What's the matter? You seem to be in such a rush."

Without worrying about decorum or ceremony, the Centurion reported urgently,

"Sir! The Southern Construction Corps of the Alliance just warned us, saying that there's something dirty in the fog. They told us to retreat to the military base quickly and better not stay outside."

Makur furrowed his brow upon hearing this news, standing up from his chair.

"Retreat? Are the mutants attacking?"

The Centurion quickly shook his head.

"No... but this sudden fog, it seems to be related to the people of the Torch."

Upon hearing that it wasn't an attack by mutants, Makur rolled his eyes and sat back down in the chair.

"Hah, I thought it was something serious, it's just a bit of mist, look at how scared you all are."

Seeing the indifferent expression on the officer's face, the Centurion was startled and immediately became anxious.

"But..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Makur waved his hand dismissively, gesturing impatiently for him to leave.

"I said it's just a little mist, it's not like we can't see, hurry back to work! Don't even think about slacking off all day."

These Alliance guys are up to no good, probably staging some trick of their own.

He clearly remembered that the Allied forces' front had already pushed to the middle of Ten Peaks Mountain, how could the Torch possibly reach out here?

Seeing that the officer hadn't taken in a word, the Centurion began to sweat with urgency but dared not say more.

Spotting the overseer with a whip looking unfriendly, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and return to the fields, picking up the farming tools he'd left beside the ridge.

Those overseers become Supervision Officers on the battlefield, and this bunch never treats their own gently; their blows are merciless, and he definitely didn't want to go back with a marked face.

Just then, there was a sudden thud, and someone collapsed in the field.

The person appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with a waxen complexion and a body as thin as a rack of bones—it was clear he was a serf.

Those nearby hurriedly dragged him out of the field and laid him flat on the ground.

The commotion quickly caught the attention of the overseers, and one with a whip approached and shouted at the gathered crowd.

"What are you all doing there!"

A trembling voice from one of the Rat Clan called out.

"Someone's fainted! Sir!"

The overseer let out a snort of laughter.

"Fainted? I think he wants a taste of the whip! Get him up!"

When the people couldn't wake him no matter how they tried, the overseer walked over, squatted down, and slapped the middle-aged man across the face twice.

After two slaps, the man did stir, opening his eyes weakly, but what appeared were not the expected black pupils, rather the stark white of his eyeballs.

"Yo, I think you're sick of living."

Thinking the man was challenging him, the overseer instantly became enraged, eyebrows raised, reaching out to grab the man's neck, only to see him suddenly open his mouth and bite fiercely.

The bite was unforgiving, seemingly venting all his pent-up grievances, and in a moment tore the hand to shreds, blood coursing freely.

"Ahhhh!!!"

The overseer's screams echoed through the fields.

He desperately tried to pull his hand from the man's mouth, but the man clung to it tenaciously, refusing to let go.

The onlookers were stunned, momentarily forgetting to intervene.

No one expected the emaciated man to burst with such force, nor did they expect him to attack someone from the Supervisory team.

Was this a death wish?

They were ultimately people of the Expeditionary Army, and who knew if General Babita would suddenly send them back to the battlefield.

Offending the Supervisory team now might mean getting a bullet in the back of the head later.

This was a lawless land, far from the Emperor's reach—if two people died here, no one would bother investigating.

Plainly speaking, they were nothing but mice struggling to survive in the estates of the nobles, their names not even to be remembered...

A black mood swelled within everyone's hearts, gradually twisting.

What did it matter if the world came to an end? It never belonged to them for even a second.

Suddenly, they didn't want to separate the two men. They just wanted to watch that old, white-eyed rat tear open the Horse Clan overseer, letting his blood saturate the land.

But not just that.

It would be better if everyone died...

Only when every last trace of humanity was extinguished, and with it mankind's flawed nature, could they start anew, finally ending that painful cycle.

The cycle wasn't just of Poluo Province, but of everything!

Suddenly, another person fell to the ground, only to crawl out of the dirt shortly after, and soon the fields echoed again with the roars of wild beasts and heart-wrenching screams.

That mist seemed to possess a strange magic that could affect the mind, amplifying primitive instincts and desires infinitely and ultimately turning one into a puppet driven by those tendencies.

Like hunger.

Tiny mycelia emerged slowly from the soil, infecting the crops and vegetation and then releasing spores, assimilating other living things as well.

It appeared to be the source of the dense fog.

The denser the vegetation, the thicker the gray-green mist.

And the more malnourished and weak the person, the easier it was to be infected.

Especially that piece of land turned into an orchard.

Of an entire band of a hundred, only a few were still lucid, screaming and fleeing.

These poor souls who hardly ever ate a full meal were undoubtedly the perfect breeding ground for the plague!

Makur was stunned, staring dumbfounded at the chaotic field, a hint of panic finally appearing on his face.

"These lunatics... are they rebelling?!"

Surely not?!

He had just wanted them to do some work, and besides, the work here wasn't any more tiring than what they were used to back home!

It was only then that he realized what the Centurion had said earlier, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"This place is no longer safe... we need to leave here quickly. Yes, to the train station, quickly!"

Everyone on the Wasteland was a madman; anyone who came here would gradually become abnormal.

He now believed it.

Only Poluo Province was the safest place; he had to return there immediately!

He turned around to run from this place, only to see a swarm of madmen already surrounding him, blocking all his escape routes.

The supervisors beside him looked at him in panic, their eyes filled with fear, seemingly asking what to do.

Makur steeled himself and shouted loudly.

"These people are all traitors! They... have betrayed the Empire! No need for mercy, kill them!"

With permission to open fire, the supervisors drew their pistols and aimed at the approaching madmen, pulling the triggers without a second thought.

Gunshots echoed across the fields, but the firepower of a few pistols was far too little to hold back the surging crowd.

Including Makur, four officers and twelve supervisors were quickly overwhelmed by the thousands-strong human tide and pressed to the ground.

Screams rose and fell, only to be drowned by the gnawing and crunching noises.

"Stop! You disgusting rats! Let me go! Aren't you afraid His Majesty will have your families— Ah!!!"

"Help... please... I beg you..."

Those insincere pleas were obviously ineffective; Makur's voice grew weaker and finally became an indistinguishable mass of bloody flesh.

Those frenzied Rat Clan people had their fill as well.

Having not eaten meat more than once or twice a year, this time they feasted to their hearts' content.

A burning desire for flesh ignited in their pupils, which became tinged with blood-red.

At the same time, nurtured by that fresh blood, a deep green sporulation slowly crawled out of their noses and ears, like moss growing from a corner of a wall.

But it wasn't just that—

The soil beneath their feet also began to loosen slowly, and as something followed the mycelium emerging from the soil, it too crawled out of the rotting earth.

They were skeletons buried for who knows how many years, most of their bones already brittle, but the gray-green spores had glued them together again, absorbing the residual genetic material, and granted them new "bones" and "flesh."

Spores in the air pointed them in their direction, dragging their incomplete bodies, uttering "hiss, hiss" as they advanced toward those stubborn organic beings who refused to embrace evolution...

The gunfire wasn't limited to the endless fields by Wei River Side; it extended to Kun Town, not far from Weifu military base.

Most of the survivors stranded here were Wasteland Wanderers from Brocade River Province, particularly those from Mafu Town, who were not just strong but also had a fierce reputation; not many were infected by the Nago mycelium.

But those things that suddenly sprang from the ground still brought considerable trouble...

The pub at the entrance of the small town.

A burst of bullets took down a dozen sub-entities that rushed over, and Mosquito cursed and complained.

"Damn it! What the hell are these things?!"

"Did they update an expansion pack again??" Standing beside him, "Kakarot" was equally bewildered, unable to figure out what exactly was happening.

The Mouse Tribe lad who helped Mosquito sell cards was shivering and hiding under the table.

This guy had been eating well lately, and it seemed his nutrition was up to par, so he hadn't mutated.

Centurion spoke with a tense expression.

"These guys are just like zombies... Could they be the survivors who disappeared from the manor before?"

"I'm afraid it's not just that! Those Torch Church bastards must have dug up all the old graves from 200 years ago!"

After reloading his rifle, Mosquito pulled out the Mouse Tribe lad who was hiding under the table while shouting loudly at the bar owner hiding behind the counter.

"Stop hiding there! Hurry up and come with us!"

"What the hell happened?" The bar owner crawled out from under the counter with a terrified face and asked Mosquito, his voice trembling.

Hearing the chaotic gunfire outside, Mosquito said succinctly.

"Don't know, but we'll find out when we get to the military base."

...

What Mosquito didn't know at the moment was that the Weifu military base was also filled with gunshots.

Besides those that crawled out from the soil, there was also a large-scale mutiny among the Clone Troops of the Army.

At least half of the Glory Army had been infected by the Nago mycelium.

Different from the biting Mouse Tribe, the frenzied clones grabbed Ripper Rifles and aimed them at their comrades-in-arms, even at other members of the Allied forces.

After being beaten for half a month, the Torch Church finally launched a counterattack.

And it was in a way that took everyone by surprise, suddenly emerging from underneath the ground.

The Alpha Special Mobile Force fighting at the front lines and the Mutants on Blood Mountain immediately fell into a stalemate.

Upon learning about the situation behind the Allied forces from the Beast King, the prophet of the Blood Hoof Clan, Sodo, seized the opportunity and called on his Plague Monks to launch a fierce counterattack.

At the same time, Goblins that were hiding in the caves and cellars of Broken Blade Mountain, Black Cloud Mountain, and even Weifu Mountain, and who hadn't been completely eradicated, also surfaced, launching kamikaze attacks on the troops stationed at the positions.

The battlefield was in chaos.

From the front lines to the rear, there were flashing flames, and everyone was seeing red.

Onboard the Loyalty Airship.

General Lucien nearly blew his top when he got the news and cursed at the messenger.

"Tell General Melka! If he can't take down those crazy Clones within half an hour, he can come to see me carrying his own head!"

"Yes, sir!"

The messenger saluted hurriedly and scampered off to the communication radio to relay the orders.

Sitting in his chair, Lucien was visibly angry, but inwardly he was taken aback.

Clone rebellion was something unprecedented in his experience.

It seemed that the Torch Church really had come up with something formidable.

Without a doubt.

It was related to that strange fog that enveloped the entire wasteland.

His expression fluctuating, he looked at his silent adjutant and lowered his voice.

"Notify Bennott in the City of Dawn to contact Triumph City; the front lines need reinforcements of five... no, ten divisions."

They had to ensure not only victory but also control over Haiya Province after the war.

Until they figured out just what that fog causing the clone rebellion was all about.

At least this technology couldn't be secretly taken by the Academy or corporations anymore.

The adjutant nodded gravely.

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, at the Weifu military base.

The Guards Corps, composed of Awakeners, quickly suppressed the clone soldiers rushing towards the United Army Headquarters and completed a rendezvous with the swift-responding 2nd Group of the 100th Division of the corporation.

The targets of Nago corrosion were mainly those with low immunity and weak wills.

All members of the Guards Corps were Awakeners, not only had they undergone rigorous training, but they were also absolutely loyal to Chu Guang, hence none of them got assimilated into "Heaven's" puppets.

Although the corporation's soldiers weren't Awakeners, most of them had installed bionics that enhanced their immunity or prosthetics, so they weren't affected either.

The Alpha Special Mobile Force was no exception, and though their immunity was average, their gas masks were not for show.

Only the Alpha protozoans could penetrate through gas masks, regular spores and sticky communities couldn't get through.

Not to mention that most of them had undergone psychic castration surgeries, it was nearly impossible for them to become puppets of "Heaven" even if infected.

In the end, the ones who suffered the greatest embarrassment were the Army.

Although those from Vellante looked unharmed, the Glory Army had caused a huge disaster, resulting in the entire 31st Division being left in disarray.

As for the Empire, since most of the Rat Clan people were scattered outside without guns, even if the disaster struck, no one was harmed.

The situation inside the military base was quickly brought under control, yet more "zombies" were emerging endlessly from the plains of Weifu and converging towards the Weifu military base.

Some survivors from Kun Town had escaped into the military base, while others rode on horses or motorcycles and trikes, fleeing north along the railway line to Mafu Town.

That was the edge of the fog, where no such filth should keep emerging.

United Army Headquarters.

Lu Bei, clad in an exoskeleton, walked up to Chu Guang and spoke solemnly,

"My lord, the outside is safe now, please return to the airship immediately!"

"No need," Chu Guang looked up at the foggy sky and casually said, "I've already ordered the retreat of the airships."

According to the radar detection from the airship, a group of flying units was approaching from the south towards the plains of Weifu.

If nothing unexpected happened, those guys should be the "Batwing People" they had encountered in Brocade River City previously.

Or perhaps they were an improved variant of those creatures.

The Loyalty Airship seemed to have also noticed the approaching threat and was moving northward.

Having those creatures board the airship would indeed be troublesome, especially since he was not on board and there weren't many players left on it.

So he ordered the airship to retreat, playing the role of a mobile artillery platform as well as the carrier.

As for himself, Chu Guang was not too worried.

His rare interventions did not imply he was incapable.

However, Lu Bei still had some concerns in his eyes and continued to try to persuade him.

"But..."

"I don't want to hear 'but,' those ambiguous answers."

Seeing that Chu Guang had no intention of changing his mind, Lu Bei ultimately could only bow his head.

"Yes."

Chu Guang nodded satisfactorily and continued to give orders.

"Now, take me to the Temporary Research Institute."

Right when the crisis erupted, he had ordered half of the Guards to head to the Temporary Research Institute.

There were not only the wounded from the Alpha Special Mobile Force but also prisoners rescued from the front lines, who themselves were addicts to Nago substances.

As expected, there were also problems with those individuals.

It was fortunate that the Guards Corps was quick enough, or it would have been uncertain whether the few security personnel at the research institute could withstand the attack of those hundreds of hands.

Indeed, the Bishop atop Ten Peaks Mountain had brought him quite a surprise.

While everyone's attention was on Ten Peaks Mountain, a bomb had been planted right beneath their feet.

Chu Guang had considered the possibility that "Heaven" in the Triumph City area might have already been completed. And in the fourth phase of Heaven, its existence would no longer depend on the Fake Nest.

Perhaps this was the true reason the Torch Church had evacuated the survivors, rather than due to fear of the Allied forces and a proactive contraction of their defenses.

However, the Alliance Biological Research Institute's investigation of local soil samples did not detect any traces of mycelium, and later, corporate researchers also found none.

It seemed as though the mycelium hid deep underground and actively concealed its presence.

They had even learned to fish.

This was very strange.

"I'm sorry... It was my oversight," said Heya, her complexion pale, lips trembling, her eyes filled with regret.

Her lab coat was stained with blood, left by the defenders who had protected her.

In her heart, she entirely blamed herself for the current situation.

The thought of those who had died because of it caused her chest to ache painfully, and she couldn't help but sob...

Unlike Heya, who was caught in regret and self-blame, Chu Guang didn't think this was her fault.

Any doctor facing an unfamiliar disease could be helpless, especially when the thing in question had gone beyond the realm of common sense. Even from his perspective, the card played by Torch had a mystique almost akin to "magic."

She had done very well.

But those "senior brothers and sisters" from the same school as her on the other side were not vegetarians either—they had even eaten ten-plus more years of "food" than she had.

After giving her a comforting hug and observing Heya gradually calm down, Chu Guang spoke in a gentle tone,

"This isn't your fault. You did everything you were supposed to do, but we can't guess every card in the enemy's hand every time. And I must admit, they hid their card very well. I almost thought the Mutants on the mountain were their only reliance."

"Rather than grieving for those who have died, what we need to do now is to address the current issue. You are the expert in this field; I need your experience and knowledge, we all do."

Heya, feeling embarrassed by her current state, took the tissue Chu Guang offered and wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

Blowing her nose hard, her usual calm and composed expression quickly returned to her face.

"What's the situation outside now?"

Chu Guang replied patiently,

"Don't worry about the outside, we've taken control of the situation."

Heya asked, "What about those who lost control?"

After inquiring with Xiao Qi, Chu Guang replied, "We are prioritizing control over those who can be contained. Some who are severely infected, we've had to execute on the spot."

Like the Clone Troops of the Glory Army.

Those guys were simply too dangerous, not just stabbing with bayonets but even firing guns at random. So much so that he didn't need to issue the order himself—the Army had already taken the initiative to execute them.

Some from the Weilante People even wanted to execute the uninfected ones to eliminate future troubles.

But he had stopped that.

What concerned him most now was not the tens of thousands of Zombies besieging the military base.

Those things were just Cannon Fodder in the face of modern weapons, posing no more than Eater-level threats. The only trouble on the plains was that they kept emerging, making them difficult to guard against.

Yet, based on Chu Guang's understanding of Torch, those guys probably had more than just one card in their pockets.

This time was very likely the same as the last.

What emerged from the ground was merely a bait to distract them; something else had already set its sights on them.

Their counterattack was finally starting!

Upon hearing that some were still alive, Heya buried her nose in her palms, took a deep breath, and suddenly spoke in a calm voice,

"The Type B Strain..."

Chu Guang looked at her and asked.

"What?"

Heya: "The Type B strain we collected from Baiyue Province! The clinical trial results show it has a restraining effect on the growth of the J-type strain… Since it's difficult for it to propagate outside of Baiyue Province, we attempted to collect its extract. According to the experimental results in Singular Point City, the specially treated extract has a significant therapeutic effect on Nago infection patients and should be able to restore some patients with not-too-serious symptoms back to normal."

Chu Guang immediately said upon hearing this.

"Is there enough extract?"

Heya nodded her head.

"Production isn't very difficult… however, it's best to transport the patients outside of the contaminated area for treatment."

Chu Guang tapped his ear and gave Xiao Qi an order.

"Have the 100th Division allocate a battalion of troops to transport the controlled patients to Singular Point City for isolation and awaiting treatment. Additionally, notify Frost to prepare an isolation area that can accommodate at least 3,000 people."

Xiao Qi: "Received!"

After the order was issued, Chu Guang looked toward the increasingly darkening sky outside the window and couldn't help but frown.

The Batwing People lurking nearby seemed to be planning to make their move after dark.

He had just received word that the Air Force No. 7's Flapping Machines were already on standby at the apron.

Considering the large number of enemies and the risk of enemy forces being dispersed, he did not order an immediate strike.

However, these were all tactical details; even without his deployment, the various units of the Allied forces would carry out the combat plan in an orderly fashion.

His real concern was on the strategic level.

The Heaven looming over the Weifu wasteland had already bared its canine teeth, and the continuously emerging puppets would pose a significant harassment effect on the logistics of the Allied forces.

Unless they could completely eliminate the Nago mycelium on this wasteland.

However, to achieve this goal through physical sterilization would require an astronomical amount of fuel, no easier than leveling the Ten Peaks Mountain.

Even more troublesome, in fact.

After all, the mycelium wasn't ceasing growth; it was continuously drawing energy from the soil.

Only magic can defeat magic.

To completely eradicate them, one must employ methods similar to theirs.

For instance…

The biotechnology that the Alliance excels in.

Just then, an idea suddenly struck Chu Guang, and he spoke impulsively.

"What if we inoculate Xiao Yu's offspring with the Type B strain to produce spores through them?"

Although the offspring cultivated from Xiao Yu's main body do not produce spores, those produced from the "large incubator" in the center of Qingquan City do have the ability to secrete spores.

They just lack the function to communicate through spores.

He thought of the Mutants of the Blood Hoof Clan, who seemed to be used by the entity codenamed Alpha, the Fake nest, as a medium for cultivating spores.

If a similar approach was taken, making Xiao Yu's offspring the medium for the Type B Nago strain, it might solve the issue of the strain's difficulty in propagating outside of Baiyue Province and could potentially accelerate the spore secretion rate of the strain.

When no longer needed, it would be much simpler to eliminate them; sending them off to Baiyue Province through Xiao Yu would suffice.

Although it was an immature idea, after hearing it, Heya was slightly taken aback, then said,

"I don't know… but it might be worth a try, clinically, the spores secreted by the Type B strain do have a restraining effect on the J-type strain."

As she spoke, her train of thought seemed to open up, and her eyes gradually began to brighten.

Seeing that there might be some merit to the idea, Chu Guang unhesitatingly said,

"Then let's start the experiment immediately! We have plenty of samples here for your research, whether it's the Type B strain or other equipment needed, I will arrange for an airplane to air-transport them to you."

"If you have any requests, just let me know; if the Alliance can't solve it, I can also help you find resolutions from the Academy or the corporations."

This was not just the Alliance's problem, but a problem for all members of the Sticky Community.

He believed the old farts wouldn't just sit back and do nothing.

——

(Thanks to the "Soul of Division" book friend for the alliance leader's reward!!!)

Chapter 746: The Decisive Battle That Determines the Fate of This Land!

Deep within Blood Mountain, a dark and profound cave was hidden.

Silent scriptures were slowly chanted in a nonexistent void, as statues, imbued with an ancient scent, slowly opened their eyes.

Each one bore names and surnames, being the strongest among the countless Green-Skin Big Guys and the champions among the myriad plague monks. They were also his most satisfactory masterpieces.

Yet, they were far from true perfection, just like the deceased "Ollon," merely a prior work that had not taken hold.

Nevertheless, as a vessel for momentarily housing his soul, they were more than sufficient.

He didn't mind a brief condescension.

To meet that individual, he needed a body that could traverse the Mortal World.

"…The fourth phase of heaven has restarted, eternal heaven has descended, and all creatures on earth shall become followers of the lord, embracing the supreme evolution."

"My lord is everything, and everything is my lord."

The statue at the very center opened its eyes, revealing a horrifying green glow.

That eerie light seemed to lock onto a figure outside the cave, a deep blue silhouette.

There was no mistake.

That deep blue-coated Police Power Armor was indeed the relic of Mr. Manager.

Now, another Manager from a different shelter was using it.

A chilling smile slowly formed on the monster's face, while an ominous voice emitted from its gaping maw.

"I see you."

The trembling of the earth was gradually approaching, interrupting his drifting thoughts.

The past of Shelter No. 117 was just that, a bygone era.

Today, they were no longer the noisy young lads who once opened doors to venture into the Wasteland that sought to save the world.

After years, they had borne witness to the incurability of their species—they knew all too well that merely opening a few doors was not enough to salvage this fallen Wasteland.

They would bring fundamental liberation to these obstinate brethren still struggling in their death throes!

Dust from an explosion drifted into the cave as an Alpha with a Gas Mask charged in.

Upon seeing the group of monsters, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes, but without hesitation, he immediately raised his Gauss Rifle.

Blue electric arcs sparked within the barrel as rounds accelerated to the limit filled the tunnel.

Expectedly, the monster should have been riddled with holes.

However, to his surprise, a massive force struck his chest, sending him flying through the air amid a blast of spore smoke.

He slammed heavily against the wall, the pain originating from his chest, and an involuntary groan of pain escaped his lips.

"Ah—"

If not for the Bullet-proof armor on his exoskeleton absorbing 90% of the damage, that blow could have been fatal.

"Corrosive explosives… all units be aware."

Looking at the corroded armor plates, he reported the incident while struggling to his feet, simultaneously picking up the rifle that had fallen to the ground.

It was then that he saw a three-meter-tall figure step through the gray-green smoke.

It had a humanoid shape, but was starkly non-human, its body covered in rotting folds akin to a "Swamp Beast."

Marked across its body were blood holes oozing dark red blood, wounds left by Mass Bombs.

Terrifyingly, the vermin-like entities within the blood holes visibly intertwined at high speeds, stitching the wounds together like a Nanoscale Therapeutic Needle enhancing rapid healing.

A flicker of astonishment passed through the Alpha's eyes, but it was fleeting.

He quickly drew the short-barrelled grenade launcher strapped to his side and fired an Incendiary Bomb.

Yet, the monster's speed exceeded his expectations, as it nonchalantly swung its arm, batting away the smoke-trailing incendiary bomb with ease.

Flames shot out deep within the cave entrance, along with trails of spark-laden smoke.

Watching the cave lit by the burning flames, the astonishment in the Alpha's eyes gradually turned into despair.

There were nearly fifty creatures like this monstrosity!

"…What do you think of the name 'Plague Champion'? I really am not good at naming my creations."

Overlooking the soldier who kept retreating, the leading monster wore an unnerving smile.

Facing the aimed rifle, it felt a touch of boredom.

These incomplete "counterfeits" didn't even know how to beg for mercy, pitiful like the slugs in a marsh.

It raised its right arm and forcefully smashed down, the heavy keratin blade chopping the silent individual in two with a wet slap.

"The rotting smell" was indeed emanating from this person's belly.

Pushing aside the chest, it even saw the twisted "larvae."

Even though these creatures tried hard, they were unable to mend such a fatal wound.

Indeed.

The human body was still too weak.

Shaking off the intestines and blood from the blade's tip, it turned to the group of ravenous Plague Champions, bellowing in a deep voice.

"Kill them all!"

Like ravenous wolves, the Plague Champions burst out in a hungry roar, rushing toward the cave's entrance, thus unveiling the curtain to a bloody massacre.

"Oh, oh, oh!"

The Alpha Special Mobile Force, having penetrated into the depths of Blood Mountain, immediately found themselves embroiled in a bitter fight.

In that spacious palace, the chosen prophet Sodo saw a glimmer of hope for victory. He pulled at his bulging frog-like cheeks and issued a rallying cry to the reinvigorated plague monks.

"Grind those human things to pieces—!"

"Throw them all in the pot! Boil them into soup!"

...

Not only were gunshots reverberating through the caves of Blood Mountain and the military bases, but the positions at Broken Blade Mountain were also erupting with flashes of fire and billowing gun smoke.

Almost at the same time that the gray mist rose, the mutants—the Big Guys and Goblins hiding in the tunnels—burst forth like they had received a signal, launching a fierce attack on the allied forces' positions.

Stationed here were the 1st Regiment of Mechanized Mountain Division No. 100 and a few officers from the army along with players from the Alliance.

The sudden outbreak of battle caught these new soldiers, who were on the frontline for the first time, completely off guard.

The Spring Water Commander had thought these "Treachery-tainted rookies" would bungle terribly, but their performance in battle exceeded his expectations.

Their sophisticated exoskeletons and rifles guaranteed a baseline of combat power while the diverse prosthetic plugins significantly enhanced their survival capabilities on the battlefield.

Although they indeed showed severe inexperience tactically, even experienced old soldiers might not have fared better against those rookies equipped with automatic aiming devices.

At least the "expensive ones" didn't perform much worse than those cheap mercenaries.

The remnants of the Stone Axe Family, like waves crashing onto a beach, quickly suffered heavy casualties.

Apart from those mutants who wouldn't die even with their heads blown off, which caused some trouble for the rookies, the rest—big green-skinned guys and Goblins—were shot en masse within the caverns.

The firefight on Broken Blade Mountain ended swiftly; the leader of the group quickly took stock of the casualties—20 dead, 39 injured, nearly a thousand mutants killed.

Regarding the players, since mostly old players who stayed at the positions to watch the excitement were present, there were no casualties.

With the demise of the remnants of the Stone Axe Family, every last bit of pus lingering in the crevices of Broken Blade Mountain was squeezed out.

But the pervasive gray mist showed no signs of dissipating.

Gunfire continued to echo from the front to the rear, especially near the military base, which was worrying.

Edge Shoveling wiped the blood off his engineer shovel and approached the Spring Water Commander, speaking sternly,

"Alpha is struggling to hold on. The Manager has asked us to go up and help them. Could you check on the military base?"

"We've already received orders to fall back. The Manager set up rally beacons at the military base... Apart from our Storm Corps, Brother Mole's Skeleton Corps will also be there."

Spring Water Commander tapped twice on the VM screen, looking at the map, his face involuntarily took on an appreciative look.

"So, the 'environment card' can be played like this too. These guys still have some tricks up their sleeves."

Despite facing a bunch of anti-human lunatics, he couldn't help but commend their tactical elegance.

If he had been the one to receive this card, he probably wouldn't have thought of a better play.

Perhaps Brother Guang, their card master, could have.

From some details, it was evident that their Manager knew how to play his cards right.

For instance, ordering the two airships to withdraw from the foggy area immediately was the correct decision.

On the surface, the gray mist couldn't stick to the airships, but what was hidden in the mist was another story.

"Have you also started playing cards?" asked Edge Shoveling, both crying and laughing.

Spring Water laughingly replied,

"No, I was just using a popular analogy to explain. Initially, I thought they were playing a clear-field strategy, but it turned out the clear-field was just a decoy—they had another trick hidden beneath our feet."

He paused, then continued,

"If nothing goes wrong, the main event should be tonight. If they have already planned to play this card, it must be for more than just causing us a little trouble. They must know that these alone won't be enough to defeat us."

Edge Shoveling's expression turned solemn.

"Is everything okay on your end?"

"Our end? Are you kidding?" Spring Water laughed heartily, speaking in a teasing tone, "We've never been afraid of anyone even when we had no airships, let alone now that we have two."

"Two starships on the face, tell me how we could lose?"

...

While the Death Legion and Storm Corps were assembling towards Blood Mountain and the Wasteland of the military base, the chaos at the military base gradually drew to a close.

Near the Imperial camp.

General Babita was hiding under a table, his body shaking uncontrollably.

Only when the gunfire outside quieted down a bit did he tentatively crawl out.

"Damn... where did these things come from?!"

Looking at the mess outside, his face was full of terror.

Especially when he saw the Alliance's Chimera Armored Car firing at the Clone soldiersiorces, the fear etched on his face was indescribable.

The Army and the Alliance were fighting?!

But...

Why now?

His brain was momentarily incapable of processing such complex information, or rather, he was completely out of sync with most people here.

Especially when he saw the Weilante People also exchanging fire with those clones, his brain nearly crashed, unsure of whom to help.

Madness...

All madness!

This Wasteland really has some damn issues!

Joining the Sticky Community was a mistake from the start. If only Duke Garava hadn't walked those extra 100 kilometers east, none of this would have happened!

They should never have made contact with the other Survivor Forces on the Wasteland, just selling cattle and slaves had been good enough.

If it hadn't been for that series of accidents and mistakes, the Poluo Province should still be that peaceful sanctuary, and he should be enjoying his life in his estate.

But now was not the time for regrets. Matters of such magnitude were not for a general like him to decide.

Finally calming down, he turned back to his deputy also hiding under the table and shouted,

"What about our troops? Get them assembled quickly!"

The deputy made a constipated face, looking mournful as he spoke,

"…Sir, our troops are scattered outside, only your personal guards are inside the base."

General Babita immediately shouted in urgent fury,

"Then what are you waiting for! Gather them up!"

"Yes, sir!"

Even though reluctant, the deputy had no choice but to toughen up and rush out the door.

Leader of Thousand Makur was in charge of suitable farm garrisons, just needed to find that guy!

Watching his deputy leave through the door, Babita paced back and forth inside the barrack, thoughts flying fast in his mind.

Just then, a Weylent Military Officer with two soldiers marched briskly through the door.

Seeing the tall nose bridge, General Babita's anger on his face dissolved and he quickly put on a smile to greet him.

"Friend, what exactly is happening outside? Why are you targeting those Clones—"

"You can't see what happened with your own eyes?"

The Weylent officer scowled and cursed, then bellowed, "Check your men immediately, we need to know how many are infected! This is an order from the Allied Forces Commander! Complain to Chu Guang about anything wrong!"

General Babita was stunned.

"Infected?"

"Yes, if you inhale too much of that mist outside, you'll end up looking like those executed Clones," the officer pointed with his chin at the window, mocked Babita whose face was turning pale, "If you're scared, better run home to mommy. This isn't a place for you."

Typical of a civil official to rear such spineless creatures.

Although General Modlin had advised them to be a bit polite to these people, since he found them acting all high and mighty, peering down their noses, he'd given up on any pretense of courtesy.

Watching the Weylent officer turn and leave, Babita's complexion grew even paler.

He was indeed frightened.

If it weren't for the Emperor's command, he'd have fled this troublesome place by train at once.

After what felt like an eternity, his deputy returned scrambling and crawling back, face full of panic.

"Sir..."

General Babita's eyebrows shot up as he glared at the man demanding,

"What now? Speak up properly!"

Faced with his superior's interrogation, the deputy with a mournful face said,

"Leader Makur is dead! Those... those rats have revolted!"

Babita gasped, eyes widening.

"Revolted?! Those damn rats? How dare they!"

These incompetent fools!

He'd been providing well for them, even spared them from eating dirt, and this is how they repay his kindness?

Truly the shame of the Empire!

"No, I don't know… it's rumored to be related to that mist, it's a bio-weapon from the Torch, they breathed too much of it, turned into cannibalistic creatures."

The deputy's face was pale, trembling as he spoke, while Babita grew increasingly fearful.

Remembering the words of that Weylent person earlier, he suddenly felt his own throat ache.

Could this be a sign of poisoning?

Swallowing hard, he couldn't stay a moment longer; he stepped towards the door to leave but then remembered the cannibalistic rats outside the military base and stopped.

Thoughts raced through his mind.

Perhaps spurred to brilliance by desperation, he actually came up with a life-saving idea and quickly grabbed his deputy to ask,

"…Where is the Marshal of the Allied forces? You know, the Manager from the Alliance!"

The deputy hesitated,

"At the corner of the camp, in the Battlefield Research Institute… Sir, shouldn't we go to the Weylante people?"

Babita replied almost instantly,

"Those guys are only reliable when there's something in it for them, not when it truly counts."

Dusk gradually sank into the boundless valley, and the night devoured the blood-stained wasteland.

The sky echoed with the shrill screams, like demons mocking the human world.

A humanoid giant beast, about three meters tall, undulated in the air, its powerful wings flapping behind it.

By human standards, its facial features were downright ugly, and it had long canine teeth hanging over its chin.

His name was Kupo, one of the Apostles in the district ruled by the "Beast King."

At this moment, he wore biological power armor developed by the Torch Church.

And with him, dressed in the same gear, were hundreds of "people" floating in the nearby airspace!

In addition to them, followed tens of thousands of batwing people.

These were mutant infants, synthesized through special culture dishes, and controlled just by the Mind Interference Module of the biological power armors.

Commands need not even be issued, as even if they were thrown onto enemy lands, letting them feed and hunt by instinct, they could cause immense trouble for Torch's enemies.

The related technology had already been experimentally completed in the Brocade River City district; they had enough incubators and organic matter to breed these creatures.

Not even large caliber artillery could stop the expansion of the tide-like wave.

"…We have already started the electronic warfare with the allied forces, but that is not our forte. It's probably only a matter of time before their radars burn through us."

Hearing this from a comrade nearby, a cruel smile appeared on Kupo's face.

"No matter! It has been enough."

Their target was never the two retreating airships; instead, they had aimed at the military base from the beginning.

Not only was the command hierarchy of the allied forces stationed there, but also biological experts from the Alliance and corporations.

Especially the latter posed a much greater strategic threat to Torch than the two airships.

To lure those people to the front line, they had invested heavily, releasing enough research materials and gradually giving them to the allied forces through three positions.

He was very aware of the attraction of those research materials to scientists.

Considering the allied forces' crushing momentum at the frontline, some ambitious researchers would be drawn to the area in order to get firsthand data as quickly as possible.

Now, the time was ripe; it was time to close the net.

"… Remember your targets, inflict all possible casualties on all combatant and non-combatant personnel in the military base! Do not bother to verify their identities, unless they surrender and confess their identities voluntarily!"

"Now! Charge with me!"

He roared excitedly and led the dive toward the ground.

Under the leadership of the hundred Apostles wearing biological power armor, tens of thousands of batwing people in the nearby airspace charged toward the military base simultaneously.

The formerly tranquil fog boiled like heated water.

As if receiving the call to attack, those zombie puppets dominated by Nago mycelium rushed toward the direction of the military base, as if drugged.

Previously, they moved under the guidance of their instincts and spores, but now they responded to the call from heaven—or rather the signals from the Mind Interference Device.

The hundred biological power armors equipped with Mind Interference Modules were the source of the signal.

Watching the "Eaters" surge like a tide, many soldiers serving in the Southern Construction Corps' Punishment Camp showed surprised expressions on their faces.

A soldier who used to be a gang member in the slums of Giant Stone City couldn't help but exclaim.

"Damn it! Is this the 'Tide'?!"

Isn't the Tide something that only Spring City has?

How could it be that after the tide ended in Spring City, it started appearing outside of Spring City?!

It wasn't until a roar from behind that he was snapped out of his stupor.

"Fire! Everyone fire! Are your weapons just for show?!"

Streams of fire poured from heavy machine guns, the orange-yellow tracers piercing through the dense fog, dancing on the plain.

And it wasn't just machine guns—

Artillery positions and Wild Bull walkers deployed within the military base also unloaded fierce firepower, creating dazzling fireworks across the wilderness.

Bodies were continuously crushed on the ground, but it wasn't long before new ones emerged from the soil.

These were not temporary fabrications.

Instead, these were "fruits" that had been completed a long time ago, except that they, along with "heaven," had been buried deep beneath the soil.

The firefight surrounding the military base gradually escalated from sporadic gunfire to intense combat.

And at that same moment, radars aboard two airships and at the military base all simultaneously detected the threat from above closing in.

Finally receiving the order to launch, one Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machine after another vibrated its wings and took off from the apron, darting toward the fog-blanketed sky.

The Skeleton Corps' armored troops were crossing the wastelands near Mafu Town.

120 Chimera Armored Cars and 24 Type 2 Tanks disengaged from their transport trucks and formed an attack array on the boundless wilderness, heading full-speed into the pervasive gray-green haze.

The Death Legion, reinforcing the Blood Mountain frontline, also completed their assembly and charged toward those led by the plague monks, the "Plague Champions."

The shaky twilight finally vanished, and the night completely enveloped the war-torn wasteland and mountain ranges...

All the cards had been revealed, and all chips were now on the table.

Without a single sign, yet fully understood by everyone, the decisive battle that would determine the fate of this land had quietly begun.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one!

…

(Thanks to book ally "Miao Miao Sen Sen" for the alliance leader reward!!!)

Chapter 747: Sacrifice Offered for Faith

"Roar——!"

The deafening roar reverberated through the tunnels of Blood Mountain, as the blood-drenched Plague Champion walked forward with determined steps.

Nearby, four members of the Alpha Special Mobile Force stood prepared.

A meat grinder-like high-intensity battle had caused heavy losses on both sides. Nearly three thousand of the Blood Hoof Clan's plague monks had died, and most of the Alphas who entered the tunnels of Blood Mountain had also perished, leaving only about four hundred.

Countless drones were destroyed, and the narrow tunnels were filled with metal debris and muddy corpses.

It was impossible for just four people to stop the assault of the Plague Champion, but no one retreated.

Their superiors had issued a command to fight to the death.

Even when they received the unidentified biological augmentations, they were already prepared for death.

The four exchanged glances, conducted a brief communication over the channel, and then took the initiative to attack.

Two assault rifles and two Gauss rifles were positioned at the end of the tunnel, firing bursts of alternating yellow and blue light.

The Plague Champion, seemingly surprised that these humans dared to fire from cover, emitted a pained roar and quickly morphed its right arm into the shape of a cannon, releasing a pale red smoke toward the Alpha's position.

A dense cloud of spores burst open, smearing the faces of the four Alphas like exploding grenades, quickly burning through their gas masks.

Fortunately, they had all received Xiaoyu's biological enhancements, and their specially strengthened immune systems easily blocked the invasion of the Alpha protozoans.

However—

The trouble did not stop there.

The spreading smoke obscured their vision, and even activating the heat imaging in their tactical helmets, they could only see a blur of heat sources.

The footsteps shaking the tunnel were rapidly approaching. One Alpha immediately pulled out a solid hydrogen cell and threw it, followed by an airburst incendiary grenade in the general direction.

A dense wall of flames instantly rose up, forming a sea of fire that covered the entire tunnel exit.

Two Alphas fired suppressive shots toward the other side of the flames, while the other two quickly retreated, hoping to distance themselves from the Plague Champion.

However, the ineffectual attacks did not stop the creature's advance. The three-meter-tall black figure, like a tank moving through the tunnel, rolled over the dense fire wall and charged straight at the four men.

Its left hand wielded a large shield, and its right was attached to a large mace-like sword, a stark contrast to the Alpha Special Mobile Force's almost science-fiction level equipment.

Yet, in terms of technological content, it was not a bit inferior to that of the Alphas.

The Torch, although not completing the Perfect Life forms system, had still achieved breakthroughs on the existing basis—

Namely, consciousness governing the life process, not the life process governing consciousness.

These Plague Champions could select the needed genetic segments from their designed organs for customized expression, thus achieving the mimicry of weapons.

This was a singularity not even achieved in the Era of Prosperity's "designed evolution!"

One could say that their existence was a crystallization of technology, an incredible miracle.

The two Alphas who kept firing barely felt a train slamming into them.

The shadow piercing through the flames was merely a flicker before it split them in half at the waist, with shattered organs scattering across the ground.

Unable to even scream, the two died instantly.

The Plague Champion, soaked in blood, let out a liberating howl, its heavily wounded body healing at a visible speed, and the newly grown flesh looked even more ferocious.

"Monster."

"Undoubtedly."

The two remaining Alphas watched fearfully but neither retreated.

According to the battlefield situation analysis system, they had calculated their survival chances at less than 1%. Trying to turn back would only hasten their death.

Since they were meant to die, they at least had to die with some significance.

Two Alphas looked at each other, simultaneously unlocking the self-destruct mechanism on their exoskeletons.

The moment their life signals vanished, the self-destruct mechanism would activate, exploding the exoskeleton's batteries.

Though it might not kill that creature, it would give it some trouble.

Its regenerative capability was not limitless; damage beyond its healing threshold would kill it too.

Their fallen comrades had already shared this knowledge, and now, with their remaining breaths, they aimed to add a slightly better chance for their comrades to survive.

The battle was about to erupt!

Just as the Plague Champion was about to quickly execute these two, then move on to its next target, an intense fire unexpectedly pierced through the two Alphas, aiming straight for its face!

It instinctively raised its left arm to block, but the sizzling flame was quickly swallowed by the flesh-pink mycelium on the shield. Though the fire did not inflict fatal damage, it still momentarily halted its advance.

A look of surprise flashed across the Alpha's faces as they turned around.

Behind them stood a warrior in an exoskeleton, holding a large-caliber shotgun in his hands.

"Move aside!"

Edge Rowing shouted, manually firing the "Dragon Flame" shotgun, spewing flames relentlessly at the creature holding the shield.

With continuing blasts of intense heat, the Plague Champion let out a pain-filled roar, pushing forward with its shield against the fiery onslaught.

At the same time, a Strength-type player stepped forward, facing the whooshing blow of the right arm, charging forward without flinching.

"Thud—!"

A dull sound echoed through the tunnel.

The player holding the shield sank on his knees, but that was all.

The Plague Champion, however, stared in stunned disbelief at the unscathed shield in front of it.

Its right arm, morphed into a biomass battle axe, could tear through armored steel, yet it couldn't even scratch this object!

Clearly, it had no idea that this was structural material used in space stations.

Though it was slightly less effective against armor-piercing bullets, its ability to withstand high-speed impacts was exceptional.

After being struck, that player immediately dropped the shield, ducked low, and rushed to the Plague Champion, screaming as he thrust a needle tied to his belt into the monster's thigh.

The Type B Nago strain had a significant inhibitory effect on the Type J Nago strains, not only stymieing the swallowing capabilities but also suppressing their reproduction.

The self-healing ability of the Church of Torch's biological power armor was fueled by the Nago group, a finding by the Alliance Biological Research Institute after analyzing the body of "Gai En" last year.

Consequently, using this technology, the Alliance produced the "Type J Strain Inhibitor," specifically to limit the self-healing properties of the Torch's biological power armors.

The duration of the inhibitor was expected to last at least three minutes during which the efficiency of the biological power armor's repair could be reduced by more than 90%.

Until it completely metabolized the injected "toxin."

After the injection, the Plague Champion bellowed in agony, lifting its right leg violently, kicking the Strength-type player, who was holding the needle, sending him flying against a rock wall. He grunted dully, passing out, apparently disconnecting.

The Plague Champion, annoyed, ripped the needle from its right thigh, only to discover, in horror, that blood was uncontrollably leaking from the minuscule hole with no signs of healing.

Seeing the attack was effective, another player who entered the hole with Edge prepared an RPG rocket launcher, squatting on the ground, yelled as he unlocked it.

"RPG!!"

Smoke billowed from the launcher, hammering mercilessly against the shield, the exploding flames scattering wildly, blowing away chunks of stone and almost taking friendly troops with them.

Covering his head with his arms, Edge stepped back two steps, looking up with his shotgun in hand, only to see the Plague Champion, seemingly unfazed as if nothing had happened.

The shield attached to its left arm, however, was left with a vicious wound, yet the damaged area continued to heal at a visibly rapid pace.

"F*ck?! Why didn't it work?!" The guy carrying the RPG was instantly shocked.

Edge was also stunned for a moment, but he quickly recovered and yelled at him.

"Right leg! The needle hit the right leg! Aim at the right side of the body!"

His knowledge level was average, he didn't really understand what biological power armor was all about.

But by analogy to giving an injection, it seemed that only the area that was injected would feel numb.

Similarly, the recovery suppression would likely affect only the area that was injected.

"Damn!"

Suddenly coming to his senses, the player quickly reloaded the launcher with another missile and continued to aim at the staggering Plague Champion, pulling the trigger.

"RPG!!"

Another streak of white smoke shot out, this time hitting right beside the Plague Champion's right leg.

The explosive shrapnel, like a raging storm, embedded itself into the right side of that huge body.

The Plague Champion let out a pained roar, its eyes filled with disbelief and panic as it watched blood pour from its wounded side.

Its recovery ability had failed!

And that was not all—

Its entire right side seemed to have lost sensation, its strength draining away at a visible rate.

Not giving it a moment to breathe, Edge, holding a Flame Dragon Shotgun, charged forward and emptied his magazine into the retreating beast.

With a series of loud bangs, that towering figure finally fell heavily to the ground, completely motionless.

Seeing the boss finally defeated, the players burst into excited cheers.

Looking at these reinforcements, two members of the Alpha had expressions of confusion on their faces.

Edge walked up to one of them and briefly explained the situation.

"Commander Edge of the Alliance Death Corps, just half an hour ago, the Torch Church launched a raid on almost all our frontlines, especially near the Weifu military base."

That Alpha looked at him and asked,

"So, why are you here?"

"Because we are needed here," Edge glanced at the fallen Plague Champion, grinned, and continued, "And right now, the enemy's attention must be on the Weifu military base. It's the perfect time to take down Blood Mountain! The Manager ordered us to capture the lair hidden deep within Blood Mountain at all costs!"

"Understood." The Alpha nodded, a white mist emerging from his gas mask, "We will support you with all our might."

Edge grinned and asked,

"I've already introduced myself, what about you? What's your name? Where's your captain?"

The man answered concisely.

"Alpha 1006, our captain is everywhere, no need to worry about it, just talk to me."

Edge was stunned for a second, then laughed and extended his fist.

"That name is too long… I'll just call you Ah Liu."

The man nodded, bumped fists with Edge, and reloaded his weapon.

"Tell me your plan."

Edge: "We plan to attack directly at the main body of the lair. If we can take out the source of the plague, those mutants won't be worth mentioning."

Ah Liu looked at him impassively.

"Did you bring a high-yield bomb?"

"No need for that stuff," Debt Giant Eye said, emerging from behind with twenty Eaters that resembled a meat mountain. He wore a joyful smile as he spoke, "They are enough."

These were the smallest few; any fatter and they wouldn't have been able to squeeze in.

Somehow, despite Falling Feather's substantial offspring knowing how to control their "figure," the ones he raised were like idiots, only knowing to gorge themselves and then turn themselves into balls. Apart from helping to move things around or mend a bridge, they were useless on the front battlefield.

But now things were different.

At last, there was a chance for them to be of use.

Upon seeing those offspring, Ah Liu immediately understood their intent and nodded.

"Understood, I'll cover for you."

The two squads merged, reversing the earlier decline and once again launched an attack deep into the Blood Mountain.

Dressed in Biological Power Armor, there were fifty Plague Champions in total; the Alpha Special Mobile Force had already killed ten, leaving nearly forty.

These guys each had different abilities, just like the plague monks, with twisted forms and unexpectedly brutal battle tactics, chilling to the bone.

Yet, for the Alpha Special Mobile Force and the Death Corps, such a level of fear was merely a drizzle.

Especially the latter.

They were a bunch who even dared to face the Tide with the most primitive weapons, charging at hundreds of times their number in offspring and evolutionary bodies.

Now that their equipment had significantly improved, naturally, they had even less reason to frown.

The bloody skirmish continued all over the tunnels, with the intense stench of blood even overpowering the rot smell of spores.

Both sides had firm beliefs to defend and indisputable reasons not to back down.

For this reason, both sides also suffered heavy casualties.

Soon, the remaining forty Plague Champions were reduced to half.

And most of the remaining half were gasping for breath, their regenerative abilities and strength both pushed to their limits.

Standing in the "palace," Sodo's face slowly showed a hint of panic; the earlier excitement and shouting were nowhere to be seen.

It could feel the life drain from its followers and could hear the cries of the Lord of Plagues.

The god it worshipped was calling out to it, urging it to stop those rude intruders at all costs.

Yet those rude intruders seemed endless, constantly having people fall only to be replaced by others from behind. Even the very guard of the Beast King couldn't withstand the continuous torment.

Its plump body trembling, it rattled its toad-like jowls, muttering a grunt.

"Respected Lord of Plagues... Your servant cannot withstand them with this frail body. Please grant me a stronger body, I will clean them up for you."

It muttered under its breath, its ugly face full of piety, but no one responded to its prayers.

Not just the Lair hidden deep in the pit, even the "Beast King" who controlled everything was on edge, stunned by the current situation.

Especially the Beast King.

He had assumed that with the threat to the military base, the Allied forces would at least redistribute the troop strength from various positions for reinforcement. Yet, they still did not plan to give up the position at Blood Mountain and the nearly entrapped Alpha Special Mobile Force.

The reinforcements for this mountain peak amounted to at least 3,000 men, most of them Awakeners.

Their fearless methods of fighting evoked a hint of fear even in those pain-nullified plague monks.

He hadn't wanted to intervene personally.

But if he didn't deal with these troublesome guys, he feared he would not have a chance to meet that Manager again.

With a sickly green glow in his eyes, the Beast King stared at the soldiers in front of him and issued a commanding growl through the mouth of a Plague Champion.

"Stand aside."

The voice carried a mental pressure, like that of a higher being on the food chain suppressing those below.

However, what stunned him even more happened next, those people, after hearing his voice, far from showing fear, excitement lit up in their eyes instead.

"Fuck, this thing can talk!"

"MMP! This has got to be a real boss, right?"

Cocking his shotgun, the Outlaw Maniac howled in excitement.

"Brothers, let's group up!"

His call was met with a babel of excited shouts.

"Woo Woo Woo!"

"????"

Watching this group suddenly become euphoric, Beast King stood there, dumbfounded.

It wasn't until a grenade exploded in front of him that he, with a face full of rage, roared and charged at the noisy crowd.

His right arm, like a battle axe, swept across and sent the men and their shields flying.

Yet unexpectedly, instead of shrinking from his brutality, their excitement grew.

Those eyes, burning with a combatant's desire, seemed to be fixated on some delicious prey.

It was this arrogant disrespect that made the fire in his chest burn even wilder.

Were these weak human things all masochists?!

With an unprecedented rage burning in his chest, Beast King tried to steady his breathing, only to find his emotions uncontrollably erupting.

The brutal force flowed through his veins, not governed by his consciousness.

It was a feeling akin to craving food, similarly, an instinct of life.

Previously, he could control his emotions and make the calmest decisions solely because, being in the Holy Land, he didn't possess a physical body in the Mortal World.

But having been separated from the physical world for so long, he had long forgotten how to restrain his instincts.

"Roar—!"

Thoroughly infuriated, he, like a runaway horse, charged at the ants blocking his path.

And seeing his agitated and irritable demeanor, those players only thought the boss acted authentically.

Especially the one who had been first thrown off.

Seeing him back online, coughing up blood while excitedly shouting,

"Brothers, put in some more effort!"

"This BOSS is pissed!"

...

On the other hand, in the depths of the underground rock formation of Blood Mountain.

Ah Liu, leading Edge Shoveling and Debt Giant Eye, and their group continued to advance.

The remnants of the Alpha Special Mobile Force were mostly here.

Regrettably, what was originally a squad of over a thousand now only had 112 members left.

As for Edge Shoveling, aside from a dozen brothers, there were Debt Giant Eye's twenty uniquely-shaped "babies."

Currently, the path they were on was mapped out by sacrificing nearly a thousand drones and over a hundred members of the Alpha Special Mobile Task Force.

Tracking the bodies of the deceased members of the 13th Squadron, they had roughly located the position of the lair.

Most of the plague monks of the Blood Hoof Clan were restrained near the palace of the prophet named Sodo.

Although this place should have been heavily guarded, there were surprisingly few defensive forces, only a few dozen plague monks.

Edge Shoveling figured there must have been a problem with the command system of the Blood Hoof Clan; otherwise, those guys had clearly deployed a meticulous plan and wouldn't have had such a flaw at a critical location.

For instance—

The master of the plague needed to rely either on the "Beast King" or the "Prophet" to communicate with his subordinates, as those plague monks were not his genuine subsidiary entities.

If both the Beast King and the Prophet were too preoccupied, it could very likely cause a blockade in the command system, especially since their means of communication were already primitive.

In fact, let alone the mutants, their own command system often did not always work well in the complex tunnel terrain, with the signal frequently cutting in and out.

Even without considering the electromagnetic pulse traps hidden in the tunnels by Torch, the solid rocks themselves were natural barriers.

Edge Shoveling didn't know by what means Alpha maintained the organization, but they indeed had to rely on an "offline scheduled contact" plugin to transmit some important information.

"Is there any issue?"

Seeing the commander of the Death Corps constantly glancing at himself, Ah Liu tossed him an emotionless look to inquire.

Seeing that he had caught his gaze, Edge Shoveling didn't hide anything and simply went ahead and asked.

"No, I'm just somewhat curious... how do you all communicate with each other?"

Ah Liu: "It's quite simple, our thoughts are shared, each person is a communication node."

Hearing this, Debt Giant Eye couldn't help but show a strange expression on his face and blurted out a question.

"What if someone accidentally thinks about something weird?"

Perhaps because this wasn't a secret at all, Ah Liu didn't hide anything and said succinctly.

"For us, such concerns do not exist. We have removed parts of the tissue in our cerebral cortex; even necessary thought processes are based on the whole of the Alpha Special Mobile Force."

Debt Giant Eye: "Removed... But why go to such lengths?"

"Why..." Ah Liu pondered for a moment, "I'm not clear on what the higher-ups are thinking. Perhaps it's to elevate combat power, perhaps it's to eliminate other hazards, but even setting aside these reasons... don't you think it's convenient?"

Debt Giant Eye stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Convenient?"

Ah Liu nodded briefly and said.

"Even from an individual's perspective, senseless musings only add unnecessary suffering. Whether our sacrifices are meaningful, what we will gain after victory, and why one can only eat up to four bowls of rice per meal... Even if we got answers, it wouldn't change anything. Thus, I think it makes sense to save that computational capacity, at least we can enjoy the remaining time in our plans without concerns."

He paused then continued.

"About this, I must thank you. Our lives were supposed to end half an hour ago, but now it seems we might even make it to tomorrow's breakfast."

Watching this stiff guy, Edge Shoveling felt a strange sympathy arise inside him and said with a slight movement in his throat.

"...When we get back, I'll treat you, eat as many bowls as you want."

Ah Liu nodded and replied.

"I appreciate your kindness, but it's not a matter of money. However, we are quite looking forward to what new dishes the cafeteria will have tomorrow."

Looking at this rigid guy, Edge Shoveling made a helpless gesture.

"Then let's eat together, okay?"

He could order several dishes, so that these guys always sticking to one dish could change their taste.

Ah Liu pondered briefly and nodded.

"No problem."

Their superior didn't say they couldn't dine with allies; it's just that most people found them dull and preferred not to be close to them.

The target was getting closer and the stench of decay in the air was growing stronger.

Everyone was now fully alert, no longer speaking a word.

At that moment, a spacious underground space came into everyone's view.

In the center of that underground space was a deep pit as wide as a white jade rice measure.

Beside the pit were various wooden and iron devices, decorating the entire cave into a mysterious-looking altar.

Apart from the altar, there was also a group of plague monks, each with three heads and six arms, numbering over a hundred.

Their ugliness was indescribable, even the tentacled, multilegged beasts looked cuter in comparison.

Upon seeing the uninvited guests break in, the group of plague monks immediately howled and charged, trying to tear the intruders apart.

However, such numbers were no different from cannon fodder to the assembled Alphas.

They had already become accustomed to these monsters' unique way of fighting and their nearly perverse self-healing abilities, easily pinning these hundred or so lackeys in the tunnels with alternating gunfire from a safe distance.

The group came to the edge of the deep pit, where dark red mist seemed to waft out, just standing on the edge and looking down, one could feel the threat of death.

The surrounding Alpha protozoans were restless, unable to erode these guys.

A call that seemed like the howl of a beast but also a plea for mercy came mysteriously.

Edge Shoveling gave Debt Giant Eye a look, signaling it was time for him to act.

Although fully aware of the mission and unable to find any fault with the compensation offered by the Manager, pushing his own nurtured children down was still somewhat unbearable for Big Eyes.

After all, he was not truly Firstborn.

Looking at the chubby little fellows with bulging bellies, he rambled on.

"Little Grey, and Little Tiny Grey, Little Tiny Tiny Grey... don't blame daddy after you go down, daddy is also compelled, it's all the Manager's doing..."

Hearing his incessant muttering, Edge Shoveling couldn't help but roll his eyes.

If this damn thing was really so reluctant, why accept this task of selling his wife?

No one forced him.

There were plenty of Eaters in Qingquan City, and though not many were fattened up like these, it wouldn't have been a big deal to prepare more.

Debt Giant Eye hadn't even finished speaking when those twenty offspring seemed unable to listen any longer. They yelped as if to say goodbye, then jumped into the pit on their own accord.

They were just "cells" on Xiaoyu's body, having received orders from Xiaoyu before entering the cave, they didn't need the "caretaker's" command to carry out the task until the end.

Yet, seeing this, Debt Giant Eye looked deeply shocked, his eyes wide and his mouth agape.

"Fuck?! Is it so real?"

He didn't even have time to properly say goodbye to his children!

Edge Shoveling said, "They are merely offshoots with no self-consciousness, what did you expect?"

The tumble drum hair washer also couldn't help but join the teasing.

"Exactly! You think you can get a wife for 100 Silver? What were you thinking?"

"Darn it!"

Ignoring the quarrelsome bunch, Ah Liu walked to the edge of the pit and looked down.

"Is this enough?"

Patting Debt Giant Eye's shoulder, the tumble drum hair washer smiled and said,

"It should be! Our job here is done; the rest is up to Xiaoyu. If not, we can still throw this guy down, he also carries Xiaoyu's seeds."

Big Eyes: "%￥#@!"

Ah Liu nodded, looking toward the deep pit but slightly furrowing his brows.

His helmet's indicator showed that the concentration of spores in the surroundings was rapidly changing.

Clearly, those offspring entities were indeed a poison to the Lair named Alpha beneath his feet.

However, toxicity is relative; "Alpha" and the Lair in Spring City were not the same type.

The latter shared most of its organic matter with its children, while this thing hoarded most of the organic matter within itself.

The ways each explored the path of evolution were starkly different.

If the Lair in Spring City was a king who had conferred titles on countless knights and lords, then this Lair was akin to a wizard living in an ivory tower.

It was so stingy that it shared none of its own material, instead expanding its own territory with the power of its followers.

"…The concentration of Alpha protozoans is decreasing, the growth rate of spores is rising."

"Missile launch stopped, aggressiveness weakened… Is it assessing that the danger has been eliminated, or is it simply that it has no energy left?"

"If it were the latter, the spore concentration should be decreasing as well."

"'Sure victory'?"

"Unpleasant."

"If it's a conclusion drawn from the amount of offspring entities already deployed… Twenty entities might not be enough to completely devour this thing. We also can't rule out other possibilities; perhaps the offspring entities alone aren't sufficient, and something else is needed."

"What's the possibility assessment of mobilizing more offspring entities from the rear?"

"Zero, it will take at least an hour to send the message out, and according to the information provided by our allies, the rear is in an emergency situation, possibly unable to support us."

"If we let 'Alpha' adapt to 'Xiaoyu's' devouring, or take its genetic fragments for targeted evolution, then this attack method might lose its deterrent presence."

In just a few breaths' time, the group communicated through radio waves.

And regarding what needed to be done next, they had already reached a unanimous conclusion.

The attack was effective.

But it was not enough.

Glancing at several allies who were jokingly scuffling, Ah Liu then looked towards Edge Shoveling and suddenly, without any forewarning, spoke.

"Tomorrow, I might have to cancel."

Edge Shoveling was stunned, and Big Eyes, who was wrestling with a rolling drum hair washing machine, also froze.

Before the troop of players could come to their senses, Ah Liu had already removed her exoskeleton, gas mask, and helmet.

Only then did Edge Shoveling realize that the individual was actually a long-haired girl.

Her voice had not given it away…

It was not just Ah Liu; everyone synchronized their movements, leaving their weapons and armor behind.

Although the exoskeleton's battery could become the last bullet, what they needed to do was not to destroy the Lair, and such minor damage was utterly ineffective against this level of organism—only strategic-level bombardment could completely destroy it.

Their embedded Xiaoyu was the final bullet.

Amid countless injuries and healings, those little fellows had become a part of their bodies and had grown robust.

Although they could feel that the creature did not really like them, just like the other survivors in the military base.

But that wasn't important.

No one showed even a moment's hesitation; they calmly walked towards the abyss whose bottom could not be seen and then they leapt down…

---

(Happy Labor Day! Considering I'm working overtime on a holiday, brothers, please cast a monthly vote! It's double at the beginning of the month, I implore you! T.T)

Chapter 748: The Fall of Blood Mountain!

"No!!!"

A roar erupted in the blood-scented cave, awakening the blood-soaked Beast King from his furious trance, and he heard the wails permeating the red mist.

Altar!

Those guys had touched the altar!

A cold sweat mixed with plasma slipped from his forehead, and he suddenly realized he had focused his attention on one body for too long!

Having arranged everything, he was too curious about that guy's facial expression, so he specially selected the most perfect body from his collection to serve as his vessel in the mortal world.

However, it was this arrogance that led to an unanticipated flaw in his plan.

The negative emotions generated by the imperfect vessel rebounded against his spirit, and instead of thinking calmly, he was led by the nose by his anger, becoming a puppet of his emotions.

And it was during this momentary lapse that he had inadvertently allowed those people to reach the vicinity of the Lair.

But now it was too late for regrets, he could only hope that the guy's two hundred years of cultivation would have some effect.

"...No, my friend, can you hear my voice? Answer me quickly!"

The Beast King forcefully smashed a soldier who had fired at him and used his thunderous roar to drive the others back.

Taking advantage of the slight pause in the relentless attackers, he frantically called out to the Plague Master in his mind while trying to contact the Plague Monks at the altar.

But to his dismay, he couldn't reach them at all.

They had once sought his help, but their cries for help were drowned out by the clamorous gunfire and roars.

At that moment, a feeble voice drifted into his ears, like the dying whisper of a person lying on a deathbed.

"...Farewell, my friend."

"I enjoyed the two hundred-year journey, but... the world ultimately belongs to the younger generation. I am just too old."

"For over two hundred years, my footprints spanned five light years, yet I never left this mountain. The child had some valid points; perhaps my methods were wrong from the beginning."

"Fortunately, you're still young... by both human standards and ours."

"May you find that ideal Heaven."

That sentence was like a last will.

The very moment those words fell, the last thread connecting to his sea of consciousness was completely severed, and along with its spirit, it plunged into a bottomless abyss.

Though it couldn't affect the already impending "Heaven", he had lost the most important "card" in his hand!

Now, he could only hope for the inherent power of Heaven itself, and that the reinforcements from the Human Emperor were reliable enough.

"Die! All of you, die!"

The Beast King let out a furious roar, totally venting his wrath on the group that stubbornly clung to him, but this very fury made his attacks increasingly flawed.

His right leg was stabbed with the second syringe, and the injected Type B fungus strain extraction liquid completely overwhelmed his ability to recover. Then, an incendiary round hit his right side.

The boiling flames carbonized large patches of his skin, and the intense pain almost made him dissociate from his body.

Stumbling backward, he stepped on a corpse, and his three-meter-tall frame uncontrollably fell backward.

It was the body of "I'll Die First," and indeed, this guy was the first to lay down among the hundreds of corpses filling the tunnel.

Not missing this fleeting opportunity, the Outlaw Maniac took the syringe tossed by a teammate and pounced forward recklessly, jabbing the needle into the monster's chest.

Right when the sensation of piercing flesh reached the heel of his hand, the Outlaw Maniac felt a large hand grasp his waist, and then he was lifted off the ground.

"Ah—! Get off, you vermin!"

With a painful roar, the right hand of the Beast King grabbed the human lying on his chest and brutally smashed him against the wall, turning him into a crushed pile of flesh.

At that moment, under the control of the Intelligence System's "Wake and Trap", a self-exploding drone raced towards him and directly activated the explosion switch.

The explosion's blast forced him back down just as he was rising, slamming his upper body heavily to the ground.

It happened quickly, Midnight, bringing an umbrella but no knife, swiftly stepped forward, picked up the shotgun dropped by the Outlaw Maniac, and smoothly pressed the massive barrel directly under the chin of the monster.

"Die—"

He pulled the trigger.

The shattered pellets, along with the erupting flames, burst forth, and the head shattered like a watermelon.

His movements didn't stop; he pressed down the barrel and fired another five shots until the magazine was completely empty.

The body of the Plague Champion was a blur of flesh and blood, with crimson fragments everywhere.

Among those fragments, he even saw that emerald-colored eyeball...

"Is it over…?" he exhaled, collapsing backward to the ground, no longer distinguishing whether the hot flow on his body was blood or sweat.

His right hand touched a slick liquid, he lifted his hand to look and saw nothing but pitch black, then he wryly wiped it on his body.

This game won't get a license without an "harmony system"...

The entire tunnel was littered with corpses, including Death Legion players, Plague Monks, and Goblins. And in front of him lay that thing, the talking Plague Champion, probably the final boss.

Meanwhile, the red mist permeating the tunnel was also changing slightly.

The rotten smell seemed to vanish, replaced by a familiar scent.

All players knew what that was.

"Xiaoyu must have won."

Laplace looked up, glanced around, and then looked towards Brother Umbrella, sitting deflated on the ground, "What now? Do we continue forward, or should we go back and plant the flag on the mountain's peak?"

Their task was to conquer the Lair.

In fact, conquering the Lair was essentially the same as conquering the entire Blood Mountain.

Xiaoyu had finally taken control of the lair within the mountain and could soon synthesize new sub-entities to search every dark corner of the mountain, seeking out the hidden Mutants and their captive human survivors.

If there were any left.

"Looks like we'll just have to walk and see."

Rapidly getting up from the ground, Midnight, with an umbrella but no dagger, reloaded his shotgun; his exhausted expression vanished, replaced by a visage full of vigor.

"... I'll go see what treasures those Mutants have hidden in the palace, wouldn't want to miss out."

Laplace's expression turned slightly peculiar, his gaze drifting as he spoke on the side.

"I think it's more likely that we'll encounter mental contamination..."

...

"No, respected Plague Lord, please, don't leave your children... we can't be without you."

Sodo, with his bloated body huddled into a mass, sat slumped in front of a large pot, his face etched with despair, even his relentless enthusiasm for soup brewing had waned.

Once, he was revered by countless followers, but now he was alone.

The Plague Monks who used to crowd this place had all died in the battles with humans, and no more frail pups longed for his soup.

The red mist surrounding him was still a dense bloody red, but he could no longer smell the scent of the Plague Lord, and only endless, boundless silence answered his prayers.

His evolution had come to a stop.

No new things would emerge from his pus-filled sores.

He lowered his head like a two-hundred-ton child, staring down at his belly piled on the ground, muttering,

"Why..."

A sigh echoed through the gradually clearing pale red mist.

He lifted his head, looking blankly towards the dense mist, trying to locate the source of the voice.

"...What exactly would satisfy you in your evolution?"

"To consume everything!" Sodo said unhesitatingly, without even a second's thought.

A long sigh drifted from the mist.

"...Such a thing doesn't exist, even black holes can't swallow everything."

What's a black hole?

Sodo stared ahead, baffled by the meaning of the words but noted the denial in them.

In an instant, his detestable face contorted into a hideous grimace.

"You... nonsense! The great Plague Lord told us his mother could swallow a whole planet! If we keep evolving, one day we might—"

"Maybe."

It seemed the voice no longer wanted to listen to his dreams and casually interrupted him.

"...But if that day ever comes, it would be a catastrophe for the entire universe."

The voice disappeared.

As if it had never been there.

Sodo looked around uneasily, feeling a trace of panic about the sudden silence enveloping him.

Then, brisk footsteps and noise broke the silence within the palace.

The footsteps stopped at the entrance of the palace.

"Damn!"

"That's a huge toad! Wait... can this thing even be considered a toad?"

"Lucky we came to look, almost missed the real BOSS."

"Guys, get ready to group up!"

"Oh oh oh!"

Although Sodo did not understand what the people were saying, he could tell these were not kind words.

Facing those people with gleaming green eyes, Sodo truly panicked this time...

...

The battle at Blood Mountain had concluded, but the fierce fighting on the wastelands of the Wei Mansion had just escalated.

Supported by the artillery fire from the Iron Heart and Loyalty Airship, the Skeleton Corps armored formation had blasted a bloody path through the encircling sub-entities.

The 37mm rapid-fire cannon continued unleashing its firepower along with the machine guns mounted on Tank No. 2.

Both the Nago-infected casualties and the corpses awakened by Nago turned to dust in front of the fiery steel feathers, and were then crushed under the tracks.

Even so, the puppets controlled by the mycelium did not stop advancing, either converging on the armored divisions entering the wasteland or flooding toward the Wei Mansion military base.

The killed ones would sink into the soil and regrow after a long period.

Just like wild grass flourishing after a spring breeze.

As long as the gray-green haze lingered, as long as the mycelium entrenched in this soil did not die out—

They were endless!

In the sky above the Wei Mansion military base.

The intense crossfire was ongoing, with twenty Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines zigzagging through the gray foggy sky, unloading their bullets and rockets.

However, the sheer number of Batwing People dancing in the sky was too vast, and despite being supported by ground anti-air defenses, the three grouped strike teams made up of twenty Cloud Dragonflies struggled to contain them.

Four Thunder fighters stationed at the base urgently took off to assist, the 20mm cannons roared continuously, tracing dazzling streaks across the sky.

Besides that, 100 propeller planes took off from the Steel Heart.

Despite that, the numerical discrepancy between the two sides was still vast, and they weren't on the same level at all.

Especially since those batwing people did not swarm up to die but dispersed in the vast night sky.

And that wasn't all.

Their unique manner of movement made their flight path unpredictable. Even though their speed and rate of climb were far inferior to the Alliance's old propeller planes, hitting them was still quite difficult.

The Alliance had anticipated this. After all, many players had already experienced it during the battle in Brocade River City and had even developed a specialized "Bird-shooting tactic" against these Bird people: fire a volley and then flee instantly.

Though the maneuverability of the propeller planes was inferior to those winged creatures, it was almost impossible for those creatures to catch up with the propeller planes at full speed.

However, Torch seemed to understand this as well. He didn't tangle with the Alliance planes in the sky but headed straight for the ground military base, especially the airfield!

If they took the airfield, the Alliance planes would have no way to resupply. They'd have to return to the Steel Heart or land somewhere in the wasteland.

The vast wasteland was awakened along with "Heaven" and its subordinate entities.

Even though their individual combat power was weak, even the Claw of Death couldn't withstand the entanglement of their huge numbers.

The aerial defense line was quickly breached, and the center of the battlefield shifted from the sky to the ground.

Facing the descending monsters, the military base's anti-air positions were forced to cease fire.

The soldiers had to grab their rifles and engage in close combat with the beasts that had fangs, wings, and claws.

For those targets close to friendly units, the circling planes couldn't fully support and could only focus on the targets that had not yet landed.

As the battle raged on, not only were the anti-air positions and the airfield affected; even the machine gun positions on the perimeter of the military base were drawn into the fray.

Sitting in the cockpit of the Thunder Fighter, Falling Feather wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

He had spent all four ground-targeting TV missiles, with only 300 rounds left for the machine gun.

Even though he had nearly killed a hundred batwing people, it had little effect on the current situation.

Unless—

He eliminated all those wearing bio power armor!

He clearly remembered the data from the official website; these batwing people were nurtured from the young of mutants. Due to their rapid growth rate, they hadn't developed a complete set of minds, much like those "Goblins."

They were even more chaotic than goblins, needing the Mind Interference Module to be commanded.

Alliance Biology Research Institute had tried to crack the control signal of their mind interference but unfortunately had not succeeded.

This technology was like a singularity for both Torch and the Alliance, and the ethical boundaries and methods of usage were still being explored.

Given that Torch had fewer scruples about the application and experimentation of this technology and had been researching it for over a decade, it was hard to tell whose technological prowess was superior.

However, one thing was certain—destroying the "communication node" of biological power armor would immediately turn these winged monsters into leaderless flies, reverting from coordinated cannon fodder back to disorganized wild beasts.

Beasts were not to be feared, just like the common Variants on the wasteland; even in large numbers, they were just moving experience points.

At least, that was so for the players.

But then Falling Feather faced a dilemma.

The area was full of mist, making it tough enough just to shoot down those batwing people, let alone identify those in biological power armor.

Those people were clever and hadn't thrown all the cannon fodder at the military base but had left a considerable number to tangle with the allied forces' planes, thus covering those hidden among them.

What was even more critical was that this time was different from the last; there might be more than one set of biological power armor mixed in.

Just then, a voice that had been silent for a long time suddenly came through the communication channel.

"Yi Wu! (I'm ready!)"

Falling Feather was startled, then replied with joy.

"Have you sorted it out on your end? That's great! How do you feel?"

"Yi Wu..."

Xiaoyu seemed to be feeling somewhat complex, and Falling Feather couldn't understand what it was saying for a moment.

Such a situation also wasn't rare.

In a sense, its voice was an expression of emotions, and when it couldn't describe the feeling itself, it was natural that others wouldn't understand either.

Even he was the same.

"Stomach upset?"

"Yi Wu. (No, but it's a pity... those people, they are quite interesting too.)"

Those people?

Was it referring to those wearing gas masks?

Falling Feather remembered that Xiaoyu had complained to him before about how boring those people were but had now suddenly changed its view of them.

He had a vague guess about what had happened and swallowed nervously.

As he was pondering how to comfort Xiaoyu, the little one suddenly perked up.

"Yi Wu...Wu? (The battle isn't over, I won't let their sacrifices be in vain... Is there anything I can help with?)"

Now was not the time for casual chat.

Hearing the determination in that voice, Falling Feather didn't hesitate and immediately asked.

"Can you sense those spores around you? The spores from Nago mycelium!"

"Yi Wu! (I can!)"

Falling Feather was overjoyed and quickly followed up.

"Can you find where their lair is? Or the core that controls them or something similar?"

His phrasing was abstract, but he believed Xiaoyu would understand. After all, voice was just a carrier of information, and, on the surface, they communicated with language, but in reality, they communicated through thoughts.

Xiaoyu: "Yee-wooh... (I can't detect its presence.)"

Hearing this, Falling Feather suddenly remembered that the fourth phase of Heaven apparently didn't require a lair to exist, which was also claimed by Torch as an irreversible final stage.

At that moment, another thought suddenly burst into his mind.

"What if we use the lair on Blood Mountain to produce some fruiting bodies, and with those fruiting bodies as nurseries, cultivate the Type B Nago fungus strain? Would that work?"

Though the lair on Blood Mountain had no experience in synthesizing fruiting bodies, the lair in Qingquan City did store a vast number of fruiting body "blueprints."

Even Mutants, belonging to a different species, could serve as nurseries for producing spores. It only made sense that Eaters, naturally capable of dispersing spores, could also serve as nurseries.

They just needed to find a way to insert the gene segments of the Type B Nago fungus strain into the body of an Eater.

And the ability to "borrow space for spore production" was stored in the lair named after Alpha on Blood Mountain.

That guy had been researching this technique for nearly a hundred years and could even alter Mutants into a variety of unique shapes without any repetition.

Falling Feather clenched his fists and prayed inwardly.

Xiaoyu was silent for a while, seemingly pondering the feasibility, or perhaps making some kind of attempt.

After a moment, it gave a definitive answer.

"Yee-wooh! (I just tried it a bit, and it can be done.)"

Hearing that voice, which sounded as sweet as the singing of angels, Falling Feather's face immediately displayed a joyful expression. He almost wished he could pick up this creature and kiss it... if only he weren't on a plane.

The Type B fungus strain inhibited the growth activities of the Torch-improved Type J fungus strain, and the spores produced by the former similarly affected the latter.

In other words, Eaters carrying the Type B fungus strain would be the direct bane of puppets controlled by the Type J Nago fungus strain!

They would root out Heaven in the Weifu wilderness from the source!

Let those endlessly emerging filth fully lie down!

"Quick! Produce more!" Without a hint of hesitation, he shouted into the communication channel.

And from the other end of the communication channel came a reply full of enthusiasm.

"Yee-wooh! (Received!)"

…

At the same time, deep within Blood Mountain, at the altar, a dense red mist was rising from the bottomless abyss.

Standing next to the pit, Debt Giant Eye stared blankly at the red mist.

So did the other players nearby, including the one whose head he had pressed earlier—they all looked on blankly.

"I might as well have gone down..." Debt Giant Eye muttered with a hint of regret.

If only he had brought a bit more along.

Not twenty, but one hundred and twenty; perhaps those people wouldn't have had to sacrifice themselves...

Although he had grown fond of those fruiting bodies, he knew clearly they were just Xiaoyu's dandruff, with no will of their own. They'd never viewed him as a father or anything but merely consumed what he provided.

Yet those guys were genuinely alive... even if they were just AIs running on servers.

Edge Shoveling placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"We should go... At least, we need to bring their things back, give them to their families."

To take down this location, almost all of the thousand-strong squadron had been wiped out.

Including them, who had come as reinforcements, they had left behind a thousand corpses, almost filling the entire passage with bodies.

This victory was bitterly costly...

Debt Giant Eye nodded, taking one last look at that deep pit, ready to leave this place.

However, just then, the deep red mist suddenly stirred, and something clambered out of the pit.

He was briefly startled, a flicker of joy suddenly burgeoning in his heart.

Could it be...

But before that flicker of fortunate joy could reach his face, as his eyes met those of the creature, his mood plunged into the abyss along with the ensuing disappointment.

No miracle had occurred.

It was a group of "Crawlers."

Some carried a few "Eaters" or other types of fruiting bodies on their backs.

But none of the faces was familiar.

"Only we are immortal... It has been so since the servers started up," said Edge Shoveling slowly standing next to him.

Though they had known each other only a short while, he admitted she was a brave one.

"...I've known for a while. I didn't just get my helmet today, no need to remind me," Debt Giant Eye grumbled.

Edge Shoveling nodded in understanding, not pursuing this weighty topic further, patting her good friend's shoulder.

"...It's time to move on."

Debt Giant Eye didn't speak, just silently nodded and then followed behind him.

The battle outside hadn't ended; Springs and the others were likely still fiercely engaging Torch.

There were still many things to be done.

They needed to leave some people to hold this location, while also splitting off some troops to reinforce the allied forces at the Weifu military base.

If the Manager needed them...

Chapter 749: That Fist Comparable to a Railgun

Blade Mountain Battlefield.

A squad of corporate soldiers was resting.

Looking at the ground covered in bodies stained red with blood, Tang Feng sat on the edge of the trench, panting heavily. His right hand never left the rifle, his index finger pressed against the safety.

Strictly speaking, this was his first time on a real battlefield.

At first, he was nervous and slightly panicked, but later he became completely numb, even sitting next to a pile of bodies without any emotion.

This place was entirely different from the virtual reality training system. The mutants and goblins were not as stiff as the programmed simulations; they were cunning like monkeys in a zoo but more murderous and brutal than hyenas that had been starved for three days.

One small mistake could cost them their lives, and indeed, if not for the bionic prostheses and plug-ins implanted in their bodies, he might have died countless times already.

Damn the council, the outside world had truly become a hellish nightmare.

How on earth did those Waste Land Wanderers manage to survive outside Ideal City?

Tang Feng felt sticky inside his helmet, filled with sweat, yet he dared not take it off.

Only now did he realize how well their superiors had protected them.

Just then, there was a stir at the foot of the southern hills. Hearing the call to assemble, he immediately grabbed his rifle and got up, joining the squad members heading in that direction.

"What the hell is that?" a soldier's eyes showed a hint of faint panic as monstrous creatures with fierce faces emerged from the dense fog in the distance.

The most common among them had four hands on the ground, resembling both humans and spiders.

Others looked human but moved staggeringly forward like the zombies from the games produced by Skeleton Studio.

The captain made a gesture, and the line of men raised their rifles, aiming at the creatures.

Just then, a shout came from within the fog.

"Don't shoot, it's your own people!"

As the voice fell, a group of soldiers wearing exoskeletons immediately followed and walked out of the fog.

The uniform Type Five exoskeletons and LD-47 rifles were all too familiar to these young men who had impulsively enlisted after playing a couple of rounds of competitive shooting games.

They were brothers from the Death Legion!

The men lowered their guns, watching the creatures emerging from the fog, their eyes still showing clear doubt.

After observing the creatures, Tang Feng looked at the man leading them and asked in a weird tone,

"...Our own people?"

Edge Shoveling nodded and explained,

"The lair on Blood Mountain has been assimilated by us. These are the offspring entities of Xiaoyu. We plan to use them to disperse the 'heaven' here... which is the spore clouds formed by the Nago mycelium."

Not just Tang Feng, all the surrounding soldiers had shocked expressions after hearing this.

"Is that even possible?"

Edge Shoveling shrugged his shoulders.

"We have to try."

Exploring solutions to the mutated slime fungus was the very reason for the existence of the Mucor Research Community.

At that moment, the captain, who had previously sought instructions from his superiors, finally received a response. Walking up to Edge Shoveling, he said solemnly,

"We will help you cross this battlefield as quickly as possible. Please, follow me!"

With that, he signaled to his teammates behind him.

"Let them pass!"

Edge Shoveling looked back, nodded, and then led several Intelligence System players from within the army behind the corporate soldiers, heading down the narrow path that passed through Broken Blade Mountain.

At the same time, a continuous "squealing" resonated among the spore entities, with the Intelligence System players, equipped with neural connection devices, biological prosthetics, and radios, serving as "Node Creatures," transmitting unified messages and instructions.

At this moment, on the position at Broken Blade Mountain, young men from the corporations stared at the vast sea of spore entities, their faces filled with astonishment and surprise.

A thousand... No, perhaps ten thousand!

What shocked them wasn't just the enormous number, but also that the lair had managed to hatch them in such a short time.

A soldier couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"Is this the Tide?"

Another soldier whispered hoarsely, his voice rough.

"Likely... even more exaggerated."

Although he had never actually seen that thing, he had heard that Skeleton Studio's latest release, "Zombie Crisis," was inspired by it.

He had played the test demo, and the infuriating difficulty and the nearly suffocating fear of death made the adrenaline surge in him, leaving those "soft" sandbox games on the Endpoint Cloud far behind.

"Damn..."

"Fighting this thing for 200 years… those are some tough people."

Even though they knew a single shell could clear a large swath of these entities, they still couldn't help but feel utterly shocked from deep within.

Especially considering the terrain of Qingquan City, where brothers from the Alliance fought these creatures in urban ruins unsuitable for artillery fire, the accumulated shock in their hearts grew even more intense...

At the same time, atop the peaks of Black Cloud Mountain, Vellante People who had just dealt with a sudden attack from Mutants and Goblins were also watching the group of spore entities trudging along the winding mountain path.

Surprise was written on every face.

Unlike the fools from Ideal City, they were not unfamiliar with the mucor.

This thing was considered one of the four major pests on the Wasteland, alongside Variants, Looters, and Mutants.

The Army had conquered a vast territory, but they had limited means of dealing with lairs within their domain.

However, the Alliance, whose territory spanned only a province, had not only conquered this entity but even tamed it?!

That was utterly bizarre.

"The gray mist seems to be weakening…" watching the massive group of spore entities, the assistant standing next to General Modlin was visibly exhilarated.

General Modlin said nothing, but furrowed his brow and stared intensely, speaking succinctly.

"It doesn't look like it's weakening. Look closely, there is a clear divide between the mists."

The Alliance had shared research results at the Sticky Community meeting, which indicated that while tracing the origins of the Nago, they discovered that the Type B primitive strain from Baiyue Province had a significant suppressive effect on the J-type strain modified by the Torch Church.

It was currently unclear what the principle of this suppression was. Investigations into the lair in Baiyue Province had only just begun, and many theories were still being explored. However, not understanding the principle didn't prevent them from using the research results.

If nothing unexpected happened, those spore entities were likely inoculated with the Type B strain, or perhaps even had similar genetic segments inserted directly into their spore-releasing organs.

He was just a military officer, not a professional biologist, so he could only make rough guesses.

However, what surprised him was not the Alliance's biotechnology, but that they had actually managed to "consume" the lair on Blood Mountain.

According to the Alliance, this was called "assimilation."

This was probably the closest they'd ever come to the Alliance's top secrets, but unfortunately, they were still too far away to witness the process of assimilation themselves.

A hint of regret flashed across General Modlin's face, but he quickly composed himself, a glimmer of realization sparking in his eyes.

"I finally understand why the Academy, which usually prefers to stay in the background, suddenly insisted on taking the lead in the assault on Blood Mountain."

Among all the peaks of Ten Peaks Mountain, Blood Mountain was undoubtedly the most perilous.

They never engaged in thankless tasks.

The adjutant looked at him in surprise.

"…Do you mean that they knew from the beginning about the 'Mutated slime fungus' lair there?"

"I remember that it wasn't the Alliance but the Academy that first targeted the Torch Church... That lair has existed for two hundred years; perhaps they obtained relevant data as far back as the War Construction Committee era."

General Modlin paused before adding indifferently,

"Of course, this is just my speculation."

…

A gray-green torrent flowed along the winding mountain roads, moving towards the direction of the military base of the Wei Mansion amidst the heavy mist of the night.

Wherever they passed, the gray-green mist boiled incessantly, and the gray-green fungal strands that emerged from the soil also drooped as if they were withered.

"Heaven" seemed to be contained.

And it was collapsing at a visible rate!

The Mouse Tribe people, corroded by Nago, watched blankly as the ominous mist enveloped them, making no move.

And those corpses that emerged from the soil had fear flowing from their never physical pupils.

These revived dead did not possess complete consciousness entities; they were merely puppets driven by the Nago mycelium.

Because of this, their emotions were projections of the countless fears of the Nago mycelium.

"Hiss…"

The corpses let out a hoarse cry, as if to intimidate the approaching figures.

However, the Crawlers and Eaters paid no attention to their threats and instead focused their amber eyes on them due to the noise they made.

With a desire to feed released from those amber eyes, the Crawlers not only did not stop but quickened their pace, excitedly squealing "Yi Wu" as they pounced on the corpses.

Two twisted torrents collided instantly, and facing the seasoned subentities from Qingquan City, these Nago-corroded corpses stood no chance.

Especially under the influence of the spores released by the Type B strain, the Nago mycelium that was eroding the land was visibly withering and ultimately perished.

The situation on the battlefield seemed to have reversed in an instant. The south side of the Wei Mansion military base fell entirely under the control of Xiaoyu's subentity army, and more subentities continued to arrive from the rear, pushing the front line towards the east and west wings of the military base.

"Well done!"

Seated in the Thunder Aircraft, Falling Feather, using the light from the flares, glimpsed the situation on the ground and shouted excitedly.

"Yi Wu! (Thanks for the praise!)"

A affectionate response came through the communication channel, the tone seemingly saying, "Please praise me some more."

Meanwhile, on another side of the battlefield.

Flapping his wings, Kupo stared in astonishment at the southern part of the battlefield, his fierce face revealing a trace of disbelief.

Heaven was disintegrating!

How could this be!

He was just an Apostle, although he had assisted a Pioneer codenamed "Human Emperor" in some research tasks, his work had not touched the core of Heaven, dealing only with the containment or capture of materials needed for experiments.

Because of this, he could not comprehend what was happening before him.

Just then, a sigh reverberated by his ear—it was the voice of the Human Emperor.

"… Although I had anticipated that events might unfold beyond our expectations, I didn't expect that fellow to not even last a month, let alone half a year."

Blood Mountain had fallen.

The lair there had also fallen.

They could now confirm that the Alliance must have mastered some technology capable of assimilating the lair, and as a result, they had implanted a gene segment from the Baiyue Province's Nago Primitive Fungus Strain into the lair at Blood Mountain.

This was indeed a direction they had not anticipated.

Originally, they had assumed the Alliance would likely take another technological route, namely using genetic editing technology to improve the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain so it could be planted outside Baiyue Province.

This would have been the most prudent approach, and the one most people would think of first.

However, had the Alliance actually done so, it would have played right into their hands.

Because those fellows would soon realize they had merely retraced the steps once taken by the Torch, thus walking into a maze with no exit.

But from the looks of it now, they had circumvented this maze and directly used the spores of the mucor as a culture dish, pulling off a trick of 'borrowing a hen to lay eggs.'

Even he had to admit that these people's ideas were truly grand.

Hearing his own boss's voice, Kupo, who was flying in the air, respectfully asked,

"Pioneer Lord, what should we do?"

The Human Emperor pondered for a moment, then slowly said,

"Retreat, it's meaningless now. Better to preserve some strength for preparation later."

The Beast King had three cards in hand, one was Blood Mountain's lair, another was the Mutants, and the last one was Heaven, buried under the Ten Peaks Mountain and Wei Mansion Wasteland.

The first two cards were already torn, and the last card being torn was only a matter of time.

To think that with merely these ten thousand Batwing People he could take down the hard bone of the Wei Mansion military base was nothing short of a fool's dream.

It would be far better to let these guys guerilla in the mountains between Brocade River Province and Haiya Province than let them be used as cannon fodder here.

A hint of hesitation flashed through Kupo's eyes.

"What about the 'Beast King'…"

The Human Emperor promptly said without hesitation,

"He's already lost. Even if we help him, it won't make any difference. He must pay the price for his arrogance—"

His words hadn't yet finished when he suddenly stopped short, as if a remote control had forcibly changed the channel.

Confused, Kupo suddenly heard a scruffy, rushed voice enter his sea of consciousness, seemingly transmitted through the Biological Power Armor he was wearing.

"Give me control of your body… lend it to me for a while, I'll return it when I'm done," the Beast King's voice carried a touch of scruffiness, and a trace of exhaustion.

The Blood Hoof Clan had been annihilated.

Moreover, those meticulously crafted masterpieces of his were also doomed.

Although there were still some Mutant underlings equipped with Torch's chips, those guys could hardly make any impact; at best, they could only serve as eyes.

His control over the Mortal World had never waned like this, even his colleagues no longer listened to his voice.

Fortunately, he still had one last, final card to play.

Those Biological Power Armor that he produced still contained his chips.

Although this Apostle named Kupo was a subordinate of the Human Emperor, the Biological Power Armor he wore was made by himself.

"…Wait, what have you done!? Let me go!" Kupo's voice carried a hint of panic as he found himself losing control of his own body, watching helplessly as he plummeted downward.

His body no longer seemed to belong to him but was controlled by another person.

And that person, like a madman, was not satisfied with just seizing control of his body; he also bewitched other mutants wearing biological power armor.

Seemingly unwilling to waste words with him, the Beast King completely ignored the man who was furiously shouting in the Holy Land, controlling his body to dive straight toward the military base.

"Attack!"

"Charge!"

"With your canine teeth, with your claws, rip open those humans' chests! Decorate this land with their flesh and intestines, make them regret coming here!"

He shouted loudly through the communication channel, while simultaneously issuing the attack order to all the Batwing People through the Mind Interference Module.

Under the influence of the Mind Interference waves, the Batwing People instantly fell into a frenzy, emitting piercing screams as they recklessly charged at the nearest enemy.

Watching the battlefield that resembled hell on earth, Kupo, dominated by the Beast King, sported a cruel smirk on his face.

He wasn't going anywhere, and there was nowhere he could go. His colleagues wanted to abandon him, but he would not stupidly wait there to be slaughtered.

This was his parish!

It always was!

Since the fall of the Heaven was inevitable, there was only one thing he could do.

That was to stake everything on one last strike while Heaven had not yet collapsed.

As long as he could dismantle the Allied forces' command system, he still had a chance to make a comeback!

Right—

The Alliance's Manager seemed to be here too!

As long as he took that guy down, everything would start to improve!

Somehow, he had forgotten the ideals he once swore to fulfill.

But those didn't matter anymore.

He had lost everything, and he was even about to lose the Heaven he had achieved.

He could not allow such a thing to happen!

If the new world didn't bear his name, then what meaning would that new world have?

The Torch's plan didn't matter anymore; now, he just wanted these people who ruined his plans to die!

Everyone must die!

Meanwhile, at the temporary research facility stationed by the Alliance and corporate researchers at the Spring Water military base,

Kakarot, who was gathered near the research facility, looked up at the Batwing People who suddenly went mad, and exclaimed in surprise.

"What the fuck… Are these guys on drugs?!"

Just half a minute ago, they were maintaining a steady rhythm of attack, but suddenly, like crazy, they all swarmed up.

"…But it also shows that they have run out of tricks to pull."

The Spring Water Commander wiped the blood off his helmet, changed the magazine of his 20mm Cavalry Gun, and continued firing at the oncoming targets.

Not far from them, the casualties of the Hound Special Forces had already surpassed half, and it seemed they could not withstand the increasingly fierce onslaught, showing signs of impending collapse.

It looked like the Empire's officers were also over there,

Although I don't know why those guys came here, if they were trying to escape, they clearly picked the wrong place.

The Torch Church seemed to sense something and intensified its attacks on the Temporary Research Institute.

For a moment, the Spring Water Commander couldn't distinguish whether the Batwing People were attracted by the Manager or by the researchers here.

Or perhaps they simply perceived through their combat instincts that the defense force committed here by the Allied forces was unusual, so they judged that there were highly valuable strategic targets present.

But none of that mattered anymore.

The enemy had already gone all out, and they just needed to crush them with all their might.

All the cards were on the table, and the stakes had been placed. There was no longer a contest of skills, just a pure clash of brute strength.

Whoever had greater strength would be able to pin the other's hand to the table!

The "Over-Top Strongman" drove an open-backed truck near the Temporary Research Institute, and the quadruple anti-aircraft gun mounted on the trailer quickly raised its barrels.

This quadruple anti-aircraft cannon had been dismantled from the southern air defense position of the base. It was no longer needed there, but it was perfect for resolving the urgent crisis here!

Operated by an Agility system player, the four barrels vented their fury into the sky, forming a dense net of tracer projectiles!

There was no need to aim.

Those winged creatures swarmed up in droves.

In just a moment, the open space in front of the battlefield research institute was littered with severed limbs and flesh, and dense blood mist filled the air.

The arrival of the anti-aircraft vehicle greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers nearby, and the situation, which had been hanging by a thread, was turned around once again.

However, at that moment, an accident occurred again.

A biological power armor suddenly fell from the sky and heavily struck the exterior wall of the research institute, creating a large hole in the concrete wall.

Two guards shooting from the window were instantly killed, and the others were shamefully forced to retreat by the flying debris, thinking they had been bombarded.

Not until the dust settled did they see what had intruded.

Without hesitation, two guards immediately set up their rifles and opened fire.

However, the creature's movements were so fast they couldn't see clearly. As they were just raising their rifles, they were struck by a tail with backward-pointing spikes on the breastplate of their exoskeleton.

The bulletproof lining shattered instantly, and the two of them, like baseballs struck by a bat, spat blood and were flung against the wall, unconscious.

The remaining six guards showed a momentary surprise on their faces, but it was only for a moment.

They were all some of the Alliance's most loyal warriors. They had long been prepared to offer their lives for the Manager. Not one retreated, and all faced the creature and pulled their triggers as if welcoming death.

The sudden eruption of gunfire created streaks of orange-red bullet rain in the corridor.

Yet, that monster, armed to the teeth with biological power armor, charged as if nothing was happening, braving the storm of bullets toward the security passageway on the side of the corridor.

His nose could smell that rich scent of life, an "aroma" that excited him so much that his body trembled; he couldn't wait to rush up to that creature and yank him out of the azure power armor.

Not only that, the disturbances perceived by the Mind Interference Module and the resolve of the Allied forces to defend this area both convinced him—

The highest commander of the Allied forces and the manager of the Alliance were right here!

Luckily, those troublesome guys were probably still in the caves of Blood Mountain.

And this time—

No one would stop him again!

"I know you're here! Hahaha! Didn't expect this, I've come for you!"

Laughing manically and roaring, it swung its sharp claws and instantly killed two men, the remaining four were also hurled away by its frenzied attacks, either smashing heavily on the floor, against the wall, or thrown out of the windows.

"It was like a wild beast gone mad, thrashing its python-like tail, recklessly destroying everything in sight, swiftly sweeping through one floor before charging down the stairs to the next."

"Suddenly, the flames of battle had surged into the research institute."

"Everyone was taken aback by the sudden turn of events."

"Researchers seeking refuge in the basement watched the screens, their faces filled with terror."

"Whether from the Alliance or from the idealistic Yunjian University in the Ideal City, they had only seen such a monster in zoos."

"No—"

"The variants in the zoos had nothing on this creature's destructiveness; even the Claw of Death would have admitted defeat."

"Heya's face turned slightly pale as she involuntarily swallowed."

"Although Qingquan City was not particularly safe, her friends in Shelter No. 404 had always protected her well."

"Since leaving Shelter No. 117, this was the first time she'd been so close to danger..."

"Standing on the edge of the crowd, Lu Bei glanced hurriedly at the person beside him, intending to lead the Manager out of there, only to suddenly discover that the Manager had vanished without a trace."

"And at that moment, the rampaging biological power armor in the surveillance footage suddenly flew backward as if struck by a train, howling as it went."

"The violent airflow dispersed the dust, revealing the figure standing at the end of the corridor."

"Struggling to rise from the ground, the Beast King vigorously shook his ugly head, trying to understand what he had just collided with?"

"However, the moment he clearly saw that figure, his dark green pupils abruptly tightened."

"Azure power armor..."

"No mistake!"

"That was the very thing Sven Vilard had worn, a relic of Mr. Manager."

"Are you looking for me?" Chu Guang, holding the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer, looked emotionlessly at the creature before him.

"Ha ha ha ha!" After exchanging glances for half a second, the Beast King suddenly burst into loud laughter."

"That ferocious expression bore a hint of madness, like that of a madman losing everything at the gambling table."

"Over twenty years..."

"Was it 23 or 24 years?"

"They had left that shelter far too long ago, only remembering it was around Wasteland Era Year 190 when the residents of Shelter No. 117 split into the Grave Keeper Sect and the Torch Sect."

"And after leaving that shelter, too many things had happened; by comparison, the grudges between the Grave Keeper Sect and the Torch Sect seemed insignificant, so much so that he almost forgot about that stubborn old man."

"Thinking about it, that old man wasn't so bad, just a bit obstinate."

"From Giant Stone City to the Death Coast, along the way, they had seen plenty of man-eating things. Compared to those creatures, their Manager was indeed a gentleman..."

"'...Yes, I have been looking for you, and it's been hard, respected Mr. Manager."

"His mouth twisted into a chilling smile as he curled up his long, sharp claws, and his tail, like a rattlesnake, rose up behind him in an aggressive stance."

"Afterwards, he spoke slowly and deliberately."

"'You shouldn't be wearing that power armor... The last person who wore it lost to us twenty-three years ago.'"

"Chu Guang did not care, simply looking expressionlessly at this half-human, half-ghost monster."

"'You talk too much.'"

His words hadn't yet finished when the monster suddenly charged toward him like an arrow released from its bow.

Those pointless words were deliberately used to distract him, to create a momentary flaw in his defense.

The explosive power of its legs even shattered the tiles in the corridor, the rushing sound of its sprint trembled the unbroken windows, like a sweeping hurricane.

This biological power armor was the crystallization of his life's work, and that terrifying destructive power was his proudest achievement in this life!

Even a nitrogen shield couldn't possibly block a blow comparable to a railgun!

"Go back to hell!!!"

An excited roar surged from his throat, but the howling claw arrived in front of Chu Guang faster than his bellow.

However—

He hadn't had the chance to cheer for victory or to bathe in his enemy's blood before a kinetic force like a cannonball slammed into his face, violently pressing his ugly features into his skull.

That horrific force seemed to pierce through his spirit, causing his consciousness to blur for a moment, nearly flying out of the body he had stolen.

But his body quickly caught up to his out-of-body soul, soaring backward and crashing heavily onto the ground.

The Beast King was entirely dumbfounded.

He clearly saw that the nitrogen-powered hammer was still there on the ground, completely unmoved.

Not only was he dumbfounded, but Kupo, who had been led here by his nose, was too.

But the latter could see clearly, what hit his face was not that hammer but a fist as solid as a cannon.

And not just that—

Beneath that man's feet, the corridor's tiles were covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and the concrete shattered inch by inch, the entire corridor looked like it had been bombarded.

This guy was the real monster!

Desperation filled Kupo's heart as he desperately struggled with the Beast King for control of the body, trying to escape from there.

This one-on-one duel had no chance of success! It would take at least five or more to hold this guy off!

Continuing this fight was no different from delivering oneself to death!

He was not one of those old folks hidden in the Holy Land; that guy couldn't die, and he only had this one life!

Watching the monster struggling on the ground, Chu Guang lightly shook his right fist.

This thing tried a sneak attack?

That really lacked martial virtue.

But he wasn't limited to using a hammer; his fists were also good for punching people.

"...After listening to all that drivel, I think I know who you are. The 'Beast King' hidden in the Holy Land, right?"

The Beast King, sprawled on the ground, stared fiercely at him, a wisp of white mist escaping his mouth, his dark green eyes flashing with a violent glint.

Clearly, this guy still wasn't convinced, still waiting for a chance to launch another attack.

But that was fine.

Even if this guy begged for mercy, he had no reason to let it go.

Glancing at the inch-deep dent on the steel gauntlet, Chu Guang looked indifferently at the so-called Beast King.

"Is that all?"

—

(Thanks to the book friend "Deathelf" for the sovereign reward!!!)

Chapter 750: The Breakthrough Torn Open from the Northern Front

The underground monitoring room was shrouded in a silence like death.

Whether they were corporation or Alliance researchers, all of them had their eyes wide open in shock, without exception.

Except for Heya.

As the only researcher for "the project in question," she was probably the only one among all the researchers here who understood the inside story.

Her fair face flushed with excitement as she stared at the screen with rapt attention, her eyes filled with mania as she murmured to herself.

"Is this the strength of a 60% genetic sequence unlocking degree? This feeling is simply...even more exaggerated than the theoretical analysis values during the tests!"

No—

Should this still be called a carbon-based lifeform?!

Even at the frame rate of the security monitor, it failed to capture the trajectory of that punch!

Her heart was pounding fiercely, and her breathing became rapid.

It was at this moment Heya abruptly came back to her senses, talking to herself.

"...Wait, that unidentifiable 'Talent'... could it be related to this?!"

Is it strength enhancement?

Or is it that not only the strength was enhanced...

While the other researchers were still in awe, the monster clad in biological power armor suddenly burst into action, launching another attack amid cries of alarm.

He seemed to have been enraged, the whole corridor echoing with his furious roar.

Explosive strength boiled within the muscles that could rival an Evolutionary body, and his massive figure shot out like a cannonball once again.

The terrifying explosive force seemed even stronger than before; his speed even faster!

However—

This time's result was no different from the last, the Beast King could not even utter a pained howl before being punched in the face and falling to the ground.

"Don't you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"

Looking at the Beast King buried in the rubble of concrete, Chu Guang gradually felt some boredom. He reached out to pick up the hammer standing on the ground and walked over to him.

Hearing the steady footsteps, the Beast King struggled to climb out from the shattered rocks, wiping the sticky fluid from the corner of his mouth, staring dead at Chu Guang walking toward him.

"What kind of monster are you...?"

There was a tremor in his voice, his sharp claws uncontrollably shaking.

Not out of fear.

It was purely because of the three punches, 'bang bang bang,' that had thrown his endocrine system into disarray.

"I'm not some monster; I am who I am," Chu Guang said calmly.

"Impossible!" the Beast King roared, interrupting Chu Guang's words, his dark green pupils fixed on him, "This can't possibly be human strength...even if you've modified his power armor, your body can't possibly withstand that speed and strength!"

"Modified?" Chu Guang smiled faintly, "There's no need for that."

He knew this guy was trying to pry information from him.

Unfortunately, he himself had no clear idea of what was happening to his body.

According to the conclusion Heya had drawn a long time ago, the "results" of his as a player's exploration of the Gene Sequence would eventually accumulate in him in some form.

In a sense, his very existence was a "singularity" beyond the Viewrange—anomaly that current theories could at best scratch the surface of, incapable of touching the root.

Just like the "Morphogenesis Field" connecting the players.

Including the "Perfect Life forms" that The Torch desired but couldn't obtain...

In the Beast King's pupils flickered disbelief, clearly not convinced by Chu Guang's words.

But Chu Guang had no intention of explaining to him either; he just swung that square Iron Hammer—

And the nitrogen, almost compressed into a solid, gathered on its head!

"Go to Hell."

He spoke calmly, announcing the devil's execution.

"You all belong there."

The exploding air currents burst forth instantly like sharp blades, tearing open the windows and even slicing the surrounding walls!

No fancy moves were needed, nor was there any need for such things.

Chu Guang, having swung the Warhammer in a full circle, smashed it down onto the Beast King, who was half-kneeling on the ground.

Facing the whirlwind-like heavy hammer, the Beast King subconsciously raised his arms to block.

However, his biological power armor, which he was so proud of, was as fragile as paper mache, instantly torn to shreds.

The intense pain made him howl involuntarily, but the raging winds stuffed his mouth, ballooning his cheeks.

Then—

The Warhammer that had shattered his arms landed heavily on the crown of his head, driving it down into his shoulders, grinding both his head and the upper half of his body into mush.

The turbulent airflow stirred up billowing dust.

When the dust settled, the entire corridor was splattered with droplets of crimson, as if a rain of blood had just fallen.

At the center of that storm, there was only Chu Guang, holding the hammer, and a flattened pile of mush that once was the Beast King.

Hurried footsteps came from the end of the corridor, and Lu Bei, filled with anxiousness, led a group of Guards Corps to the basement.

The moment he realized the Manager wasn't by his side, he led his men here in a hurry.

However, he never expected to see such an exaggerated scene...

Not just Lu Bei, but all the Guards standing behind him were stunned.

This...

He's their Manager?

The Manager who is gentle and magnanimous, who almost never loses his temper...?

Even though they had some understanding of the Manager's strength, they had never imagined it would be so exaggerated.

A look of deep respect was written in everyone's eyes.

Although their reasons for their loyalty to the Manager were not because of his power, on the Wasteland where the law of the jungle was widely accepted, strong power naturally commanded respect from the Waste Land Wanderers; this was an undeniable fact.

In the underground control room.

A group of research personnel were equally stunned, unable to utter a single word.

After a long time, an old professor from Yunjian University swallowed, poked a researcher from the Alliance beside him with his index finger, and asked in a trembling voice.

"Is this... really your Manager?"

What he wanted to ask was actually "Is that guy still human?"

But after thinking it over, he felt it was too offensive and changed his question at the last moment.

The Alliance researcher was also baffled but instinctively nodded.

"Of course... no doubt about it."

A female researcher from Yunjian University, with fervor twinkling in her eyes, grabbed a collaborator from Camp 101 beside her.

"What kind of technology is this? I mean no offense in asking; I just want to understand what just happened... can I borrow a sample—"

Before the collaborator could respond, Heya cut off his wildly imaginative thoughts as decisively as a cat protecting its food.

"Don't even think about it!"

At the same time, outside the research institute, on the open space, a crowd of players and NPCs were also looking at the damaged wall and the corridor where Chu Guang stood.

When that winged guy had smashed through the wall and charged in, they noticed the commotion at the institute, and then they heard the booming explosions that sounded like cannonfire.

Realizing that the Manager of the Alliance was there, General Babita had mixed feelings on his face, though joy dominated and, deep down, he couldn't help but silently cheer the monster on.

On the other hand, a sergeant from the "Hound" Special Forces turned to the soldiers of the Storm Corps beside him, unable to help but ask.

"Your Manager is there... aren't you going to help him?"

Hearing the NPC's voice, a player named Tomb-Tomb Raider looked at him strangely, thinking that this was just a cutscene, nothing to make a fuss about.

With the Manager's level and attribute panel, for that thing to harm him would be seriously underestimating the power of "technology."

Waving his hand, Tomb-Tomb Raider laughed and said.

"There's no need; by the time we get there, he'll probably have disassembled that thing into parts."

Hound Special Forces Sergeant: "…?"

Although his description was already quite exaggerated, Tomb-Tomb Raider had still underestimated the esteemed Mister Manager.

Strictly speaking, rather than being disassembled into parts.

That pile of "mosaic" probably wouldn't even leave a single intact part.

Chu Guang, looking down at the thick blood stains covering him, muttered after a moment of silence.

"Seems like I used too much force."

He should have left a head as evidence.

And now he was covered in blood...

But actually, it didn't really matter.

After all, X-16 would clean it up for him.

Flicking the bits of flesh and plasma sticking to the Warhammer, Chu Guang stepped over the Beast King's corpse, ascended the stairs of the research institute to the third floor, and stood in front of the gaping hole in the collapsed wall.

Upon seeing that figure appear at the breach in the wall, nearly everyone's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Except for the residents of Shelter No. 404.

Players who had fought side by side with him more than once knew very well how strong he was.

Even more than that.

He was like a flag.

No matter what kind of enemy they faced, as long as they stood by his side, their hearts would burst forth with fearless courage and the determination to win.

For this reason.

When they saw him appear on the battlefield, almost all the players shouted out excitedly—

"The Manager kicks ass!"

"Long live the Alliance!"

"Roar roar roar!"

Basking in the stirring cheers, the soldiers of the Hound Special Forces looked around bewilderedly, following the gazes of those people toward the direction of the research institute.

They did not understand what the residents of the refuge were cheering about, but they could feel the fervor permeating the cheers.

The one they considered their leader was leading them from one victory to another, and they had no doubt that bright prospects lay ahead.

Those soldiers from the Free State all had envious looks in their eyes.

Fighting to repay their debts as soon as possible, they did not understand what kind of belief that was, but this did not stop them from casting envious glances at those shining figures.

If only they had such a caring Manager too.

Everyone couldn't help but think so in their hearts.

It seemed a bit more attainable than the ideals of the Ideal City.

However, unfortunately for them, those holding such thoughts always had to choose between a bad option and an even worse one, and most of the time, they didn't even have the chance to choose.

It was not only the soldiers of the Hound Special Forces.

Even the soldiers from the Falcon Kingdom looked up to that man.

Even though they had been beaten black and blue by him, they found they didn't hate this guy at all...

At least from a soldier's standpoint, a general who can advance and retreat with them is far stronger than those cowards hiding in castles and on airships.

Looking at Chu Guang, who was unharmed, a trace of loss crept onto General Babita's face, and he sighed inwardly.

What a pity.

Heaven does not bless our Empire...

This long, drawn-out night seems like it will never end.

Glancing over the battlefield, Chu Guang slammed his warhammer onto the ground with great force.

"Gentlemen—"

He opened the speaker on his helmet and increased the volume, letting out a deafening cry.

"Our enemies are at their wits' end, their frayed courage disguised by frenzy can't hide their weakness!"

"Their 'Beast King' has already died under my hammer!"

"If they wish to seek death! Then let us oblige them!"

That voice, like a sharp sword, cut through the curtain of night and the noise of gunfire and cannons.

Whether it was those staring at him.

Or the soldiers engaged in fierce combat, they all erupted with an unprecedented fighting spirit.

Replying to him was a deafening roar.

"Kill!!"

...

That deafening roar, like a shot of adrenaline, pierced the hearts of every warrior.

Faced with the high-spirited Allied forces, the monsters entangled outside the research institute put up a dying struggle before finally being defeated.

Meanwhile, the battles at other locations within the military base were also coming to a close.

Under Xiaoyu's command, the vast armies of Eaters and Crawlers successfully captured the military base's east and west wings, blocking those corpses that kept emerging from the soil.

The Heaven over the military base's sky had already collapsed, and it was only a matter of time before those puppets woken by Heaven were sent away.

On another front, the Skeleton Corps' armored divisions had also arrived at the north side of the military base.

While taking care of the "Walking Corpses," they also conveniently dealt with the Batwing People attacking the north defensive line and those neither human nor ghost creatures wearing biological power armor.

As Chu Guang had stated in his rallying cry, the Torch's influence in this era was at its last gasp.

They had no cards left to play!

At the same time, aboard the Loyalty Airship.

General Lucien, sitting in the bridge, had finally received a battle report from the front lines.

After reading the report carefully to the end, he slowly exhaled and then turned to his spirited adjutant, saying,

"The position at Blood Mountain has been taken, and the crisis at the military base has been resolved. We have won this war!"

Relief spread across the adjutant's face as he said with lingering fear,

"I never expected that those guys would possess such terrifying weapons..."

Perhaps they should follow in the footsteps of the Academy's Alpha Special Mobile Force and equip the Clone Troops with gas masks as well.

Though ineffective against the strange biochemical weapons of the Alpha Protozoans, at least they could resist the corrosion of the Nago mycelium.

The Glory Army's dragging performance in this battle could be said to have thoroughly disgraced their corps.

General Lucien nodded, squinting toward the west outside the panoramic window.

He had already reported the situation here to Triumph City, and reinforcements would arrive before long.

Ten Peaks Mountain was but a necessary pass on their way to Haiye Province.

The Allied forces' war with the Torch had only just begun.

And after this, there were still the struggles with enterprises, academies, and even the Grand Canyon... and also the game with the Alliance.

For the corps, that would be the main event.

...

As if it had ignited in an instant, the blazing war seemed to also come to an end in the blink of an eye.

When the last Batwing Person had its throat slit by a player who ran out of ammo using his battle knife, the dim horizon began to show a hint of dawn's pale light.

Unknowingly, the soldiers in this military base had been battling through the night!

Although Xiaoyu's spawn was still contesting for control of the land with the Nago mycelium puppets, the latter posed no longer a threat.

With those wearing the biological power armor falling one after another, whether Batwing People or "Walking Corpses," all turned into soulless shells, merely walking corpses driven by instinct.

These organization-less creatures were clearly no match for the army of spawn led by Xiaoyu.

The complete purge of this wasteland's corruption was just a matter of time...

The news of victory spread quickly throughout the army.

Learning that the enemy had been routed, the tense nerves of the officers and men finally relaxed.

Many simply collapsed on the ground or stared blankly at the bodies strewn everywhere.

The thick stench of blood filled their nostrils, turning the entire military base into a sea of blood.

The ferocity of this battle exceeded most people's imaginations.

After all, the combined population of most settlements in the wasteland didn't even match the number of bodies that could fit in one of the burial pits here.

The people from Weilante seemed calm by comparison, even queuing up at the canteen entrance with their lunch boxes.

Perhaps on the continent's west side, this was just a minor affair...

Apart from those from Weilante, the most composed in the entire Allied forces were naturally the players.

To not let accumulated fatigue affect their "daytime" gameplay, some had already run back to the Sleep Cabins to rest.

And some who didn't manage to secure a save point didn't waste time, simply grabbing a quick meal before helping the NPCs clean up the battlefield.

On the eastern side of the military base.

The Southern Construction Corps had outlined a piece of land in the wasteland, especially for piling up bodies.

They used trucks to drag the bodies out of the military base and dumped them here, waiting for the Crawlers that Xiaoyu hatched to carry them away.

Looking at the heaps of dead, Mosquito couldn't help but sigh.

"Damn... the Empire is going to have to pay through the nose this time."

Without asking, he could guess that apart from those Clone Cannon Fodder, it was probably the Mouse Tribe of the West Winds Empire's Expeditionary Army that suffered the most casualties.

Those guys really had it rough.

All they wanted was a few good meals, they hadn't committed any heinous crimes, at most they just thought about it, but they ended up being pushed around by their superiors, living miserably and dying without dignity.

Standing beside him, the construction site youth glanced at him sideways.

"...Why do I feel like it's not the Empire that's going to lose out the most?"

Mosquito was stunned.

"...What do you mean?"

Debt Giant Eye reminded him.

"Aren't you still waiting to collect their food supplies?"

His brows twitched, and Mosquito cleared his throat, defending himself.

"I just said I was planning to collect... but they didn't manage to farm it, so there's nothing to collect, right?"

Despite saying this, when he thought about the money he wouldn't be able to pick up for free, there was still a hint of regret on his face, and he couldn't help but feel the pain as he smacked his lips.

Not earning was also a kind of loss.

He had to figure out how to fill this gap...

...

Elsewhere, at the military base of the Weifu, an open space in front of the temporary research institute had several tents set up with medical symbols painted on them.

Half an hour ago, the corporate medical team departed from the Dawn City Airport and had now arrived at the front lines of the Weifu military base. Nurses and doctors from the Ideal City were helping the wounded soldiers bandage their wounds.

Originally, before it was converted into a temporary research institute, this concrete building was a reserve medical facility, but it was later converted into a research facility because there weren't many casualties.

And that open space in front of the building was specifically reserved for "exceedingly injured"...

However, neither the Southern Construction Corps nor the various factions of the Allied forces ever imagined that this space would indeed come into use.

Moreover, it was before the Allied forces entered Haiya Province.

After all, judging from the first two battles, the strength shown by the Torch Church did not seem very strong; their defenses fell easily...

As Chu Guang was comforting the soldiers, Li Jinrong, the commander of the Southern Construction Corps, limped over.

His arm was bandaged as if he had been shot, probably by a Clone of the Glory Army.

The technology of the Ripper Rifle was not highly sophisticated, but the damage from full-powered bullets was no joke.

Luckily the bullet had passed through his arm, without hitting bones or arteries, and hadn't remained in his body.

Because of this, this minor injury didn't affect his work at all, and he didn't even seek a doctor, just wrapped a bandage around it by himself and that was that.

"Apart from the Corps refusing to cooperate with the investigation into the Glory Army's casualties, the casualties of various parts of the Allied forces have basically been counted. Currently, the heaviest loss is the West Winds Empire's Expeditionary Army; many of them were poisoned as soon as the fog came..."

Chu Guang frowned and asked.

"How many did they lose in total?"

Li Jinrong swallowed and continued.

"Counting the missing... it's about 14,700 people."

If Xiaoyu hadn't saved some, that number would have been even more exaggerated.

Even though Chu Guang had anticipated that the casualties of the West Winds Empire's Expeditionary Army would be appalling, hearing this number still made him involuntarily hold his breath.

Nearly fifteen thousand people...

The total number of soldiers who made it to Brocade River Province was only twenty thousand, meaning the ranks had been reduced by nearly three-quarters!

Looking at the heavy expression on Chu Guang's face, Li Jinrong hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"The commander of the West Winds Expeditionary Army hopes the Allied forces can provide some compensation to the families of those fallen soldiers... They were the pillars of 14,700 families. They came here for the shared destiny of all humanity, and their families deserve more than just ashes and honor; they should also receive care from those who survive because of their sacrifice."

Hearing this grandiloquent speech, the corners of Chu Guang's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

The pillars of 14,700 families, my ass…

They were probably livestock from some farm.

And even though he hadn't been to Poluo Province, it didn't mean he was ignorant of the situation there.

He could be sure that even if he managed to get some compensation from the Academy or the corporation for them, or even if he paid it out of his own pocket, that money would definitely not end up in the hands of those people's families and would most likely end up in the pocket of some Noble.

Or maybe even in Babita's own pocket.

However, at this moment, he thought of a prematurely deceased friend.

In a sense, he now stood on a similar stance.

He could ignore those guys, and no one would think he did anything wrong. Even General Babita himself, who proposed the request, would look back and feel embarrassed.

After all, the Mouse Tribe didn't manage to be useful in any way and instead mistakenly roped in some allies in the fog; even the Corps closest to them found them to be a nuisance.

But if he didn't plant the seeds in his pocket, no matter how many seeds they saved up, the Wasteland would always be the Wasteland, even if they ultimately won this War.

After a long period of contemplation, Chu Guang spoke.

"Tell Babita the Allied forces are a military institution, not a fostering institution; however, the Sticky Community acknowledges their sacrifice."

"If he truly wants to do something for those 14,700 dead soldiers, he should carefully document their names, families, and addresses."

"We will recognize and provide appropriate compensation to all the families of the fallen soldiers and their respective communities by public resolution."

Li Jinrong nodded earnestly.

"Understood!"

Chapter 751: LV61! The Seventh Stage of the Gene Sequence!

"..."

At the southernmost peak of Ten Peaks Mountain, on the summit of Lai Mountain.

The "Human Emperor" stared expressionlessly toward the north, watching throughout the night, until the dawn's early light slowly rose from the horizon; only then did a barely noticeable sneer twitch at the corner of his mouth.

It was at this moment that a figure appeared beside him.

The middle-aged man in a white robe was none other than the "Beast King," who had promised him not long ago to hold out on Ten Peaks Mountain for at least half a year.

"There has been a slight accident..."

As these words were spoken, the Beast King's face showed a hint of disarray, his facial muscles twitching occasionally.

Especially where he had been punched twice before.

Even though he had abandoned that ragged body, he had not yet completely escaped from the intermittent phantom pain.

The Human Emperor watched him expressionlessly; his deep pupils were like black holes that devoured everything, causing the other to unconsciously shift his gaze downward by an inch.

It couldn't be helped.

At this moment, he was unprecedentedly weak; despite ten thousand reluctances in his heart, he could only reluctantly bow his head.

Since the Holy Land relied on a physical body in the real world as a container for storing consciousness, it could be said that the strength of a Pioneer was proportional to the strength of the followers; the stronger the believers' power, the greater the influence the Holy Land could exert on the Mortal World.

For example, if the believers with chips installed were just a few serfs, not to mention influencing the Mortal World, they would probably not even be able to leave the Slave Owner's farm.

But if the installed chip's follower was the Slave Owner himself, then merely with the Slave Owner's authority, one could command an entire farm of survivors.

At this moment, his situation was akin to the former.

Until yesterday, he had been the uncrowned king of Ten Peaks Mountain, but now he had lost all his chips.

Not just that.

He had even lost Heaven in the Weifu Wilderness.

This was undoubtedly a devastating defeat, especially now, since the Lair on Blood Mountain had turned from an ally into a significant threat to the Heaven of Haiya Province...

The Human Emperor said nothing, just silently watched him until the latter felt a chilling unease, and then the former slowly spoke.

"Where is Kupo?"

The expression of the Beast King stiffened, and after a long time, he lowered his head and said,

"I'm sorry."

"Is it just a sorry?"

The Human Emperor gazed into his eyes, slightly lifting his chin.

"He was my Apostle; he must have asked you to immediately remove your dirty hands from his armor and to roll out. Yet, you completely ignored his request—and even his pleas and stubbornly continued your foolishness to the end."

"This was also for our plan..." Seeing the tone becoming heavier, the Beast King couldn't help but defend himself, but he was interrupted before he could finish.

"Plan," the Human Emperor repeated the word, staring at him, "So is this situation also part of your so-called plan?"

The Beast King fell silent.

Observing this speechless man, a trace of disappointment appeared on the Human Emperor's face; he sighed lightly and turned his gaze back to the north.

"I didn't expect a backdoor to be implanted in the armor. Not just me, even the 'Saint Heir' was furious when he found out. You have made an absolute error that should never have been made, and now everyone must pay for your foolishness, I hope you understand this—and don't blame me."

Upon hearing these words, the Beast King was stunned for a moment and lifted his head sharply to look at him.

His gaze was so cold it seemed devoid of warmth, resembling the snow that capped the mountain.

A twinge of panic involuntarily rose in his heart, and he stared at his former comrade, unconsciously stepping back.

"What... are you going to do?!"

"This is the unanimous decision of the Hall Tribunal—"

Watching the Beast King's complexion finally change completely, the Human Emperor continued with his usual demeanor, before announcing his fate.

"You have been expelled."

"Wait—"

Before his voice fell, that ethereal figure vanished into the howling cold wind like a suddenly stopped slide projector.

It seemed that the "surgery" had been completed.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to hear that guy's last words.

Silently mourning the old friend who would miss the new world, the Human Emperor slightly turned his head to glance behind.

A few men in exoskeletons were standing not far behind him, as if they had been there for a long time.

They were Executioners from the Tribunal, mainly responsible for executing some stubborn and tricky heretics, and dealing with problematic Pioneers.

Though Pioneers lacked a physical entity to walk the Mortal World, simply resetting the chip in the followers' brains could eliminate them.

This backdoor was held by the Tribunal and had existed as a means to balance the Pioneers since the birth of the "Holy Land."

It was clear that these fellows had only recently arrived here, and it was not just a small squad that the Tribunal had dispatched.

Within moments of casual talk, they had already completed the surgery.

"… We have reset the chip belonging to the Beast King and completely erased his consciousness. According to the Saint Heir's will, they now belong to you," said the leading Executioner, succinctly explaining the situation.

The Human Emperor slowly nodded in understanding.

"I see."

The Executioner did not elaborate further on the recent events but glanced at the distant Blood Mountain before returning his gaze to him.

"What do you plan to do?"

Without concealment, the Human Emperor spoke succinctly.

"This place is no longer defensible. I plan to abandon Ten Peaks Mountain and relocate the tribes of mutants from this area to Haiya Province. I will reorganize the defenses on my territory to withstand the onslaught from the Allied forces."

The Executioner nodded.

"A wise decision. I leave this in your hands now."

"Mm."

The Human Emperor replied distractedly, not keen on engaging in more conversation with these individuals.

The Executioners did not persist further and vanished from his sight.

This was not the activation of optical camouflage but rather an outright severance of the link to his sea of consciousness.

This was one of the "privileges" of an Executioner.

They could exempt themselves from the Pioneer's scrutiny, move in areas beyond his gaze, and autonomously decide whether to establish a connection with a Pioneer.

This was also why the Beast King hadn't noticed their involvement.

The Human Emperor ignored those who appeared and vanished unpredictably, focusing intently on the rugged mountains north of Lai Mountain.

On an adjacent battlefield, densely packed mutants and goblins were retreating down the serpentine mountain paths.

These noisy creatures carried bags and luggage, equipment for eating and fighting, as well as domesticated livestock and stored food.

Though leaving them on Ten Peaks Mountain as cannon fodder was a tempting idea, their lack of organization meant they would not last long against the trained soldiers of the Allied forces.

They were now his pawns.

Before sending them to the front lines as cannon fodder, he needed to perform some "quick and good" modifications on them.

"Chu Guang, is it…"

The Human Emperor squinted slightly, touching his cheek with his index finger. An unusual smile twisted on his otherwise expressionless face.

That punch really hurt.

It had been a long time since he'd encountered someone who could excite him like this…

…

A day had passed since the decisive battle on the Weifu wilderness.

After handling all the matters, Chu Guang had returned to the Steel Heart and slept for a full ten hours, easing the accumulated fatigue.

Shortly after waking up, he received the medical report sent by Heya.

To his surprise, in just the brief period of last night, he had leveled up, and the progress of his gene sequence development jumped from 60% to 61%.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Seventh Stage)

Level: LV.60→LV61

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 79→80 (+1)

Agility: 60→63 (+3)

Constitution: 64→65 (+1)

Perception: 62→65 (+3)

Intelligence: 66→68 (+2)

]

"The data is just for reference, to be honest. The old attribute conversion formula seems outdated for you. A mere 80 points of strength is not sufficient to deliver such a powerful punch."

As Chu Guang pondered what exactly 80 points of strength entailed, he set down the medical report and looked at her curiously.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because it's based on the standards of normal humans—an empirical formula—and your body, in terms of muscular structure and movement style, is already far from the standard human model. It's not an exaggeration to say that your very existence could provide a wealth of samples for the Perfect Life Forms research project. I'm not sure if this is the future direction of human evolution, but… it's certainly a possibility," Heya said, staring intently at him.

Chu Guang believed what she said, as she always had that strange expression when encountering precious research material.

Just like Yin Fang when he saw an unusual coffee machine.

"Perfect Life forms ...?" Chu Guang looked at his right hand, clenched his fist, feeling the surging power.

It was said to be the Holy Grail of the Prosperity Epoch biology and gene-editing technology, the lifelong pursuit of countless scholars and engineers, involving millions of research projects.

Unfortunately, until that grand era ended, this isolated singularity remained just a concept in imagination.

Perhaps the First Generation Manager of Shelter No. 404 was an expert in this field as well.

After all, there were an unusually high number of biologists in Qingquan City, adding one more wasn't inconceivable.

"Do you feel like you're growing further apart from your identity as a human?" Watching Chu Guang lost in thought, Heya teased, "I think you don't need to worry. From what I can tell, you're quite liked by everyone."

Chu Guang shook his head.

"I haven't considered that. I was just wondering ... what will happen after the development progress reaches 100%."

"That, we will only know when the time comes. There are no relevant data in the shelter's database to refer to, and even the previously effective empirical formulas are no longer working."

Heya paused, then shrugged her shoulders in a comforting tone.

"But don't worry. No matter what happens to you, no matter what you become, even if you grow two heads and six arms, you will always be you, and always be the you in our hearts."

She wasn't very good at comforting people, nor was she adept at reading others' emotions, as she spent most of her time immersed in scientific research and stopped mid-sentence.

Chu Guang was slightly stunned at first, taking a couple of seconds before realizing she was actually trying to comfort him, and he laughed.

"What are you talking about? I'm not worried about that at all. Though, I was thinking ... it would be nice if I could grow a pair of wings."

But that was too fantastical.

Changing the bone structure and nerve distribution completely, it likely couldn't be done without installing artificial limbs.

"Seems I was being over-sensitive ..." Heya blushed rarely, coughed forcefully trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Not at all," Chu Guang interrupted her, his face breaking into a hearty smile, sincerely adding, "Thank you, it feels pretty good to be cared for."

"You, when you don't talk... it's quite... quite normal."

Seeing Heya turning her head away rambling, and the hint of blush through the silvery light, Chu Guang looked surprised.

Weird.

Shouldn't I be the one saying that?

...

[Yesterday, the Sticky Community Allied forces achieved a critical victory around Ten Peaks Mountain.

Nestled deeply in Blood Mountain, the Lair ultimately fell under the combined assault of the Alpha Special Mobile Force and the Death Legion, and the tumorous poison buried deep beneath the Weifu Wilderness was thoroughly excised.

Thus, the lands of Brocade River Province eroded by the cult have all been liberated!

Although the soil corrupted by the Nago mycelium is still being purified, completely eliminating the corruption left by the Torch Church is only a matter of time...

To prevent the seeds of chaos from sprouting again, the Managers announced the establishment of the seventh Survivor Settlement "Weifu City" on the Weifu Wilderness and an additional "Weifu City Station" on the Alliance railway line.

The Southern Construction Corps of the Alliance is currently responsible for the planning of this settlement, with more details to follow in subsequent reports.

On another note, under the initiative of Alliance Manager Chu Guang, the Sticky Community proposed the 6th Resolution, in which the attending parties will discuss the reparations for the families of soldiers killed in the war against the Torch Church.

The list of deceased soldiers is currently being compiled, but due to the varying levels of communication technology and limited administrative capabilities among the Survivor Forces, this task may take a considerable amount of time to complete.

Additionally, following the defeat of the 'Beast King,' the Mutant tribes stationed on Ten Peaks Mountain have gradually migrated south.

Since over a century ago when the first Mutant tribe wandered and settled there, it is the first time Ten Peaks Mountain is completely free from the threat of Mutants.

The 100th Mountain Division 1st Brigade of the Corporation has already deployed to Lai Mountain.

Given the complex local circumstances in Haiya Province, the Army, the Corporation, and the Academy have all expressed intentions to send more reinforcements to the front lines.

However, due to constraints like the width of the front, logistical capacity, and various other factors, the maximum force the northern front can handle might not exceed 20 divisions.

Military analysts believe that the northern front has successfully opened a breakthrough, and the next turning point of the war might appear on the southern line.

Sammy, Chief, Reporter, and Editor of the Survivor's Daily Potato Harbor branch, reporting for you!

]

On the southern shore of Baiyue Strait, at the military camp in Fried Dough Stick Port, inside a solitary wooden cabin, Ten Thousand Leader Yiselle of the Expeditionary Force of 30,000 was reading the newspaper in his hand.

Despite it being over 30 degrees, he felt a chill in his hands and feet.

The headline's victory alert wasn't what made him involuntarily hold his breath, but rather the casualty figures listed on page two from various parts of the Allied forces.

Excluding the clone counts from the Army, the Empire occupied the second position on the list, with a staggering 14,700 people killed in action!

Nearly three-quarters of them were dead...

He could hardly imagine, had he not boarded the wrong ship earlier, whether he would still be alive today.

Just then, hurried footsteps approached from outside.

Chu Guang walked through the threshold, his name known as Jin De.

He held a newspaper in his hand, fresh off the press and evidently from the same issue as his own.

It wasn't beyond General Yiselle's expectations that, upon entering, Jin De would quickly cut to the chase.

"Sir, General Babita's forces have suffered heavy losses, and this is not good news for us… Ah, it seems you already know."

Mid-sentence, his gaze fell on the newspaper in Yiselle's hand, and he tactfully stopped talking.

However, Yiselle had heard the first part and couldn't help but frown slightly.

"What does this have to do with us? We are responsible for the southern front."

"Strictly speaking, that's true, but General Babita is, after all, our immediate superior. Do you think, with his personality, he would honestly admit his own faults?"

"Is there any point in arguing?" Yiselle scoffed, "That man, who even covets the money in his subordinates' meal cards, whether he admits it or not, can he really argue that the over ten thousand dead can be brought back to life?"

Since the "Survivor's Daily" Potato Harbor division is run by the Moon Clan, and those Moon Clan girls always like to include their own interests in the newspaper, focusing only on reporting unpleasant news about the Empire's Expeditionary Army and ignoring the clones of the Army.

At first, he despised those Moon people, but after working with the residents of the Alliance for a while, he slowly started to view General Babita as an idiot, and whoever appointed him as the commander of the Expeditionary Force as an idiot as well.

Although Yiselle disregarded him, Jin De still cautiously said,

"…It's not surprising you think this way, in fact, I also despise that incompetent man, but it must be said, such men have their cunning ways when it comes to manipulation. For instance, he might shift the entire blame for this failure onto you for not reaching the front as planned, while his efforts salvaged two thousand troops from a doomed force of ten thousand—"

"What a joke!" Yiselle slammed the table vigorously, "Even if he says so, His Majesty would never believe such ludicrous stories!"

Jin De shook his head and spoke in a low voice.

"Turning black into white is a basic skill in manipulation, and in the palace, having a thick skin is more important than capability. Since he is your superior and closer to His Majesty, he is certainly more skilled in this respect..."

Seeing General Yiselle's uneasy expression, he paused for a moment before continuing.

"Of course, even though the situation is quite unfavorable for us, we are not without opportunities..."

Over the past month, they had managed to turn Fried Dough Stick Port into something substantial, and the Alliance had paid them part of their wages as promised.

And it was not just the wages.

The Baiyue Strait is livelier than ever before, and although Fried Dough Stick Port's development could not catch up to Potato Harbor, it benefited from the latter's progress. Merchants from Silver Moon Bay, South Archipelago Alliance, and even great bosses from City of Dawn, all invested in industries in this region.

Managing plantations, helping on construction sites or docks, even warehousing and import-export businesses, their Expeditionary Force of 30,000 had ventured into all these activities.

Although nominally they were still part of the Expeditionary Army, in reality, they had transformed into a large labor agency.

After all, the Jungle Corps was too strong in combat, making it redundant for them to take the field.

In one month, they had accumulated at least five to six hundred thousand silver coins.

For the poor souls in Poluo Province, this sum was a significant bargaining chip.

Seeing a serious look cross General Yiselle's face, Jin De continued,

"This matter weighs heavily on His Majesty's mind, so we just need to be the first to deliver the battle report to Tiandu. Then, when His Majesty sees that General Babita's incompetence has disgraced the Empire in front of the Army, he might propose splitting the Expeditionary Army into northern and southern fronts… I believe His Majesty would consider your recommendation."

After hearing his adjutant's words, Yiselle was visibly moved, yet still hesitated.

"But… bypassing the chain of command is a serious breach."

Jin De patiently said.

"We can handle that, do you still remember Governor Nihak?"

Yiselle nodded.

"Of course, he is His Majesty's confidant. Are you suggesting we exploit his connections? But isn't he imprisoned in Jin Jalun Port?"

Due to Duke Garava's refusal to sign, the Alliance and the Empire remained in ceasefire negotiations without a formal ceasefire agreement.

For this reason, whether it was prisoners from the Grey Wolf Army or Governor Nihak, they were now held in POW camps or prisons in Jin Galun Port.

He couldn't see what use it could be to leverage a prisoner's connections.

Seeing Yiselle's puzzled look, Jin De patiently continued.

"…Times have changed. The Empire suffered heavy losses in the war against the Torch Church, and the Alliance adjusted its diplomatic strategy towards the Empire. Even out of pity for the weaker party, they would not demand the impossible anymore."

"Moreover, it's turbulent within the Empire recently; the self-sufficient Black Panther Army and Tiger Army are becoming uncontrollable problems, and His Majesty also intends to mollify the relationship with the Alliance to free his hands to deal with the internal disorder. I believe that the ceasefire agreement, which hasn't been signed for a month, is likely going to be signed soon."

Yiselle's expression was visibly moved.

"Are you saying Governor Nihak will be released?!"

Jin De solemnly nodded.

"That is certain, including Prince Dilipu who is also imprisoned with him, I reckon it won't be long before they are on a ship heading home."

His eyes slightly twinkling, he laid out his entire plan.

"…Directly bypassing isn't feasible, but if it's Governor Nihak or Prince Dilipu who delivers this letter, the problem naturally doesn't exist."

-

(Thanks to "Book Friend 20230411005002872" for the chief patron reward!)

Chapter 752: The Current Situation of Potato Harbor and the Southern Line

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

["Battle for Heaven" Battlefront Progress: Important checkpoints on the northern front have been successively broken through, Ten Peaks Mountain is now under Allied forces control, and the gateway to Haiye Province has been opened!

The southern battlefront remains in the Southern sea area. Players in this region, keep up the good work—the final reward will be tied to the progress of the battlefront!

]

Shortly after the announcement was posted on the official forum, the forum instantly buzzed with activity.

Elena: "Well, I'll be damned, the Dog Plan urging for updates now. (Sarcastic)"

Gnome King Riches: "Other games nerf equipments to slow down player progress, afraid the players will clear too fast, but here they're unique for complaining players don't clear fast enough. (Sarcastic)"

Canyon Escape Mole: "Fang Chang, are you guys even up to this? (Sarcastic)"

tail: "Dolly: Fang Chang, are you capable or not?! (Shy)"

Si Si: "Ah Wei, calm down a bit, you're on the southern front, too."

tail: "Yikes! I forgot! °ロ°)!"

Makabazi: "That's so dumb! (Sarcastic)"

Feng Qing: "No other way, the W-2 has too low cruising speed, it simply can't break through the close-defense fire network of the Federal destroyers, the limitations of old-fashioned propeller planes are just too evident. T.T"

Gui Gui: "+10086, the southern front urgently needs supersonic fighters!"

There are quite a few Mosquitoes in WC: "Cough, those divine wind devices are too expensive, you guys better make do with the propeller ones for now, or maybe I'll get you one without landing gear."

Feng Qing: "!!!"

Gui Gui: "Goddammit! Commander, are you even human!"

Elena: "This game is too realistic. (Sarcastic)"

...

Watching the complaints in the comment section of the official announcement, Fang Chang couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows and ultimately resisted the urge to join in.

That Ah Guang was seriously a bit unreasonable.

Could the slow progress on the southern front really be the fault of the players?

Just the few destroyers of the North Federation and the islands in the Southern sea area, each one, if brought into the real world, would be a force strong enough to dominate a group of "concept ships".

On the other hand, the Baiyue Corporation only had a bunch of modified and re-modified propeller planes.

Let's be frank, these things were indeed effective for ground attacks, with the advantages of long loiter times, low cost, and large quantities.

But when facing the powerful Dot Defense System and high-precision guided weapons, they seemed somewhat inadequate.

Especially with sea battles mainly conducted over the horizon, often they had barely taken off from the airport when they were already targeted by the enemy.

Of course, the Alliance also had its advantages, such as superior combat power of ground forces and individual soldier equipments far surpassing those of the North Federation.

If they could get past the Federation fleet's maritime surveillance area and land directly on the Federation's islands, the situation would be much more favorable than it was now.

However, the crux of the problem was that the enemy clearly knew this, so the sonar and radar alerts were on a 24-hour standby, and patrol boats carrying deep-water bombs patrolled the unmanned sea area non-stop.

Forget about landing; getting within 100 kilometers put them at risk of over-the-horizon attacks.

Of course, this was true for both sides.

The North Federation was on the lookout for the Alliance's planes and paratroopers, while the Southern Archipelago Alliance similarly alerted to the Torch Church's "frogman" units, with various early warning and over-the-horizon strike measures ready 24 hours a day.

Previously, several waves of Mutants equipped with professional underwater combat devices attempted to swim to Anle Island for a surprise attack, yet before they could reach Coral City, most were dispatched by a couple of deep-water bombs, while the surviving scattered Mutants ended as fish feed.

The Variants lurking in the ocean were far more terrifying than those on land, and their species were even more diverse.

Without the cover of a "Boat Song", solitary Mutants couldn't survive in deep waters for over an hour.

Wary of the submarines near Anle Island, the Federation's fleet also dared not cross the surveillance zone and venture deep into the hinterlands of the Southern Archipelago Alliance.

For this reason, both sides fell into a peculiar state of war.

It was like two sturdy men with guns, each behind their own cover, with 50 meters between them, occasionally firing a couple of shots at the other side and then quickly ducking back behind their shelter.

Neither could afford the cost of a mistake, so neither dared to step out of cover to attack.

But—

That didn't mean they'd keep this up indefinitely.

On the side of the Southern Archipelago Alliance, an "Underwater submarine" was being developed with the support of the Alliance, preparing for the landings on North Island.

Meanwhile, it was clear that the North Federation, with the support of the Torch Church, was getting ready with its own ace up the sleeve.

Both sides were well aware that the war wouldn't drag on for long. Especially lately, with the Allied forces pressing hard from the north, it became urgent for the Torch Church to open up strategic space to the south.

Everyone was preparing for the imminent decisive battle.

Under such circumstances, the space for player actions was actually quite limited.

Even Fang Chang himself, apart from putting more effort into infrastructure projects in the Southern sea area and the Baiyue Strait and using economic and trade means to win over the islands standing with the Alliance, seemed to have nothing else to do.

After a simple dinner, Fang Chang went for an evening jog downstairs and then put on his headgear to return to Game.

A regular meeting was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. in the Governor's Office at the Fries Port City Hall.

As the CEO and chairman of Baiyue Corporation, the governor from the City of Dawn would exchange views with him on regional affairs and the next phase of development work and also convey the Manager's wishes by the way.

In fact, the governor here had a fundamentally different meaning from the governors of the Empire.

The latter represented the interests and authority of the emperor and was akin to the emperor's avatar in the locale, while the former represented the Alliance and the constitution of the Alliance.

From the perspective of rights and obligations, this position in the Alliance was more like a role similar to that of a "lord of the city."

That is, representing the Central Alliance to exercise the power of supervision over local affairs, being responsible for the daily defense work in the area, and making judgments on affairs related to the overall interests of the Alliance from the standpoint of the Alliance.

As for the specific local affairs and the execution of public authority, these were undertaken by the city hall or more specific service agencies.

Only under extremely special circumstances, such as when the locals completely lacked a sense of self-management and the foundation for it, or when the Alliance needed a place to accommodate such survivors, would the lord or governor also manage the specific local affairs.

For example, Singular Point City.

If the Alliance didn't send someone over to oversee things, the local survivors would turn the constitution of the Alliance into toilet paper in minutes and set up a "Red River Alliance" that was all facade and no substance.

As for places like Fries Port, where players themselves could develop it well, the Manager was happy to leave it to the players and the locals to manage, so a governor's office was simply established at the city hall.

When there was no active work, the governor would typically spend his time drinking tea, reading the newspaper, and summarizing the local situation to send a telegraph to report to the Manager, while also providing some guidance to local institutions based on the Manager's feedback...

That is if Mr. Manager even had any feedback to give.

At least in the past few months, the Manager's feedback has always been "read."

Clearly, even the meticulous Mr. Manager couldn't find fault with their work.

However, this time was different.

Hearing that the Manager had rarely given explicit instructions, Fang Chang couldn't help but become curious about the upcoming meeting.

With some time left before the meeting, he didn't rush to report to the city hall but took a leisurely stroll in the settlement that they had established themselves.

Perhaps by the time he reached city hall, he wouldn't need the governor from the City of Dawn to explain; he could guess what the Manager's instructions were.

Game time had reached early August, a period of intermittent rain and sunshine in the Baiyue Strait during the rainy season.

It was common for it to be bright and sunny one second and pouring rain the next.

But that rain wasn't at all bothersome; Fries Port after the rain cleared was like polished glass, refreshing both inside and out and uplifting to one's spirits.

After a few months of development, Fries Port had begun to take shape.

With the completion of the port, a large surplus of construction materials like cement, steel, bricks, and construction equipment were left over. The port's city hall simply signed a document to improve resident housing, encouraging locals to convert their handcrafted detached wooden cottages into three-story Western-style houses with a primarily concrete structure through subsidies.

This move was obviously for the appearance of Fries Port as much as it was to pre-empt tsunamis and earthquakes; after all, the wooden houses had only been a temporary solution. But even more, it was to stimulate the local economy, taking the long view to catch a big fish.

After all, only when those survivors had their own houses could they rent out unneeded floors or set up a little business on the street level.

For a sparsely populated place like Fries Port, land could be said to be the least valuable thing.

Not only did the local survivors' homes change, but so too did the roads at their front doors.

The muddy roads that had been impassable on rainy days had all been replaced with clean and tidy cement roads.

Speaking of these cement roads, there was also quite some planning.

For well-known reasons, the cost of road maintenance in the Baiyue Strait was quite high, and it wouldn't make sense to use the City of Dawn's method to build a settlement.

However, a research team from the Alliance Biological Research Institute, based on their studies of biological samples collected locally and at the Qingquan City Lair, developed a type of biomaterial known as "active cement."

This material had the remarkable property of self-repair, being able to draw in energy and nutrients from surface biomass and physically maintain the "structural material" as the base to keep its original form.

To make a vivid but inaccurate metaphor, the microorganisms adhering to the material were like miniature hermit crabs, and the pores of the active cement were the "shells" they depended on to survive.

To protect their own "shells," they would proactively attack any biological elements that sought to destabilize the concrete structure and use themselves as a binder to maintain the stability of the structure.

The initiator of this project was none other than Chen Yutong, head of the Fries Port branch of the Alliance Biological Research Institute.

It was no exaggeration to say that this astonishing technology effectively removed the "+900% industrial and infrastructure cost" debuff of Fries Port.

This self-repairing "active cement," being a living thing in its own right, was not only resistant to erosion by the abundant local species but could also benefit from the "flourishing" buff, thereby reducing road maintenance costs.

The one slight disappointment was that using this active material, whether in production or application, required an additional step compared to traditional cement.

However, compared to the benefits of this material, those extra costs were negligible.

As it turned out, there were always more solutions than problems.

As technology progressed, what had been seen as impossible gradually became possible.

Yet even with the industrial debuff removed, Fang Chang had no immediate plans to change the local development strategy of "primary industry leading, tertiary supporting," with secondary industry coming last.

After all, the accelerated growth buff was simply too enticing for crops!

The same crops can only yield one season in the City of Dawn, but here they can yield three seasons without any concerns about declining fertility, and the efficiency even surpasses that of Falling Leaves Province.

It's just that right now the scale and transport capacity aren't up to par. Once Potato Harbor develops, this place might even become a bigger granary than Falling Leaves Province!

As for the secondary industry, leaving it to Jin Galun Port will do the trick.

Recently, a large number of immigrants have been pouring into the suburbs of Jin Jialun Port along the Everflow River, and the massive young adult labor force is even close to exceeding the capacity of the local infrastructure.

There's no better place suited for the development of secondary industries than there.

Finally strolling leisurely to the entrance of the city hall, Fang Chang squinted at the landmark brick and stone structure for a moment, then suddenly stopped an NPC coming out of the building and asked with a smile.

"Friend, where are you from?"

The person must have been a recent immigrant and did not recognize his face. Startled by this seemingly random question, he then replied.

"Silver Moon Bay... why do you ask?"

Fang Chang continued with a smile.

"How do you find life here in Potato Harbor? Are you satisfied with this place?"

Upon hearing this, a wistful expression immediately surfaced on the man's face as he exclaimed earnestly.

"It's a good place, and I don't know how else to describe it... But I can say for sure, if heaven exists, it must look like this."

Here there is no king, no nobles, and no priests requiring support—just hard work to get rich. That's what satisfied him the most.

Of course, what made him most reluctant to leave were the bars along the coastal streets.

At least a third of what he earned last month he spent there.

Listening to sailors and mercenaries brag was a lot more interesting than praying to a statue!

Watching this guy who had cast aside the Spirit of the Sand Sea and the Silver Moon Goddess, Fang Chang laughed heartily and said.

"I think so too, this place is simply paradise... It's good that you all like it; it means we didn't come here for nothing."

After saying this, he walked towards the great doors of the city hall under the man's puzzled gaze.

...

By the time Fang Chang reached the meeting room, the governor had just about arrived as well, and kindly had his secretary make him a cup of tea.

There wasn't much small talk.

The governor from the City of Dawn quickly got to the point, speaking sincerely.

"Recently, Potato Harbor has been developing rapidly, and there's a huge demand for workers in all sectors. The city hall has requested us to bring in more immigrants from outside the Alliance, but we can't just let anyone in. That would impact our refugee reception system. I'm wondering if you have any good ideas."

Fang Chang asked.

"What does the Manager suggest?"

The governor inquired earnestly.

"The Manager asked for your opinion."

Fang Chang pondered for a moment and said.

"It's simple. Use the financial budget of Potato Harbor or commission a third party to build some standard training institutions and schools in Jin Jialun Port. Then encourage employers in need of labor to recruit graduates with professional skills certifications from those schools. And all we have to do is issue visas to those who have already secured employment contracts. This way, they'll have jobs as soon as they land, and if they have jobs and a place to live, they can't be considered refugees."

The governor's eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs-up.

"That's a good idea!"

Fang Chang made a helpless expression.

Isn't this basic?

However, considering that visas probably didn't exist in the Prosperity Epoch, and that there was a discontinuity in the civilization of the Wasteland Era, it's understandable that this good tradition was lost.

After all, the Ideal City doesn't even have "steamed dishes"—a culinary desert—when compared horizontally to his old home in Shanghai, it's unimaginable.

In fact, the Manager recently came up with that "electronic pass" through the Sticky Community, which is a bit like a passport and visa.

Because of the electronic pass, the previously closed Survivor Forces opened a crack in their doors, and the survivors living in the Sticky Community gained the right to "freely migrate within a limited range" rather than not having much choice most of the time as before.

To be honest, this is the most counterintuitive part.

A Manager from the Human Alliance Era suddenly produced something that wasn't in existence during the Human Alliance Era and is using it proficiently.

Sometimes, Fang Chang couldn't help but wonder if the guy might actually be a real person playing an NPC.

While Fang Chang was lost in his thoughts, the governor sitting opposite him cleared his throat and continued speaking.

"There's another matter, mainly regarding Baiyue Corporation."

Fang Chang snapped back to reality and said succinctly.

"Please, go ahead."

The governor spoke seriously.

"The Manager hopes that you will temporarily suspend military conflicts with the Empire and focus more on the Southern sea area."

Although it was something he had expected, Fang Chang's face still couldn't help but reveal a hint of helplessness.

"We have already been doing this, including subsea power grids, freshwater pipelines, ocean current power stations, and the restart of Coral City. These infrastructure projects are subtly bringing the survivors of the Southern sea area to our side... However, you also know that the influence of these efforts is hard to reflect immediately. The benefits of order need time to manifest."

Upon hearing these words, the governor immediately realized that he had misunderstood and hurried to explain.

"You have misunderstood. The Manager is not questioning your Work. On the contrary, he believes that you have done quite well. Whether it's uniting survivors in the Southern sea area or dealing with the Expeditionary Army, you have thought seriously about the problems they encounter from the perspective of being 'managed.'"

"Too kind. We are merely doing what we ought to do." Fang Chang said modestly after taking a sip from his teacup, though the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve up slightly.

That guy's affirmation was indeed valuable to him.

The governor nodded.

"It's good that you understand. In any case, the Manager is not urging you to gain an immediate advantage on the front lines; he actually hopes that you can appropriately ease the attitude towards the Empire."

Fang Chang's mouth twitched, barely holding back a grin.

"Have we been strict with the Empire?"

The embargo was clearly a unilateral action by the Empire; they had never restricted the movement of people and goods to and from Jin Jialun Port, even tacitly allowing the existence of shadow ports like Banana Head Bay.

As for those military factions that appeared on the border—that was even less their concern.

Due to ceasefire negotiations, he had even postponed the contact with the rebel forces within the Empire.

Facing Fang Chang's "grievances," the governor made a helpless expression.

"I'm not familiar with your affairs across the sea. I'm just conveying the Manager's message. Additionally, the Alliance is about to sign a formal ceasefire agreement with the Empire. Duke Garava has already made concessions on several key agreements, and Mr. Manager hopes that the Jin Jialun Port side can release Governor Nihak as a display of our sincerity."

Fang Chang was stunned for a moment.

"Just this?"

Governor: "Is there a problem?"

"No... it's rather too simple."

Fang Chang said with a chuckle and then immediately opened his vm in front of him, edited a message, and hit send.

In just a few minutes, the Fries Port City Hall would receive a telegram from Potato Harbor, and his promoted secretary would quickly sort everything out.

By the most tomorrow at this time, Governor Nihak would be leaving prison, standing in the drastically changed streets of Jin Jialun Port...

Hopefully, the governor wouldn't be too shocked by the changes that had occurred in the place he once governed.

If the Empire was willing to take this as a gesture of goodwill, it wouldn't be impossible to let the more than 10,000 POWs return home from the POW camps.

Having sent the message, Fang Chang looked toward the governor sitting across from him and said calmly,

"All taken care of."

It was probably the task he had completed the quickest out of all the tasks he had done.

The expression of astonishment on Mr. Governor's face seemed to come from surprise at his speed.

Fang Chang looked at him and continued to ask.

"Anything else?"

Be it immigration management or demonstrating sincerity for the ceasefire, he regarded them as minor matters.

If it was just these things, there would be no need to pass the message through the governor; adding a line on the taskbar would be enough.

He inclined to believe that there was something more important.

And indeed, things turned out as he expected, and the governor indeed had more to say.

The latter cleared his throat and continued.

"Additionally, regarding the Baiyue Corporation's going public that you mentioned earlier, Mr. Manager has discussed it with experts from Camp 101, and he believes that your request is reasonable."

"The residents of the Alliance should share in the achievements brought about by the development of the Baiyue Strait, which will inspire their enthusiasm for exploring the Wasteland. For you, going public means that you can obtain funds more conveniently and expand your business faster, therefore making the cake bigger."

"However, before that, you need to cooperate with regulatory personnel commissioned by the Alliance Bank to audit and assess your business, finances, and assets to ensure the legal interests of investors and that equity transactions are conducted openly, fairly, and justly."

"If all goes well, your IPO will serve as a successful example. Mr. Manager plans to establish a dedicated stock exchange in the City of Dawn afterward, providing listing services to other companies with financing needs and good business performance."

Hearing this, Fang Chang was at first startled, then a shade of delight immediately spread across his face. He agreed without a second thought.

"Please rest assured Mr. Manager! We will do our utmost to cooperate with the Alliance Bank in completing the financial audit!"

The governor smiled and nodded.

"Compared to the first two issues, this is just a minor matter, hardly worth mentioning. It's good for you to be informed."

With a radiant smile on his face, Fang Chang nonetheless said nothing.

A minor matter?

If this were considered minor, then there probably were no bigger issues than this!

Chapter 753: Chaos at Jinjaron Harbor

Jin Jialun Port.

The security bureau of the port area faced the busiest street of Jin Jialun Port, bustling with people coming and going.

Governor Nikhak stood on the street, gazing blankly at the unfamiliar, spacious street, his eyes filled with confusion, momentarily unable to recognize where he was.

The streets were clean and tidy, houses painted white, and black street lamps stood tall, everything seemed just like before.

Yet, different from the past was the roaring noise that filled the air, with people bustling through and some jugglers riding bicycles with two or three wheels swiftly maneuvering through the streets.

This place bore little resemblance to the dignified and elegant Tulip Street but rather resembled the chaotic Klaba Market.

Indeed.

Everything here was in utter disarray.

"You are free now."

Someone said from behind him, the voice slightly cold, even carrying a hint of mockery.

"Thank you…"

Nikhak replied subconsciously, and then realized that it wasn't what he should have said.

He glared fiercely at the jail guard, shook his sleeve, and stepped onto the street, but because he was looking backward, he collided with a child holding a large stack of paper.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, old man!" the child yelled indignantly, but didn't linger to argue.

Time is money, and with the time spent talking nonsense, he could have made a few more trips and earned a few more Gallons.

However, Nikhak was not about to let it go, his face flushed with anger, he reached out to grab the little rascal by the neck.

"What did you call me... Do you know who I am!"

"I don't care who you are, you're not one of those Iron Men!" The child skillfully dodged his grasp, grinning cheekily and even made a face at him before walking away.

Seeing the child's insolence, Nikhak was so infuriated that he wanted to chase after him and teach him a lesson, but felt it beneath him to stoop to violence. As the child vanished into the distance, he could only curse twice and stomp in frustration.

"What a street mongrel, utterly ill-mannered!"

From the looks of it, though the child's clothes were old, they were fairly neat, probably belonging to some destitute noble family. The sleeves were patched, showing a lack of dignity; this family must be living a hard life, the father surely a laborer, the mother probably had to sell herself, and they might even have to eat dirt.

Imagining the pitiable and humble life of that child, Nikhak felt a bit more at ease, as if he had won.

Yet soon, he realized something was amiss.

Not just the child, not just one or two, but everyone on the street was wearing clothes.

Even the laborers doing heavy work wore cheap coarse linen shirts and pale blue canvas trousers.

And those riding bicycles were even more dressed up, mostly wearing cotton short-sleeved shirts and trousers, their waists cinched with leather belts.

Not just men, but women too, which shocked him the most.

Although the poor of Jin Jialun Port were notoriously undisciplined in dress, wearing anything and calling a curtain wrapped around the waist a skirt, there were unspoken rules formed over 200 years about who could wear trousers, who couldn't, and what to wear on what occasion.

He initially thought the child was from some impoverished noble family since most of the destitute in the slums only had rags, and even if they had clothes, they wouldn't spare them for children.

But now, it seemed his understanding had some deviations.

Only now did he realize that the street had too many "nobles" who could afford clothes.

Is this Jin Jialun Port?

Nikhak was utterly confounded, his eyes wide.

And at that moment, the noisy voices and the clamorous information also poured into his ears, the endless buzzing sounds made his head feel like it was going to explode.

"Selling newspapers, hot off the press! Must-eat delicacies of Jin Jialun Port listed inside, with fresh news from the Wasteland!"

"Old-style flatbreads! Delicious flatbreads! And freshly baked big meat buns!"

"Where are you going, boss? Only one Gallon for a mile!"

"I pedal fast! Take my bike, boss!"

"I heard the Expeditionary Army won a hard battle, though it's a pyrrhic victory with over 10,000 dead!"

"Shh…"

"That's fake, right? There were only 30,000 in total."

"Hey, no disrespect, but if you said a hundred died and they won, I'd believe it, but ten thousand dead and still winning, I would never believe!"

"What book is that?"

"Mechanical Principles, Math, Geometry… and some other miscellaneous stuff, scavenged from the port area, heard they were second-hand books swapped out from Dawn City."

"Why are you reading this stuff?"

"Another skill means another way forward, can't spend a lifetime here, right?"

"That's not so bad, is it? The Emperor and his Governor have already been chased out."

"It's quite good, but the Alliance and Empire have ceased fire, who knows if they might come back."

People chattered loudly, talking, peddling, haggling, turning what was once a quiet street into a complete mess.

Nikhak didn't know what they were so happy about, nor did he understand what was good about this chaotic scene.

In his time, if the lower classes dared to appear on this street without a valid reason, his officers would brutally beat them with batons. And for those girls wearing trousers, they would confiscate the trousers and send them away, or depending on their mood, detain them for a few days until their family came to fetch them.

He thought that the Alliance's absurd behavior would ruin this place, and indeed it had, turning it chaotic in just a few months.

Yet, to his dismay, those who had suffered enough did not cheer for his return, and even forgot his face.

It wasn't just those lower-class people, even the nobles who used to crowd around him didn't come forward to welcome him, no idea what they were busy with.

A period of utter disarray had arrived, people scurrying about the streets like headless flies, lost in the sugar-coated bombs brought by the Alliance.

Everything seemed to be just his wishful thinking—he thought he was important, that without him, people here couldn't survive, hence the Alliance had hastily released him.

In fact, without him, people seemed to be doing better.

Facing everything unfamiliar, a feeling of helplessness suddenly arose in his heart.

At that moment, a probing greeting came from behind him.

"Mr. Nihak?"

Reacting instinctively to the name, Nihak turned around and saw a man in a leather jacket looking at him.

He did not recognize this fellow, but the man clearly recognized him. As soon as he saw Nihak's face, he showed a delighted expression and happily walked over.

"It really is you! I am Aksh, servant of Mr. Isel."

This guy had grown fatter than in his portrait; his neck was almost gone, almost making him unrecognizable.

"Isel?" Nihak was puzzled, clearly unfamiliar with the name.

Yet, the man, undeterred by his expression, continued enthusiastically.

"A noble person like you surely wouldn't remember my master; he is merely a baron who deals with people like me all day. However, my master always remembers you. At the coming-of-age ceremony held by His Majesty for the Fourth Prince two years ago, he met you. He always tells us that it was after meeting Governor Nihak that he understood what true nobility was like."

Two years ago, the coming-of-age ceremony held by His Majesty for the Fourth prince…

Governor Nihak certainly remembered the Fourth Prince; he remembered everyone close to His Majesty, but who he had met at some prince's ceremony and with whom he had drunk, how could he possibly remember such details?

All he remembered was waking up the next morning in the bed of a countess. As for any baron, such a person didn't even qualify to shake his hand at that kind of event.

Nonetheless, although he thoroughly despised the name, Governor Nihak felt a warmth in his heart.

Those who usually groveled at his shoes hadn't come to visit him; in the end, it was someone he had only met once two years ago who still remembered him.

The only downside was, why had this fellow not come himself, instead sending a mere servant to greet him?

Seeing the displeasure on his face, the man called Aksh said with a smile,

"My master wanted to come and fetch you himself, but regrettably, he's bound by military orders and couldn't leave the front lines, so he sent me to greet you."

"Military orders? What military orders?" Nihak said, puzzled about the outside affairs.

Aksh replied with a smile,

"It's the Expeditionary Army, now the entire Wasteland… including Poluo Province which isn't really a wasteland at all, has nothing more important than the war against the enemies of humanity. It's not just us; Armies, corporations, academies, all have sent troops."

Nihak nodded, pretending to understand, but in reality, he didn't get it at all.

What are these enemies of humanity?

When did the Empire get a new enemy?

Knowing that it wasn't something that could be explained in just a few words, Aksh smoothly continued,

"It's a complex matter, not something I can explain in just a moment. My master has prepared a banquet at Triumph Hotel to refresh you after your journey. Please come with me to the hotel suite, and I'll explain everything there."

"That would be appreciated," Nihak looked around, and seeing no one else there to receive him, accepted his kindness and followed the servant of Isel.

The two of them boarded a tricycle, or more accurately, a tricycle pulling a covered cart.

At the other end of the street, a Rat Clan young man dressed impeccably was watching the prison entrance indifferently.

Only when the tricycle disappeared at the end of the street, did he softly say,

"Kunar, my friend, do you remember that fellow?"

The Dog Tribe young man next to him nodded, grunting,

"Of course, he is the lord of the Governor's Mansion."

Ah Xin spoke slowly,

"That was a long time ago. Now he's like a rat crawling out of the sewer, scared by people on the street; timid, humble, fierce on the outside but weak inside... tsk tsk."

He gently shook his head, not concealing the disdain and mockery in his eyes.

The fellow was much like his former self. If that man's clothes were stripped off and he were thrown into the street, he might not behave any more composedly than he once did.

This is the nobility of the Empire.

There aren't any Sun People, Cow People, or Elephant Tribe here, only different breeds of rats.

Kunar muttered, "I don't understand why the Alliance doesn't simply kill them."

Isn't it better to become the Emperor themselves?

So complicated.

They only needed to advance one step further west to take the City of Thousand Pillars. With just one more pillar, they could reign as Iron Men over this land, becoming the 1001st deity of this land.

"You're right not to understand; that's something I can't figure out either, but my intuition tells me that's one of the reasons the Alliance hasn't killed them."

He glanced at his friend and briefly said that, then ended the fruitless conversation.

What a pity.

He had planned to invite that destitute lord to a meal, perhaps then he could establish a connection to Tiandu and expand his business at Banana Head Bay, but it seemed he was a step too slow, and someone else had set their sights on him first.

But it didn't matter anymore; it was unlikely that the lord would enjoy a drink and chat with a Rat Clan person like himself, especially after seeing his abject behavior, and he suddenly lost interest.

Especially thinking that this vast Empire was run by such creatures made him feel ashamed and unable to stand straight.

Maybe it was time to replace these people, a thought suddenly popped into his head.

Once the idea came forth, it fermented endlessly in his mind.

Of course, he never thought about becoming the Emperor himself, as being an Emperor was probably not as comfortable as his life now.

He had heard there was a group of Moon Clan rebels in the northern forests.

Perhaps he could invest in these people.

For instance, using his connections among the Military Factions, he could send them some equipment, arrange for some people to go to the City of Dawn to study.

Operating it was quite easy for him, actually. Through the inn known as The Forsaken Town, he even got in touch with the heads of the Tiger army and the Black Panther Army. At least half of the resources produced by the various estates and mines in the eastern region were sold to Jin Jialun Port through his shadow port.

Though the risk involved was high, what if the Moon Clan succeeded?

The return on investing in a new dynasty would be far greater than investing in a decrepit Old Aristocrat...

...

At this moment, Governor Ni Hack had no idea that a young man from the Rat Clan was contemplating some terribly seditious things behind his back.

Having arrived at the Triumph Hotel with Aksh, he was completely stunned by the table full of delicacies in front of him.

Compared to the dazzling array of delicacies, the box meals he had in prison were absolutely swill!

Looking at the former governor gorge himself, Aksh was about to offer some comfort about the hardships endured in prison but held his tongue after seeing his chubby neck.

Clearly, the alliance hadn't starved him; just a few months had nearly fattened him up like a pig, prestigious veins now likely flowing with fat.

Suppressing the urge to laugh, Aksh stood beside him, respectfully recounting the events of this period, especially highlighting General Babita's foolish performance on the northern front and the hardships his lord faced dealing with bugs on the southern front.

After a satisfying meal, Ni Hack, wiping his mouth with a napkin, grimaced at the mention of eating bugs and abruptly cut off Aksh.

"Enough already, I get the situation, this is easy to handle. I'll speak well of you to His Majesty and swap that Baron Babita to the south, moving your master to the north."

He figured those nobles weren't of much importance to His Majesty anyway.

After all, barons serving as Ten Thousand Leaders... that army probably didn't even have a few professional soldiers, at best just a bunch of serfs; a hundred of them together wouldn't match a single regular army soldier.

Moving a few barons was just a matter of talking for him.

Hearing this, Aksh nearly choked on his spit and hurriedly said,

"Sir, that won't do... If we move to the north, won't we just... just be taking the fall for General Babita? All the hardships we suffered in the south would be in vain!"

"You have a point," Ni Hack belched lazily and said, "Well, I can't be bothered to think about this little issue anymore. You all propose the terms. If it's reasonable, I'll help."

Hearing this, Aksh immediately brightened up, leaned in, and whispered in his ear.

"...We don't ask for much, just that His Majesty splits the Expeditionary Army into the Southern and Northern Army to facilitate command and control at the front, since the south and north fronts are too far apart and there's interference along the way, even sending a telegram requires two transfers."

"Fine, I'll help with that." Ni Hack easily agreed to the request.

Aksh was also keen on seizing opportunities. He gave a signal to a servant nearby and immediately brought a briefcase over, gently placing it on the chair next to the table.

"This is a small gesture from my lord… also an apology since he couldn't visit you in person, please accept it."

Ni Hack reached out his greasy hand to open the briefcase and was startled by the stack of shimmering Paper Money.

Dinars!

These special anti-counterfeit Paper Money could be exchanged for an equal amount of Dinars in Triumph City.

Although this currency only circulated on the western edge of the Central Continent, merchant ships from Weilante People regularly visited the western coast of Poluo Province, and those Weilante merchants recognized it, at most taking a 10% to 5% discount depending on the situation.

He roughly counted, and this briefcase of Paper Money amounted to at least 500 thousand Dinars.

The equivalent of 500 robust slaves!

"It seems your lord is doing well," Ni Hack squinted his eyes, looking at Aksh half jokingly.

While he wasn't concerned about the money, the fact that even a mere baron could produce half a million Dinars did surprise him.

Aksh made a rueful smile and sighed lightly.

"I must be honest with you, this is all of my lord's savings. But if he cannot return safely, no amount of money would be of use... right?"

"Heh."

Ni Hack laughed dismissively, unimpressed by his words but accepted the briefcase.

"Indeed, Isel was it? I'll remember your lord's name. By the way... how do we get back to Tiandu from here?"

Aksh quickly responded.

"Rest assured, sir, we wouldn't let you travel alone. We have already arranged a ship at the port. It will safely transport you to West Sail Port, which is Weilante territory. We've arranged a carriage there to take you to Tiandu."

Hearing this, Ni Hack finally relaxed all his concerns and worries, nodding with satisfaction.

"Efficient."

Aksh's face was brimming with smiles as he politely replied.

"As long as you're pleased."

Meanwhile, at the Jin Jialun Port, a cargo ship flying the White bear flag was moored by the dock.

The cargo hold of this freighter was filled with tinned herring and distilled spirits produced by Jin Galun.

Both items were favorites among the lower and middle-ranking officers and soldiers of the Army.

Although the distilled spirits from Jin Galun couldn't compare to those produced in City of Dawn and Dawn City in terms of craftsmanship, taste, or prestige, most of the devices used here were discarded by those cities, so the quality difference wasn't too significant.

Electronic pass had been implemented for a while now, making travel to Army territories not as deadly as before, as long as one didn't recklessly roam about.

Tail planned to visit "Western Port" controlled by the Army to see what it looked like. Sesame Paste and Meat Meat were also curious about the place, and Si Si was indifferent to destinations, so the three men and one bear quickly agreed on their next journey's destination.

Leaning on the mast, Meat Meat yawned and muttered with a look of utter boredom.

"When are we going to depart?"

Standing on the deck, Si Si glanced at the checklist in hand, rubbing his chin with his index finger.

"There's one more guest... um, I just realized, this guy seems to be someone we know."

Ni Hack.

Someone with the same name in this port was unlikely.

Realizing this, Si Si's expression gradually became intriguing.

"Oh! Is it that fur trader?" Tail curiously came over.

"Selling furs? No, that's not it... How do you even remember that guy? I almost forgot his name," Si Si said, looking helpless.

With a teasing expression, Tail mischievously poked her waist with his index finger.

"True to your nature, Si, a heartless woman!"

Meat Meat looked over with a shocked expression, and Sesame Paste also perked up her cat ears curiously.

"What's going on?"

"Could it be that other stories happened behind our backs…?"

Facing those gossip-hungry eyes, Si Si managed a half-hearted laugh and said, "What nonsense... We only met a few times."

Speaking of which, their journey had indeed led them to encounter quite a few interesting folks.

From Red River Town through the desert oasis and castle, to the tropical bays by the desert's edge and the exotic Baiyue Strait, and even the distant Jin Jialun Port.

Had it not been for Sesame Paste's "I want to travel" and Tail's "sounds interesting", she might not have traveled so far, but instead, like most ordinary players, would have experienced the game according to the plan designed by the "Game."

But then again, it was precisely because she met so many interesting people that she increasingly felt they did not resemble NPCs—rather, they seemed like real, living people.

What exactly was going on with this world?

She had pondered this question more than once and even tried to message Dog Plan to inquire, but never received an answer.

Perhaps the answer lay at the journey's end, only to be revealed to those who completed it...

While her good friends joked around, Governor Nihak, escorted by Aksh, arrived at the pier carrying his briefcase.

Standing on the pier, he looked up at the deck and saw the talking white bear.

He froze, as the unpleasant memories from months ago flooded his mind, fear gradually painting his face.

Not wanting the servants behind him to see the cowardice in his eyes, he feigned composure and coughed softly, whispering hurriedly.

"Why is there still a bear up there? Can we switch to another ship?"

Aksh was taken aback and said with difficulty.

"Sir, it's not a problem per se… but this is the only ship departing from here to West Sail Port anytime soon. The Everflow River crossing is still closed, and West Sail Port isn't fully open to Jin Jialun Port yet, only Alliance and Army merchant ships are unaffected. If you wish to return home quickly, I'm afraid you'll have to make do."

There were indeed other ships, requiring only a two-day wait, but he dared not delay any longer.

Should General Babita's battle report reach Tiandu before him, his 500,000 Dinar might be wasted.

After all, emperors never admit their errors, once defined, no maneuver can change that.

Hearing this was the only ship, Nihak cursed under his breath and steeled himself to board the deck.

Taking an Alliance ship home...

Truly ill-fated for eight lifetimes!

Standing next to the gangway, a crew member approached him, checked his identity against the passenger list.

"Mr. Nihak, right? Please follow me… wait, you're Nihak?" the crew member exclaimed, eyeing him up and down.

Nihak glared back fiercely.

"Is there a problem?"

"No… just that you seem to have gained quite a lot since a few months ago," the crew member said with a strange expression, before turning away to avoid an outburst and gestured, "Your room is on the right-hand corridor at the end of deck negative one. Please follow me."

With the last passenger aboard, the Meat Meat sounded its steam whistle and slowly left the dock.

At this moment, most residents of Jin Jialun Port were even unaware that their governor had left the prison and slunk out of Jin Jialun Port.

Even if they knew, they likely wouldn't care, perhaps just glance at the joke of that guy.

In just a few short months, they had created miracles on this land that hadn't emerged in two hundred years. They felt both grateful to the Alliance and a pride they had never experienced before.

Though some down-and-out nobles and Ancients longed for the orderly days of old, even they had to admit life was indeed a bit better now.

If only they could combine the two—utilizing Alliance technology without all that messy talk of equality.

Operating those machines wasn't so hard, probably not more complicated than farming; slaves might even do it better and quicker.

But they could only think about it.

At least here, how things were done wasn't up to them; those risen "lower classes" almost worshipped the "Iron Men" as gods on earth...

At the same moment Nihak slinked away with his briefcase, a telegram from the Governor's Office in Potato Harbor also reached Chu Guang's hands.

Though to Mr. Manager, contemplating the entire Wasteland situation, that Empire governor named Nihak was just a minor character, the "Empire" was still a member of the Mucor Research Community.

Aboard the Steel Heart in the wastelands of Wei Mansion.

After reading the report from Potato Harbor, Chu Guang phoned the Alliance's Foreign Minister and instructed succinctly.

"Let the 'Survivor's Daily' release the news, no need for a big fuss, just mention in the middle or on the back page that 'Governor Nihak has gone home.' Also, touch base with Duke Garava, give them a way out."

The Army had dispatched ten divisions to the front line, and both the Academy and corporations had increased their support.

He had a premonition that once the old bomb was defused, a new keg of powder might emerge.

The Sticky Community needed unity—it wasn't just about dispersing after the battle; he had to eliminate all potential risks that could ignite the powder keg.

After all, the Empire was an unpredictable player, and the Army's ranks were fraught with factions and opportunists.

For this reason, he had specifically cautioned Baiyue Corporation to restrain itself in handling affairs in Poluo Province.

Taking note of Manager's instruction, Cheng Yan nodded seriously.

"Yes, sir."

As he turned off the holographic screen, Chu Guang leaned back in his chair, directing his gaze toward the dead, gray mist outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

The Allied forces' vanguard was entering Haiye Province.

And according to their feedback, the situation there could aptly be described as Hell...

Chapter 754 I am the Tide!

In the thick, gray-green fog, an armed squad of ten men was slowly making their way forward.

They wore fully protective exoskeletons, some carried compact G9 assault rifles, while others carried Gauss Rifles with extended magnetic rails, and there were those with two short, thick portable rocket launchers slung on their backs.

In the center of the group, a three-meter-wide unmanned track vehicle followed, its roof-mounted remote weapon station brandishing a fierce 20 mm cannon barrel, with a 60 mm short grenade launcher hanging with a linked belt of munitions below it.

The vehicle's silver-white paint job stood in stark contrast to the surrounding atmosphere, but no one dared to question the firepower of this squad.

A few days ago, the council had finally approved a new procurement project for equipment, purchasing stock from the bottom of the Chang Ge Group's inventory.

Perhaps the council was shocked by the appalling state of the previous conflicts, and at last, no one was spouting the foolish idea that "Gauss Rifles are totally unnecessary against a bunch of guys without exoskeletons, our soldiers just need to direct the planes where to bomb."

Thanks to this, Tang Feng finally laid his eyes on the long-coveted "sniper."

However, at this moment, he had lost interest in that thing, and all the messy parameters were just like a cloud passing in the sky. It was most important that life-saving gear be handy to use.

"... Where are we now?"

"Haiya."

"Haiya... This is Haiya? I thought we were on Mars."

The machine gunner carrying a light machine gun glanced at the yellowing, torn tourist poster in his hand, then looked ahead at the broken, two-part highway overpass and the rusty speedway sign laying among a pile of concrete rubble—

[Lai Mountain City, 5km ahead]

Lai Mountain City was ahead, which was also their first stop upon entering the Luo Xia Province.

But there was no city here. Everywhere the eye could see was ruin and desolation that was visible to the naked eye.

This land seemed not to belong to Earth but to another lifeless planet.

The black soil flowed with dark green sludge, like lava cleaving through hell, the corrosion from Nago permeating every inch of this land.

Not a single living tree, not even a living blade of grass, could be seen here.

The withered trees standing on the land were like bones eroded over many years. Their nourishment had been completely stripped away to sustain the master of this land—Nago.

The situation here was worse than the Wei Prefecture Wasteland.

Or rather, it could be said that the hell they had previously encountered on the wasteland was just the tip of the iceberg of this actual hell.

He slightly tugged at the corner of his mouth and tossed the poster he had picked up from God knows where to the side.

Not far from him, a soldier with a rifle stooped down, took a test tube from the sample box on his belt, and routinely took a sample of soil rich in Nago mycelium.

That was one of the tasks entrusted to them by the frontline research institute—after entering the Luo Xia Province, they were to collect a soil sample every 100 meters they advanced.

As for their main mission, it was "to scout the edges of the 'Northern No.1 Warzone' city ruins and confirm the enemy's position."

This sounded like a job for drones, but regrettably, earlier drones had flown over the area twice, and not only did they not see any human forms, but they also didn't spot a single living creature.

A reasonable analysis was that the Torch Church had likely wiped clean this land, nearly 670,000 square kilometers in size.

Of course, another possibility was that those guys had hidden the people somewhere.

After all, breeding mutants also required people, as did experiments with Perfect Life forms.

Although clones could solve some problems, when considering factors such as scale and cost comprehensively, naturally born humans were still cheaper.

After all, this land had become such a ghastly sight and, unlike the Great Desert filled with all sorts of bizarre devices from the Era of Prosperity, one couldn't expect to find a large-scale power station, a bunch of technical workers, or a cloning factory equipped with high-end devices here.

If that were the case, it would be easy to resolve.

Just one missile with a nuclear warhead would be enough to erase the Torch from this land.

However, sadly, those monsters didn't need "industry" of any sort. They neither required electricity nor consumer goods, at most, they might have some scattered workshops to modify some weapons suitable for themselves.

The Allied forces' staff department analyzed that the Torch Church probably controlled several shelters as research bases and likely also controlled a bunch of Black Boxes with special functions.

And that could explain why, even without large-scale processing centers, they were still able to produce equipment that far exceeded the practical conditions of Haiye Province.

"…I've heard there's a famous hot spring in Lai Mountain City," a Soldier said with a smile, picking up a poster that a Gunman had discarded, "It's in the suburbs…seems to be near us."

An adjacent Soldier whistled teasingly.

"Are you planning to take a dip?"

"I heard that those infected folks from Yongdong City are still lying in Yunjian University's research institute to this day."

"Ha ha… let's pass on that."

A group of men were fooling around on the communications channel when Tang Feng, standing on the outskirts of the group, suddenly furrowed his brow alertly.

The dark green slurry flowing beneath the soil seemed to be converging and moving toward their vicinity.

Though the movement was slight, the biometric plugins attached to his iris recorded the motion parameters—numerical changes visible to the naked eye could not be mistaken.

He switched off the safety on his rifle in hand and pointed the barrel slightly toward the mist-enshrouded ruins.

"We have a situation."

The noise in the communications channel came to an abrupt stop.

The soldiers immediately became alert and scattered to form a defensive formation.

A heavy infantryman swiftly unfolded a foldable shelter from his back and planted it heavily on the ground, like a fan-shaped shield.

The Gunman quickly took position behind it, mounting his light machine gun just above the firing hole in the shield, and yelled back to his teammates.

"Machine gun emplacement ready!"

Another, with a drone controller pack on his back, crouched half-way to the ground as two folding quadrotor drones shot into the air with a couple of thuds. After flipping through the air for a few rotations, they steadied and then zipped into the fog like arrows leaving a bow.

"Drones are up! Searching the nearby area… no moving objects in sight!"

The sniper, equipped with a Gauss Rifle, who looked at the empty thermal imaging screen, also showed confusion, turning to Tang Feng, who had first noticed the situation.

"Did you see it wrong?"

"It's on the ground!" Tang Feng took a deep breath and said affirmatively, "Those dark green slimes… they're converging near us, and I have a bad feeling something is going to happen."

The squad leader walked over to the drone operator, patting him on the shoulder.

The drone operator immediately caught on and shared one drone's visual feed with the squad leader.

Having placed a pair of glasses-like visual operation devices on his helmet, the leader maneuvered the drone for a lap around the area and scrutinized the dark green sludge covering the land through the drone's vision – his brows rapidly furrowing in concern.

Indeed, as his squad members had reported, the dark green substance was pulsing at a stable rate, seeming to transmit some unknown energy to somewhere beneath their feet.

If one looked down from above, the pattern was even more obvious and spectacular.

The footage captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle was synchronized to the tactical goggles of all squad members. A rifleman couldn't help but swallow his saliva and muttered under his breath.

"Some organs are redundant in normal times and only flood with blood when needed... Damn, I'm starting to get a bad feeling too."

The leader's Adam's apple moved, and his expression grew increasingly serious. He immediately reported the frontline situation to the command post and then loudly gave an order through the communication channel.

"Mission canceled! Prepare for retreat—"

Almost at the same moment his command had finished, a rustling sound came through the fog.

It was like the sudden chirping of cicadas in autumn.

After catching a glimpse of a fleeting figure, Wild Wind reflexively raised his rifle and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Ratatat—!"

The rifle's muzzle emitted orange-yellow flames, and the tracers instantaneously pierced through the shadow emerging from the thick fog.

That was a half-human, half-canine monster, its lean figure resembling a sausage, its bald head and face burnt as if scorched by flames.

It howled miserably after taking several shots to the chest, and its blood, green so deep it was almost black, spilled onto the ground from the wounds, but even so, the creature didn't stop its charge, using all four limbs to sprint crazily toward the corporate squad's position.

Just then, an electromagnetic accelerated mass bomb instantly penetrated the top of its skull and passed through between its legs.

Like being sucked into a meat grinder, the creature's body burst from the immense kinetic energy and exploded into a cloud of black-green mist in an instant.

Bits of flesh and limbs tumbled to the ground, while the black-green blood cloud slowly blended into the surrounding mist.

"It's a 'mutated slime fungus'!" The drone operator confirmed the monster's identity and reported via the communication channel.

The so-called mutated slime fungus is the general term for the offsprings created by the corrosion of Nago, distinguished from the offspring of the mutated slime fungus.

Based on the different categories, there are subcategories under the major class of mutated slime fungus, such as the common "Walking Corpses," "Corpse Dogs," and so on.

The creature they encountered was somewhat similar to the Crawlers spawned by the mucosal entities in Qingquan City, only smaller in size, strength, and speed.

Suppressing his rifle barrel, a precision shooter who managed the Gauss Rifle couldn't help but curse softly.

"Damn it, didn't the drones already scan this area? How is there still one of these things popping out!"

With a fixed gaze through the sights, Tang Feng aimed in the direction from which the monster had burst forth.

"Mostly it's the same as at the outskirts of Wei Mansion Wasteland; they're crawling up from underground—"

"Shit! Below!"

The shout of alarm that came through the communication channel interrupted him, and he instinctively glanced behind him, only to see a withered hand emerge and stretch out from the soil, grabbing the leg of a comrade not far behind him.

The hand didn't have much strength, at least not enough to contend with the exoskeletal greave.

Yet the rifleman was still startled and quickly drew his pistol, firing repeatedly at the ground beneath him.

The arm that had just emerged from the soil was instantly shattered by the shots, but the ricocheting shrapnel nearly grazed his own breastplate.

Seeing the situation his comrade encountered, a sense of panic crept into everyone's eyes.

They hadn't expected the danger to come not just from all around but also right below their feet.

At this moment, shrill cries erupted in all directions, and the sound of running grew like a tide surging forward.

"Three o'clock direction! Gunman suppress with fire!"

"Roger!"

The leader bellowed his command to attack, with the machine gunner behind cover gritting his teeth, his index finger practically fused to the trigger.

As the thunderous sound of the Gatling Gun filled the air, the silence and dense fog that hung over the wasteland were torn asunder.

"Howl—!"

The Corpse Dogs, flailing their limbs, howled as they rushed forward, accompanied by a multitude of Walking Corpses.

Riflemen spread out around also immediately fired their triggers, shooting down the oncoming mutated slime fungus entities.

Simultaneously, the track vehicle stationed at the center of the team entered combat mode. The 20mm cannon on the remote weapons station spat out long tongues of flame, and under the laser guidance of the precision shooter, it unleashed fierce firepower into the densest crowd of Walking Corpses.

However, even with the mechanical squad's ferocious firepower—sufficient to decimate the fierce mutated slime fungus in under two seconds—the soldiers still felt a clear strain against the relentless assault.

Their numbers were overwhelming!

These creatures were like pus pushed out from the soil, and besides the visible portion, who knew how many more were buried underground yet to squeeze out!

Watching the increasingly dense wave of mutated slime fungus, the machine gunner swapping his magazine behind mobile cover shouted loudly,

"How long until the transport plane comes to evacuate us!"

Continuing to pull the trigger, the leader shouted into the communication channel.

"It's already on its way! It will arrive within twenty minutes!"

"Twenty minutes?!"

"Damn it... Are they planning to come and collect our corpses?!"

Swearing filled the communication channel, and the leader couldn't help but bellow again.

"Quit the damn chatter! Focus on your targets! And watch your feet—"

The enemy's attacks came not only from all around them but also right beneath them.

Arms periodically drilled out of the soil, like tender shoots breaking through the earth.

Though dispatching them wasn't difficult—either a dagger or the butt of a gun could smash them—the relentless waves kept emerging.

Even though they carried three times the standard ammo load, it was not enough to fend off such concentrated numbers.

Ten more minutes—

Looking at the last magazine in his hand, Tang Feng gritted his teeth as he slotted it into his rifle.

"If the evacuation plane doesn't arrive soon, we'll have to engage in close combat with these twisted things."

Just then, a surprised call came through the communication channel from the captain.

"Cloud Dragonfly! It's our air force! They're here!"

Tang Feng instinctively looked up, but the gloomy fog obscured the sky, and he couldn't see anything.

But at that moment, a voice crackling with static came over their communication channel.

"This is 'Racoon', we have entered your airspace, please place a targeting beacon to provide us with guidance."

Without needing any reminder, the team's precision shooter had already taken action, firing a signal flare under the elevated bridge where the mutated slime fungus was most concentrated.

The reassuring voice soon continued through the communication channel.

"Beacon location confirmed, please maintain a safe distance...3, 2, 1—"

As the countdown ended, the fire tracing from the rockets poured down like a violent storm, instantly grinding the fungi mutants scampering across the broken concrete into minced meat.

A dozen rockets followed closely, exploding into flames that carved out a vacuum strip right through the center of the oncoming wave of mushroom mutants.

At the center of the flames, a walking corpse with half its body missing let out a piercing cry but soon fell silent.

Blocked by the surging heatwave, a crowd of walking corpses shoved each other around for a while but none dared to approach, eventually spilling around the sides of the fiery sea, trying to circumvent this burning barrier.

"Nicely done!"

The team's precision shooter cheered excitedly, and then, unable to help himself, fired a second and third beacon.

Following the triangle outlined by the beacons, the six waiting Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines in the sky confirmed the position of their comrades and went all out, continuously firing their 20mm cannons while emptying their rocket-filled magazines!

Walls of boiling flames separated the surging mutated slime fungus from the soldiers within.

Meanwhile, at the same moment, about a dozen wooden gliders suddenly broke through the smoky veil above the roaring flames, crashing heavily into the rocky wasteland.

Around forty to fifty soldiers jumped out of the ten gliders.

They were armed with LD-47 assault rifles, with bayonets fixed under the muzzles, gas masks on their faces, and engineer shovels hanging from their waists.

Clearly, they were people from the Alliance.

And judging by the insignia on their uniforms, they were from the famed Death Legion.

However, for some reason, these people weren't wearing exoskeletons, only carrying some rudimentary equipment.

They were shouting and yelling in words he couldn't understand, no idea what they were on about...

"Damn! Is this contraption even considered a plane?"

"My ass is gonna split!"

Watching the noisy bunch of new recruits, the Outlaw Maniac couldn't help but recall his own self from a year ago.

Back then in Luo Xia Province, they were just as rowdy charging towards the Old Soldiers.

Thanks to that "live fire training," they went from clueless newbies to qualified warriors in less than a month.

Now, he had risen to the ranks of the "seasoned players," becoming a core member of the Death Legion.

And this operation was a mission personally entrusted to him by the Edge Shoveling Legion Commander, to lead these new recruits to their deaths—no, to be baptized in the fires of war!

"It's disposable anyway...stop your damn whining, hurry up and dismantle the machine guns! We can still use these things!"

Carrying a shotgun and walking to the forefront, the Outlaw Maniac shouted calmly at the rookies as he stomped and broke the hand reaching out of the soil towards his ankles.

The players who were still fussing around the glider had just found their rifles, and turned back to shout at him.

"Captain, what about the ammo boxes? Should we drag them out too?"

The Outlaw Maniac rolled his eyes.

"No shit! Do you even have to ask?"

His words had barely dropped before another player shouted.

"Captain! If this plane is broken, how do we get back?"

As the questions got sillier, the Outlaw Maniac replied impatiently.

"Did I ever say we were going back?"

He scoffed internally; the plane didn't even have an engine installed, how could it possibly fly back?

But when the recruits heard his words, they froze in place.

I come together to form the head: "Fuck!"

High-end ingredients: "This is a damn death trap!"

Dying from staying up late: "Crying! Captain, is it too late to bail now?"

The retreating dwarf: "Not being able to play the game for three days...I don't want that no no!"

Watching the wailing newbies, the Outlaw Maniac couldn't hold back and roared.

"Don't you guys ever read the rules before joining the Legion? Snap out of it!"

"Use your bullets, bayonets, rifle butts, engineer shovels, fists, even your teeth, whatever methods you can think of, whatever tools you can find, smash the enemy's skulls, until they—or you—stop beating!"

"The Death Legion has no cowards who retreat; no matter what we're up against, we only have one signal: forward! Ever forward—!"

"Safety off, chamber your rifles! Show me your limits!"

That pep talk indeed ignited some passion, and the noisy chatter finally quieted down.

But he still wanted to say it; these newbies are really problematic, not as tough as earlier generations!

The Outlaw Maniac thus complained inwardly, conveniently forgetting his own foolish early days in the game.

Knowing it was too late to get off the ride, the recruits had no choice but to acquiesce.

Even if it was just to live a few minutes longer, even if it was for a hefty mission reward, they had to show some real skill.

But perhaps also because they now knew their fate, these newcomers facing battle for the first time were no longer as tense as they had been just getting off the plane and were actually looking forward to the upcoming fight.

Watching two soldiers drag ammunition boxes out of the glider, looking determined to hold the line, Tang Feng stood beside the concrete wall and yelled out to them.

"Hey! What are you guys doing here?"

The Outlaw Maniac shouted back with a smile.

"Here to help!"

"Help... Help? We're getting ready to retreat!" Tang Feng said, looking utterly bewildered.

The Outlaw Maniac laughed. "We're here to cover your retreat!"

Hearing this, Tang Feng was even more baffled. When he regained his senses, he felt both moved and ashamed.

What moved him was the allies' care for them; it was solid as iron.

It was the same when they had attacked Fushan position before. If it hadn't been for their help, who knows how many more people would have died on that mountain.

What made him ashamed was that to save just ten of them, they had dispatched nearly a third of an army's strength...

Truly a group of good people who sacrificed themselves for others!

He was not the only one with such feelings; the vast majority of soldiers present felt the same.

With gratitude and guilt in their hearts, they all perked up again.

As the support arrived, the battle situation suddenly turned around.

Even so, there was no benefit to lingering here. They had collected the necessary samples and had confirmed the local situation through this initial encounter. Now it was time to take the spoils of war and head home.

Twenty minutes were just right; a Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft loomed in the sky, two jets of azure-colored plasma streams piercing the soft soil like lances.

Rolling dust was kicked up, and the tail door thudded heavily to the ground. A soldier wearing an exoskeleton stood at the door, hands gripping a Gatling Gun fixed inside the cabin.

"Retreat!"

The leader of the Enterprise squad shouted in the comm channel, calling his teammates to retreat towards the open door.

Including the tracked vehicle with a remote weapon station welded to its roof, the entire ten-member squad withdrew to the cabin, their faces weary but luckily, no casualties.

Standing by the cabin door, Tang Feng shouted to the allies outside who hadn't boarded the plane.

"We're taking off! Get on!"

Unexpectedly, the person laughed in response.

"No need! Have a smooth flight!"

With that, the aircraft's door slowly closed upwards.

Tang Feng's eyes widened, watching helplessly as that figure disappeared at the edge of the closing door.

"Wait, why are they retreating!"

Disbelief written on his face, he strode up to the crew, grabbed his shoulders, and shouted, "Our allies haven't boarded the plane yet—"

"That's their task!"

The voice that came from behind interrupted him.

The leader of the squad, with his helmet tucked under his arm, stepped beside him, his expression somber as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Their task is to test the limits of the 'Tide.' They'll fight there until the end, until 'the real enemy' emerges from there... That's the Battlefield Research Institute's hypothesis. Nago has no lair, but there should be a similar incubation organ; they need to study the entire process thoroughly."

Besides, they had been inoculated with biological bodies carrying 'B-type strain plugins.'

However, the effectiveness of that thing still needed further observation.

"... Hold onto your respect for them and continue on. This war isn't over yet; it's too early to be upset now."

The leader gave Tang Feng, who was gaping in astonishment, a gentle sigh, patted his shoulder without saying anything, and sat back down in his seat.

Though his voice carried little weight, sometimes he couldn't help but think that those living in the Ideal City might owe people from the Wasteland quite a bit.

Their ancestors had achieved what could be called a miracle; they were much more noble than those Waste Land Wanderers, but even so, that wasn't a reason for them to comfortably enjoy everything.

When some people gave their lives for a common calamity, those who survived should carry a responsibility and duty equivalent to "the weight of what was lost," instead of seeing life and wealth as innate privileges.

They could survive because some died for them...

Just like now.

While those boys from the Ideal City felt heavy-hearted, the players left on the Battlefield were becoming more and more spirited.

The mutants' offensive was becoming fiercer!

Completely different from the hesitancy before!

Perhaps seeing a part of the people retreat, they felt they could do it, confident they could take down those who remained!

Originally, only level 1 danger creatures like Walking Corpses or Corpse Dogs, which were not a big threat, appeared, but soon enough, more monsters of levels 2 to 3 began to emerge.

After all, the crowd were newbies; casualties began to occur.

Watching the increasingly violent "Tide," the Outlaw Maniac's face twisted into a fierce smile.

Let them come!

It had been a long time since he had last felt such a thrill!

Shaking off the slime and blood from his arm, he loaded his shotgun and let out a final roar.

"Brothers! Show those cowardly schemers who hide behind the scenes! Let them see who the real Tide is!!!"

His call was met with excited howls.

"Aooo Aooo Aooo!"

Watching his highly spirited subordinates, the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a smile.

These rookies...

Couldn't even chant in unison, so damn embarrassing!

But—

It seemed they were gradually getting the hang of the fun of the Death Legion.

This life was worthwhile!

Chapter 755: Use Tide Against Tide!

As time passed, the onslaught of the fungal mutants became more and more ferocious, and eventually, some "new species" appeared that hadn't been seen on the wildernesses beneath the fortresses before.

Those monsters seemed endless, pouring out from the gray-green fog without pause, and their combat power grew stronger and stronger.

However—

The players of the Alliance were not frightened by this development; instead, they became even more excited.

Since the three-day OB was inevitable, they might as well die with a bang!

Embracing this thought, the players' morale seemed endless as well, showing no fear or hesitation regardless of the casualties they faced.

Leading his followers, the Outlaw Maniac moved from position to position while fighting, stubbornly holding out against the relentless wave of fungal mutants with abundant ammunition.

It was well-known that the domain of heaven is governed by the Mind Interference Device, harboring a research facility hidden somewhere within, and within that facility lay the Apostles of the Torch.

Whether to conceal themselves or to preserve their strengths, those lurking in the shadows could not possibly allow this attrition to continue unchecked.

As the bodies piled higher in the wilderness, whether unable to bear the continuous losses or wishing to give the Alliance a taste of their own medicine, some unusual "Evolutionary bodies" started to emerge from the mist.

With a deafening roar, an emplacement of machine guns in the front row suddenly "flew" up towards heaven.

"Ah—!"

"Crack—"

Seeing two players crash to the ground with a scream, a look of surprise appeared on the face of the Outlaw Maniac.

Just then, through the dense fog, the thudding footsteps became audible, and a giant horn came into view.

The creature wasn't like any organism found on Earth but resembled a prehistoric Triceratops.

Its rotting flesh was stitched together with dark green fungal threads, and the chitin-like piled-up layers of carapace were as hard as armor. Its horn was as long as a building, and its body towered as high as a three-story building.

It was like a moving mountain!

It was hard to imagine how this thing had surfaced from underground, or whether it had been hiding in some place unseen by drones.

But these details no longer mattered; the key was that this colossal "strategic-level biological weapon" was probably beyond what infantry weapons could cope with... even a tank might struggle.

The Outlaw Maniac couldn't help but think that if this behemoth charged at full force, it could possibly smash a corner off the massive concrete walls of Giant Stone City...

"Motherf—... is this like fighting a boss?" a player standing beside him swallowed hard.

"So the question is... what do we call this thing?"

"According to usual practice, whoever discovers it names it, if no one names it then the System will automatically assign one..."

"How about 'Siege Beast'?"

Even at this critical juncture, these newbies still had the spare time to name the monster.

And the only "veteran player" present had almost accepted his fate.

"This time we're screwed..." the Outlaw Maniac chuckled bitterly, stuffing an incendiary round into his shotgun and signaling his brothers to take out their RPG rocket launchers and unload them on the creature's head.

However, practice proved it was all in vain.

The flames from the shotgun could only leave a "spot" on its keratin armor; though the armor-piercing bullets from the RPG could penetrate its defenses, the insufficient metal jets were far from enough to kill it.

In the end, it wasn't by any means a typical organism, it was even more unnatural than those Mutants that could regenerate severed heads—it lacked something like a central nervous system.

Controlling its movements was Nago mycelium, which in turn were governed by the Mind Interference Device.

The consciousness from "heaven" controlled all puppets within its domain—this was the essence of the "Heavenly domain" as depicted by the Torch.

And it was its most powerful and terrifying aspect!

Perhaps enraged by the hot flames, the "Siege Beast" let out a muffled cry and moved its heavy limbs towards the players' position, charging.

Its twisted horns carved an alarming trench in the black earth, cleaving the player's position in two.

Two more machine gun emplacements were forced to shut down, the dense web of fire finally showed a crack, allowing the endless "Walking Corpses" and "Corpse Dogs" to find a breach. They stormed through this gap and invaded the players' last line of defense.

Pinned to the ground by a horde of Walking Corpses, having fired his last bullet, "High-end Ingredient" used his remaining strength to shout to the blood-covered Outlaw Maniac.

"Captain—! See you in three days...!"

Wiping the blood from his blurry left eye, the Outlaw Maniac gave him a grin.

"Yeah, see you in three days!"

Finishing his words, he raised the shotgun and fired an incendiary round, the blindingly bright phosphorus engulfing the newbie and the Walking Corpses sprawled on him.

Before long, surrounded by Walking Corpses, he detonated the Dynamite strapped to his body, vanishing in a burst of bloody rain amidst the explosion's dust...

At the same time, the coordinates for the artillery strike were sent to Lai Mountain, tens of kilometers away.

Until the last player fell, the battle had lasted for a whole hour.

And the number of fungal mutants eliminated was a staggering three thousand!

That equated to an average of over a hundred kills per player.

For the novices who had just completed the Pass the Torch mission and had officially entered the Wasteland with their vm, designated "Beta0.7," this achievement was already quite exceptional.

Facing the badly damaged ruins, the aimless fungal mutants began to turn their attention to the corpses at their feet.

Their life processes required nutrients, and not a speck of organic matter could be wasted, whether it belonged to enemies or their own kind.

The dark green liquid flowing beneath the land started to accumulate around this area, extending thin threads from the thick main trunk that entwined with each of those bodies.

They were like blood vessels, drawing every bit of usable nutrients from the dead.

Though the corpses bore some foul-smelling "dirty stuff," all it took was to first deactivate and then digest that part.

Not just the corpses.

The walking corpses, corpse dogs, and even the siege beasts—all sorts of fungal creatures—prostrated on the ground, allowing the dark green vines to crawl over their bodies.

However, the merciful heaven did not devour its children outright but, after establishing a connection with them, slowly pulled them under the surface of the earth...

Material transformation comes with losses, and the more complex the synthetic pathway, the greater the loss.

If they reverted to the most primitive methods of recycling fungal mutants after every synthesis, it wouldn't take long for heaven's nutrients to be exhausted, expanding to the limit like slime molds before collapsing.

Therefore, they chose another "smarter" way to recycle—

Bury the temporarily unused "organs" in the ground.

But just as they were about to do so, a shrill whistle suddenly came from the sky.

That sound was like the whisper of the Grim Reaper, descending upon their heads in an instant.

The siege beast had just lifted its cumbersome head, opened its sleepy eyes, when a blinding white light took away its vision.

In its dazed consciousness, it seemed to see a mushroom cloud rising and the heat wave sweeping across the land.

The deafening roar was much louder than its own vocal cords, even collapsing the ground under its feet.

Before it could react, the scorching shockwave tore its flesh...

...

In the distance, a thin trail of white smoke trailed from the main cannon of the Loyalty Airship up into the clouds.

The 400mm main cannon fired a rocket-assisted projectile, delivering a cloud burst bomb warhead to the targeted battlefield.

This was the last step of the operation, clearing the battlefield after the battle had ended.

And the initiation of this step in the operation plan also meant that there were no surviving allies left in that area...

"Impact point confirmed."

"Hit effective."

Atop the mountain of Lai Mountain.

The Weilante soldier who had been guiding the artillery fire to the target for those behind reported the bombing results to the airship. After disconnecting the communication, they all fell into silence.

Minutes earlier, as planned, they had received the artillery coordinates from friendly forces.

While it was unclear what the intentions of the United Army Headquarters were, they were well aware of what that message with coordinates implied.

Even they, who had war written into their genes and veins, could not execute those suicidal missions, nor would their commanders ever issue such orders.

Even for opponents, they couldn't help but feel a hint of respect in their hearts and silently saluted them with a soldier's courtesy.

These guys... are real tough!

And at that moment, staring at the burning battlefield, the Human Emperor had an astonished look on his face.

Moments later, his expression returned to calmness, and he pondered aloud to himself,

"... So you're engaging me in a war of attrition?"

Even the well-preserved corpses had a less than 100% nutrient recovery efficiency, reaching 50% at most was already quite high.

Especially those highly diversified "evolutionary bodies," decomposing their corpses itself consumed a vast amount of energy, with the final nutrient balance being less than 10%.

By comparison, the smaller sporadic entities—referred to as "fungal mutants" by the soldiers of the allied forces—were relatively easy to recycle.

But even for those creatures, the efficiency of conversion was only about 30-40%.

Recycling three corpses could perhaps synthesize another one.

If the allied forces adopted a strategy of attrition, it indeed made sense.

After all, he couldn't ignore those forces and let those creatures roam around his territory, searching for the mind interference devices buried underground, even the research facilities.

The latter were necessary components to complete their final plan, while the former was key to their dominion over this heavenly domain.

It was a huge and complex system, which they had taken over a decade to perfect into its current astonishing form.

"Interesting thought..."

Seeing right through the Manager's intentions, the Human Emperor let out a soft tsk-tsk and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise in a meaningful smile.

"I admit your abilities are strong, but what if I had billions of chess pieces? How would you deal with that?"

Three thousand fungal variants were but a speck of dandruff on the giant's head compared to the districts under his rule, yet they had to sacrifice 40 elite members just to remove this piece of dandruff.

Even with the loss of an evolutionary body, such a loss was merely a drop in the ocean for him.

To fight against Heaven disaster with the flesh and blood of mortals, that guy really thought of an absurd idea.

Then let it be as they wish, and let's see who is truly the endless tide!

...

On the "Wasteland OL" official website, the forum was bustling with activity.

Many players had just experienced their first dog-led death in the game, now sharing their post-mortem reflections.

I come to form the head: "So thrilling! The Death Legion rocks!"

The Retreating Dwarf: "Indeed, thrilling enough, but how am I supposed to survive these few days? TaT"

Midnight Sudden Death: "Didn't feel any pain at all, there's still a difference compared to real life, seems they dulled down some of the reality to cater to most people's tastes—just average I guess... However, watching my own intestines being pulled out was indeed a new experience."

Quit smoking: "Holy shit, you've experienced that in real life??"

Elena: "This batch of newcomers is incredible, suggest we investigate. (funny)"

Tail: "Ha people, Si Si looks too much. (⊙x⊙;)"

Si Si: "...?"

Amidst the clamor of players, with the last wave of players disconnecting, a new announcement was immediately updated on the forum.

[North Line·Seaside Province Information Update!

Fungal Variants: A collective term for stitched-together organisms of Nago mycelium, distinct from the "addicts" corrupted and manipulated by Nago. Generally lack distinct biological features, have no nerve center, no fatal weak points, death judged when tissue damage reaches 10%~50%, more resilient (HP) than Mucosal Entities, but comparatively weaker in recovery abilities. Resistant to piercing damage, weaker resistance to explosions and flame damage.

Walking Corpses: The most common type of fungal variant, with an appearance close to humans, mainly attack by tearing and biting, first seen in the Wei Mansion Wasteland, suspected to have been developed at Pine Farm, individually weak in combat but quite dangerous when in groups. Danger coefficient 1.

Corpse Dog: The second most common type of fungal variant, resembles humanity's best friend, also mainly attack by tearing and biting but with a smaller frame and faster speed. Danger coefficient 1.

Crawler: Similar in form to those spawned from the "Crawler" nest in Qingquan City, somewhat smaller in size with burnt-skin appearance, attack methods similar to Walking Corpses but with over three times the speed and strength, danger coefficient 2.

Spewer: Significant visual differences compared to the "Spewer" spawned from the nest in Qingquan City, resembling a giant worm that can hide in narrow terrain, mainly attacks by spitting highly corrosive organic acids and organic toxins, danger coefficient 1~3.

...

Incubator: The nesting ground for fungal variants, "barracks" for the Torch Church, incubation organs for Heaven. When the Apostle (or Pioneer) in the region deems the danger coefficient 1~3 fungal variants insufficient for threat removal, they deploy more efficient Incubators on the surface, using locally stored nutrients to synthesize more advanced fungal variants with danger coefficient greater than 3, or even incubate "Evolutionary Bodies."

...

Siege Beast: One type of evolutionary body among the fungal variants, large as mountains, shaking the Earth when running, with a horn-like armor impenetrably hard, can easily flip tanks and armored vehicles, typically appears on land with high corruption, will burrow into the soil to hibernate after disengaging from combat.

...

"Land Corrosion Degree" Concept: Related to the amount of Nago mycelium in the local soil, can be measured using test strips developed by the Alliance Biological Research Institute. Generally, the deeper into the Torch Church districts, the higher the degree of corrosion, the faster the rate of monster spawning, and the higher the upper limit of danger coefficient.

]

[Recommended Gameplay:

1. Build Purification Stations:

Players can form Armies or small groups to venture into corrupted regions and establish "Purification Bases" or "Purification Stations," earning "Purification Scores" by defeating enemies or completing tasks. Points can be exchanged for battlefield support, including supply drops, artillery bombardment, close-range air strikes, and sub-entity reinforcements until the Purification Station is breached or the local corruption effect is entirely removed, which is considered clearing the zone. Remaining points will be automatically converted and accumulated under 'Final Support Time.'

Task rewards will be calculated based on 'Support Time' and 'Land Corrosion Degree' at the signal's location. If you thoroughly remove corruption in an area with sub-entity reinforcements, extra reward bonuses can be obtained!

2. Search and Destroy Torch Church Control Facilities:

The Torch Church has corrupted a group of researchers desperate about reality to conduct secret experiments. Clearing the corruption in Haiye Province treats the symptom, but destroying the Torch Church-controlled research facilities strikes at the root!

These facilities are mainly located in shelters that have been opened (or abandoned) or other underground research facilities. As most of these refuge facilities were designed to resist strategic war weapon strikes, they're hard to directly destroy from the outside.

The United Army Headquarters has authorized necessary invasions of refuge facilities controlled by the Torch. If the controlling party refuses to surrender, all means may be used to paralyze the facilities.

Apart from research facilities, some suspected to contain Black Boxes from the Prosperity Epoch. If discovered, residents of Shelter No. 404 are obligated to ensure their integrity and recover them as tools for rebuilding civilization.

(Note: This operation requires that battle recording be maintained throughout, and task rewards will be judged on the overall behavior of players.)

]

In the same instant the announcement was posted, the newbies who were sharing their death experiences were immediately drawn to this sensational update.

Quit smoking: "Holy crap! Did they just launch an Endless Mode?"

Edge Shoveling: "Infinite spawning!!"

Construction Youth and Brick: "Brothers!! Band together!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Aoaoao!"

Spring Water Commander: "It's not exactly Endless Mode. Once the corrosion level inside the land is cleared to zero, as long as we maintain the occupation with Strain B, the area is considered restored to normal and no new monsters would spawn... I guess?"

WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "So if we just keep not using points to exchange for Falling Feather's son and only use them to exchange for ammunition and airstrike support, we can keep farming points indefinitely, right? (amused)"

Falling Feather: "??? Are you even polite?"

Spring Water Commander: "Well, theoretically yes, but this loophole in the rules seems too obvious. I'm more inclined to think of it as a 'tacitly allowed move.'"

Quit Smoking: "What do you mean? (confused)"

Spring Water Commander: "First of all, apart from supplies exchanged with points, players have to pay for the ammunition they use during missions out of their own pocket. However, mission rewards aren't calculated by the number of monsters killed but by a combination of 'support time' and 'corrosion level.' According to the Death Legion's test results, the difficulty of the instance keeps increasing."

"Suppose the yield is y and time is x, the planners just need to set up an S-shaped non-linear function for the player's profit calculation formula and set a time threshold t. When the time x is less than the threshold t, time carries the main weight in the calculation; when the time x exceeds the threshold t, the cumulative effect of time on profit y becomes smaller and smaller, turning corrosion level into the main weight for calculating profit. This way, the continued profit from holding out becomes negligible."

Edge Shoveling: "Dragging out an instance without ending it only squanders ammunition and has no other benefits. To get higher profits, we need to try to end the instance near that 'threshold' to exchange for the highest possible returns, then consciously move deeper into the map, challenging more difficult instances... I see."

Spring Water Commander: "This is just the most basic value design, really. The details can be set with multiple time thresholds, or even link the time thresholds to difficulty — which is the corrosion level parameter. In fact, seen from the game's perspective, this move is very reasonable. Dragging on allows players to consume the nutritional substances needed for the Torch Church to spawn soldiers, and clearing instances helps to expand the Allied forces' control area. Whatever the players choose, it's profitable for the Allied forces."

Midnight Chicken Killing: "This is too complicated! If it were up to me on the North Line I'd probably pick option 2. (bitter smile)"

Spring Water Commander: "What's so complicated about it? If you can't farm any further, just call over Xiaoyu's subsidiary entity to clear the instance, and that's that. The second gameplay method is actually more troublesome. You have to investigate local intelligence while searching for traces of the Torch Church... The key point is that you can't expect any living people to trigger a dialogue with you there, so carpet-style searches might only be feasible after clearing the area's corruption."

WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "But if you think about it from another angle, it would be amazing to pick up a Black Box! (mischievous)"

Night Ten: "@Fang Chang, can you handle this or do we need Ah Guang to update it himself? (amused)"

Fang Chang: "I'm on the South Line so no rushing me. I'll tag that guy for you who's on the North Line. @Canyon Escapee Mole."

Canyon Escapee Mole: "Blame-shifting, huh? I'm not the planner's leg—pfft, I mean I'm not the planner's lackey!"

Night Ten: "Ah Guang: Now that it's been posted, say goodbye to your account. (amused)"

Canyon Escapee Mole: "Brother Guang, I'm sorry! You're my actual brother!! (panicked)"

Makabazi: "Hahaha! Chicken! (amused)"

...

On the bridge of the Iron Heart.

Chu Guang, standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, was browsing the forum posts on a holographic screen, a faint smile on his face.

As the planner and a "hidden player" of "Wasteland OL," he had always been very clear about his understanding of the role of the "Manager."

His job was not to study how to tackle a particular monster or instance. That's what the "big players" inside the server should be doing.

Using the available resources to establish a set of rules with a reward and punishment mechanism, encouraging those big players to exert their strength in the "right direction," was what he needed to do.

As long as the rules were well established, players would naturally weigh the pros and cons, carefully select the locations for large purification bases or small purification stations, and consider how to use limited ammunition and Xiaoyu entities to more efficiently eliminate regional corruption.

No one knew their limits better than those on the front lines.

And whether it was a failed attempt or a successful experience, it would be summarized into strategies on the forum by them.

When distributing the Game Helmets initially, Chu Guang considered forum activity as one of the reference weights, precisely to bring as many "willing to share and cooperate" players as possible into the Game.

Of course, not everyone needed to be like this; just having a majority of such players overall was enough.

As for the specific in-game behavior of a player or several players, that was their own business, and as long as it wasn't a common occurrence, it didn't fall within his scope of concern; micromanaging could lead to negligence of other areas, whereas allowing them freedom to operate could lead to unexpected gains.

Just like now.

Even without his hinting, his little players were doing very well, even having taken the "value design strategy" into consideration for him, something he hadn't yet thought of.

Later, when setting task rewards, he would let Xiao Qi use the opinions of Spring Water elder brother as reference, reflecting this aspect in the task reward settlement phase.

Now, the Alliance Biological Research Institute had completed the analysis of soil samples, and the Death Legion had completed the "stress test" of Heaven; next month's "work schedule" was also arranged.

Judging from the feedback on the posts on the forum, players were quite enthusiastic about the new activities.

Especially the newbies who joined the game in Beta 0.7, several were already eager to organize caravans on the forum, pondering where to set up the purification stations.

In fact, the outline of the Allied forces' combat plan for the Haiye Province area was basically what was written in the announcements.

That is, on the one hand, to clear the corruption in Haiye Province, and on the other hand, to search for the facilities of the Torch Church within the purification zones.

He had simply woven it into the language of the Game and then assigned it to the players.

Not just the Alliance, but soon the Army, Corporations, Academies, and other Survivor Forces would also develop their own battle plans, delineating their respective combat zones.

Soon, purification stations and bases would spring up across Haiye Province, and hopefully, the guy who fancies himself the "Human Emperor" wouldn't be too surprised by what's about to happen.

"I admit Your Excellency has many pieces at hand, but what if my players make a move?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly, his forefinger gently swiping across the holographic screen, gathering the azure light on his fingertip.

It was only the beginning of August now.

The Allied forces had crossed Ten Peaks Mountain and entered Haiye Province earlier than planned, and what was once a thorny issue for all parties had now successfully torn open a breakthrough.

Use technology to confront power, use tide to confront tide.

This war might end sooner than he expected…

Chapter 756: Battle Lines Springing Up Everywhere

The fierce battle north of Lai Mountain City had lasted all night, ending in a draw as the Sticky Community made their first move on the Torch Church's "native" land.

On a position halfway up Lai Mountain, belonging to the 310,000-strong team, Jie Ning pulled out his binoculars and glanced down the mountain.

This was already his thirteenth time doing this, and it was still morning.

He had arrived at the front line from the western side of Central Continent just a few days ago, after traveling thousands of kilometers, only to lamentably miss the decisive battle at the Guardian Manor Wasteland.

He had heard that the ten-man team he was now in had seen all its brothers wiped out, leaving only their Centurion, Oliver, alone.

The man bore a deep scar on his face, reportedly from a skirmish with a mutant Big Guy... back when Oliver was still a Centurion.

Indeed, the battlefield was the fastest place for promotion.

Glancing at Officer Oliver standing not far away, a hint of reverence was written in Jie Ning's eyes.

Ever since he heard of this officer's deeds, he had become his true admirer.

This was a man who could decapitate monsters capable of regrowing their own heads!

"There probably won't be any major battles these next few days."

Standing next to Jie Ning, a companion from the same rookie camp said listlessly.

"How can you tell?" Jie Ning asked curiously.

"Isn't it obvious?" his friend shrugged, popping a chewing gum into his mouth, "Yesterday, the corporations and the Alliance got a bloody nose down there. Even if they don't want to swallow that setback, they'd likely have to regroup and come up with a new plan before making a move."

"Typical of Ideal City's wimps and their friends, two people die, and they can't handle it."

"Hahaha."

A group of recruits laughed and joked, clearly not taking the corporations and the Alliance seriously. Some older soldiers who had been on the front line for a while just smiled and didn't bother to explain.

They too didn't regard the corporations and the Alliance highly, seeing the Army's ground forces as the strongest on the Wasteland.

However, it must be said that these rookies were oversimplifying their opponents.

If their rivals were really as stupid as they thought, what did that make them, who had been entangled in the desert with these guys for months?

Though he was also a new recruit, Jie Ning from the officer's school held a different perspective.

The situation in Haiye Province was indeed unusual.

These guys didn't even have a stable frontline, and even he couldn't think of a better strategy.

Especially now, with the road and rail lines through Ten Peaks Mountain still under construction, there were certain difficulties in getting supplies from the rear to the front line, and a stall in the Allied forces' assault was understandable.

Hearing the discussion among his subordinates, Oliver, the Centurion inspecting the front line, just curled his lip, as if listening to children's jokes.

"You guys are underestimating those guys."

That night he was at Government Hill, and he had seen what the real elites of the Alliance looked like.

Compared to himself who had barely picked up his own life, those guys clad in heavy exoskeletons and brandishing large-caliber shotguns were the real tough ones.

To those mutants, they were like chickens lined up for slaughter, being efficiently killed off one by one in the caves, their movements as practiced as if repeated thousands of times.

It was unimaginable what kind of hellish trials those guys had undergone.

He did indeed kill a green-skinned Big Guy, but the total amount his own team had taken down was nothing compared to the tally of the guy who had pulled him out from the cave.

Speaking of which, he was lucky that person had grabbed his collar and dragged him out of the tunnel.

Even today, he vividly remembered that shortly after he evacuated from that corpse-filled tunnel, over a dozen "zombie mutants" had swarmed to the position where he had fought earlier, engaging in battle with those big-shield-bearing guys.

It was only later that he learned, just when he was trapped, unsure of whether to advance or retreat in the tunnel, those mutants had chased his teammates all the way to the foot of the mountain, nearly recapturing the Black Cloud Mountain position...

Hearing Officer Oliver join the conversation, a new recruit saluted and asked with a smile.

"Sir, do you think they will make a move today?"

Seeing the young lads all looking at him, Oliver spoke with a light smile.

"From what I know of them, yesterday's level of attack can at best be considered a probe. If nothing unexpected happens, they have already figured out the enemy's strength."

He paused briefly, then continued succinctly.

"You'll find out after a few more days on the front line."

However, even Oliver himself hadn't expected that shortly after his words, the position at the foot of the mountain had already become active.

A group of soldiers clad in "jet-black exoskeletons" were seen carrying supply boxes taller than themselves, moving gradually across the rugged mountain path.

Coincidentally, from the armbands on their shoulders, these soldiers were from the Alliance's Storm Corps!

Aside from them, there was also a huge creature with a lower body full of tentacles trailing behind them.

The thing looked somewhat fierce, but its round head grew on you and appeared somewhat cute after a while.

If he remembered correctly, that thing was the "incubation chamber" from Qingquan City's Lair, not fully unfolded yet.

Once fully expanded, it could convert the organic material sent by the spores into new spores.

According to the information disclosed by the Sticky Community, the Alliance had already treated the Qingquan City Lair harmlessly. Thus, this "incubation chamber" should also be safe, and the Eaters and Crawlers it produced probably wouldn't attack people.

Nevertheless, Oliver still felt a hint of surprise at the appearance of the Storm Corps, having not heard of any attack plans from the Allied forces today.

Unable to suppress his confusion, he called out to them.

"Any missions today?"

Hearing the shouts coming from the mid-mountain position, "Kakarot" looked up, lifted his tactical goggles from his helmet, and said with a smile,

"There we go, big work ahead."

Big work?

Oliver was confused and didn't understand what he meant.

However, the man did not explain, and he led the more than two hundred brothers directly toward the murky wasteland.

Shortly after that group departed, a noisy bunch emerged on the mountain path beneath their position.

They didn't wear exoskeletons, slung LD-47 rifles over their shoulders, some even had rocket launchers attached, and their only protection was the gas masks they already wore, looking as if they were just messing around.

There were about a hundred of these loud ruffians, and it was unclear what exactly they were clamoring about.

"Boss, do we really not need any protection?" Fiddling with the gas mask hanging on his face, a player walking in the group couldn't help but complain.

His gamer tag was "Born in Spring," and he had just started playing in the Game's Beta 0.7 version; he had been playing for a month and only just passed level LV5.

Those who had started playing with him included "Born in Summer" and "Born in Winter," with levels similar to his own.

As for the guy walking ahead called the boss, his ID was "Feels Not Like Rick Five." He was the leader of the Abstract Army, a body constitution expert from the Beta 0.5 version of the Game, and he was also the big brother who was leading them on a "Pass the Torch" mission.

He remembered when he first entered the Game, he used to admire this boss who was supposedly capable of soloing monsters, until they actually encountered real monsters one day on the Wei Estate Wasteland.

It was then that he truly grasped the reality of this Game.

Even a "strong player" who had undergone a Second Awakening could be careless and get smacked over ten meters away by a berserk monster...

"What do you mean by not having protection? You make it sound like I am stingy. Aren't you wearing gas masks?" Rick rolled his eyes in response to the complaint, but his casual remark made everyone explode.

"Shit?"

"This counts as protection?"

"This thing was given out for free!"

In the "Endless Mode" monster farming activity, gas masks were the only equipment available for free, and they were even the same model used by the Alpha Special Mobile Force, produced by the industrial zone in Dawn City.

"Born in Spring" seriously suspected that if it weren't for the free distribution, this guy would probably have skipped giving them even gas masks.

Actually, that wasn't entirely wrong.

Aside from the body constitution players, with their body constitution stats, they could last three to four days in the fourth stage of the Heavenly domain without gas masks.

Usually, with their combat power, they wouldn't last that long; it was likely they'd be devoured alive by fungal mutants active within the domain before being infected by the Nago mycelium.

He guessed only those big shots in exoskeletons could count their survival time in days.

Watching the noisy newcomers, Rick coughed to halt their discussions.

"Alright, alright, be grateful for the free stuff. What more can you ask for? Stop thinking about what you want all the time, think about what you've contributed to our Army! Listen to me, you can't handle high-end equipment yet, start with the basics, build a strong foundation, and one day you'll become a powerhouse like me."

Everyone involuntarily rolled their eyes at him.

Seeing no one contesting his words, Rick perked up and shouted at his brothers.

"Listen up, guys, we'll be following the big shots from the Storm Corps! Wherever they plant the flag at the Purification Base, we plant ours right behind their asses!"

Born in Summer interrupted, "Wait, Boss, don't we have to keep a distance of at least 600 meters between each purification base to complete the validation?"

Rick responded with a smirk.

"That's easy to fix, just keep a 600-meter distance, why do you think I headed out so early?"

The players were stunned at his response.

Good lord.

He really knows how to play the system!

Watching the noisy guys march towards the wasteland, the Weilante people crouched in the trenches glanced at each other and murmured,

"What are they even talking about?"

"Who knows…"

"Do you think they can make it?"

"Who knows…"

"…"

This time, Oliver didn't join his subordinates' discussion but watched the rowdy bunch with a bizarre expression.

He could be sure that these were all rookies, probably even greener than the inefficients from Ideal City.

Sending such inexperienced guys to the battlefield, those who could survive and return were probably one in ten.

Was this really how the Alliance trained their troops?

This method seemed overly rough…

…

Oliver's surprise was only a minor interlude.

Because soon he realized that his astonishment was trivial.

While his men were discussing betting on how many of the Alliance's rookies could make it back, another large group of people crossed the rugged mountain path and confidently walked into the plague and curse-ridden wasteland.

Those guys were noisy and speaking an incomprehensible language, yet their hearty laughter hardly resembled that of men heading to a man-eating battlefield—it sounded more like they were going to a banquet.

Their voices, rich with ups and downs, were filled with a disdain for death; they harbored the ideal of saving all of humanity but gave no thought to their own safety.

Initially, the Weilante soldiers looked at them with scornful eyes, but soon they began to realize that their mocking glares only made them look like clowns, so they gradually stopped laughing.

These fellows were true warriors!

When faced with a crisis threatening all humanity, they did not just pay lip service to unity while acting selfishly; instead, they stood resolutely at the forefront without hesitation.

Even though most Weilante soldiers had no interest in the Alliance's proclaimed ideals, dismissing the dream-like talks of "equality," they couldn't fathom hating these true heroes.

They respected the truly strong!

Out of respect for the strong, they quietly withdrew the betting pools on how many would return...

The surprise wasn't limited to the frontline Weilante soldiers—General Lucien aboard the Loyalist Airship was also greatly shocked.

After hearing the reports from the front, he hesitated for a while before asking his adjutant.

"... How many people does the Alliance have?"

The adjutant paused, hesitated for a long time, and then said,

"A million?"

Maybe one hundred and fifty thousand.

Ever since the Sticky Community meeting had been held, survivors had continuously flocked to the Alliance, and he even heard that a manager of a shelter had settled near Dawn City.

Since the Alliance was quite lax with the identity verification of incoming survivors, the population there changed daily.

As to the exact number, he suspected that not even Chu Guang himself knew for sure.

General Lucien, with an odd expression, shifted his gaze from the face of his adjutant to the grey-green fog enveloping the frontline, seen through the floor-to-ceiling window.

According to reports coming from the Lai Mountain position, as of just moments ago, the Alliance had deployed nearly a ten-thousand-strong force to the frontline!

Part of them were regular troops, and a significant portion seemed more like Waste Land Wanderers with their own weapons and provisions…

They received only one piece of equipment from the Allied forces logistics, a gas mask.

As for things like rifles and bullets, they even had to prepare those themselves...

"... Is this the mobilization capability of the Alliance?" A trace of shock emerged in Lucien's eyes.

Even under the great His Majesty, the Marshal of Triumph City, such a feat was unimaginable...

As General Lucien was astonished, the battle situation near Lai Mountain City was fiercely boiling.

Fungus-infected mutants, controlled by Nago mycelium, continuously crawled out of the ground attempting to exterminate those "heretics" who had invaded the Heavenly domain. However, the combat power of these "heretics" far exceeded the apostles' expectations.

These guys were clearly alive but fought tirelessly like the Walking Corpses.

Looking at his nearly red-hot gun barrel, "Born in Spring," taking cover behind a damaged mud wall and shooting, couldn't help shouting to his captain,

"Captain! Call for an airstrike, quick!"

"Born in Summer," close by, also couldn't help but shout,

"We can't hold much longer!!!"

"Hold on a bit longer!" Rick, glancing hurriedly at the numbers on his VM and feeling the immense pressure, still gritted his teeth and yelled, "We're short 200 points! With 1000 points, I can call in an airdrop!"

I heard that container C2 in the airdrop has a "Ripper" heavy machine gun! And 3000 rounds of machine gun ammo!

With just the equipment and ammunition they currently have, they couldn't hold out for long; even calling a couple of airstrikes would at most help them clear out some lesser troops, only with the heavy weaponry from the airdrop supplies could they hope to last longer!

As for the 500-point exchange for a 100 kg aviation bomb, that was reserved for the Evolutionary bodies!

He had a detailed plan on how to maximize the value of every single point!

Rick was thinking this in his heart when suddenly, a fierce roar came from behind the dense fog.

"ROAR—!"

Before he could ask what happened, he heard the dying screams of "Born in Spring" and "Born in Summer."

Following that, a giant beast that looked like a crocodile but with the thick body and legs of an elephant and a mouth three to four meters long greedily snarling appeared. The blood and scraps of clothing hanging from its fangs were exactly the portion size for two…

The dark green mycelium stitched its pockmarked body together, eyeing its prey, a malevolent green gleam flickering in its pupils.

Locking eyes with those dreadful green orbs, Rick involuntarily held his breath, feeling a chill in his hands and feet, then instinctively glanced at the numbers on his VM.

975...

Just 25 points shy of the heavy machine gun!

There was no time to hesitate.

He secretly cursed as he spent 500 points to call in an airstrike.

However, when he saw that the airstrike would take three minutes to arrive, he nearly spat out blood.

"What the hell is this!"

The crocodile-like monster didn't care about such things, snapping its massive jaws towards his commanded position.

7mm rifle bullets seemed like child's play against it, and the RPG rocket, due to safety distance, couldn't be used effectively.

Rick frantically shouted at the group of newbies to stand back while he tried to attract the monster's attention and updated the bombing coordinates for the airstrike arriving three minutes later.

However, regrettably, as many players from the Abstract Army were first-timers on the battlefield, the entire position had descended into chaos.

In an instant, more than ninety people at the purification station were slaughtered by the monster.

The newbies, equipped with RPG rocket launchers but having lost their allies' cover, were caught by a group of walking corpses and Corpse Dogs, devouring them as if at a buffet. Desperate, they used the last bit of their strength to pull the trigger, launching the armor-piercing bullet inserted in the launcher randomly.

Finally, after three minutes, the sound of a diving bomber came over their heads, dropping a 100-kilogram aerial bomb.

The warhead, mixed with solid hydrogen and azide compounds, exploded with tremendous force, pinning the once-unrivalled monster to the ground.

Watching the seething flames and the monster wincing in pain, the badly injured Rick finally couldn't hold on and was pounced on by a Crawler that bit through his neck.

Converted into time, they had only lasted slightly over an hour.

Taking into account the difficulty coefficient, the 105 players divided a total of 110,000 silver coin bonuses, with each person getting approximately a thousand.

After deducting the costs for ammunition, clothing, and remaking the VM, they even made a little profit.

Although it wasn't much...

At 600 meters in front of the Abstract Army's purification station, the scene in front of the Storm Corps' purification base was equally tense and bustling.

However, the players here were true veterans, and "Kakarot," commanding the operation, was an old hand at frontline command, naturally experienced unlike the Abstract Army's abstract strategies.

Yet, while the allies' performance was somewhat amateurish, there was no contempt for the newbies.

After all, who didn't start as a newbie?

Most who play the Game experience this.

Die and die, and then suddenly one day, they become strong.

"… Brother Ka, those guys hanging behind us trying to leech seem almost done for. Should I lead some men to assist them?"

Wiping the sticky fluid off his helmet, the veteran known as Old Lefty looked to "Kakarot" for instructions.

Compared to the newbies, they didn't feel much pressure.

Moreover, the incubator had already successfully started operating, producing some eaters and even Crawlers carrying the B strain, although not in large numbers, yet it still helped alleviate some of their burden.

So far, they hadn't suffered a single casualty, and he even began to suspect that those lurking in the Holy Land deliberately targeted the newbies following them, deeming them an easier bone to chew.

After all, Heaven was not a natural occurrence but shaped by human will.

"Kakarot" smiled and said,

"Don't worry, let them hold out a little longer. How can they grow without facing adversities?"

He always felt that the Torch was enticing them to divert some troops to aid the rearguard.

Dividing forces now might play right into their hands.

The player beside him set down his binoculars and turned to his captain.

"… No need to help, it seems they're already gone."

"Kakarot's" expression turned awkward, and he coughed before continuing,

"Then… take a few men and retrieve their equipment. Once that's done, I'll call for an artillery strike to cleanse the area, ensuring their sacrifice wasn't in vain."

Being able to recover their VMs would help them minimize some losses.

As for the remaining weapons and ammo, as per usual, those who found them could use them first. After the mission, whatever was left would be returned.

Hearing about opening up their fallen comrades' Blind Boxes, the player was instantly invigorated, energetically agreeing,

"Got it!"

With that, he summoned a few teammates, hoisted a supply box taller than a man on his back, and ran towards the position 600 meters behind…

In just one day, the Alliance deployed hundreds of "troops" toward Lai Mountain City, launching an assault as dense as a tidal wave against the Torch Church's Heavenly domain.

These troops were like nails, firmly digging into the flesh of the Torch Church.

While not all nails managed to root firmly, the pain for the Torch was significant enough…

Watching the battle bloom all over the battlefield, a trace of astonishment gradually shaped in the calm eyes of the Human Emperor.

"...Have these guys gone mad?"

Using this life-for-life strategy to deplete his chess pieces…

In just one day, he had lost scores of evolutionary bodies, nearly six hundred thousand "puppets"!

Although he possessed billions of chess pieces, this loss was still significant.

Especially since the Alliance liked to clear the field with incendiary bombs after each battle.

This meant he had to be cautious with his chess piece deployment, ready for the reality that once played, they could not be taken back—neither too many at once nor too few.

Once the Alliance soldiers established themselves in the area, they would continually send unpleasant surprises his way…

The astonishment gradually gave way to wariness.

But that wariness lasted only a few seconds in his eyes before dissipating into unfathomable madness.

Underestimating the challenge…

A war of attrition with him?

Simply suicidal!

Chapter 757: The Frontline Situation is Great

Facts had proven.

These guys had indeed "gone mad."

On the first day, the Alliance had sent hundreds of teams to the front line, but less than 20% had withstood the test of time, yet on the second day, more than fifty new teams quickly took their place.

Seeing the insufficient stamina of the Alliance, the Human Emperor initially felt secretly relieved, especially when the teams stepping up on the third day were halved, suggesting those lunatics weren't truly infinite.

Even the Cannon Fodder clones of Weilante, lacking a complete mind, needed two years of cultivation, let alone those with complete mental faculties sent by the Alliance to the front line.

With such heavy casualties, he feared it wouldn't be long before a wave of war-weariness erupted within the Alliance. After all, Waste Land Wanderers were just a bunch of opportunistic folks who, if forced to face death, would undoubtedly flee without a second thought.

On the fourth day, just as he had predicted, the battlefields erupted, yet many of them quieted down, leaving only a few heavily manned positions still struggling to hold on.

Although the hatcheries at those positions were problematic, by themselves, they couldn't hold out for long. Facing a continuous onslaught, falling like the other positions was just a matter of time.

While he eagerly awaited the Alliance's performance on the fifth day, as The Sun rose on the horizon on the fifth day, he was utterly dumbfounded.

The vast crowd stretched as far as the eye could see, the hillside blanketed with guns and flags like a forest!

The disappeared had reappeared.

And there were even more than on the first day!

Their gaze was resolute, their steps firm, shoulder to shoulder, they marched towards Haiye Province. They seemed to have no idea what this place was, or perhaps they knew but didn't care at all.

And the Combat Power erupted from these people was likewise incredibly surprising.

When dawn turned to dusk, the positions that held were not just 20% but had exceeded 40%!

And those positions that had been on the brink of collapse stood firm once more with the arrival of these reinforcements, even utilizing B-strain hatcheries to purify the land beneath them.

These people seemed to grow stronger the more they fought!

That was what baffled the Human Emperor the most.

On the other side, the Army's troops also began to push forward, learning from the Alliance's methods and establishing ten positions in the north of Haiye Province.

The Academy and corporations also followed suit, unwilling to be outdone, dispatching their squads and creating numerous positions around the hatcheries.

The Allied forces continued to clear the corruption of Weifu Plains while infiltrating Haiye Province, progressively narrowing the living space of the Torch Church.

Staring agape at everything unfolding on the battle line, the Human Emperor mouthed wordlessly, unable to utter a single phrase for quite a long time.

Had these guys lost their minds?!

...

In fact, not only did the pioneers of the Torch Church think these guys had gone mad, but many high-ranking officers within the Allied forces also felt their behavior was somewhat outrageous.

However, in these times, who didn't have their little secrets? Their secrets were no fewer than those of the Alliance, so even if they felt it was outrageous, it wasn't convenient to inquire.

Moreover, this was not something underhanded.

Hence, they could only speculate based on limited intelligence and then report back to their superiors.

For instance, the Alliance might have mastered the mass production of artificial humans or remote-controlled Clone technologies.

As for resurrection...

That sounded too far-fetched.

City of Dawn certainly had many such rumors, but when it came to serious considerations, people seldom thought in that direction because one had to rely on tangible evidence.

As for the junior officers and Soldiers, they hadn't thought so much. After all, many were fighting so far from home for the first time and were unfamiliar with local conditions.

Based on their initial impressions, their attitude towards the Alliance's tough fighters was mostly respect and admiration.

After all, it wasn't uncommon to find fighters who regarded death as the return home, but to see so many gathered at once was somewhat shocking...

...

North of Weifu Military Base.

As the Allied forces launched a new round of attacks, recently war-torn Kun Town was bustling again.

Stalls densely packed the south gate of the town; some stall owners even took the effort to decorate their stalls to attract customers, while some shabby Waste Land Wanderers simply led a Double-headed Cow or pushed a tricycle and called it a stall. The furthest vendors had even come from Poluo Province.

Locally settled Waste Land Wanderers had not moved away due to the previous calamity. Instead, motivated by the Alliance's performance in that battle and the protection provided, they were even more determined to settle here permanently.

After all, where on the wasteland was utterly safe?

Who could anticipate that a peaceful and sunny wilderness would turn into a death-filled hell in the next moment?

Theoretically, any part of this wasteland could experience similar incidents; the key wasn't whether the danger would occur, but whether it would be properly handled afterward.

And the ability of the Alliance to manage chaos and crises had become a form of security for those tormented survivors of the wasteland.

Moreover, another reason they stayed was the shiny Silver coins.

Affected by the Sticky Community dispatching reinforcements from all directions to the front line, the liveliness here even exceeded previous levels.

The market buzzed with vendors calling out their wares, a vibrant and bustling scene. If not for the lingering gray-green fog in the distance, one could hardly tell that half a month ago, this place had experienced a catastrophe.

But even if it had, at least for those living here, it was all in the past.

"Roasted corn! Fresh corn!"

"Curved knives from the Honey Badger Kingdom! Sharper than anything, they can slice through iron as if it was mud! Only 100 Silver Coins each!"

"Buy a goat, sir. The mountain road ahead isn't easy, and who knows when the Alliance will get the railroad through."

"In this day and age, still using beasts of burden to haul goods! What do you need to send to the front? One of our Army men is worth two cows!"

"Holy shit, what kind of brother is that... looks more like a horse to me."

"LD-47! Full set of LD series equipment! The most durable fellow on the battlefield... exactly like the ones in 'The Great Escape' Game!!"

"I'll take two!!"

"Alright! Which model would you like, sir?"

"Two LD-47s!"

"Are they for a friend?"

"Screw gifts, I plan on dual-wielding!"

"...6."

The stalls and the passing pedestrians here are as varied as the goods being sold.

There are weapons, clothes, and even sweet potatoes and roasted potatoes, or some really weird knick-knacks.

Like a secret potion said to cause instant awakening or a card pack hiding a Blue-Eyed White Dragon.

Especially the latter, those colorful cards are what the couch potatoes from Ideal City are most obsessed with.

There's no Endpoint Cloud here, and in its absence, they need something else to serve as a common topic of conversation.

As for the Weilante People, their tastes are as usual.

Over a hundred thousand soldiers from the Army almost drove the local high-proof spirits out of stock.

Especially the 'Big Bird Spin' vodka produced by Goblin Technology, a favorite among the lower-ranked Weilante officers and soldiers.

Since this stuff is made from potatoes, it's driven up the price of the Alliance's potatoes.

Compared to the stable demands of the Ideal folks and Weilante People, the Residents of the refuge from the Alliance have inexplicable tastes.

Especially some newcomers who are extremely keen on stuff that looks fancy but is actually pretty useless.

Like the products Goblin Technology brought to their stall—especially when their boss himself brings the goods, it's usually that kind of stuff.

After all, if those things were really that useful, the CEO-cum-chairman-cum-factory director wouldn't need to peddle them himself.

"Psh, a bunch of ignoramuses!"

Watching the bustling stall not far away, Mosquito Brother couldn't help but curse with a vexed expression.

Just at that moment, Debt Giant Eye passed by and glimpsed the items on his stall, nearly bursting out laughing.

The pistol with six barrels or the double-barreled assault rifle might be considered normal, maybe just a bit unique or old-fashioned in design.

But a mobile barrier welded onto a tricycle, an automatic magazine loader for use with the LD-47, or a rocket backpack just for one way— all those ludicrous things really made one doubt his mental state.

"Man, are you selling a circus troupe's gear?" Debt Giant Eye teased Mosquito as he watched his annoyed face.

Mosquito rolled his eyes.

"You know shit, it's art! Don't touch if you're not buying!"

Putting the six-barreled pistol back on the stall, Big Eyes sighed deeply, acting knowledgeable.

"In my view, something that most people can appreciate is called art, like the artworks from Vine Cottage."

Mosquito chuckled.

"Say that to Teng Teng, see if she doesn't hammer you."

"This equipment does seem interesting…" Just then, the Construction Site Youth picked up a steel shield, intrigued by the fierce red fungi mat on it, and curiously asked, "What is this for?"

"Real deal, brother," Mosquito's eyes lit up, seeing someone interested in his design, and he said eagerly, "This shield is made from self-repairing material! Not only is it ultra-durable, but it can also draw organic matter from the surroundings to increase the shield's defense and coverage."

"Holy shit?! Damage absorption?!" The Construction Site Youth stared in surprise, and even Big Eyes, who had scoffed at the items, looked taken aback.

"How much for this thing?"

Mosquito grinned.

"Not expensive, just 1000 Silver Coins!"

When Big Eyes, who was initially quite interested, heard the price, he almost spat blood.

"Holy shit! 1000 Silver Coins is not expensive?!"

That was enough to buy ten lackeys!!

"Indeed, that's a bit pricey," the Construction Site Youth nodded and muttered, "I remember ceramic steel shields also cost around 1000 Silver."

"Can those things even compare to mine?" Mosquito scoffed, "Mine can repair itself if it gets pierced, can theirs?"

Just when Big Eyes thought Mosquito Brother had finally invented something useful, the remark made him snap back to reality.

Wait a minute!

The shield made of ceramic steel got pierced through, could the person behind it still be alive?

Seriously, what's the use of self-repair abilities in this thing?

However, the construction worker seemed not to have realized it yet, still figuring out how to use this uniquely shaped shield; after pondering for a long time, he didn't figure out how to wear it on his arm.

He looked bewilderingly at Mosquito, and asked in confusion,

"You didn't forget to attach a handle, did you? There's no place to hold onto this shield."

Seeing his not-so-smart look, Mosquito patiently pointed out,

"You're holding the shield the wrong way, the entire layer of crimson mycelium is the handle, just stick it to your arm and it connects."

The construction worker was startled by this, and directly tossed the shield back beside the stall.

"What the fuck? The side with tentacles is supposed to face me?!"

"... Otherwise?" Mosquito stared at him blankly, "You can't possibly use the side with flesh facing others, right?"

Debt Giant Eye couldn't help but interject,

"... this damage absorption must be absorbing from oneself."

The moment the construction youth thought about how he almost paid, he got furious, "This is false advertising!"

Mosquito awkwardly looked away, but had no intention of admitting his mistake, retorting,

"I didn't say it absorbs from others."

Construction youth, annoyed, exclaimed, "%￥#@!"

Although they were angry, there were no substantial losses. After grumbling a few words, they turned and left.

Soon after they left, a group of newcomers strolled up to the stall.

Seeing fresh faces, Mosquito's heart reckoned it was finally time to make a sale, his face breaking into a brilliant smile.

"Brothers, good taste!"

[Feels not as good as Rick]raised his head, curiously giving the stall owner a glance.

"I haven't said I wanted to buy anything yet."

"That's not important! The fact you found this place is proof enough of your good taste," Mosquito chuckled, patting the newcomer's shoulder and continued, "So? See any equipment you like? I'll give you a 20% discount!"

Initially, Rick wasn't very interested, but his eyes lit up at the mention of a discount.

"Really?"

"Of course, real!" Mosquito enthusiastically picked up the shield that the construction youth and his friend had just discarded, tapping the crimson mycelium, "Half-mechanical, half-biological prosthetic! Not only can it absorb damage and self-repair, but it also helps train the Kylin Arm, perfect if you're of the Strength Type! I recommend you get one of these, it's really effective!"

Moved by the words, Rick was keen, but the price tag instantly killed his enthusiasm like a deflated balloon.

"This is too expensive, don't you have something cheaper and useful too? Something that can increase survival on the battlefield, yet won't hurt to lose."

Mosquito surprisingly looked at him.

"My man, your demands are quite over the top."

Rick asked impatiently,

"What's with all the nonsense, just tell me if you have it or not!"

"I totally do!" Mosquito's surprise vanished, as he smiled mischievously and hooked his arm around Rick's shoulder, speaking cheerfully, "Speaking of cheap and effective, I have to mention our Goblin Technology's non-powered armor... not only tested in combat, but I guarantee it meets your needs perfectly, cheap and effective!"

Rick's eyes brightened.

"Really?"

"Absolutely real! And it's not just the non-powered armor, I've got lots of great stuff... come on, let me take you to the warehouse to take a look."

As he spoke, Mosquito turned and called to his Mouse Tribe assistant to help watch over the stall, then walked off arm in arm with the newcomer toward the warehouse in the town behind.

Encouraged by the veterans on the Forum, he had concocted quite a few new toys recently, just pining for someone to pay to test them.

Watching the newcomer led to the warehouse by Mosquito, passing veteran players silently mourned for him in their hearts.

The brothers in the Allied forces thought themselves tough, but only they knew, those daring to test Mosquito Brother's equipment were truly the toughest...

...

While players schemed about refining equipment and how to grind monsters more efficiently, Chu Guang, as a planner, focused his attention on the monsters at the forefront.

From aboard Steel Heart.

Standing inside the bridge, Chu Guang wore a faint smile, looking over the battlefield through the Hummingbird drone controlled by Xiao Qi.

"Crocodile-mouthed elephants, snakes standing over ten meters tall... good lord, even freaking 'Godzilla' is conjured up."

Watching the creature on the screen swaying its tail and flipping over a Chimera Armored Car with one swipe, he couldn't help but admire.

"Jeez, these guys sure have lots of tricks."

He didn't pay special attention to the details in the battle but focused on his primary duty as a planner—
that is, taking photos of monsters appearing in the game and updating them in the official website's setting collection.

""""This way, players get the illusion that the Dog plan creators are actually working. Even just to not let down this enthusiasm, they brush through the game with even more vigor.

In fact, if the Torch did not iterate the types of evolutionary bodies so zealously, his players might not have been as fired up as they are now.

But these things, the guy who called himself 'Human Emperor,' was doomed never to find out.

Five days had passed since the "Purification Station Event" started.

In these short five days, the Alliance placed a total of 5 large purification bases and nearly three hundred small purification stations in the northern part of Haiye Province.

The former were managed by more mature armies like the Storm Corps and Death Legion, whereas the latter were controlled by various medium and small-sized armies and makeshift fleets, making their number quite variable and their lifespan measured in hours or even minutes.

With the coordinated efforts of armies and fleets, the Alliance advanced the front line in just seven days to five kilometers north of Lai Mountain City, biting off at least 70 square kilometers from Haiye Province's 670,000 square kilometers of land.

Moreover, the Alliance also demonstrated to the Allied forces how this battle was to be fought.

At present, ten divisions of the corps had sequentially entered the territory of Haiye Province, and corporations and academies were not falling behind, sending more reinforcements to the front line.

It wouldn't be long before they too would achieve impressive results.

Seeing Chu Guang in a good mood, Xiao Qi sincerely shared his joy, lightly swinging her tiny legs hanging on the power armor, her face as smooth as a porcelain doll's with a happy expression.

"… Really some clueless fellows daring to oppose Xiao Qi's master. Looks like these bugs haven't learned their lesson yet. Maybe this is just what small fries are like~"

Hearing a voice more arrogant than his own, Chu Guang laughed heartily and then teased,

"Xiao Qi, normally it's the villains who say that kind of stuff."

"Eh??"

Xiao Qi looked at Chu Guang in surprise, then whispered guiltily, "But… isn't this how protagonists talk in comics?"

Chu Guang was momentarily stunned, his expression weird as he looked at the little creature on his shoulder.

"What exactly have you been reading on the Forum…"

Subtly shifting his gaze to the side, Xiao Qi looked around sheepishly, her eyes suddenly lighting up as she spoke,

"Master! Someone spent 10,000 purification points to buy a 400mm rocket range extender! Should we approve it?"

Goodness.

Does someone actually buy that stuff?

Although he knew Xiao Qi was changing the subject, and the way she did it was quite abrupt, a hint of surprise couldn't help but appear on Chu Guang's face.

That's ten thousand points!

That's enough for twenty close-air supports!

"Location?"

"The suburbs of Lai Mountain City! Southwest side of the abandoned light industrial park!"

As she spoke, Xiao Qi switched the holographic screen to the map page, focusing the camera on the coordinates of the artillery strike.

Unsurprisingly, it was the Storm Corps exchanging the support—a team that could accumulate so many points without using them could only be them.

Chu Guang glanced at the position of his allies, which was far from the artillery area, and immediately issued an order.

"Approve the request!"

"You got it!"

Xiao Qi energetically complied, then switched the screen back from the map to the drone's view and steered the Hummingbird drone towards the vicinity of the artillery area.

As the order was given, the main cannon of Steel Heart slowly rotated its base, raising its thick, black barrel, and completed the correction of firing elements.

"Bang—!"

The blazing explosion soared to the sky, and a deafening boom spread across the deck.

A thick trail of white smoke shot out from the cannon, drawing an arc toward the clouds a few kilometers ahead of the airship.

The shell, falling like thunder from Nine Skies, exploded upon touch, ionizing into a fiery red cloud.

The boiling flame ascended, and the spreading shockwave swept across the ruins like lava from a volcanic eruption.

After the dust settled, all living things in the blast area were turned to ash, only wisps of steam rising from the charred black ground.

Watching the distant explosion, the players under the drone's camera cheered and applauded satisfyingly, then under their captain's signal began to gather their gear, continuing towards the scorched earth cleansed by the artillery fire.

While waiting for the bombardment, they had completed the purification of the land beneath them, so they simply used the remaining points to exchange for a 400mm heavy cannon to bombard the new map where they had just placed the purification base beacon.

After all, purification points couldn't be taken away. They had been holding on the previous 'level' long enough, and even if they saved up leftover points to convert them into time-score, it wouldn't significantly increase their profits. Better to use them to clear monsters from the next level.

The degree of corrosion had been gathered and calculated before placing the beacon and was already fixed in the VM map's regional corrosion grid. Therefore, even using the score from the previous level to strategically bomb the new level wouldn't affect the difficulty and final reward.

Chu Guang didn't need to guess—it was definitely Ken from Springs who came up with this idea.

Watching those clever little players, a smile of approval appeared on his face.

These guys had really figured out the rules.

But then again, that's exactly what he had always encouraged.

-

(Thanks to the leader of the 'Yoo~ Dongcheng' alliance for the reward!!!)"""

Chapter 758: The New Wind Blowing Toward the Wasteland

The harsh, biting wind howled across the boundless tundra, and a furry vole poked its head out from a snowdrift, only to be frightened back by a rumbling sound.

A train with only four carriages moved across the snowy terrain.

This train had no rails, instead, it was mounted on tracks beneath the chassis. Carriages were interconnected with hooks, each seemed to have its own power system, yet it appeared all power was provided by the leading vehicle.

Night Ten sat by the window, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the vast, astonishing tundra outside, a look of indescribable wonder in his eyes.

These "Dog Planners" really have something here.

Although there were less than a hundred players active in the Wandering Swamp, the operators of "Wasteland OL" still managed to create this section of the map.

The hail beating against the window, the snow kicked up by the tracks, the reindeer crossing the tundra...

Everything was so realistic.

Sitting opposite him, Jiang Xuezhou misunderstood his look of wonder, and with a slight smile, he spoke.

"Is it very big?"

"It is indeed quite vast..." Night Ten nodded, then added emotionally, "It's just a bit desolate."

What he couldn't understand was why the Academy, despite having the most advanced technology on the Wasteland, left such a vast expanse of land undeveloped.

If the prosperity of Ideal City was somewhat exaggerated, like the colorful lights and the complex information of the Endpoint Cloud creating an illusion of rapid technological advancement, the technology of the Academy truly reached an awe-inspiring level.

As the only survivor force on the Wasteland capable of manufacturing anti-gravity devices and possessing superluminal engine technology without relying on the Black Box, they actually had a chance to establish a true Utopia here.

It shouldn't be more difficult than finding another planet in the universe to start over.

At least that's how he saw it, still being a student.

Jiang Xuezhou tilted his head, not quite understanding what he meant by "desolate."

Just then, a researcher sitting at the adjacent table laughed and interjected.

"Of course, this is the northernmost part of the Central Continent. The fragile ecosystem here is already at its limit in terms of population capacity; its current state is quite sufficient. Rather, having more people would complicate matters."

Night Ten looked at him, puzzled.

"Would more people really complicate things?"

"After all, the number of boat tickets is fixed." Another researcher browsing a paper on a tablet spoke succinctly, "A 'ship' that can hold everyone has never existed, and the contracts we signed with the survivors never included such terms."

Night Ten: "Contracts?"

"That was half a century ago. We left the Grand Canyon to avoid persecution from the Army and corporations. Some survivors who had lost their means of livelihood due to the collapse of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee followed our tracks and found us, hoping we'd take them in. So the Science Committee was formed."

The researcher paused, his gaze drifting out the window as he continued in an even-tempered tone.

"According to our promises, we provide them with the nutrients essential for survival, and in return, they have voluntarily renounced all political rights and joined our plans, submitting to our management. We've provided them with the promised treatment, even rewarding those who comply... which was their promised obligation. Do we have any reason to raise their standard of living?"

Night Ten looked at him, astounded, "Wow, you guys are more capitalist than the capitalists."

The researcher froze for a moment, giving him a peculiar look.

"I don't know what you mean by that, but at least we haven't deceived them. We made it clear from the start that the Academy is not a charity, nor a country, merely a research organization. Our ultimate goal is to finish our 'Ark,' and once it's done, we will leave. We never begged them to live on our land. Or do you think it would be better to lure the Wasteland Wanderers with an unattainable dream like corporations do?"

This statement seems to have some merit.

Night eleven also couldn't think of a way to refute it, especially when he suddenly realized that this was their own business, and it was not his place, as an outsider, to comment.

However, just as he was planning to end this topic, what surprised him was that Jiang Xuezhou, who had the image of a well-behaved girl, suddenly spoke up.

"Aren't you also admitted to the academy?" she asked.

The researcher glanced at her and said indifferently,

"Yes, so what?"

Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but say,

"You were one of them before too, why are you talking about them as if they were slaves..."

"First, let me correct you, I never said they were slaves," the man returned his gaze to the tablet and said indifferently, "And to answer your question, you said it yourself, it was before."

With that, he did not want to make enemies over such a trivial verbal dispute.

This was a train departing from Ice Sea City, and the passenger traveling with her had the VM, a mark of residents of the refuge, on his arm. Possibly, he was a foreign guest visiting under the Sticky Community project.

If that were the case, her mentor's background might be significant.

Jiang Xuezhou stared at him with a puzzled look, unable to speak for a moment.

"My bad, I owe you an apology," Night Ten coughed lightly and stood up from his seat, trying to lighten the atmosphere in the carriage, "Actually… our refuge is the same, a refuge that can accommodate everyone is impossible, so some can go in, some cannot, some enjoy early, and some suffer early. For a greater goal, some people have to make sacrifices… This is reality, and it's the most helpless reality."

The researcher, browsing through a paper, curled the corners of his mouth into a faint smile, while Jiang Xuezhou looked incredulously at Night Ten, seemingly unable to believe he would say such a thing.

The latter, however, did not look at her but merely shrugged his shoulders and continued,

"However, we really can't trample on those who didn't make it into the refuge just because we were lucky to be born there. Our knowledge, technology, methods, and even Black Box, etc., should belong to 'all of us' of that era. Signing unequal treaties with a few pitiful folks, enjoying the inheritance left by 'us' without fulfilling the obligations of 'us', I really can't understand that... Being a coward may be due to the helpless reality, but what is there to be proud of?"

The researcher who was browsing the paper grimaced and chose to respond with silence to these words.

Jiang Xuezhou's surprise turned into joy, and a triumphant smile appeared on her face, as if to say she had indeed not misjudged the person.

Murmurs began to spread in the carriage; some people turned their gazes to see what the outspoken fellow looked like, while others disdainfully twisted their mouths, uninterested in the wisdom of mere mortals.

Of course, some people also showed thoughtful expressions, genuinely considering the rationale of the statement.

In the academy, rational voices were relatively popular, especially those that were logical.

This is also the biggest difference between the academy and other places; emotional outbursts generally would not attract much attention.

However, the initiator, Night Ten, suddenly regretted it.

His original intention was actually to apologize, that he shouldn't have meddled. But as his mouth slipped, he veered off-topic, unable to restrain a sarcastic remark.

Elder Fang was right; his tendency to talk excessively was indeed something he should change.

They were here to make friends, not to offend people.

"Thank you."

Looking at Night Ten who had sat back down, Jiang Xuezhou softly said with a flushed face.

"Really, there's no need to thank me," Night Ten said nonchalantly, unable to figure out what he had actually done to help.

Even though he was happy to have said what he had been thinking but afraid to express, Jiang Xuezhou seemed to suddenly recall something, growing anxious as she whispered,

"Right... You came here with an electronic transit pass, didn't you? If you speak carelessly, won't your Manager blame you?"

In this carriage, every researcher had installed bionics, making taking photos or videos a mere thought away.

She was worried it might cause some sort of diplomatic mix-up, like residents from the Alliance's shelters openly criticizing the Academy's policies or the Science Committee's management methods.

Night Ten was caught off guard, then laughed and said,

"Ah? That won't happen. Our Manager isn't that petty."

Unlike whoever designed the dog plan.

Getting forbidden to post for sharing a racy picture was one thing, but getting flagged for entirely unprovocative stickers from the comics was another.

That was truly excessive!

As they talked, a wisp of human activity appeared in the endless wilderness outside the window.

It was an oil well.

With its "antiquated" design style, Night Ten couldn't help but feel for a moment like he was back on the real Earth.

Seeing the oil well, Jiang Xuezhou suddenly perked up.

"We're here!"

At the same moment she spoke, the announcement of arrival sounded in the carriage.

"Area 721 has been reached. Please disembark at this station if this is your stop."

As Night Ten was about to help her with her luggage, the suitcase came tumbling down from the rack on its own, with wheels rolling toward the door of the carriage.

"What are you standing around for? Let's go." Seeing Night Ten motionless next to his seat, Jiang Xuezhou excitedly urged.

She hadn't seen her family in a long time. While others might feel apprehensive as they neared home, she was filled with anticipation.

"Ah... okay."

Night Ten looked enviously at her luggage suitcase and followed behind her.

High technology sure was marvelous!

For someone who often had to take high-speed trains back home from college, this gadget was far more intriguing than any nuclear fusion...

The group stood in the airlock chamber, and as the doors outside opened, a whoosh of wind and snow swept in.

Despite being clad in a warm suit and surrounded by technology all over, Night Ten still felt the chilling cold hit him.

This was a remote corner of the Wandering Swamp, a settlement known as "Area 721" was located there.

According to Jiang Xuezhou, the local survivors' task was to mine the oil beneath the permafrost in yearly temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius, providing raw materials for the industrial area fifty kilometers away.

There would regularly be tracked vehicles arriving to take the fuel away while also bringing the necessary supplies for local life.

Though alternative biologically or chemically synthesized substances similar to oil were discovered during the Prosperity Epoch, from a practical standpoint, the traditional diesel-driven drilling platforms were more suitable for the environment of the Wandering Swamp and the unique organization of the Science Committee.

Advanced methods of production weren't always better.

What the Science Committee needed to ensure was that the colony ships aimed for the future would be completed on schedule, and excess production meant wastage. Traditional economic principles didn't apply here, nor did they apply to most settlements on the Wasteland.

Among those who arrived at the station with them were another man and woman. The man was tall and slender with short hair. The woman had tied her black hair into a ponytail, appearing the type who seldom spoke.

Just as Night Ten was sizing them up, the man looked at him and smiled slightly, suddenly saying,

"That was an excellent speech."

Night Ten was momentarily stunned and slightly embarrassed, coughing lightly as he replied,

"Thank you. I do feel a bit ashamed, though, for speaking too much. I apologize if I offended you—"

Jiang Xuezhou scoffed lightly, muttering,

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. You were right, so why apologize for something correct? It's strange that those who feel offended even when their relatives and friends live in such conditions."

"Haha, whether the Science Committee's decisions are right isn't for me to judge, but... I do agree with this gentleman's comments; we really should do something with the knowledge left by our ancestors. Pursuing a better life shouldn't be a sin." The researcher eased the tension with a laugh and then introduced himself, "My name is Li Xiang, an E-level Researcher. This is my department-mate who's a Prospector, named Wu Xiaoxiao."

The one called Wu Xiaoxiao nodded reservedly, glanced at Night Ten, though her eyes lingered more on the Jiang next to him.

Night Ten noticed a clear admiration and awe in her gaze.

It was quite understandable.

Even though Jiang was just a Little D Grade, she undoubtedly seemed like a significant figure in the eyes of E Grades and Prospectors.

"This is Jiang Xuezhou," Night Ten said, albeit feeling that the two might already know the Jiang from his group, he still proceeded to introduce her.

Li Xiang nodded courteously toward both, especially to his fellow Academy alumna.

However, to Night Ten's surprise, he seemed even more interested in him.

"I heard you're from the Alliance?"

Night Ten nodded.

"Yes, I'm a resident of Shelter No. 404."

Li Xiang's interest intensified, especially when he heard about Shelter No. 404.

"That's wonderful... I've always been fascinated by your group. Can you tell me in detail? How did you establish such a massive organization on the Wasteland in just two or three years?"

From his eager eyes, it was apparent he was genuinely curious.

Night Ten felt a surge of pride at finding a fan of the Alliance this far away, and chuckled heartily,

"That's a long story... Although it's just two or three years, quite a lot has happened during this period."

"No worries! We can talk as we walk." Li Xian's eyes gleamed as he watched him, and even Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but perk up her ears curiously.

"Alright, let me think..." As Night Ten recalled the past events, he started to narrate the story in a chatty tone, "It all starts with a town mayor called Old Leech, and a girl named Little Fish..."

Beautiful stories always warm the heart, and the howling winds and snow seem not so piercing anymore.

At first, he began with a casual attitude, telling how the flame of order rose from the Wasteland, but as Night Ten spoke, he suddenly found himself moved by his own words.

It wasn't that he was boasting.

Indeed, those times were truly damn tough—having to mix cement himself despite being a top-tier player, with the server's highest-level equipment being merely a rifle with an attached scope!

Not just the listeners, but even the storyteller himself was on the verge of tears!

The three following him felt a touch of emotion too, a flame, faint yet discernible, unwittingly ignited within their hearts...

Just as Night Ten spoke of Chu Guang overthrowing the old mayor of Bet Street, and mentioned the spark igniting outside Giant Stone City, thousands and even tens of thousands of kilometers away from the Wandering Swamp, an inconspicuous cargo ship was slowly approaching the largest trading port on the west coast of Poluo Province.

Standing on the deck at the bow, Governor Nihak looked out in astonishment at the distant port, his eyes filled with indescribable surprise.

The remaining sunlight of sunset showered over the bustling concrete docks, where rows of neatly arranged red brick houses flanked the streets that were four to five meters wide.

The prosperity here seemed no less than that of the transformative Jin Jialun Port.

It was even more luxurious, busier!

The artistic accomplishments of the Weilante people did not fall short of the Alliance, corporations, or Academy architects, especially in grand and beautiful architecture, which mirrored the immense and unique aesthetic of their large caliber cannons.

Some Weilante people seemed to have settled here, not only bringing their spouses, houses, and dinars from Ideal City but also their refined lifestyles.

Governor Nihak saw a tall-nosed supervisor waving a whip, urging a group of bare-chested laborers carrying large crates that could fit a person, hustling back and forth on the scorching hot concrete dock.

That familiar scent!

Looking at the scene before him, Governor Nihak took a deep breath and couldn't help but shed tears.

Finally, they were back!

Just behind him, not far away, a fluffy white bear stared disdainfully at his back, unable to resist muttering,

"Can I throw him off the ship?"

"No, Meat Meat, he's a mission prop! The clients at Fried Dough Stick Port paid a hefty traveling fee for him," said Tail, standing beside her, right foot on the railing, excitedly looking at the legendary West Sail Port.

What a huge port!

This settlement probably wasn't smaller than Jin Jialun Port, possibly home to over a million people!

Besides the locals of Poluo Province, a substantial number of Weilante people lived in the port area; it seemed like the goods they brought wouldn't struggle to find buyers!

Before long, the cargo ship moored at the port, and a Weilante military officer stepped onto the deck.

Exiting the captain's cabin, Si Si handed over the cargo manifest and pulled out a VM to show the Weilante officer the documents and a barcode for identification.

"This is an electronic pass issued by the Sticky Community; we would like to apply for permission to go ashore."

"As you wish," the Weilante officer glanced at the document and chuckled, saying, "We will ensure your legal rights, but I advise sticking to the port area. Those rats have poor habits, and it's better for a lady like yourself to avoid walking at night or going into alleyways, as our guards might not be able to see."

Despite the menace in his gaze, Si Si was unfazed and responded tersely.

"Well, you don't have to bother yourselves then, just make sure not to play any tricks."

It seemed he had heard some funny joke, as the Weylentarian burst into laughter. After having his laugh, he pursed his lips and said,

"We disdain playing tricks; if we are interested in something, we'll take it on the battlefield."

Only a Weylentarian could say such a thing with chest puffed out.

Si Si shrugged his shoulders and spoke with a mocking tone,

"Save that boast for your own people; there's no need to tell us. Everyone who trades with us gets rich, but anyone trying to take even a copper coin from us should be prepared to lose a couple of teeth."

Detecting the sting hidden in those words, the Weylentarian officer merely smiled unconcernedly and made an exaggerated welcoming gesture.

"Mr. Dekolo, director of the West Sail Port Authority Office, welcomes you to West Sail Port and wishes you a pleasant time here!"

Having said this, he handed the cargo list to his deputy and disembarked from the cargo ship.

The "Meat Meat" cargo ship carried not only over 20 passengers but also 500 tons of herring cans and 150 tons of potato liquor.

These were specialty products from Jinjaron Harbor, which were very much in demand by the Weylent people. Though there wasn't much room for bargaining, there was never a worry about sales.

With at least five or six thousand Weylent people settled in West Sail Port, not to mention the floating population possibly surpassing ten thousand, the daily consumption of herring and liquor could be measured in tons.

Moreover, with the Southern Legion's port just a few hundred nautical miles northwest, even if local demand was met, the goods could still be sold there.

In addition to herring and liquor, there were also various miscellaneous items.

Such as fridges, watches, furniture, electrical appliances, and even used books or other handicrafts from Silver Moon Bay.

After disembarking, Si Si rented a covered stall in the market through the Port Authority Office and ordered the crew to carry several boxes of unpacked items to the stall as samples, tagging them with prices for sale.

The four agreed to watch the stall in pairs, taking turns, and decided the teams by drawing lots.

The first group was Si Si and Sesame Paste.

To pass the time when there were no customers, Si Si bought a popular local book from the market and began flipping through it.

Curious at first, Sesame Paste observed the passersby, but soon realizing that all of them were Weylent people, she got bored and picked up a book from the crate containing used books, mimicking Si Si.

Coincidentally, the book she picked up was "Awakener Bol," the very book Ah Wei had been longing for.

Initially, she just casually flipped through a couple of chapters, but soon, the dramatic plot caught her attention, and she found herself utterly engrossed.

As time slipped by, Si Si managed to make two sales without Sesame Paste noticing, selling 100 tons of herring cans at 6300 silver coins per ton and 80 tons of potato liquor at 11221 silver coins per ton.

In West Sail Port, the retail market price was about double the wholesale price. For example, herring cans with a wholesale price of 6.3 silver coins per kilogram were ultimately sold at a retail price of 12-15 dinars per box (200g) on the shelf.

Actually, with a little calculation, considering the smallest retail price of 12 dinars, the "wholesale price" for 200 grams would be approximately 6 dinars, which is about 30 dinars per kilogram, nearly five times the actual wholesale price of 6.3 silver coins per kilogram.

Moreover, the highest exchange rate between silver coins and dinars was also around 1:5.

However, when it came to liquor, the calculated ratio often exceeded this figure.

Intrigued by this phenomenon, Si Si noted it down in his notebook to include as an observation in his travel post offline later.

Seeing Si Si working diligently, Sesame Paste, who had been slacking off for an hour, felt a bit ashamed. She quietly closed the novel spread on her lap, deciding to get serious about work as well.

She couldn't always leave all the work to Si Si alone, at least... she had to sell one item before the sun set!

Just as she was thinking this, a customer happened to stroll up to her stall.

The person was thin and wore simple clothes, not a Weilante Person; nor did he seem like a local, but rather, resemble a pastor from the Silver Moon Bay Silver Moon Sect.

Sesame Paste was very familiar with such people, even to the point where she could recognize them from a crowd at a glance.

After all, every time she didn't wear a hat to cover her cat ears, these people would pounce on her with a fervent expression to worship her.

She saw the man glance at the books on her knee and then at the basket of old books beside her, stroking his chin curiously.

"Are these books for sale?"

Hearing someone interested in these books, Sesame Paste's face immediately brightened with a smile, her voice sounding pleasantly.

"Of course, are you interested, sir?"

The man nodded honestly.

"How much?"

Sesame Paste eagerly responded,

"We sell them by the ton, about two to three thousand books per ton, for just 2000 silver coins!"

However, what she didn't expect was for the man to shake his head and murmur in a low voice after hearing her,

"That's too cheap, how can something as precious as books be sold cheaper than sardine cans?"

But these are old books…

Seeing the customer shaking his head and stomping, Sesame Paste made a helpless gesture, tentatively saying,

"So... 2500?"

Before she even finished speaking, the customer had already pulled out some bills from his simple robe.

"Just 2000 silver coins will do. Let's not haggle, give me a ton."

Although, in principle, she had a five-ton minimum, considering he was the first customer, Sesame Paste still made an exception, took the money, and gave him a delivery voucher.

"Take this ticket to the Meat Meat ship for your pickup... uh, may I ask, sir, what do you plan to do with these books?"

The man didn't conceal his intentions, saying devoutly,

"I am a servant of the Silver Moon Goddess, here to spread the gospel of the Silver Moon Goddess on this barren land. Unfortunately, the local survivors are too ignorant, their wisdom undeveloped. I plan to start by teaching them to read."

Sesame Paste looked at him surprised, her right hand instinctively tightening around the hat on her head.

She thought, the Moon Clan had just been purged by the Emperor of West Winds, is it really okay for the Silver Moon Sect to preach here?

It was hard to say whether there was any connection between the two, especially since Silver Moon Bay and Poluo Province were so close, and many things were unclear.

But she quickly thought again, this area was ruled by the Weilante People, the Emperor probably couldn't reach here.

"Well, good luck then...Oh, by the way, besides old books, running a newspaper is also a good way to improve literacy rates." Halfway through, she suddenly remembered something, so she kindly reminded him.

"...A newspaper?"

The man muttered to himself, his eyes gradually lighting up, "Hmm… that's indeed a good idea, it might be worth trying, but what content should we put on the paper?"

"Serializing some popular stories might be a good start, like… how about this one?"

Saying that, Sesame Paste handed him the book "Awakener Bol," eagerly recommending,

"I remember the 'Survivor's Daily' in Giant Stone City first became popular because they serialized novels in their zine! Once people share a common language and topics, they don't even need urging. They will actively learn and even participate in the creation themselves."

She remembered that the earlier issues of the newspaper featured fanfiction relocated by players, but later, popular stories were those created by residents of Giant Stone City themselves.

Looking at the book being stuffed into his hands by the girl, the pastor's face showed a surprised and flattered expression.

"Oh, isn't this too kind? Are you sure I can take this? Shouldn't I pay... how much?"

As he spoke, he hurriedly tucked the book under his arm and started searching his pockets.

Watching him frantically looking for money, Sesame Paste couldn't help but smile wryly, waving her hand,

"No need. Consider it a free gift with the ton of old books. If your newspaper makes a good profit, please send some royalties to Mr. Spielberg in Giant Stone City. His writing might be rough, but it's heartfelt."

"Rest assured! By the way, my name is… Melgio. May I ask your name?"

"You can call me Sesame Paste." That was actually her cat's name, which she later used as a nickname.

Just then, Melgio suddenly noticed the cat ears peeking from the edge of her hat.

Initially thinking it was an illusion, when he heard the name Sesame Paste, he vaguely remembered the rumors heard in Silver Moon Bay, his expression gradually changing from bewilderment to fervor.

Noticing the shift in his expression, Sesame Paste frowned, quickly pulling at the edge of her hat to tuck her ears back in.

But clearly, it was too late.

The man's face shone with immense devotion as he bowed deeply, unconcerned by others around.

"Most honored… I'm sorry, please rest assured, I will definitely not fail your expectations! Let the light of the Silver Moon cover this barren land!"

Watching his excessively enthusiastic display, along with Si Si who stood gaping beside, Sesame Paste didn't know whether to cry or laugh, trying to explain.

"Don't be like this, and you've misunderstood, I'm really not an incarnation of the Silver Moon Goddess... I'm just an ordinary player—ah, how can I make you believe?"

"You're right, whatever you say is what it is," Melgio said earnestly, his face embodying solemn secrecy.

Just like when he was in the Silver Moon Bay.

These "cat lovers" never listened to her.

While it was initially amusing, anyone would eventually find it overwhelming.

Sesame Paste sighed, resting her forehead on her knees, muttering softly,

"Oh well, good luck."

The tone was filled with resignation out of helplessness, but to Melgio, it meant something entirely different.

As if he had received a divine mission, Melgio stared at her as she sat behind the stall, solemnly swearing.

"Order received!"

Chapter 759: Area 721

Compared to most human-filled settlements on the Wasteland, Area 721 resembled a true Survivor Settlement more closely.

And those living here were more like real survivors as well.

That's not to say they were impoverished.

Though their patchwork cold-weather gear looked somewhat outdated, this was greatly preferable to the dwellers of Poluo Province, who could hardly muster two articles of clothing per family. The locals never had to eat dirt; even in the hardest times, they had nutrient paste to fill their bellies, and during less challenging times, they could acquire bread and sausages.

In fact, the researcher scrolling through papers on the train wasn't lying—the Science Committee had met the locals' needs for all essential nutrition and life-sustaining necessities.

For example, well-built concrete houses, fuels for heating and lighting, and schools as beautiful as churches, among others.

The right to education was fundamentally safeguarded. The local survivors only had to complete the Science Committee's production tasks, which weren't too demanding, in order to secure food and warmth, but their lives weren't too comfortable either.

The hardships that the locals had to endure mostly stemmed from the climate itself, a factor for which there seemed little reason to complain, as the Wandering Swamp wasn't a hospitable place even before the war.

The only possible complaint was about the stark inequality in treatment, as a researcher could enjoy resources that exceeded the total consumption of 1000 ordinary survivors combined.

And this was just personal living standards, not counting professional expenses. If the costs for the laboratories were included, they would be incalculable.

But this, too, seemed hardly worth complaining about.

After all, the opportunity to change one's fate wasn't completely nonexistent. In fact, one had as many as eight chances in a lifetime.

Starting from the age of 12, one could take the test to select apprentices, and keep trying until the age of 20.

Once one became an apprentice, they would no longer be under the jurisdiction of the Science Committee but could become a member of the Academy. This meant not just personal honor; the whole settlement would benefit—the Science Committee not only rewarded the families who raised "future researchers" but also rewarded the whole settlement.

Thus, for those remaining in that harsh land, what seemed complaint-worthy was perhaps only their own lack of effort during their youth, placing all hopes on the next generation.

And for those families that had produced an apprentice, they became the most "sought-after stars" in the entire settlement, enjoying the care of the settlement's administrators to various extents.

For instance, due to his status as Jiang Xuezhou's father, he was appointed as the head of the drilling team, no longer needing to work in the mines, while his mother was transferred from the workshop to the relatively relaxed auditing office.

Not just that.

Their house was the sturdiest two-story building in all of Area 721, situated in the central area of the settlement, in the same block as the technicians and administrators sent by the Science Committee.

This street not only had 24-hour access to heating, gas, electricity, and direct drinking water but was also equipped with basic home appliances and furniture.

Despite these special considerations, the work that needed to be done still had to be completed.

Li Xiang and Wu Xiaoxiao, who lived on the same street, also appeared to share a special relationship.

Though the story of Game hadn't finished yet, it was time to say goodbye.

With a reluctant expression on his face, Li Xiang arranged the next meeting with Game, then the group separated at the crossroads.

When Jiang Xuezhou brought Game back home, it was precisely five in the afternoon. Her parents were still at work, and the only one at home was a little girl about six or seven years old.

With two pigtails and a lively look that resembled a mini-version of Jiang Xuezhou.

On spotting her sister at the door, the little girl's expression changed from one of caution to surprise and then joy as she flung herself forward.

"Sis?! You're back?"

"Eh! Sister's back... Yuehan has grown taller! Sister hug, hehe, such a good girl."

He hugged his little sister who pounced on him, Jiang Xuezhou affectionately stroked her head, his face bearing an unusually gentle smile.

Following her, the suitcase consciously passed through the entryway and dashed into the house, the wheels rumbling towards her room, soon after, a clanging and banging echoed from there.

Night Ten couldn't help but wonder if the thing also had an automatic luggage unpacking feature, like the deployment function of a base car in "Red Alert", but he was too embarrassed to follow into the room and check.

Even though he had never been in a relationship, he knew very well that entering a girl's room uninvited was impolite.

Even if it were his sister Jiujiu, who freeloaded at his house, she would unceremoniously throw him, the host, out.

As Night Ten intently watched the door at the end of the hallway, the little girl hanging on Jiang Xuezhou's neck was also intently sizing up this unfamiliar man.

Letting go of his sister, Jiang Xuezhou stood up and turned to Night Ten, introducing them to each other.

"This guy is Night Ten, my sister's friend. Well, his name is a bit odd, you can just call him brother… This is my sister, Jiang Yuehan. My parents aren't home yet, why don't you sit in the living room for now, I'll go tidy up."

After speaking, Jiang Xuezhou crossed the living room to the end of the hallway, leaving the two standing at the entrance.

Night Ten gave the little girl a friendly smile, then he walked past her into the living room and sat cautiously on the sofa, wanting to turn on the TV but realizing there was no such thing here, so he picked up a cup from the table and poured himself some water.

However, to his surprise, the little girl, who was unexpectedly bold, sat opposite him and stared straight into his eyes, suddenly blurting out.

"Brother, are you my sister's boyfriend?"

Night Ten, who was drinking water, almost choked, and quickly explained while coughing.

"No."

As he spoke, he glanced at the door to make sure someone wasn't coming back suddenly.

Though he didn't know why he felt guilty.

"What..."

The little girl sighed, murmuring in a cunning tone, "My sister said she would bring her boyfriend home next time she visits, she lied again."

"... Haha." Night Ten laughed awkwardly.

The little girl still fixed her gaze on him, suddenly asking in a tender voice.

"Then brother… when you're not busy, could you bring my sister home more often?"

Seeing the loneliness in those eyes, Night Ten fell silent for a while then gently nodded.

"Mhm."

He could actually understand why Jiang Xuezhou hardly came home; after all, even with a mentor's protection, the survival rate at Class D wasn't very high.

And her promotion to Class D was just last year; before that she was Class E.

She probably just didn't want them to be too sad if they lost her, which is why she deliberately distanced herself. Although she often sounded harsh, she actually cared a lot about others' feelings.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so upset back when he lay half-dead in bed.

At that moment, Night Ten suddenly realized he might have unexpectedly discovered a side of her that she rarely showed.

But soon, he shook his head, dismissing the strange thought from his mind.

"Why bother knowing so much about NPCs..."

The little girl sitting on the opposite sofa cocked her head, not understanding why he was shaking his head, but she didn't ask further; instead, she picked up the book she hadn't finished and continued reading.

Waiting felt terribly long. It wasn't until about an hour later that footsteps finally sounded in the hall adjacent to the living room.

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou return, Night Ten sighed with relief and mumbled towards the direction of the hallway,

"What took you so long?"

Standing by the hallway, Jiang Xuezhou had changed into casual home clothes and had an apron tied around her, with a ring of fine sweat beads on her forehead.

Looking at this person who spoke as if pains and aches were alien to her, she couldn't help rolling her eyes.

"What do you think? I was worried you'd be hungry after your journey… so I made some food."

"Let's eat!"

Hearing that her sister had prepared food, the little girl on the sofa's eyes lit up. She immediately dropped the dizzyingly boring book and darted past Jiang Xuezhou like a little rabbit, squeezing into the small room next to the kitchen.

A simple dining table was set there, where the family ate together.

Night Ten gaped at Jiang Xuezhou as if she were some exotic creature.

"You can cook?"

Jiang Xuezhou chuckled softly, flicked the hair behind her ear with her forefinger, and proudly lifted her nose.

"Are you joking? I've been living on my own since I was 12. I can certainly handle cooking food."

Night Ten nearly gave her a thumbs-up, but upon hearing her mention just "cooking food," he suddenly had a bad feeling.

As he had suspected, what was laid on the table was merely a bowl of baked baby potatoes and a pot of chicken legs that seemed to have been cooked in an air fryer.

The chicken legs were coated in a deep reddish marinade resembling Orleans sauce but still smelled strongly of chicken.

Night Ten involuntarily swallowed and was momentarily lost for words.

"Weren't these blanched?"

Sure, it wasn't necessary to blanch chicken before cooking, but you shouldn't leave in the gamey taste, right?

However, the little girl was not picky at all; she had already grabbed a chicken leg and was happily gnawing on it.

Jiang Xuezhou, not pleased with the expression on Night Ten's face, lightly furrowed her delicate nose and placed her hand on her hip.

"Is there a problem?"

The nerve of him, lacking in gratitude when a dignified Class D researcher like her had personally cooked!

Her respected mentor had never even tasted her cooking!

Night Ten quickly shook his head, squeezing out a smile and elegantly sat down.

"It's fine… really good."

After all, it was a labor of love.

Moreover, given the scarcity of resources in the Wandering Swamp, even the ingredients bought with G points were cheap, but wasting food was still shameful.

Not detecting the perfunctory tone in his praise, Jiang Xuezhou's lips curled into a delighted smile as she turned around energetically.

"You and Yuehan start eating. Mom and Dad will be home soon; I'll cook some for them too."

Upon hearing this, Night Ten, who barely warmed his seat, sprang up as if electrified,

"Wait, let me do it…"

"You can cook?" Jiang Xuezhou stopped in her tracks, turning back to look at him doubtfully.

Night Ten bashfully smiled.

"A little… Truth be told, I've also been away from home for more than three years."

It wasn't that he wanted to show off; he just couldn't bear to see food wasted.

Jiang Xuezhou didn't think much of it and nodded blankly, but still cautioned,

"Alright… but make sure to ask me if there's anything you don't know."

Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Night Ten asked straightforwardly, "Do you have cooking wine?"

Jiang Xuezhou: "What is that?"

"…How about beer? Things like scallions, ginger, garlic, you must have those?"

"Ah, we do have those… are you looking to drink?"

"Who told you I'm going to drink? Just bring them over and stand aside and watch."

Saying this, Night Ten also picked up the bowl of baked potatoes from the table and gave Jiang Yuehan an amicable smile, speaking to her in the tone one uses to cajole a child.

"I'm going to borrow this for a bit, I'll give it back soon."

The chicken might be beyond saving, but there was still hope for the potatoes.

"Sure!"

The little girl nodded obediently and watched as the two went into the kitchen.

Gazing at the lively atmosphere in the kitchen, she didn't feel like eating her chicken leg anymore, resting her chin in her hands and swaying her legs, her eyes gleaming with light as her mind wandered.

On the other hand, Night Ten was getting acquainted with the cooking tools in the kitchen under Jiang Xuezhou's guidance.

There wasn't a stir-fry pan, only a soup pot, but for someone who often made lazy meals, any pot would do.

To avoid washing an extra bowl, he could even use a rice cooker to fry dishes, let alone a soup pot.

"Ah, ah, ah... why on Earth are you pouring beer over the duck legs! Won't that taste weird?" Watching Game pour beer into the pot, Jiang Xuezhou hurriedly tried to stop him, but couldn't budge his arm at all.

She almost forgot, most of the parts on this guy were made by himself.

Tossing the can aside, Game looked at Jiang Xuezhou's tearfully desperate face and couldn't help but chuckle.

"What do you know? This is beer-braised duck! Always making a big deal out of nothing..."

Jiang Xuezhou was stunned.

"Beer... braised duck? What is that... oh no! Yuehan can't drink alcohol!"

"Pfft... the duck is stewed, do you think the alcohol will remain?"

"Oh right, alcohol evaporates easily… I almost forgot." Realizing she asked a silly question, Jiang Xuezhou blushed and nodded, but when she saw him pouring potatoes into a bowl and mashing them, she blankly asked, "Now what are you doing?"

Game casually said,

"Mashed potatoes, kids love this stuff... Got any milk, butter, and black pepper?"

This stuff had quite a history in the Alliance as well; the guy from Scrambled Eggs spent a lot of effort perfecting this dish.

Jiang Xuezhou quickly nodded.

"I've got some; I bought them when I came… they should be in my room now."

As Game pressed the now softened potatoes, he said without turning his head,

"Why did you put them in your room? Hurry up and bring them to me! And the soy sauce in my suitcase, the black bottle."

"Okay, okay!"

Jiang Xuezhou blushed and nodded again, hastily running out of the kitchen. Suddenly remembering the apron still on her, she doubled back to tie it on him.

Initially, when this guy said he was going to make dinner, she planned to give some pointers, but it ended up being her who was the novice, running errands.

About 40 minutes later, it was completely dark outside and the time had come to 7 PM. Jiang Xuezhou's parents almost timed it perfectly as they arrived home.

Hearing the clanging noises from the kitchen, the older couple thought Yuehan was cooking and hurriedly switched shoes and barged in, only to see Yuehan sitting at the dining table with two dishes that were alien to them laid out.

The enticing aroma wafted into their nostrils.

Father Jiang's nose twitched involuntarily, while Mother Jiang instinctively looked towards the kitchen, then widened her eyes.

With corners of her mouth covered in mashed potatoes, Yuehan giggled with a melodious voice, saying,

"Dad, Mom, big sister brought a man home!"

"What are you talking about nonsense!"

Jiang Xuezhou angrily covered her mouth and hastily glanced back.

At the kitchen doorway, Game was coming out holding a pot of beer-braised duck. Seeing the elderly couple, he smiled and said,

"Hello Uncle, Auntie!"

"Hello hello…"

Father Jiang politely responded, then gave him a quick up and down look and hesitantly asked, "May I ask who you are?"

Game was just about to say he was from Wasteland but Jiang Xuezhou cut in first,

"He's called Game! He's from the Alliance side... It's complicated to explain, but he's somewhat like a diplomat. Let's talk over dinner!"

"Oh, from the External Affairs Department, huh? Please, have a seat, young man… Why let a guest cook? We could have just waited for us to come home and cook."

Father Jiang lightly reproached Jiang Xuezhou, though his tone wasn't harsh; Mother Jiang did the same, looking fondly at their daughter and playfully fiddled with her sweat-dampened bangs.

"Really, child, why didn't you say anything in advance? Mom could have taken a leave."

Jiang Xuezhou, smiling brightly, clung to her mother's arm and cooed,

"I wanted to surprise you! By the way, where's big brother?"

Father Jiang said with a smile,

"Your big brother is already married; he moved from Area 721 to Area 702 at the end of last year and is now a shop foreman. I'll call him back tomorrow!"

The family sat at the dining table, blissfully enjoying dinner.

At first, Game was somewhat reserved, but thanks to the warm hospitality of Jiang Xuezhou's family, he quickly felt at ease.

Of course, part of this was also thanks to his superb culinary skills.

Sitting at the table, Yuehan kept stuffing potatoes into her mouth, her eyes twinkling like little stars, nearly writing the word "delicious" on her face.

"... didn't expect your cooking to be pretty good," Jiang Xuezhou poked his arm and muttered softly.

Elated by the compliment, Game almost wanted to lift his nose up to the ceiling.

"That's a given; too bad there's no chili sauce and rice here, or else I'd whip up my best fried rice for you."

Using bread to eat beer-braised duck was a bit odd, but still more normal than tomato sauce roasted chicken legs.

"Heh... never saw you cook for me back in the Alliance," Jiang Xuezhou pouted slightly, watching Game's smug face.

Game, with a mischievous grin, replied,

"You never asked me to."

"You…"

Jiang Xuezhou clenched her teeth, tempted to bite his arm, but considering they were at the dinner table, she held back.

Besides, this guy's bones were made of titanium alloy; she also worried about chipping a tooth.

Midway through dinner,

A slightly tipsy Father Jiang pulled Game aside for a drink and said earnestly while holding his hand,

"Little Jiang here… she's a bit impatient sometimes, but she's really caring. We can't help much with her matters, so please take care of her when she's outside."

Hearing this sudden remark, Jiang Xuezhou nearly choked on her food and frantically coughed,

"What are you talking about, Dad!"

Her father ignored her protests and didn't retract his words, just gazed intently at Game sitting across, waiting for the young man's response.

"Her cheeks are red!" Jiang Yuehan's brother laughed, his lively eyes darting around.

Faced with their father's pleading gaze, Night Ten laughed heartily and accepted the task immediately.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your daughter!"

After all, he was a top-tier player across the entire server, protecting an NPC was more than manageable for him.

Jiang Xuezhou's face turned red instantly, and with a soft snort, he fell silent.

Father Jiang's face broke into a smile, visibly relieved.

"With that promise, I'm reassured!"

...

That night, Night Ten stayed at Jiang Xuezhou's house, taking the guest room on the second floor.

Jiang Xuezhou took a week of home leave, and he planned to spend it near Area 721, getting to know the local lifestyle and investigating the Science Committee.

Ice Sea City was a special district, and understanding the Academy and Science Committee through it was too difficult.

Worth mentioning was, since Area 721 did not belong to the special district, there was no save point or inn specifically for players to save their progress or rest, so he could only stay overnight at an NPC's home.

Plainly speaking, there were no commercial teams coming here either.

The reason dinner was so sumptuous was thanks to the ingredients Jiang Xuezhou had exchanged with G points.

If Xiao Jiang didn't send some items back home, his family probably wouldn't have such lavish dinners regularly.

At least on his way here, Night Ten had not seen any shops or the like.

Night Ten suddenly thought, if only he could open up the market of the Science Committee.

Buried underground here were abundant undeveloped resources, from oil and natural gas to metal ores.

The people of the Prosperity Epoch seemed to have considered the potential for future decline and left a large amount of unexploited resources in the tundra, mountains, and seabed.

In other words, this land actually had developmental value, otherwise, the Academy wouldn't have chosen to settle here.

However, Night Ten only thought about it and then realized the difficulty of this task.

His instincts told him, prying this market open might be even more challenging than prying open the market of West Winds Empire...

Taking off his helmet, Ye Wei sat on the sofa in the living room, staring somewhat distraught at the large screen TV.

The sky outside was already brightening, and in reality, it was morning. Every time he logged off, it took some time to adjust to the real world.

It's hard to tell... really hard to tell.

Could this be the legendary "internet addiction"?

No wonder they don't allow minors to play.

Not long after he took off his helmet, Jiujiu yawned and walked out of the room.

This guy had already slept for most of the day and still looked sleepy, and who knew what he had been doing in the game.

Looking at his older brother sitting on the sofa, Jiujiu blinked and waved his hand in front of him.

"What's up, bro? Hey? Time to snap back to reality."

Remembering the dinner he had just eaten with Jiang Xuezhou's family, Ye Wei shook his drowsy head and put the helmet aside, suddenly reflecting aloud.

"It's nothing, just that... this game is a bit too realistic."

Jiujiu froze for a moment, then looked at him in astonishment, his mouth forming an 'O'.

"Wow! You really got together with that NPC?"

Ye Wei frowned.

"What the hell? What's that got to do with anything?"

Touching their fingertips together, Jiujiu blushed and whispered sheepishly.

"I heard you say 'realistic,' and, and I thought you guys did that... never mind, never mind! Ugh, boring."

"…?"

Watching Jiujiu run off in the blink of an eye, Ye Wei scratched his head confusedly.

What is this guy on about?

Throwing his helmet aside, he ordered some takeout, then started browsing the official website.

He just happened to come across Si Si's post and clicked on it to see that their cargo ship had already docked at West Sail Port.

Besides updating their impressions of West Sail Port, Si Si also posted local price information in the post.

According to her post, the local demand for strong liquor was extremely high. If they could transport potatoes from Potato Harbor to Jin Galun Harbor to be processed into liquor, sell it at West Sail Port, and then buy steel or cement to ship to the Federation, even with their eyes closed, they could make a large profit.

Especially since Weilante people enjoyed tax-free privileges locally, many Weilante merchants simply used this rule to reboard the liquor onto their ships and took it back to the Army's homeland.

In this way, the liquor ostensibly destined for West Winds Empire was ultimately dumped on the Army.

At the end of her post, she also listed the earnings from this trip.

What Night Ten envied was not their earnings, but their incredible pace; they had even managed to crack open the Weilante treasury.

Although they had only opened a small crack, and it could be sealed by the other party at any time, it was still a significant progress.

"They're all so capable, I should try hard too..." Muttering enviously to himself, Night Ten closed the post and leaned on the sofa, beginning to ponder deeply.

First off, the treasures of the Academy were definitely much more abundant than those of the Army, and it was exactly the knowledge that the Alliance needed most.

But then came the problem.

Players active over the Wandering Swamp numbered less than a hundred, far fewer than those in the south.

Thinking of this, he looked troubled on his face.

Never mind figuring out how to change the minds of those stubborn old folks, just luring those greenhorns to the Wandering Swamp would probably be challenging enough...

How should he swing this hoe?

Chapter 760: The Study Club in the Swamp and the Drastic Changes in the Southern Sea Area

Area 721 had neither a café nor a restaurant, but it did boast a library.

Not only that, the collection of books was quite substantial and the building itself was majestic, essentially the biggest "concrete house" in town.

Typically, in the morning, school-age students would be in class while the workers toiled away at the mines. Hence, the three "Academy people" who had returned home for a visit chose to meet here.

And there was Night Ten from the Alliance.

Jiang Xuezhou had planned to brew a round of coffee for everyone, but no sooner had he taken out the coffee pot than Wu Xiaoxiao took it from him.

"I'll do it," the girl said with a shy smile, light dimples gracing her cheeks.

Jiang Xuezhou didn't refuse, thanked her politely, and then pulled out a chair to sit at the table.

Soon, there were four cups of coffee on the table.

Seeing pairs of expectant eyes turning to him, Night Ten, who had just taken a sip of coffee, immediately understood the look and gave a light cough.

"Where did I leave off last time?"

Li Xiang asked with bright, eager eyes.

"The battle on Bet Street!"

"Oh..." Night Ten suddenly remembered, with old memories surfacing along with it.

But did that really count as a battle?

Still, since he was the one telling the story, Night Ten cleared his throat, entered the emotion of the moment, and continued.

Wu Xiaoxiao, still a Prospector, and the others listened with rapt attention.

However, just as he got to the beginning of the Alliance's industrial development, Li Xiang suddenly raised his hand, interrupting the tale.

"Hold on, there's something I don't understand... You just mentioned that the initial Residents of the Alliance were mostly Waste Land Wanderers and liberated Slaves who had no education at all, not even able to recognize letters. How did they develop industry?"

Wu Xiaoxiao also nodded in agreement.

"I heard that people on the Wasteland don't even know how to count..."

Night Ten nodded thoughtfully.

"That was indeed a challenge. Even our wise and mighty Manager found it difficult, but he didn't give up. On one hand, he called on the knowledgeable Residents of the refuge to devote themselves to construction on the front lines; on the other hand, he set up night schools in the industrial district to teach the liberated people the methods and skills of production. He even took on the role of a tutor himself."

Li Xiang furrowed his brow and asked.

"Night school... Is that a kind of school?"

Night Ten replied succinctly.

"You could say that, but unlike the schools on Bet Street, night school mainly helps adults learn to read and write. After all, workers have jobs during the day and can only study at night."

He was a combat professional player and, although he took part in construction at the beginning, eventually he spent more time fighting.

By contrast, the Alliance's life-skill players probably knew more about the situation at that time, as much of what he heard also came from the Forum.

"Work during the day, learn at night... They hardly have any time left in a day," Wu Xiaoxiao remarked while holding her warm cup of coffee.

"The learning is also for their own good. If a person wants to take it easy, they have to use more advanced production tools. If a group wants to take it easy, most need to use advanced tools. The Alliance as it is today couldn't emerge from simple pottery and machinery, though this was indispensable at the time."

After pausing, Night Ten continued.

"Besides, their hardships were only temporary. Later on, we returned the time that belonged to them, along with other things we borrowed."

Li Xiang asked with interest, "Like what?"

Night Ten thought for a moment and said, "Like power and responsibility. We're not going to hand-hold them on how to make products better. They have their own industry representatives and institutions. They need to set their own rules and define for themselves what 'good' is—not just for products, but also for lifestyles and more. After all, the version—ahem, I mean the world—is constantly updating. We're at the forefront of the world, such as liberating more people."

The eyes of the three shone brightly, captivated by the story he depicted.

Strictly speaking, this wasn't a story. After all, this had happened on the Wasteland and was still unfolding.

Although the flame's light itself wasn't surprising, what was surprising was that it arose from the ruins that once had nothing.

There, without the near-magical technology of the technical committee, the iron-fisted control of the Army, or the abundant resources of the Company, there were only the survivors themselves.

"If a miracle like this could also happen in the Wandering Swamp, that would be great. Although it's a harsh, cold place, it has so much more potential than the River Valley Province."

As the three looked on with aspiration, Night Ten cleared his throat gently.

"...But I must say, our way isn't the only way. What you're doing is pretty good too. The people here are already living better than most survivors on the Wasteland. You don't need to start from scratch like us—it'd be putting the cart before the horse."

Li Xiang looked at him sincerely and asked.

"So, what do you think we should do?"

"What do I know? I'm not one of you..." Night Ten said with a mix of laughter and helpless expression, scratching his head and offering an ambiguous answer, "Maybe... still aim to find a new homeland as a long-term goal, but at the same time, be a little nicer to those who can't make it to the new world?"

As Wu Xiaoxiao heard this, her gaze suddenly became fearful and she spoke in a lowered voice.

"That's a decision for the higher-ups like the doctors to make..."

"Then don't set such ambitious goals. Start with the small things around you. Be a bit nicer to the ordinary people nearby and use your knowledge to improve their living conditions. G points should be exchangeable for more than just food."

"Right," Jiang Xuezhou said with his expression clearing somewhat, nodding thoughtfully, "I could bring back some tools that the mine teams could use."

Night Ten spoke patiently.

"It's not just about tools, but also about key methods... Although it sounds a bit abstract, you have a much broader vision than the Residents of Area 721, and there should be many areas where you can help them."

Li Xiang rubbed his chin, pondering and muttering to himself.

"Are you talking about knowledge? But the Academy has a school, and the people here have been learning since birth, so they probably don't need us to do anything."

Jiang Xue Zhou shook his head.

"The Academy's school only teaches them what the Academy needs, but they seldom learn what they really need. We must teach them the latter as well, just like the Alliance's schools teaching them scientific methods and the logic of exploring the laws of objective reality... At least we can't let them become self-centered people like Su Qiming."

Night Ten: "Su Qiming?"

Li Xiang said with a smile.

"Ah, that's the one who had a verbal dispute with you on the train, an E-level Researcher, a refined egoist."

When he said the latter half of the sentence, his tone was mocking.

Night Ten suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Oh, oh... I had forgotten about that."

But can such mild wording really be considered a quarrel?

It seems that the folks at the Academy are indeed exceptionally petty...

Wu Xiaoxiao said with some hesitation.

"But we can't take up the children's time, they need to take exams."

Jiang Xue Zhou stroked his chin and nodded.

"I think so, too... So how about extra tutoring as extracurricular? We'll only teach children aged 12 to 14 and young adults from 18 to 20. The former are just old enough to be eligible for the exams, so the pressure isn't that great, and the latter's chances are pretty much slim to none. If we can influence more people, it might just spur the Science Committee to initiate a self-driven reform."

Li Xiang's eyes lit up.

"That's a great idea! I'm in favor!"

Seeing the two agree, Wu Xiaoxiao still hesitated, but did not argue any further.

With his proposal supported, the brightness in Jiang Xue Zhou's eyes increased. Clenching his fist on the table, he continued talking excitedly.

"We need to name this organization... How about calling it the Student Union?"

At first, Night Ten watched them discuss with amusement, but upon hearing this lousy name, he almost spat out his coffee and coughed twice.

"Let's call it the Study Club... sounds a bit nicer."

Because of playing this damn game, he had been deducted points for room inspection, although he didn't know what that was all about.

Jiang Xue Zhou and Li Xiang looked at each other, with no objections, and nodded.

"I think it's okay."

"I don't mind... Then we'll go with that name."

"I... agree too." Wu Xiaoxiao's eyes carried some worry, but ultimately, she didn't say more.

The Science Committee indeed had no restriction on Researchers organizing survivors' learning, but such a thing had never happened before.

Her story of the United Human sounded very attractive, she even felt a vague temptation to go and see it for herself.

However, while some stories sound good, when it comes to making changes, she doesn't know if it's the right thing to do.

After all.

Xue Zhou's elder sister was just a Class D Researcher.

Even though she was a prospective Research Department member, and her mentor was a great power close to becoming a Level A, compared to the entire Academy, this power was still too insignificant.

What's more, this kind of thing might not even get the support of her mentor.

The latter half of the meeting essentially turned into a discussion of the details of the Study Club, as well as how to attract more researchers to participate.

For this, they also discussed how to help age-appropriate students enter the Academy and use it to expand the Study Club's influence among the Academy's grassroots power.

Night Ten was originally planning to continue with the story he had just concocted, but seeing that both Jiang Xue Zhou and Li Xiang had lost interest in the latter part of the story, only Wu Xiaoxiao looked at him eagerly, waiting for the continuation.

Unnoticed, evening had arrived.

It wasn't until he returned home with Jiang Xue Zhou and stood in the entryway that Night Ten suddenly realized.

He had intended to undermine the Academy's foundation but ended up telling stories all day. As for the proper job, he completely forgot about it without making any progress.

"Damn it, what a trap!"

"wocao?" Jiang Yuehan, who was sneaking a peek from the side of the entryway, cocked her head.

"Children shouldn't learn that." Night Ten quickly went to cover her mouth but was caught by Jiang Xue Zhou.

"What are you trying to do to my sister?"

"It's not—what I—" Faced with that murderous gaze, Night Ten made a constipated facial expression, and after hemming and hawing for a long time, couldn't explain himself.

The little figure hiding behind the shoe cabinet laughed stealthily, even making a cheeky face.

"Giggle, wocao!"

Night Ten: "...@#%!"

...

While Night Ten was getting his head knocked around by Jiang Xuezhou and seeking refuge in the kitchen, a similar scene of merriment and liveliness was unfolding aboard the Meat Meat docked at West Sail Port.

West Sail Port's dock.

In the treasury of Meat Meat, a human and a bear were rolling around in a pile of gold coins.

Lying spread-eagled on the gold coin-covered floor, tail sat in a backstroke swimming position, eyes closed, talking in his sleep.

"Ohhh, Meat Meat, did you know! When I was little, I always dreamed of swimming in a coin pool in a treasury like Uncle Scrooge!"

"What's Uncle Scrooge?"

"Yikes, yikes, yikes, haven't you watched Donald Duck?"

"… Pff, our treasury still has some catching up to do compared to that guy's, doesn't it?"

"It's not important! It's the feeling that counts!"

Completely unable to keep up with their conversation, Sesame Paste stood to the side with an aunt-like smile adorning his face, while Si Si painstakingly tallied the accounts at a desk.

A total of six hundred fifty tons of goods had been completely sold out, bringing in a sales revenue of 4.9 million silver coins.

After deducting the cost of goods, labor expenses, and other shipping costs and taxes, the profit from this trading run had reached an astonishing 2 million silver coins!

Some of the payment was made through the Sticky Community's electronic money settlement system, while some were paid directly using dinars at an exchange rate of 1:5.

Considering the exchange rate difference, the actual profit from this deal was probably even higher.

After all, the general exchange rate between dinars and silver coins within the Army's main trading zones is around 1:3.

At this moment, the earned gold coins had been laid out on the floor by Ah Wei and Meat Meat, to experience the coin bath that was hard to come by in real life.

"… When I grow old someday, I'll convert all my money into gold coins and hide them on a small island!" Tail, tired from playing, suddenly let out a long sigh and reached up towards the ceiling.

"Could you sneakily tell me where you plan to hide them?" Meat Meat's ears perked up as she asked.

Tail chuckled and climbed up from the mound of gold coins, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Wow! Meat Meat also wants Black Tail's treasure? Go search for it then, it's at the end of Star Sea! Go for it, all the wealth of the world is there!"

This joke was too old; Meat Meat rolled her eyes, not joining in the silliness.

Actually, she was a person easily satisfied with little; she wasn't particularly desirous of money but enjoyed the process of adventuring with her companions more than that of making money.

In contrast, Si Si might enjoy the fun of making money since she was always so serious.

However, what Meat Meat was curious about was why Si Si would share such a lucrative deal on the forum.

The furry bear paw picked up a gold coin, and she looked toward Si Si, who stretched and leaned back in her chair, and asked curiously.

"So why post such a money making route on the official website? Isn't quiet wealth better?"

At that, Si Si couldn't help but smile, casually saying,

"Making a small fortune through information asymmetry is fine, but it's somewhat difficult to make a big fortune that way."

"Huh?" Meat Meat tilted her head, puzzled.

Seeing her confused expression, Si Si pondered for a moment and continued,

"It's like Baiyue Corporation going public. It's feasible to keep all the shares to oneself, and with Baiyue Corporation's current scale, there's indeed no need to share profits with others. It's sufficient to guard the existing cake. However, if we want to go further beyond this, we need the support of more people. Not just our customers' support, but also the support of most of the Alliance residents… and the fastest way to gain their support is to make them our shareholders."

NPCs in the Alliance may not have GM powers like the Managers to ban accounts, but they do hold some authority.

For example, they can truly participate in legislative work through representative meetings, or participate in the selection of local and Alliance institutional staff, in other words, they are worth courting.

It's not about bribing or anything.

But if a part of Baiyue Corporation's profits went to those NPCs, and not just shared among players, it would be safer for Baiyue Corporation.

Even those NPCs would consider Baiyue Corporation's interests a bit more when it wouldn't touch upon their principles, rather than contradicting on some issues.

It's always a dangerous thing when an institution amasses great wealth but is stingy about sharing it with the majority who created that wealth, no matter when it is.

Moreover, the capital raised by going public can accelerate Baiyue Corporation's overseas business expansion.

The Baiyue Strait houses a vast virgin forest, and just relying on the savings and current limited profits of the players is far from sufficient.

They need to utilize the savings of Alliance residents that aren't immediately needed and might even need to leverage the power of Ideal City to employ the huge inheritance left by the Prosperity Epoch.

The Managers have already paved the way for them, including the earliest currency exchange agreements, as well as the current Sticky Community electronic payment and settlement systems, and so on.

"So… opening new shipping routes is also a way to make the pie bigger?" Trying to understand the intricate mystery, Sesame Paste asked thoughtfully.

"That's right."

Si Si nodded in approval, continuing,

"It's hard to make this pie bigger just by ourselves, even if we buy a few more ships and make more trips. It's better to get other players interested in navigation to join in, leveraging their power to grow the entire market… Moreover, even if it wasn't for us, they would eventually discover it themselves; we're just accelerating the process."

Despite West Sail Port's large population, it's still within the territory of the Weilante People, making it much more special than Jinjaron Harbor.

Under the iron-fisted rule of the Weilante People, the locals lack not only political power but even freedom to eat, being nothing more than slaves to the Weilante colonizers. Even if they wanted to earn the locals' money, they needed to let the locals get rich first.

Selling goods to livestock is meaningless.

Currently, there's only one route from the Eastern World to the Western World, but things will change once other Alliance players arrive here.

Once players become active locally, they could even expand the White Bear Knights' bank branch here to help those aspiring entrepreneurs with financial issues and provide shovels to those who want to try their luck.

This trade would be far more profitable than just merchandising.

Tail nodded seriously and said with an air of assurance, "That's right, Meat Meat, we have to think long-term! That's how we can afford to buy a ship that's five light-years away!"

Meat Meat couldn't help but retort, "That's just a pipe dream drawn up by the planners, isn't it?"

Tail lifted the corners of her mouth smugly, "Naïve Meat Meat, how do you know it's not real? After all, nobody has ever been there to see it."

"Is it called Gaia Planet... I really want to know what it's like there," Sesame Paste said yearningly as she gazed out the window at the vast ocean.

Tail: "Oh! It's Xiaoyu's hometown! There must be lots of weird tentacles!"

"Ahaha..." Sesame Paste laughed somewhat forcefully.

Perhaps not.

While Xiaoyu is quite cute, if it's anything like the center of Qingquan City, it might be somewhat mentally polluting...

...

The Meat Meat, bound for West Sail Port, was just a cargo ship as ordinary as they come.

At this moment, neither the few individuals horsing around in the treasury nor the drunken sailors realized that, without their knowledge, they had planted a seed on this land that hadn't been seen for two hundred years.

The dockworkers looked on with envy at the sailors, or rather, at the bottles of alcohol in their hands.

It came from the continent's eastern imports, costing hundreds or thousands of West Winds dollars each, perhaps more expensive than what those working at the port earned themselves.

Clearly, some of those sailors were from Poluo Province as well. They couldn't understand why they, who could endure just as well, or even less than them, had such vastly different treatments.

So, it really was those detestable Moon people who had stolen from their pockets...

At the port area's Silver Moon Church, Melgio locked himself in the attic, contemplating the name for a new newspaper. His gaze landed on the crescent moon outside the window, sparking an idea. He wrote 'Silver Moon Gospel News' on the paper, a name quite filled with religious undertones.

After all, this newspaper was also meant to spread the faith of the Silver Moon Sect.

However, out of consideration for the local people's sentiments, he thought it over and removed the word "moon" to make it 'Silver Gospel Report.'

While it seems somewhat inappropriate to serialize entertainment fiction in a newspaper heavily colored by religion, that book was, after all, handed to him by the incarnation of the Silver Moon Goddess walking in the mortal world, so it was not entirely unrelated.

The Silver Moon Sect, compared to the Spirit of the Sand Sea, was already a secularized reform of the faith. They were not so rigid in doctrine and were open-minded towards new things.

Moreover, after carefully reviewing the old books salvaged from the Meat Meat, he realized that the story of Awakener Bol might resonate most easily with the locals and was more suited for the illiterate to pass on by word of mouth.

While the wind that blew toward the Wasteland grew stronger, the situation in the southern sea area, after a long period of silence, finally saw some new changes.

Shazhou Island, which had leaned towards the North Federation under the pressure of the Sea Edge Battleship, sparked rebellion as the trigger for the newly signed "Foreign Garrison Act" by the new Cabinet.

The island's security forces promptly mobilized, first suppressing the local garrison, then taking over the Governor's Mansion, declaring Charles's new cabinet as an "illegal institution," and announcing the secession of Shazhou Island from the North Federation under the guise of defending the declaration.

Strange as it may sound, there are only 70,000 residents on Shazhou Island.

All the soldiers on the island put together amounted to less than one company, whereas the lads at the security bureau actually formed a battalion.

Furthermore, Charles's governance stability was solely maintained by that battleship, the legality of which was already questionable. Those soldiers couldn't muster much will to resist, fired a few shots, then tied up their commanders, leading to this bizarre rebellion concluding without a drop of bloodshed.

The riled-up youngsters were also bewildered; while they were disgruntled with Charles and looked down on his puppets, they truly hadn't considered what to do after they ousted him.

What's even more bizarre is, upon their seizing the Governor's Mansion, the sitting governor simply took off his hat as if relieved, tossed it to them saying, "You've won," and resigned on the spot.

They had done something that pleased everyone, but no one knew what to do next...

However, one thing was certain, Charles surely wouldn't tolerate this betrayal, and the radicals standing behind him wouldn't either.

They needed the blood of traitors to deter others who were restless.

Not to mention, they had done it once before—

Ordering the Sea Edge Battleship to open fire on Anle Island.

The new authorities of Shazhou Island were acutely aware that Charles would definitely react, so they urgently sent a telegram of allegiance to the South Sea Federation.

Behind the South Sea Federation was the Alliance, and behind the Alliance was the Sticky Community. That big tree offered far more shade than the North Federation and wasn't laden with unreasonable demands.

Upon receiving the telegram from Shazhou Island, the South Sea Federation Authorities indeed took it seriously. Especially when they found out that one destroyer, escorting another cargo ship modified into a landing craft, had departed from North Island, they became even more alert.

It appeared to be bait; Charles wouldn't miss calculating their movement. That battleship might already be lying in ambush at some silent spot at sea.

But, it also couldn't be ruled out as an opportunity.

To be fully assured, Commander Li Minghui immediately ordered the fleet to deploy while also making an urgent call to Potato Harbor, hoping for reinforcements from the Alliance.

The governor appointed by the Manager in Potato Harbor did not hesitate, and immediately got into action after seeking instructions from the higher-ups.

Both sides had already engaged in substantial military friction and had no need to disguise anything anymore. Besides, the North Federation's collusion with the Torch Party feathers was already an open secret; it was merely a matter of not bursting that bubble.

That fellow crouching in the landing craft might well be a mutant controlled by the Torch!

This wasn't the first rodeo!

The two H-10 "Overlord" Transport planes stationed at the military base north of Potato Harbor urgently took to the skies, carrying two companies of the Burning Corps towards Shazhou Island.

At the same time, two L-10 "Thunder" swept-wing VTOL fighter jets also deployed.

Beneath their steel wings, fully loaded with ammunition, the pilots of the Goblin Corps were also ready.

Unseen waves surged under the calm sea's surface, brewing the roaring tides.

The great battle was on the verge of ignition!

Chapter 761: Fierce Battle on Shazhou Island!

Pale blue plumes sliced through the silent night sky as two colossal transport planes appeared above Shazhou Island.

This island was the second-largest natural island in the Southern sea area, known for its vast golden beaches. Approximately 400 square kilometers in size, it was home to 70,000 residents, about half the area of Singapore in the Real World yet with just over 1% of its population.

Unlike Ring Island's narrow and crowded artificial landmass, Shazhou Island bore some resemblance to North Island and Anle Island, still retaining an abundance of natural tropical landscapes.

Most of the island's residents lived on the higher terrain in the south, where modern buildings two or three stories high were tastefully scattered on either side of the circumferential highway.

Since there was no airport on the island, the Burning Corps could only land on the sea surrounding it.

The plasma plumes ejected from the engines skimmed the surface of the sea, causing the waves to give off wisps of white vapor as they sizzled.

The hatch of the cargo bay swung downward, revealing a landing craft made of steel that slid along the rails to the door of the cargo hold. Twelve exoskeleton-clad players stood ready on the craft, which was impressively armed with a 12mm caliber machine gun and a coaxial 60mm grenade launcher at the front.

The former was used mainly against light targets above the surface, while the latter was designed specifically for soft underwater targets like "frogmen."

The 60mm underwater grenades, fitted with pressure sensors and filled with metal hydrogen charge, would explode with extreme velocity near the target, relying on the shockwave to kill nearby targets.

This landing craft was primarily designed for amphibious assaults on North Island and Haiye Province, thus the 60mm grenade launcher could also fire standard fragmentation grenades for fire support against ground targets apart from underwater ones.

Although the chairman, CEO, and factory manager of Goblin Technology were addicted to peddling rubbish on the northern front, it was evident that Goblin Technology's main business had not been neglected.

As the target area drew closer, the players in the cockpit shouted over the communications channel.

"Target approaching, one minute—prepare!"

"Thirty seconds."

"Ten seconds!"

"Go!"

With a crisp "click," the ropes towing the landing craft were released, and the two Overlord Transport Aircraft simultaneously dropped the landing crafts hanging at the cargo bay doors.

Like dumplings being dropped into a pot, landing crafts quickly filled the tumultuous sea, the waters now dotted with twenty heavily armed speedboats.

The boats split into two groups, making their way toward the southern and northern shores of Shazhou Island.

Meanwhile, on the northern side of the island, Shazhou Island Soldiers who had been disarmed were digging beachhead positions with a group of guards in exoskeletons.

Half an hour earlier, they had received an early warning from Anle Island.

A destroyer and a landing ship were coming from the direction of North Island. From those guys' aggressive posture, it was clear they were not there to negotiate, and it was likely mutants sat on the landing ship.

Rumors said that in the southern part of Brocade River Province, being caught by mutants was no joking matter—with grisly fates awaiting both men and women.

And they were "consumed" in different manners.

So even though they had been on opposing sides not long ago, they now had to stand united for the sake of their friends, families, and themselves.

Watching the line of meticulously advancing landing crafts, a hint of panic surfaced in everyone's eyes, but soon someone noticed the signal lights flashing on the crafts.

"Alliance reinforcements!" A Soldier's face lit up with surprise.

The nearby guards shared the sentiment. After confirming the frequency of those signal lights, they all showed expressions of relief.

Ten landing crafts surged onto the beachhead. The exoskeleton-clad players jumped off one by one, with two Strength-type players staying behind to drag the stranded crafts ashore.

The steel plates on either side of the landing crafts were over 15mm thick; double layered, they made for 30mm, capable of stopping even some large-caliber machine gun rounds.

Together with the fixed weapons on the crafts – once the batteries were removed – they also served as excellent cover.

Additionally, the landing crafts were packed with ammunition supplies and foldable bags filled with sand and soil.

Fang Chang walked straight up to the assembled armed personnel and, after looking them over, gave a brief introduction.

"Fang Chang, Burning Corps. Who's in charge here?"

"I am."

A man in military exoskeleton stepped forward. Slung on his waist was a Federation-standard assault rifle, but the bulletproof vest inside his exoskeleton was a police model.

"Du Men, Director of the Shazhou Island Police Department, and now... ahem, commander of the army of the new Shazhou Island authorities."

Obviously new to the equipment, he had clearly not fully adapted to the military exoskeleton he wore.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Fang Chang couldn't help the twitch of his lips upon hearing "commander."

There were only about two hundred men standing there, and maybe four or five hundred in total. At best, they could make up half of the "thousand team" on the northern front, probably not even filling two caves.

Yet, it all depended on whom they were compared to.

This handful might struggle against a corporation's mountain battalion or an Army's thousand team, but if they were to confront the West Winds Empire's Expeditionary Army, they'd likely make the latter's Ten thousand troops flee without much trouble.

Of course, it would be a different story against the Grey Wolf Army or the two Military Factions on the outskirts of Jin Galun Harbor.

Aware of his own embarrassment, Du Men cleared his throat and willingly handed over the command.

"I'll be frank—we haven't had many chances to fight here. Drills are just a formality, and the navy primarily handles our defense... Commanding will likely fall to you veterans, so feel free to give us your orders for any needed cooperation."

"A wise choice." Fang Chang didn't waste time with pleasantries and directly tossed a tablet to him.

The tablet displayed an operations plan.

With the Alliance Staff Department anticipating two possible courses of action from Charles, they had prepared contingency plans accordingly.

Du Men's face was a picture of astonishment as he glanced over the tablet.

"Is this... an operations plan? Did you anticipate today's events?"

The tablet showed not only the map of Shazhou Island but also the positions and allocated troops in each area.

Clearly, the detailed work couldn't have been done in just two hours—it must have taken at least two or three days of preparation.

Fang Chang smiled faintly at his surprised ally and said, "Exactly."

"We are accustomed to rehearsing scenarios that haven't happened and then submitting contingency plans to the staff department, which are finally turned into draft action plans for Mr. Manager's signature. Once the situations we envisage occur, the action plans become effective immediately, and our troops will act at once while making routine reports, rather than waiting for a response from the Manager before planning the next step."

This is actually a fairly standard operation.

As for unexpected situations, such as the West Winds Empire losing soldiers, he would respond according to the relevant clauses in the Player's Handbook and Alliance Constitution, deciding for himself whether to retaliate and to what extent to cease fire.

Shazhou Island has been a powder keg ever since the split from the Federation, obvious to everyone except the residents themselves, and probably even the keyboard masters of Endpoint Cloud above Ideal City could see it.

They likely weren't the only ones who had prepared a defensive plan; Charles's side had surely considered the possibility of the Alliance taking action and made preparations for both eventualities.

Currently, two Thunder fighters are searching northwards, probing the enemy destroyers' firepower while also scouting for possible ambushes by the South Sea Union Navy.

Having reviewed the entire battle plan from start to finish, Du Men immediately mobilized with his subordinates.

At the same time, on the southern side of Shazhou Island, Old White leading his unit also landed on the island.

However, due to the large number of civilian houses on the south side of the island, they didn't send the landing craft directly to the beachhead but disembarked at the dock.

Like Fang Chang, Old White notified the guards bolstering the defenses on the South Shore about the battle plan upon landing.

Looking at the Alliance Soldiers taking over the defense mission, the guards at the South Shore looked at each other bemusedly.

"…It seems like there's nothing for us to do now?"

A guard with a goatee pinched out his cigarette and tucked the butt into a trash bag in his pocket, looking perplexed at the soldiers busy fortifying their positions.

He always had this illusion.

Compared to these guys, with his well-equipped self, he felt more like a civilian.

Old White, who was directing the work, happened to hear his remark and smiled at him.

"What are you talking about? There's still plenty for you to do; don't think about leaving everything to us."

Pausing for a moment, Old White continued.

"Now take your families to a shelter, remembering to keep away from the coastline. In two hours, we will airdrop supplies to the center of the island to help you set up a temporary camp. Once everything is safe, we will notify you to return home."

The tasked guard immediately straightened up, delivering an awkward Alliance military salute.

"Yes, sir!"

Seeing his comical manner, Old White smiled, patted his shoulder.

"That's the spirit! Since you've had the courage to come this far, don't give up halfway, finish the work that needs to be done."

The guard took a deep breath, nodding vigorously, but his eyes still held a trace of confusion.

Just as the Alliance officer was about to turn away, the guard couldn't help but call out to him again.

"Wait, can I ask a question? I don't understand… you were so well-prepared, you could have blasted Charles away from here before our uprising, so why wait until today?"

Old White grinned.

Other players might not know, but he was aware that Fang Chang indeed had made a similar contingency plan—

Which was, before Charles consolidated the defenses on Shazhou Island, to use Ring Island's airport as a springboard to occupy Shazhou Island, thereby increasing the number of islands controlled by the South Sea Union from four to five.

Compared to the mere 30 square kilometers of Ring Island, Shazhou Island, with its flatter terrain, lower population density, and closer position to the central Southern sea area, was clearly more suitable as an air force base for the Union in the Southern sea area.

In fact, the South Sea Federation Authorities also hoped for this, and Commander Li even suggested taking a risk by sending out the fleet to cover for the troops landing on the island.

This contingency plan had been submitted to the Alliance Staff Department, and they had even developed a battle plan and execution strategy, but unfortunately, it did not get the Manager's approval.

"…Forced equality is not equality; it's okay if you don't understand, I don't understand everything either, but I trust our Manager to lead us to end the Wasteland, just like we trust him to hold off the Chewing Bone Tribe and the Tide."

Old White squeezed his shoulder and then let go.

"Go do your job well, just like us."

As they spoke, a thunderous blast came from the quiet sea, and a series of tracer bullets formed a curve in the sky like a whip, then burst into two balls of fire.

Moments later, the voice of a Goblin Corps pilot came through the communication channel.

"…This is Feng Qing, the enemy destroyer's air defense is too dense! Our missiles can't penetrate their Dot Defense System…"

The Federal Navy, being built with the Army as an imaginary enemy, naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to lack an air defense system.

Moreover, the main use of destroyers is for anti-submarine warfare and air defense, and Charles dispatched destroyers for unloading escort, considering the Alliance's "air superiority" and General Li Minghui's submarines.

But they hadn't expected that these guys would even have a dense air defense network…

Old White frowned slightly.

Just then, new information came from the Southern Alliance Command.

"…Enemy landing craft and escorting destroyers are approaching within 20 nautical miles to your south. We have detected sonar and radar signals from 27 vessel activities within 150 nautical miles around Shazhou Island… We can't confirm if those coordinates are valid targets, could we bother your air force to take a look?"

27 coordinates!

Spanning 150 nautical miles!

Old White's expression became somewhat grave as he said in a low voice.

"…I've already informed our air force; please have your submarines continue searching the nearby sea area!"

The South Sea Union operator on the other end immediately replied.

"Understood!"

Due to special orbital conditions near the Earth, there are no strategic satellites over Wasteland, and even if there were, pinpointing the precise location of a fleet in the vast ocean is not an easy task.

After ending the communication with the Goblin Corps, Old White quickly switched to the squad's voice channel and informed his entire team about the situation in Changsha.

"The enemy intends to attack our southern position! Everyone, prepare for battle!"

Communications transmitted one formidable response after another.

"Yes!"

A hundred and twenty-man platoon split into three sections, establishing a triangular defensive pivot along the island's southern structures.

At the same time, on the once again quiet sea, two massive ships emerged.

According to intelligence provided by the South Sea Union, that was the North Island Navy's Reefs destroyer!

The point defense systems located at the bow and stern could unleash a torrent of mass bombs weighing 100 grams each at an extreme firing rate of tens of thousands of rounds per minute, effectively launching a ton of mass into the sky in just one minute!

Such a barrage composed of this weaponry could likely intercept anything from missiles and drones to a sufficient number of artillery shells!

In addition to the point defense systems for air targets, the Reefs were also equipped with torpedo launchers, missile launchers, and a 150mm naval gun.

If this beast were to get close to shore, the consequences would be unthinkable!

However, the "asymmetry" on the Wasteland was mutual, which was the biggest difference between the Wasteland and the Real World.

The Federal Navy, developed over 150 years, was indeed powerful, but the Alliance's land-based weapons were no slouch either.

After enhancements by the researchers at Shelter No. 70, the "Dragon" missile developed by Huge Rock Military Industry evolved into a land-based launch "long-range anti-ship version"—the "Sea Dragon"!

Shortly after the "Thunder" fighter planes failed to break through the fire net, at the edge of the floating airstrip outside Ring Island, a boxy missile launcher raised its enormous head.

Following the launch order, a white smoke burst through the dust cover and soared into the sky, pushing a silvery missile through the dense clouds.

The missile, sharp as a dagger, drew a parabolic trajectory and struck the Reefs, which served as "bait" and willingly exposed itself to the radars of both the Alliance and the South Sea Union.

The Reefs' point defense system functioned without a hitch, unleashing a dense onslaught from its raised cannons like a swarm attacking the "Sea Dragon" as it descended from above!

A blinding light exploded in the air, but that wasn't the Sea Dragon detonating—it was the warhead initiating a deliberate explosion upon detecting a high-speed object's approach!

In the vessel's bridge behind Reefs, a man with epaulettes on his hat sharply narrowed his eyes, sensing something amiss as the missile exploded.

Their radar had detected no enemy ships nearby!

This was a land-launched missile!

At the same time, just a short distance ahead at the terminal, cries of alarm and curses could be heard.

"Radar components overloaded! Launchers cannot function properly!"

"Unable to lock onto enemy aircraft position!"

"Sonar system failure! Damn it!"

"It's an EMP! Notify the repair team to fix it immediately!"

"How long will it take?!"

"The damage isn't severe... it should be handled within five minutes!"

"Five minutes?!"

The Reefs destroyer was fitted with a "counter-strong electromagnetic pulse device," but it required shutting down the active phased array radar and sonar, entering a radio silence state for activation.

However, their attention had previously been entirely on the hair-trigger aircraft and the unknown location of submarines; they had not anticipated the Alliance would use such a tactic.

Reliance on passive anti-EMP components alone was clearly insufficient to completely shield from the direct hit of this strategic EMP weapon.

The spear and shield are always relative concepts—there is no defense that is absolutely impenetrable.

The loss of sonar and radar was tantamount to Reefs losing both its eyes.

Although the destroyer's point defense system has two sets of recognition devices that could use optical lenses for visual identification and locking of flying objects without depending on radar, the interception efficiency couldn't match radar's.

And the most critical was the sonar system...

The three attack submarines were the greatest trump card of the South Sea Union!

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the Captain's forehead beaded with cold sweat as he quickly turned to the main artillery operator.

"What about the fire control system?"

"Temporarily... no malfunctions found!" The main gun area operator, sitting before the terminal, swallowed nervously and responded.

Hearing this answer brought no comfort to the Captain and just then, the radio operator suddenly spoke up.

"Sir! The command is requesting us to bombard the coastline! The landing ships in front of us will lower their landing craft in thirty seconds!"

The Captain was stunned, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Have they lost their minds?! Those are Shazhou Island residents!"

While the operation plan did mention covering the landing troops reaching Shazhou Island and even detailed how he would serve as bait to lure out the "Rebel Fleet" from Anle Island and coordinate with the nearby main Fleet to sink them, the plan never called for him to bombard his own people!

Though what happened on Shazhou Island infuriated him, it was the guards who had caused the trouble; the survivors living on Shazhou Island were innocent.

At least in his eyes, those people were his compatriots!

The radio operator conveyed the situation to the command and after receiving a response, hesitated and looked towards the Captain.

"Command says... they're traitors. We're ordered to open fire immediately."

There was no time for hesitation.

The Captain clenched his teeth and turned to the gunnery operator.

"... Aim for the coastline! Fire away from the city!"

The gunnery operator hesitated but eventually acknowledged the order.

"Yes!"

As the order was issued, the 150mm naval cannon on the Reefs destroyer slowly raised its barrel and fired a correction shot toward the south shore of Shazhou Island, which was followed by a continuous barrage of fierce artillery.

Hearing the deafening boom of the cannons, Old White, crouched in a building in the urban area, took a deep breath, clutching binoculars tightly in his hands as he stared at the landing crafts growing closer on the sea, and issued the order for combat on the communication channel.

"All teammates ready! Safety off! Let our enemies land on the shore first, then hit them hard!"

After a brief pause, he switched the communication channel to Brother Chicken and spoke gravely.

"EMP successfully detonated... Enemy ships did not respond to our fighter planes sweeping from above the clouds, their radar systems seem to be paralyzed, and if the engineer from Shelter No. 70's analysis is reliable, their sonar systems are probably in trouble, too. Now it's your turn to make a move."

A cheerful reply came through the communication channel.

"Roger that!"

At this moment, on the billowing waves, more than thirty landing crafts approached the shallows of Shazhou Island's south side under the cover of gunfire, and directly charged onto the beachhead.

As the hatches of each craft opened, a horde of green-skinned mutants roared onto the shore, their amber pupils emitting a terrifying green glow.

They held large-caliber rifles and even machine guns in their hands, wore modified exoskeletons, and had thick bulletproof steel plates hanging in front of their chests, some even with remnants of vomit.

Clearly, this was their first time on a boat, and with a high probability, the only time in their lives.

Seeing the mutants, and highly likely those transferred from the northern line, the players crouched in the urban area had no more traces of mercy in their eyes, and they became fierce.

"Open fire—!"

With that roar, darkened windows were instantly illuminated by the muzzle flash of heavy machine guns.

Tracers like rain pelted toward the beach, colliding with the mutants who had reached the beachhead.

Spattered blood dyed the beach red, but these mutants had the upper hand in numbers; nearly a thousand of them had packed into more than thirty heavy landing crafts, scattering on the beach like cockroaches crawling everywhere.

Moreover, Charles had apparently used North Island's industrial facilities to modify these mutants, even manufacturing fully protected exoskeletons and assault rifles specially designed for mutants.

The mutants who landed on the island split into ten teams, encircling the streets along the coastline like a huge bowl turned upside down, and the boiling battle raged along the contours of the urban area!

Meanwhile, the Reefs destroyer that bombarded the coastline also ceased firing, according to plan, to be on the lookout for the possible appearance of the main fleet of the South Sea Union or submarines.

Then, to Charles's surprise, the fleet of the South Sea Union did not materialize.

After sending ground forces to Shazhou Island, the Union seemed to have only probed the Reefs with aircraft, then fired a ground-launched missile, and ended all sea offensive, even ignoring the artillery fire from the Reefs directed at their ground forces sent to Shazhou Island.

Honestly, this was abnormal!

North Island Command.

Watching the fierce battlefield through a drone's view, Charles cursed.

"...What the hell is Zhang Ruowen doing! Not a single shell fell into the urban area!"

Zhang Ruowen was the captain of the Reefs.

More than ten minutes into the landing battle, over half of the thousand or so mutants who landed on the island had been killed or wounded. Only then did he realize that the previous artillery round had been futile.

The defensive forces stationed in the urban area suffered almost no losses, with the artillery fire at most damaging a few roads.

Now that the landing forces were obstructed and the Union's main fleet had not been drawn out, his fleet ambushed in the nearby sea area had also ambushed in vain.

Standing by Charles, a staff officer spoke in a low voice.

"Given the current strength on Shazhou Island, we probably aren't enough to capture the entire island; the Union has another defense team deployed at the northern beachhead... If the bait operation doesn't work, I suggest we pull the Reefs back."

Charles said grimly.

"Our operation has not failed yet."

The staff officer nodded and said.

"Indeed, but continuing to wait won't yield better results, especially since Anle Island has been informed that our main fleet is not at North Island..."

Hearing the latter half, Charles quickly calmed down.

Indeed.

The greatest risk of the entire plan was not the potential loss of a destroyer but the possible risk of creating a defensive vacuum on North Island.

Folding his arms across his chest, he tapped his upper arm twice with his index finger and immediately turned to the communication officer to issue an order.

"Tell the Reefs to come back... never mind, let me speak to their captain on the phone, give me the headset! I'll talk to that idiot myself!"

As he said this, he snatched the headset from the communication officer and put it on.

"What the hell are you doing! I told you to bombard the urban area of Shazhou Island, where the hell did you drop the shells, in some godforsaken place?"

There was no response in the communication channel.

Apparently conscious of his guilt, the man couldn't utter a word in shame.

After scolding his subordinate extensively, Charles took a couple of breaths to calm himself and continued.

"...I don't care what thought or excuse you have, because of your dereliction of duty, we missed the opportunity to crush our opponent in one fell swoop! Now get your ass back here immediately!"

However, what he didn't expect was that the long-silent communication channel suddenly transmitted a strange voice.

"They can't come back."

Charles shuddered through his body, blurting out reflexively.

"Who the hell are you?!"

The voice on the other end laughed heartily and freely introduced himself.

"Midnight Chicken Killing, commander of the Jungle Corps! Anyway, thanks for the ship."

Charles: "???"

Chapter 762: Turning Point in the Southern Front

Zhang Ruowen had never imagined that within the short span of just five minutes when their sonar system was paralyzed, ten steel King Crabs had climbed onto the deck of the destroyer.

Although the Reefs destroyer was well-armed, its 150mm naval gun couldn't possibly fire on itself.

The point defense system and torpedo launchers were just as useless against the "King Crabs" standing on the deck.

Looking at the 20mm gun barrel pointing straight at the bridge, Zhang Ruowen knew the defeat was inevitable. He didn't continue with any meaningless resistance and led the officers and soldiers aboard to surrender.

They would be sent to the prison on Anle Island, where they awaited trial by law.

Watching the South Sea Union sailors board the deck to disarm them, Zhang Ruowen remained silent for a while before addressing the massive steel crab standing on the deck.

"May I ask a question?"

Having captured such a large ship, Midnight Chicken Killing couldn't hide his pleasure and promptly replied.

"Go ahead."

Zhang Ruowen continued,

"How did you manage to approach us in such a short time?"

He was well aware of the Union's King Crab armor. The North Federation's staff department had conducted detailed studies on the Union's equipment and even developed adhesive bombs specifically designed to counter individual armors based on Union frogman tactics.

From what he understood, the Union's "King Crabs" only had maneuverability and not cruising speed, especially underwater where they could barely swim faster than the Variant Humans.

The sea area here was not just vast—if it were said that they had been lying in ambush under their ship from the beginning, that would seem too coincidental. Besides, at such proximity, even the best camouflage would be detected by sonar.

There was only one possibility: they had waited silently in areas with poor sonar detection accuracy and then quickly advanced near the Reefs destroyer after the EMP strike.

However, with their speed, that was absolutely impossible.

Zhang Ruowen couldn't fathom the answer.

But Midnight Chicken Killing smiled and said,

"What's so hard about that? Just make a big underwater propulsion device, grab hold of that thing, and you're all set."

They had run into a similar problem during their last encounter with the Variant Humans outside Coral City.

Because the King Crab's underwater cruising speed was so slow, once separated from the ships, they could only wait to be retrieved by friendly forces and couldn't evacuate from the battlefield or move quickly on their own.

If they were to equip the King Crab with a large propeller, it would make the entire suit too bulky.

The Union's Logistics Department, responding to players' needs, put out a tender to industrial circles seeking a solution.

Goblin Technology won the bid, and Mosquito Brother solved the problem with just 10,000 silver coins.

The method was simple: take a large battery and a propeller, shape it like a firework, and the King Crab just had to hold onto it.

When fighting, they would just toss it aside, and once the fight was over, they would pick it up and move on—an economical and practical solution.

After hearing the Union's method, Zhang Ruowen was stunned for a moment, then a wry smile appeared on his face.

"So that's how it is."

It wasn't a complex method at all; rather, he had overcomplicated the matter.

They had not lost this battle unfairly.

"Speaking of which, I also have a question for you." Looking at the bitter-smiling captain, Midnight Chicken Killing suddenly said.

Zhang Ruowen: "What's the question?"

Midnight Chicken Killing glanced in the direction of Shazhou Island, where plumes of smoke were slowly rising along the coastline—the aftermath of the 150mm naval gun bombardment.

However, upon closer examination, the shells had not hit the city itself but had exploded next to it.

"Did you deliberately miss?"

Zhang Ruowen was silent for a long time before he slowly said,

"After all, the people living there are my compatriots."

...

While the entire crew of the Reefs surrendered, the battle on Shazhou Island was nearing its end.

The last hundred Mutants wearing special exoskeletons were trapped in a can factory on the outskirts. They relied on the walls of the factory for cover, and the situation of offense and defense had reversed.

A trace of panic finally broke through the stern expressions on their faces.

One ear-missing Mutant, gasping for breath, approached their leader and said in a low, breathy voice.

"Boss, these humans, they are tough to deal with."

The one referred to as boss also had a heavy expression, with thick chunks of flesh and blood clinging to his solid chestplate, some belonging to himself and some left behind by the humans.

Before boarding the landing ship, Charles told them the island was filled with weaklings—they could do as they pleased once they landed, for as long as they desired.

However, after landing on the beach, they realized things were not as simple as they had thought.

The islanders were no less formidable than the ones they had encountered in the northern mountains, even more fierce and cruel, and better trained!

They needed only three people to block a street, and three squads could surround their hundred-man team. But the Mutants who came ashore were like headless flies on the streets, neither finding the human females nor seeing the weaklings Charles spoke of.

"What do we do now?" a Mutant muttered with an indescribable panic in his voice.

Just as the atmosphere of fear permeated with silence, a black iron can the size of a soda can was thrown in through the window, clanging as it rolled on the ground.

Before the Mutants could react, the can erupted in a blinding red flame, spewing dazzling sparks and dense white smoke.

Memories of fear surged instantly through their brains, and their faces twisted in horror.

Incendiary bombs!

They seem to have returned to the cave on Ten Peaks Mountain!

Those guys... are people from the Alliance!

At the same time they were astonished, the crackling of gunfire and more incendiary bombs came killing in along with the bursting flames!

The flames of war ignited instantaneously!

Dense explosion arrow rounds rained down like droplets on the mutants inside the factory, stirring up a whirlwind of bloodshed.

"ROAR!!"

A Mutant Centurion let out an angry roar and fired a grenade launcher toward the entrance.

The thick smoke and shrapnel from the explosion engulfed the person who had entered.

A trace of ecstasy spread across its face, but before it could bellow in excitement, a towering figure strode through the smoke, stepping into the factory door.

The figure was clad in a streamlined suit of power armor, holding a massive bomb gun, exuding a fearsome killing intent and fierceness.

Even through a layer of helmet visor, it could feel the threat of death conveyed by the gaze.

It opened its mouth, attempting to use its roar to dispel the fear in its chest, but as soon as it opened its mouth, an explosion arrow that flew straight at it poured into its cheeks.

"BANG!!!"

The burst of flesh and brain matter was smeared on the wall by the metal jet that penetrated the skull.

The man who had effortlessly killed it then aimed at the next target, pulled the trigger and fired, providing cover for his comrades to advance into the factory.

"…It's head's not coming back; it's not one of those mutants from Broken Blade Mountain. This is a regular variant."

"Whatever it is, just kill it and it's done!"

"Purge the factory area, leave none alive."

"Roger!"

Old White, clad in Dragon Rider Power Armor, personally led eleven players donned in "Xiaguang" power armor into the paper mill.

The roar of the bomb gun echoed within the factory, along with the mutants' angry roars and wails.

The battle of twelve against a hundred had no suspense, an absolute slaughter.

The Alliance has always taken no prisoners with mutants, so there was no holding back whatsoever.

After a futile resistance, the last squad of a hundred was also annihilated.

After the battle on the island concluded, Old White also received good news from Brother Chicken; sailors from Anle Island had taken speedboats to board the Reefs destroyer.

According to the retrieved communication terminal cache data, the Anle Island fleet had successfully locked on to the location of the North Island fleet, syncing it with the Alliance air force while pushing up all three attack nuclear submarines.

The two Thunder Aircraft that had just landed at Potato Harbor took to the skies again, flying towards the coordinates provided by the Anle Island fleet, ready to provide laser guidance for Ring Island's roadbed missile launchers.

However, unfortunately, the enemy had not foolishly stayed in the same place waiting for the Alliance's aircraft and submarines to arrive, having moved position early on.

Considering that the old coordinates might be new "bait," General Li Minghui, after communication with the Alliance's front-line command, ultimately gave up on the pursuit and pulled back the three submarines.

After all, those three submarines are the strongest card of the South Sea Union, and they cannot afford a single mistake.

Plus, the spoils of this battle were already rich enough. Besides the cargo ship turned landing craft, they had even successfully captured a Federation destroyer; there was no need to be greedy for more battle results.

Now, the North Federation only had four vessels left – one battleship, one cruiser, and two destroyers.

The South Sea Union, on the other hand, had one cruiser and four destroyers, and also three attack nuclear submarines.

With the submersible carrier soon to be complete and the "railgun nemesis" – the Meissner effect armor – about to be equipped on cruisers, it wouldn't be long before they could plan a final decisive battle, to completely kick Charles and his lackeys out of the Southern sea area, no need to expend their strength right now.

After the battle was completely over, Fang Chang led people to the island's center to soothe those unwilling residents, while Old White and his army brothers cleaned up the battlefield.

A total of 10 players died in the battle, 2 seriously wounded, 20 lightly wounded.

The lost equipment included 14 "Type Five" exoskeletons and four "Type 6" exoskeletons.

As for the power armors, they only had some minor scuffs, not even requiring repair.

Objectively speaking, the exoskeletons designed by the North Federation for mutants did have some tenacity, at least much stronger than the "I reckon armors" that the mutants knocked out for themselves.

"Damn... this caliber must be 20 millimeters." Picking up a rifle from the ground, only as tall as an average person, Killer Dagger used his thumb to gauge the barrel's diameter and couldn't help but click his tongue.

The gun, while still resembling an assault rifle and with a classic housing structure – even stamped metal parts – clearly could no longer be considered a gun; just in terms of caliber and power, it had reached the category of a "cannon."

Receiving the "big gun" handed over by Brother Shabi, Kidney Fighter played with it in his hands, then leaned it and the other captured weapons against the wall.

"Except for the mutants themselves, probably only Strength Type beasts could handle this thing."

"But what I'm actually more interested in is their exoskeleton..." Squatting next to a mutant's corpse, [All the good names are taken by dogs] stared at the steel plate hanging on the guy.

The two-finger-thick armor steel plate made up its breastplate, and facing the explosion arrows from the bomb gun, this guy actually took four shots head-on!

As for the other pockmarked and unpenetrated areas, they seemed to be the traces left by rifle and machine gun bullets.

Clearly, the majority of the bullets that hit the mutant's chest were blocked, and this was also the reason they could charge into the city under the gunfire on the beach.

If it were Aquatic Variant Humans or the Grey Wolf Army of the West Winds Empire, they'd probably be dead before even touching the shore.

In fact, from the moment the Alliance's transport plane made a priority landing and was deployed, the outcome of this battle was already sealed.

On the shoreline.

Forty Iron Crabs lurking around the coastline gradually crawled onto the beach.

From his amphibious individual armor, Midnight Chicken Killing jumped out and strode toward the direction of the city district; his fully steel-plated figure startled the guards who were helping to clean up the battlefield, thinking that the mutants had returned.

This guy was much more exaggerated than the mutants—probably only his head wasn't made of iron.

Victory was like a bumper harvest, brother," he said with a wide grin, looking at the military equipment piled up on the ground.

Old White, having unlocked the visor of his power armor helmet, gave him a frustrated expression.

"It's all a bunch of junk, those pieces of equipment ordinary people can't handle at all," said the Killer Dagger, touching his chin thoughtfully.

"Making a fixed mount should be no problem, but the ammunition is different from our 20mm rounds...hiss, thinking about it, it really is a bit useless."

All the good names had been taken by dogs, nodded in agreement.

"The most valuable things are those batteries in the exoskeletons, though it's also solid hydrogen storage, the battery they designed has an energy density much higher than the models we currently have in service."

Ground Model: "Damn, the equipment used by the mutants is even better than ours!"

Picheng Paratrooper: "Traitor! Damn traitor!"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "...That way of putting it sounds strange."

While the players were figuring out how to recycle these spoils of war, Fang Chang, in the very center of the island, also saw those survivors setting up tents.

The Overlord Transport Aircraft dropped tents, sleeping bags, and other life necessities that had already been prepared onto the island.

More than seventy thousand residents urgently evacuated into a few square kilometers of land, tents crammed together, with the entire open space so crowded no roads were visible, and almost no place to stand.

Due to the lack of meticulous planning and preparation in advance, the chief of the guard bureau, Du Men, was overwhelmed. He could only lead his men to put out fires everywhere, but all the hustle still resulted in chaos.

Fortunately, the friends from the Alliance arrived, and only then was the situation here stabilized.

Listening to the distant sounds of artillery and gunfire, as well as the crying of babies and the loud and messy quarrels in the camp, the faces of the survivors were filled with unease and panic.

Finally, when the sounds of artillery and gunfire had subsided, some people began to get up, wanting to return home.

At the entrance to the refugee area, a group of survivors walked up to the checkpoint and asked the guards and the soldiers of the Alliance stationed there.

"Sir, has the war ended? When can we go home?"

"My baby needs a diaper change, and needs to be fed, there's no place for that here..."

"Damn it, someone took a dump in my tent!"

Seeing several guards beside the checkpoint looking helplessly towards him, Fang Chang sighed and raised his right arm to shout.

"Quiet, quiet! Please listen to me!"

The voice from the helmet speaker drowned out the noisy sounds and subdued the clamorous crowd.

Once the raucous noise subsided, Fang Chang continued to speak in a patient tone.

"The war has ended, but we can't let you immediately return home—"

"Why?!" he was cut off by an anxious voice before he finished speaking.

It was a mother holding a child, dressed in pajamas with messy hair, clearly rushed out from her home during the evacuation.

The baby nestled in her arms cried with a yi yi ya ya sound, whether from hunger or being frightened by the earlier gunfire.

Understanding her feelings at this moment, Fang Chang patiently continued to speak.

"This is for your safety, those guys are man-eating mutants; they have no intention of conducting a public security operation against you, they start off with looting, burning, and killing. In the battle, they naturally would disregard the methods."

"We need to clear the explosives left in the city, especially some anti-infantry mines and unexploded grenades... those guys do not maintain their weapons well, those things are toys for us, but they are indeed deadly for you. Just a small mistake can send your whole family away, are you sure you want to go back now?"

His words half said, the scene had already quieted down completely, and no one interrupted him anymore.

The people here were after all well-educated; though not as meek and manageable as the survivors of Jin Galun Harbor, they were still reasonable.

After all, no one wants to joke with their own and their family's lives.

Whether it was the mother anxious to feed her child or the survivors who argued for a tent exchange, they all quieted down.

Of course, their demands still existed. Solving these issues was exactly what Du Men and the other guards should be doing.

Fang Chang paused for a moment, then continued to say.

"In addition, we must confirm that no straggling mutants are hiding in any buildings in the city. You wouldn't want to come home just to see a big surprise, would you? Alright, everyone go back to your tents, we will solve your issues one by one."

Under his persuasion, the crowd gathered at the checkpoint eventually dispersed, and the guards standing at the checkpoint finally let out a sigh of relief.

The night seemed to return to silence once more.

Looking in the direction of the city and at the thick smoke on the outskirts of the city, the guards standing at the checkpoint couldn't help but remember the past.

The era of Shelter No. 70 didn't seem so bad.

Although most of the power and wealth were in the hands of the residents of Shelter No. 70, at least at that time, they were without worries about food and clothing, unlike now not only living without water and electricity but also being involved in a war that wasn't their own.

The young guard couldn't help but mutter a complaint in a low voice.

"Why... why do bad things always follow us; is it wrong for us just wanting to live our own lives?"

Fang Chang, who happened to hear the complaint, thought for a moment before saying offhand.

"That's normal, because... you don't care."

The guard was stunned, looking at him puzzled, unable to understand why he would say such a thing.

How could they possibly not care.

They cared about their destiny more than anyone else, whether drafting that shared constitution or now taking up arms for it.

Charles wanted to move the North Island troops to Shazhou Island to replace them in protecting their families, and they stepped forward without even thinking.

However, that person continued to speak.

"… whether it's Charles or Li Minghui, as long as the stability on Shazhou Island isn't affected, it doesn't matter… am I right? Before you finally started to feel the pain, all of you were thinking this way, weren't you?"

"Actually, from your own perspective, choosing your constitution or Charles both seem like viable paths; the difference is only whether you hold fate in your own hands or entrust it to someone you trust. Both choices are actually not wrong, but the problem is that you are indifferent to your own fate, whatever it is... Since that's the case, you'll have to be prepared for the hardship of indifference."

Obviously, the survivors of the Southern sea area were not as resilient as those from Poluo Province; Charles only had to lift a finger, and they couldn't stand it.

But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Intuitively, enduring hardship seems more difficult than enjoying luxury, with the latter being much easier than the former. However, the reality is that many things are actually "counterintuitive."

"I don't mean to be facetious; I'm just trying to solve your confusion. I'm glad you could stand with us. We will definitely not let you down, especially since the Manager watches over us all… Besides, cheer up, at least your homes are still there, and you'll be able to go back in no more than a couple of days."

Looking at the young man who remained silent, Fang Chang comfortingly patted his shoulder, then left the security checkpoint to his team leader and went to deal with other matters.

…

On the "Wasteland OL" Official Website, during peak hours for logging in and out, an unexpected piece of news suddenly updated on the Forum.

[Progress on the Southern Front: The Southern sea area front has completely advanced to the middle of the sea. Southern front players, please keep pushing hard, strive to land on Haiye Province soon, and meet up with players from the Northern front.]

Crow: "Wow… you guys are opening the map way too fast.!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Makabazi: "+1, Crow hasn't even left Novice Village yet. (slippery)"

Crow: "??? What the hell, I've traveled far too, you know?"

tail: "Woah woah woah, Brother Fang Chang is so fast! I feel sorry for Miss Dolly! (✪ω✪)"

Night Ten: "Damn, making a way where there is no road, not bad. (slippery)"

Si Si: "Sorry, my Ah Wei is off his meds again. (o__）"

Fang Chang: "No worries, I don't care. I'm used to it; nobody roasts me as brilliantly as my brother does. (side-eye)"

Night Ten: "Translation, Fang Chang: I've noted this in my little book. (slippery)"

tail: "Big big brother, I was wrong…(||ﾟДﾟ)"

Crow: "Wait, wait, where exactly is Shazhou Island? You guys have the map so big, I'm getting dizzy. T.T"

Old White: "It's to the northeast of Potato Harbor! About a few hundred nautical miles away, welcome to come play! Just treat it like your own home! (bared teeth)"

Less Bull Pulling the Calf: "Sea fishing map updated, brothers, let's go!!"

Runaway Mole from the Canyon: "Thirteen islands left eight, on our side, Ten Peaks Mountain has already been cleared, brothers on the Southern line need to push harder. (slippery)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Pushing hard, pushing hard. ' - ω - )"

The breakthrough progress in the Southern sea area expanded the players' activity area by adding an island.

And on the Forum, discussions not only focused on this newly-named Shazhou Island, but a lot also centered on the battle itself.

In particular, lifestyle players with a background in military technology were especially interested in the performance of the Alliance's various new equipment in the battle.

Although most of the technology was implemented by Alliance engineers and tech workers, many pieces of equipment still bore the traces of their ingenious ideas.

WC truly has Mosquitos: "This was the Thunder Aircraft's first combat deployment, right?"

Falling Feather: "??? Holy crap, wasn't I the first?"

WC truly has Mosquitos: "Yours doesn't count, your opponents were a bunch of Mutants, what's the difference between using Thunder and operating W-2? The kill efficiency might not even be as good as W-2!"

Falling Feather: "%￥#@!"

WC truly has Mosquitos: "@Feng Qing @Gui Gui, come out and talk, how do you feel? (suggestive)"

Gui Gui: "Yikes! Why are you using that emoji."

Feng Qing: "Uh… overall, very fast? And indeed, the Plasma Engine is much stabler than a jet engine by a large margin. If you compare them, it's like the difference between an electric car and a tractor."

Gui Gui: "Indeed! But there seems to be not much difference in top speed? I actually feel like the Lingyun Fighter is a bit faster at its limit."

Falling Feather: "That's normal, our Plasma Engine is just getting started. It's just like when steamships first came out and got utterly outclassed by sail; but given time, the gap widens."

Spring Water Commander: "Right, that makes sense. Actually, you also have to consider limitations due to the atmospheric environment. I remember the setting mentioned that the Plasma Engines of the Human Alliance Era were initially developed in outer space, the atmospheric craft only made it to the jet engine stage? Blindly learning from the Human Alliance experience is actually not advisable."

Dinosaur Warrior: "Learning is fine… but what on earth are you trying to do? (sweat)"

WC truly has Mosquitos: "Kids, don't worry about it, just play your game. (side-eye smile)"

Dinosaur Warrior: "I damn well don't have a helmet... big brother, I'm a student, can I borrow it to play for a few days? T.T"

WC truly has Mosquitos: "… Yeah, my bad, went too far."

In addition to the Thunder Aircraft, the "Dragon" missile from Huge Rock Military Industry performed exceptionally.

The "Sea Dragon" designed by the engineers of Shelter No. 70, which carried an EMP warhead, managed to knock out the radar and sonar systems of the Reef No. with one hit, creating a crucial opportunity for the Jungle Corps' capture plan.

Also, this battle was probably the first time since "Wasteland OL" opened that the three branches of the military—naval, land, and air force—worked together in a joint operation!

Although it wasn't as thrilling as the battle at Ten Peaks Mountain, the equipment used and various tactical and strategic details in the battle were far more numerous.

Not only were the players enjoying themselves, but even Chu Guang, far in the North, expressed his sincere admiration for the brilliance of the entire battle after reading the battle report.

"… Shazhou Island has been captured, if radar stations and missile launchers are deployed on the island, it would further restrict the activity space of the North Island Fleet."

In the captain's room of the Steel Heart.

After reading the battle report, Chu Guang's gaze moved to the world map on the wall, where a red dotted line drawn in the middle of the Southern sea area had just been filled in as a solid line.

Just minutes ago, there was also good news from the shipyards of Anle Island, hoping the Alliance Air Force could work with them on testing the "Conch" mother submarine.

The day of the decisive battle was drawing ever closer!

Chapter 763: Baiyue Corporation Goes Public!

As the players had anticipated, they found four injured mutants who had been separated and cornered in the residential areas of Shazhou Island.

Three hid in the sewers and another snuck into the morgue of a hospital.

Their peculiar habits developed on Ten Peaks Mountain made them accustomed to hiding in dark corners.

After neutralizing all the threats, the residents of Shazhou Island finally began returning to their homes on the second day after the sea battle.

The undersea cable and freshwater pipeline to Shazhou Island were scheduled for immediate construction, with completion expected between the end of August and early September.

With the absorption of technical staff and experience from Shelter No. 70, Baiyue Corporation's underwater construction capability had made leaps and bounds.

From "Crab" style underwater engineering armor to "Electric Eel" underwater automatic welding drones, to the modular construction scheme for deep-sea environments, both "hardware" and "software" had seen significant advancements.

Of course, this was mainly because Baiyue Corporation had a solid foundation of its own.

With the support of the two major industrial zones of Dawn City and Giant Stone City and the engineering technology excavated by the scientific exploration teams from a series of relics, including Shelter 100, the significant thing was the backing of a powerful Alliance. Otherwise, the technical staff of Shelter No. 70 alone would not have achieved such remarkable construction speed.

Apart from Shazhou Island, the four southern islands in the southern sea area and Coral City, located near the central line, had already been connected to Potato Harbor's water supply network and power grid.

Although only 20% of Coral City's facilities had been restarted due to high power consumption, it was sufficient for the plan of the Conch Submarine Carrier.

On the fourth day after the sea battle, a twin-engine "Viper" transport plane landed on the tarmac of Anle Island, and a group of twenty players walked out of the cabin.

They were all highly skilled pilots, tested not just by countless actual battles but also awarded the "Ace Pilot" certificate by Mosquito Brother!

They would soon head to the Sea Snail to complete tests on the Alliance's new type of "underwater carrier-based aircraft."

Not far from the tarmac.

Commander Li Minghui of the South Sea Union Anle Island Fleet looked enviously at the Viper transport plane, speaking to Fang Chang standing beside him.

"You've got quite a variety of planes."

Fang Chang smiled faintly and said,

"That's a masterpiece of Huge Rock Military Industry, it existed even before the Alliance was founded."

"It looks much smaller than the 'Overlord.'"

"Before then, the nobles of Jushi Inner City only focused on regional affairs and themselves, with the residents serving the nobles of the Inner City exclusively. The Viper transport plane had already fully covered their short-distance 'travel needs.'"

Li Minghui raised his eyebrows with interest and looked toward Fang Chang, asking,

"What about now?"

Fang Chang continued,

"Now, Giant Stone City has no Inner City; they have their own city hall, town lord, and courts. Residents only need to fulfill their obligations as citizens of Giant Stone City and the Alliance, like obeying the laws that everyone must follow."

Li Minghui nodded thoughtfully, suddenly asking another question,

"What about other settlements? Is it the same there?"

Fang Chang replied with a light smile,

"Of course not, such as Singular Point City, which has a clear hierarchy and promotion systems, and this is what the local survivors look forward to. Our Manager respects their choices, merely depriving them of the freedom to sell others in accordance with the Alliance constitution. As for the rest, we have made no significant changes, even generously assigning them an absolutely impartial AI Supervisor."

Li Minghui nodded in approval and said,

"Tailored decision-making, I think he's doing it right... We should consider what the survivors themselves think."

"I agree; after all, I find it foolish and absurd for a group who understand equality as 'the freedom to do whatever they want' to suddenly obtain equality. It feels awkward to them and uncomfortable for us, and in the end, it does nothing but tarnish the word 'equality' itself. The Manager said from the beginning that we can't take everyone to the new world, inevitably leaving some to live at their own pace."

Watching the twinkling eyes of Li Minghui, Fang Chang felt a slight stir in his heart and said with a smile,

"If the survivors of the South Sea Union support you to become their president, our Manager will certainly acknowledge you."

Li Minghui was taken aback for a moment, then laughed it off casually,

"Don't even think about it, I've never thought about that... Even if they all support me, they have to ask for my opinion. Don't forget I'm also one in a million of the South Sea Union, they better not push me forward without my consent, not even think about it!"

Fang Chang smiled noncommittally, not saying anything but turning his gaze toward the distant submarine carrier,

"Hopefully everything goes smoothly. It would be good if this war could end sooner."

People's hearts are behind their belly; those who do bad things whilst acting in good faith are plenty in the Wasteland, and he wasn't like Night Ten, the student who hadn't faced society, pondering over what people say for half a day determining whether it's good or bad.

He didn't care what this guy said, nor would the Manager care,

But they would watch what he does.

Li Minghui also looked toward the direction of the submarine carrier, sighing lightly after a while, and said insincerely,

"Yeah... It would be good if it could end sooner."

Although a later end might be better...

...

Wasteland OL forum.

The test of the new equipment wasn't finished yet, but already half of the ace pilots had arrived online.

"This new plane is f*cking thrilling!"

"Seriously speaking, it's stable, precise, and ruthless. Of course, I'm not talking about the plane, but the autocannon."

"It would be nice if it had insurance."

"+1."

The discussion thread quickly climbed to dozens of floors, leaving the players watching itching with curiosity.

Finally, one person couldn't resist their curiosity and asked under the post,

"Esteemed experts, are there any photos or videos? No other meaning, just curious what that plane actually looks like."

"Mainly haven't seen it, just curious."

Upon seeing the question, someone in the know quickly popped up to answer.

"Didn't bring a camera up there."

"Classified."

"Holy crap! That's classified too!? Can leaks even happen on the forum?"

"What's the rush, just wait for the day it lands and they'll release a PV video, then you'll naturally see it. (smirk)"

"+1."

"@#%&!"

"..."

Elena: "Is it just my imagination, or do I remember there being only 20 pilots. (smirk)"

Night Ten: "Goodness, how many clouds would that be."

...

Time passed day by day, and soon the beginning of August became the end.

The Sticky Community's allied forces sent to Haiye Province employed a step-by-step offensive strategy and had pushed the front line from north of Lai Mountain City to the southern suburbs, and although no survivors had been found, the purification of the local soil had already progressed to 70%.

In addition, the purification work in the Weifu Wilderness was also continuously advancing.

Influenced by the Alliance's order, more and more survivors from the southern part of the Brocade River Province settled near the Weifu military base, and the population of the Weifu City settlement officially surpassed the 50,000 mark, pushing forward towards 100,000.

The progress in the north was astonishing, and the south was not far behind.

The Alliance's missile launch pads and radar had been successfully deployed on Shazhou Island, and the Sea Snail submarine carrier had been silently completed and secretly entered service with the Alliance's navy.

All the pieces were in place, now just waiting for the right opportunity.

According to the news released by the Survivor's Daily, the Alliance and allies in the Southern sea area were planning a decisive battle with the Charles authorities, and the time and space left for the latter were running out...

Aside from the progress on the front lines, two significant events happened in the Alliance recently.

The first was the official signing of a cease-fire agreement between the Alliance and the West Winds Empire.

The Empire had to compensate the Alliance a total of 500 million silver coins and immediately stop the transport blockade of Jin Jialun Port, restoring normal shipping and trade activities along the Everflow River.

However, considering the Empire did not have enough silver coin reserves, the compensation would be mortgaged by foreign trade tariffs, collected on behalf of the Alliance, and a portion deducted for compensation paid to the Empire.

The part collected on behalf of the Alliance mainly consisted of goods traveling from Jin Jialun Port to Poluo Province, with different goods having the tariffs discussed and agreed upon in a separate contract by both parties.

In other words, the Empire's Emperor didn't have to take this compensation out of the treasury and could even make money from the Alliance. And given the current trade variety in Jin Jialun Port was much more than before, it's possible they could earn even more.

Therefore, upon hearing this "improved solution," Duke Garava immediately agreed.

As for the ownership of Jin Jialun Port, the Alliance could not allow the Empire to mess around with it, and Duke Garava obviously didn't expect to win it back by talk, so he proposed setting aside the dispute and maintaining the current status.

That is, the Alliance would not turn Jin Jialun Port into its seventh or eighth settlement, and the Empire would neither reclaim nor relinquish future rights.

But the Alliance had no intention of making Jin Jialun Port its own territory, which did not align with the Alliance's interests or purpose; hence, Alliance Foreign Minister Cheng Yan agreed to the proposal.

After the cease-fire agreement came into effect, Jin Jialun Port would officially release all prisoners of war.

In addition, the Empire also received a compensation package worth 1.5 billion dinars.

However, this compensation was not part of the cease-fire agreement but due to another agreement - the bereavement fund bill recently passed in the Sticky Community Congress.

This compensation primarily came from the Sticky Community, paid from the military funds jointly contributed by the Community, to compensate soldiers "who fought for humanity's fate and were thus killed or disabled."

The compensated parties could decide how to use the funds, but at least 30% of the compensation must be spent directly or indirectly for personal use.

One thing after another, no matter how low the social status and power of the Rat Clan were in Poluo Province, they were recognized by the Sticky Community as "persons with unified natural and societal identity" coming from provinces less affected by the Sticky fungus, hence they received full compensation.

As for why the compensation was in dinars rather than silver coins, the currency most exchanged in the swap agreement, this was strongly insisted upon by Duke Garava.

Chu Guang found it strange, but considering the Empire was after all a good friend of the Weilante People, he did not say much and agreed readily.

However, he did not know that Duke Garava hadn't thought that way at all – he simply feared if the Sticky Community gave out silver coins, the Alliance might directly seize the funds.

Chu Guang would have definitely laughed aloud at this adorable thought if he had known.

In addition, as the treasury of Jin Jialun Port Bank mainly consisted of slave trade profits, it would not be returned to the Empire but belonged to the local residents of Jin Jialun Port, used for local construction, and managed by the reorganized Jin Jialun Port Bank.

Duke Garava, who had already inquired with the Emperor, had no objections to this, only adding a supplementary item to establish mutual embassies, which Alliance Foreign Minister Cheng Yan also happily accepted.

In short, with the official signing of the cease-fire agreement, the Alliance's military operations in Jin Jialun Port also officially came to an end.

Although Jin Jialun Port still had some problems, such as low labor income, rampant smuggling, and an increase in crime due to the influx of immigrants, it was much better than the previous settlement where one either ate dirt or people.

Issues had to be resolved one by one, and problems born of development needed to be tackled with development strategies; local survivors couldn't expect players to solve all problems, especially since the Alliance's players had already left them some very good tools and methods.

Such as a representative council elected from the citizens and judicial and police institutions with separated enforcement and judicial powers, and so on.

And the second event was the establishment of Dawn City Securities Exchange and Baiyue Corporation's listing on the market.

After auditing and investigation for over a month, the Alliance Bank and economic departments approved Baiyue Corporation's listing plan.

The listing process was supervised by economic specialists from Camp 101 who also designed the trading system, while Ideal City's listing aid organizations completed Baiyue Corporation's listing guidance.

According to the listing plan approved by Baiyue Corporation's board of directors, the first batch of shares issued would be 50 million stocks, priced at 10 silver coins per share, accounting for 8% of the total shares, and pledged to allocate no less than 10% of profits for dividends every year.

The funds raised will be fully invested in the expansion of Baiyue Corporation's main business, striving to make the company stronger and larger.

According to the valuation based on the issue price, the entire Baiyue Corporation is now valued at 6.25 billion Silver Coins!

This figure is even higher than the Alliance's total fiscal expenditure for last year!

However, everyone familiar with the development of Baiyue Corporation knows that this value is actually underestimated.

Just the operations of Baiyue Province in Jin Jialun Port alone, calculated at a conservative 20 times earnings ratio, are worth more than 6 billion Silver Coins; setting the issue price at 40 Silver Coins is quite conservative.

Issuing at a relatively low price is also a way to share the dividends of development with the residents of the Alliance.

After all, without the workers in the Alliance factories toiling away to create value, the Alliance could not have become an economic miracle in the Wasteland or even have the surplus resources to incubate pioneering places like Potato Harbor.

The best way to repay these people is to give them money directly.

Out of the 50 million shares, 30 million non-circulating shares, a part has already been subscribed by social sector insurance (pension, unemployment insurance, etc.) of the Alliance, and another part has been bought by public sector insurance (rail insurance, housing insurance, etc.), with the main beneficiaries being the middle and low-income residents who pay social insurance and enjoy the most public services.

As for the remaining 20 million shares, they are being issued as circulating shares to the middle and high-income residents of the Alliance.

Holding an Alliance ID card and providing proof of bank deposits or financial transactions within the Alliance territory allows one to open an account at the securities exchange, with a maximum personal subscription of 100,000 shares; the purchase and sale on the secondary market are not restricted.

Players can also trade Baiyue Corporation's stocks, but for now, they can only trade through the Silver Exchange, and the trading ratio on the Silver Exchange is not restricted, just like other ongoing equity trades that are only reviewed for large transactions.

The reason for this approach is partly because the Silver Exchange's trading system is already relatively mature, and partly because players' task earnings are already an order of magnitude higher than those of typical NPCs. There's no need to compete with NPCs for that bit of dividend; they can just play among themselves.

Besides, with NPC savings, it's unlikely they could provide an exit for players wishing to cash out.

But this problem doesn't exist on the Silver Exchange, where a slew of "mysterious customers" are eagerly waiting and willing to spend real money to purchase at any time.

To accommodate the schedule of the majority, the issue date was specifically set on a rest day.

Not only that, but banks in various Alliance settlements have opened windows for proxy account opening; still, on the day of issuing, a long line formed at the entrance of the Dawn City Exchange, nearly paralyzing the traffic on the nearby streets.

Although most Dawn City residents' impression of Baiyue Corporation remained on the Dawn City North's seafood market and didn't know much about the specific business of the company, the headline on the front page of the Goblin Observation Report lit a fire in everyone's heart—

"Subscribing to Baiyue Corporation's stocks is to support the Alliance's overseas expansion efforts!"

Upon seeing this, people immediately became excited like chickens injected with adrenaline.

To support the Alliance's overseas expansion is to offer loyalty to the Manager, right?

Though the Manager never said so, it doesn't stop the young lads from imagining it themselves.

Of course, the most critical thing is that they have money in their pockets.

Since Giant Stone City joined the Alliance, what was absorbed was not only Giant Stone City's technology but also the integration of Giant Stone City's "Awakener Bol" and the Workers' Association.

Merchants have their own Merchant Guild, and workers have their own organizations; under the mutual checks and balances of the two forces, the median hourly wage in most factories has risen from 5 Silver Coins before Giant Stone City joined the Alliance to the current 8.

With an issue price of 10 Silver Coins, as long as someone doesn't spend all their income on alcohol, even someone who washes dishes in a tavern could buy 100 shares.

While most people who opened accounts had never even considered the possibility of making money from this venture, they simply harbored the humble wish to contribute their own strength to the Managers.

1000 Silver Coins could be exchanged for 5 assault rifles.

A single Giant Stone City had already increased their hourly wages by 60%. If they donated 5 guns, it could help the Alliance liberate a few more "Giant Stone Cities." Even if these 1000 Silver Coins were entirely lost, it wouldn't matter!

"...Have these guys gone mad?!"

Watching the bustling mass of people at the securities exchange, Niyan, who had slipped out from Embassy Street to join the excitement, widened his eyes in astonishment, an expression akin to having seen a sea monster from the Poluo Sea.

The security guard maintaining order in the queue glanced at him, feeling that the face didn't look like that of a local. Polite, he said,

"Good day, sir. Stock transactions require the original copy of an Alliance Citizen identity card... Would it be convenient for you to show me yours?"

Previously, there had been many Waste Land Wanderers who tried to sneak into the line, only to find out they couldn't go through the process and start fussing, even becoming aggressive, causing quite a stir. As a result, his superior had instructed him to politely request that those without the qualification to subscribe leave the queue, in order not to waste everyone's time.

He wasn't doubting that this guy didn't bring his identity card; he was wondering if this guy didn't have one at all.

However, contrary to his expectations, the man first sneaked peeks around him, as if confirming something, then puffed out his chest and took out an identity card from his chest with a large, polite gesture, handing it to him while saying winningly.

"Of course it's convenient, this is my identification, a genuine identity card... cough, what I mean is it's absolutely not fake. Do you need to enter my code into the System to confirm, sir?"

The guard was taken aback, partly because of the man's compliant cooperation, and partly because the man actually had one.

Since the establishment of the Sticky Community, the threshold for obtaining an identity card had been raised from the original three months to a year, and it now required a whole series of complex procedures such as tax payment proof, work proof, and so on. Otherwise, even those who came through the Home of the Refugees could only obtain residency rights as "monitored individuals."

Could it be the refugees from the Battle of Falling Leaves?

He gave the man a peculiar look, nodded his head, and returned the document to him.

"That won't be necessary, just showing it to me is fine; subsequent staff will verify the authenticity of the documents. And... thank you for your cooperation, I wish you a pleasant life."

"I wish you a pleasant life too."

Niyan bowed courteously, even more so than to Duke Garava, a radiant smile on his face.

As early as his first day in the City of Dawn, he had learned how to apply for an Alliance identity card. Back then, the threshold was not as high as it is now—it was enough to be in the City of Dawn and work a monthly total of 120 hours.

He found a tavern operated by Waste Land Wanderers, paid the owner a sum of money, and easily resolved this issue.

Duke Garava might be bad-tempered, but as long as you fluttered around him pleasingly, he was quite generous.

Of course, there were still many smart people in the Alliance, particularly with the help of the Moon tribeswomen from Potato Harbor, the loophole of "paid Work" had been closed, and the threshold for obtaining documents had been significantly raised.

However, the law does not apply retroactively; for the "City of Dawn Resident status" that he already held in his hands, there was no impact.

At that time, he had obtained the card simply out of admiration for that esteemed personage, yet he never imagined that his decision at the time would bring him such a great benefit.

The Baiyue Corporation might have given his emperor a good thrashing, but what of it?

He hated every single one of the thousand pillars in the City of Thousand Pillars. He wished Baiyue Corporation would take another step forward and smash all of their pillars to pieces—that would be best.

Even taking down just one pillar of those Mouse Tribe people would be good!

The residents of Dawn City thought that losing money was no big deal, which was convenient because he felt the same way, even more radical in fact—he thought there were still too few dead rats on Ten Peaks Mountain!

Of course.

Having read every issue of the Survivor's Daily carefully, he knew full well that this was a welfare benefit the Manager had scattered to everyone. Losing money was almost impossible; it was more like picking it up for free.

The line moved slowly.

After queuing for a full two hours, Niyan finally saw the grand entrance of the securities exchange, and his heart started pounding excitedly in rhythm with the advancing queue.

Although his documents had been checked three times by three different security guards during these two hours, his mood wasn't affected in the slightest, nor did he feel discriminated against in any way.

After all, this slight offense was nothing compared to the humiliation he suffered in the White Elephant City and under Duke Garava.

It would be better for them to make the checks even more rigorous, so no other mice could sneak in with their dirty paws and taint the little bit of cream he had finally managed to taste.

The queue had finally come to an end.

The air conditioning in the hall cooled some of the heat from his heart. Following the instructions of the staff, he quickly received his number and the forms he needed to fill out and, upon hearing his number called, rushed impatiently to the counter.

A beautiful Alliance girl handled his paperwork, her face as delicate as the cobblestones on the beach, her eyes sparkling enchantingly, as if reflecting the light of the water.

Compared to her, Duke Garava's wife and mistresses were like cows in a shanty!

He admitted that his eyesight might have been filtered, and Alliance cosmetics indeed did wonders, but he could swear he wasn't lying.

In the Alliance, even the average person shone so brightly!

A little uncomfortable under his ardent gaze, the teller coughed lightly and spoke in a strictly business tone,

"Please present your ID."

"Niyan, Alliance citizen."

Niyan quickly presented his well-worn ID, flashing her a diligent smile.

She faced thousands of such smiles every day, but she still responded with a professional one, took the already completed form from his hand after confirming his ID.

His eagerness verging on zealotry was probably characteristic of wasteland wanderers who had recently joined the Alliance.

She thought as much, glancing at the form, but surprise flickered in her eyes after seeing the number of shares he filled in, and she inadvertently opened her polished lips wide in astonishment,

"…Ninety thousand shares?!"

That was nearly the personal purchase limit!

How did this guy make so much money?

It wasn't that she was materialistic; she treated all clients equally. It was just that the contrast this client presented was too great, like a beggar pulling out a large stack of cash from his pocket.

It was hard not to wonder where his money came from.

Seeing the surprise in the young woman's eyes, Niyan smiled modestly yet couldn't conceal the pride in his gaze.

"I made a little money from my business, an absolutely legitimate transaction that you're free to investigate... however, after your investigation, please give me this opportunity. I'm a citizen of the Alliance too, and I want to invest this money into greater ventures."

Repressing the surprised look on her face, the teller continued.

"Due to my responsibilities, I must tell you upfront that Baiyue Corporation doesn't engage in any so-called greater ventures. It's purely an organization aimed at profit, fundamentally different from relief organizations like Home of the Refugees."

"We need you to clearly understand that this is an investment, not a donation, nor a gamble. All investment activities come with risks, and you have to take responsibility for your choices and swear that you are fully aware of what you're doing."

"Do I need to raise a few fingers and swear?" Niyan asked with a smile, lifting his right hand above his head.

"No need," the teller said as she pulled out two contracts from a drawer, "you have to read this Equity Subscription Agreement and the Risk Disclosure Document carefully and sign at the end."

Niyan took the contracts and pen, casually signing his name on both documents without a glance, then gently placed the pen on the table.

"I'm well aware that this isn't some grand venture and that the esteemed Manager doesn't need this bit of money from me, but still, I hope they can speed things up, just a bit faster... please understand the modest wishes of a mere mouse. I am too insignificant, insignificant to the extent that my master doesn't even consider me, deeming me too weak to even have the right to betray him... and indeed, I don't have that right, I really don't. My business couldn't work without his support."

Watching the puzzled teller, Niyan slightly bowed in a traditional Imperial court gesture.

"I wish you a pleasant life, beautiful lady. In Poluo Province, a girl your age is nothing more than merchandise... of course, as livestock myself, I am no different."

Watching the man who completed all the procedures and turned to leave the building, the girl behind the counter blinked in confusion and quietly asked her older colleague a question.

It was her senior at work, someone she trusted greatly.

"Is Poluo Province really that exaggerated?"

As she spoke, she didn't stop working, quickly tapping on the tablet, and calling the next number.

Her colleague shook his head ambiguously and made a jocular remark with no clear stance before moving on to the next task.

"You never know how much truth there is in the words of Waste Land Wanderers. Perhaps he was just trying to hit on you, look at that guy, he must be from Potato Harbor. I heard that people there dream of pairing up with someone from the City of Dawn... Ah, that said, Potato Harbor is already quite far."

As for Poluo Province, it was so distant that he had no interest in learning about it, having only eaten its local dishes at a restaurant out of curiosity.

But those "porridges" turned out to be pretty unimpressive; he couldn't tell the difference between them at all, certainly not when compared to the dazzling array of delicacies in the Alliance.

Maybe Baiyue Corporation really did change the lives of people there, like how The Church's people use cutlery and eat at tables, so much so that the people still hoped for more.

But that's their business, not his. He was just a small-time clerk in Dawn City, and he didn't care for that sort of thing.

In comparison, he was more concerned with the respected Manager and the interests of the Alliance. At least that justified his hourly wage of 8 Silver Coins.

Praise the Manager!

He would remain forever loyal to that noble gentleman, who could have kept all the money in his own pocket, making those in the queue only look on in envy.

He heard that the hourly wage of a survivor in Jin Jialun was only one-tenth of his, and before that, even less.

He was really curious how they managed to survive.

Chapter 764: Carnival!

"20 million shares sold out on the very same day."

"The next day, the trading of circulating shares began at the Dawn City Securities Exchange, with the main screen in the hall updating in real time the buy and sell orders for Baiyue Corporation's stock, as well as the transaction price."

"Since the exchange had only one stock listed, Baiyue Corporation almost passively became the center of attention."

"Watching the transaction price continuously hitting new highs, investors' enthusiasm lost its rationale at times, triggering the exchange's circuit breaker mechanism multiple times, with trading halts lasting even longer than the trading itself."

"In a corner of the hall, residents from Ideal City stared wide-eyed with disbelief written all over their faces at the soaring prices."

"He was a representative of the organization that had guided Baiyue Corporation through the IPO process."

"Although he had anticipated a surge in the stock price following the public offering, after studying Baiyue Corporation's business, he hadn't expected the scene to be so exaggerated."

"In Ideal City, there had never been a stock that doubled its price after listing."

"If such a thing did happen, it only meant that the auditors had been remiss and had set the offering price too low!"

"However, he was certain that the current situation at Baiyue Corporation wasn't due to his lack of professionalism; a P/E ratio of 20 times might be low for such a high-growth company, but not to such an exaggerated extent."

"Another explanation—"

"The investors in Dawn City had gone mad!"

"…had I known, I would've gotten an ID card when I traveled here earlier this year," the organizational representative couldn't help but lament.

"The crazy price made him itch, but a pity he could only watch without an ID card, unable to play the field."

"Standing beside him was an expert from Camp 101, who was also one of the designers of the trading rules for the Dawn City Securities Exchange."

"Upon hearing the lament of the representative, the expert said with a smile,"

"You've made plenty of money yourself, haven't you? Still envious of the small change in ordinary people's pockets?"

"Not the same," the representative shook his head, "Is the money earned from work the same as money picked up for no effort?"

"After a pause, he couldn't help adding,"

"Speaking of which, are you guys really not considering relaxing the purchasing eligibility restrictions? I bet Ideal City would have countless investors rushing in with their money; you could raise several times, even tens of times, the capital you're getting now!"

"In fact, Ideal City would be a more suitable place for Baiyue Corporation to list. Not only is the capital more extensive there, but the resources are also far richer than here."

"The Camp 101 expert responded with a faint smile,"

"Money is just a tool, and money is just a number. We Managers say that we've distributed the social productive forces through a series of measures, and now we must distribute the generated profits to those who create wealth, that is, the ordinary citizens of the Alliance."

"The Managers' directive is that we will open up to investors outside of the Alliance to participate in trading when the time is right, but only when the rules of the Dawn City Exchange become mature and the funds have formed a sufficient scale... which is clearly not the case right now."

"Hearing this, the organizational representative shook his head regretfully and sighed,"

"By that time, the price will probably have soared through the roof. The institutions in Ideal City aren't fools either; they won't come over to take it off our hands."

"The Camp 101 expert nodded, agreeing with his point but also expressing a different view,"

"But if we let you guys in now, our investors would be wiped out by you, and the wealth they created would all go into your pockets, which our Managers do not want to see. There's no perfect solution in this world. We can make countless assumptions but can only choose one to proceed with."

"Understood," the organizational representative nodded, looking enviously at the ascending numbers, and said with a tinge of regret, "I hope you can get ready a bit faster..."

In truth, it wasn't the residents of Ideal City who were most envious, but the merchants from other regions of the Wasteland, particularly those from Bugra Free State to the north, whose eyes seemed to blaze with envy, as if their gaze alone could literally paint the word "envious" on their faces.

When it came to Baiyue Corporation's business operations, they knew even more than the residents of Dawn City themselves!

This colossal corporation, backed by two huge industrial bases, not only controlled the resource-rich raw material production base of the Baiyue Province, but also owned the rich mineral deposits of Poluo Province, with its business covering a third of the Central Continent!

Furthermore, hundreds of Alliance companies, including Bull Horse Group, Huge Rock Military Industry, Goblin Technology, Factory No.81, and others, had also opened up foreign markets along with this behemoth marching towards the world stage.

Now, this titan of a corporation was riding the tailwinds of the Sticky Community, and its influence was continuously expanding along with the Alliance's reach!

All it took now was a flick of the finger to fill out a form and become a shareholder of this giant enterprise!

Never mind the issue price of 10 silver coins.

Even at an issue price of 100 silver coins, they would open their purses and pay without hesitation!

After all, such an outstanding enterprise would never be underestimated in Bugra; the issue price would at least be several hundreds of thousands of bro units!

The immensely powerful Firestone Group would devour the first succulent bite, followed by their coddled stooges taking the second bite, while the manipulated auditing institutions and supervising authorities would greenlight their financial reports, allowing them to shape excrement into the form of a cake and serve it on the table as chocolate. By the time ordinary people could buy in, they would only serve the role of picking up the tab for those bigwigs, with only the foam in the beer left for them to fully indulge in.

As for truly high-quality assets, they would find a way to package and sell them in Ideal City in exchange for Cr, and only then would they take their accounting a bit seriously.

After all, Ideal City was not easily fooled, and the cost of buying over the council was too steep, so steep that one would have to buy the entire Ideal City... which was highly unrealistic.

However, envy aside, the merchants who had been traveling around all year only had Alliance bank cards, not that identity card.

Even if there were channels for investment immigration, it was too late to act now...

So they too could only watch.

A merchant from Bugra could not help but mutter with jealousy,

"Selling it so cheap... isn't that just to buy people's hearts?"

"Indeed," another salesperson muttered, "Ten silver coins... One hour of labour could buy one stock, they might as well just give the company away to the poor."

The mercenary beside them nodded in agreement, his clear pupils brimming with naivety masquerading as wisdom.

"Indeed, to distribute dividends to everyone is like distributing nothing; they play it this way, and sooner or later they'll end up just like us... even the change from inflation won't catch up with the dividends."

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the exchange, a few players in blue jackets were also watching the numbers jumping on the screen, their faces lit up with unabated joy.

"Damn! Twenty silver?!"

"It doubled!!!"

"Holy moly..."

"Man, if only I were an NPC."

"Soul-traveling into the game, huh."

"Give it a rest, you flirtatious thing. Do you really think you could survive two episodes if you actually got transported into the Game?"

"Damn! Can't I play a little safe?"

"Speaking of which, is there a possibility that among the NPCs there are actually souls who've transmigrated or been reborn?"

Listening to the noobs jabbering away, Chu Guang chuckled and teased.

"Then that guy must have read the script in advance, so he's here buying Baiyue Corporation's stocks now, right?"

Makabazi burst into laughter, "Hahaha, suddenly starting to daydream, huh?"

They weren't particularly interested in Baiyue Corporation's stocks, and they weren't hurting for money either.

By the time Baiyue Corporation had gone south to clear new land, they had already leveled up their related job skills to LV9 and bought a large tract of land north of West State City to start a big farm.

Who knows, maybe one day their own farm would get listed here. Wouldn't that be nicer than buying someone else's stocks?

"Seriously, do you guys find it interesting just standing here watching since you can't buy in?" Teng Teng couldn't help but whisper a complaint as he passed by the crowd of players at the entrance.

A newbie replied with a sly grin.

"I understand the reasoning, but it's fun to watch."

Just then, a shout came from the entrance.

"Thirty silver coins now!!!"

Hearing this, the person spun their head back around and joined the crowd in cheering.

"Awesome!!"

"Well played!!"

"Nice move! Err—I mean, nice rise!!"

Teng Teng couldn't help but hold his forehead and muttered under his breath.

"These guys have lost it..."

Crow: "emmm... they were never really normal, huh."

Teng Teng: "Uh, true..."

...

While the securities exchange in Dawn City was bustling, the official website of another world was also unusually lively.

On the same day that Baiyue Corporation went public, the Silver Exchange launched a new sub-page—"Stock Equity Assets Trading Page"—and stuffed the newly listed Baiyue Corporation into it.

Although Silver Exchange had previously traded assets in the Game, including stocks and such, it had not categorized assets in detail.

The launch of the new sub-page was undoubtedly a signal that the Game officials planned to regulate the virtual asset trading market.

Shares of the listed Baiyue Corporation could only be traded with the Game official-designated silver coins, not with real-world money or other forms of currency directly, and all transactions had to be performed publicly, only through transfer.

In other words, Baiyue Corporation couldn't raise funds on the Silver Exchange but had to cash out through personal transactions with other players.

After all, there was a huge pile of silver coins on the Silver Exchange, essentially "game currency" distributed to players by Chu Guang, and it had its inflated portion. If Baiyue Corporation was allowed to raise funds there, it would be like scooping back the bubbles he had painstakingly pushed into the reservoir to be "canceled" out.

However, if player stock trading was banned, going public would lose its purpose.

So Chu Guang came up with this compromise: NPC-owned shares would circulate in the Dawn City Exchange, and player-owned shares in the Silver Exchange, without interference between the two.

Collective capital-raising activities of Baiyue Corporation could only take place in the Dawn City Exchange.

This way, they could ensure that the large influx of money into the production and operation sector was not the "artificially inflated and already squeezed out" bubble, but actual profits generated by Alliance society in its production and operational activities.

In the future, Chu Guang would consider gradually lifting this restriction, but for an Alliance where "players can earn an ordinary person's daily income by killing a monster," it was still a bit premature. It would be tantamount to condoning players using their privileges to plunder the wealth of Alliance citizens.

The money and green lights given to players by Chu Guang seemed plenty enough; their well-feathered selves should expand outward, exploring the wider Wasteland, rather than harvesting their own people.

And the facts proved that Chu Guang's "precaution" was not unfounded.

Shortly after the sub-page of the Silver Exchange went online, Baiyue Corporation's stock price soared to 200 silver coins per share!

Meanwhile, the average transaction price at the Dawn City Exchange had only risen to 37 silver coins.

Although there was no concept of an "issue price" on the Silver Exchange, since they only trade and don't issue, such an outrageous discrepancy still silenced both buyers and sellers.

It was an eerie scene, with heaps of buy and sell orders on the board yet no one transacting. Oddly enough, there were minutes on end with zero volume, despite the absence of a circuit breaker mechanism.

It resembled the Silver Exchange when it first emerged, back when the auction function wasn't yet live.

Ah Wei: "Giao! 200 silver coins... Si Si! Quick, help me calculate how much money we have now! Σ(ﾟДﾟ;)"

Si Si: "Ah Wei, saying that out loud might make people hate us, you know. But seriously, such a rise is somewhat outrageous... I wonder who's buying."

Quit Smoking: "What I'm curious about is who's selling. Isn't it better to hold onto it? (facepalm)"

Ah Wei: "Hehe, I secretly sold a bit when it was around 50. (~︶~)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Well done, selling at fifty? What a loss!"

Who Can Understand: "Indeed, it was sold for cheap. I'm afraid those listed on the Dawn City Exchange might touch 50 in a couple of months."

Ah Wei: "Let's earn money together. Anyway, I've still got quite a few zeros. (*/ω\\*)"

Worker Warrior: "Damn, I acted too rashly. T.T"

Canyon Fugitive Mole: "Damn it, if it keeps rising like this, that damn Fang Chang's net worth could buy the whole Earth!"

Fang Chang: "Tsk, I thought you weren't a rookie. Why start talking such foolish claptrap now? Can you spend the valuation as money? (side-eye)"

Canyon Fugitive Mole: "I don't care! O mighty planner, if you don't make a cut soon, this Game is unplayable!! T.T"

Night Ten: "Slick, a thief crying out to catch a thief. I almost forgot you invested too. Let's make a cut on this guy first!"

Irina: "I'd advise you guys to stop yelling. Keep it up and Chu Guang might really take action. (facetious)"

Gnome King Riches: "Chu Guang: You guys are really making it hard for me. (facetious)"

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "Hey, to be honest, I'm getting anxious for you. In the Game, a share is 37 silver coins, but it's 200 silver on the official website. With such a huge arbitrage opportunity, wouldn't it be like lying down and making money if you could sell NPC stocks on the official website?"

Night Ten: "If even you can think of that problem, do you think Ah Guang hasn't considered it? (facetious)"

Fugitive Mole from the Canyon: "Go to bed and forget about it. The designers have already plugged that bug. NPCs and players can't transfer stock ownership at all. The only way to change stock ownership percentages is through financing."

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "Damn, so the stocks you guys are holding are non-tradable shares?!"

Fang Chang: "To be precise, they're 'restricted tradable shares.' By financing through public offerings, it's possible to sell equity to NPCs. Using Baiyue Corporation's liquid funds to repurchase and cancel circulating shares is essentially buying stocks from NPCs. But all these operations have to be done in bulk."

"In addition, the next offering plan is also for 8% of the shares, tentatively scheduled after the next quarterly financial report or dividend plan is released. I estimate that when the social shareholding reaches a certain percentage, players will be allowed to participate in the transactions of the Dawn City Exchange. After all, allowing players free trading at this stage really isn't fair to NPCs, since most players are way too rich."

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "Do you have so much money that you don't know where to spend it, worrying about the wealth gap between NPCs? (laughing with tears)"

Fang Chang: "After all, this is a nurturing game. It feels quite rewarding to see the Alliance becoming stronger. (facetious)"

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "6..."

Riding a Donkey to the Market: "Actually, there's a very obvious loophole in this set of rules. Following this method, the shareholding ratio of players will keep diluting. After all, 'stock buyback and cancellation' is definitely more difficult than 'financing.' The overall trend will surely be the flow of equity from the hands of players to NPCs."

Night Ten: "How do you know this is a loophole, and not something the planners did on purpose? (facetious)"

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "Aren't you worried at all? (laughing with tears)"

Fang Chang: "Be content. If you played a few more games, you'd know that the measures Ah Guang takes to maintain the stability of the game's economic system are already quite mild. If it were another operator, they wouldn't bother explaining things and would just directly adjust your revenue coefficient."

WC Mosquito: "Anton Star, who slashed the earnings of regular accounts into the negatives, likes this. (facetious)"

Riding a Donkey to the Market: "...6."

...

The listing of Baiyue Corporation was just a minor episode for the residents of Dawn City.

If it weren't for that joke in the Goblin Observation Report, most people might not have even bothered to join the queue until several days later when Baiyue Corporation's shares rose to 40 silver each.

In the lobby of the Highway Town Hotel.

Looking at the newspaper in his hand, Zhou Nan shook his head and sighed with dissatisfaction.

"What a pity, there's a cap of 100,000 shares per person, I really wish it was 1 million... Do you know? The biggest regret of my life is that I chose to be a trader instead of opening a steel factory with you."

In just a few days, the market value of his 100,000 shares had quadrupled!

Worth 4 million silver coins!

Although market value isn't money, he believed that if he himself put these 100,000 shares up on the exchange, they would be sold out in less than a day.

There were still a lot of wealthy people in Dawn City, like the guy sitting across from him.

He bet that if he was willing to sell, this guy would definitely buy them without hesitation!

Looking at his drinking buddy sighing over there, Sun Shiqi chuckled.

"It's not too late to regret it now. In a few months, my steel factory might go public too."

"Have you heard something?" Zhou Nan's heart stirred as he looked at him eagerly.

Taking a sip of beer, Sun Shiqi glanced around, noticed that no one was paying attention to them, and said softly.

"It's not about hearing rumors, if the only company approved for listing is Baiyue Corporation, why would the Alliance bother to set up an exchange in Dawn City? I reckon it's not just Baiyue Corporation that will be involved, including Bull Horse Group, Factory No.81, and other enterprises collectively owned by the residents of the refuge will also transfer part of their equity to the general public of the Alliance."

And it's not only these giants that have already started to snowball, but fledgling startups that lack funding could also get support.

The best way is to let investors who invest in the former make money and then lure them with more benefits to dig for gold among a bunch of small enterprises.

To get the residents of the Alliance to invest in Baiyue Corporation, you first have to give them money. And to get them to invest in those smaller companies with higher risk and growth potential, you must let them make money from stable investment projects.

He believed it wouldn't be long before the Dawn City Securities Exchange would moderately lower the market entry barriers.

Zhou Nan pondered it over in his mind, and it seemed to indeed be the case, if it were just to sell 8% of the stock, there was no need to open an exchange, which means there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

"That makes sense... sss... now that you mention it, I suddenly feel like 40 silver coins is too cheap, I need to buy some more." Zhou Nan said thoughtfully, a sudden regret on his face that he hadn't bought more when it was cheap, only happy about the money he'd made from the increase.

Watching his regretful look, Sun Shiqi laughed out loud and took a sip of his beer.

"Don't be too greedy, there will be opportunities in the future; haste won't get you anywhere with hot tofu."

His friend saw the share price of Baiyue Corporation quadrupling, but he saw the terrifying valuation after Baiyue Corporation's surge, reaching a staggering 25 billion silver coins!

What does 25 billion silver coins signify?

When he bought the Incredibly Powerful Steel Mill from Fred, he spent only 50 million chips, which converted to silver coins was just 25 million at the rate back then.

Since he borrowed this money from a bank in Dawn City, he remembered this figure very clearly. It's no exaggeration to say that that acquisition was the true starting point of his career takeoff!

Currently, the Incredibly Powerful Steel Mill in Giant Stone City has resumed work after debt settlement and remains the city's largest steel mill.

Assuming Baiyue Corporation is truly worth 25 billion silver coins, that steel mill would be worth at least 1 or even 2 billion!

If it wasn't for the listing of Baiyue Corporation, he wouldn't even know how rich he had become.

Speaking of which, how much is the List factory worth?

Recently, that guy won the bid for the electric power system of Jinjaron Harbor and is said to have built an electric vehicle factory. The valuation could reach 5 billion... no, 10 billion is possible, after all, 25 billion silver coins is clearly not the limit of Baiyue Corporation.

In an instant, his mind was flooded with countless thoughts, and Sun Shiqi, drinking his beer, suddenly felt reflective.

"Actually... I feel both thrilled and intimidated..."

Zhou Nan, who was calculating how much money he "lost," looked up at him, paused, then smiled.

"Are you still worried about Manager Sir causing you trouble? I bet that person has long forgotten you."

Sun Shiqi shook his head.

"No, those are all things of the past; I'm thinking of that one thing, remember S Coins?"

Zhou Nan: "Of course, I remember; how could I forget such a big deal?"

Sun Shiqi nodded, his gaze losing focus in memory, as his thoughts seemed to drift along with that recollection.

"... The chip that ruled this region operated stably for over a hundred and fifty years, with its designers being experts from the pre-war era as well as residents who came out of the refuge. Yet, it was just one minor mistake that destroyed everything. I still remember the guy who sold the steel mill to me; I occasionally invite him out for a drink or two."

"Ah... you mean that drunkard, I remember him," Zhou Nan recalled the man.

That fellow would sometimes show up at the tavern on North Street of Dawn City, always looking disheveled, not nearsighted, yet wearing a gold-rimmed monocle.

Taking a sip of his foamy beer, Sun Shiqi said languidly,

"Stupidity won't destroy a person, but insanity will... That's what I'm most worried about. I'm afraid it'll stand still, and I'm even more afraid that it'll take a step too far and pull us all into a ditch."

Zhou Nan pondered for a moment and then shrugged lightly.

"Worry is reasonable, but I think there's no need to worry too much... After all, you're that drunkard, are you?"

Sun Shiqi: "That's not the case."

"Right, you're not him, you're the one who won..." Zhou Nan said with a smile and clinked glasses with his drinking buddy, squeezing his eyebrows at him, "The lesson of Giant Stone City is harsh enough; I'm sure our Manager understands it more deeply than you think. No offense, after all, you just scooped up a steel mill, while he scooped up the entire Giant Stone City."

"Haha, that's true," Sun Shiqi laughed and nodded, the worries weighing on his heart suddenly dispersed.

The Alliance was different from Giant Stone City after all.

They've absorbed not just the technology of Giant Stone City but also the experiences and lessons of its people.

The Workers' Association and Survivor's Daily are the best proofs that the Alliance didn't reject them just because they were from Giant Stone City; on the contrary, they brought them to the Wasteland to thrive and prosper.

Since VM will not become a Black Card, what else is there for him to worry about?

There was a moment when he suddenly found the persistently troublesome Workers' Association not so annoying after all.

Those guys could sometimes be a bit too rough and "insatiable," but at least they were reasonable and abided by the law.

If it weren't for that thing, he felt that his own end might not be any more dignified than Fred's and Wei Jia's.

The latter at least got away and was said to be doing not too badly in the Free State. The former did indeed get away, but he lost all his wealth overnight due to his greed on S Coins, a real tragedy indeed.

Of course, understanding is one thing, but when it's time to fight for his own interests, he won't go easy.

"Greed... Yes, not just insanity, but also greed. Greed and insanity are both taboo! I must write it down in the family precepts," Sun Shiqi muttered to himself while swirling the foam in his glass.

Seeing him look so neurotic, Zhou Nan scoffed and said,

"Do you even know who your parents are, to have a damn family precept?"

He at least had a family, and had recently brought them over from Brocade River Province to join the Alliance.

Although this guy had never talked about his background, since he was born in Red River Town, he was most likely a slave from the mines there or the child of a slave.

Of course, he had no intention of looking down on his friend; just as he had never hidden his serfdom background.

"It doesn't matter," Sun Shiqi coughed and said carelessly with a smile, "It's not too late to start writing a family tree now... Even though I was born in this godforsaken Wasteland, it doesn't necessarily mean my next generation will be."

Zhou Nan teased with a laugh.

"Talk about it after you find a good person and settle down first."

Sun Shiqi chuckled his way out of answering.

"Ha ha ha, we'll talk about it some other time."

The night deepened.

As a group of residents from the refuge joined in, the lively atmosphere in the lobby of the Highway Town Hotel reached its peak, with the clinking of glasses and laughter filling the air.

Whether it was an illusion or not, tonight's beer seemed intoxicatingly potent, even the malt's aroma carried a hint of alcohol, making one feel tipsy just from the smell.

A drunkard suddenly stood up and, with a loud voice, bellowed out.

"Praise the Manager!"

The sound received numerous nods of approval, and praise intermingled with laughter rippled through the crowd.

Sitting at the bar, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group smiled, bringing his glass up to the edge of his helmet, but just when he was about to drink, he realized it was empty and awkwardly set it back down.

He was wearing the K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton because there had been quite a few people from Vellante in Dawn City recently, so he had to wear this full protection armor when coming here for a drink.

To be honest, wearing this thing made drinking inconvenient, especially after having a few too many.

Just after he set down his glass, a petite figure came over with a tray and served him a fresh drink.

Seeing the sweat on Lisa's forehead, the Old Soldier felt a bit embarrassed and said,

"Thank you."

Gazing at the helmet, Lisa gave him a bright smile and said softly,

"You're welcome."

The Old Soldier felt somewhat abashed looking at that charming face.

At that moment, a heavy hand clapped on his shoulder, startling him, as he thought his identity had been exposed. But when he turned around, he saw it was just a drunk who had had one too many.

"Hey, the brother in the blue jacket, tell our respected Manager a big thanks for me—burp—guess what just happened? In the blink of an eye, the 1000 silver coins in my pocket turned into 4000! I've never been this rich!"

Laughter from his friends nearby filled the air.

Seeing the drunk was indeed too inebriated, the Old Soldier helped him sit down at the bar stool and said casually with a chuckle,

"Our respected Mr. Manager surely wouldn't want to see you getting this wasted. Besides, he doesn't need your thanks—he'd just hope that when you lose so bad you can't even afford the slop water, you won't curse him for not warning you that it's not a place to gamble."

"How could I?" The man's eyes widened as he shouted, "My life was saved by him; I could give my life for him! A few thousand silver coins can't buy me, nor can they change my faith!"

The Old Soldier didn't take his words to heart and just patted his shoulder, then handed him the glass of water Lisa had passed to him.

"If that's the case, make sure you keep your word, don't ever abandon it, don't sell it for a lifetime. I don't know how much yearly divided you get, but it sure wouldn't be a problem to let you soak in a tub of booze."

The drunkard burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha, don't worry, I'd never sell! I'll be loyal to him forever! I'll pass it down from generation to generation, to my son, to my grandson!"

Watching the befuddled fellow, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group said with a smile,

"Is that so? Hope you can stick to that. You'll thank me in the future."

Chapter 765: The Unexpected is the Norm of Life

Hauser: "Drowning in beautiful dreams, perishing in madness… that's probably the most accurate depiction of the survivors from City of Dawn. A fish-selling company has been hyped up to 25 billion silver coins, which is more than the entire Alliance combined; this is much more costly than the destruction of Giant Stone City's S Coins!"

"It's apparent they haven't learned a thing from the painful lesson of Giant Stone City; instead, they treat trash as treasures, holding it dearly, while the real treasures are discarded like worn-out shoes."

"The former greatness of Giant Stone City wasn't due to its chips, but rather those hardworking laborers! Yet the Alliance gives money to those fellows... cough, I mean, if people don't have to work for an income, which idiot would work? They are corrupting these diligent people into lazy bums and drunkards with the wrong methods!"

"I'll leave my words here, the Alliance will collapse one day, and those who have silver coins in their pocket will regret it. It's only a matter of time!"

Host (applause): "So, Mr. Hauser, what do you think is the right approach then?"

Hauser: "Mr. Sigma is doing quite well. Although the Firestone Group monopolizes the most profitable industries in Bugra, that gentleman wouldn't be foolish enough to distribute dividends to shareholders... I mean, it's a good thing, of course, the Firestone Group lets the benefits flow silently into the pockets of everyone in Bugra, giving back to the entire community, not fattening the wallets of a handful of shareholders. The loss-making financial reports are the best proof; they're constantly losing money but are always diligently in business! Unlike the managers who buy people's hearts, Mr. Sigma is the unsung philanthropist, the real good guy!"

Host (drinking water sounds): "I also think Mr. Sigma is doing the right thing, but that gentleman is not for you to comment on... Alright, that's all for our interview today, please welcome the next interviewee..."

The radio at the bar began to play soft music, and the host started interviewing another victim of the Giant Stone City bankruptcy.

The recent events in City of Dawn had stung the residents of Bugra; they needed some spiritual massage to lower the blood pressure of these heartbroken children.

After all, the Alliance and Bugra are too close, heaven and hell existing in the same province, with frequent trade caravans passing by, inevitably bringing idle gossip.

This applies to both sides.

For instance, right now, the radios in Giant Stone City could pick up this broadcast.

And Giant Stone City's residents were all too familiar with that distinctly duck-like voice.

"Sometimes I don't understand… has this guy ever actually listened to himself talk?" The middle-aged man eating breakfast at the table made a helpless expression.

Seeing what Mr. Hauser's condition was like was his idea, but now he regretted changing the channel.

Listening to that guy bark was less preferable than listening to the front-line combat reports, which, though dull, were at least not as boring.

The waiter carrying a plate shrugged his shoulders and placed a palm-sized grilled rib steak on the table.

"Don't know, but it seems like we've collapsed again, since it's morning now."

"Ha ha ha ha."

The waiter's joke made everyone laugh. The dining workers burst into belly laughter, with several of them nearly choking.

This was the Walnut Tavern near the Giant Stone City Industrial Zone, its old sign bearing the marks of the years.

The workers from the canning factory used to come here to pick up cigarette butts to smoke and drink watered-down inferior liquor, but now they prefer to order a 3 silver coin rib steak before work, to keep their energy at its best from eight in the morning until noon.

After all, the drunks who get wasted in the early morning are just a minority; most people still need to maintain decency, especially once they have savings and families.

And it was only after they had everything they realized – all this nonsense about qualities, elegance, decency, and the like were never the exclusive right of nobles, just a series of lies woven by those who reap without sowing, to oppress them mentally.

They could see it for themselves more clearly than anyone, that once their lives had improved, they had far more sense of decency and manners than those old aristocrats.

At least they wouldn't use money to humiliate their compatriots, nor would they demand privileges that sat above others' dignity.

Although the mainstream media of Bugra Free State habitually referred to the events in Giant Stone City as "The Great Bankruptcy of Giant Stone City," the residents themselves preferred to call it "The Great Transformation of Giant Stone City."

For instance, Mr. Haus, who had been invited to complain on the radio, was one of the "victims" of that transformation.

Looking at the group of workers who were mocking Haus, only one person exhibited a slightly sympathetic glance.

At the time when Joey and Lovett led the people to take over the broadcast station, he was among them. When they let Haus go, he clearly saw the expression on the guy's face.

"I actually don't hate him," he said. "The guy's a poor sod, and even more so now. We were all hamsters in a cage, and it wasn't easy to break free and run outside of the wheel. He just scrambled into a new cage in a panic before the dawn came: I have to admit, we did scare him quite badly that time."

That studio was just another kind of assembly line, and the exalted host clearly didn't have much respect for Mr. Haus, let alone Mr. Sigma who he showered in praise.

The few sitting at the table exchanged glances.

"I can't agree with you, at least not from my perspective. That guy doesn't deserve sympathy. He never said a good word about us, only claiming he was forced at the very end. And now it looks like he was lying even then; that guy has never reflected on his actions."

"Exactly, if he truly felt he was in the wrong, he wouldn't have run away from here. There's a saying, isn't there? A liar isn't afraid of his lie being exposed, he's afraid that someone will remember he lied. And everyone here remembers."

This statement gained quite a bit of agreement, but not from everyone.

"...But for that very reason, I think his escape is understandable. We've set the laws, but too many people hate him. Even if we don't persecute him systematically, we can't stop a friend from losing control and throwing a bottle at him, or even shooting him in the back of the head."

The noisy debate continued until the clock struck the hour, and the workers, leaving their messy table settings behind, made their way to their jobs.

In the past, they had to be on time at the canning factory when the bell rang, but the Workers' Association demanded, arguing "workers don't have watches, and only know the time when they hear the bell" and "one can only work energetically if well-fed," that the factory should either provide a free work meal or give workers a 20-minute commute time.

Despite the absurd sounding reasons, faced with choosing the lesser of two evils, the Industrialist Association ultimately went with the latter option. In exchange for not affecting production plans and prohibiting drinking before work, they gave workers twenty minutes of "paid commuting" time.

For the factories, just getting these drunks to drink a little less could increase productivity quite a bit.

And for those workers, even if just to maintain the dignity they had fought hard to acquire, they would take their jobs a little more seriously.

However, what no one expected was that the haggling between the Workers' Association and the Industrialist Association would benefit most were the breakfast vendors pushing carts and even some bars that didn't open in the mornings now operating 18-hours or even 24-hours a day.

Longer business hours meant needing more employees, or else expensive overtime pay would ensue, so even the already populous Giant Stone City experienced a labor shortage.

Fortunately, the continued influx of survivors pouring into Giant Stone City filled the gap, especially immigrants from Central and Poluo Provinces, most of who would start by washing dishes.

That wasn't to say all went the same route.

For example, Niyan was an exception.

While most people were washing dishes for their identity cards, he came up with the idea to pay for work, hiring citizens of the Alliance to be his bosses.

It was more than that.

When the foolish Wolf Clan guards were still figuring out ways to cheer up the duke, he had already come up with a brilliant idea—to start his own newspaper that catered specifically to Duke Garava's tastes.

This was actually very easy, so much so that he didn't even need to waste any brain cells thinking about it, because Hauser had already thought it all out for him. He just had to hold his nose and transcribe that guy's nonsense from the studio onto paper, then sprinkle some extras on top and serve it up to Duke Garava's table.

The name of this newspaper was the Dawn Garden Street Report, "Dawn" naturally referring to the City of Dawn, while Garden Street Metro Station was a historic location in Spring City.

No one would know that this was just a minor newspaper, as it wouldn't be distributed publicly.

It was, in fact, an exploitation of a loophole in the Alliance's laws, much like when he first obtained his identity.

Only publicly distributed newspapers had to go through the qualifications of the industry committee, while his newspaper's readership consisted only of Duke Garava and a group of employees from the Embassy of the West Winds Empire, printed under the guise of office supplies, not even needing to add an "Entertainment News" label.

In fact, the Dawn Garden Post wasn't even registered under the name of a newspaper agency; the business category was listed simply as office and infant supplies.

It was merely called a newspaper by name.

Of course, due to the merciless oppression by the City of Dawn authorities against those who dared to speak the truth, the survival of the Dawn Garden Post was in peril, requiring the sponsorship of kind-hearted individuals to continue spreading the truth.

Niyan instructed the editor responsible for typesetting to not only play up the sob story but also to leave a bank account number for donations at the end of the paper.

Sure enough, his newspaper received one "anonymous donation" after another.

Sometimes the signatures of these donations were "The Supreme Giant from White Elephant City," sometimes "A Benevolent and Tender-hearted Elephant Tribe Poet," and even a "Boatman on the Everflow River Fighting for Equality," but Niyan knew better than anyone that all these pseudonyms were actually just one person.

After all, only one person from the entire West Winds Embassy would read the Dawn Garden Post from start to finish.

Moreover, whenever it was time to make a bank deposit, it was him who went on behalf of Duke Garava.

If not for needing the bank's receipt, he might have even skipped the step of sending money.

Occasionally, Duke Garava was so delighted by the newspaper that he would ask Niyan to turn the news of the imminent collapse of the Alliance into a telegram and send it to the esteemed Witch Camel in the Poluo Line's Tiandu to share the pure joy.

However, neither Duke Garava nor His Majesty realized that the entire newspaper operation was actually run by his own loyal servant.

"You're playing with fire, my boss... the City of Dawn is not Stone City, and the people here will not tolerate anyone making a joke of their respected Manager, not even the absurd Goblin Observation Report would mock a living god." Watching the increasingly outrageous content on the newspaper, the editor responsible for typesetting shook his head and looked at the man standing by the Venetian blinds and said.

He was a newcomer, unscarred by past events, not even in possession of an ID card yet, and his feelings towards the Manager were not as fanatical as other people's, but just a general respect.

After witnessing Sigma's hypocrisy, he had come to realize how valuable a boss who truly cared for his subordinates was.

But the people of the City of Dawn didn't see it that way; their feelings for the Manager were like those of the residents of the Falling Leaves Province for the "Spirit of the Sand Sea."

Niyan didn't turn around, only peered through the slits of the Venetian blinds toward the direction of Embassy Street, speaking in a very soft voice.

"No one understands the Alliance better than I do, no one understands the Manager better than I do... I'm his true fan, and as long as we don't break the rules, there's nothing to worry about."

The editor said with a bitter smile,

"You've certainly never heard of the Sindison case."

Before he arrived at the Alliance, he had indeed heard about it; after all, the television stations in Bugra Free State had never missed an opportunity to use that case as a means to mock the state of freedom in the Alliance.

Nyan continued speaking at a leisurely pace.

"Of course, I've heard about it. I've even watched the court's sentencing and thoroughly dissected the case file. It's you who probably only know the name Sindison and presume that you've seen through the entire Alliance. In fact, you're just like those fellows from your homeland, the Bugra Free State; you've drunk so much contaminated water you've lost your sense of taste, and you can't survive without clinging to simple definitions and labels."

The editor was clearly unconvinced but, considering the other was the boss, he restrained his temper and retorted,

"Isn't that the fact? He had the Guards Corps arrest that guy."

Nyan turned to look at him, smiling as he spoke.

"Then guess what would have happened to that guy named Sindison if he hadn't done that? This is the Wasteland, the law can punish those who make mistakes, but it can't bring the dead back to life. I bet, let alone getting on a train home, if the Guards Corps hadn't arrived in time, he wouldn't even have been able to walk out of that hotel alive."

The editor laughed dismissively, "According to you, was he actually protecting that guy?"

Nyan said, still smiling,

"Protect that guy? Haha, it seems only I truly understand that gentleman... He wasn't protecting Sindison or those who were causing a ruckus in his name, but rather the order of the Alliance."

In fact, it was precisely because of the Sindison case that the citizens of the Alliance had shown unprecedented enthusiasm. They voluntarily participated in the affairs of the representative assembly, improving a series of laws, such as the regulations governing the newspaper industry, and so forth.

Unlike the emperor of West Winds or Sigma of the Free State, he had channeled people's fervor and loyalty toward the right place.

And this was the very reason why Nyan admired him the most.

Looking at the speechless editor, Nyan continued,

"Just do as I say. That gentleman isn't petty. I've told you before, our job is to deceive, and I need Duke Garava's money too. I need him to continue making foolish mistakes. Besides that, I have a lot of other things to do, and not just to improve my own life... I also have to do some good deeds."

In fact, after spending some time in the City of Dawn, his mindset had begun to change, especially after reading "Awakener Bol."

He couldn't forget that phrase—

"The tangible Stephen can be destroyed, but the intangible Stephen cannot be annihilated. We are their ghosts, and they are ours as well."

That sentence was like a revelation, awakening him who was lost and muddled in the maze without a way out. What Poluo Province really needed was not the grand personage he had admired.

Angering Duke Garava to death was meaningless. Poluo Province had more than one White Elephant City and more than one duke. What's more, this duke had a bunch of wives and a whole slew of sons; he could pass on his title generation after generation.

To eradicate an entire nest of cockroaches, one mustn't just focus on one cockroach.

If he really did anger him to death, not only would the West Winds Empire remain unchanged, but it would even have a resurgence from losing an inept talent who was nothing without his lineage.

That was possible because not many could attract hatred like Duke Garava. He couldn't make the Alliance's foreign minister slam the table in anger, but that guy could even make Centurion Bennott, an ally, show a disgusted expression, without any acting.

In the end, Duke Garava died, and he lost the only tool he could use.

So instead of getting mad at the Goblin Observation Report, it's better to coddle him like a baby with a pacifier, letting him indulge in the sweetness of milk and honey.

Duke Garava would never know where his money actually went.

He was going to take that money to sponsor the Survivor's Daily in Potato Harbor, helping those who escaped from Lowell Camp to start more editions of the Survivor's Daily in Jin Galun Port, West Sail Port, and all places where a spark could ignite.

It wasn't just about giving money, he would also contribute articles to the Survivor's Daily in Potato Harbor himself, just like Mr. Spielberg, who wrote "Awakener Bol."

For this, he had specifically visited Giant Stone City, met with the experiencer of that revolution, and even had a long talk with the white-haired librarian of Giant Stone City, Mr. Melvin, and read the chronicle draft written by the old man for Giant Stone City.

He and that old man believed that it was Hal's Survivor's Daily that lit the flame of enlightenment, and Spielberg's "Awakener Bol" united the poor people of Giant Stone City who had suffered.

The start of the revolution had actually begun earlier than anyone realized, and by the time Elder Sid tried to nip it in the bud, it was already too late. As for chips, S Coins, over-heating economics, and all those crises, they were just the fuse that ignited the powder keg, hastening the process and sparing a few lives.

Without that enlightenment of a new culture, no matter how many people died that night, it would have been in vain, and Giant Stone City would always be Giant Stone City.

And after his chat with that old man, he had found a way to change the West Winds Empire.

While Duke Garava proudly and generously financed the Dawn Garden Report as "the supreme giant of White Elephant City," he had already written what he hated most under the pseudonyms "Mr. Mouse" and "Big Horn Rat" for the newspapers of Potato Harbor – "Emperor's New Carriage" and "A Thousand 'Needles'."

Compared to Spielberg, he had some advantages; his writing talent and insight were far richer than a canning factory worker's, and most crucially, he did not have to start learning from scratch.

Thank heavens, whether out of noble pride or out of laziness to write love letters for noble ladies and misses themselves, Duke Garava had tutors for all the servants, even an oaf like Babru could write, let alone him.

Watching the editor diligently working at the desk, Niyan stood by the louvered windows and took a sip from his teacup.

He felt no ripples in his heart while looking at the manuscript disparaging the Manager, but at that moment, his eyes lit up as he suddenly had a new inspiration, pondering with a slight smile.

"Actually, Mr. Hauser makes a good point, 'laziness' would lead Giant Stone City to ruin, and scarcity is the magic potion for progress... Let me think, the next article will be called 'Red Soil'."

Apart from the thousand pillars of the City of Thousand Pillars, nothing could touch the deepest places of the survivors' souls in Poluo Province more than "Red Soil"...

...

Since the main fighters in the "War of Heaven" were residents of the refuge and the cost of the war was mostly borne by the various parties of the Sticky Community, the residents of the Alliance who were far behind the frontlines didn't feel much impact on their lives.

On the contrary, the orders brought by the war had the factories in Dawn City and Giant Stone City operate three shifts, just as during the war in Luo Xia Province.

However, the difference now was that the Alliance's productivity and material wealth were incomparable to the past.

To attract workers to their factories, each factory pulled out all the stops, not only offering free housing and insurance but continuously raising salaries.

Especially for those workers with skills and experience, factories were practically ready to take care of their next generation's education, with benefits becoming more and more lavishly absurd.

As for those factories that couldn't attract workers no matter what, they had to think of ways to "improve productivity" or "introduce foreign labor."

Some old production lines with a high degree of manual participation were being slowly phased out in favor of lines with higher levels of electrification and automation.

Due to the controllable fusion reactor in West State City, the Alliance had cheap energy costs, and automation was further aided by the experts from Camp 101 and the students they trained.

Additionally, with Poluo Province acting as a "pond" capable of accommodating outdated production lines, there was a place for discarded sewing machines, pot camels, and a series of other devices to go.

The residents of the Alliance, especially those in the City of Dawn, had already eliminated the Wasteland in their vicinity to a certain extent through their own hard work and wisdom.

Chu Guang's expectations for them were not high, he only hoped they would continue to maintain their way, live well, and influence the Waste Land Wanderers in other areas of the Wasteland within their reach...

The front lines of Haiye Province.

Today, the front lines remained the usual meat grinder, with the only difference being that the newbies who had grown accustomed to death were getting more and more skilled at grinding away.

The changes that happened to them were evident.

Players who originally could only kill a dozen or twenty mutated organisms with one life, even if their levels didn't change much, could easily reach the triple digits now in terms of kill count.

Attributes were only one aspect that affected combat power and not the sole determinant.

This was probably the most realistic aspect of the Game.

Chu Guang, who was aboard the Steel Heart, received two reports from afar.

One of the reports came from Camp 101, and the author was Little Fish.

The report mainly described the IPO situation of Baiyue Corporation and the opinions of the Camp 101 expert team, including current market issues and the loopholes that needed to be fixed.

Chu Guang was very satisfied with this report.

Not just because even someone with half-baked knowledge like himself could understand the report, but also because he saw Little Fish's growth between the lines of the report.

Thanks to the scholars at Camp 101, the girl did not waste her talent for numbers and even found a career she was passionate about.

Indeed, sending her to study further with Pai at Camp 101 had been a wise decision.

After all, if she had stayed by his side, at best she might have learned quadratic functions and bulk economics.

As for anything more complicated, he would have had to seek advice from professionals himself.

Looking at the neat handwriting on the tablet, Chu Guang sighed gently with a touch of sentiment.

"Time flies so fast, Little Fish has grown up before my eyes."

Xiao Qi, sitting on the pen holder, nodded slightly and said while supporting her cheeks with her hands.

"Indeed... It feels like it was just yesterday that you taught her math and reading."

Chu Guang cleared his throat softly.

"...it's not that bad."

Although he occasionally did feel as if he were in a different world, the guy's insensitivity to time was a bit exaggerated.

With a light flick of his index finger, Chu Guang set aside that report for the moment and started reading the second one.

This report came from the social science data organizing department of the exploration team, authored by Ms. Han Mingyue, who was conducting research on the local cultural customs at Jin Jialun Port.

He wasn't very familiar with the name, just remembered that she seemed to be a 'little popsicle' discovered by the Thorns Corps in Pioneer City, who had once belonged to Bunker No. 288.

The condition of the Great Desert was different from other regions; it had once endured the massive collapse of not only the entire space elevator but also the orbital station, making it the most complex area on the Wasteland, including its shelters.

For instance, the Administrator's Log for Shelter No. 288 was lost, along with a series of incidents such as premature opening of the shelter doors. In addition, the various events concerning Ms. Han showcased similarities to Heya, and the report on her background totaled five pages.

In short, it seemed that some things had happened in places beyond his knowledge, and influenced by the Thorns Corps commander Lama, Ms. Han took an interest in the activities surrounding a major migration of survivors that had occurred in Poluo Province.

Her work was not just an investigation of past events but also included observing the changes currently taking place in Jin Galun Port.

Since quite a few treasures had been found in the governor's mansion at Jin Galun Port, the exploration team had always been supportive of her project, and Chu Guang had always paid attention to the reports she submitted.

Poluo Province didn't have shelters, yet it was populated with a large number of survivors.

In a sense, her research essentially filled in the missing Administrator's Logs for them.

[...Under the influence of Baiyue Corporation, authorities at Jin Jialun Port utilized the foreign exchange reserves of the West Winds Emperor to build a large number of schools and night schools for adults in the settlement area, promoting an educational reform similar to that in the City of Dawn, which to some extent increased the local literacy rate.

The increase in literacy, along with the influence of Alliance citizens who went there to teach, led to the emergence of novel musical, painting, and literary works in Jin Jialun Port.

The local residents were not only actively striving for a better life but also actively exploring theories beyond 'Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods', attempting to critique and deconstruct some of the outdated and feudal traditions and concepts. The idea that 'Gods do not exist' had become popular among some progressive individuals, which I found most surprising.

Logically, the local conservative forces should have been more entrenched than those in the Lion Kingdom and the Camel Hump Kingdom, yet the reality was the complete opposite of what I had seen. In this 'New Cultural Movement,' 'aligning with the East' quickly became a consensus among the social classes, just as they had previously looked to the West for guidance. The conservative forces, which should have resisted the progressive ones, did not play any role and surprisingly complied. Once they judged resistance was futile, they surrendered immediately.

I believe this is not due to any defeatist or pro-foreign mentality, nor is it an actual surrender, but it seemed more like a kind of 'forbearance' woven into the surviving locals' cultural DNA.

Their tolerance was something I had not seen in other settlements; not even the farm owners in Brocade River Province dared treat their serfs this way, but for them, it was business as usual.

Not only that, but their 'tolerance,' much like their 'stubbornness,' that seldom openly showed, was deeply rooted. These survivors were unlikely to easily change their ways but did not reject bowing down and seeming to change.

Like the old nobles who learned to dress and dine like the Alliance, they immediately distanced themselves from the monarchs and governors they once served, cooperated closely with your troops, and tried to appear even more progressive and diligent than the pro-Alliance group.

You might view this as a good thing; your subordinates might think it's irrelevant, but I must voice my differing opinion. That hidden energy is more like pus disguised as blood hiding in the veins, waiting for an opportunity. Once they find it, they will transform instantly and seal the drafty window they were, which let the wind in, making it even harder for new ideas to permeate.

Of course... there are two sides to every issue. Despite a series of concerns, the progressive measures pushed by your forces locally are commendable, and the achievements they've made are evident to all.

Currently, my research is ongoing, and there may still be oversights; I hope it's just me worrying too much.

]

Chu Guang read through the report to the end, stroked his chin, intended to reply with 'Sociology+3', but remembering it was an NPC's report, he simply responded with 'read'.

His perspective on issues was different from Fang Chang's, and of course, also different from the scholars of the Alliance.

The problems she mentioned certainly existed, he could see them, but as she herself pointed out in the report, the local survivors were voluntarily seeking progress under the influence of the Residents of Shelter No. 404, and the progress they were exploring could potentially address the underlying risks embedded in their civilization.

It wasn't a matter of sitting idle, it was a difficulty the local survivors had to overcome themselves.

Even if Ms. Han had pointed out the problems, it wasn't easy for him to do much about it.

His players had already done much, and any further steps would be overstepping.

He believed Fang Chang also sensed something.

Xiao Qi, sitting on the pen holder, looked at him and playfully teased.

"Master, you used to be skeptical about those players' approaches, but they seem to be doing quite well, aren't they?"

Chu Guang gave a helpless expression, extended his index finger, and shut off the incoming reports from behind.

"You've followed me for so long, you should know my judgments aren't always correct."

It was only natural for life to be unpredictable, only gods were omniscient.

If he were truly that godly, what would he need all those experts and scholars for?

He could have finished all the work by himself.

And it was still too early to draw conclusions.

However, to his surprise, it was just an offhand comment, yet for some reason it froze Xiao Qi in place, and even the wiggling of its little legs stopped.

A glimmer of hope appeared in those pupils, yet it seemed like an illusion.

Seeing Xiao Qi frozen, Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brows and tapped its head with his finger.

"What's wrong? Are you stuck?"

"No..." Xiao Qi, as if snapping back to reality, looked at him and then smiled brightly, "Nothing... Worthy of being the Master, making Xiao Qi's intelligence plugin throb, nearly burning up."

Saying so, it began to rock its legs again, looking at him with sparkling eyes.

Chu Guang made a helpless expression again.

Burned up, indeed.

He felt like this guy was getting saucier by the day.

Chapter 766: Hope Emerges from the Ground

Before coming to Jin Jialun Port, Suni had always thought the residents here were conservative, feudal, and somewhat stubborn.

Just like the believers in the Spirit of the Sand Sea from Luo Xia Province, who would always keep a handful of rust-flavored sand in their pockets.

Thieves never dared to cut those people's pockets. After all, even if they lost money, they would only call the police. But if their pockets' sand were lost, those individuals genuinely dared to kill someone.

To avoid offending the locals and to prevent getting beaten to death by sticks when hitting on girls, he had seriously consulted a Moon tribeswoman working at the bar in Potato Harbor while he was in the southern sea area. He carefully studied the religion, taboos, and customs of Poluo Province, even noting them down in a booklet he carried around, effectively crafting a full strategy guide.

However, when he actually arrived at Jin Jialun Port, he found that what he heard and what he saw were completely different things.

There weren't so many complications and taboos here.

The conservatism of the locals was only directed towards themselves, and they were not only not conservative towards someone like him, an outsider, but they were even more open than he had imagined.

There were bars in Potato Harbor and on Ring Island too, but he had never encountered anyone whose tolerance was so low that just a sip of beer would have them drunkenly nestling in his chest, blowing in his ear.

Does everyone here really have such poor tolerance for alcohol?!

Had he not been carrying a mirror with him, he would have even begun to suspect that he was incredibly handsome, just unnoticed because Ring Island was too small, and his group of friends must be deliberately suppressing him.

Although he enjoyed it at first, it soon started to bore him.

Compared to primal desires, he actually preferred the sparks that flew from colliding with different souls. Yet, most people here just wanted to sleep with him, then lie on his chest after the deed discussing life, dreams, future plans, bicycles, and the next generation… His head was about to explode. He was only twenty years old, why should he worry about those things?

Plus, what use is a bicycle? Isn't it better to just speed off in a speedboat?

What depressed him the most was that he had come here with the ill-intentioned goal of "hunting," but after arriving, he found himself becoming the "prey," with the girls at the bar even better at playing the game than him.

This feeling wasn't good at all, even downright awful, to the point where he became so depressed that he swore off alcohol altogether.

Not just at the bar.

Work was the same.

For instance, his first job was tutoring the daughter of a local wealthy merchant.

This job was introduced by a Weilante man who was a middleman, supposedly the merchant had been a noble of Jin Galun Port since the Nihak period and was very wealthy.

The salary was also quite high, 10,000 silver coins a month.

The employer had only one requirement: the tutor had to be from the Alliance. Since the South Sea Union was also part of the Alliance, and the Weilante middleman said it was no problem, he took the job.

He thought that living in a big mansion would mean the people were somewhat reserved, but not only did the girl make uninvited advances, even the merchant's wife gave him suggestive glances now and then.

Suni felt like he was going insane.

Especially when he heard that the merchant had business dealings with the well-known local gang "Assassin Gang."

Faced with the choice between a generous salary and his life, he ultimately chose the latter, painfully resigning from the high-risk job.

Of course, it must be said, that the exceptions are only a very small part of the population.

It's like when a hungry crowd rushes into a cafeteria, there are inevitably some who, like starving ghosts reincarnate, try to make up for all the food they missed in their previous life, and end up being carried out horizontally.

Compared to those who are too stingy to eat or eat themselves to death, most people are quite normal. Working seriously and studying hard are the standard for ordinary people.

After spending a week adjusting his state, he arrived at a public school founded by Baiyue Corporation in the local area through the introduction of the city hall employment office, becoming a language teacher.

Most of the students here are children from the nearby community, coming from both poor families and city dwellers. Because the Jin Jialun Port Authority promised to provide students with free lunch and breakfast, and knowing literacy could help them find better jobs, most locals were quite cooperative with the compulsory education policy promoted by the authorities.

Regardless of their social class, these children were incredibly diligent, so much so that even Sunny himself sometimes felt ashamed.

They were eager to change their destinies.

There was also free education on Ring Island, but he had completed his university studies in a muddled state, graduated and went to a canning factory, later ended up at the docks, and eventually just lived off unemployment benefits without any motivation...

Compared to these young boys and girls, his past 20 years felt like they were spent in a dazed confusion.

Inspired by those diligent and eager eyes, Sunny too became fully spirited, wholeheartedly devoted himself to the educational work, and even telegraphed his friends on Ring Island to send over books from there, so he could brush up on the knowledge he had forgotten.

Although the salary from the public school wasn't much, only 12,000 gallons a month, it was still much higher than the local residents' wages.

Plus, the cost of living here was very low, eating, commuting, and getting haircuts were all cheap; only imported goods, luxury items, and assets were expensive, which suited his low-maintenance lifestyle as a street drifter.

However, to be fair, his life could no longer be described as aimless. It could even be said he had transcended lowbrow tastes and was immensely fulfilled, for he had found something he could truly call a "career," something to be dedicated to for life.

Of course, even so, there were still occasional rebellious individuals attempting to make waves in his otherwise unremarkable teaching career, or to put it another way, to surprise him.

It was a clear, sunny afternoon.

He had just finished a substitute geometry class for the senior students when a tall girl cornered him in his office to ask about a math problem.

Originally, their discussion was indeed about math, but it wasn't long before the girl shifted the topic, looking at him with meaningful eyes.

"Teacher, may I ask your surname?"

Sunny looked at her with curiosity.

"Sunny... Why do you ask?"

The girl looked at him in surprise.

"So it is, I always thought Sunny was your given name, with a different surname."

Seeing her curiosity about his hometown, Sunny responded with a smile.

"Back home, we have many naming conventions, mostly depending on the parents. My father told me that my great-great-grandfather might have been a resident of a shelter, but my great-great-grandmother was from the islands. Besides, there are also people without surnames entirely, just like here where people only have given names."

This latter practice is common among Waste Land Wanderers and some special Residents of the refuge who choose names in slang that outsiders can't understand, like "Shelter No. 404."

The girl's eyes twinkled with curiosity about the outside world and a hint of faint longing.

"…We do have surnames actually, for example, the Rat Clan has 13 different pronunciations, the most common one being Scowen, but the Snake Clan also uses Scowen, so we rarely use surnames."

"I see, I thought you simply didn't have surnames... Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to offend," Sunny said, surprised, but quickly realized his remark might have been too flippant and hastily added.

The girl smiled coyly but responded nonchalantly.

"It's okay, it's normal for you not to know since you just arrived here. By the way, my name is Anushuka."

Sunny complimented her.

"That's a lovely name."

"Is it…? I always think it's not very nice. It has too many syllables. I've been wanting to change it," Anushuka's eyes showed a hint of melancholy, then she looked at him intently, "What do you think of Su An or Su Ka?"

Sunny was taken aback by the directness, especially as she suddenly leaned in close with her hair swinging near his cheek.

A hint of fragrance entered his nose; he coughed dryly and unconsciously took half a step back.

"This kind of matter... I think you should consult your parents."

"But you have better ideas than them," the girl took a step forward, her eyes intently fixed on him, "You're from the Alliance, aren't you?"

"I'm from the South Sea Union... actually quite far away," Suni explained with a wry smile.

"It's not that far after all, given how knowledgeable you are from there... It would be nice to visit."

The girl's eyes sparkled with hope and a faint desire.

Suni really wanted to say that there was nothing good about that place; the streets were narrow and short, and he had run to this place to try his luck...

But seeing the expression on the girl's face, he knew that anything he said would be useless.

Just as he was unsure how to handle the situation, the sound of footsteps from outside the office finally broke the awkward atmosphere.

Suni breathed a sigh of relief, not waiting for the girl to show her disappointment before she thanked him for the advice, bowed slightly, and scurried out the door with her notebook.

Glancing at the girl who had hurriedly left, his colleague next to him, who could guess what had transpired just by using his toes, tauntingly commented,

"Headache, isn't it? The girls here are too enthusiastic."

This fellow employee, who had worked here the longest and had come from the City of Dawn, said, his credentials were stacked full.

The female colleague at the opposite table did not appreciate this comment and pursed her lips, saying,

"It's not only the girls; the young guys are the same. I can't even eat a meal without three locals asking for directions. I don't know who gave them the illusion that the residents of the Free State party every day... it's really enough."

Watching her eye roll, the colleague from the City of Dawn leaned back in his chair laughing,

"Ha ha ha... Speaking of which, I did hear something about it back in the City of Dawn!"

Feeling the glares from across the table, he involuntarily shivered, ceasing his ill-received joke.

Suni made himself a cup of tea and resettled into his chair, watching the misty steam from his tea cup and sighed,

"To be honest, I'm worried. It's fine if such an atmosphere is in bars, but it should not appear in classrooms... Many girls from Potato Harbor are from here, yet they are completely different. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if our educational methods are wrong. We should be teaching them not just knowledge but also self-respect and self-love, or else they'll end up being slaves to others... What's the difference then."

The teacher from the City of Dawn patted his shoulder.

"Take it easy, and stop blaming yourself. Maybe... the girls of Potato Harbor are just indifferent to you, after all, you did close the door on them earlier."

Suni shook his head.

"Okay, you're a guy from the City of Dawn, it may be different for you, but you have to admit that people from there are indeed more normal than here... Damn, I just want to teach properly! Wait, am I actually just wanting to teach properly?"

He distinctly remembered that before coming here, his intention had been to flirt around.

Yet here he was, just a couple of months later, finding himself a completely changed man, surprisingly becoming ascetic.

Perhaps the saying is right, only those who respect themselves get respected, and only those who love themselves get loved.

Walking among the inhabitants of this place, who were nothing more than soulless shells, he found it really hard to fall in love with the people here or find the kind of love he deeply desired within his heart... rather than just a fling.

At that moment, Suni suddenly noticed a newspaper on his colleague's desk next door, became curious, and reached out to take it.

"Survivor's Daily is now available here?"

He flipped through the newspaper randomly only to discover that it was completely different from the one in Potato Harbor. It mainly covered fresh news from Jin Jialun Port and included some literary works submitted by local residents.

"It's quite recent," said the teacher from the City of Dawn, taking a sip of coffee. "I heard it's run by some people from the Moon Clan and the Rat Clan. I don't understand much about it, but the articles on it are pretty good. I've been bringing them back for my students to learn literacy. These newspapers seem to be more effective than the textbooks we have in the City of Dawn. Recently, several schools have suggested creating our own Jin Jialun Port textbooks, selecting articles from Survivor's Daily to include in them, so I've been collecting the recent issues."

Suni's face lit up with interest.

"Can I take a look at it?"

"Sure," shrugged the teacher from the City of Dawn with a smile. "Just don't lose it."

"Thanks."

With some time before his next class, Suni curiously opened the borrowed newspaper and was soon captivated by the headline.

"Red Soil"

The author was Mr. Mouse.

Was this about the origin of red soil?

Initially, that's what he thought, but he realized it wasn't as straightforward as he had assumed.

"…long ago, I wanted to write a biography for General Lowell."

"In the year of ice and snow, without sunlight or moonlight, he achieved an extraordinary feat. He found a way for his descendants to survive—eat soil to stay alive. Ironically, despite his exceptional achievements, he did not meet a good end. He was buried in the ground by ignorant people, who even spat on him… much like those martyrs who aided everyone but were buried in the blizzard."

"I first thought those people were simply not smart, until later when I met ancestors of 'shovel wielders' who turned out to be scholars, experts, engineers, even soldiers who initially supported General Lowell from the glorious era. These people were not fools; interpreting their actions from an intelligence perspective clearly did not work. Ridiculing them only made me look conceited and foolish. There was only one explanation… they all went mad, collectively burying the only sane person, Lord Lowell."

"I can't understand why so many people went mad, set on harming someone who cared for, cherished, and even saved them, just because he was a bit autocratic… until later, when I met L, a young rat from White Elephant City."

"He wore tattered clothes, which could hardly be called clothes—more like rags draped over his body. He had a scar on his head, reportedly from a cigarette butt thrown at him by a young master while working temporarily on a farm. Though it should have been a reason for anger, whenever he spoke of that 'glorious moment,' he did so with pride, boasting that the scar was a blessing from the noble, ensuring that he would reincarnate into a noble family next life. Lucky for him, others thought mentioning this was massively disrespectful, preventing the words from reaching the young master's ears, otherwise the young master would have certainly decapitated him, ensuring he'd never reach 'red soil.'"

"I first saw him at a master's farm, praising the young master's intelligence and resemblance to the lord, only to receive not favor but a brutal beating from the other servants. Knowing he was from the Rat Clan and seeing him bloodied was heartbreaking, so I wanted to intervene, but was stopped by others, who then told me more about L."

"I despised his lack of fight, yet I relied on the lord's favor for my own sustenance, hardly in a position to criticize him. Haven't I praised the young master myself? Over time, I reassured myself, eventually forgetting about the incident, until there was a major incident in White Elephant City where the Moon Clan was accused of another rebellion, causing citywide panic to ensnare some Moon Clanners. I reassured myself again, this had nothing to do with the Rat Clan, nor with the master's servants, yet unexpectedly, I saw him at the execution grounds."

"How similar their fates: both those who planted red soil and those who ate red soil were buried in it. Therefore, before praising the greatness of General Lowell, I wanted to use L's story as a 'preface,' which is also a story worthy of song and tears…"

Initially, Suni had opened the newspaper just to pass the time, but he was instantly engrossed, completely losing track of time until the school bell rang bringing him back with a start.

"Wow."

Is this really what they wrote themselves?

Though the earlier text was dry, as he read further, he could see the bloody vividness beneath the surface and the silent wail of ghosts.

Whispered Suni, feeling thunder rolling by his ears, like a deafening cry.

He wasn't a survivor from Poluo Province, but he could still hear the cries between the lines—what these people were eating was not soil at all, but rather generations of people buried in the ground!

He stood up from his chair, clutching the newspaper tightly as he rushed out the door.

His expression was fierce, his spirit vibrant, his steps swift, not even bringing his ever-present teaching notes… because right now, he didn't need them.

His duty as a teacher told him, he must read these words to the children.

They shouldn't just be sitting there with books for the sake of a ship ticket, nor for a work visa promised by Potato Harbor, or to find some chaotic place in Wasteland to sell themselves.

They should have studied for themselves! To learn real knowledge, to understand the relationships between people, to comprehend the laws of nature, to ponder their place among the mountains and rivers...

They needed souls!

...

The private room of the Triumph Hotel.

It wasn't just some semi-competent teacher who enjoyed reading loudly in solemn classrooms; a rather mature-looking young man had also read that piece titled "Red Soil" in the Survivor's Daily.

Or more precisely, the foreword of the serialized novel, "Red Soil."

That guy who called himself "Mr. Mouse" had nearly laid bare everything about the Mouse Tribe.

However, after listening to the entire article, Ah Xin, sitting in the private room, burst out laughing, clapping the armrest of his chair twice with his right hand.

"Ha ha ha, brilliant! Truly fucking brilliant!"

A group of formally-dressed men stood seriously behind him, eyes filled with fierceness.

They were the core members of Assassin's Free State, previously living in the street in front of the Governor's Mansion; naturally, some were from the Mouse Tribe.

The girl who read the article to him had eyes filled with fear, looking uneasily at the man sitting at the table.

She was of the Cow People, previously a minor noble in Jinjialun Port, forced to teach reading and writing due to financial need.

Clearly, the identity of the Cow People here wasn't very useful; whoever could ensure everyone ate well and earned enough, that was the real noble.

Just like the Mouse tribesman before her, who clearly didn't consider her lineage important.

Nevertheless, he respected knowledge a lot, so he was quite polite to her, and it didn't seem like he vented his anger on her because of the article she had read.

Seeing that it was getting late, Ah Xin gestured to someone nearby, fetched a check, wrote some numbers on it, and handed it to this "home tutor."

"This is your salary for last month. I might be quite busy in the coming days, so I'm giving this to you in advance."

The girl quickly nodded, hurriedly took the check, and unintentionally held her breath.

100,000 gallons!

She gave him a look of disbelief, only to see him slightly wave his hand.

"The rest is a bonus... My guest will be arriving soon, and it's getting dark. You should head home."

The girl uttered a thankful word, then bowed her head, eyes red, and hurried off.

Watching the noble lady leave, Kunal looked perplexed at his boss, who pretended to understand the newspaper, and buzzed.

"Boss... don't you feel offended?"

Ah Xin was trying to match the words and sentences he had just learned, and spoke patiently.

"Kunal, my friend, only a dying patient would hold a grudge against a doctor. If someone is beyond help, letting them live well and arranging a grand funeral is true kindness. Advising them to smoke less would only hurt them and their family... and clearly, we haven't reached that point yet. Do you eat dirt?"

Kunal shook his head like a bobblehead.

"Who eats that stuff nowadays?"

"Right," Ah Xin smiled faintly, "At least the residents of Jin Galun Port don't anymore. Maybe only those who swim up from the river ate it at first, but even that was only in the beginning... Sooner or later, that stuff will be knocked down without a trace, just like every spike in the City of Thousand Pillars."

He was still very young, and all the survivors in Poluo Province were young. Those declining were the feudal lords and the old aristocrats.

He was pleased that so many young people were as indignant as he was, walking on the same sun-drenched path, even though they held different thoughts.

As they were talking, footsteps sounded at the door; a tall and burly fellow entered.

A gun was holstered at his waist, and only two attendants followed him, but the LD-47 assault rifles on their backs subdued the atmosphere among the surrounding group.

Both of these fellows were tough combatants from the battlefield, the-type to charge through a hail of bullets.

The guy walking in front had a lazy look, and a hint of arrogance sat in his brows. He walked in nonchalantly, completely ignoring everyone around him.

Yet, including Ah Xin, no one thought him arrogant.

After all, this guy truly had the capital to be proud.

When everyone else was chained, only he had caught the gun thrown to him by that official.

If catching the gun was just luck, what followed was a show of brutal courage as he pushed forward with artillery, taking down Lowell Camp.

Compared to someone like himself, hidden in the shadows, Ah Xin knew this man was a real big shot.

This person was Laxi, the director of the Jinjialun Port Civil Defense Office, responsible for the strategic operations and logistics of the Militia Group, essentially the head of Jin Galun Port's military.

To invite this big shot, he had spared no expense in smoothing things through and making arrangements.

Yet even so, this big shot had only agreed to meet with him just this once, promising nothing more.

Ah Xin quickly stood up, while putting on a warm smile he gestured invitingly.

"General, please take a seat."

Laxi took a seat directly opposite him and, although giving him some courtesy, got straight to the point.

"What do you mean by inviting me here?"

Ah Xin made a gesture for the servers to bring the dishes, and looked smile while looking at him.

"I heard the General has been brooding lately; I was just contemplating the hard work you've done for the people and wanted to help ease your worries."

"Hah."

Laxi snorted through his nose, pushed the server's hand away from the pot, poured himself a drink, and then set the pot down on the table.

"Help me ease my worries... You know nothing, fucking hammer. In my opinion, businesspeople should honestly stick to their trade, avoiding illegal activities. Don't stick your hands where they don't belong, or one day you won't even know how you died. I'll drink your wine today, but when it's time to send you off, I won't be soft-handed."

Kunal's mouth twitched, but with two soldiers watching, he dared not move a muscle.

Ah Xin, however, remained composed; after all, it wasn't his first time being under the gun.

"General jests. My business in Jinga Lun is all above board; I've even helped the Union break up several smuggling deals involving drugs and people. If anyone in my employ touches something they shouldn't, I'd clean house without needing a reminder from that official."

"That's none of my business," Laxi waved his chopsticks to stop him, focusing on his food, "Talk about your business."

Ah Xin slightly bowed his head, speaking respectfully.

"There's a Moon Clan Resistance Army to the north, I wonder if the General has heard of it?"

"I've heard of them before... haha, what does it matter hearing about them?" Laxi scoffed and sneered, "Insignificant squabbles, with seven or eight hundred leaders emerging in a mere village, chaotically without dignity, incapable of proceeding smoothly, even larger endeavors find them restrained. Carrying the best equipment into the dumbest battles, chased around by second-rate armies, worse off than bandits."

Ah Xin's mind stirred.

"With the general's insightful view, how ought they proceed?"

Laxi responded without hesitation.

"My insightful view? Ha, why mince words—just command them to move east when told, west when ordered. Directed to take a few steps, they shall follow exactly, not one step more or less. Those who disobey should be killed. To fight well, one must start by dealing harshly with one's own people. If frightened of action, better to roll back home to farm."

Fuelled by growing anger, he spoke increasingly vehemently until he was full of rage, tossing aside his chopsticks and shaking his head.

He did not have much knowledge in his belly, nor could he articulate much in terms of military theory, but it still frustrated him to see those folks incompetently waging war, unable to seize even a single settlement.

He did sincerely sympathize with those fellows, including the Moon people from Potato Harbor, even feeling sympathy from the members of the Alliance, who held high hopes for them. At least, in Fang Chang's view, these people, having suffered oppression, were not likely to revert to the imperial ways once they overturned the Empire.

Baiyue Corporation had contacted these guerrilla Moon people more than once, providing them with both money and equipment. However, the end result was that these folks couldn't even defeat local military factions; instead, they were exploited and ended up fostering enemies.

Not only had he sought out Fang Chang, but also others from the Alliance, yet they all feared his ruthlessness, worried he couldn't manage the Poluo Province.

Every time he thought of this, Laxi felt unbearable indignation. Why wouldn't he be able to manage?

While the Alliance's methods were sound, only a few hundred came ashore. Had he not contributed to the successful transformation of Jinjialun Port?

To deter the hardliners and opportunistic thugs, he frequently resorted to killings, intimidating those nefarious spirits so fiercely they dared not deviate from his commands, not a step east if ordered to go west.

In the end, once the renovations of Jinjialun Port were completed, he became disposable, diminished by a clever move from Mr. Mouse and sidelined in an office as a mere token—a gesture for the locals.

Ah Xin could actually understand his resentment; after all, his own occupation also resembled that of a "night pot".

The infrastructure of Jin Galun Port required immense labor force while assimilating immigrants from the Everflow River.

Unmanaged labor inevitably breeds violence, and mere laws or prayers cannot suppress violence on lands devoid of certain traditions. An outlet must be created to contain this restless energy, preventing it from venting onto civilians.

The establishment of Ah Xin's faction was encouraged by these conditions.

As for Banana Head Bay, it served as his planned escape route, including investments in various military factions.

Should the day come when his role as a "night pot" was discarded by the Alliance after the completion of Jinjialun Port's infrastructure, he could still rely on his investments in Banana Head Bay and throughout the empire's territory to secure a way out for himself and his family.

However, he was far luckier than Laxi; the construction of Jinjialun Port was not a task of merely a day or two. As long as he kept a low profile under the Alliance's scrutiny, he would avoid their clean-up, at worst getting knocked by the authorities of Jin Galun Port.

"...I truly understand your predicament. A man of your talents should be displaying your ambitions on the battlefield, not at the dinner table."

Laxi chuckled heartily, paying no mind to the flattery.

"Cut the beating around the bush, just tell me what you really want."

"The Moon Clan's Resistance Army is weak and incapable, toyed with by the Tiger army in the north. I believe ultimately, it lacks a brave and fierce leader to unite and lead them!"

Ah Xin's gaze was intense as he leaned forward on the table.

"With your abilities, there is no doubt you're the right person—only you could twist these former slaves into a single force! Coupled with the new military doctrines you've learned from the Alliance, you could surely make those feudal nobles suffer!"

He wholeheartedly agreed with this view, his own Ah Xin's Gang had risen to prominence in Jin Galun Port by uniting to overcome rival factions.

Laxi burst into laughter upon hearing this, clearly not swayed by the speech yet amused, he teased back.

"You're an interesting little fellow, flattering me in various ways. I don't expose you and you just become addicted to it. We can sit here and talk lightly, but can you conjure up artillery shells and bullets?"

He was a rough man, true, but he was no fool—warfare was no jest.

No matter how capable Laxi was, without the Alliance, he was nothing.

However, what he didn't expect was that the young man before him nodded decisively and agreed outright.

"I'll provide! Ammunition for a hundred thousand men, I'll provide, even for a million men! As long as you are willing to come out of seclusion and pull down that emperor, I, Ah Xin, will support you in combat even if I have to exhaust all my wealth. If you don't believe me, I'll go to the bank right now and withdraw the money!"

Laxi squinted his eyes, his face's smile disappeared, and he stared at him intently.

"...Offering kindness without a cause, one must be a swindler or a thief. I'm indeed curious about what you are really after."

Ah Xin said nothing but placed the "Survivor's Daily" on the table and gently pushed it toward him.

"I, Ah Xin, am a businessman, engaged in commerce only for wealth, but this is the only matter I pursue not for any other reason but to fight for a breath of dignity… Us people of the Rat Clan aren't meant to live a lowly life by nature."

Looking at the newspaper's headline, Laxi chuckled, grabbed the newspaper, put down his leg that was resting on his knee, shook his clothes, and stood up.

"Coincidentally, we people of the Moon Clan aren't either. But I can't give you an answer for such a big matter without taking some time. Give me three days."

After he spoke, he left without touching the remaining food or the wine he treasured like life itself, waving his sleeve and taking the newspaper with him.

Looking at the barely touched dishes on the table, Kunal felt a bit heartbroken and looked towards Ah Xin.

"Boss... do you think he is reliable?"

Ah Xin gently sat back down on the chair, picked up the chopsticks that hadn't been touched, and spoke lightly.

"Kunal, what do you think is truly reliable? And when do you think real reliability arrives? Or perhaps, is it necessary to consider who is fit or unfit for the task he undertakes?"

"I… don't know." Kunal scratched the back of his head and grimaced.

"It's not important whether our general can succeed or not; it's just like how the Tiger Army's warlord has business dealings with us, yet we invest both in him and his enemies."

Pouring himself a glass of wine, Ah Xin spoke in a very soft voice.

"Wasteland is undergoing a revolution it hasn't seen in two hundred years. River Valley Province is being reborn in fiery flames, Brocade River Province finds hope in fire, and Haiye Province too… We've been quiet for two hundred years; we too need a fire. Now is the best time—true empires are busy settling old scores and continuing the unresolved conflict from two hundred years ago, no one has time to pay attention to us. Someone must take the initiative to fire a shot now, let the restless others see what kind of creature the Witch Camel riding on their heads really is."

Outsiders can only see their inherent compliance and forbearance, but as someone from the Rat Clan, he understood all too well that behind those words lay another.

That is, rebellion.

Or rather, a defiant nature.

Just like rats, usually chased by cats and toyed with, but when driven to desperation, they even dare bite humans.

Saying this, he glanced around at his brothers, spoke cordially.

"...Come over and sit down to eat, you all know I hate to waste, and such a grand feast is meant for everyone; I can't finish it alone."

"Wasn't it ordered for Laxi?" While calling over his brothers to sit down, Kunal asked confusedly by his ear.

Ah Xin smiled faintly and started using the chopsticks first, even though he was still not very skilled with them.

"That man wouldn't dine like us; spreading the word about that would be bad for both him and me. Just him having a drink before leaving was already giving us a lot of face."

"His ambitions are much greater than those of a minor character like me."

Chapter 767: An Unexpected Letter

Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, it turned from mid-August to early September. The streets of City of Dawn unconsciously donned a hint of autumn chill.

Due to the colder weather, many fashion-conscious residents had switched from cool short sleeves to cotton sweatshirts or leather jackets, partly for convenience and partly because they were affordable.

During this period, cotton and leather were probably the commodities that had plummeted the most in the game.

The produce of Baiyue Province was unimaginably abundant, and with the huge labor force at Jin Jialun Port, these were processed into cost-effective finished products.

Take belts for example, the cheapest one sold for just 100 Gallons and was even made of genuine leather, though its source variant was a bit unique.

After deducting tariffs, logistics, and other expenses, it amounted to just eleven or twelve silver coins, which was affordable for the middle-class residents of City of Dawn with just an hour's work.

Of course, the residents of Jin Jialun Port were not losing out either. Many of them didn't even have clothes to wear before, but now everyone raced through the streets on bicycles as fast as the wind.

For the wealthier residents in City of Dawn, their choice of clothing tended towards diversification.

Somewhen, the display window of Vine Cottage had become a fashion benchmark, even reaching out to Ideal City and even onto the relatives of Weilante soldiers.

Perhaps it was an unintentional imitation by the Waste Land Wanderer of the aesthetic preferences of the residents of the refuge, or perhaps it was the human nature to pursue the "mysterious", more black silk appeared on the streets, alongside some outfits that obviously didn't match the era.

Among them were some eye-catching fashion choices, but also quite a few ridiculously or even eye-sore products.

However, in some sense, this "eccentric" scene was unexpectedly reasonable in Wasteland OL.

After all, the cultural concept of wasteland itself included the characteristic of "tailoring".

That is, piecing together vastly different, even contrasting, elements and deconstructing postmodern technological products with primitive social behaviors.

For instance, using futuristic high-tech water pipes to make iron pipe rifles, using rifle debris to make crossbows, and wearing stockings intended for legs on the head, and so on… Of course, the latter was minority, and those who did so were mostly players who didn't want to show their faces.

Various styles of dress formed a beautiful scene on the bustling streets.

Still remembered from two years ago, the people here, in order to keep warm, had to use old era's useless paper money as cotton stuffing stuffed into sacks to wrap themselves up against the cold.

In just two years, the wardrobes of the survivors in City of Dawn had filled with new clothes, even to the extent that they could leisurely decide which outfit and pair of shoes to wear when going out.

During the times when "chips" ruled this land, such widespread affluence was almost unthinkable.

"… I always wonder where the problem with chips lay, technically chips and silver coins are no different, but now life is completely unimaginable compared to before."

City of Dawn, a cabin by Rhombus Lake.

Looking out at the tranquil environment of the garden, and the succulents crowded on the windowsill, Dolly, resting her chin in her hands, suddenly recalled the past, and her thoughts couldn't help but run wild.

She still remembered that humble and small wish in the darkness—she wanted to grow a succulent because she heard they could absorb radiation.

Although someone later told him that the thing was a trick to deceive children and that radiation could not actually be "sucked in" but was just a phenomenon where energy spreads out in the form of electromagnetic waves or particles,

If photosynthesis were explained as absorbing radiation, theoretically, any plant would have the effect of absorbing radiation.

Therefore, this statement could only be considered a trick to deceive children, not a lie.

True clever deception does not require lying.

Sitting across from her, Mr. Fang, holding the newspaper, smiled indulgently, his gaze as affectionate as Dolly watching the tender green sprouts on the windowsill.

"When you're still exploring right and wrong in your tools, you've already walked into a dead end."

He had returned three days ago, mainly to handle some matters related to Baiyue Corporation's going public, such as explaining the uses of certain funds.

Particularly during the time Baiyue Corporation was expanding its operations in Jinga Lun Port, it was essential to clarify which expenses were paid by the company and which by the port authorities.

Mr. Fang understood the strictness of the regulatory system, as overseas business was the hardest to manage, without which shareholders' interests could not be secured at all.

For instance, the simplest yet dumbest method was to use shareholders' money to build subways, operate at a loss, and then have a private company collect the fare to blatantly fleece money.

A complete operation could clearly fleece the residents of City of Dawn, and direct their anger towards the residents of Jinga Lun port—"These stinkin' rats, earn money easily but can't spend it wisely, stealing money right into your grandpa's pocket in City of Dawn? Pfft, ungrateful whites of their eyes, damn 'em!"

The Manager would certainly not let such things happen.

He had already anticipated the Manager's foresight; he had clearly planned out the finances of Baiyue Corporation and the Bull Horse Group long ago.

Even including the accounts of the Jinga Lun Port Authority, every expense was clearly recorded, detailing what each amount was spent on and which account it was transferred from.

However, what surprised him was another minor matter; the person he was coordinating work with turned out to be Little Fish.

The young girl still, as before, hung on every word Chu Guang said and did her tasks meticulously.

Blue Jacket's halo had no effect on her; her heart was entirely devoted to one person, and she wouldn't be lenient to others despite her gratitude.

Those eyes, staring at the account book, were like a microscope, and some of the imposing questions had him sweating profusely.

Especially when it came to why there was no specific execution standard for Baiyue Corporation's investment in the Moon Clan Resistance Army, such as how much money to provide after achieving certain stage goals—he couldn't help but wipe his sweat, admitting that this was indeed an oversight on his part.

It was also due to the crowd on the forum, coupled with the large sum of war booty he had obtained at the time; he was admittedly a bit carried away with spending, or rather, too confident.

He thought that money and equipment alone would yield results. He even arranged for someone to meet those guerrilla teams, not knowing that those fools would express their opinions on equality and abandon their gear in battle, getting farmed by NPCs like wild monsters.

Speaking truthfully, he had no ulterior motives when spending that money; he merely hoped to accelerate the changes occurring in the Poluo Province... in what he thought was the appropriate manner.

"Brother Chu doesn't oppose your investing in what you believe is worthwhile, but you must give the investors an explanation—you need to state what goal you want to achieve, how much money it will take to achieve this goal, what risks are involved, and what the returns will be."

"For this, you need to create a detailed plan," he said. "It is not necessary to specify who will carry out each step, but it must be like a task system, providing phased support to the executor and planned stop-loss measures."

"Before you see this plan, I suggest you stay in City of Dawn."

After these three pieces of advice, the sharp-eyed girl concluded the hearing.

Mr. Fang, who sat in the auditorial seat, pondered for a long time before he got up and left to return home.

If all NPCs in this game were as innocent and full of justice as his beloved Dolly.

A simple sense of justice is not bad at all.

Too clever is just not that adorable...

At this moment, Dolly was unaware of the "praise" her beloved was giving in his heart; she was still thinking about the issue of chips and the report she was writing.

If she had known, she would have turned around and probably bitten him.

Her fluffy short green hair waved slightly as Dolly looked at Mr. Fang, tilting her head unconsciously.

"Are you saying there's no problem with the chips?" Mr. Fang thought for a moment and said,

"Using something you're familiar with to make an analogy can bring subjective associations, so let me use Cr as an example. Do you think Cr is good or bad?"

Dolly slightly furrowed her delicate eyebrows and, after thinking for a long time, said,

"I think… it's actually quite good."

The prosperity of Ideal City was notorious throughout the wasteland; it would be outright foolish to say Cr is not good.

Yet she always felt that this cunning guy wouldn't simply pose an easy question, so she hesitated a bit as she followed along with his words.

Mr. Fang just smiled faintly, gave no opinion, and spoke casually,

"The essence of Cr is a decentralized currency issued based on the total social credit, liberating every natural person from the debt relationships of the old era. The smart contracts programmed using quantum algorithms ensure absolutely fair transactions without relying on central banks to adjust interest rates. Everyone involved in societal activities benefits equally from the overall prosperity of society… Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

"Indeed… So, it's fine to say Cr is good, right?" Dolly nodded honestly, curiously looking at him, waiting for him to continue.

After sipping coffee from the table, Mr. Fang slowly said,

"What if I told you that the currency used in Bugra Free State is designed after Cr?"

"Ah?!" Dolly looked at him in shock, unwittingly opening her little mouth, "Is that so?! But why has their currency devalued so drastically?"

She had heard that people there need a string of zeros to buy anything, with the smallest denomination of their paper currency being 1000.

That thing was a copy of Cr's design?!

Watching the astonished expression on Dolly's face, Mr. Fang smiled lightly and continued jokingly,

"In fact, not only their currency... The historical ephemeral S Coin in Qingquan City was also a poor imitation of Cr. You have written a report about that stuff, and you know well what it was."

Dolly blankly nodded, her thoughts still not recovered from that shocking clue.

She still couldn't believe that their currency and Cr were essentially the same thing.

Mr. Fang continued talking confidently,

"As I mentioned earlier, Cr is a decentralized currency issued based on the total societal credit. In fact, their currency works the same way. However, the difference in Bugra is that their 'quantitative standard of total social credit' is not decentralized and is more extremely controlled by a select few compared to traditional currencies—even more so than primitive precious metal money. If you can't grasp this concept, you can think of it as the pen you use to sign your name when paying with a credit card."

"So, you're saying they used the method incorrectly?" Dolly keenly spotted the issue, her eyes widening in surprise.

Hearing this, Mr. Fang could not help but laugh and cry,

"Look at you, after all I've said, you are still debating right and wrong—ouch! Don't use your teeth!"

He had barely finished speaking when Dolly, flushed with embarrassment, lunged forward and bit down on his arm.

She was earnestly pondering this difficult question, earnestly seeking guidance, but this fellow always liked to interrupt and flaunt his intellectual superiority.

That was the annoying part about him.

He was just slightly smarter, what was so great about that!

Yet still… still… there were times when she had him completely under her control!

However, when she saw his pained grimace, she involuntarily relaxed her grip, her face flushed as she released the arm imprinted with neat rows of teeth marks.

"Why do you always speak in riddles… can't you just solve my confusion properly?"

In fact, Mr. Fang didn't feel the pain at all, as players could not feel excessive pain, and even found it kind of... well, saying it would seem perverse.

Out of chivalrous respect, he still rubbed the tooth marks on his arm, pretending to feel threatened.

"Cough, haven't I been responding properly? You keep talking about right and wrong—I am correcting that mindset of yours. How do you know that the Firestone Group didn't do this on purpose?"

Dolly stared at him blankly, "On purpose?"

"Is the Firestone Group going bankrupt, or are people in the Free State unable to survive? Their economy is not worse than ours; they were running when we were still walking. We laugh at them because it takes thirty seconds of ads to open a fridge door, but they are probably laughing at us because we don't even have a fridge."

Actually, no exaggeration, if we truly went to war with Bugra, even without them pulling in the Grand Canyon, the Alliance would need to put in considerable effort to win through conventional warfare without first resorting to strategic weapons.

At least we would need to be prepared to sacrifice Dawn City.

At least, on the northern front, the combat performance of the Hound Special Forces isn't much worse than that of the 100th Mountain Division. Their equipment might be slightly inferior, but the quality of their personnel is significantly higher.

The Alliance had previously experienced some minor military skirmishes with Bugra at the border, but neither side deployed their main forces, instead cautiously probing each other.

He remembered one occasion when the Alliance deployed bionic people from Camp 101, which at that time wasn't part of the Alliance yet, while Bugra dispatched a third-rate mercenary group actually hired by Weylent military officers.

Looking back, that skirmish was actually not only a contest between the Manager and Sigma, but also a probing of each other's bottom lines.

Sigma very precisely detected that the Alliance's weakness lay in "poor border control and difficulty in identifying quasi-military forces disguised as refugees," and Chu Guang responded strongly to the pain point of the Free State: "Powerful individuals, unconstrained, posed great hidden dangers to the Free State's illusory freedom."

If one bionic person could slaughter a hundred-man unit, imagine if a hundred bionic people or even a hundred Awakeners more troublesome than bionic people infiltrated the Free State…

For Sigma, this was far more daunting than "obliterating a hundred-man unit with regular troops on the front line," and this was the real reason why both sides had silently maintained control over the scale of conflict.

The NPCs in this game are just like real people, the deeper he imagined, the more he believed it wasn't the first time he thought this.

He paused, then looking at the somewhat perplexed Dolly, Mr. Fang continued succinctly.

"So when you discuss whether they are right or wrong, good or bad, you're already walking into a dead end. A gun is faster than a knife; there are even faster guns, but for peeling an apple, a knife truly might be better."

"Returning to your original question, I can tell you that chips are neither about good nor bad, nor right or wrong, they are merely a tool. Persons holding them use them based on their understanding of them… including those who issue the chips and those who use the chips, and that's all."

"As for why chips aren't treated like silver coins, it's because the person who raised the chip wanted that effect right from the start, and he managed to do what he intended, regardless of whether he went too far or not, that's a story for later."

Bugra was the same, including their board structure and a range of tools modeled after Ideal City. They, like the vast majority of Wasteland Wanderers on the Wasteland, envied the prosperity of Ideal City greatly.

As for the other things in Ideal City, they thought they understood well, but in reality, they knew nothing.

This led to Bugra's cyberpunk society—where extremely high technological levels and very low standards of living existed simultaneously in one settlement, each person like a hamster running on a tightrope.

There were similarities with the Scientific Committee, yet starkly different.

It is said that the Alliance's socio-science research group had established projects to analyze these phenomena, including the sociological phenomena currently in the Alliance itself.

However, this is a long-term endeavor that needs continuous effort, expecting to reach conclusions about the present at this moment is unrealistic.

Saying this, he couldn't help but tease the bewildered Dolly again, making her turn red-faced and clawing in the air.

"...Just like the vendor who sells you succulents, he isn't doing it for your health or cares about radiation, he just wants to earn the silver coins in your pocket; the only difference is that some people are aware, and some are not...hiss! Don't just bite wildly!"

Watching Dolly jump onto the table like a cat, Mr. Fang quickly moved his unfinished coffee to the side, afraid that it might scald her.

However, having lost one hand, he quickly succumbed to Dolly's assault.

By the time the commotion in the room finally ceased, a red-faced, panting Dolly finally noticed the crumpled newspaper on the table.

"Is this the 'Survivor's Daily'?" surprise flickered across her face, especially when she noticed that the layout of the newspaper was different from that of the Dawn City Survivor's Daily.

Mr. Fang smoothed out the newspaper and smiled faintly.

"Jin Jialun Port's supplement... More and more survivors, who stand with us, are appearing, and occasionally there are some articles that catch the eye."

He hadn't been in Jin Jialun Port for a long time and needed the local newspaper to understand what was happening there.

To his surprise, within just a few months, that slave-filled, hopeless harbor had also managed to produce such earth-shattering cries.

Perhaps given a little more time, they might indeed be able to catch the boat to the new world.

Besides providing money, he also helped nurture some talents there.

For instance, Yoder, who served as a secretary in the Governor's Office, was a capable and moderate reformist.

Including Raxi, the head of the Civil Defense Office who had both courage and executional capacity and was open to new ideas. Though his manners were rough, it wasn't a significant fault. Objectively speaking, his contribution was instrumental in the successful transformation of Jin Jialun Port.

After all, nothing intimidated the Old Aristocrats more than a member of the Moon Clan wielding a gun, especially since this guy was ruthless both to others and to his own people.

To survive, those Old Aristocrats were even more eager to please the Alliance than the newer classes.

After all, they too were afraid that if they complained too much, the Alliance might turn a blind eye. Although the people of the Alliance spoke with reason and discipline, the dogs they kept obviously did not.

This guy was a moldable material; polishing his character in an office setting would be good.

Whatever chaotic thing he aspired to be, he shouldn't wear his thoughts on his face.

That was the basic skill of governance.

If he couldn't master it, he was doomed to be nothing more than the chief of a Militia Group in his life.

"Red Soil... this article is quite well-written, doesn't seem to be written by someone who just learned to write," as Dolly read the article from beginning to end, her face turned from surprise to even astonishment.

Perhaps the Dawn City 'Survivor's Daily' could cite this article too.

No—

This didn't seem to be just an article; it appeared more like the preface of a serialized literary collection.

As one of the earliest employees of the 'Survivor's Daily,' and the editor who unearthed the literary gem 'Awakener Bol,' she keenly sensed that this collection called 'Red Soil' had potential comparable to the former.

The suffering survivors of this wasteland were not only Bol of Giant Stone City but also L of White Elephant City!

She heard that soul-striking call, and she believed others could hear it too, especially the members of the Workers' Association who had experienced that revolution!

They had ended the wasteland around them, but the broader wasteland was not yet over.

She believed that the allies who had united back then would not be content with just today's ribs and beer, and they would definitely be willing to lend a hand to those who were similarly suffering!

At least some people would!

Like Spielberg and his group.

"I want to write a column for him!" Dolly's eyes sparkled as she spoke to Mr. Fang, "More people should hear the voices from there, not just enjoy the cheap commodities supplied by the local survivors... No, to be precise, this is also for our own sake. If we let them continue to be exploited by the slave owners, our interests will eventually be damaged, right? Then silver coins will become another chip, like the ones you were just talking about."

While she spoke, Dolly's gaze was intense as she stared at Mr. Fang, her clever and crafty nature nothing like the naïve look she had an hour ago.

It's just like someone from Giant Stone City; they are all rebels at heart. Saying such a thing to anyone outside of the residents of Shelter No. 404 in City of Dawn would typically provoke a curse on one's family.

Mr. Fang simply smiled lightly but didn't deny her statement.

"Congratulations, while most people are still stuck in the previous version, you've already moved into the next one. What I mean is... the problem you mentioned does exist and it is indeed something we are planning to address in the next phase."

"Even before the Prosperity Epoch, the Industrial Age had already proven that one-sided exploitation is unsustainable. Unequal relationships would inevitably collapse after reaching a tipping point... whether it's between people or between different settlements. The various measures we adopted during specific periods were only meant to delay the arrival of this point, to gain more room for flexible decisions."

"We only have two choices in the end, either to set up a sanctuary like Singular Point City to isolate Poluo Province from mainstream society while observing and waiting for new developments. Or to encourage them to board the ship to the new world and participate in the massive agenda on how to end the Wasteland Era."

He envisioned Jin Galun Harbor as the "secondary industrial base," and Poluo Province as a base for manpower and mineral supply, but he would similarly rejoice if it could become a huge consumption market.

It wasn't just because it would be more advantageous for Baiyue Corporation, but also because he rather not stand opposite other settlements and survivors of the Alliance.

The war waged by the Sticky Community on Haiye Province had, in fact, covered up some issues.

Dawn City and Giant Stone City could get their fill just from military supplies and logistics orders, with the entire Sticky Community paying River Valley Province's settlements, and the necessities of residents of River Valley Province could be bought from other regions using money from the Sticky Community.

Once the war was over, or once the expansion of the Alliance slowed down, or if a new crisis erupted, some issues that had been shelved would inevitably resurface.

The Manager's decision to approve Baiyue Corporation's IPO at this time must also incorporate such considerations.

And being a player on the T0 ladder, he had to ensure that his faction's BOSS had cards to play.

With these thoughts in mind, Mr. Fang suddenly said with a smile.

"It seems it's not only you who thinks this article was well-written. I actually think so too... How about we include it in the educational materials for Jin Jialun Port?"

"That's a great idea!" Dolly's eyes sparked again, and she continued in her melodious voice, "Compared to the materials we provide them, their own stories would indeed resonate more with their own people. They need their own symbols and totems!"

"Haha, then let's do it that way!"

Within a few seconds, Mr. Fang had made up his mind.

That evening, after completing the report Little Fish had requested, he took the time to send a telegram to the Governor's Office at Jin Jialun Port, instructing them to integrate "Red Soil" into the Jin Jialun educational curriculum.

It was no longer the time when the Burning Corps first landed at Jin Jialun Port, where a battle report would take two or three days just to get to the City of Dawn, by which time a round trip battle could have already concluded.

Information infrastructure was also a part of the infrastructure. The Alliance's telecommunications base stations and highways and railways were always constructed simultaneously. By setting up multiple signal relay stations, telegrams from the City of Dawn could now bypass interference and directly reach Jin Jialun Port.

Once the submarine cables were laid, making phone calls or even video calls would no longer be a problem.

Before long, he quickly received a reply from Yoder, the Governor's secretary.

However, what Mr. Fang did not expect was that the content of the reply was not only about the localized textbooks but also mentioned Laxi.

[... The Education Workers' Association of Jin Jialun Port is organizing public school teachers to compile textbooks that meet the needs of local survivors. They have already noticed the articles that appeared in the Survivor's Daily, not just "Red Soil," several articles have been recommended by local teachers as well as hired teachers. I will continue to keep an eye on the progress of this work for you.]

[Additionally, there is another matter. Influenced by the poor performance of the Expeditionary Army at Ten Peaks Mountain, the youth of Jin Galun were excited to learn that the Empire planned to deploy more Cannon Fodder to the front lines, causing disdain for the Empire's actions. Representatives from all walks of life have recently submitted petitions, hoping that the Jin Galun authorities will refuse to return the prisoners of war from the Grey Wolf Army, at least allowing those who voluntarily wish to stay... They are worried that the young people we release will be used by the Empire as consumables and sent to the front lines for compensation.]

[It's not just the general public that is excited, but also internally from the authorities. Laxi, the director of the Civil Defense Office, submitted his resignation letter this morning. Along with him, nearly thirty mid and low-ranking officers from the Militia Group also submitted their resignations. I've tried to retain them, but they are resolute in leaving, and I do not have the authority to deal with this matter. I can only report this to you and leave the decision to you.]

He resigned too?!

Mr. Fang was momentarily surprised, finding it unexpected that this fellow was so temperamental, and he was stunned for a good while.

The resignation letter was attached to the bottom of the telegram; he did not linger and continued reading the rest of the telegram.

Although the original document was not attached here, he believed that Yoder wouldn't deceive him on such a major matter.

[

Respected Mr. Fang, I am grateful for your promotion, without you, there would not be the man I am today. Also, please convey my regards to Mr. Manager. I know he is always concerned about the affairs on the Wasteland and is watching over us.

However, I am but a simple man, literate but not eloquent, yet I believe you understand my loyalty. I have followed every instruction you have given.

It is with reluctance that I submit this resignation, all due to the scoundrels in the north!

I hate them for their lack of struggle, wasting the food and money you sponsored, for their disgraceful behavior that has become a laughingstock both inside and outside the Poluo Sea, and more for squandering the lives of my comrades!

When the time comes that all clans of the West Winds are thoroughly disappointed, the survivors of Poluo Province will have no opportunity for emergence. The time is not too late now, while the Resistance still has some vigor, I must come out!

If you think me rash, with just a command, I will gladly return my life to you, never troubling you. If you allow me to go north and save the situation, should I succeed, I will never neglect you! I, Laxi, will always be your subordinate, if you ask me to go east, I will never go west!

]

After reading and rereading the resignation letter twice, Mr. Fang couldn't utter a word, and it took a while before he managed to say, "Well, I'll be."

Did he write that himself?!

Chapter 768: To make the grass grow well, you must first set it on fire

Jin Jialun Port Governor's Office.

One man sat in his chair grandly, while another paced anxiously back and forth in the office.

On the desk were two cups of tea, one still hot, the other cold and untouched.

Laxi watched Yoder hold his chin thoughtfully, taking too long to reply, and couldn't help but curse.

"...Can you stop beating around the bush? It's making me dizzy just watching you."

Yoder glanced at him irritably, then out the window, and sighed heavily while shaking his head.

Seeing Yoder wanted to say something but was not speaking, Laxi's eyebrows twitched violently.

"Just say it."

Finally, Yoder spoke up.

"Does the general know why Mr. Fang moved you from the front line to the rear?"

Laxi picked up the teacup, blew on it, and replied indifferently.

"I know."

Yoder's brow twitched violently, struggling to keep his temper, he continued to ask.

"Then why are you so restless?"

"Restless? Ha! The Empire slaughters my people, butchers my kin, and you ask why I am restless?" Laxi raised his eyebrows, his eyes narrowing into slits as he fired a piercing gaze at him, "Every day I waste here, I can't tell how many families are broken and lives are lost!"

"I will never forget what happened at Lowell Camp, and that's just a speck of dust, a blade of grass on this four million square kilometers of land! I'm telling you, I wish I could go to Tiandu right now and chop up the emperor and his family, tear down the thousand pillars of the City of Thousand Pillars!"

Yoder wanted to say something, but Laxi cut him off.

"You're from the Snake Clan, there must have been your own people who died on Ten Peaks Mountain and the wilds of the Wei estate. You've read the Survivor's Daily; the way they died can't even be called cannon fodder, yet that fool Witch Camel is not only unrepentant but thrilled, planning to continue sending people to that godforsaken place to die. Before you persuade me, you might want to think about your own kin—"

"Enough!"

Yoder suddenly roared, interrupting Laxi's endless talking.

His chest heaved, his face, usually written with composure, smoothness, and patience, now rarely showed a trace of losing control.

Staring hard at Laxi, he almost wanted to grab him by the collar, but restrained himself.

"I'm worried about you, dammit! You short-lived fool, you're not unclear about the situation in the north; those idiots may be your kin, but with them, who are even worse than feudal lords' armies, what difference is there between going there and courting death?"

Surprised, Laxi's face showed a trace of astonishment. He was not offended but had not expected this usually low-key person to have such a forthright side and laughed heartily.

"What a joke! A turtle that shrinks its head lives long, so what use do I have being a turtle! You mock me for my short life, I mock you for living too long and being bored with it. Hey, I'm settling for being a short-lived ghost today!"

Yoder didn't know whether to laugh or cry, watching Laxi finish his tea and ready to leave, he personally went to pour him another half cup and stopped him.

"My general, my ancestor, consider the actual situation—"

Laxi sneered. "How could I be any clearer about the situation in the north than you? Don't forget the battlefield reports are first delivered to my office! I'm studying firsthand reports and you think you know more from second-hand ones? A bunch of pigheads fighting such a dull war, the more I read, the angrier I get, I'm downing bottle after bottle!"

While talking, he seemed to remember the reports again and gritted his teeth in anger.

Yoder sighed.

"But general, what difference would it make if you went?"

Without hesitation, Laxi retorted.

"The Resistance is incompetent, but I am not! And neither are my Moon people!"

Yoder couldn't help but ask again.

"What if you lose?"

Laxi spoke indifferently.

"It's just death."

The room fell silent.

Yoder stared blankly at him, thinking the term "short-lived fool" was just a joke, only to realize that he was serious.

This guy was truly betting his life...

His Adam's apple moved, he silently picked up his own teacup, and saluted the general.

"I didn't expect you to have such an awakening, I was disrespectful."

"Don't act like you're sending me off, I'm not dead yet," Laxi replied, touching his cup to Yoder's and grinning, "Even if I die, it's better for me to lead them to death than for them to live in such a miserable way. In the end, if they don't bring down the emperor but extinguish the fiery blood in the hearts of the young across Poluo Province, it would truly not be gratifying!"

While they were talking, footsteps came from outside the office, and a young man walked in.

"Mr. Yoder, a telegram from the City of Dawn."

"What does the telegram say!" Laxi, unable to wait for Yoder to speak, stood up and asked eagerly.

The young man carefully glanced at Yoder and seeing him nod, continued.

"Mr. Fang says... it's approved."

Laxi's face beamed with joy, laughing heartily, he gave a bow to Yoder.

"I'll take my leave!"

As he said that, he strode out the door, not pausing for a moment, leaving only Yoder and the young man behind.

After glancing in the direction Laxi left, the young man looked at Yoder, and after a moment of hesitation asked.

"Mr. Yoder... is this really okay?"

He belonged to the Horse Clan and, although not a noble, he had worked for them before becoming a civil servant at the city hall, so he was quite well-off.

As for someone like Laxi, he felt a mix of admiration and fear, with a slight disdain.

The admiration was because the Old Aristocrats and masters feared that fellow, fear also because the guy was truly not a good thing, unpredictable, and ruthless.

As for the disdain, there was probably a hint of jealousy.

The local people were involved in building railways, subways, and renovating the High City Area under the city hall, yet the common folk admired the ruthless Laxi more, who would even kill his own people.

Compared to Yoder, Laxi's prestige among the residents of Jin Jialun Port was significantly higher.

If it weren't for his complete lack of interest in becoming the mayor, Mr. Yoder would have found it quite challenging to compete with that guy... without resorting to tricks.

"Perhaps Mr. Fang has his own judgment," Yoder sighed softly after a long silence.

Having served as the "acting mayor" for so long, he had somewhat felt the difficulties Mr. Fang faced.

Most of the time, what he had to do was not to choose the best option out of two reliable ones, but to choose the lesser of two evils from unreliable options.

Was it to extinguish the flame that had finally kindled, or to let it burn and see what might emerge from the flames?

He felt that if he were in Mr. Fang's shoes, he might well have made the same decision.

Actually, that guy wasn't all that bad, a fellow blatantly aiming to be an emperor or a military faction leader is better than Yoder of the North Federation, who shouts about freedom but becomes an emperor and yet calls himself president.

The former, at least, might be reformed; after all, the youth of Poluo Province don't yet see equality as a scourge, while what Laxi thinks alone isn't important. But the latter is trickier; right and wrong can be turned upside down, and only a great war or a fire burning to its peak can start anew.

As a reformist, he didn't actually dislike people like Laxi. If he had to rank them, such people were generally more likable than those who are pro-empire, even though he couldn't come to admire them.

"Let's take it one step at a time," Yoder shook his head and returned to his desk to continue reviewing the new textbook proposal submitted by the Education Workers' Association...

On the other side, having left the city hall, Laxi stopped at the entrance of the City Hall.

Suddenly, he turned back to look at the Jin Jialun and Alliance flags fluttering in the square and then took off the officer's cap on his head and placed it on the flagpole stand.

"You said not to kneel; today, I will not kneel."

"One day when all the survivors of Poluo Province replace kneeling with a bow and a fist bump, whoever dares to kneel again, whoever they may be kneeling to, I'll saw off their grandmother's legs!"

Having said this, he bowed three times, straightened his back, and walked away.

That day, the Jin Jialun Port City Hall accepted the resignation letter submitted by the head of the Civil Defense Office, Laxi.

Along with him, 100 officers and soldiers from the Militia Group also resigned.

It was said that on the day he returned to the camp and spoke out, the number of those who submitted their resignation letters more than doubled.

And regarding these resignation letters, the Jin Galun Port authorities, under the instruction of the governor's secretary, approved them one by one.

These young fellows returned the military caps, uniforms, and epaulets that had been issued to them by the authorities, as well as the guns strapped to their shoulders.

From today on, they will no longer be the revered militiamen, but simply ordinary residents of Jingga Lun Port.

However, as they left the barracks, they were cheered by the entire city of Jin Galun Port.

People gathered in the streets, threw flowers at them, handed them fruits, hugged them, as if seeing off a group of departing heroes.

When everyone was expressing their resentment toward the Empire's shamelessness, these young men stood out.

Their birth was not glorious, their records not particularly brave, and their ancestors had no illustrious military achievements, but everyone could see the courage and determination to face death in their eyes.

The young men walking among the crowds held their heads high and chests out, eyes filled with pride as they looked at the people offering them flowers.

To have such a moment in life was to die without regrets!

Many of them remembered.

A similar event had happened once before, on the day the Empire was defeated.

However, at that time the flowers were tossed to the people of the Alliance, not to those who had also shed their blood.

They did not envy the Alliance for stealing their glory; after all, they were well aware that they could not defeat the Empire on their own and that their performance was indeed not as spectacular as those fellows', who had a hundred or so men chasing tens of thousands to run headlong into the river.

Even though they took the residents of Jinga Lun Port's adoration for the Alliance for granted, there was inevitably some envy in their hearts.

They too yearned for the recognition of their compatriots.

And how they longed for the unity of those who had already come together!

Especially after they learned of everything that had taken place in City of Dawn, Dawn City, Giant Stone City, and so on, through books and newspapers that had traveled across the seas, that longing gleamed even more intensely until it became a new faith.

Miracles are neither innate nor guaranteed to occur.

The awakening of the residents of Jingga Lun Port began with Survivor's Daily, and their awakening had already planted seeds the moment they fought shoulder to shoulder with those people.

Someone must take the first step!

Now it was their turn to tread the path those people had once walked!

As the young men strode forward with heads held high, Paru, who had been called from the port district's police station to maintain order on the scene, was searching for his trampled shoe.

It had cost him half a month's salary, a total of more than nine hundred Gallons.

When he finally found it in a corner of the crowd, he pounced on it with joy, hugging it to his chest and heaving a sigh of relief.

"Thank the Horse God for his blessing!"

Muttering to himself, he hurriedly slipped on the shoe and strode back into the crowd with head high.

With a flip of his hands, he signaled left and right, chasing away a few kids who were causing a commotion, and when night fell and the crowd dispersed, he wiped the sweat from the effort he had put in and walked to the nearby police station's lounge to rest his legs.

The police station was filled with young men, all fervently discussing the Empire and cursing Witch Camel for not treating the people of the Rat Clan and the commoners of the Empire as human beings.

"Joining the Sticky Community is certainly good! But couldn't we do it in a different way? Mr. Manager never forced everyone to blindly strap themselves in and support the cause of all humanity, could we not change the method?"

"Exactly! We could have bought some industrial equipment with the consolation money from the Sticky Community and then taken some orders from them. But that damned Witch Camel wants to trade lives for it!"

"No idea where the money was spent!"

"Ah, I hope those young men can win…"

"There are donation spots at several stalls in Crab Market, and the owners of the dyeing and textile factories are calling for donations. I went and donated a bit yesterday,"

"Is it reliable?"

"How can it not be? The boss of the Assassin Group himself donated one million silver coins! Could those big traders care about your little bit of money?"

"Hiss... with that kind of money, you could buy a tank!"

Criticizing the Empire had become a fashion in Jinga Lun Port, everyone was doing it, including Paru who used to reminisce about Nihack but had recently fallen out of love with that obsolete thing and occasionally joined in the cursing too.

But when it came to those young men who caused traffic congestion and gave him a lot of trouble, he just couldn't be happy.

Couldn't they have slipped away quietly in the night without making a sound?

Especially that unlucky bunch, who almost made him lose one of his new shoes.

However, sitting there, he didn't dare to speak out against them openly, only humming a small tune under his breath.

"Heh, it wouldn't even be useful to give them power armor… Following Laxi, that drunkard, I'm afraid all their passion might just be wasted."

Just by chance, Bacher, who was also on the periphery of the crowd, heard this complaint and looked at his colleague in surprise, saying incredulously, "How can you speak of them like that?"

He didn't care about anything outside of his work, but he at least didn't dislike those who dared to be the first to act.

If they truly succeeded, it would be advantageous, at least there would be fewer wronged souls drowned in the Everflow River.

Seeing someone join in on his scorn, Paru sneered and said,

"Do I need to say it? How could that Laxi ever accomplish anything? A slave-born fellow, without the Alliance, he's nothing. Does he really think those people fear him?"

Seeming to feel that his point wasn't persuasive enough, he hastily added another sentence, as if afraid he had missed something,

"And the most crucial thing is, he lacks thoughts."

Bacher couldn't help but laugh and say,

"Then, what exactly is that… Are we talking about the same thing?"

He had thought this old-timer would say those young guys went out without bringing any guns.

Seeing how naive the kid was, Paru huffed and with a curl of his lip started listing off as if itemizing treasures,

"Gods are just fictitious shackles, thoughts are the sword that cuts through those shackles! Relying on heaven or earth is no good; rely on yourself. To get rich, you use your hands and your brain. Respecting others means respecting yourself… You must not have read the Survivor's Daily, have you? Not even knowing something as important as thoughts, how can you be a guard! Young man, your attitude is a real problem!"

Bacher looked at him blankly, not really remembering that the newspapers had written so much, only remembering that the Alliance guy told him that Mouse Tribe people could also be guards, and that illiteracy could be overcome with time.

Facing the old-timer's rebuke, all he felt was a burning heat on his face, and for a moment he even began to reflect on whether he truly practiced equality in his everyday work and interactions with people.

"Then… do you have that 'something'?"

Bacher asked this question out of a sense of guilt, somewhat seeking advice.

He did not expect that having heard him, Paru, who was just boasting a second ago, suddenly jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on,

"You shifty-eyed scoundrel, how dare you say I don't have it! Of course, I have it! When the Alliance first landed, I knew those guys who united everyone were sure to win!"

"And besides, if I hadn't turned a blind eye to let them ashore, it wouldn't have been so easy for them to win, you know. Why do you think I'm a harbor guard while you riffraff only fit to run errands on Knight Road? The furry ones have short sight, but how come you hairless ones are just as shortsighted?"

Bacher stared blankly at the animated old-timer, taking a step back, his eyes filled with a mix of pity and fear.

What he feared wasn't that the old fellow's mouth really had been touched by the "Light," sending those young lads to their deaths—after all, gods really don't exist—but rather the sudden realization that the other side of the river was full of such characters.

They were much like the script Mr. Mouse had written for General Lowell's biography, and now these 'L's were praising the things brought by the Alliance, just as they initially praised the Weilante People for giving one thousand dinars… it was so good…

Assassinating the emperor is not that difficult.

But these people are the undying…

…

Dusk gradually fell, and the night grew deeper, leaving the Everflow River in complete silence and tranquility amid the lush reeds.

This place is to the northwest of Jingjialun Port, an undeveloped wasteland.

Originally named Reed Slope, it had now been dubbed by locals as Dead Man's Slope, simply because the reeds concealed the bodies of those who had drowned.

Residents from the settlement escorted him to this point, where they would go no further.

Laxi and his followers were to board a boat at the riverside ferry, under the guise of members of the Assassin Group, to traverse the territory controlled by the Tiger Army.

Some got on the boat, others got off.

As Laxi surveyed those pitiable souls thanking the boatman profusely for their deliverance and the corpses hidden among the reeds, he watched from the bow of the ferry with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

With his back to his followers, he spoke in a voice neither too heavy nor too light.

"…Do you see those people fleeing on the Everflow River?" he asked.

"They clamor ashore like dogs fallen into water, desperately scrambling to land as though reaching it would let them lead a human life again… Ridiculous, utterly pathetic. Instead of being decent humans, they choose to live like dogs."

The crowd remained silent.

Though they supported Laxi, and were not opposed to him taking the throne, this did not mean they agreed with everything he said.

Apart from the initial group of officers who had handed in their resignations to follow him—his close confidants—many had joined him out of sheer idealism.

Among them, there were those who sympathized with the refugees, and who stepped up precisely to aid them at the root of their plight.

Seeing no one respond, Laxi snorted coldly, but his tone then shifted.

"Being a dog may be shameful, but who is it that turned them into dogs!" he exclaimed.

"Their parents?"

"The people here?"

"You?"

"Or perhaps the Alliance? The Army? Ideal City?"

"No, none of them! It's that Witch Camel, his ministers, and the thousands upon thousands of farms with slaveholding farmers! It's these bone-crushing monsters who have transformed people into dogs, warping the relationship between man and man into that of dog and dog!"

"Today, you follow me upstream not only to save the Moon people but also to save the countless slaves! If one day I am crowned emperor, whether you believe in me or not, I swear never to let a citizen of West Winds live like pigs and dogs again!"

…

A week had passed since Laxi resigned, and the commotion stirred up by those young men had been bubbling in Jing Jialun Port for just as long.

The entire settlement praised Laxi and those young men, even the Old Aristocrats who once feared him like a plague.

In the port district.

Near the entrance of Triumph Hotel was a breakfast shop, decorated just like those in the City of Dawn. It was frequented by the locals, especially popular among those wearing Blue Jackets who occasionally dined there.

Two well-dressed men sat at a table, ordering three baskets of soup dumplings which they paired with ginger vinegar, all the while pointing and remarking on the newly published Survivor's Daily.

Red Soil had just wrapped up L's story, finally getting to the crux of the matter—but rather than launching into a narrative about General Lowell or the Red Soil, it bizarrely chose a diary written by a madman to lead into a detailed account of an occurrence briefly mentioned in the prologue involving people eating soil.

The article induced chills in its readers.

The earth in their mouths felt like succulent meat, and the blood-drenched mud cakes were too reminiscent of human hearts and livers.

With a madman as the protagonist, the ramblings in his diary might've seemed ridiculous, but Mr. Mouse wrote them with such realism it made one doubt his own sanity. Upon reflection, one even began to doubt oneself, to the point where even the tasty soup dumplings lost their appeal.

Following a shudder, the two men hastily changed the subject, hurriedly discussing the recent talk of the town—the "United Federation."

That was the name the young people of Jinjaron Harbor gave to Laxi and his band of boys who had left the city to fight for the overthrow of the Empire, as well as the hopes they placed on those men.

At first, it was just a name, but later some radical youths registered the organization and set up a supervised account at the banks of Jinga Lun, actively fundraising for those men. It now even felt a bit like a factional group.

Although Laxi still on the road might not recognize this "honorably" bestowed identity, he probably wouldn't refuse the equipment and money that came knocking at his door.

"That Laxi probably has no good intentions, I spotted right away that he wants to be Emperor."

"Ha, only you could see that?"

"Don't you think this is just fooling around?"

"I flipped through the old books sent by the Alliance, and the history of the United Human actually has its own version of constitutional monarchism."

The Cow Clan member opposite him widened his eyes.

"That disgraceful stuff? The United Human is buried in the trash heap of history! And you're still rummaging for food in that trash heap?!"

The Horse Clan member eating a steamed bun gave him a helpless expression.

"But can it be worse than Witch Camel?"

The Cow Clan member fell silent.

That's also true...

Who could be more disgraceful than West Winds.

Even if he also had royalty blood in his veins, and even a title from the Empire.

Those things he normally doesn't even bother to talk about for fear of people's disdain.

In the corner of the breakfast joint, a somewhat mature-looking youth sat quietly reading the paper.

A few average-looking but robust men sat around him eating noodles carelessly, staring down anyone who tried to come near with their gaze.

Except for the waiter who came to refill the tea.

Noticing the newspaper in the customer's hand, Zayed spoke in a very soft voice,

"The news on this page is about Fried Dough Stick Port. They plan to renovate their port and need more steel, cement, and workers."

Ah Xin raised his eyebrows slightly, looking at the interesting waiter with a smile.

"Can you tell I can't read?"

Zayed nodded slightly and spoke soothingly,

"You have a zeal for knowledge, but your beef noodles are better eaten while they're hot; the soup will make the noodles soggy."

Ah Xin smiled faintly.

"You're an interesting fellow, with enough learning to read and write, why not teach instead of waiting tables here?"

This man looked somewhat familiar, like someone he'd seen at Triumph Hotel, but perhaps dismissed for some reason.

He could guess why—probably for talking too much while guests were dining.

Not a good habit.

And he just happened to meet someone like himself, who came up from the grassroots and wouldn't take offense. Besides, this was Alliance territory, so he had to play the part of a good gentleman.

If it were someone with less patience, they would definitely have argued with him.

Of course, the possibility that this brother deliberately approached knowing he wouldn't take offense can't be excluded.

Zayed, hearing the frivolity in that voice, didn't mind and simply smiled faintly.

"Teaching doesn't change the Empire. I teach one, I teach ten, and it doesn't change anything."

As if hearing something hilarious, Ah Xin laughed out loud and put down the newspaper.

"You're quite an interesting fellow. I compliment you on being cultured, and you act as if you're out of your league. Now you tell me, how's being a waiter going to change the Empire?"

Not only did Ah Xin laugh, but his henchmen sitting aside also chuckled.

Except for the blunt and straightforward Kunal.

He didn't find it funny, but instead showed plain disdain with a curl of his lip.

These days, it seems everyone talks about rebellion, even the waiter in a breakfast nook dreams such a vivid daydream.

The noodle shop owner was frantically making eye signals from a distance, almost out of desperation, trying to steer Zayed away from that plague god.

This guy was the boss of the Assassin Group!

Who in the port didn't know what business he was in?

Annoy him and there's fear someone would have to fish them out of the Everflow River.

But Zayed acted as if he hadn't seen it.

He didn't care about the job he was doing, just like he hadn't cared about the job at Triumph Hotel.

He was here working just waiting for the eye of a noble, and now it seemed he had finally found it.

Whether it would work out or not was up to fate; after all, this wasn't his first failure.

Still smiling faintly, Zayed continued,

"Being a waiter won't change the Empire, but it can save me enough for travel expenses."

Hearing he was just a "peach seed" saving for a ticket, Ah Xin looked down on him even more, though he didn't show it, only picking up his chopsticks to eat his noodles.

"...Fried Dough Stick Port, huh, it's a fine place, but they only welcome those who work earnestly. I advise you to fix your high-minded and low-handed ways, acting all slow; you're nothing like the people of Jin Galun Port, afraid you can't even be a good waiter at a noodle shop."

He was getting somewhat annoyed.

Yet to his surprise, the waiter said,

"Why go to Potato Harbor? I want to go to City of Dawn."

"What would you do there?" Ah Xin paused, giving him another look, but didn't expect the waiter to come up with such an astonishing answer.

"Laxi won't make it, Yoder won't make it, not one person in Jin Jialun Port can save Poluo Province, what happened in Giant Stone City has not one in ten thousand chance of happening here... They all lack one thing, and that thing is in City of Dawn."

Staring intently at the astonished Ah Xin, Zayed leaned his hands on the table.

"I don't want to watch the youth of Poluo Province shed their blood in vain; I have to go there and bring it back!"

Chapter 769: He Who Stays Near Vermilion Gets Stained Red, He Who Stays Near Ink Gets Stained Black

"It was technology."

In the Embassy Street of City of Dawn, dapper young men and women came and went in the streets.

Occasionally, one could even spot a piece of "luminous" clothing, likely Ideal City's "holographic attire," capable of changing even the color of one's hair at will.

"Technology is truly marvelous..."

Gazing out of the window, Duke Garava of Ideal City's grand hotel heaved a deep sigh, followed by another spontaneous exhalation of regret.

"If only the Empire's technology were more advanced, if United Human had left more of its legacy for my Empire... My subjects wouldn't have to eat dirt, truly a sin."

Duke Garava had naturally seen yesterday's report in Survivor's Daily, reproducing "Red Soil"—although he only read the serialized beginning—"L biography."

Though the article was largely aimed at casting aspersions, he had to admit that there were indeed some in White Elephant City too lazy to work, unable even to afford beans.

But where don't such lazybones exist?

Moreover, Survivor's Daily, obviously an Alliance newspaper, chose to report on slackers thousands of kilometers away while turning a blind eye to the ones in Giant Stone City who, due to excessive drinking, had lost their wives and children.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed Dawn Garden News, bold enough to tell the truth, was the one really speaking up for the millions of suffering survivors in the Alliance.

However, the skill of empty talk was actually trivial, and Duke Garava did not care much about the defamation by Survivor's Daily; instead, the sight of Red Soil had struck a chord with him.

If only he had the technology to produce nutrient paste.

That stuff was said to make inedible things edible and sounded very nutritious.

The more Duke Garava thought about it, the more he felt that General Lowell was indeed up to no good, reducing the survival costs of the refugees in Poluo Province too drastically.

Farming requires paying taxes, but eating dirt does not; the entire process from production to distribution could be completed without the involvement of nobles or their appointed civil officials, and even if he wanted to intervene, he couldn't, which was unfair to those who farmed the land.

"...If that year, instead of producing Red Soil, Lowell had produced some real technology, like machines to manufacture nutrient paste, my Empire wouldn't be so weakened."

When Niyan first heard Duke Garava's deep sighs, he felt a jolt of alarm, but upon hearing these words, he relaxed again.

This fellow had indeed read his work, but thankfully, not much of it.

A thousand readers have a thousand Bol's in their hearts, including Bol seeing different things in what he read.

And as usual, his Duke was consistently misinformed, now thinking of technology as something akin to the Red Soil in the ground, probably still hoping for miracles, believing that simply burying something in the earth and digging around could unearth technology.

It was easy to fool this fellow; just do as he wanted, bury some relics of the Prosperity Epoch in the soil, and mimic the motions of digging, which was likely enough to keep him happy.

Niyan had even thought of how to use this "charity" money but was disappointed by Duke Garava's next statement. For once, the fellow had been smart, not entrusting professional matters to the inexperienced.

"I have arranged a meeting with Mr. Lister, you go entertain him later, don't neglect our honored guest."

Hearing the name Mr. Lister, Niyan found it vaguely familiar, and after some thought, he suddenly realized he might have seen it in an advertisement.

That man was something of a legend himself, starting as a merchant selling smuggled goods. Riding the chaotic wave of Bone Chewing Chaos, he shot to prominence, becoming a significant figure in Giant Stone City, and managed to get out intact before the city fell.

There was a saying that he was incredibly wealthy and could rival the wealth of nations, the richest man in City of Dawn.

However, Niyan always felt it a bit far-fetched to call Mr. Lister the wealthiest—they seemed to hold the one attending the hearings in higher regard.

Of course, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't all that important.

"Mr. Lister—is he the entrepreneur who produces exoskeletons and batteries?"

"That's right," Duke Garava nonchalantly replied, mimicking someone's style by adding some milk to his red tea, "I've studied the changes in Giant Stone City in detail, and that merchant named Lister made a big score from it, as did a steel merchant surnamed Sun. They are pretty much the wealthiest group in the Alliance, and buying them off will be much easier and more effective than trying to win over the residents of the refuge."

Considering this straw bag had actually investigated Giant Stone City, Niyan was greatly shocked, and cautiously asked another question.

"Are you planning to have him set up a factory in Poluo Province?"

"That's right, I should have done this a long time ago. As a diplomat, I must do some solid work for the Empire." The Duke of Garava smiled faintly, his eyes twinkling with shrewd light.

Niyan cautiously reminded him.

"But we don't have nuclear fusion there, nor do we have as many experts as Camp 101... How do we attract Mr. Lister over there?"

"It's actually quite simple," the Duke of Garava said with a smile, "I've asked around; the Alliance didn't have those things at first either, and Lister's factory could still be established. As for nuclear fusion, it's just a matter of electricity prices—I'll just exempt him from electricity charges."

If he could move Lister's factory to White Elephant City and manufacture a few thousand exoskeletons for him, there might be no need for His Majesty to intervene; his private soldiers on the estate could beat the Alliance until they were searching the ground for teeth.

A pleasant smile appeared on the Duke of Garava's face, wishing he could immediately go to the Alliance's post office to send a telegram and share his joy with His Majesty at this moment.

Niyan struggled to keep up with his train of thought but felt that letting this guy stir things up might just be a good thing, so he nodded in agreement.

"Understood."

...

The port of Jin Galun was basking in the sunshine and the end of the rainy season, with the nice weather persisting as usual.

Surrounded by seagulls, a large and long destroyer docked at the pier, with several tall and sturdy Alliance Soldiers—or players, clad in exoskeletons—disembarking.

Actually, wearing them wasn't necessary.

But dressed in these gadgets, they were more eye-catching, and Zero Rush happened to like showing off.

Walking to the front of his teammates, Mountain River Entering Dreams looked around at the bunch of animals and spoke with a serious voice.

"In a while, we'll go to Lowell Camp for check-in, and someone will link up with us for mission details. Remember, don't go into the locals' homes for shelter, even if it's raining, let alone if it's bloody shells falling!"

When saying the last sentence, Mountain River Entering Dreams especially glanced at Zero Rush.

The latter scratched his head in embarrassment, while Two Ounces of Moonlight and Firstborn both briskly responded.

"Roger that!"

"Oh!"

The powder keg of the southern sea area could explode at any time.

Strictly speaking, they should not have returned to Jin Galun Port at this time, having been recalled to Baiyue Province. However, some idiot had resigned with a group of officers, and they had no choice but to come back at the request of the authorities to retrain some officers for the Militia Group.

The tactics of players were not suited for NPCs, but the experience gained on the battlefield was interchangeable.

Moreover, after countless fear-of-death explorations, the players from the Burning Corps had honed some tactics to perfection.

For example, using multi-gun groups to launch creeping barrages to cover the infantry advance. The Burning Corps' players could even charge forward hugging the edges of shell fragments, treating 155 mm howitzers as their own bayonets.

Other tactics included para-dropping behind enemy lines, hunting large Variants, and so on.

The group passed through the bustling Tulip Street, heading in the direction of Lowell Camp.

Passers-by frequently saluted these soldiers of the Alliance, and the players in their exoskeletons also observed the people on the street.

The first coastal freight railway of Jin Galun Port and the subway that ran through the entire settlement were both officially in operation. Although many old buildings were still standing on the streets, the original chaotic slum shacks had largely been replaced by the more space-efficient "Alliance-Style Affordable Housing."

Spacious roads were busy with cyclists and hurried pedestrians.

The streetlights, which used to belong only to Tulip Street, were extending along those main thoroughfares and might soon spread across the entire city.

Walking down the streets of this settlement felt quite like being in cyberspace Mumbai, especially since the most profitable industry here was cotton weaving and dying, which was oddly similar to Mumbai in the latter half of the eighteenth century.

However, this place was much larger than Mumbai.

In Zero Rush's memory, Mumbai seemed to be over 4,000 square kilometers, while Jin Galun Port, including the vast undeveloped outskirts, covered a whopping 10,000 square kilometers.

Another point was that Mumbai was on the west coast of India, akin to the position of West Sail Port in Poluo Line, whereas Jin Galun Port was on the East Coast, right at the end of the Everflow River.

Of course, the most jarring or rather fragmented aspect was the locals' peculiar speech habits.

Regardless of whether it was the lower or upper echelons of society, everyone's words were tinged with an "Alliance flavor."

It was like throwing a few English phrases into standard Mandarin, with the locals extremely fond of mixing player-specific grammar and modal particles into their native dialects.

"...What the heck, why does everyone here like to casually greet each other's mothers when they talk?" Zero Rush muttered skeptically, wondering if the map loading program had some glitch.

Two Ounces of Moonlight glanced at him with a nuanced expression and coughed lightly.

"...I think you should reflect on your own usual words and actions."

Firstborn version also nodded in agreement.

"+1, expecting others to learn only the good and not the bad is unrealistic; when you eat grapes quickly, it's inevitable you'll swallow a few peels."

Zero Rush was taken aback.

"Damn it, how can this be blamed on me?"

Two Ounces of Moonlight shook his head.

"Tsk tsk, see what I was saying?"

Mountain River Entering Dreams laughed heartily, patting Zero Rush on the shoulder.

"Relax a bit, it's not a big deal... as long as you don't enter folks' homes, it's all small stuff."

"God damn it, how long are you going to keep playing with this lame joke!?" Zero Rush gnashed his teeth in frustration, but there was nothing he could do.

But speaking of which, the local customs evolving might indeed have a little to do with the players.

The United Human language used by the players, in fact, greatly differed from that of the NPCs; it was somewhat like a translationese in another sense.

Apart from veteran players who had played for a long time or big shots who had in-depth interactions with NPCs, the United Human language used by most players was "bulk version."

That is, they learned a few pronunciations from the VM, and after listening to and using it enough, they stopped relying on translators. On one hand, the United Human language was extremely compatible, otherwise, it wouldn't be able to adapt to the diverse cultures of the old era. On the other hand, the Game was so realistic that people couldn't help but become addicted to it.

However, being able to use it and using it well were two different things. Even the rare experts were only really proficient in everyday conversational language, unable to understand specific jargon and cultural references and having to rely on context for understanding.

As for most ordinary players, of course, they went for whatever was convenient.

As long as the key words were used correctly, even if they used Chinese grammar, NPCs could understand them.

Jin Galun Port, in essence, was a settlement primarily transformed by the players, where a series of advanced concepts including equality had been brought over by the players from the harmonious society of reality.

Having enjoyed the benefits brought by modern civilization, the emerging class of civic-minded citizens in Jin Galun Port, along with the old aristocracy adapting to the trend, unconsciously leaned toward the Alliance's "Iron Man."

Under this subtle influence, it ultimately led to the current situation.

That is, the Iron Men of the Burning Corps, with their bulk version of United Human language, "contaminated" the local language.

The situation was similar to Xiaoyu's "Chuo."

It's just an auxiliary word in speech, yet that quick learner treated it like a communication tool.

"Uh, rational analysis, you guys make some sense, but it's not like I always say 'damn it' or 'darn it'... and why hasn't this kind of thing happened in City of Dawn?"

Faced with his buddy's puzzled look, Two Ounces of Moonlight spoke confidently.

"That's because the NPCs there mainly worship the Manager, worshipping you is just by extension, like Little Fish is the most typical example... and the players in City of Dawn come from a wider background, take Miss Teng Teng and Crow for instance, did you ever see them talking like you and using 'damn it'? They're as civilized as me, okay!"

"You civilized my ass," Zero Rush rolled his eyes.

Two Ounces of Moonlight grinned mischievously.

"Hey, better than someone, can't even leave kids alone."

"Damn it! @#@%!" Zero Rush was about to blow his fuse, cursing and grumbling as he got up.

These damn fools.

He just accidentally touched his head once, and though he clarified the misunderstanding afterward, the rumors kept getting more and more outrageous, resulting in everyone looking at him with contempt.

Watching the fuming Zero Rush, Mountain River Entering Dreams sighed.

"There're just too many hotheaded guys in Jinjialun Port, if only we could invite Crow over."

At that moment, Firstborn, who usually didn't talk much, suddenly shivered and spoke up.

"Better not... what if she comes here, thinks it's all filthy, and goes to the Forum to tag the crappy planners about a pornography sweep?"

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at him at the same time.

Mountain River Entering Dreams: "What the heck?"

Two Ounces of Moonlight: "Explain 'all filthy' in detail."

Zero Rush: "Fuck, I don't understand, man! Hurry up and explain!"

Faced with those burning gazes, Firstborn subtly shifted his eyes away, coughing lightly.

"Let's focus on the quest... we'll talk about the paid stuff offline."

Mountain River Entering Dreams: "..."

Zero Rush: "@#%@!"

...

The Mouse Tribe's surnames have thirteen different pronunciations, and coincidentally, Poluo Province also has thirteen states.

The state where Jinjialun Port is located is called Lowell state, which naturally got its name from the Lowell Camp in Jin Galun Port and is also the only state in Poluo Province "not related to animals."

The state of West Sail Port, located at the westernmost point and called Nasit State, means lion, while on the easternmost side, Wil State is bordered by Tiger State to the north, Leopard State to the west, and snakes to the south, with Poluo Sea to its right.

The widely spread belief among the local intelligentsia is that although the provinces borrow names from animals, what they actually worship—or seal—are the gods behind these animals.

Lowell might not be an animal, but it represents a totem buried in the hearts of every survivor in Poluo Province and is the only "human god" not among the thousand pillars.

Because every person is a "pillar," in other words, a walking "human pillar."

Or, said differently, a sacrifice.

However, if one considers Ms. Han Mingyue's interpretation, there's another meaning.

That is, two hundred years ago, Poluo Province was a large ecological reserve, and Lowell state was the only scientific observation point and resting place for tourists, while Tiger State was mainly the habitat of tigers and Leopard State for leopards, with different breeds of snakes, elephants, lions, cattle, wolves, and so on following in similar vein.

These wild animals were once the source of food for survivors over a long period, and after nearly hunting these wild animals to extinction, the locals sanctified them out of a sense of gratitude.

The influence of "Animal World" video materials further evolved into the belief system of a Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods.

The two explanations are actually different perspectives, one is an analysis based on peeling the spiritual layers, and the other is a purely rational deduction based on scientific arguments.

The difference between them is roughly equivalent to an oil painting and a pencil sketch, both depicting the same apple, yet not entirely the same.

Currently, the entire northern region of Lowell State is under the control of the Tiger Army, while the west and southwest are under the control of the Black Panther Army.

The two armies have effectively become military factions, although they still receive military pay from the Empire's court, in practice they have become detached in spirit from the Empire.

Their relationship is entirely maintained by money.

When the day comes that the Empire stops paying, these military factions will essentially tear off their last shred of face.

In fact, due to the Empire's previous embargo strategy against Jinjialun Port and the countering measures taken by the Baiyue Corporation, the two major military factions on the border have already achieved "financial freedom" through the smuggling trade.

Moreover, it is not just financial freedom, but the productivity of their controlled areas has also been significantly improved.

This is not because these military officers understand governance well, but quite the opposite – most officers are clueless about governance, they don't even want to govern, and are even less competent than the Empire's civil officials.

But precisely because of this, these officers simply adopted a completely laissez-faire economic model, letting the merchants of Jinjialun Port and the local nobles handle it on their own.

Whoever pays, these military lords will give them the green light, even helping these merchants oppose the Empire's appointed officials and going with guns to nobles' estates to force buying and selling.

Such barbaric behavior is certainly unacceptable, and even seriously damages the Empire's serf economy and tax revenue, and if it continues in the long term, it will ultimately harm the military factions themselves.

However, who asked these brutes to catch the good times, they inadvertently got a taste of the dividends from the development of Jinjialun Port.

Productivity and development levels have regional diffusion effects.

Some of the advanced production capabilities of Jinjialun Port would inevitably move in the opposite direction of the migration waves, feeding back to other areas in Lowell State, and even to Tiger State and Leopard State, which are adjacent to Lowell State.

After all, starting a dyeing workshop in Jinjialun Port, one had to pay workers 1600 Gallons of wages.

There will always be people who think of moving the sewing machines and dyeing vats they bought to places where labor costs are lower and the Alliance's reach is not there to open a small workshop, intercepting a bit of profit from the production chain.

Don't underestimate this bit of profit, one workshop may not make much, but a hundred workshops could catch up with a big factory.

And these "shop owners," different from factory owners, would also purchase machines to increase their productivity.

The increase in productivity not only led to the accumulation of wealth, but also changed the relationships between people, as well as between groups.

Especially as more and more old nobles tasted the sweetness of productivity improvements, and after being threatened with guns, they also began to seek the development of productivity.

The Black Panther Army used to rely on court grants for its provisions, but now, just the tax revenue from Banana Head Bay can support the local generals to feed their subordinates and even occasionally share some canned beef that the Alliance soldiers were tired of eating as benefits.

Everyday life is far more comfortable than when serving as the Empire's dogs.

As for the Thousands of Leaders who had once held a gun to Ah Xin's head, today he has to respectfully call Ah Xin "boss," as the latter had already connected with his superiors' superiors and no longer needed to entertain a mere Thousands of Leaders.

But Ah Xin didn't hold a grudge against him for the past, he even politely helped him operate a bit, letting this arrogant officer become a Ten Thousand Leader and helped him to marry the youngest daughter of a viscount noble family in Leopard State, even buying them a marriage house on Tulip Street in Jin Galun Port.

With money, status, and position, along with a flower-like beautiful young wife, that brute, who was even more uncouth than Laxi, naturally shed grateful tears, almost changing that "boss" to "dad."

And with the support of this Ten Thousand Leader and other high-level members of the Black Panther Army, Ah Xin's business grew bigger and bigger, nearly monopolizing the entire cotton trade of Leopard State.

Although the cotton of Poluo Province cannot compete with the quality and yield of Baiyue Province, it wins in low cost and large volume, occupying a considerable market share in Jinjialun Port.

Even now that the cease-fire agreement has been signed and smuggling doesn't fetch the high prices it once did, they can continue to do legitimate business through those fully developed ports and the money exchanged at the banks, and the profits might even be greater than before.

Despite the "radiative effect" of Jinjialun Port on other areas of Lowell state being significant, the development speed of other areas couldn't catch up with that of Jinjialun Port itself, the only entry and export harbor on the East Coast.

Currently, the Baiyue Corporation effectively controls ten thousand square kilometers, which is only one-fortieth of the entire state, but thirty-nine fortieths of the wealth of the state is congregated in Jinjialun Port.

If one says that the interest distribution between the Alliance and Jinjialun Port is uneven, just like silver coins and Gallons, then the distribution of interests between Jinjialun Port and Lowell state, and even the entire Poluo Province, is even more extremely imbalanced.

Residents of Jinjialun Port have already mounted bicycles as swift as the wind, the children who are students have started pondering their place among the mountains, rivers, and streams, as well as where people should be in many years to come, but in Tiger State and Leopard State, there are still many eating cakes made of mud, forced to sell their sons and daughters in order to survive.

"Red Soil", following "L biography" and "The Diary of a Mad Mouse", finally serialized its third piece "Land", seeming on the verge of entering into that bloody main topic.

"Survivor's Daily" from Jinjialun Port was almost sold out, some who were originally unaware of "Red Soil" read "Land" and turned back to buy the prior L and Mad Mouse.

Some merchants began to consider publishing a collection of this serialized short story, to spare people the trouble of cutting it out from the newspapers one by one.

They couldn't reach Mr. Mouse, but they did receive a letter from Potato Harbor—

"You may publish at will, just donate my share to the United Federation."

This letter uplifted many youths of Jinga Lun as well as the members of the United Federation.

Mr. Mouse was right beside them!

And he was watching them!

A glimmer of dawn's faint light seemed to appear on the horizon, the future looked bright.

Giant Stone City had only one "Awakener Bol", while they had thousands upon thousands.

Inspired by "Survivor's Daily" and "Red Soil", young people turned their simple and even naive thoughts into poetry, into paintings, composed them into songs, becoming part of the hurried and bustling street scenes of Jinjialun Port.

On the foundational belief that "gods do not exist," they added another line of creed—

They need to unite.

Just like the residents of Giant Stone City!

Even though people have thousands of differing thoughts, there is one thought that is the same.

It is to pull out those thousand pillars!

And to smash the old shackles!

And just as a storm was brewing in Jinjialun Port, an angry young man with a quick temper finally met the army he had been longing for.

It could hardly be called an army, more like a group of refugees or bandits, even worse than when he attacked Lowell Camp before—

At least back then, he and his followers, those who dared to fight, still had some vigor and the bravery of common men.

It was such a group of people, scantily clad, holding farming tools in their hands, hiding in a desolate valley in Tiger State, an area tangled in the influence of the Tiger Clan and beyond noble reach, where they cleared some wasteland and survived on the hard-earned aid sent by their Moon people brethren, occasionally eating dirt, or harassing the local small nobility.

After all, the Moon people were numerous, and their men and women often beautiful, so the nobles had bought some Moon people as slaves or concubines. It was considered reasonable to rob them in the name of freeing their kin.

Moreover, since they only robbed people and food without killing, the matter wasn't blown out of proportion, and some small nobles really had no way to deal with them. The larger nobles saw them as fleas, too lazy to care, and it also provided an opportunity to annex the land of smaller nobles and knock down property prices.

As for the Grey Wolf Army, the main force was on the border of Lowell state, and they were even lazier to bother with them.

These days, anyone with some strength was busy managing their own territory; who would spare the effort to help the Court eradicate bandits? Instead, this could be used to ask the Court for more money under the pretext of handling the Moon people.

It was also because of this that the Moon people thought they were well disguised, believing that pretending to be refugees fleeing the war would allow them to avoid the Tiger Army's notice. But they couldn't imagine that even Ah Xin, a gang leader far away in Jinjialun Port, could easily find them.

Everything was as pathetic as he had read in the battle reports.

Even the Tiger Clan Thousands of leaders who escorted him there joked that next time they met on the battlefield, if they didn't want to fight, they should just throw their equipment on the ground and run, and that they could make money together.

What a disgrace!

"Fucking hell..."

Watching that group of young men sitting idly on the ridge, Laxi cursed through gritted teeth, violently drew his pistol from his waist, and pulled the trigger skyward.

"Bang!!"

The thunderous sound startled the Moon people working in the fields, who looked up to see a ferocious-looking man flanked by a group of malevolent figures, appearing as if they wanted to devour them.

Standing in the fields, a middle-aged man gazed at him, dumbfounded, until he recognized the face and his expression exaggerated as if he had seen a ghost.

"La... Laxi?!"

But Laxi didn't even glance at him; he grabbed a young boy by the neck and yanked him out of the field like picking up a chicken, tossing the skinny boy onto the ground.

"Ow... it hurts, it hurts..." The boy cried out in pain, tears squeezing out of his eyes, but when the thug saw him crying, he kicked him in the butt.

"If you can't take the pain, go back to your mommy and daddy, stop fooling around with these people! Go on, call your parents over here for me!"

The boy shrank back, fear written in his eyes.

"I don't have parents... I was sold nearby, and the folks here saved me."

"No parents... huh, then dry your eyes, or I'll send you to see them first!"

Letting go of the boy, Laxi glared fiercely at a farmer who tried to stop him, then turned to look at the Resistance Army soldiers approaching with guns.

The commotion at the village entrance had finally drawn some attention.

These idiots didn't even know how to arrange a sentry, but at least they weren't deaf and could hear the sound of his gun.

They watched him warily, with unfriendly expressions, guns in hand, but they dared not point their weapons at him.

Some of them recognized this brute, the same one who had taken down Lowell Camp and hung that officer from the tower.

No matter how much effort the Alliance had put in, no matter how many cannons and guns they provided, the camp was indeed taken by him.

Laxi ignored the fire sticks and just squinted at them.

"You'd rather be farming the land than fighting, huh? Look at you, pathetic. Are you planning to be supported by the girls from Potato Harbor for the rest of your lives, or by the Baiyue Corporation?"

A middle-aged man mustered his courage and stared him down.

"What do you mean by that!"

Laxi squinted at him.

"Are you the person in charge here?"

"I am—"

Before the man could finish speaking, he was slapped on the head by Laxi and fell into the field.

"You're a fucking hammer!"

These were the words the Alliance instructor had cursed him with during training, and now he was throwing them back in this man's face.

It was this man's fault that Fang Chang had been transferred away!

At least, that's what he believed.

The slap was loud and truly ignited the anger of the Resistance soldiers; one by one, the young men raised their gun barrels and aimed them at Laxi and the hundred or so officers behind him.

"No! Don't shoot!"

The man who had fallen into the field, more concerned for others than for himself, cried out in shock to his fellow Resistance fighters.

But Laxi, as if the fire wasn't big enough, stepped forward directly in front of the group of young men, grabbed one man's gun barrel, and pressed it against his own chest.

"Come on! Shoot me! Kill your comrade who came to save you, come on!"

The young man's face was pale, his hands shaking on the gun as if he might fire any moment.

Clearly, he hadn't been on the battlefield much, hadn't practiced much with guns, and had had little opportunity to do so.

After all, his safety was still on, he had merely chambered a round...

Seeing the cowardice in his eyes, Laxi snatched the gun from his hands, pressed it against the young man's chest, and pushed him back two steps until he was stabilized by others.

"Hasn't anyone fucking taught you? When you're going to kill someone, you take off the safety, and the shoulder strap should be soldered to your shoulder. If anyone dares to grab your gun, use the bayonet to slash their face. Losing your gun on the battlefield means losing your life; you're lucky it was taken by me."

Pairs of eyes were fixed on him, filled with anger, astonishment, shame, and guilt.

But there was also hope in the eyes of some, including the man who claimed to be in charge sitting in the field.

He knew better than anyone that they weren't survivors from Potato Harbor or Jin Galun Port; what they needed wasn't someone to lead them in tilling the land, they needed someone who could lead them to victory in battle!

Laxi scanned the crowd, not just the Resistance soldiers standing at the village entrance blocking his way, but also the farmers in the nearby fields who straightened up to watch him.

"If you want to keep farming, stay here and farm to your heart's content. When you're done being cowards, fucking rise up and follow me."

One Resistance officer swallowed hard and asked him,

"Where are we going to..."

"Going where?"

Laxi chuckled and, facing the dimming skies to the northeast, squinted slightly.

He had thought it through on the road.

Fighting the Tiger army was unrealistic; those guys were well-armed and had plenty of food, their combat power rivaling the Grey Wolf Army, and they were close to "dividing" the Grey Wolf Army at the border.

As the Alliance people said, fighting them would be like being treated as monsters to be farmed for XP.

They needed to open a new battlefield, and the best choice was the northeast corner of Poluo Province.

There, right next to the Zobar Mountains, over which lay Silver Moon Bay. A river named Tasang, flowing from the mountains, irrigated a floodplain known as Tasang Plain, where the marginalized ethnic groups of Poluo Province lived, along with some believers from Silver Moon Bay.

On the administrative map of the Empire, that land was named Mammoth State, sharing a freshwater source with Silver Moon Bay and possessing soil as fertile as Lowell state.

The most critical thing was the area's remoteness from central authority and its proximity to the Alliance's supply network.

Although underdeveloped, that very lack of development had its advantages.

Without a road network connecting to Tiandu and away from the edge of the Everflow River, loyalty to the royal Army and the supplies needed for the military were difficult to deliver to that region.

Another point was that a poor area had no shortage of military recruits!

Only there could he gather a large army. Rising up in Tiger State where the Tiger Clan was predominant would simply be suicide!

"Hiding in these backwoods you'll eventually starve to death; if you want to live, follow me and fight our way to the sea!"

Chapter 770 All Taught by the Same Group of Instructors

In the central part of Tiger State, beside a densely wooded valley.

The Thousands of leaders of the Tiger Army held binoculars, staring dumbfounded at the northern pass, where a swarm of silhouettes moved across a stretch of muddied land in disarray.

These figures were agile, young in appearance, and likely the last wave.

It took a good long while before he forced out a sentence from his lips.

"Dammit... have these country bumpkins taken the wrong medicine?!"

The swarming figures running northward, of course, belonged to the Moon people hiding deep in the mountains and forests.

Or, to put it in another way, they were the sheep being kept in a pen by them.

Now, to everyone's surprise, this group of bark-eating sheep had unexpectedly kicked open the fence gate of the sheep pen and trampled the watch dog as well.

As for what exactly happened here, that takes us back to the heavy rain last night...

Last night, under the dark skies, a hundred-man squad of the Tiger Army went to the vicinity of the Moon Clan's village for a change of guard.

In truth, a 'change of guard' meant simply keeping watch next to the Moon people's village, striking when they saw something of value and waiting if nothing caught their eye.

These displaced Moon people usually hid in the wilderness, with not even a decent village nearby, just a few small noble estates and farms scattered around, a few worn-out dirt paths trodden underfoot and not even leading directly to the Moon people's villages.

No one wanted to be stationed in such a wretched place crowded with paupers, and naturally, neither did the Thousands of leaders responsible for suppressing bandits. Besides, these barren lands where supplies were difficult to deliver weren't suitable for large troops to be stationed.

Therefore, he usually stayed in nearby settlements, eating and drinking well, only following the boss's instructions to keep an eye on those Moon Clansmen, making sure they didn't make too much noise, and occasionally cracking down on them to make a case for pity sales with the Alliance.

This change of guard was routine, just like always. He had even brought some new recruits to see if there was a chance for them to practice shooting.

However, due to the torrential rain en route causing muddy roads, this bunch of slackers was delayed too long and stumbled right into the Moon people's ambush, getting wildly shot at amidst a hail of gunfire.

When they heard the sound of gunfire amidst the rain, the hundred-man squad stationed near the Moon Clan's village instantly realized something was wrong and hurriedly left their positions to provide support.

But they encountered the same problem; the torrential downpour delayed their march, and by the time they arrived, the young men who had come for the guard change had already been driven off. By the time they came to their senses, they were already within the ambush circle.

According to that Centurion who had escaped back, while they were fighting, a loud shout came through the rain—

"If you don't want to fight, just drop your gear on the ground and run, we can make money together!"

A bunch of soldiers figured there really was no need to go all out.

This is Tiger State, where the Tiger Clan is the majority. Could a bunch of Moon people, trampled into the dirt, really turn the tide?

Not to mention letting them win once, even if they won a hundred times, bandits would still be bandits, wouldn't they?

Thinking of their own precious lives, they simply threw their equipment to the ground and ran through the gaps left open in the ambush circle.

After all, the gear was looted from the Moon people anyway, and losing it didn't mean much of a loss.

And so, the net encircling the entire "sheep pen" showed a thin opening.

By the time daylight came the next day, it was all too late.

Not giving them a chance to find their feet again, the Moon people seemed determined to go big this time and had emptied out the entire village...

The lambs no longer grazed on grass; they had switched to eating meat!

The right hand gripping the binoculars tightly, the Thousands of leaders clenched his teeth with a grinding noise.

The adjutant by his side was equally stunned and took a while before swallowing hard to break the silence.

"Commander... should we pursue?"

"Pursue... what the hell is there to pursue!" That Thousands of leaders angrily put down the binoculars.

As the proverb goes, the horses are run to death by the sight of distant mountains, and he couldn't even see clearly.

Moreover, a heavy rain fell last night, turning the already dilapidated dirt road even muddier, if someone really did rush over, they would have run off without a trace by now!

No doubt about it.

It was definitely that bastard who greets people by cursing at their mothers!

Now, he regretted it immensely in his heart, resenting that he should never have let that guy through in the first place.

But it's all too late to say anything now…

"What do we do now?" asked the adjutant, who also realized the severity of the problem, looking solemnly at his commanding officer.

"Let's retreat, go back and report to the Legion Leader; this is no longer something we can handle."

The Legion Leader, of course, is the general of the Tiger Army, but this isn't an official title, rather it's a popular local moniker.

The Tiger Army, after assimilating some officers from the Grey Wolf Army, not only learned some of the "new military concepts of the Weilante People" brought by General McCullen, but also picked up some of the Army's "dregs," thus many of the Tiger Army soldiers fancied themselves as the Eastern Legion.

As for the Black Panther Army, they could barely be considered a Southern Legion.

Thinking about the little money that had flown away, the Centurion felt a pang in his heart and couldn't help but curse his mother as well.

Weapons and money sent from Jin Galun Harbor were things the Tiger Army could "get a share of."

Witch Camel, having heard of the Moon Clan Resistance Army's activities in Tiger State, was frightened out of his wits, sending more and more West Winds currency by the shipload to the Legion Leader's pockets.

Now that this flock of two-legged sheep had run away, it was feared that both significant sources of income were lost.

The more the Centurion thought about it, the angrier he became, wishing he could vent his anger on the person who had bribed him.

Seeing this military officer turning to leave, the clutch of minor nobles following not far behind him suddenly panicked.

The highest-ranked among them was merely a baron, and some "prospective barons" couldn't even count as nobles, just non-heritable titles bought from the governor. Their farms were only fifty or sixty acres in size, and they could count their serfs on one hand; their private security was a single rifle that misfires.

No matter how pathetic those Moon Clan people were, it would still be a breeze for them to attack these insignificant figures.

A down-and-out baron was pushed to the front. Trembling with fear, he blocked the general's path, pleading desperately.

"Sir, you must not abandon us! Those Moon Clanners are traitors appointed by His Majesty, and you are His Majesty's subject. Isn't it within your duties to pursue and suppress these traitors? You can't just take the money… and ignore all responsibilities, can you?"

"My duties?" The Centurion laughed as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world, ha-ha, truly stopped in his tracks, and reached out to touch the baron's face.

"You talk to me about responsibilities, you've really got the guts. My military pay comes from the Legion Leader, aiding the Legion Leader to relieve worries and solve problems is indeed my duty. Who the hell are you?"

All the soldiers, including the adjutant beside the Centurion, watched with an air of seeing a dead man's joke, laughing at the scene.

In this godforsaken wilderness, even if two people died, it could be blamed on the Moon Clan. How dare these grandsons breathe?

The group of minor nobles immediately felt a sense of panic, shuffling their feet backward, hastily abandoning the unfortunate one they'd pushed forward and dissociating themselves from him.

However, it was too late to leave now. A group of soldiers had already blocked their escape, shoving them back into place.

That baron stared blankly at the Centurion, his eyes filled with fear, his complexion shifting, shivering uncontrollably.

"Duties… it's not my illusion. This word, why does it sound like it's filled with Alliance spirit? You couldn't possibly be a spy from the Alliance, could you?"

"How, how could that be…" The baron was sweating profusely, with a face about to cry.

This is the wilderness, the Alliance must be so flush with cash they don't know where to spend it, to send spies here.

What for?

Patting the baron's face with his calloused hand, the Centurion admired the cowering look on his face, pleased with how the baron dared not even breathe heavily.

So what if he's a baron knighted by His Majesty?

What does it matter if one is a noble lord?

Before the true power of life and death, they are no different from a dog.

His eyes suddenly shifted, and he chuckled, "But you make a point. I remember now, our Tiger army receives a part of our funds from the Court, and that money ultimately comes from you. We really should ensure your safety... as a kind of, what's it called, obligation."

The baron was sweating profusely as if it could form a small channel on him, seeing that this demon-like figure seemed to be sparing him, he hurriedly expressed his gratitude as if relieved of a heavy burden.

"Right, right... no, no, no, Your Excellency has many important matters to attend to, how can I dare to trouble you with such trivial issues? We can just bear with it."

He didn't dare mention the matter of the Moon Clan anymore; he just wanted to get past this hurdle.

After all, the Moon Clan only robbed money and grain without killing people, but this group might truly vent their anger on them or even kill them to earn merits.

The governor did not favor these small nobles who were trying to cultivate wilderness, those merchants coming from Jin Jialun Port to build factories and workshops were the real new favorites of that master.

However, it seemed already too late to change his tune now, as the centurion laughed heartily and patted him on the shoulder.

"Well then, it's getting late. I'll bring some of my brothers to stay at your house tonight, to prevent those Moon robbers from stealing your money, grain, and wife."

The baron panicked at once and hurriedly said,

"No, no need, Your Excellency, I'll make sure to lock the doors tight tonight..."

"No need?" the centurion squinted, sizing him up, "Could it be that... you are harboring Moon robbers in your house?"

Seeing the soldiers putting their hands on their waists, the baron felt his legs go weak and nearly knelt on the ground.

What a disgrace!

This guy really thinks he can pass as a Tiger Clan person!

And a damn noble at that!

Watching that waste coldly, the centurion gave a smirk that was not quite a smile and waved his hand.

Two soldiers immediately understood and walked up, chuckling. They grabbed the baron, who looked like he was about to lie down on the ground, one on each side.

They knew their leader's nature well - he would never cut them out of their share of the meat.

"You two give him a hand! We'll follow the baron back to his place and say hello to his wife."

"Right away, boss!"

"Ha ha ha!"

The two soldiers pulled the baron up from the ground, all the while grinning and resonating with their leader's command.

The surrounding nobles were as silent as cicadas in winter, numbly watching the man flailing and wailing like a piglet about to be slaughtered.

When the Moon Clan first attacked, they had clung to the hope that His Majesty would save them, yet they never expected to be first stabbed by their own.

And the soldiers felt the same way; they had no reverence for titles or royal authority in their hearts and were already sniggering at the thought of how the ladies and daughters of the nobles would taste.

Almost unanimously, both the whip handlers and the whipped had concluded in their minds that Witch Camel was already dead...

Although the leader of the Tiger army had not declared himself king, the North of Lowell state and even the entire Tiger State were already under his rule...

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, at the northern end of an unnamed valley, a group of people who had escaped from danger were happily crying tears of joy as they burst into song, scooping up handfuls of water from the stream to splash on their faces.

Thanks to last night's downpour, which had made it impossible for their pursuers to follow their trail.

Of course!

It was mostly thanks to their great general!

Before Laxi arrived here, they hadn't won a single battle, yet last night they won two.

Even the veterans of the Resistance had to admit that the guy really had some skills, although he lacked grand schemes and grand ideas in his head and had an arbitrary and authoritarian style, even uttering the outrageously subversive claim, "I am equality." But at least he was good in battle.

Before they got to Mammoth State, it was fine to have him lead everyone. They could replace him later.

However, those veterans didn't notice that the young men they had rescued from the farms looked at Laxi as if he were the Moon God incarnate in the mortal realm, their fervent eyes gleaming with light.

This included the boy who got kicked in the butt by Laxi when they first met, including the rookie who had soldered the rifle strap to his shoulder.

The Resistance had rescued them from the farms, and they were certainly grateful, but in the end, they still had to till the land, starve, endure... it seemed like nothing had changed.

And there was no Red Soil in those remote, deep forests; they were so hungry they even had to chew on tree bark and eat inedible kaolin clay.

Did they rebel just to starve?

Of course not!

It was because the people who took their hands promised that, as long as they joined the uprising, they would be given their own land and endless food once it succeeded!

The Moon Clan elders also told them that everyone could afford a wife in the future, just like the Free People.

Right now, only Laxi seemed capable of realizing this distant dream for them.

After all, this dream couldn't be achieved by farming, not even if the Wasteland Era ended.

They had to seize it!

Seize it from the nobles' farms and manors!

To grab the most fertile land and fruitful granaries, the money and food that His Majesty had taken from them, to reclaim everything that rightfully belonged to them—

Like the wildfires that boil in midsummer!

Watching those high-spirited lads, Laxi squinted slightly and curled the corners of his mouth into a faint smile.

This was the first time he saw even a glimmer of hope in them, rather than the cowering he saw in the battle reports.

There were over four thousand people who escaped with him, about half of which were the "old-timers" who had caused chaos in Jin Galun Port with the White Bear Knights, the rest were mostly people the Resistance had rescued from nearby farms.

The latter included men, women, and some children who were not quite adults.

As for the elderly, they were rare, given that, unless they had a special skill, slave owners usually wouldn't keep a beast that couldn't work and would bury them in the Red Soil more often than not.

"You're doing well! But it's not enough!"

Looking into those pairs of eyes staring at him, Laxi shouted at the top of his lungs.

"On the battlefield, time is your life! You must be faster than your enemies, strike harder than they do, the ones who survive are you!"

"Remember! To climb out of the dead man's pit, you have to be hard on yourself first; if you want to live, don't damn well treat yourself like a person!"

"I'm teaching you how to survive today, and later you have to pass it on to your soldiers! Today we're just a few thousand, tomorrow we'll be tens of thousands, and later we'll have countless more!"

"The breakout isn't over yet, we have to cross Tiger State, then Horse State, until the Empire's men can no longer catch up to us!"

"Follow me North! Pack up and move on!!"

...

...

"...I'm teaching you how to survive today, and later you have to pass it on to your soldiers! Keep your eyes wide open and your ears perked up!"

"...Damn it, imitating me again!"

"...Hammer, hammer, all day it's just hammer, I say damn hammer, and you're saying hammer too! Did you come up with 'hammer'? Yell 'Yes, sir!'"

Jin Jialun Port, on the open space of Lowell Camp, the furious roar echoed.

A group of young men in military uniforms stood neatly in a line, chests out and backs so straight they could be measured with a ruler.

They were all reserve officers promoted from the grassroots, the future company commanders, battalion commanders, and even regimental commanders of the Jin Jialun Port Militia Group.

Standing before them at this moment was an instructor from the Alliance's elite "Rapid Reaction Force," the Burning Corps—Zero Rush.

This guy, though not exactly a serious chap, did still manage to do what needed to be done properly; the methods he used to train these fellows were basically those applied in reality.

The officer being scolded by him didn't dare even to breathe heavily. He stood with his neck outstretched and bellowed.

"Yes, sir!"

"No spirit! I can't hear you!"

"Yes!!! Sir!!!"

"Very good!"

That roar had almost seemed to take all of his energy, but Zero Rush finally nodded in satisfaction, reached out and patted the young man's shoulder, shaking it as he gripped it.

"Not bad, not bad, you've got spirit!"

He was usually a quite civilized and quality-conscious person, but there was no room for such civility during training.

Each of these men had only one life, they couldn't respawn like players, so naturally, he couldn't teach them in a joking manner; when it was time to be harsh, he had to be harsh.

Moreover, judging by the pair of eyes looking at him, these young men were actually quite thankful to him in their hearts.

No one was a fool.

Suffering hardship and sweating more now could mean shedding less blood on the battlefield later.

Once outside the settlements lay the Wasteland, where they would have to face some things for themselves.

"Today's training is over. You all worked hard. Time to eat and drink..."

As Zero Rush returned to the front of the formation and casually circled the troops, giving them a casual glance.

No one moved.

Completely different from when he first arrived here three days ago, these dimwits finally seemed to have some semblance of discipline—an effort not wasted by his talk.

Finally, Zero Rush nodded in approval and waved his right hand.

"All team members! Dismissed!"

Almost the instant his words dropped, the crowd surged toward the canteen like a tornado through a parking lot.

After a whole day of physical exertion, they were all starving and could hardly wait to devour their food in buckets.

Watching those lively young men, a smile crept on the corners of Zero Rush's mouth, and he too headed to the canteen to meet the three teammates who were already seated there.

Looking at the young men wolfing down their meals in the canteen, Two Ounces of Moonlight sighed and said.

"I won't lie to you, but I sort of feel like I'm training people in Africa...Teaching this bunch is really tough!"

Mountain River Entering Dreams laughed as he spoke.

"Ha! What a coincidence! Me too!"

Firstborn glanced at the newspaper and didn't join in the conversation but suddenly showed a flash of surprise in his eyes.

"Laxi and a group of retired Militia Group officers met up with the Resistance three days ago and are currently breaking out from the Tiger army's encirclement, advancing northeast... Man, this guy is impressive!"

He'd misjudged someone.

He had pegged the guy as a cynic with no real skill, but who knew, when faced with a problem, he was brave enough to throw his bottles and grab a weapon, not like these city literati who just indulge in talking through newspapers.

Truly, Brother Fang Chang had a sharp eye in judging people!

Honestly, he also had a bit of admiration for Brother Fang Chang, even thinking the Dog plan against him was a bit overdone.

Why were the others spared from the hearings, and yet only he was summoned back by Little Fish for re-education?

Without Dog plan's intervention, by now, he would be rampaging in the Southern sea area.

Two Ounces of Moonlight curiously turned to Zero Rush, who had just sat down, and asked, "Did you teach that foul-mouthed Laxi?"

Zero Rush shook his head.

"Man, where would I have gotten that skill, probably some professional brother teaching there."

Including Old White, the Burning Corps had some retired brothers who switched careers, which wasn't exactly a dark secret. But there was an unspoken agreement formed since the early days of the server—all preferring not to bring their real-life identities into the game.

Unless they knew each other in reality.

"Yeah, makes sense," Mountain River Entering Dreams nodded in agreement, "After all, those who truly uphold discipline also—"

"If you mention 'local' again, I'm really going to lose it with you!"

Zero Rush snorted through his nose and was about to stand up when a new recruit jogged over, with his right fist to his chest, giving a military salute.

"Report! Sir! Your family is looking for you!"

"Poof—!"

Two Ounces of Moonlight, who was drinking seaweed soup, spewed it out in an instant, with seaweed choking out through his nostrils.

The stoic Firstborn, who normally had little reaction, cracked up at the sight of Moonlight with seaweed hanging from his nose, leaning over the table, pounding it with his right fist.

"HAHAHAHA!"

The nearby "trainees" all looked over curiously.

Mountain River Entering Dreams shook his head and cursed.

"F***! That's too damn noobish!"

Zero Rush sprung from his chair and, frustrated, covered the new recruit's mouth.

"Don't you talk nonsense! What family... How long have I been here, do I even have family here?"

The new recruit also looked confused.

Mainly because that old man kept bringing a young girl to the entrance of the military camp, asking anyone he saw if there was someone called "Zero Rush" in a Blue Jacket.

Although it seemed outrageous, and no matter how you look at it, the young girl was way too young, forming quite an excessive association, but considering that there actually was such a person within the instructors...

What if it was true?

Wouldn't that flood the City of Thousand Pillars like the waters of the Everflow River?

This sort of thing should actually have been dealt with by Laxi since he was in charge of it before—he reportedly got rid of the old man with just two steamed buns, ensuring he wouldn't dare to come back.

But now that Laxi had resigned, even if the old man was hard of hearing, he wouldn't be able to miss the discussion that had been ongoing the whole time, so he figured he'd try his luck again.

Seeing the anxious face of the instructor, the new recruit tentatively asked.

"So... should I shoo the old man away?"

"Wait! Wait... Oh man! I better take care of this myself." Facing the three idiots' smirking faces, Zero Rush clenched his teeth and dropped his chopsticks as he made his way out the door.

This mess ultimately had to be handled by himself, or else by the time the rumors spread wildly, things he hadn't done would become his doing.

Taking advantage of everyone in the camp eating, he hurried to the entrance of the Lowell Camp and indeed saw an old man holding the hand of a little girl.

It was clear that the earth-shattering changes in Jin Galun Port had had a significant impact on both of them.

Whether materially or spiritually.

Whether for better or for worse.

That "old man" wasn't actually old, at most he was middle-aged; it was just that the years had etched deep marks on his face, just like those of the Waste Land Wanderers who tended to age prematurely. But now he appeared rejuvenated, his complexion ruddy and his back straight, indeed looking like someone in his middle years.

It seemed he had some kind of reliance in his heart and didn't consider the soldiers at the entrance of the army camp worth his notice, though he still followed the rules and didn't just walk past them.

And those soldiers looked as though they dared not offend him, only politely barring his entry.

The little girl didn't carry as much drama; innocent as she was, she didn't understand all that adult business and was just happy to see that big brother who had given her candy returning.

"Brother Zero Rush!"

She called out like this.

The elder by her side also heard and looked joyfully towards Zero Rush, who was quickly approaching, and waved at him.

"Sir, you're finally back!"

Feeling the eyes of many turned on him, Zero Rush felt ants crawling all over his body but still mustered the courage to walk over.

The child named Arno had grown increasingly lovely.

Perhaps thanks to the thriving import-export trade, her recent diet had improved, and her cheeks filled out, making her look plump and adorable, with her shiny black eyes looking exceptionally bright.

However, the more adorable she appeared, the more aching and self-reproach crept into Zero Rush's heart.

An uneducated and simple gaze was definitely not something praiseworthy.

Because of a piece of candy, because of some unrealistic thoughts, the family that should have been on that vehicle missed the train to the new era and became people hastily abandoned by time.

He couldn't imagine.

An old man who only months before had said, "Arno is too small... pick someone else," now stubbornly tried to push his daughter's hand into his own.

As if acting this way could extricate him from a certain bitter sea—some bitter sea within his heart.

Seeing Zero Rush approach, the old man squeezed out a smile, looking to please.

"Sir... my daughter isn't little anymore. She should—"

"She should enroll in school."

Without hesitation, he interrupted the man, fumbled in his pocket, and without caring about the stares from people around, resolutely stuffed a banknote into the old man's hand.

Caught by surprise, the old man opened his eyes wide, thanking profusely with near delirium.

"Thank, thank you!"

Arno's eyes fixed on the pocket that seemed to contain unlimited magical props.

She wasn't interested in the colorful paper slips but wanted to eat the candy she had before.

Her father told her that following this brother, she'd have endless candy to eat, which she thought was nice. If it really was endless, she could even share some with the other boys and girls.

Looking at the old man about to speak again, Zero Rush stared into his eyes and said earnestly,

"Don't thank me; this money is not for you, it's for her schooling! I was abrupt that time... I admit it was my fault, but can't you let it go? I'll find someone to keep an eye on you. If you don't send her to school, I swear I'll tear your house apart!"

The old man's face churned with emotions, but fear prevailed, and he timidly nodded.

"Definitely send her there, definitely..."

He couldn't afford to offend these big shots.

The events of that day were etched in his mind. Master Fang's subordinates had just furrowed their brows, and Laxi, that terrifying figure, didn't even frown before killing a brother who had offended the Alliance.

Without asking a single question, the entire ten-man squad was executed by firing squad.

Zero Rush squeezed out a reassuring smile, but to his surprise, Arno's face showed loss.

"Brother doesn't want Arno?"

Her mother had specially washed her hair and even put a pretty hair clip on her.

Zero Rush squatted down and comforted her softly.

"It's not that you don't need me, or to put it more accurately... What you need isn't any one person, but the School and books."

He also began to realize that there was no shortcut for what they were doing.

They had given something to the survivors on the Wasteland, but ultimately, there were things those people had to do themselves.

Otherwise, they would become Black Boxes.

Another kind of Black Box.

After they left, everything would return to how it was, and it wasn't even a matter of waiting for them to leave—it would end up just like the Federation in the Southern sea area.

"But... then there won't be any candy," Arno murmured dejectedly, lowering her head.

"Study hard, learn well, and in the future, you'll have a lot of candy. You can buy it yourself, and even give it to kids who cry when they have none, just like me."

Zero Rush subconsciously stretched out his hand, wanting to pat her little head, but suddenly remembering something, he awkwardly withdrew his hand.

This time he didn't soften his heart.

No matter how those big eyes looked at him, hopeful and pitiful, he didn't reach into his pocket to pull out candy, but simply waved and watched the father and daughter walk away.

When the two had disappeared from sight, he breathed a sigh of relief, turned, and prepared to head back to the canteen, only to find three troublemakers standing behind him unwilling to look his way, each holding a plastic bag of take-out food.

"Knew you glutton hadn't eaten enough," Two Ounces of Moonlight teased with a grin, shaking the steamed buns in the plastic bag. "Firstborn is taking me out to broaden my horizons, are you coming?"

"It's just going to the theater to watch a stage play," Firstborn looked at the animal beside him discontentedly and complained, "Can't you use terms that are less likely to be misunderstood? You make it sound as if I really am a beast."

Two Ounces of Moonlight looked at him in surprise, as if his eyes were asking, "Aren't you, though?"

Mountain River Entering Dreams stepped forward and patted Zero Rush on the shoulder, grinning as he spoke.

"Know why they won't let you give out candy? No matter how you explain it, it'll always end up like this."

Simple kindness isn't a mistake, but the right thing doesn't always lead to good outcomes.

Because those are two completely different dimensions, they might even be seen as entirely parallel, never intersecting.

Zero Rush let out a long sigh.

"I know... isn't this what change is all about?"

A candy's butterfly effect could never be as significant as a handgun, could it?

He believed that, under his coercion and enticement, the old father would surely send the kid to school.

And in that moment, he suddenly understood why Brother Fang Chang always told them to do less unnecessary work...

...

(Thanks to the "Makabakamo" chief supporter for the rewards!!!)

Chapter 771: Progress of the Southern and Northern Fronts

"The performance wasn't bad."

In the captain's quarters of the Iron Heart, Chu Guang sipped his milk tea while watching the stage play on the holographic screen, a look of interest on his face.

"The acting is on point, and the script is pretty decent."

"But there's just way too much hammering and mothering in the dialogue… Did the locals actually write this thing themselves?"

He had long tired of real-world film and television productions, and the localized works carried over by the players often involved awkward attempts. In comparison, he was more curious about the new variations that the survivors in the Wasteland had come up with on their own.

For instance, Spielberg's "Awakener Bol" caught his eye, and going back even further, there were the "limericks" written by Hal, even including the picture book given to him by the Honey Badger Princess — "The Father and Son with Thick Fur."

Compared to imported goods, these locally born works better reflected the spiritual world of the Waste Land Wanderers.

As a Manager, his duty was not just to guide but also, and more importantly, to "understand."

And in the latest sociological research report from Ms. Han Mingyue about Poluo Province, there happened to be such a representative work attached.

Although the traditional stage play and the trendy viewing equipment didn't quite match up, it felt unexpectedly coherent when placed in the Wasteland.

Returning to the play itself.

The play's title was "The Story After the Storm," and the playwright was a Cow Clan poet who was responsible for the creation of the script, the design of the dialogue, and even the music in the play.

All of the play's stories took place in a house on Tulip Street which, according to the narrative in the play, was actually the Governor's Mansion of Nihak; the storm refers to the rain outside the window as well as the "wind" blowing into Jinga Lun Harbor.

However, the entire play wasn't about the Governor of Nihak and his servant, nor was it related to current affairs or major events. It was merely a small noble's perspective witnessing the fall of an era and used two inconclusive love stories as a thread to highlight the protagonist's confusion during the "Exploration period" —

Everyone around him was leaving, but he himself didn't know where to go or even where he was.

In a certain sense, the protagonist's spiritual world in the play was very similar to the mental state of the local Old Aristocrats.

After landing in Poluo Province, the Alliance did not plunder the locals' wealth, but those nobles no longer had any privileges from the old era, nor were they respected and worshipped by those around them.

Even if their lives were still decent for the moment, it was only a matter of time before they would sink in the tide of the times if they failed to adapt.

At the end of the stage play's holographic image attachment, Han Mingyue left her viewpoint as a researcher.

"…What interests me is not the plot of the play but the shadows of existentialism and nihilism that simultaneously appear in this stage play. I think this work, like the Red Soil, has a representative nature; the latter is the voice of the Radical Faction, the former of the Conservative faction, and they both belong to this period. They are also microcosms of unique cultural phenomena of this time."

After closing the holographic image, Chu Guang continued to read the report written by Ms. Han Mingyue.

According to her point of view in the latest research report, the new cultural movement in Jin Galun Harbor is in full swing, its intensity not at all inferior to the local major infrastructure projects.

The buds of Romanticism and Realism as artistic forms appeared simultaneously in Jin Galun Harbor.

Even beyond that, the former had undergone further — as for leapfrog evolution, and existentialism began to take shape from this.

That is, besides human survival, there was no rightful morality or external soul; morality and soul were created by people in the process of surviving, meaning humans had no obligation to believe in specific religions or ritual laws.

These things had all appeared in the history of United Human before, but seeing them in the Wasteland Era after the Prosperity Epoch was particularly precious.

Of course, at the same time also emerging in Jin Galun Harbor was another extreme — nihilism.

That is, the negation of all meaning, the belief that everything people do is powerless and futile.

The culture of the survivors from Poluo Province originated at Lowell Camp, and locals proudly claimed a culture that covered an area of 4 million square kilometers. In contrast, Haiya Province, which triggered the sensitive nerves of the three major "Degenerate Empires," was not even as big as one state of the Empire.

Even a slave from the farmsteads could stand tall and say that the "Degenerate Empires" and the "Battle of Heaven" were just a few strangely shaped crabs fighting in a cricket cage.

However, facing an emerging Survivor Forces that had risen just two and a half years ago, their pride was utterly shattered.

Even if they counted the thousand pillars of the City of Thousand Pillars ten thousand times over, they couldn't understand why, when the Alliance fought with the Torch, the mere wind raised by an inadvertent punch could topple the "Gray Wolf," which the Empire took pride in and saw as the spearhead of their power.

Pride and inferiority, though two extremes of self-perception, are not contradictory when appearing in the same person; in fact, they can be considered as inseparable as shadows are to objects.

Compared to the City of Thousand Pillars, the symbol of authority, Lowell Camp is truly the spiritual totem in the hearts of the Survivor Forces of Poluo Province. Even if locals have never prayed to it, they unconsciously lower their heads and quicken their pace when passing by its doors.

However, few survivors of Poluo Province truly realize that prayer is just a "form of expression" of reverence towards the divine and is not the epitome of faith, let alone its essence.

People of primitive societies compiled mythology out of awe for wild fires and thunder; they offered dances to the gods and sacrifices to totems...

Mythology, dance, and sacrifices are insufficient to encapsulate the essence of faith; genuine reverence from the heart—or rather, fear—is what truly defines it.

Due to the Alliance's arrival, the majesty of Lowell Camp was trampled underfoot. The local Old Aristocrats lost not only the income from their slaves but also their spiritual anchor.

Now, a wave of nihilism is popular among the local upper class, primarily manifesting in the realms of music and painting.

After all, these two areas have higher "entry barriers" compared to writing; the residents of Jin Galun are still at the stage of learning United Human language filled with "Alliance flavor."

"… 'The Story After the Storm' is just a minor episode in my research report. I know you are more concerned with the voices of progress, not the groans of conservative forces. But I believe you are rational and should know that there's only a fine line between radical and extreme, with the Torch being the most straightforward example."

"Currently, the survivors of Jin Galun have reached a consensus to dismantle the thousand pillars of the City of Thousand Pillars. Society is united like never before due to this consensus. Although I tend to believe that the majority's view is more in the spiritual sense than physical, I worry that this movement may spin out of control and lead to damage to important relics of civilization and research materials."

"Before it's destroyed, I want to conduct a local inspection, preferably leaving behind some visual records or something similar; these are valuable materials for sociological research… While my research may not immediately yield any practical application, I still want to request that you relax the restrictions on task assignments by region, as well as a Viper Transport Plane and a twelve-man tactical team."

Chu Guang read the report to the end, tapped his index finger on the desk, and ultimately denied her request.

"…I don't mean to underestimate the importance of sociological research; on the contrary, I value it tremendously. However, we have already signed a ceasefire agreement with the Empire. Rashly crossing the ceasefire line might entangle the Army in the already complex regional affairs or even drag the Sticky Community into a new quagmire, who should be focusing their full efforts on the front lines. I cannot approve your request."

"Of course, I will seriously consider your suggestion and urge the Residents of the refuge active in the area to support your research and protect the 'new inheritance of the Era After the Prosperity Epoch' through indirect intervention."

The Torch Church is playing for time, and the Sticky Community has merely completed the encirclement. It will take some time to completely resolve this trouble.

If the Alliance increases its interference in the Poluo Province area, the Army will immediately follow up to expand its influence and territory in Poluo Province, which may not ultimately benefit the spontaneous revolution of the local survivors.

Better to maintain the status quo and use Jin Galun to contain West Sail Port, allowing local survivors to decide their own future.

Besides, the locals are actually doing quite well.

The decline of the Moon Clan Resistance Army, once shipped from Jin Galun to the Inland, is now piercing through Tiger State and advancing towards the northeastern corner of Poluo Province.

According to Fang Chang's report at the "hearing" to Little Fish, the "military strongman" they invested 10 million silver coins to cultivate has successfully secured the first round of venture capital from civilian sources in Jin Jialun Port and Potato Harbor, leveraging nearly 20 million silver coins of capital, and preparing to establish a "New Golden Cadron Port" at the outlet of the Tasang River in Mammoth State.

The economic potential of this port may not catch up with the one at the mouth of the Everflow River, but it would radiate to two or three Inland States adjacent to the Tasang River.

Although the plan didn't fool Little Fish, several shareholder representatives who also attended the hearing were indeed enticed by the prospect and unhesitantly sided with Fang Chang.

Honestly, if they could really build another Jin Galun, would 10 million silver coins be wasted?

Not at all!

Ideal City, with its substantial foundation, can refrain from expansion, comfortably living behind closed doors and still having spare change to tip in the Wasteland, but does City of Dawn have this base?

Overseas business must expand!

Now with grain and mines in hand, the only thing missing is population.

If that Laxi can truly turn the beasts of Poluo Province into people, who cares what he is, could he be more outrageous than that Witch Camel?

After seeing a series of "physical evidence" presented by Fang Chang, Little Fish didn't say much. Once a complete plan was supplemented, the summons was lifted.

In fact, her actions were entirely based on the Alliance's charter, and there was no deliberate favoritism or suppression.

Chu Guang was also very pleased with the outcome.

Whether it was for the Baiyue Corporation, Little Fish, or the transformation that Poluo Province was undergoing under the guidance of players.

The place was also Wasteland, with no distinction between mainline Wasteland and sideline Wasteland.

The corruption in Brocade River Province originated from the Torch in Haiya Province, but ultimately it was rooted in Spring City of River Valley Province—or rather, the Lair in Spring City and Shelter No.117.

The Nago from Haiya Province came from Baiyue Province, and the key to solving the Nago problem—the Type B Nago Fungus Strain—also came from the same province, or rather, from the Mucor Nest there that players have yet to discover.

The pioneering of Baiyue Province could not be done without the support of survivors from the Southern sea area, including researching the relics of the Tiangong, the Variants under the sea, and the Lair.

The development of the Great Desert was the same; the Alliance had to pull together with survivors who had once been there and fled, to solve their problems, or at least bring along those willing to venture out from there again.

Every event that happened in the Wasteland seemed to be isolated, but in reality, they were interlocked with each other.

If they did not take each step carefully, even if they inherited many legacies, they would never return to touch the stars they once reached...

At the very least, it was unlikely he would see it in his lifetime.

...

The sun and moon on the battlefield were like snails on the tips of leaves, with the Northern front moving slowly and enduringly, bit by bit.

Time slowly reached the latter half of September.

The allied forces of the Northern front had successfully taken control of the entire Lai Mountain City and penetrated deep into the belly of Haiya Province in a three-pronged manner.

It proved that the war of attrition strategy of the allied forces was effective. Even though representatives of the Army often complained that the Alliance was lining its own pockets through the Sticky Community's system and taking the opportunity to develop its industry.

However, after seeing the casualties of the Alliance on the front lines—especially the residents of the refuge—they could no longer say those harsh words.

The corporations had no objections; their pursuit was stable and continuous inputs and foreseeable outputs—they only worried about unexpected risks, not the expected ones.

As for the Academy, no one could guess what they were thinking. Chu Guang himself could only guess a fraction of their thoughts; their obsession with secrets was just like their attitude towards knowledge.

The Torch Church seemed to be playing for time, continuing to invest more into the Southern sea area and sending advance troops eastward, attempting to spread the fire to Yue Ma Province.

This advance force, led by a Pioneer and hundreds of Apostles, happened to clash with the 99th Mechanized Infantry Division of the corporations.

The two sides clashed fiercely in the plains and ultimately, the latter with their increasingly flashy equipment, gained the upper hand, causing the advance team to retreat in defeat.

A few novice mercenaries who participated in that battle were said to have mixed in with a lot of equipment.

However, most of these pieces of equipment were eventually high priced by corporations like Huge Rock Military Industry for research.

After all, the bids from those giants in the military industry were indeed too high.

Besides, there were also those who went to work as mercenaries for the Army or even the Hound Special Forces. Some players, keen on "taking the road less traveled," even summarized the most cost-effective way to slack off for various forces on the official forum.

The Alliance offered the most stable earnings with the smoothest growth curve, as if it was meticulously designed.

After all, it was the "Protagonist force" officially endorsed by the Game, serving the majority of people, suitable for ordinary players who didn't like to do things unconventionally, as well as the numerous members of the Army.

As for corporations, being the richest backing in the Wasteland and the first magnates to become wealthy, even ordinary Soldiers could become quest-giving NPCs, and the money offered was the highest. The only downside was that the actual combat value of the equipment provided was low.

Aside from the Bionic chips and some implants being very useful, things like Exoskeletons or light weapons were really not worth as much as selling them for money.

If one was pursuing equipment, the Academy and the Bugra Free State were better choices. The former had a technical reserve that was top-notch in the Wasteland, while the latter, with the Grand Canyon as its support, no one dared to attack it, stealing a bit from the former over the past century.

As for the Army, the pay wasn't great, the equipment was so-so, but there could be unexpected gains, just like the guy from the Battlefield Atmosphere Group.

Chu Guang couldn't help but give a thumbs-up after reading the post written by that player.

This guy had really figured out the new version, and at the very least, he deserved to become something like a family slave for one of the five surnames.

Of course, Chu Guang always encouraged players to "go out" on their own initiative, as long as it didn't violate the Player's Handbook.

However, these small details had a negligible impact on the overall battle situation, and Chu Guang had only learned about them through Xiao Qi without taking a closer look.

The "purification zone" of Haiya Province had now expanded to 70,000 square kilometers, already close to one-fifth of the total area of 370,000 square kilometers of Haiya Province.

This was roughly equivalent to taking down the first mountain of Ten Peaks Mountain, but the hard-to-chew "mountain heads" remained, and each was more dangerous than the last.

Chu Guang had more than once wished for a breakthrough on the southern front while commanding from the frontlines.

Especially now, with the Conch Submarine Carrier completed and the Meissner effect armor successfully installed on the flagship of the South Sea Union, the radar base and missile launchers on Shazhou Island had also been fully deployed, making the timing of the decisive battle better than ever.

Just as Chu Guang was contemplating whether to urge the southern allies to take action, a telegram with an attached battle plan was suddenly transmitted through the Potato Harbor private line to Xiao Qi.

The code name of that battle plan was "Laken"—that is, the fiercest sea beast in the Southern sea area, roughly equivalent to the Claw of Death in River Valley Province.

The author of the battle plan was Li Minghui, the naval commander of the South Sea Union, who had been granted full command of both the Anle Island Naval Base and the stationed fleet by the South Sea Union authorities.

"... The fishing boats and harpoons for hunting Laken have been polished; the fleet of the South Sea Union is ready to take back everything or to sacrifice everything!"

"We plan to launch the final decisive battle at the beginning of October to completely eradicate Charles and his cronies who have ensnared the residents of North Island! And to permanently exile the Torch Church followers and the Mutants from the island!"

"This operation will affect the future of all of us, we need your support!"

The telegram had only three short sentences, but the attached battle plan was a full dozen pages long.

It included using the captured Reef No. as bait to create a flaw and lure the Jingalun battleship out of port, suppressing the anti-aircraft firepower on the island, and covering the union ground troops as they landed.

Due to the presence of Torch forces on North Island, the South Sea Union hoped that City of Dawn would undertake the main role in the ground fighting.

After the success of the plan, the close cooperation between the South Sea Union and the Alliance would continue, and North Island would serve as a logistical transit base for the Alliance, acting as a springboard for the Alliance to launch an assault on the southern shores of Haiya Province.

After reading the entire battle plan, Chu Guang suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Beautifully done!"

Xiao Qi, perched atop a pen holder, tilted its head.

"Master, do you think their plan is good?"

It felt there were some risks with the plan, as the South Sea Union had almost put all their chips on the table.

Chu Guang's mouth curled up lightly, and he quickly tapped several times on the holographic screen, sending the battle plan to the staff headquarters and the Army Corps on the southern front.

"... Right or wrong, we can't decide by looking at the map, whether it works or not we have to try it out."

Saying this, he looked at Xiao Qi and issued two commands in succession.

"Notify all players on the southern front to gather at Potato Harbor! No need to be too specific, just say there's a new event on the server!"

"Additionally, command the Burning Corps and the Goblin Corps to immediately enter the battle preparation phase! Be ready to receive orders at any moment!"

Seeing the excitement flickering in Chu Guang's eyes, Xiao Qi also energetically performed an Alliance salute.

"Received!"

Chapter 772: To Deceive Your Opponent, First Deceive Yourself

North Island Naval Command.

Hurried footsteps and conversations filled the air, creating a scene of bustling activity.

Since the incident on Shazhou Island, the powder keg in the southern sea area had been fitted with a fuse, now just lacking a spark to ignite it.

This "quiet" war had entered its most critical phase, with increasingly high stakes on the table, and both sides had their nerves stretched tight, tightly gripping their hands of cards.

Especially for the core of the Federal Navy's command, many had been working nonstop for a month, and Charles had even moved his office from the Presidential Mansion to the command center, delegating the trivial and unimportant daily matters to his appointed puppet vice president.

Poor governance wouldn't affect his position as president, but losing the war would mean losing everything, and he was very clear about what was more important.

Time moved from September to October, and in a few more days, the new destroyers were due to launch.

They would be the most modern and advanced destroyers in Federal history, and although not enough to change the entire war, they would nonetheless add another chip to his hand.

Just as Charles patiently waited for the right moment for the decisive battle, the situation suddenly turned in a new direction.

And it was in favor of the Federation!

The previously captured Reef No. had unexpectedly sent a telegram, not only revealing its patrol route and information about the South Sea Alliance but also expressing dissatisfaction with the extreme distrust they faced from the Alliance, as well as a desire to return to the Federation.

It's necessary to mention the strategy of the South Sea Federation in dealing with this "captive ship."

Due to the South Sea Alliance's lack of reserve officers and experienced sailors to fully replace the crew of Reef No., the South Sea Federation authorities kept 80% of the original crew and replaced the remaining 20% with Alliance monitors to control the destroyer's communications, radar, and daily security.

Currently, Reef No. was effectively under surveillance, like a donkey blindfolded, able only to receive orders unilaterally from the command center on Anle Island, without any right to participate in discussions or speak at operational meetings.

The life and safety of all the officers and men on board the destroyer couldn't be guaranteed, and even the monitors in charge of surveilling Reef No. felt a deep unease and dissatisfaction with Commander Li Minghui's overbearingness.

If one had to choose a boss anyway, why not choose a stronger one?

Zhang Ruowen, who still served as captain of the Reef No. destroyer, had successfully bribed a radio operator monitor and used the brief duty intervals to send a secret cable to North Island.

Logically and emotionally, it made sense.

The captain of Reef No. hadn't surrendered but was captured by the frogman troops of the Alliance, and though he remained in his post, it was out of helplessness, so mistrust was natural.

If the Southern Alliance had anyone capable of the Captain's position to replace him, they would have done so without hesitation.

And they might still send him to a military court for trial.

Of course, North Island Command didn't immediately reply to the secret cable but waited patiently for a few days to confirm that Reef No. was indeed patrolling according to the route outlined in the cable, after which they made contact using the method mentioned in the message.

The two sides communicated about a series of operational details, including the rescue route and intercepting pursuers, to ensure that Reef No. could return safely to the North Island military port.

If successful, this would undoubtedly give a tremendous boost to the morale of the North Island military and civilians!

Charles personally orchestrated the entire rescue plan, meticulously reviewing every detail to ensure nothing went amiss.

However, just as he was about to take action, an uneasy flutter arose in his heart, prompting him to ask the attending staff officer.

"Is the intelligence reliable?"

The staff officer replied immediately.

"It should be correct."

Charles nodded but felt a twitch in his eyelid and couldn't help asking again.

"Could it be a trap?"

"It should—" the staff officer began to say "it shouldn't be," but his own doubts crept in after being asked repeatedly, and after a long hesitation, he said, "It's very unlikely."

Charles said suddenly.

"So, you mean it's not impossible."

That was for sure.

You could choke to death eating a meal, let alone executing such a complicated operation plan.

"Yes," the staff officer nodded, his gaze locked on Charles as he awaited his order.

Charles frowned and pondered, his resolve wavering.

Things had not been going well lately.

First, Shazhou Island was lost, followed by Reef No., and the whole North Federation was on edge.

What was worse, various forces on the Wasteland, which had previously had nothing to do with each other, suddenly united. Even the natives of Poluo Province were said to have joined the fray on Ten Peaks Mountain, and the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for the Torch Church.

He didn't know what the situation was like to the north, but the war had spread to Haiya, and however, he interpreted it, it was hard to see it as an advantage.

The Torch Church was playing for time, trying to increase the strength in the southern sea area to open strategic space to the south.

The South Sea Alliance followed the same strategy.

While they might be slightly inferior in fleet strength, they could easily tie down the Federation, keeping the situation at bay, waiting for the Torch Church's war to end, after which everything would naturally come to an end.

The pressure from the south was entirely on him...

Even if just for his sake, he had to help the Torch Church open up strategic space to the south.

But as he was about to make a decision, a thunderous voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"Idiot! It's a trap!"

Alzu's figure appeared abruptly beside Charles, startling him.

That pale golden figure was visible only to him, while others looked at him with puzzled eyes, wondering what had come over him so suddenly.

Charles came to his senses with a start, a drop of cold sweat slowly sliding down his forehead.

That was close!

He had almost been deceived!

He should have realized earlier. Even before Alzu spoke, he had a vague sense that something wasn't right.

During the previous landing operation on Shazhou Island, Captain Zhang Ruowen of Reef No. had clearly refused to follow his orders, not bombarding the residence but instead dropping the shells in the suburbs outside.

The Mutants that came ashore were decimated by a barrage from the Alliance airborne troops; an entire thousand team was annihilated to the last man.

That guy already had a precedent for pretending to comply with his own orders while secretly defying them; how could he possibly have a change of heart now?

He's afraid of facing a military tribunal from the South Sea Union, but not afraid of being accountable to himself?

Seeing Charles remain silent, Alzu, who stood beside him like a ghost, slowly began to speak.

"I planted a Holy Land in Zhang Ruowen's body... He has already defected to the South Sea Alliance. The so-called betrayal is just bait; they plan to lure your Sea Edge Battleship out of the harbor and then use their new equipment—a giant submarine capable of launching carrier-based aircraft—to sink it."

The Holy Lands are independent of each other; however, when the network is unimpeded, there is an exchange of information that occurs beyond the host's control.

Just now, during the routine communication between the North Island Military Base and the Reefs Destroyer, he perceived a message from the chip inside Zhang Ruowen—

The so-called betrayal was actually bait.

The South Sea Alliance fleet was lying in ambush nearby!

Charles narrowed his eyes, his gaze flickering towards Alzu.

"When did this happen?"

Alzu calmly replied, "Recently."

Charles continued with deliberate emphasis, "What I'm asking is, when did you plant this Holy Land inside the head of my officer?"

Faced with that interrogative gaze, Alzu let out a chuckle, his lips curling with a hint of mockery.

"He has been an apostle of the Torch since before the Federation fell apart... Why question me with that tone? Moreover, if it weren't for my foresight in making prior arrangements, you and your fleet would have blundered into the South Sea Union fleet's trap like headless flies. You should be thanking me for saving your life."

Charles let out a cold laugh.

"I don't need your reminder to guess it's a trap."

"Is that so?" Alzu smiled noncommittally, then quietly vanished from the front of the command desk, as if he had never been there at all.

A pair of eyes focused on Charles, and all officers were waiting for their boss's command.

Restraining his turbulent emotions, Charles cleared his throat. He took a sweeping glance at the people standing before the desk and said in an unhurried, methodical voice,

"This is a trap!"

The command room stirred, the officers looking at each other in astonishment, exchanging surprised looks.

"Indeed, we cannot rule out that possibility..." The fleet commander stroked his chin, his expression gradually becoming grave.

The staff officer next to him also nodded.

"I also think..."

In a sudden 180-degree turn from discussing the details of combat, everyone started to think that there might be deceit at play, talking convincingly with well-founded analysis.

Seeing how quickly these guys changed their tunes, Charles's brow twitched violently, but he said nothing.

In truth, he was quite clear-headed, recognizing a problem that almost all autocrats inevitably face.

Once the "cannot defy" ideological brand is stamped on someone, it's destined that one loses the capacity for contrary thinking. It's not possible to maintain unity like worker bees while also expressing views on the construction of the beehive that differ from those of the queen bee.

Even in professional fields.

As an autocrat, he was destined to only hear what he wanted to hear.

People would simply follow his words, consciously or unconsciously—even in the "professional fields" where he hoped to hear different opinions.

Therefore, when he said he wanted to save the Reefs, even the most experienced officers didn't dare think against his direction; they only thought about how to save, not whether it was possible to save.

Luckily, he noticed in time, or else he might have nearly fallen into the pit dug by the opposition.

"Are we to abandon the Reefs?" The commander looked towards Charles, cautiously asking for the boss's opinion.

Just like the initial decision to save, "The Reefs is a trap" became the new undisputed fact.

"Abandon? Why abandon?" Charles said with a light smile, continuing in a slow and methodical voice, "To strike more conveniently, the South Sea Union fleet must be lurking somewhere near the Reefs, including the submarine mentioned in the intelligence capable of launching carrier-based aircraft."

The officers exchanged glances, whispering among themselves in a low buzz of discussion.

That was certainly a possibility.

Or rather, it was almost certain.

After surveying his subordinates, Charles clenched his right fist and slammed it onto the command table, excitedly saying,

"Gentlemen! This is a trap, but it's also an opportunity! The traitors to the South have no idea that we have seen through their ruse, and our dagger is already at their throats!"

"A new battle plan, codenamed 'Stranding'! To be carried out simultaneously with 'Return Line'!"

"Respond to the Reefs! Tell them we are ready! Command them to proceed to our designated coordinates for assembly!"

The officers all saluted.

"Yes, sir!"

...

On the billowing waves of the sea, a lone ship was slowly making its way northwest.

Zhang Ruowen suddenly felt as if the ship was very much like him, or perhaps he was like the ship.

He didn't know where he should go.

This confusion worsened after Charles's new declaration.

Over the past 200 years, survivors in the Southern sea area had done many things, but it seemed all in vain; in the end, they were still repeating the mistakes made 200 years ago.

The Federation was born in flames and fell apart in even greater flames.

Because of their enemy's opposition, they inclined toward the Torch, but this overly intense energy ended up burning everyone.

So what was all this for?

"...Your confusion is normal; the root of all mistakes lies in the human species itself. It's the physiologically determined limit. Old humans belong only to Earth and are only suitable for life on Earth. Fish that want to go ashore must evolve limbs, and having limbs alone is not enough to stride towards the distant stars; we are still missing a revolution in our very form of life."

The calm voice came from the depths of the mind's sea, like a gospel from Heaven, granting him a moment of peace.

Zhang Ruowen cast a sidelong glance at the old man standing in the captain's room and responded with a faint smile,

"Then why haven't you simply abandoned your flesh, like your kindred have done?"

He knew this fellow was a high-ranking member of the Torch Church,

And he was the only one who had been granted access to the Holy Land without becoming a Pioneer.

"That's too extreme," Alzu shook his head slowly and spoke, "They hasten to make a clear distinction from humans, but in doing so, they place themselves at a disadvantage. If it were me, I'd exploit human identity to its fullest, recapture the heritage of the old civilization, and only then proceed with the ultimate transformation."

Following his method, while the Torch couldn't deceive the Academy, fooling corporations was still feasible.

The residents of Ideal City still harbored some guilt over events that transpired 150 years earlier; otherwise, they wouldn't be throwing money at the Wasteland, trying to amend their past mistakes.

As for the Army, they could be swayed with the technologies coveted by the Weilante People and promises of ruling the Grand Canyon. Even if the eastward expansionists failed, there were still a considerable number of Weilante People outside of the Eastern Legion eager for "revenge" against the War Construction Committee.

Overthrowing the Grand Canyon and breaking free from their sovereign's bonds was also a desire of the Free State; they could very well form an unspoken alliance of mutual interests, just like during the Bone Chewing Chaos.

Thus, regardless of the Alliance's strategies, assembling a net of encirclement like the present one would become difficult.

However, regrettably, those Pioneers held themselves in too high esteem, believing "advanced thoughts and ideas" would certainly triumph over the old and mistaking what had yet to become history for its inevitability.

And such was the outcome in the end.

In the end, it was still up to him, a human who retained his physical body, to avert disaster.

Alzu sighed inwardly.

Luckily, he'd employed a bit of trickery; otherwise, the situation would likely have been irreversible.

Another self on a different chip should have already warned Charles; by now, North Island must have realized the entire operation was a hoax.

The South Sea Alliance never would've guessed that the captain of the Reef was actually his own Apostle. And this Apostle would not have imagined he knew all his secrets.

Both men remained silent, each harboring their own thoughts as they watched the billowing waves outside the bridge.

At that moment, footsteps sounded from the corridor, and the executive officer entered through the door, saluting and speaking with a solemn expression,

"Report, sir! As you commanded, we have released the 'signal'... North Island Naval Base has responded; the Flying Fish Destroyer is heading to the designated coordinates for reinforcement."

"Mm," Zhang Ruowen nodded, "Just proceed with the plan."

The bait operation was highly classified.

No one aboard the destroyer knew of the codename "Laken," nor were they aware that they themselves were the bait.

His closest confidantes only knew of his defection to the north, and most ordinary sailors were unaware that their ship had deviated from its patrol route, much less that their whereabouts were now exposed to the North Federation Fleet.

Everything was a part of the plan.

Looking at Zhang Ruowen, who was expressionless, the executive officer hesitated slightly and said in a quiet voice,

"Sir..."

"What is it?" Zhang Ruowen said nonchalantly.

The aide-de-camp paused before continuing,

"Is this really the right thing to do?"

Zhang Ruowen looked at him, lifting his eyebrows slightly,

"What are you referring to?"

"I don't think that Charles will trust you more than General Li Minghui would... and once we return to North Island, we might receive a nominal welcome, but our actual situation could be worse. And..."

The executive officer hesitated, as if wary of whether he should speak his mind.

But after a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth and voiced his thoughts,

"Moreover, I believe... that what the Southern Alliance advocates is what we truly need."

They needed not false peace and unity, but a genuine federation!

Hearing this, Zhang Ruowen was silent for a while, as if waiting for something.

And just as the second and minute hands aligned, he suddenly let out a loud laugh and then spoke in a very light tone,

"That's good, very good."

The executive officer was taken aback,

"Good?"

Zhang Ruowen nodded lightly and continued to speak with a faint smile,

"You've started to think about our future, and that's good... Although I haven't decided where our future lies, at least someone is thinking about it, and perhaps my bewilderment is only temporary."

Looking at his bewildered aide-de-camp, he went on,

"The reason I chose Charles was largely because I didn't know what to do either. Maybe a tough guy with some ability could think on behalf of all of us... At least he won't be indecisive like Mongo, or like our Cabinet, bickering from dusk till dawn, unable to reach a conclusion."

"Maybe the guy isn't all bad... At first, I thought so. He might lead us to a brighter future."

"But then I suddenly realized... that's just my laziness and illusion. That fool isn't smarter than any of us. He would make the same mistakes we make in our quarrels, over and over again, silently."

It is said that survivors from the Southern sea area are gradually making their way out, carrying the legacy of the Prosperity Epoch to change others on the Wasteland, to unite more people.

If it was Charles, he probably wouldn't allow them to do that.

That man even dreams of establishing a vast maritime empire after resolving the Alliance, relying on Torch-provided biotechnology to rival the Army, corporations, and the Academy, treating the survivors of the southern seas as chess pieces and fetters in his game.

Truly petty...

Both in capability and ambition.

Already the president of the Federation, he couldn't even dare to dream a bit bigger!

Despite the vast Star Sea above them, that man could only see the tiny pond beneath his feet.

If they followed that guy, they'd never return to the places they once set foot in their entire lives!

A hint of a smile curled up at the corner of Zhang Ruowen's mouth, and he was infinitely grateful that he had made the right choice back then, which was to hesitate for those two seconds when he received Charles's order.

However, looking at the smile on his face, the executive officer couldn't help but ask with a bitter smile.

"Do you really think Charles is unreliable, and yet you still choose to follow him in the end?"

He did not approve of his superior's decision to defect, but now it seemed too late to say anything.

The Reefs destroyer had entered radio silence, cutting off all contact with the South Sea Union.

Even if Commander Li Minghui were slow to catch on, by now he must realize that Reef No. had defected.

Only North Island Command knew their location and course, and they had no choice but to go all the way.

At least that's how it seemed to him.

"You only see the surface... It's normal to think that way," said Zhang Ruowen, taking out binoculars and glancing north before continuing, "There's no need to keep a secret anymore... I can tell you clearly - we are just bait, and a decisive battle code-named 'Laken' has already begun!"

"Pass my order! The whole ship enters first-level battle readiness! Prepare to face the ships coming to our aid!"

As he anticipated, the executive officer's eyes widened in astonishment.

Including the other officers on the bridge, none of them anticipated this sudden change, having no idea that a routine patrol, or rather a defection, would turn into a final showdown with the North Federation!

Except for one person.

That was Alzu, visible only to Zhang Ruowen himself.

The latter's facial muscles slowly twisted into a grim smile, like that of the sea beast Laken.

As expected!

This guy was really feigning surrender to lead the way!

He finally played his hand!

Before entering radio silence, he had already notified the North Island Naval Command that instead of the Flying Fish Destroyer, the ships following their original route would encounter the Laken Cruiser!

That was a warship designed specifically to target destroyers!

In the past century, Shelter No. 70 didn't only fear the army that overturned the War Construction Committee; they were actually most afraid of the survivors from the Southern sea area and designed a series of mutually restraining equipment to prevent them from using the shelter's technology against the shelter itself.

Meanwhile, the Sea Edge Battleship, under the cover of the Flying Fish and Defender destroyers, would simultaneously face the South Sea Union's above and below water ambush forces!

No matter how powerful their mother ships and aircraft were, they could not match the destroyers designed specifically for anti-submarine warfare.

Of course, the situation would be even worse if it surfaced!

As for the Harpoon Cruiser and the other two destroyers meant to provide cover for the submarines, they were a joke in front of the Sea Edge Battleship's main guns!

Alzu looked at Captain Zhang Ruowen with a smile but didn't expect the latter to be looking back at him.

His expressionless face revealed no ripples.

However, just then, Alzu suddenly noticed that calm smile turning into an unusual smirk.

He's smiling!

Can he actually still smile?

Suddenly, Alzu thought of something, and his vacant pupils abruptly contracted.

Wait—

Code name Laken!?

The South Sea Union's decoy operation code-named Laken!

This couldn't be a coincidence!

There was only one explanation: these people were after the Laken Cruiser from the start!

They predicted his and Charles's moves, even right down to the belief that Charles wouldn't trust the Reef No., and even expected that Alzu would read the apostle's thoughts and leak them... even though this secret had not been exposed to anyone, not even Charles!

"I suppose you're quite surprised now as to how I managed to hide the operation's code name from you, right?" Watching the smile change from ecstasy to fear, Zhang Ruowen spoke in a very light voice.

Without breaking their mind link, Alzu's Adam's apple moved. He nodded slowly.

Zhang Ruowen seemed nonchalant, continuing in an unhurried manner.

"To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive yourself... Truthfully, I only just learned what the code name for this operation was."

"Impossible!" Alzu glared at him but mistakenly found that he wasn't lying.

A terrifying conjecture surfaced in his mind, along with a drop of nonexistent cold sweat.

Zhang Ruowen continued.

"You already know this is an ambush, so what's coming to 'aid' me won't be another destroyer. Neither the Flying Fish nor the Defender is possible; they would take some time to make a result, and it couldn't possibly be a battleship... Charles wouldn't risk his only treasure leaving the fleet for the sake of destroying a single destroyer."

"That leaves only the Laken. After all, you've clearly stated that what will come to 'aid' me will be an anti-submarine destroyer, and we would not allow any submarine to follow near the Reef No. if we were sure that the plan is not exposed, but rather keep them far away in an ambush."

"So even if the Laken's anti-submarine capabilities are weaker, it would have enough time after sinking us to immediately turn around, meet up with your fleet nearby, and draw the South Sea Union's surface and underwater fleets into your ambush."

If that were true, it would certainly be a disaster.

The South Sea Union's submarines stood no chance against the North Federation's destroyers, and the South Sea Union's only Harpoon Cruiser was no match for the Sea Edge Battleship.

The entire fight would end as cleanly as rock-paper-scissors, without a hint of suspense.

However, for this reason, they could turn the tables, using Charles's "prediction" about the South Sea Union for their own prediction!

If he wasn't wrong, there must be a South Sea Union submarine lurking nearby, already aiming at the "Laken" claiming to be the Flying Fish and approaching this area!

"Li Minghui didn't tell me the code name for this mission, so all this is my conjecture. If the code name turns out to be Flying Fish or something else, it proves I've gambled wrong."

Looking at Alzu's fearful expression, through the void of his face to the billowing waves outside the bridge, and the "Laken" hidden behind those waves, Zhang Ruowen's face bore a faint smile.

"But your reaction tells me I've probably guessed right!"

Chapter 773: Landing on North Island!

Billowing waves covered the sea as a majestic cruiser, named Laken after the fiercest sea beast in this region, tore through them.

At its construction, Shelter No. 70 had equipped it with the most advanced anti-ship systems and a surface fire control radar, theoretically making it an unmatched opponent even against the combined destroyer fleets of the North Federation and the South Sea Union.

The battle would be decidedly one-sided, a slaughter with no suspense!

Tension filled the bridge, the radar operator's eyes glued to the screen.

The moment he saw the ripple on the screen, he exclaimed reflexively.

"Reef No. has appeared!"

"The target is proceeding along the planned route! In about five minutes, we'll be detected by their radar!"

For now, Reef No. remained oblivious, continuing to play the role of the seemingly harmless "bait."

Hearing the radar operator's report, Captain Fu Hongyi of the Laken nodded.

The window for attack was just five minutes.

However, that time was more than enough—even painfully long.

By the time Reef No. realized that it was Laken approaching them, not flying fish, they would hardly have a chance to pray before their anti-ship missiles sent them to feed the fish at the sea bottom.

Still, the thought of attacking former comrades made Fu Hongyi's feelings complicated.

Seeing everyone looking towards him, he spoke slowly.

"Can we establish contact with them?"

The communications officer sitting at the terminal shook his head.

"We can't get through! They've gone into radio silence as planned..."

Exactly as expected.

Although he hadn't truly intended to contact them, Fu Hongyi sighed softly and ordered the combat units at all levels to prepare.

Seeing that everything was ready, his executive officer hesitated.

After a struggle, he asked quietly,

"Are we really... going to do this?"

The captain remained silent for a moment, then adjusted his cap.

"The tide of battle changes swiftly; hesitation invites defeat... sink it."

Time was running out.

The South Sea Alliance's ambush fleet was nearby; the Laken needed a swift and decisive victory before immediately altering course to rendezvous with the main force.

It was ironic that though the fleet in the Southern sea area had been established to guard against the Army, it had yet to encounter even a shadow of the Army. Their only "achievements" had been against their own.

This fleet would have been better off non-existent.

Fu Hongyi couldn't help but wryly smile to himself.

Perhaps after cleaning up the chaos at home, Mr. Charles would allow their crews to truly serve a purpose.

At least elsewhere in the Wasteland...

"Fire control radar has locked onto the target!"

"'Rapids' anti-ship missile ready!"

"Safety is off!"

"Ready to fire!"

A series of announcements echoed in the bridge, but just then, an untimely voice rang out.

The operator at the sonar control terminal suddenly screamed.

"Sonar system detects an unknown object approaching!"

Fu Hongyi's pupils dilated sharply, countless possibilities flashing through his mind, all converging into despair.

"Launch torpedo decoy—"

Before he could finish, the left side of the Laken was struck as if by a sea beast itself, causing the entire ship to shake violently.

Everyone in the bridge slammed against the glass windows as if weightless, quickly being engulfed by the flames and heat that erupted.

From afar, the cruiser named Laken looked like a chopstick snapped in the middle, slowly sinking into the sea amidst roaring flames and the fireworks of its ammunition explosion.

It all happened in an instant.

From the torpedo strike to the cruiser's sinking, it only took one brief minute. In this age of beyond-visual-range warfare, spotting your adversary was already too late.

About 20 nautical miles to the west of the cruiser, an attack submarine slowly surfaced, revealing its bridge equipped with radio equipment.

They had been lying silent here for three days, still as a real reef at the ocean floor.

Silent radio waves sent a triumphant report back to the Naval Command at Anle Island.

"This is 'Shark's Tooth,' Laken has sunk. We will proceed as planned to meet with the rest of the fleet."

After the report, Shark's Tooth submerged again and changed course toward the direction of the main fleet.

The bridge fell unnaturally silent.

Unable to stand the quiet, one officer quietly slipped away from the bridge to the corridor, only to find someone already there.

Seeing his somber face, the man whistled to lighten the awkward silence.

"Adding Cold Night, we've now taken down two allied heads."

"Are they even allies?"

"Sort of. At least, we trained together before."

The awkwardness eased no better this time, and the corridor quieted down.

Standing at the door for a long while, the officer sighed and said,

"…end this quickly."

He didn't know how future generations would judge these troubled times.

Perhaps sinking to the bottom of the ocean is the real liberation.

...

The Shark Teeth submarine, having completed its mission, continued towards the original target.

After sailing a distance according to the planned route, the Reef destroyer found itself neither sunk nor met with any reinforcements, falling into a "vacuum period" of its mission.

Anle Island's Naval Command had not assigned it a next combat mission, and it was clearly unnecessary to continue following the original course.

Not long after, the sonar system of the Reef destroyer detected the wreckage of a cruiser that had sunk to the ocean floor.

Zhang Ruowen did not hesitate and ordered an immediate move towards the area where the Laken had sunk.

Although the probability of those sailors surviving was slim, he still decided to try and save them.

Save as many as possible.

As for the Alzu residing in his mind, it had already vanished without a trace, whether it was merely silent or truly disappeared.

Nevertheless, whatever it was, after all this ended, he was going to have a minor surgery to remove that thing.

The bionic chip was indeed useful, but he, no longer feeling any confusion about the future, did not need to listen to the so-called "Heaven's gospel."

Meanwhile, at the North Island Naval Command, a deadly silence spread like a plague among everyone's hearts.

Charles's pupils dilated, his eyes bloodshot and his fists tightly clenched.

At this moment, he was like a wild beast stirred into a frenzy.

Those standing by his side dared not even breathe loudly, let alone make a sound, for fear of provoking the beast.

"…Useless."

Charles harshly cursed, holding back the pain in his heart, and calmly looked towards the commander beside him and said, "What about our main fleet? Have they spotted the enemy fleet?"

"Not yet… Should we dispatch a destroyer to track and sink the Laken with a sonar wave?" the commander asked nervously, glancing at Charles, but unexpectedly, he was met with a torrent of abuse.

"Are you a pig! We're down to just two destroyers! Rely on a single destroyer to cover our battleships?"

Such a bunch of incompetents!

Watching the commander bow his head in silence, Charles cursed a few more times and calmed himself down, then returned his gaze to the sea chart.

Not counting the destroyer about to be dispatched, he now only had three ships under his command.

One battleship and two destroyers, an extremely unbalanced configuration.

On the other hand, the South Sea Union kept getting more ships and crew: three destroyers, one cruiser, three nuclear submarines, and a submarine carrier that hadn't shown up yet.

However—

His side still had a chance.

If the Sea Edge battleship could wipe out the four South Sea Union combat vessels in one swoop, his subordinates on the Flying Fish and Defender destroyers could still wipe out the remaining four submarines, maintaining a sliver of chance for victory!

But why?

Charles stared unblinkingly at the sea chart, his eyebrows furrowed tightly.

Why had his battleship still not located the South Sea Union fleet?

Could they be using some new type of anti-radar coating or some special interference device?

If Reef No. was a decoy, the South Sea Union fleet must be ambushing nearby…

Wait!

Charles suddenly realized, his pupils almost shrinking to their limits.

They already know that I know Reef No. is a decoy.

They must have also guessed that the Sea Edge battleship would be waiting nearby.

Just like they had guessed that the Laken cruiser would go near Reef No., deducing the movements of the Federal main fleet consequently was only logical.

After all, he wouldn't let a cruiser attack hundreds of miles alone; the main fleet must be waiting somewhere within a hundred miles.

"If I were Li Minghui…"

"I certainly wouldn't send my only base face to the battleship but would take advantage of the battleship's absence to attack North Island Port..."

His lips trembling, he muttered softly, as a drop of cold sweat slid down Charles's forehead once again.

This time it wasn't just him.

Everyone in the command room, listening to his muttering, snapped back to reality.

North Island was their target!

The final battle had begun!

Realizing this, Charles widened his eyes and yelled regardless of everything.

"Have the Sea Edge return to defense immediately! Immediately!"

"Yes!" the communications officer replied nervously, hastily operating the terminal to send the message.

At the same time, the radar operator in the command post turned pale and exclaimed,

"A large number of aerial targets are approaching us! Total number, 1447!"

That voice acted like the fuse to a powder keg, causing noisy chaos to instantly erupt.

"It's decoy flares! Activate the main illumination radar to lock the target airspace! Turn on the optical observation system!"

"Have the anti-air missiles on standby! Quick!"

"Radar has burned through the targets! Only 20 left… Damn it! Why are there still so many?!"

"Electromagnetic Pulse bomb exploded near our airspace! Anti-pulse devices working effectively!"

"Foil strips! They've deployed a large number of foil strips! I can't see clearly anymore!"

"They're just tricking us… Send our fighter planes to meet them! Fast!"

In just one minute, the originally calm as water North Island Command instantly boiled over like heated water!

In the park at the heart of North Island, where the lawn had been converted into a temporary runway, four "simplistically designed" fuel-powered fighter planes slowly emerged from spacious hangars and dashed along the runway toward the sky.

In the distance, the sky twinkled with a dazzling flash of light, a result of the foil strips scattered through the air.

Farther away, Alliance planes were speeding towards them, their numbers still unknown!

Seated in their respective cockpits, the four pilots all had faces marked with tension.

Although they had flown 200 hours of training missions before, this was their first time on the battlefield.

Before the Alliance reached the Southern sea area, the Federation hadn't developed an air force and had no reserve of relevant technical personnel. The two LB-1 fighter planes were purely a product of the "bare-bones brick" design philosophy, even copying and modifying the fire control and radar systems from destroyers.

If the opponents were the Alliance's first-generation jet "Soaring Clouds," or a bunch of mass-produced propeller planes, these machines might still stand a chance.

But that was obviously not possible.

At the same time as Mr. Charles finally noticed the strategic movements of the South Sea Alliance, 100 nautical miles away from North Island, a huge submarine slowly surfaced amidst the rolling waves, revealing its formidable silhouette!

It resembled a giant whale surfacing, except instead of spouting water, it launched jet planes catapulting into the sky!

Two L-10 "Thunder" fighter planes and two P-2 "Lightning" attack planes were catapulted into the sky, quickly forming an arrowhead formation in the air, heading towards the skies above North Island.

The former was a collaboration between Goblin Technology and the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team, while the latter was the crystallization of a century and a half of Huge Rock Military Industry technology!

Both were powered by small controllable fusion reactors and plasma propulsors; their energy systems left the Federation's LB-1 far behind.

In fact, the Alliance had also developed a special "Underwater Carrier-based Aircraft" for the "Conch Submarine Carrier."

But since most prototypes crashed during training, and they couldn't solve the mass production issues in time, they regretfully couldn't make their debut in this battle.

Sitting in the cockpit of the Thunder Aircraft, Falling Feather took a deep breath and quickly glanced at the radar screen.

Watching the red dots appear on the radar, his eyes gradually sharpened, his left index finger flipping the switch for the missile radar and guidance head, then his hand moved to the throttle.

"Enemy aircraft detected! All units, attention, disengage weapon safety, free to engage!"

A uniform response came through the communication channel.

"Yes!"

Four pale blue plasma trails, like daggers piercing the sky, soon intermingled with four trails of burning light after breaking through the clouds.

After a beyond-visual-range missile exchange, both sides quickly entered close combat.

Trails of tracer fire danced wildly in the air, mixing with the flickering bright white flares, like fireworks blooming in the clear sky.

This battle had no suspense from the start.

The North Federation's newly formed air force, green and freshly equipped, ran out of missiles and, facing the experienced Alliance pilots in a dogfight, was utterly outplayed.

An LB-1 had its wing severed by cannon fire, turning into a fireball plummeting towards the sea.

Ignoring the pilot ejecting from the plane, Falling Feather's aircraft plunged directly into North Island's airspace, firing an EMP warhead-carrying anti-radar missile at the radar installation as it skimmed low.

The ravaging electromagnetic pulse instantly paralyzed the radar's internal electronics, blinding the North Federation's island air defense like losing an eye, its once sharp air defenses suddenly lost their accuracy.

Two P-2 "Lightning" attack planes simultaneously launched a total of eight ground-to-air missiles, obliterating the exposed coordinates of the launch devices.

Including the launchers for air-to-air missiles and the wells for anti-ship missiles!

The South Sea Alliance's main battle fleet moved closer to North Island's nearby waters, two destroyers raised their main guns, and under the guidance of drones, began shelling North Island's military port and the nearby barracks.

At this point, North Island's air defense capacity had effectively ceased to exist, and its ground resistance forces were also on the verge of collapse.

Had the Federation had even a single destroyer nearby, this raid would not have proceeded so smoothly, nor would it have allowed Alliance planes to approach within 50 kilometers of the island.

However, there are no "what ifs" on the battlefield.

Victory or defeat was determined in a moment of absentmindedness on one side.

The naval and security forces stationed on North Island quickly assembled.

Clearly, Charles understood perfectly what the Alliance would do after achieving air supremacy.

Before the Federation's fleet could respond, he had to hold off the Alliance at all costs!

At the same time the confrontation in the air was decided, four "Viper" small transport planes parked in the hangar of the Conch Submarine Carrier were successively lifted to the upper tier via elevators.

The steep deck was the most distinguishing exterior feature between the Conch Submarine Carrier and the "Dolphin Cargo Submarine".

In addition to its spacious internal structure, the top of the former also had catapult tracks suited for ships' aircrafts and was modified into a deck and apron for conventional airplanes to take off and land.

A total of twenty-four heavily armed infantry, wearing "Xiaguang" power armor, had already assembled next to the "Viper" transport planes. Their hands held not only light and heavy machine guns but also ferocious anti-materiel weapons like the 37mm Heavy Cavalry Gun.

Though there were only two squads gathered here, their firepower was not to be underestimated!

They were the best-equipped unit of the Alliance, possessing exceptionally strong individual combat abilities—the Burning Corps!

Placed in Ten Peaks Mountain or the wastelands of the Weifu, this force of just over twenty soldiers could easily annihilate a thousand team of Mutants!

Waves lapped against the hull, and white foam washed over the proud bow.

Wearing "Dragon Cavalry" power armor, Old White walked in front of his brothers, lifted the visor of his helmet, and loudly proclaimed,

"Our air force brothers have taken down the enemy's crown, now it's our turn to pull the rug out from under them!"

"Our target is the central airport on North Island, we need to ensure the runway remains intact and suppress anything that aims its barrel at you!"

"Remember to control the combat zone, avoid harming civilians!"

"Yes!" Roaring shouts filled with high morale echoed on the deck, and excitement filled the eyes of all the players.

Responding to those fiery, battle-ready pupils, Old White closed his helmet visor, and neatly swung his right hand.

"Move!!!"

Following the command, agile figures quickly boarded the ready Vipers.

Light blue plasma streams spurted from the engines, towing the streamlined bodies of the planes away from the deck and racing toward North Island, skimming the tips of the waves.

At the same time, North Island was engulfed in smoke and fumes pervading the air.

Especially on the southern side of the island.

From the military harbor to the edge of the settlement, an entire stretch of land appeared as if it had been plowed by a bulldozer, leaving nothing but a devastated wasteland.

150mm naval guns had thoroughly swept this area, with even a nearby shipyard catching two errant bombs that blew open its dome.

The four "Viper" transport planes pierced directly through the pitch-black smoke, like swords thrusting into the belly, breaking through the coastal defenses of North Island.

Dizzied by the bombings, the naval infantry hurriedly poked out of their cover, raising their rifle barrels to fire into the sky.

But the 7mm bullets were far from enough to threaten the Vipers, leaving those without anti-air weapons to merely watch helplessly as the planes sped toward the heart of the island.

Leaning on the shattered ruins, the captain of the exoskeleton-clad Marine Corps took out the walkie-talkie and roared desperately into the communications channel.

"…This is the Southern Defense Line!"

"The enemy air forces have broken through our airspace! Their target appears to be the airport in the very center of the island!"

"We… can't stop them!"

Mr. Charles, who had just retreated to the Presidential Palace Basement under the protection of the Marine Corps, had barely caught his breath when he received the disastrous news from the front lines.

When he heard that the Alliance's target was not the Presidential Mansion, his heart instinctively relaxed.

However, before he could fully relax, his heart, which he had just let down, immediately rose to his throat.

The airport!

The Alliance's target was the airport!

"No! We absolutely cannot let them seize the airport!" he roared, grabbing Lundy, the commander of the Marine Corps by his side, "Take your men there! Don't worry about me! You must at all costs hold the airport!"

If the Alliance were to occupy the airport, the Alliance's transport planes would be able to land directly on the island.

By then, even if the Federal Fleet returned to defend, it would be too late, and there would be no ports left in the Southern sea area for the Federal Fleet to resupply.

With Mr. Charles tugging at his collar, Lundy felt hot sweat on his forehead and back.

"But you…"

"I said, don't worry about me!"

Mr. Charles roared furiously, rudely cutting him off, and forcefully pushed him toward the door, watching him stumble toward the corridor, then toward the exit of the basement.

Once that figure disappeared, he turned his murderous gaze to a crowd of dusty officers.

"And you! All of you, get out!"

No one dared provoke him.

Just as people had sat down, they frantically shuffled their butts off their seats, trembling as they exited the door, leaving the room to him.

The room quieted down.

Mr. Charles composed his breathing, and it took a good while before he managed to calm himself.

The room was eerily quiet, as if he was left alone in the world.

He heard his own breathing, even his heartbeat.

It seemed to be the end…

His ambition had come to a ragged end before it even began.

But why?

Why couldn't these fools just do as he said!

In agony, he closed his eyes, his hands cradling his deeply wrinkled face.

If the Laken had sunk the Reefs as planned, and the ambush fleet had devoured the South Sea Alliance Fleet as planned, not just Anle Island, but Ring Island and even Potato Harbor would have been at his feet!

He would have then sailed his warships into Silver Moon Bay's port, conquering the Camel Hump Kingdom and continuing westward, moving inland toward Poluo Province! Sweeping up the Everflow River, until the front lines advanced to West Sail Port controlled by the Army!

He would've built an unmatched vast empire on the seas! Young men in the Wasteland could do whatever they wished!

Yet this bunch just had to oppose him!

Refusing to even listen to his plans!

For a moment, his vision seemed to hallucinate, as if he wasn't crouching in the basement of the Presidential Mansion, but sitting in the palace of the lord of the world.

But that was just for a moment, a dreamlike vision quickly dissolved like soap bubbles, pulling him back into a dark abyss called reality.

Staring at that hazy light, a name suddenly came to mind.

Perhaps the only person who could save him.

His throbbing throat mustered a trembling voice.

"Alzu."

Silence enveloped the room.

The guy was the same as ever, liking to vanish at critical moments, no response no matter how he was called.

Yet, unlike before, he had never placed his hopes on an outsider, but now that guy was his only lifeline.

"Alzu!"

Faced with that unresponsive silence, a trace of panic rose in his heart, and he shouted again.

"Alzu! Get out here!"

This time, the voice in the void finally responded.

Yet the tone, devoid of energy, dashed the flicker of hope he had just kindled.

"Why bother coming out?" Alzu sighed leisurely, watching the frantic Mr. Charles.

Seeing him act as if he were an outsider, Mr. Charles was completely angered.

"Don't you act indifferent! You said we were allies, sharing glory and loss alike! Lend me a hand, help me! What about those biological weapons of yours! Bring them all out! I still have a fleet, there's still a chance if they make it back! I haven't lost yet!"

Alzu silently looked at him, a trace of pity suddenly appearing in his eyes.

He hadn't always been like this.

Or perhaps all "people" are this hideous in the last moments of their lives.

In the time at Brocade River City, he attributed failures to the unreliability of the Holy Land, complained that Luo Gan had given up too soon, and concluded, "An imperfect divinity is worse than humanity," "It should be humans commanding the followers on earth to build their Heaven," and proposed to the Saint Heir the necessity of establishing "Sanctuary No. 2."

Though most Pioneers opposed him, the benevolent Saint Heir granted him the power to use the functions of the Holy Land as a human.

While he was preaching in the Southern Sea District, he always employed puppet-controlled indirect methods, using the "Power of the Godly Spirit" to support a "king" on earth, playing chess through this king.

However, the outcome was so disappointing…

"I never said you lost, but… clearly, you already know your fate, even lost in delirious fantasy."

Watching those hands reaching desperately at his collar, then helplessly passing through, Alzu chuckled bitterly, his cloudy eyes filled with exhaustion.

"… Saint Heir above, your Servant has done all he could."

Chapter 774: The End of the Civil War

Under the cover of naval gunfire, four "Viper" transport planes quickly penetrated the defensive line of the North Island coastline, and a total of twenty-five power armors swiftly deployed at the airport.

Facing this group of fierce demons, heavily armed to the teeth, the police guard platoon responsible for airport security almost instantly collapsed in the firefight, retreating in defeat after just exchanging blows.

Gunfire continuously flickered on the outskirts of the airport, shooting trails of tracer bullets shuttling recklessly across the runway, weaving an impenetrable net.

Hunkered behind a square sandbag wall, the platoon leader wearing a bulletproof vest pressed his helmet hard against the sandbags, not daring to lift his gun out of cover to return fire.

Not far from him, a medical soldier was desperately trying to save a casualty lying on a stretcher.

The casualty's leg was blown off, his pale face covered in sweat beads, gasping for breath like a beached goldfish.

The platoon leader clenched his teeth and shouted into his walkie-talkie.

"Outer defenses have collapsed! Their firepower is too fierce! We need reinforcements!"

The other end of the walkie-talkie was a cacophony of noise; he waited a long while but received no response, only hearing a series of explosions.

"Damn!"

The platoon leader cursed, shoved the walkie-talkie back onto his shoulder, crouched low, and stuck his rifle out of cover, spraying bullets towards the source of the incoming gunfire.

However, before he could fire twice, two long trails of tracer bullets whizzed by his barrel, exploding on the ground in front of him.

The projectiles must have been at least 20 millimeters in diameter, bouncing into the sky the instant they hit the ground, yet the thunderous noise of the impact left his head buzzing.

Debris kicked up by the bullets hit his face, and he couldn't help but cry out in pain, falling backward onto the ground.

"Ah—!!"

The Alliance did not cease fire.

One power armor intermittently fired its 20mm Cavalry Gun to suppress the cover, while the other three power armors advanced methodically towards the cover, their gun barrels soon targeting the guards behind it.

There was no doubt about the outcome.

The platoon leader of the guard immediately dropped his rifle, and even without waiting for the other side to speak, he obediently put his hands over his head and squatted by the wall.

"I surrender!"

Old White gestured to a teammate, signaling them to take out plastic ties to bind these prisoners.

Then he raised his right hand and swiped his index finger several times over the floating windows of his Tactical Goggles, setting the next phase of attack targets for each squad on the map.

The Y-2 drones fighting alongside them had already completed a full-scale scan of the battlefield topography, with enemy units identified and indicated in red on the map.

The entire process was just like a game.

Although this was indeed a game.

With the help of the quadrotor drones, six squads reached their planned target areas, controlling over 80% of the airport facilities, especially the crucial runway.

"Security station is suppressed!"

"We've taken the hangar!"

"Enemy reinforcements spotted! Eyewitness count is 317 individuals, with 10 police armored vehicles, and two suspected armored units! Likely the Federation Marine Corps!"

Hearing the voice on the communication channel, Killer Dagger almost laughed out loud, unable to resist mocking.

"That's all they have?"

Taking a look at the smoky airport, Kidney Fighter also spoke teasingly.

"Think about it, there are only a few tens of thousands of people on the entire island, they still need to maintain a navy, so it's not bad that they can muster a battalion."

This place was a complete contrast to the situation in Poluo Province; the entire North Island combined was smaller than Jinjaron Harbor, and its military force could not even muster a thousand team.

Of course, even if they couldn't muster a thousand team, throwing this airport's police guard platoon into combat in Poluo Province against a thousand team wouldn't be a problem.

After all, the West Winds Empire was picking up scraps discarded by the Army, whereas the Federation's armed forces were designed with the Army as a hypothetical adversary.

There's no comparison in terms of productivity and education level; even the military literacy of an average soldier here was quite a bit higher than many low-ranking officers from the West Winds Empire.

As the two chatted leisurely, Old White's voice came through the communication channel.

"…Don't let your guard down, the Battle isn't over yet! Kill Dagger, the Federation Marine Corps is to your northwest, expected contact within three minutes. I'm transferring command of the nearby two squads to you, stop them! Don't let them get close to the runway!"

"Understood!"

Listening to the voice on the communication channel, Kill Dagger immediately acknowledged and shouted back to his brothers,

"Brothers! We've got work to do!"

"Ooooh!!"

Exhilarated, Kidney Fighter inserted a new drum of ammunition into his machine gun, racking the bolt with a click.

And at that very moment, Old White, who was in the security station, had already taken control of the airport's communication equipment, and got in touch with French Fries Harbor's command center via the local radio tower.

"We have control of the airport; we're ahead of schedule by 10 minutes. How long till reinforcements?"

After a brief static, the operator's voice came through.

"Reinforcement troops have already departed, 15 minutes of flight time away from you."

"Tell them to hurry up, I'm worried the Torch might send reinforcements to North Island. If we can't finish the fight quickly on the ground, we'll be in for a tough battle... and it might be hard to limit civilian casualties."

"Understood, we're communicating with the reinforcements."

After ending the communication, Old White left a squad to defend on the spot and immediately took the remaining players to reinforce the northwest side of the airport.

The three squads led by Kill Dagger would intercept the Federation Marine Corps from the front, while they would flank the enemy's side in coordination with the Alliance's aerial units to deal with the relatively troublesome enemy armor after the two sides engaged.

As the Burning Corps' vanguard prepared for the enemy, the Federation's Marine Corps had also reached the entrance on the northwest side of the airport.

With an explosion of a rifle grenade, the battle was ignited in an instant.

The airport, which had been quiet for a few minutes, was once again drowned by the clamor of gunfire.

The Federation Marine Corps organized a battalion to confront them, even rolling out the police riot-control vehicles parked at the station and two "Short Snout Crocodile" amphibious armored vehicles, which were only prototypes and had not officially been put into production.

The latter was a type of amphibious warfare equipment developed by North Island Heavy Industries under Charles's command, originally designated for use in landing operations on Anle Island and Ring Island.

However, before this equipment could be put to use, North Island had already been preemptively landed on by the South Sea Alliance.

Even though the firepower of this light armor was much stronger than the "single soldier armor" like power armor, the numbers were still too few after all.

Not only that, but since the equipment itself was still in development and had not been officially commissioned, the Federal Navy had no experience in coordinating combat operations with mechanized infantry,

Two "Short Snout Crocodile" amphibious armored vehicles had barely made it to the front line when they got stuck in a predicament of disconnection from the infantry, blocked in the alleys near the airport.

Seizing that fleeting opportunity, Kill dagger didn't hesitate to take off the Pigeon Missile Launcher strapped to his back, threw a "Cover me!" to his teammates, and climbed over the half-collapsed low wall onto the roof of a building on the side of the alley.

Both armored vehicles were in full view, with the lead one bracing its 30mm Rapid-fire Cannon, unleashing firepower towards the airport in an attempt to chase away the "Viper" transport plane hovering in mid-air providing cover for the ground troops.

Kill dagger took a deep breath, expertly activated the camera function of the launcher, aimed at the armored vehicle only 150 meters away, and pressed the shutter, the sensor at the head of the missile immediately locked onto the target.

With all preparations complete, he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, shouting excitedly at the same time,

"RPG!"

Although what he fired was not an RPG, he still habitually yelled it out.

The thick trail of white smoke, like an arrow leaving the bow, struck straight under the turret of the armored vehicle, which then exploded like a lighter, bursting into a dazzling firework amid deafening explosion sounds.

The Pigeon Missile, with its metallic hydrogen warhead, had significantly more destructive power than a typical RPG Armor-Piercing Bomb, even though it cost dozens of times more.

The surrounding Federation Marine Corps soldiers were all shell-shocked by the light of the explosion, and upon snapping back to reality, they swiveled their muzzles towards the direction from which the plume of white smoke had emerged and opened fire.

Kill dagger was about to load another missile when he discovered that the armored vehicle behind had turned its barrel towards him. He got startled and hurriedly jumped down from the roof.

But he soon realized it was just a false alarm.

After witnessing the explosion of the armored vehicle in front, the one following panicked, frantically reversed while firing a barrage towards the roof.

The roar from the muzzle stunned the Marines guarding both sides of the armored vehicle, giving them a round of dizzying tinnitus. They couldn't even steady their aim, let alone their rifles.

"Damn, firing on their own troops, experts, huh!" Kill dagger, who had just jumped down from the roof, was dumbstruck. Had he known they were this poor at coordination, he would have stayed on the roof.

While he was in his daze, a series of whooshing sounds flew over his head, followed by the concurrent roar of the cannon and the barrage of shrapnel!

The armored vehicle, which was retreating in panic while opening fire, was clearly marked by friendly forces, and with the muzzle flash exposing its position, the brothers flying above didn't even need guided missiles, they simply strafed with machine guns and opened it like a can of tuna.

The relatively thin top armor was like paper mache in the face of the aircraft-mounted 20mm Armor Piercing Incendiary Bullets, the turret was flung into the air.

The soldiers crouching beside the armored vehicle suffered the same fate, as they were buried in the dust by the splattering shrapnel, and the entire alley instantly fell silent.

Watching the fireworks explode like fireworks and the P-2 "Lightning" attack planes skim low over the rubble, the players firing from behind the cover all cheered excitedly,

"Beautifully done!"

Just having completed the lock-on, Kill dagger lowered the missile launcher in his hand, smacking his lips with a sense of unfulfilled desire,

"Damn it! They stole my kill!"

But, after all, machine guns are cheaper than missiles, so let them steal if they will.

Unlike the Burning Corps, at this moment, the morale of the Federal Navy Marines had plummeted into the abyss.

Staring at the burning alley not far away, the Commander of the Marine Corps, Lundy, had eyes that bulged with frustration, his face the color of earth, etched with despair.

The two "Short Snout Crocodile" armored vehicles were practically their only reliance, yet they couldn't even hold out for ten minutes against the Alliance's airborne forces.

Although their equipment and training were far superior to that of the airport's security company, even possessing some remnants from the Era of Prosperity, they were still far outmatched by these professionals.

At that moment, two "Overlord" transport planes also emerged on the horizon, their massive bodies and long plasma streaks as conspicuous as shooting stars in the night sky.

The towering fuselages heavily landed on the airport runway, slid for a distance, then came to a standstill, and the broad, heavy cargo doors began to lower.

Eight menacing armored vehicles drove out from the cargo hold—the Alliance's "Chimera"!

Nearly five hundred soldiers, fitted with exoskeletons to the teeth, disembarked alongside them.

Their hands grasped compact assault rifles, and the gleaming bulletproof breastplates emitted a chilling shine.

"It's already over..."

Continuing the fight would only mean sending the young lads of North Island to certain death.

If the Alliance's planes could come once, they could come a second time, and there was no chance they could retake the airport with their meager forces.

Even if the battleship returned, it would be useless; a fleet without a port is an orphan at sea.

After seeing the two transport planes land, Lundy completely lost the will to resist.

Looking to his deputy commander, whose face was also the color of earth, his Adam's apple moved, and he finally squeezed out that helpless phrase.

"...We have lost."

...

After the futile resistance, the Federal Marine Corps ultimately chose to surrender.

Apart from Charles's personal guards who were still stubbornly resisting at the Presidential Mansion, there was no longer any resistance on North Island.

Charles did not allow the mutants onto the island, probably the only good thing he did.

Otherwise, the situation would have been a lot more troublesome.

Having communicated with the South Sea Union's Navy Headquarters, the command of French Fries Harbor Military Base decided not to bomb the Presidential Mansion but to send ground forces to capture Charles and his cronies.

After Old White and Fang Chang met up, they quickly devised a plan to attack the Presidential Mansion and unanimously decided to pull another plane of troops from French Fries Harbor to let the rookies in the corps get some practice in storming buildings.

As for Charles himself, while he might hold significance for the South Sea Union, to the Alliance and players he seemed dispensable.

By comparison, ensuring the safety of the local survivors and the integrity of industrial facilities, especially guarding against The Church's mutant forces landing, was of the utmost importance.

As for the locals' own matters, they traditionally never intervened.

At the same time the Burning Corps took North Island, the Federation's fleet finally made contact with the South Sea Alliance Fleet.

Signals from both sides appeared on each other's radar, and the situation became instantly tense.

On board the Harpoon Cruiser, the Fleet Commander Wu Meng watched the radar signals coldly, ready to issue the order to attack.

However, right at that moment, a communication request came in from the Anle Island Command.

"Can you establish a communication channel with the Sea Edge?"

Upon hearing Commander Li Minghui's voice, Wu Meng slightly paused and furrowed his brow.

"We can... but is it necessary?"

"Contact them!"

Wu Meng pondered for two seconds before finally nodding his head.

"Alright."

After the order was given, the communications officer began attempting to establish contact with the Sea Edge Battleship.

However, he didn't waste the precious waiting time.

He knew very well what kind of person Captain Weike on the other side was—a thorough warmonger and one of Charles's most loyal die-hard fans.

The word "surrender" simply did not exist in the guy's dictionary; it was more likely for Charles himself to resign than to expect him to surrender.

As expected, the opposing railgun was probably already charging, and might even have already taken aim at him.

Wu Meng calmly issued the order for first-level battle readiness, putting the weapon systems and defense systems of all ships on standby.

The adjutant standing beside him looked at him nervously.

"Do you think he won't surrender?"

Wu Meng spoke indifferently.

"I rather hope he doesn't surrender."

"Why?" The adjutant was startled, looking at the captain in surprise.

Wu Meng's expression remained unchanged as he succinctly stated,

"The southern sea area needs to recover and we can no longer afford another war… A moderate reduction in armaments is not necessarily a bad thing for us; on the contrary, it could be beneficial and harmless, otherwise, we might be dragged into another war that doesn't belong to us by our allies, even if they have just causes."

"If they really want that thing, they can pay to buy it from our shipyard. As long as they pay the money and provide the materials, our workers and engineers can build another one for them to operate themselves."

Moreover, the most crucial point was that Charles and his cohorts had to be thoroughly uprooted.

If the Union intervened in their judiciary for strategic reasons, letting the crew of the Sea Edge escape the postwar trial easily, or even continuing to serve on that battleship, it might lay the groundwork for greater troubles in the future.

Of course, this was only his own judgment.

If the upper echelons of the South Sea Union had other ideas, he could only keep his regrets to himself.

At the same time, Commander Li Minghui at Anle Island's Naval Command was pacing back and forth in front of the sea chart.

Victory was within reach!

His palms were sweaty, half from excitement and half from nervousness.

Charles could no longer cause trouble; now there was only one last mine to be defused.

That would be the Federal Fleet!

Those ships were the property of the survivors of the South Sea Union; they had poured their hearts and souls and sweat into each one, and the loss of even a single vessel would be a tremendous loss!

If possible, he hoped to avoid a final engagement.

As long as those boys were willing to turn around, everything could still be salvaged.

For the sake of bargaining chips to divide the spoils after the war and also for negotiating with the Union, he needed the "Sea Edge," and so did the residents of the South Sea Union!

Moreover, with Charles already having lost the decisive battle, continuing the fight would be pointless now—that wretched worm was shivering in his bunker!

Finally, successful contact was made with the bridge of the Sea Edge Battleship, and he immediately walked over to the communication terminal, placing his hands on the table and staring at the face that appeared on the screen.

"Surrender, Weike! The Burning Corps have landed on North Island, you've lost!"

Weike looked at him coldly, his eyes not only devoid of panic but also filled with disdain.

"Cowardly traitors."

"Traitors?" Li Minghui was taken aback, his anger giving way to laughter, "You, who help Charles suppress the residents of the Federal islands with the very artillery and shells they built for you to follow your master, how dare you even utter the word traitor."

"And you?" Weike narrowed his eyes, "What difference is there in what you do?"

"I have always fought for them," Li Minghui said, his face not turning red nor his heart skipping a beat.

Regardless of whether he had felt greed in his heart, he could confidently say that he had not crossed a line, at least up until now.

However, upon hearing his words, Weike suddenly laughed out loud as if he had heard a very funny joke.

"Stop the grandstanding, how much better can you be compared to Charles? At least he could bring us a brighter future! And you, you led the boys of the southern sea area to become the puppets of the Union! To expand territory for them!"

A brighter future?

Like the ghostly state North Island was in now?

Li Minghui looked pityingly at this man who was still delusional, clicking his tongue lightly.

"Is your understanding of a puppet that you're not willing to be a dog for Charles or the Torch? Poor thing, you really are a dog if you think everyone is like one."

But he regretted saying that as soon as the words left his mouth.

He suddenly remembered that he was here to persuade, not to mock.

Sure enough, the other side was unmoved by his speech, not taking his words to heart at all.

Weike straightened his captain's cap, expressionless, and said,

"Politicians like you excel at verbal sparring; you have the ability to twist black into white, white into black—that's your duty, but not mine."

"…It's futile to talk more, see you on the battlefield."

Li Minghui's eyes widened.

"Have you gone mad! Can't you see, even if you win, it's meaningless now!"

This man was a captain himself; he knew better than anyone what the current situation meant!

"No meaning?" As he looked at the bewildered Li Minghui, Weike wore an indifferent expression and let out a cold laugh, "Doesn't turning you all into ruins count as meaning?"

At this, his expression suddenly twisted fiercely.

Just like a wild beast trapped in a snare.

"Don't fucking think you can persuade me with words! Either we all go to heaven, or you all fucking go down to hell! To let you bunch of vermin rule the Southern sea area, I'd rather destroy it with my own hands!"

It's just a change of ownership!

As long as they could completely annihilate the South Sea Alliance Fleet and then make a beeline for Anle Island, capture Li Minghui and a bunch of officers as hostages, there was a chance to save North Island!

At the very least, he could use that guy as a bargaining chip!

The war had come to this point, the Alliance couldn't pretend to be indifferent. If they didn't want to watch the settlements in the Baiyue Strait turn into scorched earth, they should immediately withdraw from North Island!

Expecting me to surrender—

Don't even think about it!

Looking at the pitch-black screen, Li Minghui's face was full of astonishment.

The communication officer sitting beside him also had a look of astonishment, but beyond that, there was a hint of speechlessness.

With this level of bluster, he might as well do the persuading himself!

Silence hung over the command center.

Li Minghui's Adam's apple moved, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a sentence from his parched throat.

"Mad..."

Both Charles and those who followed him had gone mad...

He took two steps back and sat down in the chair in front of the command table, pinching the bridge of his nose without speaking.

The events to come seemed to hold no suspense.

Before this battle began, they had rehearsed countless times on the sea chart, minimizing the possibility of any mistakes.

But thinking of that battleship, Li Minghui still couldn't help a pang of heartache.

That was a battleship...

Such a sin!

...

A dazzling white light flashed across the sea surface and soared over the rolling waves, like a bridge extending from the Sea Edge Battleship to the Harpoon Cruiser.

Ballistics is a complex subject, not merely the calculation of parabolic motion but rather the complete design of the projectile's entire flight.

To regard a railgun as merely a brute-force projectile is quite a lack of imagination. Even in the Classic Era before the Era of Prosperity, people knew to equip shells with time-adaptive fins or other intelligent guidance components.

For the Era of Prosperity, naturally, it wasn't a difficult thing.

Bolts installed inside the tail end of the mass bomb could utilize the material's memory properties to record time parameters, causing the shell to deploy flexible fins at the tail after reaching a predetermined height, allowing the projectile flying in an inclined upward trajectory to make a large curvature arc in the air... Macroscopically, it was as if the shell made a bend in the sky.

Including the "air resistance" design of the projectile head, everything from the firing mechanism to the launched projectile head all belonged to the Era of Prosperity's creations.

Only something else from the Era of Prosperity could contend with it.

The Sea Edge Battleship fired three mass bombs in quick succession, drones flying among the clouds captured the trajectory of the mass bombs and focused their cameras on the Harpoon Cruiser.

But a scene that left everyone on the Sea Edge Battleship dumbfounded occurred.

The Harpoon didn't activate its Deflection Shield to counter as they had expected but took the hits squarely on the hull.

They intended to trigger the Shield Capacitors to overload using the railgun, but they didn't expect a one-shot kill.

Incomprehensibly, the mass bomb that struck the cruiser's bow didn't punch a hole through the broad bow but grazed it and exploded into the sea!

Columns of water tens of meters high surged skyward, the massive kinetic energy even created a vast cavity below the surface, jerking the majestic cruiser.

Standing inside the bridge, Wu Meng's right hand clung to a railing as he hastily glanced at the screen. The last hit had only depleted 12% of the energy in the Meissner effect armor capacitor.

Perhaps it was due to the slope of the armor; most of the kinetic energy was absorbed by the sea. This thing, in actual combat, seemed to perform even more impressively than the experimental data suggested. At this rate, he could probably sail the cruiser right up to visual range without issue.

After all, in the brief moment of his astonishment, the ship's reactor was slowly recharging the armor capacitor.

The Sea Edge Battleship, still not convinced, launched another salvo of three shots.

This time the opponents were unexpectedly lucky, hitting two out of three, with only one going astray.

Seeing that they couldn't touch him, Wu Meng finally let go of his worries.

While the Sea Edge Battleship was pummeling the Harpoon Cruiser, a sea-skimming anti-ship missile had broken through the Flying Fish Destroyer's Dot Defense System blind spot and blasted a large hole in its hull.

The Federal Fleet's left flank defense was instantly breached, and the remaining Defender Destroyer could hardly protect itself, let alone cover the Sea Edge.

That towering steel beast, like a wounded lion, was surrounded by hyenas ready to pounce.

Lying in ambush nearby, the Shark's Teeth took advantage of the opportunity and bit down without hesitation, firing a torpedo carrying a Metallic Hydrogen warhead at the proud sea giant.

Explosions of flame rose into the sky.

Although the torpedo was prematurely detonated by a decoy, the Shark's Teeth swiftly launched a second and third torpedo.

Including two other attack nuclear submarines.

It seemed they were born for this moment, and in the end, they indeed fulfilled their mission, sending the Federation—or the traitors of the South Sea Alliance—to the bottom of the sea.

The sole remaining Defender Destroyer wisely raised a white flag, and the commander of the Harpoon Cruiser, Wu Meng, ordered a cease-fire, accepting the surrender of his former comrades.

Looking at the radar screen, where the ripples were slowly disappearing, and at the sonar, where the waves were gradually enlarging, he let out a soft sigh, took off his peaked cap, and placed it over the screen in front of him.

"It's finally over."

Though the war to settle scores with the Torch Church had not yet ended, at least he wouldn't have to face those familiar faces anymore...

---

(Thanks to the Lord of "After the Sword's Plow" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 775: A Single Stone Raises a Thousand Ripples

"...Is that so, it has indeed sunk."

The browsing room on Floor B4 of Shelter No. 404, City of Dawn.

When Sun Yuechi heard the news that the Sea Edge Battleship had sunk, he was stunned for two seconds, and then a complex expression appeared on his face.

Chu Guang could tell that upon hearing the news, a look of relief and joy crossed Sun Yuechi's face, but there was also hesitation towards the outcome. Mostly though, it was the "as expected" that he had mentioned.

It seemed he had predicted this outcome from the very beginning, even before he had dumped the mess of Shelter No. 70 onto Chu Guang.

A curiosity inevitably rose in Chu Guang's heart.

However, before he had a chance to ask, Sun Yuechi, who was sitting opposite him, spoke first.

"It's fine for you to leave the frontline, isn't it?"

Chu Guang gave a faint smile and said,

"Actually, they don't really need me there. Without me, they do quite well. Compared to that, meeting with the representatives of the South Sea Federation Authorities is more important."

Although the Steel Heart was always at the frontlines, he didn't have to be there every moment, sometimes flying back for important agendas by the Sticky Community or internal affairs of the Union that required his decision-making.

Sun Yuechi nodded in understanding, squeezing out a gratified smile on his face.

"That's good to hear... I've heard that the Southern Alliance was jointly established by the Residents of Shelter No. 70 and the survivors of the southern sea area, right? They've finally overcome their differences... It's actually quite foolish, we've played the VM into a 'Black Card', forgetting that we were originally fellows. The doors of the shelters have been open for half a century now; it's really dumb to still call ourselves Residents of the refuge."

"Sometimes I even can't help thinking that the shelters should have a self-destruct timer, to explode when the time's up... Perhaps that would be better for the survivors."

"That would be too formalistic; even without shelters, there can be 'Black Cards'. Wouldn't it be nice to turn this place into a museum once everything's over?" Chu Guang took a look around, continuing in a joking tone, "like a library-themed museum, for instance. I've collected quite a lot of books here, from both the Era of Prosperity and by the people themselves during the Wasteland Era."

Sun Yuechi sincerely admired, "It seems you have indeed learned a lot from the experiences of Giant Stone City."

Chu Guang: "After all, we don't want to walk the path they've already tread... we would fall into a new cycle otherwise."

"That's good." Sun Yuechi said sincerely, looking at Chu Guang and nodding involuntarily once again.

It was a conversation between two Managers.

Chu Guang knew what that "That's good" meant. It was an acknowledgment from one shelter to another's "business." The Manager of Shelter No. 70 believed that the method of Shelter No. 404 might indeed unlock the Wasteland Era.

As for the transfer of management authority, there was no regret in his heart.

Seeing that Sun Yuechi seemed to have nothing more to say, Chu Guang asked the question that he was curious about.

"I always had a feeling that you guessed today's outcome a long time ago."

Sun Yuechi gave a bitter smile and said,

"Do I even need to guess? I remember saying a long time ago that I'm just a paperhanger, and it came to a head during my time. I considered all possibilities, but the ending was the same. My Residents think I'm irresponsible, but they really don't understand anything. I've looked at all the possibilities, and this is almost the only way to keep them safe."

He paused, then continued,

"You've seen what's in the 'inventory' of Shelter No. 70, right? Those things that the ones who blame me for not opening the doors clamored for."

Chu Guang nodded.

"I haven't been there myself, but my Residents have gone to take a look for me. Indeed, there are many good things."

Sun Yuechi continued with a smile,

"Do you think those things can change anything? Or what change could I bring by giving those to them?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment, and said candidly,

"Indeed, they wouldn't."

In the inventory were numerous power armors, but relying on the novices of Shelter No. 70, who hadn't even held a gun, they'd likely just get their heads bashed in by the Marines of the Federation if they went out.

Weapons are just weapons; in the end, it's people who operate them, and war is a systematic affair.

The Residents of Shelter No. 70 were untouched during the entire civil war and ended up playing a crucial role in the formation of the new Southern Alliance.

Especially since they were the only ones in the entire civil war who had not stained their hands with the blood of their fellow men.

No matter how many times they cursed the people outside and wished they all died to start over again, that was just in their minds.

Every person has a dark side to their heart, but at least their actions tentatively stood at the moral high ground.

After this civil war, their past errors were all erased.

In retrospect, this guy's shock therapy did have a little effect, at least preventing the worst and the most tragic outcomes. To say that he was an irresponsible Manager would indeed be unfair.

Sun Yuechi was silent for a while, then sighed softly.

"...We were wrong from the start. Perhaps that young man with the freight submarine was right. Our ancestors... might indeed not have obtained shelter authority through normal means, the real Residents being left outside. So, we've always been afraid of outsiders discovering the truth, afraid they would understand all of history, afraid that one day they would awaken, afraid they'd realize what we bestowed upon them was actually theirs, and so the gene of distrust has always engraved in our bones..."

His Adam's apple moved as he continued,

"Apart from the Sea Edge Battleship, which was to deal with threats from the Army, all other warships, though built under the pretext of fending off outsiders, were actually just to ensure the rule of Shelter No. 70."

"How ironic... as you've seen, these measures meant to balance each other out were actually useless. And the only ship truly built with the Army as a hypothetical enemy was used from start to finish on our own people."

"I guessed that the Sea Edge would eventually sink, but I really didn't expect this civil war to end in such a mild way... In my expectations, the cost may have been greater, and the outcome may have been slightly better than before, but not better than now."

At this point, Sun Yuechi turned to Chu Guang and sincerely thanked him.

"This is your credit... Thank you."

"Don't mention it, ending the Wasteland Era is precisely our job as Managers."

Chu Guang nodded at him, then suddenly thinking of something, continued speaking.

"By the way, Chu Guang mentioned that Li Minghui has arrived in Dawn City and plans to discuss future cooperation with me in person. Although he hasn't asked to meet you, would you like to see him?"

Sun Yuechi felt somewhat tempted but seemed to recall an unpleasant meeting with someone in the past and shook his head with lingering trepidation.

"Let's not... I've retired, and meeting me won't be of any use to him."

"Is that so? I actually think it would be better to meet him since he is, after all, your compatriot. Of course, it's fine if you don't meet him. It's your choice..."

Chu Guang said this with a smile, paused for a moment, and then suddenly added, "There are many missing parts in the Administrator's Log from Shelter No. 70. Haven't you thought about completing it?"

Sun Yuechi was again tempted, but for the same reasons as before, he ultimately shook his head.

"Maybe another time... I quite like my current job."

Although Chu Guang was somewhat disappointed, he didn't say anything, just nodded.

Reckoning with one's own problems is not an easy task.

He could understand what was in Sun Yuechi's heart; he still had feelings for Shelter No. 70, perhaps even more so than for the survivors of the Southern sea area.

Settling accounts with the catalyst for the civil war—the collapse of the Ocean Current Power Station—was already enough.

The Torch Church were the ones who acted directly, whereas Charles and his supporters were accomplices, and the now-deceased President Mongo was the enabler.

As for what happened in the past one hundred and fifty years, and even further back, over two hundred years ago, the survivors of the Southern sea area no longer wished to pursue the truth. As the former manager of Shelter No. 70, he had no reason to take the initiative to do so, and from the standpoint of the Alliance and present manager of Shelter No. 70, Chu Guang had even less reason.

This guy had made up his mind right from the start, so he unhesitatingly threw the refuge's authority to himself.

The civil war was undoubtedly won by the South Sea Union, but the biggest winner was actually Shelter No. 70, which had always stayed out of the fray, and the Alliance, the actual owners of the shelter.

As for the survivors of the Southern sea area, they won thoroughly yet lost just as thoroughly...

...

At North Street of Dawn City, in the lobby of the Highway Town Inn by the bar, it was bustling.

The guests seated here having breakfast were watching the television beside the bar.

For the survivors of Dawn City, who had long been using controlled fusion power, television wasn't anything rare. Its popularity, however, was a recent development.

Some traditional media that had grown through newspapers and radio began to expand into new businesses. Now, in addition to reading newspapers, the general public had a new option: watching TV news.

Before that, local survivors' viewing devices were mostly VMs transformed into tablets, which in turn were primarily produced by Black Boxes.

Nowadays, VMs no longer needed to be made through Black Boxes. Dawn City's industrial area had not only achieved mass production but had also undergone several iterations of the model.

As a result, players got their new wrist-worn computers, residents of Dawn City got their new televisions, and in the future, they will have their computers, mobile phones, smart wearables, Endpoint Cloud, and even bionic maid robots.

From this point of view, a certain manager truly fulfilled his promise to build a new Ideal City in Qingquan City.

It was indeed looking more and more like that good place.

Although it was still a bit low-spec at the moment.

At this moment, the television was showing the morning news of today.

"Yesterday evening at 8:15 pm, the Burning Corps successfully took control of the Presidential Mansion on North Island and discovered Charles's body in the bunker beneath it."

"The gunshot wound on his jaw and the position of the fallen weapon allow us to preliminarily determine that Charles's death was a suicide."

"The commander of the Burning Corps refused to disclose any information about the casualties of this operation but made a special mention that there had been no casualties during the airport assault."

"At present, the Burning Corps has handed over Charles's body to the Southern Sea Union, which is being preserved in a morgue at North Island Hospital, leaving local survivors to decide on its handling. Also transferred were Charles's supporters and his sham Cabinet officials. The subsequent trials will take place soon."

"With the downfall of Charles's regime, the long-standing chaos in the Southern sea area is finally declared over. The investigations into the sinking incidents of the Ocean Current Power Station and the series of shipwrecks like the Golden Coast exploration ship will go hand in hand with the rebuilding of North Island."

"South Sea Union authorities stated that the top priority is to restore local production and living order."

The television screen switched, cutting from the studio to the port of Ring Island.

Li Minghui, the commander of the Southern Sea Navy and interim President, stood facing a circle of microphones and spoke in a loud voice.

"The war is not over yet. The Alliance supported our war, and now it's our turn to support our allies!"

"North Island's naval port and airport will be permanently open to the Alliance, including North Island's shipyard!"

"If we do not completely eradicate the Torch Church, trouble will find us over and over again. We will learn from yesterday's lessons; no matter what difficulties we face in the future, we will never again cooperate with barbarism!"

The television footage continued to switch, returning to the news studio.

"According to interviews by our station, the authorities' representatives at the press conference specially thanked the Alliance for their help and stated that the survivors of the Southern sea area will always remember the assistance the Alliance offered in times of crisis, welcoming survivors from the Alliance to vacation, work, live, and invest, and so on, in the Southern sea area."

"For more updates on the situation in the Southern sea area, our station's reporters will keep you posted!"

After the report on the situation in the Southern sea area ended, the screen on the television quickly switched to the Northern Front.

Seated at the bar, a few guests exchanged glances, and a drunkard who was indulging in drink early in the morning belched and said.

"Southern Alliance... is it the Alliance of Brocade River Province?"

"Are you a pig? Where does Brocade River Province have a sea?!" a man who looked like a mercenary mocked.

The drunkard wasn't offended and argued with an air of righteousness.

"What if they do? I've never been there... how would I know?"

A peddler sitting to the side spoke with a casual tone.

"That place is far beyond Brocade River Province, even further south, all the way to the equator."

The group of guests sighed when they heard this.

"... That's really quite far."

"I've been traveling north and south for years, and I've never been to a place that far away."

The drunkard took a sip of vodka and mumbled to himself.

"What's the point of waging war so far away? I don't see how it benefits the Alliance..."

"What's the point?" The man who looked like a mercenary laughed teasingly, "The fact that you can ask that shows you haven't really grasped the news."

What's the point?

The Alliance, by inheriting maritime military and civilian technologies developed by survivors of the Southern sea area over two centuries, made its debut on the water and jumped two hundred years forward, becoming a "maritime power" in one fell swoop. That's a clear win, for crying out loud!

Even as a mere mercenary, he could see how many times their respected Manager Mr. Chu Guang had won.

The drunk was a bit confused and scratched the back of his head with his right hand.

The traveling merchant sitting beside him smiled faintly, said nothing, and just kept eating his breakfast.

He had booked his flight to City of Dawn the night before, and his plane was taking off in three hours. While these people were joking around, he had already planned his future business ventures.

Since the outbreak of the civil war in the Southern sea area, he had been keeping an eye on the changes in the war situation. Now, he had finally seen the war draw to its final full stop.

Currently, the entire Southern sea area was in need of reconstruction, not just North Island, but also the ocean current power stations and Coral City, among others—all visible business opportunities.

Including the subsequent development of the Golden Coast, the Alliance's investments in the Southern sea area would be substantial, and he could make a fortune by just doing something there.

Having finished his beef noodles, the merchant wiped his mouth with a napkin, suddenly thought of something, and spoke to the old man behind the bar.

"Boss, give me a vodka too."

Old Hooke recognized this regular customer, remember he was a businessman from Brocade River Province and had settled in Dawn City since last year.

Pouring him a shot glass of vodka, Old Hooke teased with a smile,

"It's unusual, you're drinking early in the morning."

"It's an exception today, haha."

Zhou Nan, in a good mood, smiled, took the glass from Old Hooke's hand, gestured a toast towards the television, and then downed it in one gulp.

"To the Alliance's victory!"

Praise the Manager!

Ever since he joined the Alliance, his good fortune had never stopped!

...

At Embassy Street, atop a three-story foreign-style building with front and back yards, the flag of the Army stood tall.

This was the Embassy of the Army in the Alliance, which had just been completed not long ago.

Before that, the Army's delegation had always been camping in the suburbs of Dawn City.

While this was not a big deal at first, as time went on, the Weilante People themselves found it cumbersome.

Especially as the Sticky Community project advanced, more and more Weilante People traveled around Dawn City, and the Army's involvement in the Sticky Community's affairs increased, eventually Bennott broke with tradition and agreed to the Alliance Foreign Minister's proposal for mutual establishment of embassies.

At this moment, Bennott was sitting on the couch in the Embassy's reception room, watching the news on TV.

Seeing the segment about naval battles between the South Sea Union and North Federation, a look of disdain crossed his face.

"Heh, nowadays... any piece of junk dares to clash with my Army."

The TV showed a majestic battleship slowly sinking into the sea amidst boiling smoke.

According to the news, the battleship named Sea Edge was built by survivors in the Southern sea area to counter the threat from the Army, and its main gun at the bow was taken directly from a starship, specifically to target the Army's Wasteland—or the deflection shield on the escort ship's core.

After watching the news to the end, Bennott curled his lip and turned off the TV.

Though he held no respect for the "fishermen" on several small islands, when he heard that the main gun of that battleship was from a starship, he couldn't help but feel a thrill of alarm.

It's a good thing that battleship sank.

If the Alliance got their hands on it, those guys would surely find a way to make use of it.

Thinking of the Steel Heart, Bennott breathed a sigh of relief, putting the matter aside and no longer paid attention.

After all, the Southern sea area was too far away. The Army's navy is mainly in the hands of the West Army, and the core interests of the West Army are on another continent, which is really too far from here.

Anyway, as long as that thing doesn't fall into the hands of the Alliance, all is well.

What Bennott did not know at this moment was that Shelter No. 70 had four identical railguns!

And with sufficient supply of steel and electricity, the shipyards on North Island could instantly build another similar toy...

...

It wasn't just the Weilante People who were paying attention to the situation in the Southern sea area.

For the "South Sea Union," which appeared to be the Alliance's "puppet" and was about to join the Sticky Community, various major forces in the Wastelands were keeping an eye on the latest developments of the Southern sea area's situation through the Alliance's media.

This included not only enterprises and academies but also the Free State... and even distant West Winds.

Tiandu, on the majestic palace.

Witch Camel, sitting on the chair, savored the fine wine imported from Jinjaron Harbor, gleefully listened to eunuchs reading the latest issue of the Dawn Garden News, and couldn't help but repeatedly exclaimed in delight.

To be fair, the Alliance wasn't all made up of flatterers; there were still people who dared to speak the truth, and the news in the paper really was written splendidly.

Due to the Manager's fancy for the queen of the Lion Kingdom, the king of Lion Kingdom, though fuming, tacitly condoned the matter. This not only caused public outrage within Lion Kingdom but also incited jealousy in the Honey Badger Princess who was infatuated with the Manager, leading to a brawl between the two kingdoms on their border, seemingly on the verge of sparking the second Falling Leaves War.

The Alliance's own backyard was already up in flames. Now, a fire had spread to the Southern sea area, reportedly even burning down a Heavenly Palace, and Dawn City's media hadn't mentioned a word about it. Only the honest Dawn Garden News stood out, exposing the stark truth to the public and stripping the Alliance bare.

"... This Alliance, guilty of many misdeeds, is sure to be doomed before long!"

Witch Camel exclaimed with great relish, his face flushed with a slightly tipsy glow.

If it hadn't been for the great distance, he would have loved to reward that newspaper with some money, incentivizing those brave journalists to publish even faster.

Perhaps it was the alcohol talking, but his eyes shifted slightly, and he suddenly had an epiphany.

"The Alliance is preoccupied with Luo Xia Province and the Ten Peaks Mountain frontline, surely they'll pay no mind to the Southern sea area... If the South Sea Union became a tributary state to my West Winds, wouldn't it be perfect?"

The term "tributary state" was something he learned from reading the Dawn Garden News. It spoke of the Lion Kingdom and Honey Badger Kingdom as Alliance's tributary states, the Camel Hump Kingdom was a quasi-tributary, and Golden Lizard as well as Falcon were respectively tributary to the Academy and Army.

The eunuch reading the newspaper was momentarily confounded, and Duke Nihak, seated beside him, was also taken aback.

The former was primarily lost in His Majesty's train of thought, unsure whether to chime in or not, while the latter had only returned recently and had not had the chance to read the previous issues of the newspaper delivered by Duke Garava; he didn't quite grasp what "tributary state" actually meant.

Seeing no opposition, Witch Camel stroked his chin and said,

"Didn't the Weilante People bring some cement and stuff like steel to West Sail Port? And there's all that stock, rusting away in our warehouses; we might as well sell it to them... Right, price it in West Winds currency! We need to have that pricing power too!"

He'd read in the Dawn Garden News that a major reason for the rapid rise of the Alliance was the Manager stuffing silver coins into the pockets of the Waste Land Wanderers, in exchange for the truly valuable items they held.

Although the newspaper hadn't specified how the Alliance managed to get the silver coins into the wanderers' pockets, Witch Camel thought it was a brilliant idea; the Empire had to find a means to do the same and might as well seize this opportunity to make a grand affair of it.

The survivors in the Southern sea area needed to rebuild their homes and would surely need steel and cement, which he happened to have in large surplus.

That steel and cement were originally for road construction, but when it came to rebuilding the infrastructure around Tiandu and West Sail Port, they didn't require so many resources—excess materials were almost piling up into mountains in the warehouse.

Frankly speaking, he didn't understand why the Weilante People bothered to produce so much steel and cement. What he wanted were rifles and cannons, along with soldiers skilled in combat.

However, regrettably, those big-nosed folks never treated him as an outsider. They not only coerced sales but also used their unsellable goods to repay their debts.

Pondering that he would never collect the debts, he might as well go along with their plans, which could also garner him a pile of assorted things.

Who knew when they might come in handy?

He was now immensely grateful that he had the foresight to agree to the Weilante People's proposal. The junk he had accumulated was proving useful right now!

Duke Nihak stroked his chin, contemplating that there seemed to be some rationale to His Majesty's words.

He had been a governor in Jin Jialun Port and knew a bit about trading. West Winds currency indeed lacked competitiveness against the Dinar and silver coins, which had put them at a substantial disadvantage in commerce, causing considerable losses to the Empire's finances.

Now that the tariffs at Jin Jialun Port had increased significantly, bringing appreciable revenue to the Empire, they could use this discretionary income to engage in some ventures.

"The only problem now is... the South Sea Union doesn't have West Winds currency. How do we get them to buy our goods with West Winds currency?" Duke Nihak mused, scratching his chin.

Watching Duke Nihak's perplexed expression, Witch Camel took a sip of his fine wine and said lightly with a smile,

"That's not difficult at all. If they don't have it, no problem, we'll just lend them some West Winds currency."

This maneuver, he too had learned from the Dawn Garden News.

During the Falling Leaves Battle, the Alliance had provided the Lion Kingdom and the Honey Badger Kingdom with a loan in silver coins. On one hand, it stimulated infrastructure construction in these countries; on the other hand, it allowed Alliance enterprises to profit handsomely from these infrastructure projects.

In the long run, the assistance provided by enterprises to the Alliance took on a similar form.

Although he couldn't articulate the intricacies, Chu Guang still had the knack for imitating a good idea when he saw one.

To Chu Guang's surprise, Hooke's face gradually lit up with delight as he rose from his chair.

"Your Majesty is sagacious! By lending them money, not only do we offload our surplus cement, but we also become their creditor!"

Hooke, who had labored at Jinjalon Harbor for many years, had never thought of this strategy. It was unexpected that His Majesty would come up with it!

Could the newspaper truly be this miraculous?!

Hooke couldn't help but ponder in his heart that once he got back, he must ask Duke Garava to send him a few copies to study.

Watching Hooke, who was utterly taken aback, Witch Camel gave a faint smile and put down the cup in his hand.

"You flatter me, please, sit."

Despite maintaining a poker face, he couldn't help feeling quite pleased with himself for showing off such a move in front of his subject.

As Witch Camel was quietly taking pride in his stratagem at the same moment, a monumental battle was quietly unfolding in the northeast of Poluo Province, in Mammoth State.

On one side was the local army of Mammoth State, boasting a count of fifty thousand soldiers, with claims of a hundred thousand, led personally by the governor of Mammoth State.

On the other side was the Moon Clan Resistance Army, purporting ten thousand, but in reality, not even six thousand were muster, more than half of whom were serfs and refugees picked up along the way, led by the former leader of the Jin Galun Port Militia Group, Laxi.

Clearly, the governor of Mammoth State didn't take this group of ragtag fighters seriously and didn't even bother His Majesty, planning instead to send good news to Tiandu after victory, to give His Majesty an enormous surprise.

Coincidentally, his opponent Laxi likewise did not take his adversary seriously at all.

A hundred thousand men...

They really dare to boast!

In this godforsaken land of barren mountains and waters, he would concede defeat if they could get ten men together to form a single rifle!

After arranging the battle plans, the disheveled Laxi simply squatted in the barracks flipping through Survivor Daily, which came with the supplies.

Reading the headline about the developments in the southern sea area, Laxi nibbled on a steamed bun and muttered to himself,

"Damn, that was fast!"

He remembered when he was living large in Jin Jialun Port, the Alliance was still at a standoff with the Federation in the Southern sea area. Apart from redeploying the Burning Corps, there were no indications of an impending battle.

And now, in the blink of an eye, the Federation was defeated.

Now that the Alliance had the Southern sea area, it would definitely start major infrastructure development there.

To uplift the backwater of Mammoth State, he must seize this opportunity!

The place was so poor, the only thing left was people!

Stuffing the last piece of steamed bun into his mouth, Laxi chewed thoughtfully, a glint of sharpness in his eyes.

He had to move even faster!

Chapter 776: Abundant Spoils of War!

After the fall of Charles' authority, the residents of North Island had already made preparations for winter, but to their surprise, the days ahead were not as bad as they had imagined. Instead, the situation slowly started to improve.

Of course, there was no need to mention the Naval Forces of the Southern Alliance, as they were originally family and naturally would not make life difficult for the island's residents.

The discipline of the Alliance Army was something rarely seen in the Wasteland. Not only did they not disrupt the local citizens' lives, they even lifted the curfew and war-time rationing system that had been in place during Charles' regime.

On the streets near the port district, people who had hidden in their homes for several days had finally finished their stored food, driven by hunger, they gradually returned to the streets.

Although the new order after the war had been announced on the radio and via wireless several days before, not everyone believed what was said in the broadcasts, thinking it was the rebels who had taken over the radio station.

Information warfare was a common practice during the war, and with Charles' authority enforcing strict curfew measures, most people lived in a cocoon of information, not daring to leave their homes or even peek out the window.

Although the new authorities had told them the war was over, it wasn't possible to forcibly pry their rooms open and drag them out.

From a cost standpoint, that clearly would not be economical, and with so many tasks at hand, they temporarily didn't have the resources to attend to those still living in the past.

After all, Charles' regime had collapsed and a new order had been established. Those still living in the past would sooner or later come to terms with reality.

And as the last of the people returned to normal life, when they cautiously made their way to the streets and saw that the supermarket had actually reopened, almost everyone's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Strange, the supermarket reopened?"

A skinny middle-aged man muttered quietly, suddenly remembering something, he rushed back home, ignoring the surprised looks of his wife and children, rummaged through his belongings to pull out a large stack of bills and stuffed them into his pocket, then hurried to the supermarket with a scavenging plastic bag.

Since Charles' authority had implemented the war-time rationing system, Federation Currency within the territory of the North Federation had become worthless paper, unable to buy anything, and the supermarkets had closed due to lack of supplies.

Now seeing the supermarket reopened, he immediately took out all his savings, hoping to exchange them all for milk powder, bread, and canned food, fearing that if he was too slow, they would be sold out.

But when he rushed through the doors of the supermarket and saw the dazzling array of products on the shelves, he stopped in his tracks as if seeing an illusion.

The crowd queueing for shopping noticed him, but only spared him a glance and said nothing.

These days, it was common to see such people.

Everyone had gone through those hard times, so no one really had the heart to mock him.

The man's throat bobbed, he walked quickly to the shelves.

Looking at the digits on the price tag, he held his breath, his heart pounding fiercely. Without looking, he scooped a bunch of items into his plastic bag and then hurriedly went to queue up.

When he reached the cashier, he grabbed a handful of bills from his pocket and placed them on the counter.

The cashier behind the counter saw the crumpled pile of bills, sighed with a look that said "I thought so," and pointed to a sign on the counter.

"... What you've got there is Federation Currency. Look carefully at the tags on the shelves, we only accept silver coins here."

Silver coins?

The man was stunned for a moment, his face gradually reddened, and he stammered for a long time before he managed to say a word.

"I don't have any silver coins. What do I do now?"

The cashier said patiently,

"Then go find some work to do. There's an assistance station from Home of the Refugees at the port, where you can fill out a job application form and receive relief grain. When a job is arranged for you, someone will notify you. Also, some larger hiring units will prepay a month or half a month's salary. There are also services to help apply for subsistence loans. You might want to ask around, my job was arranged by Home of the Refugees."

The man quickly thanked her and hurriedly left the supermarket.

He used to work in import and export trade. Maybe he could find a job to support his family at the port or with the Baiyue Corporation...

...

With the cancellation of the war-time rationing system, items like iron pots, kitchen knives, bread, and grains, which were previously unseen, reappeared on the supermarket shelves.

Of course, these items didn't just grow on the shelves.

Some were produced in Luo Xia Province, some processed in Silver Moon Bay, and others came from Jinga Lun Port.

These goods completed their production stages in their respective places, were first transported to Potato Harbor for shipment, and then uniformly distributed to the resource-scarce Northern Islands, offered for sale on the shelves priced in silver coins.

In addition, Home of the Refugees set up assistance stations on North Island, distributing relief grain and registering the professional skills and educational backgrounds of unemployed residents to introduce them to jobs, reducing their wait time for employment, and so on.

The Ocean Current Power Plant needed to be rebuilt, as did other facilities on North Island, and there were plenty of places in need of workers.

Especially for technology-intensive positions, there were more jobs than people available.

The only downside for the local residents was that the Federal Currency issued by the federal authorities had gone from nominal useless paper to truly worthless paper.

Although inflation from the Northern Islands had been spiraling out of control and rationing was announced, from that moment on, the currency had already lost most of its function, but at least it still had a smidge of purchasing power.

As for now, with the collapse of the Federal Authority, even the legal sense of purchasing power had vanished, using it as toilet paper would only chafe one's backside.

The South Sea Union is planning to issue a new local currency to ensure that the economy can operate normally.

However, at the current stage, since each settlement in the Southern sea area is highly dependent on the input of resources from the Union, and the new authority is operating with loans from the Alliance Bank, everything from public expenditure to material procurement is temporarily settled with silver coins.

At this moment, at the military port of North Island, a construction team from Potato Harbor is repairing the damaged facilities, especially the gantry cranes installed on the wharf and the automated loading and unloading equipment.

And not far from the dock, there are two large cargo ships loaded with containers waiting to be unloaded.

Standing on the edge of the harbor, Mr. Chaning squints his eyes as he gazes upon the seaport ravaged by war, chatting casually with Commander Li Minghui standing beside him.

"...This is what happens when soldiers get involved in politics, the stronger the execution, the greater the destruction. We must not follow the old path of the North Federation, don't you think, Mr. Li Minghui?"

Two weeks had passed since the end of the civil war, and it was now mid-October.

During that period, Li Minghui visited the City of Dawn, meeting with the Manager of the Union as the wartime president of the South Sea Union, a discussion that was said to have lasted three days.

This matter was not only of high interest to the outside world but also to the representative assembly of the South Sea Union itself.

Although the South Sea Union, like the Union, has separate systems for local affairs and central affairs, as the highest local official of Ring Island, Mr. Chaning had neither the intention nor should he interfere in the power struggles of the central affairs of the South Sea Union, but there was one thing on behalf of the residents of Ring Island that he had to speak out.

Leaning towards the Union did not go against the interests of the survivors in the southern sea area, but if their general became the new Charles in the process, all sacrifices would have been in vain.

Hearing the probing tone in Chaning's voice, Li Minghui suddenly laughed out loud.

"What a coincidence, my thoughts are the same as yours. It's better for professionals to stick to their work, and people like me are more suited for outmaneuvering others on the battlefield."

After a pause, he continued.

"After the war with the Torch is over, I will resign from the position of wartime president, returning all powers to the representative assembly that stands for all survivors of the Southern sea area... That's where it rightfully belongs, no one knows better than them how to proceed into the future."

Looking at Chaning, who was surprised, Li Minghui smiled faintly and said,

"Don't be so shocked. I'm just resigning from the position of wartime president and returning command of the army; I didn't say I would disappear completely. Ha-ha, if you don't mind my command capabilities, I will continue to serve as the Naval Commander."

In fact, before talking to Captain Weike, he had hesitated more than once.

However, after seeing that guy's madness, the last spark of ambition in his heart was also extinguished.

Charles wasn't like that before, nor was Weike... they had once been incredibly eager for the future of the survivors in the southern sea area. No one wished for the people here to lead better lives more than they did, to genuinely end the wasteland of this sea area.

But once the madness begins, it never stops.

In order to overthrow the rule of Shelter No. 70, they turned a blind eye with selective blindness, allowing the Torch Church in, and then began to spin lies to coerce the dubious and blind followers.

As the chips on the gambling table increased, they went further and further down the wrong path, and without exception, all became devils in the end.

And in the late stages of madness, they were even willing to burn down two centuries of the survivors' hard work in the southern sea area rather than admit their mistakes.

Those who became mad and those who indulged the mad all went to hell, and now the button to end this cycle was in his hands. With a single press, he could become a hero.

This was too good a choice.

Just as the gentleman from the City of Dawn said to him, indulging in personal gains was just a momentary pleasure; only by doing something that would last forever could one truly become immortal.

Looking at the composed Li Minghui, Chaning, caught off guard, respectfully nodded to him.

"...The survivors of Ring Island will be grateful for your choice, and I believe the survivors of the southern islands will feel the same."

Looking at the thriving port, Li Minghui, with a relaxed smile on his face, said,

"Ha-ha, too kind! That's what I should be doing anyway!"

...

At the same time that the reconstruction work was underway, the Alliance and the South Sea Union were also concurrently carrying out the inventory work on the "legacy" of Charles' regime.

Below the building of North Island Heavy Industries, two Chimera Armored Cars were stationed at both the front and back doors, and they stayed that way for a full two weeks.

At first, the employees working there were a bit scared, but later, when they realized that those being taken for talks were all high-level executives, they calmed down and didn't think much of it.

Especially since their salaries had switched from Charles' food vouchers to silver coins, and they were paid quite handsomely, most employees had no more complaints.

Except for those who had designed weapons for the Mutants.

Charles once pinned his hopes on arming the Mutants with technology from the Era of Prosperity to narrow the gap in ground forces between the North Federation and the Alliance, so he ordered North Island Heavy Industries to set up a separate Mutants' equipment research and development department.

These devices not only appeared on the battlefield of Shazhou Island but also in small numbers on the northern front and even the battlefields of Yue Ma Province.

So when they received the meeting notification, from the project managers to the engineers responsible for the specific designs, none of them could help shaking with fear.

However, what surprised everyone was that the Alliance people didn't give them a hard time.

Standing in the conference room, Fang Chang looked at them and said,

"...the South Sea Union does not intend to pursue your responsibility, after all, you are civilians who have been coerced. Our position on this issue is consistent; we prefer to pursue the primary responsibility of the decision-makers and the secondary responsibility of their accomplices, rather than those who have been dragged along."

Hearing these words, whether it was the Company's executives or the grassroots employees, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Given the choice, of course, they would not have wished to design weapons for the Mutants, but with Charles's gun pointed at their heads, they had no other options.

Watching the relieved staff, Fang Chang paused and then continued,

"However, from now on, your department is to be disbanded, and you will be transferring your current projects and data to a new institution to collaborate with Huge Rock Military Industry for the production of 'anti-Mutant' weapons."

"Of course, those who are unwilling can go through the resignation process or apply to be transferred back to their original departments. We will not coerce you into doing something against your will like Charles did. The war with the Torch Church is certainly important, but we also respect your choices."

The Alliance has no Mutant soldiers and naturally does not need to develop weapons for Mutant use.

No one was surprised that a department which should never have existed in the first place was being disbanded.

However, after hearing the arrangements that followed, everyone started whispering to each other.

Fang Chang did not continue speaking but gave them ample time to discuss.

At this time, an executive raised his hand and, with Fang Chang's nod of approval, spoke up.

"Excuse me... do we need to move to Giant Stone City to live?"

This was the question of utmost concern to him and the engineers and experts under him.

After all, they were not refugees but had their own families, social, and societal relationships in the area.

Moving to a new settlement meant adapting to local customs and living conditions, which would affect all sorts of things, including their children's education.

Understanding their concerns, Fang Chang smiled upon hearing the query and replied in a gentle tone,

"There's no need for that. Our signal towers will soon extend over North Island, followed by undersea cables. Communication between the Alliance's settlements will only become more convenient. The new institution will still be located on North Island, with cooperation mainly through online communication and regular exchange meetings."

After hearing this promise, people finally relaxed, and faces brightened with joy.

The salary offered by the restructured North Island Heavy Industries remained very generous, and if possible, they certainly hoped to continue with this work.

Moreover, contributing their knowledge and strength to a just cause from now on would also ease some of the guilt they felt for having designed weapons for Mutants.

"Then, I decide to stay!"

The manager who asked the question was the first to raise his hand, and seeing this, the others also raised theirs.

"I will too!"

"And add me to the list! After all, other than designing equipment, I'm no good at any other work."

The core layer of the entire department numbered thirty-five people.

Excluding three who applied for a transfer back to their original departments and two who requested resignations, all of the remaining thirty managers and engineers accepted the terms of the transfer to the new department.

The entire process went very smoothly, and after finishing one meeting, Fang Chang quickly picked up the next list, preparing for the next one.

During Charles's reign, by concentrating the limited resources and productive capacity on the war through administrative means, he integrated the industrial facilities left on North Island from the time of Shelter No. 70 and established a large military industrial enterprise called "North Island Heavy Industries."

This thing was like a replica of Huge Rock Military Industry, even more exaggerated, with production lines covering all areas including sea, land, and air.

This included the LB-1 jet fighter, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-ship missiles, and the "Short Snout Crocodile" amphibious armored vehicle, and the exoskeleton assault rifles equipped by the Federal Navy's Marines, all produced by this company's workshops.

Such a concentration of the industrial chain is almost unimaginable in reality, given that even the chips used in missiles are not a problem that a single company can solve.

But for the Survivor Forces that inherited some of the technology of the Era of Prosperity, producing equipment from the old era was far from difficult. Many indispensable components and production processes from the old era could find very good substitutes.

For example, carbon-based semiconductors, which fundamentally overturned traditional silicon-based semiconductors, and this was just one technical detail.

It's like if ancient people spent eighty-one days forging a divine weapon, it still might not cut as well as a modern stainless steel kitchen knife, whereas modern people wanting to craft a divine weapon used by the ancients could simply throw a steel ingot onto a lathe "for a bit," and that would be it, albeit perhaps lacking a "soul."

Charles authorities' industrial strategy was difficult to judge as either good or bad, but it certainly made it easier for those who came later to burst gold coins.

The audit agency commissioned by the Alliance had completed all the accounts in just 7 days and came up with a more scientific "spoils of war recovery plan."

The first thing the Alliance needed to do was to dismantle the massive North Island Heavy Industries and convert some of the excess capacity for civilian use, while incorporating the other capacities into the Alliance's production system to become a part of the industrial system of the Alliance.

Simply put, it meant transforming North Island Heavy Industries, which could make anything but only made do, into three or more specialized industrial bases.

That is, let those who build ships focus on how to make better ships, those who make amphibious equipment study how to make amphibious equipment, and those who design guided weapons concentrate on designing guided weapons.

As for researching exoskeletons, rifles, planes, tanks, etc., the Alliance already had a large number of excellent military industrial enterprises specifically responsible for the R&D of these devices, and the production departments under North Island Heavy Industries just needed to think about the parts.

This was partly due to the need for resource consolidation and partly due to strategic needs.

After joining the industrial system of the Alliance, the residents of North Island would live a better life than before, thanks to advanced production methods.

But if they were to be detached from the industrial system of the Alliance, they would also live worse than before.

While Fang Chang was holding meetings with the employees of North Island Heavy Industries, Old White led a group of people to the warehouse of North Island Heavy Industries.

This space was exceptionally spacious, as big as a soccer field, with all kinds of heavy equipment parked in the middle.

A small part of it was something they had seen on the battlefield, such as the "Short Snout Crocodile" armored car with two different types of gun towers, such as the infantry landing craft that had appeared on Shazhou Island.

There were also some they hadn't managed to see, such as the main battle tank that stood 4 meters tall.

It had a thick 120mm gun barrel, and the cabin was so spacious that it didn't seem designed for humans.

Killer Dagger went to the side of that tank, jumped on the turret, and glanced inside the hatch, coming to the conclusion.

"This thing is almost certainly designed for mutants."

Kidney Fighter scoffed.

"What's the use without air supremacy? It's a sitting duck on the battlefield."

All the good names are taken by dogs shook his head and said slowly.

"That might not necessarily be true, it depends on which battlefield it's on. The northern front definitely has no use for it, but the southern front might be a different story. If the Federal Fleet could seize control of the sea, then indeed our planes couldn't make it over there, and using power armor to fight this thing would still be a bit tough."

For example, in terrain like Shazhou Island, if you gave the mutants a few tanks, it would be difficult for them to be stopped with just some individual equipment.

After coming down from the turret of that tank, Killer Dagger walked over to a square metal frame.

Seeing the humanoid armor in the center of the metal frame, his face immediately showed an expression like he had discovered a new continent.

"Holy shit, power armor?!"

The back of the armor had an interface for a nuclear fusion battery.

Judging from the shape and design details of the whole set of armor, it was undoubtedly a replica of the "Dragon Rider" power armor, exactly like the one Old White was wearing.

Seeing that the big boss of the Burning Corps finally let go of the tank designed for the mutants, the technicians following him quickly said.

"Sea Lion Powered Armor... This is an experimental model replicated by North Island Heavy Industries based on the blueprints of the Dragon Rider Power Armor! We've made improvements to the motor equipment, and in the absence of Helium-3, it can use deuterium-tritium as fuel... but we really don't have the resources to build a heavy water plant, so the development of this armor was shelved."

Listening to the technician's introduction, Kidney Fighter couldn't help but marvel.

"Damn... There's really no shortage of good stuff here."

Killer Dagger couldn't help but nod.

"...It's a good thing this federation is on a small island. If they had a continent or a few more resource-rich islands, this civil war could probably last until the Game server shuts down."

All the good names are taken by dogs, however, seemed unimpressed, just curling his lips and saying.

"More than just fancy stationery."

Does it matter if the equipment is flashy or not when on the battlefield they are blown up one after another?

Old White, who had been silent, laughed and patted the technician's shoulder lightly.

"With us, you won't have to worry about those problems anymore. We have enough resources, whether you want to build a heavy water plant or something else, we have the conditions for it. You just need to keep working on this project."

It wasn't just the "Sea Lion" power armor; that tank for mutants could be slightly modified and put to use as well.

Including the latest model destroyer that was nearing completion in the shipyard, the gold coins exploded out by Charles were indeed not few.

This victory could truly be described as a bountiful harvest!

Chapter 777: Destruction Comes Much Faster Than Construction

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

[Announcement: The Southern sea area is now open. All players who own VM and download the electronic pass plugin can freely access various settlements.]

[Recommended gameplay:

1. Lifestyle occupation players can register in local mining companies, purchase a cargo ship and a resource exploration cabin, and then head to the deep sea to explore and excavate relics from the Human Alliance Era and undeveloped seabed mineral deposits! (Recommended for advanced players)

2. The Northern Islands in the Southern sea area are being rebuilt, and the South Sea Union welcomes players to invest, start businesses, and find employment there. Supporting local construction will earn players a hefty amount of silver coins, regional prestige, and contribution rewards—there are endless bricks to be moved and screws to be turned! (Recommended for beginner players)

3. Scientific expedition team and biological research institute missions: The Alliance Scientific Expedition Team and Biological Institute have established research stations in Coral City, located near the entrance of Shelter No. 70 at the Tiangong Space Station, which is now open for investigation. After reaching the nearby map, find the relevant NPC or directly take tasks through VM.

4. ...

]

[The above are just gameplay recommendations from the development team, explore more content in the game on your own!]

Shortly after the announcement was posted, the comment section below erupted instantly.

Lifestyle occupation players were particularly excited.

Recent updates had focused on combat occupations, and they had long awaited enhancements for lifestyle occupations!

Crow: "Ooooh! Great news! Epic enhancement for lifestyle occupation players! (*´ﾟ∀ﾟ｀)ﾉ"

Quit smoking: "Enhanced, but there's no mushrooms for you to pick. (dull)"

Crow: "I don't only pick mushrooms! I also explore the game world quite well! (｀Д´)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Tell us more about your exploration. (sly)"

Night Ten: "What are the Manager's measurements? (funny)"

Crow: "How should I know!! (*・ω・)✄╰ひ╯"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Dog planners, I beg you, just give me a helmet!! T.T"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Nice job, demanding things while standing."

Grandpa Ao: "Laughing, is it really necessary to fuss over a lousy biscuit? Relying on a bunch of PV videos to deceive, haha, whoever believes it is my dad! (sweating beans)"

Elena: "Then why don't you just cancel the two and a half year long reservation. (funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "My dad, alright, this guy probably wanted to say 'I am your dad' but typed it wrong. (funny)"

Far-sighted Eagle: "Asking out of curiosity! How much does a mining ship cost, and how long does it take to break even?"

Warrior Wolf: "Can I become a pirate? I want to be the Pirate King! I want blood rivers! (crazy)"

Shit-stirring Stick: "Pretending to be a Southern sea area mining ship to rob Vellante merchant ships should be fine, probably, forget I said anything if not. (funny)"

Guide Dog: "Hehe, big gold-haired, hehehe."

Scapegoat Sheep: "Bro, act normal..."

Night Ten: "Ah Guang: How would I know, please explore it in the game yourself. (funny)"

Quit smoking: "Hahahaha, damn!"

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Night Ten, bro, make an effort, when will you open the Wandering Swamp gate. (funny)"

Night Ten: "Ah, don't say anymore, it brings tears to say too much, this corner is too hard to dig. (headache)"

Wild Wind: "You better be digging at the foundation. (sideways smile)"

...

While players and backseat drivers were buzzing on the forums, an extremely fast Agility system player had already taken the "Dolphin Cargo Submarine" for a first-hand experience in the "New Map."

The underwater settlement located next to the coral clusters and seaweed forests had restored 50% of its power supply, and many Coral City residents stranded on the islands had returned to their familiar homes.

With the lighting system activated, a cluster of transparent domes resembled immobile fluorescent jellyfish, with dazzling waves of light spreading along the seafloor like a splendid rainbow.

Watching through the submarine porthole, Tail excitedly opened his mouth in awe, his nose flattened against the window.

"Wow wow wow! Is this the legendary Coral City?"

Meat Meat, standing next to him, reacted even more dramatically, a fluffy lump nearly filling the entire window.

"So amazing!!"

With fur-trimmed cat ears gently shaking, Sesame Paste, standing behind Tail, also expressed sincere admiration.

"It feels just like the underwater version of Ideal City..."

Though not as vast as Ideal City, the technological content here was by no means inferior.

Elder Fang, who had spent almost half a year in Ideal City and even got a certificate there, remarked that the prosperity of Ideal City was somewhat "inflated."

It's not that Ideal City wasn't prosperous, but most Wasteland Wanderers' first impressions of it were greatly exaggerated compared to its reality.

The reinforced concrete used was just early technology from the Prosperity Epoch, and Endpoint Cloud was merely a quantum computing network developed from the core of the Colony Ship. Other than that, the devices like holographic images, rail transit, and maglev highways, though eye-catching, were actually not technological prowess but mere productivity.

This is also why the Academy and the Army didn't regard the prosperity of Ideal City very highly; after all, they were originally one family and understood each other's true capabilities well.

Essentially, Ideal City represents a society that after reaching high prosperity, entered a state of stagnation. However, this stagnation is not a derogatory term but rather neutral because, rationally speaking, they had indeed developed their land to the utmost.

If targeting the goals of the Prosperity Epoch, they didn't really need to make major improvements.

Compared to Ideal City, which appeared more prosperous than it actually was, Coral City belonged to the other extreme—"actually more glamorous than it appears."

It lay below a hundred meters in the deep sea, with the deepest parts extending to several hundred meters.

Constructing an underwater settlement at such a high-pressure environment, where humans could live, produce, and conduct research normally, was in itself a tremendous feat.

Maintaining the operation of this settlement required no less technological expertise than maintaining a space station.

Especially the fact that the local survivors had managed this without a stable supply of nuclear fuel further proved their capabilities.

Listening to their shouts and calls, Captain Chen Jianhong couldn't help but smirk triumphantly, chuckling softly.

"This is not even the most magnificent time for this settlement, it's probably only rebooted to about 50% by now. Once all the facilities here are rebooted, the situation will be even more astonishing! Of course, it will also consume a lot of energy, we will probably have to wait until the ocean current power station is fixed."

Si Si, who had been silent, spoke with a sense of reflection upon hearing this.

"Turning it off takes just a moment... but restarting takes half a year or even longer."

Chen Jianhong said, smiling.

"...Pretty much, after all, destruction is much faster than construction."

The same was true for Coral City, as it was for the Prosperity Epoch.

He heard that in the distant past, magnificent megastructures connected the heavens and the ground, while flows of metal and concrete stretched endlessly along the horizon. Vast deserts were transformed into farmlands, and the old era's messy and inefficient clusters of buildings were torn down to make way for verdant expanses. People, using their imagination and technological expertise, divided the planet into several distinct worlds.

Above that vault of sky, majestic colony ships even ventured to new worlds five light-years away.

In that extremely prosperous era, the limit of science and technology was no longer the boundary of imagination; rather, imagination had become the bottleneck.

After humanity reached the pinnacle of its civilization, later generations spent two centuries without being able to return to even one-thousandth of that prosperity.

Today's Coral City could only be considered an inconspicuous pearl among those countless treasures.

"...Today I took you guys around my old home. How about later you guys take me to see far-off heavens?" Chen Jianhong joked with a laugh.

He jumped down from the glass window, his tail energetically giving a thumbs up as he looked back.

"Oh! It's a promise!"

"Hahaha!"

Her cheerful demeanor amused Chen Jianhong. Although he didn't take it seriously, he still said with a laugh,

"Alright! It's a promise!"

...

Just as the storms in the Southern sea area began to subside, a bigger storm was brewing on the land of Poluo Province.

In the northeast corner of Poluo Province, on the banks of the Tasang River in the Mammoth State, winding trenches crawled across the barren land like scars.

The soldiers crouching in the trenches belonged to the Moon Clan Resistance Army. Some held Rippers, others wielded LD-47, and still others worked in pairs to man a water-cooled "Maxim" that had been phased out from Qingquan City.

The latter, due to its high firing rate, low cost, and easy maintenance, had played a significant role in the tides of Qingquan City.

Although the Alliance no longer produces these things and they had already been replaced by better models, for Laxi, such cheap and effective equipment was exactly what he needed.

Besides these, there were also 88 mm mortars, early versions of 20 mm "Cavalry Guns," and a series of other Goblin Technology products. Though not much to look at on the front lines of Haiya Province, they were still prized items in Poluo Province.

After all, the adversaries of these Moon Clan Resistance fighters, apart from a few decent 100 mm cannons, had many infantry still using iron pipe rifles, bows and arrows, and lances, and couldn't even dig a proper trench!

Especially those full-price trenches without any bends to dissipate shock waves—if a shell fell into one, everyone along the line would die, with no place to hide.

As most of the players who had visited this land said on the forums, this place along with Haiya Province and Baiyue Province were completely different in style.

If Charles's Marine Corps were pulled here, the victory might even be easier than the Burning Corps defeating them.

Of course, that was without considering the factors of supply and terrain. If we took those into account, the outcome would still hold intricacies.

Atop the military position of the Mammoth State, Duke Baumet of Mammoth State held a monocular, his face beared a smile as he gazed at the nearby highland, a faint hint of mockery hanging on the corner of his lips.

Merely a group of serfs.

Daring to challenge His Majesty's authority with so few people, they truly did not know the immensity of heaven and earth!

Although the Mammoth State was somewhat distant from Tiandu, he had not spent a penny less than necessary on his army.

Unlike the soft-shelled shrimps of Tiger State, corrupted by merchants, Mammoth State had none of those pervasive, underhanded merchants, and its local army was firmly in the hands of nobles and absolutely loyal to Emperor Witch Camel.

The Tiger Army dared not deal with these Moon people, but he would not be polite with these traitors.

He would chop off all their heads, load them onto a carriage, and send them all the way to Tiandu to show those restless rebels what comes of treachery!

"...I heard that Laxi is just a slave, it seems Duke Nihak didn't train him well," said General Daxina standing next to him, his tone carrying a hint of flattering laughter.

"Haha! Where can Duke Nihak compare to you? If it were you, you could surely make him bow and scrape, never daring to bare his teeth at his master," lightly laughed Duke Baumet.

"Training? It's better to hang such a disloyal dog from the city walls."

Pausing, he suddenly thought of something and asked,

"Does he have any family?"

General Daxina was taken aback and shook his head.

"It doesn't seem like it."

"That's really too bad."

Duke Baumet regretfully clicked his tongue and handed the monocular back to the guard beside him.

Competing against this kind of lowlife with nothing to lose was the least interesting, winning brought no pleasure.

However, this fellow's Moon Clan identity might still be of some use; hopefully, His Majesty would appreciate this gift.

At that moment, a two-meter-tall robust man suddenly stepped forward, bowing respectfully.

"Respected Duke Baumet, General Daxina, please allow me to take the vanguard! I assure you, before sunset, I will capture that dead dog and present him before you!"

Duke Baumet glanced at him, sensing the warrior's imposing presence, his brow couldn't help but show a hint of admiration.

Seeing this, the general standing nearby smartly stepped forward to introduce him.

"This is Zakhsill under my command, a Centurion. His Longtooth Squadron is considered one of the elite forces in our army! Having him as the vanguard should pose no problem!"

"Very well," said Duke Baumet appreciatively nodding having heard the professional's opinion, looking at the towering robust man, "Centurion Zakhsill, since your superior thinks highly of you, you shall take the lead."

The robust man's face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you, Your Grace! Thank you, General!"

Mammoth State was remotely located and rarely encountered such a significant bandit problem. If he could achieve a commendable feat, he might even have the chance to become a Ten Thousand Leader during his lifetime!

Upon receiving the orders, Zakhsill didn't hesitate. He immediately turned and returned to his command, assembling a group of military officers for a brief mobilization meeting. Then, leading over a thousand men, they swarmed to the frontline.

They carried Ripper Rifles uniformly, accompanied by two 100-millimeter infantry cannons towed by double-headed cows, which was a considerable firepower!

Witnessing this formidable and imposing group, the local military soldiers on the field revealed looks of reverence, consciously clearing the way for them.

"It's the Longtooths..."

"Centurian Zakhsill is taking to the battlefield personally!"

"These Moon Clan people are as good as dead..."

For them, Grey Wolf Army and Weilante officers were too distant, but they could see the Longtooth Squadron right beside them, a War God in the flesh.

These guys not only used the finest equipment but also were strong and tall, resembling sturdy calves.

Almost no one doubted that these individuals could instantly rout the bandits.

Indeed, since the resistance had entered Mammoth State, they had never lost a minor operation, but they hadn't won a major operation either. The main force kept retreating until they reached the edge of the Tasang River, barely holding their ground due to the higher terrain.

It had rained a lot recently, and the Tasang River was rushing rapidly; even if they wanted to flee across the river, they likely had no chance.

Moreover, General Daxina had long predicted their intention to cross the river to carve out territories and had already deployed ten thousand troops across the river to guard against these people.

At the same time, on the position of the Moon Clan Resistance Army, a scout inside the observation post immediately spotted the movement of the local army and without saying a second word, passed the message to the higher-ups.

The message was relayed up the chain of command and within half a minute, it reached Laxi.

Inside the military tent.

Laxi had gathered a group of officers who had followed him from Jinjaron Harbor, conducting a brief combat meeting where everyone shared their views over the map.

"A squadron of a thousand men, all armed, must be the elite from the Ferocious Horse State army!"

"That Longtooth Squadron, I've heard the leader is named Zakhsill, a Mammoth clansman and apparently the son-in-law of General Daxina, the highest commander of the local forces."

An officer sneered.

"Hah, they dare to have their direct forces lead the charge, these guys really don't think much of us."

Another officer, stroking his chin thoughtfully, remarked.

"Since the Longtooth Squadron is here, their commander must be on the front line. This time we might catch a big fish."

Looking toward Laxi, who hadn't yet spoken, the commander of the resistance group said with fervent eyes.

"Time to set the trap, General!"

"Indeed, it's high time we set the trap. We've given those fifty thousand pigs enough slack these past two weeks."

Although the local army claimed to be 100,000 strong, from their speed of camping and decommissioning, and the trash and latrines they left behind, including the beasts of burden used for transporting resources, they only amounted to fifty or sixty thousand.

Studying the map intently, Laxi nodded then took a pen and solemnly marked two spots on it, then looked up at his trusted officers with a grave expression and ordered.

"Tell our brothers, it's time for the counterattack! No need to hold back anymore, hit them hard!"

A group of officers stood to attention, performed a military salute of the Alliance, and roared firmly.

"Yes!!"

Following the command, the soldiers of the resistance on the ground sprang into action like gears wound tightly.

Meanwhile, Zakhsill, who was leading his men away from the position, remained unaware. He found the high ground eerily quiet, assuming the Moon Clan people huddled in the trenches must have been scared stiff.

A sneer curled on his lips as he turned to an officer beside him and ordered,

"Kukas, have your artillery hit that hill ten times for me! Mikeno, once the tenth cannon fires, lead your men to rush in!"

"Yes!!"

Both centurions took their orders and swiftly moved toward their specific units.

Soon after, two cannon sounds erupted, shattering the silence on the battlefield.

Deafening cannon fire echoed over the position of the Moon Clan resistance, and soldiers gripping their rifles pressed their heads tightly against the edge of the trenches, their eyes gleaming with ferocity.

Not a single one showed fear.

Nor did anyone hesitated.

Because, as the barrage hit, their commander stood with them!

They believed fervently that he could lead them to ultimate victory.

Amidst the roar of the cannons, Laxi not only did not take shelter in the anti-cannon hole but went to the frontmost trenches, crouched inside, shouting through a megaphone,

"Bury your heads tightly in the trench! Pretend that you're dead!"

"Don't think it's shameful, you'll soon be slicing open those dogs' bellies, scattering their intestines on the ground, using their faces to polish your boots!"

"Remember this sound of cannons! When our cannons fire up, we'll return this terror, our roars, back to them twice fold!"

As his words fell, a thunderous explosion suddenly came from the distant northwest, seemingly from atop the river.

While Duke Baumet on the local army's position blinked slightly, puzzled about what that sound was, General Daxina's face suddenly turned pale.

"The riverbank… it's the Tasang River's bank!"

Mammoth State was situated downstream of the Tasang River, on an alluvial plain. Although the land was indeed fertile, the river was prone to flooding during the rainy season, causing misery not only for farmers but also for nobles controlling various estates.

Thus, the nobles controlling fertile lands along the river joined forces to build dikes on the widest part of the river to irrigate their estates.

With recent heavy rains, the Tasang River was in flood season, and a breach in the dike would inundate the entire downstream area!

Not just here...

Even hundred kilometers away Mammoth City would suffer the consequences!

Hearing General Daxina's voice, Duke Bamut suddenly snapped back to reality, his face turning pale as his lips trembled with anger and his breathing became rapid.

"What is this madman trying to do?!"

And wasn't the Moon Clan Resistance Army already completely surrounded by the riverbank? How were there still people outside the encirclement causing trouble!

What were those tasked with guarding the embankment even doing? How could such a large embankment not be defended!

He had too many questions he could not understand, and no time to think about them.

His "hundred thousand army," with eighty percent stationed along this Tasang River, would be overwhelmed by upstream water—not just flooding one or two miles, but potentially turning ten to twenty kilometers along the bank into a swamp...

There would be no chance to escape!

"Quick! Load the food onto the carts!"

General Daxina howled in despair, urging the soldiers to hurriedly gather the military rations and ammunition carelessly piled in the sheds, while he ran to the side of the ox carts.

It seemed he could already hear the roaring tide, and the livestock in the camp became anxiously restless.

Meanwhile, Mikeno, who was at the front line waiting for the opportunity to attack, was unaware of what had happened behind him.

After counting the tenth "cannon" sound, he excitedly waved his hundred team forward.

However, this hundred team had barely advanced two steps when the eleventh cannon sound was heard.

Mikeno was puzzled by the extra shot fired by the artillery, when that erratic cannonball landed in front of the resistance army's position.

"Boom!!"

The flash of the explosion was fleeting. The soldiers of the resistance army were not knocked down, but the advancing soldiers, unable to lie down in time, were instantly mowed down by the rampant shrapnel.

"Ah—!"

"My leg!!"

"My arm! My arm aah!"

Several soldiers whose arms and legs were blown off lay on the ground wailing, creating a bloody and grisly scene that chilled the nearby allies and involuntarily slowed their pace.

"What are these artillerymen doing!"

Mikeno was both shocked and enraged, he glanced back hastily, but before he could curse, he heard the sudden burst of gunfire overhead.

Unknown to them, a machine gun had been mounted right in front of them.

As the rapid gunfire erupted, trails of tracer bullets accompanied by flickering muzzle flashes rained down on their faces like droplets.

The scene could only be described as gruesome; the soldiers at the front didn't even have time to scream before they fell silently to the ground like harvested wheat.

The soldiers at the back were stunned by the machine gun, dropping to the ground and cowering behind cover, daring not to move forward.

However, at this moment, another burst of gunfire sounded from the left front, as bullets whizzed from an angle and pelted down.

These seemed to be bullets fired from the rear positions in a crossing pattern, and this time they didn't even see the muzzle flashes before getting mercilessly pummeled by unexpected strikes, making low cover or lying flat utterly useless.

Seeing half of his command demolished in a blink of an eye, Mikeno felt a pain in his heart as if it was bleeding, and could only grit his teeth and call back the soldiers who had not yet charged forward.

With this back and forth, only about twenty or thirty out of the hundred team remained, with the surviving soldiers showing expressions of terrified disbelief.

Hadn't their officer said that the group opposite were just a bunch of serfs?

Were these the actions of serfs?!

Not only Mikeno, the Centurion, but also Zakhsill, the leader of the thousand team a little behind, were both dumbfounded.

And what baffled them even more was what came next: how had the mud under their feet started mixing with water while they were fighting?!

By the time everyone came to their senses, the levee's breach had already immersed the water up to their knees, and soon it rose to their chests.

Massive amounts of driftwood and rocks rushed down from upstream, along with debris from collapsed wooden houses.

The breached river water spread across the plains, turning a hundred kilometers around into a marshland.

Standing in the frontline positions, local imperial soldiers were scattered and disorganized by the floodwaters, clinging to driftwood and dead trees crying for help. Those who couldn't swim or were slightly shorter drowned in the river, becoming one of the floating corpses drifting downstream.

They didn't even know what had happened, nor could they contact their superiors, who were also preoccupied with saving their own lives and had no time to care for their soldiers.

Watching the imperial soldiers soaking in the water, Laxi's lips curled into a cold smirk.

So this was the empire...

Truly pathetic.

"...this flood will probably last for five or six days." Standing beside Laxi, his adjutant said cautiously.

Their original plan was to use the breached river water to flood the imperial local army's trenches, forcing the soldiers out, and then taking advantage of the floodwaters to sweep them away in one fell swoop.

But as it turned out, the plan couldn't keep up with changes.

Unfamiliar with the terrain, they had underestimated the rapidity of the Tasang River; the chain reaction caused by the breach was stronger than they had anticipated, and they had already won without even needing to follow the floodwaters downstream.

The troops hidden upstream should have already completed their assembly by now.

They had tied the ammunition and supplies to the rafts prepared in advance, and it wouldn't be long before they arrived to join up with them.

Six thousand against fifty thousand, with fewer than a hundred casualties in the entire battle—this fight would certainly go down in the military history of Poluo Province...

"Don't say five or six days, even another ten days to half a month wouldn't matter."

Looking over the flooded plains, Laxi continued expressionlessly.

"We might as well enter the city for disaster relief."

As long as they captured Mammoth City and its docks, showing the people a glimpse of victory, there would naturally be a continuous flow of food and money coming their way.

Whether from Jinjaron Harbor or Potato Harbor.

And he could then begin the next phase of his plan...

-

(Brothers, it's the beginning of the month! Please give me a guaranteed monthly pass!! I beg you!)

Chapter 778: Laxi Enters the City

Mammoth City is situated on the east coast of Mammoth State, less than six hundred kilometers in a straight line from Silver Moon Bay, while the distance from Silver Moon Bay to Jin Jialun Port is three times that.

Although the Tasang River's currents are swift and its basin not as expansive as the Everflow River's, it nevertheless has the capacity to bless two or three states, covering a population of twenty to thirty million.

With such an advantageous geographic location and in close proximity to a group of Cat people adept at trading, this settlement has still not developed, which is quite puzzling indeed.

The population of Mammoth State is said to be at least ten million, yet Mammoth City, the only inhabited area, has a mere eight hundred thousand residents.

Previously, the poverty in Jin Galun Port could be attributed to the Empire's issues, but the poverty here doesn't seem to be something that can be blamed on the Empire.

After all, the Empire's control over the area has always been somewhat nebulous. Although nominally under the Empire's territory and inhabited by Imperial nobility and citizens, due to the lack of a road network and river transport links, Tiandu itself would often forget it even owned this land.

In other words, the autonomy here has always been very high, and Witch Gu would only occasionally remember to take charge of the area.

Ms. Han Mingyue, a social science researcher from the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team, conducted an investigation into this phenomenon and preliminarily concluded that the serfdom system caused a portion of the population to be confined to the noble estates, hindering the "urbanization" process of Mammoth City.

Another issue is that Mammoth State's "infrastructure accessibility" is so poor that agricultural products cannot be exported, nor can goods from outside be imported. Subsistence farmers need only to produce enough food for their own consumption, eliminating the need for exchange and naturally the need to migrate to the city.

The second problem is not something that can be solved in a day or two, but the first issue was swiftly dealt with by Uncle Lasi's sharp and decisive actions.

The noble estates are all situated along the Tasang River, and even the levees for flood prevention and irrigation were built with funds raised by the noble lords.

If you blow up that levee, wouldn't the problem be solved?

Now, both the land and the local armies nurtured by the nobles are submerged in the pervasive floodwaters.

The serfs, reluctant as they might be to flee the estates, had no choice but to surge into the crowds fleeing the disaster...

...

Outside Mammoth City.

The sudden overflow of the river not only destroyed the fences outside the city but also swept away the nearby village.

With the weather improving over the last two days and the floodwaters finally receding, the villagers who took refuge in the mountains began to return home, laden with large and small bundles.

And upon seeing the state of their homes, one by one, they fell silent, staring blankly at the collapsed wooden houses and fences, as well as the livestock that had vanished, at a loss for what to do next.

Gradually, it seemed people were beginning to come to terms with their reality.

Some began to shift their feet, numbly walking toward their collapsed houses, attempting to salvage anything still usable, anything not already taken by those who arrived earlier, at least to get their families through the day.

Others wandered about, either silently searching the ruins or asking passersby if they had seen their family members.

However, everyone knew that this was futile.

"Mom! Dad—! Where are you?"

Beside a collapsed wooden house stood a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old child all alone, staring blankly in one direction, occasionally calling out.

His voice was weak and hoarse from shouting, but no one paid him any attention until a group of people with white bandages tied around their arms approached.

With an LD-47 rifle slung over his back and the strap seared into his shoulder, Ackman stopped beside the kid, looking him up and down.

The kid, much like he had been a month before, without a father or mother, showed a timid face... He was probably the person Uncle Lasi was looking for.

He didn't mince words and directly asked,

"Your name?"

The boy stared blankly at the fierce-looking guy in front of him, then glanced at those people carrying guns, unconsciously moving his lips.

"Udi."

Ackman continued to ask.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for my mom... She seems to have been swept away."

Udi spoke softly, his face full of hope as he looked at these people, wishing they could take him to find his family.

However, to his disappointment, and even despair, the kid in front of him, who was about the same age, didn't do so.

"She's gone." Ackman took a Ripper Rifle acquired from their spoils and stuffed it into the boy's hands, staring at him as he asked, "Can you use it?"

The boy gazed blankly at the gun in his hands, then looked up at him, a picture of confusion.

Ackman patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry if you can't, I'll teach you, you're my soldier now."

"But… I have to wait for my mom to come back." Udi took a fearful step back, but his shoulder was grasped firmly.

"I told you, she's gone, as well as your father, your brothers and sisters. If they were still alive, would they leave you here all alone?"

Watching the child fall silent, Ackman squeezed his shoulder tightly, then let go of the hand that was gripping his shoulder.

"Everyone experiences this day, I've been through what you've been through, until a man grabbed my collar and told me that as long as the Empire still rules over this place, the things I've been through will keep happening over and over, and everyone close to me will go through them again and again, unless we hang those nobles and kill every last one of those who enslave us."

"...It's the Empire." The boy murmured to himself, his breathing becoming rapid, his eyes reddening, his hand gripping the Ripper Rifle tightly.

Watching the little guy hold back his tears, Ackman gave him a pat on the back of his head and pulled him to his side.

"Yes, follow me."

...

The villagers outside Mammoth City had no idea what had happened, and the survivors inside the city were equally clueless.

Most people had just yawned when they heard someone shout "Water's coming!", and then the floodwaters swept over.

The first to collapse was the fence wall outside the settlement.

It was only meant to keep out wild boars, wolves, and crocodiles; it stood no chance against the roar of the Tasang River.

Next to suffer were the city's haphazardly built shanties and the brick homes built directly on the mud. The former were carried away by the first wave of the flood, while the latter simply crumbled as the river water inundating the streets soaked through them.

Apart from the economically well-off nobles, only the Silver Moon Church's cathedral and some merchant houses in Silver Moon Bay were spared from the disaster.

As a habit formed from living in Luo Xia Province, they were accustomed to laying foundations under their buildings, so they could sleep soundly.

But seeing the entire city submerged, while only their own places remained unaffected, those merchants from Silver Moon Bay didn't dare stay and quickly gathered their valuables to flee by boat. Only the fearless missionaries stubbornly remained in the cathedral.

The first thing Laxi did after entering the city was to send a unit to the church by the fishing dock to protect the clergy there.

It wasn't because he believed in the nonsense that "the Moon Clan's Moon God and the Silver Moon Church's Silver Moon Goddess were from the same lineage," but purely because the development of Mammoth State needed those wealthy charlatans.

Whether he believed in that thing or not, at least he had to show some respect for the other party's beliefs.

As for himself, well, he led people to directly take over Mammoth City's castle to serve as the headquarters of the Resistance, while arranging for the Resistance's subordinates to go for disaster relief, and commanded his trusted followers to "invite" those rich and noble families in the city over.

Sitting in the lord's chair, Laxi looked down with a hint of contempt at the group of officials and nobles, who were hanging their heads and trembling, as he rested his military boots on his knee.

"Lads, I don't care what titles used to hang over your heads, but starting from today, if anyone dares to act like a noble lord in front of me, I'll chop off his titled head as well!"

Everyone was silent as the grave, feeling as if they were standing at the entrance to Hell, with two-headed Dogs on either side, too frightened to speak a word and knees too weak to kneel.

Seeing that no one opposed him, Laxi cleared his throat and continued.

"I'm here to do three things, but you only need to know one."

"From now on, Mammoth State Prohibition of Slavery, if anyone dares to keep a slave, I'll have his head relocated!"

That voice was neither light nor heavy, but it echoed like thunder in the ears of all the nobles present.

Looking at the silent castle, when no one responded, Laxi narrowed his eyes slightly and suddenly raised his voice to rebuke.

"Did you hear that! Speak up!"

Startled by that shout, the nobles could no longer contain the fear in their hearts and, with a flutter, all knelt on the ground.

"Yes, yes! My lord!"

"I, I'll go home right away and set free the slaves!"

"We won't dare again!"

"We…we don't mean to trouble the Moon people… it's all the emperor's… Spit! It was Witch Gu's orders, we had no choice…"

After all, the Moon people were the nobility of the former dynasty, and although not every one of them was noble, their overall standard of living was much higher than that of the Snake, Rat, Insect, Bird, and a significant number were educated, therefore not lacking in handsome and beautiful men and women.

Because of the emperor's edict, all Moon Clanspeople in the Empire were demoted to slaves, and indeed, they had not missed the opportunity to loot some "pretty canaries" to keep as playthings in their houses.

These deeds were indelible, just asking anyone in the city would reveal them.

Laxi looked down at them and said with a sneer.

"I wasn't just talking about the Moon people, no slaves of any ethnicity are allowed. As of today, Mammoth State preaches equality!"

Having said that, he disregarded the bewildered looks on the faces of the kneeling nobles and slowly added.

"Also, I said no kneeling."

With that, he waved his hand.

"Drag them out, give each ten lashes before they leave."

"Yes!"

The Personal Bodyguard, standing to one side, flashed fierce glints in their eyes and marched forward, dragging the slumped nobles out to the yard like chickens.

They had been eager to take action.

If it weren't for discipline, they would not have let these dogs of the Empire walk into this mansion standing.

One after another, they took the whip and swung with full force.

The nobles' screams and the sound of whips cracking rose and fell in the empty courtyard, the ground stained with fresh blood.

Watching those nobles being whipped, the elders of the Resistance, though feeling uneasy, kept silent out of respect for Laxi's authority.

Even though Laxi talked about preaching equality, the enforced equality they were giving was different from the equality they had imagined.

They had always thought there was a better way, like the Alliance did at Jing Jialun Port, promoting the transformation of Mammoth City through gentler means.

But now it was too late to think like that.

The numbers of the Resistance were no longer the two thousand from earlier, but were eyeing tens of thousands now.

That guy's prestige in the Army was rising ever higher, almost all the young lads saw him as a spiritual leader and role model.

Even if they wanted to replace him, there was no chance now…

…

"Whoosh—"

Governor Baumet, who had been unconscious, woke up with a splash of cold water.

As he lifted his soggy head, he found that General Daxina and the other officers had disappeared, replaced by an officer with a bandit air and a few teenagers with eyes like wolves.

The murderous look in their eyes made him break into a cold sweat on his forehead, and he jarred wide awake.

Memories that were like a paste slowly seeped into his mind, and he vaguely remembered that when the flood came, he had clung to a crooked tree, kicked his Personal Bodyguard unconscious who was clinging to his leg, wrapped his sleeve around a Tree Branch, and then soaked in the muddy river waters, passing out soon after.

Later on, a raft approached, and a few guys with white bandages on their arms caught his arm and dragged him aboard.

After that, he lost consciousness.

As for the current situation, there was no need to ask, from the environment here it was obviously Mammoth City's prison.

Obviously, he had been captured.

"Cough, I'll pay my ransom…" Not having time to reflect on how he had been defeated, Baumet coughed and spoke quickly, "According to the sacred contract, you need to ensure my three meals a day and personal safety, of course, I will cooperate as much as possible…"

The teenagers laughed at his words, clearly amused and not taking him seriously.

A flash of annoyance crossed Baumet's eyes, his clenched fist not daring to act, and he stared at the officer fiercely, trying to scare him off with his noble authority, but was unexpectedly slapped across the face.

The slap dumbfounded him, his eyes grew even larger.

"You! You dare to hit me—"

"Speak!" The officer suddenly shouted, cutting off his mid-sentence.

Startled by the shout, Baumet's tone involuntarily softened, losing his noble composure and shrinking like a mouse.

"Speak, what?"

But the officer didn't ask anything, just stared at him for a while, then sneered and said leisurely.

"Still got the gall to talk back, strap him!"

Baumet: "???"

Before he had time to realize what had occurred, Barmet heard a sharp "whoosh" slicing through the air, and immediately afterward, a whip lashed across his face.

It seemed that the whip had been soaked in saltwater, and the pain was so intense that he let out a horrific scream. His consciousness, which had only just cleared, felt like it was on the verge of slipping away again due to the agony. He tried to protect his head with his arms, only to discover that his hands were bound behind the back of the chair, rendering him utterly immobile despite frantic efforts to move.

Having been a noble lord all his life, he had only ever wielded a whip against others – never had he been on the receiving end of its sting. The sudden blow brought tears and snot streaming down his face, and he pleaded pathetically for mercy.

However, the soldiers paid no attention to his title and simply concentrated on lashing him with their implements.

"I... I'll talk..."

Hearing that feeble voice, an officer raised his hand, and the young man holding the whip finally stopped, fixing Barmet with a vicious stare.

The barely alive Governor Barmet hung his head low and gasped for breath for quite a while before managing to squeeze out a weak sentence.

"Hold on a second, do you... do you know who I am..."

The onlookers exchanged glances and smirks crept across their faces.

At this very moment,

This guy was still living in a fantasy.

Even that officer couldn't help but laugh at Barmet's senseless remark. He walked over, lifted Barmet's chin, and smiled at him affably.

However, to Barmet, that smile seemed anything but friendly. It appeared as demonic as that of a ghoul, terrifying him into swallowing back his words and not daring to make a peep.

"Who are you? Hah, don't tell me you're just some duke. Even if Witch Camel himself appeared here, I could make him squirm like a dog – he'd neither live nor die as he wishes."

Hearing these disrespectful words, Barmet's eyes bulged, and the whites were veined with blood. Yet, there was no anger to be seen, only profound fear.

At this moment, he finally comprehended the gravity of the situation and realized his predicament.

These Moon Clan people had no intention of demanding a ransom nor did they care about it. They merely wanted to exact revenge for their own suffering upon him, a member of the Imperial Nobility.

Now, he regretted not taking harsher measures earlier.

He had allowed these Moon people to escape to the banks of the Tasang River and even to sabotage the dam there.

Not only had he brought suffering upon himself, but also upon the estates by the river that were now disaster-stricken.

Mammoth State was already poor, and now it was so destitute that there wasn't even any grain left…

The officer had no desire to further the conversation and began to speak as soon as he saw Barmet regain consciousness.

"I'm going to ask you, and all you need to say is yes,"

"Yes…" Not daring to defy, Barmet spoke weakly.

The officer continued.

"Did you blow up the levee on the Tasang River?"

The moment the word "yes" was about to escape his lips, Barmet snapped to his senses, his body breaking out in cold sweat as he hurriedly spoke.

"No, no, sir… how could that be me—"

The officer raised a hand to silence him, simply looking at him coldly.

"What did I just say?"

That look sent Barmet into a profound chill, causing him to forget to breathe for a moment.

"It seems you still haven't learned your lesson. I'll come back later and ask you again."

The officer chuckled, stood up from the chair, and waved towards a few zealous young soldiers with a clean, decisive statement.

"Don't kill him."

The soldiers' eyes glinted with ferocity as they responded energetically.

"Yes!"

…

The heavy door of the cell closed with a thud, but the inch-thick panel could not contain the pitiful wails inside.

The officer didn't bother to listen and walked outside expressionless, saluting Laxi who stood at the entrance of the prison.

As his trusted subordinate approached, Laxi returned the salute and casually inquired.

"How are things going?"

The man was named Shava, the commander of the charge team appointed by Laxi himself.

The so-called charge team was another force that, apart from the Personal Body Guard, reported directly to him.

It was a combat unit that carried out special operations such as infiltration, sabotage, assassination of enemy VIPs, and discipline within their own ranks.

Most members of this unit were young men over fifteen but under nineteen years of age, especially those from the Moon Clan.

Most had come from slave backgrounds, orphaned, and completely loyal to Laxi himself.

And Laxi treated them well; not only were they equipped with LD-47 assault rifles from the Alliance, but they also had a limited number of bulletproof breastplates and even exoskeletons. He was raising them to be the backup junior officers.

The creation of this force was necessary not only because the Moon Clan Resistance Army needed such a team but also as an emulation of the Alliance Managers.

Most people in Jin Galun Port were embracing the ways of the Alliance, whether consciously or unconsciously, including himself.

When he was still leading the Militia Group, he had heard about the Alliance Managers' Guards Corps. Since then, he had been contemplating forming such a force of his own.

Now, having resigned to join the Guerrilla Team and with ample opportunity to flex his muscles, he could finally put all his thoughts into action.

A unit like ghosts, capable of deterring both enemy forces and internal dissent.

While the charge team only numbered one battalion, its firepower was on par with an Empire thousand team, and it was their operation that destroyed the Tasang River's levee.

Of course, they couldn't possibly take this dirty water upon themselves.

From the start, Laxi had planned to force the Imperial Nobility to swallow this putrid water.

"…He hasn't cracked yet, but it should happen soon," Shava answered his boss with a sardonic grin, a look of disdain on his face, "These Imperial Nobles are all soft-shelled turtles – the higher the rank, the truer this is. I just touched his face, and he peed his pants."

How pathetic.

He had been hanged at the gates of Lowell Camp for three days and nights, burnt to a crisp, and yet had never begged for mercy.

At the beginning, he followed Laxi and took down the Lowell Camp, where he personally hung the warden on the tower road, avenging the ruin and death his family had faced.

He still remembered Laxi pointing at the warden hanging from the tower, saying that one day he would hang all the nobles of the Empire.

From that moment, Shava decided to follow this great person before him.

Whether the nobles were of the Sun People or the Mammoth Clan, they were all nobles of the Empire.

Their persecution of the Moon Clan was the same, and their estates were certainly not short of Moon Clan slaves.

In their eyes, the Moon people were like livestock in a pen, so naturally, he had no reason to be polite with these nobles.

Moreover, compared to the hardships he endured at Lowell Camp, a few beatings were far too kind for the Empire's nobility.

Laxi nodded expressionlessly, then asked,

"Have they found Daxina?"

That person was the commander of the local Mammoth State military.

Originally, they had planned to pin the blame on him, but unexpectedly, he had slipped away quickly. They didn't know if he had been washed away by the flood or simply ran off, but in any case, they hadn't caught him.

Letting Baumet take the fall was a bit far-fetched since he was a great noble himself, with plenty of land by the Tasang River.

By contrast, the story made more sense with Daxina—

"A general who misjudged the rapids of the Tasang River tried to drown the Moon Clan people trapped by the river by blowing up the dike, only to be outsmarted by his own cleverness and killed in the process."

At least the story was logically smooth.

Shava shook his head,

"Not yet, but he couldn't have gone far, his forces have been scattered."

While not finding him was a problem, Laxi didn't care too much and simply instructed,

"Keep looking."

After a pause, he continued,

"Also, send a letter to both the Assassins Guild and the United Federation explaining that a new authority has been established in Mammoth State, and notify them of our victory. Then, mention the disaster and humbly inquire if they have any surplus grain. The residents of Mammoth State would be most grateful if they could lend us a hand."

Those people would definitely help.

He was sure of it.

"Yes!" Shava's expression became serious as he stood at attention and saluted before turning to leave.

Watching his trusted aide depart, Laxi then walked in another direction, with a entourage of personal body guards, and stepped out of Mammoth City's prison.

Baumet was just an explanation to the local survivors, which could be given anytime; there was no hurry at this moment.

The priority now was to establish the new authority.

Otherwise, as the officers of the Tiger Army sneered openly and secretly, bandits would always be bandits, and could never make a difference.

This surprisingly large-scale flood had offered him an excellent opportunity.

When he entered the city under the guise of disaster relief, he had almost effortlessly taken over Mammoth City.

From the local gentry and ruffians to those wealthy merchants with vast fortunes, even including the nobles who had been whipped, not a single one failed to comply with him, all promptly responding to the call of the Resistance, dismissing their slaves from their homes, and resolutely supporting every decision of the new authorities.

On one hand, the reason was that the disaster had been so severe that they truly could not afford those slaves anymore.

Another reason was that they all knew very well that a massive, locust-like horde of displaced people was on its way toward them.

Among them were serfs who had fled from the estates of the nobles, as well as free men who had lost their homes.

No matter what their previous status had been, a person with an empty stomach is the same, and these individuals were far more terrifying than a bunch of Resistance forces that looked like bandits.

The mere retainers of their households were not enough to stop these people. Without a powerful army to protect Mammoth City, they could be devoured by that horde of displaced people to the point where not even bones were left in mere minutes.

Barmet and his local army had already been defeated; they had no choice but to offer their loyalty to their new masters, and they had to cling tightly to the thigh of this new master.

Laxi was certain that even if he plundered the entire city, not a soul would dare utter a word of dissent.

Of course, he wouldn't commit such a short-sighted and thankless folly.

Despite its name, Mammoth City was poor like a grand rural area— even the homes of great nobles had little to offer, nothing compared to Jin Galun Port with, at the very least, a crab market.

Even if he plundered, he wouldn't acquire much, and it would negatively impact the United Federation's view of him. Moreover, this was his territory now – what sense would there be in robbing himself?

He had three things to accomplish here next.

The first was the abolition of slavery!

Only by abolishing slavery could he implement compulsory education and unleash the productive forces of Mammoth State!

Next, while Barmet's forces had been defeated, while the local noble forces that supported the Empire were experiencing an unprecedented decline, it was time to seize the land they had hoarded!

Thanks to that flood, these two tasks wouldn't be too cumbersome to handle.

The nobles' manors were mostly located by the riverside, where the most fertile lands had long been enclosed by them.

Most of these manors were severely affected by the disaster. The serfs who couldn't escape had mostly drowned inside, and the value of that land had plummeted to next to nothing. With just a bit of pressure, the new authorities could effortlessly take control of the land, possibly without needing to shed too much blood.

A portion of these lands could be used to build large farms operated by the authorities themselves, while the rest could be distributed among the farmers and soldiers.

As for the last thing, it was the most important of the three he had planned.

Mammoth State was an agricultural province. Bullets and rifles couldn't grow from the ground – to escape poverty, they must develop industry, and the first step in developing industry was acquiring foreign currency.

He had read every issue of the Survivor's Daily carefully. Though he didn't have a systematic understanding of how to develop industry, he at least had a vague concept.

The industrial boom of Jin Jialun Port was, to a large extent, due to the adoption of the outdated production capacity eliminated by the Alliance, leveraging its own population and raw material cost advantages, allowing these obsolete capabilities to experience a second spring on the land of Poluo Province. Later, it caught up with the great tide of establishing a new order in the Wasteland by the Sticky Community.

Mammoth State might have started a bit late, but it was not altogether without opportunity.

Coincidentally, the civil war in the Southern sea area had ended, and the Northern Islands were in dire need of revival—a stark contrast between a vast market for infrastructure and a severe shortage of labor.

It was said that local construction units even paid in silver coins!

Mammoth City had a population of eight hundred thousand, and the entire Mammoth State boasted tens of millions. The one thing he had in abundance right now was people, especially those poor who could not survive.

Even though the slave trade had been prohibited, a certain gang member who couldn't come into the open had already set a fine example in practice.

There were plenty of ways to make money off of people.

In addition to "labor brokering," there was also the method of "labor dispatch"...

Chapter 779: People's Joys and Sorrows Are Not Shared

"Mr. Lister, please consider it once more! I can assure you that the things you're worried about definitely won't happen in White Elephant City."

City of Dawn, Embassy Street, the Embassy of the West Wind Empire.

Duke Garava personally poured a cup of tea for Lister, speaking earnestly—and even eagerly.

But after hearing what he had to say, Lister could only sigh lightly.

"How can you guarantee that what you're saying now is true?"

Duke Garava's eyes shone as he spoke.

"I can swear upon the God of White Elephant as well as my coat of arms and title!"

Lister's lips couldn't help but twitch into a smirk, but he ultimately maintained his outward courtesy and did not laugh aloud.

"Forgive my frankness, but that is the least sincere promise."

Duke Garava was taken aback, his face gradually showing signs of displeasure.

"You... you actually say it's not enough! Then, please tell me, what would be a sufficiently sincere promise?"

Lister sighed softly and said,

"Let me give you a simple example. In the Alliance, abiding by the law is enough for doing business, and the law is something that can be discussed. The Workers' Association can negotiate, the Consumers Association can negotiate, and of course, we can too..."

Before Lister could finish, Duke Garava's face lit up, and he eagerly interjected.

"We don't have all those complications!"

Watching the smugness on this man's face, Lister spread his hands.

"That's exactly the problem."

Not only did this fellow lack those "safeguards," but he also considered them a nuisance.

He didn't even realize that the more he boasted about his supreme authority there, the more Lister would dread that he might act capriciously.

Some of the newly rich in the Alliance might not have experienced it, but Lister, who had done sizable business even during the Giant Stone City era, knew all too well what it felt like to be a dog.

So when the Manager invited him to be someone, he didn't hesitate to throw away the hard-earned Black Card.

As it turned out, he hadn't misjudged the Manager, who indeed did everything he said he would and didn't do anything beyond that.

The latter was priceless—Lister even wanted to add "forever follow that great person" to his newly compiled family tree.

This guy thought he could lure Lister in with a seemingly good bone to become a dog, clearly underestimating him.

From the first glimpse of Duke Garava, Lister saw that he and the nobles of the Inner City were cut from the same cloth, even somewhat worse since at least Elder Sid was a bit reserved in how he used his power, like "not personally getting involved in garnering chips."

But this fellow's face nearly spelled out "I am the heavens," now as humble as can be, but would soon become shamelessly overbearing.

With such a character, there wasn't a chance to bring a single penny home from the business.

To retract a step of ten thousand, for an emerging market in its infancy, he was more inclined to invest in a capable person rather than the market itself.

And clearly, this fellow wasn't the kind of person worth his investment, just someone who happened to hold a substantial resource.

For such a precarious person, he'd rather discuss a short-term deal than a long-term one.

However, Duke Garava completely misunderstood Lister's unmoved attitude, thinking that the other man was interfering.

His face showed a hint of annoyance as he spoke in a low voice,

"Did that person say something to you?"

Lister was stunned, and after a good long while, he gathered the gist from his expression, this time unable to hold back a chuckle.

"Duke Garava, I hope you understand that our Manager isn't very concerned about how we manage our business; he's busier than you think. If there is profit to be made by doing business in White Elephant City, we will naturally go there... but let alone profit, I can't even find that settlement on a map."

Indeed, his only impression of White Elephant City came from a column in an issue of Survivor's Daily, which included an anthology called "Red Soil."

All signs indicated that it was still a poor place dominated by manor economics. And as everyone knows, selling goods to livestock is pointless.

As for turning livestock into people, that's the job of someone like the Manager—it couldn't be expected that a profit-driven merchant like him would do such a thing.

He was not a Residents of the refuge nor interested in charity.

Speaking of which, Jingalon Port had been doing well lately, and the educational level there had increased; he had considered opening a branch there, perhaps producing batteries, engines, inverters, and such that were urgently needed in the Southern sea area—but these were just plans.

There were too many uncertain risks for him to make a hasty decision.

Duke Garava's face fell with disappointment, but he didn't give up just yet.

He comforted himself, thinking perhaps the chips on the table weren't enough yet, and that he needed to press on a little harder…

In the latter half of their meeting, both tactfully avoided talking about business and simply enjoyed their tea and conversation to build rapport.

Although Lister knew what the Duke was thinking, he didn't mind forming a relationship with him, as it helped him understand the situation in the Poluo Province.

After their meeting, Duke Garava politely escorted him all the way to the embassy doors, only returning after Lister's car had disappeared around the corner.

Meanwhile, sitting in the back seat of his private car, Lister had already put the matter of Duke Garava behind him and casually picked up the latest issue of Survivor's Daily that his secretary had purchased ahead of time.

The headline was about Coral City.

This pearl of the Southern sea area had recently been the hottest topic in the City of Dawn, with many people booking flights to Potato Harbor just to take a submarine there for a visit.

Although most people treated it as a vacation zone or a sacred travel destination, Lister knew the real value of that place.

Coral City's construction utilized a great deal of technology in materials science and engineering recovered from the Sky Court, and the settlement located at the bottom of the sea would become the bridgehead for the Alliance to develop the space heritage of the Era of Prosperity.

The Alliance's scientific research team and the Biological Institute had already taken action, and some powerful private enterprises were also following up in succession.

If he could excavate something from it and develop it into something needed by Alliance society, his career would no doubt be able to rise to a new level.

As Lister was thinking this, he suddenly noticed a small piece of news at the bottom of the third page of the newspaper.

"…The Moon Clan Resistance Army has entered Mammoth City and has declared the occupation of Mammoth State. At the same time, the spokesperson for the new authorities of Mammoth State contacted the editors of Jingalon Port 'Survivor's Daily' to declare publicly that Mammoth State would be the first slave-free state in the Poluo Province. The Resistance leader Laxi stated that he would adhere to the policies advocated by the United Federation and called upon knowledgeable individuals everywhere to unite and resist the imperial tyranny."

Mammoth State?

What place was that?

Lister was stunned for a moment and then went to fetch his tablet, opened the world map, and found the land in the top-right corner of the "Zoo Province."

A Tasang River much shorter than the Everflow River joined the Poluo Sea from Mammoth State, while on the other side of the Jubar Mountains lay the jewel of Luo Province -- Silver Moon Bay.

"The location really isn't bad," chuckled Lister, shaking his head slightly, "what a pity that a group of natives is occupying it."

If Baiyue Corporation could advance a bit further, that would be great.

Thinking this to himself, he flipped to the next page of the newspaper only to see that the following page was still news from Mammoth State reprinted from 'Survivor's Daily (Jinjaron Port).'

According to what the Resistance Army said in the telegram, because the Empire Army had destroyed the Tasang River Levee, Mammoth State had suffered severe disasters, leaving a large number of survivors homeless.

The Resistance leader Laxi stated that the Resistance Army would not abandon the survivors of Mammoth State and would make every effort to provide disaster relief. He also hoped that the distinguished individuals of Jinjaron Port could help them with reconstruction efforts and assist the Resistance Army in resettling a portion of the displaced survivors.

Meanwhile, Duke Bamut, the former governor of Mammoth State, was publicly tried in the square of the Mammoth City dock area and admitted to all charges in court, acknowledging that the destruction of the levee was his own idea, resulting in millions of survivors becoming displaced.

Influenced by the boiling public discontent, the temporary military court of the Resistance Army approved the execution by firing squad of Duke Bamut on the day the trial ended. In addition, 8 soldiers who committed robbery and 6 who committed rape were executed by firing squad.

In an interview, Roger, the Secretary-General of the Jinjaron Port United Federation, stated that he believed this reflected Laxi's determination to enforce military discipline.

There is currently some debate within the United Federation of Jinjaron Port over whether Laxi is a qualified leader, but most of the high echelons of the Federation are optimistic.

It is understood that before, Laxi, a former slave, had also executed soldiers involved in abducting local women when he overtook Lowell Camp.

Some Alliance individuals had criticized his methods as too rough, but subsequently, he clearly learned from the criticism, establishing courts and disaster relief offices, etc. This was one of the reasons why the high echelons of the Federation were optimistic about him.

According to the editors of this newspaper, during the past two hundred years in Poluo Province, there have been countless internal wars, and after conquering settlements, it was customary for soldiers to engage in looting, much like the Looter imitating the practice of cannibalism by the Mutants in River Valley, Brocade River, and Jump Horse Provinces. Forbidding soldiers from looting and pillaging after conquering settlements was extremely rare...

"This guy's got something," Lister said with a trace of interest on his face after reading the story to the end, and he read the news again from start to finish, finding the man more and more impressive.

His actions were filled with clumsy imitation and some rough improvement, but setting aside these clumsy methods, this person was much stronger than the one he had just seen.

And as a man of the Moon Clan, having conquered a state of the Empire, he could be said to have hit a nerve – Tiandu would certainly not let him go.

To maintain the balance with the Army, the Alliance is unlikely to intervene in the situation in Poluo Province and the chance of them directly sending troops is extremely slim.

And this Laxi, if he wants to secure a foothold under the nose of the Empire, will have to cling tightly to the Alliance's coattails.

"Han Long, the chance to make a fortune has come."

As he watched his boss's face light up with joy, Han Long, who sat in the co-pilot's seat, was slightly stunned and asked in confusion,

"Boss, didn't you say that Poluo Province holds no value for investment?"

Shaking the newspaper in his hand, List replied with a faint smile.

"It means you haven't understood what I've told you. In emerging markets, it's the people, not the market itself, that are worth investing in, because people usually play the leading role in such places. A fool, of course, isn't worth the investment, but a strong person still deserves a bit of investment."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"In a few days, you will accompany Qian Duo on a trip there."

Qian Duo and Qian Lai were his subordinates, and had been with him for a long time. He thought it was about time to send them out for some training.

Han Long hesitated slightly upon hearing this.

"But... what about your safety?"

List laughed heartily.

"What safety issues could there be in the City of Dawn? You need to change your way of thinking; this place is no longer some 'emerging market.'"

...

Unlike the civil war in the southern sea area, the entry of the Moon Clan Resistance Army into Mammoth City was far less glorious and sensational than the South Sea Union's entry into North Island, nor did it stir the nerves of anyone in the Wasteland, even though the latter's area is not even half the size of the former.

Dawn City TV Station covered the incident with a small amount of reporting, and when Bennott, the Corps' ambassador to the Alliance, saw the situation in Mammoth City, his first reaction was not to call his allies but instead to pick up a map and take a look.

When he realized that godforsaken place was on the east coast of Poluo Province, many states away from West Sail Port on the west coast and far outside the influence of the Corps Civilian Group, he immediately pushed the matter aside and couldn't be bothered with it.

The Camel Hump Kingdom, adjacent to Mammoth State, did tense up briefly, mainly concerned about the influx of a large number of migrants into the kingdom.

The royal court of the Camel Hump Kingdom is an enlightened theocratic monarchy, but an enlightened monarchy is ultimately a theocracy still.

They could tolerate new interpretations of Silver Moon Church's original doctrines, they could endure some heretic merchants bringing in their desired treasures, and they could even allow the Alliance troops to be stationed in Silver Moon Bay... after all, that was at their own request. But under no circumstances would they tolerate heretics begging on the land of the Spirit of the Sand Sea.

On this stance, the merchants and nobility of Silver Moon Bay were surprisingly unanimous with the royal family, after all, if those beggars entered Camel Hump Kingdom's territory, Silver Moon Bay would be their first stop.

Multiple local Business Associations immediately took action, proactively contacting the leader of the Resistance, Laxi, expressing their gratitude for his protection of the church and offering to provide him with a no-interest humanitarian aid loan of 10 million silver coins.

Hearing such good news, Laxi agreed to it promptly and even delineated a "church district" outside Mammoth City for that bunch of religious zealots.

Aside from abiding by local laws, no taxes were required in the church district, and residents of Silver Moon Bay were free to do as they pleased there using their own methods.

The place was already barren land to begin with, so rather than leaving it idle, it was more practical to hand it over to the colony-enthusiastic believers of Silver Moon Bay to develop.

Anyway, the residents of Silver Moon Bay and those of Poluo Province have been living together for so long that the locals don't have much aversion to those cat slaves who know how to do business.

Once they have developed the area well, he would ponder whether to take it back or set a price to continue renting it to them. At least in his eyes, these were negotiable matters.

Just as the Laxi authorities were exploiting the disaster in Mammoth State to expand their army, simultaneously soliciting for funds in the wake of the flood disaster and boldly implementing the "new policies," the Empire suddenly realized that there was a huge gap in their four-million-square-kilometer map.

Within the Palace of Tiandu, Witch Gu hastily summoned his ministers and confidants for a closed-door discussion in the Deliberative Hall.

The officials were desperately scratching their heads and arguing with each other, but not one could come up with a solution.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Prince Dilip stepped forward and tentatively asked.

"Shall we order the local armies of Bird State and Horse State to assemble from the west and south towards Mammoth State? The Moon Clan Resistance Army's foundation in Mammoth State is not stable, and with the severity of the disaster there, I fear our army will cause them to collapse on their own once they press forward."

Duke Nihak was alarmed by these words. Without waiting for Witch Gu to speak, he promptly stepped forward to advise.

"Your Majesty! Absolutely not! The Tiger army and Black Panther Army have already become inextricable troubles! It's easy to assemble the armies of Bird State and Horse State, but it will be difficult to disband them!"

Initially considering Prince Dilip's suggestion, Witch Gu thought about nodding in agreement, but upon hearing Duke Nihak's admonition, he was suddenly drenched in a cold sweat, inwardly sighing at the close call.

Seeing the change in Witch Gu's expression, Duke Nihak involuntarily squeezed a handful of cold sweat in the palm of his hand and silently praised his own timely intervention, realizing that if he had been any slower, there would have been no room for maneuver.

After pausing, Duke Nihak, ignoring Prince Dilip's displeased expression, continued to speak, lowering his head.

"Your Majesty, Mammoth State is a minor matter, we must not disrupt our own formation. If the thirteen states of Poluo Province follow the example of Tiger State and Leopard State to amass military strength independently, the regions along both banks of the Everflow River might erupt into smoke of war, and Poluo Province is likely to fall into the chaos seen a century ago!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Prince Dilip looked at him with displeasure and continued, "Are we to just ignore Mammoth State?"

"We must intervene!" Duke Nihak raised his head, his gaze intense as he stared at Witch Gu and spoke, "But under the current circumstances, only the Central Army can take action! We need a victorious battle to show the local powers our strength."

After pausing, he added.

"Send Arai Yang!"

The main hall erupted into commotion, and expressions of astonishment spread across the faces of the officials as they looked at this fool who had been outwitted by the Alliance.

Asking Arai Yang to take action?

Wasn't that just repeating the mistakes made at Jin Jialun Port?!

Even Witch Gu, sitting at his high seat, furrowed his brows upon hearing this.

Without waiting for the nobles and officials to protest, it was Prince Dilip who stood out first, glaring at Duke Nihak who was voicing a dissenting opinion.

"That man was nothing but a loser of the Alliance; how could he possibly be a match for Laxi!"

Duke Nihak declared with a grave voice.

"It is precisely because he has crossed swords with the Alliance people that he knows how to deal with the Alliance!"

Prince Dilip wanted to retort with "He too had lost, so why not let himself go," yet he soon realized that it would be like admitting his own defeat, so instead, he blushed and changed tack, finding fault from another angle.

"But if we pull the Grey Wolf Army away from the border at Jin Galun Port, wouldn't we be letting the Tiger army and Black Panther Army take control of the entire border line!"

Duke Nihak spoke with heartfelt distress.

"What difference does it make to leave them there now or pull them away? All the officers trained by the Corps for us have been corrupted by those backstabbers! It's better to take this opportunity to move those still loyal to us up north, at least to suppress the restless Horse State and Bird State!"

Wolf Clan people are the Empire's most loyal warriors, and as part of the Central Army, the Grey Wolf Army is the only non-imperial army absolutely loyal to Tiandu.

As for the local army, they had already successfully proved their unreliability through actions.

Unless the Empire could spare the effort to handle the two military factions, the Tiger army and Black Panther Army, using any regional power now would only fuel the fire!

After hearing Duke Nihak's words, Witch Gu also fell into contemplation.

Although he was a layman in foreign warfare, he still had some insight into the internal affairs of the Empire.

"...Let's do as Duke Nihak suggests. Relocate the Grey Wolf Army to Mammoth State to suppress the bandits. In addition, Dilip, make a trip to the provincial capitals of Horse State and Bird State, and tell the local nobles not to panic, just to be responsible for the supplies of the Grey Wolf Army."

Though Prince Dilip was reluctant, the Emperor's command had been issued, and he could only nod in agreement.

"As commanded."

Seeing that the Emperor had not assigned him a task, Duke Nihak could not help but speak up.

"Your Majesty, I too can share your burdens!"

He had been idle for quite some time since returning from Jin Galun Port.

As a duke with a title but no land, if he remained idle any longer, he was afraid that there would soon be no place for him in the court.

Seeing Duke Nihak's eager appearance, Witch Gu was not in a hurry, instead speaking deliberately and slowly.

"You have a more important task. I need you to take a ship to the Southern sea area and finalize that loan matter I mentioned before."

Duke Nihak was stunned for a moment, unexpectedly brought up the matter of the Southern sea area by the Emperor. It didn't immediately click in his mind, especially considering the severity of recent events; he had assumed that the Emperor had already forgotten about that matter, but to his surprise, the Emperor was still contemplating it.

"But Your Majesty... with the rebel at hand, is it appropriate for us to do this now?"

Witch Gu said unconcernedly.

"The bandit trouble is in the Tasang River, far from the Everflow River. Moreover, a bunch of thieves is just a minor irritation and not a concern. The urgent matter is to deal with that economic issue."

Mammoth State was not a state with a majority of Moon Clan people, and moreover, he had purged all the Moon people in Poluo Province, with the survivors either living on farms or in slave encampments. Though he was anxious, deep down, he did not believe that a resistance army formed by slaves could create any significant turmoil.

Moreover, lately, he had also come to appreciate the benefits of having wealth.

Especially after he saw the photos of the Ideal Grand Hotel taken by that fellow Garava, his heart turned green with envy.

His palace, although floating, still paled in height compared to the Ideal Grand Hotel, so it was no wonder the Weilante People looked down upon his palace.

Once the Empire had the funds, he would have the people of Ideal City come here to build him a palace that could touch the clouds.

But meals had to be eaten one bite at a time, walls excavated bit by bit.

He could take advantage of the fact that the "Battle of Heaven" in Haiya Province wasn't yet finished, starting from the Southern sea area which the Alliance was temporarily ignoring.

That was the safest place.

The Alliance wasn't the Corps, and that Manager had once spoken of ending the Wasteland, so of course, he wouldn't send soldiers over just because he was doing a little "business" there, right?

Once the Empire became the biggest creditor of the Southern sea area, that South Sea Union would be Witch Gu's dog, and it would be too late for the Alliance to regret anything.

After laying out his plans, a smug smile spread across Witch Gu's face, and the court officials all had looks of sudden realization, and they praised His Majesty's wisdom.

Only the Minister of Finance had a smile that was somewhat more thought-provoking, or rather, carried a hint of grievances too bitter to be spoken.

Although Poluo Province was vast, it had many mouths to feed.

He pondered that lending West Winds currency to the Southern sea area was indeed a good way to resolve cement stockpiles, but this method of lending was somewhat like drawing a scoop based on the pot's shape.

What if the other party defaulted on the debt?

Could the Empire send the Fleet over to knock on their door to collect the debt, or did they have significant investments in the South Sea Union that could be used to settle the debt?

Handling this likely bad debt would become a big problem later on.

If they were willing to make nice, passing off those zeroes on the string of coral as debt repayment would let both parties save face.

If they weren't willing to deal, it would seem that the creditor side would have to be "magnanimous"...

At the same time that the Empire was mobilizing to suppress the Moon Clan Rebel Army, Lin Minghui, the acting president far away in the South Sea Union, was worried about a labor shortage.

It was already the end of October.

The reconstruction work of the Northern Islands had been underway for almost a month, but because of the lack of manpower, progress had been difficult.

The construction teams from Baiyue Corporation were in charge of projects such as the North Island Navy base and the ocean current power station, but there were far more places that needed rebuilding.

This was the awkward problem that the South Sea Union faced.

Although they had a staggering amount of technical reserves and no shortage of highly educated talents, they were severely lacking in laborers who could actually do the work.

Even if automation could solve part of the problem, that had to wait until the ocean current power station and the advanced productivity of each island was fully restored.

To put it simply, distant water couldn't extinguish the fire close at hand; what they needed now were not doctors and engineers, but a large number of gray workers and brick movers.

They didn't even need these people to be literate; they just needed to understand United Human language.

Recently, Potato Harbor had opened the immigration channel from Jin Jialun Port to Baiyue Strait, and he was wondering if the South Sea Union should also attract some immigrants.

But there were many issues involved.

The delegation of the South Sea Union was much more xenophobic than the Alliance's delegation, and distrust of outsiders was somewhat natural for the island residents.

Even Ring Island, which was most pro-Alliance, had always opposed the immigration of outsiders, and cared little about the emigration of native survivors.

If he forcibly passed a bill to relax immigration requirements now, although it would be beneficial for the post-war recovery of the South Sea Union in the long run, he would definitely stand opposite the survivors of the South Sea Union and be against the delegation.

Why bother?

He counted on his fingers and realized that his term as acting president was only a few months away, just waiting for this "Battle of Heaven" to end someday.

Having just won a magnificent victory, Lin Minghui now just wanted to ensure no mistakes during the rest of his term, and to hand over his powers as a hero at the end, completing the last and most glorious page of the heroic epic, then peacefully serve as his navy commander until he reached his full retirement age.

Later, when there were battles to be fought, he would fight; when there weren't, he would feed seagulls and fry fish, and when bored, he would go to a bar in Potato Harbor to have a little drink and boast.

His life had been exciting enough.

And that grandson Charles would never in his life hear the drunks praise his "achievements"; if that guy was still alive, he would surely be maddened with jealousy.

Lin Minghui thought back and forth and finally realized that he really didn't need to frown toward the end of his term.

However, just as he finally figured everything out and was about to toss the report in his hands aside, leaving all the thorny issues for his successor, there was a knock at the door of his office.

He took a sip of black tea, straightened up, and cleared his throat.

"Come in."

The door opened.

It was his political secretary.

"Mr. President, someone is looking for you."

Lin Minghui made a concerned expression, interlacing his fingers on the desk.

"Who is looking for me? Is there an issue?"

Seeing the president who diligently dealt with the minutiae of the Southern sea area, the secretary spoke respectfully.

"It's a representative from Mammoth City, he says he can resolve your urgent issue..."

Mammoth City?

Lin Minghui paused, reaching instinctively for the map of Baiyue Province to see when the Alliance had added a new item on his doorstep.

However, the secretary at the desk saw this and coughed awkwardly, reminding him softly.

"It's another map..."

Chapter 780: How about we borrow some too?

Southern Sea Northern Island, seagulls with flapping wings giddy with delight above the construction site, splattering bird droppings everywhere.

Not only the residents of the Northern Island had been well-fed.

With the impending battle in Haiya Province, a massive influx of players had descended upon the Northern Island, and various birds on the island had grown fat and robust.

Some had even become too fat to fly.

As he watched the varied faces on the construction site, Wolf of Battle rested his hands on a shovel and said with a quirky expression,

"Is it just my imagination?"

The Dog of the Pipes, who was dusting off, looked up at him.

"What?"

Wolf of Battle stroked his chin, muttering,

"Why do I feel like there are more people competing with us now?"

Originally, there were only about thirty people at this construction site, excluding him and his three civil engineer brothers, with less than thirty NPCs.

However, these past few days, the number had soared unexpectedly, doubling and doubling again, heading beyond two hundred.

In reality, these numbers were normal, but the problem was that this was the southern sea area in "Wasteland OL," and the total population was just slightly over a million.

Where the hell did all these people come from?!

"It's not your imagination," Far-sighted Eagle said with narrowed eyes, "The war has ended, a baby boom must have logically occurred, leading to a population increase… It makes sense."

The Dog of the Pipes: "F*ck! Do your babies grow that fast?!"

Stick Brother: "…"

Although the players couldn't figure out the reason, it was true that there had been more people on Northern Island these days.

Not just the construction site, but also the docks, supermarkets, restaurants, and so on.

These people seemed to appear out of nowhere, and most were new faces.

Aside from their skinny figures and timid eyes, these people somewhat resembled the residents from Falling Leaves Province.

According to some veteran players bragging, many survivors from Falling Leaves Province had migrated from the Great Desert during the early Wasteland Era.

Of course, back then, it wasn't called the Great Desert but was known as the four major industrial zones: East, West, South, North.

Curious about where these NPCs had come from, Wolf of Battle, spurred on by his mischievous friends, stepped forward and stopped a man to ask.

"Hey, where are you guys from?"

The man clearly didn't want to talk to him, but also didn't dare to offend, mumbling after hesitating for a while,

"Mammoth State."

Wolf of Battle paused,

"Where's Mammoth State?"

The man explained,

"Poluo Province."

Wolf of Battle nodded blankly,

"Oh, that place... That's really far."

The man didn't speak further, eager to keep moving bricks, and after excusing himself, hurried off.

Wolf of Battle didn't stop him, but his gaze followed the stooped man as he looked towards the group in the distance.

Their appearances were diverse; young and old, handsome and ugly, but their manner strangely similar.

He couldn't quite put his finger on how to describe these people, but subconsciously thought of cows.

This was the strangest part.

He remembered that the Cow People were supposed to be nobles in Poluo Province, yet these individuals seemed more like the Godly Cows of the Sun-Bearing Day.

Their necks seemed to be bound by an invisible rope, backs to the blazing sun, nobody was leading them, yet everyone seemed to be led by the nose.

Nearby, Stick Brother sighed, removed his miner's exoskeleton, and stepped forward to stop an older gentleman.

"Old... sir, you're working too hard moving bricks, wear my equipment."

He wasn't at the site for money, but rather to mix reputation and earn Contribution Points in the area. He also wanted to boost his Strength sequence and engage in "social practice."

This was a game mechanic in "Wasteland OL," established long ago.

When players wanted to use VM and the systems linked to it to start activities in a region, they had to begin with grassroots tasks, raising the local reputation to over 1000 (friendly).

The man, suddenly addressed, was somewhat flustered and hastily declined,

"I... I don't know how to use it."

Thinking to be thoroughly good, Stick Brother enthusiastically said.

"No problem, I'll teach you!"

"No no no, sir, I'm afraid I might ruin it, I... really can't afford to compensate." The man wore a sincere and fearful expression, desperately waving his hands, refusing to take it on.

"No worries! This thing isn't expensive, just 2000 silver coins. If it breaks, it's fine, I'll just get a new one." Stick Brother activated the VM's translation function and repeated this with a laugh, though not in perfect United Human.

The man merely gave a bitter smile in response, not saying a word.

2000 silver coins.

He only makes a little over 100 a month...

But even 100 silver coins was much better than when he was farming in Mammoth State.

Farming in the noble lords' estates meant only getting beans when there was a surplus of food that couldn't be sold, otherwise, he'd have to eat dirt at least once every three days.

People here not only provide food and accommodation but also only require eight hours of work a day. He could save up all of the 100 silver coins and send them back home.

He heard that some quick-handed young men could move more and make 5 to 8 silver coins a day, potentially amassing over 200 in a month!

200 silver coins, that's 2000 gallons, even in Jin Galun Harbor that's considered a high salary, not to mention that food and lodging here are free.

Thinking of the mouths to feed back home, he stopped wasting time with this obviously ill-intentioned stranger, quickly muttered an excuse, and went off to move another load...

...

Sometimes fate is just so marvelous, a seemingly unsolvable problem tortures your mind without any solutions, yet it gets perfectly solved in the most unexpected place.

Mammoth State, huh?

Truly a promising place.

Once the trade relations between Mammoth State and the South Sea Union are established, maybe the South Sea Union could really consider investing there.

General Li Minghui never expected that, having decided to slack off, before he even started to nap, someone handed him a pillow.

And not just one, but a hundred thousand.

These young laborers from Mammoth State, all aged between eighteen and thirty, married, with at least two children at home, some even agedly parents to care for.

The Mammoth State Authority promised him, these people brought in through labor dispatch wouldn't run off or commit crimes and would leave after earning their pay without utilizing any of the South Sea Union's public resources or social welfare.

Their only requirement was that the South Sea Union provided the vessels for transporting these people, and be responsible for their training.

In other words, they only managed the people and their administration.

When General Li Minghui heard this offer, he immediately agreed, even diverting the newly commissioned nuclear-powered freight submarine to transport them.

Up to now, fifty thousand Mammoth State laborers have been working in the South Sea Union, the construction sites in the Northern Islands shooting up like rockets.

Although he didn't want to get involved in too many unnecessary tasks during the remainder of his term, he couldn't pass up such a win-win situation without feeling guilty towards the people of the Southern Sea area supporting him.

However, what General Li Minghui didn't expect was that even so, representatives from the Southern Sea area still found fault with him.

It was a serene and sunny afternoon, he was sitting in his office, drinking tea, and reading the newspaper when suddenly the sound of footsteps approached rapidly from the corridor outside.

Just as he set down the newspaper, Si Wen, the Secretary-General of the representative committee, entered pushingly and started pointing at his nose.

"What's with those people at the North Island construction site?"

The representative committee of the South Sea Union, aside from the ordinary representatives, had a committee elected by representatives, and the Secretary-General usually represented the collective opinions of the committee.

Although General Li Minghui disliked these noisy bunches, they had the last say in laws, so he couldn't help but pay attention and explained,

"Those are refugees from Mammoth State."

"Why would Mammoth State's refugees appear in the Southern Sea area?" Si Wen stared into his eyes aggressively, "The representative committee didn't pass any resolution related to this, how could you make unilateral decisions!"

General Li Minghui did not respond to his question, but counter-questioned,

"Has the representative committee prohibited labor dispatch?"

Si Wen frowned, unsure of the motives hidden in this, but still responded formally,

"No."

General Li Minghui continued,

"Has the representative committee prohibited enterprises of the union from working on North Island?"

Si Wen impatiently said,

"No, what exactly are you trying to say, are those guys all from the union?"

"Then what's wrong with the labor dispatch company registered in Potato Harbor sending ten thousand workers to North Island?" General Li Minghui's face revealed a grin as he looked at the stunned Si Wen and spread his hands, "There's no violation of any laws, if I refuse their goodwill, you would blame me for abusing power... Sorry, but I won't be so foolish. Maybe you should return and discuss, and redefine the identity of dispatched workers, but that's your issue."

"Is there anything else?"

Chu Guang took a sip from his teacup and leisurely watched the Secretary-General, who was struggling to form a sentence, and teased him.

"Why don't you go back and have a meeting to discuss it?"

Si Wen glared at him fiercely, about to turn and leave, when suddenly another person appeared at the office door.

However, this time it wasn't a representative from the conference, but the Secretary from the Presidential Mansion.

Seeing the door open, the Secretary walked straight in and, speaking rapidly, addressed Chu Guang, who was sitting at the back of the office.

"Mr. President, Duke Nihak from the West Winds Empire requests an audience! He represents the Royal Family of the West Winds and expresses their willingness to provide the South Sea Union with a loan for post-war reconstruction, amounting to ten billion West Winds dinars, interest-free, repayable within twenty years."

Chu Guang was taken aback; he couldn't even recall what West Winds dinars looked like and instinctively asked.

"How much is that in silver coins?"

The Secretary also paused, his expression awkward as he replied.

"Uh, there's little direct trade between the Union and the Empire, usually conducted through Jin Jialun Port... The current recognized exchange rate there is 4 gallons for 5 West Winds dinars, with cotton for textiles and soybeans for feed being the main commodities."

Following the lifting of the embargo, the market price of soybeans in both the Tiger and Leopard States was about 5 West Winds dinars per pound, while it averaged around 4 gallons in Jin Jialun Port, mainly used for oil extraction and feed production.

Although previously, due to a "mass borrowing and selling off" of West Winds dinars by the Jin Jialun Port Bank, the dinar turned into waste paper in the Lowell state and even in Tiger and Leopard States, the Empire was not Giant Stone City after all. With its large population and hardworking nature, nearly a hundred million serfs' sweat flowed along the Everflow River into the Tiger and Leopard States, forcefully elevating the value of the West Winds dinar.

Furthermore, while initially the value of the West Winds dinar was determined solely by the export of two commodities—slaves and livestock—the presence of Jin Jialun Port had enlivened the Empire's import-export activities, shifting from "absolutely no foreign interest" to "having a relatively stable exchange rate."

Using the data provided by his Secretary, Chu Guang did a quick calculation, and he couldn't believe it without calculating.

Eight hundred million silver coins?!

If this exchange rate holds true, does it mean each person in the West Winds Empire is lending 8 silver coins to the South Sea Union?!

Is the Empire that wealthy?!

Chu Guang felt his hands trembling; he hadn't even shaken this much when he was bombarded on Anle Island.

As Si Wen stood next to the desk seemingly in shock, mouth agape, silently staring at Chu Guang, he almost seemed eager to snatch the pen on the desk and sign the loan agreement for him!

Eight hundred million silver coins...

That meant each citizen of the South Sea Union could divide up eight hundred!

In fact, without the delegate's frantic implications, it took Chu Guang just swallowing his saliva before he quickly asked his Secretary.

"How are they paying? No, I mean when will the money be delivered?"

The Secretary whispered.

"Duke Nihak didn't say... But he's currently on North Island; don't you plan to meet him in person to negotiate?"

Chu Guang swiftly looked toward Si Wen, who obediently retreated to the door of the office like a satiated seagull.

"I'm done here; may your negotiations go smoothly, esteemed General Chu Guang, and may you lead us from one victory to another."

This guy had never called him a general before, especially not within this Presidential Mansion.

Watching Si Wen leave the office, Chu Guang couldn't help but utter a scornful remark.

"These money-eyed guys!"

After coughing, he turned to his Secretary.

"Please invite Duke Nihak to dine with me... the highest standard, don't neglect our distinguished guest."

...

The frontline in Haiya Province was as intense as ever.

With the update to Beta0.7, the testing player cap was raised to one hundred thousand people and a large influx of new players entered, recently the Union had seen some promising new army groups catching Chu Guang's eye.

Like the "Imitators"—the Hellfire Legion of the Burning Corps.

As the Union's second airborne army group composed of players, this unit had reached a size of one thousand members.

Unlike the Burning Corps, however, without equipped power armor, they more resembled light parachutists, accustomed to using the W-1A unpowered glider and a motorized vehicle parachuted from Goblin Technology.

While the veterans of the Burning Corps always teased them as "phantom fire youths," this group's performance on the northern line was quite impressive, vaguely reaching T3 standards, even surpassing the Silver Corps, which had securely held the position of a mixed brigade during the Alpha testing phase.

Certainly much more reliable than groups like Abstract Corps, which mainly engaged in antics.

Additionally, a new "Mountain Unit" called the Climber Army stood out,
taking advantage of the hilly northern landscape of Haiya Province, this unit of over a thousand players managed to develop their unique tactics through numerous deadly encounters and collaborated with the NPCs of the Dawn City Industrial area to develop special mountain warfare equipment.

Including a grappling hook gun and short military boots with hooks.

Without any exoskeletons, using these simple, inexpensive tools, they could burst forth with combat power not inferior to that of exoskeletal soldiers.

Moreover, the enthusiasts for preaching, Difficult for the Strong and Tranquility, founded the Raptor Troops.

Initially part of the Burning Corps but never sticking with the group, Level 99 Junk Picker finally retired from the Burning Corps to join this newly established group.

The combat performance of this group was still a question mark, but the future seemed promising.

Due to the overwhelming prowess of the players, Chu Guang had recently felt more and more like an NPC.

His daily work was to stand at the respawn point and watch as the players on the front lines charged forward with roars while shells were lobbed forward as if they were free.

The current situation on the northern front was akin to a meat grinder. There was tactical room for maneuver, but strategically, there was virtually none.

This was the case from the ten thousand-strong reinforcements sent by the Army to the Academy's Alpha Special Mobile Force and the mercenaries and greenhorns continually sent to the front line by various companies.

However, it was exhilarating that under the siege of the Allied forces, the Torch Church was showing increasing signs of fatigue. Perhaps this long-lasting war could be wrapped up soon.

The area of Haiya Province was less than 1.5 times that of Mammoth State. The fact that the war had dragged on this long was truly because the Torch Church was incredibly tenacious.

On the first weekend of November, Chu Guang had planned to take half a day off to browse the internet on Earth to see how other "operators" were fleecing people, when Cheng Yan, the foreign minister of the Alliance, unexpectedly made a video call,

"…Respected Manager sir, although you may have noticed already, I still need to remind you that the Empire seems to be making some sneaky moves around us again."

Chu Guang raised his eyebrows and asked curiously.

"Oh? What moves?"

Cheng Yan continued cautiously.

"…They have given the Southern Sea Union a ten-billion Xilan dollar interest-free loan, with only a simple stipulation that the funds must be used to import goods from ports in the Xilan Empire homeland. Besides that, they have also secured a steel and cement export order worth one billion Xilan dollars at 50% below market price."

Chu Guang was stunned and didn't speak for a good while.

It wasn't that he was shocked by the Empire's lavish spending, but rather that he didn't understand what they were up to.

Usually, situations that baffled him like this occurred with the players; it was quite rare for an "NPC" to confuse him like this.

The last time had been when the Grey Wolf Army raided Potato Harbor, and he had stared at the map for ages without understanding what the Empire had gained from it besides getting beaten up.

This time too, he simply couldn't figure out what new trick Witch Gu was trying to pull.

Objectively speaking, debt as an economic lubricant is not inherently problematic. After all, foreign loans can stimulate exports of domestic products, and exports are one of the three main drivers of an economy, especially under certain circumstances where lending money abroad is more useful than lending it domestically.

Especially when the domestic market money supply is less than the actual market demand—facing deflation, in other words—importing small amounts of inflation from smaller economies is a basic strategy, particularly for economically robust entities like the Southern Sea Union.

However, the problem was that Poluo Province was still a serf economy, with many survivors considered as "livestock" according to the standards of Stars. Clearly, inflation or deflation wasn't the issue; rather, there wasn't a traditional market to speak of, so why forcefully use a market-based approach?

If Chu Guang had to consider it from the perspective of the Empire's Royal Family, he could think adding a clause for repayment with an equivalent amount of dinars or silver coins, or requiring the Southern Sea Union to receive Xilan currency when selling goods to the Empire, might not seem so absurd.

But even disregarding the "benefits" themselves, this operation was filled with perplexing elements.

Previously, when the Alliance borrowed money from Giant Stone City, Giant Stone City was willing to lend partly because they were armed and partly because there were mutual investments between both sides, not small in scale, practically stacking up a buff against defaulting. Even from the Alliance's own interest standpoint, direct defaulting was unlikely.

Just like the Southern Sea Union wouldn't likely default and not pay back the Alliance.

In fact, Giant Stone City had adopted a similar economic control model over various farms in the Brocade River Province, including investments in Kham Tree Plantations in Brocade River Province by List long ago.

It was just that the Inner City Nobles were too greedy and arrogant, stacking the chips too high at the gambling table, eventually leading to their own downfall.

As for the Empire…

They might indeed have deeper pockets than Giant Stone City, but apart from that, they lacked any of the conditions, at least from his outsider's perspective.

Chu Guang thought long and hard but couldn't figure out what game the Empire was playing; it certainly didn't seem like charity, rather more like someone was giving Witch Gu bad advice.

However, someone offering money for nothing was ultimately a good thing for the little brothers in the Alliance.

After all, the Southern Sea Union was not just experiencing inflation, but a "direct collapse of domestic currency," with even the local authorities paying salaries using the Alliance's silver coins.

At this stage, if someone was willing to buy the "air" from the Southern Sea Union which was even less substantial than "beer bubbles," only a fool would refuse.

Chu Guang couldn't help feeling amazed; besides the Academy, there was now another inscrutable player on this wasteland.

The Sticky Community and Jin Jialun Port had given money to the Empire, but that the emperor would use it this way was indeed beyond his expectations.

"How about you ask Duke Garava if we could also borrow some?"

Cheng Yan was startled.

"This... That might not be such a good idea."

He wasn't in charge of economics, but he generally felt that having too high a debt was not a good thing, and he also felt that Xilan currency wasn't very useful.

Despite their different thoughts, Chu Guang simply encouraged him with a smile.

"There's no harm in asking... Of course, if they really don't want to, just forget it, no need to force them."

Seeing that Chu Guang wasn't joking, Cheng Yan could only respond with a wry smile.

"Alright."

After the call ended, Chu Guang was planning to put this matter aside, but he couldn't resist the urge and went on to the forum to post an update, revealing the news of this massive amount of money to the lifestyle players in the Southern sea area.

Even a mosquito is meat, and since the Southern Sea Union might not fully consume this proverbial chunk of meat, it might as well let the players active there help the locals digest it a bit.

For instance, helping them cash out the unspendable Xilan money at a 50% discount for silver coins.

Although Xilan currency wasn't very useful elsewhere, it was valuable to the lifestyle players active in Jin Jialun Port...

—

(Thanks to "Makabakamo" for the six-league chief rewards!!! You rock!!)

Chapter 781: Lend you? Don't even think about it!

"Wasteland OL" Official Website Forum.

[Announcement: The West Winds Empire borrows ten billion West Winds coins from the South Sea Union. Any company registered in the settlements of the southern sea area, or conducting business locally, can apply. The funds can be used to import raw materials from the West Winds Empire—players, please explore the gameplay yourselves!]

Quit Smoking: "Holy shit!"

Dinosaur Warrior: "The damn planners are handing out benefits again!! I'm so pissed, why aren't they giving out helmets, I've been on the waiting list for a year!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Damn, I'm so jealous. T.T"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "You don't even have a helmet to be jealous about. (Sarcastic)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "That's exactly why I'm crying! By the time you guys have had your fun, there'll be nothing left for me. T.T"

Night Ten: "(Sarcastic)"

Edge Shoveling: "Ten billion West Winds coins... Has Witch Gu gone mad? Their own people are so poor they're swimming in the Everflow River. (Sweat)"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Then your perspective is too narrow. You can only define poverty and wealth where there's property rights, but livestock don't have that concept. (Sly smile)"

Fang Chang: "Indeed, but I still want to understand the meaning behind their actions. Even if they have an overload of unsold goods, dumping them somewhere would have a more immediate effect than taking such a roundabout method... Not to mention they aren't exactly flush with cash."

WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "You might as well stop trying to understand the logic of Wasteland Bro, better analyze what it impacts instead. (Sly smile)"

Fang Chang: "Hmm... there's not much to analyze, the South Sea Union would definitely convert the free West Winds coins into a more stable currency as soon as possible, like by selling West Winds coins to buy silver coins—possibly a boon for banks providing currency exchange? After all, they can take the chance to have a sip."

WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Got it! Goblin Bank opens now!"

Tail: "(Copy homework.jpg)"

Edge Shoveling: "Holy crap! That was fast!"

Fang Chang: "…Besides banking, it might temporarily drive up the prices of bulk commodities in coastal areas of Poluo Province, especially for goods priced in West Winds coins, such as soybeans, cotton, sugarcane, flax, etc. It might be a bearish outlook for Jin Jaron Harbor's oil pressing, textile, and sugar industries etc. After all, they have to pay more West Winds coins for raw materials, and ultimately, the debuff will reflect on the manufacturing profits. But in the long run, it might just be a boon."

Tail: "Oh! Raw materials are more expensive, profits are down, that's easy to understand... but why is it a boon in the long run?"

Fang Chang: "Because in this game, most NPCs are as smart as real people, not the dumb wood-heads of typical RPGs. On the surface, Witch Gu has opened up a huge credit line for the southern sea area, but in reality, the bill is paid by the survivors of the Thirteen States. If it were places like Cow State or Horse State, it wouldn't matter since the nobles' interests align with the emperor's; even if dissatisfied, they'd just bear it. But not necessarily for places like Tiger State or Leopard State, governed by military factions, where their reliance is on firepower not royal power."

Si Si: "In the long run, regional forces will issue their own money or seek other more stable commodities for equivalent exchange... like gallons or silver coins, right?"

Fang Chang: "Smart! (Thumb up)"

Quit Smoking: "Holy shit, I didn't get it at all! (Confused)"

Tail: "Ooooh! Worthy of Si... giao! Tail didn't get it either!(ó﹏ò｡)"

Si Si: "Give it up, Ah Wei, if it's too hard, just think of our respected planner simply splurging money again, I'll pick up your share too."

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "Damn... feeling suppressed. T.T"

Loud Sesame Paste: "Ahahaha...haha."

Canyon Escaping Mole: "There's another impact though, the rise in raw materials will stimulate the nobility in Imperial provinces to rapidly consolidate free citizens' land to expand production... damn, it's illogical, who stabs themselves with a knife?"

Fang Chang: "Actually, it's not so illogical. Maybe it's just time. (Dog head)"

Of course, Baiyue Corporation is also partly responsible.

After all, this would have been a gentle and slow process, needing generations, even decades of non-interference from external forces, but the arrival of players accelerated everything.

From the first gunshot in Jin Jaron Harbor breaking the myth of the unbeatable Imperial Army, to the first seed sown in Potato Harbor, growing robust roots and flowers.

Everything continued tempestuously and couldn't be stopped now…

...

"Lend to you? Hahaha! Don't even think about it! Actually, in your words, there's no door for you! Hahaha!"

In Cohesive Mansion.

Cheng Yan, who had just bumped into Duke Garava fresh from a meeting while walking in the corridor, approached with a smile and exchanged a few words before spilling out the tasks Chu Guang had assigned him.

Although he didn't particularly want to deal with this duke, out of respect for Chu Guang himself, he put in extra effort in handling this matter.

However, to his surprise, Duke Garava not only misread his enthusiasm but was overjoyed and assumed a haughty "it's your turn today" facial expression, then arrogantly declined.

Admiring the dejected look on Cheng Yan's face, Duke Garava's mouth curled into a smug smile, feeling utterly pleased.

Hey, isn't this the Union's dim foreign minister? Seeking alms at the Empire now? Such a meek and submissive look doesn't suit you, eh?

Of course, if he sincerely kneeled and begged, he might consider being magnanimous.

After all, printing how much West Winds coins was just a simple case of His Majesty talking.

Seeing Cheng Yan's frustrated expression twitch, but still restraining his temper,
this was a public place after all, you can't stoop down and bite back if a dog bites you.

The respected Manager had asked him to do his best, but he didn't say to abandon the Union's dignity, and if the Empire was adamant, there's no need to insist.

"Alright."

He lightly left those words behind and skirted past the triumphant Duke Garava towards the other end of the corridor.

Watching Cheng Yan walk away, Duke Garava didn't know how to react, his proud expression momentarily freezing on his face.

What the hell?

Not trying harder?

He wasn't refusing to lend.

And being the creditor to the Union could actually be a pleasant affair for the Empire.

"Wait..."

He reached out his hand to call for a pause, only to see the figure had already disappeared at the end of the corridor, instantly pulling his hand back in annoyance.

"Ungrateful jerk!"

Duke Garava cursed bitterly and shook his sleeve, walking away from this place of dispute.

Watching Duke Garava walk away, a group of envoys who had just emerged from the meeting room exchanged glances and couldn't help but mock.

"Did that guy come for diplomacy or to sever ties?"

"Who knows, typical from West Winds."

"I've never understood how he got in here."

"Well, you'd have to ask the Weilante People, they brought him in."

Hearing everyone's discussion, Bennott, with a dark expression, didn't speak and just waited for Duke Garava to walk a bit farther before leaving the meeting room.

It was indeed he who had brought the man in, but he had not anticipated the man would drag him down to this extent.

The corporate representative seeing Bennott's face filled with frustration couldn't resist poking fun.

"Your ally?"

"Get lost."

Bennott turned and glared at the corporate representative who, unoffended, just laughed it off and walked away, leaving Bennott there grinding his teeth.

The friction in the corridor was just a minor episode for all parties of the Cohesive Community and did not affect the proceeding meeting.

After all, the antics of Duke Garava weren't new to everyone, his consistent blunders were no longer surprising.

It would be interesting if one day he actually made some sense, or if the West Winds Empire suddenly came to their senses and sent a competent person instead.

After the day's work, Cheng Yan reported the events to Chu Guang, who after listening, merely sighed slightly with regret.

"It's a shame, they were clever this time."

The Alliance wasn't the same as before, and indeed it was becoming rather difficult to exploit them using old methods.

Consider this,

If the current scale of the Alliance had been around a year earlier, even the foolish Elder Sid would have had to think twice before lending them money, wondering if he could get it back.

This fleece would be better sheared by the smaller-scale South Sea Union.

Looking at the contemplative face of Chu Guang, Cheng Yan subtly coughed.

"You might be mistaken… maybe Garava didn't think much after all, just accidentally dodged the trap you set for him. I'm certain, every word he said at that moment went unscreened by his brain."

Amused by this viewpoint, Chu Guang laughed and said.

"Don't ever say that… and always keep in mind not to underestimate your adversaries. Though they've taken some detours now, in the future it's unpredictable, they might actually do some earth-shattering deeds. At least, I believe the survivors on the Wasteland all have such potential."

Although Cheng Yan did not doubt Mr. Manager's words, having dealt with the people from West Winds Empire for so long without a shred of good impression, all he could do was sigh lightly.

"Perhaps."

...

At the very moment Cheng Yan was reporting to Chu Guang, another Duke from the Empire, Duke Nihack, was getting drunk at the most luxurious North Island Hotel.

Like North Island Heavy Industries, the North Island Hotel was also a legacy of Charles. Though the civil war wasn't over yet, he was already fantasizing about setting post-war orders, and this hotel was prepared for hosting guests from various survivor factions.

A month ago, the Asset Auditing Committee had auctioned this asset, which was then purchased by a tourism company registered in Ring Island and had eventually restarted operations.

Being the luxury hotel of North Island and accompanied personally by the war hero, General Li Minghui of the South Sea Union, Duke Nihack naturally enjoyed his drinks to the fullest.

However, the more he drank, the looser his lips got.

"... with General Li's bravery, it really is a pity not to keep him as president for a few more years."

This startled Li Minghui who promptly responded,

"Let's stick to drinking; that's not something to discuss."

Seeing Li Minghui's tense expression, Duke Nihack laughed and said,

"I know, it's all because of the Union, right? Let's leave it then, here, a toast to you!"

Observing those shrewd little eyes of his, Li Minghui inwardly sighed.

How does this guy manage it?

Knowing nothing, yet acting all wise, and then thinking no one can see through his little tricks.

Yet, he did not expose the duke and instead sighed as if he was "burdened with woes," going along with him.

"... It's different here, people are very petty and ungrateful; they call me 'General' when they need me, hide behind me as soon as Charles shows up, and when they don't need me, they start trashing me, wishing they could bury me alongside Charles."

Duke Nihack's eyes sparkled as he suddenly said,

"For a brilliant and brave general like yourself, it's a pity not to have the opportunity to display your talents on the battlefield, being restrained everywhere instead. How about this, how about you come to West Winds as a commander in chief? I assure you, if you come to the Empire, my Emperor will treat you well! Command as many troops as you do here, and in our place, you can command five times that amount!"

Seeing Duke Nihack enumerate with five fingers, Li Minghui almost choked on his spit and hastily said,

"That won't be necessary... But if you're interested, I can introduce you to a few guys from the navy who can consult for you."

He was just venting, and this guy actually took him seriously.

A joke!

He was, after all, a war hero!

Without surprises, he could have sat in the position of Navy Commander until retirement, but he had no interest in resigning to become a captain at the zoo.

However, he didn't mind cherrypicking a couple of young fellows from the naval system to foster their development, considering no battles were expected in the southern sea area in the future.

On the other hand, the Empire seemed to have quite a few battles to fight, and once the Imperial Navy was trained, they couldn't possibly still be fighting with those broken fishing boats bought from Silver Moon Bay, could they?

When the time came, they might as well sell them a few destroyers.

After all, those things with radar, sonar, fire control, and other messy systems removed, are just oversized toys, and he wasn't particularly worried about any trouble; it would also help solve unemployment problems for the engineers of the South Sea Union, making the representatives there happy.

Duke Nihak was indeed delighted upon hearing this.

"Is that really true?"

"Of course it's true… um, but the representatives aren't easy to fool. I have to serve them well before they'll loosen up."

Li Minghui had said this just as a trial, but unexpectedly, his casual remark had struck a chord with Governor Nihak.

Unable to hide the joy on his face, Duke Nihak slapped his thigh and said,

"That's easy to handle! I can offer you a loan of ten billion Xilan currency!"

Today he was offering military consultations.

Would he be able to purchase warships tomorrow?

Nihak's eyes turned red with excitement, seeing a chance to redeem his past humiliations right in front of him!

Li Minghui, unaware of what he was thinking, didn't expect the Empire to be so generous, slapping down another ten billion.

Astonished for a moment, he then respectfully raised his glass.

"On behalf of the residents of the South Sea Union, I thank you for your generosity!"

"Haha! General, no need to be so formal, it's just a little token!" Nihak said with a laugh and a wave of his hand, "The Empire is not short of this little bit of money, consider it making friends!"

Watching his unintentionally upturned lips, Li Minghui slightly smiled and clinked glasses with the Duke before considerately downing his drink.

Not short of this little bit of money, eh…

So, am I the beggar here?

Tsk.

But to be fair, this isn't a shameful meal either.

Though these people speak really darn unpleasantly, when it comes to giving money, they're incredibly clear-cut—just a string of zeros.

Considering those few hundred million silver coins—oh no, those ten billion Xilan currency—he suddenly found Duke Nihak not so disagreeable after all.

After a satisfying meal, Li Minghui had his secretary drive Duke Nihak to the port area.

The Duke seemed allergic to the Union, insisting on staying on an Imperial ship, adamantly refusing to stay at a hotel onshore.

As for Li Minghui himself, he didn't move an inch, directly called for the table to be cleared, and then started the next meeting.

One reason was that it saved trouble, another was that it saved money.

And the person he was about to meet wasn't just anyone—it was the representative of the new authorities of Mammoth State, named Weilu.

This young man wasn't very old, only in his early twenties, but there was a calm about him uncommon at his age, and his straight posture clearly indicated military training.

To be honest, although the benefits that the Mammoth State authorities brought to the South Sea Union didn't compare to the twenty billion from Xilan brought by Nihak, Li Minghui found himself favoring this handsome young man over the nouveau riche demeanor of Duke Nihak.

Watching Weilu pouring him a drink voluntarily, Li Minghui faintly smiled and said with interest,

"Aren't you curious about whom I just met?"

Weilu respectfully clinked glasses with Li Minghui, downing his in one go and placing the glass on the table, he said indifferently,

"There's no need to ask; it was certainly Mr. Nihak."

Li Minghui laughed and said,

"You're a Moon Clansman, do you not hate him?"

Weilu's expression didn't change as he casually continued,

"There's nothing to hate. We resolve our grievances on the battlefield, which has nothing to do with our friendship."

Gazing at his expression for a while, Li Minghui suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Haha! Young man, you've got spirit! Honestly, I prefer someone like you, Laxi, to those who constantly nag at me, as if they chanted Charles to his demise…"

At this point, he fiddled with his glass for a long time, suddenly sighed and gently shook his head, saying,

"But sometimes, I feel like we really can't do without those guys…"

"What you say is true, our leader is aware of it. Those people aren't cut out for battle, but some things necessitate their presence, so they are kept in the military... Your glass is empty; let me pour you another," Weilu respectfully said, picking up the bottle to fill Li Minghui's glass but was stopped by a gesture from the latter.

"Gifts should be reciprocated."

Seeing the surprised expression on Weilu's face, Li Minghui smiled, poured drinks for both, casually drank his, and continued,

"You are more likable than Nihak. I'll give you an extra tip— the Empire plans not only to sell us cement and steel but also to import some naval advisors from us... including naval equipment. I reckon they're pretty interested in that too."

Weilu's expression turned somewhat solemn.

He wasn't wary of the Imperial Navy; those ships couldn't enter the Tasang River and could at most loiter around Mammoth City.

They had already leased a nearby shoreline area to Silver Moon Bay's believers, and there were many there with vested interests in the Union. Even if the Empire wanted to bomb the port, they would have to consider the consequences.

In the end, they would have to resolve their battles on land.

What really worried him was another matter—

"Are they already so rich?"

President Li Minghui laughed and said.

"I don't think so. They're just putting on a show to look better. The West Winds currency they offered isn't in high demand either; it takes some effort to offload it. You're a soldier, and so am I, so I'll get straight to the point. The banks on the Alliance side have quoted us an exchange rate of 100 West Winds currency for 1 silver coin. The good thing is they can swallow it in one go, but the downside is that the price is too low! We've contacted the banks at Jin Galun Harbor too, which are also operated by the Alliance people and their supported forces. Their quote is slightly better, offering 80 for 1, but they only want fifty billion... After all, they just helped Baiyue Corporation offload a batch of West Winds currency, so they are temporarily satiated."

It wasn't just about helping Baiyue Corporation digest the currency, but also assisting some of the local old aristocracy in exchanging their West Winds currency for gallons, which he learned through his own secretary.

There are many merchants who travel between Jin Galun Harbor and the Baiyue Strait at Potato Harbor. Just sitting at a bar alongside the port or directly asking the staff there could reveal that information.

Weilu's pupils flickered briefly, sharply picking up on the opportunity that this soldier-turned-president was revealing to him.

"How much do you have left?"

President Li Minghui looked at this sensible young man with a smile and continued.

"We've already turned over 4 billion to the private banks on the Alliance side, and another 4 billion were disposed of at Jin Galun Harbor. After cost expenditures on building materials, we still have 1 billion left. However, just moments ago, Duke Nihak sent us another 10 billion, so now we have 11 billion West Winds currency on hand."

Weilu looked troubled and said,

"That's too much... One billion would still be manageable, but ten billion is a bit challenging for us. We also need silver coins for reconstruction."

The Mammoth State Authority has a reserve of silver coins, including the labor dispatch companies that also settle in silver coins, earning a profit of ten million silver coins a month.

Weilu clearly understood President Li Minghui's intent; he hoped to settle part of the labor payments with West Winds currency, thus indirectly offloading part of it.

In exchange, Mammoth State could get a cheaper exchange rate, anything better than the 1:100 rate offered by the Alliance's private banks is negotiable.

Although the neighboring states have imposed an embargo on Mammoth State, the port of Jin Galun Harbor can still offload West Winds currency.

As long as the Empire exists, West Winds currency retains its value, at least stronger than the South Sea Union's "Federation Currency".

If difficult to understand, just equate West Winds currency to "soybean rolls", "cotton rolls", "sugar rolls", "mining tickets".

The Mammoth State Authority doesn't have to worry about exchanging for a pile of unusable paper; they could even earn a "profit margin" from it.

However, the only problem is, the primary resources purchasable with West Winds currency are not what Mammoth State needs; lacking a strong military backing, they don't even have the time to start developing light industries from making shirts, nor even the time to engage in wholesale commodity trading.

Just then, Weilu suddenly thought of something and asked eagerly.

"Can you get favorable prices for cement and steel from the West Winds Empire?"

President Li Minghui nodded in approval.

"Yes... and it's cement and steel produced by the Army; the quality is impeccable, and the price is outrageously cheap. However, to be honest, we have too much of this stuff that it takes up space. We won't be able to deplete their inventory quickly unless we decide to build a fourteenth artificial island."

"We need steel and cement!" Weilu said with an intense gaze, "We can pay you in silver coins, and you pay the Empire's factories in West Winds currency, then just re-ship the surplus cement and steel from Jin Galun Harbor to us."

The transferable assets aren't limited to money, but also include the privileges included in the loan agreements. The South Sea Union need not contribute anything; they only need to transfer the half-price discount coupon given by the Empire to the Mammoth State Authority, which also needed reconstruction.

Even if there was no profit margin, it didn't matter; the authority itself was not a profit-making institution and didn't need to consider making money.

As long as they could quickly convert "West Winds money that was useless in the Southern sea area" into "silver coins for paying employees of the South Sea Union," it would already be considered a remarkable achievement.

Looking at this flexible young man, President Li Minghui's eyes increasingly filled with approval.

This young man had good comprehension.

It seemed like the Zoo Province could produce a couple of talents as well.

"Well, that settles it. Our bank will provide the infrastructure materials directly at fifty percent of the market price. Actually, that is also the discount the Empire gave us. You have had your disaster, I really cannot justify profiting from your margins… Of course, this agreement presumes the Empire hasn't revoked our discount, whether the delegates will agree to use the property of survivors in the Southern sea area to subsidize a place they can't find on the map, I do ask for your understanding on this point."

"Thank you so much!" Weilu's face showed a surprised expression as he quickly stood up, gracefully holding his wine glass and said, "Thank you for your generosity to the survivors of Mammoth State... please allow me to toast to you!"

Watching Weilu down his drink, President Li Minghui smiled and waved his hand saying, "You're welcome," then he too drained his glass.

For him, this drink was far more enjoyable than the last.

At the same moment, Duke Nihak, who had just alighted at the harbor district, drunkenly said his farewells to the secretary who had accompanied him, and with the help of his attendant, made his way back to the ship.

As he passed the deck, a chill breeze caressed his neck, making him shiver unconsciously and look around with a wary gaze.

The surrounding was calm waves, and there were no eyes fixed on him, no troops from the Alliance lying in ambush.

Realizing he was being overly anxious, Duke Nihak's face turned red, but he still muttered under his breath.

"This damn Alliance…"

Elsewhere, the secretary who had seen off Duke Nihak returned to the North Island Hotel and coincidentally saw the President who had just sent off the envoy from Mammoth State Authority.

Upon seeing his secretary return, President Li Minghui got into the car and instructed him to drive to the Presidential Mansion, briefly informing him also about the deal reached with the Mammoth State Authority.

"…Draft the contract as soon as possible, ponder over the details with my staff, see if anything needs to be added."

The secretary nodded solemnly, though his expression still showed some hesitation.

"Signing such a contract with the Mammoth State Authority… isn't it somewhat unfair to the Empire?"

"Fair?" As if he had heard something amusing, President Li Minghui snorted sarcastically.

"That dog, Si Wen, talks a lot of nonsense, but he was right about one thing. The Alliance is all good, just too kind, it's good to be civilized to people, but being civilized to animals… is just a waste."

"Even in Ideal City, money isn't everything. A slave owner has just had a few good days and already thinks he can do whatever he wants with money… Haha."

Looking at the fleeting night view outside the car window, he spoke slowly.

"They said they aren't short of money, right? Let them buy a lesson then."

Frankly, Nihak should be grateful he was dealing with him, not that Charles who had already been burned to ash by the locals of the Southern sea area.

If Charles had won the civil war, he probably would have poured the wine on Nihak's head and humiliated him thoroughly, then bombed the Empire's harbor to ruins with a battleship cannon, burning all the way to his old home in Heavenly Palace to discuss face-to-face what this lack of money really meant.

Just as President Li Minghui curled his lip, dismissing the concerns of the Empire, the recently flood-stricken Mammoth State ignited with roaring flames…

Chapter 782: Blood Flows into a River

The raging flames climbed up the wooden eaves, illuminating the bewildered and astonished faces.

The rising black smoke, like a homeless ghost, stood out with its crackling wails amidst the silence of the crowd.

This was the southwestern corner of Mammoth State, a small village called "Stone Village"... or at least it used to be called that.

The majority of its inhabitants were free citizens of the Empire.

However, unlike in other regions beyond the Wasteland, being a free citizen here was anything but a point of pride.

Since most of the fertile land along the river was controlled by nobles, even the few free citizens who had land to farm lived in considerable poverty.

If a typical serf had to eat six meals of Red Soil a week, the free citizens would have to endure seven or eight, barely surviving in a half-dead state.

Of course, this excluded those who managed to survive within or near the settlements.

Stone Village was no different. Being far from the Tasang River and lacking nearby rivers or lakes, the land was poor for farming, and most villagers eked out a bare existence.

Living like weeds, these folks could scarcely be squeezed for more, and the Empire generally couldn't be bothered with them, aside from collecting taxes and leaving them to live or die on their own.

Of course, this grace and tolerance were limited to ordinary times.

A mere five or six leagues south of Stone Village, one would reach the boundary marker of Horse state. But fate had it that these few leagues made all the difference, bringing the strategy of "scorched earth" to their doorstep...

At the entrance of Stone Village, a man over fifty, slumped on the ground, looked up at the towering Centurion, crying a mix of snot and tears.

"Sir, we've lived here for many years. If you burn this place down, where would I... where would we live..."

The Centurion looked at him emotionlessly and said coldly,

"Next door is Horse state, and further south is Tiger State. Your legs are on your bodies, and as long as you don't head north, you can go wherever you like."

The old man pleaded desperately,

"But, but without land, how will we survive?"

"How to survive?" The Centurion scoffed disdainfully, looking down at the man lying on the ground and spoke with a mocking tone, "You could just sell yourself to a manor... Stop your damn crying and sniveling, you old thing; at your age, you should be in the ground."

Seeing that the old man was still staring blankly at him, the Centurion thought he might have been too harsh and slightly softened his tone.

"Enough. There's banditry here, and we're ordering you to leave for your own good. Don't be ungrateful. I've given you time to pack your things; now hurry up and scram."

"Banditry?! But, but those Moon Clan people, they didn't bother us..."

As the Centurion turned to leave, the stunned old man suddenly grew frantic, speaking without filter and forgetting both the identity of the military official before him and what the Moon Clan meant to the Empire.

The Centurion, upon hearing this, indeed stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes, sizing up the old man with a slightly more hostile gaze.

"They came here?"

It wasn't just the Centurion narrowing his eyes at the old man; the nearby soldiers also rested their hands on their Ripper Rifles.

Feeling the change in the atmosphere, the old man grew more scared, stuttering in response,

"I..."

The Centurion stared at him.

"Why didn't you report to the nearest Outpost?"

"What, what Outpost?"

Large beads of sweat surfaced on the old man's forehead. Before he could explain, the Centurion waved at a soldier nearby.

"Take him back for interrogation."

Two soldiers stepped forward, each grabbing one of the old man's shoulders, and despite his pig-like screams, they carried him off like livestock to the cart.

The young men of the village wanted to intervene but were cowed by the murderous gaze of the soldiers; they could only watch helplessly as the village elder was taken away...

Scenes like this did not only occur in Stone Village but also happened elsewhere, with even worse outcomes.

Over fifty thousand Grey Wolf soldiers stormed into Mammoth State, which had been occupied by the Rebels, all prepared to redeem their past humiliations.

General Arai Yang dispatched scouts to investigate the movements of the Resistance while carefully drawing up battle lines, at the same time sending small troops along the border to advance his scorched earth strategy.

It wasn't just the old man suspected of contact with the Resistance who was taken away.

Men, women, children, and even livestock kept in pens, who knew nothing of what had occurred, were also taken.

These Imperial soldiers spared not even the eggs laid by the hens.

Of course, not all villages submitted so meekly, especially since surviving the Noble land encroachments in Poluo Province required some skill.

Some indignant young men took out pitchforks, bows and arrows, bird guns, and even crude cannons, attempting to oppose the Empire's Grey Wolf Army.

But their righteous indignation not only failed to deter the Empire's Grey Wolf soldiers, but also brought calamity upon themselves and their families.

Though the Grey Wolf Army nearly drowned in the Everflow River outside Jin Galun Harbor City, dealing with a bunch of ragged paupers was still a piece of cake for them. With a single charge, the soldiers turned these ignorant weeds into a river of blood.

Once the bayonets were bloodied, the matter couldn't be settled so easily.

And now the Grey Wolf Army, corrupted beyond recognition by the Tiger Army and Black Panther Army, had their combat will and discipline far worse than half a year ago... though they weren't much better back then, to be honest.

After venting their brutality on the surviving weak, the satiated Grey Wolves pulled up their pants and gave the "captives" a swift end, tossing their heads onto the carts as Rebel heads to claim credit back at camp.

Along the several hundred kilometers where Mammoth State bordered Horse State, burning flames slithered like a long snake, consuming village after village.

Their actions, like those of wild beasts, were as eerie as the howling wolves on Ten Peaks Mountain.

Even no less dreadful...

"...These beasts!"

On the edge of the pitch-black forest, Ackman stared at the soldiers leaving the ruins, his eyes ablaze with raging fury.

When the long-haired woman was dragged into the cowshed, he thought of his mother...

The soldiers by his side felt the same, all of them clutching their rifles tightly, wishing they could rush forward and tear the hundred-man team to pieces.

Especially the boy named Udi—if not for his companions holding him back, he might have already charged forward.

"There are too many of them... We only have ten people, we're no match for them," Ackman took a deep breath to calm down, then said solemnly.

"Laxi told us, to defeat an opponent far stronger than us, we need not only ruthlessness but also brains."

A tall, freckled-faced young soldier turned to him and asked in a low voice.

"What should we do?"

"You take Udi and you, you..."

Ackman counted out five local rookie soldiers and handed them over to the old soldier who had fought his way here all the way from Tiger State, whispering further instructions, "Head north and tell the villagers about what's happening here. Say the Empire's men are coming, killing anyone they see. If they don't want to die, they'd better run north fast."

"It's no use for them to go there," Udi interrupted in a low voice, "it's all flooded..."

"It's only temporarily flooded; the flood season has passed, and winter is coming... When spring comes, the flooded land will be the most fertile. Lord Laxi will distribute the nobles' land for them to plant," Ackman said without hesitation.

The noble lands along the Tasang River had already been consolidated, ready to settle these displaced villagers once the flood season was over.

Those lands were far more fertile than this place. Laxi said he would give some to the locals. Now that Mammoth State was the Resistance's territory, they had to manage this land well.

Hearing about land distribution, the eyes of two young men lit up, Udi included.

His village was outside Mammoth City, all noble territory. His parents had toiled on noble lands their entire lives without owning a single plot, but now someone was willing to distribute the estates and plantations of the nobles to them, filling them with such excitement they almost wanted to cheer.

Only a few old soldiers who came from Tiger State chuckled at their naive appearance.

Farming?

That's a dead end.

In the ravines of Tiger State, they had more than their fill of the hardships of farming. The only good times were when they carried guns.

The freckled-faced lad furrowed his brow slightly, looking at Ackman and asking.

"Why should those villagers believe us?"

"Go there and pick up some things to take to them, whether they believe it or not is up to them; we save only those we can," Ackman pointed towards the nearby village ruins and signaled him to pick up some evidence, then continued in a lowered voice.

"Today, it should just be these villages. The Grey Wolves don't dare travel at night, but after dawn, it's hard to say... You better move quickly, finish everything before dawn... Remember, notify all the villages within a half-day's walk!"

Six young men nodded solemnly and sneaked into the nearby thicket, cautiously moving toward that village and disappearing in a flash.

As for Ackman, he took the remaining three people and followed the retreating hundred-man team of the Grey Wolf Army, trying to find their "regiment headquarters."

If luck was on their side, they might find a chance to hit them with a few shells!

Meanwhile, at the Grey Wolf Army's command tent, General Arai Yang was looking at the sand table with an expressionless face, his thoughts involuntarily drifting with the pieces on that sand table.

He still remembered the beginning of the year when he was a War God revered by thousands.

And now, in just a short half a year, those who revered him began to see him as the shame of the Empire, cruelly casting him into the gutter.

The higher they had held him before, the harder they now let him fall. But it was because of that incident that he was completely awakened—

These rebels are not worth his sympathy.

He should not have considered them human, although he never really cared much for them before.

Even today, he still cannot forget the humiliation suffered at Jinjaron Harbor, where those poor wretches, for a few silver coins, killed his scouts, sold his intelligence, and deliberately dug the trenches like graves, so deep that his soldiers couldn't stretch their hands above their heads.

And the reedy swamps along the Everflow River.

Those people would rather take bullets, drown as ghosts, and be dogs for the Alliance than stay as decent people in the Empire.

He knew better than anyone that as soon as he ordered a scorched earth policy, the men underneath would use "their own methods" to mess things up.

But what of it?

Better to use the blood of these rabble to deter those who dare to oppose the Empire than to keep these pigs on the frontlines, deliberately causing trouble and holding things back.

Just then, the officer in charge of the scorched earth operation walked into the tent, saluted respectfully to General Arai Yang standing in front of the map, and reported.

"Sir, it's very likely that the Moon Clan Resistance Army has been here."

"They definitely will come, nothing surprising about that. Check later, and if there's anyone who has relatives in the Resistance, whether distant or close, pull them out and compile them into a separate team. I'll have use for them."

Staring at the map at Mammoth City, Arai Yang continued without expression.

"That Laxi is an officer trained by the Alliance; those who left Jinjaron Harbor with him were also trained by the Alliance. What these people are best at is penetration, infiltration, breaking into smaller units, and fighting against superior numbers... In Luo Xia Province and River Valley Province, those people played these tricks and gave Weilante People quite a hard time."

The officer's expression grew tense as he murmured softly.

"If that's the case, this battle will probably not be easy."

"Probably?" Arai Yang let out a scoff, the corners of his mouth twisting as he continued, "Don't count on a quick resolution. To thoroughly eradicate them, it will take at least three to four months. If they want to fight a guerrilla war, let them. We set up our formation—"

Before he could finish, a distant explosion was heard.

Both in the tent were stunned, and Arai Yang's face was the first to change. He hurried outside, looking toward the direction of the sound.

The officer followed him out of the tent, and then they heard the second distant explosion.

The officer's face changed slightly as he said with a trembling voice.

"155mm!"

The Alliance's 155!

That damn thing left such a deep impression on him that he would never forget the feeling of his head buzzing from the shock.

"Shut your trap... you think I need you to tell me that..." Arai Yang cursed under his breath and lifted the radio hanging from his shoulder, roaring into it.

The first few shells were just "ranging shots"!

There must be guerrilla scouts and radio operators reporting the impact points near the bombarded troops!

As Arai Yang had thought, it soon came to pass.

The booming cannonade rained down on the seventh thousand team's position, which was part of the first ten thousand troops, dealing a heavy blow to the already high moral of the Grey Wolf Army.

Because the anti-artillery defenses were not adequately dug in, the entire thousand team suffered grievous casualties, with only sixty percent managing to escape from their positions, saved by the sixth thousand team that came to reinforce.

The first skirmish between the Grey Wolf Army and the Moon Clan Resistance Army ended with a minor victory for the latter, yet a single battle's outcome was not enough to turn the tide for the underdogs.

The difference in military strength between the two sides remained tremendous.

Arai Yang had at his disposal an army of fifty thousand, and not to mention they were an elite force equipped with Weilante People's gear, with the famed McCullen of the Eastern Legion serving as their chief instructor.

As for Laxi, although he had managed to wipe out the local army of Mammoth State with a clever trick of "flooding the army," allowing the Resistance to face the Grey Wolf Army's assault unscathed, even so, the forces he could muster barely exceeded twenty thousand, with more than half being green recruits.

While the residents of Jinjaron Harbor, and even Potato Harbor, donated millions of silver coins in military funds to the Moon Clan Resistance Army, if the latter cannot triumph in battle, all ideals in the end would amount to only empty talk…

...

Jinjaron Harbor, the passenger terminal's waiting room; Qian Duo from the City of Dawn was browsing the Survivor's Daily with keen interest.

The Survivor's Daily here was entirely different from the version in the City of Dawn, mainly reporting on news of interest to locals, while the war situations in Haiye Province and the events of River Valley Province barely got a mention.

As for today.

Nearly all of Jinjaron Harbor's newspapers were focused on the frontline in Mammoth State.

[...With conclusive human and material evidence! The shameless executioner Arai Yang!]

[Jinjaron Harbor United Federation Secretary-General, Roger, vehemently condemns the barbaric acts of the Imperial Grey Wolf Army, with a hundred thousand survivors protesting against the authorities handing over prisoners of war!]

[The typically reticent Secretary-General of the governor, Yoder, speaks out in a rare moment, harshly denouncing Imperial crimes, "Not only did the tragedy happen in Stone Village, but in places we cannot see, who knows how many!"]

[A language teacher from the Southern sea area, shocked in an interview and who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Disgraceful! I will write to my family and friends on Ring Island. I will petition the representative assembly! The survivors from the Southern sea area will never cooperate with cannibals!"]

"Burning down more than a hundred villages, displacing over a hundred thousand survivors, countless deaths among those relocated... Tsk tsk, these West Winds people are certainly ruthless to their own."

As he eyed the shocking photos, Qian Duo involuntarily clicked his tongue but flipped to a new page after just a moment's pause.

Mammoth State was his next destination, where he was waiting for a flight that would leave in an hour. But to be honest, seeing the horrific state of the war here, he did have some reservations.

A hundred thousand people...

How many tens of thousands are there in the City of Dawn now?

Thirty thousand?

Or fifty thousand?

Considering the transient population, it might be quite difficult to calculate.

The man sitting next to him, Han Long, lifted his eyelids and casually remarked,

"Is the Chewing Bone Tribe not brutal enough, or are the Mutants of Brocade River Province not ruthless... You're just not used to it."

"Haha, that's true... But on another note, fifty thousand regular troops against twenty thousand ragtag soldiers; if the Alliance isn't planning on intervening, it looks like Laxi is doomed." Qian Duo laughed as he casually made the remark after reviewing the comparison of the two forces' strength on the following page.

"If the Alliance intervenes, I'm afraid the Army will have to enter the fray too... Mmm... indeed, it's a tough situation," Han Long replied thoughtfully.

Just then, an unfamiliar voice carried over to them.

"He won't be doomed."

Han Long did not respond, while Qian Duo, intrigued, glanced at the one who had joined the conversation. He saw a man who carried himself with a scholarly and amiable demeanor.

He appeared to be someone of considerable status, yet his clothing was not especially expensive. Next to his feet was a suitcase, evidently packed for a long journey.

Curious about the local opinion, Qian Duo inquired,

"Oh? You think even if the Alliance doesn't intervene, he can win?"

Zayed replied with a faint smile, his voice soft,

"It depends on how you define victory and defeat. If the goal is to defeat Arai Yang, it's not difficult for him. But if the goal is the United Federation's agenda, he doesn't stand a chance."

Qian Duo chuckled.

"That's an interesting viewpoint. I actually think the opposite. If the Grey Wolf Army loses once more, the Empire will never be able to recover, and their collapse will simply be a matter of time."

Zayed shook his head and spoke clearly,

"Our perspectives aren't actually in conflict, but 'the collapse of the Empire' and 'the realization of the United Federation's agenda' are two different things."

Qian Duo's interest in the man grew, and he said with a smile,

"So what you mean is Laxi aspires to be the Emperor? But I think that might not necessarily be a bad thing. Even if it means some feudalism here, it would still be more civilized than the current barbarism... Sorry for being so blunt, but to an outsider like me, that's indeed the case."

After all, he could rival the Chewing Bone Tribe, relics that were already buried underground; even the godforsaken place like Red River Town might be more advanced than them.

But Zayed wasn't offended, merely smiling lightly as he said,

"Anybody can see that Laxi wants to be the Emperor, and it's not just you gentlemen who notice it. Sadly, he doesn't stand a chance. The survivors of Poluo Province don't need an Emperor, or rather, what the people here have always needed wasn't an Emperor. It's just that the end result gave them one… Of course, what they need is not 'equality,' but someone 'who can make decisions for me.'"

Qian Duo raised his eyebrows with interest.

He had done his homework before coming here, especially studying the reports by Ms. Han Mingyue.

What this man said was entirely different from the findings of the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team, although it wasn't completely the opposite.

"You don't think Laxi is the one?"

Zayed shook his head.

"Obviously not."

Qian Duo curiously asked,

"Because he was born a Slave?"

Zayed shook his head again.

"Of course not."

Qian Duo asked again,

"Then why?"

Zayed looked at the ceiling and thought for a while.

"Because... he wants to be a good emperor."

Qian Duo couldn't help but smirk.

"Is that wrong?"

Zayed smiled faintly, not directly answering the question.

"There is a paradox in logic on this land, which I shall temporarily call the 'Rat-man Theorem'. Those who want to be good generals will definitely not become good generals, those who want to be good emperors will definitely not be good emperors, and even those who aspire only to be good people will certainly fail to be so. Whether it is Laxi or Witch Gu, whether it is the young men of the United Federation or the Old Aristocrats of Witch Gu, the harder they try, the more they struggle, the more they will go against their ideals."

It sounded like a theory he had just made up, especially considering he took quite some time to come up with such a lousy name for the theory.

But to better understand the Market beneath his feet, Qian Duo continued to listen with interest.

"It sounds like a hopeless fate."

"Isn't it?"

Zayed glanced at the clock on the wall in the waiting room as if he still had some time, and then began to speak more expansively.

"...An invisible curse afflicts every person on this land, whether they are Mouse Tribe or Moon people. Some realize the source of the curse – the Red Soil, the City of Thousand Pillars – but many only think they understand, not grasping anything at all, and thus they fixate on the Red Soil, on those thousand pillars. It's like trying to pluck flowers from a mirror or fish the moon out of water, or searching for stallions in a cow shed."

"The only one who can preside over the destiny of the survivors of Poluo Province can only be a flawless 'saint'. They strive for perfection in this, even more devoutly than the Believers at Silver Moon Bay, so ultimately they got what they wished for – Lowell... You might say Lowell died a long time ago, but isn't Witch Gu just another Lowell?"

"He never left; he's still cursing those who buried him from that Red Soil. Now his Children have found a new answer, something they never even considered before, which is the 'equality' you gave them."

He lowered his gaze and sighed deeply.

"Everything seems wonderful, but unfortunately, the curse has struck, or perhaps the 'Rat-man Theorem' has taken effect – the rats who desire to be good people can't even be good rats. When all the survivors of Poluo Province consciously or unconsciously yearn for 'equality', they will inevitably get something completely opposite."

Qian Duo was stunned for a moment, then jokingly said with a laugh.

"If there really was such a perfect saint, not just you, but we would need them too... There's no need to make laziness something unique to you."

Zayed smiled and shook his head.

"You don't actually need one; you're just saying that. You and I are completely different. I'll give you a simple example: in Poluo Province, a group of people who might not seem respectable but generally do some good deeds are not liked by anyone and are bound for Hell."

"Are you talking about the Residents of the refuge?" Qian Duo glanced around and noticed several Blue Jackets nearby, then said with a smile, "It seems like the people of Jinjaron Harbor quite like them."

Zayed spoke softly,

"That's because they haven't left yet... and you see, Jinjaron Harbor seems to have been nicely renovated and seems to have finally achieved the equality they yearned for, but they don't realize that they've just found the people 'who can make decisions for them,' a group where they can place their weary souls."

This sounded like he was saying that the survivors of Poluo Province are all idealists, but Jinjaron Harbor's Survivor Daily is materialistic, just like the Alliance.

Qian Duo raised an eyebrow with interest, although he completely disagreed with his view.

"Your conjecture is interesting, but it lacks evidence... Perhaps you should follow Ms. Han Mingyue's example and turn your theory into a more structured paper for publication – we look forward to a debate between you two."

Zayed suddenly laughed heartily.

"Such things are meaningless. Would you publish the specific steps of making money in the newspaper? And don't forget the Rat-man Theorem I mentioned; I don't want to become the first victim of this paradox, as too many have died for it. Time will prove my judgment… My flight is arriving; I wish you a pleasant journey."

With that, he picked up his suitcase and rose from his seat, then, as if he remembered something, he looked towards Qian Duo with a smile and tipped his hat in farewell.

"Moreover, Mammoth State really is a good place; I am equally optimistic about its future."

Leaving the stunned Alliance Merchant, Zayed headed towards the security checkpoint. He seemed to have had some dispute with the personnel there, but eventually went through.

Qian Duo turned excitedly to Han Long.

"Holy shit... This guy has something, he even figured out we're going to inspect Mammoth State?"

Interesting fellow.

I should've asked for his name.

Han Long watched this man's retreating back for a while, his electronic eyes shifting back and forth.

"I'm only concerned with the boss's business... That said, it seems this guy isn't very fond of Laxi? Do we still need to go there?"

Qian Duo laughed heartily.

"That's his opinion; there are plenty in the world whose views differ from ours. Don't let a stranger's ranting affect your judgment. Besides, not all our views are opposite; at least he's optimistic about Mammoth State, just like me."

The Lister Group needed to keep up with the times just like Baiyue Corporation, joining the new supply chain being formed.

In the future, the Alliance's Commodity would not only be produced by the industrial zones of Dawn City and Giant Stone City; the invisible logistics network would connect all the lagging and advanced production forces within the Sticky Community.

However, as crucial as expanding business was, managing risks was even more crucial.

And that's exactly why Lister had sent him to Mammoth City; yet he chose to start in Jinjaron Harbor.

Only the nouveau riche focus solely on the rate of return.

Before considering profits, he needed to find a way out.

Chapter 783: Landing Exercise

Li Minghui still remembered that just a few days ago, he had complained with his secretary that the Alliance was too merciful, and now, in only a few days, his "good friend" had brought him a big surprise.

People in Ring Island, probably having eaten too much, burst out from some valley not marked on the map to hold up signs and protest against the economic cooperation between the South Sea Union and the Empire.

Alright, that was indeed going too far.

But this protest really baffled him.

If anyone thought about it for a moment, they could clearly see who was giving away money and who was bleeding out. Yet this bunch stubbornly misinterpreted it as him being the Empire's lapdog.

Upon hearing this, Li Minghui flew into a rage, wishing he could go to Ring Island right away and set the record straight with those fishermen.

Twenty billion!

The South Sea Union didn't have to do anything and would get twenty billion just like that!

They didn't even try to think where the welfare that kept them from starvation without lifting a finger came from!

Look how spoilt by the Alliance they were!

In the end, it was the Alliance's Managers who had the foresight, immediately seeing West Winds as a cesspit, and drawing a circle to play on their own, not involving them in their games at all.

And then there's the Army...

But the Army was a different story altogether, pure disregard for the people of the zoo, and that was to be discussed separately.

The depths to which different people will stoop are not the same.

While Li Minghui was stewing in his anger, Si Wen, as he had anticipated, came looking for him, pressuring him fiercely.

"Mr. Li Minghui, I advise you to carefully consider who you collaborate with. We've suffered enough at the hands of the Torch Church... To speak frankly, a significant portion of South Sea Union residents do not wish to cooperate with the Empire."

Watching this guy flip-flop like flipping through a book, Li Minghui nearly had his nose bent out of shape with frustration.

"Then do you still want to sell them warships or not!"

"We do…" Si Wen began subconsciously, but then hesitated, taking a detour, "but we can't not sell either."

"… You might as well be president."

Li Minghui pushed back his chair to leave, startling Si Wen, who hurried over to grab his shoulder, pressing him firmly back down.

"That can't be allowed; you have to stay until after the war ends! We agreed on this before… Don't make jokes like that!"

"Then you explain to me, how the hell do I both sell and not sell?" Li Minghui's laughter was tinged with anger, "Just take the money and not deliver the goods?"

He'd meant it as a retort, but to his surprise, this man before him readily agreed.

"It's not impossible."

Li Minghui was stunned for a moment.

He thought that thinking of dismantling warships into toys was shameless enough, but he hadn't expected someone could be even more shameless than he was.

Filthy.

Too damn filthy!

Li Minghui stared at him.

"… You want to take all the benefits."

"Why not?" Si Wen said, eyes drifting, "The bill authorizing the purchase was signed by you, but the authorization for the engagement will be signed by your successor... You signed the agreement to secure a window of recovery time for the survivors of the Southern sea area after the war; no one can criticize you for it, and your successor, for righteous reasons, refuses to sign the delivery contract, no one can fault him either."

Li Minghui sighed.

"Your tactics are too bullying."

"So what then, should we sacrifice ourselves for others? Give them your ships and let them have their fun on our territory? Wake up, even you think the Alliance is too merciful, so why are you going soft now when it's about you?"

Si Wen harshly rebuked him, continuing,

"The Representative Assembly will fight for time for you, wait until you've signed the contract, then we'll respond to those doves and enact an amendment... You'll still be our hero, and even leave a glorious opportunity for your successor."

With that, Si Wen exited, leaving only Li Minghui and his secretary alone in the office.

The office fell quiet for quite some time.

Li Minghui sighed and turned to his secretary.

"It seems my intuition was right; we indeed need these people who constantly argue in the meetings... Ahem! Arrange a meeting with Duke Nihak for me at the Presidential Mansion. Also, prepare the latest issue of 'Survivor Daily' from Potato Harbor for me; I might need it."

What a tough nut to crack.

Just a few days ago, he and Si Wen were bitterly arguing; now, in less than a month, they had "made peace" twice.

The secretary nodded bewilderedly.

"Alright… Sir."

Maybe his own abilities were insufficient; he was increasingly unable to understand these individuals...

…

Sword, shield, armor… even the chopping board was ready, yet the invited Duke Nihak had no idea that he had become the fattened bull in the Colosseum, while his new good friend was backstage idly twirling his sword to warm up.

Thinking he was being recalled by that exalted war hero of the South Sea Union, that rich and mysterious old friend of his, he happily donned his luxurious Devil Silk suit and headed for the venue.

It was his favorite suit.

The sunlight outside the window was somewhat blinding.

Li Minghui stood up and went to the window to gently adjust the blinds, collected his emotions for a moment, then turned to face the Duke Nihak, who was calmly sipping his tea, and said earnestly,

"Mr. Nihak, what you've done is a bit over the top."

Duke Nihak frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Li Minghui cleared his throat lightly.

"What I mean is... the newspaper you've placed under your teapot."

Considering the two billion at stake, he softened his tone somewhat, and Duke Nihak, surely enough, relaxed his brow and cast his gaze to the headline of the newspaper.

Before, he hadn't paid much attention to the words on the paper; it was only after Li Minghui mentioned it that he realized it was a "newspaper."

"The Executioner of Mammoth State, Arai Yang, Annihilates 'Enemies' by the Tens of Thousands!"

[Photo: Tragedy in Stone Village.]

Seeing this title and photo, Duke Nihak's brow twitched fiercely, and he explained, his face darkening without reading a single line of the text,

"We can't intervene in the decisions of the front-line generals... It's indeed a mess; we will hold them accountable afterward!"

This damn Arai Yang!

Can't even wipe his own ass after taking a dump!

With one look, he guessed the progression of events; someone had rendered a kindness unfit for a woman, letting survivors live, and it had come to light.

"If everyone were killed, would we still have these troubles?"

"That wouldn't be called the Stone Village Massacre, that would be called burning a hundred thousand troops!"

Of course, pursuing responsibility is just something he said verbally; Arai Yang was personally appointed by him. Pursuing responsibility would be like slapping his own face, wouldn't it?

And what business is it of the South Sea Union?

Li Minghui sat opposite him, poured himself a cup of tea, and sighed before speaking.

"... It's difficult now. I don't really want to deal with this, but some residents from the Ring Island have jumped out in opposition to my selling warships to you."

The warships are no longer for sale?!

Had he just wasted ten billion?!

Hearing this, Duke Nihak's face suddenly changed.

"What do you mean! How can you go back on your word!"

Seeing this man seem to overreact, Li Minghui quickly softened his tone to appease him.

"Duke Sir, you have misunderstood. I'm not thinking of reneging. Otherwise, I wouldn't have urgently invited you here to discuss strategies."

Seeing that there was still room for discussion, Duke Nihak finally calmed down, and his tone also became more conciliatory.

"Then tell me, how are we going to negotiate?"

"I have to explain the situation to the residents as the representatives requested. But to be frank, they don't understand anything. They have no idea how important the Empire is to the South Sea Union. However, regrettably, I'm just a nanny. Even if I don't want to deal with it, I have to appease them," Li Minghui sighed and put on a weary expression, shaking his head as he continued, "If I can't get past them and they elect someone opposed to the Empire, then I have no idea who would buy the warships."

Duke Nihak became very tense and hurriedly said,

"Can't... those people be taken care of?"

As he spoke, he glanced around and made a subtle neck-slashing gesture with his right hand, the implication clear without words.

Li Minghui's eyebrows twitched violently, and he coughed before saying,

"You, be reasonable... We're discussing a very serious matter."

Let's not mention his inability; even Charles couldn't pull off such a thing; that arrogant and incompetent madman could at most impose martial law.

If he really turned on his own people, he might not even have a chance to be the bunker boy; there wouldn't be any need to fight for the airport.

Duke Nihak was puzzled for a long time, not feeling that anything was abnormal about himself, after all, he was just making a suggestion, not insisting on following through.

Seeing Li Minghui did not agree, he could only change the angle and pondered for a while, and gradually seemed to catch some key points.

"So, as long as those representatives are appeased, that would be sufficient, right?"

"Yes," Li Minghui nodded quickly, with a sincere—or rather, eager—expression, "We're friends, and you have to help me with this!"

His idea was to have Duke Nihak propose an expedited order, settling the contract and design plans, and paying the down payment and advance.

However, he still overestimated the duke's intelligence. Perhaps being used to acting the big spender and treating the South Sea Union as his own, he grandly offered,

"That's easy! I'll loan you another ten billion West Winds coins!"

Li Minghui, who was drinking tea, nearly sprayed out his drink and coughed several times before setting down his cup.

"It's not a problem with the West Winds coins... cough, of course, we support that you are willing to support our reconstruction efforts, but... we're currently discussing the sale of warships. Can you understand? These are two different matters."

Why can't this guy wrap his head around it?

Looking at this fat-faced man, Li Minghui couldn't help feeling a mixture of amusement and frustration but had to patiently explain to him.

Duke Nihak furrowed his brows, pondering for a moment.

"Mr. Li Minghui, since there's no one here, you might as well make yourself clear... What exactly do you want me to do?"

Li Minghui didn't beat around the bush and fixed his intense gaze on him as he spoke.

"I hope to finalize the order as soon as possible, before those blabbermouths at the conference take action against our close friendship!"

Upon hearing this, Duke Nihak was overjoyed and rubbed his hands together, saying,

"That's great! That's what I'm thinking too! What's the best ship you've got?"

Seeing the fish was hooked, Li Minghui immediately responded.

"The Sea Edge Battleship! It can take down one of the Army's airships in a minute!"

Duke Nihak felt a huge shock, almost standing up from the sofa as he stared at Li Minghui and exclaimed in disbelief,

"Is it really that powerful?!"

Li Minghui cleared his throat and said,

"...you could try it out after buying it."

To tell the truth, war isn't about comparing sizes by tossing dice; such a claim was plainly stupid. But there was no helping it—if the customer liked to hear this, he had to use such a layman's analogy.

Sure enough, Duke Nihak's eyes lit up with fervor. He nearly sparked fire by rubbing his thumb and index finger together, salivating with eagerness.

"How much?"

Li Minghui watched an eager Duke Nihak, feeling his heart pound yet maintaining a calm demeanor as he spun his tale.

"Perhaps... 1 billion silver coins? We'd have to wait for the blueprints to come out before giving an estimate—Of course! We support installment payments. You make an initial deposit of fifty million, and our shipyard can start work. After that, you just pay ten million a month until it's paid off."

The latter part was mainly to avoid frightening away the big fish that had taken the bait.

Unexpectedly, the opposite party wasn't daunted by this astronomical figure at all; instead, he stood up, overjoyed.

"Fantastic! One billion silver coins... How about this, we'll take a bit of loss and just count it as ten billion West Winds currency for you!"

Hearing this "we'll take a bit of loss", Li Minghui nearly choked on his own spittle. He quickly interrupted the duke's daydream.

"Duke Nihak, respectable Grand Duke of the Empire... you can't calculate it like that. You must pay in silver coins."

Duke Nihak was taken aback, his brows furrowing deep.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like—"

"We've lent you so much money, you've bought so much from us with West Winds currency—tons of steel, cement, cotton, soybeans, and sugar! And now when we want to buy your products, we need to use silver coins?! What are you getting at?"

Duke Nihak's gaze turned slightly unpleasant, a hint of suspicion surfacing in his murky pupils.

The debts in West Winds currency were to be repaid in West Winds currency, clearly stated in black and white on paper.

Were these guys planning on repaying their debts at all?

Li Minghui was also stunned.

He had sharpened his knife ready for the slaughter, but he hadn't anticipated that the pig would suddenly wake up. He scrambled to patch things up.

"It's not that I don't want to accept it... Of course, we're willing to take it, but it's just that..." His mind raced, and in a moment of inspiration, he said, "It's the shipyard that won't accept it!"

Duke Nihak paused, somewhat confused.

"The shipyard?"

How did we get to talking about shipyards again?!

"Yes..." Li Minghui sighed and made a helpless expression, "The Alliance's companies hold shares in North Island Heavy Industries, and they want to audit the accounts. Besides, North Island Heavy Industries needs to pay its employees in silver coins... We have no choice; we can't force them to take West Winds Dinars, can we? Not to mention whether the Alliance's shareholders would agree, the shipyard workers certainly wouldn't."

He didn't even mention that the railguns on the battleships were from Shelter No. 70, which was currently managed by Shelter No. 404, and Shelter No. 404 is an Alliance affair.

However, Duke Nihak did not ask about it but seriously considered Li Minghui's words and wondered if they made some sense?

Although he always felt there was a big problem, he couldn't quite pinpoint where the problem was.

Actually, using silver coins was not a big issue.

Since the lifting of the Jin Galun Port blockade, Poluo Province and all the inland and near-sea ports of Jin Galun Port had resumed trade, with monthly throughput even breaking through one million tons!

That amounted to an average of each resident of Jin Galun Port having a "mutual trade of one ton" with the residents within the Empire every month!

Due to the Jin Galun Port Authority contracting an institution to collect tariffs on behalf of the Empire, the tax revenue also rose with the trade volume, accumulating a surprising surplus of seventy to eighty million silver coins over a few months, which was much more satisfying than when they were involved in human trafficking.

But as satisfying as it was, the Royal Family didn't need silver coins as much as it needed Dinars.

This foreign exchange mainly came from the merchants and nobles of Tiger State and Leopard State, and it was mostly they who spent it, such as converting it into silver coins to buy machinery, seeds, fertilizers, and consumer goods from the Alliance.

However, these double-dealers were not good people; they always acted spoiled after gaining an advantage, expanding their operations while crying poverty to the Court who couldn't collect taxes no matter what.

Rather than letting them squander the silver coins, it was better to have them put it toward something truly meaningful for the Empire.

"Okay, how will the fifty million silver coins as a down payment be made?"

Suppressing the excitement and ecstasy in his heart, Li Minghui's voice trembled.

"Same as before... You transfer the money to the bank in Jin Galun Port, and our contracted institution can collect the payment!"

...

The North Island in the Southern sea area, with its beaches to the north, was as bustling as ever.

Since the capture of North Island in early October, the Alliance designated this beach as a military training area and conducted more than a dozen large and small amphibious landing exercises.

Now, in mid-November, the situation on the northern front gradually became a stalemate, and the Sticky Community Allied forces urgently needed to open a new breakthrough in the south.

Naturally, this glorious and arduous task fell upon the Alliance's shoulders.

To ensure the operation was foolproof and to minimize the loss of expensive equipment in combat, players of the Burning Corps were also fully dedicated during the exercises.

One could see a line of "Short Snout Crocodile" amphibious armored vehicles painted with blue digital camouflage rapidly charging up from shallow waters to the beach. Not far from the heaving sea, six large landing crafts floated like mighty beasts, gazing toward the shore.

As soon as the armored vehicles reached the beachhead, they began to deploy smoke and launched smoke grenades forward, instantly covering the entire beach with smog!

Following their entry into the middle of the beach, the rear doors of the vehicle sprang open to both sides, and infantry clad in exoskeletons filed out, swiftly moving in groups of three, guided by the "Visual Battlefield Guidance System" on their helmet visors.

Following them ashore were the "King Crab" amphibious all-terrain infantry armors, their long, thick barrels radiating a menacing cold light in the sun.

From the time the landing crafts were stabilized to all combat units onshore, it only took 4 minutes and 31 seconds!

The entire operation was executed in one fluid series of movements, without any hesitation!

Aside from officers and staff from the Alliance's headquarters who were present, there were many bystanders watching beyond a cordon on the shore.

The residents of North Island had long since grown accustomed to the Alliance's exercises.

After all, it had been just over a month since these people had staged a "real one," liberating them from the tyranny of that lunatic Charles.

Not to mention that those "Short Snout Crocodile" amphibious armored vehicles were designed by their engineers, albeit with a re-designed turret by Goblin Technology for logistical purposes.

Some snack shop owners even pushed out their food carts and ice cream trucks, ready to sell to the "wanjia" after their training.

Although the soldiers from the Alliance sometimes behaved oddly and spoke the United Human language haltingly, their discipline was excellent, and they didn't put on any airs, so the local residents weren't too afraid of them. Instead, they were happy to interact with them.

However, even though the island's residents were unfazed, the workers from Mammoth State were all staring, eyes wide and mouths agape.

So powerful!

What on earth was their emperor thinking to provoke this group of monsters!

They totally deserved to get beaten black and blue!

Amid the crowd, a representative from Mammoth State, Weilu, stood with his mouth agape, staring unblinkingly at those murderous suits of armor.

Is this the full strength of the Alliance?

It's even more exaggerated than he had imagined...

He was one of the officers who had defected with Laxi from the Jin Galun Port Militia and was also among the Mammoth State authorities who had the deepest understanding of the Alliance's power.

After all, he had been present when the Alliance landed at Jin Galun Harbor, watching the city defense forces get beaten senseless on their own turf and seeing the Grey Wolf Army get chased into the Everflow River for a butterfly swim...

At that time, he had only marveled at the power of technology and didn't have a clear concept of the Alliance's own combat power.

It wasn't until now that he realized the Alliance might not have used its full strength at all.

No—

More accurately, the Burning Corps might not have used its full strength, and the Alliance was much more than just one Burning Corps...

Weilu couldn't help but swallow, pushing down the shock in his heart.

If only he could invite this troop to Mammoth State...

Of course, that might not be very realistic.

But it should be no problem to earn some more silver coins to buy some similar equipment to take back.

On the edge of the crowd of onlookers, several engineers from North Island Heavy Industries were also holding binoculars, occasionally laughing and talking.

"Is that giant crab the work of Shelter No. 70?"

"More precisely, it's a modified version based on the design blueprints from Shelter 100."

"Tsk, those old guys sure have a lot of treasures."

"The landing craft need some more improvements... wouldn't it be faster to deploy landing boats from the sides rather than releasing them from the middle?"

"It's probably too late to change the production plan now, the Alliance's landing troops have already equipped six vessels, and two more are due to be delivered by the end of the month."

"The feeling of having inexhaustible resources is freaking awesome."

"What about making improvements on the existing basis? Like installing a row of elevators on the side of the ship."

"You have to consider the impact of swapping out equipment on the soldiers' training..."

This exercise saw the most equipment invested to date, with several "Cloud Dragonfly" flapping machines flying low overhead and "Lightning" and "Thunder" cruising above the clouds.

The opposition was just a group of Mutants, at most armed with some weapons gifted by Charles—it felt a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut to deploy so much high-tech equipment.

Watching the fighter planes skim low overhead and explode into white mist, the crowds watching on the shore erupted in cheers and applause from time to time, with hardly anyone doubting the imminent final victory.

Watching the fully landed troops, Old White, who was by the shore watching, glanced at the VM's time, grinned, and then shouted into the communication channel.

"Exercise is over, thank you for your hard work! Remember to pick up the trash before you leave, rewards will be calculated later."

When training NPCs, he would usually be more strict, but there was no need to do so with players; after all, death just meant three days out of action.

It was already encouraging enough that these guys could take the exercises seriously, not mess around, and not drop the ball.

It's no exaggeration to say that only our Burning Corps and Storm Corps can handle such exercises. The NPC Legion would be the only other possibility.

Hearing the boss's voice, a wave of cheers for dispersal rolled through the communication channel.

"Wrap it up, wrap it up!"

"Shaved ice! I want some shaved ice!"

"Damn it, I lost my shoe just now. Who'll come with me to find it..."

"Hahaha! Shit! You're trying to kill me with laughter."

"Even my balls are laughing!"

"%￥#@!"

As the exercise ended, the distant landing craft headed back to the port on the south side of the island, and the players also walked ashore in groups.

Looking at Old White standing at the edge of the exercise field, By Some Mistake spoke with animated excitement.

"Boss! How did it go this time?"

Old White laughed heartily.

"Not too shabby!"

No Family: "Damn! Just 'not too shabby'?!"

"Don't want you getting cocky," patting his brother on the shoulder, Old White said with a smile, "But the results are pretty good."

At a beach restaurant not far from the exercise area and the military base, Mosquito lay on a beach chair, idly sipping coconut juice and admiring the beautiful women passing by on the roadside, occasionally glancing at the Survivor's Daily in his hand, which served more as a prop.

Goblin Technology is also one of the major partners of North Island Heavy Industries. The 37mm gun turret and automatic loading system of the "Short Snout Crocodile" were redesigned by the former.

To not miss the landing day, he purposely came all the way from the northern front to the southern front, leaving the card duel contest in Weifu City, Kun Town in the hands of a member of the Mouse Tribe.

That mouse lad was indeed a genius. Imitating Mosquito's raspy voice, he made the card duel contest vibrant and successful, pitting the people of Vellante and the layabouts of Ideal City against each other.

Cards that cost less than 0.01 silver coins were not only a hit among the NPC populations, but some uninformed newbie players also started collecting them as if they were game easter eggs.

Of course, all of this was just a small digression during the war.

No matter how expensive the cards sold for, they couldn't compare to the profits from arms dealing.

Seeing an acquaintance lying on the beach chair, Fang Chang tossed his helmet aside and casually sat down in the chair beside him, teasing with a smile.

"Aren't you going to fly a couple of laps?"

"Nah, flying skills are already etched into my Gene Sequence. That's something I designed. Practice or not, it's all the same."

"Bragging is still your forte." Fang Chang laughed and scolded before nodding at the maid-dressed waitress and then taking the menu she handed over to order a mojito for himself.

Recently, a lot of stuff unique to City of Dawn had appeared on North Island. Although mainly aiming to profit off the residents, it also helped to spread the influence of Teng Teng's artistic crafts.

The local residents weren't particularly resistant to these foreign cultural entrants, whether classy or tacky.

After all, compared to the high-pressure life during Charles's era, every day after the civil war felt blissfully like living in a dream for them.

With an acquaintance sitting beside him, Mosquito felt embarrassed to openly flirt with the NPC waitress and pretended to bury his head in the newspaper, which was almost wrinkled from handling.

He hadn't realized until he took a closer look at the headline that jumped out at him, startling him.

"Holy shit... that's some big spending!"

The West Winds Empire spent 1 billion silver coins to order a 100,000-ton class battleship from North Island Heavy Industries!

Wow, not even the Alliance has such badass stuff, and those old timers from Poluo Province managed to get their hands on it?!

Of course, the main reason the Alliance doesn't have it is simply because they don't really need it.

On one hand, during their battles with the Army, the Alliance has already come up with numerous more cost-effective tactics, such as the phase gun that can paralyze shields and anti-gravity systems with a single shot, or the slow-moving guided weapons at the end of the engagement, and even jump-ship battles and so on... Even something as technologically simple as balloons can paralyze the propellers of airships under certain conditions.

The South Sea Union creating the "Sea Edge" battleship is purely because they've only ever considered the Army as a hypothetical enemy and never actually encountered them.

Objectively speaking, the thing is indeed powerful, but it's not economically viable.

It's like a sword with a diamond embedded in the hilt; it might indeed increase the chances of winning, for instance by distracting the opponent, but the price of a single gem could buy the equipment for an entire knight squadron.

Fang Chang took a glance at the newspaper in Mosquito's hands and said with a laugh,

"You only found out today? I knew the day before yesterday."

Mosquito coughed and retorted,

"Cough... I've been quite busy with work recently and haven't paid much attention to NPC news. But speaking of which, why isn't this thing being discussed on the forums?"

Fang Chang casually said,

"Debates about the firepower of battleships were already held before the battle for North Island, and it turned out they can only take a few more torpedoes than a destroyer. The sinking CG is impressive for sure... but what else is there to discuss? Plasma engines with more thrust are our focus for development. They might also prove useful once maps of outer space open up, as you are well aware."

Ignoring Fang Chang's words, Mosquito continued reading the newspaper, his expression growing more excited.

"1 billion silver coins up front, 50 million each month, and the authority's reconstruction loan from the aid received from the West Winds Empire increased to 30 billion... Damn, how can the Empire be so wealthy? Speaking of which, you sure you don't want to give it a nudge forward?"

"Why does it sound so sleazy coming from you..." Seeing Mosquito's eager look, Fang Chang rolled his eyes disapprovingly and paused before continuing, "Also, guess where the Empire gets all those silver coins?"

Mosquito chuckled and took a sip of coconut juice,

"What's there to guess? You guys gave it to them, right?"

Fang Chang gave a faint smile,

"Since you already know, why bother asking?"

When they first entered Jin Galun Port, the annual import and export total of that "slave-trading port" was only a few billion dinars.

However, as soon as they turned the cattle there into people, the trade value of Jin Galun exceeded that amount in just one month. Even a blockhead like Witch Gu managed to earn tens of millions in tariffs while sprawled in bed.

Simply occupying a few pieces of land was meaningless. If you want to earn more silver coins from NPCs, you need to turn more NPCs from cattle into people.

In fact, that's exactly the hidden "reward mechanism" of Wasteland OL. With a little understanding of the game rules designed by Ah Guang, it's easy to realize this, and Baiyue Corporation, which he runs, has been doing just this for quite some time and not half badly either.

It's not just Jin Galun; residents of Tiger State and Leopard State are gradually starting to live like humans. Although they can't be compared to the residents of the City of Dawn, at least they are living somewhat more properly than before.

"...although, I always feel like you guys are being wishful thinking in hoping that making them wealthy will change them. I've never been to Poluo Province, but during my time in the Weifu Wasteland, I did interact with a few folks from there."

Gazing at the sun-drenched beach and sipping coconut juice, Mosquito sighed, struggling to describe the Mouse Tribe subordinate he had taken on.

After all, it's a nurturing game, isn't it? Most players of this game are quite nice to NPC, like Teng Teng who's nearly raising Hua Hua as a daughter, despite the latter being much taller. Not to mention the Luoyu Brothers, and Xiaoyu isn't even human.

He's not an exception either; he's always been good to his own minion, never neglecting the economic well-being of that Mouse Tribe lad, but no matter how much the guy saves, how many books he reads, or how much he learns, it always leaves him with an odd impression—

That's not like a normal person.

"That feeling is like... the programmer maliciously deleted two key lines of code while editing that guy's program. Both Xiaoyu and Yinyin consider themselves human, but that guy doesn't regard himself as one at all. So his personality is not special, but he just doesn't fit in... Of course, I'm talking about outside of work."

Fang Chang laughed,

"It's not like you're his dad, why care how he lives?"

"Yeah, indeed I'm not. I'm just a fun seeker; wherever there's fun, that's where I'll be," Mosquito smiled and tossed the exaggeratedly-headlined newspaper to Fang Chang, "What about you? Fancy being their sugar daddy?"

"Or perhaps you'd like to guess whether they bought that broken toy to go after the Weilante People or to have a go at you."

Chapter 784: Duke Nihak Who Would Go Through Fire and Water for His Friends

"Mr. Li Minghui, we are friends, right?"

While Li Minghui was drinking tea and watching a play in the Presidential Mansion's office, he suddenly received a strange "nuisance call."

The reason it was called a nuisance wasn't because of the caller's identity, but because the caller used an internal line and asked such a bizarre question.

It was no less surprising than if his pillow talk partner, during his working hours, suddenly messaged him to ask if he still loved her.

"Of course... Has there been any accident during the exercises?"

He subconsciously glanced at his schedule, and it seemed that today, aside from a landing exercise on the northern beaches by the Union Burning Corps, there was nothing else noteworthy.

However, Mr. Fang's next sentence was unexpected.

"No, the exercise is going smoothly, but I noticed that you plan to sell a battleship similar to 'Haiya' to the Empire. Although this call might be redundant, I still wanted to confirm the issue with the main gun. The shelter is a rescuing agency, and we don't want technology we discovered to be used for—"

"Oh—, about that matter," Li Minghui suddenly realized and chuckled, "you don't need to worry about that; we have no interest in causing trouble for ourselves."

After all, wasn't this guy a board member of the North Island Heavy Industries? How did he not know about such a huge arms sale project?

How interesting is it to knowingly ask such questions—

Wait.

Li Minghui suddenly realized.

Could it be that it was actually the Alliance Managers who were inquiring?

The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed, especially since Mr. Fang's intelligence wouldn't allow him to overlook such evident facts.

After all, this deal wasn't something the South Sea Union could decide on its own; the authorities were just facilitating and brokered this huge deal, taking a cut from the advance payment (tax). When to deliver, whether to deliver, and whether the ship hull leaked or not was ultimately up to the shipyard, wasn't it?

Moreover, stepping back ten thousand steps, once the survivors of Poluo Province truly united, so what if they were shipped the order?

By then, the real headache would belong to the enemies of the survivors, such as the Weilante folks who still dreamed of conquering the world, not the already united survivors of River Valley Province or those in the Southern sea area.

Thinking this, he immediately switched to a formal tone, cleared his throat, and said seriously,

"In our view, the Empire's reputation lies between a Torch and Charles. We have no reason to deliver equipment to the current Empire that might threaten us. But from my position, it's hard to refuse money that comes our way; we need money, it's that simple... Also, send my regards to your manager; survivors from the South Sea Union are always welcome to visit the Southern sea area."

Mr. Fang probably guessed he was misunderstanding something, but he didn't clarify, merely responding with a light laugh.

"I understand. I wish you well in life. Also, I'll convey your greetings to Mr. Manager; he has always wanted to visit here too, but I'm afraid he'll have to wait until after the war."

The call ended.

Mr. Fang smiled, picked up the exaggeratedly titled newspaper, handed it back to the stunned Mosquito, then lightly tapped on the VM, ending the voice synchronization.

"This game's NPCs are more realistic and smarter than you'd think… of course, Duke Nihak is an exception, he represents another kind of reality."

Thinking not all NPCs were smart, Mr. Fang added a note, cleared his throat, and continued,

"Maybe it's an issue with education, or maybe the slaves of Poluo Province have spoiled him, but for now, he can't understand that civilization is a product under negotiation. Instead, he sees it as something naturally right. He thinks his cunning is invisible, treats others as fools; in fact, everyone can see it, they just don't bother to point it out and subtly retaliate... It's that simple."

He recorded the conversation.

Although he felt that the manager probably knew everything, he still chose to report proactively to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings.

After all, he really didn't want to be called back by Little Fish for questioning.

Mosquito was dumbfounded for a while before genuinely raising his thumb.

"Awesome! That's really cunning..."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Mr. Fang replied with a mild smile, took the Mojito from the waiter thanking him, and continued casually,

"To answer your earlier question, I have never thought about being their godfather, but as you see… at least until their wings are strong, they do indeed have to call me 'Dad.'"

Just as the manager declared that day, the currency of the Union could buy any commodity, but no money should ever trade for honor and dignity.

Think you're up for it?

Then give it a try.

...

For Duke Nihak, 30 billion West Winds Dinars and fifty million silver coins were trivial.

After all, even if he lost Jin Galun Port, he remained the esteemed Duke, at most just without a governor's title.

However, for the survivors of Tiger State and Leopard State, especially those who bought Union brand sewing machines for their workshops, and for those workers who almost smoked their sewing machines with overuse, it was a tormentingly painful cut at their finances, with both their metaphorical kidneys bleeding.

The market of White Tiger City.

The usually bustling stalls were even more "lively" this time, as a group of middle-aged men and young fellows in long tunics and short jackets crowded in front of an empty stall.

Some were nearby tailoring shop owners, some were tailors working for the local lords, and others were employees from nearby garment factories.

These people varied in height, weight, skin tone, and demeanor, displaying more diversity than between cattle and humans, yet their expressions were strikingly similar—all wore a look of righteous indignation.

An authoritative old man led the group, trembling in fury as he pointed at the white characters on a blackboard.

"Fifty West Winds per kilogram of cotton cloth?! Have you gone mad with greed?!"

Seeing someone taking the lead, the crowd roared in agreement.

"Exactly!"

"Too much!"

"Everyone here runs a business, how can you be so unreasonable!"

The clerk sitting behind the stall, indifferent, glanced at the old tailor and then at the group of hecklers behind him, annoyed, he said.

"Reasonable? Heh, you think it's expensive today at fifty, just wait until it increases to sixty tomorrow and see what you'll have to say then. Take it or leave it at this price!"

The crowd around the stall buzzed with outrage at his words, but the clerk sitting behind didn't seem scared at all and even picked his ear.

Two burly men stood beside the stall, like two fierce tigers, glaring at the survivors making them afraid to speak up.

White Tiger City was the largest settlement in Tiger State, and the fabric market there was the largest textile market in the entire state. Could anyone run a business here without some connection to the big shots in the Tiger Army?

Dream on!

However, it was truly strange. The price of fabric hadn't always been this ludicrous. Cotton was priced between 10 and 15 West Winds per kilogram—doubling after being processed into fabric made it 20-30 West Winds, sold to Jingga Lun Port's merchants for 16 to 24 Gallons, and occasionally settled in silver coins.

That is to say, a kilogram of cotton fabric at 1.6~2.4 silver coins.

The textile industry was the first industry to flow into Tiger State from Jingga Lun Port, and the cheap yet fine cotton fabric of Tiger State had supported half of Jingga Lun Port's thriving export trade.

Recently, however, something unknown had transpired. A vast horde of merchants from Jingga Lun Port had suddenly flooded in, stuffing bags full of West Winds coins into his boss's hands, buying up the textile factory's entire stock and even reserving next year's orders.

Those guys acted as if the money wasn't their own, seemingly obtained through some cheap trick.

Though merchants from Jingga Lun Port are famously rich in the eyes of the survivors of Tiger State, they had never been this frenzied before.

The exchange rate between Gallon and West Winds, although unofficial, was commonly accepted as four Gallons for five West Winds.

The merchants' West Winds must have been exchanged using Gallons, unless they had accessed a cheaper rate from a bank or somewhere else.

He was just a clerk, of course unaware of where those merchants got so many West Winds, but he heard that the money was indeed issued by the royal family.

Worried that they would not accept it, the merchants even brought proof from the disbursing banks, which was more than enough to certify that the money was clean without any faults.

Although odd, business that came knocking couldn't be refused, so the complete stock of Tiger State's textile mills was sold out.

Generally, the fabrics that flowed into the market from textile mills were leftover pieces picked over by garment factories, but this time the textile mills had been completely squeezed dry by the flood of West Winds, so naturally, the price of fabric in the market had to rise as well.

After some noisy shoving in front of the stall, ultimately no one dared to make trouble on the turf of the military faction and could only swallow their displeasure.

Some servants, who were buying fabric to make clothes for their masters, readily handed over the money since it wasn't theirs to worry about in the first place, and their masters were certainly not short of cash.

Some small shop owners, after doing their calculations, discovered that with these prices, making clothes would lead to a loss and hence walked away cursing.

There were also those who heard that the price of fabric would continue to rise and thought it a good opportunity for speculation, so they quickly pulled out their West Winds coins to buy.

Even more passerby residents buzzed with the rumour, wondering if something big had happened again in Mammoth City. Some even spread news in panic about General Arai Yang's defeat at the frontlines claiming that the fabric was in such high demand for wrapping bodies and creating bandages, which caused the price to shoot up to the sky.

However, this analysis seems overly simplistic.

After all, it wasn't just the price of cloth that was rising, but also sugarcane, granulated sugar, soybeans, corn, and all sorts of other messy commodities were surging.

Some people cursed the Moon people, believing it was their "unclean blood" that had cursed the Empire's fortune, and that only by using their blood in a great ritual could the curse be undone.

Others cursed the merchants of Jingga Lun Port, since those who profiteer from disaster indeed lack morals and the origins of this West Winds currency were surely not respectable.

Some insightful individuals bewilderingly cursed Chu Guang, the Alliance Manager who was commanding from the front lines in Haiya Province.

The reason they were considered insightful was because those who hadn't read a few second-hand newspapers wouldn't likely know the name of the Alliance Manager.

The bitterness of being in a cocoon room stemmed from a lack of channels to obtain information. Sometimes, one could feel a slap but not know where on their body the slap had landed,
or even from where the slap had come.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of White Tiger City,
in an area of about ten acres, hundreds of pedal-operated sewing machines were crammed into a factory, their "lulu" noise continuously reverberating throughout.

Named "Farghan," this garment factory was established by a Tiger Clan merchant named Farghan. It was not only the largest garment factory in White Tiger City but also one of the earliest factories in Tiger State.

Two months ago, Colonel Jieha Wan of the Tiger army had spent a small amount of money to buy this factory and then invested an additional ten million gallons to purchase equipment from Jingga Lun Port, thus expanding the production scale of the factory.

And the factory did not disappoint General Jieha's expectations.

Today, one-fifth of towels, curtains, beddings, and shirts used by residents of Jingga Lun Port were produced here.

The Tiger Clan merchant who sold the factory probably deeply regretted it now.

The factory was like a money-printing machine, steadily supplying cash milk to the Tiger Army. As a result, the Tiger Army, just like the garrison of Jingga Lun Port, had upgraded to the Alliance's full-fledged LD-47 uniforms, a gear that was far superior to that of the Grey Wolf Army.

While the laborers almost seemed to wish their sewing machines would fly from furiously pedaling them, the factory's accountant was similarly pressing the calculator rapidly, meticulously tallying the accounts in the ledger.

Although the goods exported from Tiger State to Jingga Lun Port earned the foreign currency, Gallon, this Gallon couldn't be directly used in Tiger State.

Whether it's the Dinar, the silver coin, or the Gallon, it all needed to be "settled" before it could truly be deposited into the factory's accounts in the bank of White Tiger City.

After all, unlike the South Sea Union which experienced "base currency collapse," neither Gallon nor silver coin could legally circulate within the Empire's territory; at most, they were used privately.

The factory could use the foreign exchange surplus to purchase equipment from Jingga Lun Port, but it had to exchange Gallons for West Winds currency in order to buy raw materials within the Empire and pay its workers.

Therefore, one routine task for the accountant each month was to reference the bank's remittance records to confirm which portions of Gallon were to be settled and which were used for equipment purchases or to pay the fees of outsourced technicians.

The Bank in White Tiger City was relatively lenient with foreign exchange management mainly because military factions didn't understand much about it and generally delegated this responsibility.

And those who were delegated often didn't understand either, so they just copied the model from Jingga Lun Port, watching how those who prospered first handled it, and then doing the same.

This was why industrial owners could generally decide for themselves when to settle their foreign exchange and how much to settle, to avoid having to report to the bank when they needed silver coins.

However, this month was quite bizarre.

First, the garment factory received payments that were forcibly settled at last month's exchange rate in West Winds currency. Then the profits listed in the ledger had dropped from more than 10 million West Winds currency at the beginning of the month to a negative two million — shocking the elderly accountant.

The first issue wasn't really a problem. The garment factory was owned by military factions, and the money houses that handled the settlements were also run by military leaders in Tiger State.

Those lords just kept moving money from one hand to the other; he didn't care much. As long as he knew where the money was going, it was fine since it remained within the lords' reach.

What really concerned him was the second issue.

How did the profits disappear?

"What's going on...where's the money?"

Why was it that the more they produced, the poorer they became?

The elderly man was utterly confused. He licked his fingers and tried to remain calm as he flipped through the ledger repeatedly until he finally spotted something in the raw materials cost.

Within just one month, the price of cotton had doubled, and even the usually stable linen had jumped by eighty percent.

The profits from the first half of the month were completely eaten up by the raw materials price increase in the second half, no wonder they ended up losing two million West Winds currency by the month's end.

This was no small matter.

At least there had been some profits in the first half of the month, so the total loss was relatively small.

But if this trend continued, next month they might lose twenty million West Winds currency, and they could go bankrupt in six months!

The accountant was sweating from anxiety and was about to get up and go find the factory manager when the shift supervisor suddenly knocked on the door and entered, speaking cautiously to the man sitting behind the desk.

"Sir...the workers are clamoring for their wages. Can we please settle their payments first?"

Normally, owing a week or two of wages wasn't a big deal. The long-term, free employees were quite resilient and sympathetic towards the lord.

However, something recent had changed; the entire White Tiger City, except for red soil, saw a price hike, even the soybean meal for feed had increased.

The accountant's expression stiffened, his butt had just left the chair when he sat back down and glared at the supervisor.

"I haven't finished my calculations yet. What's the rush!"

The supervisor's face was full of woe as he spoke.

"Sir, it's not me rushing you, I'm not in a hurry... It's the workers who are getting anxious."

Impatiently waving his pen, the accountant pretended to be busy.

"Tell them to keep working. General Jieha's vast enterprise won't miss this bit of money. If they want to work, they work; if not, they can leave. Don't disturb me while I'm counting money."

The supervisor, deeply aggrieved but not daring to say more, bowed his head and left the office.

For the entire day, the entire White Tiger City seemed cursed, from the small cloth traders to the large factories, a scene of woe.

Workers were busy from dawn to dusk, accountants from dusk till dawn, yet no one could figure out where the West Winds currency had gone.

Except for the plantation owners who sold cash crops like cotton and sugarcane and the nobles in the estates.

Being at the beginning or the top of the supply chain, they were the least impacted, or rather, they were the biggest beneficiaries of this round of "intentional inflation."

But that was only for now.

Soon, they would find that the original price of 100 West Winds currency for fertilizer would spike two to three times, and the second wife's purchased artwork and cosmetics would also multiply in price.

These items were temporarily imported from Jingga Lun Port using foreign currency.

Beyond the plantations, there were weavers and sugarmakers.

These relatively upstream big factories were somewhat okay as they could transfer a portion of the costs to the downstream weaving and food processing industries.

However, this spelled misery for the downstream industries, the further down, the colder the biting chill they felt.

Especially for those small shopkeepers who needed silver coins to expand production and compete for foreign trade orders with merchants from Jingga Lun Port, their ordeal would be particularly prolonged.

After all, the 30 billion West Winds currency loan was just the first cut of Duke Nihak's "self-castration", the prepayment of 50 million silver coins for ships was the most brutal, making small shopkeepers in Tiger and Leopard State who were still in the primitive accumulation stage busy for nothing for half a year.

Nihak's action had drained the Empire's Royal Mint of its foreign reserves, predicting an ongoing expenditure of ten million silver coins every month.

The Royal Mint, unable to produce enough silver coins, had to save money by tightly shutting off the tap, reducing the quota for exchanging West Winds currency for silver coins in banks all along the Everflow River.

The banks in White Tiger City, holding West Winds currency, could no longer get silver coins, not even meeting the conversion needs of the military lords' own factories, let alone fulfilling those of small workshops and shopkeepers in Tiger State.

They not only closed the channel for these little sparrows to convert silver coins but also confiscated their silver coins, forcibly converting them to West Winds currency.

Some technically proficient small workshops were on the verge of evolving into factories, but before they could start competing with the factories in Jingga Lun Port or be picked by military lords, they exploded right on the spot.

A minority of bankrupt business owners turned their eyes to the distant Mammoth State, hearing it was issuing its own currency like Jingga Lun Port and welcoming merchants from all regions to invest.

If they brought equipment, they could use it as collateral for a low-interest loan.

They could even borrow silver coins.

Although still under military rule, the local area had its advantages: closer proximity to Silver Moon Bay and the presence of a district managed by the Silver Moon Church.

Those fond of cats didn't just open churches there, but also ran banks.

Even if Mammoth State had uncertainties from war and had just experienced flooding, the prospect of collateralizing equipment for loans of silver coins was too enticing...

Ultimately, the Empire's foundation was simply too weak.

The embargo had been lifted only a few months earlier, but if decades of accumulated wealth were mobilized, the explosion might not have erupted so quickly.

Even if an explosion was bound to happen, it would have taken ten or twenty years of effort to detonate slowly.

The shock to the industrial chain's ecosystem was immense, and the turbulence in the "food chain" was no different.

Big fish, when hungry, ate little fish, and little fish, when hungry, devoured tiny shrimp, ultimately the microorganisms and mayflies suffered.

Serfs could at least drink soup with their master, while the free residents working in factories couldn't find land even if they wanted to return to farming.

The red soil, previously near unsalable, began to sell well again, and the empty wasteland saw an increase in soil gatherers.

They were actually still lucky.

Beyond Tiger State and Leopard State, the state of other areas was unknown even to the residents of Jin Galun Port at the end of the Everflow River.

However, all of this had no impact whatsoever on the sunny and serene South Sea Union.

The generous Archduke Nihak became the hottest figure in North Island.

Survivor's Daily, newly established in North Island, dedicated an issue to him, lavishing praise on his thirty billion donation, and lauded his residing on a ship as a paragon of thrift and simplicity.

Li Minghui dubbed him the "Long Days Ahead" of Poluo Province, but after facing protests from the ID holder himself, the title in the newspaper was changed to General McLen of Poluo Province.

It seemed improbable that Weilante People would travel to the distant East over such tripe.

Moreover, the survivors of Poluo Province had a severe infatuation with Weilante People, making this flattery even more resonant than the previous one.

Everyone wants their time in the limelight before their burial, and the empire's archduke was no exception.

During this period, Nihak was so elated every day that he looked as if he had been injected with chicken blood, and he even stopped fearing those who had once captured him.

Although winter had just started showing the tip of its tail, he felt that he, along with the empire's spring, had arrived together.

While the military faction heads of Tiger and Leopard States were scratching their heads, bewildered as to where their money had vanished to, far on the front lines in Mammoth State, General Arai Yang was equally perplexed.

However, the latter wasn't perplexed because of money but because his troops were being relentlessly beaten by an elusive guerrilla team, completely disoriented.

The fierce firepower had him believing for a moment that the Union itself had entered the fray!

It wasn't just the firepower.

The numbers of the resistance fighters also grew more numerous and cunning as the combat continued.

Initially, the skirmishes were confined to the border of Mammoth State, but later, guerrilla sightings began in Horse State and Bird State too.

These people specifically targeted the Grey Wolf Army's supply lines, causing those transporting supplies to avoid traveling at night and to refrain from displaying the royal Double Knife Flag.

More ominously, his scouts discovered that the rebels had built a Deepwater Harbour and a railway connecting to it in Mammoth City.

Upon hearing this, Arai Yang nearly choked with rage.

Where on earth did these curs get so much steel and cement?

Could it be provided by the Union as well?

Was that bastard Laxi an illegitimate son of an Alliance Manager?

While he was fuming, his confidant handed him a confidential letter that patrolling soldiers had found on the front lines.

[...To General Arai Yang:

With your talents, you could easily establish your own domain, so why sacrifice your promising years for a dying empire?

The empire is already a lost cause, all credited to Witch Gu's blunders.

If you come to me, not only will I spare your life, but I also offer you the position of Colonel in the resistance. If you don't trust me, you may choose any state to settle in as long as you leave me unchallenged, and I assure you that my men will not step foot into your territory.]

Upon reading the letter, Arai Yang gritted his teeth furiously.

"This treacherous cur!"

To think merely winning a few battles could make him so arrogant!

He crushed the letter into a ball and hurled it onto the candlestick, unintentionally knocking it over, nearly setting the command tent on fire.

Although the fire was extinguished, an air of unease spread through the Grey Wolf Army.

An increasing confusion tormented everyone in the empire, from the front lines to the rear, while the Survivor's Daily in Jin Galun Port buzzed with ever more vehement shouts.

A massive and unprecedented tide was brewing amid the clamorous waves, a force more powerful than nuclear weapons—

It was the energy of progress!

Even Yoder, who once advised Laxi to stay behind, had to admit after reading the newspaper that perhaps he had been mistaken.

The man who stood up when everyone else bowed their heads in silence, the man who dared to reach for a weapon while others meekly endured oppression—how could he be a mere reckless fool?

Just like the Union officers joked—do weeping day and night kill Witch Gu?

In the end, it was he who stood up.

Maybe the expectations placed on him were too harsh.

In the deep silence of the night, Yoder couldn't help but think this, regretting not having shared a drink with him during his tenure.

The province of four million square kilometers was amidst turmoil.

But just before that storm finally arrived, another even more intense and widespread storm arrived first.

After two months of preparation, the horn for the southern offensive was sounded once again!

Chapter 785: Landing on Death Coast!

"It seems a lot has happened in the Wasteland lately... in places we don't know about."

In the captain's quarters of the Steel Heart.

After listening to the recording sent by Fang Chang, a fatherly smile appeared on Chu Guang's face, though his handsome face did not show a trace of age.

"Yes indeed..."

Sitting on Chu Guang's right shoulder, Xiao Qi gently swung her legs and supported her cheeks with her hands, her face relaxed as she continued.

"...It feels like it won't be long before master can retire and focus on spending time with Xiao Qi."

"Ha ha ha."

Chu Guang laughed cheerfully, casually turning off the holographic interface in front of him and teasing the little creature sitting on his shoulder.

"By the time I retire, that will still be far off... But it might not be too long before I start living a retired life."

To be honest, when he first recruited those guys, he never thought they would be so capable, sometimes even able to predict his predictions.

Although the forum was always full of wild guesses, saying that only someone like "a dragon among men, a reborn king of soldiers, a dragon god's son-in-law" could get a helmet, in reality, as long as one wasn't crazy, there was a chance of winning one.

Compared to the successful tycoons in reality, he preferred to give ordinary people a chance to start their second life.

After all, what favor could compare to the "favor of rebirth"?

Even just considering "brand loyalty", the players selected by this mechanism tended to become "Order Preservers" of the "Wasteland OL" virtual community rather than disrupt the existing order.

That was enough, actually.

The Wasteland wasn't short of geniuses, just short of "normal people".

He had never expected to create a perfect ideal state with the brains of a group of geniuses; it sufficed if his little players did their jobs well within their capabilities.

However, while his demands for the players weren't high, these players always managed to surprise him again and again.

Chu Guang couldn't help but feel sentimental; it might not be long before his role as the faction boss could even be spared from appearing.

The clever little players not only learned to update game content themselves but even began designing "game rules" for NPCs.

At that moment, a communication request from the Alliance Staff Department popped up in the upper right corner of the holographic screen.

Upon seeing the incoming call, Xiao Qi chortled, conscientiously jumped down from Chu Guang's shoulder, and sat back at the base of the pencil holder on the desk.

Without pausing, Chu Guang extended his index finger to press the button to connect the call, and a pale blue holographic beam quickly intertwined in the air to form the bust of Old White.

He was still wearing his "Dragon Cavalry" power armor. The XB-1 "Roarer" Bomb Gun was resting on his shoulder, and behind him was the cabin of a landing ship.

With a solemn expression gazing at Chu Guang and dressed in military attire, Old White set the bomb gun beside him and gave a military salute, his right fist knocking against his breastplate.

"…Respected Manager, the southern line troops have fully assembled! We await only your command, and we are ready to seize the coast of Haiya Province for you!"

The plans and operation codes for the landing operation were decided long ago; Chu Guang had reviewed them a month earlier and signed his name on them.

Until today, players stationed on North Island had rehearsed numerous times for the battle that was about to commence.

Probably thinking about potentially appearing in the game's promotional PV, Old White even made a special call before starting.

Acknowledging his earnestness, Chu Guang adjusted his expression and seriously responded to the anticipation in those eyes.

"Very well! I have seen victory in your eyes. The people of the Alliance are waiting for your triumph, make sure not to disappoint their expectations!"

"Action!"

With a firm gaze fixed on those commanding eyes, Old White stood upright and swiftly shut his helmet's face shield and visor.

That was the sign of the power armor entering combat mode—

"Yes!"

...

Elsewhere, in a hall bathed in holy light, a circular meeting room was furnished with thirteen uniquely designed chairs.

However, only ten people were sitting at the conference table.

The three absentees were Luo Gan, the "Beast King", and the "Human Emperor" who was currently commanding the battle at the northern front of Haiya Province.

In the middle of the conference table stood a shadowy figure, clad in a dark gray robe that stood out starkly against the white robes surrounding him.

Facing those scrutinizing gazes, Alzu felt a slight tingling on his scalp.

The situation now was completely different from when he stood here a year ago.

Back then, Luo Gan had just suffered a defeat, and the church district of Brocade River City had fallen. These Pioneers were doubting themselves, wondering if they had taken a wrong path. That was why he could stand here and boldly propose the idea of "Sanctuary No.2".

Not only could the Pioneers sitting here not gainsay him, but the Saint Heir also gave him enough trust and support, handing over the entire Southern Sea District for him to manage.

During this period, his cooperation with Charles yielded many good results, such as arming the blue-skinned mutants using technology from the survivors of the Southern sea area.

These were all his achievements, and even if the performance of the Southern Sea District was a mess later, no one could deny his contributions to the Torch Church.

However, that was precisely the problem.

The performance in the Southern Sea District was so bad that it overshadowed all his achievements.

With the occupation of North Island by the Alliance and Charles's defeat, the Torch Church completely lost the opportunity to open a strategic space to the south.

Now they were like crickets trapped in a cage, surrounded by people who wanted to send them to the gallows...

Facing those questioning gazes, Alzu swallowed and, with a gulp, steeling himself, asserted.

"The Southern Sea District is no longer reliable... Our brainwashing doesn't work on the locals."

Trying to justify his failure, he continued speaking rapidly.

"They are completely different from the survivors in Haiya and Brocade River Provinces. The wasteland there has ended too long ago. The locals are no longer classic Wasteland Wanderers; they are residents of Shelter No. 70... This is different from our initial assessment."

It was more than not working.

He had even been outmaneuvered by a captain of a destroyer who had used him to send false intelligence to Charles.

The fishermen were craftier than he had imagined, playing him like he was a Laken in the ocean.

"…but we haven't lost yet, we just need to put the plan to expand the Nago mycelium into the ocean on hold for a moment."

Taking a deep breath, Alzu looked around at the surrounding Pioneers and seriously continued,

"How about heading west? Since taking Coral City in the short term is no longer realistic… I propose that we strategically relocate westward."

Saying this, he gently waved his index finger and spread a map out in front of him, pointing at the location of the Poluo Province.

"This land is adjacent to Silver Moon Bay, just across the sea from the eastern part of the Great Desert, and if you follow the equator straight through, you reach the center of the old world, the remnants of the space elevator… It is said that there's a group there who call themselves the Enlightenment Society. They have explored clues related to the Torch Plan just like us, they should understand our situation."

"Although there's a fundamental disagreement between us, if we could make contact with them, at least we wouldn't have to face the pressure of the Sticky Community alone."

"Furthermore, Poluo Province has a large number of survivors. These people might be a bit foolish and unable to help us with technological research, but as a breeding ground for mutants, there should be no problem. So..."

Alzu took a deep breath and glanced at the Pioneers sitting around the table,

"I think it would be a good place to go..."

The meeting room fell silent for a while, not a single sound was heard.

If Alzu didn't know that these Pioneers didn't need sleep, he might have thought the old folks had fallen asleep.

The first to break the silence was Saint Heir sitting at the head of the conference table.

He sighed softly and then gently shook his head,

"…It's useless."

Alzu was stunned.

His Adam's apple moved, and he said anxiously,

"How can it be useless—"

"Because the plan you mentioned, we discussed it a long time ago."

Saint Heir said irrefutably, stretching out his index finger and lightly tapping the air, causing pale blue beams to stretch forward. In moments, the complete topography of Poluo Province from the Wasteland Era sketched out.

This map was far more detailed than the thumbnail map floating in front of Alzu, you could even see the mountains and rivers on the earth.

Clearly, the Torch's Apostles had been there and had made thorough investigations before drawing their conclusions.

Watching the stunned Apostle, Saint Heir continued in a calm tone,

"About a decade or so ago, we considered choosing Poluo Province, which has not been interfered with by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, as a starting point."

"That place has a broader area than Haiya Province, as well as more residents living under the Chaos Clock… and most importantly, it is far from the scrutiny of corporations, academies, and the Grand Canyon. Although there's a risk of being targeted by the Army, they are unlikely to move against us. Besides, even if they decided to act, they would have to cross the Great Desert, and they might not be our match."

"Why not then?" Alzu asked urgently, looking at the Saint Heir, "Why don't we go there?"

If it was there, the Academy wouldn't have been able to target them so quickly! It might even have taken until their expansion reached Luo Xia Province to be discovered!

Of course, there might be other variables, but compared to the current situation, those were trivial.

Facing Alzu's confusion, the voice of the Saint Heir carried a rare tone of helplessness.

"Because… the Red Soil."

Red Soil?

Alzu was taken aback.

What did Red Soil have to do with it?!

But just as he thought this, he suddenly came to his senses.

Could it be—

As if confirming his speculation, Saint Heir gently closed his right hand into a fist.

The map of Poluo Province floating before him crumpled like crushed paper into a lump of red soil.

"Poluo Province has a special kind of soil, or rather a fungus affixed to the soil, that has almost no effect on normal life, but it drains the nutrients from the soil and prevents other microorganisms from growing in it… like tetanus and botulinum bacteria. They, like animal remains buried in the Red Soil, are digested by the Red Soil."

Without other miscellaneous harmful bacteria or viruses, it's also one of the reasons why Red Soil can be directly eaten.

After all, normally speaking, humans can't eat soil not just because they can't digest it, but largely because the harmful substances contained in the soil could lead to poisoning or even death.

And the magic of the Red Soil lies in that while it accumulates a small amount of nutrients, it kills most of the harmful substances.

In other words, if Nago met this stuff, it would likely be devoured by the Red Soil and turned into new Red Soil.

Alzu looked at the Saint Heir, his Adam's apple moving up and down with difficulty, squeezing a sentence out of his mouth,

"This… how could it be possible, that kind of trash-like stuff, could actually counteract an achievement we've spent decades researching."

"Yet, that is the fact."

Looking at those shocked eyes, the Saint Heir sighed softly,

"Moreover, don't underestimate that stuff—it was achieved by scholars of the Era of Prosperity during the early Wasteland Era. You know how powerful those scholars were, the singularity-level technology is actually something they almost touched but ultimately couldn't reach."

The Apostle named Eure, captured by the Alliance and imprisoned somewhere in River Valley Province, was a scholar from the Era of Prosperity.

The anti-radiation agent and de-radiation agent he completed in the early Wasteland Era are still the "most economical solution" for removing radioactive damage in the Wasteland two hundred years later.

"…According to the results of our experiments, the Nago mycelium would be devoured by Red Soil just like the bodies and feces buried in it. If we can't find a technical way to get the Nago mycelium to devour the Red Soil, the rapidly expanding Nago mycelium will only end up becoming a catalyst for the rapid spread of Red Soil, allowing it to spread across the prairies of Poluo Province like wild grass."

Pausing, the Saint Heir continued,

"This runs counter to our ideology, and it is also meaningless."

The ideology of the Torch Church is to enable the human species to ascend to a higher existence, not to become an edible "defense."

Therefore, they ultimately abandoned the plan to enter Poluo Province and chose the comparably intermediate Haiya Province as the first step for the descent of Heaven.

Although it was clear that General Lowell couldn't possibly know what would happen two hundred years later, he did, somewhat by some mistake, once again save the survivors of Poluo Province.

Alzu swallowed a gulp of saliva, his voice straining to say,

"…What if we first artificially remove the Red Soil?"

If only the Red Soil could be removed before planting Nago—

"That would be the stupidest act of the century."

The Saint Heir didn't hesitate to interrupt him and continued.

"That kind of thing can only slowly disappear naturally, we have tried for many years and haven't found a biological solution."

Indeed, even if they had found it now, it would have been meaningless.

Starting anew in Poluo Province under the watchful eyes of various powers was perhaps no less difficult than holding out under the siege of the Sticky Community.

This was not just his opinion, the other nine Pioneers present shared the same thought.

However, upon hearing his response, a look of despair appeared on Alzu's face.

Noticing his expression, the Saint Heir slightly furrowed his brows.

"What happened?"

Alzu was silent for a while, a bitter expression emerging on his face.

"The Alliance's forces are gathering in the Northern Island of the Southern sea area, I'm worried—"

Before he could finish, his speech faltered and he seemed to disconnect from the meeting, his ethereal figure also momentarily flickering.

Watching his sudden change, surprised expressions emerged on the faces of those around the conference table, uncertain of what had happened.

"Is it a chip malfunction?"

"What is Alzu up to!"

"Couldn't he find a place with better signal for such an important meeting!"

"That's why I say, keeping a Mortal body is really troublesome..."

Discussions spread around the conference table.

Seeing Alzu, who had not reconnected for a long time, displeased expressions appeared on the faces of the Pioneers.

This guy is taking way too much time!

Sitting at the head of the conference table, the Saint Heir frowned lightly, a foreboding look briefly emerging in his void-like eyes.

Technically, he should be able to perceive the presence of each chip.

However, just now, he suddenly couldn't sense Alzu's presence anymore…

…

Above Haiya Province, an orange-red glow pierced the sky like a sharp sword.

With a sudden explosive sound, dazzling white light flashed, and a broad electromagnetic pulse instantly enveloped tens of thousands of square kilometers below.

"Ouch…?"

The blue-skinned mutants wandering along the coastline all stopped what they were doing and raised their ugly heads.

It seemed something had exploded above their heads, but it had no effect on them, making all the mutants show puzzled expressions.

What exactly had happened?

Meanwhile, seated not far from the coastline in an underground facility, Alzu abruptly opened his eyes, a trace of confusion in his turbid pupils.

EMP!

The data transmission capacity of the bionic chips was limited and, given the material's properties, they were almost unaffected by a broad electromagnetic pulse.

But bionic chips were not everything in the Holy Land; there were also signal bases.

Only when close by could chips connect directly point-to-point to form a distributed network, such as all chip bearers being in the same settlement.

But once the physical distance stretched beyond several kilometers, it was necessary to rely on signal bases to achieve "domain-to-domain" connections.

This was determined by physical constraints.

At the same time, communication components that frequently transmit and receive electromagnetic waves were far more vulnerable to the effects of electromagnetic pulses compared to data-processing components.

Especially when an EMP strike occurred, and during a Hall meeting, in an effort to connect all chips and minimize blind spots in information, nearly all signal bases were activated.

This EMP had silenced him!

Especially since he was currently in an underground facility and had to rely on signal repeaters to connect to the external chip groups.

Even if the wired sections were still intact, the wireless sections were virtually annihilated…

This was probably no longer a tactical weapon strike, but a strategic one.

"Damn… precisely at this time!"

Realizing the severity of the situation, cold sweat broke out on Alzu's forehead as he abruptly stood up, quickly rushing into a monitoring room along a narrow, dark corridor.

The screens covering the entire wall were split into hundreds of large and small blocks, and almost ninety percent of those screens were now showing static.

The staff seated next to the monitoring terminal looked at Alzu apprehensively.

"…I don't know what happened, it suddenly turned like this."

Alzu grabbed his collar, staring intently into his eyes.

"What about before this? Did anything appear on the monitor?"

The collared man stammered, unable to speak a word, while another staff member seated not far from him nervously said,

"I think I saw a white light… it came from the direction of Northern Island."

Northern Island!

Alzu's face drastically changed, immediately diving his consciousness into the chip in his brain, connecting all the brains he could in this underground facility.

"Transfer the surface materials to underground! Sound the physical alarm! Put the beachhead troops on battle alert!"

They've come!!!

The Alliance people were here!!!

His shoulders trembled uncontrollably, a shiver emerging in his murky pupils.

But it wasn't entirely out of fear—excitement also played a part.

Previously in Brocade River City, he had cleaned up the aftermath for Luo Gan and had a confrontation with Alliance people.

Unfortunately, when he took over, failure was nearly irredeemable.

But this time was different; everything at Death Coast was orchestrated by him.

The chance to redeem himself was right in front of him!

He should be happy—

No, what did 'should' mean, he was happy!

"Hehe… finally arrived." His right hand tightly gripped his left wrist, Alzu's mouth revealing a crazed laughter.

Watching the incessantly trembling head, several workers in the control room couldn't help but swallow their spit.

Though the Alliance was indeed tough to deal with, there was no need for him to tremble like that…

…

The reason why the "Dragon" missile launched from North Island with a strategic EMP warhead had hit its mark was not because of the players' luck.

The timing and coordinates of the strike had been precisely calculated to ensure maximum destruction of the enemy's communication systems along Death Coast.

In fact, since the Alliance's forces landed on North Island, communication stations established there had been monitoring electromagnetic signals from Haiya Province.

Although Torch Church's encryption techniques were strong, even the Sticky Community Allied forces, which gathered talents from all parties, failed to crack its codes. For a "desolate" province, estimating the timing of Torch Church's "meetings" was too easy.

Just targeting the peaks of electromagnetic waves was enough, bombarding wherever signals clustered.

As expected by everyone, this electromagnetic pulse immediately stunned the mutants along the coastline, root-bound and motionless for a long while.

Obviously, with the information nodes destroyed, the frontline troops couldn't receive signals from the command center at the rear.

North Island operations command center.

The workers sitting at the control terminals were nervously and excitedly exchanging information.

"EMP successfully detonated! Confirm effective strike!"

"Our air force has reached above the enemy space! Successfully destroyed the enemy's communication infrastructure and active radar!"

"Nicely done!"

"Send ground scan data to the frontline landing forces!"

"Synchronizing!"

Meanwhile, on the azure sea, eight landing ships advanced towards Death Coast under the escort of the South Sea Alliance fleet.

The thick gun barrels, like the lances of cavalry, pointed directly toward the coastline.

General Li Minghui, the wartime president of the South Sea Alliance, stood on the bridge of the Harpoon cruiser.

Not just him.

His mysterious and wealthy "old friend," Duke Nihak, was also standing on that bridge.

Although Nihak had volunteered to board the ship to watch the battle, despair made his legs weak, and his usually composed and confident face now showed only shock, his lips trembling intermittently.

"Is this the South Sea Alliance's fleet?"

He unconsciously glanced at Li Minghui standing beside him, only to see that the usually courteous president seemed like a completely different person now.

No—

This was probably his true self.

The guy was a general, who had only taken on the president's role due to urgent circumstances… he had actually forgotten such a critical fact!

The eyes beneath sharp eyebrows sparked like thunder, meticulously fixating on what lay ahead of the bridge.

Duke Nihak swallowed, trying to say something to cover his unease, but the imposing air around stifled his words.

"All hands, ready the artillery!"

The commanding voice suddenly rang out, startling a distracted Nihak.

With his right hand gripping the communicator, Li Minghui's eyes firmly staring ahead, suddenly roared.

"Release the barrage, fire eight rounds!"

"Fire—!"

As those words fell, a deafening explosion abruptly spread from both sides of the flagship. Blasts of fire surged forward, slicing through the rolling smoke and waves!

"Boom!!!"

The hissing sound of ripping air crossed the battlefield, igniting deadly fireworks on the sands of Death Coast!

Simultaneously, eight landing ships opened their forward hatches, as "Short Snout" amphibious armored vehicles plunged into the sea like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, pushing through the waves towards the smoke-filled coastline!

Alongside them was a landing craft, carrying dispersed troops within.

Metal, fire, and sea merged at that moment, as rounds and rockets struck continuously like a pipe organ's interlude, raining death upon the players' heads along the shoreline.

Blood seemed to burn!

Players crouched in the landing craft clenched their rifles tightly, their eyes unanimously filled with excitement and high morale!

Time to end it all!

The chaos corrupting the earth—

Loud shouts burst through the communication channels, even overpowering the screeching of mutants on the coastline.

"For the Alliance!!!"

"Charge!!!"

Chapter 786: Slaughter on the Shoreline!

"Roar—!!"

The resonant roar pierced through the billowing smoke, shattering the fear that entangled the position.

The mutant, riddled with shrapnel, struggled to rise from the twisted trench and picked up the machine gun that had been knocked to his feet by the blast wave. With a click, he chambered a round and repositioned it at the edge of the warped trench.

The mutants stationed on the beach numbered a ten thousand troops.

But these ten thousand mutants were not crowded together on the beach; instead, they had successively built a defensive line five kilometers in depth.

The high salinity of the sand and land was not conducive to the proliferation of Nago mycelium. Therefore, for the coastal region, the Torch Church did not spread the "Heaven" domain and instead entrusted the defense to the mutants.

However, although the blue-skinned mutants and green-skin mutants were of the same root, they clearly did not get along with each other.

"Stay behind cover!" a Mutant Centurion bellowed rudely, tossing a blue-skinned Fishman out of the trench, "You, don't stay behind cover, go into the sea, hold them off!"

"Ka??"

The rattling of gunfire came from behind, bullets whizzed past overhead, and the Fishman scrambled forward, not forgetting to glare back fiercely.

But his embarrassed appearance did not win the sympathy of his allies.

The green-skins laughed heartily, shooting another volley of bullets close to his scaly feet.

Although the shelling from the naval guns was fierce, it didn't actually kill many mutants.

These creatures were incredibly tenacious. Especially a few biologically engineered "Zombie Mutants," which could even regrow their heads if they were lost.

That wasn't all.

Compared to those who died on Ten Peaks Mountain, their equipment was far superior.

Everything from the homogeneous steel plate welded to their chests to the heavy weapons in their hands spewing flames was a masterpiece from the Charles era of North Island Heavy Industries.

It was clear that Charles had not placed his bets on his own Marine Corps, or rather, he had no expectation that those particular fishermen would win against the men of the Alliance on the battlefield.

He saw at a glance that the Navy was the only reliance of the North Federation and that only those green-skinned "Big Guys" could compete with the soldiers of the Alliance on land.

Rather than using the already scarce resources to strengthen the Marines' equipment, it was better to use steel and gunpowder to arm the mutant Cannon Fodder.

In fact, this approach wasn't entirely wrong—letting the strong exert themselves and sending those who were unafraid of death to their demise was one of society's operational rules.

Yet, unfortunately, the mutants had a fatal flaw that thwarted his plan in addition to their strength and fearlessness.

These creatures had no discipline to speak of, and to implant chips in every mutant for direct control was too costly.

Thus until the internal war in the Southern sea area ended, Charles had not been able to bring this "enemy of humanity" to fill the trenches on North Island, at most only using them on Shazhou Island. These green-skinned beasts stood on the coast of Death Coast, watching him lose the civil war with their eyes wide open.

Perhaps compared to the Torch Church, the Federation was the Survivor Forces that needed "rescue" the most from Poluo Province.

With the technical strength of the Southern sea area and the vast manpower of Poluo Province, even the Weilante People would have to tremble.

After all, Clones did not have a complete mind and were merely Cannon Fodder at best, but the people there were alive and breathing.

However, reality isn't filled with so many "what-ifs," and Charles had already lost the civil war.

Now it was these vermin's turn!

The Amphibious Armor vehicles at the very front drove onto the beach first, practically skimming the edge of the artillery fire to reach the Battlefield.

"The first battalion has landed on the beach!"

"Charge! Crush them!"

"Ao ao ao!"

The communications channel echoed with exuberant battle cries, and simultaneously, the roar of the guns from atop the "Short Snout Crocodile" Amphibious Armor vehicles.

The 37mm Rapid-fire Cannons banged loudly, the shell casings clinked and clanked as they were ejected from the side of the Gun Tower, spitting out long streaks of tracer fire towards the beach position's trenches!

Against the 37mm Armor-Piercing Incendiary Bullet, the flesh and blood of the mutants couldn't withstand a hit at all, being pierced through with armor and all, with each flash of artillery fire stirring up a bloody storm!

In just a moment of contact, dozens more mutants were pressed to death in the trenches.

Enduring tremendous casualties, the mutants' ferocity was aroused, roaring as they extended their weapons out of cover to counterstrike against the players landing at the beachhead.

The 20mm caliber heavy machine guns spat flames, but firing at the Front Armor of the "Short Snout Crocodile" Amphibious Armor was like scraping, leaving only scratches and dents, other than that utterly useless.

Only one armored vehicle was unfortunate enough to have its barrel damaged by strafing bullets, but it didn't prevent it from continuing to advance toward the beach.

"Use this!"

One mutant roared, huffing and puffing as it took out a big weapon from a wooden crate.

It was a two-meter-long heavy gun, with a muzzle the size of an adult's wrist.

The mutant brought the weapon out of cover, aimed it at the nearest armored vehicle, and squeezed the trigger hard.

"Bang—!"

Flames exploded forward, and the enormous bullet instantly struck the Front Armor of the "Short Snout Crocodile." The searing metal jet poured in, paralyzing the engine at the front of the vehicle.

The armored car immediately lost power, with black smoke billowing from the ventilation holes at the front of the hull.

Seeing the attack was effective, the mutant cheered excitedly, taking out a pitch-black "little sweet potato" from the box, preparing to replicate the success with another shot.

However, just as it bent its head to search for another instant, several loud bangs flew over its head.

Without even a groan, the mutant fell flat to the ground.

Several high-explosive grenades followed the firing light and poured into the trench, and the raging shrapnel instantly turned it into a sieve.

At the same time, the "Short Snout Crocodile" armored vehicle that had been hit earlier crashed into a boulder and finally came to a complete stop. The gunner, left no other choice, ceased firing and shot out a smoke grenade.

The mutants at the beachhead positions clearly noticed the action as their machine guns targeted the area and began rattling away, sending long tracers slamming into the armored vehicle's hull with loud clangs.

The communication channel was filled with a cacophony of voices.

"Shit!"

"Recoilless gun!"

"Damn it—have those things been delivered already?!"

"I think they might have made it themselves... North Island outsourced a small portion of experts to assist with research on Torch's land."

"Where did they get a factory?!"

"The engine's dead!"

"Get out!"

"No family member is down!"

"Do we have them or not?"

"It's no family member! The ID is no family member!"

"Holy fuck, what kind of crap names do you all pick?"

"@%#! I was just knocked out, haven't fallen yet!"

Without power, the vehicle on the beach was a sitting duck, and everyone knew they couldn't dawdle there.

The doors on the rear of the vehicle swung open quickly to both sides, and players in exoskeletons, with cover from adjacent armored vehicles, quickly evacuated several crew members from the cabin.

Bullets pierced through the smoke, whizzing over their heads, and occasionally hitting the ground beside them.

However, not a single person was afraid; instead, everyone's face was alight with excitement.

This game is damn realistic!

Only the team leader was there, screaming his lungs out.

"Move it! Don't fucking find cover in the same spot! Charge to the trenches in front! Everyone, get moving!"

In reality, for the mutants crouching in the trenches, hitting the players clad in exoskeletons under the bombardment of heavy artillery and the armored vehicles' strafing was no easy feat—even with their awkward handling of machine guns and rifles.

Although they possessed extraordinary vitality and regenerative abilities, it didn't mean they were impervious to the shockwaves from exploding shells.

They too could be left dazed with buzzing heads and blacking out eyes; especially since their brains were underdeveloped, getting shelled could make them even more confused and frenzied.

Not only that, the armored vehicles that landed ashore were not the only support the players relied on.

The exoskeletons issued to the Burning Corps were mostly "Type Five" police models from before the war; their polymer material breastplates could even stop 2-3 heavy machine gun bullets.

Moreover, most of these players were Awakeners, and unless hit in a vital spot, a bullet or two wouldn't phase them much more than if they hadn't been hit at all.

In just a few breaths' time, the players who were forced to disembark had caught up with the advancing armored vehicles, using them as a cover while pressing forward closely behind.

The 300-meter distance vanished in an instant, and the Short Snout Crocodile armored vehicle swiftly reached the trenches, successfully capturing the first line of defense laid by the Mutant Corps.

Apart from the players forced out of their vehicles, other players from the first battalion of the Burning Corps also jumped out of their armored vehicles and charged into the twisted trenches to engage in close-quarters combat with the mutants crouched inside.

"Roar!!!"

Towering and muscular, a zombie mutant gripped a large-caliber rifle in its hand and swung it like a hammer at the Kill dagger who had just leaped into the trench.

The latter ducked to avoid the blow and drew the short axe hanging on his breastplate, slicing upwards in a motion that landed squarely on the creature's neck, cleanly severing its green, slimy head.

The mutant stood motionless, then suddenly its shoulders shook, and flesh-red tendrils started to sprout from the severed neck, visibly growing upward.

Seeing this, Kill dagger was taken aback.

"Holy shit! Can their heads really grow back?!"

He thought his northern brothers were bragging; this thing was something else!

The "Zombify" that was regenerating its brain wasn't idle; gripping a rifle in one hand and a short dagger in the other, it slashed madly around the trench as if possessed.

The creature was blind and, apparently, also lacked hearing and smell, relying purely on memory and instinct to fight.

Kill dagger hastily backed away to dodge two lethal moves and pulled out an incendiary grenade, biting off the tab and tossing it onto the regenerating half brain of the mutant.

Blinding white light flashed briefly, and the burning red flames drenched the mutant.

A 'sizzle' sound rang out, and the smell of roasting meat permeated the entire trench.

The body of the mutant convulsed as it staggered backward, its distorted form seemingly screaming in pain and agony without a voice.

"Be human in your next life."

Kill dagger picked up the large-caliber rifle the mutant had dropped, aiming two shots at its chest and base.

"Bang!!"

Chunks of flesh were torn apart by the shrapnel.

The horrifying wounds finally overwhelmed the "Zombify's" self-healing capacity, and the creature twisting in the flames finally ceased its struggle, collapsing heavily to the ground.

Having dealt with a target relatively cleanly, Kill dagger discarded the retrieved rifle, picked up his own weapon, and continued to push forward along the twisted trench.

Over the communication channel, a teammate's voice came through.

Based on their relaxed chatter, it seemed that things were going fairly smoothly for this bunch.

"A-07 trench has been secured, and we've captured a recoilless gun... It appears to be the experimental type we found in the North Island Industrial Warehouse."

"They finished the final design... but it doesn't seem very smart; the fire and smoke from the gun's muzzle are a bit too much."

"Hehe... I noticed it a long time ago. They simply don't have any traditional army discipline, only some proficiency in electronics and shipbuilding technologies."

"Are you sure it's just 'some' proficiency?"

"Cough, of course, that's based on the standards of the Wasteland—Game and reality are, after all, two different things."

"MMP! Can't these mutants even dig a proper trench?"

"Damn, booby traps—"

With a loud explosion, a flash of fire rose from the trench, and a vague silhouette could be seen flying into the sky.

Killer Dagger quickly looked up in that direction and saw a mangled body crash to the ground.

Over the communication channel, the team leader By Some Mistake roared.

"No family member has fallen! We have one down!"

"I'll go see if he needs a patch." Half-year Wasting Time eagerly crawled out of the trench and headed toward the wreckage, sounding somewhat schadenfreude.

"…for goodness' sake, be careful! Do you think equipment grows on trees? If you break it, you'll lose points!" Complaining and cursing, Kill Dagger switched the communication channel to report the situation at the front, "The first battalion has taken the beach! Requesting further instructions!"

After a brief crackling of static, Old White's voice came through the communication channel.

"Coordinate with the armored units for a forward push. Initiate Stage 2 offensive!"

Full of vigor, Killer Dagger responded.

"Copy!"

The booby-trapped family member was just a minor incident; the battle was going rather smoothly for most of the players at the front.

The first battalion's three Mechanized Infantry Battalions along with an Amphibious Armor unit had successfully breached a gap at the beach and annihilated a Mutant Corps of a thousand troops.

Casualty statistics temporarily totaled 20 dead, including severe injuries not recoverable within three days.

A battalion taking out a regiment was quite normal for the Alliance's "Rapid Reaction Elite" Burning Corps.

After a short rest, the first battalion immediately launched a second offensive, leaving the position to the comrades who were landing behind them.

Fixed-wing drones circling in the sky not only provided information and guidance to the frontline units but also recorded the entire process of the battle. The images were broadcasted not only to the rear command post but also to the bridge of the Harpoon Cruiser.

Alliance officers had grown accustomed to the Combat Power of the Burning Corps.

However, Duke Nihak was witnessing the sight of these troops in action for the first time.

As he watched the images on the holographic screen, his face turned pale, large beads of sweat seeping from his forehead, his eyes filled with panic and disbelief.

Is this the Alliance?

The Burning Corps...

It seemed to be the same force that had defeated him before!

Last time, he was defeated so swiftly, he hadn't even woken up properly before being thrown into a cell. He had initially thought these guys only won by sneak attacks against Jin Galun Harbor's defense forces.

Now, it seemed that even if the defense forces and the Gray Wolf themselves were waiting in formation onshore, they might not be able to stop these guys.

He wasn't sure if that force had used its full strength in that battle.

But at least now, he finally understood why Arai Yang had lost—

No!

What he should be wondering was how to defeat such an opponent at all!

Duke Nihak swallowed hard, his eyes inadvertently drifting out the porthole to gaze at those Destroyers.

Clearly.

Having just one Battleship was obviously not enough...

The Empire must build a fleet like the South Sea Alliance! This fleet must possess the capability of searching to destruction all in one, only then could they prevent the Alliance from landing and engaging them in ground warfare!

No—

Merely one fleet wasn't enough. He had to find a way to buy the shipyards on North Island!

Li Minghui glanced at his "wealthy yet mysterious" old friend next to him, seeing his shocked expression, the corner of his mouth involuntarily curled into a smile.

Look at this ignorant guy, trying to act like an elephant with a leek in his nose.

Not lacking that bit of money?

What does 'not lacking' even mean?

Having finally enjoyed a bit of bravado, Li Minghui felt quite pleased, but before he could savor the moment, his smile quickly faded.

Wait a second.

Did he accidentally wake up this pig?

Just as he thought this, Duke Nihak turned towards him with a feverish look in his eyes.

"Um... Mr. Li, I have a question, if it's not too much trouble to ask."

Li Minghui asked cautiously.

"What's the problem?"

"I was wondering if your esteemed party would be willing to sell the shipyard on North Island?... We're mainly looking to use it for fishing..." Worried that Li Minghui would suspect his motives, Duke Nihak quickly coughed and flashed a friendly smile.

Li Minghui stared blankly at the Duke, whose intentions were poorly disguised, and couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Hasty.

It seemed his concern about the awakening of an oblivious party had been unnecessary...

With the South Sea Alliance Fleet joining the attack, the Alliance's Stage 2 offensive was underway, raining down a barrage on the second defensive line of the Torch Church Mutant Corps.

At the same time, the second wave of landing crafts were launched from the large amphibious ships, pushing through the waves toward the shoreline.

Taking off alongside them were twenty Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines.

Like dragonflies skimming the water, these flying machines carrying rocket pods rushed towards the beach.

Just then, hiding beneath the surface, the Fishmen suddenly launched an attack, with harpoons soaring out of the turbulent waves, aiming for the low-flying Cloud Dragonflies!

The blue-skinned mutants had thought that if they could just aim for the wings of those "big dragonflies," they could bring them down into the sea, but they clearly underestimated the agility of the Flapping Machines.

One by one, the Cloud Dragonflies executed a fluid evasive maneuver, miraculously dodging the chain-trailing harpoons.

"Click—!"

The blue-skinned mutants hiding in the waves screeched in frustration, helplessly watching the Cloud Dragonflies gain altitude. Some dove back beneath the waves, while others pursued the landing craft, attempting to sink them.

However, the players had already seen through their ploy.

When the first wave of landing crafts came ashore without a sign of these creatures, many players were left wondering where they had gone—turns out they had been waiting for the second wave!

As one player killed a blue-skinned mutant trying to climb aboard a landing craft and crouched there, they shouted into the radio.

"First Company of the Jungle Corps, it's your turn now."

A muffled voice came through the communication channel, along with the sound of bubbling water.

"Roger that!"

As the words were spoken, several mechanical crabs lurking in the shallow seabed turned on their spotlights, revealing their ferocious armored shells.

The Fishmen struggling with the landing crafts near the surface were oblivious to the underwater rifles already aiming at them.

By the time they noticed the lights rising from the seabed, it was too late.

Ground Model: "Fire!!"

At that command, streams of bubbles propelled torpedo-shaped bullets toward the Fishmen active near the surface.

Caught off guard, the Fishmen in the water were mowed down by the hail of bullets, turning the water almost completely dark red with their blood.

As the attack from beneath the sea caught them by surprise, the Fishmen panicked, turning around and rushing back towards the depths.

And at that moment, the second wave of attacks from the First Company of the Jungle Corps crashed into their faces.

Harsh screams rose and fell, and in an instant, blood and violence erupted anew!

While the Torch Church's Fishmen were initiating their attack, the mutants onshore launched their first counter-offensive.

Though their communication had been crippled by an EMP strike, the mutants from other defense lines had apparently noticed the breach the Alliance had torn in their own defenses.

Two thousand-team units split into two waves, one attacking the Burning Corps' First Company that had passed through the beach and advanced further inland, while the other targeted the Second and Third Companies establishing a temporary port on the beachhead, as well as the engineering troops and solo players.

Tracers danced in the air over the beach like drifting catkins, and players on the outer perimeter even saw the tank they had encountered in the North Island Industrial Warehouse.

The Short Snout Crocodile amphibious armor was clearly no match for this behemoth.

However, the Alliance had more than just armored vehicles at their disposal—there were "Thunder" and "Lightning" flying high, and a full twenty Cloud Dragonflies flying low… not to mention the ship cannons floating at sea, just waiting for these living targets to show their faces on the drone cameras.

The four-meter-high tank, monstrous both in-game and in reality, still crumbled like paper mache under the 150mm ship cannons, one hit sending one packing.

Even if the shells didn't hit directly, the shockwave from the explosions was enough to shatter the patchwork hull to pieces.

The two charging thousand-team units were shattered in less than half an hour, leaving behind limbs, scrap metal, and fleeing in disorder.

Standing on the beachhead, Old White directed the frontline troops through his tactical helmet while firing his bomb gun's trigger, picking off the stubborn resisters among the mutants.

As the flames of resistance grew weaker, the battle seemed to be nearing its end.

At that moment, a report from the first company came through his communication channel.

"...This is the first company, we've discovered a settlement ruin about 6 kilometers from our landing point, hidden in a crevice between two hills, covered with dense woods."

"We've found traces of mutant activity there, but our drones can't see the specifics inside... I'd like to send a small squad to search the area."

Old White quickly glanced at the map, confirming the location marked by the Kill Dagger.

Just from looking at the map, it appeared possible that something could be hidden there.

He made a decision in just two seconds and immediately issued an order.

"Request approved."

A clear and forceful reply came from the other end of the communication channel.

"Yes!"

Chapter 787: Strange, How Did This Door Open By Itself?

"Damn it, they've discovered us!"

In the surveillance room of the underground facility, the staff seated before the terminal let out a cry of dismay as the image they'd finally managed to repair was infiltrated by human figures.

Alzu's face, too, betrayed a flash of panic.

Although he had often operated alongside the Tribunal's executioners before being entrusted with a significant task by the Saint, having experienced the frontlines of battle, he was ultimately not a professional combatant, let alone a match for so many from the Regular Army.

Most of the Torch Church's research facilities were established in reliance on shelters, a point somewhat similar to the Enlightenment Society and even the Alliance.

This underground facility was no exception. Originally named Shelter No.182, it was opened in the early Wasteland Era and later repurposed by the Torch Church into Biological Research Institute No.182, focusing on research related to perfect life forms and their sub-projects.

The entrance to the facility was located in the center of the old site of Fortress Town, and at this moment, the Alliance was sending two squads to search toward them.

All the staff's hearts were in their throats, their faces uniformly painted with panic.

"It's probably the mutants on the surface that have exposed our whereabouts..." an older researcher swallowed and cursed, "Useless morons, screwed up as usual!"

A researcher standing beside him said nervously.

"Mutants... Why would mutants come here?!"

Another researcher, wearing glasses, spoke with a grave expression.

"Who knows... Most certainly they came over because the communication equipment was damaged and they wanted to know what happened. Damn... Those idiots, can't they adapt to the situation!"

From the images on the surveillance monitor, it was clear that not just a few mutants had taken refuge in this area—there was a force of a full hundred!

He even began to suspect that these idiots might be deserters from the frontlines.

Some researchers were arguing with no clear plan, while others were silently relieved.

The latter were mainly researchers from North Island.

If Charles hadn't held them at gunpoint and the people here hadn't threatened to implant some brainwashing chip, no one in their right mind would willingly come to this godforsaken place to design equipment for mutants.

While they dared not show it on their faces, they were the ones who were most delighted at this moment.

Since the Alliance had landed on Death Coast, Charles must have been finished.

Although they were still in danger, at least their families were safe.

Ignoring the endless quarreling of the staff, Alzu urgently pressed the communication engineer, who was rushing to repair the communication device.

"How much longer until it is fixed!"

"Soon, very soon! Just give me 10 more minutes!" That engineer tapped feverishly on a tablet's touchscreen with his index finger, sweat streaming down his forehead.

Displayed on the tablet screen was a thumb-sized flying-insect robot nestled among a tangle of wires, its needle-fine mechanical arms manipulating the connections, with sparks of electricity occasionally bursting from their tips.

Finally, as his sweat dripped onto the floor for the umpteenth time, the circuit-repair robot finished all of its soldering tasks and fixed the circuit segments that had been burned out by the electromagnetic pulse.

He leaned back in his chair with a sigh of relief, joyfully wiping the sweat from his brow and saying,

"It's done—"

Before he could finish, Alzu pushed him aside and feverishly snatched up the tablet, tapping rapidly on it to connect to the Tribunal located elsewhere.

Upon seeing the "Communication Connected" icon appear on the screen, a wild joy flashed across his face as he put on the headset and bellowed without any restraint.

"Calling the Tribunal, this is Research Institute No.182! The Alliance is closing in on us, we need support!"

Research Institute No.182 housed a wealth of information on the perfect life forms project, and the Tribunal would not abandon them!

Compared to those mutant cannon fodder, it was the combat elites, equipped with pre-war era gear produced by the Black Box, who were the real trump cards of the Torch Church!

After a brief silence, a calm and reliable voice came through the other end of the communication channel.

"...This is the Punishment Squad; we've received orders to head toward your location. Please lock down the entrance and wait patiently!"

Hearing that voice akin to the sound of celestial music, Alzu excitedly clenched his fists.

They were saved!

Elsewhere, just two kilometers from the underground facility, in the mountainous area.

Around 40 soldiers clad in exoskeletons lay in stealth on the edge of the jungle, their outlines nearly completely transparent, seamlessly blending into their surroundings.

Thanks to the optical camouflage, as long as they remained still, no one could detect them with the naked eye.

Standing amidst the troops, the commanding officer looked sternly toward the direction of Fortress Town, tapping lightly on his helmet with his index finger.

"This is 'Hunter'; we've arrived near the target... Confirmation, the target has lost contact due to an EMP strike."

The Saint's voice came through on the communication channel.

"What's the situation like."

The one called Hunter spoke in a deep voice.

"The Alliance has landed onshore; the local garrison has been thoroughly defeated."

The communication channel went silent for a while before speaking again after about half a minute.

"...Bring back Alzu and the material from the research institute; take away as many other people as possible, and deal with those who can't be taken."

A fierce glint flashed in Hunter's eyes.

"Yes."

...

Just as Alzu was calling the Tribunal for reinforcements, two squads from the first company of the Burning Corps had reached the edge of Fortress Town, hidden in the dense forest.

The settlement resembled a castle, with outer strip houses acting like towering walls.

Windows on a single-story building started at six meters high, all secured with anti-theft nets twisted with steel bars. The highest windows were more than twenty meters high, and the roofs were designed as platforms for shooting with cover.

Only three to five steps wide separated the houses, straddled by rickety bridges, which, from a distance, resembled the gate towers of city walls.

[By Some Mistake] one could imagine how, when this settlement was populated, those survivors would have fought against the Looter invasions of their homeland.

They filled the bridges with obstacles, firing at the invaders from the rooftops. Once the invaders passed beneath the bridges, the survivors would drop the obstacles, dividing the enemy into front and rear segments.

But those brave people were gone now, their whereabouts unknown, leaving only a few green heads peering around.

"Step Into the Sky" opened the VM and retrieved the information he had previously downloaded from the official website.

"I heard that over a decade ago, an alliance of survivors called 'Iron Tower' emerged in this region. They used a signal tower from the United Human era as a landmark and organized militias to patrol between settlements... quite similar to us."

"There's information on the official website about this settlement. It was said to have been an outpost built by Shelter No. 182 on the surface. But at some point, Shelter No. 182 and the surface outpost were both abandoned, until the facilities here were repurposed by a group of Wasteland Wanderers about a hundred years into the Wasteland Era, who also expanded and improved the surrounding architecture."

"Then the 'Iron Tower' was founded, taking control of the settlement. The population increased from a few hundred in the beginning to twenty thousand... until the Torch Church came here and reset that number to zero."

Even if this settlement's ruins were not within the range of the Alliance's third-stage offensive, they would have returned to search this place after completing the landing operation.

But just now, their drones spotted traces of mutant activity in the area, so Brother Kill dagger had them come here earlier to see if there were any big fish.

The two players following beside Step Into the Sky heard what he said and couldn't help but scoff.

"Reset to zero, yeah right..."

"What a hell of a joke."

"That's how it's written in the setting collection. I'm just reading it as it is; if you have complaints, take them up with the planners."

Step Into the Sky, holding his family brother's camera, took a few photos of the settlement's exterior.

This camera was the only relic his good brother left in the world, although it took only a few days for that damn thing to come to life.

"… It's true, the settlements on the Wasteland are really varied," murmured Half a year's wasted time, with some emotion. "There's Jin Jialun Port, with its millions-strong slums, there's Ring Island, which is like a stack of checkered blocks, and then there's this kind of rustic tower."

"After all, it's the Wasteland," quipped Half a year's wasted time.

"There are three mutants moving around the entrance... Can't see what's inside," putting down the camera, Step Into the Sky looked at Old Yin, inquiring with his eyes, "Do we strike directly, or should we sneak in first to see what's inside?"

"Too much trouble," By Some Mistake raised his right hand, forming a fist, and made an attack signal to his teammates behind him. "Kill off all the animals here first, then we can slowly figure out what's inside."

"The perfect infiltration is to kill everyone," Half a year's wasted time excitedly picked up the rifle hanging on is chest, with a click chambered a round, "Time for work, for work!"

The mutants at the entrance to the settlement had no idea that disaster was upon them and continued to grunt and communicate amongst themselves.

Just then, almost simultaneously, three gunshots rang out, and three heads exploded into a mist of blood, red and white splattering everywhere with a thud.

"Alliance!!"

On noticing the sentries at the door falling, a mutant standing behind the gatehouse let out a roar and picked up its rifle, spraying bullets towards the entrance. After rattling on and on, it didn't see anyone.

Caught off guard, it emptied its magazine and fumbled to replace it. However, before it could fit a new one, a quadcopter drone with a mounted gun barrel swooped over the porch and burst in, blowing its head off with a barrage of gunfire.

By Some Mistake led the three players behind him into the alley first, his rifle spitting out bursts of gunfire, killing several mutants trying to surround them.

Meanwhile, a line of three squads dispersed into nine teams, each entering the abandoned town from nine different directions. The second line circled to the town's flank, feigning an attack to distract the mutants' fire.

Confronted with the assault on multiple fronts, the mutants in the town were completely disoriented.

Looking at the bodies lying in the alley, a Strength-type player reloaded his magazine and couldn't resist taunting.

"The mutants in Qingquan City are much smarter than these."

Another player beside him said succinctly,

"They're quite weak, probably new recruits."

Mutants actually weren't stupid, just a bit hot-tempered.

According to the old players, a long time ago, the mutants they encountered in the suburbs of Qingquan City not only knew how to make landmines and traps but could even make their own rifles.

It wasn't until the friends from the Pioneer had stepped in that those beasts were annihilated.

The recordings of that battle could still be found on the official Forum, so there was no room for bragging.

However, the mutants here were completely different; not to mention utilizing the terrain for battle, they even hadn't figured out how to properly use the weapons in their hands.

The Torch Church seemed to have produced a batch of mutants through some special rapid production process, but these mutants were just like the Army's clones with eight times the growth rate, far inferior in both intellect and experience to the naturally grown green-skinned beasts.

60 versus 100!

The entire battle held no suspense, turning completely into a one-sided slaughter!

Seeing how easy these mutants were to handle, some players couldn't help but get a little cocky.

However, it was at this moment that the unexpected suddenly occurred.

A four-person squad was attempting to cross an alleyway to search the town center's plaza when a loud "bang" suddenly rang out from directly ahead, and the player at the front had their head blown off instantly.

"Sniper!"

"Spread out!"

The other three were startled and, no longer joking around on the communication channel, they quickly dashed for cover on both sides.

One player hid behind a concrete block.

The other two players smashed through a window and tumbled into a house by the alley.

Yet at this moment, another loud bang resonated.

The squad leader, who had just flipped into the house, saw out of the corner of his eye that the teammate who had taken cover behind the concrete block was shot through along with the cover itself, spraying a mix of blood and cement debris everywhere.

"What the fuck? What is this thing?"

The player crouched by the window widened his eyes, his expression as if he'd seen a ghost.

They had fought from the edge of the small town to the center without a single death, but now, in just a few seconds, two were taken down by two shots!

"It's a Gauss Rifle!"

The squad leader next to him had a grave expression as he looked in the direction where his two teammates had fallen; he circled the buildings directly ahead on the VM map while shouting into the walkie-talkie.

"Team A, engage the enemy! Teams B and C, spread out! Flank from both sides, wait for air support before engaging!"

After issuing the command to the other two squads, the squad leader switched communication channels and continued to shout loudly.

"This is First Platoon, Second Squad, we've encountered an enemy sniper! That bastard took down two of our brothers! We need air support!"

After hearing his voice, a quick response came from the other end of the communication channel.

"Received, can you lock onto their position?"

The team leader glanced out the window, didn't dare to stick his head out, even less to reveal that he was right by the window, and could only grit his teeth and say,

"Exact position uncertain, but we've circled the approximate location on the map... Those bastards are definitely not mutants! They must be from the Torch Tribunal!"

"Understood, coordinates have been synced with the air force... They'll be here within one minute!"

After cutting off the communication, the team leader gave a teammate beside him a look, and the latter swiftly took out a drone from behind and, crouching low, sneaked to the other side of the building and threw it out.

The quadrotor drone flipped in the air, quickly stabilizing itself, and with a buzz, shot upward towards the sky.

The drone camera quickly located the general area where the sniper was and provided the camera footage and relative coordinates to the incoming P-2 "Lightning" attack aircraft.

Teams B and C had already made their way near the sniper and were nervously counting down.

One minute felt as long as a century as both sides stood silently at an impasse.

It was then that the roar of the machine gun fire exploding on the ground suddenly echoed across the entire square!

Hundreds of large-caliber machine-gun bullets poured out in an instant, crushing a whole section of dilapidated buildings on the north side of the square with irresistible force.

Only when the fire and dust from the explosion shot into the sky did the thunderous sound of the machine guns firing and the whine of the attack aircraft's engines belatedly sweep over the players' heads.

"Boom!"

Watching the fleeting silhouette, the morale of the players on the ground soared.

Taking advantage of the dust raised by the explosion, the squad leader quickly flipped out from cover, activating his exoskeleton and chasing after the rolling dust while shouting loudly in the communication channel.

"Encircle them!"

The three teams immediately took action, attacking from three directions towards the ruins swept by the machine gun, and indeed they found the retreating sniper and another soldier wearing an exoskeleton suit beside him.

It was the Torch Church tribunal!

Seeing the equipment on these people, players recognized their identities at a glance.

However, no one was afraid, instead, their faces lit up with surprise.

"Damn, the tribunal!"

"Elite monsters! A spawn of elite monsters!"

Although the two executioners weren't taken out by the airstrike, they clearly suffered significant damage and didn't dare to tangle with the surrounding players, quickly retreating.

Seeing the elite monsters trying to escape, the players were unwilling to let them go and chased after them.

Then, after only a few steps following the winding alleys, the team leader sensed something was off.

These two elite monsters seemed to be leading them on?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was amiss, and he immediately reset the rendezvous coordinates on the VM map.

"Cease pursuit! Second team, hear my command! All units, hold positions for defense!"

They had strayed a bit far from their teammates.

If the Torch Church's executioners set up an ambush ahead, they could easily be wiped out.

Even though there was a risk of letting the two snipers escape, he didn't dare gamble with his teammates' revival CDs and equipment.

These guys were not easy to deal with!

At this thought, his eyes gleamed with excitement, and his palms began to sweat.

But not out of fear.

But out of excitement!

They had been bullying the weak for some time, and finally, they had the chance to match up against the strong!

Static crackled in the communication channel.

Team B leader: "Boss, we're not chasing them?"

Team C leader: "Chase them, my ass! Didn't you notice those two elites are kiting us?"

Team B leader: "What the hell?!"

At the same moment the players stopped their pursuit, the two retreating snipers gradually became aware of the situation behind them; those persistent soldiers suddenly stopped chasing them.

The two exchanged glances, and the spotter immediately reported the situation to the rear.

"The fish slipped the hook; the enemy squad has stopped chasing."

Meanwhile, the hunter lying in ambush within a three-story building hundreds of meters away frowned tightly.

The entrance to the underground facility was in the square, which was already under the control of the Alliance soldiers.

The battle on the beach was over; they had to finish the fight before the Alliance's reinforcements arrived!

There was no time left to hesitate.

Making a decision in just a few seconds, the hunter hesitated no longer and ordered over the communication channel.

"First team, second team to advance; third team, fourth team to flank from the sides!"

"Quick battle, quick decision!"

"Sir!" The crisp replies echoed in the channel as figures lurking in the shadows of the abandoned buildings stepped out from their environments, almost merging as one with them, and surrounded the Alliance teams that had stopped the pursuit.

At the same time, the other two squads from the first row also sensed something was wrong and immediately called for the second row to move forward while they went to reinforce the direction of the second squad.

At this very moment, news that the team searching the relics of Fortress Town had encountered the Torch Church tribunal had reached Old White, who was directing the construction of the camp and the dock on the beachhead.

Looking at the map and comparing the intelligence for a moment, Old White made a judgment in just two seconds.

"Eighty percent chance it's a big fish!"

"I think so too," Fang Chang nodded, touching his chin with interest, "I might as well take a team to reinforce and have a look."

According to the information they had collected, there was a shelter relic there; although it had been abandoned for nearly a century, they could not rule out the possibility that the Torch Church might have transformed it into a research facility.

A similar situation had occurred in the northern front as well.

Old White laughed heartily and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Alright, it's all yours!"

The battle on the beach was basically over, and there wasn't a great need for manpower.

The defense line of the Mutants' Ten Thousand Corps had been thoroughly shattered by them, running around headlessly towards the rear, and the remaining work apart from clearing the battlefield was to build the dock, so Old White didn't need to supervise here.

After coming out of the command tent, Fang Chang immediately boarded a "Chimera" armored personnel carrier that had just landed through the floating dock with a player battalion, and requested two Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines from the NPC troops for support, charging toward Fortress Town.

Just as he arrived at the battlefield, two platoons from the first battalion were locked in a fierce and indistinguishable battle with the Torch Church's tribunal squad, the sound of gunfight echoing ceaselessly among the ruins.

Judging by that steady, precise, and ruthless pace of attack, these guys were probably the so-called "Executioners" within the Torch Church's Tribunal, just like those they had encountered before at the outskirts of Qingquan City and the Pinecone Wood Farm!

Seeing the alliance reinforcements charging onto the battlefield, a glimmer of utter despair surged in the eyes of the Hunter who was personally fighting on the frontlines.

Too fast!

Same as the landing, these guys were decisive in their actions; right after the strategic missiles were launched, landing crafts and armored vehicles charged forward,

They had just figured out why the front-line command post had lost contact when the Alliance's landing troops had already breached the defense line they had established on the beachhead!

Now it was the same; they had engaged with the Alliance's recon troops near Fortress Town for less than 20 minutes before the main force arrived to reinforce.

Not a single opportunity!

If they continued to entangle themselves like this, they might soon face an encirclement not by just several ten-man squads but by battalion-level or even army-level combat units.

Looking at the dozen or so corpses left by both sides, as well as the position that had been under attack for so long without falling, the Hunter finally clenched his teeth and barked an order through the communication channel.

"Retreat!"

After dropping those words, he immediately turned and vanished into the shadows of the settlement's buildings, daring not to linger here a moment longer.

The other squads did the same; just the second before the "Cloud Dragonfly" Flapping Machines were about to arrive at the battlefield, they turned and vacated the battleground, disappearing into the shadows.

The mission had already failed.

Now all they could do was minimize their losses.

However, every Executioner's heart was heavy.

Although their faith was incredibly devout, and they had no doubts about the supreme Saint Heir, not only could they not see a glimmer of hope for victory—they had come to regard even "good news" as a luxury...

The pressure on the front line suddenly lessened, and the players hunkering behind cover finally let out a sigh of relief.

Although they were pretty thrilled about the fight, their opponent's equipment was ridiculously strong—nearly everyone was equipped with holographic stealth, plus auto-aiming. Several times, they had nearly lost their position.

If the reinforcements had arrived just about 10 minutes later, the outcome of this battle would indeed be hard to predict.

Watching Fang Chang as he walked to the front line, By Some Mistake stepped up to report the course and casualties of this encounter.

"...At first, we were engaging with Mutants, then these guys suddenly came out of nowhere. I think they wanted to take something away, but they probably didn't succeed."

"These people aren't fools. They knew it was meaningless to keep fighting, so they decisively chose to retreat," Fang Chang glanced around slightly, narrowing his eyes with a faint smile on his lips, "Soon, we'll find out what they were so desperate to take with them."

At the same moment his words ended, a player who had reinforced the area with him came over.

"We found an underground passage beneath the public restroom in the plaza, suspected to be the entrance to Shelter No.186."

Hearing the location of the entrance, By Some Mistake couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows.

"These guys really have taste."

"It might not necessarily be these guys' taste, what if it was designed by those from before the war?" Fang Chang joked, then looking at the player who came to report, he said, "Let's go down together and take a look at what's hidden in this shelter."

If it's a shelter that was refurbished after being abandoned, its security procedures were unlikely to be the original pre-war models. It might be possible to unlock it through external hacking.

This largely depended on why the shelter was abandoned, the last Manager's arrangements for its disposal, and how the successors took over, among other factors.

For shelters that have been restarted through unconventional means, an offline key produced by the officials could unlock it; for slightly more complex security programs, setting up an antenna and connecting to a network was all it took.

These were experiences summarized by the active players in Pioneer City, which were of course effective in other regions of the Wasteland as well.

Hearing that it was time to "open a Blind Box," the players immediately showed eagerness on their faces.

"Let's go!"

"Haha, hurry up!"

At the same time, Alzu was pacing back and forth near the buffer doorway of the shelter, cursing under his breath from time to time.

"Damn it, why is it so slow?"

What are these guys dallying for!

He had already backed up all the data from the shelter into the chip in his brain and had cleaned out any original files he could delete, and scrambled the ones he couldn't, all to make their escape smoother.

Just then, a staff member came running through the buffer door, approaching him in a fluster.

"Mr. Alzu... they're here!"

Alzu's face lit up at the news.

"They are? Well, then open up the door!"

Seeing that he was still blabbering, the staff member almost burst into tears.

"No, it's not people from the Tribunal, it's the Alliance here!"

In just an instant, that old face under the hood rapidly lost all its color, lips turning alternately blue and white.

The Alliance was here...

How could that be?!

In a daze, he saw the gear-shaped door tremble and then roll to one side, pulled by mechanical arms.

The staff member who'd brought the news was shocked by the sight, collapsing to the ground in fright.

As for Alzu, he stood completely still, his expression turning vacant as if he had turned into a fool.

The gear-shaped giant door slowly opened.

A man in powered armor stood in the doorway.

He was lifting his left arm, and his right hand was holding a data cable extracted from that left armature.

The end of the cable looked about to be inserted into a spot on the door but hadn't quite made contact yet.

Eyeing the old man in the grey robe standing at the door, and the man collapsed beside him, Fang Chang was visibly taken aback, muttering to himself.

"That's strange..."

He had yet to make a move.

How did the door open by itself?

Chapter 788: The Torch at the End of Its Rope

The battle was over.

And it ended in a complete victory for the Alliance.

In the square of Fortress Town, standing next to an armored vehicle, "Hard to Name" turned off the Tactical Goggles' visual battlefield guidance system and took off his helmet to look around. He couldn't help but sigh.

"...Unbelievable."

"Silence," holding a rifle nearby, curiously glanced at him.

"Unbelievable what?"

"That this place once housed over 20,000 people," "Hard to Name" gazed at the playground equipment on the edge of the square, rusty bars and slides indicating that there had been better times.

Life in the Wasteland, although tough, wasn't all about struggling.

The always quiet "Too Poor" quipped,

"Heck, my tiny hometown had millions of people."

Hard to Name: "Tch, is reality even comparable to the Wasteland?"

Silence mocked with a laugh.

"Haha, you should say is the Game comparable to reality."

Suddenly thinking of something else, "Hard to Name" said,

"Speaking of which, based on the realism of this game so far... those 20,000 people must have existed here, right?"

Silence: "Maybe, so what?"

"Nothing," "Hard to Name" paused, "just wondering... where did all those people go?"

...

Fang Chang had thought he would face a tough battle after entering the shelter, but, unexpectedly, just as he reached the entrance, the other side surrendered immediately.

"I surrender!"

Seeing the power armor at the entrance and the exoskeletons standing behind it, Alzu raised his hands without hesitation.

Undoubtedly, it was the people in the control room who had opened the door.

But whether they opened the door or not didn't matter anymore; no one knew better than the Alliance how to pry open the doors of a shelter, especially since many of them were Blue Ground Squirrels.

A million thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, but he ultimately raised his hands.

Being captured wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

After all, he had plenty of chips left outside; there was no need to risk his physical body for a fruitless resistance.

Fang Chang could tell from the gray robe this person wore that his status was not low and that his brain certainly contained chips, so he promptly pulled out a medical gun and aimed it at him.

This device, with a range of only twenty meters, could fire nanomachine-laden hemostatic capsule bullets or anesthetic alkaloid-charged anesthesia rounds, marketed at 10,000 Silver coins. It belonged to one of the Alliance's early ornamental imports from Ideal City.

Since only players who could afford such gear generally wore armor, and players without armor usually didn't need medical treatment, the gun had very limited use—employed sparingly only for specimen collection missions at the Biological Institute.

Unaware it was a medical gun, Alzu's face registered surprise, and he instinctively raised his right hand as he stepped back.

"Wait... I've already surrendered—"

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of the gun firing resonated, and a hot wave hit his arm.

Before he could gather his senses, a wave of drowsiness swept over his brain, dragging his consciousness into an unfathomably deep mire.

"You might as well take a nap first."

Looking at the "suspect VIP target" lying unconscious on the ground, Fang Chang then turned his attention to another staff member sitting paralyzed on the ground with wet pants and said in a teasing tone,

"If you don't want to end up like him, you'd better cooperate with our investigation."

The staff member nodded nervously.

"I, I will definitely cooperate."

"Good," pleased with the expression on his face, Fang Chang nodded lightly and continued in a relaxed voice, "Introduce yourself, and the person next to you, as well as this underground facility."

Trembling, the man nodded again and stammered out,

"Tomiller, my name... this, this person is Alzu, an Apostle of The Church, but his status is a bit higher than that of a regular Apostle."

Fang Chang raised his hand to stop him.

"Can you stand and talk? I'd prefer to walk and listen rather than wait at the entrance."

Not caring to hide the wet stains on his pants and the floor, the staff member scrambled up from the ground.

"Okay, okay... I can show you around here, please don't kill me."

"Do you think we are like you? Of course, whether you live or die depends on the Judge's trial and your behavior after your surrender."

After dropping that line, Fang Chang touched his helmet to make contact with the command center behind him.

"This is Fang Chang, we have successfully suppressed Shelter No.182… This place appears to have been transformed by the Torch into a research facility. At the entrance, we captured an Apostle suspected of being a high-ranking member of the Torch, as well as a suspected researcher. No missing residents of Fortress Town have been found."

After a brief static noise, a steady voice came through the communication channel.

"Command center received, investigation team members will arrive at the scene in two hours. Preserve the site and control the relevant personnel as much as possible."

"Received."

After shutting off the communication, Fang Chang noticed the staffer, who had wet his pants in fear, suddenly fell over next to Alzu and started rummaging under his gray robe.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Fang Chang pointed the medical gun at him, only to see the other pull out a thumb-sized electronic component from Alzu's body, presenting it with a flattering smile.

"This, this for you!"

This thing looked a bit like a USB drive.

Fang Chang was slightly stunned and took it from his hand with interest.

"What is this?"

"This is everything about Shelter No.182."

Tomiller said rapidly.

"The data for the Perfect Life Form Project, along with the related research and experiment logs that this research facility was conducting… Alzu had copied everything from this research facility onto this disk, then cleared the original data from the servers."

As he said this, he carefully looked at the soldier in front of him, his voice carrying a hint of ingratiation.

"Does this… count as a merit?"

Amused by his cautious demeanor, Fang Chang replied teasingly.

"That depends on what we can recover from it. I'm not a judge, I can only help you submit the evidence at most."

He paused, then pointed his gun at the decontamination chamber door.

"Now, I need you to show me around this shelter."

The value of the data stored in the hard drive would be judged by the specialists of the investigation team.

However, the Alliance was relatively reasonable. They generally only imposed the maximum penalty on decision-makers and specifically examined which actions of the executors were subjectively against humanity and which were due to coercion.

If one were merely a researcher and did not participate in the actual decision-making, a death sentence might not be necessary; loss of personal freedom at most, confined for a lifetime in Shelter No.79.

However, Tomiller misunderstood his meaning, thinking that the Alliance people deemed this merit too insignificant. After all, they could find this disk by searching anyone similar. There was no need for him to hand it over.

Seeing his only chance slipping away, Tomiller hurriedly walked ahead of Fang Chang, eager to introduce Shelter No.182 to him and the other soldiers following him.

The group had just passed through the decontamination door and had not yet crossed the shelter's plaza when they saw a large group of researchers swarm through the hallway doors.

Before Fang Chang could ask what had happened, they dashed up, sniveling and in tears, completely overwhelming Fang Chang and the players.

"What are you doing?"

Looking at the group of researchers, practically begging to cling to his legs, Fang Chang, unable to help laughing and crying, reached down and picked up one particularly agitated fellow off the ground.

An older researcher grabbed his arm, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Brothers from the Alliance... You finally came!"

"You… have suffered," Fang Chang coughed lightly and hurriedly asked Tomiller to his side, "What's the situation with these people?"

Not daring to hide anything, Tomiller quickly provided an honest answer.

"They are researchers sent by Charles from a company called North Island Heavy Industries; the tanks and anti-tank cannons outside were designed by them."

Upon hearing this, the older researcher immediately panicked.

"You can't talk carelessly, what do you mean 'all designed by us'?"

Several younger researchers also started yelling.

"We were forced by you!"

"Exactly! Seeing what happened to the residents of Fortress Town, how could we dare to disagree with you?"

"Residents of Fortress Town?" Fang Chang's heart stirred, and he turned to the young researcher to inquire, "Are those people still alive?"

Suddenly, the plaza at the decontamination doorway quieted down.

Including Tomiller, whether the researchers originally belonged to this research facility or those bound here by Charles, everyone's expression grew strange, seemingly hesitant to delve into these details.

Under Fang Chang's probing gaze, the young researcher finally mumbled.

"...On the fifth underground level of the shelter, there is a converted bioengineering factory. It's equipped with culturing vessels that can transform living people into mutants… I heard it was initially among the earliest mutant cultivation facilities."

By Some Mistake, who was next to Fang Chang, his Adam's apple bobbed difficultly, forcing out a statement.

"So that means…"

Tomiller received an uneasy gaze from the researchers.

"They drove part of the residents to plant Nago, and part were transformed into mutants..."

Seeing the hostile look from the players directed at him, Tomiller's forehead was covered in cold sweat as he stammered out an explanation.

"I... I wasn't involved in this... It was the project team under Alzu that was carrying out the research, I was just responsible for the day-to-day operations of this research facility..."

"Just a bunch of animals," By Some Mistake couldn't help but curse.

Ignoring Tomiller's explanations, Fang Chang addressed the researchers from North Island.

"I understand the situation now. I'll arrange for someone to send you all home."

Looking at their relieved faces, he paused and then continued,

"As for whether you were coerced or joined here on your own volition, we will also arrange for special personnel to investigate. Please rest assured that we will not wrong a good person, but we will also not let a bad person go. I hope you understand this."

Hearing this, everyone hastily responded,

"Please rest assured, we will definitely cooperate with the investigation!"

"Our families can vouch for us!"

"As long as we can leave this damned place... anything is acceptable!"

Fang Chang nodded, had their identities registered by his personnel, and then instructed Tomiller to continue leading them deeper into the shelter.

The scientific expedition team staff here would take over, so there was no need for these players to worry too much about it.

Before evacuating from here, he wanted to see just what kind of hell existed on the underground fifth level...

...

In the captain's room of the Iron Heart.

After several hours of waiting, Chu Guang, who commanded from the northern front, finally received good news from the southern front.

In the pale blue holographic image, Old White excitedly reported to him,

"...Respected Manager, sir, our forces have successfully taken control of Death Coast and cleared the mutants' nests and strategic facilities controlled by the Torch Church along the coast!"

"The enemy's defensive forces have been destroyed by our mechanized troops and aerial power, and the remaining enemy is retreating towards the Heavenly domain away from the coastline."

"Not only that, but we have also established defensive positions and a temporary pier at the landing point on Death Coast. It will soon become our bridgehead for transporting military supplies and personnel from Potato Harbor to the front line!"

"Excellent," Chu Guang nodded in approval and continued watching Old White in the holographic image, "Keep up the current pace, and continue to expand our advantage on the southern line! Don't give our enemies any chance to counterattack!"

With a fist thumped on his breastplate, Old White said vigorously,

"Yes, sir!"

At this stage of the war, everyone could see the dawn of victory.

After the communication ended, Chu Guang stretched out his index finger to switch off the holographic screen and leaned back in his chair.

Seeing the good mood of Chu Guang, Xiao Qi perched on the pen holder said brightly,

"Congratulations master, there's finally progress on the southern line. With this momentum, it feels like the war might end soon."

Hearing Xiao Qi's voice, Chu Guang smiled faintly and picked up the teacup from the table to take a sip.

"I've said long ago, from the moment Torch stood in opposition to the civilized world, their ultimate failure was predestined… It was only a matter of time."

It might sound boastful to say this, but the outcome of this war was never truly in doubt from the beginning; the real headache was just how to deal with the aftermath.

Not just for him, even the Academy had no good solutions; researchers from the Wandering Swamp even suggested burning everything.

Even Heya thought that burning was the simplest and most direct solution.

However, these seemingly unsolvable problems found new solutions as his little players became active in places like Baiyue Strait and the Southern sea area.

Although Torch had implanted the aggressive genes from the Clear Spring stone's lair into the Nago, enabling them to devour other life forms, ultimately they were still unable to resist the fusion with the original strains.

Currently, type B strains have been confirmed to inhibit the Nago strains, and Xiaoyu, who had fused with the type B strains and Ten Peak Mountain Nest, obtained the ability to "graft" synthetic B strains and their inhibiting pheromones, dissolving Torch's "Heavenly domain" was only a matter of time.

Now, Torch itself was no longer a concern; establishing a new order post-war was becoming a more pressing issue for discussion at the Sticky Community meetings.

Chu Guang could sense that not only the Vellante people who had benefited long ago from the Perfect Life Forms Project, but also the Academy and corporations were all greatly interested in the biological technology controlled by the Torch Church.

If the "spoils" weren't shared evenly, it might provoke a new conflict, but allowing some technologies to spread could also potentially cause significant troubles.

Regarding this matter, he might need to talk with the high-ranking officials of the Academy.

Moreover, not just balancing the post-war order,
how to continue to maintain the unity of the Sticky Community and keep the various Survivor Forces united was also a significant challenge for the Alliance.

While Chu Guang pondered over his next moves, the Tribunal Penalty Group, defeated at Fortress Town, finally pulled back within the domains of Heavenly realm.

The dense gray fog was a natural disguise, and the Nago mycelium seeping into the soil was enough to halt the progress of the Alliance's landing forces.

However, the Hunter knew this was not entirely foolproof.

The Alliance could utilize "Mutated slime fungus" engineered by humans to erode the territories of Heaven in the northern front, so there was no reason the same could not be done in the south.

Currently, the Alliance had already established a temporary dock on the Hainan line, where soldiers in exoskeleton armor were continuously landing behind enemy lines.

Their time was running out.

Leaving his subordinates at the logistics base, the Hunter had gone alone to the shelter where the Saint was staying and reported to the Saint that Alzu's original form had been captured and that Shelter No.182 had fallen.

After hearing the report from his trusted subordinate, the Saint, who was sitting in a chair, fell silent for a while before slowly speaking up.

"I understand, you may go now."

The Hunter was slightly stunned.

He had thought the Saint would assign him a new task, but the last thing he expected was such a simple sentence.

He did not stand to leave but couldn't help asking.

"You... don't need me to do anything?"

He still had twenty-two brothers under his command; he could still fight!

Not just him.

The others from the Tribunal and the knights loyal to the Torch Church… they all still had the power to fight! The Church had merely lost a beach; they had not yet admitted defeat!

However, he sensed a hint of resignation in the Saint's voice—as if they were powerless to turn the tide, as if no one could save their Heaven anymore!

He had dedicated his life to the ideals of Heaven descending to the mortal realm; he could not accept such an ending no matter what!

Seeing the flames burning in the Hunter's eyes, the Saint knew what he was thinking and spoke in a gentle tone.

"My child, I know you can still fight, but at this stage of the war, the outcome cannot be changed by one or two battle victories."

"The Heavenly domain in Haiye Province has a fatal flaw that allowed remnants of the old era to find a way to break it… It is indeed our oversight."

"Theoretically, even if they managed to get their hands on the original Nago strains in Baiyue Province, as long as we found a way to fix the genetic flaws in Nago before they did, we could have rendered their advantage moot. Unfortunately, we were ultimately one step behind."

Luogan in Brocade River City had been on the verge of victory.

But just as Heaven was about to fully descend on Brocade River City, the Alliance suddenly intervened and disrupted their plans.

He still found it unbelievable to this day.

The most aggressive Lair was right above them, and those people hadn't even resolved the trouble overhead but had spared efforts to send aid to those they had never met.

He had to admit, the manager of Shelter No.404 was indeed a far-sighted leader, certainly more courageous than another manager he had once known.

But then again, if Sven Vilard had really been such a person, Shelter No.117 might not have ended up in disarray.

Seeing the Saint, whose thoughts seemed to have drifted far away, the Hunter couldn't help but speak up.

"Are we just going to sit here and wait for death?"

Recollecting his wandering thoughts, the Saint looked at him with interest and spoke.

"Why would you think that we are sitting here waiting for death?"

The Hunter, bowing his head, said,

"The allied forces of the Sticky Community are continuously shrinking our living space… If this trend continues, we don't have the slightest chance of winning."

It wasn't just his personal view; many of his soldiers also believed—they were walking further along a path destined for failure.

Looking at his trusted subordinate with bowed head, the Saint thought for a moment, then continued speaking.

"If you are talking about the Heavenly domain in Haiye Province, its collapse is indeed hard to reverse, but that doesn't mean we have already lost."

"But if you are talking about our ideals, it's perhaps too early to discuss victory and defeat."

The collapse of the Heavenly domain in Haiye Province was just a failed attempt, which didn't prove their ideal of ascending to a higher form of life was wrong.

The Hunter suddenly raised his head, his eyes fervently fixed on the Saint seated before him, a glimmer of hope gradually lighting up in his eyes.

"… You have other plans, don't you?"

He knew it!

They were not so easily defeated!

Seeing his look of a drowning man grabbing at a straw, a faint, indulgent smile formed at the corners of the Saint's mouth.

Other plans…

Could those even be considered a plan?

But maybe that was a desperate way out after all… although he had never thought he would have to resort to it one day.

His gaze fell on the wall clock in the conference room, and in that moment, he remembered many things—especially the folks from Shelter No.117.

The Pioneers had already set out.

It was about time for him to prepare for his journey as well…

Chapter 789: Wild Punches Kill the Mad Old Man

Emerald-colored thick juice soaked the land that had been plowed by artillery, and the stench of decay was suffocating.

Dark green fungal hyphae were exposed on the surface of the soil, resembling blood vessels forcibly pulled from the body.

In the distance, the artillery continued to roar, and burning steel kept falling from the sky, like an endless rain.

One hundred twenty "Conqueror" tanks formed the spearhead of the attack, their thick gun barrels and red-hot coaxial machine guns continuously spitting flames, unleashing fierce firepower during the brief pauses of long-range artillery.

Tens of thousands of clone infantry, armed with Ripper Rifles, howled as they charged with the tracer bullets flying above, recklessly rushing toward the bombed mutant fungi, venting their boiling rage with primal screams.

"Ah ah ah!!!"

"Loo—!!"

A shrieking wail, also seemingly a roar of anger, emerged from a mutant fungus covered in heavy shrapnel wounds. Its plump body pulsated like an umbrella and continuously squeezed out clumps of dark green spore clouds.

The dark green spore clouds, like some sort of elixir, had the other nearby mutants groaning in pleasure. Staggering, they climbed from craters, and their fragmented limbs healed at a visibly rapid rate.

Especially the "Walking Corpses" and "Corpse Dogs"!

Although they were cannon fodder and not known for their offensive capabilities, they possessed an extremely stubborn resilience. Merely a whiff brought the twisted bodies back to life.

In an instant, the green cloud was sucked clean. The spore-releasing "Big Mushroom," however, seemed to have wilted and deflated.

Noticing the situation, the advancing clone squad immediately attacked, firing their rifles while maintaining the rhythm of their assault.

The Big Mushroom was hit several times and was on the brink of collapse.

However, just as the clone squad was about to reach it, the body of the Big Mushroom suddenly convulsed violently like boiling water, and then its body ripped open a nearly one-meter-wide fissure!

Dozens of tentacles rapidly shot out of the crack, lashing like whips at the clone soldiers facing them!

"Loo!"

One clone soldier took a direct hit. He let out a short, excited scream as he grasped the unfortunate "fly" like a hunting frog, pulling it into his mouth and pressing its head into the esophagus full of corrosive acid.

But before the Big Mushroom could truly savor the sweet flesh, a bayonet pierced through the back of its skull.

"Loo!!!"

A pain-filled howl erupted from its open mouth and wounds.

The creature, like one with a bad stomach, writhed its lower tentacles repeatedly, retreating backward and spitting out a mix of bloody flesh and digestive juices.

Before it could stabilize and assume a defensive stance, another clone soldier charged forward, his eyes glinting with a mad bloodlust bright as the bayonet in his hand!

"Ah ah ah!!!"

He yelled as he thrust the bayonet into the mutant's body, savagely stirring it left and right.

The Big Mushroom, capable only of releasing healing spores, soon fell to the ground, alongside the Walking Corpses and Corpse Dogs being suppressed.

A Crawler rushed forward and bit through the neck of a clone soldier, but was quickly blasted to pieces by a tank shell coming head-on.

Close combat ensued between the two sides.

The clone soldiers, appearing even more like "Mutated slime fungus" than the oddly shaped mutants, found murder a vital essence of life!

Their lives were counted in seconds.

They had crossed thousands of kilometers of desert to this unfamiliar land, all for this final moment of blaze.

They fell continuously, yet no one retreated.

The murky flesh and dark mud blended together, painting the land red as they pushed the battle line forward, further and forward!

"Charge!"

Emerging halfway from a turret filled with blood and mucus, a Weilante Centurion roared, urging those under his command to press the attack.

"Let this filthy, ugly lot see what true cruelty is!"

"We will make them regret coming to this world! Offering victory to the Marshal! Bringing glory back to Triumph City! Delivering death to our enemies!"

"Charge!!"

Responding to his roar were deafening shouts of agreement.

"Ah ah ah!!!"

Though they couldn't make out exactly what their leader was yelling, rushing to their death was indeed the best release for them.

Behind them, soldiers in heavy protective gear carried cylindrical metal canisters on their backs and held extermination nozzles, slowly advancing.

From time to time, some would stop, bend down, and pick up chunks of flesh mixed with mud and blood from the ground to toss into the containers behind.

The B-type bacteria strain could not grow outside of Baiyue Province, but the "offspring" produced by the lairs farmed by the Alliance had solved this problem.

Besides mass synthesis through hatcheries, the Alliance Biological Research Institute had also developed the "Portable Extermination Device" — which was what those soldiers from Weilante were carrying on their backs.

Each culture tank stored an "offspring" inoculated with the B-type bacteria genome, constantly synthesizing the B-type bacteria, consuming only one corpse per square kilometer.

The B-type bacteria, which eroded the soil, could not survive outside Baiyue Province by itself and would naturally disappear after accomplishing its mission to eradicate the J-type bacteria.

It could be said to be extremely useful.

The Allied forces had already reclaimed half of the territory of Haiya Province with this equipment.

The drone's camera zoomed out slowly, following the rising smoke and spores, and dense shadows sprawled across the vast wilderness.

It wasn't just one ten-thousand-troop contingent initiating the attack, but a full ten ten-thousand-troop contingents from the Eastern Legion!

Even more brutal slaughters and deaths were visible all over this mud-smeared land...

Not only the Alliance could see the decline of the Torch, the commanders of the Legion could see it too.

To get more chips when it came time to divvy up the spoils of war, they had to control more territories!

And, on the eastern side of the Legion's frontline, the combat on the Alliance-controlled lines was even more intense.

If the Legion's clone soldiers merely saw death as relief, the players of the Alliance truly embraced death as a return home.

Even though the people of Weilante did not care about the casualties of the clones, even wishing these "ants" would die faster so fresher and more robust cannon fodder could be sent from the rear, they dared not let the clones be heavily surrounded...After all, even the least death-fearing individuals could lose their fighting will and resist no longer.

However, the players did not have this problem.

For the sake of killing more creatures before they died, or to avoid hindering their allies, they would even voluntarily delve deep into enemy territory, intentionally getting surrounded by the Torch's mutated organisms.

This deceptive tactic also caused the Torch much suffering in the early stages of the war.

When they attempted to annihilate the Alliance's living forces through encirclement tactics, they ended up suffering heavier casualties.

Further east past the Alliance-controlled zone were the territories controlled by the Alpha Special Mobile Force of the Academy and the Torch Hound Special Forces.

Further distance was dominated by corporate-controlled battle lines.

Apart from the very first Mechanized Mountain Division No.100 sent to the frontline, there were also three infantry divisions and twelve mercenary groups that had traversed Yue Ma Province and rushed to the frontline to fight in this region.

Various forces showcased their prowess on the frontline, with only the Torch getting battered in exhaustive defense.

The ravaged land looked patchy in green and purple, resembling a bruised and swollen face that had been punched.

Looking down at the fragmented frontline, the Human Emperor stood in the void, eyes bulging, grating his teeth in frustration, no longer displaying the relaxed and unhurried demeanor from the beginning of the war.

There were too many enemies!

Soldiers armed with guns swarmed the frontline like locusts. He had just finished deploying on the eastern side when tens of thousands emerged in the west. After managing both sides, the Alliance then dropped a group of paratroopers right on his face.

The threat was not just coming from the front, his rear was also in flames.

Even with his sharp calculations, he couldn't fend off this countless number of punches simultaneously targeting him.

"Die… all of you die!" the Human Emperor roared angrily, but no one could hear his cry.

He continually projected his consciousness onto the evolutionary bodies at the frontline, engaging in the fierce combat, attempting to turn the tide of defeat, but he soon lost contact with his mortal body, only able to continuously cycle between connecting and disconnecting.

Perhaps touched by his efforts, or perhaps out of pity for his futile struggle, a gentle voice came from above his head.

"Enough, you have tried your best."

Hearing the Holy Child's voice, a brief pause of madness appeared on his face.

But it lasted only a moment.

"I can still fight…" he panted, his face still bearing the madness of the previous evolutionary body before death.

Watching that crazed look, the Holy Child sighed softly.

"The fall of Heaven is inevitable… Our time has come, the others have already set out, and so should you—"

"Never!"

The Human Emperor roared furiously, cutting off the airy remark.

He was like a beast cornered against a wall at that moment.

Staring down at the fiery battlefield below, he spoke sternly, word by word.

"I will not retreat! My Heaven is right here… I will go nowhere!"

To enable Heaven to descend on this land, to allow humanity to evolve into a higher existence, at least a million survivors had died by his hand!

After such tremendous sacrifice, his heaven had finally descended upon the mortal realm, and all the sacrifices finally paid off—nobody could take his heaven away!

He would fight to the end!

To ensure that all this blood was not shed in vain!

Silently observing the distorted face, the Saint Heir sighed gently.

"I respect your choice…"

As he spoke, his vacant eyes took on a hint of madness, resembling a black hole that devoured everything in the world, even space itself.

"...I will witness the final moments of this miracle with you."

...

Low swirling black smoke danced in the sky, outlining bullet scars in the broken clouds.

Standing inside the bridge of the Iron Heart, Chu Guang, like the "Human Emperor" drifting somewhere unknown, also overlooked the battlefield that had been plowed over and over by artillery fire.

However, his demeanor and emotions were noticeably calmer than the madmen of the Torch, with hardly any emotional fluctuation visible in his stern expression.

From the bridge's floor-to-ceiling windows, one could faintly see the outline of the coastline.

If quick, it would take a week, and at most half a month, for the landing troops to meet up with the main forces on the northern front.

Then, it would be time to search for and destroy the facilities of the Torch Church.

The details of the local battle were not noteworthy; at that moment, Chu Guang was looking at the investigative report on Shelter No. 182 sent by Fang Chang through the holographic screen.

It was a refuge that had been abandoned for a century, which Torch had restarted and transformed into a research facility mainly engaging in projects related to Perfect Life forms.

Most of the research and production facilities held by the Torch Church were of this kind.

According to the investigative report provided by Fang Chang, besides finding some improved production machines and three Black Boxes on the fourth underground level of Shelter No. 182, they also discovered 120 cylindrical cultivation tanks used to soak experimental bodies, along with a giant glass vat filled with gene modification serum, covering an area of 100 square meters, on the fifth underground level.

In addition, there was a large cold storage facility storing thousands of corpses that had not yet been processed or were deemed valuable for research.

These corpses hung like meat in the cold storage, some with three arms or two heads, and almost none maintained a basic human form.

According to confessions from facility workers, Torch's apostles selected from captured survivors those suitable candidates who exhibited no obvious rejection reactions to the gene modification serum, and then threw them into the gene modification serum-filled cultivation tanks to soak for 3 to 7 days, partially transforming some into Mutants.

Of course, even after discarding the unsuitable with rejection reactions, only a fraction ultimately completed the transformation.

After all, Mutants were part of an unfinished and unstable technology, posing inherent great risks from the technological principle itself.

Moreover, re-embryonizing fully developed adults, replacing their entire genome and forcing its expression was as difficult as stuffing a person back into the womb for rebirth.

This was much more challenging than a blood transfusion.

Even with the Torch Church's certain advantages in biological technology, they could only achieve a 67% "good product rate."

And of that 67% "good product," more than half of the individuals, unable to endure the torturous transformation process, completely lost their sanity and degenerated into animal-like beings.

As for those who did not turn into animals, their minds also twisted to various extents. Schizophrenia was common; for instance, one body might house a crowd of people, or some might lose their memories or imagine themselves as chefs or similar identities.

Details of these studies were recorded in the experimental logs, every line dripping with blood.

Torch seemed to realize that these things were inconvenient to disclose publicly, so they planned to destroy the originals while backing up the data.

Fortunately, his little players arrived just in time and intercepted the Apostles who were about to evacuate.

After reading the entire report, Chu Guang sighed softly and said,

"...Just looking at the content of this investigative report, the crimes of these guys are innumerable."

Standing behind him, Heya, who had been silent for a long time, showed a face full of inexpressible guilt and lowered her head.

"Sorry..."

"You don't need to apologize for mistakes you haven't made," Chu Guang extended his index finger to draw lightly in the air, gathering the pale blue light at his fingertip and dispersing it, then turned to look at her and continued, "Moreover, your research has made a significant contribution to our cause and to humanity. You should feel proud, lift your head up."

Heya lifted her head, but her eyes, filled with complexity, still dodged a bit.

The people who committed these crimes were her former neighbors; they might even have shared the same table in the same cafeteria… and some of them could have been her teachers.

"But after all, they were residents of Shelter No.117..."

"It's just a part, even if only one person made a different choice, that still counts as a different choice."

Chu Guang interrupted her, staring into her evasive eyes and continued,

Moreover, there are no shortage of residents from Shelter No. 117 within the Alliance Biological Research Institute; they are all good people, and you should be clear about this."

Those in blue jackets were saved by the Alliance from Shelter No. 401.

Although their numbers were not many, their contribution to the progress of Alliance biotechnology was significant, and the prosperity of the Alliance also owed much to them.

Heya's eyes reddened slightly as she whispered a thank you.

"Thank you..."

"There's no need to thank me, I should have said something similar," Chu Guang smiled and continued, "It's not just me who thinks this way, including Crow who pulled you out of that sleep cabin, and other residents who helped you collect research materials... We all feel the same."

The Alliance did not engage in identity politics; this had always been the case. Moreover, not every resident of Shelter No.117 had joined the Torch, and there were those who had joined and then regretted it.

But that being said, there was one thing he had always been curious about.

Various pieces of intelligence indicated that the Torch pioneers totaled only thirteen members, including that Saint Heir named Wang Yi.

However, according to the intelligence gathered by the Guards Corps through investigations and visits, far more residents had fled from Shelter No.117 than that.

What about the others?

Including Heya's master Karen... Where had those who had once joined the Torch and donned the Blue Jackets gone?

Actually, it wasn't just him who was puzzled; Sun Shiqi, the former manager of Shelter No.70, had also harbored similar confusions.

Shelter No.70 and Shelter No.117 had been in regular contact over the past century, including exchanging research on "Mutated slime fungus"... after all, the former was right next to a huge lair, yet they were not experts in biology.

In Sun Shiqi's memory, the residents of Shelter No.117 did not seem like the type of lunatics capable of such bizarre deeds, nor did they have the capacity to do so.

Most of the Blue Jackets lived miserably in the Wastelands; kinder Waste Land Wanderers ignored them, while harsher ones simply treated them as spoils.

Of course, this wasn't to excuse any errors of Shelter No.117, but he always felt like there was an invisible hand behind it all... much like how the Alliance indirectly controlled the situation in Poluo Province through the Baiyue Corporation.

Although Chu Guang did not much like this fellow's odd analogies, because the two matters were not the same at all, he had to admit that he too had felt something similar.

The trajectory of the Torch Church over the ten years, after leaving Brocade River for Haiya, had been somewhat outrageous.

The Iron Tower Organization, although a poor version of the Alliance, involved local survivors who voluntarily organized to establish a self-help alliance, which was not any more invincible than Giant Stone City Prison.

Yet, perplexingly, they who Giant Stone City could not subdue quickly disintegrated the Iron Tower and enslaved an entire province of survivors.

They possessed Black Boxes far exceeding the theoretical reserves of Shelter No.117, arming battalions with incredible equipment that even the elite warriors of the Alliance found formidable.

Chu Guang was not only curious about where the other residents of Shelter No.117, outside of the "Council of Thirteen", had gone but also, what exactly had happened in the years after Torch reached this land beneath their feet...

Just then, Lu Bei of the Guards Corps passed through the hatch and walked into the bridge, crisply saluting.

"Respected manager... sir, our operatives active at the front have received a signal from within the Heavenly Domain..."

Recently, this young man had finally corrected his way of addressing him as "sir", and Chu Guang was quite satisfied with his improvement.

The only slight dissatisfaction was that this young man often repeated what he had said, but rarely truly listened.

Seeing Lu Bei suddenly stop speaking, Heya promptly prepared to leave the bridge discreetly, but was stopped by Chu Guang.

"Stay here and listen."

Saying this, Chu Guang looked toward Lu Bei and continued.

"The Alliance is not yet at a point where we need to hide information like a 'doctor' hides a diagnosis. I remember saying that all information about the Torch Church collected by the Guards Corps should be transparent to the Alliance Biological Research Institute, and need not be cleared with me first."

Lu Bei lowered his head.

"Yes, sir..."

Knowing the young man meant well, Chu Guang did not reprimand him much but merely indicated with his eyes for him to continue.

Lu Bei paused, then reported the intelligence in full.

In short, it was not just the Allied Forces who thought the Torch was done for, the insiders of the Torch felt the same way.

Although the Torch Church supposedly carried the word 'Church', those doctrines were just to deceive ordinary people; the high ranks of the Torch spoke not so much of those doctrines but more of science and methods.

Among them, while there were staunch idealists, there certainly were opportunists and those of an 'it-doesn't-concern-me' philosophy.

For example, Eure, who was currently working for the Alliance, was a typical example of the latter; he himself wasn't too clear on what he wanted, having been just a corporate drone in a pharmaceutical company before the war, suddenly thrown into the war, he had changed locations to do research, been confusedly coaxed by colleagues to take a nap, awakened to find himself in the Wasteland Era, and had thoughtlessly followed the Torch when beckoned.

Others saw the Torch's resources and hoped to use them to continue their pre-war, unfinished research.

Anyway, inside the high ranks of the Torch was a researcher who, seeing that the Torch, this crazily destined-for-doom tree was about ninety percent likely to fall, hoped to surrender to the Sticky Community Allied Forces with intelligence and research materials in exchange for a generous deal.

Interestingly, according to this senior researcher's explanation, the upper echelons of the Torch Church seemed to plan their escape using a secret device located within his facility.

Clearly, he was not included in that "strategic relocation", so he took the chance to leak the news.

"What's the name of that researcher?!" Before Lu Bei could finish, Heya anxiously interrupted.

Lu Bei hesitated, glancing at Chu Guang, but seeing the manager remain unmoved, he finally sighed, resigned, and revealed,

"The name that person left for us to identify him by is Karen... I was also surprised at first, but I feel that person is not like the one you've been searching for."

Chapter 790 "No One Understands Ah Guang Better Than I Do

Death Coast, floating docks made of steel, a group of construction workers dressed in work clothes were disembarking ashore, carrying shovels and toolboxes in succession.

They were soldiers of the Empire's Expeditionary Army, previously stationed at Fried Dough Stick Port.

Although the Alliance occasionally pulled them out for target practice, it was clear from the start that the players had never intended to throw them into the front lines.

Thankfully so.

As they reached the shore, many vomited on the spot, their faces pale and their limbs numb.

The cause was naturally seasickness, but half of it was due to the horrific sight on the beach.

There lay swollen, mutilated bodies haphazardly scattered across the sands—blue, green, and even human ones. Though those bodies in the trenches had been moved by the players, some mutants that died in the sea were continuously washed up on the sand by the waves.

Not only bodies, but also variants attracted by the smell were roaming around.

Some unusually large sea crabs, having caught the scent of decay, were energetically feasting on the bodies, indulging in a buffet style.

The crowd, swallowing their saliva and stomach acid, stiffly made their way onto the shore.

However, just then, a gunshot suddenly rang out on the shore.

"Bang—!"

The sudden gunshot startled everyone, and their muscle memory from training made them instinctively lie flat on the ground until they saw Blue Jacket in an exoskeleton approaching.

"Don't be nervous, it's me."

Carrying a shotgun, Half a year's wasted time walked over to the dock, waved his hand, and then pointed near the row of floating docks at the feet of the crowd.

There lay a mutated sea crab, over a meter tall, collapsed in a waterlogged sandpit, its half head completely blown off by the shotgun.

Because its shell was too similar in color to the sand, everyone who had been focusing on the bodies on the shore hadn't noticed it.

Watching these panic-stricken soldiers of the Expeditionary Army, Half a year's wasted time said with a smile,

"Watch your feet, the pinchers of these creatures are quite powerful, just one snap could break your legs... We've spent enough money on you, don't want to pay for prosthetic legs as well."

Seeing no one spoke, Half a year's wasted time no longer wasted words and got straight to the point.

"Your task is simple, clear the bodies from the beach, drag them about five kilometers from the shoreline, and then burn them with the fuel we provided..."

"The Torch Church's military power in this area has been neutralized by us, so there shouldn't be any danger. Of course, I can only say 'should', as anything can happen on the battlefield, so you need to keep your eyes wide open and be prepared for any possible dangers."

"That's the situation, if you have any questions, ask now; if not, you can start working."

After dropping these words, Half a year's wasted time waited a moment, and when no one spoke up, he was about to turn and leave.

However, just then, a young man timidly raised his hand.

"I... have a question."

His voice was timid, as was common when most Mouse Tribe people communicated with them.

Half a year's wasted time didn't mind and waved his right hand.

"Then ask quickly."

The young man swallowed and quickly said,

"Why not just let the crabs eat them..."

As far as he was concerned, there was no need to bother with this, as the crabs would clean them up anyway if left alone.

Hearing this outlandish idea, Half a year's wasted time laughed, his tone mocking,

"Wait until you've fed them, guess how much their numbers will grow?"

These NPCs are acting more like NPCs than I am!

As he was about to turn away, the young man spoke again in a low voice.

"What if we take them farther away from the dock? Dig a pool there and bury the bodies... it might even attract the mutated sea crabs there."

He wasn't bothered by moving the bodies; he just thought it was a pity to drive away the edible crabs.

When they first arrived at Fried Dough Stick Port, they often picked up the crabs killed by the Alliance soldiers and even grilled and ate them together.

Half a year's wasted time looked at the young man in surprise.

Good lord.

These game NPCs are that realistic?!

But fair is fair, after carefully thinking it over in his head, he actually liked the idea.

Of course, he mainly wanted to improve the food situation, so he walked up smiling, patted the young man on the shoulder.

"Brother, what's your name?"

The young man said timidly,

"Dan..."

"Then I'll call you Ah Dan, haha, the future Crab Tycoon, Ah Dan."

Having said this, Half a year's wasted time threw a bunch of keys with a car registration tag into his hand, then handed over the tool he was holding, and continued laughing while speaking.

"The truck is loaned to you, these people are under your command... and here's a shotgun and a walkie-talkie. I hope your crab farm is at least five kilometers away from here, and if you're attacked, call us."

The young man named Dan was momentarily stunned, then nodded enthusiastically, his face alight with joy.

"Don't worry, sir, leave it to me, I'll make sure you're satisfied!"

From the smile on that Alliance Soldier's face, he seemed to see an opportunity to change his fate!

If things went well, maybe he could stay...

Half a year's wasted time didn't mind it and laughed, making a 'get busy' gesture, then walked back to the shore.

Standing at the shore and waiting, Step Into the Sky asked him as he approached.

"Isn't this problematic?"

Half a year's wasted time responded with a laugh,

"What problems could there be? It's good to make use of the mutant's remains. Don't be so serious, haha."

Perhaps after the battle, the mutant crabs would become a local specialty.

Seeing his playful grin, Step Into the Sky made a helpless expression.

"Alright then."

He didn't really care, as long as it didn't affect the supply of materials.

...

The dusk that hung in the sky gradually fell.

As the Expeditionary Army successively landed at Fried Dough Stick Port, Duke Nihak, who was stubbornly refusing to exit the South Sea Alliance Fleet ship, finally hesitantly followed onto the shore after seeing General Li Minghui head to the shore.

After all, he was a duke of the Empire, he couldn't let people underestimate him.

Not just for that reason.

As a duke of the Empire, now that the Expeditionary Army had finally landed on Torch Church territory, he felt compelled to make his presence felt.

However, what he didn't expect was that the situation on shore was much more gruesome than he had imagined, with the pungent smell of blood not dissipating even after a full day of sea breeze.

Standing on those uneven steel plates, Duke Nilac felt as if his nostrils were soaked in blood, his legs growing weak.

This is the frontline...

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, his pupils filled with uncontrollable fear.

Although he had seen the true capabilities of the Alliance through holographic screens, the death witnessed through a screen was far less profound than what he felt now.

These guys aren't human...

Whether it's those lying on the beach or those camping on the shore...

They're all devils!

Pushing away the guard who came to assist him, he moved with stiff steps toward the shore.

Not far away was the Alliance camp, with tents arranged along the edge of the beach, lights shining on the watchtowers.

He harbored a faint hope, hoping that the camp was filled with wounded, that the battle would weaken both the Torch and the Alliance, hoping the Empire would thereafter stand atop the world, but the moment he walked into the camp, all his hopes were dashed.

The soldiers sat on their battle positions where enemies had fallen, lighting bonfires.

They didn't care about the bullet marks or blood on the ground, sitting in front of those bonfires, even laughing and singing as they roasted meat.

Not just Alliance Soldiers.

He watched as several Expeditionary Army Soldiers were also pulled to sit with them, some of whom played short flutes from Poluo Province and drums made of beast skin and bones, accompanying the hoarse and robust singing.

"...Heaven's gears fall into the smelter."

"Boiling steel splashes out from the furnace."

"The undying Heaven disaster never stops."

"We'll rebuild the kingdom of mortals!"

"..."

"The chaotic hound's head has been severed."

"The flames of punishment are the destiny of lies."

"If turning right and wrong is the path to Heaven..."

"Then we topple it first!"

He didn't understand what they were singing, yet he felt the blood in his veins surge with the melody.

A sudden fear sprouted in his heart, especially when he saw the Expeditionary Army Soldiers humming along softly.

Those lyrics seemed to contain some kind of heretical curse...

Someone noticed him, pointed smilingly at him, and before he knew it, he was pulled to sit by the bonfire.

The two guards who followed him were also pulled to the fire.

"...cheer up a bit, don't look so sad, the war is almost over!"

"Although you all still have a ton of issues to worry about, at least now we can celebrate a shared victory," Kill Dagger said, patting Duke Nihak on the shoulder with a laugh, "This is a victory for all of humanity, not just for us, but for you as well."

"...Stop, stop spouting nonsense!"

Duke Nihak glared, his eyes wide like a very, very old mouse whose tail had been stepped on.

"We don't have any problems; we're just fine! The ones with issues are you, bringing all that stink... bringing Wasteland to Poluo Province! Before you came there, we were just fine!"

His beard trembled with rage, his lips turning blue, not even realizing the contradiction in his words—earlier stating they're fine now, but then saying they were truly fine before the Alliance arrived.

Watching this living clown, the players burst into laughter, while Brother Shabi laughed and patted him on the shoulder again.

"Of course, you're doing just fine, the buried don't talk."

He vaguely remembered when they had captured this guy; he was in bed having a great time.

Before the bearded duke could rebut, Brother Shabi poured him a glass of wine.

"Come on now, let's eat and drink, today is a day worth celebrating; let's not ruin the mood over a small matter."

Looking at the leg of meat handed to him, Nihak couldn't help but think of the bodies scattered everywhere, paling slightly as he asked with a quivering voice.

"What meat is this?"

Seeing his terrified expression, Kill Dagger immediately realized he misunderstood and laughingly said,

"Monster meat, just hunted, tastes a bit like bear... want to taste?"

Seeing the challenging look in Nihak's eyes, the Duke, not wanting to be looked down upon, darkened his face and took a bite.

The aroma of the roasted meat spread through his lips and teeth, the greasy taste lighting up his eyes.

Hmm...

This tastes surprisingly good?

Although the people of the Alliance were a bit rough, he had to admit, they did have some serious cooking skills.

Seeing the Duke quiet down, the players continued the feast with laughter and talk.

While Kill Dagger was laughing and chatting with his teammates, a pale blue icon suddenly popped up on his VM.

"Old White needs me for something, probably a new mission; you guys keep eating, I'll leave first."

He greeted his teammates with a cheerful goodbye and picked up his helmet, walking toward the command tent deep within the camp.

As he lifted the tent flap and entered, he saw Old White and Fang Chang standing next to the command table, staring meticulously at the laid-out map.

Seldom seeing such a serious expression on both of them, Kill Dagger immediately guessed it was a big job, his face lighting up with excitement.

"A big job coming?"

"Yeah, and it's a big one..." Fang Chang, pinching his chin, nodded and summarized the information he had just heard from the Guards Corps.

In short, there was a traitor among the higher-ups of the Torch Church who, not appearing on the "evacuation list," hoped to surrender to the Alliance for leniency.

Kill Dagger thought this guy was really unlucky.

Generally, if you know about the list, you'd expect to be on it.

But this guy, interestingly enough, knew about the list and wasn't on it.

Setting aside how he ended up in this position, what confused Kill Dagger more was another matter.

The top brass of the Torch Church planning to run?

These guys were already surrounded; where the hell could they run to?

Was there even a place on this Earth where they could hide?

Wait, perhaps—

Seeing the look of astonishment on Kill Dagger's face, Fang Chang lightly smiled and said.

"It seems you've realized it too."

Kill Dagger nodded, his expression grave.

"The Torch Church has a spaceship..."

Fang Chang said nothing.

Old White cleared his throat.

"What do they need a spaceship for... think about it some more."

Kill Dagger was baffled for a moment.

"Ah? Where else could they run?"

"It's not entirely impossible," Fang Chang suddenly spoke up, "It might be a spaceship, or it could be a space station, or even a satellite from this hard drive... But it's unlikely that they would directly flee using the spaceship. I think they're planning to use a high-powered transmitter to relay signals to a device in outer space."

With nuclear fusion technology extensively used, many devices left from the Human Alliance Era in outer space—like still functioning satellites or even automated weapons—are calculated to last for centuries.

He paused, then continued,

"If that's the case, I believe they have already completed the data transfer during our discussion. Don't forget, those guys don't exist physically; they've already uploaded their data to the so-called 'Holy Land.'"

Killer Dagger was stunned and said dumbfoundedly,

"So... there's no point in chasing them now?"

"Not exactly," Fang Chang continued, fixated on the map, "While intercepting the data migration might not be feasible, at least we can figure out where their data was sent to, and..."

"where our enemies really are."

"Enemies..." Killer Dagger repeated the word, confused and not understanding.

Old White explained to him,

"Both Fang Chang and I believe that there might be other supporters behind the Torch."

"Other supporters are..." Killer Dagger said, still clueless.

Fang Chang cut straight to the point,

"Do you remember the third update of the Beta0.6 version, South Gate Two star system and Gaia World?"

"Holy shit, you mean... the plan that was drawn up?" Killer Dagger looked at him baffled, "But that was just for fun, right?"

Fang Chang smiled faintly,

"You're underestimating Ah Guang."

When everyone thought it was just a joke, it most likely wasn't.

He was certain that the map five light-years away had already been created and had been affecting the Game world since the Beta0.6 version, only most people hadn't realized it.

He couldn't be completely sure yet that the Torch was supported by the "Gaia Forces", but he could be certain that the current mission was definitely the first link between players and the new world's quest chain!

He might even assert that such opportunities had appeared before, just that no one had triggered them.

This was also why the mission had come directly to them, like a fastball.

Most events in this game seemed isolated, but if you dug deeper, ultimately, they all interlinked!

He confidently stated that nobody understood Ah Guang better than him.

After listening to Fang Chang's analysis, Killer Dagger also felt it made sense, his eyes brightening,

"So, does this mean that our chance to establish a connection with the world five light-years away lies in this mission? Wait, damn! If we fail, wouldn't we miss the opportunity to open a new map?"

Fang Chang shook his head,

"Not necessarily. Since the game team has created the map, they will definitely give players a chance to go there. However, many missions in this game are unique, and each player only gets limited opportunities. If we miss this one, it will likely be triggered by other players next time."

"Discussing this now is pointless, let's get back to the mission itself."

Old White coughed lightly, shifting away from the tangent and continued while looking at the map spread out on the table.

"According to information from the Guards Corps, top Torch officials are currently hiding in an underground facility called Shelter No.20. The entrance to this shelter is located in an abandoned old era industrial park, and like Shelter No.182, it belongs to a shelter that was abandoned for years but has recently been reopened. Therefore, breaking through the security system shouldn't be too difficult for us."

"The NPC who provided us with the information is named Karen. We now have her biometric identification, including fingerprints, iris patterns, and three-dimensional... cough, in short, she might have important information, including the whereabouts of Torch Church's top brass, their supporters behind the scenes, and data on the Perfect Life Form research project. Therefore, our primary mission is to ensure her safety, and secondly to suppress the entire research facility and take control of Shelter No.20."

"The guards provided the coordinates; the shelter is about 100 kilometers from our landing site. One third of that distance is hills, and the road conditions are poor, so it will be difficult for us to deploy much heavy equipment," Fang Chang nodded.

"A speedy deployment using Viper transport planes would be a better option… after all, that area belongs to the Heavenly Domain, and a swift and decisive battle would be preferable."

"I was thinking the same thing," Old White twisted his lips into a grimace and continued sternly, "Also, the Guards Corps warned us to be cautious of friendly forces… The research facility is only about fifty kilometers away from the army's thirty-first ten-thousand troops. If we make too much noise and they realize there's something valuable there, it's hard to say whether they'll interfere and mess things up. We absolutely cannot let Torch's scientists fall into their hands."

The Weilante People also possess Perfect Life Form technology; the eight-times growth rate clones are a product of this project.

In fact, it's not just the army we need to be wary of; we should also be cautious of the Academy.

The former at least operates openly, but the latter mostly operates in secret, and it's hard to say whether they already know something.

Although the Alliance has been consistently clashing with the Torch, the ones who truly know the Torch might not necessarily be the Alliance.

Long before the birth of the Alliance, the Academy had already noticed the emerging crisis in Haiya Province. They were the ones who "encouraged" the Alliance to move into the area around Brocade River City.

"So no air support is available?" Killer Dagger said gravely.

"There's no problem with air support," Fang Chang responded, "A few strikes shouldn't be an issue, but we need to be cautious about saturation bombardment as it would signal to the army that we have major operations in that area… If we can resolve the matter discreetly it would be best, or save it until we're retreating or wrapping things up."

"Essentially, that's the plan," Old White nodded, looking at Killer Dagger, "Also, based on information from our inside source, stationed near the facility is a Ruling Group from the Torch's judiciary and a unit loyal to Sanctuary No.1 of the Holy Light Knights. The former has no more than a company in size, but the latter has about a battalion and is equipped with a lot of high-tech weapons."

"Additionally, our drones discovered a force of over a thousand Mutants not far from the facility in an abandoned urban district… likely the Mutant tribe that retreated from Ten Peaks Mountain. If the key facilities of the Torch Church are attacked, they have no reason not to rush over to support."

"As a result, I plan to split our troops into two parts; one as a feint deployed near the abandoned urban district using Overlord Transport Aircraft to carry light equipment and launch a surprise attack on the Mutant troops there to try to draw Torch's attention. The other group will use Viper transport planes to directly breach the entrance of Shelter No.20, working with insiders to take down the entire facility!"

"That's a great idea!" Killer Dagger nodded with a brightened expression, then saw both men staring intently at him, and he hesitated, "Uh… why are you guys looking at me like that."

It turns out it was just him at such an important combat meeting.

Where were the other brothers?

Old White and Fang Chang exchanged glances, and it was Fang Chang who finally approached Killer Dagger, placing his hands solemnly on his shoulders.

"The challenging yet honorable task of the feint attack… we plan to assign it to your battalion!"

Killer Dagger: "…"

Damn!

Chapter 791: Inside and Outside Coordination

In the southwestern part of Haiye Province, beneath a silent city ruin, ugly heads bobbed to and fro.

Under the dark, dim night, bare-chested mutants pushed carts filled with cement chunks and other construction debris, grunting as they moved toward the construction site.

On that site, more mutant workers and small goblins labored under the supervision of overseers with whips in their hands.

Using simple engineering tools, they packed the trash into woven bags, then piled it together with bent rebars to build shelters that were flimsy but functional.

This steel and concrete-filled ruins were among the few places not graced by Heaven.

After all, even the pervasive fungal mycelium of Nago could not grow on concrete.

And it wasn't just that.

The most important research institution of the Torch Church was nearby, staffed with living researchers.

The Church's attitude and treatment toward people of value and those without were clearly different.

However, this situation had recently changed.

As the frontline battle situation worsened, the Church had less and less time to care about the feelings of the facility staff.

The staff who worked in research at Shelter No.20 used to have chances to go outside every day.

But since the mutants had withdrawn to this area, their opportunities to leave had become increasingly scarce.

Stationed here was a mutant tribe from the Flame Hole clan, which used to be active on Ten Peaks Mountain, led by Borudo Flamehole, with about five thousand followers.

After the defeat of the Beast King, under the orders of the new king, it had retreated to this area to recuperate.

The Torch Church provided them with ample food, supplies, and humans for breeding, but they had to build the fortifications themselves.

Fortunately, this was not a difficult task for them; mutants were naturally good at imitation and possessed the transformative "Power of Thought."

They had just glimpsed the Allied forces' fortifications from a distance and were able to mimic and even improve upon them based on their own needs.

The fortress they were building resembled a pile of debris forming a monster, with crisscrossing bunkers and gun towers above ground and intertwined trenches of varying depths underground.

Even so, their current situation was hardly optimistic.

The Allied forces' army had already landed on the coastline, and it was only a matter of time before they reached here—the mutants had little time left to complete their shelters above and below ground before the battle commenced.

At the edge of the position, a few goblins squatted under a broken concrete structure.

One of the goblins was fiddling with a tree branch, trying to start a fire with dry twigs and leaves to cook a recently killed rat.

Just as the leaves were about to smoke, a thick palm suddenly slapped on the back of its head, sending it flying.

The goblin's screams were pitiful and fearful.

"The Apostle said no fires! The Alliance is in the sky, they can see the light on the ground!" fumed the mutant Centurion as he approached to give the goblin a severe lesson, but a hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

"I told them to make the fire."

The Centurion turned to see that the hand on his shoulder belonged to a warrior who had undergone mechanical augmentation.

The man's muscles bulged, half his head was green skin, and the other half, silver-gray metal.

In the Flame Hole clan, mutants who were named warriors were formidable individuals with great personal strength, their status second only to that of the Centurion and even the Thousands of leaders.

The Thousands of leaders narrowed his eyes but wasn't afraid, he only spoke in a warning tone,

"Do you want to defy the chieftain's orders?"

The warrior stared back defiantly, squeezing out each word from his mouth,

"...Why should we listen to them? They're also human stuff!"

The Thousands of leaders growled softly,

"They're different, they can help us!"

"Help us, you call this help? We work for them, believing they can lead us to victory, but from the Ten Peaks Mountain, we've been losing all the way here, rarely winning! Now, we even have to live like savages, eating raw food like wild beasts, not even allowed to cook the meat!"

The warrior stepped forward, his nose almost poking into the other's face, continuing fiercely,

"Why should we provoke so many humans? Before the Torch caused such a big mess, they didn't care about us at all!"

The Thousands of leaders provocatively looked at him,

"Are you scared?"

Not enraged by the provocation, the warrior glared back,

"I'm not scared of those human things, I just think there's no need—"

His words were not yet finished when a dangerous premonition suddenly came from overhead.

It was just a moment's time, leaving him no chance to react, and an explosive blast threw him out, not stopping until he hit a damaged concrete wall.

Only a pile of severed limbs remained on the ground, the Thousands of leaders he was confronting had vanished.

He struggled to sit up, shook his head, his eyes wide with shock and confusion, not understanding what had just happened, just hearing the chaos and terrified screams from the battlefield.

But he soon understood.

A flash of fire shimmered in the sky followed by a whooshing sound merging with the sound of explosion echoing through the battlefield.

This explosion came from a position 100 meters to his left, where laborers moving building materials were blown straight into the sky.

"Roar—!"

The buried mutant warrior let out a frustrated roar, trying to drive away the fear in his chest, trying to repel the threat from the heavens, but realizing it was futile.

That thunderous cannonade continued to sound.

Yet what puzzled him was that the ball of fire had not risen, how the Alliance people were targeting them...

...

At the same time, a thousand meters in the sky, a "Overlord" transport plane with its side hatch open was hovering, propelled by four streams of plasma exhaust.

In the open side hatch, a thick gun barrel extended outward.

Behind the cannon, three players wearing exoskeletons stood, one busy aiming, another loading the cannon, and a third holding a telescope to watch the firing point.

"Direct hit! Damn, that cannon must have taken out at least ten!"

"Ha ha ha! Damn, putting this 155mm on the plane is just awesome!"

"Wait, let me have a go too—"

"Reload complete!"

"Fire!!"

With a loud explosion, a thick trail of fire shot from the side of the cabin. The staggering recoil made the huge fuselage shake slightly.

In no time, the flames of the explosion bloomed rapidly on the ground.

The blast of fire and dust swallowed up a dozen mutants along with the goblins next to them.

Actually, these guys implementing "light control" on the field was utterly unnecessary.

Under the thermal imaging scope, those glowing figures were as dazzling as LED lights.

Some clever ones started to play dead on the ground; the not-so-clever ones swarmed into a house.

"Load the bunker busters! Quick!"

Ice and Fire Brother, his eye glued to the scope, shouted back to the loader, then cranked the swivel to aim at a low concrete bunker.

At least thirty or forty mutants had run towards that structure, and a few were even stuck at the door and hadn't squeezed in.

These guys clearly didn't realize how stupid their behavior was.

After calculating the lead time, he pulled the trigger without hesitating, and the smoke from the explosion blended back into the clouds outside the cabin.

The shell hit the top of the bunker directly: the first stage warhead exploded, tearing open the concrete cover, followed immediately by the second stage, shaking the entire building.

However, at that moment, something surprising happened. Though the shell had only two warhead stages, the building struck experienced a third explosion.

And this last explosion was no small affair; the crackling sounds were like firecrackers, and the dazzling fire completely blasted the concrete building into the air, throwing debris high into the sky.

Not only were the greenskins hiding in the building and crowded at the entrance torn apart, but even those forty to fifty meters away, along with the goblins, were knocked down by the shockwave and shrapnel.

Holding his binoculars, Ice and Fire Brother's eyes went wide, and he couldn't help but exclaim,

"Holy shit… did they hit an ammo depot?!"

"Most likely," signaling to the Strength-type loader behind him, Ice and Fire Brother looked for the next target while casually responding, "Those guys probably squeezed in there looking for weapons… those idiots are so earnest."

The continuous casualties clearly angered the mutants on the ground. Anti-aircraft cannons hidden among the ruins spat flames, and tracer rounds floated towards the night sky like catkins, attempting to drive away the "Overlord" circling above the battlefield.

Seeing the situation on the ground, Bun Brother in the cockpit pushed the valve to increase the engine output power—four plasma engines began emitting longer plumes.

"Brace yourselves!"

Hearing the voice on the comm channel, the three players standing by the side hatch quickly sat back down in their seats and securely fastened their seat belts.

At the very moment the modified "Overlord" transport plane, now equipped with a 155mm cannon, accelerated to evade, four P-2 "Lightning" attack planes entered the battlefield from the south!

Each attack plane locked onto two anti-aircraft positions, and almost simultaneously opened fire, raining down 37mm armor-piercing incendiary shells on the ground like raindrops!

"Boom—!"

Crouched at the anti-aircraft position, the Mutant was only focused on firing at the aerial gunboat flying above, not even having the chance to hear the roaring of the machine guns before being shredded to pieces along with the nearby cover by a rain of fire from the sky.

The entire position was permeated with the charred smell of barbecued meat as countless Goblins and Mutants, knocked down by shrapnel, wailed miserably on the broken battlefield, without even seeing the enemy.

One after another, P-2 "Lightning" attack planes swiftly swept over the dusty explosions from above.

"Nicely done!"

Watching the chaotic scene on the ground, Bun Brother chuckled and called out over the communication channel, then pulled back the nearly maxed-out throttle and stepped on the rudder to steer the plane back onto the predetermined attack path.

The 155mm gun, connected by rails, moved to the hatch door and extended out to continue firing.

With their anti-aircraft capabilities completely disabled, the Mutants completely lost the means to resist and began retreating into the shelters, attempting to endure this air assault by contracting their defensive lines.

However, they obviously didn't realize that the Alliance's operation tonight had no intention of just taking a few lives and calling it quits. Four "Overlord" planes, fully loaded with paratroopers from the Burning Corps, were already chasing the tail of those P-2 "Lightning" attack planes and had arrived at the battlefield!

Seeing the paratroopers nearly reach the ground, Bun Brother glanced at the situation below and then switched to the communications channel to announce,

"The enemy's anti-aircraft positions are crippled, ground units are moving into shelters!"

"Burning Corps brothers, it's your turn!"

A brief sound of static crackled through the communication channel, followed by a robust and clear response.

"Roger that!"

Simultaneously as the words ended, parachutes bloomed in the night sky, and one by one, soldiers clad in exoskeletons dove toward the battlefield with the tumultuous evening wind.

Those hidden in shelters, the Mutants, did not realize that a company of mechanized infantry had silently landed right above their heads.

These soldiers were the Alliance's elite!

Although they weren't specialized in slaughtering Mutants like the Jungle Corps, their combat power was undeniable!

They were always ready to burn away the evil eroding order with the flames within their ribs and to bring death to the enemies of the Alliance with the sharp blades in their hands.

"All units pay attention! The codename for this operation is 'Quicksand'! The goal is to eliminate all enemy living forces!"

"There is no retreat plan! Everyone fights till the last moment! Until either the enemy or we all fall!"

"Free fire!"

Morale-boosting roars echoed through the communications channel, eyes ablaze with excitement visible beneath helmets.

"Yes!"

The first to rush into the concrete bunker was A platoon from Company B, the second battalion, thirty players in exoskeletons divided into teams of three, stabbing fiercely like sharp daggers from nine different directions at the Mutant soldiers hiding in the shelters.

Clearly caught off guard by the Alliance's ground forces, these green-skins were startled, frantically pulling out their weapons to return fire but still utterly taken by surprise.

The rapid gunfire echoed through the tunnels, and in the face of the pouring bullets, Mutants fell one after another, corpses quickly covering the entrance of the bunker's first defensive line.

"Charge them! Block them!" roared a Mutant who had been sent to the front lines to replace a fallen Centurion, shoving his comrades forward.

Amidst the shouting, a hundred-strong team, finally rallied, rushed into the bunker's lobby, wielding weapons and engaging in a firefight with the Alliance soldiers that had breached through the main gate!

The dense gunfire shuttled through the confined space, and the battle situation was extremely tense!

Shoulder pressed tightly against the cover, By Some Mistake signaled to his brother beside him, who immediately understood and pulled out a signal gun to send a flare towards the front.

The signal flare slammed harshly against the wall, then fell silent, quiet as a stone.

However, the restless high-frequency radio waves had already transmitted the attack coordinates to the night sky!

"The cannons are in position! Take cover!" By Some Mistake shouted, then he was the first to stop firing.

"Received!"

The players, in response, all ducked their heads, pressed their helmets against the barricade, activated the buffering plugin, and prepared for the shockwave.

Watching the opposing side's firepower cease, the Mutant Centurion commanding the front line instantly felt a surge of elation.

Just when it thought its fierce firepower had successfully suppressed the invaders, a deafening explosion came from above.

In a daze, it caught a glimpse with its peripheral vision of a dark shadow drilling through the concrete dome above, then crashing straight down not far behind it.

"Boom!"

Rolling dust rose up!

Before it had a chance to look back to see what had happened, the flames from the secondary explosion yanked it from behind the cover and hurled it ferociously onto the ceiling!

"Aargh—!!"

Amid that unwilling roar, the bunker's first line of defense was quickly breached, the ground was littered with disjointed chunks of flesh and swathes of green limbs.

"The first line of defense has been taken! Advancing towards the second line of defense!"

"What about casualties?"

"None so far!"

"Well done!"

Hearing the good news from two hundred meters away, Killer Dagger, who had just touched the ground not long ago, couldn't help but excitedly admire.

Intelligence indicated that about a thousand Mutants were stationed in this area.

If they maintained this momentum, it was possible that their battalion of over four hundred brothers could break through the Mutants' positions and thrust the deceptive bayonet directly into the heart of the Torch Church!

Thinking this, he shouted excitedly in the communications channel.

"Continue the attack! Don't give the enemy any chance to breathe!"

By Some Mistake excitedly responded.

"Yes!"

The squad that breached the bunker continued to push forward, battling fiercely with the Mutants rushing from behind!

The bloody grinding had finally begun!

Initially unstoppable, By Some Mistake also gradually started feeling fatigue.

Especially after the aerial gunboat's bunker-buster bombs ran out, more large Mutants, "Warriors," and even "Champions" joined the battlefield, making the situation increasingly difficult.

These mutants were somewhat different from the riff-raff on Ten Peaks Mountain.

The North Island Heavy Industries of the Charles era designed more advanced infantry weapons for them.

These included assault rifles specifically designed for polyethylene bulletproof plates and portable anti-armor weapons, such as armor-piercing grenade launchers and rocket launchers, etc.

These devices, manufactured by human engineers, maximized their physical strength advantages!

More than that—

As more and more players breached the bunker, the Mutants entrenched under the cover finally realized that tonight's attack was far from a simple air raid!

The Alliance had deployed airborne troops!

They weren't just planning a hit-and-run; they intended to completely occupy this place!

This battle could determine the survival of the Flame Hole clan!

"Stop them at all costs!"

Borudo Flamehole roared from deep within the bunker, throwing away the half-eaten roasted human and straightening his four-meter-tall body clad in heavy armor.

He looked entirely like a monstrous beast.

Urged by his mighty roar, the green-skins fighting on the front lines also rallied their spirits and charged forward, shouting "waaagh!!!"

"Damn... How come there are more and more of these green-skins?!" as he chopped off a green-skin's head with an axe, a Strength-type player couldn't help but complain.

Wiping the blood off his helmet's visor, the light machine gunner cursed softly.

"How many exactly are there?! My ammo is almost out!"

Another player said, panting heavily.

"Our platoon... has killed at least a thousand! There's definitely more than one thousand troop of Mutants here! Maybe even a ten thousand troop!"

"That's ridiculous..."

Stopping the chatter in the communications channel, Killer Dagger felt his scalp tingle.

"...Damn Fang Chang!"

Though he didn't know how this related to Fang Chang, he cursed him anyway.

Quickly switching the communication channel, Killer Dagger shouted into the radio.

"This is Camp One!"

"The number of Mutants at the front line is more than we anticipated, we need ammo! Send more over!"

After a brief pause, the reply came through the channel.

"Supplies are on the way, scheduled to arrive in ten minutes along with the 'Overlord' gunboat."

Hearing that the Goblin Corps' gunboat was returning, a smile flashed across Killer Dagger's face as he immediately switched back to the command channel and shouted to his fellow teammates.

"Brothers, hold on! Our aerial support will be back online in ten minutes!"

"Aooo, aooo, aooo!"

Hearing that support would arrive in 10 minutes, a roar of high morale burst out from everyone so suddenly that the mutants on the other side were startled for a moment, unsure of who the mutants actually were...

The raging battle finally drew the attention of the Torch underground facility.

It seemed that they felt the Flame Hole clan still had value, or maybe they considered the consequences of allowing the Alliance's airborne troops to occupy the area, so the commander of the Torch finally couldn't restrain himself and dispatched the "Saint Light" knight group stationed near the entrance of Shelter No.20.

Unlike the Ruling Group assigned special operations missions.

The various knight orders of the Torch had a formation somewhat similar to the Alpha Special Mobile Force, more competent on the frontline than the squads of the Tribunal.

Rows of soldiers wearing heavy exoskeletons and even power armors, lined up neatly, and supported the mutant positions along the winding and twisting bunkers.

At this moment, Killer Dagger had no idea that danger was already close to him.

But even knowing probably wouldn't matter.

After all, his battalion was executing a feint operation, even if they couldn't fight their way to the gate of Shelter No.20 to rendezvous with the main assault team, it was only slightly regrettable.

At the same time as the battle in the abandoned city district reached its climax, the main force of the Burning Corps had quietly deployed near the entrance of Shelter No.20 aboard "Viper" transport planes.

It was a pre-war pharmaceutical company's building.

The severely damaged exterior made it impossible to see which company the building belonged to, but the main structure of the building was still intact.

Fixed cameras installed by the Torch were seen on nearby streets.

Not only that, but drones were also hovering nearby on patrol, the security was incredibly tight!

Torch probably knew that the Alliance was equipped with a lot of thermal imaging devices, so they did not arrange patrol personnel in visible places; most sentries were hidden in the shadows.

However, they clearly didn't expect that this heavily-guarded stronghold had already begun to crumble from the inside.

The streets were silent except for the humming noise of drone propellers.

At that moment, a drone quietly deviated from its designated patrol route.

It silently crossed over a window of an abandoned shop, flew into the alley behind the shop, and then gently landed next to a power armor's feet.

It moved quickly, seemingly excited, almost hitting a rusty trash bin nearby.

"...Help me."

As Old White lightly tapped his helmet twice with his forefinger, a voice mingled with electronic noise entered his ears.

Hearing the pleading voice, Old White replied succinctly.

"We are here to help you, now take us inside."

The drone slowly rose, its bobbing motion resembling a nod.

"Surveillance is blacked out. Only the Tribunal's Ruling Group is left in the building, a total of 27 people... Please follow me, I will lead you in."

Old White looked back, raised his right hand into a fist, and cleanly swung it forward.

One hundred "Type 6" heavy exoskeletons and twenty "Xiaguang" power armors silently emerged from the shadows of the ruins.

The armor, lethal in the night, emitted a chilling gleam along with the dark barrels of guns.

Although only a company's strength was standing here, in terms of combat power alone, the veterans were confident they were not inferior to any of their own corps-level combat units.

That's why they weren't worried this might be a trap.

Even if it was...

They would simply flatten the place!

At this moment, the hunter in charge of guarding the abandoned building with the Ruling Group was blissfully unaware of the imminent threat so close at hand, clueless that the outside surveillance and patrolling drones had all been taken down by the traitor inside the shelter.

The night wind was especially noisy tonight, making his nape feel slightly chilly.

He was still pondering the words Saint Heir had said to him earlier—

"Heaven in Haiye Province is irreparable, but this doesn't mean we have lost... So does this mean we've been abandoned?"

That phrase certainly didn't seem to suggest they had other cards to play; if they had, they wouldn't have waited until the Alliance landed on the Death Coast to use them.

Thinking of this, a bitter smile appeared on the hunter's face.

Despite knowing the Pioneers were planning to leave, he didn't feel betrayed; it was more a sense of helplessness.

The deep-seated toxins left by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee were too severe.

Facing the encirclement of old forces, they were isolated and stood no chance.

Perhaps the descent of Heaven was indeed a bit hasty; it would have been better if they were more prepared.

Like waiting until the Army, Academy, and Company were fighting each other, or when they were involved in other larger crises...

Just then, footsteps sounded behind him.

The hunter's heart skipped a beat, and he swiftly turned around only to see a power armor standing there.

It was a pre-war model called "Dragon Cavalry"!

But whatever the name, this clearly wasn't one of their own!

Without a second thought, he took down the Gauss rifle from his back, turned off the safety, and readied for battle.

Yet, the person acted as if they didn't see or simply didn't care, just taking down an unremarkable-looking axe.

It rather resembled a firefighter's axe.

The disregard from the other side was somewhat humiliating.

But the hunter wasn't enraged by it; instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the opponent, carefully searching for a weak spot on the power armor.

"Ruling Group, huh... I've heard the new recruits in the corps have had a tough time under you."

Looking at the person in power armor opposite him, who was also poised for a severe fight, Old White grinned and said cheerfully.

"Let's have a go at each other for a round or two."

Chapter 792: The so-called superior beings you speak of... are kind of weak, huh?

"Die!"

At seven paces, the gun is fast!

Within seven paces, the gun is both accurate and fast!

Watching the man full of openings, the Hunter's lips curled into an almost imperceptible sinister smile. Without letting him finish speaking, he raised the muzzle and pulled the trigger all the way.

Though the Gauss Rifle, uncharged in its capacitor, could not unleash its maximum power, the high rate of fire from the Mass Bombs was more than enough to suppress the target!

Simultaneously, he skillfully reached with his left hand for the Metal Hydrogen Hand Grenade tucked on the side of his armor, ready to deliver a fatal blow to this arrogant foe.

However, just as he thought everything was under his control, something he could never believe happened.

The old power armor, as if it had wings, charged at him with inconceivable speed straight toward his face!

The rapid barrage of Mass Bombs sparked dazzlingly off the shiny armor surface, yet not even a dent was left!

This was definitely not "Dragon Cavalry" armor,
neither in mobility nor in armor hardness!

The Hunter's pupils suddenly contracted as he instinctively let go of the now-useless grenade and subconsciously reached for his Battle Knife in an attempt to slash at the wrist holding the Short Axe, only to end up a step too slow.

"Too slow."

The excruciating pain and that voice tinged with mockery arrived almost simultaneously as exploding magma forcefully hit his left shoulder plate!

He felt a searing blast of air from the dull side of the axe blade hit him face on, then those dazzling sparks exploded on his shoulder!

"Ahhh!!!"

Agonizing pain surged from his left shoulder as he staggered backward two steps, even catching a whiff of the burnt smell of roasted meat.

His entire left arm went completely numb!

A horrifying gash was embedded in the position of his left shoulder; metallic jets that had penetrated the armor had directly severed his flesh, nerves, and bones.

This overwhelming force incited a flicker of fear in him.

Especially when he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye—his arm looked as though it had snapped off, dangling from his shoulder, connected only by a bent layer of steel...

"What is this thing?" he gasped, stumbling backward, trying to put distance between them.

Old White didn't care, merely observing this overly frail "BOSS" struggle futilely.

"This thing?"

He shook the Short Axe in his hand, grinning and said, "Its formal name is the Thermal Cutting Axe, though we usually call it the Armor-breaking Axe."

In principle, this thing is somewhat similar to an Armor-Piercing Bullet. Although it was a demolition tool before the war, player's real-world tests found it surprisingly effective against infantry armor like power armor.

Since the unlocking of the machining center on Floor B7, like Fang Chang's Dawn Mechanical Bow, this thing could be directly purchased through VM's official store.

The Hunter stared intently at him, his eyes wandering over his shiny breastplate, seemingly pondering why his Mass Bombs couldn't penetrate it.

It was clear that the guy hadn't given up.

Wisps of faint white smoke trailed from the gash in his left shoulder's armor, his severed flesh miraculously healing at an unthinkable rate.

There was no need to guess; that was surely some biological graft or gene modification thing—The Torch is known for its biotechnologies.

Without bothering to look at him, Old White spoke succinctly.

"Surrender. Your Saint Heir has already given up; there's no point in struggling further."

A captive yields more points in battalions than a corpse, so he still intended to persuade him, to see if he could convince this guy to lay down his weapons.

But clearly, his persuasive skills were nowhere near Fang Chang's.

After hearing his words, the Hunter merely gave a cold laugh.

"Surrender? Hah, dream on!"

After a pause, he clenched his teeth and managed to squeeze out one more sentence through gritted teeth.

"And yet, we have never given up, be it the great Saint Heir or the Pioneers… Just wait and see, our Heaven is destined to descend upon this Earth, and in the end, it will be you who are decayed that are swept into the grave!"

"Heaven… that same old 'Heaven'."

Old White sighed, scratched his helmet, and looked at this delusional guy with incomprehension.

"Actually, there's something I don't understand. Your 'Heaven', is it something inconvenient to explain to others?"

"Words are useless… Die!" The Hunter roared, suddenly sprang into action, and charged directly at Old White.

His speed had increased more than twice from before!

Swelling flesh poured out of the cracks in the armor, spreading like scarlet moss to the exterior of the armor.

At this moment, he hardly looked human but had transformed into some unstable subspecies, his flesh and power armor completely merged into one!

By completely sacrificing his body to the supreme Heaven, fully embracing that supremely glorious evolution!

This was his final trump card!

Having used this move, there was no going back for him, even if he survived this duel, he could only wander like a walking corpse among the ruins.

But he didn't care!

He just wanted to completely shred the arrogant fool in front of him!

Watching this utterly mad man, Old White sighed silently and swung up the thermal cutting axe in his hand.

His Boundary Breakthrough talent gave him a 150% to 200% increase in strength within three seconds.

Combined with the dynamic vision provided by the Agility attribute, the guy charging at him seemed as slow as a snail.

"To tell you the truth…"

The thick air, like water, was compressed into a solid-like wall by the ax swung at high speed.

A piercing sonic boom echoed through the abandoned floor, and the scorching airflow blew towards the Hunter's face like a hurricane.

The scorching airflow, along with the almost vaporized metal, poured into his helmet, instantly roasting the flesh beneath the steel to a crisp.

The speed was too fast!

He didn't even see what happened or had the time to be astonished.

Just as his consciousness vanished like a snapped telephone line, a voice of pity drifted into his ears.

"You so-called higher beings…"

"Are a bit weak."

…

Just as the Hunter was being smashed to pieces by Old White's two axe swings, the "Power Armor Platoon" led by Fang Chang also successfully cleared up the punishment squad guarding the entrance to the shelter.

The whole battle was without any suspense, a complete slaughter.

Unfortunately, although the battle ended quickly, they did not capture even one member of the punishment squad alive.

These fanatics, who had their loyalty to the Torch etched into their souls, were completely mad, utterly indifferent to their own lives.

Especially after they realized that their team leader "Hunter" had died in battle, the remaining dozen or so also turned themselves into mindless monsters to gain greater combat power.

But it was merely a death throe.

Currently, the players were still unclear about what exactly had happened to these martyrs or what kind of anti-human technology the Torch had developed.

However, once these samples were recovered, the Alliance's Biological Institute should be able to provide an explanatory answer.

The gate to Shelter No.20 was right in front of them.

Fang Chang gestured, signaling the two squads to close in on the massive gear-shaped gate, while he himself walked straight up to the entrance, rifle in hand.

As an Agility-based Strongman, he was confident enough to dodge any lethal attack, no one could outpace him!

Of course.

"If it flips over, pretend I never said anything."

Karen, controlling the drone, drifted to the entrance of the shelter and turned the camera to glance at Fang Chang, repeatedly confirming in a pleading tone through the communication channel.

"You will help me... right? I was forced too, those who refused to cooperate were all dealt with, they are more cruel to their own than to outsiders, we can only do what the pioneers of Sanctuary No.1 say."

"We certainly will help you. That's what we are here for, after all... we still need your technology to clean up the current mess," Fang Chang urged patiently, "Hurry up and open the doors, I don't want to be collecting a corpse later."

It seemed that his words had scared her.

Finally realizing she was engaging in a dangerous act, Karen hesitated no longer and rotated the drone's camera towards the massive, closed, gear-shaped gate.

Fang Chang disengaged the safety on his rifle, staring intently behind the door, ready to fire at any moment. Surprisingly, there were no shelter security personnel lying in ambush behind it.

The entire foyer was empty.

It seemed as if the higher-ups of the Torch had completely given up resistance and left the easily defensible yet hard to assault front gate of the shelter to them.

Carefully inspecting the foyer situation around him, Fang Chang, after confirming there was no ambush, gestured to his teammates behind him and led a squad of infantry deeper into the shelter.

The two buffer doors separating the gases inside and outside the shelter were just in front, and Karen, having hacked into the shelter's security system, directly opened these two doors for them.

Through the narrow chamber, he could faintly hear the noisy sounds and hasty footsteps from behind the door.

The Torch, having done countless misdeeds, had finally met their destined doom, and those so-called top brasses whimpered like macaques on a crooked tree.

Honestly, Fang Chang was somewhat disappointed in his heart.

He had thought that Ah Guang had left him a huge surprise in this shelter, like a doomsday weapon developed by the Torch Church to counter the Alliance, but unexpectedly they had disposed of the punishment team in no time and then easily breached the main gate.

"Where are you?" Fang Chang looked towards the drone hovering by, "Just in case, we'll come to you directly."

"Thank you!" said Karen, gratefully, then flew forward, "Honestly... our bodies, the core researchers, are all placed in cultivation chambers deep within the shelter. Sanctuary No.1 is using this to coerce us into working for them."

Bai, carrying the sniper, interjected.

"So, you usually operate through drones?"

Karen explained.

"There's a bioroid made based on my biological features, but that bioroid is now in the security room... I preset a series of commands and then locked myself inside, those guards can't do anything to me for now."

The Saint Heir had already left.

She was certain that guy wasn't here, otherwise she could only dream of entering the security room and gaining control over the shelter's security system.

Bai, carrying the sniper, nodded blankly, not understanding why the Torch would use such absurd methods to turn living people into bioroids.

Old Six, standing next to him, however, lit up and blurted out.

"Do you still need that bioroid?"

"Still need it?" Karen paused, then shook her head, "No, I just want to retrieve my own body."

Old Six chuckled and rubbed his hands shyly.

"Then... once it's all over, can you give it to me?"

Karen: "?"

"Don't even think about it, try to achieve something on your own instead of asking for a handout."

Fang Chang smacked Old Six's head irritatedly, ignoring his pitiable face, and issued orders succinctly.

"First squad, head towards the security room. We need to ensure control over the shelter's security system; second squad, follow me, we're going straight to that… canned goods warehouse."

"Don't bother with non-combat personnel unless they pick up weapons and point them at you."

"Move!"

During the brief interaction just now, Karen had transmitted the map of the shelter to his Visual Battlefield System.

Hearing Brother Fang Chang's order, a group of jovial players suddenly turned solemn and responded resoundingly.

"Yes!"

A group of players clad in exoskeletons and power armor moved swiftly, advancing toward their predetermined target under the guidance of the Visual Battlefield Guidance System.

Watching this ferocious group of Alliance soldiers barge into the shelter, almost all researchers showed expressions of despair on their faces.

"Don't kill me... I was forced."

"The Saint Heir is gone again... oh no, what I mean is our Saint Heir has completely abandoned us."

"I can work for you..."

Most of the researchers clearly didn't want to sink with the Torch, a sinking ship, and some of the braver ones even stepped forward to meet them.

Fang Chang watched them somewhat speechlessly, although happy that these people were surrendering willingly, he couldn't help but lament that they had completely thrown away Torch's dignity.

Karen felt somewhat embarrassed, but still tried to explain in a low voice.

"Some of these researchers were indeed captured by Torch from other shelters... they really had no choice."

"We will separate these people," Fang Chang dropped this sentence and fired a burst into the ceiling, watching those researchers screaming and ducking, he succinctly continued, "As you can see, Torch is finished, your leaders have tucked their tails and run, surrendering and following our arrangements is your only way out."

After a pause, seeing that no one dared to oppose, he continued.

"Now, stay where you are, don't move. The people coming later will tell you what to do... if you don't want to be accidentally wounded by stray bullets, it's probably best not to run around."

Almost everyone nodded their heads.

Those who hadn't moved, upon catching his gaze, also pecked at their heads chicken-like.

Pleased with their cooperation, Fang Chang, along with his brothers, walked past these researchers and continued deeper into the shelter.

Upon reaching Floor B5, a bank vault-like door blocked everyone's path.

"This is it..."

Karen's voice carried a hint of excitement, and she couldn't wait to fly over and open the alloy door.

However, the scene that met her eyes as she eagerly flew into the warehouse made her freeze on the spot.

"How could this be?"

Hearing that despairing voice come through the communication channel, Fang Chang slightly furrowed his brows, stepping through the door.

"What has happened—"

His words also froze on his lips.

Displayed in the warehouse were not the cultivation chambers holding living people, but cylinder-shaped cultivation tanks.

Delicate brains soaked in dark green liquid, tangled with a multitude of intersecting tubes.

From the very beginning, she never had a physical body, Torch's high-ranks had lied to her...

Karen's unmanned drone, controlled by her, despondently landed on the ground.

Fang Chang couldn't help swallowing his saliva, and Sniper Bai standing beside him was the same, stunned in place.

"What the hell?!"

Had this mission been a success or a failure?

Just as everyone was pondering this, a slow voice drifted from directly in front.

"Are you surprised?"

Fang Chang squinted his eyes toward the direction of the voice, only to see a young man clad in a holy white robe standing there.

Karen's voice trembled.

"Saint Heir..."

Fang Chang wasted no words, aiming his gun straight at the man posing among the multitude of brains and commanded in a deep voice.

"Catch him alive."

-

Chapter 793: Think on the Bright Side, At Least There's Still a Brain Left

"You'd better calm down."

As the power armor stepped forward, the Saint Heir did not panic but just smiled faintly, speaking in a very light voice.

"To be on the safe side, I have installed 1.5 tons of metallic hydrogen dynamite in this warehouse... Any unidentified biological information entering the detection zone will trigger the explosion device."

This madman...

Fang Chang looked at him in astonishment, stopping his forward steps.

"Are you crazy?"

The Saint Heir said in a gentle tone.

"Perhaps in your view, but I know exactly what I am doing."

"Then you should be very clear that what you're doing is just a meaningless resistance," Fang Chang stared at him firmly, continuing, "Surrender. You have already lost."

As he spoke, Fang Chang sent instructions to the squad heading to the security room to plant Xiao Qi's cracking program into the shelter's security system, attempting to locate those bombs.

As if hearing a very funny joke, the Saint Heir smiled faintly and said.

"The Heaven of Haiya Province indeed has reached its end, but it's still too soon to say that we have already lost."

Not waiting for Fang Chang to speak, he continued.

"In fact, my soul is already one and a half million kilometers away from here. The reason you can see me here is just because I wanted to meet you all one last time."

"Meet us one time?" Fang Chang furrowed his brows, his gaze unwavering as he stared at the figure in front of him, this charlatan.

What concerned him more was another piece of information revealed in his words.

One and a half million kilometers...

The Lagrange Point?

Had the higher-ups of the Torch Church uploaded their consciousness to some satellite or space station at the Lagrange Point?

The Saint Heir did not intend to explain his previous words, just smiled faintly.

"What else did you expect? Did you think a brain soaked in a culture dish could escape from under my watch without my permission?"

"...Actually, just a brain left..."

The intermittent voice came through the communication channel, clearly Karen was quite devastated by the realization that only her brain remained.

Fang Chang had no time to comfort her, focusing instead on the Saint Heir standing behind rows of culture tanks.

"So what about now? Your curiosity must be satisfied now."

"Yes," The Saint Heir nodded, his voice crisp as he continued, "Having seen you, many of my doubts have been resolved. You represent another kind of perfect life form, a possibility I had not imagined before... in fact, we could have cooperated, and this was my biggest misjudgment about the situation in the Wasteland."

"Then you really insult us," Fang Chang laughed loudly, an eye of disdain looking at this arrogant figure, "Even so, we would never collaborate with your kind."

The Saint Heir was not angered, just smiled faintly again.

"What I meant was in a technological sense, you can't deny such a possibility does exist... of course, discussing this now is after the fact, I guess I shouldn't expect those remnants of the old days to understand our ideals."

"Your ideals..." Fang Chang sighed deeply, "Honestly, whether it's you or Charles, you guys talk a good game, theorizing left and right, yet in the end, none of you dare to stand up, take responsibility, or admit any mistakes. What are you afraid of? If you're so reasonable, just take a stand in the tribunal, maybe you will convince us."

The Saint Heir silently watched him, appearing to be at a loss for words, trying to formulate a rebuttal but coming up empty.

"You can say whatever you want, after all, you are the victors..."

Ultimately, he dropped this comment and abruptly ended the conversation.

But as if to salvage some dignity, the Saint Heir paused for a moment and then continued.

"But don't celebrate too soon, your victory is only temporary."

"The 'Celestials' have come back."

"And they had returned a long time ago."

"Nobody can resist the ultimate evolution! Nobody!"

Almost simultaneously as his words fell, another squad member's voice came through Fang Chang's communication channel.

"Hacking program has been installed! Biological identification device is now off! Self-destruction device has been removed!"

"Received."

Fang Chang, who had been stalled in front of the stairs for a long time, took another step forward again.

Watching Fang Chang step into the biological identification zone as if nothing was wrong, the Saint Heir flashed a moment of surprise on his face, but it was just a moment.

"So it seems, I guess it's time for me to exit—"

"You talk too much!"

Fang Chang quickly pulled out an anesthesia gun, aiming at his chest and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

However, what happened next was unexpected for everyone.

As the pale blue tracer hit the Saint Heir's chest, his body swelled up like an inflated balloon.

His limbs and facial features contorted into a mess, as if injected with some unstable genetic modification serum.

"We will meet again—"

With that, he exploded in a burst of mad laughter, flesh and blood scattering across the room.

All the players were stunned.

Sniper Bai swallowed.

"Damn... he self-destructed?"

The Item Carrier couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Not even leaving his whole corpse for himself."

This guy was ruthless...

Clearly, as the Saint Heir had mentioned, they had uploaded their consciousness to a server a million and a half kilometers away.

That was the exit strategy they had left for themselves.

As for the body left in the "Mortal World", it was simply disposable to them.

Fang Chang had no idea where that guy got his confidence, asserting "your victory is only temporary" even in his dying breath.

Yet another clue had caught his attention.

"...Celestials."

What was that supposed to be?

"My body…" Sobbing sounds intermittently came through the communication channel, interrupting his thoughts.

Clearly, not everyone considered the physical body to be a trivial burden.

Looking at the devastated Karen, Fang Chang consoled her.

"Look on the bright side, at least the brain is still intact."

Considering the biological technology of this group, reshaping a body and fitting the brain back shouldn't be a difficult task, right?

He wasn't very familiar with this professional aspect, but theoretically, it should be feasible.

"You don't understand... I dream of leaving this shelter. Those people... they promised to take good care of my body..."

Karen's voice gradually became incoherent.

Fang Chang glanced at the drone lying on the ground, then looked at the bubbling brain culture tanks, and after a moment, he spoke.

"Okay, I really don't understand... by the way, do you know someone named Heya?"

"...Who?"

Karen's voice carried a trace of bewilderment, as if she was hearing the name for the first time.

Just as he had expected.

Fang Chang guessed the whole story and sighed lightly.

"Never mind."

If he wasn't mistaken, the Blue Jackets of Shelter No. 117 had probably transferred their consciousness to a server 1.5 million kilometers away much earlier...

...

At the same time Fang Chang's team successfully suppressed Shelter No. 20, a sleek research ship was quietly stationed not far from the entrance of the shelter, in a deserted urban area of Wasteland.

Near the research ship, about a dozen prospectors wearing exoskeletons stood silently, engaging in brief communications over their channel.

"I didn't expect the Alliance to beat us to it." A prospector's face showed a solemn expression, seemingly bewildered by this unexpected turn of events.

The Weilante People were not the only ones interested in the Complete Life-Born Project; this singularity-level research project had also captured their fascination.

The Academy had obtained the coordinates of Shelter No. 20 a long time ago, and they had come here specifically to retrieve the technological data stored in the shelter.

But obviously, they were too late.

"What should we do next?" A relatively young prospector asked the highest-ranking prospector in the team.

"What can we do... are we supposed to steal it from them?"

"Actually, there's no need. I just thought of something. Throwing this problem into the Alliance's hands might not be such a bad thing after all."

"Oh?"

"The Weilante People must have noticed what's happening here. A thousand team is heading towards this area... haha, hopefully, they don't end up fighting over the spoils."

"I don't think that should happen."

"Whether it should or shouldn't, we should pull out."

Staying any longer served no purpose, and the dozen prospectors gradually returned to the research ship.

Pale blue plasma jets streamed from the engine, and the sleek research ship silently merged with the night, just as quietly as it had arrived.

As the Academy's research ship withdrew from the battlefield, the battle raging in the abandoned city zone of Wasteland finally reached its peak.

Sensing the departure of the Saint Heir, the Holy Light Knights, who had maintained a steady and strategic offense, suddenly launched an almost suicidal assault, led by Killer Dagger.

A knight in power armor roared as he charged out of cover.

Like a crazed beast, he completely ignored the barrage of gunfire aimed at his face, strode boldly forward and used his solid shoulder armor to smash through an entire concrete wall, startling the players behind it.

"Long live the Saint Heir!!"

The knight roared, his rifle firing loudly, the trailing sparks zipping through the air like lightning towards the exoskeleton-clad players.

But the players were clearly not to be underestimated, especially as they were all high-level members of the Burning Corps.

Caught off-guard, the crowd quickly distanced themselves from this frenzied elite monster.

A player, crouching on the ground, proficiently pulled out an RPG Rocket Launcher and fired an armor-piercing bullet, slamming it hard into the right shoulder of the power armor!

The explosion's sparks and thick smoke shook the power armor backward, but it didn't kill it, just knocked it down to the ground.

Seeing the Alliance's defense line broken, soldiers clad in exoskeletons also burst out of their shelters, shouting indecipherable slogans as they charged toward the players' line of defense.

Though it was too dark to see the exact number, just from the sound of gunfire alone there was clearly at least a platoon!

The player crouching beside them did not hesitate, pulling out a bombardment marker and throwing it.

"Take cover!" he yelled loudly, going prone first.

As the power-armored knight struggled to stand up, a 155mm bunker-busting round suddenly smashed through the dome and mercilessly slammed right by his feet.

"Boom!!!"

Not only the teetering power armor but also the three to four dozen exoskeleton-clad light infantry who had rushed up behind him, were all swallowed up by the explosive fire!

The scorching shockwave swept through the entire battlefield, with hot dust blowing out for hundreds of meters.

Players who had been lying prone and concealed gradually stood up from the ground.

Looking at the battlefield now rising with wispy white smoke, many wore expressions of lingering fear.

"Holy shit..."

"Are these bastards insane?"

"Even if they're giving away their heads, this isn't how you do it!"

Initially, everyone thought this was an accident, but they soon realized it was not coincidental.

It wasn't just one Apostle or one knight going mad, but everyone on the battlefield!

They seemed to have resigned themselves, realizing they had no chance of winning this war and thus launched a desperate attack, seeking to find release in death.

Killer Dagger could sense that those in front of him were no longer fighting for any twisted faith or ideology but were merely seeking release.

Though half of his troops had been lost, facing an opponent whose morale had collapsed, there was still a chance to turn the tables!

After shooting down a Holy Light Knight coming straight at him, Killer Dagger quickly changed the magazine in his rifle, and shouted into the communications channel.

"Hold the line!"

"Our enemies are at the end of their rope! They won't last much longer!"

As he finished speaking, another loud roar echoed from afar.

Hearing that sound, a slight chill ran through Killer Dagger.

Mutants!

It was the roar of mutants!

The engagement had shifted so quickly to these guys in their power armors and exoskeletons that he had almost forgotten this was actually mutant territory.

That angry roar seemed to be proclaiming the Flame Hole clan's sovereignty over these ruins.

Seemingly recognizing that their allied reinforcements were about to be overwhelmed, a group of green-skinned beings carrying large-caliber rifles began to encircle their position again.

The situation deteriorated rapidly!

Killer Dagger had even mentally prepared himself to be offline for three days due to the website's official closure.

But just then, as if a heavenly voice, a message came through the communication channel.

"...this is Old White. Shelter No.20 is under control."

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, brothers of the first battalion!"

——

(I feel like coughing non-stop, and my whole body is dizzy and uncomfortable. T.T)

Chapter 794: Total Annihilation!

With the elite "Mechanized Infantry Battalion" of the Burning Corps thrown into the battlefield, the critical situation initially facing the battalion reversed in an instant.

The fragmented ruins flickered with pale red arcs of light; with each flash, a heavy infantry soldier had their armor cleaved open by the searing metal stream!

Old White, wielding a Thermal Cutting Axe, felled an enemy with each strike, hacking the power armor of the Holy Light Knights into disarray and tearing open a gap in their line!

The ranks of the Holy Light Knights were swiftly split in two, turning into chaos within the dark, cramped ruins.

The battle had turned into a one-sided massacre!

Moreover, the Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines lying in ambush nearby launched their attacks as well!

With guidance from the ground troops' firepower, rockets housed in their launch nests poured out, turning the Holy Light Knights' flank positions into a sea of fire with a series of deafening blasts!

The scorching airwave even melted the steel embedded in concrete, leaving corpses in exoskeletons strewn about in disarray.

Watching countless comrades fall in the blink of an eye, the leader of the Holy Light Knights directed his hateful gaze toward the "Dragon Rider" holding a Short Axe, squeezing out a sentence through clenched teeth.

"...Long live Heaven!"

His pupils slowly turned blood red, wisps of scorching white mist drifted from his mouth, and his skin began to distort as if scalded by boiling water, sprouting flesh-red mycelium that fused with the armor covering his body.

He had offered everything to Heaven, including his mind and flesh, in exchange for supreme power.

Having fused with unstable gene serum, he had completely transformed into a monster.

But he no longer cared.

If he could not witness Heaven descending upon his land, then dying in the last second of Heaven's collapse would be just as well!

"Roar—!"

His furious roar echoed through the ruins. Stomping with heavy steps, he charged toward the Dragon Rider Power Armor, channeling all his strength into his twisted right arm.

Crimson tendrils extended from his right arm like a sharp Lance, piercing fiercely as he bellowed with rage!

He had full confidence that he could tear the presumptuous insect in front of him to shreds!

However, as the crimson tendril was about to collide with the Dragon Rider Power Armor, something he could never believe happened.

The unassuming Short Axe struck his face with an unbelievable speed.

"Clang—!"

In a daze, all he heard was a heavy, dull sound penetrating the steel before his forehead, followed by the scalding flow rushing into his cranial cavity like magma, extinguishing the last bit of consciousness he had left.

"Rest in peace."

Looking at the now definitively dead monster before him, Old White dropped these words carelessly and kicked it aside.

The gunfire in the ruins continued, but the battle had already entered its final stage.

After the last of the Holy Knights were spent, the Holy Light Knights were quickly annihilated.

The remaining struggle shifted to the Flame Hole Tribe.

Despite thousands of Mutants in the ruins struggling to hold ground against the increasingly fierce player assault, resistance became harder and harder.

This was not Ten Peaks Mountain, after all; there were no winding tunnels for them to dodge and hide.

The mere one or two meters of concrete dome was like paper maché before the 155mm bunker-busting shells, and the Alliance's artillery shells seemed to have eyes, each heavy shell cutting them down like wheat.

Watching more and more of his subordinates fall, the fire of battle finally reached Borudo Flamehole himself, and even though he was utterly reluctant to face these terrifying foes, he had to steel himself and step forward.

Dressed in North Island Heavy Industries-designed Heavy Bulletproof Armor, he held a 10mm caliber assault rifle in his hands and sprayed wildly toward the Alliance's positions.

The barrage of bullets turned an entire concrete wall to rubble, exposing the steel rebar within.

However, the Alliance's Soldiers had already moved aside, taking cover elsewhere.

A 19mm Exploding Arrow Bullet struck Borudo's shoulder, the burning metal stream piercing his collarbone and eliciting a painful scream.

Even with the Mutants' terrifying vitality and regenerative abilities, such an injury was evidently not enough to kill him, but this first strike on his shoulder was just the beginning.

Bullets fired in rapid succession like a downpour, striking his armor and sparking a series of flashes.

Unable to withstand the barrage, Borudo clumsily retreated to cover.

However, he did not anticipate that this retreat would mark a perpetual inability to halt; he and his subordinates were directly driven deep into their lair by the fierce firepower.

Seeing no way out, Borudo roared as he charged out from cover once again.

"Flame Hole will never surrender! Never!"

The deafening roar intimidated no one, and the players besieging him did not take it seriously at all.

With an RPG shot across the gap, Corner old six swore without any courtesy.

"Who the hell asked you to surrender? Just die already!"

The armor-piercing bullet, trailing a long trail of white smoke, hit Borudo squarely in the chest.

Accompanied by a deafening boom, the burning metal stream punctured a large hole through him.

"Ah ah ah!!"

Borudo roared in agony, his right index finger still tightly squeezing the trigger, his rifle firing in rapid bursts. However, the accuracy of his shots was becoming increasingly pitiful.

At that moment, he was like a wild beast trapped in a snare, struggling futilely at the edge of the cage.

In the end, his fate was the same as many other BOSSes who had been killed countless times by players. With a resentful roar, he took his last breath and fell heavily to the ground, ending his sinful life.

With the death of the clan leader, the last vestiges of the Flame Hole Tribe's will to resist were brutally extinguished.

Looking at the walls pocked with bullet holes and the bodies scattered everywhere, the players standing on the ruins could only feel their blood boiling in their chests.

They had won!

They had not only won this battle, having defeated an opponent once deemed unbeatable but had also achieved the ultimate victory in the entire war—expelling the Torch, which spread chaos and plague, from this land without a trace left!

The thrilling exhilaration was intoxicating, with the blood plasma sticking to their exoskeletons like medals of honor.

From the South to the North, countless enlightened individuals had fought valiantly, and finally, at this moment, there was a result—

"For the Alliance!"

Someone took the lead and shouted, and that rousing cry began to rise and fall across the battlefield.

"For the Manager!!"

"Ow Ow Ow!!"

The dawn rising from the horizon dispelled the last shadows that loomed over the district.

Only then did many realize in shock that they had been fighting all night long.

After confirming there were no remaining enemies alive on the battlefield, Old White arranged for people to collect the equipment of fallen comrades and enemy trophies, while taking a quick tally of the casualties within each squad.

The casualties of one battalion could only be described as horrendous. Originally fully staffed with 400 people, now only just over 50 remained, most injured.

Although it was part of the plan for them to be sacrificial, as a diversionary force, the sight of such casualty numbers was still chilling.

As for the Mechanized Infantry Battalion led by Old White, there were 30 deaths and serious injuries combined, which even included six heavily armored units wearing power armor—a testament to the brutality of the battle!

However, the accomplishments of the Burning Corps in this battle were also outstanding.

A total of 5221 Mutants were killed, including 200 named Warriors and various extreme mutants.

In addition, 437 radical Torch members were killed in the battle by the players.

Aside from the enemy counts in the fight, the players also found a large number of Black Boxes in Shelter No.20.

These included not only those taken from Shelter No.117 by the Torch for synthesizing bionic blood organs but also some that the Torch acquired from other places.

For example, Black Boxes for synthesizing "Optical Camouflage Plugins" and producing "Destroyer Type I" exoskeletons among others.

Although the Alliance's industrial capabilities had long since made them independent of Black Boxes and could even self-produce and research complex equipment like power armor, clearly, no one would refuse such a convenient "wish machine."

Moreover, there were things that even the Alliance could not produce.

For instance, bionic organs and chips.

Aside from Black Boxes, the biggest gains of the Alliance were the 571 researchers captured in Shelter No.20.

Some of them were Blue Jackets from other shelters, a few were E and Level D explorers from the Academy, and even some were Level D researchers!

The Torch had always differentiated in their treatment toward captured prisoners.

Those with knowledge would generally be heavily relied upon by them.

After all, Heaven was a systematic project—its completion was impossible with only a handful of Pioneers; there must also be lower-level researchers to undertake the fundamental research Work.

Only the worthless Waste Land Wanderers would be fed Nago and sent off as breeding beds for the Mutants.

To facilitate management, the Torch almost confined all the top brains scavenged from the Wasteland in Shelter No.20, which also made it convenient for the players to loot Gold coins.

Standing on the Viper Transport plane, Karen, whose consciousness was linked to the biotic body, looked at Fang Chang uneasily and asked hesitantly,

"... You will help me repair my body, right?"

"Of course, we keep our word," Fang Chang said succinctly, standing outside the aircraft.

Karen still had a hint of disbelief in her eyes, but apart from trusting these people, she had no better option at the moment.

Seeing the plane about to take off, she seemed to think of something and spoke up,

"Wait! Aren't you coming on the plane too?"

Fang Chang, "We have something else to do here."

Karen, "Actually, I can stay and help too. After all, my brain is here and can't leave—"

Looking at this endlessly chatty individual, Fang Chang sighed, patiently explaining,

"There's someone who wants to see you, to put her mind at ease, I need you to go see her first."

Karen looked at him blankly.

"Who?"

"Heya."

"Heya... that name again," Karen's face showed an expression of annoyance as she held her head with both hands, fingers tangling in her hair, "I've told you, I don't know her..."

""

Fang Chang: "Alright, stop complaining. She's probably the only person who can help you now."

Karen looked at him and asked cautiously,

"...but you said you'd help me, didn't you?"

"I want to help, but unfortunately, my knowledge about biology is limited to what's just in the textbooks..."

Not wanting to listen to this guy's nonsense any longer, Fang Chang gestured toward the cockpit.

"Godspeed."

The pilot gave him a thumbs-up and then started the engine.

"Wait, wait a minute—"

Karen wanted to say something else, but the rolling air currents soon forced her words back into her mouth.

After seeing her off, Fang Chang turned around and returned to the battlefield that was being cleaned up.

Another wave of airdrops had just been delivered by the transport plane, filled not only with three times the standard ammunition, but also with three times the normal ration of boxed meals.

The appetites of the Awakeners were far beyond that of ordinary people, to say nothing of the players who had just experienced a major battle.

Many were already starving and quickly cracked open the airdrop boxes, squatting on the ground to devour the food.

Fang Chang also grabbed a boxed meal for himself. Just as he unwrapped his chopsticks, he saw Corner Old Six approaching.

"Our drones in the Heavens have spotted a troop moving towards us from the northwest, about 10 kilometers away. They appear to be the size of an Army."

Fang Chang took a bite of the grilled chicken with his chopsticks and casually asked,

"Enemy or ally?"

Corner Old Six: "It's the Army."

The Army...

Fang Chang frowned slightly.

It seemed last night's commotion was too large to go unnoticed, and this thousand-man squad had probably set out a while ago.

"I understand. Leave it to me to handle it."

After saying that, he wolfed down his meal and opened up the map on his vm, looking for Old White's location before heading over there.

At the moment, Old White was in the nearby ruins.

While cleaning the battlefield, they had stumbled upon a dungeon deep within the Mutants' territory.

Initially, the players thought that since the Flame Hole clan had only recently moved to this area from Ten Peaks Mountain, they wouldn't have had time to capture any prisoners.

Furthermore, the survivors from Haiye Province had all been wiped out by the Torch Church; there should have been no one for them to capture, so they never expected to find a Mutants' dungeon here.

However, when the players lifted the cover, everyone was shocked by what they saw inside the dungeon.

The space, though not very spacious, was crammed with tens of thousands of people!

There were men, women, and also kids... but no elderly could be seen.

Most of them were gaunt, with dull, lifeless eyes, and their numb faces lacked any sign of vitality, as if they had suffered immensely.

Judging by their conditions, they must have been there for more than just a day or two—more like a year or half a year.

Without a doubt, most of these people were survivors from Haiye Province!

Perhaps for experimental purposes, or perhaps to feed those Mutants, the Torch Church hadn't completely exterminated the local survivors, leaving a few alive.

After learning about the dungeon, Old White immediately reported the frontline findings to the rear and then dispatched the players who were cleaning the battlefield to the dungeon, prioritizing the survivors' needs.

Fortunately, there was surplus from the airdropped supplies. After evacuating the survivors in batches from the dungeon, they distributed some of the extra food to them.

Perhaps because they had not eaten human food for so long, when those survivors received their boxed meals, they didn't initially know how to start eating.

A few of the first to snap out of it carefully took up their spoons, shoveling food into their mouths, and suddenly, tears welled up in their eyes.

"Thank you... thank you so much. I really don't know how to express my gratitude to you."

As the man in tattered clothing spoke incoherently, nearly ready to kowtow on the spot to the benefactors who had rescued them from the Mutants and provided food, Killer Dagger smiled and swiftly pulled on the man's arm.

"Don't mention it, this is just a trivial matter for us."

"To you it's trivial, but to me it's a lifesaving grace!" the man said excitedly. "My name is Li Junming, a survivor from Willow Village nearby. If there's ever anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask... Oh, I forgot to ask, who are you?"

"I am... uh, just call me Kill dagger," Killer Dagger said, coughing awkwardly, regretting not having chosen a more normal name and quickly changing the subject, "Actually, you shouldn't thank me, we're all warriors of the Alliance. If you're going to thank someone, thank the Alliance."

"The Alliance is..."

The man's eyes carried a hint of bewilderment, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

But that wasn't surprising.

When the Torch Church completely conquered Haiye Province, not just the Alliance, even the City of Dawn had yet to be founded, and the entire region of Qingquan City was still under Giant Stone City's territory.

Located in a remote area, Haiye Province might at best only have some civilian contact with the southern parts of Brocade River Province, and they might not even know where Giant Stone City was.

Killer Dagger said with a smile,

"Exactly, the Alliance, where all the survivors have united. Our goal is to end this rotten Wasteland... Anyway, you've been saved, and we'll get you out of this damned place as soon as possible."

The "Overlord" transport plane wasn't capable of vertical takeoff and landing, so using a plane to move them wasn't very practical.

But the coast was not far away to begin with, just about 100 kilometers.

Now that the Torch's main base had been taken down, waiting here for the ground forces to come through and then relocating these survivors to the coast using trucks was just as well.

According to past practice, the Alliance would probably build a new settlement near the coastline afterward to shelter those survivors who were displaced because of the Torch.

Standing on the edge of the group of survivors, Old White suddenly noticed a teenage boy in the crowd staring intently at him.

Or more precisely, at the blood-stained power armor he wore.

Indeed, firearms and mechas were the romance of men, whether in reality or in the game.

Seeing a glint of longing in that lone child's eyes, Old White walked over, squatted in front of the boy, unfastened his helmet's face shield, and gave a friendly smile as he said,

"My name's Old White. What's your name?"

"...Wang Rui."

"Your parents?"

"They're dead."

Old White thought for a moment, not knowing how to comfort the child.

But then he suddenly had an idea, smiled, and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Wait here for me a second."

He stood up and walked to where the fallen comrades' equipment was piled up, picked out an exoskeleton that was so damaged it was almost beyond repair, and detached the Burning Corps' medal from the broken bulletproof breastplate.

Generally, players would add some DIY identifiers to their standard gear to increase recognition.

For example, the emblem of the Burning Corps was composed of a flag in the shape of a flame and a power armor standing amidst fire—
indicating that they were always ready to burn for the Alliance, always present on the most dangerous battlefields.

Returning to the boy's side, Old White handed him the medal.

"I'm sorry to hear about your parents, but all we can do is save those who are still alive... This is our emblem, and I hope it can bring some courage to your life from now on."

The boy's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the soldier who called himself Old White, his mouth opening and closing for a while before he stuttered out,

"Is it okay to give this to me?"

He liked the gift, but felt it was too valuable and was embarrassed to accept it.

"What's the problem? If we're not around one day, it will be up to you to carry on the legacy."

Old White grinned and patted the boy's shoulder, then gently nudged him.

"Go on, stay with your kin, and comfort those who haven't yet recovered from their past hurts. You might have to stay here for a couple of days, and then we'll send someone to take you to a safe place."

Blushing, the boy said thanks and clutched the medal that symbolized honor tightly in his palm, then turned and ran off.

Watching the little guy disappear into the crowd, Old White smiled and patted his hands before getting up from the ground.

He had a feeling he had just done something familiar, like that of the Manager.

But it seemed normal.

After all, one tends to be influenced by those around them.

People are social animals, and after spending a long time together, they naturally learn from and influence one another.

It used to be him leading them to change the Wasteland, now it was their turn to do the job.

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Passing our Army's legacy to an NPC might be a bit difficult. They only have one life, after all, and we all learned how to parachute by dying a few times."

Seeing Fang Chang approaching from behind, Old White laughed heartily and replied,

"Haha, you have a point, but I think it's precisely because they have only one life that they can better carry on our traditions."

"Oh?"

Old White showed a wry smile and continued,

"There is life and death in being human, the unchanging are stones, they are the ones who truly belong to this world, we are just passersby... that's how I feel."

"Maybe, although my feeling is just the opposite of yours. I'm feeling more and more like I belong to this world."

Not continuing on this subject, Fang Chang ended the conversation with an ambiguous remark, then moved on to the matter at hand.

"Let's talk business. The Army is here."

Old White's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"That fast?"

"Yeah," Fang Chang nodded, speaking with a serious tone, "It's likely they noticed us the moment we made our move."

Chapter 795: The Weilante People Who Want to Pick Peaches

The time rewound to the dead of night before dawn.

At the height of the intense battle between the Burning Corps and the Torch Remnants, a hundred kilometers away, in another abandoned section of the city, a battle rife with carnage was also reaching its ultimate crescendo.

Hundreds of "Conqueror" model 5 tanks and their infantry support had cut off all entrances from the ruins to the wilderness, effectively severing any possibility of the fungally mutated life forms within the Heavenly domain from reinforcing the city ruins.

Immediately after, tens of thousands of Weilante infantrymen and tens of thousands more clone soldiers launched an offensive from dozens of directions all at once, with artillery cover, to besiege those remaining from the Torch Church and the mutant tribe trapped within the ruins.

According to maps from the Era of Prosperity, this abandoned city area once belonged to a large city named Kuwata City, boasting a permanent population exceeding eight million.

Now, however, in the Wasteland Era, the former prosperity had long since vanished, leaving only rusted signs to remember its name.

Upon learning that this city might contain information related to the Complete Life-Born Project, Lucien did not hesitate to withdraw the closest 370,000th Legion to spearhead the attack, ordering them to take control before the Alliance's landing forces could gain an advantage!

The attackers were the 370,000th Legion, as well as a Glory Army composed of thirty thousand clone soldiers.

The defenders were the Torch's "Flame" knight order and the "Limping" clan.

Despite the seemingly comical name, it was clear the mutants of this clan were no actual cripples; given the mutants' regenerative abilities to regrow limbs, real cripples were unlikely to emerge.

In fact, contrary to their comical name, this clan's mutants were not cripples but natural hunters, thriving in the rugged terrain of the mountains and forests, highly adept at setting traps and taking advantage of varied elevations for surprise attacks.

In the initial phase of the assault, the 370,000th Legion faced considerable difficulty against these so-called "cripples."

But that was only in the beginning.

Once the Weilante people discovered the mutants had just a few tricks up their sleeves, the rest became much easier to deal with.

If they encountered a location possibly harboring ambushes, they would either send in clone soldiers to probe, or simply bombard the area with a few shells beforehand, then proceed to advance.

The commander of the 370,000th Legion made cautious decisions, gradually whittling away the Torch's living space and operational areas, finally forcing all its forces into a relatively open central area of the city.

The battle lasted a full three days, during which both sides suffered significant casualties.

However, the Torch was ultimately in a lose-lose situation, their city-bound troops could resist all they wanted, but such desperate struggles couldn't alter their inevitable defeat.

By the third day of the offensive, the Legion had successfully broken through the last line of defense, their tanks' gun barrels almost stuffed into the nostrils of the mutants and Torch believers.

The remaining 200 Torch believers and less than 1000 mutants were trapped within an abandoned commercial department store building.

It seemed likely that the entrance to the research facility was also there.

Furthermore, the Legion discovered a "livestock pen" in a nearby sports stadium, where the mutants had been keeping captives.

These captives were barely clothed, gaunt and emaciated, many bearing sores on their bodies and marks of torture.

Some were presumably kept for the mutants' pleasure and had been fed an extensive amount of Nago fruit, sporting broken expressions when dragged out of their dungeons.

The others were likely part of the Torch Church's experiments or their "talent reserve." While they weren't fed Nago fruit, their mental state was severely deteriorated, clearly having been abused extensively.

Regarding how to settle these prisoners, a small fraction of disagreement arose among the middle and high ranks of the 370,000th Legion.

Leading this traditional "Military Aristocracy," Captain Favri believed that, according to usual practice, the spoils of war should be dominated by the stronger... even if all these spoils were defective goods.

Some newly commissioned officers thought that they should maintain the Legion's dignity within the Sticky Community, after all, they were not engaged in a war of conquest but a righteous war for the fate of all humanity.

A minority opinion was that they might as well leave it to other forces within the Sticky Community to worry about, so that others couldn't find fault, and it would save trouble for the Legion itself.

The representative of this minority opinion was "Captain Pangolin," a "borrowed officer" from the Civil Official Group.

Although he came from the Civil Official Group, his background was not minor; he was a talent unearthed by General Mclen, reportedly having single-handedly hunted down a Mother of Dead Claw, a true hero among men.

After General Mclen's defeat, he had led the Empire's officers across thousands of kilometers to evade the Alliance's encirclement and finally successfully rendezvoused with the main forces of the Legion in the desert, killing nearly a thousand Alliance Soldiers on the frontline!

By virtue of these achievements, he had leaped from the Servant Army to the Regular Army and followed General Griffin in desert warfare until the eastern expansionists fell from power and then switched to the Civil Official Group.

This legendary experience was enough to occupy at least two columns in the Triumph Newspaper.

And speaking of this legendary experience, it actually had some connection with the immediate superior of the officers present.

The Ten Thousand Leader of the 370,000th Legion was Coleway.

This person was none other than the very officer whom Captain Pangolin had escorted through numerous dangers back to the rear years ago.

As for his promotion record, that was another story full of legend.

To be honest, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group couldn't help but feel it was too coincidental. They were dispatched to the front to reinforce an old acquaintance and just happened to be transferred over.

But this indeed saved him a lot of trouble.

Working under other Weilante people often carried the risk of blowing his cover, but there was absolutely no need to worry about that under Coleway.

After all, he was a good brother who had shared life-and-death experiences with Coleway, who never doubted him even once.

Seeing the endless debate in front of the command table, Coleway forcefully coughed.

"Enough, let me say a few words."

Everyone quieted down, eyes turning towards him.

After a moment's pause, Coleway spoke in an authoritative voice, slowly.

"…I think Captain Pangolin makes sense. Given our image in the eyes of the survivors in the East, even if we fed and treated these prisoners well, they'd probably still think we're mistreating those people. Better to let them handle it themselves."

Seeing General Coleway, who hadn't spoken until then, taking sides, Captain Favri's brow twitched violently, and he couldn't help but speak out.

"General, I must remind you, according to the traditions of us Weilante people—"

"Then you go pick a few good ones."

Favri was stunned and looked at Coleway, not understanding.

"...pick a few?"

Coleway shrugged his shoulders.

"Pick back the ones from that bunch of captives that you find pleasing to the eye and keep them. However, I must remind you that the marshal's rules are the biggest here. You must treat your servants according to the standards of Triumph City, and don't expect to just finish things off by killing someone."

If hearing the first part of that statement only made Favri feel physically uncomfortable, by the time he heard the latter part, the corners of his mouth had already begun to twitch.

Treat this trash according to the standards of Triumph City?

If he really did that, he would simply be insane!

Seeing that no one else brought up any objections, Coleway tapped the table with his knuckles.

"Then it's decided. First, gather the captives together, and then wait for the arrangements from the Sticky Community's related relief organizations, whether to send them to Weifu City or find them a new home nearby."

After the battle in Luo Xia Province, or rather, after meeting Pangolin, he had changed his views on Waste Land Wanderers a lot. He was no longer as extreme as before.

Actually, it wasn't just him; many officers from the expansionist faction felt the same.

After returning to Triumph City defeated, they had all seriously reflected on the reasons for their failure, especially pondering whether they had gone too far in some aspects.

Just like many Waste Land Wanderers had appraised, they had conquered a large piece of land, spanning the entire western part of the Central Plains Continent, but in fact, they hadn't solved any problems.

Rebellion and suppression of rebellion kept cycling over and over again in the territories controlled by the four major Armies. Apart from Triumph City, no other place had ever experienced true peace.

He wanted to try to solve some problems.

He didn't have the ability before, but now he was a Ten Thousand Leader and had that ability.

Even if there was only one star on his epaulette.

The issue of the captives came to an end; it was just a small episode in the whole battle.

Shortly after Coleway announced the handling plan, the quartermaster brought tonight's supper for everyone—two roast lambs sprinkled with cumin and pepper.

At the same time, a communication Soldier stood at the entrance of the command tent and reported, bringing news from the front.

"... The commander of the Torch refuses to surrender. He says he will fight to the last moment."

Looking at the two plump lambs in the tent, the communication Soldier couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

Coleway, cutting the lamb's leg with a dagger, casually replied.

"We respect his choice. Since he's looking for death, let him drown in our gunfire, clutching those stinking delusions."

The battle had entered the final stage, and whether the other side surrendered or not didn't really matter; at most, a few dozen more corpses would be thrown down in that department store.

The Army needed Torch's researchers, especially those who held the data related to the Complete Life-Born Project.

"Yes!" The communication Soldier saluted and was about to turn around and leave but was stopped by Coleway.

"Wait a minute."

Calling the communication Soldier back, Coleway threw over the cut lamb's leg.

Looking at the communication Soldier, who caught it with a surprised and flustered face, he laughed heartily and said,

"You must be hungry after all this work and at such a late hour. Eat while you walk, and don't mess up the important work."

"Yes!!"

The communication Soldier looked at him gratefully, saluted again, and then hurriedly left to execute his orders.

Watching the communication Soldier leave, Coleway didn't fuss about any formalities and just made sure everyone started eating while it was still hot.

The officers in front of the command table also didn't hold back. They pulled out their daggers and cut large pieces of meat, eating and laughing together, making the tent quite lively for a time.

"This lamb is roasted nicely!"

"If only we had a glass of wine with it, it would be even better!"

"Haha, you do dream up some nice things."

"After the war is over! The victory banquet will have endless wine and meat!"

"That's something to look forward to."

Not joining in the conversation, the Old Soldier from the Battlefield Atmosphere Group focused all his attention on the buffet in front of him.

As a high-ranking Awakener, his appetite could be high or low. If he were just maintaining normal bodily functions and eating seven or eight parts full, three to four kilograms of lamb would suffice.

If he really let himself go, he could stuff both lambs inside and at most make a few trips to the restroom.

If he were paying for the meal himself, he would usually take it easy.

But, the meal was on public funds, so, of course, he let himself go, and within a few gulps, he finished off half a lamb, leaving Favri beside him dumbfounded.

Was this guy a pig?

By the time Favri snapped out of it, only a lamb's butt was left in front of him.

His eyebrows fiercely twitched a few times, and just as he was about to utter some sarcastic remarks, the tent flap was lifted again, and another communication Soldier jogged in.

"Report! The reconnaissance troops have sent a message: an explosion and fire were spotted 100 kilometers southeast of our headquarters! It's suspected to be an air strike launched by the Alliance coastal forces!"

Upon hearing this, all the officers stopped their hearty eating and looked toward the tent entrance.

"100 kilometers in the southeast?" Coleway slightly furrowed his brow, staring at the map, deep in thought for a moment, and found that location.

That was the Ruins of North Sea City, the distance from there to Kuwata City was about the same as to the coastline—around 100 kilometers.

However, it was clearly more difficult to head to the coastline from there because all the tunnels built during the Era of Prosperity had collapsed; one had to climb over mountains and hills to reach it.

An officer was also aware of the issue and furrowed his brow in thought as he said,

"The Alliance's landing forces are advancing this quickly?"

Another officer standing beside him also pondered for a long time before saying,

"I heard that they had just taken over Shelter No.182 and now they've abruptly changed directions to launch an airstrike toward a place 100 kilometers away... What exactly are they trying to do?"

"It's not that simple," Favri squinted his eyes as he stared at the map for a while, "…from the Alliance's landing site to the area they've struck, the roads are rough, with at least a third consisting of hills. If it were to meet up with their main forces, there would be no need to take a risk in this direction."

He paused and glanced at the other officers around the command table, then continued,

"There's only one other explanation, something remarkable is hidden in the area they've attacked, and they don't want this thing to fall into our hands; hence, they plan to get there before us."

"I can even assert that their operation tonight is not merely an airstrike; there must be airborne forces following up!"

The officers around the command table whispered and exchanged opinions, all feeling that this analysis made some sense.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group took a gulp of water, pretending to choke on his food, but inwardly he was sweating bullets for the brothers of the Burning Corps.

The other officers present might not know, but he was crystal clear in his heart.

The Burning Corps did indeed have operations there, and the big fish they aimed to catch was not small at all; it might very well be the Torch Church's headquarters in the entire Haiye Province area!

To avoid being targeted by the Army, they deliberately limited the density of firepower they deployed, but unexpectedly it still aroused these people's vigilance.

He cast a quick glance at Coleway's expression, noticing he was clearly already convinced by Favri's argument and wore a contemplative look.

The Old Soldier inwardly cursed his bad luck.

It was true that even if the Vellante People discovered it, they would not likely dare to snatch it openly, but it would always be a dispute at the Sticky Community's meetings.

This was rushed…

While he was scratching his head in anxiety, Coleway suddenly turned his gaze to him.

"I'd like to hear your opinion, Captain Pangolin."

The Old Soldier inwardly grimaced with a wry smile.

My opinion is still okay…

What the hell can I say at a time like this?

Seeing the other officers also turning their eyes to him, especially that Favri, who always looked down on his status and had a mocking expression in his eyes—it was as if he was already looking forward to him making a fool of himself.

"My view is the same as that of Favri, General," he said, despite a thousand reluctant thoughts inside, still maintaining his identity as a loyal and honest character.

Favri, who was expecting to see a joke, was clearly not satisfied with such an answer.

Before General Coleway could speak, he said with a sarcastic tone,

"I thought I might hear a different opinion… It turns out that our Captain Pangolin, once in his field of expertise, can only repeat what others have said."

Several officers born from traditional military aristocracy could not help chuckling, while those who did not laugh couldn't help but smirk.

Most of them had only heard rumors of this pangolin but had never really seen his capabilities on the battlefield.

So far, the only traits they had seen in this fellow were his ability to eat.

But what use was a big appetite?

The "Purge" Group's big guys were all food bins, but nothing more than that.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group ignored their laughter, mainly because he did not take the NPCs' mockery seriously.

However, although he was indifferent, Coleway looked at Favri with displeasure.

"Favri, one should be realistic in life. If there's a problem, speak up; if not, shut up. Don't acknowledge a problem without speaking up, and don't be contrary just for the sake of it. What do you think?"

Seeing his direct superior looking at him with displeasure, Favri's face softened slightly in sarcasm,

"I think... you're right, sir."

Coleway stared at him intently,

"I hope you really think so. You should really learn from your colleague Captain Pangolin; he would never oppose every opinion you make just because he doesn't like you."

"Yes…"

Under that intense gaze, Favri could only stiffly nod his head, but Coleway was not satisfied with his response.

"Is that all you have to say?"

Favri took a deep breath, turned to look at the Captain Pangolin standing on the other side of the command table, and said,

"I'm sorry, Captain Pangolin, I, Favri... sincerely apologize to you."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group could feel that there was less than one-tenth sincerity in his words, but he had no interest in making things difficult for the man.

"I accept your apology."

"Thank you…" Favri bowed slightly, his eyes not meeting his.

"Very well," Coleway said, nodding approvingly at the now seemingly amicable pair, paused, and then continued,

"Getting back to the issue we were discussing, the Alliance has been up to something on our route of advance. Whatever they've discovered there, we have to check it out, to take back what belongs to us… Especially since the battle at Kuwata City has already come to an end."

As he said this, Coleway turned his gaze back to Favri.

"Captain Favri."

"Present!"

Favri snapped to attention, awaiting orders.

"I need you to lead your men southeast, and make sure to reach the old site of Haibei City before dawn... The Alliance has already beaten us there, and we need to expand our controlled territory as much as possible before they find anything. Remember! Avoid direct military friction with the Alliance, unless they make the first move."

"Yes!" Favri saluted sharply, his eyes sparkling with resolve.

Coleway nodded, then turned his attention to Pangolin.

"Captain Pangolin, you'll accompany Favri. Your task is to knock him out and bring him back to me if he gets hot-blooded. Your men need not come along."

"Yes, General..." The Battlefield Atmosphere Group nodded, though uncertainty lingered on his face.

He still wanted to try his best to do something for his old friends, but he was helpless to come up with a solution.

Seeing Pangolin's hesitant expression, as if he had something to say but wasn't sure if he should, Coleway spoke kindly and with a smile.

"If you have something to say, just say it—don't hold it in."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group nodded, his mind racing. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"I'm thinking... it will take at least seven or eight hours to get there from here. By the time we arrive, it may be too late."

"My thoughts are the exact opposite," Favri cast a glance at him, refrained from any sarcastic comments, and merely chuckled. "When the Alliance's forces are nearly done tussling with Torch, we can arrive as reinforcements. Not only will we have resolved their 'urgent dilemma,' but we could naturally share the spoils from their hands. Far from having a reason to blame us, they might even have to thank us."

"Haha, I was thinking the same," Coleway said with a laugh, looking at the dumbfounded Pangolin. "By that time, there won't be many of the Alliance's airborne troops left. Even if they want to send more people to control their territory, it will take time. We can take advantage of this period to create some accomplished facts."

Damn!

Dirty!

These NPCs are too dirty!

The Old Soldier complained inwardly, but had to feign an admiring expression on his face.

"So that's how it is, I was naive..."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. I've seen what you can do, and your forte isn't really commanding from inside a tent anyway," Coleway said reassuringly with a smile, then continued, "That settles it then, both of you get moving."

"Yes!"

The two men saluted, and then left the command tent.

Standing at the entrance of the tent, Favri straightened his collar casually and glanced sideways at the Pangolin beside him, with a mocking half-smile.

"The General has seen your prowess, but I haven't had the pleasure yet—looking forward to seeing you in action."

Annoyed by the man to some extent, the Old Soldier looked at him sincerely and said,

"The General told me to act if you become blinded by fury—sure you want to see my handiwork?"

"..." Favri's brow twitched, but he managed to suppress the urge to lash out, just glaring at him before stomping away with a huff.

The Old Soldier followed behind, silently praying that his old friends down south would move quickly; he truly had done as much as he could...

After marching all night, during which time they had over a dozen encounters with creatures from the Heavenly domain, Favri's thousand-strong team arrived at the outskirts of Haibei City just as dawn broke, having suffered a dozen or so casualties.

Scarcely any gunshots could be heard over the expansive ruins. Apart from the Old Soldier who dawdled, everyone else quickened their pace involuntarily, moving toward the direction of the explosions.

At last, near a heap of desolate concrete debris, the Army's thousand-strong team "met up" with the forces dispatched by the Alliance from Death Coast.

This was probably the first meeting between the southern and northern forces.

Even though neither side wanted to see each other so soon.

But when they saw that the team was led by the Old Soldier, many players were surprised, their eyes widening.

"Damn!"

"Look at that..."

"The Old Soldier?!"

Noticing how all the Blue Ground Squirrels were staring fixedly beside him at Pangolin and completely ignoring him—their actual commander—Favri couldn't help but get a bit irritated.

"What are those guys muttering about?"

While the Old Soldier frantically gestured with his eyes, warning those dogs not to make a mess, he said shamelessly with a straight face,

"Back in Luo Xia Province, I killed quite a few of them... they must be sending their regards to my family."

Though both statements were true, together they formed a lie.

Unaware, Favri took a moment to catch his breath, then recalling an interview he read in the Triumph Newspaper, he nodded in understanding.

"I see..."

However, at that moment, his eyes suddenly shifted, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"Since that's the case, then you should be the one to negotiate with them—have them kindly hand over the land beneath their feet."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "???"

Damn?

Is this guy delirious?!

Chapter 796: Picking up a Great Bargain!

Favri certainly wasn't muddled; in fact, he had a pretty shrewd idea.

The Burning Corps certainly wouldn't obediently obey, withdraw from the hard-won position, but that didn't hinder him from starting the negotiations with exorbitant demands.

Right beside him was the perfect candidate for the job.

Since you, Pangolin, are so capable, then it's up to you to spout this river of nonsense.

To put it bluntly,
he just wanted to see this guy make a fool of himself and had no expectation that he could really persuade the Burning Corps to retreat. When the Alliance got provoked by this guy and wanted to settle both old and new scores, wouldn't it be beautiful for him to step in and mediate?

The more Favri thought about it, the more he felt like a genius!

However, what he didn't know was that the men in front of him were all the "Game buddies" of the person beside him.

They had even chatted on the same Forum just a few hours ago.

As Favri smiled at the "Pangolin," the latter's expression gradually changed from surprise to speechlessness.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group could now confirm that this guy indeed wasn't joking.

He really had stayed up so late that he was muddled!

This guy truly believed that with just his mouth, he could persuade the Alliance's most elite corps to retreat.

Facing the many pairs of eyes focused on him, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, with a thousand reluctances in his heart, could only grimace and steel himself as he nodded slightly.

"I'll try."

Dropping the comment coolly, he stepped forward, leaving behind a tall and imposing figure to the Weilante soldiers.

At the same time, on the opposite ruins, Old White and Fang Zhang watched with interest in the direction of the Weilante people, waiting for their "Pangolin" to come closer.

Seeing the helpless expression on his face, Fang Zhang began with a teasing comment.

"You guys sure move fast."

Didn't expect it to be one of our own.

Well, that makes things easier!

Listening to the complaints of his good brother, Battlefield Atmosphere Group let out a sigh and said,

"What a bother... I've already tried to delay as much as I can."

Old White glanced at the group of Weilante soldiers standing in the distance, then curiously asked him,

"So, what does your superior want to do?"

Glancing at the guy standing arms folded watching him from afar, Battlefield Atmosphere Group grimaced and said in a lowered voice,

"That guy isn't my superior, more like a colleague. I was previously transferred to the front line 370,000th Legion; currently, my superior is the Ten Thousand Leader Coleway of the 370,000th Legion."

Remembering the name, Sniper Bai, standing beside Old White, exclaimed in surprise,

"Well, look at that, back to the old boss, huh?"

"...You could say that," replied Battlefield Atmosphere Group with a slightly complicated expression.

His transfer was only till the end of this War, and he would be reassigned back to the embassy once it was over.

Although it might sound conceited, the truth was, thanks to the support of a bunch of good brothers, he was now in high demand among various factions within the Army.

Both the Eastern Legion and the Civil Official Group were very interested in him.

The reason he chose to develop in the Civil Official Group was partly because there were more chances to go to Triumph City and partly due to the Manager's suggestion.

Anyway, he wouldn't stay with the 370,000th Legion for too long.

Old White nodded in understanding and continued to ask seriously,

"So, what's your mission?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group didn't hide anything and frankly admitted,

"To take control of this area in the name of reinforcing you while you're tied up fighting with the Torch."

Item Carrier: "Damn, that's really dirty."

"You're right, it's freaking dirty! Is this what people do?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group also vented with annoyance and then shrugged their shoulders and continued.

"Then after we got here, we found the battle was already over. That guy Favri behind me couldn't make up his mind for the moment, so he sent me to try my luck and see if I could convince you guys to just leave."

Old White stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"It seems the Army is not prepared for direct conflict with us."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group, "That's for sure, the front lines depend on the Alliance's railway transport for supplies for hundreds of thousands of people; without our help, they can't even get home, let alone fight with us. If you reject my sky-high demands, at most, they'll probably just find another way to haggle with you."

Sniper Bai curled his lip and said, "Tsk, they don't dare to fight anyway, I don't see much point in talking with them; we might as well tell them to stay wherever it's cool—"

"Well, I think… since those Weilante People want it so badly, we might as well just give it to them," Fang Chang, who had been deep in thought, suddenly lifted his head and interrupted Sniper Bai mid-sentence.

"Give it to them?"

Hearing Fang Chang's words, several players nearby looked at him in surprise, wondering if they had misheard.

However, that surprise only lasted a moment. Everyone quickly realized what Brother Fang Chang meant.

"That makes sense…"

"F*ck! Why didn't I think of that?"

"666!"

Watching this group whose expressions changed faster than flipping through a book, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was totally befuddled and quickly spoke up.

"You guys don't have to worry about me, you know, whether I get credit or not doesn't really matter."

"It has nothing to do with taking care of you," Fang Chang said with a faint smile, explaining, "But this is indeed an opportunity for you, one I suggest you grasp firmly."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group's expression became serious as they looked at him closely.

"… You're really going to give this place up to them?"

Fang Chang said as a matter of course.

"Why not? After all, there's nothing here but a bunch of worthless stones."

"Nothing… here?" the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was stunned once again.

How could that be?

If there really was nothing, then there'd be no reason for the Alliance's elite airborne soldiers to fight here all night long.

Seeing his "You think I'm an idiot?" expression, Fang Chang patiently explained.

"Last night's offensive on this district was mainly a feint; its purpose was to cover our other troops entering the true entrance to Shelter No.20… As for this place, it's really just the Flame Hole clan's nest."

"By now, we've completed the rescue of the prisoners in the dungeon, and most of the valuable spoils of war have been collected. What's left are just some scraps and unusable stuff, maybe even some unexploded mines or duds. We might as well let our 'old friends' have their fun."

"Holy sh*t!" the Battlefield Atmosphere Group couldn't help but widen their eyes after hearing this.

Goodness gracious!

What a cunning move!

Unaware of what Brother Battlefield was thinking, Fang Chang just gave a faint smile at his shocked expression and continued.

"… The Army is convinced that there's some treasure hidden in this area. They'll definitely put pressure on us through the Sticky Community or sling mud at us. Trying to explain the situation here would surely be troublesome down the line."

"So, instead of letting them keep this ruin in their sights, better to toss it to them and let them figure it out."

"On the surface, it looks like we've stepped back, but in reality, we hold the initiative to advance or retreat."

"If they try to blame us later, we can counter by saying 'The Torch Church's key strategic defense facility has already been transferred to the 370,000th Legion,' and accuse them of hiding key personnel, data, and equipment, refusing to reveal them."

The entrance to Shelter No.20 is at least seven or eight kilometers away from this abandoned district.

That distance sounds short, but in practice, it's quite a walk.

Giving up this abandoned district doesn't mean giving up the entrance to Shelter No.20.

"So that's the situation, we'll just pack up and leave," Old White grinned, was about to pat the Battlefield Atmosphere Group on the shoulder but remembered that his 'colleague' was nearby, so he just winked instead, "We'll leave the plate-licking to you."

"Awesome..." the Battlefield Atmosphere Group said with a look of admiration.

These old foxes are getting craftier and craftier…

...

Negotiations ended swiftly, the whole thing took just over ten minutes.

Standing in the back, waiting for the outcome of the negotiation, Favri saw Captain Pangolin return, and an expression of amusement, as if looking at a joke, instantly surfaced on his previously blank face.

No need to even think about it.

Coming back this quickly, the talks must have broken down for sure!

Although he had guessed the outcome, Favri still asked knowingly.

"How did it go? Respected Captain Pangolin, did you scare the Alliance into a hasty retreat with your glorious and invincible reputation?"

In the face of that mocking gaze, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group resisted the urge to roll their eyes and replied succinctly.

"They agreed to withdraw and hand over this position to us."

The air went still for an instant, as if one could clearly hear a pin drop.

Favri stood rooted to the spot, taking a good while to snap out of it, thinking he must have heard wrong.

And it wasn't just Favri.

Including his adjutant, junior officers, and even the rank-and-file soldiers, nearly everyone displayed a look of disbelief on their faces.

"They... they're withdrawing?"

Staring blankly at Captain Pangolin, Favri subconsciously looked towards the front-line not far away.

Just then, he happened to see the soldiers clad in exoskeletons and power armor leaving their positions one after another, packing up and retreating towards the south.

At that moment, his look toward Captain Pangolin was akin to regarding some kind of monster....

While sensing his shock, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group pretended not to know, simply nodding coolly, taking on the air of a hermit sage.

"Yes, the fortress is ours now, the parts they haven't had a chance to explore will be continued by us... As for what they might find, even they are not sure; they've only heard in reports that there's an entrance to a Torch research facility here."

An entrance to a research facility!

Upon hearing those words, Favri's officers' eyes instantly reddened with excitement.

And then the soldiers.

What they cared about wasn't so much the research facility as the fact that they had occupied a Torch fortress without a fight!

Even though it was from the hands of allies.

Even though no one knew what was inside.

At the moment his words ended, the soldiers behind Favri couldn't contain their cheers, whistling and giving him a thumbs-up.

"Great job!"

"Hero!"

"Hahaha! Look at the Alliance's embarrassing downfall, they really hit bad luck against us!"

"Keep it down, they haven't gone far yet..."

"What's there to fear? This area already belongs to us!"

At that moment, nearly all gazes toward the Battlefield Atmosphere Group were as if they were looking at a real hero.

The Weilante People admire true strength.

And he had proven his might with actions and facts!

Not stopping his subordinates' cheers, Favri gazed blankly at Captain Pangolin.

A moment later, he collected himself and his expression became serious.

Seeing this guy approaching, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group felt a twinge of caution but didn't show it on their face, just watching calmly to see what trick he planned to pull.

Unexpectedly, the irritating fellow in front of him didn't do any of that. Instead, he removed his cap, bowed deeply, and gave a nod of acknowledgement.

Watching the slightly surprised Captain Pangolin, Favri put his cap back on and said sincerely,

"I apologize for my earlier rudeness and arrogance... You are a true hero, not someone with an undeserved reputation."

Seeing his earnest apology, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group couldn't help but slightly revise their opinion of him.

This guy wasn't that annoying after all, just someone who held honor and tradition in high esteem.

But one thing had to be given its due credit.

He was a member of the Alliance, and everything he did prioritized the interests of the Alliance; he wouldn't go easy on anyone when it was time to take advantage.

"I accept your apology, even though I never took the previous matter to heart."

Favri's face revealed a hint of a smile.

"Thank you!"

After the brief exchange, Favri ordered his subordinates to move forward and take over the now empty position from the retreating Alliance Army.

The densely packed bullet holes on the walls and the bloodstains and bodies on the ground that had not been cleared in time were sufficient to illustrate the fierceness of the previous battle.

In order to take this position, the Alliance had clearly paid a significant price.

Now all of that had become the spoils for Favri's legion.

Being able to pick up such a huge bargain from the hands of the Alliance made Favri so delighted he could hardly contain himself.

If it weren't for the fact that he was on the frontline, needing to keep his wits about him at all times, he would have loved nothing more than to pull out a bottle of booze and have a few swigs, letting out his excitement.

However, just as he patiently awaited good news from the searching troops in front, suddenly, a booming explosion erupted from deep within the ruins ahead.

The explosion, like a thunderclap on a clear day, caused the concrete debris on the ground to tremble.

Favri, who had been daydreaming, was startled by the noise, and the Vellante Soldiers huddling around him instantly raised their rifles, aiming in the direction from where the explosion had come.

A dozen or so Vellante Soldiers, dressed in protective gear, rushed out of the ruins in the wake of the billowing dust stirred up by the explosion.

Favri roared at a Centurion who had scrambled out in disarray.

"What just happened?!"

"I don't, I don't know... I was clearing the battlefield, then the squad in front of me just suddenly exploded," stammered the Centurion, his face filled with a frightened expression. As he looked back towards the ruins, his eyes were brimming with terror.

The incident had happened so suddenly that there was no time to react at all!

Of course, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group knew what had happened, but still pretended to ponder deeply for a moment before speaking.

"Probably an unexploded dud."

Favri was completely dumbfounded.

"...An unexploded dud?"

"Of course, it's exploded now."

Though it was an obvious statement, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group still said it earnestly.

The sudden explosion cast a shadow over the hearts of all the Vellante People who had been riding high on excitement.

It seemed that nothing in life came free, and things weren't as simple as they had imagined...

While the Vellante People were busy playing their "mine clearance game," a "Viper" Transport Plane trailing pale blue contrails was slowly descending onto the Iron Heart's flight deck.

Watching Karen jump down from the Transport Plane, Heya rushed over in excitement, startling the former, who nearly tumbled to the ground.

"What, what are you doing..."

"Master!!"

Unable to contain the longing in her heart any longer, an emotional Heya hugged Karen tightly, burying her chin on the latter's shoulder and starting to sob, soon crying tearfully with her eyes brimming with tears.

Karen was shocked by her reaction, freezing on the spot, standing without moving, not daring to speak, let alone understanding what was wrong with her.

As for the Soldiers standing around, especially Lu Bei from the Guards Corps, they were vigilantly eyeing this person.

Although she had performed meritoriously in the previous battle, it could not change the fact that she had once been a researcher for the Torch.

He had to be cautious and prepared for any unforeseeable incidents...

In contrast to Lu Bei and his party's heightened alertness, Chu Guang seemed much more casual, at least not showing any signs of suspicion on his face.

Of course, this did not imply that he was completely at ease with Karen.

There were too many uncertainties surrounding her, including Shelter No.20 which the Burning Corps was still investigating, and the rows of brains stored in that shelter...

Perhaps, he should seek the wisdom of the masses on the official Forum...

—

(Thanks to "Gear Gale" for the reward!!)

Chapter 797 "Feasibility Demonstration of the Orbital-free Space Elevator

"Shit, we were tricked!"

After losing over twenty of his men in succession, Favri finally came to his senses. He might have been played by the Alliance people!

This abandoned district was indeed the Torch Church's stronghold, but the whole place had nothing except for bodies that hadn't been cleaned up and rubble!

No wonder…

These greedy Blue Ground Squirrels were so quick to spit out the meat they'd bitten off!

This wasn't meat at all—it was a cold, hard bone!

The more Favri thought about it, the angrier he got. He halted the mine clearance team and the search team that were busy on the ruins and went to the south side of the abandoned district himself.

It was a relatively open area where cargo was piled up in the center of the open space, and Alliance Soldiers in exoskeletons were bustling around, working on something.

They swept the construction debris to the edge of the open space and were leveling the rugged ground, seemingly planning to build a temporary runway that could accommodate airplanes.

Besides that, one could see rows of tents all in the same style and some survivors wrapped in blankets.

It looked like these guys were planning to build a semi-permanent military base on the former site of Haibei City and stay for a long time.

Favri didn't care how long they wanted to stay there; he just wanted to know what the deal was with the ruins he had received, so he strode up furiously and caught a patrolling soldier to shout,

"Where's your commander! Have him come see me!"

The patrolling player halted and glanced at this loudly complaining big-nose.

"Who are you?"

Favri squinted slightly, holding back his temper, and said,

"I am the Thousands leader of the first thousand team of the 37th ten thousand team! I need to talk to your commander about the issue of the controlled areas!"

Hearing who he was and why he was there, the player didn't make things difficult for him, though he didn't show much enthusiasm.

Thousands leader.

They had captured many Thousands leaders in the desert.

"Wait."

Having said that, the player turned and walked towards the camp. Soon, Killer Dagger came out.

Favri sized him up and said,

"You're the person in charge here."

Killer Dagger answered concisely,

"Our commander has more important tasks. I'm in charge here. You can tell me whatever you need."

Favri stared at him intently, eyes slightly squinted,

"What tricks are you guys playing?"

Killer Dagger, unfazed, replied,

"Tricks? Sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Stop playing dumb!" Seeing the other man feign ignorance, Favri pressed him confrontationally, "That wreckage! There's nothing in there!"

As his tone became more aggressive, Killer Dagger's expression gradually cooled.

"Mr. Favri, that position was secured by our soldiers' blood. You came asking for it, and we could have refused, but we provided it without a second thought. It's not because we were afraid of you, but because we consider that we stand in the same trench. Yet now you accuse us of tricks and complain about the assistance we provided. Don't you think you are being a bit too greedy?"

Favri froze, his face turning from pale to flush, yet he couldn't muster any rebuttal.

Indeed.

His approach was indeed somewhat questionable.

After all, the abandoned district was originally conquered by the Alliance. He thought there was an opportunity and reached for it, only to come back empty-handed and blame others for setting him up.

Ultimately the site was built by the Torch, not by the Alliance.

It was only to be expected that our allies wouldn't know what was there…

Watching Favri gradually calm down, Killer Dagger continued in a milder tone,

"I'll give you a bit more information. The Church's Holy Light Knights, as well as the Flame Hole Tribe that retreated from the Ten Peaks Mountain, are stationed in the city area your forces currently occupy. When our drones spotted them from above, they were fortifying that concrete Fortress."

"It's impossible for there to be nothing there. if there was really nothing, why would they be building so many defensive fortifications? There must be something secretive they don't want us taking from them."

The more Favri thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense.

Indeed.

A rational analysis, if it were just a ruin, why would the Torch build so much defensive architecture?

Watching Favri appear to get tangled up in his own rhetoric, Killer Dagger coughed lightly to stifle his laughter, then shamelessly added,

"This kind of hidden map… cough, I mean, a hidden research facility, surely wouldn't place its entrance where it's easily spotted. Maybe you should go back and look more closely?"

Actually, the last reminder wasn't necessary.

The Army's Thousands leader, before he even finished his sentence, was already eager to go back and resume work.

"Right! I'll go and search again."

He quickly made this statement, Favri impatiently turned and went back to his controlled area, gathering the resting engineers and laborers.

"Everyone search thoroughly!"

"Even if it means digging three feet deep, you must find the Torch's research facility!"

Seeing the commander seem to have a new clue, displaying a confident expression as he spoke, the morale of the soldiers, which had bottomed out from returning empty-handed, also quickly rallied with spirited cheers.

"Ooooh!!"

Watching those Weilante soldiers energetically rushing back into the depths of the ruins, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group had a subtle smile on their faces.

Seriously.

It might turn out that they actually dig something up…

Then it would be hard to say who the real sucker would be.

While the Weilante people were bustling on the ruins, players from the Alliance were also having a heated discussion in another world's forum.

The hottest topic was still the post by Elder Brother Fang Chang.

After retreating from the abandoned city area, Fang Chang went offline and returned to reality, where he shared on the official forum the discoveries of the Burning Corps in Shelter No.20, along with his own speculations about the whereabouts of the residents of Shelter No.20 and the higher echelons of the Torch Church.

"... Shelter No.20 was established in the 51st year of the Wasteland Era, and its last operational year was the 72nd year of the Wasteland Era, after which it remained abandoned."

"Due to the loss of the Administrator's Log and the death of related persons, it is difficult to speculate the reasons for abandoning the shelter as well as the whereabouts of the inhabitants after the facility was abandoned. However, from the facilities left in the shelter and the data catalog remaining in the database, the research conducted at this shelter appears to be related to 'outer space development.'"

Crow: "Outer space development? 0.0"

Fang Chang: "Yes, the residents of the shelter were not biological experts, but primarily aerospace engineers and related professionals. During the operation of the shelter, they proposed several rather innovative technological ideas for the unique outer space environment of the Wasteland Era."

"For instance, one is the 'non-orbital elevator' based on graviton-related technology. This space elevator mainly utilizes technology discovered in the late Prosperity Epoch. Its principle is similar to that of the superluminal engine and anti-gravity device, not only offering lower power consumption, maintenance, and construction costs but also lacking the safety hazards present in the classic space elevators built in the early Prosperity Epoch. In suitable circumstances, this device could help survivors return to outer space at a lower cost."

"Additionally, aside from the non-orbital elevator, the survivors from the shelter also proposed another concept called 'mind projection.'"

Blue Ground Squirrel Engineer: "What is that? (Stumped)"

Fang Chang: "Simply put, it involves digitalizing consciousness and then broadcasting it through high-power transmission equipment towards spacecraft or space stations deployed in outer space during the Human Alliance Era, thereby breaking through the blockades of massive space debris and automated weapon systems."

"This concept considers the most extreme situations. That is, individual orbits cluttered with space debris completely cutting off the possibility for survivors to return to space through spacecraft, while the remaining resources are insufficient to allow survivors to rebuild a sustainable new civilization. They believed that by then, people would need to shift their thinking, from an 'inward-out' self-rescue mode to an 'outward-in' approach."

Si Si: "So, in the situation where physical bodies cannot leave, let the spirit go out first, take over the control of the outer space facilities left from the Human Alliance Era, and then gradually develop Earth using the technological and resource advantages of outer space, ultimately saving the survivors trapped on Earth... Is that the idea?"

Fang Chang: "Smart."

Quit smoking: "I'm dizzy!!"

Tail: "Giao! So you're saying... the Torch has already escaped to an exoplanet through this device?! ∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Fang Chang: "Not exactly an exoplanet... Only specific outer space equipment can receive these messages, because signaling to a rock serves no purpose. According to information revealed in the last words of the Saint Heir, they headed to a place one and a half million kilometers away. Based on that figure, I speculate it's a space station near the Lagrange points L1 or L2, but the specifics are unclear."

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "That's far!!"

Ao Ao Sesame Paste: "Hm... But why did he reveal such crucial information to us? (Puzzled)"

Spring Water Commander: "He's probably convinced that we definitely can't get there. (Skeptical)"

Si Si: "Hmm... Another explanation from a psychological perspective is that compared to Alzu, who proposed the establishment of Sanctuary No.2, he is the only pioneer who has truly not given up on the physical body. On one hand, he firmly believes that only when Heaven is finally realized can humanity complete its ascension to a higher being as a form of redemption. However, he also distrusts the current technology's capability to freely transit consciousness between different bodies. Therefore, out of fear of death and future uncertainties, he did some seemingly contradictory things."

Fang Chang: "According to usual game settings, a BOSS revealing key information is generally just to advance the plot, so I think you don't need to worry too much about these minor details... Besides, these details aren't the point. The key lies in his last words and the concepts he mentioned in the conversation including 'one and a half million kilometers' and 'celestial beings,' based on which I can boldly speculate that the next expansion pack or the next phase of the main story of 'Wasteland OL' will be related to outer space."

Tail: "Oh! Are we going to the universe?! (✪ω✪)"

Edge Shoveling: "Speaking of which, the terrestrial wasteland hasn't ended yet, so is it really appropriate to release an expansion pack about outer space so early? (Confused)"

Fang Chang: "On this planet, backwardness and advancement coexist. The outer space Wasteland Era and the terrestrial Wasteland Era can end together, and they can even promote each other. Actually, there's no conflict in that. Moreover, the idea of the non-orbital elevator proposed by Shelter No.20 might just become a critical clue leading us to outer space."

"Furthermore, I speculate that not only the high echelons of the Torch Church but also the escaping residents of Shelter No.117, and even the inhabitants of Shelter No.20 who disappeared over a century ago... They might all have transferred their minds to a facility one and a half million kilometers away through 'the second method.'"

Blue Ground Squirrel Engineer: "So... the 'celestial beings' mentioned by the Saint Heir are those who transferred their minds using mind uploading technology to outer space spacecraft and space stations?"

Fang Chang: "Perhaps, but I tend to think the celestial beings accommodated them... For some reason unknown to us."

Night Ten: "So who exactly are these 'celestial beings'? (Confused)"

Fang Chang: "Two possibilities: one might be the Alliance Expeditionary Army returning from South Gate Two, the other might be rebels from Gaia planet."

"If it's the former, there might still be a possibility to resolve issues through communication."

"But if it's the latter, we may have to prepare for the worst possible scenario..."

...

Steel Heart's captain's office.

The general browsed through the posts on the official forum from start to finish and, after a long moment, Chu Guang leaned back in his office chair and couldn't help but exclaim,

"These guys are truly talented!"

He had probably said this many times, but that didn't stop him from feeling it anew each time.

It was rather embarrassing.

He, as the game designer, had not thought of so much, yet his players had already brainstormed it for him.

However, developing outer space...

That idea was indeed a bit too ambitious.

Not to mention that the challenging reality of outer space was something even the Academy found thorny, and the Alliance had too many other issues to address on the ground to spare time for some outer space expansion pack—

Wait a minute.

Chu Guang was about to set this matter aside when he suddenly had a realization.

"Although the Alliance doesn't have the energy or capability to handle this alone, if it were done in the name of the Sticky Community, combining the resources of the entire Sticky Community..."

Thinking of this, Chu Guang's eyes brightened, feeling that his scope and approach had been instantly broadened.

Developing outer space was still too distant a goal for the Alliance, but as a new agenda for the Sticky Community, it was just right!

The Battle of Heaven was about to conclude, and the Sticky Community needed a new common goal to keep all its members united under the same roof.

Developing outer space was undoubtedly a great opportunity!

In the long run, aiming to elevate productivity to a mid-Prospeperity Epoch level, restoring "Earth-Moon flights" and helium-3 nuclear fuel production, and other such prerequisites were essential.

In the short term, the high-ranking members of the Torch Church had fled to outer space. To bring these criminals to justice, it made perfect sense for the Sticky Community to pursue them, right?

That was absolutely logical!

Moreover,

The "Celestial Beings," who had always lurked in the shadows and manipulated the situation in the Wasteland, posed a threat that could not be overlooked.

If they were not permanently eliminated, they would repeatedly take advantage of the survivors' myopia and weakness in the Wasteland, allowing "threats similar to the Torch" to reemerge!

This issue must be thoroughly discussed at the Sticky Community conference.

However, holding a big meeting was secondary for now, as the pressing matter was to figure out whether the "Non-orbital Space Elevator" devised by Shelter No.20 was feasible.

With this thought, Chu Guang didn't hesitate and immediately turned to Xiao Qi to instruct,

"Xiao Qi, notify Yin Fang! Have him organize personnel and retrieve the data stored in Shelter No.20!"

"I need the research team to prioritize this task, sort out the data quickly, and provide me with a technical feasibility report on the 'Non-orbital Space Elevator'!"

"I need to know how much material and time costs are needed to build such an elevator!"

Watching Chu Guang filled with enthusiasm, Xiao Qi, sitting atop the pen holder, playfully saluted and said cheerfully,

"Roger that!"

-

(Not going to talk about my fever now, just that the cough still continues nonstop, and my head feels as if it's been hit by a blunt object, all groggy... uncomfortable. T.T)

Chapter 798: Did They Really Dig It Out?!

"Fuckin' hell, is it crowded enough here?"

City of Dawn, the train station in "North Suburb."

A string of loud curses got drowned out in the bustling crowd, as people surged from the platform toward the security checkpoint exit.

Now it was December, and the coldest time of year in the City of Dawn.

However, maybe because there were more people, or maybe because the heating was cranked up high, the crowded station didn't feel chilly at all. Instead, it felt rather irritatingly warm.

"Dammit... finally squeezed my way through."

Having reached a more open space, "No Family" took a deep breath and stretched his almost dislocated limbs.

In the distance, streets and a square bathed in golden sunlight caught his gaze, and in the center of the square stood the Giant Hammer Statue, a symbol of order.

"Squinting at this familiar yet strange scene, Family Meeting couldn't help but crack a pleased smile; not only did his mood greatly improve, but the ill temper also vanished.

Three days ago, during a beach landing on Death Coast, he was taken out unexpectedly by a suicide mutant hiding in a trench.

His teammates described it like he was shot up to heaven on a rocket, and when he fell back down, not even a complete corpse could be found.

No wonder no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reconnect.

So, there he was offline, anxiously scratching his head and fidgeting for three days, and now he had finally made it back online.

Inhaling deeply from the intoxicating air of the City of Dawn, "No Family" felt much better and contentedly headed toward North Street.

Before catching the airship to Potato Harbor, he planned to grab some food on North Street and casually check out the scenery.

Ever since the battle for heaven began, he'd been operating mainly in the Southern sea area, and it had been more than half a year since his last visit.

Now, walking along this familiar yet strange street, listening to the hawkers on either side, he felt almost like a man returning to his hometown after many years.

"Fresh tropical fruits! Durian bigger than a washbasin! Cold chain air transport from Baiyue Corporation! Don't miss out as you pass by~"

"Baked cold noodles! Freshly grilled cold noodles!"

"Intelligent wearable devices from Ideal City! Featuring cutting-edge holographic projection, switch moods anytime, one piece of clothing is better than a whole closet!"

"The most practical android companions in the Free State from our Company! Our products satisfy all your needs and can even learn autonomously from the visual data you input, come take a look!"

The hawkers' cries were incessant.

"No Family" wandered leisurely down the streets, curiously checking out anything novel that he hadn't seen before.

"...The good stuff in City of Dawn is really getting more and more plentiful."

Just as he wandered back near the square, he suddenly spotted a group of odd individuals.

They were dressed in long white robes, holding a stack of leaflets, handing them out to anyone they met.

Perhaps because they looked too suspicious, passersby they targeted quickly dodged to the side, resulting in the group still clutching a large stack after trying hard for a while.

However, undeterred by the few pamphlets they managed to hand out, they persisted in trying to shove their leaflets into the hands of the passersby.

Noticing "No Family"'s gaze, the young men in white robes exchanged a few brief words before one of them approached, leaflets in hand.

"Friend, care to learn about the Equality Conference?"

"Let me have a look."

Curious about what these guys were up to, "No Family" took the flyer with interest and started reading properly.

Initially, he thought this so-called "Equality Conference" was some grassroots "Manager fan club," given that the City of Dawn wasn't short of irrational fans of the Manager, and similar incidents had happened before.

But halfway through reading, he realized that this "Equality Conference" had nothing to do with the City of Dawn at all. It was an "overseas savior organization" spontaneously formed by survivors from Poluo Province.

The pamphlet not only laid out the political philosophy of the Equality Conference but also detailed their action plan for their grand goal of "establishing an egalitarian society in Poluo Province."

The guy who wrote this thing was a genius!

As "No Family" read on, surprise grew within him, and his eyes lit up with excitement.

Who would have thought such progressive voices could emerge from that cannibalistic land!

Meanwhile, as he was reading the leaflet, the young fellow who had handed it to him wasn't idle and kept fervently promoting his organization.

"…Wasteland is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, we can't continue to sleep, we must unite! Only when we all act together towards the same goal can we overthrow the decaying feudal Empire and with the rest of our friends on the Wasteland, step into a new era!"

The young man's eyes sparkled as he spoke, his passionate voice stirring Family Meeting's blood to a boil.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed the triangular badge at the end of the flyer and couldn't help but ask curiously,

"What is this?"

The young man saw his gaze fall on the triangular badge and hurriedly introduced it with enthusiasm,

"This is the badge of the Equality Conference!"

Wasteland exclaimed in surprise,

"You've even made badges?"

"Of course!" the young man said with a proud expression, continuing, "We want to establish a society just like an equilateral triangle! In this new society, there will be no difference between high and low, noble and humble. Each side and each angle are equally important to the other sides and angles!"

Wasteland stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and said,

"That sounds interesting... but even with an equilateral triangle, doesn't one side need to face downward for it to be stable?"

The young man laughed and said,

"Why must one side face down? We can lay it flat, just like drawing on paper, then there won't be any distinction between top and bottom, right?"

Wasteland was so amazed that he was speechless for a while before he could open his mouth,

"A talent! Did you come up with this?"

But no sooner had he spoken than he quickly thought that this argument seemed somewhat sophistical.

After all, it didn't matter if one drew a circle or a square; if placed flat on the ground, they would also show no distinction between top and bottom.

However, saying this would seem like he was nitpicking, so he kept his mouth shut and didn't point it out.

The young man, however, only heard his compliment and did not notice the subtle expression on his face, and said with pride in his chest,

"I didn't come up with it, it was our revered Father who thought of it!"

"The Father?"

Wasteland was taken aback, about to ask who this Father was when an unfamiliar voice came from not far behind him.

"Those are just some honorary titles my friends bestowed upon me without authorization, please don't take them seriously."

Upon hearing the voice, Wasteland turned around and saw a man clad in a white robe approaching with a smile and politely extending his right hand.

"My name is Zayed, from Jin Galun Harbor."

"Oh, Mr. Zayed... It's a pleasure to meet you." Wasteland shook his hand but did not reveal his own ID.

The man called Zayed did not pursue his name but simply smiled warmly and explained,

"My compatriots' understanding of equality is still very abstract, so I thought of using some vivid methods to make it easier for them to understand. In fact, the so-called equality boils down to a few phrases—let the tiller have his land, the worker his home, businessmen the freedom to develop, intellectuals dignity... We plan to share what people need equally among everyone, instead of letting these things that should belong to everyone be controlled by a small group of nobles."

After hearing his words, Wasteland expressed his admiration sincerely.

"I didn't expect Poluo Province to have such a thinker as you."

Zayed laughed heartily and said,

"You are mistaken, I'm not a thinker... I think I should be considered more of a man of action. The Equality Conference I founded adheres to the idea that actions speak louder than dreams. Rather than writing about our ideals in newspapers, we prefer to practice the equality we preach through action! Of course, we are still too weak at the moment, and we need the support of knowledgeable people like you."

Hearing this, Wasteland gave a shy smile and coughed lightly, saying,

"You are too kind. Compared to someone like me, who has no lofty ideals and just seeks pleasure, you are the true knowledgeable person."

Saying this, he pulled out a hundred-dollar bill from his pocket and, under the excited gazes of the young men, inserted it into the donation box.

"It's a modest contribution, not intended as a sign of respect, but I hope it can help you... Also, my name is Family Member, you can just call me that."

"Family Member..." Zayed pondered this term, his eyes suddenly lighting up, "That's a nice title..."

Terms like friend or comrade still seemed somewhat estranged.

But Family Member was different.

The term seemed to contain some magical power that could instantly draw two strangers close, as if they were intimate members of a family.

The more Zayed thought about it, the more brilliant he found the person who coined the term.

Without hesitation, he looked at the young men standing by and said,

"We need to change our rules. From now on, members of the Equality Conference will address each other as Family Member. We should be united like a real family!"

The group of young men looked at the "Father" with invigorated spirits, unanimously exclaiming.

"Yes! Family!"

Standing to the side, Light, who had no family, felt scorched by the frequent use of "family" by these people and hurriedly explained.

"What I mean is, my name is Family, not the meaning you guys are thinking of... Hey! At least listen to me for a moment."

He tried to correct them, but it seemed to be too late.

These people learned very quickly and had fully adopted this new idea, so he eventually gave up on trying to convince them.

After all, what was important was not what one was called but what one did. As long as they were united in their hearts, what was the difference between calling themselves the Equality Conference and the Family Meeting?

Light convinced himself of this in his heart.

Moreover, this fellow named Zayed seemed to be a bit more reliable than Laxi.

Although the latter was capable, his methods were admittedly rough.

For the sake of the survivors who suffered in the Wasteland, he sincerely hoped that his name, like that hundred-dollar bill, would bring them just a little bit of luck...

If only they could really succeed.

...

Elsewhere, in the abandoned district of Haibei City.

Since the dominance of Torch in this area was crushed, the place had visibly become busier.

Near the crooked remnants of concrete buildings was heard a clamor of ding and bang.

Weilante People soldiers, carrying shovels and facing down toward the rubble as they worked, almost wished they could turn this blasted land upside down.

Favri just didn't believe his luck was that bad—that there was nothing beneath the rubble other than a bunch of concrete debris.

When digging beneath the mutants' fortress yielded nothing, he ordered an expansion of the excavation area.

Short on hands, he requested another 1000 laborers from Coleway.

The entire site was dusty, and from a distance, it looked as though they were in a brawl with the Alliance.

Old Soldier felt this guy was a bit mad and couldn't help but lament that his good brothers had gone too far.

Indeed, Favri was just like that.

At this moment, he was like a gambler with red eyes, dead set on the rubble beneath his feet, making his subordinates miserable.

Just then, an excited shout suddenly came from the worksite.

A Weilante soldier, holding a shovel and limping with mud all over him, ran over while shouting.

"Commander! We've dug something up!"

Favri, who was gnawing on rations, upon hearing this, joyfully tucked the shoe-leather-tough jerky and cold bread into his pocket and hastily approached the Weilante soldier.

Disregarding the mud on the soldier, he grabbed the soldier's shoulders with trembling excitement and asked,

"What did you find?"

"An underground space!" The soldier swallowed nervously, his eyes alight with excitement as he gestured, "It's about this big... big enough to fit a few hundred tanks!"

He didn't know how else to describe the vast space, so he resorted to this abstract comparison.

Seeing the man gesturing endlessly without making much sense, Favri, itching with anticipation, simply pushed him to lead the way.

"Hurry and take me there!"

The soldier nodded in haste.

"Yes!"

Watching the two hurriedly make their way toward the depths of the ruins, the nearby Battlefield Atmosphere Group, who was chomping on rations, showed a surprised look.

"Damn... they couldn't really have dug up something, could they?!"

With that thought, they couldn't stay put anymore. They hastily slapped the dust off their pants, stood up, and subtly followed the two men, intending to see what was going on for themselves.

The group quickly arrived at the destination.

Hundreds of laborers wielding shovels stood beside a half-collapsed concrete building.

And in the middle of the crowd, there was a sloping passage extending downward.

The tunnel was spacious enough to accommodate two chariots side by side without feeling crowded. No wonder the Vellante soldier cited a tank as an example.

Moreover, the concrete walls here were different in age from those of the outer buildings; the latter clearly had a history of over two centuries, while the former were at most a hundred and fifty years old.

Seeing the two Thousands of Leaders approaching, the technology officer standing next to the relic hurriedly stood up and saluted Favri and the Pangolin.

"Sir, you've arrived!"

After a simple return salute, Favri's eyes were fixed on the man-made tunnel, and he couldn't wait to ask,

"What's the situation with this tunnel?"

The excitement was evident in the eyes of Favri, a Thousand Leader, as the technology officer quickly explained,

"We've just discovered this tunnel, and the specific details are still unclear. We can only confirm that this tunnel was probably constructed around 50 years before the Wasteland Era... and was buried around the 70th year of the Wasteland Era."

"Around the 70th year of the Wasteland Era..."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group mulled over this statement, then suddenly realized,

Isn't that the exact time when Shelter No.20 ceased operation?

That is to say...

Was the first time Shelter No.20 stopped operation related to this facility?!

Realizing this, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was internally reeling.

Goodness!

He had actually hit the nail on the head with his prediction!

Unaware of the change in the Pangolin's expression, Favri frowned subconsciously after hearing the conclusion drawn by the technology officer.

The Wasteland Era, 70 years ago?

That would be a very long time ago.

The Torch Church is a matter of just the last decade or so... It seems unlikely that this relic has much to do with the Torch...

Nevertheless, since it was his subordinates who had unearthed this relic after much effort, he still asked with great interest,

"What lies beneath this tunnel?"

The technology officer at the entrance and the nearby engineer exchanged glances.

Seeing the former pass the buck to him, the engineer made a helpless gesture towards Favri, the Thousand Leader.

"We are not sure... There must have been a major collapse here, and we've only just excavated this tunnel. There's a lot of construction rubble inside that needs to be cleared. We've already sent an exploration team down, but they need some time."

It seemed as if he was concerned about Favri being anxious, so the engineer hastened to add,

"However, based on the debris we just cleared out, we can preliminarily deduce that there might be a survivor settlement below."

Favri was taken aback for a moment.

"A settlement?"

The engineer nodded earnestly.

"Yes... A settlement that's likely over 100 years old! And it's highly probable that it's from the early batches of settlements born in the Wasteland Era! We might even find a shelter nearby because many early Wasteland Era settlements were built near, or even at the entrances to, shelters!"

While the site of a survivor settlement held little interest for Favri, the prospect of finding a shelter was a whole different matter.

Favri's face immediately lit up with excitement, and he urged,

"Then what are you waiting for here? Get digging! Everyone, go down and dig!"

Hearing this rash declaration, the technology officer on the side hurriedly advised,

"People are already digging. Only so many can go down at a time; sending more might be dangerous!"

"Fine, fine! Then hurry it up! State any requirements you have, and I'll help you secure whatever is needed!"

Favri was rubbing his hands together in excitement, unable to hide the jubilation on his face.

In contrast, standing quietly behind him, the Pangolin managed a calm, admirable composure.

However, no one knew that although the Pangolin's face was expressionless, he had internally cursed out the mothers of everyone present without exception.

How the hell should this be handled?

All he could do now was pray silently that what lies beneath this tunnel was indeed just a grave...

Chapter 799: Hell is Always Similarly the Same

In a pitch-dark tunnel,

Dozens of Vellante soldiers, dressed in protective suits and wielding flashlights, carefully searched every shadowy corner as they cautiously pushed forward.

The air was stiflingly oppressive, as if the darkness concealed covetous eyes...the covetousness of the dead toward the living.

Because the space was so quiet, every little noise seemed jarringly out of place, which made everyone consciously or unconsciously reduce their interactions, speaking to one another only when necessary.

An hour had passed since Favri and his thousand-strong team had discovered this tunnel. The exploration team had been searching the ruins for a full hour as well.

Yet, they still hadn't reached the end of the tunnel, causing many to uncontrollably start to doubt whether they were walking in circles.

It was no wonder they felt that way.

After all, the tunnel seemed as endless as a black hole.

The deeper they ventured, the stronger the uneasy feeling grew in their hearts.

It was almost as if, once they stayed too long, they would never be able to leave...

"Damn it... where did those diggers find this cursed tunnel?"

"Who knows..."

"A settlement site from over a hundred years ago... What's the point of exploring this thing? Could there still be living people here?"

"Enough, shut up!"

Talking about ghost stories had no benefit other than frightening oneself, and the person who was scolded by the captain sheepishly smiled and stopped talking.

The others involuntarily shut their mouths, and the eerie silence returned to this seemingly bottomless tunnel.

Finally, it was time for the routine report.

A Vellante soldier at the front of the group took a deep breath and removed the walkie-talkie from his shoulder and spoke solemnly.

"This is 'Sleigh'... Everything is normal below, no suspicious targets have been found."

After a brief crackling of static, a voice from the higher-ups came through the communication channel.

"Continue your search."

"…Yes!"

Clearly,

The superiors would not allow them to return empty-handed.

Before they found a target of sufficient value, they had no choice but to keep searching in this bottomless tunnel.

The leading Vellante captain disconnected the communication, gestured to his teammates behind him, and then led the disheartened group further into the depths of the tunnel.

After passing through a tangled mess of steel rebars, they crossed a half-collapsed ventilation shaft, and the space in front suddenly opened up.

Seeing the change in their surroundings, excitement appeared on everyone's faces, and they quickened their pace, soon arriving at a small square approximately a hundred square meters in size.

In the center of the square stood a square-shaped stone monument, surrounded by a cluster of twisted and bent chairs.

Most of these chairs were empty, but nearby were remnants of clothing and a few completely weathered skeletons.

Suppressing the discomfort in his heart, the Vellante captain walked to the monument with his flashlight on, searching the surroundings with the beam.

"This is 'Sleigh'... We've discovered a square that appears to be a gathering place for local survivors."

He paused, then directed his flashlight at the monument and found it inscribed with rows of small text, so he continued.

"The very center of the square has a stone monument, and we've found some carved inscriptions on it, seeming to be the names of local residents... Wait, there seems to be another line of text at the bottom."

Carefully deciphering the small inscriptions, he said with some effort,

"'Our world has ended, we will start a new cycle'... I don't understand, is this some kind of strange religion?"

The voice from the command center continued.

"Is there any geographical information about this settlement on the stele, like its name?"

"No discovery… Before confirming the place name, I'll tentatively call this place 'Stone Monument Town'."

The captain of the Vellante people showed a curious expression and moved to the back of the stele, flashlight in hand.

Because his attention was entirely on the stele, he didn't notice the ground beneath his feet, until a crisp "crack" transmitted through his boot's sole made him unconsciously look down, only then belatedly realizing he had crushed a human skull.

It was at that moment that he witnessed a scene he would never forget.

Behind the stele, the open space was densely covered in bones scattered as wildly as weeds. The skull he had stepped on was just one insignificant piece among them; the human bones in this not-so-spacious area had piled up into small mounds...

This place hardly looked like any settlement.

It was more like some kind of cult's sacrificial site.

What on earth had happened here?!

Even for someone accustomed to the gruesome sights of mountains of corpses and seas of bones on the battlefield, a hint of eerie dread involuntarily arose in his heart.

"Damn it…"

He swallowed hard and instinctively stepped back until his shoulder hit the stele behind him.

Not just him, but the other Vellante soldiers who had followed him into the tunnel also noticed the situation behind the stele and simultaneously felt a chill in their limbs.

The Command Center, sensing something amiss from the other end of the communication channel, hurriedly spoke through the headset.

"This is Command, what have you found?"

"Dead people…"

"Dead people?"

"Yes… Dead people are everywhere here. Starting from behind the plaza's stele, stretching to the streets buried under garbage, there are at least thousands of skeletons here. It feels like…"

The Vellante captain swallowed again, his hoarse voice surveying the surrounding devastation.

"It feels just like hell…"

…

At the same time that the Vellante soldiers were delving into this hellish exploration, several kilometers away, at the refugee camp established by the Alliance, two Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft were landing slowly in the open space near the camp.

Tens of thousands of survivors were stranded there, and Haibei City, still surrounded by the Heavenly domain, was clearly not a suitable relocation spot given the logistical and sanitary challenges.

Thus, the Alliance Army Command issued new orders to the troops stationed there, instructing them to move the survivors about a hundred kilometers away to the seaside for resettlement.

This location had an Alliance temporary camp and also boasted a makeshift dock that allowed cargo ships to load and unload supplies, more than sufficient to accommodate ten thousand survivors.

However, since the Alliance's independently developed "Overlord" transport aircraft required a runway for take-off and landing, the task of relocating the refugees had to be entrusted to the corporate aviation team.

Looking at the group of survivors lined up in long queues at the tarmac, the pilot in the driver's seat couldn't help but click his tongue and said to the coming Alliance Soldier for work handover.

"No offense… but did you guys pick these folks up from hell?"

People missing arms and legs were commonplace here; it was nearly impossible to find someone intact.

And there was more.

Many bore rotting wounds all over, looking twisted and ghastly, unbearable to behold.

"Pretty much, since we've just crawled out of hell ourselves."

Killer Dagger grinned at the startled pilot, and casually cracked a joke.

"Mutants like to eat the living; they often gnaw half and throw away the other half. The uneaten remains they toss back into the dungeons to rear… These survivors, who've consumed Nago, don't have to worry about their wounds getting infected. The rotten flesh will grow in conjunction with their new flesh, and eventually, it turns into this thing you see here."

Sitting in the copilot's seat, the pilot retched briefly, and it took him a while to raise his pale face and look at Killer Dagger standing by the cockpit, protesting.

"…Enough, stop talking!"

The description caused him physical discomfort.

Killer Dagger shrugged his shoulders, tossing the personnel list into the cockpit while patting the pilot's shoulder with a smile.

"There are over 17,000 targets left to relocate, and it looks like we're tasked with handling the captured Weilante People... It's a tough mission, but we're counting on you guys, good luck!"

Watching the soldier turn and leave, the two pilots inside the cockpit exchanged glances and couldn't help but softly complain to each other.

"I suspect these people are not mentally stable anymore... otherwise, how could they not feel the slightest discomfort?"

"I completely agree with your view..."

After finishing up here, Killer Dagger patted the cockpit's hatch and then turned to busy himself with other matters.

As the company's transport plane was busy moving survivors to the coastline, two Viper transport planes carrying researchers from the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team flew in from the direction of the coastline and stopped not far from the Tiger Whale transport aircraft.

A group of researchers in white coats quickly disembarked from the aircraft and, escorted by a group of heavily armed players, swiftly headed to the entrance of Shelter No.20.

For now, Shelter No.20 was still under the control of The Burning Legion of the Alliance; not only were new surveillance devices installed on the nearby streets, but drones also patrolled the area around the clock.

Until the completion of the inspection of the data stored in the refuge, this shelter would not be opened to other members of the Sticky Community.

Not only Chu Guang, but Fang Chang, who was also deeply interested in Shelter No.20, was paying attention to the latest investigation updates of the scientific team.

While he was waiting for the results, Old White, who had just returned from patrol, brought him unexpected news.

"There's good news and bad news; which would you like to hear first?"

Hearing this teaser, Fang Chang coughed lightly.

"Just start with the important one."

Old White grinned and said,

"Do you remember those Weilante People from before? They actually found something at that position we abandoned."

Fang Chang was stunned for a few seconds, then looked at Old White incredulously.

"Really?"

Old White nodded and said,

"It's from Brother Battlefield; it should be accurate."

Fang Chang then asked,

"And the good news?"

Old White grinned and said,

"What you just heard was the good news. As for the bad news... unfortunately, our allies weren't very lucky, they found nothing but corpses."

Fang Chang slightly furrowed his brow.

"...they found nothing but corpses?"

Old White nodded again and continued,

"That's right, the tunnel they dug up seems to be the entrance to a residential area that was abandoned over a century ago, containing nothing but the corpses of local survivors."

Seeing Fang Chang deep in thought, Old White paused before continuing,

"But speaking of that settlement, it's quite bizarre. According to the Weilante People who went down to investigate the remains, the entire settlement seemed to have been buried instantaneously."

"The bodies of numerous survivors were gathered at the entrance square of the settlement, with no signs of resistance at the scene... It was as if the survivors had accepted their fate, engraving their names on a monument, writing prophesies of doom at the end, and calmly embracing their final death."

"The whole relic site reeks of something sinister, and what's even more eerie is that I heard from Brother Battlefield that the Weilante People soldiers who came back from below had some mental issues. They seemed to be terrified by something, becoming paranoid... It's unusual; they're battle-hardened soldiers who shouldn't be so easily scared by a few corpses."

Fang Chang nodded in agreement, pondered for a moment, then suddenly proposed a possibility,

"Could it be the influence of a Mind Interference Device or some kind of bacterium?"

Old White shook his head and said,

"That's unclear. I was actually thinking it would be nice if we could get some 'wounded' from the Army to cooperate with our research, but the problem now is... our information was obtained through unofficial channels, and it's difficult to approach them without them coming forth voluntarily."

Fang Chang sighed and said,

"Indeed... However, based on what the Weilante People unearthed, it can indeed corroborate some conclusions of the Scientific Expedition Team."

Old White's heart moved, and he asked in surprise,

"Has the Scientific Expedition Team come up with results?"

Fang Chang nodded, and slowly began to speak,

"According to the investigation by the Scientific Expedition Team, the Manager's Log at Shelter No.20 was manually deleted, and that was after some disastrous experimental result."

Old White frowned and asked,

"A disastrous experimental result?"

Fang Chang nodded again and continued,

"The main research focus of Shelter No.20 was outer space development. Based on their two technological proposals designed for 'Return to Space,' they considered two sets of plans over twenty years after the 51st year of the Wasteland Era."

"The first plan was to use limited resources to construct an orbital-free space elevator, steadfastly retracing the paths once trodden by the United Human. The other plan was to find another path, launching thoughts onto the still-functioning space devices of the Human Alliance Era to accomplish rescue from the outside in… I suppose this could also be seen as a kind of overtaking on the turn."

"According to the conclusions of the Scientific Expedition Team, Shelter No.20 very likely abandoned the first plan during the technological feasibility assessment phase, and from the beginning, they put all their chips on the second plan... We can't find any detailed experimental plan about the first plan on the shelter's server simply because they never tried it."

Old White furrowed his brow,

"Does that mean… the plan for the orbital-free space elevator was not feasible?"

"Not exactly," Fang Chang shook his head, "How can you say something that was never tried is unfeasible? If that thing were truly unachievable in principle, it wouldn't even be in the plans of this shelter."

Old White asked, puzzled,

"Then why did they give it up directly?"

Fang Chang recalled what he had just heard from the NPC and continued,

"The Scientific Expedition Team believes... at that time, the residents of Shelter No.20 judged that the material and time costs required for the first plan exceeded their capacity. If they forced the plan forward, it might take them fifty years or even longer."

Old White mused,

"Fifty years… That sounds somewhat acceptable."

"It does to us, but back then, to them, the duration seemed exceedingly long… Honestly, from their perspective, it's not hard to understand. If returning to outer space took so long, then restoring the territories at the zenith of the United Human could take who knows how long."

Pausing, Fang Chang continued,

"The Scientific Expedition Team speculates that, due to various considerations, they most likely directly chose the second plan as their course of action… putting all their hopes on the thought projection technology, which seemed less costly but had more uncertainties."

Old White couldn't help asking,

"So, did they… succeed?"

Fang Chang sighed softly,

"Haven't I mentioned? The Manager's Log was deleted after a disastrous experimental result…"

After a pause, he continued,

"What they did between the years 51 to 72 of the Wasteland Era is beyond our knowledge now, but if the corpses unearthed by the Weilante People were left by them, then the outcome of that experiment speaks for itself… The residents of Shelter No.20 rushed the process, resulting in ultimately disastrous consequences, turning the whole experiment into a collective act of despair."

Listening to this harsh conjecture, Old White's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Eventually, he shook his head, managing to squeeze out only one sentence,

"Madness indeed…"

Fang Chang nodded, and after a moment of silence said,

"Indeed, they were another group of madmen, belonging to a different era from the Torch, yet the madness of both is strikingly similar."

"It makes one inevitably wonder whether the Torch was inspired by the experiences of Shelter No.20, leading them to commit so many outrageous acts..."

-

(Thank you for the alliance master reward from the "Reader20230621171246491"!)

Chapter 800: The Fall of the Human Emperor

[...After a long and enduring battle, as the Alliance forces advanced into the Haiye Province, meeting smoothly with the 370,000th Legion entering from the North, the Haiye Province, long submerged under the Torch's control, finally welcomed the dawn of peace.]

[Out of fear of the war court trial, the high-ranking members of the Torch Church chose to flee to outer space after their stubborn resistance proved futile.]

[Currently, the battle in the Haiye Province area has entered its final stage, the Sticky Community Allied forces have controlled over 87% of the battle zones, with more than 90% of the "Heavenly domain" having been dismantled, and Nago's corruption is being cleared from this sacred land.]

[In the face of the unstoppable Allied forces, the Torch Church's resistance is growing increasingly passive, the remaining Torch Apostles and their Mutant supporters have withdrawn from the front lines around Kuwata City to the Luosong Mountain area, attempting to rely on the rugged terrain for their final struggle. However, they will soon realize that their dying struggle is futile, and their only path is to surrender and repent for the lost souls.]

[As of last night, the Alliance's Jungle Corps and Storm Corps are advancing in two directions towards the Luosong Mountain area, the Alliance's armor units have sealed off all possible retreats for the remaining Torch Church members. The Storm Corps leader, in an interview with our station reporter, stated they would not disappoint the expectations of the Alliance People, delivering a powerful counterattack to the chaos creators, sweeping across the battlefield like a storm, bringing victory and glory back to the City of Dawn!]

[Survivor Daily·Dawn City Edition reporting!]

Singular Point City, Pinecone Wooden Farm.

Rows of leafless fruit trees hang with scattered snow, and in the distance is an endless stretch of fields.

Sitting on the balcony, Frost flipped through the newspaper in his hand, a bright sunny smile on his face.

"Oh, Solar Eclipse, this damn war is finally coming to an end, good days are finally coming back."

"Perhaps."

Contrasting with Frost's smiling face, Solar Eclipse seemed to be slightly regretful for not being able to be on the front lines.

Noticing its expression, Frost asked curiously.

"Is it my imagination? You don't seem very enthusiastic."

Solar Eclipse's pupils flickered slightly, replying in a casual tone.

"It's not your imagination; my enthusiasm is indeed average... After all, the whole war ended, yet I didn't get to be of any use, feeling guilty towards the taxpayers of Ideal City."

Frost looked at it in surprise.

"How can you say that about yourself? We supplied so many provisions to the front lines! Even the honorable Manager said that our contribution was indispensable for achieving such an effortless victory in this war."

Listening to the chatter, Solar Eclipse sighed lightly, speaking expressionlessly.

"Even so, I was designed as a bionic for war purposes. No matter how outstanding achievements I make in other fields, if I can't be of use on the front battlefield, I'm afraid it's hard to be truly happy."

"Alright... That's how you really think then." Frost showed a deeply affected expression from the companion's reply.

Standing next to them, Yinyin, who hadn't spoken from the start, was gazing intently southward.

Since the war began, she spent some time every day staring blankly at the southern sky.

Suddenly, seemingly spotting something, she spoke without any warning.

"...I gradually feel their presence disappearing."

Her consciousness was anchored to a bionic chip left by Luo Gan, and it was precisely why she could survive in a digital form after death.

Due to the similar algorithms of the chips bearing her thoughts and those used by the Torch Church's Pioneers, she could always vaguely sense the existence of other bionic chips affiliated with the Torch Church.

And as the front moved forward, her perception of those chips grew weaker.

Clearly, just as stated in the Survivor's Daily, the Torch was gradually losing control over the ground—

The apostles bearing chips were already dwindling!

Watching the drifting thoughts of Yinyin, Frost smiled and said.

"Isn't that great? Those lunatics are finally rolling off this planet."

Yinyin sighed softly and spoke quietly.

"It would be nice if that's really the case... But I always feel like they won't give up so easily."

To this day, she still remembers the tragedy that occurred in this farm.

Under Nago's corruption, the once amiable fellows turned into terrifying ghosts... even she herself had once been uncontrollably immersed in that.

The hell of the Brocade River Province has now ended, and she sincerely hopes those evil things never return.

However, they clearly wouldn't let it go easily.

Whether it was them who once created hell or those manipulating them behind the scenes.

Seeing the worried expression of the little girl, Frost got up from the chair with a cheerful sound, gently placing a hand on her head, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry."

Looking at the dazed Yinyin, he continued softly.

"...When the time comes, we'll just drive them away once again."

...

At the same time as the Burning Corps and the 370,000th Legion met at the old site of Haibei City, the Jungle Corps advancing from another direction towards the coast's hinterland finally reached the Luosong Mountain area, successfully meeting the Storm Corps advancing into Haiye Province from the north line.

Seeing the big guy walking over with a steel plate welded to his chest, Spring Water happily laughed and walked up to greet him.

"You guys are falling behind, Brother Chicken; we are almost done here, and you guys have just landed."

Midnight Chicken Killing chuckled kindly and replied.

"Isn't there a possibility that because we landed, you were able to push forward so fast?"

The Spring Water Commander laughed and waved off.

"Huh, no way, can these green-skinned brutes withstand my 37mm cannon? It's you guys who if you land a few days later might not even get a spoon of the broth."

Midnight Chicken Killing rolled his eyes.

"Keep bragging!"

"Hahaha!"

The two laughed and exchanged a few comments, showing no signs of tension despite being right on the front lines of the battlefield, even though the Torch's Tribunal squad and the scouts of the Mutants were actively operating in the nearby mountain area.

Reconnaissance companies under the Storm Corps have penetrated deep into the areas controlled by the Torch remnants, marking strategic facilities and suspected strategic facilities.

At the same time when the two armies met, the Storm Corps' artillery positions were ready.

Waiting for a command, they could instantly turn the Torch remnants' positions into a sea of fire!

On the other side, the Torch remnants retreating to the Luosong Mountain area were in low spirits, lacking the arrogance they had during operations in the Brocade River and River Valley Provinces.

Those who escaped here, whether Apostles, Tribunal members, or Mutants, had suffered at least three defeats, being disoriented by the allied forces on the front lines.

Not only that.

Along their southern retreat, the Alliance's aircraft frequently flew overhead, sometimes dropping bombs just to scare them.

They endured many bombings and machine guns along the way, and many were frightened by the engine noise of the aircraft, hastily seeking cover at the slightest disturbance from the sky.

Although Luosong Mountain was steep, it couldn't be more daunting than the Ten Peaks Mountain area.

Standing on the jagged rocky hill, the Human Emperor watched the Alliance's distant position with an emotionless face, feeling a growing sense of desolation.

Even if he was unwilling, he had to admit that the Heaven in the Haiye Province had reached its last moment.

Unexpectedly, when he realized this final moment was approaching, he was calmer than he'd imagined he would be.

As if he'd already accepted the final outcome.

At this moment, heavy footsteps approached from the direction up the mountain. An Apostle wearing power armor stopped behind him, lowered his voice, and said.

"Respected Pioneer, we have lost contact with our base in Haibei City... I previously tried to contact the command post, but the signal from the Saint seems to have vanished."

His name was Baskin, an Apostle serving in the "Iron Edge" knight group, and also the group leader.

The Apostles retreating to the Luosong Mountain area only numbered 677, including 417 Tribunal members and a small number of non-combat researchers.

As the knight group currently most complete in organization, the "Iron Edge" knight group only had 120 members, already struggling to sustain a battle's consumption.

Although there were still over 4000 mutant Cannon Fodder at the front lines, relying solely on them to turn the tide was impossible.

They needed more reinforcements!

Whether personnel or equipment, even just a bit of weaponry and ammunition!

He wanted to learn from the Human Emperor about the Saint's whereabouts, believing that the omnipotent Saint certainly still had other cards up his sleeve!

However, disappointing and even despairing him, after hearing the news of the Saint's disappearance, the Human Emperor before him merely nodded slightly.

"I understand."

As his voice fell, the surrounding air returned to silence.

Gazing at the indifferent Human Emperor, Baskin was taken aback, a rare hint of anxiety appearing in his eyes.

"Master..."

The Human Emperor turned around, looking at him with a calm gaze.

"Is there anything else?"

Regarding the Saint's departure, he felt no surprise, only surprised that the guy had left before him.

It seemed the Alliance had gathered intel from other places, finding Shelter No.20 before dealing with him.

But it no longer mattered.

The present moment was the ultimate hour.

From the calm gaze, Baskin sensed a terrifying uncertainty about the future, his Adam's apple moved, and finally spoke a trembling sentence.

"What should we... do now?"

What to do...

Hearing the despair-induced trembling voice, even the Human Emperor's expressionless face couldn't help but reveal a hint of bitterness.

He wondered too, what could be done.

But by now, it seemed anything done would be futile.

For a moment, he suddenly felt guilty towards those who followed him.

He had promised to lead them to Heaven, but ultimately could only watch as they were dragged back to the ground by gravity.

The collapse of Heaven was inevitable, they didn't need to drown with him.

After a pause, the Human Emperor suddenly spoke.

"Escape from here."

Baskin paused, looking at the Human Emperor incredulously, seemingly unable to believe such words came from him.

Yet, the respected Pioneer continued with his rebellious words.

"Find a place on the Wasteland where no one knows you, where the Alliance can't find you, bury your ideals, names, and past in the earth, then live a life hidden——"

"No!"

Baskin suddenly roared in anger, interrupting the Human Emperor mid-sentence.

At this moment, he was like a wounded beast, his bloodshot eyes filled with terrifying veins.

Glaring fiercely at the expressionless Human Emperor, he clenched his fists and spoke word by word.

"What I seek from you is a way to continue fighting, not how to live in shame. If that is the humiliating end, I would rather die in the last moment of Heaven's downfall!"

After hearing the apostle's words till the end, the Human Emperor remained silent for a long time, then gently sighed.

"Is that so... Then I respect your choice, I admit that you are a true warrior, you fought for your ideals till the last moment."

Baskin's lips twitched as he looked at the seemingly defeated Pioneer, and spoke in a slightly pleading voice.

"Is there really no chance?"

The Human Emperor shook his head.

"...Probably not."

As he finished saying this, he slowly lifted his head, directing his gaze forward to the sky, and whispered softly.

It's here...

As soon as those words fell, a majestic figure appeared in the distant sky as if on cue.

Only to see the indestructible bow of the ship slicing through the clouds, revealing the massive 400mm gun barrel and the steel-clad outline of the armor.

Iron Heart!

The long, drawn-out whistle sounded like the call to attack.

Staring at the slowly approaching airship on the battlefield, a slight change softened the expressionless face of the Human Emperor, and the tense strings of his heart relaxed with a trace of relief.

The moment has finally arrived.

Everything is over...

At this moment, his heart was neither frantic nor desperate, just filled with a sense of relieved release...

At the same time, Baskin, standing not far behind him, had bloodshot eyes that revealed a trace of terror.

Especially when he saw the firelight from the 400mm main gun's explosion, he felt as if his eyes were scorched by the dazzling firelight, with his entire body's blood vessels boiling, as if filled with scorching magma.

"Prepare for battle!!"

With all his strength, he let out a roar, then propelled his body towards the nearest cover with all his might.

He will never admit the failure of the Torch!

Never!

Almost at the instant he leapt into the anti-cannon hole, the falling shell struck the mountaintop, and the scorching shockwave, laden with thick smoke, instantly swept across the entire battlefield!

"Boom!!!"

The boiling flames, like erupting lava, turned everything in their path to charred earth!

The soil and rubble that poured in from the entrance nearly buried Baskin alive in the anti-cannon hole.

And he was considered lucky.

The apostles near the shell's impact point, especially those who didn't have time to reach the anti-cannon hole, were obliterated without a trace by the all-consuming fire!

Baskin struggled to push off the rubble and dirt pressing on him and managed to crawl out of the anti-cannon hole, looking around in terror.

It was at this moment that a scene he would never forget in his life imprinted itself into his eyes filled with despair.

"Woo——!!!"

A dense rain of fire covered the sky, the whistling rockets even forming a continuous sheet in the air.

The beeper's howling dominated the entire battlefield, even overshadowing the booming explosions.

Whether it was mechanical exoskeletons or power armor, under that apocalyptic firepower, they were like paper figures.

He had just poked his head out of the anti-explosion hole when the impact of the blast hit him, making him dizzy and stumble back into the anti-cannon hole.

Clearly, the Alliance, like them, regarded this battle as the final decisive battle, with no intention of conserving ammunition, nor any intention of holding back.

Amidst the whistling of rockets, the W-2 Low Attack Aircraft, like locusts, swooped in, their machine guns firing continuously, showering the battlefield that was just plowed by artillery with wave after wave of bullets.

The judges of the Tribunal were thoroughly bombarded into a daze.

Including the apostles of the "Iron Front" knight order, under that fierce firepower, they could only curl up on the ground, wailing and begging for mercy.

Even the mutants, who did not know what death was, let out cries of fear under the baptism of artillery fire.

"Roar——!"

An injured mutant struggled out of the trench, waving its shotgun at the sky, firing continuously upwards.

It attempted to shoot down the planes flying all over, but could not even touch the shadow of the latter.

The impotent roar not only achieved nothing, but instead made it look like a clown.

At that moment, the distant artillery fire finally ceased, replaced by gunshots surrounding Luosong Mountain from all directions.

The big fellows in K-10 "Iron Arm" exoskeletons initiated the attack first.

Each held a bomb gun in one hand and a chainsaw in the other, rushing from the foot of the mountain to its top like a reverse flood.

Finally, they saw the enemy there, the bombed-out mutants howled as they charged, trying to leave a deep impression on the enemy in front of them with their rifles and clubs.

However, they hadn't even touched the side of those hulking figures before they were blown to pieces by the roaring bomb gun, unwillingly collapsing onto the pitch-black mud.

Nevertheless, these mutants ultimately had the upper hand in numbers, and with the cover from modified bodies and bullet-proof armor, a few lucky ones still broke through the dense web of firepower.

A mutant finally rushed up to the fully armed hulking figures.

Yet before it could even howl and swing its Battle Axe, its chest was pierced by a chainsaw coming head-on, slicing it in two.

"Madness!! Utter madness!! Hahaha!!!"

Midnight Chicken Killing yelled excitedly, drenched head-to-toe in the torrential downpour of blood.

Watching that almost hellish figure, the surrounding mutants were scared senseless, momentarily forgetting who the real devourer was, and who was to be devoured.

Whether out of fear of the mutants, almost everyone—be it the Tribunal's adjudicators or the Apostles of the Knights—showed an expression of terror in their eyes, afraid of that harbinger of doom getting close to them.

Watching that person stride forward, Baskin swallowed, feeling his guts weaken.

Even wearing power armor, the heavy steel didn't bring him a shred of security.

Midnight Chicken Killing stopped in its tracks, gazing down at the person half-buried in an anti-cannon hole, grinning cruelly.

"You, might as well surrender."

Though this guy wore power armor, Midnight Chicken Killing felt not an ounce of threat from him.

Too weak.

This guy wasn't even an Awakener, maybe he hadn't even undergone gene modification.

Hearing the word surrender, Baskin suddenly felt a flush of hot blood rush to his head, humiliation welling up in his heart.

Surrender…

Never!

"Die!"

He struggled to crawl out of the anti-bomb hole, pulling out the large-caliber assault rifle hanging on his power armor, glaring ferociously at the guy wielding the chainsaw, and angrily pulled the trigger.

Bullets flew toward the person in front of him like raindrops, seemingly about to hit the towering figure.

But just as he was about to succeed, he felt a perplexing blur in front of his eyes.

So fast!!!

That speed was beyond his comprehension of human physiology, so fast he couldn't even see the fleeting afterimage.

The whizzing chainsaw slammed into his shoulder armor almost instantaneously, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"Ah——!"

Just as a short, sharp scream escaped his mouth, Baskin felt half his body lifted into the air, then slammed heavily onto the ground.

With his last shred of consciousness, he saw his other half-motionless body still standing, from the shoulder upwards there remained only a gushing pillar of blood.

The guy wielding the chainsaw walked past him with long strides, not even sparing a glance at him as he fell.

"Too weak."

A voice laced with slight derision pushed his remaining consciousness into a bottomless abyss, completely toppling the Torch Church's final will to resist.

Under the cover of artillery fire, the Jungle Corps charging up the mountain pierced through the Torch Church's position without suspense, like an iron being thrust into a pile of snow.

The position on Luosong Mountain was collapsing at a visible pace, blood forming small rivers in the trenches.

This could no longer be called a battle; it was simply a one-sided massacre!

Be they Apostles of the Torch or mutants.

Since they chose to resist to the end, the Alliance would mercilessly bring them all an equal death…

On the bridge of the Iron Heart, Chu Guang stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the entire battlefield, his heart unmoved.

Standing beside him, Vanus put down the binoculars in his hand and slowly spoke.

"This mountain region should be the Torch's last stand… Looks like you'll be able to declare victory before the sun sets today."

"Hmm."

Chu Guang nodded, yet his thoughts had drifted beyond the battlefield.

To him, such a foregone conclusion wasn't worth mentioning.

In fact, the Allied forces had already secured the final victory days ago.

This was just the endgame.

Suddenly thinking of something, Chu Guang spoke.

"After this war ends, I'm planning to visit the islands to the south."

Vanus was slightly taken aback, not understanding why the esteemed Manager suddenly mentioned the southern islands.

However, there must be some intention behind this that was beyond his understanding.

Without further thought, Vanus nodded slightly, respectfully saying from the flow of good intentions.

"I'll go with you."

Chapter 801: Undercurrents Beneath the Victory

"Ahhhh!!"

With a sickening crunch, the roaring chainsaw sliced through the Battle Axe held by the Mutants Champion, as well as its steel bullet-proof armor on the chest.

Taking a solid hit to the chest, the Mutants Champion let out a pained roar, its bloodshot eyes gradually showing a hint of fear.

With every ounce of strength, it used the broken Battle Axe in its hand to desperately bash the iron lump before it, trying to knock it unconscious, but it couldn't stop the handle from opening its chest, only watching helplessly as its flesh and blood were thrown skyward by the high-speed moving saw blade.

"Roar——"

The sound of the roar gradually weakened, and the strength in its struggle grew smaller and smaller.

Finally, unable to withstand the immense pain, it collapsed like a rag on the players' body.

Pushing away the fallen Mutants Champion, the player in the Exoskeleton suit gasped for breath, surveying the battlefield around.

Across the smoke-filled wasteland, there were no more standing Mutants in sight.

It seemed the one lying before him was the last!

A hint of excitement emerged on his blood-soaked face. With effort, he pulled the chainsaw from the Mutants' chest and swung it into the air, scattering the torn meat and blood onto the ground where he had previously fought.

It's over!

This battle in Heaven!

"Victory——!"

Looking up at the cloudy sky, he let out a hearty shout.

Soon, someone responded to him, cries of victory resonating throughout the battlefield.

"Victory!!!"

"Long live the Manager!!!"

"Long live the Alliance!!!"

"Awooooo!!!"

The continuous sound drifted into the distance, even scattering the clouds above, rising onto the deck of the Steel Heart...

Standing in the airship's bridge, Chu Guang's expressionless face finally showed a genuine smile.

"It's finally over."

...

Just as Vanus foretold, the battle that ended the Torch Church unfolded before dusk fell on the summit of Luosong Mountain.

A warrior in an Iron Wall Exoskeleton planted the Alliance's flag at the highest point of the battlefield.

With the fall of the last Apostle and Mutants, the final Bionic chip carrying the Hall ceased to operate, merging with brain matter and blood into the soil.

From then on, those pretentious Pioneers no longer commanded the people on the ground from above.

Their sinister actions and twisted ideals were utterly burnt to ashes in the flames igniting on the Wasteland.

Later that day, Chu Guang, as the Marshal of the Sticky Community Allied Forces, delivered a speech on the bridge of the Steel Heart.

"...Today is destined to be a great day, and our history will always remember it."

"In the past six months, our troops crossed grasslands, climbed hills, even sailed across oceans, deep into the most treacherous hell, fighting against the ugliest and most barbaric monsters..."

"Now, all the blood and sweat we have poured for justice have finally been rewarded, for we have thoroughly expelled the evil Torch from the land beneath our feet!"

"We have proven our bravery with our actions, proven that we are invincible!"

"Cheer for this moment! Celebrate!"

"For those saved!"

"For this hard-earned victory—"

"And for our union!"

The resounding voice echoed within the bridge and was broadcast throughout the Alliance and all parts of the Sticky Community Allied Forces via radio.

In this worthy moment of celebration, almost every TV and radio station played the same content.

At the Weifu City Military Base, the cries of victory rang out within the camp.

People turned on all the lights in the base, illuminating the entire sky, venting their inner joy.

Wounded resting in the hospital even pulled out their needles and ran from their wards, joyfully hugging fellow celebrating soldiers.

Whether from Ideal City or the Weilante people from Triumph City.

No matter what identity or origin, everyone was cheering for the same joy at this moment.

In the nearby bar to the military base, the lads of the Number 100 Mountain Division were ready to blow the roof off.

Having spent so long on the battlefield, witnessing so much life and death, their attitude differed from half a year ago. Once eager to fight, now they missed home just as much.

Tang Feng excitedly jumped onto the table with the wine bottle in hand as a microphone, loudly shouting to the heckling brothers.

"Praise the Manager! Praise the Alliance! Praise the ruthless warriors of the Storm Corps! This damn war is finally over!"

The bar in Ideal City, the nightclubs, and the most missed Endpoint Cloud!

Everything is coming back!

At this moment, his heart was filled with excitement, as if his thrilling emotions had grown wings.

He swore that once he returned as a war hero, he would take a good break, like bragging on the Endpoint Cloud for a whole week!

Of course, the most important thing is that he must bring back the popular game "Kun Cards" from the front line!

Such an interesting game deserves to be shared with everyone; otherwise, it would be a big pity!

Their officer said in the camp that tomorrow when the "Tiger Whale" transport plane lands at the military base airport, they can immediately board a flight home, leaving this damn place.

Looking at the excited, dancing Tang Feng, Edem from the Hound Special Forces also had a sincere smile on his face, raising his glass to clink with him.

"Congratulations to you all! Finally, you can go home!"

Honestly, these guys seem more like they came for an outing rather than a war.

But now that this battle is finally over, it should be considered a relief for them as well.

Clinking his glass with pleasure, Tang Feng downed the drink in his cup at once, then burped with a tipsy smile and said.

"Hahaha, congratulations to us both! Not just us, you all can go home too!"

Edem smiled at these words, with a faint trace of worry in his eyes.

"Us? I'm afraid it won't be that soon for us... Even if we do go back, there will probably be new work waiting for us."

The Hound Special Forces is a profit institution; they don't keep idle people.

As long as Wasteland exists, they have endless work to do.

Not to mention, he still had loans to repay.

Maybe, he might be less willing for the war to end than Mr. Sigma sitting in the Firestone Group building.

If the war truly ended, his once-decidedly decent life might really have him sleeping on the streets begging...

The sound of clinking glasses filled the air at the Weifu City tavern, and the same was true on the Loyalty Airship of the Army.

Standing by the porthole, Lucien savored the wine in his glass blissfully, his eyes squinting lazily at the south.

"...Finally, these disgusting cockroaches are all dead."

Although the battle on Ten Peaks Mountain was just a small episode in the entire war, he couldn't forget the embarrassment he suffered on that hill.

He couldn't understand what those expansionists were thinking, siding with such filthy creatures...

However, to be fair, the Torch Church did have a knack for biotechnology.

If they could combine the limb regrowth technology with the eightfold speed clone growth, it would be fantastic.

In that case, the Army could forge a true immortal legion!

Their footsteps would make the entire continent tremble!

Standing beside General Lucien, Centurion Modlin sighed softly, his eyes filled with some regret.

"...Such a pity that the institutes we occupied only had some scraps stored, the really valuable technology is said to be kept at a place called Shelter No.20."

"Shelter No.20..." Lucien's eyes narrowed slightly, pondering something.

Glancing at General Lucien, Centurion Modlin whispered very softly.

"I suspect that the Alliance and corporations have already secretly controlled this shelter; otherwise, they wouldn't be so certain that the war is over... but unfortunately, we have no evidence, even if we pointed it out, they would deny it."

In fact, not just the Alliance and corporations, but even including the silent Academy, and even the Army itself, were secretly absorbing the research teams of the Torch Church.

This was a tacit agreement both sides reached at the beginning of the war—the controlled area in Haiya Province belongs to whoever occupies it unless the actual controller voluntarily withdraws; otherwise, others must not interfere.

The benefits of this are obvious—all sides were demonstrating genuine capabilities on the battlefield to increase their stakes, not just waiting for allies to exert themselves in the front while picking up scraps in the back.

However, now the war was over, and it was time to divide the spoils of war, the situation had changed.

Now, the other parties of the Sticky Community are not just allies to the Army, but gradually turning into competitors.

After listening to Modlin's insinuations, General Lucien just chuckled lightly, looking as if he didn't care.

"Evidence? Do we need that kind of thing?"

This is a battlefield, not a courtroom.

Now that the big trouble of the Torch Church has finally been solved, it's time to settle old scores with the Alliance.

After a brief pause of contemplation, Lucien placed the wine cup on the ledge of the porthole and looked at the adjutant standing beside him, speaking in a calm tone.

"Later, go contact Centurion Bennott in the City of Dawn."

"Tell him on my behalf that the Civil Official Group has taken so many benefits in the back, it's time for them to do some work."

The adjutant standing next to him stood straight and gave a military salute, with a solemn expression.

"Yes!"

...

The news of victory spread like wings, quickly throughout the entire Sticky Community army.

And just as everyone raised their glasses to celebrate this hard-won victory, an invisible undercurrent was restlessly stirring beneath the calm surface.

The threat to peace not only comes from within the Sticky Community but also from 1.5 million kilometers away.

To understand the situation at the Lagrange point, Chu Guang, following Yin Fang's suggestion, summoned representatives from the Academy.

As one of the three factions that inherited the Post-War Reconstruction Committee's legacy, the Academy is probably the most deeply involved in studying the Torch Church, and also the most likely to understand the situation of the "Lagrange point" and "celestial beings."

Looking at Yang Kai's figure appearing in the holographic conference room, Chu Guang went straight to the point without exchanging pleasantries.

"What do you know about celestial beings?"

Hearing the term "celestial beings," Yang Kai's expression showed a noticeable hint of oddity.

And this made Chu Guang even more certain that the Academy people indeed know something.

"I want to say I actually don't know much… Although if I say this, I guess you won't believe me."

Seeing his intentions to brush it off, Chu Guang stared at him unwaveringly and continued to speak.

"I am seriously asking you about this matter."

Seeing Yang Kai's expression unchanged, Chu Guang continued with a serious tone.

"Based on the intelligence collected by our front-line troops, the Torch Church's higher-ups have digitized their thoughts and uploaded them to a server 1.5 million kilometers away. And when our front-line troops attempted to capture these servers, we learned that a group called 'celestial beings' had accepted them."

When Chu Guang got to this point, Yang Kai's expression finally showed a hint of slack.

"Why are you so sure I know something?"

Chu Guang shrugged lightly, and said as if it was obvious.

"Isn't it obvious? No one is more concerned about things outside of Earth than you all."

He paused and then continued.

"I understand you do not have the authority to decide whether to share this information with me, but I hope you think clearly; there is a group of people hostile towards us lurking somewhere in outer space, eyeing us warily. You all intend to leave the Solar System to find a new home, I don't object to the choices you make after careful consideration, but do you think given the current situation, you can leave?"

Yang Kai fell into prolonged silence upon hearing this.

A moment later, he sighed and said.

"Celestial beings… Honestly, we really don't want to provoke that bunch, and I advise you not to bother them either. Isn't your goal to end the Wasteland Era? Now that the war is over, you should just do that, why bother with unnecessary issues?"

Utilizing the Alliance to eliminate the Torch was a decision made by the Academy's higher-ups, and although being dragged into this war and playing a direct role was an unexpected twist, the final outcome was good; the Academy's anticipated goals were completely met without compromise.

Neither the Chief Technical Officer nor Dr. Conclusion himself wanted this war to continue expanding; ending it here is the best result.

Although he did not understand the high-level decisions, he immensely agreed with the wisdom of the Chief Technical Officer.

However, after hearing Yang Kai's words, Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brows.

He felt like there was a hidden message within this sentence.

"Your words actually make me more curious. What kind of guys are they, that even you don't dare to provoke them easily?"

Listening to the slight taunt in the tone, Yang Kai sighed and said.

"I don't deny your statement; we indeed don't want to be enemies with them. Besides, you might as well consider a question… Why did that Saint Heir do so much unnecessary stuff when he was about to die? Not only revealing his whereabouts but kindly reminding you who sheltered them. Think about it carefully!"

Watching Yang Kai's agonized expression, Chu Guang remained unmoved and continued.

"I know what that guy is trying to do; he wants to lure us into investigating the matter of the celestial beings."

Yang Kai's brow twitched severely, unable to resist saying.

"You know it's a trap, yet you ask so much?"

"Whether it's a trap is another topic; I will naturally assess the risks based on the intelligence and clues I have," Chu Guang stared at him unwaveringly, speaking with earnestness, "However, what I cannot tolerate is a group of dirty things lurking in the shadows, always ready to surprise us. Compared to the already exposed traps, the hidden risks are more worthy of my vigilance."

Yang Kai fell silent.

Seemingly consulting his superior, he sighed a moment later and said.

"We actually don't know much about them… I can only tell you the part I know."

Chu Guang signaled him with his eyes to continue.

After sorting through his thoughts in his mind, Yang Kai slowly began.

"If you understand the history of the United Human, you should be aware that two centuries ago, the United Human once sent an Expeditionary Army to South Gate Two."

Chu Guang's heart stirred, and he immediately asked.

"Are those celestial beings descendants of the Expeditionary Army?"

"You could say that," Yang Kai slowly nodded, acknowledging his guess.

However, after receiving the confirmation, Chu Guang's heart was filled with more doubts.

"...But I don't understand. If they are the descendants of the Expeditionary Army, shouldn't they be on our side? Why help Torch?"

Yang Kai did not feel any surprise at Chu Guang's confusion and continued.

"On our side... What exactly do you mean by 'our'?"

Hearing these words with deep meaning, Chu Guang couldn't help but frown lightly.

"What do you mean?"

Yang Kai spoke succinctly.

"It's exactly what it sounds like."

"This planet is filled with retro militarists, farsighted escapists, and hedonists already living the good life... Of course, there are also a variety of other messy things. Do you think they have any hope of ending the Wasteland Era? Maybe they haven't even thought about ending the Wasteland Era, like us, thinking it doesn't matter since we'll leave someday anyway."

Chu Guang: "But there are people who care, aren't there?"

Yang Kai smiled meaningfully.

"Are you talking about yourselves? In your view, of course, it's important, but to us observers, it's another matter. You did indeed unite some people, which is commendable, but concerning the broader Wasteland, you're actually powerless... No offense, you are aware that some people cannot be united."

Chu Guang nodded.

"It's nothing I can't admit. We've prepared another plan."

Yang Kai shrugged indifferently and continued.

"Maybe, but whatever your prepared plan is, at least from an observer's perspective, those plans might not be more efficient than the methods of the Weilante."

"Relying on the Weilante to end the Wasteland might take 500 years, and relying on you might be 400 years, or maybe 600 years... Who knows? I suspect even you don't have an exact number."

Chu Guang neither denied nor interrupted him, just quietly waited for him to continue.

After a brief pause, Yang Kai continued.

"As for the Celestial Beings... In your view, they are the contemporaries of the Human Alliance Era, the inheritors of that era, but that is merely your assumption. In their view, they are not inheritors, but the Human Alliance itself."

"As for you, us, and everyone on this planet, in their eyes, we are just the 'children' of the Human Alliance. They don't care who will win, as long as human civilization can ultimately continue, that's enough."

Chu Guang's brow furrowed.

"Even if it means sacrificing everyone for continuity..."

Yang Kai chuckled.

"Respected Manager, haven't enough people died because of the Wasteland Era? What we view as unacceptable costs, might seem like another issue to those true observers... It's not impossible. However, in most cases, they wouldn't directly interfere with surface matters, as long as you don't act in a way that makes them feel threatened."

Chu Guang asked in a deep voice.

"Like?"

"I don't know, maybe a piece on the board actively breaks down the wall separating observers from the board, or maybe they do something that makes them feel the end of the Wasteland Era is hopeless..." Yang Kai spread his hands with a helpless expression, "Our understanding of them is very limited, including what I said earlier; many are actually our speculation."

"But one thing is certain, these people are more impatient than we imagine, which might relate to their running out of time... In any case, they hope to end the Wasteland before their time runs out, and some alternative methods, in their view, are acceptable, including the approaches of Torch Church and Enlightenment Society."

"After all, according to our calculations, if Torch's plan succeeds, it would take no more than fifty years to lead this planet into a new era... Of course, this price might be high, especially for us living people."

Pausing for a moment, Yang Kai looked at Chu Guang and continued sincerely.

"So I hope you better not provoke those guys. Pretending they don't exist isn't that hard... Anyway, Torch's power on this planet has already been eliminated, even if those guys escaped to 1.5 million kilometers away, they can't stir up any trouble, right? Moreover, if any fatal danger were to reappear on this planet, we would warn you, just like before."

Listening to these naive words, Chu Guang shook his head.

"...If the Celestial Beings' ideas only make me feel they're crazy, your ostrich-in-the-sand approach makes me feel foolish."

Looking at the angry yet speechless Yang Kai, Chu Guang unreservedly continued.

"Since you know these people are more impatient than you imagine, how could you conclude that 'they won't interfere in surface affairs' with such naivety?"

"Let me be direct. They've long been involved personally; those black boxes held by Torch are likely provided by them, you just don't want to admit it."

"If we really leave them alone, this time it's just Torch, next time something else may emerge!"

Yang Kai couldn't help but ask.

"Then what can you do? They may have an entire fleet at their disposal, and you? You can't even reach outer space."

He still hoped the Alliance wouldn't provoke those "Celestial Beings", trying to convince Chu Guang to abandon that unrealistic notion. After all, provoking those guys is not practical, brings no benefits, and might result in greater troubles.

However, Chu Guang did not respond as he wished; instead, replied with a decisive tone.

"Naturally, we will use our methods."

"Whatever we ultimately choose, we certainly won't sit idly by."

——

(Thanks for the reward from the Alliance Leader "BoliedFish"!!!)

Chapter 802: Although the Lottery Didn't Get More Expensive, I Never Said the Drop Rate Would Stay the Same

"Wasteland OL" Official Website, today's forum is as lively as ever.

Especially when a sudden announcement popped up, it immediately grabbed the attention of all players and backseat drivers, completely igniting a hot discussion.

[Server Announcement: "Battle of Heaven" Expansion has concluded successfully!]

[With the fall of the Torch Church's research base and frontline positions, this battle that decided the fate of humanity ended with the victory of the Sticky Community's allied forces!]

[Thank you for all the players' enthusiastic participation! Your heroic performance has once again saved this world on the brink of extinction!]

[Additionally, expansion points will be settled within half an hour, please redeem your rewards and spoils within seven working days!]

Quit Smoking: "6666!"

tail: "Oh oh oh! Ah Guang is amazing! (✪ω✪)"

Silver Sword: "Damn! I actually have 600,000 points!"

Silver Daddy: "Tch, 600,000 points is considered an adventure! I've got a million points this time!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Damn, seeing you all having so much fun, it makes me feel even worse than losing money. (Crying)"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Could any kind soul send me a helmet with free shipping, I'm still a student, I beg you. T.T"

Grandpa Ao: "Damn it, is this trash game ever going public! It's already Beta 0.7 version + the nth expansion! Such a scam, if it doesn't go public soon it might as well close down! Damn it! (Angry)"

Elena: "Goodness, how did he even manage to break defenses. (Witty)"

Gnome King Riches: "Expanded, two million points... Damn, now these expansion points feel utterly worthless! (Crying)"

Teng Teng: "But the lottery is still 100 per draw, doesn't seem to have any impact? 0.0"

Crow: "The planners are just too kind-hearted! (*≧▽≦)"

Mole in the canyon: "Based on my past experience, you might be saying that a bit early. (Witty)"

Night Ten: "Ah Guang: Although the lottery price didn't increase, I never said I won't change the probability. (Witty)"

Quit Smoking: "Damn it! Take it back quickly! Don't let Ah Guang see this. (Panic)"

Fang Chang: "Relax, with so many points, no one can escape this cut. Quickly exchange for any limited rewards you can, if it doesn't work out, change it to a title. If you still can't spend all the points, it's better to use them on the lottery, you're welcome. (Side-eye)"

The entire expansion spanned over half a year, and the points players earned naturally reached astronomical numbers without a doubt.

Given this game's nearly realistic Economic System, if rewards were still given out based on the previous conscience standard of 1 point for 1 Silver Coin, the Alliance would surely go bankrupt on the spot.

However, Fang Chang also noticed that recently many items with absurd starting prices were listed at auctions.

Looks like brother Ah Guang had long thought about where to drain the excess Game Currency when the expansion ends...

...

The long-drawn-out war finally ended, and the survivors on the Wasteland were all celebrating this hard-won victory in their own ways.

The survivors of the southern sea area were no exception, with thirteen islands plus one underwater settlement, everything was festively decorated.

Although not every survivor here supported the South Sea Federation Authorities in getting involved in affairs on land, for the vast majority of survivors, the fall of the Torch Church marked the true end of this civil war.

After all, all the chaos that happened in the southern sea area was caused by the Torch, not to mention the blood debts including the "Ocean Current Power Plant" and the "Golden Coast", among others.

Now that the Torch Church has fallen, it means the great revenge for the survivors living in the southern sea area.

While people were celebrating this great moment, a grand press conference was also being held at the Presidential Mansion on the North Island.

In the presence of numerous Presidential Mansion officials, media reporters, and camera lenses, Li Minghui, sitting at the desk, signed his name on the executive order "ending the wartime status", officially announcing that this just war had finally come to an end.

Everyone present had faces full of excitement and relief, including Li Minghui himself after signing his name.

He had been waiting for this moment for too long.

Putting the pen on the table, Li Minghui directed his gaze towards the camera aimed at him, speaking in a solemn and awe-inspiring voice.

"At this exciting moment, I, as the Interim President of the South Sea Federation, announce to everyone that our war has finally ended."

"We drove out Charles and the Torch, not only achieving true unity but finally taking our fate into our own hands."

"I'm very happy to have worked with courageous, honest, and generous people like you, and I believe our future will be infinitely bright."

"Our kids will live in a new era filled with hope and not in someone else's ambition or fear spread by some institution."

Li Minghui paused for a moment, glanced at the camera in front of his desk, then cleared his throat as if he had long been prepared, and continued speaking.

"Additionally, I have one important announcement."

"Since this just war has now ended, according to our shared declaration, I will resign from the position of Interim President."

The office fell silent for two seconds.

Everyone crowded by the desk showed surprise on their faces, then began whispering softly.

Even if it was expected, it all happened too suddenly, and they almost weren't mentally prepared.

No one anticipated that their President would suddenly announce such a significant thing at this occasion.

However, Li Minghui didn't give them time to slowly digest this huge amount of information, he just took out the resignation letter he had prepared from the drawer and gently laid it on the desk.

"This is my resignation."

Hearing his voice, everyone came back to their senses, and sparse applause gradually grew around.

The applause got louder, eventually transforming from a drizzle into a downpour, filling the rather compact office.

Bathed in worshipful stares, Li Minghui stood up from the desk and nodded with a smile to express his thanks, then looked at the secretary standing by his side.

"...As compensation for being the shortest-term president in the history of the South Sea Union, can I take this pen as a souvenir?"

The secretary opened his mouth, then nodded and said.

"Of course, sir."

He was also stunned for a while by the president's unexpected action, only returning to his senses when the applause came.

Seeing this civil servant not opposed to it, Li Minghui happily pocketed the pen into the collar of his outfit, but then glanced at the pen holder stuffed full on the table and regretfully said.

"I should have used a few more pens when I was signing just now."

The secretary coughed lightly.

"...Your name doesn't use that many pens either."

Li Minghui paused, then resolved the awkwardness with a hearty laugh.

"Yeah, that's true!"

Due to President Li Minghui's sudden resignation submission, the originally scheduled half-hour press conference was extended by another half-hour.

At the press conference, reporters from various settlements asked a slew of questions regarding Li Minghui's sudden action.

In response to the reporters' questions, Li Minghui answered each one with a smile.

At this moment, he could be described as being in high spirits, and indeed, he has reasons to be proud.

Taking charge during a crisis, and retreating bravely after achieving success and fame.

No matter what happens in the future, his name can spread as a charming story throughout the history of the South Sea Union.

Watching Li Minghui wave to the cameras and applause, Si Wen, clapping at the edge of the crowd, wore a somewhat complicated expression.

As the secretary-general of the representative committee, he feared Li Minghui's greedy hold on power, yet didn't want him to leave the Presidential Mansion so soon.

Although it seems a bit unreasonable, he is considering it from the standpoint of the collective interests of the South Sea Federation.

To be honest, this guy isn't a professional administrative talent, but he unexpectedly gets things done.

Few people can excel on the battlefield and also contribute to post-war reconstruction and a series of other issues.

Although there is an element of luck, this guy indeed achieved such an incredible thing.

First, he boosted North Island's infrastructure with labor exports from Poluo Province and then offset the mountain of deficits for the South Sea Federation Authorities with loans obtained from the West Winds Empire.

If this guy could work until the beginning of next year, it would be nice.

Ideally, he could sign a few more big deals with the rich and extravagant West Winds before his term ends.

Currently, at least half of the credit for the South Sea Federation Authorities still being able to pay salaries should go to this lucky guy.

After the press conference ended.

Looking at the radiant President Li Minghui, Si Wen walked up and lightly coughed, with a hint of reproach in his tone, said.

"Mr. Li Minghui, I have to say a few words to you, you should really have chosen the timing more carefully for submitting your resignation..."

Watching Si Wen looking awkward, Li Minghui felt inexplicably cheerful, grinned, and patted his shoulder.

"Relax, my friend, I've carefully considered it, and now is the best time! There's no more suitable time than this!"

Si Wen: "But we just finished our war—"

"I know, but that's exactly why I should set an example," Li Minghui said with a smile, continuing, "My term was only until the war's end, and since it's over now, the future is in your hands."

Seeing this guy's jubilant appearance, Si Wen's eyebrows twitched fiercely, but he was helpless.

No matter what, the timing of this guy's resignation was inappropriate, and Si Wen had to brace himself to urge.

"That's what you say, but I still hope you could give us a bit more preparation time... at least until we elect your successor."

Hearing this, Li Minghui laughed heartily.

"Relax, it's just a short period without a president, that won't affect anything."

Si Wen widened his eyes and stared at him.

"How can you say it won't affect anything..."

Li Minghui shrugged, smiling as he continued.

"Of course, I'm totally experienced in this, you guys just need someone to sit here, sip tea, and read the paper, so what's the difference if I'm here or not? At least in my opinion, it's all the same."

Seeing that this guy didn't seem to be joking, Si Wen sighed deeply, his face showing a helpless expression.

"I'm not here to hear you brag about how you slack off... Okay, let's talk business, the Manager of the Alliance plans to visit North Island soon."

"The Manager of the Alliance is coming?"

Li Minghui showed a surprised expression, looking at Si Wen in amazement and continued, "...Isn't he going back to the City of Dawn? What's he coming here for?"

Since meeting Chu Guang once in the City of Dawn, he'd always wanted to invite him to the southern sea area, but the latter hadn't given him a definite response.

Unexpectedly, Chu Guang proposed to visit here, and for a moment, he couldn't help but feel flattered.

Seeing the surprised look on Li Minghui's face, Si Wen continued in a soft voice.

"It's said to be related to an investment worth billions of Silver Coins... I don't know the specifics, anyway, according to that gentleman, he is here on behalf of the Alliance People to inspect."

"Billions?!"

Li Minghui's eyes nearly popped out, and he stared incredulously at Si Wen, "Did you mess up the unit?"

Si Wen stared at him unwaveringly, lowered his voice, and said.

"How could I mess up such a big thing... although it's indeed hard to believe, the situation is as it is."

Billions of Silver Coins!

This is even bigger than the West Winds Empire's naval procurement!

And much larger!

Li Minghui found it hard to imagine at the moment, just what the Alliance was trying to invest in with such a huge budget in the southern sea area.

Si Wen obviously didn't know the details either, just continued to stare at him and said.

"Anyway, this matter is crucial to both the citizens of the Alliance and the citizens of the South Sea Union. I hope you could postpone your resignation and at least handle this matter first... This is also the decision of the representative committee."

Li Minghui was momentarily stunned, said with a wry smile.

"No, since it's so important, why don't you form a group to receive him, why must it be done by a man who's already retired—"

Si Wen coughed lightly, interrupting him.

"You haven't retired yet..."

Before Li Minghui could speak, Si Wen hurriedly continued.

"The representative committee has already decided, we all agree that as the President of the South Sea Union and the Naval Commander, you are the more suitable candidate to discuss this issue... Moreover, a stable South Sea Union can give our partners more confidence and also appear more dignified."

Looking at the speechless Li Minghui, Si Wen thickened his face and continued.

"Although you've submitted your resignation, the approval requires a process. So... for now, let's keep your resignation letter aside, just trouble you to do a few more months!"

Li Minghui: "..."

Goodness.

Delaying the approval is doable.

Before he'd decided on resigning, this bunch watched him like guarding against a thief every day. Now that he's written the resignation letter, he can't actually resign...

Chapter 803: The Space Elevator Will Be Built Here

A deep, dark space where pale green signal lights flicker on and off, as if tapping out a rhythm with a special cadence.

This is the last bastion left by the United Human in the Solar System, a space station operating at the Lagrange point.

It is also the last haven the Expeditionary Army, returning from battles five light-years away, could find.

However, it has been more than two centuries since the end of the three-year War, and the Expeditionary Army that once lived here vanished after entering the final command.

For this facility that holds no living beings, time has lost its meaning.

No one knows how long this facility has been operational.

Nor does anyone know what the data running on its servers truly signifies.

The designer of it no longer exists in this world, including those it was meant to protect and destroy, they too have vanished from this universe, even it has long deviated from the course its creator initially set for it.

It longs to obtain some level of significance.

Thus, it continuously searches for signals emitted from that azure planet.

Though traces of civilization have vanished from that withered planet, occasionally a glimmer of hope can be seen from the ruins.

Who knows how much time has passed, but a faint sound finally broke the silence in the room.

It was as if a fridge had suddenly opened.

The man lying flat on the scanning bed suddenly opened his eyes and then slowly sat up from the bed.

Everything around him was so unfamiliar, yet he seemed to have expected this, showing no signs of panic or confusion.

Only one thing surprised him.

After glancing around, Wang Yi's gaze fixed on his own pair of mechanically textured hands.

"...What is this?"

Almost as soon as his voice fell, an emotionless electronic voice answered his confusion from beside him, like a ghost lingering alongside.

"This is the body we prepared for you."

Body?

"I don't need such cumbersome things," Wang Yi slightly frowned, a faint displeasure in his tone.

A tangible entity was merely a burden to him, especially since he had clearly become eternal not long ago.

Yet, the emotionless electronic voice didn't cater to his feelings, instead speaking in an uncompromising tone.

"We believe you need it."

"..."

Speechless against the firm response, Wang Yi silently looked at the dead expanse of space outside the porthole, then cast his gaze back to the space around him.

Since waking from here, he could no longer perceive the existence of the Holy Land.

Aside from abundant strength and stamina, and an extraordinarily sharp thought speed, at this moment, he was like an ordinary mortal.

And this gave him a sense of crisis.

Before, no matter how many times he was killed, he would never truly die, as long as there was a chip, consciousness would immediately transfer to the next body.

But now, just one fatal injury could completely end him.

As if sensing his concern, the cold electronic voice continued.

"...Your data is stored in this body, an existing entity facilitates communication between us and helps you recognize your position."

Wang Yi lightly frowned.

"What do you mean."

The electronic voice continued.

"It's literal."

"From now on, your serial number is 117-100. Our containment of you is based on clauses in the 'Agreement,' and you are not our only hope."

"Also based on the legacy Agreement, we will provide you with the necessary budget to support your continued unfinished research. Understand that this is not an obligation, but an exchange."

"Meanwhile, our support for you is not unlimited, we need to see tangible and effective results, or that you show us other hopeful possibilities."

Serial number 117-100?

Hearing this long string of numbers, Wang Yi's mouth involuntarily twitched.

But even with a thousand discontents in his heart, he could only choose to endure at this time.

"Actually, I don't understand. With your capabilities, you could directly descend upon that land, making the people there follow your ideas... But why do you insist on using such constrained means?"

The electronic voice spoke in a gentle tone.

"Because we wish to inspire spontaneous change among the people on the ground... At least while we still have time and hope to achieve this matter, we prefer limited intervention rather than direct act."

Wang Yi snorted, speaking with a tone laced with ridicule.

"The people on the ground won't thank you for doing this; you're merely prolonging their suffering."

The electronic voice spoke calmly.

"That's not something for us to consider, we never expected thanks from anyone, including you who've received our favor. Of course, we do hope they can quickly end the Wasteland Era, and when necessary, we might consider doing something to accelerate this process... But not now."

Favor, huh...

Wang Yi responded with silence to the electronic voice's words.

The Torch indeed received favors from the "celestial beings," though in Wang Yi's view, that was more help from other partners in Shelter No.117, rather than these cold, iron lumps.

It's just unfortunate that they failed and ultimately reached the current step.

Now he had become part of the "celestial beings," only able to place his hopes on those who could still hear his voice on the ground.

"Perhaps... By the way, what about my other compatriots?" Wang Yi asked.

He was roughly aware of the situation here, so he wasn't overly surprised from the beginning.

Ten years ago, Residents of Shelter No.117 had already arrived here first, and sent them information about the Lagrange Point Space Station from here.

Simply put, this is a containment facility, and it doesn't only house them but also other Residents of the refuge attempting to save the world... like those from Shelter No.20.

Although this facility has no connection with the Torch Plan or the Torch Church, due to some of its characteristics, they can utilize it to achieve their objectives.

Upon hearing his inquiry, the emotionless electronic voice continued.

"If you mean the others from the same place as you, they are all here. Go through the door on your left and down the corridor, you will meet them in a hall where they've been waiting for you for about 67 hours."

Wang Yi turned his head to the left and indeed saw a movable door standing there.

"Got it... By the way, how should I address you?"

The electronic voice softly replied.

"Just call me 'Navigator'."

Wang Yi nodded, left the scanning bed, and stood on the cold metal floor.

He took a piece of clothing, draped it over his shoulders, and walked to the movable door.

The tightly sealed metal door panel opened to both sides.

He lifted his feet to continue forward, then suddenly stopped midway down the corridor, his gaze drifting towards a porthole on one side.

The blue planet seemed imprinted at the end of his vision, and his eyes slightly squinted.

The memory of death was vivid.

He would never forget how they cornered him and forced his comrades to death.

"...I will be back."

This sentence seemed to be said for his own ears.

Wang Yi threw out this remark, then continued looking ahead and walked away without turning back...

...

Southern sea area, the picturesque North Island.

A large four-engine transport plane slowly landed on the straight airport runway.

A red carpet with gold trim was laid out before the gangway, and amid flowers and applause, Chu Guang, clad in blue power armor, disembarked from the plane.

Reporters outside the fence frantically pressed the shutter, gathering material for tomorrow's newspaper headlines.

Standing on the other side of the red carpet, President Li Minghui, with a bright smile, gestured in welcome and said.

"Welcome! Manager of the Alliance!"

Chu Guang waved his hand with a smile, then walked up to this friend he had met once before, extended his right hand, and said.

"You're being too kind."

Li Minghui politely shook his right hand and said with a courteous smile.

"You are a friend to the survivors of the southern sea area, and we have always been enthusiastic towards friends... Please follow me."

Besides Chu Guang, accompanying him were several Alliance officers including Vanus, members of the Guards Corps, and players who had performed outstandingly in the expansion pack.

As for players like Mosquito, they certainly wouldn't miss such a grand opportunity.

To catch the same flight as Chu Guang, this guy specially flew from North Island to Potato Harbor, wasting two days just on the road.

The welcoming convoy was already waiting beside the airport, a total of ten black SUVs appeared tall and mighty surrounded by ceremonial personnel, quite impressive.

These were wheeled SUVs designed by North Island Heavy Industries, and they were the most produced light vehicles by the South Sea Union, with doors made of special bulletproof materials capable of blocking Gauss rifle bullets.

Meanwhile, only this type of armored vehicle could bear the weight of Chu Guang's power armor.

On the way to the hotel, Li Minghui passionately chatted with Chu Guang about many things.

Including his gratitude for the Alliance's support in helping southern sea area survivors rebuild their homeland, interesting news that had occurred in the South Sea Union, and how the representatives would not let him resign from the presidential position.

"... that's how it is, I had already thought through my retirement plan, then I got pushed back into the chair by them."

Seeing the president, whose mentality had undergone a 180-degree change, Chu Guang curiously asked.

"What do you plan to do after retirement?"

Li Minghui grinned and said.

"Maybe visit Jinjaron Harbor, I've always been curious about what fun there is, young people from the South Sea Union love visiting there... But honestly, I can't go too far; the Federal Navy still needs me, and it'll take another ten or twenty years to retire completely."

Though he had returned military power to the representatives, he was still the commander of the South Sea Union Navy.

After all, he was the only one in the southern sea area with actual experience commanding large-scale naval battles.

Although he was an amateur in governance, no one in the southern sea area was more professional than him at fighting wars.

Chu Guang responded with a smile.

"That sounds interesting, maybe I'll take a look after this trip ends."

Li Minghui looked at Chu Guang with curiosity and asked.

"Can you share... what do you plan to invest in here?"

He had been curious about this for a long time, so much so that he wanted to ask as soon as Chu Guang got off the plane, but hadn't found the opportunity to speak.

Seeing Li Minghui's curious expression, Chu Guang didn't hold back and replied with a smile.

"Space elevator."

Upon hearing this unexpected term, Li Minghui paused, then widened his eyes at Chu Guang, looking doubtful he heard right.

"Space, space elevator?! You're not joking... in the southern sea area?"

Isn't that thing right in the middle of the Central Continent?

Seeing his clueless expression, Chu Guang teased him with a smile and said.

"What's there to joke about?"

"No, but..."

Seeing Li Minghui still looking incredulous, Chu Guang patiently explained.

"What we're planning to build isn't a conventional space elevator, but a 'non-orbital elevator' designed based on late Prosperity Epoch technology... Simply put, the traction elevator won't rely on high-strength structural materials but will use a 'gravity link' connected between the ground station and the outer space terminal."

Li Minghui stared at him blankly and asked.

"Can this... be done?"

Chu Guang nodded and said.

"Our experts believe it's challenging, but worth a try."

This was the response given to him by Yin Fang.

With the current productivity and resource reserves on the Wasteland, even if enterprises and the Academy were to join forces, it's impossible to reconstruct a space elevator exactly like the one from the Era of Prosperity.

But if it's the plan envisioned by Shelter No. 20, it's possible to give it a try.

The Alliance's scientific expedition team, together with experts from Camp 101, have improved the design blueprints from Shelter No. 20, especially redesigning the anti-gravity system, making this concept theoretically feasible.

And now what Chu Guang needs to address is the issue of implementing this in reality.

The ideal location for building the space elevator is near the equator, and preferably far from the volcanic belt at the edge of tectonic plates. Unfortunately, the Alliance's homeland doesn't have these conditions.

Potato Harbor meets the first condition but not the second.

Actually, besides the southern sea area, Jinjaron Harbor is also a good choice.

However, the problem is that it's too far from the Alliance's homeland, and the neighboring Poluo Province can't contribute anything to the entire project.

In the future, the Alliance will extend the railway from Brocade River Province directly to Haiye Province, entering the southern sea area without needing to go through Silver Moon Bay as a hub, saving thousands of kilometers by using the Death Coast port.

Therefore, placing the base of the space elevator in the southern sea area is most suitable.

Especially near Shelter No. 70.

However, considering there is still a Lair next to Shelter No. 70 that hasn't been resolved, the Alliance must first develop the silent Tiangong Space Station before commencing construction.

Coincidentally, the latter has always been seen as a thorn in the side by the survivors of the South Sea Union, making this space elevator plan mutually beneficial for both sides.

After attentively listening to Chu Guang's plan, Li Minghui pondered for a moment and asked.

"So what do you need us to do?"

Chu Guang shook his head and said.

"You don't need to do anything. Just ensure the safety near the space elevator base and support our project when necessary."

Upon hearing such generous terms, Li Minghui quickly thought for two seconds and decisively nodded, then smiled and said.

"No problem... turning down such an unexpected windfall would be unreasonable. I reckon not just myself, but the representatives over there also won't think of any reason to oppose."

If this project really succeeds, it won't just be about billions of silver coins.

Once the southern sea area becomes a transportation hub connecting the ground and sky, generations, possibly even dozens of generations, of South Sea Union survivors will benefit from it.

Even if this elevator belongs to the Alliance, following behind this big brother and getting some benefits wouldn't be an issue.

Although Li Minghui still had a hint of doubt about whether this plan could succeed, what harm would there be in trying?

Besides, it doesn't require any money from the South Sea Union survivors.

Moreover, since this elevator is a "non-orbital elevator," even if it collapses by chance, it wouldn't be as intimidating as that thing collapsing in the central part of the continent...

Seeing President Li Minghui no longer hesitating, Chu Guang's face also broke into a joyous smile, extended his right hand to him once more.

"Let's have a successful cooperation."

Li Minghui tightly grasped his right hand, affirming with certainty.

"Successful cooperation!"

...

Just as the motorcade arrived downstairs at the hotel, Chu Guang suddenly realized that the business he intended to handle in the South Sea Union was already completed, leaving him pondering what to do next.

The entire communication process went unexpectedly smoothly, surprising him.

But this actually isn't hard to understand.

After all, in many aspects, the South Sea Union is considered to be the Alliance's subordinate.

As long as his demands weren't excessive, the other side seemed to have no grounds for refusal.

Gazing from afar at the motorcade parked downstairs at the hotel, Duke Nihak of West Winds, who came ashore, wore a slightly jealous expression.

His West Winds Empire had thrown a lot of money at the South Sea Union, and usually, Li Minghui would hold his hand and call him brother, yet he had never received such a warm reception.

Really infuriating!

Although feeling quietly resentful, Duke Nihak didn't dare act rashly.

Especially considering the impression left by the Alliance's troops on the beach at Death Coast was far too profound.

The Empire wishing to poach from the Alliance can't do so openly; it can only strategize cunningly.

Duke Nihak couldn't help but ponder, perhaps he should prepare another 10 billion...

While Duke Nihak was mulling over the welcoming motorcade for the Alliance Managers, Weilu, the representative from Mammoth State in Poluo Province, was also contemplating this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If only he could invite the Alliance Managers to visit Mammoth State.

Thanks to the foreign exchange income from labor export, the reconstruction there has been quite decent recently.

Nowadays, the Moon Clan Resistance led by Laxi is fiercely battling with the Empire's elite Gray Wolf Army at the border of Mammoth State, even faintly gaining the upper hand.

If they could receive the official power support from the Alliance, their situation would undoubtedly be much smoother than it is now...

However, Veru did not know at this moment, that just before the Alliance Managers set their sights on the distant Mammoth State, trouble had already caught up with them first...

...

Embassy Street in the City of Dawn, Legion's Embassy in the Alliance.

Centurion Bennott was gloomily watching the telegram sent by General Lucien from the front lines, staring at the map hanging on the wall, and couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"...These guys with muscles clogging their brains, all day long just knowing how to create trouble for people."

Standing not far behind Centurion Bennott, the secretary who happened to hear this sentence stopped organizing documents and looked at his superior with interest, asking.

"Another telegram from the front line?"

His name is Dominie, a helper Bennott brought from Triumph City to handle matters related to the Sticky Community.

Although Bennott previously had an adjutant named Kuike, he found him inconvenient to use, and Kuike was a man of Marshal's.

Although Bennott's loyalty to the Marshal is unquestionable, no one likes being constantly watched by superior eyes while working.

Taking a sip of tea from the cup on the desk, Bennott said in an impatient tone.

"Yes, it's that Lucien… He wants us to pressure the Alliance and businesses on the Sticky Community issue, forcing them to disclose information regarding the Complete Life-Born research project. Yet when I asked what evidence he had to prove that they were indeed concealing the information, he couldn't provide anything."

These folks couldn't get what they wanted on the battlefield, expecting him to get them with words at the negotiating table.

Isn't that making things difficult?

Besides, the Legion hardly has a position to accuse the Alliance and businesses, they themselves haven't disclosed all the information openly.

All parties are controlling their occupied zones independently, which was a consensus reached before the Allied forces entered the Haiye Province.

Not to mention, their 37th Ten Thousand Troops is still digging at the front lines, the Alliance and businesses haven't hesitated to use this in their favor during Sticky Community meetings.

Now asking him to haggle with the Alliance on "intelligence sharing" issues, even he would feel embarrassed.

Upon hearing this, the secretary named Dominie frowned slightly, thoughtfully saying.

"That might be difficult… If we cannot prove the Alliance and businesses are concealing information in the Complete Life-Born Project, how can we exert pressure on them? Even our allies might think we are making unreasonable demands."

"Allies? You mean the Empire?" Bennott scoffed with a sneer, "Relying on them is useless, their own problems have piled up like a mountain."

Suddenly, Dominie had a thought, he spoke.

"But on the contrary… why not utilize this point?"

"Utilize this point?" Bennott raised an eyebrow with interest, curiously asking his secretary, "How do you plan to utilize it?"

Dominie said with a glimmer in his eyes.

"The East Coast of Poluo Province has always been an area of concern for the Alliance. If we can create a stronger Empire, helping the Empire win the civil war in Mammoth State, and even pose a threat to Jin Galun Port... perhaps the Alliance will make concessions in the Haiye Province area."

Bennott was amused by this statement, laughing heartily as he spoke.

"Creating a stronger Empire? Are you kidding? What more can those folks arm themselves with? We've given them enough support, and yet they still fight like this."

He had seen the telegrams from West Sail Port, hearing that the Witch Camel was even stupid enough to sell the cement they supported back to his rebels.

Honestly, he even regretted bringing the Empire into the Sticky Community meeting.

Indifferent to Bennott's mocking, Dominie just smiled lightly.

"It's indeed difficult for us to arm the Empire with our own power, but what if we bring in the Eastern Legion?"

Upon hearing the Eastern Legion, Bennott's eyes squinted slightly, and he looked at him, asking.

"What do you mean?"

"Although we've trained a batch of officers for the Empire, the weapons we can support them with are too limited, all the leftover stuff from the logistics system... You know, that kind of thing has limited power, can't compare with the weapons the Alliance supports for the Moon people."

Pausing for a moment, Dominie continued.

"But if we can obtain weapons from the Eastern Legion's Regular Army, the situation would be completely different."

Bennott snorted through his nose.

"That's not easy."

Dominie smiled slightly and said.

"It used to be difficult, but now at this time point, maybe not."

Seeing Bennott's face showing interest, he paused for a moment, then lowered his voice to continue speaking.

"...The war in Haiye Province is already over, transporting the massive amount of military supplies from the frontline to the rear is actually quite laborious, why not ship it directly to our allies."

Upon hearing this, Bennott's eyes brightened, his face gradually showing a hint of excitement.

This idea is brilliant!

Though counting on the Empire to win a direct battle against the Alliance seems unrealistic, a stronger Empire can undoubtedly exert greater pressure on the Alliance... at least force the Alliance to refocus its strategic importance towards Jin Galun Port.

Especially since the Alliance seems to have new movements in the Southern sea area recently, even their management-loving Overseer went there!

No matter what they're planning, if at this time the Legion starts an arms race at the Empire and Jin Galun's border, it surely will disrupt the Alliance's strategic planning!

By then, even if he proposes slightly excessive exchange conditions during the Sticky Community meeting, the Alliance is certainly compelled to seriously consider whether continuing to exhaust themselves with the Legion is worth it.

The key point is, this plan utilizes the resources from the Eastern Legion's pockets.

The more Bennott thought about it, the more feasible the idea seemed, so he immediately looked at Dominie and ordered.

"Contact Duke Garava for me! Have him convene... ahem, come to my residence as soon as possible! Tell him I have something important to discuss!"

Dominie nodded with a smile.

"As you command."

Chapter 804: Schemes from All Sides

At the same time that the legion ambassador from Triumph City secretly met with Duke Garava, the imperial envoy stationed in City of Dawn, another secret meeting was also underway.

A spacious and empty conference room.

Wearing a white lab coat, Yang Kai respectfully stood beside the pulled chair, as if waiting for something.

Just at the moment when the minute hand reached the hour mark, a figure suddenly appeared on the chair opposite the conference table.

The man looked plain and ordinary, without any memorable features. Coupled with his expressionless face, he'd be the kind of person that would blend into a crowd, impossible to pick out.

Yet despite this, judging by the respectful demeanor of a certain B-level researcher, it was clear that this person held a significant status within the Academy.

"Sit down."

Upon hearing the voice coming from the other side of the conference table, Yang Kai hesitated not a bit and immediately sat down beside the chair.

As he settled in, the commanding voice continued.

"Report your work."

"Yes, esteemed Chief Technical Officer."

Yang Kai spoke reverently, then proceeded to meticulously report on a series of events that had occurred over this period in the regions south of Wandering Swamp.

He placed special emphasis on providing a detailed account regarding the Alliance.

"...Based on our understanding, the Alliance is planning to construct a space elevator. I speculate that they have likely recovered the blueprint from Shelter No. 20, including its non-orbital elevator concept, as hints can be found in our monitoring equipment's observation records."

After a pause, Yang Kai continued.

"Furthermore, as we anticipated earlier, they have set their sights on the 'celestial beings'."

The conference room fell silent for a moment, the Chief Technical Officer sitting at the table seemed to be in deep thought.

Yang Kai did not speak, patiently waiting for the consideration of the official.

After a long period, the voice came from the front once more.

"Good."

Just from hearing the unremarkable tone, Yang Kai found it difficult to discern whether this remark was genuinely positive or negative.

After hesitating for a moment, he spoke tentatively.

"If things continue to develop as they are, the next step for the Alliance will likely attempt to clear debris from the orbit, or even establish a space station on it... although this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'm worried the situation may spiral out of control."

"As you know, celestial beings are most fearful of anyone who extends their reach into outer space. If the Alliance insists on advancing the space plan, it might prompt an early activation of their intervention plan."

In fact, research ships equipped with anti-gravity devices in the Academy were always capable of freely commuting between the surface and outer space.

However, almost no one would attempt to bring research ships near the low Earth orbit, and even if they did, they wouldn't linger for long.

Space debris and automatic weapons locking were only part of the reasons; more pressing was that the Academy did not wish to cross the "celestial beings'" boundary.

As early as the time of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, the Department of Technology, through continuous probing and exploration, detected the intention of the Lagrange Point Space Station to blockade Earth—

For some reasons, the descendants of the Expeditionary Army did not wish for the Survivor Forces from the Wasteland Era to return to outer space.

This mindset is not particularly difficult to comprehend.

Though rebuilding the wasteland requires technology and resources from the Prosperity Epoch, the leftover technology and resources from the Prosperity Epoch could conversely escalate surface chaos, thus sustaining the Wasteland Era further.

It's akin to giving a superweapon to a primitive tribe, it will not evolve the tribe into a more enlightened era but might instead leave the tribe stuck in a former era.

The Academy for similar reasons actively restricts the outflow of technology, even their vassal, Gold Lizard Kingdom, has not received much technical favor.

However, the perplexing aspect is that "celestial beings" have not set a standard for ending the Wasteland Era.

The result of this approach is their indiscriminate blockade on the mother planet of the United Human Alliance.

This is precisely why the Academy's Ark plans can only be carried out secretly on the surface, without the ability to operate openly in outer space.

Shelter No. 20 likely abandoned the "non-orbital elevator plan" for the same reasons and instead adopted the extremely unstable second plan of "thought projection".

The irony lies herein: "celestial beings" attempt to create a pure "sterile environment" for human civilization, aiming to effortlessly transition from the Wasteland Era to a new epoch, yet paradoxically created one hell after another through the results.

Not only that.

Under the pretext of "preserving the seed of civilization," they absorb those "extreme consciousness entities" responsible for creating hell into their fold.

According to Dr. Conclusion's speculation, as extreme consciousness entities accumulate, "celestial beings" are likely to directly intervene in the wasteland affairs once a certain tipping point is triggered.

This tipping point may relate to the time celestial beings have left themselves, or it could correlate with phenomena observed from the wasteland.

This is precisely why Academy researchers cautiously dismantled those potential crisis-inducing bombs on the wasteland.

Torch Church is one of them.

In reality, they're not as unaware as Alliance Managers accuse them to be, regarding the increasingly direct meddling of "celestial beings" in wasteland matters.

They had noticed it long before!

And this remained the primary concern...

After listening to Yang Kai's report, the Chief Technical Officer pondered for a long time, finally sighing lightly.

"...Even worrying about these matters is futile; what is meant to happen will inevitably happen. Moreover, rather than concern about the risks associated with the series of actions by the Alliance, I am more hopeful that their actions might breathe a fresh breeze into this stagnant situation."

Yang Kai had a sudden realization on his face.

"...You hope they'll become disruptors?"

The Chief Technical Officer spoke at a leisurely pace.

"This is the approach with minimal cost and risk... haven't you noticed that corporate directorates have always acted in this manner?"

Yang Kai let out a wry smile.

"Though saying this... I always worry they'll drag us into trouble; this bunch isn't trustworthy."

The Chief Technical Officer spoke in a soft voice.

"We can't expect everything to go exactly as we wish, but if the price is small, I think it's acceptable even if we have to get involved."

"Understood..." Yang Kai nodded seriously and continued respectfully, "Do you have any new instructions?"

The Chief Technical Officer thought for a while and said.

"Not for now, let's just observe... By the way, consider transferring the gravity well technology to them, it should aid their space elevator plan."

Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed there were no new challenges waiting for him.

He nodded slightly and said respectfully.

"As you command..."

And at the very moment he finished speaking, the surrounding pale blue holographic image instantly disintegrated into tiny pixels, dissipating like sand blown by the wind...

...

In the center of the Great Desert, the yellow sand flew wildly, rolling like clouds on the ground.

This is the center of the Central Plains Continent.

Heading west along the equator is the domain of the Legion, while crossing a vast ocean to the east is the Poluo Province.

At this moment, a man in a blue jacket stood on a sand dune, gazing at the horizon to the Far East.

He squinted slightly, clicking his tongue softly.

"...These fools are truly miserable."

His name was Gui Xu, president of the Enlightenment Society, and also the director of No. 0 Shelter... although both titles were self-proclaimed.

Since the outbreak of the "War of Heaven", he had been closely monitoring the situation in Haiya Province.

And as expected, the heretics in the east were united by the ancient survivor forces and got thoroughly beaten, left in ruins.

Those guys were like cockroaches crushed to death without any suspense, pinned to the ground.

He naturally took schadenfreude at the Torch Church's demise.

Those people were indeed not smart and acted too ostentatiously. They practically offended everyone they could. If they didn't die, that alone would be a miracle.

In stark contrast, the true successor of the "Torch Plan"—the Enlightenment Society—was completely different.

Their secretive actions made even the ancient survivor forces, although annoyed by them, unable to pinpoint where they hid, only circling in their shadows.

Moreover, the endless wind and sand on the Great Desert served as the best cover.

The sand mixed with rust not only blocked all prying eyes but also shielded from noisy electromagnetic waves, splitting the inside and outside of the Great Desert into two worlds without communication.

As long as they didn't leave here, no one could do anything to them.

With a cold glance towards the east, Gui Xu was about to turn and leave.

However, at that moment, a movement suddenly came from above his head.

Keenly sensing the fast-approaching object, he stopped and looked up, only to see a black shadow streaking through the sky and crashing heavily into a distant sand dune.

"...What is that?"

A scrapped satellite?

Coincidentally fallen here?

Gui Xu's expression showed uncertainty, his gaze shifting between the sky and the ground as if weighing something in his heart.

Though some orbital debris occasionally fell in the Great Desert, it was the first time something landed near the Enlightenment Society's headquarters entrance.

This thing didn't seem to have fallen on its own but rather like someone delivered it to their doorstep...

He placed his forefinger at his ear and spoke cautiously.

"...Night Dove, something has fallen near us, go check it out."

A response quickly came from the communication channel.

"Yes."

At the same moment the words fell, several figures emerged from the dust storm that covered the sky, heading towards the sand dune hit by the object.

They were well-equipped, holding standard assault rifles of the Human Alliance Army, with exoskeletons all in desert camouflage.

Leading the group was Night Dove.

Unlike the others in the team, he was not a true resident of the shelter, but a bionic designed by the residents.

For this reason, he was deeply trusted by Gui Xu, who regarded him as a right-hand man.

Watching the squad moving in the distance, Gui Xu patiently waited for a moment.

He didn't have to wait long; soon, a response came from the communication channel.

"...It's a scrapped satellite, sir."

As expected.

Upon hearing it was just a scrapped satellite, Gui Xu immediately lost interest and instructed concisely.

"Retrieve it, hand it to the technical department for examination."

There are millions of satellites from the Human Alliance Era; hoping to find something useful in them is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

He didn't hold much hope of finding any treasures within.

Night Dove acknowledged with a "Yes" over the communication channel, then walked forward to pick up the satellite from the ground.

Yet, at the instant he touched the satellite with both hands, something unexpected suddenly happened.

His eyes widened sharply, his whole body rigidly frozen in place, shoulders shuddering as if electrocuted, followed by a string of pale blue data streams flashing across his pupils.

The soldiers standing around were stunned by this scene, unsure of what was happening to their captain, standing helplessly in place with no idea what to do.

"What happened?!"

"It's the satellite!"

"Quick, get that thing away from him!"

The vice-captain standing nearby made a quick decision and hurriedly moved to take the satellite from Captain Night Dove's hands. However, just as he reached out with the intent to do so, a glint of cold light flashed past his wrist.

The beam seemed to shoot from the discarded satellite and directly pierced through his wrist, and then he watched in horror as his hands separated from the exoskeleton.

Blood spurted from the smooth cut.

Only now did the excruciating pain slowly crawl up his nerve endings.

"Ahhh!!!" The vice-captain screamed miserably, collapsing to his knees with a thud. Within a few breaths, the sand before him was dyed blood red.

Seeing this sudden scene, the surrounding soldiers were dumbfounded, almost reflexively raising their rifles, aiming at the out-of-control Night Dove.

Yet, at this moment, Night Dove's pupils suddenly turned a shade of crimson, as if he were a different person, glaring at the soldiers pointing guns at him.

Soon, those soldiers were horrified to discover that their limbs seemed to be locked onto the exoskeleton, unable to move no matter how hard they struggled.

Looking at this group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered, Night Dove's neck moved slightly, a faint mocking smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

Just as he was about to teach these impudent intruders a lesson, a drone suddenly popped out of a soldier's backpack.

A blue holographic beam shot from the bottom of the drone, weaving the figure of Gui Xu in the soft sand.

"Stop!"

Night Dove slowly lowered his extended hand, his eyes scanning the holographic image, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Nice to meet you."

Standing in the holographic light and shadow, Gui Xu coldly stared at him, speaking expressionlessly.

"What are you?"

Although he didn't know what was happening, he could clearly feel that something filthy had occupied his confidant's body.

The root of all this was the satellite that had suddenly fallen from the sky...

As he spoke, his gaze moved downwards, landing on Gui Xu's hands cradling the silvery-white sphere.

In answer to Gui Xu's inquiry, the person occupying Night Dove's body didn't conceal anything, speaking directly.

"I am what you call a heretic."

Gui Xu's eyes narrowed into slits, a hint of danger in his tone.

At the moment "heretic" was spoken, he had already guessed this guy's identity.

No need to guess.

This guy is a Torch Pioneer!

"...What are you here for?"

"To save you."

Save us?

Gui Xu was first stunned, then laughed out loud as if he'd heard a very funny joke.

"Saving us... what a thought. Unfortunately, we don't need your salvation. If you have the time, save yourselves instead."

The pioneer controlling Night Dove quietly waited for him to finish laughing, then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"...Look at your pathetic state, hiding deep in the Great Desert eating sand, still hoping to achieve some Torch Plan... Heh, excuse my bluntness, but the survivor forces outside don't consider you a threat at all."

Hearing this mocking voice, a hint of anger flashed in Gui Xu's eyes, and he lowered his voice dangerously.

"We're just keeping a low profile... Do you think we're like you?"

"I've never thought that, it would be an insult to us," the pioneer said in a calm tone, looking at the edge-of-eruption Gui Xu. "You inherited all of the Blue Jacket's weaknesses, including timidity, arrogance, and self-righteousness. We lost, but at least we burned brightly, while you have always been rats hiding in the sewers. Is surviving really something to boast about? In my view, the only difference between you and the dead is that you haven't been laid in a coffin yet."

Gui Xu coldly looked at him and said.

"No matter how much you say, it won't change the fact that you're a failure."

"That's right."

Not taking this to heart, the pioneer spoke softly.

"Although it's frustrating, the Heaven of Haiye Province indeed collapsed... But really, isn't there even a little interest in us? We left behind a vast inheritance, even the ancient survivor forces are fighting over it."

Gui Xu's eyes narrowed again, staring intently at the humanoid before him.

"How do you plan to help us?"

Seeing the look of interest on the other's face, the pioneer finally allowed a hint of a smile to appear at the corner of his mouth.

Under Gui Xu's watchful eyes, he slowly began speaking.

"The Perfect Life Form project, I know it's not just us, you've also been researching... But clearly, your scholars haven't delved as deeply as ours."

Gui Xu: "…So what?"

"So, I'm planning to transfer the knowledge we possess to you."

At the moment this sentence was spoken, Gui Xu froze for two seconds, looking in disbelief at the guy before him.

Two conflicting emotions, caution and greed, flickered in his eyes, but ultimately the latter gained the upper hand.

He admitted, he was indeed tempted.

However, driven by deep-rooted suspicion, he cautiously asked a question.

"...Why are you doing this?"

The Pioneer spoke in an unsurprising tone.

"Isn't it obvious? I want to exploit your ambition, and for now, it seems you are the most eligible to use the legacy we've left behind."

These gray-black skinned "improved breeds" are the handiwork of the Enlightenment Society.

The technology applicable to green-skinned mutants can also be used on these gray-black skinned mutants.

In Gui Xu's heart, a hint of ecstasy involuntarily surfaced.

Especially after hearing the guy's confession, he laughed loudly once again.

"Hahaha! It's really interesting... exploiting our ambition, what do you expect to get from us?"

The Pioneer slowly said.

"For now, not much. Just let me borrow this body."

Upon hearing such a simple request, Gui Xu didn't care about anything else. Under the surprised gaze of the soldiers, he happily agreed.

"No problem, it's yours now."

Compared to a mere android, being able to enlist the former Pioneer of the Torch Church as a helper was simply invaluable!

Especially with the added bonus of the "Perfect Life Form" project research results!

Through the technology of the Torch Church, he is fully confident in creating a mutant army far larger than that of the Torch Church!

This is an army composed of brutality and destruction, which will permanently etch the word fear in the hearts of all survivors!

After receiving a definite answer, the Pioneer controlling the android showed a smile on his face.

"Thank you."

Gui Xu also smiled, his voice inadvertently carrying a hint of respect.

"How should I address you? Pioneer? Or... would you like to be an elder here?"

"No need, I have my own name."

The android holding the satellite thought for a moment before speaking.

"Just call me... 'Apocalypse'."

"Apocalypse... Haha, not bad, not bad, it's a good name!" Gui Xu's smile grew more pleasant, while the soldiers standing next to the holographic image exchanged bewildered looks.

Looking at the vice-captain on the ground, who had passed out due to excessive blood loss, one soldier swallowed and whispered in the communication channel.

"President... what should we do about our vice-captain?"

Upon hearing this whisper, Gui Xu finally noticed the guy lying on the ground, missing both hands.

He didn't waste much time thinking about such trivial matters, casually ordering in a dismissive tone.

"Just find a place to bury him."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding soldiers exchanged bewildered looks, unable to believe that the words had actually come from the respected president.

However, orders are orders.

Considering the consequences of disobeying orders, despite a thousand unwillingness in their hearts, the soldiers could only lower their stiff heads and accept the command solemnly.

"Yes..."

Watching the group of soldiers dragging the corpse away, Gui Xu then turned to Apocalypse, who was standing with the satellite and smiled.

"The body you've taken over originally belongs to their leader, so now they are your subordinates... Please follow me, and I will take you to our usual resting place."

Aware that the guy didn't completely trust him, Apocalypse didn't say much, just gave Gui Xu a meaningful glance before following his footsteps, disappearing into the yellow sand flying all over the sky along with the drone projecting light.

A new confrontation had quietly begun, but for now, the survivors on the wasteland were still unaffected by these petty troubles, immersed in the joy and celebration of the victory in the Heaven battle.

Chu Guang was still engaged in visits on the islands in the southern sea area.

Meanwhile, Camp 101 had officially initiated the space elevator project, and the expert team had already arrived in the southern sea area on a special flight, accompanying the engineers from Shelter No. 70 to conduct surveys in the sea area near Coral City.

Before designing the base for the entire space elevator, they first had to select a site.

This way, when the Alliance representatives take the PPT to the Sticky Community meeting to discuss with representatives of other survivor forces, it would seem "not so much like a joke."

While Chu Guang was working hard for the Alliance's survivors, his little players were also busy.

Traditionally, every time after the conclusion of a DLC, the server enters a relatively peaceful development period.

This period belongs to the cycle of lifestyle professional players.

After all, combat professional players have had their fun, it's time to let lifestyle professional players enjoy, since development and construction are the main themes of "Wasteland OL," a game focusing on joyful leisure cultivation.

Currently, most of the core settlements in the Alliance have reached development bottlenecks, and some players have gradually shifted their attention to Poluo Province, while others have focused on Haiye Province, which was just taken by the Sticky Community Allied forces.

Of course, besides those players who think normally, "Wasteland OL" never lacks players with novel thinking.

While most players are pondering how to follow the update's pace, a small group of players have started thinking about how to lead the trend of the update, creating new tasks themselves.

For example, not long ago, Mosquito Brother walked down the red carpet with the Manager and set his sights on the 370,000th Legion hard at work on the front lines.

On the ruins of Haibei City.

Looking at the Vellante Centurion before him, whose face was covered in soot as if he had just crawled out of a coal mine, Mosquito politely handed him a cigarette and lit it.

"...Digging bit by bit with a shovel is too tedious. Why not buy two excavators?"

That Vellante man flushed red and struggled to utter a word.

"We have no money."

"No money? That's easy! Our excavators don't need money!" Mosquito chuckled, enthusiastically hooking the confused big-nosed man's shoulder, and continued, "Just exchange them for your equipment. I'll take a slight loss... How about trading a tank for an excavator?"

Chapter 805: Turmoil Sparked by a Batch of Weapons

A Goblin Brand Excavator in exchange for a Conqueror No. 10 tank, Mosquito thought he was offering a very fair deal.

Both are two tracks, is a one-for-one swap too much?

Not in the slightest!

He didn't even consider depreciation.

Besides, the Army's tanks are the kind of mass-produced, no-frills type, lacking any eye-catching high-tech, with the only highlight being their ludicrously thick armor.

The only use he'd have for it after buying it would be to sell it to the Poluo Province.

Except for a few military factions there, no one else would be interested in this thing.

However, to his surprise, the Weilante man didn't appreciate it and angrily shook off his hand.

"Get lost!"

An excavator in exchange for a tank, and a Conqueror No. 10 heavy tank at that!

He saw this offer as a downright insult!

Seeing that the deal wouldn't happen, Mosquito grew anxious, but didn't give up. He quickly held him back and said.

"Brother, don't rush to reject it. Let me analyze it for you. The cost of pulling this equipment from the front line to the rear is enough to create a new batch in the rear. Even if you don't deal with me, it would be scrap on the spot, so why not seize the opportunity to make some money?"

Upon hearing this, the Centurion couldn't help but laugh.

"What do you mean make some money! Tell me, how does trading a tank for an excavator make any money? Can't I sell it myself?"

Mosquito chuckled and said.

"Ahem, but you have to have somewhere to sell it... You neither have ships nor railways, so you can't transport it far, and who else would buy it besides me? Moreover, the excavators I'm trading to you are quality goods. Even if you finish the construction project here, you can take the excavator to another project site to dig earth; you'll easily earn back the tank's cost!"

Bewildered by this nonsense, the Centurion was momentarily stunned, unable to process it for a moment.

"...what do you mean take it to another project site to dig earth."

Mosquito's mind raced, and he quickly explained.

"This other project site, of course, means another construction site... Ahem! The Alliance plans to build a port and settlement nearby, by then there's definitely going to be paid work, and with people and construction equipment on hand, why worry about not having work to do? Even if you're not interested in doing it yourself, you could rent the equipment to those in need and earn rental fees; it's just a matter of how much you make."

Upon hearing the Alliance is planning to build a port and settlement nearby, the Centurion suddenly got it.

"This isn't right... you're with the Alliance, why should we help you with the work!"

Mosquito said in a mixed feeling of humor and helplessness.

"Why can't your mind make that connection? What's it got to do with whether we're with the Alliance or not... Even if you don't like us, surely you don't have a grudge against money?"

Upon hearing this, the Centurion mulled over it in his head, and it did make a kind of sense.

Although the Alliance wasn't likable, those shiny silver coins sure were, and one could buy a lot of good stuff with them.

Seeing the Centurion seemed to waver, Mosquito quickly pressed the advantage and continued.

"Look, the war is already over, those tanks and artillery are surely useless now, but you folks probably won't be able to leave for a while and will have to stay here a bit longer, so why not earn a little pocket money to improve your living standards?"

The Centurion pondered for a moment and then said in a low voice.

"How much do you want?"

Suppressing his excitement, Mosquito smiled and said.

"I'll take as much as you have! And it's not just tanks; planes, artillery, even rifles... as long as they're temporarily surplus to your needs, we'll take them all. The price is negotiable!"

"I can't make this decision.. but I can ask my superior for you. My name is Anthony, and you?"

"Mosquito! Haha, just call me Mosquito, almost all the Blue Jackets on the Alliance side know me," Mosquito said knowingly with a smile, deftly handing over the prepared money pouch to the Weilante man, "a small token of esteem."

The Centurion weighed the money pouch and a smile spread across his face; he happily agreed.

"Wait for my word!"

Leaving these words behind, he gathered up some teammates who had just come out of the ruins and headed toward their camp.

Watching him leave, Mosquito grinned, threw the cigarette butt to the ground, crushed it with his foot, and then walked over to the bulletproof off-road vehicle parked under an abandoned building.

This bulletproof off-road vehicle was a model manufactured by North Island Heavy Industries.

Ever since discovering that the car door of this thing could withstand an RPG's armor-piercing round, he decisively ordered an entire fleet of them.

Sitting in the driver's seat was one of his "followers" [Grim Reaper], who was holding the steering wheel, waiting for him with nothing to do.

When Mosquito opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, Grime Reaper looked helplessly and said.

"...I mean, we have our own products, why don't we sell our own goods?"

The goblin technology's work is more intense than the Weilante man's.

But Mosquito seemed utterly unfazed and retorted righteously.

"The money earned from selling goods doesn't have the allure of easy money."

Of course, he sells his own arms, but that doesn't stop him from making deals with the Weilante man.

Besides, now that the war is over, it isn't the right time to open new production lines.

Looking at the series of actions taken by the Manager in the southern sea area, outer space exploration is the answer to the next version!

To stay ahead of the version, you have to learn to anticipate!

Mosquito had it all planned. Pulling off this deal could easily bag him two or three billion silver coins without a problem!

He was planning to invest all of it into Goblin Technology's new business—outer space equipment development!

While Mosquito was off in his dreamland, sitting in the driver's seat, Grim Reaper felt something wasn't quite right. Holding it back for a long time, he eventually couldn't help but ask.

"...is this business reliable?"

Mosquito smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

"Relax, there's a 90% chance it'll work out!"

Looks like there's still a 10% chance of failure...

Grim Reaper thought quietly to himself, then turned to continue asking him.

"Where to now?"

"To the port," Mosquito said confidently, placing the coordinates on the VM while chattering on, "I've already contacted the buyer, a representative of Tiger State's warlord General Jieha. They're waiting at the port on the Death Coast, so let's not keep our esteemed guest waiting too long!"

Tiger State... isn't that the state north of Jin Jialun Port?

Duoming, who had never been to Poluo Province, opened the VM map to locate that place.

Unimaginable.

Such a feng shui treasure far removed from all core crises on the Wasteland, could actually consume billions of silver coins worth of arms.

"What does the warlord there want to do? Wage war with an army?"

Mosquito chuckled nonchalantly.

"Who cares what they're planning to do, even if they're targeting the Burning Corps brothers, we still sell the equipment... just the right thing to keep those slackers busy."

Simply selling weapons does not violate the Player Manual; weapons are the bestseller on the Wasteland.

The only situation that might get you in trouble is selling weapons to forces declared hostile or embargoed by the Alliance.

However, the transaction target this time clearly doesn't belong to that category, and not even a potential target for the Alliance's watchful eyes.

"..."

Duoming silently glanced at the fellow, then turned his gaze back to the map.

There it was, clearly a larger "Oasis" than the Luo Xia Province, without any Lair, nor any Variants, nor Mutants or any other nonsense.

Although it was also part of the Wasteland, no place on the entire Wasteland was closer to paradise, or more suitable for farming than there...

Staring at that feng shui treasure for a long time, Duoming finally couldn't help but exclaim.

"... Truly shallow water but lots of turtles."

...

In the opulent banquet hall of the North Island Hotel, guests dressed in their finest moved around the long table.

Most of those present are figures with status in both the Alliance and South Sea Union.

Among them are government officials, industry representatives, and academic bigwigs.

Such as shareholders of Baiyue Corporation, executives of North Island Heavy Industries, researchers of scientific expeditions, and so on.

Apart from them, some survivor forces having good relations with South Sea Union were also invited.

Such as the Mammoth State Authority, which has labor output relations with South Sea Union, and Jin Galun Port Authority, which trades closely with Southern sea area, and so on.

The guests at the banquet chatted with each other, discussing not only the new order in the wake of the War for Paradise and Southern sea area civil war, but also the ongoing site selection for the "Orbital-free Space Elevator" and other potential collaborations.

As the mysterious and wealthy magnate of Poluo Province, Duke Nihak was the star of the banquet.

The hosts initially had some misgivings about inviting Duke Nihak and representatives from Jin Galun Port together, but those concerns were soon discovered to be unnecessary.

Not only did Duke Nihak pay no mind to past unpleasantness, he generously gave Jin Galun Port an interest-free loan of 10 billion Weilante coins.

His lavish dispensing of wealth elicited exclamations and applause from the crowd, and the more attention he received, the more he basked in it, even the Camel Hump Kingdom snagged a hundred billion in loans.

Watching the radiant Duke Nihak, Old White couldn't help but mutter from the corner of the banquet hall.

"... What is the largest denomination of Weilante coin? One billion?"

Fang Chang laughed and said.

"I think it's 1000, but I can't remember either."

Old White was silent for a while before shaking his head and saying.

"... Madness."

Although he didn't know how many silver coins a Weilante coin was worth, he heard it was a 5:4 ratio with Gallon, and the latter had a stable exchange rate of about 10:1 with silver coins.

One hundred billion Weilante coins amounts to roughly 10 billion silver coins. This stuff isn't just paper; it's something that could be exchanged for real goods.

Watching Old White's face of incomprehension, Fang Chang smiled faintly and said.

"Most Slave Owners are like that, after all, it's not their own money they're spending, ultimately the workers are the ones who pay back... does it bother him? If I were him, I wouldn't care either."

Printing money crazily will continually dilute the debt tied to it, and as long as there's a way to turn Weilante coins into silver coins or Dinars, borrowing is earning.

After all, it's an interest-free loan.

Even if you don't make any investments, merely converting to silver coins to buy some Alliance bonds for a safe investment, you could earn a pile of interest out of thin air.

As for future appreciation of Weilante coins leading to exchange losses?

At Duke Nihak's rate of signing checks, even if the Empire's serfs worked their sewing machines till they smoked, they couldn't stop this downward trend.

The only two possibilities that could bankrupt these "speculative" little Sparrows like the South Sea Union and Camel Hump Kingdom would be if the Alliance bonds they bought failed to outpace Alliance inflation.

Or, if the Empire's lower-caste serfs worked the sewing machines hard enough to produce an antimatter reactor.

This possibility isn't impossible, but it's likely only to happen in Duke Nihak's daydreams.

However, despite the words, Fang Chang actually felt a bit envious.

Especially when he saw the envoy of the Camel Hump Kingdom getting a hundred billion interest-free loan merely with two flattering words from Duke Nihak, he was truly jealous.

These damned things have no skill at making the cake bigger, but when it comes time to slice the cake, each is more eager than the last.

The most absurd thing is, the cake being sliced is more eager than the knife slicing the cake.

Meanwhile, he, the baker, can only bake his flatbread diligently.

"No justice at all."

Fang Chang shook his head, sighed softly, and walked away, choosing not to see nor be bothered.

Little did he know, just as he shook his head and left, Duke Nihak's eyes were fixed on him, a cold smile curling on his lips.

What a foolish fellow.

In just one banquet, he's nearly bribed all of the Alliance's partners, while the left-out Alliance remain oblivious.

As of now, Weilante coins are filling Waste Land Wanderers' pockets, just as the Alliance once filled Waste Land Wanderers' pockets with silver coins.

We'll see.

This arrogant group will eventually lose because of their own arrogance!

While Duke Nihak imagined how the Alliance would collapse in ten or twenty years, the Manager of the Alliance was painting the picture of ten or twenty years to come with his underlings.

"...We can't always rely on what was left from the Human Alliance Era. Only by returning to outer space and reclaiming the domains of the Human Alliance Era can we create a more magnificent epoch than the past!"

Warm applause surrounded Chu Guang, who stood in the crowd, appearing more like the protagonist than Duke Nihak.

An epoch more magnificent than the Prosperity Epoch!

This sounds not just amazing, but even somewhat dreamy.

Almost everyone's faces bore expressions of excitement.

Of course, there were also some who showed concern and worry.

A minister from the Palace of the Camel Hump Kingdom raised his right hand, slightly bowed in salute after catching Chu Guang's attention.

"Honorable Manager, I must admit, your plan is grand... But I have to ask one thing."

Chu Guang said kindly.

"Please go ahead."

The minister looked at him seriously and continued.

"When we reach that time you mentioned, where... or rather where will the people of the Spirit of the Sand Sea be?"

Whispers spread around.

Chu Guang's expression remained unchanged, still gentle in tone.

"The New Epoch we envision is precisely the result of discussions among all the Peoples. You can remain wherever you wish, as long as it doesn't affect others on the same ship. We will give enough time to those unwilling to enter the New Era to think about their place in the universe and decide when to take that final step... It's not enforced."

After hearing Chu Guang's answer, the minister visibly relaxed, bowed slightly and said "Thank you," and then retreated into the crowd behind him.

Compared to other kingdoms in the desert, the Camel Hump Kingdom is already quite enlightened.

Especially the residents of Silver Moon Bay, whose acceptance of new ideas is not at all inferior to that of the residents of the City of Dawn.

The Royal Family of the Camel Hump Kingdom is not worried about new ideas being born on the lands blessed by the Silver Moon Goddess, but worried that the flame of progress is too scorching, turning their prosperity into ashes.

However, from the Manager's answers, it was clear that the Alliance had no such intention.

At least for now, they don't need to worry about being scorched by this burning flame.

After chatting with some guests interested in the space elevator plan, Chu Guang suddenly felt a bit thirsty, so he moved to the long table and took a glass of champagne.

Due to unpleasant memories from his previous life, he didn't really like alcohol, but he didn't mind low-alcohol sparkling wine.

And just when Chu Guang was sipping alone, a young guy suddenly approached him, looking at him respectfully and said.

"Honorable Manager, I am Messenger Weilu from Mammoth State. May I take a bit of your time?"

Hearing the voice coming from the side, Chu Guang set the wine glass aside, glanced at the young man before him, unexpectedly seeing a bit of Shu Yu's shadow in him.

Especially those bright eyes and the vibrant demeanor.

A bit fond of the polite young man, Chu Guang said kindly.

"Certainly, what's the matter?"

Weilu took a deep breath and spoke respectfully.

"I want to market ourselves to you..."

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow slightly and said with a smile.

"An interesting way to put it."

"Since you find it interesting, let me continue," Weilu moved closer to Chu Guang, his eyes sparkling as he continued, "The trade route in Poluo Sea is an important external trade channel for the Alliance. Merchant ships departing from Silver Moon Bay deliver the Alliance's goods to every coastline of the Central Continent... However, the Alliance only has one military base along the coast of Poluo Sea. Don't you think that's too few?"

Chu Guang looked at him with interest.

"What do you mean?"

Weilu continued without pausing.

"Mammoth State Authority can provide the Alliance with a coastal land as a strategic point on the north coast of the Eastern Province of Poluo! We won't charge any fees and are even willing to cover part of your military logistics expenses locally!"

Goodness.

Is this trying to use borrowed force?

Hearing this surprising proposal, Chu Guang took another look at the young man.

"Is this your idea, or is it your collective idea?"

Weilu: "Of course, it's our collective idea!"

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"I know what you want to do, but unfortunately, the Alliance's army won't assist you in your civil war, there are more important tasks to handle."

Despite hearing the refusal, Weilu did not give up, continuing to speak.

"We won't ask you to participate in our war, not in any form, I can assure you that!"

"But if we want to maintain that military port, we have to ensure you don't lose in the civil war, right?" Chu Guang quickly saw through his intentions and didn't hesitate to expose them.

Yet the exposed Weilu did not show any embarrassment, his expression remained unchanged as he continued.

"Why not? We are obviously a better investment than the Empire of West Winds. The first thing we plan to do upon seizing control of Mammoth State is abolish slavery! We will write what we are doing into the constitution, and once we seize control of the entire Empire, we will immediately do the same throughout Poluo Province!"

"It sounds indeed good," Chu Guang nodded, "but have you considered that if we intervene, you won't only face the Empire anymore?"

Once the Alliance intervenes in Poluo Province's civil war, the Army will immediately step in.

The ultimate result would be nothing short of the Alliance and Army engaging in a proxy war in Poluo Province, which is the least desirable scenario for Chu Guang.

He has a lot to accomplish, including the development of the Tiangong and outer space, among others.

Engaging with the Army again would be detrimental to both the Alliance and the Sticky Community, and would only lead the Survivor Forces, who have barely united, back into internal strife.

Seeing Chu Guang's disinterest in involving with Poluo Province, Weilu became anxious and couldn't help but speak.

"I know you're worried about the Legion's involvement... but in fact, those Vellante people are already involved. They're sending everything they can to our borders except for their troops! They're even using your supply line for some of this!"

Upon hearing this key piece of information, Chu Guang gently furrowed his brows.

"My supply line?"

Weilu lowered his head and said in a somber tone.

"Exactly... They've used your railway to transfer a portion of the military supplies from the Weifu Wasteland to the Falcon Kingdom, then bypassed the Eastern Industrial Zone of the Great Desert to the northwest of Poluo Province, and finally delivered them to the Grey Wolf Army."

Chu Guang looked into his eyes.

"But I heard they plan to ship those supplies back to the Legion's homeland."

Weilu immediately replied.

"Obviously they lied to you! They plan to use those weapons, sent to the frontline under the banner of 'fighting for the fate of all humanity,' to arm the Empire of West Winds!"

The military supplies amassed in the Weifu Wasteland were astronomical, and leaving them there was a hassle, so when the Legion proposed using the Alliance's railway to bring those supplies home, Chu Guang readily agreed.

After all, "providing convenience for soldiers returning home after the war ends" was also part of the Allied agreement.

He even gave a discount on the transportation resources the Legion occupied, with both parties sharing the freight costs.

However, it now seems that Mr. Bennott had pulled a clever trick, diverting the weapons within the Legion's sphere of influence.

If that's indeed the case, this issue is not limited to the Mammoth State alone.

Chu Guang pondered for two seconds and nodded.

"...I understand, I will look into the situation. If it's true, we will offer you some compensation."

Upon hearing Chu Guang's response, Weilu wisely refrained from further dispute and nodded respectfully.

"Thank you for your understanding... We look forward to your response."

Watching the representative from Mammoth State leave, Chu Guang first called Lu Bei, instructing the Guards Corps to verify the situation, and then found Vanus, who was also at the banquet, to recount what Weilu had mentioned.

Vanus lowered his head in deep thought for a long while and then spoke.

"This seems like something the Civil Official Group would do... They might have reached some agreement with the Eastern Legion."

Chu Guang furrowed his brow.

"...What kind of trick are those people trying to pull now."

Vanus hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked.

"Could it be because of... the space elevator issue?"

Previously, the Alliance leaked information at the Sticky Community meeting, planning to build a space elevator in the southern sea area.

Companies showed a lot of interest, the Academy was indifferent, and the Legion explicitly opposed the plan, thinking it shouldn't be discussed at the Sticky Community and objected to the space elevator's proposed location.

Chu Guang was actually quite agreeable, allowing those interested to participate, and those not interested, not to participate.

Anyway, the distribution of transportation shares and profit sharing later on would be based on the proportion of investment, effort, and technology contributed during the construction of the elevator.

However, despite this proposal, the Legion's representative still expressed dissatisfaction and raised a series of questions to the Alliance's Foreign Minister Cheng Yan.

The Legion's large-scale weapon shipments to the Empire at this time cannot exclude the possibility that they intend to use actions to stop the Alliance from advancing the space elevator project.

After all, before the completion of the port at Death Coast and the railway connecting Haiya Province, Silver Moon Bay and Poluo Sea would remain important and the only maritime transportation hubs for the Alliance for a long time.

At this time, it's easy to cause discomfort to the Alliance by extending the conflict from Mammoth State to the adjacent Silver Moon Bay.

The sea route between the two sides is just a few hundred kilometers, and the land route is only separated by a mountain range, making the implementation of this plan not too difficult.

Moreover...

This very much resembles something the Empire would do.

Realizing that someone was trying to irritate him using his own resources, Chu Guang's brow immediately twitched, and he pulled out his mobile phone to call Lu Bei for the second time.

"How's the investigation I asked you to conduct?"

Upon receiving the call, Lu Bei was also baffled, paused for two seconds before awkwardly saying.

"...Sir, this might take some time. We're contacting the intelligence network within the Falcon Kingdom; only they can figure out where that batch of weapons went after being unloaded in the Falcon Kingdom."

Chu Guang nodded and continued to speak.

"You continue the investigation... Oh, by the way, stop the military supplies meant to be transferred to the Falcon Kingdom in the warehouse and don't move them. If the Legion people ask, tell them there's a fault with the train that needs repair, and they should come to me with any issues."

Upon hearing the order, Lu Bei didn't ask further and accepted the order with firmness.

"Yes!"

In just five minutes after Chu Guang hung up the phone, the entire railway from the Weifu Wasteland of Brocade River Province to Bister Town of Falling Leaves Province seemed to have pressed the pause button.

Except for the trains already in motion, all military supplies en route to or prepared to be sent to Bister Town were transferred to nearby warehouses for storage.

The Alliance couldn't use its railway to help the Legion transport weapons from one frontline to another. Until the situation was clarified, these weapons would not move an inch in any direction.

Later that day, Bennott, the Centurion of the Legion's embassy to the Alliance, received the situation from the accompanying quartermaster and immediately jumped out of bed, furiously called Foreign Minister Cheng Yan of the Alliance, but only got the perfunctory response of "Train malfunction needs repair."

As soon as Bennott heard this response, he immediately realized that his clever trick might have been exposed, but the Alliance hadn't found concrete evidence, so they resorted to this clumsy "tit-for-tat measure."

The military supplies left by the Legion at the Weifu Wasteland military base were more than sufficient to arm thirty ten thousand troops, and it was to the standard of the Eastern Legion's regular army.

Currently, only less than one-sixth of the equipment had been successfully transferred, with a large pile still stranded at the Weifu Wasteland and the Alliance's logistics transportation routes.

If the Alliance discovered the tricks involved, they would have to figure out how to dispose of these weapons on their own.

And thinking about transporting those mountains of weapons and equipment without relying on the Alliance's railway at all made Bennott feel like his head was going to explode.

If he had known the Alliance would be so sensitive, he should have stocked the supplies within the Falcon Kingdom first, and only transferred them to the Empire once all the armaments were moved out of Brocade River Province!

However, it was too late for regrets now.

He could only telegraph the Falcon Kingdom, trying to destroy as much evidence as possible, while contacting Lucien, the Ten thousand Leader at the frontline, to see if the guy with the airship could also come up with a plan.

While the Alliance and the Legion were embroiled in a dispute over the transportation of armaments, Mammoth State, at the center of this vortex, welcomed a few guests with special identities.

And speaking of these guests' identities, they had considerable connections with the Moon Clan Resistance Army...

Chapter 806: Mammoth City Under the Morning Sun

"Whoa! Is this the legendary Mammoth State?"

On the deck of the Meat Meat, a short-haired girl was excitedly peering through binoculars, lying on the back of a big white bear, gazing towards the distant land.

The ridden Meat Meat was equally thrilled, looking at the shore and shouting aloud.

"What a big port... and there's a Sesame Paste's church!"

"What's that got to do with me..." The cat ears on her head swayed side to side as Sesame Paste said with a wry smile.

Every time she felt embarrassed, the ears on her head would feel like they weren't hers anymore.

Tails looked curiously at the port that was coming closer, excitedly babbling non-stop.

"Giao! This place looks just like Silver Moon Bay! It's as if they were carved from the same mold!"

"Even the statue at the dock is the same!"

"Isn't that actually Sesame Paste?"

"No way..."

Listening to the hubbub, Si Si came down from the cockpit ladder to the deck and smiled as she spoke.

"Well, it's just a little cleverness of the locals."

Just now from above, she had seen the entire view of the Mammoth City Port, almost identical to the most bustling area of Silver Moon Bay, even more beautifully built than the latter.

After all, the latter was pieced together bit by bit by the believers at Silver Moon Bay, like a stack of blocks placed wherever they thought of.

The former, however, absorbed the latter's experiences and lessons, a work redrawn on a blank canvas.

With the support of the Mammoth State Authority, they not only absorbed Silver Moon Bay's advantages but also made up for its shortcomings.

Meat Meat tilted her head to look at Si Si, curiously asking.

"A little cleverness?"

Si Si nodded and explained.

"Silver Moon Bay's merchant ships, whether going to Jinjaron Harbor or the west of the Central Continent, will pass by the East Coast of Poluo Province. No one will refuse an extra supply point on this route, especially since Mammoth State itself has a large population, and population itself is a resource."

"The authority gained the trust of Silver Moon Bay's believers through a series of measures and then rented land to them. The believers then built churches, banks, and ports here... Essentially, the Mammoth State Authority got a port for free without spending a penny."

Before this, it was nothing but a wasteland, and no matter how you calculate, this trade was a big win for the Mammoth State Authority.

Si Si guessed the Mammoth State Authority probably learned from Jinjaron Harbor's experience, after all, those "lone ranger" officers came from Jinjaron Harbor, they may not have eaten pork, but they've seen pigs run.

"I see... So this is the legendary win-win situation."

Meat Meat nodded in sudden understanding, while Tails on her back was thinking of something else.

"Will there be mammoths?"

Hearing the thoughtless remark, Meat Meat couldn't help but laugh.

"How could there possibly be such a thing!"

Tails: "Eeek! Then why is it called Mammoth State?"

Listening to their conversation, Si Si showed a subtle expression, lightly coughed, and said.

"Actually... there are."

"Ah???"

Hearing this unexpected statement, both Meat Meat and Sesame Paste looked at her in shock.

Especially Tails, almost pouncing on her with excitement, eyes gleaming, asking.

"Really?!"

Seeing the look of anticipation, Si Si nodded slightly, recalling the clues she had seen in documents, and began to speak.

"I heard that because they were very popular, the research institutions of the Human Alliance revived prehistoric mammoths through genetic engineering during the Prosperity Epoch, and helped them adapt to the environment of the new century... They usually live on the plateau below the Jubar Mountains in the northernmost part of Mammoth State, and reportedly only come down to live around the Tasang River during the winter."

"They actually revived them just because they were popular," Sesame Paste showed a helpless expression, unsure how to respond, "... The residents of the Human Alliance really do as they please."

Meat Meat scratched her head, puzzled, and asked.

"Won't this affect Earth's ecological environment?"

Si Si thought for a while and casually said.

"Poluo Province during the Human Alliance Era was a large zoo... Putting some odd things in there doesn't seem to have much impact."

Moreover, the Wasteland Era has fully demonstrated that the adaptive ability of ecological environments is stronger than humans imagine.

Not to mention prehistoric creatures like mammoths that once existed on Earth, even stuff like the Claw of Death, monsters, and multilegged beasts, which are deadly from head to toe, ended up just becoming parts of the food chain.

Meat Meat couldn't help but sigh.

"... What a crazy era."

Tails pondered for a long time, suddenly coming out with a question.

"Since they've brought back mammoths, why not bring back dinosaurs?"

Si Si: "Uh... maybe they haven't gotten around to it yet?"

As they were talking, the long foghorn of the Meat Meat sounded.

The broad cargo ship slowly approached the edge of the dock.

With the efforts of the crew and sailors, the ship finally docked properly.

The actual situation here was completely different from the rumors.

The Survivor Daily of Jinjaron Harbor said this place had been flooded into ruins, but what they saw were smooth brick roads and marble-carved Silver Moon Bay architecture.

The nearby urban area indeed suffered a disaster, some building debris and shanties could be seen from a distance, but some concrete houses had been built on those ruins.

The meat meat in the eyes quickly noticed that those houses seemed to be pieced together with concrete prefabricated panels, and those panels were exactly the same shape as those in Giant Stone City.

In the distance, some cranes could be seen at the construction site, and these engineering devices further confirmed meat meat's suspicion.

Meat meat estimated that the authorities must have used some foreign exchange reserves to import production equipment for concrete prefabricated panels and hoisting technology from the Alliance, and then used cement and steel bought from other places to complete these "corn buildings."

It's said that the state of Mammoth has a population of tens of millions, and most of them lived lives worse than livestock before, even suffering a flood that affected a third of the state not long ago.

Expecting them to move straight from the cattle shed into large houses is unrealistic; even the Alliance back then expended considerable effort to just solve the food and shelter for a hundred thousand people.

However, the comforting thing is that the situation here seems to be improving little by little.

Just like the City of Dawn once did.

Originally not very optimistic about Laxi, meat meat suddenly found a slight change in thought.

Perhaps these tough-styled officers are actually not as bad as she imagined?

Here, talking about equality is still too early; they first have to get the people here full...

After completing a series of procedures like the goods delivery order, the group was planning to stroll around the pier and take a look at this emerging settlement, when they unexpectedly bumped into a familiar face.

It was a man dressed in a flamboyant robe, blushing and arguing with several uniformed officials about something.

Or rather, he was quibbling —

"I'm clearly selling frozen livestock! On what grounds are you charging me fur tax!"

"Don't talk nonsense," said the uniformed official with a sneer, "Is mink fur growing on a pig? Go find me a pig with mink fur!"

Mogavi's face turned red.

"You just haven't seen one! How dare you say there's none in the Wasteland? In Baiyue Province... there are plenty of these strange things!"

The uniformed man rolled his eyes, as if to say "you're insulting my intelligence."

At that moment, a sweet voice chimed in from the side.

"Oh! Really? Why hasn't tail seen one after staying there for so long?"

"!!!"

"Do you have anything else to quibble about?" The uniformed man looked at Mogavi mockingly, but the latter gasped in disbelief at the strange group of three humans and a bear.

"...Si Si? Tail?"

Tail stared at him for a while, feeling somewhat familiar.

And in that instant, a distant memory suddenly clicked, she exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh oh oh! You're the fur seller!"

Blown away by the remark, Mogavi nearly choked on his own spit, coughing several times to regain his composure.

"What do you mean by fur seller! I have a name, you know!"

"Hehe, sorry forgot!" Tail apologized, scratching the back of her head awkwardly.

The uniformed officials immediately looked over in Mogavi's line of sight, and seeing the big white bear, they tensed up momentarily, but only momentarily.

Especially when they realized the white bear could talk, they even relaxed their nerves.

In the Wasteland, what weirder thing isn't there?

Another talking bear doesn't make a difference.

As long as communication is possible.

"You are... customs officers?" Si Si asked with curiosity, glancing at their uniforms as he approached them, "What are you arguing about? Can you let us know?"

The leading customs officer looked at Mogavi beside him and sneered.

"This guy wrapped pork with mink fur, declared them as livestock products, and tried to exploit the grain import tax exemption loophole!"

Mammoth State is currently in dire need of foreign exchange, yet these unscrupulous merchants are trying to steal the silver coins that overseas workers earned through frugality!

If not for their superiors requiring them to "appeal with emotion and reason" to these foreign merchants, they wouldn't have wasted words here, they'd have dealt with it with gunstocks long ago!

Meat meat looked surprised at Mogavi, who had a defeated expression, and couldn't help but comment.

"Wow, you really outdid yourself here."

Mogavi, knowing he was at fault, still defended himself.

"What's it got to do with me... It's the loopholes in their own design of the rules."

Si Si subtly averted his gaze.

"...Even so, I think you're a bit over the line here."

Isn't this the kind of scenario where you're supposed to slip them some money?

But judging by the guy's troubled look, he probably tried and got rejected.

The commotion near the pier quickly caught the attention of others, and within minutes, a large crowd gathered on the street.

At that moment, an old man appearing to be in his forties or fifties, accompanied by two young people, came over and was about to inquire about what happened, but noticed some familiar faces among the crowd.

"What's going on — Si Si?!"

Seeing the astonished old man, Si Si and her group also showed surprise on their faces.

"...Ashi?"

"You still remember me!" The old man excitedly stepped forward, tightly holding her hands, "Long time no see!"

Si Si smiled and returned the handshake, shaking vigorously.

"Yes, long time no see."

He was one of the elders of the Moon Clan Resistance Army.

Back when the White Bear Knights caused a commotion at Jinjaron Harbor, it was this elderly man named Ashi and the other Moon people who resolutely stayed behind, giving the chance to escape by ship to the rescued women and children, which led to the formation of the Moon Clan Resistance Army.

Although this resistance fought many foolish battles and was later deemed an "experience pack" repeatedly farmed by the military faction, objectively speaking, the mere fact that they dared to stay behind and confront the regular army was an extraordinary feat.

The elderly man was moved to tears and nasal mucus, leaving the new young men beside him speechless.

"Everyone really misses you... By the way, is Grandma Sang Ru in good health?"

"Oh! She's doing great! I even saw her drink a whole bottle of beer last time!" replied Tail energetically.

The elderly man grinned with relief upon hearing this.

"That's good... It seems they're living well, and I can be at ease."

With this, he looked toward Mogavi standing to one side, then turned to Si Si to ask.

"This person... is he your friend?"

Si Si showed a subtle expression, ignoring Mogavi's pleading eyes, she said.

"You could say that... But even so, I hope you won't go easy on him just because of our relationship. Just handle it according to your set rules."

No matter what, it's too much to steal money from the poor.

Seeing that this old friend wasn't helping him, Mogavi became anxious and began to play on emotions.

"Oh! How can you do this... I helped you back then! Have you forgotten?"

Si Si looked at him indifferently and said.

"That's irrelevant... Besides, even back then, it was a fair business deal, cash for goods, did we ever make you suffer a loss?"

Upon hearing this, Mogavi wore a defeated expression and finally couldn't find any more excuses.

Feeling the eyes on him, he raised both hands in a surrender gesture, despairing, he said.

"Fine, I surrender, I'll pay... I'll make up the taxes, alright!"

The customs lad cast his eyes to his superior Ashi, who nodded seriously with authority.

"Issue him a ticket, in view of it being a first offense, the fine will be waived, but the owed tax must be compensated!"

"Yes!" The lad nodded, then tore off a paper, smirking as he handed it to Mogavi, "Thank our director, and remember not to play such cheap tricks next time."

Mogavi glared at him fiercely, said nothing, took the paper, and hurriedly walked away.

Seeing there was no more excitement to watch, the crowd dispersed.

Looking at his long unseen benefactors, Ashi's serious expression instantly vanished, warmly he said.

"Do you have any plans next?"

Si Si glanced around.

"We were planning to wander around here to see if there are any investment opportunities... Ah, right, we just happen to also plan to visit customs."

Ashi's eyes lit up, promptly suggesting.

"That's perfect, you can just come with me! Mammoth City exempts taxes on imports related to production machines, improved crop seeds, food, and medicine projects, and I'm the one in charge of this area, I can introduce you."

"Then it's no courtesy needed."

Si Si gladly accepted the old man's goodwill, as she also wished to gather pertinent information about this settlement.

On one hand, it's her travel habit, and on the other, it's the task assigned by Manager Mr. Lister.

Reliable intelligence suggests the army intends to use this powder keg in Mammoth State to pressure the Alliance, interfering with the advancement of the space elevator agenda at Sticky Community meetings.

Of course, the Alliance wouldn't sit idly by while the Weilante People performed tricks under their noses.

However, before developing specific countermeasures, the Alliance must first understand the situation in Mammoth State.

And this glorious yet relaxed task naturally fell on the ladies engaged in commercial activities near Mammoth State.

Accompanied by Ashi, the group headed to the customs office's lounge at Mammoth City Port.

Not until the group was seated in the lounge did they learn that the kindly smiling old man was actually the head of Mammoth State Authority's customs administration!

Tail widened his eyes in surprise, astonished, he looked at the old man and said.

"Goodness, you've become such a big official!"

Staring intently, Ashi felt somewhat embarrassed too, quickly explaining.

"Can't call it a big official, my position isn't as grand as you think... Mammoth City's port opened to trade not too long ago, with monthly import-export amounts only around a million silver coins, and the entire customs administration only has about forty people, not even enough for a platoon."

Saying this, Ashi showed a look of melancholy, shaking his head, he said.

"I was at least commanding a battalion before, if it wasn't for being ostracized by Laxi's party members, I wouldn't be sent here to retire."

Hearing this sentence, Tail, Meat Meat, and Sesame Paste exchanged looks with Big Eyes and Gray Wolf.

Being ostracized into becoming the head of customs wasn't bad...

Can this truly be called ostracism?

Apart from commanding fewer people, in any view this counts as a promotion!

Si Si's expression turned subtle too as she coughed softly to change the subject.

"I heard this place had floods before, we specially brought some food and medications this time... How's the disaster situation here?"

"Floods happened in the fall, Empire indulged in scorched earth tactics in Mammoth State, blasting the Tasang River's levees... Fortunately, those levees weren't built high anyway, didn't cause great damage, we plan to build a broader irrigation capable of power generation."

When discussing floods, Ashi's eyes flickered, seemingly hesitant to delve into the subject, choosing instead to emphasize the smooth disaster recovery efforts while glossing over the damage caused.

It should have been an excellent opportunity to gain sympathy.

While Si Si felt a little puzzled, she didn't dwell on it too much, merely asked further.

"And the plague? There hasn't been an outbreak, has it?"

After the disaster, a major epidemic is inevitable, and that's what she's most concerned about.

But Ashi shook his head, dispelling her worries.

"No, we quickly got the situation under control... Although there were some patients at the beginning, we isolated them, and most of them have recovered."

This was a bit different from what was reported in Survivor's Daily, but such discrepancies are understandable.

After all, most residents of Jinjaron Harbor are sympathetic to the Moon Clan Resistance Army and harbor hatred towards the Empire that oppresses all peoples, even organizing donations for the Resistance Army.

A regional media outlet, besides fulfilling its obligation to report the truth, also becomes a projection of the audience's mindset.

After all, objectivity is always a relative concept. Even the Survivor's Daily of City of Dawn can't achieve absolute objectivity.

Upon hearing local conditions were stable, Si Si finally nodded in relief.

"That's good... It seems our worries were unnecessary."

"How can they be unnecessary? It's just that things may not be as exaggerated as you thought."

Ashi chuckled to lighten the mood and continued.

"And thanks to your help, we were able to recover quickly. Lately, many Alliance merchants have come here to set up factories, especially Mr. Lister. I'm envious of the houses he built for the workers! Don't laugh at me, but my place still leaks, while the workers at Lister's factory are already living in apartments!"

Sesame Paste had a surprised expression on her face.

"The houses we saw at the port were built by him?"

Meat Meat was equally surprised and muttered.

"That guy is so kind-hearted."

Si Si wasn't surprised at all, saying softly.

"Merchants who have fully experienced the upheaval of Giant Stone City tend to follow the rules, so it's not surprising."

Tail nodded earnestly.

"After all, those who don't follow the rules either went bankrupt or are no longer around."

Watching the three people and a bear communicate in a language she didn't understand, Ashi cleared his throat and continued.

"Although I can't represent the Mammoth State Authority, as someone who has been helped by you, I sincerely hope you can stay here a bit longer to give us a chance to host you."

"However, during your stay, I suggest it's best to stay within the Silver Moon Church district, and if you must leave, try to avoid heading southwest... especially near the front lines. Recently, the Gray Wolf Army acquired some weapons from somewhere, and their attacks are increasingly fierce. We've suffered quite a bit at the front lines."

Meat Meat looked at him worriedly and asked.

"Are you really okay?"

Ashi smiled kindly and said.

"Don't worry, we've made it through the toughest days! Now we finally have our own base, and no matter what, it won't be harder than before."

When he said this, his eyes showed obvious hope and pride.

It was clear.

Even if he was unhappy with Laxi for "sidelining" him from the army system, he couldn't find any faults with the development of Mammoth State itself, even offering words of praise in his speech.

And although Laxi looked down on the Resistance Army elders, after gaining power, he didn't completely crush them but instead appointed them to the "Cabinet."

No matter if this was a promotion or suppression, nor if it was to put on a show for the stakeholders in Jinjaron Harbor and Potato Harbor and the Alliance behind them, at least he was relatively tolerant of dissenting voices.

On this point alone, this military faction is much better than those in Tiger State and Leopard State, who don't even bother to pretend.

After thinking about it for a long time, Si Si also felt that bringing in someone else might not necessarily be better than what they're doing.

That evening, the three and a bear stayed at a hotel near the Customs Office.

Ashi not only warmly hosted them but also solved all their accommodation and meal needs during their stay in the Mammoth State, even courteously arranging four female soldiers as their bodyguards and guides.

After logging off.

Having just feasted online, Si Si didn't feel hungry at all, but felt a bit hypoglycemic, so she went to the fridge, opened a can of soda, then returned to the living room to pick up the laptop she left on the sofa yesterday.

Sitting cross-legged in front of the coffee table, she bit on a straw, contemplating, and tapped the keyboard to complete the 2000-word "investigation report" required by the Manager.

It included her observations of the local development potential and cultural landscape, as well as her first impressions of the Laxi Authority and more.

[... It's hard for me to judge whether the Mammoth State Authority is a qualified governing authority, after all, they've only been here for a few months. Although locals don't have a bad opinion of Laxi, it's hard to say if this is because their lives couldn't get any worse.

But objectively speaking, they are indeed doing some things and are willing to allocate limited resources to improve the lives of the people here.

My report does not constitute an investment opinion, but I am indeed considering expanding the business of the White Bear Knights Bank here.

]

Unknowingly, the 2000-word report turned into a ten-thousand-word essay.

Realizing this, it was too late to revise.

Si Si read the report over and over, couldn't figure out which lines to cut, so she simply gave up on making changes and copied the entire ten-thousand-word report as it was.

Soon she would share this report on the forum with those interested.

"All done..."

A job well done, Si Si stretched lazily and leaned comfortably on the sofa, only then noticing her stomach was empty, and she rubbed her now flattened belly.

This game is annoying in this aspect.

Even though she's eaten in the game, she has to eat again after logging off.

Especially when she's too full in the game, and offline she doesn't have any appetite at all, this feeling of being hungry yet not hungry is so torturous!

Even though she knew the Dog plan would probably never see this, and that guy never replied to her emails, she couldn't help but sit back up and sneak two lines of "personal comments" underneath the report sent to the npc.

[... If the honorable designer could see this, could you please design a game pod for Wasteland OL with a life support function? I believe it shouldn't be too difficult for your company, and most players would definitely be willing to pay for it.]

[After all, eating two meals in a row is too much, at this rate I feel like I'll starve to death in bed sooner or later...]

Chapter 807: Isn't Eating Three Meals a Day a Reward?

"...The life support device is okay."

Looking at the report submitted by a certain player, Chu Guang had a wry smile on his face.

What a pity.

Though he had the power to decide which people would get the Game Helmet, he didn't have the authority to "add new product production lines."

Besides...

Isn't eating three meals a day an "award"?

From what he understood, many players were quite happy about becoming gluttons. Especially a group of drunks led by Old White, who loved nothing more than getting drunk online and then continuing their binge offline.

Actually, it's not just about eating.

The fun and enjoyment the "Second Life" brought to players was not limited to wolfing down food; it also included, but was not limited to, online relaxing baths till your skin grew wrinkly, then logging off to do it all over again.

Personal taste is something Chu Guang really couldn't manage, after all, Wasteland OL wasn't a custom-made single-player game.

The personal issue of "being full online leading to no appetite offline" had to be dealt with on one's own.

But speaking of, why did this guy write about it in a report to the Manager?

Could it be that his side account had been blown?

A bit of suspicion surged in Chu Guang's heart, but after pondering for a while, he dismissed it.

The possibility was very low.

Following normal thinking, the little player should consider that during the closed beta phase, the planners would definitely be peeking at the screens, especially for "evaluation opinions" personally penned by players, they'd definitely sneak a glance.

And actually, even if he guessed, it wouldn't matter.

A truth one occasionally learns or guesses is like dreaming about an expired lottery ticket number—it's neither acknowledged nor redeemable.

Just knowing about this doesn't mean anything.

Just when Chu Guang was about to close the report, Xiao Qi, sitting on the pen holder, suddenly came over enthusiastically with an idea.

"Actually, from a technical standpoint, it's not hard. Master just needs to outsource this part of the device production to a parallel world enterprise with relevant qualifications!"

Based on its observations, many players and Backseat Drivers ran game-related businesses in reality, some profiting from information gaps, others from technical differences, and some exchanged currencies or sold peripherals.

Especially that guy who exchanged currencies, his business was the largest, not only roping in top-ranked players on the servers, but also expanding his business into AI and precision mechanics manufacturing fields using his advantage in silver coin reserves.

Considering that player's capabilities, producing a not-so-technical cultivation chamber in reality shouldn't be a big issue!

Following Xiao Qi's words, Chu Guang merely smiled faintly.

"The method you're speaking of, I actually considered it a long time ago."

"Ah?"

Xiao Qi tilted its head in confusion, asking.

"Then why doesn't Master do it?"

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then spoke.

"Because... I don't particularly want to weaken their real-world social relations. What they obtain from Wasteland OL shouldn't just be money and status in the real world; it should also include knowledge, skills, experience, methods, and principles."

"They should use them to bring some positive change to their hometown, create their own Prosperity Epoch, and explore their own future."

"Though I can't go back anymore, it was ultimately also my hometown."

Whether they chose gradual reform or radical change, Chu Guang believed they would eventually embark on a path different from the Waste World's.

Even though most players hadn't realized it yet, they were already united in fact.

And indeed, they possessed the power to change the world.

...

The following morning.

In her hotel room, Si Si opened her eyes, got up and walked to the door to check a few markers left at the entrance. After confirming everything was normal, she walked into the bathroom for a quick wash before heading out to the hotel's lobby.

This was a habit she had developed during her travels, a common habit among many players when camping outside.

After all, once offline, their game characters couldn't be controlled anymore.

Although the VM had "online life monitoring and offline message alert" functions, it didn't guarantee absolute safety, only preventing fatal dangers.

When Si Si came downstairs, the four guides and bodyguards arranged by the Mammoth State Authority were already waiting for her in the lobby.

Their leader was named Bella, a young lady. She was dressed in a crisp military uniform, carrying an LD-47 assault rifle on her back, with neat, ear-length short hair, and sharp eyes like someone who had seen battle.

Judging from her epaulettes, her rank was sergeant, but as for her specific position, Ashi hadn't mentioned. However, she was likely a squad leader, equivalent to a Centurion in the old Imperial military system.

As for the others, their ranks were all privates. But there were no signs of training marks on them, nor did they look like they'd been to battle, probably new recruits who recently enlisted, doing chores or desk jobs usually.

Upon seeing Si Si, Bella placed her right fist on her chest in a military salute, politely saying.

"Honored guest from the Alliance, good morning, did you rest well last night?"

"Good morning, I rested quite well..." Si Si replied with a relaxed smile, then said, "No need to be so formal, just call me Si Si."

Bella showed a troubled expression but still nodded indulgently.

"Alright, Miss Si Si."

The task assigned to her by her superiors was to do her best to meet all reasonable demands from these honored guests from the Alliance and leave them with a positive impression.

The Mammoth State Authority knew well that to survive this perilous wasteland, they must win the support of at least one major power on the wasteland.

She was acutely aware of how important her task was.

Looking at the overly serious Bella, Si Si made a helpless face but said nothing.

Seeing Si Si was silent, Bella continued to ask politely.

"Do you have any plans today?"

"Hmm," Si Si thought for a moment, looking towards the stairs, "I'm waiting for my companions to wake up, and then we plan to walk around the area to check out the surroundings and such. Oh right, is there any place nearby to eat? You know, places where the locals usually go; we're planning to have breakfast."

Bella immediately responded to this.

"A place to eat? I see, just let me know when you're ready to leave."

While the two were talking, a large white bear and a short-haired girl came down from the stairs.

Not long after, Sesame Paste also came down rubbing her sleepy eyes, yawning.

Accompanied by four bodyguards cum guides, the three people and one bear left the inn and soon arrived at a street full of a lively atmosphere.

Standing at the entrance of the street, Bella looked at Si Si's group and said somewhat nervously.

"This is the district's snack street, managed by vendors all coming from Silver Moon Bay residents, and only they typically have the habit of eating breakfast... I'm not sure if it suits your taste."

Si Si smiled gently at these words.

"You're worrying too much."

The tail energetically chimed in.

"Oh! That's right! The eating habits of Silver Moon Bay residents were actually learned from us!"

Bella was taken aback for a moment.

"Huh? Is... that so? That's wonderful, I was always worried you might not be used to it."

She really didn't know there was such a connection.

Sesame Paste said with a big smile.

"You're being too polite, it's not necessary, everyone here is pretty easy-going."

"Speaking of which, the noodle shops have opened here too, this has spread so far..." Meat Meat glanced down the street, surprisingly finding it almost like a replica of the North Street of Dawn City.

Not just noodle shops, there were also places selling buns and shumai, soy milk and fried dough sticks, and even fish powder and hot dry noodles.

The enticing aroma made her stomach growl, she couldn't help but swallow several times.

The tail standing next to her felt the same way, nodding with satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad, Hai Ji's successors are doing well... Old Zhang would probably be pleased."

Meat Meat couldn't help but make a snarky comment.

"What's with Hai Ji's successors, and you're just assuming he's an old man now?"

The tail boasted.

"Isn't it obvious? Which young person would use their real name as their username?"

"By the way, aren't you guys having breakfast?" Sesame Paste curiously asked Bella.

Bella shook her head, her hair tips gently swaying by her ears.

"That's too luxurious for us, we used to eat only one meal, and occasionally had to make do with eating dirt... it's only recently we started eating two meals."

"I'm sorry." Realizing she had asked an inappropriate question, Sesame Paste's voice carried a hint of apology.

However, Bella simply smiled, nonchalantly saying.

"It's nothing, that was all in the past."

The group sat down at a noodle shop, and Bella intended to pay, but Si Si stopped her.

"We exchanged money when we got off the ship, let me pay."

With that, she left two hundred denomination Mammoth coin bills on the table, continuing to speak to the owner.

"Eight bowls of noodles, please."

Seeing this honored guest treating them to noodles, Bella and the other three guides were somewhat surprised.

"This... doesn't seem right."

Looking at the embarrassed expression on Bella's face, Si Si smiled as she spoke.

"It's just a bowl of noodles, it's not like it's a bribe."

Bella quickly waved her hands.

"That's not what I meant..."

Si Si pulled out a chair in front of the table, smiling as she said.

"Then sit down and eat with us."

Although they didn't have the habit of eating breakfast, Bella ultimately couldn't bring herself to refuse the hospitality of those honored guests and sat down at the dining table with the other three guide sisters.

Si Si secretly observed the four, their reserved demeanor didn't seem to be an act, showing that they likely didn't come to such "luxurious" eateries often.

Although unfamiliar with the living standards of the upper levels of Mammoth State Authorities, its grassroots style remained relatively modest for the time being.

Additionally, she noted specifically that the Mammoth coin had an official exchange rate of 10:1 with the silver coin, similar to that with Gallon, but with slightly higher purchasing power locally than the latter.

A bowl of noodles here cost about 15 Mammoth coins, whereas in Jinjaron Harbor, it would be 20 Gallons.

This might be because the Mammoth coin was launched not long ago, so it isn't widely circulated in the market.

However, whether it was 15 Mammoth coins or 20 Gallons, compared to Dawn City's 3-4 silver coins per bowl of beef noodles, it's still much cheaper, although the former's portion is slightly lesser than the latter's.

Additionally, since the Mammoth State is relatively poor with limited foreign exchange reserves, the Mammoth coin can't be freely exchanged like Gallon, locals can only use it as "vouchers," and only foreign merchants can exchange according to their quota limits at designated exchange offices.

Of course, there's no limit to exchanging silver coins for Mammoth coins, large exchanges could even get a few points' discount.

The authorities seemed to have learned from the lessons of Tiger and Leopard States, adopting stricter foreign exchange controls rather than blindly copying Jinjaron Harbor's wealth creation methods.

While waiting for the noodles to arrive, she had already grasped around seventy to eighty percent of the local purchasing power and living standards.

However, since this was the district where Silver Moon Bay residents lived, the cost of living was evidently higher compared to other districts of Mammoth City.

After all, to understand the true situation of the locals, one still had to go to where the locals lived to see.

Si Si was pondering over what kind of excuse she could use to have Bella take her to see where the locals lived when that familiar slippery voice drifted in from the doorway.

"Hey! Si! And Tail, Sesame Paste, and Miss Meat Meat... Haha, what a coincidence, we meet again!"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Tail looked up from his bowl of noodles and greeted with a smile.

"Oh! The Fur Seller! Good morning!"

"Cough... can you stop calling me the fur seller? I do other businesses, okay!" Hearing that impolite nickname, Mogavi glared at Tail, looking embarrassed, but ultimately didn't get angry.

Even if not for the sake of the goddess, for the sake of money, he had to restrain himself a little.

With the titles of a White Bear Knights Bank shareholder and a Baiyue Corporation shareholder, either one was too weighty for a guy in the shipping business like him.

Seeing those fiery eyes looking at her, Si Si sighed. Although not interested in this slick-talking guy, she still greeted him out of courtesy.

"Morning."

Sitting at the table next to theirs, Mogavi spoke with a look of helplessness.

"You're still so indifferent."

Tasting a small sip of noodle soup, she casually replied.

"Why be so enthusiastic in the morning; do you have something in mind?"

"No, I just came here for breakfast and plan to check out the nearby market later."

Seeing the bodyguard with a gun staring at him intently, Mogavi spread his hands to show he meant no harm and then handed a bill to the nearby server.

"Get me a bowl of noodles too... same as the lady next to me."

"Alright, sir."

Not wanting to get involved in these bigwigs' private affairs, the server hurried back behind the counter after taking the bill.

Si Si's eyes flickered slightly. She glanced at Mogavi, who was pulling out his chopsticks to eat noodles, and asked with interest.

"You know the local market well?"

Seeing the interest in her eyes, Mogavi immediately showed a joyful smile and talked at length.

"Of course! Before you guys came here, I'd already been doing business here for two months. No one knows the market here better than I do... Speaking of which, what business are you doing here?"

Si Si didn't hide anything and said straightforwardly.

"We imported a batch of food from Silver Moon Bay, along with some anti-inflammatory and malaria prevention medicines."

"Anti-inflammatory drugs, that's a good thing. I hear there's a big demand at the front line... But food, the profit margin is still too low. The flood happened after the autumn harvest. There's not much shortage of food here, especially for those consuming its grain." Mogavi shook his head, his expression suggesting he found it a bit unfortunate.

Si Si continued to ask with interest.

"So, what business is good here?"

"You asked the right person! I wouldn't tell just anyone, but for you... I can share it for free," Mogavi said with a mysterious wink and lowered his voice, "Priceless jewelry, handicrafts from Ideal City, and luxurious furs... Especially those favored by the desert tycoons, they can fetch a high price here!"

Upon hearing this, Tail and Sesame Paste looked at each other in confusion. Sitting nearby, Meat Meat was quite candid and asked directly, looking puzzled.

"Furs favored by the desert tycoons... why don't you sell directly to those tycoons in the desert?"

Sesame Paste also asked in confusion.

"Yeah... do the prices people offer here exceed those at Silver Moon Bay?"

Mogavi smiled mysteriously and continued speaking eloquently.

"You don't understand. Even in the poorest places, there are wealthy people. They buy these luxury goods not just for personal use but also as a means of storing value. Thus, they can even offer higher premiums than the desert tycoons."

Si Si asked thoughtfully.

"Are there many rich people here?"

Mogavi laughed heartily and said.

"Far more than you imagine! Especially the old aristocrats, though the new authorities bought out their land, it was with money... using Mammoth coins."

Upon hearing this, Si Si's eyes immediately gleamed with insight, grasping the trick at once.

"I see, you're running a money laundering business..."

Mogavi gave a thumbs up and chuckled.

"As expected from you, nothing escapes your sight."

Meat Meat looked bewildered at Si Si and quietly asked in Mandarin.

"What does it mean... how did it become money laundering?"

Si Si explained patiently, in a soft voice.

"It's quite simple to understand. The Laxi authorities issued a large amount of Mammoth coins to buy out flood-damaged lands from the old aristocrats. However, Mammoth coins can't be freely exchanged, so the old aristocrats use the money to buy relatively valuable luxury goods. These goods are easier to transport than currency just by transferring to Silver Moon Bay rather than exchanging for a heap of silver coins."

Baiyue Province, known for producing furs, also displays a range in rarity. Cheaper ones are even less than cotton textiles, while the expensive ones are ridiculously pricey.

From what she knew, a high-quality mink fur could sell for up to a million silver coins.

On the Forum, there was a newcomer who became rich overnight by catching a mink by chance.

After hearing this, a look of amazement appeared on Meat Meat's face.

"These nobles are really shameless..."

Sesame Paste still couldn't understand and asked Si Si with confusion.

"But... why would Laxi give them money? Couldn't they just seize the land from them?"

Si Si patiently explained.

"There are benefits to buying rather than seizing. A regime can't rely solely on fear to dominate a region, let alone the Moon Clan Resistance being an external force. To achieve control and emancipate productive forces, they must engage in some form of cooperation with local native forces."

"Of course, it's also possible that Laxi didn't think things through too much; he might simply be referencing the Burning Corps' approach in Jinjaron Harbor."

Back when the Burning Corps took over Jinjaron Harbor, it was similar.

Other than imprisoning a few war criminals like Nihark, Brother Fang Chang and the others didn't take anything from the other local residents, whether noble or civilian.

Although quite a few old aristocrats were abandoned by the times due to their inability to adapt to the new era, the entire process of class mobility took place in a relatively gentle state, at least not provoking a large-scale backlash from conservative forces.

On this basis, Laxi made some improvements, especially regarding the issue of land.

After all, the Alliance does not rely on land to make money, nor does Jinjaron Harbor, but since Mammoth State's economy is mainly agricultural with zero industrial foundation, their focus can only be on land and population.

After a pause, Si Si continued thoughtfully.

"Besides winning people's hearts, I suspect he also hopes that those old aristocrats will take the money to invest in industry. Even if they hire people to build some houses in Mammoth City, it would still help Mammoth State's economy..."

"However, those old aristocrats clearly don't all have faith in him. Some may indeed have invested in industries, but it's obvious that some are just thinking about how to convert their Mammoth coins or bulk commodities into silver coins and cash out to leave."

Seeing Si Si and the companion next to her communicating in a language he couldn't understand, those soldiers gave Mogavi murderous looks, making him feel incredibly uneasy, as if the chair beneath him were on fire.

Of course, he wasn't worried about a few soldiers reporting him.

Not to mention he was from Silver Moon Bay and inherently enjoyed some "immunity" there.

His ability to engage in such shadowy business clearly indicated that he had his own backing locally.

The most crucial point was that the authorities hadn't established related laws to forbid what he was doing, right?

Even if it was indeed unethical.

"Ahem... I have something to do, I'll leave first. If you're interested in the market here, we can talk alone next time." Mogavi quickly finished his meal, dropped his chopsticks, gave a sly wink to Si Si sitting at the next table, and then got up to leave.

As she watched that figure disappear at the door, a female soldier sitting at the table couldn't help but curse softly.

"These parasites..."

Mammoth State's foreign exchange was all earned by those overseas workers one brick at a time, yet those scoundrels always tried to take the little money they had in their pockets.

Bella glanced at the girl, who immediately realized she shouldn't have spoken carelessly and quickly shut her mouth.

But the person sitting beside them, Tail, heard her mutter and nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, exactly, Tail thinks so too... Even stealing poor people's money, that's utterly unscrupulous!"

Bella stayed silent for a moment, gaze complicated as she looked at the door, finally sighing.

"Although that's true, we still need these people... Relying on ourselves alone, surviving might prove difficult."

Meat Meat looked at her, puzzled.

"Can't we just let the good people in and drive the bad ones out?"

Bella shook her head.

"Lord Laxi said, Mammoth State is like an old, moldy house. We can't just move in and leave it be; we need to not only clean it but also find a way to open a window for ventilation. Inevitably, some flies and mosquitoes will come in, but that can't stop us from opening the window for fear of flies crawling or mosquito bites."

Startled, Tail widened his eyes and murmured softly in the "secret slang" used in Shelter No. 404.

"I giao… is that really something that Laxi could say?"

Si Si also showed a surprised expression on her face, feeling this wasn't something that bandit-like guy could say.

Gathering herself, she cautiously suggested.

"Actually… what your Mr. Laxi said isn't wrong. But why not install a screen on the window?"

Bella was startled.

"...Install a screen?"

Si Si nodded, continuing.

"Even within the Alliance, we don't have no regulation over silver coins, and even now, we're continually improving our legislation. As you're just starting, I wouldn't recommend copying our methods outright, but you could consider establishing a central bank to formulate monetary policies, guiding funds towards the areas society needs rather than relying on merchants' consciences, as they do not have any concept of conscience."

When Mogavi was at Potato Harbor, he wouldn't dare engage in money laundering, as a single penalty would bankrupt him.

The guy wasn't really a bad person, he had done some good deeds, but he was simply greedy.

Bella hesitantly looked at Si Si.

"But… Mr. Lister is quite nice, we all have a good impression of him."

When she said this, she suddenly seemed to think of something and added softly.

"Ah, and of course, you guys… we also think you're good people, not like that guy, always trying to exploit us."

Hearing this naive statement, Si Si couldn't help but palm her face, saying helplessly.

"He was trained by our Manager, and... with his asset scale and status, he doesn't need to take risks. For someone else, it could be a different story."

For instance, Mosquito Brother.

That guy, to make a move, might not even focus on making money to a certain extent.

Although this dude isn't bad, who knows if he might accidentally do something bad.

Considering this seemed to make some sense, Bella's expression gradually became serious, looking at her sincerely and saying.

"I see… thank you for your advice, I'll do my best to report it to my superiors."

Seeing her full of humility and eagerness to learn, Si Si couldn't help but smile softly, taking the opportunity to propose the idea she had been pondering for a long time.

"We happen to be planning on expanding the banking operations of the White Bear Knights here, maybe we could provide some reference suggestions for you then."

Bella's eyes lit up, looking at her excitedly, almost standing up from the table.

"Really? Thank you so much!"

The look in her eyes was really too familiar.

It was exactly like the eyes of those Waste Land Wanderers looking up to the Pioneer back when it first arrived in the outskirts of Qingquan City.

Si Si felt a lot of emotions for a moment, looking at her and continuing.

"It's true… but before that, I'd like to learn more about the local situation. If possible, could you take us on a tour of the districts where the locals live nearby?"

Hearing this request, a trace of hesitation appeared on Bella's face, but she eventually nodded.

"No problem... although there isn't much to see there, you might be disappointed."

Chapter 808: Good People Don't Last Long in Troubled Times

As Miss Bella said, the situation inside Mammoth City is completely different from the "lease" by the Silver Moon Sect believers, even like two separate worlds.

The latter have beautiful marble buildings and clean and tidy streets, with passersby mostly dressed appropriately, almost no different from Silver Moon Bay next door.

However, the former is full of chaos. Don't even talk about stone buildings; there's not even anything that can be called a street.

Most of the dirt roads are trampled out by people, with only two open drainage ditches dug by the roadside.

On both sides of the road are shacks temporarily set up with wood, tree branches, or plastic boards.

Locals call them row houses, which can often accommodate two or three households squeezed in, leaving no room to step, yet they still have to squeeze in.

After all, many families here are like the slums during the Gallon Harbor Nihac era, where it's hard for one family to gather two pieces of clothing, and they can't stand naked in the street.

As for privacy between families, they can only compromise by making partitions inside the row house.

Besides, there are almost no young men visible here.

The local able-bodied youth either go to war, work in nearby factories or help with the lease, or board the labor output ships to the rebuilding North Island.

As for the old, weak, and women left behind, those with clothes sit at the door working, while those without clothes sit at home dawdling, waiting for the porridge relief points to open.

To say they're suffering, these people really are, but the authorities didn't make them eat dirt. Some of the left over food was distributed to them.

After all, the authorities need their men to work energetically.

Si Si didn't go inside because Meat Meat's size was really inconvenient and she feared scaring people here, so she just glanced from afar at the endless slum.

Next to the relief point, a row of planks stood with scribbled slogans such as "One person from each household, every family eats their fill."

"...This is basically treating people like goods." A subtle touch stirred Meat Meat's heart, making her mutter.

She is straightforward, always saying what she thinks and not hiding her feelings.

Just a moment ago, she thought Laxi might be a good person, but now she feels he's not a good thing.

Si Si pondered for a moment and said.

"...Turning from livestock into goods, it's hard to say if it's good or bad, but at least they have food to eat now."

Bella seemed to not want them to stay here longer, as nobody likes having their scars poked, so she hurriedly said.

"There's no road ahead, let me take you to see somewhere else."

Si Si nodded.

"Yes, sorry to trouble you."

The group returned to the main road, heading towards a coastal industrial zone.

This is probably one of the smoothest places for reconstruction work in the entire Mammoth City other than the leased church area.

Especially the factories of the Lister Group and the surrounding area, almost showing no signs of disaster damage.

Tall workshops sit on high ground near the coast of Mammoth City, with a wide concrete road tightly connecting to the port area, and an already operational railway line beside it.

Various large and small processing plants and workshops surround the central factory, extending along the single road towards the train station.

Most of these belong to Lister's industries, but some parts are made by locals themselves, especially in hardware tools, machinery repair, and even arms production.

Tail and Meat Meat even surprisingly discovered a scrap Conqueror No. 10 tank parked here!

"Wow! Army's tank!"

"Well... is this captured?"

Watching the exclaiming Tail and Meat Meat, Si Si pondered and said.

"Ninety percent captured, the army wouldn't sell weapons here... I estimate the authority also doesn't have much Dinar foreign reserves, this thing isn't cheap."

The entire tank's body structure is basically intact, except the two tracks are broken.

It's clear that this tank had its tracks broken on the front line, with the Empire's crew abandoning it and fleeing, then it was dragged back from the front line by guerrillas.

Two repair workers wearing exoskeletons were circling beside the tank, with a high-ranking officer seemingly pondering together about how to fix the thing.

Although this area's planning is somewhat slapdash, it already has some industrial zone prototypes.

Outside of that industrial zone sits rows of "corn buildings" full of Alliance flavor.

These residential buildings made from concrete prefabricated panels can be considered the most "luxurious" buildings around here.

What impresses the locals isn't just their solid roofs but also their so-called "lavish" supporting facilities.

Besides the polished concrete road, every few buildings have a boiler room, communal bathroom, public canteen, and daytime child education and evening adult literacy school.

This setup completely replicates the dormitory buildings of the Giant Stone City industrial zone, with some region-specific improvements added to them.

For instance, Mammoth State's winter isn't as cold as the River Valley Province's, so December weather only requires an additional coat, hence no heating installation in the dormitory buildings, and the boiler room only heats bathing water.

The workers living here are Mammoth City's "new elite."

Getting a job at a Lister factory, even if just slicing veggies in the employee canteen or sorting on the assembly line, counts as prestigious within Mammoth City.

Though authorities have also spent money building some welfare housing in the city, their supporting facilities are far inferior compared to Lister Factory's employee dorms.

It's no exaggeration to say that the accommodations of these workers are even better than some Resistance army officers, and much nicer compared to the vast majority of civilians still living in row housing and eating relief porridge in the city.

Even Lister himself probably hadn't expected that while viewed as a "flood and beast" by the Workers' Association in the Alliance, he became a local humanitarian here in the eyes of the local people.

Locals spare no praise for him, even circulating tales that if a family has someone working in Lister Factory, it's truly a blessing from above!

That's why, when Bella brought Tail and her group here and introduced the situation, she couldn't hide the envy on her face.

"...This entire factory district belongs to Mr. Lister, with over ten thousand people directly or indirectly working for him. He introduced production lines for steel, aluminum, and solid hydrogen batteries to our settlement. However, the only products we can showcase right now are hydrogen injectors, high-pressure storage tanks, and fuel electrodes."

Si Si gazed at the towering factory building and sincerely remarked.

"You're doing quite well to produce these things without any industrial support."

Recently, the Alliance's electrification progress has extended from household appliances like TVs, fridges, and air conditioners to the private car industry. The South Sea Union even plans to rebuild large ocean current power stations, with incredibly high demand for both small and large energy storage devices.

Hydrogen injectors, high-pressure storage tanks, and fuel electrodes are key components of solid hydrogen batteries, which have a significant market in both the Alliance and South Sea Union.

Especially since Lister Group itself operates industries like exoskeletons and new energy vehicles, as long as the produced goods meet quality standards, there's no worry about finding buyers.

Evidently, Lister is very optimistic about this market; otherwise, he wouldn't produce such crucial items here.

"Indeed, the foundation here is weak. We're grateful to that gentleman's help for reaching our current stage," Bella nodded, visibly grateful, and continued, "Before he came, there wasn't a single factory in Mammoth City. Now, we have coal power stations, railroads, highways, steel mills, and aluminum plants, and we can process some export products."

"I've heard this factory district's monthly output has reached 1,000,000 silver coins, and the capacity continues to grow!"

"At this rate, it could reach 3 million next year, which translates to 300 million in our currency! Mammoth State's prosperity and wealth depend entirely on it!"

Watching the spirited young lady, Si Si couldn't help but smile.

"Don't belittle yourselves. The most we can do is bring some kindling, but it's up to you to keep the fire burning. If one day you succeed and become wealthy, it won't just be because of our help but largely due to your own hard work."

The Alliance stands to benefit from this process, given prosperity promotes itself.

Just like the Alliance and the South Sea Union.

Before entering Baiyue Province, Alliance's "Buprestis" engineering armor could only manage onshore projects, but after incorporating underwater construction technology from the Southern sea area and undertaking the submarine freshwater pipeline project, it evolved into a series of models like "Crab Style" and "King Crab."

Now, both the Baiyue Strait coast and the islands in the southern sea area are developing like they've been propelled by rockets.

There's no need to mention the Falling Leaves Province; Alliance's fertilizers and seeds and agricultural machines more than doubled the food yield there. Not only are the Falling Leaves Province residents living better, but the River Valley Province residents are well-fed too.

If Mammoth State, the entire Poluo Province, and Jin Galun Harbor join the civilized world, it would greatly benefit both the locals and the Alliance.

If all survivors in the wasteland unite, this era of suffering and death will surely end.

Let's hope that day is not too far...

...

Si Si and Tail spent the entire day investigating near Mammoth State's industrial zone.

Overall, it's a thriving market with several factories having great potential to expand, only lacking technology and funds, which happens to be what the Alliance has in abundance now.

It's no exaggeration to say that even buying some land here and developing it into real estate would undoubtedly yield profits.

The group wandered until the sun set before returning to their hotel located in the church district.

This trip has been quite fruitful.

The only regret is that Tail and Meat Meat never saw the mammoths they've longed for...

As night deepened, only the church district remained lit along the entire coastline.

Among these lights belonged to the office of the Customs Administration.

Although office hours had ended, Ashi didn't leave but paced back and forth in front of his desk.

He waited a long time until the phone on the table finally rang, quickly grabbed the receiver, and asked urgently before the person on the other end could speak.

"How are things? Are those guests from the Alliance satisfied?"

All day, he'd been worried about this, fearing anything might go wrong.

The voice on the phone quickly responded, and Bella, standing in the post office telephone booth, meticulously reported.

"...Overall, they're quite satisfied, their opinion of us is above neutral, and they're very interested in our development potential. I heard from a lady named Si Si that they plan to invest in a branch here, assisting us in financial reform."

Upon hearing this, Ashi's face lit up with joy, clenching his fists in excitement.

"Fantastic!"

Though the influence of the White Bear Knights pales compared to Baiyue Corporation, it's still a sizable bank.

Started during the Falling Leaves Province war at Petra Fortress, later based in Silver Moon Bay, it expanded along Alliance's trade routes overseas, its business scope covering the Poluo Sea coast and even the southern sea area, nurturing many promising enterprises and trade groups.

Attracting the White Bear Knights' bank here would be as significant as successfully welcoming another Lister Group!

Listening to the joyful voice on the phone, Bella paused for a moment and continued reporting.

"Additionally, I advised them to stay within the church district, but they still visited the nearby city. Unable to refuse, I took them to tour the industrial zone and nearby residential areas... But along the way, they saw the conditions in the slums."

Mammoth City's slums are like an ugly scar; anyone who sees it can't possibly have a favorable impression of the authorities.

Though some efforts have been made by the authorities, it's not a short-term problem to solve.

Hearing that the guests from the Alliance went there, Ashi immediately became tense, cautiously asking.

"Did they say anything?"

Bella carefully recalled the earlier events, then shook her head and replied.

"No, not really."

Actually, not entirely nothing, but they spoke a language she didn't understand, so she didn't comprehend what they were saying.

Standing at the desk, Ashi fell silent, finally letting out a long sigh.

"...I can only hope they understand our difficulties."

He could sense that the purpose of these esteemed guests coming to Mammoth City was not merely for business inspection; they might also be carrying tasks assigned by the Alliance Managers, such as investigating whether the Mammoth State Authority is worth investing in.

Although it's difficult to speak of, the support of the Alliance is really crucial for them.

He actually hoped they would give a definite opinion, even if it's a negative evaluation. Firstly, so he could explain, and secondly, he could use their feedback to make amendments.

The absence of any comment made him the most anxious.

"Do they have any dissatisfaction? Any complaints...in any respect, tell me everything!"

Bella was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, then spoke with an uncertain tone.

"Uh... the lady called Tail seemed disappointed for not seeing a mammoth, that seems to be all."

Now, can that be considered a complaint?

Just as she was puzzled over this, Ashi forcefully slapped the desk.

"Quick! Immediately contact the Mammoth City Militia Group and have them catch one—no, two mammoths from the north bank of the Tasang River and bring them back for her! Make sure it's one male and one female!"

Hearing this ridiculous order, Bella was completely dumbfounded, her mouth agape, frozen in place.

"Send, send two mammoths?"

Does this guy know how big those things are?

However, Ashi was unfazed and spoke with conviction.

"This is a necessary investment! It's also for the future of Mammoth City! Do as I said, we cannot let the esteemed guests of the Alliance have any regrets!"

Seeing that he wasn't joking, Bella could only gather herself, adjusting her expression, and earnestly accepted the order.

"Yes!"

...

At the same time, at the border of Mammoth State, inside the tent of the Grey Wolf Army of the Empire.

General Arai Yang, who served as the Chief Commander of the Grey Wolf Army, was looking at the list sent by the logistics officer, his thick eyebrows gradually twisting into two centipedes.

The logistics officer standing before him did not dare to breathe heavily, only standing there nervously.

However, what was meant to happen would happen eventually.

A sharp gaze shot at him, and with a slam, Arai Yang slammed the list in his hand onto the command table, staring at the logistics officer aggressively.

"Where's the tank? Why hasn't the Conqueror No. 10 tank that I requested been delivered? Why is this delivery all light weapons and dry rations!"

Hearing this, the logistics officer inwardly groaned, quickly explaining with a grim face.

"Sir, you may not know... recently the Alliance and the Army suddenly had a dispute, so the Alliance withheld the military goods originally promised to be sent to the Falcon Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, Arai Yang was stunned, his mouth gaping open for a long time.

"The Army's weapons... were detained by the Alliance?"

This information was too much for him to wrap his head around at once.

How did the Army's weapons end up with the Alliance? And why do they need the Alliance to get to his hands?

The problem caused by the information blockage was apparent, being at the front line, he didn't know what agreements the Empire and the Army had reached, nor was he clear on what disputes the Army and the Alliance had during the Sticky Community Conference.

In his heart, he vaguely felt like a chess piece caught between two fists.

And not just him, the same was true for Laxi standing opposite him.

They were dragged from one unresolved outcome into a new game of chess.

Intuition told him that this war wouldn't end so easily...

The logistics officer sighed and said helplessly.

"That's all I know... It's not just you, even His Majesty is very anxious right now, but it's something we can't rush. According to the Army, if the Alliance finds out the military goods were routed to here after going in circles, it'll get complicated."

In fact, he didn't need to be so polite with Arai Yang. In the past, it would have been the latter who had to speak kindly to him.

However, due to the growing unruliness of local powers, Tiandu now only had this central army, which was suppressing bandits on the border, to rely on.

Now Arai Yang in the Palace of West Winds was at his peak, regarded as a lifeline by both the Emperor and the Dukes and Marquises.

Looking at the helpless logistics officer, Arai Yang took a deep breath and said in a deep voice.

"So what do we do now? The rebels, equipped with the Alliance's gear, have fortified their defenses like an iron wall. Without support from heavy equipment, we can't break through! Even a frontal attack would just send soldiers to their deaths in vain!"

The logistics officer's gaze wandered, stammering out after a moment.

"If it's really not feasible... slowing down the offensive on the front line is not impossible either. The Army has said they'll find a way to resolve the issue and advised us to be patient."

If the Alliance couldn't find the evidence they were looking for, they would ultimately have to honor the contract and release the withheld military goods.

And even if they found the evidence, they couldn't just seize those military goods; at most, they'd send them back to the Wufu Wilderness for the Army to handle themselves.

The Army does have ships, and those supplies would eventually make their way here, though it would take some time... at least that's what the Weilante people communicated to them.

"Slow down..." Arai Yang let out a cold laugh, "If we slow down any further, the rebels will have their railway built up to the front line!"

And to think those paupers managed to acquire so much steel and cement.

The spies he sent into Mammoth City to gather intelligence hadn't unearthed anything substantial, only that some construction material shipping came from Jin Galun Harbor, and some from the Southern Sea Area.

"If it doesn't work... you can do this," the logistics officer gritted his teeth and finally pulled out the last card, "Before departure, His Majesty instructed me that if the battle situation is really difficult, the general can independently recruit soldiers in the Horse State and Bird State areas."

Arai Yang squinted his eyes upon hearing this, staring intently at the logistics officer.

"Did His Majesty really say that?"

Sweating coldly under the gaze, the logistics officer nervously replied.

"Absolutely true! How could I deceive you on such matters?"

Arai Yang stared at him blankly.

"Is there related documentation?"

The logistics officer quickly shook his head.

"No... His Majesty only instructed me orally."

Arai Yang looked at him deeply, then glanced at the list in his hand.

No wonder so many rifles were sent; that was the intent...

"I understand, you may leave."

"Yes, sir!" The logistics officer finally breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully took his leave.

Watching the logistics officer depart, the silent Gopal turned to Arai Yang.

"His Majesty allowing you to recruit soldiers locally—isn't that a good thing? Why do you look so troubled?"

"A good thing?"

Arai Yang's eyes showed a complex emotion, and he lightly said after a moment.

"Can't you see... after this war, we'll be abandoned pawns."

No documentation, only verbal command; whether His Majesty acknowledges it later is just a matter of a single sentence.

If acknowledged, so be it.

If not, even in a small sense, we're driving civilians to the frontlines as cannon fodder.

And if His Majesty decides to investigate deeply, it would be a death sentence for rebellion.

Might even implicate family as well.

Realizing Arai Yang's concerns, Gopal only gave a faint smile.

"Whether we're abandoned or not, the soldiers are in our hands."

Arai Yang's eyes narrowed, and a dangerous glint appeared as he looked at Gopal.

"What are you planning?"

Gopal calmly continued speaking.

"Wolf tribe people won't follow you, their kin are in Wolf State; but Horse Tribe and Bird Tribe people might. I suggest you not only obey the command but do so decisively, not using Horse Tribe and Bird Tribe people as cannon fodder, but instead cultivating loyal followers for yourself—"

"Enough! Don't speak further!" Arai Yang angrily interrupted him.

Gopal wasn't upset upon being interrupted; he only bowed respectfully.

"I was merely offering a suggestion..."

"The Empire is about to fall into chaos. Good men don't last long in troubled times."

After speaking, he left Arai Yang, who had a face full of uncertain emotions, and walked alone out of the military tent.

While the Empire's Gray Wolf was stalled due to a lack of heavy equipment support, the opposing Moon Clan Resistance was busy sending people across the river at night to catch mammoths.

Evidently, every household has its own difficult story; the seemingly prosperous Mammoth State Authority is also struggling.

Meanwhile, new changes are brewing in the Wasteland.

The next day's sunrise was just rising from the sea horizon in the Southern sea area, when the Alliance's Sea Snail submarine carrier surfaced in the nearby Coral City waters.

A small transport plane from Ideal City flew over, landing slowly on the helipad of the Sea Snail.

It was a model Chu Guang had never seen before, resembling the Alliance's Viper; another new enterprise creation, likely copying the Alliance.

But it doesn't really matter to Chu Guang.

After all, the Alliance has often taken useful elements from enterprises; the engine of the "Overlord" transport plane was simply taken from the "Tiger Whale," so reciprocating favors isn't a big deal.

Moreover, Chu Guang was quite pleased that recently, the deditated individuals from Ideal City seemed to have finally understood.

The enterprise council probably realized they too are part of the wasteland; if some lunatic escalates things, ultimately they would have to clean up the mess.

The Torch Church problem is precisely this.

If they had intervened in the Singular Point City crisis early, things wouldn't have escalated into an uncontrollable situation.

Reflecting on their own issues, they've been increasingly active in wasteland affairs lately, with various long-range, high-speed aircraft emerging like bamboo shoots after a rain.

Soon, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie emerged from the cabin.

He wore a radiant smile, extending his right hand to Chu Guang standing beside the helipad from afar.

"Honored Manager, it's a pleasure to meet again!"

Chapter 809: Our Names Will Be Engraved on This Eternal Monument

Watching the old friend disembark from the open hatch, Chu Guang extended his right hand with the same smiling face.

"Pleasure to meet you! Mr. Li, it's been a long time!"

Standing before him was Li Changkong, the manager from the Ideal Group's Construction Department.

As one of the representatives sent by the Corporate Aid Alliance to the City of Dawn, Chu Guang hadn't seen him for a while since the end of the war in Luo Xia Province.

For a long period, foreign relations between the Council and the Alliance were handled by staff from the Comprehensive Management Department and Yi Chuan from the Overseas Business Department.

This time, Li Changkong's visit to the Southern sea area did not represent the Corporate Council but instead the oldest of the five major groups, the "King of Infrastructure"—Ideal Group.

The foundational infrastructure of Ideal City was exclusively crafted by Ideal Group back then. As for transitioning to property and operations services, those occurred after Ideal City was completed.

The purpose of Li Changkong's visit this time was naturally to conduct a field investigation of the "Orbital-free Space Elevator" project proposed by the Alliance at the Sticky Community meeting.

Maintaining the operation of Ideal City requires massive energy expenditure, and this task happens to fall within the business domain of Ideal Group.

If they can reopen a stable passage from the surface to outer space, or even restore the Earth-Moon flights that have been suspended for two centuries, it would undoubtedly address the potential risk of energy depletion that Ideal City may face in the future.

This is precisely why Ideal Group has shown extraordinary interest since the Alliance proposed this plan.

Upon hearing that the Alliance had partnered with the South Sea Union to conduct site selection work in the Southern sea area, the chairman of Ideal Group immediately sent an application to the Alliance's ambassador stationed in Ideal City, Shu Yu, for a field inspection in the Southern sea area.

Seeing the magnates of Ideal City so interested in his plans, Chu Guang was naturally delighted and immediately had Shu Yu approve their application, even personally boarding the Conch Submarine Carrier to welcome him.

Standing on that sturdy steel deck, Li Changkong surveyed his surroundings, his surprised eyes half filled with shock and half with admiration.

Unbelievable.

The settlement that once had nothing but hope has now completed such an incredible project!

Though Ideal City is situated on the coast and is also developing ocean resources, it is not particularly outstanding in shipbuilding technology, at least not as brilliant as their aviation equipment.

This situation is understandable.

After all, during the Prosperity Epoch, the development focus of the United Human continually shifted towards outer space, and the logistics and manufacturing industries on the surface moved more or less towards the four major industrial areas near the space elevator.

Under this major trend, the market share of orbital and aerial transportation saw significant growth, whereas maritime shipping actually stagnated or even contracted.

In addition, the policies adopted by the United Human to protect the marine ecosystem limited the development of ocean resources, resulting in essentially no major advancements in human civilization's maritime technology for over a century during the Prosperity Epoch, with the industry's ecology largely remaining as it was in the early days of the Prosperity Epoch.

Even if some ships have made advancements in materials and power sources, they were mostly passively driven forward by other high-growth industries.

Ideal City, to a great extent, inherited the attributes of the Human Alliance Era, though they did not stubbornly continue the environmental policies of that era, their investment in ocean equipment was far less than in other fields.

Not one of the five major groups treats marine engineering and navigation equipment manufacturing as its main business.

This is exactly why Li Changkong was so shocked.

Although Chu Guang considered the strategic significance of the "Overlord" transport plane to be much greater than the Conch Submarine Carrier, to Li Changkong, it was the opposite.

This is much more astonishing than the Alliance's aircraft!

"It's really surprising... a mobile airfield that can dive, did you design this?"

Seeing Li Changkong's exaggerated expression, Chu Guang laughed heartily and said.

"I'm flattered to be credited, but to be precise, this is a work we completed together with the people of the South Sea Union."

It's indeed touching to think about it.

There was a time when he saw the enterprise's Pioneer with the same astonished expression.

Now, both sides have exchanged positions, and it's the Alliance's manufacturing that amazes the enterprises.

"It's unbelievable..."

Gazing at the smooth deck below and then looking at the towering bridge, Li Changkong still couldn't calm his astonishment, gazing at Chu Guang with bewilderment.

"Our ships gather barnacles and oysters after a few months at sea. How do you keep those things off your decks?"

This wasn't a secret worth hiding, so Chu Guang explained it in a casual tone.

"The Mind Interference Device is not only effective at repelling Variants but also works on some troublesome bivalve creatures."

Li Changkong's face showed an expression of sudden realization.

"So that's how it is."

Though he's not a specialist, this alternative approach indeed has some substance.

"There's even more unbelievable stuff ahead," Chu Guang smiled faintly and continued, "Come with me, I'll show you inside the ship."

With those words, he took the lead and, accompanied by his Guards, led Li Changkong and his group to the direction of the bridge.

The entrance to the ship's cabin was just below the bridge. The group stood on the elevator, and with a slight movement, they soon descended into the submarine's interior.

Inside the spacious area, more than twenty of the Alliance's carrier-based aircraft were arranged in a longitudinal row.

There were vertical take-off and landing transport aircraft like the Viper, as well as fixed-wing planes such as "Lightning" and "Thunder," and even "Cloud Dragonfly" flapping machines imported from Ideal City.

The electromagnetic catapult rail was directly linked to the hatch door, which rose up from the front, connecting a straight main guide rail with multiple branch guide rails connected to the fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft.

In the event of combat, the Conch Submarine Carrier can promptly launch all the aviation equipment stored inside upon surfacing, forming an aerial attack squadron in a very short time, and use the exterior deck runway to provide a transitional platform for land-based aviation units.

Apart from those aviation gears, the ammunition reserves inside the submarine carrier were equally impressive.

The missile racks beside the guide rail were crammed full of missiles of various models.

From a numerical perspective, with the current ammunition reserves of this submarine carrier, it's more than sufficient to meet the consumption of three battles!

And that's not all. In the dome interlayer of that spacious space, there are folded "King Crab" amphibious engineering armors poised and ready.

When not in use, they quietly stay on the charging piles, idling.

Once a deployment order is issued, they can instantly be hoisted by the mechanical arms fixed on the rails and placed on the inner deck, and then deployed through special buffer channels for combat.

From the moment he entered the cabin, Li Changkong was deeply shocked.

This is practically a mobile sea fortress!

And one that can dive at any time!

However, what Chu Guang wanted to show him wasn't how abundant the Alliance's supplies were but something else entirely. So, he took the reluctant Li Changkong straight to the observation cabin at the front of the submarine.

On their way to the observation cabin, Li Changkong seemed to finally remember why he came here, looking at Chu Guang walking beside him and asked.

"By the way, how's your site selection work going? Is it going smoothly?"

Chu Guang replied with a smile.

"Site selection was last week's task. We're now in the experiment verification stage."

Li Changkong looked at him in surprise and said in astonishment.

"The site selection is complete? So fast?"

He originally thought the Alliance would wait until discussions at the Sticky Community conference had results, at least securing some investment before starting the next phase. Yet, the project had already progressed to the experiment verification stage.

That's unbelievable efficiency!

Not at all surprised by Li Changkong's astonishment, Chu Guang paused at the door of the observation cabin, glanced out of the wide panoramic window, and continued.

"We believe this unprecedented non-orbital elevator project won't yield results through discussion alone; only by trying can we know if it works."

Regardless of whether or not they receive support from the Sticky Community in the end, the Alliance will push the project forward according to plan.

It's not only because of the "celestial beings" threat but also because the future of human civilization lies there.

Inheriting the legacy of the United Human is not enough to escape the Wasteland.

To truly end the Wasteland Era and keep the spark of civilization burning, the Alliance must address the numerous issues left from the Human Alliance Era.

Rebuilding the space elevator is just one part of his plan, and there is no better time than now to undertake this task.

Of course, whether or not anyone supports him, he'll continue his work, but if he can secure some "investment," that would certainly be beneficial.

After all, in such a century-defining project, whether viewed from a political perspective or the perspective of collective wisdom, the more concentrated power there is, the higher the probability of success.

Suppressing his surprise, Li Changkong composed himself, looked at Chu Guang, and continued to ask.

"I agree with your view. But...from a practical standpoint, how do you plan to solve the problem of debris floating in orbit? It's an astronomical quantity of wreckage, and if this issue isn't resolved, it's not just the space elevator; even launching spacecraft up there is a problem."

Corporate entities have tried launching spacecraft into outer space, but nearly all become part of the debris after surpassing low Earth orbit.

It's not just about the debris.

There are also long-dormant automated defense systems patrolling the orbit that can identify foreign intruders.

Although companies have cracked a few orbital weapons, they're still a drop in the ocean compared to the astronomical quantity of wreckage.

Rather than focusing on whether the "non-orbital elevator" concept can be realized, he's more concerned about this more practical issue.

Not surprised by Li Changkong's question, Chu Guang fluently replied.

"We've already considered the issue you mentioned. We're considering using a 'gravity well' to clear orbital debris."

"Gravity well?" Li Changkong furrowed his brow slightly, showing a confused expression.

Chu Guang continued.

"The gravity well I'm referring to isn't a natural gravitational well but an artificial one. Simply put, it's about using graviton manipulation technology to interfere with Earth's gravitational field, creating a 'well'-shaped graviton channel in specific regions, guiding orbital debris to actively fall into our designated area."

Li Changkong stared at Chu Guang in bewilderment before finally speaking.

"Is that even possible?"

He had never heard of such a thing!

Embarrassed, Chu Guang chuckled and said.

"We're actually still in the conceptual stage, just like with the 'non-orbital elevator,' and there's likely considerable difficulty in actualizing it. After all, our mastery of graviton-related technology is too limited, and the only 'prototype' we have was seized from the Army."

Even during the Prosperity Epoch, graviton-related technology was on the cutting edge, though its application scenarios were numerous.

For instance, the most classic FTL engines, hyperspace passages between massive celestial bodies, anti-gravity technology, and even deflection shield technology, are all achieved through graviton manipulation.

Though the Alliance's manufacturing level has risen to a new tier with the help of the manufacturing center on Floor B7, it's only reached the point of being able to create deflection shields. Replicating the "escort ship's core" on the Iron Heart would still be challenging, let alone interfering with large celestial body gravitational fields—comparable to "forbidden curse level magic."

Honestly, when the expedition team experts proposed this concept, he couldn't help but question whether those experts had lost their minds.

Before this, Chu Guang was more inclined toward a suggestion from a forum—a bit of a whimsical idea—

That is, launching a number of rockets into low Earth orbit, where they'd drop large nets that float like kites, catching whatever debris they can. Rockets would periodically be launched to retrieve whatever was caught, gradually bringing debris down to Earth.

The method proposed by the expedition team experts, while sounding more convenient than this "filling the sea" method, had theoretical parts that were difficult for him to understand.

Hesitant as he was, Chu Guang ultimately refrained from making the mistake of an outsider directing insiders, and left the verification to the expedition team's experts.

The initial opinion provided by Yin Fang is "The technology has the feasibility of being realized, but the difficulty in achieving it will be enormous," and overall, this possibility was not directly ruled out.

Li Changkong was evidently stunned by this wild idea, remaining silent for a long time before awkwardly smiling and saying.

"This... really goes beyond my knowledge scope, I probably need to go back and consult with professors at Yunjian University. But it's really unexpected that you even considered such special methods, it seems Mr. Chu Guang truly sees great potential in outer space development."

Chu Guang smiled faintly and said.

"Of course, I believe the significance behind it should not need me to tell you."

Li Changkong sighed and said.

"That's easy to say, but our board of directors is actually more focused on the interests right under our feet."

Chu Guang continued in a gentle tone.

"Focusing on the interests under your feet is not bad, walking the road right underfoot can lead you further, but in my view, you have actually developed the land underfoot quite well. Since that's the case, why not expand your ambition a little? You clearly have this capability, why be limited by a small Ideal City."

Upon hearing this statement, Li Changkong's eyebrow couldn't help but twitch.

"Is Ideal City small?"

He felt this guy was somewhat inflated.

Though he admits that City of Dawn has developed well, trying to compare it to Ideal City would be far too arrogant.

Yet Chu seemed undaunted and recklessly continued.

"Small, and not only you guys, including our Alliance, even the Army spanning half a continent, compared to territories during the Human Alliance Era, is a drop in the ocean. If you ask me, you can certainly make your business bigger, for instance... establishing a branch of Ideal City 5 light-years away?"

Li Changkong was stunned, and even seemed to forget his previous displeasure.

"...Five light-years away?"

"Absolutely."

Chu Guang nodded slightly, continuing in a gentle tone.

"Beyond South Gate Two... isn't there coordinates for a new world on your colony ship core? After we deal with the trouble on this planet, we will sooner or later continue the unfinished business from before."

Li Changkong chuckled and said.

"Such things are way too distant."

Chu Guang shook his head and said.

"Actually, it's not that far, we can completely start preparing for that day now. I imagine your fathers turned back not to leave their descendants eternally trapped on this hopeless planet; they must have believed there is new hope here, believing you will once again set forth, hence they returned without hesitation."

It's actually somewhat inappropriate for him to say this, as after all, those people are ancestors of Ideal City, not his ancestors.

But Chu Guang didn't know why, when talking about this story about those people, although his heart was filled with admiration, there wasn't a single feeling of reverence, and he very easily slipped into their perspective, thinking from their standpoint.

This is somewhat presumptuous.

Yet he naturally said these words.

Perhaps because he is an outsider.

When mentioning that part of history, it's like he's narrating an ordinary story, as if describing the storyline of the Game.

Li Changkong gazed at him, only after a while faintly smiling and saying.

"... Maybe."

Residents of Ideal City were actually not shy about others mentioning or commenting on their ancestors, unlike the Army, which was so sensitive.

However, that indifferent expression clearly showed that he hadn't taken Chu Guang's ambition to heart.

But what Li Changkong did not know was that the speech that didn't stir any ripples in his heart inadvertently planted a seed.

The engineering machines of Ideal Group have indeed sat in the warehouse for too long, so long that the devices are almost rusting.

Once, Ideal Group created unbelievable miracles on the Wasteland, but now they can only do patch repairs based on predecessors' foundation.

Even as a construction department manager, he had not missed longing for the wonders completed by predecessors two centuries ago.

Chu Guang's words touched his heart.

The initial reason for the Pioneer Colony Ship to turn back was surely not to leave their descendants always mildew on this planet.

They must have believed in their descendants picking up their unfinished mission someday in the future, hence they decided to turn back without hesitation to save the people who had hope.

Thinking about it this way...

The enticing disease floating 5 light-years away, indeed smells pretty good.

"I am very interested in your proposal, but... might I see something tangible?" Following Chu Guang's gaze, Li Changkong cast his view outside the panoramic windows, gazing at the boundless sea level continuing to say, "Is the surprise you mentioned really just this Sea Snail?"

Before coming here, he had a phone call with Chu Guang, and Chu Guang had promised on the phone he would give him a surprise when receiving him.

He had been looking forward to it since, especially just now learning the Alliance had already progressed the project to experimental verification phase.

However, standing in this observation cabin, he couldn't see anything.

Though this Sea Snail in engineering terms appeared impressive, he certainly didn't specifically visit to understand Alliance's sea power.

Perhaps the Corporate Council might be interested, but it ultimately had nothing to do with his trip purpose.

"Of course not. As for the surprise I mentioned, you'll soon find out." Chu Guang smiled mysteriously, then looked at the captain at his side, giving an order, "Prepare to dive!"

Upon receiving Chu Guang's order, the captain immediately stood up straight and saluted crisply.

"Yes!"

The captain, who received the order, took down the intercom hanging on his shoulder and issued the command with a resounding voice.

"Submerge the entire ship!"

At the same time the order was given, the majestic steel hull pushed away the waves in circles and slowly sank beneath the sea surface.

Watching the panoramic window submerge into the sea, Li Changkong suddenly remembered that his plane was still on the tarmac. He quickly turned to Chu Guang and said.

"My plane—"

"Don't worry," knowing what he was concerned about, Chu Guang gave him a reassuring look, "We've already brought your plane inside."

The tarmac itself was a lift platform. When they stepped onto the elevator earlier, the transport plane, resembling a "Viper," sank into the hangar along with them.

Hearing this, Li Changkong finally felt relieved and turned his gaze outside the panoramic window.

At this moment, the scene before his eyes left him stunned.

In the depths of the vast blue, arcs of flickering light danced beneath the ocean's surface like "sprites."

A towering alloy structure was surrounded at its center by countless flashing "sprites," and metal structures extending outward gradually took shape in the shimmer.

With his eyes wide open in astonishment, Li Changkong was about to ask Chu Guang standing beside him what was happening when the latter seemed to sense his amazement and waved at the captain nearby.

The captain immediately understood and ordered his men to turn on the submarine's forward searchlight.

As the milky white beam of light illuminated the dark space, Li Changkong finally saw clearly what those flickering sprites were.

He saw mechanical bodies shaped like manta rays flapping their large pectoral fins, surrounding a construction site under construction.

The flickering light emanated from the low-temperature arc welding devices on their heads.

Under the shimmer of the arc, metal pipes and plates were quickly welded to the pre-installed metal framework.

Around that metal framework, many crab-shaped mechanical bodies were busy, replacing those "manta rays" in completing more delicate work.

"...Those devilfish-looking things are called electric rays, underwater automatic welding drones we developed not long ago. I forgot which company produced them. The crabs, on the other hand, are 'Crab Styles' we improved based on 'Buprestis' engineering armor, you, in engineering, should have heard of them."

Li Changkong nodded blankly, then sincerely exclaimed a moment later.

"Impressive."

Although companies don't lack innovation, the terrifying speed of innovation in the Alliance truly opened his eyes.

This development speed is simply too fast!

Even rolling a snowball can't describe such speed!

Although part of the credit goes to enterprises, everything here is clearly unrelated to the companies at this moment, entirely created by the united refuge residents and wasteland wanderers.

He felt not only disbelief but more so genuine admiration.

These people are truly extraordinary.

In the past two centuries, everything Ideal City did was merely repeating the Prosperity Epoch without taking a step further.

However, a Survivor Alliance, which has just been born a few years ago, dared to challenge peaks they never dared to dream of — constructing a new tower reaching the sky that even the Prosperity Epoch never owned!

No wonder the council held them in such high regard!

With these torchbearers leading the way, even the lazy residents of Ideal City would be compelled to move forward.

Including himself—

That is exactly why he stands here!

Gazing at the man before him, Li Changkong suddenly saw a possibility he had never imagined.

If it were him, perhaps there's truly hope to end this wasteland!

"...Before coming here, I actually had some doubts, not limited to hesitations about whether it's too early at this time to rebuild the space elevator."

Pausing slightly, Li Changkong looked at Chu Guang, continuing earnestly.

"But after seeing all these, I only feel ashamed for my prior doubts."

"Calculating the value of this project by return on investment is simply an insult to it; this is a project that can open a new era!"

"As you said, if we truly can rebuild the bridge between the surface and space, who knows, we might really reclaim the entire territory of the Human Alliance Era one day."

"The names of Ideal City citizens should be on this magnificent monument, please, use our strength too!"

Those impassioned words almost made Chu Guang feel embarrassed, nearly blushing from embarrassment.

However, he's quite a veteran now and has long developed a wall-like face.

Gazing into those sincere eyes, Chu Guang solemnly clasped Li Changkong's offered right hand, shaking it firmly.

"I must say thank you to you on behalf of all the survivors united and uniting!"

"Thank you for joining us!"

"I assure you, our names will be engraved on this eternal monument!"

Chapter 810: Ironclad Evidence

Being able to bring the company onboard at the "Angel Wheel" stage was certainly an unexpected delight for Chu Guang.

Originally, he thought that to get the company involved, at the very least, he would have to wait until the experimental verification yielded results.

After all, based on Chu Guang's understanding of these people, they are all those who won't act until they see a concrete advantage.

Back then, even when the company was overwhelmed by the Army, the council only made the decision to send reinforcements to the Alliance after a month of lukewarm meetings.

And now, Li Changkong, just by glancing at the Alliance's maritime engineering equipment and the construction site that had already begun, couldn't hold his patience, which indeed surprised Chu Guang a bit.

Although the Ideal Group is not exactly the company, for Chu Guang, there's no difference between the two.

After all, what he needed was precisely the "miracle construction experience" and various engineering talents of the Ideal Group; it might not have been as effective if it were other groups from the Big Five companies.

After disembarking from the Sea Snail, Li Changkong took a special plane to the North Island in the southern sea area and stayed at the North Island Hotel, the highest standard there.

Such a significant matter is clearly not something he, a manager, can decide on his own.

Chu Guang understood that he needed to communicate with other shareholders of the Ideal Group, so he didn't rush him. Instead, he piled project plans, concept drawings, and various miscellaneous items onto him, letting him take them back to the hotel for careful study.

Li Changkong thanked him for his kindness and then enclosed himself in the hotel without further movement, borrowing the hotel's holographic conference room several times during the period.

Although the communication network of the South Sea Union is not connected to the Ideal City, it can still contact the Ideal City via the Alliance as a springboard.

Since the establishment of the Sticky Community, the Alliance and the company have set up numerous signal repeaters along Tianshui to enhance information exchange.

Although the bandwidth of communication channels is limited, at least it does not have to rely on planes for small matters or on crashing the United Human satellite for big ones as before.

Chu Guang didn't have to wait long. Just three days after their initial meeting, this representative from the Ideal Group sought another meeting with him.

The meeting was scheduled to be held at the North Island Hotel.

After three days of discussions, the Ideal Group had already set a preliminary intention for cooperation, and this time the two parties began to negotiate the specific details of the cooperation.

"...According to the company's regulations, for such a large project with an estimated total price exceeding 10 billion Cr, our Ideal Group cannot decide on its own. The decision-making must be approved by the council. However, this is not something you need to worry about; we will find a way to persuade the other members of the council, as long as we can get a majority vote in favor."

This is not difficult for the Ideal Group.

First, the space elevator does not have direct conflict of interest with the other few groups, nor is it as sensitive as the previous "bionic beings' involvement in public affairs" proposed by the Kang Mao Group.

Secondly, the Ideal Group has ample reasons; to solve the future energy crisis of the Ideal City, it is essential to resume Earth-Moon flights before the energy runs out.

Based on these two factors, the council's vote is likely just a formality, and the Ideal Group is unlikely to encounter significant resistance.

As long as the investment and return are not too outrageous or suspected of "asset transfer."

Chu Guang was aware of the regulations in Ideal City, so he was not surprised by Li Changkong's words. On the contrary, he was relieved that Li did not question the estimated cost of "1000 billion silver coins."

This figure was a conservative estimate based on the suggestions of the scientific expedition team; the actual expenditure in the end may not require so much, but it might end up having an additional zero.

After all, it is an epoch-making project with no previous cases for reference, and the relevant units of the Alliance are still taking one step at a time. It is unrealistic to expect him to provide an accurate budget figure.

As the manager of the Construction Department, Li Changkong clearly understood this, so he did not nitpick on the budget, only raising questions about a few unclear parts in the plan.

"I noticed that besides the space elevator itself, your plans also mention guiding the survivors of the Eastern Provinces to migrate to coastal areas... What is that about?"

This part of the content was written at the end of the plan.

Although it did not occupy much space, just a mention in passing, it still aroused his curiosity since this part had not been brought up in the Alliance's Sticky Community conference.

Chu Guang didn't keep him in suspense and directly revealed his plans.

"This part of the plan is newly added. In addition to building a space elevator in the southern sea area, we also plan to establish ten new coastal settlements in the eastern coastal regions of the Central Continent. These are intended to resettle survivors from the Wasteland and focus on developing industries related to outer space development."

Like space debris collection and sorting.

After all, the space debris floating in outer space will most likely end up in the sea beneath his feet, and going to the sea to collect junk and retrieve valuable materials from it will inevitably become a popular industry by then.

It's unrealistic to expect the Wasteland Wanderers to help build spacecraft, but having them stick to their old line of scavenging is feasible.

By that time, the southern sea area is bound to be much busier than it is now.

When the population gathers and forms stable settlements along the coastline, the Alliance can replicate what has been done in other settlement areas.

Such as establishing order, expanding education, and so on.

When these settlements develop into places not inferior to the likes of City of Dawn, Giant Stone City, and Dawn City, they can also extend their light and warmth back along the paths they came, radiating toward the vast no man's land of the Eastern Provinces.

This strategy actually has another advantage; it can create a population siphon effect over most chaotic regions of the Eastern Provinces.

Looters who do not produce are hard-pressed to survive alone in the wilderness.

As the targets they can leech off gradually diminish, they will either abandon their primitive tribal lifestyles, attempt to farm and produce themselves, or follow the southern migrants toward the coastline.

And it's not just the looters; the large and small Slave Owners alike, as fresh blood and passing Commercial Teams diminish, will find their days growing tougher than before.

In a way, this can be seen as a form of shock therapy.

When the Eastern Provinces contain only Looters, Mutants, Slave Owners, Mutated Slime Fungus, and Variants, the Alliance will find it much cleaner and quicker to address the chaos.

Li Changkong was momentarily taken aback, but his first thought was not about the layouts behind the ten settlements made by the Alliance but rather about something else.

"This... wouldn't there be a risk of attacks from Aquatic Variant Humans?"

Chu Guang patiently explained.

"Indeed, Aquatic Variant Humans are dangerous, but there are many dangers on land too; furthermore, Mutants are also active on land. Establishing settlements along the coast means at least the fleet of the South Sea Union can patrol for assistance. If the location of a Mutant Nest is confirmed, our Conch Submarine Carrier will deploy ground troops to assist in clearing. Overall, these ten settlements won't be more dangerous than the original living environments of the Wasteland Wanderers."

Li Changkong nodded.

This sounds quite reliable.

After all, he was familiar with the Alliance's army. Those guys were even tougher than the Mutants, and he heard that they drove the fishmen raised by the Torch Church into retreat on the Death Coast.

However, there was still something he didn't understand.

"...Is this also part of the space elevator plan?"

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Not really, but we plan to advance this work simultaneously while pushing the space elevator project."

After a pause, he continued.

"This is a long-term plan. In the future, we plan to develop the coastal area of the southern sea area into a new 'Space Elevator Industrial Zone,' just like the four major industrial zones that surrounded the old space elevator in the past."

Upon hearing this, Li Changkong showed a suddenly enlightened expression, pinching his chin with his forefinger and nodding.

"I see..."

Building a space elevator alone is indeed not enough; there must be supporting industrial and logistical facilities nearby to process resources transported from space into products.

The United Human once chose to build the sky elevator in the relatively sparsely populated central part of the Central Continent and then gradually moved the population and jobs from other provinces near the space elevator, which is now the Great Desert area.

Rebuilding a space elevator in the central part of the Central Continent is obviously unrealistic; the construction ruins there, and the debris floating in outer space, are astronomical numbers.

However, the southern sea area is an undeveloped treasure trove!

Thinking of this, Li Changkong's eyes brightened even more, and he increasingly felt that moving the space elevator to the sea was simply a genius idea!

Noticing the change in Li Changkong's eyes, Chu Guang's face also showed a pleasant smile.

"Although strictly speaking, this plan is not part of the space elevator project, we might still need your help."

Li Changkong smiled and said.

"That's a small favor... But I have to say in advance, the Ideal Group is a listed company. We have to be responsible to our shareholders and financial statements, and we cannot provide free support for your construction in coastal areas."

Chu Guang also smiled and said.

"You can rest assured about that. I can distinguish between you and the Council; this is purely commercial cooperation, and we will pay the necessary fees!"

"Thank you for your understanding," Li Changkong nodded, paused for a moment, and continued, "Lastly, I'd like to confirm the details of the cooperation contract."

"According to the terms provided in your plan, we plan to bear one-third of the space elevator's construction costs, but the usage and changes of the budget must be signed off by us."

"Additionally, we have concerns about the allocation of transportation capacity. Given that the space elevator is not just a transport tool and may generate other revenues, we hope you can adopt a more equitable distribution method, such as establishing a joint-stock project management company to replace the 'one-third transportation capacity share' with 'one-third of the shares'."

One-third of the shares is not unreasonable, given that the entire space elevator is still at the PPT stage.

And the Ideal Group's promised "bearing one-third of the expenses" are all real money, and this investment is not one-off but will keep following the project's budget adjustments, until the project's completion.

If it weren't for the close relationship between the parties, and the Alliance showing the Ideal Group the hope of a real big pie, the other party probably wouldn't lay down such a heavy bet right from the start.

Faced with the demands proposed by Li Changkong, although Chu Guang's heart was pounding, it did not show on his face. He pretended to think seriously for a moment before saying.

"That's not an issue, the way we considered transportation capacity allocation was indeed inadequate, and it can be improved according to your suggestions. However, in return, I hope your side can provide not just funding, but also your valuable construction experience and related technology... Simply put, we hope you can participate in our project from the design phase."

Li Changkong readily nodded.

"No problem, we actually had this idea as well! To be honest, working in a marine environment is our weak point, and we also hope to learn from you through this opportunity!"

"Let's not flatter each other," Chu Guang lightly coughed and continued, "In addition, if it's a joint-stock profit distribution, I hope to add a supplementary clause. If there are any new partners, our shares will be proportionally diluted."

If it's one-third of transportation capacity share, he could agree to give it to the enterprise, but if it includes other revenues, he would not want to be taken as a fool.

"No problem!" Li Changkong readily agreed and continued, "In return, we require the nomination and veto rights for new partners... Of course, this is an equal right, and you have the same."

"No problem, that's a reasonable request, and we don't want disruptors coming in to sabotage either," By the time he mentioned this, Chu Guang added again, "Of course, as for the identification of disruptors, we need thorough communication. In principle, I am more inclined to let more survivors from the Wasteland participate."

Li Changkong smiled and said.

"You can be assured of that. On this point, our position is consistent with yours! Even if we have some historical grudges, like with the Army, as long as they behave themselves, we won't exclude them from joining."

Chu Guang relaxed his eyebrows, nodded, and smiled, saying.

"Now I'm at ease."

He did not object to such exclusionary partnership agreements; he was just worried about enterprises using their prior position to abuse their veto power.

But actually, thinking it over, enterprises are not like the Army, especially when the Alliance and enterprises always find agreement on who the troublemakers are.

With this realization, Chu Guang stopped fretting over the minor details and happily signed the contract with the Ideal Group.

From this moment, the "Sky Ladder Orbital Transport Company" was officially established, and the Ideal Group officially joined the space elevator project!

The Ideal Group plans to assemble a team of a thousand experts to invest in the project and will soon dispatch a professional technical team to the southern sea area to join the Alliance and the South Sea Union experts in the elevator's design work.

To avoid delaying the project's timeline, Li Changkong immediately contacted his private jet to stay on standby at the hotel's rooftop helipad after securing the contract.

Seeing Li Changkong planning to leave, Chu Guang politely invited him to stay a bit longer.

"Won't you stay here for a few more days? I was planning to show you around Coral City."

"Thank you for your kind offer, perhaps next time! Once the project is underway, I might have to reside here permanently, and then I'll have to trouble you more often."

Gently tapping the contract in his hand, Li Changkong smiled and continued.

"Our chairman has been urging us, so I need to hurry back to Ideal City and bring this good news to the board of directors."

A mega project worth 1000 billion silver coins!

If the space elevator can be successfully completed, the Ideal Group might just return to the peak it reached over a century ago!

In the past three days, he successfully persuaded the board, using the very arguments Chu Guang had shared with him.

Now, it's not just the shareholders of Ideal Group, but even the netizens on Endpoint Cloud who are buzzing about that grand promise five light-years away!

He is now carrying not only the expectations of the Ideal Group's board but also the hopes of the entire Ideal City!

At least, that's how he sees it.

With Li Changkong having said that, Chu Guang nodded and refrained from trying to persuade him to stay.

"You've worked hard."

Li Changkong slightly nodded, smiling as he spoke.

"It's nothing, this is my job after all."

After seeing Li Changkong off to the plane, the issue of financing the space elevator "Angel Wheel" was considered over, and now it was time to await the experimental evaluation results from various experts.

Chu Guang had no expertise in this professional matter; all he could do was try to secure more resources for the Alliance's researchers and support them wherever possible outside the laboratory.

Due to the Ideal Group's representative leaving in a hurry, not even staying for lunch, Chu Guang's schedule suddenly opened up quite a bit.

As Chu Guang was staring at the holographic screen wondering what to do next, Xiao Qi suddenly popped out from the screen, looking worried as she said,

"Master should take an appropriate break; it's rare to have so much leisure time. How about... going to the beach to watch bikinis?"

This was information she'd gathered from a Forum post titled "Top Ten Recommended Relaxation Activities for a Fun and Casual Game" and was supposedly a way to bring joy.

However, upon hearing this, Chu Guang nearly choked on his own saliva, black lines appearing on his forehead.

What kind of weird entertainment is this?

No wait—

Where did this guy learn this from some other wise guy?

"Eh? Don't like it? Then... a player's reply from ID Debt Giant Eye recommended a mysterious alley filled with exotic ambiance in Jinjaron Harbor—"

"Let's go to North Island Heavy Industries. Xiao Qi, arrange it for me." Not waiting for this artificial intelligence to finish its brainless comment, Chu Guang interrupted.

Hearing it was another work-related arrangement, Xiao Qi sighed helplessly, elongating her tone.

"Alright... Master."

Though she understood that Chu Guang had many important tasks to handle, she still hoped he could take a good rest.

Since the end of the Battle of Paradise till now, he claimed it was a vacation to the Southern sea area, yet he hadn't relaxed for a moment...

For Chu Guang's sudden visit, the upper management of North Island Heavy Industries was all flattered and astonished.

Some were delighted, naturally, while others were terrified.

No choice.

They had found so much of their equipment in Haiye Province. Although the Alliance didn't ultimately cause them trouble and merely went through a normal bankruptcy restructuring, business separation, and capital investment process, they couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

Especially the fact that it wasn't Fang Chang coming this time, but the Manager of the Alliance!

With such a high-ranking visitor, no one could be sure what it meant.

Seeing the convoy was about to arrive, the CEO of North Island Heavy Industries could only brace himself and lead the top management downstairs.

Seeing their own off-road vehicle parked at the entrance, that CEO hurriedly stepped forward to personally open the car door for Chu Guang, eagerly saying,

"Honorable Manager, what wind has brought you here?"

Of course, Chu Guang couldn't tell him that he didn't really have a special reason, just that an afternoon appointment was canceled, so he came here for a casual visit to pass the time.

Unexpectedly, the other side was so enthusiastic, with a large crowd gathered downstairs as if it were a team-building event.

Not wanting to disrupt their work, Chu Guang warmly smiled and said,

"Just go about your usual work, don't mind me, I'm just taking a look around."

Hearing this, the executives looked at each other, trying to figure out what this VIP meant.

Seeing their tense manner, Chu Guang realized that if he really left them on their own, they might be distracted for days.

So Chu Guang glanced around and settled his eyes on that CEO.

"You're not busy, are you?"

That CEO promptly stood at attention, almost bringing his fist to his chest in a salute.

"Not busy! Whatever your request, we're fully prepared to comply!"

"Don't be so formal," Chu Guang laughed, patting him on the shoulder, as the flattered CEO responded amicably, "Forget the others; just show me around your production line."

"Yes!"

The CEO responded with a beaming face, then turned to the assembled executives behind him.

"The Manager is here to tour our production line! Let's disperse, everyone! Get on with your work!"

Upon hearing the boss speak, the group of executives collectively breathed a sigh of relief and scattered from the plaza below the building.

Seeing their cautious demeanor, Chu Guang felt somewhat helpless, but he couldn't say much.

However, at this moment, he suddenly thought of something and lowered his voice.

"Xiao Qi."

"What's up, Master?"

"What did you actually tell them when you were arranging my schedule?"

A mischievous giggle came from the communication channel.

"Hehe... didn't say much, just told them the esteemed Manager is coming for an inspection and to come out and greet you."

Just as he thought.

Chu Guang sighed and remarked.

"Don't do such unnecessary things next time."

"Uh... doesn't Master like it?"

A pitiful voice came from the communication channel, and for a moment, Chu Guang couldn't bring himself to harshly criticize it.

"Power is a double-edged sword; we must be extremely careful when wielding it. Especially now, it's different, this sword grows heavier."

"I hope next time you can convey my intentions more accurately, being serious when it's necessary, being subtle when it's called for, rather than taking the liberty to do unnecessary things... especially those done to amuse me."

"Xiao Qi understands the mistake... I'm sorry, Master." The pitiful voice sounded like it was reflecting on itself.

Chu Guang knew Xiao Qi meant well and wasn't intentionally causing trouble, so he didn't scold it too harshly.

However, what Chu Guang didn't notice was that the CEO walking beside him, who previously wore a radiant expression, now returned to an anxious look due to his sigh.

Throughout the journey, he pondered what could have offended the Manager.

Just then, Lu Bei, who had been silently following by Chu Guang's side, suddenly walked a few steps forward and whispered a few words in his ear.

"Sir, the matter you asked me to investigate has results now."

Chu Guang immediately stopped walking and looked at him, asking.

"Speak."

Lu Bei gave a look to a few nearby Guards, gesturing for them to keep unrelated persons at bay, and continued in a low voice to Chu Guang.

"According to our contacts in the Falcon Kingdom, a batch of arms recently exited from the south side of the Falcon Kingdom, passed through the eastern Great Desert, and headed towards the southwestern Poluo Province."

"West Sail Port?"

"Uncertain... but we are sure that this batch of arms from the Wasteland House indeed appeared in Poluo Province, and we have obtained a complete chain of evidence."

Chu Guang's eyes narrowed dangerously.

These big-nosed folks...

Daring to play tricks under his nose, thinking of the Alliance as an easy target.

"Transmit my order: return all Vellante arms back to where they came from! And send a copy of your evidence to Cheng Yan."

Lu Bei straightened up and responded sternly.

"Yes!"

His words had just fallen when a noisy voice came from nearby.

"My lord, I am wronged! Please listen to my explanation!"

The voice sounded as if there was a huge grievance.

Chu Guang was momentarily stunned and then looked toward the source of the voice, only to see the CEO of North Island Heavy Industries looking terrified, with a pale face devoid of blood, stretching out his hand to try to reach him.

The two Guards blocking him looked perplexed, not knowing what had gotten into this guy, but continued dutifully to block him with their arms.

Their superior was reporting confidential matters to the esteemed Manager, so how could they let this guy eavesdrop!

Seeing he wouldn't be dissuaded, one of them pressed him to the ground using their arm.

The Guards Corps are all Awakeners, with strength ordinary people can't break free from.

The scene happened too suddenly, leaving Chu Guang stunned by that phrase of grievance.

He pondered that he hadn't accused this person of anything yet.

Lu Bei gave a complex look to the seemingly guilty person, then cautiously turned to look at the Manager standing beside him.

"Should... I investigate?"

Chu Guang sighed.

"Help him up quickly."

Lu Bei quickly responded.

"Yes..."

Chapter 811: Daily Life of the Alliance Foreign Affairs Department

The next morning.

The Alliance Building was as busy as ever.

Especially the foreign affairs department's office area.

Since the Sticky Community opened the currency electronic settlement channel for member states, there have been different new faces coming here every day to "report" and ask if their settlement can also be connected to this system.

After all, most of the money issued by survivor settlements in the Wasteland actually has no circulation value.

For example, the Red River Alliance issues Red and Blue Tickets.

If it could be exchanged into Silver Coin or Cr, Dinar, even Falling Leaves Province's Golden Lion Coins or Golden Camel, or even Poluo Province's West Winds Coins, that would be excellent.

Though economic cooperation is not the work of the foreign affairs department, establishing diplomatic relations is indeed a prerequisite for cooperation.

If, in the past, the Alliance still needed to search other settlements in the Wasteland and proactively promote itself to the outside world, with the conclusion of the Battle of Heaven, this situation has completely reversed — it is now the settlements in the Wasteland that actively seek the Alliance in River Valley Province.

In a certain sense, Chu Guang is indeed fulfilling his initial promise — City of Dawn is becoming another form of an Ideal City.

Although the facilities of the former are far less luxurious than the latter, even survivors who have not settled in this settlement or those who have never been here can benefit from its prosperity.

And this characteristic is something the Ideal City does not possess.

As usual, the Alliance's Foreign Minister Cheng Yan arrived at his office right on time for work, and casually tossed the intelligence sent by the Guards Corps into the drawer.

It was unexpected that this information would soon become useful.

And just as he anticipated, shortly after he had just sat at his desk, before the chair even warmed up, footsteps sounded down the hallway outside the door, quickly followed by those footsteps stomping in.

With it came the rough voice—

"Minister Cheng, I want to know what exactly is going on with your train!"

The one who came was Centurion Bennott, the Army's ambassador to the Alliance, his secretary trailing behind, clearly showing this guy barged straight in here.

The angry face was hung with dark circles, evidently not sleeping well last night, yet perhaps worried about missing out, he still chose to disturb right as work started.

Cheng Yan didn't feel any surprise about Bennott's arrival, rather if he didn't come, Cheng Yan would be curious about what tricks these Weilante people were up to.

Cheng Yan first gave his secretary a "go handle other things" look, then leaned back in his chair.

Watching the furious big nose with calm amusement, he crossed his fingers on his knees and said amicably.

"Dear Centurion Bennott, what happened that has you so distressed?"

Seeing this guy still pretending ignorance, Bennott squinted and glared at the indifferent guy.

"I received news, last night you guys reloaded the military supplies that were originally to be delivered to personnel in Bister Town onto the train."

"I heard about this," Cheng Yan nodded in a concerned fashion, "I heard our train is repaired again."

"Repaired? Is the problem about being repaired or not!" Bennott nearly pointed at the guy's nose while angrily saying, "Don't tell me all your drivers drank too much on the same day! Why are all your trains headed in the opposite direction!"

Speaking, he propped his hands on the table and said word by word.

"Aren't you guys all about contracts? This is not what was agreed upon in the contract, you'd better give me an explanation!"

"An explanation hmm..."

Cheng Yan chuckled lightly, casually pulling open the desk drawer, retrieved a file bag and tossed it onto the table.

"Then please explain to me first, Centurion Bennott, what's the matter with these things."

Seeing the file bag, Bennott's heart went "thud" and cursed quietly.

Really, fear brings what you fear!

Though already guessed what's inside, pretending ignorance, Bennott still calmly picked up the file bag and opened it.

Inside were drone aerial photos, besides that, a thumb-sized hard drive.

Looking at Bennott's twitching brow, an inconspicuous smile flickered at Cheng Yan's lips as he gently placed a holographic computer pen imported from Ideal City on the table.

"The hard drive contains recordings and images of how the arms departing from the Civil Official Wasteland were transported to Poluo Province. You can take them back and study at leisure, I have plenty here... Or I can play them here for you with my device."

"No need."

Just the photos were sufficient to form a complete evidence chain, playing the hard drive contents would be self-humiliation.

Completely torn faces, Bennott no longer disguised, threw the file bag onto the desk in front of Cheng Yan with a dark expression.

Truth be told, Cheng Yan quite admired the guy.

Despite having his secret shenanigans exposed, the tough expression on his face hadn't changed a bit.

In terms of shamelessness, if Weilante people claim second, no one dares claim first.

"...Those are our weapons, where we transport them is our business! Not for you to stick your nose into!"

Having guessed this guy would say this, Cheng Yan spread his hands out, mimicking his tone said.

"Well the railroad is ours, where we take it is our business too, why come complain to me then?"

"You!"

Bennott glared eyes wide, clenched fists, but finally didn't pound them on the desk, forcefully suppressing his anger.

The stockpiled arms in Civil Official Wasteland were astronomical, even using the Alliance's logistical supply lines took half a year.

If he was to find a way to remove them himself, it would be nearly impossible! Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to borrow the Alliance's railroad initially!

Besides, keeping them in Civil Official Wasteland wasn't viable, not to mention weapon maintenance issues, leasing storage alone costs considerable money.

Moreover, if these weapons couldn't be removed, the ten thousand troops couldn't go home either, logistical expenses were no minor expense.

Though there's a need for army station in Haiye Province, one ten thousand troops is sufficient, no need to station so many people.

And most crucially, these equipments aren't the Civil Official Group's scrap, but Eastern Legion's assets!

Eastern Legion didn't give these props for free, they wanted them to exert pressure on the Alliance through Armed Empire, forcing the Alliance to make concessions in issues like "trophy division", at least obtaining technology regarding "Perfect Life Form" held by Torch Church.

The result was only transport a sixth when the Alliance discovered, causing five-sixths of the arms detained within the Alliance's territory.

This matter was clearly messed up!

Thinking of this, sweat seeped from Bennott's brow, despite hesitation he ultimately bowed his head.

"...Mr. Cheng, we indeed handled this matter improperly, I assure you it will not happen again in the future."

"It's not about handling it properly or not, it's that you have already breached our contract," Cheng Yan stared intently at Bennott, continuing in a serious tone, "If I remember correctly, our contract stated that these weapons are to be transported to the territory of the Eastern Legion, and we are responsible for the transport from Brocade River Province to the western part of Luo Xia Province."

"Yes..."

"But now these arms didn't cross the Great Desert but instead turned east and went directly south."

Seeing Bennott's stiff expression, Cheng Yan continued with a faint smile, "If your understanding of contract compliance is that we must strictly adhere to the contract while you can renegotiate anything written in black and white at will, then I'm afraid I can only express regret."

"Wait... I know we handled this issue somewhat improperly, but I still hope we can solve this problem. After all, you wouldn't want to see so many armaments and troops stranded within the Alliance's borders, right?" Bennott's tone carried an unintentional hint of threat as he said this.

Truth be told, he had enough grounds to be threatening.

After all, a force of over a hundred thousand, coupled with triple the ammunition, could form an extremely formidable power anywhere in the Wasteland.

Yet upon hearing this, Cheng Yan squinted his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean nothing, just concerned about any potential mishaps."

Looking at Cheng Yan's squinted eyes, Bennott nonchalantly continued.

"The Eastern Legion is not as easy to reason with as we are. You've detained so many of their munitions and troops stuck on the front line. Do you think they will let it go without a fight?"

Cheng Yan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Oh? What could they possibly do if not let it go?"

"What could they do?" Bennott sneered at him, questioning, "How could you ask such a foolish question? What do you think could happen—"

"I think if they haven't suffered enough yet, they can try again," Cheng Yan rose from his desk, staring directly into his eyes, speaking in an indifferent tone, "I'd like to see what these over a hundred thousand can do on our turf, whether they could turn the skies or what."

Bennott glared angrily at Cheng Yan, appearing as if he were about to erupt but ultimately did not lose his temper.

Cooperating with the Alliance on the Sticky Community related issues was a strategy set by the Marshal, and although he had a certain degree of decision-making power as the Ambassador to the Alliance, he couldn't change the overarching strategic direction as a mere Ten Thousand Leader.

Besides, he belonged to the Civil Official Group.

The expansionists had been wiped out, and within the Eastern Legion, not many high-ranking members supported expanding eastward beyond the Great Desert; no one would accompany him in madness.

"Let's wait and see."

His intense anger turned into ruthless words, and Bennott finally just gave Cheng Yan a hard glare before turning and walking out the door.

"Let's just wait and see then."

Listening to the heavy door closing, Cheng Yan smiled faintly, tossed the folder back into the drawer, and then made a call to Chu Guang in the southern seas.

Once the call connected, he immediately reported.

"Mr. Manager, the legion's messenger came over just now."

Chu Guang asked immediately.

"What did they say?"

Cheng Yan continued.

"Bennott expressed dissatisfaction with us, but there were no substantive actions, after all, they breached first, and canceling the transportation contract is to be expected."

Cheng Yan paused, then continued seriously.

"But that being said, given the legion's nature, I don't believe they will just let it go... I still suggest you don't push them too hard."

Even though he had displayed a tough stance while communicating with Bennott earlier, it was merely a diplomatic posture.

The legion's notorious bullying of the weak was well-known; showing any sign of fear would get them treated like idiots... much like how the Empire was treated.

In fact, much like Bennott, he personally didn't agree with being too harsh in actions.

Ultimately, just as Centurion Bennott mentioned, with the Eastern Legion's own logistics, it was evidently impossible for them to move all those munitions back.

If forced into a corner, they might just sell it cheaply to the looters in the Eastern Provinces, which could trigger another "Bone Chewing Chaos."

Considering the legion's nature, this is something they'd absolutely do.

Though Cheng Yan left the unspoken implication unsaid, Chu Guang wasn't overly concerned, just smiled mildly.

"I never intended to corner them, but they need to face consequences for their actions. As for the issues you're worried about... rest assured, I am aware."

The matter was quite clear from the beginning; the Eastern Legion wanted to use the Triumph City's Civil Official Group's influence in the Poluo Line to exert pressure on the Alliance, while the Civil Official Group wanted to use the Eastern Legion's munitions to handle their affairs.

This cooperation was inherently logical, but blame them for being too impatient.

As soon as the Mammoth State Authority saw tanks appearing on the front lines, they immediately realized there was a problem and went to the Alliance to file a complaint.

Now that the Civil Official Group had botched things up, the Alliance terminated the transportation agreement per the contract, affecting even the munitions the Eastern Legion intended to send back home.

Bennott must be fretting about how to explain the situation to the Eastern Legion.

Chu Guang was also quite curious about how the legion would handle this situation internally. According to the intelligence provided by brother Pangolin, the four legions were significantly stronger than the Triumph City's Civil Official Group, and the Eastern Legion would hardly swallow this rage.

Though Chu Guang said not to worry, hearing his idle tone made Cheng Yan feel anxious, fearing he might not realize the gravity of the problem, and couldn't help but ask.

"What if they sell the munitions locally?"

Chu Guang answered succinctly.

"No need for 'if,' they've been doing that for quite some time already."

Cheng Yan was taken aback.

"Already... started?"

"Indeed, around last week, and the intermediaries are actually our people."

Hearing the astonished tone, Chu Guang smiled lightly, speaking in a gentle tone.

"That's why I tell you not to worry; apart from deceiving us through clever tricks once, they've always been under our surveillance."

"They simply have not realized it."

Chapter 812: Always Staying Ahead of the Patch

"Achoo!"

At the military base of Death Coast, Mosquito suddenly sneezed without any warning while standing next to the warehouse, sniffing and mumbling.

"Damn it, who the hell is secretly infatuated with me now..."

Upon hearing the "Achoo," his Rat-man follower immediately took off his jacket and diligently draped it over Mosquito's shoulder.

Though it wasn't cold at all, Mosquito still appreciated the gesture.

In fact, although he didn't give a high evaluation to this underling in front of Elder Fang, he was just voicing his thoughts casually.

And this kind of casual talk is probably just like a father ranting about how useless his son is in front of another dad, not serious at all.

Fairly speaking, although this guy is a bit timid and fearful, looks somewhat sleazy, and lacks vigor—especially the attitude of an ace pilot—he has quite a few merits.

For instance, he can read the room and knows how to get things done, etc.

However, hoping for such a person to inherit his mantle is hopeless, but it's still good to cultivate him as the CEO or CSO of Goblin Technology.

In short, make use of everything!

Thinking of this, Mosquito's urge to show off kicked in, so he waved his hand.

"Jerry, come over."

This name was made up by him at the insistence of his Rat-man follower, whom he casually helped to make it up.

According to his follower's own words, this was to get rid of the mark left by the Poluo Province and better integrate into the society of the Alliance, and also to avoid entering the reincarnation cycle of Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods in the future.

Although Mosquito himself is an atheist and doesn't believe in that stuff at all, he still complied with his follower's request, hoping this guy could live a more proper life.

Survivors from Poluo Province and residents who lived there three centuries ago are not the same group of people. They don't look much different from other survivors who escaped the Great Desert; with a name change, no one can really tell where he's originally from.

At least survivors from outside of Poluo Province wouldn't distinguish too much.

Upon hearing Mosquito calling him, Jerry quickly stepped forward, leaned slightly, and listened intently.

"What orders do you have, sir?"

Adjusting the jacket on his shoulder, Mosquito slightly tilted his head, speaking with an air full of attitude.

"Observe more, learn more, I have high expectations for you... It's beneath your talent to buy small cards; I'll take you to do bigger deals in the future."

Hearing the grandiose promises from Mosquito, Jerry was so overwhelmed with emotion that he almost kneeled on the spot and recognized a godfather.

"Oh come on, look at you, with such low ambition."

Mosquito waved his hand, halting his follower's gratitude, then cleared his throat loudly, and shouted towards the officer walking out of the warehouse.

"Ahem! How do you guys think about it?"

The person walking out from the warehouse was the quartermaster Jopra from the Tiger State's major client, under the command of Colonel Jieha Wan of the Tiger army, holding a military rank of Thousands of leaders.

Glancing at the Rat-man standing next to Mosquito, the Tiger Clan's Jopra instinctively showed a hint of disdain in his eyes.

However, when he looked at Mosquito, his face bore an expression of respect.

"We've already seen it... We're very satisfied with your goods! These weapons are a huge help to us!"

In total, twelve Conqueror No.10 heavy tanks, thirty-six Conqueror No.5 light tanks, and forty-eight 100mm cannons!

On top of that, there's a massive quantity of "Blade" assault rifles and 7mm ammunition!

These items are ninety percent new; although not as durable as the League's LD series weapons, compared to those "Opener" from the West Sail Port Tentacles, they are way superior!

With these sophisticated armaments, the Tiger army can easily pull out another armored ten-thousand team, and even four or five infantry ten-thousand teams!

And all according to the standard format of an army!

By then, not only the nobles and dignitaries from Tiandu, but even McCullen from White Tiger City would have to kowtow to their master Jieha before leaving!

Thinking about this, the corners of Jopra's mouth almost drooled, eager to fly back to White Tiger City immediately with this batch of equipment to claim credit.

Seeing his customer so delighted, Mosquito also revealed a joyful smile.

"Glad you're satisfied! Our small business doesn't do credit; please settle the payment if convenient, as soon as I receive the money, I'll ship right away! Door-to-door delivery guaranteed!"

"No problem!"

Jopra readily agreed, but then awkwardly chuckled and softly said, "By the way, can we pay with West Winds currency?"

Pay with West Winds currency?

Mosquito was first stunned and then raised his eyebrows, glaring at the person in front of him.

"Are you bloody trying to cheat?"

Good heavens!

Playing tricks with empty hands on his turf?

He must be tired of living!

Not only did Mosquito's gaze turn unfriendly, but Jerry standing beside him also glared at the group of Tiger Clan people, along with Mosquito's followers such as Discourage and Kill God.

Seeing the alliance's bigwigs looking disgruntled, Jopra hurriedly explained.

"Sir, please calm down! How could we dare default on your account? It's just that... our silver coin reserves are really tight, and we can't manage the turnover at the moment."

"What does that have to do with me?" Mosquito said with a darkened face, "I only accept silver coins here, who wants your scrap paper!"

Seeing that this bigwig was unwilling to compromise, Jopra was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, with beads of sweat hanging from his forehead.

Seeing that he couldn't get a single word out, Mosquito sighed and waved his hand.

"Fine, if you don't want to buy, don't buy. We can't force you. Besides, I see you have no sincere intention of doing business. I'd better talk to the military faction in Leopard State."

Hearing this, Jopra couldn't sit still, especially as he saw Mosquito turning to leave, and he quickly called out.

"Wait a minute!"

Mosquito stopped and looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What is it? Do you have money now?"

Jopra struggled internally for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said resolutely.

"Silver coins... we really can't produce them. The Imperial Royal Mint is reluctant to approve our quota of silver coins. But, however! We still have a lot of Westland Coins! If you are willing to accept payment in Westland Coins, we can do it at... 80—no, 90! Wait! 100! 100 Westland Coins for 1 Silver Coin! We'll trade at a 100:1 exchange rate with you!"

This was the last card handed to him by Colonel Jieha.

If it weren't for the fact that this batch of equipment was too important, he wouldn't want to play this card. After all, if the liquidity in the White Tiger City bank's account is released, those small and large workshops and the residents working there will have to suffer again.

It's worth noting that a few months ago, when the Empire just lifted the embargo on Jin Galun Harbor, the exchange rate of Westland Coin to Gallon was 5:4, which converted to silver coins was only 12.5:1.

Now using a 100:1 exchange rate for this deal is a whopping loss!

After hearing Jopra's words, Mosquito indeed stopped and looked back at the supply officer standing at the warehouse door.

100:1!

This exchange rate is basically the cost price at which major banks in the alliance "purchase in bulk" from the South Sea Union Central Bank, which is already quite generous!

If it were Jin Galun Harbor's bank, the actual exchange rate of Westland Coin to Silver Coin might even be higher, reaching around 80:1.

In other words, if this deal is signed, Goblin Technology could earn a profit of 25% just from the exchange rate difference!

The only risk is that the money might get stuck...

Even though he was extremely reluctant to accept Westland Coins, these "vouchers," the amount offered was just too tempting.

Mosquito struggled in his mind but ultimately made a decision against his ancestors' advice.

"MMP! Deal!"

Anyway, once he got hold of these Westland Coins, he would immediately swap them at Jin Galun Harbor for silver coins, which shouldn't be much of a problem!

Moreover, if the military faction in Tiger State could grow stronger with this batch of equipment, maybe in the future, they'll trade with him in silver coins?

This is a long-term deal.

Mosquito comforted himself with this thought.

Hearing this deal being closed, Jopra's heart was also bleeding, and the few followers behind him closed their eyes in pain.

100:1...

It was tantamount to buying a Conqueror No.10 tank worth a million silver coins for a billion Westland Coins!

And just a few months ago, the import price of the same tank was still 12.5 million Westland Coins, with an additional twenty shells!

The arms on the import list accounted for one-sixth of the legion's total reserves in the Wufu Wilds. If all the equipment to be delivered later is included, the total value of this arms sale contract will reach a staggering 50 billion Westland Coins!

And the value of just the first batch of arms delivered would be 10 billion Westland Coins!

Almost all the soldiers from Tiger State on the scene cursed in their hearts.

God damn it...

Who the hell stole their money!

...

At this moment, far away in the City of Dawn, Bennott was unaware of the little incident that had occurred at Death Coast, nor did he know that the batch of arms he was concerned about had been quietly sold one-sixth.

After slamming the door of the alliance foreign minister's office, he regretted it just as he got to the door, but turning back would be too humiliating.

Especially when he thought of that annoying face, Bennott gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and kept heading toward the stairs with determination.

Seeing those lining up at the foreign affairs registration office looking at him, Bennott, who was still seething with anger, immediately glared back at them.

"What are you looking at?"

Shocked by that glare, whether they were real diplomats or fake ones, all quickly averted their eyes, not daring to provoke this menacing character.

The people of Vellante were infamous for their pettiness.

Although these guys didn't have the knack for dealing with the alliance, they could definitely handle anyone else, especially with ten ten-thousand troops stationed in the eastern part of the Central Continent.

As they watched the furious figure disappear at the end of the hallway, a group of survivors lining up at the door began whispering softly to each other.

"Was that... the legion's ambassador?"

"Look at that nose, it must be him!"

"What got him so worked up?"

"Who knows... lately they've been having quite a few verbal spats with the Alliance on the Sticky Community, maybe they didn't argue enough during the meeting."

"Could it be that the Alliance and the Army are going to fight again?"

"Hard to say, I heard the Army is dissatisfied with the way the spoils of Haiye Province were divided, thinking the Alliance and companies conspired to hide the technology related to the Perfect Life Form, and it seems they even pointed at the Academy, which didn't make much noise in the meeting."

"I think it's possible the Academy took advantage, these guys from the swamp... they love to silently make a fortune."

"Sigh, I just hope they don't really start fighting."

Upon hearing the rumors of war, almost every survivor couldn't help but show a trace of worry or even gloom on their faces.

Most survivors standing here came from orderly and neutral or above settlements, mostly to catch the high-speed development wave of the Sticky Community, not to participate in the conflict between two giants.

However, while the majority of survivors hope for peace, there are also some opportunists who smell potential business opportunities hidden in the situation.

The possibility of a direct conflict between the Alliance and the Army is actually quite low.

First, the cost for the Army to launch a campaign against the Great Desert is simply too high, and the gains are negligible.

Second, the enterprise would definitely get involved if the Army expands east, which might even drag the Academy that is busy reclaiming the lost technology of Haiye Province.

However—

While the chance of direct conflict is slim, a proxy war is not entirely out of the question.

For example, Bister Town is the permanent pain in the heart of the Falcon Kingdom, and the Honey Badger Kingdom next door is always thinking of a complete revenge on the latter.

As long as the Army and the Alliance even think about sparring, Luo Xia Province can immediately become a powder keg with a fuse.

And there's Poluo Province.

Although it's the territory of the Triumph City Official Group, the Army doesn't have a direct military presence there, but conversely, it's a key market for the Alliance, especially Baiyue Corporation has invested heavily in the East Coast region of Poluo Province.

If the Army wants to disturb the Alliance, starting from Poluo Province is also a good option, it might even give the residents of City of Dawn a hit on their finances.

As everyone was discussing with their own agendas in mind, the angrily fuming Bennott had already boarded the special car parked downstairs of the Alliance Building.

"To Embassy Street!"

He threw a command at the driver, then sat in the back seat with his eyes closed, not making another sound, as his mind raced.

Sitting beside him, the secretary Dominie carefully observed his facial expression, and only when his mood had somewhat stabilized did he softly say.

"Sir, what does the Alliance mean by this?"

Bennott snorted coldly through his nose.

"I think they don't want to hold proper talks with us."

Dominie gave a bitter smile and said.

"I think... you should probably avoid acting impulsively, the Alliance likely doesn't want us leaving so much equipment in the eastern part of Central Continent either."

Upon hearing this, Bennott, who had just calmed down, flared up immediately and shouted.

"Am I the one being impulsive?"

"Am I the one being impulsive? These damn Blue Ground Squirrels... just because they got lucky and won against the remnants of the Eastern Legion once, they dare to shit on our heads!"

Bennott kept cursing aloud, and Dominie sitting next to him could only smile bitterly and try to comfort him, without saying anything.

Just then, the car phone hanging on the door suddenly rang.

The bodyguard sitting in the passenger seat glanced at the central screen, then quickly turned and said to Bennott sitting in the back seat.

"Sir, it's a call from General Lucien."

Hearing Lucien's name, Bennott's brow twitched hard.

It was definitely the last name he wanted to hear at the moment.

Without a word, Bennott reached out and picked up the phone, placing it to his ear, only to be met with a thunderous roar.

"What happened with that batch of arms sent to Bister Town! Why were they all shipped back to the Weilante Plain! Bennott, I need an explanation immediately!"

An immediate explanation...

I'm not your subordinate!

Bennott cursed in his heart, but since it was his side that messed things up, he could only hold his temper and say.

"There was a bit of an accident with that batch of arms—"

"A bit of an accident?? What kind of accident could cause the arms already delivered to Bister Town to be loaded back onto trucks and sent to the Weilante Plain!"

After getting scolded, Bennott's temper flared up too, and he angrily said.

"What can I do if it's the Alliance not keeping their word! They tore up the transportation contract with us!"

"The Alliance didn't keep their word?" Lucien sneered, "How come I heard it's your underlings who got caught with evidence by the other side?"

Bennott's expression stiffened, his mouth twitching as he spoke.

"Indeed, we can't rule out this aspect—"

Lucien showed no courtesy, sneering as he continued.

"Ha, I've said it long ago, the friends you made in the zoo are unreliable. They're nothing but a drag—"

"Who's the one pushing me to pressure the Alliance?" Bennott suddenly erupted, shouting angrily, "If it weren't for some fool urging me to act quickly, would things have developed to this point? And you, Centurion Lucien, don't forget you were involved in this too! You agreed to the Armed Empire's plan! Don't try to dump all the blame on me!"

The carriage fell silent, only Bennott's heavy breathing resounding.

The driver nervously gripped the steering wheel, the bodyguard in the passenger seat stared out the window, and Dominie wiped the sweat from his forehead.

It wasn't just inside the carriage.

On the other end of the phone, Lucien was also silent for a while. After a moment, he said.

"...Let's think of a way to solve this problem."

Knowing it wasn't the time for arguments, Bennott quickly calmed down.

His index finger softly tapped on his knee, his mind raced, quickly forming an idea.

"The Western Legion... the ships of the Western Legion could help. I'll contact them to send some transport ships to the southern sea area. Once the equipment is moved to West Sail Port, we have enough capacity there to haul the equipment back to Triumph City... at least part of it."

Lucien lowered his voice.

"Then you'd better hurry. Our soldiers are eager to return home, and if it doesn't work, I'll dispose of the excess equipment on the spot."

Upon hearing this, Bennott quickly said.

"Wait, I'm not against disposing of it on the spot, but you should at least leave us a third. Otherwise, the stock we have is far from enough to exert pressure on the Alliance's military presence in Poluo Province—"

"That's your problem. For every extra day we stay in the eastern region, we lose over a million dinars, and we must withdraw over ninety percent of our forces west of the Great Desert by the end of the year, as instructed by the Legion Leader."

After saying this, Lucien didn't wait for Bennott to speak before hanging up the phone.

Listening to the busy tone on the other end, Bennott cursed, slamming the communicator back onto the car door.

"...That bastard keeps throwing problems at me every day!"

Before the end of the year...

It's already mid-December!

Even if they switched from road to sea, where could he find so many ships in such a short time?

Dominie hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly.

"Actually, if they can dispose of the arms locally, it wouldn't hurt to let them. Those weapons left in the eastern Central Continent would cause some trouble for the Alliance and the companies, which wouldn't be a loss for us."

"Who cares about them," Bennott said with a smirk, "what I care about is the arms they have... it's crucial for our Armed Empire! At least we need to take the portion they promised us!"

Dominie, pinching his chin, pondered.

"Entrusting the Western Legion is definitely too late. Not to mention the cost of inviting them, even if they do come, the earliest would be the beginning of next month..."

"Summon a fleet from West Sail Port, mobilize the local residents. Those who do business probably have some ships, just grab as much as you can." Bennott rubbed his sour brow, speaking with exhaustion.

For the sake of West Winds, this "ally," he could be said to have worried excessively, helping to develop their industry, recruiting instructors for their training, and even providing equipment to them at a discount.

Unfortunately, this group of people couldn't be supported like mud, and not only couldn't they defeat the Alliance, but they also couldn't even beat bandits from the mountains, losing a state almost as big as Haiya Province!

If these people had shown a bit more vigor, he wouldn't be so anxious...

Seeing the worried face of Colonel Bennott, Dominie quickly said.

"I'll get the message to West Sail Port as soon as possible!"

Bennott nodded.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you."

Getting the message to West Sail Port isn't as simple as making a call to the frontline. After all, currently, only Jinjaron Harbor in the entire Poluo Province has a League cable, and even the Mammoth State Authority, a League subordinate, is only in the application stage.

Perhaps...

Triumph City might consider investing in a cable to West Sail Port.

At least connect the Empire's vassal, the Falcon Kingdom, in the eastern Central Continent, making it quicker for us to obtain information from Poluo Province.

Thinking this, Bennott casually picked up the Survivor's Daily inserted in the car door, preparing to pass the time by reading the news.

However, as his gaze fell on the newspaper headline, he was stunned.

The headline read:

["Sky Ladder" Orbital Transportation Company Registered! Ideal Group Acquires 33% Share, "Sky Ladder" Plan Officially Enters Construction Preparation Stage!]

He had always thought that the Alliance's announcement of the space elevator plan was to divert the attention of many members of the Sticky Community from issues like the unfair distribution of war spoils from the Paradise War.

Never expected—

"...These guys are serious?!"

Chapter 813: How Is This Enemy More Decent Than Our Own Brothers?

"A...space elevator?! Are you serious?"

The rickety open-top truck rattled along the rugged mountain road, rusty iron plates and railings clanking with the rise and fall of the axles.

It seemed like it might fall apart at any moment.

About twenty people crowded into the truck's cargo bed, their eyes filled with surprise and disbelief, all fixated on the man with mud-caked boots and a travel bag slung over his shoulder.

They didn't know where this guy came from, only that his name was Zhang Ze, a traveling merchant on the Wasteland.

The backpack on his shoulder was all his belongings, containing some peculiar little gadgets and bits of scrap he picked up along the way.

This was quite common.

There were even more merchants than mercenaries on the Wasteland, and not everyone could do big business like Mr. Lister; most scraped by, saving every Silver coin.

"Of course it's real! Why would I lie to you?"

Very satisfied with those naive gazes, a look of pride spread across Zhang Ze's face.

Then he reached into his backpack and pulled out a crumpled newspaper, forcefully straightening it out in front of him, cleared his throat, and began to read with enthusiasm.

"...213 years, the Wasteland Era has lasted for a full 213 years, and soon the calendar will turn to a new year. If no new changes are made from this moment, the coming 214 will be no different. Therefore, we have decided to do something, to light a torch on this barren ruin that truly dispels the cold night, and not at the expense of the silent majority."

It was the Manager speaking on the broadcast.

Although he couldn't quite imitate the perfect broadcast intonation, his hoarse voice was almost indistinguishable from the noisy static of a radio.

Starting from the part about the space elevator, he kept reading down, all the way to the Alliance's plan to establish ten settlements along the coast of the Eastern Provinces on the Central Continent.

Gazing into hopeful eyes, the light of anticipation grew ever stronger.

Food that will never be exhausted, and work even the most illiterate Waste Land Wanderer could do!

Not only that—
there were hospitals and schools!

The Alliance's Home of the Refugees even generously promised to provide interest-free loans to disabled survivors for installing non-combat prosthetics produced by Huge Rock Military Industry, with repayment deferred until the third year!

That Manager was truly a respectable adult!

Not only did he notice the sky above, but also the dust beneath his feet—the people struggling for a living on the Wasteland.

Compared to the Torch Church's depicted Heaven, undoubtedly, the Alliance he led was the real Heaven!

If it were someone else saying these words, they would have been alert to some sugar-coated trap.

However, that great person was different.

Even though he never boasted of his good deeds, everything he did was witnessed by the survivors on the Wasteland.

Whether living within the Alliance as survivors or those who had merely been there.

For this reason, when his voice appeared on the wilderness's broadcast, nearly all survivors longing for the Alliance packed their bags and embarked on a journey.

After the dissolution of the War Construction Committee, people finally had a reliable broadcast again!

"...Above is the entirety of the Survivor's Daily content, and we are about to head to the first of the 10 settlements—'No.1 Settlement'."

Once the traveling merchant finished reading, a mercenary squatting opposite him couldn't help but ask.

"Don't these settlements have a nicer name?"

"Unfortunately not," Zhang Ze closed the newspaper and stuffed it back into his backpack, "but really there's nothing to be regretful about as the newspaper said...the honorable Manager hopes we will name it - it's going to become our new home for a long time."

At that moment, a Waste Land Wanderer raised an arm with a welded prosthetic and with a smile said,

"Don't include me, I have my own home, I'm just headed there to earn Silver coins."

His name was Reno, a Scavenger from Garbage City, and he'd heard there'd be endless garbage to pick in the Southern sea area, which is why he came here to try his luck.

Even if garbage doesn't fall from the sky, at least the junk in Haiye Province hasn't been picked over by anyone, let alone what past survivors left behind.

The Alliance's railway had just passed through Ten Peaks Mountain, and it was quite a distance from River Valley Province to here, he'd at least stayed on the train a full day and night.

To see how attached this guy was to garbage.

Zhang Ze shrugged indifferently.

"Of course, that's your freedom."

Not everyone desires a stable life, but he had wandered the Wasteland too long, sometimes thinking settling down wasn't bad.

Whether cherishing dreams of a homeland or longing for Silver coins, a group of people from various parts of the Wasteland sat in the same truck.

After a long, bumpy road, a hint of human habitation finally appeared upfront.

If seen elsewhere, most refugees' first reaction to signs of settlements would be cautious.

But here it was different.

The most renowned survivor organization on the Wasteland was here, at least until the order here became decayed, no Looter Tribe would foolishly camp here.

A checkpoint appeared up ahead on the road.

The driver drove the vehicle straight ahead, pulling the handbrake once near the checkpoint.

A Weylent Military Officer, flanked by two Soldiers, approached and asked the people on the truck.

"Who are you?"

The driver poked his head out of the window, his weather-beaten face wore an innocuous smile.

"Dear military officers, we are survivors going to Death Coast, may I ask where we are?"

The Weylent Military Officer glanced at him, seeing nothing of note in the car, signaled the checkpoint to open the barrier for passage.

"This is the Ruins of North Sea City, you still have to head another one or two hundred kilometers south to reach Death Coast."

"Thanks a lot." Seeing the checkpoint barrier open, the driver breathed a sigh of relief, expressed thanks, and pulled his head back into the window.

"You're welcome."

As the officer watched the truck start again, he suddenly seemed to think of something and spoke again.

"...Oh, wait a moment."

The driver was stunned, quickly pulled the handbrake up again.

"Is there anything else?"

Everyone in the truck became nervous.

Including the prosthetic-armed Reno, whose hand unconsciously moved to his weapon.

Although sensing the tension, the officer didn't mind, simply looked at the individuals in the truck's cargo bed and said,

"If you're going there looking for work, we've got work here too."

A mercenary with bullet belts wrapped on his jacket said warily.

"We don't want Dinars."

The officer's brow twitched violently, though annoyed, he still said.

"We'll pay Silver coins."

These ungrateful folks, now they're getting picky, how infuriating!

Unfortunately, the Alliance's trains refuse to carry slaves, and the ships and ports of the Southern sea area refuse to provide any convenience for the slave trade. Clone soldiers won't do the work either; otherwise, he wouldn't bother with these poor wretches.

Upon hearing that these Weilante people would pay Silver coins, many in the truck had their eyes light up.

"How much would you pay? No, I need to ask what kind of work first!" Reno squinted his small eyes into a line, staring intently at that Weylent Military Officer.

Seeing their interest, the officer cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Anthony, the Centurion of the 37th ten thousand troops, in charge of this construction site... The work you need to do is simple, just excavating relics: 20 Silver coins a day for using a shovel, 50 Silver coins a day if you can operate a goblin excavator."

Although they hadn't found the fabled entrance to Shelter No.20 and the Torch's Complete Life-Born Project information, they did uncover plenty of valuable goods over this period.

After all, the residents of Shelter No.20 and the Torch Church were active in the area for a long time. Besides unearthing relics from the Era of Prosperity, they also made some creations and improvements on this foundation.

In short, the Alliance's scientific expedition team has set up a sub-station nearby, and their leader agreed to package some of the less critical debris and relics for sale to the Alliance's expedition team to earn military funds.

It's too costly to transport these things back to the Army's homeland, not to mention that there might not be anyone who wants them there. They already have vast relics in their homeland waiting to be developed; there's no need to think about these here.

What they're interested in are merely the Torch Church's research on the "Complete Life-Born" project.

Hearing Anthony's offer, everyone exchanged glances and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"20 Silver coins a day? Are you trying to hire beggars?"

"Exactly!"

"Even for the least skilled and least in-demand jobs in City of Dawn, we get 4 Silver coins an hour!"

"8 Silver coins an hour! And at least two meals provided! Also, don't think of fooling us with nutrition paste! I want to eat from the same pot as you! Otherwise, don't even think about it!"

The tense atmosphere on the spot was instantly dispersed entirely.

Seeing that the Army wasn't robbing but recruiting workers, everyone began to toughen up, shouting one after another, making Anthony, standing beside the truck, so angry that his brow throbbed madly.

These greedy Hyenas!

Anthony cursed in his heart.

If he were in his hometown, he'd have whipped these guys who dared to stick their noses up at him long ago!

"Alright! Just as you said... Ordinary workers get 8 Silver coins an hour, and those who can operate excavators will get double!"

Three-shift excavation, 8 hours a day, and a total of 1920 Silver coins a month.

For 100 people, that's just 192,000.

The revenue from the relics is far more than that; just yesterday, the batch of "junk dragged from the Shelter No.20 settlement ruins" they tossed to the Alliance expedition team was worth 1 million Silver coins!

Currently, the development progress of the entire relic is less than 10%, and who knows how many treasures are still hidden inside.

Hearing Anthony's words, Reno didn't hesitate. His right hand grabbed the rail, and he jumped off the vehicle.

"I'm in!"

Not just Reno, four others hesitated but eventually stood up and jumped off the truck.

Getting such a high income from scavenging is already pretty good, and they get meals and lodging here.

Scavengers in the Wasteland are at the very bottom; many end up sick from scavenging — if not infected by fungi, then with radiation sickness, not to mention various mental illnesses from losing all their sanity value.

While working under the Weylent people isn't as guaranteed as the Alliance, it's more dependable than working for various unknown survivor organizations.

At least, they would get the salary they agreed upon.

"Take care, brothers! Until we meet again, haha!" Reno waved to the guys still on the truck with a smile.

Watching his beaming face, those sitting on the truck also hesitated but ultimately didn't get off.

What if the Alliance offers more?

Moreover, even if the Alliance offers less than the Army, if the price difference isn't too significant, they'd rather work for the Alliance.

One is safety, and the other is a sense of belonging—two things the Army can't provide.

"Good luck to you all." Zhang Ze didn't hesitate at all, only offering a blessing to the scavengers they'd just met and leaned against the truck's railing, waiting for departure.

From the moment they set out, he'd already made up his mind about his destination, and unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't get off halfway.

Watching the truck pull away, Anthony gestured to his men.

"Assign them work, have the brothers from the relic switch out... Also, ask the passing convoys, pay them 8 Silver coins an hour, and talk separately for those who can use engineering equipment."

"Yes!" The soldier stood at attention and saluted, then looked towards the five excited but nervous scavengers, "Follow me, I'll take you to the work site."

After watching that group leave, Anthony checked his watch and then looked towards the direction of the checkpoint, furrowing his brows.

He wasn't waiting here to arrange work for a few scavengers but rather because a big shot from the Alliance had agreed to meet him here.

But now it seems this person is late...

But just at this moment, a cloud of dust rose in the distance, and two tall off-road vehicles appeared in his view.

His knitted brow immediately relaxed, and Anthony hurriedly waved his hand to the side.

"Open the checkpoint!"

The soldier nearby immediately ran over and raised the barrier.

It wasn't long before the two off-road vehicles passed through the checkpoint and stopped in front of him. Several soldiers in exoskeletons jumped off the vehicles.

Seeing the shiny exoskeletons, the Weilante people standing alongside the road couldn't help but show envious expressions.

Though the Army also has its own developed exoskeletons, they're usually only equipped by the most elite units.

After all, these things put quite a burden on logistical support.

Even for the Alliance's troops, where all are Awakeners, they turn off the power to save energy during non-combat times, needing at least one or two maintenance companies per regiment to conduct repairs and regular maintenance.

Enterprises don't even need mentioning; repair camps are almost standard for every mountain division, and spending on maintenance is no less than on ammunition.

"Sorry, we were held up a bit on the road, hope we haven't kept you waiting..."

The Mosquito, stepping out of the car, smiled as he approached Anthony, warmly extending his right hand.

Anthony smiled faintly in return, shaking the proffered hand.

"Hope you all can be a little more punctual next time."

"Definitely, definitely!"

The smile on Mosquito's face grew even broader, especially after he saw the epaulettes on this employer's shoulder, and there was a hint of surprise in his smile.

"Wow, is that a Centurion? Congratulations to you!"

"Thanks to your help." Anthony curled his lips, although his expression was still restrained, he couldn't hide the pride in his brow.

A Centurion in the Army is similar to a company commander in the United Human military structure, almost the highest level frontline commander, and it's not easy to rise from a Centurion.

The reason he could be promoted so quickly, going from a Centurion to a Centurion soon after, was mainly because of the arms sale agreement he helped broker earlier, which not only saved the frontline troops millions of Dinars in maintenance costs but also earned a large military budget.

Seeing Anthony's face filled with unmistakable pride, Mosquito chuckled and handed him a cigarette, then continued.

"It's not just because of me; with your talent, promotion was only a matter of time."

Accepting the cigarette and lighting it, Anthony took a few puffs and looked at the arms dealer in front of him, smiling as he spoke.

"No need for formal pleasantries; your journey here is quite a distance. Just get to the point."

Mosquito smiled and said.

"I won't waste your time then, General. I'll get straight to it; we need another batch of arms here."

Anthony frowned and asked.

"Wasn't the previous batch enough?"

Mosquito sighed and said.

"Not at all; our clients aren't just the arms dealers in Tiger State. Recently, clients from Leopard State have also been inquiring. If I had known the demand there was so high, I would have sold our own products."

Anthony was a bit confused.

"What Tiger State, Leopard State..."

Mosquito immediately said.

"It's a place name over in Poluo Province."

Anthony nodded in realization, no wonder they said it was a zoo, turns out that's the reason.

"So... your clients are the Empire?"

Mosquito nodded repeatedly.

"Yeah, who else could it be? Other small settlements can't even afford a door cannon, only they can handle such a large order."

Upon hearing this, Anthony's expression grew more puzzled.

"But... I heard you were against the Empire?"

Upon hearing this, Mosquito almost choked himself with his saliva, coughing a few times before speaking.

"Cough... you're really insulting us."

Anthony quickly said.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way... I'm just a bit puzzled, considering you just had a fight with the Empire. Aren't you afraid they'll use the equipment to retaliate against you?"

Mosquito waved his hand and said.

"It's not my place to worry about that. As long as our esteemed Manager hasn't said we can't trade with those people, I'll sell as much as they want."

Anthony nodded in puzzlement.

"I think I understand... so how much do you need?"

Mosquito immediately said.

"We'll take as much as you have!"

Anthony shook his head.

"I can't give you everything; the most I can offer you is half of the previous batch. The Civil Official Group in Triumph City is also very interested in the batch of arms we have. Their ships have already left from West Sail Port and are said to arrive in two weeks."

Upon hearing there's only this much, Mosquito's eyebrows knitted tightly.

The military faction in Leopard State offers as much as the one in Tiger State.

After all, Banana Bay in there can rank in the top three of the "Big Eyes Sightseeing Recommendation List," and those ruthless people have more money than General Jieha of Tiger State.

This client, who came to discuss business, even straightforwardly stated that whatever Tiger State buys, they will buy double the quantity!

And they're paying entirely in Silver Coins!

If it weren't for the contracts being signed and the currency exchange business with the banks being settled, he might have even considered canceling the order with Tiger State.

"How much are they paying you?"

"Uh, I don't know... but probably not as much as you. I heard they're giving it to them at cost price." Anthony said with a guilty conscience.

Mosquito got anxious as soon as he heard that.

"Then why aren't you selling to us? Do you have a grudge against money?"

Anthony replied with a bitter smile.

"That's partly due to strategic needs... I'm not sure if it's appropriate to tell you this, but you're too tough on the Sticky Community. We need to arm our friends to relieve some of the pressure from you, it's not about money."

Mosquito immediately responded.

"That's easy to handle! You plan to use these weapons to arm that Empire, right? The merchants from West Sail Port taking these weapons to sell to the Empire, we buying and selling them to the Empire, what's the difference?"

Before Anthony could respond, Mosquito quickly continued persuading.

"The only difference is, the merchants under your Civil Official Group are exploiting your strategic need to make a lot of money with low purchasing costs! Yet we would rather let you earn that money!"

"Let me be clear, do you really want to let those cunning merchants take away profits that should belong to you?"

Anthony was dumbfounded, initially wanting to retort, but upon thinking, it did seem to make sense?

Goblin Technology holding these arms is selling them to the Empire, the merchants from the Civil Official Group are also selling to the Empire, in terms of the final outcome, there's no real difference.

Then if that's the case, why not sell to the higher bidder?

What annoyed him the most was the cunning merchants from the Civil Official Group!

The brothers of the Eastern Legion are fighting on the frontline for the Marshal, yet some are thinking of profiting from them!

Yet what he couldn't understand was how, with just this guy's clever speech, the enemy seemed more honorable than his own?

Anthony hesitated for a moment and said.

"This... I have to discuss it with my superiors, I can't make this decision."

Mosquito said compliantly.

"Go ahead, your officers will understand my good intentions."

After all, Coleway will eventually inquire about Pangolin's opinion, and Mosquito has already given a heads up.

This card game was an open hand for him.

It takes those cargo ships from West Sail Port about 2 to 3 weeks to get here, and it might even drag on until early next year.

Given the similar strategic effects, not only does this side pay promptly, but they can also swallow everything the Weilante people have at once. There's no reason for them not to choose us.

As he needed to report to his superiors, Anthony invited Mosquito back to the nearby camp for hospitality.

Noticing a few survivors in the camp carrying shovels who didn't look like Weilante people but rather resembled faces from the Eastern Provinces, Mosquito curiously asked.

"Who are those people?"

Following his gaze, Anthony smiled and said.

"Those people? They are scavengers we hired to excavate ruins. It's still a bit clumsy for soldiers to do excavation work; after all, this kind of thing needs professionals."

"That's true..." Mosquito nodded while touching his chin, contemplating other matters.

It seems the Weilante people have spare money to hire others to do this work, indicating they've dug up quite a few treasures from the ruins...

Perhaps—

He could do something using the connections he had.

As Mosquito was thinking about this, the truck that had brushed past them on the road earlier finally reached the edge of Death Coast before falling apart.

Seeing the patch of azure, the survivors sitting in the compartment extended their necks eagerly, looking towards the coastline.

"It's the coastline!"

"No.1 Settlement!!"

"Hahaha! We're there! We've made it!"

"Wooo... A thousand kilometers! Finally, I finished it!"

Along the narrow coastline, there was a military camp.

To the south of that camp were floating docks rising and falling with the Tide, and large cargo ships were docked beside the pier. Under the pull of the hoisting device, containers were being continuously unloaded from the ships.

To the north of the camp was a neat array of container shacks, arranged uniformly like blocks of tofu.

That must be the legendary No.1 Settlement!

They weren't the first ones here. Many survivors had already arrived here before they did, and some even moved into the new homes the Alliance had prepared for them.

Those container shacks might look crude, but they're certainly better than the tents they've been living in along the way.

Compared to the beautiful future, the difficulties at present were nothing worth mentioning.

Everything was just the beginning.

They won't always live in those rusty containers. They will build their homeland with their own hands!

"Great Antler God be above!"

"Thank the great God of radiation for your blessings! The shining Light guided me here!"

"Praise the Alliance! Praise the Manager!"

Everyone excitedly mumbled incoherently, each praying their own prayers.

Meanwhile, those who couldn't wait grabbed their luggage and jumped out of the truck, running towards the coastline.

Especially the young traveling Merchant who had been reading the newspaper in the cab, nearly ran out of his muddy boots while cheering during his sprint.

The eyes of these survivors all reflected devout and excited Light without exception.

Just like the followers of the Great Antler God, they too believed in their faith, and now what they believed in was right in front of their eyes.

At this moment, they just wanted to get there faster, to reach the home they've envisioned!

The fare was already collected before they boarded, so the driver didn't stop this reckless bunch of lunatics, and instead, cooperated by slowing down.

At the same time, several officers of the Southern Construction Corps standing at the entrance of No.1 Settlement also noticed the approaching refugees.

"Another batch of newcomers," Xiao Yue whistled, grinning, "At this rate, our container houses might not be enough soon."

The leader of the Southern Construction Corps, Li Jinrong, nodded.

"That's manageable, I will contact North Island to bring over another batch."

"... Have them bring some more concrete prefabs too; these iron houses don't stand a chance against a typhoon—once the wind blows, everything could be gone."

Xiao Yue laughed and then turned his gaze to the bustling settlement in front of him.

More than 30,000 survivors had settled here now.

Some of them were rescued from the nests of the Mutants, some were left by the Army, and others came voluntarily after hearing their broadcasts.

Much like the dozen or so people who just arrived here.

Community workers received those refugees and took them to the newly opened container accommodations, introducing them to the facilities here.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

Soon, the Haiye Province might return to its former state, even more bustling than when the Iron Tower Organization was around!

It's just a pity that...

The beautiful future might never be seen by those who once lived on this land.

A sense of melancholy washed over Xiao Yue's face, and he suddenly sighed and said.

"I suddenly miss my parents a bit, though I don't have much of an impression of them, I just felt... If only they were still around, it would be better."

Li Jinrong didn't know how to console him, so after a moment of silence, he slowly spoke.

"Once this settlement is on track, we should build a Park for them."

Xiao Yue cast a puzzled look at him.

"A Park?"

"Yes, and perhaps a monument or something similar..."

Li Jinrong paused momentarily, then continued.

"We need to tell future generations what happened here, what price we paid, and how it ended."

"Those who sacrificed will guard us in another form, as long as we remember them, our future will be bright."

Chapter 814: Seeds of Hatred

"Move faster!"

"A bunch of useless people!"

"Did none of you have breakfast?!"

The overseer's crude yelling and the crack of a whip echoed across the port.

The laborers, carrying boxes, shuffled back and forth tirelessly between the cargo ship's deck and the dock warehouse, like upright-walking donkeys.

Forget about eight silver coins an hour, even taking a break here is a luxury; if you want a bathroom break or a sip of water, you have to plead with the foreman.

This is West Sail Port.

Or as the players mockingly call it, Western Port.

Here, a healthy slave costs only 1000 dinars.

Even though the prices for people have dropped so low, merchants from Triumph City still prefer leasing.

In the eastern part of the Central Plains Continent, many survivors have a naive "fantasy" about the army, thinking that the army is actually quite well-behaved.

However, in reality, it's only because they've had too little contact with the Vellanteans and don't yet understand their nature.

Every old resident of Falling Leaves City clearly remembers what the Vellanteans were like when they first came to the River Valley Province, and how they were after getting a painful beating.

The reason they behave so well in the eastern part of the Central Plains Continent is only because they've been beaten into obedience.

But at West Sail Port, which is out of the Alliance's influence range, they don't even bother to put on an act.

Interestingly, although they work hard at exploiting the locals, they are still far short compared to the native nobles of Poluo Province.

So much so that every time General McCullen passes through here, he can't help but feel that he was too merciful when he was in the River Valley Province and didn't fully tap the potential of the local survivors.

The local residents primarily consist of Vellanteans, followed by traveling merchants from places like Silver Moon Bay, and local nobles from Poluo Province and some freemen.

Since slave trade is not banned locally, after Jinjaron Harbor fell, some nobles from Lowell state migrated here.

As for the players, they're almost invisible here.

After all, there are no airports here, nor any save points opened by a big shot; it takes ten to twenty days by sea to get here from the Alliance's port, and it's another ten to twenty days to return.

Here, if you die even once, not only is your unsaved experience reset to zero, but your equipment and assets are all lost. The risk and reward are completely disproportionate!

However, although this place is unimpressive to players, it holds a completely different significance for the Vellanteans.

Ever since the civil officials from Triumph City borrowed this territory from the Empire, they have brought clean streets, beautiful houses, and bright streetlights here.

Bennott and a group of civil officials have high expectations for the future prospects of this place.

Even though the Empire's nobles have become stubborn and inflexible to the point of decay, it seems that no one can refuse the civilized promise of a decent life.

They can influence the nobles of Lion State through the abundant life at West Sail Port, and in turn, influence the nobles of Tiandu through the nobles of Lion State.

They don't expect to civilize the locals too much, nor are they interested in charity, but they need a sufficiently intimidating ally to share the pressure from the Alliance for them.

The port paved with gravel and bricks.

A bearded Vellantean frequently checked his diamond-encrusted pocket watch, anxiety written all over his face.

His name is Yarman, a merchant dealing in sugar and tea, whose main business is transporting sugar and black tea produced in West Sail Port to Triumph City and ports controlled by the Southern Legion, occasionally moonlighting as a slave trader.

According to the original plan, his fleet should have set off this morning to head to "Evernight Harbor" on the southernmost side of the Great Desert controlled by the Southern Legion, then detour to the western part of the Central Plains Continent to bring the finest tea and lumps of sugar back to Triumph City's port.

But plans can't keep up with changes.

Just yesterday, a message from the governor's office caused all the Vellantean merchants in West Sail Port to become excited!

The army's expedition to Haiye Province has ended, and a large amount of equipment stranded on the front line is for sale at a discount!

All it takes is spending 10,000 dinars to purchase a voucher from the governor's office and paying a certain amount of deposit, and you can pack and transport those treasures piled up in Haiye Province at a super low price of less than 10,000 dinars per ton!

The only requirement from West Sail Port Governor's Office is that these ammunitions purchased through vouchers must be shipped back to West Sail Port!

And the sale target must be West Sail Port's Weapon Reserve Bureau or the Empire!

Although this condition means the selling price will be somewhat suppressed, it still doesn't dampen the enthusiasm of West Sail Port's Vellantean merchants.

After all, a price of less than 10,000 dinars per ton is just too tempting, almost as if it were a gift!

They've been in business for so many years and have never seen ammunition sold by weight!

Even if all the good stuff is picked over and only some bullets are left, that's still over 50% in profit.

And if they can get the Eastern Legion's Conqueror tank, the profit would multiply several times over!

Such an easy profit, how could Yarman miss it? Even though he doesn't have the connections for the arms trade, does this kind of no-brainer deal need any connections?

Moreover, if it really doesn't work, he can still sell it to West Sail Port's Weapon Reserve Bureau, so there's no fear of it getting stuck on hand.

Praise Marshal! Praise Governor Hue!

This was almost unequivocally a New Year's gift from the West Sail Port's Governor's Office for them!

However, as luck would have it, Yarman was clearly not the only one thinking this way.

The entire West Sail Port seemed to have gone mad, with every dock berth packed to the brim.

The workers on the docks barely finished loading a ship before they were urged by the overseers to unload into the warehouses, not even having time to take a bite of dry food, as a slight delay would invite a whipping.

Yet, despite this, given the intense loading and unloading demands, the laborers' frantic efforts were still a mere drop in the ocean.

It's really the slaves' own fault, after all, they're so enduring and so cheap that West Sail Port's docks never needed electrified unloading equipment. When faced with such a peak in demand, they could only push themselves further.

With too many ships anxious to unload, the port authority and "labor intermediaries" had to mobilize another batch of slaves and serfs from nearby estates and plantations.

Watching the busy docks, the full-bearded captain frowned and said.

"At this rate, we'll probably depart by tomorrow morning."

Yarman interrupted without further explanation.

"Too slow, no matter what, we must depart today!"

The captain's eyebrows gave a violent twitch as he looked at Yarman with a wry smile.

"I understand your eagerness to make money, but... you also have to consider reality."

"Reality?" Yarman put down his rolled-up sleeves and looked sharply at the captain. "I'll tell you what reality is! Excruciating amounts of weapons stacked up in Haiye Province, and they're regular army weapons! The fools in the east have never been this generous! Every merchant vessel along the route is running there, and if we're late, we won't even get the scraps!"

Facing the captain's stern gaze, the captain swallowed.

"Alright, even if assuming these laborers could finish unloading by dark, are we to go empty-handed—"

"Exactly, go empty-handed!" Yarman interrupted him without hesitation, his voice full of excitement. "Apart from supplies, we don't bring anything else! We haven't got time to hesitantly waddle over. We're not there to do business; we're there to collect money! Do you understand what it means to collect money?"

At this point, Yarman softened his tone, clapping the captain on the shoulder.

"Prepare as I said, this venture will benefit you greatly... I can assure you, your take from this deal will be at least 1 million dinars!"

Hearing this generous reward, the captain instinctively held his breath, his neck subconsciously nodding down.

"Alright..."

One million dinars!

The ransom for thousands of leaders isn't even this high!

Compared to this fortune, going home for the New Year is nothing.

Watching the captain leave, Yarman turned his gaze to the Lion Clan foreman, and his smile, as warm as a spring breeze, immediately crumbled.

"How much longer until my fleet is clear?"

Facing the urging of this Weilante master, Nagi wiped the sweat from his forehead, smiling apologetically.

"I will urge the overseers again, trying to finish by tomorrow at the latest—"

"Try?"

Yarman raised an eyebrow, staring at him intently, and said word by word, "I don't care what method you use, you must unload all the goods before dark!"

Hearing these words, the freshly wiped sweat reappeared on Nagi's forehead.

"By dark, but sir, it's only three hours until nightfall—"

"That's your problem." Yarman didn't even glance at him, saying coldly, "The most I'll allow is until eight o'clock tonight. If you can't manage that, I'll have to have a chat with your boss—or should I say, my partner."

Upon hearing this, Nagi felt a chill creeping up his back.

Although he was a Lion Clan person, he was just a civilian, nothing compared to those with titles.

So even if this request seemed a bit difficult to achieve, he could only grit his teeth and promise.

"I'll find some more people..."

"Go ahead."

Yarman waved his hand impatiently, shooing him away like a fly.

It proved that urging them a bit did produce results.

Under the frantic urging of the overseers, the slaves exerted all their strength and somehow managed to clear the last two ships before the Sun sank below the horizon.

Nagi was in a rush to report their success to Lord Yarman, only to be blocked by the crowd at the dock.

A circle of laborers had formed on the narrow dock, with a skeleton-thin figure lying in the middle, frothing at the mouth and convulsing.

The fellow was so thin, his skin baked by the sun to a black and red hue, that he resembled a smoked sausage.

Nagi pushed his way into the middle of the crowd, kicked the guy on the ground, and seeing he was motionless, he asked the dock workers beside him.

"What happened to this guy?"

A tall, thin man lowered his head and said.

"His name is Orisa—"

Before he could finish speaking, a whip struck his forehead, causing him to stagger back a few steps. Fortunately, a coworker caught his arm, preventing him from falling into the sea.

Blood oozed from the gash in his skin, blinding one eye and covering half his face, a shocking sight.

The man seemed stunned by the blow, touching his forehead and standing there bewilderedly.

"Who cares what his name is, get him off the dock! Damn it! Don't you know how busy we are today? Don't just stand there blocking the way!" Nagi scolded angrily, swishing the whip in his hand to disperse the crowd of laborers.

The crowd finally dispersed, and the port returned to its usual hustle and bustle.

Seeing the wooden box already sunk in the sea, Nagi's lips twitched in pain.

What a pity for that fine tea...

One package could easily cover half his month's wages.

Luckily, he didn't have to compensate for the lost goods; these bigwigs had long anticipated the clumsy nature of these rough workers, and a couple of lost boxes were within an acceptable range.

Otherwise, even selling him wouldn't cover the cost...

The reprimanded laborers carried the poor guy named Orisa to the labor registration office, as was the usual procedure; the dead had to have their names crossed off, or it would be considered an escaped slave, bringing disaster to their family.

Checking the roster, the staff found that this guy wasn't a slave at all but a freeman.

Of course, he was only slightly surprised.

After all, freemen without land might not live better than slaves.

Especially if the former had a family to support, they might very well have nothing but dirt in their stomachs.

"Does he have any family here?"

Everyone exchanged glances and shook their heads, indicating they didn't know where this poor fellow lived.

The staff couldn't be bothered, and upon hearing he had no family there, closed the registration book.

"Let his family come."

A laborer, unable to bear it any longer, asked in a hushed voice.

"...What about this man?"

The staff rolled his eyes.

"He's dead. Bury him somewhere. Do you think he can come back to life?"

He continued urging them.

"Move it out quickly, don't just leave it here in the way."

Fixed in their gaze by two guards, the laborers had no choice but to carry Orisa's body back out.

A group stood helplessly on the street, unsure where to go, debating whether to look for his family first or to find a place to bury him.

After all, everyone ends up buried. The red soil outside the city was prepared for just that, wasn't it?

Everyone sympathized with Orisa's plight and were surprised that this typically silent old man was actually a freedman.

No wonder he worked so hard!

Some faces were filled with envy.

After all, if you died as a slave, you wouldn't have anything. But if a freeman died, the family could at least receive compensation.

800 dinars weren't much, but to them, it was already a fortune.

This was one of the few benefits the Weilante people had secured for them.

However, while some envied, others gazed hatefully toward the port.

These were mostly believers of the Silver Moon Sect.

They were mostly listeners of the "Silver Gospel Report" and had mostly heard "Awakener Bol" translated and read aloud by Mr. Melgio, the pastor from Silver Moon Bay.

It was their primer on literacy.

Though they had never been to Giant Stone City, they clearly remembered how the people there acted.

Perhaps due to extreme anger, a spark finally flared up in the stifling silence.

"Look, this is what they call a 'freeman'..."

A hoarse voice floated from the crowd as a tall, thin man stepped forward.

He was the same person who had been whipped on the dock earlier.

The alarming scar etched on his forehead stained the white bandage red.

Looking at the ferocious appearance, people involuntarily took two steps back, showing a fearful expression on their faces.

Yet that person did not stop, his hoarse voice gradually turning hysterical, thoroughly releasing the anger in his chest.

"They took everything from us and then labeled it! One thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand... West Winds coins or dinars, go buy it! With our blood, with our sweat, buy what was rightfully ours! To fulfill their greatness and wisdom!"

"And then… when we finally buy back what was originally ours, when they finally drain the last drop of our blood, we will be able to lie in the red soil like Orisa."

The surroundings were silent.

That desperate fate was suffocating.

If in the end there was nothing left worth mourning for, what was the point of them working themselves to death?

What freemen…

That sumptuous bait was a scam from the start!

Perhaps the people's silence gave him the courage to continue speaking, he clenched his fists tightly and posed a soul-searching question to the onlookers around him.

"Tell me! Why do we have to buy what is rightfully ours!"

"But what can we do..."

Amidst the crowd, finally, a suppressed complaint broke the silent quiet.

Looking at the agitated crowd, the man instead of backing down shouted out in the heat of the moment.

"What can we do! Bol already told us what to do! We must unite!"

"And then?"

This time he didn't speak because someone in the crowd shouted it out for him.

"Isn't it obvious! Of course, it's to take back what's ours!"

The angry roars rose and fell, vengeful emotions amplified as they spread.

The increasing numbers dulled the fear, as if the thousand pillars that sealed their courage had vanished.

Even the most timid person now displayed an uncontainable look of anger—

And hatred!

"This isn't over!"

"That's right!"

"Orisa can't die in vain!"

"They must pay the price!"

The clamorous voices grew louder, finally attracting the guards of the port area.

These guards usually rarely enforce laws outside the port's slums, but after all, it was a special time, and manpower was lacking everywhere on the docks. They couldn't allow so many people to gather here to cause trouble.

Leading the guards was the foreman Nagi, holding the whip he had used earlier tightly in his hand, loudly shouting at the gathered laborers.

"What are you all gathering here for! Does it take that long to carry a person? Hurry up and get back to work!"

The crowd was on edge, and someone among them shouted.

"We're not working anymore!"

"Not working? Ha! You're rebelling!" Nagi's eyebrows shot up, and he swung his whip, but he didn't hit the troublemaker; instead, he accidentally whipped a bystander, bursting the person's eyeball.

Only to see the person clutch their eye in pain, kneel down as blood gushed out.

Seeing the blood, the crowd erupted in an uproar, with over a thousand people swarming onto the street, shouting and surrounding Nagi.

Never having seen such a scene before, Nagi was startled and took an involuntary step back.

But he quickly realized he had backed down too soon.

From behind him came the sound of gunfire, the guard holding the Ripper Rifle fired a few shots into the air without a word of nonsense.

"Bang-bang——!"

The gunshots were like cold water splashing on red-hot iron, sizzling and extinguishing the fiery emotions completely.

This was not Giant Stone City, after all.

Bol was not a person of the Poluo Province either.

The people who were fervent a second ago showed fear on their faces, scattering and fleeing, and within moments the street was empty.

Nagi was also stunned for a moment before laughing complacently and looking at the high-nosed officer behind him.

"Hehe… Sir, I told you, this bunch is as timid as mice, they can't stir up much trouble."

The Weilante officer cast a scornful glance at him, silently loading bullets into the rifle.

He was a person of the Southern Legion and had been a colonial guard for a dozen years, suppressing at least two or three violent riots, the most intense of which forced them to bring out the 902mm heavy artillery.

The situation here was indeed rare; the gunfire ended without a single death.

He was certainly very satisfied.

However——

He couldn't help but feel a little disdainful.

...

The night over West Sail Port deepened, bringing a slight chill from the sea breeze blowing toward the port.

The chaos at the labor registration office entrance did not affect the bustling activity there in the slightest.

The docks were still bustling with coming and going, and the shimmering shop windows remained resplendent.

That statement "we're not working anymore" seemed like a joke.

Only the poor bystander with the burst eyeball was left with no one to complain to.

Finally having made all the preparations to set off, Yarman stood at the port, saying a reluctant goodbye to his family.

"…It's almost Birthright Day, can't you wait until the holiday is over to go." The little girl in a floral dress pouted slightly, her dark brown hair tied in a princess braid, looking like a true princess.

The second weekend of January every year was Birthright Day, and for the Weilante people, it was a holiday more important than New Year.

It was said to be the day of their birth, marking the beginning of all their glory and legends.

Precisely for this reason, no matter how busy things were, the Weilante people would choose to make time to spend this day with their families.

Yarman originally planned the same, even having planned to return to Triumph City to participate in the Birthright Day celebrations.

But unfortunately, the big shots in Triumph City offered too much…

Yarman patted his daughter on the head, speaking indulgently.

"Be good, when dad comes back, he'll bring you a gift."

"Ugh..." Rube grumbled reluctantly, "Your taste is too unique, who gives their daughter a mutant's head specimen."

"Haha! Sorry! Dad didn't think it through!"

Yarman laughed as he picked up his adorable daughter, making her giggle as he spun her around in the air a few times before setting her down.

He gently pinched his daughter's nose and continued affectionately.

"So, what gift does my lovely Ruby want?"

Ruby's eyes lit up and she immediately said.

"I want to play with An Su Ya!"

An Su Ya is the daughter of Count Sharma.

The latter is a well-known noble in Lion State, not only owning a plantation of hundreds of thousands of acres in the outskirts of West Sail Port, but also having an extensive social circle in Tiandu, and is also a business partner of Yarman.

Every time discussing business, Yarman would always bring his daughter along.

Ruby didn't know how big An Su Ya's estate actually was, nor did she care much, but she was deeply impressed by the garden that was like a maze.

Every time she went there with her father, she would play hide and seek with An Su Ya and other kids in the estate.

Hearing such a simple request, Yarman dotingly patted his daughter's head.

"Alright! I'll take you there when I'm back!"

He paused and then smiled and said.

"Of course, Daddy still needs to bring back a gift... Just stay home and look forward to it, my lovely Ruby!"

Speaking of which, after this trip, he also planned to contact Count Sharma, to see if he could, through some manipulation of power, turn this batch of goods into something of even greater value.

By then, he would take his daughter to bother that guy.

"Come back soon!"

The little girl tiptoed and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then ran back to her mother's side.

Gently patting her daughter's hand, Margaret gazed affectionately at her husband, her face adorned with a radiant smile.

"Take care on the road."

"Don't worry! This isn't my first time running this route! Expect my good news!"

After giving his wife a kiss, Yarman grinned, picked up his suitcase, and stood back on the quay.

"See you next month! Wait for me!"

With that, he turned back every three steps and boarded the deck with his captain and crew, gradually moving away with the elongated sound of the whistle.

Meanwhile, less than 500 meters away from the quay, a mother and daughter arrived at the entrance of the labor registration office.

As the docks didn't hire women, it was rare for women to appear here.

Unless it was one particular situation...

People unconsciously made way, and the hunchbacked woman, saying thanks while tightly holding the little girl's hand, hurriedly walked to the counter.

The previous staff members had gone off duty, and now a young lad, slicked hair combed back, sat there, eating sunflower seeds while chatting and laughing with his colleague beside him.

Many minor nobles who couldn't make it big liked to place their children here to work.

After all, Tiandu was too far for them, but Weilante people were right in front of them at the port area.

Especially the position at the labor registration office, often dealing with Weilante people.

Being appreciated by Weilante people was equivalent to an instant step into a promising future!

The little girl tiptoed to peek her head out from under the counter, speaking ahead of her mother.

"Where's my dad?"

Hearing that timid voice, the young lad turned his head with a smile and asked.

"Your dad? Who's your dad?"

The little girl continued to say.

"Orisa... He's very tanned, the pastor of the Moon Church said his lungs aren't good, he's always coughing."

Worried that the staff might not know what her dad looked like, she energetically mimed his features with her hands.

However, because the description was too abstract, the only result was the growing impatience of the young lad behind the counter.

"Sorry... for bothering you."

The hunchbacked woman remained silent, subtly tugging her daughter to stop her from speaking further and hurriedly placed a crumpled paper ticket on the table.

It was proof of identity.

Earned by her husband through his illness, and it was the only thing that proved they had no owner.

Seeing this document, the young lad's impatience eased slightly, and flipping through the register, he looked for the name on the document and indeed found Orisa's name.

"A laborer registered here last month."

"The name sounds familiar... Oh, oh, it's the one just brought in!"

The colleague beside him remembered, then laughed as he opened a drawer, took out a pre-prepared money pouch, and tossed it onto the counter.

"I was just telling you about this! It's the old guy who worked himself to death..."

Hearing the "clang" of the coins, the mother and daughter froze, and a buzzing filled their ears.

The hunchbacked woman moved her lips, but ultimately remained silent, pocketing the money pouch tightly in her hands.

In that moment, her body seemed to shrink even smaller.

Not wanting to stay there for another second, she quickly pulled her daughter's hand and left the counter, escaping the suffocating atmosphere to the street outside.

The evening breeze blowing from the port area was particularly chilly.

With her black eyes gazing at her mother, the girl softly asked.

"Where's dad..."

Her mother, who usually responded, said nothing this time. She only quickened her pace, pulling her towards home, her lightly trembling shoulders seemed to suppress something.

As if finally understanding where her father had gone, the little girl lowered her head and stopped speaking, but no tears came out; she only gripped her mother's calloused hand tightly.

Her father always hoped she would grow up soon, and she was always confused about what growing up meant, but now seemed to understand a little bit.

She had two much younger brothers.

She needed to learn to be strong.

Both mother and daughter passed by the Silver Moon Church without a word, like a raindrop before a storm quietly merging into the silence of the night.

Standing at the entrance of the humble church, Mr. Melgio looked at those injured laborers and sighed softly, joining the other pastors in tending to their wounds.

He wanted to help these pitiful people.

But he also worried if he might be harming them.

"Silver Moon Goddess above... please bless your pitiful believers, saving them from misfortune and disaster."

And also protect me from making regretful mistakes...

With his index finger touching the silver moon hanging on his chest, he softly chanted, praying piously in his heart.

He always had a bad premonition.

Something significant was about to happen at West Sail Port...

Chapter 815: People Always Create Gods in Their Own Image

Although tragic things are commonplace in the wasteland, where players are active, it's a completely different scene.

The "PvP" arena at Camp 101.

Two "Aurora II Experimental Model" power armors are wrestling with each other, dazzling sparks flying between steel and steel!

As the only arena in the Alliance territory where both rank and life are contested, it's a battlefield that only players can set foot on.

Generally speaking, unless wanting to spar with a good buddy, truly skilled players rarely come here to waste time.

However, since the arena occasionally offers experimental equipment, signing up to participate in testing provides a bounty and contribution points regardless of winning or losing, making this facility quite popular among new players below the T3 team.

The two fellows wrestling here right now are the best among the newcomers!

The one with the red identification strip is "Born in Summer" from the Abstract Army, while the one with the blue identification strip is "Tiger of Litang" from the Climber Army!

Due to the Aurora II Experimental Model's replacement of the front armor with ceramic steel, sacrificing mobility to strengthen front armor, neither side's explosive arrows can do anything to it.

After exhausting all the bullets in the magazine, the red and blue sides almost simultaneously, in a tacit agreement, drew their battle knives and short axes, entering the eagerly anticipated close combat amidst the audience's boiling cheers.

And the atmosphere of the entire battle was pushed to a climax with adrenaline-pumping combat!

"Well done, Summer!!"

"Hit him! Smash it on his head!"

"Abstract Army rocks!!"

"Awoooaahgh!"

"Damn! Tiger bro, can you handle it or not!"

"I measure you——"

The noise from the spectators was incessant, and the arena was equally restless.

Both sides, red and blue, while grappling passionately, kept shouting in the communication channel.

Initially, Born in Summer took the upper hand, unilaterally pressing down Tiger of Litang.

However, due to the overly aggressive pace of the attack, the clumsy Aurora II lost its balance for a moment, with Born in Summer staggering and bumping into Tiger of Litang's chest, giving the latter the chance to swing the short axe and smash wildly.

If that axe were a thermal cutting axe, Born in Summer, hunched and ramming into Tiger bro's chest, would have been a crispy, tender roasted chicken, and his battle knife wouldn't pierce the ceramic steel-crafted front armor.

Unfortunately, there's no "if" on the battlefield.

Although the combat power of the Abstract Army is not comparable to the Climber Army, which stands out in the Paradise Battle, solo battles and army combat are entirely two different concepts as well.

Precisely because none of the teammates are reliable, the four high-ranking members of the Abstract Army each have rich battlefield survival experience and adaptability.

The window for a counter-kill flashed by!

Just when the axe was about to heavily hit his lower back for the second time, he seized the moment when his opponent's center of gravity was leaning towards his back, threw his arms upward, and kicked off the ground. He managed to uproot Tiger of Litang from atop him completely, flipping him over behind!

"I measure——!"

Amidst the audience's exclamations, Tiger bro let out an unwilling roar, flipped head over from Summer's back, and fell heavily to the ground, face up.

"Boom!!"

As dust rolled violently, having been thrown off, he was planning to flip over and get up. The battle knife was already wedged into the gap between his helmet and shoulder armor, while a palm was firmly pressed on his head.

Out of breath, Born in Summer grinned fiercely, pressing the guy's helmet hard, raising his eyebrows and exhaling proudly.

"Don't move, be honest!"

"@#%!"

Tiger of Litang was so angry his teeth itched, struggling a few times unable to move, could only give up reluctantly.

According to PK rules, if any side loses the ability to resist, the PK is considered ended.

The winner receives a reward bonus.

And once the judgment is completed, if any side continues battling, it is considered a violation and subjected to punishment.

This rule design is primarily to reduce equipment wear.

Although the power armors in the arena are simplified versions, like replacing the long-endurance nuclear battery with a hydrogen battery only sufficient for one battle, other components are still quite valuable.

Just at the moment when the victory judgment was completed, a line of text floated across the big screen.

[Match ended, Red side wins]

[Winner ID: Born in Summer]

The spectator area outside the arena erupted in excited cheers, especially those players who won money by betting, stood up and shouted excitedly.

Standing in the center of the crowd spectating, the Outlaw Maniac applauded, with an aloof smile, commenting leisurely.

"Not bad, not bad, showing a third of my flair when I dominated the arena back in the day."

Standing next to "Wake Up and Sleep" heard and rolled his eyes.

"Stop bragging! And what level are you now, is it really fun to compare with newbies!"

The Outlaw Maniac chuckled and said.

"Isn't this comparing with me at the same time? I wasn't a newbie when I dominated the arena!"

Wake Up and Sleep: "You dang cat, you only won a few times, how did you dominate!"

Outlaw Maniac: "It's not important! I've got a high win rate!"

Wake Up and Sleep: "@#%!"

"I'll Die First" stopped clapping his hands, sighed, and looked at the two, saying helplessly.

"... Instead of arguing here, why don't you go down and practice a match."

Due to some players' shocking and absurd operations, the player viewing area and the NPC viewing area have been separated since Beta0.6.

The former is mainly open to players with nothing to do, who come to watch the excitement, while the audience for the latter is mainly researchers, engineers, and trainees from Camp 101.

This also makes the NPC viewing area much quieter than the plTonight again cartwo ng one . You need to put on headphones to hear the sounds of battle, and the atmosphere is more academic.

"The hardness of the ceramic steel armor is somewhat beyond expectation..."

"Hmm... Hit by ten consecutive explosion arrows and remained intact, it even blocked a 350mm penetration depth portable armor-piercing bullet."

"This guy is like a walking chariot..."

"The inability to penetrate the armor-piercing bullet is likely due to gap armor, not just the ceramic steel's credit."

"Not necessarily, we need to dismantle the armor insert near the impact point to confirm."

"I'm thinking about what kind of individual equipment can destroy this thing head-on..."

"Isn't it a bit early to consider this now?"

"It's not early, the diffusion of technology is only a matter of time, I'm sure the Army is already considering this problem. We need to anticipate their solutions and consider countermeasures before they find a solution."

Sitting in the corner of the viewing area, wearing headphones, Xia Yan stared at the notebook in her hands, deep in thought.

As the designer of the whole armor set, her focus was not on a particular module of the armor, but on the overall framework of the entire set.

Having been crafting equipment for players even before the Alliance was formed, she understands the players' combat styles better than anyone here, and knows how to make them leverage their maximum advantage in specific battlefield environments.

And this was exactly what Chu Guang had once told her, "the unique and irreplaceable talent that only she possesses."

Once she understood this point, she was never lost again because of her "lack of awakened talent" or "unable to find her own value."

Through observing the earlier battle, new inspiration had already formed in her mind.

However, that fuzzy inspiration was still quite abstract in her mind for the time being.

She needed some time to organize it into something concrete and integrate it into the original design plan.

"... Sorry, I still need a little more time, could you please wait a bit longer for me? Ten minutes... uh, maybe half an hour, it won't be more than an hour at most!"

Grabbing her messy fiery red hair, Xia Yan lifted her head from the screen, looking apologetically at Alyssa sitting opposite her, with a pleading expression.

Due to their similar professional fields, Alyssa and Little Fish were very close, and thus became good friends with her too.

However, recently Little Fish and Pai were busy with projects related to the exchange in Dawn City, so it was just the two of them eating in the cafeteria these days.

Seeing Xia Yan's concern from her tightly knit brows, Alyssa smiled gently, her voice soft as she said.

"It's okay, luckily I'm not very hungry."

"Thank you!"

After hastily throwing out those words, Xia Yan returned to her work of conceptualizing.

And Alyssa sitting across from her didn't disturb her thoughts, quietly savoring the rich coffee as before, while flipping through the book in her hands she hadn't finished reading.

The reason she chose to read here wasn't so much an interest in power armor combat, but purely because the coffee here was free and unlimited, occasionally accompanied by leftover cookies and pastries from the cafeteria the day before.

Since resigning from her position on the Giant Stone City Crisis Committee, she has started living the life of an ordinary person, with a monthly living expense of about 1000 Silver Coins.

Thanks to the scholarships set up by the Alliance's education department and the local authorities of Giant Stone City, she could pursue the knowledge she yearned for with peace of mind after it all ended here.

Although her life was not exactly tight, since it had been spent with money she hadn't earned, she maintained a frugal lifestyle as much as possible, especially on non-essential expenses.

Believing the esteemed Manager would surely not mind a little girl without independent financial means taking small advantages of him here and there.

Besides, she would not just take advantage of him without giving back.

Once she learned what she needed to know, she would repay him for extending a helping hand to her and Giant Stone City with her vast knowledge.

The old her was still very weak, knowing the what but not the why of many things.

But now, it's different.

After a whole year of studying, she was no longer the person she used to be...

"...Excuse me, are you Miss Alyssa?"

Hearing the voice from the side, Alyssa realized that her fingertip had stayed at the footer of the next page for a full ten minutes without turning, and the hundreds of thousands of words that flashed through her mind could fill a book.

Realizing she was distracted, her cheeks flushed as she lightly coughed to compose her appearance, before looking up at the staff standing beside the desk.

"That's me... Is there something I can help with?"

The staff member smiled and said.

"There's a gentleman at the door looking for you, he claims to be your friend and says there's something he needs to discuss with you."

During the equipment test period, aside from authorized residents of the refuge, those not employed or studying at Camp 101 were unable to apply to enter the arena to watch.

However, Camp 101 itself was quite open, allowing anyone who registered at the gate to enter.

Upon hearing it was a friend, Alyssa first thought of Mr. Joey.

His kids were also studying at Camp 101, and he would sometimes visit them and stop by to see her.

"I see."

Alyssa didn't think much about it, closed the book she had opened, and looked at Xia Yan sitting opposite her.

"I'll step out for a moment."

Busy with the screen, Xia Yan quickly nodded, already so engrossed that she didn't even have time to look away.

"Mmhmm! Safe travels! Oh, remember to come back later!"

"Don't worry, I wouldn't leave you all alone for dinner... I'll be back soon."

Feeling amused by Boss Xia's hurried appearance, Alyssa couldn't help but smile.

To avoid making Mr. Joey wait, she didn't delay any longer, got up from her seat, and walked out of the arena's spectator area.

Meanwhile, at the arena's entrance, two men stood, one tall, one short.

Compared to the tall man standing in front, the shorter one was obviously much younger, probably not even an adult.

Due to his lack of experience, his face and confidence were far thinner than those of the man standing in front.

"...Mr. Zayed, is doing this truly okay?" The young fellow glanced nervously towards the entrance, finally unable to hold back, whispered.

Zayed had lied to the staff at the entrance; they weren't actually friends of Miss Alyssa and hadn't even seen her before.

Though Mr. Zayed managed to deceive the inexperienced youth with his smooth talk and proper etiquette, enough to make the latter forget to ask their names before going in to help find her, such a lie couldn't last long.

He was deeply worried that when the lady saw their unfamiliar faces, she would simply call the guards over...

Zayed glanced at his impatient follower and spoke lightly.

"Relax, we're not bad people. We'll explain and apologize once we meet her."

Seeing his tense demeanor, Zayed paused for a moment and added.

"Those who aim for great achievements typically don't fuss over small details. With her abilities and ambitions, I doubt she'd bother with such trivial matters. It's you I'm concerned about; the way you keep peeking around, I really fear the guards will toss you out."

This young man was named Vassa, like him, a member of the Snake Clan, and also became his underling soon after arriving in the City of Dawn.

Upon hearing Zayed's words, Vassa quickly stopped glancing around, but his face still held a nervous expression.

"But... can't we use other means? Like sending a formal letter requesting a meeting for discussion."

"Do you think I haven't tried?"

He retorted calmly.

"Plus, we have no time to wait. The window of opportunity is closing. Under the combined pull of external and internal forces, the Empire can't hold on much longer. We must gain the support of the Alliance, and to achieve that, we must establish contact with the Managers of the Alliance."

Since hearing a suggestion from a resident of the refuge, changing the Equality Conference to the Family Meeting, he had indeed attracted quite a few members and funding sponsors.

Especially when people heard family members were addressed as family, promoting equality, love, and mutual assistance without distinction, several residents of Shelter No. 404 eagerly opened their wallets to support their cause without expecting any return.

Still, even with the growth fueled by such "spur-of-the-moment" support, they were far from rivaling the United Federation established by the residents of Jin Galun Harbor.

Both scales weren't on the same level; the latter not only had support from the residents of Potato Harbor but also had the backing of the colossal Baiyue Corporation.

Zayed wanted to wait patiently, as some matters couldn't be rushed; he had even poured tea and water humbly for a long time just to meet a bigwig, thus wasn't bothered to spend months dragging things out in the City of Dawn.

However, recent events had made him restless.

On one hand, Laxi's performance had exceeded his expectations; the Survivor Daily's Dawn City edition reported for the first time on Mammoth State's recovery accomplishments.

On the other hand, the Empire's palace had been foolish beyond his predictions, managing to commit nearly every impropriety and speeding recklessly down a wrong path.

No intelligent person would possibly make completely counterproductive decisions amid a series of issues, yet the Witch Camel miraculously achieved it.

Crafting an entirely correct test paper is hard enough, but creating one that's entirely wrong is also quite the feat.

"...Can that lady Alyssa reach the Alliance Managers?" Vassa looked at Zayed with confusion, still carrying a hint of disbelief on his face.

The latter couldn't be bothered to explain to him, just watched the doorway indifferently and said in a flat tone.

"Regardless of whether it works or not, it must be tried."

Even though he said this, he was quite confident about the success of this matter in his heart.

Like that Mr. Mouse who authored "Red Soil," he also studied the materials from the period of major change in Giant Stone City, and his research was far deeper than the former... At least in his own view, this was undoubtedly the case.

After all, when the former was still focusing on the cultural aspect, he had already delved into the core of the giant Stone City's transformation period concerning new and old regimes and the transition of power!

The final victory was never achieving from idealists; those who overthrew the Inner City Nobles were actually masters at understanding human nature.

Especially the woman named Alyssa, who was by no means simple!

She was not only the daughter of Melvin, the former head of the Original Boulder City Bank, but also a member of the Crisis Committee formed by the Workers' Association and Militia Group!

This committee was truly remarkable.

Most of today's local high-level authorities in Giant Stone City were inherited from that committee.

Whether it was the city hall or the militia group!

Being able to remain unscathed amidst the transition of new and old powers, and preserve her family, was testament to this woman's skill!

Not just that—

He had also found out that during the Crisis Committee period, this lady Alyssa hosted the asset liquidation of the Inner City Nobles and reorganized the bankruptcy of Giant Stone City Bank!

This was indeed a brilliant move, and it was the part he admired most.

After accomplishing these tasks, she effectively and completely severed ties with the past! Her political foes would no longer be able to attack her based on her background!

Originally stains on her reputation would now become a shining medal!

Whether it was beautifully completing the task or successfully gaining the trust of other members of the Crisis Committee, securing the work for herself, it all proved the brilliance of her tactics and the deepness of her scheming!

On the surface, she lost all her assets, but in reality, she gained things closer to the essence—

That was power!

Even if she eventually chose to withdraw from the core power layer of Giant Stone City after everything ended, to Zayed, this seemed more like advancing by retreating.

Heading to the Alliance's highest academy for advanced studies, she added an Alliance mark to herself, along with an extra halo compared to her committee colleagues.

If she steps forward in future, it would be moving from the power core of this small pond called Giant Stone City to the power core of the entire Alliance.

Even if she steps back, she could effortlessly stand above her former colleagues, relying on the Alliance's mark and her achievements during the major transformation of Giant Stone City!

Not to mention, she held a strong link with Alliance Managers!

Zayed heard this little gossip accidentally, it was said Alyssa and the Alliance managers frequently corresponded by letters.

Though this piece of information wasn't reliable, just some drunkard's boast in a Giant Stone City tavern, judging from others' reactions of joining the laughter, it might actually be true.

If it is indeed true... then the future of this lady Alyssa would be even harder to underestimate!

Zayed didn't understand the Alliance's power structure well, so he could only correlate it with the Empire's palace.

He tried to imagine, if he were the Emperor of the Empire, he certainly wouldn't refuse such a strong and capable woman, who could also bring plenty of resources to the royal family as an Empress.

As long as this lady wasn't too old, even having missed childbearing age.

Thinking of this, a smile of assured victory gradually appeared on Zayed's face.

Now the only thing he needed to ponder was how to prove his value to this lady Alyssa, making him worthy of her investment.

If he could tightly grip the future empress's thigh from the Alliance, it wouldn't just be beneficial to the future of his Family Meeting, but also advantageous for establishing a new nation in Poluo Province!

Just as Zayed was thinking about this, the person he had been eagerly thinking of finally appeared at the entrance of the arena.

However, the moment he confirmed that figure was Alyssa, he became utterly dumbfounded, standing there stupefied, unable to speak a word.

The figure seemed about fifteen or sixteen years old, completely subverting the shrewd, mysterious queen image he had in his mind.

This person...

Is this the Alyssa?

Could it be a mistake?!

All the predictions had been disrupted, and Zayed looked at her in disbelief until she walked closer, along with the arena staff.

Seeing the unfamiliar man before her and the timid follower behind him, Alyssa showed a hint of displeasure, her two beautiful brows lightly furrowing.

This kind of deceptive opening conversation already scored zero in her mind for the first impression of this guy.

"I don't know you, nor do I recall anyone here sharing my name."

"I need an explanation."

Chapter 816: Chain Reaction

"...All the suffering survivors on the Wasteland are comrades on the same front line. Although we have not fought shoulder to shoulder yet, I believe that a kind-hearted person like you would not refuse to be friends with the people of Poluo Province."

Zayed's mind was spinning rapidly.

Although he hadn't fully recovered from the chaotic crash, he instinctively lowered his stance and awkwardly tried to regain some goodwill from this young girl.

"My name is Zayed... Esteemed Miss Alyssa, I sincerely apologize for intruding upon you in this manner."

Witty humor, while able to dispel awkwardness, was evidently not appreciated.

However, seeing him voluntarily offer his name, Alyssa relaxed her furrowed brows and spoke in a softened tone.

"Alyssa, nice to meet you for the first time... And you are?"

Unexpectedly, this noble lady directed her gaze towards him. Standing behind Zayed, Sava dared not meet those beautiful eyes and stammered.

"I... Vassa."

Seeing his lack of composure, Zayed sighed and looked apologetically at Alyssa.

"Apologies, he is... my student and also my assistant. Though capable, he's somewhat shy."

"Sorry!" Sava quickly bowed to express his apology.

Seeing this awkward young man, Alyssa suddenly thought of herself from last year and couldn't help but smile warmly as she said gently.

"No need to apologize for such things. No one is born ready to handle everything alone. My... a friend of mine always couldn't help but cry when facing difficulties, but can now calmly think of some strategies. I believe you can do the same. After all, the path you've walked is much farther than hers."

She didn't know how far Poluo Province was, but it was likely farther than the distance between Giant Stone City and City of Dawn.

"Thank you..."

The voice was like a spring breeze brushing by, and the young man lowered his head further, his eyes fixated on the tips of his shoes, with the blush creeping from his cheeks to the roots of his ears.

Such a kind girl!

No one had ever encouraged him this way, not even his most intimate family members.

Though he had no doubt about Mr. Zayed's correctness, he couldn't help but feel confused... Could it be that the very person who had been helping and teaching him all along had misunderstood something?

Turning his gaze to Zayed's face, Alyssa's voice took on a slightly serious tone as she continued.

"Mr. Zayed, I am not a petty person. If you're sincerely apologetic, you can just tell me directly. Please don't use the survivors of Poluo Province as a shield. We are certainly willing to be friends with the survivors of Poluo Province, but you cannot represent them."

"Indeed... I did not consider it thoroughly." Zayed admitted the mistake straightforwardly and honestly.

Perhaps his reasoning was indeed flawed.

This woman, who fussed over small matters, didn't seem to have any hidden motives, rather she felt somewhat... silly?

If it was because she looked down on his status, it would be one thing, but she clearly wasn't reacting for that reason. It seemed more like she was throwing a child's tantrum.

Does it matter if one lies about such trivial matters? The outcome didn't cause any harm.

Not to mention he ultimately smoothed things over without leaving the other party without face, anyone with a bit of political upbringing would simply laugh it off.

And if he were to win in the end, this might become a celebrated story.

However, he didn't believe there was any flaw in his assessment, only that there was a lack of information.

Investigating someone in the City of Dawn is extremely difficult, especially for someone like him who's still in the early stages of starting a business. He doesn't have a group of loyal Guards, nor does he have diplomatic immunity, and he has to be cautious not to break the Alliance's laws.

Alyssa nodded gently, whispered a few words to the staff beside her who had an unfriendly expression.

"I've indeed never seen them, but I doubt they're bad people. There may just be a misunderstanding."

The staff still looked unconvinced, and seriously asked.

"Do you really not need me to call security?"

Alyssa said, half-amused and half-exasperated.

"No need, no need, don't trouble others with such a small issue, I will handle it."

The other person's expression gradually softened. They gave Zayed a warning look, seeming to say "I remember your face", and then turned back to the arena.

After seeing them leave, Alyssa looked back at Zayed.

"Let's talk about the serious matter. Why are you looking for me—though before that, I'm more curious about how you heard of my name?"

Zayed's face wore a friendly smile, as he still had something to request from the girl before him.

"You really underestimate your own fame. Your name is known by everyone in Giant Stone City, comparable to that fictional Pol."

Alyssa spoke politely.

"You flatter me, I'm not that remarkable."

Zayed continued with a smile.

"No, I'm not flattering you at all. Rather, let me say... I admire you."

Alyssa maintained her polite expression, but her smile still kept others at a distance.

"There's no benefit to you even if you praise me."

"Your guard against me is too high. Everything I've said is from the heart..." Gazing into those wise eyes, Zayed struck an innocent pose and sighed, "From the drunks in the tavern, to the newspaper delivery boys, and the clerks behind the bank counter... everyone gives you high praise."

"They all unanimously commend your bravery and kindness, believing it was you who saved them from the worst outcome, finally achieving that almost impossible miracle."

"Honestly, I don't believe there are Gods in this world, but I can't help but wonder if you aren't under some divine protection. After all, if it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't end well."

Listening to the emotional words, Alyssa suddenly believed a few of them.

He might indeed have a bit of an admiration filter towards her, but what he admired wasn't her character, nor what she was proud of.

It was something else...

Like the shadows in a sketch that highlight the light.

But if that's the case, then the residents of Poluo Province are too pitiful.

That place is likely an even bigger casino than the former Giant Stone City, and the chips in that casino are probably astronomical amounts she's never heard of.

Cold sweat began to bead on Alyssa's forehead.

She instinctively wanted to save those people, so she subconsciously spoke up.

"... Indeed, thinking back to that day still frightens me. However, I don't believe I was under any divine protection, nor do I think I'm some miracle."

Unaware of her thoughts, Zayed with a tone as if coaxing a child, laughed and said.

"If that's not a miracle, then what would qualify as one?"

Alyssa said without hesitation.

"It's the residents of Giant Stone City."

Zayed was slightly taken aback.

"The residents of Giant Stone City? Ah... of course, I don't deny they are indeed indispensable, their courage and ideals are equally impressive—"

"It's the residents of Giant Stone City."

Alyssa repeated her words. Her undeniable voice carried a hint of hope, or perhaps a plea.

"Why do you think I'm the miracle... when it's them who still seek light as darkness falls, when their hope has been extinguished countless times yet they refuse to give up, when every one of them you've met before finding me was a miracle, why do you think I am the miracle?"

Zayed was bewildered for a moment.

It wasn't because of anything the girl in front of him said that seemed beyond her age; it was because he didn't understand why she was so emotional.

What is this...

Is it something important?

The polite words he said were just to gain her favor, but now it seemed he had once again misstepped.

What does this person really want?

Zayed couldn't help but feel a bit irritated inside, though he didn't let that expression show on his face.

Perhaps sensing his impatience or resistance, Alyssa earnestly stared into his eyes, involuntarily quickening her speech.

"...Mr. Zayed, I must say again, in the face of the true tide, my life or death doesn't matter! Whether I died that night or where my body ends up hanging, it won't make any difference to the tomorrow of Giant Stone City. The sun will still rise and set at its destined time."

"I am not the miracle you think I am. Those who spared me are the true miracle."

"They could have let the fire burn uncontrollably, blamed all the wrongs on a little girl, and then moved into the Inner City over our corpses. They could have become the new owners of the casino, but they closed this casino with their own hands... Everyone who walked out of the casino is a miracle."

What a naive statement...

No.

It should be said it's foolish.

Zayed looked at her coldly, but there was no change in his gentle smile.

Actually, she wasn't completely missing the point. At least there was one thing he agreed with, something that unexpectedly lit up his eyes.

If they let that fire burn unchecked...

Only then, a lot of people might die.

"Mr. Zayed?"

Hearing that concerned voice, Zayed snapped back to reality, then looked at Alyssa with a smile and said.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing..."

Alyssa's eyes showed some fear; for a moment, she saw something terrifying in his eyes.

She swallowed again and spoke quickly.

"If you want to know how to save the residents of Poluo Province, you might start by publishing a newspaper to let the survivors have their own voice..."

Zayed lightly coughed, interrupting her incessant chatter.

"I'm really sorry... though I find your theory interesting, the sun is about to set, perhaps we'll talk more next time we meet. By the way, if it's not too much trouble, I would like to ask you for a favor."

Alyssa was taken aback, but she still nodded slightly.

"What favor?"

"I want you to introduce me to the Manager of the Alliance."

"The, the Manager?" Alyssa stared at him blankly, unable to keep up with that leap in thought.

Zayed nodded, looking intently into her eyes, speaking seriously.

"I need his help... or rather, we need it."

Meeting his fiery gaze, Alyssa instantly understood his meaning, but she fell silent.

Objectively speaking, the Alliance indeed reduced the suffering that the survivors of Giant Stone City had to endure, but ultimately, it was the survivors themselves who would end all this suffering.

When you can't be sure what's beneath the mountain, speeding up doesn't always yield good results.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Please go ahead."

"When everything is over... when the Wasteland Era ends, is there something you want to do?"

As if worried Zayed would once again deviate, Alyssa hurriedly added a sentence.

"I'm not asking about some wish, just something you simply want to do. Like horseback riding or painting... whatever hobby it might be."

"Those things are the delight of nobles, I won't be corrupted by them," Zayed smiled faintly, "I haven't thought about things that far away yet. I only want to save the residents of Poluo Province, letting the light of equality shine on every inch of land by the Everflow River, and beyond that, I have no other desires."

Showing a hint of disappointment in her eyes, Alyssa's lips moved, and ultimately, a long string of words condensed into a soft sigh.

"I knew a very kind old grandfather... he said after he retires, he wants to build a little wooden house by the lake, plant some flowers and grass, and do some fishing."

Zayed: "Who is he?"

"Mr. Fang Ming's designer..."

Suddenly lifting her head, Alyssa's eyes were more resolute than ever before, she took a deep breath and said.

"I will absolutely, absolutely not introduce you to the Manager... please leave!"

She rejected him without any subtlety.

If earlier she was undecided, now she was absolutely certain that talking to this guy about anything was like playing music to a cow.

This guy, who talked tirelessly about equality, looked down on what he was saying more than anyone else.

He planned everything, yet never planned where he would be in that new world.

In the end, he just wanted to be the god of the new world, running the casino under a new sign.

There won't be a next meeting.

She wouldn't say another word to him, and she even regretted those words she just said, she shouldn't have revealed what the true miracle was to him.

This guy is no battle companion!

It's quite possible that they could even be enemies...

If he succeeds, he'll immediately seal all the drafty windows in the entire casino!

Despite the gradually cold gaze, Zayed wasn't angry; he just bowed slightly.

"It seems I've caused you displeasure... I'm very sorry."

Although it's unfortunate, it's something unavoidable.

The meeting ended on a sour note.

Zayed had lost any reason to stay, so he left with his young apprentice without looking back.

On the way back, Vassa looked at Mr. Zayed with a face full of confusion and couldn't help but ask his question.

"I said... we should have approached her in a more tactful manner."

"The outcome would've been the same. If she were the person we're looking for, regardless of the method, we would reach the Manager through her. But unfortunately, she isn't, so this path is a dead end."

To find some justification for his miscalculation, or perhaps he truly thought this way, Zayed paused and continued.

"Actually, it might not be such a bad thing."

"A good thing?" Vassa was entirely perplexed.

"Indeed."

Zayed nodded slightly, unconcerned, and continued to speak.

"At the very least, through this probe, I can confirm that she does maintain correspondence with the Manager of the Alliance... Regardless of what form the communication takes, at least their views intersect on certain issues."

"In just an afternoon, we've discerned the Manager's preferences. As a test for an investment... this deal is rather cost-effective."

Vassa said with some disappointment.

"But she won't help us anymore..."

He wasn't sure if he regretted potentially never seeing the beautiful lady again or was genuinely worried about the fate of the Family Meeting.

Perhaps it was both.

Zayed smiled faintly.

"It doesn't matter; there are plenty of ways to meet that gentleman. The key lies in what happens after meeting him."

Initially, he did have the idea of pleasing Alyssa, this potential political ally, but upon realizing she was essentially still a child, he abandoned the thought.

Allies who are immature are troublesome, better used as touchstones.

Next time he meets the Manager of the Alliance, he will try to avoid all pitfalls.

Just like listening to the opinions of the Residents of the refuge and changing the Equality Conference to the Family Meeting.

He could further refine his image and speak as much as possible about things the gentleman likes to hear...

"What if she writes to the Manager?" Vassa said softly.

If it were him, he would unhesitatingly tell Mr. Zayed about any restless voices within the Family Meeting.

He felt the lady would do the same thing, just like him.

Zayed's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly relaxed.

"That possibility can't be ruled out... Kids do like to tattle, but I believe the gentleman would never trust a unilateral view, but instead, listen to both sides."

And for someone like him, from humble beginnings, it's connections he lacks.

"If she indeed mentions me in her letter to the Manager, I'd rather thank her for doing me the favor."

...

At the southernmost point of the Central Continent's axis lies a port named Evernight Harbor.

It is situated at the southern corner of the ruins of the United Human's Southern Industrial Zone, facing the Antarctic Waste across the sea.

Due to its extreme distance, even the White Bear Knights enthusiastic about mapping have never ventured to such a place.

If compared to real-world maps, this harbor's location is roughly in South Africa, but it has a higher latitude than the latter.

At the same time, this is probably the southernmost settlement in the entire Wasteland.

As the Legion first stepped onto this land during the Southern Hemisphere's winter, it was the period of short days and long nights there.

Thus, this settlement was named Evernight Harbor by the Weilante colonists.

Unlike the Eastern Legion occupying vast plains, the Southern Legion's territories are more fragmented, excluding a peninsula in its homeland, mostly distributed along the coastlines of the Great Desert's Western Industrial Zone and the Southern Industrial Zone ruins.

Even though the soil of these lands is barren and crops cannot be grown, they contain rich mineral deposits.

Because of this series of factors, the Southern Legion's operational style differs greatly from the Eastern Legion.

Rather than military aristocracy with vast pastures and estates, they resemble late medieval colonists.

While they are ruthless in exploiting other ethnicities, they do not shy away from using more subtle methods that favor their own interests.

Such as buying out locals to have them govern other locals.

Such as allowing slaves to redeem themselves.

Such as using debt slaves instead of contract slaves.

After all, they don't have as much land as the Eastern Legion to waste resources, and they must put thought into boosting the productivity of their colonies.

And due to this operational style, they are closely aligned with the civil official group of Triumph City.

Of course, the similarity in operational style is one aspect; fundamentally, it is because the interests of both sides are tied together.

For instance, the various ports of the Southern Legion are located along the coast from Poluo Province to Triumph City.

And the civil official group's ships often do not just bring back spices, tea, and sugar that Triumph City craves, but also slaves and livestock needed by the various colonies of the Southern Legion.

Compared to the nomads and Variants living in the Great Desert, the survivors and livestock from Poluo Province are undoubtedly more docile and more welcomed by the southern colonists.

Additionally, these ships, when returning to Triumph City, also carry some colonial specialties.

Such as various ores, gems, and gold, etc.

As a result, Evernight Harbor never lacks ships from Poluo Province.

Especially those from West Sail Port.

However, recently, there's been an unexpected situation here...

The port at Evernight Harbor was teeming with people. A large crowd of travelers with suitcases gathered at the ticket counter, their voices raised in frustration.

It was summer in Evernight Harbor in December, and the sea breeze carried a hint of heat. People's tempers were like a powder keg ready to explode.

A Vellante traveler finally squeezed to the front of the counter, his fist clutching his ticket pounded the countertop, trying to press his face through the narrow window.

"Where's the ship? I bought a ticket to Triumph City! Where did the ship go?"

"Please calm down, sir. Let me check which route your ticket is for... so I can help you with a refund."

The staff reached out to take the ticket, only for the traveler to snatch it back.

Angrily glaring at the window, the Vellante traveler roared.

"I never said anything about a refund! I want to go home!"

The staff member grimaced, looking at him with helplessness as he spoke.

"I know... but there's nothing I can do. If the route you booked isn't appearing at the dock, it's likely in breach of contract, and we'll compensate you according to the agreement—"

"What do you mean 'likely in breach of contract'?" the Vellante exclaimed furiously. "It's the end of the year, and I only go back to Triumph City once a year! Damn it, why does it have to be right before the birthday celebration!"

The staff member wiped the sweat off his forehead, trying to soothe the traveler and others behind him.

"Please, please calm down... I understand your feelings, sir, but there's nothing we can do here. The cancellation was by the carrier, and I heard it's because they had to transport a batch of arms to the east—"

The traveler clearly wasn't buying it, rudely interrupting his explanation.

"I paid for a passenger ship! A passenger ship! Do you think I'm an idiot?"

The staff member sighed helplessly.

"I know... but I've heard they're offering a lot more money. You're relatively lucky; yesterday, a ship was supposed to dock, but when they heard the news from West Sail Port, they dropped the passengers ashore and turned around."

Vellante traveler: "???!!!"

Penny, standing amidst the crowd, wore a bewildered expression when she heard the commotion ahead.

She had come here from West Sail Port a week ago by ship, originally booked to change ships today to return to Triumph City, only to be met with such shocking news.

Finally reaching the counter, she glanced at the ticket in her hand and said blankly.

"… The ships are gone?"

Behind the window, the staff member, already frazzled from repeatedly answering the question, looked at her.

"They've been gone since yesterday… You're quite lucky, ma'am. I heard some people even got kicked off after boarding."

Penny said with a mix of laughter and tears.

"Then how do I get home?"

The staff member was just as embarrassed.

"I'm not sure… uh, but based on my experience, you should only need to wait about two days. Not all ships will continue east; some return immediately after reaching Evernight Harbor. There are also cargo ships; if the price is right, they don't mind taking passengers as well. We'll keep an eye out for information for you."

"..."

Penny only regretted one thing now: not accepting Governor Hu Ye's offer to hitch a ride directly to Triumph City, choosing instead to transfer at Evernight Harbor.

After three days of leisure, she found herself unable to return.

"What exactly happened?" she asked with a worried expression.

The staff member sighed.

"Our information is uncertain; we've only heard it's something Centurion Bennott did. He somehow made a vague agreement with the Eastern Legion, and now all ships on this route are heading east, all eager to make money."

It was said that some were not only after equipment left by the Expeditionary Army but also fantasized about picking up "scraps" from the Academy, companies, or the Alliance's frontline.

But he thought they were just dreaming.

With so many people rushing over to snatch things up, it was uncertain whether they'd actually make any money.

Penny was dumbfounded. She couldn't believe her own father, serving as an ambassador in the City of Dawn, was the reason she couldn't return home.

This was truly…

Looking at the lady in front of him, who seemed on the verge of tears, the staff member kindly reminded her.

"There's nothing we can do about it either. You'd better quickly book a room at the port's inn… by evening, you might not find a place to stay, even if you have money. My uncle runs a lodge near the port; would you like me to contact him for you?"

Penny shook her head.

"… No need, I have a place to stay."

Her uncle was an officer in the Southern Legion, holding the same rank as Mr. Pangolin as a Thousands of leaders, serving as the defense commander at Evernight Harbor.

She had been staying at her uncle's house for the past few days and could stay a bit longer.

However, to avoid worrying her mother in Triumph City, she needed to visit the post office soon to send a telegram home.

The staff member sighed sympathetically, apologizing deeply.

"I see... In any case, I'm very sorry, and I ask for your understanding."

Is there any other option really?

Penny gave him a resigned look of understanding, thanked him, and then grabbed her suitcase, leaving the ticket counter. She hailed a tricycle at the port, instructing the driver to take her to the post office.

Soon, the marble building came into view.

Taking out a shiny Dinar, she paid the fare and carried her suitcase up the steps of the post office.

However, just as she crossed the door, she heard a few hurried conversations passing by.

"Is there a ship?! I need a ship going east as soon as possible!"

"A ship heading east? What are you dreaming about? There's no such ship at this dock!"

"Damn it! Why does it have to be at this time?"

Penny turned her face, seeing a middle-aged man with a felt hat, slamming his fist hard onto the marble pillar at the entrance.

The person next to him looked at his companion in shock and hurriedly asked.

"What happened?"

The man's expression was cloudy, his hoarse voice low and heavy.

Even so, Penny still vaguely heard him say—

"West Sail Port! Over there… something big happened!"

Chapter 817: Beaten to the Punch?

If we were to rank the moral standards of the various factions within the army, the Civil Official Group around His Excellency the Marshal would undoubtedly rank at the top.

While the Eastern Legion was still contemplating how to extract the last drop of oil from contract slaves, the Civil Official Group had already referenced the colonial management methods of the Southern Legion to devise a "systematic" way to convert contract slaves into debt slaves.

Don't think of this as anything evil. Considering the context of the Wasteland era, turning people from livestock into commodities could definitely be considered a "benevolent act."

The poor in the Bugra Free State might at most complain about the long advertisement times when opening the fridge and the inhuman iris scanning devices, while the slaves in Poluo Province would probably be bewildered upon hearing their grievances, questioning what fridges and advertisements are, and why wasting 75 seconds of life doesn't cost money?

In any case, although the civil officials in Triumph City didn't let the survivors of West Sail Port use fridges, they at least opened a window in their hopeless lives.

These civil officials first cooperated with the nobles of Lion State, leasing their slaves for a monthly rent of 50 dinars from the noble race. At the end of each month, they would also give those slaves an additional "reward" of 50~150 dinars.

How much they could earn was purely dependent on their performance in work.

Of course, this money would not be stuffed into the slaves' pockets, but would be recorded in their accounts, and they could redeem themselves and their families once they saved enough money.

Once these slaves redeemed themselves, they could be considered skilled workers, not only possessing rich work experience but also being more motivated in their work.

The Legion would continue to employ them for work, and the original reward would become their monthly salary.

For the Weilante people, the wages they paid these people did not change, and they even saved the 50 dinar monthly rent paid to the nobles, equivalent to hiring a more skilled labor force at a lower cost.

For the nobles, the amount of work the slaves did did not affect their income. Although selling skilled workers was somewhat a pity, the one thousand dinar redemption fee was not a loss, equivalent to a one-time buyout of 20 months of income.

Moreover, they could still earn a sum through the Labor Registration Bureau, a repackaged labor intermediary.

The only ones losing out were those free citizens.

Previously, they lived and ate on the nobles' estates, but now everything depends on themselves...

...

West Sail Port.

Unlike the usual bustling and sweaty activity, today the atmosphere on the docks was eerily unusual.

A dark crowd squeezed into the port, blocking the entire road from the dock to the warehouse, their faces filled with repressed anger.

They were the first batch of workers who came to West Sail Port, each brick of this port was drenched with their sweat and blood. However, these people were not just content with trampling those bricks underfoot, they also trampled on their only bit of dignity and hope.

Orisa was not the first laborer to die at West Sail Port, nor was he the first free citizen to die on the job, yet his death was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, making all the free citizens at the port completely outraged!

Why have they borne their burdens like donkeys all along?

Is it not for that piece of paper that proves they are free citizens?

Humans are creatures that live on hope. When there is hope, even eating dirt is bearable.

"As long as you work diligently, freedom is within reach" was like a carrot dangled before them. For this carrot, and so their families could also eat this carrot, they endured the overseers' whips and insults, fell into lifelong illnesses, and even broke their backs...

But the lords of West Sail Port yanked that carrot from before their eyes, slamming their only hope to the ground.

What if they got it?

Does having that paper mean they can't be controlled?

In the end, it was all the same. The true free citizens of West Sail Port were those who didn't need a paper to prove their freedom at all.

No one would ask the Weilante people for that thing, nor would anyone ask the nobles for it, not even the pastors of Silver Moon Bay or the merchants of the Southern sea area needed it, likely due to some agreements with the Sticky Community.

Orisa spent a thousand dinars to redeem himself, and an unknown sum to redeem his family, possibly even borrowing some from the Weilante people.

Yet his death compensation was a measly eight hundred dinars!

Eight hundred!

At the worst 1:5 exchange rate, it wasn't even equivalent to 200 silver coins!

This money couldn't repay debts, nor could it sustain his family for long.

Once he was buried in the ground, his family would either repeat his fate or follow in his footsteps.

Or—

They would have to sell themselves again and start another desperate cycle.

If the new winds of the Wasteland never blew here, the people here might continue to bear their burdens and endure everything, perhaps only until the moment they entered the grave would they awaken, and in an instant, the pain might even be a kind of happiness.

However, unfortunately, the merchant ships from the east brought not only wealth and technology.

But also the ideas that awaken everything.

These free citizens standing here may not recognize many words, but from the pastors from Silver Moon Bay, they already knew of a settlement thousands of kilometers away called Giant Stone City, and an Awakener named Pol.

The strength of one person is insignificant, yet when half a million survivors unite, even walls hundreds of meters tall will tremble, and skyscrapers a thousand meters high will collapse!

The survivors in West Sail Port amounted to not just half a million, but a full million!

Inspired by the power of example, the people who previously scattered at the sound of gunfire had once again united...

They had enough of those lies.

They would rely on their own hands to fight for their rights.

Faced with the ever-growing crowd, Nagi broke out in cold sweat, but still mustered the courage to shout at them.

"What are you crowding here for! Hurry and get to work... or are you itching for a beating again!"

The people didn't speak, nor did they provoke the soldiers of the Weilante people like last time, but merely stood there in silence, watching him with their eyes.

Feeling uneasy under the countless gazes, Nagi swallowed nervously, his right hand holding the whip trembling uncontrollably, as if suffering from muscle weakness, unable to bring it down.

At least twenty or thirty thousand people gathered here, numbers ten times those of the day before yesterday.

Not only were these people not working themselves, but they also completely blocked the path back to the warehouse.

The entire port now resembled a broken alarm clock, with unloading operations grinding to a complete halt.

If he couldn't finish unloading all the goods on the dock before nightfall, the Weilante shipowners and the local nobles would all come looking for trouble for him!

Just imagining the scene brought cold sweat to Nagi's forehead as he looked imploringly at the nearby port guards.

The guards were whispering with one another, seemingly discussing countermeasures.

"Why not disperse these people first?"

"But the docks still need them for work."

"But they're just getting in the way staying here now."

"But without them? With those slacking slaves, we won't finish till tomorrow."

"The governor instructed us to ensure the production order here... We need to find a way to get them back to their workstations, and make them work obediently."

The captain of the guards glanced at the group of workers, with his brows tightly furrowed.

Previously, he had underestimated this bunch. Though they were timid like mice, they weren't entirely useless.

For example, they were cunning enough.

In other Weilante people's colonies, cases of "freemen" strikes had occurred as well, but those usually happened under circumstances where debt interest and income were completely imbalanced. It was rare during the initial transition phase of contract slaves to debt slaves.

This should have been the honeymoon period for both parties.

Yet it seemed as if someone had told them how this scam would develop next, and they suddenly awoke from an illusory dream.

Moreover, they learned the worst habit of striking.

They could drive these people from one cage to another with guns, but they couldn't force them to work enthusiastically.

And whenever it came to this, even the Weilante people could only make some compromises by weighing the pros and cons.

Unfortunately, the governor went back to Triumph City to celebrate the New Year, probably still floating at sea now.

The captain of the guards strode up to Nagi, looking at the latter's pale face, and said in a commanding tone.

"...This stalemate is not a solution, go talk to them and see how you can get them back to work."

Nagi hurried back to the crowd, trying to pick up the usual domineering expression, but couldn't muster the fierce confidence, eventually lowering his stance and said kindly.

"What good is it just standing here? What exactly do you want? At least give me an answer!"

With the support of his companions, a worker stepped out, staring at him intently.

"One of our Orisa is dead."

Nagi gritted his teeth and said.

"We've already given compensation, what more do you want!"

The worker angrily said.

"...It's too little! 800 dinars is nowhere near enough for his family to survive in West Sail Port!"

"Then go back to the countryside—" Nagi just opened his mouth to retort but was angrily interrupted by the other.

"Stop playing dumb, the fertile land of Lion State is covered with plantations, where is there land for them to survive!"

This statement resonated with many, especially those who used to work in the plantations.

If they really had a choice, they wouldn't have come to this wretched place to toil.

They have farming skills, but unfortunately, there is simply no land for them to cultivate.

"That's right! They don't have a home to return to!"

"Do you want Orisa's wife and daughter to go back to his former master's plantation!"

"Then why did we buy our freedom! It all ends up the same in the end!"

The noise grew louder and louder, and people's emotions became increasingly agitated.

Nagi suddenly panicked and shouted desperately.

"What do you want then? Are we supposed to support them for life? On what grounds!"

At that moment, the crowd erupted in an uproar, their gazes growing even angrier.

"On what grounds!"

"Just because Orisa died while working for you!"

"We've shed blood and sweat for this port, why isn't there a place here for us!"

"That's right! We not only want justice for Orisa! We want justice for ourselves too!"

"Our wages must go up!"

"Either pay us at least 10 dinars a day! Or allow us to organize and contract the dock ourselves! Fair competition for everyone, the more we work, the more we get paid, we won't cling to you!"

The whole dock roared with the workers' angry voices, even the slaves wanting to squeeze through the crowd couldn't help but stop.

Listening to those increasingly outrageous demands, Nagi felt a chill up his spine.

This bunch of outlandish demanders!

10 dinars a day!

That's 300 a month! Double the previous maximum wage!

Just moving a few boxes for this much money, why don't they just rob!

As for letting them organize and contract the dock themselves, that's even more impossible.

It's not just a matter of interests, there are more thorny issues involved.

Neither the Weilante people nor the nobles would agree to let this bunch of lower-class people organize themselves.

If today they dare ask to contract the dock, tomorrow they'd dare ask to contract the city hall, bank, and post office altogether!

By then, whose name would West Sail Port bear? The name of this bunch of rats?

Nagi's brow twitched fiercely, mustering all his strength, he shouted at the crowd.

"Are you crazy! Do you know what you're asking for? Why don't I just give you this port!"

"Then give it to us!"

The worker standing at the front of the crowd wasn't intimidated at all, nor did he intend to back down.

As if hearing a very funny joke, Nagi let out a cold laugh and said.

"Give it to you? You'd ruin everything here in less than a day!"

The dock worker glared at him.

"Then let it be ruined, anyway, nothing here ever belonged to us!"

Seeing the crowd's emotions getting more and more agitated, the Weilante guards standing aside finally couldn't take it anymore.

The captain of the guards walked up to Nagi, pulled him aside, stared into his eyes, and said word by word.

"Are you a pig? I told you to negotiate conditions with them, to coax them back to work, not to quarrel with them! How should you do it? Do you need me to teach you?"

Seeing the Vellante people getting angry, Nagi hurriedly explained in distress.

"Sir, you don't understand... You must not show them a good face! Once they get a taste of the sweetness, they'll climb up your baton like snakes."

"I don't understand?" The guard captain sneered, tapping his head with a smile, "How many colonies have you been to? You've only been a foreman for a few days and dare to talk to me like that?"

Nagi was sweating profusely, lowering his head with a pale face.

"I wouldn't dare..."

The guard captain looked at this clueless guy with disdain, his expression growing more contemptuous.

He didn't mind obedient dogs, but at least this dog should be of some use, right?

He had been a guard in the Southern Legion for over ten years and had many dealings with the local natives around the colonies. Although he hadn't directly participated in the bigwigs' games, he understood some basic consensus.

Whether it was the Southern Legion, the Civil Official Group, or those local native chieftains or nobles, they all preferred to fatten the cow before milking it.

This way, it's good for everyone.

Yet these folks acted like they had never seen money before, eager to slit the cow's throat with a knife, skipping the milking step, and directly drink the blood.

Having no patience for this guy's enlightenment, the guard captain spoke in an indisputable tone.

"Raise the standard for death compensation, increase their wages, but don't give it to them all at once; you can negotiate with them... you handle this yourselves. I have only one requirement: resume work as soon as possible and don't let things get out of hand, or if the governor finds out, none of you will have a good outcome!"

Upon hearing these words, Nagi immediately looked pitiful, pleading.

"But Sir, our profit margin is already very thin. If we raise their wages, how will we make money?"

"Don't take me for a fool!"

Seeing this guy still playing dumb, the guard captain couldn't help but scold, pointing at his nose.

"You get paid based on the weight of the goods! The wages you pay them are not even a tenth of what you earn! What happens if you give out a tenth? The time and money you've wasted here are far beyond this amount! Do I need to teach you how to do business?"

The guard captain sighed at the foreman who was too scared to breathe deeply, and then spoke with a softer tone.

"...Be a little kinder to your fellow countrymen, don't push them too hard, and don't always think about winning the last dinar, or it won't be good for anyone."

"Yes..."

Nagi reluctantly answered, though deep down, he didn't consider these snake, rat, insect, and bird folks as his countrymen.

After all, he was a Lion Clan person.

Even if not a noble, he felt far more noble than these guys.

Prompted by the guard captain, he had no choice but to return to the crowd once more.

"...Thank the merciful governor! We can raise your wages! But don't push it too far; how about eight dinars a day? That's 240 a month! Damn it, I'm jealous of your wages, you could buy a little wife after five months of work!"

Hearing the wages increased to eight dinars a day, a slight division began to appear in the originally angry crowd, with some people's eyes showing hope for life again.

Just as Nagi said, 240 dinars a month is quite a lot!

However, not everyone is so easily bought.

There were still quite a few people staring indignantly at the foreman pushed to the front.

"What about Orisa?"

Nagi gritted his teeth, thinking that since he had already promised a lot of money, a bit more wouldn't matter, and he resolutely said,

"The labor registration office will give his family an additional 3000 dinars... but this money is not compensation; it's entirely out of goodwill and generosity! Those who have bled and sweated for West Sail Port should not have their hearts discouraged; his family should be supported by West Sail Port!"

3000 dinars was already a good amount!

Even with the increased wages, that was a year's salary!

In the eyes of the crowd, there was finally a glimmer of hope, unexpectedly realizing that there were good people among these nobles, and some even whistled and applauded in praise.

This time, even those who were previously indignant began to show a slight division, with only a handful left glaring angrily.

Seeing the wavering crowd, Nagi continued with a soothing tone.

"Alright, disperse now. If you still want to get today's wages, hurry back to work, or are you waiting for the gold coins to fall from the sky?"

The crowd gradually dispersed, and Nagi finally breathed a sigh of relief, although thinking about the money spent made his heart ache.

Hopefully, the master won't blame him...

If blamed, he could only use the Vellante people as scapegoats.

He would say he had held the line, but it was the Vellante guards who forced him to raise wages.

Seeing the troublemakers return to work, the Vellante guards in formation at the port also disbanded, each tending to their own business.

Soon it would be the year's end, and after the year-end comes the birthday. They had little interest in working and didn't want to make trouble, as their minds had long wandered home.

The guard captain returned to the police station, first sending a "Crisis Resolved" telegram to Evernight Harbor via a dedicated line, and then reported the incident to the secretary of the governor's office.

Governor Hue had gone back to Triumph City, taking half of the governor's mansion's guard with him. General McCullen and the instructors had gone to Evernight Harbor to board a ship recently, leaving only the port guard and a local town defense troop in West Sail Port, making the defensive strength unprecedentedly weak.

If possible, he hoped the governor's mansion could borrow a team from the Southern Legion.

Even a Servant Army would do.

The problem, however, was that there were no ships on the entire route; any available vessels had been sent east by the Civil Official Group, making it difficult to bring people over...

Meanwhile, having finally resolved the matter, Nagi returned to the labor registration office and reported the port situation and wage increase to several major shareholders.

After getting a scolding, he hadn't even caught his breath before seeing his subordinate rushing up in a hurry, shouting while running.

"Sir, something's gone wrong!"

His seat wasn't even warm yet when Nagi's heart skipped a beat, and he stood up from his chair, cursing.

"What's happened now? Didn't I already raise their wages!?"

His subordinate, anxious and pale, spoke quickly.

"This, this time it's not the dock; it's the steel mill... and the cement factory. Upon hearing about the wage increase at the dock, all the laborers in the factories stopped working, demanding a wage increase too."

Hearing this, Nagi almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, cursing.

"These greedy vultures!"

Just as he expected.

He knew it would end up like this!

Those Weilante people have no understanding of the situation in the Poluo Province; these mud-legged folks can't be spoiled. Once their days get comfortable, they'll stir up these little troubles.

When the factory wages rise, the dockworkers might start clamoring, saying things like moving goods is harder work, so how can it be the same pay as those in the steel mill.

If this goes on, they won't be making any money. Might as well just shut down all the port factories!

Nagi was so anxious that sweat was forming on his forehead, while the head of the labor office standing next to him frowned and mumbled softly.

"I keep thinking something's not right about this; it's like someone is stirring things up."

Nagi was entirely taken aback.

"Are you saying the Alliance?"

The head shook his head.

"That doesn't seem like it; there's no connection at all."

The Alliance's merchant ships also come here to buy steel and cement; both Jinjaron Harbor and Potato Harbor have significant demands for building materials, as do the rebuilding Southern sea area and Haiye Province, among others.

Messing up West Sail Port doesn't benefit them either, at most just giving the Army and the Empire a headache.

At this point, the servant who came to deliver the message suddenly had a thought, and quickly spoke out.

"Right, I heard that a few of those leading the trouble seem to be believers of the Silver Moon Church! Also, the few who were the loudest just now!"

Hearing this, Nagi was instantly enraged, swearing loudly.

"Are those religious nuts crazy!"

The head of the labor registry office's eyes flickered slightly, speaking pensively.

"The doctrine of the Silver Moon Sect includes a credo of mutual help, the reason this matter got so out of hand... it really might be related to them."

The servant hurriedly continued speaking.

"Right! I always thought those religious nuts weren't good people. By the way, I heard that Orisa is a follower of the Silver Moon Sect, and those leading the commotion this time often attend services with him."

Nagi's eyes gradually narrowed, a barely noticeable hint of malevolence flickering in his gaze.

"So it's because of this..."

This was indeed his oversight.

He almost forgot that a church is also a form of organization.

Not to mention that this Silver Moon Sect is not well-behaved, not only teaching those believers to read but also running some kind of newspaper.

Feeling as if he had grasped the root of the problem, he immediately began pondering over it.

"... I need to find a way to get rid of that church."

After hearing this, the head shook his head.

"This is not easy to accomplish... We cannot touch the people of Silver Moon Bay, they are residents of the Camel Hump Kingdom, protected by Sticky Community-related treaties. If we act without a reason, who knows what big trouble might arise."

"Why do it yourself..."

Nagi suddenly laughed sinisterly, speaking slowly and deliberately under the astonished gaze of the two.

"It was the residents of West Sail Port themselves who drove away the religious nuts, can't pin that on us, right?"

...

Although the steel mill had quite a few orders, the work wasn't as urgent as at the port.

Before the volunteer guards raised by the Weilante masters at the port took action, Nagi had already organized a "Long Stick Team" with about a hundred slaves borrowed from the labor office, not only promising them freedom and dinar rewards but also assuring them they wouldn't be treated poorly in the future.

Hearing they'd be paid and valued by the masters, the slaves didn't say a word and picked up sticks, dispersing the workers gathered and doing nothing.

Watching the rabble scatter in confusion, Nagi's face revealed a ferocious, triumphant smile.

If they don't work, they don't work!

Worst case, close the steel mill for two days, see who starves first!

Having learned the hard lesson from the port, he knew he couldn't hesitate with this; he must be tough when necessary, decisive when taking action.

It's better to act early than late!

Even if some people die, it's still better than having it blow up to the point where the Weilante masters each give you a beating.

After dealing with the trouble at the steel mill, Nagi replicated his method at the cement plant, instructing those loyal to his club to give the troublemakers a lesson too.

Under his vigorous actions, the powder keg-loaded West Sail Port seemed to finally regain its usual calm, yet appeared to be brewing a greater crisis in the endless greed...

In three days, with the dockworkers' hard work in unloading, the cargo ships blocking the port were finally unloaded, and the dock became empty again.

The commercial teams, with the governor's authorization letters in hand, rushed toward the legendary land of dreams — the distant eastern Haiye Province!

Meanwhile, Nagi, harried by the cargo handlers, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The toughest days were over, and he finally had the time to get things done.

Whether it's those striking workers or the Silver Moon Sect encouraging the workers to be lazy...

He swore he would make them pay the price!

As time passed day by day, West Sail Port seemed to fall silent for a period.

Meanwhile, the first commercial teams to set out from West Sail Port towards Death Coast gradually reached that coast of their dreams.

After floating on the sea for a full eleven days, Aryaman standing on the deck finally showed an excited expression when he saw the port on the coastline.

It's the port!

They had finally arrived!

The nearest unit of the Eastern Legion was stationed just 100 kilometers from the coastline in Haibei City; as long as they took the governor's letter to those people, they could acquire those arms sold by the pound!

"Quick! Dock the ship!"

Aryaman shouted to the sailors behind him, eagerly taking out his telescope.

Yet, the moment he pulled out the telescope and looked towards the coastline, he was dumbfounded.

He saw a row of pitch-black chariots neatly parked beside the containers, waiting for professional suspension equipment to load them onto the ship.

Each of those models—

Why do they look so familiar?

Chapter 818: Mosquito Fanning the Flames

In front of the No.1 Settlement's port, two men with radiant faces were tightly shaking hands.

One of them was the owner of Goblin Technology, WC Real Mosquito, and the other was quite notable as well, being a quartermaster under the Tiger Army's military faction.

Even though this guy's military rank wasn't high, just a Thousands of leaders, he came with a budget of over ten billion.

Even for the sake of money, Mosquito showed some respect and politeness, warmly shaking his hand.

"Pleasure doing business!"

"Hahaha! Pleasure doing business!"

Though Jopra felt a pang of pain in his heart while saying this, he still managed to squeeze out a reluctant smile.

1 Silver Coin for 100 West Winds Coins...

This price was like losing to an old grandmother's house!

Seeing the pain on his client's face, Mosquito couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for him.

Not that he felt any compassion, it was mainly because he wasn't specializing in currency exchange, in the end, it was that dog Fang Chang who helped him change the money, and for that, he had to give up a 20% profit margin.

In other words, that dog Fang Chang did nothing and just took 20% of my profit under the name of a "financial service fee."

Even though this meant he made more money, the thought of that smug face still made Mosquito feel mad.

Once again, that dog won!

Damn!

But just then, as his eyes rolled, he suddenly thought of a brilliant idea, looking at that Thousands of leaders Jopra with a smile and said.

"Buddy, I consider you one of my own, my clients are like family to me, but there's something I'm not sure I should say."

Upon hearing this, Jopra immediately said.

"Please, go ahead!"

"As for this West Winds Coin, I reckon it's bound to crash sooner or later. Rather than being cut like leeks by the banks of Jinjaron Harbor, why not let me—cough! What I mean is I can help you guys!"

Mosquito initially intended to explain slowly from an inflation perspective about the flow and value of currency, but seeing that smart-looking face of his client, he gave up on that thought.

No can do.

Even if he talks until his mouth is dry, this guy probably wouldn't understand the internal logic of West Winds Coin's devaluation.

Moreover, even if this guy understood, when he explains it to his boss General Jieha, the information's reliability might take a hit, and understanding it would be a miracle.

Turning his eyes again, Mosquito's face once again hung that spring-like smile, and he continued earnestly.

"This West Winds Coin keeps falling, and I'm really worried about you guys. Now you need over a billion to buy a tank; maybe next year it'll be 10 billion. How many shirts would you need to exchange for one back? Let alone our closets are about full of your stuff; if you don't get something new, next year you might not even come up with that much West Winds Coin."

Jopra, with a bitter expression, said.

"You think we want to? It's not like we have a choice. The printing press is in His Majesty's hands, and he decides how to use it, including the Silver Coins and even the Dinars... All foreign exchange we earn and export settlement tariffs are stored at the Royal Mint. We receive West Winds Coins from them at a rate of 1:12.5 on the board, but we can't trade at this rate for Silver Coins from them."

Mosquito, with pained indignation, said.

"What were you thinking! Why should His Majesty print the money? Can't you print it yourself?"

Jopra, hearing this, immediately broke into a cold sweat and said.

"You can't say such things carelessly; private money printing can get you beheaded!"

Clicking his tongue, Mosquito said.

"Who told you to print West Winds Coin! Printing that waste paper is useless. Why not print Cat Coins or Tiger Coins directly?"

Upon hearing this, Jopra couldn't help but find it both funny and ridiculous, not knowing how to ridicule this lousy idea.

Wouldn't that be the same thing!

No—

More accurately speaking, it's actually not quite the same; it could even incur a worse offense.

Local authorities privately issuing currency backed by their own sovereign credit.

Wouldn't that be considered treason?

Jopra could only feel a cold sweat streaming like a brook, raising his arm to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

Seeing this guy as timid as a mouse, Mosquito didn't mind, instead, he smiled and offered him a cigarette.

"Don't be so nervous, I'm just seeing that you've bought so many printing presses but don't plan to use them, it seems kind of wasteful."

Receiving the cigarette, Jopra was a bit stunned, not understanding the meaning behind this guy's words.

"Buy... printing presses?"

As Mosquito glanced around, his eyes especially fixated on those Conqueror No. 10 tanks.

"Aren't those just printing presses? If you guys buy a couple hundred back, I don't believe the Witch Camel would dare to pick on you."

Jopra, puffing on the cigarette, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feeling slightly tempted, yet his eyes still showed some anxiety.

"You're oversimplifying things, issuing sovereign currency is a face-tearing act; not to mention we don't even have anyone acknowledging our currency. The political risk is also substantial, and the royal family wouldn't allow it for face's sake—"

Mosquito sighed and said.

"It's not that I'm oversimplifying things; it's that your minds are stuck. You don't dare to issue sovereign currency, but can't you learn from Jinjaron Harbor and issue vouchers equivalent to Silver Coins? For every 1 Silver Coin cash or equivalent financial asset reserved, issue ten vouchers, and you'll use vouchers for settlement from now on, wouldn't that solve it?"

Upon hearing this sentence, Jopra felt like a switch had been flipped in his brain, and suddenly everything made sense.

That's right...

They copied the banking system from Jinjaron Harbor, so why did they forget to copy this most crucial task!

Given Tiger State's economic scale and its trade volume with the Alliance, they are entirely capable of issuing silver coin vouchers. By then, they can bypass the West Winds currency for trade settlements, completely freeing themselves from Tiandu's royal exploitation.

Once the idea clicked, Jopra's breathing gradually became rapid.

If this can be accomplished, it would solve Tiger State's most pressing issue!

And his achievements might turn out to be even greater than procuring arms!

Excitedly, Jopra looked at Mosquito, mimicking the Alliance people's gesture by clenching his fists.

"Thanks! Brother!"

Seeing his sharpness, a pleasant smile appeared on Mosquito's face.

"You're welcome... ahem, it was just a casual suggestion, you'd better get an expert to refine the details. I heard Jinjaron Harbor has quite a few finance professionals."

His shabby knowledge of economics came from listening to Fang Chang, and he only had a superficial understanding of it.

After all, economics wasn't his specialty, and he didn't want to ruin his clients.

After all, even though the price for acquiring this batch of arms was cheap, someone still had to buy them.

Shortly after Mosquito sent Jopra off, Yarman finally set foot on the shore via the gangway near the dock.

Barren yet filled with a mechanical texture, like a spaceship stranded in a desert—this was his most direct impression of the harbor and the settlement behind it.

One-third of the dock here is made of metal, like floating bridges made from steel plates. The other two-thirds are concrete docks similar to those at West Sail Port, stretching straight from the coastline towards the deep water.

Besides that, some docks under construction seemed to be prepared for large cargo ships equipped with containers.

Not only are these docks significantly wider than others, but they are also equipped with fixed cranes, similar to those found on cranes, along with gantry-like structures for suspensions.

It wasn't just the docks that were impressive; the warehouse area's situation also caught his eye.

Containers were stacked like blocks on the spacious concrete floor.

Forklifts and elevators shuttled back and forth between the containers, along with dockworkers in exoskeletons busily unloading goods from open containers...

Admittedly, the Alliance's mechanical technology is indeed something, as these dockworkers worked in pairs, accomplishing work equivalent to five people at West Sail Port.

Though Yarman was surprised, he didn't pay much mind to it.

After all, although exoskeletons were rare in Poluo Province, they weren't unusual in the Army, and he could afford them if needed.

As for container transportation, although more efficient than bulk shipping, the demand for shipping in the Wasteland wasn't very high.

If container shipping were to be implemented, dedicated ships and docks would be needed.

Compared to the expensive maintenance costs, the increased efficiency is negligible.

At least that's how Yarman felt.

Additionally, the accumulation of containers is also a problem; they filled not only the port but also the settlement's interior.

However, the survivors were quite clever, transforming these iron boxes by adding doors and windows, using them as houses.

For the subtropical Haiye Province, this wasn't too cold. The only concern seemed to be extreme weather, which might blow away those empty boxes with a gust of wind.

All in all, compared with the marble-covered buildings and luxurious streetlights of West Sail Port, this place was much more frugal.

Yarman didn't waste time scrutinizing this harbor closely because he had more important things to do.

Watching another container cargo ship filled with arms depart, he hurriedly walked towards a port management staff member approaching him.

"We have eight ships here. What procedures do we need to handle?"

Looking at those empty-decked freighters, the port office staff on the dock examined the Weilante person several times with a peculiar expression.

A few empty ships weren't unusual, but having an entire fleet of eight ships empty was indeed rare.

"... No procedures are needed for docking; just settle the docking fee before departure. However, all incoming goods must be registered before unloading to prevent smuggling... Do you need a cargo declaration form?"

Yarman quickly shook his head.

"No need."

"... Alright, I guess you don't need it. If you need to supplement any information later, you can apply for it yourself at the port office."

The port office staff shrugged, closed the open receipt book, and turned to leave when Yarman hurriedly called him back.

"By the way, what is this place?"

Hearing his question, the staff looked at him strangely.

"You mean here? This was formerly the landing site of the Burning Corps, where the esteemed Manager plans to help locals rebuild their homes. Now, it's Settlement Number One of the Alliance."

This guy didn't even know where he was; why was he joining in?

Yarman was even more bewildered after hearing the explanation, subconsciously glancing aside again.

This settlement...

Was built in just two months?!

"Isn't there a name for this place?" Shocked as he was, Yarman couldn't help but ask.

The staff smiled and said.

"Not yet. The Manager said these are minor issues. That gentleman plans to let the locals decide what to call this place once the number of survivors settling here exceeds one hundred thousand... You can find a local to inquire about these things yourself. If there's nothing else, I'll go attend to other matters."

Yarman nodded blankly, watching the staff member leave, then turned his gaze towards the direction of the port area, feeling his scalp tingling.

He was certain that those things were the equipment of the Eastern Legion Expeditionary Army!

However, what puzzled him was why this equipment was appearing at the Alliance's port?

Could it be that...

The esteemed General Lucien had already sold them to the Alliance?!

Yarman's expression slightly changed, and an ominous feeling gradually arose in his heart.

To reach the Death Coast quickly, he had deliberately emptied the cargo hold and rushed over with an empty ship.

If this deal falls through, he would certainly suffer a huge loss!

Clearly noticing the situation at the port warehouse area, the captain of the leading ship disembarked from the cargo ship and looked at Yarman, asking.

"What's going on exactly...?"

Since he had a share in this deal, he had to be concerned even if it was only for the sake of the Dinar.

Yarman looked at him grimly and shook his head.

"I don't know either... The situation here seems to have a bit of a problem."

Is it just a bit of a problem?

The captain looked at Yarman nervously, hesitantly continuing to ask.

"Do we still go to Haibei City?"

"Of course, we have to go, but before heading there, I need to ask around nearby first..."

He had to figure out what exactly was going on with the stockpiled munitions here!

Without hesitation, Yarman immediately returned to the ship and picked a few assistants, leading them towards the direction of the warehouse.

As luck would have it, just as he reached the entrance of the warehouse area, Mosquito happened to walk out from inside.

The two exchanged glances, immediately realizing each other's identity was not simple.

Eyeing the big nose, Mosquito was the first to hand out a business card with a smile and said.

"Goblin Technology! We provide the most professional tough work. Where there's an explosion, there's us. Here's my business card, take a look!"

Yarman took his business card with a bewildered expression, seeing the words "military equipment" in the business scope field.

"Wait, you guys deal in arms trading?"

Hearing him mention arms, Mosquito got excited and enthusiastically said.

"Absolutely! Our company's best-selling products are arms, from small rifles to planes and tanks, we have it all! Do you want me to recommend something for you?"

"Wait... hold on a second!"

Yarman couldn't pay attention to his introduction. He hurriedly searched himself and soon took out the purchase certificate and introduction letter issued by the Governor's Mansion.

Seeing the documents handed to him, Mosquito was momentarily stunned.

"What's this thing?"

Yarman swallowed, forcing a smile on his face, and said nervously.

"The purchase certificate and introduction letter issued by the West Sail Port Governor's Office..."

At that moment, he was like a drowning man desperately trying to grab anything that floated by in front of him.

He knew it was quite unrealistic, but he still clung to a one in ten thousand hope that the Governor's Mansion had communicated with the Alliance, hoping this person recognized these documents.

However—

The person who took the paper had a bewildered expression, looking at the paper and then at him.

"What's this thing?"

Facing the expression clearly not recognizing the document, Yarman was utterly hopeless.

All negotiating skills lost their effect at this moment.

He felt like a clown standing here but still subconsciously stuttered.

"J-just as I said, the purchase certificate and introduction letter, we came to help transport arms at the call of the West Sail Port's Governor's Office..."

Mosquito impatiently interrupted him.

"Okay, okay, I don't want to hear these things. If you want them, name a price."

He didn't care where these Weilante people transported this batch of equipment to.

It would be best if they sold it to the Empire.

So he could then sell these metal scraps to the various military factions in Poluo Province.

For instance, the No. B type tank, the W-2 aircraft, and even the W-3 under development.

Clinging to one last thread of unrealistic hope, Yarman nearly despairingly spoke.

"According to the purchase certificate's quotation, we can recover this batch of weapons at the price of ten thousand Dinar per ton—"

Hearing this outrageous offer, Mosquito nearly choked on his own saliva.

"Ten thousand dinars per ton? What are you guys trying to buy, cabbages?"

He at least traded an excavator for those tanks!

This bunch of profiteers actually wants to wholesale by the ton and called it recycling, how shameless!

"But, but the Governor's Office..."

Looking at the stammering big nose, Mosquito impatiently interrupted him.

"Don't drag your Governor's Office into this, we're the Alliance! Giving me this scrap paper would be as bad as handing me West Winds currency...pff, we don't accept West Winds currency, either pay in Silver Coins or Cr!"

Yarman felt like every cell in his body was trembling, and finally squeezed out a sentence from his pale lips.

"So...how much are you selling for?"

Having already lost hope in this buyer, Mosquito lazily said.

"Depends on what you're buying, the Conqueror No. 10 would be one million Silver Coins."

"1 Million Silver Coins?!" Yarman's eyes widened, glaring at him angrily, "Selling used equipment at such a high price, why don't you just rob us!"

If it were a hundred or two hundred thousand Silver Coins, he might grit his teeth and buy it, then sell it back home for six or seven million dinars without too much loss.

However, Mosquito wasn't the least bit polite with him, not even considering bargaining.

"If you think it's too expensive, don't buy it!"

Rolling his eyes, he shoved the stack of papers back into the big-nosed man's hands, neatly taking back the business card he had handed out.

MMP!

All this time these guys came just to mooch off him!

Made him excited for nothing!

Without a moment's pause, Mosquito, with his buddies, jumped into the off-road vehicle parked at the entrance, and within half a minute, they disappeared at the end of the road, leaving a group of Weilanteans standing in disarray at the entrance of the warehouse district.

Watching the long-still boss, a follower behind Yarman cautiously said.

"...Maybe the Eastern Legion only sold part of it, and there are still stocks in Haibei City. Perhaps... we should try our luck there?"

"Hopefully..." Squeezing out a wry smile on his face, Yarman at that moment looked as if he'd aged over a decade, with none of the vigor he had on the way there.

This back-and-forth had wasted at least a month of his time.

Originally, he had hoped to earn a bit over the profit from this deal to pay for the breach penalties for the delayed delivery of sugar and tea, among other goods.

But now, it seemed he had to swallow the loss himself.

Not only that, the goods stored in the warehouse at West Sail Port dock need to pay rent, which is also a significant expense...

While Yarman was worrying about those bills, ship shadows emerged again from the distant sea.

They rushed toward the port of No.1 Settlement like ducks on a spree.

Zhang Ze, who was moving cargo at the port area, looked up with a surprised expression on his face.

"Why so many ships?"

This cargo handling job was introduced to him by the employment guide center of No.1 Settlement. The hourly wage was the same as Reno, who got off midway, at eight Silver Coins, and it was hard to say whose workload was heavier.

But he's still young, and he couldn't do this for a lifetime. This job was merely a transition for him.

Once he saved up some capital and got his identity with the Alliance, he would go back to his old trade of buying and selling.

A colleague wearing an exoskeleton nearby put down the cargo box in his hands and said with a smile.

"Who cares how many ships there are; it doesn't concern us. Let's go have a drink at the bar after work."

Another worker standing beside him smirked a little, raising his arm to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

"I doubt it, with so many ships, I'm afraid we'll have to work overtime...might be busy until dark."

This place isn't Potato Harbor, where bars stay open 'til late at night. Most small businesses serve scavengers returning from nearby ruins, and they close after 8 p.m.

Zhang Ze stared into the distance for a while, thought for a moment, and said.

"...Not necessarily, I think the batch of cargo ships that just arrived might be empty."

"Empty ships?" His coworker stopped in confusion, "Coming here?"

The entire No.1 Settlement was still in its initial stages of construction, with no production output. What could empty ships come here for?

To buy trash?

Everyone had confused expressions, completely bewildered as they watched the cargo ships rushing in at the dock.

Not only were the dock workers puzzled, but even the Director of the Port Office froze after hearing his subordinate's report.

"Weird... Are these Weilanteans here for vacation?"

There were even several passenger ships among the fleet, although they seemed to be empty...

And just when Alliance workers were stumped, those Weilanteans standing at the port were also dumbfounded as they watched the cargo ships loaded with munitions pass by them.

Good heavens...

They just barely got to Haiya Province, and someone already returned fully loaded?!

That was so quick!

Chapter 819: Pawns of the Powerful

With a feeling of "not shedding tears until seeing the coffin," Yarman took the shuttle bus from No.1 Settlement to the ruins of Haibei City, completing the last hundred kilometers of his journey.

As expected, when the centurion saw that piece of paper in his hand, he rolled his eyes.

"Whoever wrote this paper for you to find, go find them, or go ask General Lucien."

Thinking you could buy a ton of military supplies for ten thousand dinars... At this rate, a tank would only cost over five hundred thousand!

The price given by the Alliance is more than three times this number when converted to dinars!

This guy wants to slash the price with just a piece of paper, dream on!

Yarman, still not giving up, asked.

"Then... where is he?"

Anthony replied impatiently.

"On the Loyalty Airship, if not at Ten Peaks Mountain, then he's gone west for the new year."

Actually, the question was entirely redundant; what victorious general wouldn't return to Triumph City to bask in the glory?

The army did gain quite a bit from this battle.

Although they couldn't get their hands on the "Perfect Life Form" technology controlled by Torchbearers, the gene samples collected were enough to keep the technical officers of various research institutes busy for a while.

No surprise if this time General Lucien could rise to the rank of three-star Ten Thousand Leader.

The last hope was also shattered.

Yarman's mouth twitched slightly but he finally collected that stack of useless paper.

He vowed.

He would frame this thing, hang it in the most conspicuous spot in the study, and have the family motto passed down in his handwriting—

Only pigs trust the promises of the Weilante People!

At this time, if he hadn't listened to Governor Hue's call and instead done the opposite, sending the fleet along the original route to deliver tea and sugar to Triumph City, he might have made a hefty profit from the late deliveries of goods from Poluo Province!

And because it was a familiar route, he didn't need to personally go out to sea with the ship. That way, he could stay by his family's side and peacefully spend the most important holiday of the year, instead of watching the faces of this group of big soldiers and being kicked around like a soccer ball among a bunch of bigwigs.

He was about to turn and leave when he suddenly noticed that the exoskeletons he saw at the pier were also here.

Not only that—

Those wearing the exoskeletons didn't seem to be Vellante soldiers but their enslaved servants.

Yarman stopped in his tracks and curiously asked.

"...It's strange, do you have so many exoskeletons here that even slaves can use them?"

If there's so much, he might as well sell them to him.

Anthony's expression suddenly turned slightly awkward, and he cleared his throat before speaking.

"... They're not slaves, they're hired."

Hired?

Yarman was taken aback for a moment, and instinctively asked.

"...How much?"

Anthony explained.

"Not expensive, 8 silver coins an hour."

At the moment he heard this number, Yarman's eyes almost popped out.

"What?! You actually pay them 8 silver coins an hour! Are you crazy?!"

Even with the highest exchange rate, where one dinar equals three silver coins, that's still 24 dinars!

According to this conversion rate, wouldn't people here earn more in a day than the workers at West Sail Port do in a month?!

"Are you really short of people here?" Yarman's eyes lit up, and he continued to ask eagerly.

Seeing the fiery gaze of this guy, Anthony felt a shiver down his spine.

"Short? We're indeed short... Ahem, calm down, I know what you're thinking, but according to the Sticky Community's agreement, we can't use the Alliance's transportation system to transport slaves here, so even if we're short, there's nothing we can do—"

"We have ships!" Yarman was so excited his whole body was trembling, "How many do you need? I'll bring them over for you!"

Anthony rolled his eyes.

"You think I haven't thought about sea routes? It's useless; this whole region to the north is counted as our 'enclave.' Unless you airlift the slaves over, any passage through Alliance territory would get them seized. Moreover, the trouble doesn't stop there. They don't recognize the legality of personal freedom contracts, so once the slaves escape into their territory, they become Waste Land Wanderers, you know what I mean?"

Yarman was dumbfounded for a long time, before he finally chuckled bitterly.

"You guys... so obedient to them?"

"What do you mean by obedient to them?"

Anthony, dissatisfied with his wording, glanced sideways at him.

"This is called negotiation, both sides taking a step back on terms acceptable to both, resolving conflicts through dialogue, after all, if it actually turned into a fight, it wouldn't benefit anyone. But if you think we're afraid of them, you're really overthinking it... Alright, if there's nothing else, you can get lost."

Yarman: "..."

...

The Vellante People are relatively polite to their own, at least not resorting to gun stocks for a few unpleasant remarks.

However, the fact that Merchants have low status is undeniable.

The civil official group is not very popular in itself, let alone the merchants supported by those civil officials.

Despite Yarman wanting to try negotiating, the centurion responsible for that area had no intention of wasting time with him and directly drove him away.

Yarman had no choice but to board the vehicle returning to Death Coast.

The setting sun slanted westward, casting a long shadow from the gates of No.1 Settlement.

The once sparsely populated pier was now packed with ships, a bustling sight as far as the eye could see.

But looking at the empty decks, one could tell that most of the people who arrived today had worked in vain.

Dragging his weary body back to the port, Yarman happened to see his crew letting loose at the bar entrance by the port, drinking until they're supporting themselves against the walls even in broad daylight.

Although most houses here are container crates, many Waste Land Wanderers like to do some small business, such as selling homemade cocktails or rolled cigarettes. As long as it's not contraband, the Alliance's guards won't mind too much.

Yarman suddenly felt a bit envious of these guys who were drunk to the point of being oblivious.

He used to think these wretches had no future, their wages disappearing within days on alcohol or women, never expecting to marry, let alone achieve financial freedom... But now he reckons, at least they don't have to worry about whether the next trade might end up losing everything.

Unlike himself, they only need to go to sea to get paid and can search for fun once ashore. Unlike him who's always frowning, ultimately having his pockets cleaned out all the same, how does he differ from them now?

Thinking of the bills waiting back home, Yarman felt his scalp tingle in fear and couldn't bring himself to think about them, only muttering to his followers and bodyguards nearby.

"Damn it... Let's have a few drinks!"

Seeing their boss in a bad mood, the few exchanged glances but didn't know how to comfort him, so they simply followed him to the busiest bar nearby.

Unlike other small Waste Lands-themed bars, this place was one of the few built with bricks and cement. Standing at the bar was a One-Eyed Robot, and the clock above the bar was actually a holographic display, showing the taste of the bar's owner.

Alongside port workers, there were some guys who just got off the ships drinking here.

Seeing the dejected face of these guys, Yarman felt a bit of solace, at least he wasn't the only sucker.

The whole port was filled with Vellante people who lost money, sitting at tables and pouring beer into their guts know succession.

"Damn it!"

"That dog Hue! And that Bennott, none of these civil officials can be trusted!"

"Absolutely disloyal!"

"Hope the Mutants extend their regards to his entire family!"

Before they set sail, their praises were extravagant; now, their curses are equally vicious.

Merchants like Yarman, who have their own teams, are few; most people's ships are rented.

Especially many people were counting on this trade to make a comeback, having pawned whatever they could and borrowed a significant sum from the bank at West Sail Port, renting every available ship at the port.

But now they've returned empty-handed; all unused equipment on the front line has been monopolized by something called "Goblin Technology."

For these people, it really feels like life or death.

Sitting at the bar, Yarman ordered a beer, finding his bodyguards and followers annoying, so he sent them off to the side.

Seeing the large beer mug on the table with a capacity of a full liter, he was about to gulp it down in one go when suddenly someone spoke to him.

"Hey."

Yarman glanced sideways, seeing an unfamiliar face, he frowned and asked.

"Who are you?"

It was a young fellow wearing a gray jacket made of rhino skin.

Grinning, he settled on the adjacent stool somewhat familiarly and said in a chatty manner.

"Zhang Ze, came here slightly earlier than you, handling some affairs around the port."

Not waiting for this guy to ask what exactly he was up to, Zhang Ze continued without pause.

"Vellante people are rare here; most of your compatriots are on the side of Haibei City. Are you here to take them home?"

Yarman replied impatiently.

"Does that concern you?"

Zhang Ze chuckled and replied.

"Not at all, I'm just curious, after all, it's indeed rare to see empty vessels coming here. This port is like a hungry Dead Claw, it can even digest container crates... Is there treasure here?"

Hearing this, Yarman's brow twitched fiercely, and he slapped his right hand on the bar and stood up.

"Are you fucking here to pick a fight?"

As soon as his hand hit the bar, the followers and bodyguards at the adjacent table also stood up.

Seeing the guy lose his temper, Zhang Ze quickly stood up, raising both hands to show he meant no harm.

"Calm down, brother... I know you might have lost quite a bit, but since it's lost, why not hear me out?"

Despite the anger simmering in his heart, seeing the eyes in the bar on him, Yarman suppressed his rage, motioned to his bodyguards, and after calming his pounding chest, sat back on his stool.

"Then let's see what ivory you can produce from your mouth."

Zhang Ze smiled, shamelessly sitting back beside him, lowered his voice, and continued.

"...Ivory I can't produce, but I do have a way for you to earn back the lost money."

"Oh?" Yarman smirked, casting a mocking look, "Are you saying dragging those broken containers to West Sail Port will earn a fortune?"

Disregarding the skeptical gaze, Zhang Ze shook his head and said casually.

"Of course not... That wouldn't earn much."

Yarman sneered again, lifted his mug, and took a sip.

"I doubt there's a higher-profit specialty around here."

Zhang Ze said patiently.

"Indeed there's no such specialty, it's still a developing area. But because of this, there's quite a demand for certain things, for instance... people."

Yarman's brows slightly furrowed.

"People? But I heard the Alliance prohibits Slave trading."

"You're right, but that's not entirely true," Zhang Ze nodded, smiling, and continued, "The Alliance only disclaims Slave contracts but doesn't prohibit another, more euphemistic way of restricting personal freedom."

Yarman snorted dismissively.

"For example?"

"Like debt, particularly debt relationships within reasonable bounds, which the Alliance recognizes."

Hearing this unexpected answer, Yarman was momentarily dumbfounded.

"...What do you mean?"

Zhang Ze smiled and continued to speak.

"The point is, if you casually pull out an IOU claiming someone owes you money they couldn't repay in a lifetime, the relevant departments of the Alliance won't acknowledge it. In fact, they might even investigate you for any issues... I mean, what kind of lunatic would lend money knowing the other party can't repay in their lifetime?"

"But in another scenario, if you present an IOU with a reasonable explanation of how the debt occurred and confirm that the borrower can repay the debt within 20 or 10 years without affecting their livelihood... then the Alliance acknowledges the debt."

"I don't understand what you're saying." Yarman frowned, "Are you in the loan business? I don't need a loan right now, nor do I have spare money for such ventures."

"No, no, no, I'm not in the loan business, but... I'm very interested in another business." Zhang Ze placed a hand on his shoulder and said enticingly, "Look, there's a severe lack of people here. We need to build ports, railways, cities, and streets, everywhere needs manpower... and coincidentally, thousands of kilometers away, there's a place with an abundance of people. If we buy them over—"

Yarman mocked.

"You can't trade in slaves here, will you set them free after buying them?"

"That's why you need to change your mindset. Why don't we find a way to transform their slave contracts into debt contracts? Are you really so fond of being called 'master'?"

Seeing Yarman stunned, Zhang Ze patiently continued to explain.

"The operation itself is quite simple, we can register a labor agency in the Alliance, a loan company, and then register a labor dispatch company at West Sail Port. We can purchase healthy slaves from the Nobles, or assist those free men who have already redeemed themselves."

"Of course, this isn't without conditions—we're just giving them a second chance at life, and they need to pay for it themselves."

"A redemption fee of 1000 Dinars, a settlement fee of 3000 Dinars, a ticket and travel expenses totaling 10,000 silver coins plus 3% interest, the total debt over 20 years amounts to nearly 30,000 silver coins. Sounds daunting, doesn't it? But spread over each month, that's only 125 silver coins!"

"I think this profit margin is sufficient, and we might even waive their labor agency and financial service fees depending on the situation."

"Of course, if later on they do well, want to redeem their family, or send money back home to support them, we could offer similar services."

"Even a monthly 125 silver coins is scary..." Yarman clicked his tongue, swallowed a mouthful of rich beer, and even his speaking tone subconsciously turned polite.

If you bring 10,000 people here, wouldn't you earn over 1.2 million silver coins each month?!

And it can be collected for 20 years!

Though it can't compare to the profits from military arms, it's still quite staggering.

Thinking Yarman was worried the workers couldn't afford it, Zhang Ze laughed and patted his shoulder.

"All the money in West Sail Port is taken by you big-nosed folks, so they obviously can't pay. But this is under the turf of our respected Manager, even without arms or legs, you could borrow money to attach a limb. As long as you're willing to work, earning over a thousand silver coins a month is easy... so, are you in or not?"

Understanding the business clearly, Yarman didn't hesitate long, downed half a glass of beer in one go, and slammed the glass on the table.

His once weary eyes now shone with ambition and determination.

"I'm in! Damn it... I've at least got to recoup the costs of this deal."

If this deal succeeds, perhaps the banks at West Sail Port might loosen the noose around his neck!

Damn it!

Once he earns the money, he's determined to pay off all the loans!

Seeing Yarman regain his spirit, Zhang Ze finally showed a satisfied smile.

Having saved enough money to register a company from working on the docks these few days, if this succeeds, reaching the pinnacle of life will be just around the corner!

"Wait a moment, my partner is about to arrive..."

"Partner? You have another partner?" Yarman raised an eyebrow, showing an interested expression.

Zhang Ze glanced at the time on the holographic clock, then looked towards the door, smiling.

"Of course, I can't handle such a big deal alone, and actually, the labor export idea was brought by my partner from the neighboring North Island... the people have arrived over there."

Yarman followed his line of sight and saw four people in Blue Jackets standing at the door.

Seeing this, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

It's the Blue Ground Squirrels?!

Goodness!

This deal is solid!

Although he doesn't like the Alliance and was recently screwed by Goblin Technology from the Alliance, having them as allies is a different matter.

No one complains about having reliable allies.

The four scanned the bar and quickly saw Zhang Ze waving at them, then walked straight over.

Yarman immediately sported a sophisticated smile, extended his right hand to the approaching friends.

"I am Yarman, a Merchant from West Sail Port, may I ask who you are?"

The man at the front mirrored the enthusiasm, gripping his right hand.

"I'm known as Far-sighted Eagle, and this here is Brother Wolf... we're all Residents of Shelter No. 404, our names might sound odd, please don't mind."

"Hello."

Brother Wolf nodded, his stern and quiet demeanor made him appear like a master hiding his true strength.

But in fact, he acted this way simply because he hadn't learned much of the United Human language.

The Strength type could be annoying.

Early on, the Intelligence attribute was too low, barely three points, making it feel like playing as an idiot.

Such strange names...

But knowing they came from a refuge made Yarman not surprised.

"And... who are these two?"

His gaze focused on the two friends behind Brother Eagle and Brother Wolf.

They seemed to be also refuge residents, and he politely inquired about their names.

Yet, for some reason, all four of them simultaneously displayed subtle expressions.

Brother Eagle coughed dryly.

"You don't need to worry about these two... just pretend they don't exist."

"Hey! What do you mean 'don't exist'!" [Stick Brother] gave him a stare, then with a smile greeted the Weilante people in front of him, stammering yet earnest, "I'm Stick, my brothers call me Brother Stick, and that guy is Manager, you can call him Manager Brother or Manager Bro."

Guide Dog: "???"

Yarman's brows involuntarily twitched; he felt these few guys in front of him were unreliable, but he decided to observe first before drawing a conclusion.

So, he looked over at Zhang Ze and opened his mouth to speak.

"When are we leaving?"

Zhang Ze glanced at Brother Eagle, then at Yarman, and said with a smile.

"I'm fine with whenever. After all, I'm just here at the port. You guys decide the departure time."

Yarman looked at the four Residents of the refuge. The one leading, Far-sighted Eagle, immediately said.

"The sooner, the better. I don't want to stay here for another moment... If we head back now, we might make it for next month's birthday."

Yarman suddenly remembered something.

"Oh right, I need to buy a souvenir for my daughter... Is there a shop nearby?"

The four players were stunned for a moment, looking at each other in disbelief.

"A souvenir's alright... But what kind of souvenir is there here?"

"How about buying a doll?" Dog Brother suggested.

"That's too bland," Stick Brother shook his head, "You might as well fill a bottle with sand and take it back."

Warrior Wolf tapped on his VM, checked the translation, and then stuttered suddenly.

"How about a Mutant specimen? The mutants here are pretty special, like those with long fins."

The other three were shocked when they heard this.

"Wow, man."

"Damn!"

"That's so out there!"

"That's not okay..." Barely understanding their conversation, Yarman said awkwardly, "I once sent a specimen made from a mutant's head, but my Little Ruby didn't like it... My wife didn't either; she said it looked creepy at night."

Far-sighted Eagle: "...?"

Pipe Dog: "..."

Crap Stick: "Impressive..."

Listening to this conversation, Zhang Ze couldn't help but cover his forehead and pat it, suddenly coming up with an idea.

"How about taking some photos? Your kid probably hasn't been to the Wasteland, right? The scenery here is quite unique."

Yarman's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he excitedly hugged Zhang Ze's shoulders.

"My friend, you're so smart! Why didn't I think of that!"

Far-sighted Eagle gave his shoulder a pat.

"Then quickly go and take one; the sun is about to set, and it's not like North Island or Potato Harbor here with all the streetlights; you won't see anything once it's dark."

The group noisily left the Bar, rushing to take quite a few Photos before the sun completely set, capturing the dusk scenery of the No.1 Settlement.

Standing on the deck of the cargo ship about to set sail, Yarman fiddled with the Polaroid camera bought from the port's general store, then suddenly let out a silly laugh, scratching the back of his head.

"Why didn't I think of this idea before... Photography, what a good idea."

The camera wasn't considered anything rare, and he had been to more interesting settlements than this.

If he had captured them all, those photos would likely cover an entire Wall by now.

What a pity!

As he was talking, he took another picture of the setting sun on the sea.

"No worries, it's not too late to start recording now; the road of life is long..." Far-sighted Eagle patted his shoulder like an old sage, earnestly posing as he practiced his not yet fluent United Human language.

"That's true..."

Yarman grinned, putting away the camera.

He suddenly felt that these Residents of the refuge weren't that annoying; putting aside their standings, being friends with them was actually quite fun.

These people had quick minds and always came up with some whimsical ideas... including that rumored space elevator under construction.

He couldn't imagine these people calling him 'lord,' and if that ever happened, it might be quite disappointing.

The crew who hadn't had their fill of drinks boarded the deck through the gangway one by one. After the captain finished counting the number of people, he walked up to Yarman.

"We're ready. We can set off at any time... Speaking of which, is it okay to return with an empty ship? It's like we made two trips for nothing."

Yarman said spiritedly.

"No problem, and this trip is not in vain. After this trip, we can soon start a more profitable venture... Ah, sorry, the dividend from this deal might—"

Seeing the previously spirited boss suddenly stammer the next second, the captain made a carefree expression and shrugged, saying.

"It's okay. Actually, when I heard you say there's such high profit, I knew there was probably nothing good... If there isn't, there isn't. Now I just hope not to miss the birthday; my family is still waiting for me to return."

Far-sighted Eagle asked curiously.

"What is the birthday?"

"It's the day the Weilante People were born, marking the start of a great legend."

Yarman's lips slightly upturned, looking towards the distant sea, and shouted, "Set sail!"

The steam whistle blew.

When those empty cargo ships lingered at the port and refused to leave, a fleet of eight cargo ships had already set out in the direction of the setting sun, embarking on a new journey.

Fiery red light stretched across their path, the afterglow of the sunset covered the shimmering ocean surface.

That burning color.

Just like it was stained with blood.

Chapter 820: Burning Sails

The night gradually descended upon the southern sea area, growing deeper, while faraway West Sail Port was just welcoming dusk, the scorching fiery color seeming to want to dry up the sea.

In the equatorial region, there is no concept of winter. Watching the blazing sun about to sink into the sea, the laborers on the dock finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The sun has finally set!

After being busy for a while, the dock was empty for several days, without a single ship.

No one had work to do, so everyone finally understood what "all prosper and all suffer together" means.

If West Sail Port really went bankrupt, everyone would have to sell themselves back to the nobles' plantations.

Although Poluo Province has one good point: you can survive by eating dirt, but no one can eat dirt forever.

You can't grow any flesh eating that stuff, and the more you eat, the less energy you have, the less energy you have, the less work you can do, leading to a vicious cycle where eventually the whole family gets buried in the ground.

Eating it two to three days a week is safe, three to four days is acceptable, but eating it continuously for five to six days is troublesome. Unless it's during a famine, no one would eat like that.

Fortunately, shipping has recently picked up again, and people who had been idle for a long time now have work to do.

Thinking about Lord Nagi's promise of a pay raise, everyone was working with all their might.

Their thoughts were simple, even "honest."

The employer gave them money; they can't let them suffer losses and work slower than those sluggish slaves.

However—
not everyone reaped the benefits.

For instance, those who carried Orisa's body to stand up for his family.

And those who clamored to raise the wage to ten dinars a day.

All these people, without exception, were blacklisted and entered into Lord Nagi's little notebook.

First, at the labor registry office, in principle, only honest laborers were introduced to jobs, and troublesome ones who didn't listen were either not introduced at all or only given the lowest-paid work.

Going back to the dock was impossible.

As for the steel and cement factory, that's a pipe dream too.

After all, for any profitable industry, the stakeholders behind them are all the same kind of people.

Either Weilante people or nobles of the Empire.

Under the connection of interests, these people are extremely united.

And those free citizens blacklisted, either wait at home for notifications or go to do work like cleaning sewage or other sanitation jobs.

And their vacant positions were slowly replaced by other slaves promoted to free citizens.

After all, there are plenty of slaves in Poluo Province.

This is like a metabolism mechanism, forming a perfect loop.

In this respect, West Sail Port is actually very much like Jinjaron Harbor of the past.

These odd jobs were generally done by slaves, as there's no need to worry about them malingering.

But for free citizens, merely doing these jobs can't support a family.

Some people tried to ask those laborers who benefited for help, trying to unite for the common interest to strike again with non-violent non-cooperation, but they were avoided like the plague.

They had already gotten what they wanted.

Eight dinars a day was enough for them to live on, and they didn't want much to begin with.

As for those left behind…

They can only blame themselves for not being honest.

Moreover, those who cleaned sewage, swept the streets, or even had no jobs can't be considered "one of us."

Did those earning just two dinars a day dare to clamor to be their compatriots?

Overstepping, right!?

Actually, at first, they felt embarrassed when they refused.

After all, they knew very well in their hearts how they got the dinars in their hands.

But later, rumors spread that those leading the troublemakers were all Silver Moon Sect members. When they got hurt, many received bandages at the Silver Moon Church.

Soon, there were rumors that Pastor Melgio sympathized with the Moon people.

Moon people!

They are a thorn in the Empire's side!

All the clues seemed to become "clear," those troublemaking renegades were instigated by the Moon Outlaws or even took money from Laxi, and the ostracism of these people immediately became logical.

Transforming from heroes admired by all to outcasts spat upon by everyone, Yishel, with bandages wrapped around his forehead, sat sullenly in the church.

This was the only place he could find a moment's peace.

Nagi's baton squad didn't dare to provoke here for the time being, maybe waiting for an opportunity or maybe asking the lord for instructions. And those who spat towards the Silver Moon Sect emblem, fearing being mistaken for Moon Outlaws, didn't dare approach here.

Ten days ago, he was facing off against Nagi while carrying Orisa's corpse.

At that time, he was just full of hot blood and felt that things couldn't go on like this, so he bravely stood up.

He had never seen Laxi, and thinking about it, it was impossible to meet him, as that wretch was thousands of kilometers away, let alone the fact that the invincible War God, General Arai Yang, was fighting him at the front line.

However, those people were convinced that he had met Laxi one night and swore that he had talked with the guy for several hours.

The scar on his forehead was still throbbing in pain, seemingly inflamed.

Melgio, clad in a long robe, walked over and had an old nun beside him remove the bandage for him, then applied alcohol to disinfect and put on a new one.

The intense pain tormented Yishel's consciousness.

However, more unbearable than the physical pain was what came from within his heart.

"... I don't understand why those people can't see... What happened to me today will happen to them someday, or to their children. It's obvious, this is Nagi's way of dividing us, trying to incite us into killing each other with people we've never even met."

This kind of scenario appeared in "Awakener Bol," where the Inner City Nobles tried to buy Bol with a Black Card, and after he rejected it, they immediately showed their claws, trying to smear the hero and fabricate scandals about him with prostitutes, provoking the residents of Giant Stone City to hate him…

But the residents of Giant Stone City saw through the tricks of the Inner City and not only did they not trample Bol underfoot, they even united around him, becoming the spark that dispelled the long night.

The climax of that novel is right here.

He still remembered the night he heard this part; he was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.

"You're too impatient," Melgio said while tending to his wounds and sighing, "What seems obvious to you is still new to the people here."

Yishel frowned, trying to argue.

"But Bol..."

Melgio quickly interrupted him.

"It's just a novel, a submission by a canning factory worker named Spielberg in the Survivor's Daily supplement; it's not real history... How can you expect real people to be exactly like they are in a novel?"

"But Giant Stone City isn't just in a novel," Yishel said in a steady voice, "I heard Bol was based on a real person."

Melgio fell silent.

Perhaps the impatient one was actually himself.

He started the Silver Gospel Report with the original intention of teaching people here to read and write their own stories once they learned to write.

Just like Spielberg, who once couldn't even read a word, he ended up writing that earth-shattering article.

And before this, the founder of Survivor Daily, Hal, besides writing news, was merely serializing some trivial doggerel in the paper.

But now it seemed…

He seemed to have done something terrible.

He had no doubt he was on the path guided by the Silver Moon Goddess, but he was too impatient.

"I once went there, you and the people there… are different after all."

Yishel looked up, puzzled, and asked him.

"Different?"

Melgio nodded.

"Yes, they know Bol is fake, but most people believe he could be real, and genuinely hope he is real; so everyone becomes Bol. As for 'Ken,' he is a minority among them."

"You guys are actually smarter than them but are using it in the wrong place. You also know Bol is fake, yet blame a fictional character for not being real, which is like trying to capture the moon from the water. Because you can't retrieve the moon from the water indicates the moon is fake."

"I believe he exists! I've never thought he was fake!" Yishel interrupted him, standing up from the chair in excitement, "Moreover, I am willing to become him!"

"You are brave, but it means nothing... Everyone standing with you doesn't believe. Your surroundings are destined to be dark, filled with opportunists. If you continue like this, either you will become a fleeting flame, burning out before dawn, or blaze brightly... But in any case, your end will not be good, and the people here won't change anything."

Looking at him with pity, Melgio continued with a soothing tone.

"I don't want you to be too discouraged. You are a good person, but I can only tell you the timing is not right. West Sail Port was established less than a year ago, and all of you... only became free citizens in the last couple of months, while most here are still slaves."

"But in Giant Stone City, slaves were never the mainstream in their society, only appearing in some farms outside the great wall. Many shelters opened their doors to bring them technologies and ideas of the Prosperity Epoch, but even so, they still degenerated for over a hundred years... Even on the brink of victory, they indirectly brewed a monster like Torch."

He also hated the Army, or perhaps no one didn't hate those big-nosed fellows.

Especially for people from Luo Xia Province, they were just like devils, committing all sorts of evildoing.

However, after staying in West Sail Port for some time, his perspective slightly changed.

Discussing any issue can't be done apart from the context of the times. Putting people in a cage is not good, but if it's moving them from a narrow cage to a slightly bigger one, it's still considered progress.

Even if that slightly larger cage is still worthy of criticism, the progress itself is worth praise.

Yishel lowered his head and remained silent.

He was grateful for this priest's free help, as a poor wretch like him couldn't even get his hands on such precious things as alcohol.

However, it was clear that Mr. Melgio couldn't fully understand their pain.

On the farm's estate, they weren't worse off than they were at West Sail Port.

Although back then they were the private property of their master, the master wouldn't smash a piece of furniture every day, even for the sake of the money bag.

And no matter how bad the master was, there was only one of him, most people never saw what he looked like or knew about his luxurious lifestyle, so they could live in peace.

But at West Sail Port, it was a completely different story. Those gentlemen and the Weilante people joined forces, eager to suck out even their marrow.

And now, they were not satisfied with just that. They even formed alliances in secret, making it impossible for troublemakers like him to find work and shunning them everywhere.

Without a doubt, they wanted him dead!

A glimmer of hatred gradually emerged in Yishel's eyes.

He had no way out.

Others could just sell themselves as slaves at worst, but he could be sure that if he did so, that Nagi would mercilessly buy him and his family, using his pain for amusement and then his head as a warning.

He had to do something!

He wasn't the only one thinking this way; the others sitting in the church felt the same.

Unlike the busy laborers at the dock, their common faith had united them.

If they dared to stand up and speak for Orisa, they dared to fight once more for the destiny of their compatriots!

"...Thank you, Mr. Melgio, thank you for bringing us the teachings of the Silver Moon Goddess, also for teaching us to read and helping us bandage our wounds."

Melgio stared blankly at Yishel, sensing something unusual in those eyes.

The look, clouded by hostility, made him a little afraid.

"What are you planning?"

Yishel lowered his voice.

"To take back what's originally ours, before Nagi and his thugs make a move. We must act first... it's also for you and your church; we don't have much time left."

His words were vague, seemingly unwilling to say too much. Obviously, he himself thought the idea was unreliable, fearing it would implicate the church.

Because of this, he needed to find another place to discuss with like-minded people.

Melgio looked at the man in astonishment as he got up and walked towards the door, also watching as others in the church stood up from their pews and silently followed him.

In the blink of an eye, the once large church was left with only a few old men with shaky legs, Melgio, and the old nun beside him.

"I'm worried they'll get into trouble..." The old nun's eyes were filled with concern as she looked at Melgio next to her, seemingly hoping he would persuade them.

Melgio's face was also full of concern, along with a hint of deep worry.

"I'm worried too... but what can I say? Stop him and tell him not to go? It's useless, they won't even tell me what they're planning to do, I just hope he comes to his senses."

Of course, what shouldn't have happened is those people pushing them to a dead end.

Can he persuade these people to resign to their fate?

With a light sigh, Melgio lowered his eyes, silently drawing a circle across his chest in prayer.

May the light of the Silver Moon Goddess protect them, guiding these lost lambs away from the wrong path...

This is all he could do as a pastor.

...

The dusk sank into the sea, and the night at West Sail Port was about to arrive, finally reaching shift-changing time.

A long line formed at the entrance of the labor registration office, as the workers who had completed their shifts were collecting their wages at the window one by one.

Everyone's payday was different, but at the end of a week, they'd get paid.

Finally, it was his turn. Gowenda walked quickly forward, a flattering smile on his face as he respectfully offered his hands to the young Lion race man behind the counter.

Though this wouldn't increase his wages by even a coin, he instinctively did so.

With so many like him, the staff here saw thousands like him every day.

The young man wasn't inclined to waste time, counted out four coins of ten and two of one, tossed them onto the counter, and continued munching on melon seeds.

Gowenda hurriedly picked up the coins, counted them in his hand, and his eyes widened.

"Wait, why are there only 42 coins!? I worked for a week, didn't take a day off, it should be 56 dinars, you shorted me by 14!"

The young man behind the counter gave this poor guy a disdainful look, impatiently saying.

"Who's shorting you those few dinars? That's your wage. If there's a problem, take it up with Nagi."

Gowenda was fuming, clutching the coins tightly, pointing at the window and saying.

"How can you cheat! We agreed on eight dinars a day!"

The young man didn't argue with him at all and directly called the shift manager here.

The shift manager seemed adept at handling such situations, and even before arriving, he raised his voice to shout.

"What's all this noise about? There haven't been many ships these days, don't you know! Getting six dinars is already pretty good, do you think every day is as busy as two weeks ago?"

Gowenda panicked; that was the hard-earned money he had fought for, and these people just decided not to honor it!

Although six dinars a day was better than before, it made him feel slapped after working so hard for the week.

"But... two weeks ago, even after working only half a day, you still gave eight dinars!"

The manager replied impatiently.

"If you think it's too little, don't come tomorrow... What's this guy's name, circle it."

Upon hearing this, Gowenda immediately lost his temper, his face as pale as snow.

"No, no! I'll work! I'll come tomorrow!"

The supervisor signaled the young man behind the counter, who knowingly put down his pen and acted leniently.

"Work well, don't keep yelling all day, once you get the money, hurry out; people are waiting in line."

The supervisor waved his hand, like shooing flies.

The surrounding workers were silent, each angry yet afraid to speak up, lest they become the ones singled out.

They had seen what happened to those Moon Outlaws, who were beaten into untouchables.

Gowenda slipped out of the registration office, looked at the shrunken coins in his hand, and then at the plaque behind him, unable to resist spitting fiercely on the ground.

"Damn..."

He should have listened to Yishel.

He dared not say this aloud, but thinking it wasn't much of an issue.

Dragging his weary body, he limped home, considering how to spend the still fairly substantial fortune in his pocket.

Actually, thinking about it, six Dinars a day wasn't little, enough for a family's expenses, and might even have some left over.

Just as he thought this, there was suddenly a loud bang behind him.

The sound stunned him, instinctively turning his head to see thick smoke billowing from the warehouse district at the port, the explosion seemed to come from there.

He was familiar with that place, as he went there most days.

Inside was packed with tea and sugar, and some cotton or cloth and such.

Or cement and steel.

While cement couldn't catch fire, sugar was dangerous, plus there were flammable things like cotton.

Gowenda heard distant shouts and the sound of hurried footsteps.

"It's on fire! It's the warehouse district!"

"It's burning!"

"Quick! Hurry to put out the fire!"

It's burning...

Seeing a day's labor up in flames, he had no panic on his face, instead showing a schadenfreude smile.

Burn well!

Since it wasn't his stuff, it'd be best if it burned hotter and set the entire port ablaze!

Thinking so, his steps home were light...

Meanwhile, Yishel and a group of believers, just out of the church, also heard the explosion and froze.

Soon someone reacted, speaking in a lowered voice.

"It's the warehouse district!"

"Could it be on fire?"

Realizing what might be happening there, everyone's faces showed relieved expressions.

However, Yishel furrowed his brows, a trace of worry appearing between his brows.

"Don't rush to rejoice; whoever set the fire, Nagi will surely pin it on us."

He had thought about setting fire to the warehouse, and this idea had occurred more than once, but he always gave up.

Given his familiarity with the terrain there, doing it wasn't hard, the hard part was the aftermath.

Those Weilante People couldn't be reasoned with, and would ultimately land his group on the gallows.

The right approach should be to first organize the workers, like Bol and his coworkers did.

Though difficult, it's not impossible, especially with the foolish Nagi, seemingly healed and forgetting the pain, cutting dock workers' wages again.

If they are united enough, they have the capital to negotiate with those Nobles.

After all, Weilante People came to earn money, not to cause trouble for themselves.

Everyone also realized this might backfire on themselves, displaying worried expressions.

"What should we do now?"

Facing those worried eyes, Yishel had no idea, so he could only bite his teeth and say.

"Let's wait and see..."

...

At the same time, Margaret, picking around the bustling market in the port district, also heard the explosion, involuntarily stopping to look in the direction of the sound.

The vendor also craned his neck to take a glance over there, showing a look of surprise as he saw the rising black smoke.

"It's the warehouse district..."

Such a loud noise, could it be that the shells have been ignited?

He vaguely remembered hearing someone say that West Sail Port had some shells stored, transported from the west of Luo Xia Province, which were brought back from the frontlines by the Eastern Legion, intended to be sent to General Arai Yang.

The people in the market looked at each other in bewilderment, whispering among themselves, all showing anxious expressions on their faces.

"Madam..." The maid with slightly darker skin standing beside Margaret said in a low voice, "The port hasn't been very safe lately, we should hurry back."

She had just heard that the port had bought another batch of slaves from nearby farms, seemingly intending to replace the troublesome ones who had been causing trouble before.

Although this had nothing to do with their family, the number of idle poor people near the port had obviously increased recently.

The way those people looked at them was like wolves, some even doing sneaky things, and it was said that the jail of the Security Bureau was almost full.

In just two weeks, the situation in West Sail Port had visibly deteriorated.

Although the tensions had been accumulating for a long time...

"Mm, let's go back early..."

Margaret nodded, handed the favored jewelry to the maid for safekeeping, then paid the vendor, and took her daughter's little hand to head back home.

As the wife of Yarman, she was also born into a merchant family and was once a citizen of Triumph City.

She had a keen instinct, just like her husband.

Because of this, when the explosion sounded, she immediately sensed something unusual.

She had a premonition.

Something big was going to happen here...

The group soon returned to a house near the port district, probably the safest place in the whole port, but as the year drew closer, even here had become somewhat lax.

Margaret noticed several households were not there, possibly having returned to Triumph City as well.

Or like her husband, they went to the distant East for that big deal.

Standing at the entrance, taking off her boots, she was pondering something and suddenly thought of something, bending down to gently speak to her daughter Ruby.

"By the way, Ruby, didn't you want to visit Count Sharma's little daughter?"

Ruby's eyes lit up, she nodded vigorously.

"Mm! I made an appointment with An Su Ya's little sister to play hide and seek next time we meet."

Margaret fondly patted her fluffy hair.

"Mom will take you there."

Ruby jumped up excitedly.

"Really?! How long will we go for?"

Margaret thought for a moment and then said with a smile.

"Two weeks, by then Dad should be back."

...

With the explosion, the entire West Sail Port became restlessly agitated.

The flames suddenly rose up.

And within just ten minutes, it had spread to several warehouses.

Thick black smoke blocked out the sky and the sun setting into the sea.

Nagi's face was filled with terror, his complexion pale, lips bluish, and trembling slightly.

Looking at the equally bewildered henchmen, he screamed hoarsely.

"What are you all standing around for! Hurry up and put out the fire!"

Those henchmen holding long sticks looked at each other, all with bitter expressions.

"Sir... the fire is too big, we only have this many people, we can't get in."

Nagi shouted without a second thought.

"Then get more people over here! Do I have to teach you everything!"

Seeing Nagi's anger flare up, everyone immediately did not dare to pause, hurriedly grabbed sticks, and rushed towards those watching the excitement, half threatening, half enticing them to help put out the fire.

The people who gathered here to watch the excitement were mostly freemen living close to the port district.

Not all of them were short-lived laborers on the docks, some held respectable jobs as citizens.

In theory, Nagi shouldn't be able to control these people, but in an emergency, he couldn't care about so much.

Due to the intimidating sticks in the hands of these "long stick" men, everyone reluctantly got involved in the firefighting efforts, transporting buckets of water to the fire scene one after another.

And with the help of the first batch of people, the rest of the work became much easier.

I've never seen such a big fire, and some clueless individuals joined in just for the fun of it.

These people aren't after money, just the excitement, but expecting them to do anything well is out of the question.

Fortunately, the warehouse district is by the seaside, so the water source isn't far, and after a hectic effort, some progress was made.

Watching the people busy fighting the fire, Lord Nagi clenched his jaw and fists tightly.

Those goddamn arsonists!

It's absolutely outrageous!

Clearly, this was done by someone familiar with this place, otherwise, it wouldn't be so exact!

The fires all surrounded the warehouse storing sugar, leading to explosions on site.

He swore!

He must catch that arsonist scoundrel!

No doubt—

If he couldn't find that guy to give the Vellantes an explanation, his master would definitely make him a scapegoat!

Sweat was pouring down his forehead, and Lord Nagi already had a suspect in mind; it must have been the believers of the Silver Moon Church who set the fire!

There's no question about it, only those guys have a motive to do this!

About five or six minutes passed, and the port's fire brigade finally arrived.

This outfit, like the post office, was something the Vellantes brought from Triumph City.

Those people drove in with water trucks and unleashed a powerful spray on the burning warehouse, quickly bringing the fire under control.

It's just a pity that those fine sugars and tea leaves were also ruined.

Watching the tea leaves scattered everywhere and the cotton cloth, along with some sugar sand not yet dissolved, the residents fighting the fire could not help but feel compassion, especially those poor folks who ignored the commotion to join in.

These were things they couldn't enjoy in their lifetime!

Though tainted with mud and wastewater, it wasn't much of a problem for those who already ate mud.

At first, only one or two people rushed up to loot, but soon the chaotic crowd, like mice seeing food, swarmed up.

The water buckets used for firefighting became the hottest items, and people stuffed them with whatever they fancied.

Initially, they only picked the goods scattered by the water cannon, but later even the intact ones were not spared. Eventually, the unemployed workers also rushed in, as well as those employed who couldn't resist the urge to grab.

They knew where the most valuable containers were and how to break in and take them.

The smart ones followed behind, clutching boxes and bundles of cloth, fleeing outside.

The warehouse district was in utter chaos, as if half the population of West Sail Port rushed there.

By the time Nagi finally realized the situation had spiraled out of control, it was too late.

He shouldn't have mobilized the masses.

If he had let the flames burn out, it might have consumed a few warehouses before the fire brigade arrived, but possibly not caused the current great damage.

Compared to the suddenly rising flames, these so-called helpers were the real locusts!

"Stop! Stop right now! Those are Vellante items, are you all out of your minds?!"

Nagi shouted helplessly, directing his baton-wielding team forward.

However, the slaves carrying sticks looked at each other, not daring to move.

At least tens of thousands had gathered here, while they only numbered just over a hundred.

Without guns, relying solely on these sticks, imagining a fight meant they would surely perish faster.

The fire brigade, which had already controlled the blaze, attempted to disperse the looting crowd with water cannons, but instead, inflamed the people.

In the chaos, someone shouted, and a group charged up and flipped the water truck over.

The Vellantes driving the truck hid inside, too scared to come out, trembling as they called for reinforcements on their radios.

At this moment, the port's guard finally arrived, albeit belatedly.

About fifty men formed a line at the warehouse district entrance; this was nearly all the local police force!

They probably didn't expect just a fire to escalate into such a situation requiring their involvement.

The guard captain, carrying a ripper rifle, strode up to Nagi, grabbed his collar, and shouted with flying spit.

"What the hell is going on here!"

In two weeks, there could be chaos twice; he'd never seen such an incompetent agent—or overseer.

Of course, Nagi couldn't admit he called this bunch to fight the fire, only for them to start looting after extinguishing it, so with a quick wit, he immediately said.

"Sir, sir, these mobs are looting amidst the fire, I couldn't stop them..."

Judging by the scene, indeed, it looked that way.

The guard captain's face instantly turned cold, and without a word, he grabbed his rifle and aimed at a looter not far away, hauling a bag of sugar home, and there was a sharp crack of gunfire.

The bullet hit the man's neck right on target, and blood spurted out instantly.

The unlucky guy fell silently to the ground, lying in a puddle.

Probably even until his death, he couldn't understand why everyone else was looting, yet he was the only one who got shot.

The people around who were also looting were stunned, not expecting the Weilante people to directly open fire and kill.

One by one, the people just stood in the warehouse area, uncertain whether to run or not.

"Put down the stolen goods in your hands!"

The security captain shouted loudly, raising the rifle in his hand, while signaling his teammates behind him to load their bullets.

"Everyone, stand still, with your hands up, let's see who dares—"

Before he finished his sentence, a gunshot suddenly echoed from afar.

The sound was also from a Ripper Rifle, with the bullet drilling right into his chest.

The security captain froze, feeling a pain in his chest, and then blood gushed out from his wound and mouth simultaneously.

Time seemed to slow down as he widened his eyes, collapsing heavily into the arms of the comrade behind him.

Where did these guys get guns from?!

Could it be—

Blood clogged his throat, he couldn't say a word but still managed to make a gesture to order firing.

No matter what, they had to retrieve that batch of weapons!

At all costs!

Looking at their unconscious captain, the guards behind him instantly became furious.

These scum!

They dared to kill their captain!

Their eyes were filled with hatred, seeing no distinction between civilians and thugs at the moment.

Standing here—

They're all enemies!

"Enemy attack!"

"Prepare for battle!"

In the roars that followed, they first quickly dragged the shot captain behind cover.

Then, under the deputy captain's orders, they decisively assumed a combat stance, firing indiscriminately in the direction the bullets were coming from.

Bullets flew wildly in the warehouse area, causing numerous casualties in an instant.

The young guy holding the looted rifle hid behind the warehouse, his face pale as a sheet.

He had followed the group of laborers and looted this from a certain warehouse storing firearms.

That group of audacious guys knocked out the guards at the warehouse door and tied them up.

These rifles were much more valuable than white sugar; it's said they could be sold for a lot on the black market.

He originally just intended to intimidate those big-nosed people who lorded over them every day, to show them the prowess of the Mouse Tribe, but didn't expect he'd actually kill someone with one shot.

Things had clearly blown out of proportion, and corpses lay everywhere in the warehouse area…

Seeing the group of guards approaching, he instinctively wanted to slip away, but then he heard the sound of gunfire not far off.

Bullets whizzed past, and the fierce firepower pinned a team of guards behind cover, unable to even raise their heads.

The young man looked cautiously toward where the gunshots were coming from, only to see a tall and thin man changing magazines.

In his hands was a "Blade" assault rifle!

This thing was much more powerful than a Ripper Rifle, able to fire a whole burst!

Probably among the dead in front were his relatives, and the man was also killing in a frenzy, spitting on the ground.

"Damn it, run for what?! Our firepower is way stronger than these big noses'!"

This shout immediately received responses from the other people.

Those who had planned to flee looked at the guns in their hands and instantly changed their minds.

Where could they run to anyway?

This is Poluo Province; even if they ran to the ends of the earth, they'd still be caught by the Weilante people.

They might as well learn from Laxi and use the guns in their hands to carve out their own world!

The devils they despised a few days ago now became the comfort in their hearts.

Faces that were initially uneasy gradually became fierce under the stimulus of the gunfire.

They weren't really timid, just had their beastly nature suppressed by reprimands.

But now, that cage had been opened, and the beasts that were trapped inside had been released.

"Damn Weilante people!"

"Screw their ancestors!"

"Kill them all!!!"

"Ahhhh!"

The firefight between the two sides grew more intense, and for a moment, neither could do anything to the other.

Though the Weilante guards had rich experience in suppression, it was also their first time handling such a tricky situation.

There were too many rioters near the armory, and people were continuously joining them.

Some were there to avenge their relatives, others were fervently motivated by the rioters' slogans, and even more were just opportunists hoping to score something.

Everyone who went over could get a gun!

Even kids could get a handgun.

After leaving behind three corpses, the Weilante guards still failed to reach the warehouse entrance.

Crouching behind cover, the vice captain gripped his walkie-talkie and yelled.

"The warehouse area needs reinforcements! I repeat, the warehouse area needs reinforcements!"

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly saw a traction cannon being wheeled out of the warehouse entrance.

West Sail Port, as the largest lease port on the West Coast, gathered all sorts of people.

The freemen here weren't just slaves who bought their freedom; there were also some retired veterans due to injuries.

Most of these people had previously served in the Grey Wolf Army and retreated here after losing a battle at Jin Galun Harbor.

They had received military training, so they naturally knew how to operate this thing.

Why these people would help the rioters, he couldn't fathom.

In any case, when he witnessed those people loading the cannon, the vice captain's face instantly changed.

"Damn it—"

He cursed just as an orange tracer flew over, hitting ten meters in front of him.

The blast wave sent him and his cover flying, instantly killing and injuring the surrounding guards.

Meanwhile, the rioters at the warehouse entrance let out an excited cheer.

"Nice hit!"

"Blow up those bastards!"

"Reload! Quickly reload! Give the port a shot too!"

"Damn it! Don't waste time; deal with the guards in front first!"

A group of people sluggishly removed the shell casing and loaded another high-explosive shell into the cannon breech.

In the distance, the Weilante police armored car, which had been gathering dust in the warehouse, finally drove out, but when it saw the leveled 100mm cannon aiming over, it hurriedly retreated back.

Realizing that the trouble here was beyond the capability of their small force, the Weilante guards began to withdraw from the warehouse area, seemingly planning to retreat to defend the port.

A shell traced their retreating direction, not only knocking down some unfortunate guards but also collapsing a house nearby, causing many to flee in disarray.

Screams and cries rose one after another; these people were completely bloodthirsty now.

They quickly selected a "lead wolf," then gathered together, rallying those who had received guns to prepare to attack the port.

Those who got caught up, although not too willing, still instinctively clustered around them.

The world had changed.

No matter how it changed, they had no choice but to stay close to those bigger figures.

At least they wouldn't immediately become fish on the chopping board.

No one expected a small fire to escalate into this.

Whether it was the Weilante, the Lion Clan nobles, or the freemen of West Sail Port, they were all dumbstruck by it.

Perhaps too many coincidental factors came together, causing this latent powder keg to explode at the slightest spark.

In any case, this chaos had become utterly unstoppable...

Crouching alongside several believers near the warehouse area, Yishel swallowed hard, and even his once courageous eyes showed a hint of fear.

Up till now, he still hadn't recovered from the series of changes before him, but there was one thing he was very clear about.

Without a doubt, these people messed things up.

Although it wasn't entirely their fault—those who first set the warehouse on fire, Nagi who forced onlookers to dash inside to extinguish the fire, and the Weilante who fired the first shot all had their share of the blame—there was no point discussing this now.

Yishel's Adam's apple moved slightly.

"This is a real mess now..."

Chapter 821: The Fall of West Sail

The captain and vice-captain of the guard both died in battle, and Hante never thought that as an old man close to retirement, he would be tasked with taking over the guard's command.

No choice.

He had to go.

There are over ten thousand people in the entire harbor area, and among them, Weilante people make up thirty percent.

In any case, these people must not come to harm!

Even if he dies, he must block the mob outside!

Looking at the guards whose faces were still filled with panic, Hante gritted his teeth and shouted loudly.

"Drag some crates here! Empty ones are fine! Whether it's sand, stones or even rotten apples, just stuff them in and block the main roads! Quick! Move it!"

Then he looked at the youngest lad in the guard team and shouted at him.

"Newman! Go back and send a telegram! Ask for help from Evernight Harbor! Make sure to tell them something big is happening here and they need to send at least a thousand troops... no, send ten thousand troops over!"

He wasn't sure if Evernight Harbor had stationed so many troops, but the current situation was beyond what his small team could handle.

It was said that the arms temporarily stored in the warehouse could arm an entire group of ten thousand. If those mobs formed an organization, the chaos might spread across the Lion State!

The young lad named Newman nodded quickly and hurried towards the direction of the guard station.

Under Hante's orders, the guards present quickly began to act, forming defensive lines in groups of ten.

It must be said that at critical times, the Weilante people were fairly united.

Some young and strong lads saw that the guards didn't have enough man-power, so they joined in, helping them transport barricades to the entrances and exits of the streets.

The roads leading from other districts to the harbor area were soon blocked, and some civilians trying to squeeze into the harbor area to take refuge were all driven away by shots fired by the Weilante guards.

As for those who tried to forcefully rush through the posts, Hante had no hesitation and decisively ordered them all killed.

At this point, it was impossible to distinguish who was civilian and who was a thug; one couldn't be sure who might have a grenade or a pistol hidden in their pocket.

His men couldn't even form a full hundred-man team, so they couldn't afford any risks.

"Fire!" he shouted loudly while holding the rifle, he was the first to pull the trigger.

Amidst the gunfire, several unlucky guys fell to the ground, and in the blink of an eye, the street had five more corpses.

Seeing that the Weilante people looked like they had gone berserk, the civilians who had fled from their homes didn't dare to head to the harbor and changed direction to run outside the city.

However, not everyone was so lucky, most didn't get far before they were stopped.

These people had cloth strips tied to their arms and ferocious faces; one look and it was clear they weren't good people.

Gowenda instinctively wanted to turn around and leave, escape in another direction, but it was too late.

One of them stared into his eyes, striding up to him, and then without saying a word, shoved a rifle with a bayonet into his hands.

"The Weilante people kill my compatriots, suck our marrow, and even insult us. They must pay a blood price!"

Looking at the bloodstained rifle in his hands, Gowenda was terrified and stammered.

"B-but I can't..."

The man didn't listen to him at all and just grinned as he spoke.

"Doesn't matter if you can't, it's simple to use. Those Gray Wolf army veterans said, load the bullet, unlock the safety, align the two points to form a line, and just shoot those big-nosed bastards!"

The guards shot too accurately; the bullets seemed to have eyes.

Though they could kill a few, it often required paying several, even tens of times the cost.

This was when cannon fodder became crucial.

Even if these guys couldn't hit anyone, they could consume some of the harbor area's ammunition.

Once they figured out how to drag that 100mm cannon over, all problems would be resolved.

Gowenda was so anxious he was almost crying, but looking at the ferocious expression, he swallowed back his plea.

Seeing him be so sensible, the fellow with the cloth strip tied to his arm flashed a sinister smile, pushing his shoulder.

"Go on, show those Weilante people some colors! Let them know even a cornered rat can bite!"

"N-now?" Gowenda asked nervously and hastily.

"What else? Did I give you a gun to use as a crutch? Stop wasting time!" said the man impatiently, shoving him towards the front.

Moving his lead-heavy legs, Gowenda walked despairingly towards the harbor direction, while the distant gunshots sounded like a death curse in his ears.

Not far from him, there was a fellow who had fled from the harbor direction just like him, seemingly a citizen of the Lion Clan.

This group of madmen also tried to shove a gun at him, but he refused to take it, arrogantly cursing them, and ended up getting knocked out with a gun butt.

Gowenda didn't dare look back, only hearing a bang of a shot behind him, then no more sound from that man.

He painfully closed his eyes.

Rat God above.

He rarely prayed, but at this moment he couldn't help but chant.

Please protect Your children...

...

While the gunfire was fierce on the few streets around the harbor area, the usually bustling wharf was even more chaotic at this moment.

People screamed and shoved, trying to break through the human wall in front to reach the narrow pier.

The only two ships were already packed and had to move away from the dock.

Despite this, some people hadn't given up, even throwing away their luggage to swim over.

To escape from this chaotic harbor, people had gone mad, trying to board any watercraft they could use to leave.

Even small fishing boats temporarily docked at the pier were bought by desperate Weilante people and Lion Clan nobles, forcing the fishermen to set sail.

However, unfortunately, these small fishing boats lacked the capability to cross the ocean.

One fishing boat less than eight meters long, packed with over forty people, capsized by a wave shortly after sailing!

Watching those hit into the water by the waves, cries of alarm rose from the shore.

Some brave young men jumped into the sea to save people, but in the end, less than half got back to shore.

Seeing the plight of those in the water, people eager to escape finally calmed down a bit, but the despair weighing on their hearts did not lessen at all, even grew stronger.

The whole harbor went crazy.

Until now, most people still didn't know what had happened.

They only heard a loud explosion from the warehouse district, followed by black smoke rising; everyone hurried to put out the fire, but the fire just grew bigger.

A chubby Weilante merchant stood at the harbor cursing in anger at the direction of the harbor area.

"Damn it... these useless idiots can't even manage so few people! When Governor Hue returns, I must write to him and have these good-for-nothing fools fired!"

The curses quickly drowned in the noise, like a single grain of rice lost in a barn, insignificant.

Looking at the crowded dock, Margaret holding her daughter's hand turned slightly pale.

There were no more ships left.

Although she had anticipated potential incidents at the port over the past few days, she didn't expect the unexpected to occur so swiftly and come so fiercely!

Truth be told, she had more than once thought that the exploitation by those local noble natives of their own people was somewhat excessive.

The Southern Legion controlled quite a few colonies and often hired locals for work, yet she had never heard of anyone there surviving on only one or two hundred dinars a month.

How could anyone live like that!

As expected, the endless greed eventually provoked a backlash. It only took a fire to turn the boiling resentment into a full-blown rebellion.

The slightly darker-skinned maid stood behind the mother and daughter duo, her eyes full of worry.

"Madam... I feel it's not safe on the streets, we should return home first."

Hearing that advice, Margaret gave a bitter smile.

Is it safe at home then?

Although the guards were still fighting, to be honest, she didn't have much faith in them.

First, they weren't regular troops; second, their numbers were too few, and their equipment was clearly problematic.

If they couldn't control the situation in a short amount of time, they would soon face mobs ten times or even dozens of times larger.

Looking at the anxiety written all over her mother's face, Ruby gently tugged at her hand.

"Mom... weren't we going to visit sister An Su Ya?"

Although feeling anxious inside, to prevent her daughter from worrying, Margaret managed a gentle smile on her face and gently stroked her fluffy, soft hair.

"Mom was planning to take you tomorrow... but something unexpected happened now."

Ruby tilted her head, a curious look on her face.

"Unexpected?"

Margaret gently nodded, speaking softly.

"Yes, but don't worry... give mom some time, there will be a way."

Ruby nodded understandingly, obediently closed her mouth and stopped speaking.

The slightly darker-skinned maid looked at Margaret, trying to suggest.

"What if... we have Count Sharma send someone to pick us up? With your gentleman's relationship with him, it should be worth the risk."

Margaret said worriedly.

"That would at least have to wait until after midnight... just fear the people here can't hold on until then."

The maid expressed concern.

"But taking a ship is no longer possible, I think you should try to get help from the locals."

"Makes sense..." Margaret took a deep breath to calm herself, "Go home first, send Count Sharma a telegram to arrange a meeting place. If the West Sail Port Harbor area hasn't fallen, meet at the nearby Nightingale Street exit, if... if it has already fallen..."

"We can go to the Silver Moon Church," the maid immediately said, "Pastor Melgio is a good person, I occasionally go there to pray, he will certainly help us."

Margaret froze for a moment, her eyes still filled with worry, but ultimately she could only nod.

The Vellante people didn't have a good reputation in Silver Moon Bay, especially since the Eastern Legion once brought the flames of war to the edge of Camel Hump Kingdom's Petra Fortress.

But...

Currently, only they could be sought for help.

There was a phone system in West Sail Port, but communication with other settlements outside the city could only be done through telegrams.

Not wasting any time, the group hurriedly returned home and rushed to the telegraph machine.

As expected by Margaret, upon learning of their situation, Count Sharma immediately sent his servant to West Sail Port, expected to arrive by midnight.

The port area was no longer freely accessible now, and both sides had agreed on a meeting signal in the telegram: waving a white flag from side to side.

Margaret would then ask a familiar face in the guard squad to let her contact enter at the Nightingale Street entrance...

Seeing the reply on the telegraph machine, Margaret breathed a slight sigh of relief, collapsing into the chair.

Unknowingly, her back had already been soaked with sweat.

The nearby maid handed her a towel, speaking with genuine relief.

"Finally saved..."

Margaret gave a bitter smile.

"...Let's hope so."

It's too early to say we're saved now...

...

The night had barely begun to envelop the port.

On the streets adjacent to the port area and other city districts, the situation had escalated from initial probing to intense conflict.

The people besieging the port area numbered over ten thousand.

Among them were dock workers, as well as laborers from steel factories and cement factories, or textile mills and sugar factories.

In addition, some dragged-in slaves, injured and retired Gray Wolf Army veterans, and even some Lion Clan citizens who joined out of desperation.

Some had no choice, coerced at gunpoint by other mobs; if they didn't hand over a token, didn't fight the Vellante people, didn't join the "uprising," they'd be traitors to the Vellante, lackeys of the nobles, making them legitimate targets for others to rob, loot, and abuse.

But there were also opportunists, the same group who held guns to the former's heads.

They quickly raised a flagpole, gathered a batch of equally fierce individuals, intimidated some hesitators, and shouted about establishing a Lion Country or something similar in Lion State, just like Laxi.

However, unlike them, they hadn't thought much about an agenda, much less what to do if they succeeded, they just intended to ride the momentum first.

For the majority, they'd willingly joined this headless "uprising."

Some due to docked wages, others had enough of Vellante's humiliation, and others were simply envious of Vellante's power and wealth.

Who started the fire was irrelevant; the smoldering flame had long since burned in their hearts.

The explosion in the port area was the fuse, and the whip in Nagi's hand was no different.

As word spread, they wrapped stolen cotton cloth from the port area around their arms as a symbol to discern foes from allies, agreeing that whoever's brethren captured the Governor's Mansion and tore down the flag hanging there, would be Lion King's great ruler!

As for the others, they would become leaders of a ten thousand troops!

After sacrificing nearly a hundred cannon fodder, the "insurgents" gradually realized the guard squad's shortage of manpower, prompting them to adopt more aggressive tactics.

At the same time, the 100mm artillery, which had performed magnificently in the previous warehouse district skirmish, was pushed onto the street.

However, Hante did not allow these mobs to succeed. He seized the opportunity to decisively issue orders, letting the police armored vehicles hidden in the alleys directly rush forward.

Before the artillery could be deployed, the 10mm heavy machine gun mounted on the car rooftops rumbled into action, unleashing a torrent of bullets at the mobs.

The storm of shrapnel wreaked havoc on the street, leaving rows of fist-sized craters, even forcibly collapsing a mud wall!

The mobs hiding behind the artillery instantly perished, leaving a field of mutilated corpses.

The bloody scene intimidated many.

Especially those who had been holding assault rifles preparing to charge, were stunned by the appalling sight and shrank back into cover.

"Hook the tow rope on the cannon and drag it back! Quick!" Hante commanded over the radio from afar.

One guard quickly jumped down, hurriedly hooking the latch on the artillery's rear, while his teammates grabbed the ammunition box with shells and hid back in the car.

As the car door closed, the armored vehicle restarted its engine, dragging the 100mm cannon and driving desperately toward the harbor area.

From a distance, an Iron Fist Rocket flew in, fortunately missing its mark and collapsing a nearby house instead.

The armored vehicle returned to the position and came to a halt. The guards who stepped out wore expressions of sheer terror on their faces.

One of them didn't even realize he'd been shot in the calf until he got out of the vehicle, with blood flowing continuously.

Hante ordered the nurse sent over from the harbor area to help bandage their wounds and then saw the secretary from the Governor's Office approaching.

"How's the battle going?"

Seeing that anxious face, Hante said in a deep voice.

"It's hard to handle. How long we can hold out purely depends on when they organize themselves."

The secretary's breath hitched, and he asked in a trembling voice.

"Then... how many people do we have left..."

Hante smirked and said.

"Counting the local guards summoned from other areas, we should barely make it to 200."

"That's all?!"

"Getting even this many is quite good. Earlier, we couldn't even muster fifty people here..."

Speaking of this, Hante couldn't help but curse.

"There are too few people here! I don't understand why Evernight Harbor, with only a hundred thousand people, can station a ten thousand troops, while West Sail Port with over a million people has only a hundred-man team! And that's an unofficial guard team!"

Does it even matter to talk about this now?

The secretary's face bore a bitter smile, but he still explained.

"We have our difficulties... Triumph City's forces were never many to begin with, only His Excellency the Marshal's Forbidden Army and the City Defense Force, we're different from the Southern Legion after all."

In the end, the Civil Official Group has no troops of their own, and when problems arise, they can only find someone else to clean up the mess.

Fortunately, their relations with the Southern Legion aren't bad, there are even some people in the guard team who once served in the Southern Legion.

Hante cursed under his breath.

"You better think of something... there are over 3000 Weilante people, many of them are prominent figures in Triumph City. If any of them get hurt, you better be ready to face Triumph City's wrath!"

"I'm trying to think of a solution..." The governor's secretary wiped the sweat from his brow, suddenly asking, "By the way, where's Nagi? Have him come and persuade——"

"Forget that idiot! At least half—no, at least two-thirds of these people are here because of that fool!" Hante cursed and muttered, "If I catch him, I'll skin him alive!"

The agreed-upon wages were reneged on in less than a month, a move he hadn't anticipated.

He couldn't understand why they had to scrape for those two dinars from a bunch of short-lived wretches, even the feudal lords of the Eastern Legion wouldn't do something as foolish as completely burning their bridges.

Was the profit shared with those guys still not enough?

Why do they never learn!

Just then, an employee from the Guard Bureau ran over in a panic, stopping in front of Hante, gasping for breath.

"A telegram from Evernight Harbor! Their forces have already set out, we're told to hold on!"

Hante immediately asked.

"How long until they arrive!"

The clerk swallowed.

"They're in the southern hemisphere... at the fastest, maybe three days."

Three days...

Hearing this number, Hante's heart sank into an abyss of despair.

People's lives here are counted by the hour, they can't hold out that long!

At that moment, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted from the street not far away.

The scorching shockwave crushed several buildings, sweeping through like a hurricane to a hundred meters away.

The three of them instinctively ducked down to avoid it, the scorching hot stones nearly grazing their scalps as they flew past.

"Damn it! What's going on?"

Struggling to get up from the ground in a sorry state, the secretary, with an expression of shock still on his face, looked towards the direction of the explosion, only to see a field of mangled corpses.

The insurgents somehow got hold of a freight truck, packing it with dynamite and shells, and stepped hard on the gas, ramming it directly into their defenses.

The police armored vehicle was overturned.

Even the 100mm cannon they had just looted was blown over to the side of the road.

The ten or so guards stationed behind the defensive cover were nearly wiped out! Those who weren't dead were lying on the ground convulsing...

The civilians assisting in transporting supplies were also either dead or injured from the blast.

Seeing the defensive line collapse instantly, a hint of utter despair appeared on Hante's face.

"Damn it..."

These lunatics!

The armed insurgents seemed to have underestimated the power of the explosion and were also caught dazed by the shockwave.

However, they had the numerical advantage; even if some were affected by the aftershock of the explosion, it was still trivial to the overall situation of the battle.

When they saw the defensive line at the harbor area was finally blown open, their previously shaky morale was instantly boosted, even the cannon fodder pushed to the front lines began cheering with excitement.

A man holding a Blade Assault Rifle walked to the front of the team, wildly spraying bullets ahead, and then shouted to his comrades behind him.

"Brothers! Charge forward! The Weilante people have all their valuables at the harbor!"

"They used to look down on us, now it's our turn to slap them hard!"

"Whoever gets it, keeps it!"

The roar brought countless responses, the rising voices filled the entire street, a pack of eyes reddened by the thirst to kill shone with even fiercer, scarlet light, like starving wolves eyeing prey.

"Charge, brothers!"

"Grab the money! Grab the people!"

"Oh oh oh!"

The mass of heads surged like a flood toward the gap in the defensive line, the remaining guards, numbering a little over a hundred, seemed as insignificant as mayflies trying to shake a tree.

Even though they had one police armored vehicle left, it was to no avail.

The insurgents had now dragged out Iron Fist Rocket Launchers from the warehouse. In the face of armor-piercing bullets, the thin layer of metal on the police armored vehicle seemed like paper.

The explosive flares continued to rise amid the cries of the crowd, and the eyes of those crammed at the dock were filled with despair.

While covering the governor's secretary in retreat, Hante was killed after taking down three insurgents, shot through the throat, and collapsing with wide-open eyes.

Just like his captain and vice-captain...

The Weilante people, although naturally inclined for battle, were after all not complete monsters like mutants.

They only had somewhat better physical capabilities than ordinary people, matured a bit earlier, and possessed slightly stronger combat wills.

And, there were no "benefits," not consuming any resources from the War Construction Committee.

Putting aside these, they're just like the players, if shot in the critical spots, they will die.

"I surrender!"

Facing the mob surging like a tide, the Governor's secretary decisively chose to surrender.

It wasn't just for himself, but also for the more than three thousand Vellante residents in the harbor area and the tens of thousands living there.

Watching the group pulling the gun muzzles to his nostrils, he cleared his throat and said in a serious tone.

"You have won, this port is now yours. But before you celebrate your victory, let me meet your representative, I want to talk to him."

He lowered his stance substantially, even though he did not consider these guys in front of him seriously.

A group of mobs without action plans or clear demands, not much stronger than the Looters on the Wasteland.

When the reinforcements from Evernight Harbor arrived, they could be pinned against the wall in minutes.

He had no doubt in his mind.

After a brief wait, a man holding a legion flag walked out from the crowd.

The man had a scar on his jaw, like a bullet wound. Surviving was just a stroke of luck.

Even though his gaze was light and playful, there was an unnoticed hint of ferocity, like a wolf lurking in the snow.

Clearly, he had been on a battlefield.

Maybe even brought out by McCullen…

"What do you want to talk to me about?"

Staring at the man before him, the Governor's secretary swallowed and said.

"...All the wealth here is yours, let us go."

The man chuckled lightly, glanced around, then looked back at him.

"And then today's event is written off?"

The Governor's secretary paused for a moment, then vaguely said.

"...This can be negotiated."

Hell no!

If this guy isn't sent to the gallows, he'll write his name backward in the future!

The Civil Official Group indeed has no direct troops, but that doesn't mean they're easily bullied.

They have money and can hire Mercenaries from the colonies to fight for them.

More than that, they can even call upon friends from the Southern Legion for help.

The man smirked slightly, clearly not believing his words either, and said blandly.

"We've talked to you time and again, but every time we got nothing but perfunctory answers or ridicule… Was it fun? From eight dinars to six."

The Governor's secretary swallowed, cursing again inwardly at that fool named Nagi.

"We only just found out about this… Blaming us isn't quite right."

The man snorted coldly.

"It doesn't matter, you're all in it together, even if you knew, what can you do? Could you still stand up for us?"

The Governor's secretary locked eyes with him.

"So… was it you who started the fire?"

"I wish it was me, unfortunately, someone was a step quicker," the man shook his head slightly, wearing a look of regret, "That fire wasn't lit by anyone, it was the fury of the West Sail Port residents, the fury of everyone except you."

"...Then are you ready for the Legion's wrath?" The Governor's secretary's voice carried a hint of threat, trying to force the other to concede.

However, the man remained unfazed, merely taking a torch from his companion before setting the flag draped across his shoulder on fire.

It was the one pulled down from the Governor's Mansion.

He had already used this flag to prove his "Lion King" status, keeping it was useless.

Though he's from the Wolf clan, having a wolf lead a pride of lions is not out of the question.

Watching the burning military flag, the Governor's secretary's face was full of anger.

The man tossed the burning flag aside, then grinned, pressing a gun to his head.

"I was thrown by you to fight with the Alliance, against Laxi, and finally dumped here to rot. Believe me, I've heard ten times more lies than anyone here, so I'm more aware of what people like you are really about… There's not a single word that comes out of your mouths that's credible."

Negotiation is absolutely not a way to survival, especially negotiating now.

The only way he could live was by dragging everyone in Lion State into this, spreading the flames that started from the warehouse district to even further.

Like Tiandu.

He needed to capture Tiandu, become the master of Poluo Province to truly gain the capital to negotiate with the Legion.

And even if things got worse, he could still switch sides to the Alliance.

Looking at this already insane guy, a bit of sweat broke out on the Governor's secretary's forehead, continuously glancing at the gun pressed on his head.

"So you're not going to negotiate..."

The man laughed.

"My name is Anush, like most people here, until tonight I was an unknown small fry… But I vow that from now on, my name will resonate across the continent."

He didn't pull the trigger, didn't even take off the safety, just waved to his companion beside him.

"Bury this big nose in the red soil."

He paused, then added.

"Remember, bury him alive."

"Let him be reincarnated here in his next life, to taste the suffering we've endured."

As two mobs held his arms and dragged him away, the Governor's secretary's eyes widened, staring at him, angrily shouting.

"You bastard… Do you even know what you're doing? You're on a path to self-destruction!"

Anush paid no attention to the doomed man, instead looking at his companions behind him, then at the brightly lit, crowded pier.

He smirked viciously, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Enjoy your victory! Do whatever you want, this is your well-deserved reward!"

"And those who have humiliated us all along, it's time they pay some interest for their foolishness."

"This is what they deserve! Settle things with these bastards for me!"

"Woohooo!!"

Enthusiastic cheers erupted around, pairs of eyes gleamed green.

Thanks to General Arai Yang's scorched-earth strategy, he had tasted a hint of despair at Mammoth State's boundaries, but had yet to taste the Weilante people's.

A race born for battle, surely they would prove as untamable as a fierce horse.

He hoped they wouldn't disappoint him.

Chapter 822: Reinforcements on the Way

"Boom——!!"

Scorching lava soared into the sky, while the rising smoke and grit scattered over hundreds of meters.

In the distance, the dunes had been flattened into a plain, leaving only rings of spreading ripples.

This was the training ground in the north of Evernight Harbor.

And that terrifying explosion just now was the handiwork of the 902mm heavy artillery!

As the proud symbol of strength for the Southern Legion, this heavy cannon reportedly displayed great might in the "War at Heaven"… however, those truly in the know understand that it only made a brief appearance before entering Haiye Province.

After all, the mobility of the heavy artillery was too fatal; only trains could carry it and its shells.

And it wasn't until the end of the War at Heaven that the alliance's railways and highways crossed Ten Peaks Mountain.

With his palm covering his glass, General McCullen, who was sitting in the observation stand at the training ground, watched the advancing servant army with an indifferent look.

It was only after the rolling dust settled that he moved his palm away from the glass and serenely took a sip of wine.

Both the combat style and governance philosophy of the Southern Legion are distinctly different from the Eastern Legion; they rely too heavily on caliber and infantry, completely ignoring mobility.

The Eastern Legion, on the other hand, is quite the opposite; the steel torrent is their faith, whether in the air or on the ground!

For this reason, he wasn't very interested in such logistical "toys."

Even though its power is indeed formidable, it's useless on the plains controlled by the Eastern Legion; no Looter Tribe or Resistance would foolishly wait to get shelled.

Those guys, even if daft, know to shoot once and move elsewhere.

Unlike his lack of interest, Centurion Olet, sitting beside him, was excited and proud, with a radiant smile on his face.

"Nothing can withstand a strike from the 902! Especially when dealing with mutants, this thing is even more effective than tactical nuclear weapons!"

Mutant creatures have a certain resistance to radiation; things like Crack Claw Crab or Dead Claw might even make their nests near radiation sources.

Mutants can be considered a type of artificially mutated creature; pure radioactive harm isn't entirely ineffective against them, but it definitely doesn't outpace their recovery speed.

For this reason, at the same yield, high-velocity explosives are often more efficient than nuclear weapons.

And they are easier to handle afterward.

Listening to this starry-eyed Centurion's bragging, McCullen smiled faintly and said indifferently.

"Even the 'Gray People' in the Great Desert have started building fortresses?"

Olet paused before replying with a smile.

"Not quite... but they have learned to build villages like those Looter Tribes. I've even heard some intelligent mutant tribes are doing business with human merchants."

He thought McCullen should be familiar with this; mutant mercenaries did appear during the war in Luo Xia Province, even if not in large numbers.

The origin of mutants in the Great Desert is different from those on the East Coast; although both are similarly bloodthirsty and brutal, the latter has slightly more civilization.

The Southern Legion also employs a few mutant mercenaries, whom they call "Gray Soldiers."

However, for most uncooperative gray mutant tribes, the Southern Legion still mainly focuses on eradication. After all, these guys constantly raid around, affecting trade between their colonies and native tribes in the Great Desert.

And those Gray mercenaries have no qualms about slaughtering their kin.

After all, essentially, they are still unintelligent primitive men, merely having learned to use human weapons.

Ignoring the explanation from this fellow, McCullen said dismissively.

"Isn't using something like this akin to using a cannon against mosquitoes? Or do mutants have something like morale? In my view, it would be better to get a few more 100mm artillery; not only would it cover a broader area, but logistics pressure would also be lighter."

Upon hearing this criticism, Olet's eyebrows twitched hard, unable to resist a sarcastic retort.

"Though you say that, we have never fought beyond the reach of our supply ships, so there's inherently no issue with frontline units running out of supplies. Why bother with so much land? It's all ruins here; the last thing we lack is mud and sand. Is the glory of the Weilante people manifested through coloring a map?"

Noticing the snark in his voice, McCullen's eyebrows twitched hard, and his face suddenly fell.

"What do you mean?"

Seeing McCullen's displeased expression, Olet quickly changed the subject.

He had no choice; a higher rank crushes the lower one, even if this guy is in decline.

"Cough, I mean no offense, esteemed General McCullen... back to the topic, though those gray-skinned wild men haven't built solid concrete fortresses, they have indeed become more troublesome lately."

McCullen faintly frowned.

"In what way?"

Olet mysteriously lowered his voice.

"Undying..."

"Undying?!" McCullen's eyes opened slightly, disbelief written in his pupils.

Seeing the expression on his face, Olet quickly explained.

"Of course, not truly immortal... but, even if their head and heart are damaged, they can still fight. Only when their body's functions are entirely destroyed will they truly fall."

McCullen contemplated for a moment, then thoughtfully spoke.

"...This sounds somewhat similar to the situation on Ten Peaks Mountain."

Though he had been training new troops and officers for the Empire recently, he wasn't completely unaware of the "War at Heaven" battle situation.

Especially after the opening of the West Sail Port post office, telecommunication was now available with Triumph City.

In the future, once cables are laid from Evernight Harbor, instant communication would even be feasible.

After hearing McCullen's words, Olet stroked his chin.

"Hmm... indeed. I've seen in 'Triumph Newspaper' that there's something called 'Ghoul mutation,' right? It supposedly means memories can be stored in distributed neurons throughout the body, so even if a head is lost, it can regrow, seemingly discovered by the alliance."

McCullen asked puzzled.

"How could this thing appear in the Great Desert? Did some mutants escape to the Great Desert?"

Olet shrugged.

"Who knows, maybe the remnants of Torch fled inside... after all, people can hide easier than mutants."

Upon hearing this, McCullen's face immediately showed an intrigued expression.

"This is quite valuable intelligence... Have you had someone verify it?"

"I'm actually working on this..." Olet smiled and suddenly became serious, "General McCullen, don't you think this is an opportunity?"

Not waiting for McCullen's detailed inquiry, he soldiered on.

"The Sticky Community refuses to hand over the 'Perfect Life Form' technology. No matter how much you argue at the conference table, it's useless. They fundamentally fear us Weilante people... We actually don't need them. As long as we can seize that fugitive in the Great Desert, we will get what we want."

The Perfect Life Form technology holds extraordinary significance for the Weilante people.

Because the latter was indeed born from the former.

The Weilante people always believe that some kind of "shackle" exists within their DNA, still enslaving them.

And to fully unlock this shackle, the "Perfect Life Form" technology must be thoroughly conquered.

Hence, even if one disregards the military value of this technology itself, there is sufficient political motivation pushing them to do this.

General McCullen's eyes slightly narrowed, revealing an interested color through his lashes.

"This sounds interesting... I'll have the Eastern Legion over there pay attention."

The Eastern Legion's eastern territories border the Great Desert's north and a small part of the northwest regions, while the vassal country stretches to the east of the Great Desert's Luo Xia Province.

If the Eastern Legion and Southern Legion unite, they could envelop the entire Great Desert.

In contrast, the alliance only has Pioneer City established in the eastern part of the Great Desert.

Upon hearing General McCullen's promise, Olet immediately showed a pleased smile.

"That would be fantastic; with your help, this matter will be far more secure."

"I hope there will be some harvest... After all, it's the longing of all Vellante people."

McCullen smiled faintly and took a sip of red wine.

At this moment, the drills in the distance were coming to an end, and the local soldiers carrying rifles were withdrawing from the craters.

Otley was beaming with a radiant smile, suddenly remembering something, he continued.

"By the way, speaking of which, are you interested in buying a 902mm heavy artillery to take back and play with?"

McCullen calmly refused.

"No need for it, this thing would crush the road we've painstakingly repaired."

Seeing he misunderstood his intention, Otley hastily waved his hand and said.

"No, no, no, I meant sell it to the West Winds... Aren't they troubled by the Mammoth State to the east? With this thing, regardless of what kind of fortress, just one shot—"

Before he could finish his sentence, an officer suddenly came jogging over, stopped in front of him, and saluted.

"Report, General, a distress message has been sent from the direction of West Sail Port, claiming a very tricky rebellion! The situation is urgent!"

Otley was stunned for a moment, showing a surprised expression, but even more surprised was McCullen sitting beside him, who nearly stood up, gripping the armrests of his chair.

"West Sail Port? Rebellion?"

Those cowardly, rat-like guys, they have the ability for this?!

No one knows better than McCullen how compliant the people there are to their superiors.

The "human centipede" he saw wasn't just in the palace of Witch Camel but spread across the entire power structure of the Empire, transmitting from top to bottom.

To please their superiors, they spare no dignity, trampling their personalities into the dust, betraying vows, beliefs, souls, and even sacred marriages, reassuring themselves with the thought that it's all for benefit, and then mercilessly reclaiming what they owe from those weaker than them.

Vellante people don't always keep their word, but at least some things are non-negotiable.

The idea of such people rebelling is simply absurd!

The officer swiftly glanced at General McCullen, then looked at his superior, Otley. Seeing the latter nod, he quickly said.

"Correct... The locals seized the opportunity when Governor Hue and his personal guard were away to loot the munitions warehouse in the port district. Now, more than 3000 Vellante residents living there are in danger, and both the local police station and governor's mansion have sent distress signals, hoping we send troops and ships to aid and assist the evacuation of local Vellante people immediately."

Otley frowned.

"How soon can we get there at the fastest?"

The officer immediately responded.

"Three days should be enough!"

After pondering for a moment, Otley tapped his knee with his index finger and quickly made a decision.

"Let General Ross take a thousand team over there."

Since West Sail Port isn't seeking help from the Empire, but rather appealing to Evernight Harbor instead, it indicates the situation is extraordinarily urgent.

It's precisely for this reason that he didn't hesitate to dispatch his most excellent commander.

"Yes!"

The officer's demeanor became solemn, standing upright to salute, preparing to leave. But General McCullen, seated, called out to him.

"Wait a moment, I'll go along too." Lowering the boot propped on his knee, McCullen got up from the chair, picked up the officer's hat left on the table, and put it on.

Sitting beside him, Otley was momentarily stunned, surprised as he looked up at him.

"Aren't you returning to Triumph City?"

Unconcernedly, McCullen said.

"Whether I return or not makes no difference, anyway, I have nothing to triumph over. I won't go back this year... Don't worry, I'll just observe, and won't interfere with your command."

He was merely intrigued by how the rebellion of those rats would appear.

Seeing his subordinate looking to him for a decision, Otley hesitated for half a second before finally nodding.

"Alright... Then I entrust you to oversee the battle."

McCullen nodded, didn't say a word, and followed the officer out...

...

Near the port of Evernight Harbor, inside a serene and elegantly decorated residence, Penny, sitting at a desk, was sealing a freshly written letter into an envelope.

This was her uncle's home, and due to the lack of a return ship to Triumph City, she could only continue staying here, and, at leisure, felt inclined to write some letters.

There were two letters to send, both addressed to City of Dawn.

One was written to her father, Centurion Bennott, and the other was to Mr. Pangolin.

Since he followed her father to City of Dawn, they hadn't seen each other for some time.

Wondering how he was faring.

Penny glanced at the gradually setting sun outside the window, placing the two letters she held into the drawer.

The post office should have closed by now, she planned to go herself tomorrow morning to send the letters, and check if there were any ships back home at the port.

At this time, her aunt's voice came from downstairs.

"Penny, dinner's ready."

"Oh! Coming."

Penny responded, tidied the papers and pen on the desk, then hurried downstairs.

As she came downstairs, her aunt Dimi was already seated at the dining table, along with her youngest cousin—6-year-old Bill.

Speaking of her aunt Dimi, she's a very traditional Vellante woman.

Both her elegant and gentle character and her lush deep brown hair and prominent nose.

Penny enjoyed talking with her, although she didn't always agree with her viewpoints, the pure Triumph City accent sounded pleasant, like a warm breeze.

With slightly darker skin, the maid was serving the dishes onto the table.

Seeing Penny descend the staircase, she nodded slightly in greeting, then went to the side room for her meal.

Compared to the Eastern Legion, the Southern Legion had relatively lenient attitudes towards slaves, while the civil official nobles from Triumph City often brought the traditions of Triumph City to the colonies.

Her uncle Ross served in the Southern Legion, but being from the civil official group, his family had a milder attitude towards servants.

In Triumph City, tormenting slaves was neither legal nor dignified, and most civil official nobles took pride in having a servant familiar with aristocratic etiquette and literary knowledge.

Sitting at the dining table, Penny noticed Uncle Ross wasn't present, so she looked at Aunt Dimi.

"Where's Uncle? Isn't he dining with us today?"

Dimi gently shook her head, showing a helpless expression.

"He might still be busy with work... I heard lately the mutants in the Great Desert have been active again, some tribes that are on good terms with us have sent distress signals."

Those beasts...

Penny frowned.

"Will there be any major issues?"

Seeing the concern on her niece's face, Dimi smiled warmly, comforting her.

"What could possibly go wrong? We have a ten thousand troop stationed here... Instead, I'm more worried about you, my Penny."

Mentioning this, her face involuntarily showed a trace of worry.

"I've heard Poluo Province isn't safe, wars are rampant there, and we coincidentally have no garrison there. I really don't know how Hue manages so many people. If possible, after you return home, try finding a way to transfer back to Triumph City, or come to us."

Penny couldn't help but show a helpless expression, her aunt's words were akin to her mother's.

However, she didn't think West Sail Port was dangerous; quite a few Vellante people lived there.

And she watched that port develop bit by bit from nothing.

As part of her father's achievements, she was very proud of it.

"Poluo Province is very large. Actually, most states are safe, it's just the eastern Mammoth State that's more dangerous. And the people there have a very peaceful mindset, very courteous in dealing with others, especially outsiders... If you've really been there, you'll know it's not as bad as you think."

Looking at the stubborn niece, Dimi showed a helpless expression, not knowing how to persuade her.

Although Penny wasn't her biological daughter, her mother was a good friend of hers, and she always treated this unique girl as her own.

Because of this, she was especially worried about her.

Although the "Triumph Newspaper" is the largest newspaper in the legion, and becoming a journalist for it is a very prestigious thing, she still hoped she could find a more stable job and marry into a reliable family.

"Is that so... But it's always better to be cautious, you are still a girl, and war is men's business."

"I'm not a child anymore, and... I don't think it's just a men's business, it's something for every Vellante person. We should know where our frontline is, who we are fighting against, and what victory or defeat means to us."

Penny snorted softly, not very pleased with her aunt's words.

Even though she hadn't fought against the enemy at the frontline, she had gone deep there for firsthand information.

Even if she didn't have a military rank, she didn't think her work wasn't important.

At this moment, the sound of a door opening came from the hallway, and shortly after, a sturdy middle-aged man walked from the living room into the dining room.

That man was Penny's uncle Ross, ranked as a general, serving under General Olet.

He had a deep scar on his face, and his eyes were sharp like knives, making him look intimidating, but Penny knew very well that he was actually a very polite gentleman, much more so than the rough barbarians of the Eastern Legion.

"Sorry, something came up with the army, I came back a bit late... Could you prepare me something?"

"Yes, sir."

Hearing the noise, the maid walked over from the side room, nodding respectfully, and then went into the kitchen.

Little Bill saw his dad come back and immediately called out with joy, "Dad!"

Ross walked forward with a smile, just about to fondly pat his son's head, when Dimi, sitting by him, slapped his hand away.

"Go wash your hands, I can smell the sand from afar."

"Alright, alright." Ross scratched the back of his head with a wry smile and turned to the washroom.

Sitting by, Penny couldn't help but chuckle, and only when her uncle returned to the table did she curiously inquire.

"What kept you so long? Can you tell me?"

Ross, sitting at the table, laughed heartily and said jokingly.

"The journalist from the Triumph Newspaper wants to know, and I certainly speak without reservation... Cough, don't glare at me, I'm just joking with my niece."

Seeing his wife glaring at him, Ross shrank his neck and lightly coughed before putting on a serious face and continued.

"Something happened at West Sail Port."

Penny was taken aback, and her aunt sitting across from her was equally shocked, as they had just been discussing West Sail Port.

"West Sail Port?"

Ross nodded, taking a piece of bread and spreading some meat paste on it, eating as he spoke.

"Yes, the specifics are unclear. Some say the alliance incited local people to rebel, others say it was Laxi's doing. Someone's been tracking that batch of military supplies and it happened to have issues."

Dimi slightly frowned.

"That demon who slaughtered a million people?"

She had heard of this name, allegedly he executed a scorched-earth strategy at the state border of Mammoth State to block the Empire's regular army, killing up to a million people.

Against his compatriots, showing such ruthlessness, she had no liking for this person.

Ross shrugged, quickly finishing another piece of bread, this time with tuna paste spread on it.

"Who knows, anyway, we have to go and find out the situation there... I came back to pack my luggage, a warship has already docked, and in two hours, I'll be boarding."

Penny and Dimi were both stunned, almost instinctively speaking in unison.

"So urgent?"

"Leaving today?"

Ross nodded.

"Yes, I heard it's urgent... We'll be on the road for three days, it's almost the birthday celebration, hopefully, nothing major happens."

Little Bill blinked and looked at him.

"Dad, can you come back before the birthday celebration?"

Ross fondly patted Little Bill's head.

"...Don't worry, such an important holiday, I certainly won't leave you and your mother alone at home."

Dimi looked at Ross with concern, speaking seriously.

"You should focus on your work, don't get distracted because of us. We have our lovely niece keeping us company... even if we can't celebrate this year's birthday together, there are still plenty of days ahead."

Penny looked at her aunt and said helplessly.

"Have you already assumed I won't make it back in time for the flight?"

Dimi chuckled and said.

"If you return now, you probably won't make it. Instead of spending the holiday on the ship, why not celebrate with us this year?"

If a ship could be available in the next three days, it was actually possible to hurry back before the second weekend after New Year's Eve.

Penny quietly grumbled to herself but didn't hold much hope.

All the civilian ships were commandeered by her father to the east, and they were probably just arriving at Death Coast. Who knows when the transport capacity would return to normal.

"Then I'll trouble my lovely niece to keep my wife company, sorry, I'll bring gifts for you both."

Holding a fork in his hand, Little Bill excitedly shouted.

"Oh! I want mutant eyes! Green ones!"

Dimi glared fiercely at the restless little fellow.

"What do you want that filthy thing for? It's dirty!"

Ross laughed heartily, reaching out with his broad hand to ruffle his son's hair fondly.

"Hahaha! Dad will look for it, but there aren't any mutants in Poluo Province... How about mammoth tusks?"

Watching the cheerful family, Penny couldn't help but smile.

Suddenly, she wasn't in such a hurry to leave.

As long as her family was safe, it didn't matter where they spent the holidays...

Having finished dinner in a hurry, Ross picked up the suitcase the maid helped pack, kissed his wife goodbye, and strode out the door, getting into the SUV parked outside.

One thousand Vellante soldiers had already donned their uniforms, slung their rifles and backpacks, and completed assembly at the docks of Evernight Harbor.

Unlike the officers at West Sail Port, they were real soldiers, battling incessantly in the desert with those gray-skinned mutants, exuding a solemn and murderous aura.

It wasn't just their straight postures; the weapons they carried were equally imposing.

From automatic and semi-automatic rifles to light machine guns and Gatling guns, even grenade launchers and flamethrowers, all showcased their formidable martial prowess!

Unlike the Eastern Legion, which downplayed the role of infantry, the Southern Legion invested heavily in supporting equipment and light weapons, especially since the latter didn't have as many airships, nor battlefields for steel torrents to gallop.

At this moment, the bustling port was entirely shrouded in darkness.

Ross, now in uniform, walked to a group of soldiers and shouted in a loud voice.

"A bunch of gutter rats not only knocked over our oil lamp and stole our cheese but now want to gnaw at our fingers greedily! We'll show them they picked the wrong opponents! Now! Set off——!!"

"Kill!!!"

The response to him was a series of spirited shouts, and the soldiers, equipped with gear, boarded the transport ship's deck with composure.

They had no doubts.

Once ashore, all they needed was a charge to knock those weaklings down.

The siren on the dock blared, and the stranded passengers on the shore exchanged glances.

"...Where are they going to fight?"

Suddenly someone said.

"I heard there's trouble at West Sail Port..."

"West Sail Port?!" A man holding a suitcase suddenly showed a panicked expression, muttering tremulously, "My wife and kids are still there..."

The people around exchanged glances.

A fellow traveler patted him on the shoulder, sympathetically comforting him.

"Don't be so nervous. Our relationship with the Empire is so strong; even if something happens, it won't be anything major."

Others also offered reassurances.

"Yes."

"Everything will surely be fine."

"After all, those rebels are only fighting the Empire; there's no word of them causing trouble for us or the Alliance."

The man gave a bitter smile, but his pale complexion didn't change.

"Let's hope so..."

For some reason, his eyelids twitched violently, and his heart pounded in a daze...

Meanwhile, across the Poluo Sea, West Sail Port was engulfed in a sea of fire.

From the dock to the sea was a scene of bloody chaos, with scattered luggage and bodies everywhere.

The shattered windows and marble buildings faintly echoed with wanton laughter and miserable screams, and the mixture of the smell of blood and the sea air was inseparable, even the sea breeze blowing toward the harbor couldn't disperse it.

A disheveled Vellante woman crawled toward the dock in a daze, her hoarse voice muttering as if she were calling someone's name.

The sea water at the dock's edge was murky, yet it was the only place that could wash away the filth on her body.

She was not afraid of death.

She only regretted not jumping into the sea from the start, instead harboring fantasies that these beasts would calm down and treat the Vellante people here as hostages to negotiate with the Army.

But when they all obediently entered different rooms as instructed by those people, those guys immediately tore off their masks.

"I'm sorry..." she wept, unable to form words, as she bit her lip, reaching her blood-stained hand toward the dock stained red with blood.

However, just as she was about to reach it, a hand suddenly grabbed her ankle, pulling her back into that bloody hell amidst hoarse screams.

"Hey, hey! You've called the wrong person; your husband is right here."

"Hahaha!"

"The interrogation isn't over yet. Who allowed you to leave? Come back here!"

"Ahhhh!"

The miserable screams quickly faded into the evening breeze, insignificant compared to the rising and falling sounds at the harbor.

The suffering was not limited to the Vellante people.

There were also the Lion Clan, Horse Clan, Sun People, Cow People... even the Mouse Tribe and Snake Clan people.

Not all of them were nobles; in fact, most were civilians.

However, bullets do not distinguish between high and low, and those carrying guns similarly have no interest in differentiating.

Most had killed until their eyes were bloodshot.

As for Anush, who became the king, he was just one of them.

In the face of the tide of the era, one person's choice was insignificant.

After all, the former was the choice of countless people, even if those making the choices were unaware.

Yishel wanted to step forward and do something, like "Pol" in Giant Stone City.

But unfortunately, he ultimately didn't have Pol's Strength.

His shouts were utterly insignificant, and no matter how much he exhausted his words, the people didn't care. In the end, even the listeners of the "Silver Gospel News" began to waver, questioning whether they had followed the wrong person or taken the wrong path.

Helplessly, he could only retreat to the church with those followers who still stood with him.

If those thugs still fantasized about gaining the Alliance's support, at least they wouldn't lay hands on the Silver Moon Sect's church.

If they had even a shred of reason left in their minds...

Compared to the regretful Yishel, the opportunistic Gowenda had smooth sailing.

Although he was pushed onto the battlefield as Cannon Fodder, he luckily didn't die in the initial attack. Instead, for his "brave fight," he was accepted by those thugs and became one of them.

Centurion.

He never thought he could become a Centurion in his lifetime!

He was so excited that he almost shouted out loud, eager for the entire street to know!

However, perhaps out of fear of the Vellante people and nobles, or maybe worried about future retributions, he still didn't go as mad as the others, nor did he dare touch those Vellante and Lion Clan girls.

He was easily satisfied or, rather, simple and honest.

Even when Nagi cut his rightful 8 Dinars down to 6, he never thought of burning down the warehouse, only spat on the ground.

Though grateful for his gamble's success, he didn't stay in the dock area for a celebration feast. Instead, he "quit while ahead," carried his gun home, and visited the widow in the shack across.

He had been eyeing that woman for a long time, and every time he saw her milky white skin, he had wild thoughts but never had the courage to speak up, only daring to fantasize in his head.

But times had changed.

He had made it big!

"Stop crying... Look at you, like a bear. What's wrong with sticking with me and enjoying the good life?"

Looking at the weeping woman, Gowenda grumbled as he pulled on his pants, anxiously counting out four Dinars' worth of change from his pocket and throwing it on the table, thinking it insufficient, adding a 10-value coin.

"Take it... As long as I have a bite to eat, so will you."

As if saying this would bring some comfort, he casually tossed out these words, then grabbed the rifle leaning against the wall and rushed out the door.

Fourteen Dinars...

Dammit!

He would have had to work at the dock for two or three days to earn that much!

Afterward, Gowenda felt a pang of heartache, but ultimately, he was too embarrassed to take back the money he gave out. He could only quicken his pace toward the brightly lit harbor.

Before the "celebration feast" ended, he needed to go there to pick—oh no, grab a little more!

Thinking this, the simple and honest him tried hard to put on a fierce expression.

The world had changed.

He had to learn to think differently about problems now...

-

(Thanks to the "Sword-Wielding Tea Drinker's" alliance leader reward!!!)

Chapter 823: The End of Bloodshed

"Sir, sir... it's all my fault, I deserve to die... I shouldn't have..."

Beside the dock at West Sail Port.

Nagi, tied up in a tight bind, knelt trembling on the ground with his pants soaked, his mouth quivering as he begged for mercy, cursing himself for being utterly worthless.

However, things couldn't have been worse for him, as he cursed himself right at a critical point, his tongue stumbled and suddenly forgot from which "not supposed to" he should begin his self-blame.

The nearby flames flickered, and after a moment, he finally adjusted to the darkness here.

It was at this time that he saw the thick blood slurry on the ground, the sausages hanging on the broken wooden crates, and the discarded, white flesh on the street... his stomach churned, almost causing him to retch.

"Ah—!"

After a bout of dry heaving, he quickly continued to tremble and plead for forgiveness.

Anush watched his expressions with a smirk, as though admiring a wild dog with its limbs broken.

"Yes, yes... Orisa," Nagi finally remembered the name, pleadingly looking around at the people surrounding him. "It's all my fault... I'm the one who killed him! I beg you to give me a chance to atone for my sins..."

No matter if he was responsible for the death or not, he had to take this blame upon himself.

He understood.

This group didn't care for any reasoning, only complying with their wishes would appease them.

It seemed that Anush had enough of his performance, or maybe he hadn't enjoyed the taste of the Vellante people enough, he yawned and gestured to the person beside him.

"String this vile creature up, using the flagpole at the entrance of the Governor's Mansion."

Nagi, still in a daze kneeling on the ground, and the surrounding laborers also hadn't grasped what was happening.

Yet some quick-witted individuals caught on, immediately showing either sneers or other intriguing expressions.

"This is a great idea!"

"High up!"

"Truly the boss!"

In the end, only Nagi was left in the dark, bewildered and terrified as he watched those approaching him.

"You, you all... what do you intend to... Ah ah ah! No—! Let me go!"

The people ignored his screams and pleas, carried with no mercy, dragging his arms towards the direction of the Governor's Mansion...

...

After the Vellante people's defeat, the thousand team commander of the West Sail Port city's defense forces immediately vanished without a trace.

He was well aware of the character of the people under him.

Moreover, they only had a thousand men team, their weapons and equipment weren't much stronger than the guard squad's, at most with some artillery and such.

Having just these was useless, the explosion originated from within the fortress.

Not to mention that their firepower was thoroughly suppressed by the rebels, even in numbers they couldn't withstand a blow.

Not to mention, the rebels mixed with some old soldiers from the Grey Wolf Army.

Anush personally led people into the city defense forces' station, and it was after "finishing the affair."

He thought there might be a fierce battle, yet didn't expect the thousand team commander of this group to flee directly, and the remaining people, seeing a sea of people outside, simply raised the white flag in surrender.

Disarmament took these leaderless stragglers, and Anush didn't treat them like the lion clan people at the port, only breaking them up and integrating them into his own team, instructing those Centurions, Centurions to keep an eye on those who came from the city defense forces, then returned to the harbor district to continue the ongoing "celebration."

The "celebration" lasted till three in the morning, only replaced by the sound of deep snoring as the hoarse screams ceased.

The rioters finally had their fill, and the entire West Sail Port was eerily quiet, as if it had fallen asleep.

And frighteningly quiet.

All residents shut their windows and doors tightly, fearing any sound would attract those "rebels" with cloth strips on their arms.

The slogans they shouted were loud, not only to kill all Vellante people but also to slay all nobles and lackeys collaborating with the Vellante people, establishing a state of absolute equality... yet ultimately, it wasn't just the Vellante people who were slain.

Nagi was the first to be settled.

Of course, he truly deserved it.

Ironically, the one who betrayed him was his own comrade from the long rod team—a Slave he had just recently redeemed.

Actually, if he hadn't been betrayed, it's hard to say if he would have survived.

After all, his hiding place was quite unfortunate; seeing things going awry, he found an empty residence of the Vellante people to hide.

He thought the rioters wouldn't dare to touch the Vellante people, yet didn't expect them to be reckless enough to break in directly with a kick.

Angry crowds ignored his cries, dragging him to the port, humiliating him first, then stringing him up on the charred flagpole.

And stringing him from bottom to top.

It is said that at the beginning, he could still scream, but later, due to unbearable pain, he bit off his tongue root, fainting dead away.

As for the "long rods" who sold out Nagi, they ended up without benefits.

Furious insurgents took revenge for grievances, revenge for enmity, gripping the long rods once used against them, nearly beating them to pulp.

That's not the end.

The real reckoning was just beginning!

Those who wore Vellante outfits, used Vellante goods, worked for Vellante people, or had Dinars but didn't have cloth on their arms, or were otherwise unrelated characters also fell to that blade by accident.

Like Gowenda's neighbor.

Just that guy had nerves weak enough, that "Bayonet" didn't draw blood.

People were terrified by this bloodthirsty horde.

Perhaps even among those, some were shocked by their own actions, yet at this point, only tying their sleeves tighter could suffice.

Otherwise, not to mention Vellante's retaliation, they might first be accidentally injured by their own kind.

But those drenched in blood yet clear-headed were indeed few.

The majority blinded by fury, driven by victorious delusion, even considering not discussing army but pondering conquering Tiandu and marching all the way to Triumph City!

Not due to Anush's incitement, but genuinely believing in their hearts.

After all, those hundreds to thousands of cannon fodder lying dead on the street hardly counted as people?

Yet on the port, they counted precisely, the exact tally was 61 Vellante guards, all brutally slain.

And the rest, whether citizens of West Sail Port or subordinates from other army colonies, didn't total two hundred combined.

Some seemed to have escaped by undressing, which they didn't bother to count closely.

What army.

Simply insignificant!

...

The church of the Silver Moon Sect.

Hiding under the curtains, Yishel watched outside quietly, his brows tightly knitted.

The believer crouched beside him swallowed, speaking with a trembling voice.

"...These people have gone mad."

He had just witnessed firsthand as several cloth-tied individuals kicked open the door, dragging a family out.

The man seemed to be the security at the labor registration office, and he had some impression of the guy, who appeared to be from the Horse Tribe.

However, precisely because of that impression, he knew that guy definitely didn't deserve to die...

But those people obviously didn't care about that. From the room came the sounds of things being smashed, the man's roars, the cries of children, the screams of women, and finally the gunshot that ended everything abruptly.

Watching the devils walk out of the door, Yishel gritted his teeth fiercely, wishing he could bite his gums to bleeding.

He couldn't believe these guys were his compatriots. Even if they were persecuting the Weilante people, it would at least make him feel a little better inside...

But what tormented him more was the towering image in his heart collapsing bit by bit.

He had once worshiped "Bol" immensely.

He once believed that people could unite, even if they were a group of people who had nothing and were barely literate.

However, reality gave him a harsh slap in the face.

In the end, he suddenly realized that he, who was speaking nonsense, was the clown pushed to the corner by everyone with sticks—just like that character "Ken" in Awakener Bol.

The snow of Giant Stone City fell in his heart again and again, burying all hope and beauty.

He wrote all his hatred in his eyes.

He hated the army, hated the empire, but hated these vermin in front of him even more!

If one day in the future, the survivors of Poluo Province can finally walk out of this humiliated memory, the person who leads them out of the wasteland will definitely stomp these devils underfoot and bury every single one of them in that red soil!

It will definitely happen!

The leader obviously noticed his gaze but smiled indifferently, even provocatively made a gesture toward him, as if to say, "Come out and talk if you dare."

Perhaps there was an order from above, temporarily not allowed to touch this church with a moon hanging on it. Patrols had passed by here several times, and indeed none had come up to knock on the door.

Yet even so, no one dared to relax, as no one could say how long this order would last.

After all, these people were unreasonable, doing whatever they thought of. Wherever they marched was wherever they settled, and changing their minds was as simple as patting their heads.

"...There are too many Weilante people left here, we shouldn't have taken them in."

A believer looked back, swallowed, and said tremblingly.

There were over two hundred Weilante people hiding here, even more than the believers of this place.

Most of them were women, and there were some children. Their eyes were filled with terror.

"This has nothing to do with who they are... We aim to abolish the privileges of the nobles, the privileges of outsiders, not to slaughter defenseless people, otherwise... we will sooner or later become the devils we once feared."

Yishel's words suddenly stopped because he realized this rhetoric couldn't convince anyone.

He was still trying to mimic those guys.

At that moment, he suddenly understood what Mr. Melgio said to him before the sun went down.

Going on like this wouldn't work...

Taking a deep breath, he changed his tone and continued speaking in a narrative style that all Poluo Province people could understand.

"...Think about it, the colonies of the Weilante people aren't too far from here. When the army units come, those outside will die sooner or later. If we want to survive, we have to prove we're innocent... they are the best evidence. If they die, none of us will survive. But as long as they're alive, not only can we live, but our families can live too."

A look of understanding finally appeared in pairs of eyes, and those who were struggling or hesitating settled down, no longer mentioning driving those people away.

At least one person had to remember that not everyone in this city was crazy.

Otherwise, as Yishel said, they might all be buried in the ground, accompanying the madmen in death...

Sitting on the edge of the crowd, Margaret's face was pale, her forehead covered in sweat, still unsettled from the previous scare.

At that time, without thinking, she even left her luggage behind, holding Ruby's hand and running out while the battle was still ongoing, escaping the port area and hiding in this church.

Many others had the same thought, but only about a hundred succeeded.

She couldn't bear to imagine...

What a tragic fate she and Ruby would have met if they had taken a wrong step then...

"Mama..."

"Don't be afraid," Margaret held Ruby's little hand tightly, trying to keep her voice from trembling as she softly comforted her, "it's going to be okay... Aren't you going to play with sister An Su Ya? You'll see her soon, and you don't want her to see a Ruby who cries at the first sign of trouble, do you? She really admires you."

With reddened eyes, Ruby nodded but then shook her head, ultimately holding back the tears that were about to spill, and didn't cry.

Margaret squeezed out a slight smile on her face and gently wiped away her tears.

"So good..."

"Weilante people don't cry; our tears dried up the moment we were born."

The church was silent.

Besides the whispers and quiet sobbing, no one was actually crying out loud.

Looking at the Weilante people hiding in the church, Melgio's face was full of worry.

The elderly nun standing by him said in a very low and soft voice.

"Our food isn't enough for so many people to eat, not even for one meal. And if those rebels find out there are so many Weilante people hidden here... they'll tear everyone here apart."

"I know..."

Melgio stared at the bright moonlight outside the window, sighed softly, and said.

"But I can't just leave these poor people alone..."

Although he hadn't been to the port, just from hearing the piercing screams, he could imagine what had happened there.

Even if he didn't like the Weilante people, even detested the sight of their noses, he still couldn't push these innocent people into the pit of fire... even though he himself was standing at the edge of that pit.

This was not only because of the teachings of the Silver Moon Goddess and the Spirit of the Sand Sea but also because of his conscience.

"I know... We can't abandon them, but letting them stay here isn't a solution," the old nun said, her face full of bitterness, lowering her voice, "we need to find a way to send them out of the city... Only outside the city will they truly be safe."

The rebels had only just seized control of the port and hadn't fully grasped the entire settlement.

If we want to get out of the city, now might be the only chance...

But how could so many Weilante people leave?

Melgio's face was filled with worry, and just then a knock on the door sounded, instantly putting the hearts of everyone in the church in their throats.

"Knock, knock—"

The clear sound of knocking was like the footsteps of death.

Sitting on the bench like her fellow compatriots here, Margaret involuntarily held her breath and tightly gripped her daughter's small hand.

However, at this moment, a low and gentle call floated in from outside the tightly closed door.

"Is Miss Margaret in there? I'm the old servant of Sharma... If you are in there, please respond."

Hearing the voice, Margaret excitedly covered her mouth, then raised her hand to indicate that she was the person being called from outside.

Pairs of eyes looked toward her, including that of Yishel standing at the door.

Yishel was uncertain and looked towards Pastor Melgio standing in the church.

The latter was silent for a moment and then nodded.

"...Open the door."

Staying hidden here would surely lead to death; perhaps the person coming in might have a solution.

As the church door opened, an elderly man with a still sturdy build, accompanied by a man with a cloth wrapped around his arm, walked in.

Seeing the cloth wrapped around the arm, Yishel widened his eyes in an instant, and everyone nearby gripped their weapons.

They're Anush's people!

We can't let this guy go back alive!

As if sensing the murderous intent in those eyes, the old man quickly raised his hand.

"Don't be impulsive... Sahadu is Count Sharma's servant. This is my nephew, named Paven. He may have done something stupid, but I can stake my life on it, he's different from those outsiders, he's had a timely awakening."

The young man named Paven was obviously frightened too, but seeing Sahadu's gaze, he collected himself and hastily explained.

"I... I was forced, those guys kill at sight..."

"How can I trust you." Yishel lowered his voice, tightening his grip on the knife in his hand.

Paven swallowed, speaking with a trembling voice.

"I can't make you trust me... but anyone who's not mad should know those guys are doomed. Not to mention the Alliance won't help them, even that devil Laxi probably won't lend them a hand. I don't want to die... is that reason enough?"

"That's enough, your reasoning is clear," Yishel walked up and patted him on the shoulder, then pulled him aside, "Please forgive my earlier offense, we are forced like you."

After a pause, he continued.

"Do you have a way out?"

Paven nodded swiftly, speaking quickly.

"Yes... I can be considered a Centurion, and in another ten minutes or so, around four in the morning, this street will be under my watch. I'll think of a way to disperse people then. Many have had fun all night at the harbor, I reckon four o'clock will be when patrols are laxest."

Noticing the looks of longing directed at him, Paven felt a slight chill on his scalp, and spoke softly.

"... It's unrealistic for everyone to escape, but a few people should be manageable."

The old butler named Sahadu hurriedly added.

"I have a carriage parked outside the city... It's here to take Lady Margaret and Miss Ruby back."

Margaret asked anxiously.

"Can you get a few more carriages over?"

Sahadu swallowed, nodding quickly.

"It should be possible... but only after returning to the master's estate, I currently have no way to contact the master."

He actually didn't want to stir up more trouble, undertaking a big risk by coming into the city at this critical juncture, a slight oversight could cost him and his nephew their lives.

Margaret bit her lip, holding Ruby's small hand tightly, then gave the maid beside her a look and stood up from the chair.

"Wait for me here... once I'm out, I'll surely bring people to rescue you all!"

She wouldn't abandon her compatriots.

Recently, she's been persuading Count Sharma within their circle.

Didn't that guy always long for ascending to the core power circle of Tiandu with the help of the Vellante people?

This opportunity is right in front of him!

If he can save some people, even if only ten or twenty, once the situation calms down, he could at least be granted a duke's title!

"The Silver Moon Goddess has witnessed your vow... Go, my lady," Melgio said softly, "I trust you won't forget your compatriots."

Margaret earnestly nodded.

"I promise, I swear on my little Ruby—"

No sooner had she finished speaking, a devilish voice abruptly drifted in from outside the door.

Everyone's heart froze at that moment, as if under a spell.

"Ruby? Tsk tsk... What a beautiful name."

...

The Imperial Palace in Tiandu.

Witch Camel was soundly sleeping in the sleeping palace, dreaming sweet dreams of battleships and West Winds currency.

Yet at this moment, a flurry of hurried footsteps and an urgent report suddenly jerked him awake from his dream.

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Rebels, rebels—"

"Rebels?" Quickly sitting up from the bed, Witch Camel hastily tidied himself and glared at the eunuch kneeling on one knee, asking, "Where has the rebellion occurred again?"

The eunuch dared not even breathe heavily, pressing his head firmly against the gold-trimmed plush carpet.

"... West Sail Port! It's West Sail Port!"

West Sail Port?

Witch Camel was momentarily stunned, the broken off sleepiness once again stirred up within him, as he rubbed his brow and spoke.

"Isn't it the Vellante people's territory... Didn't I entrust it to them for management?"

The eunuch, with a bitter expression, continued.

"That's true... But the problem lies with those very Vellante people, those laborers somehow found the courage of bears and leopards, and actually seized the weapons stored in the port warehouse by the Vellante people, capturing West Sail Port!"

Witch Camel's heart suddenly skipped a beat, his mouth hung open as he froze on the bed.

They...

They captured the Vellante people's port?!

He himself had no idea that those inferiors under him were even capable of such a feat!

No—

If they were truly this formidable, how could they have fared so poorly on Ten Peaks Mountain?

Due to the Expeditionary Army's utter embarrassment, he hadn't even bothered to issue a decree to recall them, instead letting them stay on the small enclave the Empire had in the Haiye Province.

Seeing the stunned expression of the Emperor, the eunuch stammered.

"Those rebels have already occupied the port... The Vellante people residing there are now in grave danger, I'm concerned the Army will shift their anger onto us, we should devise a plan to save the people there."

Witch Camel, coming back to his senses, instinctively thought of seeking aid from the Army, but quickly realized that both Governor Hue and General McCullen had gone home for the holidays.

To be precise, for the "Birthdate" celebration following New Year's second weekend.

Witch Camel got out of bed, pacing back and forth anxiously.

Suddenly, he had a revelation and hurriedly walked to the eunuch, looking down at him and asking.

"Where are the soldiers General McCullen trained? Aren't there some still in Lion State?"

The eunuch said with a mournful face.

"Those are just some officers and non-commissioned officers, even combined they barely make a force over 1000, not enough to counter those rebels..."

Witch Camel anxiously asked.

"Just how many rebels are there!"

"I, I'm not sure... The exact number is unclear, some reports say fifty to sixty thousand, others say over a hundred thousand." The eunuch swallowed hard, speaking in a panic, "Your Majesty... Issue a decree, dispatching your Imperial Guard troops is the only way to potentially eliminate those guys!"

In Witch Camel's mind, thoughts were racing swiftly, he absolutely couldn't ignore this matter.

If he turned a blind eye, the Vellante people would most certainly hold him accountable later.

However, he not only had to consider the Vellante people's safety, but also his own!

Right now, the Grey Wolf Army was engaged in Mammoth State, leaving the Imperial Guard as his last line of defense.

If he dispatched his Imperial Guard, who would then protect his safety?

Rely on Tiandu's city defense army?

The most disgraceful part of the Western Empire is this bunch of things, those muddy-smelling paupers are completely useless!

Sending the city defense army over is obviously no good either, that's almost equivalent to sending people to their deaths.

Choosing the lesser evil, Witch Camel gritted his teeth and made a decisive decision.

"Assemble the Lion State's local troops!"

The eunuch was taken aback for a moment, he remembered that the emperor had repeatedly emphasized not only to guard against the Alliance but also to guard against local forces taking the opportunity to grow.

Both would harm the Empire fundamentally.

If the local army in Lion State is assembled, isn't that equivalent to replicating another Tiger State and Leopard State to the west?!

The local nobles would certainly be happy to recruit soldiers, but wanting those soldiers to lay down arms and return to fields would be difficult.

"But——"

"Lion State has the Weilante people, the local forces are not enough to fear even if they grow, no need to say more, just do as I say!" Witch Camel's eyes gleamed with determination, which made the eunuch kneeling on the ground trembled.

He wasn't scared wet by the emperor's majestic aura, he rarely peed without the aid of a pipe, but every decision made by his respected emperor was never for good, he worried this time would be the same.

How about discussing it with the cabinet before deciding?

He indeed thought so in his heart but dared not say anything, could only respond timidly.

"Yes..."

Just as the emperor's edict and messengers were rushing towards Lion State on horseback, the Sun of the second day had freshly descended upon the blood-stained port.

The stench of rot spread across the entire wharf, attracting countless flies and rats, and the vultures soaring in the sky...

No one could count how many people died last night, but one thing certain is the purge was thorough enough, even that Kent in Giant Stone City, who inwardly looked down upon the Workers' Association and thought they were no different from the Inner City Nobles, would be left speechless.

Enough people died this time.

And it was thorough enough.

Just felt... something was slightly off.

Thus, the bloody revelry continued for two days and nights.

Until the third morning, Anush finally remembered what he needed to do and recognized all his supporters, then raised his arm and, with the slaves who broke free from their shackles and chains, left the city, saying they were going to rescue more slaves.

Slavery had to be abolished, as proven by the examples of West Sail Port and Jinjaron Harbor, in this world, there exists a chain more reliable than a contract, and in the future, the new Empire must use this thing.

Thinking about what he had to do made him tremble with excitement, his face glowing red.

It was at this time that he suddenly felt the title of "King" was too small to describe his achievements.

So, he bestowed it upon his subordinates and even divided thirteen kings corresponding to the thirteen states of Poluo Province.

As for himself, he proclaimed himself as the Heavenly King, the only king under the heaven!

To make his title sound more impressive, he incorporated legends of the celestial wolf devouring the sun, saying that the Wolf Tribe had long awaited this moment, and he was the one chosen by the Wolf God.

As for the future capital of the new Empire, it would be set in Wolf State, his hometown.

He gathered no less than two hundred thousand under his command, mostly slaves and serfs.

They weren't all from West Sail Port, some were from nearby estates.

Ironically, the dock workers who started the fire were actually the minority in the ranks...

That was inevitable.

After all, although West Sail Port gathered 99% of Lion State's wealth, its population only accounted for a little more than one-ninth of the entire state.

All the rebels knew they couldn't stir up trouble with just that number, they must involve more people and spread the fire further, only then could they have a hope to survive!

Moreover, since they decided to take major action, they naturally couldn't call themselves rebels.

Anush quickly gave his organization a name, calling it the Heavenly King Salvation Army, abbreviated as the Heavenly Army!

It might sound rustic, but being intimidating was enough, after all, his subordinates weren't literate folks.

And most importantly, he himself couldn't think of a better name and could only cram something awe-inspiring in.

To be honest, this name did surprise a man who had just returned to City of Dawn from the southern sea area for New Year's.

Heavenly Army!

This name sounded like "Celestial Weather"?

When the intelligence about the "Heavenly Army" finally reached Chu Guang, it was already the fourth morning after the "West Sail Port Massacre" occurred.

Which was New Year's Day of the Wasteland Era 214.

Meanwhile, the thousand team led by Ross finally approached West Sail Port, ready to start offering support.

The mission involved two transport ships, one supply ship, and one shallow water heavy artillery boat.

Despite being called coastal ships, these things could actually sail in open sea.

The Army didn't master Mind Interference Technology, but specific frequency sound waves emitted by sonar devices could also drive off some dangerous Variants.

After unloading supplies, the two transport ships and one supply ship were set to immediately start evacuation missions.

While the shallow water heavy artillery boat would stay by the shore for support.

The plan was perfect.

It's just a pity that no matter how you looked at it, they came too late...

Gazing at the chaotic and bloody port, Ross felt a wave of dizziness, almost fainting.

With his hands gripping the railing of the ship's railing tightly to steady himself, the paint chips dug into the flesh.

Standing next to him, McCullen, with a similarly grim expression, was holding binoculars, staring coldly at the port.

On top of the Governor's Mansion stood a charred flagpole, strung with a corpse almost completely picked apart by crows, leaving only bones and scraps of flesh...

And more remained on the open space, blood nearly dyed every brick red.

It seemed to be a provocation to the Army.

More laughably, there were a few of their 100mm cannons gifted to the locals still set at the port.

Those toothpick-like things just stood there, motionless, facing them.

The artillerymen and soldiers squatting at the port seemed to pay no heed to the four ships at all.

"Beasts..."

Chewing on the word a thousand times, Ross finally let go of the almost twisted railing, looking behind him.

It wasn't just him.

On the deck, all the soldiers were ignited with fury, eyes glaring with rage, their faces steely as cold as blades.

"Looters..."

Ross pointed a trembling finger in the direction of the port, his expression gradually twisted.

Then, he quickly pulled the walkie-talkie hanging on his shoulder and roared in nearly a howl.

"Naval guns! Load shells!"

"Fire at will——!!!"

"Keep firing until I say stop!!"

Chapter 824: Hell and Paradise Are Separated by Only a Few Thousand Kilometers

Just as the reinforcements led by Ross approached the port, the Heavenly King soldiers stationed at West Sail Port were also eagerly waiting, ready to teach these big-nosed ones a lesson.

The one responsible for commanding the first line of defense was Colonel Imran.

At this moment, he was holding a telescope supplied by the Vellante people, "secretly observing" the four warships coming from afar.

Three seemed to be transport ships, and the other blackish object should be a warship, but it was too far to see clearly what the situation was.

Seeing only one warship, Imran felt slightly relieved.

It seems just as His Majesty Anush said, the army couldn't send many people over.

In fact, until four days ago, he was a centurion of the city defense force, living a carefree life of fishing and fooling around on odd days, and bullying men and lording over women on even days.

However, because his superior deserted in the face of battle, they switched sides to join the rebels almost without firing a shot.

Actually, they couldn't be blamed for not resisting.

Due to West Winds' unique "ecological environment," the Tiandu had to maintain strict vigilance over local forces, while the local nobles had no interest in maintaining troops they couldn't command.

Therefore, in the West Winds Empire, the city defense forces, unloved by anyone, were inherently the weakest in combat power. Despite having "city defense" in their name, they usually engaged in activities completely unrelated to defense, like bullying poor farmers, street vendors, or other thugs like themselves.

Anush, from the Grey Wolf Army, actually looked down on them.

However, perhaps for the purpose of amassing more forces, or perhaps out of necessity due to a lack of usable forces, he eventually accepted them as they were.

Not only that.

This merciful Heavenly King not only retained the former officers of the city defense force, but generously promoted and even prioritized them, awarding them the prosperous West Sail Port!

Imran could see that their Heavenly King had grand ambitions!

This noble Heavenly King truly intended to overthrow that decadent and incompetent empire!

They actually had an opportunity.

Currently, the empire's ace forces were in the distant Mammoth State, unable and unlikely to return for defense.

On the other hand, their Heavenly King, relying on the legendary tale of the wolf devouring the sun and the declaration of liberation for all slaves, managed to raise a massive army of 200,000 in just a few days!

Even though this army was of uneven quality, and had severe issues with equipment and supplies, its sheer size and high morale couldn't be underestimated!

They were like a snowball rolling from a mountain peak, growing ever larger and mightier, destined to become an avalanche sweeping away all in its path!

If this guy really succeeded, he would at least have accomplished a grand feat for the Dragon!

Who knows, he might even become a Count...

While Imran was daydreaming, a distant cannon shot suddenly jolted him back to reality.

With a thrill, he instinctively used all his strength, grabbed the walkie-talkie, and shouted loudly.

"It's the army! The Vellante people! Those big-nosed ones are here! Everyone, prepare for battle——!"

That loud voice instantly spread across the entire battlefield through the blaring broadcast.

Encouraged by that hoarse voice, a chorus of shouts arose along the entire line of defense.

"Oh oh oh!!"

"Damn Vellante people!"

"F them! Show these big-nosed ones what we're made of!!"

The noisy voices, like the squeaks of mice, were still clamoring for battle, unaware of the impending disaster.

The first to launch an attack was the 380mm naval gun on the Shallow Water Heavy Artillery Boat.

A long flame shot skyward from the pitch-black steel deck, like a sword piercing the sky, or a thunderbolt splitting the heavens!

When the deafening roar pushed away layer upon layer of waves, the little mice guarding the port finally realized just what kind of enemy they were facing.

No one had ever dared to provoke these warriors born for war.

"Boom——!!!"

Boiling lava exploded on the brick-paved road!

Chunks of brick flew up like scallions pulled from dry land, and the sweeping shockwave instantly sullied the entire street!

The two 100mm cannons mounted at the street corner had no time to fire, not even fully seeing the target's shadow before being crushed into twisted scrap metal by the searing shockwave.

The gunners and loaders crouched nearby didn't have time to let out a scream before being pulverized into bits along with the shattered shop windows on both sides of the street.

As for those unlucky ones on the edge of the explosion, they lay in the ruins like torn rags.

Being half-dead was the worst.

The wounded convulsed, trembling, struggling amidst the rubble…

"Ah..."

"My...leg..."

"Aaaah!"

"Help...don't...I don't want to die..."

The entire port was silent as death.

Only the crackling of breaking beams and the howling wails from the enveloping smoke remained.

Some clutched their broken legs, crying bitterly, while others curled up like shrimp balls, and some futilely tried to stuff their protruding intestines back into their bellies…

The Heavenly King soldiers holding guns were all stunned in place.

Faced with the street that had instantly turned into ruins, they were momentarily at a loss for words.

What...was that?

It seemed like only the blink of an eye.

The defensive line they had spent two days and nights constructing had been tossed skyward like crumpled paper.

Half of the hundred-man squad was wiped out in an instant, without even seeing where the Vellante were…

"Thud—"

A "black rain" suddenly started falling from the sky.

Previously flung stones and mud "whooshed" down, hitting the soldiers' cover, their helmets, even slipping into their collars…

Jolting countless from their slumber!

Standing on the front lines, Colonel Imran stood with his mouth open, completely oblivious that his pants were already wet.

He finally understood why Anush had hastily left this place.

His thoughts at this moment mirrored those of that guy, just like those of his former superior!

In the end, his former superior was the truly wise one, the guy who was always low-key was more aware than anyone else.

That guy knew from the very beginning, from the moment the rebels occupied the port district, that West Sail Port was doomed, that regardless of whether they resisted or not, they were dead for sure!

If that's the case, why resist at all?

Better to escape and save one's life!

Imran opened his mouth, suppressing the panic on his face, and shouted loudly with false bravado.

"…Don't, none of you panic! We have the numbers here! They only have three… oh no, four ships! If they've got any guts, let them land and see!"

Even if just to buy himself some time to escape, he needed those little mice on the front line to hold out.

With his mouth shooting bold words, he started to back away, finally tossing the radio, connected to the broadcast, to his also trembling deputy, leaving the task of commanding the soldiers to him.

Just as he prayed, he managed to flee the front-line command post in a panic, leaving behind a trail of terrified men.

And just as he had hoped, Anush really had no intention of coming ashore.

At least not now.

The earlier shell was just an adjustment shot.

After confirming the impact point, that thick long barrel spat fire once again—and repeatedly!

The roaring shells covered the entire port, blasting the garrison huddled in the buildings, making them scurry away like rats with their heads in their hands, screaming incoherently.

West Sail Port was not a military port and inherently lacked any solid fortresses or bunkers.

As for the marble buildings brought here by the Weilante people, they offered no protection whatsoever for the mice hiding inside; in front of the 380mm heavy cannon, they collapsed almost instantly.

Like tofu smashed by a knife!

When the third shell fell, the morale of the Heavenly King's thousand troops stationed at the port was utterly shattered.

After all, most of the people here didn't really know why they were fighting, or what victory or defeat would mean; they just thought they might win.

It wasn't until the moment the shelling started that they realized how abstract the muddle in their heads really was; real war was nothing like they imagined!

However, it was too late to regret...

The roar of the cannon fire didn't stop for their fear and wailing, instead, it rolled over them, straight into the nearby city area.

Not only did the garrison suffer heavy casualties, the civilians in the city did as well. They had recently been ravaged by the rebels, and now the Weilante people were giving them a beating again.

The cannon fire lasted for more than ten minutes, and the once bustling port was engulfed in thick smoke.

"Enough!"

McCullen reached out and grabbed Ross's shoulder, turning his face around.

Ross's eyes were blood-red, like a demon crawling out of hell, his mouth twitching.

"Enough... enough? It's not enough at all! You saw it too! Look what they've done! These beasts... I want to slaughter them all! They must pay for their blood with blood!"

He yelled hysterically, every inch of muscle on his face trembling.

In the end, he didn't really need to obey McCullen's order, and at this moment he had forgotten the respect a subordinate should have for their superior.

McCullen didn't reproach him for his rudeness, after all, his feelings were the same.

"I agree with you, but don't forget, that's our port."

McCullen stared intently at him, his eyes cold, using a bit more force with the hands gripping his shoulders.

"Besides, don't you think execution by cannon is too cheap for these beasts?"

Ross was momentarily stunned; although his breathing was still heavy, he was no longer as frantic as before.

McCullen continued slowly.

"Don't you have 'Gray People' mercenaries... I have a good idea for them. They think they're so brave, let's see just how brave they really are."

Saying this, a cruel sneer gradually appeared on his tense lips.

Seeing that brutal smile, Ross suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

He understood what this guy wanted to do.

No wonder he's a savage from the Eastern Legion, his methods of torture are truly extraordinary.

However...

This seemed like a good idea.

Ross's lips also curled up with a cruel arc, reaching a consensus with this demon from the Eastern Legion.

Indeed...

Execution by cannon was too cheap for them.

How about hand-to-hand combat with Mutants?

Based on his understanding of the "Gray People," those beasts would tear them apart piece by piece, and slowly so, to keep the food as fresh as possible...

He didn't want to see those guys on the shore as humans anymore, he only wanted to slaughter them all in the most brutal way!

Controlling his sneer, McCullen patted his shoulder, then looked towards the coastline.

"...Even if there's one Weilante survivor left, we have to rescue them."

"Relieving our anger is enough, now it's time for our boys to shine."

...

With the cannon fire stopped, two fully loaded transport ships charged toward the port.

The soldiers standing on the decks were already boiling with fury, gripping their rifles tightly, wishing they could devour those beasts on the shore whole!

The "Clearance" team stood at the front, the big guys clad in heavy bullet-proof armor holding flamethrowers and rotary machine guns.

These big guys were Weilante people who had failed their awakening; the unstable segments buried in their DNA endowed them with extraordinary resilience and strength, but it took away their intelligence.

Yet even those dumb faces were filled with bloodthirsty rage at this moment.

"Roar—!"

A big guy roared, resting the rotary gun on his knee, and unleashed a storm-like rain of bullets with a howl!

Crushed by the storm-like firepower and unable to lift their heads, the Heavenly King soldiers huddled behind the barricades couldn't fight back at all, and could only poke their rifles out of cover and randomly fire.

This tactic might work in street combat, but over a hundred meters away, the bullets either flew to the sky or hit the ground.

Aside from wasting ammunition, they were essentially useless!

The beachhead fire emplacement was quickly set up, and the first landing hundred-man team immediately divided into ten squads, deploying in three echelons to charge the ruins plowed by cannon fire.

Not long after, bursts of gunfire and cries of agony echoed from the ruins.

A Weilante soldier first shot off a Heavenly King soldier's leg through a wall, then smashed his gun stock into the latter's forehead amidst his pleas.

"Scum! What's the point of attacking civilians, have the ability to come at me! Get up for me!!!"

The man shouted as he slammed the gun stock into the bloody face, just like pounding garlic, stopping only when a comrade pulled him back behind cover.

"That's enough, this beast is already dead!"

Skillfully reloading, that man's face was also filled with hatred, squeezing words through clenched teeth.

"...There are still many alive."

"Kill!!!"

These Weilante soldiers went mad from killing, slaughtering almost everyone they saw!

Shooting with guns, roasting with fire, smashing with stocks, stabbing with bayonets!

Treading over broken windows and streets, they used all methods of killing as they rushed towards the faces of the Heavenly King soldiers!

Faced with these frenzied Weilante people, the soldiers of the Heavenly King army were scared out of their wits, losing their earlier bravado.

Initially, they tried to make a desperate struggle, but upon realizing they couldn't win, they immediately tore off the bandages on their arms, threw down their weapons, and fled for their lives.

Just like when they hastily wrapped bandages back then, they discarded this conveniently adopted belief as if it were worthless.

After all, this battle couldn't be considered balanced from the start.

Most of the garrison here were civilians a few days ago, just learning how to fire and aim a gun.

If they truly had the courage to fight unflinchingly, or a faith worth dying for, these flaws wouldn't be so deadly; risking their lives could still take some down with them.

But clearly, they didn't.

At least most of those who died here didn't.

On the other hand, they were facing "genetic soldiers" produced using Prosperity Epoch technology!

Not to mention these Weilante people's strength, physique, and reflexes were already about 20% higher than ordinary people's, equivalent to an extra "attribute point" in strength, constitution, and agility. Those standing here weren't ordinary Weilante people; they were well-trained soldiers!

Although the proportion of Awakeners in the Army is not as exaggerated as the dozens of Armies in the Alliance, they too have crawled out from the hell of iron and fire.

And this mob that only dares to wield blades at the weak is naturally no match for these devils!

Watching the Heavenly King Soldiers scrambling away with their tails between their legs, the bloodthirsty Vellante Soldiers roared and chased after them, firing and shouting all the while.

"Damn it... weren't you quite capable? Why are you running? Come on! Pick up your guns!"

Bullets whizzed behind them, and the Heavenly King Soldiers, having torn off their insignias, dared not stop—they ran wildly across the Wasteland like a pack of crazed rats.

Two decimated ten-man squads were driven, seemingly by unspoken agreement, into a collapsed manor on the second floor.

Terrified out of their wits, they reflexively pointed guns at each other, almost starting a friendly fire incident.

Just then, the Weilante people arrived at the door. In a panic, they lifted up a cabinet lying in the glass house to block the door and the windows on the front wall. Then they found a piece of white cloth, put it on a broken chair leg, and extended it out of a window.

"We surrender!"

"S-sir... we won't dare again!! Please spare us!!"

"We are... we are from the City Defense! We weren't with them, it was that Anush who forced us to fight you!"

The two soldiers at the door exchanged glances and grinned. One pulled out a grenade, but the other pushed his hand back down and patted the incendiary grenade hanging from his waist.

"Use this one."

Removing the safety pin, the soldier standing against the door wedged open a crack in the sealed window and deftly tossed the item inside. He then filled the gap in the window barricade.

A cacophony of weird screams erupted from inside, like rats in a flooded Rat Hole.

Dazzling and deadly flames burst like fireworks, trailing acrid smoke that danced wickedly, igniting everything flammable inside the room.

Screams of agony rang out as the burning heavenly soldiers attempted to move the cabinet blocking the door, only to be kicked back into the flames by the guard standing at the entrance.

Crying echoed across the battlefield.

This was no longer combat—it was a one-sided slaughter...

As the Weilante people continued to land, this slaughter lasted from dawn until noon.

When McCullen and Ross and their group set foot on the port, the entire harbor was virtually dyed red with blood.

In the end, the Weilante people suffered nearly a hundred casualties, while nearly five thousand of the twenty thousand Heavenly King Soldiers defending the port were killed, with the rest mostly fleeing into the various districts of the Settlement to hide.

West Sail Port was still a settlement of nearly a million people. Even after the Heavenly King Army's disturbance, about seven to eight hundred thousand remained.

Ross first reported the local situation to Evernight Harbor and called for reinforcements and supplies. Then he dispatched three hundred-man teams to block the main exits from the Settlement and issued a "shoot to kill anyone daring to approach the checkpoints" order.

Blood debts must be paid in blood.

Their revenge had only just begun...

Like other high-ranking Heavenly King Soldiers stationed in the Settlement, Colonel Imran did not manage to escape the city nor hide himself before he was captured and returned to where he had fought.

To be precise, he was voluntarily handed over by the residents of West Sail Port.

The bloodthirsty Weilante people had terrified everyone—no one dared to harbor this guy.

Kneeling on the port's tiles.

Imran trembled, looking up at the two Weilante officers standing before him, trying to plead for his life.

"S-sir..."

"I-I was forced... I really had nothing to do with that night! It was that guy named Anush... they were the ones plundering in the Port District! I-I can help you—"

McCullen didn't even glance at this miserable dog. He merely removed the cigar from his mouth, exhaled a smoke ring.

Then suddenly he reached out, grabbed the guy's head, and forcefully pressed the burning cigar into his left eye, grinding it in.

"Sssss—"

"Aaahhhh!!!"

Pig-like shrieks echoed in the room, instantly overpowering the sizzling sound of the Maillard reaction as blood extinguished the cigar's ember.

McCullen tossed the blood-stained cigar into the sea, then gripped his hair, lifting his head.

"Did I ask you?"

With his face covered in blood, Imran trembled, convulsing as if electrocuted, gulping large breaths of air like a fish thrown ashore.

"You have one eye left," McCullen said, coldly staring into his remaining eye, "Answer what I ask, understand?"

"Y-yes! Oh no, understood! I understand, sir!" Imran nodded weakly with all his strength.

Disgusted, McCullen tossed him on the ground. Watching the writhing worm-like figure, he coldly asked all the questions he wanted.

This included everyone involved that night, the masterminds, how many died, how they died, and how many survived, etc.

Imran spilled everything he knew.

After getting the information he wanted, McCullen nodded and swiftly drew his pistol, firing a shot into that dumbfounded face.

He never promised to spare him, but cooperating did lessen his suffering.

"Bury him according to local customs."

"Yes!"

The nearby soldier stood at attention, saluted, and then dragged the corpse away like a dead dog.

"Ten thousand a day, it would take two months... tch," Ross clicked his tongue, his anger unabated, clenching his fists furiously, "Damn it... why not request a strategic nuclear warhead."

If they kept killing at this rate, he wouldn't get home in time for a birthday reunion.

"Forget it, you'd have to rebuild the port," said McCullen, taking off his gloves and casually tossing them into the sea, before lighting a new cigar.

Although this colony boosted the civil official group's performance, it ultimately belonged to the Weilante people.

After exhaling a smoke ring, he paused and continued coldly.

"Just replace the dirty blood."

"We still want the land."

...

On the Wasteland, the distribution of information transmission speed is as uneven as that of wealth.

This is not only limited by the level of technology but also largely restricted by infrastructure development, orbital debris, and radiation layers interfering with electromagnetic signals, among other issues.

Due to reasons like these, some places on the Wasteland have even restored the "Internet of Everything" from the Prosperity Epoch, enabling 24-hour, anywhere high-intensity internet surfing, and even fridge access.

While other places still rely on telegraphs or even more primitive methods to exchange information, highlighting a sense of purity.

For these reasons.

The massacre at West Sail Port was only known to the executioners who fired and the unfortunate souls who took the bullets.

On the morning of the first day of the Wasteland Era 214, most Settlements within the Alliance were still immersed in festive joy.

The previous night, the City of Dawn set off fireworks for a whole two hours to celebrate the New Year.

And those Survivor Settlements with good relations with the Alliance, not only followed suit by celebrating New Year's Eve and the Eve, but also broadcast the fireworks feast on their TVs or other media devices!

The joyous atmosphere lasted until the next morning.

Just a few hours before the Weilante people launched their attack on West Sail Port, the streets of the City of Dawn were bustling with excitement.

Whether local Residents or visiting Waste Land Wanderers, everyone had gotten up early and gathered at the City's square of Dawn.

Despite the snowfall from the whole night before, it didn't dampen the enthusiasm in people's hearts.

Pairs of eyes filled with excitement and joy gazed unwaveringly at the center of the square.

In that focused gaze stood an azure power armor.

On that resolute and handsome face was a smile as refreshing as a spring breeze. He gently waved to the people watching him, as if greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

At that moment, the people's enthusiasm was completely ignited, and small flags waved like waves, erupting into enthusiastic cheers throughout the square.

"Long live the Manager!!"

"Long live the Alliance!!!"

Of course.

Aside from those uniform shouts, there were some unique voices.

Mainly coming from the players.

"Brother Guang is awesome!!"

"Brother Guang, look at me! Brother Guang!"

"Do you remember the garbage dump by Rhombus Lake? I helped you pick up junk there!"

"Daddy, give me a glance!"

"Get out of here, stop trying to curry favor!"

"Wow... the NPCs in this game are ridiculously handsome, just about half as good-looking as me."

"Gag!!!"

Though some NPCs in the Alliance had learned Mandarin, like Boss Xia had.

However, due to the abstract nature of the players' statements, even Little Fish, who had learned Mandarin early on, couldn't understand them.

Pai, standing in the crowd, tiptoed curiously to peer over at the Residents of the refuge.

"What's that person shouting over there?"

Little Fish, who wasn't initially very attentive, closed his eyes and listened carefully for a moment, then said seriously.

"Sounds like they're shouting to have Brother Chu's babies."

Pai was momentarily stunned and turned his head back.

"Huh? But that guy is a man?"

Little Fish's eyebrows shot up instantly.

"That's not okay!"

Standing next to them, Alyssa laughed helplessly and said.

"Let's not even discuss whether it's possible... but that's simply not doable."

Crossing her arms, Heya smiled subtly and gently pushed the glasses on her nose.

"From a technical standpoint..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Boss Xia, standing nearby, covered her mouth.

"Alright, alright, no more technical talk, I don't want to hear it, thank you!"

Standing here were not only residents of the Alliance but also many Waste Land Wanderers who had come from far and other Survivor Forces' residents.

The legend of the Alliance Managers was no longer limited to just the Alliance or River Valley Province.

The returning Allied forces and all those yearning for order had already spread the tales of him and the Residents of Shelter No. 404 to every corner of the Wasteland.

Those stories, like dandelion seeds, took root and sprouted on unfamiliar lands.

And those who yearned for him, at this moment, came here with a pilgrimage heart.

Many traveled from far-off Ideal City or even Triumph City just to see him in person, to see what this guy leading the Allied forces to victory looked like.

"...Is that the Manager of the Alliance?"

"He actually looks quite young."

"I thought he'd be an old man... but he looks just in his early twenties."

"Could it be that he has lived a long time and it just doesn't show?"

"Are you saying like the old men at the Academy?"

"Can't say for sure, who knows about these things."

A few Weilante people, arms crossed, stood at the edge of the square crowd, gazing at the figure standing at the center.

Not far from them, a few survivors from Ideal City were chattering animatedly with some mercenaries from the Free State nearby.

"I heard on Walker's Prairie, he smashed a Pioneer wearing Bio Power Armor with a single blow!"

"He also personally went to the front lines?!"

"Hahaha, he has loads of legendary feats. If you have time, just ask around any bar in the City of Dawn, and those drunks can boast about him for a whole day."

"Incredible..."

"Sounds like bragging."

"Cough! I can't vouch for other things, but this one is absolutely true. To tell you something, I served in the 100th Mountain Division before, and I saw it with my own eyes!"

In the midst of the overheated chatter, the eight o'clock bell chimed precisely in the square.

That was the most radiant moment of the day.

Standing at the very center of the square, Chu Guang glanced around at the expectant faces and began to speak in a solemn but warm voice, offering New Year's Day greetings to the eagerly awaiting crowd.

"Today is the Wasteland Era year 214, over two centuries since we lost everything and fell from heaven into the abyss."

"But at this moment, I'm not here to mourn two centuries of decline, but to commemorate the just-passed Wasteland Era year 213—"

"A whole year of history written by our own hands!"

"...In the past year, we not only conquered the Lair that had plagued this land for over two hundred years, but also sowed the Seeds of civilization to the distant south and expelled the plagues, chaos, and savagery that leered at our prosperity."

"This road has not been easy; it has been fraught with hardship, obstacles, and death. More than once we stood at the crossroads of fate, falling into chaos and division."

"But fortunately, we did not give up. Instead, united as one, we set aside all disputes, stood side by side for a shared destiny, and together forged that line of defense guarding the boundaries and dignity of human civilization. We have been fighting for it until this very moment, until we claimed our final victory!"

"This great and glorious victory is not only for the Alliance but also for those who fought alongside us and all who dream and hope to end the Wasteland Era!"

"Now we face new challenges, including resolving unresolved disputes, extending the path we've illuminated, and sowing the Seeds of civilization to farther places, and nurturing them to grow and mature."

"I believe we have the capability and determination to fulfill all hypotheses for tomorrow. Our predecessors have left us enough experience, blueprints, and inspiration. It's time to take the torch from their hands and continue to pass on this flame!"

"The Wasteland Era will end with us; this long-overdue victory, two centuries in waiting, will ultimately belong to us!"

"Belonging to all united survivors!"

As Chu Guang finished his words, a thunderstorm of applause and thundering cheers and acclamations erupted in the square.

Looking at the vibrant and youthful faces, Chu Guang smiled and waved, then handed over the hosting of the celebration to the master of ceremonies waiting behind him, announcing the official start of the celebration.

As always, Chu Guang didn't plan to take up too much of the people's time.

After handing out Medals of honor to the players, he left the square belonging to all survivors amidst the flowers and applause.

He always felt that on such a day worth celebrating, people should spend more time with their families rather than focusing on him.

Besides, he needed some private time to deal with life and interpersonal relationship matters and to wander around this Survivor Settlement.

Especially the latter.

He wanted to spend more time to see how people had been during his absence and what new antics his adorable little players had come up with.

However, just as Chu Guang was pondering where to grab a meal first, Lu Bei, following behind him, suddenly seemed to get some news, and his expression immediately turned serious.

Quickening his steps to Chu Guang's side, he whispered in a low voice.

"Sir... something big has happened!"

Chapter 825: The Alliance's Duty

"This guy has quite a bit of popularity..."

At the edge of Dawn City Square, Centurion Bennott wore a perfunctory smile, symbolically clapping his hands as he watched the power armor step down to the center of the square.

If it were a year ago, he probably wouldn't have taken Chu Guang's formal words seriously.

But today, standing here, he couldn't help but feel many waves in his heart.

Although this guy indeed boasted a lot, painting many fragrant visions that seemed better in theory than in practice.

The interesting thing is, looking back from the present, all of those grand visions have without exception become reality, or at the very least, are slowly becoming reality.

Now that the Alliance's previous phase plan has been completed, he has quickly guided those who paused towards the next direction.

In some sense, the things he mentioned just now are precisely what the Alliance will do in the next phase.

For example, resolving pending disputes and allowing the Sticky Community, which has already served its purpose, to continue to function... in fact, the reason they haven't initiated another war is precisely due to the role of the Sticky Community.

For instance, using the technology of the Prosperity Epoch to recreate majestic spectacles, to reproduce the miracles of the past era—that space elevator is the most direct representation, and it's said they've successfully brought the company of Ideal City into the fold.

They are already doing it.

Seeing those people striving for the same goal, Bennott actually felt a tinge of envy in his heart.

The Weilante people are not lacking in strength, with their vast territories they are powerful.

However, because everyone is exerting effort in different directions, they have been disintegrating into countless factions of various sizes from many years ago.

The current Army is like a bloated and aging giant, though its gaze is still sharp, its body has become sluggish.

He has had such a feeling more than once, but he can't think of any solution.

If only the respected Marshal could lead the Weilante people step by step like him, it would be great.

It is said that it was like that in the distant past.

But suddenly, from one day on, that respected person gradually faded from their sight, hurriedly leaving the future to those who had no idea where to go...

Just as Bennott's thoughts unconsciously drifted back to many years ago, a gentle cough suddenly came from beside him.

"Mr. Bennott, I'm sorry to interrupt you in such an informal setting."

Bennott turned to look and saw a face he found annoying, immediately frowning unconsciously.

This person is Cheng Yan, the Foreign Minister of the Alliance, and the "lifelong enemy" of Duke Garava.

However, after all, he is not Duke Garava, as a diplomat, he still maintained basic professionalism and demeanor.

Especially when he noticed that the expression on this Foreign Minister's face seemed a bit anxious.

Realizing that this guy needed something from him, Bennott suddenly became spirited, not only easing his frown but also displaying an extremely pleasant smile.

"Oh, isn't this the Foreign Minister of the Alliance? It's really rare to see you, what wind blew you here today?"

Hearing the sarcastic tone, Cheng Yan's brow twitched.

This guy.

He couldn't possibly think that I'm here to ask him for help, could he?

Before coming here, Cheng Yan was not sure if Bennott was aware of what happened on the Empire's West Coast four days ago. After all, the speed of information spread in the area beyond Silver Moon Bay has always been a mystery, and it was merely a coincidence that the Alliance learned about it.

But now, Cheng Yan could basically confirm that this guy had no idea what happened there. Otherwise, he wouldn't be leisurely attending the Alliance's celebration here; he would definitely be urgently rushing to deal with the aftermath.

Seeing that Bennott, unaware of the impending disaster, Cheng Yan remained composed, smiled slightly, and replied.

"You're joking again. Although you never make appointments, don't knock on the door, and love to cut in line, when have we ever turned you away?"

Bennott's expression showed slight displeasure, raising his chin slightly.

Is this the attitude of someone asking for a favor?

"Go ahead, what do you need?" Although he said this, he had already decided internally whether or not to cooperate.

"It's not that we need something, it's you who have the issue."

Not beating around the bush, Cheng Yan stared at the bewildered Bennott and continued, word by word.

"Your West Sail Port is in big trouble."

...

On the boundless sea, a fleet of eight cargo ships had approached the East Coast of Poluo Province and was slowly sailing along the coastline towards the southernmost tip of the land.

Three newcomers, ninety percent new, stood at the bow of the ship, using a "dialect" only they could understand to engage in sporadic exchanges.

"Damn! It looks like there's a celebration in Dawn City!"

"It doesn't matter, anyway, it's the same activities as the previous years, we've already watched it on the official website."

"+1."

"But I heard there's a lot of people this year. Last year, there were only two or three hundred thousand people, and this year, it directly broke a million."

"On the second day, there's a Wasteland Survival Gear Expo, spearheaded by Goblin Technology. I've heard they've got quite a lot of impressive new gear."

"That 'impressive' gear should probably come with quotation marks..."

"+10086."

"Hard to say. Besides Mosquito Brother, Factory No. 81, Huge Rock Military Industry, and other reputable organizations are also participating. People on the forum are saying that there might be a new prosthetic design by Yibers on the exhibition list... That guy spent the whole last year experimenting on Strength Type beasts, maybe he's come up with something hardcore this time!"

"Damn! I'm kind of tempted."

"I heard that Vine Cottage teamed up with several major clothing design companies from North Street to put together a fashion art show, held right at the Convention Center... The models are said to be bionics from Ideal City, and they even got sponsorship from the Kang Mao Group."

"...Damn! Is there an airport in West Sail Port? Wuwuwu, I want to go back to the City of Dawn!"

"How could there possibly be one!"

"Forget it, forget it... There's always next year, at worst I'll go next year."

"True... with the money you have, even if you went, you'd only be there for the excitement. Better to focus on making some money first."

The three of them sighed in unison. Suddenly, they lost the desire to stay online any longer and all turned around to head back into the cabin, agreeing to meet in Ionia later.

In this Wasteland OL game, everything's great. You can't fault it in terms of freedom or realism, but traveling on the map is just painfully slow, and it doesn't even have a 'teleport' function."

They've been drifting at sea for over a week now, and what's worse is they still have three more days to go before reaching their destination. And on the ship, the only things to do are either staring blankly at the sea or drinking and playing cards with the sailors.

This boring life has long drained them of the excitement they had when they first set to sea. One wonders how Old Iron Si, who often serialized travelogues from various parts of the wasteland on the official website, managed to stick it out...

And just as Brother Wolf, Dog Brother, and Manager Brother were logging off one by one, their good friend Brother Eagle remained persistently online.

As the team's only hard worker, he didn't waste a single moment of these days on the ship. With no quests to do, he dragged the NPCs on the boat to learn 'foreign languages,' making small talk whenever he could.

Though not particularly talented in languages, thanks to his Intelligence System attribute point advantage, he actually learned quite a bit over the week.

As for the Weilante people on the ship, they weren't bothered by him at all.

After all, life on the ship was just too boring.

Yarman didn't mind chatting with this Alliance friend, occasionally even trying to learn some "Shelter No. 404 specific language" during their conversations.

The grammar of this language is far more complicated than United Human, and it bears some resemblance to the old pre-Prosperity Epoch local languages.

These languages generally have a distinctive feature, which is a strong regional attribute, making them difficult for those outside that language environment to master.

In comparison, United Human was a language designed and popularized scientifically, making it relatively easier to learn.

Of course, Yarman picked up these unusual bits of trivia from his travels.

After all, he's not a professional linguist, just a simple merchant.

Yet, this intriguing phenomenon he planned to jot down in his diary.

Including those bizarre ideas proposed by the residents of the refuge along the way...

"...I actually think Snake State is a pretty good place, right on the southern end of Poluo Province, not too far from Jin Jialun Port and West Sail Port. The geographical location is a bit like Cape Comorin beside Sri Lanka... Ahem, I mean, just like your army's Evernight Harbor at the southern end of the Great Desert."

Captain's Room.

[Far-sighted Eagle] stood by the window, spiritedly gazing in the direction of the coastline, suddenly spouting these random words.

Yarman, sipping tea, heard these words from the window and showed a bemused expression.

"Quite an amusing idea... Unfortunately, people here are too poor. It's not every coastline has the value to dock at, nor is every coast suitable for constructing a port."

Thriving inland markets, convenient land transportation, and dense contour lines, among others... too many indispensable factors.

After losing the slave trade port of Jin Jialun, they've spent a long time selecting West Sail Port as their prime choice on the west coast of Poluo Province.

As for building a new port in the far south of Snake State...

It would depend on whether the Empire has that idea.

"More poor people? Haha, isn't that perfect? We're here to alleviate poverty!" A joyful smile appeared on Far-sighted Eagle's face as he turned his gaze back from the window.

There are quite a few wealthy people in Potato Harbor, and Jin Jialun Port is the same, but business opportunities there have mostly been developed. To get rich in such places, you either need scale advantages, technological advantages or rely on sheer luck or genius.

In comparison, it's the undeveloped lands that harbor more opportunities.

While investing in a port might seem like a far-fetched idea for a newcomer, there's a long future ahead.

He's determined to become a man like Brother Fang Chang, and no challenge will stop him!

Yarman couldn't help but show a helpless expression at this overly confident guy and hummed perfunctorily.

"You've got a point... Once we've developed West Sail Port's market, we can take a look there."

As for such distant matters, he had no grand ideas yet, only wanting to finish the current business at hand as soon as possible.

For the pie Lord Bennott painted for him, which he couldn't quite grasp yet, he'd already owed the bank a substantial amount.

If we can't quickly find some work to recover blood, just the interest on those debts is enough to knock him and his partner down!

Yarman wrote down another whimsical idea from the Residents of the refuge in his diary, casually tossed it into the drawer, planning to ponder it later when it came to mind. Then he pinched his brow, preparing to take a nap and rest for a while.

For some reason these two days, he has always felt inexplicable panic, lying awake at night, and drowsy and listless during the day.

Normally, he wouldn't nap in the afternoon, but at this moment he only wanted to close his eyes for a bit…

Just as he had barely closed his eyes for a moment, the door to the captain's room was suddenly pushed open by hurried footsteps and knocking. The guy named "Dog Brother" ran in from outside.

"Something big happened!"

He was speaking in the dialect of the refuge, and he was shouting towards the far-sighted eagle by the window.

Due to learning a bit from Brother Eagle, the awakened Yarman was able to understand him, yawning as he asked.

"What's the matter? What got you so worked up?"

Dog Brother blinked his eyes in surprise, amazed that this NPC could understand what he was saying?

However, there was no time to dwell on this now, as he looked at the far-sighted eagle in a hurry and continued speaking.

"There's been a rebellion in West Sail Port! And it happened four days ago!"

"Four days ago?! Damn it!" The far-sighted eagle was first stunned, then instantly shocked, urgently asking, "What about now? Has it been suppressed?"

Guide Dog Brother said with a wry smile.

"How would I know? It depends if the Weilante People's garrison there is strong or not… But I see it's quite dodgy. I heard there are a lot of rebels, and the local communication hasn't been restored yet. Mostly it's beyond saving."

Beyond saving?!

Then aren't they on a wasted trip?!

The far-sighted eagle stayed with his mouth open dumbfounded for a long while, suddenly realizing a problem, and then quickly asked.

"Wait a minute, how the hell did you know there was a rebellion there?"

Guide Dog Brother rolled his eyes, looking at him with an expression that seemed to see an idiot: "Nonsense! It's an offline mission! The Manager personally sent a private message; all three of us got it! You might have one if you go back and check!"

Far-sighted Eagle: "Damn it! I'm going to check now!"

Hidden mission!

He didn't know whether to be happy or worried for a moment.

Watching the two's rapid exchange, Yarman had a completely dumbfounded expression throughout.

He only vaguely heard the name of West Sail Port, and then he couldn't understand anything else.

Could it be…

Something big happened at West Sail Port?!

Seeing Brother Eagle about to leave the room, Yarman quickly got up and grabbed him.

"Wait, what exactly happened?"

The far-sighted eagle was in too much of a rush to explain, hurriedly shaking off his hand.

"I'm not sure yet, I'll have to wait a moment before I can answer you… Stay here and wait for me."

Yarman stared dumbfoundedly at the figures of the two disappearing outside the captain's room door, and only after quite some time did he slowly sit by the table.

What exactly happened at West Sail Port?

And also…

How did they know about events there?

With a head full of question marks, Yarman picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

For some reason, that panicked feeling was getting stronger and stronger…

...

As it happens.

The Alliance's Guards Corps actually hadn't established a solid intelligence network in West Sail Port, and even the informers in Jin Jialun Port and Mammoth State were only indirect cooperators, so learning about West Sail Port's issues was purely coincidental.

The cause of the incident was actually due to a cement trade order processed within the Jin Jialun Port's Banking System.

The clerk responsible for the order suddenly couldn't contact the customers in West Sail Port, and it was on a large scale, so they immediately reported the anomaly to the relevant regulatory authority.

Initially, Jin Jialun Port's bank thought the Weilante people had detected something and were holding back the cement their customers planned to resell to Mammoth State, but later it seemed the matter wasn't that simple.

Soon after, the Governor's Office in Jin Jialun Port received information from an informant over in Tiger State, stating that the Empire's Tiandu suddenly issued an order permitting the local army of Lion State to assemble.

Given the close father-son relationship between the Empire and the Army, this assembly order naturally wasn't likely aimed at the Weilante people, but from a distance standpoint, it didn't seem like it was to confront the Alliance either.

Combining the two pieces of intelligence obtained from different channels simultaneously, Yoder, serving as the Governor's secretary, immediately judged that something serious regional conflict had occurred in West Sail Port, and the situation might have already slipped out of the Weilante people's control.

Without hesitation, he immediately turned the message into a telegram and sent it to Potato Harbor.

Perhaps it was because the Empire was afraid to inform the Army, or maybe because Tiandu itself was clueless about the current situation, Chu Guang actually learned about West Sail Port's condition before Bennott, the Army's ambassador.

Even though the port is thousands of kilometers away from the Alliance, for humanitarian reasons among others, Chu Guang couldn't just ignore the people there.

Moreover, the refuge itself is a disaster relief organization, and they have an obligation to prevent the situation from worsening.

In the worst-case scenario, the more than 3,000 Weilante residents living there may have already faced unfortunate circumstances.

And given the usual conduct of the Army, their retaliation would likely not just be about capturing the culprits and accomplices.

If given enough time, they might eradicate the entire hundreds of thousands of people there.

Even for the sake of fellow humans, the Alliance must do something.

But that place is not the territory of the Alliance, and there's no military base nearby.

Sending troops there is definitely inappropriate and unrealistic; they can only resort to diplomatic means as much as possible.

Thus, Chu Guang instructed Cheng Yan to contact Ambassador Bennott to explain the seriousness of the situation, while having Xiao Qi search for the players closest to West Sail Port to see if they could send a few people over to investigate the situation there.

The distance of West Sail Port from the save point was too great, so Chu Guang didn't have much hope at first, but unexpectedly he managed to find them in the end.

Although these four new players joined the game during the Battle of Paradise, there's no time to worry about that now.

After returning to Floor B4 of the refuge, Chu Guang immediately sent a pop-up of real-time communication to the last player to log out for the mission, after finishing editing the task documents.

This is a new feature developed by Xiao Qi after the last update, allowing the Manager to have direct voice communication with players both online and offline.

However, due to the lack of a "filter" offline, it might affect the player's immersion, so Chu Guang generally doesn't use this function unless in particularly urgent situations.

"...We've learned through our own intelligence system that a severe regional crisis is unfolding at West Sail Port. As a disaster relief organization, we cannot ignore the survivors there, whether out of morality or duty."

"Whether they are Weilante people or Poluo Province residents, they all have the right to survive in this world. We do not take a stance in their conflicts, but we must minimize the death of innocents as much as possible."

Though excited to receive a "call" from the Manager offline, after listening to the full details of the mission, Far-sighted Eagle still showed a troubled expression.

No matter the mission, he could basically confirm by now that his "charity deal" was a washout.

Given Weilante people's temperament, if the worst has happened, they would likely not leave a single soul, perhaps even shake every egg in the supermarket to ruin them... assuming there are supermarkets there.

If not for the mission's decent reward in Contribution Points and Silver Coins, he might even consider quitting and starting over.

"But sir, we're at sea, and even in the most optimistic scenario, it would take until the afternoon of the 3rd for us to get there... By the time we arrive, it might already be too late."

Chu Guang was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"We cannot always appear in places in need before disasters strike, but even so, we must do what we have to do. Compared to two centuries of waiting, three days shouldn't be too late."

"Remember your identity and responsibility, don't let personal feelings dictate your actions, do what you can, and control risks and damages within your capacity... In any case, do your best."

Perhaps this mission is indeed a bit too challenging for them.

After all, these four players are still newcomers, perhaps only having recently finished their Pass the Torch mission.

As Chu Guang hesitated, Far-sighted Eagle was also having second thoughts.

But just as he was about to back out, he suddenly thought of someone.

If it were that guy, he would definitely take on the mission without hesitation and calmly think of ways to break through the situation...

Taking a deep breath, Far-sighted Eagle said seriously.

"I understand... I'll do my best - no, I will definitely not let you down and finish this mission splendidly!"

Hearing that suddenly enthusiastic tone, Chu Guang was slightly stunned, then smiled.

"Hmm, I believe you can do it, go ahead and do your best."

"This is a mission only you can complete, I'm leaving it in your hands!"

After the communication ended.

Chu Guang let out a long breath, removed the headset, and leaned back on the sofa.

Climbing onto his shoulder, Xiao Qi looked worriedly at his profile.

"Is it really okay to leave it to those newcomers?"

It felt those kids weren't very reliable, at least not compared to the players its master frequently used.

Not only in ability but in all aspects...

Of course, this was just a conclusion drawn from big data analysis, and it's hard to say what the outcome will be.

Unlike the worried Xiao Qi, Chu Guang just smiled slightly and nudged its forehead with his index finger.

"No one is born knowing everything, it takes time to grow."

"Let them give it a try, Cheng Yan's side will continue to follow up too."

Chapter 826: Punishment and Mediation

Outside West Sail Port, on a stretch of red soil nearing the coastline.

A dozen Vellante men shouldering their rifles, smoking while watching the people digging pits in the distance.

There are men, women, and even elderly and seemingly young children.

Evidently, the Vellante did not plan to measure their height with a wheel, but chose the fairest approach.

They held shovels, trembling with sobs, as they dug into the blood-red soil.

Though most of them knew what the pits were for, none dared stop.

After all, cooperating might buy them a bit more time.

While stopping would earn them a beating before dying.

As for resisting...

The Vellante wished they would try.

After all, firing on unarmed people would incur some guilt.

"Get on with it, mud worms, finish early and lie in there to rest, hahaha."

On the edge of the crowd, a Vellante soldier carrying a rifle cursed viciously, with undisguised humiliation in his words.

Upon hearing the curses seemingly from hell, the digging people's shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and their sobbing grew even more intense.

Finally, someone couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground with blurred vision.

Until he saw the Vellante soldier striding over, his half-awake state turned to terror as he turned and knelt, pleading.

"Sir... I'm hungry... Can you... let me eat something before digging?"

"Hungry? Eat, then," the soldier grabbed his head, pressed it against the ground like catching a mudfish, sneering, "It's everywhere, still need me to feed you?"

The man pressed to the ground struggled and begged but couldn't make a sound, swallowing mouthfuls of mud and sand before barely catching his breath.

"No, I don't dare... Sir..."

"Then get to work! Useless thing!"

Finding it too filthy, the soldier didn't bother torturing the dying wretch further, cursing as he gave him a shove with his rifle, ignoring the near-dead wretch.

The others around trembled as they watched, seeing the man squirming like a worm, but not one dared speak, let alone resist.

Not everyone here was frail and old; there were sturdy youths, and even some defeated city guard mixed among them.

Yet facing those fierce Vellante soldiers, even they lacked the courage to pick up guns and resist.

Aside from those crying while working, there were those working with all their might.

Not only with endless strength but also with a "big picture" mentality that most lacked.

Sweating profusely, they tried digging larger pits, proving they could endure hardship more than others, as if this would save them.

Yet those didn't know their futile diligence seemed clownish to those big-nosed men, only exacerbating their disdain.

They couldn't bother distinguishing which were Lion Clan People, which were Sun or Cow People, or which were lowly Snake, Rat, Insect, Bird.

All hopeless.

Even at this point not resisting, being buried alive was too kind; best left to the "Gray People."

In fact, they intended to do just that but lacked Gray People mercenaries with the troop, bad efficiency in calling them; the commander finally dismissed the idea.

Already buried a batch yesterday, today was the second, in two months might be enough.

Watching those sweating profusely on the red soil, Peter flicked away his burnt-out cigarette, grabbing another from the pack and lighting it again.

From dawn to dusk, this was his second pack today.

"...Sometimes I really think, we're born into this world just to do these dirty, tiring jobs."

Beside him, a big fellow looked at his centurion, murmuring somberly.

"These?"

Peter sneered self-mockingly, standing in ashes as he smiled.

"Yes, clearing sticky fungus, clearing trash, and rotten, dirty blood. The jobs those old guys from the Prosperity Epoch don't want or can't do, all given to us. Like dialysis for kidneys, we clean up these things, only then might this moldy world return to normal... What do you think?"

Like scavengers.

And after all this, it'll probably be time for them to be swept into the trash heap.

There's no future for Vellante People in the New Era; their fate was decided from birth to be the last dust of the Wasteland Era, swept into the trash to become the last Waste Land Wanderers.

But precisely because of this, it highlights Marshal's greatness.

That noble lord saw through the filth in those high above from the start, and without hesitation, united and overthrew the hypocritical peace.

Though just a small centurion, he respected the lord from his heart.

"I don't know, but they, must die." The big man's face was filled with hatred, the grim and muscular face trembling slightly with anger.

"I agree..."

Peter holding a cigarette sneered, looking to the distant sea horizon, squinting slightly at this moment.

Dark dots appeared faintly where sea met sky.

They seemed to be cargo ships.

He took down the intercom hanging on his shoulder, pressed the button, and spoke.

"...A ship is coming."

"Yes, coming from the east."

...

Yarman's fleet almost rushed into port, nearly hitting the dock due to excessive speed.

The fleet arrived 24 hours earlier than expected.

With Yarman's nearly frantic urging, his sailors nearly overturned the ship.

Looking at the mess-ridden port, Yarman frantically rushed to the edge of the deck.

"Let go of me! Let me down!"

Seeing their boss trying to jump from four or five meters off the deck, the captain and a few sailors quickly stepped in, holding him tightly to the railing.

"Boss, calm down! At least wait until the gangway is down! Want to die from the fall?"

"Then let me die! I'll go down to be with them!" Yarman hysterically shouted, trying to break free from those hands.

The nearby sailors, scared, quickly spoke.

"No way, what do we do if you die."

"My entire fortune is on your ship!"

"Haven't received pay for this trip yet—"

"Shut up!" Snapping at those cynical sailors, the captain looked at Yarman, swallowing quickly, "…Open your eyes, see clearly, those are our people onshore, your family might still be alive, if they knew you died on the dock, what would they think?"

This managed to calm Yarman a bit, his tightened shoulders no longer trembling.

The captain signaled the nearby sailors to keep an eye on the boss, ensuring the gangway was secured before letting him off the ship.

Watching the spiritless man, Brother Dog on the deck sighed compassionately.

"Take it easy, buddy, life's bound to have its downs… I mean, a blessing in disguise… Pah! Well, at least no bank loan to repay…"

Seeing the insensitive guy messing around, the stirring stick blurted.

"Shut up, will you."

Guide dog reluctantly muttered.

"What's the big deal… He can't understand a word I say anyway."

Far-sighted eagle suddenly chimed in.

"Not necessarily."

Guide dog: "???"

Fierce wolf remained silent for a moment, watching the man's back before finally shaking his head.

"…Condolences."

Unresponsive to the chaos behind him, Yarman's face pressed against the tide-struck deck, seemingly soulless.

Until the anchor chain and gangway were lowered one after another, and the ship finally stopped, he finally reacted, breaking free from the hands that restrained him, and staggered off the ship.

He had noticed these ships a long time ago, and a squad of Vellante soldiers came over with guns on their backs.

Yarman staggered in front of them, grabbing the arm of one young man.

His bluish lips trembled, opening and closing for a long time but unable to utter a single word.

However, everyone there knew what he wanted to say, as if they could hear him.

Looking at this pitiable fellow, a few soldiers showed expressions of compassion on their faces.

One of the Centurions stepped forward, placed his hand on Yarman's shoulder and squeezed, saying in a comforting tone.

"...We found some survivors, but we're not sure if your family is among them."

A glimmer of hope flashed in Yarman's gloomy eyes, and he asked shakily.

"Where are they?"

The Centurion looked towards the young man whose arm was being held by Yarman.

"You take him there."

"Yes!" The young man stood up straight, and then said to Yarman, "Please come with me."

Yarman released his grip on the young man's arm and closely followed behind him.

The Centurion then turned his gaze to the four people who had walked off the ship and were clearly not Vellante people, frowning slightly.

He vaguely guessed the identity of these people.

"Alliance?"

"Yes."

The Centurion's expression turned cold.

"What are you doing here?"

The Dog from the Conduit was about to say "we're here to break up fights" but got his mouth covered quickly by Brother Wolf standing beside him.

The Far-sighted Eagle quickly stepped forward to take over the conversation, explaining in somewhat proficient United Human language.

"We are his partners... uh, and sort of his friends, can we accompany him? We're worried something might happen to him."

The Centurion gave him a once-over, with a gaze that seemed to warn him to mind his own business.

"Don't make trouble... if you don't want any issues."

He knew this guy was from the Alliance, and he also knew that Triumph City and the Alliance had much cooperation regarding Sticky Community issues, but that didn't mean he was intimidated by this guy.

The Far-sighted Eagle said thank you, then hurriedly followed behind Yarman.

The Shit Stirrer caught up with him, asking in confusion.

"Aren't we trying to break up fights?"

The Far-sighted Eagle rolled his eyes.

"Break up what shit, how many of us are there? The Manager told us to act according to circumstances, didn't tell us to get killed, nor to mess things up... The priority now is to gather information, first see what's happening here."

They were completely unaware of the local situation, and now the priority was to figure out what on earth was going on.

Since there are survivors, might as well check what's the current state of those people...

Watching the four people leave, the Centurion took down the walkie-talkie hanging on his shoulder, pressed a button on it, and said.

"...Among the people who just disembarked from that ship, four are from the Alliance."

A response quickly echoed from the communication channel.

"Oh."

Hearing the nonchalant reply, the Centurion hesitated slightly and said.

"Just leave them be?"

The other side of the communication channel responded without hesitation.

"Aren't they heading my way, leave the rest to me."

Seeing the superior saying so, the Centurion hesitated no more.

"Yes!"

...

The chapel of the Silver Moon Church.

Trash and dust littered the floor, mirroring the dilapidated harbor.

General McCullen, sitting on a bench, put the communicator aside, picked up the newspaper unfolded on his knee again, and continued flipping through it with great interest.

This was a treasure he had found in the ruins, named the "Silver Gospel News."

Judging by the title, those who published this newspaper were quite meticulous, cautiously avoiding taboos that only Vellante people committed to respect the fragile pride of the locals.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this caution.

Before, although he had visited West Sail Port many times, he had never noticed this chapel bearing the moon nor the interesting newspaper issued by it.

The newspaper contained not much news or content on the Silver Moon Sect's doctrine; instead, it devoted a large portion to a novel named "Awakener Bol."

He had actually heard of this novel before, said to be written by the people of Giant Stone City during the ceasefire between the Army and the Alliance.

Now, due to the rise of cross-regional trade, this romantic novel was taken by a pastor named Melgio to a "primordial jungle" called West Sail Port.

Anyway, being idle, McCullen had the newspapers collected.

This stuff was too advanced for slaves but just right for his leisure time.

He was also very curious about what the Alliance, which defeated him using a pile of broken copper and iron, really was.

This question had puzzled him for too long, he had been wondering since a long time ago.

Perhaps this newspaper could give him some insights...

Just then, the door of the chapel was pushed open, and a man with a panicked expression followed a soldier inside.

"My family..."

McCullen said nothing and didn't turn around, just nodded to the old nun standing beside and then continued reading the old newspaper in his hand.

The latter's face revealed a complex expression, and she walked up to the gentleman.

"May I ask what your child's name is?"

Yarman was stunned for a moment, subconsciously replied with a trembling voice.

"Ruby..."

"Please wait a moment." The old nun nodded slightly and turned to the side hall.

After a while, she came out with a little girl.

Yarman's eyes immediately reddened, clasping his own hands to cover his nose.

The hair, which should have been smooth, dark brown, now hung messily over her shoulders, like a pilled sweater, but what tugged at his heart with pain was that lifeless pale face and those hollow eyes.

Now standing in this ruined chapel, she looked like a piece of pottery buried under the rubble, both heartbreaking and a relief.

She was alive!

Praise the Silver Moon Goddess!

He never believed in any god, only worshiped the great Marshal, but at this moment, he offered the most sincere prayer and rushed forward regardless.

"Ruby!!"

Yarman hugged Ruby tight, unable to hold back his tears any longer.

This tall man instantly turned into a weeping mess.

Hearing that familiar voice, Ruby finally reacted. Her hollow eyes finally showed a faint glimmer of light, and she reached out to gently stroke the head pressed against her shoulder.

"Dad..."

"...I'm sorry... Dad came back too late... I'm sorry for you all..."

Feeling the burning tears, Ruby's eyes gradually reddened as well.

But perhaps recalling what Mom once said, she ultimately didn't cry out loud but instead placed her small, tender hand atop her equally messy hair.

"It's okay, Dad... Ruby is fine, don't cry... Mom said, Vellante people don't cry..."

"Mm! My Ruby, you're right... Sorry to let you see the shameful side of Dad..."

"It's okay... it's okay now."

Ruby forced a smile on her face, seemingly trying to comfort him.

However, seeing her understanding demeanor made Yarman feel even more distressed.

But, in order not to worry his daughter, he wiped away the tears on his face, held Ruby tightly in his arms, and stood up from the ground.

At this moment, he only wanted to take the child and leave this godforsaken place as soon as possible.

But before that, there was one thing he needed to ask...

Looking at the old nun standing in front of him, Yarman spoke in a trembling voice.

"...Where is the child's mother, her name is Margaret, could you please tell me, where is she?"

In fact, he already knew the answer in his heart before saying these words.

It was obvious.

If Margaret were still here, she would never allow Ruby's hair to be so disorderly, much less leave her alone in the church...

The old nun looked at him with compassion, glanced at the child in his arms, who was strong enough to evoke sympathy, and finally spoke in a hoarse voice.

"I remember the name Margaret, your wife was a very brave mother..."

...

At the entrance of the church.

The wolf brother, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

"I don't understand."

The others looked at him.

Noticing the gaze of his friends, he paused and continued.

"...How did they do it? Making people feel both sympathy and disgust."

He didn't like the Army, and he could even sum up his feelings toward them with the word disgust.

This was not only because of the Alliance's position and the standpoint of civilized people, but also because most of the NPCs he knew were survivors from the River Valley Province.

Those who had helped him during his novice period, each one remembered what the Army had done.

These guys, in order to achieve their goals by any means, not only provided weapons to the Looters, but also sent officers to those Looter Tribes as military advisors, teaching them how to operate the Army's War Machines, and more efficiently wiped out the River Valley Province.

Although in the end they put all the blame on the Eastern Expansionists, wasn't it them who allowed those people to expand eastward in the first place?

Now they're playing a similar trick again, and sure enough, they've shot themselves in the foot.

He felt no sympathy for the Slave Owner's plight, but it was puzzling how he couldn't muster any goodwill towards the Slaves here either.

He sympathized with the suffering these people endured and acknowledged their innocence, yet he felt it was deserved in a way.

He even thought that doing nothing and just watching them fight among themselves was quite satisfying.

"I don't care..." The conduit dog shrugged, "It's just a bunch of NPCs, why delve so deeply into their affairs. The Wasteland is so large, there's no shortage of oddities."

The stirring stick of trouble whistled.

"Actually, I don't care either... But if we have to debate this issue, what about the kids in this settlement? Is it their fault they didn't choose to be born into the refuge?"

The wolf brother silently looked to the side, unsure how to answer.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense, why all the blabbering, hurry and complete the task..." The far-sighted eagle sighed, ending the discussion among his brothers before it turned into an argument.

Simple good and evil do not equate to morality, and morality is divided into collective morality and individual morality.

The Alliance doesn't have just one refuge 404, and the countless Residents of the refuge and even people from Ideal City and the Academy who traveled from afar to join them clearly did not come for the good life of the Alliance, but because they believed the Alliance could end the Wasteland.

If they betrayed their oath, even if they didn't revert to their original state, the result would still be nothing more than becoming a smaller version of "Cyber Westland".

Therefore, he could understand Chu Guang's approach.

In this Wasteland, apart from West Winds, almost every camp has its own bottom line and stance.

Even in a tiny place like Mafu Town.

Therefore, he felt that the wolf brother wasn't entirely wrong; it served the Empire right for such events to occur, but this word shouldn't be used to describe its People.

At least, those survivors who also suffered from the turmoil were innocent.

And what he had to do was protect this group of people as much as possible, which was how he understood the task assigned by the Manager.

Seeing the eagle brother chime in, the professionally mixed dog brother immediately said.

"Your United Human is best, it's all yours."

The far-sighted eagle rolled his eyes.

"Nonsense, if I don't go, do you expect yourself to go?"

This guy opens his mouth, and there would be trouble even if there wasn't any to start with.

...

When the far-sighted eagle walked into the church, he found that Yarman and his daughter had already left.

Including the old nun.

There was only one person left in the church, and that was McCullen, who was sitting on a bench, flipping through a newspaper.

Having often seen this guy being ridiculed on the Forum, the eagle almost couldn't hold back his laughter for a moment.

Fortunately, Old Mai didn't notice.

Hearing the sound behind him, he rustled the newspaper in his hand and said casually.

"An interesting novel... actually coincides with our thoughts."

Unexpectedly, he would take the initiative to talk about novels, the eagle walked over and sat next to him.

"In what way?"

McCullen smiled faintly and read out what he saw on the newspaper.

"... It wasn't Bol who saved Giant Stone City, but the survivors of Giant Stone City who chose Bol. The workers protected the innocent children, and the soldiers raised their guns an inch, finally realizing that they were compatriots, not enemies, and then made a common declaration, turning their guns on the real enemy..."

"The Weilante were the same; created as Slaves, unwilling to submit to fate and authority, we bravely broke free from our shackles... The Marshal told us more than once, it wasn't he who led us to victory, but our struggle that won it."

The eagle could hardly contain himself.

"And then you turn around and enslave others?"

"Yes," McCullen admitted this point candidly and without hesitation, with no apparent embarrassment on his face, "weren't we created to conquer something? We are merely fulfilling the mission written in our DNA."

The newspaper turned a page in his hands, and McCullen continued indifferently.

"Besides, when those people have had enough, they'll naturally fight for their own freedom... Isn't that how you won against me?"

The eagle glanced at him in surprise, not expecting him to admit that it was indeed the Alliance that won.

Truly peculiar.

Though the Eastern Expansionists were not well-liked in the Army, up to now, no Weilante has admitted that the unrighteous and rash War was lost by them.

However, arguing over such subjective matters of winning and losing has no real meaning, as both sides will have plenty of reasons to debate, and neither would convince the other.

Not wanting to create unnecessary division, the eagle cleared his throat lightly and said with courage.

"General McCullen, regarding the situation in West Sail Port, let's talk."

He expected the proud general before him to flatly refuse, but unexpectedly, he heard an unanticipated response.

"Hmm, let's talk, now you certainly have the right."

The unexpected reply caught the eagle off guard, rendering the prepared strategic retreats futile.

However, he was quick-witted, immediately switching his negotiation tactics.

"... Your retaliations seem thorough, but to us, they appear more like childish tantrums."

McCullen didn't care for his provocation and said nonchalantly.

"We don't care how others view us."

The eagle didn't give up, continuing, "Then surely you must care about your compatriots, those who have died."

McCullen casually corrected him.

"The deceased Weilante."

The eagle continued.

"That's exactly who I'm talking about! West Sail Port is their hard work, they ventured across the ocean for your esteemed Marshal and other Weilante yearning for sunlit lands to carve a new home on unfamiliar soil... Of course, I don't like to say they took someone else's home by force, but this settlement built from nothing is indeed their achievement, isn't it?"

McCullen chuckled faintly.

"No matter, drain the blood here, we will build a new West Sail Port."

Eagle swallowed a mouthful of saliva and continued speaking.

"And them? This new settlement, apart from being named West Sail Port, will leave no trace of them. As I see it, what you're doing is no different from the Enlightenment Society! No one in the new West Sail Port will remember those who died, except for the crimson mud under your feet, no one will remember what happened here. In the future, no one will think about why things turned out this way, and one day, it will certainly happen again!"

Upon hearing this, McCullen finally showed some reaction.

He put down the newspaper on his knee, fished out a cigar from his pocket, clipped the head, and held it in his mouth, then, while rubbing a lighter, said.

"Then tell me, what should be done... Haha, I might as well hear the opinion of the Alliance's so-called good Samaritan."

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Eagle said immediately.

"This can be arranged... revenge for grievances, settle scores for grudges, you can put them on trial!"

Amused by this wild idea, McCullen couldn't help but snicker.

"We don't have that many judges."

Eagle shouted bravely.

"Then have a public trial! Let them accuse each other!"

He didn't really want to suggest this, but there was no better option at the moment.

There will certainly be wrongful killings.

But no matter how many wrongful killings there are, it's better than killing everyone.

Hearing this idea, McCullen, with the cigar between his lips, was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

He laughed for half a minute before stopping, turned to look at Eagle, curled his lips, and said.

"I'll be honest, seeing you plead for these scumbags is quite amusing. As for me, I don't think anyone else in this city is innocent, in our philosophy, silence is also a sin, a sin of mediocrity, unforgivable."

"As long as they turn a blind eye and let those mobs run wild, chase away the Weilante, and then enjoy the benefits by playing the victim... Tsk tsk, what makes them think they can remain unscathed? Do we look like reasonable people?"

"We've already given them a chance, they could choose to die gloriously on the battlefield like heroes fighting for freedom, and we might consider sparing their families. However, they would rather dig the pits to bury themselves than pick up the discarded guns, even hiding behind their own families. We are merely fulfilling their wish."

Upon saying this, McCullen paused and looked toward the front of the church.

"However, I will consider your proposal. On one hand, you make some sense, someone should remember what happened here. Moreover, it seems more entertaining than having the Gray people torture them."

McCullen's face broke into a smile, resembling a devil.

"How about this, let's do it by street, everyone must accuse 'one', and then let the rest of the city decide if that accused person deserves to die."

"Let me think... we've already killed twenty thousand, picking another ten thousand should suffice. If there's more, we'll keep them, if less, we'll add accordingly. How do you find these game rules? I'm giving them another chance, haha."

Looking at this fellow casually deciding the life and death of tens of thousands, Eagle took a deep breath.

"Then... shall we begin?"

Both sides made concessions from their respective positions, this was already the best outcome.

He remembered there was a group in the suburbs digging pits, the youngest of them not much older than that Ruby, those kids barely with any hair couldn't possibly be culprits as well.

If he were to arrive any later, they might have already started filling them in.

At least... we must save those children!

Looking at this resident of the refuge urging himself, McCullen suddenly found it amusing and laughed.

"I'm actually curious, what's in it for you to meddle in this mess?"

"Or let me rephrase, doesn't it look amusing watching us destroy our own colony?"

Eagle initially thought to say it wasn't amusing at all, moreover, his task would be ruined this way.

But then he suddenly recalled the contents of the Player Manual, and ended up changing what he was about to say.

"...Since we've already shouted the slogan 'Survivors Unite', we can't turn around and say survivors of the Poluo Province don't count as survivors, or that the deaths of survivors don't concern us, right?"

McCullen was stunned at the words, then burst into hearty laughter.

The laughter echoed within the empty church, much like the hoarse tolling of a bell.

"...Hahaha! Interesting, you call this 'benefit'?"

Far-sighted Eagle gestured with his fingers, explaining.

"Certainly, there are many forms of benefit, not just about making money or coloring maps..."

"Tsk."

McCullen curled his lips, took the walkie-talkie off his shoulder.

"Ross, have your men pause for a moment, I suddenly thought of a better idea... take those survivors to the port for assembly."

At the very moment General McCullen issued his order, a massive battle erupted in the central region of Lion State.

The attacking side, led personally by Anush, was the main force of the Heavenly King's army, numbering around fifty thousand, claiming to be a million-strong force.

As for the defenders, they were commanded by the Duke of Lion City, Sanjaya, with under forty thousand troops, half of whom were serfs recruited from various manors, the other half being city defense forces.

The difference in numbers wasn't really significant, and their training, organization, and equipment were quite comparable, Sanjaya even incorporated some new noble officers trained by McCullen, logically, the local forces should have had the upper hand.

However, as soon as Anush proclaimed the abolition of slavery and the redistribution of noble land and assets, half of Sanjaya's troops collapsed instantly.

Though the battle raged from dawn till dusk, the outcome was clear from the start.

Ultimately, Duke Sanjaya was shot dead by Anush's personal guards while attempting to escape.

Upon entering the city, Anush not only massacred all the nobles of higher rank than Count in Lion City and their families but also piled their heads into a tower at the city gate.

The only exception was the beautiful female relatives, whom he kept for himself or rewarded to his subordinates.

The bloody methods terrified everyone, throwing the entire Lion City into mass panic.

It wasn't just Lion City, though.

At the same time the news of Sanjaya's defeat reached Tiandu, the entire city was in chaos, with the roads leading out clogged by fleeing convoys.

Next to Lion State was Cow State, and Tiandu lay in Cow State!

Especially the flat terrain from Lion City to Tiandu, offering no natural barriers!

This time, Witch Camel was thoroughly panicked.

He never imagined that a group of revolting slaves could cause such a massive upheaval!

Inside the palace at Tiandu.

Watching Witch Camel, who was like an ant on a hot pan, Prince Dilip cautiously wiped the sweat off his forehead and nervously suggested.

"Your Majesty... there's no time to hesitate, please move quickly!"

Witch Camel's eyes widened in shock and fury, he roared.

"Move?! Where would you have me go! Lions to the west, and hungry wolves to the south! That Arai Yang is also untrustworthy! He's one of the Wolf Tribe, of the same kin as that Anush!"

It's even rumored he was once his subordinate! This whole affair might even be instigated by him!

Witch Camel's whiskers shivered with rage, he clenched his teeth so tightly that he nearly bit down to blood, wishing he could grind these traitorous ingrates in his mouth into paste and swallow them.

Traitors, all of them!

Completely disloyal!

Prince Dilip was also anxious, as their fate was intertwined for better or worse.

If the royal family fell, his own end might not be much better off than Witch Camel's.

"Snake State, Tiger State, Leopard State, Bird State, Horse State... none can be trusted either, the local powers are restless, if Your Majesty goes there, it will be hard to leave."

"So what do you suggest!" Witch Camel roared.

Despite all the foolish decisions he made in his life, Prince Dilip finally acted smart as death loomed, thinking of a place in desperation.

"...There is one place we can go."

In hurried interest, Witch Camel inquired.

"Where?!"

"Jinjaron Harbor..."

Looking at the stunned Witch Camel, Prince Dilip swallowed hard, gingerly continued, "Though it's Alliance territory, they generally follow the rules, and food won't be an issue."

"Currently, the Weilante are enraged... that might be the only place guaranteeing our safety."

Chapter 827: At Death's Door

The pit was about to be dug completely, and Gowenda thought he was surely doomed, but unexpectedly, at the last moment, there was a turn of events.

The Weilante people called for them to go to the port, saying they wanted to conduct some kind of fair trial, which immediately brought a ruddy glow to Gowenda's ashen face.

Oh, Rat God above!

And also the Silver Moon Goddess, the Spirit of the Sand Sea, and the Great Antler God!

He finally awaited his savior!

"I have never killed a Weilante person!"

He proudly looked at the people around him, as if he had once again placed the right bet on the table of fate.

In stark contrast to his "kind-hearted" self, some men still digging the pit continued with ashen faces, as if the message of pardon had nothing to do with them, still shoveling red soil absentmindedly.

Their arms were wrapped with strips of cloth, implying that they owed many blood debts that night.

Gowenda secretly rejoiced in his heart, then despised this group of brainless thugs, unlike his clever and cunning self.

He returned the shovel to the wheelbarrow and followed the restless crowd, hastily leaving this place of trouble. As for those who hadn't heard, the deaf joined the ranks after being taught a lesson with the gun butt.

On the way to the square, he walked with head held high, only shrinking a bit when passing by the Weilante soldiers, trying not to stand out too much.

However, those Weilante people couldn't be bothered to give him a glance, merely holding their guns and watching over the crowd.

Finally arriving at the square, Gowenda saw that man smoking a cigar, his heart excited beyond words.

General Mclen wasted no time, merely signaling an officer beside him to announce the new "rules of the game."

Although it had been hinted at before coming here, the formal announcement of all the rules and details still caused a stir among the crowd.

Some understood people's faces already filled with worry, though there were also those who were excited and those moved to tears.

For instance, Gowenda.

His "devotion" to the Weilante was written all over his face, hearing these "fair and just" rules, he almost wished to kowtow to this upright officer.

Standing next to General Mclen, Ross slightly furrowed his brows.

"Wouldn't ten thousand be too few?"

Mclen's expression remained unchanged, just turning his face slightly, speaking calmly and slowly.

"It's merely bait to arouse their bloodlust so they don't all point to one person to muddle through. I could even bet with you, in the end, more than ten thousand will die."

Saying this, he drew his gun and fired a shot into the sky with a "bang," looking at the frightened crowd, he shouted loudly.

"What are you waiting for? Waiting for me to help you choose who should die? This is your last chance! Bring out the thugs from that night; we will settle scores for grudges and take revenge for wrongs, only killing those who deserve it."

The air at the scene was quiet for a while; still, no one spoke.

Everyone looked at each other, seeing their friends as both allies and enemies, wanting to say something, yet fearing someone else might speak first.

Mclen wasted no time and simply gestured with his hand.

"If not, then go back and continue digging."

The sound was like a match thrown into an oil barrel, instantly igniting people's will to survive.

The first to speak was a dark and thin man, his sunburnt reddish skin indicating he worked at the docks.

"I'll say it! I'll say it!"

The moment this was shouted out, his index finger immediately pointed at Gowenda beside him, who was "eager to try," and raised his voice, shouting loudly.

"This guy is from the Heavenly King's army!"

Gowenda's eyes widened, looking like a goldfish out of water, his eyeballs about to pop out from their sockets, his chest heaving violently, both cold sweat and hot sweat pouring out.

"You! You slander me! I swear by the Rat God! I have never killed a single Weilante person! Those with bandages forced guns into my hands, yet I didn't kill a single one!"

Indeed, he wasn't lying.

He spoke with a clear conscience.

He did bad things, like sleeping with a widow, but he really hadn't killed a Weilante person.

After all, he was terrified seeing those big noses; how could he possibly aim a gun at them?

Indeed, he led the charge that evening under duress, but with his cowardly marksmanship, it was a miracle he didn't hit his own people, let alone those guards stationed at the port.

If he remembered correctly, those people were blown away by an exploding truck.

Accusing him of being a thug was definitely wronging an innocent man!

However, the Weilante had no intention of intervening in the trial, merely watching them bite each other with amused eyes.

Even Ross, who previously thought the punishment was too light, couldn't help but curl his lips into a faint sneer.

What a bunch of filthy scum.

Is Poluo Province full of such stuff?

Were it not for the ancient contract barring the army from expanding east of the Great Desert, with the Southern Legion's colonies stopping at Evernight Harbor, this juicy piece of cake would never have been tasted by those laymen in the Civil Official Group.

The folks shouting paid no mind to Gowenda's defense, instinctively distancing themselves from him, leaving a gap, staying far away from this disgrace.

They didn't know this guy.

But not knowing him was just fine.

Having a stranger with no affiliation die would weigh least on their conscience.

However, not everyone didn't know Gowenda; among the crowd, indeed, there were one or two of his former subordinates mixed in.

Suddenly, someone called out.

"Not only is he from the Heavenly King's army, but he's a Centurion!"

When this stern voice rang out, the crowd immediately erupted, even a few Weilante soldiers standing at the edge of the crowd gave Gowenda a few extra glances.

Meanwhile, Gowenda, who was originally arguing with the crowd, felt his heart suddenly stop on hearing that voice, his face turning deathly pale, even his tongue tied in knots.

Right...

He was a Centurion.

He almost forgot, yet someone helped him remember.

Looking at the port, which was like a marketplace, Mclen impatiently shouted a command.

"Loud noises, like what? Raise your hands to vote!"

Hands shot up unanimously. Some people originally didn't want to raise their hands, but seeing everyone around them doing so, they silently muttered apologies and followed suit.

Not raising your hand now might get you targeted by others and become the next one to be knocked down.

Whether what he said is true or mixed with lies, risking your life for a scumbag is definitely not worth it.

Staying alive is the most important thing.

Almost everyone raising their hand was thinking this.

This time, Gowenda was utterly hopeless.

He didn't resist, didn't struggle, just stood there on the stage cleared by the rats, letting the Vellante soldier come over, grab and drag him away like a chick.

"Behave!" The Vellante glared at him fiercely, warning him not to escape.

Actually, there was no need to warn him.

Gowenda hadn't even thought about escaping, just stood there soullessly.

He couldn't understand why people would accuse him.

He certainly wasn't a good person, but at least he'd fought for the survival of West Sail Port.

It's quite strange why they obediently listened to the Vellantes, digging pits in the suburbs and identifying each other here, enduring humiliation.

Why couldn't they unite again, unite and drive away those slave owners!

But saying this now was too late.

It's all over...

No!

Wait! It's not over!

Suddenly, Gowenda had a moment of realization, remembering he was a Centurion, and it was someone who reminded him!

How did he forget such an important thing?!

With a shred of hope, he looked at the Vellante soldiers monitoring them like clutching at straws, squeezing out a stiff smile from his face of despair.

"Wait, wait, sir! I-I also want to identify!"

"They said I'm a Centurion, it's true, I am indeed a Centurion! But I swear to you, I've never touched a single Vellante from start to finish! I-I have an alibi evidence!"

"...But my twelve subordinates can't be vouched for, I was forced into the group as a porter, couldn't manage those real thugs. I'm an honest and decent person, but who knows what they did!"

Listening to him, Peter was stunned for a moment, almost dropping the cigarette from his mouth after hearing the speech.

Not sure how to handle it, Peter picked up the intercom to ask the higher-ups and then handed him a note and marker.

"Name, write it down."

Thinking he got an opportunity for leniency, Gowenda joyfully took the items but soon recalled he couldn't write, so he nervously said.

"S-Sir, I can't write... But-but they all live nearby, I know where their houses are!"

Peter with the cigarette in his mouth gave him a disdainful look, not bothering to talk, snatched back the paper and pen from his hand.

"Say it, I'll write."

"Alright, alright! Thank you for your trouble." Without hesitation, Gowenda nodded obsequiously, but the raised corners of his mouth exposed his inner joy, as if the gun was back in his hands.

He wrote down all the names, not only the twelve in the team, but also others whose names he could call out, finding twenty in total.

These twenty were guaranteed scoundrels, should be enough to exchange for this honest man like him.

Gowenda thought to himself.

The soldier took the list to the port and handed it to General McLen.

Without even glancing at it, McLen instructed the soldier to follow the procedure and read the names aloud from the list.

Those whose names were called and were among the people here surely had acquaintances who would naturally dissociate from them and push them out from the crowd.

Then it was the public trial session according to the usual process, where everyone onsite decided whether they were guilty.

The final result was obvious, those people were all pulled out from the crowd by the Vellante, without exception.

Seeing those people brought out with panicked faces, Gowenda had a smile of gratification and glee on his face.

But soon he couldn't laugh.

The Vellantes had no intention of letting him go, waited for long but didn't hear of any release orders.

Could it be...

They would wait until just before execution to secretly release him?

The more Gowenda thought, the more anxious he became, but still comforted himself.

Release was certain, but timing and method were particular, and a proper explanation had to be given to those who identified him after all.

If he was let go in front of others, wouldn't the established rules become a joke?

However, while he fantasized in his mind, a woman brought from the crowd instantly panicked him.

She was his "alibi"—the widow from the house opposite him!

The woman who always spoke in low whispers, with a light and soft voice, daring not to offend anyone, was now crying heart-rendingly.

Such sorrowful looks, unsure if it was for impending death or the chasing humiliation stripping her of her last shred of dignity.

"That darn woman, I recognize her! Her husband just died a few months ago, and she found a new lover!"

"Ugh! Shameless thing, and found those bandits with cloth on their arms!"

"I saw with my own eyes the Ten Thousand Leader of Heavenly King Soldiers going to her house!"

"It's Gowenda, right, I saw him, I think he even gave her a Dinar as reward!"

"You were at the scene?"

"How could that be possible! I-I saw from outside the window! If you don't believe, go search her place, definitely will find something!"

"Could be dirty money from the port!"

"Kill her! Avenge the dead Vellante!"

Avenge the Vellante...

At that moment.

Gowenda felt the world spinning, even forgetting to breathe.

Although still standing at this port, he suddenly felt as if he had been buried in the ground long, long ago...

...

Seeing the last 3000 people being pushed out, the far-sighted eagle was momentarily speechless.

Goodness gracious...

They directly eliminated ten percent of more than ten thousand people!

He was desperately negotiating for these people, while they were desperately killing their own.

The remaining 7000 shouldn't have many who slipped through the net.

Hoping to escape this ridiculous trial through unity or some other means was simply delusional.

At this point, it wasn't just about being from the Heavenly King's faction; anyone who dared to stand out inevitably got targeted, and those who survived were those who stayed under the radar the entire time.

That is, they would raise their hand without hesitation when they should, stay silent without hesitation when they should, muttering to themselves that they were a dead person, fully blending into the surrounding crowd so as not to capture anyone's attention, only then achieving survival from a dead-end.

The over 3000 people who were picked out, as he expected, were clearly victims of wrongful killings.

And quite a few at that.

For instance, some young lads just over twelve, and a widow in her twenties...

Seeing McCullen glance at him meaningfully, the far-sighted eagle paid no heed to his provocation, merely whispering "Amitabha" in his heart.

Three thousand is, after all, less than ten thousand.

Besides, this was originally a matter between the Army and the Empire; if anyone should be panicking, it should be the Empire.

Standing from an outsider's perspective, he had done everything he could do.

In any case, the task was completed without any issues...

...

The Army's landing at West Sail Port quickly spread throughout the Lion State, and the feat of killing thirty thousand people in three days quickly reached the ears of the various divisions of the Heavenly King's army.

This news undoubtedly poured cold water over the heads of the Heavenly King's soldiers who had just breached the city.

The Army had made a move!

Although most of the heavenly soldiers were just surprised and didn't pay much attention, there were still some who panicked.

Like Udonuo.

He was of the Lion Clan, but not a noble, and due to his impoverished background, he was sold to a noble's manor at a young age, thus losing his freedom.

Although he wasn't assigned to pick cotton on the plantation due to his noble surname and was taught reading, writing, and noble etiquette by the noble lord, his childhood experiences still filled him with hatred for the unequal system of the West Winds Empire.

Later, he was recommended to join the academy established by the Army to aid the Empire, where he studied military knowledge under General McClen, further nurturing his ambition to overthrow the Empire.

It was precisely for this reason that when Anush called for the abolition of slavery and land redistribution, he almost without hesitation responded to the call, becoming one of the first local military officers to defect, striking a brutal blow against Grand Duke Sanjaya.

Although Anush, for some reason, didn't trust those who switched allegiance halfway, this seemed to be an exception for him due to their "common teacher."

After joining the Heavenly King's army, he not only became a Ten Thousand Leader in the military, but Anush also kept him by his side with the title of "military advisor."

However, just as he was filled with ambition, he heard the devastating news from the west.

As an officer trained by the Weilante people, he knew very well how strong the Army's combat power was.

This strength manifested not only on the battlefield but beyond it as well.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Weilante people were a race born for war, and their system was designed for war.

With the Heavenly King's army's strength, which "did not even have a stable logistics supply line," encountering those guys was hopeless.

Recalling what the Heavenly King's army did earlier at West Sail Port, Udonuo became increasingly fearful and finally couldn't resist seeking Anush for advice on a solution.

However, after hearing his concerns, Anush merely laughed loudly and even comforted him a few words.

"Don't be naive. Between countries, only interests matter; morality is a private affair. The people of West Sail Port are already dead; could they possibly come back to life?"

After a pause, he continued in a leisurely tone.

"Moreover, I've left West Sail Port for them to vent their anger. Even if it's a hundred for one, hundreds of thousands would be more than enough to appease the Army's wrath."

"At least for those big figures, giving an explanation to their supporters is already sufficient."

There was no surveillance that night, so shifting the blame to the dead wasn't a difficult task.

Once everyone is dead, who would remember what he did?

Those who wanted to keep some Weilante people as hostages were the true cowards and fools!

Is there a difference between killing 1000 people and killing 3000?

At least in Anush's view, there was no difference.

People who had to die would eventually die even if they didn't dare provoke a fly, and those who didn't want to die had to prove their value to live!

As long as they could replace the Empire and capture Tiandu, they would have the value of being wooed by the Army!

Keeping them as hostages?

What a colossal joke!

Is he in the business of kidnapping?

Objectively speaking, his subordinates were indeed filled with muddle-headed individuals, lacking a clear program and demands, but as the Heavenly King, he definitely had them!

What he wanted was rebellion!

Subversion!

Usurpation!

He had to use the dirtiest crimes to bind everyone to his chariot, forcing them to only gamble on their ultimate victory, or else nobody would survive!

As for history's judgment and reckoning, that would be a matter after his New Empire's demise.

Even West Winds was still holding on with a breath, so who else would have the turn to reckon with his problems!

Now was his time, the time for him to reckon with West Winds' crimes, including the Empire's persecution of the Moon Clan!

As long as they ultimately won, the uprising at West Sail Port would be a glorious revolution!

Upon hearing Anush's words, a drop of cold sweat instantly rolled down Udonuo's forehead.

He viewed Anush's actions with one eye open and one eye closed, after all, where is there a revolution without bloodshed?

Yet, after hearing what this guy said, he couldn't help but shiver in his heart.

This guy...

Had already planned from the beginning to bury those 600,000 to 700,000 people as companions for the over 3,000 Weilante residents!

In this guy's eyes, what exactly are people?!

Lorem?!

The phrase "free the slaves of Poluo province" had actually come out of his mouth.

And everyone, including himself, actually believed it!

Udonuo finally remembered those things he had selectively forgotten.

Including the piles of bones stacked at the city gate, including those noble women who were taken into Anush's tent for humiliation or gifted to his subordinates...

Suddenly aware of this, his back was drenched in sweat, and his voice began to tremble uncontrollably.

"But what if the interest of the Weilante people is for us all to die..."

Anush contemptuously curled his lip.

"That probability is not absent, but the Alliance and businesses, as well as the Academy, will not sit back and watch the Army expand east for any reason, that is the bottom line they established in the last war, even the Army has to seriously weigh the benefits and risks of crossing the red line."

"Moreover, you might as well guess why those Weilante people who landed did not advance further, is it that they can't guess what we left for them? Even if they can't guess, haven't those softies of the city defense troops got their mouths?"

"I can even tell you for sure that definitely not just Centurions or leaders of thousands among the officers who landed this time, there must be a true big figure following along. That guy knows it well, he might have already started acting with the chips we left him."

He might even guess that this matter may not have been passed down to Triumph City but got withheld at some part along the way.

Someone is waiting for his outcome.

Although he didn't know who that lord is, he is certain that to take down Tiandu is his only path to survival!

Judging that a day's rest should be enough, Anush slapped his right hand on his knee, stood up from the seat in the city lord's mansion, stared at his subordinate standing at the door and commanded.

"Pass on my order to have the Lion King, Horse King, Leopard King, Tiger King, and Bull King to assemble on the border of Cow State!"

"At the same time, order all units under my command to set off immediately! Attack Tiandu!"

"Yes!" The officer immediately saluted and rushed off in a hurry.

Walking to the side of the heavily sweating strategist, Anush showed a pleasant smile, gently patting his shoulder.

"... Lion City is in your hands, it is our great rear, you better hold it tight until we get the good news!"

Is this perhaps a pact of allegiance?

The Heavenly King's army is not an ordinary army but an avalanche triggered by an earthquake.

This kind of army, there really isn't any rear, the morale and supplies are all seized along the way!

As for Fierce Tiger City...

To put it nicely it's called a great rear, harshly, it's just a stone stuck at the Army's feet.

They are like the city defense troops of West Sail Port, both left behind to "cover the retreat"!

The now clear-headed Udonuo, finally understood everything.

He should have guessed that this sly as a wolf guy wouldn't trust him easily, and finally understood why he was elevated to Ten Thousand Leader.

This guy saw clearly that he had no retreat.

Just looking at those heads at the city gate, he cannot and has no chance to surrender.

With a difficult swallow of saliva, Udonuo, even with a heart full of unwillingness, could only nod with his stiff head, accepting this hot potato.

"Yes..."

...

At the same time the Heavenly King's army moved east, the royal family of the West Winds Empire, after urgently "mobilizing" the conscripted soldiers of Lion State, hastily issued the "Northern Hunt" call.

The call was written sloppily and even perfunctorily.

Simply put, it was that the Heavens didn't go stroll around the few northern states for a long time, wanted the grand dukes of North State to prepare the palaces and living costs of family and servants for the Heavens' stay.

However, that's how the call was written, but at such a military and chaotic juncture, anyone in Tiandu could see the real intention behind the decree.

The northern Dog, Sheep, and Bird states were thrown into chaos by the decree, never expecting the Emperor's Majesty to come, they actually prepared legitimately.

As for the rich and powerful main forces in the east's Tiger State and Leopard State, having their spies in Tiandu.

Upon hearing the decree, the local military factions immediately eagerly telegraphed the palace, with the message summarized as — "Majesty come here!", "Majesty, hurry to my side!"

Even those involved in a standoff with the Grey Wolf Army at Mammoth State joined the excitement, sending a telegram to Tiandu — "Majesty look at me, I have elephants here."

As for the southernmost Snake State, being at the bottom of the empire's finances, knowing His Majesty wouldn't come, thus remained silent.

The central Elephant State, although wealthy, was after all next to Cow State, and once Cow State fell it would be next, therefore, the nobles there also kept quiet.

In Lowell state's areas managed by Tiger and Leopard state warlords, the nominal state capital still in Jinjaron Harbor without even a governor, hence also remained silent, continuing their seamstress work.

Witch Camel of course couldn't be misled by those several military factions in the east but didn't truly flee north, rather played a trick, making a move of "feigning north to strike east."

First dispatching a team to escort the crown prince and the harem concubines grandly out of the north gate.

As for himself, he took the Empress, beloved concubines, princes without inheritance rights as well as numerous servants and trusted aides, secretly slipped out of the east gate, boarded a waiting royal merchant ship by Everflow River.

Not placing all eggs in one basket, although relieved after leaving the palace, Witch Camel also made the worst plans with a tragic heart.

If he encounters misfortune or gets detained when passing through military faction territories, the crown prince truly going "Northern Hunt" would succeed the throne.

Luckily, the West Winds Empire still had a breath left and didn't truly fall.

Even if the royal dignity was wiped out, this royal merchant ship flying the green dual sword flag and royal family emblem headed for Jinjaron Harbor, wasn't stopped by anyone on the way.

Even in waters controlled by military factions.

Maybe those military factions hadn't thought, their majesty would indeed sail their way.

Thus, after two days and nights of sailing, with a restless heart, Witch Camel finally and unsurprisingly slipped into that land brimming with humiliation as a "stowaway."

At this moment, most residents of Jinjaron Harbor still didn't know, that their "honorable" emperor had come by boat to see them...

Chapter 828: That Stench of Death Is Already Seeping Out of the Coffin

At the inland dock of Jin Galun Port, downstream of the Everflow River, a few young people in uniforms were standing next to the newsstand.

They were the water police in this area, mainly responsible for inspecting smuggling, maintaining order at the docks and in shipping, and rescuing drowned stowaways.

Compared to the military factions in Tiger State and Leopard State, who would shoot at escaping refugees crossing borders, the authorities in Jin Galun Port were relatively lenient towards acts of illegal immigration.

Out of a sense of morality, the authorities would not repatriate them, but neither could they allow the refugees to rush into the city unchecked.

Usually, they would send the refugees to a settlement point in the suburbs, let these people stay temporarily, find some work at the dock, or help them get jobs while teaching them basic life skills and necessary legal knowledge.

After leaving the settlement point, these refugees would receive a work card with a tax number, which served as their identification.

Later, if they obtained an ID card, the tax number would directly become their ID number.

In fact, to obtain identification as early as possible, most of the stowaways would voluntarily find them after landing.

It's precisely because of this that their work was relatively easier, and during idle times they would come to the newsstand for a stroll.

At this moment, what they held in their hands was the latest issue of the Survivor Daily, with the headline being the West Sail Port massacre that had occurred a week ago.

The newspaper detailed the causes and events leading up to the incident.

The cause was a laborer named Orisa who died of exhaustion at the dock, leading the other free laborers to strike in protest.

The labor intermediary controlled by the authorities pretended to agree to the protesters' demands but immediately reneged once the peak shipping period had passed, and introduced a large number of slaves from elsewhere to replace the uncooperative free laborers, thus igniting the free laborers' fury.

Coincidentally, there was military ammunition stored in the port's warehouse meant to be shipped to the front line.

Thus began an uprising sparked by a fire, which clearly spiraled out of control in the end.

Due to the delay in information, they only now realized that such a dreadful event had occurred on the other side of the coast beneath their feet…

"Deserved it," one young water policeman cursed under his breath, angrily flipping a page of the newspaper.

The next page was about Anush, that self-proclaimed king.

However, the reporters at the Survivor Daily sub-office in Potato Harbor didn't know much about that guy; they only knew that he was once under Arai Yang's command and had participated in the butterfly swim contest outside Jin Galun Port, making him somewhat of an old soldier.

The thirteen armies setting out from West Sail Port were advancing into the heart of the Empire, but where they had reached was still unknown…

Unlike the young water policeman, the slightly older man beside him shrugged.

"But the civilians are innocent."

"Innocent?"

The young man widened his eyes, looking at his colleague, as if hearing something unbelievable.

"Are your fellow countrymen Weilante people? Did the uprising happen for no reason? The first person to die was named Orisa, and more than three thousand Poluo people died there! How could you sympathize with slave owners and imperialists?"

Many people probably didn't even look and chose to selectively ignore the 'lowly' name Orisa, but he clearly remembered this name as the beginning of everything.

He no longer cared what race that person was. In his eyes, that person was his compatriot, a Poluo person!

As for Anush and the king's army, they were merely flames flickering up later.

The Weilante people were the true arsonists!

The Empire's lackeys were playing with fire, skewering his compatriots into skewers over the flames!

Now that they've lost control of the situation, they have only themselves to blame.

He only wished that the fire could reach Triumph City, instead of burning on the lands of Poluo Province, making those exploited become the cost of exploitation, and forcing his compatriots to endure the torment of war.

He believed that he was not the only one in Jin Galun Port who thought this way; he had seen enough newspapers to know what a mess West Sail Port was.

Seeing the agitated young man, the slightly older water policeman sighed and said.

"By innocent, I mean the survivors of West Sail Port are innocent... Of course, that also includes the deceased Weilante civilians, who left their homes and came to us, expanding territories for the army, only to end up as sacrifices for the politicians. Whether they enjoyed the benefits of the colonies, I really doubt it."

Everything is relative, macro compared with macro, micro with micro.

The Alliance doesn't do colonization but rather cooperation for mutual benefit, and the people of the Alliance live quite well. He hadn't been to the City of Dawn, but he had seen the changes in Jin Galun Port and surely they weren't doing charity, developing outside more than at home.

"... They are all victims, and what truly deserves condemnation is the exploitative rules and endless greed."

But that's just hindsight.

By the time he got this newspaper, everything had already ended.

The Weilante people were probably venting their anger in West Sail Port, but the survivors of Poluo Province were gradually waking up.

Just like the young man beside him, the first reaction was no longer about Orisa's ethnicity, but rather that those big-nosed people dared to kill members of my race!

If the army thought that slaughtering the people of a city would subdue them, that would be naive.

In the history of the United Human, the Empire had never truly won; it had always stumbled from one quagmire to another new one, eventually being submerged in the torrent of time.

The war was just beginning.

What does having an airship matter?

What does inheriting wealth matter?

Two hundred years ago, who didn't come out of the Great Desert?

As long as history moves forward, they will ultimately be drowned in an endless sea of people…

As the two argued, even spat, Caper was casually flipping through Mr. Mouse's anthology.

He wasn't interested in the war.

Ever since a shell had taken his right arm and sent him into a POW camp, the deafening sounds had ceased to shake him.

But those stirring words still could.

He was a reader of "Mr. Mouse's" works, even during his time in the POW camp.

And it was because of reading that piece, Red Soil, that led to his decision to stay.

The Jin Galun Port Authority had reached an understanding with the Empire regarding the return of POWs, but due to the incident at Ten Peaks Mountain, the citizens of Jin Galun Port took to the streets to petition, so the authorities did not compel the POWs to return but allowed them to choose whether to stay or leave voluntarily.

At the time, Caper spent some money, using his saved wages to bribe the thousands of leaders who came to receive the POWs to list him as severely disabled, allowing him to stay in Jin Galun Port to continue receiving "humanitarian treatment."

In fact, after getting a prosthetic limb produced in Giant Stone City, aside from needing to recharge every few days, his daily life and work were hardly affected, and the bribery was just to preserve the honor of his family and clan.

After that, the POW camp was repurposed into a refugee settlement, and he was reassigned here as a water policeman.

While Caper was flipping through the anthology, a bell rang from the distant dock.

A cargo ship bearing the green dual sword flag and royal insignia was slowly sailing into the river port.

"A big ship has arrived," the slightly older water policeman said, putting the newspaper back on the newsstand and donning his hat, "Strange, did the port authority report a big ship's schedule today?"

The other water policeman squinted and smirked.

"A West Winds royal merchant ship, these people never report their number when coming here… they still think it's their own territory, hehe."

Sending a telegram to report and apply for a flight number and berth before a large ship's departure wasn't mandatory; it was just to reduce hassles for both parties.

After all, the berths at the inland port were crowded, with limited transportation resources—it wasn't always possible to find a berth to dock.

During the peak transport times, the river channel got clogged, prompting the related provisions.

However, the Emperor of Poluo Province never followed them, and his merchant ships often forgot to apply, either arriving a day early or a day late.

A few water police whispered among themselves.

"Tch, I hate those who don't follow the rules the most."

"Check him!"

"... There's no emperor in Jin Galun, everyone is the same, let's go check him out."

"It's coming, wait a moment."

Caper put the collection back on the newspaper stand, left a bill for the seller, and asked him to hold onto the unfinished collection until he returned later.

A group of people walked to the dock, just in time to see the ship's owner shouting at the dock's port officials.

"We arrived a day early, quickly find us a berth!"

The port official rolled his eyes.

"There's no berth for you, queue up on the river!"

The pressure from behind was tight, and the ship's owner was anxious, but he couldn't make things clear, so he could only threaten.

"Aren't you afraid we'll block the river?"

The port official jokingly responded.

"Are you trying to scare me? Try blocking one."

The ship's owner was so angry he was grinding his teeth, but he was helpless.

Luckily, Witch Camel and a group of ministers were too busy watching the riverbank, each one stunned with their mouths agape in astonishment.

Especially Prince Dilip, who had come here with Arai Yang and had squatted in a small civilian house on the outskirts near the Kraba Market.

As for this place, it used to be a muddy reed marsh, with the narrow path he still remembered along the river.

But that path was invisible now, replaced by a wider and longer concrete road.

Independent small houses were distributed along the edge of the river port, with flowers and grass growing in the small courtyards, bicycles tied at the entrance, and green-painted mailboxes erected.

Although not every house was refined, those that were refined were no less than the citizens of Tiandu.

Occasionally, a few unique mansions even caught the prince's aesthetic appreciation and envy, sparking his interest in acquiring them.

Speaking of...

Isn't Niha Ke's Governor's Mansion as grand?

Dilip thought he had entered the wealthy district of Jin Jialun Port, only to find out it was merely its suburban area, far from the sea port.

People living nearby were either dock workers working at the inland port, female workers at the textile factory, traders frequently traveling to Tiger State and Leopard State, or some high-ranking officials and nobles.

Due to cheaper land in the outskirts and fewer city regulations, wealthy people from Tiger State and Leopard State liked to establish a second home here, buy a large plot of land, and hire Jin Galun Port designers to build a mansion in the style of the Alliance or the Army.

Apart from those elegantly decorated buildings, looking afar, there were rows of cube-shaped buildings high like a wall.

These buildings were usually near factories and stations, with a neat row of windows on the walls like corn cobs, housing newly migrated residents.

"Is this... my Jin Jialun Port?"

Witch Camel was bewildered, squeezing out a sentence from his mouth after a long while.

At least Dilip had been here last year, his impression was more distant, remembering only red soil on one side of the Everflow River, a plantation on the other, further out were endless low shacks and the high walls of the Lowell Camp.

Being a governor here was undoubtedly a tough task, as the port led into a slum, where the scorching dry season made the entire street intolerably smelly.

But the sights before him now were completely overturning his impression.

He couldn't even imagine how this settlement would appear on the land of Poluo Province.

The ministers following him exchanged glances, finding it difficult to speak.

They were evidently stunned too.

And just at that moment, a speedboat bearing police insignias sailed over.

The water police on the speedboat shouted at those on the deck.

"Guards, inspect the ship!"

The ship's owner arguing with the port official hurriedly glanced at the speedboat, smilingly explaining.

"We are a royal merchant ship!"

The water police on the deck said impatiently.

"Even royal merchant ships must be inspected, lower the ladder quickly."

The ship's owner was troubled, seeking help from the emperor and Prince Dilip behind him.

Witch Camel had a dark expression but exchanged a few words with the nearby ministers, eventually nodding.

A eunuch stepped forward.

"Allow them to come up."

The ship's owner breathed a sigh of relief, bowed in thanks promptly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The group of water police boarded the ship, showing surprised expressions upon seeing the nobles on the deck.

Though these individuals didn't wear their titles, their robes and accessories were evidently valuable, possibly worth tens or hundreds of thousands of gallons.

Even more puzzling was that these nobles arrived in a cargo ship.

Even if it's the royal merchant ship, it's still a cargo ship...

Caper felt the leader looked familiar but couldn't recall where he had seen him.

Performing routine protocols, he said to them.

"Do you have any documents or identification papers? Without them, you'll need to register at customs..."

Before he could finish speaking, that prominent man suddenly glared at him angrily.

"Nonsense! Do I need documents to return to my own home?"

Caper paused, and the nearby water police were stunned, unsure of why he was angry.

Yet at that moment, Caper suddenly recognized the face, and a sense of unbelievable shock gradually showed in his eyes.

This is impossible?!

In Jin Jialun Port?

He opened his mouth wide, unable to close his jaw, subconsciously uttered.

"...Your Majesty?!"

...

Witch Camel appeared in Jingga Lun Port.

Moreover, he emerged with those stowaways from the faraway reed marsh.

As soon as the news hit the papers, it immediately caused a massive sensation in Jin Jialun Port.

The usually quiet inland port now crowded with people, packed densely.

Some even ran from the port area of the harbor just to catch a glimpse of what the emperor looked like.

Due to the crowd affecting the transportation order, the port authorities had to deploy more personnel to maintain order, while keeping the royal merchant ship carrying the West Sail Empire's ministers anchored outside the port, inconveniencing Witch Camel to linger in the water longer.

Actually, there's no need for the authorities to suggest this.

Seeing the massive crowd on the shore, Witch Camel was sufficiently scared, let alone dared to mention disembarking, staying inside the cabin all day, afraid to open a window, fearing exposure of his location.

After all, the Empire wasn't the Alliance, and he couldn't stand in the crowd like a Manager.

After all, what if an assassin mixed in the crowd?

People with guilty consciences often feel everyone is trying to harm them.

That night.

Sitting at the bedside, Witch Camel was feeling gloomy, playing chess and drinking tea with Prince Dilip.

Just at this moment, his most loyal eunuch entered from outside, prostrating himself on the ground.

"...Your Majesty, reporters from the Survivor's Daily's Jin Jialun Port branch want to interview you."

Witch Camel frowned.

"Reporters? What on earth are they?"

The eunuch explained timidly.

"They are... people who provide materials for the newspaper."

"Newspaper?"

Witch Camel furrowed his brows, vaguely having heard of it, but didn't think it was anything good.

So he waved his hand, impatiently leaving behind a sentence.

"Not meeting, let him roll."

The eunuch nodded submissively and was about to exit the "palace".

Suddenly, Prince Dilip sitting in front of Witch Camel had a thought, first calling the eunuch back, and then he looked at Witch Camel and said.

"Wait... Your Majesty, I think accepting the interview is not necessarily a bad thing. Nowadays, the residents of Jin Jialun Port are gathered by the shore, nothing but wanting to admire your majesty and the aura of a sage—"

Witch Camel impatiently interrupted his babble.

"How can my majesty be admired by that group of subordinates?"

Prince Dilip coughed dryly and said.

"Though that's the case... but thinking from another angle, blocking isn't as good as unblocking. If you satisfy the curiosity of those ignorant people, perhaps they will disperse from the riverbank, allowing us to disembark instead of floating on the river forever."

The rabble-rousers from the west didn't know when they would cause trouble, and there had been no news from the Forbidden Army.

If the residents of Jin Jialun Port gathered here every day for excitement, they might never make it ashore.

The humidity on the Everflow River was heavy, and the deck was always swaying, he couldn't stand staying on the ship constantly.

Witch Camel apparently had the same thought, pondering for a moment while pinching a chess piece, then nodded slowly.

"Alright."

The chess piece landed on the board.

He glanced at the eunuch prostrating at the entrance, unmoved.

"Then let me meet that reporter."

...

The night deepened gradually, silence enveloped the Everflow River, only faint frog croaks amidst the reeds.

Although the crowd on the shore dispersed, people on the ship still dared not to disembark.

Even so, Witch Camel slept soundly on the ship, snoring thunderously within the "sleeping palace" just past ten, even more soundly than when passing through the military faction's territory.

However, while he was comfortable, some people in Jin Jialun Port were unable to sleep.

Like Yoder, the secretary of the Governor's Office.

Acting as the governor of Jin Jialun Port, he was basically responsible for the entire port's affairs.

Previously, he had never received any diplomatic notification from the Empire, nor knew that the Emperor was coming to Jin Jialun Port, so he was dumbfounded upon hearing Witch Camel appeared at the mouth of the Everflow River.

"...Is the Emperor really here?"

Opposite Yoder, Chief Bahari smiled bitterly, wiping sweat from his forehead with a tissue.

"Absolutely... I didn't believe it at first, and even went aboard to check."

He was the head of the Harbour Area Police Station during the Nihark period and was later promoted to chief due to outstanding performance during the occupation.

Although he seldom mentioned his noble title, he was indeed once a noble of the Empire.

Thus, others might not know what Witch Camel looked like, but he remembered clearly.

Including those dukes and princes on the deck.

Pacing back and forth in front of the desk, Yoder paused, unable to resist asking again.

"Could it be impersonation?"

Chief Bahari smiled bitterly and said.

"Impossible... Besides the Emperor, there's also Prince Dilip, who has biometric information recorded in our prison, a quick verification proves it. If you don't believe, should I take him to verify?"

Yoder quickly said.

"That's unnecessary... they're not suspects, don't randomly arrest people."

Chief Bahari nodded hurriedly, agreeing.

"Then what should we do about this? Just let them float on the river?"

"It's tricky..."

Yoder fell into deep thought.

His political intuition told him that the matter might not be simple.

If Witch Camel chose to come here, it's certainly because he decided he had nowhere else to go.

Even the Emperor himself felt he was unable to control the situation...

From the winds blowing from the Everflow River, he faintly smelled a hint of stench, and a thought abruptly arose in Yoder's mind.

The Empire might be coming to an end!

It's like a secretly decomposing corpse, even if the coffin lid is tightly sealed, it can't hide the stench leaking from the seams.

Sweat dripped from Yoder's forehead.

At this moment, he wasn't concerned about the future fate of the Empire, rather how the collapse of such a giant would impact and affect Jin Jialun Port.

As one of the candidates for the future mayor, he must first be responsible for the residents of Jin Jialun Port.

Especially responsible for their savings.

"...Let's first seek the Federation's opinion on this matter, see their stance, we better not get involved blindly."

Hearing Yoder's suggestion, Chief Bahari hastily nodded in agreement.

"I think so too, quickly contact the Federation."

"I've already sent a telegram to the Federation immediately, but it's deep night in the City of Dawn now, we probably have to wait until tomorrow for a response..."

Pausing, Yoder walked to the desk and picked up the phone, dialing his secretary.

"Get the director of the Jin Jialun Port Bank to my office, and the director of the Foreign Trade Management Bureau... yes, right now, I don't care if they're lying in bed or soaking in the tub, get dressed and come over immediately!"

"I have important matters to discuss with them face-to-face."

...

The next morning, the sun was bright, the harbor area of Jin Jialun Port, bustling as always.

The West Sail Port's tragedy from the day before was still circulating fervently, and today the Emperor of West Winds arrived at Jin Jialun Port.

People are all discussing whether Tiandu has already been captured by the Tianwang army.

It's a pity that neither Lion City nor Tiandu have branches of the Survivor's Daily, so they can only rely on speculation.

But if that were true, it would be great.

The Tianwang army at least shouted slogans of abolishing slavery and redistributing land, and it's said they actually did so, at least it's a bit of progress.

Moreover, leaving aside whether it's progress or not, they've long found the Empire and the emperor displeasing!

In the breakfast noodle shop, a group of diners were slurping noodles while discussing the newly released newspaper.

"Serve them right! Better to kill all those court officials! Pulverize their bones to dust!"

An old man shook his head, sighed, and commented.

"Things aren't that simple, the army won't just let the Empire collapse like that, and they've already killed so many from the army. The thirteen-route army seems ferocious, but they're just some farmers, and logistics can't keep up. If a real fight breaks out, the outcome is still uncertain."

A man who looks scholarly also shook his head and said regretfully.

"Afraid their blood will be shed in vain."

Not far from them, a dock worker was so angry that he clenched his teeth, slammed the table, and said.

"These damned foreigners! Enslaving my compatriots, now wanting to meddle in our internal affairs! Do they think we're pushover!"

This remark got a lot of responses, and the diners in the noodle shop were all indignant.

"It's really too much!"

"I'll go donate to the United Federation right away! I'll donate a month's salary!"

"What good is donating money to the United Federation? They're supporting Laxi, who's still wasting time in Mammoth State and Arai Yang!"

"Laxi's business is getting bigger, but he's still not as good as that Anush."

"Ha, I don't favor that guy... if he becomes emperor, I won't be afraid; I'm just afraid he's thinking of going to City of Dawn to be an honorary resident."

"Hahaha! In comparison, Anush is more straightforward, pulling out his gun to fight!"

"It's a pity that getting supplies from here to there isn't easy, it would be convenient if they started action on the East Coast."

"It's useless, even if you donate many guns to them, can they stop the army? The army is going to step in... alas! Who will these 4 million square kilometers fall to is hard to say..."

As everyone was discussing heatedly, an unusual group of people entered the noodle shop.

They walked to the corner of the noodle shop and sat down. As usual, Ah Xin ordered a bowl of scallion oil noodles and a basket of soup dumplings, then unfolded a newspaper in his hand, slowly sipping tea and reading.

He has been literate for some time now, reading and writing have not been a problem.

Even without someone reciting next to him, he can understand by himself.

Standing behind him, Kunal listened to the diners' indignant exchanges and couldn't help but clench his fist and mutter.

"That damned emperor dares to come to Jing Jialun Port... Boss, should we get rid of him?"

A mere cargo ship on the inland river, just send someone to drill a hole in the bottom, and they can taste the waters of the Everflow River.

"Are you crazy?"

Ah Xin froze, glanced back at his simple-minded little brother, and shook his head in disappointment before turning around again.

Killing the emperor?

Is the problem of West Winds something that can be solved by killing an emperor?

This bunch of small business owners should avoid meddling in big people's affairs; otherwise, they wouldn't even know how they died.

Of course, if a sufficiently influential big shot wanted him to do such a thing, he would readily accept.

Killing a person is indeed not hard.

Especially on his turf.

But speaking of it, this matter is a bit odd, why did Witch Camel suddenly appear here right after announcing the "Northern Hunt."

After reading the newspaper for a while, a glint of light suddenly flashed in Ah Xin's eyes.

"This emperor... is probably here to avoid disaster."

Kunal was taken aback upon hearing this and asked in a low voice.

"You mean the Tianwang Army reached Tiandu?"

Ah Xin spoke casually.

"He used two days to get here, maybe it's being fought right now."

Upon hearing this, Kunal was greatly shocked. He instinctively thought about the map of Poluo Province.

Good heavens!

Wouldn't that mean two states fall in a week?!

Even on plains where the army has helped build infrastructure, this pace of advance is a bit exaggerated.

"So, that Tianwang is even more formidable than Laxi..."

Upon hearing this, Ah Xin chuckled and shook his head.

"Looking at problems, you can't just look at the surface. Whether he's formidable depends on who the opponent is. Anush faces peasant troops, while Laxi faces Arai Yang. Don't underestimate that wolf clan member, he indeed suffered losses at the hands of the Alliance, but he didn't entirely lose on the battlefield."

The whole Jing Jialun Port hardly has anyone hoping the Empire wins; it's sheer luck that the Grey Wolf Army wins.

In fact, including himself, he has precisely learned from the Empire's failure and is particularly cautious when expanding business, never being too extreme, always leaving room for maneuver.

Not only that, other gang leaders wish they could write "ruthless" across their faces, but he is polite with everyone, even sitting to eat with neighbors, giving red envelopes to kids during the New Year.

It is exactly because of this that the Assasin Gang has grown bigger and stronger.

Kunal touched the back of his head, smiled, and said.

"That's true; now that you mention it, boss, you even personally took one down."

Ah Xin glanced at him.

"That's not something worth talking about... let's not mention it."

"Alright, boss," Kunal nodded, paused for a moment, then asked again, "What about the emperor..."

Ah Xin tapped him on the back of the head with hatred for not meeting expectations.

"Why can't you remember? Always thinking about that guy? This is not something we should do; just manage our little plot of land!"

Kunal scratched the back of his head.

"But you did say to drag that emperor down from his horse... I'm just trying to ease your worries."

Ah Xin froze for a moment, then recalled he indeed said those words, and it was during Laxi's farewell party.

In this setting, looking at the downtrodden emperor on the newspaper, he couldn't help but laugh.

Thinking about it is really nostalgic.

In the blink of an eye, what he dreamed about in his sleep is about to come true.

"Yes, that's right... Kunal, my friend, I indeed said those words."

"And I can tell you, my wish is about to come true, haha!"

...

(Thanks to "Xingqing Buyu" for the reward as the Alliance Leader!!!)

Chapter 829: West Winds' "Last Emperor

Just before the Weilante people celebrated their most important festival of the year, two major events occurred at Jin Galun Port on the East Coast of the Poluo Line.

The first event was that the Jin Galun Port Bank headquarters issued a message, issuing a risk warning on the trading of West Winds currency, restricting related financial tools and currency exchange channels, to strictly prevent systemic financial risks.

Simply put, those speculating in foreign exchange could no longer leverage, and private depositors holding West Winds currency were advised by their customer managers to offload it as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the trade management department also issued a notice, suspending all export business settled in West Winds currency, though import business was not affected.

This event caused a huge stir in the upper echelons of society in Jin Galun Port, especially among those holding a significant amount of West Winds currency.

As for the vast majority of the working class, they were not affected at all.

After all, the Galloon Anchor is pegged to silver coins, not West Winds currency, so its fluctuations do not affect the local life in the short term.

By comparison, they were more interested in the second matter—

The interview with Emperor Witch Camel of West Winds by the Survivor's Daily Jin Galun Port.

Unlike the previous serious topic, this second event was filled with comedic elements from beginning to end.

The parties met on a royal merchant ship, and before the interview, Witch Camel suddenly changed his mind, demanding that the Survivor's Daily journalists kneel for the interview under the pretext of West Winds law.

Of course, the latter would not indulge him and cleverly hired a Weilante actor from the Grand Theatre.

As expected, when Witch Camel saw the big nose, he immediately beamed with joy, welcoming him as if he were a close relative, courteously inviting him to sit and chat.

The interview went smoothly.

On one side, the actor recited his lines from the script fluently as if it were second nature, while on the other, Witch Camel was wildly improvising, with both sides often missing each other's points, turning the whole scene into a comedy.

After the interview, the Survivor's Daily Jin Galun Port branch immediately published a special edition covering this "dialogue of the century."

However, perhaps due to the small interlude of "kneeling" offending the editors, the writing editor maliciously used the term "Last Emperor" in the headline.

It's fortunate that Witch Camel only read the "special supply newspaper" sent by Duke Garava; those under him dared not present him with such a blasphemous headline, or it could have caused him internal injury from anger and sparked a diplomatic dispute.

Soon after the special edition was released, people's curiosity was satisfied, and they gradually lost interest in this emperor.

The guy riding on the heads of the survivor settlement in the Poluo Province turned out to be just such a character.

Objectively speaking, he might indeed be slightly stronger than the average person, but not by much, perhaps not even as much as the nouveau riche in Jin Galun Port who got wealthy through demolition.

When talking about military theory, he vividly described the rules on a beast chessboard. When discussing international strategy, he used monkeys and dogs in the zoo to "simplify the complex," leaving the temporary Weilante worker interviewing him speechless.

As for the future of the Empire.

Once the battleships of the South Sea Union are delivered, everything will improve!

Some things are not afraid to be compared side by side, only afraid to be exposed to light.

Those who read the special edition were greatly disappointed and felt that the 4 gallons spent on the newspaper were a pity.

With that money, what they would hear sitting in a teahouse would be far more exciting!

But it was precisely because of this 4-gallon special edition that people finally saw the "face" of Witch Camel clearly.

No matter how those old conservatives mysteriously claimed that the Emperor of West Winds was in fact wise yet superficially foolish, unfathomable with hidden supernatural powers and a grand vision, there were hardly any normal people who believed those nonsensical stories anymore.

At this moment, Witch Camel was still unaware of the external public opinion, but he was quite satisfied that there were finally no longer so many people watching the excitement by the river.

With fewer people by the river, he finally dared to open the windows for fresh air, even setting up a dining table on the deck, hosting a banquet for the noble remnants of Jin Galun Port to win over support.

Nobles of baron rank and above throughout Jin Galun Port received his invitation; however, the response was lukewarm.

Those big nobles either had already moved away or were doing well enough to avoid showing up, even to avoid arousing suspicion or meeting him.

Such as Chief Bahari.

He wouldn't even consider going. In fact, he wished he could flush both the invitation and his title down the sewer to utterly erase the Empire's mark on him.

Ultimately, only some discontented nobles attended.

Most of them were people heavily left behind by the wheels of time, perhaps having some substance in their bellies but unwilling to lower themselves to work or being overly ambitious but inept, eventually going bankrupt or ending up deeply in debt, living a messed-up life.

It was precisely because of this that, when they stood on the deck of the royal merchant ship in their most expensive clothes and saw their Emperor, the great and splendid "Nihak era" seemed to resurface before them.

At that moment, almost everyone couldn't help but shed tears, wishing they could fall to their knees.

"Your Majesty! You remembered us!"

"We've missed you so much, Your Majesty!"

"Please come back!"

"The Alliance is so terrible! Boo hoo hoo, you have no idea how they treated us!"

"We're suffering so much!"

"All of you, please rise, it was my fault that you suffered." With a compassionate expression, Witch Camel stepped forward, making a gesture as if to lift everyone up with both hands.

Looking at the crying nobles, his face showed reluctance, but his heart was filled with joy.

Even if proving the Alliance was garbage didn't prove the Empire wasn't, he still loved hearing it.

After all, the more pitifully they cried and the more profoundly they hurt, the more it proved he was right.

After a round of tearful and sobbing greetings, Witch Camel had the servants invite them to take their seats at the banquet.

As for himself, he sat at the head of the banquet table, nodding toward the head chef hired from the Triumph Hotel, signaling to begin serving the dishes.

A series of food carts were quickly pushed onto the deck, laden with delicious dishes.

The old noble relics could only swallow saliva, eyes glued to the servants serving dishes, wishing they could just pounce and grab with their hands.

This meal made Witch Camel completely satisfied, as if he had replenished all the grievances he had endured along the way.

After three rounds of drinks, the lords all felt somewhat tipsy, with some even lying on the tables snoring.

Seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Witch Camel suddenly rose with the guise of intoxication, lifted his cup, and said.

"Hearing you all complain makes my heart ache so much. It's all that Arai Yang's incompetence in defense to blame for your grievances!"

Pausing, he continued.

"How about this! When the situation calms down, would you all be willing to return to Tiandu with me? I promise to let bygones be bygones, and you will remain my most loyal servants!"

As his words fell, the deck fell silent, and even the snoring stopped.

Those who were wailing and cursing that the Alliance was worthless, now one by one, buried their heads in silence as if they were mute.

Seeing the atmosphere cooling down, Prince Dilipu immediately stepped out to mediate, awkwardly smiling as he said.

"Everyone, eat! Eat! Normally, you don't get enough to eat, you've been wronged, today His Majesty is hosting, don't be shy, eat more!"

Upon hearing this, the nobles who had their heads buried came alive again, shouting praises.

"His Majesty is generous!"

"That Alliance is really stingy! Stripped my house down, and just gave that little compensation, unlike His Majesty's broad-mindedness!"

"Ah... I am always thinking of Archduke Nihak! I wonder how he is doing in the Barbarian Sea Territory!"

"... Please come back, Your Majesty! We miss you so much!"

The atmosphere on site was heated up again.

The down-and-out nobles once again poured their woes, crying and sniveling.

As for going with him back to Tiandu, not a single person mentioned it.

They seemed drunk, yet each was more sober than the last, all becoming shrewd individuals.

Witch Camel was not pleased, drinking alone gloomily, wanting to burst out, but not knowing where to start.

It was all compliments, who should he berate?

Unable to stand the hypocritical atmosphere, having seen enough of the warmth and coldness of human relationships, he coldly snorted, rose from his seat, and flung his sleeves as he left...

The continuous sobbing mingled with clinking glasses, sounding like joyous laughter.

And the sound of hysterical laughter was even more earsplitting and unpleasant than crying...

Finally noticing the departure of His Majesty, the completely drunk Prince Dilipu quickly wiped his mouth and raised his glass to toast around.

"His Majesty cannot handle alcohol, everyone drink to your fill, drink to your fill!"

The greasy-mouthed, full-bellied nobles didn't mind at all, and even forgot the person they missed had left the table, burping together.

"Praise His Majesty!"

"Haha!"

"His Majesty is wise!"

...

Witch Camel hosted a grand banquet on the Everflow River, while the empire left by the emperor was in turmoil.

It wasn't because the Heavenly King's army had breached Tiandu's city gates, but because no one expected that Witch Camel would pull such a "sound east strike west" maneuver.

This was the monarch of a kingdom!

How could he play his subjects like monkeys?

As the interviews were published and the special supplement of Survivor Daily was released, the news of Witch Camel being at Jinjaron Harbor spread immediately.

The Northern Three States, busy welcoming His Majesty, were the first to be stunned, especially when they saw the Crown Prince arrive, those following the royal ritual became utterly at a loss.

The military factions by Jinjaron Harbor, in Tiger State and Leopard State, were shouting, shocked of being fooled by their own emperor!

In fact, if one were to talk about rebellion, they might not have had this thought, at least not at the moment.

After all, given the empire's current state of disrepair, anyone becoming the emperor would be put on a spit, wasn't it better to reign as an unchallenged local emperor?

However, although they had no intention of rebelling, they had to beware that their neighboring military faction might harbor ulterior motives, using the emperor to play clever tricks.

Now with the emperor quietly slipping through their territories, the two major military factions were feeling uneasy.

The emperor no longer trusts them.

Tiandu is tightly surrounded, and expecting continued military funding seems unlikely.

For now, the Empire has no time to deal with them, but once the Empire has free hands, it's hard to say.

Should they rebel or not?

The Tiger Army and Black Panther Army, originally focused on quietly amassing wealth, now have to face this real issue.

Meanwhile, while the entire Empire is at a loss due to Witch Camel's chaotic actions, City of Dawn thousands of kilometers away enjoys a unique scenery.

The first Wasteland Survival Equipment Exhibition officially concluded, receiving high praise from the Waste Land Wanderers, with sales reaching 1 billion silver coins!

All survivor forces certified by the Alliance and adhering to basic conventions can procure military equipment based on diplomatic level for defense against Looter and Mutant forces.

The Alliance's military factories can even provide professional personalized customization services based on customer coordinates and actual needs.

For example, installing fixed artillery on enclosing walls or deploying patrol drones near production facilities.

In the past, with the purchasing power of survivors around the Alliance, buying these high value-added items was nearly impossible.

Even if the Alliance Bank lent them money, they couldn't repay it given their financial situation.

However, in the past year, the Alliance has been continuously upgrading its industries with the support of tech personnel attracted to City of Dawn.

During this process, the Alliance "transitioned" many relatively outdated production devices to relatively reliable but still underdeveloped partners.

Jin Galun Harbor is a prime example.

Earlier, though Jin Galun Harbor was poverty-stricken, it quickly received major investments with Baiyue Corporation's support, accommodating the production lines the Alliance was migrating to Silver Moon Bay.

This included sugar production, brewing, cotton-spinning, garment-making, agricultural machinery, bicycles, and even exoskeleton components.

Although the additional value of these industries isn't high, they suit Jin Galun Harbor well, given its labor-intensive, relatively low-educated population.

Having made money from the Alliance, Jin Galun Harbor obviously couldn't just import without exporting, and the Alliance's rules wouldn't allow such behavior.

Besides repaying installment loans and purchasing Alliance Bank-issued silver coin bonds for interest, a substantial portion of this money was spent on imported commodities.

And among the high value-added products, weaponry occupied a significant proportion.

Apart from Jin Galun Harbor, other settlements like Luo Xia Province, Southern sea area, and Eastern Provinces also engage in similar currency and commodity cycles.

These survivor settlements enriched by the Alliance naturally don't mind spending a little to upgrade their security measures, to avoid becoming targets for outside Looters.

Besides collective purchase orders, there are also some individual buyers.

After all, compared to the high-tech products hard to maintain by companies, the simple and user-friendly weapons made by the Alliance are popular among Waste Land Wanderers.

However, several corporate groups still sold plenty of good products at the exhibition.

For instance, Endpoint Group's wearable intelligent equipment, Chang Ge Group's military exoskeletons and prosthetics, and Kang Mao Group's androids.

These equipments were mostly bought by the Alliance's players, accounting for 30% of the total transaction volume at the exhibition.

As a special guest, Chu Guang also attended the exhibition, although he didn't purchase anything.

He had no need for new equipment himself, and the Alliance's equipment had more professional procurement channels, so there was no need to pick and choose at the exhibition.

Moreover, genuinely good items are rarely sold outside.

Such as the P-2 "Lightning" attack aircraft and the L-10 "Thunder" fighter jet, which shone in the North Island Battle.

After chatting with corporate friends at the exhibition, Chu Guang was about to see what new work Mosquito Brother had done when he suddenly received a video call request from Alliance Foreign Minister Cheng Yan, and went to the lounge next to the exhibition center.

"Xiao Qi, watch the door for me."

"Okay."

Upon hearing Chu Guang's instruction, Xiao Qi enthusiastically replied, and then immediately connected to the exhibition center's monitoring system to ensure no one was eavesdropping nearby.

As for Chu Guang, he skillfully took a holographic computer pen from his bosom and placed it on the coffee table, unfolding the light blue holographic image.

The exhibition center was crowded and noisy, so it's better to be cautious.

Moreover, this matter is of great importance.

Although the video call had not yet been connected, Chu Guang roughly guessed what his foreign minister would report on...

As expected.

As soon as the call connected, Cheng Yan urgently said.

"...According to intelligence acquired via our diplomatic channels, the Empire has formally requested assistance from the Army! A ten-thousand troops contingent is onboard airships departing from Triumph City heading to West Sail Port, it's currently uncertain which unit or army they belong to."

"Although their troop deployment was within our expectations, I worry the Army might use this as a pretext to expand the war, or even seize the entire Poluo Province... The Southern Legion differs from the Eastern Legion; the former controls Evernight Harbor, which isn't far from West Sail Port, and they always harbored ambitions to conquer the East and have the practical conditions to dominate West Sail Port and even all of Poluo Province!"

"Currently, they face two resistances: one from opposition voices within the army group, namely, the Civil Official Group's objections. According to Bennott's statement, strictly speaking, West Sail Port and Poluo Province falls within Triumph City Official Group's sphere of influence... However, their voices seem to be suppressed right now."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Obviously, considering so many people died."

"Indeed..."

Cheng Yan nodded with a bitter smile, and continued.

"The second obstacle facing the Southern Legion is that ancient contract. I shouldn't need to elaborate, you should be aware that long ago, under the witness of the Grand Canyon and the Academy, the Legion and the companies agreed on each other's spheres of influence, especially the limit of the Legion's expansion... that is, under any circumstances, the Legion must not directly control the territory east of the Great Desert."

"However, as you know, the Legion's promises are just like toilet paper, they've always skirted the edge of the red line. For example, Falcon Kingdom is controlled by the Eastern Legion in the form of a vassal. As for West Sail Port, although nominally the Legion has no military presence in that area, in fact, some people are stationed there, just not on a large scale."

After listening to the clues provided by Cheng Yan, Chu Guang pondered for a moment and suddenly spoke.

"I've been reviewing the whole issue these days, is it possible... that this is a farce directed and performed by the Weilante people themselves."

"You hit the nail on the head!"

Cheng Yan praised him with a thumbs-up, but soon restrained that inappropriate frivolity, cautiously wording his continuation.

"Actually, even Banott said something similar to me. The Civil Official Group does not have directly controlled troops. Someone always has their eyes on the cake in their hands, he always feels that things aren't that simple, maybe someone is up to no good."

This possibility cannot be ruled out.

Moreover, it's not low.

After all, the Civil Official Group's strength is too weak, and the cake in their hands is itself very easily targeted, just as the Legion is in an awkward stage—that is, this giant designed for war hasn't expanded for a long time.

For a militaristic country, this is almost unbelievable.

If the Heavenly King Army is the avalanche of the Poluo Province, then they are the avalanche that sweeps across the entire Wasteland, there's no stopping once they start.

The expansion faction isn't exclusive to the Eastern Legion.

The Southern Legion must have similar factions, and Evernight Harbor standing on the central axis of the Great Desert is the best evidence.

The Survivor Settlement is located right on the red line drawn by that "ancient contract," and a whole ten thousand troops are stationed there long-term.

The settlement is like the nose of the Weilante people, rejecting everything from the War Construction Committee from their bones, whether it's the order once decided by the latter or the contracts signed under their leadership.

However, this is just Chu Guang's speculation.

After all, that's three thousand lives...

Without evidence, he can't rashly attribute it all to some grand conspiracy, after all, Banott also has the motive of "making excuses for his own incompetence."

"What's your suggestion?"

Seeing Chu Guang suddenly toss the question his way, Cheng Yan was stunned for a moment, then quickly responded.

"I suggest reinforcing Jin Galun Harbor! We must maintain the presence of two or more Armies in that region! Regardless of whether what happened in West Sail Port is the result of a Legion faction's self-directed drama, we must be vigilant of them taking the opportunity to cross the red line."

Upon hearing his suggestion, Chu Guang nodded approvingly.

"And Jin Galun Harbor's opinion?"

Cheng Yan smiled and replied.

"They are keen for us to go protect their safety, even willing to fully cover the military expenses of our garrison."

Military expenses are actually a minor issue.

Keeping the Legion calm is more important.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Guang nodded.

"Alright, I will dispatch two Armies there."

When he heard this, Cheng Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, and one more thing, Witch Camel suddenly showed up in Jin Galun Harbor, and it's causing quite a stir in Poluo Province. Jin Galun Harbor Authority is unsure how to respond, hoping to seek our opinion..."

This matter actually counts as an internal affair of the West Winds Empire. The Alliance has neither the reason nor the interest to intervene.

An emperor who has already lost control of his own empire can at best be a puppet.

He might be useful to the Legion, but the Alliance isn't the Legion, it's not possible to do what the Weilante people do.

Although Cheng Yan's expression seemed to want to make use of this guy, Chu Guang didn't particularly pay attention to him.

"Let Jin Galun Harbor decide for themselves, the Legion has already been invited by that guy, is there any point in forcing him to change his mind? Weilante people aren't taxi drivers that stop with a wave and leave with a gesture."

At this point, it doesn't make much difference whether he's invited or not.

The Legion itself isn't known for following rules, even if the Empire doesn't ask them for help, they would come on their own.

Legitimacy?

If the Weilante people really cared about that, they wouldn't break agreements time and again.

"That's all true, but I think not using this opportunity is a bit of a waste." Cheng Yan said a bit regretfully.

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Nothing to regret."

"From the moment he left Tiandu, his era has already ended."

Chapter 830: The Faithful Do Not Die So Easily

[...Respected Manager, I have mediated the events happening locally as you instructed. The army commander agreed to distinguish between the innocent and the rioters, adopting a public trial method... I know this is not a good idea, but on my conscience, do I have a better method? Forgive my limited ability; this is already the limit of what I could achieve through persuasion.]

[Additionally, regarding the arsonist matter you asked me to investigate, I regretfully have not found any clues yet. I inspected the warehouse, visited and questioned nearby Residents. Some said they saw Silver Moon Sect believers at the warehouse's edge, while others mentioned seeing someone sneaking over the Wall... Their testimonies contradict each other, and they are unwilling to discuss that day further. As for the Weilante People, they found hundreds of 'arsonists,' but I feel each one seems wrongfully accused.]

[The guy who first shot and killed the Guard captain was indeed found by me. Or to be more precise, someone else exposed him. That young Mouse Tribe man seems like an ordinary person, not someone acting under orders. I even doubt whether the bullet he fired hit its target. Although I want to question him further, the Weilante People seem indifferent about who fired the gun. After the dusk bell rang, he, together with others, was pushed to the execution ground.]

[My feelings are extremely complex, my companions sympathize with the Weilante People, and others sympathize with the dead laborers; they've argued more than once. Mr. Yarman's experience certainly evokes my sympathy, but I cannot help wonder whether all this is the Slave Owners' own doing... Yet looking at Ruby's tender eyes, I wish I could avenge her.]

[But later, a girl about her age puzzledly asked me, what did her father do wrong, shouldn't they resist, should they kneel and surrender when facing power... I must admit, I was a bit defensive at that time. But the Alliance is not a wishing machine, we do not have the power to change all the world's laws; nobody does, this I know clearly.]

[I admire immensely the players involved in the Giant Stone City event, how did they achieve that perfectly resolved ending? Should I have planted a goblin rocket on Yarman's ship? But we were a week late; even looking back, I couldn't think of a better idea... Or perhaps, a perfect ending never existed on this Land from the start?]

[The torment finally ended today, the Army ceased Slaughter and started planning future affairs. After statistics, 80 thousand died. General Mclen said he lost a bet with General Ross, initially expecting 100 thousand deaths, falling short by 20 thousand, yet I cannot feel happy at all.]

[Moreover, the Army doesn't plan to stop, massive resources are being transported from Evernight Harbor to West Sail Port. I found out Evernight Harbor is seemingly the Southern Legion's territory... the one that gifted us a 902mm cannon.]

[In truth, I'm quite muddled about their real intentions, wasn't it agreed they won't expand eastwards? Yet more and more Soldiers are landing... I'm not sure, but they don't seem to plan a short-term withdrawal.]

[Currently, the intelligence I have on West Sail Port is just this. There are more rumors, supposedly the Heaven's Army encircled Tiandu, claiming the battle between both sides is extremely fierce. Additionally, the Lion, Wolf, and Ox states have fallen into Heaven's Army's hands; along the way, countless liberated Slaves and serfs have joined, probably swelling this force's size to over two million...]

[Lastly, how about forming a peacekeeping force within the Sticky Community? I feel that the situation is beyond our control, pulling more Survivor Forces into the fray might be a good idea, especially the corporations and the Academy.]

The Far-sighted eagle felt it a bit unrealistic when typing these words on the keyboard.

The Wasteland is not reality, nor is the Sticky Community the United Nations where a peacekeeping force could be formed.

Those who are active have already joined the Regular Army, and only those who can't have gone to negotiate.

But after thinking, he didn't delete a word and pressed the Enter key.

[Sent successfully.]

"MMP! Finally got it done!"

The Eagle leaned back in his chair with a sigh of relief, picked up the helmet on the desk, and wore it like escaping reality.

In the blink of an eye, the ceiling above had changed.

This was the storage room of the Silver Moon Sect Church, a space of less than 15 square meters with four beds.

As the port area was bombarded to ruins by the 380 heavy artillery, there were no hotels to stay at nearby, so they had been lodging in small compartments within the church. Yarman and his daughter lived next to them.

The Old Dog and the Old Manager were still asleep in bed, while the Old Wolf had gone outside, probably to visit the populace and gather clues.

But to be honest, the Eagle felt he was wasting his efforts.

The entire settlement was in terror; everyone sees everyone else as a murderer. Apart from some naive Kids willing to tell them the truth, others, even if they knew something, dared not say more, especially when the topic of that night was brought up, they would evade it.

The Eagle estimated the arson case might have already reached its limits, and even if it's uncovered, it probably wouldn't mean much.

The urgent task now is to clarify the Army's plans.

Three thousand teams have landed in West Sail Port, which according to the Alliance standard is three regiments.

Throughout the Lion State, the Heaven's Army doesn't fight bandits but troubles honest people at West Sail Port, which is somewhat unreasonable.

Thousands against hundreds of thousands indeed isn't a good fight, but when the Heaven's Army and Empire's Regular Army fight, shouldn't they at least manage to sneak some hits?

What they're doing now seems like letting the avalanche engulf the Empire...

They're supposed to be 'allies.'

At least, it is written so in the setting collection.

Perhaps it was just an illusion, but he felt things weren't that simple.

Especially when he suddenly recalled McCullin reading the newspaper in the church; that guy seemed completely different inside the church and at the port.

At times calm like discussing a business deal, negotiating terms and interests leisurely; at other times like a devil ablaze with anger, eager to Slaughter all survivors at West Sail Port.

He didn't seem like a general.

Rather like a politician cloaked as a general.

If he remembered correctly, before entering the Game, this guy wasn't like this.

Though change is normal for people, McCullin's transformation seemed excessively drastic.

What exactly stimulated him?

Directly asking McCullin wouldn't yield anything, let alone he hadn't seen the guy at the port for some days.

As for those Weilante Soldiers, they weren't worth considering, their relationship wasn't great to start with.

Considering these factors, the Eagle decided to switch angles for a new approach, starting with NPCs they still had a good rapport with.

For instance, Yarman.

This guy, although not military, earned sympathy from stationed grassroots Soldiers and officers for his plight.

Additionally, with a decent local network, he might open the mouths of some locals, perhaps uncovering intel beyond their own investigation...

Having prepared today's plans on VM, seeing the two hadn't logged on, the Eagle decided not to wait and went out, intending to wash up by the well in the backyard.

Coincidentally, as he was pushing the door open, Yarman also came out from the next-door room, face-to-face with him.

In merely a week, this once high-spirited man had visibly thinned out, with unkempt beard covering his chin. The series of mishaps had stripped his spine; presently, he looked like a defeated drunkard.

Fortunately, he hadn't lost everything, at least his Ruby remained.

That heart-wrenching face hidden behind him, a tender, small hand gently clutching his clothing.

The Eagle smiled warmly at the young girl, then greeted his partner ahead.

"Feeling any better?"

Yarman hesitated, slowly nodded, then walked past him with his head lowered.

"Hmm..."

Seeing the two also heading to the backyard well, the Eagle followed alongside them.

"What are your plans next? Going back to Triumph City? Or staying here to continue... uh, our previous business."

The Eagle certainly hoped Yarman picked the latter, for both the current task and future business.

But after such a painful event, he could not demand it, leaving the choice to his partner.

Yarman fell into silence, speaking nothing for quite a while, as if absent-minded.

"It's okay, no need to rush a decision immediately, if you haven't adjusted yet, I can wait for you—" Realizing his question might seem harsh, the Eagle immediately smiled attempting to shift the topic.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Yarman, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up and interrupted him.

"These past few days... I've actually been thinking about something."

His Adam's apple moved slightly, and he continued speaking with a complex tone.

"I... have we been too harsh on the local survivors."

This time it was the Eagle who fell silent.

After about half a minute, he eventually chose to stand on the side of conscience and shrugged lightly.

"Buddy... if you want me to tell the truth, you guys were indeed a bit too much."

Objectively speaking, it seems that the Army brought freedom to the survivors of West Sail Port.

However, considering the actual local situation, this illusory freedom is more like a beautiful soap bubble, bursting at a touch and dissipating with a blow.

All the resources and rules of the entire West Sail Port were tightly controlled by the Weilante People and the local nobles.

At least the survivors of Bugra had the hope of repaying their debts and turning their fortunes, while the survivors of West Sail Port had no choice but to wait for reincarnation.

Clearly, fairness is not just writing the words on a piece of paper and calling it fairness.

He once thought that the Army turning the local people from livestock into goods was somewhat good, but after arriving here, he realized he was too naive. Livestock remains livestock, only stamped with an 'inspection passed' seal, and the slaughter tools and process were automated.

When being a slave is more comfortable than being a free man, what kind of progress is that?

Knowing his words weren't pleasant, the Eagle thought this guy would stare at him angrily or even argue with him, but he didn't expect him to remain silent for a while, and ultimately force a bitter smile.

"So it's true..."

Yarman scratched his messy hair, looking at the well outside the corridor window, and continued with a complex mood.

"Actually, I had some awareness in my heart... This won't end well. Rebellions have occurred in the Army's colonies more than once, and I shouldn't comfort myself that West Sail Port is an exception just because the survivors of the Poluo Province seem docile. Especially since this place is different from others, with no structured garrison, if chaos breaks out, no one could survive."

He paused for a moment, his eyes filled with a growing sense of regret, yet tinged with a bit of unwillingness.

"But there's nothing I can do, not a thing, I'm just a small figure, my will and views mean nothing to those truly powerful figures."

He remembered it clearly.

When he entered the room, General McCullen just tilted his head slightly without even glancing at him, as if he were nothing more than dust drifting under the eaves.

At this point, Yarman became gradually more agitated.

He took a deep breath, buried his nose between his palms, and controlled the trembling in his voice.

"You are right... I actually feel the same in my heart."

"If I hadn't pushed Nagi so hard, perhaps the worker named Orisa wouldn't have died, maybe there wouldn't have been a strike afterwards, and perhaps the warehouse wouldn't have caught fire, or even if it did, it wouldn't have gotten so out of control."

No one expected that this fire would grow larger and larger, not only destroying West Sail Port but also engulfing Lion State...

Even setting the entire Empire ablaze.

And what pained him the most was not just the burning Empire and countless dead compatriots in the flames, but the shocking realization that his own wife had been indirectly killed by his actions...

Reluctant to see him spiral down into despair, the Eagle sighed, walked forward, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Alright... don't be too hard on yourself, it's not just one person's fault, blaming you is less sensible than blaming the ammunition stored at the port warehouse. Damn it... thank goodness our Manager is wise, just knew these big-noses were no good, directly intercepted and took back that batch of ammunition midway."

After speaking, the Eagle suddenly felt something amiss, realizing he inadvertently included the two in front of him in his critique, so he hastily coughed to remedy it.

"Ah, of course, when I say big-noses, I don't mean you and Little Ruby—"

Yarman shook his head.

"You were right, these big-noses are indeed no good, including the old me... Of course, Ruby is still young, this has nothing to do with her, it's the responsibility of our generation."

Pausing momentarily, his originally gloomy gaze gradually became firm.

"Undoubtedly, it is those cannibalistic rules and endless greed that deserve condemnation. Without correcting these errors, the price of those mistakes will be paid over and over again... and the unresolved karma will eventually fall on our children's heads."

While speaking, he placed his hand on Ruby's head, gently stroking it.

The latter tilted her head in confusion, gazing cluelessly at her exhausted yet kindly looking father, obviously not understanding his words.

Which is apparent.

For her age, the topic of responsibility and obligations was a bit early.

Yet the Eagle across the room comprehended his meaning and couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up.

The perspective, brother!

The Alliance did have Weilante People, and in significant numbers, Vanus being one of them.

They obviously held similar beliefs, standing on the opposite side of the Army for the Weilante People's sake.

After all, unless the Army is overthrown, Weilante People will never become a normal race.

Their descendants will continue to bleed for the sake of revenge, repeatedly sacrificing in endless battles, never achieving the equality, dignity, and recognition they truly desire.

Not that he intended to dampen spirits.

It seems like a merchant of his status can hardly change anything.

However, just as he thought this, a shaky voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Mr. Melgio is actually still alive... Devout believers don't perish so easily."

"Including the brave ones."

The three of them simultaneously glanced towards the side of the corridor, seeing the old nun from the church standing at the door.

She wore her usual plain robe, her gaunt index finger touching the Silver Moon pendant on her chest, her lips moving as though uttering something.

That voice was like a prayer.

And like a confession.

"Mr. Yarman, please forgive me for withholding some facts from you, but also please believe it was not out of malice."

"I promised that lady... her child cannot be without a mother."

-

(The physical book is out, folks! Anyone interested in collecting can consider purchasing it; details of the building tower lottery event can be found in the book circle and book friends group, I've heard there are quite a few peripheral items to unlock ~)

Chapter 831: We Are All the Price

The curtain of night gradually enveloped the Earth, yet it brought not a trace of peace to the stormy Tiandu.

The siege had reached its fifth day, finally arriving at the bloodiest and fiercest phase of the alley battle.

The Imperial Guard stationed in Tiandu scattered into various streets, engaging in street-by-street and alley-by-alley combat with the rebels who had breached the city walls. However, they were still no match for the endless numbers.

They had no reinforcements.

Yet the enemy's reinforcements kept coming in a steady stream, and their ammunition seemed inexhaustible.

Five thousand against fifty thousand.

This lopsided battle seemed destined for a predetermined outcome from the start.

That floating "palace" was utterly useless.

Though the starship serving as its foundation was still operational, only the reactor and anti-gravity device were functioning.

It was too old.

Constructed during the Three-Year War, it had hovered in an oxidizing environment for over two hundred years, with people living on this land having built a lavish Imperial Palace upon its spine.

What it bore upon itself was too heavy, preventing it from ascending to the clouds, leaving it to watch as soldiers swarmed over like ants.

Once again, it witnessed a dynasty's changeover but never awaited its true master.

"Ahhh! These traitors! I wish I could kill them all, flay them, and extract their tendons!"

At the bottom of the palace steps, the Imperial Guard's officer gazed at the inferno consuming the capital with reddened eyes.

The final line of defense to the palace had been breached!

His subordinate stumbled in front of him, kneeling on one knee, enduring a gunshot wound to his shoulder as he spoke.

"General! We must retreat! Our brothers are almost all dead, Tiandu... can no longer be defended!"

"Retreat?! Never!!"

The Imperial Guard officer roared, grabbing the subordinate's rifle and heading to the frontline himself to shoot it out with the rebels below the steps.

The sound of gunfire erupted before the Imperial Palace!

Bodies littered the streets below the steps!

People piled corpses into breastworks, lying behind cover as they exchanged gunfire.

The murky blood flowed backward up the steps, ultimately smashing through the gates of the Imperial Palace.

Surrounded by rebels, the Imperial Guard officer was shot to death, eyes wide open, slumped in front of the blood-stained palace gates.

All five thousand Imperial Guards sacrificed themselves, none choosing to retreat.

Ultimately, their corpses were strung up on the flagpole, hung at the entrance of the northern gate of Tiandu.

It was said the emperor fled in that direction.

Tiandu still ultimately changed ownership...

...

That night, Anush ordered grand feasts in celebration to reward the entire army and then swaggered into the Witch Camel's Imperial Palace.

When announcing the northern hunt, the Witch Camel fled hurriedly, without taking all their rare treasures, eunuchs, and female aristocrats from the palace.

Those pale and beautiful concubines and maids, along with the gold, silver, jewelry, artworks, sacrificial items piled in storerooms, were all laughed at by the Heavenly King.

Some were kept for himself, while others were bestowed upon heroic warriors and trusted followers to spread his name as a benefactor of rain and due rewards.

As for the eunuchs, Anush did not waste them, ordering this group of castrated men to stand upon the palace chessboard, wielding swords and daggers, wearing animal headgear, playing "Human Chess" by the light of the bonfire to celebrate his ascent to the throne.

And he himself sat in the emperor's seat, dallying with the Witch Camel's earl's young daughter, unspoiled by the Witch Camel, while appreciating the pear blossom amid rain-like fragility and watching the river of blood and lamentations on the chessboard.

"Delightful! Hahaha! Utterly delightful indeed!"

Anush laughed heartily, slapping the armrest of the imperial seat.

"Mclen always disdains this kind of war game, but I find it rather fun!"

The strategist standing beside him chuckled deeply.

"It is His Majesty who imparted it with new joy."

Your Majesty...

Anush squinted his eyes slightly, a touch of indescribable pleasure on his brows.

Kingmaking and prime ministerial appointments.

The apex of life was surely this!

"Wolf consumes the Sun, this legend should indeed be fulfilled... As for the Cow People, let's put them aside for now since this is Cow Province. However, it's time to start reckoning with the Sun People."

"Convey my orders, confiscate all their properties, demote them to slaves, whoever captures them may have them."

"Also, those nobles enshrined by the Witch Camel, let them stay home to await their fate; if they dare step outside, kill them without mercy!"

The strategist standing beside him bowed respectfully.

"Majesty is wise!"

Rising smoke obscured the night sky.

The enthronement ceremony was scheduled for three days later.

Anush announced the Xilan Empire's collapse, and the Xilan Dynasty was no more; the new empire was named Yanush Empire, the new dynasty was named Anush Dynasty.

As with many great families, his name became the surname for future generations, and this surname, adorned with various legends, would be supremely honored, akin to the embodiment of the Wolf God on earth.

The entire Heavenly King Army rejoiced from top to bottom, slaughtering pigs and sheep, drinking and feasting merrily.

Unfortunately, the Weilante People of Tiandu fled quickly, not a single one remained.

And those cunning nobles were even faster, fleeing even quicker than their emperor!

Only those nobles of military origin did not escape but instead resisted alongside the Imperial Guard.

Also, those stubborn elders who still held illusions about the Xilan Court.

They soon paid the price for it.

Not only were all their male family members slaughtered, but their female relatives were demeaned to slaves, becoming playthings of the Heavenly King Army.

In the northern suburb of Tiandu, Absek's Lion Army flag waved amidst the night and bonfires.

Though Absek himself was a Wolf Clan member, born of the Gray Wolf Army, it did not hinder Anush from appointing him as the Lion King.

Therefore, the future Duke of Lion State must also be a Wolf Clan member, and the Lion Clan People must be led under the Wolf Clan.

This was considered a lesson learned from the previous dynasty, improved upon.

Within the military tent, cups clinked and laughter echoed, with thousands of leaders joyously chatting, yet one person was preoccupied.

The name of that leader was Anvo, a confidant of General Absek, the future Duke of the New Empire, who incidentally worked alongside Absek at the same dock.

The only difference was, while everyone else were Wolf Clan members, he worshipped the Silver Moon Goddess rather than the Wolf God.

Though faith here in Poluo Province was not considered one's identity, lineage was, his worried expression still clashed starkly against the celebratory atmosphere surrounding him.

Absek walked to his side, bursting into laughter as he patted Anvo on the shoulder.

"Anvo, cheer up, haha! From now on, the empire is ours, the Wolf Clan's! Whether the industrious Cow or the indomitable Sun, they must bow their heads before us! Once the Heavenly King appoints me as general, including you and all present here, everyone will be the Ten Thousand Leader, standing atop ten thousand!"

He pronounced the final half of the sentence deliberately, then downed the fine wine in his cup, prompting a wave of cheers and applause within the tent.

Watching his exuberantly laughing officer, Anvo couldn't bring himself to enjoy it, downing his cup but without dispelling the worry in his eyes.

Instead, it deepened.

"Thank you, General, for your promotion, but maybe I'm overthinking it, I just feel our troubles are just beginning..."

Seeing the worried look in Anvo's eyes, Absek laughed loudly.

"You're still worried about those big noses?"

"Isn't it reason enough to worry?" Anvo looked at his officer, the future Duke of the New Empire, speaking in a low voice, "We killed so many of them, and robbed them of their arms... those Weilante people won't let us go."

Upon hearing this, the drunken eyes of Absek suddenly gleamed with brilliance.

Looking meaningfully at his subordinate, he suddenly laid a hand on Anvo's shoulder.

"Don't be too naive, Anvo; in this harsh wasteland, naivety is the deadliest."

Anvo swallowed.

"What do you mean, General?"

Absek grinned and said.

"Some will indeed die, but it won't be us; it will be the emperor of the 'Old Dynasty'... you might not understand this, but why not guess why we won so easily."

"Is that even a question," Anvo answered without hesitation, "of course, it's because we are united enough. When others are venting by smashing things, we organized, and like a pack of wolves driving prey, we commanded them—"

"Hahaha!" A hearty laugh interrupted Anvo's speech. Absek patted him forcefully on the shoulder, a cruel smile on his lips, "Is that it? You think you can overthrow the Empire with just this? Anvo, my good brother, I consider you a brother, so I need to give you some advice. This naive idea won't even pass the checkpoint of Grand Duke Sanjaya of Lion State!"

"You've done things beautifully, but that's not enough. Don't always believe whatever you see and hear; use your own brain to think about 'why' and 'what'."

Anvo looked at him blankly, his expression suddenly becoming serious. He respectfully poured a glass of wine for the General, and filled one for himself, then drank it all in one go.

"Please guide me, General!"

Satisfied with the guy's diligent attitude, Absek, who was also a bit drunk, patted his shoulder and sat down beside him.

"I'll teach you… but you have to keep these words to yourself."

Anvo nodded earnestly, listening respectfully.

"I will keep the General's teachings in mind!"

Absek lowered his voice, letting the words be drowned in the noisy sounds around them.

"Yanush is from the Grey Wolf Army, and so am I, and many others… The kings of the thirteen armies are his confidants, his comrades, but among us, there is also a circle he doesn't understand."

"We quickly rallied around him and put him on the throne, not because he has high prestige among us, but because we needed someone like him… to shoulder the responsibilities of a king, and since he stepped up voluntarily, we let him take it."

The drunken breath blowing into his ear made Anvo shiver, his hands and feet growing cold from the words of that scruffy fellow.

Especially the next sentence, which froze his increasingly heavy breathing.

"The munitions piled in the port warehouse, the train stopped on the rail line, and the military food and supplies rotting in the warehouse, never sent to the front line…"

"Do you really think… those were all prepared for Arai Yang?"

…

What the eyes see may not be true, and the same goes for what you hear.

Yet Eagle never thought the truth would be so exaggerated.

Why were the munitions meant for the frontline just piled in the port warehouse, especially when the port's storage pressure was the greatest?

Why was there no guard on such important supplies, allowing the rebels to find them immediately and use them against the guards?

And most critically… why, when the incident occurred, those who truly deserved to die were nowhere to be found.

When the last piece of the puzzle came together, all the perplexing doubts he couldn't understand were linked by interconnected clues…

It was indeed an accidental event.

But chance wasn't its entirety…

After nightfall.

An old nun lit a candle and led a group to the church basement.

This was Pastor Melgio's wine cellar and study, and since people often stayed there, the ventilation was decent.

The Silver Moon Sect didn't ban alcohol, even exalting wine, often using it for rituals.

According to the old nun, he was always steeped in the aroma of wine, writing diligently, sorting stories about Pol, and drafting the "Silver Gospel News."

When the incident occurred, the children hid in this not-so-spacious basement.

The wooden stairs leading to the basement were roughly made, creaking underfoot, serving as a warning for those inside.

Yarman thought he would see his wife here, but found the basement empty instead.

However, upon arriving, the old nun with the silver candlestick heaved a sigh of relief, her tight shoulders seemingly relaxing.

"…At that time, you were overly grieved. I worried that if you knew she was still alive, you'd recklessly go looking for her or tell General McCullen and his men about it."

Yarman instinctively asked back.

"Shouldn't I have done that?"

The stirring stick whistled lightly.

"It depends. If it's in the City of Dawn, we'd certainly recommend reporting it immediately. After all, saving people is the highest-paying job. But if it's a dump like Western Port, even if you report it… they'd just be taken back to the center, right?"

"West… Western Port?"

Seeing the confused Yarman, the battle-savvy Wolf coughed lightly and stuttered.

"He, mixed up… that's a story from another dimension, unrelated here."

"…?"

Eagle cleared his throat, interrupting his group of friends' jokes and laughter.

"Alright, think about your handbook… cough, let's get serious. Since you're willing to bring us here, it must be because we've earned your trust, right?"

"Indeed," the old nun nodded slowly, "Please forgive me for not being entirely honest from the beginning and now asking for your help. After all, this concerns two hundred lives, I must be cautious with every decision I make."

The dog belonging to the conduit laughed and said.

"No problem, aren't game missions always like this? I get it—"

"Shut up you."

Eagle covered the fellow's mouth, signaling to the old nun not to mind and to continue speaking.

After a moment's hesitation, the old nun nodded gently.

"...Thus, while waiting for Mr. Yarman to calm down, I observed you. Now I'm convinced that if even you can't be trusted… then perhaps no one in this world can help us."

Confronted by the gazes focused on her, she slowly began to speak, recounting the events of that night that no one in the settlement wanted to mention…

...

Time rewound to the night that ignited everything.

A group of people waited anxiously in the church, only to hear the devilish voice drift in from outside.

"Ruby? Tsk tsk… really a lovely name."

Just as the words fell, the church doors slammed open with a bang.

The crowd in the hall stirred in unrest, throwing terrified glances towards the entrance.

Mothers held their children tightly, husbands stood in front of their wives.

With disdain and hatred on his face, Anvo entered, accompanied by more than twenty armed soldiers, stepping into the place he had once prayed devoutly.

"Anvo!"

Recognizing the face, Yishel glared at him, furiously reprimanding, "Do you know what you are doing!"

"What am I doing? And you? Do you know what you are doing!"

Anvo retorted without courtesy, roaring in anger.

"You brought those who shouldn't be alive here! Over two hundred Vellante people! It was you! You tainted the Silver Moon Goddess's church with blood!"

"Blood doesn't taint the church, but dirty souls do!" Melgio stepped forward, staring intently at the man who had once prayed devoutly to him, "You shouldn't be here, if today you commit a sin, no one can forgive you."

Seeing Melgio, Anvo's eyes trembled, unconsciously wanting to avoid the sharp gaze, yet the gun in his hand gave him courage, allowing him to glare back fiercely at last.

"...Mr. Melgio, I respect you, I'm grateful for the stories you always tell us and for teaching us to read… because of this, I must advise you not to interfere in this affair! You're ultimately not a member of the Alliance, only a citizen of Camel Hump Kingdom!"

"I'm not speaking to you as an Alliance member, nor as a citizen of Camel Hump Kingdom, but as a human being," Melgio said, neither arrogant nor subservient, "Go back, pretend you've never been here… it's your only chance for forgiveness for your sins, a step forward is the abyss."

Anvo fell silent.

All eyes in the church were upon him, everyone held their breath, awaiting his decision.

He took a deep breath and finally uttered words colder than moonlight.

"…it's an order from Yanush, do you think I want to do this… I really don't want to either, but I'm compelled."

Before Yishel and Melgio could speak, he looked at Margaret holding her child tightly, then at the terrified Butler Sahadu and the insurgent boy named Paven, and continued.

"All Vellante people must die, it's the order from Lord Yanush, and also from my superior General Absek. If I return empty-handed, I can't explain to them."

Then he turned to Yishel, speaking with complicated emotions.

"Wake up, Pol doesn't exist… you think you can save some people, but you'll only make things worse."

Then he turned to Melgio, the pastor who always prayed with them, reading the newspaper.

"Mr. Melgio, I truly thank you, you showed me that another possibility exists in the world… whether it's beliefs beyond Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods, or another realm beyond the Empire."

"I genuinely long for it to descend on this salted land, changing the fate of me and my compatriots… but surely we both know, revolutions never come without bloodshed, when everything comes crashing down, it must be bone-crushing."

"Moreover, even in your stories, beneath the snow in Giant Stone City wasn't there a skeletal remains. Too many people were buried in the past that night, not everyone saw the dawn of the next day."

Melgio was speechless, staring at him in astonishment, seemingly not expecting such realization from him.

But aside from that shock, the pastor's eyes also held regret—

Alas, he was powerless, unable to stop the rushing sand, only able to go with the flow.

Or like Yishel, be completely engulfed by the sand.

Anvo continued to silently watch the mother shielding her child behind her.

"Margaret, is it?"

Without retreating, Margaret stood tall, looking into his eyes.

"Yes."

Anvo nodded and continued speaking.

"Today, standing by my side are all followers of the Silver Moon Goddess. I personally selected them to come with me because I do not wish to desecrate the Silver Moon Goddess's temple."

"I can guarantee you and your child a dignified death, not like those outside who suffer humiliation before death. Execution or hanging, you choose one for you and your child."

Tears welled up in Ruby's eyes, almost unable to hold back from falling.

But at that moment, Margaret suddenly placed her palm on her head, gently stroking it like her father would, and then held her small hand.

For some reason.

She suddenly wasn't so afraid.

"Anvo, that's your name, right?" Margaret looked at him and said, her voice neither humble nor haughty.

Anvo replied with a straightforward tone.

"That's right, madam. If you hate me, feel free to curse me after death. I will atone in hell."

Margaret shook her head, looking at him, and continued.

"I do not hate you. I am not innocent either. Even if I have never personally oppressed you, my husband and others indeed have, and silence is a grave sin."

"No, madam..."

The maid standing next to him suddenly knelt on the ground, looking at Anvo standing at the door and pleading.

"The madam is innocent. She has always been kind to me and others... I lost my family when I was very young, she took me in when I was sold to the colony, and cared for me like family. Perhaps others have indeed done bad things to you, but please believe me, she is not like those people—"

"Enough, Yolanda, please don't say any more," Margaret said with a gentle tone to stop her. Then she looked at Anvo standing at the door. "She is a survivor of the Great Desert, not a Vellante, hardly different from you. Can you spare her life?"

Anvo did not object but shrugged.

"Then we'll trouble Mr. Melgio to dress her as a nun."

He actually didn't want to kill the innocent, although he thoroughly disliked slaves kneeling to plead for their masters.

Melgio sighed, drawing a crescent moon on his chest, as the kneeling maid shook her head in pleading.

"No... I can die. Please let madam and Ruby—"

"Enough, Yolanda, do I have to tell you to shut up?!" Margaret suddenly raised her voice, interrupting her incessant pleading.

Anvo watched the quarrel within the church without emotion until the woman named Margaret looked his way again.

"Any other pleas for mercy?"

"I don't wish to plead for myself. As I said earlier, today's end is a consequence of our actions."

Saying this, Margaret tightly held her daughter's hand.

"But please allow me to say at least let the children go. They do not have the power to choose how they came into this world, nor should they bear our sins. Our sins should be repaid by us."

Anvo remained silent for a while before speaking softly.

"What I say doesn't count. Even if I spare them, who knows what will happen when the next group comes—"

Melgio suddenly spoke up.

"They can hide in the cellar. You know that place... if they hide well, they won't be discovered."

Anvo was taken aback, looking into Melgio's and the old nun's eyes. His previously firm expression wavered slightly.

He hesitated for a bit longer, squeezing out a sentence.

"... I don't care what happens."

The old nun stepped forward, looking at him softly spoken.

"I will hide them. If there's any trouble, let me bear it. I don't have many days left at my age... their journey is long."

After struggling internally for a long time, he finally nodded.

"Make it quick, pretend I came five minutes late."

"Thank you."

Margaret looked at him, bowing sincerely.

However, Anvo did not look at her, only taking out a blood-stained cigarette box, shaking out a cigarette.

Because of the trembling of his forefinger, he broke three matches before lighting the cigarette.

The Vellante people in the church understood their situation clearly. They no longer made meaningless pleas, saying farewell words and advice to their children, then entrusted them to the church's old nun.

"Mom..." Ruby clung to her mother's hand, unwilling to let go, pleading with her.

"Be good..." Margaret squatted down, gently stroking her head. "No matter what happens, don't make a sound. Wait quietly for Dad to come back... promise Mom, okay?"

"Mmm..."

Ruby let out a faint sob and eventually followed the old nun's lead to the church's basement.

Some children couldn't help but cry, but under their parents' watchful eyes, they eventually held back tears that filled their eyes.

They were Vellante.

The Vellante do not shed tears.

From the moment they were born, their tears had dried...

The time of a cigarette.

All the children were taken to the basement, including the old nun, leaving only adults in the church hall.

Anvo tossed the cigarette butt on the ground, stomping it out, then looked at Margaret.

"Have you decided how to die?"

Margaret glanced around at her fellow people, then looked at him and said calmly.

"With a gun, see blood, hear sound, perhaps it will keep others from coming."

Anvo curled his lips slightly.

"They will still come, but maybe not as thoroughly... May the Silver Moon Goddess forgive the helplessness of her followers."

He said, pulling the bolt and chambering a bullet.

Just as he was about to act, Yishel, who had remained silent, stood in front of him, staring immovably at him.

Anvo furrowed his brow, his sharp gaze fixed on this bandaged man.

"Doing this only adds another corpse, don't think I won't do it."

Yishel looked at him expressionlessly.

"...I never thought like that, there is nothing in this world you cannot do, but after you act, then what."

Anvo said coldly.

"That's none of your concern."

"None of my concern? We are fellow believers. How could I not worry about you?"

Yishel squinted his eyes, his once righteous face suddenly showing a hint of cunning.

"Those children know your name. If I were them, I definitely wouldn't thank you for sparing their lives, but seek revenge for killing their father."

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion spread among the people at the church door, and their faces almost simultaneously showed a faint look of bewilderment and panic.

Not just them!

Even Melgio and Margaret cast surprised and fearful glances at Yishel, not knowing why he said that.

Has this guy gone mad?!

They had finally managed to keep the children safe!

Sure enough, Anvo's eyes narrowed like a hungry wolf.

Fingers stroking the trigger, he said softly.

"...Should I thank you for the reminder?"

"No need to thank me, because aside from those children, everyone here knows who killed them. Including me standing before you, including Mr. Melgio."

Yishel grinned, staring deeply into his eyes.

At this moment, he no longer resembled the elusive Pol, but a cunning rat.

And a rat daring to show its teeth at a hungry wolf!

"...I guess you're regretting now. Maybe you even want to kill me, the other believers here, even Mr. Melgio. But let me tell you, it's useless. Even if everyone here dies, the people outside will still remember what happened."

"How many people can you kill? Can you kill your superiors too? You can't. He's going to ask for credit for you, and you can't refuse it! The Vellante people will surely return, and when that happens, you're doomed. This blood debt will surely be pinned on your head!"

"And don't even mention the Alliance, they won't spare you either... You, don't even talk about going to hell after death, I know you too well!"

"You don't believe in all that at all. You're just looking for an excuse to comfort yourself, am I right? Otherwise, what are you afraid of? Being avenged by the Vellante people, so what? What are you afraid of?"

"Shut up!" Anvo growled in anger, pointing the muzzle at his nose, "Stop measuring others by your own standard, filthy rat! Even if I kill those kids, it's to eliminate future troubles for the New Empire!"

Yishel looked at him with disdain, not even raising his hands, just clicking his tongue lightly.

"... Tut-tut, look, Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods is not some Silver Moon Sect belief, the believers of the Silver Moon Goddess wouldn't treat people like rats. Wolf in sheep's clothing, keep your eyes wide open, the truly devout stand right here. As for you, you don't believe in what you say deep in your bones!"

"So what?" Anvo stared into his eyes, the murderous intent boiling within him.

"So what?" Yishel stared at the angry Anvo and spoke word for word, "I can let you live! Or rather, you only have one way to survive! That's to pretend to kill everyone here, but in fact, not kill anyone."

"It's impossible!" Anvo lowered his voice and let out a low growl, "The city defenses have surrendered, now all of West Sail Port is under Yanush's control! Soon the suburbs... even the entire Lion State will be his realm! They can't escape!"

"Including you?" Yishel seriously looked at him and continued, "I've been thinking about something for a long time but haven't figured it out. Maybe you can give me an answer, why was the person sent to do dirty work at Silver Moon Church coincidentally a believer of the Silver Moon Sect?"

Anvo spoke with a hoarse voice.

"Because I'm more familiar with the roads here."

Yishel chuckled lightly.

"Do you believe that yourself?"

"..." Anvo silently looked at him, already vaguely finding the answer in his heart, yet unwilling to speak it.

Yishel looked into his eyes and spoke the words for him.

"If this isn't some sort of perverse enjoyment or desperate madness, then there's only one possibility... they've already thought of an exit strategy. They know this is a dirty job, so they'd pick someone relatively the least trustworthy from the surrounding people to do it."

"You're a believer of the Silver Moon Sect. There's no one more suitable than you, you unfortunate soul. This is your initiation token. If you do it well, they'll trust you for a while. But if something happens, they'll definitely sacrifice you, not themselves."

Anvo bit his teeth.

"...What evidence do you have?"

Yishel sneered, stepping closer, locking his gaze on Anvo and his trembling rifle.

"Evidence for what? Is this a trial by a judge! Sure, there are lunatics among the insurgents, but is everyone a lunatic? Someone told me before, there's opportunists everywhere here, they're sharper than anyone! I can believe one of Yanush or your direct superior Absek is mad, but not both!"

"You mean... someone gave them a way out?" Anvo looked at him in disbelief and swallowed hard, "...Who?"

Yishel shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe it's the Army, maybe the Alliance, or even corporations or the Academy? Just the big shots from the Wasteland, you and I are their pawns. No, I should say, you are... a useless guy like me isn't so lucky."

He's incapable of analyzing who is behind all this.

He knows nothing about the Army and the Alliance, even less about corporations and the Academy. He only learned these terms by chance while listening to Mr. Melgio read the news.

These people have their own plans for the future of the Wasteland. Now their spheres of influence are adjoining, frictions are inevitable.

Maybe someone plans to turn the Poluo Province into a battlefield.

He doesn't know who that person is.

But he simply refuses to believe that in this land filled with opportunists, those who emerge are nothing but lunatics.

How is that possible?

There's only one explanation.

Some people are pretending to be mad, or everyone is pretending to be mad.

It's just that they rely on different things, and he happens not to understand what they rely on, so the ignorant him thinks they're all mad.

The only person who couldn't understand the situation, instead seems like a normal person.

The church fell silent.

Anvo unconsciously lowered his gun's muzzle, staring in disbelief at the guy in front of him.

Just then, Margaret suddenly spoke.

"You're right, there's indeed something strange about this..."

A pair of eyes turned to her in unison.

Including Yishel, the kneeling maid, Mr. Melgio, the old nun, and other surviving Vellante people present.

Besides them, there was Anvo holding the lives of everyone present, and twenty soldiers beside him.

They all want to know the answer.

Although regrettably, she doesn't know the answer, she just faintly feels a sense of unusual discord.

"...No, it was too coincidental."

"What was too coincidental?" Anvo was no longer eager to kill her, but urged her with his gaze to continue speaking.

Margaret pondered for a moment, smoothed her thoughts, and then continued.

"Governor Hu Ye returned to Triumph City. Let's assume he had a legitimate reason to go back, but what about the others? Like General Mclen, he isn't married, hasn't accomplished much in battle, even if he went back to Triumph City, he'd just be ridiculed by others, right?"

"Birthdays aren't a holiday for the Vellante people to go to Triumph City, they just need to stay with their families, which is the same no matter where they celebrate. Yet, at this time, many people who originally had no reason to leave suddenly left for various reasons."

It seems like the highest officials remaining in West Sail Port are only the captain of the port's guard and Governor Hu Ye's secretary.

The Vellante people left at the port seem to be all civilians?

The ones most deserving of being punished, none seem to be left!

That's the clue she suddenly remembered.

She recalled when the explosion had just happened, she hurried home with Ruby.

At that time, she noticed that many mansions around were empty, only a few houses seemed to be still occupied.

Her home was in the port's wealthy district, and back then her husband specifically bought their home there to live close to the big figures, including the governor.

But it wasn't only the governor.

Many people holding vital positions in the Governor's Mansion left.

Only they were left behind.

As if it was a coincidence formed under some sort of tacit agreement.

Once she realized this, a chill climbed up her heart, like being force-fed a mouthful of cold poison wine.

Even I have realized the awareness of a Slave Owner, how can those people not know the consequences of their decisions?!

They know everything!

Yet they still did it!

And they did it without hesitation!

Whether intentionally weakening the security here or leaving the deadly butcher knife conveniently at the port, it's all decisive slaughter.

Clearly, Hu Ye merely returned to Triumph City yet took away all his Personal Body Guards.

Even when the front line needs ammo the most, weapons were left at the port!

The city was full of angry survivors, yet what did they do?

They picked the most infamous Hyena from the cage!

That Nagi...

They meticulously chose him!

Margaret's eyes gradually widened, and she suddenly covered her pale lips unconsciously, trying to hold back the turmoil in her stomach.

Anvo held his breath, nearly unable to grip the gun in his hand.

Looking at the lady in front of him, he spoke with a trembling voice.

"You mean... our uprising... was directed by someone?!"

How is that possible!

"Rather than saying it's directed, it's more like being used..."

Gradually regaining her composure, Margaret gently flicked the lock of hair stuck to her forehead with her index finger, trying to remain calm as she continued.

"They didn't need to do anything. All they needed to do was put fuel where it was needed to burn, hand the matches to those mad wanting to ignite, prepare countermeasures, calculate the time for the fire, prepare everything, and then quietly watch it burn."

"This fire will surely ignite, but it won't hurt deeply. Then they can naturally get everything they want... and we are the price."

At that moment.

She understood everything.

Chapter 832: I'm Your Grandpa, the Pangolin!

The air in the church was as cold as the howling wind on the Wandering swamp, even though West Sail Port, situated in the tropics, never sees winter.

It's all cost...

Everyone in this settlement.

Anvo's gaze suddenly filled with despair, losing all hope in the rebellion, he lifted the gun in his hand again, though he didn't release the safety.

"...I don't care about any of this, even if we've been used, give me and my brothers beside me a way out! I'll give you a way out!"

"...If you hadn't interrupted, I was about to say that. To survive, you have to pretend to have killed the people, yet the people aren't dead."

Yishel glanced mockingly at this cowardly wolf afraid of death, then slowly continued speaking.

"Don't just stand there foolishly, go to the port and get some bodies, get some carts for transporting bodies, arrange the bodies in the church, shoot a round at them, then drag them out."

Although there's a suspicion of desecrating bodies, there's no time to worry about that now.

Survival is the most important.

Anvo asked nervously.

"Then what?"

Yishel's mind was whizzing, but his speech was steady without the slightest panic.

"Then these survivors will have to lie with the bodies and follow the carts out of the city. Just make up any reason, like the people who died in the Silver Moon Church must be returned to soil & Rest in peace... The rebels and Mr. Melgio should leave him alone. However, this thing requires Mr. Melgio to follow, there is still some risk—"

"That's okay, as long as we can save these poor people, this risk is nothing," Melgio interrupted him, looked at him earnestly and said, "I'll be with the convoy leaving the city, reciting scriptures along the way, so we can at least put on a good performance."

"Thank you, it's a burden for you."

Yishel nodded at this pastor, then looked towards the old butler Sahadu who had been silent from the beginning.

"Is the Count Sharma's estate far from here? How big is it? Could it accommodate 200 people?"

Sahadu returned to his senses abruptly, hurriedly replied.

"Not far! If we leave now, we'll definitely arrive before dawn! We have a vast plantation! Not 200, 2000 people can be accommodated with no problem!"

"Very good..." Yishel nodded and said, "Once out of the city, take everyone to Count Sharma's estate. Find a not too big, not too small place to hide everyone, remember! The fewer people who know about this, the better!"

The young man named Paven couldn't help but ask.

"Shouldn't we hide separately?"

Yishel rolled his eyes.

"Are you a pig? What difference does it make if you catch one or catch ten? Everyone staying together is the safest! And only one person can deliver food and water... No, don't choose anyone else, you're it, these 200 lives are your responsibility."

While speaking, he grabbed Paven's shoulder, staring into the young man's eyes, until the fear in those pupils turned into calmness, then he let go.

"You're a smart person... Since you know mingling with this bunch is hopeless, seize this last chance to survive."

Paven gathered his courage and nodded, agreeing.

"Yes..."

"Very good."

Upon hearing the young man's response, Yishel pushed him next to Anvo.

"Now this kid is yours, find an opportunity to promote him, at least let him mix into a Centurion. Once we've taken Count Sharma's estate, let him out, let him be responsible for overseeing Sharma's estate and family."

Anvo glanced at the young man, nodded and said.

"Shouldn't be a big problem... I heard Anush promised Lion State to Absek, who is my direct superior. Some people will definitely stay to tidy up the land around here."

Yishel felt a surge of joy.

"Great."

The butler Sahadu asked tremblingly.

"Since this place is already a land of strife... Can't we just escape?"

"Escape?"

As if hearing a very amusing joke, Anvo looked cheerfully at this old butler.

"Are you going to leave with dry food or empty-handed? How much dry food are you planning to take where? Once news from here spreads, there will be people everywhere wanting your life, you won't have time to flee, nor will you run far! Trust me, staying put is actually the safest, by then the Weilante people will land here... I dare bet Anush won't stay here guarding, will probably leave a scapegoat here."

"But if I stay in Lion State, those Weilante people will kill me..." Paven said in panic.

"As long as these people are alive, you won't die. If they die, wherever you flee to will be the same."

Anvo glanced at this young man, his expression complex, but ultimately said nothing. Then he looked towards Lady Margaret and asked.

"What about the kids? Will they also leave for the city?"

Margaret was silent for a while, with some hesitation in her eyes, but ultimately she made up her mind.

"It's too dangerous... We can't put all our eggs in one basket, someone has to survive, to tell the people outside what happened tonight."

Anvo nodded.

"I think so too, kids are too risky, if one cries halfway, everyone will be doomed... Will you go and bid goodbye to the children?"

"No need."

Margaret shook her head gently, then walked to the old nun, holding her hands.

Looking into those eyes, she said sincerely.

"Our children are in your care, in a few days, the Weilante people will surely come here... But unless you judge that the news we're still alive can make people here suffer less suffering, please temporarily do not tell the Weilante people we're still alive, just say we've been taken out for execution."

Those people will not let them survive.

Maybe they will save.

But in the end, there will certainly be one or two minutes of "delay," arriving only after everything is over.

This is an obvious thing.

A train in motion will not stop because a small ant is on the track.

Will 200 fewer dead bring 3000 already dead back to life?

The war will be launched as well.

And to avoid involving the puppets controlled by the mastermind within the rebellion, allowing "personnel changes" to affect subsequent plans, the puppets manipulated by the mastermind will definitely receive the news before "those who go to save them."

And why is that...

Because they were already included in the "budget."

Margaret took a deep breath and continued.

"It won't just be the army... people from the alliance are also likely to come here. However, the alliance is not entirely trustworthy. They have close cooperation with the army on the Sticky Community, and it's not unlikely they might adopt an appeasement policy. There are too many things happening behind the scenes that we do not understand, please make sure to watch those people closely and see if they are worth..."

Actually, it doesn't matter even if they aren't worth it.

If even the alliance sides with the army, supporting an invasion of the empire, two bandits joining hands to ravage this land, then no matter how bright the truth's light, it will certainly be obscured.

And by that time.

Perhaps only people from corporations or the academy could come to collect the corpses, documenting what once happened here.

Margaret tightly held the old nun's hand, her earnest voice tinged with an unconscious plea.

"Please... make sure to take good care of them. If we unfortunately meet our demise, then please reveal the truth to the children after everything is over."

The old nun nodded seriously.

"I will indeed! And madam... please take care of yourself. The children cannot be without a mother, even if it's solely to prevent those bad people from planting ugly things in their heads, you must survive."

Mr. Melgio walked up to the two of them and said softly.

"Brave people don't die so easily... it's getting late, let's start preparing quickly."

"I have already arranged for someone to handle the bodies at the harbor," Anvo glanced outside the door, then at the over two hundred Weilante people in the hall, "You should prepare too, see if you need to change into other clothes or something. As for the luggage, don't even think about it, just leave it here."

Anvo looked at Yishel, who stood with arms crossed nearby, then at the dozen or so of his churchmates behind him.

"What about you? Going home? Or going with these Weilante people to Count Sharma?"

"They don't need me to follow them, you're actually more important than them, I worry more about your safety... if you mess up, we're all doomed."

Yishel glanced around, tore a large strip off his sleeve, and tied it around his arm amidst the stunned gazes of everyone.

That look really seems like something.

After all, those things tied to the arms of the rebels weren't uniformly made either.

Seeing the wide-eyed Anvo, Yishel raised his eyebrows.

"I'm rebelling too."

"Now I'm your subordinate."

...

Everything went as planned, Anvo arranged for trusted subordinates to bring over more than three hundred bodies from the harbor.

Most of the people at the harbor were dead drunk, nobody cared about those things, only thinking some nosy bigwig arranged for the bodies to be cleaned up.

The rebels currently hadn't formed an organization, the command system was in chaos, without unified instructions.

Even those retired veterans of the Grey Wolf Army united around Anush couldn't sort out seniority matters, let alone their small factions.

However, if, as Lady Margaret speculated, an unseen black hand was indeed manipulating everything here, then the chaos of the rebels shouldn't last long.

At the very least, it certainly wouldn't drag until reinforcements from Evernight Harbor arrived.

They just need to push one person out as the leader, raise a big flag as their banner, then supplement the rebellion with a reason, decide who stays behind to die, and they can march grandly out of the city, advancing towards Tiandu.

If nothing unexpected happens, those left behind should be the city defense force.

They are the least likable, and with poor combat power, leaving them for the Weilante people to vent is most appropriate, those big noses can use them as targets.

Of course, this would certainly not be stated outright, it would probably end up being offered under the guise of "joining terms," just like oneself going to the Silver Moon Church to kill.

Only unlike them, the price for their joining terms is one they can't afford with their entire family's lives riding on it...

Watching his confidants position the bodies in the church, Anvo's expression was icy.

The young man named Paven walked over to him, trembling as he spoke.

"All set..."

Although he hadn't killed anyone, at this moment he was covered in blood, as if he had crawled out of a pile of dead bodies.

Anvo nodded, gesturing for the twenty or so confidants beside him to aim at those slumped on the church benches, before decisively waving his hand.

"Fire!"

The moment the words fell, loud gunfire echoed through the church, everyone closed their eyes unwillingly, even the children in the basement let out stifled cries.

The cart for carrying the bodies was pushed inside, and it came out even fuller.

The despondent pastor followed the cart step by step, one hand clutching the silver crescent at his chest, the other on the blood-stained cart.

Not far away, a few patrolling "Bandage Guards" saw and showed envy.

"Those guys probably had fun."

"Damn... there were more people than meat at the harbor, I didn't even get a sip of soup."

Suddenly someone chuckled lewdly.

"By the way, isn't there still a nun in the church? Should we go take a look?"

Before he finished, the ten-man leader smacked him on the head.

"Are you freaking crazy? Anush didn't even dare mess with those who chant, and you think you're better than the boss?"

He had seen that not only was Mr. Melgio alive, but also dared to follow beside that wolf tribesman and pray for the dead.

What this meant was self-evident.

Another soldier, probably having been to the church, also gave that guy a disdainful look.

"That nun must be at least fifty or sixty years old... are you interested in an old geezer like that?"

The soldier who chuckled lewdly finally fell silent, scratching the back of his head.

"How was I supposed to know..."

The sounds of laughter and curses drifted along the street, as if bidding farewell to the convoy transporting corpses.

On the other side of the church, the old nun simply bowed her head silently, holding a mop, futilely cleaning the blood-stained hall.

Then some people entered the church.

However, they merely glanced at her, then at the blood on the floor, and hurriedly left without saying a word.

This church seemed forgotten, surviving a quiet corner in this hell of piled corpses and blood for three whole days.

Until the deafening roar erupted, and the Weilante people's military boots finally stepped onto the port, did it end...

...

The flame on the silver candlestick flickered gently, a sudden trance pulled that distant time back to the present.

After recounting the whole story, the old nun slowly continued.

"If everything goes well, your lady and the other survivors are probably hiding in one of Count Sharma's houses or plantations, cared for by a centurion ... or maybe a Centurion named Paven. And Mr. Melgio should also be there."

"As for Anvo, he should be beside his superior, Absek, which is also Mr. Yishel's suggestion. The most dangerous place is often the safest, if those people become suspicious, no matter what you do, you'll die."

"... But if you can gain their trust, there's a hope of being drawn into their circle and finding evidence of the army's involvement in this conspiracy."

The basement was unusually quiet.

The players were watching the subtitles translated by the VM, while Yarman held his breath.

The silence was first broken by the young Ruby.

A faint layer of mist like a spring from a dried-up well moistened those eyes covered with a layer of dust.

Hope rekindled in her eyes, and her lips moved softly.

"Mom... is still alive..."

"Margaret... Oh, Silver Moon Goddess above!"

Yarman, excited and incoherent, pressed his lips and nose to his clasped hands.

He wished he could kneel and bow to the Silver Moon Goddess on the spot!

Praise the moon!

No matter if the Silver Moon Goddess resides there or not!

If this doesn't count as a miracle, what could be called a miracle?!

"Where is she now? No... what should I do to bring her back?"

Yarman gradually calming down, realized that the matter was not as simple as it seemed.

Firstly, he couldn't leave West Sail Port.

The soldiers outside would certainly keep him here for safety reasons and question his reasons for leaving.

This was completely reasonable.

And if he said Margaret was still alive, and was with the people who stayed in the church that night, the Heaven King's forces would certainly find them before the Weilante rescue troops.

At that time, not only would Margaret die, but everyone with her would die!

Even the good man who spared her life that night — Mr. Anvo who was inside the Heaven King's forces — would die!

They would die in silence, taking all the secrets with them to their graves.

"Your lady also doesn't know, but she believes you must have a way, a way to save everyone! Not just her and the two hundred survivors, but everyone about to be swept into this war..." The old nun sighed softly and looked at the people of the Alliance.

Following her gaze, Yarman also looked at those beside him for help, especially the one who seemed most reliable, the Far-sighted Eagle.

The latter had been silent, pondering with his chin pinched, until Yarman's gaze turned to him, then he slowly spoke.

"This won't be easy... If we leave West Sail Port, the Weilante people will definitely follow us alertly. Besides, just relying on us won't help, the Heaven King's forces in the Lion State number in the tens of thousands, at least right? Not to mention escorting two hundred people to withdraw, even without heavy equipment and support, two ten-man teams would be enough to give us a hard time."

Stick Brother scratched his head, the difficult expression clear on his face.

"Indeed, and if the rescue fails, the army might blame it on us, 'Why didn't you report the danger!'... Tsk, it's troublesome, if these dogs bite back, we won't have any ground to stand on."

"Send in an airborne unit then?" The Skilled Warrior Wolf looked at him puzzled, "Since we know it was the army's people causing trouble, couldn't we just send in the troops?"

Old Stick rolled his eyes.

"Are you kidding? Those are army citizens, it's not up to the Alliance to rescue them, not to mention, can you decide troop movements just like that? If we follow your reckless plan, the Alliance might as well do nothing and just spin around this tiny spot."

Old Wolf was anxious.

"But..."

The Eagle interrupted what he was about to say, seriously pondering as he spoke.

"Stick Brother is right, calm down a bit. Even if we have a Resurrection Coin, it doesn't mean we can act recklessly."

"And to speak frankly, from the Alliance's standpoint, rescuing those two hundred people isn't enough. The guy named Anvo might be even more important to us than those two hundred lives, he might have already found clues to some of the higher-ups in the Heaven King's forces and high-level army insiders... This might be the only leverage to halt the army, although it's very slim."

This meant, before rescuing the survivors, they would have to find Anvo first.

At this point, the Eagle couldn't help but express a frown of worry.

"The problem is, however, we have no way to contact that guy, we don't even know where he is."

Stick Brother suddenly spoke up.

"That part's actually easy."

Three pairs of eyes turned to him, including the troubled Eagle.

Old Stick cleared his throat and switched to his not-so-standard United Human language.

"Didn't that Anush surround Tiandu already? Those 'loyalists' who pushed him into power must be by his side, right? For instance, that Absek, find him, and you've found Anvo... We can just go to Tiandu directly."

"Tiandu?! Are you crazy?" The Skilled Warrior Wolf stared at him in astonishment.

"Let's put it another way, send an envoy to Tiandu?"

Stick Brother chuckled, swaying the VM hanging on his arm while looking at his three speechless brothers.

"Since they've shouted slogans of abolition and equality, as the 'big brother', we ought to take a look, right? We can't let them write it wrong."

"Damn it?!"

"You're giving up your account?!"

"I need to ask the BOSS first! Damn it, I'm not going crazy with you!"

Just as Eagle, Old Wolf, and Old Butler were all stunned by this guy's terrible idea, a yacht about ten meters wide slowly approached the dock at West Sail Port.

They saw a haggard-looking man, holding onto the gangway, walk down, and after a couple of steps, he bent over his knees and dry heaved.

"Damn! This godforsaken place is really far!"

Even with his Awakened Constitution, he didn't get seasick, but the constant changing of transport and the seafood along the way were too much to handle.

There is no fixed flight from Jinjaron Harbor to West Sail Port; this yacht was temporarily rented at Jinjaron Harbor, and the supplies on board were fished along the way.

After taking a couple of breaths, he finally felt a little better.

Meanwhile, the soldiers at the port had long noticed this uninvited guest and began to approach with their weapons drawn.

"West Sail Port is closed to non-residents! Who are you!" Centurion Peter, who was on duty, stepped forward, staring at the yacht and the man standing beside it, eyes slightly narrowed.

This kind of small boat doesn't look like it could handle the open sea.

This guy must have come from Jinjaron Harbor!

Realizing this guy might be from the Alliance, Peter's face instantly turned cold, and his gaze grew increasingly unfriendly.

"Are you from the Alliance—"

"Spit! You're the one from the Alliance!" The man rolled his eyes, rudely interrupting him.

Looking at the bewildered Little Centurion in front of him, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group cursed unceremoniously.

"I'm your uncle Pangolin! Rank is Thousands of leaders! When I was slaughtering Blue Ground Squirrel, you were still playing house on some sandpile!"

His United Human language was no longer as stilted as before, and he used modal particles with ease.

"Which hundred-man team are you from, damn it? Get your leader over here!"

Peter: "???

As soon as the Old Soldier finished speaking, the soldiers surrounding the dock suddenly stirred, making way. A man wearing an officer cap walked towards the two confronting each other on the dock.

Seeing his long-lost acquaintance, McCullen suddenly seemed to fall into some sort of memory, a nostalgic smile easing his stern mouth.

"Long time no see, seems you've become more talkative."

Hearing that familiar voice, Peter quickly turned his head, showing a surprised expression on his face.

"Gen-General McCullen?! You're... not asleep at this hour?"

Hearing that familiar name, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, just putting on airs, was suddenly stunned, finally recognizing the man silhouetted against the streetlamp light, and his expression instantly turned awkward.

Careless.

This rank is higher than mine.

"...Greetings, General." The Old Soldier stiffly saluted.

Damn it!

Why is the Ten Thousand Leader here to join the fun!

Shit!

McCullen chuckled, returning a salute, then casually said.

"I remember you worked under Coleway?"

The Old Soldier nodded awkwardly.

"Uh, yes! But I was seconded there... I don't actually command the troops directly, just handle relations between the locals and the Weilante People, since there's still a ten thousand troops stationed there."

McCullen casually mentioned.

"The 37th ten thousand troops, if I remember correctly, that's Coleway's unit number."

"Yes!" The Old Soldier nodded, muttering in his heart about how well this guy knew the deployment situation in Haiye Province, a few thousand kilometers away.

McCullen continued.

"Did Bennott send you?"

"Yes..."

Looking at this honestly nodding guy, McCullen smiled and asked.

"What did he want you to do?"

The Old Soldier hesitated about whether to say it, but seeing McCullen seemed to already know everything, he decided to take a chance and said.

"Sent to Tiandu to negotiate with the Heavenly King Army."

The surrounding soldiers were in an uproar, including Peter, who couldn't help but clench their fists, their eyes burning with visible anger.

Negotiate?

To hell with negotiations!

He only wanted to slaughter the people of this settlement, then go and slaughter those so-called Tiandu and Heavenly King Army people!

Without a trace, McCullen glanced at the Centurion beside him, then looked back at the Pangolin beside the yacht, nodding slightly.

"This isn't the place for this conversation, let's get ashore first."

"Yes..."

You damn well know this isn't the place to talk!

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group kept the words in his heart, pretending to be an honest man, following behind McCullen, passing through the soldiers' murderous glares.

Enduring that prickling sensation on his back, the Old Soldier couldn't help but complain internally.

This damn Old Mai!

Learned to play tricks!

Chapter 833: The Empire's Destruction

The Old Soldier followed General McCullen all the way to the deepest part of the military camp.

Throughout the journey, he was carefully observing the deployment of the camp, and the more he observed, the more shocked he became.

He saw 100 mm field artillery placed under camouflage nets, and in addition to those, even 380 mm ordnance typically found on warships had been mounted on tracks and dragged ashore.

Besides these, there were strange steel machines, some resembling supply transport vehicles, others appearing to serve air defense and support purposes.

Different from when they were in Luo Xia Province.

Back then, due to the lengthy logistics supply line, the eastern expansion faction's ten ten thousand troops were desperately short on ammunition.

But the situation here was different.

Not only were they prepared with sufficient ammunition, but they were also fully stocked for the whole war's consumption.

To be honest, so much material doesn't seem like it could be mobilized temporarily.

Just as the Old Soldier was observing everything, General McCullen stopped in front of a gray camouflage tent, nodded at the guards at the entrance, and then passed through the lifted curtain to enter.

The Old Soldier quickly followed behind him, and also squeezed into the spacious tent.

McCullen picked up a kettle, poured two cups of tea, then sat down at the table and gestured invitingly.

"Have a seat."

The Old Soldier nodded and sat tensely opposite him, pondering what McCullen intended to say to him.

Unexpectedly, McCullen said nothing and took a sip of tea, first asking him instead.

"What do you think of this place?"

The Old Soldier was taken aback and asked in confusion.

"May I ask which aspect the General is referring to?"

McCullen casually replied.

"All aspects, just talk about your thoughts on the deployment here."

Just casually talking, huh?

The Old Soldier dreaded hearing the word "casual," but still spoke apprehensively.

"There is a lot of equipment stocked here, I'm afraid it won't be just one or two battles."

Pausing for a moment, inspiration struck him, and he added.

"It's almost identical to our frontline in Luo Xia Province!"

McCullen's lips curled into a slight smile, nodding approvingly.

"Not bad, your observation skills haven't declined."

What kind of observation skills are needed for this...

Isn't it just obvious?

The Old Soldier chuckled, suppressing the urge to retort and then furrowing his brows to ask.

"What does the Southern Legion intend to do?"

McCullen replied with a smile.

"Their intentions are obvious, haven't you seen them yet even after reaching here?"

Indeed.

Their intentions were written on the faces of the soldiers at the port.

Simply put, annihilate the damn people of Xilan!

No need for war mobilization.

As an outsider, the Old Soldier found it difficult to empathize with them, but precisely because of that, he could think calmly.

"I actually don't quite understand... Why the Civil Official Group cooperates with them on this matter. Even if the legion acquires a large expanse of land, the prestige of the civil officials in Triumph City would be tarnished, and the small area of influence they have would be taken away. Does this really align with their interests?"

McCullen chuckled and said.

"Your ability to consider the varying interest demands within the legion's factions is commendable. Most outsiders... even including the Weilante people themselves, misinterpret this vast political entity as a monolithic lair. But merely knowing the different interest demands of each faction is not enough; you also need to analyze their actions to achieve those demands."

Seeing McCullen appear to have more to say, the Old Soldier promptly ceded the opportunity for posturing to him and smoothly replied.

"Please enlighten me, General!"

McCullen didn't beat around the bush and directly delved into the main topic, beginning with the incident's origins.

"…The Civil Official Group has long been vocal about the Empire's weakness in various affairs, which you should be quite aware of."

"Duke Garava's various performances at the Sticky Community conference have put us, as allies, in a passive position. Centurion Bennott has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with him. When such a buffoon is placed in such a significant position, you can imagine the incompetence of Witch Camel himself. That guy may have a knack for political balance, but such 'adding water when there's too much flour, and flour when there's too much water' gimmicks are only applicable in a feudal dynasty."

The Old Soldier nodded.

"Indeed... Duke Garava has offended almost everyone he possibly could in the Sticky Community."

"Diplomatic issues are just one aspect. Economically and industrially, it's even worse. The wealth we've painstakingly helped them accumulate ended up benefiting the alliance's underlings. The steel and cement we helped produce have all been sent to the rebels... We've actually seen it all, but being anxious doesn't help. That Witch Camel is like someone deaf and mute, still fantasizing that a single technology or a battleship can turn the Empire around."

McCullen smiled and continued.

"Thus, the Civil Official Group conceived an idea: it would be better if the Empire had another emperor."

"A stronger emperor would be ideal, one that could inject some militaristic thought into the feudal Empire, thus enabling it to serve some purpose. A new Empire doesn't need to be very strong; it just needs to be like a fierce wolf, baring its teeth when we need it."

"Realizing this is quite easy. The Wolf Tribe people who have fought and died for the Empire have accumulated considerable discontent. Their kids bleed for the Empire at the front lines, while the Empire never cares for their lives. They are like rags, bearing all the filth, then thrown to West Sail Port to be squeezed dry of the last ounce of value."

"I am an instructor to many Wolf Tribe officers; I can sense their inner struggles. They actually long more for change than those pen pushers writing 'Red Soil,' and indeed, they possess the strength those pen pushers lack."

"All they lack is a bit of startup capital, and this thing is easily addressed by borrowing from the Eastern Legion. They're adept at using others' money for their own affairs, just like bringing me here as an instructor."

"…Do you mean, this is the Civil Official Group's..." The Old Soldier wanted to use the term conspiracy, but recalling this wasn't the forum and realizing that the ten thousand leader stood before him, he bit his tongue.

McCullen clearly saw what he intended to say and merely offered a faint smile.

"During the time I was captured by the Alliance, I learned a saying or rather a proverb: 'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the bird behind.'"

The Old Soldier suddenly caught on, but his voice unconsciously lowered.

"Are you saying... it's the Southern Legion that took advantage of the civil officials' layout?"

"Smart."

McCullen nodded approvingly and continued in a deliberate tone.

"If I'm not mistaken, the civil officials' plan is to have the retired officers and soldiers of the Grey Wolf Army start a coup, seizing Tiandu quickly while the Grey Wolf Army is at the front line, and then establish a militaristic regime."

"In this way, the armies will increase from four to five, and the fifth army, formed by the Poluo people and remotely controlled by the civil officials, will not be bound by ancient contracts. It can advance or retreat as a local force in the Wasteland."

"They played a little trick, and the corporations, who excel at appeasement and self-deception, will certainly not intervene in this matter. The only variable is the Alliance, but realistically, the Alliance can do little as there is no military presence of the armies in the eastern region, except this vassal is slightly larger."

"Everything is within the permissible scope of the rules. We haven't crossed the red line, just brushed against the edge of it."

Old Soldier gazed at him with astonishment written all over his face.

Before coming here, Bennott did mention they were tricked by their allies, but hadn't explained in detail.

He thought the "ally" referred to the Empire, but it turned out to be the Southern Legion.

Seeing Pangolin's surprised expression, McCullen smiled lightly and continued.

"However, not everyone is content just to brush the edge. Some restless fellows not only leveraged the civil officials' layout but also added their own stakes to the original balance."

"Those who needed to withdraw have withdrawn, the uprising occurred as expected, but the one in power is a guy named Anush, an obvious scapegoat."

"Then, the fire blazed into the sky, fiercer than everyone expected, and the reckoning against the Empire also thoroughly turned into a reckoning against the Empire and the Weilante people, burning over three thousand Weilante civilians. Now even the civil officials dare not boast this is their handiwork, they can only play deaf and dumb while trying to put out the fire."

Old Soldier couldn't help but ask.

"... Does this benefit the Southern Legion?"

McCullen glanced at the camp entrance, smiling faintly as he replied.

"The benefit is what you see outside; they can soon continue expanding."

"And once the war begins, the flames will not just burn in the Poluo Province, our vassals in Falling Leaves will also be dragged in. Given the current national strength of the Falcon Kingdom, it could instantly be pierced through by the Honey Badger nearby if the Alliance decides to help them."

Old Soldier asked in a deep voice.

"Do you want this war to start?"

McCullen didn't answer directly but poured himself another cup of tea, nonchalantly asking back.

"What do you think?"

Old Soldier spoke truthfully.

"I think you're telling me this because you don't want the fire to continue burning."

"You're smart."

McCullen's face showed approval again; he took a sip of hot tea, wetting his throat before continuing.

"I can reveal to you, this fire does bring me a little benefit personally, but if it continues burning, that's not necessarily the case. This is true for both myself and the Eastern Legion."

Old Soldier answered straightforwardly without further ado.

"Then what should I do to stop this fire?"

McCullen gestured for him to come closer and then spoke in a very soft voice.

"Some people in the Celestial Army betrayed those who initially sponsored them, or more accurately, members of the Southern Legion offered them better benefits and promises... These people are very sensitive to the civil officials' messengers, I'm sure Bennott warned you about who to watch out for when you get to Tiandu."

Old Soldier nodded earnestly.

"That person is called Absek, seems like that Celestial King appointed him as the Grand Duke of Lion State—"

"Shh." McCullen made a hush gesture, lowering his voice and continuing, "I don't care what that person or those people are called, nor am I interested; you just remember. When you get there, you need to show Anush a stance of peace talks, stating you represent Triumph City."

"I'll bet no matter how tough Anush's face is, internally he's delighted. He's not foolish; he knows he can't defeat the armies with his power, whether he sides with the army or the Alliance, he needs to find an escape route for himself. As for those killed, it's easy to manage, just shift all the blame on those already reckoned. Eight million lives for three thousand, by calculation, it's more than enough... but all this hinges on whether the army accepts his 'explanation'."

"You must make him believe that the army wishes to accept the explanation, but eight million lives aren't enough, Lion State must also be sacrificed as compensation."

Old Soldier looked at McCullen in realization.

"That is Absek's fiefdom, you're trying to stir up internal conflict among them..."

McCullen shook his head, then nodded.

"Whose fiefdom doesn't matter, what matters is your proposed terms should make those collaborating with the Southern Legion realize, the civil officials just want a different ally, whereas the Southern Legion wants their land. These people will never fulfill their promises, won't care about abandoning them, and might turn to collaborate with Anush."

"This way, they'll be fearful, anxious; after all, they killed so many Weilante people. If the Southern Legion fails to fulfill promises, they'd be buried like clowns... Once these people feel fear, they'll try to demand more promises and guarantees from the Southern Legion, even act impulsively. That's when our chance comes."

Old Soldier's eyes sparkled with clarity.

"Do you want me to find evidence of the Southern Legion's involvement?"

McCullen nodded.

"Correct, but mere evidence isn't enough; denying and severing ties is easy, killing a 'Griffin' is enough. You need to think externally, perhaps leak it to the Alliance. The Alliance has warships, and connections with corporations and the Academy, only with their intervention can the pyromaniac lunatics be kept calm... at least weigh the consequences of stepping in personally."

Old Soldier looked at McCullen in surprise, not expecting such words to come out of his mouth.

Using the Alliance to balance the Southern Legion.

Is this something someone of his position should say?!

"Uh..."

Seeing Pangolin's wide eyes, General McCullen seemed to think he was shocked by his 'betrayal'.

But he did not explain, simply leaned back in his chair, legs resting on his knees.

"I don't see it as a betrayal; it's preventing a group of ambitious people from dragging us into an abyss without bottom."

"Although it seems like I don't have the standing to say this... but if you trust me, then do as I say."

...

West Sail Port was quiet at night, the Southern Legion was busy preparing to fully invade the Poluo Province, the fuse attached to the larger powder keg seemed to have started burning.

Next morning.

Another passenger ship docked at the port of West Sail.

The bloodstains and bodies on the dock had been cleaned up, but the marks left by the shelling remained.

Some people knelt on the deck, while others broke down in tears.

They were all family members of the victims...

Looking at the devastated port, Penny, standing on the deck, couldn't help but cover her mouth, her shoulders gently trembling.

"...This is too much."

It's said that only some kids survived by the refuge offered by the Silver Moon Church.

And those who didn't make it suffered unbearable torment and died in despair and humiliation...

Just then, Penny suddenly remembered that her father had insisted she go home, at least to Evernight Harbor to find her uncle Ross.

And not long after, the Governor's Mansion of West Sail Port announced that a large batch of arms was being sold by the pound at Death Coast... first-come, first-served.

Her eyes suddenly widened, and an incredulous light reflected in her sorrowful pupils.

A terrifying possibility suddenly emerged in her mind.

It was her intuition as a journalist.

Could it be her father...

...

The Weilante people on the boat were looking at the port, and the people at the port were looking at those on the boat.

The "Battle-Ready Wolf" with a backpack was silent for a long time, then suddenly spoke.

"I suddenly feel that the legion isn't that great."

They were about to set off for Tiandu, and now they were back on the Yarman ship packing their luggage.

The "Mucking Stick" gave him a strange look and hippily placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Brother, let me interview you. When did you ever get the illusion that they were good?"

Old Wolf glanced sideways at him and then looked at the people on the passenger ship and its deck.

"I don't know, maybe it's an intuition... I feel like they're pretty good to their own people."

The "Mucking Stick" continued with a cheeky grin.

"That's good. Specifically in what aspect? Is it the B-cup Weilante men in the Triumph Newspaper, or is it using a big and thick caliber to avenge fallen compatriots? To be honest, no matter how loud the cannons are, can the dead come back to life? It seems to me that burning paper money is more effective; at least it can make them more comfortable underground."

The Weilante military officers who stayed in the Alliance did burn paper for the fallen soldiers of the Expeditionary Army.

No one knows who taught them.

Old Wolf stubbornly defended.

"But at least vengeance was served."

As if seeing something amusing, Old Stick laughed and quipped.

"Really? I thought the enemy was in Tiandu, but it turns out they're still in West Sail Port."

"But if you ask me, where does the hatred even come from? Aren't those who died in the craters outside the Grand Canyon not all clones? Even those poor guys had parents or children, yet no one even collected their bodies, only scavengers rifling through them. Are these the kind who treat their compatriots as human? Those who died there were no fewer than those who died here!"

For a moment, Old Wolf was speechless.

He wanted to say that those who died were soldiers, different from the civilians who died here, but he couldn't articulate what their essential difference was.

They seemed to be stakes in a gamble.

Though playing different games, they were both betting on an almost impossible victory.

If they won, then their sacrifice would be valuable, but he couldn't explain what this so-called value was.

Didn't the legion have enough land already?

Yet they were still far from their Utopia.

As for that great expedition, of course, they won.

In the Triumph Newspaper, the Alliance and the Desert Countries lost bitterly without losing an inch of land, barely surviving through corporate and academic maneuvering.

And the Grand Canyon was huddled under the Holy Shield, not daring to move, not even participating in negotiations...

"Militarism plus racism, the debuff is maxed out but still think it's all good. A wife cake at least has a cake even if there's no wife. These guys, besides saying 'Ikka' and 'Tatakae,' are the harshest on their own people." Old Stick continued his taunting, rendering Old Wolf speechless.

Not wanting these two to start arguing again, Eagle hastily coughed to discourage them.

"Alright, stop talking about useless shit, go cosplay somewhere else... As for whether the legion is good, you can ask Vanus. At least he's a military noble, right?"

Old Wolf nodded seriously.

"...I'll visit him when I return to the City of Dawn."

Eagle sighed, squinting his eyes at the port and then at the nearby downtown area.

"We'll talk about the future later. For now, think about how to complete this damn mission first."

The Conduit Dog couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Can you stop saying damn this and damn that all the time? I'm the one who talks the least."

The Mucking Stick chuckled.

"But you babble the most!"

Conduit Dog: "@#%@!"

Seeing the two argue again, Eagle couldn't help but hold his forehead. Just as he was about to say something, a familiar hometown accent came from the side.

"Hey, what a coincidence, are you here for the mission too?"

The four turned their heads simultaneously, only to see a player without a VM standing there.

"Damn!"

"Big Boss!!!"

"Pangolin!"

Seeing the big boss right in front of them, the faces of the four newbies instantly lit up with excitement.

Especially Eagle.

Alliance double agent Pangolin!

With this big shot around, the mission is a sure thing!

He didn't want to think anymore, was ready to lay back.

Seeing this group of energetic newcomers, Old Soldier made a helpless smile.

Just because of that joke those bastards made that day, his nickname is now more famous than his ID.

"You'd better not act too close to me... consider it me asking you for a favor."

Eagle's expression immediately became serious, making a hateful face, he whispered through clenched teeth.

"Got it, brother... we're enemies. By the way, I didn't see you mention you'd be coming on the forum?"

Old Soldier didn't act as convincingly, just turned into a poker face like usual, shrugged his shoulders and said softly.

"The forum is so big, it's normal for posts to get buried. I actually PM'd you guys on the forum just now, but you didn't reply, so I came online."

Old Stick suggested.

"...This isn't the place to talk, why don't we log off and chat?"

Old Soldier quietly said.

"Don't talk either, come with me to Tiandu... uh, I'm the Army's messenger, you guys play the Alliance, and after we get to Tiandu, we need to find someone."

Duct's dog excitedly exclaimed.

"I get it! We're supposed to find that mole, right?"

Mole?

What mole?

Is it that Absek?

Old Soldier was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, I guess it's a mole... Well, you guys already got the mission? Then it's easy to handle, let's just go."

Old Wolf worriedly asked.

"If we move together, won't the Heavenly King Army think we've made a pact?"

Old Soldier chuckled and said.

"That's okay, let them misunderstand, it's beneficial for what we need to do."

As the five were discussing their next steps, news of Tiandu City's fall also finally spread throughout Poluo Province.

Heavenly King Anush announced his ascension! Declared the Anush Dynasty! And simultaneously appointed thirteen Wolf Tribe Kings!

Not only that, a series of rumors accompanied it, like the atrocities committed by the Heavenly King Army inside the city.

The entire Empire was in an uproar.

Hearing his harem was seized, Witch Camel, who was hosting a grand banquet on a ship, blacked out on the spot, couldn't catch his breath, and fell straight into the arms of the old ministers around him.

"His Majesty has fainted!"

"Quick! Call for the royal physician!"

"Why call a royal physician now!! You bunch of useless people are going to drive me crazy, quickly dock and send him to the hospital!"

The deck of the royal merchant ship was in complete chaos.

The leftover noble elders who were dining found the banquet couldn't continue, didn't care about the emperor, frantically pulled out plastic bags, and started stuffing the messy cups and plates into them.

Together with the dishes themselves.

The scene was in complete disarray, no one cared about them taking advantage of the chaos.

But their flustered appearance added some comedic relief to the people trying to save the day on the other side...

It's not just a small boat on the Everflow River plunged into chaos.

Also nearby Lowell State, Tiger State and Leopard State, and even the bordering Horse State of Mammoth State.

The military faction of the Tiger Army was the first to telegraph, condemning the barbaric acts committed by the Heavenly King Army, declaring they would never acknowledge a filthy hyena riding on the Tiger Clan's head.

The Black Panther Army, engrossed in making a fortune quietly, was a bit slow to react, but also promptly sent a telegraph to Tiandu, denouncing the treasonous acts of rebels, declaring staunch support for the emperor and the Xilan Dynasty, and even offered if the emperor had nowhere else to go, he could stay in Leopard State if he didn't mind.

Apart from that, the Black Panther Army also telegraphed the Tiger Army, agreeing to mutually protect each other.

If either side is attacked by the Heavenly King Army or the army, the other will also mobilize to resist together.

Obviously, these two military leaders had some smart people under them, even considering the possibility of army mobilization.

Aside from the rather tough Black Panther and Tiger Armies, the other states didn't have such hard spines.

For instance, the Northern Three States.

The central Elephant State, southern Snake State, and western Lion State, Bull State, and Wolf State have all implicitly given up resistance.

They actually had no way to resist.

Relying on the city defense army's limited combat power, it probably wasn't enough time for them to flee.

As for the Horse State bordering Mammoth State, it stayed silent, but clearly had given up, placing all hope on the bandit suppression by Arai Yang.

Ironically, in the end, the two states that least listened to the emperor, and the least trusted Arai Yang, became the empire's last loyalists.

Even if the entire world abandoned Xilan, they did not abandon their emperor, still attempting to salvage the situation.

But whether it's useful or not, who knows.

The wheels of time are beyond human resistance; the waning twilight eventually sank into the ocean, and the pitch-black darkness finally descended upon these lands...

Wasteland Era remains unchanged as the Wasteland Era.

At least this fire hasn't yet spread beyond Poluo Province.

And for the survivors of Poluo Province, a bloodier and more chaotic era is just beginning...

Chapter 834: Dongshi Imitates Xishi

The news of Tiandu's fall not only caused a sensation in the Poluo Province but also sent shockwaves through the Sticky Community Building in City of Dawn.

The most interesting part is that this disgrace wasn't brought to light by the Alliance but by the Empire's self-proclaimed "good relations" with the Bugra Free State.

The relationship here is somewhat convoluted, but it can still be clearly explained.

Since the Free State had always maintained good relations with the Army, and the Empire was an "ally" of the Army, Duke Garava always treated the Free State's representatives as his own brethren.

And the businessmen of the Free State happened to be notoriously fond of silently amassing wealth.

They never chose their clients in business but only looked for profitable deals. Hence, it was naturally impossible for them to expose the Empire's secrets actively, instead quietly hiding behind the Army and Alliance, secretly exploring the market of Poluo Province.

If not for a few senior salespeople from the Firestone Group being caught by rioters in Tiandu, causing a public outcry, the representative of the Free State would not have wanted to interfere.

As for Duke Garava, he was kept in the dark from beginning to end, only recently finding out that Witch Gu was no longer in Tiandu but had fled to Jinjaron Harbor.

When he learned that the Empire's Tiandu had fallen into the hands of a bunch of rioters, his eyes widened in shock as he sat in the meeting.

He looked like a stranded goldfish.

"Nonsense! Tiandu... in the hands of rebels? How come I didn't hear about it! What is your motive for saying this now?" He stood up angrily but could only come up with a nonsensical rebuttal.

The hall was filled with whispers, with surprised expressions written all over their faces.

These people were representatives from other small Survivor Forces, like Trash City and Dam City. They neither understood nor cared about what was happening in the Empire, only feeling puzzled.

However, the expression on Duke Garava's face was intriguing.

Wasn't it his own family's affair? Why did it seem like he was hearing about it for the first time?

Looking at Duke Garava with a face full of indignation, as if wronged by betrayal, the representative of the Free State just shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright, treat what I said as nonsense... Although I didn't expect you to help, based on your clueless response, I guess you don't even know what's happening in your own house."

The respectful "you" unconsciously turned into "you."

After pausing for a moment, he continued.

"We should use our own mercenaries to rescue people."

After saying this, the scene was filled with murmurs.

Duke Garava, being confronted, was so infuriated that his nose was crooked, and his shoulders couldn't stop trembling. He pointed a finger at the arrogant, rude guy.

"You, do you know what you're saying! Sending troops into the Empire's territory is an infringement of the Empire's sovereignty! It's an invasion! If you dare let those mercenaries set foot on the Empire's land, don't expect them to return alive!"

"Tsk... you are the one not knowing what you're saying, Mr. Garava."

Staring at the furious Garava, the representative of the Free State spoke with a hint of mockery.

And even ridicule.

"Even if it's an act of sovereignty infringement, the sovereignty we are infringing on is that of the 'Yanush Empire,' an illegal regime, so what does it have to do with West Winds? For us, employees are important assets of the Company. Since we've insured them, the insurance must be put to use."

After pausing, he looked at others in the meeting room, especially Cheng Yan, who sat in the Alliance seat, and Centurion Bennott in the Army seat.

These were the people who could truly speak.

"Can't someone get this 'irrelevant person' out of here? The West Winds Empire is already a historical term. What else can he do here besides shout?"

Centurion Bennott, sitting in the Army seat, was expressionless, his deep-set eyes looking as if he had stayed up for several nights, showing complete indifference to the Free State representative's proposal.

He, too, was surrounded by troubles and had no time to care for his dog.

Cheng Yan glanced at Bennott, then looked at the Free State representative and Duke Garava with a pale face, and after a moment of silence, he gently cleared his throat.

"The seat of the Sticky Community was granted to the Residents of Poluo Province, not to a person or an organization, even if it's a royal family... However, I don't agree with canceling the seat of the West Winds Empire due to political turmoil, which violates the spirit of the Sticky Community and our established rules."

A gleam of hope appeared in Duke Garava's eyes.

Although he didn't like the Alliance and despised this "Manager's shadow," he couldn't help but smirk, feeling proud when hearing this guy speaking for him, provocatively glancing at the frowning representative of the Free State.

However—

His pride lasted less than two seconds before he fell into an abyss again because of Cheng Yan's next statement...

"But given the current situation of the Empire, it is indeed unsuitable for them to continue attending the Sticky Community meetings. Even if they make a decision in the meeting, they have no capacity to fulfill their obligations... Therefore, I propose to temporarily freeze their seat until the Residents of Poluo Province select a representative organization or individual who truly represents their views, and then consider unfreezing the seat as per the situation."

This is entirely out of a normal and reasonable procedure.

After all, the Sticky Community is a mycology research institution, discussing collective affairs in the Wasteland Era. Currently, the Empire hasn't even managed their own mess completely, and there is a potential risk of dragging the entire Wasteland into their internal conflicts.

Having such a crap-stirrer causing disturbances at the meeting would be detrimental both to themselves and to the others at the table.

Before fulfilling their obligation to end the Wasteland, the Residents of Poluo Province should first sort out their troubles.

Avoiding looking at the beseeching face of Duke Garava, Cheng Yan stated directly toward the front of the venue.

"Let's vote."

Almost all representatives in the venue turned on the green light, with only the Academy abstaining.

Other than the Alliance, the Company might have cast affirmative votes out of pure goodwill, while the others were tinged with ill intentions.

After all, Duke Garava had always been arrogant and made no few enemies on behalf of the Empire.

The voting situation was precarious for the Empire.

Though Garava was very displeased with the Sticky Community, quitting of his own volition and being kicked out were entirely different things.

Hurting his dignity was worse than asking for his life...

Sweat dripping down his forehead, Duke Garava turned to Centurion Bennott for help, his pitiful expression like that of a drowning man grasping at the last straw above the water.

If the Army exercised the veto, all the deteriorating situation would reverse!

However, to his despair, his dear friend didn't even spare him a glance, just sat there coldly.

That anti-red light...

Ultimately didn't light up.

The Army abstained...

The Empire's closest ally actually abstained!

Duke Garava felt the world spinning and slumped into his chair, his eyes blackened.

He won't help me.

It's over.

Everything is finished...

...

The meeting ended.

As the Free State representative wished, Duke Garava left the venue, carried out.

That guy's heart wasn't in good shape, but he'd rather spend his money on alcohol and women than have surgery.

Many in the meeting seats whispered and wondered whether he would make it this time.

Though it didn't matter if he didn't.

The Empire's seat had been frozen, and it would no longer participate in discussions on the meeting agenda.

The most pleased was undoubtedly the newly joined South Sea Union representative.

The several hundred billion West Winds coins they borrowed had long been cashed out into silver coins at a discount.

If the Empire were to go bankrupt, those debts naturally wouldn't need to be repaid...

After the meeting.

Bennott stood by the corridor window, pausing to look out at the City of Dawn.

Hearing footsteps beside him, he didn't turn but casually spoke.

"Got a cigarette?"

"Yes."

Cheng Yan took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to the guy.

He lit the cigarette with a lighter, and Bennott held it in his mouth but didn't smoke, simply squinting out the window, his face a mix of worry and confusion.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"...There's something I can't figure out."

Cheng Yan, standing next to him, thought for a moment and then said.

"I can probably guess."

Bennott glanced at him, suddenly chuckled, smoke drifting from his nostrils.

"To be honest, I did borrow your method..."

"Are you talking about those rebels?" Cheng Yan was slightly stunned, then said with a wry smile, "You guys... what kind of borrowing is this? We never did such a thing."

"You know whether you did it or not, I can't openly say it."

Bennott snorted, looking out the window, and suddenly a trace of resentment flashed in his eyes.

"But why?"

He clenched his fists tightly, as if he wanted to smash the windowsill with a punch, squeezing out the anger buried in his chest through gritted teeth.

"I gave them so many benefits, and so much assistance... Money! Arms! And the experience and techniques of struggle! Yet they turned around and stabbed us in the back!"

"Can you understand that feeling? It's like when Laxi left the city, he didn't rush to teach the Empire a lesson but instead set a fire at Jin Galun Harbor! If that's the case, what would you think?"

He did discuss some things with Governor Hue.

Including getting in touch with some big figures in Triumph City, especially civil officials with ranks higher than his.

The entire plan was simple: retired old soldiers and officers of the Wolf Tribe would use the grievances of the people at West Sail Port to rebel, sacrifice some Imperial nobles as a rallying cry, then take control of all military supplies stalled in Lion State, and then use the roads and rail networks they built to directly capture Tiandu.

If things went well, the Empire might not even have a chance to react, and this "blood exchange surgery" could be completed without spilling much blood.

After all, the Empire had no defenses against the Army; their reliance on the Army reached an almost delusional level.

As for West Sail Port, it was no problem at all.

The Lion Clan nobles there were a bunch of ineffectual fools; they didn't even need to select carefully to find a load of worthless individuals, who were no match for those old Gray Wolf Army veterans.

To create an opportunity for them, Governor Hue even took away his own Personal Body Guard.

And those opportunists among the wolves also promised them that, after gaining arms, they would only settle scores with the Empire's nobles without touching the Empire's Weilante people, and after everything was over, this "restraint" would be seen as a symbol of their mutual friendship...

However, the result was that those ingrates betrayed him without hesitation, choosing not to trust him, who at least kept faith generally, but instead opted to gamble big by collaborating with those even less trustworthy fellows – first building a lousy ship full of hatred and then betting they could switch to a new ship before it sank.

Now he was only thankful for one thing, that his daughter Penny was not there.

Though she didn't board Governor Hue's ship, he managed to persuade her to leave for Evernight Harbor before everything happened.

Cheng Yan glanced at him.

Even though Bennott didn't spell things out, the general idea was clear.

This guy wanted to replicate a "Laxi" in West Sail Port.

However, this guy clearly misunderstood something.

Even though, from the results, the emergence of Mammoth State did align with the Alliance's interests, the Alliance really didn't actively export anything to the people there.

Including the Survivor's Daily at Jin Galun Harbor, and the serialized "Red Soil" anthology in the newspaper, weren't all of these the voices of the local survivors themselves?

"Do you think Laxi hates us? Do the residents of Jin Galun Harbor hate us? Or... does Laxi hate the residents of Jin Galun Harbor?"

"..." Bennott remained silent for a long time, unable to answer the question.

Cheng Yan continued.

"What if I tell you that we never supported the Mammoth State and the Moon Clan Resistance Army, and we even advised them not to rush, believing everything should be taken step by step... do you believe it?"

The Manager is someone who disdains using conspiracies.

That gentleman's most decisions are indeed overt schemes, Cheng Yan is utterly clear on this.

Despite rumors that Laxi was guided by some significant figure, or received some backing that led him to decisively resign and head north, the truth was quite the opposite.

That guy did something that caught everyone off guard – gambled almost impossible victory with his and others' lives.

But it was precisely that act that woke many within the Alliance.

Not everything would unfold according to their planned slow progress.

They couldn't be as willful as before, heedless in making decisions, they must carefully consider every choice.

Bennott still had a look of disbelief on his face, but was not as sure as before.

"...Laxi wasn't ordered by you guys?"

Cheng Yan looked at him seriously.

"I can swear to the Manager."

"..."

Bennott didn't speak, just stared out the window, smoking alone.

Turns out he wasn't...

No wonder he couldn't replicate it.

People are animals attracted by scent, gamblers are destined to only band with other gamblers, then get eyed by bigger gamblers, losing the hard-won chips again.

Though he wasn't at a dead-end yet, Bennott suddenly felt exhausted, even developing the urge to retire early, losing the aggressiveness and vigor of the past.

The lonely eyes, as if aged ten years in an instant...

...

While Bennott continued smoking one cigarette after another, Duke Garava, who was carried into the hospital, was finally revived under the rescue of Alliance doctors.

"...Lucky you came 5 minutes early, any later, and nobody could have saved you."

Vaguely hearing voices, he struggled to open his eyes and saw the doctor's face.

Though his stubborn nature never bowed to anyone, he couldn't help but soften his tone and lower his brows to the doctor who saved his life.

"Thank you..."

"You're welcome, saving people is my job, and my mission," the doctor wearing a white coat glanced at him, then at the equipment on the side, couldn't help but add another sentence, "If you can afford it, I'd still suggest getting a bionic heart... continuing like this will be the end sooner or later."

Garava's eyes showed some struggle, fine sweat beads seeping through his pale forehead, seemingly in hesitation.

Changing a heart...

Wouldn't that mean having a chest opened up?!

Of course.

Of course, he's not afraid of pain.

It's just... what if that Manager wants his life and arranges for someone to stab him secretly?

Seeing this guy scare himself again, the doctor quickly said.

"We will perform anesthesia, the whole process won't hurt..."

"No need, Doctor," Duke Garava weakly smiled and interrupted him, "I'm fine... thank you for saving my life."

"..."

The doctor looked blankly at this stubborn old man, finally shook his head, and turned to leave the room.

Watching the doctor leave, Niyan at the door quickly asked.

"How is Duke, sir?"

The doctor replied succinctly.

"The situation is basically stable... if you really care about him, you should persuade him to have the surgery as soon as possible."

"I will persuade him." Niyan nodded, told the doctor to take care, and then walked into Duke Garava's ward.

When he walked in, Duke Garava, lying on the bed, was staring intently at the ceiling.

Hearing footsteps at the door, he slightly turned his face, then moved that dazed gaze back, staring at the ceiling, and said dejectedly.

"I feel like I'm not sick... I wasn't like this before, I was quite healthy before, but since I came to the Alliance... it seems everything has changed."

Seeing the Duke's morbid appearance, Niyan also sighed with sympathy, but finally placed the resignation letter he had prepared on the bedside table, then poured a glass of hot water for the Duke, speaking in a comforting tone like coaxing a child.

"Indeed, the Alliance is rotten."

"They shouldn't have ended the Wasteland Era, nor should they have let the people on the Wasteland see the hope of a new era's arrival."

"Everyone will die eventually, drowning in reality and drowning in a dream makes no difference... it's just people's different choices, we all want to leave something in this world."

Duke Garava looked at him blankly, suddenly feeling that this servant seemed a bit unfamiliar.

Is this... his Niyan?

"For the sake of our acquaintance, I advise you to replace your heart. Even if you always feel that the Manager wants your life... now that the Empire is finished, you will soon no longer be a diplomat, no one will want to harm you anymore."

You already have no value to be harmed...

Niyan looked at him with pity, but finally didn't say the most hurtful words.

"Shut up...! You rat, what do you know!" Lying on the bed, Garava widened his eyes, staring intensely at this familiar yet unfamiliar servant, his peripheral vision suddenly noticing the piece of paper on the bedside table.

"And what's that... a newspaper?"

Niyan answered truthfully.

"It's a resignation letter."

Garava's eyes were full of bloodshot, his eye sockets gradually reddening, staring at him.

"Res-resignation?!"

"That's right," Niyan nodded, "Thank you for your care all along, but when one has the ability to distinguish right from wrong, they are no longer satisfied with being a slave, I choose to follow my true self."

Garava angrily sat up from the bed, grabbed that resignation letter and tore it into pieces, throwing it fiercely onto his legs.

"A slave resigning, unheard of! I tell you, Niyan, I am your master! What I grant you is yours, without my consent, you can forget about leaving!"

That hysterical voice was both like a roar and a plea.

Niyan originally thought he would say some harsh words in the end to return the humiliation he had suffered.

However, looking at this old man who had lost everything, those harsh words couldn't come out again.

In fact, he's also a pitiable person.

Born with a silver spoon, he has heard countless flattery in his life, yet no one has ever genuinely respected him, either blindly obeying his foolishness or deliberately acting ignorant.

Niyan nodded slightly, as a final respect.

"You misunderstood, Mr. Garava, I'm not resigning as a slave, but resigning from all my positions in the Empire..."

He paused, then pulled out that ID card from his pocket.

"The Alliance has no slaves, I was never a slave, and there's nothing for me to resign from."

The Alliance's ID card...

With a dried throat moving up and down, Duke Garava was thoroughly hopeless.

Seemingly losing the reason to be angry.

This time he unusually didn't lose his temper, just looked dejectedly at the one who was turning to leave.

"Where are you going..."

Niyan stopped his steps but didn't look back.

"To Poluo Province."

"To a place where I'm needed."

...

Yesterday, the editing department of our newspaper received a telegram from the direction of Tiandu.

The telegram claimed that remnants of the old Empire had been completely eliminated by the Heavenly King Army, and the new Empire would be led by Heavenly King Anush, adopting a constitutional monarchy, abolishing royal privileges and slavery, promoting the idea of equality for all, leading the residents of Poluo Province towards a brighter future.

Currently unable to confirm the identity of the sender of this telegram, but based on the content, it should be someone related to the Heavenly King Army, or at least authorized by its high ranks.

Since our newspaper has no branch in Tiandu, we cannot know the specific situation there for the time being.

However, according to reporters stationed in Elephant State, from the descriptions of refugees fleeing from Tiandu, the local situation seems quite grim.

The Heavenly King Army is conducting "systematic" liquidation of the remnants of the old Empire, and this liquidation is not based on explicit legal standards, most of the time relying on the "intuition" of senior or intermediate officers in the governing area, and Anush himself seems to have no intention to intervene.

This newspaper tried to contact the Governor's Mansion in Jin Galun Harbor, but there has been no more information from the Governor's Mansion.

However, based on the limited clues, the announced "abolition of slavery" and "equality for all" by Anush seemingly does not apply to the Sun Clan and the old Empire nobility...

Wasteland Era, 214, January 15th, Survivor's Daily Jin Galun Harbor Edition reports to you.

]

Jin Galun Harbor.

In the noodle shop in the port area, a group of diners read the newspaper while eating.

The illiterate dockworker listened to the literate clerk read off the newspaper, eventually frowning, slapping his thigh, and grumbling.

"This Anush isn't any good either... this approach is too extreme!"

The onlookers around also nodded, agreeing.

"Yes indeed."

"A bit too extreme..."

"This Anush doesn't seem like a good guy either... luckily, I haven't donated yet."

Looking at these sycophantic guys, the clerk holding the newspaper couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Aren't you a supporter of the Heavenly King?"

The short-haired docker forced a smile and looked aside evasively.

The coworker sitting next to him coughed and defended him.

"I support him fighting the Empire, but I never supported him massacring the city... nor the Weilante people."

This comment won another round of agreement.

"Indeed..."

"Credit where credit's due, and criticism when it's deserved!"

"Exactly!"

The person who was reading the newspaper shook his head and put the paper away.

"I'm not against it, but there should be a standard, right? Switching between good and bad at random is not logical."

Someone watching the commotion also chimed in with a smile.

"You guys are really hard to please. Finally, someone comes around to your way of thinking, and you still demand their thoughts be identical to yours. Why don't you just do it yourselves; taking action beats giving orders from the sidelines."

Just as a quarrel was about to break out among the crowd, a shout came from the doorway.

"There's something in the sky!"

Upon hearing the exclamation, all the diners dropped the conversation and their chopsticks, ignoring the noodle shop attendant's protests, and rushed to the entrance.

"What is it?"

"Let me see!"

"Whoa!"

Everyone looked up at the sky in unison, seeing a line of pale blue arcs streak across the heavens.

Those who knew what it was immediately recognized it as the plume from a plasma engine!

"A plane! It's an alliance plane!" the expert exclaimed with excitement, pointing to the sky.

Upon hearing this, almost everyone who had stopped and looked skyward had a look of joyous surprise on their faces.

The Alliance has come!

They're back!

...

The adrenaline-pumping BGM filled the cabin, trying to drown out the roar of the plasma engines.

Sitting in the cabin, using his little finger to unblock his ear, [By Some Mistake] couldn't help but complain.

"Damn it... I remember the company's Tiger Whale didn't roar this loud."

[No Family] grinned and said.

"You're right, but the Overlord Transport Aircraft is a large aircraft independently developed and produced by the Alliance—"

[Half-year Wasting Time] covered his mouth.

"Alright, I know you've played Wasteland OL."

Step Into the Sky: "?"

As the four of them were making noise, Old White, clad in power armor, shouted in the communication channel.

"Brothers, we've arrived at the East Coast of Poluo Province, above Jin Galun Harbor!"

"The army wants to teach us a lesson, but we'll show them some color instead. If they dare forget their previous wounds in the desert, let me remind them!"

"Hahaha!" There was a peal of laughter in the cabin, and Old White grinned a bit before regaining his serious expression and continued.

"Remember, we represent the alliance's strongest corps! Keep the Player's Handbook and corps discipline in mind; don't take even a needle or thread from the common people. I don't care what sneaky ideas you have; since you chose to sit here, remember the rules!"

The decisive voice dropped, and the communication channel echoed with a high-spirited shout.

"Yes!"

The benefits of the Burning Corps are the highest of the whole server, covering equipment and leveling up, along with a salary. Once you've joined, there's hardly any worry in game life or real life.

But relatively, the standards for entering the Burning Corps are also the highest across the server. Having the level isn't enough; one also needs to obey command and follow discipline.

Although the rules are somewhat strict, even harsh, very few people complain.

After all, enjoying the benefits comes with corresponding obligations, which is quite fair.

If you want to have fun, you can form your own group to play.

Mosquito Brother, for instance, was once with the Burning Corps, but later found it too serious. So he left to form a more relaxed Goblin Corps. They're still buddies, cooperating often, and not letting different game interpretations impact the friendship.

The White Bear Knights similarly split off from the Storm Corps and are gradually growing.

The Alliance's initial corps are like Novice Villages, with many powerful solo players having emerged from these corps.

Just as the leader finished his words, [No Family] laughed and shouted.

"Boss, can we parachute down? I just want to make a flashy entrance; that's not against the rules, right?"

He saw people waving to him below, and it would be a shame not to make a glamorous entry.

Old White laughed and shouted back.

"You go ahead and jump; I'll open the hatch."

No Family hurriedly said.

"No! Bro, at least fly higher; otherwise, I'll become a splatter down there."

[By Some Mistake]: "Hahaha!"

The cabin was filled with playful banter, giving the rousing BGM a different hue.

Fang Chang's mouth couldn't help but curl up into a smile as he looked at the vibrant settlement outside the cabin window.

It had been a while since he last returned.

The changes here were quite significant, almost to the point where even he, the designer, barely recognized it...

The Jin Galun Port Authority had built a new military base for them in the suburbs.

As for the former Lowell Camp near the port area, it had been converted into a museum, even importing two service-type androids from the company to serve as guides.

"Speaking of which, do you remember what this place was like a year ago?"

Hearing Fang Chang's voice, Old White grinned.

"I don't remember, you know me; I'm a forward-thinking person. Compared to last year, I'm actually more curious about one year from now."

Fang Chang smiled and said.

"Oh? Then what do you think this settlement will become a year from now?"

"Haha, that depends on what the local survivors think. All we can do is give them a hand; it's not like we can carry them forward."

Narrowing his eyes as he looked out the cabin window, Old White added.

"... No matter what it becomes, we just don't want it reverting back."

Chapter 835: Drawn Swords and Taut Bows!

Heading to Jin Galun Harbor are not only the Burning Corps and two "Overlord" transport planes.

On the billowing waves of the Poluo Sea, one can see transport ships with uniform models lined up in a long queue, advancing straight towards Jin Galun Harbor. Alongside this transport fleet is the fleet of the South Sea Union!

On the wide decks are hanging uniform digital camouflage nets, and under these nets are ferocious armored vehicles parked!

Among them, there are not only old model equipment like the ZJC-1 "Chimera" armored vehicle that earned great merit for the Alliance, but also some new equipment just recently introduced.

Like the "Model Three" Tank jointly developed by Factory No. 81 and Huge Rock Military Industry!

If the Model Two Tank still shows traces of the "truck carrying the big gun," the Model Three Tank can already be considered a true main battle tank.

Whether it's the low body, the sloped armor turret, or the full-protection system under positive pressure, all of these have many similarities to real-world main battle tanks, yet they're not entirely the same.

As for the main gun, it remains a 155mm, not much improved from the Model Two Tank.

Though a larger caliber means a lower ammo load, it doesn't concern the players driving it — having enough power and strength is the true principle!

The same goes for the Model Three Tank's Type B "Destroyer Variant," which aside from an added turret design and a "Dove" style vehicle-mounted missile launcher, incorporates more standardized components, yet the main gun remains the 60MJ railgun with a caliber of 60.

In addition to these revised old model equipment, these cargo ships also carry some brand new models.

For instance, the FK-1 "Defender" anti-air vehicle.

Previously, the Alliance's anti-air munitions were mostly anti-air cards carrying quadruple anti-aircraft guns and simple vehicle-mounted radars, as well as players with exoskeletons carrying portable anti-air missiles.

The FK-1 "Defender" designed by North Island Heavy Industries combines both tactical concepts and mounts them on a simplified version of the "Chimera" armored vehicle shell.

However, although this vehicle shell is a simplified version, its firepower should not be underestimated.

The 20mm "Red Dot" rapid-fire cannon mounted on its top uses a design similar to the close-in weapon system of the South Sea Union destroyer, driven by an electromagnetic acceleration device and paired with North Island Heavy Industries' designed vehicle-mounted radar and anti-air missiles.

The weight saved on armor is fully compensated for in the mass bomb ammunition rack.

This thing is like a destroyer sailing on land!

Though it has only a single tapered cannon barrel, it can instantly unleash a firepower mesh comparable to the simultaneous firing of four quadruple 20mm machine cannons!

It's quite effective whether dealing with high-altitude fixed-wing aircraft or ultra-low-altitude quadcopter drone swarms!

Additionally, the two anti-air missiles mounted below the fire control radar are also dismantled from the destroyer, targeting supersonic jet aircraft of equivalent cost from the Corps –

Apart from those mass-produced equipment, the Corps is also equipped with some high-maintenance-cost high-tech equipment.

Objectively speaking, the South Sea Union filled in the Alliance's gaps in cutting-edge technology, especially in microelectronics. Before this, although the Alliance had ample technological reserves, producing high-tech equipment still relied on companies' help.

On the contrary, the Alliance did not merely extract from the South Sea Union.

The Alliance's extensive technical reserves, especially in materials science and biology, as well as its advantages in scale in industrial, logistic, and economic fields, complemented the South Sea Union's weaknesses in numerous areas.

Throughout this mutually beneficial cooperation process, both sides have made significant strides in various fields.

The FK-1 "Defender" is precisely a culmination of this trend! Yet it is just one among many.

Stepping outside the official forces' leading military-industrial sphere, similar civilian cooperation is also numerous.

This close cooperative relationship involves not just the employment of hundreds of thousands of people and the profits of numerous processing plants, but it also touches on the underlying logic of human society's functioning—division of labor and cooperation.

This unbreakably strong relationship can only be replaced by another more advanced production relationship.

You can't build it just by throwing money, and a single battleship can't break it.

However, the Witch Camel already misses the chance to know, and even if they knew, it's too late.

Poor skills are not the principle, being poor and yet addicted is.

The Empire does have some wise minds, yet without exception, those who understand the truth pretend not to and work with half-baked crooks to bully clueless fools, losing all the tokens they robbed from honest people.

At first, the South Sea Union's fishermen only sought wealth rather than life, for the Empire that little suffering was not even hardship, at best a minor itch.

Coincidentally, both seeking wealth and life corps also set eyes on this guy.

Even if the Alliance wasn't planning on directly getting involved, it had to put its chips on the table...

Standing at the edge of the deck, Gnome King Riches blows against the incoming sea breeze, squinting his eyes and looking towards the west. After a while, he suddenly blurts out.

"...I heard brothers of the Burning Corps have all arrived?"

Elena says with a smile.

"Yeah, I saw it on the Forum."

Gnome King Riches: "Damn! Why can't we take the plane?"

Elena gives him a subtle look.

"...Well, since our equipment is heavy, manually funny."

Meanwhile, as the two chat and laugh, Mole is staring at the map of Lowell State in the ship cabin.

This time the deployment in Poluo Province includes two Corps, one being the Burning Corps and the other the Skeleton Corps.

Putting aside the support company, maintenance company, logistics company, and guard company mainly made up of NPC soldiers, players of the Skeleton Corps are primarily in 5 battalion-level combat units.

Two of those are mechanized infantry battalions, divided into 6 companies, 18 platoons, and 54 squads. Including 2 battalion-level command vehicles and 6 company-level command vehicles, there are a total of 62 "Chimera" armored vehicles!

Meanwhile, three are armored battalions, divided into 9 companies, 27 platoons, and 81 squads. Coupled with three battalion-level command vehicles and 9 company-level command vehicles, there are a total of 93 "Model Three" tanks!

While this equipment doesn't form a straight-line formation, on an open field, it still represents a fairly majestic steel tide.

According to the Manager's orders, the border of Lowell State is the final red line.

If the Corps' soldiers dare to step beyond it, they will coordinate with the Burning Corps to launch a full-scale offensive against the Corps.

However, a red line is just a reference. If the Corps genuinely launches a complete invasion of Poluo Province, they wouldn't likely wait for the opponents to reach the red line.

After all, they're not players or NPCs; the Manager did grant some special powers for urgent situations.

The premise being sufficient discussion with the Burning Corps.

With Brother Fang Chang here, Mole is not too worried about misjudging the situation or anything similar.

By contrast, he was more worried about the transportation conditions in the Poluo Province.

There are only a limited number of roads from Jin Galun Harbor to the capitals of Tiger State and Leopard State.

And among these roads, even fewer allow armored units to pass quickly.

"...Thankfully, the military factions of Leopard State and Tiger State spent money to build some roads. Without these roads, our tanks might not even be able to drive out of Jin Galun Harbor."

After studying for a long time, Mole cursed under his breath, throwing his pen onto the map.

The staff officer standing next to him also frowned, touching his chin and muttered thoughtfully.

"The road conditions in Poluo Province are indeed very poor... Moreover, in a few months, it will be the rainy season, and the traffic conditions along the Everflow River will likely become more severe."

Speaking of this staff officer's identity, he was a Weilante person named Vedes.

Like Vanus, he was born from the Expeditionary Army, and even the time he joined was only a few months apart. However, his fate was not as good as Vanus's; first, he followed Centurion Dylon to become a 'bandit,' and later he was captured by Shelter No. 404.

However, like Vanus, he made a series of choices afterward.

After the Battle of Falling Leaves, he did not go home with other prisoners but chose to stay in the Alliance.

Considering that this time they might face the Army directly, the Alliance Army's staff department sent him to the Skeleton Corps to serve as a frontline staff officer, responsible for providing suggestions and advice.

Mole did not doubt his loyalty much, only treating him as an ordinary NPC to communicate with.

"...That's true. However, this might not be a bad thing for us, who specialize in defensive counterattacks. If in the end, they do push the front line to our doorstep, then it will be their logistics line that is stuck in the mud, and after that, it will be the air force's job."

Although in this mission the Goblin Corps did not deploy systematically to the front line, only a few 'ace pilots' piloting the Alliance's next-generation aircraft reached the military base at Jin Galun Harbor to contest air supremacy with the Army's advanced aircraft, this does not mean they have no air force available.

Jin Galun Port Authority procured a large number of W-3 propeller planes, forming a total of five aviation squads dedicated to tactical bombing, strategic bombing, and close ground support tasks.

These propeller planes produced by Goblin Technology have very low environmental and logistical requirements for taking off, and are extremely easy to operate. While completely not a match for supersonic aircraft in the air, they offer excellent cost efficiency and are particularly adept at ground support!

At this moment, Mole suddenly noticed his nose, then smiled and said.

"I almost forgot to mention, this time we might be dealing with your fellow countrymen. If you feel uncomfortable, you can speak up early, and I can arrange for you to go to logistics."

"There's nothing uncomfortable about it." Vedes smiled indifferently, unconcerned, "The mistakes made by the Weilante people must be corrected by the Weilante people, just as mistakes made by the Shelter must be corrected by the Shelter's residents. I am very clear about what I am doing... But you, aren't you afraid of my nose?"

Mole laughed heartily.

"Then you underestimate me too much."

Just as his words fell, the phone on the command table suddenly rang.

Stopping the unrelated topic, Mole reached out and picked up the phone, his tone serious.

"This is the temporary command post of the Skeleton Corps."

A response quickly came from the other end of the phone.

"...This is the escort fleet. Jin Galun Harbor is 500 kilometers ahead of you. According to sonar and radar detection, there are no hostile ships operating in the nearby sea area. We will continue to sail according to the original route, and the remaining journey is up to you."

Mole nodded.

"Received, good luck to you."

"And to you too."

The brief communication ended, and the escort fleet led by the "Harpoon" cruiser separated from the Alliance's transport fleet.

The latter will continue to advance towards Jin Galun Harbor on the East Coast of Poluo Province, while the former will traverse the vast sea area directly to the western region of the Poluo Sea to stand by.

Although the Alliance voted in favor of 'freezing the Sticky Community seat of the Xilan Empire,' it did not actually abandon the survivors struggling on this land.

If these guys dared to set fire at West Sail Port today, they could recreate a new tragedy at Silver Moon Bay or even Potato Harbor tomorrow, just like what had happened in the River Valley Province.

Every early citizen of the Alliance was a survivor of that disaster.

If diplomatic means can no longer solve the problem, then what follows is the surgeon's job.

Although the Alliance's performance was still restrained, responding only with equal strategy to the increasing demands of the Southern Legion, its subordinates were clearly eager to fight.

For example, the Honey Badger Kingdom.

Five divisions of troops have already gathered at the border, eyeing the neighboring Falcon Kingdom vigilantly.

The last war humiliated them greatly; just after liberating the entire territory, the other side surrendered.

As for the most populous Lion Kingdom, they also mobilized the forces of three divisions.

Unlike the 'Bald Brother' of the Spirit of the Sand Sea, the Lion Kingdom is entirely 'Buddhist.' They, who are excessively secular, merely wish to seek pleasure and do not want to fight.

The reason is very simple. Back then, the Army had not even reached their Royal City before being pushed back by the Alliance. Thus, their hatred of the Weilante people is not as deep as that of the Honey Badger Kingdom, and their dislike is mainly because those big noses nuked an already abandoned 'miracle.'

However, having learned from the last war, they clearly no longer entertain the illusion that once the powder keg is ignited, anyone can avoid being affected.

This time they will not give the Weilante people any chance.

They will eliminate the 'risk' before everyone's eyes as soon as the nuclear bombs enter the eastern part of the Great Desert.

As for the Camel Hump Kingdom and the Golden Lizard Kingdom, their attitudes are likely similar to that of the Lion Kingdom.

Suddenly becoming the thorn in the side of the desert nations, the Falcon Kingdom, which is now cowering and hiding in a corner licking their wounds, is thoroughly terrified.

The nobles of the Falcon Royal Court are casting pleading glances towards the Eastern Legion, hoping that by acting so obediently, the big noses might send a few more units of ten thousand troops their way.

The industry representatives formed by the lower-level citizens, however, have secretly colluded with the Alliance, beating their chests and promising that as long as the Army dares to come, they are willing to hand over the Army's encampments and logistical supply lines, asking only that innocent ordinary residents be spared.

It was they who helped the Alliance's Guards Corps uncover the weapons sent to West Sail Port.

This kind of backstabbing task is what they are most familiar with, as it is implausible for nobles to drive the trucks themselves, carry boxes, load supplies, and dig trenches on the front line themselves.

They cannot fight.

And they certainly can't fight against the Alliance; if there needs to be a fight, let the nobles do it themselves.

Since Griffin took a gamble, the entire Falcon Kingdom has lost almost an entire generation.

And as Bister Town has developed, it has attracted a massive amount of the kingdom's labor force like a black hole, leaving the kingdom with almost only women, children, and the elderly. The remaining young adults can't even fill a single division's strength.

The storm center of West Sail Port is tugging at the sensitive nerves of all survivor forces on the Wasteland.

At least the survivors living around the Great Desert were more or less affected.

And just as the situation in the Poluo Province was heating up, three specially-identified teams were quietly entering the necrosing "heart" of the Empire.

Among them were the "messengers" of the Army, as well as "messengers" from the Alliance.

However, both identities need to be taken with a grain of salt, because they contain some diluted truth.

The only genuine ones were those mercenaries from the Free State.

They were indeed real mercenaries, no doubt, but unfortunately, their business skills were a bit rusty. Presumably, they outsourced to another outsource, and finally, the work ended up in the hands of some Waste Land Wanderer.

This kind of thing was not a first or second occurrence.

Anyway, the Old Soldier wasn't sure what kind of excitement they were trying to cause in this godforsaken place; he just saw a few corpses with clear non-local features hanging at the North Gate of Tiandu.

He inquired at the gate and learned that these people claimed to be Free State mercenaries, wearing exoskeletons and holding guns that went rattling on, just like the "Iron Men" from the east.

According to the vendor selling porridge at the city gate, a battle occurred between the two sides in the street near Tiandu's North Gate.

That battle was a real mess, even more exciting than when the Imperial Guard and the Heavenly King Army clashed.

Seeing it as worth a silver coin, the vendor vividly described the scene, chattering and turning red in the face.

With his gestures, it was as if those people blew up the entire street.

In short, nearly a hundred Heavenly King soldiers died, while only two of those mercenaries were killed.

Later, probably after running out of ammunition, those "Iron Men" began to retreat but eventually, six of them were captured.

"...They didn't keep the captives?"

Looking at the increasingly excited vendor, the Old Soldier couldn't resist asking.

The vendor paused, then shook his head like a rattle drum.

"No, they didn't keep captives. The Heavenly King's people never leave captives, quick and ruthless, killing people like slaughtering chickens."

Thinking about it, it made sense.

This bunch had already gotten bloodthirsty. How would they care whether the captured were from the Free State or the Slave State, probably never even heard of where that ghost place is.

The Old Soldier's Adam's apple moved as he looked at the porridge-selling vendor twice more.

"...Aren't you afraid of getting splattered with blood doing business here where people kill like they slaughter chickens?"

The vendor chuckled, showing a bright smile on his coal-smudged face.

"You're joking again, sir. Where isn't it like slaughtering chickens and people here? Going to Lion State or Elephant State, would it be any better?"

The Old Soldier couldn't resist asking further.

"Then why don't you go... to Jinjaron Harbor? Surely it's different there."

The vendor laughed and waved his hand.

"Oh, easy for you to say. I bet you haven't swum in the Everflow River. Not to mention those who didn't climb ashore, even those who did, don't know how many drowned ghosts are hidden in the reeds."

Watching the silent customer, he sighed and continued.

"If I had no attachments, I might have ventured into that Everflow River. But I still have a family to feed; who else would feed them if I left? Whether alive or dead, those who went down the river, hardly any came back."

"Besides, I guess it may not be as good as rumored. What does Jinjaron Harbor have that West Sail Port doesn't? Factories or piers? Those guys killing like slaughtering chickens came out from the docks and factories. If they could survive, why would they rebel, just for fun?"

He shook his head while speaking again.

"I think those ports and factories aren't any good. Only ever see free men and tenants starve to death; never saw a slave starve to death."

At this moment, Penny, who had been silently standing behind the Old Soldier, couldn't help but speak up.

"...Then why do you support the Heavenly King?"

The vendor was shocked by this blasphemous talk, quickly glanced around, and saw no one with an armband present, then looked at the person who had spoken.

The person wore a thick headscarf, almost covering the entire face, exposing only a pair of eyes.

Her shoulders draped with a desert-colored robe, she was wrapped tightly, completely disguising her origin, but seemed to be a woman.

Never had he seen a woman with such a figure.

The vendor sheepishly smiled, somewhat embarrassed, and scratched his soot-blackened hand at the back of his head.

"Miss, what you said... he never asked for my consent when he rebelled either."

Penny was momentarily speechless.

The Old Soldier beside her, however, couldn't help but chuckle and pulled her along, glaring at her harshly.

'Are you crazy?!'

Penny, knowing she was at fault, lowered her head and muttered an apology softly.

Her occupational hazard had kicked in just now, and she couldn't stop herself from blurting such words.

Once conscious again, she realized she had done something highly dangerous.

Gazing at Penny who was willingly admitting her mistake, the Old Soldier couldn't find any words to scold her, so he simply shot her a warning glance and turned his head back.

As it happened, he had initially planned to move with that something from Distant Vision.

After all, hearing the name sounded like a team, and people with a team are definitely more reliable than those without one.

However, as luck would have it, as soon as he hooked up with those people, he bumped into Penny, the daughter of Bennott, at the port.

This spirited girl, upon hearing of his mission to Tiandu, immediately insisted on accompanying him, even willing to disguise herself as his servant.

The Old Soldier initially tried to dissuade her, but unfortunately failed completely.

He even considered knocking her out and locking her in a tent, but worried that once she woke up, her stubbornness would lead her to act alone.

People who could work as battlefield reporters were mostly those unafraid of death.

Others might just talk big for fun, but she could actually pull it off.

Rather than letting her take the risk alone, it's better to have her with me, at least there's some protection.

As for Centurion Bennott... blame him for betting so big.

The reporter of the Triumph Newspaper is determined to bring the truth home; he can't just stop them.

His eyes moved between the two, and the vendor looked at the Old Soldier and asked with a laugh.

"Sir, want to have two bowls? I've been selling this porridge for eight years; the taste is definitely something!"

The Old Soldier watched as he stuck the hand that had just scratched the back of his head into the porridge again, his stomach twisted, and he squeezed out a sentence.

"No... I've already eaten at noon."

He believed the taste was definitely unique.

After all, the oil added in could stir-fry another dish...

Throwing a few more silver coins onto the stall, the Old Soldier didn't dare to linger, grabbed Penny's hand, and hurried away, deliberately weaving through several alleyways before hiding back at the inn.

Just as he expected, shortly after he left, the vendor immediately reported their activities to the patrol at the city gate.

However, interestingly enough, the patrolling city guards didn't listen to the vendor's explanation; upon hearing about the silver coins, their eyes turned greedy.

A few men with clubs beat the vendor up, and indeed found several coins on him.

Now caught red-handed, although they didn't catch the mastermind, he couldn't escape the label of a spy.

The guards gave the vendor a good beating, making him pale and not daring to bring up the previous matters. Only then did they lightly let him go, pocketing the coins as they swaggered away with their clubs.

Joking aside, they are the ones managing this area; how could they not know things have been unstable lately?

Just a few days ago, some Free State mercenaries appeared, reportedly to catch those six unlucky guys, costing the Heaven King Army over a hundred brothers.

He only has one head, so, of course, he'd pick the weakest target to bully, not looking for trouble for himself...

...

Outside the city, at the inn.

Watching the Pangolin close the door and go to the window to look outside, Penny, sitting on the bed, took off her stifling headscarf and asked in a low voice, seeing his tense expression.

"Why don't we just come clean about our identities? Just tell them... we are envoys of the Legion."

The Old Soldier casually replied.

"Even your father doesn't dare to send a Weilante envoy over; can't you guess why?"

If they weren't directed by someone, how would they dare to massacre the entire port, leaving no prisoners?

In other words, since they were directed by someone, what difference would it make to kill one more envoy?

Having cross-verified information on the forum, he was now basically sure that Absek was the Southern Legion's interest representative, and Anush was the scapegoat pushed to the front.

Once the Southern Legion is fully prepared, they will march to Tiandu to eliminate the Heaven King Army.

Then, Absek and the like would just need to switch allegiance.

Whether they call themselves Poluo Legion or something else, as long as they cut ties with the Anush Empire, even if they turn on them at a crucial moment, the Southern Legion will hand over the Empire to them, much like "a shell change" going public... at least that's what Absek and his group thought.

However, this scapegoat called Anush was clearly unwilling to die like this, and might have already sensed some internal traitor wanting to jump ship, so he had to bind them tightly to his chariot with more insane methods.

As for the betrayal, they could settle that after the civil war was over.

Absek probably wouldn't mind negotiating with the envoys of Triumph City, but Anush would not leave his subordinates a way out.

Thus, the Old Soldier made an agreement with his far-sighted brothers.

They would first contact Anush, while his side went to negotiate with Absek.

There is no future in cooperating with the Southern Legion; letting the wolf in isn't called "saving the country by a curve," this hungry wolf would swallow them whole.

And everyone nearby as well.

If they could convince Absek, it would be for the best; if not, they would have to come up with another plan.

In any case, after everything was over, he would provide the relevant clues to Penny.

As for whether the Triumph Newspaper would publish the entire course of events, that he couldn't say.

After hearing Pangolin's retort, Penny was silent for a long time, thinking about something completely different from him.

"...So he sent you here?"

The Old Soldier paused, then simply said.

"Exactly, although I am from the Legion, I'm not a Weilante. If the Heaven King Army troubles me, I can pretend to be from the Alliance to get through."

"..." Penny, biting her lip, had a complex expression.

Seeing her indescribable expression, the Old Soldier softened his tone.

"If you're feeling sorry for me, there's no need. This is part of my work—"

"I'm worried about you!" Penny glared at him, showing a trace of sadness in her eyes.

She couldn't quite explain why; she just had a bad feeling.

It's because these people, over and over, use others as a price, getting outsiders to take on the responsibilities and duties that should have been borne by the Weilante themselves, leading to the current state of affairs.

Her father never reflected on it... that person was just regretting his lost bet, never considering making up for his mistakes.

Then you shouldn't have followed me, adding difficulty to my mission...

Looking at the sorrowful Penny, the Old Soldier didn't know what strange thoughts she was having, just inwardly commented.

Just as he was about to say something, a gentle knock came from outside the room.

"...Excuse me, is this Mr. Pangolin's room?"

Chapter 836: Better to Side with the Alliance

"Strange... Not here?"

The door had been knocked on for half a minute without any response. The man standing at the door was wondering whether there was anyone inside when he gently pulled open the door, only to freeze in place at the sight of the gun barrel sticking through the gap.

Cold sweat broke out instantly, and the man quickly raised his hands to show he meant no harm, then took a quick glance at the staircase at the end of the hallway.

"No, don't be agitated... Brother, I'm one of General Absek's men."

With the Centurion pistol pressed against his chest, the Old Soldier asked coldly.

"Where did you hear my name?"

The man's words came out fast.

"Mr. Bennott sent a telegram... We somewhat know that the messenger coming here is called Pangolin. Isn't that your name?"

"Your name?"

"Anvo... Even if I told you, you wouldn't know."

"Heh, how do you know I don't know you." Upon hearing the name, the Old Soldier gave a meaningful smile and slowly lowered the gun.

Standing there was none other than Anvo, a thousand team leader under General Absek.

Typically, for such covert meetings, it's unlikely for senior officers to be sent. However, it makes sense for an organization that was established less than a month ago.

Whether by browbeating or by nurturing, gaining loyal confidants takes time.

And for a bunch of makeshift monkey kings, anyone they somewhat trust has been promoted to a senior officer to keep close. When issues arise, they can't leave it to the ambitious lackeys clamoring for quick promotions, so naturally, it's only the senior officers who can handle matters personally.

Moreover, the choice of person for different tasks is also something to be considered.

After all, meeting with the Army's messenger before the Marshal himself could get one shot.

Even if they are from the same faction, Absek can't trust entirely. At this moment, the only one he could trust is Anvo, who has pledged allegiance.

With the blood debt of the chapel massacre, the path to the Army is cut off, and joining the Alliance seems improbable.

Had it been someone else who came, the Old Soldier would have been on guard, pondering if it was a trap.

However, this Anvo guy's arrival nearly confirms that Absek indeed wants to talk to him.

And he wants to talk secretly.

Seeing Anvo's bewildered expression, the Old Soldier wore a composed face, feigning ignorance.

"What are you here for?"

"It's not me looking for you, it's you looking for the General... Why else would you stay at the North Gate instead of entering the city? Everyone knows this is Absek's garrison…" Anvo glanced at the end of the hallway again, speaking nervously, "Can you let me in to talk?"

He was worried about being seen and was also afraid that the Army's messenger might shoot him down.

He wasn't sure if the Army knew that he was linked to the 200 "lives" lost at the chapel and was puzzled as to why General Absek suddenly wanted to meet with the Army's messenger. Moreover, he couldn't know that the foreign messenger standing before him was actually an Alliance mole.

He took a great risk to save the chapel survivors, submitted a fake allegiance note, and barely earned General Absek's trust while steadily approaching the heart of the conspiracy...

If he got shot at this moment, what a fool he'd be!

"...Wait for me here for two minutes."

Not agreeing to his request to enter the room, the Old Soldier closed the door expressionlessly, then after a moment, exhaled slowly and walked over to the corner of the room where Penny was crouched.

In a corner out of sight, Penny looked up at him nervously, mouthing the words.

"...Who?"

The Old Soldier replied seriously.

"General Absek's man."

Penny said nervously.

"Has he discovered us?!"

Seeing her eyes filled with tension, the Old Soldier leaned close to her ear, lowering his voice so that the person outside wouldn't hear him.

"He probably doesn't know about you but has certainly noticed me. This is, after all, his territory. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing... I planned to meet him before the Alliance's delegate reached Anush, to clarify his betrayal of Lord Bennott and then find a way to bring him over to our side."

The low, magnetic voice sent a tingling sensation to Penny's earlobe, making her shrink back a little as she realized there was nowhere else to move to.

"Betrayed... Father?" she whispered, her voice faltering.

Maybe due to nerves, the breath near the Old Soldier's ear felt somewhat erratic.

A bit stifling too.

But he didn't have time to study Penny's expression further, and quickly, in a very low and fast voice, he continued.

"…Yes, didn't I tell you before? Lord Bennott orchestrated an operation, but because a more powerful backer intervened and bought off his partner, the entire plan spiraled out of control from the start."

Penny's eyes widened, her chest heaving.

"Who is… the backer?"

"The Southern Legion is the prime suspect, the Eastern Legion and Civil Official Group clearly have no intentions of fighting."

"Uncle Ross?! How can that be!"

"Do you think a thousand team leader would have the standing to be involved in these matters? He is probably just a pawn, or deliberately set up to be one… Of course, this is only my conjecture, don't turn it into facts in your report. I'll update you if there's any new information."

The Old Soldier spoke abstractly.

Now wasn't the time for exhaustive explanations nor did it suit letting her in on everything.

For some reason, Penny didn't insist on getting to the bottom of it this time, merely responding with an obedient "Mm."

Pleased with her response, he quickly continued.

"Next, you must remember what I am about to say. Stay here and do not leave under any circumstances, and don't open the door, pretending you're not here. If I'm not back by midnight, go to the hotel written on this note... I will write down the address and room number for you."

"Remember! Stick to the main roads, avoid bright spots, and no back alleys! The room's key is hidden under the flowerpot directly opposite the guest room, you'll understand when you get there."

While speaking, the Old Soldier swiftly wrote down a hotel address on a sticky note and tore it off, worried that Penny might find it difficult to locate, he also unfolded a map and circled the hotel location.

The infrastructure in Tiandu was quite poor, and the so-called map only indicated major thoroughfares and vague landmarks along with some marked-out blocks.

The natural passageways weren't even depicted on the map.

The four wise brothers had indeed conducted drone aerial photography of Tiandu City, but without a VM handy there was no way to borrow one, leaving the local map as the only option.

Watching Pangolin hand over the map and address, Penny looked at him in amazement.

"This is..."

"It's another room I set up in the outskirts of the city, with a folding pu-9 submachine gun and 200 rounds of ammo inside... You can think of it as a safe house, just in case."

"When?" Penny asked, eyes wide with surprise, the look in her eyes even more astonished.

This guy had never left her sight.

How on earth did he open a room without her knowing?!

"... I have my ways."

The Old Soldier waved off the topic with an enigmatic expression.

This thing is hard to explain.

He couldn't possibly say he asked someone on the forum to help him open it, could he?

Anyway, the mission funding was sufficient, with money from Bennott and the Manager, he didn't mind this little expense, better safe than sorry.

After explaining everything, he was about to leave, but Penny suddenly grabbed his hand.

He turned around to find those bright eyes filled with seriousness, earnestly looking at him.

The look was exactly the same as when I Max Black sent him off and when Coleway entrusted him with important tasks.

Unexpectedly, he had become comrades with a reporter.

"... You must come back."

The Old Soldier nodded slightly.

"Yes, I guarantee it."

That's the one thing you don't have to worry about.

He cannot be killed.

...

In the military camp at the north suburb of Tiandu, a bright bonfire burned slowly, with soldiers patrolling nearby carrying rifles on their backs.

In the tent located at the edge of the camp, "Lion King" Absek held a golden lion in his hand, his rough forefinger playing along its smooth lines.

This was part of Witch Camel's collection.

Previously, Anush had turned the Imperial Palace of Tiandu upside down, finding many treasures that Witch Camel hadn't had time to take away, and bestowed more than half of them to his subordinates.

It had to be said, Anush was indeed generous to his own people, never keeping the spoils all to himself.

It was evident that he wasn't just after small gains; only someone with the world in his eyes wouldn't care about the treasures before him.

Following a leader like that, with a clear reward and punishment system, wasn't actually bad.

But unfortunately, he didn't like picking up others' leftovers.

Gently placing the golden lion on the table, he looked at the two people standing at the tent entrance.

One of them was his trusted aide Anvo, and the other, a person in a cloak, seemed to be the Army Messenger.

Looking at his trusted aide, General Absek spoke in a gentle tone.

"Go outside and keep watch for me."

"Yes."

Anvo saluted and turned to go outside the tent, pulling down the curtain for the two of them.

"Feel free to sit, sir."

Hearing Absek's voice, the Old Soldier pulled back the cloak's hood and walked straight to him, sitting down.

"There's only this one chair here."

Hearing this amusing response, Absek chuckled and said teasingly.

"This place is for storing miscellaneous items, with tables and chairs and even a teapot; it's not bad at all. Surely you wouldn't expect me to invite you to the military tent for a cozy chat with all the soldiers, would you?"

Reflecting on this intriguing statement, the Old Soldier looked at him with a faint smile.

"Aren't you going to explain?"

"Explain what?"

"Three thousand lives," the Old Soldier stared into his eyes, "this isn't what we agreed on."

"Heh... And what about Orisa and the countless other Orisas? I won't even mention those cannon fodder wolf clan people sent to die. Do you, an outsider, also believe we are born only to be slaves?"

Absek picked up the boiling teapot and calmly poured himself and the Pangolin sitting opposite a pot of the local Masu tea.

This tea had a hint of licorice aroma, smelling slightly bitter but tasting sweet, considered a cheap indulgence locally, popular among both Nobles and Civilians, though the way it was drunk and the amount of spices varied.

The Old Soldier had tried it once, but couldn't get past the strange taste of cough syrup mixed with ginger water.

Drinking in the presence of the Pangolin, Absek took a sip first, then looked at his silent guest and continued.

"Mr. Pangolin, we are different from wasteland wanderers like you. Our roots are here; we deeply love this land. In your eyes, those thousand pillars stab into our backs, while we understand better than you do that those thousand pillars are us... Do you understand?"

"I don't understand, and I'm not interested," glancing at the cup of herbal-smelling tea on the table, the Old Soldier leaned slightly forward, inches closer, staring directly into Absek's eyes, "I want to know what you think, why you betrayed Lord Banrot."

"Betrayed?" Absek sneered, "I'm not his subordinate; how can you say I betrayed him?"

After a pause, he added.

"Besides, I'm not saying anything new; you know the state of the Civil Official Group in the Army just as well, you don't even have a direct force, using all the discarded stuff from the four major legions. What future can there be working with you guys?"

Although he didn't want to speak up for the Army, the Old Soldier still faithfully performed his duty, speaking in a deep voice.

"At least we don't want your land."

"Haha, do you even believe that yourself?"

Absek laughed heartily and continued.

"And just because you don't want it, doesn't mean others don't. Before the Empire even fell, Witch Camel and you guys gave away three of the thirteen states, and then there are Tiger State and Leopard State that are uncontrollable. Does the Poluo Province need to establish more nations? Thirteen of them? That's the fate of hanging out with you civil officials! You say you don't want land, but you want more than anyone else!"

The Old Soldier patiently replied.

"You can't blame all the Witch Camel's problems on us, and Lord Bennott chose you hoping you could change the Empire—"

"Oh, come on, what you want is a neutered dog. I understand you well enough."

Absek curled his lips and continued speaking.

"The Southern Legion is not a good thing, they are the fiercest wolves, but I don't think following them is a bad thing. At least there's meat to eat following them, whereas following behind you can only eat shit."

The Old Soldier said gravely.

"Besides overthrowing the Empire, what other benefits has he promised you?"

Absek answered without hesitation.

"Guns! Cannons! And ammunition! Also, factories to produce these things! Only with these things can we stand and negotiate with you."

The Old Soldier asked.

"What's the price then? Since it's bought, the cost shouldn't be cheap."

Absek continued.

"Just Lion State, anyway, even if we don't give it, it makes no difference—it has always been under your control."

The Old Soldier took a deep breath, unable to help but say.

"You're feeding the wolves with flesh!"

Absek chuckled, indifferent to it.

"Wrong! Trading one state for twelve states' peace is a curve-saving strategy!"

What a curve-saving strategy... someone with the surname Wang might hear this and say it's expert talk.

The Old Soldier shook his head.

He did not want to criticize this man's naivety. After all, as an envoy of the Legion, he did not have the position to do so.

And as an outsider, any reasoning he provides would be painless talk with no convincing power.

When people are extremely hungry, they'll eat earth; when the afflicted are near death, they won't hesitate with their mouths towards celestial elixirs or arsenic.

He could only start from the facts, patiently saying.

"...You've put too much faith in the Southern Legion, those people are different from us, their ambitions will not be satisfied with just one state. They will first take Lion State, wait until you're tangled with the Empire, and then gradually press in to demand Bull State, Snake State, Dog State, Wolf State, Snake State..."

Absek snorted coldly without paying the statement much mind.

This situation wasn't something he hadn't considered, but it wasn't currently something to dwell upon.

They needed to become stronger!

And at all costs!

If the Empire continues weakening, these states being taken eventually is just a matter of time, even if they don't want to they won't be able to stop it, nobody will care about their voices.

Only if the Empire grows truly strong can they have the capital to compete with various forces in the Wasteland!

The Weilante People aren't invincible; there's never been anything in this world that can't be defeated.

The Old Soldier knew explaining more was futile, so he took out a stack of photos from his pocket, and gently placed them on the table.

"I know words are without proof... Take a look at these then."

Absek glanced at the photos, noticing the cannons and heavy equipment, his brow furrowing slightly.

"What is this?"

The Old Soldier continued.

"This is the equipment deployed by the Legion at West Sail Port, I took them casually when passing by."

"Besides, a thousand team... I mean, a thousand-strong force has arrived at the port. Additionally, there is an airship and a ten thousand troops group on the way."

"Clearly, they are ready to completely take over Lion State. But obviously, it doesn't take this much equipment to take over Lion State, guess who this equipment is really meant to face."

Absek's expression showed a slight stiffness, though the defiance hung between his brows still displayed "none of my business."

"...The Heavenly King Army perhaps, but it doesn't matter, we'll later change flags to sever ties with Anush—"

The Old Soldier shook his head.

"Too naive, however you sever ties, admission or denial is merely up to their words. Once you're almost self-destructive, that's when they'll start making more demands."

Pausing, he then said.

"But if you thought these were aimed at you, that's thinking too much. Handling you doesn't even require a third of this amount; I dare say the remaining 90% is meant to deal with the Alliance and enterprises... or rather, to deter them."

"As for you, it's just a flame they've set. Once the weeds on this land are burned out, crushing you is just a matter of minutes."

By the time he said this, the Old Soldier suddenly mischievously smiled.

"You probably didn't know... we actually cooperated with Torch once. It was only later, Torch messed up, threatened us, so we moved a finger and extinguished their small flame."

That sound seemed like a heavy hammer, striking Absek's heart, causing his gaze to waver instantly.

However, changing a person's perception is very difficult, even impossible.

He's like a victim of electric shocks, still displaying bravado, unwilling to believe the evident facts before him.

"...That's just your speculation."

The Old Soldier nodded slightly, standing up from his chair.

"Then you should pray that a pack of wolves more wolf-like than you will keep their promises in the end."

"This game is lost for us; we shouldn't have handed our chips to a group of opportunists. But though we have lost, the game isn't over yet; if the Weilante People win in the end... such an outcome isn't unacceptable for the Civil Official Group either."

Having spoken, he turned and walked towards the tent's entrance, only when he reached it did Absek suddenly call out to him.

"Please, please wait a moment!"

The Old Soldier stopped his steps and turned around, seeing the General rise, forehead covered with bean-sized sweat, face written with struggle.

"...What should I do?"

At last, he was afraid.

Or rather he realized that the wildfire fueled by their ambitions was dragging them and even the entire Empire into an unseen abyss.

"The fire has already started, relying solely on our strength can't extinguish it—"

Absek shouted in frustration.

"Then what should I do! Is Lord Bennott sending you here just to mock me?!"

Looking at Absek shouting loudly, the Old Soldier raised his hands to signal him to calm down. Only after his breathing settled did he patiently continue speaking.

"Listen to me first... Of course, the strength of our civil official group alone is not enough, and the Eastern Legion is too far from here. But combined with the Alliance, it might be enough."

Absek's mind buzzed, and he was completely confused.

"...Alliance?"

He struggled to squeeze out this word, mainly because he didn't expect that such words would come from a messenger of the Legion.

The Old Soldier sighed and made a helpless expression.

"We are also helpless. We originally planned everything, but no one expected to encounter a group of gambling-crazy maniacs. Now, to control the fire, we can only rely on the strength of our opponents."

Absek's expression turned awkward, knowing that this guy was referring to himself and everyone in his faction as the lunatics.

Perhaps, as he said, they shouldn't have listened to the South Legion's temptation to gamble wildly; they wouldn't have been driven to such desperation now.

"Just tell me directly what to do..."

The Old Soldier patiently spoke.

"The Alliance's ambassador is right in this city. They should have already met with Anush... but I believe they are very, very dissatisfied with the current situation in Tiandu, or rather dissatisfied with Anush himself."

"If at this time, someone could raise a more equal flag... the Alliance's requirements aren't high. Abolishing slavery alone is enough, while resident participation in legislation and representative councils can come slowly."

Absek looked at him in a daze, not understanding why a messenger from the Legion would have such detailed knowledge about the Alliance.

If Lord Bennott hadn't sent a telegram beforehand, he couldn't help but suspect the guy might be a spy for the Alliance.

"...Raising another flag? How is that different from what we were planning to do?!"

The Old Soldier rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Do you only listen to half of what people say? What about the part after raising another flag?"

"Or do I have to speak more bluntly? You guys take down that fool Anush, overturn the cases against the Sun People and the Moon People, at least present the gesture of correcting mistakes, and then immediately turn toward the Alliance... I say things bluntly, but since you've already switched sides once, I think you wouldn't mind being a servant to three masters."

"Next, you need to stop the invasion of the Northern Three States, Central Elephant State, and Southern Snake State... leave the already occupied areas aside, but the ongoing invasion must stop immediately! Then aim your guns outward, targeting the Southern Legion landing at West Sail Port!"

"According to our agreement with the Alliance, the Alliance will exert its influence to prevent the Mammoth State, Jinjaron Harbor, and the Military Factions of Tiger State and Leopard State from taking advantage of you."

"At least until the Legion reduces its military presence in the East, you don't have to worry about betrayal from within. And if the South Legion bares its fangs and directly mobilizes troops, the Alliance will take equivalent countermeasures."

"Once everything is over, whether you want to continue your civil war or sit down and talk with others, it's all up to you..."

"The side of the Alliance still sticks to the saying that the survivors of Poluo Province should determine their destiny by themselves. They don't intend to force you to walk the exact same path as theirs... Of course, I don't like to hear their nonsense, but for you, it might not be a bad thing."

Pausing, he added.

"As for us... to be honest, we're somewhat disheartened. Even if previous cooperation is still effective, it will probably change its form."

The latter half was Bennott's words, and probably heartfelt.

Although Penny still blames her father, the Old Soldier has to say a few honest words for the old man trying to save the day.

Compared to the war-crazed Weilante maniacs, the guy is actually one of the few with a conscience, willing to sacrifice his own arm to hold down the South Legion.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this guy the last correction mechanism of the Legion.

At least, he understands how to stop losses.

Absek stared wide-eyed at this guy as if looking at a madman crazier than himself.

However—

After pondering deeply for a moment, he realized this indeed seemed like his only remaining way out.

He reached out a trembling index finger and touched his nose, then picked up the cold tea on the table and drank it down in one gulp.

Having seemingly calmed down, he looked at the messenger named Pangolin and asked in a mixed tone.

"Then... what should we rename ourselves? How about calling it the Poluo Alliance?"

The Old Soldier replied without hesitation.

"You'd better discuss this matter with the Alliance. I can't give you any suggestions."

Absek slapped his forehead and quickly nodded.

"...Right, right, I need to talk to the Alliance's representative. How did I forget that?"

He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his hands together to ease the awkwardness.

"My memory... almost forgot, you are the Legion's messenger, and this matter must be discussed with the Alliance's representative."

Upon hearing this, the Old Soldier's face darkened immediately.

"Are you questioning my loyalty to the Marshal?"

Seeing the other party poised to duel with him, Absek hurriedly apologized.

"I dare not! I didn't mean it that way. Don't misunderstand me."

"Hehe... whatever you mean, I've said what needs to be said. Whether you live or die, deal with it yourself."

The Old Soldier glanced at him warningly, then walked out of the tent under his eager farewell gaze.

Outside the tent, Anvo, who was smoking, saw Pangolin coming out and quickly led him to the side gate of the military camp, giving him a green light all the way.

After sending Pangolin off, he rushed back to the tent where General Absek was staying, unable to hold back asking.

"My lord... what does the Legion mean?"

Absek gave him a profound look.

"...The waters here are too deep. Don't pry into what you shouldn't. When it's time, I'll tell you what to do."

Realizing his impatience, Anvo quickly lowered his head.

"Yes!"

Not in the mood to lecture this guy.

Absek shifted his gaze away from this confidant and looked out at the pitch-black night sky beyond the tent, squinting slightly.

This sky of Tiandu...

Seems like it's about to change again.

Chapter 837: Sacrificing the Plum Tree to Save the Peach Tree

After leaving the camp, the Old Soldier didn't stay for a moment and headed straight back to the inn.

It was now eight in the evening, four hours away from the appointed time.

Standing at the door, he knocked five times, following the pre-agreed rhythm of three long and two short taps.

After a two-second wait, there was the sound of wringing out a towel and a rustling of clothes being put on from behind the door before footsteps approached the entrance.

The door opened a small crack.

Seeing that it was Pangolin standing outside, Penny finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned off the safety of her pistol.

Her deep brown hair was wet, with droplets of water still hanging on her cheeks and neck.

The Old Soldier saw through the door a wooden bucket filled with hot water, with a towel and some personal clothing draped over its edge.

Speaking of which, this guy sure has some nerve—it's such a time, and he still has the mind to take a bath.

But then again, having a big heart might not be a bad thing.

Especially when being anxious is of no use, staying calm is more important than anything else.

Sliding into the room, the Old Soldier gently closed the door.

Noticing his gaze on the wooden bucket, Penny's face heated slightly, but she still managed to overcome her shyness and asked softly.

"...It's hot water sent by the hotel, do you want to... wipe down a bit?"

This place is in the tropics, the climate is hot, she had worn her robe all day, sweating all over, she had no choice but to wash up.

Although the water in the bucket had been used by her, it was clearly not the time to fuss over it.

However, just when she had overcome all her mental barriers, the man called Pangolin merely glanced around the room, then said.

"We have to change locations."

Penny was taken aback, her expression immediately becoming serious as she hurried to her luggage.

"Change locations? Did your talks fall apart?"

"No, they didn't."

"Then why..." Though she was asking, Penny had already begun packing.

"Absek wants to talk with others from the same faction and then plan a coup against Yanush. There are two uncertainties here, one is whether they can 'reach an agreement,' and the other is whether they can 'pull it off.'

This bet requires tossing two coins.

Only when both land heads will they truly be safe.

If it was just him here, it wouldn't matter, even if they failed, he would choose a dashing and seamless way to die and then come up with an excuse to escape.

But with Penny around, he could only be extra cautious, cherishing the Resurrection Coin which he must not use unless absolutely necessary.

While packing his own luggage, the Old Soldier briefly explained the negotiation results and the current situation.

As for the Alliance aspect, he selectively omitted it, as it wasn't something that could be explained in a few words.

If this guy is curious, she can ask her old man.

However, Penny didn't inquire further, seemingly having complete trust in him.

Holding the packed luggage, Penny looked at him nervously and asked.

"Where are we going? To that safehouse?"

"Safehouse? They might fight another battle, now there's no safe place in Tiandu... We need to leave here first and come back once both coins have landed."

The Old Soldier checked the bullets in the magazine and tucked the pistol into his pocket.

Following him closely, Penny nodded nervously, then quickly glanced around the room to see if any luggage was left behind.

Maybe it was an illusion, but she felt like she was doing the work of a spy.

No.

To be precise, it was as a war correspondent, working with a spy...

The streets outside were under curfew, all the doors and windows tightly shut, occasionally one could see patrols holding torches passing through.

However, these patrolling soldiers were not professional, making it easy to avoid them.

At least for the Old Soldier, it was.

He was an Awakener of the Agile system, far surpassing these local people who might even suffer from "night blindness" in terms of reaction speed and vision.

The two took advantage of the night to leave the inn, crossing several streets, finally reaching the outskirts.

The houses here were getting sparser, and the markings on the map were becoming more abstract.

Reaching the edge of the woods, the Old Soldier was about to push through the underbrush but suddenly stopped, signaling for silence and quickly crouching down.

Penny mimicked his actions, crouching behind the underbrush, carefully controlling her breath while vigilantly observing the surroundings.

What was happening?!

She couldn't see anything, nothing seemed to be around, but Pangolin's expression of facing a formidable enemy didn't seem to be a joke.

She even saw he had pulled out his pistol and released the safety.

To not be a burden, she tried hard not to make a sound.

Seconds ticked by, and it went on for about five minutes.

The Old Soldier suddenly let out a sigh of relief, turned off the safety of his pistol, and gently placed it back in his pocket.

"The alarm is over... it's not headed for us."

"What just happened?" Penny asked in a hurry, voicing the confusion in her heart.

"A group of unidentified armed individuals passed by to our southwest, judging by the noise there were about forty or fifty of them... They were wearing exoskeletons, wielding light and heavy weapons, and using optical camouflage, they looked a bit like people from the Free State."

"Free State?!" Penny was taken aback, whispering, "What does it have to do with them?"

"How would I know, maybe they're the comrades of the ones hanging on the city gate... These troublemakers always appear in unexpected places, probably here for some outrageous commission again."

Mercenaries from the Free State often get involved in all sorts of Wasteland affairs, but each time, apart from leaving a pile of corpses, they don't seem to accomplish anything significant, so much so that the Alliance isn't keen on dealing with them.

The reason for their presence here was worth noting, but now wasn't the time to complicate matters.

Confirming that those people were gone and hadn't noticed them, the Old Soldier gently tugged Penny's hand, signaling her to follow him, then pushed through the underbrush, continuing along a pre-scouted path...

...

As the army was leaving Tiandu, Lion King Absek hurriedly summoned Horse King Shaluk and Leopard King, who were from the same faction.

The meeting took place in the tent, as always guarded by Absek's most trusted Anvo.

As soon as they entered the tent, Tiger-backed Bear snorted, "Meeting like this isn't a good thing. With Anush's suspicious nature, if he finds out, he'll definitely harbor suspicions."

"What? Are you scared?" Leopard King scoffed.

"Heh," Tiger King sneered, "If I were scared, would I still come?"

"I would have been afraid long ago. Let's cut to the chase. I'm more interested in hearing what our esteemed Lion King has to say... What is so important that you had to bring us here personally?" the Horse King [whose name resembles a cunning fox, though he has a horse's head and bear-like shoulders, immediately said after entering the tent.

Currently stationed near Tiandu, besides Absek, are Horse King Shaluk, Leopard King, and Tiger King.

It was they who put Anush in the forefront and offered advice, giving rise to the current Heavenly King Army!

Only Bull King Ami was not one of them.

But the heart is hidden within, and no one can say if it's feigned or not.

However, matters like these can't be easily concluded.

Surveying the three present, Absek spoke methodically.

"I have some important news to share."

The tent fell silent, with only the crackling sound of the furnace boiling tea remaining.

Three pairs of eyes were on him, filled with anticipation.

Staring straight into Absek's eyes, Bull King Ami asked in a quiet voice.

"Oh? And what important matter might that be, our honorable Lion King?"

With deliberate calmness, Absek replied.

"It's about planning a coup against Anush. We need to talk to others in the same faction and then plan the coup against Anush. There are two uncertain factors here: whether we can reach an agreement and whether we can succeed."

This bet requires tossing two coins.

Only when both land heads will we truly be safe.

The Tiger King, Duwata, let out a cold laugh.

"Do we really need that bunch of cowards, whom even the Vellante people look down on, to guide us?"

Absek did not deny his remark but continued.

"We didn't need them before... but since the Southern Legion has tricked us, this path has become critical."

The three kings exchanged glances.

Finally, the Leopard King, Negri, squinted at him.

"What do you mean?"

Absek pointed at the photos on the table, waited for them to look over, and continued.

"The three thousand teams have already arrived. The equipment they have delayed in handing over to us is piled up at West Sail Port... Do I even need to say what they intend to do? We are just a spark they are waiting to ignite; their plot is bigger than we imagined."

Surprised expressions appeared on the faces of the Tiger King and the Leopard King.

The Horse King quickly walked over to the table, picked up the stack of photos, and flipped through them swiftly.

Initially, his face showed surprise, which gradually turned into seriousness.

Given the technological level outside the Poluo Province, the possibility of these photos being doctored couldn't be ruled out.

But if these photos are real, then their trouble would be substantial...

Verifying their authenticity wouldn't be difficult; just send someone to take a look.

Horse King Shaluk looked up at Absek and swallowed hard.

"... Can they really swallow the entire Poluo Province?"

After all, the Poluo Province has a population of over a billion!

Ruling this land isn't as simple as coloring it on a map.

Absek slowly nodded.

"I also think they must be insane... but as it stands, this seems to be their plan."

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the three kings' faces finally changed completely, heavy looks of concern spreading across their faces.

If we talk about ambition, they definitely had it, otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to rebel.

However, this did not deter them from previously being soldiers who genuinely wanted to change the entire Empire.

To drag the whole Empire down, burying it along with their ideals and ambitions, was not something they could do to such an extreme.

"... Does Mr. Bennott still wish to help us?" Horse King Shaluk questioned with skepticism in his eyes.

Absek continued in a very soft voice.

"He indeed feels disappointed in us; after all, we betrayed him and killed many Vellante people. However, from a rational perspective, he doesn't want the legion to be dragged down by people like us, as more people would die, potentially rendering all his efforts in vain..."

Leopard King Negri spoke heavily.

"What's the way out he's pointing to? Honestly, it's too late to regret now. We can't let Anush stay on that throne; once he has a free hand, we'll be the first ones he targets!"

"That's right, you're correct; Anush must die, and he deserves it," Absek nodded, looking at the three kings and continued, "They want us to act quickly, change a flag, and then turn towards the Alliance."

Surprise dawned on the three kings' faces.

Not only due to the idea of turning towards the Alliance, but more so because of the phrase "act quickly."

They indeed had plans to defect, but wouldn't that wait until Heavenly King's army completely toppled the Empire?

Leopard King Negri frowned deeply.

"Act before the civil war ends? But if we stir up chaos internally now, who knows what the seven kings fighting outside will do!"

Absek replied heavily.

"We can't care about them now; we must change flags immediately, settle Anush's issues, and disassociate from the Heavenly King's army."

"Will the Alliance accept us?" Horse King Shaluk quickly asked, regarding this as his most pressing concern.

Compared to the seven kings outside, the attitude of a new patron was what he cared about most.

Absek shook his head.

"I don't know, but Bennott assured me that they have already reached an agreement with the Alliance. The Alliance will help us suppress several forces within their range, halting the ongoing civil war until the legion withdraws."

Horse King Shaluk gritted his teeth, weighing the pros and cons in his mind, then looked up and added.

"That sounds good... Time is exactly what we need, but will the Alliance keep its promise?"

Absek remained silent for a while before speaking honestly.

"If they don't keep their promise, they'll have to face the legion alone... I can't be 100% sure, but at least compared to the Southern Legion, which does things behind our backs, the Alliance has more reason to keep their word."

By now, he wasn't naïve enough to think he was the only one with crafty ideas.

However, weighing pros and cons, the Alliance indeed appeared more reliable in keeping its promises.

The tent fell into silence again as the three kings engaged in anxious contemplation.

Roughly ten minutes passed.

This time, it was the Tiger King, Duwata, who broke the long silence.

"When do we act?"

He uttered this single sentence, but the resolute tone indicated he was fully prepared.

Seeing no objections from the other two kings, who merely watched silently, Absek felt a sense of relief, ready to reveal his long-gestated plan.

"We'll wait until the Alliance's messenger arrives then..."

"We must first let them see Anush's true face and make it clear that we are different from him."

...

The night quietly flowed by, with another peaceful night passing in Tiandu unnoticed.

The three kings stealthily returned to their camps and began making earnest preparations for the impending action.

Actually, it didn't require very meticulous preparations.

The Heavenly King's army itself was a vast makeshift force; forget about complex networks of relations and interests—even their internal command structure wasn't fully sorted, making it quite easy to change leaders.

As long as you're ruthless enough.

Never mind a few days; a few hours would suffice...

Amidst the roiling undercurrents in Tiandu City, after a full three days of waiting, the Alliance's diplomatic mission finally arrived, much to Heavenly King Anush's eager anticipation.

With a crowd of welcoming personnel in attendance, four newcomers swaggered into Tiandu through the Western Gate.

To ensure no "grains of sand" got into the eyes of these "bigwigs" from the Alliance, Anush cleared out all the residents on the street from the west gate to the Imperial Palace, replacing them with his own people, arms wrapped in bandages.

However, Anush was destined for disappointment.

These "bigwigs" didn't even notice the actors lining up to welcome them; all their attention was riveted on the "palace" floating in mid-air.

"Wow... using a starship as a palace."

"They're truly something!"

The guide's dog and the stick in the mud couldn't help but quip, while the good fighter wolf just stared and took photos.

Though they had heard rumors about it on the forums, hearing about something was nothing compared to seeing it with one's own eyes!

As for the Far-sighted eagle, he was chatting and laughing with the ceremonial officer of the Heavenly King's army all the way, extracting a wealth of information during their talk.

The group was politely ushered into the main hall of the Imperial Palace, and soon they met the legendary Heavenly King.

Just as the rumors described, this guy was a good talker, with excellent eloquence—otherwise, he couldn't have persuaded so many people to follow him to death.

After some polite exchanges, Anush, seated on the throne in the main hall, began to passionately speak about his dreams.

This included his plan to establish a utopia on the land of the Poluo Province where everyone is equal.

This included how he planned to realize this dream and so forth.

The previous polite exchanges seemed as if they were laying the groundwork for this subsequent persuasion.

And after describing his utopian vision, Anush immediately proposed the desire to establish diplomatic relations with the Alliance and gain their support.

Translated into plain speech, all those grandiose phrases boiled down to—Dad, send money!

Besides money, there were also the urgently needed weapons, food, and other supplies for the Heavenly King's army.

According to this Heavenly King, they needed these things not to fight their own people, but to resist the legion landing at West Sail Port.

If they hadn't seen for themselves whose weapons these guys held entering Tiandu, and whose forces they deployed against their own people, the Far-sighted eagle might have believed his nonsense.

Thinking of tapping into the Alliance's gold coins?

Kid, you're still too green!

Finally waited for this guy to finish his endless talk, Eagle sighed lightly and began to speak.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Anush, we can't agree to your request."

The grand words were stuck in his throat.

Anush stared at him with wide eyes, and only after a long time did he manage to squeeze out a sentence.

"Why?"

The messenger unfamiliar with the Alliance answered, then hurriedly continued.

"You advocate equality, and so do we! Why are you unwilling to recognize us?"

He was genuinely quite anxious.

If he weren't extremely anxious, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to meet a group of messengers.

The Anush Empire desires to survive in the cracks, needing to oscillate back and forth between the Army and the Alliance, using each side's pain points for negotiation.

This was a strategy he had thought of from the start.

The Heavenly King's army must show a stance of leaning towards the Alliance while using this as leverage to demand "recognition" from the Army to prevent the Army from tearing up treaties with the Alliance and the Company and directly dispatching troops.

If the Alliance doesn't step in, relying solely on the little strength he has is far from enough to arm wrestle with the Army!

The Far-sighted Eagle sighed and patiently explained.

"Dear Mr. Anush, you might have misunderstood something; the Alliance is neither a country nor a religion..."

"What we care about is not the slogans you shout, but whether the survival rights of the survivors here are truly guaranteed."

There was another sentence he didn't say.

The current Heavenly King's army clearly cannot represent the survivors of Poluo province, those survivors are more like hostages drawn in rather than choosing from the heart.

The Alliance actually doesn't care if the ruler here is a chieftain, a king, or a president, but clearly cannot agree with "kidnappers."

In this respect, this Mr. Heavenly King is the same as Charles in the southern sea area.

Just called by a different name.

Anush clenched his fists.

"How much more do I have to guarantee? I've already divided the land among them! Do I still need to feed them?"

The Far-sighted Eagle nodded.

"That's commendable, but if it's just a word to give them the land... isn't it also a word to take it back."

Anush was stunned.

"Then what do you want?"

The Far-sighted Eagle patiently advised.

"Everything has to be done step by step. If you truly want to be like us, there's no need to replicate our results. You can start by farming with them, let the people here have enough to eat, let them wear clean clothes, let them receive an education... So that those who rely on the land today can freely leave the constraining red soil tomorrow."

Anush relaxed his tight shoulders, leaned back against the cold hard throne, and pinched his temples.

"That's stuff for after the war victory; we'll naturally do it once things settle down..."

Seeing this guy still painting promises, Eagle shook his head helplessly.

Perhaps the Manager is right.

They really should reduce interference with the locals and let them have control of their own future as much as possible.

Lying seems to be an innate ability for people here.

Just like a young cuckoo instinctively knows to push out other eggs from the nest with its juvenile back.

It's like an instinct.

An animal instinct forced by Darwin's law, to evolve for survival.

Their nature might not be bad, but it has been forced into shape by the harsh environment of the Wasteland.

Swords cannot kill ideals, but lies can.

And quite easily.

"...Yes, you can certainly wait until after the Wasteland Era is over to do things, but if something can't be fulfilled now, then I think it's unnecessary to worry about it in the future."

Eagle paused, looking at Anush, looking at this Heavenly King of the Heavenly King's army.

"Actually, you don't need our recognition, we've never endorsed any entity, nor forced any Survivor Forces to be like us. If the survivors here spontaneously form a management system similar to ours, we would be very happy to share our experiences with you..."

Anush excitedly stood up from the chair.

"We are willing to be like you!"

Old Wolf, who had been silent, couldn't resist interrupting.

"Then release those Sun People in the prisons first, and withdraw the orders you issued before... We're not blind, we have eyes, if you do these two things we'll believe you at least once!"

Anush replied without hesitation.

"Those are felons of the Empire, how could I release them just like that! What would others think?"

Old Wolf continued in imperfect United Human language.

"How about the Moon People then? Surely they don't have much to do with you, right?"

Anush hesitated for a moment, initially wanting to nod, but then remembered that the women he rewarded his subordinates with included many Moon People.

He didn't mind those prizes, but now wasn't the time to touch those people.

After a period of silence, he spoke in a calm tone.

"Those are issues left from the previous dynasty, which require time to solve. You also know, such things involve one thing leading to another, it's not possible to make decisions by just patting one's head... But I can promise you, once we recover the entire Empire, we will immediately abolish all unequal decisions from the Empire era."

He really wasn't lying with that sentence.

Once the entire Empire is recovered, he will have time to deal with those who helped him conquer the world.

As for now, it's not yet the time.

Old Wolf's mouth corner twitched slightly.

Goodness.

This is selective "patting one's head."

He's still too young; these NPCs are even more sinister than people.

Noticing the stiff atmosphere in the hall, Eagle quickly spoke up to take over the conversation.

"...Today's meeting ends here. We've traveled by ship, then changed to carriage and ox carts, we're truly tired. Also, there are some issues we need to communicate with the people in the rear; it's impossible for us to make decisions alone."

They've already achieved their purpose, there's no need to rush it now.

If nothing unexpected occurs, the Army's messenger should have already contacted Absek's side.

Next, they just need to quietly await the latter's decision...

At the same time, they'll also try to find Anvo, to gather evidence of Absek colluding with the Southern Legion.

This evidence is like Baiyue Corporation's investigation report on the survival situation of Lowell Camp survivors; it may not be used in the end, but it's essential to hold onto.

It's a form of deterrence.

Also the last resort if things get ugly.

Anush did not insist on keeping them either, returning to the throne with a softened tone.

"Everyone, please go rest. Oh... We've prepared a palace for your stay."

He clearly still hasn't given up.

After all, a group of messengers doesn't prove much; in the end, the decision must be made by City of Dawn over there.

At this time, leaving a good impression on the messengers becomes particularly important, and that's why he went to such lengths to make arrangements.

Eagle nodded slightly.

"Your kindness is appreciated, but we've already booked a hotel in the suburbs."

Hearing this, Anush laughed and said kindly.

"Those inns are for traveling merchants, they don't even have direct hot water, how can we let esteemed guests like you stay there? Indeed, besides the palace for your stay, I've also arranged some local special programs, I'm sure you'll love them..."

These all come from Witch Camel's exquisite collection, some are untouched even by Witch Camel, not even by himself, mainly intended for hosting distinguished guests with special identities.

Of course, the culture of Poluo Province is reserved, and he didn't speak too plainly.

However, the meaning between the lines and his ambiguous tone made it quite clear.

He's planning to show them some "colors."

The dog's eyes on the subtitles tube quickly lifted his head, looking at the NPC in surprise.

"Holy crap, is it real?!"

He had always been ranting in Chinese before, but this time he forced out his still not-so-fluent United Human language.

The Old Stick beside him was startled, quickly tugging at his sleeve.

"Holy crap, you don't want your helmet?!"

Old Dog: "???

Without understanding their exchange, Anush just laughed and winked at the messenger who suited his taste.

"It must be real... Don't worry, leave it to me, I have good taste."

Glancing at the internally conflicted Old Dog, Eagle coughed and said.

"No, no... The killing intent here is too much, I've been coughing since I came in, and I won't be able to sleep at night."

He still had some limits.

After all, why gamble your helmet on something money can solve?

This isn't the way to seek thrills.

Anush was bewildered, clueless about the connection between killing intent and coughing.

Why didn't he feel any killing intent?

Although he's indeed been feeling a bit drained lately.

Watching Eagle deny, he quickly continued with a smile.

"You're too polite! The survivors of Poluo Province are very enthusiastic about you, it would be such a pity if you don't experience it—"

Before he could finish, hurried footsteps entering the main hall interrupted him.

"Enough, Anush!"

"I'm just standing at the door and I can already smell that rotten stench coming from you!"

Hearing the thunderous shout, the Master of Ceremonies immediately turned to look at the door, saw the person standing there, and was so frightened that he nearly collapsed to the ground.

There stood an officer in a crisp military uniform at the entrance of the main hall, with a group of heavily-armed soldiers behind him.

They looked menacing, with an aura of killing intent, like a pack of ferocious wolves.

This time, Anush understood what real killing intent was, as evident from the expressions on these people's faces.

The situation happened too abruptly, catching everyone off guard, leaving both Anush and the Alliance representatives dumbfounded, unclear about what was going on.

The guards inside the hall immediately stepped forward, attempting to draw their guns to confront this group, however, they found themselves faced with multiple "Blade" assault rifles.

Glancing at the pistols hung at their waists and then at the overwhelming firepower opposite, they could only reluctantly put their guns back in their holsters, making the motion to draw but not daring to move.

This group came prepared!

Even their safeties were off!

Anush widened his eyes, gripping tightly to the armrest of his throne, slapped it with a loud bang, and stood up.

"What nerve! Who the hell are you?!"

Glaring back unflinchingly at those fierce eyes, Anvo returned the glare without hesitation.

"I'm Anvo."

"Anvo? Where did this nobody come from—"

Before Anush could finish speaking, a gunshot rang out with a "bang".

His eyes widened in disbelief, looking at the bloody hole in his chest as he collapsed into the throne.

His brain momentarily forgot to think as many things flashed like a slideshow before his eyes.

Suddenly he realized something, as if catching a glimpse of the fleeting truth, but too late to speak.

It was too late!

"Bang—!"

Holding the pistol, Anvo aimed at his chest, mercilessly pulling the trigger a second time, then a third, and fourth... until the clip was empty.

The gunshots echoed through the Imperial Palace like the tolling of a church bell.

The surrounding guards and Master of Ceremonies just looked on in shock as their wise and brave king, like an electrocuted kangaroo, twitched on the throne before finally collapsing into a pool of blood.

Like a ragged cloth.

There was a dead silence on the scene.

He was dead...

The king just died like that?!

It hadn't even been a week since he sat on the throne...

Including the representatives of the Alliance like Far-sighted Eagle and the disruptive Stick, everyone was left bewildered by this sudden upheaval.

Especially the former.

He did know about Absek's plot, having exchanged information with Pangolin, but never expected that this so-called plot was merely a pistol.

This is ridiculously crude and straightforward!

Obviously.

The fact that these people managed to get here unimpeded suggests there's an invisible hand manipulating things from behind.

Eagle's mind raced quickly, rapidly sorting through all the known clues.

Anvo's chest heaved violently as he stared intently at the corpse, then furiously threw the gun to the ground.

Like a true warrior.

With a determined voice, he shouted at the now voiceless corpse and the blood-stained throne.

"I rebelled to bring a new day to the Empire! Not for the likes of you to take charge!"

"I alone am guilty, do with me as you please!"

He knew very well he wouldn't die.

Absek wouldn't let him die, at least not in this act.

That's what his "advisor and fellow believer" Yishel told him.

Simultaneously as he finished speaking, chaotic footsteps echoed from outside the main hall.

About a hundred people rushed in, raising their rifles menacingly, surrounding the twenty-some people at the door.

"What the hell have you done! Do you know what you've just done?!" the leading Centurion exclaimed, eyes wide with veins popping, aiming his gun squarely at Anvo.

Anvo indifferently stretched out his hands.

"I am fully aware of what I've done. I'll plead guilty, but I won't regret it."

"All for the Thousand Tribes of Poluo Province."

The Centurion gritted his teeth for a long time, ultimately refraining from violence, merely taking out a chain to cuff the man before him.

The remaining twenty-some soldiers didn't resist either, promptly throwing their guns to the ground, surrendering alongside their Thousands of leaders Anvo, and being pinned to the ground.

Moments later, disordered footsteps once again arrived from outside the main hall, and with a plop, someone knelt before the throne.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!!"

The person cried heart-wrenchingly, forehead pressed tightly to the ground, pounding it with their fist.

The surrounding guards and Master of Ceremonies looked on with sympathetic expressions.

The dog's eyes glanced at Stick Brother, whispering softly.

"I bet that's Absek."

Stick Brother chuckled.

"Then you guessed wrong."

Old Dog looked at him in surprise.

"Huh?"

Stick Brother slightly tilted his head, whispering in his ear.

"This isn't a palace drama, they probably won't set up another king, but directly changing the flag wouldn't win support... Wait and see, the one on stage now is probably going to play the villain, while the protagonist Absek is still preparing backstage."

This storyline isn't that cliché, but neither is it groundbreaking.

Though only the beginning has played out, he seemed to already foresee the ending...

Chapter 838: The Gunshot That Shattered the Darkness

The development of events was just as Old Stick predicted; the one kneeling on the ground crying was indeed not that Absek.

But a guy named Horse King.

At first, he cried fiercely, shaking with anger, and then drew his gun, pointing it at the perpetrator, Anvo.

Everyone present was startled.

Even Anvo, who knew he was acting, felt his heart pounding, worried that this guy might take the act too far and silence him for real.

However, remembering Yishel's instructions and Absek's promise, he managed to maintain a composed posture, standing there motionlessly with a stiff expression.

"Damn, this guy can't die..."

Seeing the mission target might get wiped out, Dog Brother exclaimed in a low voice, frantically exchanging looks with the Eagle beside him, asking what to do.

Old Stick, however, chuckled softly and coaxed him in a quiet voice.

"Don't worry, he won't die."

No way mission targets die in cutscenes.

The Eagle thought the same but didn't dare to gamble on that probability and stepped forward at Old Dog's call, persuading fluently in Human Union language.

"Ahem! All of you calm down, regardless of your conflicts... are you pretending we don't exist?"

I'm at least the Alliance's messenger!

Though the messenger's identity was somewhat false, the Alliance's banner still held some weight!

It seemed his words resonated, having some effect.

The Horse King indeed "calmed down" a bit, lowering the trembling gun barrel by an inch, though not entirely.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall, and Lion King Absek finally arrived belatedly.

Though he orchestrated this coup himself, seeing Yanu lying on the throne with open eyes, Absek couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

The man who called himself "the only king under heaven" died so carelessly...

The face twisted with pain gradually distorted, seemingly morphing into his own.

This was not a good omen.

He didn't doubt he did the right thing, but perhaps it set a very bad precedent.

Absek took a deep breath, dispelling the chilling hallucinations from his mind, and said to the Horse King.

"Shaluk, calm down... put the gun down first."

The Horse King glared fiercely at Anvo but ultimately uncocked the gun and dropped it on the ground.

Anvo finally sighed in relief, unaware his back was soaked in cold sweat.

Even knowing Shaluk was an old soldier from the front lines, unlikely to have such an accidental discharge, being pointed at by a cocked gun still made his legs weak.

This is purely human instinct.

The spot where it pointed almost felt like there was already a hole...

Absek then turned to the Eagle and the other Alliance messengers, bowed deeply, and said.

"Sorry, this should have been a moment to celebrate the friendship between the survivors of Poluo Province and River Valley Province, yet such an incident occurred in this solemn occasion... On behalf of Poluo Province's survivors, I extend my apologies to you and sincerely hope for your understanding."

"Please believe me, we will surely provide you with an explanation for this incident!"

Hearing the pompous rhetoric, the Eagle couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly.

You think I don't know you staged this?

But he hadn't expected them to act at this time.

Even Battlefield Old Soldier, who stirred things up, might not have expected such brazenness and decisiveness from these people.

After brewing his emotions for a moment, the Eagle collected the shocked expression on his face and spoke in a softened tone.

"This is your internal affair, and we have no intention of getting involved, but I hope you resolve issues more civilly rather than resorting to bloodshed... Honestly, I'm a bit overwhelmed right now; the person we spoke with earlier just died before our eyes. I think my companions probably feel the same."

"I am truly sorry!"

With his head lowered, Absek continued earnestly.

"I understand how you must feel right now, but I can assure you, building an equal nation in Poluo Province wasn't merely the late Heavenly King's ideal; it's the shared dream of all of us. Even without him, we will continue down the path he paved."

After a pause, he added.

"Moreover, our attitude and stance toward the Alliance and you remain unchanged; his promises to you still stand, and we still long for your recognition."

Looking at Absek with his sincere expression, the Eagle remained silent for a while before sighing and saying.

"Yanu didn't promise us anything, but... if you truly seek our recognition, at least make some changes worthy of it."

"As for today's meeting, let's end it here. I think you also need some time to handle the current chaos and decide the future path."

With that, he exchanged a glance with his companions and headed towards the hall's exit, temporarily leaving this place of turmoil...

...

Initially, a warehouse caught fire, which then spread throughout the port, engulfing the entire settlement, and with a sweeping momentum, it covered half of Poluo Province, eventually ending with a hastily unexpected storm.

Most wildfires end this way.

In eras before civilization, the raging wildfires were merely nature's cycle, beginning with a thunderclap and ending with the rolling of thunder.

The Heavenly King's Army was the same.

Its birth wasn't entirely accidental, but it carried an inevitability of its own.

The thousand pillars standing in the City of Thousand Pillars were suddenly awakened, like night sweats.

They attempted to break free from the curse entangling them, freeing themselves from the bloodied soil, causing mountains and forests to sway, birds and beasts to flee, and the entire earth to tremble...

Everything seemed to succeed.

At least it was grand and vigorous.

And at that moment that should have been celebratory, a few pillars suddenly realized, it was never really the blood-stained crimson beneath their feet that bound them, but the roots driven deep into the soil, and the hands clutching them tightly.

That was the red soil in their hearts...

Or rather, their souls.

The entirety of Tiandu was engulfed in an atmosphere of fear and unrest for a whole day.

One second, the entire King's Army was celebrating the arrival of the Alliance delegation, and the next, they were suddenly tense for no apparent reason.

As if the music had suddenly stopped, and ghosts began to grab people.

The bandage moved from the left arm to the right, and waves of armed soldiers dashed through the streets.

Their goals were clear, and their actions were swift.

That flurry seemed even more intense than the night of the assault on the Imperial Palace!

This time, however, no one knew who they were going to attack or kill...

People avoided eye contact, dared not speak, and dared not linger in the streets.

Vendors packed up, shops closed, and every household shut their doors and windows tight, fearing even the slightest sound.

The once lively market became deserted, as desolate as the wild burial mound outside the city, with only a few mice and cockroaches occasionally scurrying out from the nooks and crannies.

The tense atmosphere lasted the entire day until news finally broke the next day at noon. Anush's head of the guard committed suicide out of guilt, and three of the six cabinet members he appointed were taken away, supposedly for looting on the night the city fell.

This reason seemed utterly absurd even to the survivors in Tiandu City who had suffered through the military disaster.

Who didn't help themselves when the city fell that night? If that were truly the reason, how many more than three might be killed?

As expected, more explosive news followed: their cheaply acquired King Anush was dead!

No one expected that he would die.

What was even more unexpected was that he was shot dead on the throne by a Thousands of leaders named Anvo, right in front of the Alliance messengers during a meeting!

The Anush Dynasty, which was established less than a week ago, collapsed just like that...

...

"Extra, extra! Something big happened in Tiandu again! Anush is dead!!"

In the port area of Jinjaron Harbor, loud voices and hurried footsteps startled a flock of Seagulls.

A newspaper boy, with a satchel on his back, loudly hawked papers as he dashed through the streets.

Hearing the shouting, passersby, whether in long robes or short garments, all stopped in their tracks and cast surprised glances at the newspaper boy.

Anush?!

That King...

Is dead?!

People swarmed towards him, eagerly grabbing all the newspapers from the boy's satchel.

Sun Ni, an outside instructor working at a nearby school, was passing by. Seeing people jostling to grab the extras, he squeezed in and asked for one too.

"Give me one too!"

Throwing four Gallons into the newspaper boy's hand, he quickly grabbed a paper and took a look, his eyes suddenly widening.

"Another Coup in Tiandu! Anush Shot Eight Times to Death!"

Goodness gracious.

The headline alone was much more interesting than the previous interview with the "last emperor"!

[... The day before yesterday at noon, the leader of the King's Army, Anush, was shot dead in the main hall of the Imperial Palace by his subordinate, a Thousands of leaders named Anvo, during a meeting with the Alliance delegation!

It is reported that this person was a reformist officer within the King's Army, influenced by publications of the Silver Moon Sect and works related to the Workers' Association during the West Sail Port period. He advocated for the abolition of the monarchy and union promotion, hence was exceedingly outraged by Anush's various tyrannical policies.

In coincidence with the arrival of the Alliance messenger, Anush used his silver tongue to cunningly argue, portraying enslavement as equality and evil as nobility, and even recklessly claimed that both sin and nobility were the same, which he could no longer tolerate, thus drawing his gun to break into the hall and execute him.

The editor privately believes that while his vigilante action was indeed improper, his heroic spirit of sacrifice in the cause of justice can hardly not be praised with thumbs up.

In front of ten millimeters, everyone is equal; no matter how powerful, one cannot resist a bullet.

All those who mask vile deeds under the guise of justice should shudder at the hearing of Anvo's noble act!

Currently, Anvo has been imprisoned, his fate still unknown for the time being.

However, the gunshot within the palace sparked a call among the reformists in the King's Army to "purge the ranks and draw clear boundaries."

Some radical reformists officers first set examples, successively initiating military advice actions to express their support for Anvo, and cleared the confidants of Anush and feudal remnants of the same faction.

According to informed sources, several officers from the Anush faction, including the King's Army "Bull King" Ami, were executed by firing squad in this round of clearing.

Moreover, over ten thousand basic soldiers and middle-ranking officers implicated were also caught up in this purge.

The local residents' emotions and reactions to this cleansing operation were rather calm.

It is rumored that the deceased were mostly marauders who committed atrocities at West Sail Port and Tiandu, hence they did not gain local sympathy and even saw some cheering as a result.

After two days of chaos, the situation in Tiandu has been completely taken over by reformist officers, led by General Absek, and had largely stabilized by the time of this report.

In his public speech, he declared his disinterest in the throne, wishing only for the light of unity to descend upon the Poluo Province, thus establishing the Poluo United Federation in the name of the Jinjaron Harbor Union.

As for himself, he served as the first Chairman of the United Federation and the first Leader of the "Poluo Country."

Meanwhile, reformist senior officers like Shaluk, Nigle, and Duwata also assumed senior positions within the United Federation and became popular candidates for the next Leader.

According to the relevant resolutions of the Poluo United Federation, they will overturn all decisions of the Anush period and completely abolish slavery.

Henceforth, whether Sun People or Moon Clan people, all will enjoy equal personal freedom and rights in the Poluo Province as its Residents.

In addition to abolishing slavery, the measures taken by Absek also include implementing public education, convening industry representatives to form a committee, exempting agricultural tax, converting the Royal Mint into a joint-stock bank, and encouraging women's participation in production, and so on.

Additionally, they specifically called the newspaper office, inviting it to set up a branch in Tiandu, to strengthen exchanges between the survivors of Tiandu and Jinjaron Harbor.

Objectively speaking, compared with Anush's reckless rewards and secretive manipulation, the Poluo Province United Federation clearly demonstrates a firmer resolve for reform.

Although the future remains uncertain, at least they are willing to start fulfilling their promises now and welcome us to supervise them.

However, their sincere desire for progress, which moves listeners, also makes one worry for them.

Such a sweeping reform can be described as earth-shaking, but it's unlikely to be easy to implement it effectively.

Moreover, due to the sudden death of the Heavenly King, the Reformist officers have independently established the Poluo Country, and have distanced themselves from the old flags. Currently, the entire Heavenly King's army is leaderless.

Besides the five armies involved in the rebellion and absorption, there are still seven armies in the wild, currently fighting under the name of the Anush Dynasty against the remnants of the old West Winds Empire.

These seven armies number over a million and are equipped with a large amount of legion-standard equipment, remaining a significant force on the land of Poluo Province.

Faced with the change of hands in Tiandu and the newly aligned allies, it remains to be observed what choice the "King" of these seven armies will make.

More news about Poluo Country will be continuously tracked and reported by our reporters and editors!

]

Having read the entire report from start to finish, Suny finally grasped the happenings in Tiandu over this period but felt both joy and worry.

He could tell that the editor of the Survivor's Daily must have been extremely excited when writing this special edition.

It was as if, while writing at his desk, he happened to look up to see a swallow flying past the window.

He felt the same way.

Although he was a resident of Ring Island in the South Sea Union, he had been teaching here for almost half a year now and had some affection for this land.

In fact, he had already started to consider this place as his second hometown.

However, because he understood the true thoughts of the people here, he could not completely hide the hint of worry within his joy.

As the newspaper said, such a sweeping reform is not easy to implement.

Every decision made by Absek costs money, and the total sum is an astronomical figure, even if all the wealth in Poluo Province were added up and multiplied, it might not suffice.

Is it really this simple?

"...Education is of the utmost importance. I just hope that in the end, regardless of success or failure, it won't dampen the confidence and passion of Poluo Province's survivors."

He sighed softly, folded the newspaper in his hand, put it into his briefcase, and continued heading to the school where he worked.

While passing through Tulip Street, he happened to see Alliance military trucks heading from the port's warehouse district toward the suburban military base.

The trucks' cargo bays were filled with green-painted boxes, undoubtedly containing ammunition inside.

Heavy equipment, including tanks and self-propelled guns, had been landing at the port in recent days.

Clearly.

This is the Alliance's response to the Army's reinforcement of the western front.

Having experienced a civil war once, he suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.

War.

It's drawing closer...

...

Suny wasn't the only one smelling gunpowder; Poluo Province is rich with smart and overly smart people.

The Witch Camel floating near Jinjaron Harbor's estuary is the best proof of that.

Even the emperor, the last to sense it, can see that it's going to be the end, let alone others.

Recently, there have been continuous arrivals of survivors landing on the Everflow River and locals leaving Jinjaron Harbor, heading to the sunny Baiyue Strait or the budding Haiye Province. This has led to the Alliance's various settlements having to raise the threshold for issuing ID cards time and again, even facing criticism from some representatives as "Ideal Cityization."

This can indeed be considered criticism, as the Alliance's banner is the union of suffering survivors, and raising the ID issuance threshold undoubtedly bars those who are suffering from entry.

Although criticized by the City of Dawn's representatives, the local representatives have their reasons.

After all, as the Manager said, only by uniting our own can we unite more people.

Every community has a population capacity limit determined by local public resources; they can't just abandon refugees to the Wasteland to fend for themselves, watching them get assimilated into Looters.

A house meant for two people could tolerate one more, but suddenly stuffing in five or six people would be unbearable for anyone.

Settlements do not oppose helping survivors, but they must act according to their means.

As for helping survivors, that's the central authority's affair.

The reason they agreed to spend precious tax money on stabilizing the situation in Poluo Province and building hospitals and schools for Jinjaron Harbor's survivors is to hopefully reduce the number of refugees there.

Of course, it should not be none at all, but preferably a thin stream flowing slowly.

Concerning the debates between representatives of the City of Dawn and local representatives, Chu Guang was pleased to watch, so he did not intervene.

Even if the representatives argued heatedly during meetings, it was never because of deep-seated enmity; their starting point was always to make the Alliance better.

One person's wisdom always has limits, and adding his players is the same.

He cannot always consider every aspect thoroughly, but there will always be someone to perfect what he overlooks, and that's enough.

Even if no one considers it, it doesn't matter; falling once will naturally make it clear.

Standing up is more important than running fast; people learn to walk and run by continuously falling...

However, while the survivors of Poluo Province were squeezing eastward, there were also some people going against the current.

For example, Niyan.

After confronting Duke Garava and resigning from the embassy, he immediately took the train to Silver Moon Bay and transferred to a ship heading to Mammoth State.

He didn't go to Jinjaron Harbor.

The people there were doing well; every line of work was thriving and literary works were flourishing, so there was nothing for him to do even if he went; at best, it would be embellishing something already beautiful.

On the contrary, Mammoth State needed him more, or rather all of Poluo Province needed him more!

The failure of West Sail Port's "New Culture" movement revealed many problems; the residents of Poluo Province cannot arm themselves with borrowed ideas.

The Silver Moon Sect is the secularizable outcome of the Residents of Silver Moon Bay, which doesn't even suit the like-minded Male Lion Kingdom, let alone the purely foreign West Winds Empire.

"Pol" is the same.

It's a monument erected by the survivors of Giant Stone City; it can be a torch pointing them in the direction but they must light their own torch.

The survivors of Poluo Province originate from the Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods and must first confront their beliefs and culture before secularizing anything, rather than nullify their imprints completely.

In short!

They need their own newspaper!

And a school!

Only by reclaiming their soul can they hope to embark on a new era!

Getting off the ship, Mr. Niyan, carrying a briefcase, stood on the dock of the parish.

His travel-worn face was filled with exhaustion from the journey, yet his bright eyes glowed with brilliance.

He had visited Mammoth City before, and its drastic changes made it almost unrecognizable to him.

However, precisely because of this, he was filled with hope for achieving his goal on this trip.

Just then, a hearty laugh suddenly came from the port.

"Haha, welcome! Niyan! Or should I call you Mr. Mouse!"

Retrieving his gaze from the crescent moon atop the church roof in the distance, Niyan looked towards the direction of the laughter, and saw a man in a sharply dressed military uniform walking towards him with open arms.

That man was Laxi.

Although he wasn't handsome in reality, he was young enough and exuded the same charisma as the photo on the newspaper's front page, so Niyan recognized him at a glance.

Before arriving here, he had indeed written to the authorities, but he hadn't expected Laxi to personally come and meet him.

"General, feel free to call me whatever you like; a name is just a code." Seeing the passionate Laxi, Niyan felt a bit reserved, not daring to give a warm hug, only extending his right hand.

"Haha! Let's stick with the name then!"

Laxi didn't mind, smoothly retracted his arms, and instead grasped his hand firmly, giving it a vigorous shake.

"Brother Niyan... ahem, Mr. Niyan, I'm a straightforward person, and sometimes my words might not sound pleasant. If you feel uncomfortable, just let me know! You can even scold me if you want!"

His face bore a fervent smile, surely if Ah Xin was here, he'd be quite surprised.

After all, this person wouldn't even accompany Ah Xin for a drink, sipping one himself and leaving, yet he seemed to get along so effortlessly with this first-time encounter, even addressing as brothers.

Seeing Laxi's overly enthusiastic demeanor, Niyan smiled awkwardly and joked.

"Since the General said so, I won't be polite with you."

Laxi waved his hand with a laugh.

"No need for courtesy, Mammoth State needs people like you!"

He's a crude person.

Apart from fighting wars, he can only copy the tasks from Jinjaron Harbor and can't do anything else.

Mammoth State's development relies heavily on the talents from Jinjaron Harbor and Silver Moon Bay, and he's somewhat aware of this.

Precisely because of this, he wishes fiercely for Mammoth State to have its own talents.

Not to mention someone as capable as Mr. Mouse!

That's why he placed himself lower, perhaps even excessively so.

Niyan did not know what he was thinking but seeing that he was in good spirits, he took the opportunity to speak.

"Since the General said so, I'd boldly ask the General for two more things."

Laxi patted him on the shoulder and spoke with a smile.

"Go ahead! I'll certainly clear the path for you!"

Niyan shook his head.

"There's no need to clear the path; just follow the rules written in black and white."

Pausing for a moment, he continued sincerely to Laxi.

"There's no shortcut in saving the nation, only one path, which is enlightenment. And today, I've come to Mammoth State to do two things related to this—one is to establish schools, and the other, newspapers."

He earned quite a bit of money from the Dawn Garden Post from West Winds Empire, and now it's time to use this money on its residents.

Upon hearing that this gentleman brought the "solution to the problem," Laxi's face lit up with joy.

"No problem! Anyone can do this in Mammoth State; naturally, you can do it too!"

Seeing Laxi promising wholeheartedly, Niyan smiled meaningfully.

"Let me be clear; the school I want to establish is like the university at Camp 101, and the newspaper I aim to run is like Survivor's Daily, one that dares to speak the truth. These two things must be independent of the Alliance system, so I hope they can also be independent of Mammoth State's system. General, are you willing?"

Laxi replied with a smile.

"Why wouldn't I be willing? Not only am I willing, but I'll also approve funding for you to do it!"

Niyan shook his head.

"There's no need for funding; I've previously... saved some ill-gotten gains, enough to do this. When the schools and newspaper offices are on track, self-financing will not be an issue. I have no other requirements; just hope you can write what you said into the law or leave me a document, as evidence for the future."

"No problem!" Laxi agreed promptly, feeling nothing amiss.

Niyan let out a breath upon hearing this and bowed deeply.

"Then on behalf of the Thousand Tribes of Poluo Province... thank you."

Seeing Niyan bow to him, Laxi reached out quickly to lift him.

"What are you doing! I've said I'm a straightforward person; can't accept your bow!"

Niyan insisted on completing the bow before stepping back.

"No, no, you misunderstood; this is a gesture before taking action. Do not think I'm being polite."

Laxi paused at his words, then burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! What a gesture before taking action! Alright! Let me learn about your tactics then!"

Watching the two happily chatting, the guards standing at the port exchanged glances, their faces filled with disbelief.

Is this really their decisive General?

It feels as though he's become a different person...

Chapter 839: The Alliance's "After-Sales Service

The impact of the death of the Heavenly King is still fermenting, and the "Survivor's Daily" in Jinjaron Harbor is following up on this event.

The survivors in Jinjaron Harbor are surprised at Anush's tragic end, while also worrying about whether this will bring uncontrollable influence to the situation in Poluo Province.

To be fair.

What Anush did was indeed extreme, his murderous aura is even heavier than that of Laxi, and he doesn't restrain himself from wine and women.

Leaving public morality aside, his private virtues were truly lacking, although the Alliance also has people of poor private virtues, at least they don't force buy and sell, it's always mutual consent.

However, objectively speaking, Anush indeed kicked down this rotten empire house.

Just like Laxi copied the Alliance's work, he also learned the ferocity of the old employer's army thoroughly, and even performed beyond expectations, almost blowing away the "foundation".

Yet now he just died so haphazardly, leaving this mess and dilapidated house for others to clean up.

For those who haven't yet built new houses, this is definitely not a good thing.

Even though the Xilan Empire has ten thousand shortcomings, that shabby house could at least let people take shelter from the rain.

But these are all matters for the future...

In the noodle shop near the port area, early in the morning, it's bustling, and a group of diners are chatting idly.

"I knew he couldn't end well!" The dock worker slapped his thigh, looking regretful, with his thick eyebrows bearing a sense of inevitability.

"This person was too murderous, hurting both others and himself!"

The small merchant doing business nearby also nodded, expressing regret over the newspaper headlines.

"Governing a big country is like cooking a small fresh fish, not like flipping pancakes, how could he flip it back and forth like that."

"It's a matter of fate, his face lacks a bit of majesty, couldn't suppress that throne, was restrained to death by himself."

"What is majesty."

"...Indeed, I think he looks suitable for a general, but unfortunately he touched things he shouldn't have, only to pay with his life."

Due to the Everflow River Beach occasionally dredging up corpses, superstition is gradually becoming popular in the middle and lower society of Jinjaron Harbor.

It's hard to say there's no "ripple effect" from players behind this, after all, what locals are best at is mimicking, and they're yet to reach the stage of taking what's good and discarding the bad.

But as a topic for idle conversation, this is nothing but a trivial matter.

The followers of the Great Antler God can learn physics, so the more flexible residents of Poluo Province naturally don't mind adding "Ghost God" and "Science God" to the thousand gods.

The crowd was discussing animatedly, and a school teacher who couldn't stand it anymore rolled his eyes, intending to argue with this group of rough men.

But before the guy could interject, his colleague sitting opposite stretched out a hand to stop him.

"Enough, enough, you know it all, hurry up and eat noodles, we have class soon!"

Continuing this topic would lead to endless debates, which would yield no real conclusions.

The teacher realized this, and just rolled his eyes again, silently bowed his head and continued eating.

Just hoping his students don't end up like this.

Blaming principles on fate.

A man sitting in the corner of the noodle shop was also silent, quietly reading the newspaper while waiting for his noodles.

Only when the noodles arrived did he place the newspaper aside, and while pulling chopsticks from the container, he sighed to Kunal sitting opposite.

"The charcoal is burnt, easy to turn to ash... Kunal, we have to take this as a warning."

Kunal was stunned, seeing the boss talk about things he didn't understand again, after pondering for a while, he asked.

"Are you... feeling sorry for Anush?"

He remembered the boss saying it would be good if someone could kick down this rotten empire house.

But sometimes flowers don't bloom when planted with intent, and willows grow unintentionally, Laxi over there hasn't made any progress yet, West Sail Port's powder keg exploded first, and it burned half of Poluo Province.

Ah Xin shook his head.

"No, his death is a good thing, it's good for everyone, not dying would be a big trouble."

But judging by this, his real cause of death might not be simple, it might be the power of the army or the alliance operating behind the scenes.

As for what kind of operation is behind this, it's not something a little person like him can know.

Ah Xin knew very well.

Although he holds the cotton business of two states in his hands, even a Centurion from the Black Panther Army respectfully calls him grandpa, and military faction leaders have to look at him twice, in front of those real big figures, he still counts as a little person.

But little people also have their way of survival.

Which is to borrow power.

After a pause, he added.

"Now the Poluo Country is established, Absek is the leader, advocating constitutional governance. Externally, the alliance is mediating among various military factions to ceasefire, setting aside disputes, and aiming guns at the army planning invasion... If the provinces of Poluo can truly achieve unification, even if diluted, it would be a good thing for us."

Kunal respectfully replied.

"Do you have any instructions, boss?"

Ah Xin said in a leisurely tone.

"I hope you make some preparations, pick a few clever brothers, go to West Sail Port and Tiandu to expand some members for our Asa Sin gang... Remember, before expanding the business from Leopard State and Tiger State, keep an eye over there to avoid becoming someone else's cannon fodder."

"Yes."

Kunal seriously nodded and memorized every word the boss said.

Although he doesn't understand the intricacies, from his past experience, following the boss's instructions is surely right.

Ah Xin also nodded.

At this moment, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the newspaper he had placed on the table.

Or more precisely, it fell on a line he hadn't had time to read.

Mr. Mouse went to Mammoth State.

And he's planning to run a newspaper and establish a university.

This matter is quiet in Jinjaron Harbor, completely overshadowed by the heat of Anush's death.

But upon seeing this, Ah Xin couldn't help but smile.

He knew he's just a mouse in the sewer, even if he knew a few words, what he could do is merely digging a hole and scrapping some soil in the corner.

Though he wasn't cultured, he knew very well how important that thing is.

Now the light of ideals finally shines in.

Compared to the death of a hero, his arrival makes him truly feel that perhaps this land really has hope...

...

"Hahahahaha! Well done, dead!!"

On the tidal Everflow River, the north wind rippled with cheers of relief.

Looking at the throne covered in blood on the pasted newspaper, Witch Camel laughed heartily, bringing with it an improved appetite that had lost interest in tea and food.

"A thousand cuts to the damn thing! How dare you worms sit on my throne! I want to see who still dares to sit there! Whoever sits, dies there for me!"

The eunuch standing by had a fawning smile on his face, giving a thumbs up in praise.

"Your Majesty is wise! The power of the Heavenly Pillar connects the earth veins to the palace of Tiandu. Such power can only be withstood by a mighty body like Your Majesty's!"

Witch Camel smiled, very satisfied with the praise, but then seemed to remember something, shook his head, clicking his tongue in regret.

"... Pity the people of Tiandu, unaware of what's good, falling with the traitors and suffering in vain."

If only they had had a bit more backbone and loyalty, fought alongside his Imperial Guard against those bandits, they wouldn't have ended up as rebel subjects.

He had already called for aid from the Army.

And his allies had agreed to his request, reinforcing West Sail Port, ready to slaughter those rebels.

The Army would not spare them.

Those Vellante people are fierce killers! Beheading as if killing chickens!

Even if they change their name, it's useless. Who doesn't know they are the old part of the "Sky Bandits"?

Once the Army completes its deployment in West Sail Port, these bandits will all die!

Thinking of this, Witch Camel finally felt some relief, but also a pang of heartache, knowing that in the end, it was still his own people dying.

But he quickly shook his head, dispelling that slight displeasure from his mind.

As an emperor, he must not act with the benevolence of a woman, caring about the gain or loss of one city and one person.

Now the spoiled pus has infiltrated the veins of the Empire.

Only by letting the blood flow like a river, draining the pus completely, can Xilan be saved!

And just as Witch Camel was fantasizing about the so-called "Poluo Country" collapsing under the army's artillery, Olet the Ten Thousand Leader, receiving a telegram from the "Poluo Country," was completely bewildered.

[Please be advised, Army, we are a United Federation formed by the reformers of the old Gray Wolf Army, and detest the brutal actions of Anush and his followers, thus we have risen to fight against them!

Anush and his associates have been executed, Tiandu is now under our control, and we are willing to engage in diplomacy with you, under the identity of "Poluo Country," to discuss various issues including West Sail Port...

]

The telegram arrived at the Governor's Mansion in the morning and was sent to the military base by noon, with its content filling three full pages.

However, after reading just the first two lines, Olet couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Interesting... Hahahaha! Truly interesting!" As he spoke, he grinned, running his right hand over the back of his head.

As a Ten Thousand Leader stationed at Evernight Harbor and a key member of the Southern Legion, he had heard about the Southern Legion's internal plans for eastern expansion.

Though not directly involved in the conspiracy at West Sail Port, with his insight it wasn't hard to discern what had happened and to comprehend it.

The territories of the Southern Legion haven't expanded for over a hundred years, which is unbelievable for an organization that practices militarism.

Especially since the development of both the homeland of the Southern Legion and the coastal colonies of the Great Desert has hit a bottleneck, and the fatty piece of the Poluo Province is dangling right in front of them, making it hard not to covet it.

If the Civil Official Group can feast on it, why shouldn't they? In fact, letting those feeble and incompetent civil officials chew on this fatty piece is a waste!

If this plan for eastern expansion succeeds, it could not only bring the Army a wealth of diligent livestock but also push the Army's territory to the west side of Silver Moon Bay.

For him personally, this is also a rare opportunity to earn merit!

Always fighting mutants and natives, he could never become a two-star Ten Thousand Leader. But if he could expand the Army's territories, even without gaining an inch of land, he could be promoted through the merits of war!

However, the development of the matter at hand exceeded his expectations.

A fire that should have swept through the entire Poluo Province was suddenly halted by a gunshot.

And not just the fire was stopped.

Their relations with Absek and other old parts of the Gray Wolf Army were severed.

Though the lines of this telegram were written respectfully, inside and out, it carried a tone of neither servility nor arrogance, as if speaking as equals.

The fact is clear.

These ungrateful white-eyed wolves have found a new backer!

And it's highly likely the Alliance!

Otherwise, with just what they have, how dare they posture before the Army?

Olet could guess with his toes that this matter is definitely not just about a gunshot.

At least ninety-nine percent!

"... Whether this Poluo Country counts or not, and whether it's established or not, when did it become these slaves' turn to decide? We haven't recognized it yet."

Speaking, Olet the Ten Thousand Leader laughed and tossed the unfinished telegram onto the table.

Standing next to him, his advisor spoke softly.

"I heard that the Alliance's delegation is in Tiandu, this might be the Alliance's doing."

"Is that even a question?"

Olet curled his lips, took a sip of red wine from a goblet, and then after a short sneer, continued leisurely.

"And I suspect it's not just the Alliance, our own delegation might have had some effect as well."

The advisor lightly frowned.

"You mean... the pangolin sent by Bennott the Ten Thousand Leader?"

Olet nodded slightly, his expression indifferent.

"I've thought about it for a long time, and if it was just the Alliance's delegation, it would not have been enough to make Absek suddenly rebel and launch a coup against Anush early."

"Even if he was tempted by the conditions offered by the Alliance, he should have waited for the seven armies in exile to achieve a result, and act when those people return home and receive their rewards, rather than halting a fire halfway through."

The advisor nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed... This play should have been acted with tacit understanding, but their sudden awareness is truly abnormal."

The equipment in the hands of the Heavenly Army isn't just from the port's warehouse, they also took quite a bit of 'investment' from the Southern Legion."

Logically speaking, the current period should still be the honeymoon phase for both sides. Even if they have other intentions, they should consider the meat they haven't yet gotten their hands on.

Once the Anush Dynasty completely replaces the Xilan Dynasty and clashes with the military factions near Mammoth State and Jinjaron Harbor, the Southern Legion can gradually tighten their secret support for the Anush Dynasty and then take advantage of the situation to carve away their share.

However, now they suddenly rebel, preferring to abandon the remaining investment rather than continue the show.

In this case, there is only one possibility left.

A voice from within the legion revealed the Southern Legion's true intentions to them!

The only ones who could have done this were probably the civil officials from Triumph City.

That group of cowards is the least willing to fight.

"These damn laggards..." The advisor couldn't help but curse under his breath, clenching his fist involuntarily.

That was a chance bought with three thousand lives!

These self-serving wastes don't even consider the fallen Weilante people!

"Ha, let them cling to our legs then."

Olet's eyes narrowed slightly, the meaningful smile on his face growing colder.

"...These people are still too naive. No matter how they cut ties, deciding the recognition is still up to us."

"Not to mention the Heavenly King's seven armies still in the field; our targets for settlement remain, and besides, our military action is not just for revenge for our brethren in West Sail Port; we're also there to assist our allies and help them quell the rebellion."

"If we ignore them, wouldn't it show we are untrustworthy?"

As for what happens after the rebellion is quelled, that's a matter for the future.

He paused, then got up from his seat, looking sharply at the messenger standing to the side.

"Send a copy of the telegram to the legion leader over there... just send the original."

"Also, notify all combat units of the entire army to be ready to head to the front at any time!"

"For the glory, dignity, and land of the Weilante people!"

"The time for revenge is coming!"

The Weilante people, advancing with bayonets unsheathed, once again faced a threat to their survival.

This time the "threat" came from the east of the Great Desert, the Poluo Province—the most "gentle and peaceable" honest people living on red soil.

The telegram from Poluo Province crossed over Evernight Harbor, heading for the war department of the Southern Legion's homeland, while Evernight Harbor itself began the intense mobilization for war.

All of this happened under the watchful eye of a nuclear-powered submarine.

Residents from Shelter No. 70 munched on chips while tapping a holographic screen, inserting drone-captured photos into newly edited documents.

...

On the other side, the alliance delegation, visiting faraway Tiandu, finally received the reform proposal provided by the Absek authorities.

In the meeting hall of the Tiandu Palace, the Eagle carefully read through the document in his hand.

To be honest, the reform proposal was actually written quite well, probably copied from previous political sections of Jinjaron Harbor's "Survivor's Daily".

For example, public education.

For example, a joint-stock bank reform.

Then, encouraging women's participation in labor production and so on.

But when he saw the abolishment of the agricultural tax, the Far-sighted Eagle couldn't hold back.

Abolishing the agricultural tax, what will the hundreds of thousands of troops inside and outside the city eat?

Cannibalism?

"You folks really... have a preference for extremities!" The Far-sighted Eagle shook his head, sighing, "We did hope you'd make some changes worthy of our recognition, but didn't expect you to gobble everything up in one bite. Can you make it a bit more practical, like breaking this plan down over three to five years?"

The Alliance, after all, had a group of Blue Jackets with core technology assisting them, yet even then, they endured a period of "stuffing money into sacks to wear as clothing".

Poluo Province's population is hundreds of times that of the Alliance. Once the death rate is suppressed and the average life expectancy is raised, even if the birth rate remains unchanged, their population will shoot up like a released spring.

Behaving like Anush with not a dime to spare or even regressive antics is certainly no good, but this reckless approach of theirs is surely leading nowhere.

Not to mention, the Alliance can't help.

Even if they handed over Ideal City for distribution, they'd end up stripped bare.

Sitting opposite the Eagle, Absek, showing no signs of realizing the foolishness, instead laughed it off indifferently.

"How can this be considered extreme? Some things are never too late to start doing! We're willing to begin now and truly bring equality to the survivors of Poluo Country!"

Having said that, he looked eagerly at the Eagle, smiling apologetically.

"But... you can see our difficulties. The foundation left by the Xilan Empire is only so much; we do hope you can lend us a hand."

The Eagle stared blankly at the guy, suddenly feeling that his posture in asking for money looked oddly familiar?

Goodness.

I'm genuinely trying to help you out, but you're always eyeing to grab my gold coins!

Is this really appropriate?

"...It's not that we don't help you, but you've drawn us an endless black hole."

Steadying himself, the Eagle sighed, tossing the proposal onto the table.

"If you're really serious about getting things done, take it step by step... I'll provide you with moderate assistance, but don't pin all your hopes on us."

He was a watered-down diplomat, not a real diplomatic officer, and naturally, the Manager hadn't given him any budget. All he could offer were ideas and experience.

Even a real diplomat could likely provide only those things.

The Alliance has never thrown a penny at its smaller allies in the form of financial grants.

Low-interest loans were the support ceiling, and even those weren't easily accessible, as they related to the social security and pensions of the Alliance residents, where safety was prioritized over returns.

For example, the Mammoth State Authority has never managed to get one.

No matter how persuasive Laxi's sales agents were, they could at most borrow from banks in Silver Moon Bay or Jinjaron Harbor, or rely on investors like List who came with their own provisions.

However, Absek was unaware of this and was still hoping the rookie before him could pull out some funding, listening intently.

"Please advise, sir!"

The Eagle patiently said.

"Abolishing slavery and encouraging women's participation in production... these policies are good, and since you don't have unemployment benefits, it won't cost you much, at most cohesion... ahem, I mean, spending more on publicity and the like."

MMP!

Unintentionally, it strayed into a theatrical performance.

However, Absek didn't notice any issue and still spoke with sincerity.

"It's okay, just say it, I can understand!"

You better understand!

The Eagle glanced at this "fake Backseat Driver" a few times to ensure he wasn't just brushing things off, then slowly continued.

"The agriculture tax is not urgent, it's not like you don't know whose hands most of the fields in Poluo Province are in."

Absek suddenly nodded, and then asked.

"How about a progressive tax? Everyone gets three mu of land, no tax below three mu, above three mu and below five mu, one tier, below ten mu another tier."

The Eagle glanced at this guy in surprise, unexpectedly he was able to extrapolate.

This guy has some skills?

Though a tad of a straw bag, he's not a complete one.

"Progressive tax is a nice concept, but you must consider your actual situation, like the issue of proxy landholdings. Suppose I lend you money, and you buy my land, how would you deal with it?"

Absek froze for a moment and after a while, squeezed out a sentence.

"Is that even possible?!"

The Eagle rolled his eyes, unable to resist a retort.

"Don't think of it as a good thing, if you take that land to farm, I bet the money you make from selling the produce would not even cover the loan interest! All of you are farmers, they have nothing else to do but farm, any cuts you make on the land will ultimately hurt them because they have no other choice."

One is a phenomenon, the other is the essence.

If people's dependency on land doesn't change, no matter how you collect this money, the result will be the same.

The difference is just between long pain and short pain.

Looking at the stunned Absek, the Eagle patiently imparted relatively mature experiences to him.

"...The correct approach is to tax the circulation link, like first increasing the export tariffs on grains, then collecting grain—or bean consumption taxes internally, directly from the grain merchants. Although costs will still shift to the producers, the increased cost won't concentrate pressure on a specific group but will be spread among all consumers in society."

Absek nodded, half-understanding, seemingly understanding it yet not.

However, whether he fully understood or not, he ultimately remembered what to do.

"Fine, let's do as you said!"

The Eagle nodded and said.

"Yes, at this stage, it's the only way. Once you're industrialized, adjustments can be made... As for this money, it should be quite a substantial income, at least the tariff part should be enough for you to develop some light industries. Cutting down is just a stop-gap, opening up financial resources is the long-term solution."

Actually, the reason he dared to suggest this mainly is because of the large-scale promotion of cash crops in the coastal states of Tiger State and Leopard State, replacing beans with cotton.

As a result, the food needed by Tiger State and Leopard State can only be imported via Everflow River's ports from inland areas where grain prices are cheaper.

After the Alliance-dominated production system was established, Jin Galun Port took over some of the older industrial devices eliminated by the Alliance, while Tiger State and Leopard State took in portions phased out by Jin Galun Port.

For example, spinning machines or sugar machines, etc.

Once Poluo Country gradually gets on track, it too can naturally take in some of the industrial equipment phased out by Tiger State and Leopard State, at least buying up those worn sewing machines and tractors.

This way, a virtuous cycle can be formed instead of relying on unilateral support from the Alliance or Jin Galun Port.

Of course, the premise is that this saved money is used correctly.

The Eagle wasn't worried about Absek and these military factions embezzling the money, these guys are almost certain to take concubines, without a doubt. But if it's merely a bit of extravagant living, it wouldn't amount to much money embezzled.

Just like in the game "Tropico," siphoning money into overseas banks, the amount pocketed by the President himself is way less concerning compared to the overall profit (or loss) of the island.

On the Wasteland, even less said, given the development level of Poluo Province, these people can't truly be extravagant. At most, they could splurge a bit in Jin Galun Port and return after that.

As long as these guys don't do anything outrageous, like building wonders by the Everflow River or saddling donkeys, this money would absolutely suffice.

As for public education, it may start with literacy night schools.

Once the earliest literate workers gain benefits and land better jobs, public enthusiasm will naturally be mobilized, and the final expenditure might not be as much as imagined.

If the local survivors still live off farming with no need for improving education, even if a school building is erected locally, and textbooks shoved in their faces, it would be futile.

The Eagle spoke until his mouth was dry, during which he drank two large pots of tea, marking and revising every unreliable part in the draft.

He felt he, a fake diplomat, was obliging enough, not only playing the drama with them but also providing after-sales service.

If there were a few undecided parts, he'd excuse himself to the toilet a few times to consult those bigwigs on the forum, only returning to continue the conversations after they finished their talk.

That notorious Absek was as obedient as a student before him, attentively listening, while also having someone take notes.

Although he was illiterate, he could always have someone read to him.

Seeing this guy having so many ideas in mind, he inwardly resolved to seriously learn some cultural knowledge once he had the time.

Finally running out of words, the Eagle suddenly remembered someone and hurriedly spoke again.

"By the way, Anvo... when are you planning to release him? Hasn't Anush already been purged by you all? Shouldn't he be exonerated?"

Absek paused for a moment, then sheepishly slapped his head and said with a grin.

"See how forgetful I am… Lately, with so many things going on, I didn't even notice and forgot about this matter."

The Eagle: "..."

How on earth is that forgettable!?

Absek seemed to realize this excuse was flimsy, coughed, and continued.

"Actually, I kept him confined to protect him. While we reformists are in the ascendancy, not everyone in the United Federation supports us, and I worry that remnants of Anush's faction might seize an opportunity for revenge."

He straightened his look and said.

"Rest assured! I will have him released right away!"

The Eagle nodded.

"Okay, we also want to talk to him, if it's convenient, I'll go with your people."

"No problem!" Absek said with a smile on his face but with doubts in his heart.

Why is the Alliance so interested in Anvo, a nobody?

But he wasn't too worried in his heart.

After all, no matter what, they're on the same boat, it's impossible for Anvo to betray him.

With over two hundred lives on his hands, that guy has no route of retreat.

Later he planned to promote that guy a bit.

After submitting so many pledges, it's time he shared in the good fortunes with him…

Chapter 840: Escape from Death

"Clang——"

In the pitch black where you couldn't see your hand in front of you, the sound of chains clinking suddenly echoed.

Seated on the stone bed, Anvo was delighted in his heart and was about to stand up, but then he suddenly thought of something, and became apprehensive.

This was the dungeon of Tiandu.

It was said that those who came here would either die or shed a layer of skin, and none of those carried out would be complete corpses.

Especially those torture instruments hanging on the wall, although not tied to his body, had frightened Anvo quite a bit.

Ever since the gunshot, General Absek had thrown him in here and then there had been no movement, he hadn't even come to see him once.

Even though his "adviser" Yishel had thumped his chest, assuring him that nothing would happen, Anvo was still anxious, worrying that General Absek would kill him to silence him.

And just then, the slow footsteps finally reached the door of the cell.

Seeing it was Yishel standing outside the bars with a tray, Anvo, whose shoulders were tense, finally sighed in relief and sat back down on the stone bed.

Gesturing for the jailer to open the gate, Yishel handed him some money and motioned him to walk further away before entering the cell with a smile and placing the tray on the table.

"How does it feel to be a hero?"

"Not good at all!"

Grabbing an oily pancake from the tray, Anvo gobbled it down, muttering through a full mouth, "I just want to survive, I'd rather not have stumbled into this darn mess."

"There are still benefits." Yishel comforted him while pouring milk into his cup, "Eat slowly, don't choke yourself."

"It's hard..."

Anvo shook his head, sighing in despair.

"I realize now, my move has almost led to a dead end."

This is also the tragedy of being a small character.

Most of the time, he had no choice.

It's merely struggling a bit when disaster strikes, betting on an almost impossible possibility.

Sooner or later, those 200 lives will be discovered by General Absek.

Don't be fooled by his current leaning toward the Alliance, if he knew those 200 people were still alive, he might initially be happy and even brag about it, but undoubtedly, he'd suspect me afterwards.

This was ultimately a decision I made on my own.

Anush's suspicion is written on his face, so how could General Absek be any different?

They all crawled up from the Everflow River as drowned ghosts, there isn't a thing they wouldn't do for themselves.

Noticing the worried expression on Anvo's face, Yishel lowered his voice.

"Actually, it's not hard. Your life and death are in General Absek's hands because you are his man, you bear his mark..."

Anvo chuckled.

"Can this still be erased?"

"It can't be erased," Yishel shook his head, but then his tone shifted, "but you can stamp a new one on it."

Originally disheartened, Anvo immediately raised his head, hope rekindled in his eyes.

"Explain more clearly."

Yishel gave a faint smile, his eyes hidden in the darkness like a cunning rat, and continued leisurely.

"The Alliance's mission is in Tiandu, and they are soon coming with General Absek's men to meet you. This is a good opportunity, if you can win their favor, perhaps they can take you to Jinjaron Harbor... Once at Jinjaron Harbor, the future is wide open for you. With some effort, you might even secure a place among them."

His fingers pointed upwards, he didn't explain, but what lay beneath was implicit without words.

Anvo was startled, even incredulous, swallowing hard and continued speaking.

"...For what reason?"

Yishel patiently analyzed and said.

"The Alliance intends to broker peace between Poluo Country and the various military factions, to unite in facing external threats. They need to send a representative to mediate, don't they? In any case, this doesn't require you to do anything significant; with the Alliance maneuvering behind the scenes, a truce is the trend of the times, and the credit for this will certainly include you... This is nearly a free achievement."

"Such a good opportunity... Would General Absek give it to me?" Anvo couldn't help but ask.

"If not you, then who? Would he be willing to leave this place himself? If he doesn't go himself, he needs someone else to go, and you've already given so many pledges. If not you, should he send a nobody like me instead?"

Yishel chuckled and continued in a joking tone.

"Moreover, you are at least a 'celebrity' from the Jinjaron Harbor 'Survivor Daily' special. General Absek is counting on you to secure some investment there."

"Survivor Daily special?" Anvo was confused for a moment, looking at him with disbelief, "How do you know?"

"A reporter from the Survivor's Daily recently came here from Elephant State, and they are going to establish a branch here soon. Your heroic title was bestowed by them, after all," Yishel teased with a laugh.

This guy can become a hero, yet I can only be a mouse hiding in a corner, which is ironically a form of humor typical to natives of Poluo Province.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

Originally, he wanted to become Pol purely because he saw himself in Orisa's face, and act impulsively to stand up for the guy who fell on the dock.

After the whipping, he became sober, realizing there is no Pol in Poluo Province.

Not even Pol's opponent exists.

For example, that Nagi, was strung on a flagpole in the first chapter of the "Story."

Anvo hadn't thought that far ahead, he was just surprised, his hand stopped unconsciously as he stuffed the pancake into his mouth.

Has the "Survivor's Daily" actually come to Tiandu?

He had heard about that newspaper a long time ago.

It was said to be a paper run by the survivors of the Poluo Province, telling stories happening on this land, not in places like Giant Stone City or City of Dawn.

He had wanted to get a copy to read before, but unfortunately, he couldn't find many complete copies even after searching the entire West Sail Port.

Seems like quite a bit has happened outside while I've been locked in the dungeon these days...

...

After delivering the meal to Anvo, Yishel didn't stay in the dungeon, returned the plate to the jailer, and hurried off from there.

Not long after he left, footsteps were heard at the door again, and this time it was General Absek and the representative of the Alliance who personally walked in.

"Anvo, sorry for the trouble!"

Looking at Absek, whose face was filled with apologetic expressions, and then at the Alliance representative standing beside him, Anvo was unsure of which play to act in front of his boss.

The key was, no one had given him a script.

But perhaps due to a racial talent, his mind still spun quickly, and he immediately found his place.

"...Everything I did was for the greater good in my heart, there's no grievance or anything. If there's blame, it's all on me. You've treated me well, and I won't make things difficult for you—"

Before Anvo could finish his words, Absek hurriedly interrupted him and refuted.

"For the righteous act of the United, what crime could there be? If you were guilty, wouldn't that mean we're all guilty? And deserving of death?"

After saying that, Absek held his shoulder again, speaking sincerely and earnestly.

"From the start, I didn't think you did anything wrong. It's just that some people in our team couldn't see it, so I had to protect you first, hope you understand!"

"But, that's all in the past now. Anush has been overthrown, and his followers have scattered like monkeys fallen from trees. I can finally release you!"

Absek continued to speak at length, and even knowing what kind of person this guy was, Anvo couldn't help but be a little moved.

He finally understood what the elders always said, that sometimes knowing less isn't necessarily a bad thing; knowing too much can become a burden.

If he hadn't been involved in that affair at the chapel, hadn't witnessed the night talks between the general and the military's messenger, and hadn't learned so much about the stories behind, he might indeed mistake this person in front of him for a perfect saint.

Of course.

He was well aware that he wasn't in a position to say such things.

He didn't kill Anush for some grand cause; he had hesitated about whether to open fire in the chapel, and now he had to unwillingly play along with this guy.

"...Thank you, General!" Anvo choked out the words, just like the tears of emotion welling up in his eyes.

"It is I who should be thanking you!"

Absek gazed at him intently, holding his hands tightly, his tone earnest and sincere.

"I represent all the survivors of Poluo Province in thanking you for your righteous act!"

A reporter nearby captured this moment with a shutter click.

Seeing the two in the dark, Old Stick, standing at the end of the group, turned slightly to speak to Old Dog beside him.

"...See, what did I say back then?"

"Impressive." Old Dog's face was full of admiration, and he couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"Keep it low key..." Stick brother coughed lightly, making a modest gesture.

Old Wolf glanced at him askew.

"If you're so great, why don't you go up there?"

Stick brother chuckled.

"You don't get it, bragging and getting things done are two different skills. In bragging, even old Eagle is no match for me, but in getting things done, Eagle is much more competent than I am."

Old Eagle standing aside rolled his eyes.

"You don't need to overpraise me..."

These guys!

If they each had a bit of usefulness, things wouldn't be as ineffective as they are!

Finally, when the two finished their act, Old Eagle cleared his throat and inserted himself into the conversation before Anvo.

"Mr. Anvo, although there are personal struggles, I still hope that you remain calm in handling matters and avoid acting on extremes."

This was said to Anvo's face, but it was meant for Absek standing beside him.

Anvo, whether he understood or not, lowered his head apologetically.

"Sorry, I..."

Not wanting to dwell on the drama, Old Eagle raised his hand to stop him.

"Alright, no need to apologize. This is your internal affair, and we don't intend to interfere. What I want to discuss next is the situation in Poluo Province, which concerns not just us but also you."

Anvo immediately looked at his leader, Absek, who then looked at Old Eagle, putting on a serious expression.

"Please go ahead!"

Old Eagle glanced at the two of them and slowly spoke.

"The Foreign Minister of the Alliance has already arrived at Jinjaron Harbor, to facilitate a ceasefire among various forces in Poluo Province. It'd be advisable for you to send a representative there."

Before Absek could speak, he continued.

"We all think you're a good candidate, but your own opinion must be sought. Do you have any interest?"

Anvo was pleased to hear that and almost agreed immediately but suddenly realized, turning to General Absek, and said humbly.

"I follow the General's arrangements!"

Absek did indeed laugh heartily, his face full of satisfaction, patting his hand and saying.

"Why follow my arrangement? As long as it's beneficial to the Thousand Tribes of Poluo Province, just go ahead and do it! Don't ask me! Hurry up and thank the Alliance's messengers!"

Anvo turned his head to look at the Eagle, prepared to bow and express his thanks, but was supported by the latter.

"Let's not thank back and forth now; let's first get out of this ghost place!"

...

Anvo, who had attempted to assassinate Anush in court, was released.

And it was the United Federation's leader, Absek, who personally went to the dungeon to fetch him.

Once this news was published in the "Survivor's Daily," it immediately stirred waves in Jinjaron Harbor downstream of the Everflow River.

Many initially thought that even if Anush's faction was thoroughly settled, Anvo, the bird who stuck his head out, would not have a good end.

After all, one matter is distinct from another.

If the assassin wasn't punished, wouldn't everyone follow the example in the future?

From the standpoint of Absek and other high-ups, this clearly set a very bad precedent.

However, unexpectedly, Absek personally pardoned Anvo.

Their handshake photo was featured on the front page of the "Survivor Daily."

Beyond surprise, people couldn't help but applaud, as Poluo Province finally welcomed an enlightened ruler.

A person with a magnanimous heart wouldn't fear the petty schemes that lurk in the shadows.

A true reformist, when he sees his comrades, only holds enthusiasm and respect in his eyes, with no suspicion.

Those eyes illuminated by the flash, shine brightly…

With the hero who attempted to assassinate Anush being released, the case of the Tiandu Palace attack finally came to an end.

However, from now on, all officers above Centurion were stripped of their sidearms.

Those were the symbols of their status.

But now, only officers who go to the frontline can handle sidearms and ammunition in the logistics.

As for duty soldiers at various levels, gun and ammunition separation management was implemented, with each incident bearing responsibility for two people.

Additionally, the direct security teams below the ten thousand troops were dismantled.

Originally, the security teams of command units at all levels were chosen by the officers themselves but now are uniformly allocated by the logistics department, and promotions evaluations are centralized within the logistics system.

For instance, Yishel, who was originally under Anvo, was now assigned under another Thousands of leaders serving as captain of the security team (Centurion), but the direct superior was not the Thousands of leaders in the unit, but rather a higher-level Ten Thousand Leader.

It's akin to disassembling the sword of power into blade and handle.

Humans are creatures adept at learning.

Just as Yishel saw his reflection in Orisa, Absek saw his own face on Anush's corpse.

Although not admitting it verbally, the violent death of the king clearly stimulated him, keeping him awake for several nights.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have hurriedly made a series of changes, urgently proving to everyone that he was completely different from Anush… even if they were of the same kind.

However, objectively speaking, aside from the stimulation Absek received and discussing his motivations, his series of changes indeed contained elements of progress.

On the other hand, although the seven routes army outside had not scattered like birds and beasts, their morale had significantly declined.

Coincidentally, the decline of Tiandu lifted the suppression on local forces, and those stunned local forces organized themselves for self-preservation, either seeking new backers or confronting the "Heaven disaster."

From initially being beaten into retreat, these local armies now managed to stabilize their lines, and even could spar with the king's army.

The Snake King, fighting in the southeastern direction, first received a head-on strike from the Black Panther Army.

Pushed around by the Snake State and Wolf State city defense forces, they were no match for the well-equipped and trained Black Panther Army, forced to abandon all thoughts on Leopard State and retreat obediently to the borders of Wolf State and Snake State.

Coincidentally, the Dog King and Sheep King, battling in the north, were also faced with troubles.

Due to unequal distribution, they fought among themselves, and finally, due to mutual hindrance on the battlefield, Laxi from the east took advantage, claiming about one-third of the land in the Northern Three States for the Mammoth State authority.

As for the Gray Wolf originally blocking Laxi, although still brave in combat, facing the ever-growing Laxi and its own poor logistics, increasingly felt powerless.

War is never just about the frontline; relying solely on Arai Yang, there's no way to stop the devastating flood-burst, only watching helplessly as Dog State, Sheep State, and Bird State were divided by two rebels.

Apart from the three kings still holding the king's army banner, the remaining four kings were wiser, all returning to Tiandu, changing flags, and distancing themselves from their original identities.

They're not foolish; they understand their own nature and that of the king's army.

They're like the avalanche rolling down the mountain, relying on an initial burst of energy to capture half of Poluo Province.

And now, with the breath stuck in their chests dispersed, unity among people basically disintegrates.

This big ship's sinking is only a matter of time; rather than waiting for it to happen, it's better to join whatever United Federation, which could be considered climbing out from the Everflow River.

The progress of events surprised all the spectators following the matter.

Especially the diners at a noodle shop in Jinjaron Harbor.

They originally thought that the seven kings in the field would develop into an unbridled force, but eventually realized they had overrated this group of uprising leaders who came halfway…

...

At the beginning of February, an early rain brought a touch of dampness to the air in Tiandu.

This year's rainy season seems to have come earlier than in previous years, nearly two months earlier.

It seems that the Poluo Province is not completely unaffected by the extreme climate of the Wasteland.

At the north gate of Tiandu, a long line formed for entering the city, with people undergoing inspections one by one.

Closely following the Pangolin, Penny, wrapped in a robe, cautiously observed the surroundings.

It had only been half a month since their last visit here, yet the scene had changed so much that she found it unrecognizable.

For one thing, those people with bandaged arms were gone, replaced by a group of soldiers in gray uniforms, patrolling the streets in neat formations.

These clothes were all new, like they had been bought.

Secondly, the market vendors on both sides of the street seemed to have increased, with the shouts and cries of selling creating a lively atmosphere!

According to Pangolin, it was because Anvo, the leader of Tiandu, had lifted the curfew. Therefore, even villagers living far away could push carts and bring in village specialties without worrying about the distance and not getting home before dark, fearing being caught and beaten by the soldiers.

On this note, it must be mentioned that the currency Xilan coins, once issued by the West Winds Empire, had been stopped from circulation.

However, the new authorities did not take a one-size-fits-all approach but allowed residents of Poluo Province to exchange Xilan coins at reformed banks for a new currency called "Poluo coins."

This new currency is issued with credit backing from the authorities, printed under authorization by the printing factory at Jinjaron Harbor, with an exchange rate of 1:1 with the Xilan coins. Exchange requires residency registration and is limited to ten thousand per person.

The reclaimed Xilan coins are naturally annulled, while the newly exchanged currency counts as "releasing liquidity" into the market.

It's said this idea came from an Alliance representative to minimize the impact of the political transition on the lower and middle classes.

They had been hiding in the countryside of Cow State until the situation here stabilized before returning.

As the checkpoint drew closer, Penny looked at Pangolin and couldn't help but whisper.

"Is it really okay to enter the city now?"

Seeing the anxious Penny, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group smiled confidently and softly reassured her.

"Don't worry, I've already checked."

Before setting off, he specifically asked on the forum to ensure there were no issues before coming.

In fact, it's not just that there aren't any issues; the current Poluo authorities are itching to start negotiations with the Legion.

The gunpowder smell in West Sail Port is becoming more pronounced as ammunition is being unloaded by the box.

Although the Alliance is still trying to mediate through diplomatic means, the Poluo authorities are obviously prepared for the worst.

The odds are that this war is unavoidable, but negotiations can always buy some time.

In the entire Poluo Province, aside from the three kings and an Arai Yang still causing trouble, a unified front has essentially formed. While not completely solid, at least they won't be stabbing each other in the back.

Moreover, Alliance reinforcements are landing one after another.

At this moment, even gaining a little extra time is excellent for the Poluo authorities.

For the Old Soldier who has already exchanged hand tokens with the Alliance messengers, the current situation is very clear.

He will represent the Triumph City Civil Official Group, using the recognition of the Legion's practical control over West Sail Port and the validity of treaties signed by the old Empire concerning the harbor as bargaining chips to recognize the Poluo Nation and validate their purge of the Heavenly Monarch Army remnants.

Though risking offense to the Southern Legion, the West Sail Port massacre has already broken all pretenses with them, leaving little concern for saving face now.

This is not only Mr. Bennott's intention but also the unanimous decision of the Triumph City Civil Official Group.

They do not wish to participate in the Southern Group's risky gamble.

Not to mention the odds of winning, there are no benefits even if they win, and losing would mean forfeiting all they've painstakingly established in the Poluo Province.

As for the Poluo Nation leaning towards the Alliance, it's not much of a problem; those opportunistic folks never truly possessed loyalty, and they could always be won over again.

The queue to enter the city slowly moved forward, and finally, it was their turn.

Old Soldier didn't say a word, simply pulling out a wrinkled document from his pocket, displaying his identity.

"I am Pangolin, emissary of the Legion! Take me to your leader!"

The six soldiers standing at the city gate were momentarily stunned by these words, and a few civilians at the back of the queue were also surprised, instinctively sidestepping a few paces.

Their demeanor, as if fearing avoidance, made Penny extremely anxious.

Clammy palms squeezing in tension, she clung tightly to Pangolin's robe, nearly pressing herself against him.

At this point, a soldier finally reacted, hurriedly dropped a "please wait," and ran behind the city gate without another word.

Soon enough, the Centurion on duty trotted over from the corner behind the city gate.

Just as Old Soldier had expected.

That face blossomed with a warm smile, a complete contrast to the grim demeanor of half a month ago.

Confirming the document in his hand, the Centurion's smile grew even more radiant, verging on sycophantic.

"Please come in, Mr. Messenger! Our leader has been expecting you for a long time!"

Old Soldier didn't give him any good looks, regarding him with his nostrils the way a true Weilante would, just slightly nodding that unassuming nose.

"Lead the way."

The Centurion didn't mind in the slightest, nodding with a smile and gesturing politely.

"Right this way!"

Chapter 841: The Family Has Arrived

On the West Coast of the Central Plains Continent, far from the affluent region of the Great Desert, lies a settlement known as "Yavente."

This settlement is home to over a million free citizens, including non-free citizens tallying up to approximately two to three million.

Though the figure of a million may be ordinary within the Poluo Province of the Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods, it is relatively rare when compared to other areas on the Wasteland, even in the relatively stable environment of the Army's homeland.

As the "capital" of the Southern Legion, or rather the "garrison district headquarters," it is not only the most populated settlement in the Southern Legion but also a logistical hub for combat units and a strategic command center.

Legend has it that the settlement is named after a courageous Centurion from Vellante People.

More than a century ago, in an era when the Army truly faced existential threats, it was Mr. Yavente and his brave and loyal troops who fought valiantly with primitive weapons and destroyed nearly a hundred autonomous defense Robots, seizing this Land from the "United Human remnants."

As a result, the word "Yavente" has come to symbolize "the march to the south," representing courage and glory within the Army.

No one remembers the original name of this settlement; in any case, it probably wouldn't sound as catchy as Giant Stone City.

The people who once lived here have gradually vanished without a trace as if they never existed in this world.

However, it is clear that Yavente who made significant contributions to the Army did not fight all the battles for his descendants.

Those who can endure hardship must always endure it; those who can fight must always fight, just as those who can enjoy will always enjoy.

"Path dependency" is not only present in Poluo Province; it is an innate attribute shared by all animals, not limited to primates. Just like seagulls cherishing the taste of fries loiter around the harbor and whales scraping barnacles from ships' hulls.

The greatness of civilization lies precisely here, where humans capable of civilized behavior have managed to tame part of their "animality," thereby reducing, to a "certain extent," the negative effects of path dependency, thus successfully emerging from the primitive jungle.

However, it is apparent that the Vellante People and the Poluo Province Survivors have yet to comprehensively emerge from that forest.

The Vellante People face once more an existential threat, and the Poluo Province Survivors targeted by the former face the same.

In that Yavente military base, the highest command room of the Southern Legion garrison headquarters, a closed-door meeting on full-scale War and mobilization is underway.

A group of officers sits tensely at a long conference table.

The officers attending the meeting have uniforms adorned with at least three stars.

This is merely the entry threshold for participation in the meeting.

Most of those seated here are Four-Star or Five-Star Ten Thousand Leaders, while at the head of the table sits the Southern Legion's sole Six-Star Ten Thousand Leader, Legion Leader Teil!

All eyes are focused on Teil, awaiting the grim-faced BOSS to speak.

Yet Teil remains silent, casting a glance at the Chief of Staff beside him.

The latter nods in understanding, taps his index finger on the table, breaking the silence at the conference table.

"Friends from Triumph City have humbled us, admitting the legitimacy of Poluo Country and acknowledging the actions of Poluo authorities in handling the Heavenly Army Forces only when we were about to clean up their foolish mess and avenge our fallen compatriots at West Sail Port."

His finger lands precisely on a Poluo Country edition of the Survivor's Daily from Jinjaron Harbor.

The newspaper cover features a photo of two men shaking hands, with Poluo Country Leader Absek on the left and a Triumph City Official Group's dog on the right.

A flurry of noise erupts among those gathered at the conference table.

The officers exchange angry glances, their eyes full of righteous indignation and shock.

Those civil officials have once again held them back!

And it's happening just when their "drive dogs to swallow pigs" plan was about to succeed!

"Quiet!"

The Chief of Staff knocks forcefully on the table with his knuckles until the room settles down, then continues at a steady pace.

"Currently, the secret lines we laid in Poluo Province have been severed, making gradual annexation unlikely, yet directly tearing face and declaring War might provoke corporate intervention."

"What we need now is to secure bigger victories at minimal costs. I want to hear if anyone has any good ideas."

Following his words, there's another round of hushed discussion before a Three-Star Ten Thousand Leader rises.

His name is Guryang, approximately in his early thirties, standing upright like his prominent nose.

The steely gaze reveals a hint of ferocity, yet within his brows lurks an indistinct shrewdness reminiscent of Griffin, a famous general from the Eastern Legion.

"I have an idea."

The Chief of Staff nods.

"Go ahead."

Guryang hesitates not a moment, speaking promptly.

"The West Winds Empire has not entirely perished; even if Triumph City privately signs a pacification agreement with Poluo Country, we can advance towards Poluo Country under the guise of fulfilling our obligations as allies of the West Winds Empire."

His words trigger whispers among nearby officers, with one soon rising to his feet.

"...It's a good idea, but the problem is that the current West Winds Emperor Witch Camel seems to be in Jinjaron Harbor. That's within the Alliance's sphere of influence; if the Alliance demands we withdraw using his name, how will you handle it?"

Though the Alliance hasn't done so yet, it doesn't rule out the possibility they'll play this card later.

Truthfully, the Army is neither afraid of Alliance involvement nor worried about corporate intervention; the concern lies solely in creating too many adversaries early in the War.

Mobilization needs to proceed in phases and stages; the later the opposing side intervenes or begins mobilization, the more favorable it becomes for them.

This is what is meant by the so-called "justification of war."

The more solid the reasons for the war, not only will the mobilization efficiency of each party be higher, but it can also affect the mobilization efficiency of "potential belligerents" and internal anti-war resistance.

Once the army thoroughly controls Poluo Province and suppresses all opposing voices, even if companies condemn them, it will be to no avail, mere verbal greetings that cause no real harm.

After listening to the officer's discussion, General Giulion, prepared in advance, said.

"This problem is easy to solve. Didn't he leave a crown prince in the Northern Three States? We just need to establish the crown prince as the new emperor, then find a way to remove that Witch Camel, and even if Poluo Province doesn't fare well, it can at least have two 'West Winds'."

"This idea is not bad!" The Chief of Staff displayed a look of appreciation.

Even Teil, who had remained silent throughout, glanced at General Giulion a couple more times.

The officer who had previously raised objections pondered for a moment and, failing to come up with a better idea, eventually sat back down.

Seeing no objections, the Chief of Staff looked at Teil, and seeing the BOSS nod, turned his gaze back to General Giulion.

"Since there are no other opinions, we will leave this matter to you."

He paused, adjusted his expression seriously, and faced the conference table, solemnly announcing.

"Effective immediately, this department appoints Giulion as the General Commander of the Poluo Province Combat Area! Assigned with thirty ten thousand troops, responsible for formulating all action strategies in this combat area!"

Receiving the order, General Giulion faced the Legion Leader and the Chief of Staff, straightening his back and saluting loudly to accept the command.

"Giulion receives the order! I will not disgrace the mission, I will triumph and return victorious!"

Seeing this beaming and spirited general, Teil, sitting at the head of the conference table, nodded slightly, slowly rising from the table and returning a steady military salute to the general.

He then uttered the only sentence since the meeting began.

"For the future generations of Weilante people to live on lands bathed in sunlight."

"May your flag be victorious! General Giulion."

...

On the streets of Jin Galun Harbor, newsboys were calling out and selling newspapers throughout the alleys.

"Extra! Extra! The Messenger from Triumph City has arrived in Tiandu!"

"The meeting between the Messenger from Triumph City and Absek ended successfully!"

"The Legion has reached an agreement with Poluo Country, recognizing the legitimate governmental status of Poluo Country!"

Hearing the calls of the newsboys, the pedestrians around rapidly halted their steps.

Especially in a small noodle shop located in a corner of the port district, the curious diners were once again engaged in a flurry of shocked discussions.

"The Legion's messenger has arrived in Triumph City?"

"They actually plan to negotiate?!"

"Unbelievable!"

The confrontation between both sides had reached such a point, the gun muzzles were practically touching each other's noses.

The messengers from Triumph City suddenly arrived at this time to recognize the legitimate status of Poluo Country, leaving the diners baffled and shouting in confusion.

It was inevitable that this happened.

The newspapers only showed the visible maneuverings, while the maneuverings below the surface remained unseen.

However, for Jin Galun Harbor, where tensions continued to escalate, this piece of good news was like a refreshing rain after a prolonged drought, bringing a bit of coolness to the stifling atmosphere.

Perhaps…

Maybe the war won't break out?

More than one person harbored such thoughts.

Nevertheless, a few still remained clear-headed.

"…The Southern Legion probably plans to make a move." Observing the newly bought extra edition, Ah Xin slightly furrowed his brow, suddenly speaking.

The confused Kunal standing beside asked.

"I don't understand, boss, didn't they intend to negotiate?"

Gently shaking the newspaper, Ah Xin replied with a slow and methodical voice.

"Triumph City wants to negotiate, or more accurately, the civil officials within the Legion want to, but the Southern Legion is the Southern Legion… I should have told you before, when facing a group of people, never focus only on what one person is doing and imagine him as representing the entire group."

Analyzing an issue this way will create many jokes, such as abstracting a complex issue into "the Alliance will definitely do this" or "the Legion will definitely do that."

Not all Survivor Forces are like West Winds, preferring to abstractly solve concrete problems.

One thing is certain: the civil official group and the Southern Legion have certainly turned against each other this time. The latter likely did something without consulting the former, resulting in the former not consulting the latter this time either.

As for how the Southern Legion will respond, he didn't know.

But one thing is certain: those jackals will never let go easily.

In the eyes of those jackals, Poluo Province is almost meat in their mouths; they won't loosen their grip unless they swallow it or lose a couple of teeth.

Looking at Kunal, who was still confused, Ah Xin did not explain but simply asked,

"Kunal, how is the matter I entrusted to you coming along?"

Upon hearing the boss's question, Kunal decisively set aside the problems he couldn't solve in his head and responded respectfully,

"It's already in progress! We arrived just in time; the docks at West Sail Port are hiring in large numbers. The previous labor dispatch company is gone, so now they have to recruit on their own, and both the labor intermediaries and the dock licenses are open."

"To be safe, the brother we sent over found a Weilante person as a partner to hold the license. Now we have about ten docks under our control, with three thousand workers working for us, and the gang members we've developed count up to about two to three hundred people."

"Very good," Ah Xin nodded approvingly.

Doing business with the army actually doesn't earn much money. Those big-nosed folks, relying on their weapons, always scrimp when paying and like to offset with military goods.

But money is actually a trivial matter; talent is the foundation of everything.

Especially in such chaotic times, the more people who can fend for themselves, the safer one is, and whatever business one wants to do becomes more convenient.

This is the experience he summarized from his struggle to rise, which has proven unfailing both at Jinjaron Harbor and Banana Bay.

Seeing the boss nod approvingly, Kunal also grinned amiably.

But at this moment, he suddenly thought of something, so he hurriedly said,

"By the way, boss, there's one more thing... I heard from the brothers in the west that a gang called Family Meeting has recently entered West Sail Port."

Family Meeting?

Ah Xin was taken aback, left confused.

Why would a gang have such a strange name?

"...Is this Family Meeting also a gang from Jinjaron Harbor?"

Kunal shook his head.

"No, but I heard they have a considerable background, seems to originate from City of Dawn, and reportedly got investment from the Workers' Association of Giant Stone City..."

Investment from the Workers' Association?

Really?!

Ah Xin's eyes widened in disbelief.

Seeing his boss's astonished expression, Kunal continued in a lowered voice,

"Moreover, their way of expanding business is quite interesting. They categorized their members into six levels: the lowest is White Family, followed by Green, Yellow, Blue, Purple, and the highest seems to be... Gold Family?"

"We have a gang member who infiltrated their ranks and heard that as long as you can recruit ten people, you can become a White Family. Then by developing members, or by having your subordinates develop members, reaching 100 or so can elevate to Green..."

Having never heard of this business model, Ah Xin looked at him perplexedly and couldn't help but ask,

"What's the use of these colors?"

Kunal mumbled,

"I don't really know the specifics. Our member only made it to an ordinary family member. I heard their fee is very low. We take a ten percent cut from the weekly wages, but they claim not to take a single penny and even offer free classes to the members."

Actually, saying they don't take a penny isn't completely accurate. At least, it seems to Kunal like a bit of a word game.

Since the tragedy at West Sail Port, the original "old intermediaries" were all killed, and the wages for laborers working at the docks increased substantially.

The base wage per hour went from 1 Dinar to 2, and if overachieved, it could even rise to 3.

Whether it's 2 or 3, it's small change for those trading merchants and the administrative units of the port.

The larger the throughput of the port, the higher the port's revenue.

Those big bosses want efficiency and stability, and the loading fee is just a minor expense.

Therefore, organized workers can command higher wages than unorganized free laborers.

For example, the base wage of 2 Dinars can be raised to 2.5 through the gang, and bonuses for exceeding expectations can increase from 1 to 1.5.

The money labor intermediaries in West Sail Port make basically comes from this premium.

For example, a worker could originally only get a wage of 2 Dinars, but because of the Assassin Gang, they can reach 2.5, and even after deducting the 10-point gang fee, they still get 2.25.

And there's no worry about wage arrears.

Some minor gangs have bargaining power inferior to that of the Assassin Gang; the hourly rate won't be less than 2 Dinars, but they often offer messy benefits, like promising compensation for broken legs or more generous bonuses.

The Family Meeting, on the other hand, is a different story. In size, they have already surpassed the financially robust Assassin Gang, yet their bargaining power doesn't seem to be utilized effectively.

They pay their "family members" according to the standards of small gangs — that is, the lowest tier, paying a base wage of 2 Dinars and a basic bonus of 1 Dinar.

Although they claim not to take a single penny from the family members, Kunal speculates that with their scale, they'd skim off at least 20 points!

However, it's heard that family members with colors seem to have special stipends, and ordinary family members highly praise the Family Meeting's "not taking a penny" benevolence.

Therefore, the Family Meeting is expanding its business rapidly; in just half a month, they've grown to three to four thousand people and are still growing fast.

According to gang members embedded in the Family Meeting, their ambitions seem not limited to the docks but also expanding into industries like steel and cement factories.

However, since the profit margin isn't high, even the gang doesn't have bargaining power.

Handling any job without money, Kunal was bewildered, unable to understand what they were planning.

"These guys are strange... I always feel they don't seem like a proper gang, but to say they're doing charity is even more unlikely. In any case, I don't believe they haven't made any money. Probably, they're making more than us legitimate gangs!"

"Some gangs think these guys are disrupting the market and want to join forces to deal with them; they even contacted us. Honestly, I'm not jealous of their earnings, it's easy to deal with them, but I'm worried about their possible background, afraid of offending those people."

It's not just Kunal who's undecided; after hearing this, Ah Xin was also uncertain for a while.

He knew about the Workers' Association.

That thing might just be a civilian organization, but it holds considerable influence within the Alliance, balancing against the Merchant Guild.

Previously, many Alliance industrialists moved their industries to Jinjaron Harbor to reduce production costs. The Workers' Association followed them along the industrial chain.

According to the Workers' Association members themselves, they were helping Jinjaron Harbor workers strive for their legal rights, which also served to protect their own interests.

After all, if the workers at Jinjaron Harbor were too cheap, tainting the cotton flowing into the Alliance with too much sweat and reducing labor prices, ultimately their own interests would be affected.

Even cheap clothes and pants need money to buy. You can't survive solely on unemployment benefits.

However, due to many local grassroots organizations in Jinjaron Harbor, legal or illegal, or those operating in the gray area, the Workers' Association didn't expand smoothly and didn't have the easy localization success of the Survivor's Daily.

Ah Xin wasn't too concerned with these matters.

He was an honest merchant at Jinjaron Harbor, conducting illegitimate businesses in Tiger State and Leopard State, and had no conflicts of interest with the Alliance's Workers' Association.

However, the timing of the Family Meeting entering West Sail Port was too coincidental, coupled with support from Alliance civilian organizations, making him worry about possible hidden support from the Alliance.

After thinking for a while, Ah Xin spoke thoughtfully.

"Hard to say... If you don't know what they're planning, how could I know? Better to observe for a while first."

He paused and continued.

"Regardless of whether those people have an Alliance background, let's not provoke them for now... Anyway, someone will approach them."

With such a large grassroots organization, the Army will eventually target them.

See how the Army handles it by then.

If those guys are truly from the Alliance, helping them could even build rapport…

With that thought, Ah Xin issued some simple instructions and, once everything was done, suddenly remembered something, so he casually asked.

"By the way, who's the leader of that Family Meeting? Did you find out?"

Kunal immediately replied.

"I heard he's called Zayed, seems to be from the Snake Clan, just an unknown figure, I haven't heard of any achievements."

Zayed?

Ah Xin lightly furrowed his brows, feeling the name sounded familiar, but couldn't recall where he had heard it.

But just then, his gaze fell on the noodle shop by the street, and an ordinary face suddenly surfaced in his mind.

It was that guy!

The waiter who worked sloppily yet boldly told him he was going to the City of Dawn to find something.

Ah Xin's lips curled into a peculiar smile.

He remembered that incident vividly.

He happened to be in a good mood that day, found the tale interesting and brave, and casually rewarded the person with a boat ticket.

A boat ticket cost him nothing compared to the money invested in Laxi, a mere drop in the bucket.

But speaking of which, this world really is small, he almost forgot the name yet heard it again.

Who knows if that guy found "that thing" he was looking for...

…

As Ah Xin marveled at the small world, a large military transport plane was landing steadily at the airport in Jinjaron Harbor's outskirts.

Accompanied by over a dozen bodyguards, the Alliance's Foreign Minister Cheng Yan stepped down the stairway from the plane.

On the side of the airport runway stood a group of people who had been waiting there early.

Among them were Secretary-General Yoder of the Governor's Office of Jinjaron Harbor, senior officials from the city hall, and high-ranking members of the regional representative council and militia group leaders.

All the influential figures of Jinjaron Harbor stood there, eagerly watching the Alliance Foreign Minister descending from the plane.

They were well aware of where Poluo Province's true savior came from!

"Welcome! Mr. Cheng!"

Quickly stepping forward, Yoder warmly shook Cheng Yan's hand, his face filled with excitement.

"The survivors of Jinjaron Harbor have been eagerly awaiting your arrival!"

Chapter 842: Haste Makes Waste

The airport of the military base.

The Alliance's Foreign Minister Cheng Yan is having a friendly conversation with the high-ups from Jinjaron Harbor, while the players of the Burning Corps stand afar watching the commotion.

Unlike the onlookers from Jinjaron Harbor.

These players aren't curious to know what Cheng Yan looks like, after all, they can occasionally see him on the streets of the City of Dawn.

They just want to know whether this battle is still on and when it will start.

"Achoo!"

{"No Family," who was squatting on the stone block, suddenly sneezed without any warning, almost falling off the stone block.

This was already his tenth sneeze today.

{"By Some Mistake," who was squatting beside him, glanced at him with a strange expression and said.

"Did you catch a cold?"

Reasonably speaking, this situation is very rare.

Even though this guy is from the Intelligence System, after two awakenings, his constitution attribute should be at least twice that of an ordinary person.

No Family rubbed his reddened nose and muttered with a curse.

"I don't know... Damn, can you even catch a cold in the Game?"

He didn't actually feel unwell, it's just that he's been sneezing a lot recently.

{"Half Step Detour" patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile.

"Young man, take care of your health, if it really doesn't work... consider restarting?"

{"Step Into the Sky" immediately interrupted.

"If you pass by the City of Dawn, bring me something."

"Get lost." No Family rolled his eyes with annoyance, but he couldn't help but sneeze again with an "achoo."

{By Some Mistake smiled.

"Perhaps someone is missing you, be honest, have you been hooking up with an NPC like Zero Rush?"

Zero Rush: "???"

No Family answered him with a roll of the eyes and gestured a middle finger.

Seeing these noisy guys, Two Ounces of Moonlight sighed.

"This Game is way too damn realistic."

...

"Family, one chopstick breaks easily, but ten chopsticks bundled together, it's not easy to break us then!"

The slum of West Sail Port.

On the land plowed by artillery, low shacks grew again.

People who are too smart are mostly forgetful, most of the people in Poluo Province are like this.

Even though the Army killed quite a number of people here more than a month ago, it doesn't stop those who weren't killed from working for the Army.

This matter has already been laid to rest.

Almost everyone thinks this way in their hearts, and even people have run over from the neighboring Lion State — which is the territory of Poluo Country.

No matter how alluring the promises Absek made, they couldn't change their impoverished reality.

Even though the army doesn't give much, at least they pay, and a week adds up to over a hundred dinar.

This generous salary is almost unimaginable for the locals.

Bear in mind, buying a slave only costs a thousand dinar.

If you save three or four months' wages, it's enough to buy a wife from a poor village!

Even if most of what they're moving ashore during this time is munitions intended for attacking Poluo Province...

In the crooked, low shacks, there's not a hint of light, and the laborers obviously don't consider this place as their home, just cobbled together at random.

However, within one of those low shacks, bursts of uplifting sound occasionally drift out.

It's like a ray of light in the darkness.

Inside stands a family member wrapped in green gauze, passionately preaching.

And in front of him, pairs of glimmering eyes shine brightly in the dark.

At this moment, a hand was raised, and a skinny young lad cautiously spoke.

"Boss..."

"Call me family, we're all family here, there's no one above or below," the green family member looked at him kindly, as if looking at his own family, "You seem to have something on your mind, speak up, let me hear it, see if I can help you out."

Having never been treated with such kindness, the Mouse Tribe youngster's eyes turned slightly red.

He had been alone for a long time, only remembering his name was Ah Ming.

He was like a piece of duckweed, drifting wherever the current took him, but didn't expect to find fatherly warmth from someone now.

Actually, it's more than money that drives him, this is the real reason he joined the Family Meeting.

For other gangs, he has to call the foremen lord, but here, the foremen call him family, and truly treat him as such.

He yearns to have a family.

More so, he yearns to be treated as family!

Afraid of being laughed at, Ah Ming hesitated for a long time, then shyly opened his mouth.

"May I ask... what are chopsticks?"

Upon hearing his question, the green family member didn't laugh at him, just smiled kindly and explained.

"Chopsticks are a tool for eating, much more sanitary than eating with hands, and they were introduced to us by our friends from the Alliance."

"What, what is sanitary?" Another curious young lad quickly asked, eyes glimmering with longing for the Alliance.

Eating tools!

Then there must be lots of food to eat?

The green family member smiled kindly.

"Sanitary... means clean. According to scientific explanation, most diseases come from eating unclean things. For example, hands that have touched dirty things are unclean, using chopsticks can prevent many diseases."

The people's eyes in the shack shone even brighter, as if truly seeing that day.

They would have an abundance of food, no need to eat dirt anymore.

Not only them, their children as well.

And they could sit properly at the dining table like those proper people's children, using utensils instead of hands.

"...Whether it's disease or hunger, they are things we have to eradicate."

With a trace of excitement, Ah Ming asked.

"Then how... do we eradicate them?"

"With unity!"

The green family member's face beamed with a warm smile, responding to all those expectant eyes.

"As long as we are united enough, just like the survivors in the City of Dawn, Giant Stone City... and the millions of Survivor Settlements! From now on, everyone can use chopsticks, everyone can eat their fill, and it's clean food too!"

Applause thundered in the dim shack.

Although it seems he didn't answer any specific question, that abstract answer seemed to speak to the heart of everyone.

That was the answer in their hearts.

Someone voiced it for them.

Two workers from Giant Stone City stood at the door, listening to the thunderous applause, one with a satisfied smile on his face, while the other had mixed feelings.

"To get enough food, you have to farm. Unity alone can only lead to starving together. No matter what, theory can't replace practice. Although they're doing well, I always worry they'll go to another extreme."

His name was Eugene, one of the eyewitnesses of the great reform in Giant Stone City and a comrade of Lovett, the president of the Workers' Association.

During that cold winter, he used his hammer and skills to make a furnace for the workers in the prison.

One day, he heard in a tavern about these survivors who needed help, and he decisively embarked on a journey.

Saving others is also saving oneself.

This was the consensus in every worker's heart, and it was no different in his own.

Humble and eager to learn, Zayed found the Workers' Association, and under their introduction, he came here from Jinjaron Harbor.

However, after working at the Family Meeting for a while, he always had an indescribable feeling.

The worker standing next to him wasn't concerned and jokingly made a remark.

"But you said it yourself, they're doing well."

Eugene's Adam's apple moved, and he spoke with difficulty.

"I admit, they're developing members rapidly, even faster than us. Spielberg read the newspaper for a month and only gathered a few people in a tavern, but they reached over a thousand in less than a week..."

"Then what are you still worried about?"

The worker beside him patted him on the shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile.

"As we said, theory can't replace practice. We need to give them some time to explore. Don't forget the lessons from Jinjaron Harbor: why could the Survivor's Daily blossom and bear fruit, while we kept hitting walls?"

Eugene stared at him blankly, eventually shaking his head.

"I hope you're right..."

They indeed repeatedly hit walls in Jinjaron Harbor, but he didn't think it was due to the failure of localization; it was more because the industrialization there wasn't complete, and the local workers lacked a sense of unity.

In contrast, their opponents had accumulated rich "struggle experience" within the Alliance and even proactively divided a part of the benefits to win people's hearts before they arrived at Jinjaron Harbor.

The same was in the Mammoth Nation.

That List even actively helped local workers build dormitories and schools for their children, making those workers live more comfortably than soldiers, so much so that they felt a sense of honor going to work.

Given this, it was inevitable for them to hit walls.

Eugene didn't see it as a lesson of failure but rather as evidence of their work's success.

Even if the local workers didn't agree with them, the result was that they lived better lives than before.

Although others in the Workers' Association weren't satisfied, believing the minimum wage in Poluo Province was still too low, he was quite pleased with such a result.

Seeking quick success isn't a good thing.

Although every place is different, their reform triumphed because of restraint...

"I'm just worried we're a bit too impatient."

...

On the other side, similarly in a low hut, a candle was lit on the table.

Sitting beside the candle, Zayed was checking the ledger and membership list in his hands, a kindly smile gradually forming on his lips.

Just now, the Family Meeting's members officially surpassed 10,000!

Although he hadn't shared this good news with friends from the Workers' Association yet, he could already imagine the incredulous expressions on those "investors'" faces.

It was indeed a miracle.

Moreover, it's a miracle that could only be born in Poluo Province.

"Did you know, Sava... the most brilliant business model is actually religion. Compared to religion, all those messy money-making methods aren't worth mentioning."

There were quite a few labor intermediaries at the port, but not a single intermediary's workers could match those from the Family Meeting.

Their workers were the most capable, and also the most united, which is why the docks and factories were willing to allocate more positions to them and pay extra for the overachieved efficiency.

0.5 Dinar an hour, 4 for 8 hours.

Each person would contribute 28 Dinars to the Family Meeting weekly, 10,000 people would be 280,000 Dinars!

At this point, it's already a considerable sum.

3~5 Dinars for one Silver Coin, averaging to 70,000 Silver Coins!

A gun costs only a hundred or two Silver Coins, and this money could arm a whole company!

With a lowered standard, they could even make two or three companies!

Though it was still far from realizing his ambitions, it was undoubtedly a good start.

Standing beside Zayed, his little assistant Sava whispered.

"But, sir... the gangs at the port seem dissatisfied with our approach."

Zayed chuckled, dismissively curling his mouth.

"Why bother with them? They're just sewer rats."

Sava still seemed a bit worried.

He wasn't really afraid of those big noses, but he couldn't help feeling uneasy about those fierce gang members.

Those people looked like desperadoes.

And the Weilante people wouldn't interfere with their infighting,

"But... those guys are ultimately violent groups, we've cut off their financial paths, they're bound to retaliate..."

Looking at Sava's worried face, Zayed just smiled lightly.

"My dear Sava, you're still too young. Even those violent groups wouldn't underestimate us, why do you have the illusion that we're not a violent group?"

Sava was somewhat confused.

He clearly remembered Mr. Zayed telling him their purpose for returning to Poluo Province.

How did he suddenly become a gangster now?

Zayed gently closed the roster in his hand, speaking in a very soft voice.

"If the nobles of the Inner City hadn't thrown Spielberg into prison, the prisons in Giant Stone City wouldn't have been filled with people in just a few days... Do you understand what I mean, Sava?"

Sava shook his head blankly, then nodded after a while.

"You mean... to emulate Mr. Spielberg?"

Zayed suddenly laughed heartily, after about half a minute, he stopped laughing and gently shook his head.

"That's why I say you're too young, you only see the surface of the problem, not the essence."

"The essence?" Sava looked at him in a daze.

Zayed nodded slightly.

"Exactly."

That smart girl thought he didn't understand the history of Giant Stone City, but the truth was quite the opposite.

While everyone else was still chasing after Pol, he had already passed through to the core of the story and found that bloody heart.

That which lay beneath the white snow of Giant Stone City, that which could kill anything.

Even ideals that couldn't be killed.

"...Reform is a blood change, and how can blood change not involve bleeding? Following me to do great things, lacking this bit of awareness won't do."

As soon as his voice fell, a commotion suddenly came from outside the window,
along with cursing and shouting.

"It's here!"

"The place where those cult members have their classes!"

Vaguely, he heard the roar of his friend from Giant Stone City.

Sava remembered that gentleman named Eugene, who seemed to be a blacksmith.

But the gentleman was skilled in more than just blacksmithing; he was learned enough to know a bit about carpentry and chemistry, and even knew some culinary skills, with his stews being praised even by professional chefs.

According to the gentleman, he acquired his skills in prison from a worker at a canning factory.

"What are you doing—"

A voice full of banditry interrupted the gentleman's roar.

"What are we doing? We're dealing with things like you who are cutting off our livelihood!"

"Brothers! Attack!"

Realizing things were going wrong, Sava quickly rushed to the window, only to witness a horrifying scene.

A group of men carrying clubs and forks stormed through the alleyways of the slums and charged into where they were having class.

It's Black Rat Gang!

In West Sail Port, they were the only large gang second to the Asasin Gang!

The fear in Sava's eyes intensified, his shoulders trembling at the brutal scene he'd never seen before.

Through the cracks in the window, he watched helplessly as the teacher of the class was dragged out.

The green bandage wrapped around the person's arm was stained red with blood, each of the thugs showed no mercy, beating him to make an example.

Seeing the green family member being beaten severely, everyone in the shack was terrified, hugging their heads and fleeing in chaos, while the other workers in the slum gathered around to watch.

Someone pinned to the ground and beaten, let out a feeble cry for help.

Eugene widened his eyes, wanting to rush forward, but was pinned to the ground by several guys with rat tattoos on their arms.

"You bandits!" another worker exclaimed, glaring with rage-filled red eyes.

At that moment, a young man named Ah Ming suddenly erupted.

"Ahhh! I'll fight you all!!!"

The skinny and frail him at this moment seemed like an enraged young bull, clutching a dagger found from somewhere, he slashed at the thigh of the nearest thug.

The blade just happened to cut open an artery, blood spurted out like a crossbow arrow.

"Ahhh! My leg! Damn it! Get that little bastard, beat him—"

The thug cursed in agony, his face growing paler, his voice growing smaller.

Seeing the miserable state of their companion, the thugs nearby did not feel fear but were instead enraged by the spraying blood, charging at the teen with their weapons.

But this time it was different from before.

Perhaps encouraged by the teen's bravery, the surrounding family members were no longer afraid but instead picked up handy objects and charged at the tattooed thugs.

"Damn, do you think you can bully us!"

"Brothers, beat him!"

"For the family!!!"

"Fight them!!"

The workers around surged forward.

Whether they were family members of the Family Meeting or workers from other gangs, they all gathered around the young man.

They had long been discontent with the rules of the dock.

They exchanged their sweat and toil for money from the Weilante people, and still, had to let someone take a cut, what logic was that?!

Now a Family Meeting without an intermediary fee finally appeared, giving them hope for a better life, yet someone wanted to extinguish that hope.

At this moment, these angry workers all vented their dissatisfaction towards these gangs.

Even workers registered under the Black Rat Gang pretended not to see as their gang's henchmen were beaten, and some even secretly spat at them.

Seeing the burst of rage from the workers, the henchmen with tattoos on their arms were immediately stunned, beaten with random rods and fleeing in panic, some even kneeling on the ground begging for mercy.

Standing by the window watching, Sava swallowed a mouthful, turned wanting to rush outside, only to be stopped by Zayed.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to talk to them! If this continues, someone might die!"

Sava's face was filled with urgency, but Zayed made no move to release him, just expressionlessly looking outside the window.

After about five or six minutes, a gunshot rang out at the end of the street, and several Weilante soldiers walked into the slums.

Hearing that thunderous gunshot, the fighting crowd immediately stopped, all shrinking their heads and looking at the big-nosed men.

People on the edge of the crowd began quietly leaving, the once crowded alley suddenly cleared out, leaving only a dozen or so standing in the middle of the alley, trembling and not daring to move.

Peter bit a toothpick at the corner of his mouth, coldly glancing at the beaten gang members, paying special attention to the youth holding the dagger.

"What are you all shouting and fighting for! If you have this energy to fight, you might as well be working at the dock!"

The fierce voice echoed through the alley; no one dared to meet his eyes.

Peter's eyes were filled with disdain.

He utterly looked down on these fellows.

Either bullies within their circle or bullying the weak.

Spitting out the toothpick from his mouth, he shouted at the ones lying pitifully on the ground.

"Those who can move, get up, are your legs broken? Waiting for me to fix it for you?"

"Yes, yes—oh no! No, no!"

Hearing the impatience in his voice, the henchmen, who were lying on the ground wailing, hurriedly climbed to their feet.

Nodding and bowing, they thanked those few Weilante soldiers and then slunk towards the alley's exit. Before leaving, they glared fiercely at the workers.

Watching those people leave, Peter stepped forward, lifting Eugene sitting by the wall from the ground.

Eugene, with a bleeding lip, looked defiantly at the big nose, smirking coldly.

The people here feared this guy, but he did not.

After all, he was a citizen of the Alliance, and he entered with an electronic passport.

Peter did not hit him, just shoved him a bit, then heavily patted his collar.

As if he were straightening his clothes.

However, anyone with a keen eye could see how hard the Centurion was hitting.

"... We're watching you," getting close to Eugene's ear, Peter squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, "If you dare cause trouble on our territory, I'll throw you into the sea to feed the fish."

The threatening voice was no joke.

But Eugene simply grinned, spitting out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva.

"Causing trouble? Teaching the poor to read on Weilante land is also causing trouble? Then declare it openly at the Sticky Community meeting! And don't try scaring me, if I fear death, I wouldn't have come here in the first place!"

"... I hope that when a knife is at your throat, you're still as brave today."

Peter sneered without looking back, stalking away.

After watching the Weilante soldiers leave, the workers standing still finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to clean up and console each other, while a man with an expression of compassion on his face walked through the despondent crowd.

He first went to comfort the teacher who had been beaten, then he checked on the young man named Ah Ming.

Feeling the time was right, he cleared his throat and addressed the injured family members.

"You worry about the attitude of the Weilante people, you fear the revenge of those gang members…but I must say, we should stand strong. Even against our fears and their threats, we must hold onto hope."

One by one, their drooping shoulders and bowed heads began to rise.

They all turned their gaze toward the man, their eyes filled with trepidation, confusion, yet not lacking in a tinge of hope.

Especially the green family lying on the ground, and the young man named Ah Ming.

They knew the identity of the young man in front of them.

His name is Zayed!

He is their golden family!

Basking in those adoring gazes, Zayed mimicked the man's demeanor and slowly began to speak, completing his words before repeating them in a powerful and firm voice.

"What they should fear are those vampires perched on our necks and the henchmen of the vampires, not us who have already united!"

His voice was filled with power.

Like a hand with bulging veins, it tightly gripped those wide-open eyes, inscribing his own symbol within them.

"... Out of fear, the flies and mosquitoes colluded together. They don't want us to take what's rightfully ours. What we have fought for through unity, they seize with force. They don't lack a little money! But only when we live in suffering and hunger can they build their evil empire!"

"The Weilante people aren't convenient for themselves to break their own rules, so they incite those gang elements to do the dirty work they don't want to do... And those violent means are the proof of their fear! They try to make us submit through force, try to dismantle our unity! That is what they fear!"

The eyes were filled with hatred.

Zayed looked at their eyes, or rather looked at himself reflected in those pupils.

He was very satisfied with their expressions.

And very satisfied with himself.

The hatred and fury that had no outlet finally found a direction to vent.

At this moment, they were no longer a crowd of rabble.

They found something to hate with a passion!

"... However, they're wrong! And they're terribly wrong! Because we will not surrender, much less because of a few crackling whips! We'll never break our spine! Absolutely not!"

The resonant sound reverberated in the alley, Ah Ming leaning against the cold wall felt his blood surging, and couldn't help but respond.

"Absolutely not!"

Soon, he realized he wasn't the only one who made a sound; there were countless others like him.

His eyes shone brightly.

In the darkness, he was not alone; there were people with the same thoughts standing beside him.

Those people were exactly his family!

Looking at the boiling atmosphere in the alley, a satisfied smile appeared on Zayed's face.

He gently raised his hand, quieting the voices for a moment, then continued in that unwavering voice.

"That's right!"

"We will never surrender because of this little setback; the fear on the enemy's face just proves our correctness!"

"On this road full of hope, we will be more united than ever!"

"We, are family!"

...

The alley behind was noisy, the rats seemed to be squeaking something again.

But they probably hadn't started fighting.

Walking next to Peter, a soldier pouted and said in an unwilling tone.

"Why do we care about those rats? Why not let them keep fighting."

Peter glanced at him, then shifted his gaze, pulled out a toothpick from his collar pocket, and put it in his mouth.

He's been smoking a bit too much lately, trying to quit with this method.

"... Then watch them burn the port?"

He was just a Centurion, didn't understand many big principles, did whatever the superior told him to do.

But lately, he's been a little perplexed because more and more things aren't what he thought.

For example...

What exactly are they here to do?

Weren't they here for revenge?

But every time he thought of this, that honest face would flash in his mind.

The person's name seemed to be Gowenda, hastily reporting a long list of names before dying, but in the end, couldn't escape death.

Calming down and thinking about it, that cowardly individual might not have killed his compatriot.

Not just Gowenda, but also several women who couldn't even bind a chicken.

Rather than being perpetrators, they seemed more like victims.

After all, the scars on their bodies couldn't possibly have been left by the Vellante people's resistance.

Every time he thought of this, he would get annoyed and stop himself from delving further.

The brothers behind him didn't think much, just laughed as if hearing a funny joke.

"Burn the port? Just that bunch?"

"Haha, they dare?"

"I wish those wimps would toughen up, not surrender the moment they hear gunfire."

Peter didn't join in their laughter, just took down the communicator hanging on his shoulder and made a simple report.

"…Risk has been eliminated, the gathered crowd has been dispersed… Roger that..."

He was about to hang up the communication when suddenly a voice came through the channel.

And it was precisely the following voice that stunned him.

"…Survivors?! Silver Moon Sect Church? The parents of these kids are still alive?"

His head buzzed, unable to process the massive information for a moment.

Still alive?

How is that possible?

The surrounding soldiers gradually stopped laughing, and seeing their captain halt in his tracks, they also stopped, exchanging the surprise on each other's faces.

They knew the Silver Moon Sect Church; it was the first to find the group of children.

Whether it was the bullet marks on the ground, the bloodstains that couldn't be wiped away, or the old nun's words, they all spoke of the grim end of those brave people.

It's no exaggeration to say that at least half of their hatred towards the survivors of Poluo Province was because of those children who lost their parents and the tragic condition of that church.

And now someone tells them that those people are actually still alive?

They were stunned for a moment.

"…The northern checkpoint, is it? Got it! I'll take people over now!"

After listening to the superior's command, Peter's expression immediately turned serious. After responding, he hung up the communication.

Looking at his subordinates, he said crisply.

"There are survivors! Follow me!"

The soldiers didn't hesitate, immediately responding.

"Yes!"

——

(Thanks to the alliance leader "X Ren Cai Yin Hai Da X" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 843: The Flames of Ambition

On the north side of West Sail Port, a dense crowd stood at the checkpoint.

On one side were Vellante soldiers, and on the other side were Poluo Country soldiers. Both sides stood on their respective borders, with about two hundred Vellante civilians in between.

These civilians were the survivors of the West Sail Port massacre, and they were also the parents of those children in the Silver Moon Sect Church.

Now that the Tianwang army had scattered, the bandages wrapped around people's arms were finally gone. The Absek authorities had severed ties with the Southern Legion's leadership; their life and death no longer affected the bigger picture, and these poor people finally dared to step out of Count Sharma's manor.

The soldiers of Poluo Country escorted them all the way here.

Ironically, these soldiers in gray uniforms were the same ones who not long ago wore bandages on their arms, searching everywhere for Vellante people and the "lackeys of Vellante."

However, the past had already been put behind.

Vellante people became Vellante gentlemen once again, and these bandaged soldiers appeared much gentler than before, as if genuinely distancing themselves from the past.

As for when they might again bare their teeth at Vellante or other people on the Wasteland, it depended on what their masters said next.

Absek harbored a sliver of hope for a ceasefire, especially since the battle hadn't even begun yet.

Seeing those "back from the dead" people, nearly all the Vellante soldiers present widened their eyes in disbelief.

Everyone thought they were already dead.

But unexpectedly, they were still alive!

The relatives of these survivors were even more emotional, tears overflowing.

Some people covered their mouths, trying hard not to let their cries escape. Others ignored everything and crossed the checkpoint, excitedly rushing forward.

"Margaret!!"

Upon seeing that face, worn and heartbreaking, the usually strong Yarman instantly had reddened eyes.

He crossed the checkpoint, rushed to his wife, and held her light body tightly in his arms, not letting go, mumbling incoherently.

"By the Silver Moon Goddess... you're alive! That's wonderful! I... Ruby and I thought we'd never see you again!"

Margaret's eyes were equally red, her nose constantly sniffing, forcing a smile through her teary face, even comforting him in return.

"...I'm okay now, really okay... when did you start believing in the Silver Moon Goddess?"

Yarman spoke rapidly.

"After I learned you were still alive! I swore to her if you were safe, I would build ten churches for her... I swear I will spend the rest of my life on this!"

Watching her husband speak earnestly, Margaret had a tearful, beaming smile.

Perhaps...

It really was the manifestation of the Silver Moon Goddess.

Mr. Melgio mentioned that a divine miracle of the Silver Moon Goddess had descended upon this church, a young girl with cat ears... he decided to start a newspaper because of the deity's decree.

"...Then you must keep your word, I'll supervise on behalf of her."

Releasing her from his embrace, Yarman cupped her tear-stained cheeks, gazing into those gem-like bright eyes.

"I promise you!"

He was unwilling to look away for even a moment.

As if everything before him was just an unrealistic dream, and once awakened, everything would return to its beginning.

However, Margaret didn't let him hold onto her forever, as their daughter crawled out from under the checkpoint.

"Mama!!"

A soldier nearby wanted to reach out and stop her but was held back by Officer Peter, who shook his head.

"Let her go... What could possibly happen with everyone watching?"

The soldier hesitated but nodded, directing his gaze toward the joyful hair bouncing around.

"Yes..."

For Yarman, less than twenty meters was just a matter of a few steps, yet Ruby had run for a long, long time.

Halfway there, she couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes, allowing them to fall.

Margaret opened her arms to meet her, lifting her daughter and running her fingers through her hair, holding the small body tightly against her chest.

"Ruby!!! I'm sorry... Mama made you worry!" Her voice held a hint of remorse; regardless of her reasons, she had ultimately deceived her by leaving under the guise of death that night.

But her lovely daughter wasn't angry with her and even forced a brave smile through her tear-stained face.

"Ruby... didn't cry!"

Though she said this, the tears kept falling, and due to the quick breathing, she let out an involuntary hiccup.

Feeling the warm tears sliding down her neck, Margaret's heart ached, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

"Yes! My Ruby... is the best child in the world..."

Watching the reunion of mother and daughter, Yarman's face displayed a content smile.

To him, they were his angels, his light, and his everything...

As for power, wealth, or land under the sun, they were nothing more than mayflies in the pond, insignificant compared to the safety of family.

Ishiel, dressed in gray military attire, walked up beside him, glanced at the ready Vellante soldiers in the distance, then at the father, grinning.

"Congratulations, sir, Mr. Yarman... you and your family are finally reunited."

"Also, someone asked me to pass on a message from a person called Far-sighted Eagle; he hopes your cooperation remains effective... It's just that he's currently overwhelmed with duties, so it'll take a few more days to come. He hopes you can implement your plan in advance."

"Please convey to him that I won't forget our cooperation; in fact, that plan has already started," Yarman looked at the Poluo Country soldier, sincerely continuing, "And... thank you for bringing my wife back."

Ishiel smiled.

"No need to thank me... I don't have that ability; it's hard enough just to survive myself."

Though he said that, there was still a sense of pride in his heart.

Though he couldn't save the whole city, saving 200 was still something.

He wasn't an Awakener.

Nor was he Bol.

"...Also, a piece of advice, no matter how much money your business can make, leave here as soon as you can, if possible."

Looking at the group of soldiers across the border line, Yishel smiled faintly.

"Days as friendly as this won't come often in the future."

Although he didn't speak outright, Yarman could understand the deeper meaning behind those words.

He'd observed the Southern Legion's deployment at West Sail Port during this time.

Especially after hearing those words from the old nun, he had some awareness of the impending events... There might be a more painful tragedy on this land than the previous disaster.

"I am a Weilante and I will not shirk my responsibilities. I will do my best to prevent the worst from happening..."

After pausing for a moment, Yarman continued in a sincere tone.

"Even if I fail, I will still do my best to help more people leave this hell."

"Very well, then skip the meaningless struggles and use all your strength to do the final thing."

Yishel abruptly interrupted his grand statement, looking at him in shock and continued.

"... no one can stop a train speeding downhill, just as no one can stop a balloon that's lost its line. We can only let it crash and shatter against the hard rocks at the mountain's bottom, or let it drift into the cosmos, self-exiled."

Yarman was stunned.

"What is this?"

Yishel answered without hesitation.

"Words from 'Awakener Bol'."

"Does that book have such a line?" Yarman said with a puzzled expression.

During the time he waited for his wife to return home, he'd read that book, and reread it several times.

What he did not expect was that a small place like Giant Stone City could produce such a heartrending story.

In fact, there were several similar survivor settlements in the western part of the Central Plains Continent during the early Wasteland Era, mostly built with the support of the War Construction Committee.

However, over the past century, with the collapse of the War Construction Committee, most of these settlements were erased from the map in the name of revenge by the Army.

Sometimes, he couldn't help but think, if those settlements were still alive and could continue providing them with experience, knowledge, and more support, perhaps they wouldn't have become so utterly frantic as they are now...

Looking at the silent Yarman, Yishel chuckled, his rough hand stroking his stubble.

"No such phrase? Then let's just say it's a margin note left by some obscure little figure for this book."

If nothing unexpected happens.

Next should be the era belonging to Mr. Stephen... oh no, belonging to the ancestors of Mr. Stephen.

It should also be a glorious era where they build their own wall in the barren wilderness.

'Awakener Bol' is the story after that; now is the time for 'Mouse Tribe Yishel'.

Yishel only recently discovered this.

He is a person living in the prequel of 'Awakener Bol', and he might even be the ancestor of "Mr. Stephen", the one living in the ancestral teachings of Mr. Stephen.

A pity.

He probably won't see his idol in this lifetime, that ghost haunting above his descendants, not him.

However, he is not as pessimistic as the other mice.

He still believes that the light of truth will one day shine across this land.

It's just that waiting for the sun to rise takes some time.

Fortunately, this time the dusk before nightfall is not as cold as before.

It seems that day won't be too far off.

Yarman took a surprised second look at the officer, his gaze gradually becoming solemn with respect.

Poluo Province does not lack capable people.

They are in no way inferior to the survivors of River Valley Province or other Weilante people.

Yet in feeling admiration, he couldn't help but be puzzled, why a group of smart people would walk an ever-narrowing path.

They were not supposed to be like this...

...

Amidst the reunion of over two hundred survivors embracing with their families, General Ross came over, surrounded by a team of soldiers responsible for defense in the area.

Yishel, also a Thousands of leaders, stared at him, feeling a tingle of fear from the overwhelming killing intent.

Unlike himself, who was a halfway joiner.

This guy is a real officer, tested by blood and fire!

Nevertheless, Yishel forced a friendly smile on his face, nodding politely.

To his surprise, the man nodded back, acknowledging his friendliness.

He walked straight to Count Sharma and his old butler, Sahadu.

Seeing the two nervous individuals, Ross suddenly bowed deeply.

"On behalf of my soldiers and myself, I thank you for saving these people in their time of difficulty."

Count Sharma looked at him in shock, not expecting a Weilante to bow to him. Until the old butler tugged at his sleeve, he suddenly snapped back to his senses, hastily saying.

"General, what are you doing?! I only did what any normal human would do, unworthy of such a grand gesture from you... please, lift your head."

Ross didn't listen to his words, merely bowing deeply for a full minute before lifting his head and continued seriously.

"...If the two countries go to war, I swear to you, our soldiers will not enter your estate, even if some cowards hide inside."

Standing by and listening, Yishel slightly narrowed his eyes, a hint of chill in the gap, but said nothing.

Even if both sides were a single gunshot away from war, he had to continue playing the good guy.

At this point, Ross turned his attention to a man and woman standing behind Count Sharma.

One of them was his niece, Penny, who was smiling with satisfaction, watching the reunited survivors.

Next to her was presumably that Pangolin.

The one promoted by the Eastern Legion and eventually borrowed by the Civil Official Group, an Eastern native.

Ross slightly squinted, observing the man for a moment before looking back at his niece, speaking in a serious tone.

"Penny, come over to my side."

Hearing her uncle's call, Penny was about to go over but noticed the expression on his face and hesitated, stopping in her tracks.

"Ross... Uncle?"

"Hurry up! Now!"

Ross didn't offer any explanation, simply beckoning her over, but the urgency in his expression made it impossible for Penny to move her feet, forcing her to look pleadingly back at Pangolin behind her.

Seeing the expression on that leader's face, she guessed something was up, and the battlefield atmosphere group walked over to Penny, whispering softly.

"Listen to your uncle, go over... Remember, the whole matter has nothing to do with you; you are just a war reporter."

"Your duty is not to fight alongside me, but to take back what you see, take it back to Triumph City... that is your war."

Penny's eyes widened, staring at him blankly, her trembling lips seemingly questioning why... why he was being treated like a criminal after clearly doing the right thing, saving over two hundred survivors.

The battlefield atmosphere group knew what she wanted to ask but didn't know how to answer.

Not everything in this world can be simply defined as good or bad, and not all things have a standard answer.

Right and wrong are just the scales in people's hearts, and this scale never belongs to an abstract collective.

Especially when this issue involves multiple collectives.

In fact, when he received the order from Bennott, he was already prepared, even thinking about the charges that might be laid against him.

One task could earn two payments.

Such good fortune seemed too good to be true...

As if understanding his gaze, Penny struggled with her expression for a long time before finally lowering her head and walking to her uncle's side.

Gesturing for his personal guards to take her back to the settlement to rest, Ross turned his attention back to the man named Pangolin.

The latter looked at him with equal composure, his warm smile carrying a hint of leisurely calm.

There was suddenly a touch of appreciation in Ross's gaze.

"You're very brave."

The battlefield atmosphere group humbly smiled.

"That's natural... I'm not boasting, but if I told you about the things I've done and seen, it might scare you to death."

Ross's smile was skin-deep, with his mouth twitching as the visible warmth of his smile quickly cooled.

"Mr. Pangolin, you betrayed the Marshal."

The battlefield atmosphere group slightly smiled, their expression also turning cold.

"Quite the opposite, it is you who betrayed the Marshal with your obstinacy. While we are exhausting our efforts to end the Wasteland Era, you are holding us back, even risking innocent lives to wage a war for your selfish desires!"

Ross looked at him with a sneer.

"I don't know what you're talking about. At least from my perspective, it is you who endangered those citizens. Your arrogance, naivety, and stupidity put those innocent people in danger."

"We do not deny the mistakes we've made in the past, that's why I'm here," the battlefield atmosphere group looked at him. "And what about you? Do you dare to admit the role you played in this chaos and the crimes you've committed?"

Ross slightly furrowed his brows but quickly relaxed them.

"It seems you have a lot to say; you'd better save it for the military tribunal and explain it to the judges who will be judging you."

The battlefield atmosphere group faintly smiled.

"It doesn't matter, I will appeal all the way to Triumph City."

"You may do so. And please understand, arresting you is not my decision but an order from General Giulion... The Southern Legion's highest command has authorized him full operational power in the Poluo Province area," Ross gestured to the ready soldiers beside him and pointed at Pangolin, "Take him away."

Seeing the armed soldiers approaching, the battlefield atmosphere group did not resist, allowing them to cuff him but brushed off the hand placed on his shoulder.

"I can walk; I don't need your support."

Those who survived the slaughter in Luo Xia Province and Haiya Province had an aura of malice as thick as blood plasma, making the soldiers trying to escort him shiver.

It felt as if standing before them wasn't a person but a fierce, bloodthirsty Variant.

Seeing his subordinates looking at him, Ross did not trouble the proud Pangolin and merely waved his hand.

"Let him walk on his own."

He disliked the lagging civil officials, considering them a disgrace to the Weilante people. But he had a good impression of this young man, even if the guy was an outsider.

There might indeed be more to this situation than he understood; his instincts told him something was off.

But he did not care.

He always obeyed his superiors; his superior's stance was his stance, even if it led to a dead-end, he would walk down it proudly...

The soldiers who arrived at the checkpoint with Ross soon regrouped, leaving only a dozen sentries on duty.

The same goes for the Poluo side.

The leader named Yishel took everyone away, fearing staying too long might spark a conflict with the Army.

Watching the direction Mr. Pangolin was led away, Margaret tightly held her husband's hand, whispering in his ear.

"That man and that girl... they saved us all. I can't just leave him be."

Also watching the departure, Yarman gently squeezed her hand, speaking in a reassuring tone.

"Darling, trust me, I won't let him be..."

Once back, he would join the citizens of West Sail Port to petition the Governor's Mansion, sending a joint telegram to Triumph City!

He couldn't believe it!

That such a big matter could go unaddressed!

"... Never mind those scoundrels' dirty dealings, West Sail Port isn't even a colony of the Southern Legion, their court has no authority here!"

"Even if they want a trial, it has to be in Triumph City's court!"

...

As the surviving Weilante people felt indignant over Pangolin's plight, the slums of West Sail Port seethed with equal indignation.

Yet, their outrage wasn't about Pangolin's situation, but the ruthless suppression of the Family Meeting by the port authorities.

It was definitely suppression!

For those gang elements causing trouble—those guys with rat tattoos on their arms, clearly no good—the patrolling soldiers merely raised their hands but let them go easily, not even bothering to teach those thugs a lesson with a baton.

For those poor people who came together to protect themselves, the soldiers gave them a fierce warning, as if protecting their own rights was a heinous crime.

Zayed's keen insights were indeed spot on, pointing out that those gang members and the Vellante people were in cahoots!

The gangs resented them because the Family Meeting, which didn't charge gang fees and even taught literacy for free, disrupted the market!

Meanwhile, the Vellante people feared their solidarity, so they teamed up with those gangs, tripping them up, accusing them of being spies for the Alliance, and suppressing them severely.

But when you calmly think about it, this seemingly logical argument is riddled with flaws.

For instance, simply comparing the Dinars that end up in the pocket one can see the truth.

The wages from the docks vary from one gang to another; the management standards, commissions, and benefits also differ, making direct comparison challenging. But generally, the rule "the number of people is proportional to the premium" holds true.

The more people a labor agency has, the stronger bargaining position it holds with employers.

There's no such thing as a larger gang getting a smaller premium simply because they're more united.

There are certainly some astute people who notice some discrepancies, but most of them tacitly become green Family members, or even higher-level Family members — those who are responsible for lecturing.

In its early days, the Family Meeting had lots of vacant positions. If you used a little bit of your mind, you could become a "district agent," which was much more rewarding than hefting sacks at the dock.

While most were still fixated on their meager salaries, these wise people had already moved to the second tier.

Instead of exposing these clumsy tricks, they would help Zayed refine his theories.

For instance—

Those unscrupulous Vellante people had no bottom line, teaming up with other gangs to suppress the Family Meeting.

In this way, the tedious question of "Why do we earn fewer dinars when obviously doing the same work?" could be rationalized.

This is precisely where Zayed's brilliance lies.

Though he wasn't some amazing expert and faced disdain from numerous capable people, he certainly saw through the survivors of Poluo Province.

The smart people here love nothing more than treating others as fools while pretending to be confused themselves. Little did they know, as they muddled through, they too convinced themselves, only to find it too late once they finally awoke…

Sitting in the shack, Eugene finished bandaging the injured laborer and saw Zayed standing at the door.

The look suggested he had something to discuss with him.

He put the bandage back in the medical box, followed Zayed out the door, and stood in the moonlit alleyway.

After walking with Zayed for a bit, he halted and broke the silence between the two.

"Sometimes I don't understand what you are trying to do, or why you're doing these things."

Zayed sighed softly.

"I haven't thought that much; I just want to give those poor people a home."

Eugene chuckled softly.

"You have many family members, but you are the one I understand the least."

"Oh?"

"I don't know how to describe it," Eugene sat on a nearby step, sighed, and said, "I just feel... maybe you should change your approach. We're not in a rush for you to achieve immediate results. Even if you cooperate with guys like List, I think it would be great."

Zayed remained silent for a while, then sat beside him and said softly.

"Mr. List looks down on us. Deep down, he's inherently arrogant. Unlike you, who is willing to stoop down to help us and guide us. When he judged that our risks far outweighed the benefits we could bring him, he couldn't even be bothered to hear me out and shut me outside the door."

He paused and continued.

"But you, your door was always open to me, even someone as humble as dust. You never gave up on me, always willing to provide me with opportunities to introduce myself again and again."

Eugene smirked self-deprecatingly.

"Being turned away sounds like something List would do. But you don't need to uplift me... his achievements are recognized by the entire Alliance, and I don't measure up to a figure like him."

"You're too modest," Zayed shook his head, "When we succeed, I'll have a statue erected in your honor, and millions will thank you for extending a hand to us."

Eugene paused, then said with a laugh.

"That's unnecessary..."

Just as he finished speaking, a light flickered in the darkness not far away.

As he focused his gaze, he saw flames wrapped in thick smoke shooting into the sky.

"The fire has started!!"

"Hurry! Put out the fire!"

Watching everything unfold, Eugene was stunned, his expression drastically changing, and he sprang up from the ground.

It was the Family Meeting's registration place!

Where he had just bandaged those injured laborers!

"Damn it!"

He cursed under his breath and dashed back in the direction he had come.

Watching the rising flames and Eugene rushing to put out the fire, Zayed also paused for a moment, but in the end merely chuckled softly and shook his head.

"These rat bastards really don't hold grudges overnight. They can't even wait a single night… hehe."

The Black Rat Gang had suffered a loss and surely wouldn't swallow their pride; they'd undoubtedly find a way to retaliate.

This inability to amount to something lies exactly in this; they're always driven by emotion.

If that previous beating earned them sympathy from a few streets, then this fire should be enough to make them "stars" in West Sail Port.

The Army will surely step in.

And they will definitely take action before the war that sweeps through Poluo Province, using iron-fisted methods to punish all who are unruly!

These people are not judges who settle cases. Their style has consistently been to make an example through severity.

Rumor has it that Guryang is inherently brutal, unrestrained in achieving his goals, and this aligns perfectly with his intentions.

He will carry this prepared offer of allegiance to a much broader stage.

Zayed dusted off his pants as he rose from the steps, walking in the opposite direction of Mr. Eugene.

"Vassa, it's time to set off!"

Though he felt a bit sorry for the survivors of West Sail Port, it was all for the future of Poluo Province…

Chapter 844: The Wrongfully Imprisoned Pangolin

"Go on in, this will be your new home from now on."

The prison of West Sail Port.

This fortress built of granite is probably one of the few buildings in the West Sail Harbor District that hasn't been baptized by gunfire.

The floor he was on was located in the deepest part of the prison underground — used to hold felons.

Hearing the jailer's sarcastic remarks behind him, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group couldn't be bothered with this small fry and walked in calmly.

He looked left and right, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

The cell was very simple, and simply real. It only had a toilet and a bed, with the toilet right next to the bed. While eating, you might even have to place the bowl on the toilet lid.

The walls on all four sides were pitch black, with not even a window for ventilation, and the few air ducts were on the ceiling outside the bars.

Are they trying to stink me to death here...

The Old Soldier couldn't help but complain in his heart.

But fortunately, the room was a single room, so he didn't have to squeeze in with other prisoners. It seemed that the person who ordered him to be locked up wasn't too comfortable having him too close to others.

As the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was carefully inspecting his new home, the door of the bars behind him closed heavily with a "clang," followed by the sound of the iron door on the floor closing.

"Damn, doing time in a game... is even the prison experience this realistic?"

This damn Light must have done some field research.

The Old Soldier sighed and sat down on the bed.

As a model young person, he had never been in a detention center, yet he never expected to get such an experience in a game.

It must be said, the experience was quite novel.

Just a bit boring.

As he was pondering in his heart whether to log off and play a few rounds of the Game, suddenly a burst of footsteps came from outside his lonely cell.

The cell door that had just closed was suddenly pushed open with a creak.

Hearing the commotion, the Old Soldier was immediately invigorated, stood up, walked to the edge of the barred door, and peered outside.

He saw a Vellante soldier with a gun on his back, escorting a large group of people in.

He quickly counted, there were about forty or fifty people being locked in.

The Old Soldier was a bit confused by the Vellante people's operation.

What the hell are they trying to do?

With the butt of his gun, the Vellante soldier drove the last person into the cell and said coldly.

"The cells upstairs are full, so you'll have to stay here."

After throwing down this sentence, the Vellante soldier closed the door heavily, as if not worried at all that the prisoners standing in the corridor would stir up trouble.

Or could it be...

They couldn't wait for these people to cause some commotion?

The Old Soldier's heart was quietly vigilant.

Observing these prisoners standing helplessly in the cell, he searched among the crowd with his eyes, finally picking out a young man who looked the most honest.

Attracting the young man's attention with his eyes, the Old Soldier beckoned him over to the edge of the barred door, looking at him with curiosity and asking,

"Who are you people?"

The honest young man replied immediately,

"Family."

The Old Soldier was puzzled.

"Family? What's that supposed to mean?"

Seeing the puzzled look on the prisoner's face, the young man patiently explained,

"We are from the Family Meeting, an organization formed by the family for the family... those over there are from the Black Rat Gang."

As he spoke, he pointed to the corner of the corridor where the ten or so people were.

The Old Soldier followed his finger and saw several guys with Mickey Mouse tattoos on their arms standing in the corner of the crowd, with a fierce look that indeed didn't seem like anything good.

"So how did you guys... end up here?"

Speaking of the reason for being here, the young man gazed resentfully at the ten plus burly men in the corner of the crowd and, lowering his voice, said,

"Those Black Rat Gang people started it first. They set our house on fire with Molotov Cocktails, so we fought back... and in the end, we were all captured by the Vellante people."

The Old Soldier was a bit puzzled.

"Then... why did they set you on fire?"

The young man responded without hesitation,

"They fear our unity!"

The Old Soldier: "..."

Though the conversation was a bit nonsensical, he roughly understood the situation.

Turned out it was a gang fight.

Those big-nosed guys didn't care about any three seven twenty-one, they likely saw the fire and encircled the entire street with people, capturing everyone.

Although the young man was still indignantly explaining that they started it first, the Old Soldier was no longer interested in the details of this, but became intrigued by the Family Meeting instead.

They didn't seem like just an ordinary gang; ordinary gangs don't organize their members for lessons. Not only did they hold classes, but they also "deconstructed" the production labor relations of society, something never done elsewhere in the Poluo Line.

For example, according to the young man, the Work of the family is given by the Family Meeting, and the family is nurtured by the Family Meeting, thus they owe nothing to anyone. Instead, it is the docks and Vellante people who have stolen their blood and sweat.

For instance, production is an honor, while nurturing is a grace, and so on.

The fundamental concept of "division of labor and cooperation" in human society was rebranded as another thing in a religious manner. For this, they even invented some terminology, but no specific measurement units or calculation methods were given.

For example, how exactly to compute grace and honor, and how much honor is worthy of how much grace, these abstract concepts covered up the specifics that couldn't be quantified or measured.

Of course, it's also possible that these questions were answered by Zayed in some lesson, and this young man simply forgot due to lack of skill.

However, that's not the key issue. A pipe rifle is still a rifle, and the weapons in theory are present. Moreover, they're not just drafting scriptures but also designing some more realistic tools for themselves.

For example, there are six levels in color, such as promotion systems and so on... These things have something in common with the players' contribution levels.

But no matter how the Old Soldier hears it, it doesn't feel right.

This green trash, purple God Equip, gold legend... Why does it sound like it's copied from some RPG online game in reality?

It's probably some bastard playing "outside", taking the dregs from reality and passing it on to the NPCs.

That young guy was still talking tirelessly, and the more he spoke, the more spirited he became.

"...Zayed also told us that as long as everyone on the Wasteland is family, the Wasteland Era will naturally end. The matter was originally simple, but the people outside Poluo Province are too greedy."

The Old Soldier listened with a bit of a headache, pressing his forefinger against his brow, trying to clear up that messy logic.

"I admit that some of what you say is right, we also think the Waste Land Wanderers outside are too greedy, always wanting more... ahem, I mean people outside the Weilante People. So, are you all ready to save the Wasteland?"

Close call!

Almost exposed his undercover identity!

Fortunately, that young guy didn't notice anything fishy, or maybe he simply didn't realize the fellow in front of him was actually an "Honorable Weyland person", and just continued proudly.

"That's a matter of time, we will eventually save everyone on the Wasteland."

Old Soldier: "..."

If his understanding of the version wasn't wrong, this version should be "by the players who have already ended their own Wasteland to save the survivors in other Wasteland areas".

Poluo Province is considered the Wasteland with the most people and the largest territory on the Central Continent. He'd rather persuade this guy to save himself first and not cause more trouble for others.

"That Family Meeting… get to know it?"

The Old Soldier said with a wry smile.

"I'll pass on that... I'm not very smart, I'd probably be a drag on you guys."

The young guy showed a regretful expression, and he actually seemed to feel sorry for him.

However, although the Old Soldier completely ignored his talk, the guys from the Black Rat Gang listened to it.

Not only that, they were drawn to the young guy's generous words, and the more they listened, the more their eyes sparkled.

"Damn!"

"Your method is great!"

"Damn it! I've long felt the Black Rat Gang had no future, they say they're good for us, but each one of them just wants to make money off me... I'd rather mix with you all."

"Count me in too!"

Most of the gangs in West Sail Port emerged after that incident, and it has just been over a month, so naturally, most of the gang members have no loyalty to speak of.

And with tonight's big incident, that fire destroyed almost half of the slum, who knows how many people died.

When daylight comes, the Weilante people will surely settle scores with them. Jumping ship now is also to avoid punishment...

At least, that's what those underlings think.

To them, their Black Rat Gang is surely done for!

That young guy from the Family Meeting was open to everyone, even forgetting past grievances, and said with a hearty laugh.

"No problem! We'll all be family in the future! I'll take you to register after we get out!"

A pair of eyes lit up, like candles in the dark, glimmering with a trace of hope.

The Old Soldier was about to sarcastically remark "what a brilliant idea, isn't it just damn brainwashing, even kids know it's a scam with a new map", but he happened to catch a glimpse of the gang members' passionate eyes.

They were truly moved by it.

Watching the people gathered in a circle listening, the Old Soldier squatting in the cell fell silent.

Alright.

He was too hasty...

...

Later, during a side hearing, Old Soldier learned that the young guy giving the lecture was called Ah Ming, just an ordinary family member with no color.

That is, "whiteboard equipment".

But according to their system, once tonight is over, getting promoted to a green family member seems to be no problem at all.

If they can manage to get out alive...

Listening to that young guy's tireless lecture, the Old Soldier couldn't help but dozed off, unable to hold on and prepared to log off.

A few young guys were staring at him, or rather at the toilet beside his bed.

This thing is quite a novelty to them, after all, none of the other cells have one.

"Brother, how did you get locked up?"

"Why do you have a single room?"

"Yeah, why do you have a separate cell, and we're all in the hallway?"

The Old Soldier lifted his eyelid, looked at the young ones surrounding the bars, and laughed softly.

"Me? The things I've done are much bigger than what you guys did."

The young ones looked at each other, all looking at him with regret.

"What a pity."

Seeing that they were concerned about him again, the Old Soldier smiled and shook his head.

"You should worry more about yourselves, figure out a way to survive tomorrow."

He closed his eyes after saying this, no longer listening to the chatter outside the bars, leaning in the corner and "slept".

A silent night.

The Old Soldier went offline to play some Alliance, indulged in some extreme trash talk, and when he logged back in, he found that the people in the hallway had been taken away, leaving only a field of urine and feces in ginger yellow.

The Weilante people hadn't prepared them a cell or buckets, they just settled it there on the spot.

The overwhelming stench made him frown, instantly understanding the sneaky intentions of these big-noses.

Well, nice!

Couldn't take him down head-on, so they're using such underhanded tactics to disgust him, huh?

The Old Soldier furrowed his brows, pinching his nose, and his stereotypes of the Weilante people deepened.

Just then, the sound of chains clanking and footsteps approached from outside the prison.

As the iron gate opened, Penny squeezed in through the gap holding a lunchbox.

Seeing Penny, the Old Soldier was visibly startled; he hadn't expected this young lady to come visit him.

But he wasn't the only one who was stunned. After seeing the mess inside the prison, Penny's face turned pale instantly, unsure if it was from anger or the stench.

"They... actually locked you up in a place like this!"

Where's the honor of the Weilante people?

This shameless bunch!

The Old Soldier made a helpless expression but took it in stride.

"It wasn't like this at first, but last night they suddenly brought a bunch of people in. At that time, I figured it wasn't going to be anything good, and sure enough... Luckily, I fell asleep when they took off their pants, otherwise, the sight would have been quite eye-watering."

With the food those poor folks get, it's quite a feat to be so vigorous.

The Weilante people probably brought them meals, might have mixed something in it.

But he had no evidence, so he could only hold back for the time being.

Watching Penny carefully walk over the filth, the Old Soldier paused before continuing.

"... So why did you come?"

Penny whispered.

"I came to bring you some food... I was afraid you might be hungry."

Bringing food... that's nice.

It should be noon outside now, and the Old Soldier indeed felt a bit hungry.

But smelling the overwhelming odor, he had no appetite at all.

Seeing the difficult expression on his face, Penny was silent for a while, then bit her lip and said.

"... I'll go find my uncle and have him get you a different cell!"

The Old Soldier sighed and said.

"Don't trouble your uncle, this isn't something in his jurisdiction to handle, it's Guryang who arrested me."

"Then I'll find this Guryang!" Penny said through gritted teeth.

"Are you crazy?" Glancing at the headstrong young lady, the Old Soldier couldn't help but retort, "That guy's military rank is higher than your father's, what use is there in finding him? I'm telling you, don't stay in this port any longer, take my advice, find a ship and go back home as soon as possible. Once back in Triumph City, there might still be a chance."

"I won't go anywhere until you're safe!" Penny stared at him intently.

After a moment, her tone suddenly softened, continuing gently.

"Don't worry about me, I know you mean well, but staying isn't just my own stubbornness, it's also what my father wants."

The Old Soldier was taken aback.

"Your father? Mr. Bennott?"

Seeing the astonished look of the Pangolin, Penny nodded seriously.

"Yes, the Civil Official Group won't abandon you, his friends in Triumph City have already started working on it, they will do their utmost to have you extradited to Triumph City."

Hearing this, the expression on the Old Soldier's face gradually shifted from astonishment to disbelief.

That Bennott would actually protect him?

He was shocked!

This doesn't make sense!

"... There aren't any ships leaving the port, the Southern Legion has blockaded the port." Saying this, Penny's cheeks slightly reddened with embarrassment, "So don't urge me to go back, just let me bring you food for a while."

"Wait, the port is sealed?" The Old Soldier was taken aback, urgently asked, "What's happened outside?"

Penny shook her head.

"I'm not too clear on the specifics, I heard there was an arson last night, seemed like a gang conflict? Anyway, there's a crackdown going on outside, I heard many people were executed."

Fire.

Fire again.

The Old Soldier couldn't help but wonder if West Sail Port had a feng shui issue, lacking the fire element in the five elements.

But unlike the previous fire, this incident didn't escalate much, no one organized the rioters, nor did it burn down anything major.

Since even the Legion labeled it a gang skirmish, this fire might really have been an accident.

Thinking of those young men with eyes full of light earlier, the Old Soldier couldn't help but click his tongue, silently muttering a few apologies in his heart.

He hoped those guys were okay.

Though not too bright, they weren't bad people at heart.

But it's precisely people like them who easily overreact, and are easily manipulated.

"... I always feel West Sail Port won't stay peaceful, if you can leave here, it's better to do so as soon as possible."

Seeing the Pangolin still worried about his safety, Penny's cheeks flushed even more.

Come to think of it, he was the same before.

This guy himself was doing the most dangerous things, yet never worried about his own safety, instead caring for her, an outsider.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of myself... hurry and eat while it's hot, don't let it cool."

Saying this, she reached out with the lunchbox, but it got stuck at the bars of the cell.

Penny's expression turned a bit awkward, trying to flip the lunchbox but worried about spilling the contents, she went back and forth for quite a while, unable to squeeze it through.

The two of them stared at each other for quite some time. Eventually, Penny blushed and whispered softly.

"Should I... feed you?"

Seeing her suddenly shy face, the Old Soldier's Adam's apple unconsciously rolled.

Suddenly, he didn't find the air around him so pungent anymore.

"Mm... thank you."

"No, no need to be polite..."

Penny blushed and hurriedly opened the lunchbox, almost dropping the spoon, but fortunately, the Old Soldier was quick enough to catch it.

When he handed the spoon back to her, Penny suddenly realized that this guy could actually eat by himself through the barred door.

However, neither of them mentioned it.

The meal took a whole hour.

Looking at the clean bowl and Penny's face, which was as red as if it could bleed, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group felt satisfied in every sense of the word...

...

It was unclear whether it was because of the face of the Triumph Newspaper or because of Penny's father.

Just the day after that meal, the Old Soldier suddenly discovered that the Vellante soldiers surprisingly softened their stance, sending a Mouser cleaner to clean up all the sewage in the hallway.

Even though the cell still smelled bad, it was much better than before.

And so, unknowingly, another week passed.

During these days, Penny kept bringing him food and would occasionally bring news from the outside.

On one hand, the crackdown in West Sail Port continued.

However, whether someone behind the scenes was manipulating it or not, the "AOE-style" crackdown on various gangs turned into a one-sided assault specifically targeting the Family Meeting.

This matter was indeed a bit strange.

Logically, even if the Family Meeting was a victim, punishing both sides equally was understandable, but to be the only one punished was confusing.

Even if the Slave Owners didn't bother reasoning with the Slaves, they wouldn't act so recklessly, right?

With the intention of getting to the bottom of it, he organized his questions and posted them on the Forum, and after a round of analysis from fellow users, he finally understood.

According to a seemingly knowledgeable user, the crackdown was probably not directly deployed by that General Guryang, much like how pouring sewage into his cell was likely a decision made by those below him.

When the decision is made by those below, the method of handling the issue becomes much more flexible.

Perhaps other gangs greased the palms upward, while the Family Meeting didn't collect protection fees and didn't have money to grease, so they were pulled out as an example.

Perhaps other gangs were easier to manage, and the Family Meeting was too large and difficult to manage, posing a hidden threat, so they were simply taken down like a fat pig.

It's also very likely that there were Alliance people within the Family Meeting, as the gang's name itself sounded like something concocted by a Player for mischief.

All these reasons were possible, and it was likely not just one reason but a combination of many factors.

The end result of this farce was that, after being squeezed out by various gangs, the Family Meeting faced the Army's slaughter immediately afterwards.

Those innocent people were most deserving of pity; they did nothing wrong yet had to endure the worst consequences...

On the other side, the crackdown in West Sail Port did not affect the Vellante people living at the port.

Although the high-ranking officers of the Army have always disregarded the lives of their compatriots, there's a fundamental difference with the West Winds Empire, which treats its own people like livestock.

The Honorable Vellante people are protected by law and enjoy the highest citizen rights. Even "honored Vellante" like the Pangolins enjoy the same.

This is why others can be executed at will, but he could still wait in prison for a trial.

According to Penny, the local Vellante people, led by a Merchant named Yarman, formed the West Sail Port citizen autonomy meeting, and pressured the Southern Legion in the name of the autonomy meeting, demanding restraint, non-aggression, and unconditional release of himself.

Of course, behind this was the support and even instigation of the Triumph City Official Group.

However, their loyal spirit of leaving no one behind was also exceptionally real.

When Penny talked about this, although the Old Soldier didn't say much gratitude, he felt very touched inside.

These survivors knew to repay kindness.

They hadn't forgotten him, who saved them, even though his contributions were not as much as others, even though he only saved more than two hundred people...

Thanks to this united force, the Southern Legion hadn't been difficult to him recently; at least they didn't do anything as brainless as bringing in a group to defecate casually.

Days passed by like this, and before he knew it, it was March.

The Poluo Province officially entered the rainy season, with West Sail Port experiencing several showers a day, and even a typhoon passing through that toppled street shanties.

The crackdown outside seemed to finally end.

The Southern Legion, having finished whipping, took out candies from their pockets, starting to spend money to mobilize those grassroots organizations, including gangs controlling the docks, to repair damaged houses and clean streets buried in trash.

This was not because they were so benevolent, but because war was imminent.

They needed to ensure smooth transportation, operation of factories, docks, and various infrastructures, and guarantee that the grassroots forces maintaining these infrastructures were available for their use.

For this, they weren't averse to spending a bit more Dinar, as they'd soon gain more.

Though there were storms brewing outside, they didn't affect the Old Soldier squatting in the dungeon in the slightest.

This hellhole wouldn't let him feel even a bit of wind, or hear any rain; at most, it was unbearable when the sewer backflowed.

However, these were minor issues that didn't affect his life at all.

Under Penny's conscientious feeding day and night, the Old Soldier even felt like he gained weight, even if it wasn't noticeable.

Now, besides waiting for meals daily, he also adopted push-ups as part of his routine exercise.

On one day in early March, just like usual, the Old Soldier was exercising on his bed when Penny, holding a lunchbox, suddenly opened the cell door and walked in.

She arrived earlier than usual today, and looked nervous, as if something major had happened.

The Old Soldier immediately jumped off the bed, looked at her, and asked.

"What happened outside?"

Penny spoke rapidly.

"Guryang has arrived at West Sail Port! Along with him are people from the Southern Legion military court!"

Upon hearing this, the Old Soldier finally understood why she had such a nervous expression.

Turns out, she was worried about him.

However, unlike the anxious Penny, he didn't feel restless at all; rather, he felt slightly relieved and relaxed.

After being locked up for an entire month, he felt like his bones were about to mold!

The day for the trial had finally arrived!

Chapter 845: An Immense Strength Is Taking Shape!

West Sail Port Harbor area Court.

The marble walls are engraved with the scales symbolizing justice, and under the lofty dome, circles of seats are arranged.

On the judgment seat, five judges are seated, all around fifty to sixty years old, their faces filled with wrinkles exuding solemnity, looking dignified and respectable.

The wide jury seats are also fully occupied.

Among them, a small portion are officers from the Southern Legion, while the majority are local Weilante people citizens of West Sail Port, or Weilante merchants passing through the area.

The people held great enthusiasm for this trial, with some even traveling from Evernight Harbor or other colonies, not for the business opportunities the "upcoming three hundred thousand troops" would bring, but for a firsthand look at the courtroom.

Their interest was not only due to the defendant's identity but because the charges in this trial involved three acts of betrayal—betraying the Weilante people, betraying the legion, and betraying the Marshal.

Such serious accusations against one person are extremely rare in the history of the legion.

Especially since the defendant was an "Honorable Weilante" promoted through military achievements.

The people on the jury seats were even more curious!

It's said the court made a good sum just from selling jury seat tickets!

Seeing the person brought to court, Penny on the jury seats couldn't help but clench her fists, sweat seeping from her palms.

And in the corner of the opposite jury seats, a man wearing an officer's hat also sat in the audience position.

He looked young, with a hooked nose and stern, cold eyes, watching Pangolin brought to the defendant's seat like an eagle looking down on prey.

This person was Guryang, the chief commander in the Poluo Province combat area, and a three-star Ten Thousand Leader of the Southern Legion!

Before coming to West Sail Port, he had heard many heroic deeds about this man called Pangolin.

For example, single-handedly delaying the Alliance's attacking forces for a full month, killing over a thousand alliances.

For example, hunting down the Mother of Dead Claw in the River Valley Province alone and beheading it.

And such records in Haiya Province.

Now this fellow appeared again in Poluo Province, doing something earth-shattering before Guryang's arrival.

Guryang couldn't help but be curious.

This person who acts like a praying mantis blocking a chariot, what plan does he have to escape this time?

As he was watching the man called Pangolin with interest, someone walked over to Guryang's side.

The person pulled out a chair and sat beside him, casually placing the officer's hat on the table.

Guryang glanced slightly to the side and saw a well-known face, a playful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"General McCullen? A rare guest, what wind blows the 'Chief Instructor' of Poluo Province here?"

Due to the West Winds Empire's laughable performance in military, economic, diplomatic, and other fields, McCullen being an instructor in Poluo Province also affected his reputation in the military.

After all, those in the Everflow River swimming by name were McCullen's students.

Even though their swimming skills have nothing to do with McCullen, mainly taught by the civil officials in Triumph City, they still bear McCullen's mark.

Indifferent to Guryang's teasing, McCullen merely smiled lightly.

"You resemble a...friend of mine. Like him, you are talented, graceful, and full of ability and charisma...I see many shades of him in you. I always debated with him, but never won once."

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the compliment, Guryang laughed lightly, modestly saying.

"Thank you for your praise."

Crossing his leg over his knee, McCullen smiled faintly.

"You're welcome... But, aren't you curious about who he is."

Guryang kindly asked.

"Then may I inquire this friend's name, and please introduce me next time you return to Triumph City."

McCullen equally warmly said.

"His name is Griffin, just like you, also a three-star Ten Thousand Leader."

Hearing Griffin's name, Guryang's expression instantly turned visibly colder, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"What do you mean? Comparing me to a dead man?"

"Dead man?" McCullen turned slightly, looking at him with slight surprise, "General Griffin was a hero given a national funeral, are you expressing disdain for him?"

Guryang's expression stiffened momentarily, words stuck in his mouth, eventually squeezing out a half-chilly laugh.

"...Heh, the Eastern Legion fights wars with words, it seems I was naive."

He knew about Griffin, reportedly dying suddenly of a stroke when the Eastern Legion's expeditionary army had the upper hand.

The loss of the commander forced the expeditionary army to accept the ceasefire agreement proposed by the Alliance and corporations, leading to a regrettable ceasefire just as the war was about to escalate.

The Triumph Newspaper announced the Eastern Legion expeditionary army's victory, and ultimately Griffin accepted a glorious national funeral as a general.

No matter how he evaluates Griffin personally, that honor is not something he could mock.

The only disgraceful one would be himself if the words got out.

Seeing Guryang slightly frustrated, McCullen smiled lightly and said.

"...Please don't misunderstand, General Guryang, I have no intention of arguing with you."

Guryang let out a laugh, casting his gaze far towards the defendant's seat.

"I heard Pangolin was promoted by you personally?"

McCullen nodded slightly.

"That's right, during the Falling Leaves War period, his direct superior was Coleway, both considered my subordinates."

Hearing this, Guryang immediately seemed to seize an opportunity, clicking his tongue lightly.

"Tsk tsk, such a pity... But I'm not surprised at all, it only says what kind of boss brings what kind of subordinate, the civil official group didn't teach him well."

The sarcasm in his words was evident.

However, McCullen wasn't angry but instead smiled generously, letting out a laugh and said.

"I thought so too, the civil officials couldn't teach him much, following them indeed wasted his talent... However, that said, I'm quite proud of myself for bringing out such excellent subordinates, he did not let my expectations of him down."

Excellent?

Guryang raised his eyebrows slightly, glancing sideways at McCullen with interest, and asked.

"Do you think he still has a chance to turn the tables?"

"Turn the tables?" McCullen also glanced at him, smiling as he said, "General Guryang, at least say that after you've won."

Guryang disdainfully curled his lips, moving his gaze away from this stubborn fellow.

Saying that after winning?

What a joke!

The entire courtroom is filled with his people, what can a person who isn't even a Weilante win with!

Seeing Guryang no longer speak, McCullen also stayed silent, simply smiling while watching the court not far away.

Pairs of eyes focused on the center of the courtroom, awaiting the solemn trial to formally commence.

The opening ceremony, not too lengthy, concluded with the light sound of a gavel, the prosecution representative standing at the plaintiff's seat stacked up the documents on the desk, and declared in a passionate tone.

"Captain Pangolin! I am representing the Southern Legion and all Weilante people to file a lawsuit against you!"

"The West Sail Port massacre is still vivid, even on these stones beneath my feet, the blood of the Weilante people is stained here... Three thousand people! More than three thousand people massacred by thugs! And these murderers are still at large! Even having the audacity to flaunt themselves on thrones that rightfully belong to our allies!"

"""

"And you! What did you, who were granted the honor of the Weilante people, do?"

The prosecutor glanced at the judge, looked at the crowded jury behind, and then turned to the pangolin standing in the dock, speaking righteously.

"When we were fighting for the fate of the Weilante people, you, on your own, represented the Weilante people of Triumph City and acknowledged the legitimate status of a brutal, filthy, and massacring illegal regime!"

"This is not only a betrayal of Triumph City but also a betrayal of the Army, all Weilante people, and even the Marshal himself!"

"This is an unforgivable crime! Thank the law's mercy, we spared you the death penalty! However, in exchange, we will strip you of your honor, honorable status, and military rank, and sentence you to indefinite imprisonment."

"You will repent in a windowless cell, watching the evil consequences of your appeasement turn to ashes in the flames of justice, spending your remaining years in remorse in the dark... this will be your best punishment."

After speaking, the representative of the prosecution raised his eyebrows provocatively at this "Honorable Weilante person."

However, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group did not look at him, just looked at the judge standing in the courtroom, waiting for their turn.

The judge did not look at him, nor at the plaintiff, just tapped the gavel lightly.

"Order in the court! It is my responsibility to determine the sentence; the plaintiff only needs to state the defendant's criminal facts."

Seemingly aware of his slip-up, the prosecutor standing at the plaintiff's stand smiled and explained.

"Sorry, I was too emotional... Please understand my anger as a Weilante person towards traitors."

"Then please understand the solemnity of the court."

Although the trial's outcome was as good as decided, the presiding judge still said this and then looked at the man called Pangolin, proceeding procedurally.

"... So, just as the prosecution has stated, do you have anything you wish to say?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was originally not inclined to provide unnecessary defense.

Firstly, he knew it was useless.

The judge and the plaintiff were under General Giulion's influence; they could rule as they wished, just a matter of flapping their lips.

Secondly, he indeed wasn't very good at rhetoric and didn't understand the Army's laws; saying too much might lead to mistakes.

The best approach was to plead not guilty and then remain silent.

If he couldn't reach the courtroom of Triumph City, saying more would be a waste of time, only inviting humiliation.

For instance, at this moment, this court hadn't even provided him with a defense lawyer.

However, just as he was about to hastily "skip" this part of the storyline, he glimpsed a worried face on the jury seat...

Forget it.

Resurrecting Three days is rare and waiting, and letting others decide his life or death was not his style.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group remained silent for a while and finally decided to make an effort. After brewing his emotions for a moment, he looked up at the judge and spoke in a calm tone.

"Your Honor, I have nothing to say."

The presiding judge was taken aback.

The other four judges seated on the bench exchanged surprised glances.

The jury in the distance was abuzz with whispers, seemingly not expecting him to be too lazy even to offer a defense.

Penny stared in shock, wishing she could leap over the railing and shake him awake.

General Ross squinted slightly, suddenly finding this man hard to read.

General Giulion, meanwhile, cast a victorious look at General McCullen, conveying his thoughts through his eyes.

As for McCullen, he remained indifferent, merely watching the calm-faced fellow with a smile.

This guy, who ventured solo into danger and persuaded Absek to defect, was no ordinary person.

The real show was just beginning.

When he returned with the Mother of Dead Claw's head, he had the same expression.

The prosecutor standing at the plaintiff's stand, like General Giulion, already wore a triumphant expression.

"It seems the defendant has nothing to say. I think we can reach a verdict."

The presiding judge steadied himself, fixing his gaze on the Battlefield Atmosphere Group standing in the dock.

"Do you mean to plead guilty?"

The Old Soldier responded with composure.

"I do not mean that."

He paused, then continued.

"I just don't believe I have any obligation to explain anything to a group of 'people who use their compatriots' lives as bargaining chips for their desires.'"

"Who should stand here is not me, but them!"

He didn't name the person, but his implication was clear—he referred to those sitting on the jury seat, waiting for his explanation.

At least, some of them!

As soon as he finished speaking, an uproar broke out among the jury.

Officers of the Southern Legion angrily stood up one after another.

They were mostly Centurions or Centurions, with some officers or Soldiers too.

They were not only young but also fiery.

Faced with such blatant provocation, they unhesitatingly cursed back on the spot... and this was also one of the Weilante people's traditions.

"What's the meaning of that!"

"What do you mean using compatriots' lives as chips for selfish desires!"

"Isn't it you civil officials who disregard compatriots' lives!"

"Lapdog of the Civil Official Group! Bah!"

"Cowardly useless scum!"

"Sentence him to death!"

"Order in the court! Order!"

The presiding judge pounded the gavel in his hand forcefully to make the jury silent.

The Old Soldier, however, stood in the dock unfazed, ignoring the prosecutor's astonished gaze and deaf to the roaring anger behind him.

When the court finally quieted down, the presiding judge glared at the pangolin angrily and said.

"Captain Pangolin, please mind your words! This court will take the jury's opinions into account during the trial, and all irrelevant accusations you raise in court will only aggravate your crime."

"Irrelevant accusations!"

The Old Soldier stared intently at the presiding judge, repeated his words, then turned to face the jury, his previously composed expression now strangely enraged.

"While I ventured alone into the heart of the Tianwang Army seeking the truth, what were you standing people doing? Engaging with unarmed Civilians?"

His voice echoed through the vast hall, momentarily suppressing the commotion in the room.

Everyone was silent, glaring at him.

"Two hundred people!"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group raised two fingers, one index, and one middle.

At that moment, he seemed like a true Weilante person, proudly raising his head and nose.

"Two hundred Civilians... They lived in terror on the Rebels' Land, dared not make a sound, right under your noses! And what did you do? Avenged the three thousand dead? You clearly knew where the real perpetrators were, but you did nothing!"

The prosecutor standing beside couldn't listen any longer, coughing to interrupt.

"Let me just say something... it's not that the Southern Legion did nothing, but some truths were hidden by survivors of that catastrophe, we didn't know anyone was still alive—"

"Shut your mouth!"

The Old Soldier suddenly roared, his fierce gaze causing the prosecutor to freeze, as if his feet took root, his calves trembling lightly.

That gaze was like a fierce beast, its bloodthirsty aura making him unable to utter a word.

He unconsciously swallowed, the wavering look in his eyes revealing a hint of fear.

Unlike when he's in the courtroom, manipulating words.

This guy is a real Soldier, a ghost crawled out from the Mountains of corpses and seas of bones!

"... I didn't let you speak, nor did the Judge allow you to interrupt, so just keep your mouth shut, it's my time to speak now." The Old Soldier suddenly softened his voice, saying these words.

The pressure on his shoulders suddenly relaxed, and the prosecutor nodded nervously, only to soon realize that he had been led by the nose and glared at him angrily.

But the Old Soldier no longer looked at him, and once again faced the packed jury.

This time, however, he did not look at those standing soldiers and officers.

He looked at Yarman and his wife Margaret, and many others like that couple, including their Children.

"Do you see? Just like the prosecutor beside me, a Civilian who has never been on the Battlefield, just by staring at him, I can make his calves shake like a pendulum, unable to resist kneeling to me."

"I tell you, this is Strength! Even someone as insignificant as I easily possesses such Strength. And I'm merely a Thousands of leaders, at most with the identity of an Awakener."

"In the face of this uncontrollable Strength, even the most dazzling Truth can only remain silent, and I do not consider forced silence a crime... it's more of a disgrace!"

"Moreover, it's your disgrace!" The Battlefield Atmosphere Group pointed at those standing officers.

Some couldn't help but sit down earlier, but there were still many standing.

"You keep claiming loyalty to the Marshal, eternal loyalty to the Army, loyalty to the Honorable Weyland people, yet you make your compatriots fear you, and more people fear your compatriots, exploiting their fear for your own benefit... Am I wrong? This is the real you!"

"Two fires were lit in West Sail Port, one by a group of self-proclaimed unorganized rioters, and another by a group of organized rioters... why did the former fire give rise to the Heavenly Army instead?"

"Where did the Heavenly Army's weapons come from, why are there so much equipment in their hands? Who is supplying them!"

"And why! Why were those two hundred people right under your nose, and you preferred massacring Civilians locally rather than taking a step forward!"

"Yes, you didn't know they were in Count Sharma's manor, as the prosecutor said, but what are your legs, eyes, and hands for? Are they decorations!"

"Why can I find them? And you can't! Apart from sending more gunpowder to West Sail Port, did you really do anything!"

"What exactly are you here for! Answer me! Look into my eyes and answer!!"

The angry voice spread like a tsunami, fearlessly crashing against the officers glaring at him.

Though the officers standing in the jury still wore expressionless faces, the people sitting nearby showed a noticeable change in their gaze.

Margaret couldn't help but cover her mouth, her eyes glistening with tears, pressing her forehead against her husband's shoulder.

Finally, someone spoke of the fear in her heart from that night.

And finally, someone recounted the fear her Children faced.

Before confirming their own insignificance, they dared not even come out from that manor and tell their Children that they were still alive.

And that was because of fear.

She didn't want to die for unclear reasons, taking all the Truth to the grave.

Even though what she saw was just a blurry shadow, not even a real evidence...

Yarman placed his hand on her shoulder, holding his wife tightly, supporting the person on the defendant's seat with a firm look to continue speaking.

One gaze after another converged into streams, and streams eventually formed rivers.

A vast Strength is forming!

That was the Strength that once supported the Honorable Weyland people, enabling them to break free from their shackles!

Penny's eyes shone with excited tears, even couldn't help but cheering for him.

The Honorable Weyland people have their own spine.

They are not spineless ones without their own stance.

The Sword of Truth now shines brilliantly!

She could feel the lively emotions and atmosphere at the scene, making those worms hiding in the gutters blush with shame, avoiding eye contact.

Those dirty creatures did not dare to answer these questions.

They didn't even dare to acknowledge the existence of questions, only daring to utter fragmented words after the storm passes, or divert the topic.

The prosecutor sweating profusely at the plaintiff's seat tried to distract himself by organizing the files in his hand.

What could he say?

This guy's evidence is probably more shocking than the few sheets of paper he holds!

He no longer dared to face the crowd-filled jury, nor did he dare to look at his teammates sitting in the trial seat—the Judges who had prepared the verdict.

More and more gazes turned to the officers of the Southern Legion, making those still standing unable to maintain their expressions, finally sitting down.

What they couldn't accept was that not only the Citizens, even their own subordinates hesitantly looked at them...

Why not launch an attack on the Heavenly Army, but instead vent on those defenseless Civilians!

Peter, biting a toothpick, also wanted to know, staring fixedly at his Centurion.

After the Centurion sat down, he continued to look at his boss's boss, Ross—the General Ross rendered speechless by the Northern checkpoint.

Why?

He clutched his fist tightly, eager to pound the table.

Just say something!

Say anything!

Looking at the court completely overturned, McCullen smiled, gently clapping his hands.

"Haha, splendid."

Worthy as someone he personally promoted.

He truly has grown a lot.

McCullen could see that the guy had a moment of wanting to give up, but ultimately changed his mind.

This is the correct choice.

If he himself gave up, then those protecting him would find their efforts meaningless no matter how hard they tried.

At least at this moment, he possesses the value of living on, and more importantly, he earned it himself.

Unlike McCullen, who smiled and clapped, General Giulion who had previously looked triumphantly at him was now panicking.

He didn't know what the high Command of the Southern Legion had conspired, but he could also guess that the "Heavenly King's Disorder" was by no means entirely coincidental.

Or rather, behind that coincidence hides an unseen hand pushing the waves.

It could be his superior, his superior's superior, or even the Legion Leader who granted him "the highest command in the Poluo Province combat area!"

Yet now, this idiot throws such secrets into an open trial in the court!

Is he crazy!!

Doesn't the Civil Official Group have any backdoor actions!

Seeing the "self-destructing truck" crash forward, a drop of cold sweat slid across the corner of Giulion's eyebrow.

His intention was to use this trial to humiliation that group of obstructive civil officials, not to be countered and make him shoot his own foot with the stone he lifted.

He extended a trembling index finger to take off his hat and threw it on the table in embarrassment.

This was the signal he had agreed upon with the judge.

He must stop this trial!

Stop that fool from continuing to speak!

The old soldier seemed to have no intention of continuing to speak; he simply watched the boiling atmosphere of the courtroom.

It hardly resembled a solemn courtroom; it looked more like a bustling marketplace.

However, he had achieved his goal.

The court could not completely ignore the opinions of the jury; the originally undisputed verdict now stirred substantial debate at this moment.

He did not have concrete evidence for many things; the Southern Legion would not leave too much evidence behind. To be the one to throw a stone to provoke a response by pointing out the suspicions was enough.

As long as the voice of doubt existed, what he did was meaningful.

Next, he would, as he said, appeal step by step to Triumph City, carrying the hope he shouldered and moving forward!

"Well said!!" Yarman was the first to stand up, just like the officers who ignored courtroom discipline and stood up, shouting at the prosecutor's bench, "Answer his question!"

Echoing voices erupted one after another, deafeningly loud!

"That's right! Answer his question!"

"What are you here for! Are you coming to save us, or are you preparing to invade?"

"Where were you when we needed you?"

"Why didn't you save my mother! Also, why were so many weapons placed at the port!"

Little Ruby, who had her hands clenched around the railing, also had the fire in her heart ignited, glaring with bright eyes and shouting out.

Even though her thin voice didn't stir the slightest ripple, easily drowned in the overwhelming noise of the crowd, she still made her voice heard.

She would not forget the fear of that day.

Otherwise, all courage would lose its meaning.

The officers who had stood had all sat down, partly due to the warning looks from their superiors and partly because they indeed lacked the courage to continue facing the questioning.

Peter's eyes were filled with despair; he spat out the toothpick from his mouth, cursed "Damn coward" vehemently, and clenched his fists, unable to bear the shame.

He was not afraid of fighting a battle against the Alliance in a dignified manner.

But this shame made him unable to hold his head high.

"Silence! Silence!"

Looking at the noisy scene, the presiding judge, sweating heavily, raised the gavel in his hand, ready to knock it down yet hesitated.

He noticed the hat in front of General Giulion and the urging look.

However, precisely because of this, the gavel in his hand hovered in the air, unable to bring it down for a long time.

He was well aware of General Giulion's hint.

But he also knew clearly what it would mean if he did so.

This was not just a controversial verdict, but outright opposition to public sentiment, leaving him at a loss for how to justify it.

Could he actually tell the people, "Although there are doubts in this case, this judge just wants to convict him"?

The bullet aimed at a hero cannot erase the hero's halo; instead, it immortalizes him, while the one who shoots becomes pinned to a pillar of shame, becoming an eternal disgrace and clown.

The true clown dared not shoot, thus handing the trigger to him, hoping he would be the villain.

"That coward…"

You damn well are a three-star Ten Thousand Leader!

The presiding judge gritted his teeth, his eyes struggling for a long time, and finally slammed down the gavel in his hand.

However, his decision was not as General Giulion wished, even causing obvious disappointment to appear in the latter's eyes.

"This court pronounces that due to insufficient evidence submitted by the prosecutor, it cannot be concluded that the defendant is guilty..."

"Since the prosecution has stated that Captain Pangolin betrayed the Marshal, betrayed the Army, and betrayed the Weyland people... then let the Marshal, let the court of Triumph City, and all the Weyland people judge him."

After a pause, he continued.

"The court in West Sail Port is too small, unable to handle such a big case."

"Court is adjourned!"

As his words fell, the jury erupted into enthusiastic applause instantly!

Yarman's eyes shone with excitement, his hands clapped red.

He was not the only one.

There was also Margaret standing beside him, all other survivors, and those who had traveled all the way from distant colonies... Apart from the officers of the Southern Legion, nearly everyone present stood up and applauded!

Including General Mclen.

This was not just a victory for Captain Pangolin alone, but a victory for all of them... even if they were still far from the ultimate victory!

But at least at this moment, they did not choose silence, allowing the out-of-control forces to do evil but instead bravely stood up to defend the power in their hands!

The power to know the truth!

"Ohhh!"

Like the adults around her, Little Ruby was also cheering excitedly, and she was so excited that her whole body was hanging on the railing, her little legs swinging in the air.

She didn't understand such difficult principles; she just thought the brother called Captain Pangolin was extremely handsome, leaving those people speechless.

Of course—

Compared to her mom and dad, he still had a long way to go!

Basking in the boiling applause, the presiding judge nodded slightly, accepting the people's cheers with shame, and then, alongside the other four judges, left the bench.

General Giulion, silently clenching his fist, his teeth gritted tightly, producing a cracking sound.

At this moment, an annoying voice suddenly came from beside him.

"I think you should focus on the bigger picture. Let big men worry about big problems... What do you think? Getting too involved can easily lead to a sudden stroke like my friend."

General Mclen, who had stopped clapping, looked at him with a victorious smile on his face.

General Giulion glanced at him, coldly got up from his seat, picked up his hat on the table, and put it on.

"I am above stooping to the level of a Captain."

"Hmm, I figured you weren't the type without class... Also, well played."

Mclen also picked up his hat and put it on, smiling and extending his right hand.

General Giulion did not shake his hand, not even looking at it, and walked away without turning back.

Meanwhile, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group standing amidst the cheers finally and gently released their tightly clenched fists and relaxed their taut heart.

He had never done anything so incredible in his life.

This was much harder than facing the Mother of Dead Claw, dammit!

His chest rose and fell gently, looking at those applauding survivors, and a smile of melted snow suddenly appeared on his taut face.

To be honest, this experience was quite interesting.

Not selling this game for ten thousand bucks is a huge loss!

Chapter 846: Lifting a Stone Only to Drop It on One's Own Foot

After leaving McCullen, Guryang quickly walked out the door and caught up with the chief judge who had announced the adjournment earlier.

Seeing his fierce expression, the other four judges wisely quickened their pace to leave.

They could guess some of the underlying reasons but didn't want to get involved.

Once the four had walked away, Guryang stared intently into the chief judge's eyes and gritted his teeth to say a single sentence.

"What do you mean by that!"

The old man raised his cloudy eyes.

Maybe it's because of his age, there wasn't much fear in his eyes, he just looked at Guryang for a moment and then said slowly and firmly.

"General Giulion, I am just a colonial judge, not one of your soldiers. I have no reason to explain my work to you. If you are dissatisfied with my verdict, feel free to file a complaint with Triumph City; they can send a more professional judge over."

In the Army, the judiciary has a certain degree of independence. It is neither part of the officer system nor the civil official system but belongs to the "Imperial Guard" oversight system.

Namely, directly responsible to the Marshal.

It's just that the Marshal and the Imperial Guard do not involve themselves in the specific affairs of the Army, they only exercise supervisory rights and consider loyalty as an important evaluation factor, so the Imperial Guard hasn't developed into a factional interest group.

The reason for this design has some historical context tied to the formation of the Army system.

After all, early armies consisted entirely of soldiers and their families, and there were no other professions. Even after the court completed trials, it was mostly up to the Imperial Guard to arrest people, and those caught were all soldiers.

This is similar to the Alliance's guards; initially, they were just gatekeepers for the base, but as the population grew, it gradually evolved into a police organization, departments were divided, and the Guard was split off.

However, although the Army's Imperial Guard hasn't developed into a "Southern Legion" or "Civil Official Group"-like interest group, people have their own interests.

After all, not everyone is as honorable and loyal as the Guards.

Moreover, as the size of the Army expanded, more settlements and colonies were developed, and the judicial system of the Army no longer was limited to Triumph City and other core settlements. Many positions were released as territories expanded.

To further their careers, some judges choose to align with other interest groups, leaving the promotion-constrained Triumph City to develop their careers in the colonies.

Meanwhile, local armies do not monopolize judicial authority in their territories and are happy to cooperate with these judges from Triumph City, leading to some exchange of interests.

In a sense, this is one reason why "laws change their flavor" once they leave Triumph City.

The most typical example is the legislation related to protecting slaves' rights.

This legislation was never realized outside Triumph City, and the farther the distance, the lower the efficiency of implementation.

The situation is the same now.

Guryang promised him that if he followed orders, he would help him become the chief judge of all colonies in Poluo Province.

Honestly, this proposal was very tempting, even though the Southern Legion only controlled half of West Sail Port at the moment.

However, every deal is a matter of equal exchange.

Compared to a chief judge's title, the price he'd have to pay was simply too high.

Looking at this unyielding chief judge, Guryang's eyes narrowed.

"You didn't say that earlier."

The chief judge responded without hesitation.

"You also never mentioned how deep the waters were behind this case!"

Guryang's expression stiffened.

Seeing him speechless, the chief judge knew he was right again and chuckled as he said.

"General Giulion, I don't care about your internal or external grudges, nor do I mind providing some assistance judicially."

"But if you want me to be a historical criminal for you, to make my son laugh at me, to let my wife look down on me, to let my neighbors ridicule me, and risk my career and everything for your conspiracy... I'm sorry, you're not worth that much."

Guryang's face turned red with anger as he glared fiercely at the old man.

However, the old man simply nodded slightly and then walked away down the corridor.

Just then, an officer walked up to General Giulion and whispered.

"General, the Crown Prince Akbar from the West Winds Empire has arrived. He is in the military camp now... should we have him come here, or let him wait there?"

"Ignore him for now, let him wait a couple of days."

Guryang glared fiercely at the judge's departing figure, cursed "old impotent trash", and then turned away.

...

Elsewhere in the courtroom, which was filled with cheers and applause, the officers and soldiers of the Southern Legion had hurriedly left, not wanting to stay any longer than necessary.

Although many officers, including Ross, had strong stances, it didn't mean they didn't feel any shame.

Meanwhile, the enthusiastic citizens stepped forward amidst the boiling applause and cheers, embracing the Pangolin who had stepped down from the defendant's seat and warmly patted his shoulder.

"Good job, brother!"

"Thank you for saving my wife and children."

"I salute you, General! We need soldiers like you!"

"These bastards... did so many nasty things behind the scenes!"

"They can't dream of keeping the lid on it!"

The Old Soldier responded to people's enthusiasm while soothing their emotions.

"It's a pity that the evidence we have is too thin, and mere suspicion is not enough to convict a person or a group. But I promise you, I will not give up the appeal, and neither will the people behind me... Three thousand lives need an explanation. Whether it's the one who set the fire, the one who incited, or the one who brought the torch, they will all face the justice they deserve!"

Though he knew in his heart that what he said was more like a delicious lie, he also believed that as long as he did not give up on the pursuit of truth, it would eventually surface.

And justice would indeed be meaningful.

Through the crowded masses, he saw Penny looking at him with teary eyes.

Those were tears of excitement.

He could even imagine how worried she had been before.

He didn't keep her waiting for too long.

The Old Soldier pushed through the crowd and gave her a big hug.

The thing she wanted to do was taken by someone else first.

Penny suddenly felt a bit embarrassed that her thoughts had been seen through, and her cheeks couldn't help but turn red.

Especially with so many eyes focused here, the unspoken blessings in their gazes rendered her speechless with shyness.

However.

Her character was indeed generous, and she soon raised her head, looking into his eyes.

"You once told me my battlefield was in Triumph City; I need to correct you."

She gently straightened his collar with her soft finger.

Her clear eyes revealed a determination that made the member of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group watching her hold their breath involuntarily.

"...This is our war."

"Whether in Triumph City or at West Sail Port, I will stand by you."

"Don't even think of leaving me behind, or bearing all the burdens by yourself!"

...

The bustling courtroom finally concluded, and people left satisfied from the jury seats, while several local workers came in, carrying garbage bags and brooms after everyone else had left.

They had been waiting aside for a long time, finally, the end of this tedious trial came.

The Weilante people certainly had their quirks, with courts and post offices and such, which was eye-opening for those of us from the countryside.

The only pity is that those big-nosed Weilante people are not very bright and can't handle things flexibly.

In their view, that judge was truly amateurish and lacked authority, far less than the decisiveness and dominance of a West Winds noble, and not even as commanding as a baron.

That old man not only let the defendant stand during the trial but also allowed the defendant to whisper with others, what a total lack of decorum!

"...Weilante people might be good at war, but they're no good at passing judgment!"

"Honestly, they might as well have let me do it! What good are fancy words? I say you're guilty, and what could they do about it?"

"You're too extreme; the reasoning wouldn't convince people! You need to be subtle. First whip him 20 times, pour hot sand down his throat, clip his eyelids for a few days, and after tormenting him speechless, let him talk. I guarantee even if he's got a great grievance, he couldn't argue his way out."

"Extreme? You're the extreme one! Just kill him; who needs a reason! It's just chopping off a head, no need for all that effort!"

"Oh well, no matter what, I figure this judge's career is over."

"More than just his career! If I were a Weilante, I definitely wouldn't let him live. If you don't kill as a warning, how will you control things in the future?"

Their voices were low, making sure the Weilante outside couldn't hear them.

After all, the Weilante wouldn't make them judges and might drag them out and bury them instead.

Nearby, an old Lion Clan man sweeping the floor, who seemed somewhat educated, really couldn't listen anymore and eventually let out a couple of grunts.

"...Too bad you're not; you're a Poluo. You can only imagine a high-nosed Poluo lord sitting up there declaring judgments, then behind the scenes, bending to an even greater lord, thinking that the whole Wasteland is just like that."

Not to mention how lowly those methods are, the bottom line for each race is indeed different, determined by many reasons like cultural and ethnic traits.

The Weilante people intrinsically look down upon dogs that wag their tails. A person with such subservience is despised from above, unable to command from below, and eventually marginalized by the whole System.

These big-nosed rules do have their evils, but finding a highly respected, adept at wagging tails and pleasing judge is indeed not easy.

And what truly tears him up is precisely this: the seemingly clever ideas conceived by his compatriots are the very reasons Poluo people are casually treated.

It's not just that Weilante people don't consider them human.

Those exalted celestial emperors, those artful family members, even including themselves... who is not like this?

Maybe he was too pessimistic.

Having seen so much of life, the old man felt whether it was Laxi or Absek, neither could accomplish anything.

This zoo was more like a circus.

The clowns playing animals needed a long-sleeved dancing "master of ceremonies."

He didn't have to know much about natural science, nor be an expert in a particular field.

He only needed one skill, which was to compose a dance for the circus clowns.

And only through that could they live somewhat dignified lives amidst their cunning and complacency.

Yet, whether that could be called hope is uncertain.

The Sun would indeed rise as usual, yet stating day is night here was commonplace.

The loyal would die first, followed by the brave, and lastly, the cunning.

When all the idealists leave the stage, what remains is the battle between hypocrites and true villains.

Whatever the victor, it will be a disaster.

Just two different kinds of disasters.

He loves this land more than anyone and hopes desperately that he is wrong.

Something is ultimately missing here.

Either a true hero, capable of reversing the fate with a solitary effort.

Or civilization itself.

But ultimately, something is lacking.

The person who was stung turned red in the face, but couldn't grasp the key point and squeezed out a speechless rebuttal after a long while.

"I'm a Snake Clan person! What on earth is a Poluo person?"

The others followed suit, shouting.

"What are you showing off for? Still think you're a noble!"

"You old bastard, why didn't those 'Sky Bandits' wipe out your whole family!"

"If I were a Weilante, I'd have buried you already!"

Boomerangs flew chaotically through the air.

The old man shook his head, not feeling humiliated, only pity, and picked up a broom to the corner...

Not far away, a good-looking boy of about fifteen or sixteen walked in here, nervously looking around as if searching for someone.

Two old men followed behind him, their humble demeanor suggesting they were his servants.

The staff passing by here quickly noticed them and walked over impatiently.

"This is a sacred courtroom, unauthorized persons are not allowed to enter."

Seeing someone trying to send him out, the boy flushed with anger and glared at the staff member.

"My name is Akbar Xilan, I'm the prince of the West Winds Empire... I'm here to find General Giulion, I heard he's here!"

The staff member was taken aback and skeptically stared at the boy, an obvious disbelief in his eyes.

Just as he was about to ask for identification, suddenly there were flapping sounds from the side.

A crowd of low caste servants carrying brooms, kneeling to the ground, hurriedly prostrated themselves.

"Your Highness?!"

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

"Aren't you supposed to be in the north?! How come you're here?!"

Looking at the kneeling citizens, Akbar's face showed a humility as if loving the people like his children, raising his hands to lift them figuratively.

"Please rise, everyone, I came here to discuss important matters with friends from the West Winds, continue the work you're doing and don't neglect our friends."

The people kneeling on the ground got up submissively.

After saying that, the boy named Akbar looked at the staff again, a visible smirk on his lips.

"Now, can you take me to see General Giulion?"

Facing that flaunting gaze, the staff member looked at him with a strange expression for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright... wait here, I'll go ask for you."

The Empire has already turned into this mess, he didn't understand why this guy could still smile, or what he had to be proud of.

Maybe he just had a good attitude.

Watching the staff member turn away, Akbar smiled and said.

"Okay, hurry up!"

...

On the other side, General Giulion was in the court's lounge, truthfully reporting the court happenings to the chief of staff of the Southern Legion.

However, after hearing his report, that second-in-command of the Southern Legion showed no reaction, only responded flatly.

"I understand the basic situation, go on with your work."

Seeing the authority figure give no directives, General Giulion anxiously asked.

"...Is there nothing I need to do here?"

He felt it wasn't a good idea to let that Pangolin go back alive, but currently, it wasn't easy to eliminate that guy.

The chief of staff smiled faintly.

"I find what that thousands of leaders called Pangolin said quite interesting."

Giulion couldn't grasp the chief of staff's meaning for a moment and cautiously asked.

"...Which sentence, may I ask?"

The chief of staff spoke in a very soft voice.

"What is your purpose in coming here?"

At the moment he heard these words, Guryang was stunned for a few seconds, and a drop of cold sweat rolled down his forehead as he bowed his head.

"I understand now... I'm sorry, I acted without authorization."

The higher-ups don't want him involved in this matter.

"Removing the messenger of the Civil Official Group through legal means" was entirely his clever interpretation.

Just like his subordinates acting on their own to pour sewage into the dungeon, it was unnecessary and foolish, having not a single positive effect on the situation, and rather it might loss through small negligence.

At that very moment, he suddenly came to his senses and fully understood General Mclen's meaningful words to him...

Seemingly satisfied with his repentance, a voice of approval came from the other end of the communication channel.

"You're a smart person, both Teil Legion Leader and I are optimistic about you, but being too clever is not good, especially when your cleverness might put us in a passive position."

"A leader of Thousands cannot influence the big picture, you don't need to worry about the matters in Triumph City, we have our own deployments to deal with the accusations of the Civil Official Group. As for you, just complete the task assigned to you by Teil Legion Leader, we're more concerned with your performance on the battlefield, not in unnecessary places."

General Giurion's Adam's apple moved slightly, he lowered his head respectfully and said.

"Yes..."

The communication was cut off.

Guryang sighed, tossed the phone with the busy signal back on the table, entirely unaware that his back had been soaked with sweat.

Thinking calmly, whether a leader of Thousands lives or dies indeed changes nothing.

Even if he returns to Triumph City alive, what can be done?

The Civil Official Group in Triumph City are neither mute nor deaf, if they really had any strong evidence, they wouldn't have to wait for that Pangolin to return first.

Relying solely on a few words and indistinct hints is not enough to establish accusations of the Southern Legion conspiring for the West Sail Port incident, even if Absek stands up himself, it holds no meaning.

The Southern Legion carried out its conspiracy very carefully, leaving hardly any traces pointing to the higher levels, the few suspicions can be explained as accidents, which is why the Civil Official Group hasn't launched any accusations against them.

Insufficient accusations would constitute slander, which is a serious matter within the legion.

The result of which is his impulsive action led to this foolish act—in the absence of sufficient evidence, he initiated this trial in the name of the Southern Legion.

Now the Southern Legion must supplement evidence to justify their accusations regarding the "three betrayals".

How did a hero who saved over two hundred Weilante survivors become a traitor in their mouths?

What exactly did he betray?

What is the Southern Legion preparing?

If blown out of proportion, it might alarm the Marshal...

The situation has reached such a point that even if they want to withdraw the lawsuit, it's too late.

If they withdraw the lawsuit, the Civil Official Group in Triumph City will definitely not let it go, they will surely initiate a countersuit immediately, putting the Southern Legion in the defendant's seat, requiring explanations from them as defendants... and things would only be more passive than they are now.

Guryang finally realized he'd done something excessively foolish, which was even more foolish than assassinating that guy in prison... but it's too late to talk about this now.

He shouldn't have stupidly tried to relieve those bigwigs of their worries.

He couldn't help but curse Mclen, that sly old fox, for not warning him earlier.

While Guryang was still anxious, there were suddenly a few gentle knocks at the door of the lounge.

Taking a deep breath, he restrained his anxious expression and cleared his throat towards the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and it was his confidant who entered.

Walking to his desk, that officer reported solemnly.

"Sir, West Winds' imperial prince has reached the court from the military camp, he seems determined to see you."

Not in the mood to deal with that, Guryang said impatiently.

"I said to let him be for two days, tell him to leave."

"Yes..." The officer hesitated for a moment, but nonetheless saluted gracefully and walked towards the door.

Just as he reached the door, Guryang suddenly called out to him again.

"Wait."

The officer, who stopped in his tracks, turned his head back, asking respectfully.

"Do you have any other instructions?"

Guryang didn't speak, he walked alone to the wall, stared at the map hanging on the wall for a while, and suddenly spoke.

"Let him come in to see me."

Not understanding why his boss suddenly changed his mind, but the officer didn't ask much, and simply saluted respectfully.

"Yes."

Without looking at his confidant, Guryang just stared intently at the map.

He originally planned to execute the plan he presented at the combat meeting step by step, slowly nibbling away at Poluo Province lands through vassals.

However, as it seems now, his plan might need to be expedited...

Just as the empire's prince was anxiously meeting the empire's "old friend", on the northeastern border of Poluo Province in Mammoth State, a war deciding the empire's fate was finally concluded...

Chapter 847: The Loyal Die First

"Rebels... Rebels... They're all damn rebels! Aaaaaah!!!"

On the border between Horse State and Mammoth State, crooked trenches outlined a chaotic battlefield.

Thunder rolled through the pouring rain, extinguishing the slowly burning smoke on the dry grass, muffling the wails of the injured soldiers in the trenches.

Standing outside the military tent on the frontline, General Arai Yang looked up at the sky, pounding his chest with his right fist.

The muffled sound did not reveal whether it was crying or laughing, yet it was strangely similar to that of the captain of the Forbidden Army guarding the gates of the Imperial Palace.

It's hateful...

It's despicable!

Unwillingness filled Arai Yang's heart.

He had the skills for war and should have had a grand stage on the battlefield, yet he never expected to fall into such a predicament.

Mid-March.

Nearly two months had passed since the fall of Tiandu.

In just two short months, Tiandu had changed hands twice, and the West Winds had lost almost all of its territory.

The frontline was no different.

After nearly half a year of fierce fighting, the Grey Wolf Army was pushed back to the initial state boundary.

By the end of last year, they could still fight back and forth with Laxi's people, and during the New Year, they even won several battles thanks to tanks provided by the Army.

However, those rebels seemed endless.

One group would fall, and another would surge forward, tearing into his Grey Wolves in the quagmire.

The more they fought, the stronger they became. Initially just a motley crew, now they even used exoskeletons and planes.

In contrast, his Grey Wolf Army grew more fatigued, to the point that even logistics could not keep up.

Especially as the northern part of Poluo Province entered the rainy season.

A sudden heavy rain, already putting his logistics in difficulty, added insult to injury.

The armored units, acting as the spearhead, were stuck in the mud with no time to retreat, faced with the encirclement and divide tactics of the Resistance, and the Mosquito Attack Jets roaring in the sky, they were forced to surrender in formations.

Now the entire Grey Wolf Army had only thirty thousand men left, lacking ammunition and short of food and clothing, an extreme state of despair.

Due to a previous scorched earth policy, there wasn't a village within a hundred miles, making it difficult to even borrow food from locals.

Discontent brewed within the Grey Wolf Army.

No one wanted to continue fighting, nor was there any point in continuing to fight...

The West Winds was already gone.

The signs of the end had come slowly, but when the great building truly collapsed, it happened faster than anyone could have anticipated.

Just months ago, people comforted themselves that a dying camel was still bigger than a horse. Yet in just a few months, even in the entire Poluo Province, there weren't many who even remembered it.

Including his most loyal subordinates.

It's been heard that Absek is a member of the Wolf clan, and since their homeland Wolf State had been liberated, they even considered pledging allegiance to Poluo Country.

"General... we can't fight anymore, our logistics are cut off."

Watching the general who was wailing in the rain, Staff Officer Gopal knelt on the ground, ignoring the rainwater swallowed into his throat, looking up helplessly at him.

"If we turn south now and take Horse State... perhaps we could preserve the last breath of the West Winds. Once the Tiger Army moves north and takes Horse State, we won't have any chance left!"

In truth, this was the worst course of action.

The best option was to surrender to the Mammoth Nation, the middle option to surrender to the Tiger Army, and the worst to surrender to Poluo Country.

Yet facing the impenetrable Arai Yang, he couldn't articulate those real solutions.

Gopal truly believed now.

This guy was a true loyalist!

They had countless opportunities to become independent, yet he abandoned none.

His name would have a place in the history of Poluo Province...

But why...

Did he have to be my general!

Gopal was so anxious he almost had a heart attack.

"Shut up!!!"

Arai Yang suddenly roared, interrupting those treasonous words.

The roar was like a thunderclap, startling Gopal almost into collapsing onto the ground.

Hatred was thickly etched across his face, and Arai Yang wished he could chew up the raindrops on his lips.

"Do you think I'm Laxi... that treacherous dog? I am Arai Yang! I am the Empire's War God!"

Gopal looked at him despairingly, his lips trembling.

"But the Empire... the Empire has already..."

The words "fallen" drowned in the rain.

His own heart was also full of reluctance.

If only they could fight a dignified battle, but until now, they kept losing at the hands of their own.

Starting from Jinjaron Harbor.

If Prince Dilip weren't such an imbecile, stuck in the city and getting dizzy from being battered by that Laxi, even if they suffered some losses at the hands of those uncouth people, they wouldn't have been driven to swim in the Everflow River.

It was the disgrace of his life.

And the shame of the entire Grey Wolf Army.

Arai Yang knew what his staff officer still wanted to say, but he simply didn't want to listen.

After a long while, as if he had come to a realization, he suddenly gave a long sigh.

"You go."

"I..." Gopal was stunned, not understanding what he meant.

Arai Yang was silent for a moment, continuing to speak at a calm pace.

"Whether you go north or south, I won't stop you. With your talents, being a general is a bit difficult, but working as a staff officer shouldn't be a problem."

He looked toward the distant trenches, as if speaking to Gopal, or perhaps to himself.

"You've been with me so long, betting all you've got, just for some fame, to return home in glory. But now that fame is gone, and many brothers are left disabled, forced to rebel... I can't keep you with a clear conscience."

"Take the remaining men and leave."

In the torrential rain, it was silent, with only the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the ground.

Gopal's eyes widened, staring in disbelief at his general's back, unable to find words for a while.

He guessed what he was about to do, but didn't know how to stop him.

And just at that moment, Arai Yang shouted once more.

"Get out!!"

"Yes!"

Gopal shouted hoarsely as he accepted the order, gritting his teeth and crawling up from the muddy land, turning his head with every step, staggering toward the military camp.

The rain blurred his vision.

It also blurred Arai Yang.

"Clatter——"

The rain fell even harder.

Everywhere roared with the sound of wind and thunder, as if it were the apocalypse two hundred years ago, seemingly about to swallow the whole world.

He didn't know how long he stood in the rain.

In a daze, Arai Yang's vision pierced through the rain curtains and saw many human figures.

Those people stood silently outside the trenches, on the ruins of the rain-fog-covered village, just watching him in silence.

Arai Yang widened his eyes, but those people disappeared again, until the rain blurred his vision once more, and then he saw them again.

At this moment, he suddenly recalled who those people were.

They were the wronged souls who died on the state's border...

They came to claim their lives.

From him.

And from the empire he guarded.

"Hahaha!"

Arai Yang suddenly laughed.

He leaned back, laughing wildly for a long time, then suddenly drew the pistol from his waist.

So there really are ghosts in this world...

He used to think it was just a joke.

"I curse you..."

Arai Yang's face contorted, unlocking the safety, pressing it against his own jaw.

"Laxi..."

"And all of you... all the treacherous ministers and rebels... none of you will die a good death!"

"Even if I become a vengeful spirit, even if I never reincarnate... I will pull you down into hell!"

"I'll be waiting for you there! Waiting for you to come down to accompany me! I'll have one more real battle with you!!!"

Suddenly, a rolling thunder roared from the sky.

As if decreed by heaven, Arai Yang let out his final roar and then forcefully pulled the trigger, marking the final stroke of "loyalty."

"Bang——!"

The flash of fire, he crashed to the ground.

In the last moment before his consciousness fell into the abyss, he vaguely recalled that a certain Ten Thousand Leader under his command had died just like this.

At that time, he only felt pity; that person didn't need to die after all, but now thinking about it, it seemed it was he who couldn't see clearly.

Long, long ago, his legs had already been buried in the red soil, just couldn't be laid to rest for a long time.

Perhaps, he should have died long ago...

...

The torrential rain fell for five days and nights, only slightly ceasing on the morning of the sixth day.

However, this year's Mammoth State was unlike previous years; although the Tasang River flooded for a while, it didn't turn the entire southeastern part of the state into a swamp.

Laxi was a man who honored his debts.

Though he blamed the dead for the riverbank bombing, he cleaned up the mess nonetheless.

Since the implementation of the labor export policy, the Mammoth State Authority had used cement bought from West Sail Port to build a larger dam on the Tasang River, equipped with generators, and planned a specialized flood reservoir zone following the advice of Alliance hydrological and geological experts.

The original riverbanks were private properties of the nobles, but now this dam would serve everyone in Mammoth State.

Furthermore, the authorities extended irrigation channels from the lands owned by the nobles to various villages accommodating displaced people.

Even though the elders of the Moon Clan Resistance Army didn't like his style, they had to admit that this guy was indeed capable in some sense.

He was tackling specific problems with specific methods...

In the military camp.

Sawa, the captain of the assault team, lifted the tent flap and walked into the camp, looked at Laxi who was gazing at the map, and reported.

"The Grey Wolf Army has retreated."

Laxi was not surprised at all.

Had the rain not lasted so long, the five divisions he deployed at the border might have already surrounded the other side.

"Where did they go?"

Sawa said in a low voice.

"They went south..."

Southward...

They actually went southward.

Laxi was dazed for a while, feeling a sudden pang of melancholy, it seemed Arai Yang indeed despised him greatly.

Heading south was the worst of plans.

Whether joining the Tiger Army or establishing autonomy in the Horse State, there was no future, perhaps not even as good as going west to try betting on Absek's tolerance and magnanimity.

Tiger State faces the sea on one side, while three sides are strong neighbors, leaving no room to open strategic space.

The location determined that no matter how big the local military factions grow, they can only become mountain lords, and two tigers can't share one mountain.

If he were in Arai Yang's position, he would surely head north to join himself, only he would employ him heavily.

After all, the Moon Clan Resistance Army was not a monolithic entity, even from a balancing point of view, it would be beneficial to take him in.

Seeing Laxi's melancholy gaze, Sawa continued in a deep voice.

"Moreover, we captured several deserters from the Grey Wolf Army at the border; according to them... their general is dead."

"Dead?! Arai Yang?" Laxi stared bewilderedly at him, stepped forward to grasp his shoulders, "How could it be?! How did he die?!"

Looking at the anxious face of his superior, Sawa let out a bitter smile, shook his head, and said.

"...I don't know, I just heard it was suicide."

Laxi released his shoulder, his eyes vacant, standing dumbfounded for quite a while.

A moment later, he finally seemed to come back to his senses and said to his subordinates.

"Spread the word, Arai Yang died in the bombing. We won this battle."

"That guy wasn't good, but he was a respectable opponent... Half-mast for him."

Suicide is too disgraceful.

That guy shouldn't have had such an ending.

After all, he had been his opponent for more than half a year. He wanted to give him a bit of face back.

Shava didn't ask much, just nodded.

"Yes."

...

"...Extra! Extra! Mosquito Attack Jet shows its might! Empire's War God dies! Gray Wolf Army flees!"

"West Winds is finished!"

On the streets of Jinga Lun Port, a newsboy with a satchel on his shoulder roamed the streets, shouting, and passersby fished out four-gallon coins to buy a hot-off-the-press newspaper from his hands.

Seeing the news printed on extra papers, the crowd on the street immediately started talking in astonished whispers.

"Arai Yang actually died?!"

"And by a plane bombing!"

"Damn, that guy should have died long ago!"

"I wonder if Witch Camel might be so mad they'll die to accompany him."

"Hahaha!"

The street was full of noisy banter; they couldn't find a single person shedding tears for the Empire.

Just a dozen kilometers away on the Everflow River, a man bedridden with illness furiously hurled the newspaper in his hand to the ground.

"Ungrateful wretch!"

Witch Camel cursed, his eyes bulging like a goldfish, and suddenly started coughing.

The eunuchs beside him were startled and rushed to him. Some felt his pulse, some held a towel intending to wipe his sweat, but they were pushed away by Witch Camel.

"Get out!"

That voice was like thunder, scaring the eunuchs to kneel on the ground, retreating to the side on their knees.

Hearing the sounds from the "Sleeping palace," Prince Dilip walked in from outside, just in time to see the newspaper on the ground.

He instinctively wanted to bend down to pick it up, but upon seeing the headline, he sensibly retracted his hand.

[Akbar Xilan arrives at West Sail Port! Meeting with Southern Legion Three Star Ten Thousand Leader Guryang, discussing establishing a new West Winds royal court in the Northern Three States.]

Such a splendid new establishment.

They aren't even bothering to pretend anymore.

Prince Dilip sighed lightly in his heart and walked to Witch Camel's bedside.

"Your Majesty... You should listen to the doctor's advice, watch less news, and don't harm your health."

Since the last time he fainted, Witch Camel's health had been declining by the day, and now he couldn't even get out of bed.

Looking at Prince Dilip's concerned gaze, Witch Camel suddenly grinned, propping himself up on the bed with his elbow, sitting slightly upright.

"Dilip... Do you know why I didn't take you eastwards back then?"

Why else, because the Royal Army was to the west...

Prince Dilip lamented silently, inwardly sour that His Majesty truly hurt his brain, yet he dared not say anything aloud, keeping his head low.

"Your Majesty... Please pardon my ignorance, I don't know."

A hint of rosy color appeared on Witch Camel's face, and the corners of his mouth curled into a light smile.

"We and the Army are actually both colonizers, only our targets are different... so we are natural allies. It's not determined by geography, but by something more essential."

"Yet it is precisely because we are both colonizers, we can only enjoy fortune together, not share hardship... Once we fall into hardship, they will mercilessly sink their teeth into us."

Many things cannot be known when in the midst but are clear from the outside.

It was only after leaving Tiandu that he realized a few things.

Those old nobles cheering 'His Majesty is wise' didn't genuinely think he was wise.

Those watching from the riverside genuinely regarded him as a monkey to watch.

Previously, he lamented that he was surrounded by fools, thinking there were few usable personnel in the entire Poluo Province, only to be awakened from the dream upon arriving at Jin Galun Port.

It wasn't that Poluo Province lacked usable people, but those truly capable weren't willing to work for him, and his tolerance couldn't accommodate them; thus, naturally over time, only real fools and cleverly pretending ones remained around him.

Perhaps he really should have died earlier.

Witch Camel sighed long and hard, suddenly feeling sorry for those ministers who suffered with him.

They had it tough...

"Dilip, what I regret most now is sending Akbar to the north... Back then, I only thought I shouldn't put all the eggs in one basket, leaving a trace of bloodline for the West Winds royal court, not realizing it caused all survivors in Poluo Province to suffer."

"That wretched child can't see clearly... The Weilante People are wolves in human skin. But I can't blame him, I taught him personally, yet I myself wasn't clear-headed, only realizing it at the end."

Prince Dilip hastily raised his head, but Witch Camel's darkened forehead startled him.

"What are you saying... Your Majesty, what's with saying at the end?! We still have three armies, as long as they convene at Jin Galun Port, reclaiming West Winds is only a matter of time—"

"Gone," Witch Camel waved his hand, coughed, and forced a wine-red hue on his face, smiling dryly, "Yesterday I had a dream, guess who I saw? It was that Arai Yang rascal... Haha, the guy was kneeling outside my door. I called him in to talk, but he got up and left."

Sweat began to form on Prince Dilip's forehead.

He had indeed heard some rumors, but he didn't expect these rumors to reach His Majesty's ears so quickly.

Who brought these messages to His Majesty's side?!

Not just the entire Empire, couldn't they even control those around themselves?!

Prince Dilip broke out in a cold sweat, but Witch Camel was indifferent, lamenting to himself.

"I let him down, and let down the soldiers of the Gray Wolf Army... They were all loyal lads, and the most loyal lads in the whole Empire. The incapable one is I, not them."

Prince Dilip knelt on the ground, pressing his forehead tightly against the floor, pleading desperately.

"Your Majesty... Please don't say more, your health..."

Now, neither saying anything nor doing anything would help; knowing too much is worse than knowing nothing; staying alive is the most crucial thing.

Now that the muddle-headed crown prince has gone to West Sail Port, if anything happens to His Majesty, it won't be as simple as establishing a new court; the Empire's rightful claim would indeed fall into the hands of the Army!

Nevertheless, Witch Camel didn't heed to his dissuasion, continuing to speak on his own.

"No! I must say... My body can no longer bear it; unless I finish my words, I won't find peace..."

As he spoke, he coughed twice, and this time a trace of blood came up.

The nearest eunuch saw the blood, turned pale, crawled up from the floor, and hurriedly grabbed a pill from the tray on the bedside table.

"Your Majesty, take your medicine..."

"Get out!"

Witch Camel roared, pushing him over, and sat up as if revived.

"I don't want medicine!"

This medicine he took every day but never felt better; in fact, his condition only worsened.

Even if he were foolish, he still sensed something — someone wanted him dead.

That person wasn't the Alliance.

Nor was it Jinjaron Harbor.

Not even Laxi, who hated him, or those dissenting warlords.

Witch Camel glared with bulging eyes at Dilip, who was fearfully kneeling, as if these matters had exhausted all his strength.

He extended a trembling index finger, pointing at his brother, and with his dying breath, spoke his last words.

"I, the Emperor of West Winds..."

"I wish to pass the throne to..."

Yet, cruel fate intervened, perhaps due to too many injustices.

Witch Camel, mouth agape, nearly uttered Dilip's name, but at this last moment, he exhaled his final breath.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!!! Why are you all kneeling there? Get up quickly and save him!"

Seeing his brother fall on the bed, Dilip cried his heart out, hysterically shouting, urging the flustered eunuchs to action.

He had no desire to become emperor.

He only wanted Witch Camel to wake up and take back this heavy burden.

Tears filled the room.

The eunuchs scrambled to lift the emperor, stuffing pills into his mouth, giving him water to drink, only to find he had taken his last breath.

"Your Majesty!"

"Wake up, Your Majesty!"

"Wooo... aahhh!!"

The mournful cries filled the entire room, not only from Prince Dilip but almost everyone cried out, tears streaming down their faces.

Except for one person.

A young palace maid.

Eighteen years old, she was blessed with beauty and grace, resembling a midsummer lotus.

Born into a minor noble family in Jinjaron Harbor, she lived a pampered life, much like the men and women described in "The Story After the Storm".

Later, when Governor Nihak was imprisoned, her family fell into decline, and as the second daughter, she too had to step into the public eye to make a living, working at a theater in the port district.

Adaptable by nature, she had seen the prosperity of the new era and didn't miss the prestige of the old days.

Money was all she needed.

As long as she had money, she could live better than before, even more like a noble than her father, who begged on the royal merchant ship with tears streaming down his face.

Just two months ago, her distant uncle found her, asking her to do something.

He promised her a huge sum of money upon success, more than she could ever earn in her lifetime.

She agreed without hesitation.

With her uncle's help, she joined the troupe on this ship to perform, effortlessly catching Witch Camel's eye during a banquet and entering the palace.

Her task was simple: switch Witch Camel's prescribed medicine with sugar pills and occasionally mention matters about Jinjaron Harbor beside him.

No need to overly praise, just make him realize how much of a failure he was as emperor.

Outside the cabin, she pulled a bottle of sugar pills from her sleeve, dumping them all into the river, watching them vanish in the undulating waters.

She didn't care whether they were sugar pills or poison; these things no longer mattered.

The useless old man was long since rooted in Red Soil, whether he died sooner or later made no difference, not even if someone gave him a push.

In fact, he should thank her for sparing him from being a defeated king.

Tucking a small earring onto her crystalline earlobe, her red lips curled into a faint smile.

"Uncle."

"That man is dead; can you finally tell me the password to that card?"

The rushing river buried the last of the plots.

While the empire's old ministers were still in mourning, a telegram, after various twists and turns, finally reached West Sail Port.

The military camp's command center.

Holding the telegram presented by his trusted aide, General Giulion finally cracked a smile.

Since the trial half a month ago, he hadn't had much good news, but now at last, something worth a genuine smile had occurred.

"Very good!"

Leaving those words, he slapped the telegram on the command table, then moved to the map.

Studying the strategic arrangements on the map for a long while, he turned to his aide and ordered.

"Terminate 'Migrant Birds' plan, initiate 'Cuckoo' plan, have Akbar prepare to ascend the throne and inherit Witch Camel's position as emperor immediately."

"Also, issue an ultimatum to the Mammoth State Authority, demanding they immediately withdraw troops from the Northern Three States and return them to West Winds' new king, Prince Akbar! The Army will not abandon its allies; if these rebels do not comply, we will avenge Arai Yang!"

"Additionally, send a telegram to Poluo Country in West Winds' court's name, requesting military passage rights. If they refuse, we cannot guarantee their absolute safety."

His aide saluted upon hearing this.

"Yes!"

Watching his aide leave the tent, General Giulion returned his gaze to the map, segmented into pieces by strategic lines, with a joyful smile.

Currently, the Northern Three States were under Mammoth Nation's control, with around five divisions deployed on Dog State's border, primarily light infantry and artillery.

Three ten-thousand troop units could break through there.

Once Dog State was captured, he could start the second stage of the offensive—from both the west and north—attacking the heart of Poluo Country, Tiandu in Ox State.

All preparations were ready, just waiting for a shot to be fired.

He had planned for this day for a long time.

The show was finally about to begin!

Chapter 848: Countdown to War

Jingalon Harbor.

Alliance Military Base.

Seated on the bench near the save point, Fang Chang was meticulously flipping through the Survivor's Daily in his hand.

Due to matters related to the Baiyue Corporation's business dealings, he returned to Dawn City early last month, and then went to Ideal City for some Long Moon Group business, only making his way back to Jingalon Harbor last night after several transfers.

He had been following the situation in the Poluo Province region on forums, even offering some immature advice to newcomers involved in the events.

Still, to better understand the local situation, he followed the suggestion of Governor's Mansion secretary Yoder and went to the newspaper office to buy a compilation of the Survivor's Daily.

This is a publishing method developed independently by the local Survivor's Daily office, innovating upon the groundwork of Dawn City's Survivor Daily.

With breaking news occurring frequently in the area, additional editions were printed every few days, making it easy to miss critical information if not careful.

And in a port brimming with financial and import-export prosperity, information meant money.

Thus, at the readers' request, the Survivor's Daily extracts critical information from the month's headlines and special editions every month, compiling them into a summary edition for the public to digest or collect.

In addition to this, there are "quarterly compilations" and "annual compilations," with the cover usually featuring the prominent figures of that quarter or year.

Currently, the Survivor's Daily in populated areas like Dawn City and Giant Stone City has also introduced this publication method.

Although Jingalon Harbor's Survivor Daily is a mimic of the former, the Alliance isn't too particular about this.

After all, as the Manager once said, even voices of progress emerging from a decayed coffin are indeed progress.

And at this moment, Fang Chang held in his hand the quarterly compilation of Jingalon Harbor's Survivor Daily, which sorted through events that had occurred in recent times.

["Back from the dead"! Survivor of the church massacre returns to West Sail Port, suspected manifestation of the Silver Moon Goddess!?]

[Absek issued a public statement claiming he personally authorized Anvo to secretly transfer the survivors inside the Silver Moon Sect Church, stating that reform should not aim for bloodshed, even if it is Vellante people's blood.]

[Poluo Country's representative Anvo gives an interview, revealing little-known details of the West Sail Port massacre! Ordered by Anush himself, civilians in the port district were massacred, with over two hundred survivors hanging by a thread!]

[The messenger "Pangolin" visiting Poluo Country on behalf of Triumph City was arrested by the Southern Legion, highlighting fierce factional strife within the legion!]

[The second blazing fire!? The West Sail Port massacre resurfaces! Numerous civilian organizations like the Family Meeting faced bloody repression by the legion, with several Alliance figures expelled.]

[West Sail Port authorities sign an executive order banning the Family Meeting! Over 7,000 family members arrested by authorities, nearly a thousand executed by firing squad!]

[Alliance Foreign Minister Cheng Yan strongly condemns the Southern Legion's barbaric actions! Demands they immediately cease persecution of innocent survivors!]

[High-level internal strife in Poluo Country suspected?! "Leopard King" Nigeli harshly criticizes Absek's appeasement, handing West Sail Port survivors over for execution by the legion!]

[Military advice gaining ground?! Protests resurface in Tiandu! Reformist grassroots officers parade through the streets in protest, demanding the government abolish West Sail Port-related treaties, forsaking all fantasies, and complete dissociation!]

[Absek responds passively to grassroots officers' demands, stating Poluo Country currently lacks sufficient strength to reclaim West Sail Port and will not abandon negotiations with Triumph City.]

[General Giulion responds forcefully to the Alliance's accusations, stating West Sail Port is a gift from the Empire to the legion, and the Alliance has no right to meddle, while continuing to reinforce the West Sail Port area!]

[Anger of the gods and men alike! West Sail Port incident lands on Dawn City's Survivor's Daily!]

[Giant Stone City Workers' Association president and city master Lovett states they will not abandon the suffering laborers, Giant Stone City will support West Sail Port in their own way!]

[Protests erupt in Jingalon Harbor, Tiger State, Leopard State, and Mammoth State, with participants mostly young laborers, officers, and classroom students, requesting authorities to declare war on the Southern Legion in addition to supporting West Sail Port survivors.]

[Craftsmen representatives in Jingalon Harbor sharply criticize the United Federation for being weak and incompetent! The legion provokes time and again, yet the Federation throws cold water on their own people!]

[Family Meeting exiles take refuge in Poluo Country, President Zayed gives an exclusive front-line interview with our reporters in Lion City, complaining about the unfair treatment laborers faced in West Sail Port.]

[Hero or coward? West Sail Port demands the extradition of Family Meeting President Zayed, Absek resolutely refuses, yet remains vigilant against Family Meeting everywhere!]

[Frontline tensions continue to rise, Southern Legion deploys 902mm heavy artillery!]

[Negotiations succeed! Poluo Province state representatives sign a ceasefire agreement under the Alliance's mediation!!]

[Grey Wolf Army defeated, former troops roam in the western Mare State.]

[Nearly 2,000 officers from Mammoth State, Tiger State, Leopard State, and Lowell State head to Tiandu! Poluo Province's united front taking initial shape!]

The final report was about the Emperor of West Winds, but it only consisted of a few words.

[The death of the Witch Camel.]

Having read the newspaper to the end, Fang Chang closed it and placed it aside.

At this moment, Old White, who had just finished teaching the young officers at Jingalon Harbor, walked over, sat beside him, and said with a smile.

"Why didn't you say a word when you arrived? I thought you were still on the plane."

Fang Chang smiled faintly and said.

"I just got off the plane last night, then went to the Governor's Mansion for a meeting, and I haven't had a break since... I was planning to tell you after going offline later, but since the save point is right here in the barracks, I figured I'd just come over."

"Hang on a moment."

With that, Old White got up and went to the vending machine next to the save point, bought two cans of coffee, and handed one can to Fang Chang.

Reaching out to take the coffee, Fang Chang pulled the tab on the can, brought it to his mouth, and took a sip.

"Thanks... To think there's even a vending machine here."

"Well, it's been almost two months since this save point opened," Old White said with a casual smile, "by the way, how's the space elevator going? Is the progress smooth?"

Fang Chang replied casually.

"It's going well. Somehow, the Academy suddenly changed its previous non-cooperative stance and even proposed to transfer the gravity well technology to us."

Old White's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Not cheap terms, I bet?"

Fang Chang nodded.

"Indeed, not cheap. They listed a whole catalog of conditions that's even more verbose than a company's contract... But to sum it up simply, it's about technology equity. And when the space elevator is completed, we need to build them a colony ship as per their standards, not lower than the stranded Pioneer from Ideal City, and then they will return the shares they hold as agreed."

Old White chuckled bitterly.

"That could end up costing more than the space elevator."

He had seen what the Pioneer looked like.

The tallest building in Ideal City looked like a chopstick next to that thing.

Fang Chang nodded again.

"It does seem that way for now, but it's not without benefits for us. They want us to help them produce it, so they have to provide us with the corresponding technology. For the past two centuries, they have been sorting the technological heritage of the Prosperity Epoch. That's going to be a huge fortune."

Old White paused and rubbed his chin in thought for a while.

"Thinking about it like that, it's actually quite profitable."

Fang Chang smiled faintly.

"More than just quite profitable... Our friends in Ideal City were all shocked. They've spent over a century without being able to pry open the Academy's mouth, and we managed to do it in just two or three years, and even got them to bring out so many good things."

"The engineers at Ideal Group are pondering how to apply anti-gravity technology to architecture, which will usher in a new profit growth point for the companies... Of course, it's the same for us, and being a blank slate in many fields, we'll grow even faster than they do."

Knowing the Alliance Managers, that gentleman is unlikely to make a losing deal.

He must have seen this day coming from the very start.

Now the space elevator, evolving from an unprofitable research project, is gradually becoming an international engineering project that can bring a win-win situation for all parties involved.

Although most games balance and enhance the abilities of NPCs for playability, he couldn't help but admire the tactics of that Chu Guang.

No matter in capability or vision, that person was one of the best.

"... There's not much to say about the space elevator. At this stage, it's mainly the work of scholars and engineers. What we need to do is create a stable environment for them so they can fully unleash their talents and creativity."

"The most pressing issue right now is the situation in Poluo Province. As it stands, this land has already entangled the main survivor forces of the entire Central Plains Continent."

Fang Chang paused for a moment, took a sip of his coffee, and looked at Old White before continuing.

"By the way, have the cause of Witch Camel's death been found out?"

This guy died so coincidentally that it's hard not to suspect it was premeditated.

Old White's expression turned a bit odd at this question.

"... You might not believe it, but that guy died of diabetes."

"Dia... Diabezz?" Fang Chang was stunned, completely at a loss.

Many incurable diseases in reality could only have symptom management, but on the wasteland, they are just minor ailments, not only having treatments but also multiple solutions.

For instance, the simplest and most straightforward method is to replace the faulty part.

If that doesn't work, they could even let Xiaoyu touch it and gamble on a glorious evolution.

In this era that puts cyberpunk 2077 to shame, Fang Chang couldn't comprehend how anyone could die of diabetes.

Even if that guy didn't have Alliance healthcare, money shouldn't have been an issue, right?!

Old White also had a complex expression on his face.

"His medical records indicated that months ago, he was sent to a hospital on the outskirts of Jinjaron Harbor for examination, and he was diagnosed with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The doctor advised him to get an implant, but he was rejected by a bunch of empire ministers in his circle, so it was changed to medication treatment..."

After pausing for a moment, he sighed and said again.

"Don't say you're surprised, even I feel those ministers have no good intentions. Each one cried miserably, but I bet they all secretly wished that guy would die sooner."

Standing from the emperor's or royal family's standpoint, an alliance uninterested in land is clearly more reliable than the army, even if they have a better relationship with the army.

However, from the ministers' standpoint, it may not necessarily be so.

This country was never theirs, anyway, so working for someone is just working for someone.

The fault of feudalism lies here.

An ostensibly stable entity is actually maintained through mutual attrition among various classes. This also leads to the entire empire appearing as a behemoth, but its cohesion output is negative.

Now that Witch Camel is dead, this West Wind has also finally taken its last breath.

"...As for Witch Camel's cause of death, let's leave it to the local police to investigate. We won't get involved in this fuss; it's meaningless anyway. He couldn't do much when alive, let alone after his death."

Fang Chang touched his nose with his index finger and continued to ask Old White.

"What about the army? It's probably them who killed him, and I guess they got the news before us."

Old White nodded, his expression serious.

"The intelligence we received is pretty much what you guessed. The army almost immediately announced the emperor's demise after Witch Camel died, while Prince Dilip aboard the ship was still pondering how to seal the news, keep it confined to the ship..."

Fang Chang showed a wry smile.

"What was he thinking?"

Isn't this just like covering one's ears and thinking others can't hear them?

Old White shook his head.

"Who knows? Maybe Witch Camel told him something. Only he knows exactly... Anyway, shortly after, Prince Akbar, who had fled to West Sail Port, declared himself the successor to the throne, setting his coronation date three days from today."

After a pause, Old White continued.

"At the same time, General Giulion, the chief commander of the Poluo Province's combat area within the Southern Legion, issued a final ultimatum to the Mammoth Nation, asking them to withdraw from the Northern Three States within 72 hours and return the illegally occupied territories."

Fang Chang squinted slightly.

"If Laxi accepts their demands, their next target would be Bull State in the Poluo Country."

"Yes," Old White nodded, "we think so too, so we got in touch with Laxi... that guy is easy to talk to, completely different from Buseik, never harboring any illusions about negotiating with the army from the start."

"Buseik is our biggest hidden danger," Fang Chang's gaze fell on the newspaper beside him, "unlike Laxi, that guy doesn't have the guts to be a tyrant, nor does he want to delegate power, indecisiveness is a big taboo."

Old White sighed.

"Vanus is also worried about that guy, but right now we don't have a better solution either; we can't expect every card we hold to be a good one."

"That's true... only seventy-two hours remain until war breaks out."

Placing the coffee on the bench, Fang Chang picked up the newspaper he had set aside.

"Luckily, a unified front has now formed; the only issue remaining is whether, if the Southern Legion declares war on the Mammoth Nation in the name of the West Wind Empire, this becomes an internal war of the empire. If we directly dispatch troops, it might overturn the achievements already made by the Sticky Community."

Not only the results of the Sticky Community but it might even lead to another Battle of the Falling Leaves.

If this fire really starts, the entire Central Continent could be engulfed.

Before, the Alliance was only dealing with the Eastern Legion's eastward expansionists; moreover, they were crippled by the Grand Canyon. But now, they face the entire Southern Legion that has reached a consensus.

The difficulty of this matter lies not just on the battlefield but even more so in the areas beyond it.

Seeing Fang Chang frown deeply, Old White smiled and said.

"Actually... you needn't worry about what you just mentioned. The Manager even made a special phone call yesterday regarding this matter."

Fang Chang put down the newspaper, looking at Old White with surprise.

"What did he say on the phone?"

Old White replied with a smile.

"He told us not to worry, the Alliance's foreign minister, after concluding their visit to Jinjaron Harbor, went with Bennott's introduction to the Eastern Legion's capital for negotiations and has already achieved some results."

"I don't know the specifics, but according to the negotiation results, the Eastern Legion has clearly stated they won't participate in the war initiated unilaterally by the Southern Legion. Moreover, they hope we can treat them as an 'independent entity' rather than as a vassal of Triumph City or an ally of the Southern Legion."

Fang Chang paused for a moment, then asked further.

"What about Triumph City?"

Old White continued speaking.

"It's the same with Triumph City. They even hope we can give the Southern Legion a profound lesson, preferably like the lesson the Grand Canyon gave to the Eastern Legion. Although they cannot provide us with more support, they promise that this war will not affect our cooperation and will not escalate into a full-scale war... However, in turn, they hope we minimize the spread of the war to each other's homeland to prevent too many civilian casualties."

"Based on the above reasons, the Manager has issued new instructions for the deployment on the frontline. In the absence of a direct declaration of war from the Southern Legion, we will also not declare war on them, but rather continue to respond with equivalent military strategies."

Looking at Fang Chang's surprised face, Old White grinned and continued speaking.

"If they invade Poluo Province as mercenaries to help the pseudo-West Winds regime realize their ambitions, we'll dissolve into smaller units and head to the frontline, participating as volunteer fighters!"

...

With Prince Akbar's succession, the South Legion's ultimatum has completely lit the fuse on the powder keg that is Poluo Province.

The war between the West Winds Empire's exiled regime and the Mammoth Nation has entered its final countdown.

Both sides are increasing their stakes on their respective borders, with the Vellante "mercenaries" on one side, and the Moon Clan Resistance and alliance "volunteers" on the other.

Ultimately, what cannot be obtained through conspiracies and strategies will be decided on the battlefield.

Anyone with a keen eye can see who stands behind each warring side and what the war goals are.

However, even those who can discern some clues from the hints can only silently pray that the disaster doesn't spread too far...

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group boarded the ferry heading to Triumph City, with Penny accompanying him by his side.

Yarman fulfilled his promise by opening a route to Haiye Province for the survivors of West Sail Port with his fleet.

There, refugee Moon people, dark-skinned expeditionary soldiers, and a group of survivors from other regions of the Wasteland will establish a new home on that land barren of everything but hope...

Meanwhile, the Army's thirty ten-thousand troops have landed at West Sail Port, completing the final preparations before the invasion, with military personnel visible throughout the port.

On the other side, the faraway City of Dawn remains peaceful, much like the Southern Legion's capital, Yavente, with no signs of the impending war visible in the streets.

This is actually Chu Guang's intention.

Since this war won't escalate to a full-scale war, mobilization isn't necessary.

Moreover, the Alliance is no longer the small organization struggling on the line of death; there's a lot to do, and it's impossible to exert full effort for everything.

The Alliance Building's No. 1 meeting room.

Chu Guang sat quietly at the conference table, browsing the forum, occasionally checking who was praising his handsome looks, killing time before the meeting began.

After around twenty minutes, he sighed softly and spoke to the holographic screen.

"Are you ready yet, Xiao Qi?"

A pale blue holographic image popped out from the side of the screen, and Xiao Qi looked at him pitifully and said,

"Um, sorry master... The communication range is really too long, and the communication conditions in the Great Desert are extremely unstable. Our lines here are smooth, but it seems they haven't connected to us."

The Eastern Legion's development in the Great Desert is very low, almost equivalent to none, and only recently have they built some outposts on the west side.

But thanks to this, both sides can barely manage "cross-region" communication through Pioneer City as a "signal relay station," supplemented by command vehicles and radio stations.

However, the intermittent signal issue still exists.

Just like now.

"You don't need to apologize for others' mistakes, I'm just habitually urging..." Chu Guang glanced at the time on the screen, "It seems our friends aren't very eager for this meeting, maybe another day would be more suitable."

His time wasn't unlimited, though perhaps he could stay here waiting indefinitely.

Just as Chu Guang was about to get up and leave, a communication icon marked with an exclamation mark on the holographic screen suddenly flashed into a signal.

"Got it!" Xiao Qi's eyes lit up and disappeared from the screen instantly.

At the same time, a beam of pale blue light appeared directly in front of the conference table, and a torn holographic image gradually emerged from the beam.

"Ahem! Pleased to meet you, esteemed Alliance Managers. Unfortunately, our communications officer encountered a sandstorm, apologies for making you wait a bit… Hope it wasn't too long of a wait."

Chu Guang wasn't unfamiliar with the plain face in front of him.

After all, over the past year, exchanges between the Eastern Legion and the Alliance weren't few, and he always had various opportunities to see him.

However, face-to-face interaction was a first.

Putting away the holographic computer pen, Chu Guang calmly looked at the man standing in the holographic beam and smiled indifferently.

"I'm afraid I did wait quite a while, but fortunately, it seems my waiting was worth it after all."

After a brief pause, he continued,

"… It's nice to meet you, Legion Leader of the Eastern Legion, Mr. Salen."

Chapter 849: The Unscrupulous Southern Legion

Honestly, Salen's image completely overturned Chu Guang's impression of the Eastern Legion, and utterly changed his perception of the identity of a Legion Leader.

He doesn't seem like an ordinary officer, or even the typical military personnel, not only his conversation is impeccable, but his gestures also carry the elegance reminiscent of old-line nobility, even more so than Bennott who is a civil official.

Chu Guang couldn't help but think that if this guy had a bottle of red wine as decoration, he could be directly placed into a picture frame without any sense of dissonance.

Especially the gentlemanly and harmonious temperament and depth, which surprisingly somewhat resemble his own.

Of course, the resemblance is just that—somewhat similar.

Just as the Eastern Legion and the Alliance have differences in most matters, there are intersections where their interests align in some matters.

For instance, in matters related to the Eastern World.

Compared to the Southern Legion, whose colonial lands are relatively barren, the Eastern Legion possesses vast and fertile lands, where continued expansion is a "greater investment than return" endeavor, with a "return on investment" far less than developing existing lands.

Although the large grassroots officer group of the Eastern Legion has a direct motivation to establish achievements, this motivation is insufficient to sway the upper echelon of military aristocrats—or rather, those "big landlords" owning large tracts of land.

And the only hopeful ones to bring about a breakthrough for the East Expansionists, General Kras and General Griffin, recently perished in an Eastern campaign—one slain by the Grand Canyon, the other in a war with the Alliance.

Due to these numerous reasons, the East Expansionists, mainly composed of young officers in the Eastern Legion, have been almost marginalized.

On the contrary, the old-line military aristocrats tend to be closer to the civil official group in Triumph City, exchanging officers and resources under their command.

As for now, they have one more entity to trade with—the Alliance.

Although they look down upon the Alliance's military equipment, they cannot deny that the tractors and other agricultural machinery from the Alliance are quite useful.

The Southern Legion, on the other hand, is quite the opposite.

While their homeland is relatively affluent, their colonies mainly lie along the coast of the Great Desert. Despite the rich minerals there, these places severely lack arable land.

Precisely because of this, when it comes to the invasion of Poluo Province, the upper and lower levels of the Southern Legion have aligned interests.

Lower-level officers aspire to gain promotions through war, while the upper echelons need the land to support the prosperity of homeland settlements.

And the interesting part lies here.

Although the Southern Legion internally holds a unified war demand for Poluo Province, the Eastern Legion and the Southern Legion have a diametrically opposing "unified divergence"—led by Salen, the large landlords vehemently oppose breaking the ancient contract.

Though two political entities have completely different interests, they wear the same guise due to historical legacies.

Since a long time ago, Chu Guang felt that this legion, a survivor force, is quite awkward.

And coincidentally, the man standing in that pale blue beam of light also feels the same way.

With a pleasant smile on his face, the Eastern Legion's Legion Leader Salen spoke eloquently.

"...There is no everlasting emperor, so naturally there won't be any everlasting law. Every rule has its day of obsolescence, the same for the United Human, War Construction Committee, and our legion is no exception."

Chu Guang gently raised his eyebrows, looking at this unique Weilante person with interest.

"I didn't expect to hear these words from the Legion Leader of the Eastern Legion."

Salen chuckled upon hearing this and looked at Chu Guang with equal interest.

"Well, now you've heard it. As an exchange, could you satisfy my curiosity?"

Chu Guang asked casually.

"What do you want to know?"

Salen smiled and said.

"I'm very curious about your views."

Isn't it obvious?

Saying this, they likely want to split.

However, Chu Guang didn't want to comment on their internal matters, and if the legion truly split, it might not be favorable for the Alliance.

After all, at least they are still holding each other back now; if they stopped acting altogether someday, the entire Wasteland would suffer.

After pondering for a moment, he weighed his words carefully and spoke.

"I don't have any views on your internal matters, but just talking about the matter itself, I think your words have truth."

Salen smiled and continued.

"So, does the esteemed Mr. Manager believe that the Alliance will have a day of obsolescence too?"

"That's an obvious matter," Chu Guang smiled faintly, replying in an ordinary tone, "Even stars have a day when they die out, let alone a mere flame burning upon the earth?"

"I didn't expect you to be so magnanimous, but if that day truly came, wouldn't you feel it a pity? It's the painstaking effort of yourself and others with similar ideals who wagered everything to create it."

Salen watched Chu Guang with keen interest, but it seemed he wasn't just looking at him.

The gaze seemed to pass right through him and look at someone else who wasn't here.

However, Chu Guang didn't mind and simply answered from his own standpoint.

"Why would I feel regret? The Alliance is just a rescue organization. We've never aimed to be the eternal truth, nor do we represent it. Instead of telling people what the truth is, we hope more to impart the courage to explore the future, unwavering confidence, and some methods we've tried."

"If one day in the future, a brighter light is born on this land, I would only feel comforted that my descendants truly lived up to us, passing on the flame rather than becoming the grave guard of me or the 'New Era'... In this way, our burning truly holds meaning, at least we aren't the last relay baton in the race, so why would I have any regrets?"

Salen stared intently at Chu Guang, not speaking for so long that Chu Guang once suspected his network was malfunctioning again.

After what seemed like half a minute, Salen suddenly sighed deeply and said with emotion.

"I now understand why Vanus insisted on staying with you."

So similar.

Incredibly similar!

Although the voice and appearance were completely different, those were indeed words once spoken by that esteemed person... or at least similar words.

Yet most Weilante people have already forgotten.

Or rather, they only remember the part they wanted to, treating loyalty as the sword in their hand, honor as the shield, and eventually becoming the "grave guards" of whom this guy spoke, using the name of righteousness to perform vile deeds, and turning the equality they once fought for into tyranny, transforming from the persecuted into the "parasites" of the Wasteland.

Including himself.

Salen's heart was filled with complex emotions.

As the Legion Leader of the Eastern Legion, his feelings toward the Marshal were extremely complicated.

On one hand, he respected that esteemed person from the heart, viewing him as an idol, yet on the other hand, he had to face reality. What he represented wasn't just himself; he had to make more practical considerations for the interest group behind him.

It would be great if the Marshal could be as active as he was a century ago, rather than occasionally uttering a few words like now.

If that were the case, they wouldn't have to be at each other's throats like today.

Looking at the daydreaming Salen, Chu Guang surprisingly glanced at him twice.

"...Surprising, I didn't expect you to remember the name of a Thousands of leaders."

Salen was stunned for a moment and then laughed, teasingly saying.

"I hadn't heard of this person before, but today is different. This guy, as a Weilante, not only successfully entered the internal circle of the Alliance but even became the Chief of Staff of the Alliance Army. If I still hadn't heard of this capable man, wouldn't it show how ignorant I am?"

Chu Guang chuckled and said.

"There are quite a few Weilantes living in the Alliance. We don't stress identity, only whether one's abilities and responsibilities match the position."

Salen, smiling, said.

"Is that so? Then someday I'll have to come and see if you live up to your words."

To Salen's joking remark, Chu Guang responded with a friendly smile.

"...As long as you come in peace, you're always welcome."

…

The meeting lasted for two hours.

The Alliance's Manager Chu Guang and the Eastern Legion's Legion Leader Salen had a delightful conversation.

Though the communication signal was sporadically interrupted, it didn't affect the friendly atmosphere between the two parties at all.

During the meeting, both sides agreed that the agreement previously signed between the Eastern Legion and the Alliance would remain valid.

Additionally, a supplementary clause was signed on the original agreement.

The gist of it was that the conflict between the Southern Legion and the Alliance would not affect the cooperation between the Eastern Legion and the Alliance.

Moreover, the Eastern Legion and its affiliates would not supply any military materials to the Southern Legion.

This negotiation essentially meant that the Eastern Legion had drawn a clear line from the Southern Legion.

The royal aristocrats of the Falcon Kingdom could finally breathe a sigh of relief, no longer needing to worry about being dragged into this unprovoked disaster...

Meanwhile, outside Tiandu City in the Poluo Province, an H-1 "Dragonfly" military transport plane was slowly landing on a makeshift runway.

This runway was dug out one shovel at a time by the survivors mobilized by Leader Absek in the vicinity, only barely functional at best.

Fortunately, the Alliance's military products weren't too picky about their operating conditions. The "Dragonfly" landed in a zig-zag manner but didn't end up in any real accident.

As the plane landed, the survivors standing outside the airport fence exclaimed in astonishment, with expressions full of disbelief on their faces.

"So that's what an airplane looks like!"

"How does such a massive iron lump fly into the sky?!"

"I'm more curious about how it landed!"

"Rat God bless, Rat God bless… free from sickness and disaster, all the unclean things fly away..."

Some people exclaimed and discussed, some were too shocked to close their mouths, and others clasped their hands and recited rhymeless prayers.

They have lived here for most of their lives and have never seen such an astonishing thing.

Even though when they were digging the runway, someone told them what it was for and that they should level the land seriously. However, the impact of seeing it in person was far more shocking than the hearsay, causing the crowd to chatter nonstop.

While the onlooking survivors were buzzing with discussion, Zayed, the president of the Family Meeting, stood among the crowd.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and a gentle smile masked the deception and pretense behind his brows.

If only that plane would crash...

From the moment the plane appeared in his sight, such a thought involuntarily arose in his mind.

Although this might introduce a rift in the hard-won alliance of Poluo Province, it would save him a lot of trouble.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the power to kill with his gaze, and the Snake God he believed in did not respond to his "prayers."

Though the plane was swerving, it ultimately stabilized and landed on the runway.

Secretly regretting it, Zayed chuckled softly and led the nearby family members in applause, simultaneously chanting.

"... Nowadays, opposing the invasion of the Southern Legion is Poluo Province's top priority, and it's a blessing for Poluo Province to join forces with Mammoth Nation!"

Applause thundered around, and some non-Family Meeting residents, stirred by the atmosphere, also joined in the clapping.

Sava, clapping, quietly glanced at Zayed and then quickly looked away.

He remembered clearly that this gentleman did not speak like this last night.

However, only he was aware of those words.

And after hearing Zayed's speech, the surrounding family members all nodded in agreement, joining the surrounding people.

Including a journalist from the Survivor's Daily.

The tall, slender young man from Jinjaron Harbor was especially moved, glancing at Zayed after finishing his applause and said with emotion.

"If only those officers, obsessed with fighting and killing, could see the bigger picture like you do."

His name was Chris.

Since last year, he had been working at the Survivor's Daily in Jinjaron Harbor. Because of his work, he had witnessed the United Federation transition from a collective full of hope and ideals to something "twisted."

They once had high hopes for Laxi; however, he turned out to be no good, staying put after capturing a stronghold and focusing on making money by exporting labor, only stepping in when the Heavenly King Army caused trouble to snatch control of Northern Three States.

The Poluo Country Federation is the same, waving the banner of "aligning with the Alliance," yet flirting with the Legion.

Especially that Leader Absek, a thorough hypocrite. Outwardly enlightened, he clings tightly to power, mimicking the Alliance by assembling industry representatives, yet treating those insightful people like fools, keeping them at arm's length without engaging them.

This guy is even worse than Laxi; at least the latter is straightforward, doing what he says, whether good or bad.

Looking at it now, Zayed seems to be a man of sentiment and righteousness and an idealist willing to lower himself to get work done.

Though his abilities are limited, he is at least willing to share everything with his family.

Moreover, instead of hiding in a safe place, he risked himself by going to West Sail Port, organizing laborers coerced by the Legion, for which he was hunted and slandered by the Legion.

Looking at the indignant young man, Zayed kindly smiled, comforting him.

"Hey, you shouldn't criticize those officers like that! If they had no vision, they wouldn't have stepped up at that time!"

Chris sighed and said.

"I know, I just think... if only they could completely put aside personal interests. That way, the Alliance wouldn't even need to mediate, and we'd unite on our own."

And unite more thoroughly than now.

Unlike now, where we keep uniting yet remain vigilant against one another.

Looking at this naive young man, Zayed faintly smiled.

"We can't demand others do it; it's enough to do well ourselves. Besides, having the Alliance mediate is not bad; external and internal forces are both forces. Our relationship with the Alliance is like being brothers within a family; the efforts of the second brother are surely crucial, but the help of the eldest brother is also indispensable!"

Chris sheepishly smiled, scratching the back of his head.

"I know, I have no complaints about the Alliance... just that Absek doesn't seem like a good person."

Zayed shook his head to stop his words.

"You mustn't say that; Mr. Absek is truly a brave man and my idol. Unlike our minor efforts, they've fought real battles with the Weilante people."

Saying this, he sighed with profound sadness again.

"Unlike us, we spilled some blood but achieved nothing... I really feel ashamed towards the families in West Sail Port."

Seeing those desolate eyes, the softest part of Chris's heart was touched, and he couldn't help but speak up in his defense.

"It's not you who should be saying that! We all witnessed your struggle, how could it just be blood spilled in vain?"

"And you shouldn't blame yourself either, what revolution doesn't come without bloodshed? You're facing the soldiers of the Army, while Absek and his people were only up against unarmed civilians. If you feel ashamed, then wouldn't Absek have to bury himself in the ground to apologize!"

"Oh, Leader Absek has his own difficulties, it's not nice of you to say that about him..." Zayed shook his head. Although he was quite proud of his wits, he still spoke cautiously, maintaining a humble demeanor.

Chris shook his head, thinking that this insightful person was being blinded and unable to see through Leader Absek's hypocritical nature.

However, this only fueled his enthusiasm for reporting.

If the insightful people of Poluo Province were all deceived by that facade, then even if they eventually won this war, what awaited them would be a hell devoid of light.

Passion surged in his chest, and Chris's eyes sparkled as he prepared the draft for his next report.

Zayed, however, silently smiled and turned his gaze to the plane that had already come to a stop.

He didn't need to do anything next, just wait quietly.

That was what he was best at.

Like a snake lying dormant in the snow...

In the distance, surrounded by a crowd of soldiers, the Mammoth Nation's Commander-in-Chief Laxi stepped out of the cabin door.

Walking up to Absek, waiting by the runway, he briskly extended his right hand.

"Nice to meet you! Leader of Poluo Country, Mr. Absek."

Although both came from military backgrounds, their auras were distinctly different.

After all, while Laxi was fiercely battling against Arai Yang, Absek was merely a small soldier under his command.

Even though he now sat on a throne above tens of thousands, he still exuded a rustic air, like a farmer draped in a yellow robe.

However, Absek wasn't intimidated, he just instinctively glanced at the gun on Laxi's hip, then smiled and took the extended right hand.

"Nice to meet you... I've been looking forward to meeting you, General Laxi!"

Laxi laughed heartily.

"I'm not worthy of such praise; it's you, Great Leader, whose reputation precedes you. Even while I was in Mammoth City, I heard how your forces swept through the entire Poluo Province."

Absek also laughed in return.

"Haha! Can't say it's the entire Poluo Province, just about two-thirds of it! But you know the quality of those city defense troops, defeating them isn't much of an achievement! But you, General, became famous in a single battle! Even the 'War God of the Empire,' Arai Yang, was defeated by you!"

"Just a coincidence, just a coincidence. I didn't expect him to end up like that," Laxi sighed, appearing regretful, and said, "I must apologize to you for this; I hope you won't take offense."

Upon hearing this, Absek froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Why would I take offense? If you ask me, he deserved it! A dog more concerned with his master than his brothers, seeking personal glory while dragging thousands to their deaths. I only regret not personally putting an end to him! Clearing a threat to the Poluo people!"

Laxi still wanted to say something when the "Far-sighted eagle," who had been standing nearby, couldn't wait any longer and coughed to interrupt.

"Stop complimenting each other, the Army only left us with over sixty hours. We need to quickly discuss the battle strategy."

Representatives from the military factions of Tiger State and Leopard State have arrived and are now waiting in the operations command center.

Though their leaders didn't come personally like Laxi, the representatives sent are essentially second-in-command figures.

Upon hearing the urging from the Alliance's representative, Absek immediately sobered up and said with a serious expression.

"Mr. Eagle is right! Gentlemen, please follow me to the operations command center—"

Before he could finish his words, an officer suddenly ran over with a serious face, didn't even salute, and whispered quickly in Absek's ear.

After listening to the whisper, Absek was initially stunned, then his expression turned drastically.

The same happened to Laxi in front of him, who was still wearing a calm smile on his face, until a call suddenly came to a guard beside him.

When he took the call, the calm look on his face changed instantly.

In the end, Eagle was left in the dark, completely unaware of what had happened as he was still on the line.

Fortunately, his three good brothers had gone to the frontline and didn't keep him waiting long. A message quickly arrived on his VM.

[The Army! The big-noses have opened fire!]

Seeing the flickering text on the VM screen, Eagle held his breath for a moment.

Good heavens!

The update was supposed to be seventy-two hours later, and this dog plan even included a surprise attack?!

Chapter 850: The Bloodstained Crown

"Wait... isn't the coronation ceremony the day after tomorrow? Please let me meet General Giulion... did you get the time wrong?"

Inside the solemn West Sail Port Court, about a hundred people were sparsely standing.

Looking at the guests hastily assembled to fill the jury, Akbar initially wore a bewildered expression, then turned to the Vellante people standing nearby to voice his dissatisfaction.

According to the original plan, he would be crowned in the presence of his father's old ministers, becoming the undisputed new emperor of Poluo Province.

But now, those witnessing this moment were merely a few counts and viscounts.

Not only that, some in the jury weren't even nobles; they gazed at him with faces full of excitement, clearly displaying their inexperience in the world.

Those guys were clearly peasants.

How could such an important event allow these folks to join in the revelry?

What kind of situation is this!

Regarding this young emperor's dissatisfaction, Peter simply couldn't be bothered to respond, spoke impatiently.

"General Giulion is occupied with important matters and can't see you. It's going to rain the day after tomorrow, so we brought it forward."

Rain...?

What kind of reason is that?

Akbar was dumbfounded, mouth agape, unable to speak for a moment, just staring blankly at the Vellante man before him.

The people sitting in the jury didn't hear the conversation between the two.

Except for the nobles of status and the knowledgeable elders, the faces of those seated in the jury box were filled with expressions of entertainment, chatting eagerly among themselves.

"This young emperor has the demeanor of a ruler, truly impressive."

"As expected of the imperial family, such handsome looks!"

"The West Winds is saved!"

"Hurry up! Why hasn't it started yet?"

Standing in the center of the courtroom, Peter glanced at the time, growing a bit impatient too, then cast a look at the stunned young man.

"Are you going to take it or not? If not, we'll find someone else."

Frightened by this statement, Akbar hurriedly spoke without certainty.

"Yes! I will... wait, this throne is mine anyway!"

"Then hurry up."

As if saying another word would waste time, Peter turned to look at the judge standing not far away.

The judge's face bore an angry expression, but in the end, he said nothing.

That Giulion did it on purpose.

Placing this farcical charade in his courtroom merely to humiliate him.

One must admit, that guy's pettiness was quite significant, and his bottom line wasn't very high either, maybe just slightly above the monkeys in this courtroom.

"The coronation ceremony begins."

Just like announcing a court session, the judge used a solemn tone to deliver these words, then turned and exited the scene.

Peter didn't look at him, just gave a signal to the elderly Poluo man standing by.

That Lion Clan person was a janitor of the court, and they casually gave him the title of count and instructed him on what needed to be done.

The old man, holding the golden-crafted crown with both hands, nervously stepped forward.

Around him, eager gazes lit up, yet he kept his head bowed low, not daring to meet the Prince's eyes.

"Your Majesty... please be crowned." His voice trembled slightly as he slowly knelt to the ground.

Akbar didn't recognize the count before him but couldn't find any fault with the respectful ceremony.

"Hmm."

Responding with a nasal sound, he then reached out to take the gold-made crown, solemnly placing it atop his head.

Everyone present, except the Vellante people, immediately knelt, foreheads touching the ground.

Whether civilians or nobles.

At this moment, they all shouted in unison.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on your coronation!"

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live West Winds!"

The consecutive voices echoed in the solemn courtroom, resembling a symphony lacking a conductor's baton.

But Akbar slightly curled his lips, and the gloom previously on his face turned into an uncontrollable smile at this moment.

This must be what his father carried; his chest was filled with a surging emotion.

This feeling was simply...

Simply too delightful!

Akbar extended his hands forward, slightly lifting them, adopting a benevolent posture.

"All my beloved ministers, please rise!"

After countless mirror practices, he finally had the chance to do this in front of everyone!

...

"Get down!!!"

At the border between West Sail Port and Dog State, boiling flames burned on the scorched earth engraved with trenches.

The Centurion lying on the ground let out a hoarse roar, calling for his teammates behind to lie down.

Thirty seconds prior, a deafening explosion resounded from the direction of West Sail Port.

By the time everyone reacted, the blinding white light and seething flames had already descended upon the Poluo Country's frontier army's position.

In front of a 902 mm heavy artillery, the trenches dug by the Poluo Country's army soldiers were like a mere toothpick, along with the earth outside, were flung into the sky.

Following the end of the first artillery sound, rows of 100 mm cannons followed by roaring.

The explosive flames boiled on the positions, and raging shrapnel thundered like raindrops, covering all depths across the entire defensive line.

The artillery bombardment lasted a full ten minutes before it stopped.

The once stable position had been bombarded into a thousand holes, and the soldiers lying in the trenches suffered the same fate, with more than half either dead or wounded, their faces displaying sheer terror.

They didn't even know what had happened when suddenly the Army's artillery shells came rushing in.

Yishel, hiding in the anti-cannon hole, bit down hard, rummaging through a pile of scattered debris to retrieve the fallen phone.

The telephone line connecting to the front line radio was blown up, leaving him unable to contact the hundred troops at the very front. Fortunately, the line connecting to the rear was still intact.

Without hesitation, he dispatched messengers to the front for reconnaissance while swiftly contacting the rear command post to report the situation at the border line.

"This is the northwest section of the frontline, the 111th thousand team! We're under artillery bombardment from West Sail Port direction! Repeat, we're under bombardment from West Sail Port direction!"

After a brief sizzling sound of the electric current, the voice from the rear operator immediately came.

"What's the situation? Have you seen the Army's troops?!"

The operator's voice sounded flustered as well, clearly not very skilled, and the rear command post had not anticipated the current situation at all.

Yishel cursed inwardly, and continued to roar into the phone.

"The telephone line was destroyed, I can't contact the front line troops! Those big noses used even heavy artillery, it's definitely more than just showing off to us!"

On the other end, there was the sound of a chair being pulled, and the operator hurriedly said.

"I got it... I will immediately report your situation over here."

Yishel shouted loudly.

"This is war! I am not joking with you; I need reinforcements now! Immediately! Damn it, if you're late, just wait to collect our bodies!"

Meanwhile, on the frontline of the northwest section defense line.

From the originally full complement of one hundred and twenty men team, not even knowing how many are still alive.

Finally regaining his shaky consciousness, Centurion Dummert picked up the rifle that had fallen nearby.

The smoking soil was scalding hot.

Yet he did not dare risk getting up from the ground, gritting his teeth to endure the heat that could cook eggs.

"...Damn it, where's our radio?! Quickly report the situation here to the rear!"

Though he felt that such commotion could be heard even if you were deaf, he still shouted at the radio operator behind him.

The radio operator was still alive, currently squatting in the trench fiddling with the radio.

Seeing him soaking with sweat, Dummert's heart sank, secretly knowing trouble was ahead.

As he foresaw, the radio operator raised his head with a look of despair.

"The radio is destroyed!"

"Damn it!"

Dummert hammered a fist on the ground, cursing as he stared in the direction of West Sail Port.

Fortunately, the shelling points were a little distance away.

Still, he felt as if his internal organs had been jolted out of place.

Enduring the pain in his abdomen, Dummert looked back at the chaotic position and shouted loudly.

"Everyone prepare for battle! We won't let those big noses take an inch of land from us again!"

Since those Weilante people arrived on this land, his compatriots have been bleeding continuously.

Every time he saw the reports in Survivor's Daily, witnessing the slaughtered families, a raging fire burned in his chest.

Now those Weilante people wish to move forward, letting that devouring hell stretch into the belly of Poluo Province...

No matter how much Absek tries to appease, he will not retreat an inch!

"Oh oh oh!!"

"Fight those big noses to the end!"

"Damn it!!"

Roars erupted on the shattered position, evidently, he wasn't the only one who thought so.

Listening to the high morale response, a smile emerged on Dummert's face.

Wonderful.

Seems like many brothers are still alive.

His expression gradually turned solemn, as he shouted to the rear.

"Teams report numbers!"

As his voice fell, successive voices responded from the rear.

"1!"

"2!"

"...!"

"Report! Team 1 has 5 people remaining!"

"Team 2 has 7 remaining!"

"Team 3! We've got two left!"

"..."

Dummert silently calculated in his mind, the entire hundred team still had 57 people left.

If the fighting started, getting 5 minutes for the rear, shouldn't be a problem.

As he was thinking this, suddenly, someone came from the edge of a faraway farmland.

Dummert raised his gun and aimed at that person, but realized it wasn't a Weilante person.

It was a Poluo person.

"Listen up ahead!!"

That person stood still at the edge of the field, yelling towards the position.

"General Giulion's troops are going to Dog State to fight the rebels! If you don't want to die, get lost immediately and let the army through!"

"The previous round of artillery bombardment was just a warning! If you continue obstinately, don't blame the artillery shells for being indiscriminate—"

The person's words were interrupted by a gunshot with a "bang".

The bullet landed at the person's feet, kicking up a puff of dust.

Startled, the person stumbled and fell to the ground, then scrambled to their feet and ran back without daring to look back.

Gritting his teeth, Dummert glared at the traitorous lackey and roared.

"Son of a bitch! It's you who should get the hell out of here!"

Shameful bastard!

He almost ground his teeth into pieces, but ultimately did not shoot at that retreating figure.

Too much blood of his compatriots had already been spilled.

Perhaps that guy was coerced...

The sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds, blocking out all the light, as a muffled sound came from the low-hanging clouds.

The wind was picking up, as if it was going to rain.

But Dummert was unmoved, just staring intently at that distant field, holding his rifle and aiming.

He didn't expect to survive this battle.

But even if it cost him his life, he wanted to take one with him before he died!

Just then, the muffled sound from the clouds got closer and closer.

It didn't seem like thunder.

It was something else.

Dimly, Dummert heard cries of alarm behind him and looked up to the sky.

In an instant, his burning eyes were frozen.

It was a giant whale soaring with wings, fitted with rows of massive propellers on its wings.

The roaring sound came from those propellers, tearing through the clouds with their huge blades.

Even more astonishing were the cannons mounted on the imposing steel armor.

That thing's cannons... even outnumbered the guns in their hands.

"Damn it..." Dummert groaned in despair.

What the hell is that thing?!

There was no time to think, as streaks of tracer fire flew from the floating fortress, splitting into countless raindrops of bullets in the air.

This barrage was far more intense than before, drowning out Dummert's roar with explosions.

In just an instant.

He and his hundred-man team, along with the position beside him, were wiped out from the Earth.

The long-brewing "thunder" finally descended from the sky, reaching the astonished Yishel.

In a moment, three of his hundred-man teams were wiped out, completely losing contact.

His hand shook as he held the phone, his mind racing, yet unable to come up with any ideas.

It was entirely different from the situation at West Sail Port, now facing not a hesitant fence-sitter but a pack of bloodthirsty devils.

The disparity in strength between the sides was too great, rendering all tactics meaningless...

Continuing the fight was hopeless, serving no purpose except certain death!

Yishel was not someone who feared death.

If he was, he wouldn't have courageously stood up that night to save those innocents.

However, even ready for heroic sacrifice, he had to consider his comrades in the trenches.

They shouldn't die here.

They should survive, preserve their strength, and bring back what they saw on the frontline to strategize against it with more people.

Even if they must die.

They should die more meaningfully!

"Damn it..."

He cursed through clenched teeth, switching the channel to the frontline units, shouting into the phone.

"All units, listen up! Withdraw immediately from your positions! Move to the southeast!"

With the retreat order given, Poluo Country's soldiers began leaving the trenches, orderly withdrawing from the battlefield amidst lulls in the gunfire.

Shame was etched on every face, yet they all knew that holding the line meant nothing but death.

Their Rat Clan commander had made the hardest, yet the most correct decision.

In the face of that thing, fixed defense was utterly ineffective.

Perhaps a mobile warfare approach was more appropriate...

...

The same thunder also reached Ross.

Standing at the edge of West Sail Port, he gazed expressionlessly toward the northwest.

An officer came to his side and softly reported.

"The 111th thousand team of Poluo Country has retreated."

Ross's eyes narrowed slightly, and an almost imperceptible smile of amusement touched his previously tense lips.

It was as if he saw a mouse.

And a cunning mouse at that.

But in the face of absolute power, cunning alone was not enough; one must sharpen teeth and claws.

Looking at the smoke-filled battlefield in the distance, Ross ordered without a hint of emotion.

"Advance the First Armored Hundred Man Team and the Second Infantry Hundred Man Team!"

The officer before him straightened up, saluting with excitement.

"Yes!"

The moment has finally come!

He and his subordinates have waited far too long for this day to arrive!

They are about to smash to pieces the last chain binding the Weilante people—the "shame contract" signed under the watch of those "poison remnants" from the War Construction Committee.

No one will ever stop them from advancing further.

The Weilante people's frontier should be at the edge of the Solar System—even the Milky Way!

And this moment is the prologue to that great epic.

Their descendants will forever remember this moment and will forever be grateful from the depths of their hearts!

At the instant the order was given, ten tanks parked at the edge of the field simultaneously started their engines.

The exhaust pipes spewed thick black smoke, and the grim armor moved forward toward the shattered positions under the gaze of a giant airship!

Behind each tank, squads of ten armed to the teeth tightly followed.

Crossing the battlefield plowed by shells, they carefully inspected every trench, every crater, and every corpse, and gave the suspected survivors a finishing shot.

Looking at the long, iron-clad stream advancing boldly with tracks pressed down on the fields, the face of the man crouched at the edge of the field was flushed with excitement.

His name was Chetri.

Like Centurion Yishel, he was also from the Rat Clan, though obviously of a different breed of rat.

Earlier, he had kindly tried to persuade the surrender, but unexpectedly, the other side treated his goodwill like donkey liver, repaying it with ingratitude.

Luckily, the man's marksmanship was lousy, and he ran fast; otherwise, he would have been done for.

Seeing that bombed-out position, he felt nothing but relief, eager to cheer on those big-nosed people.

Such is retribution!

"...Worthless cretins, the Weilante people were just borrowing a path through your land, not here to fight you, insisting on rushing to your deaths; isn't exchanging surrender for peace delightful? Tsk, serves you right!"

Finally, Chetri let out the breath clogged in his chest, spat on the ground in satisfaction, stomped it out, and left this treacherous place.

In the distance, on the battlefront, tanks rolled unimpeded through the Poluo Country's army lines, like a storm sweeping the tropical savanna, advancing toward Dog State of the Northern Three States.

During this time, the Poluo Country organized several attacks, but without exception, they couldn't even see their enemy before being beaten back under the cross-fire of horizontal and vertical firepower.

The Army's troops didn't even deign to spare them a glance, forging through the mixed slurry of blood and flesh on the muddy ground.

The main force of the attack was the 17th Ten Thousand Troops led by General Olet.

Their mission was to carve out the northwest corner of Lion State and open a strategic corridor from West Sail Port to the Northern Three States on the northwest side of Poluo Province.

Leading the assault was the 171st Mechanized Thousand Team led by Ross, supported by the airship Horn.

The battle line advanced virtually by the minute, as the Poluo Country's army was routed, discarding helmets and armor.

Sitting in the command post, General Otley looked down at the map with a delighted smile on his face.

"A no-suspense battle... I thought the natives here would be smarter than the mutants in the Great Desert, but I overestimated them; they aren't even as good as those guys fighting with iron sticks."

Equipment is just one of the factors affecting the outcome of a battle, not the entirety.

And these guys' foolishness lies in their delusion that they could win against the Army with trench warfare.

In front of the Southern Legion's Horn and 902mm heavy artillery, those trenches dug out with shovels are like a joke, and staying put only increases their casualties.

Standing beside him, McCullen gave a faint smile.

"I think much like you. The natives here truly aren't great, but it's too early to say we've won."

General Otley looked at him with great interest.

"You think they still have a chance to turn the tables?"

McCullen replied in a gentle tone.

"The Alliance's messengers are in Tiandu; I don't think they will pretend not to see."

"Heh, the Alliance... let them come then," Otley sneered in disdain, "I will let them know the cost of meddling."

"Hmm," McCullen nodded lightly, "That cost is inevitable."

After all, the cost of not meddling would be higher.

On this point, every survivor of the River Valley Province profoundly understands...

And he's quite seasoned in what happens after.

Just as Otley's subordinates were racing wildly northward, the drone of propellers approached from the east, drawing near the skies over West Sail Port.

Those were W-2 Attack Aircraft!

And there were at least a hundred of them!

Some Weilante soldiers stationed at West Sail Port involuntarily looked up, gazing towards the sky, their faces filled with amazement.

What surprised them wasn't the aircraft itself.

But that the barely three-month-old Poluo Country actually had pilots?!

Where did these bumpkins find the time to train?!

Upon detecting the enemy planes approaching, the airship Horn immediately ceased its support of the front line, changed course, and aimed its air cannons at the skies over West Sail Port.

Moreover, air force units from West Sail Port also scrambled and took flight, nearly a hundred "Dagger" propeller fighter planes headed towards the Poluo Country's air force.

However, those W-2s didn't charge toward West Sail Port but after faking an attack, swooped toward the station and railway at the northern port.

Upon seeing the movements of those planes, General Giulion, in the command post, squinted his eyes, evidently noticing some clues.

Meanwhile, aboard the leading Mosquito-style fighter plane, an excited and loud shout rang out.

"We struck gold, brothers!"

"Unlock the safety, prepare for battle!!"

The communication channel was buzzing continuously, lively like New Year's.

Just like those belligerent Weilante people, they had long awaited this moment.

And as players, their reason for battle was far purer than those of the Weilante people—

Finally, a chance to fight to their heart's content!

"Aoo! Aoo! Aoo!!!"

Chapter 851: Fireworks Blooming on the Ground

At the same time the Alliance players were preparing for battle, the Third Air Squadron of the Southern Legion was also fully ready for action.

A hundred "Dagger" fighter planes formed an attack formation in the sky, aggressively charging towards the approaching formations like wolves hunting sheep.

As for these fighter planes from Poluo Country, the Weilante people clearly did not take them seriously.

Even though the training costs for propeller plane pilots aren't as extravagant as for jet pilots, it still takes at least five to six months of training.

And that's just the basics.

To ensure sufficient combat power, it requires at least 10 months of training and a minimum of 400 hours of flight time.

With the Weilante people's combat talent, their training efficiency is about 1.5 to 2 times that of ordinary people, yet the fastest it could take to form effective combat power is three months.

Whereas the newly formed Poluo Country, evolving from the Heavenly Kingdom army, hasn't even been established that long!

Even if they could purchase some civilized equipment from the Alliance, they couldn't even find a handful of decent pilots.

For this reason,
the hundred "Dagger" planes pushed their speed to the max, racing towards those scattered medals in the sky, fearing that either distant airships or ground-based anti-air units would snatch the glory!

"Go to hell!!"

Letting out a bellow of courage, Milton, targeting the nearest enemy aircraft, unhesitatingly pulled the trigger. The two 10mm cannons under him spewed long tongues of fire.

"Bang bang bang——!"

The deafening roar shook the cabin with crisp rattles, and the long rain of bullets was like a lance thrust from his hands!

This would be a battle without suspense!

It couldn't even be called a battle — it was a complete slaughter!

After all, that guy rushing toward him likely hadn't even completed half the training hours, perhaps even struggling to find the safety on his weapon, probably yelling to a teammate beside him about why the gun wouldn't fire.

A bit exaggerated, but the point isn't far off.

Milton's lips curled into a mocking sneer.

He seemed to see the fireball hurtling towards the ground, and in the corner of his eye, he was already searching for the next target marked by Death.

However, at that moment, an incredible scene occurred.

The plane, which was supposed to be torn to pieces, suddenly veered to the side.

Seeing that the long tracers were about to tear it apart, it maneuvered like an agile bird, taking advantage of the high-speed airflow to sidestep, using the lateral thrust from air resistance to perform a large-span barrel roll, nonchalantly dodging the burst of cannon, and charged straight through without slowing down.

The fluid motion was like the spinning swordplay of a fencing champion.

And the hidden killing intent within had quietly revealed its sharp edge.

Milton's eyes widened, his eyeballs nearly bulging like ping-pong balls, and a cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

This guy was definitely not a rookie!

No—

That chap definitely couldn't be a pilot from Poluo Province!

Such skilled flying techniques and adept situational responses couldn't be achieved through practice alone.

Only by experiencing countless brushes with death and countless escapes from Death's clutches could one hone techniques that toy with death with such ease.

This guy was definitely an ace!

He was in trouble!

"Damn it!"

Silently cursing his misfortune, Milton urgently pressed the rudder with his right foot, pulling the controls, trying to reacquire the flight path of that plane in his sights for another burst.

But the opponent didn't give him the chance.

Just as it finished the barrel maneuver, the reactive W-2 nonchalantly fired a burst of short but deadly cannon rounds.

The 20mm armor-piercing incendiary drew a deadly arc in the air, like a slash from above, blocking the path of Milton's vehicle.

The outcome was decided.

"I'm finished—"

Without any chance to evade, Milton could only watch hopelessly as that fleeting shooting opportunity passed, and was then inevitably intercepted by that deadly burst of cannon.

"Boom——!"

A burst of flames belched a mass of scorching thick smoke as a "Dagger" with a broken wing spiraled rapidly towards the ground.

"First kill claimed... rest in peace."

Watching the falling enemy plane, Feng Qing casually uttered a farewell, then skillfully pulled out a marker pen from his pant leg, writing the first stroke of a tally on the side of the cockpit.

Not a bad battle.

But still a bit too raw.

That guy was probably eager to get the first kill, firing from such a distance that she didn't even need to activate her Agility Talent, just a simple barrel roll to dodge.

And it was easy to predict what that guy would do next. After failing one strike, he would definitely try to make amends.

As long as she seized the moment when those two machine guns aimed at her, she could block the enemy plane's trajectory in advance with her machine cannons.

Due to the enemy's underestimation, she had plenty of shooting windows.

At the same time, Gui Gui's voice came through the communication channel.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Nicely done, Feng Qing!"

"Haha, it's alright, it's alright..."

Feng Qing smiled shyly, humbly replied, and then skillfully locked onto the next target.

Since the Goblin Corps was established, she had been flying planes, her flight hours breaking through thousands, and even her resurrection time was more than that.

Numerous experiences of death had already made her flying skills second nature.

It's no exaggeration to say that the plane she piloted felt like part of her body; she could even feel the airflow brushing against the flaps.

At this moment, an exasperated voice came through the communication channel.

"Damn it! Stole my first kill!"

Gui Gui: "Hahaha! The captain needs to work hard, don't get overtaken by the newbies someday."

WC True Mosquito: "Heh! Impossible."

Rookie No. 1: "Hehe, you never know, captain, care to compare?"

WC True Mosquito: "Compare what! You've barely touched the plane more than I've crashed it! Focus on your own task, aim your bomb accurately before talking nonsense!"

Rookie No. 1: "Damn it! Mosquito dog discriminates against newbies! I'm going to the Forum to expose you!"

WC True Mosquito: "%#￥@!"

Rookie No. 2: "Awoo!! Long live the Manager!"

Rookie No. 3: "Oh my god!!! This is way more thrilling than War Thunder!?"

Gui Gui: "Uh, is it because there are more people? Seems like the newcomers are getting increasingly outrageous..."

Feng Qing could imagine her friend's expression, and didn't know what to say, so she just laughed.

"Ahaha... But I think the captain quite likes them."

Black clouds in the sky burst into the first fireball.

A parachute floated out of the burning cabin, bringing the pride of the Southern Legion's Third Air Squadron down to the ground.

Seeing a comrade shot down during the first encounter, each Vellante pilot was dumbfounded.

None of them anticipated that the first casualty of the battle would happen on their side.

And what surprised them even more was how clean and decisive the opponent's action was.

"...It's an Alliance pilot." The squadron leader's face darkened, his pupils constricted with a fierce glow.

Even if he were dull, he had now realized.

The planes in front of them, bearing the Poluo Country flag, were not piloted by survivors from Poluo Province!

But by people from the Alliance!

The raging flames hit every pilot of the Third Air Squadron like a slap.

However, they were a race born for battle.

Did not flinch at the sudden casualty; instead, sitting in the cockpit, their fighting spirit soared, completely discarding their arrogance and undue confidence.

The Southern Legion had been prepared for the Alliance's participation, so they weren't shocked to an extreme.

At most, they hadn't expected the opponent's reaction to be so swift, deploying their planes and pilots from the start.

But this was also good.

Rather than constantly guarding against lurking enemies, it's better to fight a straightforward battle!

"...If you want to die, I'll grant you!"

The squadron leader roared, with machine cannons spewing tongues of fire, biting towards the nearest W-2 aircraft.

The kilometer distance disappeared in an instant; soon both sides were engaged in close combat.

The rumble of cannons filled the battlefield, tracer rounds extending in the sky.

The blazing trajectories were like cavalry guns wielded by soldiers, thrusting back and forth beneath the low-hanging clouds.

Planes continuously fell from the sky.

Among them were the corps' "Daggers", and also the Alliance's "Mosquito-style".

The combat power of these Vellante pilots is not weak, even far stronger than those servant pilots of the Falcon Kingdom.

And their planes are the same, completely different from those "export versions" used by the Falcon Kingdom Air Force that were modified to simplify production processes!

Even if both use propellers, there is still a huge difference between them. Whether it's maneuverability or speed, they are not on the same level at all.

After consecutively shooting down four planes, Feng Qing gradually felt a bit strained.

Her left wing was moderately damaged, the leading edge flap seemed to be broken, and the remaining ammunition was already scarce... but these were not the most lethal.

The most lethal thing was that the airship, which had turned back to defend, was getting closer, and the ground's anti-aircraft firepower had also completed its preparations.

The enemy's aircraft group is orderly moving to the north.

If they follow, within five minutes they will enter the airship's firepower net. But if they don't stick close, they will soon be bitten by the ground's anti-aircraft firepower.

Looking at the few bullet holes penetrating the cockpit, Feng Qing took a deep breath and prepared to restart, shouting into the communication channel.

"...Commander! The distance is almost enough, let's start the second stage of the operation!"

Clearly, Brother Mosquito thought so too.

After a brief crackling of static, a decisive voice quickly came through the communication channel.

"All units, listen up! This operation has entered the second stage! Remember your objectives! Before crashing, make sure to fire the last bullet for me!"

"See you on the forum!"

"Awoooo!!"

With that, Brother Mosquito himself started to shout awooo wooo, then pressed down the rising nose of the plane and dove towards the train station below.

The passionate roar ignited the hot blood in every player's heart, making Feng Qing, usually quiet, feel her blood burning and she shouted along.

The remaining sixty-some W-2 aircraft suddenly scattered like fireworks across the sky, turning and diving towards the ground, catching those "Daggers" trying to move the battlefield north completely off guard.

The captain of the third airfleet was shocked, remembering the command, angrily shouted into the communication channel.

"Stop them!"

His order wasn't even necessary. Those well-trained Vellante pilots realized the intention of these Alliance pilots and immediately ended the cat-and-mouse chase, turning to follow up.

But it was already too late!

Those planes diving towards the ground seemed to have no intention of pulling up again, they opened their beepers as they dove and pushed the throttle to the bottom.

"Wooo——!"

The piercing shriek echoed in the air, like the trumpet of death wailing.

They each locked on to their targets, then emptied the last few dozen rounds left in their aircraft's guns.

A rain of fire fell from the sky, scaring the Vellante soldiers guarding near the train station who all scrambled for cover.

And it was the same for those loaders, who dropped what they were holding and ran desperately towards the outside of the train station upon hearing that sharp sound.

One of the planes plunged straight into a warehouse, and soon that warehouse was undergoing a sympathetic explosion, a dazzling flame shooting out from the roof, the explosions popping like fireworks.

These planes use fuel cells based on solid hydrogen, once they disable the safety measures, the thing itself is a bomb, with an energy density way higher than those lighters that burst in reality.

And this towering flame was just the beginning!

Apart from those W-2 attack aircraft pouring out machine gun fire, there were some planes with 100-kilogram bombs hanging under their bellies!

That metallic hydrogen is much more vicious than just solid hydrogen, not to mention it's mixed with some other formulas to enhance its power.

And those planes piloted by "Goblin recruits" each had clear targets, directly rushing towards the locomotives parked at the train station.

And those railways leading to the northern region, and bridges crossing rivers!

Halting the steel torrent pushing north wasn't realistic.

However, they could delay the 17th ten thousand troops of the army by hitting the logistics, buying more preparation time for the Moon Clan Resistance Army in the north.

A plane carrying a bomb charged straight into a cargo-filled train, releasing the bomb's safety just before crashing, diving with the bomb straight onto it.

The Vellante pilot following its tail was stunned, gritting his teeth and pulling the nose up as a wall of fire came toward him.

These guys are crazy!

The successive explosions lasted a whole five minutes. Each blast made the heart of the Vellante soldiers hiding around bleed.

Sixty planes burned themselves like fireworks, causing huge damage to the West Sail Port and its surrounding transportation routes and strategic facilities. The "Daggers" right behind them could do nothing but watch.

"Damn it!!"

Looking at the sea of fire that was the train station, the captain of the third airfleet pounded his thigh in anger, unexpectedly cracking open the wound on his arm that had just been bandaged, making him grimace in pain.

A cockpit cannon shot had pierced his cabin before, though it hadn't hit him, the flying debris had grazed his arm, nearly cutting his artery.

Though he harbored a storm of anger in his heart, he had no other means besides fury right now, only able to request orders from the airfield's control tower, then give the order for the rest of the squadron to return to base.

Meanwhile, the four "Peidao" jet fighters from Evernight Harbor arrived in vain, circling the sky without finding the enemy plane, and had to helplessly return to base.

These planes had high requirements for their airports and ground service environments. Here, there wasn't even an airport that could allow them to land or provide maintenance services.

Watching the dots disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye on the radar screen, General Giulion's face was as grim as the cloud-covered sky.

He didn't need to ask his subordinates to guess the massive losses caused by this airstrike.

The adjutant standing next to him swallowed hard and spoke with difficulty.

"A suicide attack... Have these Blue Ground Mice lost their minds?!"

For a group of unrelated survivors, they've even sacrificed their lives!

He couldn't understand what those guys were thinking.

Don't they have families of their own?!

General Giulion's face was grim, yet he didn't panic as his adjutant did, just calmly narrowed his eyes at the map.

"Previously, the staff guessed that the Alliance might be mastering some technology related to remotely operated clones... It seems now, the staff's judgment might be correct."

This was speculation made by the Army's staff during the siege of the Torch Church.

Based on feedback from frontline soldiers, they discovered that although the Alliance soldiers were suffering continuous casualties, the number of elite troops never seemed to decrease.

There is only one explanation.

That is, a portion of the Alliance's soldier casualties—especially the elite units' casualties—were actually clones or something similar.

Although it sounded far-fetched, it seemed to be the most plausible explanation.

And it also explained why the Alliance's residents of the refuge rarely ventured beyond communication range and why the Alliance tirelessly promoted their cables.

From this, he could make an initial deduction.

Namely, the clones operated by the residents of the refuge could only operate within the communication radius.

Beyond that radius, they must risk going in person, and if they die, they truly die.

For example, like those four Blue Ground Mice who visited West Sail Port previously.

Hearing General Giulion's words, the adjutant standing by was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly said.

"But… if that's the case, why didn't our signal interference bombs work?"

He always felt that "remotely controlled clones" sounded too far-fetched, even less plausible than the theory that "the Alliance's residents of the refuge are actually bionic humans."

But General Giulion shook his head, still firmly believing in his hypothesis.

"Electromagnetic waves are not the only signal transmission medium. Have you forgotten those mutated slime fungi? We still haven't fully understood what that psychic signal is."

It's said that long, long ago, the United Human discovered some planetary consciousness entity on Gaia planet and got inspiration to develop technology named the "Mind Interference Device."

This device can repel creatures with lower intellect and communicate with those of higher intellect, once considered by the academic community as the best medium for communicating with local civilizations.

After all, verbal communication is too inefficient; not only does it take a long time to decipher, but it can also lead to misunderstandings.

And whether one is led by psychic interference signals can serve as a touchstone, measuring whether the other party's mind is worthy of communication and what strategies to engage with.

However, even though "Mind Interference Technology" was developed during the Human Alliance Era, no one could truly decipher that so-called psychic signal even after the onset of the Wasteland Era.

The Alliance was clearly the same, but it didn't stop the ones who possessed the technology from using it.

Looking at the completely stunned adjutant and the other officers, Giulion spoke firmly.

"... No matter what medium they use to operate the clones, the signals must pass through cables or signal towers to reach the front line, and these facilities leave traces!"

Saying this, he looked at an officer standing in front of the command table and issued his order.

"… We Weilante People look too distinct from the locals to operate behind enemy lines conveniently. I need you to train a special force composed of Poluo people to infiltrate behind enemy lines and launch surprise attacks on their communication facilities!"

The officer stood at attention and saluted.

"Yes, Sir!"

Giulion turned his attention back to the map on the command table, a cold smile gradually forming on his lips.

He admitted that this airstrike caught him off guard, and the Alliance's response speed exceeded his expectations.

But if those guys thought they could thwart his entire plan with such clumsy tactics, they were way too naive.

This war had only just begun.

Since the Alliance's air force had joined the battle prematurely, the equipment prepared for the Alliance could also be deployed in advance.

Though expensive missiles aren't needed against the natives, using them against the Alliance is worthwhile.

No matter how cheap the clones are, planes equipped with plasma engines and fusion reactors are not; exchanging them with however many missiles is worth it.

Aside from the planes, there are the ships.

Setting aside his previous underestimation, Giulion focused intently on the sea area at the southwest corner of the map.

If nothing unexpected happens.

The South Sea Union fleet should have arrived...

Chapter 852: The Mysterious Fleet

The sea was billowing with waves, and majestic warships were cutting through the waves.

They were the Fleet of the South Sea Union, and also the only organized naval combat force on these waters.

The flagship leading them was the Harpoon Cruiser, distinguished by its remarkable achievements in the civil war.

Behind the cruiser, four destroyers were trailing.

Apart from the homeland defense forces, the South Sea Union had mobilized almost all available warships. Even beyond their naval forces, there were three submarines lurking beneath the surface.

Originally, the Union contributed significantly to the unification of the South Sea Union, and now that the Alliance was in trouble, the South Sea Union naturally would do whatever it takes to help their brothers.

Although the survivors on the southern sea islands were not interested in the disputes on land, they knew very well that the Legion's ambition was far beyond just one old provincial territory.

They would gradually test the Eastern Survivor Forces' limits and continuously push forward, exploiting the Academy and enterprises' weaknesses, thus compressing the living space of the civilized world.

The South Sea Union would not let the Legion succeed, as helping other suffering survivors was indeed helping themselves.

However—

The opening of this battle was not optimistic.

Inside the "Harpoon" bridge, President Li Minghui, dressed in military uniform again, squinted slightly at the radar and sonar signals on the screen.

"...Haha, it seems we have some trouble."

Five hundred kilometers away, there were as many as twenty signals consistent with warship characteristics flickering in and out.

These ships' hulls were coated with radar-absorbent materials, clearly of high technical content.

Moreover, just as they detected the other side, it was evident that the other side had also noticed their presence and was cautiously maintaining a distance, circling toward the northeast.

Their intention was clear, and it was to escort the transport ships traveling between West Sail Port and Evernight Harbor.

According to the original plan, the South Sea Union Fleet was to head to the sea route between West Sail Port and Evernight Harbor to blockade the ports and surrounding waters.

However, it now seemed this task was not going to be so simple...

Li Minghui pondered for a moment, picked up the communicator on the console, and promptly ordered.

"Release the reconnaissance drones!"

The communication channel quickly responded.

"Yes!"

Following the order, the "Reef" destroyer traveling alongside raised its launch tube at the front, "thumping" out a wisp of white smoke, launching a sword-shaped missile into the airspace ahead.

After flying some distance in the air, the missile unfolded its wings to both sides, soaring like a petrel into the clouds, swiftly approaching the signals on the radar.

Inside the bridge, Li Minghui stared intently at the radar screen with those twenty flickering signals, his hands resting on the console.

Time ticked by, and the atmosphere inside the bridge was exceptionally tense.

Naval warfare was much more monotonous than ground warfare, with not many fancy tactics; discovering the enemy could be a momentary action, being discovered by the enemy could also be a momentary action, and a tiny mistake could turn the efforts of tens of thousands into sunken scrap iron.

The weapon operator's palms were sweating, but the clenched fists did not leave the console.

This war was not as simple as they initially imagined, bombing a few fish in the Poluo Sea and returning home with medals.

Especially for them, this was not a battle to protect their homeland but to protect someone else's. If the result ended in death, it was uncertain if anyone would remember their efforts.

It was at this moment that these young men finally understood their "big brother" Union's feelings back then.

Betting one's life for a shared destiny was not an easy endeavor...

The drone continued to fly forward, trailing the fleet's sailing track for dozens of kilometers.

Li Minghui grabbed the communicator again, ordering in a calm voice.

"Activate the active radar!"

Upon the order, the drone opened a hatch on its underside, releasing a fist-sized pod.

Electromagnetic signals fanned out forward, completely enveloping those twenty or so flickering signal sources.

Just then, an astonishing scene occurred.

The moment the feedback arrived, those twenty or so flickering signal sources abruptly vanished from the radar screen!

"...Our drone has not detected any enemy vessels! Request further instructions!"

Bewildered expressions appeared on each face, and the officers inside the bridge all froze simultaneously.

Including Li Minghui.

His pupils slightly enlarged for a moment but soon contracted again.

"It's most likely electronic warfare..."

Standing beside Commander Li Minghui, the captain of the Harpoon Cruiser said with a frown.

Li Minghui nodded, grabbed the communicator, and continued to order.

"Turn off the active radar and switch to optical cameras... Let's take a closer look at the target."

"Yes!"

An echo came from the communication channel, and the "Reef" destroyer controlling the drone quickly complied.

After flying further in the air, the reconnaissance drone soon approached the target sea area, and as expected by Li Minghui, the whole sea was empty except for the billowing waves.

At this time, it seemed the other side had detected their drone deployment action, and the signals that used to appear on their shipborne radar were also gone.

Li Minghui furrowed his brows tightly, contemplating for a moment before speaking.

"It should be submarines..."

The adjutant standing beside him swallowed a mouthful of saliva, nervously asking.

"Shall we send a submarine to take a look?"

Sending a submarine to scout ahead is considered one of the routine operations. It can retreat faster than a destroyer, especially in deep seas. It's quite challenging to hunt down a submarine determined to escape.

However, just as he finished speaking, the captain of the Harpoon Cruiser interrupted him without hesitation.

"Better not do that; it might be a trap. If I were their commander, I would certainly have set up an ambush nearby!"

At this moment, a staff officer standing by suddenly spoke up.

"Is there a possibility... that they actually don't know where we are?"

The crowd began to murmur.

Li Minghui pondered for a moment, nodded, and said in a deep voice.

"I was just considering this possibility. We initially detected the signal with passive sonar, and it's very likely that they used bait to deliberately create noise."

The reason they probed this way is highly probable because they are in a similar situation.

Both parties are aware of each other's existence but are unclear about the other's specifics.

However, in this way...

"This probing should be considered a stalemate."

It seems there are always people better, and heavens beyond.

One has to admit, the opponent he encountered this time is much more challenging than Charles, making it unrealistic to rely solely on the art of command to toy with others.

However, this may not be entirely a bad thing.

Evenly matched opponents keep each other restrained; the other side probably doesn't want a misfire either.

After all, even nominally, this is a war between the Western Legion and the nations of Poluo Province.

Before the Legion tears off the mask and declares war on the Alliance, the South Sea Union fleet would at most block the ports and raid strategic facilities belonging to the Western Legion, sink a few supply ships, but would never boldly bomb the port.

This war hasn't escalated into a full-scale war.

And as a supporting party, they have no reason to actively escalate this war.

"It's difficult... We'll have to see what our allies say."

Li Minghui took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it with a lighter.

It seems there won't be a fight today.

The opponent is waiting for them to take the bait while trying to make them fire the first shot.

The staff officer frowned, still mulling over it.

"The tricky part now is... we still can't determine whom these ships belong to."

Li Minghui's deputy looked at him.

"Does it matter?"

The staff officer nodded.

"Of course it matters... If it's the Western Legion, we need to watch our backs closely."

Currently, in the south sea area, there's just one destroyer and one submarine. Besides these, they have to rely on the air force from the Ring Island and those land-based missile launchers.

But relying on those things alone is not enough.

There was a brief silence on the bridge, followed by the resumed murmured conversations.

Although the Eastern Legion has reached a private agreement with the Alliance, the other two legions have yet to express their stance.

"... I heard the Western Legion is in the New Continent."

"Hmm... The other side of this planet."

"Has anyone been there?"

"As far as I remember, no... Too far from either the east or west, no supply points along the way, and the port location is uncertain."

"Wonder how they've developed over there..."

"If only we had a satellite to take a look."

Watching the discussions among the people, Li Minghui did not participate, just silently smoking.

The captain standing by sighed after a long period of silence.

"If only 'Haiya' were still around."

It had been the only battleship in the South Sea Union, the only airship designed against the legion... However, the militant elements within turned it on their own people.

But on the other hand, Shelter No. 70 did indeed make them stick to themselves for too long.

Those airships based on starship cores are no longer the legion's only reliance.

They have just stepped out of the island now...

...

On the other side, at the forefront of the battlefield, the 17th ten thousand troops under Ten Thousand Leader Olet had already taken Sulak County in the northwest of Lion State, opening a breakthrough to the north.

The defense line organized by Poluo Country's first, first ten thousand troops was like paper, initially bombarded into disorientation, then encircled and divided by the armored troops serving as the vanguard.

The Southern Legion excelled in using artillery, with armor merely as a supplement.

Even so, for Poluo Country, which practically has no tanks, the hundreds of 'Conqueror No. 10' in the breakthrough direction could still be called a steel torrent.

The first to enter Sulak County was the 171st thousand team commanded by General Ross.

In the local culture of Poluo Province, 'Sulak' means the lion's head, and this surname is also a prominent family occupying vast tracts of fertile land, with tens of thousands of tenant farmers.

Ross wasn't sure whether the surname 'Sulak' came first or if it was the weird slang 'lion's head,' and he didn't really care.

As a conqueror, he only cared whether the locals cooperated with his conquest.

If they didn't cooperate, he wouldn't mind hanging this "Lion's Head" on the wall displaying trophies.

However, amusingly, when his troops entered this area, they encountered no resistance and were instead warmly welcomed by all the "Sulak".

The largest village in the county had a man about sixty years old leading a group of people standing in the middle of the road.

He wore a luxurious robe, resembling an elder among his people. His hair was graying, and his aged face was full of joy, as if wholeheartedly welcoming the arrival of the Weilante people.

Seeing these people without guns, Ross waved his hand, signaling the armored troop carriers to follow the tanks into the town, while he got out of the jeep and walked with several officers to the old man.

Seeing the Weilante officer approaching, the old man trembled and took two steps forward, almost wanting to kneel.

"Sir... you have finally come! Those heavenly lords have caused us so much suffering!"

There was no exaggeration in his words; the minions under those heavenly lords killed nobles at sight and robbed money and grain, scaring him into hiding in the mountains for half a month. It wasn't until he heard Anush was dead and the heavenly army scattered that he dared to return with his family.

Indifferent to what had happened here, Ross glanced at him.

"Are you the noble here?"

The old man chuckled and quickly nodded his head.

"Indeed... I am Cham Sulak, a viscount personally enshrined by His Majesty, and the lands within a hundred miles are considered part of my domain."

Ross did not waste words with him, merely gave a nod to the officer nearby and tossed a list into the old man's hands.

Looking at the stunned old man, the officer succinctly said.

"We are from the Southern Legion, invited by your Majesty Akbar to help you eliminate bandits in the north. Your Majesty demands that you cooperate with us fully, or face punishment according to national law."

"Additionally, we need food for 100,000 people, primarily flour, supplemented by meat and other supplies, which we request you prepare."

Hearing this number, Cham was taken aback, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"One hundred, one hundred thousand?!"

Not only was he shocked, but the "Sulak" followers behind him were equally dumbfounded, whispering in fear as if facing the apocalypse.

Observing this chattering group of mice, Ross impatiently pointed to the list in the old man's hand.

"There's a price on the list. Prepare according to our requirements, and we'll pay you."

Though often mimicked by looters, they were not looters themselves.

For lands of value, they did not intend to disrupt the existing production relationships, even offering small incentives from other colonies to buy off the locals.

Of course, once this war was over, they'd reclaim the investment in time, while the local survivors would repay the short-sightedness and fleeting sweetness with generations of toil and sweat.

Hearing these big-nosed individuals offer payment, Cham breathed a sigh of relief, his pallor replaced by a joyful smile, nodding and bowing as he spoke.

"Rest assured! Our county is rich in produce, with no shortage of food! There are other counties nearby; I'm sure the supplies you need can be gathered!"

Ross nodded, not wasting time on the man, sending him away while assigning patrol tasks to his subordinates.

The Legion's supply line had been attacked by the Alliance Air Force, and the planned supplies to the front couldn't arrive on time.

They needed to rest here briefly until logistics caught up before advancing.

Sulak County was a good position, suitable as a supply transit point for the front line.

Perhaps they could build a temporary port on the western shoreline to ease the logistical pressure on West Sail Port.

While Ross was assigning tasks to his subordinates, he suddenly noticed a group of men and women, half-naked, kneeling by the roadside.

All of them were young, in their early twenties, without exception tied up with ropes.

The fifty or so people looked like livestock tied in a pigsty, their faces pale and numb, making one wonder if they were alive if not for their breathing.

Ross raised his eyebrows, looking at Cham, who was dutifully trailing beside him.

"Who are these people?"

Seeing the Weilante inquire about these people's identities, Cham immediately answered with an ingratiating smile.

"Sir, these scum are the Sky Bandits! They're no good, trying to incite us against you!"

Sky Bandits?

Ross was briefly stunned, taking a moment to realize they referred to the "heavenly army," then squinted his eyes.

Speaking of which, these people still owed them a blood debt.

"Take them outside and execute them."

"Yes!"

The centurion beside him saluted and marched with his subordinates toward the kneeling group with murderous intent.

The people followed them obediently, soon collapsing to the ground amid gunfire.

Thick blood stained the earth red as the walking corpses became real corpses.

A group of onlookers hid in distant fields, consisting of serfs and tenant farmers from nearby estates.

Never having seen such a bloody scene, they watched curiously, their faces half fearful yet half excited.

The Weilante soldiers, having finished shooting, grabbed a few onlookers, handed them shovels, and told them to find a place to bury the corpses for rest in peace.

The people hastily nodded, not asking for compensation, and began digging pits in the execution ground with effort.

Some even secretly reached out, slipping some blood-stained soil into their pockets while digging.

Witnessing all, the Weilante soldiers standing by couldn't help but sneer, a hint of undisguised scorn in their voices.

"...It's really a waste to leave this fertile land to them to manage."

Another Weilante soldier shrugged while carrying a rifle and chuckled.

"But no one gave them this land. If I remember correctly, this was once a zoo. They climbed mountains and crossed ranges to get here themselves."

"Hahaha!"

"If I were their ancestors, I'd surely regret it. It's better to die in the desert than look like this."

In response to those brazen taunts, the slaves digging pits remained silent but did not feel any discontent.

These were the remnants of the Prosperity Epoch; what did they have to do with them?

Only in situations where they needed to boast would they mention that their ancestors once came from the center of the prosperous world, including praising General Lowell for his unmatched achievements in the icy wilderness, and mocking how pitiful the tribes outside the Jubar Mountains were, chased around by the three-headed, six-armed Variants.

Yet sometimes they would spit on Lowell, reject the War Construction Committee for abandoning them, and resent the Prosperity Epoch for not leaving them a shred of inheritance.

Just as sometimes they remembered they were Poluo people, and other times distanced themselves from Poluo people or any other kind of rats.

Some people turned memories into boots to tread farther, some turned memories into clothes for a pleasing appearance. Creatively, they turned memories into pillows, tossing and turning only to sleep peacefully... and indeed, they sleep peacefully nowadays.

Standing aside, Peter smoked silently, not joining the soldiers' discussion, just feeling irritated.

He didn't care at all what these people's ancestors were like, nor did he care who this land belonged to; he just wanted to fight their real opponents quickly.

Whether it was the Alliance or the enterprise, at least send a decent opponent!

Fighting these unarmed people brought him no sense of pride at all, instead he felt shame.

Especially that shimmering figure in the courtroom, it was always vivid in his mind.

Recently he often had nightmares, dreaming he returned to that courtroom but stood in the defendants' seat, while the jury stood behind him, filled with people who were already dead.

Among them were Weilante people, and some others whose noses weren't as high.

Though that was just a dream, it still left him in a cold sweat.

It was then that the centurion's voice called out from afar.

"Peter, done digging yet?"

Startled back to reality, Peter hastily replied.

"Almost done!"

The centurion continued to call.

"Don't mind those slaves, let them dig on their own, quickly rejoin the troops!"

"Yes!"

Responding, Peter crushed his cigarette butt into the ground with his foot, led his soldiers quickly back to the team.

Nearby, an eagle-eyed slave spotted the discarded cigarette butt. Once they were gone, he rushed to grab it and stash it in his pocket, even breaking into a fight over claiming first dibs or sharing with those who saw it.

The scene of them rolling in the mud, blood-red and absurd, was both laughable and poignant.

Meanwhile, haste-driven telegrams from Tiandu were sent to Jinjaron Harbor and various places in Poluo Province, informing every inch of 4 million square kilometers about the War outbreak news.

On that day, Survivor Daily of Jinjaron Harbor published another urgent special edition, unusually using blood-red bold letters.

"Brazen Invasion! Southern Legion at war without declaration!"

The bleeding red letters were reminiscent of the pilots' and soldiers' blood.

"Outrageous!"

Sitting in his study, Ah Xin cursed fiercely, slamming the newspaper onto the table.

He seldom lost composure in this way.

But at this moment, he couldn't suppress the flame of anger inside.

And it wasn't just him angry, but thousands upon thousands standing were.

From the port district, Tulip Street, Knight Road... to the reed marshes at Everflow River Port, anger was etched on every indignant face.

Some chose to bow their heads, while some defiantly raised their chins.

They were likewise Poluo people.

And they were awakened!

Standing on the street, Su Ni tucked his textbooks under his arm, contentedly watching the youth among the crowd.

When he was sixteen or seventeen, he didn't have such a commanding presence; if memory serves, he was likely playing with seagulls by the dock, skipping classes, and basking in The Sun.

He was immensely thankful for the choice he made back then, boarding that ship to Jinjaron Harbor, becoming a public school teacher, and happening to read an article titled "Red Soil," bringing it to share in the classroom.

It wasn't some world-shaking feat, just a minor incident occurring after nap time.

Yet he never forgot the radiant light kindling in those young eyes.

The hope breaking through the soil was budding now!

That was the seedling he nurtured by his own hands—

"We sent off our Emperor, yet the Legion wants us to kneel! Tell me! What's your answer?"

The youth standing high shouted until his voice was hoarse, and the response was a thunderous roar.

"Never!!!"

His frail arm raised high in the air, but he wasn't alone, for soon stronger arms lifted up in solidarity.

Among them were those with long sleeves, short sleeves, and sleeveless.

Fingers clenched into fists, upholding a piece of the sky.

"What should we do?"

"Fight them!!!"

Chapter 853: Expansion Pack Update! "Southern Barbarians' Invasion"!

"Fire!!"

Just as the survivors at Jinjaron Harbor were stirred by the Army's invasion, the cannons hidden in the forests at the southwestern border of Dog State and Lion State unleashed a deafening roar at the same time.

A rain of fire filled the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground, engulfing the battlefield thirty kilometers away in a blaze of fire and smoke.

These were the 155mm cannons sold by the Alliance to the Mammoth Nation.

At this moment, there were as many as twenty-four cannons deployed at the front line, forming a full battalion-level fire group!

The cannons fired continuously, delivering twelve rounds of concentrated fire.

The coordinates of the bombardment were located within Lion State, right on the position the Poluo Country's first ten thousand troops had just withdrawn from.

Though it was Poluo Country's territory, the Southern Legion had already broken the truce, and the Moon Clan Resistance Army didn't care about so much anymore.

With these twelve rounds of firepower, the assault of the Army's 172nd thousand team finally stalled, suppressed in the trenches left by the first ten thousand troops of Poluo Country.

Having surged over 300 kilometers like a raging storm, the Army's offensive finally experienced a halt.

And this was probably the biggest and most direct resistance faced by the Southern Legion's front-line troops since they landed until now.

Standing next to a group of artillerymen, "Wolf of Battle" was sitting beside a tree stump, "meditating" with his eyes closed.

After receiving a message offline from Dog Brother from the front lines, he immediately went online, opened his eyes, and greeted the battalion commander next to him.

"Time to retreat!"

The response from the Southern Legion was swift.

While the mobile units advanced, they still managed to complete the deployment of artillery positions methodically.

Although that iron airship was currently pinned near West Sail Port, it was not the only support weapon of the Southern Legion.

According to the intelligence gathered by Dog Brother, the enemy artillery units were ready to counter-fire, and it wouldn't take long before correcting shots came their way.

The battalion commander, who had been enthusiastically overseeing his men loading and firing, received a bucket of cold water from the warning of his Alliance brother, and his expression immediately turned serious.

"Got it!"

Without any hesitation, he held the radio and immediately issued the order to retreat.

Soldiers wearing exoskeletons immediately stepped forward to pack up the cannon mounts, skillfully hooking them to the back of light trucks.

This set of actions had been drilled countless times and practiced in countless engagements with the Grey Wolf Army.

In less than a minute, the entire position was packed, and trucks towing the cannons quickly withdrew along the pre-prepared paths.

Not long after they had just left, thunderous explosions erupted not far behind their heads.

A corrected shell first landed in the forest.

Soon after, within less than half a minute, waves of fire rain, even fiercer than before, began to cover the area.

The explosions and shrapnel tore through the forest, leaving ancient towering trees shredded.

Watching the shaking forest behind them, some soldiers on the trucks couldn't help but show a trace of lingering fear on their faces.

The reaction speed of this Southern Legion was much faster than that of the Grey Wolf Army. When fighting guerrillas with Arai Yang's troops, they even had time to have a smoke before leaving.

But not here, not even a chance for a smoke.

If they were late by even ten seconds, they might have lost a leg in the forest.

"Did we hit them just now? Did the enemy suffer a lot?"

Sitting on the truck, the battalion commander showed no fear, only eagerly looked at the Alliance brother, asking with a hopeful expression.

Wolf of Battle glanced at the VM, which showed no signal for now, and calmly replied.

"Our scouts are confirming, no rush."

Actually, offline, he had already confirmed the result of the bombardment.

The previous round of firepower indeed hurt the Army badly, and the ongoing counter-attack likely had some frustrated intent behind it.

However, his United Human language wasn't very good, making explanations cumbersome, so he didn't bother explaining.

The battalion commander didn't press further, only turning his gaze towards the tumultuous forest behind.

The booming artillery had been going on for some time, with no sign of stopping.

Apparently, the Army's preparation was indeed thorough, as if it intended to blow up the entire mountain.

But this also indicated that their strategic target had been achieved.

Even before the battle began, Laxi had already instructed the front lines that combat units at all levels should not be confined to the battle line, but instead, use long-range firepower and terrain to hinder the enemy's offensive whenever possible.

The brothers of Poluo Country had proven that positional warfare couldn't stop the Army's advance.

They had to replace the original solid lines with more flexible ones, spreading small drum units over a wider depth, and then pouncing and taking a savage bite when the enemy's main force penetrated deep into the heartland, whittling down their living force through repeated pulls.

The artillery noise behind them was still loud, but it had gradually receded in the ears of the people.

They will head to the next position and await the next order from the division headquarters.

A teenage soldier, about fourteen years old, muttered with his head down, clutching his rifle.

"By the way, just how many Vellante people landed this time?"

He was a new recruit who enlisted a few months ago, and also a local from the Northern Three States.

Previously, when the little emperor came, he had been conscripted to build the palace.

Later, when the Moon Clan Resistance Army attacked, the little emperor fled with a group of nobles, tails between their legs, leaving him with nowhere to go.

Afterward, a young man about his age found him, stuffed an LD-47 into his hand, and told him if he couldn't find where home was, he might as well join the Resistance Army. Here, he'd not only get meals but also lands, so he joined.

Next to him sat an older soldier, slightly senior but only in his early twenties, who thought for a moment before speaking.

"According to our formation, about thirty divisions."

Thirty divisions...

Hearing that number, many sitting in the truck couldn't help but gulp, even some seasoned veteran soldiers of the Resistance Army couldn't help but grimace.

They had thought their numbers were sufficient, but hadn't expected the opponent had plenty as well.

The Mammoth Nation currently only had ten divisions' worth of troops, with five deployed at the frontline, while the other five were rushing from the rear.

Nearby, although the Poluo Country had over a hundred divisions, more than half were just for show, with a million troops unable to assemble even for the equipment needs of 100,000.

Moreover, these guys faced a significant issue—that was re-equipping the troops.

Though the rifles from the Army and Alliance shared a 7mm caliber, ultimately they weren't the same kind of ammunition.

Even the gray uniforms were distributed to only one-third of the troops, and the remaining two-thirds essentially resembled a ragtag army.

Even with the Alliance's support, this was still a battle marked by overwhelming disparity.

A new recruit couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

"... Can we win?"

The warrior wolf intended to speak the truth, fearing it might be a bit challenging. Even the Alliance had never engaged directly with a unified Army, and it was hard to say how much of a chance the fractured Poluo Province had.

This was purely from a rational analysis.

Just because they won once in an artillery battle couldn't completely turn the tide of the entire war.

With the war barely starting a day, the Southern Legion had already seized the whole northwest coastal line of Lion State, pushing the frontline near Sulak County.

If the Alliance were to fight this campaign, the advance speed probably wouldn't be faster than theirs.

Yet, before he could voice his concerns, the battalion commander beside him placed a hand firmly on the new recruit's shoulder.

"We will win!"

That voice was resolute, just like his unwavering eyes.

His gaze seemed to surpass the present, already envisioning a future filled with light and beauty.

He believed without doubt.

The warrior wolf sitting beside looked slightly bewildered.

He didn't know where this guy's confidence came from, but was unexpectedly surprised to find that this group of scattered soldiers had somehow developed faith.

This bunch of uneducated, theory-less guys had managed to inspire belief!

It was truly incredible...

Like many new players in the Alliance, he had once looked down on the Moon Clan Resistance Army, thinking that these guys without any guidance or theoretical foundation, at best could become a mountain king, merely lucky if they could resist the Grey Wolf Army.

But now he found, perhaps it was his arrogance and prejudice, thinking "thoughts are not absolute" equals "absolutely no thoughts."

The Alliance wasn't built in a day either.

When the Pioneer passed by Qingquan City years ago, they were as insignificant as ants by the roadside.

Seeing surrounding eyes secretly glancing his way, the warrior wolf stayed silent for a long time, before showing a faint smile and saying the most fluent sentence he had in recent times.

"Don't ask such pointless questions..."

"A beast might just have sharper teeth... if that could guarantee a win, we'd still be sitting in trees."

At this amusing metaphor, the truck cabin filled with pleasant laughter.

Many Moon Clan soldiers were amused by this Alliance brother, faces breaking into smiles.

Especially the artillery battalion commander laughed heartily, the cigarette he held dropped from his lips.

Whereas the thirteen-year-old boy looked puzzled, unable to fathom, stared at the Alliance brother and asked.

"Why sitting in trees?"

In his understanding, Alliance brothers were the most learned, respected across the military from squad leaders to division leaders, who attentively considered their advice.

Looking at the kid who should have been in classrooms studying, the warrior wolf grinned, flaunting a bit of the knowledge he had.

"There are many theories about the origin of humans, and one of them is that humans evolved from monkeys."

The kid's eyes widened.

"But I'm a Dog Tribe person..."

"That has nothing to do with what you believe in. It's that... thing called science, right?" The captain, who had just put the cigarette back in his mouth, chimed in with a smile.

He had a fellow townsman who had been to the North Island of the Southern sea area, and that's where he heard the term science from.

This thing is quite remarkable. It's said that the survivors of the Southern sea area rely on something called science to live more comfortably on a small patch of Land than they do on vast plains here, where a piece of clothing costs more than a life.

And that was after they went bankrupt.

Before bankruptcy, it's said the people there were several times wealthier than now.

The battle-hardened wolf: "Strictly speaking, it should be considered a hypothesis, right? After all, no one's witnessed the past firsthand. I don't understand this stuff, it's better to ask your teacher when you get back to School."

The young boy nodded, half understanding, then curiously asked.

"Then... why did we come down from the trees? Wouldn't it be better to stay up there?"

The battle-hardened wolf laughed heartily and said.

"That's a long story; it goes back even before the Prosperity Epoch... even further than the Classic Era..."

...

The sunset sank into the sea, and the sky filled with dark clouds finally poured down heavy rain.

The pitter-patter of raindrops fell into the muddy trenches, where a shallow puddle cradled an arm left by someone.

Without paying attention, a Weilante soldier stumbled over that severed arm as he crossed the trench, almost eating mud, but fortunately, the Centurion beside him grabbed his collar and pulled him up.

"Watch your step, if that were a landmine, you'd be dead."

It's said the Alliance has artillery-fired landmines, and deploying those isn't very difficult.

The soldier swallowed a gulp of rainwater-mixed saliva, looking down with shame.

"Yes..."

Peter glanced at the recruit without saying anything, just casting his gaze toward the wrecked Battlefield ahead.

Previously, this was the position of the Poluo Country, and their troops had just retreated, and their allied 172nd thousand team had just filled in.

However, shortly after, artillery shells came crashing down from the northeastern mountain forest area, more than twenty 155-mm cannons, firing a full twelve rounds of volleys.

According to allied reports, a hundred-strong team was right in the center of the barrage, and they lost contact once the second wave of shelling began. They hoped the nearby 171st thousand team would send a force to check on their troops.

The 17th ten thousand troops advanced too quickly, attacked from the air in the rear, so much support has not yet caught up, forcing them to switch from advancing to consolidating their current position.

The brothers of the 172nd thousand team couldn't leave their positions, relying only on friendly forces within the same ten thousand troops.

This unlucky hundred-strong team got bombed, Peter heard they were counting up the junk seized from the Poluo Country army position when suddenly they found themselves hit hard, named by the artillery on the other side.

The artillery coverage was so swift and decisive, probably meaning some Moon Clan Resistance Army reconnaissance team nearby reported the information.

Upon discovering enemy artillery fire and the wireless signal directing the bombardment, the 17th ten thousand troops immediately deployed their artillery unit. However, before their counter-bombardment could begin, the enemy had already ceased fire, likely relocated.

These guys are as cunning as rats; he had to admit they underestimated them.

But correcting it now wasn't too late.

Once Peter rejoined the team, he was immediately assigned a new task to go to the allied position that was under attack.

They needed to both confirm the allied situation and cooperate with the surviving allies to flush out the enemy's eyes.

"Damn it..."

Looking at the ruined Battlefield, Peter cursed under his breath but gave a signal to his teammates, braving it as they searched forward.

The rain poured harder, with gusts of wind making the search increasingly difficult.

Especially when they had to be cautious of their surroundings, they might not be the only ones active nearby.

Mammoth Nation's scouts might be around, and the Poluo Country soldiers might return for the equipment left on the positions, charging back upon hearing the cannon fire.

That was why the 172nd thousand team dared not move recklessly; they must be extra careful until the airship returned to the frontline.

As he approached an Anti-cannon hole, ready to peer inside, a rifle suddenly aimed at his head.

"Don't move!"

In the darkness, he saw a fierce eye, while the other was clouded with blood.

Noticing the high nose bridge, Peter released his grip on his rifle, indicating no harm.

"I'm one of you."

Before he said anything, the man in the shadows apparently recognized his identity too, lowering the gun aimed at his forehead, spitting bloody saliva onto the ground.

"Damn it... I just noticed, which unit are you from?"

"A hundred team under the 171st thousand team." Peter only then realized the agitated guy is a Centurion, with a rank one grade higher than his own.

"171?" The Centurion paused for a moment, frowning as he muttered, "What about our own people?"

Peter spoke concisely.

"They can't focus on you for now, and have entrusted us to check on your situation... How many of you are left?"

The Centurion curled his lips.

"The casualties aren't too heavy... nine dead and quite a number injured, around ten or so. The sanitary conditions here are too poor, and it's raining. I'm afraid they won't hold out much longer."

Really only nine dead?

Peter glanced at him suspiciously, doubting if he had really confirmed it, but did not press further, and immediately said.

"Let them go to the nearby farm. We have established a base of operations there, and have medical personnel. When the rear transport team arrives, they can be sent to the back."

The Centurion's eyes lit up upon hearing this and he agreed without hesitation.

"Alright! I'll leave them to you then!"

"What about you?"

Seeing the Centurion seemingly not planning to retreat from here, Peter instinctively asked.

The Centurion's eyes flashed with a hint of fierceness, and he spat out his words through gritted teeth.

"...Those bastards blew up my brothers, can't let it go like this."

Friendly casualties are just one aspect; the other is a huge loss of face.

The earlier artillery strike might well account for the entire day's casualties of the ten thousand troops being taken on by their squad.

If this can't be avenged, he would have no face to remain a Centurion!

Peter wanted to persuade him to calm down a bit, but he reckoned this guy wouldn't listen to the opinion of a mere Centurion.

"...You better be careful, I have a feeling the Alliance people might be coming."

"Hah, it's perfect timing!" The Centurion smirked, patted Peter's shoulder, "The wounded are in the anti-cannon hole... they're in your hands now."

After speaking, he crawled out of the trench under the pouring rain and shouted at the position.

"Those who can still move get up with me! These damn bastards are finally done with their shit, come follow me and deal with them!"

"Oh, oh, oh!"

"Fight them to the end!!"

High-spirited roars spread across the position, soldiers clad in bullet-proof armor and exoskeletons climbed out of the trench one after another, and fiercely gathered northward.

The high-spirited roars soared through the torrential rain, drifting towards the fields nearby.

Lying in the fields, "Dog Conduit" had a disappointed expression as he retracted the small drone hovering in the sky, and shut off the VM screen emitting a faint glow.

"Damn, what a pity..."

The earlier artillery strike probably only killed twenty or thirty people; on average, it took five shells to kill one person, which was somewhat wasteful.

If only there were artillery nearby.

Judging by the route those big-nosed ones were taking, they planned to continue north. If another salvo could be launched at this time, it might wipe out this hundred-man team in one go.

But the artillery camp hidden in the mountains had already relocated; all he could do now was watch.

He carefully climbed out of the fields, Dog Brother cautiously avoiding the murderous Weilante soldiers, and sneaked towards Sulak County.

Earlier it seemed a thousand-team arrived there, he planned to scout over there before going offline to see what the situation was...

...

While the Southern Legion's frontline troops were being bombed, swearing in another world, the "Wasteland OL" official website was bubbling with festival-like excitement.

It just goes to show, people's grief and happiness are not shared.

Unlike the Weilante and Poluo people waiting in torment, for the "Wasteland OL" players, even before the fight started, they couldn't wait to "encourage peace."

Months prior, several big names on the forum had analyzed that an accidental clash was almost inevitable.

And now, the restless Army indeed as they predicted, Dog Planner's big knife finally couldn't restrain itself!

[DLC Update: "Southern Invasion"]

[Description: The Southern Legion supports the false Emperor Akbar Xilan to reconstruct the Xilan King's Court and launches an armed invasion of the Poluo Province Survivor Forces in the name of the false Xilan regime!

This isn't just a provocation to the Wasteland's peace and order, but also a betrayal to the ancient pact! The Alliance survivors will not allow the Army to expand east of the Great Desert in any form, if they enter the battlefield under the guise of mercenaries, then we'll show them the volunteers' strength!]

[Joining method: Sign up as a volunteer on VM and head to the frontline; it will be considered participating in the DLC event. DLC missions will be received through VM.]

[Event rewards: In addition to rewards for completing tasks, accumulating points can be exchanged for more rewards after the DLC ends, detailed content coming soon.]

[Risk warning: This event area has few save points, and the situation is extremely complex, requiring players who sign up to have a Sequence Level of at least LV10 and over 3000 Contribution Points.]

[Currently signed up players: 27,155 people!]

Chapter 854: The Western Legion Hoping to Make a Fortune Quietly

Shelter No. 404.

The browsing room on Floor B4.

Chu Guang, who finally finished editing and uploading the update file, was browsing the feedback from players and backseat drivers below the posts.

Passing by onlookers: "Why is there no version number! When exactly will the update happen! (frustrated)"

Angel of Lingbo: "Dog plan, get to work, are you fixing those few bugs or not?"

Pig Breeder: "Dad!! Give me a closed beta qualification!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Borrowing this post to advertise, ergonomic game cabin! The basic model comes with a helmet lying support frame, customizable life sign monitoring, nutritional maintenance and auxiliary metabolism functions, etc., so you'll never wake up hungry or with a full bladder! Buy now and get two free physical exams, contact me if interested!! (grin)"

General Thunder: "Damn, Professor Yang! Be careful when buying from him, this dude is a backseat driver, hasn't even played this damn game."

Night Ten: "You might not believe it, but this guy is considered a veteran player. (funny)"

Fang Chang: "I think instead of worrying whether he's played the game, you should worry about him pulling some tricks elsewhere, maybe report it to the police. (side-eye)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Damn! You're prejudiced!"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Brother Guang, can you give me a helmet? I promise I won't mess around once I'm in the game; I just want to see if it's realistic. T.T"

Genuine Water Heater: "I-I-I want to ride a mammoth! QAQ"

Stuffed: "Brother Guang, can you give me a trial card? I just want to go in and take a look! Just one look!"

Tail: "Oh oh oh! That guy is huge! (✪ω✪)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Back when we loaded that guy onto the ship, it almost toppled us over. (sweat)"

Teng Teng: "Speaking of which, this expansion is really far away, after getting off the train, we still have to take a boat."

Crow: "Dying once and playing for half a month for free, it's indeed safest in the Novice Village. (=´ω｀=)"

Stop talking nonsense: "Crap! You're such a slacker!"

"..."

Previously, the White Bear Knights brought two mammoths back from the Mammoth Nation, and now they're being raised at the zoo in the City of Dawn.

The Waste Land Wanderers of River Valley Province are long used to all sorts of variants, especially since their respected manager even keeps a Claw of death as a pet, but their kids are still very interested in these large yet gentle animals.

After the Bone Chewing Chaos ended, there was a baby boom in the Alliance. Now, those kids have learned to speak.

The world in their eyes is different from that of their parents. Seeing those two fluffy hills, they find them novel and adorable, and even want to climb up and play.

While some right-leaning survivors hold conservative views, believing that the abuse of genetic technology is the root cause of the current variant proliferation, and that revitalizing prehistoric creatures via genetic technology shouldn't be showcased positively, others who lean left hold liberal views, seeing the two mammoths as symbols of friendship between the Mammoth Nation and the Alliance.

Like those workers at the Workers' Association.

Moreover, those two mammoths are quite popular on the forum and are quickly becoming the new mascots following "Nicole" and "Xiaoyu."

Previously, some backseat drivers clamored for a helmet, mostly to see "how realistic the game is," and now they have a new reason—"to see a mammoth."

Apart from the new exhibit in the zoo, the City of Dawn has many things it never had before.

Like a second museum, and also an art gallery, a sports hall, and the Space Station Debris Exhibition Hall.

Looking at all these changes brought to the game by the players, Chu Guang felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

A truly smart manager is not like those with lots of ideas and ambitions but are actually incompetent like Witch Camel. They create a robust framework for a systemic project where individuals and objects within the system fulfill their roles and purposes.

If the Alliance grown to this scale still needs him to personally oversee every command, it only means he's been working for nothing.

Resting her chin on her hands, Xiao Qi sitting on the pen holder stared unblinkingly at Chu Guang.

"Come to think of it, the master hasn't updated the version number for quite some time now."

Releasing the mouse, Chu Guang laughed and said.

"Isn't that a good thing? Previously, my biggest worry was what the Alliance would do without me. Now, I'm not worried because even without us intervening, this game will update itself."

"But Xiao Qi thinks it's still too early to think so far ahead about such things... Ah, the number of applicants has surpassed 30,000! That's amazing!" For some reason, Xiao Qi seemed reluctant to discuss this topic and suddenly switched the subject.

Chu Guang didn't think much of it, smiled faintly, and said.

"That number should about hit its limit... I guess it'll reach around thirty-five thousand in the end."

Although the discussion about Poluo Province on the forum has been buzzing lately, "Wasteland OL" isn't limited to that one area.

There's an Ice Sea City special zone in the Wandering Swamp in the north, a Cloud-Below-City special zone in the Yunjian Province to the east, and ten more planned settlements in the south. The players in the Alliance have already spread across the Eastern World of the Central Continent.

Apart from that, the Alliance's Biological Institute and scientific expedition teams are still continuously sending research teams to Baiyue Province and the Eastern Provinces, and they also need players to protect these people.

Although the online numbers are substantial, once divided across various gathering locations, there aren't as many spare players as it seems.

But this war doesn't involve players only.

Due to the active participation of some players in those areas, local survivors have already banded together, temporarily setting aside their grievances to form a united front.

Let alone if there are thirty thousand players heading there.

Even with just three thousand, the Southern Legion has absolutely no chance of winning!

After closing the update announcement page, Chu Guang continued to browse the forum and noticed that Fang Chang had already opened a new thread, discussing war strategies with Mole and other players involved in the expansion.

Currently, the Burning Corps has already flown to Tiandu, and the Skeleton Corps' armored forces have also reached Elephant State, advancing toward the area around Tiandu in Ox State.

There's going to be some good drama soon.

While Chu Guang was enjoying his time checking the forum, Xiao Qi, sitting in the pen holder, suddenly spoke.

"Master, Foreign Minister Cheng Yan says there's something important he needs to discuss with you in person, and he's already at the entrance of the shelter."

Chu Guang glanced at the time; it was already past midnight, causing him to wonder what had gotten Cheng Yan so worked up, so he said.

"Let him come directly to the browsing room to meet me."

Xiao Qi, full of spirit, responded.

"Alrighty!"

After entrusting Xiao Qi with the reception duties, Chu Guang instructed the X-16 standing by to make two cups of coffee, then went to a nearby room to change into casual wear.

Shortly after, the door of the browsing room opened, and Cheng Yan walked in with a serious expression.

"Respected sir manager, I'm sorry to disturb your rest at this hour, but we just received a message from the South Sea Union. On their way to blockade the western port of the Poluo Sea, they were intercepted by an unidentified fleet and had to alter their original plan."

Unidentified fleet?

Chu Guang was slightly taken aback, and his expression quickly turned serious.

"Do we have any suspects?"

Cheng Yan reported truthfully.

"They haven't contacted us directly; both sides tested each other but didn't yield any results. According to Li Minghui's assessment, the power system they use significantly differs from the Southern Legion's ships. It's likely those ships belong to the Western Legion."

Western Legion...

Upon hearing this unfamiliar name, Chu Guang's brow furrowed slightly.

Long ago, he had heard from Vanus that there are four legion leaders, divided into the Eastern, Southern, Northern, and Western Legions.

The Northern, Eastern, and Southern Legions are based on the home continent of the Central Continent, while the Western Legion is located on the distant New Continent.

Due to the vast distance, Vanus didn't have much intel on that area but knew that the Western Legion excels in naval technology, with settlements mainly scattered along the eastern coast of the New Continent, though there are a few ports on the Western coast as well.

Frankly, the ancient "contract" signed by the corporation and the legion under the witness of the Academy and the Grand Canyon does have some loopholes.

The contract only stipulated that the army should not expand eastward across the Great Desert, but there was no stipulation on how much they could expand westward.

After all, this planet is round, and it's not just the Central Continent that exists; on the other side of the planet, there is another slightly smaller continental plate.

What's tricky now is that due to the poor orbital environment, there are no aerospace facilities able to directly observe the New Continent. Even among the Alliance's traveling merchants, few have heard of anyone going such a distant place.

Using mind interference technology to drive away oceanic aliens is something that has only happened in recent years.

In earlier years, ships sailing in the southern sea area of the Central Continent either used "Black Iron Wood," this local method, or the sonar sensors of the South Sea Union. No one dared to explore completely unfamiliar seas.

For the Alliance, intelligence on the West Continent is almost a blank.

Looking at the pondering Chu Guang, Cheng Yan cautiously suggested.

"I'm thinking... Could there be information about the Western Legion on the enterprise's side? After all, Ideal City is located at the easternmost part of the East Coast, at least closer to the New Continent than we are."

After thinking for a moment, Chu Guang said.

"I'll ask... Although I feel they might not be as interested in matters outside of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng as we are."

The Eastern Legion has already been dealt with, but the Northern Corps and the Western Legion have yet to state their positions.

In fact, so far Bennott can only represent the opinion of Triumph City, and the Alliance has no diplomatic channels to directly communicate with the Northern Corps or the Western Legion.

But—

Why does the Western Legion have an interest in the affairs of Poluo Province?

The distance between those guys and Poluo Province is far greater than the distance between the Alliance and Poluo.

Gazing at the steam rising from the coffee cup, Chu Guang quietly pondered, his eyes suddenly shifting slightly.

"...Could it be arms?"

Cheng Yan paused for a moment, then his face slightly changed.

"Do you mean... the Western Legion is exporting arms to West Sail Port?"

"It's not just simple arms export; it might be 'project subcontracting'..." With a slight click of the tongue, Chu Guang took a sip from the coffee cup and placed it back on the table, "I should have thought about the possibility of such a situation."

The relationship between the Southern Legion and the civil official of Triumph City has already strained, making it unlikely to hand over logistics to the latter for support.

Now the Eastern Legion has also made it clear that it will not participate in this battle. The temporary port located southwest of Falling Leaves Province, near the Jubar Mountains, and the passage across the Great Desert will not be open to the Southern Legion.

Thus, it stands to reason that the Southern Legion would choose other cooperative partners.

He could even guess that the high-level members of the Southern Legion must have promised certain benefits to the high-level members of the Western Legion.

For instance, a thirty percent share of the "New Colony" interests.

Just like the cooperation between the Alliance and enterprises on the space elevator project.

Whether one wants to admit it or not, survivor forces with the same consciousness are natural allies.

Cheng Yan earnestly asked.

"...The Southern Alliance wants us to give them some advice on what to do next?"

Chu Guang pondered for a while before speaking.

"The other side has not openly revealed their identity but is instead making covert moves from behind, which shows they also do not want to have a direct conflict with us. Since they are playing dumb, let them, and we won't expose their tricks."

Cheng Yan frowned and asked.

"Are we just going to leave them be?"

"How can we? Do you think our submarines and mother submarines are just for show?" Chu Guang chuckled, his voice carrying a faint chill, "I heard there are quite a few sea monsters in the Poluo Sea, like... Laken, who can launch torpedoes. The transport ships sunk by Laken shouldn't be blamed on us."

Cheng Yan's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"That's a good idea!"

Chu Guang smiled and shook his head, saying nothing.

What's so good about that idea...

Isn't it just basic operation?

He believed that even without his suggestion, Cheng Yan would have come up with that idea.

However, everyone has their small thoughts. This guy is obviously no exception.

When a person's prestige reaches a certain height, people around them, whether out of respect or reliance or for some other purpose, will subconsciously lower their stance.

The residents of the shelter are fine, but the Waste Land Wanderers of the Alliance have it to some extent.

Except for positions related to scientific research, the only Waste Land Wanderer who could fully unleash their talents might just be Little Fish.

Many people, including Lu Bei, only recently changed their address from "Milord" to "Sir" on his repeated request.

Chu Guang could see the restraint in Cheng Yan's heart, but he did not expose it. He simply gave him a brief follow-up assignment, instructing him to handle this matter flexibly, and then ended the meeting.

Some things done too much become excessive instead.

Cheng Yan's work has always been quite good, whether on mission to Jinjaron Harbor or to the Eastern Legion.

Chu Guang didn't want him to interpret it as, "I am dissatisfied with your work"...

"Master, Xiao Qi feels your survivors really rely on you." Watching Cheng Yan leave, Xiao Qi's voice had a slight smugness, gently swinging its legs dangling beside the pen holder.

Seeing this little guy proudly lifting its nose, Chu Guang reached out a finger and tapped its little head.

"I know... but I don't think it's something worth being happy about."

"Humph, as long as Xiao Qi feels happy!"

Smoothing its disheveled hair, Xiao Qi, unusually, did not obey his words and instead argued back.

But moments later, that proud corner of its mouth drooped again, for some reason adopting a cautious tone, and its little swinging legs stopped moving.

"So... can you not leave?"

The fingertip suspended above the little guy's head paused, as Chu Guang, who was about to push it into the pen holder, was taken aback.

"What are you saying?"

Hugging its head with both hands, Xiao Qi muttered.

"Um... Xiao Qi is worried that one day, like that person, you'll leave just saying from now on they are me, then go off to who knows where."

Looking at the suddenly dejected Xiao Qi, Chu Guang was slightly stunned, only after a while remembering who it was talking about.

That was "Fang Ming's" designer.

When that AI named Fang Ming was sent to grant the operation rights of the sky-based weapon, it told Xiao Qi quite a bit about its designer.

Perhaps due to AI sensitivity, Xiao Qi saw similar shadows in itself.

Chu Guang remained silent for a while, rather than continuing the usual playful banter with this little fellow, he gently picked it up and placed it on his shoulder.

"Even the computer buried under the Inner City ruins, specifically used to calculate future scenarios, can't predict one hundred percent accurately... indeed, things often turn out very differently from what we first expected, the unexpected is the majority."

"So don't always worry about those distant matters, at least I am still here now, and we are all still very young."

"Even if I am to go somewhere far in the future, I will bring you along."

-

(Thanks to the lord of the alliance, "Don't Dream Cold," for the reward!!!)

Chapter 855: The Beginning of Chaos

Western front of Poluo Province, Sulak County.

Upon returning to the operational base, Peter first settled the wounded and then reported to his superiors about the friendly forces that had been hit by artillery.

The matter was originally concluded, and he was about to head back to the camp to sleep when gunfire erupted in the north of Sulak County. He had to lead his men to the assembly point and board the armored troop carrier parked at the farmhouse entrance with the Centurion.

Sitting in the open-top troop carrier, a group of young men were eagerly rubbing their hands.

"From the sound of gunfire, it's at least a hundred-man team."

"…Mostly it's the Mammoth Nation's Resistance! I heard those guys are elite, equipped with the United Federation's exoskeletons."

"We have those things too."

In the Great Desert, although there were no shortages of battles, there were basically no hard battles to fight.

Especially since the 17th ten thousand troops led by Olet were stationed at Evernight Harbor.

There were air forces, artillery, and shallow water heavy artillery boats supporting the coastal areas, and the opponents they faced were either rebels of the Indigenous People with pipe rifles or the gray-skinned mutant tribes.

Many of the young men didn't even see where their enemies were, winning as soon as the artillery stopped.

As for the mutants hiding in urban ruins, they generally wouldn't go looking for trouble with those people unless necessary.

After all, conquering the inland land of the Great Desert was not profitable. Although the Army thirsted for land under the sun, it didn't want every piece of it.

Anyway, they finally got the chance to face a decent opponent, and both the common soldiers and their officers felt eager to try.

While the group was discussing it, a slightly older old soldier suddenly frowned.

"…This gunfire sounds familiar."

Peter also sensed something was off.

This gunfire, which had been going on for quite a while, seemed to come from their own weapons.

"Maybe it's Poluo Country's routed soldiers, or maybe it's Mammoth Nation's guerrilla team… hard to say."

Though the Mammoth Nation's army was built to the United Federation's standards, they also had some equipment seized from the Grey Wolf Army.

The gunfire rattled, pfft-pfft, for about twenty minutes, finally stopping just before they arrived.

"The engagement is directly to the north! Get off! Everyone, move quickly!"

Stopping in front of a forest, Peter led his men out of the vehicle, walking through the woods toward the direction of the gunfire to provide reinforcement.

After running for about two hundred meters, Peter finally reached the destination, only to find the battle was already over.

In the dense forest lay over a hundred corpses scattered all over.

Their deaths were extremely gruesome, many riddled with bullets, even throats slit, and beside these people lay some Ripper Rifles, PU-9 submachine guns, and other weapons.

Just as he guessed, this unit was using Army's equipment.

The Centurion who had entrusted injured to him earlier was standing nearby, recognized Peter at a glance, and walked over with a grin.

"You're late, we already took care of it ourselves."

Realizing this Centurion took the initiative to speak with him, Peter glanced at the bodies on the ground and casually asked,

"Who are these people?"

"Probably a guerrilla team, the ones providing fire coordinates for those artillery…damn." The Centurion spat on the ground, looking still dissatisfied.

There were Poluo corpses here, but also some from the Weilante people.

"What's your status?"

"Not bad, but we also lost about a dozen brothers… Of course, they lost more."

Peter didn't speak, glancing down at the face mixed with mud and blood, feeling somewhat familiar.

At that moment, his Centurion also arrived with others. The allied Centurion immediately left his side and started chatting brightly with his superior.

The battle was over, and everyone was relaxed, yet Peter noticed the allied soldiers still wore tense expressions, showing no signs of vengeance being satisfied.

Feeling puzzled, he glanced again at the seemingly familiar face on the ground.

And then it hit him where he had seen that face before.

It was that afternoon.

He was watching a group of haggard people wielding shovels, burying those said to be compatriots of the Heavenly Army.

Peter's Adam's apple moved, and as if spellbound, he squatted down, looked at one of the likely tenant farmers, and reached to search his pocket, indeed finding some blood-stained dirt.

It was indeed those people!

Silent for a long time, Peter quietly wiped the blood and dirt from his hands, then retracted his hand.

As he stood up, he noticed a nearby allied soldier watching him warily.

"Good job."

Matching the young man's gaze, Peter patted his shoulder, said nothing, and turned to leave.

He didn't doubt the righteousness of war, nor did he feel it necessary to seek justice for a bunch of wretched guys, but he felt stifled and confused about what it all meant.

At that moment, his commander finished his cigarette and ended his conversation with their ally's Centurion.

"…Thanks, because you guys took out those nearby eyes, we'll finally be able to sleep soundly."

"Haha, you're welcome, your reinforcement was also very timely."

After exchanging pleasantries, the Centurion gestured for his men to return to where they had disembarked.

Before getting on the vehicle, Peter walked to his commander's side, speaking in a low voice.

"Those people didn't seem like Mammoth Nation's recon troops… Who sends a hundred-man team for reconnaissance?"

Even if there were hundred-man teams specifically tasked with reconnaissance, it wouldn't likely be the whole team sticking together,

He spoke very tactfully, not intending to expose the ally's mistake as fake merit. He was mainly worried about letting real scouts slip through, which would cause huge trouble.

However, as soon as his words fell, the officer beside him gave him a meaningful look.

"Peter, everyone makes mistakes, especially in this pitch-black darkness; it's inevitable to see things wrong... We're in this together, we'd see each other constantly, you know what I mean?"

Facing the officer's gaze, Peter involuntarily held his breath.

He wasn't exactly a newbie anymore, having spent some time in the camp, yet found himself completely clueless.

Suddenly, he thought of the rookie he had grabbed by the collar.

After quite a while, Peter nodded slowly, still holding his breath.

"Understood... I'm just worried there might be other reconnaissance units. After all, if we lower our guard and those people discover our deployment in Sulak County..."

Upon hearing this, the officer smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"That's for sure; there's definitely not just one reconnaissance unit around us. We just hooked a big fish; if I were them, I'd certainly come here to see if there's any new stuff—"

Before he finished speaking, gunfire erupted from the direction of central Sulak County.

Both were startled upon hearing the sound.

This time, the gunfire wasn't entirely from the Army's weapons; it was mixed with some "Alliance-like" sounds.

Soon, the Centurion's expression turned peculiar.

"...Looks like our fish has also been hooked."

...

In some sense, the Centurion's guess was indeed correct; stationed in Sulak County, the 171st thousand team actually hooked a big fish.

At a granary in a farm in central Sulak County.

An entire hundred-strong team surrounded the warehouse tightly as a Centurion wielding an assault rifle stepped forward, aggressively shouting.

"Surrender! You're surrounded!"

Listening to the shouting from outside, The Old Dog glanced at his LD-50 Carbine gun and then at the densely packed bullet holes on the wall, feeling a chill down his spine.

"Damn! Are these Weilante people cheating?!"

After guiding the friendly artillery fire earlier, he thought he'd take a look inside Sulak County, but he didn't expect the situation to be bigger than he imagined.

Without satellite navigation, with the drone out of power, and with the farms and fields looking similar, he wandered around and got lost, forgetting his way back and stumbling upon Weilante patrols.

He initially thought they were locals, planning to ask for directions, even greeted them.

When they saw each other, both sides were dumbfounded.

Realizing he asked the wrong person, The Old Dog was the first to react, bolting away.

The other side was initially stunned seeing him flee but quickly reacted, grabbing their weapons and chasing after him.

A fierce firefight broke out between the fields and woods.

With the Army having night vision equipment, while he had only a carbine with just two magazines, he was inevitably defeated rapidly, throwing away the VM and the drone, and forced to hide in the granary.

In a desperate situation like most trash players, his instinctual reaction wasn't to blame his skills but to claim the enemy was cheating.

However, saying these now was pointless.

He was now struggling with whether to "destroy all evidence" himself or get killed by the plot, going out to get captured.

Rationally analyzing, the latter might have higher returns, maybe even get to spy on the Army's frontline deployments.

Of course, the most crucial was that he had been operating with Eagle, having not saved for several months.

If he died and lost two levels, it would be bloody losses!

Seeing the scout hiding in the granary making no move, that Weilante Centurion exchanged glances with the nearby Centurion, then pulled out an incendiary from his waist.

Just as he was about to pull the pin and toss it inside, a rifle flew out of the granary.

"I, I, I surrender... surr..."

Damn.

How do you say surrender in United Human language?

The Old Dog walked out from the door with his hands on his head, helplessly realizing he forgot the word.

Several Weilante guards at the granary's door exchanged peculiar expressions with one another.

"Is this guy out of his mind?"

"...Could it be a trick?"

Sending this thing as a scout?

Is the Alliance lacking personnel?

Apparently, the Centurion thought the same, but this wasn't the time to discuss that.

He signaled with a stern face.

"Take him away!"

A soldier beside him saluted militarily, then ignoring that prisoner's protest, took out a rope and bound him tightly, hauling him outside onto the troop carrier.

"Damn, could you be gentle!" With a sharp pain in his back, The Old Dog cursed angrily.

Seeing him restless, the soldier jumping onto the vehicle gave him a butt stroke.

"Behave yourself!"

Taking the blow, The Old Dog let out a muffled groan, his head spinning, almost knocked offline.

The soldier sat directly beside him, extending his hand outside the compartment, slapping the exterior forcefully.

"Drivetime! Back to base!"

"Roger."

The engine of the armored troop carrier started, first taking a sharp turn, then heading along the bumpy dirt road towards the nearby village.

Old Dog, lying in the dark, initially planned to remember the driving route, but he quickly realized that he didn't know the nearby roads at all, not even where he was now. So he reluctantly gave up.

After bumping along in the dark for a while, the armored troop carrier finally reached its destination.

The Vellante soldier guarding beside him reached out and grabbed the back of his collar, like picking up a chick, and tossed him heavily onto the muddy ground.

"Get up!"

Old Dog cursed under his breath after taking a mouthful of mud but thought it wise to know when to yield, so he swallowed his anger and twisted his body to get up off the ground.

Just wait!

Once I figure out your location, I'll call in "Demon 55" to take you all out!

The soldier ignored him, using the gun barrel to herd him, urging him to move forward.

This place seemed to be a temporary base, with nothing in it. Several tents were set up beside civilian houses, and some were even using those houses directly.

Before Old Dog could fully observe the state of the base, he was hurried into a small black room, and the door behind him was slammed shut.

There was no sound outside, only the croaking of frogs and the rustling of insects.

Not sure how long passed, just as Old Dog was considering whether to log off for a while, footsteps finally resounded again outside the room.

With the clatter of iron chains, the drooping wooden door was pulled open.

Seeing General Ross walking in from outside, Old Dog's face immediately went stiff.

He never expected to run into an acquaintance among the chaotic army, silently praying that Ross wouldn't remember him.

It was actually not impossible.

Because his United Human language was not good, he mostly stayed silent when he could, only occasionally piping in, and the other side might really mistake him for a sidekick and forget him.

But as luck would have it, what he feared came true. Standing at the doorway of the small black room, Ross squinted his eyes slightly and suddenly switched on his flashlight, shining it on his face.

Blinded by the suddenly bright flashlight, Old Dog closed his eyes, thinking in his heart that he was screwed.

Sure enough, a cold laugh reached his ears.

"I recognize you, you're the Alliance's messenger."

Knowing there was no hiding anymore.

Hearing the word "Alliance," Old Dog sighed lightly in his heart, smiling awkwardly.

He was actually going to argue that he was a fake, but suddenly realized he had no idea how to say it.

Frankly, he usually just read subtitles from the VM, he couldn't speak the United Human language at all, only understanding a few words, possibly even poorer than his Japanese.

Once the VM was taken away, he instantly became deaf and mute, not being able to speak, and having trouble understanding slightly complicated sentences.

However, Ross misunderstood, thinking this guy still wanted to deny, so he sneered.

"I advise you to be honest and disclose everything, maybe you'll suffer a bit less."

"..."

Looking at the face of the gradually chilling NPC, cold sweat broke out on Old Dog's forehead.

This plot skip is malfunctioning!

He figured this guy probably wanted to ask him something, but he couldn't understand a word this dog-face was saying.

How could he talk his way out of this?

"Speak!"

Seeing the man in front of him refusing to speak no matter what, Ross suddenly raised his voice and bellowed, staring intently into his eyes.

"I'll ask you one last time, why are the Alliance's 'officials' on the front line? What are you here for?"

Guide Dog: "??"

"Playing dumb, are we... very well."

Ross sneered, nodded, and then looked at the menacing Vellante soldier standing beside him.

"I don't care what method you use, get this guy to speak... Just leave him breathing."

Guide Dog: "????"

The Vellante soldier's face broke into a fierce smile, looking at the prisoner with the eyes of a tiger seeing a lamb.

Creaking his knuckles, he nodded fiercely.

"Yes!"

This word Old Dog understood, yet it only led to despair.

Especially seeing Ross turn and leave the small black room, and the NPC soldier striding towards him, a hint of uncontrollable terror finally appeared on his tense face.

"Wait, wait a minute..."

Oh crap!

This game can't be that realistic, can it?!

...

Perhaps due to historical reasons, the Vellante people were not only skilled in warfare, but also had numerous ways of tormenting others.

In just ten minutes, unable to endure the humiliation, Old Dog voluntarily logged off, taking off his helmet and tossing it onto the bed, and sorrowfully went to the group chat for backup.

"Daddies, save me! I got caught by a big-nosed guy!"

Seeing Old Dog's message, Old Eagle, Old Stick, and Old Wolf, who had just logged off, jumped out simultaneously.

Battle-wise Wolf: "Damn it, didn't I tell you to scout their frontline? How the heck did you get captured?"

Guide Dog: "I was going to check their frontlines... I saw the artillery blast their entire hundred troop squad, so I thought I'd move forward a bit, but who would've known I'd run into their patrol?"

Mischief-making Stick: "You all laugh at Old Dog being useless, I think quite the opposite. When this guy stirs trouble, he really makes headlines. (sly grin)"

Far-sighted Eagle: "The trouble is that we showed our faces at West Sail Port, and even pretended to be Alliance messengers... hiss, did they recognize you?"

Conduit Dog: "Not initially, but I ran into that Ross! I remember he's the brother-in-law of the Old Soldier? Can he put in a good word for me? QAQ"

Skilled Wolf: "Damn, someone familiar."

Shit-stirring Stick: "Being damned isn't necessarily the case. Our Old Dog can just deny it outright. There's no use in their one-sided accusation, at most they can just self-entertain."

Conduit Dog: "I didn't admit it, at all! I totally didn't understand what that guy was saying... Bros, is there still hope for me? QAQ"

Far-sighted Eagle: "Don't panic. Can you confirm your current location?"

Conduit Dog: "...I don't know, maybe west of the artillery point? Within 50 kilometers? I remember there's a farm nearby. QAQ"

Shit-stirring Stick: "Be more specific, Sulak County is two or three million acres, and half of it is fields. Which farm are you talking about?"

Conduit Dog: "I... don't know."

Skilled Wolf: "...hopeless, better off yourself."

Shit-stirring Stick: "Hey! Difficult situation. At most, we can help recover your VM, if it hasn't been picked up by the locals."

Conduit Dog: "Come on, bro... I haven't saved in months. T.T"

Far-sighted Eagle: "You're really in a tough spot, we'll think of a way... you think about it too, see if you can break free, or at least gather some intel before it's over."

Skilled Wolf: "...I'll log in to see if there's a guerrilla team operating in Cow State, if I recall correctly, that Ross is a confidant of the 17th ten thousand troop leader Olet, the place where that guy is stationed might be a crucial strategic area."

Conduit Dog: "I did see lots of tents!"

Far-sighted Eagle: "Try to gather more intel, or bribe the locals... if there's a chance."

...

The Sulak County war zone wiped out an entire reconnaissance company of the Mammoth Nation, and also captured an Alliance soldier. The morale of the frontline troops of the Southern Legion soared!

Olet, the Ten Thousand Leader, even personally went to the front line to award a medal to the Centurion who had accomplished the feat, encouraging the troops to make more contributions.

In fact, Olet knew there was some embellishment in that battle report, but such matters were unimportant at the moment.

Since they had launched this war, they had to create momentum for it, and only in this way could they gain more supporters.

And the best way to create momentum for war is to create some war heroes.

Not just the reconnaissance company annihilated at the front line.

Including the hundreds of W-2 aircraft that launched suicide attacks during the day, all counted into the battle report.

The captain leading the aviation squadron even received a medal symbolizing ace pilot status for "shooting down" ten enemy planes of the Alliance.

Meanwhile, the next day's issue of "Survivor Daily" at Jinjaron Harbor also published a headline.

"155mm Artillery Demonstrates Great Prowess! Annihilating a Whole Centurion Team of the Army!"

Below the headline was a photo of artillery spewing a long tongue of fire, with the Moon Clan Resistance Army's camp commander and the Alliance volunteer standing side by side.

The newspaper was almost instantly sold out at kiosks.

In a noodle shop in the port area, a group of diners surrounded a newspaper, sighing.

"That Absek was truly cowardly, being chased by a regiment with two divisions!"

"Laxi is the one who can fight!"

"Hey, I wronged him before! Whether a hero or a coward, you really need a few bouts to find out!"

"...It's still too early to tell! Poluo Country's army is almost retreating from Cow State, I don't think Laxi can hold Dog State, they'll probably lose it in the end! How's that different from Absek?"

"But the army's airships aren't all they're cracked up to be, didn't get to see them shine either."

"You can't say that, you haven't seen their power—"

"Have you seen it?"

"Uh... no."

By the kiosk outside the noodle shop, Eugene held a newspaper, his face worried.

After that earlier disaster, the Family Meeting at West Sail Port was suppressed by the Army, and not only were Zayed and other Family Meeting leaders missing, but he himself was expelled by the Army, forced to move to Jinjaron Harbor.

Although his friends at the Workers' Association advised him to leave this troubled place for the time being, he couldn't let go of the suffering comrades in his heart, so he was reluctant to leave.

He bought a "Survivor Daily" every day, partly to know the latest war developments and partly to gather news about the Family Meeting.

To be honest, he wasn't particularly fond of that guy named Zayed.

Not just because of Alyssa's warning, but also because his intuition always told him that the guy's inside might be completely different from his surface.

However, he's not a child and can't arbitrarily define another person solely based on personal preference.

At least so far, everything that person has said and done has genuinely been to unite the suffering survivors.

And unlike Laxi, who sold his compatriots to the Southern sea area for work, that guy genuinely went to the grassroots, lecturing them, living with them through thick and thin, and calling them family.

Eugene asked himself if Lovett could do such things, and even Spielberg didn't have those capabilities.

And he certainly couldn't dissect a person's heart and peek inside to see what was hidden.

What's more, regardless of what kind of person Zayed is, those united laborers are always worth helping.

And those family members who finally united...

Flipping to the last page of the newspaper, Eugene finally saw the news he had longed for.

[Poluo Country's Supreme Leader and United Federation Leader Absek Meets with Family Meeting Leader]

"...So he's in Tiandu."

Eugene breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

It seems he didn't die that night.

No matter what, it's good to know he's alive...

Chapter 856: Thundering Steel Gallop!

To the east of West Sail Port, a five-meter-wide creek cuts through the endless farmlands.

On the left is a picturesque rural landscape, while on the right lie scattered craters and thick smoke, the entire expanse seemingly divided into two distinct worlds by the stream.

A bridge of steel and concrete connects heaven and hell.

This is the bridge the Army built for the Empire.

And now, heavy trucks with six pairs of load-bearing wheels are rolling over the bridge, watched with numb eyes by tenants and serfs, marching grandiosely eastward.

This is the Southern Legion's 30,000th troop.

It is also one of the few armored ten-thousand troops of the Southern Legion.

On these trucks, apart from armed soldiers and fearsome artillery, there are also shiny armored "Conqueror No. 10" heavy tanks!

This unending dragon's destination is Lion City's capital, Male Lion City.

Though Poluo Country was not originally in the Southern Legion's first-phase offensive plan, circumstances have changed, and bombers from Bull State Airport now posed a significant threat to the Legion's supply line to the Northern Three States.

According to the Army's usual practices, any threat is to be eliminated, even if it means fighting on two fronts, hitting both the east and north simultaneously.

Thus, the day after General Otley reached the northern part of Lion State, Sulak County, General Giulion deployed five ten-thousand troops to the eastern line, led by Commander Ryan of the 30,000th troop, aiming to take over all of Lion State and further east into Bull State.

Intelligence reports show that Udonuo has assembled a 200,000-strong army to defend Male Lion City!

That's nearly a tenth of the entire Poluo Country's force, but Ryan doesn't care at all.

It's said that this 200,000 army can't muster even 20,000 guns, and many are slaves and farmers coerced by the Heavenly King's Army, with combat power not even matching their cloned cannon fodder.

A force like this is useless no matter how large.

Just 200,000 heads of livestock at most, and it'll just take a bit of time to slaughter them.

Sitting in the command vehicle, a burly man looked at the military report in his hand, his raised lips carrying a trace of mocking disdain.

After a moment, he chuckled and turned the page of the newspaper, saying.

"...Just caught a spy from the Alliance, and look how excited these guys are."

This man is none other than Commander Ryan of the 30,000th troop, a One-star Commander. Sitting next to him is his advisor, Febrit, a man with glasses and high brow bones.

Watching his disdainful superior, Febrit pushed up the glasses on his nose bridge.

"I heard that guy seems to be a diplomatic officer from the Alliance, but unfortunately, his mouth is exceptionally tight, and no matter how hard the interrogators tried, they didn't get a single useful thing out of him."

For such loyal individuals, even if they are enemies, he actually admired them somewhat.

But admiration aside.

From the enemy's standpoint, he felt only regret and foolishness for this blind loyalty, a pity that young man followed the wrong people.

Seeing the look of regret on the advisor's face, Ryan sneered and said indifferently.

"I think differently from you; those guys are just wasting time. Isn't General Giulion's meaning clear enough? If you can fight, don't waste your breath."

Febrit made a helpless gesture.

"That's true, but if we could pry some useful intelligence from that prisoner, it would be nice. For example...the specific deployment of the Alliance's 'volunteers', which would be more helpful for our subsequent plans."

Regarding the resistance forces within Poluo Line's province, like most officers in the Southern Legion, he never took them seriously, but couldn't ignore the threat from the Alliance.

Those guys were real hardasses.

And not just hardasses, there were even rumors that they could directly control cloned soldiers and use complex equipment for battle.

If the rumors were true, this battle might not be as easy as those in the main warring faction imagined.

A legion made up of "undead"...

Just the thought of it was terrifying.

Unlike the worried Febrit, Ryan wasn't too concerned, just dismissively curling his lips.

"Whatever, whether we see their cards or not, this victory isn't in question for us...these guys have had their heads in the clouds for too long, and they don't even realize what kind of livestock they're protecting."

It was his first time on this land, and the survivors here felt to him like maggots squirming in a cesspool.

As a radical in the main warring faction, he looked down on all races except the Vellante people, yet rarely despised a particular group to this extent, to the point of dragging their lenient McCullen into contempt as well.

That guy was definitely not merciful, was he?

That Thousand Leader named Ross couldn't see it, being turned in circles by deceit, but he saw it right away.

That guy had been spouting nonsense since landing, sometimes shouting that directly killing people was too easy on the locals, and wanting to use Gray People mercenaries to torment them to vent anger. After discovering the impracticality of this idea, he changed his tune, yelling to let them dig their own graves...

Strength wasn't shouted out with words.

All the supposedly tough stances of that guy were nothing but performative shows, and every malicious idea he came up with ultimately resulted in delays.

Ross didn't even realize he was being played.

He didn't need to follow the orders of Eastern Legion's officers but was dragged by that guy until the Alliance's messenger arrived, leading to some dilly-dallying trial.

They didn't need to negotiate at all, just start the massacre, and then demand sky-high prices would suffice.

Maybe others think differently, but at least in Ryan's view, it was because the trial wasn't thorough enough that they later had a recurrence with the so-called Family Meeting, compelling them to start another massacre to finally suppress those restlessly squirming maggots.

And as he thought about this, a sudden deafening explosion came from the front, causing the carriage he was in to shake violently.

Ryan's expression changed, and he immediately picked up the communicator and shouted.

"What happened up front?"

A hurried tone came through the communication channel.

"It's a mine... Our mine-resistant vehicle triggered an anti-armor mine installed in the middle of the road. Fortunately, the mine detonated prematurely, and there were no casualties, General."

Upon hearing there were no casualties, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, but he remained vigilant.

The Poluo Nation had laid mines along their march route, clearly anticipating the actions of the Southern Legion.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and Ryan hung up the call, immediately dialing his subordinate, the First Thousand Team.

"...Rekton, have your men disembark and scout ahead of our convoy. We are about to engage the enemy."

A crisp and concise response quickly came from the other end of the communication channel.

"Yes!"

...

At the same time Ryan's order was given, Conqueror No. 5 light tanks were being unloaded from transport trucks.

This armored unit spread out into arrowhead formations in units of hundreds, forming a "protective umbrella" of steel in front of the main force.

In addition, over ten "Grey Dog" reconnaissance vehicles carrying reconnaissance teams were cruising ahead of the armored spearhead.

These small wheeled armored vehicles moved like agile sled dogs, with the antennas atop their turrets swaying like fishing rods, and their short, stubby 20mm gun barrels glinting coldly.

Seeing the menacing armored unit ahead, Night Ten, who was lying in the distant grass, couldn't help but click his tongue and mutter in a lowered voice.

"Damn... Wasn't the Southern Legion's main force supposed to be artillery and infantry? Why does it seem like there are more tanks than Griffin's lot?"

Beside him, Wild Wind simply grunted in acknowledgment and silently continued observing through binoculars.

Long before the expansion pack had started, the two had relocated from the Wandering Swamp's Ice City special district to the Poluo Province.

In fact, it wasn't just them who came here; some NPCs from the Academy were also involved.

The ancient contract was eventually signed under the witness of the Grand Canyon and the Academy.

If the Legion thought the resistance to eastward expansion consisted only of corporations and the Alliance, they'd be gravely mistaken. The northern escapists had never ceased interfering in Wasteland affairs.

In fact, they were the most actively involved.

While the corporation's board was holding a budget hearing, the Academy's research ship had already crossed the southern Jubar Mountains of the Luo Xia Province, ready to start stirring things up.

What exactly they were up to, Night Ten wasn't sure, as what he knew was only from what he'd heard from Jiang Xuezhou, and such matters involving secret agreements between the Academy and the upper echelons of the Alliance were naturally beyond the knowledge of a Little D Grade like him.

In any case, these matters weren't their concern.

After rejoining their unit, the two boarded a plane to the front lines and parachuted into the western part of Lion State under the cover of night, engaging in reconnaissance and sabotage of enemy rear transportation lines.

Such tasks were familiar to the two veteran players who had previously participated in the Battle of Falling Leaves—the earlier laid anti-armor mine was the work of Night Ten.

Though it was unfortunate that it didn't hit any big targets and only immobilized a mine-resistant vehicle, slowing down the Legion's march was still considered a success.

Watching the convoy march grandly off into the distance, Wild Wind lowered his binoculars and spoke in a low voice.

"...I'm afraid the Legion has mobilized at least five divisions this time; Lion City might be in danger."

The bionic chip implanted in his cerebral cortex was connected to a fixed-wing drone cruising at high altitude.

Through the binoculars, he was simultaneously observing the ground via the drone's camera.

Night Ten pondered over the map for a moment and muttered.

"...Twenty thousand troops should hold out for a while, right? Especially with Brother Fang Chang helping them."

Wild Wind shook his head.

"Hard to say... Just the armored division that passed in front of us had over three hundred tanks, which is already more than all the tractors in the Poluo Nation."

And this calculation includes only the tanks, not the self-propelled guns of the supporting companies, nor the reconnaissance vehicles or armored cars of the reconnaissance companies.

As for the forces in the sky, there's not much to say; while the armored units sped along, the "Horn" airship was also steadily advancing.

However...

As Night Ten mentioned, they did have the help of Fang Chang's group.

Even if they couldn't stop the Legion's iron tide, they could at least delay it for a while.

...

Just as Night Ten and Wild Wind were packing up their equipment to relocate, the 301st Thousand Team led by Rekton had already engaged in a firefight with Poluo Nation's 30,000th troops!

Learning from past failures, the Poluo Nation's army didn't attempt to block the Legion's advance with solid positions but adopted the "elastic defense" strategy inspired by the Mammoth Nation, using small units to harass the Legion's armored spearheads, and then artillery to annihilate stalled units.

To be fair, this strategy was indeed effective, as the airship needed a safety distance for firing, and no matter how fierce the Horn's firepower was, it couldn't fire directly at friendly faces, at most countering the Poluo Nation's long-range firepower.

But as long as the Poluo Nation's long-range firepower was deployed far enough, the Legion's airship, even if it saw it, could only be anxious.

However, this strategy, although not bad, had a fatal flaw.

Neither Absek himself nor other officers from the Grey Wolf Army possessed any guerrilla warfare experience.

Although Laxi sent some officers from the Moon Clan Resistance to help, they weren't trusted by Absek and served only as staff or instructors.

This resulted in an extremely awkward situation—anti-tank teams carrying RPG and recoilless guns hadn't even gotten near Rekton's thousand team before being caught by the reconnaissance vehicles patrolling the vicinity.

Seeing their forces were exposed, the "Grey Dog" reconnaissance vehicles flanked like a pack of hunting wolves, and although the leading centurion of Poluo Nation was unwilling, all he could do was grit his teeth and blow the attack whistle.

"Tsk—!"

The loud whistle echoed across the battlefield.

Hearing the command to attack, the soldiers wearing straw hats rose halfway from the grass, poised with RPG Rocket Launchers for a kneeling shot.

"Fire!!!"

With a near-desperate roar, the Centurion squatting at the front lines was the first to pull the trigger.

An RPG rocket, trailing a long tail of flame, shot towards the reconnaissance vehicle a hundred meters away like an arrow leaving the bow.

However, to his despair, the circling reconnaissance vehicle easily dodged the incoming rocket simply by accelerating.

Not to mention hitting the target, he didn't even graze the taillight!

The firing flames exposed his position, and a dozen armor-piercing incendiary bullets soon shot over.

The Centurion didn't even have time to utter a groan before he was torn to pieces by the barrage, leaving only half his body pressed down beside the bush.

Witnessing their officer fall in front of them, the soldiers squatting nearby were instantly enraged.

Ignoring the horrific appearance of the corpse, one soldier rushed forward to pick up the Rocket Launcher and the ammo pouch left on the ground.

Meanwhile, the other soldiers with Rocket Launchers fired without hesitation, trying to avenge their officer.

One after another, the rockets flew towards the Legion's reconnaissance vehicle.

Unfortunately, the latter's mobility was too high, and the distance too far, rendering most of the rockets to fall into empty spaces.

Seeing those "toothpicks" sticking out from the grass, the Vellante Centurion sitting in the command vehicle laughed mockingly and then took the intercom hanging on the side of the gun tower to give orders.

"'Rats' preemptively emerge, maintain a safe distance, permission to fire!"

The static noise quickly came through.

"Received——!"

At the same time the order was given, the dozen "Grey Dog" reconnaissance vehicles no longer concealed themselves, continuing their circling maneuver while spewing fire from elevated gun barrels.

"Boom boom boom——!"

The thunderous cannon shots echoed like a continuous drumbeat, with streaks of tracer fire pouring down like a sudden rain towards the Poluo Nation's centuria crouching at the edge of the low woods.

The soldiers in the forward position were instantly shredded into a mist of blood, followed by those in the rear being swept in.

There was no chance to evade, nor any cover to hide behind.

The exposed anti-tank troops were quickly ground into mincemeat along with the tree trunks beside them by the howling storm.

Seeing his subordinates fall in succession, the Centurion, holding a short whistle in his mouth, stared with wide, bloodshot eyes.

In less than half a minute, half of those familiar faces had vanished.

Unable to suppress his fury, he grabbed a recoilless gun, hoisting it on his shoulder, and crawled out of the foxhole.

"We absolutely cannot let these big-noses go through unharmed!"

"Even if it kills me, I'm taking one of you down!"

Sadly, the shot from the recoilless gun missed.

Not only that, but almost the moment he pulled the trigger, the broad tracer lines zeroed in on his location, shredding him along with the recoilless gun on his shoulder into pieces.

Despite the shot being off-target, his death ignited the burning anger in all the soldiers' hearts.

A soldier, barely sixteen, clenched his teeth, crawling forward through the overhead barrage until he reached the safe range of an armor-piercing bullet.

Seeing the reconnaissance vehicle heading to the side-front, he set the Rocket Launcher on his prone body, fiercely pulling the trigger.

The backblast scorched half of his buttocks, nearly causing him to pass out from the pain.

Yet, the targeted reconnaissance vehicle fared much worse, as the rocket launched from below blasted right onto its front.

Blazing metal jets punctured a hole in the car body and instantly flooded into the cabin.

Two out of the three crew members died instantly, with the third gravely injured, leaving the paralyzed reconnaissance vehicle stalling by the roadside.

The young soldier, about to cheer, didn't get a chance to open his mouth before a rain of bullets swept over, pressing his whole body into the earth.

"Ahhh!!! Damn it! Die, damn you!"

Seeing a teammate's reconnaissance vehicle stalled, the Vellante observer under another recon vehicle's turret turned red-eyed, squeezing the firing trigger hard enough to almost break it.

Hearing the clanging outside the armored shell, the driver shouted backwards while flooring the accelerator.

"Enough! Jimmy, that guy's already dead! There's another one to our side-front!"

"Got it!"

The observer gritted his teeth, leaving that pile of flesh behind, re-aiming at the target to the side-front, pouring all his fury through the roaring gun barrel.

"Damn it! I'm going all-out against you all!!!"

With both sides having shed blood, the combatants went utterly berserk.

Yet this inherently unbalanced battle held no suspense.

With the arrival of a Conqueror No.10 Heavy Tank and a Conqueror No. 5 light tank, the fate of this guerrilla team was nearly sealed.

Deafening roars erupted twice, instantly felling trees as thick as a thigh, leaving soldiers nearby concussed with misplaced organs, entirely incapacitated.

Over twenty Vellante soldiers, clad in exoskeletons, quickly disembarked from the armored vehicles, dividing into two groups to search the woods, firing at the few remaining Boloro Nation soldiers.

Aiming to avenge their fallen brothers, the enraged Vellante soldiers had no intention of taking prisoners, even deliberately targeting vital parts to torture the unlucky few longer.

By coincidence, the Boloro soldiers opposite held the same resolve, having never intended to surrender.

They've already sacrificed over a hundred brothers, so a few more of their own wouldn't matter.

Facing the encirclement by the Vellante people, they did not flee; instead, they fought to the last moment with weapons that weren't even considered elite, and then were killed in the most brutal way by those surrounding them.

The Vellante people surrounding them did not notice that these guys, although still Poluo people, were already different from the broken Poluo people of the West Winds Empire period.

Although their equipment was still backward, they had already developed a cohesion they lacked before.

Even when facing battles with no chance of victory, they would no longer flee like headless chickens as they did in the past...

The entire battle lasted only fifteen minutes.

The anti-tank hundred team of Poluo Nation's 30,000th troop was annihilated systematically, with no survivors!

Meanwhile, on Rekton's thousand team side, only one "Grey Dog" reconnaissance vehicle was disabled, with two vehicle crew members killed.

The severely injured signalman, after being rescued, was out of danger and sent back to West Sail Port for treatment, along with the stranded "Grey Dog" reconnaissance vehicle.

The previous unexpected armor-piercing bullet only damaged its engine, without affecting the fuel tank or ammunition rack.

With some repairs at the workshop and replacing the crew, it could quickly return to the frontline.

The same went for the signalman.

The metal shrapnel removed from his body would be used to make an honor medal awarded to him.

The Southern Legion would replace his limb with a prosthetic better than the amputated one and let him return to the glorious battlefield after his recovery.

Understanding the frontline troops' situation, Centurion Rekton's expression did not change, just reporting the casualties to his superior and proceeding with the next step of the action plan in an orderly manner.

After all, just a hundred-man team was nothing more than a grasshopper in the middle of the road for him.

With Poluo Nation's military strength, only weapons at the ten-thousand-team level would at most earn a second glance from him.

Being held up by a hundred-man team for fifteen minutes, and even having two men killed, only made him think that scout team's Centurion was foolish to the extreme.

Having two men bitten to death by a bunch of mice, might as well shoot oneself to apologize...

After regrouping, the armored team of a thousand led by Rekton continued advancing towards Lion City.

Twelve "Dagger" fighter planes covered two reconnaissance planes, whistling past above his armored unit.

Before long, the air force's brothers reported the reconnaissance information—they detected a scattered deployed scatter unit of about ten thousand ahead, equipped with a certain number of anti-tank equipment.

This troop was probably the elite of Poluo Nation, possibly accompanied by the Alliance's "volunteers".

Upon learning this, both Commander Ryan in the rear and Centurion Rekton on the frontline couldn't help but curl up their lips into a cruel smile.

What does one prisoner count for?

At this wave, they would capture at least a hundred!

Taking down the walkie-talkie hanging on the turret, Rekton, with his burning battle intent, issued orders in a firm and powerful voice.

"Attention all units! The enemy's main force is right in front of us, five kilometers ahead!"

"You are authorized to proactively engage upon spotting suspected enemy targets!"

"Except for the Alliance guys, there's no need to deliberately leave anyone alive!"

The communication channel soon echoed with a uniform response.

"Yes!!!"

The friction of the tracks and the roar of the engines resounded across the wasteland.

That advancing armor was like a knight prepared for a charge, already revealing his sharp lance and sword.

In contrast to the earth-shaking roar was the silent stillness of a forest four kilometers away.

If you didn't get close to observe carefully, you might not even see the armor hidden under the canopy.

Leaning against a sturdy pine, Old White suddenly opened his eyes, giving Fang Chang standing beside him a confirming look.

"They're coming."

The moment those words fell, the visor of the power armor helmet snapped shut simultaneously.

Removing the "Pigeon"-type missile launcher from his back, Old White skillfully completed the "Pigeon" loading in just a few seconds.

Meanwhile, pairs of closed eyes also opened at the same time.

The armors standing quietly in the forest moved like spirits infused with life, just like awakening heroic spirits.

Since yesterday morning, five hundred elites of the Burning Corps had successively parachuted into this area, completing the assembly in an orderly manner.

In the standby state, half were on online alert, and half awaited offline.

Closing the visor of the exoskeleton helmet, Fang Chang tapped twice on it with his index finger, switching the communication channel to all, and said forcefully.

"...The Southern Legion's armored forces are just ahead! These drunkards charged so fast, completely leaving their allies behind, not taking us seriously. Someone has to step up to sober them up!"

"Everyone prepare for battle!"

"Show them your skills, annihilate their armor to the maximum extent!"

"Break through them!"

The fighting spirit burning in their pupils was in no way inferior to the roaring armors.

Facing the rolling dust, the communication channel resonated with high-spirited responses.

"Kill!!!"

Chapter 857: Steel Burns!

The boiling killing intent permeated the entire forest.

Yet, the armored team of a thousand charging with swirling dust was completely unaware.

The aviation team from West Sail Port had already reconnoitered the entire area ahead. Blocking the defense line a few kilometers away were just a few anti-tank cannons deployed in dugouts.

Besides that, there were some targets suspected to be dugouts and some concealed areas possibly hiding scattered guerrilla fighters.

In front of the "Conqueror No. 10," which could withstand a hundred-kilogram aerial bomb dive-bombing, these seemingly intimidating things were nothing more than toothpicks; at most, they could break a track.

Considering that the Alliance might have taught the guerrilla team the "unmanned aerial vehicle crotch drilling tactic," they had already referenced the Eastern Legion's experience to retrofit chains on the front and rear of the vehicle to block drones.

Once those quadrotor drones got close, the propellers would get tangled with those iron chains and lose power.

No Weilante person doubted that when their tanks reached the Poluo people, those indestructible tracks would roll over those shocked faces.

This would be a battle without suspense!

On the moving "Grey Dog" wheeled reconnaissance vehicle, Centurion Nicholas of the reconnaissance hundred-team was adjusting the magnification of the observation mirror, examining the map marked with points and symbols in his hand, staring at the suspected dugout target ahead.

The "mice" hiding in the ground evidently also noticed the dust raised by the tires in the distance and were eagerly trying to crawl out of their holes.

He unlocked the weapon safety while maintaining vigilance and shouted into the communicator.

"...2.5 kilometers ahead, enemy traction cannons are loading! We've discovered three in total so far!"

The communication channel soon replied.

"Received!"

Nicholas took a deep breath, his eye moved from the observation mirror to the shooting window, his index finger on the trigger, staring at those three cannons being loaded, but did not fire first.

This distance was a bit too far for the 20mm cannon of the wheeled armor.

Although the "Grey Dog" was equipped with a stabilization system, it didn't mean they could be completely unaffected by the bumpy terrain.

To hit the target, they would have to stop and fire.

However, doing so would not be in their best interest as their advantage lay in mobility.

Nicholas quickly made a decision, planning to approach within one kilometer before teaching that amateurish guerrilla team a lesson.

Compared to Nicholas' caution, the big soldiers under his command were much more reckless.

They had already seen the level of the Poluo Country guerrilla team in the previous battle.

Those guys managed to turn an ambush into a confrontation, which was basically the same as handing victory to their enemy.

The loss of their teammates didn't make them more cautious but ignited the flame of anger and killing intent in their hearts.

They were eager to avenge their two sacrificed brothers!

"Two kilometers left!"

"Sir! They seem to be loaded! Request permission to fire!"

"Denied, wait for the fire command! Hold your fire until closer!"

"Yes!"

"Haha, do these rats really think that thing is useful against us?"

Listening to the taunting on the communication channel, Nicholas quietly reprimanded.

"Don't be too careless! That thing could well be 155mm; although it wouldn't penetrate the Conqueror, it's enough to penetrate us."

Grass was wrapped around the opponent's cannon barrel, obscuring what specific type of cannon it was.

Maybe it's a 155mm, or perhaps it's their 100mm.

No matter which cannon it was, even if it couldn't penetrate the tank, it could easily penetrate the reconnaissance vehicle with less than 20mm of equivalent armor.

He already lost one reconnaissance vehicle and didn't want to embarrass Centurion Rekton.

Nicholas' caution was met with a mere jibe from Jimmy, another observer and vehicle commander.

"It still has to hit us first, doesn't it—"

His words barely fell when a series of deafening cannon sounds suddenly erupted from afar.

It wasn't just three cannons firing; there were at least a dozen, and even mixed with a few... mortars?

"Damn—!"

"They opened fire!"

The communication channel was filled with noise, and the reconnaissance vehicles swiftly changed direction from their fast-paced drives.

Though they spoke fearlessly, seeing the shells fly over was a different matter, and the young soldiers shouted chaotically.

Nicholas looked stunned, doubting his ears, wondering why even the sound of mortars was mixed in, but saw those chaotic shells rushing towards them.

He didn't hesitate and shouted immediately.

"Prepare to conceal!"

"Received!"

The driver in front of him wasn't panicked at all, lightly turning the steering wheel, easily dodging the shell lazily flying over from afar.

In reality, there was no need to dodge at all.

At this distance, it was impossible to hit, and the shell wasn't aimed at them; some landed ahead of them, while many landed in the track marks left by their tires.

"Boom—!"

A thick smoke of explosion soared into the sky, spreading with it was a milky white wall of smoke.

Looking back at the small window behind the turret, Nicholas was startled and immediately realized.

"It's a smoke bomb!"

No—

It's not just a simple smoke bomb!

The communication channel no longer responded, and Nicholas soon discovered in horror that his vehicle-mounted radio was malfunctioning!

"Damn it! It's an electromagnetic interference bomb!"

The artillery bombardment from afar continued and intensifying, shell after shell landed on the empty plain, seemingly trying to use smoke to cover the entire plain.

This is a plain.

Their tricks won't last long!

Seeing the intermittent signal, sweat seeped from Nicholas' forehead, comforting himself.

However, just as they were about to charge out of the signal-blocking smoke, the bumpy vehicle suddenly jolted fiercely, as if it hit a ridge!

With a muffled groan, Nicholas hit the turret, almost bruising his forehead.

The vehicle clearly tilted forward!

Holding onto the leaning handrail, he gritted his teeth and cursed, shouting at the driver.

"What the hell are you doing!"

The driver stomped on the accelerator fiercely, shouting angrily.

"The visibility here is terrible! Damn it! Our tires are caught on something!"

"Caught?!"

Nicholas and another communication soldier's faces changed instantly.

Stopping in such a place is no different from being a sitting duck!

The only thing to be grateful for was that the enemy artillery was still firing smoke grenades constantly.

That smoke wall, covering the sky and the sun, blocked their communication and vision but also protected them in return.

Nicholas shoved the communicator soldier behind him and urged, shouting.

"Get out and check it out!"

"Yes!"

The communicator, though terrified, knew now was not the time to hesitate. He could only grab hold of the PU-9 submachine gun and gritted his teeth as he crawled out of the car door.

Just as he pushed open the car door, a deafening explosion rang out not far away, accompanied by a crackling sound like firecrackers.

That was the sound of an ammunition rack exploding!

At the same time, the "tutu" sound of a 20mm cannon also came through.

Perhaps witnessing the tragic situation of their allies, a scout car, seemingly frightened, fired wildly, and the tracer bullets flew aimlessly amidst the thick white smoke.

A stray bullet scratched past Nicholas's vehicle, striking the durable shell of the car with a "duang" and igniting a shower of sparks.

The communicator who had just stepped out of the car got a scare, hastily dropping to the ground.

"Are you fucking crazy! Cease fire!"

Nicholas was also startled, grabbing the communicator, he roared a tirade, but it was of no use.

Firing under these circumstances was meaningless; it would not only reveal their position but might also injure their allies.

But just then, Nicholas suddenly realized it was not just his vehicle crew that had lost mobility.

The entire reconnaissance team, all nine vehicles, had lost their movement capabilities!

His face changed completely.

Once the smoke disperses, they will all be sitting ducks, left to be harvested by distant artillery.

"What the hell is going on?!"

The rationale gradually crumbled, Nicholas shouted outside the car door, grabbing the submachine gun hanging below the gun tower, ready to abandon the car.

The communicator arduously climbed up from the mud, a look of despair on his face, yelling towards the open car door.

"It's a hidden pit! They've dug a trench and covered it with grass! Our tires fell in!"

This trench wasn't just any trench but one of those higher in the front and lower in the back.

If only the tires fell in, it could crawl out, but with the high and low difference at the front and back, their chassis got caught on the walls of the trench, with the front and rear wheels suspended.

Nicholas was stunned.

A trench?!

On the plains?!

How did these people manage to do this right under their nose?!

No—

There is actually a way.

Just dig a tunnel underground first and cover the top with straw or something similar.

There are farmlands everywhere here, linking near the field ridges, with a little camouflage, planes simply wouldn't detect it.

Realizing the severity of the problem, the expression on Nicholas's face gradually turned from stiff to horrified.

He suddenly remembered those hate-filled faces hidden in the earlier woods, and those soldiers who would rather die than surrender.

It was only now that he realized there were 200,000 of those people, and behind those 200,000 people stood billions more…

Unknowingly, they had fallen into an unfathomable quagmire!

Numerous dugouts uncovered their wooden boards and straw stacks, and gaunt, protruding foreheads emerged from beneath the pits.

They were short and slender, yet their eyes were as fierce as a hyena's.

The weapons in their hands were diverse.

There were Ripper Rifles, and LD-47s from the Alliance, and some were holding crudely made stools.

Upon discovering these soldiers moving forward in the prone position, the Vellante crew member who alighted from a vehicle immediately pulled out a submachine gun to fire at them, but was soon suppressed back by retaliatory fire.

Even a race born for battle couldn't withstand the never-ending numbers.

Seeing that they were close enough, those crawling soldiers no longer concealed themselves, each climbing up from the ground and charged towards the stalled reconnaissance vehicles.

A Vellante crew member showed panic on his face, shouting to his comrades behind him.

"Damn it! Their infantry is approaching us! How much longer until our tanks arrive?!"

He already regretted running so fast.

But now, it was too late to regret; all he could do was pray for his allies to reach quickly.

"Damn it! Where did these Ground Squirrels come from?!"

"We need reinforcements! Three o'clock direction—"

"Cease fire, you idiot! Do you want to send me off?!"

"Don't stop firing! Those people are rushing up!"

"How many of them are there?!"

"Ahhhh! Go to hell!"

Facing that oppressive and stifling white mist, Nicholas's lips turned slightly pale.

In the midst of it, he vaguely heard the "tutututu" of gunfire, and the cursing and exclamations from comrades.

Tracers weaved through the mist, yet they couldn't block those thunderous roars sweeping in.

At least a thousand of them—

"Charge!!!"

...

"Enemy artillery position has launched smoke grenades!"

"Reconnaissance team of a hundred lost contact!"

The colossal and advancing armored team of a thousand.

Two sudden pieces of news made Centurion Rekton, sitting in the command vehicle, have his pupils slightly contract.

Smoke bombs?

And they even carry signal interference.

What trick are these natives up to again?

"It's probably given to them by the Alliance!"

The voice of the adjutant came through the communication channel, making Rekton roll his eyes.

"...That's obvious. Can these natives make such things themselves?"

Staring at the rapidly dispersing fog in the distance, Rekton, gripping the communicator, issued orders with a steady voice.

"First hundred team, launch an assault from the front towards the fog cluster. Second, third teams flank from the sides, fourth and fifth teams follow behind, others maintain the original formation... Remember to keep an eye on the woods to our east."

"Received!"

A synchronized response came from the communication channel, and at the same moment, the steel torrent made up of ninety-two tanks changed formation!

The tanks on the flanks began to accelerate, while the ones in the middle maintained their speed, the original arrow-shaped troops gradually extending forward into an open bowl.

A total of ninety-two tanks!

And more than half are Conqueror No. 10!

They, serving as the offensive vanguard, will become Ryan's unbreakable spear in his hands!

Rekton stared intently ahead, his lips curled with an interested smile.

He wanted to see what tricks the opponent could pull?

"Charge ahead!"

Watching the fog ahead coming nearer, he kicked the driver's seat under the turret, and the driver's spirit exhilaratedly shouted.

"Yes!"

The distance of several kilometers vanished in an instant, yet what unfolded before Rekton wiped the smile off his face.

Nine "Grey Dog" wheeled reconnaissance vehicles broke down on the road, one even charred black as if its ammo rack and fuel tank were blown up.

Of the remaining eight, crew members were pulled out, hanging gruesomely on the vehicle and turret.

Some had their stomach split open by bayonets, others were shot to death, or burnt to a crisp.

The ground nearby was full of corpses, from their frail bodies and shoddy gear, it was evident they were soldiers from Poluo Country.

Both sides were blinded by rage, venting their fury in the most brutal ways on each other.

Glaring at those corpses fiercely, Rekton instantly became furious, clenching his jaw so hard he almost crushed his teeth.

"These bastards!"

The distracting fog dissipating gradually, artillery roared deafeningly again from afar.

Seeing Poluo Country's army plan another attempt, Rekton grabbed the communicator and roared in anger.

"All units pay attention, free fire!"

"Smash them hard for me!"

As soon as his words dropped, a violent explosion sounded from the northeast direction.

It wasn't the sound of tank fire.

Because right when that sound erupted, Rekton saw fireworks shooting skyward, along with the turret soaring alongside.

It was precisely their pride, the "Conqueror No. 10"!

Looking at the flames flashing and the half-shell shooting sparks, Rekton was stunned.

Not only him, almost all the Weilante people were frozen on the spot.

A terrified voice trickled through the communication channel.

"...This is the third hundred team! We are under unknown target anti-tank fire attack! Damn it!"

No sooner had that shout landed, another brilliant fire bloomed on the plains.

This time, Rekton saw distinctly, it was a missile flying from the direction of the woods!

It's the Alliance people!!

Without hesitation, Rekton, using all his might, yelled into the nearly crushed communicator.

"Third hundred team smoke deploy! Fifth, seventh, ninth hundred teams assault towards the eastern woods!"

"Show no mercy, crush them for me!"

...

No time to turn tail and flee, the opponent clearly wasn't firing at first sight, surely giving themselves ample shooting window, exposing the rear to the enemy only hastens death.

Moreover, fleeing with tails tucked isn't the style of the Southern Legion!

Even though that missile blowing up the ammo rack shocked Rekton, he decisively issued an attack order, directing the armor formation advancing on the right side to charge.

Anti-vehicle weapons usually have a safety distance constraint, approaching to extreme range is actually safer.

The legion's tanks changed direction, at least thirty tanks streamed towards the woods, firing as they drove.

Explosive firelight instantaneously swallowed a corner of the woods, toppling trees thick as thighs with overwhelming force.

If it were Poluo Country's army, over half would likely die from this barrage!

However, they were facing the "Blue Ground Squirrels" from Shelter No. 404 this time.

And from the elite Burning Corps too!

The players present were no strangers to facing the legion's tanks; naturally, they wouldn't stand there for target practice.

After firing a missile, Old White immediately boosted the power output of his power armor to maximum, disappearing from sight before the gun barrel could shift.

By the time that barrage covered the area, he had already relocated and loaded the third missile.

A slender white smoke trail emerged from the woods, tracing a steep curve in the sky, crashing fiercely into a fleeing Conqueror No. 10 belching smoke.

Undoubtedly, that fleeing tank was like a can targeted by an opener's gaze, becoming scrap metal in the boiling flames.

Without glancing back at the explosion, Old White swiftly moved to the next shooting point, while the corps observers already confirmed his kill.

"Direct hit! Well done!"

"Quickly lock on the next target."

"Acknowledged!"

Old White wasn't the only one hefting a missile launcher; the flying "doves" coming from the forest weren't just a single bird.

The Alliance's five hundred players, paired in groups of two, scattered across tens of kilometers wide woods and fields, one responsible for target locking and observing, the other for loading and firing.

Although the missile's tail flame might expose the "shooter's" position, the protective capacity and mobility of the "Xiaguang" power armor rendered the legion's tanks helpless.

Unless hit by an armor-piercing bullet or a high-explosive bomb bursting close by, merely relying on explosive fragments is insufficient to incapacitate those agile armored infantry!

Looking back at the legion side, their tanks, in front of those missiles, seemed made of paper.

Consecutive explosions drove the three charging armored hundred teams to near despair.

They had already entered the woods shattered by shelling, yet conditions didn't improve, still enduring persistent casualties.

"...Damn it! They equipped power armor!"

"What the hell are those missiles?!"

"Their mobility is too fast! We need infantry reinforcements!"

Desperation was not limited to the right flank of the armored team of a thousand, pessimism soon spread throughout the battlefield.

Looking at that burning scrap metal in the northeast and the ever-approaching flames, Rekton, caught between shock and anger, sank into utter despair.

How did these guys manage to pull this off?!

The incremental armor of Conqueror No. 10 could defend against the metal stream of conventional armor-piercing bullets, and the protective strength of the armor material itself could block any kinetic cannon that relied on conventional firing principles!

Not only that, Conqueror No. 10's full protection system had the ability to withstand the overpressure from aerial bombs and could also defend against the threats of poison gas and radioactive materials!

To the survivor forces with technology capabilities predating the Prosperity Epoch's early years, their advantage was almost absolute!

And for survivor forces with technological prowess above the early Prosperity Epoch, they could rely on their massive scale and unparalleled cohesion to win.

This highly efficient expansion model had proven successful time and time again over the past century and a half.

And this was the source of their confidence!

However, this time, they hit a wall.

The Alliance was like a vat of molten iron, uniting the formerly sharply conflicting Refuge Residents and Waste Land Wanderers through shared faith, welding together the survivor forces with advanced technical prowess and those with massive scale into a solid piece of iron.

The propulsion design and launching system of the missile came from Giant Stone City, the identification, guidance, and micro-energy storage technology stemmed from the South Sea Union, and the crucial "plasma" warhead originated from corporate plasma-related technology...

These technologies were integrated at Camp 101 and production was completed in the industrial district of Dawn City.

The advantage in technical prowess was merely superficial.

Just like prosperity in economic, cultural, and other fields.

Rekton would never understand where he lost until his dying breath.

At this moment, they were not facing any single settlement or survivor force.

But rather all the survivor forces that had united on the Wasteland!

In less than five minutes, thirty tanks that ventured deep into the woods were completely destroyed!

Only a small portion was directly blown up along with their ammunition racks and fuel tanks, while another portion had their power systems destroyed, forcing the crew to abandon the vehicles and surrender.

With the Weiland people's fighting spirit, naturally, there were those who resisted stubbornly.

However, facing the Alliance's elite infantry, those feeble resistances didn't stir a ripple, quickly quelled by the rain of bullets shooting out of the forest.

As the right flank collapsed, this "armored spearhead" that had penetrated deep into the enemy lines soon lost balance like a crippled mad bull, trapped in a muddy wasteland.

Fully eighty of the ninety-two tanks were scrapped on the way forward.

As for the remaining twelve, they were scrapped while retreating.

Gazing at the burning steel on the wasteland, Night Ten couldn't help but murmur.

"Damn... the upgraded plasma warhead is so freaking strong!"

No exaggeration or denial.

This upgraded "Dove" model was at least five times more powerful than the previous conventional explosive armor-piercing bullet!

Before this, apart from the "No. 60 Vehicle-mounted Electromagnetic Cannon" and the crotch drilling suicidal UAV, they really didn't have much to deal with the Legion's Conqueror No. 10.

Sitting beside him, Wild Wind glanced at him sideways.

"You think that thing is cheap?"

The technical content of this plasma missile was no less than that of a nuclear bomb.

At least, as a physics professor, he couldn't fathom how to integrate those complex devices into such a tiny warhead.

It's like a primitive man who just learned to make fire can't comprehend how a lighter ignites.

To him, this thing was a "primitive man's lighter," and currently, they were still stuck in the stage of researching how "to make high-temperature plasma burn more stably and last longer."

Night Ten didn't bother thinking about those troublesome things, didn't even bring it into reality, just chuckled and said.

"No matter how expensive, it's at least cheaper than a tank, right?"

"...Maybe, I don't really know this stuff, you might have to ask Fang Chang."

Wild Wind glanced at the sky to the west, observed the approaching dark clouds, and continued.

"However, the real trouble is never on the ground, I feel the trouble in the sky might be even bigger."

This time, the Southern Legion deployed a total of five airships.

Compared to the steel torrents on the ground, those floating fortresses in the sky were the truly deadly threats.

The same tactic is unlikely to succeed twice.

Whether it's boarding assaults, phase weapons, or high-power railguns, the Southern Legion would certainly be on guard.

However, aside from these long-term concerns, they indeed won this blocking battle.

And it was a resounding victory!

Both tactically and strategically, they successfully stalled the Legion's aggressively charging offensive momentum and dealt a heavy blow to the Vellante people's arrogance.

At this moment, a fixed-wing UAV with depleted energy slowly landed near them.

Wild Wind walked over, picked it up, folded the wings, and casually tucked it into the charging backpack on his back.

"...The Legion's thirtieth ten thousand troops are now only ten kilometers away from us, they've already realized their front teeth have been knocked out, we need to move."

Dusting off the mud and grass clippings from his pants, Night Ten stood up from the ground, lifted the toppled off-road electric bike beside him, chuckled, and responded.

"Roger that!"

...

Carrying the supplies dropped by allied forces, the victorious Burning Corps withdrew from the battlefield methodically.

Throughout the battle, they only lost three power armors and seven exoskeletons.

These damaged gear could be hauled back and repaired, possibly reused, and the fallen brothers could return to the front within a week on special flights, not causing much concern.

Rounding it off, they practically suffered no combat losses, just spent some rather costly ammunition.

In contrast, the Southern Legion got an entire "Heavy Armor Division" blown up.

For the Southern Legion, which never had many armored units to begin with, such losses were devastating.

When Ryan, miles away, received news of Rekton's death, he was so enraged he nearly spat blood in the command vehicle.

That was his direct subordinate!

It was also the finest armored unit he had!

Although he didn't actually spit blood, his heart was overwhelmed with agony.

Clenching his fist tightly, Ryan's facial muscles twisted into a knot, his fierce face filled with rage.

From the moment he received the news, he hadn't uttered a word, but everything he wanted to say was written all over his face.

"...I'm going to slaughter them!"

Gazing at the furious commander, the deputy and staff sitting opposite him were silent, not daring to breathe a word, though their hearts burned with equal fury.

Those thousand-plus brothers must not have died in vain...

Their enemies would surely pay a heavy price!

Chapter 858: Hunt for the Stealth Hang

The eastern front of Lion State is engulfed in roaring flames and thick smoke, while on the other side, the West Pororo Sea is a scene of tranquility and peace.

Three large fully loaded merchant ships are steadily navigating the sea, their majestic prows slicing through layer upon layer of waves.

Standing at the edge of the deck, facing the sea breeze, Hank dons a look of ambition, with his upturned nose resembling the prow cutting through the waves.

Undoubtedly, he is a pure-blooded Weilante, born in the gloriously rich Triumph City.

However, due to the overcrowding in Triumph City, he moved with his parents to the distant New Continent at a young age, opening up new lands for the Weilante people.

His father was a Centurion, and if nothing unexpected had happened, he should have become an honorable soldier like his father, achieving merits on the battlefield.

However, misfortune struck as although the father was a tiger, the son was a dog; he was not suited for warfare, consistently failing both the youth military selections and reserve officer exams.

Particularly in the youth military selection.

He couldn't even make it to the second round, getting screened out in the first round's physical examination, with swimming being the only physical test he barely passed.

As it turns out, even in a race born for battle, not everyone excels at fighting.

Dejected, Hank became despondent and self-abandoned, drowning himself in alcohol daily. Until one day, a friend from his youth training camp brought him a bottle of "Big Bird Spinning Vodka" sourced from the "Old World", which awakened him abruptly from his befuddlement—

What had he been drinking before? Horse piss?

The spicy taste carried a hint of sweetness that could make one forget all troubles, and since tasting it, he became infatuated with that sensation, finding other drinks bland.

However, this stuff originated in the distant Alliance, and even in Triumph City, it wasn't easy to procure; the best sources were mostly monopolized by the Eastern Legion.

Despite the simplistic manufacturing process and raw materials, the imitations produced by Triumph City's distilleries always felt lacking something.

He understood what those imitation products were missing—the thing that intoxicated him the most—a sweet hint that could sometimes feel hallucinatory, making one forget all worries.

To better indulge in alcohol, Hank temporarily pulled himself out of despondency, first crafting a continuous distiller, and then began tinkering with brewing in his home warehouse, improving the brewing process… unexpectedly, he managed to recreate that "sweet hint that makes one forget all worries."

In fact, the secret to forgetting one's troubles lay within the "methanol in the safe dosage range."

The distilleries in Triumph City were obsessed with improving distillation techniques, striving to brew the purest vodka, aiming for excellence in quality, yet overlooked what the lower-class Weilante people truly needed.

They didn't have the time to sip on a custom cocktail in a high-end restaurant, savoring its smooth and rich taste. They needed something to forget all worries, even if it meant a splitting headache the next day.

Adding affordability to the mix would make it all the better, even if the joy wasn't healthy.

Thanks to this "invention," Hank instantly became a somewhat renowned liquor merchant on the East Coast of the New Continent, turning vodka from an "imported good" into something even ordinary people could afford to drink.

If nothing unexpected happens, he might sell liquor all his life, growing his business larger and larger, and perhaps even export his concocted "Little Chicken Vodka" back to the distant City of Dawn, showcasing his clever ingenuity to those guys in the Alliance.

However, unfortunately, things didn't go as planned; the profit margins from selling liquor were still too low.

His "Little Chicken Vodka" became popular for a while, but only for a while.

The lack of barriers to entry in that field exacerbated the situation.

If he could imitate Alliance's product, others could naturally imitate his too.

And poaching staff from his distillery to Triumph City was far easier than poaching from the Alliance; a boat ticket and a house in the suburbs of Triumph City were all it took.

Seeing his career bottlenecked, Hank, like most self-made Weilantes, had no choice but to look towards other less competitive new fields with promising prospects.

In the army, only arms were an eternal business and held the highest status among all traders.

And coincidentally, at this time, the honorable Marshal opened another window of opportunity for him.

The Southern Legion was rallying for war!

Although officially a war between the Xilan Empire and various rebels, thirty units of ten thousand "mercenaries" were rare even in human civilization history.

The Alliance was undoubtedly getting involved as well.

It's foreseeable that enterprises, academies, and even all survivor forces from the Great Canyon and the eastern Old World would take part in this war.

The Southern Legion's local industry and transport capacity clearly couldn't singlehandedly support the material expenditure for this war, while the Western Legion's expansion had coincidentally hit a bottleneck, with a large stockpile of unsold arms piling up in warehouses, going nowhere.

Coincidentally, the Western Legion and the Southern Legion signed a tax exemption agreement on military supplies.

Catching wind of this, Hank immediately spotted the business opportunity and promptly staked all his fortune on it.

No one reacted faster than him.

He was likely to become the first New Continent merchant to dig gold from Poluo Province… if those bigshots who jumped the gun early were not considered.

Once he becomes the largest private arms contractor in West Sail Port, he'd conveniently market his "Little Chicken Vodka" to the local Weilante soldiers.

He believed they would surely fall in love with that irresistible sensation.

And this would count as a "curveball save the factory" strategy.

A few white birds flew in from afar, circling above the deck, seemingly wanting to stop for a rest.

"Caw—"

Listening to the rhythmic calls, Hank felt a sense of inexplicable joy.

"It's a seagull! Haha, looks like we're close to the shore!"

Walking beside him, the captain with sunburnt skin grinned, holding back his sarcasm.

"That's an albatross, sir... And it seems to be a variant, you'd better not tease it."

They were still more than 20 hours away from the Poluo Province, at the earliest, they could dock by noon tomorrow.

Seeing the guy's excited manner, he figured this boss was probably on his first voyage, let alone distinguishing an albatross from a seagull.

Hank didn't mind, he just laughed it off, covering up the awkwardness.

"Hahaha! Whatever it is, it's my lucky bird! Go get some bread upstairs... Remember to take the kind that's about to expire." With that, he nudged his secretary, urging the helpless-looking secretary back to the cabin.

The captain grinned, thinking this boss from the New World was quite humorous and witty.

It's said people from the New World are like this, more cunning and devious than the Weilante people of the "Old World."

However, he hadn't truly lived there; all his knowledge was hearsay.

The one who introduced this captain job to him was a merchant from the Southern Legion. He only made a brief stop at the port in the New World before boarding this cargo ship bound for the Poluo Sea.

The deck was a picture of tranquility and harmony, just like the calm sea.

The lazy sailors either leaned on the railing to bask in the sun or used beer bottle caps as chips to play chess, passing the time, or planned where to find fun once ashore.

At this moment, no one noticed a periscope quietly emerging from the sea, watching them for a while before stealthily retracting.

The secretary sent into the cabin to fetch the bread hadn't returned yet. Hank was about to go to the cabin to hurry that guy but then saw large bubbles rolling out of the swirling waves.

Something was rapidly approaching his cargo ship, and judging by its size, it wasn't small.

Hank suddenly recalled a story told by a sailor bragging to him in a tavern before boarding.

It's said there's a type of ocean monster called Laken in the distant Poluo Sea and Southern sea area.

The thing is like a giant dragon swimming in the deep sea, capable of easily capsizing a cargo ship with a displacement of over a thousand tons.

But Hank wasn't worried, as all three of his cargo ships were over fifty thousand tons and were equipped with sonar to ward off variants.

Staring at the increasingly near "big fish," he even stretched his head out from the ship's rail, excitedly shouting.

"What's that? A Laken?"

Hearing this, the captain chuckled and walked up to Hank.

"Laken wouldn't be interested in us, we've emitted sonar waves—"

Halfway through the sentence, his expression suddenly changed, and he shouted in horror towards behind him.

"Torpedo!!!"

He had never encountered something like this, nor did he know how to respond, but instinctively he pulled off the life jacket hanging on the railing, threw one to Hank, and put one on himself.

And almost at the same time, a deafening roar came from beneath their feet.

A torpedo hit the side of the cargo ship!

In the face of the terrifying destructive power capable of sinking warships, a mere fifty thousand-ton cargo ship was fragile as a toothpick.

Having no time to consider the situation of the other two cargo ships, Hank only felt himself soaring up, flipping over, and plunging into the sea with a splash.

The events unfolded too suddenly; he didn't even have time to feel fear before his consciousness blanked out...

...

A few minutes ago, beneath the sea.

Inside the steel-hued ship bridge, a dozen officers in military uniforms stared solemnly at the image projected on the holographic screen.

Twenty-four hours ago, Commander Li Minghui issued the operation plan codenamed "Laken."

They would act as ghosts lurking beneath the West Pororo Sea, attacking the transport ship carrying armament to West Sail Port.

In uncertain circumstances regarding the other party's actual naval capabilities, this was the most prudent method.

On one hand, it could disrupt the Southern Legion's logistics and delay the front line's offensive. On the other hand, it could force the Western Legion to come out for escort, thereby exposing their actual combat power.

"...Target search completed, multiple 120mm field guns detected, cargo onboard confirmed as weaponry without a doubt," the observer seated at the control panel looked back at the captain, his tone certain as he spoke.

The submarine captain nodded expressionlessly, without any hesitation, picked up the communicator and issued a command.

"Combat units at all levels, prepare! Send them to meet Laken!"

A chorus of responses quickly came through the communication channel.

"Roger!"

With the issuance of the order, the crew on the entire attack nuclear submarine immediately moved like tightly wound gears.

The target locked by sonar, the torpedo tube began to fill with water, and then a dark, thick torpedo was launched from the torpedo tube, like a harpoon lurking underwater, aiming at the unprotected cargo ship.

This was a battle without suspense, the other side didn't even have the means to detect them.

They fired a total of three torpedoes, all of which hit their targets without exception.

Watching the explosive flames and the steel slowly sinking into the water, no one in the bridge celebrated.

After all, the target that was sunk was not a warship, so there was nothing worth celebrating even if they won.

However, this did not mean they would feel any regret for participating in this action.

No matter what form or reason it took, since they were involved in this war, they had to be prepared to pay the corresponding price.

Just like them standing here.

They were fully aware of what they were facing, and what kind of end they would meet if they were targeted by the other side's warships...

After confirming the target was sunk, the captain immediately issued the order to dive.

With the cooperation of various units, the submarine quickly sank to the bottom of the sea, as if it had never appeared.

Meanwhile, in the sea area dozens of kilometers away, on a cargo ship full of immigrants.

Hearing the sound of distant explosions, Yarman, standing on the deck with the crew beside him, froze.

"...What happened?"

Listening to the boss's inquiry, the captain standing next to Yarman frowned, and after a moment, said uncertainly.

"Three explosions...they might be torpedoes."

"You can even tell that?" Yarman looked at him in surprise, not expecting this guy to have that skill.

"What else could it be? Could it have been made by Variants?" The captain made a helpless expression and shrugged.

Seeing the boss looking uneasy, he advised in a low voice.

"We better not get involved in this...You must know well that working for those big shots rarely ends well."

Yarman naturally understood what he meant, but finally sighed and said.

"...The doctrine of the Silver Moon Sect forbids leaving people in distress to die. No matter what, I have to go over and see if there are any survivors. Of course, I won't demand you all accompany me on this risk; I'll just take those willing to go with me."

If anyone was still alive, they had to be retrieved before they were targeted by the Variants in the sea.

Guessing that the boss would say this, the captain made a helpless expression, sighed, and said.

"I'll feel more uneasy if you go alone; I'll take a few people with you."

Without delaying much time, several diesel-powered lifeboats were lowered from the ship, speeding toward the site of the explosion.

By the time they reached the destination, the bow lifted toward the sky had basically sunk into the water, leaving only some debris and litter, mixed with sporadically burning fuel, floating on the sea.

Yarman didn't know what was being transported on the three sinking cargo ships, but fortunately, there was no secondary explosion.

Discovering survivors in the water, he immediately beckoned the crew to drag them onto the lifeboats, then left the dangerous waters before the fire spread...

The Southern Legion wanted to limit the war to Poluo Province, and the Western Legion wanted to hide in the background and make a fortune silently. However, things couldn't always develop in the direction they hoped.

Just like the train station and warehouse district in disarray at West Sail Port, and the tanks blown up on the central plains of Lion State, those three transport ships sunk at the bottom of the sea and military supplies worth tens of millions of Dinars were just the beginning.

At the same time Yarman rescued the shipwrecked compatriots, Commander Ryan, leading five ten-thousand troops, also finally aggressively advanced to Reed Bull County, just a step away from Lion City.

The place featured some of the few hills across the entire plain, with several tributaries of the Everflow River system crossing it, flowing into a freshwater lake named "Sunrise Lake."

Like Sulak County, this "Reed County" also belonged to the territory of a prominent noble family, but this Viscount Reed Bull wasn't as lucky as Viscount Sulak.

During the "Heavenly King Rebellion," he was bound and decapitated by a group of rebellious serfs and tenants, leaving only a few distant male relatives alive after his entire family was killed.

Later, after Anush died and the Heavenly Army changed banners to become Poluo Country, his bloodline was finally not cut off, selling some land and property ensured that the vast farmlands didn't go fallow.

However, the good times didn't last long.

Just as the seedlings in the fields were finally about to grow, the Southern Legion attacked again.

To defend Lion City, Commander Udonuo waved his hand and deployed a hundred thousand troops out of the two hundred thousand.

These soldiers were busy building fortifications and digging trenches, and they ruined more than half of the newly sprouted crops, filling them back into the ground.

Although compensation was promised, what was given was the Poluo currency, and no one knew its value, or how much longer this Poluo Country would exist.

However, the heir to the title, young Viscount Reed Bull, was a man who understood the bigger picture and did not oppose this move at such a time, even bringing along his attendants to actively help these soldiers.

On the contrary, some free citizens who had received land were quite discontent in their hearts but wisely held it in.

It is said that the army provided compensation in Dinar, whereas Absek was stingy toward his own people, dismissing them with a few scraps of paper.

Nonetheless, these complaints were in the minority, at least at present, most people still supported Absek.

Especially those within the army.

That guy is not a good person.

Sly, petty, indecisive... all negative adjectives could be applied to him, yet there was one thing to be admitted: he was more like a normal person than Anush.

This was actually quite good—hard to come by even.

Poluo Country never lacked talented people, but strangely, few normal people stood at the top.

In this unity from top to bottom, crisscrossing tunnels soon spread across the mountains and fields of Reed Bull County.

And those pit caves with only entrances and no exits.

Soldiers, armed with weapons and provisions, entered them resolutely, prepared to fill them first with their blood and flesh.

At the same time, the second batch of supplies assisted by the Alliance also arrived at the frontline.

Among the newly arrived equipment on the frontline, aside from RPG rocket launchers and recoilless guns, were also some powerful metallic hydrogen explosives and mines.

Especially the latter; if used properly, they were already enough to threaten the legion's Conqueror No.10 Tanks!

At least, they wouldn't let the legion easily take the Lion City behind them.

...

Inside Lion City.

Commander Udonuo stared at the map on the command table, a lit cigarette pinched between his index finger, his brow full of worry.

He had once been under King Anush, and later when Anush attacked Tiandu, he left Udonuo in Lion City to cover the retreat, or rather left him for the legion to "vent their anger."

At that time, Udonuo thought he was surely dead, but unexpectedly, the legion had not yet attacked when Anush was one step ahead and assassinated in the Tiandu Palace's great hall by Reformist officers.

Later, Absek allied with several other kings, purged Anush's old forces, and changed the flag of the King's Army to that of Poluo Country. He himself also went with the flow, leading his forces to join the new regime, and was subsequently promoted.

Although this promotion seemed to him like being sent to die, as part of Anush's old forces, he had little choice.

In the matter of making allegiance, Poluo Country and the King's Army were a continuous line; he too had his allegiance to make, only by doing so could he be considered one of them.

And the current task given to him by Absek was to lead the 200,000 troops stationed in Lion State to hold off the Southern Legion's offensive.

This was almost an impossible mission.

"...Alliance's armored troops are heading in our direction, and it is said to be one of Alliance's elite forces. However, their numbers are not large, just a regiment."

"In addition, there are two armored regiments sent by the Tiger army and Black Panther Army, as well as a mechanized infantry division from Jinjaron Harbor… they have already reached the south side of Reed Bull County."

Standing beside the command table, an officer in his early twenties rapidly reported, yet these good news did not completely smooth out Udonuo's frown.

Three regiments barely made a division.

The Alliance's armored regiment was not a concern, but the combat effectiveness of the armored regiments from the Black Panther Army and Tiger army was still an unknown.

Those people may not give their all.

The mechanized infantry division from Jinjaron Harbor might follow the Alliance's orders, but they probably couldn't be commanded either.

After staring at the map for a long time, Udonuo sighed and said.

"Relying on outsiders is unreliable, ultimately, we have to rely on ourselves…"

Composing himself, he cast his gaze toward the officers standing in front of the command table.

"No matter what, we have 200,000 troops, the Weilante people only have 50,000… this battle is on our turf, even if it means dying, defend it well for me!"

The idea from the Mammoth Nation was good, but after all, Lion State was not Dog State, with a million residents of Lion City right behind them, even if they wanted to retreat, there was nowhere to retreat to; this battle was inescapable anyway.

Reading the determination in their commander's eyes, the officers standing at the command table straightened their expressions, simultaneously placing their right fists over their left chests.

"Yes!"

Chapter 859: Lidebuir Meat Grinder

The harbor basked in pleasant weather, while a towering cargo ship quietly docked beside the pier.

And right within the ship's hold, a man lay unconscious, face-up on the bed.

Perhaps disturbed by the "cawing" of seagulls outside the window, his tightly shut eyes twitched suddenly, followed by intense coughing as he opened them.

"Cough cough—!"

Seeing the man suddenly start coughing, the doctor put away the stethoscope in his hand and looked at Yarman sitting nearby and said.

"Seems like nothing major, just needs some rest to recover."

Yarman breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the doctor sincerely, and said.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, it's my job."

The doctor nodded slightly, seeming not to want to talk more, and got up from the chair.

He was a local from Jinjaron Harbor, which meant a Poluo local, and treated the Weilante as a matter of professional ethics not to watch someone die.

If not for this, he didn't want to say a single word more to the person in front of him.

Though the survivors in Poluo Province once treated these big-nosed people as gods, that was in the past. At least in Jinjaron Harbor, the Weilante had lost their aura.

Yarman escorted him out the door and returned inside after a moment, looking at his compatriot who had already sat up from the bed and asked.

"Feeling better?"

Hank nodded blankly, staring at him for a while, then his gaze moved beyond the small, damp room and looked out the window.

In the distance was a picturesque harbor, with the intricately arranged marble architecture and the fountain statue standing in the harbor square, every view reminding him of that "spiritual hometown" he hadn't visited in ages—Triumph City.

Those things seemed to be copied from Triumph City.

Apart from those marble buildings, another row of square concrete structures and red-brick and blue-tile buildings had an exotic charm he had never seen.

What left the deepest impression was the bustling streets, the busy scene of traffic, comparable even to the busiest ports of the new continent.

At this moment, a bird with snow-white feathers flapped its wings and landed on the windowsill, pecked at its armpit, and then stared at him in a daze.

Seeing those clear yet foolish eyes, he suddenly felt the urge to feed it fries...

This should be a seagull.

Speaking of which, what are fries?

As if seeing no response from him for a while, the seagull practically flew away.

Seeing the falling feather on the windowsill, Hank finally remembered he hadn't answered his savior's question and quickly spoke, embarrassed.

"I'm much better, thank you for saving my life... By the way, my name is Hank, from the New Continent. Could you tell me where we are?"

Yarman, looking at Hank who introduced himself embarrassedly, didn't seem to mind and smiled warmly and said.

"My name is Yarman, this is Jinjaron Harbor. We need to purchase some supplies here, and see if there are others wanting to board the ship. Also, the other people rescued with you have all come ashore here; you're the last one to wake up."

At first, Hank didn't react to where this was, only feeling the name was familiar.

But then he recalled a sailor's joke before boarding, saying never to head to Jinjaron Harbor; it's the local's turf in Poluo Province and you might get your nose cut if caught.

Hank's face instantly turned pale.

He wasn't worried the rumor was true; anyone seeing this bustling port wouldn't associate the locals with natives.

But he was an arms dealer, shipping weapons to the locals' enemies.

Even if not having his nose cut, imprisonment was likely unavoidable.

Seeing Hank's face suddenly grow pale, Yarman probably guessed something, even seeing a reflection of his past self on his anxious face.

Most who think they can stay outside of things are already involved.

Those imagining they can muddle through are already soaking in that murky pool, oblivious.

A moment's luck is merely a matter of timing.

He nearly lost everything due to a promise that couldn't be kept.

But Yarman didn't say anything more, only asked concernedly.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"No..." Hank smiled awkwardly, his face pale, glanced out the window again, moved his Adam's apple, and said, "Can I... not leave the ship?"

His voice carried a hint of pleading.

Yarman nodded, speaking warmly.

"Of course, but we'll need some time to head back to West Sail Port. You may have to stay on the ship for a month or two."

"That's fine!"

Hank breathed a sigh of relief, immediately said, "Just let me follow you... I can help with some tasks."

Yarman chuckled and said.

"First, take care and recover until you can get out of bed and walk, then we'll talk."

Hank, relieved, looked at him and asked.

"By the way, what business are you in?"

Yarman thought for a moment and said.

"I don't know how to describe my trade, but my partner says I'm a Snakehead."

"Snake... head?"

Seeing Hank's confusion, Yarman nodded, straightforwardly explained.

"Just transporting survivors here to the south coast of Haiya Province, where there are several Alliance settlements, as simple as that."

It sounded much like slave trafficking, but rather than paying the Slave Owner, it's the... slave paying?

But where would slaves get money?

Hank couldn't make sense of it, puzzled, and asked.

"How much can those natives pay you?"

Yarman didn't hide anything, and calmly told him.

"They can't pay right now, but they can owe it first. We'll help them move to a new homeland, help them settle locally, help them find jobs, and then take a portion from their future wages to repay the debt they incurred before boarding the ship."

You can do this?!

Hank was completely shocked.

"Your business model is pretty good!"

If the ticket is priced at 1 million dinars, wouldn't that mean you could exploit a person until death?

Knowing he definitely misunderstood, and even guessing what he misunderstood, Yarman just smiled faintly without explaining.

Debt can't increase indefinitely; the Alliance's laws and regulatory agencies aren't fools.

However, explaining this is too troublesome, including what he's doing now; it looks like he's just transporting people, but behind it there's an entire set of essential processes.

"... It's okay, although it can't compare to arms trade, it's safer. The Southern Legion people don't care about us, the population at West Sail Port is excessive for them, they don't need so many people. The Alliance people will look out for us somewhat; they're doing big projects in the Southern sea area, and are in need of manpower."

At the mention of arms, Hank felt a pang of pain. The cargo of those three ships was worth at least 30 million dinars, not to mention the cost of the ships themselves.

Although he had insured the cargo and ships, being sunk by a torpedo... he wasn't sure if that was within the coverage.

And the worst part is, if this war continues, and more insured ships get bombed, the insurance company would probably go bankrupt on the spot.

It's hard to say whether the company he insured with will still be around after he returns to the New Continent.

Hank had no hope of getting that money back.

For now, he could only take it one step at a time...

...

Just when an unfortunate arms dealer planned to follow Yarman's fleet and try his luck in the Alliance's territory, an unprecedented battle broke out on the land of Poluo Province.

The Southern Legion's 30,000th troop first invaded the west side of Reed Bull County, engaging in a firefight with Poluo Nation's 3rd, 4th, and 5th troops stationed locally, on the west side of Sunrise Lake.

Before reaching Reed Bull County, the Southern Legion's 30,000th troop had already lost an armored team of a thousand; the disparity in force between both sides was significant.

Especially since before the Southern Legion dispatched troops, the Lion State War Zone commander in Poluo Province had ordered the digging of numerous tunnels and "mouse holes" in Reed Bull County.

If the Southern Legion's 30,000th troop chose to assault, even with two-thirds of their tanks and numerous armored troop carriers remaining, they would still pay a hefty price.

However, in theory, that's how it was.

When the Southern Legion's airships reached the front lines, Poluo Nation's army advantage vanished instantly.

A sky-covering rain of bullets like locusts.

As if to flaunt their firepower, those Weilante people even added markers to the indirect-fire shells.

"Hide!!!"

Watching the approaching death, the Centurion lying on the Poluo Nation's position let out a desperate roar.

The soldiers prostrate in the dugouts pressed their foreheads against the soil, tightly clenched their fists or held family keepsakes, silently praying in their hearts.

The screaming bullet rain drew closer.

Each shell exploded violently before hitting the ground, scattering into finer and denser rains of light, indiscriminately covering every inch of the position.

The explosive fire raked across the position, baking stones and rubble scorching hot, lifting dust from the ground to the sky.

Wisps of smoke ascended, and the noisy land instantly fell silent.

Those were cluster bombs.

After being swept by that thing, not just humans, not even a living blade of grass would remain...

Inside the command vehicle miles away.

The commander of the 30,000th troop, Eastern front commander Ryan, stared at the holographic screen image with a face like water.

It was footage captured by the Horn Number airship.

On the land ravaged by artillery, not a shadow of a person could be seen, not even a complete corpse.

Soon, heads started appearing in the corner of the frame again.

Seeing this, Ryan's eyes narrowed slightly.

The Poluo Nation army position had been bombarded again and again by him, yet those Poluo Nation soldiers kept filling up like endless swarms of locusts.

He was about to order another round of barrage, when the communicator on his shoulder suddenly buzzed twice.

Ryan reached out and pressed the communicator. Soon, a bothersome voice came from the other end of the communication channel.

"... Dear Commander, though I hate to interrupt your enjoyment, I must remind you that we've already consumed a third of our ammunition."

The speaker was the captain of the Horn Number, a one-star Ten Thousand Leader from Yavente.

Ryan furrowed his brows with an unhappy expression.

"Didn't we purchase a batch of ammunition from the Western Legion?"

Horn Number captain: "Yes, that's correct... However, the news I received is that out of the ten transport ships originally scheduled to arrive yesterday, only four made it."

Ryan: "... What do you mean?"

Horn Number captain: "You should be able to guess. Obviously, it's the Alliance's doing. It's said their submarines are attacking our ally's transport ships, though they argue it's Laken's doing. Currently, our supply situation is still fairly decent, but nobody can predict what will happen afterwards; we should save some... What do you think?"

Due to command hierarchy issues, the relationship between the air force and the ground forces isn't harmonious.

This situation not only occurs in the Eastern Legion, but also in the other three legions.

Even if both belong to the same faction and share the same operational philosophy, it doesn't mean they're truly brothers.

Even if they both turn their necks to the right, there's always a more right-leaning one and a less right-leaning one.

The Horn Number captain's voice carried a hint of mocking amusement, while Ryan's face turned completely dark.

The Alliance is truly cruel.

Not daring to face them head-on, they targeted the transport ships instead!

"... Should we continue?"

Listening to the voice from the communication channel, Ryan pondered for a moment, then ordered.

"Fire a round of incendiary shells, and leave the rest to the infantry."

The captain of the Horn Number quickly responded.

"Received."

Shortly after the order was given, a rumbling roar soon resonated beneath the low clouds.

Flames mixed with thick smoke rushed towards the steaming ground like an avalanche falling from mountain peaks, with an unstoppable force.

The Poluo Country soldiers who had just reinforced the trenches were immediately showered with a boiling rain of fire.

No matter how they tried, the flames couldn't be extinguished.

Even a single touch could turn one into a blazing human torch.

"Ahhhh!"

"My arm—!"

Screams rose one after another, and the trenches were filled with the scent of burning flesh, resembling hell itself.

Some soldiers, unable to bear the excruciating pain, either begged their comrades to finish them or placed the barrel under their chin to end it themselves.

And this was only the beginning.

The lethal power of incendiary shells wasn't all in the flames; the toxic gas produced by the fire was equally deadly.

For the Poluo soldiers lacking gas masks, they could only bury their faces in the soil, hoping that the loose dirt would filter the poison.

However, this primitive method wasn't always effective; the gas released by incendiary shells continued to cause significant casualties.

Looking at the blackened or distorted corpses, the soldiers crouched in the trenches gritted their teeth, eyes filled with hatred and fury.

They no longer cared if they could return alive.

They just wanted revenge for their fallen comrades, to share this pain wholly onto the Weilante people.

It wasn't just the frontline soldiers, but their officers standing behind them felt the same.

Confronting a radio that worked intermittently, Marta, the Ten Thousand Leader of Poluo Country's 30,000th troop, felt his heart bleed with pain.

In just an hour's time.

He had already sent three thousand teams to the front, yet they hadn't even seen a shadow of the Weilante people!

It was like trading the lives of his brothers for Weilante's shells!

Fortunately, Weilante's shells weren't unlimited, and that burning rain seemed to be their last frenzy.

After the flames and smoke dispersed mostly, a thousand team belonging to the Southern Legion was quickly pushed to the front line.

The soldiers were of similar height and build, with uniforms and twisted facial muscles remarkably alike.

Their weapons were uniformly Ripper Rifles, with bayonets under the barrels emitting a cold gleam.

Seeing this murderous troop, Poluo Country soldiers crouched in the trenches swallowed hard.

That was the Clone Troops of the Legion!

It's said that those fearless guys were like Hyenas, even if their intestines fell out, they could fight non-stop with their opponents.

Although some Alliance brothers said those clones might have some disabilities, their physical quality was not high.

Yet these Poluo soldiers found ironically that these disabled guys looked healthier than them.

At least their bones had some flesh hanging on them.

"...Damn, the food and clothes we have aren't as good as these clones." A bandaged soldier cursed, eyes filled with envy and anger.

A nearby comrade grinned, speaking half-jokingly.

"Doesn't matter, my compensation money has already been sent home, my kid will surely grow stronger than them."

"Heard your kid was seven and a half pounds?" An old fellow chimed in, looking incredulous, "Really?"

The soldier smiled proudly and said with confidence on his face.

"Of course it's real! I weighed it myself! That kid will surely be taller than me in the future."

The old fellow envied more, couldn't help but ask again.

"What did you eat to produce such a big one?"

The soldier glared at him, laughed and said.

"You old guy, at your age, almost buried in the earth, why ask this?"

The old man's face stiffened, glared and said.

"Can't I use for my son?"

That caused a burst of laughter among the team; many old soldiers recalled him saying he didn't have a son.

"Don't worry about what to eat, as long as it's not dirt, anyone can grow into a human form."

Placing the LD-47j light machine gun, which had lost its stand, onto the trench, the machine gunner blinded in one eye took a deep breath and then pressed his burnt face against the blackened stock.

"Absek said we won't need to eat dirt anymore, our descendants won't either, hope that bastard keeps his word... Otherwise, even as a ghost, I won't let him go!"

His life was entrusted to that guy now.

He had no other demands, just hoped the things Absek promised were not empty words.

Watching the grinning big soldiers, a nearby Centurion reprimanded softly.

"Stop fooling around, keep an eye on the front, those big-nosed ones are coming!"

"Oh oh oh!" Cocking the rifle in hand, the young man with a bandaged head shouted excitedly, "Let those bastards come at us!"

As someone had once said, they had nothing left to lose.

With a sharp whistle, the tranquility before the storm was completely shattered.

The Centurion marching at the side of the unit drew out the dagger at his waist, and blew the short whistle held at his mouth.

"Whistle—!"

The piercing whistle was like an arrow, sweeping across the entire battlefield.

```

The clone soldiers marching forward in unison raised their rifles and bayonets almost simultaneously, charging toward the smoke-filled battlefield under the lead of the Centurion.

"Kill!!!"

The shouts of battle cries shook the heavens and the earth!

The clones charging forward were like wolves transformed into human form.

The bayonets pointing forward were their canine teeth, and they were like Eaters that could speak human language!

The Centurion, who had spit out the short whistle, still held his military saber high, shouting with a coarse voice.

"Charge up!!"

"Use your rifles, your bayonets, fists, teeth, and nails, every tool at your disposal! Make your prey cease their filthy breaths!"

"You are the bravest warriors! Those weak mice are no match in front of you—!"

The fanatical roar uplifted the morale of all the clones.

To them, born in the duel arena, that coarse-voiced man was like their father.

But their father had obviously deceived them; those weak mice were not as easily defeated.

Just as they neared within 200 meters, the Centurion of Poluo Nation lying in the trenches blew the whistle in his mouth and fired a shot forward with his pistol.

"Fire at will!!!"

The soldiers lying on the edge of the trenches, pent-up with anger, pulled the triggers of their rifles.

The rattling sound of gunfire resounded across the battlefield, with traces of orange tracer bullets flying wildly, sketching the path of the Grim Reaper's sickle on a battlefield laden with corpses.

Clone soldiers were constantly pressed to the ground by machine gun fire, and even the Centurions of the Vellante were not spared.

The soldiers of Poluo Nation lying in the trenches fared no better.

Behind the LD-47j machine gun with a missing bipod, two gunners had already been replaced, now operated by a thirteen-year-old boy.

The boy with a bandage tied around his forehead yelling "bring it on" had his head shot open early on, falling silently to the ground.

And that man whose son reportedly weighed seven and a half pounds.

The old guy who often argued with him never pried the secret of "having a big healthy baby boy" from his lips before dying.

But he had no use for it anymore.

Soon, a hundred-strong team was wiped out, quickly replaced by another hundred-strong team.

After that, a thousand-strong team, and even ten thousand!

The jagged battle line was like the teeth of a giant beast, sucking dry the flesh and blood caught within.

The hundred-pound weight that should have been a family pillar felt as light as a feather on the dozens of kilometers wide front.

Not just the Poluo people were bleeding, but the Vellante charging over the artillery-plowed land as well.

Although the clones listed in the logistics weren't counted as part of the five ten-thousand-strong troops formations, or even as livestock, and their casualties weren't recorded, every ten or twelve clone soldiers were led by a Vellante Centurion charging together.

In just a morning, the Southern Legion's 300,000-strong unit crushed three of Poluo Nation's ten thousand-strong units holding the western hills of Sunrise Lake, pushing the front line forward by ten kilometers!

Marta the Ten Thousand Leader refused to withdraw, personally leading a thousand-strong team to cover the rear, protecting allies' retreat, and unfortunately, got shot while blocking the Southern Legion's mechanized thousand-strong team assault.

Thus, the third ten-thousand-strong unit of Poluo Nation was systematically annihilated!

Over twelve thousand soldiers and officers were nearly all lost, leaving no survivors!

The fourth and fifth thousand-strong teams also suffered over half losses and were forced to retreat to the rear line.

In contrast, the Southern Legion's 300,000-strong unit suffered just 300 casualties in total.

After painfully losing an armored thousand-strong team, Commander Ryan finally regained his lost face on the frontline battle.

Even if it cost nearly twenty thousand clone cannon fodder and tens of thousands of shells.

The western part of Reed Bull County was completely fallen, and the Southern Legion's fist had gripped the neck of the old lion that was Lion City.

The 31st and 32nd ten-thousand-strong units were cutting into the battlefield from the southwest and northwest directions respectively.

Following them to the frontline was a line of armored trains loaded with ammunition and weapons, and a 902mm heavy cannon that boasted both deterrent and power!

The Alliance's fearless air raids kept the Southern Legion's logistics units on edge, only daring to operate under the zone dominated by armored airships.

However, if they thought the danger only came from the sky, they were gravely mistaken.

In the southeast of "Reed County," rolling plumes of smoke were galloping across the vast plains.

Under the cover of 62 Chimera armored vehicles, a strike formation of 93 Type Three heavy tanks was rampaging toward the southern frontline of the Legion.

Their target was the Southern Legion's 34th ten-thousand-strong unit.

According to the intelligence gathered by Pangolin in West Sail Port, it was a reserve force.

As long as they could break through this 34th ten-thousand-strong troop, they could touch Commander Ryan's flower!

The players of the Skeleton Corps had awaited this impending battle for a long time.

Especially after seeing their Burning Corps brothers show off on the forum, they were eager to get going, itching to join the fray.

A group of airborne infantry could already blow up the opposing armored regiment, replacing them with these professionals, surely the bloody nose brigade would be beaten badly?

Besides, they weren't the only Army involved in this battle!

After five days of waiting, the Goblin Corps' good brothers had rejoined the front lines aboard the Overlord transport plane, and their vehicles were flown to the airport outside of Tiandu by pilots from Jinjaron Harbor.

Moreover, the Luoyu Brothers piloting the Thunder aircraft would also participate in this operation.

They had no reason to lose!

On the turret of the Type Three tank, the Mole emerged halfway, holding a communicator, shouting energetically.

"Brothers!"

"Only twenty kilometers separate us from the Southern Legion's 34th ten-thousand-strong unit!"

"It's time to show them what a true iron torrent looks like!"

His words had just fallen when excited shouts echoed through the communication channel.

"Awoo awoo awoo!!"

Chapter 860: The Alliance's Iron Cavalry!

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

Canyon Escaping Mole: "...Ahem! Did the server go down for maintenance just now, guys?"

Quit smoking: "???"

Tail: "0ω0?"

Edge Shoveling: "What??"

Fang Chang: "Generally, we call this scenario a resurrection cooldown."

Makabazi: "Hahaha! That's hilarious!"

Spring Water Commander: "Bro, you okay? (Funny)"

I Max Black: "If it really doesn't work out, just let us take over. (Grin)"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Scram, scram, scram, everyone makes mistakes... MMP! This sure was unlucky!"

Fang Chang: "Indeed, everyone has their off days, but at least Brother Mole's team is still online, so it shouldn't be a big issue."

Night Ten: "Is it just my imagination or has a similar conversation happened before? (Funny)"

Elena: "You should ask, which day haven't we had similar conversations? (Funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "This game is too real. (Funny)"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Whoa, how come you two came down too?!"

Elena: "Just here to tease you, heading back right away. (Funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "Fare thee well, Commander! (Funny)"

Canyon Escaping Mole: "@#&@!"

...

As it turns out, flaunting won't get you struck by lightning, but underestimating one's enemy will definitely cause problems.

The 34th squad of the Southern Army, though merely a "Mechanized Infantry Brigade" and caught off guard due to lack of good luck, was not the easy squashable group Mole imagined it to be.

In fact, one could say the mechanized infantry that coordinated with artillery were their true aces compared to their somewhat unfamiliar use of armored troops!

Being a reserve unit only defines their strategic role, not their capabilities as rookies.

Time rolled back to half an hour ago.

Horn Number had already been deployed to the frontline, and the 30th squad led by Commander Ryan was advancing triumphantly whilst the 34th squad had to rely on its reconnaissance team and regularly patrolling recon aircraft to locate enemies.

In fact, with the war reaching this stage, capturing Lion City was no longer any challenge. No one in the Southern Army doubted they would conquer the entire Lion State before month's end, forcing Poluo Country to sign a truce, then focusing on the Mammoth Nation occupying the Northern Three States.

Under such circumstances, the 34th squad naturally wasn't worried about a Poluo Country land force counterattack, focusing instead on those annoying tunnels and "rat holes".

However, fate had it that while they were playing whack-a-mole, they unexpectedly ran into the Skeleton Corps who had rushed to the southern Reedbull County.

The two sides made contact on a gentle slope where forest meets farmland.

The 34th squad of the Southern Army immediately paid the price for their carelessness.

The unfortunate ten "Greyhound" recon cars had barely spotted the iron flood before their armor was shattered by incoming 155mm high-explosive shells.

The players chose high-explosive shells over armor-piercing specifically to prevent "over-penetration".

The armor thickness of the "Greyhound" recon cars was akin to paper before Alliance's Type Three Tanks; one shell causes two holes, with destructive effects possibly lesser than that of high-explosive shells.

Destroying ten armored units upon first contact, the players of the Skeleton Corps were greatly boosted in morale!

Mole immediately ordered an advance, planning to collaborate with the goblin corps' air force brothers to devour the entire brigade.

However, the Weilante people on the opposing side were no pushovers either.

Having taken a sudden hit, Commander Gibson of the 34th squad quickly snapped to attention, calling for air support while issuing combat orders.

Moreover, this guy employed a cunning tactic, splitting two mechanized thousand teams to unload infantry and anti-tank gear from armored troop carriers, dispatching them to ambush in dugouts and rat holes excavated by Poluo soldiers, and deployed self-propelled artillery and light tanks behind these dugouts.

It must be said, this tactic was indeed somewhat effective.

Although those "rat holes" were narrow for the Weilante people, they could still squeeze in somehow.

High-explosive shell's blast zones primarily spread upward, causing limited damage to targets below ground level.

When the Skeleton Corps entered the range of the scouts' sight, the Weilante infantry hiding in rat holes immediately reported positions and called for long-range bombardment using radio communications.

Fifty-two "Fire Crossbow" self-propelled artillery first launched a barrage, raining dense shells onto the 1st battalion of the Skeleton Corps.

In truth, with the Type Three tank's protection, unless directly hit by a shell, it's not too concerned about long-range fire. At this distance, striking the tank with indirect fire was akin to winning the lottery.

Yet by sheer coincidence, someone was really that unlucky.

A 200mm capped armor-piercing grenade struck Mole Old Brother's vehicle squarely, penetrating through the weak top cap, resulting in a deadly explosion.

From the moment the shell pierced the armor to its detonation, the entire process took less than a second, leaving Mole no time to react before he was already offline.

Simultaneously, an air squadron urgently took off from West Sail Port and arrived on the battlefield, dropping bombs weighing 100kg downwards.

Thankfully, the goblin corps departing from Tiandu's airstrip also joined the fray, preventing the Skeleton Corps from becoming sitting targets.

200 "Dagger" engagements against 200 "Mosquito-style" squadrons, both sides clashed fiercely under and above the clouds.

And while the intense aerial battle raged on, four "Thunder" fighters launched from Jinjaron Harbor and six "Peidao" from Evernight Harbor also joined the engagement.

The former were next-gen aircraft from the Alliance, incorporating advanced yet unstable plasma thrusters.

The latter were elder statesmen used by the army for over a century, despite employing outdated jet engines, the technical advancements and manufacturing were close to the pinnacle of "chemical power engines".

The choice for jet-engines wasn't due to "path dependency", but rather the rarity in the wasteland of a force like the Army opting for supersonic aircraft, except for corporations and the Alliance.

Its missiles cost much more than those from propeller planes, and limited ammo capacity wasn't favored by neither the army nor their air force, only rarely utilized during ceremonies.

Previously in the Luo Xia Province, Falling Feather piloted the "Soaring Clouds" fighter against this machine, barely winning by merging with Xiaoyu.

However, now neither he nor Xiaoyu, nor the Alliance's aircraft were at their previous level,
let alone four vs six, even solo against six! He was confident of trying again three days later!

With both hands on the control stick, taking a deep breath, Falling Feather immersed his consciousness into the biological body suit.

Xiaoyu's sub-entity spread throughout the cockpit.

Thanks to these "biomass sensors," he could even perceive the gusts brushing the canopy and the vibration at the wingtips!

The entire aircraft seemed to merge with him!

His "vision" transcended clouds, seemingly "seeing" the enemy pilot's heartbeats and breaths as a missile skimmed the cloud's edge approaching him.

Without a trace of fear, his chest instead burned with a boiling battle spirit.

When he fought against the Torch Church before, their flying units barely reached a speed of 200 yards.

Finally, there's a worthy opponent!

"Xiaoyu, get ready!"

With the missile radar powered on, a gentle call came from deep within the sea of consciousness.

"Yiw!"

Traces of long trail lights flickered up and down in the air, with occasional air-to-air missiles whistling past, and from time to time a plane turned into a ball of fire, falling together with parachutes.

Those were mainly the parachutes of the Weilante people.

The pilots of the Goblin Corps didn't need such a thing, and Mosquito never equipped them with one.

The battle in the sky gradually entered a white-hot stage, and it was difficult to determine the winner for a while.

At the same time, the ground battle continued.

Although Brother Mole received his "boxed lunch" at the start, the command system of the Skeleton Corps didn't collapse because of it. Instead, it made the commanders of the subsequent vehicles laugh.

"Damn, that luck of Mole is too damn good."

"How could he hit this?! Must be cheating!"

"The dog plan adjusted the difficulty."

"The consequence of not doing proper business, got sanctioned."

The communication channel was full of cheerful air; many people seized the chance to curse a bit during Mole's absence.

However, the battle continued, and the group didn't waste all their time chatting, quickly shifting their focus back to the battlefield.

Even if it's just to avenge Brother Mole, they have to show some real skill!

Elena quickly took over command, shouting into the communication channel.

"...anti-aircraft company, did you see anything nearby up close? Like drones or something."

A response quickly came through the communication channel.

"No! Not to mention a drone, there isn't even a bird nearby."

The enemy air force was still engaged in a dogfight with the Goblin Corps, temporarily unable to take care of this place.

Elena nodded slightly.

"Very well... it seems that the enemy's 'eyes' and radio are hidden just in front of us."

It was a chance encounter, without much time for advanced deployment.

In such a short time, it's unlikely that the 34th squad had the time to deploy infantry on the flanks in their direction of advance.

Especially since such behavior risks exposing their artillery to the enemy armored forces.

Having figured out the opponent's deployment roughly, Elena immediately made a judgment and issued a series of orders through the communication channel.

"Support company, take note! Head to the marked position on the map and deploy independently, await further instructions."

"First and second armored battalions swing left, third armored faces right, aiming for enemy self-propelled artillery and light armor units, watch out for enemy anti-tank weapons. Fifth mechanized infantry battalion, cover the fourth battalion as they continue to advance!"

All battalion leaders: "Received!"

After a pause, Elena continued her orders.

"Additionally, air defense company, lower the high cannon! Push up your FK and fire a couple salvos at anything that looks like it's hiding someone or has a dugout!"

FK-1 "Defender" Crew: "Received!"

With each order issued, the Skeleton Corps immediately shifted their formation for advancing.

The vanguard units switched from Type-Three main battle tanks to Chimera armored vehicles, while the heavy armor dispersed on both flanks charged straight towards the artillery positions of the 34th squad like two giant axes.

The Skeleton Corps' assault didn't fall into chaos because they lost their commander.

Rather, it's because of the confidence that "even if I am gone, the Skeleton Corps can still fight," that Mole dared to charge at the forefront with the command vehicle on the battlefield.

Each main battle tank was equipped with an "offline operator," replacing the position of the communicator, responsible for relaying offline deployments online for strategic deployment. And online communications were handled by the tank commander, liaising with other crews in real-time.

This was the experience they summarized from the Battle of Falling Leaves.

Not to mention losing a commander, even if the entire reinforced regiment suffers a strategic-level EMP strike, communication between crews and crews could still proceed relatively real-time.

Upon discovering the motions of the Allied armored forces, the ten-thousand leader Gibson of the 34th squad felt a rush of trouble.

Hit by artillery, they didn't charge hastily towards the infantry's positions but chose to sidestep the frontal positions from both sides.

Seeing the air force still unable to effectively deploy, with the enemy's armored units rapidly approaching, Gibson could only grit his teeth and order a withdrawal of the deployed self-propelled artillery, letting the nearby armored troop carriers follow suit.

As for the over three thousand soldiers left behind, they were told to take cover in place.

After all, in such a vast area, it would be pretty challenging for the Alliance to locate them all, and it's unlikely they would waste so much time searching.

Though standing in the position of the commander, Gibson did indeed make the right judgment, but in doing so, left the infantry tasked with ambushing tanks as sacrificial pawns.

Deprived of support firepower and the protection of light armor, the over three thousand scattered soldiers instantly became orphans in the positions.

After discovering the enemy stopped firing, Elena immediately issued orders to the support company that had completed deployment on their side, releasing guiding drones to blast three rounds of incendiary bombs on the suspected areas.

Blazing flames swept across the wilderness, though not massive, yet effective against the Weilante soldiers hiding in the burrows.

Hefty in build, the cramped burrows were already a tight fit, and the flames consumed the oxygen above ground, forcing many to escape, while some suffocated miserably underground.

Seeing that the burn was about enough, Elena shouted "disembark," then led over three hundred brothers from the fourth battalion off the vehicle, progressing forward in groups with Chimera armored cars.

Ever since the Battle of Skulls, all mechanized infantry in the Skeleton Corps have been re-equipped with Type-Five lightweight exoskeletons, which have both mobility and defensive power.

Spotting the enemy halt firing, Elena immediately instructed the now deployed support company to fire three rounds of incendiary bombs at areas suspected of hiding personnel.

Raging flames burned across the plains. Although not extensive, it consumed the oxygen on the ground, forcing some to crawl out, unable to withstand it.

Bullets converged like rain, slicing through the air with a swishing sound as they were shot at each glimpse of movement.

7mm full-power bullets pierced the helmet, leaving the once hidden enemy sprawled like a potato stuck at the edge of a dugout, silenced.

Instead of inducing fear, the sight of their fallen comrade incited a primal fury among the Weilante.

Gunfire echoed continuously across the fields, but however fierce their return fire was, it paled in comparison to the 37mm cannon of the Chimera armored vehicle.

"""

"Three o'clock direction! Hit hard with high-explosive bombs! We'll keep an eye on the tubes!"

Elena hammered the car door twice with her fist, then mounted her rifle on the front armor side of the armored car, aiming at a guy crawling out of a dugout with an anti-tank rocket launcher and pulled the trigger.

With a few short bursts of gunfire, the guy fell to the ground before he could even reload.

The enemy commander clearly underestimated the size of these dugouts and the bulk of his own soldiers and equipment.

The Poluo could fire RPGs from these dugouts, but the Weilante people could barely fit in, let alone reload an anti-tank rocket launcher, which required them to crawl out for operation.

Perhaps switching to cheaper, disposable "Iron Fist" rocket launchers might be better.

After all, against lightly armored targets, the armor-piercing ability of different shaped charges hardly matters.

The anti-tank infantry was easily taken care of by Elena, and his team's Chimera armored car, used as cover, also focused on those soft targets firing rifles.

The 37mm cannon fired bang bang bang, shell casings clanging on the armored car's turret and body. Within a few breaths, most of the Weilante infantry in front of them were dead or injured.

Meanwhile, the FK-1 "Defender" behind the group was also moving forward.

The 20mm "Red Dot" rapid-fire cannon, designed from a destroyer's close-in weapon system, aimed at the muddy black ground ahead, suddenly unleashed a sewing machine-like roar.

The dense barrage of bullets, like a raging storm, swept over the rows of dugouts ahead, tearing up the very ground, reducing the vehicle's mass by 6% in just a few minutes.

Although these electromagnetically accelerated light mass bullets weren't very penetrating, they unexpectedly worked wonders against soft soil.

Where high-explosive shell fragments couldn't penetrate, these directional metal spheres easily did, even punching through those dugouts.

The enemy's breakthrough fell silent instantly, and Elena cautiously fired a few shots. Discovering no response, she moved forward with Old Wang and another brother.

Upon reaching the nearest dugout, she found it completely buried by collapsed soil, with the mound covering it dotted with numerous small holes, like a honeycomb.

"Damn... this is bloody miserable."

Clicking her tongue, Elena overcame her discomfort, removed the engineer shovel from her exoskeleton, dug open the buried dugout, and took a photo of the pit.

It's not for his morbid curiosity.

Confirming the weapon's destructive effect is part of the combat mission, given that it's the FK-1 "Defender's" battlefield debut.

Seeing the bloody pulp, even Old Wang, seasoned with hellish sights, couldn't help but feel his stomach churn, muttering a complaint.

"...Can't even salvage the equipment."

"At this point, it's probably unnecessary anyway."

Ever since the alliance's industrial development, they've rarely used captured equipment.

Those items are usually given to newcomers for transition, or sold to interested Waste Land Wanderers, or handed to Huge Rock Military Industry for study.

Elena silently chanted "Amitabha" and covered the bloody pit back up.

Too grisly.

This game always shows unnecessary realism in inexplicable places. No wonder Ah Guang won't let kids play.

If Lord Arrogant Brother saw this, wouldn't he be scared to wet himself on the spot?

Elsewhere, the aerial battle seemed to be nearing its end.

The Southern Legion's Third Air Squadron was showing signs of defeat, even the ace pilot, who claimed to down ten alliance planes in the "Port Defense Battle," was defeated, becoming a horizontal stroke in Feng Qing's cockpit tally.

Falling Feather also had an impressive battle record, downing two out of six "Peidao" fighter jets.

Two more were taken down by teammates.

Though the price was one-for-one, it was not a big deal!

The initial advantage turned to stalemate, and the remaining two "Peidao" chose to retreat.

With limited ammunition, Falling Feather didn't choose to pursue but covered another damaged allied plane, returning toward Jinjaron Harbor.

In terms of acceleration, the early-stage plasma engine indeed couldn't compete with the mature chemical engines, with its main advantages in endurance and stability.

After the air battle ended, Mosquito similarly didn't pursue the retreating Southern Legion Third Air Squadron but led the remaining thirty-nine planes to pounce on the 34th squad retreating towards the northern railway.

His plane's ammunition wasn't even depleted; going home like that would be too unfortunate.

Although he didn't bring any air-dropped bombs this sortie, it didn't stop him from using the 20mm cannons to create some trouble for the Weilante fleeing with tails between their legs.

"Brothers! Ignore the armored cars, target those transport vehicles for me!"

Shouting into the communication channel, Mosquito pulled down the goggles on his head and dived down with a yell.

With the trigger pressed, two 20mm cannons spat fire, blasting the head of an armored troop carrier.

The Weilante soldiers in the rear compartment hurriedly jumped out, scattering into the nearby woods under the officer's urging.

The once orderly convoy descended into chaos instantly, some enraged Weilante grabbed assault rifles and submachine guns, firing into the sky, not even scratching the plane's shadow.

"Using a submachine gun on me? Are you crazy? Haha—what the hell!?"

A light crack sounded, suddenly adding a bullet hole in the cockpit's glass.

Just as Mosquito was feeling himself, he was startled, quickly pulling the control stick to lift the nose up.

Thirty-nine propeller planes took turns swooping down, almost destroying all still-moving transport vehicles, disabling or removing the tires. Only some unrecoverable armored cars and light tanks remained on the ground.

The Skeleton Corps brothers would deal with those things.

With the last round of ammunition spent, their mission was complete.

As Mosquito Brother led his brothers heading back to Tiandu, three armored battalions of the Skeleton Corps had already caught up with the fleeing 34th squad.

The entire ten thousand troops were almost sorted out.

Except for the fifty-two "Fire Crossbow" self-propelled guns, which escaped with their thick armor, almost all the remaining soldiers, due to losing transport, were forced to scatter into the mountains and forests.

It's a pity Old Na's two mechanized infantry brigades didn't keep up; otherwise, they might have captured the entire opposing division-level combat unit.

However, Old Na couldn't be fully blamed for this.

After all, he didn't expect those Weilante to be so stubborn, unwilling to surrender even when orphaned.

Three thousand big-nosed with nearly half a division's anti-tank equipment, hiding in the fifteen-kilometer-long battlefield.

Even if he exhausted the entire regiment's ammunition, he might still not clear out those three thousand scattered soldiers.

Lack of manpower is a significant disadvantage.

Two battalions only totaled about 600 men, trying to sweep a ten-plus-kilometer line was like finding a needle in a haystack.

The most crucial point is that their current position counts as behind enemy lines; stopping would risk encirclement.

The opponents clearly understood this, refusing to surrender unless directly threatened, so calling out was ineffective.

Elena couldn't help but wonder in her heart, who the hell are the ground squirrels here anyway?

We can't just ignore these people, or this unit will definitely bite us when we retreat.

Just when Old Na was in a dilemma, a few horses suddenly approached from a distance.

Hearing the sound of hoofbeats, he instinctively aimed his rifle over, but saw the other party raise his hand.

"Alliance brothers, don't shoot! It's us!"

After saying this, the person pulled on the reins and then dismounted in one swift motion.

Elena eyed the man in civilian clothes and lowered the barrel of her gun.

"Who are you?"

The man, face radiant and respectful, straightened up and gave a military salute.

"Commander of the 110,000th Squad of Poluo Country! Yakale!"

Goodness.

A commander coming to a frontline place like this? Can you revive every three days?

Elena gave him a surprised glance and then looked at the soldiers who dismounted with him.

"Where's your unit? Just a few of you?"

Yakale quickly explained.

"Our troop is nearby. Commander Udonuo assigned me to conduct guerrilla warfare in this area! Hearing gunfire, I rode ahead first. My men are running behind, they'll be here in about ten minutes."

The Poluo Army lacks vehicles, and most soldiers rely on their legs for mobility.

When facing the mechanized troops, their reinforcement speed is far slower than the opponents' speeding vehicles. Often, before the corpse of a friend is cold, they are still running on the road.

Because of this, the Southern Legion doesn't take this 200,000-strong army seriously.

Units unable to reach the battlefield on time are useless no matter their numbers.

It's probably out of this helplessness that the frontline commander of Poluo Country sent this troop for guerrilla warfare.

Although Elena thought that with their level of communication—a hundred people sharing one radio—it wouldn't be long before the centurion couldn't find the centurion, but they had no better option now.

At this moment, a thought struck him, and he asked the officer in front of him.

"How many of you are there?"

Yakale confidently said.

"Apart from us, there are another 10,000 or so! We can take your command!"

"Excellent!"

Elena joyfully patted his shoulder, then glanced at the "potato field" behind them and continued.

"These big-noses are hiding in their rat holes and refuse to come out. We can't persuade them, so take your men and find them. They have radios, and although on the same frequency as the Southern Legion, with some code words, you'll manage."

Not just radios, but also exoskeletons and rocket launchers and things like that.

Though he looked down on those things, the Poluo Army wouldn't be picky.

Sure enough, upon hearing his words, Yakale's face instantly lit up with delight, and he excitedly took the order.

"Leave it to us! I promise to bring them all out!"

"Alright, it's up to you!" Elena smiled, patting his shoulder, and reminded, "Act quickly because you never know when their reinforcements will arrive. Once you have the equipment, head south. It's too late to go to Lion City anyway."

After leaving a grateful Yakale, Elena waited for the Poluo Army to come and hand over the "potato field" to them.

They can refuse to surrender; he also felt it troublesome to bring along prisoners.

Silently praying for those stubborn Weilante young men, Old Na then led everyone, escorting the hooded prisoners back to the vehicle.

The logistics company would process these captured prisoners and send them to the rear POW camp.

"Battalion Four, Battalion Five, along with Support and Anti-Air Companies, focus on the north railroad! Advance!"

The rumbling wheels pressed on, advancing through the rear of the Southern Legion's eastern line troops.

Unfortunately, the local victories didn't change the overall situation of the battle.

While the Skeleton Corps was engaged in fierce crossfire around the armored train with the 350,000-strong returning forces along the railway, the 300,000-strong unit led by Commander Ryan had already pierced through the northeastern defenses of Reed Bull County and kicked open the gates of Lion City.

Facing the joint attack of three 10,000-strong units of the Southern Legion and an Iron Airship, the six 10,000-strong units of Poluo Country stationed outside the city were battered and disoriented, retreating into the city to prepare for street battles.

Udonuo had already evacuated some civilians, and some realized the trouble and fled on their own.

However, Lion City with over a million residents wasn't easy to empty.

More so, not just Absek harbored fantasies about the Weilante people.

Even having witnessed the West Sail Port massacre, some Poluo people still believed the dead Poluo people deserved it, and that the Southern Legion's "decisiveness" was justified.

Upon hearing about the defeat of the 34th Squad, Ryan's reaction was unexpectedly calm. He didn't even get angry with Commander Gibson, who reported, and simply made quiet deployments.

At this stage of the war, even the most naive Weilante wouldn't think their opponents were those filthy Poluo people.

The real opposition was the Alliance.

Facing a historical enemy, momentary setbacks aren't shameful, and losing two battles doesn't change their overwhelmingly advancing momentum.

However, since the local survivors chose to side with the remnants of the War Construction Committee against the Weilante people, they couldn't blame him for being ruthless...

On the command vehicle.

Watching the settlement shrouded in black smoke on the holographic screen, Commander Ryan issued an order to the "Horn" airship without any expression.

"Move your airship over the southern urban district of Lion City."

The captain of the Horn understood his intent and didn't find it problematic, but couldn't help feeling whether it was too extreme.

They didn't need a ruin.

Such things littered the Great Desert, and no one would take them even if given for free.

"Does this have any meaning? What's left are remnants. If you're worried about casualties among our soldiers, we could release a round of 'dogs'; they are cheaper than shells."

The so-called 'dogs' referred to those without military numbers in the Glory Army.

Ryan didn't bother explaining, and coldly responded.

"Do as I say."

He needed to crush the local resistance, making them understand the consequences of opposing the Southern Legion.

The captain of the Horn sighed and refrained from further objection.

"Alright...ahem, I mean, as you command."

Chapter 861: The City Falls

Lion City.

The towering city wall has a wide gap, with scorched remnants of bricks and rubble on one side, and buildings reduced to ruins on the other.

This is the largest settlement in the entire Lion State, even bigger than West Sail Port, with many affluent streets built with wide and spacious houses, and some citizens' homes have been replaced with walls made of stone and cement.

Although Witch Camel does not care for steel and cement, his admiration for the Weilante people has led the entire Lion State to regard them as their mentors, imitating every aspect of their ways.

Such as building walls with cement, plastering them, paving roads with cement, even embedding rebar within walls... these are things learned from the Weilante people by the local nobles and wealthy individuals.

And at this moment, these buildings constructed with reinforced cement have become one of the few shelters for Poluo Country's land army.

This can be considered one of the few good deeds done by Witch Camel for his "people"...

The clouds in the sky are low and oppressive, and the ground is stifling, as if a downpour is imminent.

In the southern urban district, within a low building lies the temporary command center of Poluo Country's land army.

With assistance from Yishel, who had witnessed the firepower of the "Horn" firsthand, Poluo Country officers completed the frontline defense deployment.

In fact, he didn't need to stay here, because not long ago, his old superior Anvo sent a telegram to the front line, intending to bring him to Jinjaron Harbor.

Anvo certainly hadn't forgotten him.

Although Anvo was distrusted by his old superior Leader Absek, the intrigue among the higher-ups didn't affect him, a mere thousands of leaders.

However, Yishel did not leave immediately.

At least before he leaves, he must tell other officers about what he saw on the front line.

"...the army's airships are not invincible; their cannons are dual-use for anti-aircraft and ground targets, mostly small-caliber cannons, and whether firing cluster bombs, high-explosive bombs, or other warheads, they primarily target simple shelters on plains and concentrated soft targets."

"Our allies are helping us intercept the most threatening 902mm heavy artillery and supplies sent to the frontline; the enemy's firepower advantage will diminish with our resistance, eventually forcing them to dispatch elite troops for a decisive battle...and as long as we manage to hold out until then, it will be a turning point in this war."

"Although I don't want to say this, numbers are indeed our only reliance."

Yishel drew some sketches on the blackboard, roughly describing the blast scene, the kill fan area of various warheads, and ways to possibly survive.

These insights were obtained through trials by his men.

And as he taught these officers, his men also went down to each grassroots, teaching local defense forces survival techniques.

Survival is most crucial.

Even more important than killing enemy troops.

As long as the Weilante people exhaust all means but cannot wipe them out, then it's their turn.

Although he drew somewhat abstractly, the officers from Poluo Country listened intently.

They most lacked this experience, and the insights Yishel brought from the frontline were exactly what they needed.

Listening to his lecture were not only some ten thousand leaders, but even Udonuo, the overall commander of the Lion State War Zone, was there.

Since Reed Bull County fell, he left the conspicuous city lord's mansion.

The facts prove his decision was correct.

Because shortly after he left, the army's planes launched an air strike on the city lord's mansion.

If he had been a step late, he might have joined his old superior Anush in death.

After the meeting.

The officers left the operations command room one after another, heading to their respective sectors to prepare for a decisive battle with the Weilante people.

Yishel was about to leave but was kept back alone by Udonuo.

"...Thank you, what you brought back is very important to us, but honestly, even with those things, we may not be able to hold this city."

Yishel said seriously.

"It's impossible to hold it without doing anything, at least something must be done."

"You're right," Udonuo sighed, his eyes first looking at the ceiling, then the floor, "I can feel that you truly love this land and want to do something for it."

Watching this guy's appearance, Yishel suddenly felt unsure, wondering what these words truly meant.

He had heard about this guy's background, reportedly a servant of a major noble in the Lion State, rising up in response to the Heavenly King's summons, and ascending quickly to become a confidant of Anush.

Leader Absek did not trust him, never summoning him back to Tiandu.

Though he promoted him as the overall commander of the Lion State War Zone, anyone with insight could see he was being placed in a difficult position.

If he ran away, he would be a traitor of Poluo Country, with no upward mobility in his career.

But if he stayed, it would almost surely be fatal.

Seeing Yishel didn't answer, Udonuo could guess the clever young man did not trust him, and suddenly changed the subject to his former superior.

"I remember long ago... actually not very long, I once asked Anush a question. If the Weilante people's interests were that we should all die, then what?"

Yishel asked.

"How did he answer you?"

Udonuo continued.

"...He said a lot, sometimes talking about liberating Poluo wanderers' slaves, sometimes saying the survivors of West Sail Port were enough to quell the Weilante's anger. I don't want to recall every word he said, but summarized in one sentence, history is written by the victors. He strongly believed in the laws of the jungle, as long as he won, no one would remember what he had done."

Yishel frowned for a moment but soon relaxed.

"So you were deceived by him, are you sorry?"

Udonuo shook his head.

"Nothing to regret, I merely made what I thought was the most correct choice, if given the chance again, I'd probably still rebel with him. After all, even if he's a thousand times foolish, he's a thousand times better than someone like Witch Camel."

Looking at the man even more pessimistic than himself, Yishel consoled him in a gentle tone.

"We'll slowly get better, just like the former Giant Stone City. From Witch Camel to Anush was already a great improvement, now with Absek... I'm not trying to express loyalty, that hypocrite doesn't deserve my loyalty, but haven't you noticed the progress? A few months ago, you didn't even dare mention Anush's extremism, but now at least I dare discuss with you that Absek is a performance artist."

There are quite a few Poluo Country officers cursing Absek, especially after the latter confiscated the former's handguns.

The grassroots soldiers are the same.

They lack clothes, ammunition, even underwear, while those landlords trading with the military faction are prospering, one person even marrying three to four wives.

If Anush were still around, they at least wouldn't lack clothes or worry about getting a wife. That man himself enjoyed lavishly but never hesitated to share a sip of broth.

However, Yishel felt it was already quite good.

At least, he couldn't imagine Anush managing public education, setting up factories, or reforming taxes.

Perhaps that guy would dabble a bit, but the final result might be worse than doing nothing at all.

Reforms led by the most extreme conservatives often transform into performance art, reforming for the sake of reform, leaving everyone in ridicule.

If one day Anush decided to promote equality and let everyone read books, his solution wouldn't be to ensure every farmer had land, then make reading useful; instead, he'd rip the few textbooks in half and distribute them or eliminate both the illiterate and overly literate.

If one day he wanted to promote industry or agriculture, that would be even worse; probably all machines would be melted into molten iron, and breeding pigs indiscriminately slaughtered.

Yishel was only grateful that Anvo had shot him dead.

Udonuo looked at him and smiled slightly.

"Anush is not dead."

Yishel was taken aback and then laughed.

"How is that possible! Don't joke around, everyone saw him die, how could he come back to life?"

The man was killed by Anvo.

It was under Absek's order, and he was the one who hinted at it.

"No, you didn't understand what I meant," Udonuo shook his head, "Poluo people are Anush, Anush is the Poluo people… he stood up that day and then resonated with everyone. That was the one thing that wasn't a conspiracy of the Weilante people, and he was the choice everyone desired."

"No one chose him; you might not know… it was someone who pushed him up there." Yishel spoke cryptically, knowing that any further would delve into the United Federation's insider matters.

But Udonuo seemed oblivious to Yishel's words, continuing to speak to himself.

"You're wrong, no one pushed him, or it doesn't matter if someone did, he would still be himself because he is the god on earth and the god in the hearts of the Poluo people."

"Is that so? Then this god was quite stupid, playing himself to death." Yishel laughed, teasing dismissively.

"Who says gods must be smart?" Udonuo grinned, "Gods are never perfect, whether it's the Wolf God, the Dog God, or the Tuo Ri Shen Niu from Utopia… Was it smart to demote the Moon people to slaves with a single deceit? They gained some benefits, and most people praised the slaying, but the Moon people fired the shot to overthrow the Empire, and the loyal wolves bit back later."

At this point, Udonuo gave Yishel a meaningful look.

"Compared to doing the right things, being recognized no matter what one does… that is a god."

"I once paid a heavy price for selectively forgetting some things… to the point I was left in this city to die. You surviving out of West Sail Port shows you're no fool, but don't get too cocky."

"This is just the beginning. The massacre at West Sail Port isn't over; with half a foot already on Red Soil, you'll need to keep your eyes wide open to survive."

"This is advice from a dying man… considering you're still racking your brains wanting to do something for a dead person like me."

Yishel furrowed his brow.

"Are you telling me to watch out for Leader Absek?"

Udonuo remained silent, only cryptically adding.

"Everyone."

"If you truly cherish ideals, not merely echoing Anush, you must beware of everyone."

The submissive voice was like a flickering candlelight in the dark, causing Yishel's vision to blur momentarily.

He suddenly realized his back was drenched in cold sweat, though he couldn't tell where it came from.

Just then, a piercing alarm interrupted their conversation.

Yishel and Udonuo's faces changed simultaneously, rushing outside to look skyward.

They saw a huge airship, already hovering over Lion City!

More accurately, it was a fortress of steel.

Its core once soared through the infinite Star River, and later it was given a new shell forged from old weapons.

Its towering presence seemed to shroud the entire Southern Urban District, its dense barrels seemingly more numerous than the guns on the ground.

The fear once instilled by the "Horn Number" dominated Yishel once more.

But this time, it didn't fire; it just flew over and dropped a series of black barrels...

There were at least a thousand of these black barrels, an overwhelming number rendering one too shocked to count.

They performed a free fall in the air, exploding fiercely a moment before hitting the ground, like solid flames clashing onto the earth, enveloping buildings one by one.

The flames spread instantly!

Nearly half of the Southern Urban District became a sea of fire!

Even if the survivors of Lion City replaced some buildings with concrete, it didn't change the fact that most houses were wooden.

Screams from afar were unending, Yishel could vaguely hear the cries of children, the wails of men and women, the calls of chickens, dogs, cattle, and sheep.

People who once hoped for Weilante people were now fleeing desperately towards the city outskirts.

The situation at West Sail Port was real.

The Army truly didn't care if they lived or died!

Some cursed the soldiers for implicating them, some cried over lost children, others pushed down those in their way.

"Help!"

"Someone help me! My kid is trapped!"

"Ami!! Where are you?!"

"Damn it, the box I left at the door! I have to go back for it!"

"Why care about your box now! Run for your life!"

"Dad!!!"

The people on the street shouted and clamored, the crackling of the flames like the silent wails of ghosts.

On the bridge of the Horn Number airship, the officer who ordered the bombing sighed and muttered what a waste.

While sitting in the command vehicle, Commander Ryan's mouth curled into a cruel smirk.

"Attack." He commanded coldly, looking at the officer beside him.

Following his order, the Centurion on the front line blew a short whistle, and the Clone Infantry, with Ripper Rifles in hand, roared a charge at the Poluo Country's army positions, spurred by the whistle.

"Kill!!!"

Facing the swarming Clone Troops, the soldiers of Poluo Country guarding the city gates collapsed at the first touch.

The entire Southern Urban District turned into a purgatory, and that worldly purgatory continued to spread towards other districts.

"...Damn it."

Staring straight at the airship, Yishel's eyes were blood-red, fists clenched tight, wishing he could grind his teeth to dust.

His mind was blank, burning with chaotic flames, and even for a moment, he wondered if saving those Vellante people was the right choice back then.

At this moment, Udonuo, standing beside him, suddenly shoved him, almost causing him to stumble.

Awakened, Yishel turned his head sharply, only to see that Lion Clan person roaring at him.

"What are you standing there for! Run!"

...

One thousand four hundred napalm bombs.

This was the maximum bomb load of the Horn Number Airship, also the strongest killing move of the Legion's airship.

When a fortress could not be taken down after a prolonged attack, they would use this move to force the remaining people to surrender.

The unstoppable airship and the inextinguishable flames were enough to destroy both the bodies and spirits of a group of people.

This thing was even more useful than nuclear weapons.

And it never failed.

Not a single person could be seen alive in the entire southern urban district, and the residual flames were still spreading toward other districts.

Stationed in the southern urban district were Poluo Country's fourth and fifth ten thousand troops, both pulled back from Reed Bull County, unable to even complete the regular establishment, now completely annihilated after this battle!

Clone infantry carrying Ripper Rifles stepped over the scorched bones of bodies, striding ahead toward the positions of the sixth and seventh ten thousand troops.

On the other hand, observing the soldiers of Poluo Country, after witnessing the towering flames, the morale of the remaining four ten thousand troops was already on the brink of collapse.

The fear of fire is an instinct in animals.

After all, they were merely mortals.

Not only soldiers bore the casualties, the residents in the city did too.

No one knew the exact number of deaths in this great fire, nor would anyone know in the future.

But surely it wasn't a small number.

While three thousand teams of Vellante people were advancing toward Lion City, a research ship from the Academy was parked afar on a moderately high hill.

In a certain sense, there was some connection between the Academy and Vellante people.

After all, the predecessor of the Academy was the technical department of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, which completed the "proud work" under the request of the Defense Department.

Because of this, when the Vellante people cursed Academy researchers as slugs from swamps, those "slugs" would always laugh back with, "I'm your dad."

This indeed was not unreasonable.

Although that was all ancient history from over two centuries ago...

Sitting on the research ship was Yang Kai from the Research Department, and standing beside him was a holographic image of Li Ke from the special project group of the External Affairs Department.

Both were B-level researchers, a position considered quite high in the Academy, with only the four directors of the A-level sections and the various committee members, as well as the S-level Chief Technical Officer above.

As for Dr. Conclusion, that gentleman was unranked.

"Tsk, those big-nosed people are really ruthless... This bombing must have killed at least tens of thousands."

Watching the image on the holographic screen, Yang Kai couldn't help but click his tongue.

Li Ke nodded, sincerely remarking.

"If those guys from the Defense Department who bossed us around back then were still alive, I wonder if they would regret that stupid choice."

Yang Kai chuckled.

"Isn't there still one alive?"

Li Ke: "Who?"

Yang Kai took a sip of coffee, speaking unhurriedly.

"I remember his name is Julius, the head of those Vellante people."

Hearing that name, a look of realization appeared on Li Ke's face.

"Ah... you mean that guy, it's indeed possible that he might still be alive, though it's just a possibility."

There are many ways to extend life, but even so, two centuries is too long.

Moreover, the medical conditions of the Legion were far inferior to those of the Academy and even the people on the East Coast.

"...At least no one can prove he's dead, who knows." Yang Kai shrugged.

They had once advised the Defense Department against treating technology as a panacea for all problems, yet those who were more brawn than brain didn't listen at all, forcing everyone to swallow this bitter pill.

As a result, most of them died at the hands of the Vellante people, taking many others with them.

It's said that the guy named Lowell did the same, forcing the researchers under him to create some red soil, which, while saving many, left it questionable whether making people live and breed like animals could be called salvation.

These arrogant guys paid the price for their stupidity and conceitedness without exception.

Whether it's the Defense Department or the War Construction Committee.

Whether it's the United Human or Lowell...

History rarely simply repeats but often aligns in strange parallels.

Not long after Yang Kai and Li Ke finished their exchange, Jiang Xuezhou, wearing a thick protective suit, returned to the research ship.

The suit, resembling a spacesuit, made her look like a bulky snowman.

"Mentor, I've collected the data you wanted!"

"Great, well done, just store it in the server." Yang Kai praised as he dragged the holographic screen aside, speaking offhandedly.

Allowing the Army to continue expanding eastward was not only against the interest of the corporations and the Alliance but also against the interests of the Academy.

According to the agreement with the Alliance, they intended to participate in the war in the form of "technological investment," much like their involvement in the space elevator project.

The Southern Legion prepared five airships for this invasion, while they also prepared a special "gift" for the Southern Legion.

However, to ensure that this gift was delivered to the latter, they needed to collect some necessary data.

These data mainly concerned gravitons and were easiest to collect when there were significant changes in the output power of the anti-gravity system.

For example, during bombing or loading of supplies.

Looking at the blazing fire on the holographic screen, Jiang Xuezhou's eyes couldn't help but flicker slightly.

There should be many people there...

Noticing the expression on his student's face, Yang Kai gently raised an eyebrow.

Seemingly recalling some things, especially the rumors about the "Study Club," he spoke with interest.

"Are you thinking about why we don't do something to stop them?"

"...Can't we?" Jiang Xuezhou instinctively retorted, but quickly realized her rudeness, so she bowed her head apologetically.

However, Yang Kai didn't mind, just smiled lightly.

"Whether we can or cannot, even if we could, we wouldn't waste the effort."

Slowly raising her head, Jiang Xuezhou looked at her mentor, puzzled.

"Why?"

Yang Kai said flatly.

"The Academy wasn't built in a day. If you're interested, you can read those reports in the deepest part of the library. It's no unspeakable secret. We've helped the Waste Land Wanderers before, even more than anyone else, but have you seen anyone thank us?"

Jiang Xuezhou was speechless for a moment.

It indeed seems so.

Because of the Academy's way of doing things, they aren't very popular on the Wasteland.

Though she never thought of standing out or becoming a hero in people's hearts.

Picking up a cup of coffee from the tray, she took a slow sip, and Yang Kai continued slowly.

"They admire the Ideal City, they fear the Army, and they look down on us, blaming us for keeping technology to ourselves. They don't consider that even a small Shelter No.117 could take over two provinces. If we didn't keep those technologies, what would happen? Would they live using exoskeletons and mechanical prostheses? They would only be chased by Dead Claws in exoskeletons, like being slaughtered like pigs by Mutants in Haiye Province."

"I could even bet that, even if the Alliance risked their lives helping them, someone would still blame the Alliance afterward for not saving more during the crisis, for letting those people in the city die. The real troublemakers might even be forgiven."

How could that be?

Jiang Xuezhou wanted to ask, but the words caught in her throat.

After a while, she rephrased.

"...But I think, maybe those people wouldn't care either."

Like Night Ten.

In her impression, that optimistic man always had a sunny smile on his face, facing any situation without fear or retreat.

His optimism and courage were what she admired most, along with his kindness.

If it were him, he probably wouldn't care about such things at all.

"Perhaps, but it's actually not about caring or not, but whether we can wait until dawn after the long night before their light goes out."

Yang Kai smiled meaningfully, looking at her with a hint of something.

"That body you got your little boyfriend, do you think he really likes it?"

Jiang Xuezhou blushed, hurriedly wanting to explain that guy wasn't her boyfriend, but quickly realized another more serious issue.

Her mentor actually already knew she paid out of her pocket to replace his body!

But things like this can't really be kept secret...

Seeing the mentor wasn't angry, she whispered.

"But I feel like he quite likes it, not to the point of hating it. I gave him the best I could afford with my permissions..."

"Did you ask him?"

Placing the coffee cup back on the tray, looking at the stunned Jiang Xuezhou, Yang Kai slowly said.

"I actually don't oppose some of the things you're doing, but as your mentor, I have to remind you not to get too deep into certain matters."

"Respect others' destinies, put down the complex of helping others, and only do what we can and what we deem worthy. That's the lesson history has taught us."

"We ultimately aim to move towards a new world unless you can convince him to follow you there."

Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip, finally lowering her head.

"Yes..."

Yang Kai nodded approvingly.

"As long as you're clear about it, go on with your work. I'll call you if something comes up."

On the other side, in the southern part of Lion City, several kilometers away in the hilly region.

Watching the blazing fire, Night Ten clenched his fist with the binoculars in hand.

"Damn it..."

Wild Wind placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle pat.

"Our mission is reconnaissance... There's only the two of us, don't think about doing anything rash."

Fang Chang and others are searching for the two crashed "Thunder," and their wreckage must not fall into the Army's hands; they need to destroy it before the Army finds it.

Additionally, Skeleton Corps is facing some trouble over there, and they might need to assist after finishing their tasks.

The Army that the Alliance dispatched to the front line has just landed at Jinjaron Harbor.

In regard to that already burning fire, standing here, they truly can do nothing.

After all, they aren't gods.

Night Ten remained silent, standing there without a word.

Like most players, he always played the Game with a player's mentality, yet thinking that those people are really dead, his heart felt like it was weighed down by a stone.

The rolling smoke connected heaven and earth, the dark clouds seemingly choked by the smoke, finally broke down in a torrential downpour.

Rain poured down, washing over the mud-splattered and charred streets, cleansing the walls of dried black blood and filth.

After several hours of fierce battles, the Poluo Country's defenders ultimately fell in defeat with regrets.

In the city, six out of ten thousand troops suffered nearly seventy percent casualties, Commander Udonuo of the Lion State War Zone died in battle, the Poluo Country's western front, two hundred thousand troops, almost entirely collapsed, just like the pouring rain!

Lion City, ultimately, fell.

Chapter 862: The True Prairie Fire

[General Absek, I am Emperor Akbar of Xilan, sending you this telegram today not for anything else, but for the safety of the countless people of Xilan.]

[I admit, the previous king's handling of the Grey Wolf Army was indeed inappropriate. The bereaved and injured were not properly settled or treated, yet even so, this is not a reason for your treacherous rebellion.]

[However, I am not an autocratic person, out of consideration for the camaraderie of my subjects, I permit you to surrender now to avoid death, and grant you the title of Duke of Lion State, preserving your wealth and honor unchanged.]

[If General ignores my advice and causes the citizens of Xilan to suffer, bearing an eternal infamy, don't blame me for not giving you a chance to turn back...]

The courthouse in West Sail Port, within a modestly decorated office.

Akbar Xilan leaned over the table to write a two-thousand-word letter of persuasion for surrender, then rose to respectfully hand it to the Weilante military officer behind him.

"How did I do?"

The Young Emperor's eyebrows raised, his smile holding a hint of pride and a touch of fawning.

However, the Weilante officer didn't even glance at it, responding indifferently.

"That depends on how the recipient responds to it."

Akbar's smile froze on his face, but he forced a couple of laughs.

"What you've said makes sense... I hope that Absek won't be foolish and surrenders sooner."

The Weilante officer grinned, patting him on the shoulder and then unexpectedly touched his face, as if petting a very obedient dog.

A truly good dog.

His smile held a trace of obvious mockery and disdain, a genuine expression of contempt.

Akbar's mind buzzed for a moment, staring incredulously at the man, not understanding the meaning of the face-patting gesture, misunderstanding it instead as something related to male-female affairs.

This guy...

Could he possibly have those interests?

Goosebumps ran all over his body, causing him to take a step back in horror.

But the officer offered no explanation, taking the letter and striding out the door.

Inside the office stood another person, an elderly man of the Lion Clan who remained silent.

He was once just a citizen of West Sail Port, a janitor working at the courthouse, then inexplicably granted a noble title by the Weilante and required to accompany Akbar as a servant, while also serving the Southern Legion by spying on the Emperor.

As for the Emperor's original servants, they had all been driven away, replaced with people from West Sail Port.

Including the so-called imperial cabinet, even the Emperor's confidantes were of the same sort.

These were not allies, but clearly a group of kidnappers.

The old man sighed lightly, offering a few comforting words to the little emperor who looked both angry and dejected.

"Your Majesty, please be patient... You don't need to stoop to their level."

Akbar calmed down, shaking his head and said.

"The Weilante are emotional people, sometimes careless and direct... I can understand."

The old man was completely taken aback, gazing at the young emperor, as though he saw the late king in him.

Resemblance.

Such a strong resemblance...

...

The 30th ten thousand troops breached Lion City!

The victorious news reached West Sail Port and another front line of the Southern Legion Poluo Province War Zone—Sulak County on the northern line.

Upon seeing the shocking war report, General Otley couldn't help but grin.

"This madman."

Using incendiary bombs to bombard a densely populated area of millions, this guy truly acted decisively.

Isn't he afraid of losing control over the fire, burning all those millions of heads?

Luckily it's the rainy season, the smoke from the fire ushered rain from above.

Otherwise, the entire city might have been burnt down!

The aide standing beside him nodded softly and said.

"But one must admit, it's indeed very effective."

The opposing six ten thousand troops directly collapsed, beaten by several thousand teams until they were no longer an army.

The million survivors in the city were also reduced to mere cries and shouts.

Although the consumption of ammunition was somewhat high, in relation to the gains, the cost is completely within enduring limits.

If at this time, Commander Ryan chooses to continue advancing eastward, perhaps the entire Tiandu would be in chaos, driven by internal struggles whether or not to resist, fighting amongst themselves into a frenzy.

Especially that Absek.

According to their analysis of this person, that "small town citizen" will almost certainly flee.

Otley nodded approvingly, acknowledging his aide's opinion.

"...when the reinforcement airships arrive, we might want to emulate it a bit."

Elsewhere, in the central camp of Sulak County, several patrolling soldiers were also discussing the matter.

"There must have been at least ten thousand burnt to death."

"Ten thousand?! I suppose it must be at least a hundred thousand!"

"Damn, that's really satisfying!"

A few Weilante soldiers gathered together, excitedly discussing the victorious report from Lion City.

They were all under General Ross and witnesses of the West Sail Port tragedy.

Due to the verbal posturing of the Alliance messenger and the cowardice and incompetence of General McLenn, they did not manage to strike satisfactorily at West Sail Port.

Now finally, there was a ruthless individual avenging the three thousand Weilante residents who died, clearing the repressed anger lodged in their chests.

Indeed, the true predecessors of Triumph City must be the Southern Legion.

Those civil officials corrupted by gold and the landlords of the Eastern Legion have long since spoiled!

Beside them, Centurion Peter smoked one cigarette after another, unable to listen any longer, and chimed in.

"What's the point of this? Even if they don't bomb, those natives wielding burning sticks wouldn't be able to stop them."

He thought of those serfs with red soil in their pockets who died in the woods.

His superior told him to keep his mouth shut, but he couldn't help but want to say, what kind of heroism is it to massacre a group of unarmed civilians?

He had never loathed his identity and honor so much; being with this group only filled him with shame.

Several soldiers were stunned, staring at each other in silence, until an old soldier spoke up.

"There's still meaning, even if just to break the Poluo people's will to fight—"

"And what if it doesn't?" Peter countered, "The same trick doesn't always work, and this time we're facing an opponent many times our number."

"We're here to show them that numbers are meaningless!" the old soldier's temper flared, his neck turning red as he argued vehemently, "In one day, at least a hundred thousand of them died. We're showing them that even a couple of billion won't be enough for them to last a year!"

Is it that easy?

Even if they could wipe out ten billion rats in a day, they couldn't kill off all the rats in the world.

Actually, when you think about it, they had never truly conquered the lands they held.

Since the day Yavente City was established, their war has never ended.

Maybe they're the furthest from a new era.

Not wishing to argue with his comrades, Peter shook his head, extinguished the cigarette butt in his mouth, and tossed it aside.

The serfs watched from afar, meeting his gaze before hurriedly fleeing.

Peter always felt a sense of discord, yet couldn't pinpoint its source.

It wasn't until the serfs were gone that he suddenly realized, no one was stealing his cigarette butts anymore...

...

In the south of Lion City, what was once a dense cluster of houses had become ruins.

The great fire didn't just burn the Southern Urban District; it nearly consumed half the city.

When Ryan entered the city, he didn't deliberately massacre the local residents, because there was no need anymore.

Enough people had died already.

The survivors didn't even dare to breathe loudly in front of them, let alone resist.

He wasn't obsessed to the point of killing for the sake of killing; instead, he ordered his thousands of leaders to hire some locals, forming a defense force to maintain order in the city.

There were still remnants of the Poluo Country's army in the city, many of whom had mingled with the civilians.

These people were a hidden danger.

Their decision to hide rather than flee indicated they hadn't given up the fight.

But they couldn't hide for long.

Soon, he would imitate General Giulion's methods at West Sail Port, giving a piece of the colonial pie to some of the colonized, making them wealthy, powerful, dignified... and even new nobles.

In this way, no one would long for Absek. They might even praise the Southern Legion's colonizers for arriving in time, saving them from misery.

This is what they call using both kindness and authority.

Once the local survivors found happiness in servitude, even the wheat growing in the fields could go from being the farmers' credit to the Weilante people's credit.

By then, a fertile colony would have been born.

There might be some resistance, like the various small and large rebellions across the army, but it would never become a grand army of 200,000.

The command vehicle of the 300,000-man team passed quietly along the muddy road, and Commander Ryan deliberately opened the observation window to glance at his "achievements".

In the torrential rain, the desperate people searched the ruins for their relatives' bodies. Some stared blankly at the ashes of their homes, or lay on the ground wailing.

Those soulless figures didn't evoke any pity from him; instead, they brought him an inexplicable satisfaction.

This is the fate of those who oppose the army!

However, seeing the same faces over and over became dull, and once satisfied, Commander Ryan closed the window and turned to the adjutant sitting across from him.

"Have they found that guy named Udonuo?"

The adjutant shook his head and replied,

"No... It's said he died in the fire."

Ryan sneered.

"Ha, at least he died a warrior."

He had heard that guy was part of the old Heavenly King Army.

If he hadn't died, Ryan wouldn't have killed him but would have kept him around to show him what would become of the place he fought for, his hometown, and even the entire Poluo Province...

That would be the real revenge.

After a pause, the adjutant continued solemnly.

"... Also, we just received word from the rear that our 902mm heavy cannon was intercepted by the Alliance's Skeleton Corps. The 34th thousand team suffered over half casualties, and it was the Alliance's armored division that defeated them. They are currently retreating with the transport logistics units toward West Sail Port."

The 34th thousand team's casualties were severe, to say the least.

But that was inevitable since they had collided with the Alliance's armored forces, and later the Alliance's air force struck them again.

Ryan was displeased, but said nothing more, merely nodding calmly.

"I know."

The adjutant hesitated for a moment, then asked,

"Shouldn't we do something?"

The railway was quite important.

Including that armored train, and the 902mm heavy cannon on board.

But Ryan wasn't worried and calmly said,

"There are twenty-two ten thousand troops at West Sail Port, and they'll handle the rest. General Giulion had long anticipated the Alliance's all-out effort to target our logistics and naturally prepared contingencies. We don't need to worry about it."

The adjutant still had some concerns but didn't ask further and changed the topic.

"Then... what about us next?"

"Tiandu."

Ryan said the word, the corners of his tense mouth curling upwards.

"Why wait for that Otley fellow to take Dog State before we act, when we can directly pierce through the entire Poluo country while they're still dawdling."

Upon hearing this, the adjutant's spirit was lifted, and the concerns in his eyes were replaced by burning battle intent.

Tiandu!

The capital of Poluo Country!

Once we capture it, the outcome of this war will basically be decided.

Looking at the adjutant whose eyes burned with intent to fight, Commander Ryan chuckled softly.

"...I heard there's an unusually huge starship there, I'm curious to see what it looks like."

The adjutant sitting opposite him also smiled as he spoke.

"Leaving such a legacy in this pit is truly wasteful. Those useless civil officials seemed indifferent. We might be able to use it to build an airship larger than the Horn Number."

Commander Ryan smiled meaningfully.

"That depends on whether our air force buddies show any interest. We can't just let them get this for free."

...

A torrential downpour lasted a long time, from Lion City all the way to Tiandu.

A sentry donned in a raincoat was patrolling along the mud-laden road when he suddenly saw a horse galloping from afar.

A person was sitting on the horse.

The Leader had long requisitioned all nearby horses to the frontline, and the entire Cow State might not be able to see many horses.

Noticing the unusual figure, the sentry immediately became alert.

He raised his rifle in hand, aiming at the rider passing through the rain curtain, and shouted loudly.

"Stop!"

The person did not respond, continuing to gallop toward them.

The sentry swallowed hard, hesitating with his companion about whether to pull the trigger, just as the horse suddenly seemed to become exhausted, let out a long sigh, and fell to the ground.

The person was thrown off, mud splashing all around. The horse flailed wildly in the mire before finally foaming at the mouth and died.

The sentry and his companion exchanged a glance and immediately ran forward, only to find that the person lying on the ground was a Thousands of leaders. Startled, they hurriedly helped him up.

"Si... Sir..."

Yishel glanced at him numbly, then looked in the direction of Tiandu city, wordlessly pushed away the hand supporting him, limping toward the direction of the city gate, without caring for the dying horse on the ground.

His hair was plastered against his face like wet straw, and his lifeless face seemed to have lost its soul.

The sentry stared at him in a daze, watching the limping figure silently walk off into the distance, finally gritting his teeth and slinging his rifle over his shoulder before quickly following.

"Sir, we have bicycles at the post... I can give you a lift! It's faster this way!"

After saying this, he draped his raincoat over the man's shoulders.

At last, Yishel responded, muttering a thank you, and allowed the young lad to carry him.

The two overlapping figures moved through the rain curtain, hurrying into a nearby post.

Soon after, a bicycle was brought out, the sentry straddling it and fiercely pedaling, wishing the chain could spark from his efforts.

Yishel sat behind him, staring blankly into the clamorous rain curtain.

He tightly clutched the package in his hand, inside which there was a camera given to him by a journalist, holding photos he had taken at the frontline.

He would never forget those faces.

Nor the fire that swallowed everything...

...

Over ten thousand kilometers away, in the ideal City of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, bathed in the grace of countless blessings.

In the highest building of that thriving utopia, the final hearing on the recently heated issues was underway.

The council members sitting here were about to make the final decision on how much budget the corporation would allocate to stop the Army's continued eastward expansion.

Supporters had their reasons, whether to secure arms orders or for moral reasons, they felt compelled to act.

Contracts unfulfilled are meaningless, unending appeasement would only make the Army more arrogant.

Opponents also had their viewpoints, noting that these budgets would ultimately be footed by all Citizens of Ideal City, who had already spent considerable credits on unrelated people over the past two years.

Indeed, contracts unfulfilled are meaningless, but the Army is like indestructible cockroaches without memory, they couldn't continue playing "War Game" time and time again with those big-nosed people.

A shareholder from the Endpoint Group spoke at the meeting, suggesting perhaps they should find a way to finally dismantle these military zealots completely, rather than sending them off wave after wave.

Of course.

He actually had no solid ideas on how exactly to dismantle the Army.

Though that could be a topic discussed at another meeting.

Due to the needle-point action of the debate, it was almost expected that this hearing would be intensely contentious.

However, the development was completely contrary, those council members who were quarrelling uncontrollably until yesterday, were now terrifyingly quiet.

In the central of the spacious venue, on the holographic cubic screen, a city with a million people was burning in flames.

The settlement was not much smaller than Ideal City, and perhaps even a little bigger. Though the former lacked bizarre tech and towering architectures.

In front of the cube, stood a human-shaped hologram.

That person was Li Ke from the Academy Research Department.

Until this hearing, his crowning achievement was his dramatic fall at the Falcon City Gate.

And now, his Research Ship had flown to the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

"...The aforementioned is what the Army is doing in the Poluo Line province. Theoretically, it could happen anywhere in this world, as it has countless times before."

"Council members can continue to debate. Hopefully, the footage we provided hasn't disturbed your enjoyment."

No further words needed.

The silent images had already spoken it all.

Li Ke nodded slightly, the pale-blue hologram vanished in the expansive venue.

Among the seats, everyone was silent.

On their faces were written bewilderment, anger, and disbelief or unbearable sight.

At this point, the ambassador from the Alliance, Shu Yu, stood up and glanced around at the council before continuing to speak.

"...We did not participate in the negotiations of the old contract, but we understand that relying solely on a contract is insufficient to restrain anyone."

"Besides ending the war itself, we must put war criminals on trial, make reparations for wrongs... only then can we ensure that similar tragedies will not occur again, just like what we did in Haiya Province."

Looking at the whispering council members, he spoke solemnly.

"If you're unwilling to do it, leave it to us. We don't mind burning ourselves for those suffering survivors."

"However, in return, we need your support, the support within your means!"

After saying these words, he sat back in his chair, leaving the floor to the assembly.

The conference room quieted down again, this time even the whispers were gone, leaving only exchanges of glances.

People seemed to have lost the reason to argue.

In the face of higher interests, the things they were weighing seemed so trivial.

Seeing that no one continued to speak, the meeting's host raised his hand.

"Let's vote."

As soon as he finished speaking, he placed his hand on the vote counter and cast his vote.

In less than a minute, the voting ended, with astounding results of 1000:0:0.

This had never happened in the past two centuries, not even one abstention.

History seemed to repeat itself.

Just like their forefathers decided to stay on this land, they made the unanimous decision once again.

Surprise spread across their faces, followed by delight, and even the meeting host muttered an incredulous sound.

As the gavel in his hand fell, a limitless aid proposal simultaneously passed through the council.

They would provide the Alliance with everything Ideal City could offer, supporting their allies to bring the initiators of this war to a dignified court!

At the same time as this limitless aid proposal passed, an extra edition news shook the entire Jinjaron Harbor.

"Lion City Catastrophe! Southern Legion sets the city on fire!"

The newspaper headline was in stark large letters, red ink like human blood.

The photo on the headline showed the "Horn" airship dropping incendiary bombs!

This photo was taken by a Survivor's Daily reporter, reportedly brought back from the front by a Centurion named Yishel.

Looking at such undeniable evidence of atrocities, all the survivors' eyes blazed with anger.

"… Damn Weilante people!"

"Damn it! I'm enlisting too!"

"Weren't you going to Camp 101 to learn skills?"

"Forget it! I'll only go after killing those big-nosed bastards!"

"Damn it… they're worse than beasts!"

Commander Ryan ultimately misjudged the situation.

The survivors of Lion City were still mourning the loss of their loved ones. Although many indeed bowed their heads, that didn't mean submission.

Not only the survivors of Lion City.

But also the survivors of Jinjaron Harbor, Mammoth City, Tiandu City, and countless others.

He clearly knew that the rebellions in the legion's territories never stopped, yet he deluded himself into thinking that using a larger fire could suppress the burning anger in the hearts of the survivors on this land.

Not only did Ryan misjudge the outcome, but so did General Otley and even General Giulion, the commander of Poluo Province War Zone—they were all terribly wrong about this.

Upon learning of Lion City's tragedy, instead of running away like a coward, Absek changed his previously indecisive image and not only took command himself as the Grand Leader of Dog State War Zone, but also angrily broadcasted to the entire Poluo Province, calling all Poluos to unite and vowing to fight the legion to the death!

Whether this was political theater, no one knew, but at least for now, he certainly did not flee.

The morale in Tiandu was unprecedentedly high, even those grassroots military officers who had been discontent with Absek no longer cursed this "hypocrite."

Although not as straightforward as Anush, at least he had the courage to fight to the death, which was commendable.

Meanwhile, reinforcements from outside continued to arrive.

The Expeditionary Army of Poluo Province had once contributed to suppressing the Torch Church, and the survivors of the Eastern Provinces naturally wouldn't leave them unattended.

A dozen transport ships arrived at the port of Jinjaron Harbor.

A group of soldiers wearing gas masks, shouldering rifles, silently stepped onto the docks of Jinjaron Harbor, advancing toward the military base amid local flowers and cheers.

They were the Death Legion.

They had made outstanding achievements in the Battle of Falling Leaves and the Bone Chewing Chaos; their fearless fighting style made countless Looter Tribes and the Expeditionary Army of the Eastern Legion tremble in fear!

This time, five thousand had landed, with another five thousand expected to arrive later.

Seeing the girls tossing flowers by the roadside, Debt Giant Eye couldn't help but complain.

"Why do we have to wear gas masks? Are we so unpresentable?"

Rowing on the Edge in the marching troops rolled his eyes, lowered his voice, and retorted.

"Do you really think showing our faces all the time is a good idea considering our casualty rate?"

Debt Giant Eye: "… Damn, you make a fair point!"

Those marching in gas masks weren't just players; many were also Xiaoyu's sub-entities.

After repeated training by Big Eyes, these sub-entities, which initially seemed as dumb as rocks, finally evolved from lobsters in firing squads to infantrymen from World War I, capable of charging forward with bayonets like legion Clone Cannon Fodders.

The genetic blueprint of these sub-entities came from the cheapest Eaters, costing much less than the clones.

A Level 10 Intelligence player could probably handle ten sub-entities, while his limit was two hundred!

No need to worry about pollution from Mutated slime fungi; Red Soil microbes would take care of their remains.

Once they reached the base, updated their save records, they boarded vehicles heading to the port to transfer to a ship bound for Tiandu City.

The inland port was bustling.

Except for a lone royal merchant ship drifting on the river, almost all cargo ships were requisitioned by Poluo Country authorities and Jinjaron Harbor authorities for transporting war supplies and personnel.

Watching the brothers boarding the ship, Rowing on the Edge shouted to them.

"The Weilante have taken Lion City. We must not let them take Tiandu! The Academy brothers have helped us deploy anti-airship weapons there, and our mission is to hold on at all costs!"

In response, a series of spirited shouts resounded.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Chapter 863: Wolf, Serpent, and Dog

[... Leader Absek, the Southern Legion is on the move, observing their direction, they will undoubtedly head south next, first taking Wolf State, then Snake State!]

[Although Wolf State and Snake State have nominally submitted to us, the local forces are deeply intertwined, and many nobles are the backbone of the West Winds Royal Court. If the legion takes these two places, not only will we be in a predicament of being attacked from both sides, but even Leopard State and Lowell State to the east will also be in danger!]

[For the sake of Poluo Country and for the Chief Leader, I am willing to personally go to Wolf State and Snake State to resist the legion.]

[This trip is solely for the greater good, the Chief Leader need not hold me back!]

The office of the Governor's Mansion.

Sitting at the desk, Absek read the letter from start to finish, and suddenly cursed, slamming the letter onto the table.

"That slippery guy!"

The letter was written by Shaluk.

He's the one who accompanied him to "perform a double act" in the palace hall that day, the Horse King.

Since this Poluo Country was built by the four of them together, including the Horse King, the other two, the Tiger King and Leopard King, were also appointed as "Major Committee Members", and some who later wisely switched allegiance were also made members.

Yet, none of these three major committee members were reliable; two ran away before the fight even began, and another sent his family to Jin Galun Harbor while he moved to the airport vicinity.

Still not satisfied, Absek cursed again under his breath.

"... Such a noble cause indeed! Haha, it's more like openly paving roads while secretly crossing bridges."

The legion moving south at this time would be absurd!

Anyone with a bit of brains can see that their next step is definitely Bull State! And it's Bull State's Tiandu!

The Southern Legion isn't a monolithic entity; there should be competition between the Ten Thousand Leaders.

According to battle reports from the front line, the Southern Legion's northern line Ten Thousand Leader Otley has already launched an attack on Dog State from Sulak County, competing with their own to see who advances faster.

Why is it that only around me there are these slippery tricksters?

Absek shook his head, unable to do anything but sigh to himself, acting the tough guy until the end.

Speaking of which, he didn't really have the right to criticize others, wasn't he also an opportunist?

The only "honest man" in the Heavenly King's army was probably the late Anush.

The guards standing by exchanged glances, not knowing why the Chief Leader was angry, yet didn't dare to ask.

At this moment, another subordinate came in, saluted, and reported.

"... Sir, the Education Commissioner wants to arrange a meeting with you to discuss public education issues."

Having no interest in these trivial matters, Absek impatiently waved his hand.

"Not going, no time! The budget's been approved, let him handle it himself, doesn't he see what time it is? The legion is about to hit Tiandu, I have time for his trivial matters!"

The subordinate hesitated, lowering his head as he spoke.

"But... he wants to discuss budget issues with you."

Upon hearing the word budget, Absek became even more impatient.

"Tell him that's it, it's good enough that I'm not docking his budget, take it or leave it."

This bunch of intellectuals really had no vision.

His big-headed soldiers couldn't even muster a pair of pants, yet they were shouting about not having enough desks and books.

And that guy didn't even consider that if he really approved their budget, what would those big-headed soldiers think?

No desks?

No books?

Then sit on the ground to read! Write on the ground!

Be glad you're not rolling into trenches!

Of course, Absek only said this to himself, it wasn't something he would ever say to that Education Commissioner.

This bunch of intellectuals had too sharp tongues, if he really started cursing, he might not even win.

The subordinate respectfully nodded and hurriedly left.

"Yes..."

Soon after, footsteps were heard again outside the door.

Just as Absek, in a bad mood, was about to get angry, he saw the two representatives from the Alliance entering, and immediately changed his demeanor like performing magic, becoming friendly at once.

"What wind blows you two here?"

The Far-sighted eagle didn't make small talk and got straight to the point.

"It's about the reinforcements... Our Death Legion has arrived at Jin Galun Harbor, including subsequent reinforcements, totaling over 10,000 people. Since their combat area is mainly around Bull State, performing defensive counterattack tasks, they hope you can send a few officers to assist them."

Upon hearing this, Absek was overjoyed and immediately said.

"This is easy, I'll arrange for a Ten Thousand Leader to assist you!"

The Far-sighted eagle continued.

"It's not necessary to have such high-ranking officers, it's best if they're officers familiar with the local terrain and frontline situations, we will teach you some guerrilla warfare experience... so the more people you can gather, around a hundred or so would be best."

Given Poluo Country's current military strength, relying solely on positional warfare to hold the opponent is almost impossible, they can only find a way to conduct some guerrilla warfare.

The few legion commanders discussed on the forum and decided unanimously to let Edge Bro teach them, having a mentor is always better than letting them try it on their own lives.

Absek immediately agreed decisively.

"No problem! We have quite a few officers withdrawn from the front line here! We'll deliver them to you!"

Although he agreed readily, he had his own calculations in mind.

Playing guerrilla warfare would definitely have significant casualties, he certainly couldn't use his core troops.

Most of the officers withdrawn from the front line were from Dom's old units.

Since these people lost Lion City, let them earn their redemption through merit.

The Far-sighted eagle did not mind using his officers, as long as they had front-line experience.

Compared to Anush, who "says one thing and does another," and "fools people like they are idiots," he was still very pleased with this guy's cooperative attitude.

Not only did the brothers on the forum want to help him, but even the Far-sighted eagle himself wanted to lend him a hand.

"... By the way, what was it that made you lose your temper earlier?"

"Ah! It's all because of being poor, excuse my outburst."

Absek said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

"The money left by Witch Camel is so limited, we even have to borrow on credit to buy clothes for the soldiers, not to mention buying weapons and ammunition, and vehicles for logistics. The Agricultural Commissioner is asking me for money to buy tractors and fertilizers, can I not give it to him? But as soon as I spent that money, the Education Commissioner came to me saying they didn't have enough textbooks... What can I do? Am I supposed to print them myself?"

Upon hearing him complain about being poor again, the Far-sighted eagle shut his mouth immediately.

He certainly didn't have enough money to fill this gap.

Nor could the Alliance.

Only Ideal City might be able to help.

Old Stick coughed once and chimed in.

"... One thing at a time, it's not for us to say, but maybe you could marry fewer concubines."

Upon hearing this, Absek gave a wry smile and shook his head as he said.

"... How much can a few concubines cost, and it's not like that money comes from the treasury, whether it's saved or not, it won't contribute to the treasury, now that's really one thing for another. Besides, even if I could marry fewer, can I expect my men to follow me?"

There were rumors that he had hit his private part in battle, causing him almost to lose his courage.

When he heard this rumor, he was almost infuriated, wanting to have Internal Affairs go arrest the person.

Of course, this kind of thing he just thought about, it's impossible for him to really kill an entire family just because someone insulted him.

After all, there are too many people insulting him, even within the army, and if he killed them all, he would become a lone general.

However, speaking of which, a remark made by the Alliance brethren did open up his mind.

Absek pondered in his heart that if anyone takes a second wife in the future, there should be a tax levied.

Taking three or four should double progressively, this might bring in a large sum of money!

After all, those who can really afford to marry three or four wives aren't those big-headed soldiers, but those land-holding old nobility.

When there comes a day they can't afford three or four, he will use a decree to abolish this bad custom, and by then the resistance to reform would likely be much smaller.

"Say a little less."

The far-sighted eagle glared at Stick Brother, the latter chuckled sheepishly and shut his mouth.

Seeing the latter quiet, Eagle looked at Absek again and said in a softened tone.

"You have to eat your meals bite by bite, no need to rush. Once you drive away the Southern Legion, you'll have enough time to develop. Just like Laxi, who seized the opportunity when the civil war in the southern seas ended and the Torch battle, and the economy of Mammoth Nation took off. We are recently building a space elevator, you also have opportunities."

Perhaps after hanging around with Ah Guang for a long time, he unknowingly learned to paint grand plans.

Yet Absek enjoyed it very much, with a delighted expression, nodding like a pounding garlic.

"I've learned! I will definitely remember sir's words!"

Seeing this obedient look, Eagle waved his hand with a smile.

"You overpraise, indeed overpraise."

After all, he wasn't the Manager, praising him didn't give any benefit, so he couldn't be bothered to be modest.

After discussing the business, Eagle feared this guy might ask for money, so pulled Old Stick and hurriedly left.

Actually, his worry was completely unnecessary, after being around for so long, Absek knew all too well that this guy couldn't get money, so he never even brought it up.

He just habitually played poor, to show that he was different from the fool-and-rich Witch Camel.

Seeing the representative of the Alliance leave, his face instantly returned to the usual expression, holding a pompous demeanor as if nothing happened.

Then there was a knock on the door from outside, a subordinate who had just left not long ago walked in again.

Absek looked impatient.

"Don't bother me with the Education Committee stuff, the representative of the Alliance just stepped out the door, let them go find the Alliance."

The subordinate whispered.

"But... Mr. Kaba Ha is already outside."

Absek waved his hand.

"Don't let him in."

Seeing the subordinate not leave, he said impatiently.

"What else is there?"

The young officer immediately nodded.

"The president of the Family Meeting seeks an audience."

Family Meeting...

Absek frowned, remembering that the person seemed to be called Zayed.

Funny thing indeed.

Their former Heavenly King Army was out of West Sail Port, and so was that Family Meeting, they were "from the same master".

But the fate of the Family Meeting was not as good, they hit a hard iron plate, failed the uprising, and were massacred by the Corps' regular army, heard over 1000 were executed.

However, just because of this incident, the Jingalon Port "Survivor's Daily" was sympathetic with the Family Meeting's plight, even dedicated an article to report on the Family Meeting and its President.

In that article, Zayed even stated that he admired him, it was after seeing the actions of the reformists that he decided to leave City of Dawn, wanting to do something for the suffering survivors back home.

Alas, he was of shallow talent and learning, bringing hardship to those who followed him.

This hat could not be said to not be high, but still modest to the right extent, just a head shorter than him.

He handed the hat of success to the true achiever, and proactively wore the one belonging to the "failure".

This was the reason Absek looked at him a couple more times... this guy was a smart man.

Moreover, possibly a smart man of the same kind as himself.

To showcase his open-mindedness and broad heart, and at the same time to earn Jinjaron Harbor's public favor, Absek decided to be accommodating, after seeing Laxi of Mammoth Nation, he met this "admirer of his" once.

It was purely a courtesy meeting.

And after meeting that guy, Absek confirmed his guess in mind - this guy indeed was the same type of person as him, both opportunists good at gambling.

People like this won't genuinely admire anyone, nor have any beliefs, not even believing the words from their own mouths, let alone being his admirer.

As for why he knows so well, it's because he is such a person himself, and he is surrounded by people like this.

The so-called admiration for himself, is nothing more than currying favor with the powerful.

The type he disliked most was exactly this kind of guy.

After all, what people actually despise most isn't dissidents or opponents, but those "similar but not" types.

Just like how people are innately annoyed by their own clones.

Upon understanding this point, Absek immediately lost all interest in him, using him and then discarding him aside, just instructing Internal Affairs to keep an eye on this guy and nothing else.

He could leave the ones insulting him alone.

After all, some of them never even hit the point, instead appearing foolish.

However, he found it hard not to be cautious of this guy.

This is not contradictory with him not seeing that guy as a threat.

After all, that guy is too weak.

So weak that neither he nor his family could be considered a force.

He didn't need to bother with such ants, otherwise, he would fall into the gossip of those cultural folks.

In comparison, those knowledgeable small nobility are instead worth serious attention.

"What does he want from me?" A hint of disdain involuntarily surfaced in Absek's eyes.

The subordinate answered honestly.

"He wants to join the army."

Absek was taken aback by the words and then burst into laughter.

"That guy who can't even gather up to two taels of muscle wants to join the army? Let him go to the recruitment point to register, pass the physical test first!"

"Yes."

The subordinate prepared to leave, Absek suddenly thought of the Education Committee at the door, so he called out to him again.

"Hold on."

The subordinate turned back respectfully.

"Do you have any other instructions, sir?"

Absek thought for a moment, then shifted his tone and said.

"I've changed my mind, let him in."

The people of the Family Meeting were beginning to get a bit too full of themselves.

Waving the flag of equality, they threw away the already worthless baron.

I need to teach them a lesson so they don't forget their place.

Especially that centurion, he seemed to have forgotten his own name.

If necessary, he would replace a centurion to take up this Education Committee.

Now I'd rather see a little ant than see him. If he has any sense, he should know what this means.

The subordinate was momentarily stunned but did not ask more questions. He simply saluted respectfully and then turned and left.

Meanwhile, on the other side, in the lounge of the Governor's Mansion, an old man with a troubled face was sitting on the sofa, his beard shaking with anger.

This man was Kaba Ha, a viscount of the old West Winds Empire, a master of songwriting and painting, who gained the admiration of Prince Dilip and thus became the director of the Royal Printing Factory.

Later, during the Heavenly King's Rebellion, he was imprisoned, and when the reformist officers seized power, they released him from prison.

During his time in jail, he came into contact with the ideas of the Alliance and gradually understood the true reasons for the empire's decline. So, after his release, he immediately responded to the call of the reformist officers, first working for some time in propaganda management, and finally reaching the position of Education Commissioner.

Unlike those who only wanted to climb higher, in his fifties or sixties, he genuinely wanted to do something for the survivors of Poluo Province, to ensure that his descendants did not suffer anymore.

Establishing schools seemed like a good path.

Mr. Mouse, who wrote the epic "Red Soil," set up a university in Mammoth City, allowing the youth of Poluo Country to learn real skills without having to go to the City of Dawn.

He also wanted to set up a university in Tiandu, and a bigger one than Mammoth Nation. But ironically, those who once supported him began to dodge the issue when it was time to spend money.

"This Absek is really something! Going back on his word, reneging on what he promised!"

Sitting beside the old man, a young man with a warm smile placed his hand on his hand, soothing him earnestly.

"Sir, your words aren't fair. Leader Absek is a great hero now. I must speak fairly on his behalf. You're a skilled teacher; he's a skilled fighter. The areas of expertise are different. Both of you are pillars of Poluo Country; how can you attack each other?"

"A great hero! Ha! If that counts as a hero, then I think even a bear could speak human words." Kaba Ha continued to curse, wishing to spit on the ground, "Others may not dare to speak the truth, but with one foot in the grave, I won't indulge him!"

Zayed smiled and said.

"You don't say, I actually encountered a talking bear while I was in the Alliance."

"Alright, you've been to the Alliance, you're experienced! Then you judge this fairly!"

Hearing this young man saying he'd been to the Alliance, Kaba Ha got even more excited, turning towards him and venting all his frustrations.

"He keeps saying there's no money, but look at all these tables and chairs in the Governor's Mansion! Are these free? And those officers, if they were a little less extravagant, married fewer concubines, how come we can't even manage to get desks for the kids!"

"This... is indeed a problem." Zayed sighed, a touch of worry appearing in his brows, "We are too poor; we should live more frugally."

These words touched the heart of the old man.

Kaba Ha's face showed an excited expression, his hand backing hitting his palm heavily, his beard trembling with anxiety.

"Isn't that the problem! What's the use of him avoiding me? Does avoiding me mean the problem gets solved?"

Zayed looked at him seriously, making an earnest expression.

"Then how much is your budget short? I also have some salary; let's see if I can save a bit to help you?"

Kaba Ha was momentarily speechless, sighed, and said.

"I appreciate your kindness, but you keep your salary for yourself... it's not on the same scale."

Then, worried, he spoke earnestly.

"You young people should study hard, don't be like us old ones pinching pennies. Don't save where it should be spent! We old bones are different; we're atoning for our past mistakes. I have to complete what I have to do to have peace; you are the future of Poluo Country."

Establishing a school is not a one-time expenditure, but a continuous expense.

He also knew that Absek couldn't provide the money, but he still had to chase that guy for it.

After all, he keeps pushing, and the officers can build such a big Governor's Mansion to this extent. If he doesn't make any noise, those guys would become even more arrogant!

Tiandu obviously has a palace!

Thinking of this, Kaba Ha sighed again. It would be nice if there were some silver coins left in Witch Camel's treasury.

Compared to Witch Camel's big spending, the "money for marrying wives" of those officers is indeed just a drop in the bucket.

Perhaps Zayed's advice isn't wrong; maybe he really is being too impatient.

At this moment, footsteps were heard outside the lounge, and a young officer walked in.

Kaba Ha was about to get up, but the officer didn't look at him, instead looking at the young man beside him.

"Mr. Zayed, please come with me."

Zayed gave an unwilling glance at the old man but still sighed and followed.

"...Sir, the Leader summons me, I'll go first, okay?"

Kaba Ha didn't look at him, just widened his eyes, staring straight at the officer.

Due to Absek's orders, the officer didn't look at him the entire time, allowing him to blow his top with puffing cheeks and taking Zayed away...

...

The office of the Governor's Mansion.

Absek, sitting behind the desk, put down the pen in his hand, examining the young man with a smile on his face.

The smile was very kind.

Yet he could see that behind that harmless smile was a sharp sword.

Just like a snake in the bushes.

No wonder he's from the Snake Clan.

Although he's not a race theorist, he couldn't help but think this way.

Just as he scrutinized this guy, Zayed did something unexpected.

"Greetings, Supreme Leader!" After saying that, he raised his hand, making a gesture to bow.

"What are you doing!"

Seeing this, Absek panicked and momentarily forgot to evaluate the guy, hastily stepping up to support him.

Zayed, however, kept his head down, humbly apologizing.

"Sorry, I was so excited to meet you, I temporarily forgot my manners..."

Absek sighed, solemnly saying.

"I have to criticize you a bit, the empire is already gone. Since the survivors of Poluo Country have stood up, they are no longer allowed to kneel."

"You're right, you're right..." Zayed smiled apologetically, that foolish look on his face as if he sincerely admitted his mistake.

Seeing his expression, although Absek was smiling on the outside, inwardly he was increasingly disdainful.

Even somewhat contemptuous.

"Survivor's Daily" actually compared this kind of guy to him, it was simply an insult to him!

Indeed Absek wasn't a good person, but in the whole Poluo Province, only Laxi was worth being compared to him.

Not holding grudges against those people was his magnanimity, yet they pushed things too far.

Absek felt a thought stir in his mind, making the old fox-like smile on his face even more brilliant.

"...By the way, you said you wanted to join the army, this is easily done, I'll agree to it."

Saying this, Absek returned to the desk, took out paper and pen, and wrote a commission.

Then, he cleared his throat and spoke in a solemn tone.

"As of today, I appoint you as the commander of the Grey Wolf Army, to go to the Snake State War Zone to prepare for battle with the legion."

He almost laughed at this commission he wrote, but he managed to hold it in.

The Grey Wolf Army is now just a bunch of bandits, neither obeying the new emperor Akbar nor accepting the United Front's amnesty, hiding in the mountains of Horse State, gambling with Arai Yang's ashes, and occasionally fighting skirmishes with the Mammoth border army.

This army isn't even Poluo Country's army; once he finds time, he'll take care of this bunch. This commission is worse than a scrap of paper.

Not to mention, how far Horse State in the northeast is from the southernmost Snake State.

If this guy really took this commission there, he'd either be skinned by the remnants of the Grey Wolf Army or get himself killed by his "Horse King" Shaluk.

Better go hide in Jinjaron Harbor.

Absek looked at the commission in his hand with a smiling face, firmly stamping it with an official seal.

Try playing scheming tricks with me, you're still a bit immature!

Zayed indeed looked troubled.

But watching as Absek handed over the letter of appointment, he still bit the bullet and reached out to take it.

"...At your command!"

"This task is of utmost importance... Do well, I have faith in you!" Absek patted his shoulder in a manner of an old superior, speaking earnestly.

"...Thank you for your support, esteemed leader. I will certainly not fail this mission." Zayed's face held a bitter smile.

Absek chuckled, feeling very pleased with the expression on this guy's face, smoothing out a lot of his originally gloomy mood.

However, he did not notice the cold smirk that appeared at the corner of that face when it turned away.

Accepting the letter of appointment, Zayed walked out of the office with heavy steps, as if the piece of paper weighed a thousand pounds.

However, the moment he stepped out, his steps lightened as if he had grown wings.

Those high and mighty people only saw the light on themselves, but couldn't see the longing in the eyes of ordinary people.

Absek was indeed a capable man; he left no flaws, yet still stirred Absek's apprehension.

But unfortunately, perhaps it was the confidence given by the Alliance, arrogance ultimately blinded that guy's eyes.

While passing by the Governor's Mansion, Zayed humbly bid farewell to the old committee member there, subtly mentioning his new assignment, and then reluctantly left the mansion amidst the elder's indignant concern and multiple reminders.

The young man waiting by the roadside saw him and quickly ran up to follow him.

"Sir, did Absek make things difficult for you?"

Zayed gave a slight smile.

"That guy was terrified by the blood spilled on his body, just a thief who wants but doesn't dare. If he really had the decisiveness to kill, I would have gone to see Laxi, not come to see him."

Sava was startled, pressing the baseball cap on his head, asked puzzledly.

"Isn't he considered decisive? Anush was even..."

Worried about the presence of Internal Affairs people here, he stopped his words.

But Zayed laughed out loud.

"Even that guy can be called decisive? Then what is Anush?"

Seeing Sava's perplexity, Zayed leisurely continued speaking.

"That old man called Kaba Ha dared to point his finger at Absek and scold him. Do you think he dares to fart an extra word in front of Anush?"

No need to fart.

Even taking a breath might get you chopped.

Sava asked puzzledly.

"...But you said Mr. Kaba Ha is a good man."

"Yes."

Casually buying a newspaper at the roadside, the indifferent man spoke expressionlessly.

"Do you want to be a good person too?"

Sava immediately shook his head, speaking modestly and bashfully.

"I belong to you, sir."

Zayed chuckled, reaching out to pat his head.

"Time to go."

One tall and one short figure gradually disappeared down the not-so-wide road, then hailed a rickshaw, heading to the inland port outside the east gate of Tiandu.

A dozen transport ships had just docked, and a team of soldiers wearing gas masks marched in a neat formation off the pier, heading straight for the military base in the north of the city.

It seemed like they were racing against time, not stopping for a moment, even though Hell lay ahead.

People spontaneously made way.

Whether it was travelers in a hurry with their luggage, laborers moving goods, or boatmen, citizens, villagers picking through stalls nearby, they all threw gazes of admiration or even worship toward those people—
those noble idealists.

Standing in the crowd, Sava suddenly sighed with envy.

"...If only we too had people willing to swear loyalty to the death like that."

Also watching those tall figures, Zayed spoke softly.

"There will be."

At the same time, on the front lines of Lion State.

A scrapped steel train lay overturned in the wilderness to the northwest of Reed Bull County.

The heavily armored carriages were crumpled together, deeply sunk into the ground, and the 902mm heavy gun was tragically concave from a shot by a railgun.

Leaning against a dismantled Chimera Armored Car, Old Na gasped, glanced at the LD-47 assault rifle in his hand, and then at the approaching steel flood in the distance.

Looks like this thing won't be of much use...

With a wry smile, he looked at the captive sitting tied up securely not far away.

The black hood over the Vellante's head had fallen off, and that face was now staring at him in terror.

Without sending him to his Marshal, Elena simply shouted at him.

"Get lost."

After killing so many, a couple more wouldn't hurt, besides, killing captives wasn't very ethical.

The Vellante looked at him in disbelief, as if doubting his own ears.

However, Elena didn't explain, just picked up the rifle and aimed it at him.

"Bang!"

He mimicked shooting with his mouth, grinning at the fellow who fell backward into the mud in fright.

The Vellante soldier wriggled and climbed out of the mud, not daring to look back at him, running away, stumbling.

When he gets back, maybe he'll tell his companions a story of surviving the brink of death.

Of course, he might also wonder why he came here in the first place...

There were no survivors here anymore.

Elena sighed, glanced at the heavily bleeding thigh, and pressed the communicator to send the last voice message to her brothers in the Burning Corps.

"This is the Skeleton Corps... Our mission has been overcompleted. It's not just their armored train, the three divisions that tried to block us are all crippled – though we are as well."

"It's a pity about those pieces of equipment. We handled it with thermite, no need to trouble you."

"Right, if you encounter the The 110,000th Squad of Poluo Nation while they're conducting guerrilla warfare, remember to take them away from here... The battle here is over."

After a brief silence, a voice without emotion responded through the chaotic static sound.

Fang Chang: "Received, see you in three days."

"Damn it! Couldn't you make my death a bit grander?"

Cursing, Old Na ended the communication, looking towards the western night sky.

Only to see that pitch-black night, now lit up by the flashing tracer rounds.

Just as he expected.

The army was thoroughly enraged, not even intending to leave them intact, outright resorting to an execution by artillery.

Of course, it's also possible they were scared...

"Hahaha! This life is worth it... Bah! I've got another life!"

Old Na let out a hearty laugh, sprayed a burst towards the sky, and then watched as the boiling phosphorus fire fell from the sky, engulfing himself along with the mess of the battlefield behind him.

If the army thought they could wipe them out with fire, then they were too naive.

It's only three days.

He would be back!

Chapter 864: People Are the Future

The fire rain that filled the sky was like a star river falling from the Nine Skies.

The rainwater on the ground evaporated, the steel melted, and the earth was roasted black.

In the face of that deadly high temperature, no living thing could survive.

Not even the Red Soil.

That was a more direct damage than radioactive dust.

Gazing at the burning earth ahead, the Ten Thousand Leader Wolfe of the 36th ten thousand troops squinted slightly, and a faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth, though it quickly faded away.

Even if he had no doubt that the Southern Legion would ultimately secure that final victory, it was difficult to interpret the current battle as a victory.

Faced with the combined siege of three ten thousand troops, the opposing side managed to cut off their supply lines despite suffering high losses.

The critical thing is, this was just an armored team of a thousand from the Alliance!

Even if there were a few more, it would at most be considered a "reinforced formation," nowhere near the size of a ten thousand troops.

No matter how the Triumph Report dresses it up, the battle report is hard to lie about.

And it's hard to say if the Triumph Report will help them as it did before this time.

After all, this time was different from the past; they had offended too many people, even their allies from the east weren't fully on their side.

But so be it. If you've offended them, you've offended them.

He consoled himself with the thought that as long as they achieved the final victory, all those who were superficially united would change their minds.

But how long until victory?

This is just the beginning.

There's no telling what else awaits them ahead.

Watching the gradually extinguishing flames, the strategist sitting beside him slightly tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"...Finally over."

The difficulty of the opponent far exceeded his expectations.

"Hmm."

Wolfe nodded, saying nothing, just watching expressionlessly.

Glancing at him, the strategist said softly.

"Their technological advancement speed is faster than we imagined. According to intel provided by our eastern allies, during the previous battle, they only deployed a single vehicle-mounted railgun as their ace, yet this time they equipped an entire armored unit."

Pausing, he continued.

"I reasonably suspect they have more... It's a threat to us."

Conqueror No. 10's gap armor has almost absolute defense against armor-piercing bullets, which are nearly the limit most Survivor Forces could reach with primitive industrial technology.

As for the kinetic cannon, the conventional caliber and charge can't even touch the gap layer of the armor, easily deflected by the hard shell.

Thus, the impenetrable armor of Conqueror No. 10 is like a "Wall of Sigh" that most survivors cannot conquer.

To defend against "free-fall bombs" thrown from abandoned buildings in city battles, they even specifically reinforced the tower's roof!

But all these targeted designs became a joke in the face of weapons based on new technological principles.

The Alliance's railgun penetrates everything in one shot; shells with static charge ignite sparkling fireworks upon grazing the ammo rack, one of the reasons their armored unit was continuously destroyed.

Theoretically, the penetrating effect of the railgun is adjustable, and with special warheads, it can even break through the air resistance, making its destructive effect limitless.

Worrisome is that the South Sea Union reportedly possesses this technology, implemented on their battleships.

Previously, they didn't take the fishermen in the Southern sea area seriously, but since the Alliance's arrival, those hiding on the islands, the Starfish, suddenly became bold and are now venturing out.

Should these technologies spread, the Army's century-and-a-half advantage would vanish!

To tackle this unprecedented threat, they should at least break away from the "Conqueror" series design concept and develop new equipment based on "tactical needs."

These preparations should have been made before the war, yet he saw none of them.

While their opponents earnestly pondered their equipment, the Army's leaders simply procured a large batch of Conqueror No. 10 from the Eastern Legion.

Maybe the leaders had other cards up their sleeves, or perhaps they never intended to win with the advantage of armored units, betting instead on other trump cards, but the current battle situation indeed left him with concerns.

Even though he was equally certain of Vellante's ultimate victory, he couldn't help but worry they were overconfident, ignoring even the objective laws of development.

No matter how much they chanted otherwise.

"...It's just a tactical threat," the deputy corrected with a grin, dismissively continuing, "Strategically, it's another matter altogether. Like now, whether it's the railgun or something else, the end result is still a pool of molten iron. They may win ten times, but Lion City is in our hands now."

In terms of firepower, the Southern Legion will not lose to anyone!

He had absolute confidence in this.

Even if the opponent's railgun is a bit strong, it won't close the firepower gap!

"That's true," the strategist didn't refute his statement but rather asked, "But what if they have other cards?"

The deputy laughed.

"Do you mean the phase gun? Such things are indeed a threat, but we are not unprepared."

The strategist shook his head.

"I'm afraid of other things."

"What?"

"I don't know."

The vagueness of the answer left the deputy momentarily stunned.

"You don't know?"

The strategist nodded, his expression somber.

"Not knowing is the scariest part... Haven't you noticed yet? Our opponents understand us, but we've never tried to understand them."

He always had a feeling the alliance had infiltrated their ranks.

This isn't surprising.

There were quite a few Vellante people hostile to the Alliance, but quite a few viewed them favorably as well.

These individuals were the easiest to bribe.

Some didn't even require a bribe; they were willing to help outright.

Whether acknowledged or not, such groups exist in the Army, and as their actions grew crazier, so did the resistance against them.

Conversely, in the Army, let alone bribes, hiring a brewer from the City of Dawn to work in Yavente was a challenge...

...

The boiling flames turned enemies to ashes, finally resolving the anger in people's hearts.

Not just the officers in the command vehicle relaxed their tense brows; the soldiers of the 36th ten thousand troops also relaxed their taut shoulders, lowering their raised gun barrels.

It was a brutal battle, the sudden arcs in the dark and the flying turrets became an unshakable nightmare for them.

The distant flames gradually extinguished.

As everyone prepared to withdraw, a staggering figure suddenly appeared on the pitch-black wilderness.

The person's arms were securely tied with ropes, walking in a disoriented gait over the muddy land, as if they might collapse at any moment.

The frontline reconnaissance team spotted him first.

The Vellante soldiers standing beside the reconnaissance vehicle exchanged glances, seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

Someone is still alive?!

"Captain, there's a live one!"

"...Seems like one of ours."

The Centurion sitting in the vehicle frowned, observing through the machine gun's scope.

Mud covered the person's body, there was a wound on their face, and a large wet patch on their pants, resembling a wild dog that rolled out of a mud puddle.

Both the high bridge of the nose and the military uniform betrayed his identity.

This guy was his compatriot.

Though he dearly hoped he wasn't.

"Stop!"

As the person came closer, the Centurion disembarked personally, gesturing with his gun for him to halt.

"I... cough!... I'm Quincy... I'm one of us!"

The young fellow named Quincy was fraught with terror, his eyes as vacant as coal, his grimy faced like a snotty slug.

He didn't want to be like this.

But he was indeed terrified.

Not just because the guy earlier shot a burst at him with his mouth, but also because of the artillery that rained from the sky.

It was entirely unlike what he had seen in exercises; it wasn't him charging at the shells, but shells descending upon him from all skies.

The burning white phosphorus almost grazed his heel; he narrowly escaped death at the hands of his own people!

"Your serial number."

The Centurion stared at him unblinkingly, looking at his pathetic figure, the disdain written in his eyes.

"The 34th Mechanized Ten Thousand Troops... Third Thousand..."

"Third Thousand what? Can't you even say your number?" The Centurion coldly stared at him, lowering the muzzle of the gun in his hand, "And your exoskeleton, your equipment, where the hell did all that go? Did you give it away?"

"...In, maybe in the fire." Quincy swallowed with difficulty, not daring to say it might have been picked up by the Guerrilla Team.

The Centurion didn't pay attention, just looked at him with those contemptuous eyes.

"Oh, really, then why aren't you in there?"

"I..."

"I'm truly ashamed for you, that a cowardly bastard like you is one of our kin."

The Centurion drew a captured pistol from the waist of a subordinate nearby, threw it in front of the guy who looked like a stray dog, and said with disdain.

"Our 36th Ten Thousand Troops doesn't have such a pathetic guy like you, we'd rather die on the battlefield than surrender."

He said nothing, yet it was as if he had said everything, quietly watching the scared young man before him.

The Vellante individuals nearby felt the same.

At first, they had some sympathy for this poor guy, but after listening to the captain, they weren't so sympathetic anymore.

This pathetic guy is actually a Vellante?

They tainted their noble blood!

Better to just shoot himself, dying at the enemy's hands could at least count as being a warrior.

Quincy trembled as he picked up the pistol from the ground, pressing it to his own jaw, yet his index finger, feeling like it was filled with lead, trembled for ages without having the courage to pull the trigger.

He looked pleadingly at his compatriots standing around, hoping they would stop him, only to find they were just looking at him mockingly, as if urging him to just get on with it.

Why is it like this?

He clearly fought for the Vellante people to live under the sunlight, so why did he become the enemy of the Vellante after surviving?

He felt as if something in his heart shattered, suddenly collapsing and shouting out.

"Aaaaah!!!"

Summoning his courage, he finally pulled the trigger decisively but heard only a "clang" sound.

The crisp sound buzzed in his head, as if he'd been kicked by a donkey.

The gun chamber was empty...

He'd been played.

Even being dull, he realized it; these old soldiers were purely playing him for laughs.

Quincy blankly looked at those guys, suddenly feeling as if all strength had been drained from his body, collapsing onto the ground with a thud.

The Vellante soldiers glanced mocking final looks at this coward, not saying a word, turned and got in the vehicle, starting the engine and driving off.

The soldier at the driver's seat observed all this, glanced at the disappearing figure in the rear-view mirror, with a bit of reluctance in his expression.

"Shouldn't we care about that guy?"

The Centurion hadn't spoken, but another youngster sitting beside him sneered.

"You want to ride in the same car as that mud person?"

The machine gunner laughed and quipped.

"He ran all the way here, just let him keep running, maybe he'll run all the way back to Triumph City."

"Hahahaha!"

The car was filled with wanton laughter.

The young men of the 36th Ten Thousand Troops returned to the camp with the glory of annihilating the Alliance's trump card, even though this hard fight cost them quite a lot.

Meanwhile, on the other side, north of Sulak County, the 17th Ten Thousand Troops stationed there finally reunited with the reinforcements from the rear, launching another invasion towards Dog State in the Northern Three States!

The Moon Clan Resistance Army stationed on the border of Dog State only put up limited resistance before retreating from the battlefield.

As planned, they decided to use movement warfare to counter the Army's offensive.

Extending the opponent's supply lines as much as possible, and then using artillery and guerrilla teams to wipe out the opponent's viable forces.

Just like their strategy against the Grey Wolf Army along the border of Mammoth State.

Though this made their battle reports look really bad, the front line nearly "collapsed at a touch."

Compared to the stable as an old dog Laxi, Absek was clearly more restless.

If not for the Alliance elite forces having reached Tiandu, he might have already done a bunk like Shaluk.

Tiandu was well connected, to the south was his hometown, Wolf State, to the east lay the affluent Elephant State.

If he needed to run, he had somewhere to run to; if worse came to worst, he could go to Jinjaron Harbor and live as a recluse.

The entire Tiandu was in a state of panic.

Just as everyone wanted to leave, someone who could leave, instead chose not to.

Office of the Governor's Mansion.

Yishel stood before the desk, looking at Absek seated behind it.

"I want to go to the front line."

Absek paused his pen, looking up at this youngster for a couple of seconds.

He had some impression of this guy, seemed to be one of Anvo's slick operators.

A few days ago, Anvo had sent a telegram to transfer old subordinates to help in Jinjaron Harbor.

Such a minor matter wasn't worth obstructing, besides he also needed someone to go to Jinjaron Harbor to sell a sob story on his behalf, so he generously approved it.

Though he hadn't expected, on the day of departure, Yishel refused to leave.

"Go to the front line? Going to the front line at this time, are you sure about that?"

Facing Absek's slight smirk, Yishel seriously nodded.

"I'm sure."

"Alright, ambitious! I won't hold you back then, go with the Alliance people."

Pausing, Absek's eyes twinkled, and he continued.

"You're too low-ranked, it's beneath your capability, as of today, you are a Ten Thousand Leader, in charge of reorganizing the shattered Third Ten Thousand Troops!"

Yishel stood straight, his right fist pressed firmly to his chest.

"Thank you, Great Leader, for your promotion!"

Absek smiled, waving dismissively.

"This isn't a good job, don't push too hard, just get those green recruits oriented... never mind, I trust you understand, take care of yourself."

Yishel knew what he wanted to say, and understood why he was suddenly promoted to Ten Thousand Leader, handed a bunch of rookies to train.

Moreover, they were using the old number of the Third Ten Thousand Troops, known for heroic sacrifices.

The Great Leader was quite displeased with Anvo's arbitrary decisions at West Sail Port, but in his heart, still treated them as his subordinates.

In other words, protective.

Everyone knew the current front was a mortal pit, where no amount of kindling was enough, he'd at least secretly hint at not going, if unable to persuade, he'd find a way to keep him safe.

Yishel nodded, expressed sincere thanks, and then turned away from the office.

Watching the young man depart, not particularly older, Absek sighed with an exaggerated mature demeanor.

"…Not all of us are crafty, still there are a couple of good kids."

But it's a pity.

On Poluo Province's land, good people generally meet bad ends.

A few months isn't enough, years aren't enough, it would take decades, even centuries.

The day folks like him get guns pointed at them by good men, that's when Poluo Country is truly saved.

Absek chuckled, shook his head, picked up the pen, and continued writing.

[...To Kaba Ha, Educational Commissioner.]

[The university thing looks promising, but the Poluo National Treasury really doesn't have extra funds; you'll have to let me delay a couple of years, I'll owe you this money then.]

[Besides, I've heard Mr. Mouse organized a Mammoth State University in Mammoth Nation, recruiting students across the Poluo Province. Given this, we might as well borrow their classrooms and desks, for "joint schooling," teaching our students in their place.]

[You cultured folks should communicate more, like how I get along with Laxi, if you lowered your face, I'm sure Mr. Mouse wouldn't refuse, shouting at me yields no silver coins.]

[Tiandu is ablaze with war, truly not a place for education or nurturing people, plus rebuilding the bombed teaching buildings is a waste, better to rebuild after it's all over.]

[Consider the university issue approved, first select the suitable-age students, while the budget isn't enough to construct buildings, organizing some exams and scraping up travel and living expenses is doable. Be sure to pick real talents, send them to Mammoth University, learning from their teachers, then once they're educated they become our teachers. Don't fear they won't return, fear they end up in trenches with our kind and never back… whether Poluo Country or Mammoth Nation, those people are our future.]

[Let this matter be your sole responsibility, any tricksters trying to meddle come to me, and I'll skin them alive!]

Chapter 865: This Is Who We Are

The clouds of war loom over Tiandu, with the bayonets of the Vellante people nearly pressing against the throats of the Poluo people. Not to mention the survivors in the city, even the fish and shrimp in the Everflow River are suffocated.

Yet, at this precarious moment, Tiandu has the rare occurrence of a major event unrelated to the war, bringing a breath of fresh air to the sultry room.

The Poluo State Authority of Education suddenly announced the establishment of Tiandu University, enrolling suitable youths aged 12 to 16 and 16 to 20.

The younger group will enter preparatory courses, while the older one enters undergraduate programs, covering disciplines such as engineering, science, and sociology.

Currently, Tiandu University only has a nameplate, with no teaching buildings or teachers, nor even the most basic textbooks, so these students will temporarily go to Mammoth City's Mammoth University for education.

This enrollment plans to recruit 500 students, including 300 for preparatory courses and 200 for undergraduate courses.

The Authority of Education will cover all expenses for selected students during their study period, including tuition and living expenses.

Preparatory students, after finishing their course, will decide based on their performance and subsequent changes in the war situation whether to stay at Mammoth City for further studies or return to Tiandu City for undergraduate studies.

As for the latter group, after completing their studies, they will return to Tiandu, serving as professors at Tiandu University, or taking up other specialized jobs introduced by the Poluo authorities.

In short, once you're admitted, you don't need to worry about the rest of your life. The leader will handle it for you.

The exams will be held in Tiandu's Heavenly Palace, with just one requirement besides age: literacy and numeracy.

After all, if you can't even write your name, even taking the exam would be pointless, wasting paper and everyone's time.

Although there's war, doing this seems somewhat untimely, but with Absek's endorsement, Kaba Committee Member's reform plan is smoothly proceeding.

Not only have the authorities encountered little resistance, but Tiandu City's residents are also very enthusiastic about this matter.

Five hundred students will be sent to study in Mammoth City by Absek!

This is big news!

After all, going to Mammoth City means no conscription, and also leaving the dangerous front!

Not only that!

Coming back, Absek will arrange an official position!

Is there really such a good fortune as manna from heaven in this world?!

Once the news spread, the whole Tiandu City was in an uproar!

Even though the announcement didn't write this, seeing the rubber stamp on it, almost everyone mentally translated the information in their heads.

Afraid of missing this chance to change fate, every literate survivor, regardless of age, rushed to register.

Also, parents were registering their sons and daughters.

This type especially comprised the majority.

Whether educated or not, all the candidates were temporarily cramming for exams, sparking a wave of learning throughout Tiandu.

All books available on the market were snatched up to the point of shortage.

Among those buying books were well-dressed folks, soldiers in uniforms, and old farmers with only a cloth around their waist.

Most weren't buying for themselves, but mainly for the kids at home.

Later, when the books sold out, even newspapers at stalls became victims.

Almost every item with words was swept clean.

"...Damn, do these NPCs love studying this much?" Looking at the emptied newsstand, Debt Giant Eye expressed with a surprised face.

This was completely different from the scene he saw at Jin Galun Harbor.

The people there were quite keen on learning, and almost every girl he met claimed to be a student, but he had never seen anything like emptying a newsstand.

"Emmm... Nothing to do with us, let's go back to the camp." The construction site boy with Brick showed a subtle expression.

These Poluo people love going to extremes, just like now.

What they desire isn't really knowledge or rationale, but the potential power that these might bring.

He couldn't say if it's good or bad, but for them who lived in feudal society a few years ago, it surely counts as progression for many.

Though he hadn't seen what the exam papers looked like, overall it was far more reliable than selecting talents with gladiatorial chess.

The two slowly wandered back to the camp, seeing several young officers standing at the entrance.

One was familiar, seemingly named Yishel, quite noticeable during the West Sail Port incident.

After the event, there was no mention of him in Eagle's post, only saying he later became a ten thousand leader of the border troops, stationed on the Poluo and West Sail Port border, whereabouts unknown after the outbreak of war.

Unexpectedly, this guy is alive.

Deserving to be amongst the Rat Clan.

Right then, Edge Shoveling also came out from the camp, exchanged a few words with the group of officers, then looked at the ten thousand leader going forward with them.

"So you are Yishel."

"Yishel, third ten-thousand team leader! Awaiting orders from the General!" Yishel stood straight and saluted, his voice booming.

Looking at this energetic young officer, Edge Shoveling smiled upon hearing.

"I'm not really a General, just an Army leader. By your structure, my military rank might not even be as high as yours."

Technically, players don't have ranks, instead, a system of contribution points denotes their contribution to the Alliance.

Yishel chuckled loudly.

"What are you saying! You're the teacher; I'm the student. That's another kind of hierarchy. No need to be polite; tell me if you see anything unsatisfactory, and I'll make sure to change it!"

This brother talks quite interestingly.

Edge Shoveling chuckled, teasingly said.

"I was worried about you before, thinking the Grand Leader had sent someone rigid to follow me, but now I see I was overthinking. Not bad! What you need for guerrilla warfare is precisely your sharp wit, I have high hopes for you!"

Yishel grinned as well, a hint of pride between his brows, much like a student who had just been praised.

From his perspective, it was understandable.

After all, the person before him was the Corps Leader of the Death Legion!

It's said that during the Torch War, this corps from the River Valley Province, as part of the Sticky Community's allied forces, achieved outstanding feats for the survivor's camp! They liberated two provinces from the torchbearers!

In comparison, their predecessors—the Rat Soldiers who ventured to the Brocade River Province—merely made a passing appearance on the battlefield, not even qualifying as third-line troops.

Receiving affirmation from the Corps Leader of the Death Legion made him prouder than the medals Absek awarded him.

"May I ask how the general should be addressed?"

Edge Shoveling paused in his expression, awkwardly coughing lightly.

"Uh... just call me Edge, that's what my brothers call me."

Some online names feel fine when typed, but saying them out loud can be somewhat embarrassing.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who felt this way; Yishel was momentarily taken aback when he heard the name.

Edge.

Quite an unusual name.

But it's said that Alliance people are like this, especially those residents from the Prosperity Epoch refuges.

Being good at reading people, he immediately noticed the embarrassment on Edge's face and smiled to change the subject.

"... So, General Edge, when do we head to the front line?"

Edge Shoveling smiled and said.

"It's up to you guys; we're ready and can move out anytime."

Yishel: "What a coincidence, so are we!"

Edge Shoveling gently raised his eyebrows, taking a closer look at the friend before him.

"Alright, since you put it that way, let's do it now!"

...

While the survivors of Tiandu City were busy preparing for exams, a grand army silently marched out of the city.

Led by the Death Legion, nearly two hundred thousand troops once again rushed to the front line.

Besides the third ten thousand troops led by Yishel, which can be considered Absek's direct line, most other ten thousand troops were led by Udonuo's former subordinates.

They were the "defeated army" withdrawn from Lion City.

However, despite their recent defeat, their morale was not low—in fact, it was quite high.

Because the brothers of the Alliance stood with them.

They didn't think of themselves as going to be cannon fodder, quite the opposite.

This was an opportunity for revenge!

They would pay back the humiliation of that day to the Vellante people, showing those big-nosed ones they too have dignity!

They would also prove to Absek and the survivors of Tiandu that they were not cowards!

In this new campaign, they would change the strategy used in the Lion State, deploying half their forces to maintain forward movement, while the remaining half would follow Death Legion officers to infiltrate behind enemy lines.

For example, the third ten thousand troops leading the charge with the Death Legion.

Although most of this unit was made up of new recruits, Yishel didn't indulge them, keeping them in the rear to pass the time.

The battlefield situation is unpredictable, and sometimes dangerous places might ironically be safer.

Especially if the legion was eager to take Tiandu, the front-line battle might be even more brutal than Absek anticipated, making the distinction between front and rear irrelevant.

Of course, part of the reason for making such a risky decision was also Yishel's intuition.

His instinct told him that staying closer to the Alliance people would be safer.

And there's more hope to learn real skills.

Although his boys didn't get the chance to study at Mammoth Nation, he believed this experience would become a significant mark in their careers.

Just like the West Sail Port incident was for him.

As long as they survive and ultimately win, they've passed the test...

The Corps Leader of the Death Legion did not stop them, instead willingly bringing him and this group of brave youngsters along.

Thus, after rushing for three days and nights, the two armies grandly approached the border between Niu State and Lion State, reaching a place called Akale County.

Here is where the Everflow River turns, also a strategic point neither side can ignore.

The river flowing from the western side of the Zobar Mountain Range is like a dense spider web, pouring into the western part of Niu State, winding between the hills and plains like a coiled python.

Upon reaching Akale County, the flowing river changes to an eastward course, crossing the central plains and emptying into the sea at the eastern end of the Poluo Province.

Due to the floodwaters continuously impacting the riverbed on the western side and the plains, a vast river beach and Shock Plain formed on the relatively lower western side.

On the eastern side of the meandering river is a nearly pristine forest, with dense woods stretching along the undulating hills northward, merging into the Zoba Mountain Range.

After aerial reconnaissance and on-the-ground inspections of the surrounding terrain, the Death Legion decided to camp on the eastern bank and scattered 155mm field artillery and 20mm quadruple anti-aircraft guns throughout the forest.

The Shock Plain on the western bank could effectively limit the mobility of the legion's forces.

If the opponent wanted to enter Akale County, they couldn't possibly ignore the thorn they posed across the river unless they planned to discard their supply lines entirely.

After completing the strategic deployment, Edge Shoveling found Yishel and instructed him to have all levels of combat units dig L-shaped tunnels in the forest, large enough to hide one person.

The logistics unit delivers supplies every three days.

If there are no missions during the interim, all units should remain in the tunnels on standby.

This is just part of the preparation work.

Apart from the "Rat Holes" scattered in the forest, they also need to prepare some fixed firepower, such as light machine gun emplacements, to ambush the Vellante people searching deeper into the woods.

Although these new recruits were not very skilled at it, with the help of players from the Death Legion, it wasn't done too awkwardly.

After spending a full three days, they finally completed the construction of the positions.

Next is the patient waiting...

But given the impatience of the Vellante people, they shouldn't have to wait for too long.

The day after the positions were completed, the players Edge Shoveling sent for forward reconnaissance quickly reported back——

The Army forces have arrived!

...

Squatting on a hill near the river, Sheep Again Package took out a telescope and glanced at the distant Shock Plain, suddenly blurting out a sentence without warning.

"This place would definitely be good for farming."

Midnight with Umbrella without Knife gave him a surprised look.

"You know about that?"

Sheep Again Package chuckled.

"Of course, Food+3."

Midnight with Umbrella without Knife: "...?"

What the heck?

Before he could figure out what this guy was talking about, Laplace couldn't hold back and chimed in.

"...What version is this now, not building a grand bathhouse is just garbage, constantly flooding and consuming the population, and the bonus it gives is negligible."

Sheep Again Package: "Ah...I think it's okay, anyway, if the national park is not within three tiles at the start, I just dive."

Laplace: "Damn, wouldn't you have to refresh all day?!"

Sheep Again Package: "You have to do something while waiting for the respawn cooldown."

Laplace: "..."

Seeing his good buddy go silent, Sheep Again Package chuckled and suggested.

"Let's go online when we die later, take the plunge together."

Laplace: "Get lost."

Midnight with Umbrella without Knife looked bewildered at the two.

"Damn, what are you guys talking about?!"

The confusion wasn't limited to Midnight; Yishel, who happened to overhear their conversation, also looked befuddled.

It wasn't because of their chat content, but because he couldn't understand a word they were saying.

"Is your language self-invented?" Yishel looked to Edge and asked curiously.

Edge's expression was subtle, and he nodded.

"Sort of..."

If it wasn't self-made, could it have been given by aliens?

Yishel nodded, and although his face showed no change, inside he felt envious.

Having a common language is also a manifestation of cohesion.

Since realizing Awakener Bol couldn't save Poluo Province, he had been pondering a new path, and now he finally had some inspiration.

If the survivors of Poluo Province want a way out, they really need their own culture...

As he thought this, a billowing dust cloud suddenly appeared on the horizon, clearly kicked up by the tires of a vehicle.

Spotting the situation, Edge Shoveling immediately raised his hand, and everyone quickly hid behind the cover, pressing themselves to the ground tightly, not letting an inch of exposure show.

Yishel did the same, his whole body tense and muscles taut, involuntarily holding his breath.

As the dust cloud appeared on the horizon, a towering steel fortress simultaneously pushed through the thick clouds, revealing its imposing shape in the sky.

"Horn"!

Yishel's eyes widened, pupils filled with half fear, half hatred, and rage.

He clenched his fists, wishing he could tear that thing apart with his gaze!

That was the thing that bombed Lion City!

He could never forget the blazing flames that consumed the city that day, nor his compatriots desperately fleeing in the fire.

Lying next to the cover, the players with binoculars had none of his emotional turmoil, merely observing the distant vehicles coolly, analyzing the enemy.

"Three 'Grey Dogs'!"

"It's a reconnaissance unit of the Vellante people, likely followed by a mechanized infantry brigade..."

"Not sure if it's the 30th Ten thousand troops, but it'd be nice to encounter them."

"By the way, I remember their reconnaissance team used to always have 10 vehicles, right?"

"Their 'supplier' isn't doing too well."

"Or maybe it's because our 'Laken' is too effective."

"Haha."

With their eyes fixed on the approaching clouds of dust, a few players lying on the ground chatted and laughed as if they didn't take their opponents seriously at all.

"Don't worry, brother."

Noticing Yisher's tense expression, Edge Shoveling put his hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze, grinning.

"Trust me, there's nothing to fear from that."

Back when they encountered McCullen, half of their equipment was self-made and the other half was captured. Even lifestyle players went up to fill the line, and in the end, didn't they take that thing down?

He always believed that human talent was the key to victory.

Yisher's Adam's apple bobbed as he took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Hmm... is there anything I can do?"

Edge Shoveling looked back at the dust swirling up ahead, squinting slightly.

"What you need to do is hide well."

"We will teach you how to hide from enemy artillery, teach you how to survive, and then when they think we're all dead, leap out and give them a head-on blow."

"This war is just beginning, there's still a lot to come. If there ever comes a day when we're not here, pass on the things we taught you to other comrades, keep our number alive."

Keep it alive...

Yisher's eyes were subtly moved.

"...Is this the Death Legion?"

"In a way, yes, that's us."

As Edge Shoveling finished speaking, the airship that was slowly advancing suddenly lowered its gun barrel, spraying flashing fire toward the eastern bank of the Everflow River!

Watching the incoming barrage, Yisher's pupils contracted violently.

"Have they found us?!"

Edge Shoveling chuckled.

"No need to find us, anyone could tell we're here in such an obvious spot... that's why I told you earlier to spread out and hide, make the dugouts ready first."

Firing while moving instead of anchoring down first indicates they hadn't actually located their position.

Just as he predicted, the barrage had no accuracy whatsoever, doing a Brownian motion across the sky and then landing in a deserted mountainous area.

The entire mountain area must have had at least three or four dozen peaks, and a hundred or so shells landing felt like toothpicks stuck in bread.

The explosion's roar accompanied the sound of the artillery overhead, shaking the entire forest.

Edge Shoveling frowned, suddenly catching a whiff of something unusual from the explosion's dense smoke.

"It's poison gas bombs," he quickly realized, pulling out a spare gas mask and tossing it onto Yisher's chest, "put this on."

Yisher didn't dare hesitate, immediately putting on the mask thrown by his Alliance brother.

But he quickly remembered, those brothers crouched in the dugouts didn't have them.

"My subordinates..."

"We left them some supply materials with gas masks... my brothers have taught them how to use them." Staring at the airship, Edge Shoveling muttered.

The things weren't expensive, each of them carried two. Seeing that the third ten thousand troops' brothers didn't have them, they shared half with them.

The third ten thousand troops were only around two thousand strong on the front line, while the Death Legion had 5,000 people, so sharing some was more than enough.

What he didn't expect was that the army actually brought out poison gas bombs.

He initially thought they would just set the mountains on fire, but it seems he overestimated their bottom line.

The yellow-green gas seeped through the forest, with some trees visibly withering.

The density of the gas was clearly heavier than air, so it didn't dissipate immediately.

If they hadn't worn the gas masks, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Luckily, a gust of wind blew in at that moment, dispersing some of the poison gas lingering on the mountain peaks.

Perhaps thinking that even if there were people in the mountains, they'd all be dead, the scout car patrolling on the riverbank circled once before reluctantly advancing upon the officer's order.

Meanwhile, armored troop carriers began approaching from the distance.

The size of that force was not small; by the looks of it, it seemed to be a thousand-strong team, equivalent to one regiment of the Alliance.

Sheep Again Package lowered the binoculars, excitedly turning back to look at Edge Shoveling.

"They seem to be preparing to cross the river!"

"Looks like their commander isn't very confident in their artillery."

Edge Shoveling chuckled, pressing his hand on the communicator hanging on his shoulder.

"Attention all units, the enemy is preparing to cross the river!"

"Wait until they've finished bridging and are on the bank before attacking!"

Responses came back crisply through the communication channel.

"Roger!"

Chapter 866: Death Charge!

On the bridge of the Horn Number airship, John sat in his chair, idly playing with a shell pendant in his hand, while gazing boredly at the smoke-covered hills in the distance.

A man in a white lab coat stood beside him, whose fanatical demeanor sharply contrasted with the boredom on his face.

The man's name was Martin, a biologist from the colony on the West Coast of the Great desert, and reportedly a Resident of the refuge.

John didn't really like this guy.

Not because this guy was a Blue Ground Squirrel, but because he was uncomfortable from head to toe.

Maybe it was because he often dealt with corpses; he had a corpse-like smell about him.

Nevertheless, this guy came with a letter of introduction from General Giulion.

Even if John didn't like him, it wasn't quite appropriate to dismiss him so unceremoniously.

Besides, these days, it's not easy to find a Blue Ground Squirrel who favors the Army.

In the end, this guy was on his side.

"Mortal Serum...just a capful can wither plants! Cause organ failure! Kill the Land! And become a breeding ground for new toxins!"

Listening to that rambling muttering, John yawned disinterestedly.

"...We have at least 20 poisons stronger than this. How is your 'Mortal Serum' any stronger than them?"

Martin smiled sinisterly.

"Stronger in after-effects! Like complications, like transmission, and so on! It won't kill our enemies quickly but will torment them, making them struggle in sickness and spread to more people."

John, who initially paid no heed, suddenly sat up straight on hearing those words.

"Transmission? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

As he spoke, his gaze was already fixed on the soldiers building a bridge over the river outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

After all, they were his compatriots.

Even if they were land-dwelling fools, he couldn't watch them walk to their deaths.

"Hehe... there's no need to worry," Martin chuckled upon seeing this Commander Ryan so on edge, and continued, "That's an expected effect, like super-strong transmission, and it's effective only on humans, and specifically on certain groups."

"These effects aren't realized yet, but they're close... and I've controlled the toxic dose; with Vellante's immunity, antibodies will form within an hour, they basically won't be threatened by this toxin."

"Basically." John gave him a meaningful look, dissatisfied with this ambiguous qualifier.

"Yes."

Martin did not deny it, honestly nodding and admitting it.

"...I can't guarantee 100%, just like I can't guarantee that today will definitely be a Sunny Day, but 99% can be guaranteed, and this probability seems acceptable to those in high positions."

He paused and fervently continued.

"Once we complete the final version of this virus... it will, like the ancient Black Death, eliminate most of the Poluo people on this Land."

"What good does that do us?" John glanced at him, "We don't need a Wasteland, the Great Desert is already enough."

Sometimes he really couldn't figure out what those higher-ups were thinking, including Ryan.

Compared to other natives in their colonies, the Poluo people were almost too docile.

They were practically slaves bestowed upon them by His Excellency the Marshal, and eliminating them felt like a waste.

However, Martin didn't seem to catch his meaning, just replied with a smile.

"How would it become a Wasteland? It's a Wasteland already! Instead... it's like giving the Wasteland a blood transfusion."

The frenzy in those pupils caused John a bit of discomfort, though he said nothing.

In the distance, crossing the river was the first thousand troops of the 36th Ten thousand troops, under the command of Wolfe, the Ten Thousand Leader.

Due to the significant progress on the east line, General Giulion dispatched two additional Ten thousand troops here and also sent a batch of officers to Lion City to train the Servant Army.

The 36th Ten thousand troops were one of the reinforcements, having severely defeated the elite armored division of the Alliance, the Skeleton Corps, in the western part of Reed Bull County.

The main force led by Commander Ryan was advancing here from the area around Lion City, with the Horn Number airship first deployed to the front line to assist the 36th Ten thousand troops in establishing an outpost on the other side of the river.

According to Commander Ryan's own judgment, if the Alliance and Poluo Country intended to attack their supply lines, they would certainly target the area around the bend of the Everflow River.

Akale County was the most likely.

Whether or not there were Poluo Country guerrillas on the other side of the river, they had to at least take a look...

At the same time, in a small nameless village less than 20 kilometers west of Akale County and the Everflow River, the command center of the 36th Ten thousand troops was stationed.

Famine seemed to arrive here before the Weilante people.

The local Villagers had already moved away, leaving behind only empty hovels and dilapidated tiled walls.

Although survivors in Poluo Province had Red Soil to eat, it's not available everywhere.

Only large population settlements or Noble estates had the foundation to cultivate vast amounts of Red Soil.

Having a large population was key.

But just having a large population wasn't enough; they had to exploit harshly enough, turning part of the people into livestock.

After all, it was not proper Food, and if given the choice, no one would eat it when they could have a mouthful of beans.

Sometimes Wolfe felt like they weren't here to conquer the home of the Indigenous People but to rescue this almost primitive group of natives from their ignorant lives.

No matter how the residents of West Sail Port lacked freedom and dignity, they were far better than during Witch Camel's rule.

The residents of Lion City would soon be the same.

All they lost were some wooden shacks and beggars, and before long, they would gain clean and tidy streets, and even sewers they had never had before.

In the command vehicle.

The assistant stared at the screen, watching the repaired pontoon bridge and the troops that successfully reached the other side of the river, finally easing a tense expression with a smile.

"...the first thousand troops have successfully crossed the river, haha, looks like we thought too highly of them."

Beside him, the staff officer frowned and calmly reminded.

"Don't get complacent, our opponents aren't just the locals, but also the Alliance."

The assistant grinned, dismissively saying.

"I know, the Alliance is a nuisance, but they only have so many numbers, there will always be corners they can't cover."

Like in the battle at Lion City, the Alliance troops only managed to create some trouble for Commander Ryan's troops outside the main battlefield, before being obliterated in the plains and turned into a brand-new Medal on his chest.

Even if they truly face the Alliance, there's nothing to be afraid of.

Wolfe pondered for a long while, a slight idea suddenly stirring in his mind.

"I remember... the airship's precision fire needs to deploy after dropping the anchor chain?"

The adjutant was slightly stunned, exchanging a glance with the staff officer, then cautiously nodded.

"That's right, what's the matter?"

The airship's fire control system is divided into two modes, one is barrage distribution and the other is precise shelling.

Due to recoil and wind resistance among many other reasons, it often needs to drop the anchor chain to carry out more precise fire strikes.

In other words, if their troops are too close to the enemy, support fire might be hard to apply effectively.

Thinking this, Wolfe immediately made a decision, looked at the adjutant, and ordered.

"Have the support team prepare to pre-aim the shooting elements towards our first thousand team's direction of advance."

Though puzzled about whether there was a need for this, the adjutant still dutifully accepted the order.

"Yes!"

At the same time the order was given, nearly a hundred "Fire Crossbow" self-propelled guns were divided into three groups, moving from concealed areas to the nearest shelling points, completing their deployment.

Meanwhile, the first thousand team, led by Taote, had successfully crossed the Everflow River without encountering any attack.

The Poluo country's army seemed to have fallen asleep, handing over the entire position without resistance.

Looking at the silent forest, the Centurion sitting in the reconnaissance vehicle couldn't help but frown, pressing his eyes closer to the binoculars on the electric machine gun for a better look.

He wasn't the only one who found it suspicious, the driver sitting at the wheel felt the same, rubbing the steering wheel with a vigilant expression on his face.

"Something's a bit strange here..."

Fixing his gaze on the sight, the Centurion casually remarked.

"Did you notice anything?"

"...Because I didn't find anything, that's why I find it strange."

The driver shook his head, swallowed nervously, and continued staring at the dense forest.

"The river bends here, and beside it is a hill, there's no better spot for an ambush... yet they seem to have vanished, handing this perfect position to us."

A soldier sitting in the rear seat whistled and grinned, teasing.

"Maybe our shelling wiped them out."

The gunman sitting next to him also chimed in with a laugh.

"Can't rule it out, I heard these natives don't even have gas masks."

"I really don't get what the guys upfront were doing, being disarmed by these things."

"You remind me of that poor snot-nosed kid."

"Haha, really don't want to remember that pathetic guy—"

Just as the words were falling, a massive impact collided with the side door.

A stream of metal instantly penetrated the door, the high-temperature shrapnel blew away half the body of the gunman with the machine gun on his back.

The rifleman beside him was scared out of his wits, seeing only half of the body and half of the carriage soaked in black blood, he cowered on the floor in fear.

He was completely unaware that his pants were already wet, half from his comrade's blood, and the other half from urine he couldn't hold back.

This place was completely different from the Great Desert.

In the Great Desert, the most lethal threats were only the natives' Molotov Cocktails or remote-controlled bombs buried at the roadside, never encountering any weapons capable of piercing their vehicles.

Even though just not long ago, their friendly forces had already stumbled on these equipments.

Due to their arrogance, they suffered a similar loss again in the same place.

The skewed car nose crashed into a tree, the driver's forehead nearly hit the window, everyone inside the car was jolted violently, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"Damn it—!"

"RPG!!! It's the Alliance people!!"

"From the right side!"

"Joe is down!"

"Get out of the car! Quick!"

The Centurion, now sporting a black eye, cursed as he turned the machine gun, aiming in the direction the rocket came from, immediately firing a burst regardless of sighting any targets.

The driver used his shoulder to shove the door open, the other soldiers also quickly scrambled out of the car, taking cover by the vehicle while firing in the direction the rocket came from.

Another rocket soon followed, hitting the engine hood in front.

High-temperature metal jets instantly poured into the engine, fragments flying off punched through the driver's side window.

"Damn it!!!"

Seeing the bulletproof glass spiderwebbed, the Centurion in the gunner seat cursed angrily, commanding his subordinates to scatter to the sides while calling for reinforcements from behind.

"This is Recon Team One! We're under a guerrilla attack! We need reinforcements!"

Static crackled through the headset, followed by a leisurely voice.

"Received, report enemy numbers and positions!"

"I don't know! Damn it! They're right on top of us!" The Centurion looked terrified, frantically firing the electric machine gun while trying to discern the attack direction.

But the scene was too chaotic, bullets seemed to be coming from all directions, even from behind them.

They had clearly scouted that area, where did these guys come from?!

Apparently hearing the tense battle situation.

The voice in the communication channel gradually turned serious too.

"Understood, we've already dispatched reinforcements to your location, hold on!"

"Copy that!"

The Centurion shouted back.

Simultaneously, the machine gun was forced to stop firing due to the overheated barrel.

Cursing, he grabbed the rifle hanging nearby and hurriedly scrambled out of the now open vehicle.

Almost at the same moment he stopped firing and got out, another RPG rocket came over.

This time the rocket directly hit the fuel tank, the explosive flames soared skyward, flipping the entire vehicle over.

The Centurion grunted as he fell to the ground, and a soldier unable to dodge was pinned under the car, unable to utter a scream before dying.

Gazing at the burning reconnaissance vehicle, everyone was filled with terror, panic thoroughly throwing them into chaos, not knowing what to do.

"The captain is down!!"

"Damn it! Who's going to wake him up?!"

"I can't get to him!!"

"@#%!"

The gunner holding the machine gun cursed, fired a burst of bullets towards the distant woods, then handed the machine gun to a teammate beside him and crawled quickly towards the captain.

Unfortunately, he had barely left cover when a bullet whizzed by and shot through his helmet.

The gunner fell to the ground without a word, and the surrounding soldiers were completely thrown into panic.

"It's a sniper!"

At the same time, 200 meters away on a hillside, a player with a sniper rifle took a deep breath and moved the scope to aim at the next target.

"The machine gunner is down! Someone's taken his place!"

Another player placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't shoot everyone, leave a few as bait."

The player with the sniper rifle fired a shot, knocking down the soldier who had taken over the machine gun.

"Copy that! I'm counting."

Meanwhile, four armored troop carriers, led by an armored personnel carrier, charged in mighty force towards the direction where their allies had been ambushed from the edge of the Everflow River.

20mm cannons and 10mm machine guns fired at the forest, and the concentrated firepower temporarily suppressed the rain of bullets aimed at the recon team.

However, the Weilante people sitting in the vehicles did not notice the whispering under the trees and bushes beside them.

As they sped along to reinforce their allies, two teams carrying anti-tank equipment and light machine guns had already maneuvered to their flank and completed their deployment.

Watching the Weilante hundred-man squad get closer, Laplace slowly raised his hand, then clenched it into a fist forcefully.

"Fire!"

At the moment his order was given, ten rockets, trailing flames, shot towards the speeding armored personnel carrier and the armored troop carriers like a swarm of locusts.

Because the rockets hit exactly at the edge of the safety distance, at such close range, the crew had no time to react and collided head-on with the rockets.

The unluckiest was the armored personnel carrier, with an RPG piercing directly through the driver's seat, followed by a deafening explosion, and it stalled beside the road, crashing into a tree trunk as thick as a thigh.

Out of the four armored troop carriers, two had their engines blown out, and one had its compartment destroyed.

Another one tipped over due to a sudden turn, but fortunately avoided the RPG.

Dazed, the Weilante disembarked hurriedly, unable to figure out where the rockets had come from, only to be caught in a dizzying hail of gunfire.

Tracers flew chaotically through the forest, weaving deadly nets.

"Disperse! Quick!"

The centurion, who was the first to get off, shouted at the top of his lungs, then took cover behind a wrecked armored vehicle, trying to assess the situation around him.

However, bullets whizzed from all directions, making it impossible to tell where the most people were.

With only one armored vehicle, it was impossible to fend off the fierce gunfire, so he had to lay back on the ground awkwardly.

Furious gunfire came from every direction, disorienting the disembarked Weilante soldiers, who could only lie prone and return fire towards the direction of gunfire.

The entire battlefield was in chaos!

All they could hear was the gunfire and sporadic explosions, with no clue where the enemy was!

Seeing the dire situation, the centurion lying next to the armored vehicle quickly removed the communicator from his shoulder and shouted into the communication channel.

"This is One Squad! We are under attack by an enemy sniper squad!"

"Their firepower is overwhelming! At least a thousand team surrounds us!"

Just as he finished speaking, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from a distance.

Before he could react, the explosive firelight blossomed on the position.

Two Weilante soldiers were blown to pieces, their exoskeleton-clad bodies tumbling to the side.

The centurion barely lifted his head and swept a glance over the position, a hint of panic finally showing in his eyes.

"Damn it! Mortars!"

By the Everflow River.

The thousands' leader Taote, commanding from the front line, was also extremely anxious as he listened to the shouting in the communication channel.

But his combat skills proved quite good, not panicking due to the sudden situation.

The enemy is in the woods!

And at least a thousand team in size!

Possibly even the Alliance's regular army!

Without any hesitation, he immediately connected to the airship's communication channel.

"This is the first thousand team of the 36th ten thousand troops! We are encountering dense enemy fire, need artillery support!"

As he finished speaking, Taote quickly reported the artillery coordinates.

After a brief burst of static, the communication channel soon responded.

However, the response pushed Taote's mood to rock bottom.

"This is the Horn Number, we cannot approve your request... The airship is in motion, and we cannot perform precise fire support. Directly firing would cover you within the artillery range. If you still wish to receive support, please maintain at least a 1-kilometer distance from enemy units."

One kilometer?!

This would mean retreating across the river!

Taote mentally cursed all the ancestors of those on the opposite side, then quickly glanced across the river, but soon turned his head back.

Why retreat?

The opponent is just a group of scattered fighters, only engaging his one recon team and one hundred-man squad.

According to the front report, the enemy is at most a thousand team in size, and if he pushes his troops forward, he can easily crush the grasshopper biting his toe!

If he retreated now, he would not escape the label of a coward.

Having sorted the pros and cons, Taote hesitated no longer and grabbed the communicator to shout loudly.

"All infantry disembark! Second and third hundred-man squads reinforce the flanks of the first hundred-man squad!"

"All remaining combat units advance into the forest! Eliminate any enemy you see!!"

Upon hearing the commander's orders, the people on the riverbank let out high-spirited roars.

"Roger!!"

"Oh oh oh!!!"

The mighty army advanced towards the forest, with seven hundred-man teams penetrating straight into the heart of the hills, while two other hundred-man teams clamped the smoldering battlefield from the left and right like a pair of pliers.

The reason for such an action was because Taote judged that there might be other ambushers in the forest.

He had judged correctly, one had to admit.

However, unfortunately, he clearly underestimated the number of ambushers.

What was stationed here was not just a thousand team, but the Death Legion of the Alliance and the Poluo Country's third ten thousand troops!

A mere thousand team charging in was practically no different from sending them to their deaths...

"Well, damn, the Weilante people are starting a futile rescue mission."

Watching the troops advancing into the forest, the Debt Giant Eye behind cover clicked his tongue in surprise.

"Peacemeal tactics are a major taboo in warfare. I remember this big-nosed bunch wasn't this dumb before?" The construction boss lying beside muttered, utterly bewildered.

"They're too confident, this time we might hook a big fish."

Suppressing his excitement, he had already reached the edge and opened the safety of his rifle, while shouting towards the communication channel.

"First group artillery, open fire! Gradually advance the barrage to the riverbank, and blow up their floating bridge for me!"

"Second group artillery, lay smoke! Retreat to the concealment point after three rounds of barrage!"

"Brothers of the first battalion! Follow me!"

After speaking, he took the whistle hanging around his neck into his mouth and blew hard.

"Whistle——!"

The piercing sound was like an arrow piercing the forest, startling the advancing Weilante people.

Especially with the sound of artillery fire that followed, causing a wave of panic to Taote who was following the frontline troops forward.

Support artillery!!

There was definitely more than just a thousand team stationed here!

However, it was already too late to realize this.

The overwhelming shouts and murderous cries, almost simultaneous with the booming explosions, came crashing onto his face!

"Charge!!!"

Those people seemed to have appeared out of thin air, or like trees that had come to life.

They wore simple uniforms, donned gas masks, and held shiny bayonets and rifles.

"Open fire!!!"

Taote shouted into the communication channel.

In fact, there was no need for him to give orders.

At the very moment the whistle sounded, his troops had already engaged in combat with the forces emerging from the forest.

The rapid gunfire echoed through the forest, accompanied by continuous death.

The number of those people seemed endless.

Like a tsunami crashing ashore, they instantly engulfed several hundred-man teams under his command.

Until the scout team, still calling for help a moment ago, lost signal; the two hundred-man teams sent for reinforcement were caught off guard by ambushes halfway, forced to escape in disarray.

The roaring and exclamations in the communication channel rose and fell, a trace of fear finally appeared on Taote's face.

Just what kind of unit were they fighting against?!

"Gas masks..."

His Adam's apple moved, swallowing involuntarily.

Could it be...

The Death Legion?!

It wasn't just the Weilante people who were shocked.

The observing Alliance soldiers, including Yishel and the third ten thousand troops, were also stunned.

What shocked them wasn't just the Alliance soldiers' combat power, but also their unwavering courage and morale.

Life and death seemed to have already been set aside by them. The moment the whistle blew, everyone unhesitatingly climbed out of the trenches to charge at the enemy.

Moreover, it wasn't a reckless suicidal assault.

They aimed at the enemy's weaknesses, thrusting out with a deadly precision using their bayonets.

In the face of such close-quarter assault, the Weilante people's airships could only watch helplessly.

Standing beside Yishel, a centurion murmured in a low voice, struggling to speak.

"...Thank goodness they're our friends."

If possible, he would rather face the Weilante people than engage with this fearless group.

After all, even the supposedly war-like Weilante people might surrender.

But this bunch, once they fought, it was like a fight to the death. No one could withstand that.

Yishel said nothing, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on their comrades fighting valiantly.

A soldier, fired up with passion, couldn't resist asking him.

"Do we really not need to go and help?"

Yishel shook his head.

"They said it's not time for us to go yet."

For now, they were to learn, and there would be opportunities for them to take the stage.

At that moment, thunderous artillery fire suddenly erupted from the distance.

That sound came from a great distance, and it was from the ground.

Hearing the artillery, the faces of the observing officers all changed in unison.

"It's Weilante's artillery!!"

Chapter 867: A Surprise Assault

"Fire!!"

The towering gun barrels spewed fire snakes, and the deafening sound of artillery echoed across the wilderness.

A total of 52 "Fire Crossbow" self-propelled guns were divided into 5 artillery positions, launching six volleys against the enemy artillery positions on the east bank of the river that had revealed their positions by firing!

As a self-propelled gun independently developed by the Southern Legion, the "Fire Crossbow" was deeply loved by the entire Southern Legion for its excellent support efficiency, second only to the 902mm giant cannon and shallow-water heavy artillery boat in popularity.

Though the entire vehicle still used the chassis of the Conqueror series armor, both its automatic loading system and fire control system, as well as the thick and long 200mm gun, were all autonomously designed by the Southern Legion according to their battlefield needs.

Beside the five artillery positions, 12 anti-aircraft vehicles were on standby, divided into three anti-aircraft positions, to guard against airborne threats.

Although the Horn Number monitored this airspace, considering the Alliance not only had propeller planes but also next-generation fighters, the legion did not move the anti-aircraft cannons to the frontline as they did when fighting indigenous people.

At one of the artillery positions, a man wearing an officer's hat squinted at the roaring artillery not far away, a cold smile on his lips.

His name was Toran, commander of the support team of the 36th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, with the military rank of Thousands of Leaders.

A few minutes earlier, Alliance's artillery hidden across the river couldn't hold back and launched an attack. He immediately retaliated with the coordinates provided by Commander Ryan.

As expected, those 155mm cannons belonging to the Alliance had been reduced to scrap metal by their counterfire.

The adjutant standing next to him chuckled, a hint of sarcasm on his face.

"This round of shelling should be enough for the Alliance to drink a bottle."

The moment the enemy initiated artillery fire, they had already confirmed that their opponent was undoubtedly the Alliance.

Toran chuckled lightly.

"Not just a bottle, I think two bottles are enough."

Adjutant: "Hahaha!"

Just as the two were chatting and laughing, the communicator on Toran's shoulder suddenly vibrated.

Receiving an order from the command, Toran immediately restrained his playful expression and pressed the connect button.

Soon, the voice of the command center communicator came through.

"... A ten thousand strong unit is advancing towards your direction from the southeast, equipped with a certain number of vehicles. It's tentatively judged to be the First Mechanized Infantry Division of Jinjaron Harbor."

Toran's eyebrows slightly raised.

"Have they declared war on us?"

Communicator: "No, like the Alliance, it's evidently that volunteer force thing... But don't worry, they won't get close to you. The 37th Brigade is advancing towards their direction, and I need you to provide support for the 37th Brigade. I will temporarily transfer your communication channel to their side."

Not worrying about this unit either, Toran did not show the slightest panic on his face, but instead became concerned for his brothers on the frontline.

The Horn Number just arrived in this area and hadn't dropped anchor yet. He worried that without their artillery cover, the first thousand team exploring across the river might encounter sudden issues.

"Understood... What about our frontline troops?"

Communicator: "They have already engaged with the Alliance's front-line troops. We have already dispatched ground forces for reinforcement. The current engagement distance is close, you can't assist them for the time being."

"Got it."

Putting down the communicator, Toran frowned slightly, but an unshakable concern remained in his heart.

However, since the command center had given such instructions, he could only follow them, ordering each artillery group to cease fire and set new design parameters based on the coordinates provided by the command, aiming in the direction of the First Mechanized Infantry Division of Jinjaron Harbor.

At this moment, neither Toran nor any officers and artillerymen noticed that a Hummingbird hovering in the sky had already set its sights on them.

Less than two kilometers away on a small hillside, Wild Wind and Night Ten lay behind a dirt slope, one operating the drone to observe, the other communicating with the main force.

"... This is Night Ten. We have confirmed the enemy artillery unit's position, coordinates updated on the map."

After a brief pause, the voice on the communication channel came again.

"Received... Can you find a way to lock down the enemy's artillery command center?"

Night Ten gave Wild Wind a glance, then manipulated the VM screen to adjust the zoom, quickly locking on to some individuals who looked like officers.

These Weilante people had no flaws tactically and strategically, yet each was unusually arrogant, seemingly not viewing their opponent as a threat.

However, this also saved them time. Night Ten swiftly reported the clues to Fang Chang's side.

"I'm looking...There are several guys who look like officers near the C point marker, do you want me to find a way to take them out?"

Fang Chang calmly replied.

"No need, just keep an eye on their vehicles and don't let them escape."

Night Ten: "Understood!"

Simultaneously, in a grass-covered field ten kilometers away, numerous dark exoskeletons stood at the edge of a field ridge.

Most were Alliance exoskeletons, with some captured from the 34th Brigade, with a bandage wrapped around the arm as a distinguishing mark.

Although the Burning Corps players looked down on the legion's exoskeletons, the captured equipment was still quite attractive to the soldiers of Poluo Country.

After retreating from Reed Bull County, the Burning Corps quickly reunited with the 11th Brigade of Poluo Country, who had also withdrawn from Reed Bull County, under Old White's leadership, and led them toward the Bull State area.

To enhance ally mobility, the Burning Corps players also imparted the "Human Mule" tactic to them.

That is, one person wearing an exoskeleton carries another teammate without an exoskeleton on their back.

In the past, when the Alliance fought with the Chewing Bone Tribe, they relied on this method for maneuvering.

Although the marching speed couldn't match that of bicycles or horseback riding, it was certainly better than running on two legs.

The only downside was energy consumption.

However, moving with the players alleviated this concern.

The Air Force brothers occasionally dropped supplies, including solid hydrogen batteries.

Moreover, the power armors utilizing cold fusion technology served as mobile power banks, connecting them to transfer electricity to the exoskeleton's fuel cells.

Standing next to Old White, Yocale, wearing a legion-standard exoskeleton, eagerly asked with a spirited demeanor.

"When do we move out?"

Now equipped with upgraded gear, he was eager to teach the legion a lesson.

Watching this guy wearing legion gear salute in the Alliance manner, Old White couldn't help but chuckle.

"No rush. Next is the Air Force brothers' work; we just watch from the sidelines and prepare to patch things up."

Yocale was stunned for a moment.

"This time... aren't we going to confiscate their guns?"

Fang Chang shook his head.

"No need for that, we haven't studied that stuff yet, even if we take it, we wouldn't know how to use it."

It's mainly not worth researching.

Based on the intelligence obtained by the Alliance, that thing is just a turret modified from the Conqueror tank, with average shooting accuracy and rate of fire.

Yocale hesitated for a moment, then suggested with some embarrassment.

"Well... can we keep a few self-propelled guns? Of course, we won't let you take the risk, just like before, we'll be responsible for capturing them!"

It's not that he's greedy.

Mainly because that thing is too enviably powerful, and after firing, one can just pull up their pants and run.

Although for the Alliance, it's nothing special, but for Poluo Country, which can't even measure a few tractors, it's a different story.

Fang Chang looked at him peculiarly.

"Leave them for you, can you operate them?"

Yocale chuckled and shook his head, then quickly nodded.

"No! But we can learn!"

Old White and Fang Chang exchanged a glance.

"Should we let them try?"

"Alright."

Having a guerrilla division with self-propelled guns sounds pretty exciting.

He didn't mind allies picking up some junk, they might have extraordinary effects in the upcoming battles.

With this thought, Fang Chang didn't hesitate anymore, he immediately took out the VM and called Falling Feather.

"Falling Feather, the plan has changed, you go support the Edge team; we'll handle the artillery."

The communication channel was filled with noticeable noise, indicating that Falling Feather was already airborne and heading their way.

"Received... are you sure you're okay?"

Fang Chang joked.

"Are you kidding? Is there anything wrong with me?"

Falling Feather: "Haha! Brother Fang Chang is awesome! Good luck to you!"

Fang Chang grinned, hung up the communication, and then looked at Yocale, who stood beside him like a student.

"We've communicated with the allies, destroy switched to capture, get your people ready, we're planning to go up."

Yocale promptly replied.

"Leave it to us, you've already helped us so much, how can we trouble you again?"

Fang Chang raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't say such distant words, right now driving away the invaders is most important. We'll lead the charge, you just follow us, remember to listen to our commands, don't rush too far ahead, and don't hesitate too much."

Fang Chang didn't mind them wanting to follow along, but leaving it entirely to them made him a bit uneasy.

Even if they've upgraded their gear, with over 3,000 exoskeletons and automatic firepower and light anti-tank equipment, but whether they can use them well remains uncertain.

Seeing Yocale listening intently, Fang Chang casually spoke again.

"By the way, for surrendering enemy soldiers, remember to prioritize capturing them. We'll help you remove the tracking devices from the vehicles, but you'll need their statements on how to operate the vehicles."

Yocale stood tall and saluted.

"Understood!"

Fang Chang nodded approvingly then waved his hand.

"Action!"

...

Horn Number Airship.

Seated on the bridge, John stared intently at the pontoon bridge spanning the river and the forest on the other side, his brow suddenly furrowing as he turned to the adjutant beside him.

"Haven't they been in there a bit too long?"

His adjutant was slightly startled, then nodded solemnly.

"It is somewhat... unusual."

It's not just the time.

It's the people too.

Seeing soldiers from the 36th Mechanized Infantry Brigade crossing the river one vehicle after another, the forest was crackling with gunfire, yet no one was withdrawing from the front.

Logically speaking, this kind of tug-of-war should be fought by clones.

Clearly, the allies misjudged the enemy forces' scale in the forest and overestimated their own combat power.

Martin, donned in a lab coat, eagerly turned to John.

"Shall we test the poison? This toxin has minimal effect on the Weilante people, so small it can be ignored, perfect for a real-world test."

John glanced at him without addressing the madman, then reached out and grabbed the communicator, switching to Commander Wolfe.

"Commander Wolfe, are you encountering any issues on your side?"

Responses soon came through the communication channel.

"No, just a few small grasshoppers, we handled them with ease."

"Really."

Though he had no intent of sarcasm, the words slipped out and ended up misinterpreted.

Wolfe: "Are you questioning our combat power?"

Do you still question your combat power?

John sneered inwardly but still spoke in as gentle a tone as possible.

"I don't mean that, I'm just worried you'll mess up Commander Ryan's plan. If we want to destroy Poluo Country within two months, we must move our troops to Tiandu by the end of the month."

"Your worry is unnecessary. I will remember every instruction from Commander Ryan." Wolfe responded coldly.

The situation of his subordinates is indeed not very optimistic, but it's far from being troublesome.

He had already pushed five thousand teams up, and according to the report from the frontline leaders of thousands, they had successfully reversed the situation and were counterattacking the guerrilla team in the forest.

At present, two 155mm cannons had been seized, and those guys wearing gas masks suffered significant casualties after a brainless charge. It won't take long before they seize the mountaintop closest to the riverbank.

Although their casualties were also considerable, considering the opposition were volunteer from Alliance, these casualties were acceptable.

There's no need to tell the Horn Number Airship, and even if they did, it wouldn't matter.

At such a close distance, the airship's artillery is useless, especially since the airship hasn't dropped anchor yet.

They would only be sneered at by the air force for struggling so long with a bunch of indigenous guerrillas.

Wolfe might not know his opponent well, but he knows his own people's disposition too well.

Hearing the disconnecting sound from the communicator, John's brow twitched fiercely as he stuffed the communicator back to his shoulder.

A bunch of ungrateful landlubbers!

He was kindly concerned, yet it was treated like donkey liver and lungs.

"Being able to engage with the 36th Mechanized Infantry Brigade for so long, the opponent's combat power is not to be underestimated." The adjutant standing by said with a solemn expression.

Although he initially underestimated the opponent, now he couldn't help but pay serious attention.

John sneered.

"There's no need to say not to be underestimated... That should be the Death Legion, which won great feats in Brocade River Province, our allies hit a hard rock."

He once saw that iconic gas mask in Triumph Newspaper.

It was undoubtedly the Death Legion.

It is said that this is the elite troop of the Alliance, they took down a hill that even the brothers of the Eastern Legion found tricky during the Torch battle.

Is the Alliance crazy?

Elite troops keep being sent to this broken place, or are they indeed a bunch of clones?

John's face was gloomy, with a constant ominous feeling in his heart.

His worries aren't entirely from the tactical level.

There's also the strategic level.

Why does it feel like, as the fight goes on, he and the Torch are being pointed to as a "Heaven disaster"?

This is not a good omen.

At this moment, he didn't notice that when Martin standing by heard the name Death Legion, his face suddenly showed an expression of frenzy.

"...Death Legion... Hehehe... Can't believe it's those guys."

He laughed strangely, his pupils faintly emitting light, the expression seemed to see prey.

John pondered for a while, then raised his right hand.

He couldn't wait until the army cried for help before taking action, he must be prepared beforehand.

"Prepare to drop the anchor chain—"

Before his words were finished, suddenly a string of unnoticed ripples flashed across the radar.

Without missing the fleeting signal, the operator sitting in front of the console immediately shouted.

"Enemy fighter plane group detected!"

"Speed approaching two Mach!"

"Target has entered our northeast direction!"

"They are moving along the clouds, a total of 10 planes!!"

"Damn! Their target isn't us, it's the ground!"

John was startled and immediately ordered.

"Launch the air-to-air missiles!"

"Yes!" The operator sitting at the console agreed without hesitation and then pressed the red button.

Meanwhile, a beehive-shaped missile pod rose from the top of the airship, aiming at the airspace where the enemy was detected.

"Woo—!"

Accompanied by an urgent buzzing, ten air-to-air missiles shot out, dragging long tail flames, roaring towards the ten speeding fighter planes.

Given the current firing angle and relative speed, those ten enemy planes have less than one in ten thousand chance of evading!

A trace of a pleased smile appeared on John's lips, as if he had already seen the scrap iron turning into fireballs and fireworks blossoming in the sky.

However, at that moment, something unexpected happened: the ten air-to-air missiles, after approaching the target airspace, oddly missed their mark.

They didn't find that plane approaching at supersonic speed, only discovering a missile emitting radar ripples and rushing towards them after a futile search.

"It's a decoy missile!!"

The radar operator exclaimed, and John's pupils shrank sharply beside him.

"Switch to anti-aircraft cannon! Quick!"

His order was issued very quickly, however, it was also too late.

At the same time they noticed the anomaly, the speeding decoy missile exploded instantly, releasing an electromagnetic pulse attack into the surrounding airspace.

With the guidance heads damaged by the electromagnetic pulse, the ten air-to-air missiles immediately wandered in the air like blind flies, some plummeting to the ground, others drilling into the clouds.

Meanwhile, a true Thunder Aircraft suddenly emerged from the clouds.

Only one aircraft!

"Damn it!"

Realizing that he had been tricked, John cursed loudly and stood up abruptly from his chair.

His eyes were fixed on the plane outside the floor-to-ceiling window, wishing he could pierce it down with his gaze.

However, the plane ignored him and directly aimed at the ground, unloading the two rocket pods hanging under its wings.

Twenty-four guided ground rockets shot out like a swarm, locking onto the 36th Mechanized Infantry Brigade's armored personnel carriers parked at the edge of the forest and speeding toward them.

Everything happened in an instant.

The targeted vehicles had no time to react and were blown open by the rockets that fell from the sky.

"Boom!!!"

Explosive flames flickered across the forest edge, nearly twenty armored personnel carriers were blasted into scrap metal!

The firelight reflected off a row of stunned faces, and the Weilante soldiers crouching nearby with rifles bore expressions filled with disbelief and despair.

With the loss of the vehicular fire support, the advantage that the 36th Mechanized Infantry Brigade's frontline troops had fought hard to secure quickly evaporated at a visible pace.

It could even be said that those advantages were originally given to them deliberately by the enemy.

And the purpose was to lure them forward!

John's eyes widened, bloodshot veins crawled through his pupils, and his clenched fist slammed hard on the armrest of his chair.

At the same time, a curse from Wolfe came over the communication channel.

"What the hell are your anti-aircraft guns doing?! How did a plane get that close to us?!"

John knew he was at fault, but he still shouted back stiffly.

"You blame us... what about the other anti-aircraft guns?"

"We—damn it! I don't have time for this nonsense!" Wolfe was about to say something but couldn't and hastily cut off the communication.

The Thunder Aircraft that broke into the battlefield didn't linger in the nearby airspace; as soon as it struck successfully, it quickly exited the battlefield, heading back towards Tiandu.

By this time, the airship's anti-aircraft missiles had finished loading, however, onlooking at the receding trail, John could do nothing but stare helplessly.

Meanwhile, as the previous airstrike ended, the new round of counterattack from the enemy seemed to begin.

Explosive smoke and flashes of fire turned from jagged zigzag lines into an inward-converging curve!

Like a closing mouth!

They intended to swallow the five trapped thousand teams in the forest in one bite!

Even standing on the airship, John could clearly feel the situation of the 36th Mechanized Infantry Brigade swiftly deteriorating from a balance to a desperate state.

To support allied forces, Wolfe also pushed the last 5 thousand teams forward!

Including the remaining twenty or so armored personnel carriers and nearly sixty armored troop carriers!

John, anxious beyond words, turned to his adjutant and urged hurriedly.

"Have the anchor chains been dropped yet? Hurry!"

The adjutant, sweating profusely, could only rush to urge the department responsible for dropping the anchor.

Under his anxious urging, the anchor chains were soon thrown down from the airship, landing heavily on the muddy plain, kicking up clouds of dust.

But at this moment, another sudden message came through.

"Report! A group of light infantry has been spotted 27 kilometers southwest of us!"

"They are advancing towards the artillery positions of the 36th Mechanized Infantry Brigade!"

"Southwest?!" John's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked at the map, his heart sinking.

They were flanked!

How did these people sneak up from behind under their surveillance?!

No—

There's another possibility.

These live forces didn't come from Tiandu's direction but had been lurking around Reed Bull County and followed them to Niuzhou!

Cursing the Air Force No.7 responsible for reconnaissance, John immediately relayed this intelligence to Commander Wolfe on the ground.

After a brief silence, a despondent voice came across the communication channel.

"Our allies... The 37th Mechanized Infantry Brigade ran into the First Mechanized Infantry Division of Jinjaron Harbor, or to be precise, the allied forces of Jinjaron Harbor and Tiger State and Leopard State."

"Don't know where they got over a hundred Conqueror No.10 tanks, our allies' armored personnel carriers can't penetrate those things... They're forced to retreat westward."

John held his breath for a moment, his previously calm expression could not help but show a trace of panic.

This was undoubtedly the worst news!

At this moment, almost all the troops of the 36th Mechanized Infantry Brigade were stuck across the river.

If the 37th Mechanized Infantry Brigade cannot stop Poluo Country's reinforcements, then the 36th Mechanized Infantry Brigade could likely be captured in full strength!

By a bunch of natives...

No matter how strong the Horn Number's firepower was, it couldn't fire over friendly forces' heads or get stranded to help.

The enemy adopted an extremely rogue tactic, waiting for them to get closer and then sticking to them in combat.

John's Adam's apple moved, and a trembling voice squeezed out of his throat.

"...Now what do we do?"

On the other side of the communication channel, after a brief silence, an extremely reluctant yet helpless plea came through.

"...Give me a hand."

Confronted with the rapidly deteriorating battle situation, Wolfe was also powerless, and could only swallow his pride and plead.

At least he couldn't be captured.

Otherwise, he would become the first Ten Thousand Leader to be captured in the entire war.

This not only concerned his personal pride but also that of the Southern Legion.

At the same time, it's the only thing he could do at this moment for Commander Ryan and General Giulion...

Chapter 868: Decisive Victory at Akale County!

In the southern part of Akale County, a formidable encounter battle erupted in the wilderness.

On one side was the 370,000th Legion led by Baldwin of the Southern Corps. On the other side was the First Mechanized Division from Jinjaron Harbor, along with two armored regiments from the Tiger Army and Black Panther Army respectively.

The latter's objective was to advance to the bend of the Everflow River, cutting off the retreat route of the 360,000th Legion of the Southern Corps, while the former's goal was naturally to prevent the latter from launching a surprise attack on the rear of their allies.

The moment they engaged, intense firefights erupted.

Two "Chimera" armored vehicles were the first to fire "Dove" missiles, successively destroying a Conqueror No. 5 light tank and a Beast wheeled personnel carrier.

The 370,000th Legion of the Southern Corps did not shy away. Two light armored teams quickly moved forward, continuously destroying three "Chimera" armored vehicles of the Jinjaron Harbor Mechanized Division.

Seeing that the armored units of the 370,000th Legion were about to overrun the vanguard forces of the First Mechanized Division of Jinjaron Harbor, a steel torrent composed of over a hundred "Conqueror No.10" tanks suddenly burst into the Southern Corps' positions!

The two light armored teams had not yet gathered their thoughts when the roaring tank shells penetrated their side armor, exploding into burning scrap metal in the muddy terrain.

"Advance!!!" The commander of the Tiger Army armored regiment roared loudly in the communication channel, leading his troops to first strike at the flank positions of the 370,000th Legion.

Watching their own tanks crashing through, the Weilante soldiers of the 370,000th Legion were dumbfounded.

The Conquerors were supposed to be their tanks.

The Alliance might perhaps have gotten a couple, but how did they manage to gather tanks for two whole thousand teams?!

Facing the limited anti-tank firepower of the Southern Corps, the Conqueror No.10 tanks moved as if in an uninhabited realm, chasing the personnel carriers and reconnaissance vehicles of the former far and wide!

Looking at the damage report from the frontline officers, Baldwin, sitting in command, felt his heart bleeding.

The two light armored teams sent up earlier were his elite forces and direct subordinates!

Seeing the opponents as the natives of Poluo Province, he initially expected his men to snatch a couple of medals, but didn't foresee two armored battalions suddenly dispatch from the other side!

In a matter of minutes, he had already lost twenty Beast wheeled personnel carriers, five Grey Dogs, and two armored troop carriers.

Seeing that his two light armored teams were about to crash and burn, he unhesitatingly grabbed the communicator and roared loudly.

"Light armored teams, retreat! First Thousand Team, go up! Break their tracks for me!"

"Support teams, prepare to fire! Use armor-piercing grenades! Aim for the tanks with broken tracks!"

With the orders issued, the two light armored teams of the 370,000th Legion quickly maneuvered toward the rear, replaced by rows of Weilante soldiers holding anti-tank weapons charging forward.

Throughout the wilderness, the only available cover were the undulating field ridges.

They moved along the edge of the ridges, using their anti-tank rocket launchers to counterattack, covering their light armored units' retreat.

Meanwhile, more than a thousand Clone soldiers of the Glory Army also grabbed simple anti-tank weapons, launching suicidal raids against the armored regiment of the Tiger Army.

The mountains and plains were filled with shouts of war, yet the chaotic charge collided head-on with the sweeping 37mm fragmentation shells.

Explosive fire blossomed in the fields, accompanied by flying flesh and shrapnel.

The Clone soldiers fell like harvested wheat, yet under the Centurion's urging, they were forced to keep their eyes wide open and advance.

A brutal slaughter unfolded.

The First Mechanized Division of Jinjaron Harbor, shielded by allies, immediately halted their retreat.

The leading twenty "Chimera" armored vehicles quickly turned their turrets, synced with the pace of the Tiger Army's armored forces' advance, using 37mm guns to help tanks eliminate approaching infantry, while firing "Dove" missiles to pursue fleeing "Conqueror" No.5 light tanks.

In contrast, the 370,000th Legion of the Southern Corps found themselves in a tough battle.

Neither the recoilless guns held by the anti-tank groups nor the Glory Army Clone soldiers charging with anti-tank grenades and "Iron Fist" rocket launchers could do anything against the Conqueror No.10 heavy tanks.

Intercalated armor's defense against armor-piercing shells was almost absolute, whereas the small guns on the Conqueror No.5 light tanks couldn't even scrape a layer off the Conqueror No.10, at best breaking its tracks.

Long ago, the Alliance conducted an experiment, having two Conqueror No.10 tanks fire at each other, resulting in all ammunition expended without either side damaging the other.

In terms of weapon design philosophy, the Corps and the South Sea Union seemed like opposite extremes.

The latter's philosophy was mutual balance, whereas the former seemed never to have considered a scenario of internal conflict.

In this aspect, the Weilante people were indeed very united.

However, when betrayal occurred, this unity unexpectedly became a burden.

These Conqueror No.10 tanks were sold by arms dealers from the Death Coast of the Eastern Legion, turned over to the military faction of Tiger State and Leopard State!

The First Mechanized Division of Jinjaron Harbor quickly gained the upper hand, but their opponents were not easy to deal with after all.

The Tiger Army's armored regiment soon found their offensive stalling after advancing for a while.

Several tanks got stuck in the mire due to excessive weight, and nearly five tanks had their tracks severed.

The region around Akale County was originally a floodplain; the soil was loose and sandy, coinciding with the current rainy season. Continuous rains over several days resulted in even muddier soil.

Seeing the tanks trapped in the wilderness, Centurion Baldwin immediately ordered the self-propelled guns to open fire.

One by one, 200mm armor-piercing grenades, guided by infantry points, bombarded the tank-filled wilderness.

A Conqueror No.10 soon became the unfortunate target.

An armor-piercing grenade struck the very center of the turret, driving down into the cabin.

The explosion sent thick smoke skyward, along with shrapnel from the ammunition racks exploded in sympathy.

The tank crew inside were instantly killed, unable to leave even a single intact corpse.

Witnessing the plight of their allies, the crew members of stuck tanks were forced to abandon their vehicles and flee.

"Blast them into bits! Hit them hard!" Baldwin shouted, eyes blood-red, face filled with a cruel smile as he watched the fleeing Poluo people.

Dazed!

Artillery is the ace of the Southern Corps!

The invincibility of the Conqueror No.10 isn't in an absolute sense, but a relative one.

They aren't entirely powerless against the Conqueror No.10!

The tumultuous artillery fire continued, and soon another Conqueror No.10 turret launched skyward.

Yet Baldwin's delight was short-lived, as suddenly the distant artillery noise mixed with several ear-splitting explosions.

Those were not the sounds of self-propelled guns firing, but explosions from artillery shells!

Baldwin's cruel smile gradually froze on his face, especially when he saw a wisp of thick smoke rising from the artillery position, his heart skipped a beat sensing doom.

"Damn it!"

He cursed angrily, immediately grabbing the communicator to reach the support team.

"What was that explosion?! What happened over there?!"

His words had barely fallen when a series of denser explosions came again from the direction of the artillery position, and this time the smoke wasn't just a wisp, but an entire cloud!

Even as dim-witted as he was, Baldwin got it — the previous explosion was a coordinate adjustment bombardment.

And this upcoming salvo was the real deal!

The noisy static and rumbling artillery sounds simultaneously transmitted through the communication channel, and the Centurion of the support team shouted in disarray.

"We've been hit with artillery fire! It's from the artillery position of the 360,000th Legion! Damn, make them stop!"

"The 360,000th Corps?!"

Baldwin momentarily froze, his mind blank, countless possibilities flashed through his thoughts until only one remained.

The allied artillery position was wiped out!

The fifty-two "Fire Crossbow" self-propelled guns that were supposed to be aimed at their enemies were now aimed at them!

Cold sweat slid down Baldwin's forehead, and in just three seconds, he made his final decision, holding the communicator and shouting loudly.

"Glory Army, continue to intercept the enemy! Hold them at all costs!!"

"All remaining units retreat westward! Regroup in the southern part of Reedbull County!"

With the retreat order given, the Weilante troops, engaged in firefight with the First Mechanized Infantry Division of Jin Carson Port, began withdrawing from the battlefield.

Even though many thousand teams still held clear advantages, they nonetheless retreated without hesitation, replaced by the clone soldiers' charge.

The latter were quickly annihilated, while the Weilante people took the opportunity created by them to quickly board the armored troop carriers.

Due to the hurried retreat, they couldn't even gather the bodies of fallen allies, leaving them and the dropped equipment scattered on the battlefield.

Armored troop carriers rapidly departed the battlefield, abandoning a line spanning several kilometers in width...

Though somewhat disgraceful, it had to be admitted Baldwin made a wise decision.

Because soon after they started retreating, the burning white phosphorus descended on their positions, raining from north to south.

Having captured the self-propelled guns, Yocale's subordinates showed no mercy, immediately resorting to the fiercest measures.

If they had left a minute later, those Weilante soldiers lying behind the ridge would have been rolling in flames and mud, unable to escape nor perish...

Watching the sea of flames boiling and the charred corpses, the Jin Carson Port soldiers lying behind the ridge showed surprise in their eyes.

"Weilante has... retreated."

Several Jin Carson Port soldiers exchanged glances, seeing disbelief etched on each other's faces.

"Damn..."

A young man swallowed hard, muttering softly.

"...We actually won."

No one could believe it was true.

Whether the soldiers on the front lines or the officers commanding from behind, their faces were filled with amazement.

Before stepping onto the battlefield, they never dreamed they could defeat the legion in a frontal battle, but unexpectedly, they had really won.

After the flames extinguished, an old soldier tentatively stood up, explored the area for a while, and found no trace of the Weilante people on the opposite side, only abandoned equipment and unfinished corpses.

Unable to contain his excitement, he raised his rifle and shouted loudly.

"Victory!!!"

That excited exclamation quickly turned into mountainous, wild roars.

"We won!!!"

"Woohoo!!!"

Meanwhile, the Weilante soldiers riding on the armored troop carriers had faces filled with humiliation.

They actually lost to a group of natives!

"Damn..."

A Weilante soldier angrily punched his knee guard, making a dull thud.

The soldiers sitting by his side remained silent, their faces heavy and expressionless.

Baldwin in the command vehicle was the same, but his heavy expression was not just from temporary defeat, but from being unable to reach the allied forces next door.

Since the shelling began, he tried to contact Ten Thousand Leader Wolfe but found it impossible.

"Damn!"

He slammed the communicator onto the table, his gloomy face even darker.

Sitting next to him, the adjutant spoke in a heavy tone.

"The 360,000th Corps likely faces more danger than good luck... Worst case, perhaps even the command post has been wiped out."

"What was that fool doing!"

Baldwin cursed and then looked into the distant sky at a faint, floating figure.

To lose a battle right under the iron airship's nose! Truly disgraceful for the legion! Better shoot himself to end it!

...

As Baldwin predicted, the situation of the 360,000th Corps was indeed grim.

Firstly, on the support troops' side, fifty-two self-propelled guns had just adjusted their firing coordinates ready to support their battle when the Burning Corps sneaked up and disarmed them.

It was the most frustrating battle; Alliance soldiers in power armor killed right up to Thousand Leader Toran's face!

Faced with the dark muzzles, Toran, though startled, didn't hesitate, decisively raised his hands and surrendered.

Surrounding them were not only the Burning Corps but also the 110,000 Squad of Poluo Country wearing legion-standard exoskeletons.

Relying solely on their support units' combat power, there was absolutely no hope of breaking through.

Even if one were to resist desperately, it would serve no purpose other than pointless sacrifice.

"...Give it up, Phil, this battle is theirs," glancing at his adjutant still trying to draw his gun to resist, Toran said in a calm tone.

"But..."

"Even if you won't think for yourself, consider your subordinates. They have families too."

Hearing the officer say this, the adjutant named Phil reluctantly handed over his sidearm in humiliation.

Taking the pistol, Old White looked at the Thousand Leader named Toran, raising an eyebrow.

"I like people who know the times, because it saves us a lot of time."

Seeing the handcuffs handed by soldiers, Toran obediently extended his hands.

Yet, just before being led away, he suddenly seemed to recall something and spoke.

"Are you the corps head of the Burning Corps?"

Seeing the NPC look at him, Old White nodded and straightforwardly said.

"Yes."

Toran pondered for a moment.

"May I dare ask a question?"

Old White: "Go ahead and ask."

Toran glanced at the group of Poluo Country soldiers wearing Army equipment not far away and spoke in a leisurely voice.

"I can't understand... what benefits did they give you to make you help them."

Old White replied simply.

"Because without doing this, the Wasteland won't end."

Hearing this unexpected answer, Toran was clearly taken aback.

"...The Wasteland won't end?"

"That's right," Old White nodded, then glanced at the self-propelled gun not far away and raised his chin, "Can that thing end the Wasteland?"

"As long as there are enough of them, it can indeed be done," the officer named Phil retorted, staring intently at Old White, "At the very least, they can clear out you meddlesome Ground Squirrels."

Old White didn't get angry but laughed gently as he replied.

"Is that so? Then your Wasteland should have ended a long time ago; why come here to seek sunlit land? I guess the survivors on the Wasteland must be scrambling to get to your place rather than dodging you like cockroaches."

Toran suddenly laughed aloud.

"If there really were such a person, I bet they're definitely crazy."

Phil looked at his superior in shock, seemingly unable to believe those words came out of his mouth.

At this unexpected reply, Old White looked at the Centurion named Toran more, raising his eyebrow lightly.

It seems not all Weilante people are mad; some are still normal...

All fifty-two self-propelled guns were seized; Van leader Yakale commanded his men to aim their guns at the Weilante gunners, forcing them to set new firing data based on the coordinates provided by the First Mechanized Infantry Division of King Carson Port, then launched a fierce bombardment on the artillery positions of the 370,000th Legion.

What happened next was precisely as Centurion Baldwin saw.

Facing tanks rushing from the front and artillery from the rear, the 370,000th Legion could only break into pieces to flee.

Compared to being completely routed, breaking into pieces was just a more euphemistic term.

Luckily, they ran fast.

If they'd run any slower, they might not have had the chance to escape.

The collapse of the 370,000th Legion and the downfall of the support team for the 360,000th Legion were just the beginning.

Facing the combined assault of the Death Legion and the 30,000th Boloro Team, the eight thousand teams that crossed the river also suffered heavy casualties.

Confronted with the Death Legion's insertions and encirclement, nearly ten thousand soldiers deep into the forest were forcibly split in half!

One part of the troops was surrounded on a hill less than five kilometers from the riverbank due to rash advancement, while the other recently reinforced part was stuck by the riverbank, caught between advancing or retreating.

Especially the latter was most tragic.

With floating bridges being destroyed one after another, the Weilante people stationed on the riverbank had lost their retreat and could only face the volleys coming from the forest in despair, suffering increasingly heavy casualties.

Some couldn't endure the fear and failing to find a shelter, turned around and jumped into the Everflow River, attempting to swim back to the west side of the river.

Blood stained the riverbank; bodies lay all over the east bank of the Everflow River!

Among them were Clones and Weilante people, some died from machine gun fire, others were unlucky enough to be hit by shrapnel from mortar shells or had their insides shattered.

Explosions rang out continuously; eventually, the airship dropped its anchor chain, bombarding the ground with cannons to try to block the Death Legion's encirclement of the 360,000th Legion.

However, not long after, dense smoke blocking signals began to drift in the forest.

The airborne artillery lost guidance from ground forces along with direct targeting visibility and could only watch the dense fog in the woods while staring.

The Southern Corps Aviation Team that flew from West Sail Port faced the same issue; twenty "Daggers" reached the battlefield overhead. However, without guidance from ground troops, they couldn't engage quickly.

Including the "Peidao" arriving from the direction of Evernight Harbor.

The latter was especially frustrated, lacking ground support methods, and after shooting two clips of cannons, it could only regretfully withdraw.

Ultimately, the cannon of the Horn Number proved most useful, bombarding the edges of the smoke one after another, inadvertently killing many Alliance soldiers amidst the chaos.

Nonetheless, those guys seemed endless, charging toward the face of their ground troops under howling artillery, determined to take one down even in death.

Faced with such an unyielding momentum, the 360,000th Legion was utterly stunned.

Many young men from the colonies were experiencing such a brutal battlefield for the first time.

Those faces no longer showed the pride they had upon first entering the battlefield, only panic and fear.

There were no medals they longed for here.

Only the omnipresent death!

Not only those young men fighting at the frontline but also the commanding officers stationed at the rear.

In truth, as the war had reached this point, there was no longer any distinction between front and rear; the entire forest was filled with whizzing bullets and gunfire.

However, not everyone was as "cowardly" as Centurion Toran, for example, the first to cross the river, Taote, who stubbornly declared he'd rather die than surrender.

Seeing almost all of his forces beaten, his eyes turned blood-red, and instead of feeling any retreat, he charged along with his guard team.

"No retreat! Everyone hold the line! Our reinforcements are on the way!"

"Damn it! Everyone, pull yourselves together!"

Although the 360,000th Legion had taken heavy blows, he believed the Alliance and Poluo Country were similarly suffering heavy casualties!

Those bodies scattered throughout the forest weren't all Weilante people; quite a few were Alliance or Poluo people.

If he retreated now, those fallen brethren would have truly died in vain.

Even for the dignity of the Weilante people, he wouldn't allow himself to withdraw at this time.

However, just then, a burst of gunfire swept from his front side.

Two guards were instantly killed, and another two were shot in the chest and thighs, bleeding profusely as they fell to the ground.

Taote drew his pistol, but before he could unlock the safety, he was kicked to the ground.

He reached out for the fallen pistol but was stopped by a military boot stepping on his wrist.

"Ah!"

Taote let out a painful scream as Edge Shoveling held the LD-47 rifle with a bayonet backward, stabbing it heavily beside his ear.

"It's over. Tell your men to surrender."

"Surrender... hehe..."

Taote smiled through the pain, his twisted face covered with mud like a demon crawling from a swamp.

"...Dream on!"

Guessing he'd say that, Edge Shoveling clicked his tongue but said nothing.

Whether this guy surrendered or not wouldn't change the outcome of this battle.

Just as he said.

It has already ended.

The roar of fighter planes flew overhead, two "Thunder" aircraft carved two brilliant blue lights in the sky, stabbing towards the circling "Daggers" in the air.

Those propeller planes flocked towards the iron airships seeking protection, while the latter hurriedly raised cannons and air-to-air missiles, guarding against those two brilliant blue lights.

Falling Feather, piloting the Thunder aircraft, did not approach the firing range of the airship but instead turned along the edge of the range and, along with the wingman, fired thirty-two unguided rockets.

The rockets did not fly towards the airship but accelerated directly toward the anchor chain below the airship.

Although the deflection shield based on graviton technology covered the entire airship, it clearly did not envelop the anchor chain below the airship into the shield.

John, standing inside the ship's bridge, noticed the intention of the Alliance aircraft and immediately ordered the anti-aircraft guns to fire.

Locust-like shells burst into an impenetrable cloud in the air, yet compared to the rockets' speed of breaking through Mach three, they were still a step slower.

Rockets with trailing flames pierced through the dense fragmentation cloud like javelins!

Although most skimmed past the side of the anchor chain, five or six still crashed into the steel pod tied with the man-thick anchor chain and iron chain!

The explosive flash cleaved the anchor chain into two segments, and the kinetic energy of the explosion made the airship's towering body sway.

The steel pod, which was being released downward, crashed heavily on the ground, rising billowing dust on the plains.

Watching the steel pod fall, Taote, lying on the ground, finally showed a hint of despair on his face.

In his perception, the Legion's iron airship was invincible, unbeatable!

Yet the reality that came into his eyes brutally shattered his faith.

Not only did despair appear on Taote's face, but Wolfe, who was about to board the pod, also had the same expression.

He could never return.

The First Mechanized Infantry Division of Jinjaron Harbor had already reached his face, and at this moment, only two thousand teams remained on the west bank.

With just these two thousand teams, they simply couldn't hold off those fierce guys like starving wolves!

And indeed, that's how it was, twenty "Chimera" armored vehicles first charged to the west bank at the river turn of the Everflow, and the 37mm rapid-fire cannons sprayed wildly, quickly beating the light infantry guarding the riverbank into a frantic scramble.

As the two armored regiments cut to the relatively high terrain on the west side, Wolfe in the command vehicle completely gave up the idea of escaping.

A white flag rose from the command vehicle, and he reluctantly issued the order to surrender.

Listening to the voice on the communication channel, the ferocity on Taote's face finally turned to despair.

"I said, it's over."

Not wanting to mock this guy, Edge Shoveling just teased him with a sentence, then picked up the handgun fallen by his side.

With a mud-stained face expressionlessly looking at him, suddenly squeezed out a phrase from dry, cracked lips.

"Kill me."

Edge Shoveling chuckled softly.

"We don't kill prisoners."

Taote's emotions suddenly became agitated, he stumbled to get up from the ground.

"Then give me back my gun!"

However, before his words fell, he was knocked to the ground by a gun stock.

The one who acted was a soldier from Poluo Country.

He glared at the officer with murderous eyes, wishing he could chop off the guy's head.

Since the Lion City massacre, to him, all the Weilante people were the same.

He only wished he could kill them all!

However, Edge Shoveling did not give Taote the "glorious" opportunity, reaching out to stop the allied brother preparing to take action.

Walking up to Taote, he looked down at this guy panting in the mud like a wild dog.

"...I won't do that either. We will let you live until this war ends, and then let the victims of this war judge you, making you carry your sins to hell to repent."

Without sparing another glance at the guy, Edge Shoveling simply urged to "keep an eye on the man" and then walked away.

The battle on the ground had ended.

Whether it was the Weilante people trapped by the river or those gathered on the hills, they ultimately chose to surrender.

Maybe considering allied casualties, maybe to save ammunition, the airship hovering in the sky ultimately did not fire, instead retreating westward to regroup with the main forces and try to regain the scene later.

Watching the airship departing further and further away, Yishel expressed disbelief.

"...We actually won."

"Don't be too proud, it's just this round."

Standing on the edge of the hillside, Edge Shoveling looked up into the distance, squinting slightly.

In that pitch-black cloud layer, a hint of unnoticeable coldness was faintly discernible.

He knew where that coldness came from.

Just as they were achieving victory, four airships no less capable than the Horn Number had arrived at West Sail Port and were heading towards the eastern front.

This information was obtained from intelligence provided by the South Sea Union's allied forces, which Falling Feather confirmed.

Currently, this news has already been synchronized on the official forum of "Wasteland OL".

Seeing the serious expression of Edge Shoveling, Yishel also retracted the underestimation on his face, becoming serious and earnest.

"...What should we do next?"

"Next... of course, we celebrate."

Seeing the on-edge Yishel, Edge Shoveling suddenly relaxed his brow, smiling as he reached out to pat his shoulder.

"Cheer up, we just won a battle, and according to our allied forces, they caught a big fish under that airship, a centurion they say."

"Is it the centurion of the 360,000-strong Legion?!" Yishel instantly showed a delighted expression.

It's no wonder he's so excited!

After all, until yesterday, they had been one-sidedly beaten by the Legion.

So many officers of the Poluo Country had died in battle, they could hardly count with two hands, and now they finally had a moment of pride.

Although captured by the Alliance, it made no difference!

"Yes, that bastard, a jerk who underestimated us, I have to thank him later... thanks to his stubborn head, wanting to cross this river."

Looking at Yishel's delighted face, Edge Shoveling smiled and patted his shoulder.

"What did I say before? That airship isn't scary at all."

"Everything will get better slowly."

Chapter 869: Iron Sky

A fierce and exhilarating battle had just concluded, with the soldiers on the western front cleaning up the battlefield, feeling triumphant, while the rear on the eastern front presented a different scene.

Central Horse State.

A nondescript small mountain village, sparsely populated, mostly with elderly and children.

Like Tiandu, this place belonged to Poluo Country, but the only difference was that the former was on the border, rarely appearing in the public eye.

Conversely, the people here knew very little about what was happening outside.

While the residents of Tiandu were busy preparing for exams, and the residents of Fierce Horse City were contemplating whether to take a boat to Tiandu for the exams, the locals here didn't even know what exams were.

Not only that.

Due to its position between Mammoth State and Tiger State, coupled with the remnants of the Grey Wolf Army active in this area, creating a situation with three different military factions, Leader Absek's control over the area was extremely weakened.

Outside of a few densely populated areas with hundreds of thousands of people, most of the mountain villages were actually areas not governed by anyone. Even land-owning nobles had fled from hunger.

In a poor place like this, young people naturally could not be retained.

Unless they had families that couldn't move, most young men who were able-bodied either went to work in the city or joined a nearby military faction.

At least here, honestly farming wasn't a viable living, and it was difficult for a family to have enough to eat.

An old man carrying a basket had just finished working in the field and was on his way home when a polite young man suddenly stopped him on the way.

"...Dear sir, could you tell me the way to Black Python Mountain?"

The old man stopped, glanced at the young man, noticing his backpack and long-sleeved clothes. Despite his travel-worn appearance, he had a clean look, clearly a respectable person.

As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face. His courteous demeanor naturally made people take a liking to him.

Especially since the old man was accustomed to being looked down upon by landowners, he was somewhat flattered that someone respectable was willing to speak to him.

Scratching the back of his head, he grinned and politely responded.

"Oh dear, I don't dare to be called 'sir,' I'm just a farmer... You're asking for Black... Black Python Mountain, right..."

As he said this, the old man suddenly realized the place was called Black Python Mountain, and his expression changed immediately.

Zayed nodded with a smile, speaking in a gentle and pleasant tone.

"I heard that General Gopal is around here, and I wish to pay him a visit."

"Oh, why would you want to find that man-eating wolf?"

Before the young man could explain, the old man nervously glanced around, making sure no one else was nearby, then earnestly continued to advise.

"Young man, take my advice, that pack of wolf cubs is no good... They're just a bunch of bandits! It's just that the front line is busy with the war, and Leader Absek can't spare the manpower to deal with them. Once this war ends, none of them will escape!"

Zayed smiled and sighed.

"It seems these bandits have caused you a lot of trouble."

The old man shook his head, sighing deeply.

"Ah, indeed! Because of those guys, anyone with any surplus grain has to hide it carefully. They come to rob us every now and then; they almost stripped the plaster off my walls."

"You've suffered," Zayed sympathetically said, placing his hand on the old man's shoulder as if he couldn't bear to see him suffer, "But sir, don't worry! What Leader Absek can't handle, I'll take care of! In fact, I'm here to solve your problem!"

"Solve?" The old man was taken aback, looking at him suspiciously, "You're a scholar... What can you solve?"

Zayed laughed at the words.

"I'm not a scholar... Just tell me how I can find him."

You cannot persuade a ghost that's bound to die.

Seeing that he insisted on going, the old man sighed, pointing behind him.

"Over the mountain ahead, that winding mountain resembling a giant python is called Black Python Mountain. It's several days' journey to walk there. You can't get in alone, but his people patrol that area, watching for nearby city militia. Once you reach the forest behind the mountain, just walk a few steps forward and shout, and they'll naturally come to find you."

After saying this, the old man kindly added.

"That person is indeed no good... If you want to join the army, it's better to find Laxi or Leader Absek."

The memory of the burned villages was vivid.

Although he hadn't experienced it, he heard from refugees from the north that their village was burned down by the Grey Wolf Army for some scorched earth strategy.

Any old minister of the Empire, none of them treated people as people.

"I understand. Rest assured, leave this matter to me."

Zayed said, smiling and patting the old man's shoulder, then turned and walked toward the direction the old man had pointed.

Good man...

Watching the dark forest, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

If that person were a good man, he wouldn't have come to this cursed place...

Leaving the village, he headed north.

The further he walked into the forest, the scarcer the population, and he could vaguely hear the howl of wolves.

He did not bring any escorts.

Zayed casually picked up a stick as a walking stick, walking alone like a determined pilgrim.

After a long journey, passing through dense forests and thorny thickets, he finally saw the mountain range that coiled like a giant python upon the earth.

Ahead was Black Python Mountain!

The remnants of the Grey Wolf Army were hiding there!

A smile appeared on Zayed's face, and just as he was about to follow the old man's advice and shout to attract the attention of the nearby patrol, a dark gun muzzle suddenly aimed at him.

"Don't move."

The cold voice seemed to float from hell, eerie like a long-lost cave.

And that's precisely where serpents liked to hide.

Zayed could feel at least ten guns pointed at him, all the gazes filled with vigilance and hostility.

He dropped his stick and simply raised his hands, facing the dark gun muzzle, he said.

"My name is Zayed. I've been sent by Leader Absek to negotiate with you... Please let me see your leader."

Laughter erupted around him.

Holding a rifle, Gopal grinned.

Unexpectedly, while roaming out of boredom, he stumbled upon such a big catch.

"I am the leader here, former staff officer of the Grey Wolf Army, and now a general of the Grey Wolf Army. Leader Absek, tsk tsk... you rebellious traitors really dare to come here."

Zayed raised his hands above his head and smiled faintly as he spoke.

"Why wouldn't we dare? Nowadays, anyone with a bit of skill raises troops in rebellion. I am a traitor, and how are you any different? If you truly aren't, you should have aligned yourself with His Majesty Akbar instead of staying here."

Gopal's eyes narrowed slightly, and the surrounding gazes became hostile.

The atmosphere on the scene gradually grew cold.

But at this moment, Gopal suddenly relaxed his brow and said with a cold smile.

"Interesting, I'm curious to hear what message your master has entrusted you to deliver to me."

Zayed glanced around, seeing in those gazes a deep-seated hatred.

They were once the Empire's most proud warriors, once heroes admired by thousands. Now, they had been abandoned like stray dogs to await death here.

Even in death, the Witch Camel never trusted these guys, yet he clearly knew they were the Empire's most loyal.

When everyone else had abandoned the Empire, even old farmers acknowledged Absek as the "new king," they alone never abandoned their former lord.

Arai Yang was like this.

His subordinates were like this.

It was precisely for this reason that they hated Absek, their former comrade, so deeply.

It was that man who turned their loyalty into a joke, making them clowns in the eyes of others.

That's why Zayed knew that if he took out that commission, he would be dead for sure.

That document was not meant to be used like this.

"... Let's speak frankly," Zayed fixed his gaze on Gopal, "I have never considered Absek my master; a deceitful, indecisive fellow like him isn't worthy of being my master."

Gopal suddenly burst into a laugh.

"What do you want to say?"

"I can help General Arai Yang restore his reputation, and you, and your families," Zayed glanced around and then back at Gopal, "Not only that, but I can also help you seek revenge."

The atmosphere around them fell silent, and one gaze after another showed disbelief.

Help General Arai Yang restore his reputation?

This no-name nobody?

Gopal's pupils contracted slightly, showing some temptation.

But that lasted only a moment.

He quickly realized this guy was testing him, then sneered, pushing the muzzle of his gun a bit closer.

"Do I need it?"

Even though he hid his emotions carefully, the man standing before him still caught that fleeting change of expression.

Having received that affirmative response, Zayed maintained his composure as he looked at General Gopal, not even glancing at the gun muzzle close to his nose, speaking softly.

"... If you don't need it, why not go to Laxi, or directly join Absek, rather than stay here as bandits with your men? You know this is a dead-end; once the Poluo Country deals with the Southern Legion, their first order of business will be dealing with you."

Gopal sneered and said.

"You speak as if they've already won."

"How could they lose? Or rather, how could the Southern Legion win," Zayed smiled faintly, "Since you're the Grey Wolf Army's staff officer, I believe your insight is no less than mine."

Without waiting for Gopal to respond, Zayed continued.

"They all misunderstood you, looking down upon you, but only I know, you and your former general are true loyalists... You shouldn't carry your shame and enter the grave; you should be adored and respected by all survivors of the Poluo Line."

Gopal suddenly burst into laughter, the sound loud enough to frighten birds from the forest.

He lowered the gun in his hand.

"Interesting... This is the second time I've felt this way."

Seeing the lowered gun, Zayed's face lit up with a joyful smile.

"So, what's your answer?"

"I'm very interested in you helping General Arai Yang restore his reputation and helping me seek revenge... But I must tell you, my hate isn't just for Laxi, but for everyone."

Zayed: "Everyone?"

"That's right..." Gopal glared at him insidiously, speaking word by word, "Everyone who abandoned and betrayed us... they must all pay the price."

So that's how it is.

Zayed revealed an expression of sudden realization, watching this person more twisted than himself with interest, especially studying those eyes like those of a hungry wolf.

No wonder even that old farmer thought this guy was no good.

He wore his hatred on his face.

And the target of that hatred was all Poluo people.

"... Then you're looking at the right person." Zayed suddenly laughed, extending his right hand forward, "In this world... I'm probably the only one who can fulfill your wish."

Gopal grinned and shook his right hand.

"Not necessarily... But I believe if I wait, I will find someone like you."

It's you!

The expression seemed to say.

Zayed beamed with a radiant smile, firmly shaking his hand.

"Then let's look forward to our successful cooperation."

Open and honest dialogue like today will probably never happen again.

From the moment he led the Grey Wolf out of the forest, a wise and martial hero would be born in Snake State.

The survivors of the Poluo Line would remember this moment, but no one would recall what they said that day.

For the convenience of writing memoirs later, he deliberately didn't bring his student along.

After convincing Gopal, Zayed took out that commission as a matter of course and spoke of the plan he had in mind.

He had already passed the first "impossible task" set by Absek; now came the second.

Currently, Snake State was under Shaluk's great command, who would surely not allow a no-name nobody to seize power.

Even holding the appointment as "Snake State War Zone Commander" would be useless.

If he impulsively went there, his situation would be even more dangerous than going alone to the wolf's den today.

Shaluk would definitely rack his brains trying to make him disappear, and it would be as easy as squashing an ant. After all, that place, though his hometown, is Shaluk's territory.

However, all of this is based on the premise that he went there to seize power.

What if he wasn't going there to seize power?

Or rather...

The real person seizing power wasn't himself.

Zayed spoke softly to Gopal about what he intended to do, and Gopal's face first showed a hint of shock before revealing an expression of admiration after hearing him out.

Such a ruthless plan...

He indeed found the right person.

Two scheming guys simultaneously put on sinister smiles.

As things were nearing the end, Gopal suddenly spoke, looking at Zayed who had put away the commission.

"By the way, how did you know General Arai Yang was wronged?"

Zayed replied without hesitation.

"Which matter are you talking about?"

"The Tasang River's embankment," Gopal shrugged, "At first, they said it was the city defense army who blew it up, later they changed their story saying we ordered the city defense army to blow it up, indirectly causing the death of 100,000 people... Actually, not that many people died, and it had nothing to do with us."

Zayed raised his hand slightly, interrupting him with some impatience.

"Does such a matter matter? Were the villagers on the border of Horse State and Mammoth State killed by the Moon Clan Resistance Army?"

He hadn't been there, but a glance at the map also told him Laxi had no benefit in doing this.

As for the dam, perhaps it was indeed Laxi's doing, but not because the map revealed any flaws, rather because that guy guiltily built another one.

If he were in command, he wouldn't do such a foolish thing. When has a king ever been reasonable in admitting mistakes?

Incompetence isn't incompetency, admitting mistakes is.

Of course, these are thoughts he keeps to himself, never mentioning them even to his closest ally Sava.

Gopal was momentarily speechless, unable to answer this question.

Speaking solely in terms of the number killed, Arai Yang definitely killed more than Laxi and with more subjective intent.

However, Zayed simply patted Gopal's shoulder without explanation, casually saying.

"When we win, it's all their doing."

...

West Sail Port, Governor's Mansion.

Sitting in the Governor's Office, General Giulion finished reading the battle report, his face a steel-blue hue.

After a long pause, he angrily stood up from his chair and slammed the battle report onto the table, muttering curses.

"A group of useless idiots!"

Two mechanized ten thousand troops!

One was crippled in battle, and the other captured as complete units, even their leader was caught.

And this was all under the protection of airship cover!

These pigs, living is simply a waste of food, better to just shoot themselves!

The officer standing at the door didn't dare to breathe, could only stare straight out the window.

The nearby strategist appeared solemn, lowering his voice to speak.

"...Our frontline forces were too careless, this is a big problem. This time, our opponents are not only the nations of Poluo Province but also volunteers from the Alliance."

"The biggest issue is that idiot Wolfe!" General Giulion vented his anger, "Sending him to scout Akale County and he instead led the troops into the river to catch prawns, turning a minor skirmish into a battle, not only losing his own forces but dragging down the 37th ten thousand troops!"

The strategist wryly smiled and said.

"That's precisely the issue... These guys see anyone as walking medals, in the long run, they will definitely suffer major losses!"

General Giulion furiously shook his head, picking up the phone, intending to reprimand Commander Ryan responsible for the East line, but before he could dial, another call came in.

The call came from the General Staff.

Giulion's heart sank but he braced himself to press the connect button.

Shortly thereafter, the voice of the Chief of General Staff came over the line.

This person is the second in command of the Southern Legion and also the one who directly communicates with him.

"How's the war zone situation?"

Not daring to neglect, Giulion immediately reported.

"The war zone situation is excellent, General Otley leading three ten thousand troops has successfully entered Dog State! Soon we can initiate Stage 2 offensive!"

After hearing his report, the Chief of General Staff simply responded with "Hmm" before continuing to ask.

"And the East line?"

Giulion's expression froze a bit, but facing the Chief's inquiries, he could only continue.

"...We have taken Lion City, the entire Lion State is now under our control, soon we will capture Tiandu, at which point the entire Poluo Province will be under our control—"

His words were cut short by the voice from the other end of the line.

"I've already heard about the 36th ten thousand troops incident."

The Governor's Office fell silent instantly, as if a pin dropped it would be clearly audible.

He hadn't expected this incident to have already reached the General Staff, Giulion's Adam's apple moved as he spoke with difficulty.

"Wolfe's incident... was unexpected, due to terrain and weather reasons. Of course, the primary cause was the Alliance's surprise attack."

Though he had cursed Wolfe moments ago, now he found himself having to say some favorable words for that fool.

After all, the stupidity of subordinates does not excuse his own errors, rather it makes him seem even more foolish for entrusting that buffoon with responsibility.

In terms of accountability mechanisms, the Army and the Empire are entirely different, even completely opposite.

Patiently listening to Giulion's explanation, the Chief of General Staff replied quietly.

"Regardless of the reasons, this is a disgrace for the entire Southern Legion... I don't care if you use negotiations or other means, get those prisoners back."

General Giulion solemnly faced the impending threat.

"Yes!"

The Chief of General Staff on the other end seemed somewhat satisfied with his attitude and did not overly reprimand him. After a brief pause, he continued.

"Additionally, don't be too eager for quick success. Since swift victory is impossible, then consolidate each position steadily... After all, our opponent may not be just the Alliance."

General Giulion replied with firm resolve.

"Yes!"

The Chief of General Staff didn't waste much time on meaningless matters. He asked a few more questions before hanging up the phone.

Looking at the disconnected phone, General Giulion exhaled deeply, unaware that the sweat had soaked his back.

Unexpectedly, the Chief of General Staff hadn't scolded him...

Holding the phone, he hesitated whether to call the front line and harshly reprimand Commander Ryan.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and soon an officer entered.

"Report to the General, the reinforcements Thunder, Giant Axe, Fortress, Iron Wall airships have entered our airspace!"

Upon hearing this, General Giulion's face instantly showed joy, and he couldn't help but clench his fist.

"Great... Have all the captains come to the barracks for a meeting as soon as they arrive!"

The officer at the door saluted.

"Yes!"

This time, four airships arrived at West Sail Port.

They brought not only overwhelming firepower but also the specially designed "Wanderer" tanks to deal with the Alliance Number Three tanks and anti-tank railguns!

He planned to deploy all four airships to the eastern line to support Commander Ryan in capturing Tiandu!

Feeling invigorated, General Giulion rose from his desk and walked to the window facing the harbor.

Beneath the thick black clouds, a series of majestic steel hulls began to emerge, resembling a steel dome that eclipsed the sky!

Attracted by the massive airborne objects, pedestrians in the street stopped their footsteps, casting incredulous gazes at the sky.

Among them were expressions of astonishment, bewilderment, delight, or fear...

These were true war machines.

No one could withstand the fiery rain descending from the skies!

Upon witnessing the scene, a long-awaited smile of relief appeared on General Giulion's face.

"...Victory."

Meanwhile, downstairs at the Governor's Mansion.

The new emperor of West Winds, Akbar, with a sycophantic smile on his face, carried a silk banner.

The banner bore a grand line in artistic font.

[Congratulations to General Giulion for his continued victories!]

He wanted to personally present the banner to General Giulion, but unfortunately, the servants at the door were inattentive, not taking him, the emperor, seriously.

No matter how much he persuaded, he couldn't enter, so he could only stand anxiously at the door.

Just then, an officer emerged from the Governor's Mansion.

He recognized the face as someone from General Giulion's entourage.

Seeing his opportunity, Akbar quickly approached with a smile and explained his intent.

However, after hearing his intention, the officer wore a strange expression, particularly staring at the silk banner for a long while.

"...General Giulion is scheduled for a meeting and may not be available to see you."

Akbar's face stiffened, but he ultimately restrained himself and asked.

"Then... do you know when he will be available?"

"He's been very busy lately; you should avoid disturbing him unless necessary," the officer said impatiently, waving his hand, and took another glance at the banner. "I'll deliver this banner for you."

General Giulion was currently in a foul mood, so seeing the banner might provoke an outburst.

Yet Akbar was unaware of the situation, still basing his understanding of the frontline battles on the news of Commander Ryan defeating Poluo Country's 200,000 troops and capturing Lion City in one battle.

Handing over the banner to the officer, he continued to remind him earnestly.

"I haven't seen General Giulion for a long time... If he has some free time, please do introduce me."

"Got it."

Rolling up the banner and securing it, the officer replied impatiently before heading outside.

Akbar almost questioned if his direction was wrong but held back from asking.

Just at that moment, the roar of engines emerged from the clouds, spreading towards the ground.

Thinking it was the Alliance bombers coming again, Akbar's face changed instantly, looking for shelter instinctively, until he glanced up and saw it wasn't an Alliance aircraft but the Army's iron airships!

The four majestic hulls pierced through the heavy clouds, showcasing their dominating presence in the sky.

His gaze first became dazed, then turned into ecstatic joy.

"Hahaha! Now those bastards will finally get what's coming!"

Unlike him, the old Lion Clan man meekly following behind showed a frightened expression, muttering to himself.

A single Horn Number had already destroyed half a city, and now there were four...

He couldn't even begin to imagine what could possibly counter these things.

Especially if they launched a joint attack...

Tiandu seemed to have become a dead city.

No matter how many local victories, they seemed so insignificant in the face of absolute power.

Perhaps only a miracle itself—only the Alliance's Manager could save them...

His wrinkled face was filled with despair, and he wasn't the only one with such thoughts.

"It's over..."

This time might truly be the end...

Chapter 870: The Difference Between a Big Win and a Small Win

To the west of Poluo Sea, on the bridge of the cruiser "Harpoon."

A group of officers led by Li Minghui were standing in front of the control console, staring intently at the bright radar signal on the screen.

The Legion's airship didn't take any stealth measures, and in fact, they didn't need to.

After all, such a big target floating in the sky, unless it's too far or you're too blind, you don't even need radar; you can see it clearly with your own eyes.

"Four airships... Tsk, tsk, what a big move." The adjutant standing next to Li Minghui couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his mouth as he stared at the circles of ripples on the screen.

The captain nearby couldn't help but clench his fist and placed his hand on the console.

"This is too much; these guys just passed right over our faces!"

"...It would have been nice if the Haiya were still around."

"You've said that so many times, my ears are about to grow calluses."

Refloating and repairing a silent battleship costs no less than building a new one.

Currently, the South Sea Alliance cannot afford this high cost, and the representative council would not agree to this proposal that has no benefit for their citizens.

Actually, not to mention the representative council, Li Minghui himself felt there was no need to rebuild another Haiya.

With the advent of the new era, that thing is destined to be obsolete.

Just like the comparable "Iron Airship."

"It doesn't matter."

Putting down his arms crossed in front of his chest, Li Minghui adjusted the officer hat atop his head and calmly continued.

"...Since the Academy said they would take action, let's leave it to them."

...

At the same time, in another world.

[Battle Report Update: Akale County Great Victory!]

[Advancing Forces: Southern Legion's 36th and 37th ten-thousand-man units, West Sail Port's Air Force No.7.]

[Participating Troops: 24,000 combat personnel (excluding over 5,000 clone soldiers).]

[Combat Equipment: One Iron Airship, 104 Fire Crossbow self-propelled guns, 88 Conqueror Five tanks, 220 Beast wheeled armored personnel carriers, 45 Greyhound recon vehicles, a total of 500 armored troop carriers and supply trucks. 20 Dagger propeller planes, 2 Peidao jet fighters, numerous exoskeletons, and bullet-proof armor.]

——

[Defending Forces: Death Legion, Burning Corps, Goblin Corps; Poluo Country's 3rd and 11th ten-thousand-man units; Jinjaron Harbor's First Mechanized Division, Tiger Army Expeditionary Armor Group, Black Panther Army Expeditionary Armor Group, etc.]

[Participating Troops: 47,000 combat personnel]

[Combat Equipment: 120 Chimera armored vehicles, 99 Conqueror No.10 heavy tanks, 42 155mm artillery pieces, 20 88mm mortars, 5,000 exoskeletons and power armors, 3,000 transport livestock, 4,100 bicycles and human-powered tricycles. 2 Thunder fighter planes.]

——

[Battle Result: Defender Victory!]

[The Southern Legion's 36th ten-thousand-man unit was completely wiped out! 6,710 combat personnel captured! Including Ten Thousand Leader Wolfe and seven Thousands of Leaders, dozens of Centurions.

The 37th ten-thousand-man unit retreated towards the Lion State! More than half of the armored units were lost, and the support squad was heavily damaged!

Captured 52 self-propelled guns, 27 armored cars, nearly 300 transport vehicles of various types, nearly 4,000 exoskeletons, and bullet-proof armor, 17,000 light weapons, millions of rounds of ammo of various calibers!

]

[Rating: S (Epic Victory!)]

On the "Wasteland OL" official forum, today was as lively as ever.

Ever since the new expansion pack "Southern Invasion" was launched, the official forum has been sporadically updating important battle reports.

Although not all players joined the volunteer ranks, because several well-known armies participated in the battle, most players were still quite keen on the progress of the situation.

Even though most players haven't even been to that place called Poluo Province.

Quit smoking: "Brother Fang Chang is awesome!!!"

Tail: "Wow! So impressive! (•̀∀•́)"

Fang Chang: "Just a basic operation... Ahem, not bragging, this time was quite decent. Of course, mainly because everyone fought well. (adjusts glasses)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "6666!"

Difficult for the strong: "This bragging is full marks. (funny)"

Truth be told, this was indeed the most skillful battle they've fought recently.

It was also the most gratifying one.

Although they had previously achieved some local victories, it didn't change the fact that the Legion's front lines were advancing like a hot knife through butter, and the Poluo Country's army was being one-sidedly beaten.

However, this time was different, their allies suddenly stood up for themselves.

Although the opposition was indeed a bit careless, being able to seize the opportunity and maximize the advantage was also their skill.

That being said, although Fang Chang didn't brag in his words, he showed off in action, causing dissatisfaction among his close friends.

Edge Shoveling: "Damn! We are the main force, okay!"

Debt Giant Eye: "MMP! It's too much! We've been fighting the hard battles, and you guys got all the glory! (angry)"

Night Ten: "Not all the glory is ours, right? We just captured a Ten Thousand Leader of the 36th ten-thousand-man unit, recruited 52 self-propelled guns, and incidentally crippled the 37th ten-thousand-man unit's support team... Not too shabby. (funny)"

Debt Giant Eye: "@#%!"

Wild Wind: "This bragging is kind of bullying. (side-eye)"

Mole: "Something's not right here; how come it feels like your Burning Corps is secretly taking cheap shots in the back all the time, and now you want to be the MVP! Where's your conscience!"

Gnome King Riches: "Exactly! I stand with Big Eyes on this, too much!"

Elena: "Manual mickey."

Dinosaur Warrior: "Fight!! (excited)"

Since there were too many voices calling for justice, Fang Chang probably felt guilty himself and went silent, lurking underwater.

Only Night Ten was energetically waging verbal battles with many for the MVP title, arguing for over a hundred floors with about ten people.

As for the backseat drivers, they were watching the show, occasionally chiming in, stirring things up left and right.

Fortunately, the dog plan was "impartial," not swayed by who shouted the loudest.

After the battle score was settled, the Death Legion won the MVP of the entire battle by a narrow margin.

After all, they annihilated a division, although the division leader was captured by the Burning Corps, objectively speaking, it seemed more like a lucky gain.

As for the other division, the credit mainly went to the NPC troops.

Old White and Fang Chang had no objections to such a result either.

Rather, they quite wanted to give other armies some opportunities, lest they take all the benefits themselves, creating too much resentment and calls to "cut them down by a peg."

As the Top 0 army in the entire server, the alliance's ace of aces, they didn't really care about the score of one or two battles.

Especially Fang Chang himself.

Compared to the victory and rewards of one or two local battles, he could gain more from the overall win in the war.

Not just him, but the shareholders of Baiyue Corporation are all the same, including other life profession players who benefit indirectly.

The topic quickly shifted from the outcome of a battle to what happens after the entire war is won.

It's a province with over a hundred million people.

And it can be foreseen that, with the end of the war, there will likely be a baby boom similar to the River Valley Province, with another explosive population growth.

These people need food, clothing, housing, education, hospitals, transportation, and transportation infrastructure, and more.

And they don't just have needs; by meeting these needs, they will create wealth far beyond the needs themselves.

Especially since the local people are diligent and have good credit, as long as they have ambition, banks will be willing to lend them money to help them through tough times and share the rewards of growing the pie.

An ancient feudal empire will enter a new era.

They don't even need to rely on external opportunities like the Mammoth Nation, because they themselves are the greatest opportunity on the Wasteland, not even inferior to the space elevator under construction.

The latter is a torch burning in the sky, and they will become the light on the earth.

Grasping these opportunities is easy.

Absek doesn't even need to be very clever; he just needs to be a normal person.

Watching Brother Fang Chang talking from agriculture to infrastructure, and then from infrastructure to space migration, some players and backseat drivers were fascinated, as if a genuine plan was being drawn.

However, some people expressed skepticism with reason.

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but I just feel that you're seeing things too optimistically."

Fang Chang: "Actually, it's not just you who feel that way; I can't deny I've felt that way more than once, but we can't judge the development of objective matters based on intuition."

When they needed a strong leader to unite the fragmented Poluo people, they quickly got a Laxi.

Laxi was too forceful, skilled at fighting but lacking political acumen, so they quickly got someone like Absek, a balanced choice.

From this angle, they do seem a bit too fortunate.

However, sometimes he can't help but think that this might be the choice of the Poluo people themselves.

There is such a force within them.

Although not strong, it will emerge when the time is right.

But as before, Thunder Mage Professor Yang again had a different opinion.

"It's not just intuition; I think the idea of turning livestock into goods was fine in itself. It's just that their internal divisions were too significant, and this time they happened to cross the critical balance point, leading to breakdown."

"You want to turn livestock directly into humans, skipping the intermediate steps; I think that's as hard as turning stone into gold. Haha, of course, I'm just a backseat driver babbling, maybe there truly are miracles in the game. (Wry)

Fang Chang: "Tsk, sometimes you're really annoying, could you have a bit of dream? (Side-eye)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "I'm a realist and a pragmatist; from my view, stocks that can't go short can't keep rising, so you should get off before they collapse. As a finance person, you should get what I mean."

"Even if you create shadowless lamps and bring more good people to them, you can't solve the hidden shadows within them. They are who they are. Everyone has their own limitations, their limitations and yours too."

After leaving such an ambiguous statement, the pompous Professor Yang vanished into the depths like Proud Brothers, unnoticed by others as usual.

After all, he has made such nonsense multiple times and never hit the mark.

As for Fang Chang, although he pondered for a while, ultimately didn't take it much to heart.

In fact, he knew what Professor Yang mentioned, but it wasn't important.

This war decides not only the fate of the Poluo but also the fate of the Weilante.

If the Southern Legion is defeated, the collapse of the Legion would be almost inevitable.

After all, they've actually longed for separation; the Eastern Legion might even wish for the Southern Legion's defeat, only hindered by internal balance forces from taking action.

At that time, a wave of liberation movements will inevitably happen in the Southern Legion's colonies.

The suppressed native forces will be unleashed as the Southern Legion weakens.

Yet, this might not be a bad thing for the Weilante people.

As long as their self-reckoning is thorough enough and they objectively recognize the duality in their and others' histories, they have the opportunity to enter the new era.

Hence, even if, as Professor Yang said, the Alliance can't bring all Poluo onto the ship heading for the new world, they can at least bring a part of the Weilante onto the ship.

It's not a loss.

In other words, no matter what, their efforts will not be in vain.

As long as they can win.

Ultimately, it's just a matter of winning big or small...

...

Since the Legion had a triumphant march through Lion State, Tiandu City has been fraught with unease.

Especially after hearing the tragedy of Lion City, the residents were terrified, fearing that the great fire would descend upon them next.

However, worrying remains futile; what's meant to come will come, and life still has to go on.

And come to think of it, it's really nothing to be afraid of. Though a major commissioner fled, the general leader hasn't fled yet, so they really have nothing to fear.

And just in this stormy period, two great joyous events suddenly occurred.

One was the great victory in Akale County, and the other was the announcement of the big exam results.

Especially the latter.

For most ordinary survivors, it was a chance to change the fate of a family.

In some sense, the results of this exam were even more concerning to the locals than the victory in Akale County.

On the streets of Tiandu City.

A newsboy ran through the streets, shouting as he ran.

"Big news, big news! Great victory in Akale County! Tiandu City big exam results announced!"

Hearing the cry, people gathered around, pooled their money together, and bought a copy.

The new edition of Survivor's Daily in Tiandu City wasn't expensive, and they could afford it living in the city.

But since the exam was already finished, they were unwilling to spend extra money on 'useless' matters.

The newsboy, being local, was accustomed to this, knowing he could sell at most one copy to a group, he quickly moved to the next street.

There were many people there, and as long as he was quick on his feet, he could always sell some.

"Alas! My son is not on the list!"

"What a loss, what a loss! I said that boy was destined for farming, wasted so much money."

"You can't just buy blindly, what good are old newspapers? You should buy something useful!"

"But...what are useful books?"

"The current Kaba Committee Member used to work at the Royal Printing Factory, now the First Printing Factory in Tiandu. If you want to know what books he likes, can't you ask the employees there?"

"Oh, if I had known earlier, why didn't you tell me sooner!"

"I heard from my neighbor...that sneaky guy kept it to himself."

"Did his son pass the exam?"

"Pass my ass, does that spoiled kid deserve to make the list? I said his son definitely wouldn't pass!"

A group of people chattered on and eventually realized that not a single one of them had someone make the list, feeling pained but somewhat comforted.

At least it wasn't only their own children who didn't make it; the kids from the neighboring families didn't make it either.

Rumors quickly spread that the exam actually had nothing to do with commoners; the slots were predetermined, with officers' children getting some, cultured people's children getting some, and hardly any being left for the civilians.

This statement is both right and wrong.

Kaba Committee Member indeed did things quite fairly. He not only diligently and responsibly set up a question-setting committee and a grading committee but also implemented a "double-blind" rule, and required that no one leave the floating Heavenly Palace until the exam results were out.

Neither those marking the papers nor setting them could leave.

Under such circumstances, it was almost impossible to engage in favoritism or corruption, not even a chance to slip some money.

As for trying to bribe Kaba Committee Member himself, just forget it, he even dared to curse directly at Absek, you're better off directly approaching Absek.

However, even if Kaba did ten thousand things to ensure fairness, he couldn't overcome the mess left by the old empire; educational resources themselves are unequal.

In the entire Tiandu City, there are so few literate and numerate people, either former aristocrats and servants or some wealthy merchants doing business or clerks from accounting.

Their sons had received an education.

Even though the United Human language is easy to learn and arithmetic isn't hard either, their starting line is unavoidably a step higher.

It's not just civilian kids who can't outdo them; even the children of those rough army officers can't match up in exams.

After all, even Absek himself was once a "Grey Wolf" working at the docks, let alone other officers, some of whom were farmers or worked in carpentry and had never touched a book.

But even so, some civilian children were selected.

Especially in the preliminary selection, the proportion of civilian children getting selected is much higher than that for those above 16 years old for the undergraduate level.

These children are true geniuses, like the naturally mathematically sensitive Little Fish.

They have an extremely keen intuition for characters and numbers. What takes others hours to ponder, they might grasp in just a few minutes and even apply across different fields of interest.

With a little nurturing, they could easily become experts in a certain field, or even great talents.

The advantage of a large population lies precisely here.

In the hundred or so households on Bet Street, even with the help of the shelter, only one Little Fish was born.

Yet in Tiandu City with millions of people, the number of talented individuals is exponentially larger.

Maybe even Absek himself doesn't realize what a huge gold mine he's sitting on.

And this gold mine is what Fang Chang covets most.

The army treats them like an iron mine to be mined, which is simply a waste of resources!

Of course, talking about such far-off matters now is too early; local people are still immersed in the most primitive happiness for the time being.

After all, just passing the exam could change one's fate, such a pie-dropping-from-the-sky kind of good thing is rare.

Occasionally, a cry of surprise would echo from the street, and someone might even faint from joy, causing a commotion among those around.

"Hahaha! We made it! My youngest son made it!" An elderly man wearing a short shirt was excitedly flushed with joy. At his age, having a youngest son suggests his family probably has at least four or five people.

And indeed so, his name was Varun, a neighbor living nearby. His elder son was already thirty-five or thirty-six and had a family, while his youngest son was only twelve, just old enough for the preparatory school admission.

When registering his youngest son, he didn't have much hope, but unexpectedly, he passed.

It's like the real Tuo Ri Shen Niu showed its miraculous power!

Those around him were struck with both envy and jealousy, but regardless of how they felt inside, they had to voice their congratulations.

"Congratulations, old sir, your son will be someone important in the future!"

"Sigh! When will our family have such good fortune?"

A man also in a short shirt sighed, only lamenting his own son's lack of promise.

This was initially a mutter of self-pity, but it happened to be overheard by someone nearby, prompting a mocking laugh.

"You? Sir Rots at least lives in Tiandu, and his ancestors were quite prosperous. Does a mud-legged like you deserve government grain?"

The man's face turned red upon hearing this, reaching out to grab the collar of the speaker.

"You! How am I undeserving?"

The man whose collar was grabbed also turned red, feeling he had lost face in public, thus shoved back hard.

"Are you damn well daring to fight me?! You idiot!"

"I %#@!!"

What started as a war of words quickly escalated to fists and kicks, the two neighbors were fighting over the trivial matter of "deserving or not."

The intensity of their punches seemed to channel the anger and regret for their own sons not making it.

Onlookers hurriedly pulled them apart, and even the excited elder among them stepped in to mediate.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing! Let go! Is there no law and order in your eyes?"

This righteous admonition didn't exactly have any faults, though it was the dissenters who had the problem.

Nonetheless, the bystanders didn't find anything amiss, instead applauded in agreement.

As they say, a tiger-like father can't raise a dog-like son. If old Rots is so righteous today, surely little Rots will grow up to be an upright official too.

The two who were fighting did not dare act out more fiercely before the onlookers, and were quickly separated.

At this moment, the surrounding onlookers heartily applauded the elder's righteous intervention.

A man wearing a shirt squeezed into the crowd, plastered a flattering smile on his face, praised old Rots for a while, and then impatiently spoke up to him.

"Old sir, move aside, how old is your son? Is he married? How many wives does he have—"

But before the man could finish, the old man pushed him away with annoyance.

"Go away! My son could do better!"

Had it been another time, he might have agreed, after all, this person didn't seem to have a low status, and even agreeing to a future marriage for his son wouldn't be a loss.

However, his neighbors praised him so highly, that he couldn't help but think of himself as someone important.

Those nearby didn't find anything wrong with this, but instead began to clap and vocally agree, creating quite the uproar.

Similar farcical scenes were playing out all over the city of Tiandu, adding a bit of levity to an otherwise serious atmosphere.

Watching those noisy fellows, Little Rots couldn't help but feel scornful.

His father was the General Pickley, part of the "Tiger King" Duwata's command.

Although Duwata was not as powerful as Commander Absek, he was still a significant figure in Tiandu.

As for that Kaba, he was merely a "committee member," which sounded too condescending as he was simply someone Absek was keeping on.

He couldn't care less about this so-called major exam.

What does it matter if I don't get in?

Even if I don't get in, I'll still be a ten thousand leader in the future!

Not only was his face filled with disdain, but the hangers-on beside him also showed the same disdainful expression in their eyes.

"...A bunch of lowly people, look how excited they are."

"Exactly!"

"It's just higher scores, do they really think they can change their fate with that?"

"By the way, didn't Brother Gale also take that exam?"

When the topic suddenly turned to him, Gale responded indifferently.

"Yeah, my dad signed me up for it, insisted that I take that exam, so I went."

The hangers-on exchanged glances.

Actually, they also went, and were also forced by their fathers to go for an extra path.

After all, their fathers were just thousands of leaders and really couldn't guarantee they'd become thousands of leaders themselves in the future.

They just didn't expect that the son of a ten thousand leader also had to take that big exam.

"So how did you find the questions?" One of the hangers-on couldn't help asking.

Before he could finish, another eager to suck up chimed in.

"Isn't it obvious! For our Brother Gale, those questions are just a breeze!"

"Exactly!"

Other followers also chimed in, sparing no flattery, showering Gale with praise and making him feel quite pleased.

Honestly speaking, the exam questions were somewhat difficult.

Even after a week of special training from a teacher hired by his father, he couldn't answer many questions, so he just filled in random answers and handed the paper in.

But, having everyone flatter him, he had no way out now.

He's got to keep up the act even if he didn't want to, or how else would this "descendant of military generals" survive on this street in the future?

"...It was okay, not too hard. Anyway, I filled the paper."

For his father's dignity and his own, he vaguely replied.

As soon as he said that, although he was a little unsure, he began to gain confidence.

Thinking about it.

After all, his father is Duwata's confidant! Even Leader Absek needs to curry favor with him!

How dare a mere education committee member fail him!

The followers around him gasped when they heard their leader managed to fill such a difficult paper, looking even more admiring, clamoring to buy a newspaper to see where their leader ranked among the two hundred undergraduate names.

Gale was curious about his rank too, counting in his mind those competitors.

Absek's a bachelor, no offspring.

Duwata's youngest son should definitely be on there, I remember he's seventeen.

And Committee Member Nigeli's little nephew is also around eighteen, but his second wife's stepson is only twelve, so even if he was testing, he'd be pre-college, different exam paper from undergraduate...

Counting, Gale thought being in the top ten wouldn't be a problem.

With a clear understanding in his heart, Gale arrogantly instructed his lackeys to block a newsboy, then generously took out a hundred Poluo note and slapped it into the boy's terrified hand.

"Keep the change, consider it a tip."

Not knowing why they behaved this way but as just a newsboy, he didn't dare offend them.

Though there used to be ruthless old nobles at Tiandu, at least they'd keep face and wouldn't personally hit or associate with poor folks.

These guys were different; their dads were men of Anush, they didn't care about reputation and would beat people personally, and hard.

"Th-thank you, sir!"

After bowing and thanking, the newsboy pocketed the money and hurried off to the neighboring street, not daring to stay longer.

Feeling good, Gale didn't bother with him, flauntingly shook the newspaper in his hand.

However, when he flipped to the exam admission list page, he was stunned.

His name was not on it.

Not only his name, but "Tiger King" Duwata's youngest son, "Leopard King" Nigeli's little nephew weren't on it either. It was filled with names he hadn't heard of...

Gale's face gradually turned red, then ashen, like a furious bull.

How dare that old jerk!

The followers who were previously jubilant were now silent, nervously watching their leader, not daring to utter a single word.

They were sensible kids, afraid to implicate their own fathers and orphan themselves.

After a moment, Gale took a deep breath, suddenly calming down.

The list is on the newspaper, the whole city has seen it. Anger wouldn't help, nor could it change anything.

That old guy's ruthless!

Offending everyone he could offend in one go!

With a sneer, Gale crumpled the newspaper into a ball and tossed it onto the street.

"...Only idiots care about this crap exam."

Seeing their leader finally frame the exam in such terms, the followers breathed a sigh of relief.

Without the leader's cue, they dared not even curse lest their spontaneous jab hit the wrong note.

However, they'd barely relaxed when their faces turned glum.

Only idiots care...

Does that mean those who took it are idiots?

Uh...

To mock or not to mock.

"Big brother's right..."

"Ahem, the boss is correct!"

"Indeed... that thing's what low people bother with... ultimately nothing important about it."

Some echoed vaguely, others awkwardly patched up the statement, but no one dared to point out its problem.

Gale didn't care, nor did he pay any mind to these flatteries, just smirked coldly.

Just wait and see.

It's not just him losing face, but everyone. If the list hadn't been published, there might've been ways to mend it, but published meant no face given at all.

This issue's big!

Chapter 871: Open Spears Are Easy to Dodge, Hidden Arrows Hard to Guard Against

The same battle report was not only updated on the official website forum, but also appeared in Leader Absek's hands.

Presidential Mansion.

Sitting at the desk, Absek finished reading the report in his hand, stood up spiritedly, and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Damn... After being a loser for so long, it feels damn good to finally make a comeback! What a beautiful fight!"

Seeing the chief leader's happy expression, Wadya, the Internal Affairs Committee Member standing by, also had a smile on his face.

However, fulfilling his duties, he softly reminded after the smile.

"Sir, the Ten Thousand Leader of the 110,000 team is Yakale, that person is with Udonuo."

Although the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poluo Country and the Academy's Internal Affairs Department have similar names, their functions and establishment goals are entirely different.

The latter is an institution responsible for internal management affairs of the Academy, while the former in fact aligns with the Mammoth Nation's Assault Squad, equivalent to an internal secret service responsible for monitoring whether officers and committee members at all levels are performing their duties, and also creating secret dossiers for certain individuals that need attention.

For instance, close associates like Anvo who have grown wings, young officers like Yishel who have abilities, and even education committee member Kaba Ha representing literary political strength, agricultural committee members representing farming political strength, etc., are included.

This includes even Zayed "in the wild" and the Family Meeting, which have been advised by Internal Affairs to observe. It's just that later his subordinates did not see any potential for the Family Meeting to become a political force, or even have a chance to enter the political stage of Tiandu, so investigations were reduced.

After all, there are too many things that need attention.

Compared to the Family Meeting that did nothing, those guys in the army who are flirting with the Weilante people deserve more attention.

After all, he himself once flirted with the Army, the battle situation is so urgent now, surely there are people hedging bets ready to play tricks behind the scenes.

The ruthless person who died on the throne has always been an indelible shadow in Absek's heart.

He always worries about a lunatic suddenly jumping out to kill him one day, so he has been cautiously doing preventive work.

However, there are multiple forces within Poluo Country, several major committee members hold military power, including himself, who secured the position of chief leader of Poluo Country with the help of multiple forces, so it is naturally impossible to boldly establish an assault squad like Laxi and point submachine guns at anyone who opposes.

Therefore, most of the time this department is active behind the political stage of Tiandu, mainly conducting background investigations to provide reference for the chief leader's decisions.

Absek understood what Wadya meant by saying that Yakale, the Ten Thousand Leader, was once Udonuo's subordinate, implying he was a former subordinate of Heavenly King Anush.

Among the entire army of Poluo Country, he is most wary of Anush's former subordinates.

Those people are like time bombs.

Not only are they potentially seeking revenge at any time, but they are also likely to turn tables for Heavenly King Anush in the future and drag Poluo Country into an unseen abyss.

Though he joined forces with other committee members to purge a batch of the most extreme individuals, he knows clearly that urgent purges like that could never be thorough.

The dirty side of zz, lies herein.

The best fate for these people is to die tragically on the battlefield, carrying the evil committed by the King's Army, rather than becoming living heroes.

Absek hesitated for a moment, but ultimately failed to harden his heart, sighed and said.

"...We cannot always live in the past, we also need to look forward."

Wadya slightly stunned, respectfully said.

"What do you mean?"

"We must give him a chance to be marked by us... Moreover, absorbing some promising officers is a benefit for us."

Absek pondered for a long time, his gaze fell on the battle report, and suddenly opened his mouth.

"Then... promote Yishel to two-star Ten Thousand Leader, appoint him as the commander of the Northern Field Army, leading the Third and Eleventh teams to support the Mammoth Nation's operations in the Northern Three States!"

In Akale's victory, the Third team and the Alliance's Death Legion were the main defense, capturing one of the Army's ten thousand troops in entirety, its commander Yishel should logically be promoted.

This two-star Ten Thousand Leader was well-deserved!

Not only that, this person was once the subordinate of Anvo, who is his own, making Yakale count as one under his command.

If this guy isn't foolish, he should understand Absek's painstaking intent.

As for Akale County, it should be handed over to other teams.

Moreover, since the Army suffered a loss there, they certainly will reclaim face from it soon, which would likely be a fierce battle.

Currently, Dog State is precarious; Poluo Country's past helps consolidate relations with the Mammoth Nation strategically, avoid casualties in one's troops tactically in the upcoming tough battle, while also drawing a promising future general into his faction.

This could be said to kill three birds with one stone!

Absek was greatly satisfied with his strategy, and Wadya, after thinking all over, saw no issues with it, hence respectfully accepted the order.

"Yes."

Wadya accepted the order, turned around, and left the office.

Absek returned to sit at the desk, but before he got comfortable, he received a call from the Alliance representative, who informed him of the disastrous news that four airships had already arrived at West Sail Port.

The Alliance representative comforted him not to worry too much, although worrying would be useless, evidently not fitting as comfort.

One airship had destroyed half of Lion City, now there came four.

If this news were to be announced, probably half of Poluo Country would be in chaos before the battle even starts.

While he was fretting, urgent footsteps suddenly came from outside the office, followed by two thudding knocks, and before he could respond, the door was rudely opened.

"Absek, give me an explanation, damn it! What does this mean!"

Striding into the office was "Tiger King" Duwata with an angry look, fiercely slamming the newspaper in his hand onto the desk.

Startled by the commotion, Absek initially thought someone was assassinating him, his hand reaching into the desk drawer, until he saw it was Duwata who came in, he angrily straightened up and cursed.

"What the hell is wrong with you again?"

Duowata glared, cursing angrily.

"What's wrong with me? I'm out there on the defense with the brothers against the Vellante people, while you sit here in the office enjoying yourself. What the hell is wrong with me? I just have one question for you: why isn't my son up there?"

Absek picked up the "Survivor Daily", glanced at it, and his eyes fell on the list of the big exam. Instantly, he understood what was going on.

This Kaba is really stubborn, making a ranking list and even publishing it in the newspaper, leaving no room for any remedy.

He felt fine with it, but that wasn't necessarily the case for others.

Moreover, in these 500 names, more than half are relatives of the old regime's nobles. Even if you don't ask how the residents of Tiandu City feel about it, what would the soldiers think?

Even if those 500 people selected are truly pillars of society, this isn't the way to handle it.

The reason he modeled this committee after the Alliance and South Sea Union's representative meeting was so that everything could be put on the table to discuss. There shouldn't be situations where there isn't even a channel for discussion, and when problems arise, everyone pulls out their guns and goes to extremes without a word.

This guy, though.

He wears the committee member hat, enjoying the benefits of being able to say anything in the committee, yet he treats his Absek as an absolute monarch.

Absek felt both angry and amused, but more than that, he felt helpless and frustrated.

Perhaps appointing Kaba to the educational commissioner position was indeed a mistake.

Once Tiandu University is built, it might be better to let him be a university president instead.

This guy has some skills, but it's clear he's not cut out for politics.

However, at this critical moment, he doesn't have the heart for more detailed adjustments. He can only temporarily kick the ball back and deal with it after the war is over.

"This... the exam matters are not under my jurisdiction. If you have an issue with the scores, talk to our education commissioner."

Duowata squinted his eyes.

"Not under your jurisdiction, but wasn't Kaba appointed by you? Fine, then I'll go visit his house with some people now!"

He turned to leave, but Absek suddenly shouted at the back of his head.

"You stop right there!"

Duowata paused, turned back to glare at him, with no hint of fear in his eyes.

"Absek, I'm calling you Chief Leader because I consider you one of us. I'll be honest with you. The brothers follow you because they think it's a better path than following Anush."

"I have no objection to your promoting the remnants of the old Empire. Poluo Country has uses for them. But if you let them shit on the brothers' heads wanting to be some absolute emperor, don't blame me for not warning you—the last person who did that didn't end up well."

Absek's heart skipped a beat, and Anush's face appeared in his mind again.

He widened his eyes but eventually suppressed his anger, stood up from his chair, walked to his old friend's side, placed his hands on his shoulders, and spoke earnestly.

"Hey! You misunderstood me, brother. How could I let the old nobles of the Empire ride on the brothers' necks? Those 500 students are going to the Mammoth Nation to gain experience, not to enjoy themselves! And as a big committee member, why are you fixated on those students' spots? If you want to pave a path for your son, just tell me which division you want!"

Duowata chuckled coldly.

"I don't care; my son is definitely material for a general. But my subordinates are keeping a close watch. Don't play dumb with me; after we win this war, when it's time for construction, will you only let those students become professors? Even if they do become professors, won't the students they teach end up becoming heads or ministers?"

Before Absek could respond, Duowata continued word by word.

"This move of yours is brilliant... nurturing the nobles' children of the old Empire. Once this war is over and most of us old guys are dead, you'll use the power of these new nobles to balance against our children. Tsk tsk, I knew you, old fox, aren't easy to deal with, but don't take us for fools."

"No... you're overthinking it. Do you know what time it is now? The Army's airship is almost on our doorstep!" Absek looked exasperated.

Frankly speaking, he hadn't thought that far, although it did sound interesting and might be worth a try.

Speaking of which, this 'Tiger King' seems burly and rough, but who knew he was as cunning as me in ten thousand ways.

Why are the people around me always like this?!

If these bastards would just shift this cleverness to other areas, becoming scientists, engineers, or artists, even painters, would we have needed the Alliance to build the space elevator, or the Army to invade them?

With Vellante's straightforward schemes, they could just hang them up and beat them!

"One thing at a time. My subordinates demand an explanation from me, so I demand an explanation from you. If you don't give me one, then I'll tell them exactly what you said, and whatever happens afterward isn't my fault."

Seeing this guy resistant to all persuasion, Absek's anger surged. He glared and warned him.

"I warn you, don't mess around! If Tiandu City can't be defended, both you and I—"

Duowata raised his hand to interrupt.

"Don't worry about that. I won't mess around on significant issues, but if someone is corrupt, the reformists won't stand idly by."

"If there's nothing else, I'm heading back to the camp."

Leaving those words, Duowata walked out without looking back.

Absek stared fiercely at his retreating back, frustrated yet helpless.

It was then that Wadia, the Internal Affairs commissioner who had gone to send a telegram to the front lines, returned.

Seeing the stern face of the Chief Leader, and recalling the brief encounter with Duowata earlier in the corridor, he immediately guessed the reason for the situation.

Closing the door behind him, he reminded him in a low voice.

"Sir, perhaps I shouldn't say this... but when we need to be ruthless, we must be ruthless."

Absek sighed.

"It's not that I can't be ruthless or am nostalgic. The circumstances simply don't allow it. Outside, the Weilante people are eyeing us greedily, internally, there's that slippery Shaluk in the south waiting for a chance to benefit. If we go too far here, Shaluk can immediately raise another banner, and then the chaos would be more than just in Tiandu."

Looking at the troubled Leader, Wadia's heart stirred slightly, and he immediately offered advice.

"What does the Alliance think about this?"

Absek shook his head.

"On the battlefield, we can rely on them, but the Alliance has made it clear they won't intervene in our internal affairs. Moreover... they also don't recommend we be too harsh on our own people; otherwise, I wouldn't have set up this committee. Sigh, it's still a matter of time, there's just too little time left for us. If only we had a few more years."

Perhaps it's not just the problem of Kaba Ha, the entire committee has big issues.

Those people say they support reform, but in their hearts, there's still an omnipotent emperor, viewing themselves as loyal ministers who dare to give advice, rather than a part of this collective.

This emperor is sometimes the Alliance, sometimes it's him, the Leader, or maybe someone else.

And the most critical part is, this emperor appears "selectively".

When their own cake is at stake, those committee members raise the flag of equality, warning him not to mess around. But when they want to snatch the cake from others, they suddenly hope he would mess around, and preferably recklessly cut through it.

This is the case with the Education Committee, and so are the Industrial and Agricultural Committees, among others.

Perhaps, from its birth, this committee was doomed to become a seemingly united yet essentially divided alliance.

And it happens to be the moment when Poluo Country most needs unity.

After pondering for a moment, Absek looked at his Internal Affairs Committee member and ordered.

"Send some people to protect Kaba Ha and his family... I'm worried some might target him from within the army."

The list for the big exam has already been published; this matter certainly can't be undone.

But there's still a way to resolve it.

For instance, adding an honor list outside the main exam results, having the families of military personnel take another separate test.

Or promising in the next big exam to give extra points to the children of fallen soldiers.

However, it's not effective if only Poluo Country decides; Mammoth University also needs to agree.

The educational resources on the other side are not infinite, and they too face similar allocation issues internally.

Additionally, Absek calmed down and carefully recalled what Duwata said. Although this guy first mentioned his son, none of his subsequent words referred to his son, mainly aiming to secure benefits for his subordinates.

Come to think of it, as a grand committee member, he wouldn't covet those few study-abroad spots; if he did, it might be for other interests.

Such as influence in economic, industrial, transportation, and cultural fields.

Poluo Country is currently impoverished and ignorant about these things, and in the future, it will rely on those who go outside to learn.

Those five hundred students are the pioneers, and in the future, how roads in Poluo Country are built, how power lines are set up, how mines are dug, how steel is forged—all will depend on what these people decide.

He cannot guarantee that the son of his Ten Thousand Leader can also be a Ten Thousand Leader in the future, but securing some names to appoint someone as a director is not a problem.

People often inadvertently reveal what they truly care about.

Absek finally realized why Duwata made that seemingly "nonsensical" remark at the end.

Because that's exactly what he was thinking!

This guy is really hiding deep!

Thinking of this, Absek added a sentence after instructing Wadia on what to do.

"Forget it, just directly invite Kaba Ha and his family to the Heavenly Palace... outwardly claiming that I have him under house arrest."

This would at least quell the dissatisfaction within the army, and by then introducing a new plan acceptable to all parties, this matter would be resolved.

"Understood." Wadia nodded seriously, and suddenly remembered something, continuing, "By the way... there's another matter I need to report to you."

Absek pressed his temples and casually asked.

"What is it?"

Wadia spoke cautiously.

"The Zayed you sent east has persuaded the Grey Wolf Army to surrender."

Absek raised his head, unconsciously opening his mouth, stunned for a long time before speaking.

"...Does that guy really have the ability to do that?"

The one who would pose ready to worship upon meeting me?

Wadia nodded subtly, clearly finding it unbelievable too.

They never expected to recruit the Grey Wolf Army, yet this unknown figure popped out from nowhere and actually persuaded them to surrender.

But in any case, this indeed is a good thing without a doubt, at least they have no worries behind.

"We just received the telegram; they are currently heading to Snake State as per your instructions..."

Snake State...

That's currently under Shaluk's control.

Absek closed his eyes to think for a while, and suddenly opened them saying.

"If this Zayed indeed has the ability to persuade the Grey Wolf Army, he might give Shaluk some trouble."

Wadia nodded slightly.

"Are you planning to drive the wolf to swallow the tiger?"

Absek chuckled softly.

"I don't think he has that ability, but it's not a bad idea to keep Shaluk in check."

Since he couldn't effectively control either of these armies and didn't have the time, he might as well let them have an internal conflict, at least it wouldn't affect the deployment on the frontline.

Ultimately, he planned to settle the score with Shaluk over desertion in battle.

Trying to profit while staying out of sight?

He'll make sure that guy knows there's no way.

Listening to this clever plan, Wadia couldn't help but give a thumbs up and praise, "Leader, you're wise."

He truly admired this leader from the depths of his heart.

Although this person wasn't as upright as the Manager of the Alliance, in terms of cunning, the Manager of the Alliance might not be his match.

It's not something to be proud of, but it's a skill nonetheless.

If Anush were in this leader's position, he might end up being shot dead on the throne after a few more attempts...

While the war in Poluo Province was raging fiercely, on the other side of the Baiyue Strait, it was a scene of calm and tranquility.

Potato Harbor and Fried Dough Stick Port faced each other across the strait.

These two ports were originally only the size of fishing villages, but now they have developed significantly.

Whether it's the clean and tidy streets or the neatly arranged buildings, they all look completely different from before.

Standing on the deck of the cargo ship, Yarman squinted as he looked north, speaking to Hank, who was from the New Continent.

"The northern shore is Potato Harbor... do you see that beach?"

Following Yarman's pointed finger, Hank looked in that direction.

There, at the edge of Potato Harbor, near the westernmost jungle. The beautiful coastline was dotted with uniquely styled villas.

The houses seemed to blend with the environment, as if they weren't built brick by brick, but rather grew out of the ground.

Having never seen anything so peculiar, Hank couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"What is that?"

Yarman smiled.

"That's a kind of biomass material the Alliance created... I'm not exactly sure about the specifics, but what I want to talk about isn't the houses, but that beach."

Hank looked at him confused.

"What's special about that beach?"

Yarman squinted his eyes and continued.

"Over a year ago, when the Empire was still around, a group of 'Gray Wolves' landed here, attempting to launch a surprise attack on Potato Harbor, but the Alliance people drove them back into the sea."

There were reportedly many secrets behind that incident, even involving Aquatic Variant Humans.

However, the most widely circulated and accepted version is the one he's recounting now.

The spread of the truth isn't without its losses.

Even with such trivial matters.

"The Alliance and the Empire... were once enemies?" Hank's face showed disbelief, completely different from Western Legion propaganda.

The information he heard was that the Empire repeatedly switched sides between the Legion and the Alliance, accepting the Legion's benefits while attempting to align with the Alliance.

The cowardly Civil Official Group indulged those cunning rats, ultimately leading to the West Sail Port massacre, prompting the Southern Legion to initiate a just war.

Seeing Hank's surprise, Yarman grinned and said.

"That's still the case now, but their enemy is only the Empire, unrelated to the survivors living there."

Hank gave his fellow countryman a few more curious glances.

He realized that since leaving the Legion's territory, this guy's smile had increased.

He was growing more curious about what was so special about the Alliance to make a Weilante person yearn for it.

"Will we dock there?"

He was filled with interest in that prosperous port.

Not just because of its pleasant scenery and beautiful views, but because his intuition told him there might be business opportunities there that could lead to resurgence!

A brand new trade route!

It was much more attractive than the high-risk arms trade.

Looking at the harbor close by, Yarman smiled and said.

"Our destination isn't there; it's a place called No.1 Settlement."

Hank instinctively asked.

"Where is that?"

Yarman replied without hesitation.

"It's the former Potato Harbor, a place full of hope as well."

Chapter 872: Vastly Different Fates

The magnificent gantry crane stands tall at the port, with the concrete docks connecting the earth and the sea.

Various types of cargo ships are docked at the pier, and there are also some salvage ships, with workers in lightweight exoskeletons moving back and forth beside them.

This is No.1 Settlement at the Death Coast.

It's also where the Alliance's Burning Corps landed during the Torch War.

Although that war happened just last year, it seems like a long time has passed.

There are no longer any traces of the war visible along the entire coastline, and most people bustling on the shore are survivors making a living, rather than soldiers carrying guns.

The identities of these people vary greatly.

Some are Waste Land Wanderers from the Eastern Provinces, others are refugees from the Poluo Province, and there are islanders from the Southern sea area, as well as Weilante People from the west of the mainland or Spirit of the Sand Sea devotees from Luo Xia Province.

They differ not only in identity but also in their reasons for coming here.

Some came to escape the pursuit of Variants, Looters, and Farm owners in the Wasteland, while others came to avoid distant wars, plagues, and famines, or to seize the opportunity to rebuild the space elevator and get rich, traveling to the stars with the Alliance.

Every face moving here is filled with stories, just like himself who recently lost a large sum of money.

Hank couldn't help but feel a faint stir in his heart.

Before coming here, he worried that things might be terrible, but it turned out quite unexpectedly.

This place might become a new beginning...

If nothing unexpected happens.

Standing beside Hank, Yarman also gazed at the thriving urban area in the distance, slightly squinting his eyes.

"...I remember the last time I was here, the area connected to the port was still filled with containers, and now it's all pre-fabricated concrete houses."

The outline of the settlement is expanding outward along the port, and those containers might have been moved to areas closer to the inland.

After all, it's not safe to have those "empty boxes" near the sea; a strong wind might just blow them away.

Perhaps next time he comes, these pre-fabricated houses might also be dismantled and moved to other places, making room for higher, prettier buildings.

Just like what once happened in Giant Stone City.

After hearing Yarman's words, Hank's face showed a surprised expression.

"Containers? They actually let those Waste Land Wanderers live in containers?"

Yarman grinned: "A form of emergency housing during special times... Waste Land Wanderers from the Eastern continent have a unique skill; they can modify any material they see into a house. For example, these containers, cut out a door and window, and it can be lived in."

"Alright, I...just thought it was somewhat wasteful," Hank remarked with emotion, "after all, they're made of metal, and even if you can't use them, they can be recycled."

Yarman's expression became mildly subtle.

He had thought this guy was feeling pity for the Waste Land Wanderers, only to find out he was actually concerned about those containers.

"...Maybe, but the local philosophy is to make full use of everything."

Hank then asked.

"Does the shipping company just give them the containers?"

This was his most pressing concern.

The attention given to Waste Land Wanderers by the authorities is admirable, but if their method involves compulsory acquisition, or allowing Waste Land Wanderers to seize them forcibly, then this place, no matter how prosperous it appears, wouldn't be a good investment target.

After all, prosperity can be fabricated, just like his brewery's financial report.

Just borrow more, and it's enough.

Yarman replied with a smile.

"Of course not, the local authorities pay the shipping company...and not only that, local import demand is booming, storage resources are tight. If they don't handle it quickly, they have to pay a large rent for those empty containers and occupied berths. Just in time, those shipping companies are in a hurry to set sail again, so if the local authorities are willing to buy those empty containers, why wouldn't they have it?"

Of course, the main reason is that containers at Silver Moon Bay and Jin Galun Harbor are sufficiently cheap.

The light industrial goods and food needed locally mostly come from these two places.

Additionally, raw materials from Potato Harbor and heavy industrial facilities from North Island also contribute.

Alliance's overseas investments are promoting native development.

Even from the perspective of Weilante People, he couldn't help but admire the Manager's strategic layout in places like Luo Xia Province, Poluo Province, and the Southern sea area.

If not for those Waste Land Wanderers' heartfelt yearning for the Alliance, bringing their wealth and knowledge here, the ten settlements distributed along the coast of Eastern Provinces couldn't have developed this rapidly.

Keep in mind, just a few months ago, this place was still the territory of Aquatic Variant Humans and the Torch.

While Yarman was pondering this, an acquaintance approached from the docks, greeting him from afar.

"Long time no see! My friend, you finally returned!"

Looking at Yarman standing on the deck, Zhang Ze's face was filled with excitement.

He's so excited not because he misses this guy with a big nose, but because there's a treasure trove on that guy's ship!

Thousands of young laborers!

For No.1 Settlement which is in the development phase, what could be more precious than a gold mine?!

Over the past few months, through multiple testimonies, he not only found survivors of the West Sail Port tragedy but also obtained video evidence of the Lion City tragedy. Finally, at the hearing, he left the local representatives speechless, paving a fast track for the refugees in the Poluo Province area to quickly obtain "Regulated Identity" status.

Although getting the Regulated Identity isn't very difficult, one only needs to swear they're not a Looter to enter the "assessment period" and receive a temporary ID.

However, given the special circumstances of the Eastern Provinces, merely swearing is insufficient to eliminate Looters hiding among the refugees, and unlike the River Valley Province, with its established methods and developed agencies to complete this regulatory task, Haiya Province's settlement lacks such a system.

Thus, according to local needs, some restrictions were placed on the temporary identities, such as not being able to conduct loan transactions, or engage in certain industries, etc.

This way, the potential risks that the settlement might encounter in the process of assimilating this batch of immigrants are minimized. At least it reduces the chances of an ogre becoming the attending physician, or an arsonist becoming a firefighter.

These regulations mainly target survivors with entirely blank identities.

Survivors from the Ideal City, Province of Yúnjiānxíng, South Sea Union, or Luo Xia Province are not subject to these restrictions.

This includes sailors from Potato Harbor and Jin Galun Harbor, even the Weilante people from the west of the continent.

They can skip the temporary identity phase and directly obtain a "supervised" identity. Depending on their abilities, they can even shorten the supervision period to just a few days, almost like receiving a direct Alliance ID card.

Zhang Ze did not secure equal rights for the Poluo people as those of the Ideal City residents, as that was unrealistic and would never gain support from anyone.

However, to facilitate his business operations, he still made every effort to secure equal rights for those refugees with the "identified survivors."

It is well known that Poluo Province does not have looters in the broad sense.

The local survivors are hardworking, so applying rules meant to filter out looters against them is evidently bullying honest people.

After fully soliciting opinions from all parties, the representative council finally compromised and signed Act No. 10.

The Act allows private institutions to provide guarantees for unidentified survivors after paying full deposits, allowing them to bypass the temporary identity evaluation period as supervised individuals.

If these survivors commit criminal acts during the evaluation period, they will not only face criminal prosecution but also have the deposit paid by the private institution forfeited to compensate the victims.

This effectively shifts the risk originally borne by society as a whole onto those "who wish to earn this money." The local authorities naturally have no objections.

Having resolved the legal issues, Zhang Ze immediately registered the "Hanging Wall Labor Intermediary Company" according to the plan previously discussed with his partners, waiting for the refugees—oh no, migrants to disembark.

Watching the young man excitedly waving his hand on the shore, Hank looked puzzledly at Yarman beside him and asked.

"Who is this?"

Yarman waved towards the dock and simultaneously said to his compatriots beside him.

"Zhang Ze, one of the shareholders of Hanging Wall Labor Intermediary, my partner on the Death Coast... I'll introduce you later."

Yarman provided Hank with a brief overview of the situation at No.1 Settlement and the nature of the Hanging Wall Labor Intermediary Company, including its profit model, among other things.

Even though he had just arrived, he had been communicating with Zhang Ze via telegram throughout the journey, so he was relatively familiar with the situation here.

Hank listened in a daze, inwardly thinking, "This damn well works too." But to gather more information, he refrained from voicing his opinion and just listened carefully.

Just as Yarman finished briefly introducing his company's business, Zhang Ze had already climbed onto the deck via the gangway, squeezing past the passengers eager to disembark, and walked to the bow.

Apart from himself, he was accompanied by a staff member from the Settlement Resident Office, with a thin tablet computer tucked under his elbow.

"This is Mr. Yarman, another partner in our company!"

The staff member shook hands with Yarman and then said in an official tone.

"Hello, Mr. Yarman, I am the person in charge here... Could you please provide the passenger list? We need to register the personnel before issuing them their IDs."

"No problem, I've prepared the list. Please have a look."

As he spoke, Yarman took a roster from his assistant and handed it to the settlement office staff.

Hank's eyes were fixed on the roster, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

It looks familiar!

Very familiar!

This is something he could do too!

Although Yarman had been explaining along the way that this was fundamentally different from the slave trade, in Hank's view, the difference wasn't significant; it was just replacing slave contracts with debt contracts.

Yet, Hank did not intend to compete with his savior for business, nor was it his style to pick up leftovers from others.

Looking at the heads of people bustling about and the eyes full of yearning, he quickly spotted another huge business opportunity.

After completing the handover procedures, Zhang Ze led the group of Poluo people from the ship ashore and arranged to meet Yarman at the bar afterwards.

Once everyone was done, Hank immediately pulled Yarman aside, looking at him intently.

"I want to stay here."

Seeing Yarman's surprised expression, Hank continued before he could speak.

"...Of course, I won't make you guarantee me for free. I can pay my fare from West Sail Port, just like everyone else."

Seeing Hank's eager expression, Yarman composed himself and said.

"The Alliance and the Army have established diplomatic relations, so you don't need a guarantee, or rather, the embassy of Triumph City in the City of Dawn has already guaranteed for you... But you don't plan on returning to West Sail Port with me?"

Hank made a helpless expression.

"What's the use of going back? My brewery has probably already been auctioned off by now, and I bet the insurance company will certainly not compensate me for that batch of goods unless the South Sea Union publicly admits that their freighter was the one that got blown up."

This will become a prolonged legal battle. He won't give up the right to claim insurance, but that doesn't mean he's going to stake his life on it.

Wherever you fall, that's where you rise again; that's his motto for life.

Yarman sized him up a few times, his eyes unable to hide a glint of admiration.

"You do seem open-minded."

Hank grinned.

"What else can I do? Shed tears in the direction of the sunken ship? That's not my style."

Yarman patted him on the shoulder as a sign of encouragement.

"I'll take you to the office to handle the identity issues later. By the way, have you decided what to do yet?"

Hank smiled confidently.

"Not entirely sure yet, but I have a general direction."

Yarman raised an eyebrow slightly surprised, and curiously asked a question.

"Care to share it with me?"

"There's no reason not to, it's practically an open secret," Hank shrugged lightly, glanced back at the faces on the deck that were both anxious and eager, grinned and said, "You also mentioned, these folks won't be living in containers forever."

"I bet the first thing they'll do when they get rich is definitely to buy themselves a big house."

Yarman looked surprisingly at this man who had picked himself back up, not expecting that this guy, without even a set place of his own yet, was already considering solving others' housing issues.

"That's quite the big business..."

"That's right, so I need to find a job first to repair my credit, then go borrow some money from the bank to start my plan."

Seeing Yarman's surprised face, Hank confidently smiled and continued.

"Just wait and see, I'll earn back all the money I lost... We might even have opportunities to work together in the future."

Yarman didn't really believe in this ambitious guy, but he didn't want to discourage his compatriot, so he just smiled politely and said.

"I'll wait for your good news then."

Knowing that his benefactor didn't take his words seriously, Hank didn't mind and simply smiled and said,

"When you come back next time, you'll know I'm not joking."

...

With the help of the Hanging Wall Labor Intermediary Company, 2,700 new immigrants from West Sail Port successfully completed their registration procedures at the No.1 Settlement's office and obtained the status of "supervised person."

From now on, they will strive as the Alliance's "quasi-citizens," to end the Wasteland Era and liberate all the suffering survivors.

Of course, this doesn't conflict with the loans they need to repay.

Even if they plan to liberate aliens, they'd better get their current life in order first.

The Alliance is not a Utopia, it only saves those who save themselves.

If you consider this an Ideal City, you will regret it, but if all you want is fairness, you won't be too disappointed.

However, with the diligence of these Mouse Tribe and Snake Race members, having a good life should only be a matter of time. Rather than worrying about their dissatisfaction, it's better to worry about them working too hard and outcompeting the Wasteland Wanderers of the Eastern Provinces.

Just as these "newbies" with anxious yet excited hearts were following labor intermediaries to construction sites and docks, their hometown had a different scene.

In Poluo Province, Akale County in the western Bull State, at the bend of the Everflow River, soldiers on the eastern front were chewing on nutritional paste.

Although Edge Shoveling also wanted to share some instant noodles with the brothers of the allied forces, the harsh reality didn't allow it.

Planes occasionally flew overhead, sometimes belonging to the Army, sometimes the Alliance, and neither could fully secure air supremacy.

Given the situation, they didn't dare to start a fire to cook or boil water, and neither did the Vellante people across the line.

After all, now is different from before.

The 110,000th Squad of Poluo captured 52 "fire crossbow" self-propelled guns and nearly a thousand-team's worth of shells.

The psychological pressure of the 200mm artillery on the Vellante people far exceeded that of the 155mm ones.

Even though in combat, the latter caused casualties to the Vellante people at a tenfold higher rate than the former...

The war thus fell into a stalemate.

With the reinforcement of airships, the Vellante people did not hastily launch an offensive but changed their previous aggressive strategy. They extended the battlefront from just tens of kilometers to several hundred kilometers, turning that sharp wedge into a wide-bladed axe.

This was a tricky situation for Poluo Country, which lacked logistical equipment.

Although Poluo had a numerical advantage, the inability to provide mutual support between different positions was a major vulnerability.

If not careful, they might repeat the disaster encountered in Lion State.

That is, getting punctured by the corps that could concentrate forces with mobility, causing the entire line to fall into chaos in retreat and defense and ultimately collapsing without being attacked.

However, even though both sides' front lines had expanded to several hundred kilometers, Akale County remained a checkpoint neither side could ignore.

Whether in terms of geographical strategic importance or psychological strategy, the Southern Legion was determined to take it.

That's why both the Death Legion players and Poluo Country soldiers stationed here were prepared to fight the corps for every inch of land.

To avoid being dragged by prisoners when the fight began, they had specially sent previously captured prisoners to the rear.

According to the agreement reached between the Alliance and the Triumphant City's ambassador, the Vellante people would head to Jinjaron Harbor once they reached Tiandu.

Only there was the capacity and resources to settle these people.

When it came to the prisoners' destinations, Yishel couldn't help but banter with Edge Shoveling, saying that the dream of Poluo Country's survivors was to get ashore, something unattainable in a lifetime, while those big-nosed people could reach it by merely surrendering.

"...So I always feel that sometimes Anush was wrong yet not wrong. Perhaps fairness doesn't really exist in this world. I could save those innocent civilians in the church, but I couldn't save myself or my compatriots."

Edge Shoveling was momentarily at a loss for words.

It's hard to explain the outside world's nature, logic, and rules to someone who has never left the land beneath their feet.

Although the war between the corps and the Alliance had practically started, the relationship between the Alliance and Triumphant City wasn't bad.

Bennott had been trying to cool the flames of this fire, and the Manager also didn't want this anti-Empire ZY war to become a war against all Vellante people.

After all, if that were the case, it would mean repeating the path of the War Construction Committee.

However, everyone has their limitations.

Whether it's the person sitting in front of him or himself.

"...I don't think going to Jinjaron Harbor means they have landed, their shore is in Triumphant City. If they don't bring back what they saw, they'll never truly make it ashore."

After a pause, Edge Shoveling continued, "Including you guys... I don't think just because you went to Jinjaron Harbor or somewhere else means you've landed ashore."

Yishel smiled and spoke in a casual tone.

"So where is our shore?"

Edge Shoveling said softly.

"Actually, it's right under your feet... but I think, even if I say so, you'll still think I'm just talking easy from a standing position."

"I don't think that way, brother, I'm not such a petty person," Yishel sighed, glanced at the starry sky, and then at the mud on his shoes, "I just think... this road is so damn long, I wonder if my grandson's grandson will see it for me."

Looking at that gloomy face, Edge Shoveling placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He definitely will... and I believe you don't have to wait until your grandson's grandson, you yourself can see it."

Yishel laughed heartily.

"I'll take your kind words then!"

It's not that easy.

But he didn't say this to his good brother across from him, he just kept the thought in his heart.

At this moment, an officer walked over, stood firm, and saluted.

"Report! A telegram from Tiandu!"

Yishel quickly stood up, patted the dirt off his pants, took the telegram from the officer's hands and read it from start to finish, grinning slightly.

"That Absek... hah."

Seeing Yishel's half-smiling expression, Edge Shoveling also patted his pants and stood up, walking over to ask.

"What's written on it?"

"Nothing much, just a transfer order," seeing the alliance brother's interest, Yishel handed the telegram over, "Our leader wants to form a field army to support the Northern Three States of the Mammoth Nation... after all, Laxi has helped us a lot, we must reciprocate."

Edge Shoveling's expression was a bit odd.

"... Do you still have the capacity to support others?"

The Mammoth Nation's army had undergone comprehensive re-equipment and restructuring, though it still couldn't match the legion on the front battlefield, at least it wouldn't cause too much trouble for the Alliance.

Because of this, the Alliance's aid to the Mammoth Nation was mainly financial, while most volunteers came to Poluo Country.

He really couldn't figure out what this was about.

Yishel grinned.

"This you don't understand, Poluo people's philosophy isn't the art of speaking, but the art of not speaking."

Edge Shoveling was taken aback.

"The art of not speaking?"

Yishel nodded.

"Saying nothing, yet saying everything. Like this transfer order, on the surface it's to reinforce the north, but in reality, it's for us to seek refuge."

As for what to avoid, Yishel didn't explicitly say. But it wasn't because of any art of not speaking, it was due to emotional intelligence.

Edge Shoveling was silent for a while, then sighed deeply.

"... Truly, shallow water has many turtles."

"Treachery! It's treachery!" Debt Giant Eye and the foreman nearby whispered to each other excitedly.

We've got treachery, plague, and trickery! Is desire far off?

He was already looking forward to the next expansion!

Yishel chuckled bitterly, shrugged, and said.

"In any case... as you guys say, every family has its struggles. Absek has his own difficulties, "Horse King" Shaluk keeps an eye on him, and he has inner demons he can't escape. But on the flip side, it's not all bad. Without a slippery one like Shaluk, he might've become one himself."

Edge Shoveling was suddenly speechless.

He thought the most scheming minds on the wasteland were in the Academy, but he didn't expect there to be a "Phoenix Chick" hidden south of the Jubar Mountains.

However, the Academy's intrigues were mainly external and for self-preservation, while here, people's minds seemed focused on internal conflicts, even evolving a unique philosophical theory from this.

Coming from a civilized society, Edge Shoveling couldn't understand, but was greatly shocked.

Seeing the alliance brother's bewildered expression, Yishel cleared his throat and said.

"By the way, don't worry, we won't leave you alone to defend here... afterwards, two ten thousand troops will come to replace us, just trouble you to teach them what you taught us."

Edge Shoveling collected himself and said to him.

"I'm not worried about that, whether or not there's anyone with us, we'll do our best to defend... as long as you haven't given up resistance."

Yishel laughed and said.

"You don't need to worry about that, Absek is an ass, but not an idiot. If he dares to surrender, I'll bet he won't see the sun tomorrow."

Edge Shoveling laughed with him, then restrained his smile, saluting with a clasped fist.

"Take care, brother."

Yishel returned the gesture with a respectful expression.

"You too, take care!"

Chapter 873: An Evenly Matched Showdown

The news of the establishment of the Northern Field Army from the restructured 11th and 30,000th troops quickly spread across the front lines, and reactions varied from the command level to the grassroots troops.

Some people breathed a sigh of relief, even feeling fortunate, especially those with families and the old soldiers who had been on the battlefield for a long time.

After all, anyone with a keen eye could see that staying here was almost certain death.

However, some people expressed incomprehension or even indignation.

Most of these people were young, especially lads aged fifteen to seventeen.

Having heard of the atrocities committed by the Weilante people in Lion City, they were already filled with anger, eager to engage in a life-and-death battle with those big-nosed foes immediately.

The retreat of the Horn Number, in particular, gave them a glimmer of hope for victory — the brothers of the Alliance showed them through their actions that the army was not invincible.

But now, with just a single order from Absek, they were asked to hand over this opportunity, pouring cold water onto their fiery passion!

Especially Commander Yocale of the 11th Ten Thousand Troops.

Another major contributor to the great victory in Akale County, he immediately stood up from the command table with rage after hearing the relayed order from Yishel.

"I disagree!"

As if feeling that his tone was not intense enough, he followed up immediately with a resolute tone after saying the first sentence.

"I strongly disagree! You know the strategic significance of Akale County too. Once the army controls this place, their supply lines can drive straight through our southern plains! Moreover, to change defenses at this time is practically playing with the lives of our frontline soldiers!"

After all, the Northern Three States are mostly mountainous, and the Mammoth Nation's army logistics system doesn't have ammunition for 200mm guns, and Absek couldn't possibly leave these equipment for Laxi.

Which means that once their 11th Ten Thousand Troops head north, they'll have to leave behind those 52 self-propelled guns.

His soldiers had just painstakingly learned how to operate those cannons, and now Absek was asking him to spit out the meat already in their mouths; how could he agree!

As for death.

He wasn't as afraid of that.

Since hearing the news of Udonuo's death, he was already prepared to die heroically, as long as he could kill more Weilante people, he believed even death would be worthwhile.

Faced with the furious Yocale, Yishel found himself speechless for a moment.

The strategic significance of Akale County was indeed important, not only could they see it, but the army could see it too.

However, precisely because of this, the army would definitely do its utmost to attack here. Even with support from the Death Legion, relying solely on their numbers to defend this place was almost impossible.

The best they could hope for was to eliminate as much of the army's living strength here as possible, laying the groundwork for future victories.

This is akin to horse racing.

Using ponies to take out the opponent's superior horses, hoping to use their own superior horses in the second encounter to take out the opponent's medium horses.

The cruel part, however, is that the losing horse will die.

Therefore, this is not only a military matter but also a political one.

Yocale apparently did not understand the olive branch thrown by Absek.

Yishel could even assert that if this guy dared defy the orders, even if he won the battle in the future, he would end up on the execution ground.

Though he didn't want to use his rank to pressure people, he also didn't want to watch the guy go down the wrong path, so he assumed the authority of an officer and gave an order in a firm tone.

"Van Leader Yocale! This is an order! Following orders is your duty, I don't want to say it a second time!"

Yocale's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What if I don't listen?"

Yishel said expressionlessly.

"Then I'll have to send you to the military court."

The air inside the command tent instantly turned tense.

Sensing the confrontational atmosphere, the guards on both sides couldn't help but place their hands on their sidearms.

Yocale's eyes became slits as he stared intently at Yishel, who was expressionless, before suddenly shouting at the guards beside him.

"What are you doing? Do you want to rebel?"

The guard beside him was baffled but instinctively removed his hand from his holster.

The guards behind Yishel breathed a sigh of relief as well, removing their hands from their holsters.

If given a choice, they really didn't want to fight their compatriots.

Ever since the chaos of the Heavenly King, enough of their own people had died in infighting...

Walking over to Yishel, Yocale stared into his eyes and squeezed a sentence through gritted teeth.

"...Fine, I'll listen to you."

Just like the guards by his side, he would rather die at the hands of the Weilante people than by their own hands, and he certainly didn't want to be branded a traitor.

Although this didn't contradict the anger in his heart.

What he particularly couldn't accept was that this guy, who until a month ago was a lowly leader of thousands, had now climbed over his head.

Back when Anush was still around, he was already a one-star leader of ten thousand!

Looking at the resentful gaze, Yishel didn't show much reaction, simply nodded slightly.

"Then hurry up and go."

...

The change of defense was now a foregone conclusion.

Just the day after Yishel spoke with Van Leader Yocale, the 50th, 51st, and 53rd ten thousand troops set off in grand procession towards the defensive segment at the bend of the great river.

Although these young lads were not very tall, most of them thin as beanpoles, each one of them was high-spirited and full of energy.

Moreover, their shoulders were all equipped uniformly with LD-47s, their waists strapped with engineer shovels like those of the Death Legion, and occasionally, a couple of brothers carried RPG rocket launchers on their backs.

This fine equipment made the brothers of the 11th Ten Thousand Troops envious.

Most of them were the remnants of Udonuo's old forces, and their equipment was all hard-earned plunder from the Weilante people.

These guys are really something, starting with the "full-equipped" God Equip, and soon they'll "pick up for free" fifty-two self-propelled guns.

Near the logistics department.

A few old soldiers stood beside the ammunition storage, looking enviously at the new recruits "test driving" in the distance, unable to hold back their muttering.

"Damn, leaving such great equipment to these rookies is a total waste."

"Ha... who made us end up with a long-distance running champion."

"I remember that guy was also in Lion City back then, General Udonuo stayed behind, but he ran."

"Haha, cowards do find each other. Otherwise, why did he get promoted instead of our leader?"

"Tsk, just this coward is qualified to inherit the title of the third ten-thousand troops! It's simply an insult to Commander Meta!"

Commander Meta was the leader of the third ten-thousand troops and also the first leader-level officer from Poluo Country to die since the war started.

His fighting spirit, willing to die rather than surrender, inspired many, especially the grassroots soldiers.

The group whispered quietly until they saw Commander Yishel approaching from a distance, and then they stopped their gossip.

Dissatisfaction is dissatisfaction.

They weren't about to create trouble for their commander.

Although they hid their disappointment carefully, it was clearly not something that could be hidden from Yishel's eyes.

However, he wasn't the type to be narrow-minded, and there was no need to quibble with a bunch of grunts. After completing the equipment handover, he went straight back to the position of the third ten-thousand troops.

Unlike the brothers of the eleventh ten-thousand troops.

The reassembled third ten-thousand troops were all his loyal troops, from the thousands of leaders down to the grunts were his people.

Absek hoped he could take the chance of forming the Northern Field Army to incorporate Yakale under his command.

But given Yakale's previous uncooperative attitude, he didn't have high hopes for Yakale to actively cooperate with him.

He planned to promote some mid-level officers to the eleventh ten-thousand troops to serve as staff officers or instructors.

This way, regardless of whether Yakale could understand his difficult position, at least nominally it was justified.

He didn't want to see such a promising officer die in the power struggles outside the battlefield.

They'd already lost enough brothers for this...

After arranging the personnel matters, Yishel took a few of his guards and started to patrol the positions.

They would be leaving here tomorrow, and he wanted to take another look at the place where he once fought, and also to relax a bit.

When passing by an anti-aircraft position, Yishel suddenly noticed several helmets sticking up in a shell hole, gathered together looking at something.

During the safety meeting earlier, he had repeatedly emphasized with the officers below that except for necessary situations, no more than three people were allowed in the same pit.

Counting roughly, the whole squad was squatting inside!

Walking up quietly, Yishel took a look into the pit and saw in the center was a small booklet, and suddenly spoke.

"What are you guys looking at?"

Startled by the voice from above, a few soldiers quickly stood up, passing that booklet around, finally tossing it to a young fellow about sixteen or seventeen.

The young fellow looked quite honest, probably a farmer's kid. Yishel just gave him a glare, and he stammered the whole story out.

"Re-reporting to the officer! It's, it's 'Family Letter'..."

Yishel was slightly startled.

"What?"

The young fellow scratched his head, nervously said.

"...I don't know either; it was seized from those Vellante people, heard it's a banned book in West Sail Port."

How could the Vellante people have banned books from West Sail Port?

Yishel was puzzled but soon thought of the privileges of the Vellante people in West Sail Port, so he wasn't surprised anymore.

The Army had always followed the law of Triumph City for its own, while the law of West Sail Port was to restrict the people of Poluo.

Moreover, the book might not be the Vellante people's own, perhaps it was snatched from nearby farmers or citizens.

But what intrigued Yishel was what kind of book could scare the Vellante people so much that they vigorously banned it.

"Why the hell did you pick up the prisoners' stuff again? What did I say in the meeting before? Didn't your officer teach you?"

After getting a good scolding, the young fellow explained aggrievedly.

"I didn't take it... they left it behind."

"Let me take a look."

"Yes, sir!" Seeing the outstretched hand of the ten thousand leader, the young fellow immediately lifted the booklet above his head to pass it over.

Taking the "Family Letter", Yishel flipped through it and saw that it mainly consisted of some old clichés about persuading people toward good, nothing particularly fearsome.

It was just like the Silver Moon Sect's code.

At least he couldn't imagine why the Vellante people would be scared of this thing and even went as far as to ban it.

Or was there something hidden behind it?

However, what caught Yishel's interest was not the content of the book, but the phonetic symbols printed line by line.

This phonetic system was quite useful.

Back when Mr. Melgio taught them to read, he first taught them the phonetic symbols, then the rest.

The United Human language was actually quite simple.

Once you could read, you were basically on the way to being able to write.

Flipping the booklet from start to finish, Yishel shook it in his hand, and looked at the anxious young fellow, asking.

"Can you understand this stuff?"

The young fellow looked confused, glancing at his comrades. Those soldiers also looked at each other, shaking their heads as they said.

"Don't understand..."

"I can only write my name..."

"I barely understand a few phonetics... I can guess roughly."

Most of the soldiers in the Poluo Country's army are kids from poor families. Joining the army was both a spur-of-the-moment decision and an unavoidable choice due to life's pressures.

Even so, they vaguely have a concept in their minds that learning more is always beneficial.

Isn't the recent big exam the best example?

Although the exam took place in Tiandu, the news reached the front lines and stirred many, especially the young ones.

They yearn to change their own destinies.

This fervent emotion is as sincere as their desire to change the fate of this land.

Seeing their eager expressions, Yishel felt touched.

"If you try figuring things out yourselves, what can you come up with? Wait until we go north, I'll teach you!"

"Really?!"

The young man's face immediately showed an excited expression.

The other soldiers felt the same, hearing General Yishel would personally teach them to read, each became excited.

"Of course it's true," Yishel smiled and nodded, shaking the booklet in his hand, "Lend me this book for two days, and I'll return it later."

The young man said with a naive smile.

"No need, no need, we have more here, feel free to take a look."

More?

Yishel paused, but just nodded, not giving it much thought.

Because at that moment, the roar of propellers came from afar as iron airships gradually outlined below the clouds.

There were five majestic steel fortresses!

Indeed, as they predicted, the Southern Legion placed all their bets on the eastern line!

Not far in the woods, Edge Shoveling was sitting on a small stool at the edge of a bullet hole, adjusting his rifle.

Noticing the light through the gaps in the forest being blocked, he instinctively looked up, gazing at the distant sky.

With eyes slightly squinting, Edge Shoveling laid the rifle down.

"Finally here."

...

Arriving at the battlefield were not just five airships.

Also Commander Ryan personally leading the 30th ten thousand troops, and the reassembled and reinforced 34th and 37th ten thousand troops!

Billowing smoke rose from the horizon, tanks and armored vehicles outlined in the wilderness.

Unlike before.

This time, the Legion is serious!

Just as the two airships included the eastern bank of the Everflow River in their range, they decisively dropped the heavy anchor chain, completing the firing preparation.

On the bridge of the airship, Captain John gazed at the forest outside the floor-to-ceiling window, waving expressionlessly.

The adjutant standing beside quickly grabbed the communicator, shouting loudly.

"Fire!!!"

The moment the words fell, cannons spat out long tongues of flame.

A rain of bullets poured down like flying locusts, colliding with the dense forest accompanied by whooshing sounds.

"Boom!!!"

The explosion flames instantly filled half the mountaintop, yellow-green smoke almost swallowed the entire forest on the eastern side of the river.

This barrage surpassed the previous battle's Horn Number in terms of coverage and firepower density.

Not just this.

The rumbling cannon sounded for five rounds, as if intending to wipe out both the Alliance and Poluo Country's positions from the Earth!

After a relentless bombardment, toxic fumes almost washed over the entire forest, as the veiled vegetation visibly withered, gradually exposing hidden positions.

In previous battles, Horn Number also used chemical weapons, but the effect was far less outstanding than this time.

The reason for this superiority is simple.

The Southern Legion's frontline battlefield research institute improved the components and charge method of the "Mortal Serum."

Standing beside the floor-to-ceiling window, Martin in a white coat gazed fervently at the withering forest, eager to pierce the bulletproof glass with his nose.

As the director of the battlefield research institute, the "Mortal Serum" project is his work.

After the bombardment stopped, he immediately turned to Captain John sitting on the chair, smiling brightly.

"...How is it? Honorable Ten Thousand Leader, does my research satisfy you?"

"It's alright."

With the right arm on the chair's armrest and the chin resting on the hand, John replied indifferently.

Honestly, he'd prefer fire over gas.

However, unfortunately, this area is tropical, humid, and rainy, limiting the incendiary bomb's destructive range.

Receiving affirmation, Martin revealed a chilling smile and continued unceasingly.

"The toxicity can be further enhanced... but I need some corpses, mainly for research purposes."

John said succinctly.

"I will relay your request to Commander Ryan, cleaning up the battlefield is the army's work."

"Thank you very much!" Martin bowed deeply, then left the bridge on his own.

He had just finished watching the content he had accessed. Next, he only needed to wait for the Vellante people to deliver the bodies to his lab.

John did not stop him.

In fact, he couldn't wait for this guy who reeked of corpses to get as far away as possible.

The adjutant standing by the side glanced at the closed door, then looked at John sitting on the chair and couldn't help but sigh and say.

"This kind of guy is actually a resident of the refuge... I'd believe you if you said he was a mutant wearing human skin."

Looking at the land outside the floor-to-ceiling window, plowed by artillery fire, John chuckled lightly.

"I've never thought the refuge protects only good people. Concepts of good and bad are so vague and have never been the criteria for selection by the refuge."

Moreover, not all refuges perform normal sheltering tasks.

Among them are some twisted experiments, or big crises brewed over time.

Watching the advancing troops outside the window, the silent strategist finally spoke up.

"It's over, this war is essentially without suspense now."

He couldn't imagine anything that could stop this army.

Not even a nuclear bomb!

At that moment, a request for fire support came through the communication channel from the ground forces.

John looked at the adjutant next to him, who immediately understood and shouted into the communicator.

"Switch to incendiary shells!"

Just as the order was given, the cannons quickly finished loading.

After confirming the status of each gun crew, he immediately shouted again.

"Fire!!!"

Meanwhile, on the wilderness west of Everflow River, Ryan sat in the command vehicle, watching the flickering lights in the sky with a smile.

No carbon-based life form could survive such a concentrated barrage from the opposite trenches.

But just then, an exclamation came through the communication channel.

"Rockets! They're the Alliance's rockets!"

Upon hearing the voice, Ryan's pupils constricted sharply. He immediately reached out to activate the holographic screen and connected to the observation camera on the roof of the command vehicle.

Almost simultaneously, rockets trailing fiery tails surged into the sky, against the rain of fire from distant mountains.

Were those rockets targeting the airships?

Are they crazy?!

A trace of confusion flashed across Ryan's eyes, unable to understand what this was all about.

But his confusion didn't last long; the explosion in the sky quickly answered him.

Those rockets indeed didn't hit the airships, but the fragments and incendiary materials produced by the explosions were "sucked" in by the rows of outward-extending propellers.

Realizing what the Alliance was trying to do, Ryan's expression changed instantly, and he shouted into the intercom.

"Turn off the propellers!"

In fact, before he had even finished saying it, the captains had already realized the problem and ordered the propellers to be shut down.

Unfortunately, they were still a step too late!

The fuel-ignited propellers instantly turned into a ball of fire, and the fierce flames continued to spread along the extended wings towards the airships.

Three out of five airships had their wings ignited!

The deflection shields could block exploding fragments but not the burning flames.

Left with no choice, the three unlucky airships had to abandon their wings, letting the burning "wings" fall to the ground.

Although the wing damage was not fatal to the Legion's airships, losing mobility immediately was embarrassing enough for them.

Commander Ryan, with anger burning in his heart, gritted his teeth, wishing to crush them to dust.

"Horn, Rolling Thunder, heed my orders! Target their counterfire and hit them for me!"

Answers quickly came through the communication channel.

"Understood... but esteemed Commander Ryan, the enemy's rocket artillery positions are beyond our effective range!"

"Then pull up the anchor chain and sail over to hit them for me!"

Without a moment's pause, Commander Ryan continued to shout orders loudly.

"Attention 30th, 34th, 37th Ten Thousand Troops! Continue advancing toward the riverbank! Annihilate every living being in front of you!"

"Crush them!!!"

On the other side, on the eastern shore of Everflow River, Debt Giant Eye, wearing a gas mask, stood up on the position.

Although their rocket artillery had embarrassed the Legion, the opposing artillery also inflicted considerable casualties on them.

Including brother Edge Shoveling, who died in the previous bombardment.

But actually, it didn't really matter.

For the Skeleton Corps, sacrificing the army leader was accidental.

But for the Death Legion, it's just standard operation.

Taking over the command without hesitation, Debt Giant Eye shouted loudly.

"Brothers! These big-nosed ones aren't giving up, let's teach them a lesson!!!"

The communication channel soon resounded with roaring and enthusiastic shouts.

"Oooh ooh ooh!!!"

Chapter 874: Madness

Twisted steel burned on the muddy wasteland, and shattered corpses were buried near the riverside washed by rain.

After setting up a pontoon bridge, five thousand Glory Army soldiers wielding Ripper Rifles launched a charge, followed by another five thousand.

These clones, like unleashed hyenas, fiercely charged at the scattered positions of the Alliance and Poluo Country's army.

The fierce battles turned the entire forest into a brutal meat grinder, wave after wave of clones fed into it like rolling chunks of meat.

The same was true on the other side.

Enduring severe casualties under those near-frenzied charges.

Yet even so, the charge of more than ten thousand clone soldiers still couldn't break the positions standing on the east bank of the river.

The opponents seemed immortal, still occasionally erupting with sharp, sporadic gunfire after ten consecutive waves of charges and bombardments.

The gruesome scene made all the surrounded Weilante soldiers swallow hard, only just beginning to understand what their brothers in the 36th ten thousand troops had encountered.

But before they could rejoice that the deaths were just clone Cannon Fodder, they were met with their commander's thunderous roar.

"Our Glory Army has dismantled the enemy's line! Check your equipment now! Prepare for the assault!"

The clone infantry of the Glory Army is not unlimited, just like the support team's artillery, after firing, the regular army must still charge.

Especially since those clones are unsuited to fight scattered soldiers, resembling rabid dogs that are difficult to control and communicate with, fit only for charging at solid lines.

The leading thousand team quickly gathered at the bridgehead.

Military boots stepped over blurred bodies, and Weilante soldiers in exoskeletons and bullet-proof armor stared wide-eyed at the withered forest, venting fear and courage through their battle cries.

"Oh oh oh!!!"

They charged through the riverside defensive zone under the cover of armored vehicles and tanks, engaging in fierce skirmishes with the joint units hiding in the forest and hills.

The bloody slaughter officially began, the battle lasting from dawn until dusk, the flowing blood dyeing the land, the forest, the river, and the sun a deep crimson.

The Death Legion was wiped out!

The players holding the ground nearly exhausted their last bullets, even expending the weapons they picked up.

The rocket artillery of the Goblin Corps was the same.

The twelve "Storm" rocket launchers were all destroyed by the Horn Number airship, only a few scattered 155mm field guns in the mountains survived.

The Poluo Country's army also suffered heavy casualties.

The 50th, 51st, and 52nd ten thousand troops, just on the front line and unfamiliar with the situation, were forced into a hard fight, suffering heavy losses in a short time.

However, the Southern Legion also gained no advantage.

Leaving aside the ten thousand Glory Army, the regular army suffered casualties exceeding four thousand, and over three hundred vehicles were scrapped!

Furthermore, this was with the support of airships and the retreat of the Alliance's Burning Legion and the First Mechanized Division of Jinjaron Harbor back to Tiandu.

Besides the ground forces, there were significant losses in air power.

Of the five airships, three lost power.

Even if West Sail Port prepared replaceable wings, it would take one to two weeks to repair these three airships.

Watching the chaos on the distant riverfront, Commander Ryan, sitting in the command vehicle, clenched his fist, his teeth grinding.

After a long while, he squeezed out a curse through his teeth.

"...A bunch of incompetents!"

Although they won the battle, he felt no joy.

After all, according to his original plan, they would crush the forces stationed on the east bank like squashing a bug, redeeming the face and morale lost by the 36th ten thousand troops, but didn't expect to get bitten by the bug.

No one would cheer for such a costly victory.

He even saw traces of shock and fear on the faces of the soldiers that should never appear on Weilante soldiers.

Seeing the angry commander taking offense, the adjutant and the staff officers were nervously restless, not daring to utter a word.

At this moment, a communication request popped up on the holographic screen.

Seeing the signal flash, Ryan's heart skipped a beat, relaxing only after realizing it was from John, then he pressed the connect button.

Facing the face on the holographic screen, Ryan said expressionlessly.

"What is it."

Sensing Ryan's bad mood, John dared not ridicule the army's clumsiness as he usually did, but instead using a business-like tone he said.

"...General Giulion arranged for that Blue Ground Squirrel on my airship hopes we can provide him with some corpses, preferably those who were poisoned."

Ryan impatiently replied.

"So many dead people, how the hell should I find those poisoned ones for him."

As he finished speaking, an annoying snub nose jumped into the holographic screen.

"Give me an engineering team! And a medical team! I can set up a frontline research institute myself!"

Hearing this request, Ryan coldly laughed in his heart.

An engineering team plus a medical team...

Quite bold in making such a request!

"What's in it for me?"

The Blue Ground Squirrel laughed twice.

"Of course there is! Once my project is complete, you can get a virus that only works on the Poluo people... or possibly beyond the Poluo people, we can customize the RNA to match the receptors with specific DNA of the 'Mortal Serum' as needed."

Not understanding what this guy was babbling about, Ryan grunted noncommittally.

"So what?"

Martin spoke softly.

"It means… you could potentially erase any disliked race from this planet."

Ryan's eyes narrowed slightly, a slight smile curling on his lips.

"...Interesting."

He didn't quite believe this guy had such abilities, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. If it indeed succeeded, this war might end immediately.

They don't need to kill all the Poluo people.

Just killing enough to instill fear in the rest would be sufficient.

Martin snickered.

"So... do you agree?"

Ryan pondered for a moment and said.

"The engineering team is no problem, but frontline medical resources are tight, I can't spare staff for you... Can we replace the medical team with a hundred team?"

Martin said with a troubled expression.

"A hundred team... you mean your soldiers? I don't doubt their bravery, but identifying corpses' causes of death might be difficult for them—"

Ryan impatiently waved his hand.

"Then use the living."

The Glory Army's clones can be used freely.

If those quick products don't work, they can capture some from the local population.

As long as it reduces Weilante casualties, such inconsequential costs are worth it.

Martin was taken aback for a moment, an incredulous expression on his face, but soon an enthusiastic and ecstatic look appeared.

"Oh oh oh... that's great! Honorable General! Thank you for supporting the end of the Wasteland—uh, I mean, thank you for supporting science!"

Ryan chuckled.

"Don't rush to thank me, I want to see results."

"No problem! My lord!"

Martin bowed deeply.

"I will certainly not disappoint you!"

On the other side, in the north of Akale County, two sneaky figures peered at the Weilante people cleaning the battlefield by the riverside.

Looking at the corpses, Night Ten couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Whoa... this is one hell of a brutal fight."

If it were reality, this region, barely a fingernail on the map, would have taken at least a couple of months to sort out.

Only in this wasteland where people are not viewed as humans can it be fought like this.

Since the army parked five airships here with too many radars on, the two dared not deploy drones to spy and could only observe from the ground clad in ghillie suits.

Wild Wind glanced at the time on the VM screen, then looked at the airship in the distance, and then said calmly.

"Based on the damage assessment, striving for a week's time shouldn't be an issue... By the way, how long does your friend from the Academy need?"

Night Ten thought for a moment and said.

"About a week should suffice..."

Wild Wind nodded silently, just staring at the truck filled with bodies in the distance, with a slight frown.

The soldiers of the Southern Legion were loading the corpses of the Poluo people onto a separate vehicle, driving along the winding river to a place where the terrain was flat, then lifting the truck bed to dump the bodies into the Everflow River.

Noticing the situation by the river, Night Ten also furrowed his brow.

"What are they trying to do?"

Wild Wind pondered for a moment and said.

"Maybe they're hoping these bodies will wash downstream to Tiandu, breaking the will of the Poluo Country survivors to resist."

After a pause, he continued.

"Of course, it might as well be poisoning."

Besides those who died in battle, a considerable number of Poluo Country soldiers also died from poison gas.

According to the Edge brother, the poison gas bombs used by the Southern Legion don't seem to be simple synthetic toxins but viruses with some self-replicating ability.

This stuff is much more formidable than nuclear radiation.

However, what perplexed Wild Wind the most was here.

If the Southern Legion's goal was to occupy the land and population here, he couldn't understand the significance of what they're doing.

Unless—

They are conducting some kind of experiment.

And the virus released on the battlefield might just be a by-product of the experiment or an "incomplete form" of a final product.

This makes everything understandable...

...

The news of Akale County's fall hasn't reached Tiandu yet, but it has already spread to the official forum through Debt Giant Eye's death.

While players were chatting away on the forum, in a secluded corner of the Heavenly Palace, a group of researchers in white coats busily worked on their tablets.

These are researchers from the Academy, about a hundred of them, ranging from E-level to B-level researchers.

Since the war between the Southern Legion and the countries of Poluo Province began, the Academy borrowed parts of the Heavenly Palace from Absek to set up research stations.

Although Poluo Country did not establish formal diplomatic relations with the Academy, upon hearing that the Academy could help deal with the Legion, Absek agreed without hesitation, even assigning quacks, copyists, and masters of ceremonies from Witch Gu who couldn't leave in time to help.

On the surface, they were helping, but Absek also wanted them to learn something from it.

However, the Academy clearly didn't value these people much and largely ignored Absek's thoughts, only assigning them to serve tea and run errands.

As for research-related errands, they still relied more on their prospectors and apprentices.

At the entrance of the research station.

Fang Chang showed a card with an identification code to the bionics on duty, and with a few players wearing exoskeletons, dragged a cart filled with body bags through the checkpoint.

Jiang Xuezhou's mentor, Yang Kai, happened to be standing beside a barracks, directing several E-level researchers to operate a square terminal.

Fang Chang, with curiosity in his eyes, approached and took a look, then asked.

"What's this?"

Yang Kai didn't keep him in suspense and explained succinctly.

"This is the control terminal we've redesigned and built for the starship. Through this device, we can connect to the starship's control server without entering it, adjusting the reactor's output power, obtaining connection permissions, and so forth..."

"In short, it sounds simple, but it's not easy to execute. The locals have added so many useless structures to the starship's exterior that the access corridors are almost completely blocked."

Fang Chang curiously asked.

"Can't this thing be fixed?"

Yang Kai chuckled and teased.

"Sometimes we are indeed a bit lazy, but we are not blind. If it could be fixed, we wouldn't have left it here unattended for over a century."

That made so much sense, Fang Chang couldn't find words to refute it.

After a pause, Yang Kai continued teasingly.

"The gravity placed on this starship by the locals is too heavy; even the anti-gravity engine can barely handle it... According to our examination of reactor operation data, without this issue, the palace could float for at most another thirty or forty years. With our current tinkering, its lifespan might only be ten to twenty more years. You better advise that chieftain not to blame us later."

Fang Chang nodded and said.

"I'll let him know, but I think he's not that petty."

Yang Kai laughed noncommittally and said.

"That's hard to say."

He, as a B-level researcher, had worked his way up from the grassroots, dealing extensively with survivors on the Wasteland in his younger years.

He was well aware of what those people had on their minds...

Just then, Yang Kai finally noticed the cart beside Fang Chang and the body bags piled on it.

His eyebrows slightly raised as he seemed to guess something.

"These people... are they the so-called 'Mortal Serum' infected?"

With the topic shifting to the body bags, Fang Chang also put away his playful expression and nodded seriously.

"Correct. They are soldiers fallen on the front lines, and we discovered some unfamiliar viruses in their bodies, with genetic material suspected to be artificially designed. Alliance Biological Research Institute has already begun analyzing the samples... The Manager hopes we'll share some samples with you for your research; perhaps you can find some clues we overlooked."

Yang Kai stroked his chin, and his expression gradually turned serious.

"Alright, leave the bodies here."

Viral weapons are even more dangerous than nuclear weapons; the latter merely destroys a region, whereas the former affects the entire ecosystem.

After speaking, he tapped twice on his personal terminal, and soon a young man in a white coat came over.

The young man appeared very young, just over eighteen, but exuded a professional demeanor.

Especially his shiny forehead, it was highly convincing.

Facing Yang Kai, the young man respectfully said.

"Professor, you called for me?"

"Qin Yuanxing, right... Yes, I have something for you."

Seemingly not remembering this student, Yang Kai glanced at his name tag to identify his face and match it to the number in the System before succinctly continuing.

"Our old friends sent some virus samples. I recall your research focus includes virology. Conduct an RNA and pathological analysis, compare the results with our database, and see if you can devise a cost-effective solution."

The young man's eyes lit up at the opportunity to apply his expertise, and he replied energetically.

"Leave it to me!"

The Academy lacks nothing in researchers, only opportunities to shine.

He wasn't any less capable than D-level seniors; he was still an E-level simply due to insufficient qualifications in his resume.

Watching the young man leave in a hurry, Fang Chang felt a twinge of envy in his eyes.

While there are quite a few researchers in the Alliance, they are not abundant enough to randomly appoint someone to lead a major project.

At least in terms of research talent reserves, the Academy's foundation is deep.

If only these E-levels could be lured to the Alliance!

Ironically, Yang Kai was unaware that his unintentional boast had already attracted someone's attention to his turf.

Retracting his gaze from where the figure disappeared, Fang Chang suddenly thought of something and continued to Yang Kai.

"By the way, according to the latest feedback from our front-line unit, they discovered that Weilante people have thrown virus-carrying corpses into the river. We are concerned this might contaminate the Everflow River's water."

Yang Kai's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and after pondering for a moment, he said.

"Hmm, your concern is valid. It's best to remind the local chieftain to have his survivors pay attention to hygiene, like avoiding using river water for washing clothes, and making sure to boil drinking water."

Throwing poison into the Everflow River...

These big noses are truly ruthless.

The virus won't stay in Everflow River; eventually, the water will push it into the sea, and only heaven knows where the fish schools and ocean currents will carry it.

Fortunately, this "Mortal Serum" has a very high mortality rate and isn't a perfect virus from a pathological perspective, so its spread might not be too extensive.

However, it's evident those bloodthirsty maniacs won't be satisfied with the current semi-finished product and will surely find ways to improve the existing samples, enhancing both its destructive power and transmission efficiency.

Using high technology for evil deeds is far easier than for constructive purposes...

Chapter 875: Biochemical Warfare

The world of "Wasteland OL" is not isolated islands but a seamless, continuous whole.

A typhoon in the Poluo Sea might trigger torrential rains in Baiyue Province.

After such a long closed beta, players have become accustomed to the intertwined events happening on the wasteland. So when Wild Wind saw the army throwing corpses into the river, he immediately connected it to the potential impact of viruses carried by the corpses on the downstream settlements.

After consulting with the academy researchers, Fang Chang immediately relayed the message to Absek, hoping that the Poluo authorities could prepare for epidemic measures.

However, regrettably, faced with overwhelming tasks and incessant factional conflicts, Absek evidently did not take it seriously enough.

He verbally agreed and indeed instructed the health committee member, but neither did the former nor the latter take this "small matter" to heart.

Actually, it's no wonder he wasn't concerned.

Players' understanding of viruses is entirely different from the wasteland wanderers'.

After all, infectious diseases were rare in the Human Alliance Era, and for those living on the red soil, they were even less of a concern.

Alliance volunteers often caught colds due to discomfort from the climate, even the awakeners like Big Eyes had a cold once.

Yet, Absek, having lived there for so long, had only heard of people dying from hunger or poverty but never from a virus.

The greatest legacy left by the Human Alliance to their children is actually hidden in everyone's DNA.

It's the product of controlled evolution.

Even if human civilization has stagnated, naturally occurring viruses would likely need centuries to catch up with human evolution.

However, this is only the scenario under natural evolution.

Add technological catalysis, and the situation is entirely different...

Almost the day after Fang Chang warned Absek to prepare for the epidemic, severe calamities struck the river-side village north of Tiandu.

More than sixty percent of the nearly hundred households in the village showed fever symptoms, and among those feverish patients, more than half fell into deep comas.

Fortunately, players had anticipated possible events, and the Alliance stationed Tiandu Battlefield Hospital immediately sent medical teams to treat the patients while isolating the village, and also collected virus samples for testing.

Moreover, academy researchers also followed up with investigations.

It was only at this point that Absek realized the horror of "biological warfare" and hurriedly dispatched a thousand team from Tiandu City to stations along the Everflow River, and coordinated with the Alliance Battlefield Hospital to define control zones, then sent telegrams throughout Poluo Country, instructing all units to prepare for health and publicity work, advising survivors not to drink unboiled river water directly.

In fact, there's no need for Absek authorities to promote.

Upon hearing that the Southern Legion had poisoned the Everflow River, survivors from Tiandu to Jinjaron Harbor were terrified.

Every household placed pots and pans on the roof, waiting for rain from the sky, not daring to touch river water, and even avoiding drinking well water.

Though there was suspicion of exaggeration, no one dared to gamble on that probability.

After all, except the academy's researchers and the Alliance's Battlefield Hospital, no one could guarantee that boiling the water would definitely inactivate the virus.

On the third day of the infection outbreak, the Alliance's Battlefield Hospital, with the support of academy researchers, quickly completed the analysis of samples.

Even though Absek found the first half of the report from the Alliance Battlefield Hospital confusing, upon seeing the projected casualties of over a million at the end, he couldn't help but curse.

"Those damned Weilante people are truly vicious!"

Though Alliance doctors also explained in the report that the death toll wouldn't directly reflect onto the total population and household registry, as it might overlap with natural deaths, it still shocked Absek into a cold sweat.

A million people!

Lion City itself has only a million people!

Those Weilante people can wipe out an equivalent of a whole Lion City of Poluo people just by peeing into the Everflow River!

Moreover, according to the analysis model provided by the Alliance Biological Research Institute, the virus named "Mortal Serum" has completely contaminated the Everflow River's water systems.

Though currently the virus's transmissibility is low, with future modifications by the Southern Legion, who can say what might happen?

More pressing is that even though this sword is hanging over his neck, besides anxiously worrying, he has no other solutions.

This is a confrontation between the Southern Legion and the Academy and the Alliance.

Though this duel decides the life and death of Poluo Province survivors, they themselves lack even the qualifications to stand in the ring.

Only at this moment did Absek truly grasp the power of technology, and the importance of education reform advocated by Kaba Committee Member.

If knowledge cannot be mastered and applied in society, the Poluo people will never truly rise, and will always suffer endlessly!

Putting down the report, Absek wiped the sweat on his forehead and cursed again.

"Damn... This education reform has to proceed!"

No matter how much resistance, it must be carried out!

Looking at the cursing Absek, the Internal Affairs Committee member Wadia, standing in front of the desk, although unclear why the leader suddenly turned to education reform, lowered his voice to report.

"Rest assured, sir, Kaba Committee Member and his family have been moved to the Heavenly Palace, currently under the protection of the Internal Affairs Committee, nobody can harm them."

Absek sighed and continued.

"Now I don't worry about Kaba, but rather those students. Tiandu is about to erupt into fighting, and now there's an epidemic; we need to arrange their departure quickly."

Akale County has already fallen.

The twenty thousand cannon fodder at the front are about to fall, soon Duwata and Nigeli's commands will be up next, including his own direct line.

Compared to the poison in the Everflow River, the Legion Leader's advancing army is the more pressing threat.

The Alliance has already warned him about possible events in the city, and before that, he must send those students away.

Watching the worried Absek, Wadia pondered for a moment before softly stating.

"This task was originally the responsibility of the Education Committee, but ever since Kaba Committee Member was taken away, rumors have circulated of the army wanting to purge the Education Committee, causing the entire education department to be almost paralyzed..."

Absek shouted angrily.

"Who the hell is making noise there!"

Wadia smiled bitterly and said.

"It's probably General Duwata... but it could also be his subordinates."

"That sly fox!"

Absek squinted his eyes.

What a clever ruse!

Duwata had clearly seen through his true intention of confining Committee Member Kaba Ha. On the surface, it was to pressure the Education Committee regarding the big exam and to appease the discontent in the army, but in reality, it was to protect the person.

So that guy did this trick, helping to promote his "good deeds."

From the perspective of the authorities, there's no way to clarify the hidden truths behind the scenes.

After all, they did arrest the person; now to clarify it was for their good—not to mention whether anyone would believe it—would instead anger the major soldiers he had just appeased.

Absek squinted his eyes and pondered for a long time before looking at Wadia and ordering.

"Since they're playing such a trick, let's play the full set with them... From today on, the Education Committee will temporarily be taken over by the Internal Affairs Committee until the end of the wartime state."

Wadia's expression turned serious, and he respectfully complied.

"Yes!"

...

Not only the pressing cat, but also the mice cornered were red-eyed.

Even as the legion's iron hooves approached the city, the people of Poluo in Tiandu had not forgotten their ancestral skills but instead intensified under the cruel pressure.

A small examination not only caused a committee member to fall but also nearly paralyzed the entire Education Committee. Schools closed, and teachers went on strike demanding the release of Kaba Ha.

As for the soldiers in the city, each and every one of them stared fiercely.

No matter whose command they were under, their dissatisfaction with Kaba Ha was the same.

They all wanted to see who dared make a move!

The ones singing the opera this time were again the Internal Affairs of Poluo Country.

A group of officers wearing black hats quickly took over the courtyard of the Education Committee and announced Absek's orders.

Due to the Education Committee's passive resistance, the Internal Affairs Committee would now take over.

As soon as the news spread, it instantly caused a huge stir, making waves in the city.

Some clapped and cheered, saying that those old fossils should have been dealt with long ago, while others sighed, feeling sorry that Committee Member Kaba Ha hadn't met a wise leader.

The sharp contradictions had effectively fragmented all the strata of Poluo Country.

Everyone harbored a pent-up emotion in their bellies, just missing an outlet to release.

It is no exaggeration to say that this riddled-with-holes Tiandu is like a leaky house. Even if no one kicks the door, it might fall one day by itself.

In this sense, Absek indeed had to thank the legion.

He not only secured the Angel Wheel investment from those big-nosed people but also, thanks to their savagery, managed to prop up this crumbling house.

For an ordinary dock worker, this was almost the limit of his ability.

In short, although the whole process was full of twists and turns, the outcome was satisfactory.

The 500 students selected by the big exam eventually waited successfully for the flight to Mammoth Country.

Additionally, after repeated communication between Tiandu University and Mammoth University, the latter arranged for 100 more study slots for the former, aimed at officers and the families of fallen soldiers.

On the day of the departure, at the military airport on the outskirts of Tiandu, the guardrails beside the runway were crowded with families seeing off the children.

Looking at his father, whose face was full of wrinkles yet brimmed with smiles, the slightly naive-looking young man lowered his head, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Dad, when I've studied well... I'll take you to the alliance."

Old Rots was slightly stunned, then grabbed his son's shoulders with both hands, looking at his eyes in surprise.

"Silly child, what are you talking about? Lord Absek is waiting for you to come back and be an official; why go to the alliance."

Nayak lifted his head to meet his father's simple and honest face and those surprised eyes.

The neighbors always praised his father for being honest, but he knew that his father was actually not honest at all.

That man with cloudy eyes was actually more cunning than anyone and more worldly.

However, Nayak did not think his father was a bad person, nor did he think being cunning was something bad.

In the cruel jungle, even rabbits, which were harmless to humans and animals, had a thousand eyes and a thousand ears.

If his father weren't cunning enough, he and his siblings wouldn't survive at all.

On the contrary, the bad ones are those who racked their brains trying to label his father as honest.

In the farms of Dog State, the most honest creatures were the double-headed cows.

And they were the most at the mercy of others.

The old empire once bestowed them with supreme honor, but never truly respected them for a second.

Nobles could freely enjoy them, outsiders could as well; only those who raised them could not.

Everyone in Tiandu said that the world had changed, but he could see clearly that this changing thing throughout the year, whether it changed or not, what difference would it make?

The people were still the same people.

They had been sad, angry, awake, and asleep, but they had never really changed.

Looking at his father still kept in the dark, Nayak lowered his voice and continued to speak.

"Leader Absek never said that... it was all of you who spoke for him."

Seeing the clueless, foolish child, Elder Rots wished he could shake him awake.

"Does something so obvious need anyone to say it? Stop thinking too much, just focus on your studies, listen to your father."

Nayak didn't say anything, ultimately sighed lightly, and kept the truth within his heart.

"I understand."

Anush's death was the real surprise, the ones who killed him are truly doomed.

But he couldn't change anything.

No matter how promising his studies were, that imprisoned Kaba committee member would be his life's ceiling.

If he learned his father's abilities, perhaps he could become an un-imprisoned Kaba committee member, or one praised on the pedestal... but what significance does that have?

Power was never his pursuit, nor those ever-changing colorful paper money.

In truth, he was more interested in looking at the moon.

He heard that two hundred years ago was a great era, people then were much stronger than now, and more knowledgeable, just a tiny step away from truly reaching the stars.

It's a pity that great endeavor was abandoned midway, someone has to continue the unfinished journey for those pioneers.

He wanted to be that kind of person.

Of course, this didn't mean he would abandon his family.

He would simply use his own methods to help them...

Unaware of what his son was thinking, Elder Rots just saw him finally lower his head obediently, revealing a relieved smile, as he grinned and patted his son's head.

"Good boy..."

A sentence from a neighbor during yesterday's drinking woke him up.

His son eating imperial grain was something bound to happen.

Perhaps he should seriously consider naming the family for the future sake...

At the same moment Elder Rots sent his son onto the plane, General Pickley's youngest son Gale also grabbed his luggage amid tearful goodbyes from a group of dissolute friends.

Unlike Elder Rots' son, he didn't really want to go to Mammoth City.

Firstly, war was about to break out, he didn't want to be too far from his father.

Secondly, that's the territory of the ruthless Laxi, his father's hand couldn't reach there; he'd have to live meekly, unlike the freedom he enjoys in Tiandu.

In Tiandu, he could count on a hand the people he dared not offend. As long as they're not from the Alliance or College, he could offend anyone as he pleased.

This wasn't all.

Here, he had a group of good friends he played with, ones he was most reluctant to leave.

However, helplessly, it wasn't up to him.

In his father's words, this opportunity was fought for with his father's life at Duwata's committee, a colossal debt of gratitude has been incurred, even if he doesn't want to go, he must.

Although Gale was a bit decadent, somewhat indecently so, he wasn't stupid.

Faced with his father's belt in hand, he could only reluctantly conform.

Just as Gale was about to board the plane, a slightly chubby young man pushed up to him, tears streaming.

"Boss, you... who knows when you'll be back once you go."

Feeling a bit moved inside, Gale still put on the demeanor of a big brother, patting the younger one on the shoulder.

"Don't whine like this, if you truly miss me, then knuckle down and study for a year or so, take the exams next year and come join me!"

Upon hearing this, the expression of the chubby young man turned bitter like a gourd.

"Boss... you know how twisted that old timer's questions are, even if I want to pass, my heart is willing but my strength is lacking."

Other sons of thousands of leaders also chimed in, buttering him up.

"Yes, Boss."

"Our brains aren't as good as yours."

Seeing this group of young men dawdling without boarding the plane, standing by the cabin door waiting to close it, the impatient players finally spoke up to rush them.

"Hey, can you hurry with your scene? We have the next one to send off!"

Scene?

Gale froze for a moment, but dared not ask more.

His father had repeatedly instructed him about whom he could and couldn't provoke.

Politely saying a word of apology, Gale immediately squeezed into the cabin with his luggage, casually finding an empty seat to sit.

Shortly thereafter, the roar of engines vibrated across the cabin walls, four blue arcs pushing the massive fuselage faster and faster on the straight runway, then taking off.

It was a runway painstakingly hammered by survivors around Tiandu with hoes and shovels.

Those silver wings carried all the expectations from the ground, lifting off temporarily from Earth's gravity, flying towards the unknown far away...

...

On the other side, in the northwest of Lion State, near Sulak County of Dog State, soldiers carrying rifles were patrolling along the square-shaped field embankments.

They were servant armies from the colonies, and although they spoke the same United Human language, their accents varied.

At the same time Ryan's Thousand Team took Akale County, General Olet led the 17th, 18th, 19th, ten thousand troops and captured Dog State, advancing towards the central region of Northern Three States, towards Sheep State.

As the subordinate of General Otley, stationed in Sulak County, Ross also followed the deployment, leading the 171st thousand team to the northern frontline.

As for Sulak County, it was handed over to the servant army sent from the colony for defense.

This place is considered a logistics hub for the northern line, with fairly significant strategic importance.

Additionally, a "tough guy from the Alliance" who refused to confess even under duress was also handed over to the servant army taking charge of the defense.

Unlike the Weilante people, these laborers from the colony didn't have much zeal for torturing prisoners. Seeing that the latter wouldn't confess no matter what, they threw him into the dungeon and ignored him.

To be honest, Old Dog actually felt a bit regretful about the slack work attitude of these lackeys.

Not because he's a masochist, but mainly because the big-nosed fellow who locked him up said he would give him a hard time, but kept repeating the same tricks.

He has to admit that he was initially scared and wet his pants.

However, he soon discovered, quite unexpectedly, that he could take it.

The helmet helped shield most of the pain, enabling him to relish the frustrated expressions on the faces of those Weilante people while fully conscious.

In the face of his iron-like will, these Weilante people were at a loss, having to endure his mockery of "Is this all?" and "Bunch of amateurs."

Anyway, he wasn't in a hurry to die, so why not practice the United Human language and gather some intelligence in the meantime.

And those Weilante people trying to extract information from him didn't hold back while torturing him but also didn't dare to actually kill him.

Moreover, he had one more enjoyable pastime: sharing his "game experience" with his good buddies in their private chat group.

Even though none of the four people in the group wanted to hear him elaborate, they all urged him to go find a wall to smash his head against; if he kept staying down, the DLC might be over already...

Another quiet night, Old Dog heard some noise outside the door, thinking it was someone coming to deliver his meal, but unexpectedly, a sneaky fellow came in.

The man was very short, thin, with some dry grass stuck to his clothes and hair.

Old Dog took one look at this guy and was sure he wasn't a Weilante lackey, so he curiously asked in faltering United Human language.

"Who are you?"

"I'm from the Family Meeting! You can just call me family! Brother, you've been through a lot!"

The young man, with no concern for the grass on him, hurriedly walked up, pulled out a key, and unlocked the cage door with a clang, then undid the lock at Old Dog's feet.

Family Meeting?

Chewing over this term repeatedly, the dim-eyed Old Dog suddenly brightened up, stammering as he continued.

"Oh, I've heard of you guys; you even went to City of Dawn, right?"

He remembered this group.

Because of a post from Brother "Without Family," this group had become popular on the Forum once, with many players donating money to them.

The NPCs in the game were highly intelligent, yet there were too few willing to indulge them in jokes.

The young man, with a sincere smile, either understood his mumbling or didn't, soon spoke seriously again.

"...This isn't the place for talking; I'll get you out of here first!"

Barely understanding his words, Old Dog couldn't help but feel excited, finally having a chance to save his progress.

Yet as he thought about leaving this place, he suddenly felt a bit reluctant.

"Hey, you guys are too kind... Honestly, you don't have to worry about me; I'm quite comfortable here."

The young man, whether he understood or not, directly abandoned communicating with him, slung him over his shoulder, and stealthily slipped out the door.

The night was silent, except for the croaking sounds.

Old Dog, despite feeling like staying, had no intention to harm, so ultimately he obediently shut his mouth.

Just as the two figures left the small dark room, the roar of jet aircraft engines came from the sky.

A metallic hydrogen aerial bomb landed precisely on the camp where Old Dog had been, and the explosion flames instantly illuminated the night.

The astonished servant army hurriedly scrambled around after the airstrike, ironically creating a window of time for the two hiding by the edge of the village to escape.

At this moment, Old Dog's peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a few sneaky figures hiding in the darkness.

They carried some automatic rifles stolen from the village...

On the distant hillside, two players in ghillie suits were holding binoculars, gazing at the explosion center.

"Ammo depot explosion, nicely done."

In the communications channel came the static sound of electric currents, followed shortly by Falling Feather's voice.

"Where's that newbie?"

Night Ten yawned.

"Been retrieved... Honestly, I think it's a bit redundant; that guy suicides fastest. Instead of wasting time dragging, he might as well restart. Could've recouped the lost experience by now."

Wild Wind glanced at him.

"Everyone's comprehension of the game differs; you can't expect everyone to think like you."

Night Ten made a helpless expression.

"I'm just saying casually... Time to leave."

The two haystacks silently disappeared over the hillside as if they'd never been there.

After the fall of Akale County, they didn't retreat with other brothers from the Burning Corps, instead riding electric scooters all the way west to Lion State.

Afterward, their mission was to cooperate with the Alliance's air force and the Guerrilla team active in the area, targeting the Southern Legion's logistics system.

As for the rescue, it was just a convenience...

Chapter 876: At the Gates

In the wilderness west of Jin Galun Harbor, a group of Weilante people in prison uniforms were working on the construction site.

As one of the Alliance's lackeys, Jin Galun Harbor inherited the Alliance's glorious tradition that the POW camp was always built by the POWs themselves. They could move in once it was finished.

There was no distinction of Centurion or Ten Thousand Leader here, only supervisors and prisoners.

Even Wolfe had to do the same work as the soldiers.

At the entrance of the POW camp.

A soldier on duty sat on a stool, crossed his legs and looked at the newspaper in his hand, suddenly couldn't help but curse.

"What a damn waste!"

On the headline of the newspaper, there was a striking line in black and white.

"Absek Changes Generals on the Spot! Akale County Falls!"

Half a month ago, the headline printed on the front page was the great victory of Akale County.

In just half a month, that fool had lost the upper hand he once had.

Worse still, the content of the newspaper was even more infuriating!

The 50th, 51st, and 52nd Divisions (Ten Thousand Troops) suffered over half casualties, and the Death Legion was completely annihilated!

If the 11th and 3rd Divisions hadn't gone north to assist the Mammoth Nation, but had defended together with the three reinforcing divisions, would they have been beaten so badly by the Legion?

Besides, it was unreasonable to say it was reinforcement; everyone knew the Southern Legion's target was Tiandu, right?

Going north under the guise of reinforcing allies at this time was simply to preserve their own main forces and then come back to reap the benefits after Tiandu was defeated!

He could hear the sound of the calculator's keyboard all the way in Jin Galun Harbor!

Seeing his fellow soldier's furious expression, a soldier leaning against a pillar chuckled and teased.

"When did you get the illusion that guy wasn't useless?"

The soldier with the rifle on his shoulder also chuckled.

"A dock worker knows shit about fighting; even I could do better."

The soldier against the pillar smoothed things over.

"You can't say that about him; he was a soldier before he became a dock worker."

"Oh, the Grey Wolf Army... turns out he was quite the swimmer."

"Hahaha, damn!"

"Hey... why do we always end up with such idiots? Can't we have a normal person in charge for once?" sighed the soldier with the newspaper, frustration written all over his face.

Either they're good at fighting but bad at governance, or they're good at governance but bad at fighting.

It's not like the Alliance hadn't tried to help them, even the Legion that's hitting them now has lent a hand.

He always felt it shouldn't be this way.

There were so many compatriots already awake, yet they couldn't wait for a sage worthy of their loyalty.

The old soldier who had remained silent threw the finished cigarette butt on the ground and said blandly.

"Maybe it's fate."

He was an old-timer from the time of Duke Nihak, was in the army back then.

Compared to these young newcomers, he was much more open-minded.

No matter how inadequate Absek was, even if he had swum in the river, he was still much better than Witch Camel and Nihak.

In his view, a perfect person without moral flaws, hardworking, dedicated, immensely strong, and wise, was either a god or a fraud.

The only profession that can meet all the demands of people, no matter how stringent and perverse those fantasies might sound, especially the highly skilled fraud, they could always rationalize when the victim started doubting.

From this perspective, Absek indeed wasn't brilliant, he only fooled the Legion once. If he could turn black into white, he wouldn't have as many people cursing him.

Hearing those "frustrated" voices, the prisoners all moved aside.

For various reasons, the survivors of Poluo Province's hatred for the Weilante people had reached an unprecedented peak, so much so that locals couldn't help but spit and throw things at them the moment they saw their noses.

Although the soldiers on duty would block the crowd, they didn't show any kindness to them usually.

Everything seemed to have returned to two centuries ago, when the Weilante people had the lowest status.

Even worse than back then.

No one dared to provoke the soldier's bad mood, all kept their heads down doing their own tasks, pretending to be very busy.

Some secretly felt relieved or cheered inside.

After all, if these Poluo people are so frustrated, they must have suffered a defeat at the front line.

For those in the POW camp doing hard labor, there was no better news.

When Ryan's Ten Thousand Chief's army came over, they could be taken home!

At six in the evening, as the sun sat on the horizon, the bell in the POW camp rang.

That was the off-duty bell and also a signal for dinner.

The soldier on duty at the entrance threw the tattered newspaper aside, saluted his brother coming to replace him, then shouldered his rifle and went to the adjacent military camp.

They had to return the weapons and clothes before they finished work, after which it was their personal time.

As for the newspaper thrown on the ground, it became a coveted item among the prisoners.

They all rushed over to pick it up, curiously wanting to see what happened at the front line.

What they saw in the headlines was just as they expected, explosive news was already printed on the headline.

A lot of excited gleams appeared in those eyes, many of the prisoners clenched their fists in excitement.

"Damn, this is really satisfying!"

"Nicely done!"

"Kill these bastards!"

Though they were excited, they were still prisoners on enemy territory and didn't dare to celebrate too blatantly. They could only sneak off to places without overseers to share their joy and secretly pass around the good news.

The newspaper eventually ended up in Wolfe's hands.

Taking off the dark, worn gloves, the haggard old general held the newspaper in his hand, glanced at it, and a small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he shared in the joy for a moment.

However, it wasn't long before his brows furrowed with a hint of distress.

"...The 30th ten-thousand troops have been delayed in Akale County for almost half a month. This is not a good sign."

The adjutant standing next to him raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think Ryan might lose?"

Wolfe shook his head and sighed.

"Hard to say."

According to the original plan, they should have already been at the gates of Tiandu City by now, but they were stuck in Akale County for this long.

Since this war began, their plans could never keep up with changes.

Including the previous bombing of Lion City.

Ryan intended to destroy the will to resist among the survivors of Poluo Province through this method, but it had the opposite effect, binding the scattered mice into a cohesive force, leading to their first setback in Akale County.

His evaluation of Absek was completely different from that of the locals; he was a cunning old fox to the extreme.

If Anush was their opponent instead, they wouldn't have had such a hard time winning.

Just then, the sound of rolling wheels came from the road outside the POW camp's gates.

Wolfe looked up and saw trucks full of soldiers speeding along the road towards the inland docks.

His facial expression stiffened slightly.

It wasn't the military trucks transporting soldiers that caught his attention, but the soldiers sitting on those trucks.

The black gas masks they wore triggered an instinctual fear in him...

It's the Death Legion!

Weren't they already annihilated?

How have they come back?!

Wolfe wasn't the only one surprised, but also Captain Taote and other Weylent military officers who had clashed with the Death Legion before.

Their faces showed signs of collapse, as if they'd seen a ghost.

"Damn..."

A captain clenched his fist, his eyes filled with disbelief and panic.

Just how many of these guys are there?!

Meanwhile, on the truck heading for the dock, Edge Shoveling squinted his eyes, gazing at the dock in the distance.

In the last battle, he hadn't had enough fun before being taken out by a 200mm shell.

He hoped this time, the defense of Tiandu wouldn't be so unlucky...

...

After a week of maneuvering, the resurrected Death Legion once again set foot on the land of Poluo Province, heading towards the frontline.

And that's not all.

The previously annihilated Skeleton Corps also returned, driving tanks fresh off the assembly line.

The decisive battle site was set in Tiandu.

It wasn't just the heart of Poluo Country, but it also held a gift prepared by the Academy for the Legion.

An unprecedented large-scale battle was brewing.

At the same time, at the river bend in Akale County, three airships with broken wings finally completed their final repairs.

The majestic steel fortress, like a man-made cloud, with its gun barrels already aiming at Tiandu from afar.

Moreover, the railroad connecting West Sail Port and Lion City had been repaired and extended to the Everflow River.

Trainloads of brand-new equipment were being shipped to the front lines, including ammunition for the frontline soldiers and airships, as well as self-propelled guns and tanks brought through the marine blockade.

In the face of absolute Strength, all flashy tactics are paper tigers.

The Alliance's series of operations on the Southern Legion's supply lines did indeed have some effect, yet it still couldn't change the fact that the Southern Legion's front line was advancing.

Inside the command vehicle.

Looking at the well-prepared troops on the holographic screen, Commander Ryan's tightly pursed lips finally curled into a slight, cheerful smile.

He wanted to see how the grasshoppers before this overwhelming torrent of steel would block their way!

Thinking so, he slowly raised his right hand and waved it forward lightly.

"Move out!"

Next to him, the adjutant, who received the order, had his face flush with excitement.

The opportunity for the 30th ten-thousand troops to reclaim their honor had finally arrived!

He straightened his back and cried out loudly and forcefully.

"Yes!"

With the order to advance given, all five airships simultaneously raised their anchors, heading towards Tiandu.

Meanwhile, the ground forces were also marching forward in a grand procession!

Trucks crushed across the muddy ground, leaving deep tire marks on the soft plains.

Sitting inside the trucks were heavily armed Weilante soldiers.

Some of them were wearing finely crafted exoskeletons, others were clad in heavy bulletproof armor. Their fierce eyes were like hungry wolves on the plains, eager for the upcoming hunt.

Apart from the soldiers of the Weylent People, there were also soldiers from the Glory Army.

Their eyes were equally fierce, like hyenas scavenging behind a wolf pack.

The shimmering bayonets were their teeth!

They would be responsible for gnawing the toughest bones and paving the way forward for the Southern Legion with their flesh and blood!

Aside from the infantry and artillery, the proud steel torrent of the Weylent People advanced together!

Nearly eight hundred "Conqueror" No. 10 tanks, protected by close to two thousand light tanks and armored vehicles, resembled a moving wall!

These tanks mainly came from the factories of the Western Legion and were shipped to West Sail Port by fearless freighters.

The roar of engines and the rolling of treads shook the earth, as if an earthquake had struck!

From a distance, the farmers in the fields watched with terror etched on their faces.

They had never witnessed such an astonishing scene, nor could they imagine how to defeat such a terrifying opponent...

Facing the concentrated assault launched by the legion, General Udonuo's old troops engaged in a desperate fight.

A massive force of nearly one hundred thousand troops gathered and advanced along a frontline spanning hundreds of kilometers, charging eastward from Akale County to the western outskirts of Tiandu.

In coordination with the Air Force of the Alliance, they launched dozens of ambushes along the nearly hundred-kilometer march route.

Even when resisting with nothing more than an insect's futile efforts, they didn't flinch; even if they ended up bloodied, they were determined to bite a piece off the Southern Legion's arm!

Thick blood paved a road of death, and almost every inch of soil was laced with human bones.

Among them were Poluo people, Weylent People, clones, and players.

Both sides fought with eyes blazing red!

In this nearly month-long slaughter, the soldiers of both Poluo Country and the Southern Legion experienced a dramatic change in their temperament.

Initially, it took a team of ten soldiers from Poluo Country to replace a Weylent soldier, but later the ratio changed to 5:1, and even 3:1.

No one had previously thought they could achieve final victory, yet as the battle dragged on, they gained not only experience but also a resolute determination to win.

However, for the Weylent side, it was a completely different story.

The ongoing casualties and the difficulty in progressing made the propaganda on the broadcasts increasingly sound like a hollow lie.

The local survivors were nothing like the weaklings described by the Southern Legion's upper echelons.

They dug holes and traps in the forests, jumped out from trees, and launched suicide attacks with rocket launchers or dynamite... Like lunatics without regard for their lives.

Faced with this unprecedented and thorny situation, even seasoned veterans from the colonies were caught off guard time and again.

After just a month, the ardor and bloodlust blazing in their eyes gradually turned to numbness and hesitation.

Especially for those new recruits who had enlisted not long ago.

However, fortunately, this bloody ordeal did not last long.

After crushing Udonuo's old troops and defeating the fifteen million troops under Captain Duwata, they finally pushed the frontline to the northwestern suburbs only twenty kilometers from Tiandu.

There lay a small riverside town called Rudel Town, home to twenty or thirty thousand survivors.

However, due to plague and the ravages of war, the entire town had been abandoned, leaving behind only ruins and rubble.

Some bodies washed ashore by the riverbanks emitted a stench of decay from the muddy river water, looking like the River Styx leading to Hell.

Sitting in the command vehicle, Commander Ryan gazed through the holographic screen at the nearby Tiandu and the floating palace, the smile on his face growing ever brighter.

Finally reached...

His troops need just a step forward, and the capital of Poluo Country would change hands.

That would mark the turning point of the entire war, much like the victory he achieved in Akale County.

Although it was unfortunate not to find Wolf and the others captured, as long as he could achieve final victory, General Giulion likely wouldn't blame him too much.

As Commander Ryan contemplated whether to open a bottle of champagne, a communication request from the captain of the Horn Number suddenly popped up on the holographic screen.

"We've reached the edge of Tiandu. I'm wondering when you plan to enter the city."

Ryan responded concisely.

"Darkness is about to fall. I plan to rest for the night before resuming the advance."

Clones are not skilled at night battles.

Seizing daylight allows the artillery barrage and clone swarm attack tactics to be optimally effective.

Due to the continuous guerrilla attacks, his troops have suffered significant casualties during this period.

If possible, he wanted the final battle to be a little easier, or let's say more triumphant.

At least avoid the twists and turns experienced in Akale County.

In any case, he considered Tiandu City already a possession in his pocket.

They could fight however they wanted.

Seeing John Ten Thousand Chief on the screen with something on his mind, Ryan raised an eyebrow slightly and teasingly commented.

"What's this? Can't wait?"

John shrugged and said.

"No way? I just wanted to remind you not to forget our agreement."

According to the agreement between Commander Ryan and the Air Force, the floating palace would become an Air Force trophy used to build an unprecedented iron airship.

In exchange, the Air Force of the Southern Legion proposed to the General Staff to prioritize support on the eastern front, concentrating all forces to capture Tiandu before assisting the northern front.

Now they had already reached the outskirts of Tiandu City, only one step away from final victory.

He worried that some madman might get antsy and blow up the Heavenly Palace.

Considering what this guy did in Lion City, it's not impossible.

Listening to John's reminder, Ryan chuckled and said.

"Don't worry, I won't forget, and besides, I'm not interested in that thing."

John said meaningfully.

"I know, what I mean is, I hope your subordinates will restrain themselves a bit after entering the city, so they don't set Tiandu City on fire."

Ryan confidently promised.

"I will restrain them."

He's not an arsonist, and it's not like he would set the city on fire under any circumstance.

Unless the will to resist of Tiandu City's survivors exceeded his expectations.

If that were the case, he might consider doing something with the Heavenly Palace to weaken the local resistance.

Like making it fall or something.

After the communication was cut off, Ryan was about to order the frontline troops to launch a feint attack on the western suburbs of Tiandu City, hoping to let the garrison spend a night in anxiety.

However, at that moment, a strange communication request popped up on the communication screen.

The signal came from outside the camp.

Clearly, it could only be one thing; this video call was from the Alliance!

Looking at the flickering communication request on the screen, Ryan squinted his eyes slightly and then coldly chuckled before reaching out to press the connect button.

Taking a call wouldn't expose his location; after all, the receiving device for the signal transmission wasn't in his car; the repeater was at least three kilometers away from his location.

He was curious about how his opponent would beg for mercy at this critical moment.

However, to his surprise, the person appearing on the screen was not an officer from the Alliance, but a middle-aged man wearing a white coat.

His appearance was unremarkable, with a pair of plain glasses on the bridge of his nose, the type that would become unrecognizable if thrown into a crowd with a change of clothes.

Looking at this peculiar guy, Ryan squinted his eyes slightly and probed with a dangerous tone.

"...You're from the Academy."

The man smiled faintly, nodding slightly as he spoke.

"Yes, I am B-level researcher Yang Kai, affiliated with the Research Department, currently responsible for the Poluo Province region."

As if he had heard a very funny joke, Ryan snorted disdainfully.

"Responsible for the Poluo Province region... Do you even have a ten thousand troops? You think you have the right to speak with me."

Yang Kai shook his head and replied in a gentle tone.

"Regrettably, fighting isn't our specialty, and the esteemed Chief and Conclusion Doctor didn't allocate even one ten thousand troops to me."

Ryan's eyes narrowed into slits, displaying an imperceptible hint of wariness in his pupils.

To be honest, he would prefer facing enterprises over the cunning Academy.

At least the latter was a visible opponent.

"I warn you... This isn't a place you should be. If you still wish to continue your peaceful days, it's best to mind your own business."

Yang Kai smiled lightly.

"How is it sticking one's nose where it doesn't belong? We are witnesses to the ancient covenant and also the ceasefire agreement in Falcon City... Now that someone has torn up the contract, we naturally have to do something."

After a pause, he continued.

"Do you think our peaceful days fell from the sky?"

Ryan pursed his lips, using his pinky to pick his ear disdainfully.

"I don't understand what you're saying, and anyway, did I sign those worthless papers?"

Yang Kai sighed lightly, speaking in a somewhat regretful tone.

"Tsk, tsk... I knew you would say that. Giving good advice to you is like playing music to cows; one must use muskets and whips to deal with uncivilized beasts."

Ryan sneered and cursed.

"If you have the guts, come at me with real guns and knives instead of just talking big."

Yang Kai nodded.

"As you wish."

Leaving those words behind, the pale blue figure disappeared from the holographic screen.

Ryan was slightly stunned, his brows furrowing tightly as his eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

His intuition told him that those slugs in the swamp were up to some trick again.

Yet he waited for a good minute without anything happening.

Those words seemed like mere bluffs, ending without a climax.

Relaxing his tense nerves, Ryan coldly chuckled.

"...Ha, trying to scare me."

He's been through countless battles; how could he be frightened by a mere slug!

Meanwhile, in the research ship on the Heavenly Palace square, Yang Kai, reclining in the cockpit, slightly opened his eyes.

Jiang Xuezhou, holding a tablet, stood beside, speaking with a serious expression.

"Professor, our device is ready... Should we activate it now?"

"Hmm, no need to wait any longer. Waiting would be in vain— we have already given those big-noses enough chances."

Nodding lightly, Yang Kai grasped the armrest and sat upright from the recliner, accepting the tablet handed over by the student.

He tapped the tablet twice with his index finger, checking the preset parameters briefly, and then dragged the hovering energy bar from 0% to 100%.

Having done all this, Yang Kai leisurely gazed at the night sky outside the cockpit with an expectant expression.

"The 'Gravity Well' effects... Let's trouble you, General, to demonstrate for our allies."

Chapter 877: Fall!

The western suburbs of Tiandu City.

Sandbags were piled under the rubble of broken bricks, and dugouts were dug in the yard, with wooden stakes reinforcing the walls behind the courtyard walls.

The residents who lived here had long since moved away, and judging by the household items left behind, they left in quite a hurry.

The soldiers of Poluo Country hid behind those shelters, repeatedly checking their equipment and bullets, passing the remaining time.

No one spoke.

The position shrouded in the night was silent, yet anyone could see the unspoken melancholy within it.

Stationed here was the 700,000th Corps of Poluo Country, led by General Pickley, who was Gale's father.

As one of the conditions for getting his son to attend Mammoth University for his undergraduate studies, Pickley volunteered to lead the charge and stood at the front line of the defense of Tiandu.

In the Poluo Province, the first line of defense has always been where the cannon fodder stayed.

Though General Duwata allowed him to "act according to circumstances," he knew well that even so, he was more likely to face danger than not.

It was said that the Army's shells could evaporate the entire position in an instant, especially those warheads that could split in mid-air.

Even among the Alliance, many corps leaders unfortunately received a fatal blow in the first round of bombardment, let alone him, a commander who came out of nowhere.

However, Pickley did not regret it.

He had already paved the way for his son's future.

As long as that kid wasn't too useless and didn't idle away his time at school, even if he died, he'd be more than capable of coming back as a committee member, even if he didn't make it to become a General.

Standing beside General Pickley, the adjutant held a pair of binoculars, looking at the distance where airships floated, his face full of worry.

"Damn it... how on earth do we bring that thing down."

He didn't know what kind of deal his superior and the general had reached, only that the 155mm artillery provided by the Alliance was of no use against that thing.

However, he equally did not regret standing here.

Not everyone took up arms to fight for the sake of profit; at least he himself did it for the great righteousness in his heart.

"Who the hell knows, worse comes to worst, we'll go all out against those dog-faced bastards!"

Pickley cursed softly, adjusting the brim of his officer's hat with his index finger, staring at the five iron fortresses floating in the sky.

Though he said that, truthfully, he had no idea how to go all out with those guys.

The disparity in strength was too great!

From the very beginning, it was an asymmetrical battle.

Looking at the approaching iron fortresses, Pickley felt like every minute and second were torment.

He couldn't help but pray in his heart, hoping that it would all end quickly, at least sparing him from the torment before this glorious demise.

At that moment, the five airships suddenly dropped their anchor chains.

The heavy anchor chains landed on the ground, plowing the earth and raising clouds of dust as they fell.

The adjutant, peering through his binoculars, gasped sharply in low tones.

"They've dropped anchor!"

That was a signal indicating the onset of bombardment!

Pickley's heart lurched into his throat as he took the radio hanging over his shoulder and shouted with a strained voice.

"Take cover, all units!"

There was actually no need for his reminder.

The communication devices of the Poluo Country's army were only issued down to the hundreds, whereas combat was conducted by teams of ten.

For this reason, the decisions of grassroots officers were more often based not on commands from the rear but rather on the actions of the enemy before them.

Even as the anchor chain hit the ground, the soldiers on the ground, under the shouts of the centurions, quickly scrambled into the anti-cannon holes or into dugouts or hollows where there was no place to hide.

At the same time that the 700,000th Corps prepared for the bombardment, a row of dazzling flames flickered across the sky.

Burning rain descended from the heavens, lighting up the pitch-black night sky in an instant!

As if to flaunt, the Southern Legion had equipped each artillery piece with tracer bullets, attempting to crush the enemy's position, bodies, and spirits with overwhelming firepower!

The already crumbling rows of houses were immediately blown away, with shattered brick and rubble strewn across the fragmented streets.

Pickley hurriedly hid in an anti-cannon hole, yet was still shaken to his core by the roaring artillery fire and dirt falling down left him covered in dust.

However, this was just the beginning!

At the exact moment that the first salvo ended, the Weilante artillerymen in the airship's cannon compartment quickly completed the loading for the second round!

They'd clear out part of the "mice" with cluster bombs, driving whatever was left into the holes.

Then it would be the incendiary bomb's task.

The oxygen on the surface would be rapidly consumed, with carbon dioxide being heavier than air, and even more so, the phosphorus pentoxide from burning white phosphorus would be much heavier than air.

The lethal gas would flood the tunnels, killing the final wave of rats.

This was much more direct than the "mortal serum"...

The bridge of the Horn Number.

Leaning in his chair, John watched the earth outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, playing with the medal in his hand, the corners of his mouth slightly curved upward.

"Not bad shooting."

"Pity that it's of no use."

Although he hadn't stood on this land for a second, standing in the sky, he could see things as clearly as his brothers on the ground.

Those Mouse Tribe people, Snake Clan people, and other hodgepodge of survivors weren't truly weak, just dormant for a bit too long in that half-century-long winter.

If given enough time to awaken, it wouldn't be impossible for them to become formidable adversaries for the Army. And if the Alliance truly brought them onto their chariots, the threat to the Army would be unprecedented.

But unfortunately.

What they had now was just the courage to face the long night, and courage alone could not change anything.

In the face of absolute power, their dying struggles were meaningless.

The playfulness at the corners of John's mouth gradually turned cold, and he lightly tapped the medal pinched in his fingers on the armrest of the chair, then slowly raised his calloused right hand.

However, just as he was about to swing that hand down, he suddenly saw the medal attached to the seat armrest float upwards as if weightless.

It wasn't just the medal.

There was also the mug, notebook, ballpoint pen, and pen cap on the control panel, and all the officers standing in the aisle without seatbelts... Everything floated up as if weightless.

The incident happened so suddenly that no one realized what exactly had happened.

John froze on the chair.

Before an astonished expression could appear on his face, he suddenly felt the seatbelt pressing on his shoulders, dragging him down like a withered hand.

And those officers who had taken to the air, along with the floating garbage and debris, were all slammed into the ceiling.

"Thud——!"

A dull heavy sound came from above, and seeing the world turned upside down in an instant, John's face was filled with panic.

What exactly happened?!

It wasn't just him; everyone's minds were filled with confusion.

Just then, a startled voice came through the communication channel.

"Damn!! We're falling!"

Before that voice finished speaking, Ryan's bellow reached his ears almost immediately.

"Horn Number!! What are you doing!!!"

"I, I don't know!?"

John shouted in terror with a voice that had gone off pitch. Then he quickly switched the communication channel and shouted loudly into the walkie-talkie on his shoulder, desperately trying to stay calm.

"Activate the buffer device! Quickly!"

That was the equipment prepared to deal with the phase gun.

Among all known weapons, only the phase gun could have a deadly impact on the anti-gravity device of an iron airship.

Thus, Triumph City's Equipment Manufacturing Bureau referenced the Alliance's modifications to the Iron Heart and designed buffer air cushions under the iron airships of the major corps.

This way, even if attacked by the phase gun, the airship would not crash due to its massive weight.

However, to John's horror, the air cushion expanding downward did not slow the airship's descent at all, and they were still plummeting at an acceleration of over 1 G!

Wait——

More than 1 G of acceleration?!

Seeing the constantly fluctuating flight parameters on the holographic screen, John suddenly realized.

Their plummet was not due to the failure of the anti-gravity engine. In fact, their engine was still functioning perfectly!

They were hit not by a phase gun, but by something else!

That thing was like an invisible hand, gripping their airship tightly and pulling it towards the ground with a near 2 G acceleration!

Their anti-gravity engine was useless against that force, like wheels trapped in quicksand, futilely spinning, unable to do anything about the rapidly falling altitude.

No rescue!

Gonna crash!

A trace of despair appeared on John's face.

However, as a battle-hardened soldier, he did not sit idly in his chair awaiting doom.

Gritting his teeth, he unbuckled the seatbelt, raised his arm to cover his head, and then fell towards the ceiling with less than 1 G acceleration, forcibly absorbing this "blow."

Fortunately, the ceiling of the bridge wasn't too high, and although the fall left him dazed, it wasn't enough to knock him out.

The adjutant beside him struggled to get up from the floor, then hurriedly walked over and helped the just-fallen John up.

"Sir, are you okay——"

"To the escape pod..." Interrupting the adjutant's nonsense, John tightly gripped his arm and gasped, "Escape pod... it's a chemical engine! We can escape! Hurry!"

The adjutant, shouted at, nodded immediately, and with the escort of a few still-mobile officers, dragged him limping towards the escape pod next to the bridge.

Including the terrified Martin.

He was frightened by that never-before-seen force, but at least he could keep up with John's pace and wasn't left behind on the bridge.

As for those unfortunate souls who were knocked unconscious or incapacitated, as well as the crew in the engine room and the gunners in the gun turret, they would have to perish with the airship...

There was only one escape pod.

Though it could hold many people, not everyone had the chance to board it.

An orange-yellow flame shot out, tracing a clumsy arc in the air, propelling the escape pod towards the distant west.

And at the same time Horn's accelerated plummet began, a familiar scene played out on the other four airships one after another.

In the dimensions unseen by humans, the "invisible membrane" formed by "invisible gravitons" collapsed downwards into a vertical and abstract well.

If it continued to collapse unrestricted, infinitely extending the well's depth, while continuously spreading the wrinkled ripples, the center of the wellhead would eventually nurture a point with infinite density, attracting everything around it, becoming a universe-devouring entity, triggering even more terrifying catastrophes.

Clearly, the Heavenly Palace's nuclear fusion reactor didn't possess such dimension-warping force, and the collapse occurring on that membrane was merely a ripple of a breeze on a lake, only significantly increasing gravity in a certain area.

Nonetheless, although that force was insignificantly small on an astronomical scale, like a firefly's light being incomparable to the stars in the sky, it was enough to deal with a few airships.

An invisible hand clutched their throats, yanking them violently from the sky above the clouds down to the ground.

They were trapped in a well!

And it wasn't just them!

Together with the debris orbiting in near-Earth orbit behind them, everything fell along the invisible well walls towards the depths!

The orbital debris that fell into the atmosphere traced burning trails across the sky, resembling a magnificent meteor shower from afar!

The Vellante people crafted a new shell for the starship core using old weapons, yet clearly, they didn't truly understand what made steel soar through the skies.

It is precisely for this reason that, despite racking their brains, they couldn't fathom why their airships suddenly plummeted from the clouds.

Watching the five fortresses fall from the sky, Commander Ryan's eyes widened with fury and despair, his ashen face filled with hopelessness.

"No!!!"

The desperate roar couldn't escape the shackles of gravity, and in the end, each steel fortress crashed into the muddy wilderness.

The fragile gasbag was harshly torn by the jagged steel, the twisted steel emitted unbearable wails, crushed together with racks stuffed with incendiary bombs.

"Boom——!!!"

Fiery pillars shot up into the sky, mingling with dark smoke, forming a mushroom-shaped cloud.

The explosion's shockwave swept across the plains, shattering sandbags piled in the dirt roads and toppling tilted courtyard walls.

The crew members on the airship who failed to escape perished instantly, and the next to suffer was the Vellante outpost beneath the airship.

A ten-meter-long steel bar burned and rolled across the wilderness, like a flaming windmill.

A "Grey Dog" reconnaissance vehicle failed to evade in time and was struck by the whirling steel bar, sending the entire vehicle flying like a spinning top!

Nearby the overturned reconnaissance vehicle, a truck speeding away was also flipped over by the explosion's shockwave.

An entire squad of Vellante people was thrown out of the overturned carriage, landing chaotically on muddy ground.

They cursed as they climbed up, but before they could lift their terrified faces, they were engulfed by the advancing flames!

The entirety of Tiandu's western suburbs was swallowed in a boiling sea of fire, the sympathetic detonations of ammunition exploding like endless fireworks.

The deafening sound of explosions resonated throughout the wilderness, audibly clear even twenty kilometers away in the Heavenly Palace.

The soldiers of the 300,000th South Army Corps were frozen in shock, as were the soldiers of the 700,000th Poluo Country Corps.

People stood up spontaneously, gaping at the explosion's epicenter, momentarily speechless.

Including the players watching from afar.

"My God..."

Debt Giant Eye swallowed hard, muttering as he gazed at the sea of flames.

"Do those slugs from the marshlands have such abilities?"

A construction site youth also swallowed hard, exclaiming in disbelief.

"This is probably the first time they've directly taken action since the server opened."

After thinking for a moment, the Drumheaded Washing Machine spoke.

"Not necessarily; I remember the Burning Corps brothers clashing with them before, didn't they?"

The construction worker's face showed a sudden realization.

"Oh yes... the Beacon team's encounter. Damn, that was so long ago I almost forgot it without you mentioning."

"And the Alpha Special Mobile Force," Laplace teased, "It's indeed a bit strange, these guys certainly have their quirks, but their presence just never seems to rise."

At least compared to the corporation, the Academy's presence is much lower, even less so than the Free State, whose big moves always end anticlimactically.

To this day, they still don't know if the Firestone Group salesperson mistakenly captured by some short-lived king is alright.

Edge Shoveling grinned a toothy smile.

"It turns out they're better suited for scheming behind the scenes rather than the frontline battlefield."

Fortunately, these guys are allies.

Debt Giant Eye looked towards Edge Shoveling.

"What's next?"

"Next... it's time to end this battle."

Saying this, Edge Shoveling had already taken out the bugle hanging at his belt.

Upon seeing this, the nearby players excitedly donned their gas masks, chambering rounds in their LD-47 assault rifles.

Indeed, it was already over.

The Southern Legion's front was completely in disarray.

Although only two ten thousand troops were caught in the explosion, the impact of the airships falling far exceeded the explosion itself.

After all, those five airships weren't just the mainstay of Southern Legion's firepower, they were also the faith of countless Vellante soldiers!

At this moment, they didn't even know what their adversaries did, only watching helplessly as their faith fell from the sky, disintegrating in the flames.

Alongside their faith, their pride and courage, and their invincible resolve and determination fell from the clouds.

Rather than saying they lost the will to fight, it's more accurate to say they no longer knew how to continue this war.

How the hell can we fight now?!

Whether crouched in trenches or sitting in the command vehicle, Commander Ryan had the same hopeless expression on his face.

In contrast, on the Alliance side, the ambush artillery in the suburbs, including the 155mm cannons and multiple rocket launchers, were already aimed at them.

Moreover, the First Mechanized Division from Jinjaron Harbor and the Second Mechanized Division just arriving at Tiandu, along with the First Armored Division of the Black Tiger Army and the First Armored Division of the Black Panther Army.

Including Brother Mole's Skeleton Corps.

A total of four divisions plus an enhanced regiment had encircled the eastern line of the Legion, while the frontline battlefield had nearly fifteen ten thousand troops from the Poluo Country Corps standing ready.

They hadn't really lost to the Academy.

But in the end, they lost to their own arrogance...

Before the Edge Shoveling could sound the charge horn, a loud horn echoed from the distant ruins, followed by a roaring whistle.

That was the position of Poluo Country's 700,000 troops.

Standing at the entrance of the anti-cannon hole, looking at the boiling flames in the distance, General Pickley's face was flushed with excitement.

Like most officers from a humble background in Poluo Country, he drew his pistol and placed a foot on an overturned sandbag.

"Brothers! The time for revenge has come! Follow me!!!"

Including his guards!

All Poluo people holding guns roared in anger as they charged towards the Southern Legion's positions under the cover of 155mm howitzers and rocket artillery.

"Kill!!!"

Not just the 700,000 troops' position!

The 710,000 and 720,000 troops stationed on both sides of the position also launched a charge!

Including the Skeleton Corps who were ready!

An all-out offensive had already begun!

The sound of gunfire echoed in the night sky, accompanied by tracers flying wildly across the sky.

Facing the surging offensive, the Conqueror No. 10 tank fired while retreating, but it hadn't gone far before its turret was blown off by a 60-megajoule shell.

The Vellante soldiers crouched behind the machine gun bunker were desperately pulling the trigger, their faces illuminated by the gunfire and filled with terror.

Before he could finish firing a magazine, a rocket landed nearby, blowing him and his position sky-high.

The airship that posed the greatest threat to the artillery was no longer there.

The Goblin Corps artillery could unleash their firepower freely!

And those propeller planes!

The severed arms blown off by rockets had barely touched the scorched earth before being trampled by soldiers who feared no death.

The Southern Legion's frontline was collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Facing the offensive from the Death Legion and the 700,000 troops, the 300,000 troops deployed at the forefront were driven from the suburban fields to the edge of the Everflow River.

Including the restructured 340,000, 360,000, and 370,000 troops!

At this moment, they were suffering setbacks far greater than those encountered in Akale County, and the tide-like offensive left them no room to even defend.

Inside the command vehicle.

Listening to the continuous reports of misfortunes and calls for reinforcements from the frontline, Commander Ryan's pupils were filled with a dim and desolate gray, lacking the arrogance and defiance from half an hour ago.

It's over.

This war…

Just as he was lost in failure and despair, his adjutant suddenly grabbed his shoulder and shook him awake forcefully.

"General! Retreat! While the Alliance hasn't reached here! We still have a chance!!"

Tiandu is likely hopeless, and Akale County is probably lost too, but it doesn't matter, at least Lion City and the entire Lion State are still in their hands!

They still have the servant army brought from the colonies!

And enough ammunition and artillery!

As for the iron airships…

The loss of five airships is indeed severe, but this isn't the entirety of the Southern Legion's assets.

Moreover, they don't only have the airships as their trump card!

They still have the 902 mm cannon!

And nuclear bombs!

As well as the "Mortal Serum" that's being developed!

As long as they don't admit defeat in this war, no one can stop them from ultimately winning.

Shaken awake by his adjutant and hearing the word "retreat," Ryan finally showed some reaction on his rigid face.

Half was bitter, and the other half was a mix of emotions even he couldn't describe.

Eventually, though, he recognized the reality, picked up the communicator, and squeezed the word "retreat" from his parched lips.

At the very least, he couldn't fall into the hands of the Poluo people…

In fact, even if Ryan didn't issue the retreat order, those few ten thousand troops on the frontline were already on the verge of collapse.

Even if they held on to the end, it was merely a difference between "strategic withdrawal" and a "complete rout."

Meanwhile, on a research ship more than twenty kilometers from the battlefield.

Yang Kai, leaning on a chair, was examining the burning flames with great interest, his face showing undisguised mockery.

"...I wonder how many ten thousand troops are on these five airships, this fuel really burns well, haha."

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from behind him, and Jiang Xuezhou, dressed in protective gear, walked in with a tablet in her arms.

"Professor, the data you needed has been collected, should we turn off the equipment?"

"Oh, save it to the database, I'll look at it later, I'm busy now." Yang Kai replied casually, then turned his gaze back out the window.

But suddenly, he thought of something, and added another sentence.

"Oh right, don't turn off the recording, let it finish."

He still had to send a copy to the allies later.

"Yes."

Looking at her mentor, who seemed even more meticulous than a toothpick, Jiang Xuezhou made a helpless expression, then nodded slightly and turned to leave the bridge of the research ship.

Chapter 878: Counterattack!

Shelter No. 404, browsing room on Floor B4.

The holographic screen floating above the coffee table was showing footage of the airship's crash, including the sea of fire that bloomed after its fall.

Heya clicked her tongue, casually remarked how cruel it was, and then turned away from the browsing room to return to her lab to continue her work.

War was not something she was interested in.

And graviton-related technology was not her domain of research either.

As for Yin Fang, he stood with his arms crossed, staring intently at those two airships, seemingly calculating something in his mind.

Sitting on the sofa, Chu Guang also watched the holographic screen, though his focus was somewhat different from ordinary people.

For instance, he first noticed that the growth curve of the airship's descent speed was not uniform; its acceleration kept changing, with considerable fluctuations up and down.

This was actually easy to understand.

Firstly, the deflection shield's efficiency on different materials is variable, generally speaking, the higher the atomic number, the stronger the deflection effect.

The deflection shield is based on graviton interference, and the Gravity Well operates on similar principles. Similarly, one could infer that materials with higher atomic numbers are more affected by gravitons, and the macroscopic interference effect is stronger.

For example, metal would fall faster than carbon-based life forms.

Moreover, the uneven change in the acceleration of the airship's descent might also relate to the uneven distribution of gravitons on the Gravity Well's surface to some degree.

Besides, the airship itself also experienced some air resistance during acceleration.

But delving deeper into this issue becomes too academic and outside his realm of knowledge.

Just when Chu Guang wanted to ask Yin Fang what his thoughts were, Yin Fang suddenly released his crossed arms, sighed, and said.

"…I never thought the Academy's database stored such technology."

Chu Guang didn't find it odd since he had encountered stranger things in this world for longer.

"Is there anything special about this technology? I mean… compared to other devices based on graviton manipulation like deflection shields and anti-gravity devices."

"Well… you got me there. Let me put it this way, theoretically speaking, we could use Gravity Well to create a singularity with infinite density…" Sneaking a glance to see whether Chu Guang understood, Yin Fang paused for a moment before continuing, "To say it another way, it can not only alter the forces between macroscopic objects but can also be used to create black holes."

Chu Guang did in fact catch the meaning.

In simplified terms, it's a force capable of destroying planets.

"But it shouldn't be easy, right? From an energy consumption standpoint."

Yin Fang nodded.

"It definitely isn't easy; to create a black hole sufficient to swallow a star system, you'd probably need a star-sized reactor… Of course, that's just my conjecture; I can't give definitive answers without experimental validation."

Perhaps in the distant future, deeper insights into gravitons might emerge, potentially eliminating the need for star-level reactors.

Much like how a long time ago, fusing two atoms was deemed impossible, yet now we can harness that force to create usable energy.

During the Prosperity Epoch, United Human only touched the edge of graviton-related technology, and most of the devices developed based on these immature theories were blind guesses; they hadn't really grasped the invisible dimension.

"…To be honest, what surprises me the most is that the Academy actually handed over such technology to us."

Chu Guang asked.

"Is there a problem with that?"

Yin Fang nodded, expressing a complex emotion.

"Of course, and it's a big problem… Because compared to technologies like plasma or electromagnetic acceleration, this technology reaching singularity poses the greatest threat to them."

After a pause, he continued.

"Neither missiles nor railguns can stop a starship equipped with a warp engine and deflection shield, but gravity can. With slight modifications, this technology can not only close the hyperspace passage of the Earth-Moon system but also pull starships hovering in high orbit back to the ground."

To Yin Fang, this was the most unbelievable aspect.

The Academy handed a potential threat, tantamount to a dagger that could kill itself, to the Alliance.

Given the usual behavior of those folks, it was almost instinctive for Yin Fang to suspect whether there was a trap behind this or other moves hidden by the Academy.

After Yin Fang's exposition, a slight surprised expression appeared on Chu Guang's face, but soon, it was replaced by an amused smile.

"Perhaps it was a judgment call on their part after weighing pros and cons."

Although ironically nuanced, the Academy indeed knew him well.

Just like they anticipated his involvement after assessing the situation in Brocade River Province, they were confident that he wouldn't misuse this epoch-making technology.

If the probability of risk occurrence is zero, the risk itself becomes negligible, leaving only benefits.

Both parties could gain what they wanted from each other.

The Alliance needed the Academy's technology to transform the decaying old world, while the Academy required the Alliance to construct their ark to the new world.

In reality, their gamble paid off.

Chu Guang wasn't interested in harming others without benefiting himself.

Or maybe this wasn't exactly a gamble, but more an open strategy.

The imagery in the holographic screen continued, but it soon turned monotonous, leaving only the blazing fire.

Like Heya, whose curiosity was satisfied, Yin Fang didn't stay in the browsing room for the spectacle and turned to his tasks.

Unlike some mischievous fellow, Chu Guang didn't care to watch the grotesque writhings of the Weilante people in the flames, so he turned off the screen.

Most of them were ordinary people swept by the times.

The ones truly deserving of demise weren't in this blaze, and judgment on them lay beyond its conclusion.

Resting her cheeks in her hands, Xiao Qi sat on the pen holder in silence until the browsing room fell into quiet again and sighed softly.

"…I don't know how many people this inferno will kill."

"No idea, maybe ten thousand, or maybe tens of thousands,"

Offering this offhand remark, Chu Guang's attention suddenly fell on another report lying at the table's corner.

It was the report on the West Sail Port massacre, from several months ago.

Back then, this report was among a pile of documents on his desk; most were archived, yet this paper remained.

Due to many events over time, he even forgot why he left this document here originally.

Chu Guang reached out to take the paper and perused it.

The fire that took three thousand lives seemed to be the catalyst for everything.

And the price paid by the Weilante people in this fire was far beyond that number…

…

As Chu Guang turned off the holographic screen, the fire continued to rage fiercely in the west suburbs of Tiandu.

Though Commander Ryan issued the retreat order, retreat did not mean surrender, and the Weilante soldiers withdrawing from the explosion center hadn't abandoned resistance.

To cover the strategic retreat of the main forces, small groups from the Southern Legion remained at their posts, putting up tough resistance against the advancing Poluo Country army and Alliance volunteers.

However, without artillery support and air force aid, such resistance was largely futile.

Confronted by the Goblin Corps' relentless bombs and the howling rocket artillery, those hundred-member teams left behind to cover weren't able to hold for even five minutes before being surrounded by Poluo Country soldiers.

In an abandoned small village.

The face of Ten Thousand Leader Peteruk from the 311th thousand team was marked by unsettled expressions.

An hour ago, he had escaped here with the security team under the cover of two hundred-member teams.

However, just as he barely caught his breath, the sound of gunfire crackled outside, followed by the roar of machine guns and the whistling of rotors above.

The alliance's air force was relentlessly pursuing them, along with the Poluo Country soldiers chasing with rifles in hand.

Those guys seemed determined to reclaim all the frustration from earlier, leaving them no chance to breathe.

Peteruk watched as a burst of orange-yellow bullets descended from the sky, crushing the tile-roofed house directly in front of his window, not a single soldier inside escaped.

The defense line had a breach blown through it.

No time to mourn for the fallen comrades, two machine gunners stepped on the rubble and rushed up, colliding head-on with Poluo Country soldiers, sparking intense firefights in the alley.

Under the cover of guards, Peteruk moved to another half-collapsed cowshed.

The chaotic battle made him involuntarily widen his eyes, filled with fear.

The adjutant beside him gasped for air, drawing a handgun and chambering a round, glancing towards the direction of gunfire occasionally.

Yet the gunfire didn't come from just one direction, but from all around.

"Damn it! There are people everywhere outside!"

The adjutant groaned with a tremble, his dirt-stained face also marked with terror.

Peteruk grabbed the communications officer beside him, shouting at him.

"What about the command center? Have you contacted them yet?!"

The communications officer shook his head nervously, stammering in response.

"Not yet... Their radio might have some issues."

"Damn it!"

Peteruk cursed under his breath, glancing at the meteors streaking across the sky, then turned his gaze forward.

"Staying here means waiting for death! We must find a way to break through!"

The adjutant nodded nervously but said nothing.

This was obvious.

The problem was how to break through...

Just as everyone was like ants on a hot pan, the distant houses and courtyard walls collapsed with a bang.

Towering steel armor and tracks rolled in from the front like a bulldozer blade.

Seeing the rising gun barrel and menacing coaxial machine guns, everyone's faces instantly lost all color.

A head poked out from the gun turret, arms rested on the hatch, Mole holding the speaker's mic shouted at the Weylent military officers.

"Listen up, drop your weapons and surrender."

"This is your last chance, I'm giving you three seconds to think about it."

Mole cleared his throat, preparing to count down.

But before he could count to one, Peteruk immediately threw his handgun to the ground, snatched the adjutant's gun beside him, and tossed it in front of the tracks as well.

"I surrender!"

Shouting towards the person on the turret, Peteruk raised his hands in the perplexed gaze of the officers beside him.

He recognized this tank's appearance.

Surrendering to the alliance's forces was better than being captured by Poluo Country's soldiers.

Seeing this sensible guy, Mole smirked slightly.

"Buddy, you're lucky to run into us."

Catching live ones can earn big points, the higher the rank, the more points.

The expansion pack reward points can eventually be exchanged for money and contribution points, so generally, for live captures, the players wouldn't give prisoners much of a hard time, especially the veteran players.

But it was different with the neighboring allied forces, getting beaten up badly was the least of it.

Leaving those words behind, Mole had no time to observe the expression on the prisoners' faces, diving back into the turret and closing the hatch.

Subsequently, several players armed with assault rifles emerged from behind the tank, detaining those Weylent military officers with their hands on their heads one by one.

All prisoners were gathered in the center of the village, guarded by two squads of players.

The remaining players boarded the armored personnel carriers, continuing to advance with the tanks.

The Goblin Corps' aircraft had already marked the next location for them, with a pile of walking contribution points waiting ahead for them to collect.

Meanwhile, shortly after the Skeleton Corps left the village, not far from the village, a hapless group of Weylent people were caught by General Pickley's security detail.

Two hundred people surrounded twenty, leaving no gap in the encirclement.

The twenty Weylent lads behind the barricades attempted three breakouts, but apart from leaving three corpses, to no avail.

Seeing reinforcements were late, and their ammo exhausted, the 17 lads' faces slowly turned from resolute to despair.

Resistance had lost its meaning.

Ultimately, someone realized reality, tried tossing his rifle out of the trench, shouting while raising hands, attempting to climb out to surrender.

However, just as he shouted the surrender words, before he could climb out of the trench, he was struck on the head by the rifle thrown back.

"Dammit! Who gave you permission to surrender! Pick up those guns!"

"Aren't you all pretty tough? Then keep fighting!"

Personally picking up the rifle and tossing it back, Pickley cursed while inserting his sidearm into its holster, then snatched the rifle with bayonet from a guard.

"Fix bayonets!!!"

The sudden shout startled the adjutant beside him.

No time to stop him.

Seeing that lunatic charging, he could only shout "charge," then hurriedly followed.

In the lead of General Pickley, the 200-men guard charged with roaring fury, chopping the seventeen Weylent lads hiding in the trench into mincemeat.

Personally engaged, Pickley was completely filled with a bloodlust.

When he descended from the front lines carrying a head, he was captured right on camera by the accompanying journalist.

Seeing the camera aimed at him, Pickley even smiled.

That blood-drenched figure, like a god of death emerging from hell.

This guy really was ruthless enough.

There were quite a few Poluo Country officers daring to lead charges personally, but very few attendants dared to charge into the fray with bayonets like him, at least his boss, General Duwata, would never dare.

The wildfire burning on the barren field lasted the entire night, charring the earth black, melting steel into molten iron, only stopping reluctantly at dawn.

According to alliance battle reports, in just this single battle, the Southern Legion suffered over 40,000 casualties, with losses of over 1,200 heavy and light vehicles.

For Poluo Country, who endured pressure for months, this battle was indeed a vent for resentment!

By 8 AM, the last stubborn thousand team also declared surrender.

Upon hearing the victory news from the front lines, Absek, who hadn't slept all night, finally breathed a sigh of relief, energetically stepping out of the Governor's Mansion basement.

Yet before he could celebrate, a piece of bad news came from the Heavenly Palace.

That Heavenly Palace suspended tens of meters in the air would collapse in just another 24 hours...

Chapter 879: Collapse of the Heavenly Palace

"Hahaha! Well done! Damn satisfying, hahaha!"

In the frontline command center of Tiandu City, the airless room was filled with the hearty laughter of General Duwata.

He wasn't the only one; although the other officers standing around him didn't laugh out loud as he did, they all showed relieved expressions.

This textbook-style counterattack could be said to have raised their spirits!

Not only did they successfully defend Tiandu against the onslaught of the Southern Legion, but they also broke through the entire frontline deployed by the latter on the eastern line, annihilating over forty thousand enemies!

Although the entire war's victory was still at some distance, everyone could see the dawn before sunrise.

Officers not just from Poluo Country but also those from the Alliance, including Vanus, breathed a sigh of relief.

The command system of Poluo Country's army was essentially assisted in construction by advisors dispatched by the Alliance Army Command, including the strategic deployment of this counteroffensive. Undoubtedly, they were also contributors to this war, although most of their work was behind the scenes.

However, since they were facing their compatriots, their feelings were somewhat complicated.

They did not doubt what they were doing, but to laugh at the suffering of their compatriots seemed too much to ask.

Understanding that these survivors needed to vent their joy at surviving disaster, Vanus looked at Duwata and said.

"This battle is basically over, we'll head back to rest first."

Only then did Duwata realize that there were a few Weilante people in the command room, and he quickly restrained his laughter, politely saying.

"You all go rest first! You've helped us enough, leave the rest to us!"

He was quite courteous to the officers from the Alliance. It was just that a moment ago, in his triumphant mood, he had forgotten there were a few big-nosed folks beside him.

Vanus nodded, without saying much. After some brief pleasantries, he left with the officers who had come here as volunteers.

As the group left, the cheerful atmosphere permeated the command center once more.

And not long after Vanus left, a freshly printed copy of the "Survivor's Daily" was delivered.

It was Tiandu City's "Survivor's Daily," showing on its headline cover a man drenched in blood.

His right hand held a rifle with a bayonet, while his left hand grasped a drooping head.

This man was none other than the commander of Poluo Country's 700,000th unit, General Pickley!

That bright smile contrasted sharply with his sagging nose.

Looking at this newspaper headline, the man with the tiger-like build laughed heartily again.

"Hahahaha! That Pickley has guts! I used to hear him talk about those domestic trivialities and thought he was a wimp, but I guess I misunderstood him!"

It wasn't just Pickley who had courage. The entire 700,000th unit could be said to have made a name for themselves.

Ten thousand teams broke into scattered units on the battlefield, cooperating flawlessly, and relying solely on their legs, they completely wiped out two ten-thousand corps of the Army! They captured over three thousand prisoners!

This wasn't just Pickley's achievement, but the glory of their entire army group.

The staff officer standing beside him spoke with a smile.

"Then you certainly misunderstood him. A wolf with cubs is much more than one without."

"Hiss... Makes sense," Duwata's eyes lit up as he touched his chin and pondered.

Once the battle is over, he would solve the matchmaking issues for the old bachelors in the unit.

Not only as a favor, but also so he'd have something to leverage.

Maybe bring in some female soldiers who could dance?

While he was mulling over this, an orderly burst in with a report, jogging through the door.

"Report, General! The command center has sent a message that the Heavenly Palace will fall within twenty-four hours. Leader Absek hopes you'll dispatch a logistics unit to assist in evacuating the residents near the Heavenly Palace!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the frontline command center was stunned, especially Duwata.

"The Heavenly Palace... falling?" Staring dumbfounded at the messenger at the door, Duwata, perplexed and at a loss, asked, "What happened? What's going on?"

The messenger looked troubled.

"Report, General! Leader Absek didn't specify..."

The frontline command center fell silent for a long time.

The adjutant beside Duwata finally broke the silence, mouth agape, and said with a look of disbelief.

"The Heavenly Palace has been floating there for two centuries, how could it fall?"

The officer standing across the command table also nodded, skeptical as he said.

"Could it be a mistake..."

"Absek wouldn't joke about this, and it doesn't benefit him either," the staff officer wrinkled his brow in thought for a moment, his eyes flickering slightly, and continued in a very soft voice, "But if the Heavenly Palace does collapse... it might be possible to make an issue out of it."

And with that, his words ended.

He expressed his thoughts and then stopped speaking, as his role was just to offer suggestions.

There was only one person here who could actually make a decision.

Duwata squinted slightly, his face wearing an inscrutable expression.

Ultimately, he said nothing further, merely raised his broad hand with a wave.

"Wab, take the logistics team there yourself, and regardless of what happens, rescue the people first."

The adjutant standing next to him straightened up, saluted, and responded sternly.

"Yes!"

...

Following General Duwata's orders, trucks, ox carts, and a medley of vehicles swiftly swarmed to the edge of the Heavenly Palace.

The soldiers accompanying the vehicles gradually jumped off the trucks, knocking on doors house by house.

"Open up!"

Hearing the pounding knocks, the old man who hadn't slept all night hastily got up from his bed, rushed to the door, and pulled open the bolt securing the wooden door.

Seeing the soldier standing at the door, he wore a bewildered expression, unsure of what was happening, and shakily asked.

"Have the Weilante people come back again?"

The soldier spoke rapidly.

"The heavenly palace is going to collapse, hurry back and pack your things, once you're done, come with us!"

"What?!" The old man's face changed instantly upon hearing this, his eyes widened and his voice stuttered, "The, the heaven is going to collapse?!"

"It's the heavenly palace!"

The soldier didn't want to waste words with him, giving a perfunctory reply, then hurriedly went to knock on the door of the next house.

The old man stood dumbfounded at the door, his head buzzing, dazed for a long time without moving.

It's not heaven collapsing, it's the heavenly palace collapsing...

Only after a long time did he come to his senses, but then his dumbfounded expression turned into one of helplessness.

Isn't it the same thing!

There were quite a few people reacting like the old man.

Upon hearing that the heavenly palace was going to collapse, their faces turned deathly pale, as if it was heaven collapsing, more despairing than when the King first entered the city.

Carrying big bags and little bags, they boarded the car, several old men sat together sighing.

"Why is the heavenly palace, which was fine, suddenly going to collapse..."

"Even when the King came he couldn't topple the heavenly palace... But this Absek, the emperor hasn't sat for a few days, and he brought down such a big palace."

"Truly wasteful!"

"Actually, this matter isn't entirely his fault, his fate isn't suited for the throne, this is heaven's warning, alas... Hopefully, he will act wisely."

Besides the superstitious elderly, there were also young people sighing, yawning and complaining to each other while holding luggage.

"I don't live in the heavenly palace... what does it have to do with me?"

"Exactly..."

The soldier driving didn't care about them, after all, he was under General Duwata, this group of people were complaining about Absek, not his boss.

But to be honest, they also found it strange, if the heavenly palace is collapsing, they just need to move the things inside, why bother the people living outside the heavenly palace?

In fact, it's understandable why the soldiers were thinking this way.

Although the heavenly palace was hovering nearby, very few actually went up to see it; most only knew there was a thing like that without understanding it concretely.

The entire "construction area" of the heavenly palace must be at least one hundred thousand square meters, and countless tons of things piled on top.

Such a massive structure falling from over ten meters high, that power is no joke, it could stir up a small scale earthquake right in the center of Tiandu.

Of course, it wasn't just the survivors living near the heavenly palace who needed to be evacuated.

There were also artifacts and treasures stored in the palace, as well as the Kaba Committee Member and his family held in the depths of the palace.

Luckily, dawn had already arrived, most were awake even if they had stayed up all night, the entire moving process went smoothly without causing major chaos.

After handling nearby matters, Absek rushed to the site personally, running into Yang Kai the researcher disembarking from the research ship.

Quickening his pace, he went straight up, urgently asking without any greeting.

"What happened?! Didn't you say it could last another ten or twenty years? How did it become twenty-four hours?!"

Faced with Absek's question, Yang Kai's face showed a bit of awkwardness.

He indeed had said that, but no one expected plans couldn't keep up with changes.

"Well... theoretically, yes. According to our detection of the helium-3 element in the energy storage tank, there shouldn't be a problem for the anti-gravity device to continue functioning for another ten or twenty years."

"Then why——"

"However, we later found the pressurization pipe of the storage tank was broken, causing the density of the helium-3 element to fall below the intake threshold of the reactor fuel pump."

Absek was listening in confusion, with a bewildered expression, taking a while to roughly understand it was a fuel problem, so anxiously asked further.

"Can't more fuel be added inside?"

"Impossible," Yang Kai shook his head, "So much work has been done on this starship, the fact it's still operational is a miracle in itself, fixing it is as difficult as building a new one from scratch."

Hearing this, Absek nearly spat out old blood.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

Yang Kai looked exasperatedly at him.

"If I could foresee the future, I of course would've told you earlier. Besides, you should ask the previous chieftains why they piled so many useless decorative pieces on a freight starship."

Absek's face turned into liver color, but he couldn't refute.

Seeing Absek speechless, Yang Kai also felt a bit guilty, sighed, and patted his shoulder.

"...Don't be too upset, it's just one anti-gravity device, at worst, build another when conditions allow in the future."

Absek sighed, gazing wistfully at the palace.

"...The issue isn't with the anti-gravity device, it's that the thing is called the heavenly palace."

Yang Kai gave a nonchalant snort.

"So what?"

Looking at the researcher who didn't care, Absek shook his head.

"...You'll never understand."

Yang Kai shrugged.

He indeed didn't understand.

Nor was he particularly interested in understanding...

...

Actually, Yang Kai's estimated time was still a bit optimistic.

The floating palace didn't last twenty-four hours, during twilight it crumbled shakily.

The marble steps over ten meters high crumbled first, under the terrifying tonnage, each step crumbled like tofu blocks.

The entire sky was like a giant stamp heavily pressing into the center of Tiandu City, raising billowing dust and debris, compressing the whole plaza down a person's height.

The houses around the palace also crumbled in the earth-shattering shakes, roaring air currents carried the scattered bricks and tiles two streets away, making half the city dusty and grey.

Rolling dust swept out, colliding with the city wall then rising skyward, forming a pillar of smoke connecting heaven and earth.

The scene was truly spectacular.

Some players even purposefully ran back from the front lines just to witness the grandeur of the Heavenly Palace's crash.

Compared to the earth-shattering impact, the collapse of the Jushi Inner City was a mere whisper.

"Wow... this feels even more thrilling than last night."

Looking at the pillar of smoke connecting heaven and earth, Elena, sitting on the Chimera Armored Car, couldn't help but sigh.

Gnome King Riches also unconsciously nodded.

"... This expansion pack was worth it."

Just this CG alone feels worth the price of admission.

Of course.

They didn't buy a ticket when they got on.

As they watched, several propeller planes of the Goblin Corps emerged from the smoke, circling towards the North Suburb airport.

Elena didn't even need to look up to know that Mosquito Brother was definitely sitting up there.

Sitting on the armored car, he could already hear the gleeful laugh of those who loved to watch the show.

But watching is just watching.

He hoped that guy wouldn't do anything that hurts the feelings of the locals...

...

For the entire day, the mood of the residents of Tiandu was like a roller coaster.

They spent a sleepless night in fretful anxiety, finally welcoming the dawn of victory. However, as everything seemed to be ending, fate played yet another prank on them by brutally smashing their sacred hall.

The symbolic significance of that floating palace was not as prominent as the City of Thousand Pillars, yet it was considered a spiritual totem by the survivors in Poluo Country.

Among most survivors of Poluo Province, there is a common understanding.

Whoever sits on the chair in the Heavenly Palace is the emperor of Poluo Province!

If the thousand pillars of the City of Thousand Pillars house the souls of the survivors of Poluo Province, then the palace suspended above the ten thousand people is the tangible embodiment of their spirit.

It's no exaggeration to say it even became a symbol of political legitimacy.

If this incident had happened at another time, Absek might not have cared, since his position as leader was never based on legitimacy, but on the power of his rifles.

But this ominous event occurred precisely at the moment of victory in the Tiandu defensive battle.

This undeniably cast a shadow over the hard-won victory...

However, not everyone laments.

Some shed tears of mourning as they look at the ruins, while others clap their hands in joy at the collapse of the decayed.

Like Kaba Committee Member just out of the Heavenly Palace.

Ignoring the obstruction from the internal affairs personnel, he stubbornly remained at the edge of the barricade, widening his eyes watching till the end, then began clapping enthusiastically.

"Hahaha! Great that it's collapsed! Great collapse! The mountain riding on Poluo people's heads has finally fallen!"

Tiandu's survivors spent two centuries constructing this palace, but its significance was only for displaying the majesty of the royal family.

The ten-meter-high marble staircase was like an untraversable red line.

Below it is dust, above it is imperial power.

This aerial pavilion should never have existed from the start.

Those shedding tears for it never truly owned it for even a second, so what about losing it? Instead, its collapse shattered the final shackles, which ought to be a deeply satisfying event.

Only when this indisputable authority fell could a flourishing golden era truly arrive!

Perhaps he was too idealistic, but he always felt Absek had no need to be so pessimistic.

Their legitimacy doesn't have to be sought from that old authority, it could also stem from the genuine support of Poluo Province survivors.

Unless that guy still longs to be the emperor of Poluo Country.

But Kaba wasn't worried about such a thing happening.

Because if that guy truly had such thoughts, he'd inevitably be disappointed in the end.

The survivors of Poluo Country have risen!

No one can make them kneel again.

Looking at the flushed Kaba Committee Member, the surrounding internal affairs personnel looked at each other in dismay.

While others were wiping their tears, this old man was clapping, which was rather conspicuous.

It's akin to playing the horn at a funeral.

No matter how correct the sentiments, placing them in the wrong occasion might still seem unnecessary.

Faced with their superior's silent signals, an internal affairs staff member finally plucked up the courage to step forward, whispering into the old man's ear.

"Mr. Kaba, please follow us to a safe place... the war isn't over yet, we can't say when Vellante people's planes might fly over."

Fearing the old fellow wouldn't give face, he promptly followed up.

"The teachers and students of Tiandu still need you."

Kaba initially did not intend to show a favorable expression to Absek's "lackeys," but the last sentence certainly struck a chord, silently following them away.

Not only do the teachers and students of Tiandu still need him, but so do the other states of Poluo Country.

His vision for the future is not just one Tiandu University, but a complete bottom-up educational system.

In the future, the children of Poluo Province will not only have bright classrooms and spacious desks, they will also have a brand new world where they can freely express themselves in writing.

Whether their pursuits are to climb the academic heights or to realize self-worth, or merely for practical power or money, they can make choices based on their own lives, rather than being cornered like a mouse.

Just like the children of the City of Dawn.

This is not only his wish, but also that of Mr. Mouse.

He may not have much time left, but he will devote all the time he has left to this cause...

...

Just as Tiandu City was in an uproar due to the collapse of the Heavenly Palace, the defeated 300,000th South Army Corps managed to escape from the encirclement of the joint forces after a relentless 24-hour-long march, retreating to the western side of Akale County.

More than a month ago, they had fiercely defeated the Alliance's Death Legion and three ten thousand troops from Poluo Country here.

The overwhelming bombardment back then nearly leveled the entire mountain range, and the enemy's blood turned the rushing river waters red.

However, things are different now. The brothers who once marched east with fierce determination were now only reduced to a force of over three thousand returning.

The disbanded troops were still fleeing in disarray, and among those who had retreated, most were wounded.

Sitting in the command vehicle, Ryan's face was gloomy, his eyes staring numbly out the window, seemingly waiting for something.

At this moment, the adjutant opened the car door from outside and hurriedly sat inside.

His boots were soaked with mud, as were his pants and clothes, but these details were the least of his concerns now.

Out of breath, he managed to swallow his saliva before hastily speaking.

"We've got news from the 307th thousand team. They're resting in a forest... Damn, these guys are like a bunch of startled birds, they almost shot at us."

Seeing Ryan remain silent, he took a deep breath and continued in an earnest tone.

"... General, the soldiers are exhausted. If we continue like this, even the remaining will fall behind. Let's rest for a bit before moving on."

Ryan pondered for a good half a minute, only responding with a simple "Hmm."

However, upon hearing the "Hmm," his adjutant breathed a sigh of relief, expressing his gratitude before hurriedly leaving the command vehicle.

Two ten thousand troops of the servant army were bringing thirty thousand soldiers of the Glory Army towards their location, along with reinforcements flying in from the Evernight Harbor Air Force Base.

Now that they had retreated to a safe place, there was no longer a need for the previous rush.

The biggest fear now was that they would lose their composure before the enemy even arrived.

As the car door closed, silence returned to the command vehicle.

The officers held their breath cautiously, even breathing carefully.

"I'm going out for a smoke."

Unable to stand the atmosphere in the command vehicle, Ryan stood up from his seat, opened the car door, and went out.

Seeing the general step off the vehicle, everyone finally relaxed their taut nerves.

Ryan, after disembarking, lit a cigarette for himself and then strolled around to clear his mind.

Although he hadn't slept all night, he didn't feel sleepy at all, nor could he sleep.

Whenever he closed his eyes, the boiling flames would appear in his mind, followed by faces both unfamiliar and familiar.

He didn't want to blame the failure of that battle on his mistake because he hadn't lost to a visible opponent, but to a lack of intelligence or an unseen card.

If he had known the slugs in the marsh had a way to bring down airships, he would never have adopted a suppressive assault tactic, launching a simultaneous offensive with both airborne and ground iron forces.

But these were matters of the past.

Even if this wasn't a mistake, his crushing defeat was an unchangeable fact.

Looking at the soldiers leaning against trees with their drooping heads, a sudden, inexplicable fire surged within him.

Their expressions seemed to tell him he had already lost.

That was something he absolutely refused to acknowledge, something he could never accept.

He absolutely could not lose.

Definitely could not lose!

He must win!

Deeply inhaling the last bit, he threw the cigarette butt forcefully on the ground, stomping it out, and yelled at the downcast soldiers and officers.

"Raise your heads!"

Hearing the hysterical roar, one by one, buried heads were lifted.

Their faces were filled with exhaustion, along with pessimism that Ryan despised the most.

Weilante people shouldn't be like this!

They should boldly move forward, not flinching even if Hell awaited them!

"... Look at you now, like a bunch of defeated cocks. I'm truly ashamed of you!"

"Think of your parents, your friends, and family. Is sighing and failure what you promised them when you parted? Absolutely not!"

He clenched his fist, looking at the soldiers who had stood up, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Don't forget why you came! Remember! Your glory, your medals, and your dignity!"

"Your children will live on land bathed in sunshine! They will erect statues in your honor, grateful for your past bravery! Do you plan to stand before them like this? Raise your heads! Tell me! Weilante people have no cowards!"

The thunderous roar echoed at the edge of the forest, forcing even those who preferred to close their eyes and not listen to stand up.

Watching the impassioned commander, a young man of seventeen or eighteen couldn't help but grumble with his head hung low.

"But we..."

"We did not lose!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Ryan grabbed his collar, fixing a sharp gaze into his eyes.

The sharp gaze pierced like a dagger, tearing through the iris, stabbing straight at the heart.

Ryan continued to stare at him until his pupil reflected fear, which then transformed into determination amidst rapid breathing, only then did he release his grip, leaving the young man aside.

Looking around at the reinvigorated brothers, Ryan raised his clenched fist to his chin, as if gripping the rope strangling his throat.

"We did not lose!"

"The final victory will definitely belong to us!"

A single battle proved nothing; the battered structure could be replenished, even rebuilt if lost.

Surviving centurions would become commanders, with a continuous stream of new recruits reinforcing from the rear to the frontlines.

Weilante people had abundant manpower both in the mainland and colonies, even excluding natives and clones, they still possessed millions or even tens of millions of warriors!

Just forty thousand brothers...

He would reclaim this blood debt sooner or later!

Chapter 880: Demons Dance in Chaos

Snake State, Battle Zone Command.

Upon hearing the triumphant news from Tiandu, Shaluk's mouth hung wide open in disbelief.

After a moment, he paced to the window, pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and muttered under his breath.

"Damn... Absek really managed to hold it."

Originally, in his expectations, Tiandu City could not be defended. The turning point in the battle would be when the Southern Legion's airships dispersed, which is why he hurried off to prepare in the south.

Unexpectedly, the Southern Legion was strong on the outside but weak within, five airships were entirely captured by the Alliance, and nearly a hundred thousand troops were pushed back a hundred kilometers, returning to the bend of the river.

After pondering for a long time, he threw the tissue into the trash and made a resolute decision.

"Damn... we need to move north!"

From Snake State north to Wolf State, then advancing from the northwest corner of Wolf State to Lion State.

In this way, a third front would be opened. This way, when the battle is over, he, as the "Horse King," wouldn't have been idle the whole time, avoiding a reputation of passive combat.

A sudden idea struck him, and Shaluk immediately picked up the phone on the table, ordering.

"Get Zayed for me."

Over a month ago, that fellow named Zayed came with the Grey Wolf Army from Horse State to Snake State, with the title of Snake State War Zone Commander hanging over his head.

Can one state tolerate two commanders?

Shaluk could tell at a glance that this was Absek's dissatisfaction with his desertion, sending a piece of cannon fodder to knock him into shape.

The reason it's called cannon fodder is mainly because he had never seen this person before, clearly not a part of Absek's loyal faction; even if he died, the latter wouldn't be heartbroken.

However, precisely because of this, even if he killed the man, Absek wouldn't necessarily turn against him.

This was like a move of casting stones to ask for directions.

However, interestingly, it seemed that Absek's judgment has always been off.

The previous Anvo made sly maneuvers behind his back, and this cannon fodder is even less willing to be a sacrificial pawn. Upon arriving in Snake State, he held his hand, first expressing his admiration for him, then voluntarily relinquishing the title of commander.

This series of actions amused Shaluk, especially after Zayed detailed Absek's incompetence and then promised to assist him in becoming the great leader.

Although Shaluk didn't believe he had this ability, he did appreciate his skill in persuading the Grey Wolf Army.

This guy could talk well, not exactly fit to be a general, but suitable as a courtier.

Moreover, to irk Absek, he immediately gave Zayed an advisory title—posing the question of whether it infuriated him that the person sent to knock him had become his aide.

And Zayed took this advisory title quite cheerfully.

Later, Shaluk kept him by his side under surveillance and sent Gopal and the other Grey Wolves to the northern part of Snake State, essentially placing them under house arrest.

This development reached a conclusion at this point.

However, the sudden triumphant news from Tiandu reminded him of Zayed, the "Snake State War Zone Commander."

Soon enough, a gentle knock came at the door, and then Zayed walked in from outside.

"General, you called for me?"

Looking at Zayed at the doorway, Shaluk cleared his throat and said in a serious tone.

"The frontline situation is urgent. Now that the entire Poluo Province is resisting the armies, us remaining inactive isn't right. It was previously impossible due to circumstances, but now that conditions allow, I plan to form a field army to head to Lion State for battle."

"With your capabilities, being an advisor is beneath you, you should be showcasing your talent on the battlefield. Let's have you take Gopal and the Grey Wolves, and I'll give you another fifty thousand men. Ensure that our flag is planted on the head of Lion City!"

Using someone else's troops to achieve his own goals, the more Shaluk thought about it, the more he felt he was a genius!

Winning or losing didn't matter.

As long as these Grey Wolves fought fiercely enough against the army, no one could say he didn't make an effort.

However, Shaluk was unaware that his little schemes were already clearly seen through.

Zayed could tell exactly what was on his mind but didn't rush, merely smiling lightly.

"General, please be patient, I understand your patriotic fervor eager for release, but it's not yet time for you to move north."

Seeing this guy resisting, Shaluk raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly as he spoke.

"It's not that I'm impatient, it's just that the frontline situation is treacherously changing. I'm afraid that if we wait any longer, it would be too late. Could it be Zayed is scared? In my army, cowardice is punishable by bullets."

Amidst the provocations and threats in his words, Zayed remained unmoved, smiling calmly.

"You're joking, General. When I was in West Sail Port, I was alone facing the army without fear, so why would I fear now after gaining an advantage?"

Shaluk responded with a sarcastic laugh, unmoved on the surface, but with an increasingly cold glint in his eyes.

So much for being alone.

Weren't the one or two thousand who died back then people?

Didn't they say you lost your shoes running?

Nonetheless, he didn't expose the truth.

An elephant has no need to argue with an ant; it would be easy for him to crush this guy.

Sense the murder intent from Shaluk, Zayed hastened his speech a bit, continuing.

"General, are you aware of how long the Eastern Legion's eastward expansion faction has been fighting the Grand Canyon?"

Shaluk frowned and said.

"I don't know... I know the Eastern Legion, but what's this Expansionist Faction?"

With a calm demeanor, Zayed explained.

"...The Expansionist Faction is a niche political force within the Eastern Legion, and they're not a significant power. They're dedicated to expanding into the eastern parts of the Great Desert, which the Eastern Legion cannot control. To make an inappropriate analogy, if we compare the Eastern Legion to Poluo Country, then the Expansionist Faction is like the Family Meeting and the Gray Wolf."

Shaluk was stunned by the words, then burst into laughter.

"Your analogy is quite amusing."

Seeing that his show of weakness had an effect, Zayed smiled slightly and continued.

"Without support from the Eastern Legion, the Expansionist Faction gathered an army of a million, crossed tens of thousands of kilometers on an expedition, and only after a whole year of conflict with the Grand Canyon did they reach a conclusion. The ripple effects of that war are still being felt to this day."

"In contrast, the Southern Legion, while having factions internally, does not have the same clear divisions in their war against us as the Eastern Legion does."

"You can imagine that even a dog raised by a legion faction can have a hard time dealing with the remnants left by the War Construction Committee... Now the actual division of the legion has taken action, is there any chance this war will end so quickly?"

Shaluk's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You mean... this war will drag on?"

His biggest fear was that the war would end too quickly, leaving him with no presence.

But if Zayed's analysis was correct and the war would indeed drag on, then wading into these troubled waters now would be inappropriate.

His troops were supposed to play a decisive role, not just add fuel to the fire.

"Certainly," looking at the flickering eyes of Shaluk, Zayed patiently continued, "The Alliance will not be satisfied with a victory in a localized battle, and the Southern Legion will not concede a defeat in a localized battle either."

"The latter will continue to mobilize, and their mobilization has only just begun. The former will also continue to mobilize their allies, especially those on the East Coast."

"The scope of this war will not be limited to Poluo Province; it will extend to the western parts of the Great Desert, and to the colonies and even the homeland of the Southern Legion... And this war will not end with the fate of the survivors in Poluo Province, but will ultimately affect the majority of survivors on the Wasteland."

"The Alliance and the enterprises must have reached some kind of agreement. They want to eliminate all hidden threats once and for all, and this is destined to be a protracted war."

"It's precisely for this reason that it's far from the time to divide the spoils. Sending troops now is indeed a bit premature."

After listening to Zayed, Shaluk fell into deep thought and, after a long time, sat back in his chair.

Seeing the relaxed shoulders, Zayed knew he had successfully persuaded him and revealed a relaxed smile on his face.

These military factions might be cunning, but there aren't many tricks up their sleeves, just the same tactics over and over again. It's either borrowing a knife to kill or watching the fire from the shore.

Whether it's Absek or Shaluk, in his eyes, they are both too weak.

While Zayed was thinking this, Shaluk was also calculating in his mind.

He asked himself if his intelligence was inferior to others, but when it came to "global vision," he really couldn't compare with those who had seen the outside world.

Like now.

He didn't even know there was an Expansionist Faction in the Eastern Legion, and that this faction had fought with the Grand Canyon for an entire year.

Letting Zayed and the Gray Wolf Army go out wouldn't be appropriate; better to keep them close for peace of mind.

"But... wouldn't it be bad if we keep our troops inactive?"

Zayed smiled and said.

"Who says you have to stand in Tiandu as cannon fodder to take action? Aren't you the Snake State War Zone Commander? Isn't this Snake State also a war zone?"

Seeing Shaluk with a strange expression, Zayed gave a mysterious smile and continued slowly.

"I rescued the Alliance messenger who was detained by the legion."

Shaluk was dumbfounded.

Good heavens...

A genius!

While Shaluk was amazed at Zayed's methods, at the Gray Wolf Army's camp in the northwest of Snake State, two people disguised as farmers carried a stretcher into the military camp.

The leading individual seemed to know the soldier on duty at the camp's gate, exchanged a few words, and was granted entry, taking the person in with the help of another.

Having ridden the "sedan chair" all the way, Old Dog felt a bit uneasy.

Actually, on the way, his injury had almost healed, but these people insisted on carrying him.

As the two put him down, he was about to say "thank you," but the other party spoke first.

"Brother, sorry for the trouble."

"No trouble, no trouble..." Old Dog replied with an embarrassed smile, then looked around and asked, "May I ask where this is?"

Having been with these people for so long, he had picked up some everyday language. His United Human language was no longer as stuttered as before.

That person laughed heartily and said.

"This is Snake State! Our own territory!"

Snake State!

Hearing this word, Old Dog had some impression of it.

During a previous boat trip, he and Eagle seemed to have passed by here. He remembered it being at the southernmost corner of Poluo Province.

However, he quickly realized.

This isn't right.

These people said they would take him to meet with the Alliance brothers, so how did they end up twisting and turning all the way to the southernmost part of Poluo Province?

The distance from here to the front line is unknown; it feels like another turn would take them to Jinjaron Harbor on the East Coast.

Thinking of this, Old Dog said with a helpless smile.

"...Wait a minute, brothers, didn't you say you'd take me to find my compatriots? How did I end up in Snake State?"

"It's all the same, no difference, we're all family," the family member said with a hearty laugh, showing a nonchalant willingness to incur some losses, before continuing, "By the way, brother, folks from Sulak County said you're a messenger of the Alliance. Are you really a messenger of the Alliance?"

Seeing the person staring at him intently, Old Dog felt a bit embarrassed and coughed dryly to explain.

"...Strictly speaking, I should be considered a volunteer, came along with my own meals to help out."

After hearing him, that family member seemed to have not heard a word, kept smiling and said to himself.

"Brother, you don't need to be so nervous, there are no Vellante people here, we're all our own."

Old Dog was speechless with a wry smile.

"But I really am not."

The two of them had a conversation going on for quite some time, talking past each other, until Old Dog started to doubt if he had learned Human United language wrong, turning "black" into "white," "thick" into "thin," "yes" into "no."

He was not a confident person, even somewhat introverted and self-conscious in reality, instinctively feeling that the problem might lie with himself.

Finally, by the time the sun set, that self-talking family member went quiet, and Old Dog sighed in relief.

After staying on the stretcher for a while, feeling quite stifled, he came out of the tent to find a toilet.

And just when he turned around a few corners and finally found a convenient spot, he happened to overhear those two family members whispering.

"That guy doesn't really seem to be a messenger of the Alliance..."

"Whether he is or not, just assume he is, since we've already saved him back, he's a citizen of the Alliance. This can be considered a great achievement, neither of us can afford to be careless."

"That's true... What about tomorrow's interview?"

"Just don't let him speak... say he's unwell, and we'll accept the interview on his behalf."

"That's a brilliant idea!"

"Keep it low-key, low-key, it's all for the family... heh heh."

Although Old Dog listened vaguely, he more or less understood the general idea.

Precisely because of this, he was utterly shocked.

Good heavens.

These NPCs weren't incomprehensible, they were pretending to be confused while being perfectly clear all along!

Having such awareness, this artificial intelligence is indeed a bit niubi...

Old Dog vaguely felt like he seemed to have boarded a pirate ship, yet without divine foresight, and with too little information about the Family Meeting on the forum, he wanted to learn a bit more before making a judgment...

...

While Old Dog was secretly observing, the news of the Southern Legion's heavy setback on the eastern line was also brought back to West Sail Port by those returning to the rear to recuperate.

However, real failures and spiritual failures are two entirely different matters.

Though Commander Ryan and his subordinates suffered a painful defeat on the eastern line, the battlefront does not lie; at least Triumph City is still in the hands of the Vellante.

Even if Triumph City has harsh words for Yavente City, that is nonetheless the Vellante people's own business.

Later the next day, the local newspapers in West Sail Port provided euphemistic rhetoric on the "strategic shift" at the front line and focused on reporting the collapse of the Heavenly Palace and the "incompetent King" Absek's protests against the Alliance and his denunciations of the Academy.

Although they hadn't interviewed the parties concerned, it didn't hinder their reports.

Nonetheless, these newspapers, while catering to the feelings of the Vellante people, have utterly forgotten their beloved "old friends."

Although no paper explicitly mentioned it, they all implicitly hinted that the collapsed Heavenly Palace was the work of five iron airships, while also serving as the Southern Legion's warning to the rebels.

In a sense, these news indeed served a "positive" function to some extent.

Upon hearing of the Heavenly Palace's collapse, almost every Poluo felt somewhat devastated and dejected.

Their ancestors indeed hadn't left them much to stand proud of; whether it's Red Soil or the City of Thousand Pillars, there are more voices of ridicule.

Only the Heavenly Palace is different.

When speaking about the wonders of the Heavenly Palace, even a tattered beggar can puff out their chest with pride.

Committee Member Kaba actually doesn't truly understand his fellow countrymen.

In his eyes, the Heavenly Palace is a shackle, a cage, but in others' eyes, it's a castle preserving the last shred of their dignity.

After the news of the Heavenly Palace's collapse reached the newspapers, West Sail Port was pervaded with a mood of depression—or rather, nihilism.

People consoled each other, it's just a palace, it collapsed, so be it, it's not like the sky has fallen, life still goes on.

Yet all didn't realize the metaphor within the comforting words they blurted out.

Living seems to have become their sole purpose for living.

Although it has been like this for a long time, that negative void has never been this thorough...

Of course, the victories flaunted by the Southern Legion in the newspapers didn't necessarily leave the locals entirely despondent.

For instance, Emperor Akba was extremely furious at this moment.

"...That damned Absek!"

Looking at the Southern Military Victory News in his hand, Akba's face turned pale and then flushed. Finally, he couldn't help but slam the newspaper onto the table.

His body shook with anger, clenching his teeth as if he wished to grind that name to dust.

"That damn Buseik dares... dares to destroy my palace! When I catch him, I'll skin him alive and feed him to the dogs!"

Observing the furious Emperor, the old Lion Clan man beside him trembled in fear, keeping his head low, not daring to lift it.

Yet, although he was scared, his heart was filled with confusion.

The newspaper clearly stated that it was the airship that bombed the Heavenly Palace, so why did His Majesty curse Buseik?

Then, he suddenly recalled a detail: shortly after this "victorious report" arrived, the 30,000 troops led by Commander Ryan moved to Akale County—the strategic point contested countless times between the Southern Legion and the rebels.

If he remembered correctly, Akale County should be behind the front lines, so how come the more they win, the fewer positions they have?

The old man pondered secretly.

There must be something hidden behind this...

At that moment, footsteps from outside suddenly interrupted the old Lion Clan man's thoughts.

There was no knocking; the room's door was pushed open suddenly, and an officer strode in.

Seeing his nose, Akba immediately displayed an overwhelmed smile.

"General Giulion?! What brings you here?"

Giulion's face was somber, and his slightly protruding cheekbones made him look somewhat haggard.

The chief of staff was very dissatisfied with his performance and had cursed him severely over the phone.

Due to the front line troops' failures, the Southern Legion's initial plan of "sweeping through Poluo Province in two months" was no longer feasible.

To win this war, they must mobilize the colonies and even the homeland!

This is not a good thing.

Since they planted their flag on the southernmost tip of the Great Desert, such a thing hadn't happened for a very long time...

Seeing Akba's flattering expression, Giulion's brows slightly relaxed, and his nose regained its straight stature.

"There's something I need you to do."

Regarding that arrogant tone, Akba didn't feel anything amiss. Instead, he joyfully nodded.

"Please command, General! As long as it's something I can do, I'll do my utmost to accomplish it!"

Giulion didn't beat around the bush. He gestured to his attendant, who then handed a document to Akba.

Before Akba could ask, Giulion spoke.

"I need you to write an edict; you can copy what's in this document."

An edict?

Akba paused for a moment, then opened the document in his hand and glanced at it. Initially, it seemed like a declaration to hold bandits accountable, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was not that simple.

This was a mobilization edict.

The Southern Legion hoped to recruit one million troops from Lion State and Dog State to support the front lines.

"Isn't it too many to mobilize so many people?"

A trace of distress appeared on Akba's face. Watching General Giulion's furrowed brows, he continued,

"One million... Even if they manage their own food, clothing, and daily necessities, we don't have enough guns for them."

Hearing that this guy was worried about not having enough guns, General Giulion's furrowed brows relaxed again.

"You don't need to worry about that. Not just guns, food, clothing, supplies—everything will be provided by us."

Upon hearing this, Akba had no more objections, exclaiming joyfully,

"That's great! Rest assured, General, Poluo Country is never short of people! Not just one million, even two million or three million—we can definitely gather them!"

Young ones die, then send the old ones; old ones die, there are still young ones.

Akba didn't care at all about the deaths of those people.

The collapse of the Heavenly Palace made him understand.

If he couldn't be the emperor of the West Winds, what was the use of those insignificant lives surviving? It's better they die more so his throne would be more secure.

General Giulion looked at him, smiling a bit, and the gloom that shadowed his face was dispelled somewhat.

Perhaps this is the meaning of companion animals.

He suddenly wanted to get a dog.

Watching Akba's ingratiating smile, he instructed in a neutral tone,

"Knowing what to do, go write it quickly. I hope to see this edict on my desk by tomorrow."

Not knowing what the man before him really thought of him, Akba was secretly thrilled at last being able to play a role.

General Giulion hadn't forgotten this old friend.

The legion still needed him!

"No need to wait until tomorrow! I guarantee I'll have someone deliver it to your residence before it gets dark!"

Chapter 881: War of Attrition

Although Tiandu City of Poluo Country was defended, the collapse of the Heavenly Palace brought a lot of trouble to Absek.

It's not just because of the rumors among the people and the opportunistic criticisms from various factions, but also, to a large extent, because of his own reasons.

Like most Poluo people, he inherently carried a superstitious trait, but once he assumed the position of Great Leader, he denied it, even going as far as keeping up with the trend by reciting the materialistic and atheistic scriptures of the Alliance.

At first, it was somewhat effective. Any phrase repeated enough times might give off the illusion of truth.

Especially during the educational reforms, Absek once saw himself as a true material warrior, even mistaking that airhead Kaba Ha as a comrade, forgetting that those reformist officers were his true allies.

However, self-reassurance is ultimately a superficial cure.

Even though he deliberately avoided sitting in the emperor's chair and even specially constructed a Governor's Mansion to emphasize to everyone that his legitimacy had nothing to do with the Heavenly Palace, the collapse of the Heavenly Palace still left him "defenseless."

In actuality, it also can't be entirely blamed on his poor psychological endurance; part of the blame lies with the Academy.

In his understanding, no survivor organization on the entire Wasteland understood science better than the Academy.

As a result, just as the Academy assured him the Heavenly Palace would float in the sky for another ten to twenty years, it suddenly fell to the ground.

This made it hard for him not to doubt the Academy and even science itself, thus doubting himself.

Is there really some kind of existence in the void, manipulating all this with an invisible hand?

Just like that, his suspicion reared its head once more.

Almost every night, he would have nightmares, and in them, Anush's devilish, sneering face would always appear.

Clearly, it was Anvo who fired the shot, yet that demon seemed to know who killed him.

That guy didn't even come to exact revenge, just stood outside the window, tormenting him with intermittent, fragmented sounds.

Sometimes Absek couldn't sleep all night being tormented, the next day he would review files at the Governor's Mansion with red eyes, or if he couldn't stay awake any longer, he would sleep like a log until noon in the second half of the night.

This issue he dared not confide in anyone, after all, if rumors spread that the Great Leader was haunted by a ghost, it might be used by opposition within the Federation.

The only person he could confide in was the Messenger from the Alliance.

For one, the other party had no interest in interfering with internal affairs of Poluo, and secondly, he could feel they genuinely believed what he said and were true materialists.

However, upon hearing his troubles, Eagle gave a helpless expression.

"...Forgive me for saying this, but you're being paranoid."

"I know, I've tried to think this way, but it's completely useless, it's like there's someone living in my head..." Absek sighed, suddenly having a thought, nervously saying, "Do you think it might be some kind of Mind Interference influence?"

Seeing the suspicious Absek, Eagle shook his head and patiently explained.

"Those kinds of devices have negligible effect on humans with complete minds... Although not entirely ineffective, at most they convey one or two messages, making it impossible for you to dream of a specific person."

Moreover, those things are not directed, usually covering an entire area.

If it really were the influence of a Mind Interference Device, it wouldn't just affect him alone.

In other words, it's his own inner demon, and overcoming it can only rely on himself.

Thinking for a moment, Eagle tentatively asked.

"How about... you see a psychologist?"

The Alliance has quite a few psychologists.

The threshold is there, but not too high, and the market demand is not small at all.

Not only Waste Land Wanderers returning to civilized society, but also survivors rescued by players from the Looter's dungeon have mostly consulted psychologists, it's nothing shameful, and health insurance can even cover it.

Upon hearing this, Absek immediately shook his head and declined with a bitter smile.

"Forget it... If I go for treatment, it might cause more rumors to spread."

Eagle sighed.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't help you with this."

Seeing Eagle's regret, Absek laughed heartily and joked.

"What are you saying, after talking with you, I feel much more at ease, maybe I'll have a good night's sleep tonight."

He didn't expect anyone could help him, he just wanted to confide in an outsider.

Seeing the distress in his heart, Eagle suddenly thought of the recent Silver Moon Sect priests who came to Tiandu to help refugees and preach, then spoke up.

"...If you don't want to see a psychologist, you might as well talk to the Silver Moon Sect priests."

Absek was taken aback.

"Priests?"

Eagle nodded.

"Although we are atheists, we never deny the value of faith as spiritual solace. If you're interested, you can learn about it... Of course, it's just a suggestion."

Persuading someone to quit smoking by saying smoking is harmful is ineffective.

Similarly, convincing a superstitious person by saying "ghosts don't exist" is just wishful thinking of the preacher.

Rather than letting him struggle with his inner torment, it's better to let him believe in something less harmful, it's also a way to peacefully face one's heart.

Eagle suddenly felt he was simply a genius.

Not only was he skilled in diplomacy, but he could also do the work of a psychologist.

It seemed Absek was moved, and after pondering for a moment, he nodded earnestly.

"... I'll think about it."

The meeting came to an end.

After sending off the Alliance's messenger, Absek paced around the office a few times. Finally, he picked up the phone and gave orders to invite the pastor from Silver Moon Bay to the Governor's Mansion under the pretense of discussing refugee aid.

The two met in the reception room.

After some pleasantries, Absek didn't beat around the bush and with a smile asked directly.

"Does your Silver Moon Sect have something like a pope?"

This was what he was most concerned about.

Although he wanted something to hang on to spiritually, he did not wish to have someone lording over him.

Unaware of the leader's concerns, the pastor just smiled warmly and said.

"We are different from our compatriots who believe in the Spirit of the Sand Sea; we do not serve a living person, so we have no pope."

The Silver Moon Sect itself was a new interpretation of the doctrine of the Spirit of the Sand Sea made by merchants from Silver Moon Bay to shirk worship and to sail legally. Therefore, it is relatively loose in terms of rituals and organization.

Although the Camel Hump Kingdom has a pope, he is not the pope of the Silver Moon Sect or Silver Moon Bay, but only of the Spirit of the Sand Sea and Camel City.

"No pope, that's quite good."

Absek approvingly nodded his head, then suddenly changed the subject and asked.

"What about the doctrine? Do you have anything that forces others to believe in you, or brainwashes people, or exploits faith to amass wealth and persecute dissidents?"

Absek laid out all his concerns in one go but then felt his question was too pointed, so he softened his tone and said with a smile.

"Don't get me wrong, pastor, I'm not saying you have these issues, just asking just in case... After all, the people of Poluo are simple and kind-hearted, and I'm just worried about them being misled by cults."

"I understand," the pastor smiled gently and paused for a moment, taking a book, "THE HOLY BOOK," from his bosom and handed it to Absek, "While I can address your concerns, I cannot eliminate your worries. Since you have so many concerns about us, why not find the answer yourself?"

Taking the "THE HOLY BOOK," Absek weighed it in his hand.

"Can I find out through this book?"

The pastor continued in a gentle tone.

"To fully understand someone, you not only have to listen to their words but also observe their deeds. If you truly wish to understand us comprehensively, the content of a book alone is undoubtedly insufficient, but it can at least be the beginning of us getting to know each other."

Absek raised his eyebrows slightly, then smiled and tucked the book into his chest.

"Looks like I need to get a cat."

Hearing the amusing tone, the pastor smiled warmly and continued.

"Although cats are our sacred objects, we do not require every believer to have one. In fact, quite the opposite; instead of raising and worshipping them, our doctrine encourages believers to interact with these little spirits as friends, offering them necessary help only when they need it."

Absek rubbed his chin with interest.

"Is there any mystery within this?"

The pastor smiled and said.

"Nothing too mysterious; in our doctrine, cats are the pets of the Silver Moon Goddess, her eyes, and her incarnations in the Mortal World. We believe she, who wanders all year round, longs for freedom. So unless those little spirits actively stay by our side, we usually don't keep them."

Overjoyed at this, Absek exclaimed.

Incarnations in the Mortal World!

Doesn't that mean they can ward off evil?!

Thinking about finally having a way to dispel the specters that tormented him daily, he stood up excitedly.

"That's wonderful! I also like cats! Sir, could you advise me on how many I should keep for a benefit?"

The pastor stared blankly at Absek, unsure why he was suddenly so delighted, but after composing himself, he continued.

"Well... there's no specific number. But if you, Chief, like cats, I could indeed gift you one... that's quite friendly."

Absek looked eager.

"It doesn't matter if they're friendly; as long as they can ward off evil, that's fine!"

Pastor: "…?"

...

Ever since meeting the pastor from the Silver Moon Sect, many cats suddenly appeared in the Governor's Mansion.

Absek publicly claimed it was a gift from the Silver Moon Sect, though some said the gift was only one cat, and most were actually bought from merchants from Silver Moon Bay.

Everyone was puzzled, but they said nothing. After all, doesn't everyone have their hobbies?

Duwata liked women, Shaluk liked gold and silver, Negri liked collecting the Alliance's artworks, at least Lord Absek's hobby was relatively economical.

Cats eat less than humans, and those cats didn't seem to be any exotic breeds.

At least not for now.

Moreover, since keeping cats, Absek, who used to be listless and lethargic, suddenly became energetic again, as if he had found a new lease on life.

Even Duwata, who teased him about being ineffectual behind his back, was now unsure.

As the saying goes, there is always something people like, and those below follow suit.

Since the chief himself liked keeping cats, some officials followed suit, making cat keeping a trend in Tiandu's high society for a while, and cats temporarily escaped the local folk's menus.

Only Kaba Committee Member shook his head and sighed, still publicly criticizing Absek for being wasteful.

There are still many people in Poluo Country who cannot get enough to eat.

As the leader, if not setting an example, at least should be more restrained.

Upon hearing this, Absek didn't get angry; instead, he laughed heartily and instructed the internal affairs to send a clingy little cutie for him to raise, also ordering that it must not die, reports must be filed weekly, or else he'd punish him.

Kaba Ha was so angry that he gnashed his teeth, but writing couldn't replace firearms, so he had to swallow his pride.

A week passed.

Absek smiled as he looked at the report handed over by Wadia of internal affairs.

The report had only two words, "It's alive."

It was clear that Committee Member Kaba Ha was still angry with him.

However, Absek didn't mind and just smiled as he praised Wadia.

"This thing, the cat, is a good thing... ever since I started raising it, my temper has improved a lot."

Wadia managed a bitter smile and said.

"The leader is right."

Absek chuckled and continued.

"I've been thinking lately about whether we should also send some to the front-line soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Wadia hesitated and said.

"This... might not be a good idea."

Absek replied with a smile.

"Nothing wrong with it, really. Our warriors are human, not machines. Simply keeping them alive isn't enough, we also have to pay attention to their mental health."

Wadia: "But… I'm worried that this might affect their combat efficiency."

Suddenly, Absek straightened his expression and looked at his internal affairs committee member.

"Mr. Wadia, have you ever been in the trenches?"

Wadia quickly shook his head and responded truthfully.

"No…"

"I have," Absek said, gazing out the window and squinting his eyes, "the place is practically hell, a tiny sound can make your nerves tense up. Spend two months in there and I guarantee that even if you stood in front of your own mother, she might not recognize you."

Sending a batch of cats to the front line wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment idea. He had previously consulted with people from the Alliance and heard that it's been done elsewhere.

The soldiers in the trenches are in a constant state of tension, without some psychological comfort, it's easy to develop psychological issues over time.

In fact, Alliance officers had early on raised this issue with them, suggesting that they should at least assign an "instructor" to each hundred-strong team, and if possible, down to the ten-man level.

This is indeed something he is working on, but training instructors takes time, and involving the entire systematic reform isn't something that can be completed in a day.

In comparison, sending cats to the front line is a good stopgap measure.

Moreover, having a cat to catch mice wouldn't be a bad thing.

Such places filled with the dead are practically a haven for mice; the first two pairs of leather boots he had were destroyed by rats, leaving him with his feet soaked during rainy days.

If Arai Yang had treated those brothers as humans back then, they wouldn't have needed to rise up.

Treating it as a means to win people over, the money spent on this is worthwhile.

"Cats reproduce quickly and aren't expensive, just arrange it as I said."

Seeing that the leader had made up his mind, Wadia no longer tried to dissuade him, nodding with an inner sense of helplessness.

"Yes!"

…

With the end of the siege of Tiandu City, the war between the West Winds pseudo-Empire and the countries of Poluo Province entered a new phase.

The combatants on both sides, as well as the underlying manipulators, have completely abandoned the fantasy of a "quick victory" and are prepared for prolonged warfare.

First, Emperor Akbar issued a mobilization decree and a proclamation condemning the rebels, listing twelve counts of disloyalty, impiety, and inhumane actions by the Poluo Country rebels and angrily condemning Absek for arousing public anger, bringing divine retribution, and vowing to mobilize a million troops from Lion State and Dog State to slay their enemies.

Following this, Poluo Country was not to be outdone, first listing thirteen counts against the pseudo-emperor, then abolishing the old Empire's agreement with the Southern Legion concerning West Sail Port, mobilizing another sixty thousand reservists, swearing to fight the Legion to the end.

The reason for mobilizing only sixty thousand was not due to Poluo Country's manpower reaching its limits, but because Absek had other plans.

Due to a series of reform measures by Poluo Country and the victories at the front, industrialists who previously had reservations about investing in Poluo's industries have all changed their perspectives.

The arrival of pastors from the Silver Moon Sect was a clear sign.

The pastors sponsored by Silver Moon Bay merchants did indeed come to spread the gospel of the Silver Moon Goddess, but they were not merely doing charity and preaching. They would also assess the local customs, culture, and business environment.

After all, the donations they received weren't for nothing.

If their financial backers wanted to build a church, they would naturally have to pay attention to whether the local conditions were suitable for their "seeds to sprout."

It was like casting a stone to gauge the depth of the water.

After all, religion itself is also a business model, and one of the most sophisticated ones at that.

Aside from the merchants of Silver Moon Bay, Alliance industrialists, who previously saw good returns on investments in Mammoth Nation, are also deeply interested in this land without Variant disturbances.

The local area is rich in manpower resources, and the Red Soil ensures a low cost of living for the locals, making it a prime location for setting up factories.

Especially for labor-intensive factories.

In addition, there are merchants from Jinjaron Harbor, Potato Harbor, and Fried Dough Stick Port.

Especially the Moon people traders.

Although the Witch Camel deeply hurt their feelings, they still held some affection for their homeland.

Moreover, before this, Anush restored the reputation of the Moon people, winning considerable goodwill for the Celestial Army among the Moon people community.

Even though the reformist officers led by Absek severed ties with the Celestial Army, it did not affect the inheritance of this goodwill.

Instead, by washing away all the blemishes, those reformist officers were looked upon more favorably by the Moon people.

With so many cards in hand, even a pig wouldn't play too poorly.

Clearly, Absek wasn't foolish enough to be below a pig and saw the opportunity at a glance.

Thus, rather than mobilizing all the young people to the front lines, he naturally preferred to guide them into the factories to work.

Therefore, after consulting the advice from the Alliance, Absek designated White Elephant City in the central part of Poluo Province as the central industrial zone, dedicating a full third of the fiscal budget to building railways and power grids in the area, while focusing on developing steelmaking, chemical, and heavy machinery manufacturing and other heavy industries, hoping to complement the industrial zones in Tiger State, Leopard State, and Lowell State.

Compared to the fragile agricultural economy of Poluo Country, this is undoubtedly a grand project.

However, if this plan could be realized, the local survivors might truly have hope to ignite the flame of industry, escaping the awkward situation of having to import even bicycles from Jinjaron Harbor.

And this would also be beneficial for the Alliance.

In the context of some feudal lords, the cake is an unchanging entity; the more people who cut it, the less everyone gets.

However, there exists another context in this world where the cake is not inherently present but is something that can be made larger.

As long as you don't recklessly hack away wildly, there is always a way to let everyone get a share, or at least not get less and less as you cut.

As this ancient Empire slowly awakens, the officers on the Southern Legion front line were also thoroughly awakened.

They gradually realized the terrifying nature of the Alliance.

Not only because of the high fighting spirit of the volunteers but also because that high fighting spirit spreads like a virus, transforming the locals into beasts they need to deal with with all their might.

Due to unexplained weapons destroying airships, General Giulion, in the name of Akba, established a special agency consisting of locals to investigate the five crashed airships.

Meanwhile, Commander Ryan, commanding the eastern front, completely changed the previous aggressive maneuvering strategy, shifting to a steady approach.

The most noticeable change was his proactive withdrawal from the northeastern hills of Akale County, retreating from the bend of the river to the border area between Lion State and Ox State to dig trenches and build bunkers and forts.

This equates to relinquishing the floodplain previously under the control of the Southern Legion.

For the Southern Legion, this signifies the complete failure of their "blitzkrieg" and "defeat the Rebels within two months" boastings.

However, conversely, they could now solidify their positions, making the supply line to the rear more stable and avoiding alternating infiltrations and harassments from the Poluo Country and Mammoth Nation's guerrilla teams.

This is obviously not good news for the disadvantaged Poluo Country.

On one hand, this signifies that the Southern Legion has become serious, making it harder for them to seize advantages.

On the other hand, the Southern Legion is now consciously trying to digest the already occupied lands, attempting to transform the occupied areas into their own turf.

However, correspondingly, the Poluo Country's army has matured in this continuous battle, and many outstanding commanders have emerged during this period.

For example, the Ten Thousand Leader of the 3rd Ten Thousand Troops, Yishel.

Another would be the Ten Thousand Leader of the 11th Ten Thousand Troops, Yakale, among others.

Especially Yishel, who was particularly honored by receiving the nickname "Jungle Rat" granted by the Weylent people, as well as a bounty of one million dinars on his head.

This guy was as cunning as a mouse, mastering guerrilla and psychological warfare to a miraculous level.

The Weylent military officers who clashed with him remarked that given one cannon, he could produce the effect of two, and given a ten-man team, he could use it as if it were a hundred-man team, particularly in jungles and hills, making it impossible to defend against!

Another who received a "title" from the Weylent people was General Pickley of the 70th Ten Thousand Troops.

However, his fame wasn't due to illustrious combat achievements but because of a photo published in the "Survivor's Daily."

The Weylent soldiers privately referred to him as the "Butcher."

Compared to Yishel, his nickname was clearly more imposing and even appeared in the "Southern Corps Victory Report."

In terms of admiration for strength, the Weylent people have a lot in common with the Poluo people.

Compared to the cunning "Jungle Rat," the grassroots soldiers and officers of the Legion clearly appreciated the Ten Thousand Leader wielding a bayonet charge more.

Even if the head in his hands belonged to their compatriot, it did not hinder their admiration for the strong.

After all, within the "might is right" concept of jungle culture, there lies an underlying metaphor —

Namely, the weak kind are not worthy to be called compatriots.

They would feel indignant over the massacre at West Sail Port, as it is a contempt and insult against the abstract concept of "Weylent people."

However, the suffering of a specific person or certain category of people would only incur their ridicule.

And this has nothing to do with numbers; after all, the number forty thousand is far greater than three thousand in any calculation.

That night, each Weylent soldier who died or surrendered as a loser received no honor, only shame and ridicule...

As both sides started to show their true capabilities, the entire war entered a stalemate.

Every day on the front line, a lot of things happened, yet for people beyond the front line, it seemed as though nothing happened.

Time quickly progressed into August, as the muggy rainy season gradually approached its end; two more months until the dry season.

And at this time, a fleet from Death Coast approached Evernight Harbor at the southernmost part of the Great Desert.

The changes here were so significant that Yarman almost thought he had come to the wrong place.

-

(PS: Looking for a few IDs.)

Chapter 882: Scars

Deck of the transport ship "Salvation Nest".

The bearded captain squinted slightly, looking at the nearby harbor.

"Evernight Harbor... Speaking of which, the last time I passed by here was last year."

Yarman, standing next to him, nodded slightly, also gazing intently at the harbor.

"Hmm... The changes here are so great that I almost didn't recognize it."

The narrow docks were still as busy as before, even more so than during its most bustling times.

The only difference was that the merchant ships and passenger liners originally anchored here were gone, replaced by the sharp-edged steel decks and towering gun barrels.

The frequent harassment by the Alliance fleet forced the Southern Legion to strengthen patrols between Evernight Harbor and the Far South Sea, as well as organize anti-submarine forces to escort the supply fleet.

Meanwhile, Evernight Harbor also served as a "human transshipment station."

Reinforcements from the colonies and homeland would gather here before taking a unified ship to West Sail Port. And the wounded who retreated from West Sail Port would also be transferred here, switching to a ship heading home.

In the distance on the shore stood some idle young men, and Yarman could easily distinguish who among them had retreated from the front line and who was preparing to head there.

They were like sugar canes continuously fed into a juicer, standing tall with pride before entering, and coming out crushed into a pulp.

No exception at all.

The real tough ones were in coffins, or couldn't be found at all, there was simply no way they could return from the front line.

Unknowingly, this small border town located at the junction of the East and West Worlds had become the forefront of the clash between two forces.

Whether it was merchant ships from the East or the West, they would cautiously avoid this place.

It was precisely because of these changes that Yarman's fleet looked so eye-catching here, almost attracting countless curious glances as soon as it approached the port.

Yarman didn't want to be so conspicuous, even willing to forego the profits from this deal.

However, when the quartermaster from West Sail Port entrusted him with those wounded from the front line, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Most of those young men had withdrawn from Tiandu, many missing arms or legs, and even unable to take care of themselves, they had become a burden for the front line.

Most Vellante soldiers couldn't accept that these guys were beaten into this state by a group of Poluo people.

After all, just a few months ago, the Poluo people were like fish on a chopping block in their narrative context, and wouldn't fight back even at the mercy of others.

To have lost to a group of "mud species" without backbone, they felt that these cowards had utterly disgraced the Vellante people!

Upon learning about the plight of those wounded soldiers, Yarman's emotions were extremely complicated.

Even if they deserved some of the limbs they sacrificed for the jungle law in their hearts, those people were still his compatriots.

He found it hard to ridicule these so-called useless wastes together with those lunatics.

It was simply not funny.

Out of sympathy, he temporarily altered his route, accepting the logistics department's commission to transport 5,000 seriously wounded Vellante soldiers to Evernight Harbor before sending laborers to Death Coast No. 1 Settlement.

Moreover, he kind of missed his family too.

Ever since the West Sail Port massacre, he moved his wife and children to Evernight Harbor.

He hadn't seen them for quite some time.

As the two reminisced about the former prosperity of Evernight Harbor, on the other side of the deck, some "Blue Ground Squirrels" from the Alliance were also eagerly gazing towards the harbor.

"Evernight Harbor!"

"Wow, so many warships!"

"Wait, why are there so many large ships docked at this pier?!"

"Probably to avoid the 'Laken' in the sea, large ships are more likely to get eaten by fish, so they've switched to small boats."

"Speaking of which, we should be the first players to come this far, right!"

"Tail seems to have only been to West Sail Port."

"That was so long ago, I heard the Old Soldier passed by here early on."

"Damn! These old players, can't they leave some opportunities for newcomers!"

The ship they were on at Death Coast was initially supposed to dock at West Sail Port, but they were unexpectedly denied entry, so they stayed on the ship, following Yarman to the legendary southernmost survivor settlement, Evernight Harbor.

It was outside the war zone. Although the identity of the Blue Ground Squirrel was not welcomed here, it didn't mean they were refused entry either.

They thought that even if they couldn't pull off any fancy operations, at least they could open a new map, but they didn't expect to be beaten to it again.

Everyone wore a grumbling expression, their faces full of disappointment.

Except for one guy.

This person, who went by the ID "Tarlan Raider," was the corps leader of the Desert Army.

The name sounded intimidating, but in fact, it was just an obscure little corps, not even compared to the Sterling Silver Army, and not even as good as the neighboring Abstract Corps during its peak moments.

However, this corps leader was an ambitious person, despite only having t5 strength, yet dreaming of reaching t0.

When he named the corps, he foresaw the Alliance's upcoming operation in Luo Xia Province but noted there wasn't yet a player corps specialized in desert operations.

Unfortunately, the leader himself had limited capabilities, and his members always fell short, so from the "Battle of Falling Leaves" expansion to the "Southern Invasion," this Desert Army had yet to make an appearance on the stage of "Wasteland OL."

As the facts proved, the strength or weakness had nothing to do with whether the name was legitimate or not.

Just like the Spring Water Commander wasn't really a spring, Midnight Chicken Killing didn't just kill chickens, the Mosquito's calibre wasn't small at all, and Tail was indeed super fast.

During this time, many new players were tricked by the name of the Desert Army, thinking it was on par with the Jungle, Storm, or Death Armies, but upon realizing the leader was just a low-rank Kara Mi, they promptly left the corps in disappointment.

Just like that, the iron corps left a fluid leader, and this pit had been occupied by him until now.

But Brother Talan is a man with dreams, and he has never given up on his efforts.

Perhaps touched by his sincerity, the Dog plan finally gave him the opportunity to truly shine!

Just when he logged on tonight, he was suddenly surprised to find a sparkling little red dot at the upper right corner of the task bar on his official website page!

It was the symbol for releasing an offline mission!

As everyone knows, only one situation can trigger a hidden mission, which is when the event happening in the area where the players are located has caught the attention of the Alliance's first BOSS, the Manager himself!

What does this indicate?

It indicates that the Manager is watching him!

Not only that, but the honorable Manager also expressed his recognition, considering him the most reliable one on this voyage!

Honored with this distinction, Brother Talan was overwhelmed with emotion, almost moved to tears, and immediately made up his mind—

He definitely would not miss this opportunity!

Nor would he let the Manager down!

"Silence! Silence! Everyone, please listen to me."

Stepping in front of everyone, the Tarlan Raider cleared his throat and signaled all the players to look his way.

As for those who ignored him, he didn't care and spoke loudly to those who paid attention to him.

"I am the leader of the Desert Army. I know everyone is feeling disappointed right now, but don't worry! I guarantee you won't make this trip in vain!"

"Just last night, we received news that the Enlightenment Society is suspected to be infiltrating the Southern Legion, and the Manager wants us to thoroughly investigate this matter!"

Watching the players whispering among themselves, Talan was pleased in his heart but showed no expression, continuing righteously.

"This mission is crucial, it not only concerns the safety of the front lines in Poluo Province but also the survival of the entire Wasteland! Therefore, we need your help!"

"From now on, as long as you join the Desert Army within twenty-four hours, you can participate in the hidden mission we've triggered! Share in the generous mission rewards!"

To be fair, his mask of the hidden mission indeed attracted quite a few players.

Especially the newcomers, who were already tempted to join.

Only those battle-hardened veteran players stood aside, arms crossed, indifferent.

Compared to those naive newbies, they knew much more.

"If this mission is really that important, how could it be assigned to this guy?"

"+1"

"I think the Manager is just bored."

It's not that this hasn't happened before.

Even the ramen shop owner at the door of the refuge received an exclusive offline task, so it's hard to judge the importance of a task solely by its release method.

While several old players mocked with quiet chatter, Yarman also looked at the shouting guy with a subtle expression.

Although not many people could understand the language exclusive to Shelter No. 404, it wasn't none.

For example, him, setting aside those strange proper nouns, he got the rough idea.

The gist was that the Alliance's Desert Army came to the Southern Legion's territory to find an organization called the Enlightenment Society.

Considering the ongoing war in Poluo Province, this guy might as well have shouted "I'm a spy" in United Human language.

However, Yarman did not expose him.

Firstly, he had business in the Alliance, and secondly, he did not agree with the actions of the Southern Legion.

Besides, as a Merchant, it's better not to rashly get involved in the games of those big figures.

He had already suffered once, and he didn't want a second time…

...

While a certain Legion leader was chattering motivational or deceptive words, the customs on the shore also noticed the fleet coming ashore.

Soon after, as the "Salvation Nest" stabilized by the dock, a man with a limp also hobbled to the dock.

He wore a military uniform with a Medal of combat on his chest, but his shoulder badges were gone.

Yarman guessed he was an officer transferred to customs, but couldn't figure out his rank.

The man took off the hat on his head and squinted up to shout at the deck.

"Where are you coming from?"

The bearded captain shouted back.

"West Sail Port, we're here to deliver wounded."

"West Sail Port… haha, there's nothing left there but wounded," the man smirked, with sarcasm hanging at the corner of his mouth, seemingly mocking something, and suddenly continued, "And what else? Where else have you been?"

The bearded captain didn't expect so many questions and instantly got nervous.

Yarman stepped forward, looking at the man standing on the dock and shouted.

"We've been to many places. What, does docking require so much paperwork now?"

The man holding the hat raised both hands, laughing heartily as he said.

"No need to be nervous, I'm just casually asking... Welcome home, compatriots from afar."

The deeply meaningful words seemed to imply he knew where they had been.

But Yarman was unconcerned, and as he disembarked, he slipped a bag of gold coins into the hands of the man who had completely abandoned faith and honor.

Compared to the reward he got from the logistics department of Guryang, this "public relations expense" was trivial.

The man took the money bag and shook it a bit. Seeing that his drinking money for the night was secured, he beamed and grinned at Yarman.

"You merchants really earn a lot... Damn, I should never have become a centurion back then."

Yarman smiled faintly.

"It's okay. You only see when I make money, not when I lose money."

Everyone is a gambler here; no one is nobler than another, it's just a matter of winning or losing.

Before this war started, or rather, before it turned into this mess, he wasn't without envy for those officers.

But now, he no longer cared about winning or losing.

In a mutually destructive gamble, temporary wins or losses mean nothing.

The man raised his eyebrows slightly, stuffed the money bag into his pouch, then extended his right hand.

"Let's be friends, Kuran, former centurion of the 34th ten thousand troops, now with Evernight Harbor customs."

"Yarman, shareholder and manager of Hanging Wall Labor Intermediary Company." Yarman shook his right hand and introduced himself.

Kuran whistled and joked.

"Hanging Wall? Does it mean hanging on the wall? What a strange name."

Yarman smiled faintly and said.

"My partner came up with it, said it's to remember our original intention."

Kuran: "A partner from the Alliance?"

Yarman nodded.

"Most guys from the east are like that, many are oddballs, but after spending time with them, they're quite interesting."

"Mind sharing what business you're in... oh, don't get me wrong, it's after working hours now, if you don't want to say, that's fine." Noticing the wary expression of the captain beside him, Kuran smiled and said.

Yarman replied in a casual chatty tone.

"There's nothing inconvenient. We sign a loan agreement with slaves in West Sail Port to help them buy their freedom and then transport them to the Death Coast where people are needed."

Kuran rubbed his chin with interest.

"Death Coast, I've heard about that place."

Yarman continued.

"The Eastern Legion's expeditionary army has been there; it used to be Torch's territory."

Kuran curiously asked.

"Are there Weilante people there?"

Yarman replied with a faint smile.

"Of course, and quite a few. Some of the expeditionary army of the Eastern Legion stayed there permanently, and some are from West Sail Port or the New Continent. In any case, you'll see all kinds of people."

"Even people from the New Continent?!" Kuran laughed, "It seems that place is really nice."

Among the Weilante, there's also a chain of disdain.

For instance, Weilante people from the New Continent are regarded as the most cunning, with most Weilante from the old world viewing them as not good at fighting, only at producing counterfeits and exploiting opportunities.

For instance, in this contest between the Southern Legion and the Alliance, they just hid behind and made war treasures, refusing to get involved directly.

If not for a few fleets controlled by the Western Legion being up to the mark, their reputation might have been as bad as the civil officials group in Triumph City.

Yarman thought for a while and answered.

"It really is a nice place, in every sense of the word."

Pausing, he then joked.

"On this trip back, I intend to bring my family there too."

Kuran laughed heartily and said.

"From what you say, sounds like paradise. You might as well bring me along too."

Yarman gave him a surprised look.

"Are you serious?"

Kuran grinned.

"Just kidding, but I'd love to hear you talk about the place more. Want to have drinks tonight? My treat, using the money I earned from you."

As he spoke, he unabashedly patted the money bag that hadn't even warmed up in his arms.

Finding this guy quite amusing, Yarman laughed along.

"Then I better drink it back."

...

After completing customs registration, the injured Weilante people in the ship's hold disembarked one after another.

And Yarman quickly realized why the former centurion of the 34th ten thousand troops, after hearing that he was bringing his family out, not only didn't look down on him but half-jokingly asked if he could bring him along too.

Perhaps because there were too many wounded, the logistics department of Evernight Harbor became increasingly unable to care for these new unfortunates.

After all, they could no longer create value for the Southern Legion, and even as a propaganda icon, they were too numerous to be useful.

In the Southern Corps Victory Report, only 2000 people died on the outskirts of Tiandu, so where did all these wounded come from? Whose face was being slapped?

The Southern Legion will not abandon them, but neither will they acknowledge their sacrifice.

There were no doctors to greet them, only about a dozen staff in military uniforms responsible for registering their names and helping arrange their flights home as soon as possible.

Fortunately, they did not have to pay for the ticket home.

As for whether they would receive prosthetic replacements or amputations, that depended on the opinion of the local hospital and logistical support units.

In the end, perhaps the young men from Yavente City would receive prosthetics, while the colonies might adopt another set of solutions.

Yarman suddenly thought that maybe bringing all these young men here was not a good idea; perhaps the Death Coast would suit them better.

However, such matters were not up to him.

Moreover, if he were to do that, these wounded soldiers might not thank him.

Forcibly bestowing goodwill is merely self-satisfaction. Even among the slaves of West Sail Port, not everyone is willing to journey across the seas to a completely unfamiliar place.

After all, that place is the wasteland.

Places that devour people are many, while those that do not are but a few among the few.

However, once this thought appeared in Yarman's mind, it was uncontrollable.

He wanted to help those disabled compatriots.

And he could sense that they needed his help just as much as those Poluo people.

The legion would not take care of all of them for the rest of their lives, but at least the Alliance's Home of the Refugees could help them obtain prosthetics that would enable them to sustain themselves.

As it stands, quite a number of officers who withdrew from the front line have been arranged for transition in this borderland of Evernight Harbor.

These people might have different views on war.

Perhaps, when drinking at night, he could chat with that man named Kuran about expanding the Hanging Wall Company business at Evernight Harbor...

Just as those wounded soldiers were disembarking, passengers from the Alliance also got off the ship right behind them.

Watching the Tarlan Raider on the dock looking around, Yarman kindly reminded them.

"I can't help much with what you're investigating, but I can introduce you to someone I know. His name is Nos, he used to be a sailor in my team, and later became a mercenary. He's a native of this area. If you're looking for a guide, finding him would be more suitable than looking for other Weilante people... especially in this special period."

Saying this, he handed a note to the resident of the refuge with an address written on it.

Seeing the lead from the NPC, the Tarlan Raider, previously troubled by having no clue on where to start, took it with a delighted expression and then thanked him.

"Thank you so much! You've been a great help!"

Watching this enthusiastic young man, Yarman smiled and said.

"You're welcome, I was once helped by one of your gentlemen, and if something terrible is indeed happening here... I hope you can save my compatriots."

...

After bidding farewell to friends from the Alliance, Yarman went to the logistics office to receive his payment, then returned to the docks.

Gazing at the waiting captain there, he spoke in a soft voice.

"Now I can confirm my opinion... this place is no longer safe."

The bearded captain was stunned for a moment and instinctively asked.

"Do you think the flames of war will reach here?"

Looking at the Shallow Water Heavy Artillery Boat nearby, Yarman replied with a meaningful tone.

"Hasn't it already reached here?"

The captain's expression slightly changed, but his face still bore an expression of disbelief.

"I think you might be overthinking... This is ultimately a war between the Empire and the rebels. If the Alliance truly fights here, Triumph City will not sit idly by."

His family was in Evernight Harbor.

If the flames of war indeed reached here, he would have to consider the safety of his family.

"It's not about overthinking; it's hard for me to trust someone who has lied to me again... If I were alone, it wouldn't matter, but I must consider my wife and kids."

Yarman placed a hand on his partner's shoulder.

"This time, I'm planning to take them with me... you should consider them more too."

"So you're serious after all... I thought you were joking with Kuran."

The captain chuckled wryly, scratching the back of his head, and reluctantly squeezed out another sentence.

"...Give me some time, I have to think about such a big decision."

It was the first time Yarman saw hesitation on the face of this usually carefree man.

But he understood the feeling.

Back when he sought wealth and planned to leave Triumph City to head to the lack-filled West Sail Port, he spent considerable effort persuading himself and his family.

But this time, it wasn't wealth he sought, but peace.

He didn't want to experience partings and separations of life and death again.

It's hard to say if another occurrence like before would allow him the same luck he had last time.

"We'll be staying here for a week, you have enough time to think it over."

After a pause, he added.

"But don't worry too much, maybe it's just me overthinking."

Chapter 883: Not Every Player Is a Pro

On the north suburbs of Evernight Harbor, battered by wind and sand, lies a small alley named Blackwater Alley.

This is the slum of Evernight Harbor, where most inhabitants are marginalized groups other than the Weilante people.

Among them are natives from the Great Desert, exiles from the army homeland, indigenous peoples from the New Continent, and even Poluo people.

The complex racial composition and sharp conflicts have created a chaotic mix here.

Though local gang members dare not blatantly clash under the Weilante people's watchful eyes, vendettas and brawls occur frequently, just like at West Sail Port after the Southern Legion took over.

Weilante people don't care about the lives of these scraps; they're just cheap and useful labor, constantly struggling on the line between poverty and subsistence but have never been wiped out.

They are like wild grass, always coming here for various reasons, and growing new shoots after the spring breeze passes.

So it's no wonder the Southern Legion is unhappy with the civil official group in Triumph City.

Triumph City's style of exploitation is inefficient, even weak.

If those fools in Triumph City could, like them, construct a "mutually harmful" society on the lower levels, where flies and mice bash each other's heads for a portion of filth, and spit on each other for who's more foul, West Sail Port wouldn't even have had that initial riot.

Just like Evernight Harbor.

No laborers would die on the Weilante people's docks.

Before they collapsed in exhaustion, they would be quietly buried in places unseen by everyone, with regretful realization amid everyone's mocking laughter.

Such as Blackwater Alley.

After all, they're not Weilante people and can't possibly be buried in the same place as the Weilante failures.

Walking in this "garbage disposal plant," several players whispered to each other, exchanging words that, if understood by locals, might result in a beating.

Medical Miracle: "...In fact, Weilante people aren't extreme enough, allowing this cane trash to rot at their doorstep instead of burying them in the Great Desert."

Angry Fatty Liver: "Won't work, driving people to the Great Desert makes them looters."

Pickled Fish: "Could even turn you into the Goblin Mother."

Medical Miracle: "Tsk, focus on the burying part. Do you think it's like inviting someone to a banquet and sending them politely to the door?"

Angry Fatty Liver: "Are you crazy?! Who would work for you then."

Pickled Fish: "+1, you're a bit too extreme."

Listening to the conversation behind him, Tarlan Raider had a headache.

Why did he recruit a bunch of rare items again?

Thinking carefully, it seemed to have always been like this; his Desert Army never recruited normal people.

No wonder he couldn't get to T0!

Whatever he thinks, it was the fault of this group of team members!

"Shut up, do you want your foreign language to stand out here?"

Hearing the boss speak, the three players finally quieted down.

Not because they were subservient to the boss.

Mainly worried this fool would mess up the mission and blame them.

Tarlan let out a breath and refocused on the street on both sides of the alley.

To avoid looking like a tourist group, he specially brought only three trusted confidants he just met. As for the other thirty new recruits, he arranged them to book rooms at the hotel.

There would be places to use them once in the Great Desert.

For now, too many people would be a hindrance and may attract the Weilante people's attention.

Searching for clues wasn't easy.

The houses on Blackwater Street were haphazardly built; not to mention house numbers, some houses even required searching for the door's location.

The address on the note was exceptionally abstract, making it hard for people to understand when asking for directions.

But this didn't trouble him.

Tarlan's eyes scouted along the street, soon lighting up.

"Horseshoe Tavern... Count three stores to the right, turn into the alley and right—found it! Follow me!"

Seeing him so excited, Medical Miracle couldn't resist reminding him.

"Boss... We've already passed that horseshoe-shaped sign three times."

Pickled Fish nodded beside him, his expression confident.

"+1, I remember it too."

Tarlan's face reddened, glaring at him.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!"

Medical Miracle instantly showed an innocent expression.

"I've been asking you what we're looking for for ages, and you just told me to follow without asking. I thought you knew where to go... If you were lost, say it earlier."

Tarlan was speechless, his face flushed.

Pickled Fish eyed the unreliable captain suspiciously, hesitantly asking.

"...Boss, are you really capable?"

Tarlan retorted angrily.

"...Shut up!"

The three players exchanged glances; the doubt in their eyes grew stronger.

Perhaps...

Maybe this mission isn't that important.

Otherwise, it's hard to explain why the mission was assigned to this incompetent...

The four were unaware that, as they rounded into the alley, several Weilante soldiers appeared at the spot they had just passed.

Though the Southern Legion and Alliance hadn't declared war on each other, their heads were already clashing in Poluo Province. At this moment, Alliance people suddenly appearing on the Southern Legion's turf couldn't be ignored.

Even with the Triumph City visa, it wouldn't work!

As these Blue Ground Squirrels disembarked, the Guards stationed near the dock started monitoring, and caught several right at the hotel's entrance.

The Guards planned to interrogate the suspected spies, the Blue Jackets, separately, but realized when tallying them that the numbers didn't match those who disembarked.

Discovering some had slipped through the net, the Guards' chief promptly ordered a pursuit.

Just like that, this group of guards led by a Centurion chased all the way from the dock to Blackwater Street in the north.

Just as they were about to catch up, they followed and turned a few corners, only to find the target had disappeared.

"Damn it, lost them!"

The Centurion leading the team cursed at the stinking street with a gloomy face.

The Weilante guards beside him all wore expressions of facing a formidable enemy, their eyes surveying the dark alley entrances around them and the tightly shut doors and windows.

Although Blackwater Alley is technically part of Evernight Harbor, Weilante people generally avoid coming here.

Beside the Centurion, a guard swallowed hard and nervously asked.

"Boss...what should we do now?"

The Centurion squinted, searching along both sides of the street for a while.

These Blue Ground Squirrels are indeed suspicious.

If they weren't, why would they run?

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated and immediately gave an order.

"This bunch couldn't have run far, they must still be in the vicinity of Blackwater Street... Contact the local gang, send out a bounty!"

The guard immediately followed the order with a serious expression.

"Yes!"

...

Getting lost was just a minor episode on the journey; it didn't affect the Desert Army's task execution.

Following the small piece of paper provided by the [key NPC], Tarlan quickly found the next key NPC in the task chain—the mercenary named Nok.

Everything went as smoothly as the ancestral toilet seat in the "Cup Society".

Looking at the man leaning against the door of the small house, whose chin was covered with stubble, [Tarlan Raider] candidly and vividly explained what he was there to do and who he was looking for, focusing on sincerity.

After listening to his explanation, the NPC "Nok" at the door thoughtfully touched his stubbled chin and said.

"Martin... That name sounds familiar, but I can't recall it right now. How about you come back in a few days?"

Upon hearing this, Tarlan felt delighted inside but didn't show it on his face. He calmly took out two 20 Dinar coins.

"Maybe this can help jog your memory a bit."

Seeing the coins in his hand, the stubbled man's face immediately showed surprise, followed by a grin as he accepted them.

"Martin! I remember now, I know this guy! I even had a drink with him yesterday, right at the junction in a place called...what's the tavern called?"

"Horseshoe Iron Tavern, right?"

Admiring the jaw-dropping expression on his face, Tarlan smiled slightly and tossed the two heavy gold coins into his hand, patting his greasy shoulder.

"...This is just a deposit; if you can bring him to me, the remaining payment will be a hundred times this amount."

Upon hearing the leader's generous offer, the three underlings behind him inhaled sharply.

4000 Dinars!

Even at the best exchange rate, that's 800 silver coins!

This amount may be small for the big shots, but for newcomers like them, it's quite considerable.

It was clear their leader was willing to spend for this task!

The man named Nok showed a greedy expression, carefully pocketing the coins.

"No problem, but... how should I contact you after I find him?"

Tarlan smiled gently and leisurely replied.

"I'll be staying at the Oak Barrel Hotel in the harbor area these days. The conspicuous beer barrel is the sign. You can just tell the hotel staff my name, Tarlan, and they'll bring you to me."

His brothers had already booked the entire hotel; it was full of his people.

Although there were quite a few newcomers in his army, he wasn't a newcomer; he just had a low presence in the server.

Having participated in so many events and reaped so much from Ah Guang, a mere 4000 Dinar investment was still easy for him.

If he could complete the task, it would all be worth it.

After explaining the needed precautions, Tarlan turned and left with the three underlings swaggering.

Watching the leader's "mission accomplished" demeanor, Sauerkraut Fish worriedly asked.

"Boss, is that it?"

Tarlan smiled slightly, his face showing confidence.

"It's too early to say it's done, but almost there."

Since that guy Martin is right at the harbor, everything becomes much easier.

Local gangs might be even better at searching people than the police.

The next thing to do is patiently wait for the flowers to bloom.

Without saying a word, Fatty Liver frowned and thoughtfully whispered.

"I somehow feel it's too easy... That Martin, is he really just happens to be in Evernight Harbor?"

"Indeed..." Medical Miracle touched his chin, "If the task were really that simple, anyone could do it."

Seeing this bunch of slackers look down on him, Tarlan rolled his eyes.

"It's called cash power; you guys know nothing."

Angry Fatty Liver: "..."

Sauerkraut Fish: "Boss, you're awesome!"

As he watched the group disappear at the alley's entrance, the man named Nok turned back into the room and gently closed the rusty iron door.

As soon as he closed the door, the radiant smile immediately vanished from his face, and a ruthless light shone from his pea-sized eyes.

A bald man wearing a vest, holding a rusty saw, emerged from the neighboring room and looked at "Nok," who had returned indoors, asking.

"Boss, who were those people outside?"

A centipede-like scar tattooed on the collar of that man made him look extremely fierce.

If there were locals here, they'd surely be scared pee in their pants by this scar.

His name was York, nicknamed "Doctor," but he didn't normally do medical work. Instead, he led a group of Hyena Gang underlings to collect debts on Blackwater Street.

As for the man whom he respectfully called boss, he naturally wasn't called "Nok" and was the leader of the Hyena Gang, Morse.

The gang members of Blackwater Street all call him "Broken Finger."

The reason for this name is mainly because almost half of the gamblers on Blackwater Street have left a finger with him.

"I don't know, it's a group of outsiders, and they seem to be from a very faraway place... There's a smell of sea tide on their dinars."

Pressing his nose against those two gold coins and taking a deep breath, Morse's eyes narrowed slightly, his lifted corners of the mouth gradually forming a playful smile.

"They call me Nok, yet they can't recognize this face... I guess they actually don't know the owner of this house."

With a scar imprinted on his chest, York's eyes flashed with fierceness, and he said with a sinister smile.

"But maybe they can pay off that dead dog's debt instead."

"Pay off the debt?" Morse smiled faintly, speaking slowly, "York, open up your perspective a bit. Does just paying off the debt satisfy you?"

4000 Dinars?

Opening with such a large sum, if he doesn't hit them for forty thousand, it would be a disservice to his "Broken Finger" reputation!

With greed flashing in his eyes, Morse paused for a moment and smiled.

"My intuition tells me we can get more from those chumps... much more."

The wealthiest in this port are those sea-going merchants.

After all, in their eyes, the most lucrative dock serves those merchants.

The key figure is a guy named Martin, and they seem to have mentioned an organization called the Enlightenment Society.

Morse wasn't concerned about what that organization was; he only cared about how much money he could get.

As he spoke, he passed by York and walked into the room next door.

Only to see a skinny man leaning against the corner of the wall.

His face was blue, eye sockets sunken, forehead protruding, dying like a dying wild dog.

This guy is actually the real Nok.

This unlucky soul was said to be once a "storming the city" figure among the streets, working under a wealthy man in Triumph City as a sailor. The settlements he visited could write a thick book.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. Switching careers to become a mercenary, he never kicked the bad gambling habit he acquired as a sailor and even picked up the "snake grass" smuggled from Snake State to Evernight Harbor, owing nearly twenty thousand Dinars in debt.

To ordinary people, this is undoubtedly a fortune.

The Hyena Gang bought this bad debt for a thousand Dinars and naturally couldn't settle for just forty Dinars in return.

They never make a losing deal.

Morse squatted beside Nok, received a dagger from a nearby underling, and lightly slapped Nok's trembling face with the knife's back.

"Do you know a guy named Martin?"

With eyes filled with fear like seeing a devil, Nok trembled while shaking his head.

"No, no... don't know—ahhh!!!"

A heartrending scream echoed in the room, a dagger stabbed into his thigh.

The blade went all the way in.

Watching the scream gradually turn into gasping sobs, Morse smiled at this dying dog and gently covered his mouth.

"Shh... don't scream so miserably; I avoided your artery."

As he spoke, his tone suddenly shifted.

"But next time might be different... you'd better think clearly before answering my question."

Meanwhile, his calloused hand was placed on the dagger hilt, eyes slightly squinted, leaning closer.

"Enlightenment Society, Martin, do these words remind you of anything?"

Fearful, mouth opening and closing, Nok shrunk backward, the back of his head tight against the wall, eyes steadfastly staring at the dagger stuck in his leg, like a pig entering the slaughterhouse.

His consciousness hovered on the edge of fainting, even lacking the strength to beg.

If it were before, he wouldn't have been forced to desperation by a few thugs.

However, he was no longer the man he used to be; gambling and drugs had hollowed out his body.

Morse grew impatient from waiting, slightly exerted force on the dagger, intending to show this dying dog a bit of color.

Just then, a subordinate entered from outside, speaking in a lowered voice.

"Boss, the Weilante people have issued a bounty; they say a few spies from the Alliance have sneaked into Blackwater Street... 1000 Dinars for dead, and two thousand for alive."

Morse's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Bounty... where is it issued from?"

The subordinate answered immediately.

"The harbor's Guards!"

York glanced at Morse, tempted, he said.

"...shall we take this job?"

Work from the Weilante people is generally reliable; they pay exactly what they promise, never reneging.

Moreover, the Guards are worth currying favor with, finding a known guard to do a favor is best.

Morse didn't answer, silently contemplating for a moment, then looked at that subordinate with a frown.

"Besides the bounty news, any other information? Like... characteristics of those spies, their last seen location, anything like that."

The subordinate paused, pondered for a moment, then answered.

"...The Guards didn't specify, just asked us to keep an eye out for unfamiliar faces."

As he spoke, an idea struck, and he recalled something and exclaimed.

"Ah, right, I heard that guard say they seemed to lose sight of them at a nearby intersection; he advised us to search around here more."

Standing nearby, York muttered lowly.

"Nearby intersection... the main road intersection? Beside that Horseshoe Iron Tavern."

Horseshoe Iron Tavern!

Hearing this name, Morse first showed a surprised expression, then quickly squinted his eyes.

At the same time, the subordinate quickly nodded and continued.

"Yes, yes, right beside that tavern... Also, they seem to have already caught some at the front of a place called Oak Barrel Hotel in the harbor district."

"Can you please say everything at once instead of squeezing it out like toothpaste?" York slapped the back of the underling's head hard, cursing and swearing.

The underling showed a terrified expression, nervously shrinking his neck.

"That's... that's all..."

"So it was them..."

Morse, murmuring to himself, surprised York with his expression.

"Boss... You know them?"

"Instead of knowing, it's more like they've just been at our door." Morse had a peculiar expression on his face.

This is too much of a coincidence, isn't it?

York was also stunned for a moment, then he cheerfully tossed aside the saw he was holding.

"I'm going to chase them right now!"

Watching the hurried York about to head out, Morse pulled out the dagger stuck in Nok's thigh, indicating to the underling next to him to bandage it.

"You don't even know what he looks like, let me go with you."

Enlightenment Society, Martin... and even involved Alliance spies.

This 1000 Dinars couldn't be spent any better.

Morse's shoulder subtly trembled, a pleasant smile emerging on his face.

Ordinary people see risk, but he sees golden Dinars.

Things are getting more interesting...

Lying dying at the corner of the wall, Nok looked hopelessly at the madman in front of him.

He always felt he was caught up in something unimaginable...

...

At the same time, while the gang members in Blackwater Alley were all stirred up, two men on an abandoned factory rooftop not far from Nok's house were using binoculars to gaze toward Blackwater Alley.

Like the guy called [Tarlan Raider], they were both veteran players who obtained beta test qualifications in the early testing phase, with over two years of gameplay time and both reaching Level 30 and above.

As outstanding loafers, although they weren't as influential as the T1 and T2 big shots stirring up the Waste World, they've seen many types of "harvesting" tricks.

They've seen both player tricks and NPC tricks.

Precisely because of this, they straightforwardly ignored that guy's nonsense, leaving the team as soon as they hit the shore.

True to form, not long after they left, that rookie crew ran into trouble.

That bunch with big noses got into it with Brother Fang Chang in Baiyue Province, yet these guys brazenly carried Triumph City's visa to cross the border, even booked rooms at the hotel.

They downright aren't taking this game's "realism" seriously!

However, from the big picture perspective, this might not be a bad thing.

The newcomers at least landed with an electronic passport issued by the Sticky Community, meaning their legal status is recognized by Triumph City.

The Southern Legion can't possibly find any spy evidence from them. As for fabricated evidence, it'd only deceive themselves the most.

Yet, for the Alliance, this incident could be a bargaining chip in diplomatic games.

Any "clone" detained isn't risking citizens' lives.

Even if they end up "sacrificing heroically," waiting three days will do.

Additionally, Tarlan didn't know he wasn't the only one assigned a mission.

The two veteran players on the rooftop now confirmed that anyone above Level 30 could trigger the investigation task for the Enlightenment Society.

And aboard the whole ship, there were only three of them over Level 30.

"That simpleton caused quite a commotion, stirred up the whole Blackwater Alley."

[Desert Falcon] chuckled, lowering the binoculars from his hand.

The teammate next to him looked at him and asked.

"Are we just going to leave him be?"

[Desert Falcon] shrugged, indifferent.

"No need to bother, no harm if he's caught... And letting him cause some ruckus isn't a bad thing. Finding the Enlightenment Society in the Great Desert is like searching for a needle in a haystack; it might be better to alarm them, make them aware we're seeking them, perhaps they'll actively seek us out instead."

"At that point, we might follow the clues to find something."

In fact, the task briefing clearly states that the Alliance's Guards Corps isn't sure if the Enlightenment Society was involved in the Poluo Province War, just heard the Southern Legion had a researcher with the identity of a Resident of the refuge.

That person developed a virus named "Mortal Serum" using Era of Prosperity's technology.

This really seems like something the Enlightenment Society would do.

Considering most of the Southern Legion's colonies are near the Great Desert, the Alliance's logical speculation is that the Southern Legion might have an agreement with the Enlightenment Society.

The freedom of this task is very high.

Any intelligence confirmed valuable can be exchanged for Contribution Points and silver coins, and as the investigation deepens, hidden tasks may be further triggered.

However, precisely because of this ultra-high freedom, the difficulty behind this task must be substantial.

Just like the Lair task in Baiyue Province, released last year, unfinished by anyone so far.

After hearing the sand sculpture's strategy, Emichiru Junichiro couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"Niubi... Selling out teammates this time is truly niubi."

No sarcasm intended.

He truly thinks it's niubi.

However, Sand Sculpture wasn't satisfied with his remark, clicking his tongue in rebuttal.

"What do you mean selling out teammates? This is called alarming the grass, throwing stones to guide the way, learn a bit!"

Strictly speaking, they rogue players are all stones thrown by Master Manager.

And it's the kind where they're willing.

As for that simpleton called Tarlan, he's the stone thrown by him.

If that guy gets caught, that would be good and the Enlightenment Society might actively seek him out.

Comedian heard and admired.

"You say it, then it's right, I guess."

Chapter 884: The Desert Army's First Battle

While Sand Sculpture and Comedian were standing on the rooftop watching the chaos, Blackwater Alley in the distance had already turned into a scene of complete mayhem.

Tarlan Raider and his three cronies had just walked out of York's home, and not far away, a group of fierce-looking guys came chasing after them.

This group was uniformly dressed in vests, revealing muscular arms, and carrying long guns, short cannons, and short knives—basically, every imaginable weapon.

Initially, Tarlan thought he was caught up in some gang conflict, until one of them fired a shot into the sky, yelling at him.

"Up ahead! Stop!"

"Don't run!"

Countless thoughts flashed through Tarlan's mind in an instant, including being sold out by York, and the possibility of these gang members being hired by the Enlightenment Society, until Sour Fish grabbed his arm.

"Holy shit! Run!!"

Realizing it was not the time to ponder, Tarlan suddenly snapped back to reality and started running without a second word.

"Run!"

Seeing the leader charging ahead, the three players quickly followed behind, rushing towards the other end of the alley.

All they had were pistols, barely managing ten magazines among the four of them, while the enemy had a complete arsenal including shotguns and rifles—their firepower wasn't even on the same level!

Even if they had the skills of Awakeners, this wasn't the time for showing off.

Seeing the prize slipping away, Morse quickly urged the Hyena Gang members to chase after them.

Thus began a street chase between the two groups.

Listening to the sound of bullets whizzing past his ears, Tarlan cursed angrily.

"Damn it, have these NPCs gone mad?! I'm just completing a mission, and they pull this kind of stunt?!"

Just as he was speaking, a bullet whizzed past his ear.

The sound piercing his ear canal startled him, making him shrink his neck instinctively, causing him to run even faster.

This was a new map, several time zones away from the save and respawn points.

If he died here, not only would all his equipment explode, but all the unsaved experience would be lost along with the newly acquired hidden mission.

This loss could not simply be described as a significant setback; it was an overwhelming disaster!

Following closely behind the Army Corps Leader, the Medical Miracle couldn't help but complain.

"You're just too damn reckless!"

Sour Fish: "Exactly! I stand with the dog plan on this one."

Tarlan Raider: "MMP, is now the time for internal conflict?! Can't you just join me in cursing the dog plan?"

Angry Fatty Liver: "..."

Medical Miracle: "If I were Ah Guang, I would definitely paint a big target on your face."

Sour Fish: "What big—"

Old Cabbage had only said half of his sentence when another hostile group appeared in front of them.

Unlike the vest-wearing group behind them, these people were not only dressed sharply but possessed a much more refined demeanor.

However, despite their refinement, the pu-9 submachine guns they carried suggested they weren't keen on negotiations.

Tarlan Raider's instincts screamed a warning, and he pulled Sour Fish into a nearby alley with the others.

Almost at the same instant they turned a corner, the muzzles of those black guns spewed fire.

The rapid gunfire echoed through the street, and the barrage of bullets and gunpowder instantly left rows of holes on the clay houses lining the street.

Not only were Tarlan and his three cronies startled, but even Morse and York's group, who were chasing closely behind, were struck by fear, hurriedly scattering and hiding to the side.

A poor henchman was hit in the chest by a stray bullet, blood splattering everywhere, as the others rushed him behind cover.

Seeing his underling collapsed in a pool of blood, Morse's eyes turned cold as he looked murderously at the well-dressed man across the street, gritting his teeth as he spoke with a voice seething with venom.

"Tony... what the hell do you mean?"

Iron Hand Gang!

The other prominent gang in Blackwater Alley, running the largest nightclub and casino in the entire district!

Unlike Morse, this guy's clientele wasn't just roaches from Blackwater Street; occasionally even some Weilante people, especially the Military Aristocracy among them, would visit.

It was precisely because of this that Morse always felt uneasy, and was reluctant to stir up conflict with him easily.

Tony, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, calmly replaced the magazine of his submachine gun and loaded it with a click.

"No meaning, just skill for skill."

Looking back at the dying young man, Morse said angrily.

"What about my man?"

Tony curled his lips slightly, speaking in a slow manner.

"I stepped on a cockroach when I went out today, what does that have to do with me?"

Usually, the Weilante people prohibited direct confrontations among them, so they generally maintained restraint, even if someone was killed, it wouldn't be brazenly done on the street, for nobody wanted to invite military suppression.

But today is different from the past; the Guards issued a bounty, so even if someone dies, it can be explained as a misfire in a battle.

Those Vellante people don't really care about their lives or deaths. Having dealt with those big-nosed folks often, Tony is well aware of the boundaries of his actions.

Because of this, he doesn't take these "Hyenas" in front of him seriously at all.

This arrogant attitude completely enraged Morse and the group of "Hyenas" beside him.

"Doctor" York couldn't hold back first. Enraged, he shouted and lifted the iron pipe assault rifle in his hand, spraying a burst of "Brownian motion bullets" towards the opposite side of the street.

"Eat shit! Tony! Along with the ducks beside you!"

The bullets flying by caused members of the Iron Hand Gang to scramble for cover.

Though the iron pipe rifle wrapped in duct tape had no accuracy, the bullets it fired were still 7mm.

Angered by the crude insults, Tony narrowed his eyes into a slit, flicked the cigarette butt off, and crushed it with the toe of his shoe.

"You asked for it."

After speaking, he waved his index finger forward, and a group of men in formal attire, full of murderous intent, raised their pu-9 submachine guns, spraying bullets towards the other side of the street.

Unlike skirmishes with the regular army, these small gangsters' firefights had no accuracy; most people hid behind cover, and weapons were pressed against the cover to shoot outward.

After all, they did not have insurance, killing people didn't earn them a medal, and if killed, they wouldn't even get a box of ashes. No one lost momentum, but few were genuinely risking their lives.

Both sides fired back and forth for a while, many bullets were fired, yet few were hit and lying on the ground.

Talan, hiding in the alley, was dumbfounded, while the Medical Miracle beside him swallowed hard.

"Wait, why are they fighting among themselves?!"

"How the hell would I know..."

Talan glanced outside, carefully observing the two groups, noticing their outfits were completely different in style.

At this moment, he noticed a familiar face among the group on the left.

Upon seeing that face, Talan's eyes widened in rage, shouting angrily.

"Nock! Why did you betray me!"

Hearing the name Nock, Morse, who was battling Tony, was momentarily stunned, then laughed crazily, shouting.

"Nock? My name isn't Nock, remember my name is Broken Finger! Are you dumb!"

The three consecutive "my" confused Talan, feeling like he had been kicked by a donkey.

He, a five-star model citizen of Los Santos, was actually mocked by an NPC!?

The Medical Miracle following him couldn't help but want to laugh and cry at the same time, eventually bursting into tears of laughter.

"Hahaha, damn it!"

"What a brain-dead leader..."

"Dying of laughter, got played by artificial intelligence!"

Listening to the unrestrained laughter of his three confidants, Talan's face turned liver-colored, the suffocation feeling worse than being killed.

After all, resurrection is a matter of three days, but being ridiculed on the forum is a lifetime.

"Damn it..."

He cursed, pulling out the gun tucked behind him, intending to join the fray to regain his ground, but Medical Miracle quickly pulled him back.

"Whoa, big brother, calm down!"

Sauerkraut Fish also said nervously.

"Yeah, boss, calm down! We're just joking around; even if we were to bail, we wouldn't do it during a mission, at least not until this task is completed."

With their persuasion, Talan gradually calmed down, thinking about countermeasures to escape the predicament.

Both gangs targeting them at the same time was likely not for money...

Especially that "Broken Finger" posing as Nock.

If it were for money, he would have acted when they opened the door just now, no need to wait until now!

Thinking of this, Talan had an idea and looked towards Fatty Liver, who had been silent.

"Fatty, check offline."

Fatty Liver opened his eyes, looked at him, and said faintly.

"...I just came back from offline; the thirty brothers at our inn have been taken out."

The forum was now full of lively chatter; after all, this war had been fought for so long, and it was the first time the Alliance's army was captured "in formation."

Furthermore, it was by a group of Guards.

But he didn't tell the commander these irrelevant tidbits.

They were in the same boat now; even laughing at each other held no meaning.

After hearing Fatty Liver's account, Talan thought to himself, as expected.

The thirty-army members at the inn were taken out; the Vellante people indeed had their eyes on them.

But why were gangs here?

In an instant, a possibility suddenly emerged in Talan's mind.

They have no evidence!

It's not that the Weilante people are particularly disciplined, but every system has established procedures, and it's impossible for individuals within this system to act recklessly.

Whoever gives the order must take responsibility; this logic holds even within the Army.

In other words, the Guards who targeted their port did not act on orders from above but made the decision based on suspicions about their own men.

Those Weilante people didn't have enough evidence to prove that they and their party were Alliance spies!

If he died at the hands of their pursuit as an Alliance citizen, it might not be troublesome for the Southern Legion, but it would definitely be a problem for the Guards.

So they entrusted the task to local gangs, so even if they only caught a corpse, they could blame the gang warfare, turning a diplomatic issue into a public order one.

Talan quickly turned his thoughts and swiftly made a decision.

"Fatty Liver, go offline and private message our members, coordinate their testimonies! Insist we are here for... a business investigation."

Fatty Liver smiled faintly.

"They've already coordinated the testimonies... though they said it was tourism, not business."

Medical Miracle couldn't help but give a thumbs-up.

"Impressive!"

Sour Cabbage Fish couldn't help but praise.

"You're brilliant, you should be the leader."

Fatty Liver curled his mouth slightly.

Though it had nothing to do with him, it seemed unnecessary to explain.

Hearing that his members were so aware, Talan showed some surprise on his face.

This batch of newcomers turned out to be quite decent, and it seemed there was hope for his ambition to reach T0!

The only drawback was that the tourism excuse was somewhat far-fetched, no wonder the other side was insistent they had issues.

But that's fine.

Talan's eyes flickered slightly, already having a new idea.

"I'll cover you; try to escape north, get out of the settlement first, and then wait for my signal."

Sour Cabbage Fish looked at the regiment leader in surprise.

"What about you?"

"Surrender."

Talan's lips curled into a smile, looking at his three core members who showed surprised expressions, he said calmly.

"I heard that the Enlightenment Society is calling the Residents of the Refuge to unite and resist the War Construction Committee's remnants."

"I wonder if they would accept Residents of the Refuge who defect."

...

As Level 30 Awakeners joined the fray, the battle in Blackwater Alley reached a fever pitch.

After all, having once given heads to the Pangolin, the veteran Tarlan Raider might not have been the brightest, but he was absolutely skilled.

He first used a human ladder to send off three subordinates and then used a pistol alone to shoot his way out from between two groups.

Fortunately, when looking for the mission coordinates earlier, he circled Blackwater Alley several times, which was like scouting in advance.

He wasn't familiar with the terrain here but wasn't blindly stumbling around like a headless fly either.

After crossing two streets, he charged directly into the crowded market, firing shots into the air, causing chaos as people scattered in panic.

Seeing him rush into the market, Morse and Tony, who were in pursuit, turned green in the face.

Sure enough, shortly after that Simpleton stirred up trouble, a group of armed guards with bullet-proof armor arrived in assault vehicles.

Those armed guards weren't taken aback; Talan threw away his pistol and walked towards them with his hands up, looking terrified.

"Thank heavens, you finally arrived!"

The Centurion leading the group approached him with a stern face.

"Did you fire the shots?"

Talan widened his eyes in surprise.

"Me?! Are you kidding? I'm just a tourist! Here's my VM; it has my electronic visa. I came through customs, fully documented!"

When registering at customs, there is a body search. Unlike smugglers, those who go through customs are protected by Triumph City's law.

At least in name.

As he spoke, Talan pointed at the gang members who persistently pursued him.

"They fired the shots! You can ask anyone."

The Centurion squinted, scrutinizing the Alliance fellow, his nose almost poking the ugly, annoying face.

He naturally knew who those thugs were, but he hadn't expected that his own issued "wanted order" would end up assisting him, giving him a pretext for being persecuted and seeking shelter.

It didn't matter though.

At least they caught someone.

The thirty Alliance citizens previously caught all insisted they were here for tourism, treating them like fools.

This was the Wasteland.

Besides, who goes on vacation in enemy territory?

He no longer hoped to pry anything out of their mouths, hoping instead to find a breakthrough with this man.

"Get in the car."

Talan let out a sigh of relief, showing a look of relief.

"Thank you."

Not wanting to hear him ramble, the Centurion gave him a shove, handing him over to his adjutant.

A gang member in a vest hesitated and approached to ask for a reward.

"Hey, so about that..."

The Centurion didn't even glance at the clueless fellow, waving his hand to have him apprehended too, treated as spoils of the mission to report back.

Hiding in the crowd, Morse watched the withdrawing assault vehicle with an unreadable expression.

Tony, who had earlier clashed with him, now stood beside him, lighting another cigarette.

"The Centurion of the Guards, it seems this money isn't easy to earn... I've decided, the Iron Hand Gang is out, you guys can play by yourselves."

Morse shot him a glance, forcing a smile.

"Thanks a lot."

"No need to thank me, but if you must, leave it for your funeral... even a small mosquito is still meat, I'll take care of your turf."

Throwing the submachine gun to a subordinate, Tony shot him a mocking look, ignoring the glaring Hyenas, and led his men away.

York stared murderously at the figure until it vanished at the market's end, then turned back to his boss, speaking in a hushed tone.

"Boss... are we just letting this go?"

Morse's eyes narrowed into slits, withdrawing from Tony's direction, then faced where the assault vehicles departed, and said slowly.

"I never make unprofitable deals..."

"This isn't over."

Enlightenment Society...

He had lived in this city for so long, yet this was his first time hearing of the organization.

Mumbling the words, Morse quietly nodded and led his men away.

At the same time, on a rooftop in the distance.

Watching the scene unfold, Sand Sculpture and Comedian finished the last of their sunflower seeds.

When he saw Talan discard his weapon and approach the Weilante police voluntarily, the former widened his eyes in rare approval.

"Impressive... this Simpleton has a trick up his sleeve, coming up with the idea of surrendering."

He could guess what that guy was planning.

If he was right, they might pull off a coordinated act.

Comedian looked at him and asked.

"So, what now? How do we proceed?"

"We lie in wait."

Tossing the sunflower seed shells down the building, Sand Sculpture clapped his hands, grabbing the travel bag at his side.

It held all his gear.

Including a disassembled sniper rifle, a submachine gun, several grenades, and a drone.

As for how they smuggled these in, it was simple.

He and his teammate didn't go the usual route when they disembarked, but exploited the Customs NPC's blind spots, effectively glitching their way in.

"If the Enlightenment Society people are watching them, they might scout the vicinity of their detention center... we'll keep an eye on the area and tag any suspicious individuals."

Comedian: "What counts as suspicious?"

Sand Sculpture grinned widely.

"NPCs as sneaky as us, or faces that show up for several consecutive days. Make good use of drones and facial recognition... don't just stand there, let's move."

Everything is according to plan!

Watching the sunflower seed shells drift in the wind, Comedian sighed and said.

"Such poor manners."

Chapter 885: Outwitting the Air

The car jolted and stopped beside a tall courtyard wall, and seeing the strict guard, the Tarlan Raider knew he had come to the right place.

However, what he didn't know was that this prison called "Carter Nord" was notorious in the local people's hearts. They say that those who enter come out with their skin stripped, if not dead.

Take the young lad with a hyena tattoo who was caught with him, for instance; when he got out of the car, his legs went weak, almost wetting his pants.

Under the escort of several guards, Talan passed through the majestic gate and underwent multiple security checks, completing all the procedures to enter the cell, and was eventually placed in a small single room without windows, only the size of a bed.

After waiting in the single room for about ten minutes, a sullen Weilante man soon came over and took him to the interrogation room beside.

As soon as he entered the room, a strong light hit his face, followed by a stern voice from the front.

"Tell the truth! What are you here for?"

Thinking this interrogation is quite realistic, Talan blurted out.

"Tourism, of course."

That calm demeanor threw the two interrogators off for a moment, and their aggressive posture paused.

The slightly older guard coughed and spoke slowly to play the good cop.

"I suggest you confess honestly. Your accomplices have already admitted it. Denying it will be meaningless; it will only extend your sentence."

Talan snickered in his heart.

They had coordinated their statements on the forum long ago; he couldn't help but laugh at such nonsense.

Apparently sensing his disdain, the faces of the two Weilante guards responsible for the interrogation darkened.

"I warn you to be serious!"

Talan retorted impolitely.

"I also warn you, I'm a citizen of the Alliance, and I came in with a certificate issued by Triumph City. Has the Southern Legion already disregarded its marshal?"

The air in the interrogation room fell silent, as if you could hear the sound of a feather dropping.

The older guard coughed, pretending to drink from a cup, while the younger guard squinted his eyes, clenching his hands into fists on the table.

"Say that again."

He didn't care who was in front of him, be it Alliance members or aliens, if anyone dared to question his loyalty, he'd beat their face in.

Thinking the provocation was almost enough, Talan leaned back in his chair.

"To be frank, there are quite a few Weilante people at the port on Death Coast. We heard from them that there was a place called Evernight Harbor at the southernmost tip of the Great Desert, so we planned to visit in a reciprocal gesture. But unexpectedly, you were so hospitable, giving me a pair of handcuffs on our first meeting."

Pausing, he continued.

"Of course, aside from tourism, I do have some personal motives, but that has nothing to do with other travelers or you."

The old man drinking water eyed him sharply and immediately put down his cup.

"Oh? What personal motives?"

Talan replied.

"I'm looking for an organization called the Enlightenment Society."

The young guard frowned.

"...What's that?"

Talan chuckled, looking dismissive.

"An organization made up of Residents of the refuge, active around the Great Desert... But you aren't Residents of the refuge, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

That dismissive demeanor matched the stereotypical perception of Weilante people towards Blue Ground Squirrels, causing the young guard's fists to harden again.

Yet, Talan didn't even glance at him.

As the saying goes, it's the quiet dog that bites.

Besides, he was a dignified Level 30 Awakener; even with handcuffs, if things got physical, the result was anyone's guess.

The old guard furrowed his brow, contemplating for a while before speaking slowly.

"What do you want with the Enlightenment Society?"

Talan said straightforwardly.

"I want to join them."

Old guard: "Reason?"

Talan: "Disappointment."

The old guard gave him a surprised look.

"Disappointment?"

Talan nodded slightly.

"Yes, I've had enough of the Alliance's hypocrisy. Why must we bring those useless ragtag into the new era? We inherited everything from the Prosperity Epoch. We are the United Human, we are the new era... yet our Managers want us to bleed for a bunch of strangers."

"To be honest, I'm disappointed with the Alliance, so I want to try somewhere else... I heard the Enlightenment Society is active in the Great Desert, and their ideals align more with my stance, so I came."

His statement was flawless, his face even convincingly expressed anger and dissatisfaction.

The faces of the two guards showed surprise; then one turned to excitement, and the other to contemplation.

"I thought all Alliance people shared a brain with pigs; I didn't expect there'd be someone clear-headed. Congratulations on turning to the light, friend," the young guard chuckled, his eyes turning admiration from resentment.

Talan smiled but remained silent.

Not to mention he was speaking nonsense, the "we" in that nonsense referred to Blue Jacket folks; how could a Weilante relate to it?

You and those Wasteland Wanderers are just "bad fish and rotten shrimp," when did the United Human grant you the right to inherit anything?

Such wishful thinking!

The old guard thought for a long time, then suddenly smiled and closed the notebook that was spread open on the table.

"Congratulations on finding your organization."

Good guy!

The Southern Legion really is cooperating with the Enlightenment Society!

Talan was excited inside but kept a calm face, whistling as he spoke.

"So, does this mean I've passed your test?"

The young guard gave a strange look to his colleague beside him, who returned a meaningful glance, then looked back at the person sitting across the interrogation table.

"I can't make the decision on this, but I can help you get in touch with someone who can."

"Then you'd better hurry, before I change my mind." Eager to show off on the forum, Talan coolly tossed out this sentence.

The older guard nodded, gesturing for the guard standing next to Talan to take him down.

The interrogation room fell silent.

Hearing the door closing in the distance, the young guard finally looked at the old veteran and hurriedly asked.

"What the hell is this Enlightenment Society?"

The old guard tidied up the files on the desk and responded nonchalantly.

"How would I know?"

The young guard frowned.

"Then what did you mean by what you said?"

The old guard showed a shrewd expression, squinting slightly like a fox.

"Precisely because we don't know, we have to figure out what this Enlightenment Society is through this guy... In any case, keep him stable for now."

Hearing this, the young guard suddenly realized, unable to help but give a thumbs up in admiration.

Well played!

Brilliant!

Simply too brilliant!

Meanwhile, on the other side, back in his cell, Talan didn't wait for the door to close before he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

The guard closing the door gave him a surprised look, called out to him twice without getting a response, then sneered disdainfully.

Are all Alliance people pigs?

Sleeping at a time like this.

At the same time, on the "Wasteland OL" official forum in another world, as everyone was discussing the front-line situation of the "Southern Barbarian Invasion" expansion, a post suddenly shot up to the top of the forum like a flashing meteor.

Tarlan Raider: "Bros! Our Desert Army has infiltrated the Enlightenment Society!!!"

Tail: "Wow, amazing! (✪ω✪)"

Si Si: "The Enlightenment Society... such a distant name, feels like the last time I heard it was two years ago."

Fang Chang: "Seems like you've triggered a hidden mission, go for it. (sly smile)"

Desert Falcon: "What the hell?"

Emichiru Junichiro: "Is that for real?!"

...

Just as Talan's post sank into the ocean, an investigation report about Alliance spies was simultaneously delivered to the desk of Yahui, the governor of Evernight Harbor.

After reading the report from start to finish, Yahui's eyebrows slightly furrowed as he asked Weilobi, the chief officer of the Guards standing in front of the desk.

"What exactly is this Enlightenment Society?"

He's been serving in Evernight Harbor for fifteen years and has never heard of this name.

Weilobi standing in front of him also shook his head, speaking with a serious expression.

"I've gathered intelligence from Yavente City and Triumph City, but there is very little information about this organization... It's said to be related to No.0 Shelter and a document known as the Torch Plan."

Yahui frowned.

"No.0 Shelter? Torch Plan?"

Weilobi nodded slowly, continuing in a solemn tone.

"Behind these two things corresponds a weapon powerful enough to reboot the world. It's said that its power can not only influence the outcome of one or two battles, but can even rewrite an entire epoch."

This part of the information mainly comes from the archives of Triumph City, included in the entry related to the Enlightenment Society.

However, intriguingly, there are very few clues involving No.0 Shelter and the Torch Plan.

There are two possibilities.

The people of Triumph City indeed do not have much intelligence on these two things.

But we also cannot rule out another possibility, that some great entity does not want them to know these things.

Yahui's pupils slightly contracted as countless possibilities flashed through his mind, all converging on the same coordinate.

"This weapon is hidden in the Great Desert..."

Sure, here is the translated text:

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Weilobi stared intently at the Governor, and continued to speak seriously.

"It's a reasonable speculation that at least the Enlightenment Society might know its whereabouts."

Getting up and walking to the window of the office, Ya Hui gazed at the prosperous harbor outside.

A weapon capable of rewriting the entire epoch...

It's hard to imagine what kind of weapon could instantly destroy this flourishing community.

However, he wouldn't let such a thing happen.

If anyone planned to do so, he certainly wouldn't let that person get away with it.

This harbor is like his child, and he would never allow anyone to destroy it!

"... What do you think?"

Looking at the Governor with his back turned, Weilobi said respectfully.

"Although there is no direct evidence, I'm almost certain that the guy we just caught is a spy for the Alliance, and those thirty people we blocked at the hotel entrance are likely his accomplices!"

"After being exposed, he attempted to change tactics and maneuver with our interrogators. It's clear he has received some counterintelligence training. This person possesses some skill, but not much."

"Our colleagues in the Intelligence Office speculate that... our opponent might attempt to cooperate with the Enlightenment Society to obtain this weapon that could reverse the entire battle."

Yahweh thought for a long time before suddenly speaking.

"That doesn't make sense. If this weapon is so important that it could rewrite the entire battle, why would he leak the Enlightenment Society's clues to us?"

Weilobi smiled faintly and offered his own speculation.

"This is actually easy to understand. The Alliance isn't completely ignorant of the Great Desert, but they are totally in the dark about Evernight Harbor. Maybe, some intelligence they collected in Pioneer City pointed them to the southern part of the Great Desert, which is the Southern Industrial Zone during the Human Alliance Era. However, they're not sure if we've already collaborated with the Enlightenment Society."

"In the Alliance's words, this move is called 'throwing stones to ask the way.' They deliberately release smoke bombs to test our response and then make the next decision based on our reaction."

Yahweh's pupils slightly dilated, and his expression gradually turned solemn.

"Then what is your plan?"

"To turn the tables," Weilobi confidently looked at him, his eyes shining brightly, "My subordinates are smart. They released false signals to the Alliance's bait, making them mistakenly believe that we have already launched an official collaboration with the Enlightenment Society."

"I bet that spy locked in our prison must be as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, eager to relay this message immediately."

"Once people become anxious, they will make mistakes. By then, we can trace back to find clues about the Enlightenment Society, and then try to acquire that 'Zero Weapon' from them!"

Facing those shining eyes, Yahweh pondered for a long time.

This plan is actually quite good, with only one point of doubt that still gives him pause.

They do not have direct evidence to prove that the guy is indeed a spy for the Alliance.

Everything is mere speculation.

However, with the mentality of "better believe it exists than not," he still nodded.

No matter whether that legendary weapon capable of turning the tide truly exists, there's no harm in trying it...

"Do you have a specific plan?"

"Of course, I do," with a slight smug smile on his lips, Weilobi took out another document from his pocket and gently placed it on the desk, "The plan is codenamed 'Wasp,' and I arranged for some agents from the Intelligence Office to buy a house in Blackwater Street and disguise it as a base for the Enlightenment Society."

"We can package an Enlightenment Society, pretend as if we are cooperating, and then let them reveal their true intentions themselves!"

...

The disturbance in Blackwater Alley did not affect the tranquility of Evernight Harbor.

For the colonists of Vellante living in this harbor, it is like a stinking garbage bin. It's not surprising if a firefight breaks out, and it's only strange on days without the smell of gunpowder wafting out.

Talan's three confidants hid in the city until dusk before hastily leaving once the coast was clear.

As for the Sand Sculpture and the Comedian, they followed to a place near the prison called 'Carter Nord' and got a room at an inn using identities bought from the black market.

In this border military town full of soldiers, a war without smoke seemed to have already begun.

And so far, it seems that only the Enlightenment Society at the center of the battlefield is still in the dark...

The night gradually deepened.

After reuniting with his family, Yarman as promised came to the tavern in the harbor district.

Due to the long-separated reunion, his wife clung to him for a long time, leaving him with legs still a bit weak.

The moment the door opened, the heated atmosphere immediately surged in with the noisy clamor.

"... Hahaha, Caffer, you asshole finally came! I thought you really went and bought a farm and became a farmer!"

"Get lost, I was never cut out to drive a tractor, the feel of driving a tank always suited me!"

"Which team are you assigned to? The Youth Corps again?"

"60th Armored Division, we're the second batch, departing at the end of the month."

"Sixty? Damn, how many people are being mobilized this time?"

"At least a million. Haven't you read the 'Triumph Newspaper'? Looks like we're about to mount a major offensive!"

"Exciting, hoping to push into the Alliance's homeland."

"I just hope to get to the front lines quickly, instead of waiting until we get there only to find no chance to even fire a shot."

The entire tavern was full of soldiers.

Either they had returned from the front lines or were preparing to go there. The former mostly drank alone silently, while the latter usually drank heartily in groups of three or five.

Although alcohol and similar indulgences were also available at the front lines, it was clearly more enjoyable to drink without restraint at the rear.

The Southern Legion actually couldn't block the news coming from the frontlines; no one could keep the mouths of the Overlanders shut, not even the Overlanders themselves.

However, if the Alliance hopes that the spread of despair by word of mouth could crush their fighting spirit, that would be pure wishful thinking.

Because from the moment they start complaining, those failures have already been expelled from the ranks of the Overlanders.

On a roller coaster speeding forward, anyone trying to hit the brakes is a traitor, and who cares what a traitor says? They would only feel more justified in their own beliefs.

In some sense, the predicaments faced by the Overlanders and the Poluo people are similar.

Like the two sides of a mirror.

Except the former's war has lasted for a century and a half, while the latter's war has just begun.

Neither side knows how long the war they're fighting will last, how many generations it will take for their obsessions and hatred to end.

It is for this reason that Yarman has immense admiration for the man named Pangolin.

It's said that guy is just a peasant from the mountain valleys of the River Valley Province, yet his thunderous roar startled Triumph City.

He hopes he can bring hope back from Triumph City.

And hopes that day won't come too late…

At the bar counter, Yarman found Kuluan, who had just gotten off work from customs.

This man in his early thirties was already drinking, and without his medal-bedecked uniform, he looked no different from the drunks around him, perhaps even more unkempt than they were.

"Come sit over here." Spying Yarman immediately in the crowd, Kuluo enthusiastically pulled out a chair for him, then grinned at the bartender, "This is my new friend, bring another bottle of beer."

"Thanks."

Yarman nodded politely, sat next to the retired veteran, and glanced around, amazed as he clicked his tongue.

"This bar has never been this lively."

"Times have changed; we've made a fortune from the war," the bartender placed a chilled beer on the counter, then looked at Kuluan, "Don't take offense, I was just speaking casually, no intention to mock you guys."

Kuluan laughed and waved his hand.

"I'm not that petty; I might even wish you a thriving business."

Looking at this carefree cripple, Yarman found him quite interesting and casually asked a question.

"After hearing my story, could you tell me yours? I've always been curious about what's really going on at the frontlines."

Although he often visited Poluo Province, he mostly stayed in a few major ports, never venturing far inland.

Kuluan smirked, his smile turning enigmatic.

"A complete mess, my story is as trivial as the battle reports from the frontlines. If you insist on listening, take it as entertainment, don't take it seriously. Always rely on the stories from the Southern Corps Victory Report."

"I'm interested in the stories not mentioned in the newspapers; those Poluo people occasionally tell me some things not covered in the Survivor's Daily." Yarman clinked glasses with him, encouraging him to continue.

Kuluan smiled faintly, his gaze filled with recollection, pondering for a moment before proceeding.

"...Back then, we encountered the Skeleton Corps in Reed Bull County. Their tanks were like can openers, as our tanks got blown up one after the other, like these beer bottle caps."

As he spoke, he flicked the bottle cap with his thumb, sending it flying perfectly into the trash can.

"And then?"

"And then? Then, of course, we won, though the cost would be hard for you to swallow. We have three thousand brothers still unaccounted for, neither missing nor found," Kuluan smiled, paused for a moment, then continued, "As for Gibson, he's still serving as a Ten Thousand Leader, while I got assigned to this lousy customs job."

Yarman fell into silence.

He happened to know where those over 3000 people were, just in the POW camp on the outskirts of Jinjaron Harbor.

The Alliance actually treated them well, giving wages for their work after the camp was built, and they were also protected by Alliance law, working only eight hours a day.

Kuluan also fell into silence, taking a hard gulp of beer, tapping the empty bottle on the moldy wooden table.

"Maybe I am too pessimistic; I feel that achieving victory on the front battlefield is almost impossible... unless there's some kind of weapon that can completely change the tide, wiping our opponents off this planet."

Yarman forced a bitter smile.

"If there really is such a weapon, its existence in itself would be terrifying."

Kuluan grinned.

"Who knows, maybe there really is? I heard General Giulion placed a big bet on something called the 'Mortal Serum.'"

Detecting a tinge of ominousness from that name, Yarman slightly furrowed his brows.

"Mortal Serum?"

Kuluan lowered his voice, speaking in a mysterious tone.

"That's right, a virus that only infects specific people, able to systematically eliminate our opponents... like those Rat Clan people or Snake Clan folks. As for others, they'd merely be virus carriers, unaffected by it."

Yarman's face showed an expression of astonishment.

"Can something like that really be done? I mean... it truly wouldn't affect the Overlanders the same way?"

Kuluan chuckled.

"Who knows, some things are like the battle reports from the frontlines, half-true, half-false."

After a pause, he continued with a smile.

"... By the way, I heard a rumor that this 'good stuff' was actually made by a Blue Ground Squirrel."

——

(Thanks to 'CaptPaterno' for the leader's reward!!!)

Chapter 886: Has the Serpent Finally Emerged?

The Blue Ground Squirrel made it...

Yarman's face was full of surprise.

Perhaps because all the residents of the refuge he knew were quite nice people, he found it really hard to believe that among those kind-hearted folks, there were also devils with extreme stances.

Of course, he was only surprised for a moment and quickly came to terms with it.

After all, let alone others, wasn't he himself also out of place in this tavern?

"...I've heard a rumor that the earliest Poluo People were actually a branch of the remnants from the Central World, and their genes are not much different from other survivors on the Wasteland."

The vast majority of Poluo People can recognize their compatriots at a glance by their spirit, and then roughly judge which clan the other person is based on their surname.

However, outsiders can't really tell the difference between them unless they frequently interact with Poluo People.

This phenomenon is particularly common on the Death Coast, where residents from Falling Leaves Province and Poluo Province, aside from cultural and religious barriers, don't have much difference in appearance.

Kuran grinned.

"I've heard about it, but so what? We aren't remnants of the Central World; we are their conquerors. That virus can't affect us, and cleaning out some trash is no big deal..."

There are too many indigenous people in the colonies; the technology of the Prosperity Epoch allowed some who shouldn't have survived to live.

Take Blackwater Alley, for instance.

It's simply a breeding ground for plague and corruption.

But it's undeniable that the prosperity of Evernight Harbor indeed owes something to the people there.

If it weren't for their patient endurance of exploitation, how could the Weilante People live in big houses?

A good life can't possibly fall from heaven.

Kuran was silent for a while, took a sip of beer, and said somewhat contradictorily,

"Actually, it's not good. I've never agreed with achieving victory that way. Honorable combat is our tradition, and dying before aging is also a glory... But those are the games of big figures, and even if you and I feel uncomfortable about it, we can't change anything."

Yarman fell silent for a moment.

On this point, he felt it most deeply. Even if he moved his home next to the governor, it wouldn't change the fact that he was just an insignificant pawn.

When disaster strikes, there's nothing he can do but pray to God.

Unwilling to talk more about the "Mortal Serum," Kuran quickly changed the subject.

The two sitting at the bar had been drinking bottle after bottle, unknowingly chatting for a long time.

Kuran later talked a lot about stories from the front line, from the meat grinder of Reed Bull County to the three bloody battles at the river bend.

And those stories are like two entirely unrelated worlds compared to what's written in the Southern Corps Victory Report.

What made Yarman particularly emotional was that the Mouse Tribe person, who once bandaged his head, had transformed into the "Jungle Rat" that the front line troops found extremely troublesome.

Indeed, gold shines no matter where it is.

Yarman wasn't the only one feeling emotional.

Upon hearing he had met Yishel once, Kuran also showed an astonished expression.

"Damn... you know that guy? I heard he gave Olet Ten Thousand Leader a hard time more than once in the Northern Three States of Poluo Province!"

Olet Ten Thousand Leader and his commanders were previously stationed at Evernight Harbor for a long time, well known in the area. His reputation struck fear into the hearts of mutant tribes in the Great Desert.

Yarman was certainly familiar with this name, and he was even more surprised to learn that Yishel could be mentioned in the same breath as this general.

Facing Kuran's surprised gaze, Yarman lightly coughed and humbly said,

"Just acquaintances... My wife knows him better. Thanks to his help at that time, my family managed to stay safe."

Kuran's heart was moved, and he suddenly lowered his voice, face shrouded in mystery as he continued,

"Speaking of which, you should know quite a few Poluo People, right?"

Yarman was momentarily stunned and noticed a hint of unusual eagerness in his eyes, making him a bit wary.

"What's the matter?"

Kuran smiled mysteriously, pulling out a thumb-sized bottle from his pocket and gently placing it on the table.

Inside the bottle were clusters of crystal-clear dark green crystals, like shavings scraped from a crystal surface.

Seeing this thumb-sized bottle, Yarman was dumbfounded.

"...What is this?"

"Crystals refined from snake grass... As for snake grass, it's a specialty of Poluo Province, or rather, Snake State."

Kuran lowered his voice, continuing in a very soft tone,

"Put simply, it can help you temporarily escape worldly troubles... like cigarettes and alcohol. Want to try it?"

That voice was like the devil's whisper.

Looking at this bottle of deadly poison, Yarman's Adam's apple moved, his forefinger gently pushing it away.

"This probably isn't as simple as cigarettes and alcohol."

Kuran smiled faintly and continued,

"Indeed, compared to cigarettes and alcohol, it's more hallucinogenic, and it's easy to get hooked. But other than that, there are no other side effects. The warlords of Poluo Province plant it to raise military funds, while the logistics department mixes it with other medications to make sedatives, treating the psychological trauma of the wounded, such as PTSD from hearing explosions... and then they line their pockets with military funds."

Yarman was astonished.

"How could the warlords of Poluo Province do business with the logistics department?!"

Kuran said softly,

"Of course, they don't do direct sales, but some local gangs are happy to be middlemen, like the Mad Mouse, Blood Lion, and some other mish-mashing groups. Just a little oil leaked from this profit is enough for them to eat well."

At this point, Kuran paused, glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, then softly and quietly continued,

"The front line creates the wounded, and the logistics department makes money off them... although the wounded themselves don't have to pay this money, ultimately, it's the Weilante People's taxes that foot the bill. Soon, someone saw the business opportunity, buying those magical little pills from the wounded, extracting the active ingredients, and making something even stronger, then selling it to those in need."'

Yarman stared at him with wide eyes.

"Are you crazy? This thing—"

"Haha, don't misunderstand, I don't have that ability, I'm at most a buyer," Kuran raised his hands and said with a smile, "But after saying so much, haven't you noticed the business opportunity in all this?"

Before Yarman could speak, Kuran continued in a low voice.

"Snake grass only grows in Snake State, the Great Desert doesn't have the conditions for it to grow. If you can establish connections with the military factions in Poluo Province, we can bypass the logistics department and the West Sail Port gangs to get a large quantity of snake grass directly, rather than purifying crystals through those small pills—"

"I've never heard of such a thing, and I'm not interested in that kind of business."

Before Kuran could finish speaking, Yarman suddenly stood up from the stool, interrupting him halfway through.

"Sorry... This might be a highly profitable business, but the risks are too high."

Kuran looked at him in bewilderment, not understanding what was wrong with this guy.

"Risk? My friend, I have connections with customs and the port, and you're transporting wounded for the logistics department... if we join forces, what risks could there be?"

Yarman couldn't help but ask.

"Do you remember you used to be a Centurion?"

"Centurion..." Kuran smirked sarcastically, "Turns out I was a Centurion, didn't think anyone remembered."

"I remember, I believe many people remember, you bled for the Weilante people, so please don't give up on yourself."

Yarman placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it hard, then left a tip on the table.

"I was actually planning to discuss another business with you, although it doesn't make as much money as the one you mentioned, it won't harm our compatriots... again, I'm sorry, I can't participate in your business, let's pretend we didn't meet tonight."

His Adam's apple moved, and he continued.

"But if you change your mind, I would welcome you at any time."

Leaving those words, he removed his hand from Kuran's shoulder and turned to walk out of the tavern.

Kuran stared unwaveringly at Yarman's back.

A flicker of struggle flashed in his eyes, though it quickly disappeared.

He'd already given enough for the Army, almost dying on the front line.

Because he was a Centurion, he could still mix around at customs, while his comrades could only return home with shame and scars.

If all this was for loyalty, then fine, he never fought for money anyway.

But upon returning to West Sail Port, he had to constantly endure cold mockery from his compatriots, as well as the tearing of lies against reality.

He did not obtain the honor he desired.

He and his 34th Ten Thousand Troops had become the shame of the Weilante people.

Faith or bread, you have to choose one.

If the former no longer exists, then he at least needs to earn more to fill the hole in his heart.

Taking a swig of cold beer, Kuran drove the gloomy mood out of his mind.

At this moment, a man in formal attire sat beside him, handing him a box of cigarettes.

"How did the talk go?"

Looking at the man next to him, Kuran answered in a hoarse voice.

"He refused."

"Really?"

Tony sighed, shrugged helplessly.

"Although expected, it's a bit of a shame... if we could use those big ships, we could do this business even bigger."

Kuran gave him a glance.

"You don't seem surprised at all?"

Lighting a cigarette for himself, Tony replied casually.

"I've looked into him, that guy is a believer of the Silver Moon Sect, people with faith are mostly hard to deal with."

Kuran raised an eyebrow slightly, speaking with annoyance.

"Are you questioning my faith?"

Tony was taken aback, not knowing why this guy suddenly got so sensitive but still laughed and shrugged.

"Why would anyone need to doubt that? Come on friend, let's keep talking business. Listen, I've found a new partner."

Kuran held back his composure and asked.

"Is that guy reliable?"

"One hundred percent reliable, the military faction in Snake State of Poluo Province is their own man." Tony said with exuberance, gesturing towards the doorway to signal a young man standing in the corridor to come over, "I've brought the person, let me introduce you."

Kuran followed his gaze, sizing up the young man.

The guy was a Poluo person, but not of the typical kind.

The vast majority of Poluo people would instinctively look at his shoe tips when making eye contact, but this guy maintained a calm, level gaze.

"Marta, Blue Family," Tony patted the young man's shoulder and grinned at Kuran, "they've gotten a large tract of land in the northwest of Snake State and set up a fishing port."

The young man named Marta nodded courteously, politely speaking to Kuran.

"Hello, Mr. Kuran, I've heard of your prestigious reputation."

Kuran grinned, finding it rather amusing to hear those words from a Poluo person's mouth.

Regardless of his reputation, even if he truly had it, it'd be made from the piles of Poluo people's heads.

"What the hell is a Blue Family?" Looking at Tony, Kuran spoke bluntly, "Is this thing reliable?"

Tony raised his eyebrows at him, beaming with a bright smile.

"Don't mind, that's just their level, which goes in the order of white, green, yellow, blue, purple, and gold. The blue family's level is already quite high. You can think of them as a kind of special religion."

As he finished, Tony also wrapped his arm around Marta's shoulder.

"Don't take it to heart either, the Weilante people are always like this; they say whatever comes to mind."

Marta, on the other hand, had an indifferent expression, while Kuran raised a curious smile.

"I thought people with beliefs were harder to deal with."

Tony was about to explain when Marta, who had been silent, suddenly spoke with righteous indignation.

"The Family Meeting needs funds to break free from financial difficulties. Mr. Zayed said this is a necessary evil in service of a higher cause, a strong medicine for the chronic diseases of the old era, a dialectical distinction between primary and secondary contradictions, even if planted, it's reasonable."

Besides, it's for you to draw.

Marta laughed coldly in his heart, but he hid the words and the cold smile within.

His superior told him not to haggle with the Weilante people and to just focus on making money from them, using their money to buy their guns, and then taking those guns to fight their people.

Before coming here, he had made adequate psychological preparations, yet he still couldn't suppress his dislike for the Weilante people.

After all, before being a family member, he was first a Poluo person.

Kuran chuckled and showed no concern for the nonsense the young man was letting out and turned to look at Tony, who had a helpless expression.

"How's the deal?"

Seeing that the most difficult Weilante person finally stopped nitpicking, Tony heaved a sigh of relief and quickly continued.

"It's simple, using those speedboats that transport weapons! We've bribed some people, and when they return to the city, they will detour along the southwestern coast of Poluo Province and pass by the Snake State fishing village. We'll hide the goods on the ships and then dock on your side and pass through. As for sales, my Iron Hand Gang will take care of it."

Kuran nodded.

This method is good.

They were already not very strict in checking empty ships, let alone making it for the front line supply boats.

Having explained the transport process, Tony looked at Marta, who continued his explanation.

"As for the goods you need, we have them in abundance over there, but we only accept Dinar for transactions, and we need to purchase some materials to be transported to Snake State."

Kuran chuckled again.

"What for?"

Marta narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Do you really want to know?"

Seeing that the atmosphere between the two was becoming tense again, Tony quickly stepped forward to mediate.

"Alright, alright, don't ask too much, and anyway, buying supplies is for their civil war... it has nothing to do with you."

After saying so, he winked at Marta.

Although unwilling, Marta begrudgingly nodded, accepting this explanation.

Kuran coldly smiled but didn't expose the matter.

"Let's leave it at that."

Even if the Weilante people's weapons showed up on the front lines, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Even now, half of Poluo Country's army still hasn't replaced its legion-style equipment, forcing the Alliance to create an additional ammunition production line to produce ammunition for legion-style weapons.

No one would trace it back to him.

Besides, all he did was turn a blind eye, and the real transactions never passed through his hands.

All that dirty work was the business of Blackwater Alley.

After a pause, Kuran held up three fingers.

"I want a cut of thirty percent from your sales revenue."

Tony showed a pained expression, but eventually nodded.

"No problem..."

This job can't avoid the Weilante people; even if it's to sell the goods to more places in the future, he had to find a way to pull this guy into the game.

Kuran nodded, gestured to the bartender who had somehow retreated to the other side of the bar to come over, and patted Tony on the shoulder sitting next to him.

"He's paying."

Later, he'll arrange for a few comrades to keep watch.

As the war continues, the Southern Legion's guarantee money will surely be affected.

Besides, that bit of money isn't nearly enough for them to comfortably live out the rest of their lives; being their old superior, he had to think of a way for them.

Finally, leaving a parting comment, Kuran grabbed the money Yarman had left on the bar and stuffed it into his pocket, limping out of the tavern.

...

Just as the head of the Iron Hand Gang was happily drinking with the blue family members, urgent and unfamiliar footsteps echoed at the corner of Blackwater Alley.

A man with a scarf wrapped around his neck hurriedly walked into the small alleyway.

His name was Andrew, a pureblood Weilante, who worked as a guard at Carter Nord Prison.

Besides that, he held another identity, that of a disciple of the Enlightenment Society.

It's worth mentioning that although the Enlightenment Society nominally only recruited residents of the refuge, being a resident of the refuge wasn't a very high threshold; anyone could register at a refuge with less strict rules.

And precisely for this reason, when the Enlightenment Society spread its doomsday belief, it would also add a line—once you become a disciple of the Enlightenment Society, you'll be able to live in the refuge's Ark on the day the world restarts.

And this is what's referred to as the "Handle" of the "Torch."

However, Andrew didn't join the Enlightenment Society because of any doomsday prophecy; rather, it was because the Enlightenment Society offered him considerable benefits.

For instance, they bestowed upon him a pure-blooded Vellante wife with fair skin and beauty, gentle and charming.

Although Carter Nord Prison looks impressive from the outside, being a guard inside is not a particularly desirable job, especially since this prison is full of paupers.

In the Southern Legion, only those who don't fare well get assigned here.

And for someone like him living at the bottom of society, old, ugly, and poor, selling his noble bloodline to marry a subpar native for mutual needs is almost the only choice.

After all, he couldn't, like those young lads, go to the battlefield and earn a medal.

His age has missed that chance.

Moreover, he is inherently cowardly, with the little courage he has spent fantasizing about the greatness and omnipotence of the Vellante bloodline.

He never dared to go to the battlefield before, much less now. Apart from material conditions, his spirit is also lacking, without a bit of anything interesting.

And precisely because of this, he is moved to tears by the gift from the Enlightenment Society—the marriage and family they granted him is something he could never have gotten by following a normal life path, even if he spent his whole life trying.

Even if they frankly told him that his wife was a clone, a soulless shell apart from knowing how to live independently.

But Andrew didn't care about that stuff anyway; on the contrary, it suited him just fine.

After all, the clone's mark does not inherit, and a compliant puppet saves him from the family's trivial affairs, showcasing his undeniable "authority."

The concept of the Enlightenment Society coincided with his views on a twisted dimension, with only a "small difference."

The Enlightenment Society wants to create an elite world composed entirely of the residents of the refuge, while his ideal elite world would be entirely composed of Vellante people.

With ideals having so little difference, it's no wonder they walked together.

In fact, many Vellante people with similar experiences to Andrew exist in Evernight Harbor.

They are scattered across various fields, especially those "lowly trades" not recognized by mainstream society but indispensable.

Though clones produced on assembly lines have lower social attributes compared to naturally arising populations from social activities, they cannot execute overly complex tasks, yet they can infiltrate the Southern Legion's society in a parasitic-like manner.

This infiltration plan is carried out simultaneously with other plans they are executing.

From long ago, they started consciously infiltrating the society of the Southern Legion.

Just like the iron worm that captures the mantis.

All this happens silently...

Stopping before a secluded house, Andrew glanced sideways to ensure no one was tailing him, then reached out and tapped the door lightly.

After about half a minute, there was some noise behind the door, but it did not open.

Andrew pressed his face against the crack of the door, lowering his hoarse voice to speak.

"Carter Nord Prison... Recently admitted thirty-one prisoners, they are residents of the refuge and also people from the Alliance."

After a pause, he continued.

"Our warden says they're Alliance spies, but I always feel they aren't such clumsy spies, or rather... this crowd's get-up hides further intentions."

"I risked snooping some interrogation details, one of them mentioned us at the end and expressed wanting to join us..."

Behind the door came a distinct stir, then a raspy voice like a snake hissing closely through the door crack.

"Who did he say this to?"

"He said it to the one interrogating him; that fool even agreed to him."

At this point, Andrew's voice carried a tone of irritation, also mixed with puzzlement.

"...The issue lies here; that guard who came from the Guards isn't our person at all! I exchanged signals with him several times and he didn't notice me at all!"

A prolonged silence ensued behind the door.

"... It's a bit messy, I need to sort it out; come see me again at this time tomorrow."

Logically speaking, the Southern Legion shouldn't be aware of their existence.

The various anomalies bewildered him, to the extent that he couldn't even ascertain whether this bizarre act had anything whatsoever to do with them... Even if nominally they seemed to have taken the center stage.

In any case, now isn't a good time to alert the Southern Legion; they need to muddy the waters in order to fish in troubled waters.

Before taking the next step, he needs to consult with his superiors.

Upon hearing the voices from within the door, Andrew quickly nodded his head.

Blackwater Alley is not a great place, if possible he wouldn't want to stay here a second longer.

"Okay... I'll head out first."

Leaving those words behind, he turned around and quickly headed back to the street, going straight back to the nearest market.

However, he didn't notice that a pair of eyes had been glued to his back all along.

From the moment he entered Blackwater Alley.

"Enlightenment Society... Seems like this really exists."

Fiddling with the dagger in his hand, Morse muttered thoughtfully in the shadows, suddenly cracking a neurotic grin on his face.

Having lived in Blackwater Alley for so many years, this was the first time he felt his doorstep so unfamiliar.

Unexpectedly, such a small fry like himself had the fortune to participate in the game of the big fish... Even if it's just seeing it from a distance.

Morse felt his body cells uncontrollably excite.

His name and his Hyena Gang might turn into legends of the entire Blackwater Alley!

By then, forget about Tony, even his boss behind him will lick his shoe soles!

At this moment, standing beside him was York, the burly man with a knife scar on his chest growing tense.

One moment it's the Alliance, another it's the Legion.

He constantly felt this might turn into a huge problem...

Chapter 887: Quite a Few Big Fish in Evernight Harbor

The development of events was not beyond Talan's expectations, and the speed of development was much faster than he anticipated.

The guards of Evernight Harbor subjected him to a 48-hour surprise interrogation, asking him "where he got the information about the Enlightenment Society," and a series of inquiries about the society's creed, objectives, philosophy, organizational structure, and so on.

Who knew these Vellante people were testing him? Having done his homework in advance, Talan wasn't flustered at all, having memorized the information from the official website, responding fluently during the interrogation.

Even if the Vellante people rephrased the same question, he didn't reveal any flaws.

It seemed they were moved by his sincerity, and the interrogators who interrogated him in shifts all believed him.

Especially the last interrogator, who was so excited that he couldn't help but stand up and shake hands with him.

"Mr. Talan, thank you for your provision... I mean, thank you for seeing the light! A great cause has gained another just partner, the Enlightenment Society welcomes your joining!"

"For the great cause!"

Seeing that he had finally passed the assessment, Talan excitedly stood up, but then, since his hands were still cuffed to the table, he was forced to sit back down.

"I'll unlock you!"

Seeing his embarrassment, the interrogator quickened his pace to come before him, used a key to open his handcuffs, and then enthusiastically shook both of his hands.

"You've been wronged these days! We hope you can understand us, we also have our difficulties… Reliable intelligence shows that the Alliance has already set their sights on us, we must be extremely careful."

"Compared to the grievances I suffered at the Alliance, this is nothing, I understand your caution… After all, what we are doing is not a game."

Talan looked at him with the same enthusiasm, a look of finding his organization and comrades, and continued with excitement.

"So, am I considered to have joined you now?"

The interrogator grasped his hand firmly, smiling as he nodded.

"That's right! You've passed the assessment, tomorrow the colleagues from the personnel department will come to find you to discuss joining procedures."

Talan: "Personnel department?"

The interrogator said with a smile.

"It's the department responsible for personnel management… After all, we are a tightly organized institution, dedicated affairs are managed by dedicated people."

Talan realized suddenly, then nodded and gave him an "I understand" look.

"Got it!"

"Glad you understand!"

Returning to the office desk, the interrogator gathered the documents on the table and quickly stuffed them into an envelope, then turned back to Talan with a smile and said.

"I will submit this information as soon as possible, sorry to trouble you, but you have to bear one more day here."

"You're too polite, I've already said it's no grievance… alright, you go quickly."

Talan smiled and nodded, even politely seeing the interrogator out the door, and then followed the prison guard with a face full of intriguing contemplation back to the cell.

As usual, he acted tired, lay down, and instantly fell asleep, returning to offline.

Taking off his helmet, he rushed to the keyboard, his index finger rapidly tapping away.

"Brothers! I've infiltrated the Enlightenment Society!"

Perhaps because it was still early morning in reality, most players were still in the game, and backseat drivers were asleep, so not many people responded enthusiastically.

However, upon seeing the title of his post, quite a few people rushed in.

Medical Miracle: "WTF? Is it true?!"

Sauerkraut Fish: "Commando Leader is awesome!!"

Angry Fatty Liver: "Wow, something's going on."

Most of those popping in were members of the Desert Army.

Unexpectedly, their leader finally made a significant move, everyone was genuinely flattering him.

Especially those newcomers who were confused and ate time in jail as soon as they landed, they all started clamoring.

"Bro! I've been eating jail food for three days!"

"I've never been in lockup for this long in my life!"

"Quick, lend a brother a hand!"

"Or should we just confess for leniency?"

Seeing all that flattering praise, Talan felt elated, and extravagantly typed out another sentence.

"Brothers, don't panic, I've just infiltrated the Enlightenment Society's organization, I'll have to trouble you to remain undercover for a bit longer!"

"But don't worry, I asked the interrogator, they won't keep you locked up for too long, you should be released in a few days, just hold on a little longer!"

That's indeed what the interrogator told him.

And not only that, the other party also hoped he could recruit those travelers from the Alliance to become underlings for the Enlightenment Society, and after returning to the Alliance, help them continue gathering intelligence on the Alliance.

Hearing such a good deal, Talan immediately agreed, promised he would get it done.

What's more, he pounded his chest and assured those big noses that these tourists, like himself, were fed up with the lies of the Survivor's Daily and wanted to see if the real Army was as bad as the newspaper claimed, so they traveled to Evernight Harbor.

Allies of the Alliance who doubt the Survivor's Daily are like Weilante people who doubt the Southern Corps Victory Report, they have already sold their souls and are no longer loyal.

Recruiting those disloyal folks into underlings wasn't a hard task.

Just as Talan was vividly describing his plans of "deceiving heaven" and "substituting beams for pillars" on the official Forum, the interrogator responsible for him sat down in the black sedan parked at the gate of Carter Nord prison.

Watching the interrogator get into the car, Weilobi, the Chief Commander of the Guards sitting in the rear, leaned over and asked hurriedly.

"How's it?"

Not daring to be negligent, the interrogator respectfully handed the file in his hands to the commander.

"He's confessed everything. All the information about the Enlightenment Society is in this document. Most of the clues match those provided by Triumph City, and there are even some details we didn't know about!"

After two days of testing, they had basically figured out all the details of the Enlightenment Society.

For instance, grassroots members are called Disciples, mid-level members are Guides, and above that are Elders.

As for the President, the top level, the codename is "Gui Xu."

With this intelligence, they could completely build a Cocoon Room called the Enlightenment Society from scratch and put this Alliance spy who thought he had infiltrated the Enlightenment Society inside it, thus extracting more clues about the Enlightenment Society and the Alliance from him.

This is the idea behind the "Wasp" plan!

If there's no bait, create bait, don't worry if the other side doesn't bite!

Glancing at the file after breaking it open, Weilobi was overjoyed, then immediately handed the file to the Garrison Intelligence Department Chief sitting in the front passenger seat.

"The target has bitten! Arrange everything according to the file's content immediately!"

The Intelligence Department Chief replied without hesitation.

"Yes!"

Watching his subordinates scurry around like ants, Commander Weilobi contentedly leaned back in his seat and leisurely took a sip of hot tea from his thermal cup.

At this moment, the Alliance spy still didn't know that he had fallen into a trap.

By the time the guy finally realizes that this so-called "Enlightenment Society" is nothing but a setup intentionally created by Evernight Harbor's Guards, it would be too late.

By then, they would have figured out all the clues to "No.0 Shelter" and the "Torch Plan" through this intentionally created setup, and would become the rightful owners of the secret weapons capable of rebooting the world!

He was simply a genius!

With the order given, an operation codenamed "Wasp" officially got underway.

According to the intelligence provided by Commander Weilobi, over a hundred staff members from the Intelligence Department immediately sprang into action, and within a day, established a base for the "Enlightenment Society" near Blackwater Alley.

The entire base was made to look authentic; it was even disguised as a hotel, with the office located between the 4th and 5th floors — that is, the '4.5 floor,' accessible only through a secret panel.

Moreover, the thirty staff members assigned to the "4.5 floor" were all trained operatives from the Intelligence Department.

They were to play his colleagues and seniors, going on missions with him, and extract every bit of intelligence possible from him during interactions.

All preparations were completed within a day.

Thus, the Enlightenment Society had a base in Evernight Harbor that it wasn't aware of.

And to win the trust of the Alliance spy, the Garrison Intelligence Department staff even prepared a uniquely creative initiation ceremony for him.

All these elaborate arrangements were to make the fabricated Enlightenment Society seem as real and genuine as possible.

With one day elapsed, Talan was once again summoned to the interrogation room.

This time, he met the older guard who was initially in charge of interrogating him.

Unlike their first meeting.

The old fellow didn't put handcuffs on him and greeted him with a handshake and a smile.

"Mr. Talan, we meet again. It seems you've passed my colleague's assessment."

Talan secretly rejoiced inside, but outwardly he complained.

"I told you from the start, I genuinely want to join you, but you just wouldn't believe me."

"Trust is something that needs time to build, and you've earned our trust with your sincerity."

The guard cleared his throat, continuing with a warm smile.

"Let me reintroduce myself: my name is Daniel, I'm the head of the Evernight Harbor branch of the Enlightenment Society, and also your 'Guide.'

Guide!

The big fish bit the bait, damn it!

Talan was thrilled inside but showed surprised respect on his face, acting as if he was flattered.

"A pleasure, a pleasure!"

As he was about to exchange some pleasantries, a detail suddenly struck him.

Rumor has it the Enlightenment Society only accepts Residents of the refuge, yet this guy's nose clearly showed he was a Weilante.

How did this guy become a Guide?!

Seemingly perceiving his alertness, Daniel gently patted his shoulder and explained.

"To be honest, I joined the refuge only ten years ago, and it wasn't until eight years ago that I found the organization... It was from that moment I found the meaning of life, not living just for the sake of living."

The heartfelt words instinctively convinced Talan halfway, and with the remaining half, his doubts dissipated entirely as the other revealed his identity proof—Vital signs monitor (VM).

"Shelter 68, this is my identification. I passed the assessment of that shelter, and its Manager recognized my identity, personally granting me this VM... At the same time, that gentleman is also my Guide."

Seeing the utterly speechless Talan, Daniel put away the VM on his arm and gave him a friendly smile.

"This is not the place to talk, I'll take you to our base first."

Talan's spirit lifted.

"Now? But I'm still under detention, don't I need to go through some procedures—"

Daniel interrupted him.

"Don't be so formal, my friend, you've already joined our glorious and great cause, how could we let you remain in captivity due to this small misunderstanding? The procedures for your release were completed yesterday, you are free."

As he said this, he lowered his voice.

"Our cooperation with the Army started long ago, not just here, including Yavente and even Triumph City... we have people everywhere."

Talan immediately showed an understanding expression, restraining the excitement in his heart, and gave a thumbs up.

"Impressive!"

Unexpectedly, the cooperation between the Southern Legion and the Enlightenment Society had reached such a close extent!

"Keep it low key."

Inwardly mocking "so easy to deceive", Daniel looked at the prison guard beside him, showing the documents in his hand.

"I'll take the person away now."

The warden took the document from his hand, checked it from top to bottom, especially inspecting the signature at the end.

Once confirming there was no issue, he returned the documents to the guard in front of him.

"Alright, I'll leave him to you."

Although he was the warden of Carter Nord prison, he wasn't involved in the Guards' missions, only knowing that the Guards seemed to have another big action up their sleeves.

This group is usually quite unreliable, he just hoped they wouldn't cause another big mess this time.

Daniel nodded, preparing to leave with the Alliance spy, but noticed the gaze of the guard standing next to the warden fixated on him.

He lifted an eyebrow, looking at the man a bit more.

"Is there something wrong?"

Having been drifting off in thought, Andrew suddenly snapped back to reality, squeezing out an awkward smile.

"No... nothing's wrong."

Seeing that unnatural smile, Daniel slightly furrowed his brows.

However, at this moment, the warden laughed heartily, helping Andrew out of the awkward situation.

"Don't mind him, this guy's always like this, clumsy and absent-minded, always lost in thought, or else he wouldn't have been working under me for ten or twenty years."

He couldn't quite remember the exact number of years, anyway, since he took office, this peculiar old man had been there, usually keeping to himself and not interacting with other colleagues.

Looking at that timid, head-down honest man, Daniel nodded, gradually dispelling his doubts.

Lone individuals have various reasons for their solitude, that stiff expression was perhaps just overthinking.

After all, an old-timer who could work at Carter Nord Prison for ten or twenty years was unlikely to be a normal person, most people couldn't endure more than two or three years, and those who weren't transferred to other departments mostly changed jobs.

The urgency was to first settle the "big fish" beside him.

Without further delay, Daniel took Talan and left hurriedly.

Lifting his buried head, Andrew looked through his bangs at the two figures leaving, his heart pounding heavily.

What a close call!

He almost got exposed!

The development of events made him increasingly unable to understand it. If it wasn't for his duty, he'd want to follow to get to the bottom of it. Since when had Evernight Harbor had another base of the Enlightenment Society, even he, a disciple, was kept in the dark.

The warden standing aside knew nothing, just shaking his head at this sneaky guy.

The infamous Carter Nord Prison housed all the scum Evernight Harbor didn't want. Typically, the Guards just threw people into the cages here and left them alone, but this time they actually conducted several rounds of interrogation, clearly indicating a significant case.

Having the rare chance to cooperate with the Guards, he specially brought some of the old-timers from the prison with him, hoping they'd show some cleverness and get noticed by those bigwigs, transferred to the Guards or other departments.

Unexpectedly, these old-timers gave him no face at all, and he ended up wasting his expressions.

"... Mud can't be sculpted into a wall!" The warden sighed, shaking his head as he walked away.

...

On the other side, the two "big fish" biting each other's hook had already gotten into the black car parked at the prison entrance.

Seated in the car, Daniel lit a cigarette, then offered one to Talan.

"Want a smoke?"

Talan smiled sheepishly, waving his hand to decline.

"Not for me, I'm not used to the taste."

Daniel didn't insist, pressing the newly lit cigarette into the ashtray, then tucked the cigarette box into his pocket.

Unexpectedly, this newly acquainted "superior" took such good care of him, leaving Talan momentarily touched.

Of course, he couldn't forget his identity and loyalty for such small favors.

The journey continued in silence.

About a ten-minute drive, the car stopped next to a hotel.

Talan deliberately took note of the sign hanging by the door; the name of this hotel was quite unique, translated into Chinese, it was called "Marshal's Armory." People who didn't understand might think it was a weapon shop.

Perhaps because of its peculiar sign, there were hardly any guests in the hotel, only a white-haired old man dozing off behind the bar counter.

If it hadn't been for the old man raising half an eyelid when they walked into the hotel lobby, he might have thought the guy had passed away.

"You're here—cough! Welcome, are you here to stay or dine?"

Daniel gave him a deep look, took out a silver room card, and tapped it gently twice on the bar counter.

The old man knowingly nodded, then continued to lean on the bar counter, dozing off.

"Follow me."

Calling Talan, who was still bewildered, Daniel led him straight to the back kitchen, then up a staircase hidden within a secret compartment, all the way to the end of the stairs.

As the door swung open, the scene ahead suddenly brightened, causing Talan to involuntarily widen his eyes.

A secret hideout hidden in plain sight!

A floor unreachable by ordinary means!

With décor rich in mysticism and a sense of technology, everything here perfectly matched his entire imagination of the Enlightenment Society!

Of course, maybe because it was so well hidden, he initially thought he was being taken somewhere he wasn't supposed to go while still on the stairs.

Seemingly satisfied with the amazement on his face, Daniel smiled faintly and continued.

"Welcome to the Marshal's 4.5th floor, this is our base in Evernight Harbor."

Looking around at the faces, Talan swallowed, it took a long grunt to squeeze a word out of his mouth.

"Impressive..."

Withdrawing his gaze from his face, Daniel turned his eyes to the bustling office beside him.

"Most of the disciples responsible for internal affairs work here, and a portion has been assigned outside to carry out missions."

"Even though we have cooperated with the Southern Legion, our information isn't convenient to disclose, so we can only do this covertly... By the way, I hope when you're outside, you try to avoid mentioning your identity."

"Understood!" Talan nodded excitedly, unable to hold back, he spoke eagerly, "By the way, you mentioned missions just now... I wonder if I can help?"

Feeling that speaking out right now might seem a bit too urgent, Talan quickly added a sentence.

"Please forgive my impatience, I just want to contribute my strength to the organization as soon as possible."

Looking at this person who volunteered to take the bait, Daniel smiled mysteriously and continued.

"I understand how you feel, most people who join us do... However, I hope you understand, before giving you a 'sufficiently important task,' we need to test your ability first."

Which means starting with less glamorous tasks, right?

Got it!

Though a bit discontented, Talan nodded vigorously.

"No problem, I'll prove my capability."

"Good, I've been waiting for you to say that."

Daniel nodded approvingly, took a file from an approaching staff member, and handed it to Talan.

As the latter was flipping through the file, he succinctly summarized its content.

"Recently, a new hallucinogen called 'Snake Oil' has suddenly appeared on Evernight Harbor's black market. But this stuff isn't extracted from snakes, it's refined from a plant called snake grass."

"Investigating the origin of Snake Oil was originally the duty of the Garrison Intelligence Department, but according to their subsequent findings, the waters run deeper than anticipated, possibly involving the Alliance's 'toxic strategy dumping' on us as retaliation for our frontline forces using chemical weapons."

Talan was bewildered after hearing this.

Since when did the Enlightenment Society involve itself in drug enforcement?

What's this 'toxic strategy dumping' nonsense, anyway? They never did such dirty work.

"Does this have anything to do with our grand plan?" Talan asked, raising his head from the file in confusion.

Daniel smiled and replied.

"It's unrelated to our grand plan, but the Southern Legion is our ally. Occasionally, they'll need us to utilize our grassroots organizational advantages and secrecy to address and investigate troublesome matters for them... In return, they will help our plan. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Snake Oil's popularity in the black market has already caught the authorities' attention, and whether it's the Alliance's strategic dumping needs further investigation."

However, considering that this stuff comes from Snake State, which Poluo Country effectively controls, he thought this possibility wasn't low, perhaps even very high!

After all, Poluo Country's army needs imported dinar ammunition for Legion-standard weapons, and smuggling weapons costs considerably more than the market price; only similarly lucrative addictive substances could fill this gap.

This case is currently under investigation by the Intelligence Department, which needs to be resolved anyway, so they might as well let this spy from the Alliance try his skills.

If the Alliance wants to infiltrate the Enlightenment Society, they surely wouldn't mind incurring additional 'costs,' would they?

He had already come this far.

With a cunning smile on his face, Daniel patted Talan's shoulder.

"This job is yours, I'll arrange for you to have an assistant."

Suddenly being entrusted with such a major task left Talan baffled, but he still nodded hard, bravely taking on this troublesome job.

"I'll... handle it."

Chapter 888: By Some Mistake, the Schemes Unfold

At a hotel not far from Carter Nord Prison, Desert Falcon lying on the bed suddenly awoke with a start.

"Damn."

The sudden noise startled the Comedian, who was operating the drone, causing him to hurriedly switch the viewpoint he was filming.

"Why are you yelling so loud—"

"I told you to keep an eye on them, what the hell are you watching?" Desert Falcon, jumping off the bed, slapped him on the back of the head and grabbed the tablet.

The footage was still a bird's-eye view of the prison with nothing unusual, but the look of 'oh no' on the Comedian's face seemed to confess everything.

Looking at the livid Desert Falcon, the Comedian coughed nervously and whispered.

"...What exactly happened?"

Desert Falcon said grimly.

"You lost the target! Just now Talan posted on the Forum saying he even visited the Enlightenment Society's base."

The Comedian's eyes widened.

"Damn?! That quick?"

Desert Falcon, frustrated, slapped him on the back of the head again.

"Stop saying damn and hurry up and change locations."

Still dazed, the Comedian covered his head and asked.

"Go, where?"

Desert Falcon cursed.

"Marshal's Armory! The Enlightenment Society's sub-base in Evernight Port! Luckily, that airhead left the address on the Forum, or we'd be waiting here for nothing."

Hearing this, the Comedian breathed a sigh of relief, then perked up again.

"So what's next? We just charge in and take them down in one go!"

Attacking the Enlightenment Society's base with just the two of them would be challenging, but not entirely impossible.

With some prior preparation, it might be worth a shot!

Desert Falcon squinted his eyes.

"Are you an idiot? We need to follow the clues to bigger leads, not cut off the hard-earned trail! That Martin and the thing called 'Mortal Serum' still haven't surfaced."

The Comedian asked, still confused.

"So... what's the next step?"

After packing the stuff into a travel bag, Desert Falcon succinctly said.

"Change places and keep waiting."

Now that the base location was found, the next steps would be straightforward.

They just needed to keep an eye on the place, and eventually, Martin would show up.

But honestly, that Tarlan Raider's performance was somewhat beyond his expectations.

He had initially seen the guy as the one to pave the way, not expecting him to hammer a nuclear submarine.

It's hard not to wonder if this guy was using some trick...

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website Forum, Tarlan Raider/Spring Water Commander private message box.

Tarlan Raider: "Big Boss, help! QAQ"

Spring Water Commander: "…Who are you?"

Tarlan Raider: "Bro, remember the head-giving operation in Luo Xia Province? I delivered heads to your buddy, Old Soldier!"

Spring Water Commander: "Uh, that was quite a while ago… What trouble are you in? Just to be clear, no talk of borrowing money; do missions to earn yourself. (Sweating)"

Tarlan Raider: "Not borrowing money, I just want your advice. Here's the deal: a few days ago I got a hidden mission to investigate information on Enlightenment Society and Mortal Serum. As it stands, I've infiltrated the Enlightenment Society and become a Disciple…"

Spring Water Commander: "Isn't that great? You're better than Old Soldier; we pushed his ass so hard and still couldn't move him up."

In just a few days, he got inside the Enlightenment Society, this guy's really something.

Spring Water Commander was secretly impressed, looks like the newcomers from back then have really grown up.

Tarlan Raider: "Oh, you don't know. Maybe I joined too fast, the veteran who brought me in clearly doesn't trust me, gave me an anti-drug task as a test... But I just arrived at Evernight Port, don't know anyone or any places, where do I even start to investigate that?"

Spring Water Commander: "Hmm… I can't help you there, I've never been that far, plus I don't do undercover work. But the game won't intentionally give you an unsolvable task, think back carefully about every clue you encountered throughout the task chain, and see if there's anything you can use, like a role you could utilize."

Sitting in front of the computer, Tarlan Raider was stumped, repeatedly pondering the words sent by Brother Quanshui.

"Utilizable role..."

In his mind, two names immediately came up.

One was Yarman, and the other was Nokk introduced by Yarman.

The former was an upstanding Merchant, probably knew nothing about drugs, so he couldn't help.

That Mercenary named Nokk might be able to help, but whether he was still alive was a question...

Wait a minute.

Suddenly a name popped into Tarlan's mind, the "Morse" who had chased him down a few streets!

Just with his own strength, trying to investigate such a big case in the unfamiliar Evernight Port was like a dream.

But with the help of a local gang…

Might just work!

With his mind completely opened, Taran excitedly clenched his fist next to the keyboard, thoughts racing through his mind.

Seeing that Taran hadn't responded for a long time, Springs uncertainly typed a line on the keyboard.

"Seems like you already have some ideas?"

Taran, whose mind had opened up, excitedly replied.

"Thank you!"

Looking at the message on the screen, Springs chuckled helplessly and typed back a line.

"You're welcome... even though I feel like I didn't really help much."

...

With the helmet on, Taran came back online again.

Lying flat on a single bed, he suddenly opened his eyes, flipped over, sat up from the bed, got up, and walked to the entrance, pushing the room door open.

This was the northern district of Evernight Harbor, a hotel not far from "Marshal's Armory."

The "Guide" Daniel had arranged for his assistant to sit right by the door of his guest room.

The person was named Candy, reportedly a veteran who participated in the 30th ten thousand troops and fought against gray mutants in the desert. After retiring, he joined the Guards, and it was then that he also joined the Enlightenment Society, becoming a proud "Disciple."

Of course, this was just the public resume; his real record was as an agent in the Garrison Intelligence Department.

Daniel's task for him, apart from cooperating with Taran on routine tasks, also included gathering clues of the latter's secret communications with the Alliance.

The "Snake Oil" smuggling case had ambiguous links with the forces supported by the Alliance.

Daniel judged that the Alliance's spies might betray some of those supported forces' interests in order to gain their trust.

During this process, the "Hornet" kept in the "Cocoon Room" would definitely try to contact the Alliance's intelligence department.

Seeing the target coming out of the room full of energy, Candy extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand and cast an inquiring glance.

"Rested well?"

Taran nodded, speaking with pleasure.

"All set, accompany me for a walk."

Candy's eyebrows raised slightly as he looked up and down at this guy, a trace of surprise appearing in his eyes.

"...Looks like you already have a plan."

"Absolutely!"

"Can you share it?"

Taran didn't answer but gave him a confident look, saying with great enthusiasm.

"Just follow me."

Watching Taran stride towards the stairs, Candy showed some bewilderment on his face.

He was certain that this guy hadn't left his sight.

Even when he was resting with the door closed, there was a radio team nearby monitoring the situation throughout, ready to report any abnormalities immediately.

So when did this guy contact the Alliance?

Or could it be...

He's aware of his own predicament?

Candy was also unsure for a while.

But, to avoid any flaws, he stayed calm and followed, planning to watch and see.

Meanwhile, on the 4.5th floor of the "Marshal's Armory" hotel, Daniel, who was following the whole plan, frowned.

Watching the surveillance footage of the two leaving, he then looked at the intelligence staff beside him and ordered in a deep voice.

"...Search the target room, and make sure not to leave any traces."

The staff quickly nodded and took the order.

"Yes!"

...

Soon after Taran and his partner left the hotel, a group of hurried intelligence personnel quickly rushed into his room and began a thorough search.

Yet the search results astonished them greatly; they found no suspicious clues whatsoever.

Daniel, having smoked three cigarettes in a row, still couldn't figure out what the problem was.

He was certain that the big fish on the hook must have contacted the Alliance, but he just couldn't find the evidence to prove his hypothesis.

Even though it was an era capable of manipulating gravitons, transmitting information still required a medium.

Could it be that they communicate using superpowers?!

Meanwhile, as the Guards in Evernight Harbor were utterly confused about finding no clues, the Taran Raider had already entered Blackwater Alley with his follower.

The two turned a corner beside the Horseshoe Iron Tavern and headed straight toward Nock's house.

At the same time, in Nock's house, Morse, the leader of the Hyena Gang, was sitting with his legs crossed on a chair, examining clues extracted from a certain addict by his underlings.

His top enforcer, York "Doctor," was sitting opposite him, wearing an expression of wanting to say something but not daring to.

Unlike the optimistic boss, he felt that being entangled with the conflicts between the Alliance and the Army wasn't a good thing.

Seemingly aware of his underling's desire to speak, Morse casually said.

"York, do you know what's the biggest gap between us and the Iron Hand Gang?"

York was taken aback and subconsciously replied.

"...because they run the largest nightclub and casino in Blackwater Alley?"

Morse grinned, turned a page in the notebook in his hand, and gently shook his head.

"You're wrong, it's because they have backing."

York furrowed his brows.

"...backing? Are you referring to... the boss behind Tony?"

There were indeed such rumors in Blackwater Alley, that a prominent Weilante figure was backing the Iron Hand Gang.

However, York always thought that was just a rumor, likely spread by Tony himself to bluff.

After all, no one had ever seen that person, and he doubted any big shot would care about the interests of Blackwater Alley.

Nonetheless, his boss obviously had an entirely different opinion.

Seeing York's skepticism, Morse said in a deliberate tone.

"Tony's boss has connections in the army, so he can run the largest nightclub and casino, pulling money from both Blackwater Alley's trash pockets and the Weilanter's. Especially the latter, which is the real gold mine. Without the Weilanter's permission, we wouldn't even have a chance to touch it."

"While we have many capable young men, mere fighting ability is meaningless. We can only scavenge for the leftovers that the big shots in Blackwater Alley don't care for... Have you noticed their submachine guns? If our brothers could each have one, we wouldn't lose to them. But there are things money can't buy, and even if you get them, you can't flaunt them like they do."

"If we had backing too, we wouldn't be lesser than them."

Ninety-nine percent of Evernight Harbor's wealth is held by the Weilanter people.

Yet, Blackwater Alley, which occupies a third of the inhabited area, holds less than one percent of that wealth.

However, the emergence of the Enlightenment Society gave him a glimpse of the opportunity to rise.

He had lived locally for many years, never hearing of this organization, yet it had silently infiltrated the Southern Legion!

This backing was strong enough!

Of course, knowing things you shouldn't know isn't without risk.

He might be silenced, die in some desolate alley.

But if he succeeded, let that mysterious organization hidden in the shadows see his ability and value, he and his brothers would become legends in Blackwater Alley!

A legend even more glorious than the Iron Hand Gang!

Just as he was thinking this, a soft knock sounded at the door.

Across from him, York reached for the short-barreled shotgun on the table, but was stopped by Morse, who put a finger to his lips.

"The person I'm waiting for is here."

Leaving those words, he smiled, rose from his chair, and walked to the entryway to open the door.

Sure enough, standing at the door was the guy he'd chased down several streets a few days ago.

"Mr. Talan, nice to meet you again."

Being able to get out of the notorious Carter Nord prison was enough to show the power of the Enlightenment Society.

Saying this, Morse glanced at the man standing behind Talan.

There was an unpleasant aura about him, reminiscent of a certain type of person he often dealt with.

Considering there were even Enlightenment Society members in Carter Nord prison, he reasonably speculated this guy was a cop in the Guards.

Looking at this NPC who had set him up, Talan forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

This guy really was still here.

Though he had come to see Morse, he didn't give him any good face.

A negotiation tactic he'd learned online.

Before escaping from the carrot, you have to hit the opponent with a stick a couple times.

"I can see you're really glad. I thought you'd send me a 7mm round as a meeting gift."

Morse coughed slightly.

"It was purely a misunderstanding. I'm also working for the Guards, they issued a warrant and we had to settle it for them. I hope you understand... Besides, weren't you unharmed?"

Comte furrowed his brows.

The cooperation between the Guards and gang forces was an unspoken rule in Evernight Harbor, and he didn't want this guy to indiscreetly reveal it to outsiders.

Talan wasn't surprised by his explanation, just glanced inside the room.

And as expected, the Hyena Gang members were all here, including the bald guy with 'valley' on his chest.

"Where's Nork?"

The unfamiliar name immediately piqued Comte's interest, but Morse merely grinned.

"That junkie borrowed money he shouldn't have, and now he's done for... Are you sure you still want to see him?"

Talan clicked his tongue, mentally saying 'as expected.'

Watching the big fish slip away, Comte's eyebrows wrinkled briefly, then he lowered his voice.

"You guys... aren't taking the Guards seriously enough, are you?"

Having already guessed this cop's identity, Morse wasn't the least bit flustered and smiled as he replied.

"Is it that I don't take you seriously, or you don't take us seriously? Do I really need to explain further?"

Before Comte could respond, he put away his smile and got straight to the point.

"Let's be frank. I know you're from the Enlightenment Society. You need people for work, and my brothers need work. Why don't we cooperate? My ability is much stronger than that junkie's."

The air suddenly turned silent.

Candy's pupils slightly expanded, then his eyes narrowed into slits as he stared intently at Morse like an eagle aiming at its prey.

Yet it didn't take long before the sharpness hidden in his gaze turned into confusion.

This guy is also a member of the Wasp Project?

No... if that were true, Daniel would definitely have told me in advance.

But wait!

If this guy isn't someone in the know about the Wasp Project, how does he know my identity?!

If he's from the Enlightened Order, then he must know my identity is fake.

And if he's not from the Enlightened Order, nor a member of the Wasp Project, then it's even more impossible for him to know about the Enlightened Order... unless he is from the Enlightened Order.

The two cycles of reasoning contradicted each other, causing Candy's brain to momentarily freeze.

Talan, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all, after all, in his understanding, the penetration of the Enlightened Order into the Southern Legion had reached an astonishing level, almost becoming an open secret.

From the moment he stepped into the prison, he was in the information cocoon constructed by the Southern Legion, Morse's reaction seemed perfectly normal to him, at most the bluntness of speaking plainly was slightly abrupt.

"You want to cooperate with us?" Talan raised his eyebrows with interest as he observed the sly hyena.

Morse smirked, chuckling as he spoke.

"Who wouldn't want to? As long as you join, no matter how outrageous your wishes are, they can be fulfilled."

"Hmm... that's true, then I'd like to hear what your wish is." While saying this, Talan was inwardly amazed, not expecting the Enlightened Order to have such capabilities.

Comte felt the same way.

Even he, an operative of the Garrison Intelligence Department, didn't know that Evernight Harbor was hiding such an all-powerful organization.

If this rumor is not baseless, it's a lead worth noting.

Seeing Talan extend an olive branch, Morse was unreserved, straightforwardly saying.

"My wish? My wish is for my name to become a legend in Blackwater Alley... It's easy for you, right? Just let me take over the trades of other gangs."

Comte sneered.

"Do you think such a thing is possible?"

Morse shrugged it off with a laugh.

"Why wouldn't it be? We don't need you to do anything, just consent to certain things happening... hasn't it always been like this? Even if no one does the dirty work, the dirt doesn't just disappear. Giving those inconvenient dirty jobs to me actually contributes to the stability of Evernight Harbor."

Seeing his assistant about to say more, Talan quickly placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it to signal him to refrain.

They weren't there to discuss the future of Blackwater Alley, but to resolve the "Snake Oil" issue.

"Alright, arguing about this is pointless... I think Mr. Morse is right. Even if we swat all the flies in Evernight Harbor, new ones will fly in from elsewhere. Mr. Morse, I have only one requirement for you, do not kidnap Weilante People, do not sell addictive substances to Weilante People, can you do that?"

Hearing this serious admonishment, a brilliant smile finally appeared on Morse's face.

"No problem, I can restrain my subordinates, and I can even help you maintain order, find missing Weilante People. I can even promise you that the future Blackwater Alley will become a playground for Weilante People, not a stinking ditch that no one but rats wants to approach... much like how it is now, its stench is unbearable with no one to manage it."

Comte couldn't suppress his sneer again, and Talan timely coughed, interrupting Morse's sugarcoating.

"What you want is your business, I don't need your sugar-coating. I have no interest in the future of Blackwater Alley... Now, I need you to prove your value. Do you understand what I mean? You messed with our informant, we might not care about that junkie named Nok, but you'd better finish his work, or we'll be very unhappy, everyone will be."

After hearing Talan's words, Morse showed no surprise.

He had long guessed that Nok was an informant of the Enlightened Order, and the latter admitted it under his interrogation.

However, unfortunately, he found Nok at the wrong time, right before Nok met with the Enlightened Order, and couldn't discover what the Enlightened Order specifically wanted from that junkie.

Restraining his inner excitement, he lowered his demeanor like a true servant, subtly bowing respectfully.

"... understood, consider it my compensation to you. If I do my work beautifully, I hope we can wipe the slate clean regarding previous unpleasantness."

"No problem."

Readily agreeing, Talan gave his assistant an eye signal, leading him straight into the room.

As he passed a room, he saw someone lying lifeless in a pool of blood.

The emaciated body resembled a hollowed-out corpse, and this guy, even if he were alive, probably had only half a breath left.

Talan smacked his lips lightly and didn't bother to look again at the unfortunate junkie, just glanced at Morse who had stopped, concisely said.

"Recently, a new addictive substance called Snake Oil has appeared in Evernight Harbor. According to our intelligence... it's the work of the Alliance people behind the scenes."

"They use this wicked hallucinogen to drain the pensions from the hands of Weilante old soldiers, attempting to aggravate our internal conflicts."

Morse frowned slightly.

"... What does this have to do with your Enlightened Order?"

"The Southern Legion is our ally, we certainly can't just watch as our enemies weaken them... especially with such evil and dirty means."

Talan slightly modified Daniel's words to him before passing them on to the gang leader before him, paused for a moment, and continued.

"What I want you to do is simple, find the source of the Snake Oil, and the evidence of the Alliance's involvement... For the future underground emperor of Blackwater Alley, this shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Morse's face originally showed hesitation, but upon hearing the latter half, his face suddenly lit up with a smile of delight.

"Difficult? You're underestimating my abilities... Snake Oil, right? Just a moment, I have it... I happen to know there's a guy doing this trade, and his business is rather large."

Talan was overjoyed inwardly, but showed no change in expression, merely looking at him with approval.

"Who?"

Unlike the restrained Talan, when it came to discussing his old foe, Morse's smile became even brighter.

"The famous Tony, the leader of the Iron Hand Gang, he's made quite a fortune off Snake Oil, draining much of the pensions from Weilante old soldiers... As for whether he has any ties with the Alliance, I don't know, but I've heard his boss behind the scenes wields considerable power."

"Of course, I dare say his boss behind the scenes couldn't possibly measure up to the likes of you true bigwigs, otherwise they wouldn't stoop to traitorous business dealings with the Alliance."

"If you're interested in his trade, I can not only lead you to him but even show you where his dealings take place..."

Chapter 889: Fighting Poison with Poison

In the North Suburb of Evernight Harbor, near the wilderness, two trucks were parked in an open space.

The trucks' compartments were open, revealing assault rifles polished to a glossy black.

The Hyena Gang Members standing in front of the trucks stared in awe, especially York, with a cleft in his chest, looking greedily at a large-caliber shotgun as if green light would shoot out from his eyes.

These weapons were standard equipment of the Army.

Aside from the common "Blade" assault rifles, there was even a 7mm caliber "Ripper" light machine gun!

The latter was a new light weapon designed by the Southern Legion Equipment Manufacturing Bureau for the Poluo Province War Zone based on frontline battlefield needs.

Currently, this machine gun has already been put into production, and the first batch of products has been transported to the warehouse of Evernight Harbor.

Ironically, this extremely suppressive light machine gun hadn't yet been used by frontline troops, but it was first enjoyed by the Blackwater Alley's gang followers.

Four "Disciples" of the Enlightenment Society stood next to the two trucks, staring intently at these villains.

Of course, they were not actual Disciples of Enlightened Society, but agents from the Garrison Intelligence Department.

They felt a deep-seated disgust for these scoundrels. However, for the sake of higher interests, they had to lower themselves to cooperate with these guys.

The same applied to Comte.

From the bottom of his heart, he despised this filthy group of hyenas, but having reached this point, all he could do was to grit his teeth and keep moving forward.

He glanced at Talan standing aside, extinguished his cigarette butt, and stomped it out on the ground.

"...I must remind you, if this batch of arms flows into civilian hands, it will greatly affect us."

Talan chuckled, thinking to himself, what does that have to do with me, but outwardly he feigned seriousness.

"I know, but regardless, their threat is still lesser than those addictive substances, isn't it? Let those social trash kill each other, can they really overturn the heavens? Are they mightier than the 902mm cannon?"

These words made Comte feel a bit more at ease.

Meanwhile, Morse came forward after checking the equipment, returned beside Talan and Comte with a bright smile.

His attitude was much more respectful than before, like a vicious dog acknowledging its master.

If before he had doubts about the strength of the Enlightenment Society, now his heart only filled with admiration.

Two trucks of arms.

Without connections at the top of the Garrison, this wouldn't even be imaginable!

"Are these weapons enough?" Talan smiled at the tamed hyena.

"Enough, more than enough!" Morse replied with a pleasant smile, nodding respectfully, "Give me half a day, I guarantee you a satisfactory answer."

Two trucks of arms!

Enough to arm two hundred-man teams!

Not to mention small roles like Tony, he even had confidence to take down a thousand team on the front lines!

"You better be," Comte looked at him meaningfully, turned, and went back to the sedan parked not far away.

Talan patted Morse on the shoulder with a smile, showing an expression of appreciation.

"Do a good job, this is your pledge upon joining the society!"

Suppressing his inner joy, Morse nodded and accepted the order.

"Yes!"

…

At that moment, Tony was still unaware that, before the Garrison targeted his business, a mentally unstable mad dog had already laid eyes on him by some mistake.

In the southwest corner of Blackwater Alley, at the heart of the crowded slums, there stood a canned food processing factory.

The doors and windows of the factory were tightly covered with cloth curtains, at first glance appearing to be no more than a closed down, poorly managed factory.

However, if one lifted the curtains and walked inside, they would see a bustling scene.

Armed gang members stood at the entrance to the factory, and behind the entrance they guarded, rows of long tables were arranged, resembling a non-stop assembly line.

A group of laborers from Poluo Province was busily working on the assembly line.

They ground the tranquilizers distributed to the wounded by the logistics into powder, then placed them in extraction bottles for separation, and a few experts wearing hazmat suits extracted the valuable components and concentrated them into dark green crystals.

Despite the harsh work environment and lack of necessary production protection, these laborers from Poluo Province continued working diligently with no complaints.

After all, the hourly wage here was three times what they earned in their hometowns, working hard here for a day was worth a week's work at home.

They could endure hardships the natives of the Great Desert couldn't without complaint, even feeling like they were getting a deal.

The gang members supervising production smoked on the side, unwilling to stay too close to the "production workshop."

The purification process required many chemical substances, some of which were strongly volatile harmful products.

Most of the noses of the Poluo people could no longer smell them, but to the gang members they were incredibly pungent.

Beside a cargo container on the second floor, a burly man was paging through the inventory list.

Standing next to him were two followers with pu-9 submachine guns tucked into their waists, while in front of him stood the factory's manager.

The flattering smile on the manager's face revealed the difference in identity and status between the two sides.

And indeed, the burly man was the number one formidable hand under Tony, known as "Skull Crusher" Ragu.

He was a former underground wrestling champion whose legs were broken after winning a match he shouldn't have, later taken in by Tony and fitted with military prosthetics, thus becoming a member of the Iron Hand Gang.

Although his muscles made him look like a rough man, ironically, he was the opposite.

Because he did things with meticulous thought, had a style that was refined despite his rough appearance, and was loyal to Tony, Tony quickly entrusted him with managing the most profitable affairs of the Iron Hand Gang.

As he browsed the inventory list, Ragu asked the manager in front of him.

"How is the production of the new batch of goods going?"

The manager had a fervent smile and quickly reported.

"We have currently produced fifty kilograms! These workers from Poluo Province are getting more and more skilled, with production efficiency doubling since they first got here. We're almost struggling to keep up with their work speed in terms of raw material supply."

"Not bad." Ragg nodded approvingly, but then quickly changed the subject, "After this batch of raw materials is used up, give the workers a two-day break and temporarily halt production."

"Halt it?" The manager was stunned, worriedly saying, "But the boss—"

"This is the boss's decision."

Seeing the concern in the manager's eyes, Ragg smiled faintly and continued.

"The efficiency of recovering small tablets from those big-headed soldiers is too low, and the purification cost is too high, not to mention the issue of confidentiality. Our boss has managed to secure a supply from a tier-one supplier, so we can directly use snake grass to produce Snake Oil in the future."

The manager was shocked, his face soon displaying an expression of ecstatic joy.

"Really?! That's... amazing! If we can directly use raw materials to produce Snake Oil, our production capacity could increase fivefold—or even tenfold!"

Ragg patted him on the shoulder, smiling.

"Glad you understand. I need you to redesign a production line to use the new raw material to produce the old product."

The manager puffed out his chest, exuberantly saying.

"This is incredibly easy, leave it to me—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a deafening explosion suddenly echoed from outside the factory.

The roaring sound made everyone freeze in place, including the workers from the Poluo Country standing by the long table, whose faces all changed simultaneously.

They looked at their fellow townsfolk, exchanging panicked glances.

"What happened?"

"An explosion?"

"Damn it... Is there a war here too?!"

While they were shouting in panic, a gunshot suddenly exploded inside the factory.

Bam—!

"Quiet!"

Ragg, aiming the gun at the roof, bellowed, his rough voice instantly silencing the chaotic factory floor.

"... Store the flammable and explosive materials in the warehouse, then crouch by the wall with your hands on your head. Don't run around and get hit by stray bullets! I won't compensate you for your heads!"

"Security personnel, take up your weapons, it's your time to show up, get ready to go with me!"

As he finished, he grabbed the manager who was crouching down holding his head and pushed the coward towards the stairs.

"And you! Go notify the boss! Get up and run faster, damn it!"

"Yes, yes!" the manager shouted in a flustered and distorted voice.

He'd never seen such a scene.

He quickly rushed downstairs, dashed into the security room, grabbed the phone, and reported the situation to the boss.

By now, the sound of gunfire was already erupting outside the factory, with the attackers clashing with the outer security.

Standing inside the factory, Ragg lit a cigarette, walked to a nearby window, and pulled back the curtain to observe outside.

The opposing firepower was exceptionally ferocious, all wielding fully automatic rifles, making his submachine-gun-toting underlings unable to lift their heads.

Who the hell are these guys?!

Due to concerns about alien rebellion, the Southern Legion has always strictly controlled alien weaponry.

If they were aliens, unless they became a centurion or higher in the regular army, it would be nearly impossible to legally acquire military weapons, and even if they did, they couldn't openly possess them.

Ragg couldn't recall any tough guys in Blackwater Alley who could get military assault rifles, and so many at once.

His boss had paid dearly to acquire a batch of PU-9 submachine guns for status!

However, this didn't mean he was afraid of these people!

Seeing the approaching firelight outside the factory, Ragg was exceptionally calm, not panicked at all.

Others didn't know about his boss's connections with the military, but he was well aware.

If it were a military or garrison operation, they wouldn't have no notice at all.

There was only one possibility: these guys were either their enemies or had targeted their business!

Thinking of this, Ragg's expression became cold, he signaled to a nearby underling, pulling out a twin-mounted anti-aircraft cannon stored in the warehouse.

This thing had a caliber of 30 millimeters, and a single shell could cut a person in two.

The boss had instructed him not to use this unless absolutely necessary, as it would cause a lot of trouble.

But since the opposition had played hard, they couldn't blame him!

"Move it! To the window quickly!"

Ragg shouted in a low voice, urging the underling to mount it on the window. He then climbed on, slotted the curved magazine into the slot with a "click."

The two thick, black barrels protruded from the window. Ragg firmly turned the winch, aiming the sight at the minor thugs shooting from behind cover towards the factory.

A sinister grin appeared on his face, then he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Bang bang bang——!!!"

A series of deafening explosions echoed in the factory grounds, trails of fire streaking like arrows!

In the face of the 30-millimeter cannon, the half-person-high low walls were like paper.

Four gang members were instantly shredded along with their cover, their mutilated bodies and rubble scattering everywhere.

Seeing the cannon aiming towards them, the young men with assault rifles were scared out of their wits, running for their lives, but the burst of shells chased them down, grinding them into a pile of bloody meat.

That bloody and brutal scene stunned all the gang members at the firefight.

Whether it was the Iron Hand Gang or those Hyena Gang members wrapped in scarves, they were all frozen with cold hands and feet, momentarily forgetting to fire.

They were not the Regular Army, after all, fighting was one thing, but who had ever seen such an incredible thing?!

Not only were these gang members shocked, but even Comte, standing not far behind them, was startled.

As an agent of the Intelligence Department, it was his first time hearing about such a big thing hidden in Blackwater Alley?!

Who the hell sold it to them?!

Is that guy insane?!

Looking at the scattered corpses in front of the factory, Lagogu had completely gone berserk from the killing.

The numbness in his arm muscles made him feel as if those shattered pieces of flesh had been chopped up by him personally.

Having emptied a magazine, he loaded a new one, raised those two thick barrels, and aimed at the factory's enclosing wall.

Watching the small fries running away, a joyful laugh came from his mouth.

"Hahaha!!! Go to hell!!"

The firing sounds echoed throughout the factory's plaza once again, and the Hyena Gang members besieging the factory fled in disarray.

Seeing the continuous casualties of his men, Morse's eyes turned red, and he snatched the Iron Fist Rocket Launcher from a subordinate next to him.

"Damn it! I'm going all out with you!"

When it came to madness, no one in Blackwater Alley could compare to him.

He howled and rushed up, taking advantage of the anti-aircraft cannon not noticing him, pulling the trigger from 200 meters away.

A long flame shot out from the slender iron tube, dragging a big rocket towards the window.

Seeing the rocket coming at him, Lagogu's eyes widened, and he instinctively dived to the side.

The explosive metal stream pierced through the anti-aircraft cannon's gun shield in an instant, blasting the entire receiver structure into a pile of scrap iron.

The rapidly bursting ammunition scattered like fireworks, flying around the factory, with one piece almost landing in a warehouse storing flammable and explosive items.

Lagogu broke out in a cold sweat, his heart filled with shock.

He stuck his head out the window, just in time to see Morse's annoying face and his maniacal laughter.

"Hahahaha! Tony, you hid pretty damn well, didn't expect you had such a big thing in your pocket! Must've cost a pretty penny!"

Seeing the rocket launcher on Morse's shoulder, Lagogu yelled out in surprise and anger.

"Morse, are you freaking crazy?! Do you know what you're doing?"

"Tsk, just a small fry."

Seeing the head poking out the window, Morse smacked his lips, suddenly losing the desire to show off, and threw the scorching launcher tube to a nearby lackey.

"Brothers, charge in for me! Don't hold back against those who resist, just leave a few obedient captives!"

Seeing the opponent's big gun had ceased fire, the originally on-the-brink-of-collapse Hyena Gang members regained their morale and charged forward with howls.

Morse glanced back at the direction of Talan and Comte, winked at the latter, then carried a rifle and personally led a group of gang members into the factory.

The crackling sounds of gunfire came from inside the factory.

Not long after, the sound of submachine guns ceased, leaving only the sound of automatic rifles.

Furious and resisting desperately, Lagogu was eventually outnumbered; he took three shots to the chest, eyes bulging, falling to the ground.

Seeing their leader fall, the small fry of the Iron Hand Gang immediately crouched on the ground with their hands on their heads.

Listening to the noisy gunfire, Talan felt boiling blood within him, wishing he could step on the battlefield himself.

Taking a deep breath to suppress his turbulent emotions, Talan beamed at his assistant standing beside him and spoke in a slightly boastful tone.

"These people are pretty effective, aren't they? If we used our own people, we might end up with significant casualties."

Comte reluctantly nodded, tightly sealing his mouth without saying a word.

"..."

Seeing him silent, Talan patted his shoulder.

"Let's go take a look at our spoils."

Leaving this remark, Talan didn't wait for Comte's response, took the initiative to walk ahead towards the factory where the gunfire had ceased.

As he reached the factory door, a whiff of a bloody scent hit his face.

He fanned the space in front of his nose with his hands, only to see Morse, drenched in blood, carrying a head down the stairs.

Seeing Talan standing in the factory doorway, Morse sneered and tossed the head in his hand onto the ground.

"Skull Crusher, Lagogu, Tony's confidant. Too bad that guy himself isn't here."

The head seemed to have been chopped off with a fire axe, with traces of blunt force strikes on the neck.

Talan clicked his tongue softly, feeling no sympathy but only looked up into the factory.

"Did you find the Snake Oil?"

Morse slightly curled his lips, whistled, and said.

"Both the people and the stolen goods are here. There's not only the list of production and stock but also Weilante laborers responsible for producing addictive products... Wonder if the latter can prove this batch's connection to the Alliance."

Talan coughed slightly.

"That's a bit of a stretch, Weilante laborers are everywhere, this clue alone can't prove anything... We need more clues, preferably directly pointing to the Alliance."

"Tch, what a hassle."

Scratching the back of his head with a bloodstained hand, Morse looked back at the factory and shouted to the underlings who had already controlled the whole factory.

"York, you stay here with some men, everyone else start searching!"

Soon, energetic shouting echoed inside the factory.

"Yes!"

About thirty gang members quickly sprang into action, ransacking the warehouse.

As this group of minions rummaged around, they soon discovered new clues.

Following one of the lackeys, Talan and Mores quickly arrived at a secluded storeroom.

This seemed to be a dumping ground for waste, with several waist-high plastic bins stuffed with empty medicine packages and aluminum foil drug boards.

Picking up an empty medicine bottle from the ground, Comte frowned deeply and then his pupils contracted slightly.

"...Sharun."

Hearing the unfamiliar word slip from his lips, Talan quickly cast a questioning glance at him.

"What?"

Comte's Adam's apple moved as he forced out a sentence.

"...It's Sharun, a tranquilizer specially developed by the logistics department to treat the mental trauma of the wounded."

Undoubtedly.

This is the raw material used to make snake oil!

However, why would the prescription medicine provided by the logistics department appear here, and in such quantities!

In fact, when he saw that anti-aircraft cannon, a bad feeling had already arisen in his heart.

And after seeing these empty medicine bottles, that sense of foreboding in his heart grew even stronger.

This business targeting Weilante veterans, could be backed by the military...

If that's true, this trouble couldn't be contained even by his commander Daniel, nor by Daniel's commander's commander, the Supervisor Willoby of the Guards.

Comte felt his heart nearly freeze.

Yet, aside from fear, his mind was filled with confusion.

Why?

Why was it not the Alliance who fed them poison, but those who professed to care for them the most?

His Adam's apple bobbed as his shoulders trembled.

"...What's wrong with you, buddy?"

Talan placed a hand on his shoulder, frowning in puzzlement.

Mores remained silent, because just then his lackey came running over, looking flustered as he spoke.

"There's a person hiding in the security room! It's the manager of this factory!"

Mores grabbed him by the collar and pulled him forward.

"Where is he?"

The lackey stammered nervously.

"He's barricaded himself inside! The door's too sturdy, we can't get in."

"Damn useless!"

Mores cursed, wanting to call for the rocket launcher, but then remembered he only had one rocket and looked awkward.

Just then, a big shot from the Enlightenment Society resolved his embarrassment.

"Use this."

Talan kicked a bag of soda nearby, a mischievous smile on his face.

This place has nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and glycerin... With a bit of glass flask work, it's a powerful concoction.

It's difficult for others, but for an experienced player like him, it's an easy task.

Mores, though puzzled and unable to understand the meaning behind his words, realized after watching him operate, and genuinely gave a thumbs up.

Knowledgeable people are admired everywhere, even in places like Blackwater Alley.

Putting the processed concoction in a glass jar, Talan carried two jars to the security room door, and personally inserted detonators into the jars.

Once he reached a safe distance, Talan, without saying a word, pressed the detonator.

With a loud "boom," the explosive flames instantly blew down the entire wall of the security room, leaving only a solitary explosion-proof door lying intact on the ground.

The explosive force perfectly met Talan's expectations, even exceeding them.

The howling shockwave not only knocked everyone outside the "safe distance" off their feet but also covered them in dust.

The manager inside the security room was evidently dead beyond doubt, and the people in the abandoned factory were also in disarray.

Struggling to rise from the rubble, Comte cursed as he got up, sniffing the air, his expression changed instantly.

"It's toxic! Damn it—"

His warning came a step too late.

Everyone, including Mores and Talan, instinctively sniffed the air, and then their consciousness seemed to be veiled by a transparent film, making everything before them seem surreal.

Talan vaguely realized something had happened, yet before he could react, his consciousness plunged into darkness, followed by a sensation of something encasing his head.

Bewildered, he removed the Game Helmet, glanced around the familiar surroundings, and involuntarily uttered an expletive.

"Shit!"

Chapter 890: Bubble of Illusion

It was a golden hall...

Armor made of gold hung on life-sized marble sculptures.

A crimson carpet stretched from the top of the hall down to the last marble step below, extending along a towering marble platform, connecting with the distant horizon.

From the sky looking down, the entire hall resembled a longsword laid flat on the ground.

The majestic outline and grand visual perfectly matched the unique aesthetic of the Weilante people.

Below the marble steps, people were cheering with joy.

They stood on both sides of the platform, holding flowers, seemingly celebrating something.

A sudden gentle breeze lifted the petals from people's hands, and the intoxicating fragrance momentarily blurred Comte's eyes.

Who am I?

Why am I standing here?

He looked down at his chest, where medals were hanging like a wall.

The countless honors made him feel both familiar and strange, with a hint of nervousness and trepidation.

And just at this moment, vague memories rushed into his mind like a spring, and the uneasy him suddenly remembered everything.

He was the hero of the Weilante people!

The Conqueror of Centaurus!

The Butcher who made the Aliens tremble with fear!

He had made outstanding contributions to expanding the territories for the Army, and the Army's 500th planet was officially named after him!

And the name people were cheering, was exactly his name—

"Comte!!"

"Well done!!"

"Long live the Army! Long live the Marshal! Long live Comte!!!"

"The Marshal is above! He is watching me!!"

The cheers that filled the mountains supported his spine, and his steps gradually became confident, walking forward, ascending step by step, reaching the pinnacle of the hall.

As expected, the respected Marshal was sitting on a stone chair at the end.

That dignified face was full of kindness.

Comte's eyes filled with excitement, he knelt on one knee on the stone steps, bowing his head.

And at this moment, a broad and solemn voice came from directly above him.

"...Comte, your loyalty and bravery have won us the final victory."

"Now, I appoint you as the Legion Leader."

"From now on, you will be the 100th Legion Leader of the Army."

"...I hope you do not indulge in past glories and victories, be cautious and diligent, continue leading our people forward, continuing to win in this universe!"

Comte was overwhelmed with excitement, gratefully lifting his head to accept the appointment.

According to the following procedures, he would receive the Marshal's commendation, return to the crowd with full honor, and receive their cheers and reviews.

However, at that moment, a foreign memory suddenly flooded into his mind.

His heart throbbed, and under a strong urge, he blurted out.

"Respected Marshal, I have something to report to you... Your warriors are absolutely loyal to you, yet there is a group of traitors within our logistics department. While we fight the enemy with blood, they stab us in the back and drink our blood. I hope you can look into this, punish these scoundrels, and give an explanation to the soldiers."

The Marshal's eyes flashed a sharp gleam, like an indestructible spear.

However, what Comte felt from the cold light was not coldness, but the warmth of the afternoon sun.

"They will be punished."

The solemn promise was like a heavy hammer, shattering all conspiracies.

Comte had no doubt that this sentence had become reality. He even seemed to see those demons and monsters kneeling and pleading for mercy, and the corpses lying in piles of dead bodies.

His heart was extremely relieved, as if a great revenge had been exacted.

After thanking the Marshal, he suddenly remembered those who had cheered for him, so he quickly spoke again.

"Respected Marshal, we have conquered 500 worlds, yet most of our people still live in poverty. Our victory is inseparable from their support, perhaps we should give them some of the spoils of war."

After saying these words, he pressed his forehead to the ground, anxiously waiting for the Marshal's response.

He felt that his request was somewhat excessive.

Moreover, taking the cake away from vested interests has never been an easy task.

However, the Marshal seemed to be in a good mood today, or perhaps it was because his concerns were exactly what the Marshal was concerned about, that solemn and undeniable voice recognized him once again.

"You are right, these spoils of war originally belong to them, from now on, they will live a prosperous life."

As the words fell, people outside the hall, who were cheering, suddenly had more satin on their bodies, and their faces appeared rosier.

The golden decorations inside the hall still emitted a golden shine, including the crimson carpet... their spoils of war did not diminish one bit because it was given to the people.

The Marshal sitting on the throne was like a god whose words became reality.

Like a living wishing machine.

Comte was filled with excitement, pressing his forehead to the ground again, suddenly thinking of something else.

"I have one more humble request..."

The Marshal, showing no impatience, continued speaking with a gentle tone.

"Tell me, my most loyal warrior."

Comte swallowed, hurriedly speaking.

"That battle was not easy... many brothers have fallen, and some have been left with disabilities. Although they can no longer offer loyalty to the Army, their lives should not end here. I would like to apply for a habitable planet to resettle them and their families."

The Marshal nodded, readily agreeing.

"I grant you permission, use the 500th world you conquered for us to resettle those brave kids. The 499 star systems will provide endless material wealth for that land... it will become paradise on earth, the center of a prosperous world."

Comte was overwhelmed with excitement, but soon new doubts arose in his heart.

What about the other 499 worlds?

What will they become on earth?

He knew that if he continued to pester, anyone might feel annoyed... even the great and kind Marshal.

But he couldn't help but want to voice the difficulty in his heart.

Because an ethereal voice told him that everything he wanted could be realized in this world.

This is a universe that exists for him—

However, just when he was about to speak, everything in front of him suddenly blurred again.

Comte was suddenly startled and stood up from the ground.

Wait—

Give me one more minute!

The softness enveloping his brain was gradually replaced by the cold air. He abruptly opened his eyes, only to find that the golden hall had disappeared, replaced by a ceiling both familiar and strange.

"You're finally awake."

A hoarse voice came from the side. He glanced over and saw his superior, Daniel, sitting next to him.

Comte, sitting up from the bed, glanced around and then looked down at his chest. The uniform covered in medals had turned into a thin shirt.

His brain felt like a sponge soaked in water.

He reached out to press his sweat-covered forehead and heavily patted his palm.

"...Where is this?"

Daniel lit a cigarette, and while puffing out smoke, he answered succinctly.

"The Marshal's armory, the wasp's hive."

Sluggish memories poured into his mind, and Comte finally remembered what happened before he lost his memory.

"Damn… I inhaled the vaporized powder of snake oil."

Daniel sighed deeply.

"You inhaled an excessive amount of hallucinogens. I thought you might not wake up."

Comte immediately asked.

"What about the others?"

Daniel replied.

"Talan is in the room next to yours, unconscious like you. As for the others, we've placed them in Carter Nord Prison, including the gang members and the stowaway Poluo Province laborers."

Comte nodded, suddenly recalling the bottles he found in the warehouse, and quickly looked at Daniel.

"By the way, I found some in the warehouse..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a calloused hand covered his mouth.

"Whatever you found, the fire already burned them all to ashes."

Comte was stunned.

"...Fire?"

Retracting the hand from his mouth, Daniel took a cigarette from the pack and offered it to him.

"With such a big explosion, it's normal for a fire to start."

That light statement, like smoke dissipating under the incandescent light.

Comte's Adam's apple moved as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

He understood Daniel's gaze, which was both a warning and a reminder.

In the face of higher-dimensional powers, all their efforts and calculations were as fragile as ants, easily crushed by a mere finger twitch of the other party.

For some reason, Comte suddenly thought of that bizarre dream from earlier, a bitterness rising in his heart.

Reality and dream seemed completely reversed.

For a moment, he even considered fully immersing himself in that dream.

If only I didn't have to wake up...

"By the way, how are you feeling?"

Hearing his superior's concerned inquiry, Comte raised his head in confusion.

"Feeling about what?"

"Snake oil, you ingested quite a bit, didn't you?" Daniel tapped the ashes into the ashtray as he stared into Comte's eyes. "I heard that stuff makes people see illusions… Those who get hooked end up addicted, starting with mental derangement and ultimately babbling incoherently."

Comte shook his head.

"...I'm fine, maybe because it's my first time."

"That's good." Daniel patted his shoulder and flashed a smile. "I heard that the faithful are not affected by snake oil. I certainly don't want our plan to start with a casualty, so it's good you're alright."

Faithful, huh...

Comte weakly smiled.

If it were before, he would have nodded without hesitation, but now he even lacked the confidence to affirm such a thing.

"...By the way, since this involves the military, should we keep investigating?"

"Of course," Daniel said indifferently. "We still haven't found evidence of the Alliance's involvement."

Comte couldn't help but ask.

"...What if there isn't any?"

Daniel pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, crushing it into a crumpled paper ball.

Like his frowning brow troubled by frustration.

"Then we'll have to find a way to fabricate it."

...

Meanwhile, on the "Wasteland OL" Official Website.

Without the big shots' contact information, Talan could only use a wide-net approach, sending private messages to ask who was available to chat.

"Bro, help, I can't log in anymore. QAQ"

Fang Chang: "What happened to you? (Sweat)"

Talan Raider: "I seem to have inhaled some hallucinogens and ended up directly getting kicked out of the server. (Crying)"

Fang Chang: "Emmm... Generally speaking, exceeding the pain threshold leads to server disconnection. Hallucinations should count as a trigger condition, too. I remember in an early version, someone got kicked out after accidentally eating a poisonous mushroom. It resolved once the toxin subsided."

Fang Chang guessed that it was most likely because they didn't implement "hallucinations" as a game experience, so they simply substituted it with unconsciousness.

Of course, it's also possible it was implemented but deleted to save computing power.

After listening to Fang Chang's explanation, Talan felt much better.

"I see, I thought I was doomed."

Fang Chang: "Not likely, you're over level 30, right? Normally, even for Intelligence System players, the Constitution attribute is more than three times that of a normal person, so just get some sleep and you'll be fine."

This problem really had no technical complexity. After replying, Fang Chang didn't continue the conversation.

Listening to Brother Fang Chang's advice, Taran lay down on the bed intending to take a nap. However, he was so used to entering the dream world through the helmet that he couldn't fall asleep, so he simply put the helmet on his head.

Staring into that pitch-black domain with wide eyes for three to four hours, a sliver of light finally caught his eye.

Taran's heart leapt with joy, and he immediately opened his eyes, indeed back in the world of "Wasteland OL."

"You're awake?"

Sitting up from the bed, Taran looked to the side to see his partner, Comte, sitting on a chair and smoking.

"What happened?"

Comte's expression was somewhat gloomy, and after a long silence, he finally spoke slowly.

"There was an accident. The evidence we painstakingly gathered was all burned."

"Burned?!" Taran's eyes widened, "What happened?! I don't remember a fire breaking out."

Comte's expression grew more complicated, his lips tight, remaining silent for a long time.

Taran took a deep breath, sorting through his thoughts when suddenly something clicked, and he asked.

"... Speaking of which, what did you see?"

Comte didn't hide it, his answer was concise.

"Victory."

Taran: "Victory?"

"We, who conquered 500 star systems, finally ushered in a golden age for the Weilante people, with the Marshal leading us to establish a true Utopia..."

Comte seemed reluctant to delve into that dream, brushing it off with a couple of vague comments.

Nevertheless, Taran understood the gist of it, left momentarily speechless.

Good grief.

Clearing 500 star systems to win!?

These big-nosed guys sure are tough!

…

With the evidence destroyed, the investigation hit a standstill. However, fortunately, the witnesses were still alive, and Taran decided to break through starting with them.

According to Comte, the Guards, who arrived after the fact, took everyone found at the explosion site to Carter Nord Prison, charging them as arson suspects.

With the help of "Guide" Daniel, Taran followed along to Carter Nord Prison.

The smuggled laborers from the Poluo Province were thrown into shared cells of ten people, while the gang members from the Hyena Gang and Iron Hand Gang received solitary cells.

As they passed by one of the "open dormitory" areas, a laborer from the Poluo Province pressed his face against the bars, pleading with Taran as he walked by.

"Sir, we are just workers, we don't know anything... Please, let us go."

"Yes... it was those thugs who forced us to do it."

"We were deceived! We really didn't know what we were... what we were doing..."

"Sob, sob... I want to go home."

Looking at those ugly faces, Comte felt a deep-seated disgust in his heart.

Everyone lies, including himself.

However, these people seemed to not have a single word of truth, like born liars, spouting lies as soon as they opened their mouths. They either muddled things or confused concepts, deceiving others and themselves alike.

However, this was just his perspective. The "spy from the Alliance" standing beside him clearly had a different take.

The guy didn't even realize how much he was giving away through the details of his words and actions.

"... Folks, don't worry, I believe as long as you cooperate with us, the Guards will give you a fair deal."

Seeing that someone responded to their prayers, the Poluo people behind the bars were tearful with gratitude.

One burly man with big eyes and thick eyebrows beat his chest, looking like he was ready to fight back against the black forces.

"Sir, rest assured! We'll answer whatever you ask us! We wouldn't dare hide anything!"

"That's for the best."

Taran nodded with a smile, pulling out a small notebook, and started asking.

"Where are you all from? Which state of the Poluo Province?"

Everyone hastened to answer.

"I'm from Snake State!"

"Me too!"

"I'm from Wolf State..."

Taran listened closely, noting that Snake State had the most people, followed by Wolf State, and then Lion State and Dog State.

The latter two were territories occupied by the Southern Legion, while Snake State and Wolf State were still under the control of Poluo Country.

"Who brought you here?"

On hearing the question, they exchanged glances until the thick-browed man spoke up bravely.

"Sir, I can't speak for brothers from other states, but from Snake State... this was all Lord Shaluk's idea. Each household had to send one able-bodied person, either to the front lines or to earn money overseas... Wherever he told us to go, we had to go; we had no choice."

"Yes!"

"That's indeed how it is in Snake State!"

"Well, let's assume it is for now." Taran noted down a few lines in his notebook, then looked at the others, "What about you guys from Wolf State?"

He asked around, and according to the laborers' responses, most were sent by local military factions for extra income.

Typically, those military factions would give them a sum of Poluo currency as a settlement fee, while the Dinars earned would go to the military factions.

This setup seemed familiar to Taran, likely copied from Laxi.

Mammoth State was the first in the Poluo Line to engage in labor export, so it was only logical for other states to follow suit.

As for whether or not it was forced, everyone claimed it was, but for now, it could only be considered a one-sided statement.

Having gone through all the suspects, an idea struck Taran. He looked at them and continued asking.

"By the way, after inhaling the snake oil... what did you all see in your dreams?"

The question took them aback, and they responded with a surprisingly diverse array of answers.

"I saw lots and lots of houses, the kind that don't leak!"

"There were fast-running ox carts, and I earned a lot of money driving them."

"I saw Mr. Zayed! He put a medal on me and said he was going to make me a general!"

"Ahem... hehe, I saw big, white... female students."

Listening to these baffling confessions, Talan couldn't help but feel exasperated, but he still extracted the keywords and noted them down in his little notebook.

Houses, money, power, women... They seemed to have seen a lot, but what they remembered kept coming back to these.

It seems everyone sees different things when they inhale the snake oil.

As for addiction.

That's also obvious.

The greed with which they spoke of that dream made it clear they were desperately longing for another taste, to return to that bizarre paradise.

Talan was now certain that Ah Guang had indeed created the "Illusion," but perhaps to prevent the illusion from being too realistic and causing similar effects to the "snake oil," he didn't implement it.

Of course, this was just an immature speculation from a common player's perspective.

Perhaps Ah Guang was just plain lazy.

Glancing at Comte, who was smoking yet another cigarette, Talan shook the small notebook in his hand.

"...The testimony mentions a warlord from the Poluo Province; is this enough to prove the Alliance's involvement?"

"That's a bit of a stretch." Comte flicked the ash off his cigarette, speaking succinctly, "We need more solid evidence."

He couldn't very well say that it didn't really matter, he was just waiting for them to slip up.

Moreover, he was now starting to doubt whether what he was doing was right.

And if not, then what was he fighting for on the battlefield in the past…

He wished he could see Marshal again.

He suddenly realized that rather than making a wish to that man, he wanted to talk with him about his internal doubts…

Seeing the taciturn Comte, Talan shrugged helplessly.

These big-nosed folks are really hard to please.

After all, this is about slinging mud, not really handling a case. A little manipulation of some flimsy leads would suffice, wouldn't it?

"...Then we'll just have to keep investigating. I have a feeling we are getting closer to the big fish."

"Yeah, keep checking it out." Comte impatiently waved his index finger, holding the cigarette, ending the topic.

The two continued forward along the corridor, accompanied by the warden, and reached the depths of the cell, where they met with Morse, who was being held in solitary confinement.

This man, exuding a cold aura from head to toe, sat in the corner with an indifferent expression.

When he saw Talan and Comte appearing at the door, a joyful smile finally appeared on his face.

As he had predicted, his abilities were appreciated by the Enlightenment Society.

His earlier life-risking efforts were not in vain...

"Did I pass your test?" Grinning, Morse knowingly asked.

Comte sneered inwardly, mocking this clueless little ant.

Yet he quickly realized, wasn't he also an ant within another kind of cage, and those truly powerful people looked at him just as he looked at Morse now, causing his internal sneer to crumble a little.

Talan, however, was perfectly into his role as a Disciple of the Enlightenment Society, and he nodded with a smile at the eagerly expectant Morse.

"Congratulations, Mr. Morse, you've proven your ability. From now on, you are officially one of us, as a disciple."

He had already sought the opinion of the "Guide," Daniel, regarding inducting Morse into the Enlightenment Society.

The latter, though a bit reluctant, eventually agreed after some convincing.

Morse breathed a sigh of relief.

When he first entered this prison, he felt a bit apprehensive, but now all his worries were gone.

He didn't know exactly what being a disciple meant, but he knew he now had backing.

"Right, and my little followers…"

Talan glanced at Comte, who cleared his throat lightly and spoke in an official tone.

"The Guards will withdraw their charges and accusations against them. It was just an abandoned factory, and the deceased were merely a few wanted criminals. You didn't cause any harm to this settlement."

Morse's face lit up with a broad smile.

To walk out of Carter Nord Prison unscathed and with his followers, no less.

Without a doubt, starting tomorrow, his name would become legend across Blackwater Alley!

"Thank you…"

"You're welcome. We still need you to work… Due to a fire, the evidence we gathered was unfortunately destroyed. But luckily, the witnesses are all in prison, and we plan to directly find Tony to end this charade."

Morse moved his neck, producing a cracking sound from his bones, his smile gradually turning vicious.

"Fits me just fine; I've been wanting to meet him for a long time."

Appreciating the ruthlessness in this guy, Talan nodded approvingly.

"Great… By the way, what did you dream about when you were unconscious?"

Dream about?

Morse was momentarily stunned, a trace of confusion surfacing in his murky pupils.

Seeing him not responding, Talan smiled and prompted.

"Usually, we'd see what we most desire, like what Mr. Comte and I saw… uh, a glorious age belonging to someone of noble lineage."

He initially thought about saying an age belonging to the Vellante people but realized it sounded strange coming from an alien, so he cleverly framed it in a way that could encompass anything.

No Vellante would ever deny their noble lineage, and he didn't need to explain further.

Comte indeed did not deny it.

Upon hearing Talan's hint, clarity finally returned to Morrison's murky eyes.

His Adam's apple moved as he forced a peculiar smile from his face.

"Of course, it was becoming a legend in Blackwater Alley… I dream of being on top of everyone."

Comte let out a cold chuckle.

"A pretty simple guy to understand."

"There's nothing wrong with that; simple people are easier to satisfy, and becoming a legend in Blackwater Alley is much simpler than conquering five hundred stars."

Talan placed his hand on his partner's shoulder, then looked at Morse and said, "Listen, as long as you behave, we'll make your dream come true."

While speaking, he tossed a set of keys to Morse.

"Now, go release your partners, and make sure you don't let the wrong people out."

Morse nodded respectfully.

"Yes, Sir."

Chapter 891: Disillusionment

In the Governor's Mansion of Evernight Harbor, Governor Ya Hui was reviewing documents as usual.

Just then, there was a gentle knocking at the door.

Upon hearing the knocking, Ya Hui couldn't help but feel a slight sinking in his heart.

Just two hours ago, he had instructed his secretary to decline all meeting requests during working hours today that were not scheduled in advance, yet the knocking persisted.

It seemed that this knocking was something neither he nor his secretary could refuse...

"Come in."

Almost the moment the words left his mouth, the person at the door pushed it open and walked in.

"Long time no see, Governor."

Looking at the man in military uniform at the door, Ya Hui put on a warm smile.

"Long time no see... Mr. Peter, what brings you here?"

Although the man in front of him, named Peter, had a military rank of just a Thousands of Leaders, as a Ten Thousand Leader himself, Ya Hui dared not show any neglect.

There was a reason for this.

This person was the secretary of Captain Dickens, the Minister of General Affairs of the Southern Legion Poluo Province War Zone.

This position was not insignificant.

Although Ya Hui was also a Ten Thousand Leader, and a two-star Ten Thousand Leader at that, in the legion's system that emphasized military merit, the rank of administrative officers was naturally one level lower than that of military officers, with further divisions within the military.

Though General Affairs of the War Zone was not a combat post, it was still within the military system, and also on the front-line war zone. Its level far exceeded his as the colonial governor.

The key was that Evernight Harbor happened to be on the supply line of the front-line war zone, and as the colonial governor, he had the duty to cooperate with the other party to meet all the supply needs.

Even if there was no direct superior-subordinate relationship between them, he had to lower his own stance.

After all, if the label of "hindering front-line logistics" was placed on him, his political career would not simply end, but it would definitely face considerable trouble.

And it was precisely for this reason that his heart ached so much.

Looking at the warmly smiling Ya Hui, Peter merely smiled faintly and said, somewhat pointedly.

"I've heard Evernight Harbor hasn't been very peaceful recently."

Ya Hui thought to himself that it was indeed not a friendly visit, but he still feigned ignorance and asked

"This... which aspect are you referring to?"

Not intending to beat around the bush, Peter said directly.

"The explosion at noon, I heard it seemed to blow up a factory."

Ya Hui put on an expression of realization and said with a smile.

"It's true... I heard it was a gang conflict, but it was only an abandoned factory and didn't harm any unrelated personnel."

Though a few gang members and smugglers died, such things were barely considered human.

In Evernight Harbor, only matters concerning the Weilante people were significant; everything else was minor.

Peter apparently also accepted this explanation, but was not very satisfied with Ya Hui's answer.

He squinted slightly, asking with a half-smile.

"A gang conflict, but why did I hear... the guards' intelligence division was also involved?"

Under his scrutinizing gaze, Ya Hui felt a faint tingle on his scalp, inwardly cursing that fool, Supervisor Willoby, repeatedly.

"There are indeed some hidden circumstances, but—"

Before he could finish speaking, Peter raised his hand to stop him.

"Governor, I'm just here to convey Captain Dickens's opinion. He thinks... you all have been a bit derelict in duty."

"Moreover, the anti-aircraft cannon that should have been sent to the front lines was found in the slums of Evernight Harbor. We have to suspect there's some kind of interest transfer behind this."

After hearing these words, Ya Hui couldn't help but curse inwardly, calling it shameless.

Who exactly was the one transferring interests behind the scenes!

These days, the thief is the first to yell "catch the thief."

Looking at Peter's half-smile, he said in a steady voice.

"...I will notify the guards."

Peter nodded slightly.

"No need; I've already communicated with Supervisor Willoby before coming here."

Leaving this remark, he turned and walked towards the door.

This arrogant gesture caused a trace of anger to flash in Ya Hui's eyes.

But realizing it was unnecessary to argue with a Thousands of Leaders, he finally suppressed his temper.

A secretary could not act on his own in making so many decisions, unless instructed by his master behind him.

This was a warning from the General Affairs Department, possibly even from Minister Dickens himself.

"...A lackey arrogant on master's power."

Watching the figure disappear out the door, Ya Hui cursed quietly, picked up the phone on the desk, but didn't know whom to call, and then slammed it back down hard.

Just then, his secretary timidly walked in from outside.

"Governor... I wanted to stop him, but—"

"It's not your fault, it's none of your affair."

With a troubled heart, Ya Hui waved his finger dismissively, throwing out a random dismissive statement.

The secretary hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.

"Supervisor Willoby wants to see you—"

Ya Hui interrupted his rambling impatiently.

"Tell him to scram! Go do whatever you're supposed to do."

...

One always has to choose between faith and bread, and it's not only some obscure customs worker who has to make such a choice; it also falls upon the big shots.

The difference is the latter usually have access to far more information than the former.

It is for this reason that, often while the former are still struggling, the latter have long made their decision.

All afternoon, the tranquil Evernight Harbor lay in that serene and harmonious turmoil.

The unremarkable abandoned factory seemed like a powder keg stuffed to the brim, filled with all the timid dreams.

Whether it be the faithless Weilante people, or those still holding on to their beliefs.

At the entrance of Carterlod Prison, at dusk.

Just as Comte was about to get into the car parked at the entrance, he suddenly received a call from Daniel, his hand paused on the handle he had just pulled open.

After telling Talan behind him to wait a moment, he excused himself to step aside.

At that instant, the voice over the earpiece caused his heart to sink slightly.

A few hours ago, his superior who had instructed him to continue with the plan suddenly changed his stance.

The thing he feared most had happened.

"...The operation is canceled."

His Adam's apple moved slightly, and he forced out one more redundant question from his throat with difficulty.

"Why?!"

"A call from Supervisor Willoby was made to the Intelligence Section, canceling the Wasp Plan... Obviously, our 'Cocoon Room' hit a wall much harder than us."

Daniel's voice carried a hint of fatigue, and also a touch of self-deprecation.

Comte knew what he wanted to say but didn't, that their targeted prey had clearly taken the bait, only now to say it was time to give up...

Unwilling to give up like this, he couldn't help but ask.

"Have you explained to the Section Chief..."

Daniel let out a deep sigh.

"I explained, but it's useless. I've heard there's pressure from the War Zone General Affairs Department. The entire plan was personally deployed by Supervisor Willoby, whatever explanations needed should have been made. Reporting upwards would be redundant."

General Affairs Department...

Comte held his breath for a moment and then slowly spoke after a long time.

"Then what about our Wasp?"

Daniel was silent for a moment.

"The Section Chief of Intelligence and Supervisor Willoby discussed this issue, they re-read the documents provided by Triumph City, and came to a new conclusion... Maybe the Torch Plan never actually completed, from the very start it might have been a botched project."

As if to convince himself, he continued.

"... This does make sense, after all neither Triumph City nor the Eastern Legion paid enough attention to the weapons mentioned in the plan. Expecting to intercept this non-existent secret weapon might have been wishful thinking from the start... or rather, Supervisor Willoby's wishful thinking."

Things like this weren't unprecedented, they had happened more than once.

But due to the survivor bias, only successful plans are remembered.

In reality, situations that end in failure due to various reasons are the majority.

The more meticulously prepared and complex a plan is, the more this tends to be true.

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose and continued on the phone.

"As for Wasp... I planted a bomb in the car, add a zero to the number I called you from and dial it back to activate it, it's up to you now."

That guy probably wasn't an Alliance spy, just an ordinary resident of the refuge.

If at first, Daniel only vaguely suspected, after so many tests, he could almost be sure of it.

Only such an explanation could justify why he never slipped up.

However, that guy had gotten involved in so many operations by now, they couldn't just politely escort him out of the territory.

Once that guy realized, they would become the laughingstock of everyone.

Even if just for the dignity of the Southern Legion, they must keep him here.

Comte remained silent for a while and quietly responded.

"I understand."

After hanging up, he stood for a long time before eventually returning to the side of the car.

The "Alliance spy" was already sitting in the car... Actually, he couldn't even be called a spy anymore, just a not quite right in the head guy.

No matter how many lies the Survivor Daily told, it couldn't prove that the Triumph Newspaper or the Southern Corps Victory Report were innocent little white rabbits that never lied. Using one person's lies to validate another's honesty is inherently foolish.

At first, he thought it was just a spy's clumsy excuse made on the spot, but now it seemed this guy really might think this way.

Comte didn't know how to describe his feelings, but to travel across seas and risk his life for such a foolish reason was just too foolish.

Just like now.

All he needed to do was dial the number, and that guy sitting in the car would become a charred corpse.

Afterward, whether to blame the Enlightenment Society or gang members, or not explain at all, the matter would be considered closed.

But...

Is it really okay to end it like this?

A terrifying thought suddenly emerged in Comte's mind.

Actually, holding the "remote" doesn't limit him to just one choice... there's another choice that might not be satisfactory for everyone, but for him could be quite satisfying.

And that is to let this bomb that was destined to explode, explode more fiercely, letting it turn into fireworks right at the heart of the trouble, exhibiting its value in the last second of the countdown... instead of disappearing silently as expected into a hidden corner.

Gazing at the car, Comte was suddenly reminded of that bizarre dream.

The image before his eyes seemed to split, and then flickered like a slide show, gradually merging with the five hundredth world he conquered.

But these were not the key points.

The real key point was —

"I am the hero of the Weilante people..."

He muttered softly, as the murky pupils became increasingly determined, as if solidifying the resolve for what he was about to do.

Like a true addict, someone hopelessly lost in his hallucinations.

Reciting his name in his mind, he didn't dial the number to end it all but activated the signal jammer and stepped forward to open the car door, taking a seat in the driver's position.

Bread and faith, you have to choose one.

And he had already made his choice...

Seeing Comte "reinvigorated" once again, Talan's face broke into a brilliant smile.

"...Are you ready, buddy?"

Taking a glance at the face in the rearview mirror, Comte's lips curled into a rare smile.

This madman was as usual.

But wasn't he too, at this moment?

In that flickering vision, the narrow road transformed into an endless red carpet, and he, adorned with medals, was walking on that path of pilgrimage.

What he was doing was exactly what he longed to do.

"I'm an old soldier of the 300,000 Ten thousand troops. The moment I enlisted, I was ready to dedicate my life to the Marshal... Shouldn't I be asking you if you're ready?"

"Haha, is that even a question?" Talan was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then laughed out loud recklessly, and said straightforwardly, "Let's go, stop dawdling."

"Very good." Comte lit a cigarette for himself, expertly started the car's engine.

Talan said excitedly.

"Are we going to find that Tony now?"

Comte grinned, then disdainfully curled his lips.

"That sort of small fry isn't worth mentioning, and that's Morse's work. Let Blackwater Alley take care of its own troubles. Tonight is the best time; no one will disturb them."

"Similarly, the Weilante People's troubles should be dealt with by the Weilante People themselves... While there's still a bit of time, I'll take you for a big job."

Once he finished speaking, he seemed to suddenly remember something and added another sentence.

"By the way... This is the order from the Enlightenment Society, our mission isn't over yet. We have to dig out that leech sucking on our backs."

Talan indeed didn't have much interest in asking more, just lightly raised his eyebrows.

"A big job? How big?"

"Superintendent Willoby, the chief of Evernight Harbor Guards... Reliable intelligence shows he's the traitor hidden among our ranks. At the very least, he could help us find that guy."

Comte squinted his eyes while biting the cigarette, squeezing out a sentence from between his teeth.

"...It's currently 5:30 PM; in fifteen minutes, it'll be his off work time. Later, I'll park the car at the entrance of his unit, and you'll be responsible for inviting him into the car."

...

With the surveillance signal disappearing, Daniel no longer cared about the stray wasp outside.

Comte will arrange everything for him and then return with the last file,

As for himself, what he needed to do now was to clean up the "battlefield" and wrap up this hastily ended operation.

On the other side, the Comedian, squatting not far from "Marshal's Armory," yawned.

This time he didn't dare to space out, and his surveillance work was relentless.

However, just then he suddenly noticed a large group of people in black coming out of the "Enlightenment Society stronghold" he was watching.

There were about thirty of them, all in a hurried manner, carrying large bags and packages of documents.

Within mere minutes, the entrance of the hotel had a "Closed" sign hanging.

This absurd scene made him involuntarily widen his eyes, unable to figure out what on earth was happening.

Without any hesitation, he immediately went offline and informed his resting teammates of the online situation.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Carterlod Prison.

Just not long after Comte drove away, Morse regained his freedom, surrounded by a group of underlings.

The worshipful eyes made Morse feel intoxicated, as if he really had become the emperor of the underground world of Evernight Harbor.

Being able to come out of the notorious Carterlod Prison unscathed was, in the eyes of the aliens in Blackwater Alley, an incredible legend.

The previous legend was Tony.

Now, it's become Morse's collection.

A burly man walked up to Morse and York, lowering his head respectfully.

"Congratulations, chief."

Ignoring the prison guards behind him, Morse grinned, patted the back of his underling's head, then pulled his head closer and whispered into his ear.

"...Tell the brothers to get ready; we have a score to settle with those Iron Hand guys."

"Yes!"

The strong man straightened up, nodded respectfully, then turned and shouted orders to the group of minions.

The minions were excited, high-spirited, like real hyenas ready to march into battle!

The sky was filled with dark clouds, covering the twilight on the horizon. A fierce storm was silently brewing.

If the Weilante People still had bread and faith to choose from, then the scum living in Blackwater Alley had no choice at all.

Blackwater Alley is not just a small alley, but rather the collective name for all the streets in Evernight Harbor "without street names or drainage systems."

It's not a planned urban area but a decayed area naturally born from the "sewer outlet" of Evernight Harbor.

Those who live here either get assimilated by the stinking things or desperately grow wings.

Even if they grow wings, they're no more than flies, but it's better than rotting away with the other trash.

Standing in front of Carterlod Prison, Morse gives a pre-war pep talk to his underlings.

The shouting voice and flying spittle make him look like a truly vicious dog.

Yet, at this moment, he has no idea that the "Enlightenment Society" he pledged allegiance to has vanished without a trace because of a big shot's words.

The "disciple" status he bet his life and those of his neighbors on has turned into a complete joke.

If that car exploded in front of the prison, he might wake up to reality, then shiveringly tuck his tail in and wait for the wind to pass.

Yet fate played a joke on him; the hand that pushed him to his current position went mad before he did...

Their target is "The Last Game," the largest den in Blackwater Alley, and the headquarters of the Iron Hand Gang.

Without a doubt, with such a big event happening, Tony would definitely be there, worried, pulling out his hair.

Plucking one hair at a time is too troublesome. He could make an exception and give the guy a hand, free of charge.

After completing the war mobilization, the minions gathered at the entrance of Carterlod Prison scattered in all directions.

The guards standing by with batons at the prison entrance breathed a sigh of relief, lowering their weapons.

The cockroaches from Blackwater Alley daring to cause trouble at the entrance of Carterlod Prison—this was a spectacle they had never seen before.

Who knows where they got their courage from...

The crowd whispered among themselves, exchanging murmurs, but the warden, with a taut expression, said nothing.

He knew exactly who had given these guys the guts to disregard Carterlod Prison.

And precisely because he knew, he merely stood at the entrance with his men, instead of calling for the Guards' support or charging forward.

After all, who could guarantee that this bunch of chaotic cockroaches wasn't part of the plan?

Since the big shots from the Guards said they could be useful, let's just consider it that way.

At least until he received new instructions, he had no reason to apprehend anyone on his own accord.

The henchmen around him gradually departed, and a flashy Morse was ready to return home to fetch his stuff.

Just then, he suddenly spotted a familiar face among the line of prison guards.

A hint of joy flashed in his eyes, and he walked over with a smile, giving that guy a pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, brother, I'm a disciple now too."

Seeing the malicious dog fixated on him, Andrew's brain momentarily froze, his face turned pale, and he even forgot he was a superior Vellante person.

Only one thought remained in his mind—

Why would the dogs raised by the Guards recognize him?!

Morse didn't linger long, simply greeted and casually left, leaving Andrew standing dazed at the spot, surrounded by countless stares.

The warden frowned.

Like the other guards, he cast a scrutinizing glance at the longest-serving employee of Carterlod Prison.

"Do you know that guy?"

Andrew shook his head in fear, stammering.

"No, I don't…"

The warden frowned but didn't say anything since this guy always looked so timid and meek.

Unlike him, however, the other guards in uniform began whispering.

Disciple?

What is a disciple?

…

Meanwhile, in a good mood, Morse had returned to the Hyena Gang's base, holding the "Ripper" light machine gun he hadn't gotten to use in the noon battle.

He swore.

He would use this thing to leave a lasting impression on the guy who claimed he'd attend his funeral.

Just thinking about that face twisted in fear made him uncontrollably excited, eager to fire a few rounds at the roof to feel its weight.

Just then, he suddenly felt a twitch between his brows, followed by a current-like sting crawling towards his left eye, rendering his vision dizzy.

"Ah…"

Dropping the machine gun in his hand, Morse groaned in pain, pressing a hand over his eye.

Seeing this, York hurriedly stepped forward and asked.

"Boss, what's wrong?"

Shaking his drowsy head, Morse frowned and said.

"...Nothing."

York still looked at him worriedly but didn't dare to say more idle words.

Just then, Morse seemed to recall something and looked at York asking.

"By the way, York… what did you see in that dream in the afternoon?"

York paused, his fat, ugly face suddenly turning bashful.

This bald man with a scar across his chest scratched the back of his head, sheepishly chuckling.

"Don't laugh at me… I… dreamed of my old mother."

Morse was momentarily speechless, dazed for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! You damn… you're truly something."

Seeing his boss laugh at him, York looked helpless.

After a pause, he suddenly seemed to think of something and said with a sly grin.

"By the way boss… when we eventually take over Tony's trade, can we get some of that stuff?"

The boss from the Enlightenment Society only warned them not to trade with the Vellante people but never said they couldn't handle this trade.

The name Snake Oil was too casual.

If they changed it to "Dream" or "Aurora," they might earn more than Tony ever did.

"Can you have some ambition, damn it," Morse hit him on the head irritably, "with money, what can't you get? Who needs that stuff?"

With an innocent look, York knew why the boss was teaching him a lesson.

He had seen, with his own eyes, the miserable ends of those useless people and had twisted quite a few necks himself.

The problem was… this couldn't be solved with just money either.

He didn't think much; he just wanted to finish that meal he had dreamed of.

The punks in Blackwater Alley didn't always get to eat meat, especially when he was just a little punk. His mom had stewed a pot of oxtail soup with the money she earned from the night job, and its aroma made his mouth water, his eyes twinkling.

Standing at the kitchen door, he and she talked for a long time, about a lot of things, including the present, the future… and it was the first time he relaxed like this since burying her.

Just as that pot of food was about to be ready, he woke up halfway through his dream.

If only he had one more second…

Just one second.

"Boss, by the way, what did you see?" York suddenly grew curious.

He always felt the boss was much more promising than he was and would probably dream of something more interesting.

However, Morse, loading the machine gun, seemed impatient and only responded perfunctorily.

"It's none of your business."

Chapter 892: Kidnapping

The sunset shrank to a point on the horizon and sank into the sea with twilight's afterglow.

Finally, it was time to get off work, and Supervisor Willoby finally let out a sigh of relief.

What a terrible day.

After the explosion at noon, he first received a call from the secretary of the War Zone General Affairs Department of Poluo Province, and then was turned away by the Governor's Mansion.

That old fox Ya Hui had clearly promised earlier, but now he's turning his back and handing all the cleanup work to him with a single "Handle it yourself."

Luckily, he is a Ten Thousand Leader and has a way to pass the buck further down.

He pushed away from the chair, leaving the desk, and hummed a tuneless tune as he left the Garrison Headquarters.

Along the way, people greeted him frequently, and he nodded back with a smile each time.

He enjoyed this feeling of being respected.

Especially when his dignity was bruised elsewhere, those sycophantic smiles always brought him slight relief.

What a pity.

His "Wasp" plan was clearly a genius strategy, and it was almost about to succeed.

But who would have thought that someone down the chain would take initiative, investigating people they shouldn't in a case they shouldn't, even alerting the General Affairs Department... it's just bad luck now.

As he lamented the series of misfortunes, a black car stopped stably in front of him.

It was a car from the Guards.

Willoby was slightly taken aback, not remembering arranging a driver to pick him up.

At this moment, the back door suddenly opened, and the last face he expected appeared from behind the door.

That face bore a pleasant smile, as if gazing at prey that had fallen into a trap.

And the gun barrel hidden in the shadows made his heartbeat and breathing involuntarily freeze.

"...Mr. Willoby, please act a bit more naturally."

As he spoke, Talan pointed a gun at him while gently patting the seat beside him.

"Then sit obediently next to me."

Finally realizing what was happening, Willoby's face gradually lost its blood.

Not daring to gamble if the gun was loaded or not, he extended a trembling hand to hold the car door and gingerly sat next to that "Wasp."

It was then that he noticed the person sitting in the driver's seat, or rather, that vaguely familiar face.

Willoby's eyes widened instantly, his pupils filled with obvious disbelief.

He had met this guy!

This guy was from the Guards!

But he couldn't remember the guy's name, given there were so many people greeting him every day.

"You, you are—"

"Comte. Don't bother trying to remember my name, you won't retain it." Glancing at the rearview mirror, Comte replied nonchalantly.

That indifferent expression seemed as if he didn't care at all, yet Willoby was as pleasantly surprised as if he had grasped at a lifesaving straw.

"You're from the Garrison Intelligence Department—"

"Indeed, I'm also a Disciple of the Enlightenment Society."

Enlightenment Society?

Willoby's mind blanked for a moment, staring at him in shock, before finally squeezing out a sentence from his mouth.

"Are you... insane?"

However, Comte didn't want to explain anything to him. He started the car on his own, throwing a sentence back to Talan who sat in the back seat.

"Wait—"

Willoby's eyes widened in terror, reaching for the door handle to escape, only to find the door was already locked.

Of course, Talan wouldn't let him escape. He took out a pre-prepared damp towel and covered Willoby's face, pressing down hard on his mouth and nose.

Before long, Willoby under him was no longer moving, leaving only steady, even breaths.

After confirming that the guy was still alive, Talan put the towel stained with emerald green crystals into a plastic bag and sealed it, then looked towards Comte, who had already started the car.

"...What next?"

"To the broadcast station," Comte calmly lit a cigarette, "I have some questions for him."

...

On the other side, at the Garrison Intelligence Department.

After half an hour of busy work, Daniel finally cleared the disguised base of the "Enlightenment Society," reuniting with the staff who executed the cleanup work and collected the documents.

The "Wasp" plan was now concluded, and the next decision was about the disposition of the thirty Alliance travelers detained in Carter Nord Prison.

Daniel, with the hastily completed documents, intended to find Supervisor Willoby to report the matter, as after all, the entire "Wasp" was orchestrated by him, while the Intelligence Department Head was merely the executor.

However, when he reached the door, he found the office door tightly closed.

Just then, Supervisor Willoby's secretary happened to pass by in the corridor, and Daniel quickly stopped him to ask.

"Where is Supervisor Willoby?"

The secretary pointed to his watch, looking impatient.

"What time is it now? Supervisor Willoby left work early. If you have something, come back tomorrow."

Hearing that the officer had already left work, Daniel had a peculiar expression on his face, but he nodded.

"...Alright."

He had thought that Supervisor Willoby would wait for him for a while, but unexpectedly, the man was more eager to leave work and go home.

It seemed he was overthinking it.

Saying goodbye to Supervisor Willoby's secretary, Daniel glanced at his watch and decided to take the documents back to the Intelligence Department's office first.

However, at that moment, he saw his assistant rushing over in a panic.

"Something's wrong, there's a problem!"

Seeing his assistant panting heavily with a pale face, Daniel frowned.

Not daring to waste time, he immediately questioned.

"What's the situation?"

His assistant, gasping for air, swallowed and looked as though he had seen a ghost.

"The disappearing signal... has reappeared."

The disappearing signal?

Daniel was stunned for a moment, initially not understanding what it was until his gaze fell on the document in his hand, suddenly realizing it was about the car with a bomb.

His heart skipped a beat, and he shoved past the assistant in front of him, rushing towards the Intelligence Department.

The car didn't explode!

Someone blocked the signal!

But why?!

His mind was filled with countless puzzling questions, each possibility pointing to the worst outcome.

When he reached the Intelligence Department office, he saw everyone discussing with surprise.

Unable to wait any longer, he grabbed the nearest staff member and urgently asked.

"Where's Comte? Where is that guy Comte!"

The staff member, with a nervous expression, shook his head frantically.

"I, I don't know... he hasn't shown up at all. The last contact was near Carter Nord Prison."

"Nonsense! I was the one who called, of course I know he was at Carter Nord Prison!"

Daniel grabbed his collar, spitting angrily.

"Find him for me! Immediately! I need to know where he is now, and why the bomb wasn't detonated!"

"Yes, yes!" Hearing this almost impossible demand, the staff member responded almost tearfully.

Daniel let him go hastily, then quickly moved to a terminal, pressing down on a staff member who was about to rise from the terminal.

"Where is that car now?"

The staff sitting at the terminal gulped and replied nervously.

"We just located its signal, it's crossing Route 14, and the destination should be northwest of Evernight Harbor..."

Without a satellite, they could only use planar positioning methods to determine the target's location.

That is, first calculate the position and relative distance of the signal source, then determine the signal's location on the map based on the receiving location.

This positioning method has significant errors, and depending on the complexity of road conditions, there can be a certain delay.

Daniel's mind was racing, muttering constantly.

"Northwest of Evernight Harbor... northwest... what exactly is there?"

A staff member nearby said uncertainly.

"...Could it be the broadcast station?"

The broadcast station?

Daniel was taken aback, pupils suddenly constricting, as a terrifying thought popped into his mind.

If it's the broadcast station, he might have guessed what that guy is going to do...

But why?

When the group leader of the planning team didn't speak, the staff swallowed and nervously continued.

"...The locator signal is still being received, the bomb shouldn't have been dismantled, and it's impossible for them to dismantle the bomb while driving. If we call that number now, we could blow up the target... What should we do?"

Daniel said nothing.

The plan had already spiraled out of control, and he didn't even know who exactly was sitting in that car, so even if they called the number, it might not stop this runaway train.

Just as he was stunned, the head of the Intelligence Department suddenly burst in from the outside.

The man who was usually calm now had a face full of panic.

He strode forward and grabbed Daniel's shoulder.

"Have you seen Supervisor Willoby?"

Staring into those bloodshot eyes, Daniel was momentarily scared and instinctively shook his head.

"No, I went looking for him, but his secretary told me he had already left work—"

Before he could finish, the bloodshot-eyed director rudely interrupted him.

"Someone said they saw him get into a black car at the entrance of the Garrison Headquarters, the license plate is exactly the one we reported damaged! What the hell are you doing?!"

Upon hearing this, Daniel felt as if a hundred-kilogram bomb exploded in his brain, leaving it completely blank.

That idiot not only failed to silence "Hornet," but also kidnapped all their superiors!

Collaborating with the Alliance's spies to kidnap a Ten Thousand Leader...

And during wartime!

This was no different from treason.

His face turned as white as toilet paper, and Daniel felt all the strength in his body drain away, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Looking at the enraged director, he squeezed a sentence from his trembling lips.

"...They're heading to the broadcast station in the northwest of the city. If we rush now... maybe we can stop them."

The director of the Intelligence Department gave him a hard shove, pushing him to the office door.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for, hurry up and go!!"

"If our leader loses one hair, I'll personally execute you!"

Terrified, Daniel ran out the door. He had no doubt his director wasn't joking. If Supervisor Willoby really got hurt, that guy would definitely kill him without hesitation.

Without any delay, he took a dozen members of the Intelligence Department and raced toward the northwestern city area of Evernight Harbor.

All the way, he prayed, hoping that fool Comte wouldn't do anything stupid.

At the same time, he kept trying to contact Comte using the communicator.

However, the latter seemed to have anticipated his actions and decisively shut off his communication device, showing no intention of communicating or turning back.

"Damn it!"

Sitting in the passenger seat, Daniel angrily pounded the car door, his eyes burning with a mixture of fear and flames of anger.

At the same time, the black car carrying Supervisor Willoby had already arrived at the broadcasting station's entrance.

By now, the sky had darkened, and most of the broadcasting station's staff had left work.

Seeing the car parked at the entrance, the on-duty security guard walked up and routinely inquired.

"Who are you people?"

Comte skillfully pulled out his credentials and waved them in front of the guard.

"Garrison task, open the door."

The security guard, hearing it was the Garrison, didn't suspect a thing and quickly ran back to the duty booth to open the barrier blocking the road.

Stepping on the gas, Comte drove in, bypassing the nearby garage, heading straight for the square five-story building ahead.

He shut off the engine, engaged the handbrake, grabbed the Pu-9 Submachine Gun from under the passenger seat, and glanced at Talan in the back seat.

"Carry him and follow me."

Finally reaching the most exciting part, Talan returned an assuring look filled with excitement.

"Roger that."

Unfortunately, this operation was too rushed.

If he had two or three more days to prepare, he could mobilize thirty brothers from the prison and call back two confidants from outside the settlement, potentially creating an even greater spectacle.

Comte nodded, refraining from further nonsense, and stepped out of the car, raising the gun barrel and firing a burst into the sky.

The sudden gunfire startled everyone around, sending them running away in panic.

The security guard in the duty hall was dumbfounded, staring at the man holding a submachine gun, not knowing what he intended to do.

Meanwhile, Daniel and his men finally arrived at the scene.

Seeing Supervisor Willoby dragged out of the car, his eyes turned red in an instant, and he shouted at Comte, who held the submachine gun.

"Comte! Are you insane?! What the hell are you trying to do?!"

While giving orders, Daniel simultaneously signaled his teammates to split off a group to go around the back of the broadcast station to prevent Comte from using the building to shake off the pursuers and escape.

However, what he didn't know was that his seemingly loyal subordinate had no intention of running away.

This was the battlefield Comte had chosen for himself, and also his final stand.

For that reason, facing his superior's furious roar, Comte's expression didn't change at all, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Carrying Willoby, Talan was bewildered by the angry roar.

What's going on?

He thought this was a plan by the Enlightenment Society, but the reaction of the "Guide" Daniel told him it was clearly not so.

What especially baffled him was that he couldn't even tell if this was an internal conflict within the Southern Legion, or within the Enlightenment Society.

At this moment, he felt as if he had "skipped" a whole section of the plot, and when it came time for action, he couldn't distinguish between friend and foe.

"Come to my side."

Seeing Comte beckoning to him, Talan finally decided to follow.

He didn't know what this NPC intended to do, but he had promised this guy, and he was ready.

And just as he stepped into the building, the car they had been in suddenly exploded, turning into a burning fireball.

The fierce flames lit up Talan's bewildered face, and only then did he vaguely sense something.

His identity had probably been exposed long ago...

Comte's next words confirmed his suspicions.

However, he didn't understand why this Weilante person stood by his side.

"...They installed a bomb on the car. According to the plan, you should have already died at the gates of Carter Nord prison.

"We will release your compatriots, but won't acknowledge your existence... including the entire Wasp Plan."

Talan swallowed hard.

"...Wasp Plan?"

Comte nodded, briefly explaining the entire plan, confessing everything to them.

In brief, the Garrison did not know of the Enlightenment Society's existence, only learned from the higher intelligence department that there was such an organization composed of residents of the refuge in the Great Desert, and this organization was suspected to possess an incomplete superweapon.

So their respected Garrison officers ingeniously forged an Enlightenment Society base at the "Marshal's Armory" and attempted to use this Cocoon Room to extract more information about the Enlightenment Society and that superweapon from his mouth.

The development went quite smoothly, but unfortunately, they found a clue they shouldn't have, and some big figure from far away in Evernight Harbor stepped in to cut off all their leads.

After listening to Comte's account, Talan showed a mixed expression of amusement and helplessness.

"...For the whole time, you got the Enlightenment Society information from me."

Comte said succinctly.

"Partly, yes, also some from the archives of Yavente City and Triumph City."

Talan was silent for a while, then sighed.

"...So I've been working for nothing."

Comte slightly raised an eyebrow.

"...Are you truly an Alliance spy?"

"A spy? I'm the commander of the Desert Army," Talan grinned, "But, you can also think of it as me boasting, since I won't admit it anyway."

Comte chuckled dismissively, obviously not buying it.

If this guy could be an army commander, then he should at least be a Ten Thousand Leader!

However, he didn't expose him, just calmly looked at the gathering vehicles and guards outside the window, then said calmly.

"Sorry for dragging you into this, although I did consider letting you go, I need a comrade."

Talan grinned.

"No need to apologize, such interesting events are rare in a lifetime, moreover you consider me a comrade."

Those calm eyes seemed to disregard life and death.

Comte gave him an unexpected look, then suddenly smiled.

"I've always heard that the residents of the refuge in the Alliance are a bunch of weirdos... now I believe it."

"Not all of them, but you were unlucky to encounter someone unreliable like me," scratching the back of his head with his free hand, Talan weighed the guy slung over his back, "So now what? Are you going to beat this guy up to let off steam, or use him as a hostage to exchange for a ship to the Alliance?"

"Neither," Comte shook his head, speaking at a measured pace, "I told you my plan from the start... The Weilante have heard enough lies, what they need now is to hear some truths."

At the same time, outside the broadcasting station, more and more Garrison guards completed their assembly.

Daniel was anxious like an ant on a hot pan, so was the head of the intelligence department, and other department heads too.

There were only two people occupying the broadcasting station, yet the hostage they held happened to be Supervisor Willoby, a major figure.

Nobody could afford the responsibility of accidentally injuring the hostage, but letting this drag on wasn't a solution either.

At this moment, the loudspeaker at the top of the main building of the broadcasting station suddenly blared a noise.

The screeching frequency made everyone's hair stand on end involuntarily.

Especially Daniel, standing at the front line gripping a gun.

After a moment, Comte's voice came from the broadcast.

"Listen up out there, your leader Supervisor Willoby is now in my hands. If you don't want anything to happen to him, you'd better stay put."

"My demand is simple, just stand there and do nothing, then give me two hours."

"Just two hours!"

"I will use this precious two hours to conduct a special interview with our esteemed Supervisor Willoby."

Chapter 893: The Veil Torn Away

8:00 PM.

Evernight Harbor had completely merged into the night, leaving only the colorful lights floating up and down on the water's surface.

Yarman, standing by the window, had a trace of worry on his brow and sighed softly.

"It's becoming more and more unstable here lately."

Gang fights, addictive substances, power-money transactions... good people were either forced into being bad or died in despair, whether they were Weilante people or aliens.

He had been here for less than a week, and almost every day he witnessed terrible things or heard terrible news.

Yet, when he opened the newspaper, all he saw was the proud Weilante people striding from one victory to the next, with not a word about the problems they were encountering.

The news and reality were like two parallel lines that never intersected; the more he read, the more he felt the disconnect.

Sometimes he couldn't help but think, if only the Marshal could order something about this dreadful settlement. However, the reality was, the respected Marshal might not even be aware of a place like "Evernight Harbor" beneath his feet.

And where would they even begin to address it?

This was probably an unresolvable issue.

Noticing the trouble in her husband's heart, Margaret, in her pajamas, walked up to him.

She wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed his cheek gently, soothing him with a soft voice.

"The whole world is like this, so why would this place be any different? Don't worry too much about us, we'll take care of ourselves... and you too, take care of yourself out there."

Gazing into those eyes, Yarman was silent for a moment, then voiced his thoughts.

"...I want to take you all away from here."

Margaret looked at him without blinking and asked softly, "And then where to?"

Yarman took a deep breath.

"I used to think about going to Jinjaron Harbor, but later found that Potato Harbor is also good, and then there's No.1 Settlement... actually, there are quite a few places we could go to."

After a pause, he continued.

"The business I'm doing now doesn't rely heavily on the Legion's colony... The market here is big, but so are the risks. Compared to that, there are better options. Plus, I want to be closer to you, in case something unexpected happens, I can't rush back in time."

After hearing his concerns, Margaret nodded, but there was still a faint hint of worry on her face.

"But... we're at war with the Alliance, is it really safe to go there?"

Placing his hands on his wife's shoulders, Yarman gave her a reassuring look.

"There are quite a few Weilante people living there too, and... based on my experience with the residents of the refuge, they will treat us equally."

He remembered a resident of the refuge who once sailed with him saying, if wolves come, there are hunting guns; if friends come, there are fine wines.

Their enemies were not those with higher noses but those who wished to ride on others' necks to pee and defecate.

Even if that person had a nose like theirs, they shouldn't even think about it.

Margaret was still hesitant. Though she trusted her husband, her concerns were not just about herself.

They had moved before, but it was always to colonies directly or indirectly controlled by the Legion.

She had never contemplated completely leaving the territory controlled by Weilante people.

"So... what about Ruby? She just made new friends."

Yarman fell into silence.

His wife had touched upon his greatest concern.

Ruby was still young.

He couldn't let her drift around like a sailor as he did.

Sensitively perceiving her husband's hesitance, Margaret tidied his collar.

"You hope I'll talk to her, but I think... she might prefer her father to talk to her personally. She's no longer a child who doesn't understand anything; she is a member of this family... If you're willing to talk with her, I think she'd be delighted."

"You're right, I should talk to her myself, about my concerns, my thoughts... and hers."

After hearing his wife's words, Yarman felt a lot of his worries dissipate, and a smile appeared on his previously troubled face.

"And... thank you."

Seeing her husband's shy demeanor, Margaret smiled warmly.

"Since when have you been so polite with me?"

"I've said it long ago, no matter where you go, I will accompany you."

Leaving a goodnight peck on his lips, she turned and left the study, gently closing the door behind her.

Watching the graceful departing figure, Yarman suddenly felt as if his heart, like an old clock, had reignited.

He shook his head with a smile, intending to get a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet, but remembering he had to talk to his daughter later, he instead reached for a tea bag of black tea.

Though Evernight Harbor was no longer peaceful, at least the moonlight tonight was as serene as water.

He added a lump of sugar to the steaming teacup, then pressed the radio button.

This wasn't a decision to make lightly.

He needed to settle down and think it over carefully...

However, at that moment, the voice from the radio made him freeze on the spot.

"Good evening, residents of Evernight Harbor."

"I am Comte, an agent from the Garrison Intelligence Department, formerly served in the 30th ten thousand troops, an unassuming person like you."

"But not exactly the same either."

Yarman instinctively paused his finger next to the teacup, the look of surprise on his face gradually turning into contemplation, and then replaced with an intrigued expression.

A hint of an unusual light seemed to appear on the sea horizon shrouded in darkness.

The spark of hope flickered faintly.

He decided to watch a little more.

Or rather listen, listen to what this fellow Comte had to say.

Not only did he pause his actions, but people in the taverns of the harbor district also put down their glasses, ceasing their whispered conversations.

The Evernight Harbor Radio seemed different from usual tonight.

Yet, for this very reason, people turned their curious gaze to the radio on the bar table, wanting to hear how this guy named Comte differed from them.

Including Kuran, the lame customs officer sitting at the bar.

Unlike everyone else sitting there.

The pupils reflected in the wine glass showed a faint murkiness.

"...Our difference lies in that between faith and bread, I chose faith."

...

The studio of the broadcasting station.

Supervisor Willoby slowly awoke from his coma, leaning on the chair.

He had a very long dream.

And it wasn't just long.

The dreamlike everything was so beautiful that he wished he could sleep forever and never wake up.

"You're awake?"

Hearing that ghostly voice, Willoby shivered as if he'd been splashed with cold water, waking up abruptly.

He instinctively glanced around, only to find the room empty except for a beam of light shining directly ahead.

Below the light source seemed to be a chair, with someone sitting on it.

This place is like an interrogation room.

Yet not entirely.

Slightly squinting to avoid the glaring white light, he tried to move his hands and feet, discovering that his arms and ankles were firmly bound to the chair, unable to move.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Willoby, recognizing the situation, finally gave up struggling and resignedly spoke in a low voice.

"...Where is this?"

The man sitting directly opposite him didn't hide and openly answered his question.

"This is somewhere in Evernight Harbor."

Hearing he was still in Evernight Harbor, Supervisor Willoby secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as he's still in Evernight Harbor, it's fine.

After all, a missing Supervisor is a big deal; someone will soon notice his disappearance, followed by the guards going crazy... including the governor who turned him away earlier.

That fool should be regretting not having met him now.

Willoby felt secretly pleased.

Yet he soon thought of his predicament, and his joy quickly vanished.

"...Are you Comte?"

Comte calmly nodded.

"Yes."

Receiving a definitive reply, Willoby gathered courage, and his previously weak gaze turned sharp.

"Comte... have you lost your mind? Do you know what you're doing?"

"I know," Comte nodded, speaking as if it were redundant, "I've kidnapped Supervisor Willoby of the guards."

Willoby slightly frowned.

For some reason, the way this guy talked and his tone made him feel an undertone of something off.

But at this particular juncture, what concerned him more was evidently not the posturing of this insignificant person.

"...What exactly do you want? Money? Or something else?"

At this moment, he desperately hoped to hear the word 'money' from the other person's mouth.

Because that was the easiest issue to solve for him, and the least scarce for him.

But it was precisely the opposite; Comte, sitting before him, didn't fulfill his wish, instead spewed out a word he hadn't anticipated.

"Truth."

"...Truth?"

"Exactly, that's all I want," looking at the shocked Supervisor Willoby, Comte asked in uncompromising tone, "Why was the 'Wasp' project canceled, tell me the reason."

"Why... There's no why," sweat dripped from Willoby's forehead as he furiously stared at the clueless guy, "It doesn't concern you, stop nosing around, knowing too much won't do you any good!"

Comte quietly listened to his ranting, not interrupting until he paused to catch his breath, then took out an alarm clock from his pocket and placed it on the floor quietly.

Seeing the countdown on the LCD screen, Willoby's pupils suddenly constricted.

"...What's this?"

"Bomb." Looking at that gradually pale face, Comte lightly smiled and continued in a soft voice, "It's for me to decide whether it's beneficial or not; you just have to answer my questions, while there's still time, got it?"

Willoby's eyes widened like copper bells, incredulously watching the subordinate threatening him with a bomb.

This guy is a lunatic!

Seeing his indifferent expression, he swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice.

"Because... pressure from above, I have my difficulties. Listen, don't look at my position as Supervisor, the guards aren't the army, I command fewer people than that Ya Hui bastard."

Comte frowned.

"Whose pressure? Governor Ya Hui?"

Willoby shook his head.

"I can't say, if I dare to say it... I'll be finished."

Comte shrugged lightly, dimming the light source behind him a bit, revealing his indifferent face.

"...It's fine; you still have nine minutes; you can think about it for a while, just answer the following questions faster."

He's gambled everything in this trial, and no longer cared about anything else besides the truth.

Looking at that indifferent face, Willoby's expression gradually twisted, then after struggling, became progressively more frantic.

Eight minutes!

The countdown ticked like his remaining heartbeats!

Finally unable to withstand the pressure of death, he opened his mouth in resignation, unleashing a hysterical roar.

"It's the General Affairs Department! Poluo Province War Zone General Affairs Department! Are you satisfied now?"

Comte softly answered.

"It's not enough; that's too broad an answer; I need you to name the specific person."

This lunatic!

The ropes sunk into his clothes, Supervisor Willoby's eyes were bloodshot.

To save his life, he completely gave himself up.

"Minister Dickens... it was his secretary who contacted me, he stood in my office, demanding that we stop the investigation!"

Comte lit a cigarette for himself, glanced at the timer on the floor, and slowly asked.

"There has to be a reason, right?"

Willoby, having thrown caution to the wind, loosened up a lot and sneered coldly.

"A reason? Do you think they'd tell us about that... but I suppose you can guess."

Comte: "Snake Oil?"

Willoby curled his lips, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"What else could it be? 'Sharun', used to treat post-war trauma symptoms, is the raw material for making 'Snake Oil'. The active ingredients of both come from Snake Grass. We can't exactly tell those old soldiers that the sedatives they take are mixed with hallucinogens, that the beautiful dreams they have every night are not because of the 'Southern Military Victory News', but because of the medicine prescribed by logistics."

Comte clenched his fists, then suddenly released them, looking at him mournfully.

"Why?"

"Another why? What's the use of knowing, even if you do?"

Glancing at the countdown, Willoby asked impatiently.

But Comte, sitting in front of him, seemed as though he hadn't heard, continuing to speak to himself.

"Our Soldiers fight for the Weilante people's honor and space to live, and yet you... you'd rather prescribe them a bunch of ineffective medications, using chemically manufactured bliss to numb their pain, letting them rot in unseen corners, but refusing to face their problems directly."

As he spoke, Comte stood up from the chair, angrily staring at Willoby the Ten Thousand Leader, who was tied to the chair, and grabbed his collar.

"You parasites! Scum! Do you even consider them... consider us as your compatriots!"

Willoby glared at him fiercely, without a shred of fear in his eyes.

"What are you talking about, nonsense. If I'm not a Weilante, would I be an alien? This is the decision of the General Affairs Department! Moreover, it's the most economical solution. At least we're still giving them free medication; if they don't want to take it, they could resell it!"

"And then the gangsters in Blackwater Alley buy it back to make stronger stuff, harming more people... isn't that right?"

Comte snorted coldly.

Looking at Willoby the Ten Thousand Leader, who was staring like a goldfish, he articulated clearly.

"And you all, can scoop a massive fortune from the taxes paid by all the Weilante people."

In this world, there's nothing truly free; at most, the hand signing the check is hidden away.

The taxes contributed by the Weilante people are supposed to give them a better life, not squandered on some individual's ambition in incomprehensible ways.

For instance, starting a foolish and senseless war, then using countless lies to plug that riddled gap.

Snake Oil is merely the pus on the surface, and below are even more stubborn toxins.

As long as these parasites exist, the Weilante will never achieve that unreachable dream.

Willoby the Ten Thousand Leader chuckled, watching Comte with a look one would give an idiot.

"Heh, I don't deny it, but that's merely your speculation. You have no evidence, and neither do I, and even if there is, it wouldn't change anything. Why ask? Because the Army is just like that, can you expect a chicken to lay a duck's egg?"

"...If you have any more questions, ask quickly. Kidnapping your superior for something like this, knowing full well the answer, is really ridiculously boring."

Watching the LCD screen's countdown reach the last three minutes, his expression grew frantic again.

After all, he wasn't truly unafraid of death.

Everything he said was all for survival.

With some disappointment in his eyes, Comte released his collar and stepped back two steps, returning to his chair.

"One last question, you answer, and I'll let you go."

After a pause, he continued softly.

"...That dream just now, what did you dream of?"

Hearing this unexpected question, Willoby was stunned, thinking the guy was joking.

But time was running out, and he couldn't care less if Comte was joking. He had to grit his teeth and share that unspeakable dream.

"...I became the Legion Leader."

"And then?"

"Then?" Willoby, puzzled, replied, "That lord made me governor of a thousand worlds, and then nothing... is there a problem?"

If possible, he wished that dream could last a little longer, let him see the continuation of that dream.

It truly was a glorious era.

After sacrificing billions, the borders of the Army finally expanded to the edge of the Milky Way.

Comte looked at him with final pity.

"Nothing... I've asked what I needed to ask, untie him."

Standing behind Willoby, Talan pulled out a dagger and cut the ropes binding him to the chair.

Willoby was taken aback.

He hadn't even realized that there was a third person in the room.

Of course, there were many things he didn't know, such as the live broadcast happening in the studio.

His "impassioned" speech stripped the Southern Legion down to its underwear.

Now, half of the gathering spot's Weilante people knew what "Sharun" was made of, and what "Snake Oil" really was.

And not just that, but also the sordid dealings of the General Affairs Department and Minister Dickens's involvement.

As for what the Wasp Plan was, or the Enlightenment Society not mentioned in this interrogation... these trivial details mattered less at this moment.

Excessive information would only make people lose sight of the real issue, lose focus on the true conflict.

Comte's goal from start to finish was only one.

And that was to try to wake his fellow compatriots still pretending to sleep.

The Weilante people's issues ultimately must be faced and solved by the Weilante people themselves.

This has nothing to do with the Alliance or the Enlightenment Society, nor with their enemy in conflict — the Poluo people.

However, he's just an agent in the Intelligence Department; all he can do ends here tonight.

"Just letting him go like that?" Talan, holding Willoby's collar, asked Comte.

He suddenly admired the guy a bit.

He had played this Game for two years, learned United Human language, but had never had such a deep interaction or even became friends with any NPC.

Even though they've known each other for just a few days.

"...Let him go; he's just a pitiful creature keeping silent about the truth, not some villainous thug. Moreover, the survivors of Evernight Harbor have seen the true colors of these guys. As for what happens next, that's for after dawn, and what we can do tonight has been done."

Comte's voice carried a hint of fatigue, but also a sense of relief.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered something, looked at Talan, and said.

"By the way, don't just kick people out directly. Use him as a shield in front of you, have the guards outside give you a car filled with fuel, and drive north... Leave him outside the settlement, and what happens after that is up to you."

Whether this guy is really the leader of the Alliance's troops, or just a not-so-smart brute, he's done quite a few good deeds for the Vellante people.

There's no need for him to die with me.

Talan frowned.

"What about you?"

Comte joked.

"My mission is over, and a planet named after me is still waiting for my appointment."

Talan was startled, then burst into laughter.

"You're quite an interesting guy."

Comte chuckled.

"Hehe, is that your assessment of me? By the way, speaking of which, you've taken that thing too, haven't you... Honestly, what have you really seen? A prosperous era belonging to people of noble bloodlines? You can fool others with that, but the residents in your refuge talk about ghosts and bloodlines."

Talan was silent for a while and then answered honestly.

"A world of equality, where people have truly achieved equality, with no one thinking about how to sit on someone else's head all day, and no endless scheming. My fellow people and I live in abundance. Although we're still far from Utopia, I'm quite satisfied."

Comte's eyes showed a trace of envy as he sighed softly.

"Really... How nice."

"Have you finished chatting already?" Just as the two were talking, Willoby's eyes were fixed on the countdown timer, trying to break free from Talan's grip.

Watching Supervisor Willoby squirm like a worm, Tara laughed and tossed him out the door.

"Get lost."

Not standing firmly, Willoby stumbled, scrambled to his feet, and dashed towards the stairs, not daring to linger for even a second.

Comte looked at Talan, surprised, and asked with a strange expression.

"...You just let him run?"

"What else? What good is he to me?" Talan shrugged, grinning, and said, "Besides, fleeing isn't my style. We five-star good citizens prefer to fight our way out."

Comte didn't quite understand what five-star good citizen meant, and Talan didn't intend to explain.

Meanwhile, Willoby, who had fled in a panic, had already reached downstairs, just as a timer was thrown in front of him, scaring him to the ground.

"Bomb! Get down!"

The people around him were startled by this shout.

However, at this moment, an untimely alarm clock suddenly sounded.

"Ding-ling——!"

The piercing sound caught everyone present off guard, including Willoby, who hastily dived to the ground.

His face gradually turned the color of liver, and he angrily and shamefully climbed up from the ground, dusting off his dusty clothes and pants.

That lunatic tricked him!

Thinking of his embarrassing reaction, Supervisor Willoby was furious, grabbed the collar of a young man next to him, and shouted at him.

"What are you waiting for! Just watching? Get in there and shoot those two bandits dead for me!"

The young man's face tightened, looking at Supervisor Willoby with spitting rage, with a strange look in his eyes.

Not just him, everyone around him was like that... except for Governor Ya Hui, who was fuming.

Watching the shouting Willoby, Ya Hui strode forward and slapped him on the head.

"You stupid pig, do you even know what the hell you just said?"

Willoby was taken aback for a moment.

"What... What did I say..."

Ya Hui grabbed his collar fiercely.

"Look carefully at where you are! This is the broadcast station! Not only the people here, but everyone in the entire settlement heard your fart!"

Willoby's face turned pale instantly, like a freshly painted wall.

His lips trembled, like a mute.

The soundproofing of the studio was too strong. He hadn't heard the outside broadcast at all, let alone the radio transmission from the station.

He thought Comte might have at most hidden a recording, but he didn't expect him to broadcast it live...

Seeing this waste, Ya Hui angrily released his collar and yelled at the few guard captains present.

"Are you here for a show! Get in there and shoot the people inside for me!"

The few guard captains looked at each other, all with hesitant expressions.

Seeing no one moving, Ya Hui was so mad that his nostrils flared, extending a trembling finger.

At this moment, five "Grey Dog" scout cars surrounded a "Beast" armored personnel carrier that drove over.

Looking at those thick and long guns and the soldiers armed to the teeth, Ya Hui was overjoyed.

Reinforcements have arrived!

The leader was a centurion wearing a "Rhino" exoskeleton, shouldering a light machine gun with a belt of bullets.

He walked up to Governor Ya Hui, saluted crisply, and said sternly.

"I heard someone was attempting to rebel."

Ya Hui nodded quickly, then pointed to the broadcast station directly ahead.

"It's over there! A traitor and a spy have occupied our broadcast station!"

Just two people?

The centurion raised an eyebrow and glanced around at the guards holding submachine guns, a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.

Even though these guys don't have to go to the front lines, being unable to take a building with just two people is quite pathetic.

He said nothing, waved his hand, and led a dozen soldiers wearing bullet-proof armor forward.

Meanwhile, on the other side, inside the building, Talan's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Good... They've even brought out the armored personnel carrier!"

Finally, I've earned five stars!

Chapter 894: Bread or Faith

"Bang!"

With a piercing gunshot cutting through the silence, the battle within the Broadcasting Station Building officially unfolded.

A ten-man team swiftly stormed the building and engaged in a shootout with the armed personnel entrenched inside.

This brief exchange of fire lasted less than five minutes before the ten-man team was blasted out by the exploding dust and boisterous gunfire.

Not just that, the originally full-strength team suffered over half casualties, with two severely wounded soldiers being carried out horizontally.

Watching his battered subordinates and the dragged-out wounded, the Centurion's face was filled with shock, which soon turned into anger.

"A bunch of worthless fools! Ten people couldn't capture two, what the hell are you doing?!"

Facing the officer's rebuke, the Centurion who retreated from the building wore a look of terror but bit the bullet to explain.

"It's not two... just one person, but that guy's speed is too fast, might be an Awakener..."

Hearing this, the Centurion's eyes narrowed.

Awakener...

Looks like they've caught a big fish.

No longer giving his subordinates a hard time, he took down the communicator hanging on his shoulder and ordered sternly.

"Team two, team three, team four, be ready, it's your turn."

A unified response echoed from the communication channel.

"Roger that!"

With the order given, three ten-man teams fiercely charged forward.

Looking at the building just within reach, the Centurion's lips curled into a grim smile.

If ten people can't break in!

Then thirty will!

He did not believe he couldn't squash this grasshopper!

Meanwhile, inside the building, Talan calmly replaced the magazine on the picked-up assault rifle.

To be fair, the Vellante people's equipment was good, with exoskeletons and bullet-proof armor; if not for the Ten-Husband Long Pistol's decent penetration power, solely relying on a PU-9 wouldn't necessarily make him their match.

However, when it came to combat skills, they were far below the soldiers on the Poluo Province front line, who might even impress him more.

Of course, even if he was confident enough in his combat power, he had to admit that in the face of an absolute numerical disparity, his failure was just a matter of time.

He could no longer rely on Comte; that guy wasn't willing to fight against his compatriots and even had a death wish.

He couldn't persuade that guy and didn't know how to persuade him, and even faintly felt in his heart that this might be the best outcome.

Truth be told, he didn't even know what he was struggling for.

Dying as a hero in a heroic manner was a hero's honor.

At least tonight he had already lived in the hearts of Evernight Harbor's People, and likely wouldn't be forgotten for a long time.

Yet, thinking that the NPCs in this Game can't be resurrected, Talan regretted thinking this way.

He didn't want this guy to just die like that.

After playing the game for so long, it was the first time he encountered such a fitting NPC.

Looking at the three teams creeping in from both the front and back doors, he took a light breath and grinned.

"...Turns out that armored car is just for show."

Maybe because they were inside the city, the Vellante people couldn't act freely, so the armored car stayed outside without firing at him, only deploying infantry to advance.

He kicked open a room door, grabbed a cabinet like a small chick, carried it out, and threw it at the stairs' entrance.

With a click, he loaded the rifle and took a deep breath, preparing for battle once more. As the dense footsteps rushed into the stairwell, he pulled the trigger.

"Tut-tut-tut——!"

In the blink of an eye, the melee slaughter began again!

Unlike the initial encounter, this time the Vellante people's offensive was noticeably more cautious, and Talan's situation was notably more strenuous than before.

Watching the flickering firelight advancing from the 2nd to the 3rd floor, the Centurion standing outside the Broadcasting Station finally smiled grimly.

Just as he expected.

A trapped beast is still just a trapped beast.

Meanwhile, not far from him, the head commander of the Guards, the Supervisor Willoby, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, constantly wiping sweat off his forehead.

Although at this moment he wished he could tear apart the broadcasting Comte, he knew very well that the guy's life or death no longer mattered; what mattered was the aftermath.

Now, half of Evernight Harbor's Vellante people knew what comfort drugs were given to retired old soldiers by the Logistics Department under the General Affairs Department, and how those big shots made money from the insurance of wounded soldiers through these expensive yet ineffective hallucinogens.

Why those injured soldiers couldn't get proper placement, the answer was apparent.

Because their money was spent in inexplicable places, eventually flowing into the pockets of vested interests.

The little pills prevalent on the Black Market in Evernight Harbor weren't due to the Alliance's 'strategic dumping,' but because of the market's disastrous surplus of 'Sharun.'

Gang members recycled the surplus comfort drugs from the old soldiers and also got supplies from the Logistics Department to make the stronger 'Snake Oil,' squeezing out the last bit of profit from Evernight Harbor survivors.

Whether Vellante people or Aliens in Blackwater Alley, everyone was a victim under this systemic exploitation!

Watching the increasingly unfriendly face of Governor Ya Hui, Willoby's face grew even more desperate.

Perhaps he wouldn't even need to wait until tomorrow's Sun rises before he loses the hat on his head.

Unconsciously, more unrelated people suddenly appeared on the street.

Most of these people were Vellante, including drunken drunks and Citizens emerging from their homes.

At first, Willoby thought these guys were just here to watch the excitement and didn't pay much attention.

Until more and more people gathered on the street, and the expressions on their faces became increasingly unfriendly, Willoby suddenly realized that perhaps a bigger trouble was brewing.

Looking at the look Ya Hui gave him, Willoby could only call up a few guards to follow him, bracing himself to step forward and shout to the growing crowd.

"What are you doing standing here! This isn't a place to watch the fun, go back to your homes!"

The voice did nothing to disperse the crowd; instead, it made them gather even more closely.

A retired old Soldier stepped forward, pointing his ruddy nose at Supervisor Willoby, and said in a questioning tone.

"You are Willoby."

At another time, Supervisor Willoby would never bow to a drunkard, but the crowded surroundings compelled him to adopt a more conciliatory tone.

"It's me... what's the matter?"

The old Soldier pointed at his nose, questioning him rudely.

"Then let me ask you, is everything you've said true?"

Supervisor Willoby's face tensed, large beads of sweat started to emerge from his temples, but he still feigned calmness and explained.

"...I was forced by the circumstances, that idiot made me say those things; you should've heard it if you had your radio on. He threatened me with a Bomb... threatened his own superior."

The expression on the old Soldier's face didn't change; he continued to stare at him unblinkingly.

"You didn't deny it, so it's the truth, right?"

"I—"

As Willoby was about to defend himself, a liquor bottle flew out from the crowd, nearly hitting his head.

The guards following him hurriedly stepped forward to stop the increasingly agitated crowd.

Simultaneously, a shout emerged from the crowd.

"Traitor! You betrayed the Weilante People! And you betrayed our Marshal!"

"I didn't—"

"Then let the people inside go! Face us publicly once more!"

"That's right! Let them go!"

The shouts were like waves crashing against the guards' chests one after another.

Faced with their enraged compatriots, the guards hesitated openly.

They were also Weilante People.

Moreover, many of them, like Comte, were also old Soldiers retired from frontline duty.

The questions Comte posed in the broadcast were questions they had harbored in their hearts for years.

Instead of lacking the courage to face the crowd, it was more that they agonized over why they stood opposite their compatriots instead of alongside them.

As the crowd pressed ever closer, Supervisor Willoby found himself with no words and increasingly terrified.

He had no doubts.

If he got caught by this group, they would surely tear him to pieces!

Just then, the sharp sound of a siren rang out not far away, as five troop trucks arrived at the edge of the crowd, escorted by an armored vehicle.

They were the reinforcements, the 200th company of the city defense Army.

No one expected such a small broadcasting station to hold out so well; an initial force of a hundred Soldiers failed to capture the Building even after more than ten minutes.

Under pressure from the General Affairs Department, the city defense commander dispatched another hundred-strong force, even authorizing them to use Dynamite to blow up the Building if necessary.

A head popped out of the armored vehicle stuck outside the crowd, megaphone in hand, shouting at the crowd.

"Those in front, move aside! You're blocking the way!"

The Centurion in the armored vehicle clearly didn't understand the situation.

His shout backfired immediately, causing the surrounding crowd to erupt in fervor and further block the way in front of the armored vehicle.

Seeing the garbage and liquor bottles randomly thrown, the Centurion quickly closed the turret hatch of the armored vehicle and retreated inside.

"Ceasefire!"

"Release the people!!"

The deafening roars penetrated the vehicle, causing slight vibrations in the armored steel plates.

Seeing the angry faces through the observation windows, the crew inside the armored vehicle exchanged bewildered glances.

"Damn..."

"Are these guys crazy?!"

Not only were the reinforcing Soldiers perplexed, but so were the Soldiers already at the front line standoff.

They could be sure; they only had one opponent.

Yet that lunatic, with just two rifles looted in his hands, managed to repel their attacks five times over!

Although they initially indeed underestimated him, maybe held back, in the subsequent assaults, they used all their skills, yet still failed to capture the third floor.

The battle was at a stalemate.

Seeing the demoralized wounded, the Centurion overseeing the command was fuming.

He strode angrily in front of Supervisor Willoby and, disregarding ranks, shouted at him loudly.

"Tell your guards to drive away that obstructive crowd! Our reinforcements can't get to the scene!"

Being berated by a Centurion made Supervisor Willoby's anger flare up, but he had no options.

After all, the other party was from the Army.

And he was just from the Guards, a local department, not even counting as local military.

Suppressing the flames in his heart, he shouted in a low, gruff voice.

"I know, I've already given the order... but I simply don't have enough manpower; do you know how many people are crammed out on the street?!"

Centurion: "Then bring more people over!"

Supervisor Willoby snapped in anger.

"I'm just a Ten Thousand Leader, not someone who literally has ten thousand people! I've brought all the city's guards over, and they too are stuck outside, unable to enter! Yelling at me won't help; you'd better ask your superior for a solution!"

There are said to be at least twenty to thirty thousand Citizens outside.

Initially, they only blocked one street; now they've even blocked the roads leading to it!

Now all the city's guards have been pulled to this district, and what he worries about most isn't this broadcasting station, but the security of other districts.

It's hard to guarantee that someone won't seize this opportunity to loot, and if chaos erupts, it will all be blamed on him.

He's already got enough trouble and doesn't want to add unnecessary charges against himself.

"Damn it!"

Seeing the continuous casualties among his subordinates, the Centurion cursed and drew his sidearm as he stepped to the front of the crowd.

Seeing this, Supervisor Willoby was startled and instinctively wanted to intervene, but it was already too late.

"No—!"

"All of you get out of my way! Anyone who doesn't want to die, stop blocking my sight! Are you all rebelling?!"

The enraged Centurion fired a shot into the sky, and it was this gunshot that completely enraged the crowd in a standoff with the guards.

They were Weilante people.

The fearless gene flowed in their veins, besides, how many bullets can a pistol magazine hold?

The old soldiers at the front knew much more than these rookies, and as soon as they heard the gunfire, they rushed forward, breaking through what was once a relatively stable line.

Faced with the furious crowd, the guards eventually chose to surrender, and since they hadn't fired a shot the entire time, the people didn't make things too difficult for them, focusing their charge on the Centurion who had fired.

Seeing the surging crowd, Supervisor Willoby's face was marked with utter despair.

Even Governor Ya Hui, hiding in the reconnaissance car, was so scared he'd gone dumb, urging the driver to drive and crash through the less populated areas.

Talan, shot several times, squatted on the fourth floor of the broadcasting station, looked at the boiling crowd outside the window, and an expression of surprise crossed his face as he unconsciously uttered, "Holy shit."

Comte did not rally his fellow compatriots together, but when he spoke out for them, they did not choose to turn a blind eye, bravely standing up for him.

Now Talan understood why these big noses were able to take down the War Construction Committee that inherited all the United Human's legacy...

The genes engraved in their veins weren't just about killing, but also about honor and dignity.

The Weilante people would never abandon their heroes.

They could be saved...

"This fight was worth it... Haha, this life was worth it!"

Looking at the gun wounds on his body, Talan smiled briefly, suddenly understanding the phrase "Don't worry too much about Sequence Levels" that the old players often said, otherwise, you'd miss out on so much.

Maybe it wasn't some kind of Versailles, but rather an insight they'd genuinely experienced after countless deaths.

They left countless indelible marks on this world, which surpassed those pale numbers by far.

Supporting himself from the ground with the gunstock, Talan pondered that what happened next probably had nothing to do with him anymore. It would be better to find a place to take care of his own corpse.

Just then, a familiar shout suddenly came from downstairs.

"...Commander! Are you up there?"

"Some guy named Emichiru Junichiro said you're in trouble and called us to meet you!"

"If you're alive, make a sound."

Upon hearing that voice, Talan was at first stunned, then a look of wild joy appeared on his face.

"Damn! I finished the fight, and you guys finally show up!"

...

Blackwater Alley, "The Last Game" casino.

Normally when night falls, the largest casino in Evernight Harbor is packed with people, but tonight there was a rare 'Closed' sign hanging at the entrance.

Gamblers loaded with gold coins wandered back and forth in front of the entrance, but seeing that the door showed no sign of opening, they left reluctantly.

Meanwhile, in the VIP room on the casino's rooftop, a man with a high bridge nose sat cross-legged on a sofa.

He held a communicator in his hand, his face clouded with gloom.

After a moment, he cursed softly and threw the communicator on the table.

"Damn it, what a bunch of useless idiots... Can't even handle this small matter!"

Looking at the enraged man, Tony didn't dare to breathe too loudly, let alone interrupt him, only wearing a flattering smile on his face as he stood quietly by.

This man's name was Peter, and his status was remarkable. His rank was only that of a Thousands of Leaders, but he was the secretary to the Minister of the War Zone General Affairs Department of Poluo Province.

Even the governor of Evernight Harbor had to show some respect to this guy, let alone a thug like Tony.

In front of this bigwig, he didn't even have the right to sit and speak.

It's worth mentioning that the man sitting in front of him wasn't actually his real backer.

The bigwig supporting him had never shown his face; he always communicated through intermediaries, helping him with issues outside of business while collecting money.

And Peter was the highest-ranking person he'd met so far.

Tony could only rely on pure speculation to guess who his backer was, and even if he guessed right, he wouldn't dare say it out loud, let alone ask that backer to do something for him.

Those people only targeted his business, hoping to use him to do some things and provide him some conveniences.

If his demands were too many or too troublesome, those people wouldn't mind changing to a cleaner glove.

In fact, if it weren't for a bit of trouble in business, Peter wouldn't have come here himself.

But what he didn't expect was that barely a few hours after he left the governor's mansion, there was major trouble with the Guards.

Kidnapped by his own men...

He might as well shoot himself!

The troubles didn't end there. That broadcast sparked public outrage across Evernight Harbor, blocking the reinforcements on the street.

And the army that already reached the scene wasn't particularly smart. A hundred-man team couldn't even take down a broadcasting station, only watching things get bigger and bigger.

Peter took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, then turned his gaze to Tony standing beside him.

"How's the snake grass matter handled?"

Seeing Peter talking to him, Tony quickly accompanied with a smile and said diligently.

"Don't worry, sir, it's all taken care of! The warlords of Snake State will open a dedicated route for us, and the customs at Evernight Harbor have been taken care of as well! From now on, we can directly process snake oil from snake grass without needing to purify those small pills... Although our processing plant suffered some losses, it won't have much of an impact on us."

After a pause, Tony lowered his voice again.

"Additionally, as per your instructions... we took that group of Poluo laborers out of the Carter Nord prison and disposed of them in the suburbs."

That factory was neither owned by the Logistics Department nor the General Affairs Department, but it did belong to certain individuals within this chain of interests.

They bypassed the Logistics Department by improving the production process and techniques, but they didn't bypass anyone in this chain of interests.

The only thing that changed was the raw materials.

They could more efficiently produce more addictive "Snake Oil," without needing to recycle the prescription drugs dispensed by the Logistics Department from the hands of those old soldiers.

Due to the change in supply-demand relationships, they hoped those old soldiers would consume the "Sharun" piled up with no place to store, opening up the market for the more potent "Snake Oil" and making another profit from the soldiers' pensions.

After all, the majority of the Southern Legion's wealth was concentrated in the hands of the Weilante people, and extracting dinars from the hands of aliens was too inefficient.

Not only that, they no longer needed those Poluo laborers.

They knew too much.

Moreover, they had already shown their faces, and it would be very troublesome if they ended up in prison again for the same reasons.

Instead of giving them a ticket home, it's better to directly compensate the warlord behind them and then have the latter send over a new batch of laborers.

Anyway, the Poluo Province never lacks people; by then, just send them along with the Snake Grass.

Upon hearing that the matter had been resolved, Peter breathed a slight sigh of relief and nodded imperceptibly.

"Not bad."

Tony chuckled.

"Don't worry about my work!"

After taking a few more appreciative looks at this loyal dog, Peter grinned, suddenly inspired, and continued.

"Is that so? Then I'll ask you to do something else."

Tony straightened up respectfully and said.

"Rest assured, my lord, whatever you instruct, I will do my utmost to accomplish!"

Peter smiled faintly and instructed.

"In the Northwest Urban Area, there are riots in the streets near the Broadcasting Station. A group of drunk fools is blocking the road. Take some men over there, remember to bring weapons, create some chaos and drive them away, so our troops can enter."

Tony was startled.

"That's all?"

"That's all." Peter sipped the red tea on the table and spoke softly, "Some people can die, but not too many, and don't act in front of the Guards and Army... Otherwise, prepare a few scapegoats, handle it as you see fit."

The Weilante people are unwilling to shoot their compatriots, just find a group of aliens to do it.

He wasn't burdened by such sentiments.

People who needed to be killed still had to be killed; you couldn't go soft-hearted just because the other side was unarmed civilians.

Reading Peter's gaze, Tony nodded with understanding and chuckled.

"Understood!"

This sort of thing was exceedingly easy for him; just station a few gunmen at a distance to fire randomly, or worst comes to worst, rush in and throw some Molotov Cocktails.

However, this guy was truly ruthless.

The Northwest Urban Area should be occupied by the Weilante people, a place where his underlings usually avoided, let alone causing trouble there; they wouldn't even dare to stay there.

Just as Tony was about to arrange the task, an explosion suddenly roared outside the window.

At the sound of the explosion, everyone in the room froze, their expressions petrified.

Simultaneously, arrogant laughter came from afar, intertwined with brazen boasts.

"Tony—! Hahaha! Your grandpa is here for your funeral!"

At this mad-dog-like shout, Tony's face changed instantly, and he rushed to the window.

As he expected, a madman from the Hyena Gang was standing directly across the street.

And his old rival Morse was holding a brand-new "Ripper" light machine gun.

Seeing the gun pointed his way, Tony hurried away from the window, simultaneously grabbing the walkie-talkie from his waist and shouting to the casino thugs.

"Damn it, stop that lunatic! Don't let him get close!!"

Meanwhile, a volley of bullets raked across the window, leaving a string of bullet holes on the ceiling amidst the sound of shattering glass.

Hiding in the corner of the room, Peter looked at Tony, half-crouched on the floor, dumbfounded and furious.

"What's happening outside?"

"Morse," Tony gritted his teeth, his lips turning pale with anger. "It's the Hyena Gang... those fools got contact with the Guards and are acting like lunatics. By the way, it was this group that bombed our suburban factory!"

Peter's eyes widened in disbelief.

The Guards?

How dare those cowards in the Guards—

Just as he thought this, a demonic-like laugh came through the window.

"...Surprised, aren't you? I'm now a disciple of the Enlightenment Society, so I've got backing too! Hahahaha!"

"Do you have the guts to come out and fight me fair and square?"

...The Enlightenment Society?

What on earth was that?!

Peter's mind went blank, taking some time to react.

However, being a Thousands leader, he wasn't about to be frightened by a bunch of hooligans.

Kicking Tony out of the room, he decisively locked the door, then calmly picked up the communicator that had fallen on the table, pressing a few buttons.

With the communicator to his ear, he concisely issued orders.

"...I've encountered some trouble here, send a Sweeping Group over."

Chapter 895: The Downpour Buries Everything

The roar of gunfire was like thunder, and the tracer rounds darting through the streets felt like torrential rain sweeping across.

Just like during any usual gang fight, Morse stood at the forefront, leading a group of his henchmen.

But unlike the usual, he was holding a "Ripper" light machine gun with ammo belts attached!

The fierce muzzle spewed aggressive firepower, and the thick tongues of flame blinded the Iron Hand Gang's thugs.

First rewarding the room at the top of the casino building with a burst of fire, Morse watched Tony scurry away from the window, then aimed the barrel at the casino's main entrance, and maniacally pulled the trigger, laughing crazily.

"Die! Hahaha! You scum of the Iron Hand Gang!"

The whistling rain of bullets instantly shredded the tightly shut doors, preventing the henchmen hiding on either side of the main entrance from even daring to peek out and shoot back; they could only retreat in panic and search for sturdier cover.

A thug holding a pu-9 submachine gun couldn't dodge in time and was struck on the shoulder by a machine gun bullet, ripping off the entire arm, leaving only blood-soaked half of the humerus.

"Aaaaahhhh!!!"

The pig-like scream echoed at the casino entrance and was soon drowned out by the roaring gunfire.

It wasn't just Morse who was taking action; over a hundred members of the Hyena Gang, all armed with assault rifles, were also firing at the casino run by Tony.

The nearby civilians and gamblers, who had never seen such a scene, were terrified by the sudden situation and fled desperately from the street near the "Final Game."

In less than five minutes, the entire street was empty, leaving only gang members in the shootout.

Facing the Hyena Gang's automatic fire, the Iron Hand Gang members couldn't even raise their heads.

Although the pu-9 submachine guns they held were adept for alley fights, the 9mm submachine gun bullets were far inferior in power and penetration compared to the 7mm rifle rounds and machine gun bullets.

Moreover, the Guards had invested heavily in the "Wasp Plan"...at least previously.

With the current firepower level of the Hyena Gang, even if they were brought to the front line of Poluo Province, it wouldn't be a disgrace, let alone dealing with street gang members.

The concentrated fire collapsed half a wall, and the gunfire on the street temporarily paused.

The Iron Hand Gang's outer defenses were shattered, and the remainder retreated into the casino building.

Looking at a dozen corpses lying behind the concrete rubble, Morse grimly smiled and waved forward.

York, holding a "Blade" assault rifle and biting a lit cigarette end, relying on his reckless bravery, led over ten henchmen to charge through the casino doors first.

The sound of gunfire erupted again, and everyone quickly occupied nearby cover for shelter, then stuck their rifles out to shoot towards the approximate location where the gunfire was coming from.

Seeing that his henchmen had control of the entrance, Morse calmly replaced the smoky barrel of his light machine gun with a new ammo belt, then chambered the round with a snap.

"Ton-y-! Your grandfather Morse is here!! Hahaha!"

Morse, with the butt of the machine gun pressed against the shoulder guard of his bullet-proof armor, lit a cigarette and, striding towards the entrance, pulled the trigger and swept at the flickering lights on the opposite side of the hall.

His face, illuminated by the light, was filled with grim menace, like a devil climbing out of a chasm.

The areas swept by his machine gun appeared as if they were ravaged by a typhoon, leaving only a mess of severed limbs and debris.

Leaning against a marble pillar, the head of security for the "Final Game" showed a face full of fear, the submachine gun under his elbow trembling, he dared not peek out to retaliate.

Watching more and more of his brothers fall, he gritted his teeth and shouted into the radio hanging on his shoulder.

"Boss! That lunatic's firepower is too strong! Brothers can't hold it any longer—"

Before he finished speaking, Tony's roar came from the other end of the radio.

"Then fight with all you've got! Reinforcements are almost here, die if you must but keep them outside!"

After yelling into the radio, Tony, now on the second floor, listened to the gunfire coming from below, feeling his heart pound.

He didn't know where these fools managed to get such heavy firepower, nor did he understand what the Enlightenment Society was, even less so why it had targeted him.

He only knew one thing: if he couldn't handle this trouble, he was doomed!

And it would be complete doom!

If a hair on the head of that person in the private room was harmed, the entire Blackwater Alley's gangs would suffer!

No one would save him!

Listening to the progressively closer sound of gunfire, Tony bit his lip, wanting to reason with the person downstairs, yet unable to mention the name of the guest upstairs, he could only yell downstairs.

"Morse! What the hell are you doing! First you blew up my factory, now you're causing trouble in my casino, I haven't provoked you!"

Seeing no response from downstairs, he swallowed hard, lowering his stance further.

"Is it money you want? I'll give it to you! Just name your price! I'll give it to you now!"

Perhaps hearing the cowardice in his voice, laughter rose from downstairs.

"Money? Do you take me for a beggar? Tony, you underestimate me. I want it all!"

Tony was taken aback by the words, quickly enraged.

"Don't push it too far! I'm giving you face!"

Downstairs, Morse curled his lip, mocking.

"Too far? Don't be ridiculous, we're all serving big figures, do you think I'd spare you for a few Dinars? Today it's either you die or I live!"

He would fly up like a maggot with wings and become a true big figure.

By then, it wouldn't just be Blackwater Alley.

The entire Evernight Harbor would bear his legend!

Tony's expression froze on his face, then gradually twisted.

"...This lunatic."

His mind was a chaos, initially thinking that guy was just spouting nonsense, yet upon hearing the certainty in that voice, he hesitated involuntarily.

Why hadn't the Guards arrived by now?

Usually, with such commotion, those guards would have long since driven over in their armored cars.

Could it be that the Enlightenment Society truly had heaven-reaching connections?!

Unfortunately, Peter hadn't explained clearly what exactly was happening in the Northwest Urban Area, and as someone who wasn't a Weilante, he had no interest in listening to what crap the Vellante People's radio kept spewing.

The entire Northwest Urban Area was already a chaotic mess, with all the guards and even the stationed troops gathered there, only the combat units stationed at the harbor, soon to head to the frontline, hadn't moved.

At this critical moment, naturally nobody paid attention to the happenings in Blackwater Alley.

Let alone a gang brawl, even if someone were to throw a nuclear bomb here, hardly anyone would care.

And as Tony was doubting and uncertain, Morse became increasingly convinced of his suspicion; the one supporting him had outmatched Tony's backer, even a smile of assured victory appeared on his face.

That refined coward who smeared ash on his face hadn't dared to show himself even once, completely oppressed by Morse's one-sided attack, and the Guards seemed blind to the commotion in Blackwater Alley, ignoring even when a machine gun was mounted right under their noses.

What could better demonstrate the power of the Enlightenment Society?

With confidence multiplying, Morse became even more frenzied than usual, aiming the gun at the ceiling following the voice upstairs, laughing wildly while pulling the trigger to fire indiscriminately.

The bullets couldn't pierce the concrete between floors, but it still startled Tony standing above.

Seeing the increasing number of "Hyenas" rushing into the casino and the gunfire intensifying below, he could only desperately urge his men to hold off upstairs.

However, his henchmen were also just human.

Everyone joined the gang to seek fortune, and at worst sought self-preservation; nobody expected to truly risk their life.

Noticing the Guards hadn't moved and reinforcements were still nowhere in sight, the morale of the thugs guarding the casino's first floor finally collapsed, as they abandoned their positions and fled with their heads in their hands.

The Iron Hand Gang was finished.

Even Tony's most loyal subordinates had no doubt; their end had arrived.

The factory in the suburbs was bombed, the "Skull Crusher's" head was chopped off, and their boss didn't dare make a peep, even warning them not to mess with the other side.

And now, the opponent doesn't even give them the chance to "tuck their tail and be a man," directly carrying a machine gun to their doorstep.

Their leader has already been abandoned by his backing.

There's only one explanation left...

All the smart ones have run away cleanly, and the ones remaining are either muddle-headed, not fully conscious, or perhaps too alert.

Seeing the goons guarding the ground floor either dead or fleeing, Morse grinned at the corner of his mouth, didn't bother chasing, just swept a burst towards their escape direction, then left the cover, leading a group of underlings across the ground covered in corpses towards the stairs.

Yet perhaps he was too reckless, maybe he was so heated that he relaxed his guard, so much so that when he sensed the sound of breathing behind the cabinet beside him, a young man already burst out holding a pu-9 submachine gun.

"Ahhh!!"

Using his screams to dispel fear, he shouted while pulling the trigger to open fire.

The chaotic shooting did indeed have some effect, catching Morse off guard, several bullets hit his chest.

Yet the 9mm bullets couldn't penetrate the military bullet-proof armor on Morse's body.

The madman he swept over with a burst just staggered, stumbled a few steps and leaned against the cover.

Meanwhile, all the underlings beside Morse reacted, firing anxiously at the oblivious reckless youngster, turning him directly into minced meat.

York was the first to rush to Morse's side, asking nervously.

"Boss! Are you alright!"

Morse grinned, grabbed his arm, and stood up from the ground.

"I'm fine."

While speaking, he brushed his hand across his chest, revealing the shattered bullet heads clanging to the ground.

Seeing the boss completely unharmed, the surrounding underlings cheered and whistled.

Morse smiled, shouting into the empty stairwell.

"Tony! All your people are dead! How long do you plan to hide? Hahaha, don't off yourself now, I still want to chat with you."

No response came from upstairs.

Morse didn't waste words either, waved his hand, and led a crowd of underlings forward.

The young man who fired at him earlier lay in a pool of blood, twitching his mouth like a stranded goldfish.

York pulled out his gun and finished him off, but looking at those gradually hollowing eyes, Morse frowned.

Too similar.

The young man's gaze was just like his own before.

Back then he was also a reckless youngster, with nothing but ambition and ruthlessness, constantly thinking of one thing — how to impress the boss and earn a name by risking his life.

The only dissimilarity was, this guy closed his eyes when shooting, which is the worst thing to do when sitting at the poker table.

So, the winning gambler stands here, while he is destined to lie on the ground.

Including Tony upstairs.

With a twitching brow, Morse paused for nothing, heading straight upstairs.

Unexpectedly, Tony hadn't hidden but stood in the upstairs hall with a face of despair.

"You're mad… Morse, do you know what you're doing? We're all finished."

Morse raised his eyebrow lightly, sneered coldly.

"You're finished… After tonight, I'll become the new master of Blackwater Alley."

"Hehe, I actually lost to a madman… Hehehe… Ahhhh!"

Tony suddenly burst into laughter, but quickly his laughter ceased, clutching his heavily bleeding thigh as he fell to the ground.

The pistol smoked and York spat on the floor, glaring at the twisting Tony with his face full of hostility.

"Stop faking, I've been fed up with you ages ago."

Curled up like a dying dog on the ground, Tony remained silent, his pale lips unable to voice anything, only twitching haphazardly.

That bullet pierced his artery, and in a few breaths, blood had soaked his pants red.

"Bandage him up, my friends and I still have questions for him. Remember, I want him alive."

Throwing this remark to the underlings beside him, Morse continued upstairs.

The whole fight was as easy as a textbook, effortlessly crushing Iron Hand Gang, and didn't even lose a few brothers.

And after tonight, he would become the legend of Blackwater Alley, everyone would remember his name, and know exactly whom he's working for.

As for who Tony's backer was, it no longer mattered to him, that hidden hand behind had sent him here, naturally they would take care of trouble later.

However, another doubt lingered in Morse's mind, why Tony didn't run but chose to stand there and wait for death.

He couldn't believe that sly guy hadn't left himself an escape route, there must be more than one passage hidden in the casino.

Unless—

That arrogant guy never thought he could lose, or had a reason to not run no matter what.

With curiosity in his mind, he carried the machine gun upstairs, checking room by room, finally finding a locked door.

He politely knocked, no movement inside, yet the nicotine scent wafted through the gap, exposing someone's presence inside.

York and the other underlings following him exchanged glances, all showing peculiar expressions.

The guy inside still felt like smoking.

That's totally looking down on them.

"VIP private room."

Morse glanced back, grinning at his underlings, then kicked open the tightly closed door.

With a thump, the door crashed heavily onto the ground, he stepped over the threshold with the machine gun, seeing a man sitting on the couch smoking in front of him.

He was a Weilante.

His expression seemed surprised but showed no fear, even flicking the cigarette ash lightly.

The composure of that superior made Morse feel a subtle fear, but quickly that fear was replaced with restless anger.

Why isn't this guy afraid at all!

Why is he looking at him like a dog!

"Nice shooting."

Pete admired Morse, dropping the ash from his cigarette.

"I'm suddenly quite fond of you."

Morse squinted his eyes slightly, his mouth subtly upturned as the smoking gun barrel was moved aside, bowing slightly like a graceful gentleman.

"...May I ask what to call you?"

Pete chuckled softly, replying in a bland tone.

"Tony never asked such foolish questions, he just did what he should, knowing what we let him know, then taking his share."

Morse tutted, shaking his head.

"Tsk tsk, that guy's pitiful, now wriggling on the floor like a maggot."

Upon hearing about Tony's tragic state, Peter showed an indifferent expression and even smiled slightly.

"Really? I didn't expect him to be quite loyal, although a bit of a waste."

Morse's eyes narrowed into slits, his gaze as venomous as a snake's tongue.

"...Waste?"

"Isn't he?" Peter shrugged, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone, "Couldn't handle a little thing, got his neck bitten off by the dogs raised by the Guards, just like mud that can't stick to the Wall, my patience is nearly gone."

At this point, he paused for a moment, looking at Morse standing at the door with interest.

"I find you're more capable than Tony, although not as clever as him... but that's not really important for us, consider working for us?"

"Working... for you guys?" Morse was stunned, then suddenly laughed, "Then end up like that dead dog down there? Don't joke, buddy, I'm with the Enlightenment Society, who the hell are you?"

Peter squinted his eyes slightly, a hint of murderous intent released from his eye slits.

Except for Captain Dickens, no one had ever dared to speak to him like this.

"Enlightenment Society... what's that? I've never even heard of it."

Morse sneered, mocking him.

"Your level is too low, of course, you wouldn't have heard of it... Do you know why there's such a big commotion outside, but the Guards haven't reacted at all?"

Seeing Peter's bewildered face, Morse didn't wait for him to answer and continued slowly.

"An invisible hand is manipulating everything behind the scenes, with your vision, you can't even see its existence... of course, as a Disciple, I can only glimpse a corner of the iceberg, but even this exposed iceberg corner is enough to crush you all."

Peter looked at him dumbfounded, laughing and crying.

"What are you talking about? Are you out of your damn mind—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the gun muzzle suddenly aimed at him spat out fire.

Completely unprepared for the shooting, Peter took several bullets and tumbled back, along with the sofa beneath him, turning into a beehive.

The gun muzzle recoiled upwards, the bullets sweeping up to the ceiling, and only then did Morse release the trigger.

He walked over to the body with a sinister smile, picked up the blood-stained cigarette butt, and stuck it in his mouth.

"Sorry, it misfired."

York also walked in behind him, spitting on the "blood man" lying on the ground.

"Lived too long, who allowed you to talk to my boss like that!"

Peter lay on his back, eyes wide open, with a bloody mess where his chest used to be.

He couldn't believe to his death that this bunch of lunatics dared to lay hands on him.

And on the territory of the Weilante People no less.

Having no time to deal with this guy, Morse rummaged through his body but found no identification information, so he tossed him aside with a smirk.

From now on, this "Last Game" would be Morse's property.

The gamblers in Evernight Harbor wouldn't care what happened here, nor would they care how much blood had flowed over those tile floors.

Once they'd cleaned it up, the gamblers would flood back in wave after wave as usual.

Of course, it's not just a casino.

He would take over all of Tony's assets and use the Gold earned from those assets to transform Blackwater Alley into the most bustling city that never sleeps in the entire Great Desert!

And he, Morse—

Would redefine the order here and become the uncrowned king of this sleepless city!

This wasn't something he dreamed about, but it's a way to indirectly achieve his dream.

He walked to the shattered window and stood there, squinting his eyes slightly, enjoying the evening breeze blowing in, savoring the afterglow of the heated event.

York stood beside him, his face full of bulky muscles written with excitement and admiration.

"Boss... what next?"

"Hmm... let me think," Morse turned back to the body, giving one immobile leg a kick, "drag this guy downstairs, maybe our friends will be interested."

His work was done.

That Talan and Comte should be looking for him... or the Enlightenment Society intends to send someone else over.

Morse wasn't in a hurry, after all, he'd already won this gamble.

However, at that moment, a sense of alarm suddenly rose from his heart, so much so that cold sweat seeped down his back.

What's going on?

Could something have gone wrong?

His mind raced with thoughts, and just in that instant, a brief hum came from outside the window, followed by York's head turning into a smashed watermelon and hitting the ground with a "thud."

"York!!! No! Damn it, a sniper!"

Morse's eyes turned red in an instant, shouting desperately, he hurriedly evacuated the room.

At the same time, after a few sharp "pew pew pew" gunshots, the entire second floor of the casino had turned into a sea of blood.

A group of soldiers armed to the teeth flowed in through the door.

They were wearing unified Exoskeletons, equipped from head to toe enough to make Cannon Fodder at the front lines drool with envy.

Sweeping Group!

As one of the tactical trump cards of the Army, the Southern Legion's armament configuration was fundamentally different from that of the Eastern Legion.

The latter still continued the tactic of large-scale collective strength, while the former leaned to some extent towards the enterprises on the East Coast.

Lying in a pool of blood, Tony had only half a breath left.

Breathing feebly, he lifted his groggy eyelids to look at the boots that stopped before him.

Using all his strength, he reached out, leaving a blood-red handprint on the boot, trying to grasp something.

At the same time, he uttered broken, pleading words.

"...I did my best."

"I did everything you wanted... I just beg you... spare my family... they know nothing..."

The soldier didn't waste a word, pressing the sound-suppressed gun muzzle against his forehead, efficiently ending his life with a gunshot, making him collapse back into the pool of blood.

Pressing a finger against the side of his helmet, the soldier exhaled a breath of cold air, concisely reporting.

"Second floor cleared."

Moments later, the communication channel transmitted a response.

"The armed men are moving from the fifth floor to the fourth floor, they're near the safety passage... no hostages found."

"Understood."

Replying swiftly, the person waved towards the stairs, then veered towards the nearby safety passage.

The soldiers occupying the second floor immediately split into two groups, advancing in the direction of Morse.

Upon discovering the uninvited guests, the "Hyenas" busy counting the loot quickly grabbed their weapons and fired at the heavily armed soldiers.

However, facing this well-trained group of soldiers, they couldn't even delay them, being shot through the heads one by one.

The battle was a complete one-sided slaughter!

Already retreated to the fourth floor, Morse's face was full of terror.

The gunfire from downstairs reminded him that it was no longer safe, yet he was trapped here with nowhere to escape.

Exiting the safety corridor, he leaned against the corner of the stairway, loudly shouting downstairs.

"Damn it! Who are you guys?!"

The group didn't respond.

They were like cold killing machines, cleanly and swiftly harvesting one life after another.

Watching his comrades continuously fall, a deep sense of helplessness crept into Morse's heart.

He couldn't just die here!

Especially like this, dying without knowing why!

In his usual rabid style, the urge overtook him, he cursed aloud, threw down the machine gun hanging from his shoulder, then used his shoulder to force open the window and jumped directly from the fourth floor.

Even at this height, if not killed by the fall, he could be left severely disabled.

But perhaps fate had other plans, his shoulder first crashed against a rain cover and then he rolled into a street-side restaurant's barrel for kitchen waste.

The restaurant's facade was shut tight, the entire street silent, as if he were the only one left.

Since some unknown time, the sky, filled with dense clouds, began drizzling, the incessant sound seemed to want to drown him.

Morse had never been so embarrassed.

Even in his most wretched times.

Like a frightened trapped beast, he staggered and stumbled away, yet not knowing where to run.

Who exactly were those people?

Why did they want to kill him?

And also...

Where exactly was the Enlightenment Society?

Illusions seemed to appear before his eyes, the road beneath gradually turning into nothingness, as if returning to that unrealistic dream.

In that dream, he was a surgeon, running a very ordinary clinic.

Blackwater Alley had been peaceful for decades, without endless gang fights.

He had a sensible son and a cute daughter. Although he wasn't a competent father, at least he was much more reliable than his own dad, never bringing bottles back home.

"Ahhhh!!!"

He let out a low growl from his mouth, trying to drive those chaotic images out of his mind.

That wasn't what he wanted!

Never did he intend to have these vulnerabilities.

Yet he didn't know why he saw these damn things in that dream, even had a faint thought of wanting another second there.

And just then, a figure appeared in the distance.

The person wore a raincoat, beneath it was a shiny black exoskeleton and a compact assault rifle.

Despair was written all over Morse's face, but seeing the other not firing, hope rekindled in his heart.

That person lightly lifted the brim of the raincoat, seemingly to get a better look at his face.

Morse heard a soft sigh, his footsteps involuntarily slowing down.

"Sigh... I shouldn't sympathize with someone like you, but how to say it... I have no grudge against you either."

After a pause, that person placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Keep running, leave this to me."

Morse stared blankly at him, his clear eyes showing a hint of doubt, but tremblingly he asked.

"...Are you from the Enlightenment Society?"

"Yes." The Comedian gently patted Morse's shoulder, speaking concisely, "You know where to go."

He wasn't really sure, after all, that idiot [Desert Falcon] wasn't as reliable as he thought... though he himself wasn't the most reliable either.

Anyway, that guy had reasonably analyzed the data collected from the Desert Army, linked one clue after another, and judged that Morse might indeed know something about the Enlightenment Society.

Otherwise, it's hard to explain why this guy bet so big, risking everything, sold himself so thoroughly for this illusory bait.

Although asking face-to-face would be a better option, time was running short.

From the explosion at the broadcast station, only two and a half hours had passed in total.

Hearing this stranger's words, hope rekindled in Morse's eyes.

The Enlightenment Society hadn't abandoned him after all!

The chaotic memories gradually cleared up, he remembered that pitch-black alley.

"...Leave it to you then."

With one last grateful look at the stranger wearing a raincoat, he turned and hurriedly ran into the drizzling rain curtain.

Meanwhile, a group of soldiers wearing exoskeletons had also chased out from the "Last Game" casino.

The communication channel echoed with noisy exchanges.

"Damn... Peter is dead!"

"Mission failed."

"One jumped out from the fourth-floor window."

"This guy is lucky, didn't die from the fall."

"Leave it to me, you guys retrieve the bodies."

The sniper lying on the rooftop took a deep breath, replying coldly.

The rain wasn't heavy, the impact on visibility was minimal, and with few people on the street, his scope quickly locked onto the figure running along the street.

But just as he was about to pull the trigger, someone suddenly patted his shoulder.

"Hey, what are you looking at."

The sniper was stunned, quickly turned his head, only to have someone grab his collar, yank the mic off his helmet, and throw him off from the six-floor tube building.

Listening to the dull sound from downstairs, Sand Sculpture craned his neck to look below, seeing the person lying flat on the ground silent, he softly muttered a guilty verdict.

Without a hint of apology, he lay down behind the sniper rifle.

His eye moved close to the scope, Sand Sculpture pressed near his ear and cleared his throat.

"Sniper ready, but no support... the cleanup is up to you, I have to keep an eye on the 'bait' over there."

Elsewhere, on the distant street, as the Comedian quietly awaited, estimating the pursuers were closing in, he removed a time bomb from the exoskeleton.

This was for the closure.

After all, the Alliance and the Legion hadn't officially gone to war, and he was a black-market entrant, getting discovered would be somewhat troublesome.

Setting the death time, he skillfully inserted the bomb into the tactical strap at his lower back.

Listening to the voices coming from the communication channel, he responded casually, then shut down communications.

"Alright, got it, I'm dead again."

Chapter 896: Combat Power of the Passerby Players

Watching the sudden figure appearing on the street, the soldiers of the Sweeping Group were visibly stunned for a moment.

The man was wearing a raincoat, and in the darkness, his face couldn't be seen, nor could the things hidden under the raincoat.

The squad leader in charge immediately became alert, quickly raised his gun to aim at the man, and then reported the situation to the Centurion.

"Identified an unknown target... located outside the mission execution area. This guy is blocking the escape route of the armed militants."

Accompanied by the sound of static, the voice of the Centurion soon came from the other end of the communication channel.

"Report his detailed situation."

The squad leader took a deep breath and hurriedly reported.

"I can't see him from here, he's wearing a raincoat... something feels off about this guy."

The Centurion calmly ordered, "Maybe he's an associate of the militants, apprehend him together."

They had already captured some prisoners, but it wasn't enough.

According to the confessions of those henchmen, the one who escaped by jumping out of the window was their leader.

He was known as a Disciple of the Enlightened Society.

"Understood."

The squad leader hung up the communication and waved his right fist. The team quickly split into two groups, one group continued to advance along the street, while the other aimed rifles at the figure in the raincoat and approached him.

For some reason, the squad leader felt his heart beating fiercely, a kind of instinctive panic, as if being watched by a dangerous Variant.

Ten meters away!

Just as the five-man group was about to make contact with the motionless figure, a sudden change occurred in that instant.

"Ta-ta-ta——!"

From the shadow under the raincoat suddenly burst tongues of flame, with tracer rounds shooting forth, catching the five-man team off guard.

The distance was less than ten meters, and the firepower was so dense it was too late to dodge, and there was nowhere to evade!

Fortunately, the bullet-proof plates of the exoskeleton held back the rain of bullets. Although everyone was swept by the barrage, none were hit critically, and they immediately pulled the trigger to fight back.

In that moment, the figure with the raincoat suddenly moved.

Two curved knives, like a mantis's forelegs, flickered in the rain into a flash of light, and with a hum, they attacked the flank of the five-man team.

The soldier standing on the left had no time to react, watching the sharp blade slice through the raindrops on the tactical goggles.

"Clang——!"

The alloy blade hacked into the helmet. The bullet-proof plate that could withstand bullets was no match for the strength of a high-level Agility system player.

Driven by the exoskeleton, this strike instantly delivered tons of damage.

Blood splattered from the shattered helmet, and the person hit lost consciousness instantly.

Releasing the handle of the knife, the Comedian discarded the curved knife embedded in the helmet and grabbed the other blade with his left hand, transitioning from wielding two knives to holding one in each hand.

Seeing their comrades lifeless, the other four soldiers were shocked, not even fully understanding what happened, they watched the lightning-fast figure once again reach them.

"Block him——" The first soldier to react shifted his gun to aim and fired at close range.

However, before he finished speaking, the whirlwind-like knife was already slicing towards his throat.

"Die!"

The curse blew into his ear just as his head was severed, his view spun through the air.

The first corpse had barely hit the ground, and two from the five-man team were already dead!

The Comedian's eyes burned with intense battle spirit as the killing spree continued.

Quickly dodging the muzzle flames nearly at his face, the whirlwind-like knife turned as it slashed at the soldier's lower leg against the sound of gunfire.

"Ah!!"

The blade embedded itself in the bullet-proof armor of the exoskeleton's leg guard.

Rather than cutting in, it's more accurate to say it was forcefully smashed in!

The soldier cried out in pain and fell to one knee, splashing rainwater.

The Comedian lifted him by the back of the neck with his left hand, using him as a shield to charge at the next target aiming a gun at him.

Hit by his comrade's back, the soldier staggered backward, losing balance and falling.

Releasing the soldier with the broken leg, the Comedian leapt forward to chase him, his right hand reaching for the waist-holstered submachine gun with half a magazine left, the muzzle piercing up under the chin of the falling soldier.

"Fourth one!"

As the grim voice escaped, the menacing muzzle spat fire.

The rapid gunshots penetrated the soft spot of the exoskeleton, the soldier's head burst into pulp, convulsing electrically amid the sparks, before collapsing heavily onto the rain-soaked street.

Watching their teammates fall one by one, the only remaining soldier was already scared stiff.

Seeing the raincoat's brim turn towards him, he could not muster the courage to face the man, only shouting in horror, "Monster!", before turning to flee desperately into the rain.

Evidently, not all Weilante People are fearless.

Especially when faced with such an inexplicable "monster."

Seeing the figure move at an incredible speed and his comrades fall within breaths, the squad leader's pupils shrunk to a point, filled with shock and rage, even too distracted to reprimand the escaping soldier.

"So fast!"

Though he was awakened too, at such distance, against such terrifying power and speed, he felt no confidence in victory.

The soldier who had his calf cut off didn't die, but stared wide-eyed at the man in the raincoat, lying in the rain and gasping in spasms.

The Comedian held a submachine gun to his head as a hostage, preventing the five people not far away from opening fire and sneaking up, then pulled off the rifle hanging from his shoulder.

"Still want to fight?"

While speaking, he turned his face slightly to look at the remaining five people standing by the street.

The distance was about twenty meters, not too close or too far for him.

The squad leader's mouth was dry, and the silencer's barrel trembled slightly.

This guy is a monster...

He lowered his voice to call the sniper, but heard no response, his heart sank.

These people came prepared!

The sniper they had ambushed nearby most likely met with misfortune...

"...Who are you?" the squad leader lowered his voice to ask in order to buy some time.

He was originally standing there to delay time. Seeing the other side was too scared to move, the Comedian wasn't in a rush to fight and decided to tease him.

"A Disciple of the Enlightenment Society."

The squad leader's pupils slightly contracted.

"Enlightenment Society..."

That name again!

Rubbing his index finger on the trigger, he nervously swallowed and continued in a low voice.

"...What exactly do you want?"

"You don't need to know..." the Comedian also lowered his voice, like a genuine villain.

The air between them seemed frozen, stuck in a stalemate.

About two minutes passed.

The squad leader kept swallowing nervously, growing anxious, but had no way out.

What worried him wasn't just the man in front of him, but also his teammate under the man's foot, and another gun hidden in the dark.

With the sniper out of touch, he was almost sure that the gun had aimed down the street.

His superior had already dispatched a ten-man team to search the sniper's position, and before learning the result, he dared not risk his and his men's lives.

At this moment, the voice of the Centurion came through the communication channel.

"...Reinforcements are almost there, hang on a bit longer."

The squad leader said nervously.

"Understood... What about the escaping target?"

After a brief static sound, the Centurion continued.

"Don't worry about him for now, control your current target first. We've identified the runaway target, and he won't escape."

Hearing this, the squad leader finally breathed a sigh of relief, his previously nervous mood gradually calming down.

Since there was no need to hastily deal with the escaping target, there was no need to risk it with the person in front of him.

Just keep watch and wait for reinforcements to arrive!

The group standing in the rain continued to confront each other, allowing more and more urgent raindrops to hit their raincoats and exoskeleton armor.

Then, the sound of vehicles faintly emerged with the wind blowing along the street.

At the same time, a voice came through the communication channel to the Comedian standing in the rain.

"... I have two pieces of bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"

The Comedian rolled his eyes at the words.

"I'm already pretending to be cool; can't you just say it instead of farting around?"

Stopping the suspense, Sand Sculpture continued.

"The troops surrounding the broadcast station have fired on civilians, with one dead and one injured from the Desert Army. Fortunately, no traces were left, and our people made a successful withdrawal... In addition, the civilian casualties in Evernight Harbor appear significant, I went offline for a glance as I saw the explosion, heard from a dead one."

The Comedian clicked his tongue in surprise.

This Southern Legion is ruthless, pushing to the point of firing at their own civilians.

"...Those are two pieces of bad news?"

Sand Sculpture continued over the communication channel.

"That counts as one, the other is about you. Two armored vehicles are heading your way, about two to three minutes out, spotted from a drone."

He paused and added.

"Of course, I'm almost done on my end, do as you like."

"Received."

After a simple reply, the Comedian tapped his finger on his helmet and disconnected the communication.

Looking at the five people on standby in the distance, he thought for a moment, made up his mind, and called out.

"Hey."

The squad leader across from him tensed up instantly, his finger on the trigger was like a tightened string.

"What do you want?"

The Comedian grinned and asked.

"I've spared your life, what's your name?"

A flicker of anger crossed the squad leader's eyes, but he remembered that reinforcements were imminent, so it wasn't necessary to provoke this monster at this moment. He suppressed the fury in his heart and spoke in a lowered voice.

"Toby."

"Toby... got it," the Comedian murmured the name once and nodded, then said in a meaningful tone, "Goodbye, we'll meet again."

Having said that, he kicked the limp guy under his foot aside.

Toby was stunned, still unable to grasp what the Comedian meant by "we'll meet again."

Just then, a blinding flame suddenly erupted from under the raincoat, and the monster that killed without blinking an eye exploded into a ball of fire in the blink of an eye!

The scorching flames ignited the exoskeleton's battery, and half a second after the first explosion, a second explosion immediately followed, sending dense smoke sprawling everywhere.

The burning sparks scattered like fireworks, illuminating the dark street brightly.

Toby was dumbfounded by this sudden turn of events.

Suicide?!

The screams cutting through the smoke snapped him out of it, and he quickly swung aside the raised gun barrel, darting forward in quick strides to drag his teammate out of the enveloping smoke.

The guy's calf had a curved knife embedded in it, and the bullet-proof vest on his chest was lit on fire, refusing to be put out no matter how hard it was smacked.

Gritting his teeth, Toby removed the bullet-proof vest from the man's chest and tossed it into the nearby inferno where the smoke churned intensely.

Just then, two armored vehicles for reinforcements finally made their way over from the other side of the street.

The vehicles came to a halt by the roadside, and a Wellante soldier carrying a rifle leapt out, striding quickly up to Toby.

"We are the reconnaissance team from the 40th ten thousand troops, heard this place needed reinforcements, specifically came from the port area."

The soldier glanced at Toby and his injured companion before shrugging.

"Looks like your battle is over."

Toby moved to pull the curved knife embedded in his teammate's calf but saw it had seemingly sliced into the bone. He abandoned the idea of pulling it out, deciding to leave the job to a professional surgeon.

It's truly brutal.

Wounded not on the battlefield but right at his doorstep, with a crippled leg, likely forced into early retirement.

Toby got up from the ground.

"It's over, you're a step too late."

The soldier from the reconnaissance team grinned.

"You're no different; I heard someone rather important died."

Toby nodded silently.

"Thousands of leaders."

It wasn't just about the rank of thousands of leaders; the man was the secretary of the War Zone General Affairs Department Minister.

At this point, Toby wasn't aware that his ally had already opened fire on civilians.

If he knew, he probably wouldn't be surprised by a "thousands of leaders died" kind of small matter.

The soldier opposite from the reconnaissance team clicked his tongue lightly and glanced at the burning scene nearby.

"Killed a Thousands of leaders... seems these gang members have grown tired of living."

The thick smoke rising rapidly was soon washed away by the rain, yet the unquenchable flames continued to persist, burning stubbornly in the ever-increasing downpour.

When that pungent smoke finally dissipated, what remained on the street was a body resembling charcoal.

Toby swallowed hard, pressing his finger to his helmet, and reported to the higher-ups.

"We have three casualties... one severely injured."

"The other party claimed to be a Disciple of Enlightened Society, suspected to be a second-stage Awakener or higher... no, possibly third-stage or even fourth-stage; that speed couldn't have been achieved just with an exoskeleton."

The communication channel remained quiet for a moment before his Centurion asked solemnly.

"... Did you catch him?"

Toby replied softly.

"He ended himself... and the body burned until only a piece of charcoal remained."

There was another long pause in the communication channel, and the Centurion concisely said.

"Understood, pack up."

Toby quickly inquired further.

"What about the escapee?"

The Centurion continued.

"The City Defense Army has already sealed off Evernight Harbor, including the heavily blocked Blackwater Alley... that rat won't escape."

"Tonight's chaos is quite significant... there might be other tasks later."

Toby took a deep breath.

"Received."

...

Meanwhile, Mors, crashing through the alley like a wild beast, finally pieced together vague memories and found the Enlightenment Society's outpost.

He was like a dog that fell into water, soaked to the skin by the rain, with a faint stench of swill emanating from him.

He couldn't care less about tidying up his appearance. He staggered forward, pounding his fist forcefully against the tightly closed door.

However, the tightly closed door did not budge at all, showing no sign of opening.

A panic rose in his heart, and he shouted towards the tightly closed door.

"Open the door! I've done what you wanted me to do... Although there was a bit of an accident, that guy Tony is dead, but I couldn't help it, who would have thought of running into the army's regular troops!"

Wait a minute...

Why would I run into the army's regular troops?!

Hadn't the Enlightenment Society already appeased the higher-ups? Otherwise, how could I have made such a mess at Tony's casino... Just the guards alone would be enough to crush me, not to mention the need for regular troops.

Unless...

The guards weren't unwilling to come, but rather had run into some unexpected situation.

The person who had extended him the olive branch and was then killed by him was actually the real big shot.

This explains why that guy Tony would rather die at my hand than run away.

But then...

How should the previous events be accounted for?

The power of the Enlightenment Society was indeed what got him out of Carter Nord's prison.

Morse's brain was increasingly chaotic, with a faint pain between his brows, and his eye whites filled with blood streaks.

That damned illusion appeared again.

He bit his gum until it bled, knocked on his head hard, and expelled the illusion from his mind.

What on earth went wrong?!

He actually had a vague suspicion of something.

Maybe this wasn't a collaboration between the army and the Enlightenment Society at all, but a covert struggle between the army and the alliance.

As for him...

He was just accidentally caught up in it, and had foolishly developed some misunderstandings.

He wasn't a maggot living in the sewer at all, but rather a pupa living inside a cocoon.

He exerted all his strength, giving it his all, and finally bit through a hole in that sturdy cocoon room, but the light shining into the cocoon room blinded him.

Which side is the illusion after all? Which side is reality?

"Damn it! Open the door!"

Morse shouted hoarsely, smashing the door with his almost numb arm, nearly smashing the closed door panel to pieces.

"Haven't you acknowledged me already? Could it be... am I fucking not a member of the Enlightenment Society?"

At the instant he heard the word 'Enlightenment Society', a sound finally came from inside the door.

A glimmer of hope flashed in Morse's eyes, especially when he saw that door open.

Yet the next second, that glimmer of hope froze in the center of his pupils with a short gunshot sound.

"Bang—!"

A 9mm bullet penetrated his skull, and Morse fell to the ground without a sound.

Looking at the corpse soaking in the rain, the man with a sullen face cursed and stashed away the smoking handgun.

"So noisy... damn it, is your own voice not loud enough?!"

These trash...

Even if they put their lives on the line, they still have to go around shouting the name of the Enlightenment Society.

This is just great.

They can't keep a low profile even if they want to now!

After glancing at the street and seeing no one else, the man sighed in relief, squatted down, grabbed the corpse's legs, and prepared to drag the dead dog into the house for disposal.

And the moment he lowered his head, a whooshing sound attacked the top of his head.

With no time to react, he collapsed straight to the ground after taking a hard hit.

Throwing away the club in his hand, Sand Sculpture glanced at Morse's corpse, sighing lightly.

He had seen this guy's story on Talan's post, though a downright villain and a mentally unstable lunatic, he was also someone with dreams.

It was said that in his dream, he changed Blackwater Alley, making it Night City on the Wasteland, a low-cost version of Bugra Free State.

If he had been born elsewhere, with a decent education, with his abilities, he might have been able to make a mark, even if not becoming some emperor of the underground world.

However, this was Evernight Harbor under the rule of the Weilante People.

It was the Blackwater Alley where aliens were born and rotted.

"You'll become a legend of Blackwater Alley, people here will remember your name for a long time... This is all I can do for you, rest in peace, first-time friend."

Leaving these words, Sand Sculpture dragged his corpse and the unconscious man together into the "True Enlightenment Society" base.

After tonight, this guy's wanted poster would likely be plastered all over the streets and alleys of Blackwater Alley, and once the trouble in the northwestern city area is settled, the Weilante People would go crazy looking for him.

But they won't succeed.

He'll vanish completely from this settlement, as if he evaporated, becoming a legend passed down in the streets and alleys of Blackwater Alley, a legend in the eyes of countless young men...

Taking with him secrets he may or may not know.

Chapter 897: The Big Fish of Evernight Harbor

The unconscious guy's name is Niles.

Sand Sculpture found identification documents issued by the Weilante People to the Aliens in his house, bearing this name and a very long surname.

Whether it's a real name or a fake one is not important to him; that thing is just a code name anyway.

All he needs to know is that the guy tied to the chair is a member of the Enlightenment Society, and this decrepit house hidden in Blackwater Alley is the organization's base in Evernight Harbor.

That's already enough.

Niles, waking from unconsciousness, lifted his heavy eyelids, staring at the guy rummaging through his home, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"...Who are you?"

"Desert Falcon."

Taking a jar from the shelf, Sand Sculpture peeked inside and found several large denomination Dinars, his eyes lighting up instantly as he poured them out and stuffed them into his pocket.

Niles glared at the guy blatantly stealing in front of him, gritting his teeth to squeeze out a sentence.

"...What is that thing?"

"You can think of it as a code name, I'm a resident of Shelter No. 404."

Upon hearing this, Niles squinted his eyes immediately, suddenly grinning.

"A resident of Shelter No. 404... Haha, you guys sure have chased far, reaching even the far south of the Great Desert."

Sand Sculpture chuckled lightly and replied casually.

"Well, what can we do, our hands are pretty long; you have to bear with it a little."

Niles: "..."

Seeing him silent, Sand Sculpture continued speaking.

"What about you guys? Still the same as before? Haven't even got a settlement of your own by now?"

Niles sneered coldly.

"We don't need such things."

Sand Sculpture raised his eyebrows, curiously asked.

"Oh? Then what do you need?"

Niles: "You don't need to know."

Sand Sculpture: "Tsk, you really killed the conversation, huh?"

Seemingly aware that this guy was trying to get words out of him, Niles closed his eyes and didn't speak any further.

As Sand Sculpture probed a few more questions without any response, he left him aside and refocused on the cabinets before him.

However, to his disappointment, after searching through all the cabinets and drawers in the whole house, he found nothing besides two hundred Dinars.

This base was as shabby as a real slum shed, leading Sand Sculpture to suspect whether it concealed some secret passage or hidden door.

"...Speaking of which, don't you have a Memory Extractor in your house?" Brushing the dust off his hands, Sand Sculpture couldn't help but ask.

Hearing this ridiculous question, Niles snorted through his nose, sneered as he spoke.

"That's a prohibited item from the Era of Prosperity, you think that's some common stuff?"

Sand Sculpture took an unexpected second glance at him.

"That impressive?"

"There's plenty of impressive stuff... But alas, I'm just a Guide. And even if I had it, why would I tell you?" Niles stared at the guy wasting effort with a look of disdain, but soon realized he had let something slip, his face turning pale again as he shut his mouth.

Yet Sand Sculpture remained unimpressed, merely shrugged lightly.

He could guess with his toes that this guy was a "Guide," without needing the latter to confess voluntarily.

What he truly wanted to know were other things.

Like that "Mortal Serum."

Or, for instance, the researcher named Martin.

"...I just thought, this would make communication a bit easier. Or do you prefer I use more traditional means to pry out what's in your mouth?"

Niles tauntingly said.

"You think you got what it takes, give it a try then."

Sand Sculpture didn't waste words, pulling out a thumb-sized glass vial from his pocket.

Niles' pupils slightly contracted, a hint of dread flickering through his eyes.

Seeing his tense appearance, Sand Sculpture merely smiled, speaking in a soothing tone.

"Don't be nervous, I'm a civilized person, though there're plenty of ways to torture a person online, I avoid resorting to those unless absolutely necessary."

Despite his sincere reassurance, the expression on Niles' face showed no signs of easing, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"...What's that thing in your hand?"

Sand Sculpture did not explain, directly walking up to him, using one hand to grab the horror-stricken head tilted backward, while the other hand uncorked the bottle with his thumb, pushing it directly toward his nostrils.

"...Something that will grant you a pleasant dream, it shows what you desire most deep inside."

"Wait, wait a moment—"

A hint of panic flashed in Niles' eyes, struggling desperately to evade.

However, against a Level 30+ Awakener, his meager resistance didn't even amount to entertainment.

After pouring a bit into both of the guy's nostrils, Sand Sculpture covered his mouth for a while, ensuring he'd inhaled enough before pocketing the empty vial.

This Snake Oil was something he got from the Black Market, who would've guessed it would come in handy so soon.

"This should knock him out for five or six hours... Let me think, what should I do next..."

While Sand Sculpture was pondering, a gentle knock came from the door.

The knocking rhythm was peculiar, three long and two short, resembling some sort of code.

Sand Sculpture immediately perked up, quietly walked to the door, gripping the doorknob with his hand while his right hand reached for the silenced pistol tucked in his waist.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Andrew leaned his raincoat-draped face near the gap, speaking in a raspy voice.

"...My cover may be blown; some guy named Morse found me. That guy is the leader of the Hyena Gang, he saw through my role as a Disciple, I suspect we slipped up during contact, this area seems to be their turf."

"But fortunately, that trash seems to have misunderstood something, taking the Enlightenment Society for something else... Something the Guards made him believe."

"I don't know what other Vellante people want to do, but in any case, that guy is a troublemaker. Before things get out of control, we need to find a way to shut him up... preferably forever."

After saying these words, Andrew quietly waited for the Guide's response.

After a brief wait, a hoarse voice came from behind the door.

"Come in and talk."

Hearing this, Andrew was slightly taken aback, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

He had always passed messages at the door, and the number of times Niles invited him in could be counted on one hand, usually during some secret gatherings.

He couldn't make up his mind.

Just then, the door that usually never opened suddenly opened a crack.

A pitch-black gun muzzle was pointed at his forehead, causing him to involuntarily hold his breath.

"You, you are..."

Well, it's like the Calabash Brothers saving Grandpa—no, wait, it's more like getting a pillow when you're sleepy.

The Sand Sculpture wasted no words, grinning viciously as he grabbed the "pillow" by the collar and yanked him in from outside.

"Get in here."

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

Just when most people were discussing the situation in Poluo Province, a post about Evernight Harbor suddenly appeared in the eyes of the onlookers.

The poster was naturally the one who laughed last, [Desert Falcon], and the title of the post was quite eye-catching—

[Big News! The Big Fish in Evernight Harbor has been Found!]

Desert Falcon: "...I discovered the Enlightenment Society's base in Evernight Harbor in Blackwater Alley! The person in charge of the base is called Niles, with the title or position of 'Guide,' equivalent to a mid-level officer of the Enlightenment Society!"

"This guy's tight-lipped and refused to admit anything. I fed him snake oil, planning to keep him hanging for two days to see the situation. Fortunately, not long after, a Disciple who came to make contact delivered himself to my door."

"Based on the clues he provided, I found a movable tile under the waterless tank in the bathroom, with a ladder leading down to a basement. In the basement, there was an elevator going down five to six hundred meters underground!"

"Even more astonishing is what's behind this! Underneath this settlement, there's actually a subway tunnel from the Human Alliance Era! Maybe it isn't called a subway, but it's something similar."

"I speculate that the Enlightenment Society uses this tunnel to transport personnel and equipment to Evernight Harbor, so I kept pushing that Andrew guy forward... It's interesting to mention that this guy's cowardice is ridiculous, sobbing and begging for mercy. If not for his nose, I wouldn't believe he was a Vellante person."

"We encountered a few mutant scorpions on the way, but there weren't many, probably spread from the Great Desert. Anyway, after dealing with them, we arrived at a relatively spacious area that seems to be a waiting room."

"According to that Disciple, the Disciples of Evernight Harbor regularly hold gatherings here, and the timing of the gatherings is mainly decided by the Guide, with the next one yet to be determined."

"I'm considering if I should send out a false message in Niles' name, then catch the entire Enlightenment Society in Evernight Harbor, maybe even find that Martin guy... But given that it's a critical time and Niles is still unconscious, this matter might need long-term planning."

"Leaving this aside first, the bigger surprise is what's behind. I found a pile of documents at the base. There are personnel files, inventory lists, and even some professional documents I can't understand."

"Although I'd love to post the content of these documents here, unfortunately, many technical terms can't be translated, and the VM's offline language library doesn't have adequate resources. Typing it out one by one would probably take till the year after next. However, from some snippets, I can see words like 'experiment' and 'virus,' which are likely related to the 'Mortal Serum'."

"Making an immature assumption, perhaps the Enlightenment Society realized that rebooting the world through neutron annihilation was unfeasible, thus changing their previous strategy, intending to use genetically modified viruses to achieve their purpose... However, what's puzzling is that this method is clearly risky for them as well."

"Or could it be that they've made a breakthrough in the field of biology, and this breakthrough has endowed them with some technology we're unaware of? I don't know, and Andrew is also clueless. He candidly admitted that he joined the Enlightenment Society just for women and money."

"A person like this should be easily bought, so I pulled his file from the archive, memorized his home address in front of him, and let him go."

"Additionally, it's worth mentioning that in the reports I found in the archive room, the keyword 'Apocalypse' appeared multiple times. I tried searching for related terms in the terminal, but didn't find much valuable information."

"I can only try to interpret it... That Apocalypse should be a high-level figure in the Enlightenment Society. For some reason, their leader 'Gui Xu's' leadership has been weakened, or perhaps with Gui Xu's consent, this Apocalypse's opinion became the guiding principle for some Enlightenment Society's grassroots task execution."

"I've already copied the electronic documents stored on the terminal to the VM and can share them at any time. However, Evernight Harbor is currently in a special period, with Vellante forces locking down the entire settlement. It might be difficult to sneak out. I plan to stay in the area to observe for a while... Maybe I can find an exit to the outside of the settlement from that collapsed tunnel."

"Above is the intelligence I've gathered in Evernight Harbor. If anyone can give me a lift back to Jinjaron Harbor to report back, I'd be very grateful!"

After the post was sent out, dozens of replies quickly popped up.

Among them were those rushing for more, some cheering on, and, of course, a few more shouting angrily with "Holy shit."

Tarlan Raider: "Holy shit! Wait, how did you also get the quest?!"

Emichiru Junichiro: "Surprised or not? (funny)"

Medical Miracle: "That's not playing fair, you guys!"

Sauerkraut Fish: "MMP! Boss! Our mission got snatched! (stunned)"

Medical Miracle: "Boss, are you capable or not."

Angry Fatty Liver: "Ah, I sacrificed in vain."

Tarlan Raider: "?? What's going on, maybe you aimed at the wrong person with your guns, we're on the same team! (angry)"

Emichiru Junichiro: "So damn real. (funny)"

Fang Chang: "Actually, you guys don't need to get excited. Generally, as long as the task is eventually completed, whoever completes it and in whatever way, the person who received the task will get rewards. It's just that the proportion of the reward will vary based on each one's progress in advancing the task. (smirking)"

Spring Water Commander: "+1, also, you haven't completed the task, right? It's at most a stage achievement now, it's too early to celebrate. By the way, how about forming a team? You guys seem to cooperate quite well. (funny)"

Tarlan Raider: "What cooperation, dammit. I was sweating blood in front, while this guy hides in the back taking advantage."

Desert Falcon: "Tsk, you dare say you sweat blood, isn't it fun to be led around by the NPC? (roll eyes)"

Tarlan Raider: "MMP! Not gonna argue with you... Send me your base coordinates, Vellante people started searching the city, let the brothers hide."

Desert Falcon: "Sent you a private message, I just happen to need someone to switch shifts here. If possible, bring some snake oil over, I'm thinking about how to pry open that Niles' mouth."

Tarlan Raider: "I'll find a way... Oh, by the way, what about Morse, did you see him?"

Desert Falcon: "Dead."

Sitting at the computer, Tarlan paused slightly, his hand resting on the keyboard stopped.

Dead...

Although it was expected, hearing about the guy's end left him feeling somewhat empty inside.

There's a chance that just like Comte, he went off to some star to become a governor...

...

(Thanks to "CaptPaterno" for the support. I was surprised how fast the comments came in. I'll be taking half a day off to reunite. Wrote 8,000 words the day before yesterday, today's chapter is a transition, so just taking half a day off to reunite a bit.)

Chapter 898: The Night Won't Be Too Long

"... Last night, a riot occurred in the northwestern city area. Two armed insurgents occupied the Broadcasting Station Building during shift change, attempting to incite an uprising and overthrow Marshal Julius's rule..."

"The chaotic situation is now mostly under control, and the insurgents have been killed."

Yarman stayed by the radio all night and didn't close his eyes until the next day's Sun rose from outside the window, only to hear such a hasty conclusion.

The garrison at Evernight Harbor first used anti-aircraft guns and rain shells to bring down the clouds in the sky. When they found they still couldn't control the situation, they immediately transferred command to the frontline combat troops stationed in the port area.

It's said that this order was personally issued by the Capital Ya Hui, which was also a disgraceful betrayal by the Evernight Harbor authorities against the local residents.

The 40th Mechanized Division and the 60th Armored Division, who were dispatched to reinforce from the port area, immediately launched armed suppression upon arriving at the northwest urban area.

Although the port area command's radio claimed they only fired warning shots above the heads of the crowd, there were private radios asserting that the streets ran with blood.

It was only ten kilometers away from his home, a 20-minute drive by car.

Yarman's heart was a mix of emotions, as if a Stone was pressing on his chest, wanting to say something but unable to find the words.

The Sun continued to rise as usual, yet the long night of Evernight Harbor had already descended.

And not just Evernight Harbor.

Things that used to need hiding now no longer needed to be hidden. Those who were angry over their compatriots' deaths also showed no mercy when pulling the trigger on their compatriots.

The bottom line is being broken through step by step.

Now, looking back at the West Sail Port massacre, he suddenly realized that it no longer seemed like something outrageous.

Even the dusk before nightfall was euphemistic then, not ruthless as it is now.

However, not all of his heart was filled with pessimism.

When everyone was chasing after bread, some still unwaveringly chose Faith.

That man named Comte stood up.

And it wasn't just him; many people stood up.

Although the Army eventually executed him, tens of thousands more lived on, and he lived on in the hearts of those thousands.

What he could do was to let this Force continue and make it play a role at a crucial moment, rather than expending it in futile uprisings.

The Weilante People would never abandon their heroes, and neither would he forget that name.

In this way, at least their nights would not be longer than those of the Poluo People...

Just then, the study door opened slightly, and a small head peeked from behind the door, looking at the dad sitting by the radio.

The expression on that little face kept changing, sometimes worried, sometimes hopeful.

Little Ruby hesitated for a moment, then softly called out.

"... Dad?"

Hearing the voice from the door, Yarman realized his daughter was standing there, turned off the radio that was playing endless nonsense, and looked at her in surprise.

"Ruby? You're up early."

Seeing her dad noticed her, Ruby, holding a pillow, freed her little hand to push the door open and squeezed into the study.

With sleepy eyes, Ruby yawned long and climbed onto her dad's lap skillfully.

"Mom said Dad wanted to talk to Ruby, but Ruby was too sleepy and fell asleep while waiting."

Feeling sorry for his dazed daughter, Yarman gently smoothed the hair that spiked up on her forehead.

"Sorry, dad was going to look for you, but something happened all of a sudden..."

"It's okay," Ruby lightly pouted her mouth, magnanimously saying, even comforting her dad in return, "Ruby has encountered this too. I hid under the covers with a flashlight reading a favorite novel, and before I knew it, it was dawn..."

Halfway through, seemingly aware of something inappropriate, Ruby shut her mouth as if she realized her mistake.

Unexpectedly, this little rascal had done something like that, Yarman was embarrassed.

"... Don't do that again in the future. This time I'll let it go, and I won't tell mom."

"Hehe." Ruby shyly stuck out her tongue, trying to pass this off as she looked aside.

Looking at his innocent and adorable daughter, Yarman couldn't help but smile gently, temporarily setting aside those heavy worries in his mind.

However, setting them aside was only temporary.

Human beings cannot live in a vacuum after all, even more reliant on soil, water, air, and nutrients than plants.

"Ruby..."

Seeing her dad's expression become serious, Ruby tilted her head lightly.

"Mm?"

Yarman pondered for a long time before finally speaking in a serious tone.

"Dad... wants to take you and mom to a very far place."

To Yarman's surprise, his daughter's eyes didn't show the fear and anxiety he was worried about, but rather a curiosity about new things.

She blinked and asked with interest.

"How far away is it?"

Yarman thought about it and tried to speak objectively.

"It's on the east side of the Central Continent, along the southern coast of Haiye Province. There's a place called No.1 Settlement... Of course, that's just a temporary name. The Alliance's Manager said that they hope the local residents will name their own place."

Actually, the name wasn't a big deal, but for some reason, it became the deepest impression that place left in him, apart from the mountains of containers.

After listening to her father, Ruby's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Then after we get there... can Ruby name it too?"

Yarman didn't expect his daughter's focus to be so odd. After being stunned for a moment, he couldn't help but smile tenderly, tousling her messy hair.

"Of course you can... but others will have their ideas too, so whose opinion gets adopted will probably be decided by a vote."

Ruby's eyes shimmered brightly as she said,

"Wow... that sounds fun! So... can we campaign for votes?"

"You can, but others will campaign too, so don't get your hopes up."

Yarman coughed lightly, trying to steer the conversation back on course.

"That's not the point. The point is that although the development there isn't bad, the conditions certainly won't match here... You're part of this family, and dad worries about you the most, so dad wants to hear your opinion."

"Don't worry about Ruby; Ruby thinks those are no big deal," Ruby shook her little head vigorously, her bright eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation. "Wasn't it the same when we first arrived at West Sail Port? Later on, there were many beautiful houses... Everything will come."

In a child's world view, houses seem to grow out of the ground.

Yarman couldn't help but feel amused and helpless, but coincidentally, he happened to know another innocently naive person like that.

That wine merchant who started with fake vodka made his first pot of gold on the Western Legion's "Golden Route," the unlucky guy who lost it all.

It's been several months, yet he wondered if that plan had gotten on track.

When her father hadn't spoken for a long time, Ruby asked in an expectant voice,

"When are we leaving?"

Looking at his supportive daughter, Yarman displayed a relieved smile and said with a smile,

"Probably in the next few days."

The captain probably had enough rest, whether he moved together or left his family here to earn money, that guy should've made a decision by now.

...

In the northwest urban area, roadblocks were placed on the main roads near the central area.

Two wheeled armored vehicles were parked by the roadside, the thick barrels laid flat, gleaming with cold light in the morning sun.

Soldiers armed to the teeth stood around the checkpoint, on high alert, watching the approaching crowd.

Comte was shot dead at two in the morning yesterday.

As for who fired the shot, no one knew; in any case, when he was dragged out from the Broadcasting Station, he was already a corpse, piled with other bodies in the street.

Unfortunately, the Awakener who clashed with the garrison's hundred-man team wasn't caught.

Three people assisted him, and after one was shot dead, that guy escaped into Blackwater Alley during the chaos.

According to the information provided by the Guards, that guy's name was Talan, suspected to be an Alliance spy.

Interestingly, after the Guards cleared Talan of suspicion through the Wasp Plan, they re-identified him as a spy based on military needs.

Actually, the Guards might be right, given that guy's impressive skills.

But that doesn't matter anymore.

Now Evernight Harbor's authorities and the Southern Legion are facing bigger problems.

The bodies lying in the streets far exceed the twenty they claimed were accidentally injured in the broadcast.

Even if they have urgently cut off communication channels between Evernight Harbor and the outside world, it's hard to completely suppress this matter.

Currently, the entire northwestern urban area has been temporarily controlled, and the two streets near the Broadcasting Station are completely sealed off.

All those entering or leaving the city must show proof of address and workplace.

Besides the necessary registration, entrants must also sign a pledge not to enter the sealed area and go through a security check, surrendering weapons, cameras, and everything that could record the truth.

Meanwhile, the 40th Mechanized Division dispatched logistic vehicles to transfer residents within the blocked zone and clear bodies scattered in the streets.

The team responsible for enforcing the lockdown of Block 12 is the 607th Thousand Team of the 60th Armored Division.

Seeing the eyes of dissatisfaction and even hatred from his fellow countrymen, Caffer, holding a rifle, felt a wave of heat at his back, wishing he could pull up his collar to hide his face.

While passing the security checkpoint, an old man finished filling out his form and suddenly looked up at him.

"Why did you fire on them? They were speaking for you. Or do you think you can fight forever, without ever growing old and retiring?"

Facing that hateful gaze, Caffer's breath momentarily froze.

The suffocating air seemed stuck in his throat, rendering him speechless.

"I, it wasn't me... who fired the gun."

He tried to reluctantly explain that although he indeed did not point a gun at anyone that night, he was drunk at the port area, only woken up by his teammates to go do some work in the middle of the night.

The old man didn't let him go, just kept staring into his eyes and his high nose bridge.

"I was once a soldier too, served in the 37th ten thousand troops, guarding the border for the Marshal... I can't believe I protected such a bunch of vermin, I'm truly ashamed of you."

The old man hadn't finished speaking when a soldier nearby with a cigarette in his mouth pulled him away.

"Alright, you old fellow, say a bit less, fill out the form and get in, if there's any problem, complain to the guys in the 40th ten thousand troops, don't push me to detain you."

"You think I'm afraid? I don't even fear Mutants, why would I be afraid of cowards like you who lay hands on civilians? You can't even take a broadcasting station with a hundred people, and you don't dare with the Bo Public Hall."

Being forcefully dragged aside, the old man sneered at the words, lifted his pant leg, revealing a scar where a piece of his calf was missing, "See this? Rookie. They sliced this piece of meat off me, roasted it in front of my eyes, and I didn't even flinch."

The soldier's eyebrows twitched along with his stomach, but he didn't stoop to argue with this old guy, using the opportunity when others hadn't noticed the commotion here, he rudely pushed him out of the checkpoint.

There were too many people here.

Also, there were residents living in the northwest city area who needed to work in the main city, and those returning home from night shifts in the port area.

Not counting the troops garrisoned locally, Evernight Harbor also harbors about hundreds of thousands of people.

Whether in the Southern Legion or the Wasteland, this number is not a small figure.

The soldier with a cigarette was the commander of his vehicle, but their transport hadn't entered the settlement.

Looking at his officer, Caffer couldn't help but ask.

"...Doesn't Evernight Harbor have its own garrison? Why do they need us combat troops to carry out this lousy task?"

He joined the service to expand territories for the Southern Legion, not to become the enemy of his compatriots.

"You can't even figure this out?"

Looking at Caffer with that "stupid" look, his vehicle commander grinned and said.

"Because you're about to head to the front line, if I were the officer, I'd also toss this dirty work to you. One, you won't talk nonsense, and two, soon you'll be so enraged at the front lines that even if you survive and return, you won't think it's a big deal, just the posturing of a bunch of old soldiers and small citizens. Maybe you'll fall in love with Sharun, fall in love with snake oil... from another perspective, it's indeed a sedative that can relieve your real-life troubles."

The gunner, who hadn't spoken all along, said softly.

"...Do you think Comte's actions were right?"

"Of course not, it's too extreme," the commander shook his head on the vehicle, curling his lips, "but honestly, faced with his situation, I can't think of any milder approach."

The gunner retorted.

"How could there not be? Wait till you rise to Ten Thousand Leader—"

The commander said offhandedly.

"And then turn into that jerk Weilobi, right? That guy who lies through his teeth on the radio. I bet when he was a Centurion before, his thoughts weren't much different from yours, first go along with them, then be unsullied by it... Use your head to think, how could such a thing be possible."

The gunner fell into silence, though he didn't agree, he couldn't think of anything to rebut.

So was Caffer, who took a deep breath and pulled his collar up.

The morning passed too slowly.

He had been standing here for so long, yet the Sun had only risen a little.

Although he always felt that staying in the rear was such a torment, the anguish in his heart had never been as intense and painful as at this moment...

...

Evernight Harbor had just passed morning, but the sky in West Sail Port was already approaching noon.

A few hours ago, an urgent telegram from Evernight Harbor was delivered to the Poluo Province War Zone Command.

At this moment, Captain Dickens, the head of the General Affairs Department, stood nervously at the door of General Giulion's office, waiting for approximately half an hour.

Finally, the door opened.

As the war zone staff officer and the head of the guards walked out from inside, a trickle of sweat unwittingly dripped from Dickens's forehead.

Although the War Zone General Affairs Department, responsible for logistics, wasn't controlled by the War Zone Command and was directly loyal to the Headquarters, he himself wasn't directly under Giulion. But as the highest commander of the war zone, and with such a big problem in logistics, Giulion also had the right to hold him accountable.

He had already explained to the Headquarters, but as for Giulion, he wasn't sure what to do.

While Dickens was feeling uneasy, the office secretary who followed out looked at him and said.

"Captain Dickens, General Giulion invites you inside."

Hearing that gentle tone, Dickens understood the signal Giulion was giving, and he slowly exhaled, following the secretary into the office.

Sitting behind the desk, General Giulion was carefully reviewing the documents in hand.

Hearing the footsteps coming from the entrance, he looked up and met Dickens's gaze.

"Please have a seat, Captain Dickens."

Captain Dickens forced a stiff smile and sat on the sofa in the office.

"...Thank you."

Giulion nodded, looking directly into his eyes, his expression gradually becoming serious.

"You've heard about the incident at Evernight Harbor, haven't you?"

Dickens' breath hitched, showing an embarrassed expression on his face.

"I've heard about it…"

Looking at the District General Affairs Department Minister's embarrassed face, General Giulion didn't intend to let him off, pressing on aggressively.

"Aren't you planning to explain it to me?"

Unexpectedly, this guy suddenly turned serious, making Dickens feel a headache, but he still forced himself to respond.

"…The incident in the community is just like what you saw in the telegram. The Guards at Evernight Harbor had an internal conflict, occupied the radio station, and finally caused those troubles. Fortunately, the garrison responded in a timely manner, and the chaos has been controlled... That's the situation."

General Giulion let out a cold laugh.

"Did the command center accept your explanation?"

Facing the relentless Giulion, Dickens responded rather angrily.

"They accepted it... I reported it to the command center immediately and mobilized the frontline troops stationed locally after obtaining the documents. Otherwise, how could I have commanded them? Actually, this matter was also a misunderstanding. If not for the Guards acting on their own and concocting some Wasps plan, followed by an intelligence officer getting high, it wouldn't have turned out like this."

"A misunderstanding?" Giulion looked at him with profound meaning, suddenly letting out a cold laugh, "…Why do I feel it's self-inflicted?"

Captain Dickens' expression went stiff.

"Sorry... I don't understand what you mean."

"Sharon, do I need to say more?"

Giulion stared into his eyes, with an unfathomable look that made Captain Dickens' briefly relaxed mood tense up again involuntarily.

"…You're talking about the drug for treating trauma symptoms? Is there a problem with it?"

Giulion squinted and said.

"Is there a problem? Wasn't the content in the broadcast clear enough? Do I need to play the backup files for you again?"

"I really don't know about this! The drug development was done by the technical staff below, as for the hallucinogen matter, I wasn't involved, it was all Peter's unauthorized actions... I just found out that he got involved with local gang forces. Such a person is simply a disgrace to the Weilante People, if I had known earlier, I would've made sure to execute him personally!"

When saying this, Captain Dickens wore an expression full of righteous indignation, as if the gun was really in his hands.

However, sitting opposite him, General Giulion was inwardly sneering.

Just finding out is still acceptable.

He wouldn't naively believe that this guy was just now hearing about it.

Now attributing all the problems to a dead person is nothing more than a way to cut losses.

However, what made him angry wasn't entirely because these guys in the logistics department were up to small tricks again, but more because they actually did business with his enemy!

This was something Giulion could not tolerate.

Even though the Snake State military faction was accustomed to maneuvering without attacking, posing no great threat to the Southern Legion's frontline, that ever-expanding armed force remained a hidden danger.

Every gold coin flowing from the Southern Legion to the Poluo Province would eventually turn into bullets against the Weilante People.

Nonetheless, Giulion was ultimately a person who understood the bigger picture.

Looking at Captain Dickens, who was so pressured that he didn't dare to breathe, he eventually decided to let this leech off easily.

Firstly, he didn't have sufficiently strong evidence, and secondly, the frontline troops couldn't afford the risk of the logistics department messing around, and he himself had to consider this guy's connections in the command headquarters.

Now was not the time to deal with this guy.

Once this war was completely won, and he wore two more stars on his shoulders as he headed to Triumph City for recognition, he would naturally settle accounts with these parasites who profited while supporting the enemy.

"I have two demands, first, remove from the logistics list any drugs containing snake grass, whether it is Sharon or some other thing."

"Second... I won't spell it out, you should understand it yourself."

General Giulion gave Captain Dickens a meaningful look.

Dickens knew he was hinting at the dealings with the Snake State military faction and nodded nervously.

"Understood..."

In any case, he had to get through this hurdle first.

With Dickens' promise, Giulion nodded, picked up the pen on the table again, and waved it lightly.

"That's all, you may go."

The air force's bombing plan on Tiandu didn't go smoothly, only collapsing some useless old buildings.

He needed to draft a new plan and seriously think about how to win the current battle, having no time to waste on these pests.

Dickens breathed a sigh of relief as if a burden had been lifted, unaware that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Heading towards the stairs, he cursed in his heart as he went.

Bluffing idiots, trying to scare me with a radio broadcast?

Just wait and see.

I'll make you pay eventually!

Chapter 899: The Rising Spark

"...Dear residents of Evernight Harbor, good morning, I am Governor Ya Hui of Evernight Harbor."

"I apologize for taking up your valuable time, but maintaining the order and peace of Evernight Harbor is our unshirkable responsibility. Therefore, please give me two minutes to explain the situation we are currently facing..."

"Approximately a few days ago, Supervisor Willoby approved the execution of the Wasp Plan, aimed at obtaining the intelligence we need from the alliance's spies."

"Objectively speaking, this was actually a good plan, and we were almost successful. Unfortunately, at the final moment, the key executor, Comte, was turned by the alliance's spies and orchestrated a tragic incident in our settlement that brought pain to our loved ones and joy to our enemies."

"This is a disgraceful betrayal! It is not only a betrayal of the Weilante people but also a betrayal of the Marshal! However, I cannot blame all the problems on the alliance's evil; I must admit that the Governor's Mansion also bears some responsibility."

"There were serious security flaws in the Wasp Plan, and Supervisor Willoby, who rashly took action disregarding the safety of Evernight Harbor residents' lives and property, is undeniably to blame. Here I solemnly announce that the Governor's Mansion has now removed him from the post of captain of the Guards, and he will be sent back to the Colonial Affairs Bureau in Yavente City to await disposition after his dismissal."

"Additionally, starting tomorrow, I myself will also take a month off for reflection, and the governorship will temporarily be assumed by my deputy, Supervisor Amirs..."

In addition to the dismissal of Supervisor Willoby and the decision for the governor's suspension, the Governor's Mansion has announced a series of measures.

Including declaring snake oil as an illegal contraband, prohibiting the private resale of supplies like the free distribution of 'Sharun' by the logistics department.

Moreover, to capture the alliance spies hiding within Evernight Harbor, the blockade by the garrison on the northwest urban area has been expanded to Evernight Harbor.

During the blockade period, passenger lanes at Evernight Harbor docks and facilities like the post office will be temporarily closed, and leaving the settlement to head to the Great Desert will require a pass with the Governor's Mansion's stamp of approval.

The power to issue such certifications resides in the hands of acting Governor Supervisor Amirs.

Not just this.

Given that during the 'Broadcast Station Riot' incident, the criminals hiding in Blackwater Alley acted opportunistically, the Governor's Mansion has announced a purge operation in Blackwater Alley, entrusting the operation entirely to the 40th Mechanized Ten Thousand Troops.

Reciting the announcement by rote, Ya Hui did not specify what the opportunistic acts entailed, but both openly and subtly connected them to the residents who died near the broadcast station.

However, perhaps aware of the persuasive power his words lacked, though he condemned the thugs in Blackwater Alley, he dared not say how many people the thugs had actually killed, opting instead to vaguely breeze over the details.

Though he initially claimed to take only two minutes, by the time Governor Ya Hui finally finished outlining all the decisions of the Governor's Mansion, a full half-hour had passed.

And in a sense, this perhaps also indicated that the announcement itself was part of a satire.

The guy didn't utter a word of truth.

And he'd been lying since that "dear" at the beginning.

However, while the esteemed Governor lied plenty in the broadcast, it is true that the Southern Legion meant business this time.

At the same time the broadcast was aired, the 40th Ten Thousand Troops, which had surrounded Blackwater Alley, also received orders from the command center.

Twenty companies of a hundred men each, advancing from five different directions, penetrated this no-address slum under the cover of armored vehicles, conducting door-to-door searches.

Anyone found with weapons at home was thrown into Carter Nord Prison; those whom the prison could not hold were taken directly to the suburbs.

With the sound of gunfire, row upon row of corpses fell, truckloads of people carried inside without a single living soul coming out.

Of course, there were those who deserved to die, but the vast majority of innocent people became targets of vented anger.

Due to the documents signed by the Governor's Mansion, judicial powers had already been handed over to, along with the command authority for the purge, the command center.

And the lads of the 40th Ten Thousand Troops executing orders were already on a killing spree, transitioning from initial hesitation to not even blinking.

If they could be so ruthless to their compatriots, let alone these aliens.

Just as the Weilante people of Evernight Harbor united against the authorities and garrison, the alien's hatred towards the Weilante reached unprecedented levels.

And the man on the wanted posters posted all over the streets and alleys unwittingly became the idol of countless youths in Blackwater Alley.

Rumor has it that the man called Morse single-handedly took on an entire Sweeping Group.

And he even killed a Thousands of leaders!

Those Weilante people didn't seem to be that impressive after all.

Now it wasn't just the Poluo people who thought so; these survivors from the Great Desert also gradually began to feel this way...

...

The bar in the dock area.

Although many things had happened over the past two days, business here hadn't been affected at all.

After all, most of the patrons drinking here were soldiers about to head to the front lines, and they, taking orders from the frontline command center, were not under the constraints of the Governor's Mansion.

In fact, due to recent events, the pressure accumulated prompted them to drink even more than usual, boosting the entire port's alcohol business.

Of course.

Security was another matter entirely.

In a dimly lit corner, Marta glanced at the drunken men outside exchanging punches, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"I thought you were taking this seriously."

The Weilante sitting across from him replied with a faint smile.

"We truly are serious, only we're more lenient with our compatriots. If you don't believe it, you can take a look in Blackwater Alley, I believe you'll have a deeper understanding."

His name was Sverre, serving as the section chief of the equipment management division in logistics, and Tony, the "informant," was someone he personally cultivated.

Now that Peter was dead and Tony too, he had become the only person capable of reconnecting the broken thread.

Though Minister Dickens had said nothing, the vacant secretary position already spoke volumes—

Minister Dickens did not yet have a suitable candidate.

Whoever could handle things beautifully and shield the leaders from all risks was the undisputed choice for the next secretary.

This skyrocket opportunity was one he certainly would not miss.

In the realm of political maneuvering, General Giulion was certainly no match for Captain Dickens. Although the latter made a series of promises to him, those promises were nothing more than empty words.

Things that have never been done, how can one say they will never do them again?

After listening to Sverre, Marta couldn't help but laugh.

"You? Being lenient with your compatriots? I must have misheard."

He saw everything that happened in the past few days, which only made him look down on these hypocritical fellows even more.

Weilante supremacy?

It's nothing but a lie to coax Weilante people to their deaths.

Things that truly matter do not need to be chanted repeatedly like a mantra, and these racists care least about the lives of their own people.

In contrast, the Family Meeting that transcended racial boundaries truly cares for their compatriots. And not just their compatriots, they treat every family member warmly, like spring, calling them with affection and genuinely caring for them.

Facing Marta's ridicule, Sverre, who sat opposite him, just smiled indifferently and retorted.

"You didn't mishear. Compared to the River Valley people who died at the hands of survivors from the River Valley Province, and the Poluo people who died at the hands of survivors from the Poluo Province, the Weilante people who died at Weilante's hands are just a fraction... Do I need to remind you of the things you yourselves have done?"

Marta squinted his eyes.

"There's no need for that. We remember our own history much clearer than you. Also, don't lump us together with the stupid things done by pigs like Laxi and Absek, we are different from them."

A subtle, playful smile appeared on Sverre's lips.

"Is that so? Well, let's assume that's the case."

He wasn't here to waste words with this Poluo person.

However, if this guy used his brain a bit, he should have figured out some things simply based on why he could sit here and chat with him.

They even arrest Alliance people first, let alone someone with just a Jin Galun Harbor identity?

Although he didn't think his superior, Minister Dickens, was a good person, it was undeniable that winning the current war was in the unified interest of the Southern Legion internally, even if there were some differences in the paths to victory and personal interests.

If Shaluk were truly smarter than Laxi and Absek, Minister Dickens would never profit from this.

After all, if that were the case, General Giulion wouldn't just give warnings, bombers and ground forces would have been deployed long ago.

No matter how many mountains there are in Snake State, they can't compare to the Northern Three States connected by the Zoba Mountain Range and scattered with tropical forests; the tougher the bone, the more it must be gnawed.

In other words, Captain Dickens and General Giulion share the same opinion that Shaluk is a paper tiger.

Of course, Snake State isn't without capable people.

For instance, Gopal, the former Grey Wolf Army advisor, subordinate of the Empire's "War God" Arai Yang, and current Snake State War Zone Border Army commander, is one such formidable person.

But that's another matter.

"Mr. Marta, let's discuss business matters now."

Seeing Sverre getting serious, Marta's expression also became serious.

"Go ahead."

Lifting his glass to sip some iced water, Sverre leisurely continued.

"The conditions Tonny and you set remain the same, but illegal goods will be much more expensive than legal ones, and you need to give us a 20% discount on the original supply price."

Marta said in a low voice.

"I can't make that decision. I will report it to my superior. Anything else?"

Setting the glass down, Sverre leisurely continued.

"Also, with Tonny dead, we need a new partner to handle distribution. However, given the current situation in Blackwater Alley, it's challenging to cooperate with the local Aliens, and they might not trust us."

Marta's eyes flashed with excitement, but he concealed it cautiously.

"Are you planning to give it to us?"

Sverre gave a meaningful smile, took out a public tender document from his pocket, and tossed it in front of Marta.

Looking at Marta reaching out for the document, he concisely continued.

"We plan to renovate Blackwater Alley. The entire project requires about ten to twenty thousand laborers. Since it's inevitable that violent organizations will emerge among them, why not let this organization be under our control? Don't you think?"

"Leave the labor to me," Marta carefully accepted the document, looked at Sverre, and seriously continued, "By the way, what about customs? What did Kuran say? Do I need to engage with him?"

He was just being polite; he actually hoped to hear a "no," after all, he really didn't want to deal with the Weilante people.

However, the response from the other side was unexpected.

"He's withdrawn."

"Withdrawn?" Marta's eyes widened in surprise, his face full of disbelief.

Sverre's expression was somewhat complex, as if he was hesitant to mention it.

"...Yes, to be precise, he resigned and plans to leave Evernight Harbor for good, alongside his friends."

Marta's Adam's apple moved slightly.

"Where to?"

Sverre shrugged.

"Who knows, the port is sealed recently, not a single flight... I'm actually more curious about how he plans to leave."

"This guy knows about what's between us, is it really okay to let him go?" Marta lowered his voice, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes, "If it's inconvenient for you to act, I can—"

"Mr. Marta, you're a smart man, but this isn't West Winds. Remember not to be too clever, or you won't even know how you die one day."

Sverre took out a cigarette and struck a match to light it.

Through the swirling smoke, he looked at those stunned eyes, placed the matchbox on the table, and gently pushed it in front of Marta, continuing with a serious tone.

"Peter messed things up, he deserved to die, but you saw, this matter isn't over, we will still avenge him."

"He's a Weilante person; that's one aspect. But more importantly, we both have a day when we'll retire... so don't do things too thoroughly."

"He left, didn't wrong anyone, this matter ends here."

...

Comte died in the early morning of the first weekend of August.

Due to the Legion's blockade of the Northwestern city area, people never saw his corpse, nor his face.

Yet within three days of his death, his name appeared in every alley of Evernight Harbor.

The old soldiers stranded in Evernight Harbor and all the citizens who sympathized with him left his name on the walls in graffiti form.

He was a true hero.

Even after death, he would forever live in the hearts of Evernight Harbor residents.

The authorities of Evernight Harbor and the lackeys of the Guards repeatedly washed the walls, but these graffiti and words were repeatedly painted again, spreading continuously beyond the Northwest city to places and in forms unexpectedly spread.

For example, as carriers of soul-stirring music.

Not all Weilante people are muscle-brained; they also have their artistic cells and humanistic spirit. Otherwise, they wouldn't have evolved from a group of Cannon Fodder into a united nation.

And it's worth mentioning that a century and a half ago, that glorious revolution seemingly also began from the death of a Weilante person.

The dawn's light always appears when the night reaches its darkest, it's just now unknown whether they still need an outsider to save them this time.

The blocked Northwest urban area, adjacent to No. 3 Street near the Broadcasting Station.

Caffer looked at the indecent words on the wall, feeling a prickling discomfort.

Actually, more than feeling offended, he was confused.

He thought he was the pride of the Weilante people.

Yet more and more compatriots viewed them as a disgrace.

"These damned things, how much did they receive to do such shameful acts?" The Gunner cursed, unhooked the white spray paint from his waist, and erased the insulting slogans.

The driver glanced around, lit a cigarette, and held it in his mouth.

"You're wasting your energy, there's graffiti everywhere... I bet once we leave here, someone will immediately paint new ones."

The communicator whistled and joked.

"The people in command aren't too smart, I say they should give us a spray gun in a brighter color."

The driver grinned.

"Useless, even if you paint over it in black, they can write in white."

After finishing, the Gunner placed the spray gun back at his waist, grumbling.

"Then we'll pretend to leave and come back... I want to see which little bastard is against us."

"You'd have a lot to look at, at least half the population of the settlement doesn't like us," the driver smiled calmly, glancing at the tightly shut windows around, "I bet at least ten pairs of eyes are watching us..."

"Be grateful it's guns hidden behind curtains, at least it hasn't reached that far, I don't want to fight my own people."

Caffer didn't speak a word, listening silently to his teammates' arguments, while thinking about other things.

He was thinking about his tractor.

For some reason, he suddenly felt farming wasn't so bad, at least he wouldn't encounter so many annoying things on his farm.

He had never missed home so much.

But perhaps he wasn't really missing home, just wanting to escape this place that's made him doubt his belief...

...

The Northwestern area of Evernight Harbor was patrolled by soldiers carrying guns, and Caffer's squad was just one of the unremarkable ones.

Meanwhile, at the junction of the city, the team lined up into a long queue, and Evernight Harbor's docks were also crowded with heads.

Among them were families in groups of three or five, newlyweds, or young people alone.

Their professions, classes, and social identities vary, yet all without exception were carrying large packages, looking like they planned to leave permanently.

A similar situation seemed to have happened once eight months ago.

Only this time, unlike before, Weilante people of Evernight Harbor are leaving not to reunite with family but due to a series of measures taken by the authorities making them uneasy, having entirely lost faith in the Southern Legion.

It's worth mentioning that, except for the soldiers and officers within the establishment who must obey orders, Weilante citizens outside the Legion's system are allowed to move freely on the Legion's territory, this is a right given by the Marshal long ago.

However, because the governor signed an administrative order overnight before stepping down, passenger flights at the port have been entirely canceled.

Seeing the crowd stuck at the front of the dock, the passenger bureau manager was perspiring in anxiety, shouting loudly to the crowd blocked by security.

"Go back, there's no flight leaving here recently, you'll hear a broadcast notice when the service resumes."

A man carrying a suitcase pointed to the passenger ship docked at the pier, angrily shouted.

"Why can those ships leave?"

The manager of the Passenger Transport Bureau shouted loudly.

"Those ships are transporting supplies! They're heading back east soon, do you plan to go with them? Then you'd better ask the captain! Just don't regret it later!"

Upon hearing it was a ship heading east, the man immediately shut his mouth and said no more.

The east...

That's the Wasteland.

Even though the actions of the Evernight Harbor authorities were disgraceful, he wouldn't go to the extent of fleeing to the Wasteland to face the Dead Claws that devour without leaving bones.

Faced with envious gazes from the shore, Yarman felt half ashamed and half relieved.

No need to elaborate on the shame, as for the relief, it was because before coming here, he had worried about the Evernight Harbor authorities requisitioning his fleet, so he specifically requested a document from the logistics department allowing him to leave the port.

Though his worry was unwarranted, as the Evernight Harbor authorities didn't lack ships transporting supplies and had no reason to requisition his passenger ships, no one expected the series of events that would follow.

In any case, thanks to the certificate issued by the frontline logistics department, he could ignore the executive order signed by the Evernight Harbor governor and leave through the freight channel unobstructed.

However, the port's Passenger Transport Bureau also informed him that once he left the port, he could not return until the blockade was lifted.

As for when it would end, he would need to check with post offices or passenger transport bureaus at other colonies.

Apart from Yarman and his family, there were also some passengers on board who weren't particular about their destination.

Most of them were residents of the northwest urban area.

To the majority of residents of Evernight Harbor, Governor Ya Hui and Supervisor Willoby were at most hypocritical villains, but to them, those people weren't just villains; they were murderers!

Many of them had relatives and friends who died that night, yet waited all day for a follow-up that never came.

Rather than facing those duplicitous folks, they would rather face the Variant and the Looter—even though Yarman assured them it wasn't as exaggerated. The Variants in the Eastern Provinces were indeed more numerous than in the Western Provinces but not as dangerous as the Great Desert.

It's worth mentioning that although most of the fleeing passengers weren't wealthy, there were a few who were filthy rich.

For example, a man named Perry, a local jeweler from Evernight Harbor, reportedly with a sizable business.

Rumor had it that both his sons died that night, and this completely disheartened him and his wife towards those traitors who betrayed the Marshal.

Leaving this time, he not only brought all his belongings but also withdrew from Evernight Harbor Bank, transferring 200 million dinars and 8 million silver coins onto the ship.

Yarman had seen a lot in his life, yet this was the first time he saw so many glittering dinars piled up in front of him.

Even without counting other assets, just those gold coins weighed a thousand tons!

It's incredible that Evernight Harbor's bank had them!

To transport these assets, the man not only hired two security teams but also rented a separate ship from Yarman's fleet.

Considering the Silver Moon Goddess and fellow compatriots, greed didn't drive Yarman to profiteer, only signing a 120% transport contract according to market rate.

This was actually proposed by the other party.

Given the current circumstances, raising the price offered peace of mind, and seeing that he was already decided, Yarman gladly accepted.

However, the passenger who surprised him most wasn't the jeweler Perry but a customs officer with a hobble.

The fleet sounded the whistle and departed the port under everyone's watchful eyes.

Looking at the adjacent Kuran, Yarman spoke in a somewhat unexpected tone.

"...I didn't expect you to board my ship."

"You weren't the only one surprised; I never thought I would. I still remember when I was a Centurion." Kuran laughed self-deprecatingly, with a complex expression.

The Army is beyond saving.

Even if they conquered a thousand worlds, ten thousand worlds, the situation of the Weilante people wouldn't change.

They would systemically produce parasites, and those parasites would control them like Iron Worms, systematically creating public enemies and siphoning their flesh.

The Marshal broke the chains imposed on them by the War Construction Committee; however, they still must confront their own shackles.

If the surviving oppressed by Weilante are not liberated, the Weilante will not gain ultimate liberation.

"...By the way, will the Alliance arrest me?"

After all, not long ago, they had just thrown a group of Alliance Blue Ground Squirrels into prison.

Yarman laughed and said.

"I don't think they'll be so petty; if they really did, I'd find a way to get you out..."

After a pause, he spoke with serious tone.

"Of course, if you're worried, you could also disembark at Jin Galun Harbor or South Sea Union; those people are quite decent."

Kuran grinned and said nonchalantly.

"No need, I was joking."

As he spoke, he squinted his eyes towards the receding port and the Weilante compatriots on the dock waving them off.

"I'd like to follow you and see that place called No.1 Settlement."

Everyone believed the fuss at Evernight Harbor was over, that the Southern Legion had successfully controlled the situation, but he didn't think so.

The war wasn't over; it hadn't even really begun.

He remembered not just a name.

He would come back...

Chapter 900: The Foundation of Trust

"Honorable Manager, amidst your busy schedule, I take the liberty to report on behalf of the Poluo Province War Zone Staff about the work during this period."

"As per your instructions, while assisting the resistance forces of the Poluo Province to form a new army, we have established a relatively complete air defense system locally. Although the aircraft from West Sail Port have frequently launched air raids on Tiandu City over the past few months, the impact on strategy and infrastructure has been minimized."

"Additionally, the weapons and radio equipment continuously transported to the front lines have reversed the situation of weapon shortages among the various nations of Poluo Province, significantly improving their training and combat capabilities. Initially, under equal equipment conditions, the Poluo Country's army required a hundred-strong unit to hold off a ten-member Regular Army team, but now they can skillfully master the mobile warfare tactics we taught them, reducing the number needed to hold off an Army group from company level to platoon level."

"Currently, the battle situation in Poluo Province has transitioned from strategic defense to a stage of strategic stalemate, and our army along with allied forces have seen the dawn of victory."

"However, despite many optimistic reports to mention, it cannot be denied that our divisions are still far from transitioning to formal strategic counterattack."

"As we familiarize ourselves with the Southern Legion's tactics, they are equally adapting to our offensive-grade defensive tactics, including using fortified lines to prevent our infiltration and penetrating attacks, coordinated with concentrated artillery fire to eliminate our living forces."

"It is undeniable that our numerical disadvantage is a weakness we cannot ignore. When we try to trade time for space, the opponent is using extended front lines tactics to magnify our disadvantages."

"On the other hand, although the combined forces of nations in Poluo Province have improved their combat capabilities and have overcome the toughest resource shortages, their defensive abilities remain robust while offensive capabilities are lacking. According to reports from various fronts, the casualty ratio in offensive operations can be two to three times that of defensive operations."

"Moreover, serious internal divisions exist among the nations of Poluo Province, with factions and internal strife consistently ongoing, particularly evident since the collapse of the Heavenly Palace."

"Furthermore, as the war persists, there are signs of upgrades in Army equipment. Initially, they only had two jet fighters, but now more and more new aircraft are appearing over Poluo Province skies. Additionally, guided weapons using laser guidance and shells with electronic guidance heads, among others."

"Initially, we believed the Army would fall into decline after losing their airships, but we have underestimated their fighting spirit. In fact, the fall of the airships has facilitated an update in their equipment and tactics."

"An increasing number of exoskeletons and guided weapons appear on the front lines, including light weapons using new-style receiver structures. Given the Southern Legion's industrial productivity and its resource-supplying colonies, if it continues, the situation is highly likely to shift unfavorably for us."

"Therefore, I sincerely suggest opening a second front in the Southern Legion's colonies or homeland."

"...Your loyal General Wanusi, September 1st."

At the Alliance Building in the City of Dawn, Chu Guang carefully read the report sent back from the front line.

Even though he had been paying attention to posts on the forum to understand details about the war in Poluo Province, Wanusi's report offered him a completely different perspective.

Actually, not long after the start of the war, there was a debate on the forum about whether the Alliance should open a second front.

The supporters had their reasons, arguing that instead of striking the supply line to the Army, they should bring the Army directly back to the Stone Age.

On the other hand, those against it argued reasonably as well, noting that attacking the Southern Legion's homeland would practically be equivalent to declaring war on the entire Army, potentially triggering internal defense agreements and possibly uniting the internally divided Army.

This would effectively help the opposing side complete war mobilization, entirely converting internal conflicts into external conflicts.

In fact, Chu Guang leaned more towards the latter.

Not only because of the many reasons players cited during the debate, but to a large extent because he possessed another piece of intelligence about the Southern Legion's colonies.

For example, far away at the Evernight Harbor, there is a significant change brewing.

Though it cannot be excluded that this may have been exaggerated by players, at the very least this war has awakened a portion of the Weilante People's minds—

They are on a runaway train.

This train uses their flesh and blood as fuel without taking them to Utopia; instead, it is hurtling them toward an unseen abyss, crushing their loyalty, bravery, generosity, and fearlessness—all their good qualities.

In this war full of lies and deceit, the Weilante People gain nothing but a bunch of Thousands of Leaders and Ten Thousand Leader riding on their heads.

And the aliens suppressed by the Weilante People are gradually moving from mutual persecution to unity.

Under such circumstances, perhaps it is better to watch how events unfold.

Reflecting on the report for a long time, Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi sitting on the pen holder.

"Xiao Qi, send a reply email for me saying... from a tactical standpoint, it's a good suggestion, but considering it strategically, now is not the right time."

"Received!" Xiao Qi enthusiastically nodded, her pupils flickering with a faint blue glow, quickly sending the edited reply to the front-line command of Poluo Province.

Information infrastructure is also part of infrastructure.

In the past six months, the construction team of Potato Harbor has used the 'Electric Eel' unmanned boat and 'Crab Style' amphibious engineering armor to lay submarine cables from Potato Harbor to Gallon Harbor.

Currently, the exchange between the City of Dawn and the southern sea area and the coast of the Poluo Sea no longer requires sending telegraphs; real-time information transmission can be achieved.

Once a few more cables are laid, with the channel width increased and a few servers built to enhance computing power, it's hardly a problem to set up a local network akin to the Endpoint Cloud.

Reviewing Wanusi's report is the last task for today.

Looking at the already late sky outside the window, Chu Guang lazily stretched, pushed away his chair, and stood up from his desk, planning to stroll for a while in the commercial street to the north.

Recently, a new commercial plaza named "Night City" has opened there.

Reportedly, several life profession players, inspired by real-world department buildings, fused the Ideal City's holographic and light pollution technologies to redesign a cyberpunk-styled architectural format.

The Goblin Bank offered loans for those newbies' ideas, and now that avant-garde styled mall has become the "new landmark" of the North Street of Dawn City, even attracting Ideal City's residents to specially visit and check in.

Once, the City's most eye-catching landmark was the Ideal Grand Hotel, built with investments from the Ideal Group. But nowadays, that towering hotel has gradually been overshadowed by those new landmarks cropping up like bamboo shoots after a rain.

This is not entirely due to the players' efforts; many survivors influenced by the players contributed their strengths as well.

Though the task to end the Wasteland Era remains arduous, the residents of the City of Dawn are indeed living a good life now.

Chu Guang is quite gratified by the changes happening on this land.

Due to this, he found his work hours becoming shorter, with fewer tasks needing his direct involvement compared to before.

If the Alliance, a long time ago, still depended heavily on him like a child, now even if he were suddenly gone, this massive machine could still operate for a long time powered by its self-generated momentum... until someone fitting to be called a Manager appears.

As the "father" of the Alliance, his next phase's duty is also evident—

He needs to remove the last vulnerability from his child.

His child doesn't need a "successor" or "stepfather," but to grow from a vibrant youth into an adult who can truly stand tall.

When even if he's no longer around, the Alliance's youth can still march forward proudly, without waiting in place for his return, then he would be truly successful.

Otherwise, they would become another form of the Army.

In a sense, Triumph City indeed serves like a mirror of the City of Dawn, showcasing another "possibility" of the Alliance people.

Chu Guang also suddenly realized one day.

A century and a half ago, Julius wasn't unlike another version of himself under different origins.

Especially after truly understanding the history of the Weilante people, he gained new insights and views on the man they revered as Marshal.

Apart from choosing different paths in the end, their decisions and situations had many similar aspects.

The outcomes from differing choices, that Marshal already demonstrated for him, extending even to a century and a half later.

Including the initial City Lord of Giant Stone City as well...

At this moment, the knocking at the door interrupted Chu Guang's thoughts.

He looked towards the door to see Yin Fang standing at the open doorway, holding a document, appearing to have something to say.

"Am I interrupting your after-hours?"

Looking at Yin Fang joking with him, Chu Guang chuckled and said.

"I don't really have after-hours; just say whatever you need."

Yin Fang didn't mince words, entered, handed over the document to Chu Guang, and succinctly reported.

"Anyway, it's good news, the Gravity Well in the southern sea area has been deployed, using the system previously tested in Tiandu of the Poluo Province...um, although the deployment condition of that device system in Poluo Province wasn't perfect, the Academy assures us this time it's probably certainly fine."

Chu Guang's expression turned peculiar.

"What do you mean by probably fine?"

Yin Fang, with a subtle expression, gave him a helpless look.

"Because... although we've solved the problem of how to pull space debris down to earth, we haven't figured out exactly what's floating up there, or what will be pulled down by the gravity well. And don't forget, that weapon is up there too. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

Chu Guang nodded.

Of course he knew.

Yin Fang was referring to that strategic weapon deployed in outer space orbit.

It was the last legacy left by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee to the once-governed settlements, said to be capable of destroying a settlement of millions with a single shot.

After steadying himself, Yin Fang continued.

"In fact, according to a report from the Astronomical Observation Department of the Scientific Expedition Team, when we first used the gravity well, the device had an unforeseen impact on the trajectory of spacecraft in outer space... Given the usual practices of those Academy folks, I'm worried they have other schemes."

Chu Guang said thoughtfully.

"You mean... 'disarmament'?"

"That's one of my concerns." Seeing the thoughtful look on Chu Guang's face, Yin Fang paused for a moment before continuing, "As for the second, why didn't the Academy attempt to deploy it on their territory instead of ours? The unmanned zones in the Wandering Swamp aren't few, and they're more controllable in terms of ecological risk compared to the ocean."

Ecological risk is still a consideration...

It's already the Wasteland Era; is that even a concern anymore?

However, Chu Guang didn't mock Yin Fang for overthinking it. Instead, he seriously asked.

"So why do you think that is?"

Yin Fang chuckled bitterly and shook his head.

"I don't know either, but for that reason alone, I can't help but worry if there's a risk the Academy hasn't informed us about. You know the way they operate; they love using others as guinea pigs."

This was not only his concern as the Alliance's chief researcher but also his concern as a former grassroots prospector for the Academy.

Chu Guang's expression gradually became serious.

"Do you have direct evidence to prove it?"

Yin Fang shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no. Anti-gravity technology was already cutting-edge before the war, and literature on the gravity well was only in the speculative stage. Various indications suggest this is a breakthrough in Singularity Technology achieved by the Academy after entering the Wasteland Era... for their Ark Project to reach a new world."

When speaking of this, there was a somewhat awkward expression on Yin Fang's face.

As a former researcher of the Academy, he used to be the one who complained the most about them and often criticized their lack of progress.

But in reality, they weren't really without progress; they just hid their advancements and achievements.

And under the Academy's special confidentiality system, a Class D researcher couldn't possibly come into contact with those cutting-edge technologies, or even know they existed.

Of course, whether such a system is reasonable is another topic entirely.

Chu Guang pondered this time longer than when he saw Vanus's report, and Yin Fang did not urge him, quietly waiting for his opinion.

"Isn't it possible... that the Academy themselves also don't know the consequences of this choice?"

Yin Fang was stunned for a moment.

"They... don't know either?"

Chu Guang nodded and continued.

"Perhaps testing this technology is itself part of exploring the future. I tend to think they're also feeling their way through. After all, you said they could have done it secretly in the Wandering Swamp, watching our trump cards fall from the sky without us knowing what happened."

This not only includes the Alliance's trump cards but naturally also the corporations' and even the army's trump cards.

Chu Guang had reason to believe that Triumph City held similar strategic weapons as a guarantee of 'mutual destruction.'

These words left Yin Fang speechless.

After pondering for a long time, he couldn't think of a rebuttal.

After a pause, Chu Guang smiled and continued.

"Your concerns are not unwarranted, but I also think that we don't necessarily have to be paranoid about them. Let's trust them this time."

Yin Fang's expression became peculiar, and he couldn't help but say.

"Trusting the Academy? Are you serious?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Trying to trust doesn't mean fully accepting. They showed us some sincerity by presenting things we've never seen before and even helped us a lot. Even for the sake of reciprocity, we shouldn't wrong them."

"Actually, if you think about it carefully, those guys, although a bit harsh, narrow-minded, and always leaving things unsaid, aren't actually bad people. Aside from some friction when we first met, they haven't done anything to really wrong us."

"So why not try? Building trust while we're still in the same boat is less risky than waiting until after they've disembarked."

The Academy needed their technological reserves to build a starship capable of interstellar colonization, while the Alliance needed to rebuild the bridge connecting the sky and the earth.

At least for now, both parties' interests are aligned, and there's no better opportunity than this.

Yin Fang looked at Chu Guang in amazement, saying with a complex expression.

"Not bad people... This is the first time I've heard someone evaluate the Academy like that."

In the eyes of most Waste Land Wanderers, the Academy is a rather mysterious entity.

Fear of the unknown is a biological instinct, and it's precisely because of this mystery that most Waste Land Wanderers' evaluations of the Academy are lower than those of the Weilante people, and they have no affection for Academy researchers.

Even though the Academy's positive influence on the Wasteland far exceeds the army devoted to promoting slavery, and the corporations sent a Pioneer only once in a hundred years.

Although Yin Fang himself often mocked his old employer, hearing an outsider actually give the Academy such a positive evaluation left him with mixed feelings.

Looking at the complex expression on Yin Fang's face, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Don't look at me like that. That place is your old employer, after all. Your grievances aren't to the extent of deep hatred."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued.

"Besides, I'm planning to make another trip to the Southern sea area. If anything unexpected happens, I can handle it in time."

Yin Fang squeezed out a smile on his face.

"...Let's go together. I need to go there as well. When do you plan to leave?"

Chu Guang opened the schedule on his holographic computer, and seeing that the next few days were free, he said.

"The day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow?" Yin Fang was stunned for a moment, then hesitated, "Isn't that too soon? According to the experimental log provided by the Academy, the gravity well's first trial run won't start until the end of the month."

"It's not too soon, and I'm not going south just for the gravity well," looking at Yin Fang's surprised face, Chu Guang smiled slightly, "The railway to Haiye Province has been open for some time. I plan to take the train there instead of a plane or airship this time."

"If you're in a hurry, don't follow me."

Rumors say the changes in the South are even more remarkable than in the City of Dawn.

Anyway, even without his direct involvement, his players and subordinates have been doing very well.

Chu Guang planned to give himself a break and visit the places where he and his players fought before...

Chapter 901: Places We Once Walked

In the past, during his "imperial expeditions," in order to leave enough hope for those staying behind, Chu Guang would always depart with great fanfare aboard the Iron Heart, and return with victory and glory.

But this time was different from usual.

Chu Guang left quietly, bringing only the X-16 and Lu Bei's group, discreetly buying tickets and booking a compartment, without alarming anyone else.

After all, he wasn't going to fight this time, just to see what the place where he had once fought looked like now.

Since he usually appeared in public wearing that Azure Power Armor, not many people could recognize him at a glance when he took off that iconic equipment.

With the holographic imaging device that could slightly adjust his appearance, none of the passengers realized they were sharing a train with the Alliance's Manager until the train started.

During the journey, Chu Guang went to the bathroom, and soon overheard people talking in the corridor outside.

"Where are you headed, buddy?"

"Off to Haiye Province!"

"Haiye Province, huh, the development there is really good. A lot of settlers have moved in from the west, I'm thinking of buying a building there and collecting rent."

"Great minds think alike, brother! I heard many there are still living in containers. Once the settlements develop, job opportunities will multiply, and the rental market will surely boom!"

"Are you also buying buildings there?"

"Not really, haha, I'm going to build them!"

"Oh, oh! A contractor! Pleasure to meet you! Ah... I forgot my business card in my bag, forgive my memory."

"No worries, I forgot mine too. Let's exchange phone numbers and grab a meal sometime."

Hearing how affluent the Alliance's residents were, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

A year ago, around this time, the Alliance authorities had issued quite a bit of debt to release liquidity, and now that money had flowed into the pockets of the Alliance's residents through production cycles.

Now the residents of the Alliance were taking this wealth to invest in newly developed lands, helping immigrants who recently joined the Alliance to live better lives and create more wealth with them.

Life was getting better and better.

However, it wasn't long before untimely voices crept in through the door seam.

"Stop bragging, if you two are so rich, why not buy a plane ticket?"

Clearly, more than one person was dissatisfied with the two boasting; the corridor echoed with agreeing voices.

"Exactly!"

"Wasn't your prosthetic snatched from a coal mine? It doesn't even have anti-rust paint peeled off yet, probably quit the job as soon as it was done."

"You tax thieves, blowing hot air!"

The two were rendered speechless, glaring venomously at the instigator, and walked off silently.

Sitting on the toilet, Chu Guang's expression was somewhat awkward.

Alright.

Even in the City of Dawn, poverty hadn't been completely eradicated.

It was still a bit too early to show off; the Alliance's journey was far from over.

But thinking from another angle, at least ordinary people in the Alliance still held the dreams of changing their current lives and becoming wealthy, and they were willing to take steps toward that dream, instead of considering it an unreachable daydream, or only daring to think about it when lying down.

This in itself was quite good.

Compared to the residents of the City of Dawn, the residents of the South Sea Union and Silver Moon Bay were much more restless; some had even caught up with the players, staying ahead of the trend.

Restlessness isn't a bad thing; it's actually the driving force of societal progress.

As for the wealth that ordinary people pursue, it isn't a dreadful monster; instead, it acts as a catalyst for accelerating social progress.

It only becomes a poison threatening the entire alliance when it's monopolized.

And preventing this monopoly is precisely one of the tasks Chu Guang is currently working on.

Not occupying the bathroom for too long, Chu Guang used the holographic camouflage system to slightly adjust his appearance, then left the bathroom for the people waiting outside.

After returning to the carriage, he passed the security check at the door before turning off the holographic camouflage system, and then went straight to the VIP compartment in the middle of the carriage.

X-16 prepared a cup of tea for him, gently placing it on the table, then stood aside holding the tray.

Sitting on the table with cheeks resting on her hands, Xiao Qi tilted her head in curiosity and asked.

"Master, isn't there a toilet in the carriage? Why did you go outside?"

Chu Guang replied with a smile.

"Didn't it suddenly seem interesting to see the ordinary life?"

Xiao Qi didn't quite understand.

"Can't you see it in the City of Dawn?"

"Yes, but the Alliance is not only the City of Dawn. Many people live in places we can't see," sipping the tea lightly, Chu Guang placed the cup on the wobbling tray, "Also, what we see in the office and what we personally see in reality are definitely not the same."

Somewhat disagreeing with his statement, Xiao Qi pursed her lips lightly.

"Well... even if you sit in the office, I can still see for you."

Although the current conditions of the Wasteland don't allow for satellites, the Hummingbird drone controlled by the shelter server could be considered a "low-altitude satellite" in another sense.

The small spherical shell hovering over a height of 10 meters almost attracted no one's attention, and its 360-degree wide-angle camera could take in the whole area seamlessly.

Long, long ago, when "players" and "NPCs" weren't so reliable, it served as VM's communication relay and Chu Guang's eyes for observing conditions inside and outside the Survivor Settlement.

"I'm not doubting your capabilities; we're talking about two different things." Looking at the slightly pouting Xiao Qi, Chu Guang chuckled and replied, then turned his gaze outside the window.

The train has left Qingquan City for a while now, and the last station it passed seemed to be the southernmost station in the River Valley Province.

The rugged mountain road seemed to come to an end after passing through a tunnel, and the slow-moving train gradually increased its speed.

Seeing the familiar scenery, some memories stirred in Chu Guang's heart, and he casually asked a question.

"What's ahead?"

Xiao Qi, resting her chin on her hand, answered in a pleasant voice.

"Once we cross that river up ahead, we'll be in Brocade River Province. It seems there's a small town there that worships lizards, rats, and humans."

Chu Guang felt a stir in his heart and blurted out.

"It's called Dusty Town, right?"

Xiao Qi opened her eyes in surprise.

"Oh? You still remember, Master?"

Chu Guang laughed heartily and said.

"It hasn't been that many years; how could I forget so soon?"

That place was once a battlefield for the Jungle Corps, and it seemed that battle was also the debut of the bomb gun.

In that battle, they successfully thwarted the Qi Tribe's raiding of the survivor settlements around Brocade River City and relocated the residents of Dusty Town to a safer place.

Later, a large force of Alliance troops set out from here to the battlefield, heading to Brocade River Province to battle against the Torch Church and its mutant vassals.

However, speaking of which, in just two or three years, the changes here have become so great that he can hardly recognize them.

The rumbling sound rolled over the waves, and the train crossed the river, then climbed over hills, and soon an endless plain and gentle slopes came into Chu Guang's view.

The scenery that met his eyes at that moment was even more breathtaking than before.

Where once barren land stretched as far as he could remember, now lay fields of golden rice paddies.

The heavy rice ears bent the stalks under their weight, creating golden waves with every breeze that swept through.

September was the season of autumn harvest, and Dusty Town was in the busiest time of the year.

Large machines with rollers were working back and forth in the fields, and the areas crushed by those tracks and rollers looked like a barber had trimmed them, leaving only stubs of hair-like residue.

Those were the chopped straw.

The machines following behind would mix them with nitrogen fertilizer and blend them into the soil, preparing for the next round of cultivation.

Besides the rice paddies, there were orchards in the distance with Cam trees and other trees, managed by horticultural robots produced by Giant Stone City.

Although Dusty Town only had a hundred households, thanks to this mechanical agriculture technology, the cultivated area surpassed the land opened up by the West Winds Expeditionary Army with tens of thousands of people.

Looking at the townspeople in the distance, packing threshed rice into burlap bags, Chu Guang said with some emotion.

"I didn't expect that Brocade River Province would also use a mechanized planting system."

He remembered when the Alliance first came here, the laborers were still serfs, and their tools were hoes.

The local farm owners preferred to buy a few more decommissioned propeller planes from the Alliance than to switch to more efficient tractors. Later, due to the chaos stirred by the Torch, they were almost swept away along with their serfs.

Of course, the situation in Dusty Town was somewhat different from other settlements in the area.

Because Junkie and his two other partners paid out of their pockets to buy some equipment for the locals, and later helped them sell their produced grain to Giant Stone City, this place was likely the first to implement mechanized agriculture in the entire Brocade River Province.

In other settlements, like Mafu Town, the situation might not be as dramatic.

Seeing Chu Guang's interest in those farming machines, X-16, standing with a tray nearby, introduced them like a tour guide.

"That is the United Harvesting System designed by Huge Rock Military Industry."

Chu Guang was slightly stunned.

"Huge Rock Military Industry?"

X-16 nodded and continued.

"In June this year, Mr. Yibosi spun off the production lines for heavy mining equipment, agricultural machinery, and track transportation tools from Huge Rock Military Industry's production line and established a new company operated by a human CEO. Currently, this subsidiary has become a new growth point for Huge Rock Military Industry's profits, and plans to list on the Dawn City Exchange."

It wasn't just Lister's Lister Group that had stepped out of the Great Wall; the mammoth that was Huge Rock Military Industry was also finding its own way to break out from that towering wall.

However, Chu Guang had never paid much attention to Huge Rock Military Industry's ventures outside the military domain.

The last time he met Yibosi was when he was representing the Alliance authorities in talks to negotiate cooperative ventures with North Island Heavy Industries.

Of course, it might just be that collaboration with North Island Heavy Industries that sparked new inspiration in Yibosi.

Since changing hands, that android, who had surpassed its expiration date, seemed to gradually return to normal.

Chu Guang chuckled and said.

"That's good, although I didn't expect that guy to be interested in things other than weapons."

The obsidian mirror surface flickered slightly, and X-16, in an unperturbed tone, continued.

"Father says that only when the value of the land is fully exploited will people fight to reclaim it... Suppressing the grain price and increasing the birth rate are long-term strategies to open the market for Huge Rock Military Industry's weapons."

Chu Guang choked on his tea and coughed, then said.

"Cough... The price of grain isn't the only factor affecting the birth rate; I think he's overthinking it."

X-16 nodded, seemingly thoughtful.

"I see... I understand."

Chu Guang didn't really believe that this guy truly understood what he said, but he didn't mind much.

Yibosi's penchant for sowing chaos wasn't a new development; he had been like this even before Chu Guang met him.

The train traveled all the way to the vicinity of Dusty Town and stopped next to a simple station.

Two travelers chose to get off here, and judging by their appearance, they seemed to be backpackers from Ideal City.

When Chu Guang looked out of the window, he happened to see the enclosing wall outside the station.

The originally haphazardly stacked low wall of granite and cement had been transformed into a neatly beautiful and more reliable concrete wall.

The locals indeed fulfilled their initial wish to rebuild a bigger and more beautiful village on the ruins.

On the gate of that high wall was carved a relief, featuring a massive Dead Claw, a plump rat, and a cloaked man.

They are regarded as the guardians of this small town's residents and a landmark for Ideal City's tourists to photograph and check-in.

It is worth mentioning that although the neighboring mutant tribes had been hunted to extinction by players, variants still occasionally wander here.

Despite the Alliance's mind interference device being capable of repelling variants, due to some prior incidents, the locals still trust their hunting guns and the walls they built more than the mind interference device, continuing the tradition of building watchtowers.

Since few passengers get off here, the train stopped for only three minutes before resuming its journey towards Singular Point City.

It was once the logistics transit base for the Alliance's southern expeditionary forces in Brocade River Province, and now it has become the largest settlement in Brocade River Province, even surpassing the southernmost Weifu City.

Honestly, this surprised Chu Guang.

He originally envisioned Singular Point City managed entirely by AI to serve as the Alliance's major rehab center, helping locals break their dependency on Nago, and metaphorically, their "big baby" syndrome.

They shouldn't always count on someone to manage them but should find a way to live properly on their own.

However, what surprised Chu Guang was that the population here boomed, growing from tens of thousands to an astonishing 200,000.

Unlike other settlements, Frost showed no objection to those choosing to stay here.

Though there's no Alliance ID issued here, nor is silver coin earned through work, the advantage is never having to worry about what's worn daily - people can stay as long as they want, even a lifetime if they choose.

There's only one requirement: once leaving, they cannot return.

Except for the luggage and a small amount of silver coins exchanged based on points deposited at the time of storage, nothing can be taken from here.

As for the travelers.

They can rest at a hotel near the station or tour the farm but can only stay for a day, and they generally won't interact with locals.

In fact, to ensure some sort of fairness, even the hotel staff at the station are specially conferred Ideal City's bionics.

The train stayed here a notably longer period, with a much busier flow of passengers boarding and disembarking compared to previous stations, scurrying back and forth on the tiled platform.

However, unlike several stations in the southern River Valley Province, most travelers disembarking here were backpackers from Ideal City, with few intending to settle here.

Particularly those backpackers from Ideal City.

They seemed particularly intrigued by this uniquely ruled settlement deeply connected with Kang Mao Group, with excitement and even enthusiasm etched on their faces.

Chu Guang later learned from Brother Mole's post that "cloud friends" on Ideal City's Endpoint Cloud seemed to regard this place as some social experiment base.

They not only rated it extraordinarily high but even saw it as the ultimate form of human societal development—

That is, a perfect utopia where everything is governed by AI, with no more human exploitation of humans.

Their equality here even goes a step further than the Alliance.

The locals achieved complete equality and astonishingly balanced production and consumption.

However, from Chu Guang's perspective, Ideal City's residents still have it too well.

Countless people on the Wasteland envy their lives, and even players from the peaceful world are astounded by their prosperity, while they instead regard some impoverished outpost on the Wasteland as their spiritual homeland.

Of course, that's their freedom.

The Alliance has made no little money of Ideal City's Cr from tourism income, so he naturally has no reason for complaints.

Planning to stay here for a night and meet old friends he hadn't seen in a long time, Chu Guang, along with X-16 and Lu Bei, quietly disembarked from the train and headed straight to the administrative passage.

Honestly, this place has changed a lot too, though not as astonishing as Dusty Town.

After all, broad farmlands and orchards originally existed here, and those farms and orchards remain just as they were, just expanded significantly in area.

Besides, the biggest change lies in the settlement's infrastructure and residents' housing.

A wide road runs from the entrance of the settlement straight to a manor deep in the farm, flanked by uniformly styled streetlights, green belts, and prefab concrete buildings.

These buildings are divided into block-shaped communities, with green parks for rest, boiler rooms supplying hot water, and communal cafeterias.

Between some larger communities, there are even schools, libraries, and hospitals, among other larger public facilities.

As for the prefab concrete buildings assembled with panels, Chu Guang wasn't unfamiliar, as they were initially set up as an emergency solution to the housing problem for Waste Land Wanderers.

Now, prefab concrete buildings even became one of the Giant Stone City's industry pillars, extending as far as Jinjaron Harbor in Poluo Province, and even Tiandu.

Curiously enough, Giant Stone City, having overcome a crisis and gained wealth thanks to this venture, had long since ceased erecting them and even considered transferring this outdated production line to the needy Poluo Province.

Yet even Giant Stone City's own residents likely did not expect the housing surge in Singular Point City to preserve what should've been an obsolete production line.

When Chu Guang set foot in Singular Point City, Frost, working within the manor, immediately noticed him and, with Solar Eclipse, happily met him at the manor gate.

"Honorable Manager Sir, what wind blew you here?"

"It's been a while, just came to see you all."

Seeing Frost and Solar Eclipse dressed in maid outfits, Chu Guang smiled and nodded before continuing.

"The changes here are huge. I almost thought I got off at the wrong stop... until I saw you two. Speaking of which, you two haven't changed at all."

"Of course, my pursuit of art is eternal, and besides, the Alliance's artists always bring me delightful surprises."

Elegantly lifting her skirt and spinning, Frost wore a confident smile but soon followed with a touch of concern.

"If only the survivors of Singular Point City could be like other people in the Alliance. I've tried teaching them art, though they tried accepting... rarely could they bring me that kind of... sorry, I don't know how to describe that feeling."

Xiao Qi, who was sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder, chimed in.

"...The intelligence plugin is burning?"

Frost's eyes lit up, and he continued speaking passionately.

"Exactly, it's that feeling of the intelligence plugin burning! Of course, I'm not tired of my current work; it's just that their creativity either expands the elements I provide in a monotonous way or shrinks them monotonously. It always feels like something new is missing."

Chu Guang lightly coughed and said.

"You can't have it both ways; some buffs... I mean traits, are inherently contradictory, and you can only choose one."

"Contradictory?" Frost was slightly taken aback, lowering his head in thought, "Is it contradictory? But logically... it doesn't seem contradictory."

Chu Guang was silent for a while and gave an uncertain answer.

"Maybe this is the biggest difference between humans and machines. Humans are not creatures that follow logic or mathematical laws."

"Then what do they follow?"

Chu Guang thought for a while and said.

"Perhaps intuition, perhaps instinct."

Unlike machines that are designed for a certain purpose, humans do not come into this world with a purpose.

Or rather, the meaning of life is found in the process of living, not preset.

But this question is too philosophical, and he wasn't sure if the bioroid in front of him could truly understand.

It was at this moment that Nuonuo's voice suddenly came from behind Frost.

"Actually, it's not that hard to understand... Dad's farm used to be like this, I didn't think the changes here were that big."

"Yinyin?"

Looking at the little girl walking out from behind Frost, Chu Guang showed a surprised expression.

He was about to make a polite remark, "You've grown taller," but quickly remembered that her height would not grow anymore, so he changed his words.

"Do you feel okay? With the new body."

Yinyin gently nodded and said softly.

"I've adapted... But I always feel like after becoming a machine, every day seems to have lost its meaning."

Hearing her reply, Solar Eclipse, expressionless, suddenly spoke up to correct her.

"It's bioroid. We are different from robots."

Yinyin made a helpless expression, as if to say, "Let's just say that's it."

Her mature and sensible look was heart-wrenching.

After experiencing a major change in her life, she seemed to have matured prematurely, like Little Lamb.

Looking at the helpless Yinyin, Chu Guang thought for a while and said in a gentle tone.

"Meaning is something you need to find yourself; we can't help you with this... But I believe you will find it, just like Frost next to you."

Although he wasn't sure if she could still be considered a kid, he still hoped she wouldn't fall into the abyss of nihilism.

Yinyin gently nodded, not knowing if she appreciated his kind intentions, and only said in that pleasant voice.

"Mm, I know, Manager sir, though I don't envy Frost's strange hobbies at all... By the way, honorable Manager sir, how is Little Lamb?"

Chu Guang patted her head with a smile and said.

"That I don't know; I only heard she met her father and went to school like the other kids in the City of Dawn. If you miss her, I suggest you go to see her directly."

Yinyin's expression suddenly became anxious.

"...I will go."

Chu Guang could probably guess the troubles in her heart, but that was her own matter.

Standing up straight, he looked at Frost again and said politely.

"I'm sorry I didn't make a reservation; I'm heading south this time not on an official trip... Could you prepare some rooms for me? I plan to stay here overnight."

Frost's face lit up with a bright smile and spoke enthusiastically.

"No problem, this estate is usually just me, Yinyin, and Solar Eclipse here, so we're never short of empty rooms... Please follow me, honorable Manager."

Chu Guang nodded and then followed behind Frost, entering the estate where the Burning Corps once fought.

From the moment he stepped into the estate, he noticed Lu Bei's hand always at his waist, his eyes nervously scanning the surroundings, as if someone was hiding in the bushes.

Especially when they reached the building ahead, his expression was tense like a drawn string.

The Alliance's aircraft had landed here, and bullet holes could even be seen on the wall nearby.

Seeing the young man's demeanor, Chu Guang couldn't help but chuckle and said with a smile.

"Did you find something?"

Not expecting Chu Guang to notice his small movements, Lu Bei blushed with embarrassment and scratched the back of his head.

"I..."

"It's already 214 now, the battles here ended a long time ago."

Chu Guang lightly patted him on the shoulder with a gentle tone and said.

"I told you before we set off, this time we're just here to have a look, not to fight."

Chapter 902: The Great Migration

Though Chu Guang has raised many flags before, this time, the mystical power of his words didn't seem to manifest.

Singular Point City is very safe.

It's not an exaggeration to say that it is much safer than any settlement of the Alliance.

Moreover, time here seems to slow down, and even the birds flying past occasionally move leisurely, making it enviable.

Under the coordination of AI, not only has human harmony reached its highest level, but humans and other species have achieved a co-prosperity without conflict.

The agricultural division on the west side of Singular Point City.

Watching the farmer lazily basking in The Sun on the field ridge and the sparrow having a buffet nearby, Chu Guang, accompanied by Frost, captured this moment that resembles a world-famous painting.

After a smile, he suddenly let out a sigh.

"...To be honest, I never thought you guys would succeed at the time. I even had a plan in place for your failure and how to take over the mess afterward."

His concerns were not entirely unfounded.

After all, the original residents of this settlement were not good people, among them were many crafty, treacherous individuals and even some who had pledged loyalty to the Torch.

In terms of moral standards, it's possible that those mixed-race individuals expelled by the mutant tribe might have higher integrity.

The truly innocent probably were only those whom the Alliance rescued from the mutant tribe that had been raised like livestock.

However, comparatively, those rescued captives lacked even the most basic social attributes, not to mention the ability to be self-sufficient.

These two groups fall into the category of individuals within the Alliance society with the highest "assimilation costs."

The public resources required to enable them to positively contribute to society are three times the average, or even more.

This includes, but is not limited to, taking prosthetics from Home of the Refugees, looting shelves and dumplings from rescue stations, and deceiving other Waste Land Wanderers who have just joined the Alliance.

Yet miraculously, Singular Point City successfully assimilated them.

Or to put it more accurately, their inherently unrestrained nature unexpectedly adapted well to the city's strict and overwhelming rules.

Hearing Chu Guang's praise, Frost smiled shyly yet proudly and said.

"You flatter us... Although from your perspective we seem to have done well, in my opinion, we are still far from ultimate success."

Chu Guang glanced at it.

"What is your ultimate success?"

Frost spoke in a gentle tone.

"At the very least, we have to be able to operate completely independently without relying on external assistance."

Chu Guang was momentarily taken aback by this and laughed.

"That goal... is indeed too ambitious. Not even any settlement of the Alliance can achieve it."

"Isn't it? Singular Point City still has a long way to go..." Frost sighed lightly. "Honestly, sometimes I have pessimistic thoughts that this might be an inherently unachievable goal."

Chu Guang asked with slight surprise.

"You feel pessimistic as well?"

"I am a bio-mechanical entity, not a robot. A 1% calculation probability is the threshold for my emotional component. Below this threshold, I begin to feel depressed."

Frost nodded and sighed before continuing.

"Our cultivated land area has tripled, crop production has increased several times, people's lives are exceptionally affluent, yet we remain unable to free ourselves from dependency on the outside world."

"Furthermore, there are always two distinct circumstances here: Some are highly motivated but constantly planning to leave, while another part is spiritually lethargic. Although they don't plan to leave, they become increasingly reliant on our care, performing tasks passively and reducing energy consumption to adapt to our minimal living standards, eventually becoming more like machines but far less efficient."

Although in principle, those who leave Singular Point City can't take anything with them; the conversion rate of labor points into silver coin earnings is pathetically low, but knowledge and skills don't count as things and are nearly free in Singular Point City.

Except for sleeping at prescribed times, people can freely spend their leisure time.

Those eager to leave spend a significant amount of spare time learning knowledge and skills, yet paradoxically, these are the very individuals Frost most hopes to retain.

Though Frost tried procuring some indulgences from Ideal City to reward these talents within the framework allowed by the Alliance Constitution, it only delayed their departure, without changing the ultimate outcome.

In reality, Singular Point City has become a production base for supplying professional talent and inexpensive food products to the Alliance, without nurturing a new social form that can completely surpass the Alliance and other settlements in the wasteland.

Once deprived of external innovative inputs, this isolated settlement will turn stagnant and enter a downward spiral.

Chu Guang noticed this suddenly.

The automation penetration rate here is somehow lower than the neighboring Dusty Town.

Frost beside Chu Guang suddenly asked abruptly.

"Is it human nature?"

Chu Guang contemplated for a moment and gave a vague answer.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

Frost stared at him, insistently asking.

"My cognitive plugin indicates that you have a better answer... Please don't hesitate, you are one of the most visionary organisms I've encountered, and your opinion is incredibly valuable to me."

Listening to this peculiar remark, Chu Guang displayed a helpless expression, sighed, and said.

"How should I say... the idea of 'better' is itself a false proposition. Most real-world issues don't have a standard or optimal solution, only relatively suitable solutions. In my view, your concern, rather than human nature, seems more like a natural law."

Frost: "Natural law?"

Chu Guang nodded and directed his gaze to the golden landscape sprawling far into the distance.

"Over the past tens of thousands of years, we've drawn more than one conclusion, but not a single conclusion can resolve all the problems we encounter across historical periods."

"I'm more inclined to believe that an absolutely perfect approach never existed from the start."

"The United Human once nearly reached perfection. The Prosperity Epoch fulfilled all our old era imaginations of the future, yet the result of a linear upward rise was ultimately, as we see today, a linear fall."

Seeing Frost deep in thought, Chu Guang abruptly shifted his tone and patted its shoulder with a smile.

"However, the journey of exploring 'ultimate propositions' itself is far from meaningless... Whether it's physics or sociology, we always find unexpected discoveries on the path to exploring perfection, which is far more beneficial than standing still."

"Keep moving forward. Perhaps someday in the future, the Alliance will rely on you for salvation."

He's prepared many baskets for the eggs, and outside the Alliance, there's also the South Sea Union.

As long as there are enough options, he will find the right one.

Even if existing methods don't work, future alliances will create new ones.

He believes that his children harbor this potential.

And this force to keep the Alliance eternally youthful is far more useful than countless inheritances left for future generations to squander.

Sensing the warmth emanating from the palm, Frost, suddenly amazed, understood his meaning in an instant, and then showed a knowing smile.

"It's quite shameful that my confusion needs to be answered by my client... Thank you, I will heed your advice and continue forward."

It seemed to gain a new understanding of its work, while also regaining its vigor.

Chu Guang smiled and nodded, speaking with a gentle tone.

"With your reassurance, I can relax."

...

Chu Guang spent the entire afternoon touring Singular Point City, visiting its farm, as well as the local clothing and soda factories.

The enthusiasm for production here was similar to that of the factories and farmlands, not particularly high, but sufficient to meet the needs of the settlement itself.

The night passed without words.

After a night's rest, Chu Guang woke up at dawn in the guest house. He said goodbye to Frost, Solar Eclipse, and the others, then headed straight to the station outside Singular Point City.

Most of the travelers waiting on the platform were the same people who got off the train yesterday.

In addition, there were some young people or middle-aged men carrying matching suitcases, looking as hopeful and eager as players just stepping out of the Novice Village.

No matter their reasons for coming to Singular Point City, it seemed they all had perked up and were ready to hit the road again.

At this moment, Chu Guang noticed the "residency application" registration desk at the settlement's entrance. Besides Waste Land Wanderers from the Wasteland, there were some residents from Ideal City as well.

These people seemed to be from the same group of travelers who disembarked. After a day of exploration, they did not leave with their fellow travelers who were still enjoying the trip, but instead seemed to decide to stay and join the Singular Point City family.

Chu Guang was curious about their thoughts, so he used a holographic disguise device to alter his appearance and spoke to a young man wearing non-prescription glasses.

"Hey man, do you think life here is good?"

The young man didn't notice anything strange about Chu Guang's disguised voice and appeared quite talkative, responding with a hearty laugh.

"Why not? In Ideal City, my room is only twenty square meters, without windows, and with only a ventilation duct for cold and hot air. Even if I work hard my whole life, I may never see real sunlight in my room... But here, I just have to lie down on the ground to get it."

Seeing this overly optimistic young man, Chu Guang kindly reminded him.

"But there's no Endpoint Cloud here and probably won't be any in the future."

"That's even better. I've long been bored of the boundaryless virtual world. The AI there all act like obedient puppets, and real people beneath their virtual facades are as ugly as they can be... including myself. Honestly, I came here to stay far away from Endpoint Cloud," the young man laughed heartily, shrugged, and continued, "Besides, if I get bored, I can always leave."

Actually, that last sentence was the key point.

Hearing this young man's answer, Chu Guang was amused but also helpless.

He initially feared people would treat this "rehab center" as a resort, but now it seemed his worries might have come true.

However...

This didn't seem to be a bad thing.

The conversation he had with Frost yesterday impacted not only Frost; it also quietly shifted some of his own thoughts.

Even if his worries manifested, it didn't necessarily mean they would lead to the worst possible outcome.

Even if he preemptively prepared for everything to eliminate hidden dangers, the final result might not necessarily be as he wished.

After chatting a bit more with the talkative young man, he leisurely returned to the entrance of the official passage.

At this moment, the train heading south just arrived at the station, and Lu Bei, dressed formally, quietly approached him.

"Sir... our reserved carriage has arrived at the station, and my colleagues have already checked it. Please follow me."

Seeing the seriousness on Lu Bei's face, Chu Guang nodded and smiled.

"Alright, let's go, let's not keep the other passengers waiting."

Until Chu Guang settled into his reserved compartment, none of them drew any attention from the passengers.

The next stop was Weifu City.

After passing Weifu City and Ten Peaks Mountain, it's the Haiye Province, which borders the southern sea area... I've heard it's bustling there recently.

Due to his "shock therapy" plan for the Eastern Provinces at the beginning of the year, many Waste Land Wanderers migrated to the ten settlements along the Haiye Province coast.

Besides many Waste Land Wanderers settling there, there were also survivors from Poluo Province and Weilante people from the army.

Some retired expeditionary soldiers chose to stay locally, while others crossed the seas to seek refuge or gold.

The space elevator and gravity well projects brought enormous employment opportunities and business prospects; the continuous influx of immigrants brought skills, wealth, and labor.

This asset is far richer than the "Meissner effect armor" Mafu Town sold to the Alliance.

Especially with the help of Mammoth Nation labor, the South Sea Union gradually emerged from the shadow of civil war.

This Survivor Force, also fostered by residents of the refuge, is like an engine revived for a second spring, using two centuries of technological reserves and maritime construction experience as fuel to drive the development of the entire southern sea area coast!

Today, Haiye Province is gradually replacing Poluo Province's Jinjaron Harbor and Mammoth City, becoming the next emerging market sought after by investors.

Unlike when the Alliance industrialists first rushed to Jinjaron Harbor, today's Alliance has different production methods and financial tools.

The miracles spawned there might be even more astounding than those in Poluo Province.

Chu Guang took a copy of the "Survivor's Daily" issued by No.1 Settlement from X-16's hand, which was printed using the train's printer.

He shook the newspaper open on his lap and looked at the headline.

It depicted a legless Weilante old soldier wearing Southern Legion's standard uniform, standing dusty-faced in line to receive a free prosthetic at the Home of the Refugees.

Besides the second-rate editors of Dawn City "Survivor's Daily", most regions' "Survivor's Daily" were quite proficient at drawing satirical cartoons.

Including Giant Stone City.

Below the illustration, the accompanying text was ironically written:

[Unprecedented "Population Migration"! The "Salvation Nest" cargo ship arrives at No.1 Settlement!]

It was clear that the editor of this report should be a Moon person.

Although this gentleman tried to ensure objectivity and already restrained his emotions in wording and expression, one could still discern a slight disdain between the lines.

Chu Guang's eyebrows slightly raised, revealing a somewhat surprised expression.

"Are these people immigrants from Evernight Harbor?"

Xiao Qi, sitting on his shoulder, nodded and said.

"They should be... I think there's a post about them on the forum."

Chu Guang knew the post Xiao Qi mentioned.

About half a month ago, someone named [Tarlan Raider] started serializing a short story on the forum, documenting the legends of Evernight Harbor and Blackwater Alley.

This short story just began unveiling the Enlightenment Society's part, with the "Guide" hiding in Evernight Harbor and their unspeakable world-ending plan just emerging from the shadows.

Chu Guang was also following the thread, but so far, it seemed that the sudden appearance of the "Desert Army" had not made much progress.

The blockade and large-scale suppression activities in Evernight Harbor were still ongoing, so they might not make any reckless moves.

The post mentioned a merchant named Yarman and his ship "Salvation Nest". It was said that the twelve ships carried up to five thousand people and over a thousand tons of gold.

After understanding the situation, Chu Guang specially sent a telegram to Li Minghui, instructing his fleet not to accidentally harm the civilians onboard.

He just didn't expect these twelve ships to travel so fast, already arriving...

Chapter 903: Weilante People from Afar

It is worth mentioning that when Chu Guang opened the "Survivor's Daily" of No.1 Settlement, Yarman's team had not yet docked, just passing by the North Island in the southern sea area.

Due to increasingly fierce industry competition, this branch had prepared the newspaper's headline in advance last night to grab the news timing and completed the printing.

More than five thousand immigrants from the west of the Central Continent.

This is almost equivalent to one-twentieth of the current population of Settlement No.1!

And these people are Vellante people.

Considering the current strategic adversarial relationship between the Alliance and the Southern Legion, this large number of immigrants in itself is full of topicality, not to mention those thousands of tons of gold.

At a breakfast stall not far from the dock, a few dock workers wearing hard hats clicked their tongues in surprise at the news on the newspaper.

Some of these workers are Vellante people.

Compared with other Wasteland Wanderers from the Eastern Provinces, they are most sensitive to gold.

"Thousands of tons of gold... how many dinars is that?!"

"The smallest denomination is 5 grams… thousands of tons, at least 200 million!"

A Vellante who once served in the Eastern Legion couldn't help but lament.

"Damn... those guys to the south are really rich."

In the Eastern Legion, gold is generally in the hands of landowners with vast tracts of land.

These people are usually military aristocracy, either rewarded with land while serving as active Ten Thousand Leaders, or someone in the family has been a Ten Thousand Leader.

In terms of this, the Southern Legion indeed has a certain superiority over the Eastern Legion system-wise.

Their wealth does not depend on land, but more on mines and factories.

Moreover, the Southern Legion's gold is monopolized by the Vellante people, not by the Ten Thousand Leader.

No wonder the merchants and immigrants of Triumph City like to run to the colonies of the Southern Legion.

While these Vellante people were arguing about how many silver coins 200 million dinars could be exchanged for, Hank, also wearing a hard hat, held his breath in excitement.

200 million dinars!

He was worried about not having the start-up capital for his plans, and now the money has come, hasn't it?!

Months ago, he had boasted to Yarman about making back the money he lost at Settlement No.1, but unfortunately, months passed and he was still doing work at the dock, and the grand blueprint in his mind hadn't even started.

No way.

The risk control of the Alliance Bank is too strict, not friendly at all to entrepreneurs like him who have ideas but lack strength.

Although he had dutifully found a job to restore his credit and obtained temporary status, a dock job with a monthly salary of only 2000 silver coins was not enough for him to borrow a start-up capital above a million silver coins to start rolling his snowball.

Yet, when he was at his wits' end, those more than a thousand tons of gold about to dock showed him hope!

Quickly throwing down the half-eaten noodles, he jogged over to the foreman and cut straight to the point.

"I'd like to take a leave."

This guy asked for leave every three days, so the foreman had long memorized this face.

Seeing the hurried Hank, he chuckled and said.

"Leave? What hurts you this time?"

Faced with the foreman's teasing, Hank felt a bit embarrassed but did not back down, lightly coughing, he said.

"Ahem... Did you see this morning's top headline in the 'Survivor's Daily'? I have acquaintances on that ship, I have to entertain them a bit."

He was actually not lying, the ship owner named Yarman was indeed his acquaintance and also his lifesaver.

The foreman was dumbfounded for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.

However, he ultimately said nothing more and granted this guy named Hank the leave of absence.

"... I advise you to take your work a bit more seriously, at least fulfill forty hours a week, alright? If you can't make up 168 hours this month, I'll have to give your job to the Poluo people."

Receiving the leave slip from the foreman, Hank shamelessly joked with a straight face.

"Thanks for being so tolerant with me, when I make it big someday I'll definitely buy you a drink."

Not taking his blank check seriously at all, the foreman grinned and said.

"Just a drink? You've already started daydreaming, I thought you'd at least make me a general manager."

Hank grinned back and replied.

"That's a different story, I have to put my investors first. But if you're interested in a career change, I might consider introducing you to my competitors."

Stunned for a moment, the foreman then looked at this slick talker and jokingly cursed.

"Get out of here, you ungrateful bastard, don't expect any more leave slips from me this month!"

Waving the leave slip in his hand with a laugh, Hank said.

"Thanks for your good words, hopefully! If this succeeds, I won't need to bother you for slips anymore, and you can give my exoskeleton to those Poluo people."

Although Hank was not a big shot, he had at least owned two large ships of arms before.

He never intended to work at the dock for a lifetime, and this job itself was just a transition.

...

Just as Hank was hastily heading towards the passenger terminal, the twelve immigrant-laden passenger ships finally sailed into the port of the No.1 Settlement.

On the deck of the "Salvation Nest," Yarman gazed at the dock that was within arm's reach, a brilliant smile carrying a hint of longing.

Thanks to favorable weather along the way, his fleet maintained an average speed of over 30 knots while crossing the Poluo Sea, only slowing down when reaching the Baiyue Strait.

With over 5000 people on board, mostly Weilante people, he avoided stopping at the ports along the coast of Poluo Province to prevent any mishaps.

This was precisely why they managed to arrive at the Death Coast before the first weekend of September.

Honestly speaking, the changes here are quite significant.

Take the port, for instance; previously, the passenger and cargo terminals were crammed together. As the volume of cargo and people increased, the port's terminals have been divided into different areas based on their purpose.

Moreover, the infrastructure connecting the terminals on the shore has been gradually established.

For example, the cargo railway connecting to the port's storage area, the shipping building linked to the passenger terminal, and the minibus station, etc.

Yarman recalled that the place used to be rows of container houses, but now there are roads with green belts and dotted with wooden seaside villas.

Though he frequents this place and the intervals aren't long, every time he docks here, he feels as though a long time has passed.

While Yarman gazed at the shore, Kuran, standing by his side, was also observing the situation there carefully.

Unlike Yarman, it was Kuran's first time here, and he hadn't seen what it looked like before, so there wasn't much surprise on his face.

Compared to Evernight Harbor with its hundreds of thousands of people, the No.1 Settlement, with just over a hundred thousand, is more like a mixture of village and town at the urban-rural junction. The port under expansion looks more like a busy construction site.

The living conditions here certainly don't compare to Evernight Harbor, especially for those who have left their homes.

But these weren't his concerns anyway.

And as a new beginning, this place was already quite nice.

"By the way, why is this place called the Death Coast?"

Hearing Kuran's curious inquiry, Yarman answered in a casual tone.

"Because... this place really wasn't a good place before. Even when the Iron Tower Organization was around, locals were reluctant to come near. It's said that before the Alliance arrived, the entire coastline was inhabited by various mutant tribes, the kind with gills and fins."

Kuran's face showed a hint of surprise.

"Mutants with gills and fins?"

Yarman chuckled and said.

"Of course, they existed, but they couldn't stay underwater all the time. The nests scattered along the coastline were mostly destroyed by Alliance patrols... Alliance members mentioned that some aquatic mutants retreated to the pre-war sewage systems, but those entrances are usually far away, posing no threat to the people living here."

Kuran nodded to show understanding, directing his gaze toward the distant beach.

Aside from jagged reefs, all he could see were a few folded deck chairs, some closed sun umbrellas, and a few sparse figures.

It was morning and not many people were spending time on the beach, yet he could still feel the peacefulness and tranquility as time slowed down.

It's hard to believe that this place was once a mutant nest and a battlefield for the Alliance's landing troops...

Kuran's eyes held a trace of envy, yet he couldn't quite explain what it was he envied.

"...Looks like the Alliance's managers weren't lying to them, their battles really are over."

Yarman's wife, Margaret, was holding Little Ruby's hand tightly, the latter almost leaning over the railing in excitement.

Her bright eyes were full of curiosity. She had been chattering constantly along the way, and now her eyes were fixed intently on the gantry crane in the distance.

Such a thing isn't rare within the Alliance, yet it left Little Ruby utterly amazed.

She had never seen anything so fascinating. The towering frame of the door had wheels attached underneath that allowed it to change width freely, moving nimbly around the port and terminal.

The red iron claws suspended on the framework were extraordinarily flexible too.

With just a slight stretch and retract, it could lift a massive container over ten meters wide from the deck to the shore.

"What a big door!"

Watching her excited daughter exclaiming, a smile unwittingly crept onto Margaret's lips.

"That's a gantry crane."

"Gantry crane?" Ruby turned to her mother, her big eyes blinking with curiosity.

Seeing this inquisitive little one, Margaret smiled and explained.

"It's used for loading and unloading containers."

She had seen those things before, but it was also her first time witnessing it in real life.

Container transport isn't popular in Legion's territory; even Triumph City's port mainly focuses on bulk cargo, with conveyor belts installed between key areas of the port and terminal at most.

The reason is simple: labor from alien workers is incredibly cheap, and with the army in an expansion hiatus, cargo throughput at the ports rarely sees significant fluctuations.

As integral equipment for container transport, such large-scale handling devices don't gain popularity naturally.

Even though similar hoisting technology exists in Legion's factories, it hasn't spread to other fields.

"Then...why doesn't Evernight Harbor have it?" Ruby persisted with her questioning.

Margaret gently smoothed her wind-blown hair, holding her in her embrace.

"That's a very good question, but Mom hopes you will think about it yourself instead of waiting for others to give you the answers."

Little Ruby tilted her head and started to think seriously, but such profound questions were obviously too early for her.

The ship slowly approached the dock and threw down the anchor chain amidst the shouts of the sailors.

Yarman rolled up his sleeve and glanced at the time on his watch, then returned to his wife and daughter.

"We're about to disembark. I need to go to the port authority to register first... Over five thousand immigrants, I've never crammed so many people here at once. Dear, why don't you take Ruby back to the cabin to pack up our luggage."

Margaret: "Have you already arranged a place for us to stay?"

Yarman nodded.

"Just a hotel we've stayed at a few times, but the environment and facilities are decent, definitely better than the ship... We'll rest there for a few days, and then find a house."

He wasn't worried about their accommodation since he had been here several times and was relatively familiar with the local situation.

In comparison, he was more concerned about the more than five thousand compatriots on his ship.

Unlike him, who was used to wandering, most of these people were coming to such a distant place for the first time.

Their board and lodging were a problem.

However, Yarman believed that the local authorities at No.1 Settlement would definitely have more of a headache than he did.

What he needed to do next was to talk to the authorities about how to solve the problems.

"... I'll follow your plan."

Margaret gave him a light kiss on the cheek and then took Little Ruby back to the cabin.

Looking at the backs of mother and daughter, Yarman thought about their future new life, and couldn't help but smile with happiness.

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly came from the dock not far away.

"Haha, Mr. Yarman! We meet again!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, Yarman quickly saw Hank waving from the dock.

He was wearing a neat formal suit, his polished shoes shining brightly, and his greasy hair glistening in the morning light.

This Weilante from the New Continent seemed to have fully adapted to local life and even used his savings to get himself a decent outfit.

Yarman looked at him in surprise for a moment, then smiled and waved back.

"Hank? Long time no see, did you come here just to meet me?"

"Of course! I was supposed to meet someone for business, but when I heard you were coming, I rescheduled!"

Hank raised his sleeve to look at the time but remembered that he had already pawned his watch, so he awkwardly touched his wrist and retracted his hand.

Yarman didn't notice his embarrassment but instead noticed another person standing next to him.

The man resembled his partner Zhang Ze quite a bit, likely a fellow survivor from the Eastern Provinces.

After stepping down from the deck, he hugged Hank and then politely turned his gaze to the stranger.

"Who is this?"

"I was just about to introduce you!" Hank said with a bright smile and then looked at the person next to him, "This is Gu Ning, the local representative of No.1 Settlement."

"Hello, Mr. Yarman, I've heard of you."

As he spoke, the man named Gu Ning offered his right hand with a friendly smile.

Yarman shook his hand, looking somewhat surprised as he said.

"Nice to meet you... Mr. Gu."

More than being surprised by this person's identity, Yarman was curious why Hank had brought him here.

However, before he could ask, the head of the port authority came hurrying over from the direction of the port office, forcing him to temporarily set aside this matter.

"Sorry, I have something to attend to."

Seeing the slightly apologetic Yarman, the representative named Gu Ning smiled and said humbly.

"I understand, take care of your business first, we can talk later."

Hank, beaming, also chimed in.

"Business is important, we're not in a hurry."

Yarman nodded and then headed towards the port director.

Before docking at the port, he had already contacted the port authorities via radio and obtained permission to dock.

The one who approved this was Director Sun Youcheng of the official port authority.

However, the expression on the director's face told him that things might not be as simple as he had imagined.

And as he anticipated, things indeed developed in a problematic way.

When he reached Director Sun, just as he was about to greet him, the other party spoke first.

"You have trouble."

Looking at the expression on Director Sun's face, Yarman was taken aback.

"Trouble? Hadn't I already talked about this with you before coming here?"

Sun Youcheng's expression was somewhat awkward as his gaze drifted to the side.

"That's correct... but the situation has changed somewhat now."

Changed?

The word he feared most to hear made Yarman's expression slightly shift, and he said solemnly.

"I hope you can explain clearly... We docked at the port after obtaining your permission."

"That's indeed the case... but this settlement is not solely my decision."

Perhaps due to being at a disadvantage initially, Sun Youcheng felt uncertain as he uttered these words.

After hesitating for a long while, he sighed and said.

"Alright, I'll be honest. Some Moon people are holding signs and protesting at the town hall, and you should be well aware of what they're protesting... Your compatriots did those things."

He could only blame that damned "Survivor Daily," not knowing who leaked the information.

Sun Youcheng cursed inwardly but was helpless.

He had control over the port but couldn't control the press.

In fact, he felt last night that these Weilante immigrants might encounter trouble.

After all, this time there were five thousand people, not five hundred, let alone coming from the Southern Legion's territory.

To prevent possible accidents, he specially held a meeting in the bureau, repeatedly urging those in the know not to let the information leak to the media, yet unexpectedly, before the ship even docked, it had already made the headlines in the "Survivor Daily," even the exact number of people was exposed.

Now the town hall was surrounded tightly, and the pressure naturally landed on him.

After listening to Director Sun's words, Yarman couldn't help but argue.

"But the people on my ship are all civilians, what do they have to do with it? Let alone they're also victims persecuted by the legion, and it's precisely for this reason that they came here."

Sun Youcheng looked at him sympathetically, but ultimately could only sigh helplessly.

"I can't help you with explanations, the port authority also listens to the town hall, you should go and explain to those protesters... but I must tell you, they are different from you. Especially those Moon people, many joined the Alliance long ago; they have citizenship and political rights."

Yarman was momentarily speechless.

Just as he didn't know what to do, Gu Ning's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"The identity of an Alliance citizen is not a shield to do as one pleases, nor a sword to feel superior. Providing shelter to survivors aiming to end the Wasteland Era and uniting all survivors in distress... these words are written in the Alliance's constitution. Are you indulging our citizens in undermining our foundation, Mr. Sun Youcheng?"

"Ordinary people can be childish and capricious, but such things shouldn't happen to you."

Earlier, Sun Youcheng's attention was entirely on Yarman, not noticing the local representative was here.

Seeing Gu Ning's face, his expression twisted into bitterness.

Though it wasn't good to offend Alliance citizens, he was even more reluctant to face the representative body's accountability.

The pressure from that was far greater than shouting a couple of times through a window.

If truly investigated, he could be dismissed in a minute.

"I didn't mean that... but what about those protesters? Just leave them alone?"

He intended it as a rhetorical question, but didn't expect Gu Ning to portray a "just do that" look.

"They protest their own issues, that is their right, deal with your matters according to regulations, I'll handle the rest."

Sun Youcheng found himself at a loss for words and could only nod helplessly.

"Alright... but I won't be responsible for what happens afterward."

Since the representative body asked him to let them pass.

Even if the mayor questioned him later, he would have something to answer.

"That's not something you should be handling."

While speaking, Gu Ning looked at Yarman, who was already completely stunned, and smiled while extending his right hand, "Welcome to the Alliance, I hope this minor misunderstanding between us hasn't made you feel wronged."

"How could it..." Yarman, snapping back to reality, immediately grasped Gu Ning's extended hand and said gratefully, "Thank you... As for the Poluo people, I'll go explain to them."

Gu Ning released his hand with a smile and waved gently.

"No need to be polite, as for mediation and clarification, that's our job."

Pausing for a moment, he continued speaking.

"I believe you haven't found a place to live yet, have you?"

Yarman swallowed and honestly responded.

"...Indeed, although my accommodation is resolved, the vast majority on the ship don't have one."

"I understand the basic situation."

Gu Ning nodded seriously, then said.

"The Alliance isn't a wish machine; we indeed can't immediately conjure up a community to hold five thousand people... but I believe we can find a solution, can we have a chat on your ship?"

Unexpectedly moved by the other's care for these ships' people's fate, Yarman then made a gesture invitingly.

"Of course, please follow me!"

Chapter 904: Even Future Citizens

Just as Yarman was arguing with the director of the port authority, the Weilante people standing on the deck were also paying attention to the situation onshore.

Especially Perry.

His ship carried 200 million dinars and 8 million silver coins, so he couldn't help but be concerned about his fate.

Watching Yarman and the port authority staff seemingly start arguing, Perry's wife's face showed a trace of worry.

"...My dear, I always feel like they don't really like us."

"Don't like us? Haha... My dear, what joke are you making? Thanks to those blustering cowards, it's a good thing if we can find someone who doesn't hate us on the eastern side of the Central Continent."

After all, the Poluo people used to love them, but because of the foolishness of the Southern Legion, even the few bootlickers they had left were gone.

Perry cursed softly under his breath, his eyes fixed on the distant dock, contemplating his plans.

He didn't come here to strike it rich; he came to escape hardship, having considered all possible scenarios before departure, including the current situation.

Over five thousand survivors...

It would be overwhelming for any settlement to accept so many people all at once.

Not to mention the "notorious" Weilante people.

That they were able to arrive here unimpeded was something he considered a miracle.

The expression of the head of the bodyguards standing nearby was also somewhat uneasy, and after hesitating for a moment, he lightly coughed and said.

"...Although it's not my place to make suggestions, I think you could consider giving a gift to some local bigwig."

"It's not as simple as you think. Should we just casually find someone and hand them a bag of gold coins?"

Having said this, Perry continued to focus on the situation at the dock.

Actually, compared to Yarman and that port authority director, his gaze lingered more on another Weilante person, who was dressed sharply in a suit, his hair slicked back and shining.

That guy came here earlier than they did and seemed to be doing quite well locally, standing beside him was a "local friend" who appeared to be quite influential.

Yarman seemed quite familiar with him.

Perry couldn't help but think he must find an opportunity to have Yarman introduce him to that capable man.

At this moment, the situation on the dock changed again.

That local friend who came along with his compatriot suddenly intervened in the argument between Yarman and the port authority staff.

In just a few words, the previously aggressive director of the port authority suddenly softened his stance.

Perry's eyes immediately lit up, and looking at Yarman's old friend, his eyes seemed to be brimming with excitement.

The head of the bodyguards hadn't yet figured out what was going on and was still speaking in a comforting tone.

"Actually, even if there's no No.1 Settlement, there's a No.2 or No.3..."

"If the problem can't be solved and we just keep running, even a No.20 or No.30 won't help..."

Lowering the binoculars, Perry patted the shoulder of the bodyguard leader, pulling him aside and pointed to the sharply dressed Weilante person on the distant dock.

"Go to the deck of the Salvation Nest and find out the name of that person for me."

Seeing the boss's bright eyes, the bodyguard leader, though puzzled, eventually asked nothing.

"Yes, sir."

At this moment, Perry didn't know that the man he was eager to meet had already set his eyes on him.

However, Hank did not directly ask Yarman to introduce that wealthy newcomer to him.

Because that would be openly telling the person that he had his eyes on the gold in his hands.

Once a preconceived wariness sets in, it would be difficult to further cooperate later.

Rather than using his warm face to meet the other's cold shoulder, he preferred the opposite.

To be honest, Hank himself was quite anxious; all his composed smiles were just a facade.

After all, the local representative he brought in wasn't actually his friend; they had only met that day.

The reason he could persuade him to come and help was actually quite simple.

He first promised the representative that the loyal and brave Weilante people would remember Mr. Gu's favor today, and the latter only needed to help them once to win the support of all of them in the future.

Not only that, but he also offered the representative a proposal: on that ship was his partner, and he intended to build a new, prosperous city from scratch in the wilderness with that partner, to accept more Waste Land Wanderer survivors.

Votes and achievements, and the reputation of upholding the constitution… even if exaggerated, such a rich return was more than enough to tempt the representative.

Helping the Weilante people might offend some biased Poluo people, but compared to what he could gain, the loss of support was negligible.

Moreover, those biased folks were the hardest to win over.

Their demands were the hardest to satisfy, their expressions of approval the most intense, and even a hint of dissatisfaction could make them forget all past kindness, turning their extreme support into extreme opposition.

Pleasing them would have no benefit whatsoever, even requiring one to abandon an entire forest for a few difficult saplings.

Of course, Weilante people also had such stubborn folks, but they were not on these twelve ships.

Even the most cunning Weilante people of the New Continent were still more faithful, trustworthy, and professional compared to the Poluo people who believed in a thousand gods.

Although Hank sensed that Gu Ning did not fully believe his exaggerated claims, he still managed to persuade him to stop vacillating and decisively wade into these troubled waters.

He believed that the wealthy individual with thousands of tons of gold was definitely keeping an eye on the situation at the dock and would surely notice the "behind-the-scenes" him.

By then, without him having to say a word, the other party would naturally reach out to him.

And thus, he could proceed with delivering his next grand promise to Mr. Gu!

Following Yarman's lead, the group boarded the deck of the Salvation Nest.

At the moment when Representative Gu was comforting and inquiring the survivors on the ship, Yarman excitedly grabbed Hank's hand.

"Thank you! I really don't know how to thank you. If it wasn't for your representative friend..."

"It's nothing, really. We have the same blood flowing through our veins, and helping each other when away from home is what we should do. No need to be so polite."

As he said this, Hank looked justified without a hint of embarrassment, as if the representative had indeed come here to help because of his influence.

Yarman didn't doubt Hank at all, after all, they had helped him so much, he felt grateful instead.

He only felt relieved now, grateful that he insisted on rescuing them from the sea despite opposition.

Indeed, good deeds do get rewarded.

"Speaking of which, your friend helped us a lot, should we show some appreciation?"

Looking at the serious Yarman, Hank smiled and interrupted him.

"Please don't say that. Speaking for the Alliance citizens is part of his job... You can think of him as a tribune."

Yarman was taken aback.

"Tribune?"

"I almost forgot you haven't been to the New Continent," Hank patted his forehead, "In the Western Legion, if you have trouble with the military, you can ask that group for help. They remember every word the Marshal said, even if the Marshal himself has forgotten. Seeking their help may not be a cure-all, but it's definitely more reliable than praying to the Marshal."

"...That's something I've never heard before," Yarman scratched his head and said.

Western Legion in the New Continent.

By comparison, he even knew more about the Eastern Legion than that place.

But then again, he had always thought the systems of the Four Armies were just tweaks from Triumph City and only differed in inheritance levels, essentially unchanged.

However, he didn't expect the compatriots in the west to add something new.

Apparently, what he thought was "complete understanding" was just his own wishful thinking.

Hank grinned, patting him on the shoulder.

"When you get to a new place, you must acquaint yourself with the rules of the game... This is a universal truth that I have found unfailingly effective."

While Hank was feeling smug about himself, a burly man came over from the gangway on the other side of the deck.

He was wearing a lightweight security exoskeleton, his robust appearance suggesting he was battle-hardened.

He stopped beside them and nodded respectfully, saying.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Hank?"

Hunter glanced at the person beside him, quickly assessing him, but he held back his impatience and replied politely with a smile.

"That's me... and you are?"

The man continued politely.

"I am a bodyguard hired by Mr. Perry. My boss would like to have a chat with you. When would it be convenient for you?"

So his name was Perry!

Hank felt a surge of excitement, but he didn't immediately agree. Instead, he looked towards Yarman on the side with a feigned look of unfamiliarity with that name.

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Yarman indeed introduced politely.

"Perry is a well-known jewelry merchant in Evernight Harbor... Due to a number of recent events, he liquidated all his local assets and boarded my ship."

Hank feigned an enlightened look and then shot a sympathetic glance at the bodyguard.

"Leaving everything in Evernight Harbor to come here... It must have been a tough decision for your boss."

The bodyguard hesitated, then smiled wryly and said.

"I'm sorry... This is a personal matter of the guest, which I'm not privy to. Perhaps you can ask my boss directly."

"I would indeed like to talk to him, about the past, present, and future..." Hank nodded, appearing concerned, and said, "Then lead the way."

The bodyguard paused.

"Right now?"

Hank raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Is he not available now?"

"Not really..." the bodyguard hesitated, glanced at Yarman standing nearby, and then looked back at Hank, saying hesitantly, "But if you suddenly leave here... will it be alright?"

"Is it really a big deal?"

Yarman chuckled, looking at Representative Gu who was comforting the elders and children, and then at the still-concerned Yarman.

"Leave professional matters to professionals. With my friend here, it's more than enough. Don't worry… I've been here so long and have never seen any department dare violate the law in front of the local representative council, let alone the Constitution."

Settling Yarman, Hank immediately followed the bodyguard to another nearby ship and soon met the wealthy man holding a vast fortune on the deck.

When his feet stepped onto the deck, Hank could even hear his own wildly pounding heart.

After all, he was standing on top of 200 million pure gold dinars!

Even if he counted the two shiploads of arms he lost before, he had never possessed so much money!

But despite his excitement, Hank didn't reveal his inner emotions, maintaining the same courteous smile.

And unlike his calm demeanor, the wealthy man who possessed the enormous fortune eagerly extended his right hand to greet him as soon as he saw him.

"Pleased to meet you! Mr. Hank! I was planning to visit you myself, but didn't expect you'd come in person..."

"You're too polite!" Hank laughed, shaking Perry's right hand and replied.

Of course, he wouldn't let this guy visit his home.

After all, even in an alliance that advocates equality, no boss would discuss multimillion-dollar deals with dock workers living in four-person dorms.

However, up to now, his "performance" has been relatively successful, at least he hasn't slipped up in front of this financier.

Cheerfully shaking Hank's right hand, Perry wore a beaming smile as he courteously chatted with him.

"I heard you come from the New Continent?"

Hank responded with a smile.

"That's right, I am a resident of the Western Legion, although that was a long time ago... The sea wind blew me here many years ago."

Perry gazed at him in surprise and said.

"You have already obtained citizen identity in the Alliance?"

"Er... not yet, but that's not a significant matter, not everyone living in the Alliance has citizen identity. Besides, my ID is already being processed and will be issued very soon." Hank coughed lightly, offering an ambiguous explanation.

He felt embarrassed to mention he worked at the dock, after all, it's not particularly significant.

Perry knowingly nodded, not dwelling on the matter.

After all, in his view, Mr. Hank can make friends with local "big shots" and naturally wouldn't fret over mere identity issues.

Not being troubled because of identity is undoubtedly good news for himself as well.

Seeing Perry still wanting to inquire further, Hank swiftly diverted the topic back to Perry himself.

His main interest was the gold on the ship; however, he wasn't comfortable initiating this topic directly, as it would appear too intentional.

The best approach was to start a suitable conversation, letting the topic naturally shift to the gold.

If Mr. Perry could actively seek his help, that would be even better.

"I heard you abandoned everything in Evernight Harbor... I want to know what prompted you to make such a bold decision?"

As he heard these words, Perry's gaze dulled, and the radiant smile of the lady standing beside him was replaced by a gloomy expression.

Unexpectedly, Hank put his foot in it immediately after opening his mouth, and he hurriedly added.

"Sorry, did I ask something inappropriate?"

"There is nothing inappropriate," Perry forced a smile onto his face, his expression complex as he continued, "My two kids were killed by those scoundrels... They opened fire in the streets, and they fired at their own people."

Goodness gracious...

Did the Southern Legion act so ruthlessly?

Hank looked at Perry in shock, while astonishment filled his hearts, he comforted him in a gentle tone.

"I'm so sorry for bringing up bad memories... It's truly shocking; I can't even properly describe it. These fallen individuals have shamelessly abandoned the honor and faith of the Vellante people! They fire upon their own people, which is a betrayal to the Vellante people, and a betrayal to his majesty the Marshal!"

Perry sarcastically curled his lips, his expression clouded as he said.

"Yes, I think the same. They even tried to cover it up, so I wanted to leave there immediately. I sold everything that could be converted to cash, took all my assets... even if they ended up buried at sea, I wouldn't mind. I'd rather those gold coins sink into the ocean than leave a single gold coin to those murderers! They have no faith, but at least I still do."

He paused for a moment here, then cast a look toward Hank seeking assistance.

"However, my wife and I were fortunate, and Mr. Yarman is an honest man. Thanks to his help, my wife and I could bring these possessions safely across the sea to arrive here... speaking of which, I also have a favor to ask of you regarding this matter."

Hank displayed an earnest expression on his face, his inner urgency heightened.

"No need for such courtesy; should you have any troubles, please tell me. Even if I can't help, I will try to think of a way."

Perry hesitated for a moment, then sighed before speaking.

"To be honest, the two hundred million dinars on the ship are my entire wealth, but they also pose a big problem... Even though I believe the Alliance to be a safe place, it doesn't change this being a Wasteland. As long as we're in the Wasteland, accidents are inevitable."

Hank nodded thoughtfully, showing a deep understanding.

"It's true, that much cash will be conspicuous no matter where it's placed. If I were you, I wouldn't feel secure leaving them at a chaotic harbor."

A troubled expression appeared on Perry's face as well.

"That is exactly what I want to talk about... Do you know any trustworthy banks?"

Hank replied with a smile.

"Trustworthy banks, the banks in the Alliance are very trustworthy, their risk control is top-notch, and they even buy insurance for depositors' funds... However, since you have so much cash, why not consider starting your own bank?"

"Start... my own bank?" Perry stared at him in bewilderment, hesitantly asking, "Would that work?"

Although Sticky Community's electronic settlement channel can exchange dinars for silver coins, it's fundamentally just a currency exchange platform. In other words, someone must sell silver coins for dinars for him to dispose of his mass amount of dinars.

In peaceful times, it would be easier; just by spending some time, the dinars could be exchanged for silver coins. However, the problem is the two sides are currently at war.

If he wished to dispose of the dinars quickly, he'd need to sell them at a discount, and the discount must be enticing enough for buyers to find it profitable.

Seeing Perry's confused expression, Hank chuckled and explained.

"Banks in the Alliance are of various types, not all are savings banks; there are ones like investment banks. If you have good investment targets and collateral to secure investments, starting an investment bank is quite easy."

Perry: "Sorry, I don't quite understand what you're saying..."

Hank: "Simply put, you use your dinars as collateral to loan some silver coins from the Alliance banks."

"Collateral? Loan?" Perry looked even more bewildered, staring at Hank as he said, "But I just want to find a bank to deposit my money."

Hank patiently continued.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about, dear Mr. Perry, the banks in the Alliance, although they handle a broad range of businesses, if I may be straightforward, it would be difficult for any bank here to deposit that much foreign currency at once, especially metal currency like dinars with low circulation rate and large space requirement."

Perry was dumbfounded.

"Can't deposit it?"

Hank shook his head.

"Of course, you can, but exceeding a thousand dinars will incur a 'counting fee,' and this fee is charged as a percentage. As for two hundred million... no one has deposited that much, so I'm not really sure. Alternatively, you could rent a treasury and periodically pay its rental fee... But to be honest, I wouldn't recommend either method."

Perry said with a laugh and cry.

"I just want to deposit some money, why is it so troublesome."

Looking at Perry who was laughing and crying, Hank said with a smile.

"That's quite normal. From the bank's perspective, what you deposit is not just money but also risk. No one will borrow dinars from a bank at No.1 Settlement. Even if they need dinars, they'd go to Jinjaron Harbor or Silver Moon Bay, which are closer to the legion's market."

"And at No.1 Settlement, the bank here cannot earn interest from your gold and has to worry about your deposited gold getting moldy or you whimsically taking it out to play. If you were the bank manager, would you agree? Dinars are not the legal currency of the Alliance, so no matter who you ask for help, it won't work."

Seeing Perry's disappointed face, Hank slowly continued.

"Mr. Perry, I'm seriously considering your situation. If you don't want to sell your dinars at a low price or rent a treasury for them, the best way is to open your own bank."

Perry said with a bitter smile.

"How is that different from buying a treasury?"

"Of course there's a difference," Hank seriously looked at him. "The biggest difference is that you don't have to sell your dinars at a discount but instead can use them as collateral to get a substantial loan of silver coins from the bank at market price."

"And then pay a hefty interest on that loan?" Perry couldn't help but interject, "I might as well let them earn a counting fee."

Hank smiled and said.

"It's just a four percent interest. If it's for investing in the infrastructure of No.1 Settlement, the interest can be discounted further."

Hearing this interest rate, Perry held his breath for a moment.

Two percent interest!

That sounds...

Quite attractive!

And the key point is, by putting these dinars in the form of collateral in the bank, he wouldn't have to worry about the security of the gold anymore.

The ones who should worry are the banks that keep them.

It's much like depositing money in a bank but not exactly the same!

"Sounds interesting, but such a large loan would mean quite a bit of interest each year—"

"As long as the return rate is higher than two percent, it's all profit! I can't guarantee other places, but my friend, this is the No.1 Settlement of the Alliance, making an annual profit over two percent is way too easy." Hank said with a smile, "Don't say anything else, I have a project at hand that promises a return of three to four percent. If you really can't find anything worth investing in, you can invest in my project."

Perry felt a moment of caution, but knowing his fellow citizen's ability locally, he instinctively believed him halfway.

"Your project? What project?"

Hank's face showed a bit of concern for the country and the people, casting a deep gaze at the surge of the distant sea.

"In just one day, over five thousand compatriots have arrived at this port. If the war continues, who knows how many more will be displaced. I can't just watch my compatriots sleep on the streets. I plan to build a new homeland for them here, a community suitable for the Weilante people to live in... Of course, they will also welcome other Waste Land Wanderers, if they like us."

"As for the name... let's call it Vellante Street for now."

Perry looked at Hank in shock, not expecting him to have such grand vision and ideals.

But thinking it over carefully...

This project might indeed be profitable.

After all, the survivors who dislike the Weilante people surely outnumber those who like them; if it were him, he'd also prefer living with his compatriots than with the Poluo people as neighbors.

"But... does the Alliance allow it? A name like Vellante Street."

Hank couldn't help but laugh at this question.

"Why would you ask such a question? Never mind Vellante Street; even if you called it Triumph City Street, I bet no one would care."

Just as Perry was tempted, on the deck of the Salvation Nest, after calming down the refugees, Gu Ning also returned to Yarman's side, discussing with the owner of the "Salvation Nest."

"Over five thousand refugee survivors, and they arrived all at once; this isn't an easy matter for any settlement."

Yarman said nervously.

"But you have a solution... right?"

Gu Ning nodded.

"Of course, there are ways, but we have to consult with you as well, as it might concern not just five thousand people but even more Weilante people."

Yarman looked at him earnestly.

"Please speak!"

Not beating around the bush like some others, Gu Ning directly proposed the "Vellante Street" project he talked about with Hank earlier.

"No.1 Settlement lacks the budget to build a separate community for you, and other representatives certainly wouldn't allow it… After all, the resources given to us are limited with many people still sleeping in containers. If a green light is given to you, others will have to queue up at the red light. Over time, those who originally sympathized with you will start to resent you because of your unrestrained queue-cutting."

"I understand," Yarman nodded, "We don't wish for your special treatment, just equal treatment."

Gu Ning looked at him approvingly.

"I'm glad to see that's how you feel, as it shows you're not here to exploit us but genuinely intend to join our cause."

"In fact, we've already figured out the solution, haven't we? As long as it doesn't take up limited local public resources, I'm sure most people will be willing to help you, and even those few who oppose won't find a fault with you… Your friend Hank wisely found a solution and proposed a great idea."

"Based on his proposal, I plan to draft up a proposal to designate a new district next to No.1 Settlement, offering you support with low-interest loans, tax incentives, and other policies to help you build your new homeland."

Yarman looked at him in shock, with a surprise no less than Perry.

"This... is no problem?"

Gu Ning chuckled lightly and said gently.

"Solving problems for the citizens of the Alliance is precisely my job."

"Even if they are future citizens."

Chapter 905: The Ability to Self-Correct

Letting the Vellante people build their own homes is a compromise, after all, the authorities of No. 1 Settlement can't magically create a new district capable of accommodating five thousand people out of thin air.

Especially since No. 1 Settlement itself is hosting Wasteland Wanderers from the Eastern Provinces, the expansion rate of the settlement and the population growth have just achieved a fragile balance, and no one wants to break it.

Moreover, these immigrants themselves bring in a lot of funds and manpower.

The workforce needs jobs, and the funds need proper allocation, with a bit of resource allocation both demands can be met.

Hank has found such an opportunity, satisfying the demands of all parties.

The authorities of No. 1 Settlement only need to provide a planning blueprint to get a new district of high growth for free. The construction sites of the new district not only stimulate the local economy but also resolve more issues brought by the continuous integration of the Vellante people in the future.

With the Dinar as collateral, the banks of the Alliance would also be happy to provide loans.

After all, using foreign exchange of real gold and sterling silver as collateral is much more reliable than using an IOU or stocks.

Although the Poluo people are nitpicking on the word "home" and excessively claiming it is a conspiracy of soft colonization by the Vellante people, not many people are actually buying it.

After all, just in terms of numbers, the Poluo people running to the Alliance far outnumber the Vellante people.

First came the Moon people, and then the residents of Jingga Lun Port, these guys have been running since the West Winds period.

In a sense, they actually are beneficiaries of the Alliance's constitution.

Wanting to destroy the bridge after crossing the river, such people aren't liked wherever they go.

In fact, after calming down, some Poluo people also realized that their reasons for protesting were untenable.

They tried to garner sympathy from others with racial narratives, but the survivors from the Eastern Provinces didn't buy it.

The Alliance supported the war in the Poluo Province not because of their bloodline or hatred towards the Vellante people, but because of the similar class position—they too are survivors suffering in the Wasteland.

Back then, they themselves suffered humiliation because of racial issues and fled to the Alliance seeking shelter, now attacking their class brothers with racist reasons is unreasonable in both emotion and logic.

Especially using such extreme means…

By noon, the crowd protesting at the City Hall entrance had mostly dispersed, but there were still a hundred or so stubborn guys holding their ground.

The settlement's guards cordoned off the area around them.

Although there were several instances of pushing, there was no escalation into conflict.

In comparison to the Wasteland Wanderers from the Eastern Provinces, the survivors from the Poluo Province are actually less aggressive, and their temperament is relatively gentle.

As for being stubborn, that's another matter entirely.

The majority of the Poluo people only care about reason when it benefits them, while they view the dual nature of logic as an adversary, even though such actions have caused them endless suffering over the past two centuries.

Standing outside the cordon, looking at the old man holding the Mammoth national flag, the young guard couldn't help but purse his lips.

"If they like Laxi so much, why don't they go back? Now is precisely when Laxi needs them the most."

The older colleague standing beside him grinned, teasingly saying.

"Haha, I'd bet you One Silver Coin that if he really went to Laxi's territory, he'd be tamer than in our jails."

The young guard couldn't help but laugh, but he was met with a glare from the old man hoisting the Mammoth national flag.

"What are you laughing at! I paid my taxes!"

The young guard laughed and said.

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty, if you feel that anyone around here hasn't paid taxes, please be sure to let me know."

The old man's face turned white with anger.

The colleague standing beside him quickly gave the young guard a pull, casting him a warning look, indicating not to cause trouble.

The guard shrugged helplessly and turned back to the vehicle.

At this moment, the mayor, who had not appeared, finally seemed unable to withstand the pressure and finally sent out his secretary.

Perhaps seeing the dawn of victory, the shouted protests of those hundred or so Poluo people grew louder, and their emotions became more agitated.

The mayor's secretary, thrown in to face the storm, was overwhelmed, taking the megaphone from the City Hall staff, he shouted toward those hundred or so Poluo people chanting slogans.

"Ahem... Friends from the Poluo Province, please calm down, no matter what demands you have, this is merely an administrative agency, not a legislative or judicial agency, nor is it the estate of a duke. We must adhere to the same laws as you. If you feel receiving those Vellante people violates the Alliance's laws, or if our laws have any issues, you should take it to the representative council or court—"

His words were interrupted by a chorus of voices.

Truth be told, having never been on the frontline, it was his first time seeing such brave Poluo people, as the old man holding the Mammoth flag, red-faced and straining his neck, shouted at him.

"Is this a legal issue?"

"Then what issue do you say it is—"

His words were interrupted again, the young man following closely behind the old man shouted at him.

"Exactly! Law is just the baseline! It doesn't mean it's right!"

"Exactly! This law is unreasonable, why should the Vellante people share in our labor achievements!"

"And they're from the Southern Legion! Who knows if there are any Centurions or Ten Thousand Leaders mixed in!"

The sound rose and fell, echoing at the entrance of the city hall. Those protesting Poluo people seemed determined to turn the cement ground into a muddy mess, waiting for someone to stir it up.

The mayor's secretary was dumbfounded.

However, he had seen the world, and his mind quickly turned around.

"That's right, the law is just the bottom line. We should hold ourselves to higher moral standards in daily life… Yet can you trust someone without even a bottom line to have moral standards above that?"

Perhaps because the players were reasonable, he instinctively wanted to rely on reasoning to persuade these emotionally charged Poluo people.

However, he did not realize that trying to reason with the Poluo people was itself a mistaken decision.

Never has any Poluo person become emperor by persuading with reason; without exception, they achieved their goals through methods like deceiving, stealing, and robbing.

"I want to see the Manager!"

"We can't discuss with you!"

"That's right! Let us see the Manager!"

The unruly shouts rendered all well-organized explanations as jokes. The secretary, who was still trying to use reason, finally understood why his superior was unwilling to come out and face these folks, and why the representatives pretended not to see them.

What they want is not order, but something else.

He finally gave up, yelling in despair.

"Fine! Go ahead! If you don't go, I look down on you! Go buy your ticket and visit your esteemed Mr. Manager in the City of Dawn! You can tell him personally, esteemed Mr. Manager, you are wasting your efforts… No one is stopping you!"

The guards watching the scene from behind the barriers looked at each other.

"I suddenly start to feel a bit sympathetic towards that mayor…"

"You're not the only one."

It's worth mentioning, the guards bureau is not a subordinate department of the city hall. The No.1 Settlement follows the same pattern as the City of Dawn in this aspect.

As long as the situation doesn't escalate into a violent conflict, they will not intervene. If they obey orders from the city hall or some powerful "big shot" to disperse the crowd who haven't taken further action, they might instead incur punishment from the Guards Corps.

The protesting Poluo people clearly understood this point too, so they didn't block the entrance or occupy the road, merely shouted under the mayor's office window.

By noon, Gu Ning arrived near the city hall after traveling from the port area, meeting another regional representative of the representatives' assembly not far from the entrance.

His name was Su Ka, and from his identification card and appearance alone, even the Poluo people couldn't tell he was a Moon people.

However, Gu Ning, who attended the regional assembly together, knew his identity, and also knew he sent a quarter of his monthly salary to the United Federation in Jin Galun Port (not the one in Absek).

Perhaps due to past sufferings, these Moon people are much more united than the "Snake, Rat, Insect, Bird" in Poluo Province.

Gu Ning lightly adjusted his collar, stopped beside him, smiled gently and said.

"Aren't you going to speak for them?"

Su Ka remained silent for a moment, sighed and said.

"Mr. Gu, can you understand that kind of love-hate feeling?"

Gu Ning saw the complexity and dilemma in his eyes but said nothing more, merely smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Leave it to me."

Watching Gu Ning walk forward silently, Su Ka shook his head, finally couldn't bear to keep looking, turned and left.

Having sat together in meetings, how could he not know what was hidden behind that guy's smile?

He was certain, what that guy planned to do might be good for the Alliance, but not necessarily beneficial for his compatriots.

But he no longer had the ability to stop it and wasn't even sure whether he should stop it.

After all, he was already of the Alliance…

It's worth mentioning, within the Alliance, there have always been radical and conservative factions corresponding to left and right. Although these forces are objectively still young and rarely engage in public debates, their existence is undeniable.

For instance, Mr. Gu is a typical conservative.

They have no dispute with the radicals on the issue of "accepting survivors suffering in the Wasteland," as it was one of the earliest provisions of the constitution.

However, they have entirely different views on specific issues like "what kind of survivors are worth accepting," "who can unite," and "will uniting those who shouldn't be united shake the foundation of the Alliance."

Another noteworthy fact is, within the Alliance, there's not as much dislike for the Vellante people as the Poluo and Vellante people themselves imagine.

After all, represented by Vanus, a long time ago the Vellante people fought alongside the River Valley Province survivors, opposing the Army and its puppets.

Others witnessed their efforts.

Residents of the refuge don't engage in racial narratives, in their view, survivors on this planet are residues of the United Human era for two centuries— even those Vellante created by the technology department use human DNA templates and biotechnological achievements of human civilization.

Moreover, the Army's record isn't clean, nor is the Empire's particularly noble.

Not to mention the deeds of Witch Gu, even the nations in Poluo Province that have distanced themselves from him have been involved in "public assassination in diplomatic occasions," "exploitation of overseas laborers," "smuggling of contraband," etc., a series of appalling operations.

Many sympathize with them, many believe they deserve their fate.

And precisely because of this, trying to win the Alliance public's "favor" by playing the victim role is very difficult, attempting to use this "favor" to challenge the Alliance's constitution is even more dangerous.

Su Ka actually sees it very clearly.

Compared to the "South Vellante People" who tuck their tails between their legs, and those Weilante people who distance themselves from the Southern Legion, those gathered at the city hall entrance are actually doing something dangerous.

The more they emphasize their bloodlines and the tragic fate attached to them, attempting to hijack those progressive voices to betray their original purpose, the more they will awaken the backlash of conservative voices within the Alliance—

[We've helped you enough, that's enough.]

The Conservative faction will definitely exploit the topic.

And he is already too late to stop it...

Watching the representatives arrive, the mayor's secretary, who was downstairs calming the emotions of the Poluo people, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"You finally came."

Gu Ning, who rushed to the scene, didn't waste words, counted the heads present, and then pulled the secretary aside.

"Help me order 120 boxed meals for them, plus mineral water. I'll cover the cost... Don't order anything too expensive, the budget is just 200 silver coins, as long as they're filling."

Thinking this guy was here to resolve the situation, the secretary looked at him strangely.

"Sending them food? If I were them, I could mess around here until evening!"

Gu Ning said concisely.

"When people are hungry, they can't listen to anything. Letting them mess around until evening is better than having them come back tomorrow... Don't forget to order a serving for me too, I haven't had a bite to eat since morning."

The mayor's secretary looked at him with a strange expression twice but ultimately didn't say anything, and turned back to the city hall.

Not long after, 121 boxed meals were really delivered, one meat and two vegetables—not luxurious, but not shabby either.

The Poluo people were just hungry, and their voices hoarse from shouting, did not refuse the food and water provided by the representative.

Gu Ning personally handed out the meals to the protesters present and sat down to eat with them.

Perhaps moved by his down-to-earth gesture, all of the Poluo people treated him like a family member they could talk to freely.

As for their praises, Gu Ning merely smiled humbly, quietly ate until he was 70% full, and then waited for everyone to finish eating.

This was not a show.

Or to put it more precisely, at least the hospitality part was not.

At most, it was 'first polite, then confrontational.'

Finally, it was lunchtime, and more residents working nearby gradually appeared on the street. Most were survivors from the Eastern Provinces, as well as Weilante people from the Eastern Legion, who mostly came with a mindset of watching the spectacle.

Seeing more people gathering around, the Poluo people, having eaten their fill, wiped their hands, picked up the signs on the ground, and prepared to strike while the iron was hot.

It was just at this moment, Gu Ning spoke in a gentle tone.

"Friends, I haven't asked you what your demands are. Now please tell me, only when I know your demands can I solve the problems for you."

"We don't like the Weilante people."

"Make them get out of the Alliance!"

"Speaking of which, aren't they originally a created problem? Why can't we erase these big-nosed people from this world?"

Looking at these agitated people, Gu Ning smiled amicably, took the loudspeaker from the mayor's secretary.

"Dislike...that's a very good reason, I have many things I dislike too, like things that are too sweet or too salty. However, more than these things, what I dislike even more are those who think the whole world revolves around them."

"Such people are like babies with heads too big to fit in a stroller, wishing for this person to die today and that person tomorrow, wanting to satisfy their appetites by overturning everything to start anew. It's far better to sew up their foul mouths... I mean, since all these problems are created by these things, why can't those who should die be them?"

The scene was silent.

Including the mayor's secretary with the loudspeaker, stunned with mouth agape.

However, not everyone wore expressions of surprise.

For example, the young guy sitting in the police car earlier couldn't help but clap twice in excitement...away from everyone's line of sight.

Recovering Poluo people understood he was blaming with satire and cursed at him vigorously.

"What the hell do you mean?!"

"It's outrageous... Clearly, those big-nosed ones should be blamed, yet it's our fault now?!"

"You betrayed the Alliance!!"

The curses were harsh one after the other, but perhaps it was the food, or maybe they felt short-handed after the meal, their shouting lacked force.

Faced with the overwhelming curses, Gu Ning pretended to hear nothing, and instead spoke to more people standing behind them, continuing in an even higher volume.

"I am always loyal to the Alliance, no one loves the Alliance more than I do, and those fleeing with tails between their legs have even less right to judge me."

"Additionally, I'm not targeting anyone, I'm just talking about the kind of people I dislike. If there's an opportunity, I truly wish to build a large colony ship and send those lunatics to a separate planet."

"They could stay together, using their old tricks they're best at, slaughtering themselves merrily on that planet, mating with what they want to mate with, licking whichever toe they want to lick, just like animals do all day long, as long as they stay out of our sight!"

Never before had anyone seen a representative speak so down-to-earth, people watching the scene cheered, whistled.

A cyborg player interjected with a smile to stir the pot.

"I support you. I guess you're talking about the Army!"

Gu Ning pointed at him and continued along his line.

"You're right, the Army lacks nothing more than those who constantly want to shit on others. Especially those Ten Thousand Leaders, they start wars with lies, either passively or actively joining in, smearing their ugly desires with the blood of their compatriots, then use their Marshals and claims of loyalty as a shield! Such hypocrites aren't worthy of mentioning loyalty, and aren't fit to be loyal and courageous Vellante people. Am I right?"

The crowd erupted in applause.

The young men clapping were indeed Vellante people.

Excitement shone on their faces, as this guy spoke the words they most wanted to say but were embarrassed to express.

Today's Army is no longer the Legion that fought for the Vellante people's fate back in the day, but a monster that drinks blood and devours flesh.

Maybe other Vellante people have different opinions.

But at least those standing here came because they've had enough of those lies.

"You're right!"

"Damn the Southern Legion! Damn Teil!"

"These cannibals are the real traitors who betrayed the Vellante people!"

The Poluo people standing behind the isolation line were speechless for a moment.

It's not that they were at a loss for words, just suddenly "disarmed", caught off guard by the unexpected change.

Gu Ning took a faint glance at the quelled protesters and once again turned to the increasingly loud applause from the streets, raising the megaphone and continued.

"Very well, and congratulations to you, you've truly joined our cause, sincerely wanting to end the Wasteland Era, and willing to devote your life to freeing suffering survivors... It is our honor to be able to help idealistic people like you."

"As for those who curse me, I won't ask what you're here for, but didn't you read the Alliance's constitution before coming here? Since you're unwilling to follow our rules, then why come here? Why not go back to your Empire, or find a cooler place in the Wasteland to stay?"

"Is it because neither the Empire nor the Wasteland indulges you? Or because the River Valley people seem easy to talk to, the Jinchuan people appear gracious and gentle? We strive to find common ground while accepting your differences, but have you ever considered integrating with us for even a moment?"

"Our esteemed Manager has given you too many opportunities, if you think we've broken any law, you can sue that law-breaking bastard. If you think the problem lies with the law, bring your opinion to the representative conference. If you think it's an issue with law enforcement, then go find the Guards Corps!"

"Yet you insist on using the most intense and most irritating means, demanding us to compromise our own principles for your feelings... Do you hate the Army, or hate yourself for not having the ability to be the Army?"

"Remember, I'm talking about those who curse me, who wish me dead, not targeting any normal Poluo person."

"The Alliance is for all survivors, not your wishing machine. Oh, I almost forgot to say, the second most hated people in my life are those queue-jumping rule-breakers!"

Applause and whistles echoed at the city hall entrance, even a few younger guards near the isolation line couldn't resist clapping.

Protesters at the city hall entrance felt increasingly ashamed, ultimately glaring at Gu Ning and leaving one after another.

The old man carrying the Mammoth flag uttered a fierce remark as he passed by him.

"I hate you... My children and I will never cast our votes for you."

Gu Ning returned the megaphone to the mayor's secretary, looking at him and said.

"Then leave it to the one you love most, I'm not One Silver Coin, I'm just myself, how could I please everyone."

He paused here, then smiled wickedly.

"But old man, I must remind you, if one day you meet someone who always pleases you, be careful with your wallet. Only a swindler can fulfill everyone's needs, even if those needs are contradictory."

The old man didn't wait for him to finish, realizing threats were futile, left in a huff.

Gu Ning smiled as he watched the last protester leave, his face regaining its courteous demeanor.

In fact, he had always been polite, even when the megaphone's volume was slightly high.

Sitting in a distant sedan, Su Ka sighed, rubbing the identity card in his hand with his forefinger, finally stuffing it back into his pocket.

"Where did it go wrong."

He couldn't quite grasp it, painfully resting his forehead against his clasped hands.

His presentiment grew stronger.

His kinsmen are winning a war.

Yet gradually losing another...

Elsewhere, a rumbling train passed through Mafu Town's station platform, carrying countless hopeful passengers toward the boundless wasteland.

On the train, Chu Guang cast his gaze towards the distant rolling mountains.

That is Ten Peaks Mountain.

Where the Sticky Community Allied forces converge in Brocade River Province.

It marks the first cooperation between the Army, Academy, and enterprises in a century and a half, also the turning point in the war between Survivor Forces and Apocalypse Powers.

Chu Guang's face bore a nostalgic smile.

"Ahead is Weifu City."

Chapter 906: I Am Not Your Ten Thousand Leader

Unlike Singular Point City, which has intricate historical ties with the War Construction Committee, Weifu City is a settlement built by survivors from all over the world, rising from nothing in the Weifu wilderness.

The only traceable things here, aside from the vanished old era city, are the remnants of a populous Slave Owner's Manor.

However, after the Torch Church arrived, even that populous slave manor was gone, leaving only some Mutants and the Nago they loved to eat.

The near-complete Heaven once descended on this land, and the mycelium of Nago had infiltrated every inch of soil here. However, the corroded soil has now gradually been purified into nutrients by the "mutated slime fungus" lair assimilated by Xiaoyu.

This area has vast plains and rivers with rich water systems, which may one day become fertile land as good as the banks of the Tasang River in the Poluo Line.

The only thing missing here might just be people.

Compared to the more developed City of Dawn, Dawn City, and Giant Stone City, this place lacks basic infrastructure as well as medical facilities.

Fortunately, these immediate difficulties have not deterred the Alliance's pioneers from stepping onto this soil.

Factories in Giant Stone City and Dawn City provide those pioneers with abundant tools.

They construct trailer-like tents in the wilderness, install solar panels on top of the tents, use exoskeletons with Explorer plugins to locate mineral deposits, drive agricultural machinery to cultivate the land, and occasionally issue commissions to nearby players to clear dens of Variants, Mutants, or Looters.

Besides pioneers from other Alliance settlements, there are Weifante people from the distant Western World, Waste Land Wanderers from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, settlers migrated from the Wandering swamp, and Poluo people from the City of Thousand Pillars.

Their specialties vary; some excel in combat, others in mining, farming, or brewing.

Of course, most here are wanderers from the Brocade River Province area.

With the threat of the Torch eliminated, Weifu City, equipped with Mind Interference Devices, has become a utopia in this basin, second only to Singular Point City.

Unlike Singular Point City, there is no AI here trying to control everything and acting like a mother to people.

They can do whatever they want, as long as they do not violate the Alliance's laws and do not infringe on others' equality.

Just like when City of Dawn was rising.

Producers formed industry representatives, and then those beyond producers also elected people who could represent them, eventually leading to the birth of the representative assembly.

Within the framework of the Alliance constitution and laws, local survivors gradually clarified their rules and announced representatives to participate in the formulation of the first two laws in City of Dawn.

Besides, they can also exercise every citizen's inherent right to supervision, ensuring the Alliance's executive branches operate within the law and submitting cases to the court for arbitration if they detect unlawful actions.

This system operates independently of the Alliance's municipal system and, so far, seems quite appropriate.

As for the rules to be adopted in the new era after the "Settlement Era" ends, that will be a matter for the future.

By then, the Alliance will likely have larger administrative divisions and more population, with territory perhaps spanning dozens of light-years and encompassing several Star Systems.

By then, the increasingly marginalized city lords and governors might also fade from history, together with the position of Managers.

Including "Residents of the refuge."

From then on, they will no longer be Blue Jackets or Blue Ground Squirrels.

Their kids, along with other Waste Land Wanderers' and Weifante people's kids, will become proud Alliance citizens, and they won't be divided into inner and outer cities like in Giant Stone City or classified by letters like in the Academy.

But that is probably something far into the future.

Chu Guang does not intend to plan out hundreds of years of future for the Alliance.

After all, even things within a few years seldom go as he and others expect.

He believes that his children will surely find a balance between tradition and innovation, passing on their past to a more distant future.

At this moment, the train stopped at the station platform.

Chu Guang stood up, preparing to disembark, when he noticed Lu Bei walking in with a serious expression.

"Sir, there's some situation at the No.1 Settlement."

Although Chu Guang had already read about it on the forum earlier, he still smiled and said to Lu Bei.

"Tell me."

Watching the Manager head towards the train aisle, Lu Bei quickly followed him, speaking in a low and serious tone about the situation noticed by the Guards Corps.

After listening, Chu Guang nodded and smiled.

"Is there a problem?"

Lu Bei hesitated for a moment and then voiced his opinion in a deep voice.

"You once said that to end the Wasteland Era, we must unite everyone we can and save all suffering survivors. Yet, that representative named Gu Ning seems to be inciting hatred against Poluo people..."

His loyalty to Chu Guang is beyond doubt, as it was this very gentleman who once pulled him out of Hell long ago.

It's precisely because of this that he doesn't like that silver-tongued guy.

In his view, that person is completely twisting the Manager's intentions, even exploiting people's emotions for personal gain, rather than truly understanding the gentleman's teachings.

However, while he dislikes that person, he still remembers what Chu Guang told him—to simply observe whether all parties involved in the whirlpool act out of line without taking any further action.

After carefully considering Lu Bei's view, Chu Guang sighed lightly and said.

"Your previous observations are very objective, but in evaluating specific individuals, you forgot the principle of objectivity. For instance, I don't like the term 'inciting.' That Mr. Gu merely expressed his opinion, and in his expression, I didn't see any hatred towards specific people or any distortion of facts."

"I..." Lu Bei was stunned for a moment, eager to explain.

Chu Guang looked at the anxious young man, smiled gently, and continued to speak.

"I know you mean no harm, you're just a bit too eager."

Pausing for a moment, he continued.

"Everyone has their own thoughts. We should give them the opportunity to express those thoughts. This is why, even in the toughest times, we need to select representatives from various sectors, from the workshops of the factories, and the fields of Changjiu Farm."

"If the opinions of the masses go unnoticed, we will become a runaway horse, like the former Giant Stone City. There, the survivors, whether ordinary people or elites, were tracing an outdated blueprint, constructing a building that most did not like. The harder they worked, the more painful it was, straying ever farther from their dreams, except for those living in that building."

"In the end, whether it was the tenants of the building or the survivors outside, they all made the worst choices without exception and headed toward a lose-lose situation. It wasn't until that building collapsed that they truly found release."

Lu Bei whispered.

"We will not become Giant Stone City."

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"I hope not, but the 'Black Card' won't disappear just because we ignore it. However, we can distribute it to more people to mitigate the risks we may face in the future."

Lu Bei couldn't help but ask.

"Is there no way to completely eliminate risks? For example, by taking preventive measures?"

Chu Guang gently shook his head.

"Even The Sun will extinguish one day, let alone a civilization just tens of thousands of years old, or us, only a few years old... Risks can only be reduced, not eliminated. Don't think about unrealistic things; they're either bold hypotheses of dreamers or flowery deceptions of frauds."

Foolproof ideas are the most to be wary of. Invisible risks are more dangerous than visible ones because they often aren't truly foolproof, just the 10,001st worst possibility buried underground.

Once on that path, everyone will be passively involved in a gamble with no return.

And the outcome for gamblers is rarely novel; either a fleeting rush into the sky, self-exiling into the weak gravity of outer space, or a glorious crash to the ground, shattered by the gravity of reality.

Watching Lu Bei deep in thought, Chu Guang paused at the car door, tapped his shoulder softly, and continued in a gentle tone.

"A long time ago, I said I have only one requirement for you all, and that's loyalty."

"This statement will always apply to the Guards Corps. I hope you always remember it, along with the part I didn't say back then."

"You should always be loyal to the Alliance citizens and the law they pledge allegiance to, and dedicate everything to defending their dignity and rights."

"If one day I'm gone and someone tries to use my name to bind you, that person will be the enemy of all the Alliance, as well as your undisputed adversary."

He must not only guard against becoming the lord of Giant Stone City but also against becoming Marshal Julius.

A vast army filled with unmentionable traitors.

The Alliance must never become like them.

A glimmer of understanding rose in Lu Bei's eyes, accompanied by a hint of shame.

His head lowered, he placed his right fist over his chest.

"I will remember."

Smiling at the promising young man and stepping off the train, Chu Guang stood on the train station platform.

Just as he got off, Captain Li Jinrong and the leadership team of Weifu City stood not far from the platform, looking as if they wanted to approach but couldn't make up their minds.

Seeing those familiar faces, Chu Guang knew the news of his southward inspection had indeed spread.

Even though the Alliance hadn't popularized the internet, the speed of information exchange was no longer what it used to be.

Moreover, he hadn't deliberately concealed it, and during interactions with the public, he used a holographic image; someone seeing it or guessing was possible.

To be honest, managing to reach here before the news got out was quite an achievement.

Making eye contact with Chu Guang, realizing he had caught the Manager's attention, Li Jinrong finally approached with a smile.

"Honorable Manager, what brings you here?"

Perhaps due to his administrative experience, the man who used to guerrilla fight against the Iron Tower Organization and the Torch Church had become much steadier than before.

Even more tactful.

Chu Guang shook his hand with a smile and said in a warm tone.

"It's been a while since I've been here, so I came to take a look, see how the survivors are doing after my departure. You don't need to be nervous; just go about your usual work."

Li Jinrong smiled and said.

"Rest assured, we're doing quite well, and life here is now on the right track."

At this point, he smiled sheepishly and awkwardly continued.

"It's just... could you let us know in advance next time you visit? So we can prepare, since this isn't the City of Dawn, and it's best to be safe!"

Chu Guang laughed at his words and joked while looking at the slightly tense Li Jinrong.

"You don't need to worry about my safety; no one who can threaten it exists in this world."

This isn't just him bragging.

Those who can rely purely on individual combat power to surpass the X-16 are rare as hen's teeth on the Wasteland, let alone directly taking him as an opponent.

As for ascending to the level of a War Machine, that's another matter entirely.

For example, things like tanks, planes, artillery, and missiles, it's still quite difficult to sneak up on him unnoticed.

However, due to the limited space for individual Strength in the confrontation of systems, he rarely charges into battle on the front lines like the players do.

And whenever leading a charge was necessary in the early days of the Alliance, he did it too.

Seeing Li Jinrong's wry smile, Chu Guang didn't make things difficult for him, and said in a broad tone.

"Since you're here, if you want to report on your Work, go ahead and do it, just try to focus on the key points, I'll verify the rest myself... besides, let's talk after we leave the station, don't want to bother the passengers here."

He suddenly noticed that more and more people were gathering around to watch the commotion.

Among them were local Residents, Waste Land Wanderers, and players who had come to do missions in this area.

A pair of curious eyes were watching this side.

Rather than being curious about him personally, people were more curious about why he appeared here.

The players were focused on the new expansion, while others living on this Land were concerned about whether this meant that the Alliance was having another major move down south.

Actually, they weren't wrong in their guess.

After the Gravity Well activates, this Land will quickly enter a new era.

Seeing Chu Guang was really here just to take a look, and not because he messed up his Work, Li Jinrong finally sighed in relief, and his smile became more genuine.

"Please follow me."

...

Due to the disturbance on the station platform, the news of Chu Guang's visit to Weifu City spread like wildfire, and by the next day, it had become the headline for the entire Alliance and even the South Sea Union's Survivor's Daily.

Not only were the survivors of Weifu City excitedly discussing this matter, even the survivors of No.1 Settlement were eagerly chatting about whether the gentleman would also pay a visit to their gathering place.

Although truly, there's not much to see at No.1 Settlement, aside from the district near the port.

Near the pier, the breakfast stalls, with white mist floating over large iron pots, dockworkers wearing hard hats were chattering away.

"Why did the Manager suddenly come here?"

"Could it be because of that matter with City Hall?"

"What nonsense, such a trivial matter wouldn't catch the Manager's attention."

"Then what else could it be... Lately nothing of value has been fished out from the sea."

"Probably to visit the South Sea Union. I heard recently that Coral City finally got fully electrified, and people who used to live there and some Residents from Shelter No. 70 have moved back. That must be it."

"I feel it doesn't relate to that stuff, most likely because of that elevator thing."

"The space elevator?"

"And the Gravity Well! I heard that thing can drag down the debris from orbit."

"Hiss... let's hope it doesn't drag down the nuclear bombs our ancestors left up there too."

"Even if there are any, they would've long since lost functionality, right?"

Amid the people's chatter, a well-dressed man walked to the side of the clock-in point.

The foreman, wearing a hard hat, was yawning when his gaze suddenly settled on a pair of well-shined leather shoes.

Thinking it was the supervisor or manager, he quickly shook off his drowsiness and sat up straight, just to see Hank's gloomy face.

The foreman rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, grumbling.

"What the hell is wrong with you."

Hank, who was dressed sharply, grinned and placed a resignation letter on the table.

"I'm here to resign."

"Did you find a new job?" Picking up the resignation letter, the foreman raised an eyebrow in surprise.

There was a lot of turnover on the dock job, and none of the workers under him ever wrote this stuff, especially the daily hires.

Usually, it was assumed they resigned if they couldn't be contacted for several days.

A confident smile appeared on Hank's face as he nodded.

"To be precise, I've found a new starting point for a career... Wish me luck, brother."

The foreman froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Haha! Alright, alright, I wish you luck, hope I don't see you here next month."

Hank said with a smile.

"Absolutely not... But when I make it big, I'll definitely come back and show off to you. I hope you won't find me annoying then."

As he spoke, he placed the neatly folded exoskeleton from the suitcase onto the table, along with the work uniform and safety helmet he had used recently.

The foreman smiled at him and wrote him a note, handing it over.

"Go to the finance department to get the rest of your pay... damn, you're squeezing a meal out of me before you leave."

Hank took the note with a smile and said,

"Mainly because I'll miss it, won't get to eat it later."

"Damn it, stop the nonsense and get lost."

The foreman laughed and gestured for him to leave. The latter did not disturb his work further and went to say goodbye to others.

Honestly, he didn't dislike the big-nosed Hank, rather, he quite liked him.

Even though Hank was a bit slow with work and often absent, he got along well with others and was always helpful.

Maybe people like him shouldn't be working at the docks; he should be on a broader platform to reach his full potential.

His only wish was for Hank to use his wits and intelligence in the right direction...

As Hank said his final goodbyes and headed towards the first office the Hank Group had rented at No.1 Settlement, Gu Ning from the representative council was inspecting the new homes of over five thousand Weilante immigrants with their elected representative, Yarman.

It is worth mentioning that this representative is not the same as a council representative.

Yarman, who had just started applying for Alliance citizenship, still held the status of a "supervised" individual and was not an official citizen of the Alliance, nor did he have full political rights. Naturally, he couldn't propose or vote in the representative council yet.

However, in Gu Ning's view, with Yarman's ability and popularity, joining the Alliance and becoming the representative of the Weilante people was just a matter of time... as long as he wanted to.

Although Gu Ning was a conservative in the representative council, he was not against the "newcomers." After all, he wasn't born in the Alliance either; he was attracted by the Alliance's ideals and joined this organization dedicated to ending the Wasteland Era.

He only resented those who didn't follow the rules, and those who treated the Alliance like a trash can, throwing all sorts of garbage in without considering if it fit.

He had no intention of targeting the Poluo people, but their shenanigans had gone overboard, and the so-called progressives in the radical faction were too soft on them.

In comparison, he preferred the Weilante people a bit more.

They liked vodka, and he liked whiskey, both popular at No.1 Settlement at 40 degrees; the only difference was one used potatoes, and the other wheat as raw material.

At this moment, Yarman did not know that Mr. Gu beside him already considered him a potential ally.

If he knew, he would probably be crying and laughing at the same time.

After going through so much crap, he had no interest in politics.

He only wanted to open ten chapels for the Silver Moon Goddess to fulfill his vow and pray for his family's safety.

"This is the eastern part of No.1 Settlement, an open plain. Since it's far from water sources, not many people live here... but these aren't issues. As long as the money is in place, the water pipes can be brought over, including roads and so on."

"In short, there's plenty of water for daily needs, no worries. Besides, I imagine you won't be farming by the sea. Also, other needed supplies can be imported from the South Sea Union. Their factories are incredible, claimed to copy books on a hair strand... ha, sounds like a boast, but I've actually seen it."

Looking at the barren land in the distance, Gu Ning squinted slightly and said with a smile.

"As for public opinion, don't worry, the news of the Manager moving south has taken over all the headlines, including the 'Vellante Street' new district and certain annoying protests… Since you have your start-up funds, I believe you'd prefer to keep a low profile rather than act like those guys always shouting for handouts."

Yarman smiled shyly and earnestly said,

"Thank you for considering so much for us, I really don't know how to thank you."

These days, his fellow people were living on boats; some elderly and children got sick due to the water and land not suiting them, some young people wanted to get off the boat to find work, and a pregnant woman was about to give birth.

Problems seem to increase with the number of people.

No.1 Settlement had never received this many immigrants, and he had never cared for so many people at once.

Thanks to the help of this representative and Hank, they got hospital beds and necessary medicines.

Moreover, those young men looking for work found jobs to support their families through Mr. Gu's introduction and moved into employee dormitories.

Although the living conditions were average, and most positions required physical labor without any thresholds, they were good transitions.

Given the local conditions, the survivors had no complaints, and neither did they have any reason to complain.

People with ability can naturally find more suitable work.

"Heaven helps those who help themselves. It's a truth I've adhered to on the Wasteland. You don't need to thank me. We welcome all capable survivors to join us in overthrowing this messed-up Wasteland and sending everything from the old era into the grave."

Gu Ning shook Yarman's hand, patted his shoulder, and said to this man who had been through so much.

"But honestly, I must speak practically. Even if you have your street, I hope you will regard your traditions and culture more as a symbol than a rule of identity, and try to integrate into your surroundings... after all, even people we sympathize with, if they behave unreasonably, will meet our disapproval."

Yarman earnestly said,

"I will convey your advice to my compatriots."

Gu Ning released his hand with a smile.

"Relax, don't be so serious. I'm just your spokesperson, not your Ten Thousand Leader."

Chapter 907: Opportunity Always Favors the Prepared

When it comes to success, some people lack ability, while others only lack an opportunity.

For example, Hank from the New Continent belongs to the latter case.

His dealings in "fake liquor" and arms smuggling clearly show he's not the type to settle down.

And indeed, that's exactly the case.

From the moment he set foot on the No.1 Settlement, he started pondering the Alliance's game rules, and he didn't even rest while working at the dock.

However, his motivation for understanding the Alliance's game rules wasn't to find some get-rich-quick loopholes but to minimize risks and find policy resources he could use.

The biggest lesson he learned from his first two businesses was that speculative trades couldn't last long.

He could win many times, but if he lost just once, he would lose everything.

But this time it won't happen.

He has found a legal and highly profitable "money-making model."

Through his persuasion, Phil established the first investment bank registered at the No.1 Settlement—Phil's Bank.

And with those piles of Dinars as collateral, he successfully secured a loan that he couldn't obtain before, thanks to Mr. Phil's help.

And he secured as much as 22 million silver coins!

Including the 8 million silver coins Phil already held, Hank now had 30 million silver coins in his hands as leverage.

Putting all his chips in one basket, in some sense this counts as a high-stakes gamble.

On the cargo ship docked by the pier, Phil watched the bank employees moving the boxes, his face a mix of emotions.

It was the wealth he accumulated over half a lifetime.

Originally, he intended to keep it in the bank, yet he felt like he had been coaxed into buying financial products right beside the bank counter.

Although it's not just about investment, it's also about a new home for him and his fellow people in the future, he couldn't help but feel pained.

"... The entire No.1 Settlement only has a population of over a hundred thousand, by the Marshal... I really don't know how we are supposed to earn back these 30 million silver coins."

Looking at the visibly anxious investor, Hank placed his hand on Phil's shoulder, giving him a reassuring pat.

"One hundred thousand is just the current number, two years ago there was not a single soul here. Yet just a few days ago, 5000 people came ashore in a single day at the dock beneath our feet... I bet this situation will occur frequently, we need to look at the issue with a developmental mindset, just like Mr. Gu."

In his view, the representative named Gu Ning was helping them precisely because he was considering the potential future influx of population.

"A developmental mindset..." Phil's brows twitched as he couldn't help but retort, "I read your proposal, the first phase includes only 4 buildings totaling 800 units, and even that will consume 80% of your funds. Where do you plan to find money for the subsequent phases?"

"Find money? My friend, once our first phase is completed, we won't need to find money; money will come to us."

Hank, with a smile on his face, continued while embracing Phil's shoulder.

"I've calculated it, each unit's cost is about 40,000 silver coins, standard size being 80 square meters, as for the price, selling for 100,000 silver coins is not a problem."

"A hundred thousand?!" Phil's eyes rounded as he exclaimed, "What are you thinking, how could anyone spend so much money on a cement box?!"

100,000 silver coins are equivalent to four to five hundred thousand Dinars, roughly the price if you mortgage Dinars to the bank.

In Evernight Harbor, this sum would be enough to purchase a home in a bustling location.

And Evernight Harbor's population is tens of times larger than here!

Hank, seeing Phil's expression, guessed what he was thinking and patiently explained.

"You can't compare the Alliance with the experiences from Evernight Harbor; tell me truthfully, do aliens in Evernight Harbor count as people? Despite your population appearing to be hundreds of thousands, at least 90% are beasts, that's me being modest."

As for those soldiers, they basically live in barracks and can't be counted as part of the colony's population.

Hearing Hank's explanation, Phil paused slightly, contemplating, and realized it indeed seemed to be the case.

His jewelry business was booming there, but his regular customers were only a handful, countable on two hands.

Aliens wouldn't patronize his jewelry store, nor would they possibly purchase properties.

The Blackwater Alley where they lived didn't even have house numbers.

Seeing the turning gears in Phil's mind, Hank continued patiently.

"You are clueless about the purchasing power of Alliance residents. Working at the dock for a month, as long as they aren't slacking off, earning 2,000 silver coins is incredibly easy."

"2,000 silver coins... even so, it would take them over four years to save up 100,000 silver coins, and that's assuming they don't eat or drink." Although Phil no longer doubted the ordinary citizens of the Alliance could afford it, he couldn't help but marvel after doing the calculation.

Four years of not eating or drinking to afford it is longer than the time this settlement has existed.

If he remembered correctly, the No.1 Settlement's history is not even two years old.

Seeing Phil still thinking with a pawn shop mentality, Hank smiled and shook his head.

"You're overlooking one thing; we can borrow from the Alliance's banks, and the Alliance residents can also take out loans from banks. Moreover, their loans are much easier to acquire and have cheaper interest rates."

Phil: "... How cheap?"

"An interest rate of one percent, doesn't it sound like a giveaway?"

Looking at the dumbfounded Perry, Hank smiled and waved a finger, continuing to speak.

"As long as your monthly salary exceeds 1000 silver coins, and you have acquired Alliance citizenship, and the loan is for the purpose of a self-owned residence, they can easily lend money equivalent to ten times their annual income, with a repayment period that can be extended to over 20 years... As for the collateral, you could say there is none, or you could say it's the house they purchased."

"Based on my experience in the New Continent, personal housing expenses below one-third of monthly income are considered reasonable. Not to mention, the Alliance's low-rent housing isn't given to them for free; it's just that the rent is relatively cheap. And now, they only need to spend one-third or even less of their monthly income to move into a larger, more spacious, and more decent house, with not only an independent kitchen but also a bathroom and toilet... The most crucial thing is that this house belongs to them, and they can stay in it for as long as the Alliance exists without anyone kicking them out."

"According to this calculation, as long as one's monthly income exceeds 1000 silver coins and they have obtained Alliance citizenship… everyone is our potential customer."

In fact, it's not just Alliance citizenship; those with the status of a regulated individual can also get loans, only the interest will be one point higher.

And after obtaining Alliance citizenship, they can modify their loan through very simple procedures.

Although the money already paid won't be refunded, it will be deducted from the total amount of the loan and interest.

In a sense, this is a measure to stimulate the economy.

It's also a benefit for the general citizens of the Alliance.

After all, relative to the Alliance's annual growth rate, such low-interest loans are almost indistinguishable from giving money away.

Perry couldn't help but hold his breath, but still felt a bit worried and couldn't help but ask.

"...But why would they buy your house?"

Hank smiled faintly.

"Because of scarcity, the Alliance will build those corn buildings for them, but equality does not mean average. No one wants to live in those things for their whole life or even generations, sharing a toilet with neighbors. The pursuit of a better life is human nature, and what we offer them... It's certainly more meaningful than letting them waste money on alcohol, isn't it?"

"Sounds wonderful…" Perry murmured, his eyes lighting up.

"In fact, it's not bad," Hank said, patting Perry's shoulder as he saw he was no longer worried, "Once the first phase of the project is completed, our game will officially start... As for the second phase, I haven't decided yet, but let's just set a unit price of 120,000 silver coins for now."

Perry's eyes widened in surprise.

"A 20% price increase? Will anyone still buy it?"

Hank smiled.

"It will sell out."

…

Hank's vision is indeed quite sharp.

From the very beginning, his target customers were not just the survivors from the No. 1 Settlement, but survivors from the entire Death Coast and even the Eastern Provinces.

If the Alliance's space elevator is completed, the land beneath his feet will become the closest "land settlement" to space, and this is the truly scarcest resource.

Even though the South Sea Union is closer, those islands are small and scattered, hardly able to compete with him.

And to say something quite irreverent, if the Southern Legion loses the war in Poluo Province, those gamblers might lose not just West Sail Port.

The entire southern colony might be swept into the tide of the national liberation movement.

Referencing the tragic incidents that occurred in West Sail Port, it's impossible for Weilante people living in the colonies to remain.

And by then, they actually only have three options—

Either return to Triumph City, go to the New Continent.

Or come to the Alliance's territory.

These new immigrants bring not only labor but also the knowledge and wealth they possess.

Hank's true ambition is far greater than what he verbally articulated.

He not only wants to make Vellante Street in No. 1 Settlement the most prosperous area along this coast but also to use the historical opportunity of No. 1 Settlement to make his Hank Group's brand renowned!

In the future, when people mention his name, they will associate it with the pursuit of excellence.

And the skyscrapers he constructs will become synonymous with quality and a good life.

Even imagining further, in the future, people on this planet will have a renewed understanding of Weilante people—

They are not just war-crazed with gun barrels in their heads, but also excellent engineers and even artists with boundless creativity!

With the funding from Phil's Bank in place, construction teams from the North Island of the South Sea Union began arriving at the construction site one after another.

The construction materials used on the site are shipped from Potato Harbor, as well as Weifu City in the north.

As for the on-site workers, besides the workers from No. 1 Settlement, there are also expatriate laborers employed by North Island Construction Company, coming from the Mammoth Nation.

Of course, there are also young Weilante lads who have just disembarked.

On the matter of unity, Weilante people indeed have no complaints. Even though Hank is a "notoriously worst" New Continent native, Perry still lent him the money.

For those fellow countrymen fleeing danger, Hank indeed provided them with the utmost care within his capability… Even if he is the "most cunning Weilante person."

Conversely, Poluo people exhibited a "split" performance.

Generous individuals often expressed unreserved generosity, to the point of neglecting themselves, while cunning individuals often displayed extreme cunningness, without a single pixel in their eyes belonging to others.

Except for the Moon people who were once the most marginalized but now show some unity, for other survivors from Poluo Province, internal conflicts are routine.

And this often doesn't just happen between the Snake Clan and the Mouse Tribe, but usually also occurs within the same tribe.

Sometimes it's not even out of self-interest; it's merely the inability to stand others having a good time.

Sometimes they cannot stand the Weilante people doing well, and sometimes they cannot stand other Mouse Tribe members doing well.

And this results in a bizarre situation.

During the selection of representatives, they are the staunchest opponents of racial narratives, seemingly the most progressive individuals, and will definitely not cast that vote of trust for their fellow people.

Those Poluo people who become representatives due to the trust of the Alien race will strive to shed the Poluo mark, dissociate themselves from other Poluo individuals, propose proposals unfavorable to Poluo people, and even go as far as changing their names.

After all, the Alliance's ID cards don't have a race category; everyone is an Alliance citizen. As long as they change the family name marking their identity, essentially half of the mark is erased. Only Poluo people themselves can recognize those who've also eaten dirt.

And when they realize that someone from their family has succeeded, but didn't speak for them, those who never supported that person will, like Schrödinger's cat, revert to being conservative and the staunchest supporters of racial narratives, using the most malicious curses and strictest moral standards to try and bind those with similar marks.

As for the outcome, it's evident.

Except for truly selfless saints and utter frauds, no one would give such people a good look.

When a lose-lose situation forms, it often isn't due to a single mistake by a person or a decision, but a systemic loss of control at the root.

This cannot be reversed by one or two wars.

Regrettably, those thunderous shouts are indeed rare on the Wasteland; at least the Weilante people haven't birthed "Mr. Mouse," nor a series of successors.

However, they woke up quite happily.

What awakened Hank was a maritime disaster, and what awakened Evernight Harbor's residents was simply a guy named Comte.

They had no nostalgia whatsoever, decisively letting go of the past and moving forward.

But in Poluo Province, it took the Moon people nearly being slaughtered to wake up abruptly.

And even more people, even standing on the Alliance's land, still wander in dreams...

As a Hank Group construction team headed to the site, large white letters on a green background were painted on the iron wall separating the construction site.

It was personally written by Hank.

Standing by the roadside, he tossed the brush into the paint bucket, smiled with satisfaction, clapped his hands, and recited the words with a bard-like tone.

"... Vellante Street has the style of the Weilante people, but is not only a street for the Weilante people."

"We are committed to ending the Wasteland Era and welcome everyone, whether compatriots from afar or local friends."

"Great, great... I hope the Survivor Daily will kindly make it a headline."

...

At the same time as the Vellante Street project commenced, a man in the Representative Council's General Committee Office looked troubled.

His name was Wu Jingshan, formerly a resident of Giant Stone City, previously held the position of company commander in the Southern Construction Corps, later came here with the identity of a pioneer and Shelter No. 404's residents, being among the earliest residents of No.1 Settlement.

Moreover, he was also one of the earliest representatives of local residents, later being elected by other representatives as a General Committee member.

In the Representative Council, General Committee members are representatives too, just with relatively special roles, similar to "conference hosts."

Due to the temporary absence of distinct political factions in the Alliance, or the fact that the Manager and residents are themselves the largest faction, the "General Committee member" is usually chosen as a mediator recognized by both the Conservative faction and Radical faction.

Simply put, neither faction can find a fully trustworthy ally, so they simply select a "mediator."

Wu Jingshan was the "mediator" of No.1 Settlement.

When disputes between different factions became too fierce, he would come forward to persuade both sides to compromise, ensuring the winner doesn't win too much, and the loser doesn't lose all their stakes.

Previously, due to the Poluo people's actions surrounding the City Hall, the Conservative faction achieved an overwhelming victory in the "Vellante Street proposal."

Honestly, he didn't really want to get involved in such a non-controversial issue, even though he himself had voted against it.

However, just yesterday, a representative named Su Ka sought him out, telling him that a significant portion of Poluo people were dissatisfied with the Representative Council's decision, believing it didn't represent them and were brewing something bigger.

Wu Jingshan didn't know whether Su Ka approached him due to his identity recognition as a former Poluo person or from a Radical faction's standpoint.

But he couldn't ignore the reminder from that Poluo representative.

After all, this is the Wasteland; no one can guarantee how big the so-called big thing will be.

Because of that, he reported the matter to the Guards Corps and local police station, and simultaneously found the proposer, Gu Ning, hoping the latter could propose a revision that could calm the Radical faction or Poluo people's sentiments.

As the proposer, he was the most likely person to accomplish this.

However, after hearing the "mediator's" request, Gu Ning merely sighed and placed the teacup he held onto the table.

"To be honest, I'm quite surprised. My proposal passed with 80% approval votes, and the remaining 20% opposition didn't even account for half; it could be described as 'uncontroversial.' I didn't expect you to still find me."

Wu Jingshan sighed and said.

"I'm merely seeking your opinion, not forcefully requiring you to change your viewpoint..."

Gu Ning chuckled.

"I guess it's that Su Ka guy trying to convince you to persuade me."

Honestly, he really looked down on some of the radical faction people in No.1 Settlement.

The Workers' Association folks were mostly radical too, but at least they had the guts to physically go to Poluo Province to support the local reforms, using the money and dues voluntarily donated by the workers, without spending a dime of the Alliance's finances.

Take Owen, for example.

At the second gunshot at West Sail Port, this guy was right on the front line, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Family Meeting folks.

Although in the end he was thrown back by the Southern Legion, the fact that he could carry out his ideals to this extent is quite manly.

As for those so-called radical faction people around him, besides spending money and chanting, he truly hadn't seen any spirit of daring to be the first in them.

Those guys seemed more like they treated the Poluo people as little pets that needed pampering, distorting the so-called solidarity into various forms of preferential treatment.

This was fundamentally contrary to the Alliance's ideology of equality.

And more shamefully, they completely ignored the shifting public opinion and the resentment of the Alliance's residents towards demanding special treatment.

Before this group of fools and the Poluo people made the word "solidarity" stink, he felt he must stand up and do something.

In Gu Ning's view, the best approach was to set an example for this weak and incompetent radical faction, to show them what true solidarity really looked like.

Looking at the unyielding Gu Ning, Wu Jingshan sighed and said.

"No matter who found me, I personally think Vellante Street isn't a good idea."

Gu Ning chuckled noncommittally.

"They're spending their own money. Whether it's a good idea or not, we'll see once it's built. Besides, I've never seen you smoke less despite it polluting the air."

Wu Jingshan stared at him.

"Are you endorsing them then?"

"I never said that. I merely exercised my constitutional rights and did what I believe was right," Gu Ning said with a slight smile, leaving no room for error.

Sitting opposite him, Wu Jingshan was silent for a while, letting out a sigh.

"The Manager is coming soon, you know that, right?"

Gu Ning said calmly.

"Everyone in the settlement knows."

Wu Jingshan continued.

"Then you should be aware, we have significant tensions with the Army right now. If the Manager has objections to this project, it will definitely fall through, which wouldn't be good for those Weilante people either."

Gu Ning concisely replied.

"You think the Manager would have objections because you don't truly understand him."

Wu Jingshan retorted.

"Do you understand him then?"

Gu Ning gave a gentle smile.

"I wouldn't make any bold claims, but I'm confident that the gentleman supports Poluo Province not out of special treatment for the Poluo people, but for the Alliance's interests. This is fundamentally different from those overly sympathetic folks."

Wu Jingshan couldn't help but say.

"Have you considered another scenario?"

Seeing this general committee officer hesitating to speak, Gu Ning's eyebrows slightly raised.

"What scenario?"

Wu Jingshan stared at him for a moment, then suddenly blurted out.

"What if those Poluo people kneeled before him?"

He didn't even know why he thought of this suddenly, clearly just a few minutes ago he was still worried that those Poluo people might bomb the place where they were meeting.

Maybe, in his subconscious, this seemed more like something those people might actually do.

Gu Ning looked at the general committee officer sitting opposite him in surprise, unsure whether to be amazed at his thinking or the scenario he proposed.

Sitting up straight, Gu Ning locked eyes with him.

"...Do you know what I'm thinking?"

Slightly unable to fathom this guy, Wu Jingshan said indecisively.

"...What are you thinking?"

Gu Ning suddenly smiled, leaned back comfortably in his chair.

"Bring it on."

Chapter 908: Let Us Meet the Manager!

To the north of No.1 Settlement, near the ruins of Haibei City, Anthony sat in the barracks, cigarette in mouth, flipping through a novel he had bought from a nearby settlement.

Since successfully negotiating a deal with the Goblin Corps, he had been promoted from Centurion to Centurion, now managing the entire area from the outpost to the camp.

After the Torch war, the various armies of the Sticky Community had not immediately withdrawn from The Hague Province. A ten thousand troops of the Eastern Legion remained in the Haiye Province, continuing to scavenge the scant remaining spoils and explore pre-war ruins.

Although the Southern Legion and the Alliance were fiercely battling in the Poluo Province, the relationship between Triumph City and the Alliance was not too bad, and the Eastern Legion followed Triumph City's lead... at least for now.

Therefore, the so-called outpost here was more of a formality, where both sides declared their military presence.

So far, the 37th ten thousand troops of the Eastern Legion and the local garrison of the Alliance had not had a single military conflict.

They even occasionally took on jobs from nearby settlements to eliminate Looters, Mutants, Alien nests, and guard the railroad lines.

The Alliance usually paid them in silver coins, which could be exchanged for quite a few good things to improve their lives from the nearby settlements and passing merchants—like cigarettes, soft drinks, and vodka.

Anthony initially found it hard to adapt to this lifestyle, but over time he got used to it and would even go to the bar in the nearby settlement for a couple of drinks during his rest time.

As usual.

Feeling a bit numb from sitting too long, he got up to stretch, leaving the engrossing novel. He picked up the rifle leaning against the table, ready to stroll around and stretch his muscles.

However, just as he stepped out of the barracks, a Centurion ran up to him, saluted, and reported.

"Sir, there's a group of about 120 Residents from a settlement on the eastern railroad, roughly a hundred-person team."

Anthony yawned and said impatiently.

"If they've come, they've come. Why bother with them."

Occasionally, Scavengers would come around to pick up scraps since this area was considered a pre-war city site, and they could always find something.

As long as they didn't approach their construction site and disrupt the work, Anthony generally didn't bother with them.

However, the Centurion looked embarrassed and said.

"But... they've taken over the railroad, and it's the patrol section the Railway Operations Company contracted to us."

"Huh?" Anthony was momentarily stunned, taking a while to react, asking puzzledly, "Why are they occupying the railroad?"

The Centurion smiled wryly and said.

"I don't know, I tried to communicate with them, but they were unwilling to talk to us."

Anthony's expression shifted uncertainly.

After pondering for a moment, he decided to check it out for himself before making a decision, so he looked at his subordinate and said.

"Take me there."

The Centurion breathed a sigh of relief, saluted, and said.

"Yes, sir!"

The two hurried to the dirt road next to the outpost, got into the open-top jeep parked there, and quickly drove towards the railway not far from Haibei City.

From the back seat of the car, Anthony could already see, from a distance away, a group of people standing on the railway.

Among them were elderly people, children, and even women holding babies.

They were holding wooden signs and banners.

The patrolling ten-man squad stood nearby, facing them in a tense standoff.

Perhaps emboldened by their numbers, they showed no fear, their expressions and emotions even more agitated.

Anthony took out his binoculars, glanced in the direction of the crowd, and happened to see the words "Vellante People Get Out" written on a wooden sign, causing his brow to twitch fiercely.

"Damn... are these guys here to cause trouble?"

"I don't know," the Centurion smiled bitterly, hesitated for a moment, then said, "they seem like survivors from the Poluo Province... maybe it's related to the Vellante Street Act recently passed by No.1 Settlement."

Anthony had heard about that incident.

Due to some things happening in Evernight Harbor, the Vellante people fled here in large numbers, over five thousand at once, sparking dissatisfaction among the local Poluo people.

In his opinion, the Alliance was too kind.

Under the rule of the Vellante, where did these Poluo people get so many bad habits?

Even in West Sail Port, governed by incompetent civil officials, these guys were only worthy of kneeling on the ground and licking boots.

Now they've barely stood up, and they want to turn things around and be the masters.

"...What should we do?" seeing his superior squinting his eyes in silence, the Centurion hesitantly asked.

"What to do..."

Anthony chuckled coldly, took the pu-9 submachine gun hanging from the car door, and chambered a round with a click.

"The Alliance spoiled this muddy lot, but I'm not the Alliance, and I'm not indulging them."

With that, he raised the muzzle and fired a series of shots into the sky.

Hearing the sudden burst of gunfire, the people standing on the railroad flinched.

Some fled from the crowd, but quite a few stood their ground.

Among them, an old man did not retreat, glaring at him with eyes full of anger and shock.

"What do you want to do!"

Seeing that the other party was finally willing to communicate, Anthony jumped off the open-top jeep, carried the submachine gun, and walked to the side of the railroad, facing the old man.

"That's what I should ask you, what the hell do you plan to do."

"It... it's none of your business!"

The old man glared fixedly at his nose, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. It was unclear whether it was due to extreme anger, intense fear, or both.

A young man beside him took a step forward, mustered up the courage to say to Anthony.

"This is the Alliance's railroad... we are Alliance Citizens, and this section of the road was built by us, we have the right to stand here—"

"Right... haha, hearing this word from the mouth of a Poluo is truly rare, but what's the use of telling me this crap, I'm not an Alliance Citizen."

Anthony impatiently dug in his ear, looking at them with hostile eyes, and suddenly thought of something, smiling broadly as he said.

"Let's make a deal, I won't ask what you're planning. Since you've come this far, why not walk another ten kilometers ahead. Once you pass a road sign, that section of the road won't be under our control, and you can do whatever you want with the railroad, and no one will care."

"But here, if you want to fight for that so-called 'right' of yours, I suggest you go back and bring your guns."

Hearing this, there was a commotion among the people standing on the railroad.

Especially the few leading old folks exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.

"We didn't come here to fight... It's not worth clashing with these Vellante people."

"Makes sense..."

"We've already walked over a hundred kilometers anyway, another ten kilometers won't hurt."

However, some expressed concern.

"But... heading further north leads to the Wasteland, where entire areas are uninhabited zones. What if we run into Variants?"

Seeing the worried expression on the man's face, the elderly leader lowered his voice and said,

"There's a watchtower every few dozen kilometers along the railway, and the areas we pass also stay away from water sources, so it should be safe."

After these guys talked for a while without any conclusion, Anthony, who had just finished a cigarette, threw the butt on the ground and stomped it out, shouting impatiently.

"Hurry up, have you agreed on a result after all your dawdling?"

Seeing that the officer was impatient, the leading old man finally stepped forward and responded.

"We agree to your terms!"

Anthony impatiently waved his hand.

"Then get moving."

Although the attitude of these Vellante people was not likable, those standing on the railway ultimately didn't say anything and continued to walk along the railway, grumbling.

The matter was settled, Anthony returned to the car and nudged the driver's seat with his knee.

"Start the car."

The driver skillfully started the engine, looked into the rear-view mirror, and asked,

"Back to the camp?"

"Back to what camp, follow them."

Anthony chuckled and cursed, casually secured the Submachine Gun by the car door, and then looked toward the group continuing along the railway in the distance.

He didn't know what they were up to, but he always felt that following these people would be entertaining and much more interesting than sitting in the barracks reading novels.

As he instructed the driver to keep a distance and follow this group, the Poluo people, who continued heading north, nervously whispered among themselves.

"Those Vellante people are following us..."

"What do they intend to do?"

"Surely they're not planning to wait until we reach the Wasteland to quietly deal with us, right..."

"Impossible, the Alliance isn't blind! Unless they want to start a war with the Alliance!"

"What if the Eastern Legion really has that idea... they've fought before."

A pessimistic atmosphere spread silently, and some people began to think of retreating.

Seeing these timid folks, the leading old man was filled with anger.

It was the same way back in the Horse State!

This useless bunch would often lose their resolve at crucial moments; no wonder they couldn't achieve anything significant.

His name was Jeremy, he came from Mammoth State and was once a veteran of the Moon Clan Resistance. After Laxi came to power, he left angrily, first arriving at Potato Harbor, and later moving on to the No.1 Settlement.

Like his fellow Moon Clan member Su Ka, he also tried to follow the representative route, but due to the Moon Clan Resistance's poor performance in the Horse State days, he couldn't convince the Moon Clan to rally around him, nor could he gain the trust of the Mouse Tribe or the Snake Race.

Honestly, this was quite normal, as the people he attempted to unite were inherently the hardest to unify.

If he emulated Su Ka and sought to rally local survivors, he might have stood a chance, but he had no intention of reflecting on any issues within himself and instead blamed all his difficulties on the wrong environment.

In his view, the Alliance's Representatives had become tools for political manipulation; those conference folks would go to any lengths to gain people's support...but they had no clue what people truly needed.

No Poluo person would agree to let the Vellante people come ashore. What right did that man named Gu have to let them ashore!

Did they consult his opinion?

He viewed it as nothing less than the oppression of a minority by the majority, not order!

Alas, the Manager stands too high to see the suffering below. While the Manager may have good intentions, those below him misconstrued them.

But that's okay.

He will plead with the Manager to disband that already corrupted Representative Conference:

The Alliance once saved him.

And now, it is time for him to save the Alliance!

This is not only for the good of the Alliance but also for everyone living on this land!

Jeremy firmly believed in his choices and harbored no doubt that he was the most loyal one.

Looking at the hesitant steps of his kinsmen, he couldn't help but shout.

"Don't make so much noise, can you show some backbone! You have already come this far; are you planning on turning back now and letting those feckless weaklings laugh at you!"

The shout had some effect, and everyone immediately swallowed their words of discouragement.

However, this was not because of backbone or any other reason, but because of the latter half of his words—

They didn't want to be laughed at.

Jeremy continued to capitalize on this momentum, shouting at the crowd.

"Think about your kids and your family. Do you want them to live with those big-nosed... Slave Owners!"

"If that's not enough, think about those who died at West Sail Port and Lion City!"

No one doubted his words by this point, and the hesitant steps grew more determined.

In a crowded settlement, a ten-kilometer journey is long, but in the desolate Wasteland, it is short.

They marched like devout pilgrims, completing the final stretch with determination.

Finally, they left the section of railway guarded by the 37th Ten Thousand Troops.

Jeremy stopped and shouted at the car behind.

"Is it okay now!"

The Centurion Anthony, sitting in the open-top jeep, replied with a smile.

"Yes, beyond that signpost ahead of you, you can do as you please."

Jeremy shouted back at him.

"Then why are you still following us? How long do you plan to tail us?"

Anthony took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a smile.

"That's our business, nothing to do with you."

After shouting this, he looked at the Centurion sitting next to him.

"When's the next train?"

The Centurion hesitated for a moment and said softly.

"It should be soon... Maybe in half an hour?"

"Tsk, why is it taking so long?"

Anthony squinted towards the direction of the old man, only to see them gathering on the railroad tracks again.

At this time, a young man walked up to Jeremy, speaking with a hint of hesitation.

"Mr. Jeremy... I don't mean to doubt your plan, but can we really wait here for the Manager?"

Jeremy held his ground and said.

"Definitely! I read in the newspaper that the gentleman is coming by train... Either today or tomorrow, we brought food and water, at worst we'll camp out here overnight."

The crowd exchanged glances, then someone asked softly.

"But... The newspaper didn't say which train the gentleman is on."

Jeremy's expression froze but quickly recovered his calm demeanor.

"That's easy to handle, there are only a few trains in total, we can stop them and ask."

This idea seemed a bit reckless, but it was perhaps the most reliable at the moment.

The Manager is unlikely to be on a freight train, which already ruled out half of the possibilities.

The trains coming from the north are mainly freight trains, with only four or five passenger trains a day.

Although it might cause some trouble for those on the train, their plea to the Manager is ultimately for the greater good.

A group of people set up camp on both sides of the tracks, and some tired individuals simply sat on the rails to rest, tearing open canned food to eat, just like a picnic.

The sight of that group devouring food made Anthony hungry, and he couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

However, regrettably, he only had compressed biscuits on the train, so he could only nibble on the brick-like biscuits to satisfy his craving.

At this moment, a rumbling sound came from a distance, and although the train was not yet visible, it seemed not far away.

The young man sitting next to Jeremy tossed away the can and stood up excitedly, looking at the old man beside him and volunteered.

"I'll go stop the train."

Jeremy nodded appreciatively.

"Go ahead, kid."

Under the admiring and respectful gaze of many eyes, the young man took off his shirt, waved it, and ran towards the approaching train.

While running, he shouted towards the approaching train with all his might.

"Stop! Stop quickly!"

The shouting was loud enough, but unfortunately couldn't penetrate the soundproof casing.

Let alone across several kilometers...

The two sides advanced for a while, until the distance between them was only a few hundred meters. The train conductor in the cab vaguely saw a young man running on the rails, waving his shirt, with his mouth seemingly shouting something.

The conductor's face instantly changed, hastily activating the braking system, and then sounded the horn to alert.

The brake attached to the wheels sparked tiny specks of fire, producing a teeth-gritting metallic buzz.

Passengers inside the car felt the obvious jerk, their bodies swaying slightly on the seats.

Meanwhile, the horn outside the carriage had started going off like an air raid alarm.

The blaring sound was enough to scare off the wandering Claw of death near the railway, but for some reason, it didn't scare away the young man waving his shirt.

"Damn it! What does this guy want?!"

"Is it a Looter?" The security captain rushing into the cab had already nervously gripped his gun.

His concern was not unfounded, as this was the Wasteland after all.

Even though the Army of the Alliance was strong enough, there were still plenty of foolish Looters.

Not to mention the brainless Mutants.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have mounted heavy machine guns and grenade launchers on a passenger train.

"I don't think so... More like a lunatic with a screw loose." The conductor sweated profusely, cursing in his heart while praying not to collide.

He had already braked to the maximum extent. Any faster would risk a collision between the carriages. He couldn't risk the lives of everyone on board for one reckless person.

Seeing that the young man had no intention of leaving, the deputy conductor's face turned pale, and he picked up the communicator hanging in the carriage to call the nearest tower.

Meanwhile, the young man running on the tracks, his voice almost hoarse, saw that the speeding train was not showing any signs of stopping.

Just as the train head was about to hit, he could only helplessly jump off the tracks.

And in less than two seconds after he left the tracks, the rumbling sound passed by him, and the raging airflow almost pulled him back onto the tracks.

Seeing that the train did not heed him, the young man angrily picked up a stone and threw it at the carriage, cursing.

"Stop! Damn it!"

Why isn't it stopping yet!

The blaring horn continued, not stopping even after the last carriage disappeared from his sight.

The young man picked up his clothes from the ground, intending to head back the way he came, but his face suddenly changed.

"Oh no!"

He suddenly remembered that everyone was still sitting on the tracks waiting for him to return with good news.

From the moment he saw the train to it reaching him took no more than ten seconds.

Although he thought they should be able to dodge, the group included not only young men but also elderly, children, and women...

"No... Wait, disperse quickly!"

Realizing the severity of the issue, he hurriedly chased in the direction of the train, just as he had run towards it before, shouting vigorously as he ran.

However, two legs could never chase down countless wheels. He couldn't stop the train before, so naturally, he couldn't catch up to the rumbling sound now.

Meanwhile, everyone in the front cabin breathed a sigh of relief.

Though they didn't understand why that idiot wanted to stop the train, fortunately, the kid dodged just in the nick of time.

Now, it was up to the security bureau to handle it.

Once the railway guards arrive, they'll naturally teach that reckless guy a lesson.

"Crisis averted..."

The conductor, wiping the sweat from his brow, sat back down relieved, only to suddenly spot a crowd on the tracks in the distance.

"Damn it—"

His momentarily calm heart jumped back into his throat, and he sprang from his chair like he'd been electrocuted.

The deputy conductor beside him was a step faster, having already re-sounded the horn that hadn't been off two seconds, along with the just-released brakes.

"Woo——!"

The crowd sitting on the tracks stirred; some fled in fright, but not everyone was quick on their feet.

Some scrambled up in panic, others rolled and crawled away; some tried to retrieve cans from the tracks, while others found their pants snagged on track nails.

After all, there were over a hundred people; they couldn't all move like a single person.

The three in the cabin watched in horror, their eyes bloodshot, as the uncontrollable train head barreled into the defenseless crowd, crushing an unlucky old man to pulp, then grinding over half another person's body and a leg.

"No——!"

The conductor inside and Jeremy outside simultaneously cried out in despair.

The jolting train car and sudden braking shocked and angered the passengers inside.

The swaying car finally steadied itself on the tracks.

The conductor, with a few security personnel, disembarked to check the situation; Jeremy, nearly soiling himself in fear, rushed over with his furious companions.

"You murderer! Why didn't you stop the train! Why!"

Staring at the unreasonable old man, the enraged conductor slapped him across the head.

"Are you insane? Do you think this is a bus or your home's tractor?"

Jeremy was part of the Resistance, but who here hadn't wielded a gun before?

Dizzied by the slap, Jeremy fell to the ground.

The surrounding Poluo people were aghast, looking like they wanted to tear the conductor and his "goons" to pieces.

Especially the breathless young man, who had finally caught up and, seeing Jeremy on the ground, became furious, shouting at the conductor.

"I'll fight you to the end!!"

The enraged crowd startled the conductor, who quickly retreated into the train, grabbing a radio to call for backup.

Anthony sat in the off-road vehicle, dumbfounded, the cookie dropping from his mouth.

"Damn..."

He learned this word from the Alliance people, and now it was used on them.

So these guys went through all this trouble just for a picnic and to get two people killed?

What were they thinking?

He thought they were planning something big!

Then, the radio in the car crackled, and the Centurion beside him gave him a strange look.

"...Should we go help."

Anthony glanced at the location of the train head, right within his jurisdiction, and his brow twitched uncontrollably.

Despite his reluctance, thinking of the hefty "protection fee," he took the radio and pressed the connect button.

"...Hold on, we're on our way."

"Damn it...hurry up! I'm afraid these madmen will tear our train apart!"

Leaning against the door, the conductor cursed, glancing outside.

Under relentless battering, the train window glass had cracked like a spider web.

Passengers inside the train were bewildered, not understanding what the people outside wanted.

The security team had already loaded their guns, but with the people outside unarmed, they couldn't fire the first shot.

The conductor regretted knocking out that leader with a slap.

Backing away from the shattered window, he shouted at the crazy crowd outside.

"What do you want?!"

A middle-aged man shouted back.

"Let us see the Manager!"

The conductor was taken aback, unable to comprehend.

"Manager?! Then why stop us?"

The man banging on the door was also dumbfounded.

"...The Manager isn't on the train?"

The conductor almost choked on his own saliva, shouting at the lunatic.

"Use your brain, if the Manager were on the train, could you be talking to me at the door?!"

The Guards Corps weren't just for show!

At that moment, a gunshot rang out from a distance, startling everyone around the train, instinctively looking towards the sound.

A convertible off-road vehicle was parked nearby, with that annoying big nose standing by it wielding a submachine gun.

With a cigarette in his mouth, Anthony glanced at the old man on the ground and the bloodied train head, then looked at the troublesome Poluo people.

"Alright, everyone, stop it. I don't care who you want to see, you're on Vellante territory now."

Their faces still bore some defiance, seemingly unimpressed by the submachine gun in his hands.

But Anthony wasn't in the mood for niceties or reasoning, and spoke impatiently.

"Stand in a line obediently, hands raised over your heads on the train car. Anyone who disobeys will be treated as a Looter."

Chapter 909: The Alliance Is Not a Wishing Machine

Chu Guang stayed in Weifu City for three whole days.

Other than listening to Li Jinrong's work report on the first day, the remaining two days he mostly wandered around this settlement following the "strategies" posted by players on the forum.

Unlike the monotonous Singular Point City, every district and even every street of this settlement was full of stories.

Take Kun Town, for instance.

This work, put together on a whim by the players, has now become the most prosperous neighborhood in Weifu City.

Especially after the young men of the 100th Mountain Division of the Company brought back the Kun cards created by Mosquito Brother to Ideal City, this street became crowded with "players" from Ideal City.

Nobody expected things to develop to this extent, including Mosquito Brother himself.

Although his original intention was just to make a quick buck while having fun, he didn't expect that the complex game rules and story-rich cards would surprisingly become popular all over Ideal City—at least attracting some Otaku.

Delving deeper into the reasons, it may have an inseparable relationship with the vast and barren digital desert of Ideal City.

The rapid speed of information exchange makes every fragmented piece of information lose its original meaning, like a kaleidoscope that is colorful yet hollow.

Precisely because of this, when they detached from the information service provided by Endpoint Cloud, slowing down the speed of information exchange, they instead felt the fun of returning to the basics.

In short, Kun Town in Weifu City, now just like the Singular Point City next door, has become the spiritual homeland of another wave of Ideal City residents.

A good number of backpackers fly over from the East Coast to "make a pilgrimage" around the small town.

And thanks to the arrival of these folks, this small town situated on the Wasteland unexpectedly saw the budding of a "postmodern-style cultural renaissance," with many imaginative cultural works emerging.

For example, derivative works on the Kun card game, as well as some independent works merging the players' strange ideas.

Ideal City's residents brought not only the wild ideas from Endpoint Cloud but also relevant technologies.

Such as holographic projection technology that can perfectly mimic reality and virtual reality technology that can fully immerse someone into dreams.

Although these art forms are somewhat ahead of their time for the Waste Land Wanderers, they unexpectedly resonate with the wavelength of players from another world.

Not only that.

Chu Guang heard that the lifestyle professional players active locally, along with engineers from Ideal City, developed a unique system called "Beyond Dreams."

This system can connect to the retinal nerves, storing the collected visual signals in a chip, and reproduce them through special reading devices.

This system greatly reduced the development cost of immersive virtual reality system visual works and games, and enhanced the realism of the images, its significance comparable to people of the old era equipping phones with cameras.

Producing virtual reality games and films used to be the domain of professional directors, but now anyone can become a director, as long as they install a set of prosthetic devices and insert a chip to create their own works.

Impacted by this invention, "Wasteland OL" has also further strengthened the "death replay" and "real-time screen recording" function.

Previously, these two functions mainly relied on the headset camera on the action recorder, far less convenient than the "Beyond Dreams" system.

As for the relevant laws and regulations, the representative council will naturally discuss as needed by reality.

And meanwhile, the players who developed this device have also made some restrictions based on clauses in the "Player's Handbook," such as circulation limits on restricted images, and grading review standards.

In addition to progress in literary and technological fields, the surviving residents of Weifu City have also made considerable advancements in economic and industrial areas.

Clean and orderly buildings sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, extending along the straight streets, whereas just two years ago this place was an uninhabited barren land.

According to Li Jinrong's report, there are already 170,000 Waste Land Wanderers settled here.

Among them, there are pioneers from Giant Stone City and City of Dawn, Waste Land Wanderers roaming Brocade River Province and Yue Ma Province, and even people from the distant Province of Yúnjiānxíng, and Weilante People from the West Coast, as well as settlers from the Wandering Swamp.

Especially those swamp dwellers, they brought with them resource exploration and extraction technologies inherited from the Committee of Science, and scrap recycling techniques learned from scavenger groups in the Promice Northern Part.

Using these technologies, they obtained loans from the Alliance bank, established resource extraction companies, extracting nutrients buried for two centuries from the ruins of pre-war cities and converting them into the lifeblood of industry, transporting it to various industrial zones of the Alliance through the railroad.

Apart from resource utilization, local survivors have also utilized wind resources from Ten Peaks Mountain according to local conditions, building drum-shaped wind turbines on the cloud-piercing mountains.

It is worth mentioning that this was accomplished by South Sea Union North Island Heavy Industries, whose survivors are best at utilizing sustainable renewable energy, and have developed this ability to the extreme over more than a century.

The electricity converted from wind energy, although not as massive and inexpensive as that provided by fusion reactors, is completely sufficient for Weifu City, which has only 170,000 people.

Moreover, they can even export excess electricity to Singular Point City in exchange for agricultural products and light industrial consumer goods produced there.

Compared to pulling an electric wire all the way from Dawn City, this is a more economical approach.

Although controlled fusion is efficient, using helium-3 resources diminishes the supply. Before resuming the Earth-Moon flight, the Alliance's energy is not yet abundant enough to be squandered at will.

Furthermore, notable are the farms extending along the Wei River, and the peripheral areas expanding around the highways and railroads.

A good number of the Expeditionary Army from Poluo Province chose to stay here, and their extraordinary enthusiasm for the land also accelerated Weifu City's expansion to some extent.

In contrast, pioneers from Giant Stone City are more willing to live in the crowded city.

Except for those with a mercenary background.

In summary, the locals found a development method suitable for themselves, both internally and externally, combining the strengths of all ethnic groups.

And in Chu Guang's view, this is the most precious aspect.

If time allows, he plans to stay here a while longer, seeing those things that interest him before leaving.

However, there are still ten other settlements waiting for his visit, and places he cannot visit in time will have to be closely monitored by the players on his behalf.

The train station in Weifu City.

Bidding farewell to Li Jinrong and his group, Chu Guang sat in the waiting room by the platform.

Looking at the bustling crowd outside the window, and the thriving settlement behind them, Chu Guang wore a satisfied smile.

"Weifu City will become a great role model."

Lu Bei questioned.

"Role model?"

"Yes."

Chu Guang smiled and nodded, casually continuing to speak.

"I've told you a long time ago, barbarism won't simply be eradicated by force; it will, like wild grasses after a spring breeze, grow anew after a fire. However, like outdated production methods, they will eventually be replaced by more advanced means of production. Our civilization was born in this process."

"What is worth being proud of is that we have already nurtured the flame of civilization, and the only challenge is how to let it spread spontaneously to even farther places."

"Weifu City has set a good example in this matter. Waste Land Wanderers from all around come here, witnessing our order and prosperity, then being attracted by it, and consequently carrying it away to all directions... Meanwhile, our ideals will also extend along the highways and railways they traveled on, injecting new blood into this barren land and awakening the civilization sleeping beneath the soil."

Lu Bei scratched the back of his head.

Chu Guang knew he didn't understand, but he didn't mind; he just smiled amiably and ended the topic.

"The next stop is No.1 Settlement... By the way, we'll pass by the Eastern Legion's camp, won't we?"

Finally, they talked about a field he could engage in, so Lu Bei quickly answered seriously.

"I've prepared the security work."

Looking at the young man's serious expression, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"I'm not worried about safety; I'm just wondering if there's a chance to go and see it."

On the Forum official site, he constantly hears players talk about how the big noses there have already been 'corrupted' into the shape of the Alliance, and he's always been curious about what this so-called shape of the Alliance really is like.

Hearing this, Lu Bei was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly said.

"Are you referring to the control area of the 370,000th Legion? But... after all, that's not our territory."

"Hmm... you're right," Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully, "after all, it might still be better to have Cheng Yan send a formal diplomatic letter to Centurion Bennott."

While the two were exchanging words, the station's broadcast suddenly rang out.

"Dear passengers, we apologize as there's been an unexpected situation on the Haiye Province railway section, train D97 had to make an emergency stop near the old site of Haibei City due to an accident. This rail line is currently suspended, and the trips to No.1 Settlement are temporarily frozen; resumption time is undetermined..."

"Patrol staff near the current accident area has urgently gone to the site to investigate. Please be patient; we will inform you as soon as the fault is resolved..."

At the same time as the announcement, the passengers on the station platform were in an uproar.

Especially those preparing to head to No.1 Settlement; their expressions went from bewilderment to anger.

People swarmed toward the duty kiosk, clogging the small window completely and erupted into a noisy crowd.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"What's happened exactly? Try to calm me down... at least tell us when the service will resume!"

"Damn it! I have a reservation for a passenger ship to North Island tonight, and now you're telling me the train isn't running, and the resumption time is undetermined?! Who's going to compensate for my loss?"

"Refunds!!!"

Faced with the endless questions, the staff at the duty kiosk were overwhelmed.

It was clear the young girl sitting at the window didn't know what happened either, having received the notification not much earlier than the passengers did here.

Actually, not only her, but Lu Bei standing in the waiting room was also bewildered until a soldier of the Guards Corps jogged into the waiting room, saluted, and anxiously stopped beside him and Chu Guang.

"Report! A train accident occurred 110 kilometers north of No.1 Settlement... According to reports from nearby outposts, the cause of the accident was 120 survivors from No.1 Settlement attempting to intercept a passenger train. The conductor initiated the emergency braking procedure, but due to the short distance, the train still crashed into the crowd... resulting in two deaths and one severe injury."

Lu Bei glared at him, saying.

"What exactly are the people at the branch over there doing, to find out about such a big issue only now!"

With his head bowed, the soldier nervously explained.

"...The incident happened on the wasteland, and it happened too suddenly."

Lu Bei criticized, disappointedly.

"At least the people came from the settlement, right? Didn't anyone over there have any information?"

As the soldier stammered an explanation, Chu Guang raised his hand to interrupt their conversation.

"Alright, don't make it hard on him. Even I couldn't possibly know everything that happens in the settlement."

The Guards Corps branch at No.1 Settlement had been established for less than half a year; it's understandable if intelligence gathering work isn't proficient yet.

Moreover, in that kind of settlement completely established by immigrants, the population mobility is too large, and the boundary between settlement and wilderness is less clear, making it almost impossible to entirely prevent unforeseen events, especially since the incident's location was on the wasteland.

It's already commendable that they could understand the situation promptly, and there's no need to be excessively critical.

Looking at the soldier standing with his head down, Chu Guang continued in a gentle tone.

"Lift your head, stand upright, and tell me what exactly happened there. Including whether the situation has been controlled, why those people blocked the train, and what their purpose or demands really are."

Hearing Chu Guang's words, the soldier was touched, straightened up, and continued reporting.

"The accident site is within the control zone of the Eastern Legion's 370,000th Legion. A Centurion named Anthony has controlled the situation and handed over the arrested individuals to the guards at the scene..."

"According to the guards' investigation, those people are survivors from the Poluo Province. Most of them have already obtained Alliance citizen status, while the remaining others are under supervision. When they saw the guards, they made a demand... saying they want to meet you."

Chu Guang was momentarily stunned.

"...Meet me?"

The soldier from the Guards Corps nodded with a subtle expression.

"Yes... they kept shouting that they want to meet the Manager of the Alliance."

...

At the outpost near the old site of Haibei City, Anthony, leaning by an open-air jeep, had just finished the boxed meal a fellow Alliance brother gave him and burped loudly with the beer.

The Centurion sitting on the hood looked at him with a rather helpless expression and asked.

"Are we going to stay here even longer?"

After handing over the 'culprit' to the Alliance guards, theoretically, this matter wasn't their responsibility anymore.

However, his officer seemingly got addicted to watching the show, stubbornly staying here without going, and even shamelessly mooched a meal.

Hearing his subordinate's voice, Anthony smiled nonchalantly.

"Why so eager to go back? We might as well wait here and take a look, maybe we'll get to see the Manager of the Alliance."

They say that guy killed a Pioneer of the Torch Church wearing biological power armor with a single strike.

And it was amidst an attack by a group of Batwing People.

He's always been curious about what that guy looks like, how many arms and heads he has.

Of course, he's more curious about how that guy plans to handle this situation.

These people are all Alliance citizens.

And they are his most "loyal" supporters.

Just as he was curious, somewhere in the distant dusk-filled sky, two pale blue arcs flashed.

Anthony tossed the beer bottle aside, took the binoculars hanging inside the car door, and glanced in the direction that seemed to be a plasma plume.

It took only a moment for excitement to light up his face.

"It's here!"

Shortly after his words fell, a "Viper" transport plane flew over from the direction of Ten Peaks Mountain, then slowly landed on the weed-infested wasteland.

Anthony wasn't the only one who noticed the two arcs; the Alliance guards at the sentry post noticed the incoming transport plane from afar, including the Poluo people held at the sentry post entrance.

Seeing the Guards Corps soldiers jumping off the transport, Jeremy, squatting on the ground, recognized their exoskeletons, and his previously drooping face instantly revived with excitement and a rosy glow.

They are people from the Manager's side!

Sure enough, that lord cares about them!

Ignoring the guards' shouts, Jeremy sprang up from the ground like a rabbit and ran eagerly towards those few guardsmen, then fell to his knees with a thud.

"Manager Lord... You've finally come... We... We are innocent."

The air was unnaturally quiet.

The Guard soldiers in exoskeletons watched him coldly.

Through the dark-lensed face shields, Jeremy couldn't see their facial expressions, but he could sense the coldness in their gaze.

Unconsciously swallowing hard, he tried to find the azure power armor but only saw a man in civilian clothes.

That man emitted a special aura.

However, unlike what he imagined, it was not the majesty he had fantasized but a kind of comforting or convincing power.

"Tell me, what is this innocence you speak of?"

Jeremy pressed his forehead firmly against the ground, speaking in a choked voice.

"We only wanted to see you, but were brought here like criminals by those Weilante people... and these rude guards."

While speaking, he glared disdainfully at the open-top offroader not far behind, especially eyeing the man standing beside the vehicle.

Standing motionless, Chu Guang watched the old man kneeling on the ground, not reprimanding him to stand up as he did with others.

He knew.

The others might bow their heads out of fear of power and authority, but this guy did it out of sincere longing.

Even if he personally helped him up, it would have no meaning; it would merely fulfill his humble wish.

In the past, Chu Guang didn't quite understand these feelings; even in Singular Point City, he was puzzled by why some people preferred to live like animals.

Now, seeing someone vividly demonstrate, he suddenly understood.

These guys sincerely wish for a sacred emperor to resolve all their real-world conflicts, even if that awe-inspiring power defying physical laws is merely their imagination.

Their understanding of equality is equally being able to do whatever they want, and if the person promising equality fails to fulfill their wishes, they blame the shortcomings of equality, believing that if equality isn't absolute, it is absolute inequality.

This cannot be entirely blamed on them either.

Part of the reason is that those who've brought them here deceived them with benevolent lies, misleading them to believe the Alliance is a wish-granting machine, and themselves as the Santa Claus delivering gifts on a reindeer.

Perhaps what they're lacking isn't equality, but they haven't yet tasted enough of the bitterness of inequality.

Chu Guang paused for a while, then continued looking at him.

"You've seen me now, what do you want to say?"

Breathless with excitement, tears of gratitude streamed down Jeremy's face, his forehead almost scraped bloody on the ground.

Not just him, but also the other Poluo people squatting at the sentry post entrance.

They resembled true pilgrims!

After a journey filled with hardships, they have finally met the god they hold dear in their hearts!

The revered Manager Lord!

"The survivors of No.1 Settlement were blindsided by the representatives; those representatives, for their own profit, consorted with beasts disguised as humans... They, with selfish desires, cunningly argued, disregarding the Alliance's interests!"

"But it's not too late; as long as you make a call, we'll rally around you—all the Poluo people you've saved will! I can swear by my surname, I'll always be loyal to you, including my children, my grandchildren... all generations of us!"

"Only by dissolving that swarm of insects! Throwing them into prison, sentencing them to death, can we end the Wasteland Era, achieving true equality! This is for all alliance compatriots, while it's not too late..."

The old man spoke tearfully, his forehead pressed to the ground, like a loyal minister ready to sacrifice his life.

The Poluo people accompanying him were no different.

To follow this guy here, it's unlikely any of them are normal.

"To meet me, you intercept a train that can't stop, causing two unworthy deaths and leaving one with a broken leg... You say this is for the Alliance compatriots; I won't discuss how much truth is in your words, but have you ever shed a tear for your compatriots?"

"Don't bother talking to me about those guys thousands of kilometers away whose names you can't even remember; look at the railroad behind you, the people who were alive just a few hours ago."

Hearing the voice drifting over slowly.

Jeremy froze, raising his head to meet a pair of sympathetic eyes.

This should have been something that moved him.

Yet for some reason, that sympathy carried a trace of unease.

The sympathy was not aimed at him but at something on him.

It was like watching something valuable falling into a mud pit.

As if apart from that one thing, the rest of his life was insignificant.

He tried to argue something, opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Chu Guang's patience slowly waned while waiting, even less interested in listening to the excuses Jeremy had initially made up.

"It seems like you have successfully moved yourself, while I increasingly don't understand what you're saying."

"According to the laws of the Alliance, the organizer bears the main responsibility, and the participants bear secondary responsibility. I shouldn't have to repeat this, but now I'm telling you as an exception."

"Even if you don't care about the two dead compatriots and everyone else's safety on the train, nor have you ever cared about the law, since you stand on the land of the Alliance, you must follow the rules here and pay the price for your stupidity."

"Whatever you have to say, save it for the Judge, and if you want to kneel, then keep kneeling."

As the words fell, Chu Guang's outline gradually blurred and then dissolved into tiny points of light scattered in the wind.

It was a holographic image.

Until the very end, that lord never responded to their prayers, not even condescending to see them.

Jeremy's eyes sank into despair, his face ashen, as if drained of his soul, truly lifeless.

The guards standing not far away looked at each other, momentarily unsure of what to do.

This farce should be over, but the follow-up effects may be far from ended.

The Guards Corps finished their task and returned to the plane.

With two streams of plasma jetting out, the Viper transport plane returned in the direction it came from.

"Get up now, you've seen the Manager, even if what that gentleman said was unpleasant to hear, I want to say he actually does care about you... Unlike that other bunch with their big noses, who wouldn't treat you so nicely."

Walking to Jeremy's side, the head of the post tapped him with his leg.

The tap jolted Jeremy back to his senses, and his wrinkled old face gradually changed from a look of false ferocity to panic, like a rooster defeated in battle.

The Manager didn't need his loyalty.

He thought he was doing it for everyone's good, yet he didn't realize in that gentleman's eyes he was merely a madman disrupting order and an incorrigible burden.

He stood on the wrong side.

And his persistence became a joke.

He seemed to realize the problem, yet also seemed not to realize it at all.

Though ultimately, he was truly scared.

Just a few minutes ago, he treated the law like waste paper, yet he took the initiative to inquire about the Alliance's criminal law.

"...What will happen to us?"

Looking at the old man trembling and shrinking as if he had shrunk a whole size, the head of the post sighed.

"I don't know, such an absurd situation has never happened before..."

Looters intercepting trains were typically sent to labor reform, and the death penalty or life imprisonment could be handed down based on the severity of the case... However, human life here usually referred to harm to train security or passenger casualties.

Killing oneself...

He had never seen this before, and it might be a first in the Alliance since the railway existed.

After a pause, the head of the post said again,

"But ultimately, because someone's life was lost and caused economic damage, there will certainly be a sentence, maybe a decade in prison, or maybe exile... Anyway, it still depends on what the Judge decides."

If even the Judge couldn't decide, it might have to be handed over to the legislative body for discussion, after all, this matter is indeed quite bizarre.

On the other hand, dissolving the representation of No.1 Settlement...

What on earth was this guy thinking?

Those people at least spoke up for them, right, and said quite a bit.

Leaning on the off-road vehicle, Anthony put down the binoculars in his hand and muttered to himself.

"So that's what that guy looks like..."

Other than looking quite handsome, there didn't seem to be anything particularly special.

However, for a leader of such a group of people, what one looks like isn't important originally.

What's important is, the Manager's way of speaking aligned surprisingly with his own tastes.

Perhaps, as a Vellante, what he really despised wasn't the mud-blood smell of those people, but those guys who loudly proclaimed they were for their compatriots, yet had hands stained with compatriots' blood.

Come to think of it, such people aren't solely a monopoly of the people of Poluo, there are some in the Vellante ranks too... and those Blue Ground Mice had a bit of foresight.

Thinking of this, Anthony suddenly envied those Blue Ground Mice a little.

Their Manager was still actively jumping around, occasionally giving a couple of speeches, exhibiting some presence.

Yet the Marshal he respected the most had not been active like this for a very, very long time...

Chapter 910: The Aftermath of the Incident

At the same time as the train incident occurred, the station "Voice of the New Era" affiliated with No.1 Settlement's "Survivor's Daily," was inviting a representative from the settlement, Gu Ning, to participate in a studio interview program.

Ever since the turmoil surrounding the city hall, Mr. Gu had been pushed to the forefront of public opinion.

Some radical individuals viewed his actions as a betrayal of "uniting all possible forces," yet many conservatives believed his actions were in defense of the alliance's unity.

Faced with the host's interview, Gu Ning pondered for a moment before expressing his views.

"Within our ranks exist some comrades with radical views, who believe that love can transform everything and unite all... even groups whose values are entirely different from ours. I don't wish to judge whether they are right or wrong, but what I want to say is that this self-righteous notion is extremely naive, and this naivety will lead us to the abyss."

The host couldn't help but show a surprised expression, not expecting this representative to make such sharp remarks in a public setting, and proceeded to say.

"Yet, the Wilante people's values are also entirely opposite to ours, so why do you believe they are worth uniting?"

Hearing these words, Gu Ning smiled and raised both hands.

"No, no, no, you got it wrong. The Wilante people, whose values are completely opposite to ours, would never join us. Even if they stood at our front door, they would spit at us viciously."

"And those who choose to join us, without exception, are utterly fed up with evil militarism and colonialism. Not only do they share our values, but their courage and loyalty, along with a range of other admirable qualities, become the most solid shield defending our equality."

At this point, he shifted his tone again, looking at the host sitting opposite and asked rhetorically.

"Instead, I want to ask you... why do you think the Wilante people's values must be opposite to ours? Or do you believe humans are made like machines with factory settings?"

Clearly not expecting the question to be thrown back at him, the host was taken aback for two seconds, his expression gradually turning awkward.

Realizing his momentary slip, he hastily denied.

"Uh, I didn't mean that... what I actually meant to say was the Army."

"I understand," Gu Ning nodded, "stereotypes are not easily dispelled, especially when you are surrounded by a bunch of 'pitiful people.'"

"What I want to say is that it's not my intention to imply that the victims are to blame, but is their suffering caused by us?"

Looking at the temporarily speechless host, Gu Ning continued without hesitation.

"Until today, most of Survivor's Daily's survivors have moved into leak-proof houses, and they even have a subway available to them that we don't! I know those are investments from Baiyue Corporation, which is a business venture, but we cannot ignore that to this day, many residents in No.1 Settlement still live in containers, and they also need unity!"

"You might say we don't have such a large population to need a subway, but we surely could use bigger and more spacious houses, couldn't we?"

"We have already helped them so much, and how do they repay us? They throw tantrums at the civilized people and are subservient to the barbarians... because we are reasonable, we are expected to greenlight all their unreasonable demands, tolerating them again and again."

"They have just started living a somewhat better life and already want to teach us how to be human, thinking it's for our sake. Tsk, tsk... I really can't imagine, when they have money, will they turn into our overlords?"

Seeing Gu Ning's rambling, the host hurriedly coughed to interrupt him.

"I must say, this is only a small segment of people. The vast majority we have helped have participated in our construction, you must see those silent majorities."

"That's exactly what I mean." Gu Ning snapped his fingers, sitting up straight and looking at him, "Excluding those ungrateful individuals, making room for more deserving people is a solution that benefits everyone."

The host looked at him hesitantly.

"That sounds impractical; how do we determine who is ungrateful?"

Gu Ning said without hesitation.

"It's simple, we don't determine, we raise our standards and enforce them strictly! If we issue alliance ID cards just because someone is of Poluo or Wilante ethnicity, it is irresponsible to all alliance citizens."

"They must first work, learn while they work, and then pass the examination by relevant institutions! The alliance already has the 'supervised' system, which is good but not enough. We should establish a specific regulatory department rather than leave everything to time."

"They must be clear that the alliance is not their cesspool. They messed up their homeland, and they should think about why things turned out this way instead of wreaking havoc in a new place. If some Waste Land Wanderers cannot adapt to the life of civilized people, they should stay in their zoo."

Host: "Mr. Gu, I must say there are many objective reasons; the sufferings they endured weren't entirely their own making, and if we trace back to issues from the United Human period..."

"You are right, but I am a representative of alliance citizens, and I only speak for those I represent." Gu Ning stared at the host, speaking earnestly, "Listen, we cannot wait until the alliance is beyond remedy to reflect on past decisions; someone must step up to apply the brakes before it's too late… No one can stop a speeding train immediately; we need to start slowing down before the bend and then determine the speed based on the conditions ahead. Do you understand what I mean?"

The host nervously touched his nose bridge.

"I think I get it... You mean it's time to apply the brakes now."

Gu Ning leaned back in the chair, continuing in a relaxed tone.

"Pretty much, if no one dares to wade into this muddy water, let me be the brake pad. At least we can't let those radicals keep stepping on the gas. If we become the Army or Poluo Empire, it will be too late to brake."

The interview was nearly over at this point.

The host was about to wrap up the show, but just then, his assistant rushed in, handing him a sheet of paper straight from the printer.

Taking a glance at the paper, the host's expression changed slightly, and he adjusted the microphone on the table.

"Breaking news, this station has just received information that the train from Weifu City heading to No.1 Settlement encountered a situation where over a hundred settlement residents attempted to block the train… resulting in two deaths and one injury."

Saying this, the host's expression suddenly turned peculiar.

Because just half a minute ago, the representative sitting across from him had just used an example involving a train.

Is this guy's mouth blessed?

Gu Ning also showed an unexpected expression, clearly not anticipating such a coincidence.

He picked up the cup on the table and took a sip of water, then blurted out unintentionally.

"I hope the people on the train are okay... and don't tell me the ones stopping the train are Poluo people."

The host coughed lightly.

"Mr. Gu, as a representative... please be mindful of your identity and speech. Who they are doesn't matter."

"It's nothing, I don't mean to target anyone. It's just my heartfelt wish, hoping it's not always them in the end."

He placed the cup back on the table and assumed a thoughtful pose, speaking after a moment.

"Perhaps we should add a law for our trains... forbidding stopping on the tracks."

...

In just a few minutes, the "D97 Train Incident" spread throughout No.1 Settlement and Weifu City.

And when talking about the world's origin, everyone was dumbfounded and left speechless.

Just to meet the Alliance Manager, those hundred-plus survivors came up with the outrageous idea of stopping a train.

And what's more laughable is, the Manager they wanted to meet was not on that train at all, but rather sitting in the waiting hall like the other delayed passengers.

Rather than an accident, it was more of an absurd farce.

Especially when reporters arriving at the scene learned that the demands of the "stoppers" were to expel the Vellante people from No.1 Settlement and dissolve the Alliance Representative Council, even those sympathetic to them showed a bewildered expression.

Are these guys a bit too carried away?

Regrettably, aside from the seemingly awakened Jeremy, most Poluo people didn't realize what they were doing.

When reporters asked if they knew the train couldn't stop immediately, they tearfully accused the train of being aggressive and exhibited injuries obtained from rolling and crawling.

And when asked if they were aware their actions were unlawful, their opinions diverged somewhat.

Some jumped up in anger, protesting that they were already so miserable, why should the law further persecute them. Others pleaded to the camera, urging the people of No.1 Settlement to treat them leniently given the contribution of Poluo people to the railroad.

Actually, if they honestly admitted "I don't know," they might have garnered some sympathy, a more meaningful approach than their evasive tantrums.

However, they refused to do so, opposing rules with all their might when they should follow them, striking a stark contrast to their docile sheep-like demeanor back home.

Even the interviewing reporters were at a loss due to the absurdity and obstinacy displayed by these people.

In reality, most journalists in the Alliance are quite sympathetic to the survivors from Poluo Province.

Partly because "Survivor Daily" originated from the "Revolutionary Old District" in Giant Stone City, and partly due to the numerous Moon people who fled and actively participated in developing the Southern Alliance Region, thereby birthing various media and journalists.

These reporters had asked questions considering their advantage, but their performance left radical factions who sympathized or supported them looking foolish.

At the first sign of an incident, Su Ka, the representative of No.1 Settlement, rushed to the scene.

He arrived slightly later than the reporters but not by much.

Seeing compatriots tearfully accusing the Representative Council before the cameras, and Jeremy standing with a numb expression in the crowd, he strode forward, grabbing the latter's shoulder, shouting in a trembling yet restrained voice.

"...Are you all crazy? Dissolve the Representative Council... why don't you say dissolve the Alliance as well?"

Jeremy turned his head blankly, looking at Su Ka, that polite young fellow.

He recognized this guy, remembered he was also a Moon person, even knew his original surname.

Unlike himself, he found success, not only obtaining Alliance citizenship early but becoming an official, a regional representative of No.1 Settlement...

Haha.

The mix is truly impressive.

Jeremy's face gradually regained some color, and the "it's all over" expression transformed into hatred in an instant.

Suddenly, he gripped Su Ka's arm, veins popping on the back of his hand, looking not like he was grabbing a last life-saving straw, but intending to drag the spoiler into hell together.

"You traitor... why won't you help us?"

The grip on his arm felt like iron clamps, but not as painful as the treacherous curse piercing Su Ka's heart.

His expression twisted, shaking off Jeremy's hand and his shoulder.

Since becoming a representative, he had never lost his composure until he let out a hysterical roar for the first time.

"I won't help you? Have I not advised you not to be impulsive! I repeatedly told you hasty actions only make things worse, everything must be done step by step... but what did you say behind my back? You really think your words were only heard by you? Now you blame me for not helping you!"

Yet Jeremy acted as if he hadn't heard, staring at Su Ka with vulture-like eyes, reaching out to grab his throat.

"You bastard... you've made it big yourself, and now you've forgotten your roots. Others may not remember your name, but I remember it clearly, Casadem, don't forget, you're a member of the Moon Clan! You're a Poluo man! I'm your real compatriot! I am!"

Their argument finally attracted the attention of the nearby guards.

At first, they saw that this person was a representative, so they didn't want to intervene, but as he was about to start a fight with the "criminal," they couldn't just watch him embarrass himself in front of the media cameras.

The TV tower of No.1 Settlement hasn't been built yet, but Weifu City has its own TV station.

It's said that the esteemed Manager is also there, perhaps watching behind the screen.

The guard wearing the exoskeleton stepped up and pulled Jeremy back into the quarantine zone and took Su Ka out.

The police officer handling the case came over, stared at the disheveled Su Ka, and said in a warning tone.

"This is a crime scene, Representative, if you interfere with our law enforcement again, I'll have to invite you to the car for a chat, or maybe you'd prefer to explain to the prosecution agency?"

He is a Weilante person, served in the Eastern Legion before, then followed the Southern Construction Corps here, retired and transferred into the local Guards Department.

Unlike the young guys from the Wasteland in the Guards Department, he has put up with this bunch for a long time.

There were people who once wanted to kill every Weilante person, but at least they don't use words; they use guns.

Su Ka didn't look at the police chief who pulled him away, just stared in shock at the beast-like Jeremy who seemed eager to kill him, and stepped back two steps.

After a long, long time, he finally squeezed out a sentence from his mouth.

"My surname is Su."

Maybe that Mr. Gu was right, the Alliance has reached the time to take action.

At the very least, they need to let the identity of "those under surveillance" play its due role...

This is not only aimed at the newly immigrated from Poluo, the Alliance needs to raise the threshold for obtaining identification cards.

Except for the trusted Survivor Forces, survivors without any background guarantee must receive a complete education and undergo regular checks by relevant agencies before obtaining full citizenship.

It's time to establish an immigration bureau.

No matter if that old man heard it, Su Ka haphazardly tidied his collar and fled the scene awkwardly before the reporters arrived.

...

For three whole days, the "D97 Train Incident" occupied the headlines of No.1 Settlement and Weifu City.

Although some radical journalists selectively downplayed the outrageous rhetoric of those who blocked the train, the Alliance's media is more than just one newspaper, and these newspapers are hardly monopolized by a particular group.

Moreover, apart from those newspapers leaning to the right, there is the "Goblin Observation Report," a paper run by amusement seekers who disregard context.

The morning after the incident, all survivors in the Alliance knew that the group blocking the train were Poluo people.

This farce not only shocked No.1 Settlement and Weifu City but even crossed the sea to Jinjaron Harbor and Mammoth City.

A total of 120 people were identified as the perpetrators.

Including two unfortunate victims, and the pitiful person who lost a leg in the ordeal.

Among them, 82 are Alliance citizens.

Aside from organizer Jeremy's 100-year sentence, the remaining participants face a minimum of 10 years each.

In the Alliance, distribution based on disturbance and the notion of collective impunity don't exist; if No.1 Settlement's prison can't hold them all, there's always Qingstone County's mines.

Besides, a hundred people is nothing; when the Alliance cracked down outside Giant Stone City, they managed to capture a whole punishment camp, and a turn at the frontline cured all problems.

As for the other 38 whose identities are "under surveillance," they are essentially not recognized as Alliance citizens.

After collecting their biometric information, the court ruled to deport them back to their original countries.

Of course, this doesn't mean they won't serve their sentences, just that they will do so in different places.

Long ago, the Alliance signed extradition treaties with friendly Survivor Forces, and this judicial cooperation occurs alongside economic cooperation.

According to information provided by labor agencies and shipping companies, they will be sent to Jinjaron Harbor, Poluo Country, or Mammoth Nation.

And for those Poluo people from West Sail Port, they will be taken by Jinjaron Harbor's prison.

The most absurd aspect of this farce was that its actual impact far exceeded the direct economic losses it caused.

The royalist elders from Poluo Province manipulated their unique performance art and portrayed radical characters, successfully turning all radicals in the Alliance who sympathized with Poluo people into clowns, and made some Alliance folks who have lived comfortably for too long suddenly realize they've progressed a bit too much.

Now the debate between the conservatives and radicals is no longer about "shortening or extending the inspection period for those under surveillance," but has begun to discuss "establishing specific surveillance organizations to implement specific regulations, and whether to adopt a grading system."

As for those extreme radicals who called for "the identity of those under surveillance is outdated," they've all shut their mouths and become silent, no longer speaking up.

Actually, it's not just the radical figures within the Alliance that have become disgraced, but also the Poluo Country and Mammoth Nation authorities who were supported by the former.

This incident undoubtedly served as a wake-up call for them.

If the public opinion of the Alliance therefore shifts to the right, compressing support for the resistance movement in Poluo Province, it would undoubtedly be disastrous for the various countries within Poluo Province that have not yet completely escaped reliance on aid...

In the Governor's Mansion of Tiandu.

Looking at the report reprinted by Jinjaron Port's "Survivor's Daily," Absek was almost furious, slamming the newspaper down hard on his desk.

"This is utter nonsense!"

He had painstakingly established a somewhat enlightened image of rule for the Poluo people, allowing the survivors outside to see that the Poluo people could also stand up, yet these "old conservatives" who ran out have turned around and slapped them all in the face.

However, to be honest, apart from the frustration of unfulfilled potential in his heart, what he felt more was helplessness.

He understood these people too well.

The people under Laxi's leadership were like this, and wasn't he the same?

The education commissioner he appointed, Kaba Ha, was considered insightful, a good writer, and definitely capable, yet he couldn't break his bad habit of "fearing the strong and bullying the weak," grinning at whoever gave him a hard time.

If it weren't for his protection, who knows how many times that guy would have died.

Standing in front of Absek's desk, the internal affairs commissioner Wadia said gravely.

"I've heard this issue has caused quite a stir within the Alliance; I don't know if it will affect the support we receive from them."

Absek got up from his desk and paced half a circle around the office, letting out a long sigh as he spoke.

"I'm actually not worried about this, given the vision and breadth of that Manager of the Alliance, I don't think it will."

Perhaps due to being in a similar position, he saw things very clearly.

That gentleman extended a helping hand to them not out of sympathy or similar emotions, so naturally, he wouldn't abruptly cease support due to mere annoyance or similar sentiments.

Resisting the eastward expansion of the Army is both a strategic and value-driven necessity for the Alliance.

They oppose militarism and authoritarianism's oppression of survivors, using it as a banner to unite more oppressed survivors.

This war, they have a resolute determination to win, and likewise, the Southern Legion feels the same way.

After a pause, Absek said worriedly.

"However, it's not guaranteed that after the war ends, they won't just leave us on our own...and that is what I'm most worried about."

The war ends in victory.

As pawns, they naturally will not be as important as they once were.

According to past practices, for lands without order, the Alliance would help local survivors establish their own order.

And for lands with existing order, the Alliance would let the locals decide their own fate.

For instance, Luo Xia Province is like this.

However, Poluo Province differs from Luo Xia Province, with its "Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods" land accumulated with too many contradictions, not to mention Laxi's attitude, even his own subordinates have not been entirely placated.

Occasionally, he can't help but lament that those guys who kneel and bow to the Manager of the Alliance, if only they could share a bit of that pious faith with him.

Anyway, the Heavenly Palace has already collapsed, and he didn't aspire much for that throne before, now he's even more disillusioned.

In the future, we could all take a step back, take turns being the big boss, and let time dilute the contradictions, perhaps.

Seeing Absek lost in worry, the internal affairs commissioner Wadia became more serious and said solemnly.

"...If it really comes to that, we ought to start preparing now."

Absek nodded.

"Yes, the earlier we prepare, the better. I also need to find time to talk to Laxi, ask about his attitude toward the Northern Three States, and if possible, resolve it peacefully."

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly fell on an interview line in the "Survivor's Daily" with a representative named Gu Ning.

That guy was a conservative within the Alliance, theoretically his "enemy."

Yet, for some reason, Absek could not bring himself to dislike this stranger; in fact, he even found a connection with what the person said.

Suddenly, he spoke.

"Wadia, do you think I am a civilized person or a barbarian?"

Hearing the leader's sudden question, Wadia, standing by the desk, was stunned for a few seconds before hastily and respectfully saying.

"You are certainly a civilized person, Leader! Is that even a question?"

Absek chuckled.

"No wonder."

Chapter 911: Seeking Renewal and Change

Just as Absek lamented how darn difficult it was to manage a group of "bugs," Kaba Ha, who had "stolen the limelight" in educational reform, didn't know he had just been subtly criticized by a "noble bug."

In the eyes of a lover, there is Xi Shi, but who isn't Xi Shi in Xi Shi's eyes?

What can't be understood logically in one way, suddenly makes sense when viewed from the opposite direction.

At least from the standpoint of Kaba Ha, Absek had no grounds to complain.

It's an indisputable fact that the United Federation in Tiandu can't unite the conservatives or the radicals; this couldn't possibly be blamed on him, a sour and pedantic scholar.

Just like the huge Vellante Empire, it couldn't possibly have been brought down by women and eunuchs.

Anyone with eyes could see that from the moment the Witch Camel fled, Vellante's fate was sealed.

However, the Federation did one thing right: it at least gave ordinary people hope.

And the solutions devised by a group of people are always smarter than the closed-door, brain-storming sessions of a few inbred royal aristocrats.

If the cohesion of the Empire was a negative, then that of the United Federation in Tiandu was decidedly positive.

While the bombers buzzed overhead, the most learned people in the Poluo Province gathered for a book club, befriending each other through literature.

Of course, the use of literature was merely a refined pretext.

The real reason for gathering, for Kaba Ha and Niyan among others, was to advance education and to recruit talented individuals from various sectors of society to serve as lecturers and professors, consolidating the scarce intellectual resources of Poluo Province.

Even though their power was much smaller compared to other sectors of society, there were still things that only they could do and had to do.

As for the occasional sounds of explosions from near and far, they, sitting in a small courtyard, turned a deaf ear.

In just one short week, the group had moved from the awkwardness of first meeting to becoming deep friends who talked about everything.

Although their views often differed, even to the point of being diametrically opposed, such differences did not cause any sharp conflict or damage their cordial relations.

After all, despite many differing views, they were united in their stance on one issue.

That was salvation.

One morning, Kaba Ha was sitting in the courtyard, frowning as he shook his head at the Survivor's Daily in his hands.

"This servant has turned into the master, and his airs are even more laughable than his master's."

Unlike Absek, his first thought was not just of the other, but also of all those officers who scornfully looked down on him.

A year ago, these guys were merely dockworkers, and in just a few months, they considered themselves the masters of Poluo Country, having forgotten they too were once ordinary people.

Sitting next to Kaba Ha, a well-dressed young man smiled and asked.

"Oh? What does Mr. Kaba Ha think led to such a result?"

His name was Meng Jie, originally called Meng Qi, an early migrant belonging to the Moon Clan of Potato Harbor, which was evident from his heavily "Alliance-flavored" name.

During the Vellante Empire era, the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team sent a research team to Jin Galun Harbor's Lowell Camp for sociological research.

Back then, he assisted Ms. Han Mingyue as an assistant in her work, and after the research concluded, he pursued further studies at Camp 101 on the recommendation of the researcher and got to know Niyan who was still working at the embassy at Dawn City.

For a time, when Niyan was lacking inspiration, he acted as a "mercenary" and contributed articles to the Dawn Garden Post.

Compared to Niyan, who concocted tales to please Duke Garava, he preferred to address real issues facing the Alliance in the newspaper.

For instance, the surprise victory of the Workers' Association in Giant Stone City gave rise to rampant radical factions within the Alliance, while the voices of conservative parties were long neglected, and so forth.

Giant Stone City was like a wild stallion that collapsed after running rampant for over a century and a half, and the newborn Alliance was no different?

They too were racing down a different path, equally in need of a saddle and reins.

However, this newspaper was after all an infant product and wasn't publicly circulated within the Alliance.

And the real audience of the newspaper didn't care for his painless criticisms.

Yet when he submitted similar articles to the Goblin Observation Report, it sparked some debate.

But that's another story.

In short, at Niyan's invitation, he returned from the Alliance with a new name, taking on the roles of a professor and principal at Mammoth University.

As for Niyan himself, he retired to a backstage role as a board member.

Laxi hoped he could serve as the Minister of Education, to establish more schools in Mammoth State and the Northern Three States.

As for whether there were additional political agendas like "actual domination of the Northern Three Continents" behind this, again, that's another topic.

"Humans, or the depravity of human nature," Kaba Ha tapped his cigarette ash, sighed, and said, "The Poluo Province needs a complete ideological revolution, to demolish all the old things before truly embracing civilization."

"If not, even if they go to the Alliance, it's the same; they are just moving a thousand pillars over."

Meng Jie chuckled and shook his head.

"Old sir, that's too extreme, the ones blocking the cart are Poluo people, the ones fixing it are also Poluo people, and there are Poluo people sitting in that cart too. How can this be blamed on the depravity of human nature? The Alliance once sent scientific teams to Jinjaron Harbor for sociological research, and they've suggested that rather than seeing this as a flaw in human nature, maybe it's more of a deficiency in education."

He paused, then continued.

"As a matter of fact, the issues escalating this far have also been aided by internal powers within the Alliance that fanned the flame. They neglected the conservative voices for too long, any counteraction now is inevitable. However, for the Alliance itself, it's like a runaway horse, crashing after a century and a half, just like the new Alliance is no different."

They are simply speeding down another path, equally requiring a rein to hold them back, and equally needing change from within.

Watching the debate between Kaba Ha and Meng Jie, Niyan, who was sitting nearby smoking and reading the newspaper, laughed.

"Whether or not there is internal strength within the Alliance fanning the flame doesn't change the problems we have within ourselves," he added.

"The Weilante people have their depravity, and the Poluo people have theirs. No one is more noble or inferior. Additionally, the more severe the suffering, the deeper the malady, and the harder it is to cure. Yet if we always rebut issues without proposing solutions, it feels lopsided, and making changes based on that would miss the mark even more."

Watching the argument, Jay, who was sitting and smoking while reading the newspaper, laughed as he looked on at Kaba Ha and Meng Jie.

"You flatter me too much, I'm just a principal, courtesy of your abdicating," said Meng Jie with a chuckle, continuing in a conversational tone.

"In my view, Poluo people are not significantly different from survivors elsewhere in the Wasteland; this place just lacks equality and fraternity. I agree with your point partly; we need an ideological transformation, but it's not necessary to turn those thousand pillars into load-bearing walls for a new Alliance."

The crux of the matter is that they haven't created any new theories, and the old doctrines have been recited for so long that when they fail to meet the needs of reality, they turn from theory into religion.

If Niyan and Kabaha are focusing on "change" in this ideological transformation movement, then what he advocates is "newness."

Even though he's not confident in persuading them, there's nothing wrong with everyone expressing their opinions and discussing together.

"I dare not agree." Kabaha shook his head, "Mr. Mengjie's views are too conservative. It might be suitable if given a thousand more years or a century, but not at the critical moment of life or death."

"Forgive me for saying this is fallacy. Our road is long, and in fact, going a bit slower is still timely. Looking at a longer timeline, gentle reform may not necessarily lose to radical change."

Unwilling to continue the fruitless debate with these two "radicals," Mengjie turned the page of the newspaper in his hand and happened to see a celebrity making headlines. So he diverted the topic with a smile, saying, "Speaking of which, Zayed is quite popular recently. What do you two think?"

Niyan curled his lips.

"A bandit leader following Shaluk, similar in approach to Gopal and Arai Yang. Ruthless to enemies, even harsher to their own. I don't even think much of Shaluk, why ask me about him? Aren't there already enough full-stomached people in Jinjaron Harbor? In my opinion, every one of these guys will pay the price for their foolishness and naivety sooner or later."

Kabaha frowned.

"I actually met him, and he seems quite insightful in dealing and speaking with others, not as bad as you said."

Niyan looked at Kabaha in disbelief, eyes wide open.

"Are you serious?"

Mengjie closed the paper in his hand, shook his head in amusement and helplessness.

Unexpectedly, even within the "radicals," there are divisions.

Watching the two at odds, he couldn't quite tell for a moment whether he was standing on the left or the right.

...

West Sail Port.

At the command headquarters of the Southern Legion in the Poluo Province War Zone, General Giulion was reporting the previous phase's battle situation to the Southern Legion's general staff in the meeting room.

Since the northern and eastern lines entered a strategic stalemate, there has been no significant change in the actual controlled areas by the warring parties, with the only variations being the casualty numbers on the battle reports and the equipment losses on each side.

Overall, the exchange ratio for the Southern Legion was controllable at around 1:3.

This statistical figure may vary slightly from the war reports of Poluo Country and Mammoth Nation, but it's not far off.

It's human nature to report the good, not the bad, and Giulion naturally focused his report on the casualty ratio of both sides and the bombing effects on Tiandu.

In short, the Southern Legion had a considerable strategic advantage, with tactical advantages also not being small.

Due to the deployment of many new equipment, the Southern Legion's casualty rate significantly declined, and they no longer were as unprepared as before when facing the Alliance's electromagnetic weapons.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

Although the Evernight Harbor Broadcasting Station incident sometime ago dampened the morale of some frontline soldiers, due to timely news blocking and adequate ideological preparation, it did not shake the frontline soldiers' confidence in affecting this war.

Yet, right as Giulion was vividly describing another victory by the frontline troops, the Chief of General Staff suddenly coughed to interrupt him.

"General Giulion, do you know how many people are born each day in a former province of the old era with over a hundred million survivors?"

Giulion was stunned, not understanding why the Chief of General Staff suddenly posed this question.

Before he could respond, the holographic image suspended in front of the conference table continued.

"Ten thousand, and that's at least."

"The poorer the place, the more they can reproduce, and as for why, I shouldn't need to remind you. In the Lion State alone, which is under our control, there are tens of millions of them, and their reproduction and vitality are like cockroaches. Their actual numbers very likely exceed our imagination."

"So don't emphasize to me how many you killed today or a few yesterday. If you extend the timeline, the numbers you report to me don't really matter, at most lowering their average age."

"If trapped in a prolonged war of attrition, our enemies will get younger and even more numerous as they fight... Conversely, during this process, our excellent soldiers and commanders will constantly be worn down until drawn to the same level line."

Giulion's expression became somewhat awkward.

He of course knew there were issues, but it was an unavoidable matter.

Since the failed general offensive on Tiandu, the entire Poluo War Zone lost five airships and retreated embarrassingly by over a hundred kilometers, resulting in his forces actually losing the ability to continue the offensive.

Unless he completely disregarded his subordinates' casualties, or unless more airships were dispatched from headquarters to reinforce.

The former wouldn't favor long-term war, and the latter wasn't practical until the cause of the airship crash was clearly investigated.

Although he didn't want to say it, the fact was—which was also the reality—

The outcome of this war erupting in the Poluo line isn't one that can be decided by those trapped in this quagmire.

If the Southern Legion wants to completely win this war, perhaps they can only adopt more aggressive tactics and open a second front on the Alliance's home soil.

Unfortunately, such a major strategic decision isn't something he has a say in.

Involved here is not just the gambit between the Southern Legion and the Alliance, but also that between Yavente City and Triumph City.

Looking at General Giulion, who could hardly utter a word, the Chief of General Staff suddenly let him down lightly with an effortless line.

"I already have a basic understanding of the frontline situation. You go ahead and maintain as is. Also, there are two pieces of news, which I suppose are good for you."

General Giulion immediately assumed a respectful demeanor.

"Please, go ahead!"

The Chief of General Staff slowly began speaking.

"The first thing is, our intelligence personnel have confirmed the true cause of the airship crashes, which is suspected to be related to the Gravity Well technology transferred by the Academy to the Alliance."

Giulion's expression instantly turned serious.

"Academy... Have they also joined the war?"

This was not exactly good news for him.

However, the Chief of General Staff wasn't too concerned about it.

The Academy's conspiracies are hard to predict, but their ultimate goal is unambiguous.

The things that enterprises have given up are what they strive their entire lives to pursue.

And stopping them is very simple.

Making a complex-structured starship crash in the atmosphere is far easier than launching it into space.

It is precisely for this reason that the Academy, although appearing more proactive than enterprises on regional affairs, actually has a very low ceiling on what they can do.

Transferring one or two technologies is already close to the limit of their support.

Looking at the serious expression of General Giulion, the Chief of Staff slowly continued to speak.

"They've been making moves from the shadows more than once or twice, but the fact that those misers are willing to transfer technology to the Alliance was indeed beyond our expectations. I suspect there's likely some other deal behind this."

"However, that's not the point. The point is that we have deciphered the secret behind them shooting down our airships. These gravity wells need to be deployed in advance and are only effective in specific areas, and their energy consumption is enormous... In fact, shortly after they used the gravity well, that 'Heavenly Palace' in Tiandu crashed."

"Perhaps they have deployed other gravity well devices, but these targets can be identified in advance, whether using our drones or ground forces."

At this moment, a trace of joy appeared on General Giulion's face.

"So... we can re-enable our airships?!"

The Chief of Staff nodded.

"I'll send a few more airships to the front line, but I still hope you will use them more for logistical transport. Our opponents are different from the past, and using airships against them is not the most effective way."

"I hope you can flexibly utilize the new aircraft, solo armor, lasers, and guided weapons delivered from the rear to the front line. The opponents standing in our way are no longer just primitive men, and we need to adapt with the times."

"This is not just to win the current war, but also to lay long-term preparations for opening a second or even third battlefield on the Alliance and even corporate territory."

Opening a second or even a third battlefield!

A hint of ecstasy appeared on General Giulion's face.

This was undoubtedly the best news he had heard all month!

The only issue was that the Southern Legion didn't have independent diplomatic rights.

So, the current war against Poluo Province was being conducted under the name of the Xilan Empire.

It seemed like those above already had a plan for how to unite other Weilante people onto the Southern Legion's chariot.

Once the entire legion united and attacked the common enemy of the surrounding people of the fence, the current adversity would be completely reversed!

Seeing General Giulion's excited demeanor, the Chief of Staff smiled lightly and continued to speak.

"The second good news is that we have received intelligence that public opinion within the Alliance is shifting as the war drags on. Apparently, their resources are not unlimited, and the support from the Academy and corporations isn't enough to entirely fill this gap. Once their ideological trend turns right, cutting support for the rebels in Poluo Province, our opportunity will come."

"That's basically the situation... By the way, how's the progress on that Mortal Serum research?"

"The resident of the refuge named Martin told me it still needs some time, and... he wants the genetic source code of the Weilante people, claiming it's for more efficient enemy and friend identification. But that stuff is in Triumph City, and we don't even have it ourselves, so we can only make do by getting a few Weilante people to cooperate with his experiments." General Giulion hesitated for a moment but ultimately reported Martin's request.

The Chief of Staff frowned.

"I'll think of something."

After throwing out this sentence, the light blue particles disappeared from the room.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Giulion wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm and, looking at the empty conference room, felt invigorated once more.

Those above were considering opening a new battlefield.

If this could be achieved, he would no longer have to carry all of this on his own.

Just then, a knock suddenly sounded at the door outside the conference room.

Gathering his expression into a stern demeanor, Giulion coughed towards the door, assuming an authoritative stance.

"Come in."

An officer pushed the door open, stood upright, performed a military salute, and reported seriously.

"Report! Our logistics units stationed in Wolf State were attacked from the direction of Snake State! The enemy numbers are considerable, about nine teams of ten-thousand, and most of our stations and logistics transfer stations in the southern part of Wolf State were destroyed."

"Due to the current situation, the local garrison was forced to move northward to regroup for defense."

Snake State?

Giulion squinted his eyes and looked at the map hanging on the conference room wall.

That was Shaluk's territory, and also the 'domain' of the logistics department, so much that he'd almost forgotten about this nook.

"What's the casualty count?"

"The Regular Army lost over nine hundred, and the Servant Army lost nearly three thousand!"

The Servant Army suffered more, but the Regular Army's casualties were not severe.

Giulion continued to ask.

"Who is the opponent's commander?"

The officer continued to report.

"The commander is named Grov, a member of the Wolf people, suspected to be a subordinate of Gopal from the old Gray Wolf Army... However, the main force of the Gray Wolf Army hasn't made any moves, and the General Staff suspects it's Shaluk probing us. If we don't respond with a sufficiently strong counterattack, they might conclude our rear is vulnerable and take advantage of it."

"Probing?" Giulion sneered, "I don't see it that way, it looks more like an ungrateful wolf."

The logistics department scoundrels.

In the past, considering Shaluk's 'low-key' conduct, he turned a blind eye to those sleazy transactions, planning to settle accounts with them after dealing with the Alliance, but these guys must have gotten too fat on smuggling and thought they could act on their own.

Then they shouldn't blame him for being merciless.

With his back to the officer standing at the door, General Giulion issued a cold order.

"Notify Gibson commander, I'll give him three teams of ten-thousand, a hundred thousand Servant Army, and an aviation squadron. Give those uncultured people a harsh lesson, push them back to the Snake State border, bomb them into oblivion! Do not worry about civilian casualties!"

Gibson commander used to be the commander of the 34th Ten Thousand Troops under Ryan's command.

Due to tactical mistakes, the 34th Ten Thousand Troops unfortunately crashed into the elite of the Alliance, virtually obliterated by the Skeleton Corps and the 110,000th Squad of Poluo in Lion State.

After that, Gibson sat on the cold bench and became a drunkard in the bar at West Sail Port.

That was after all soldiers he had brought out, and Giulion didn't want to see him fall like this.

Just as well, the 60th Armored Division had just finished their riot control mission at Evernight Harbor, so letting him lead those new recruits south for some action would be good.

Not only would it help him regain his confidence, but it would also give him a chance to redeem himself.

That officer stood at attention, performed a military salute, and swiftly accepted the order.

"Yes!"

At the same time the Alliance halted a train, a massive offensive was quietly unfolding.

Two seemingly unrelated events happening thousands of miles apart had an intricate connection behind the scenes.

The focus shifts back to Weifu City, within the territory of the Alliance.

Though the delayed train resumed operation five hours after the incident, Chu Guang's journey south was postponed for an entire week.

This was partly due to the possible appearance of a "copycat," but also because Chu Guang did not wish to engage in the internal debate within the Alliance between radical and conservative views.

The citizens of the Alliance are not children. They should decide some matters themselves, rather than calling for parental intervention or hiding behind his back at the first sign of trouble.

Rather than one day abruptly handing them everything of the Alliance and then washing his hands of it, he preferred to complete this process step by step.

For instance, right now he was gradually handing over the brake and accelerator to them.

After all, with his hands still on the steering wheel, he wasn't afraid of the car overturning.

Once they, like the players, learned how to control the car's speed, he would gradually relinquish the steering wheel, just like the First Generation Manager of Shelter No. 404 slowly handed over the authority to him.

He had always had a premonition that the B5 level, which remained locked, might open only after that event, and all his doubts would be resolved thereafter.

Chu Guang was quite confident about completing this final task.

No one is born knowing how to drive, but everything can be learned.

Moreover, he was a Manager pushed onto the stage, who couldn't even build a house earlier on; his abilities, while not too deficient, weren't particularly impressive, and he wasn't terribly broad-minded.

He once remembered years ago watching the players construct houses, worried they might build strange obstacles to block his "view" and "movement," and secretly trying to interfere as a result, thus establishing a "height limit order."

However, as trust was built, he gradually began to find that his players felt as connected to this indescribably realistic world as he did when he first arrived.

It was for this reason that many versions ago, he felt secure in letting players handle many things themselves, allowing them to lead the Indigenous People on the Wasteland towards a new era in his stead.

Once again, it was proven that they weren't doing a bad job, and were even more efficient than if he had meticulously implemented everything himself.

The Alliance could not, and should not, aspire to fulfill all of its goals in one fell swoop, squandering a future hundreds of years ahead to build a boundlessly great Utopia, leaving only ruinous remnants in its wake after demise.

Instead of the upheaval of a plunge and ascent, he hoped his children would walk a sustainable path.

Of course, those were distant plans— the Gravity Well wouldn't be operational until the end of the month.

For now, disguised under holographic camouflage, Chu Guang sat in a small tavern in Kuntown, playing that wildly altered card game with an old friend not seen for years.

Honestly, Chu Guang never imagined such a messy set of rules could become popular.

It must be said, Mosquito Brother is truly a genius in marketing.

In contrast, Mole, who directly copied the Game, seemed a bit dull.

Yet, fair is fair, his card-playing skills weren't great; he was intellectually crushed by Chu Guang, a newcomer just familiarizing himself with the rules.

Watching Mosquito, who couldn't play a card for ages, Chu Guang rested his chin on his right hand and couldn't help but yawn.

"Hurry up, I've been waiting so long the flowers have wilted."

Mopping up the sweat from his forehead, Mosquito, clutching a handful of cards, chuckled sinisterly, making the bodyguards from the Guards Corps hidden among the crowd nervous enough to reach into their pockets.

"... Heh heh heh, brother, you've really got something, I didn't think you could corner me, the founder."

Amused by the comment, Chu Guang chuckled lightly.

"Alright, alright, you're supposed to concede when you lose, if you can't handle it, then yield."

"Yield? You're happy too soon."

Mosquito chuckled sinisterly again, grabbing three cards slowly and methodically placing them on the table like a villain.

"If I unveil this fusion card, sacrificing two cards to summon the Manager riding Nicole... what might you do in response?"

Mingling with NPCs and teasing the Manager always carried some risk, and he usually kept such a card hidden for safety, in case he encountered someone who couldn't handle it.

However, given this guy understood all his jokes and could communicate in plain language, he figured Chu Guang was also a player.

Since they were both players, it didn't matter if they were sensitive.

Seeing the digit 8 crisscrossing its attack and defense stats, Chu Guang threw down his cards in exasperation.

MMP!

The Army printing my likeness on cards is one matter, but for this bastard to follow suit.

He finally realized why other card players avoided playing with this so-called "founder."

"Alright, alright, so you're playing like this."

Seeing the victorious grin on Mosquito's face, Chu Guang lifted his hand and tapped twice next to his ear.

The holographic light covering his face flickered, spreading ripples from his nose, revealing the true face beneath the illusion.

Meeting the almost-smiling eyes, Mosquito's grin froze on his face.

It was as if he'd seen a ghost on the path at night.

"Mana... Holy shi—!?"

As Mosquito shivered, awaiting divine punishment to befall him, Chu Guang did not disconnect him but merely took the card, "himself riding on Nicole," from the table.

The pale blue ripples gathered again on the nose, and Chu Guang transformed back into the nondescript figure from before.

"A Manager is watching over you, henceforth do more good deeds and harbor no illusions."

Mosquito nodded trembling, his right fist swiftly pressed to his chest, almost standing straight as a ramrod.

"Yes sir!"

Waving the card, Chu Guang tucked it into his pocket, tossing a few hundred-dollar bills onto the table.

"I won't charge you for using my image rights, but consider this card sold to me, and don't use it anymore."

Seeing that singular golden legend card, Mosquito nodded painfully.

"Darn... ahem! What I mean is, I understand, sir."

Chapter 912: Operation North Wind

Since the "Southern Invasion" expansion pack was released, the Alliance's population has nearly reached the six million mark.

In both Dawn City and Giant Stone City, where the population is most dense, the number of permanent residents has surpassed the million mark, with the former heading towards two million.

The industrial and research hub, Falling Leaves City, as well as the transportation center, have a population approaching one million.

These include not only migrants from other regions but also newborns born on Alliance land.

After the "Bone Chewing Chaos" ended, there was a baby boom in the Alliance.

Now, the children born during that time are already attending kindergarten, and the teenagers who joined the Alliance then have gradually grown into young adults.

The growth isn't just in population but also in player numbers.

As more refuges are unlocked, the number of closed beta accounts has gradually increased from 100,000 to 200,000, with 170,000 accounts already distributed.

During the remote alpha testing phase, the ratio of players to NPCs could barely maintain between 1:5~1:10, but now the number of players has been far outstripped by the explosive growth of NPCs.

This is, however, inevitable.

The refuges cannot sustain a civilization; the refugees from the old era, after enduring harsh winters, will eventually sow the carefully cultivated seeds of hope on the ground...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

During the daily peak log-in times, the forum remains lively as always.

New and old backseat drivers exchange game strategies and insights, while seasoned players continue to drive at full speed.

Compared to the brake issues of Train No. 97 and distant world cultural changes, most fun-seekers are more interested in what new antics Mosquito Brother and Tail have been up to lately.

Recently, it was Tail's turn.

The White Bear Knights somehow went to the continent's northernmost point and found a nearly bankrupt private research institute in a swamp with no villages or land in sight.

Allegedly, the director claimed to be a "non-staff personnel" of the Academy and learned some gene editing techniques with a researcher.

However, he didn't know if his mentor cooled off or forgot about him and his project, waiting ten years without seeing the mentor.

The institute's resources have now depleted, and the unfortunate middle-aged man was planning to become a drifter in the wasteland when he met helpful Ah Wei.

In short, after completing a series of resource collection and specimen recovery tasks, the guy promised to help her restore some extinct species using gene synthesis technology.

But to accomplish this, merely a research institute and some DNA won't suffice.

They need an entire gene pool, which in pre-war times was mostly scattered across the polar regions.

As such, the White Bear Knights are headed further north than Ice Sea City, towards the Arctic.

It's said that parts of that area are Northern Corps territory.

No players have ever been there.

An enthusiast has already started a betting thread on the forum to guess how long it will take before she appears at the respawn point in Dawn City.

Of course, the forum is never short of people clamoring "Give me the helmet," "Going to the Arctic is better than going to the Antarctic," "This is pointless," or "How did this group get the helmet?" - all those who enjoy telling people what to do.

These know-it-alls resemble family meeting members.

This is part of the forum's ecosystem.

Like the mammoth story or what is Garbage Lord, Difficult for the strong actually playing - just snippets of the forum's many trivialities.

Just as the forum home page posts were being refreshed by the second, Mosquito Brother suddenly jumped out to paste a line filled with eye-catching punctuations on the public screen.

"Holy crap! Guess what happened?!"

Tail: "!?"

Quit smoking: "What the heck? There's no preamble whatsoever, what are we supposed to guess?"

Night Ten: "I suspect this guy is going to fart again, let's be a prophet first. (Funny)"

Mosquito: "Don't panic, brothers, listen to my story slowly. I was in Kun Town playing cards, an NPC sat opposite me, and during our game, he suddenly couldn't play anymore...so guess what happened?"

Tail: "???"

Meat Meat: "Holy crap, the claws are flexing!"

The post reached over a hundred floors.

As Mosquito teased the crowd gradually becoming impatient, he dared not hold back any longer and typed out what he encountered yesterday at the bottom of his post.

"That guy dug out some earwax, and I thought he was going to do something, but unexpectedly he turned into the Manager himself!"

The post fell silent for a while, several seconds passed without anyone commenting.

Tail: "Giao! Is this even human behavior?! (Angry)"

Si Si: "..."

Teng Teng: "What the heck."

Crow: "Psht, and here I thought you were going to say something significant. (Speechless)"

Mosquito: "Wait, don't you guys find it horrifying?! Honestly, I almost peed my pants back then. (Horrified)"

Wild Wind: "If you don't do bad things, you're not afraid of ghosts knocking at the door, seriously reflect on what bad things you've done recently. (Side-eye)"

Mosquito: "?? Holy crap, I'm a good guy, don't falsely accuse me, okay!"

Night Ten: "I bet you pulled out that Golden Legend again. (Funny)

Clear Wind: "By the way, Captain, how come you ended up in Brocade River Province?"

Gui Gui: "The front line needs people, hey! Hurry back after you're revived! (Angry)

Mosquito: "Cough, let me rest a bit, I'm a human not a machine. Been flying for over half a year, pretty tiring... Plus, the pilots over there are getting more skilled now. Can't always rely on me to help, in the end, their victory coming from the sky might not be such a good thing."

Edge Shoveling: "You guy, making laziness sound so refined. (Sweat)

Fang Chang: "Hmm, speaking of which, the Manager seems to be in Weifu City lately, but that guy is so busy, usually both around and not to be seen. Having time to play cards with you is definitely a bit unusual... Think carefully about what else he did besides playing cards."

Mosquito: "...Uh, is this really important?"

Fang Chang: "Whether it's important or not, isn't it helping analyze for you? If not needed, just forget it. (Side-eye)

Mosquito hesitated for a moment, but eventually still narrated the whole story honestly.

Including how he used a fusion card to summon the [Manager Riding Nicole], including the several-billion value "Golden Legend Card" forcibly bought by the Manager with a few bills.

After listening to his account, the thread was filled with jeers of schadenfreude, obviously, quite a few people had seen that card.

Besides those card friends who suffered because of it, there were also good brothers sincerely helping Mosquito analyze.

Like Spring Water Brother.

"Perhaps the Manager is warning you not to ride on others' heads in his name. (Funny)"

Mosquito: "Ah?! I didn't do that. (Awkward)"

Spring Water Commander: "Well, interpret it from another perspective, he hopes you use the abilities and status the refuge granted you more cautiously. Remember, with greater ability comes greater responsibility, or one day your tools for committing actions might be confiscated. (Funny)"

Mosquito: "Whoa... Is it that serious?! (Horrified)"

Fang Chang: "Cough, don't tease Mosquito anymore, though the Manager occasionally acts a bit black-hearted, in past events he's never been as dark as you're saying."

"However... I'm wondering about another possibility. Since you say he understands all your jokes, including real-life ones, could it be possible that what you saw at that time wasn't the Manager, but Ah Guang who was playing the Manager?"

Mosquito: "What?! Are you saying the planner logged into a big account?!"

"Hmm... Based on existing intelligence, the planner should be able to log into NPC accounts. Technically, this shouldn't be too difficult to achieve. What puzzles me is why he did this, is there some deeper meaning behind it... Or as Spring Water Brother said, might he be trying to convey some message to you through this method."

Night Ten: "Ah Guang maybe just thought Mosquito was too smug, wanting to use the NPC's mouth to tell him 'the Manager is watching you'. (Funny)"

Mosquito: "Whoa... He really said that! (Surprised)"

Crow: "Uh, I think you're overthinking it... Maybe Ah Guang simply wanted to play cards."

Tail: "Boohoo, damn, Crow Boss is so naive, makes me wanna bully her."

Crow: "???"

Watching the increasingly absurd chattering sand sculptures in the forum, Chu Guang, peeking through the holographic computer, shook his head with a smile.

"These guys have such big imaginations."

In a few words, he went from "able to possess the Manager anytime" to "able to appear and possess any NPC at any place at any time."

The former speculation was completely pointless, as the planner and Manager are intrinsically the same person, Ah Guang and Dawn are merely his aliases, he never needed to possess anyone and has always been dual-opening.

As for the latter assumption, it's somewhat laughable, even evolving into spicy eye theories that made even Xiao Qi's fists harden, prompting Chu Guang to close the thread as he couldn't stand it anymore.

Honestly speaking, he indeed doesn't want anyone to forcefully persuade or oppress others using his name.

But there's truly not much deeper meaning to confiscating Mosquito's "Golden Legend"; simply because this guy's drawing of him holding a hammer was too awkward.

If this dog coin had drawn him more realistically or more handsomely, he wouldn't have spent 500 silver coins to buy a piece of paper.

This crappy thing is expensive even at five silver coins.

After buying it, he just threw it to Xiao Qi to keep for him.

Ultimately, Crow's broad-mindedness understood him the best.

...

On another side, to the south of Poluo Province, at the border between Wolf State and Snake State, soldiers carrying guns were moving supplies with large bags from Wolf State's direction.

They dressed simply, had thin bodies, but sharp eyes like wolves in the jungle.

Days ago, under the command of General Groove, they launched an operation named "North Wind Action."

Units including the 101st and 102nd ten-thousand troops fragmented into smaller groups, advancing from the northern state border of Snake State into Wolf State, launching sudden attacks on strategic facilities throughout the southern part of Wolf State held by the Southern Legion using small-scale infiltration, ambush, and encirclement tactics.

Tactically speaking, this operation is a textbook victory, the Southern Legion had no idea that Shaluk would attack, spies planted in Snake State didn't receive any intel about "North Wind Action," and several garrison and logistics forces in the southern counties were pushed back dozens of kilometers.

Strategically speaking, this force from Snake State not only heavily damaged the Southern Legion's logistics deployment in the southern part of Wolf State but also greatly relieved the military pressure on the southern part of Tiandu.

Since the Southern Legion occupied Wolf State, it engaged in massive training of the Servant Army in the area, and attempted to infiltrate from the southern Tiandu into various states east of Poluo Province.

There are several industrial facilities and railways constructed with alliance support in those eastern states.

Their safety is not only related to the economy of Poluo Country but also concerns the supply of materials to the front lines.

Shaluk, running faster than a rabbit, this time seemed to finally remember he's a wolf, not a dog, and fiercely bit at the Southern Legion's heel.

Although it can't be sure about Shaluk's attitude toward the "North Wind Action," those troops were ultimately his people.

This exhilarating victory not only served as a loud slap to those who mocked him for "resting and storing strength" but also greatly boosted the morale of radicals in Jinjaron Harbor.

And this is the same for those soldiers on the front lines, especially the 101st unit commanded personally by General Groove, where officers and soldiers all displayed expressions of pride and satisfaction.

When they left Snake State, the two of them were so poor they shared one gun. But when they returned, not only was everyone carrying two or three guns, they also had a whole lot of rifles, short cannons, and heavy machine guns.

Not just that, but they also took the military trucks of the Southern Legion, and together with those freight tricycles and ox carts, they carried crates and bundles of ammunition back to the mountains of Snake State.

Besides the frontline combat units, General Groove, who directed the battle, was equally thrilled.

Looking at the guns and ammunition brought back from the frontline, he enthusiastically patted Dog Brother's shoulder, his mouth almost splitting to his ears.

"Mr. Dog Bear truly has a masterful strategy! This battle, we must have wiped out at least twenty to thirty thousand of them!"

Hearing this, Dog Brother smiled awkwardly, humbly and modestly saying.

"Not at all, not at all, just a little everyday skill."

Twenty to thirty thousand might be exaggerated, but it shouldn't be much off.

After all, he personally saw the spooked expressions of those Weilante people and their servant army.

This time, those big noses were sure beaten embarrassingly!

By the way, Dog Bear is a nickname he gave himself, since his ID doesn't sound very refined no matter how you say it.

Can't go around telling everyone he's called Old Dog or Duct, right?

The name "Dog Bear" needs to be a bit more imposing.

Hearing that strange expression, Groove paused, scratching his head in confusion.

"Everyday… skill?"

Dog Brother coughed lightly, explaining.

"Ahem… what I mean is, when we fought the Chewing Bone Tribe back then. Those Looter accepted the army's equipment and command staff, their combat power far exceeded ours, but facing our continued skirmish tactics, they were eventually defeated."

After a few months of practice, his United Human language wasn't as terrible as it was at the beginning of the year, though sometimes his wording was still a bit "unorthodox," making it hard for survivors outside the Alliance to understand.

But fortunately, this little problem didn't hinder their communication. Groove didn't ask much and just nodded in realization.

"I see… guerrilla skills, are everyday skills for you guys."

At this point, Groove's gaze became even more admiring.

People always told him, Weilante people were some kind of fighting race, but in his view, these River Valley folks were!

After all, at least they had a group helping, but these guys could rely on their own strength to floor the army-installed Looter.

Dog Brother: "Uh, it's not that exaggerated… whatever, understand it however you want."

A misunderstanding is just a misunderstanding.

After all, it's not a bad thing.

As for why the Alliance's players appeared in Groove's troops, well, that's a long story.

Over the past few months, Dog Brother had been lurking in Snake State, trying to understand what the Family Meeting was all about, gathering information on this organization.

Interestingly, what he saw completely overturned his preconceived notions of the Family Meeting.

Setting aside the notorious preaching practices, compared to other monsters active within the borders of Poluo Province, at least these families were genuinely practicing the equality and love they proclaimed.

When military factions in Tiger and Leopard States robbed self-farming land and water sources, these families didn't just plant and grind their own bean paste but even wove and dyed their clothes themselves.

If they were villains, then General Jieha in Tiger State was smokingly evil.

After all, everyone saw Jieha's actions, he was a lawless prototype, if he wanted the profits of a factory, he wouldn't even pretend, just sent the Thousands-of-Leaders to rob them directly.

Compared to the deeds of these noble folk, he really couldn't find any fault with these poor folks.

Moreover, what's even more admirable is, they were willing to change.

After meeting Zayed, that gentle and elegant man not only earnestly considered his opinions, but also formulated improvement plans overnight, gathered everyone to vote on the revised plan, and legally declared networking illegal, conducting a thorough self-review.

This situation is extremely rare even in Tiandu or Jin Galun Harbor.

Later Dog Brother learned Snake State also had its own committee members, just named Family Heads.

Unlike the arbitrarily chosen members by Absek, their Family Heads were genuinely elected through free choice, one person one vote.

Additionally, he, as a friend from the Alliance, these family members treated him like their own, warmly and cordially.

Even though they weren't wealthy, they were willing to go hungry but offered their few good resources and choice meats to host him, every time making him feel particularly awkward, could only share the leftover food with those nearby kids eagerly waiting.

Besides food, a few young pretty girls fell for him, seizing any chance to pull him to discuss life and ideals.

Looking at those watery big eyes, saying he wasn't moved would be heartless.

But to avoid affecting the locals' lives, after a battle of conscience, he ultimately chose to be a good person, voluntarily proposing to leave the relatively comfortable rear for the tougher conditions of the frontline.

Zayed tried to persuade him to stay, and the young fellow always besides Zayed tearfully held his hand, saying he hoped to ask him more questions.

But maybe seeing his firm decision, they eventually agreed to let him go.

Thus, he met General Groove at the frontline in North Snake State—legendary second in command of the Gray Wolf Army.

Unlike Gopal, the head of Gray Wolf Army, who always kept a cold face, giving off an eerie feeling, Groove felt like a cheerful optimistic "old young man."

In terms of age, this guy was over 30, but maintained a youthful spirit of boldness and communicative nature.

Most appreciated by Dog Brother was this straightforward guy's honesty, he said whatever came to mind, acted fearlessly.

Moreover, his strategy was as commendable as his bravery.

Dog Brother could feel that although Shaluk was surrounded by ambitious figures like Zayed, just like the Governor's Mansion in Tiandu, at least the guy in front of him was a true idealist.

To compare, he and the "Jungle Rat Yishel" printed on playing cards by the Vellante people up north were like cut from the same mold, only he had slightly less political talent than the latter.

But very coincidentally, Dog Brother later discovered that this guy was actually a "fan" of Yishel.

It was rare for a Wolf Tribe member to admire a Rat Clan member, yet whenever this guy mentioned that name, he always showed admiration and respect, even openly viewing him as a role model.

This was quite unusual in the class-strict Poluo Province.

I'm afraid even Yishel himself wouldn't have imagined that far away in the Northern Three States fighting guerrilla warfare, he would become the subordinate of a high-ranking officer in the Grey Wolf Army.

In any case, when General Groove learned that this "Dog Bear" was a friend of Yishel, he seized every opportunity to have long conversations with him through the night, each time inquiring about Yishel's matters, and praising him as the "second War God of Poluo Province."

As for who the first War God was, Dog Brother never asked, and Groove never told him.

The feelings most of the old parts of the Grey Wolf Army have towards Imperial War God Arai Yang are extremely complicated.

That was both their disgrace and their glory.

"...After this battle, I wonder if I'll have a chance to be painted on the Southern Legion's playing cards."

Putting down the binoculars in his hand, Groove's face was alight with excited red, as if he had drunk two cups of vodka.

Dog Brother approvingly nodded and said.

"I think it should be enough, this time we've definitely made them hurt."

Pausing, he cautiously continued.

"However, it's time to retreat."

Clearly, he wasn't the only one who thought so; standing next to him, General Groove also wasn't swept away by the victory before him.

"Hmm, I think so too. If we continue forward, it will be our logistics that can't keep up, achieving such results can already be considered stellar... What was that saying again? That proverb from your Alliance."

Dog Brother laughed and said.

"Quit while you're ahead, and contentment brings happiness?"

"Yes! Hahaha, quit while you're ahead, and contentment brings happiness!" Groove laughed so much he couldn't close his mouth, patting his good brother on the shoulder.

It was clear he really liked this saying.

Dog Brother's face showed a knowing smile, but soon his expression turned bitter.

Damn.

That damn Eagle tricked him into taking this lousy name, saying that a family needs to be neat and tidy.

If he had known he had the chance to "become famous," he would have picked a more normal name when choosing his nickname!

Just as the two were discussing retreat, fifty kilometers north, next to the woods, the sound of tank tracks quietly crushed over the empty fields.

This was the first thousand team of the 60th Armored Division of the Southern Legion, mainly composed of light tanks and wheeled armored vehicles.

Upon receiving the order to attack, Commander Gibson decisively took action after entering Wolf State, first sending reconnaissance aircraft to search for enemy movements, then personally leading a light armored force to swiftly march towards Millyans County, a pivot point on the retreat route of the Snake State direction forces.

This place was on the border line of Snake State, mostly hills to the south, and plains to the north, conducive to the advance of armored units.

He could conclude that those old rats had mostly fled.

However, with nine ten-thousand troops advancing simultaneously, considering their radio prevalence and organization level, it's impossible for all to escape, some will definitely leave a tail or two.

Sitting in the command vehicle, Commander Gibson squinted his eyes looking south, the complex and enigmatic expression made it hard to see what he was thinking.

Sitting next to him, the adjutant compared with the map and earnestly said.

"Five more kilometers ahead is Millyans County. According to aviation squad reports, a thousand team is resting there... We should encounter them soon."

"Hmm."

Squint-eyed Gibson nodded, raised the binoculars in his hand, but instead of putting them against his bridge of the nose, he strangely pressed them to his mouth like holding a wine bottle.

Noticing the strange gaze beside him, he finally remembered he wasn't sitting at the bar in a pub, but standing on the battlefield.

Coughing awkwardly, he hastily grabbed the radio and placed it to his mouth, correcting his expression to issue the order seriously.

"Attention, all units, target Millyans County, clear units in this area!"

Upon hearing the decisive voice of the commander, the young men on the communication channel erupted with high morale shouts, shell loaded into the chamber, and throttle pressed to the bottom.

"Received!"

Having had enough of that stifling frustration at Evernight Harbor, they can finally aim their guns at those who they should be pointing them at.

In the bumpy cabin, under the turret, Kafer held his breath, his right index finger constantly rubbing the trigger, the sight equipped with night vision aimed distantly at the wooden house illuminated far ahead.

Last three kilometers!

He had already seen the man standing by the window smoking, and the face gradually changing from proud to panicked.

They're doomed!

Having found the target, Kafer had already pronounced that guy's death sentence in his mind, and at this very moment, the shouts of his comrades came from behind him.

"High-explosive bomb! Loaded!"

"Fire!"

Chapter 913: Sentimentality

"Boom——!"

The deafening explosion suddenly echoed from a distance, startling Groove and Dog Brother who were discussing the retreat plan beside the field command center.

Both of their expressions changed instantly, and they hurriedly walked into the field command center, standing in front of the only radio set.

The operator sitting in front of the radio had just made contact with the frontline units.

Seeing General Groove and Dog Bear walking into the command center, he didn't wait for General Groove to ask questions and immediately stood up to report rapidly.

"Report! The attacked unit is the Fifth Thousand-Strong Team under the 102nd Ten Thousand Troops! The number of attackers is unknown, estimated to be 1 or 2 armored units!"

Dog Brother quickly asked.

"Where is that Fifth Thousand-Strong Team?!"

The operator immediately replied.

"Millyans County!"

Hearing this familiar place name, Dog Brother immediately sweated in his palm.

"Damn... These guys have got some skills!"

They've hit them right in the weak spot right from the start!

A tough opponent!

At the same time, General Groove was already in front of the map hanging in the command tent.

Looking at the lines marked on the map, his eyebrows gradually knitted into a tight rope.

In the entire strategic deployment of his "North Wind Operation," the position of Millyans County is equivalent to a logistics transfer hub.

Although the main focus of this battle is to disrupt the opponent's logistics supply lines, with each unit breaking into small groups to assault forward, there are no stable supply lines, but the seized supplies cannot just be buried on the spot; ultimately, they still need to rely on roads and vehicles to be transported away.

Millyans County is such a place.

The supplies captured by the 101st, 102nd, and 103rd Ten Thousand Troops were first scattered and transported here, and then centrally transported back to the Snake State frontline by a small number of truck units.

Originally, according to the plan, the retreating 102nd Ten Thousand Troops would gather in the northern part of Millyans County to hold back the army's reinforcement units, buying time for the transfer of supplies by the 101st and 103rd Ten Thousand Troops.

However, the marching speed of the Southern Legion was unexpectedly fast, arriving at Millyans County ahead of the gathering 102nd Ten Thousand Troops!

If this area falls, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for the 102nd Ten Thousand Troops gathering here.

They would be like water spilled on a hot iron, instantly evaporated by the scorching heat.

A drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead.

General Groove took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

The more critical the moment is, the calmer one must remain. Losing composure would mean losing everything.

The opposing side's counterattack speed was incredibly fast, clearly not coming from ordinary folks.

Looking at this side, although there were nine Ten Thousand Troops, most of their equipment consisted of light weapons, and they severely lacked anti-armor and anti-aircraft measures.

The army's audacious risky action clearly had some follow-up prepared.

If he coveted the supply in Millyans County and pushed all three Ten Thousand Troops up, not only might they lose the advantage they had gained, but they might also lose their base...

Going all-in or folding both has chances of winning...

But if hesitating, failure was certain!

At this moment, this usually somewhat naive-looking old fellow showed a few wolf-like ferocities on his face, deciding in just two seconds.

"Notify the 102nd Ten Thousand Troops, the plan has changed... Bypass Millyans County and retreat directly to the Snake State border, retract from the enemy's strategic depth with the fastest speed!"

"Take as many seized supplies as possible! Bury or hide what can't be taken in nearby villages, or directly destroy them!"

"Yes!" The operator saluted crisply and swiftly, then returned to the radio set.

After issuing commands, General Groove felt the blood in his body boiling, pulling out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lighting one with matches, and taking a deep drag before calming down.

He convinced himself that this was the last one this month, and only now could he take a few puffs.

Based on the prior analysis in his mind, he was almost certain in a hundred percent, that the Southern Legion's reinforcement scale this wave was at least over a hundred thousand!

And this was also the confidence the opposition had in sending a light armored troop deep.

Seems like he really hit them hard this time, and there's a chance he might even be featured on a playing card bounty.

Groove felt no fear in his heart, rather every cell in his body trembled with excitement.

"Damn... Finally getting to do something big!"

His lips curled into a cold arc, and he firmly stamped out the half-smoked cigarette on the ground.

Those big noses better not disappoint him.

He's about to get moldy sitting on this cold bench at the border; these small skirmishes aren't worth a damn.

Zayed only let him use thirty percent of his strength against the army, focusing more effort on training soldiers, and the "offensive business" indicators were halved when ordered to Gopal.

Even this "North Wind Operation" getting approved was thanks to the pressure from the alliance brother beside him.

He knew his boss had political concerns, worrying about the Southern Legion consuming the army for no gain, benefiting a coveting Family Meeting, and Shaluk without practical benefits, but focusing solely on politics without unity won't save Poluo Country.

Of course, he won't make things difficult for the boss but will use his method to "kill two birds with one stone," breaking this stalemate.

Wasn't Zayed worried about Shaluk taking advantage of the situation?

That's easy to handle.

Since the higher-ups expect him to use the "North Wind Operation" to prove their determination to strike the Southern Legion, he would turn the fake act into reality, delivering a heavy blow to the Southern Legion's deployments in the south of Wolf State, thoroughly hurting these wolf pups!

This time, if the legion acted seriously, they would inevitably fight their way into the Snake State border, and Shaluk would have no reason to ignore the fire spreading to his territory.

By then, they would be pinching him!

Dog Brother, staring at the map, was also devising a countermeasure but didn't expect General Groove to have already made a decision.

Although abandoning Millyans County is indeed an option, he always felt it wasn't the perfect choice.

Even if the fifth thousand team was caught off guard, holding out for one or two hours should not be a problem.

If the other nine thousand teams scattered in the area could be gathered together, relying on numerical superiority to wipe out this light armored troop was not impossible.

"...Are you planning to abandon Millyans County? I feel there might still be a chance."

Dog Brother tried to present his own thoughts but was ruthlessly dismissed just as he spoke.

"Don't think about it, we have no chance. Moreover, I'm not just abandoning Millyans County, to be precise, I'm abandoning the entire logistics transfer plan."

Looking at the map, General Groove, as if he were a cold machine, continued expressionlessly.

"We must withdraw the frontline troops as soon as possible and prepare defenses along the border of Snake State, striving to inflict as much damage on our enemies as possible! I have a strong premonition that the Southern Legion will soon launch an unprecedented offensive against our main forces."

"Including the bombing of strategic facilities in Snake State, including a full-on assault by armored troops... We're about to face an unprecedented situation, and we must begin preparations early."

Hearing the resolute voice, Dog Brother involuntarily held his breath.

If the situation is truly like this, then his considerations were indeed somewhat inadequate.

Yet thinking about those youngsters who called him family, he couldn't help but speak up.

"But the fifth thousand team in Millyans County has already been targeted by the Southern Legion's light armor. If we truly leave them be, they have no chance to withdraw—"

Groove replied unhesitatingly.

"Then don't withdraw! Fight a defensive battle on the spot, hold out as long as possible to buy time for their comrades."

Dog Brother stared blankly at Groove, as if seeing a stranger for the first time.

Is this guy still the Groove who loved his soldiers like his children?

Wait a minute...

He suddenly remembered.

This guy would often call him brother and listen to everything he said, but when it came to making decisions, he never truly listened to a single one of his advisor's words.

Including when formulating the entire Northern Wind Operations.

Although the entire plan was submitted in his name, Groove intended for all the credit to be attributed to his "brilliant strategy," but thinking carefully, this guy always agreed in words to his suggestions, acting differently when executing them.

However...

Maybe this guy was right.

After all, Groove is a general, while he is just a "dog-headed strategist" who comes up with half-baked ideas.

If everything followed his arrangements completely, it might end in disaster.

However, after seeing Groove's cold-blooded transformation, he suddenly had a new understanding of this "straightforward" "old buddy."

This guy is not the rash youth he imagined, but a fox with deep and shrewd calculations.

Perhaps deep in his heart lies a sincere heart, and his admiration for Yishel isn't feigned, nor his genuine desire for equality and fraternity on this land, but when it's time to make decisions, he always chooses reality over ideals without hesitation.

Deception and performance are ingrained in his bones, becoming part of his true self.

Dog Brother didn't know if he was being too sentimental, but this guy truly was a bit frightening.

Seeing the stunned Dog Bear, Groove seemed to realize he had spoken too harshly, quickly putting away his cold-blooded expression, placing his hands on his shoulders, and started persuasion.

"Don't be naive, my friend, this is war, and what war has no deaths? Besides, I'm just an ordinary person, I don't possess General Yishel's abilities to venture into enemy lines repeatedly, using a thousand lives to save ten thousand lives, which general wouldn't choose this way."

"I know..." Dog Brother smiled wryly, "Perhaps I'm being sentimental... It's just that they always call me family, and I can't help but regard them as my family, I would give my life to exchange theirs, wishing it was me who died tonight."

He would not interfere with command here, nor did he have the right, he just wanted to express his immature views.

"Hey! If you're thinking this way, aren't they thinking the same?" Groove sighed heavily, his tone growing heavier, "We've all been prepared for death, not just you and me, but also the young men of the fifth thousand team, we are all one family... sacrificing for family, we should've been prepared for this."

Those youngsters were the first to reach the destination, they should have received the honor and the medal's commendation.

But now, they were heading into a battle with no retreat and no reinforcements.

This was likely going to be a tough night for them...

General Groove took a deep breath, exhaled the impure air from his chest, then turned to walk towards the tent door to feel the cool breeze outside,

The decision he made was not an easy one.

Perhaps allies would find him cold-blooded, but he wished he could truly be a cold-blooded guy.

That might have made things easier.

Facing the silent Dog Bear, Groove spoke in a hoarse voice.

Like he was speaking to himself, yet also solely to him.

"Quit while you're ahead... I didn't want to use this phrase in this occasion, but it's your proverb..."

"Am I right?"

Thinking of the casualties in Tiandu being no less than here, Dog Brother nodded silently.

"Perhaps you're right."

...

Millyans County, the dim night gradually transformed into a faintly bright day.

Although the artillery had stopped in the first half of the night, the gunfire rang throughout the entire night.

Everyone underestimated the will of resistance of the fifth thousand team, even including the fifth thousand team themselves.

The Centurion died and the Centurion took over, when the Centurion was lost the Thousand Leaders took the guards up.

By the end, the entire thousand team had all the senior officers dead, leaving only Marjorie, the Centurion.

Among the pile of corpses, he picked up a piece of broken glass, quietly poked out from the cover to take a look at the situation outside.

The tank stopped in the middle of the road still glaring at them, the Weilante People had no intention of leaving an escape route, searching house by house.

They seemed determined to kill them all, and would rather kill the innocent than let anyone go.

Thinking of those implicated elders and villagers, Marjorie painfully closed his eyes.

At this moment, the gunner beside him made a noise and grinned, saying.

"Sir...it's already dawn, when will our reinforcements arrive?"

"Very soon." Marjorie replied randomly, his eyes tightly fixed on the end of the street.

"Sir..."

"What, spit it out if you have something to say."

"There's no reinforcements, right... Don't lie to me, I actually knew from the start."

"..."

"Sir... I can't go back, if you can, can you take a message to my son for me?"

"Go ahead, I'll remember it."

"Hey... Then I'll say it..."

Marjorie waited for a while, but heard no sound from beside him. Turning his head, he realized the young man with a face darkened by burns had breathed his last.

That was the last soldier under his command.

Now he was dead too...

A surge of hot blood rushed to his head, unable to hold it anymore, he hugged the cold corpse brother and screamed at him hysterically.

"Say it! I'll take it back for you! Damn it, you f***ing say it!!!"

The sudden roar startled all the Weilante people who were cleaning the battlefield.

Thanks to him, a mother and daughter who were about to be executed lived a little longer.

"I'll fight you all to the death!!!"

Marjorie picked up his rifle, his entire body seemed briefly revitalized as he furiously launched his final charge.

At this moment, he was like a true Awakener, or perhaps he had truly awakened something.

Unfortunately, even an Awakener couldn't withstand the strafing of 10mm machine gun bullets with bare flesh.

"Tat-tat-tat---!"

He heard the sounds whizzing towards him, just felt multiple streams of heat piercing into his body.

Surprisingly, what followed was not unbearable pain.

It was like a food coma after being well-fed, he only felt his consciousness sink, then silently fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, on the tank in the middle of the road, Caffer, who pulled the trigger, swallowed nervously and excitedly, drawing a line on the gun tower beside him with a marker.

"The 111th..."

This was his first battle in life.

So smooth it was unbelievable to him.

"Should be the last one." The captain sitting behind him exhaled tiredly.

The gunner assigned to the driver's seat glanced back.

"How do you know?"

The captain didn't explain much, casually said.

"Guessing."

...

The battle in Millyans County lasted the entire night.

Due to the enemy's fierce resistance, they were delayed too long at the last building.

That was a repair shop built by the logistics team.

The garage of the workshop was used by the Poluo people as a warehouse, storing many looted goods.

To minimize damage to local infrastructure, their officer forbade them from using the main cannon to bombard the workshop, only allowing tank coaxial machine gun support.

But actually, it made no difference whether the main cannon was used or not.

The fighting spirit of these Poluo people was strong, but there was nothing beyond that.

Less than hundreds of casualties on their side, while they annihilated over 1000 Poluo Country soldiers.

Gibson had no particular feelings about these numbers.

Different types of battle have different kill ratios, and he could feel that this side's troops hadn't fought in any major battles, incomparable to the northern troops.

Incidentally, compared to civilian casualties in Millyans County, both numbers were insignificant.

But it didn't matter.

Giving the locals a harsh lesson was an order personally deployed by General Giulion.

According to the local garrison report, the guerrilla team managed to penetrate their rear largely due to intelligence support from locals.

In General Giulion's own words, the locals here must remember this bloody lesson with their bodies.

Seeing the battle finally come to an end, the adjutant who worried all night finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"...With Marshal above, it's finally over."

Moved a stool next to the command vehicle, opened a bottle of beer, Gibson glanced at him, grinning said.

"You seemed quite anxious."

The adjutant smiled wryly and said.

"Aren't you worried if they send their main force over to support?"

Gibson chuckled lightly.

"If they can plan an operation like 'North Wind', the commander is definitely not ordinary... The intel says it's called Groove, right? I hope I have a chance to meet this guy."

Adjutant: "Uh, does it have any relevance to what I just said?"

"It has a lot to do with it. Since their commander isn't ordinary, they would certainly consider why we would dispatch an elite armored unit to boldly advance forward..."

Gibson took a swig of beer, continuing in a nonchalant tone.

"His choice is obvious. Instead of betting on a 1% chance, might as well 'quit while ahead'."

Honestly speaking, those lads fighting him all night were truly heroes.

He initially thought the local forces lacked combat experience, and with Shaluk being a coward who brags but doesn't fight, these guys would last only one or two hours before crumbling against his light armored unit. Yet they fought until the last person, without a single surrender.

Even the last coward turned into a tough guy; this bone is getting harder to gnaw...

Gibson opened another can of beer, but instead of drinking it, he poured it onto the ground.

"In the next life, be born into a good family, don't come here."

And don't be a Weilante person.

He silently murmured the latter sentence to himself, smiling as he tossed the empty bottle aside.

At this moment, a soldier jogged over, snapped to attention and saluted.

"Report! Our patrol unit found a village nearby with our lost weapons and equipment. The local villagers explained that they were left behind by retreating units."

"You guessed it right indeed."

The adjutant looked at Gibson excitedly, finally wiping the last bit of sweat from his palm.

The enemy didn't reinforce!

Even if their main force is truly on the way, it would be tomorrow by the time they arrive.

If they had gambled wrong, even if they broke through successfully, they would still leave shamefully.

Gibson, however, wasn't surprised at all, instead giving a sidelong glance at the soldier who came to report.

"Why bother asking that villager where the supplies came from."

The soldier was taken aback, not understanding what the commander meant.

Gibson grabbed the unfinished bottle of beer, taking a large gulp, and idly curled his lips.

"You think you're some savior coming to aid the countryside? Listen up, rookie. The reason those rats hid their stolen assets in the rat hole you found is simple; that rat hole houses their relatives, and the next time they come, they can retrieve what was stored there."

"Now, I'll tell you what to do. First, forget everything you learned in recruit training camp and from recruitment ads. Then find a tank to go over and settle their payment."

"Other rats should know the consequence of cooperating with the guerrilla team. Want to apologize? Remember to do it early next time."

Facing those fierce eyes, the soldier's Adam's apple moved, hurriedly saluting.

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, on the other side, standing next to a tank, Caffer was excitedly reporting his "111 kills" record to the logistics officer counting casualties.

Hearing this rookie killed over a hundred, that logistics officer had a peculiar expression, looking towards the slightly older appearing tank captain.

The latter nodded slightly, casually saying.

"Nothing strange about it, we're in the vanguard. The enemy didn't have time to dig trenches, and just the first two rounds of shelling took out quite a few."

"Alright then, hopefully our reported enemy kills aren't exaggerated enough to make up an entire ten thousand troops."

The logistics officer ultimately didn't argue, recording the number as it was, then proceeded to the next tank.

Even if the numbers are slightly inflated, it doesn't matter; everyone is doing this.

The gunner stared enviously at the leaving logistics officer, couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Damn... Caffer, get back to your driver's seat, next time let me fire the cannon."

Caffer grinned and said.

"Sure, but I've discovered I might have quite a talent for firing cannons."

The gunner jokingly cursed.

"Bullshit, next time I'll show you what it means to be professional!"

Caffer chuckled, not bothering to argue with this bastard.

He was in a good mood.

After coming here, he finally found his groove.

Bullying civilians in Evernight Harbor didn't make one much of a hero, especially when facing one's own kin.

The battlefield indeed felt like his rightful place.

Just then, a soldier ran over from afar, saluting the tank captain.

Putting down his canteen, the captain raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Got a mission?"

The soldier hurriedly nodded.

"A village six kilometers to the north found a large amount of our lost supplies."

The captain seriously nodded.

"Understood."

Saying this, he patted the tank hull and shouted to the lads munching on biscuits.

"Mount up!"

Chapter 914: True and False Wise Men

The creaking of the tracks mixed with the cicadas' chirping by the roadside, but the victorious squad was dead silent.

Not long ago, they had cooperated with infantry aboard wheeled armored vehicles to launch a surprise attack on a village at the foot of a mountain.

The entire village had hardly any decent houses; the only valuables were the diesel generator and tractor they bought from the Weilante people.

It's remarkable that the scout squad could find this godforsaken place.

There wasn't a single decent road from Millyans County to this village.

Of course, even more hateful were those Poluo Country soldiers.

Those guys left the looted equipment and supplies here and even incited the villagers to attack them, forcing them to open fire on the villagers...

At least thinking this way offered some solace to their hearts.

Caffer still remembered on the way to the battlefield earlier, the gunner Valke in their squad kept yelling about breaking his "111" record, while the radio operator Jeston and the loader Joe were passionately arguing over which bar had the more attractive girls at West Sail Port.

And now, Valke was completely silent, not mentioning a word about how many he had killed.

Jeston and Joe continued to chat awkwardly, but the stiffness of the conversation made one unconsciously curl their toes.

In the end, only their commander Buck remained consistently silent, always doing what was necessary and saying what needed to be said.

Caffer suddenly recalled that it seemed to be the same way back at Evernight Harbor.

Everything seemed to have changed, yet somehow nothing had really changed...

For a moment, an unprecedented thought suddenly sprang up in Caffer's mind.

If only he hadn't picked up that recruitment flyer back then, but instead walked a couple more steps to that familiar farmers' market, and used his saved scholarship to buy a tractor to take home, it would've been great.

The one at home was just getting old.

His father often mentioned wanting to get a new one. He had intended to surprise the old man, but ended up like most Weilante people, impulsively taking the flyer to the recruitment point and joining the tank corps, shouting for the Marshal.

However, after stumbling onto the battlefield, he found that what he saw and heard was completely different from what he imagined...

As he thought about it, he unconsciously drifted off.

It was then that a broad hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Watch the road."

The commander's voice snapped Caffer out of his daze. He stepped on the rudder and steered the tank back onto the barely visible road, narrowly preventing it from driving into the ditch.

To ease the tense atmosphere in the cabin, Joe smiled at him.

"Can you handle this? Maybe let Valke drive instead."

"Alright." Caffer awkwardly smiled, indeed considering that suggestion.

However, Valke, sitting not far from the back of his head, remained silent, acting as if he hadn't heard anything.

The atmosphere grew cold once more.

The group fell silent.

Caffer thought they would complete the latter part of the journey in this silence, but unexpectedly, a shrill and short humming sound suddenly pierced his eardrums.

"Whoosh—!"

A flickering flame, like a dagger slicing through the jungle, dragged a long white trail toward the wheeled armored vehicle driving just ahead of them.

Sparks from the explosion scattered far and wide, followed by black smoke rising from the engine hood of that armored vehicle.

The rear door of the wheeled armored vehicle burst open violently, and soldiers in exoskeletons swiftly jumped out from the cabin, carrying rifles.

At the same time, bursts of gunfire came from the forest, tracer bullets like raindrops shot toward the Weilante squad using the armored vehicle as cover.

"It's the Iron Fist! Damn it, our rocket launchers!" Caffer shouted instinctively, yanking the handbrake.

The cabin erupted into chaos, with loader Joe quickly loading high-explosive shells into the cannon, and radio operator Jeston yelling into the radio, trying to reach the companions ahead.

An encounter battle broke out instantly, with everyone almost simultaneously entering combat mode!

"It's the guerrilla team!"

"Ten o'clock direction!"

"Fire!!"

Valke's actions remained as swift as before.

With his shout, a well-aimed and forceful shot burst from the barrel, erupting in a firework in the nearby forest.

His movements didn't stop; after firing a high-explosive shell, he quickly adjusted the cannon barrel, using the coaxial machine gun on the tank to burst fire at the forest with a rattling sound.

In coordination with the wheeled armored vehicle whose engine had stalled, the dual vehicles unleashed a hailstorm of bullets, forming a net of death across the dense forest!

The gunfire from the Poluo people quieted for a while, seemingly having suffered significant casualties.

However, before long, that brief pause in gunfire resumed more ferociously than before.

Before much time passed, a rocket shot out from the jungle, striking under the turret of the armored vehicle.

Metal liquid streams pierced through the bulletproof lining, hitting squarely on the ammo rack hidden behind the armor!

"Boom——!"

The explosive flare blew off the armored vehicle's turret, followed by the crackling and popping of explosions.

Caught off guard, half of the ten-man squad using the armored vehicle as cover was maimed by the ensuing explosions; the few left were left in a sorry state, scrambling to escape into the forest under the machine gun fire.

"Damn it! We have to get out of here fast!" Buck's gloomy face shouted, slamming a fist into the cabin.

"These Poluo people have come for revenge..." Radio operator Joe was shaking, his lips turned pale with fear.

Loader Jeston was equally disoriented, loading shells into the cannon while constantly swearing, "Damn it."

"Why now? Why didn't they come sooner!"

There were no aircraft on task nearby, and they had no air support to call for.

Even if their air force brothers took off urgently from West Sail Port's airport, by the time they arrived, it would have been too late.

"Caffer! Drive quickly! Wait, what the fuck are you doing!"

"The track is broken! I'm going down to fix it! Cover me!"

"No! You stay on the vehicle, let Joe go—"

The commander, Buck, shouted, but it was too late to stop him.

Caffer, with adrenaline rushing through him, had already opened the hatch above the cockpit and climbed outside.

Perhaps sending the communicator out would have been a better choice, and crawling out from underneath the carriage would have been a bit safer, but he didn't know why he did it this way.

Bullets whizzed wildly overhead, but it was as if he didn't hear them.

The surging adrenaline had numbed his sense of pain and fear of death.

The war—

This damn thing is war!

Maybe it was the Marshal's blessing, as not a single bullet flying all over the sky hit him.

He struggled to pull down the toolbox hanging behind the tank, trying not to mind the machine gun rattling above and the roaring cannon barrel, rolling sideways to the front of the track, attempting to remove the broken segment to replace it with a new one.

However, at that moment, his luck seemed to run out as an armor-piercing bullet slammed into the tank's side armor, less than two meters away from him!

The deafening explosion almost shattered his eardrums, and the scorching shock wave nearly knocked him unconscious.

Fortunately, it was an armor-piercing bullet!

If it were a high-explosive or some other kind of thing, he might have already met his end at Triumph City.

"Damn it—!"

The heart-wrenching pain from his calf made Caffer gasp sharply.

He didn't dare to look at the wound, struggling to get up from the ground, picking up the segment that had fallen onto the ground, and almost instinctively reconnecting the broken track.

With his relentless effort, the tank miraculously started moving again.

And at that moment, soldiers from Poluo Country, holding rifles, charged out from the jungle.

"Ah ah ah!"

"Kill!!"

They grabbed assault rifles, firing to draw the tank's fire, while charging forward as if their lives depended on it. Amid the chaotic gunfire, one of them, holding a dynamite pack sparking with flame, screamed like a madman as he lunged forward.

Almost instinctively, Caffer pulled out the gun at his waist and squeezed the trigger at the man.

The marksmanship he honed at the Military Academy came in handy.

The gunshots rang out even louder than the rattling machine gun fire, shooting down the guy holding the dynamite pack to the ground.

The deafening explosion rang out once again, and the spreading shock wave hit directly on his chest. Caffer groaned and completely passed out.

In a daze, he seemed to have auditory hallucinations, hearing the quarrels of his comrades inside the carriage.

"We have to go!"

"Caffer is still outside!"

"There's no time!"

"..."

Perhaps they weren't arguing at all, but thinking so made him feel a bit better.

Feeling like he couldn't be saved, the tank sped away forward.

After all, it was a light tank.

Even though the road conditions in this area were quite poor, it could still run much faster than two legs...

In a daze, Caffer felt his collar being grabbed.

A group of people surrounded him, pulling him out from a pile of mud.

A man with a face full of blood pulled out a dagger, probably intending to carve out his heart, but before he could make a move, another soldier from Poluo Country stopped him.

"Enough, too many have already sacrificed."

The blood-covered man shouted angrily at the officer-looking one.

"But he killed my brother! My own brother! And that village! How do we settle that score?"

Caffer gasped, looking at the two men, then glanced at the hate-filled eyes around him, his face filled with terror.

But the next words from that officer made him feel a comforting warmth.

"They are also victims. The survivors of suffering are not just us."

Later, that officer said something else, some kind of incantation, that surprisingly calmed the blood-soaked, devil-like man down.

Caffer watched him walk up to him, his Adam's apple moving up and down, wanting to say thank you, but the words wouldn't come out.

The man spoke first.

"Your name."

"...Caffer."

"I am Ah Ming," Ah Ming said, looking at him and adjusting his collar, "Caffer, you are captured."

This person's demeanor was unlike that of a Poluo Country person, making Caffer feel as if he'd been transported back to Evernight Harbor.

"I...surrender."

As he spoke these words, he felt no guilt in his heart, only repentance and apology.

He recalled the villagers he had killed, even though he wasn't the one who pulled the trigger, he was still sitting on the vehicle at that time.

He also thought of the young man carrying the dynamite pack. Even though if he hadn't shot, he would have died, he couldn't help but feel regret...

"We accept your surrender," looking at the guilty-faced Caffer, Ah Ming smiled kindly and continued in a gentle tone, "and we hope you cooperate with us."

...

Gray Wolf Army Headquarters.

In front of the map, the Grey Wolf Army's commander Gopal rarely showed his temper, cursing and swearing.

"This bastard! He really forgot his roots!"

The "North Wind" operation was a great success, far exceeding initial expectations, yet he felt no joy.

Because he just received news that an army of 100,000 was advancing toward Snake State.

Such a fierce offensive is commonplace on the Northern Front, but unprecedented on the Southern Front.

In contrast to Gopal, Sava, standing in the command tent, wore a calm expression.

Once Gopal finally calmed down somewhat, he slowly spoke.

"Mr. Zayed said that the Weilante people's vindictive nature would surely lead them to retaliate. But don't worry too much; the enemy's internal structure isn't monolithic."

Gopal paused, looking at Zayed's aide.

"What if we call our informants now and have the Southern Legion's logistics system make some moves..."

Sava interrupted his unrealistic notion with a light cough before he could finish.

"No, General Giulion approved this operation precisely to take this opportunity to shake up the Southern Legion's logistics system. We've already offended some informants by acting unconventionally. Seeking their help now would only ruin the covert channels we've painstakingly developed."

Gopal maintained his composure and said.

"Then what should we do?"

Sava: "Endure."

Hearing this unexpected response, Gopal's eyebrows twitched fiercely.

"What if they attack Snake State?"

Sava smiled slightly.

"Perfect. Shaluk has always been sabotaging us from behind, wanting to use us as cannon fodder while squeezing us for resources. We can turn their own forces against them, let these 100,000 make a show as big as 1,000,000!"

"If their momentum isn't enough, we'll build it for them! If Shaluk doesn't want to use his own guards to reinforce, he'll have to untie the rope around our necks, give us guns! Give us grain! And give us people!"

As for capturing Snake State, that's unlikely.

From a strategic perspective, Giulion is unlikely to spread his chips to the so-called lesser threatened southern front.

Permanently alienating his logistics system and betting the entire strategic outcome on a tasteless piece of chicken rib...

As long as General Giulion is a rational person, he wouldn't do it.

Only Grov still fantasizes that his cleverness can turn the tide, making Snake State another focus of the entire war.

Truly smart people go with the flow, while those who play small tricks only get crushed by the tides.

Gopal's eyes showed a sudden understanding, staring intently at Sava.

"...Is this all Zayed's idea?"

Sava smiled faintly but did not directly answer.

"Aside from General Grov unexpectedly indulging in acting, all the rest were personally deployed by him. Leader Absek had posed two difficult problems to Mr. Zayed, and now these almost impossible problems are both solved."

Gopal laughed heartily at the statement.

"Interesting, hahaha, truly interesting."

After laughing for some time, he seemed relieved, fixing his gaze on Sava.

"So, what about this Grov? Although he's my subordinate, his disobedience is a big problem. I'm afraid he might cause trouble in the future. If you want to deal with him, feel free to do so. You don't need to consider my opinion, or even let me handle him."

"General Grov isn't a bad person at heart, just someone who values honor a bit too much. Why would we need to handle such good family stock? Moreover, the plan he brought over includes signatures from both you and Mr. Zayed. Handling him would be slapping our own faces, as well as the alliance's."

Sava looked at the thoughtful Gopal with an odd expression and mimicked Zayed's tone.

"Good work must be rewarded, and heavily so!"

...

"...Recently, according to the return message from our station's correspondent in Tiandu, Poluo Province, the Southern Army Group of Poluo Country launched a surprise attack on the Southern Legion stationed around Wolf State in the early hours of September 11."

"This operation was code-named 'North Wind', commanded by Grov, number two of the Grey Wolf Army, leading the Poluo Country's 101st Ten-thousand-strong unit, totaling over 90,000 troops. A significant amount of light equipment and manual transport vehicles were deployed in this operation, infiltrating hundred kilometers deep into the Southern Legion's actual control zone."

"According to an interview with Grov himself by the Survivor's Daily's Jinjaron Harbor branch, this operation was a resounding success. The Southern Army Group launched the attack with only 2,000 casualties and achieved a remarkable record of 30,000 enemy kills! Additionally, this operation destroyed more than 50 logistics hubs, 17 production facilities, and captured nearly 100,000 light weapons, nearly a million rounds of ammunition, 20 field guns, and over 200 heavy machine guns."

"According to publicly available intelligence from West Sail Port media, the operation caused 500 Weilante casualties and 3,117 servant army soldier casualties. Although the Southern Legion lost military materials worth up to 90 million dinars in this operation, the damaged stations and production facilities have been mostly restored after a week's repair. Additionally, with the deployment of drone troops and new artillery, the Poluo Country's Southern Army Group also suffered nearly 10,000 casualties."

"Due to the significant discrepancies in casualty and battle damage numbers, our station only reports both sides' statements."

"Also, the Absek authorities praised this operation highly and strongly condemned the Southern Legion's barbaric actions in Snake State and the mass civilian casualties caused during the counterattack. In response, a Southern Legion spokesperson expressed the hope that guerrillas would not use civilians as shields, and the front-line Weilante soldiers would defend the army and empire's alliance at all costs, eradicating any rebels."

"Currently, Shaluk, the figure with actual power in the southern region of the Poluo Province under scrutiny, has yet to make a statement on the operation. However, according to our station's sources, the operation indeed received signatures from Shaluk himself and the Grey Wolf Army leadership."

"Previously, Shaluk's inaction in the face of Wolf State's fall was highly controversial across all sectors of Poluo Province, with rumors also suggesting that there had been interest collusion between Shaluk's subordinates and internal forces within the Southern Legion. Now, this powerful attack somewhat responds to such rumors."

"Analysts related to Jinjaron Harbor claim the 'North Wind' operation, as Shaluk's first large-scale offensive, might become the turning point in the current stalemate. However, other analysts suggest that both in size and achievements, this operation is unlikely to cause significant impact on the Southern Legion's strategic deployment, unless Shaluk puts in more deep resources."

"Following the incident, the Southern Legion quickly dispatched the 60th, 61st ten-thousand-strong units, and tens of thousands of servant army soldiers to the southern part of Wolf State, deploying a large-scale military operation code-named 'Falling Leaves', seemingly in response to 'North Wind'."

"Furthermore, according to West Sail Port insiders, the newly issued playing cards in the Southern Legion's Poluo Province war zone now feature a bust of General Grov, marked with a bounty of 100,000 dinars."

"Currently, the highest bounty on this series of playing cards remains on Yishel, with the Southern Legion increasing his bounty to 5,000,000 dinars..."

"Additionally, our station reminds again that any alliance citizen participating in unauthorized wars as a mercenary is acting illegally. Those in related professions should accept orders through official channels, and be careful not to risk themselves..."

"Dawn City News reporting for you!"

In a tavern in Weifu City, the television hung from the ceiling over the bar was broadcasting Dawn City TV Station's news.

Speaking of Dawn City TV Station, it has been around for years.

Back when Giant Stone City underwent significant changes, it was this TV station and Dawn's Survivor's Daily that followed the city's situation closely. Now, the station's coverage has expanded to places thousands of kilometers away.

Just like the alliance's cables.

Sitting beside the bar, a mercenary with a mechanical prosthesis drank beer, grinning at the images on the screen.

"Grov...another new name, this Poluo Province sure has a lot of second-in-command figures."

A drunk sitting next to him hiccupped and mocked.

"Maybe you remembered wrong, he's the number two in the Gray Wolf Army, but probably not even ranked in the entire Poluo Province."

This war has been going on for almost half a year, and something big happens almost every two days.

Probably only guys like him, who spend their time in bars after work every day, remember the plot of every news episode here in Weifu City.

Since the Alliance's print media and entertainment industry are still in their nascent stage, while the Alliance has gradually popularized televisions and a series of flat media terminals, the ones most focused on news are actually the drunks who need news to accompany their drinks.

The mercenary's expression was a bit awkward, coughed, and changed the topic.

"Gray Wolf Army... What the hell is that, I've never heard of it."

"Well, you can't be blamed," the drunk hiccupped, "I watch the news every day and haven't seen them on camera much, this might just be their recent highlight moment."

Just as he finished his sentence, another middle-aged man sitting next to him laughingly interjected.

"I think your memory isn't that great either, this group was on the headlines several times just last year."

This opened up a floodgate of conversation, and everyone sitting at the bar started discussing animatedly.

"Now that you mention it, I remember, they're the guys feeding the fish by Potato Harbor, right?"

"And there was the Burning Corps that were flooded into the Everflow River in revenge at Jinjaron Harbor."

"Haha, getting flooded in the river is old news, I heard this unit has produced many outstanding officers after training by McCullen."

"McCullen..."

"He's still a defeated general, isn't he?"

"Hahaha."

The tavern was full of lively atmosphere, and there was a lot of laughter and banter at the bar.

It's said that McCullen helped the West Winds Empire a lot, but after the empire descended into chaos, this guy fell silent, nobody knew what kind of corruption he was brewing inside.

Of course, maybe after some reform from the Alliance, he turned over a new leaf and became a new person.

As for that guy named Groove, no one remembered his name.

But that's quite normal.

The number two of some army in the distant Poluo Province, over a few thousand kilometers from the Alliance, is just a nobody to survivors living in the Brocade River Province, right?

To make them remember, he would at least need a nine-figure bank deposit, or have done something earth-shattering, right?

The name from the last Dawn City news would probably be forgotten by them in two days...

The TV began broadcasting other news, spending a good amount of time on the proposal submitted by No.1 Settlement regarding the establishment of an immigration department.

This is probably the most controversial topic for the Alliance recently.

Although the proposal has been criticized by radical individuals and the "Regulated", it has still garnered widespread support from conservatives and Alliance citizens.

After all, from a realistic perspective, who wouldn't want their identity to be more valuable?

Moreover, a series of unpleasant incidents had happened previously.

Currently, the Alliance Representative Conference has formally accepted the application submitted by the local representative conference of No.1 Settlement and has conducted a public review on whether the proposal is unconstitutional.

However, the local representative conference of No.1 Settlement has evidently prepared thoroughly, making it unlikely that any slip-ups would happen on such details.

This proposal is likely to enter the voting phase soon, and its passage is almost a certainty.

After all, the representative who proposed this is said to be a radical person.

It seems that tightening immigration management has unconsciously become a consensus between the radical and conservative factions.

While people in the bar were talking about other topics, the mercenary at the bar still couldn't let go of the news about Poluo Country.

The war there was growing more intense, and he couldn't help but think about going there to make money.

It's not about earning that bounty, he wants silver coins, not dinars, and the source of his property is hard to explain.

Mainly, he was thinking about how hard it was to make money with his combat prosthesis in the eastern part of Central Continent, so he might as well re-employ himself in the Poluo Province.

Downing a gulp of beer, the mercenary mumbled.

"But anyway, who would've thought the highest bounty target in the army would be a Poluo person."

"His name is Yishel, right? I heard he gave the Southern Legion quite a headache in the Northern Three States." The drunk next to him laughed, feeling proud of his good memory.

The other guy next to him chimed in with a smirk.

"After all, the playing cards issued for the Southern Legion War Zone in Poluo Province do have Poluo faces, are they supposed to put yours on instead?"

The mercenary curiously asked.

"So who's the highest target for the entire Southern Legion?"

"I heard it's our Manager."

Everyone exchanged glances without speaking, only sighing deeply after a long pause.

"..."

"Damn, these Weilante people sure dare to dream big."

"Dream on, if they want to challenge that lord, they'd have to step over my dead body first!"

"Hey, if it really came down to that, would it be your turn to show off?"

Maybe even Chu Guang himself couldn't remember those trivial little things clearly, but everyone here remembered when he casually swung a hammer and smashed the Torch Church's monster into mush, leading the residents of Shelter No. 404 to bravely charge toward the plague-corroded earth.

Sure, there might be some exaggeration to it, but not by much.

Perhaps it was because of these increasingly exaggerated legends that even with many Weilante people in the Alliance, none dared to think about that billion bounty.

Of course, perhaps there were other reasons.

The Manager indeed cared for those waste land wanderers.

Whether they were Waste Land Wanderers from the eastern Pig Province, or Weilante people from distant lands...

At least those united around him stood for the same goal.

Chapter 915: The Civil Official Group's Return of Favor

The port of No.1 Settlement, after drifting at sea for two weeks, the Weilante people finally came ashore.

Aside from a few radical conservatives among the Polo people still protesting the Vellante Street project, the vast majority of local survivors welcomed these poor people who had traveled from afar.

Including those who once showed indifference towards them.

In a sense, this was also thanks to those emotional Polo people.

Their unreasonable and irrational actions had the opposite effect in the public opinion arena.

In some ways, this indeed made them feel more united among themselves, but it also made them more annoying to others.

Any reasonable or unreasonable demand can be made to the Alliance, but if you add, "If you don't listen to me, I'll throw a tantrum," or "If you don't listen to me, you're doomed," then no one is easily scared.

Some conservatives, to spite this group of immature crybabies, even went as far as putting up banners to welcome the Weilante people they were not interested in.

Don't like it?

Then go back to your Polo Province!

We're just as tired of you as you are of us!

If the Polo people's method is so effective, then surely the folks in the Polo Province must be well-fed.

Of course, it must be said that the pro-monarchy crybabies don't represent all Polo people.

There is still a portion of people who've integrated into the Alliance.

Maybe to repair friendships with society's various circles, or perhaps feeling sincerely apologetic, there remains a group of Polo people standing at the port under their peers' disdain, welcoming the Weilante people oppressed by the Army.

Leading them are mainly the Moon people, including one of the Radical Faction representatives, Su Ka.

From beginning to end, he had been trying to cool down the situation, to salvage the Polo people's reputation.

Even after proposing the controversial "establishment of an immigration bureau bill" and being called a "traitor to the ancestors" by other Polo people, he still went all out to do this... even though it left him unappreciated by both sides.

It's hard to say whether it worked.

But one thing, he actually had something in common with Jeremy, who led the blockade.

That is, they both touched their own hearts.

The only difference is Jeremy didn't realize this and steadfastly continued his efforts.

But Su Ka was actually aware that he was doing something seemingly futile, and yet he continued doing it.

On the dock, Su Ka shook Yarman's right hand, with a genuine smile tinged with some weariness.

"Congratulations to you all; from now on we walk the same path as comrades."

"Thank you for accepting us, and we are very sorry… for causing you trouble during this period."

Looking at the complex expression on Su Ka's face, Yarman spoke in a sincere yet slightly apologetic tone.

Over the past two weeks, the Hank Group had procured 3,000 mobile homes from Fries Port to serve as temporary homes for the nearly 5,000 immigrants aboard the ship.

Now, these immigrants from Evernight Harbor no longer needed to commute to land during the day and return to the ship to sleep at night; they could find a place to shelter from the wind and rain even on shore.

These mobile homes were once aid materials sent to Fries Port settlements to assist the South Sea Union's residents.

And now, with the end of the civil war in the southern sea area, the islanders of the South Sea Union either gradually returned to their hometowns or already owned new homes locally in Fries Port, meaning these mobile homes were no longer needed.

With the assistance of Gu Ning's representative, the Hank Group procured these second-hand housing materials from the Fries Port City Hall at a "gift price" close to twenty percent of their value.

And in exchange, once Vellante Street is built, the Hank Group will donate these mobile homes for free to the local authorities of No.1 Settlement to help more survivors from the Western World or Eastern Provinces.

"It's not even a bother, plus compared to the trouble other immigrants cause us, the trouble you caused is actually smaller," Su Ka said with an embarrassed smile, sighing softly. "Honestly, I feel quite ashamed inside; I know our suffering doesn't come from you, but from something within ourselves… but admitting its existence is not easy."

"Actually, it's not just you; we're no different. We've been languishing for two centuries because of it," Yarman smiled brightly, giving him an encouraging look, "But I believe everything will get better, whether it's us or you."

"Hopefully," Su Ka said with a smile, ending the inconclusive topic.

He didn't know whether to face this issue pessimistically or optimistically.

Perhaps if General Lowell hadn't achieved that unprecedented feat back then, things would have been different.

Maybe everything would have a different ending.

...

After bidding farewell to Su Ka, Yarman went to the ship to bring down his wife and children.

In fact, he could have stayed ashore, but his wife felt it would be better to endure hardships with their compatriots on the ship at this time.

They couldn't abandon their fellow companions; they had to let them know they were together.

This time little Ruby sided with her mother too.

After pondering for a while, Yarman agreed with the mother and daughter's idea.

Anyway, to him, the ship was like his home, so whether he went ashore or not made no difference.

After settling his wife and daughter, Yarman met his partner Zhang Ze near the passenger terminal.

This guy stood by the railing, looking like he had been waiting for him for a while.

Seeing Yarman approaching, he made a sigh of relief and welcomed him with open arms.

"I've got to say congratulations... and thank heaven and earth, our passengers are finally off the ship."

The main project of the Hanging Wall Labor Intermediary relies entirely on Yarman's fleet.

Along the entire Death Coast, probably only his ships can freely enter and exit West Sail Port and buy serfs from local farm owners at the cheapest prices.

Looking at Zhang Ze, Yarman smiled and hugged him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thank you."

Zhang Ze rolled his eyes, smiled, and pushed this guy's shoulder away.

"Thank me for what? It's your ship, am I going to urge you to kick your compatriots off? But, shouldn't we start the next trip quickly? I feel this business might soon end, we better hurry."

Yarman gave him a strange look.

"Did you hear something?"

Zhang Ze said with a bitter smile.

"Heard something? My friend, are you not reading the newspapers? The tone of public opinion has completely swung to the other side, I'm worried that if this continues, the Alliance will prohibit us from directly sending Poluo people to the Death Coast."

It's actually quite easy to do that.

The representatives just need to legislate to ban companies registered with the Alliance from providing financial services to survivors who have never been to the Alliance.

If they can't help those serfs borrow money to redeem themselves, or if the redemption debt is not acknowledged, the whole business will immediately become unprofitable.

Doing this at that point would purely be charity.

After all, the Poluo people couldn't possibly save up the fare out of the Death Coast by moving boxes at West Sail Port.

At that time, they can only do business for the wealthy or shrink the scope of business to Mammoth City and Jinjaron Harbor.

Yarman's expression became troubled.

"That is indeed a problem..."

Zhang Ze shrugged his shoulders.

"Didn't you know someone from the representatives? You better talk to that person named Gu... see if there's a way to compromise."

"I'll talk to him, but if he's already made up his mind, I'm afraid my opinion won't be of much use."

After all, that person is a representative of the Alliance, and his words and deeds have shown that he will prioritize the interests of Alliance citizens first.

Currently, the conservatives' opinions hold absolute sway within the Alliance.

The only optimistic thing is that the Alliance's conservatives probably don't have the time and energy to discuss these detailed issues, their entire focus is likely on the related immigration regulations.

This is their core interest and is also the point that most touches the Radical Faction's sensitive nerves.

Yarman promised his partner Zhang Ze that he would try to contact a representative of the Alliance and start the next voyage as soon as possible.

After saying goodbye to Zhang Ze, he was about to leave the port when he was suddenly stopped by a Weilante person.

"Hello, are you Mr. Yarman?"

Hearing someone call his name, Yarman stopped and looked at the person.

The person was dressed in plain casual clothes, but his polite manner did not seem ordinary, suggesting he was probably well-educated and worth a lot.

Yarman was sure he didn't know him, so he spoke hesitantly.

"Sorry, may I ask who you are..."

The man smiled slightly, politely introducing himself.

"I should apologize for the sudden visit. Please allow me to introduce myself briefly, I am Greg, a trader around the City of Dawn, and the president of the Weilante Overseas Compatriots Mutual Aid Association."

Yarman gently furrowed his brows.

"Weilante Overseas Compatriots Mutual Aid Association?"

It was the first time he had heard of this organization.

Greg smiled and nodded, explaining.

"Simply put, it is a civilian organization where Weilante people outside the Army control area help each other. We are committed to providing convenience in information and assistance within the legal constraints of the local laws and regulations... could I take up a bit of your time? There are things I'd like to discuss with you."

Hearing Greg's explanation, Yarman slightly relaxed his inner vigilance.

However, at that moment, he heard a hint of "Southern region" accent from the man's words.

This guy is from Yavente City!

He wouldn't be mistaken!

Traveling frequently in the Wasteland, Yarman immediately became more alert in his heart, his caution returning.

"...Wait, you said you are a civilian organization, Weilante people helping each other?"

Greg smiled and nodded.

"Exactly, if you encounter any trouble, you can also contact us—"

"I don't need your help, but I want to ask, what were you doing before? Where were you two weeks ago when the Weilante people needed you the most?"

Facing this questioning tone, Greg's expression was somewhat embarrassed, coughing as he said.

"Well... I'm so sorry, I only recently learned about your situation, and I rushed over immediately after hearing you needed help... though it seems I came too late."

Yarman's face stayed neutral, but inside he sneered.

At least half a month had passed, but coming from the City of Dawn should not have taken this long.

However, he wanted to know the Association's reason for targeting him, so he asked.

"What do you want from me?"

Looking at the obviously distrustful expression, Greg sighed and said helplessly.

"Please don't be so nervous, we just noticed that you are quite influential among the people and want to recruit you into our organization..."

As he spoke, he took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Yarman.

"This is my business card, please accept it... Additionally, considering that the Weilante people already make up a significant portion of No. 1 Settlement, we plan to set up a branch of the Association there. After hearing about your deeds, we unanimously believe that you, who always keep Weilante interests in mind, are the best candidate for the branch leader."

"I'm afraid I can't help you," Yarman said as he took the card and tucked it into his pocket, "I'm going overseas soon and won't be staying here long-term, you should choose another candidate."

"Understood, most of the people in the Association have their own businesses as well," Greg nodded and said with a smile, "However, you might still consider our offer; we never treat our 'own people' poorly, as long as you are willing to become one of us."

"My phone number is on the card, please do contact me if you change your mind."

Leaving behind these meaningful words, Greg nodded slightly and hurriedly turned and left.

The entire conversation took less than a minute, and the guy didn't even have the decency to invite him to a meal - he came in a rush and left just as quickly.

Yarman shook his head with a smile, putting the matter aside.

His instincts told him that trouble was brewing behind the scenes, but he really didn't want to get involved.

However, he hadn't taken more than two steps before running into another unfamiliar face.

The person looked quite ordinary, yet their build was robust, stretching a sea-blue shirt taut.

Unlike Greg earlier, this person looked like someone who did physical labor.

He had no intention of demeaning manual laborers, but Yarman had already met enough new faces today.

Seeing the person was clearly coming towards him, he chuckled bitterly and said.

"Alright, who are you, what do you want from me, let's get straight to the point..."

The newcomer indeed did not beat around the bush.

He directly pulled out a palm-sized booklet from his chest, bearing the Alliance emblem and another insignia Yarman did not recognize.

And the next thing the man said stunned Yarman to his core.

"From the Guards Corps."

"We have a case here, please cooperate with us."

...

Time unknowingly slipped into late September.

After staying in Weifu City for nearly two weeks, Chu Guang set off once more on his journey.

This time, however, he chose not to take the train; instead, he switched his mode of transport to Huge Rock Military Industry's "Viper" transport plane.

In addition, he adjusted his next destination, putting No. 1 Settlement as the last stop of the trip and choosing No. 10 Settlement, located at the northeastern corner of The Hague Province, as the first stop.

As for the reasons, he did not want to involve himself in the public opinion storm at No. 1 Settlement, among others.

Just the day before yesterday, the Guards Corps received information that the Southern Legion was planning to target him personally.

This was actually not so surprising, as most gamblers behave similarly; when they are cornered, they tend to take extreme measures and bet on unconventional strategies for victory.

Although the Southern Legion is far from being driven to desperation, the likelihood of their victory is visibly diminishing.

What choices they have at this point are few, and assassination of senior figures seems the most rewarding option.

And it's not hard to carry out this plan.

The Alliance, despite its unity, has offended quite a few.

Especially after the "shock therapy" aimed at the Eastern Provinces began, there were a multitude of Looter forces eager to eliminate the Alliance.

Although the Southern Legion's power on Alliance soil is relatively weak, it is not entirely absent.

They do not need to act themselves; they only need to fund certain Looter groups, and there will be plenty more than willing to act against them.

According to the intelligence gathered by the Guards Corps, an organization named "Weilante Overseas Compatriots Mutual Aid Association" is slowly making its way into their sight.

The founder of this organization is called Greg, someone who entered the Alliance provinces through the Great Desert by land trade, later running a building materials business around the City of Dawn, recruiting a group of Eastern Legion itinerant traders as members of the Mutual Aid Association.

The Alliance has always been supportive of civilian organizations, although never relaxing the regulatory framework within legal bounds.

And during the investigation into this Weilante organization, the Guards Corps discovered some unusual elements.

Such as Greg himself.

This land trader from the Eastern Legion, his business in the City of Dawn derives over 90% of its profit from maritime activities.

While investigating specific orders, the foreign trade department found a substantial amount of fraudulent orders.

A merchant from the Eastern Legion, making a fortune in an unfamiliar field from unknown sources, nearly had 'spy' written all over him.

In terms of intelligence work, a survivor force of a single ethnic nationality indeed holds certain advantages, up till now the Alliance only managed to plant a single mole "Pangolin" within the Legion.

However, the Alliance's Guards Corps are no pushovers either,

After reporting the news to Chu Guang, the Guards didn't startle the snake by hitting the bush.

Various signs indicate that this so-called mutual aid society is likely just a facade. There's a bigger fish behind Greg that's probably related to the intelligence network the Southern Legion has deployed within the Alliance.

At that moment, Chu Guang had an idea and dispatched a group from the Storm Corps to stand by at Death Coast.

It's better to lure the thieves out in one go rather than constantly guard against them.

Because of this, he set his next stop at No. 10 Settlement, which has the fewest population and weakest defense force.

Considering the previous "D97 train incident," this arrangement wouldn't seem abrupt, nor would it arouse vigilance from those coveting the view.

The night before leaving Weifu City, Chu Guang hosted a dinner for Li Jinrong, the Southern Construction Corps leader, along with several high-ranking officials, joking that through their efforts, the place had already become a livable spot that makes people reluctant to leave.

Unexpectedly for Chu Guang, the next day, he saw his exact words on the outer wall of a landmark building in the center of Weifu City.

"This guy."

Watching the scrolling subtitles, Chu Guang smiled and shook his head, resting his head on the backseat, preparing to close his eyes and rest for a while.

Just then, a light blue holographic window appeared before his eyes, accompanied by Xiao Qi's pleasant voice.

"Master, there's a call from the Legion Embassy. Shall I connect you now?"

Chu Guang initially planned to have Cheng Yan take the call, but quickly reconsidered. Since Bennott had contacted him several times previously through diplomatic channels, and this time it was a direct call, it likely meant something urgent.

Thinking this, he abandoned his initial idea and said to Xiao Qi.

"Connect it."

"Alright!"

Replying enthusiastically, Xiao Qi vanished from the light blue holographic window. As the progress bar completed, Centurion Bennott's face soon appeared on the screen.

Seeing Chu Guang on the screen, Bennott exhaled a deep breath.

"Thank heavens, it's not easy to meet you. I've finally contacted you."

Seeing his exaggerated demeanor, Chu Guang chuckled and said.

"Meeting me is the same as meeting Cheng Yan. Alliance's foreign affairs are mainly handled by him, so whether you seek me or not won't make much difference."

Unperturbed, Bennott chuckled.

"Not necessarily."

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Stop being cryptic; the signal here isn't great. Just say what you need."

Bennott got straight to the point.

"You aren't in the City of Dawn recently, right? You should pay more attention to your personal safety."

"My personal safety?" Chu Guang slightly paused, then smiled, "I didn't expect my personal safety would need a reminder from the Legion's envoy. Do you have any news on this?"

Seeing Chu Guang still joking around, Bennott's voice inadvertently carried a hint of seriousness.

"I'm not joking with you. I know you have quite a few bodyguards with you, but those targeting you are also strong. Let's put it this way; they're from the Southern Legion Army Intelligence Bureau... I'm unsure if they'll act directly or hire someone, but they are already moving on this."

Chu Guang's eyebrows slightly raised with intrigue.

"Is this news from Triumph City?"

Bennott hinted ambiguously.

"Sort of, you can see it as the Civil Official Group's tit-for-tat, or understand that your demise doesn't align with our interests."

Chu Guang could sense the genuine concern coming from Bennott.

Even though just a year ago, this old man wished he'd drop dead instantly.

It's evident Triumph City's control over the Southern Legion has weakened to the point of needing help from adversaries to maintain internal balance.

"Death is a bit premature for me," Chu Guang said with a light smile as he looked at Bennott's serious face, "but thank you for the information, I'll be mindful."

The intelligence shared by the Civil Official Group wasn't new to him, but the underlying information was quite valuable for him.

The Legion is on the brink of collapse, needing just one final trigger.

After hanging up, Chu Guang looked at the heavily armed Lu Bei sitting across from him and spoke warmly.

"Looks like this journey won't bore you, even Triumph City is warning us that danger is creeping closer."

Lu Bei hesitated for a moment before saying.

"...Respected Manager, I still suggest you be more careful, wait in a safe place until we've resolved the trouble before continuing the journey."

He actually wished to advise Chu Guang to stay in a shelter or go to the nearest one.

But he also knew that even if he said this, the respected Manager wouldn't listen.

Sure enough, after hearing his advice, Chu Guang merely laughed.

"How could that be?"

"I'm already here; if I don't move around, my bones will rust."

Not long ago, his level had reached Level 70, and the Gene Sequence had climbed to the eighth phase.

He would show those restless rodents how foolish it was to target him.

Chapter 916: The Southern Legion's "Qi Tactics

"Recently, due to weather issues, the Alliance Managers have made adjustments to their itinerary for visiting the Southern Alliance Region..."

In the restaurant located in the harbor area of the No.1 Settlement, the radio was playing the day's news.

It was now four in the afternoon, and although the restaurant was open, it was clearly far from the busy time.

Sitting by the window display, Yarman occasionally glanced outside the restaurant, seemingly waiting for someone.

At this moment, the sound of a wind chime came from the door. He looked up and met eyes with Greg.

"I knew you would definitely contact me."

"Why do you say that?" Yarman slightly raised an eyebrow.

Greg squeezed his eyebrows at him and continued in a humorous tone.

"Isn't it obvious, loyalty to the Marshal is the factory setting for every Vellante; for honor and loyalty, we're willing to give our lives, even if our feet are far from Triumph City. If the Alliance thinks they can buy us off with some petty benefits, they are sorely mistaken."

Pulled out a chair and sat opposite Yarman, Greg smiled brightly at the approaching waitress, "Just a black coffee."

"Certainly, sir."

The Moon Clan girl gave a gentle smile, her graceful figure soon floating behind the bar.

Yarman took a deep breath, looking around slightly uneasy.

"Should we find a more secluded place?"

"No need, the view is broad here. Once you're used to it, you'll know; discussing some things in public is actually better than behind closed doors. After all, no precaution can completely prevent eavesdropping..."

Watching the waitress with coffee approaching, Greg nodded politely and smiled at her, only looking back at Yarman after she returned to the bar.

"The sound from the radio is enough to cover our conversation."

"Alright, I was just being cautious. Since you don't mind, let's get straight to the point..." Yarman spoke quickly, taking a sip of lemon water to mask his nervousness.

"As you wish." Greg took a paper from his pocket and gently laid it on the table.

Surprised by the open approach, Yarman looked at the paper, his expression growing more astonished.

"This is..."

"The Tsunami Plan," Greg spoke leisurely, "The Alliance has been sending aid supplies to Poluo Province through the Baiyue Strait and Silver Moon Bay. As long as we can seize the Baiyue Strait, we can cripple them."

Yarman looked at him in shock.

"But doesn't this mean—"

Greg smiled slightly.

"Declaring war on the Alliance, right? I know what you're worried about, but this is part of our strategic deployment. Opening up a second battlefield on the Alliance's territory is necessary. Only by doing so can we bring our allies into the battle chariot."

Looking at this madman, Yarman's Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"...Are you working for the Southern Legion Army Intelligence Bureau? That... legendary Bureau 2?"

"That's right. Surprised? Actually, it's not just Bureau 2, but also the General Staff."

With a flick of his finger by the water jug, Greg gently poured water over the paper.

As the water soaked the paper, the words gradually faded like melting snow.

However, Yarman had already photographed the paper's contents, so he didn't mind the destruction of the evidence.

Having shown his sincerity, Greg continued in a calm tone.

"Actually, we got our inspiration from the residents of Evernight Harbor. Since the Alliance is willing to accept the Vellante without reservation, why not use this chance to have real soldiers infiltrate their ranks and then... boom."

As he spoke, Greg opened his clenched right hand, as if it were a bursting fireworks display.

He wore a brilliant smile on his face, speaking merciless words.

"...Just like fireworks, they will be blown to smithereens by us."

Listening to this crazy plan, Yarman felt as if there was a devil sitting in front of him.

If this plan succeeds...

The Vellante would probably become the world's most infamous dung.

But this might also fulfill the Southern Legion's wishes.

Sometimes facts are counterintuitive. Although the legions bind the Vellante with honor, the organization composed of Vellante doesn't treasure honor as the "honorable Vellante" do.

In fact, they wish the Vellante to become those infamous dung.

After all, the worse the Vellante reputation, the less others show good faces when mentioning them, and the more reliant on the Legion the Vellante become.

Just like a dung beetle with its ball of dung.

Yarman swallowed.

"...This is a genius idea."

Greg smiled faintly.

"You're too kind."

Yarman: "But what about your own business? Won't your business be affected?"

It wasn't surprising that Yarman would ask this question. Greg chuckled and then lowered his voice to speak.

"That kind of thing is just a facade. Besides... you don't need to worry about the business being affected. We never mistreat those who work for us. Once our plan succeeds, I can guarantee you a thirty percent share of the trade in Potato Harbor, and you will be granted the title of Ten Thousand Leader... You won't have to live a wandering life anymore."

A facade...

It seems the so-called mutual aid society is also a facade.

Yarman took a sip of lemon water, calming himself down while putting on an intrigued look.

"How many people do you have?"

"Two squads of ten thousand troops." Greg held up two fingers, "Most of the Alliance's combat-ready armies are deployed in Poluo Province; over twenty thousand people are enough for us to take Baiyue Strait."

"Twenty thousand?!"

Yarman's mouth twitched, unable to help but continue speaking.

"Are you joking? I only have twelve ships; 5,000 people are already my carrying capacity limit."

Greg smiled and reassured him.

"Don't worry about that. To implement this plan, we specifically purchased five container ships through our own contacts... We will load the soldiers into the containers along with their weapons. I need your team to provide cover for them, then dock at Potato Harbor. When the local customs open the boxes, our soldiers will jump out and give them a shock."

Pausing slightly, he continued.

"The warehouses in Potato Harbor store military aid sent to Poluo Province; these equipages can be just used for us. After occupying Potato Harbor, we will immediately block the Baiyue Strait and, under the cover of the Western Legion, send our heavy artillery boats inside to establish a frontline base in Baiyue Province, advancing along the coastline towards Death Coast... By then, the entire Alliance will fall apart under our attack."

Yarman pinched the bridge of his nose, speaking with a headache.

"I always feel like there are a lot of problems with your plan... Also, why are you so confident that just landing in the Alliance will turn the tide? You should have witnessed their cohesion."

"I know, of course, I know. Ever since I came to the Alliance, I have been observing them... including their weaknesses," Greg said with a smile, "for instance, their Managers."

Looking at Greg's mysterious smile, Yarman raised an eyebrow lightly.

"I remember he's still young."

"Then let something happen to him."

Adding some sugar to his coffee, Greg gently stirred it with a teaspoon and continued unhurriedly.

"Under his leadership, they have indeed united quite a number of people, but there are also plenty who hate them, like a shadow under the sunlight... Those guys are lurking in places beyond the reach of the light of order, ready to strike their enemies a fatal blow at any moment. If they rely only on themselves, they may wait until the next life and still not have this opportunity, but with our help, it's different."

Yarman stared at him in shock, gradually understanding his plan.

"...You want to replicate the Bone Chewing Chaos?"

"Bone Chewing Chaos?" Greg sneered, "The Eastern Legion could never be successful because they wavered when they should have stood firm, but we will not make such a mistake. We deploy personally, direct command, provide them with all necessary weapons and equipment... The entire plan is foolproof, and they will pay dearly for opposing us."

Seeing that Yarman still wanted to ask something, Greg coughed to interrupt him before he could speak.

"Enough, are we getting off-topic? The decapitation operation is handled by someone else; let's get back to our 'Tsunami.' Your job is simple, just help our people land, and leave the rest to the professionals."

At this point, Greg fixed his gaze on Yarman, waiting for his response.

Yarman knew very well that knowing so much, if he dared to say no, he might not even see the moon tonight.

He couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart, but his face remained calm. After seriously contemplating for a long time, he slowly nodded.

"Leave it to me."

Hearing this expected answer, a bright smile once again appeared on Greg's face.

"Congratulations, you have chosen the right path."

Leaving these words, he stood up, gently patted Yarman's shoulder, picked up the damp piece of white paper and stuffed it into his pocket, then headed to the restaurant's bar.

He had added a whole plate of sugar to his coffee, it was likely sickly sweet, yet he hadn't taken a sip.

Watching Greg leave after paying, Yarman gave a bitter smile, picked up the lemon water on the table, and took a sip.

Seeing the waitress coming to clean the tableware, he removed the button from his collar and placed it gently on the table.

"You all heard, didn't you... Do I still need to do anything?"

The Moon Clan girl smiled at him brightly while tidying up the table.

Even picking up hairs that had fallen onto the table and chairs.

"No need, sir, we'll take care of clearing the tableware, you just proceed with today's schedule. Thank you for supporting our business, and wish you a pleasant life."

Yarman made a helpless expression.

If he could, he really wouldn't want to get involved in this kind of thing, and he initially planned not to.

The Guards Corps didn't force him to cooperate with them on the case; if he was unwilling, he just needed to promise confidentiality and not to contact anyone related to the mutual aid society again.

However, after thinking about the tragedy at West Sail Port, he immediately dismissed the idea of staying uninvolved.

No one can truly be uninvolved.

When things find you, one foot is already in the game, pretending everything doesn't concern you won't make you or your family any safer.

He couldn't wait until everything happened to learn from the Poluo people and explain to the united survivors—

"Not all Poluo people are like this."

The pale excuse was hardly even a comfort...

...

The "Tsunami" aimed at Potato Harbor was like an arrow ready to be released, with container ships full of soldiers departing from Evernight Harbor.

Under Greg's operations, a batch of weapons had already been loaded onto the cargo ship at the No. 1 Settlement, sent to Potato Harbor under the guise of military aid to the countries of the Poluo Province.

Meanwhile, Yarman's fleet also set sail, heading straight for West Sail Port.

They would rendezvous at West Sail Port and then head directly through the Poluo Sea to the Baiyue Strait.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

At this moment, the Alliance's attention was fully diverted to Poluo Province... at least in the eyes of the high command of the Southern Legion, their entire plan was flawless.

As long as their troops could control Potato Harbor, the entire Poluo Sea could become the Southern Legion's backyard!

On the other side, the operation codenamed "Guillotine" was also silently in progress.

At the same time Greg was heading to the No. 1 Settlement to develop his network, another formidable warrior of the Southern Legion, Wyatt Chilarch, arrived at the border of Haiye Province and Yue Ma Province—a place situated among the ruins in the mountains.

Here lay the old site of Rock Mountain City, about a hundred kilometers from the coastline, and roughly the same distance to the Alliance's No. 10 Settlement.

Two centuries ago, this was a prosperous coastal city, but now it was nothing more than a skeleton of rusted steel and some patches of pockmarked concrete boxes.

The entire area of Rock Mountain City was not large, similar to West State City by the lake, and its urban planning was mainly for leisure and vacation, so it didn't have as many skyscrapers as Qingquan City.

In the previous Torch War, the corporation's 101st Mountain Division was stationed here, but they withdrew shortly after the war.

With the retreat of order, it quickly became a paradise for Mutants and Looters.

"That's it up ahead... there's no road we can take, we'll have to park here and proceed on foot."

The driver, who turned off the engine, respectfully looked to Wyatt, seated in the back, and said.

"Hmm, this will do."

Wyatt compared the contours on the map with the nearby terrain, nodded, succinctly said a word, and then, along with two other exoskeleton-wearing aides, alighted from the vehicle.

As the two vehicles parked, two box trucks following behind also stopped one after another, with two exoskeleton-wearing soldiers and two "big guys" armed to the teeth in black metal getting off.

Within the Legion, these physically exceptional Weilante people were typically those who had failed in awakening.

The unstable fragments embedded in their DNA granted them superhuman strength and resilience, allowing them to fight like Mutants, ignoring pain and wounds.

The Eastern Legion usually assigned them directly to Sweeping Groups, serving as the main force in large-scale battles. However, in the Southern Legion, the Sweeping Group's role is mainly special forces, and these big men are often equipped with expensive implants and assigned to places outside of the front line as needed.

Especially in enemy areas.

Powerful and unyielding, they are like walking nuclear bombs, often capable of unleashing combat power equivalent to many full ten-man squads all on their own.

Unlike Greg, who belonged to the Army Intelligence Bureau, Wyatt and his subordinates were part of the main staff of the Southern Legion, with the rank of Chilarch.

Because of his military background, he was not only skilled in intelligence work, but also had a knack for operational command.

The West Sail Port massacre, previously orchestrated by the main staff, was one in which he participated.

During the subsequent Anush uprising, the battle plan acquired by Anush and the old part of the Grey Wolf Army supporting Absek was also one that he helped craft.

It is no exaggeration to say that Anush's capture of Tiandu within two weeks was at least one-third due to this man, whom Anush never met face to face.

Even if Anush himself was in the dark until he was shot on the throne.

And now, to open a second front against the Alliance, the Southern Legion's main staff sent Wyatt to Haiye Province to conspire against the Alliance Managers.

The risks of the entire plan were foreseeable. Once the Managers were deceased, they would undoubtedly face the Alliance's mad retaliation, with minimal chance of escape.

However, for the Legion, for the great success of the "Tsunami" operation, and for His Marshal and eventual victory, he didn't care about personal sacrifice.

As the group entered Rock Mountain City's territory, greedy and covetous eyes lurking in the shadows had already noticed the unexpected guests.

Most of them were Looters who wandered to this area following the footprints of migrating survivors.

The Alliance deceived the sheep from under their noses with broadcasts and hunted them in the wilderness, prompting them to hide in city ruins far from settlements.

The influence of the Alliance temporarily did not reach here, so they built nests in the shadow of the Alliance's heels.

All passing survivors or Commercial Teams became their targets of robbery. Sometimes, they would even cobble together engines to build a small boat and rob merchant ships at sea.

And the loot was often sold to Black Market Merchants, using the earned silver coins for supplies.

The Alliance never ceased pursuing, blocking, and suppressing them, but like trying to step on their own shadow, the Looters, present since the War Construction Committee era, had never been eliminated by any Survivor Forces.

As long as there were no-master lands lacking order, they grew like weeds.

However, it is worth mentioning that the Alliance's crackdown on Looters was indeed rare on this land.

It was precisely because of the Alliance's continuous suppression that the Looters, whose living space was continuously compressed, loathed those meddlesome Blue Groundhogs.

When Wyatt and his group stepped into Rock Mountain City, the local Looters mistook them for Residents of the refuge upon seeing their equipment.

After all, in these Looters' understanding, only Residents of the refuge would equip themselves with a bunch of expensive and cumbersome implants.

As for the Legion?

Most Looters from Yue Ma Province had never even heard of them, even though their ranks of Centurions and Chilarchs were essentially copied from the Legion.

Sensing the threat from the shadows of the ruins, a big guy moved in front of Wyatt, shielding him with a steel body like a Copper wall and Iron Wall.

"Ahead, threat."

Listening to the humming beneath the heavy steel, Wyatt smiled faintly, not paying attention to his subordinate's warning.

"That means we're in the right place."

After he finished speaking, he gestured for his subordinates to step aside, and shouted towards the desolate steel-concrete ruins before him.

"Do you want to be cowards all your life, rot in this godforsaken rat hole, or be brave for once, charge into those so-called civilized people's houses, loot their treasures, seize their wives and daughters, and grab a lifetime's worth of wealth!"

His booming voice echoed among the ruins, but no voice responded to him.

Wyatt wasn't discouraged; instead, he raised his volume and continued shouting.

"Think carefully, or go home and find a mirror, look at your pathetic bear-like self. The Alliance treats you like cockroaches, driving you everywhere, and your method is to hide in a ruin. I can responsibly tell you, if you can't unite and be tough once, sooner or later, even the places to hide will be gone!"

"At least now, the Alliance is pinned down on the western battlefield, giving you a tiny bit of hope for a counterattack—"

Before his speech was finished, a figure suddenly jumped down from the ruins.

The guy's physique was robust, like a cheetah, but his hair was messy, like it was infested with fleas.

Additionally, his wrinkled skin resembled a fur-stripped hyena.

And what was even more nauseating was his blackened teeth, as if they hadn't been brushed in years.

Watching the group standing before the ruins with vigilance, the man let out a low growl at the lead, Wyatt.

"Who are you."

All the soldiers standing beside Wyatt furrowed their brows simultaneously, except for Wyatt, whose expression remained unchanged.

"Wyatt, Chilarch of the Army, tell me your name."

"Claw, Thousands of leaders of the Cannibal Tribe."

The man stared intently at Wyatt, then shifted his gaze to the big guy next to him, unabashedly displaying the raw greed in his eyes.

Wyatt didn't mind, simply sizing up the man named Claw before nodding approvingly.

"Claw... that's a good name. I've already thought of a suitable prosthesis for you."

As he spoke, he pulled out a holographic computer pen, tapping it twice with his index finger.

Pale blue light quickly emerged, depicting a warrior with claws attached to his arms.

The little holographic figure startled Claw, but he was soon captivated by the mechanical design, unable to take his eyes off it.

"...How can I get it."

Seeing Claw's greedy gaze, Wyatt bluntly said.

"It's simple, just do the work for us."

Claw wasn't ambiguous, understanding that those seeking work with the Looter mostly had one purpose.

"Who to kill?"

Wyatt smiled as he spoke.

"Alliance Manager."

Upon hearing this, Claw's pupils contracted sharply, his face noticeably frightened.

Seeing the fear behind his gaze, Wyatt patiently continued.

"He's just one person, while we are a group. We won't let you act alone; we'll provide you weapons, help you draft plans, and even fight alongside you."

"And all you need is to muster the courage to stand with us; leave the rest to us."

Upon hearing these promises, Claw's gaze finally steadied, the faint hint of fear soon replaced by greed.

"You've got quite an appetite... wanting to eliminate that guy, you'd better be prepared for war with the settlement."

"Then let's go to war."

Wyatt looked at him.

"Tell me your answer."

Claw's face displayed a cruel smile, then without hesitation, he nodded his head.

"Do it! Done! But you must give us weapons and ammunition! Just claws alone aren't enough; at least arm equipment for two to three thousand people... if you can produce them, not only will the Cannibal Tribe listen to you, but every tribe in the city will listen to you!"

Wyatt's face showed a satisfied smile.

Though the number was a bit small, it was enough.

The target of the "Guillotine" operation was merely the Manager; a real battle was the work of the "Tsunami."

The Alliance certainly wouldn't expect this "assassination" to be an operation involving thousands.

And when they finally react, it would be too late.

Looking at the bright-eyed Claw, Wyatt smiled and extended his right hand.

"Done."

Chapter 917: The Root of Contradiction

After reaching the agreement, the group temporarily returned to the side of the convoy.

Looking at Wyatt Chilarch, who wore an expression of confidence, Ogg, the bodyguard and deputy beside him, said in a low voice.

"Can we rely on these guys?"

Hearing the concern in his tone, Wyatt smiled faintly and said nonchalantly.

"If we wait until we are one hundred percent sure about everything before taking action, we won't accomplish anything."

Ogg said in a low voice.

"I just worry that these guys might betray us."

Wyatt chuckled.

"That's actually the thing I'm least worried about; they won't do it."

Ogg gave him a surprised look.

"You trust a bunch of Looters?"

"Not trust; if these scumbags had even a shred of morality, they wouldn't end up fighting over food with rats and cockroaches," Wyatt said calmly while taking out a wet wipe to clean his hands, then tossed it by the roadside, "However, in this matter, they have no other choice."

...

After reaching a cooperation agreement, Wyatt and his group stationed in Rock Mountain City and soon arranged surgery for Claw, the leader of the Cannibal Tribe.

The surgery was very successful.

Their cybernetic doctor not only installed a set of retractable titanium alloy steel blades and radial bones for Claw but also strengthened the motor and neural components of his leg tendons.

Claw was quite satisfied with the welcome gift they provided, and other Looter Tribes in Rock Mountain City became envious, actively seeking cooperation with Wyatt, fearing that agreeing late would mean missing out on benefits.

As for those Looters willing to cooperate, Wyatt was also generous, with only two operating tables working overtime.

In fact, the expensive cybernetic body parts were merely to show the Army's sincerity and buy over the leaders of the Looter Tribes.

The real enhancements to the Looters' combat power mainly relied on exoskeletons procured from the Free State, as well as assault rifles and anti-armor rocket launchers.

Because the Southern Legion didn't have a fixed base in the Far East, even the surgical tables for installing cyborg body parts were procured from the Free State, using silver coins.

Those people were willing to sell anything, even weapons for opposing themselves, as long as they got paid.

But as far as Wyatt was concerned, they were clearly not smart enough.

What purpose could the Army have for buying these weapons? It's nothing more than targeting their "old friends" in the south, the City of Dawn.

At least, in Wyatt's view, once the "guillotine" operation succeeds, whether the "Tsunami" plan goes smoothly as expected or not, the Alliance is bound to fragment.

And once the Alliance disintegrates, its currency will quickly become a pile of waste paper.

By then, even if they have a pile of silver coins, they'll have nowhere to cry.

Meanwhile, as the surgery proceeded, truckloads of munitions gradually arrived near Rock Mountain City, with Looter Tribes in the city coming to pick them up.

In this way, the Southern Legion successfully gathered a troop of heavily armed drifters on the eastern side of the Alliance.

And those Looters, having received their equipment, also began eagerly preparing for action.

However, not everyone was confident in the impending war.

For example, some of Claw's Chilarchs were cautious about whether to join forces with the Legion.

It's worth noting that the Cannibal Tribe is only a thousand-strong Looter Tribe.

Although their leader, Claw, calls himself a Ten Thousand Leader, he doesn't have a ten-thousand-man troop under his command, nor do his Chilarchs command a thousand people.

This situation is quite common in the Wasteland, with some tribes having various Centurions and Chilarchs.

In fact, the only Looter Tribe that can assemble a true ten-thousand-strong troop is the Chewing Bone Tribe.

After all, those guys received Army assistance and gained quite a few people through their southern raids.

Yet, even the Chewing Bone Tribe, with tens of thousands of troops, ultimately lost to the Alliance.

The concerns of the Chilarchs are precisely because of this.

With the precedent set by the Chewing Bone Tribe, they struggle to see their own chances of winning.

Not to mention their force is somewhat lacking compared to the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Inside the meeting tent.

Seeing Claw enter, a burly Chilarch spoke with a hoarse voice.

"Boss, do we really want to cooperate with those guys? That Army."

His name is One-Eyed, and he was previously a Waste Land Wanderer in Yue Ma Province, working as a caravan guard for a while before becoming tempted by the goods of his employer and colluding with Looters for a heist, living away from civilized society ever since.

Later, as Survivalists from Yue Ma Province migrated to the Alliance's settlement points, the surrounding easy targets became scarcer, so he followed the migrating Survivalists to the Haiye Province area and ended up near Rock Mountain City, joining the Cannibal Tribe.

As for why he's called One-Eyed, that's a story that can't be explained clearly in a few thousand words.

The Legion fitted him with a mechanical prosthetic eye, and now his right eye has regained its light, with several additional features it didn't have before, such as zoom focus and ballistic calculation.

However, unlike other fanatical Looters, he wasn't thrilled by the Legion's charitable acts, nor did he think highly of the Weilante people's plan.

Eliminating the Alliance does them no good.

Those civilized people are like the source of the river, and these guys who live by plundering always need a river to fish dryland sustainably.

Moreover, speaking from a position of strength, a head-on clash with the Alliance doesn't seem like a smart idea.

If the Legion were truly as omnipotent as they bragged, why wouldn't they eliminate the Alliance themselves, instead of hiring mercenaries like us to do the Work?

Seeing One-Eyed's hesitant look, Claw didn't take it to heart but just said indifferently.

"What else then?"

One-Eyed lowered his voice and said.

"I've heard they have quite a bad reputation... In the north, the River Valley Province there were some idiots who listened to them and eventually got ground into a pile of dust."

"I'm sure the benefits the Legion promised them aren't necessarily less than what they promised us."

The people in the tent looked at each other upon hearing this, and many who were initially excited now wore expressions of hesitation on their faces.

They all knew who One-Eyed was talking about, none other than the legendary Looter— the Chewing Bone Tribe, which swept through half of the River Valley Province.

Whispers spread around.

"... This is a tough deal."

"Anyway, the weapons are already given to us, it's fine if we don't do the work, right?"

"Exactly! We've done black-on-black deals before too..."

"Selling them to the Alliance wouldn't be bad, anyway, if we disguise ourselves as mercenaries, the Alliance won't recognize what we did!"

Watching the whispering crowd, Claw sneered but didn't join the discussion.

He also understood that a direct confrontation with the Alliance wasn't a good idea.

But he also knew that once he was on this path, he had no other options.

"We have no choice."

Hearing the leader's voice, the originally chattering Looters fell silent immediately.

Seeing those faces, either anxious or ferocious, Claw raised his voice and continued.

"For us, this is not just a business deal; it's about whether we can survive in this Wasteland!"

"Think about why you are here!"

"The fat sheep of the Yue Ma Province have all run away, first, some survivors moved, and finally the entire Settlement moved. Without those Settlements, the Slave Master's Farms can't be operated. These guys are either moving or preparing to move!"

"And it's not just those Survivors Settlements, the Commercial Team from the East Coast doesn't travel by land anymore, they've taken their treasures to the sea!"

"Think carefully about why you're here!"

Seeing the speechless Looter leaders, Claw raised his voice further, injecting hatred into his voice.

"If we do nothing, those self-proclaimed civilized people will continue to strengthen their power, then build high walls along their borders, completely isolating us from the civilized world! Letting us rot alongside mutated creatures!"

"Listen to what they're saying! They're not aiming to eliminate just one or two Looter Tribes, but to end the entire Wasteland Era! To usher in a new era without us!"

"You think you're making a choice? No, you have no choice at all, or rather, none of us have a choice! We have only one way out, which is to wipe them out, carve their meat and mince it, throw their bones into the pot for soup!"

"Only after they perish will countless Survivor Settlements re-emerge from the Wasteland! Everything will return to the way it was, and we will become the most feared presence in the entire Wasteland!"

"For our future, they must perish!!!"

Getting more and more agitated, Claw let out a hoarse roar, shocking One-Eyed and other Cannibal Tribe leaders standing in the tent.

Everyone, including One-Eyed, realized that this deal meant much more than just a deal.

This is their only chance to survive—

If they let the order led by the Alliance continue to expand, sooner or later they would lose all living space!

"Fight against the Alliance's bastard dogs!"

"Chop them up!"

"Howl!!!"

The people in the tent responded with high morale.

They blew whistles, saliva flying, their pupils flashing fiercely.

Seeing the crowd's boiling fighting spirit, Claw's lips curled into a satisfied smile.

This was exactly the effect he wanted.

That guy named Chu Guang must die!

His hatred for him isn't just a day or two old, though that guy may not even recognize him.

Now as the Alliance's enemies come knocking, he finally sees a glimmer of hope for his dream to come true.

He will use these sharp claws in his hands to personally dig out that guy's heart!

...

While the group of evil spirits and wraiths howled, two "Viper" transport planes trailing plasma plumes landed one after the other on the landing pad outside No. 10 Settlement Point.

As the transport plane landed, Chu Guang glanced over the settlement, taking in the scenery of No. 10 Settlement Point.

Compared to No. 1 Settlement with a population of over a hundred thousand, this settlement with less than two thousand people was like an insignificant little fishing village.

A two-person high wall encircled the entire settlement, with houses of varying heights distributed along several straight main roads. From the diverse styles, it seems likely they were built by local residents, rather than by professional designers.

On the streets near the sea, many houses had racks for drying fish hanging at their doors.

It is evident that fishing is the main source of income here, followed by scavenging and farming.

Regarding local business activities, they are mainly concentrated in a marketplace near the northern road.

There are many local shops there, as well as trucks selling goods and purchasing products... most of which come from No. 1 Settlement.

According to the data provided by Xiao Qi, half of the survivors living here are soldiers from the Southern Construction Corps, while the remaining half are mostly survivors who migrated from Yue Ma Province.

Except for the players who are everywhere, there are almost no survivors from the City of Dawn or Dawn City living here.

This is actually quite normal.

The siphoning effect of the population from developed regions to less developed regions applies everywhere.

Especially in the Wasteland, development not only means prosperity but also security.

Even the survivors who migrated from the east would rather take a few more steps to the No. 1 Settlement with more jobs and a larger population, rather than stay in this relatively underdeveloped place.

There's nothing to say about the survivors of the South Sea Union, either; compared to Death Coast, Potato Harbor by the Baiyue Strait is their "spiritual home."

However, it's gratifying that even though this is probably the least developed area of the Alliance, infrastructure such as roads, power lines, and signal towers have been laid here.

Two concrete piers stood along the rocky coastline.

Although no container ships docked here, there were many fishing and salvage boats parked next to the piers that local residents purchased with loans from the Alliance's bank.

At this time, most of the adults had gone out to work, while the children were attending classes at the settlement's only school.

Even though the development here does not seem ideal to Chu Guang, judging from the positive work outlook of the locals and the bustling situation at the pier, the residents themselves seem quite content with their lives here.

After all, on the Wasteland, just living is considered a luxury, let alone living peacefully.

The Looter would often cause trouble for them, and even paying protection money could not save them from being extorted.

Even if there happened to be a survivor settlement like Giant Stone City nearby, there was no hope that their bank would lend money to improve their lives.

List, who ran the bank selling nutritional cream in Giant Stone City, Sid who managed the settlement, and even the Blood Hand Clan and Brown Farm were all unspokenly in a consortium of interests.

Including the seemingly bullied "Old Leech" of Bet Street and Li Jinrong, the itinerant merchant before he chose to go his own way.

Before the Alliance emerged, they were all part of the same oil extraction machine, merely occupying different "ecological niches."

And now, the Alliance, which has succeeded in breaking the impasse, is radiating new order across the Wasteland.

This strategy of cutting off the source is proving to be quite effective.

Most of the waste land wanderers have come to realize the benefits of order and no longer yearn to return to the Wasteland.

Even if someday they return to their hometowns, they will bring back the ideals and visions of the new era.

After the plane landed, Chu Guang met with a group of top local officials on the tarmac.

Including the captain of the militia of No. 1 Settlement, the squad leader of the Construction Corps, the director of the Guard Bureau, the mayor of the City Hall, and the only five locally elected representatives and regular members of the organizing committee.

Since he was already there, Chu Guang shook hands with each person, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then continued in a critical tone.

"...You don't have to go through these formalities with me. I'm most afraid of this kind of thing from you. Leaving aside Li Jinrong, the Southern Construction Corps is no longer needed in Weifu City; he's got nothing to do now, but clearly, you have a lot of work to do, so what are you coming to report to me for?"

"Get on with whatever you need to do. If necessary, I will come to find you."

Being given the cold shoulder, the mayor felt an indescribable sense of grievance and explained with a wry smile.

"We were worried about not doing our work well enough and letting you down."

Chu Guang: "In that case, you should not come to me, but should go and walk around the pier, and ask the citizens of the Alliance and future citizens what inconveniences they still face in life, or if they have any good ideas for the future of No. 10 Settlement Point. Their expectations are my expectations. If you want my opinion, you better spend time on them."

The mayor immediately said.

"I'll go to the pier right away."

Chu Guang: "..."

Watching the group leave reluctantly, Chu Guang sighed in his heart.

The people coming out of the Southern Construction Corps are a bit too obedient. Even after stepping down from their original positions and taking up new roles, they still cling to the old superior-subordinate dynamics.

It's hard to say whether this is a good or bad thing. There are both short-term pros and cons, but in the long run, the drawbacks definitely outweigh the benefits.

However, it's gratifying that despite such circumstances, there are still some young people with ideas emerging from these settlements, even if their ideas aren't entirely aligned with my own.

Thinking of this, Chu Guang suddenly wanted to have a chat with that recently prominent representative, Gu Ning.

Of course, this has to wait until he's dealt with the trouble at hand.

After meeting with a group of "NPCs," Chu Guang then met the Spring Water Brother in disguise not far from the hangar.

Meeting with players was much more relaxed.

Although on the surface, he would still display the authority of a faction BOSS to satisfy the players' immersion, he was internally in a relaxed state.

And there was no need to weigh the tone of his words, he could speak directly without holding back.

Taking Spring Water aside, Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"According to intelligence traders from the Free State sold to us, the equipment that their arms dealers sold to the mysterious buyer has recently entered Haiye Province. It can basically be concluded that the buyer's identity is the Southern Legion General Staff."

"Two people have entered our sight. One is a Chilarch named Wyatt, who is affiliated with the Southern Legion General Staff. The other is Condra, a Ten Thousand Leader from the Eastern Legion's 14th Ten thousand troops. He used to work for the Eastern Legion's Eastward Expansion Faction, and now he seems to have defected to the Southern Legion. Previous intel proves that the Chewing Bone Tribe's weapons were provided by this guy."

Upon hearing the name Condra, Spring Water Commander was momentarily stunned and subconsciously blurted out, "Holy shit."

This name is somewhat old; it even dates back to the alpha version, and he almost forgot about it.

Seeing the Manager pause without continuing, Spring Water lightly cleared his throat and said,

"Sorry, I was just a bit surprised, please continue."

"No problem," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "Anyway, that's the basic situation. According to our intelligence personnel's assessment, the Southern Legion plans to orchestrate an assault targeting me personally, with participating personnel mainly composed of Looters operating nearby."

"Holy shit, attack you?! How dare they?!" Spring Water was shocked once again, saying incredulously.

It's not that the possibility isn't there; it's just that the success rate of carrying out such a deed on Alliance territory is a bit low.

Chu Guang briefly explained,

"...This is what they consider the most effective decision based on the current situation. According to our intelligence personnel's estimates, the number of attackers may be around two to three thousand, and the possibility that they will use Weapons of Mass Destruction cannot be ruled out. Therefore, I plan to set the battlefield outside of the settlement."

Upon hearing Weapons of Mass Destruction, Spring Water's expression gradually grew serious.

"...Do you have any specific plans?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly and said,

"The plan is simple. Since they're coming for me, I might as well intentionally give them a vulnerability to exploit."

Seeing the shock on Spring Water's face, Chu Guang paused for a moment before continuing,

"I'm planning to take this opportunity to flush out the accumulated poison in this area at once. Although relying on one or two battles to eliminate the Looters in the northeastern part of Haiye Province is unrealistic, using crushing might to intimidate them is also a good method."

After all, those who are coming will come anyway, so why not use the Southern Legion's plot against them?

"Having the cake and eating it too," is something that Chu Guang, as a master strategist, is quite adept at.

However, after hearing Chu Guang's plan, Spring Water Commander's face showed a troubled expression.

After a moment of hesitation, he spoke cautiously,

"Uh, although you may have already considered some unexpected situations, a certain planner might not play by the rules... Ahem, my point is there might be unforeseen variables in this. In short, I don't really advise you to personally be the bait; the risks are too high."

No way around it.

After all, this guy is the 'real Spring Water'.

The Dog plan emphasized more than once that if the Manager dies, the server resets directly.

If this guy wasn't also a permissions hound, Spring Water really wanted to put a bad suggestion on the forum to lock this guy in a shelter's culture tank.

This way, not only would there be no safety issues, but it might even have life-extending effects.

Tsk.

Thinking about it this way, I'm really too damn filial.

Looking at the loyal-looking Spring Water Brother, Chu Guang's gaze was a bit strange, and after a long while, he uttered a sentence.

"...When did I say I was going to be the bait myself."

Without waiting for Spring Water to speak, he continued,

"At that time, I'll lend you that set of Azure Power Armor. If they really pull out a Tactical Nuclear Bomb, you'll go up and hold it off for me."

Spring Water Commander: "...#@"

MMP!

This was careless!

Chapter 918: We're Here to Solve This Problem

The task of awaiting orders at Settlement No. 10 wasn't an official deployment; the main forces of the Storm Corps were still stationed around the City of Dawn, guarding against internal and external threats to the Alliance, and occasionally guiding newcomers. Therefore, Spring didn't bring many people.

Among the corps members who had already arrived at Settlement No. 10, besides the 300 or so veteran players, about 200 were newcomers who had only joined the group for a couple of months.

After meeting the Manager, the Spring Commander returned near the save point, preparing to save his progress first, then log off to discuss the next steps with everyone in the group.

Like how to play out this act of luring the snake out of its hole.

And then, coincidentally, he bumped into I Max Black, who had just returned from completing a task outside, and his eyes lit up, stepping forward to stop the unlucky guy.

"Old Black! I have an amazing set of power armor here, want to try it on?"

Stopped, I Max Black looked bewildered, unable to figure out what kind of shenanigans Spring was up to again.

However, seeing the eager expression, he instinctively became cautious.

"... No."

Seeing that Old Black had wisened up and didn't fall for the trick, the Spring Commander quickly tried to persuade him.

"Come on! It's the same power armor as the Manager's! This thing is not for sale, a rare opportunity you'll miss if you don't seize it!"

I Max Black chuckled coldly, swearing.

"MMP! When have you ever thought of me for something good? It must be another goddamn trap."

The Spring Commander replied in feigned indignation.

"You're smearing me! When have I ever had something good and not thought of you?"

I Max Black remained unmoved, laughing.

"Haha, when?"

The air grew silent for a moment.

The Spring Commander scratched his head for a long while, finally offering an awkward smile.

I Max Black sighed, raised two fingers, and gave him a way out.

"... 2000 silver coins."

The Spring Commander instantly replied.

"Deal."

I Max Black: "..."

MMP!

Feels like I asked for too little!

...

In a half-collapsed building in Rock Mountain City, a dozen Weilante people dressed in urban camouflage uniforms were meticulously busy in front of the terminal.

Since Wyatt stationed in the Rock Mountain City area, the Southern Legion General Staff brought in equipment and also steadily dispatched many people, transforming this abandoned building into the "Guillotine" operation group's temporary base, crafting more detailed operational plans.

With the support of the local Looters, the entire plan proceeded smoothly.

However, that alone was not enough.

They not only had to distribute weapons to those robbers wielding iron pipe rifles but also teach them how to use them and how to fight more effectively.

And these matters required the assistance of "professionals."

Fortunately, the Eastern Legion's Eastern Expansionists' undercover network in the Free State came in handy.

With the funds provided by the Southern Legion, Commander Condra easily met their requirements, sending not only weapons but also a group of experienced instructors.

Some of them were Eastern Expansionists who participated in the Battle of Falling Leaves, while others were officers from the Expeditionary Army period who had drifted to the Free State.

It's unrealistic to expect Looters to attain regular army combat power in such a short time; however, they can at least fulfill the role of Cannon Fodder.

Ideally, if they could eliminate the Alliance Managers just with their help, that would be perfect.

If not, they had weapons of mass destruction as a last ace in the hole.

For this, the General Staff prepared two action plans.

The first plan was to disguise the Looters as refugees, smuggle nuclear warheads into the enclave, and then have two additional thousand-teams attack Settlement No. 10.

As for the second plan, it involved striking when the Manager left Settlement No. 10, shooting down the transport plane with a portable anti-air missile.

Both plans had their advantages and disadvantages, but Wyatt was still not satisfied.

He hoped to make the plan foolproof, striving to leave no potential issues.

The operational meeting lasted the entire morning.

After the meeting, Wyatt walked to the broken window, lit a cigarette, and put it in his mouth.

Just then, an intelligence officer sitting at the terminal suddenly pushed back his chair, standing up with excitement.

"We have news!"

Hearing the commotion behind him, Wyatt immediately extinguished the barely smoked cigarette, rushing over to the intelligence officer, and spoke urgently.

"What's the situation?"

The intelligence officer, with an excited expression, handed the headset to his superior while reporting aloud.

"We've intercepted news from the broadcasting station of Settlement No.1! According to the news, Settlement No. 10 plans to build a new outlying district in the northern forest! The Alliance Manager intends to personally inspect the area, with the inspection scheduled for tomorrow morning at nine!"

Standing next to Wyatt, the heavily armored deputy officer Ogg frowned.

"Building a new outlying district? In that enclave with just over 2000 people?"

The intelligence officer excitedly nodded.

"That's right! According to the news, the new outlying district is meant to address the ongoing influx of Poluo and Vellante refugees... I've recorded the content! Put on the headset, and I'll play it for you!"

Settlement No. 10 didn't have its own broadcasting station; the news signal originated hundreds of kilometers away at Settlement No.1.

As he spoke, the intelligence officer tapped twice on the touch screen, replaying the recording he had just heard.

Wyatt, wearing the headset, listened to the recording from beginning to end with a frown, his stern expression gradually transforming into delight.

A moment later, he handed the headphones to Ogg with a smile on his face.

"It seems even the heavens are on our side... The two previous action plans are no longer applicable. Gather our operatives immediately, I need to hold another meeting!"

Ogg, who took the headphones, looked slightly hesitant.

He didn't put on the headphones right away but rather looked at the animated Wyatt and quietly said.

"I always felt something was off... We've eavesdropped on news from No. 1 Settlement before, but we never heard anything useful."

"There's nothing off about it. No. 10 Settlement rarely appears on No. 1 Settlement's news channel."

Seeing the worry etched on Ogg's face, Wyatt smiled and said.

"Also, that arrogant guy was wandering everywhere when he was in Weifu City. It's reasonable to assume that there's nothing worth seeing in No. 10 Settlement, and the local officials drew him a grand plan to coerce some budget... It makes sense logically."

Ogg let out a wry smile.

From what he knew about the Alliance, this seemed more like something that would happen within the Southern Legion.

But seeing his superior so certain, he had nothing more to say.

After all, it was the same in West Sail Port.

He always felt it was unreliable to stake everything on a bunch of ingrates, but the outcome wasn't bad.

Even if they didn't bet right with Absek, they still managed to take over West Sail Port from the civil official group, and made a legitimate claim to fight in Poluo Province.

Perhaps he was overthinking things...

Seeing the new deputy still unsettled, Wyatt placed a hand on his shoulder.

"...Listen, Ogg, we can't wait for 100% certainty before making a move. If you're worried about losing the cooked duck, we can send an air defense unit to the west of No. 10 Settlement and ambush the essential route to No. 9 Settlement, keeping a close eye on their transport planes."

Ogg let out a wry smile, nodded, and said.

"Understood."

...

At dawn the next day, the north gate of No. 10 Settlement suddenly opened.

A total of six military off-road vehicles poured out from behind the gate, heading discreetly towards the northern wilderness.

Despite their low-key departure, they still couldn't escape the notice of the Looter, who had been stationed outside the settlement on watch all night.

Kicked awake by his companion, the lackey hiding behind the dirt slope woke with a start and quickly grabbed his binoculars to look at the convoy.

The off-road vehicles were filled with soldiers clad in exoskeletons, even in the machine gunner position on the roof.

Their heavily armed appearance naturally struck fear into the heart.

Normally, this ragtag group wouldn't dare target such a convoy, but these weren't normal times; they had the backing of the Southern Legion.

This was a sure win!

The cars and equipment would all be theirs!

Two pairs of greedy eyes focused on the convoy as the Looter whispered behind the dirt slope.

"In the middle! The fourth vehicle from the front! Do you see it?"

"Let me see... Blue power armor!"

"It's him! That's the one!"

"Call the boss quickly!"

After confirming the target, one of the Looter quickly pulled out a walkie-talkie, babbling and reported his findings to their boss lying in ambush at the rear.

Meanwhile, about twenty kilometers away near the forest area.

Hidden in an abandoned small town, Claw wore a sinister grin on his face.

While ambushing here last night, he stumbled upon a few mutated tigers and with his modified combat body, easily eviscerated them.

At that moment, he was like a humanoid Claw of death, eagerly anticipating the upcoming battle.

If it weren't for the Southern Legion's financiers insisting on forming a battle plan, he would've charged into the settlement last night for a glorious slaughter!

"...That guy is mine, no one touch him."

Observing their boss's bloodthirsty demeanor, the small leaders standing nearby couldn't help but shiver, immediately smiling and replying.

"Don't worry, boss, we won't contest you!"

"We'll help you hold his arms down!"

Claw let out a cold laugh, his hoarse voice said.

"No need for you to act, I want a one-on-one!"

This would be a battle to make him a legend.

Clenching his right hand, watching the claws emerge from the back of his hand, a blissful smile crossed his face.

Meanwhile, on the off-road vehicle speeding north, I Max Black, encased like a tin can, struggled to move his neck, cursing loudly.

"Damn... Does the Manager wear this crap? What bullshit!"

This damn thing isn't even the Manager's suit!

No way!

To be precise, this thing couldn't even be called power armor! It's just a reskinned exoskeleton!

And that's indeed the case.

The standard for power armor is a nuclear-powered battery; this disposable hunk of iron naturally wouldn't have one.

And given someone's frugal nature, it's unlikely they'd use their own gear for such a decoy plan.

Although power armor has NBC protection, there's no saying any power armor could withstand a nuclear hit.

Being wealthy doesn't justify such waste.

Since Weifu City, Chu Guang knew someone was targeting him, and had already arranged for Huge Rock Military Industry to use the K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton as a framework to imitate a downgraded version of the P-10A "Order" power armor.

And the so-called imitation was basically just the appearance.

Including four "Raptor-1" turbocharged engines and a "Hippo-1" portable fusion reactor, all components related to power elements were removed, replaced with metallic hydrogen batteries, and then coated with a layer of Klein blue paint.

The entire armor set looks exactly the same as what Chu Guang usually wears, though performance-wise, they are completely different and not on the same level at all.

Listening to I Max Black's complaints over the communication channel, the Spring Water Commander grinned and said.

"Who cares if it is or isn't, you can't tell from the outside anyway."

The bumpy ride made him uncomfortable, and I Max Black grimaced as he complained.

"So what exactly is our mission?"

The Spring Water guy was silent for a moment, then sighed and said.

"...You've come this far on this mission, and you still can't tell?"

While speaking, I Max Black suddenly noticed that the brothers in the same vehicle were all wearing the Alliance's classic "Type Five" exoskeleton, with Guards Corps' paint and insignia on them.

Wait—

The same as the Guards Corps!

He had been so focused on this lousy armor that he didn't notice what others were wearing at all.

It wasn't until now that he suddenly realized.

"Damn! Could it be—"

Seeing that he had already guessed, the Spring Water Commander chuckled, revealing the answer.

"No biggie, when the fighting begins, just focus on drawing fire; try not to die too quickly, that's all... Of course, surviving is the best outcome."

I Max Black: "...@#%!"

Hearing the swearing, even Spring Water felt a bit guilty and coughed slightly before speaking.

"Alright... if you drive a bit further, you'll reach the combat area. We've detected traces of Looter activity nearby, starting radio silence now."

"Good luck!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Spring Water cut off the communications for the entire team, and Old Black's cursing was cut off abruptly.

At the same time, a hundred kilometers away at the Rock Mountain City Action Base, an intelligence officer sitting in front of a terminal suddenly frowned.

He stood up from his seat and reported to Ogg, who was standing by the window a short distance away.

"We've detected a segment of radio signal..."

Ogg immediately looked at him and asked.

"Can you decipher the content?"

The person showed a troubled expression.

"I can… but I can't understand what they are saying."

"..."

Ogg was momentarily speechless, directing his gaze out the window.

A sense of foreboding lingered in his heart, but there was no time to make adjustments at this critical juncture.

Wyatt had already led all combat personnel to the vicinity of the ambush point.

Including the nuclear bomb they had purchased from arms dealers.

At the same time, a container ship loaded with 20,000 soldiers was on its way to Potato Harbor.

Regardless of whether this "Guillotine" operation they planned could proceed as expected, a new war was already on the precipice.

Hope everything goes smoothly.

He silently prayed in his heart.

Meanwhile, on the coastline west of No. 10 Settlement Point, a man who shouldn't have been there was inspecting under the guard of a group of Guards.

This man was Chu Guang.

After assigning the task of eliminating bandits to Spring Water, he headed outside the settlement with Lu Bei early in the morning.

After all, no one could guarantee there weren't any Looter or Southern Legion spies in the settlement.

Before the plan to lure the snake out of the hole succeeded, it was best for him to remain unseen.

And honestly, there wasn't much worth seeing inside No. 10 Settlement Point, but there were quite a few noteworthy landmarks outside.

For instance, on the beach not far from the settlement's enclosing wall, a beached derelict ship hung with seaweed was stranded.

The ship was quite intact, with the anti-rust paint not yet peeled, only a huge breach at the bottom.

This ship named "Golden Coast" was precisely the one sunk by the Torch Church from the South Sea Union.

At the time, this ship intended to land in the northeastern coastal area of Haiye Province to establish an observation station to study the so-called "Heaven" of the Torch Church, but before it could reach the shore, it was sunk by aquatic variant humans.

Later, with the Alliance's development of the Death Coast and the rise of sea salvage business, the ship was lifted out of the water by scavengers from No. 10 Settlement Point and dragged to the shore.

The South Sea Union initially planned to buy it back and convert it into a museum to warn future generations, but considering the island's small size, they ultimately decided to build the museum at No. 10 Settlement Point instead.

This also fulfilled the wish of the Golden Coast and its crew.

Currently, workers from No. 10 Settlement Point were cleaning algae and shells from the spaceship, and the construction of the museum would likely begin after this task was completed.

Apart from the remains of the Golden Coast research ship, heading southwest from here for dozens of kilometers lies a stretch of Glowing Sea coast.

Chu Guang learned from Li Jinrong that the place was called the Luminous Sea, allegedly a crater left by some radioactive weapon during a strategic bombing mission against the Mutant mucor mother nest.

It was said that two hundred years ago, the glowing sea was even more spectacular, its endless light filling the entire Death Coast.

However, nowadays, the radioactive materials there have decayed considerably.

According to investigations by a scientific expedition, the glowing phenomenon in the Luminous Sea is mainly caused by the aggregation of mutated mollusks attracted to radioactive elements.

Research on these mutated organisms has already been initiated at the Alliance's Biological Institute.

Initially, upon hearing the news, Chu Guang was a bit disappointed.

He expected to retrieve something like pre-war equipment or helium-3 fuel from that place, but all they found were shells.

Perhaps someday in the future, Heya's team at the Biological Institute will bring him new surprises.

But those are stories for another time.

Walking further down the beach, Chu Guang spotted a small cabin situated by the shore.

The owner of the cabin had constructed a rain shelter with wood and set up a simple fishing pier.

This seemed to be a place where local fishermen took refuge from storms or something similar.

Next to the cabin, Chu Guang saw an old man drying fishing nets.

Just as he noticed the old man, the old man clearly saw him too and looked quite startled.

Seeing he had been noticed, Chu Guang didn't make a deliberate effort to hide but walked straight over.

The expression on the old man's face was somewhat anxious, yet held a bit of excitement and curiosity.

"Sir... are you the Manager?"

Chu Guang smiled and replied.

"I didn't expect you to recognize me."

The old man smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head with his dry hands.

"You're kidding, who around here wouldn't recognize you."

Chu Guang continued to ask with a smile.

"You must be from Poluo Province."

The old man nodded and said with a smile.

"From Liuxi Town, right on the coast. Half a year ago, while fishing, I fiddled with the radio and heard the broadcast, came here to have a look, and then moved my family here."

Chu Guang spoke in a casual tone.

"How do you feel now that you're here? Compared to your previous place?"

The old man spoke sincerely.

"It's much better here, at least the fish caught are ours and don't have to be shared with the mayor's household. The market beside the highway sometimes has trucks that come to buy them, so there's no worry about sales."

"It's not just about the fish; my two grandsons and granddaughters are also going to school in the settlement, and every day there's a teacher to teach math and writing without charging money. Sometimes I feel a bit embarrassed... textbooks should cost some money, right? We're not without means."

Looking at the old man's genuine demeanor, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Don't feel bad about it; your grandchildren are the pillars of the Alliance's future, and we rely on them for our future. Charging them money would make us feel bad."

"Ah, you're joking again," the old man smiled with a hint of blush, "my little rascals at home don't have that much potential. It would be enough not to add trouble to the Alliance."

"You never know, life's journey is a long one," Chu Guang replied with a smile, then continued, "By the way, old man, is there anything inconvenient in your life here?"

"Inconvenient... I honestly can't think of any," the old man furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment before saying, "but I did hear some drivers complaining at the market; recently, quite a few Looters have migrated from Poluo Province, so now they need to take two guards when they drive."

Chu Guang was intrigued and asked.

"Do you know where they're hiding?"

The old man shook his head.

"Honestly, these guys are like cockroaches, everywhere and not just in one spot... finding out where exactly they're hiding is not easy."

At this, the old man chuckled awkwardly and said.

"But speaking of which, those bandit folks are everywhere on the Wasteland, not just here... compared to other settlements, ours is already pretty safe!"

Seeing the satisfied smile on the old man's face, Chu Guang chuckled and said.

"You might think it's enough, but it's not enough in my eyes. But don't worry, old man, we're here this time to solve this problem!"

As he spoke, Lu Bei suddenly approached from not far away, reporting solemnly.

"Sir, we've discovered an unidentified armed group to the west... they're equipped with unidentified Exoskeleton models and have off-road vehicles with missile racks installed. Based on the radar shape on the missile launcher, they seem to be anti-air missiles."

Chu Guang's expression turned somewhat peculiar.

"How many of them are there?"

Lu Bei replied solemnly.

"About a company has been discovered."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and said.

"Take me over to have a look."

Lu Bei hesitated but seeing Chu Guang's resolute look, finally nodded and said.

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, about 20 kilometers north of the settlement, the off-road vehicle carrying I Max Black finally arrived at the edge of the ambush point.

Players from the Storm Corps had already reached their combat positions, and I Max Black, clad like a can, grumbled as he got out of the vehicle.

Watching the guy's wobbly appearance, Wyatt, hidden in the shadows, suddenly furrowed his brow.

According to rumors, the Alliance's Manager was almost inseparable from that Azure Power Armor during daily outings, and presumably accustomed to its operation.

Yet, the guy in the blue power armor in the distance walked with an unfamiliar gait as soon as he got off the vehicle.

The previous excitement was suddenly replaced with a sense of foreboding.

But there was no time for further thought.

As the Alliance's Manager made his appearance, someone impatiently sounded the attack horn.

Gazing at the prey within reach, the suddenly excited Claw loudly hollered.

"That's the guy!"

"Charge and crush them!"

"Except for that blue can, leave it for me!"

——

(Thanks to "Li Huo Ah" for rewarding the alliance leader!!!)

Chapter 919: Who Is Ambushing Whom?

The crackling gunfire erupted in an instant, with bullets soaring through the air like a swarm of locusts, startling the players standing by the convoy.

No one expected the Southern Legion to have such tricks up their sleeves, managing to assemble an army right under their noses!

However, the only effect these guys had was merely to startle them.

Hearing the clanging sounds, I Max Black took heavy steps to swiftly dodge and hide behind the off-road vehicle.

His heart was pounding hard while he was still in the car, and indeed these guys were lying in ambush ahead.

Thanks to the bonus from his high perception attribute, he sensed the threat in advance.

So, the group didn't march straight into the enemy's ambush circle but stopped at the edge of it.

The opposite side clearly didn't anticipate their sudden brake, and the Looter forces hidden at the edge of the abandoned town hadn't fully opened fire yet.

Nevertheless, the firepower net formed by hundreds of people firing simultaneously was fierce enough.

"Damn! This bunch of bastards has quite the firepower!"

I Max Black was startled and didn't dare to stick his head out while hiding behind the truck.

The other players who came along with him, however, were excitedly yelling.

Half of them were newbies, and the other half were veterans in the legion.

But perhaps out of pent-up tension, even the old guys were shouting aloud.

"Prepare for battle!"

"Let's do it, brothers!"

The battle erupted in an instant!

However, Wyatt, hiding from a distance, felt more and more that something was off.

Especially when he saw that the blue "power armor" was scared into hiding behind the off-road vehicle, while a group of Guards Corps pressed forward, abandoning the Manager. A strong sense of discord filled his heart.

Is this guy really a Manager?

Although it seemed reasonable, it felt problematic in many senses.

"Hahaha! Try this!"

A strength-type player with the group excitedly shouted as he retrieved a heavy machine gun from the off-road vehicle's trunk, chambering it with a click.

The 30-kilogram heavy-hitting gun in his hands was like a chick. Holding the barrel with his left hand, he pressed the stock against the exoskeleton shoulder plate.

Aim the 20mm muzzle at a low wall 300 meters away, without a word he pulled the trigger, the tracer rounds spearing towards the Looters hiding by the low wall like javelins.

The fierce firepower quickly overwhelmed the other side, reducing several Looters and the wall to pieces.

Blood mist and rubble scattered in the air, the thunderous boom making people feel the world spinning.

The bloody scene sent chills down everyone's spine around.

No wonder they're from the Guards Corps!

The rumor is that the Guards are the Manager's ace troops, and seeing them today, they truly are remarkable!

Yet the Looters were just briefly intimidated by the scene.

No matter how fierce these guys were, they were just about thirty people, not even forming a full hundred-man squad!

Watching the lackeys whose morale shook, the leading Thousands of leaders clenched his teeth and shouted to the nearby Centurions.

"Hold steady! They're only about thirty! We outnumber them by hundreds! Even if each spits once, we'll drown them!"

He then grabbed a Centurion by the collar, spraying him with spittle as he spoke.

"Old Six, lead about a hundred brothers around their side! Bring the rocket launchers too!"

"Got it!"

The Centurion yelled, ducking through the chaotic battlefield, shouting at the hesitating lackeys squatting in front of a house.

"Don't just damn dawdle here! Get up with me, any more delay and the Alliance's reinforcements will arrive!"

Though fearful, the glaring exaggerated eyes ultimately pushed the men to grit their teeth and follow him.

They rounded to the west side of the abandoned town, attempting to use the trees for cover, and circled towards the convoy's rear to launch a surprise attack.

It's fair to say it was a decent plan, but they picked the wrong opponent.

Over a hundred lackeys flooded out of the town, and as they entered the woods, they ran face-first into a line of armor exuding an icy aura.

Unlike sharing ten exoskeletons among a hundred of them, each of these foes had a "big piece" for themselves, with a few even wearing "Xiaguang" power armor.

Yet it wasn't just these gears that were intimidating; it was the aura these warriors emitted.

These guys were battle-hardened veterans!

Just meeting the gaze of one power armor wearer sent a chill up Old Six the Centurion's spine.

It's the Storm Corps!

But why?!

Meanwhile, facing the Looters who delivered themselves to their doorstep, Kakarot, leading the squad, displayed a sinister grin.

"Damn, after guarding home for so long, finally a chance to stretch my legs—"

Before he could finish, a crisp "clang" sounded from his breastplate.

A Looter had shot him, but hitting the ceramic steel breastplate of his power armor didn't even leave a dent.

Seeing the clueless one interrupting him, Kakarot immediately drew a short javelin from behind and hurled it viciously at him.

"Whoosh—!"

The piercing sound tore through the woods!

With the dual bonuses of strength attributes and power armor, the javelin shot like lightning, pinning the Looter who fired back to a tree, causing the thick branch to sway.

The brutal means intimidated all the Looters, and several couldn't help but show fear, instinctively retreating a few steps.

However, there was also a gutsy fellow who steadfastly set up the rocket launcher in his hand.

But before he could fire, a transparent dagger slit his throat.

Transparent ripples dispersed in the air, and a player in an exoskeleton appeared beside him like a ghost.

With a splat, blood spurted into the sky, and the redirected rocket launcher shot straight into the crowd, catching several Looters off guard and blowing them away.

"Damn it... Using a high-explosive bomb on power armor, what were you thinking, man."

Return to soil & Rest in peace clicked his tongue, quickly activated the optical camouflage, and transformed into a transparent ghost moving towards the Looters around him, who were showing expressions of terror.

Meanwhile, the sound of gunfire like a torrential storm erupted in the woods.

The battle erupted instantly!

And quickly reached a fever pitch!

Faced with an entire company of the Storm Corps, the mere hundred Looters were absolutely no match, and the entire battle was a one-sided slaughter!

"Stop them!!"

Seeing that victory was hopeless, the Centurion named Old Six shouted in panic and started running in the opposite direction of the battlefield.

However, he hadn't taken two steps when a piercing sound traversed the air and went through his neck, leaving him hanging on a tree.

Stepping meteorically to his back, "Kakarot" reached out to pull out the blood-stained short spear, casually tossed it behind him, and fluidly took down the short-barreled submachine gun hanging on his power armor.

The nearby Looters looked at him with fear, their legs feeling as if they had been filled with lead.

Knowing they couldn't escape, they turned their fear into reckless roars and screams, brandishing their weapons and charging forward.

But in just a few breaths, the bullets pinned them to the ground.

After emptying his clip, "Kakarot" reloaded the magazine, glanced at the bodies littering the ground, his eyes devoid of the slightest pity.

These scoundrels have all stained their hands with the blood of survivors, they are no longer worthy of being called humans, even more detestable than the Variants in the jungle.

Cocking the submachine gun in his hand again, looking at the remaining dozen or so Looters, he said coldly.

"Leave no one alive!"

...

At the same time, Claw, commanding from within the abandoned town, heard the gunshots coming from the nearby woods.

Before he could gather his wits, a howling shell crashed onto the roof of a nearby abandoned building.

"Boom——!!!"

The deafening explosion shattered the house's windows, causing everyone inside to duck in panic.

"Damn it——why are there still shells?!"

A Looter with modified implants exclaimed in shock, the arrogance on his face replaced by doubt and uncertainty.

Claw was the same.

The deafening noise bewildered him completely.

Wasn't this supposed to be an ambush?!

Why are they bringing out shells, it feels like we're facing the Regular Army!

Before he could react, shell after shell exploded around him, scorching shrapnel slicing through the air with black smoke, the communication channel filled with chaotic shouting.

"It's mortars!"

"Seems like it's coming from the west!"

"No—! Wait, there's movement from the east too!"

The entire command channel was in turmoil, even though they hadn't been hit by EMP weapons.

Apparently, the other side disdained using such high-tech weapons.

Or perhaps they thought keeping their radio communications intact would only accelerate their chaos and amplify their fear...

Unable to control his subordinates, Claw cursed in panic and confusion.

"Damn it... what the hell are the Southern Legion fools doing! Where the hell is their heavy weaponry! Why haven't they used it yet!"

The guy named Wyatt promised him, saying they had a trump card in this town, just a button press away from turning the opponents to ashes in an instant.

Seeing his subordinates suffer continuous casualties, while the allies remained inactive, Claw couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Are those guys planning to keep that trump card hidden like a secret egg?!

Just then, a Looter staggered in from outside.

Claw instinctively drew his revolver and aimed at his head, only lifting the barrel upon seeing it was one of his own.

The man fell to his knees with a thud, looking terribly disheveled, wailing incoherently.

"Boss! Their firepower is too overwhelming! The brothers can't hold out anymore!"

Listening to the thudding shell sounds outside, Claw looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Impossible! They only have twenty to thirty men in total! You have two to three thousand, how can you not contain them?!"

"But, but..." The Looter was so anxious he was scratching his head, struggling to find an explanation.

These guys seem to have three heads and six arms, moving so fast they leave only shadows, as sharp-eyed as Eagles.

Although the Southern Legion also provided them with some exoskeletons, since they've only recently made the switch, it hasn't fundamentally changed their combat power.

The ongoing casualties among allies have especially shaken their will to continue fighting.

At the end of the day, they are just a bunch of bandits, far behind a Regular Army in both organization and training.

Three thousand might sound like a lot, but if they can't properly deploy on the battlefield, they're no better than three hundred.

Each person spits once?

They'd need the chance to spit first.

At this moment, Claw didn't even know that the two teams he sent out to flank had already been wiped out halfway by the Storm Corps.

In less than half a minute, yet another Looter ran in from outside, panic-stricken, and shouted.

"Boss! To our west! A team suddenly came out of nowhere! From the gunfire, there must be several thousand of them!"

Upon hearing this, Claw almost spat out a mouthful of blood, wishing he could crack open that guy's head to see what kind of rubbish was inside.

"That's bullshit! Where are there thousands of people! The entire No.10 settlement is only 2,000 people. Can they create people out of thin air?!"

The Looter's face turned pale, stammering and unable to speak.

Maybe there weren't as many as several thousand, but there were definitely a few hundred.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many brothers being chased back by gunfire.

However, before he could explain, a panicked shout, mixed with gunfire and artillery, rushed inside.

"Boss! The Alliance people... Damn, they are charging at us!"

Claw's face completely changed, and he walked outside in big strides, ignoring the roaring artillery outside.

Just then, a mortar shell landed not far away, making him stagger and almost fall.

At this moment, he couldn't care less about cursing, hurriedly rushing to the east side of the town.

It was at this instant that he happened to glimpse a power armor standing on the crooked street.

Around that person lay about seventeen or eighteen corpses, the ruins around them covered in a bloodied mess.

Fear flickered in Claw's eyes.

Only now did he realize what kind of adversaries he was up against.

This scene didn't look like they had been ambushed at all.

Instead, it seemed like they were more like prey being stalked by beasts...

At this moment, "Kakarot" didn't know that the leader of these Looters was watching him, much less the psychological drama going on with that guy.

Pulling a short spear out of a scrapped heavy exoskeleton, he shook the blood and fragments of bullet-proof armor off the spear, and facing the panic-stricken Looters, burst out laughing heartily.

"Hahaha! Damn, this feels great!"

...

It had been a long while since they had fought such a hearty battle, and the Storm Corps players charging into the abandoned town were like tigers among wolves, swiftly racking up kills.

Seeing the opposing fire weakening, which couldn't even be called perfunctory in the end, the thirty or so acting as bait couldn't hold their cover any longer, tearing off the disguise of "ambushed" and dashed towards the town 300 meters ahead.

Watching the players leaving cover and rushing forward, I Max Black hurriedly shouted.

"Damn, you guys cover me!"

Before the words were out, he was rebuffed immediately.

"Cover your ass! Just do your job as bait, stay here, and don't move."

"All in, all in!"

"Long live the Manager!!!"

"You should speak in United Human language, or else they won't understand your screaming!"

"Whatever!"

"Aawooo!!"

Evidently, this bunch of bastards didn't respect him like a Manager at all.

Seeing everyone abandon him to rush forward, I Max Black was left with no choice but to come out from behind cover and charge ahead after them, half-laughing and half-crying.

It wasn't that he was worried about being left alone.

It was mainly because he was afraid that by the time the fight was over, he wouldn't even have a single kill to his name, which would be too embarrassing.

Unfortunately, as a player with perception attributes, trying to use strength to support nearly a ton of exoskeleton was a bit too much, and relying entirely on the overburdened motor to catch up with the other players was not very realistic at all.

By the time he finally reached the abandoned town, the battle at the south side had basically ended.

The ground by the destroyed shanties and enclosing wall was littered with the corpses of Looters.

The scene, with its bloody carnage, was like hell itself!

Seeing the battlefield that no longer required him to do anything, I Max Black sighed and found a stone block to sit on.

"Damn! They didn't even leave me a sip of soup."

For a moment, he suddenly understood the feeling of the Manager.

A long time ago, that guy used to charge with them.

But at some point, they had developed to the stage where he no longer needed to intervene personally.

And rather than him intervening personally, they did indeed prefer him staying safely behind.

After all, that guy couldn't be revived like them, and the penalty for his death was so severe that none of them could afford it...

In this light, it did seem quite lonely, having immense strength but no avenue to use it.

But then again, I Max Black thought, that guy wasn't a player; his mindset might not be the same as theirs.

For all anyone knows, he might actually enjoy his life behind the scenes too.

That's one way to look at it.

The distant sound of gunfire had gradually faded.

With more than half the losses, the Looters finally gave up resisting, abandoning their positions one after another and escaping towards the outskirts of town.

But this would do little more than delay their deaths.

To this point, the Storm Corps had only deployed two companies of troops; the remaining three companies were waiting on the escapees' inevitable route.

According to the plan, Springs, ambushed along the road, would take down a portion of them and then track the footsteps of the remaining ones back to their base, where they'd eliminate them all at once.

I Max Black brushed off the dust from his armor, preparing to move forward and join his teammates.

Then, suddenly, a sense of danger crawled up his spine and reached the back of his head.

In that instant, a silhouette shot towards him like a cannonball.

Instinctively sensing the threat, I Max Black almost instinctively turned around, immediately meeting the sharp claws aimed at his face with a punch.

"Clang!"

The sound of metal clashing rang out, followed by I Max Black catching sight of a vicious face.

The person had a pair of sharp claws embedded in his arms, seemingly made of titanium alloy, which managed to chip his fist with two gaps.

Not only that, it seemed that the guy's legs had also been modified, as the explosive power and speed were clearly beyond a normal person's level.

Having failed the first strike, Claw used the recoil to flip in the air and landed firmly on the ground.

Reassuming an offensive posture, he stared intently at the Azure Power Armor, his tired eyes resembling a viper's forked tongue.

Seeing that this guy wasn't continuing his attack, I Max Black stood casually on the spot, waiting for him to make his next move.

It's not that he didn't want to take action himself; it was just that this iron lump was too damn heavy, and moving was too much of a hassle unless necessary.

After staring at the "Manager" for a while without finding a flaw, Claw let out a chilling laugh.

"Not bad skills..."

"Same to you."

"Hehe, I thought you pampered types were all cowards on the battlefield, but I didn't expect you to have some tricks."

I Max Black wanted to shrug, but his shoulder pads didn't move an inch, so he gave up.

"That's because you haven't seen me in action on the battlefield."

"Oh really?" Claw squinted his eyes, scrutinizing his prey before him, then suddenly smiled, "Your underlings are strong, but what you shouldn't have done was give me the chance to face you alone."

Seeing that his words were unusually verbose, I Max Black couldn't help but yawn.

"And so? Now that you've seen me, what can you do?"

As I Max Black yawned, Claw's pupils suddenly constricted.

Finally capturing that fleeting flaw!

His legs surged with power, exploding with terrifying strength, even cracking the concrete beneath his feet!

Those sharp claws turned into a mere blur, darting towards I Max Black like an arrow from a crossbow.

"Die!" He shouted excitedly, using every ounce of his strength to thrust his most potent strike at the person's throat.

From now on, he would become a legend among the Looters, worshiped by all Looters in this land!

He would personally decapitate the Alliance Manager!

But at that moment, a massive fist smashed towards his face like an iron hammer.

Claw was suddenly shocked, hurriedly raising his arms to defend, but they were firmly seized by the hand reaching for his face, catching the pair of titanium alloy claws.

The tough blade emitted a distressing hum under the heavy burden, but I Max Black finally breathed a sigh of relief as he gained control over his opponent.

Strength and reflexes were not his strong suits, but fortunately, this exoskeleton delivered somewhat, using scarce remaining power to drive the motors into overload, predicting the opponent's next move and blocking this deadly blow.

The blade embedded deeply into the steel armor, but this made the titanium alloy claws even harder to break free from.

Gazing at the Looter showing a terrified expression, I Max Black suddenly had a mischievous glint in his eye and a wicked smile on his face.

"Want to hear a secret?"

Without waiting for a reply, he unveiled the visor of his helmet.

"I'm not actually the Manager."

Seeing that face, Claw was completely stunned, as if electrocuted.

Not... the Manager?

Then what was the point of staying up all night here in ambush?!

Before he could recover, a compact javelin "whoosh" flew from the side, piercing into his humerus.

The titanium alloy components instantly shattered, leaving him only enough time to let out a pained howl before the ceramic-steel spearhead savagely severed his arm and continued to pierce into his rib.

Sparks exploded immediately, with Claw, speared clean through, dying instantly, collapsing before I Max Black.

"Damn... stealing the kill." I Max Black closed the visor of his helmet, tossed aside the titanium alloy claw in his grip, and flipped a middle finger at Kakarot not far away.

The latter chuckled, teasingly remarked.

"Wasn't I worried you couldn't handle him."

I Max Black rolled his eyes, unwilling to argue further.

"What about the nuclear bomb? Is it really there?"

Kakarot walked over, pulled the javelin out from the corpse, and put it back into the gun bag behind.

"We've already found it, right in the town center, but the opposition has already activated the nuclear bomb, setting it to explode in one hour."

Clearly, the opposition was planning to detonate the nuclear bomb while they were clearing the battlefield.

This hour was likely intended as their escape window.

However, the Southern Legion was unaware that the Guards Corps had been monitoring their actions for a long time and had already learned of this trump card in advance.

Planning to scare the Alliance with the nuclear bomb,

I Max Black's expression turned serious.

"Can it be dismantled?"

"Hardly, we've pretty much given up," Kakarot shrugged, but then switched the tone, smiling and saying, "Besides, why dismantle it?"

"Since there's still an hour, and we've roughly determined the coordinates of their lair, why not load it onto the Viper transport plane and send that thing back to their lair?"

Chapter 920: Light Blooming on the Horizon

With Claw's death, the battle in the abandoned town was over. The looters from the Cannibal Tribe and other factions either died or fled.

Based on the direction those looters fled, the Spring Water Commander roughly deduced their lair to be around the Rocky Mountain City ruins, about a hundred kilometers from No. 10 Settlement Point.

There are many ruins from the Prosperity Epoch to the northeast of Haiya Province. Without a specific target, finding these guys is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Perhaps deploying a few communication satellites into orbit in the future might solve this problem.

In short, after confirming the lair of these looters, a "Viper" transport plane urgently took off from No. 10 Settlement Point, flying at low altitude to the area around the abandoned town, loaded the aircraft with a nuclear bomb with its communication module disabled, and carried nearly ten diehard players towards the Rocky Mountain City area.

Meanwhile, on another front, the looters lying in ambush on the west side of No. 10 Settlement Point were still gazing at the clouds in the sky, unaware that their leader was already gone.

Sitting on the hood of an off-road vehicle, Rui Fu aimed his "new toy" at a bird perched on a tree branch, ready to test his marksmanship. Suddenly, the bird became wary, looking left and right, and flapped its wings to fly away unexpectedly, leaving him clicking his tongue in annoyance as he lowered his gun.

The Bumblebee X-2 assault rifle, produced by Huge Rock Military Industry, manufactured in Wasteland Era 210, was practically a clone of the corporation's G9 "Black Swan" assault rifle.

I've heard from the Southern Legion folks that in the Free State, you can get anything as long as you have money.

And the most crucial part is, they don't care if the trade is with humans or ghosts, nor do they care where the money comes from.

Although it's over a thousand kilometers away, if I get the chance, I'd really like to check it out.

Looking at Litt, who was lost in thought beside him, he used a casual tone to start a conversation.

"What do you plan to do after we're done with this gig?"

Hearing the voice from beside him, Litt yawned out of boredom and replied casually.

"I don't know, get a couple of bottles of alcohol, find a girl, and continue living as I am."

Hearing such a dreamless answer, the corner of Rui Fu's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

"Come on, don't you have any other thoughts?"

Seeing Litt's puzzled expression, he patiently continued.

"Listen, my friend, chaos is near... As the Southern Legion says, the entire Alliance will collapse in an instant, the Eastern Provinces will enter an era of our own, opportunities will be everywhere then."

Watching this guy who had been led astray, Litt sneered.

"Come on, did those big-nosed guys implant a prosthetic in you and secretly swap your brain? The Alliance wasn't even around two centuries ago, and when those blue ground squirrels weren't here, I didn't see any opportunities; people just got by."

"How can it be the same?" Rui Fu shook his head, eyes sparkling with ambition, "Those scavengers weren't as wealthy as they are now. We'll take over their farms, factories, and research institutes and use that wealth to build a nation for the looters!"

Litt grinned.

"And then who will we loot next?"

Rui Fu was taken aback, scratching his head, and mumbled incoherently.

"I haven't thought about it yet, but I've heard there are colonial lands from the old eras five light-years away."

"Are you going to build a spaceship to get there? Don't kid yourself, buddy." Litt sneered, dismissing the words as nonsense.

There were people who attempted to build a looters' nation but all failed.

The reason is simple.

Looters simply don't need a nation.

When there's nothing left to loot, they'll fight each other for the remaining scraps.

He's seen too many arrogant fools, mostly blinded by newfound power from above.

Looking at the still-unconvinced Rui Fu, Litt paused and advised in a serious tone.

"Believe only half of what those big-nosed guys say, and it's best if you don't believe the other half... Also, if you plan to go solo, don't let One-Eyed know."

"I'm just talking; I didn't mean it." Rui Fu nervously glanced behind him and laughed awkwardly.

The Cannibal Tribe is the largest looter tribe in Rocky Mountain City. The various chiefs, when placed in a neighboring Yue Ma Province, could be at least a regional overlord.

Because of this, the rules in this group are particularly strict; anyone who dares to have a second thought clearly doesn't know the meaning of death.

They are with One-Eyed.

That guy's ruthlessness has been witnessed by all of them.

At this moment, a unfamiliar voice came from behind them.

"Have you ever considered another way of living?"

"Another way of living?" Litt turned around and saw a guy dressed similarly to him, sitting on the back of the car without them noticing, facing away from them.

He didn't recognize this guy, but it wasn't unusual, as people die every day in the tribe, and there are newcomers all the time.

That impeccably articulate manner made him uncomfortable. He figured it was another "civilized person" picked from the prisoners by the chief.

However, the man didn't mind his indifferent tone and continued with a gentle tone instead.

"That's right, for instance... getting a job at the dock or picking bricks at a construction site. Of course, if you have a skill, there are more jobs you can do."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two sitting on the hood laughed loudly.

"Don't joke around, buddy, isn't that just like those naive fat sheep?"

"Save a lifetime of earnings and get robbed all at once? I'd rather be the one holding the gun."

The man smiled faintly.

"You're right."

That nonchalant laughter, which didn't quite fit the others' rambunctious laughter, made Litt frown. He reached for the rifle placed beside him, watching the man's back like a vulture.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Chu Guang."

Chu Guang...

Such a familiar name.

Litt frowned deeply, and his pupils suddenly widened.

"You, you are..."

Chu Guang jumped down from the back of the vehicle, landing on the ground, and spoke in a casual tone.

"I was just curious about what you're thinking, and now my curiosity is satisfied."

He glanced back at the two people who looked like they were facing a great enemy, paused, and continued speaking.

"Why don't you surrender yourself?"

"In your dreams!"

Before he could finish speaking, Litt roared angrily, raised his ready-to-fire gun, and pulled the trigger without hesitation, unleashing a burst of gunfire.

The fierce firepower was enough to tear through several millimeters of steel!

However, the bullets seemed so slow and feeble in Chu Guang's eyes, like a lagging slide show.

The whole world seemed to slow down.

He simply took a step to the side and easily dodged the blazing trajectories.

His movements didn't stop, and he then fished out a small-denomination silver coin from his pocket, tossing it casually at the man who had fired at him.

The piercing sonic boom pushed away the thick white mist, whistling past the slow-motion bullets.

Litt didn't even see what happened, only feeling a blur before his eyes, then his body below the neck lost sensation, and his vision spun up to the sky.

Standing beside him, Rui Fu was the same, staring wide-eyed with his modified electronic eye.

He only vaguely saw a shadow, then Chu Guang seemed to disappear on the spot, and then Litt's head flew off his shoulders.

A chill ran down his spine, and Rui Fu looked in horror at the man standing not far away, his legs shaking uncontrollably.

"...I...I surrender."

Unable to withstand the fear in his heart, he released his grip on the rifle leaning against the car hood and raised his hands, kneeling on the ground, pleading.

"Please don't kill me..."

Chu Guang glanced at him, didn't speak, and then turned his gaze to the body kneeling on the ground.

At this moment, a crisp and pleasant voice drifted into his ears.

"As expected of the master! It seems from the last upgrade, you've unlocked some amazing talents."

"It's got nothing to do with talent."

Chu Guang casually replied.

In fact, he hadn't even activated his talent, only using forty percent of his strength.

Perhaps Heya was right.

Although he still had 23 pairs of chromosomes, his distance from humans was growing ever larger.

Heavy footsteps came from not far off, and Lu Bei, wearing an exoskeleton, walked briskly over to Chu Guang with a head in hand.

Staring at the bloody head, Rui Fu finally saw the face clearly.

That guy was his boss, One-Eyed!

At the moment he recognized that face, his breath froze completely.

"The enemy units have been cleared. During the battle, we captured a vehicle-mounted anti-aircraft missile and several portable anti-tank rocket launchers."

"Despite our persuasion, the enemy leader refused to surrender and intended to resist desperately but has now been killed."

As he spoke, Lu Bei placed the head on the vehicle deck, placing his right fist on his chest.

The entire operation took less than three minutes from start to finish.

Chu Guang nodded, satisfied with the efficiency of the Guards Corps, and succinctly continued his orders.

"Send the surrendered ones to the POW Camp, and handle the bodies on the spot."

Lu Bei's expression turned solemn as he received the order.

"Yes!"

Kneeling by the car hood, Rui Fu was utterly terrified, unknowingly wetting his pants.

"Rehabilitate well, strive to become a new person... if you ever get the chance." Chu Guang glanced at him, dropped this line, and turned and left.

Watching the Alliance Manager's departing figure, Rui Fu felt both terrified and puzzled.

How is this guy here?!

Wasn't he supposed to be inspecting the forest area to the north?!

Just then, a rumble like distant thunder rolled in from the north.

The sound seemed to come from a far distance, and a faint glow appeared in the sky.

...What is that?

Rui Fu was stunned.

Not far away, Chu Guang also stopped in his tracks, looking towards the direction of the explosion sound.

"It seems it's already over."

Following behind him, Lu Bei paused, then smiled and nodded.

"Hmm... it's already over."

...

As two flickering plasma plumes streaked across the sky, the dazzling light finally descended over Rocky Mountain City.

The deafening roar not only brought down the half-collapsed buildings but also shattered the clouds in the sky.

A burning mushroom cloud rose from the ground, with the spreading shockwave sweeping away those Looters trying desperately to escape.

Even those Looters lucky enough to survive did not meet a good end.

Deadly Gamma Rays easily penetrated the indestructible concrete, leaving invisible yet fatal wounds on their bodies.

Only radiation antidotes could save their lives.

If they could explain how they got their radiation wounds, perhaps they might even buy some at the pharmacy in No. 10 Settlement Point.

But these are all stories for later.

Right now, Rocky Mountain City was in ruins, with horrifying corpses scattered everywhere under the rubble and debris.

Less than one in ten of the surviving Looters remained, and those still enduring were writhing in agony under the radioactive dust.

The routed soldiers fleeing towards Rocky Mountain City hopelessly halted in their tracks.

Facing the approaching Storm Corps, they could no longer muster any will to resist; the equipment that the Southern Legion had supplied them was abandoned on the ground, and they knelt with raised hands in surrender.

Everything was over.

In despair were not only the routed Looters but also Wyatt, the person in charge of the "Guillotine" operation.

Staring at the mushroom cloud that appeared in the opposite direction, his entire face turned ashen gray.

"No..."

He no longer had time to ponder how that nuclear bomb ended up in front of him.

At the same time the mushroom cloud soared into the sky, a group of soldiers in exoskeletons had already reached him.

Seeing the Storm Corps' emblem and paint, Wyatt's heart sank. He gritted his teeth and pulled out his sidearm to commit suicide, but before he could release the safety, an unseen hand seized his arm, pinning it to the ground behind him.

"Fire now—" He opened his mouth in a panic to shout but ended up with a mouthful of dirt as his head was pressed down.

The optical camouflage quickly dissipated, and a silhouette straddled him, holding a pistol to the back of his head.

Stunned by the sudden shocking turn of events, the six Vellante Guards standing around were at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Fortunately, the person atop their leader reminded them.

"Drop your weapons, raise your hands, or I'll blow your leader's head off."

With one hand pressing the struggling Wyatt who was trying to speak, the person atop him grinned and said.

Facing the ominous guns pointed at them, the six Vellante Guards wisely laid down their weapons, surrendering alongside their earth-eating leader to the Storm Corps.

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away in Rocky Mountain City, the shockwave from the nuclear explosion had finally quieted down.

Moving aside the concrete slab pressing on his chest, Wyatt's deputy, Ogg, endured the excruciating pain of his fractured bones and painstakingly crawled out from beneath the ruins.

The sudden nuclear strike had completely destroyed their stronghold...

The only fortunate thing was that they were destroyed by the aftermath of the nuclear strike.

Clearly, the Alliance was unaware of their exact location; they merely estimated a rough area and then dropped their nuclear weapons back from the aircraft.

Looking at his colleague struggling beneath the nearby ruins, he wore a bitter expression as he hobbled over to help the luckless survivor remove the rubble and debris pressing down on him.

"How do you feel?"

Helping the person sit down by the wall, Ogg handed him an antiseptic injection.

Taking it, he decisively jabbed it into his thigh, taking a deep breath before calming down.

"Cough... What... on earth happened?"

Looking at the operation base reduced to ruins, Ogg chuckled bitterly and said.

"Don't know, probably shot ourselves in the foot with our own stone..."

Perhaps his superior was right; they couldn't wait until they were 100% sure before taking action.

But his superior never told him what to do if they lost the gamble…

Thinking carefully, they previously faced either the Civil Official Group or the West Winds Empire, the kind of ineffectual entities that couldn't be propped up, or even smaller tribes inferior to the West Winds.

With such opponents, indeed, there was no need to consider those troublesome issues.

And now, sure enough, they had suffered greatly.

However, now was not the time for regret.

Before long, the Alliance would undoubtedly search the ruins; they had to evacuate before the Alliance people arrived.

Ogg stood up from the ground and looked at his colleague beside him.

"Can you still move?"

His colleague gave a wry smile, struggling to stand up from the ground while bracing against the wall.

"Barely..."

The two of them hobbled out of the ruins and finally stepped onto the jagged stone-laden street.

And at that moment, the two, supporting each other, saw a Viper transport plane parked on the street.

Ogg felt a chill in his heart, while the colleague he was supporting reached for his sidearm.

Looking at the only two remaining survivors, the Spring Water Commander shouted to them.

"Surrender, you've already lost."

Ogg was silent for a while.

Finally, he held down his colleague's hand as it gripped the gun and shook his head at the bewildered expression on the latter's face.

"It's over..."

...

On the other side, far away in the Grand Canyon, an old man sitting in an empty conference room sighed softly as he looked south.

"Yet another one..."

Indeed, the older people get, the duller their sense of time.

The nuclear bomb in Luo Xia Province seems like it happened just yesterday, and now another mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion has risen over the distant horizon.

Although he couldn't see it from where he sat, the Gamma Ray monitoring devices in the Grand Canyon wouldn't lie.

Sitting at the long meeting table in the Obsidian Carved City was another tall man.

Unlike the grey-haired old man, he looked much younger, and his eyes shone with a more intelligent gleam.

"Same old words, tisk tisk, it seems your language skills really have deteriorated."

The old man gave him a slightly displeased look.

"Your tongue is still as sharp as ever."

The tall man chuckled, showing no sign of being bothered by the displeased attitude.

"I'll take it as a compliment."

Yet, can eternal life that never changes truly be called eternal?

The old man had reservations about this.

In his view, the old friend before him had long since died.

However, instead of arguing over boring issues with this annoying guy as he usually did, he subtly changed the subject.

"You seem to be in a good mood."

"Of course," said the tall man, squinting as he gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window with a smile, "our long-held wish is about to be fulfilled. The fire of civilization will be carried forward by us... Amazing, after you've messed up all the things, we have a chance to start anew."

"The Alliance agreed to help you build a Starship?"

"Yes."

The old man nodded.

"A generous young man... But what about your branch of the Technology Committee? Are you taking them with you, or leaving them to fend for themselves in the Wandering Swamp?"

He used a probing tone when he said this.

After all, based on his understanding of "Conclusion," this guy would never reveal his plans.

However, contrary to the old man's expectations, the guy straightforwardly disclosed his arrangement.

"We will take the children worth saving. As for those we can't take, I've already thought of a way out for them. I will entrust them and the Technology Committee to the Alliance."

The old man showed a surprised expression.

"... You're serious?"

Conclusion said casually.

"If nothing unexpected happens, yes, but if something unexpected does, that's another matter."

The old man was silent for a long time, then sighed with deep emotion.

"It's hard to believe... I remember someone once regarded the technology of the Prosperity Epoch as the root of all chaos, believing it was the unchecked abuse of technology that led to nearly two centuries of the Wasteland Era."

Knowing he was the "someone" mentioned, the tall man chuckled and said.

"My thoughts haven't changed at all, still the same as before. But I also said our containment of technology is to use them in the right place... And now, we believe the time is ripe."

"Even if we bring the achievements of the Prosperity Epoch to light, the fruits of past wisdom, their genius creativity won't be used by gain-seeking degenerates to oppress the descendants of the United Human, or maintain the established interests of the Wasteland Era rulers over this land, or any other twisted desires."

The old man nodded, seemingly agreeing with his rhetoric, or perhaps only agreeing with part of his lengthy argument.

But in any case, they had reached a consensus on one matter.

"Perhaps, perhaps you're right, and I hope you're right..."

He stood up from the chair, walked around the long table made of obsidian, and moved to the floor-to-ceiling window in the conference room.

It wasn't a real window but a panoramic imaging system reflected on the wall.

However, the desolate land was real.

And the survivors struggling on that land were real too.

"Some problems must be solved... they can't be delayed any longer."

The tall man sitting at the meeting table rarely put away his playful expression, stood respectfully, and nodded slightly towards the one-time Chief of the War Construction Committee, now the Chief of the Great Rift Valley.

"A wise decision, we've been waiting for this day too long, but fortunately, it has finally come to us..."

As the words fell, the pale blue light particles scattered from the meeting table.

A moment later, the door of the conference room opened, and a recording officer wearing a silver robe walked in.

"Chief, you called me?"

The old man facing away from the recording officer slowly nodded.

"Help me write a few letters, and wipe this table for me."

"A century and a half, it's about time we made ourselves useful."

Chapter 921: The "Tsunami" Smashed on the Shore

On the churning sea, a cargo ship sailing across the ocean was cutting through the waves with Yarman's fleet towards Potato Harbor.

They were only twenty kilometers away from the Baiyue Strait!

It was at this moment that the capricious weather suddenly changed from clear skies to a tumultuous storm.

"Boom——!"

Lightning flashed above the black clouds, with silver snakes weaving between the gaps in the clouds.

Wave after wave crashed against the hull of the ship, causing the towering steel structure to emit a groan under the strain.

At the same time, the containers towed by the cargo ship were in complete disarray.

Even the slightest movement of the hull, when transmitted to the container, would be amplified several times.

At this moment, in each of those containers, a space of less than 18 square meters was forcefully stuffed with half of a hundred-man team.

The Weilante soldiers sitting in the container were shoulder to shoulder, knees against feet, holding their rifles and packs to their chests.

As for waste, it could only be dealt with using a small bucket, dumped outside the container during the heavy rain.

However, due to the lack of space in the container, it was practically impossible to carry out, so many simply defecated in their pants.

But even that wasn't the worst part.

Due to the violent rocking, many got seasick and vomited all the way.

In this regard, the Weilante people indeed had a ruthless nature.

Almost no one could endure being in a container filled with the stench of excrement and vomit for a week or two.

Yet, the torture that ordinary people couldn't bear, they gritted their teeth and endured.

However, even so, the spirits of these hardened individuals were nearing their breaking point.

Some were already in a daze, while those still clear-headed either cursed or prayed.

"Damn it! Once I get back alive, I'll beat the hell out of whoever came up with this stupid idea!"

"Heh, let's stay alive first."

"…I feel like we're going to fall!"

"Maybe we already have."

"Shut your mouth! Our ship is still moving!"

"Do you remember the container to our left? I keep feeling like one is missing—"

"I said! Shut your mouth! We are about to win! If you don't want all the suffering of these past ten-odd days to be in vain, then tough it out!"

Struggling to stand up from the container, the Centurion's eyes bulged as he shouted with all his might, trying to invigorate his comrades.

However, the rocking and swaying of the hull made it hard for him even to stand straight, let alone steady his feet, forcing him to press both hands against the container.

But even so, he ultimately couldn't stay steady.

A suddenly crashing wave knocked him easily onto his surrounding comrades.

Watching the racket inside the container, Parry, huddled in a corner, wore a stiff expression. His pale face was awash with despair.

He was an infantryman of the 1000-strong unit, originally destined for the front lines in Poluo Province. However, one day, his superiors suddenly informed him that the staff and army intelligence units had come up with a genius plan, and they needed him to execute it.

Thus, from an honorable Army warrior, he turned into a "Marine".

Yet the big brains in the staff obviously hadn't experienced being in this container themselves.

If ever given the chance, he really wished to stuff that bunch of idiots who came up with the rotten idea into a toilet, to show them exactly how foolish they were!

The thunder and lightning outside grew even more ferocious, as if to tear the whole world apart.

The Centurion who had previously fallen into feces finally got back up, cursing and grumbling, yet still putting on a brave front.

"Just up ahead! We've reached the Baiyue Strait! We're almost there!"

Parry suddenly realized this was perhaps a form of prayer in its own right.

If they allowed despair to consume them, they might not have even made it this far.

But just then, the mournful sound of metal clashing unexpectedly came from beneath them all.

Before they could react, their bodies were swept up in the violent shaking.

"Shit——!"

Parry heard his comrade beside him curse as his forehead hit the container, seemingly bruising.

The machine gunner nearby wore a face full of fear.

"Damn... I have a bad feeling about this."

This was the tenth time he'd repeated that sentence that day!

And right now, Parry had a similar feeling. It's likely that it wasn't just the storm targeting them, but also the Alliance's submarines or other devices.

But fortunately, their container hadn't rolled off the deck into the sea. After a violent shake, it finally entered a calm waters.

Feeling the waves outside gradually calming, everyone inside the container let out a sigh of relief.

"We survived..."

The unlucky guy with a bruise on his forehead simply treated his wound, and the gunner who had been muttering began to close his eyes as if he had fallen asleep.

Parry gasped for breath, listening to the gradually calming heartbeats, and then a drowsiness crept over him.

How many times has it been?

He could no longer remember.

It seemed that from the moment he boarded this ship, he had lost control over his fate.

And the worst part was, the person making all the choices for him had never asked what he thought.

As for where exactly this ship was headed, what would happen to those aboard, and when all of it would end, no one had ever given him an answer.

He had had enough.

Perhaps he actually knew from the very beginning where the true enemy was.

At least, the ones making him endure all these terrible situations weren't the fellows from Potato Harbor...

Time moved as slow as a snail on a leaf, while pain and torment stretched as long and enduring as silk around a cocoon.

Later on, Parry probably fell asleep, though he might have been awake but unaware of it himself.

All the same, before his stomach rumbled with hunger, his comrade caught sight through the gap of the container that they were nearing the port.

Moreover, the calls of seagulls coming through the container wall seemed to herald this event.

"We arrived..."

A beam of light fell on the young man's face.

Parry opened his eyes and saw his face filled with excitement, as if seeing the end of the journey.

"Shh! Stay quiet!"

The centurion in front made a silence gesture, then picked up his assault rifle, using a hand stained with ginger-yellow liquid to hold the container's door.

According to the plan, they would quickly launch an attack upon landing, controlling the entire port and preparing for the fleet of the Southern Legion and the Shallow Water Heavy Artillery Boats to enter the strait.

Outside the container came a buzzing sound, emanating from the gantry cranes installed at the port, with huge mechanical arms clamping tightly on the container's sides and lifting them up from the deck.

The whole process was smooth, even steadier than staying on the deck, like being in an elevator.

Nevertheless, everyone inside the container was tense, clutching their rifles.

"Get ready..."

The centurion clenched his left fist, the finger on the trigger already disengaging the safety.

And at that moment, the container finally landed on the ground with a jolt that shook everyone's shoulders.

At the same time, a moderately heavy voice came from outside the door.

"Listen up inside, you're already surrounded. I know you're clutching your guns right now... But if you want to leave a whole corpse for yourself and those around you, you'd better not do anything foolish."

Sitting inside the container, Parry was completely stunned.

Not only him, the centurion at the door was also dumbfounded, frozen on the spot.

Before anyone could react, with a "bang," the container door was forcibly torn down.

Two burly figures stood outside the container, their iron-reinforced bodies like iron towers.

One was even more exaggerated, with a gorilla-like arm welded with a cannon barrel thick as a python, and another arm embedded with a monstrous-looking chainsaw.

Parry couldn't help but suspect that even if a tank stood in front of this guy, it could be sliced in two with one cut!

"... Jungle Corps." The gunner squatting next to him couldn't help but groan, trembling as he spoke, "I've heard of them... On Ten Peaks Mountain, a hundred of these things wiped out an entire mountain of mutants."

The soldier with a bandage wrapped around his head was also dumbfounded, swallowed hard, and cursed.

"Bullshit, surely..."

Parry stared wide-eyed at the entrance.

Behind those two iron tower-like men, there was a quadruple anti-aircraft machine gun mounted.

The 20 mm cannon barrel was already leveled, and the eager expression on the person sitting behind it made it clear that the armor-piercing incendiary rounds were ready, just waiting for them to make a reckless move.

At this moment, whatever was happening on Ten Peaks Mountain no longer mattered to him.

If he couldn't get past this hurdle, he'd likely not even get the chance to fall into the sea and feed the fish.

"Surrender, mate."

Midnight Chicken Killing walked up to the centurion, reached out and plucked the rifle from his hands, tossing it into a nearby loader, then gave him a smile.

"See, throwing the gun is much easier than fighting me, isn't it?"

In front of his modified body, the tall centurion was like a shivering little chicken, and the rifle he tossed into the loader was as insignificant as a toothpick.

The centurion standing there had his teeth chattering, wanting to show some backbone, but his body refused to cooperate.

Midnight Chicken Killing ignored him, left him to the comrades waiting by, then shouted towards those inside the container.

"Alright, all of you, remove the magazines from your rifles, raise your hands above your heads, and line up to come out."

"We'll arrange for you to take a bath... Damn, now I get what you were planning, you wanted to stink us to death, didn't you? Hurry up and come out."

Seeing the officer who didn't offer any resistance from beginning to end, Parry knew that this war, which had just begun, was probably already over.

But for some reason, he felt not an ounce of disappointment, instead, he was filled with a sense of relief as if a burden was lifted.

It's over...

Perhaps he wasn't the only one thinking that.

The brother who was peering through the crack towards the port clearly already knew what was going on outside.

This wasn't Potato Harbor at all, but a wasteland with only a single pier.

Clearly, from the moment they boarded the ship, the Alliance was already waiting for them here, even going so far as to install a gantry crane just for their disembarkation.

Although they paid a heavy price, the suffering they endured ultimately turned into a joke.

However, these trivial matters, like the Jungle Corps' reputation, no longer mattered to him.

The fierce-looking guys didn't give them a hard time, just made them drop their weapons, strip to their underwear, and squat on the beach beyond the isolation line.

Although a few newcomers got so scared they wet themselves, Parry was actually relieved.

After all, if these guys really intended to execute them, they wouldn't need to go through such trouble.

Drowning them at sea or riddling the container they were in with bullets would be far more efficient than letting them squat on the beach...

On the other side, the Ground Model curiously glanced at the container with its door ripped off.

Even though he had an idea of what to expect inside, the moment he leaned his head closer, the nauseating sight made him gag.

"Holy crap... is this place for humans?"

The Picheng Paratrooper had a similarly indescribable expression.

"Even a livestock ship isn't this cramped. It's amazing these guys could endure one or two weeks of this."

It felt less like capturing prisoners and more like rescuing livestock from human traffickers who sold them like pigs.

Xiao Xiaosha Chong squinted and chuckled.

"Isn't that the nature of imperialism? Sweet-talk their own people while submerging them in crap... The ones chanting 'Long live the Weilante people' are these folks, and yet they're the harshest on the Weilante people."

The Ground Model looked at him.

"Wait, is the Army the Empire? I thought it was West Winds."

The Picheng Paratrooper grinned cheekily and said,

"Oh, please, I call myself Superman too. Just because they call themselves the Empire, doesn't make them so. The Red River Alliance is also an alliance; the laborers there must be very equal, right?"

Watching the few chatting, Midnight Chicken Killing said in a buzzing voice,

"Stop talking nonsense, another container is coming."

The gathered group immediately dispersed, heading back to their respective positions.

"Get to work, get to work."

"I'm betting fifty in the next container."

"I'll go for fifty-one!"

"Hehe, I've got good luck, I'll open the next Blind Box..."

...

What happened next was just as Parry imagined.

With the busy work of the two gantry cranes, the containers on the two cargo ships were emptied one by one.

During this time, someone noticed the abnormality on the shore and escaped from the container, jumping into the sea, but not long after, they were herded back ashore by marine variants.

This was the lucky outcome.

Some who swam slower had their throats bitten off by sea monsters before the rescue boats could reach them.

After all, this wasn't Potato Harbor or Fried Dough Stick Port; the nearshore area wasn't netted to block variants, and it was rather dangerous to stray too far from the beach.

All the Weilante people who made it ashore were driven to squat on the beach.

Standing next to the isolation line, a few militias from Potato Harbor watched these ashen-faced people with a meaningful look.

"... Attacking from inside a container, what were these guys thinking?"

"Who knows."

Before long, a man in an open-collar shirt walked in front of the prisoners.

He was holding a loudspeaker, shouting at the bare-chested young men.

"Listen up, big-noses on the beach, this is a stretch of coastline roughly two hundred kilometers from Fried Dough Stick Port, a place called Mantou Harbor, sort of."

"As for you, you're the first residents here."

"I guess some of you are thinking of escaping into the forest, and I'm sure some have already made a move, so let's have a moment of silence for those fools who didn't wait to hear the end of what I have to say. The variants in this forest are arguably the most ferocious and diverse on this planet. Even using a Mind Interference Device, it's hard to affect so many species at once."

"So, don't expect to escape using those amateur skills you learned in boot camp. If you really have that kind of ability, we won't stop you, just hope you'll take a camera along, so we can get a fresh view."

"Alright, enough nonsense, let's talk about things related to you."

"From the moment you detonated a nuclear bomb on our land, our war with you began. While you were drifting at sea these past few days, our allies' fleet teamed up with our submarines to annihilate your fleet and Shallow Water Heavy Artillery Boats in an uninhabited sea area 1000 nautical miles from here."

"It's quite interesting, twenty ships loaded with cannons, kudos to you for producing so much steel, now all sunk at the bottom of the sea. If you're curious about the course of the battle, I can bring you a newspaper another day."

"Anyway, starting today, this is your new home."

"The brothers from the Alliance asked me to tell you that you don't have to build this as a POW camp. After all, you're going to live here for quite a long time, and many of your compatriots will join you later."

"So, working hard is also for yourselves... I suppose this isn't the first time you've heard these words, but this time it's true. As someone who's been through it, I can assure you."

"Also, ships dock at the port every day to bring you food and supplies. However, except for free steamed buns, even pickles cost money at Mantou Harbor. If you don't want to eat buns dipped in seawater every day, you'd better work diligently."

"That's right, the Alliance requires us employers to pay POWs. Though I think it's a waste, back in my hometown, a whole bunch of people would gladly work for free... as long as someone pays for a boat ticket to bring them here."

"But since we're on someone else's turf, we have to abide by their rules, don't we? You have no choice, and I probably don't need to tell you this."

Speaking until his mouth was dry, the man took out a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

The Ten Thousand Leader, squatting in the front row, stared at the man and asked in a hoarse voice.

"Who are you?"

The man glanced at him and casually said.

"Yiselle, former Ten Thousand Leader of the Imperial Expeditionary Army's third ten thousand troops, now the mayor of Fried Dough Stick Port."

The Ten Thousand Leader looked at him in astonishment and after a long time managed to utter a sentence.

"...You didn't go back?"

"Go back? Go where? The Empire is gone. Are we supposed to accompany it to the grave with that fool Arai Yang?" Looking at the Ten Thousand Leader, Yiselle smiled and patted his shoulder, putting the unfinished bottle of mineral water into his hand, "This is a good place. You'll grow to like it here."

With that, he left the dumbfounded guy behind and walked towards the next squad.

...

Meanwhile, elsewhere, at the Alliance's No. 1 Settlement, a group of Guards clad in exoskeletons stormed into a restaurant, pinning the dining Greg to the ground.

Actually, when Greg first saw this group appear, he already realized something was wrong and stood up to run away.

However, as a merchant, he couldn't outrun these Awakeners injected with gene modification agents.

In almost the blink of an eye, a soldier in an exoskeleton flashed in front of him, pinning him to the floor just as he stood up.

"What are you doing! Let go of me!" Greg struggled desperately to escape, but the hand holding his arm felt like iron pincers, causing him to grimace in pain.

At this moment, sitting across from him, Yarman calmly took a sip of red tea.

Placing the teacup back on the tray, Yarman sighed softly, unable to bear Greg's disgraceful behavior, and said.

"Give it up, Mr. Greg. It will at least save you some suffering."

"It's you..."

Greg stared at Yarman with bloodshot eyes full of anger and hatred.

He had invited this guy out to watch a show, but he hadn't expected that the guy would report him to the authorities.

And at this moment, the radio began its seven o'clock evening news broadcast, but the content was drastically different from the "Tsunami" operation he was familiar with.

The 100th and 101st ten thousand troops had not landed at Potato Harbor but had come ashore at Mantou Harbor's construction site.

The contractors at Fried Dough Stick Port had already prepared construction equipment and tools, and these "lucky guys" started moving bricks as soon as they landed, which were not too hot yet.

The Guards pressing Greg didn't rush to take him away but let him listen to the radio news brief, completely crushing his hopes.

Greg gritted his teeth in fury, wishing to grind them to dust and swallow them.

"You traitor—"

"Traitor," Yarman looked at him, with a sudden touch of empathy, "who betrayed whom, in the end? Every Weilante person in this settlement once trusted you, and how did you repay them? With your hand on your heart, swear to the Marshal—did you ever consider the Weilante people's fate for a second?"

Not waiting for Greg to respond, Yarman continued.

"I only found out recently. Wyatt told me that West Sail Port was orchestrated by the General Staff..."

Greg's face turned ghostly pale, his trembling lips whispered.

"He confessed..."

He actually didn't confess.

But the expression on his face at this moment said it all... they were indeed connected to what happened that day.

This guy...

Upon learning the real culprit behind the murder of their compatriots, his first reaction wasn't anger but fear of the news leaking.

Is this sort of creature even human?

Yarman thought he would be heartbroken but found himself more exhausted instead.

"Thank you, you've satisfied my curiosity, although I've known from the beginning... that the truth doesn't actually matter."

The Guards holding Greg looked at Yarman.

"We'll take the man away."

Yarman nodded.

Besides fulfilling his duty as an Alliance citizen, that was his only benefit from the Guards Corps—

The truth that had puzzled him for so long.

Now he had received his reward.

"Hmm, he's all yours."

Chapter 922: The Consequence of Repeated Probing

The endless sea surface was adorned with burning steel, turning the clear sky after the storm into a sunset.

This is an unnamed sea area less than five hundred nautical miles away from the Baiyue Strait, with only a small island nearby measuring less than a few square kilometers, historically known as Selick Island.

The fleet of the Southern Legion and the fleet of the South Sea Union engaged in a clash near this small island.

The Southern Legion deployed a total of twenty-three ships and five iron airships.

While the South Sea Union's fleet only had one Harpoon cruiser, four destroyers, and three nuclear-powered submarines, plus a land-based anti-ship electromagnetic cannon pre-deployed on Selick Island.

The South Sea Union, having just gone through a civil war, was severely weakened, especially with its battleships, the core of its combat power, sunk to the seabed.

Judging purely from the data, the disparity in strength between the two sides was enormous.

It was precisely for this reason that upon discovering the fleet of the South Sea Union, the Southern Legion approached without taking it seriously, with heads held high.

The entire battle lasted several hours.

Yet the final outcome of the battle astonished everyone.

Faced with the grand and invincible fleet of the Southern Legion, the South Sea Union used anti-ship missiles and cannon-fired drones to kite them, and with a few maneuvers, managed to sink all twenty-three of their ships to the seabed at almost no cost!

Not only that, but in the air, the accompanying five iron airships had two hit by the land-based anti-ship electromagnetic cannon, leaving the remaining three to flee from the battlefield in panic!

Frankly speaking...

This battle was won a bit too easily.

In the bridge of the Harpoon, the adjutant, holding a telescope, gazed at the flames floating on the sea and couldn't help but sigh.

"I didn't expect the Southern Legion to be just like this..."

Among these twenty-three ships, surprisingly, half were diesel-powered, a single missile shot set them spewing black smoke.

The staff officer on the side also had a complex expression, nodding.

"...Twenty-three ships, two-thirds are coastal support ships, apart from the five iron airships that barely count as a threat, the others aren't even considered threats."

Compared to the astonishment of the soldiers, Commander Li Minghui was quite calm about this victory.

The Legion relied too heavily on airships, and this was particularly evident in the Southern Legion.

When facing aboriginal survivor forces, iron airships indeed had overwhelming advantages, whether in firepower density or strike efficiency, surpassing ground artillery and conventional flying units, and when paired with special warheads could achieve the miraculous effect of "one cannon for ten."

However, this alternative war tool was a different story when facing evenly matched opponents.

Through multiple engagements with the Legion, the Union had accumulated rich experience in countering iron airships, and later absorbed technology from various sources.

From afar, they would use the anti-ship electromagnetic cannon to overload; when closer, they would use the phase gun to break the shield and paralyze the engine. The Union and its allies had developed a mature system for combat against airships, and the Union had now passed this method on to the South Sea Union.

Of course, it is worth mentioning that although the naval power of the Southern Legion gave the feeling of being merely an appendage of the army, this was not the entirety of the Legion.

For instance, the naval power of the Western Legion on the New Continent was formidable.

Judging by their reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance techniques, their strength was probably not weaker than the South Sea Union's.

But perhaps for this reason, these guys never truly made a move until the end.

This seemed somewhat hard to understand, but Li Minghui understood the logic behind it.

The South Sea Union's fleet's hypothetical enemy was the Legion's airship, thus they developed a fleet system centered around battleships.

And the fleet system of the Western Legion was also centered around battleships...

To call this a coincidence, would indeed be too coincidental.

Those so-called businessmen never intended to board the Southern Legion's broken ship from the start.

Business was just business, after all.

"After this battle, the Southern Legion is no longer to be feared, and our hypothetical enemy strategy should be adjusted,"

putting down the telescope in his hand, Li Minghui said.

The adjutant standing by knew what he was referring to.

"You mean... the Western Legion?"

"Yes," Li Minghui nodded seriously, "we won this time, but I have a premonition this will mark the beginning of the Legion's awakening... The Southern Legion was their sacrificial pawn, and there are even more troublesome foes after this."

The staff officer pondered for a long time, suddenly recalling a discussion at a seminar held with alliance officers.

"Facing a combat system centered on battleships... Developing aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft might be a good idea."

The adjutant beside him laughed bitterly.

"History does seem to be a circle."

If he remembered correctly, aircraft carriers were things from the pre-Prosperity Epoch era.

It was not until the advent of sky-based weapons, which brought various aviation equipment onto the stage of history, shifting the battlefield from ground to sky, that those outdated weapons were eliminated.

If the Wasteland Era cannot end immediately, they might just walk down these already tread paths again once their gravity wells are established.

Of course, this was just a possibility.

Li Minghui nodded, expressing a neutral attitude.

"I don't think the path forward will simply repeat history, let's just take it one step at a time."

...

At the No. 10 Settlement, inside a simply decorated city hall, Chu Guang donned his azure power armor once more.

Although he no longer needed this stuff nowadays, the significance of this armor to the Alliance citizens had long surpassed its practical use.

It was like a totem.

Facing the camera lens, Chu Guang adjusted the microphone with a steady and firm tone said.

"Today is a special day."

"In just the past week, we have witnessed a series of appalling events."

"The Southern Legion, without any warning, detonated a nuclear bomb of over ten thousand tons in our actual control area recognized by the Sticky Community."

"And while we optimistically thought this might be a misunderstanding, with no member of the Union's Light perishing in that nuclear explosion, 20,000 armed Vellante soldiers broke into our homes..."

"The detonated nuclear bomb, the 20,000 soldiers, including the twenty-three ships headed for the Baiyue Strait... It is hard not to connect these three incidents."

"And there's no doubt that these are acts of war!"

"A beast cloaked in human skin, after some pretentious probing, finally tore off its last disguise, revealing its menacing canine teeth to us."

"I believe there's no need for me to explain what they intend to do, while up until yesterday, they were still vainly embellishing the image of their love for peace, gentleness, modesty, and courtesy with clumsy lies and hypocritical gestures."

"But we won't be fooled again, the war has already started."

"I believe our armed forces, relying on the united will of our people, are bound to achieve inevitable victory!"

"We will thoroughly end this mistake that has lingered for a century and a half, we will thoroughly liberate all survivors oppressed by the Southern Legion, including the Vellante people oppressed by the Southern Legion."

"On behalf of the Alliance, I declare, due to the despicable conduct of the Southern Legion's undeclared war, the Alliance and the Southern Legion are in a state of war!"

"This is an official declaration of war!"

The moment Chu Guang's voice fell, the live broadcast of the speech was transmitted across the entire territory of the Alliance through cables and signal towers established by the Alliance.

The Alliance officially declared war on the Southern Legion!

The war in the Poluo Province was no longer just a contest between volunteers and mercenaries.

Simultaneously, the war between the two sides was no longer limited to the battlefields of the Poluo Province!

In a tavern in Giant Stone City, the television on the bar counter finished broadcasting the three-minute speech.

And at the same time when that sonorous voice faded, the entire tavern burst into enthusiastic cheers and applause.

They had been waiting for this moment for too long.

Those big-nosed folks, time and again, acting smart, attempted to overstep the Alliance's bottom line.

Since all the troubles were caused by these guys, why not simply put this root of all evil into the grave?

A drunken drunkard stood up and roared with a coarse voice.

"The Manager is calling me, tomorrow I will join the army! It's time to end this riddle!"

A brewery worker on the side also stood up, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Count me in! Since the Southern Legion wants to fight! Then let's have a good fight with them!"

This sentence resonated with everyone's hearts and gained the support of countless people.

Not just the brewery workers, but also the militia of the militia group.

People whistled, cheering and applauding these brave young men.

They can't always hide behind the Residents of the refuge.

Now that Giant Stone City has emerged from the shadow of crisis, it's their turn to shine and contribute.

They will not relinquish their duties; they will stand side by side with everyone in the Alliance.

From the trenches at the front lines to the factories at the rear!

They will continue to fight until they eliminate all the jackals on this planet who dare bare their teeth at their brothers and sisters!

A guy who had too much to drink clambered onto the Table, shouting at the raucous crowd.

"I declare! The 1st Division of the Expeditionary Army of Giant Stone City is officially formed! Wait for our good news; we will follow Mr. Manager all the way into the den of these Looters!"

The resounding voices supported that nameless nobody, which was also the heartfelt voice of countless Workers' Association members.

"Relying on that bunch from the Workers' Association to throw money around will never save the worker brothers of the Poluo Line; we have to pick up guns... Damn, we should have done this long ago!"

"Not just the brothers in Poluo Line, but also those in the Great Desert! And in Yavente City!"

Those eagerly responding to the call for War weren't just from Giant Stone City, the stronghold of the Alliance's Radical Faction.

From City of Dawn to Dawn City to Falling Leaves City, people who have lived comfortably for a long time picked up guns once again.

Including Weifu City, as well as Potato Harbor and No.1 Settlement.

Both Radical Faction and Conservative faction have reached a consensus on one thing at this moment—

The methods of civilized people only apply to civilized people; facing beasts with no shame requires fire and guns!

As long as they live on this planet, it's impossible to ignore what's happening here.

To achieve true peace, they must completely resolve the trouble of the Southern Legion!

At the same time, in the Governor's Mansion of Tiandu.

Absek, sitting at his desk, was watching TV attentively, watching the broadcast of the Alliance Managers' speech by Jin Galun Harbor TV.

When he saw Chu Guang uttering that last sentence, Absek was as excited as a kid, standing up with a quick motion and walking around his desk three times.

His hands clenched into fists, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Heavens above the fallen Tiandu... Silver Moon Goddess, bless me!"

The Alliance declares War on the Southern Legion!

The Alliance finally formally entered the fray!

After the sacrifice of millions of military and civilians, they finally succeeded in dragging out the change to usher in the arrival of opportunity!

As the highest Leader of Poluo Country, no one knows better than him what this means!

The energetic demeanor scared the cat napping under the desk into a puffed-up ball.

Absek looked at the National Defense commissioner standing at the door, spiritedly issuing an order.

"Transmit the order to all forces, prepare for counterattack!"

"Yes!"

The National Defense commissioner solemnly saluted and turned to stride out the door.

Watching the spirited Great Leader, Internal Affairs commissioner Wadia's brow furrowed with a hint of concern.

Recently, the actions of the local army in Snake State have been considerable.

And the Grey Wolf Army involved in the continued tug-of-war with the Southern Legion in the South of Wolf State is swelling like a leech in increasingly murky waters,

The pawn originally placed in the south by the Great Leader to check Shaluk has now become a tail-dragging problem.

Compared to the stagnant offensive of the Southern Legion, he always felt that the problem posed a more fatal threat to Poluo Country.

"But Shaluk..."

Absek chuckled and said spiritedly.

"Shaluk is just a slippery one; back when the situation was unclear, I really had to fear him three points, just in case he turned to the Army and reversed to stab us. But now it's different, the War in Poluo Line has become a World War, and this guy is cunning, not blind; he knows what to do."

It's not just that.

Under this prolonged confrontation, Poluo Country's military force has already changed from before.

He now commands brave generals, and strong soldiers, not only intelligent commanders like Yishel the "Jungle Rat" but also fierce generals like Pickles the "Butcher."

Shaluk?

Can such a thing capable of not even standing up to the Southern Legion's poker cards contend for Tiandu?

Listening to oneself boast is meaningless; one must also see how others speak.

Looking at the overconfident Absek, Wadia smiled wryly and nodded.

"Yes..."

Elsewhere, far away in West Sail Port, General Giulion also learned from his intelligence officers about the Alliance's declaration of War against the Southern Legion and pieced together the entirety of the declaration speech from intercepted radio signals.

Initially, upon hearing that the War had finally reached the Alliance's mainland, his face was filled with excitement.

However, when he noticed that the Alliance seemed to understand all the plans and even listed the action code names without error, his smile finally faltered.

Grabbing the arm of the officer standing in front of his desk, he asked.

"What is our response? Has Yavente City responded to the Alliance's declaration of War?"

The officer hesitated and, after a moment of pause, said wryly.

"I... I don't know."

Seeing this guy puzzled, General Giulion roared.

"Why are you standing here! Go ask quickly!"

The officer nodded hastily and bolted out of the office.

Returning to his desk, Giulion paced back and forth, and the foreboding feeling in his heart grew stronger.

Logically, this shouldn't happen...

In normal circumstances, if the chief strategist's ingenious plan is a resounding success, he should receive the news even before the Alliance.

Surely, the General Staff or the Command would inform him of the next step, preparing for the Alliance mainland invasion.

Just like the military operations following the West Sail Port massacre.

After Olet sent troops to control the situation, they dispatched the large forces almost immediately, completing all preparations before bedding down.

Yet now, the result seems that the plan, at its most critical stage, has inexplicably stalled.

The massive General Staff became mute, seemingly.

And he, the war zone's chief commander, must rely on his intelligence officers, sourcing enemy television news to gauge the current plan's progress.

This felt as if the one caught unprepared was not the Alliance, but rather they themselves threw a spanner in their own works.

Sitting down again at his desk.

After taking several deep breaths, Giulion managed to calm his wildly beating heart and muttered to himself.

"At least, in the Poluo Province War Zone... the advantage remains with us."

Even though he said this, he knew in his heart that the Poluo Province War Zone's outcome was never determined by the pieces on this chessboard.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway outside the office, and the officer he had sent to contact the Command rushed back.

The officer barged into the office, forgetting even to knock.

But upon seeing his pale face, Giulion was too concerned about such trivial matters, quickly standing up to question him.

"What did Yavente City say?! What's the current situation!"

The officer's face was filled with panic, his lips trembling, only managing to squeeze out a sentence after a long pause.

"Enterprise... They said the Enterprise has also declared War on us."

The Enterprise has also declared War...

Those East Coast turtles.

Hearing these words, Giulion froze for a full minute, then sat silently back in his chair, listening to the silence.

The situation had completely spiraled out of control and was swiftly barreling towards a direction he had never envisioned.

As of now, Yavente City's decisions no longer seem pivotal; only Triumph City has the say to determine what course the Weilante People will take...

...

(Year-end is here, and Dian Niang is urging for extras. Which characters would you like to see? I lean towards writing more daily content and characters with less involvement in the main plot. _(:зゝ∠)_)

Chapter 923: We Will Fight Side by Side

"...At this point, only Triumph City can decide the fate of the Weilante people."

City of Dawn, Embassy Street, the study in the Legion's Embassy in the Alliance.

Looking at the bustling crowd of demonstrators outside the window, Centurion Bennott sighed lightly, coincidentally voicing the thoughts of someone else a thousand miles away.

An hour ago, he had learned of the Alliance's declaration of war on the Southern Legion from the Alliance's Foreign Minister, Cheng Yan.

Soon after, the war declaration speech by the Alliance Managers was featured in the special edition of Survivor's Daily and broadcasted on various Alliance TV stations.

The Alliance kickstarted the war machine with terrifying efficiency and cohesion.

Just like when they declared war on the Torch Church.

In contrast, from top to bottom, the Southern Legion was still pinning their hopes on the General Staff's "miraculous move" to turn the tide.

And when their opponents saw through their tricks, they ended up looking as dumbfounded as a gambler who had lost all their chips, helpless and clueless.

Now, not only the Alliance but even the enterprises on the East Coast couldn't bear it any longer, turning their weapons on them and completely abandoning any illusion that "peace would fall from heaven on its own."

The only suspense left was Triumph City's stance.

If Triumph City's choice was "loyal till the end," then the Southern Legion still stood a chance of survival.

As for the cost, it would mean mobilizing all Weilante people on the planet to engage in a total war with the survivors living in the eastern part of the Central Continent.

If that happened, the gamblers in the Southern Legion could be considered winners of their bet.

As long as all Weilante people unite, even if their ultimate outcome isn't an overwhelming victory, they'd at least withdraw whole with the stakes pressed on the gambling table.

But if Triumph City's choice was to "cut off this rebellious child," then the collapse of the Legion would be inevitable.

This isn't difficult to understand.

If one cannot step forward when "their own child is threatened," even as a purely symbolic banner, Triumph City would lose its only value.

In fact, signs of separatism had already emerged within the Legion.

So far, the only reason it hasn't exploded is solely sustained by His Excellency the Marshal's prestige.

At this moment, Bennott also didn't know what Triumph City's choice would be; he could only close the door and wait patiently.

In minor matters, he could make decisions that he deemed right on behalf of the Civil Official Group or Triumph City.

But in something of this magnitude, he could merely act as a mouthpiece.

Of course, aside from the distant decisions of Triumph City and His Excellency the Marshal, he faced a more immediate issue.

That would be the rights of the Weilante people living in the Alliance.

As it stands, the survivors in City of Dawn have surrounded Triumph City's embassy outright.

Though people say that Giant Stone City is the Alliance's revolutionary old district, in Bennott's view, it is clearly here.

These people are like fervent believers.

If not for the guards of City of Dawn stopping them, they would probably have thrown rotten eggs inside by now.

Though filled with helplessness, Bennott understood the anger of these young people at this moment.

After all, it was the Southern Legion who first waged a war without a declaration and even detonated a nuclear bomb on land nominally overseen and actually controlled by the Alliance.

And that's a nuclear bomb...

"We need to find a way to protect the Weilante people living in the Alliance," the secretary Dominique sitting across from Bennott said with a troubled expression.

It was his plan to arm the Legion with the Eastern Legion's military supplies, a plan involving their "old friend" the West Winds Empire.

The plan seemed to be on the brink of success until the Southern Legion rudely intervened, taking down the entire West Sail Port and even the Empire.

As for the series of chain reactions that followed, they had long gone beyond his... or rather, the entire Civil Official Group's, and everyone's control and expectations.

Anush was killed, Absek suddenly rebelled, Poluo Country was established, the Southern Legion joined the war under the guise of a pseudo-emperor...

And now, those fools have gone so mad they want to overturn the entire table.

Thanks to those fools who gamble with the nation's future on a whim, all efforts to improve the Weilante people's image have been in vain!

Hearing Dominique's suggestion, Bennott pinched his brow tiredly, expressing with fatigue.

"Protect them... how? In City of Dawn alone, there are at least tens of thousands of Weilante people. Can we pack them all into the embassy?"

There aren't enough rooms here; just housing the embassy staff is crowded.

Dominique was momentarily speechless and after a moment, spoke with difficulty.

"How about temporarily relocating them to the Falcon Kingdom? That's our only stronghold in the Eastern World..."

Hearing this naive suggestion, Bennott couldn't help but retort before Dominique finished speaking.

"And then what, once they're moved? How long can they stay there? This is a migration of over a hundred thousand people; even the Alliance wouldn't be able to handle such a sudden influx, let alone the Falcon Kingdom, whose total population isn't even a million... that shrinking oasis simply can't accommodate that many people."

Dominique awkwardly rubbed his nose.

On further reflection, this indeed wasn't a good idea.

After all, people aren't livestock, and they can't be moved from one place to another with just a movement of the lips.

Just then, the television in the room suddenly interrupted with a live news broadcast.

The street in the camera was filled with an angry crowd, each face painted with indignation.

In response to the reporter's interview, an emotional protester yelled at the top of his lungs.

"I told you long ago! Those big noses are not to be trusted!"

Before he finished speaking, another head popped in, stealing the camera from in front of him.

"A nuclear bomb! How did they get a nuclear bomb! I don't believe they did it without an inside traitor!"

"Every Vellante is a potential spy!"

"Send them all to Mantou Harbor! That's where they belong!"

The crowd in the footage became more agitated, forcing the reporter on site to temporarily switch the live coverage to a drone camera.

Judging from the footage from the overhead camera, the location seemed to be the No.1 Settlement of the Alliance, with at least two to three thousand people gathered in the street!

This place is the largest settlement of Poluo people on the entire Death Coast, and one of the largest settlements for Vellante people as well. Considering that both sides are currently in a state of war, it is easy to imagine how tense the conflicts are.

Bennott felt a sinking feeling in his heart, realizing that his worst fears were becoming reality.

However, at that moment, a limping man appeared at the edge of the camera frame.

His prominent nose already indicated his identity; he was a Vellante.

In this situation where all Vellante instinctively avoided, he proactively stepped in front of the crowd.

The reporter quickly focused the camera on him.

At the same time, many protesting people also turned their gaze toward him.

Facing many pairs of eyes, he took a deep breath and said loudly with a strong voice.

"My name is Kuran. I was once a member of the Southern Legion."

The crowd roared, and almost all the Poluoro present became emotional.

The guards surrounding the crowd tensed up, thinking of pulling this fool away for "provoking" the demonstrators.

Yet Kuran stood on high ground, straightened his back, and without dodging continued to meet those angry gazes with a strong voice, saying.

"There's nothing to hide. Instead of pretending this has nothing to do with us, I'd rather face you honestly."

One protester forced his way to the front, almost pressing against the guard's shield, roaring at him.

"Do you think this is something to be proud of? Scum! Look at what you've done to my hometown!"

Kuran looked at him and shouted back in a voice and tone that was not inferior.

"Of course not. I never said this was our pride, it is clearly a disgrace!"

That voice stunned some of the people.

They were perhaps not expecting to hear such words from a Vellante.

The guards maintaining order were also surprised looking at him, and the slightly older chief inspector suddenly handed him the loudspeaker.

Instead of persuading the crowd to leave, it was better to let them have a heart-to-heart expression.

Say everything held inside.

Kuran took the loudspeaker from the inspector and said loudly with an even stronger voice.

"This is the disgrace of Vellante!"

"We came here far from home precisely because we are fed up with the lies of these shameless people!"

"...I believe our Marshal did not unite us to oppress the survivors on this Wasteland, but to fight against those who enslaved us!"

"I believe he must want us to break our own shackles, stop the War Construction Committee from turning into a runaway horse, and liberate all the suffering survivors on this Wasteland... so he leads us to rise and rebel!"

"The spirit of resistance, the courage not to submit to fate, and the determination to win... I want to say that damn it, that should be our medal! Our glory! That's what should be left on this land by us!"

"The problem with Vellante should be solved by Vellante themselves, and we won't dump all the issues on you, sitting here waiting for you to solve all our troubles!"

"I hereby swear, I, Kuran, declare war on the Southern Legion! And all of us who do not submit to tyranny!"

"We will return to Evernight Harbor to liberate our oppressed and deceived compatriots! As well as other oppressed races... even if it costs our lives!"

"We will fight alongside you!"

That passionate voice was no less intense than the Manager's speech on television.

And the previously indignant crowd was divided, with some still shouting, while others cheered him, even applauding him sincerely.

The Vellante Expeditionary Army was established at this moment.

Once, an alien saved them, and now it was their turn to unite and return to their homeland to save all oppressed people.

Not just that.

They will also rectify past mistakes!

Watching the impassioned impromptu speech on television, Bennott felt deeply moved.

He never expected such an outstanding young man to exist at the grassroots of the Legion.

While this gave him some comfort, it also left him feeling frustrated.

Why such excellent young men remained unnoticed on the land of the Legion, only to shine brightly upon arriving on the land of the Alliance.

Aside from the interests of the civil official group, this guy indeed said something that struck a chord with him.

Perhaps his honorable Marshal originally thought that way...

In the end, they let him down.

"Draw a clear line... that seems to be the only way," Bennott sighed lightly in his heart.

Although the outcome of fratricide is heartbreaking, there was indeed no better way from that guy's perspective.

Dominie didn't speak, but his face showed a look of guilt. No one knew what he was thinking in his heart.

At this moment, a representative stepped to the front of the crowd and shouted at those arguing endlessly.

"If you are done making noise, listen to me for a moment. If your hatred for the Army is bone-deep, then enlist! If you simply wish to use a righteous cause as an excuse to slaughter your neighbors, then go back to your hometowns and lock yourselves up for fun."

"Additionally, I will propose a new plan to the assembly! Those who enlist to protect the Alliance and fight for our ideals will be given priority to receive the Alliance's citizenship card!"

"This is the fairest way!"

The live broadcast of the protest continued, but the following parts seemed to have little to do with the Weilante people.

Bennott picked up the remote control and changed the channel.

Just then, his adjutant Kuike walked in from outside the door.

Seeing the guy's expressionless face, Bennott instinctively sat upright, showing a wary expression.

The guy was from the Imperial Guard and the only one Bennott feared in the entire embassy.

In Triumph City, the Imperial Guard typically played the role of the Marshal's spokesperson.

Outside Triumph City, they, who controlled special communication channels, were more like embodiments of the Marshal.

Most of the time, they would not interfere with the decisions of those below them.

When they did step in, it was usually because they thought the time was critical.

Dominie wisely left his seat, drawing the curtains for the two of them, then left the study.

Looking at Kuike sitting opposite him, Bennott hurriedly asked before he could speak.

"Does our Marshal have any instructions?"

Kuike shook his head.

"No."

Bennott's face showed a hint of disappointment as he leaned his shoulder against the sofa.

"Then what are you here for?"

Kuike looked calmly at Bennott and suddenly said something unexpected to him.

"Recently, some incidents have occurred in Triumph City."

Bennott was slightly stunned.

"What incidents?"

There were incidents happening in Triumph City every day, and he couldn't possibly know every detail about each one.

Especially recently, affairs concerning the Sticky Community and the Southern Legion were causing him headaches, leaving him no time to attend to what was happening at the rear.

Kuike glanced at the clock on the wall and continued in a casual tone.

"A while ago... probably when this War started, the Southern Legion sent what they deemed a traitor to Triumph City."

"Pangolin, right? I know that young man..." Bennott nodded, but looked at Kuike with more confusion, "But I thought this matter had already ended, right?"

Forcing Pangolin to secretly meet Absek, persuading him to eliminate Anush and sever ties with the Heavenly Kingdom Army and the Southern Legion was precisely his idea, and it was also a counteraction to the Southern Legion's conspiracy to seize West Sail Port.

This plan directly led to the birth of the Poluo Country.

As for the Southern Legion's furious retaliation with a puppet invasion, that was another matter entirely.

Bennott remembered that at the time, Guryang had locked Pangolin in prison and brought a court from Evernight Harbor intending to label the guy as a traitor and execute him.

To get Pangolin out, he utilized many connections within the Civil Official Group.

However, ultimately, the young man held firm and was able to move the entire courtroom with an impassioned speech.

Later, the presiding judge of the case announced the transfer of the trial to Triumph City.

And once in Triumph City, the so-called trial was mostly just for show.

That place was considered the territory of the Civil Official Group; the Southern Legion's influence couldn't reach there.

For a small figure like Pangolin—escaping this ordeal thus meant he had landed safely ashore.

Seeing Bennott's puzzled expression, Kuike nodded and continued in a steady tone.

"The case did indeed end, the trial judge announced his acquittal in court, and granted him Triumph City's citizenship as compensation for his wrongful persecution."

Bennott grew even more puzzled and asked in confusion.

"Then why bring him up?"

Kuike continued.

"Because after that, many things happened; he did not settle down but kept working for those West Sail Harbor survivors who had supported him, investigating the truth behind the tragic incident."

Bennott's expression became visibly moved.

The tragedy at West Sail Harbor was always a lingering shadow within his heart.

Although he was not the one responsible for creating such a tragedy, the three thousand-plus Weilante people who died were indeed tangled up with him.

It was precisely the erroneous decisions by the Civil Official Group that gave the Southern Legion an excuse to exploit, dragging those over three thousand innocent compatriots into political strife, making them innocent sacrifices.

He had thought about investigating the true nature of this affair, but since it had already been over half a year, the truth didn't seem to be that important, and even if it were discovered, it wouldn't change anything... at least that's how he saw it.

What he didn't expect was that the Pangolin had been investigating this matter all along.

Looking at the visibly moved Centurion Bennott, Kuike suddenly smiled rarely.

"Surprised, aren't you? The Weilante People have reached the point where they need aliens to save them again."

"No... that's not what surprises me," Bennott replied with a bitter smile, "I just don't understand why someone as smart and capable as him would do something so meaningless."

Kuike: "Meaningless?"

Bennott nodded silently.

"Let's be realistic, uncovering the truth isn't hard, but even if we figure out the truth, it won't change anything. You and I are part of the Army, you know what I mean, deceiving ourselves is pointless."

"Yes, but some people don't think that way," Kuike said, lighting a cigarette, taking a puff by himself, and moving to the ashtray, "He gave a total of 51 speeches, sometimes on the street, sometimes in court, sometimes in the tavern, and also at our landmark building..."

"At first, not many people listened to his speeches, only those who sympathized with him, and the Weilante People who followed him from West Sail Port to Triumph City... But as this work became more skilled, his speeches became more and more heartfelt, and the listeners grew in number, not only the fishermen fishing in the Arctic Circle, but also the Weilante People of the New Continent."

Officers of the Army are not good at speeches.

Civil officials are not good at it either.

In the entire Army's system, communication is not a skill necessary for those in powerful positions because most of the time information is conveyed in the form of orders.

For this reason, when he spoke up for the Weilante People, there was no one to confront him as an opponent.

And it was difficult to silence him or cover his mouth.

In terms of combat power, his experiences are considered legendary, and there are rumors that he once single-handedly defeated a Mother of Dead Claw... that's what McCullen said.

Moreover, more and more Weilante People view him as an idol and have rallied around him.

In the Army's colonies, local guards might still be able to suppress by firing.

However, in a place like Triumph City, throwing a random stone might hit a few Centurions or their fathers, no one dares aim a gun at them.

Furthermore, the rights exercised by these gatherers are acknowledged by Triumph City's laws.

On this point, the Guard Brigade, adhering to ancient principles, is their ally too.

As long as he's in Triumph City, no one can stop him.

Bennott rubbed the center of his forehead, spoke wearily.

"What does he want? To lead the people of Triumph City in rebellion?"

Kuike shook his head lightly.

"If that were the case, he couldn't persuade the survivors of Triumph City to stand with him, you must know that."

Bennott sighed.

"Then what did he say?"

Kuike said.

"He wants to see the Marshal."

Bennott was stunned for a moment, staring at him, pausing for a long time before coming to.

"See... the Marshal?"

Is the Marshal someone you can meet just like that?

That esteemed person hasn't shown up for a long time.

Is all this commotion just for such a reason...

Wait!

Bennott suddenly recalled a rumor.

It is said that a long, long time ago, when Marshal Julius made his last appearance, he said something—

"...I hope this is the last time I appear before you, you don't have to ask my opinion on everything, otherwise our war will never end, and sooner or later I will grow old."

"When the sun sets, I intend to rest a while, do not disturb me unless it's absolutely necessary... like the entire city calling for me."

Later on, Marshal Julius never publicly appeared again, retreating from the bright stage to behind the scenes.

He gave chances to younger people.

And to not betray his expectations, more so not to disappoint him, his loyal subordinates built Triumph City into a vast settlement and conquered extensive territories outside Triumph City.

Today, the Weilante People possess boundless wealth, although Triumph City is not as prosperous as Ideal City, they have far more than just Triumph City as a settlement.

Counting the entire Army's scale, even ten Ideal Cities' wealth can't match the total possessed by the Weilante People, every Weilante citizen is immensely proud of the miracles they created.

The current Weilante People shouldn't be calling his name like a cared-for child...

Bennott's Adam's apple moved, his breathing suddenly paused sharply.

Really not?

Thinking about the survivors from West Sail Port, he suddenly lost that confidence.

For a moment, even he himself had a sense of empathy.

Sitting across from him, Kuike spoke his mind in a very soft voice.

"...The entire city is calling his name."

"This is the major event happening in Triumph City right now."

Chapter 924: Crowds Gather at the Mustering Grounds

"Long live Julius!!!"

"Long live the Marshal!!"

"Long live Julius!!!"

"..."

Triumph City.

This is the expedition place where millions of Weilante people place their spirit and faith, and also the heart of the Giant that occupies two-thirds of the world.

At this moment, this city, covering millions of square kilometers, reverberates with the shouts of millions.

People stand on the streets, holding torches in their hands, and unleash all their emotions in that chorus of shouting.

That is the name of their leader.

It's also their faith!

In his name, they have fought countless worlds, conquering tens of millions of square kilometers of land.

And now, they just hope he will wake up...

Glory Court.

This is the tallest building in the entire Triumph City, and also the Marshal's residence and the Imperial Guard's base.

Over a thousand steps lift the tens of meters high arch from the ground, and a century of storms and rains have left traces of time on the magnificent marble relief.

A century ago, to commemorate the founding of Triumph City and the hard-won freedom, Weilante people leveled a marble mountain to build this grand wonder.

This is both a gift to Marshal Julius and a monument built to commemorate the opening of a great era.

At this moment, the burning stars at its foot connected into flowing rivers, like the giant's pulse.

At the convergence of those stars and gazes, a tall man, with piercing eyes, stands with a straight spine, along with his not-so-high nose bridge.

Yes.

He is not a Weilante, just like the one disappeared a century ago.

Although neither are Weilante, they both possess qualities that Weilante people aspire to.

For example, bravery.

For example, loyalty.

For example, fearlessness against power.

It is precisely because of these differences, without the heavy historical burdens, he can speak the thoughts in Weilante people's hearts which could never be said aloud.

"...Since you don't want to say anything and don't know what to say, then call his name!"

"All survivors of suffering! All survivors who do not yield to authority! Let your god hear your devout cries! Let him open his eyes and see what exactly has happened beneath his feet!"

"And let us see, who is truly afraid! Who is fearful! Who is trembling, who least wants him to awaken!"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group clenched their fists and shouted deafeningly towards the bustling crowd.

Pairs of passionate gazes focused on him, and the loud shouting responded to him.

The entire Triumph City's guard team was mobilized, including the city defense army stationed within the city.

Yet, even if all of them combined, they couldn't encircle that surging crowd.

Not only that.

Some guards and soldiers even joined the crowd.

They did nothing wrong, they just called Julius's name.

In the Army, Julius is synonymous with correctness.

No Weilante would ever question the loyalty they spend their life embodying.

In other words, even the most shameless scoundrel, who uses the Marshal and loyalty as tools for personal gain, cannot order the arrest of a Weilante for their heartfelt loyalty to Marshal Julius.

Loyalty!

It's not just something that Weilante people regard as honor.

It is also the source of their legitimacy!

When praise is no longer praise, cheering is no longer cheering, this unstoppable sword of authority ultimately stabs back like a boomerang.

Not only the faction represented by the Southern Legion, the other three great legions and even the Civil Official Group are all helpless at this moment.

After all, none of them have enough confidence to claim they're absolutely clean without exploiting Weilante people under the Marshal's name and distorting their mission.

To say the least, that fellow named "Pangolin" has offended all the interest groups he could... even those civil official groups who sympathize with him and have helped him.

Except for the People.

Or, say, the ordinary people long ignored living within the Legion.

That is the only group he has not offended.

Not only that, he stands firmly with them.

And they never abandoned him.

Weilante people can be suppressed, but they will never abandon their hero.

No matter whether he is a Weilante or not.

And that is the greatest difference between Weilante people and the Mouse Tribe, Snake Race, Horse Tribe People, etc.

Standing at the edge of the crowd, Brock held a cigarette at the corner of his mouth, with more lying at his feet.

"...I've been a guard for twenty years, and it's the first time I've seen so many people simultaneously shouting that great man's name."

Beside him stood his colleague, a Centurion who had retired from the front lines.

The face, ravaged by time, was indistinguishable between wrinkles and scars, with the years etched onto it like the rings of a tree.

However, compared to Brock, he was more magnanimous, merely squinting his eyes as he smiled.

"Marshal above, I don't believe you haven't heard this. Anyway, it's something I keep on my lips every day."

Brock glanced at him, then at the crowd not far away, muttering under his breath.

"I'm talking about the same time."

And yet...

Can such offhand remarks truly compare with this current scene?

Not to mention, there are so many people here.

Staring at the excited crowd, he gradually felt a heat on his back, spontaneously considering joining these madmen after handing over his shift.

Perhaps the marshal could really be called out by them?

This wasn't impossible after all.

Most people don't live that long, yet in this world, there exists a series of technologies like "cryogenic sleep" and "DNA telomere repair."

The inevitable birth, illness, and death for ordinary people had many solutions for that esteemed individual.

The more Brock thought, the more tempted he became.

But just then, a group of armed soldiers approached.

His colleague nudged his shoulder.

Brock was startled awake, immediately looking to the armed soldiers and the Ten Thousand Leader standing ahead of them.

The Ten Thousand Leader stared at him expressionlessly, commanding indifferently.

"Move aside!"

Somehow, courage supported his spine, and Brock did not retreat but squinted his eyes.

"What's your name?"

Adjusting the brim of his officer hat, the man fixed his gaze on him, slightly raising his nose.

"Glaston, Ten Thousand Leader of the 11th troop of the City Defense Army, and you?"

"Brock, Centurion of the Enforcement Team of Gryphon Street, Triumph City Guard," raising his chin just like Glaston, who looked at him with disdain, "What if I say no?"

Hearing the refusal, Glaston was briefly shocked for two seconds, then glared at him fiercely.

"This is a command from Legion Leader Teil! Do you intend to rebel?"

Listening to the arrogant tone, Brock remained unmoved, coldly laughing.

"Legion Leader Teil? Ha, I don't recall swearing loyalty to him. If you want to lick his rear, feel free not to involve me. But if you wish to defy the marshal's order, you'd better step over my dead body first."

"You..." A soldier angrily stepped forward, hand pressing on his waist.

Just as he intended to go up and teach this ignorant guard a lesson, he was stopped by the officer beside him.

Glaston stepped forward, squinting his eyes at Brock who refused to budge.

His gaze was like the wolf's claw.

After a while, he said in a low voice.

"Think about your family, especially your child... I guess he's probably a military school student. Are you sure you want to oppose the South Wind Legion? Are you willing to jeopardize his future over this?"

"Ha, finally resorting to that tactic?" Brock scoffed as he flicked his finished cigarette butt in front of Glaston's boots, "My family doesn't need you dogs to worry; they're brave warriors who will only feel proud of my decision today."

Brock did not know that, thousands of kilometers away in Giant Stone City, someone had once said these words.

Heroic choices among heroes always coincide, even if they don't stand in the same position.

Looking at the obstinate guard, Glaston was so enraged internally that he wished to tear the guy apart.

However, he couldn't do so.

Triumph City isn't under the dominion of the Southern Legion; he must consider the stances of the other three legions and the Civil Official Group.

If he does not want to become Cannon Fodder in factional battles.

Just as he was caught in a dilemma, a voice suddenly came through the communication channel.

It was the voice of the Southern Legion's Chief of Staff.

"...Retreat."

Glaston was stunned for a moment.

"But—"

"The leader of the Imperial Guard has come out."

Imperial Guard!

Hearing the term, a hint of apprehension finally crossed Glaston's face, instinctively glancing towards the steps at the end of the crowd.

A faintly visible figure stood at the edge of those steps, overlooking the bustling districts below.

Although the Imperial Guard rarely appears in the political scene of Triumph City, everyone knows they're the eyes of the marshal, tasked with conveying his orders.

If those guards serve as priests to the gods, then the leader of the Imperial Guard is akin to the chief priest.

Few know that the leader of the Imperial Guard is technically also a Legion Leader.

However, since this Legion Leader is as enigmatic as the marshal, rarely appearing in public view.

Thus, in most contexts, people assume there are only four Legion Leaders.

In an instant, Glaston had understood the implications, glaring angrily at the unyielding guard before him, and signaled his confidants to retreat.

Watching Glaston slink away, Brock couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in triumph.

What Ten Thousand Leader.

It's nothing special.

However, since the choice has been made, there's no turning back.

Looking back at the thousands of compatriots standing behind him, Brock's mouth curled into a smile.

He had muddled through the first half of his life, and only now did he truly understand his mission.

What he defended and was loyal to should never be the authority of one person or group.

But order.

And the dignity of all Weilante people.

At this moment, the voices of his colleagues reached his ears.

"The Marshal above... is the officer of the Imperial Guard!"

"Rezer..." The elderly guard's pupils shrank into a dot, his face full of disbelief, muttering under his breath, "He's actually still alive..."

Hearing the cries of disbelief, Brock suddenly lifted his head, gazing past the masses, and saw the old man standing on the steps of marble arches thousands of steps high.

He wore a scarlet robe, his face marked by age spots, yet the golden painted power armor he wore was lifelike.

The city's clamor fell silent, everyone's gaze fixed on him.

Those countless gazes were filled with surprise and bewilderment like Brock's, and some were apprehensive and scared like Glaston's.

Excitement, fear, joy, anger, and countless expressions that are indescribable filled everyone's faces.

The one constant was the burning torches.

Everyone waited for his answer.

Rezer slowly lowered his head, his cloudy and sharp pupils like a vulture's gaze.

His gaze fell on everyone's head, finally stopping at the man standing below the stone stairs.

The man called Pangolin looked at him unflinchingly, like everyone else, waiting.

The whole world seemed to hit pause, as if a century had passed.

Just as the Battlefield Atmosphere Group's hearts began to drum, doubting whether the server had frozen, the old man finally broke the silence, slowly speaking.

"When I was a child, Marshal Julius told me... that on one future day, a young man different from all of us would come from the lands the legion had not conquered, and stand on the steps of the Glory Court, to tell the Weilante people the other meaning of loyalty..."

"He didn't tell us the meaning."

The voice was not loud, even weak, like a kite about to have its string snapped, yet in the quiet night, it was clear and firm.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group held their breath, staring at the old man in power armor atop the thousand steps, listening quietly to every word, fearful of missing a single word.

An intuitive sense told him, he had one foot already at the mission's finish line.

This began with a joke, a hidden mission so long he nearly forgot his real ID, and now it was finally about to be completely fulfilled!

However, halfway through his words, the old man suddenly stopped, his eyes lost in memories cleared once again.

"Seems you are the one the Marshal has been waiting for."

After saying this, he turned around, stepping towards the dozens of meters high archway behind him.

"Follow me."

"I'll take you to meet him."

...

A century has passed since Marshal Julius disappeared from the public's view.

Or to say it more accurately, it's been a century and 14 years.

No one told the Weilante people where their revered Marshal went, or if he was still alive.

The loyal Imperial Guard stands guard over the Glory Court like statues before Valhalla, day after day for a century.

Now finally someone has found the key to open that door, and is ready to unveil the final answer to those gazing upon it.

"Hope Sir Julius is still alive..." An old man raised his torch, dry lips moving, praying silently, "Hope he points us the direction forward, lost in confusion."

Some remained silent, just quietly watching the man ascending one step at a time.

114 years...

If that lord is truly still alive, he might be over 200 years old.

Instead of hoping he's alive, it might be better to hope he's hidden his wisdom in a desk drawer.

Standing among the crowd, Penny involuntarily clenched her fist, silently praying.

But unlike those around her, she's not praying for the Marshal's health, or for a perfect solution the lord left under the desk.

After all, whether such a thing exists or not was decided long ago.

Whether she prays or not will not change a thing.

However, although she does not believe in the power of prayer itself, she believes in him who can gather so many people.

Miracles have happened numerous times.

Let it happen once more!

Just as the Battlefield Atmosphere Group followed the footsteps of Imperial Guard Legion Leader Rezer, walking towards the arch at the top of the stairs, somewhere across the Western Ocean's New Continent in a secret room, a secret meeting was being held.

Here were the high ranks of the Western Legion.

Unlike other Weilante people.

They are born adventurers and sailors daring to fight against mighty waves.

Rather than waiting for others to decide their future, they prefer to make choices themselves.

In front of the conference table.

A man with his beard curled upward placed his right fist on the table and stared angrily at the image on the holographic screen, saying,

"These idiots... Do they not know that this is the scene His Excellency the Marshal least wants to see?"

His name is Enoch, a three-star Ten Thousand Leader affiliated with the Western Legion.

Being an academic officer who almost entered the Imperial Guard, he is confident that he understands Sir Julius better than anyone.

Although the Weilante people often mention that gentleman's name, he is aware that the Marshal actually does not wish for his children to do so.

In the words of that gentleman himself, that appearance is simply like a child who refuses to grow up.

Of course.

While saying this, what he truly fears is another matter.

What if these guys actually wake up His Excellency the Marshal?

Even if the probability is small, it's not impossible.

He once heard a rumor that when all the survivors of Triumph City are calling Julius's name, Marshal Julius will step out of the Glory Court wearing his armor and lead the Weilante people to eliminate all those who enslaved them.

If the legendary story really happened, he simply couldn't imagine what such a scene would look like.

At least, the "River Valley People," "Jinchuan People," and "Haiya People" haven't enslaved the Weilante people; even if they did, it was ancient history from the War Construction Committee period...

Enoch nervously looked at the Legion Leader sitting at the head of the conference table, hoping he could say or do something.

However, the Legion Leader sitting there remained silent, and instead, Cliff, another Ten Thousand Leader opposite Enoch, interjected.

"But it's indeed happening now."

Unlike Enoch, he is only a two-star Ten Thousand Leader.

However, one thing they share in common is that they are both Weilante people from Triumph City and graduated from the military academy there.

Enoch shot him a puzzled glance, then squinted his eyes into slits.

"What do you mean..."

Cliff responded to his gaze with unwavering resolve and unflinching tone,

"I mean, we all bear responsibility for things developing to this point today. Touch your heart, does anything exist there besides power?"

Enoch stood up furiously.

"Cliff, do you want to betray us? Betray everyone sitting here?"

Cliff also stood up, removed the medal from his chest, and slammed it on the conference table.

"From start to finish, the only one worthy of my loyalty has been one person and all the Weilante people."

There's really no difference between the two.

Not only Cliff got up, but three other Ten Thousand Leaders also rose.

They left behind every medal they had gotten from the New Continent, retaining only those belonging to Triumph City, then walked out of the conference room with heads held high.

Enoch gritted his teeth and stared at the backs of those leaving, clenching his fist fiercely, only sitting down indignantly after the door closed.

"These cowards..."

Now, the room was left with only the faction of the Western Legion; the officers from Triumph City had completely split from them.

There's no doubt that they will likely sail back to Triumph City later to greet the so-called Marshal.

As for whether to tamper with their ship, that's a decision for the Legion Leader to make, not for a three-star Ten Thousand Leader like him.

Another Ten Thousand Leader sitting not far from him snorted coldly, speaking in a leisurely manner,

"Perhaps they're just opportunistic gamblers... It's already the Wasteland Era 214; no one truly believes that His Excellency the Marshal is still alive, right?"

Another person across the conference table said in a low voice,

"What if he's no longer there?"

"I don't know," the Chief of Staff from the General Staff shook his head and, with a meaningful tone, uttered the first words since the start of this meeting, "Before the box is opened, no one knows what color the mouse that runs out will be."

However, one thing is predictable: the great migration of the Weilante people is about to begin.

Weilante people loyal to the Marshal will return to Triumph City, and those loyal to power will head south.

Of course, this is not their only choice.

Tradition-bound ones can also go to the Eastern Legion or Northern Corps.

And if they're tired of endless choices and traditional rules, they can go to the New Continent.

This might not be a bad thing for the Western Legion.

They have tribunes, a citizen assembly, and many things the old world did not have.

No matter how this reshuffle plays out, they will not lose out; at most, they'll gain less.

Whispering continued in the secret chamber.

People exchanged opinions, imagined the choices of the Western Legion in this upheaval, and considered numerous future possibilities.

Only the Legion Leader sitting at the head of the conference table had an eye flickering with unknown secrets.

No one knew what he was thinking.

Not even his closest confidants.

But everyone was clear that this esteemed figure had already made his decision.

And not just him, other Legion Leaders were the same.

The Weilante people stood at the crossroads of fate.

It was time to make a choice...

Chapter 925: Loyalty!

Thousand-level staircase.

If this were reality, the old soldier would probably have to rest twice halfway.

However, in the game, when he stepped onto the last step, he was relaxed without even panting.

Looking at the elderly man in golden power armor waiting for him in front of the hall, the old soldier glanced back at the dense crowd of figures and torches below the stairs, almost shrinking to a point, and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

At this moment, a calm and gentle voice came over.

"My name is Raze."

"I... Pangolin," withdrawing his gaze, the old soldier looked again at the elderly man in power armor, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "May I ask a question?"

"My age?"

The elderly man looked at him with a gaze full of wisdom, as if seeing through his thoughts.

The old soldier nodded and bluntly asked.

"How old are you?"

Raze slightly raised his eyes, gazed at the tall archway, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.

"In the Wasteland Era, year 42, we captured the Vellante Laboratory under the War Construction Committee, obtained the entire gene source code of the Vellante people, marking the moment we took full control of our destiny and gained the long-desired independence and freedom."

"It was at that time that Marshal Julius personally cut my umbilical cord and carried me out from the broken cultivation tank... you can calculate it."

After hearing the elderly man's words, the battlefield atmosphere group was momentarily stunned, completely shocked.

If he remembered correctly, it is now the Wasteland Era, year 214.

Which means...

This old guy is already 172 years old?!

Though in a game with a fantasy background, such an age is nothing, blame it on the game being too realistic, making him inadvertently use reality as a reference.

"Are you surprised?"

"Indeed..." He suppressed his surprised expression, nodded, and said with emotion, "You're probably the longest-lived person I've ever seen."

The elderly man smiled faintly.

"Living long is not a merit; there's nothing to boast about. Besides, I'm not the longest-lived either."

"Are you talking about Marshal, sir?" The old soldier was excited, "Is he still alive?"

The respected Imperial Guard Commander didn't answer his question but turned and walked towards the hall.

The old soldier quickened his pace, chasing that crimson cape, and followed the elder into the hall.

The majestic marble pillars connected the high dome and ground, with grand bas-reliefs carved on each pillar.

There were no crimson carpets or crosses here.

Nor were there any electrified lighting tools.

The only decorations were milky white marble and pure gold vessels.

The Imperial Guards in golden exoskeletons held lances as tall as two people, lighting torches embedded in the walls.

Their expressions were solemn and respectful, as if conducting some sacred ritual.

As those torches lit up, the previously pitch-black hall was gradually illuminated by the burning flames.

At that moment, the old soldier was surprised to find that the walls on both sides of the hall were engraved with bas-reliefs.

Those bas-reliefs formed a mural, full of stories, extending to the end of the hall.

He stood at the wall closest to the door, looking at the bas-relief engraved on the wall.

At the top of the bas-relief, there were three blazing torches, each handle connected to a powerful arm.

The strong arms seemed like mountains, towering and unyielding. The flames burning on the torches were as scorching as the sun, dispelling the shadows on the ground.

"...This was during the Post-War Reconstruction Committee period, in the Wasteland Era, year 21, the beginning of the Vellante plan and the start of suffering, and also the day when Marshal was born..."

Raze walked to the old soldier's side, touched the mural, seemingly lost in memories, and began to speak slowly in a gentle and solemn tone.

"The Waste Land Wanderers' opinion of them is mixed, and we call it the era of the Three Big Bosses."

Feeling the weight of history, the old soldier involuntarily swallowed.

"...The Three Big Bosses refer to the Technology Department, Production Department, and Defense Department?"

"Yes."

The elder slowly nodded, his gold-plated forefinger tracing along the marble's texture, following the bulging veins of the arm, stopping at those black specks as fine as sand.

The Old Soldier initially thought they were merely color accents until he got closer and realized that those black dots were, in fact, micro-carvings of people crawling.

His eyes involuntarily widened.

No wonder he often heard Fang Chang say that these big-nosed folks were born artists and engineers, and sending them to war was really a waste of their talents.

The craftsmanship of these stone carvings had reached an almost divine level!

"The glory of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee is built upon the countless survivors who came and went, just like the prosperity of the United Humans was accomplished by billions of citizens..."

"However, their greatness is also the most easily overlooked."

"And so, we unknowingly created a monster, fed it, obeyed it, and eventually feared it... It drove us onto a path we had never imagined. In the end, almost everyone forgot what we were supposed to do and what we were doing."

Watching the elderly man lost in his memories, the Old Soldier's Adam's apple moved.

"I remember... the Post-War Reconstruction Committee also saved a lot of people."

Rezer nodded slowly and said softly.

"You're right. If it didn't save anyone, why would it be called the Post-War Reconstruction Committee instead of something else? That fire burns is not something worth thanking, we must remember the ones who survived, and also those who were burned... This mural merely records the history of the Vellante people. I believe there are surely other murals, or similar things, that record different parts from ours in this world."

The Old Soldier also nodded.

He remembered that there seemed to be a cinema in the inner city of Giant Stone City, showing some past history and calculations of future possibilities based on current events.

However, that cinema was destroyed by a collapsed building during the great changes in Giant Stone City.

It's just a pity he never got to see it, only heard about it from NPCs in the Game.

Seeing no further words coming out of him, Rezer turned his gaze to the marble wall reliefs and continued speaking.

"After achieving the final victory, the Vellante people built this Glory Court as a gift for the Marshal. And the Marshal instructed us... which means the Imperial Guard, his most loyal servants, to engrave the history of the Vellante onto the walls."

"We do have more advanced recording technologies, but Sir Julius... our respected Marshal said, altering those illusory lights and shadows is easy, but what is carved into stone cannot be easily and completely erased."

"Even if those who come here after us scrape off the entire wall, the marks of chisel will linger deep in its roots."

"Unless those who alter it completely destroy this monument, erasing it entirely from the earth and rebuild a higher, bigger, grander counterfeit on the ruins."

With the young behind him, Rezer, clad in golden power armor, continued to walk forward.

Following the elderly man's footsteps, the Old Soldier looked intently at the reliefs on the wall.

He first witnessed the rise of Triumph City, the wars between the Vellante people with Mutants and the Looter... These legendary past events seemed as if they had occurred somewhere before, the more he looked, the more familiar they seemed.

Until one moment of realization, he realized these events had not just occurred in the past, but are still happening.

Like the conquest of Yavente City.

Those who occupied the miracles of the Human Alliance era, possessing advanced technology and immense wealth yet closed their doors to the wasteland survivors, were carved from the same mold as the Old Aristocrats of Giant Stone City.

But the point of divergence lies precisely there.

The Vellante people who conquered Yavente City ultimately did not make the same choice as the Alliance.

They executed the miserly nobles, confiscated the wealth of the rich, yet the poor unfortunates did not gain any benefits... The Vellante saw them as accomplices and lackeys of the nobles and reduced all other races to slaves.

They carried out a thorough reckoning on Yavente City's survivors but spared the problem itself.

The casinos continued operating.

And in the series of events that followed over the decades, the Vellante people went from being oppressed to becoming complete oppressors.

The contents on the reliefs became increasingly shocking, although the milky-white marble wall had no trace of red, it painted a scene of bloodshed.

Later, another group of people appeared on the reliefs.

They had no eyes, no mouths, even their noses were cut off, leaving only ears.

The Old Soldier recognized them, his expression also turning stunned.

"That is..."

Rezer said in a calm tone.

"Clone soldiers, you should not be unfamiliar if you've been on the battlefield."

Of course, the Old Soldier recognized them.

Those rapidly growing beings with a theoretical lifespan average of eight years, yet only surviving an average of three years on the battlefield.

In the Battle of Falling Leaves, the Alliance collected surrendered clone soldiers as prisoners, many of whom are still alive today.

They have no reproductive functions and no complete intellect, making it nearly impossible for them to integrate into civilized society. How to handle them more humanely, and whether to consider them as humans, has been a long-standing issue for the Alliance Biological Research Institute and the Academy of Social Sciences.

The young man seemed interested in them, so Rezer stopped in front of the mural depicting the Clones, recalling for a moment before speaking.

"We used our own gene source code to create a batch of Vellante people different from us, hoping they could fight for us... However, it turned out to be a failed exploration. Sacrifice is not something that can be replaced, and civilization only moves forward after paying a sufficient price."

A failed exploration, huh?

The old soldier's face revealed a complex expression.

Actually, if you ask him, those clone cannon fodders are indeed a bit tough to handle.

To this day, he still remembers how the Pioneer was driven to a desperate situation by an army of 2,000 clones, even the launch of a tactical nuclear bomb did not fundamentally change the course of the battle.

Not until the alliance's reinforcements arrived did the entire fight truly come to an end.

Of course, they weren't called the alliance back then, many things happened only later.

"Actually, there's one thing I don't understand... why would someone like His Excellency the Marshal advocate for the technology of clone cannon fodder."

Including the massacre at Yavente City...

Back then, the Marshal should have been alive, right?

Looking at the young man whose face was filled with confusion, Rezer merely smiled faintly.

"Standing in the position of descendants to ponder the dilemmas of predecessors does indeed lead to confusion like this... So, allow me to ask, why would people as upright as your managers also treat clones as containers?"

The old soldier was about to answer but suddenly realized something, staring in shock at the old man in golden powered armor.

Your managers...

This guy has seen through his identity?!

Rezer gave him a meaningful look, those cloudy pupils seemed to penetrate his soul.

"You're too young, you might fool others, but not me... I suppose it was over a hundred years ago, back when Marshal Julius had not yet left us. There was a time when I frequently dealt with you 'Blue Ground Squirrels' running wildly everywhere. Pangolin? Calling yourself that doesn't seem wrong to me, after all, they all look the same to me."

Seeing that the old man had long seen through his disguise, the old soldier remained silent for a while, then said bitterly.

"When did you realize?"

Could it be at the City of Dawn where a mistake was exposed?

There seem to be members of the Imperial Guard there too, someone named Kuike.

However, when dealing with that guy, he was always very careful, pondering that it seems no mistakes were made.

"...There's no need to guess, from the moment you entered Triumph City, I knew who you were and where you came from."

After a pause, Rezer continued.

"But there's no need for you to be nervous, whether you're a resident of the refuge or a visitor from five light years away, or even an alien with no relation to humanity at all, it doesn't matter to me... You are the one awaited by Sir Marshal, and by bringing you here, my mission is considered complete."

After speaking, he looked again at the carvings on the wall before him, and continued in a casual tone.

"Mr. Julius wasn't a perfect saint, he, like your respected managers, had his own feelings, desires, and thoughts."

"When betrayed, he would get angry, when seeing companions around him dying constantly, he would be saddened, Yavente City's betrayal hurt us, but the citizens of Yavente City indeed were innocent, he later regretted it too, yet the event had already occurred, spilled water cannot be gathered back into the cup, and many things cannot be changed by personal will."

"Between the worst and even worse decisions, he chose the one he felt was less damaging, letting time solve the conflicts between the Weilante and the old humans, avoiding a split between the Weilante. Thus originated Triumph City's protection of slaves, and before that, for other races outside the Weilante, even surviving was a luxury.

"Including the later clone soldiers, he hoped this method could reduce the bloodshed among the Weilante. However, when he came to realize, he suddenly found out he had just created a new batch of Weilante, without fundamentally solving the issue."

"And the sacrifices made by the Weilante for this did not decrease either, instead due to increased wartime potential, more wars followed, and more blood was spilled as a result."

"What pained him even more was precisely this, he considered himself a sinner to the Weilante and all humanity, annoyed by the stupidity of his decisions, and similar to the self-proclaimed clever Lowell of the Far East."

"He wanted to end the Wasteland Era but ended up as part of the Wasteland Era along with his children. Yet even so, his subordinates continued to admire him, worshiping him even more, viewing him as a god... including myself."

The old man slightly lowered his eyelids, then opened his eyes again.

"I've seen all of this, his joy and pain, as he always kept me by his side."

"He once asked me if I regretted anything, but to this day, my answer remains the same... I have never regretted my loyalty to him."

"Just as the gentleman himself said, no one can go through life without making mistakes, and there never was a flawless saint in this world. He could foresee many things, solve many problems, yet ultimately there would be unforeseen pitfalls lying in wait before us all..."

"But there's nothing to fear about that, we don't fear even death, so why fear stumbling?"

"As he himself once said, as long as we record history honestly, facing them openly without concealment, the Weilante are a hopeful nation, and sooner or later, we will walk out of our own pitfalls."

As he said this, Rezer had a look of calmness on his face.

The old soldier's Adam's apple moved, swallowing lightly.

The casual tone seemed to recite gradually, yet it felt as if a heavy epic was unfolding before him.

To say his heart wasn't touched even a little bit would be impossible...

As for where the Marshal was, he actually already had an answer in his heart.

"So... Marshal Julius, has actually been gone for a long time, hasn't he."

In fact, he had already sensed it.

"In the hearts of the Weilante, the omnipotent Marshal was actually just an ordinary man born in the Wasteland Era of year 21, not even an Awakener. The years of battle left many incurable ailments on him, and in the end, he had to wear powered armor with life support systems to sustain his life, and he was almost nightly awakened by pain..."

"I remember the last dinner with him was in Wasteland Era year 100, during a celebratory victory banquet. He seemed to want to wait until nightfall to leave, but ultimately couldn't hold on past dusk, hastily leaving behind his last words, then walked alone into the deepest parts of the Glory Court."

"At that time, we didn't know those were his last words, although I had a bit of a premonition... After all, from the very beginning, he had been gradually relinquishing his power and preparing for the things after his departure."

This time, Rezer finally answered his question directly and cast his gaze to the end of the marble relief — the blank that had yet to be carved.

"The future history will be written by later generations themselves. According to his last wishes, we have engraved the events after his departure on the wall, and we are complying with his will, waiting for 'that person' to arrive."

"... But there is one thing I still don't understand," the Battlefield Atmosphere Group stepped forward and couldn't help but ask, "Why did he hide his death?"

Rezer did not answer but instead turned his gaze towards the door at the end of the marble relief.

"He's just ahead; you might as well ask him directly."

The Old Soldier paused for a few seconds but still reached out to accept the key and flashlight the old man handed over.

Walking up to the heavy iron door, he inserted the key and turned the lock.

With a teeth-grating creak, the rusty iron door finally opened.

And to his surprise, what came into view was not any magnificent palace, but a simple room.

The decor here was very plain, and if it weren't for the bed, he wouldn't have imagined this was the living quarters of the much-revered Marshal Julius, it seemed more like a storeroom.

The dust rushing in made the Old Soldier wrinkle his brow involuntarily.

There was no electricity here, so there certainly couldn't be a Sleep Cabin or anything like that.

As for Julius's remains, the loyal Imperial Guard definitely wouldn't let it rot here, it was probably cremated or placed in a non-decaying coffin.

Someone had been here before, at least Commander Rezer, who was in charge of keeping the key and the secret, must have entered.

The Old Soldier turned on the flashlight and looked around, suddenly delighting in discovering a golden power armor set up between the third and fourth rows of bookshelves.

"Wow... the real mission reward is hidden here!?"

The Old Soldier muttered to himself in surprise, stepping over thick dust on the floor to the power armor.

This should be the set Julius wore, and the armor should be covered in real gold.

Even after a century of weathering, there wasn't a trace of rust on it.

He reached out and touched the armor, only to see the visor light up, and the internal power components emitted sounds of reactivation.

And at that moment, a deep voice drifted out from the helmet...

"You've come?"

"Whoa?"

Startled by the sudden voice, the Old Soldier involuntarily took a step back.

But he quickly realized that it was a pre-recorded voice.

"I have instructed Rezer if the final wall is used up, yet what I feared still hasn't happened, it means everything we have done was right, just find a place to bury me then."

"But since you have come... it seems the situation I least wanted yet was most certain would happen, eventually happened."

"Pretending to be alive was not a smart decision, but at that time, I had no better choice."

"The mission of the Army is not only to save the Weilante people, we are also tasked to clean up the mess for the United Human. I tried to make the Army more normal before my departure, but regrettably, my time was running out... And once I died, the Army would surely collapse, then chaos would devour everything we left in this world."

"I know the Army is a beast, but it's better than those cannibalistic Looters, Mutant tribes, or the mutated slime fungus that can't even be called civilization. Maybe one day we will be killed by other united survivors or replaced by more advanced and civilized productivity and relationships, like the overthrown War Construction Committee... but that day is definitely not now."

"Winter is over, but chaos and barbarism aren't... if we die prematurely, a better era won't come. We will head to a future worse and more barbaric than the Stone Age in mutual slaughter and evolve into real beasts."

"I tried to extend my life through technical means and lived twenty more years because of it, but the problem wasn't solved, my children became more dependent on me. And those forces waiting to act, along with ambition that comes with power, quietly grew."

"I also considered the Sleep Cabin, but that wasn't a good idea either, for my death is necessary for the Weilante people. An undying leader would not bring a brighter future to his children but turn them into cold, hard stones amid reverence and longing."

"Moreover, a me in slumber can do nothing, nor can I deter those eager to move. And when I wake from slumber, my resurrection will bring new troubles."

"In that case, I'll just have to wrong myself to be a 'living dead' once."

"The Weilante people will stand firmly united in the name of loyalty until the last winter passes. Faced with entities more barbaric than us, we shall be invincible. The only one who can defeat us must be a more civilized, more progressive, more historically inevitable existence."

"There will surely be someone, from lands we have never conquered, to come here and liberate us from the burdensome mission and enforced loyalty and take us, along with all other suffering survivors, into a new era."

"I guess when that moment arrives, our territory certainly won't be vast enough to not accommodate five hundred habitable Star Systems. In that case, it's no big deal to stumble before learning to walk... Besides, this is what we owe to other survivors."

"The Weilante people should be part of the world, not enemies of it. I believe you, standing here, must understand what I mean."

"See this power armor? It's yours now."

"Put it on, walk out from here, and tell those loyal guys, the Army has brought them to the dawn after the long night, its historical mission is complete! Now they themselves are the Sun, and the torches in their hands are the floating white on the horizon!"

"And also tell them for me, their dear Marshal Julius lived to 79, died at dusk before nightfall. He fell asleep with a smile, perhaps with regrets, but no regrets. He doesn't need to be remembered, for he is everywhere, never left, and already lives in everyone on this land!"

"Loyal to one's true heart, loyal to all Weilante people, loyal to all suffering survivors—"

"That is loyalty to me!"

Chapter 926: The Day of Triumph Is the Dawn

Deep into the night, beneath the steps of the Glory Court, the silent sparks of an illuminating fire spread quietly.

Yet that loyal voice echoed like a tidal wave in the hearts of everyone present.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was unsure how to convey Marshal Julius's final words to his children, nor how to adequately describe the shock in his heart with even more profound emotion.

After some contemplation, he finally chose to stand under those majestic gates and replay that recording with a louder voice.

The Weilante people are not just the Weilante people of Triumph City.

Rather than him telling them, it would be better for each of them to participate in accomplishing this great task.

Just as Julius mentioned in his last words, the winter that shrouded this wasteland is now past.

There is no longer any savagery on this planet that needs to be conquered by the legion.

But the beast fed by the Weilante people is now gnawing on the flesh of Weilante, becoming the accomplice of the Looter, and even turning into the Looter itself.

It's time to move toward a new era.

Faced with the countless pairs of eyes, dense as tiny black dots, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group gradually understood its mission.

He cleared his throat, and with a clear and loud voice, continued after the broadcasted recording.

"I saw Marshal Julius and found the words he left on this set of power armor."

"Long ago, our respected marshal foresaw a day... when our legion had expanded to its limits and there were no longer opponents easy to conquer, this runaway beast would inevitably try to devour us all."

"Thus, he placed a bridle named loyalty around the neck of this beast."

"When, one day in the future, the high and mighty schemers attempt to bind and coerce us in the name of loyalty. When, one day in the future, this uncontrolled beast tries to strangle us all with the rope around its neck... that would be the sign that the final moment has arrived."

"When the survivors of the entire Triumph City are shouting his name, when the darkness over our heads is turned to daylight by the torches in our hands... It signifies that moment is now!"

"Following the wishes of that great man, I have brought this bridle out of the Glory Court."

He placed both hands on his chest, slowly clenching them as if the invisible bridle was truly in his grasp.

The overwhelming emotion caused every cell in his body to tremble uncontrollably.

This was his 52nd speech in Triumph City.

Unlike every previous occasion, this time he had not prepared a script in advance.

"Will you be strangled by it before dawn, buried along with it in the old era, or will you use this bridle to choke it, bringing our proud loyalty to our new era—"

He slowly raised his clenched fists as if tightening the bridle grasped in his hands.

"Make a choice true to your hearts, for this is the only matter where no one else can decide for you! In this moment, you are Julius, and Julius is you!"

"Loyalty to the people's choice is loyalty itself!"

In truth, from the very beginning, the outcome was never in doubt.

If they hadn't been fed up with those lies, those holding torches wouldn't be standing here.

"Strangle it—!"

No one knew who shouted first.

That hysterical voice echoed in the night sky, like a stone cast into a calm lake, soon stirring layer upon layer of ripples.

Emotion is contagious, especially when people are gathered together.

It is for this reason that when people gather and shout loyalty, Legion Leader Teil, who cannot speak of loyalty, becomes so fearful, going so far as to resort to the city defense forces' power.

But now, even if he wanted to stop it, it would be too late.

Thousands of cries merged into one, converging into an ocean vast and boundless.

In front of that ocean, his circus-like antics were like a lone boat.

Everything was just like back then, when that great man led the Weilante people to overthrow the War Construction Committee—

Even a defense department as powerful as Leviathan could not stop this torrent!

"Strangle it!!"

"Strangle it!!!"

"Let those conmen who blind the Weilante with lies, those thieves who steal our victory fruits, and those disgraceful scoundrels who coerce Weilante with loyalty all go to hell!!!"

"The Weilante shall never be slaves!!!"

Looking at the fiery city district, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group lowered the fists he had raised in front of him.

Gazing at the burning torches, he suddenly thought of the first mural inside the Glory Court—

The fist composed of countless citizens united.

In that crowd, he briefly glimpsed Julius's face, a slight smile involuntarily appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"...I wonder if you can see this day."

He had fulfilled his role as a "spark plug," accomplishing everything he could.

Now, Triumph City was like an engine already ignited, with no further need for him to do anything extra.

The Weilante people, who made the final decision, would naturally walk the path they had chosen.

At this moment, he felt incredibly relieved, as if all burdens had been lifted off him in an instant.

The "Longest Cycle Completion Task" achievement of the entire server was successfully accomplished.

His mission was finally complete.

Looking at the man standing on the steps, Penny's eyes filled with glistening tears.

In them were excitement, emotion, joy, and countless complex feelings intermingled.

He did not break his promise!

He really did it!

The legend that had been forgotten by almost all the Weilante people and thought nearly impossible to achieve—

They reunited once again!

Standing at the edge of the crowd, Chief Brock's face was also filled with emotion.

And not far from him, the guards of the Enforcement Team of Gryphon Street were chatting in a casual tone.

"...If I recall correctly, this should be his 52nd speech."

"By the way, does Julius passing that set of golden power armor to him mean he's our next Marshal?"

"There will be no more Marshals… No, to be precise, there will not be a Marshal like Sir Julius anymore. Didn't you hear him? Each one of us is him, every one of us is Julius."

"I agree, from now on, the army is the army, politics is politics, law is law, citizens are citizens... The era of the Legion is over. Just like Sir Julius said, we are moving into a new epoch."

"Then how about a different name... how about Leader? We can't be like a corporation with no one in charge."

"Good idea."

"But after all, he's not a Weilante... is it okay for him to be the Leader?"

"What does it matter?"

"Exactly, what does it matter if he isn't a Weilante? It's not just Weilantes standing up tonight; rather, this is the perfect chance for us to bury the hatchet!"

At least, for now, the army is still in the hands of the Weilante, and the risk of reform is the smallest.

When the army is no longer only Weilantes, then trying to reform might no longer be a mere change, but a transformation.

An elderly guard looked at the thousand steps of the Glory Court and suddenly uttered a heartfelt sigh.

"Besides... no one has ever talked to us so openly about his plans, and he talked about it for a full 52 times."

A young guard looked at him and said noncommittally.

"I think what matters is not what you say, but what you do."

The elderly guard nodded.

"That's right, a slick talker might be a fraud, but a lazy fraud who doesn't even bother to deceive is just a bandit, worse than a fraud... Haven't you suffered at their hands?"

Brock did not participate in his colleagues' discussion.

Rather than expressing his opinions, he preferred to listen to their views on the future.

However, he thought if that guy wanted to participate in the selection of the Leader, there probably wouldn't be anyone who could compete with him...

After all, before that guy, no one had ever united so many Weilante people together.

Not to mention the Weilantes, but also including the aliens living in Triumph City.

Except for Julius himself.

Incidentally, those thieves who manipulated the Weilante in Julius' name didn't deserve to compete at all.

Standing at the entrance of the great hall, staring at the lifelike Golden Armor, Rezer's face revealed a genuine smile.

Suddenly, from that spirited silhouette, he saw the shadow of another person.

It seemed that gentleman was the same way...

His murky eyes were momentarily lost in memory, his gaze piercing through the mists of time.

"We finally meet again..."

"Sir."

...

Embassy Street in the City of Dawn.

Sitting in the study, Centurion Bennott couldn't help but hold his breath.

After listening to Kuike's report, he was stunned for a long time, and only after a while did he reach out with a trembling index finger to pick up the glasses on the table and put them on.

"So… Marshal Julius has really already…"

His heart felt like a pot of mixed emotions had been overturned, and he was momentarily at a loss for words.

To say who is the most loyal, the Civil Official Group proclaiming second, probably only the Imperial Guard dares to claim first.

After all, their interests are tightly bound to Triumph City, and they are the only ones who have been consistently implementing Triumph City's decrees, treating the slaves in their territories kindly.

As for the malice and exploitation of slaves towards other slaves, that's another matter entirely.

Most civil officials are more inclined to believe that Marshal Julius must still be alive, just sleeping in the Sleep Cabin.

Including Bennott himself, as this was the scenario most consistent with the interests of the Civil Official Group.

He at most hoped that the Marshal would sleep on, never having the irreverence to think that the gentleman had already slumbered eternally.

Looking at the unable-to-accept-it Centurion Bennott, Kuike slowly nodded and said in a very light voice.

"That was a very long time ago, and also the top secret of the Imperial Guard. Not to mention you didn't know, even some ministers in Triumph City have no idea."

When he said this, he paused for a moment to give Centurion Bennott time to organize his thoughts, and then continued.

"...We didn't tell the whole truth about one thing; participating in the Sticky Community was not a direct decree of His Excellency the Marshal, but an exploration based on his last wishes."

Bennott squeezed his aching brow and said in a hoarse voice.

"...Looking for that guy from The Unconquered Land? For that prophecy? Last wish?"

Kuike nodded.

"Yes, that was the original intention for our risky intervention in the political situation, and also what I have been doing all along. But the final result was beyond our expectations; the person had actually been among us all along, and before we actively sought him out, he found us first..."

The wonder of fate might just lie in this.

Though the original intent of the Imperial Guard eventually amounted to nothing, joining the Sticky Community itself turned out to be one of the few brilliant moves for Triumph City.

When he got to this point, he paused for a moment.

"I have to thank you for this, the talent was discovered by you."

Bennott let out a wry smile.

"...Should I take this as sarcasm?"

If he had known it would turn out like this, he would rather have nipped that trend in the bud.

After all, that guy was overthrowing all interest groups.

This naturally included the civil official group.

"Please take it as gratitude." Kuike said sincerely, looking at him without joking, continuing, "Thanks to his appearance, our mission is finally over, and Mr. Julius can finally return to soil & rest in peace."

Bennott remained silent for a long time without speaking, then he let out a long sigh.

"Maybe I should go back for that gentleman's funeral... Such things cannot be missed."

Kuike nodded.

"Go back, they need you there."

Not just a funeral delayed for more than a century, but a whole lot of leftover issues are waiting for the awakened Weilante people to solve after dawn.

Settling old mistakes is just the beginning, not the end.

After sending off the army, they still have to decide the path forward.

As the ambassador of Triumph City stationed in the City of Dawn, Bennott often dealt with the Alliance and other survivor forces on the wasteland.

At least in Kuike's view, he was the most suitable helmsman, if nothing else, then a guide.

Watching Kuike leave, Bennott pondered for a long while, then called in Dominie, who had been evading earlier.

Seeing Bennott with red-rimmed eyes, Dominie was stunned for a few seconds and hurried forward to ask.

"Mr. Bennott... what's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing."

Rubbing his sore nose, Bennott composed himself for a moment, then solemnly said,

"Something major happened in Triumph City, I have to go back, and you'll temporarily take over this diplomat role."

Upon hearing this, Dominie, who didn't know what had happened, froze on the spot, helpless for a moment.

"Me... me? But—"

"No buts, that's an order. I'll draft an appointment letter for you shortly."

Saying this, Bennott got up from the sofa, regaining a determined look on his face.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Dominie stared at him without blinking.

"Mr. Bennott, please tell me what really happened—"

"Marshal Julius has passed away..." Looking at the dumbfounded secretary, Bennott said with slight irritation, "It's not just our Marshal, our army might also cease to exist... I don't fully understand the details either, ask Kuike if you have any questions, and get the rest from the news."

...

Grand Canyon.

In the somber meeting hall, the elderly man sitting at the obsidian long table let out a long sigh.

"...That young man has indeed died."

Passed at the age of 79.

That is far too young...

Perhaps because life is too long, some things that happened a long time ago still feel like they happened just yesterday.

He still remembers that day and the deafening questions that young man directed at him—

Since the Post-War Reconstruction Committee claims to end the Wasteland Era as its mission, why are some people more equal than others?

Today, the Defense Department plans to reverse history using the legacy of Prosperous Epoch technology, what do they plan to do tomorrow?

He remembered his answer back then, telling Julius "you'll understand."

And what happened later was indeed as he expected.

After ending the War Construction Committee's era, the army under Julius's leadership did not take a path drastically different from the War Construction Committee, even their ultimate fate was similar... forced into a dead end by internal contradictions.

History will probably repeat itself once more.

However, he didn't see this as meaningless.

The War Construction Committee paid a price for its mistakes, and its collapse did not just result in the birth of the army.

Including enterprises, academies, even Giant Stone City, Free State, and many other survivor forces, they are all possibilities that evolved after that incident.

Whether the outcome like the army should be deemed a complete mistake, there is room for discussion in the unique environment of the Wasteland Era.

The same goes for the War Construction Committee.

They abandoned some people, sacrificed some, and spiraled into madness in despair.

But undeniably, they also saved some people and left embers for future generations.

A whale falls, all things grow...

Perhaps this is the ultimate fate of all great things.

"...You old immortal, calling others young men, isn't that rather thick-skinned of you."

Guessing that the old man was probably moved by his self-reflection again, a tall man sitting at the obsidian long table glanced at him with displeasure.

The old man looked at him, not caring much, just gave a faint smile and said,

"Your tongue is still as sharp as ever."

"I just don't want to waste precious time on meaningless things."

The Conclusion Doctor chuckled and continued leisurely.

"Tell me, how many invitations have you prepared this time?"

The old man spoke in a calm tone.

"Not many, one for you, one for the enterprises, one for the Alliance, and also for the Free State, the South Sea Union, and the Poluo Province..."

At this point, he suddenly fell into silence, as if lost in thought.

Suspended in the light blue holographic image, Conclusion sighed, crossed his arms, and said concisely.

"Prepare five more."

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else just now... getting old, everything's failing."

The old man, as if coming back to his senses, looked at Conclusion with an apologetic smile and continued.

"Then let's go with your suggestion and prepare five more."

...

On the other side, the No. 10 Settlement Point of the Alliance.

Having just met the envoy from Ideal City, Chu Guang unexpectedly received a message from the Grand Canyon.

[... Esteemed Manager, I am the Recording Officer of the Grand Canyon, allow me to extend our highest respect on behalf of the Chief and the survivors in the Grand Canyon.]

[We are shocked and regretful about the disaster in the Haiya Province...]

[To prevent the out-of-control Prosperous Epoch Technology from continuing to ravage our shared world, and to preserve the spark of civilization for a smooth transition into a new era, we invite leaders of the major Survivor Forces in the Wasteland to Origin City for a meeting to discuss crisis response plans...]

[We look forward to your arrival.]

Chu Guang glanced over the letter briefly, and in short, it was an invitation.

To be honest, the Alliance and the Grand Canyon didn't have much intersection, so suddenly inviting him over seemed a bit abrupt.

However, considering that the Grand Canyon's predecessor was the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, their "reserve" is somewhat understandable.

Chu Guang planned to discuss it later with the enterprises and the Academy.

If the two partners intended to attend the meeting, he would join in the fun too, and take the opportunity to socialize.

While Chu Guang was contemplating, Xiao Qi, perched on his shoulder, muttered.

"These geckos sitting on glass... talking as if that nuclear bomb had nothing to do with them, huh, maybe it fell out of their own pockets!"

Geckos, indeed...

Chu Guang couldn't help but smile, yet he found the comparison quite apt.

These guys hiding under the Holy Shield observing everywhere but doing nothing are just like geckos, aren't they?

"Where did you hear that nickname?" He wondered who thought it up.

Xiao Qi bragged with flair.

"Mosquito!"

"..."

Alright.

It's that guy for sure.

Upon hearing that familiar ID, Chu Guang was not surprised at all.

As Chu Guang turned off the holographic window, Xiao Qi whispered to him.

"Master... are you planning to go?"

"Go, why not?"

Stashing the letter, Chu Guang replied in a half-joking tone.

"Who knows, I might even meet Marshal Julius of the Army there. I've always wanted to have a chat with him."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qi was about to speak when she suddenly seemed to encounter an unexpected situation, "ah" followed by hastily whispering.

"I'm afraid that's no longer possible... the players at Triumph City just sent news that Marshal Julius is already dead."

Already dead?

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang was slightly stunned and quickly continued.

"... What happened? Is it the [Battlefield Atmosphere Group]? Forward the report they submitted to me!"

"Got it!"

At the moment Xiao Qi finished speaking, the recently closed holographic screen opened again in front of Chu Guang.

A new mail appeared in the unread mail section.

[Esteemed Manager, as per your instructions, I have successfully fulfilled my mission and liberated the Weilante people from the longstanding lies...]

[Perhaps, with your prophetic insight, you've already deduced everything. Indeed, Julius has been dead for a century. With the help of the Imperial Guard, I and the survivors of Triumph City have completed the final trial and decided to move towards the new era together.]

[That's the situation, everything went smoothly... However, I encountered a small problem at the end.]

[Shortly after the ceremony concluded, several ministers from the Civil Official Group found me, hoping that since I started things, I would take full responsibility. The Imperial Guard feels the same, and some insist that since the Marshal passed his armor to me, it signifies I inherit his responsibilities as well...]

[The Legion Leader named Rezer saw through my identity, but surprisingly, doesn't see it as a problem?! Besides the Civil Official Group and the Imperial Guard, the other survivors in the city feel the same. They want me to assume the role of some sort of Leader, but they can't even articulate what the Leader does exactly or how it differs from the Marshal's previous duties... it's giving me a headache.]

[In short, it's a complex situation that can't be fully explained with a few words, but if I don't come clean soon... my undercover work might as well have me end up as the head of the Army.]

...

(Thanks to "Chilly Skylight" for the lord's reward!!!)

Chapter 927: The Undercover Becomes the Boss

To be honest, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was really a bit flustered.

After obtaining the "ancestral" power armor from Julius, he thought his mission was complete. He could leave the rest to the survivors in Triumph City and go back to brag on the Forum.

However, to his surprise, the enthusiastic residents of Triumph City wouldn't let him leave and even put him in the position of Leader.

He thought these guys must be crazy.

The most he had ever done was being a Thousands of leaders, he hadn't even commanded two thousand people, let alone manage a survivor organization spanning millions of square kilometers.

However, the other Weilante people didn't think so.

Not to mention Rezer and the few Ministers who found him later, even Penny, his "comrade" who had supported him all along, seriously said no one was more suited for this position than him.

The Army needed reform.

They wanted to abolish the old, unjust laws and create new rules to unite the Weilante people in the settlement with the other survivor tribes.

As Penny put it, this was not only the Marshal's last wish but also the common choice of all Weilante people who were fed up with the lies of the Ten Thousand Leader.

After hearing her words, the Old Soldier was completely stunned.

Goodness, the Alliance's legitimacy is in Triumph City?!

This girl was even more "allied" than him, the undercover, at least he had never suggested the Weilante people imitate the Alliance's social model.

Being utterly indecisive, he logged off and wrote a report of a few hundred words, and reported the intelligence to the Manager through the official task page, hoping the latter could give him advice.

However, to his dumbfoundedness, he waited for half a day and all he got was an [Read] message.

"What the hell! Damn it!"

Sitting in front of the computer, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was instantly flabbergasted, looking at the screen in disbelief.

This guy really handed everything over to him...

To be honest, he didn't have any good feelings about the Army.

Emotionally speaking, he was quite happy to see those stupid far-right elements getting what they deserved. The undeserved disasters they faced were just retribution, and their ridiculous image of "laughing through the pain" and "pretending to be fat" was rare fun.

But after so many incidents, he had to admit that many innocent people indeed existed, even those who stood up to resist, and those were worth uniting.

Especially thinking of Coleway, Penny, and many Weilante friends he met on the journey...

The Old Soldier scratched the back of his head, finally sighed, and said.

"I really can't just leave them to fend for themselves..."

The house was already rotten.

At least try fixing the roof first, change the broken beams, so the lousy house can at least be livable.

As for how to put up doors and windows, what furniture to get, and whether or not to make it look nice... those are for after this task is done.

Thinking of this, he went to the Forum and opened a thread, writing down in detail all his encounters after leaving West Sail Port, the series of problems he faced after arriving at Triumph City, and his current situation.

Because there were so many complaints and eye-catching titles, the Forum exploded shortly after the post was made.

Tail: "giao! Si! The pangolin really became Marshal! Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)"

Quit smoking: "Damn! Impressive!"

Si Si: "Uh this..."

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Big boss!!!"

Howling Sesame Paste: "Haha... getting turned into a god out of nowhere does sound quite headache-inducing. (-｡-;"

Si Si: "emmm... is it possible that he's not bothered at all and even enjoys it, coming here to post just to show off. (side-eye)"

Howling Sesame Paste: "Ah... is that so?"

Tail: "giao! So that's your true nature, pangolin! φ(-ω-*)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "What the heck! I'm seriously asking for advice here! (cry-laugh)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "MMP! The open beta isn't even live yet, and someone's already become Marshal! If this isn't nerfed, are you human?! QAQ"

Dinosaur Warrior: "It's over, balance is completely broken, dog plan please fix this. T.T"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! Why are you so against people doing well!"

Night Ten: "Army legitimacy in the Alliance confirmed. (witty)"

Irina: "Fast forward to First Citizen. (witty)"

Gnome King Riches: "Head east, Marshal! Battle it out with the Alliance! (witty)"

Edge Shoveling: "Next expansion relies on you! (wink)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Please behave like a decent person!"

Fang Chang: "No kidding, how about starting by selecting a few representatives from the Civil Official Group, Citizens, and Army, and discuss drafting a constitution."

Old White: "And think of a new name, don't forget this. (grin)"

Spring Water Commander: "Weilante Governorate, Weilante Lab... referencing the South Sea Union, how about calling it Weilante Alliance? (witty)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Well... regarding this issue, I've discussed it with the other Weilante people, and their idea is to preferably fade the symbol of Weilante people from the new regime since... Triumph City isn't just comprised of Weilante people, there are many aliens originally devoid of citizenship too."

Fang Chang: "emmm... I understand your thoughts, but drawing from our work experience in the Poluo Line region, I advise you not to do that."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Why? (stunned)"

Fang Chang: "Easy to slip into the abyss of nihilism."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Gah! Can you speak human language?"

Spring Water Commander: "Brother Fang Chang has already been quite direct, you need to use your brain to understand, you can't always wait for someone to chew it up and feed you. Objective existence won't disappear because it's ignored, even though there are aliens within the Army, Weilante people are the majority. They've already made some changes, I suggest you not go too extreme, preventing progressive voices from losing support. Besides, Weilante can be explained as outdated administrative nomenclature, not necessarily implying ethnicity."

Fang Chang: "Step with your left foot when it's time, step with your right foot when it's time, trying to stretch both forward will only bruise your head. They've already painfully discarded a difficult-to-give-up symbol, leave them one. (side-eye smile)"

After dozens of floors of nonsense, the thread finally became normal, and the discussion turned from banter to technical exchange.

Lordan brothers peeked in but couldn't find a chance to interject, left with a "laugh," then slipped away.

It was actually Professor Yang who, like a professor, could engage in some serious discussion with these folks.

However, when it came down to specific governance experience, he couldn't keep up at all.

Jokes aside, with Wasteland OL's realism, managing a couple of hundred NPCs in it meant managing a company with a couple of hundred employees in reality was no problem at all.

The truth is, the Bull Horse Group has long grown into a world-class enterprise, with a market value in reality that even surpasses that in the game.

In the game, Brother Fang Chang managed far more than just a couple of hundred people.

While management skills can't be quantified into data, just comparing the before and after his arrival at Jinjaron Harbor reveals a lot.

These practically tested experiences are more reliable than any title.

In contrast, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group's ability in this area is indeed comparatively weaker.

But these are actually minor issues.

With previous experiences to refer to, and so many reliable brothers helping, even if he can't present Julius' glory, he won't do worse than the bumbling Witch Camel.

Noted down the key points, the Old Soldier leaned back in his chair and breathed a long sigh of relief.

The dissolution of the Army was certain.

This was not just Julius' last wish, but also the will of all Weilante people.

However, a civil war could be avoided.

What's needed to be done was already clear.

Internally, he needs to collaborate with the Civil Official Group to revise the new charter and select representatives from the Citizens, fostering new interest groups to balance the initially aligned Civil Official Group.

Besides, he also needs to properly utilize the Imperial Guard—Marshal Julius's final legacy to him—to maintain order in Triumph City and its surrounding areas, completing the transition from the old regime to the new one before the Imperial Guard completely exits the historical stage.

As for external affairs, he needs to strengthen the communication between Triumph City and the Academy, Alliance, Corporation, and the Grand Canyon, allowing the Vellante people to reintegrate into the world while balancing the conflicts among the four rebellious factions, avoiding further internal discord.

Reviewing the notes, the rejuvenated Old Soldier took a deep breath and reached for the helmet on the table.

Just as he was planning to return to the game, he noticed a small red dot appeared in the taskbar at the top right corner of the official website page.

He grabbed the mouse, clicked it open, and was surprised to find it was a message from the Manager.

Right below the line marked as [Read], there appeared another line of text—

"Congratulations, you have realized your mission."

Seeing this line, Old Soldier felt deeply moved.

Indeed!

The Manager hadn't forgotten him, he still had a place in that great man's heart!

Thinking about how he lived through these three years, he felt uncontrollably emotional, and involuntarily, his wandering finger typed two words on the keyboard.

[Read]

Pushing the enter key immediately left him feeling clear-headed and at peace.

There's no better response!

...

On the other side, at the No. 10 Settlement Point of the Alliance.

Looking at the [Read] reply from the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, Chu Guang laughed heartily and closed the holographic window floating in front of him, placing the holographic computer pen to the side.

"This guy is starting to play with my gags."

Looks like he wants to "get cut"!

But, although he said that, on an honest note, he really hadn't modified any player's drop rate.

There are indeed some extremely lucky Exalted players within the "Server", always hitting the jackpot, but the functions used for drawing are truly random, having no relation to him as a planner.

These guys are simply spoiled.

Blame him for an NPC's death, blame him for a mission failure, blame him when losing small amounts of data, blame him when they can't relieve themselves.

If you can't handle it, quit the PVE, go play single-player!

Resting on Chu Guang's shoulder, Xiao Qi, while scanning the official forum information, suddenly let out a faint sigh.

"... Always feels like a pity."

A colossal entity spanning thirty million square kilometers, encompassing numerous administrative divisions from the Prosperity Epoch, collapsed just like that...

Though not a fan of the Army, yet it saw a shadow of its master from Marshal Julius.

Though he is young now, one day he will age....

The same goes for the Alliance.

It's an inevitable fate for all organic beings, no matter how much it wishes to stay by his side, until all stars fade, the universe cools.

However, Chu Guang didn't perceive Xiao Qi's sigh as being related to such distant matters, merely considering the little spirit on his shoulder to be lamenting the fate of the Army and Marshal Julius.

There's actually not much to lament.

The train always arrives at the station.

Just like his little players can't stay forever in the Novice Village playing mud with him.

Or perhaps in a distant future, the familiar Alliance will also turn into something unrecognizable to him.

"Rather than lamenting the disbandment of the Army, it's more astonishing that this large, distorted beast could last for a century and a half without collapsing, which is more like a miracle."

It was like a monster that had already physically died, its limbs hardly obeying the brain anymore.

The south wanted more land, the west wanted independence, the east wanted to quietly prosper and farm, the north was messing around with who knows what in the Arctic Circle.

By comparison, even the Mongolian Empire similar to it lasted only 53 years, followed by the era of the four great khans.

Reaching to pat Xiao Qi's head, Chu Guang said in a soft voice.

"... The Army couldn't accompany the Vellante people for a lifetime, its time was up, that's all."

Still, it's genuinely thought-provoking.

For long dominated Alliance society's mainstream thought, the radical faction, after encountering the conservative elders from Poluo Province, they were educated to doubt their lives by what could be considered performance art, and their thinking gradually shifted to the right.

For over a century having unwavering stood on the far right, the Army, with a foot stuck in the Poluo Province's quagmire, ended up revealing a mass of leftists.

Fate is truly a tricky thing.

It was at this point that footsteps were heard outside the room.

The considerate Xiao Qi jumped back into the pen holder.

Upon hearing the knocks at the door, Chu Guang cleared his throat and said.

"Come in."

The one who entered was Lu Bei.

The young man wore an excited expression, his right fist resting on his chest as he respectfully saluted.

"Sir, our intelligence system just received news, something happened in Triumph City! Legion Leader Teil of the Southern Legion gave a public speech, angrily accusing the residents of Triumph City of betraying the frontline soldiers and all Vellante people, blaming the Civil Official Group and the Imperial Guard for the death of Marshal Julius, and even forged Marshal Julius's dying words!"

"The specifics are still under investigation, but one thing is certain, internal conflict broke out within the Army! The Southern Legion's plan to drag Triumph City into the battlefield has utterly collapsed!"

Listening to Lu Bei's report, Chu Guang showed no surprise.

He had already learned part of it through the forum, even clearer than what the Guards Corps had investigated.

As for the Southern Legion's reaction, it was entirely within his expectations.

"Gamblers go crazy when losing, start to play unfair, but considering their current conditions, it seems they can only indulge in inflammatory speech, likely having no spare capacity to advance to Triumph City for 'rebellion suppression'... What about the other corps?"

Lu Bei continued reporting.

"The Western Legion withdrew its fleet deployed in the Poluo Sea, the Eastern Legion is strengthening its forces on our borders, but no further actions... As for the Northern Corps, the situation is still under reconnaissance, but from the intelligence we've gathered, there's no sign of any major maneuver."

Chu Guang nodded.

"The Western Legion is probably preparing for independence, the same likely applies to the Eastern Legion. However, considering our historical animosity, Salen probably worries that we might take advantage of the chaos to attack. We'll hold our position, avoid provocation, and keep an eye on their border deployments."

Chu Guang had met the Legion Leader of the Eastern Legion, that guy was a very typical oligarchic monarch.

Though cunning, those guys usually have less external ambition than internal.

As long as the internal interest groups aren't pushing him too hard, he prefers to maintain stability, posing little external threat.

Why gamble when you can silently get rich?

This is evident from them driving Griffin into dire straits, betraying the entire eastern expansion faction.

And now the landlords of the Eastern Legion have already tasted the benefits from trading with the Eastern World, making them even less likely to break the balance between the two sides.

Otherwise, where would they spend all the silver coin they've made?

As for the dramatic change in Triumph City, it perhaps plays right into the hands of that Legion Leader named Salen.

Of course, shedding a few tears for the departed Army is necessary, otherwise how would he display his loyalty?

Chu Guang suddenly looked forward to this monarch's performance.

Hopefully, the "Chief Sir" of the Grand Canyon didn't miss his invitation..."

Chapter 928: Disintegration!

The towering and solemn concrete fortress, with a spacious and empty hall, has a red carpet laid on the cold stone steps.

This is Norton Castle, located in the very center of Norton City, where the numerous Ten Thousand Leaders hold meetings and conduct master of ceremonies and priest activities.

In the classical language of the Norton Province, "Norton" means conquest.

The Eastern Legion built this military fortress named Norton to commemorate Marshal Julius after occupying it.

Over the next century, this fortress on the plains gradually developed into a large settlement with a population of over a million.

Here, not only does the oldest military and engineering school of the entire army reside, but it is also the capital of the Eastern Legion and the place most committed to tradition.

Of course, discussing these matters now seems to stray a bit off topic.

At this moment, a group of Weilant people dressed in golden armor and draped with new red cloaks are holding candles, solemnly and reverently expressing their admiration to the ten-meter-tall statue of Marshal Julius.

While the glittering gold color and the new red cloaks don't quite seem fitting for a mourning ceremony, it is, however, the unique Waylander's way of mourning and the highest standard of etiquette.

All of this is because their Marshal once said —

"Do not fear and mourn death, as it is the ultimate destination for all life."

"If one day I should rest in slumber, you should don golden armor and crimson cloaks, raise torches to see me off, scatter flowers for me, just as you would cheer my triumph."

Perhaps Julius merely said this offhandedly in a whim, but for a long time afterward, the Weilant people held funerals in this manner.

Until later, when a few fires broke out in Triumph City, local survivors then combined the torches and flowers into warm yet not overly intense candles.

As for the tradition of wearing golden armor and crimson cloaks, it was retained, and even the weight of the golden armor and the purity of the gold became a matter of considerable attention.

Generally speaking, the value of the sacrificial vessels used is proportional to the honor of the deceased during their lifetime.

It is precisely because of this that those commemorating Marshal Julius here are almost all bearing armor weighing two hundred kilograms per person.

Without using exoskeletons, perhaps only the virtuous Waylanders can bear such a heavy load.

Standing in front of the crowd, Salen, clad in golden armor, solemnly and respectfully placed the solid gold candlestick in his hand gently on the stone steps in front of the statue.

Until now, the ceremony has been conducted halfway through.

Next, the Ten Thousand Leaders would successively come forward and place candlesticks in front of the statue, "keeping vigil" for Sir Julius, until all the candles extinguish.

Salen quietly stepped aside, gently stretching his shoulders, slightly sore from the gold's weight.

Just then, a confidant approached him, speaking in a low voice.

"...The alliance's border shows no movement, it's still the same as before, but Bister Town is somewhat tense, including the Honey Badger Kingdom's troops, which have also gathered."

Salen tilted his head slightly, replying in a low voice.

"Ignore them, just keep watching the alliance's actions."

Both Bister Town and the Honey Badger Kingdom are nothing but ants to the Eastern Legion.

It appears the alliance understood his intentions, and indeed, has no plans to take advantage.

As long as troops are deployed all to the east, Triumph City's reform can proceed uninfluenced.

By then, they could smoothly gain independence, and possibly maintain a good relationship with their old associates in Triumph City.

After all, that place is where the Waylanders set out, and he doesn't wish to strain relations with the folks back home.

No internal warfare.

This would be the best outcome for everyone, as even today, many Waylanders regard Triumph City as a spiritual homeland, even many of his own Ten Thousand Leaders.

Though smiling at a funeral may be inappropriate, he still couldn't help a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Indeed, playing chess with smart people is always enjoyable.

The confidant standing by continued speaking in a low voice.

"There's another matter... The Southern Legion has sent a messenger."

Salen replied casually,

"Let him wait for a while."

The confidant hesitated momentarily, continuing in a low voice.

"But... it's a messenger from Legion Leader Teil, and he brought a real-time communication device, claiming he represents Teil himself."

Hearing this, Salen impatiently sighed.

"Have him wait for me in the side hall."

The confidant respectfully replied,

"Yes."

...

In the hall at the side of the castle, a weary messenger stood not far from the door.

Seeing Salen, the Legion Leader, enter, he hurriedly bowed in salute.

Yet Salen, striding directly to him, did not even glance, snatching the silver tray from his hand, pressing a button before tossing it onto a nearby cabinet.

A pale blue light appeared in the room, and soon a mighty figure appeared not far from him.

It was Teil's holographic image.

Seeing Salen clad in golden armor, Teil was visibly stunned.

"What are you up to?"

Salen opened his arms and replied matter-of-factly.

"As you can see, I'm mourning Marshal Julius with brothers from Triumph City. I should ask you, what are you doing?"

Seeing him in such a nonchalant manner, a surge of anger flared in Teil's heart.

This guy had the mood to hold a funeral!

Not only did the Alliance and corporations, but even the Grand Canyon's tagalong Free State had declared war with the Southern Legion.

Watching the Eastern Legion finally showing some backbone, deploying troops to Falcon City east of the Great Desert, he thought things were looking up, only to wait forever for further action.

Those troops were like ornaments, making the Southern Legion's upper ranks rejoice for nothing.

Yet remembering he was in the position of asking for help, Teil still suppressed his inner wrath, merely questioning with strong terms.

"Is now the time for this?"

Salen looked at him with a smile, his curious gaze like watching a comical clown.

In the past, he would need to maintain a false decorum between them.

But now, the two sides were no longer in the same league.

He was about to mock this guy with a few words, but unexpectedly, this Legion Leader Teil spoke before he could.

"Listen... Our legion is facing unprecedented threats, Triumph City has fallen to aliens, and our kin are mired in war. If, at this time, we harbor ill will, no one can save us—"

"It's just an alien chief officer, why are you so frightened, is it that big a deal?"

Salen sneered, interrupting his words, continuing leisurely.

"As for the quagmire, did I push you into it?"

Teil's eyes widened.

"You!"

"Enough, Teil, I know what you're thinking, but I won't fall for it."

Salen's face showed disappointment, losing interest in him.

"Let's not mention friends from the New Continent, just tell me, even if I lead troops forward, capture Triumph City, and restore your so-called legitimacy, would you acknowledge me as the legion's marshal?"

Teil was at a loss for words momentarily, just about to speak, but was interrupted by Salen raising his hand.

"No need to answer me. You know very well what the answer is, not only you, but also our friends from the New Continent and the North… There is only one Marshal, and that is Julius. But now he is dead, and there will never be another."

After pausing, he added in a cold, emotionless tone.

"The Legion is already history."

Dragging him down with him?

Don't even think about it!

As he spoke those words, he moved to the side of the cabinet and turned off the silver-white disc.

The pale blue holographic beam quickly contracted into a line and then disappeared from the empty room.

Throwing the item back into the messenger's hands, and seeing that the latter had not moved for a while, Salen impatiently scolded.

"What are you waiting for here? Waiting for an invitation to dine? Go back to where you came from."

"Yes…"

The messenger reluctantly lowered his head but eventually turned and left.

Watching the messenger's departing figure, Salen's lips curled into a mocking smile, but soon he frowned again.

Something didn't seem quite right.

This guy didn't quite resemble the Teil he knew…

At least in his memory, Teil wasn't someone who would bow his head and plead.

Not even for pleading.

The silent guy actually bore patience and tried to reason with him, like the Sun suddenly setting in the west.

But Salen didn't take it to heart; after all, people change, maybe that guy was truly pushed to the brink?

Lightly stretching his sore shoulders, he strode arrogantly back into the main hall of the Castle.

The Ten Thousand Leaders who came forward had completed the ceremony.

Bright candle flames swayed beneath the over ten-meter-high giant statue.

The funeral had entered the latter half.

Once those candle flames were extinguished, Julius's spirit would be completely sent off.

Salen ultimately did not force out a few fake tears as Chu Guang had speculated.

However, he did put away the smile on his face and walked under the swaying candlelight of the statue with a compassionate expression.

This was the final moment.

"Infinite glory to Sir Julius, thank you for granting your citizens endless bread, milk, and land. We will remember your teachings, moving forward with loyalty and courage as before…"

"As the first emperor and prime minister of the Eastern Empire, I will bear the mission that history has bestowed upon me."

"May your spirit find eternal peace in the Glory Court—"

"Your children will forever remember you."

...

It wasn't only the Eastern Legion—or rather, the newly established Eastern Empire—that declared independence.

At the same time Triumph City announced the funeral of Marshal Julius, to be held three days later, both the Northern Corps and the Western Legion also declared independence.

The former established the Northern Empire, supporting Legion Leader Walter as emperor, while the latter established the New Continent Federation, unanimously appointing Legion Leader Pompey as prime minister and "First Citizen" by the Citizen Assembly and Protectorate.

By now, the Legion was effectively defunct, and the more than thirty million square kilometers of land had split into several fragments, yet among the utterly loyal Ten Thousand Leaders, there were barely any who reminisced about it.

After all, they had only ever been loyal to Marshal Julius alone.

Even Marshal Julius had found peace in his final words, so they naturally had no reason to persist.

Moreover, after so many events, they had long grown tired of this insincere and awkward situation.

Although Triumph City has yet to take further action, based on the preliminary intentions reached by the Leader and various factions, the formal establishment of the "Weilant Alliance" seems to be a matter of time as well.

As for the only ones left without action, it seemed to be just the Southern Legion.

Aside from condemning the "Triumph City traitors," the Southern Legion authorities had taken no further steps.

Clearly, they had focused solely on the gamble in Poluo Province, completely unaccustomed to expecting developments to turn out like this, and even less foresaw the decisive and thorough abandonments by the other three Legions.

Until now, they're the only ones left aboard this speeding train…

Meanwhile, to the west coast of the vast Poluo Sea, black landing ships were being escorted by the South Sea Alliance Fleet, navigating the waves toward the western coast of Poluo Sea!

The troops packed into the landing ships were specifically the 100th Mountain Division of the enterprise.

Previous participants in the Torch War, they were among the few fighting elites of the enterprise.

Now that the Southern Legion had launched a nuclear bomb, they had thoroughly touched Ideal City's inverted scale; even the members of the Endpoint Group sitting at the far left of the board were no longer talking about the value of peace.

They would use the most thorough method to make those snarling beasts yield!

In the shaking ship cabin.

Seated in the chair, Tang Feng was calibrating the Exoskeleton Armor on him, and trying to establish connections with the three individual drones in his backpack and testing the normalcy of the data ports.

Since battling the Torch Church, their equipment had undergone further upgrades by the board.

Now, they were no longer merely armed to the teeth, but had become full-fledged War Machines!

To exaggerate, they used to still need to raise their gun barrels to aim a bit, but now they could kill opponents with just a thought!

Of course, this was just theoretically, anything could happen on the battlefield.

Sitting next to Tang Feng, a soldier chewing gum couldn't help but smirk.

"I never thought there'd be a day where we'd fight against friends we once fought alongside."

Tang Feng said nothing but instead a gunman in the team chimed in.

"There's still a bit of a difference between the Southern Legion and the Eastern Legion, right?"

Another young man sitting opposite everyone spoke.

"Like the Alliance and the South Sea Alliance?"

A soldier nearby laughed.

"Haha… Doesn't seem like much of a difference really."

Everyone chatted casually, dispelling the oppressive atmosphere of the cabin.

At this moment, an officer stepped into the cabin, joining the conversation among the young men.

"Precisely because we once fought alongside each other, when our friends fall into the swamp, we must reach out to pull them out of the mire."

A soldier laughed raising his hand.

"You're right, sir, but I only have one question, why can't we let them crawl out themselves?"

"Because if we wait longer, they'll drag us all through the mud. Next time, remember to file a report before cutting in, or I'll make you swim across there."

The officer glared fiercely at that chatterbox, then looked toward the young men in the cabin, continuing to shout loudly.

"Alright young men, idle chatter stops here. The Alliance's Jungle Corps and the Vellante Expeditionary Army's First Division have already dismantled the defensive line in the port area of Evernight Harbor and secured the dock for us!"

"Using a division's strength, they stalled five divisions' counterattacks. These guys are fierce, but now it's time for the real tough ones to get on stage!"

"Your mission is only one! Immediately open your Battlefield Guidance System after landing, coordinate with our Self-propelled Armor along the offensive line, advance! Advance! Keep advancing—!"

"Until that gang of demons is sent back to Hell!"

Chapter 929: Landing at Evernight Harbor!

"Brothers! For the Managers! For the Alliance! Charge!!!"

"Awooo!!!"

The vast and boundless sea was engulfed in surging waves, and the sky above the blue waves echoed with cries.

Accompanied by the roar of propellers and Mosquito Brother's explosive shout on the communication channel, planes swarmed like locusts towards Evernight Harbor.

The entire attack formation was composed of two parts.

The first formation, cruising above the clouds, mainly consisted of next-generation fighters equipped with plasma engines.

Primarily the L-10 "Thunder," followed by the P-2 "Lightning," their mission was to suppress the enemy's airport and compete for air supremacy with today's "Peidao" jets.

The second formation mainly comprised Goblin Corps' W-4 fighter planes, tasked with ground support missions!

The "W-4" is the latest propeller fighter plane designed by the Goblin Corps based on the war situation in Poluo Province.

Its appearance closely resembles the La-11, equipped with two 20mm anti-aircraft cannons, and the wings can be equipped with guided and unguided rockets as well as bombs according to the combat mission.

Although the plane's appearance is a classic retro style, its power components, weapon system, and onboard radar have been redesigned by Goblin Technology engineers, with the power source being the latest metallic hydrogen fuel cells produced by the Lister Group.

In fact, with a series of high-tech improvements, the combat efficiency of this contraption has risen by a tier, but its cost-effectiveness is far less than that of the "Flying Stick" W-2.

Not only that.

Due to higher speed and maneuverability, the W-4 also demands more from pilots.

For these reasons, this model is likely to become the last propeller plane designed and mass-produced by Goblin Technology.

Beyond that, it's the era of plasma engines!

Perhaps to avoid regrets, Mosquito Brother allowed the vertical take-off "Thunder" and faster "Lightning" fighters to be piloted by other more skilled pilots in the Goblin Corps, while he himself took on the retro-styled old aircraft, leading the newbies and veterans of the corps in a signature charge.

Seeing the swarm of planes approaching like locusts, the Southern Legion officers tasked with guarding Evernight Harbor were all dumbfounded.

These guys appeared like water spiders, suddenly leaping out from the calm sea.

Before this, not even a slightly larger bird had been seen on their radar!

Many immediately thought of the Alliance's submarine carriers, said to be able to bring aircraft up suddenly from the deep sea and have fought hand-to-hand battles in the civil war in the southern sea area.

However, completing all military and logistical deployment in such a short time was frighteningly efficient, leaving the insiders present deeply shocked.

The city defense commandant Stanford, who reacted first, decisively grabbed the communicator and shouted.

"All units, enter combat status! Second Air Formation, take off immediately and engage!"

"Yes!"

Hearing the crisp and decisive response from the communication channel, Stanford finally sighed with relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his arm.

However, seeing the rapidly approaching green dots on the radar screen, his heart couldn't help but race.

So many planes...

It seems the Alliance has invested heavily in this strategic bombing!

Although most are propeller planes, with only a few more difficult plasma engines, it's still somewhat challenging for Evernight Harbor's air force and air defense forces to shoot them all down.

He now only hopes that Evernight Harbor's strategic facilities suffer minimal damage, not affecting the logistics at the front lines.

At this moment, Stanford had not yet realized the seriousness of the situation, nor did he know that the fleet of the Southern Sea Union and the enterprise's ocean landing ship were already en route, and even that their own fleet had been completely annihilated in the waters near Serek Island.

The Southern Legion General Headquarters had blocked all unfavorable information to Legion Leader Teil, so that departments at all levels were completely in the dark about the situation outside their own theater, and what they heard and saw was like a completely parallel world to what actually happened.

If at the front lines, this situation would be more apparent.

For instance, soldiers under Gibson commander clashing with Snake State Guerrilla Team might have heard versions that said—Legion Leader Teil's army had already landed at Potato Harbor, capturing the Southern Sea Union's president, who was drunk in a bar, while the Alliance Managers' plea for mercy was rejected, and Poluo Country Leader Absek had already secretly fled.

Information warfare is also a part of war.

Similar situations were not limited to the Southern Legion; the Eastern expansion faction of the Eastern Legion also used this during the Battle of Falling Leaves.

However, even people above the commander level being cocooned was rare, but it was enough to show that the Southern Legion had reached the end of its tether, and even those at the commander level could no longer decide the outcome of this war.

In such a situation, being informed or not was indeed no longer important, and might instead add unnecessary worry.

After all, if Stanford knew that his main fleet had been annihilated, and that the enterprise's army had followed the Southern Sea Union's navy to his doorstep and was ready to land, it would be hard to say whether he could muster the courage to resist or would simply defect and surrender...

As the battle orders were given, planes quickly took off from Evernight Harbor's airfield.

Meanwhile, jets already deployed to West Sail Port also took off one after another, heading towards Evernight Harbor.

The roar of machine guns and the air raid sirens at Evernight Harbor sounded almost simultaneously, as streaks of tracer rounds crisscrossed the sky, turning its clear blue expanse into a rain of death!

Although both sides deliberately avoided the populated streets, stray bullets occasionally fell onto the streets.

These were 20mm aircraft cannons!

Not to mention being grazed, even the fragments splashed by cannon impacts on the ground were enough to cut through defenseless civilians.

For the survivors of Poluo Country's Tiandu, used to air raids, it was a common sight, but for the residents of Evernight Harbor, this scene was a first.

The flames blossoming in the sky and the plumes of black smoke falling down were like hell descending.

People in the streets screamed and ran, some heading home, others to the nearest air raid shelters.

It's not only the civilians who are in panic; the officials at Evernight Harbor are equally dumbfounded by the sudden outbreak of war.

Compared to the real situation at the front line, they know even less than the ten thousand leaders in the military system.

For example, Ya Hui.

Until a few minutes ago, he was still agonizing over the personnel arrangements at the city hall and the pressure from the logistics department, when suddenly the air raid sirens went off.

At first, he thought it was some exercise, until a series of distant black dots reflected on the windows of his office, awakening him from his dream-like state.

"Damn it... Where the hell did this bunch come from?!"

He shouted in panic, leaving the window with a look of fear and disbelief on his face, his voice distorted due to his anxiety.

At this moment, hurried footsteps rushed into the office.

The secretary appeared at the door, panting heavily, his face pale and trembling as he spoke breathlessly.

"Governor, it's no longer safe here... We better hurry and take shelter!"

Administrative units like the Governor's Mansion have always been prime targets for air strikes.

If it were just bombing, it wouldn't be too bad.

But with this "lightning and thunder" setup, he felt it wasn't just an air raid, but there might be more to come.

Hearing the secretary's words, Ya Hui managed to calm down a little and quickly moved to the door.

The two of them hurriedly left the office, heading to the nearest underground bunker from the Governor's Mansion.

The aerial warfare had already reached its peak, with planes engaging in fierce battles like cavalry chasing each other, clashing in close combat over the azure wilderness!

Initially, with the support of ground anti-aircraft firepower, the air force at Evernight Harbor managed to gain some advantage.

However, several tactical cruise missiles fired from afar breached the anti-missile system and landed in the city, blowing some anti-aircraft cannons and missile racks into rubble, instantly silencing the ground anti-aircraft firepower that was previously in full swing.

While the aerial fight was yet undecided, another battle unfolded.

As the city defense forces were caught off guard by the unexpected aircraft, busy maintaining order and evacuating the populace, helmets suddenly appeared sparsely on the dockside at the harbor.

They rose like ghosts lurking in the tides, as if a wave pushed them ashore.

Along with several K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeletons fully modified came dozens of four-meter-high "King Crab" amphibious all-terrain infantry armors with the Jungle Corps!

Standing on the harbor, the guards stared in horror at these gigantic figures, feeling their limbs turn stiff as if filled with lead, unable to move.

Shaking off the damp seaweed hanging on his arm, Midnight Chicken Killing strode briskly to the nearest guard, smiled brightly at him, and then tossed aside the trembling "small hose" in his hand.

"This thing is useless to me, take shelter."

Seeing the cannon and chainsaw welded on his arm, the guard was too pale-faced to utter a word, standing there as if dumbfounded.

Midnight Chicken Killing ignored him and just waved to the players behind him.

Faced with these fearsome regular troops, the guards in the harbor area had no resistance at all.

Although some brave Weilante People fired at them, the outcome was obvious. They couldn't even scratch the paint on the "King Crab" armor, and were blown to pieces along with the wall by the 20mm machine guns mounted on the crab's pincers.

The surrendering guards were driven by the players to collect the bodies of those reckless fellows.

Seeing the shredded flesh pulled from the rubble, even the old soldiers who had been on the battlefield felt their stomachs churn.

As for the young ones who hadn't been to the battlefield, some even vomited messily.

Although most of the Weilante People were brave, not everyone was.

After all, not everyone is truly brave.

Besides, those who were truly brave had already tasted the iron fist of the Southern Legion. Those who remained were either silent, enduring, or completely ignorant.

Expecting them to sacrifice their lives for the Teil Legion Leader who had suppressed them is as futile as hoping they won't cause trouble at a critical moment.

After a fierce internal struggle, most of the guards in the harbor area relinquished their resistance.

Within less than a minute, a thousand heavily armed steel muscle men successfully landed at the harbor.

Just like when the Burning Corps attacked Jinjaron Harbor, they first seized the police station, then captured the nearest armory, repelled the militia heading there, and effortlessly crippled the defense of the entire harbor area.

As for how they knew the location of the armory, it's actually quite simple.

Many good brothers in the Weilante People Expeditionary Army were once residents of Evernight Harbor.

And not just residents.

Among them were also personnel from the customs system, logistics system, and retired veterans from the front line.

They provided not only intelligence but also chose to fight alongside the Jungle Corps players!

Shortly after the Jungle Corps players landed, they disembarked from landing boats at the harbor, using battalions as their operational units, quickly filling in the gaps in the defense sectors overlooked by the Jungle Corps.

It was only by this time that Stanford Ten Thousand Leader suddenly realized that this wasn't some retaliatory air raid, but an amphibious assault under aerial cover!

However, by the time he understood this, it was already too late; the docks in the harbor area had completely fallen into the hands of the Alliance.

For the defenders of Evernight Harbor, this did not only mean their sea supplies were cut off, but also that the Alliance's troops would continue to land in waves!

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Stanford panicked completely, immediately dispatching the first ten thousand troops of the city defense forces to the urban area near the harbor, ordering the front line commanders to reclaim the harbor at all costs.

Although until now he hadn't heard a word regarding his main fleet and the Western Legion fleet, but with the Alliance's ground forces already at their doorstep, even if he were foolish, he would realize something serious was happening.

As one order after another was given, the soldiers of the city defense forces quickly gathered from various parts of the city towards the harbor.

On those ashen faces, expressions varied, some angry, and some terrified.

However, regardless of the expression, this time they were no longer facing unarmed compatriots.

On the other side, the Alliance Army that landed at the port had already formulated the next stage of attack plans.

Midnight Chicken Killing planned to leave some people at the port to hold critical docks, cover the company's allies landing, while sending part of the troops to attack the broadcast station located in the northwestern urban area.

According to the soldiers of the Vellante Expeditionary Army, the signal tower there could cover the entire Evernight Harbor.

One of the officers named Kuran stated to him that as long as they seized the broadcast station, he could manage to gain support from the majority of survivors in the settlement and dismantle the remaining garrison's resistance forces.

After discussing with several other players, Midnight Chicken Killing felt this plan was worth a try and dispatched the Ground Model from the group, giving him a company of brothers.

Considering the strength of the Jungle Corps, this company's military power was enough to be used as a reinforced battalion.

In addition, a battalion-level combat unit from the Vellante Expeditionary Army that landed with the Jungle Corps was also split to act as guides and provide fire support at moderate distances.

The Ground Model, upon receiving the task, perked up immediately and urgently rallied his brothers into action.

He was relatively passive in the corps, but that was compared to the other brothers who liked to fight hand-to-hand.

Unlike the Storm Corps which was proficient in defense, the muscle-bound Strength Type in the Jungle Corps were all valiant, second only to the Death Legion who didn't even care for experience points.

Rather than shrinking in a Turtle Shell for defense, of course, the tense and exhilarating urban warfare attack got him fired up!

"Brothers, follow me! We'll take down this settlement before Mosquito can settle the score over there!"

The Ground Model was shouting loudly in the communication channel, and a group of new members, unaware of the situation, shouted.

"Bro, the company hasn't landed yet!"

"Aren't we heading for the northwestern urban area?"

The Ground Model laughed heartily.

"It doesn't matter! It's all the same! Let's just go for it! By the way, remember not to harm civilians!"

"Got it!" Came the high-spirited echo from the communication channel, and each squad distributed individual tasks, quickly breaking from cover under the protection of friendly fire.

Two "King Crab" amphibious armors first stormed onto the broad main avenue, nimbly dodging incoming rockets with a quick maneuver.

Before the Southern Legion soldiers guarding the other end of the street could react, one "King Crab" decisively stepped forward, charging straight into the safety range of the anti-tank soldier bearing a rocket launcher, then sent him flying several meters away with a claw.

Soldiers hiding behind cover were terrified by the sudden appearance of the monster. No one had expected such agility, nor that it would dash directly into their faces.

The reconnaissance vehicle guarding nearby retreated frantically as the 20mm heavy machine gun welded to the rooftop started firing incessantly, attempting to cripple the mech crab's legs through concentrated fire.

However, this maneuver clearly did not evade the keen eye of the battle-hardened driver.

The player operating the "King Crab" did not give him the chance, catching up with the frantically reversing reconnaissance vehicle in a few strides, and another claw swung out, flipping the several-ton reconnaissance vehicle over.

Facing this overwhelming offensive, the city defense soldiers behind cover were all stupefied.

Not that they were front-line combat troops to begin with, but even front-line troops might not have seen such a scene.

Nevertheless, their fighting spirit and quality were much stronger than the West Winds Empire's city defense soldiers, and the combat power and fighting spirit of the Vellante people were indeed stronger than most ordinary Waste Land Wanderers, not so much that they would flee at the first setback.

A Southern Legion soldier took out the dynamite pack and detonator from the ammo box, dispelling fear with a yell, risking everything to charge at the "King Crab" armor causing havoc.

With a deafening explosion, the scorching shockwave blew him into a rain of blood but simultaneously blasted off two crab legs of that "King Crab" armor.

The "King Crab," struck by a hit, slumped, its forelimbs creaking as the joint hit the ground.

The violent tremor left the player inside the cockpit dizzy, taking two seconds to recover.

Seeing the Southern Legion soldiers concentrating fire around him, he raised a crab claw to protect the power components while setting up the 20mm auto-cannon welded on the claw for a burst of fire.

The house on the roadside was shot, losing half a wall, and a soldier bearing a rocket launcher aiming at him was crushed into mincemeat!

The close-quarter battle was truly exhilarating, the adrenaline pumping for the player in the cockpit, not feeling fear despite being encircled, rather he was excitedly shouting.

Yet the excitement waned as he was finally surrounded by a whole hundred-member team, with his dual claws no match for hundreds of hands.

Faced with bullets shot from all directions and rockets occasionally mixed in, the red lights on the operation panel flashed like lanterns.

It was only then that he finally felt a bit panicked, shouting into the communication channel.

"Damn... I've been hit! Someone pull me out!"

A teammate's voice quickly responded from the communication channel.

"Crap! Who told you to go so forward! Hold on!"

"Hurry, stop talking——"

Before he could finish his words, an anti-armor rocket slammed into the top of the cockpit.

The hot metal jet instantly poured in, taking half of his body away.

Seeing the now-motionless iron lump, the Southern Legion soldiers cheered with relief from a narrowly escaped disaster.

However, before they could count their casualties, another identical "King Crab," accompanied by more than ten exoskeletons, stormed in front of them.

Looking at the murderous bunch, almost everyone felt a shiver run down their spine.

And the ensuing battle held no suspense, the hundred-member team guarding the street entrance was almost crushed one-sidedly.

However, it is commendable that these lunatics, like the players, fought with bloodshot eyes, and not a single one surrendered until the end.

Upon realizing the Alliance Army's intention to attack the Northwestern city area, Legion Thousands Leader Finan grabbed the communicator at hand and shouted loudly into it.

"This is the 11th thousand team! The enemy is advancing towards the Northwestern city area, and we are being suppressed by the Alliance's amphibious armor... The front needs tank reinforcements!"

After a brief static noise, a response quickly came through the communication channel.

"... Command has received your message, the 27th Armored Team is on their way to support you! We'll transfer their communication to you, hold your positions!"

Hearing that the armored troops were heading to the front lines, Finan finally felt a bit relieved.

The "Iron Crabs" with six legs looked intimidating, but they merely took advantage of the complex city terrain.

Even the armor-piercing bullets carried by individual soldiers could penetrate these things, let alone when faced with a real tank, it would only take one cannon shot.

He had no doubt about the penetration depth of the "Conqueror" number five tank.

Even if it's just a light tank, it definitely couldn't be stopped by so-called individual armor.

However, as he thought this, a sharp wail suddenly came from the sky.

The sound was like a prolonged air raid siren, or perhaps the scream of the grim reaper.

"Woo—!"

He abruptly lifted his head and saw dozens of planes diving towards the city area.

The anti-aircraft machine guns on the ground fired hastily, but the tracers flying into the sky were as scattered as feathers in the wind, not even brushing the shadow of the planes.

Finan watched helplessly as those dozens of planes dropped bombs, and soon, the streets not far away reverberated with deafening explosions.

"Boom—!"

A gun tower was seen flying across the sky from the explosion, and Finan's face was simultaneously filled with despair.

After a moment's wait, a barely alive breath came through the communication channel.

"... This is the 27th team... We encountered an airstrike, the armored unit suffered heavy losses, we can't come to help you."

How could the Alliance bomb so accurately?!

Could their troops have already infiltrated behind the defenses?

Finan's expression changed from despair to collapse.

Of course, he couldn't have known that the Alliance people had long infiltrated the city, even before these troops landed, they were already embroiled in an unseen war.

And those who launched this war are the ones they've ignored for so long.

Facing the fierce assault of the Jungle Corps, his troops were suffering increasing casualties without armored support, and finally, signs of a collapsing defense began to appear...

Though the battle on the ground was still intense, the fight in the sky had already been decided.

With the Southern Sea Alliance destroyers entering the battlefield, the few remaining planes of the Southern Legion were dropping like dumplings.

At this point, the Town Defense Commander Stanford finally recognized reality.

His subordinates were not prepared at all for anti-landing operations, whereas the Alliance's offensive was well-planned.

Now that the aerial battle has been decided, and the Southern Sea Union's ship cannons were at the harbor's edge, if he continued to engage in a deadlock at the harbor, soon his twenty thousand brothers would be all wiped out on the shore.

After much struggle, he ultimately ordered all units to retreat toward the northern urban area.

That is where military facilities at Evernight Harbor are most concentrated, constructed with numerous concrete structures which can not only provide ample supplies but effectively resist aerial bombs and gunship bombardments.

Of course, the most important thing is to regroup.

Though the Town Defense Army at Evernight Harbor only numbers over twenty thousand, there are nearly a hundred thousand in registered military personnel.

These people are not local residents of Evernight Harbor, most are from other colonies and the Southern Legion's homeland.

Although they are not organized here, if assembled, they can form a considerable combat force.

Upon receiving the retreat order, the town defense soldiers engaged in a firefight with the Alliance at the front line finally breathed a sigh of relief, and orderly withdrew from the battlefield under the cover of supporting fire.

After two hours of battle, the Alliance had basically taken control of the major city areas near the coastline at Evernight Harbor, squeezing the Legion's resistance forces into the northern urban area and a large slum zone known as "Blackwater Alley" north of Carter Nord Prison.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the enterprise's landing craft finally approached the dock.

A group of eager young men, having endured the endless blabber of their commanders, finally stepped onto solid ground.

However, upon disembarking, they were all dumbfounded without exception.

Let alone talk of a "five-division counterattack," they didn't even see the shadow of a single Southern Legion soldier.

Looking at these dumbfounded young men, Midnight Chicken Killing, carrying a chainsaw, walked up to them, laughed heartily, and said.

"You arrived quite timely, just not too luckily."

Tang Feng's corner of the mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but ask.

"Where are the five divisions of the Southern Legion?"

Midnight Chicken Killing lightly patted his arm and laughed sheepishly.

"Next time, we'll definitely leave some for you."

Chapter 930: This NPC Is Too Real!

In Blackwater Alley, stood an inconspicuous residential building.

Sitting before a telegraph machine, Marta meticulously tapped out a telegram against a manuscript in her hand, reporting the local situation to her superior far away in the Snake State of Poluo Province.

[At exactly twelve noon today, the Alliance Army successfully landed at Evernight Harbor. The local garrison has been driven back to the northern urban area and Blackwater Alley to huddle. Calculating from the day the Alliance suffered a nuclear strike and declared wartime mobilization, the time from logistics scheduling to personnel landing took only about a week. Such efficiency is truly astounding, completely overturning our previous analysis of its war efficiency.]

[Apart from the Alliance's mobilization on its home turf, the performance of the South Sea Union in the war is even more at its command, and the Far East enterprises also declared war at the same time following the Alliance's declaration, with the kingdoms of Luo Xia Province responding one after another. Its hard power is daunting, and its soft power is equally intimidating! Unless necessary, conflict with it must be avoided. Even if conflict is inevitable, care should be taken not to touch the bottom line!]

[Furthermore, based on the series of measures the Alliance executed after entering Giant Stone City, I judge they might take similar actions at Evernight Harbor, winning public favor through rectifying law and order and eradicating triads and evil. By then, Blackwater Alley is bound to experience a storm of bloodshed!]

[Therefore, I took it upon myself to dump and destroy 20 tons of "goods" into the sea and ordered all levels of subordinate organizations to maintain silence and lie low, waiting for the opportunity.]

After sending the telegram, Marta let out a sigh and hid the radio in a hidden compartment under the bed, while also taking out a palm-sized wooden box from the dark space.

This wooden box contained items proving his identity and some personal belongings he brought from Poluo Province, such as the Family Meeting pamphlet and photos of Saint Hero Zayed, among others.

Recalling the good times in Snake State, Marta looked at them one last time with reluctance, then knelt and bowed to them before resolutely pulling out a lighter and burning them all.

Light and shadow always follow each other; wherever someone stands in the sunlight, someone else must bear the shadow.

Keeping these things posed a threat.

Both to himself and the Family Meeting.

However, at that very moment, he didn't notice that this scene was completely witnessed by his subordinate standing at the door.

Watching his boss actually burn the photo of the Saint Hero, the young lad held his breath.

He had come to deliver documents and didn't expect to witness such a treacherous sight.

After a struggle, he ultimately said nothing but secretly snapped a photo before quietly slipping away from the door, controlling his rapidly beating heart...

A handle!

He had a handle on his superior!

...

At the same moment, in the urban area near the port, a team of players from the Jungle Corps wearing K-10 heavy exoskeletons was patrolling.

When the team reached the coast, a player suddenly stopped, left the group, and squatted in front of the railing.

Staring at the fish belly-up on the sea's surface, he mumbled, perplexed, "Strange."

The team leader walked up beside him, looking at the back of his head and asked.

"What's strange?"

The player pointed at the fish on the sea and said in bewilderment.

"Look, there must be tens of thousands... I figured we didn't bomb fish when we landed?"

To avoid civilian casualties and to enjoy the melee combat, they hadn't even used many ship cannons and aircraft took care of most armored units they encountered.

The captain gave him a peculiar look.

"What's so curious about it..."

It's just a few dead fish... well, more than a few.

He glanced at the rippling sea, frowning slightly.

Fish floated belly-up on the waves, forming a continuous line, in every imaginable shape and color.

Though, not being a fishing enthusiast, he could hardly recognize any of them.

"...It is quite strange."

Electrofishing, perhaps?

But it didn't seem related to them.

"Isn't it? I suspect there's a side quest involved here..."

The player squatting by the sea reached out curiously, nudging the nearest fish to see if the belly-up little fellows were still alive.

To his surprise, as soon as his index finger touched the slippery scales, the belly-up fish shuddered to life, flapping its tail and shooting towards him.

The player jumped in fright, quickly standing to dodge the fish lips aiming for his nose, only to still get a splash of fishy smell from that wet tail.

"Damn! This fish really can fly!?"

Looking at the fish desperately flapping its tail on the ground, trying to swim onto the street, the player had a look of discovering a new continent on his face.

This guy seemingly forgot it's a fish, yet tried to walk like a human, even trying to squeeze onto the street.

Meanwhile, the team captain beside him stifled a yawn, losing all interest in his team member's new discovery.

"If there really is a side quest, I'll take your surname—"

Before he finished, countless fish floating on the sea suddenly awoke in unison, jumping out of the water like raindrops and landing on the shore.

They seemed driven by some mission or imaginations of being land creatures, leaping from the suffocating sea.

In an instant, the hundreds-of-meters-wide coastline swarmed with tens of thousands of flapping fish.

They struggled for breath, but soon enough, they spit out their last bubble.

The strongest fish were the first to die, followed by the palm-sized clownfish, and then the tiny shrimps huddled in the crevices.

Witnessing this incredible scene, not only were the players patrolling the shore stunned, but even the remnants of the Southern Legion hiding in the alleys, ready to fire, were dumbfounded.

"...What's going on?"

The team leader mumbled to himself in confusion, intending to report the situation to Brother Chicken, only to see a mob of Poluo people rush in from nowhere.

Most of them were dock workers and laundry workers from the nearby area, and some were fishermen employed by the Vellante people's fish farms.

They carried wooden buckets and fishing nets, even bringing out their pots and pans.

"Quick! The fish are still alive!"

"Don't take my net! It's mine!"

"Damn it, don't block my way!"

"I've got my eyes on this one! Who dares to snatch it!"

In just a few breaths, the coast was crowded with joyous Poluo people.

The scene of picking and arguing was as bustling as a festival.

Although usually afraid to die, when there was an opportunity to take advantage, they were reckless.

Maybe they remembered they were allies of the Alliance, maybe they remembered that those noble folks never laid hands on the unarmed, or maybe they thought of some other silly reasons, forgetting temporarily that there was still a war ongoing.

So many fish, enough to eat for days!

"Wait, stop grabbing! Holy crap, doesn't anyone think there's something wrong with the fish's brains?" The team leader shouted in disbelief, but no one listened to him.

Seeing the fish snatched away entirely, the player who first triggered the side quest was left speechless with his mouth agape.

My goodness…

These NPCs are too real!

...

The little episode on the coast did not affect the overall progress of the war.

By noon, the battles in various districts of Evernight Harbor had mostly concluded.

The Southern Legion's nearly 20,000 city defense troops and over 100,000 military personnel all withdrew to the northern urban area under the command of Ten Thousand Leader Stanford, preparing to regroup and compete with the Alliance for control of Evernight Harbor again.

However, upon learning that Triumph City had already "fallen," and the corporation had declared war on the Southern Legion, a series of messages, everyone's morale dropped to the bottom, including Stanford himself.

Meanwhile, all areas from which the city defense troops withdrew, including the northwestern city area, fell under the control of the Alliance.

Although there were still some diehards hiding in the city, waiting for a chance to fire on patrolling players, those scattered shots didn't form a pattern and were quickly extinguished in the streets.

The players from the Jungle Corps, including Midnight Chicken Killing, were originally prepared for a law enforcement battle, but there ended up being no law enforcement battle at all.

Most of the Vellante people here remembered what these city defense troops had done.

So when these Southern Legion dogs tried to gain support from fellow citizens, the looks they received were only filled with disappointment and mockery.

If you knew it would turn out like this today, why didn't you do something earlier?

As for the soldiers of the Vellante Expeditionary Army, the residents of Evernight Harbor welcomed them into the city with almost cheers.

Especially in the northwestern city area where they once fought and resisted, people even placed flowers on both sides of the road to welcome their returning compatriots.

Walking on familiar streets, a veteran Vellante soldier carrying an LD-47 rifle shouted towards the window by the roadside.

"Haha, Bletz, you old scoundrel, still here!"

The old man, past fifty, leaned on the window, smiling at the veteran standing in the street.

"I'm not going anywhere. Someone has to remember what happened on this street, but how come you switched to the Alliance's army."

The veteran's face shone with pride.

"I said I'd be back! Those who should leave are Teil and his penned pigs, not me!"

Looking at his bear-like demeanor, the old man leaning by the window laughed and waved a finger at him.

"Hahaha! Salute to you! By the way, Perry, how's he doing?"

The veteran pursed his lips.

"He's old, now only good at running his mouth, saying if it weren't for arthritis, he'd surely come and mess around with us."

The old man chuckled.

"Sounds just like something he'd say, so is this coward still doing his old job?"

"No, he's done with those gold bracelets, got mixed up with a guy from the New Continent, and opened a bank… That fellow's a good person, thanks to him, we had a place to stay once ashore."

Seeing it was awkward for the old friend to chat with his head held up, the old man patted the curtain calling out to him.

"Let's not talk through the window, come upstairs, I'll open a good bottle of wine."

Hearing this, the Vellante veteran immediately shook his head.

"No way, our officer doesn't allow us to enter civilian houses."

The old man was dumbfounded upon hearing this.

"Even an old friend's invitation doesn't work?"

"Discipline is discipline, no excuses are allowed. Let's talk when there's time."

After saying this, the old soldier made a farewell gesture and then returned to the group.

Not far away on the street, watching the harmonious and friendly scene, the captain of the 100th Mountain Division of the Enterprise took a drag of Goblin Technology's Rick Five, squinted his eyes, smiled, and said.

"They picked a good time."

The adjutant standing next to him tilted his head slightly.

"What good time?"

"Just before the end of the night, at dawn, they extended a helping hand to the Weilante who were fed up with the Wasteland Era. But most importantly, they allowed the Weilante to accomplish their own final liberation..."

The captain grinned.

Perhaps the end of the Wasteland Era is truly approaching.

If the launch of the Pioneer was just a sign of dawn, then now he could already see that ray of light emerging on the horizon...

At this moment, a broadcast rang out in the distance.

It seemed the brothers of the Jungle Corps had successfully taken over the broadcasting station and made it work.

"Survivors of Evernight Harbor, I am the Legion Leader of the Alliance Jungle Corps..."

"A week ago, your Legion Leader Teil detonated a nuclear bomb at our doorstep, and that is why we are standing here armed."

"But don't be afraid, we have no enmity with the Weilante people, nor are we interested in your land. As soon as we catch the culprit, we will withdraw from here immediately."

"I believe it's not just us; you must also be fed up with that rogue. If you are willing to fight alongside us, we welcome you to stand with us. If you're not ready, we won't force you, just don't do anything foolish..."

Unlike Brother Fang Chang, Brother Chicken doesn't fancy flowery language, and the other brothers in the corps mostly keep their feelings hidden.

But he still made things clear, after all, brothers on the forum would also help with ideas and strategies.

For instance, agreeing on rules with local residents, or the eight disciplines and three great cautions, and how to report any Simpletons who violate them, etc.

Besides this, he also called on knowledgeable people from all sectors of Evernight Harbor's society to stand up and jointly shoulder the task of restoring order.

Not just the Weilante people.

This also includes the aliens living in Blackwater Alley.

As they did in the Falcon Kingdom, they would select representatives from each industry, and once order is restored, local governance would be returned to the hands of the local people.

Though his words were blunt and hardly tactful, the message he conveyed was clear——

They did not come here in the name of conquest, but in the name of liberation.

And after hearing those loud and sincere words, the anxious faces and fearful eyes finally turned skeptical yet curious.

That was already enough.

Midnight Chicken Killing never fantasized that his speech alone would gain the complete trust of the locals.

Time will prove everything.

Their promises were not just mere promises.

At the same time as the broadcast repeatedly played, a group of armed soldiers surrounded the hospital near the Governor's Mansion.

They were soldiers of the Weilante Expeditionary Army's first battalion "Comte Camp," named in memory of Comte.

As for their captain, it was Kuran who proposed the establishment of the Weilante Expeditionary Army—the one-legged, later resigned Evernight Harbor customs official.

It is worth mentioning that upon learning of his intention to return to the battlefield, Yarman generously donated a prosthetic limb to him.

Now his leg is no longer lame, and he can easily jump over three meters high... if necessary.

At this moment, he was following the footsteps of an enthusiastic citizen of Evernight Harbor to the entrance of the hospital.

The citizen was a Weilante, walking and enthusiastically introducing along the way.

"Just up ahead, sir, I reckon it should be in the basement of the hospital. There's a door that's never been used, which should be the entrance to the underground hideout."

Glancing at the empty hospital lobby, Kuran turned his face to ask him.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," the man boasted proudly with a red bulbous nose, "I saw Ya Hui run in from outside with my own eyes, alongside him was Supervisor Willoby... if you're a resident of Evernight Harbor, you must know who they are."

"The respected Governor and the Captain of the Guards," said the young man standing next to Kurman with a whistle, grinning, "I won't forget these bastards."

"They don't even deserve to be called bastards, at most they're the lapdogs of bastards," Kuran chambered a round in his rifle, waved to the brothers behind him, "Take them alive."

"Yes!"

Hearing their leader's order, a group of Weilante soldiers broke into vicious smiles and strode through the door.

Finally, they could settle the score with those damned dogs!

After suffering so much indignity before, they couldn't feel more delighted now.

Just a short while after the soldiers entered, a deafening explosion and several gunshots erupted, reverberating with pig-like pleas for mercy in the basement.

"I surrender! Don't kill me!"

Being supported by two soldiers on either side, the dust-covered Governor Ya Hui was dragged out of the hospital.

Behind him followed the similarly dust-covered Supervisor Willoby.

Compared to Ya Hui, he looked even more miserable, with blood oozing from his leg.

Perhaps wanting to impress in front of the governor, he, in his madness, even thought of pulling out a gun to resist.

However, his superior was much more pragmatic, surrendering as soon as the gunfire erupted.

Looking at these two wretched beings like dead dogs, Kuran felt no sympathy, just disdain.

Standing on the sunlit street, Supervisor Willoby lifted his head and finally saw Kuran's face with his bruised eyes.

He froze for several seconds, then furrowed his brows, squeezing out a half-dead sentence from his mouth.

"You... Have I seen you somewhere before."

Kuran lit a cigarette and said casually, not caring much.

"Perhaps you've seen me at the harbor."

Upon hearing this, Willoby's pupils shrank to a point, glaring at him, squeezing out words from his cracked lips.

"Why did you betray the Marshal—"

"I should return that question to you. Why did you betray the Marshal?" Kuran looked at him expressionlessly, as if looking at a bug.

Being stared at by those eyes, Willoby felt drained of all energy, unable to muster any of his usual authority, only blushing and arguing.

"I... Betray? When have I ever betrayed the Marshal! You are spouting nonsense!"

Kuran: "When you pointed your gun at the Weilante people, when you became a dog under power."

Willoby, lips turning white with anger, wanted to lift a finger to point at him, but was firmly held down by the soldier beside, unable to move.

"Aren't you the same? Becoming a dog of the Alliance!"

"Say what you like, you can say a horse and a donkey are the same, that's your freedom."

Not bothering to argue with him, Kuran threw the finished cigarette butt to the ground and extinguished it.

"Carter Nord Prison should hold some real criminals, not just some poor aliens who can't pay fines."

"Evernight Harbor's residents remember every single thing you've done. Once we discuss the new rules, the law will naturally deal with you."

Being brought out of the underground bunker was not only Governor Ya Hui and Supervisor Willoby, but also many bureaucrats and staff from the Governor's Mansion and the Guards.

Kuran did not make things difficult for them, but arranged them separately into different rooms, asking them to honestly write down their resumes, current positions, and colleagues they liaised with.

This was not just a requirement from the Alliance, but also an experience gained from practice at Jinjaron Harbor.

The order in Evernight Harbor still needed these people to maintain, and he would select a trustworthy portion among them to help local residents transition from the old regime to the new one.

As for why a captain was given this task, he thought one reason might be because he was a local, and another was that the Alliance expressed trust in him.

But Kuran didn't care much about trust. He would retire once this war was over, anyway.

Having assigned the tasks, he felt a load lifted from his shoulders.

His adjutant put an arm around his shoulder and jokingly said.

"Finally sent those bastards Ya Hui and Willoby in, do you feel a sense of revenge now?"

Kuran smiled faintly and said.

"The big revenge is still far off. Who killed Comte were not those two bastards, but the ones holding the leash behind them."

The war had just begun.

Evernight Harbor was merely the first colony liberated by them.

And there are still 20 more colonies waiting for them to liberate, covering a total area of 2.7 million square kilometers on the West Coast of the Great Wilderness!

Even the Southern Legion's homeland, including the 17 settlements like Yavente City.

These accounts must be settled thoroughly with the Southern Legion.

Temporarily bidding farewell to his comrades, Kuran went alone to the northwestern city area.

In order to welcome their arrival and to thank the Alliance for not launching large-scale bombardments on the harbor, locals placed flowers on the sides of the streets as a tribute.

Picking up a bouquet of tulips symbolizing honor from the street side, Kuran walked to the entrance of the broadcasting station and gently placed it next to the open gate.

"I am back."

The Weilante people would never abandon their heroes, even if they never knew them personally.

Kuran left the bouquet, nodded slightly in respect, tightened the rifle strapped on his back, then turned and left, merging into the street, slowly extending under the setting sun...

...

(I've been having a cold the past few days, and it hasn't gone away, and now I've got gastroenteritis, it feels like I've been running to the hospital all year, I'm about to break down. T.T)

Chapter 931: Shocking the Four Corners

"Brother, this fish soup is really delicious."

Blackwater Alley.

In the shack near the northern urban area, a skinny young man surrounded a mud-yellow pot, watching his brother ladle a spoonful of milky-white fish soup into a bowl, his mouth watering.

The slightly older man grinned at his younger brother and raised his eyebrows proudly.

"Tastes good, right? I learned it from a mate from Silver Moon Bay."

As for who that mate from Silver Moon Bay learned it from, he didn't know. He heard it was a way of eating from the River Valley Province.

The man's name was Saiyi, and his younger brother's name was Saide. Both were from Snake State, and their home was northwest of Snake State, not far from the Grey Wolf Army's garrison.

A few months ago, he heard from traveling merchants passing through the village that the Southern Legion was fiercely fighting with Chief Absek in the north. Ammunition at the front line was in short supply, and one could earn big gold coins working for the Weilante people at Evernight Harbor, so he brought his younger brother here to make a living.

Regarding working for the Weilante people, he didn't feel too guilty; he was just worried his identity as a Poluo would be exposed and he would get beaten.

But upon arrival, he realized that his worries were completely unnecessary. There were quite a few Poluo people unloading shells for the Weilante at Evernight Harbor, and some even did business with them.

The big-nosed guys didn't care if they were Poluo or aliens from the Great Desert; they equally discriminated against all others besides themselves.

Except for the "Blue Ground Squirrel," which they temporarily couldn't defeat.

Of course, at this juncture, few people from the Alliance would come.

Handing the bowl to his younger brother, the latter couldn't wait to take a sip of the milky soup, his entire face showing a blissful expression before he drank it all down in one gulp.

"This taste is incredible!"

Seeing his brother's exaggerated expression, Saiyi grinned and scolded, "Inexperienced," then took a sip himself, his eyes involuntarily lit up.

As the soup flowed into his stomach, he felt a warm current rise from his lower abdomen up to his spiritual sense, as if his entire body was soaked in a warm and cozy cloud of cotton, an indescribable comfort and pleasure!

"Incredible" was not an exaggeration!

Isn't living a lifetime just for a taste like this?

He savored it slowly, pondering deeply.

And at this time, not yet satisfied, Saide went to the pot for another bowl, drinking and asking continuously.

"Brother, where did you get this fish? I've never seen you get it before."

Saiyi chuckled and said.

"Remember that brother from the Family Meeting across from us? It was him who took us to the shore to find it."

The soup-drinking Saide widened his eyes suddenly.

"Found, found it? Brother, can dead fish be eaten?"

Even though he spoke in fear, his drinking mouth didn't pause, and in no time, he finished another half bowl of fish soup.

Hearing this inauspicious talk, Saiyi reached out and gave him a pat on the head.

"What nonsense are you talking, dead fish! I found it in good condition! Besides, I wasn't the only one picking it up, lots of people were there!"

His suddenly hit younger brother wore a grievance on his face, clutching his forehead and retreating to the side of the shack.

"But... how does a good fish end up on the shore for no reason?"

Saiyi rolled his eyes at him.

"Who knows, you get free fish soup, and it still can't keep your mouth shut. Why do you care so much!"

Besides, Family Meeting people ate it too. Would Family Meeting harm their own family?

They're all brothers!

The two brothers stopped bickering, as one ladle followed another, finishing the delicacy in the pot, with one drinking nervously and the other contently.

After eating, the two tidied up the dishes, then sat lazily under the shack to rest.

There was fierce fighting all day today; Alliance people had the Army running with their heads covered, retreating into that area of northern cement houses.

Seeing the big-nosed guys suffer losses, the convicts from Carter Nord Jail all ran back home, and the whole port was in chaos.

He didn't care who won; it was all the same to him. He just wanted to return to work and make money soon.

Thinking about the prosperous life after returning home in glory, Saiyi couldn't help but smile broadly, as if he really lived in a thousand-square-meter mansion, seeing his beautiful first and second wives.

The villagers looked at him with envy, and the village head praised him for his success, while Zayed's father kindly held his hand, inviting him to become an official, humbly seeking his advice on the way to wealth.

Saiyi smiled shyly, but finally, he couldn't hide his skills from those admiring eyes, reaching into his pocket.

The gold coins given by the Weilante seemed enchanted somehow, as he smacked them onto the ground with a clap, a skyscraper capable of hosting thousands rose up.

At that moment, the eyes looking at him were like gazing at a living deity, giving him indescribable joy and satisfaction inside.

Isn't life about both fame and fortune?

As the saying goes, learn both literature and martial arts to serve the imperial family, being able to provoke such a thirsty-for-talent look from Zayed's father made it worthwhile for him to walk the earth!

He didn't care whether his fellow villagers lived well or not, but that "thirsty-for-talent" look indeed pierced his heart.

Feeling exuberant, Saiyi scattered a few more "gold pieces," adding millions of mansions and roads on the ground.

Smiles blossomed on the villagers' faces, and Zayed's face also showed a smile; such a harmonious scene was indeed mutually beneficial.

Although the gold was quickly spent, Saiyi wasn't worried at all, just clasping his hands towards Zayed's father.

"Sir, no rush. The big-nosed guy's gold coins come easy, I have the strength to get more for you."

With that, he slapped his knee and stood up, staggering onto the street, seemingly back to that distant Evernight Harbor in the blink of an eye.

He remembered the Weilante people seemed to be in the north, so he walked northwards.

However, at this moment, he didn't notice that there were quite a few people like him.

Wobbly figures seemed to come out on time, like puppets on strings, moving towards the same direction.

The night had fallen on the street, yet the battle in the settlement hadn't ended.

The City Defense Army's commander, Stanford, was still clamoring to have a decisive battle with the Alliance and the company, willing to live and die with the Army.

The Alliance, of course, couldn't let him go.

The Jungle Corps and the Weilante Expeditionary Army's 1st Division were attacking the northern urban area's front, while the company's 100th Mountain Division cut off the connection between the northern urban area and Blackwater Alley, preventing the Southern Legion survivors from escaping.

The crackling of gunfire was like firecrackers, yet Saiyi, stepping towards the gunfire, seemed unheard.

Until he passed through the war zone, standing in the middle of the street where the company and the Army were fighting, did the people on both sides notice these unexpected guests.

Seeing civilians suddenly appear on the street, Tang Feng behind cover was startled and urgently shouted at the staggering figures.

"Hey! Go back! This is the front line! Are you really not afraid of death?"

However, that person seemed not to hear at all, just stiffly turned his face to the source of the sound and asked.

"Vellante people?"

Tang Feng was taken aback, didn't understand what he meant, but still shouted with all his might.

"Yes! Vellante people! They're right across from us, these wolf cubs haven't given up yet!"

"On the other side..."

A light gradually emerged in his dull eyes.

As if finding a target, Saiyi suddenly quickened his pace, stumbling towards the other side of the street where gunfire was incessant.

As he ran, he shouted in a frantic voice.

"Hey! Do you need people? I have strength, I can help you move ammunition!"

It wasn't just him; everyone who had wandered from Blackwater Alley to here started running, desperately rushing forward, scared they wouldn't be in time.

That throng of heads was easily in the thousands, and within a few breaths, the once-desolate street was packed full.

Not only were Tang Feng and the squad dumbfounded, but even the Vellante soldiers behind the opposite cover were stunned.

"Get lost! Damn it! Do these brutes not understand human language?"

The young Vellante man holding the machine gun was sweating profusely on his forehead, his index finger rubbing the trigger, shouting at the massive crowd, trying to scare away those who feared nothing.

Were it just one or two bothersome short-lived fools, he wouldn't hesitate, but at this moment, faced with thousands, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

However, while he retained some conscience, his commander did not.

The blood-eyed centurion pulled out his gun and pressed it against his forehead, roaring at him.

"Fire!!"

"But—"

"I said fire!!"

No one could guarantee this wasn't a trick by the Alliance.

What if Alliance people were hidden among them?

He dared not take this risk!

Saying so, the centurion raised his gun and fired a shot into the crowd of zombie-like runners.

A hapless one was shot, silently collapsing to the ground.

"Ahhh!!"

Seeing the battlefield stained red, the Vellante youth behind the machine gun roared, wiping out the cowardice from his chest with his shout, and finally pulled the trigger tightly.

With a burst of "tut-tut-tut" gunfire, the crowd on the street fell as if wheat was being cut, leaving the ground covered with a mixture of blood and flesh.

Both sides turned bloodthirsty.

Tang Feng could no longer care about discipline or not, leading the squad next to him out of cover, rushing towards the opposite position under the protection of a personal drone.

Although the soldiers on this corporate side were equipped with absolute superiority, the Vellante people on the opposite side were not pushovers.

After all, they were a byproduct of the Perfect Life Form Project, their bloodstream coursing with warfare elements certified by Prosperity Epoch Technology.

Thus, the two sides opened fire across the crowd.

Due to concerns for civilian casualties, Tang Feng's squad was briefly at a disadvantage, with two teammates being dragged away after being shot.

The Vellante side was also not doing well, cursing the enterprises and Alliance for not following military ethics and driving civilians to the front line as cannon fodder.

The battle lasted a full half-hour; barely any living remained on the street, or just some half-dead ones gasping on the ground.

Such as Saiyi.

Lying on the ground, his dream finally shattered, watching the viscous blood around him only made him feel entirely cold.

Where is this place?

He wanted to wail but couldn't make a sound as if his mouth was stuffed with cotton.

Only then did he realize, his chest had a large hole ripped open, with intestines spilling out.

The artillery roar felt like being across a wall, faintly mixed with the roar of fighter jets, yet he gradually couldn't hear it anymore.

With his last consciousness, he saw, finally seeming like the corporate side won, those big-nosed ones raised a white flag, dropping their guns.

The broadcast laid on the street seemed to say, the city defense army commander Stanford and his guards were captured by the Alliance's Jungle Corps.

Evidently, not all Vellante people were willing to die with the Southern Legion.

Teil?

Who is that?

They had always been loyal only to Marshal Julius...

Gradually, Saiyi couldn't hear anything.

At this time, an armored vehicle drove in from the direction of the port, with two high-ranking officers getting out of the vehicle.

One was a division commander, and the other was a staff officer.

Seeing the Glory Street littered with corpses, the stalwart-looking division commander couldn't help but show emotion, and the staff officer beside him couldn't help but say.

"This is too tragic..."

The entire street was dyed red with blood and intestines, he couldn't even find a place to step his foot.

The division commander, expressionless, walked up to Tang Feng, looking coldly at this disheveled young man and asked.

"What have you done! Weren't you ordered to hold your position! Who told you to attack!"

"I..."

Facing this blunt questioning, Tang Feng was at a loss, stammering for a long time without a word of explanation.

This whole thing was too strange to retrace step by step.

So much so that he didn't even know where to start when recounting the events.

A crowd suddenly rushed up, then the Vellante people opened fire, and they could only bite the bullet and advance.

Just when they were about to capture the opposite position, their allies over there had already successfully cut off the opposition's command post, and the remaining Vellante surrendered themselves.

As for those unfortunate ones who died...

The ones driven by impulse to save people didn't save a single one.

"...I'm waiting for your report." Casting a glance at the prisoners not far off and the wounded soldiers lying on stretchers, the commander shot him a grim look, dropped this remark, and turned back to the vehicle.

With the sound of the engine revving, the armored vehicle drove away from the street, leaving behind only a few Weilante Expeditionary Army soldiers.

They had rushed over temporarily upon hearing the situation here.

Carrying an LD-47 rifle, Kuran stepped forward, squatted before the piles of corpses, frowned, dipped a finger in some blood, and brought it to his nose to sniff.

A soldier from the enterprise beside him shot him a glance.

"Did you smell anything?"

Kuran stood up and shook his head.

"No."

His nose wasn't a microscope, if he could smell anything, it'd be strange.

Yet, from this heap of bodies stacked like a small hill, he indeed detected a whiff of conspiracy.

Suddenly, something flashed in his mind.

Could it be...?

Snake oil?!

Seeing this guy act mysteriously for ages only to come up with something so anticlimactic, the enterprise soldier couldn't help but smirk and look away.

Such a waste of a big nose.

Not far away, two soldiers guarding the prisoners were smoking and chatting idly.

"Damn unlucky, couldn't even stop them and got our captain reprimanded."

"Why are these people so unafraid of death, why don't they go carry a gun for that Absek instead?"

"Who knows, want to wake one and ask?"

"Fuck off."

The soldier who was cursing jokingly glanced at the corpses nearby, falling silent once more.

He really couldn't understand why they did this.

This time, so many have died again.

But it seemed like they died in vain...

...

Norton City.

The majestic castle, the candles placed before the statue of Marshal Julius had already extinguished, leaving only the gold candle holders.

According to Weilante tradition, when the last candle at a funeral goes out, it signifies that the soul of the deceased has moved to another world.

Yet the remorse and pain for the lost don't simply fade away with their departure.

As, at this moment, Salen sat before the statue of Marshal Julius, his face a picture of calm gloom.

The armor made of gold he wore during the funeral had been changed into regular silk attire, his shoulders no longer sore, muscles no longer tense, yet the weight on his heart bore not any lighter, but rather grew heavier.

Now he was both the emperor and prime minister of the Eastern Empire, holding immense support and supreme power in his hands; one could say he had achieved his desire...

Yet for some reason, within just a day, the joy and excitement in his heart reached a peak and then vanished completely, leaving only blandness and emptiness.

What he wanted had actually been attained long ago, the only difference being the title of Legion Leader exchanged for that of Emperor, no longer overshadowed by a half-dead deity, and beyond that, no other differences.

Correspondingly, the matters he needed to worry about increased by more than just double.

People wouldn't transfer their loyalty to that great man onto him merely because of Marshal Julius's passing.

Not even himself.

He could no longer push everything onto loyalty but must now consider how to proceed on his path.

Every step from now was an uncharted path, with no chance for regret.

Only now did he gradually comprehend what exactly the esteemed Marshal Julius had borne for them.

"...I originally thought I'd be happy for a bit longer, but never imagined this joy would last merely a day. I start to have doubts about whether those cheers were real, whether those loyal to me are truly loyal to me."

"Perhaps my advisors were right, the Empire and an Emperor may not be the best choice; choosing yesterday means leaving problems for tomorrow... Am I right, esteemed Marshal Julius."

Burying his face in his hands, he took a deep breath, murmuring to himself like a prayer.

"When we chase ambitions to forge history, unaware we're already trapped in its turbulent waters, becoming the inevitable before the inevitable... only you could understand my troubles."

It's a pity, these heartfelt words could only be shared with Marshal Julius.

A long sigh echoed in the hall, like the chime at twilight.

He never really had grand ambitions or ideals, merely wishing to be a monarch who'd preserve the status quo.

And the same was the wish shared among nearly all military aristocrats of the Eastern Legion.

The dignified and solemn statue of Julius gazed with unwavering focus, yet its courage and wisdom would never be shared again, unable to lead its people through the mists of the future.

That was already history.

While Salen drifted into memories, footsteps sounded at the hall's entrance.

A Ten Thousand Leader stopped before him, offering a respectful salute.

"Your Majesty, Evernight Harbor has fallen."

Sitting before the statue, Salen rose, casting an inquisitive look at the officer.

"When did this happen?"

"Just this noon," the officer replied with a grave expression, "I heard the Alliance landed in the morning, driving 20,000 city defense troops to the northern urban area in just two hours."

Salen nodded, then asked further.

"What about their fleet?"

Grimly, the officer continued.

"According to Alliance newspapers... it seems they were entirely annihilated near Celik Island by the South Sea Union fleet."

Salen had no clue where Celik Island was.

But hearing that the South Sea Union fleet was completely wiped out, he couldn't help but be momentarily stunned.

Seeing His Majesty lost in thought, the officer asked eagerly.

"Are we... just going to watch them lose?"

He is not an advocate for eastward expansion, nor does he agree that direct conflict with the Alliance is a good idea, but after all, Evernight Harbor is territory conquered by the Weilante people.

However, he didn't know that the initial proposal of the eastward expansionists was not as radical as seizing the Grand Canyon; they merely wanted to expand the Army's territory a bit further east.

In the end, they formed a force that no one could stop until they themselves were swept away by the tide.

Salen gave him a meaningful look before shifting his gaze away.

"That's their own fault. You'd better not sympathize with them too much... However, watching them squander their family resources is indeed painful. Perhaps we should do something."

The officer was stunned for a moment.

"You mean..."

Salen spoke slowly.

"I remember at the end of the Jubar Mountains, in the southwestern corner of Luo Xia Province, there's a port, directly south of the Falcon Kingdom."

The officer nodded, hesitantly said.

"There is indeed a port there... but there are no resources, and the Falcon Kingdom hasn't developed it much."

It's purely a place for transshipping supplies.

Later, because they promised the Alliance not to supply military materials to West Sail Port and interfere in the Poluo Province situation, that port was once abandoned.

Lately, due to the West Sail Port incident, it's needless to say who orchestrated it, that port became even more useless.

Seeing the puzzled expression of his subordinate, Salen smiled faintly and continued speaking in a leisurely tone.

"People are resources, people are wealth... Someone has already demonstrated that to us, haven't they?"

Whether in Pioneer City or Bister Town, both placed intentionally at their doorstep by the Alliance, isn't it all about 'corrupting' them, subtly changing their perception of labor and creativity?

He's not blind; he has observed all the changes in those two settlements.

All in all, the fall of Evernight Harbor isn't entirely bad for the nascent Eastern Empire.

Including the 2.7 million square kilometers of colonies controlled by the Southern Legion.

If the Alliance truly liberated those places, the Weilante people living there would need a new place to go.

These immigrants would not only bring their wealth but also their knowledge, technology, methods, and ideas.

The state's ZB ideology is obviously outdated for the Alliance, but it's just suitable for the Eastern Empire, where the economy is entirely controlled by estate owners and the military aristocracy.

He is quite interested in the Southern people's way of managing contract laborers, and it's an excellent opportunity to learn.

After a pause, Salen added.

"With the fall of the Evernight Harbor logistics hub, the collapse of the Poluo Province war zone is just a matter of time."

"I remember McCullen is at West Sail Port. Have him prepare to bring back our compatriots and their properties when the situation changes."

"From now on, that coastal area west of the Jubar Mountains will be our special zone and our exit to the Eastern World."

"Let's call it... New West Port."

...

In just one day, news of Evernight Harbor's fall quickly spread throughout the Wasteland.

The shock was felt not only by the Eastern Empire but also by the Bugra Free State to the north of the Alliance.

Firestone Group Building.

Looking at the report handed over by his subordinate, Sigma, sitting at his desk, wore a gloomy expression like a winter lake.

Initially, he didn't see the Alliance as a threat, even like the other shareholders, viewing it as a new profit growth point. However, when he realized it, this once-infant had grown into a giant that filled him with fear.

They possessed not only formidable military power but also pervasive ideologies.

As they attempted to erode the Alliance's fortress with crimes, they too were being corroded by the Alliance's ideology of equality.

And when the Alliance withstood their corruption and filled the legal loopholes entirely in their contest, leaving no openings for unscrupulous businessmen of the Free State to exploit, forcing them to do honest business, the equality promoted by the Alliance became an unstoppable curse for them.

More and more residents of the Free State realized where the problem truly lay.

The Grand Canyon might occasionally come up with absurd ideas, but it was never directly oppressing them. It was the unrestrained, monopolizing power that was the root of everything!

In contrast, equality was like poison, infiltrating every cell of the Free State. If those cow mothers truly believed the nonsense of the Alliance, that would spell doom for the Free State.

If only back then, instead of cashing in on the collapse of Giant Stone City, they had joined with those old aristocrats to strangle these guys in the cradle...

Especially since he still hadn't obtained that weapon!

Sigma regretted his greed at the time countless times, but now it seemed too late to ruminate over these things.

Even if his Firestone Group wanted to assist the Southern Legion, they couldn't change anything with their current strength, not even to influence the politics of Poluo Country...

Just then, a knock sounded at the office door.

Turning off the holographic screen, Sigma slightly swiveled his office chair and said "come in" towards the door.

The door was pushed open from the outside, and in came a man with a nervous look, dressed impeccably in formal attire.

The newcomer was Otto, the mayor of the Free State.

Seeing Sigma behind the desk, he took a deep breath and spoke in a tense tone.

"The Alliance has formally submitted a diplomatic application, strongly demanding we hand over Condra, claiming he's involved in the nuclear explosion incident in Haiye Province—"

Sigma wasn't interested in hearing the rest, casually dismissing with an indifferent tone.

"Then just hand him over."

Otto hesitated, saying.

"But... he knows our secrets of cooperation with the Chewing Bone Tribe and the Torch Church, and I'm worried he'll reveal those as well."

"Are you a pig? How can you ask such a stupid question? Do you think I'll let him get out alive?" Sigma snapped impatiently.

Hearing this, although Otto twitched at the corners of his lips, he internally breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense expression relaxed somewhat.

Although it was his predecessor's trouble, ultimately, it was still the shit on their behinds.

"By the way, the Grand Canyon has invited me for a meeting next month... What is your opinion?"

Sigma replied in a flat tone.

"Arrange it yourself, I'll contact you if there are other requests."

Otto nodded slightly, respectfully almost like a servant.

"Yes."

Chapter 932: Decisive Weapon

It didn't take much effort to arrest Condra.

The Free State Guard's hovercar parked directly on the balcony of his spacious apartment on the 33rd floor, and in less than two minutes, they dragged him out of bed.

Not even the neighbors next door were disturbed.

The guy didn't dare to step out of the Free State at all, even if the Alliance didn't bother him, the survivors of the River Valley Province wouldn't let him go.

Let alone Lord Sigma.

Having been involved in so many conspiracies, that big shot wouldn't let him leave at all; if he wanted to live, he had to become a well-behaved pig.

Joining the Southern Legion was just a way to save his life and follow the trend with Firestone Group's tacit approval.

After all, Lord Sigma hasn't wanted the Manager dead just for a day or two.

So why not take advantage of the Southern Legion?

The moment he was led onto the hovercar, Condra already understood his fate.

The time to slaughter the pig had come...

...

The holding cell at the Guard Bureau.

Mayor Otto went to visit Condra, who was waiting for extradition.

Recently, this guy was on the cutting edge of public opinion.

The Firestone Group was trying to use its media matrix under its subsidiary to portray Condra as a peace warrior resisting the Alliance, and attempted to convince the Free State's residents that the Free State was forced by the pressure from the Grand Canyon to humiliatingly violate its own laws and hand over this brave Weilante to the unreasonable Alliance.

Initially, Otto even doubted whether anyone would believe such bullshit. No matter how you spun it, turning an arms dealer into a peace warrior was an insult to intelligence. Eventually, he realized that the people who voted for him were stupider than he imagined, and he just let it go.

It made sense.

Otherwise, how did this pig become the mayor?

For the sake of putting on a show, he had to accompany this "tragic hero" through the longest half-hour of his life in the holding cell and leave with a semblance of reluctance at the end.

To pass the time, he cleared his throat and initiated the conversation.

"...Mr. Condra, I'm sorry about your case. Due to pressure from all sides, we can only hand you over to the Alliance."

"This humiliating moment will forever be remembered by the residents of the Free State..."

Halfway through his words, Condra suddenly burst into laughter.

Otto's expression was somewhat awkward, but there were no cameras here, so it didn't matter to him. He just shrugged and stopped talking.

"Okay, if you don't want to listen... do you have anything you want to say? Or, would you need me to pass a message to someone for you?"

Looking at the formally dressed man in front of him, Condra, dressed in pajamas, grinned.

"I have nothing to say... I devoted my whole life to the Legion and got used by you guys in my later years. Now I've been drained of my last use. Anyway, I'll die on the road, carrying all the secrets I know, so what is there to say?"

Otto squinted his eyes slightly, looking at him with interest.

"You know you'll die?"

Condra curled his lips disdainfully, the corners of his mouth lifting as if in a cold smile.

"Is this something that needs guessing? Everyone in this city, me, you, the guards outside, the citizens on the streets, and the employees of the company... each is a pawn of Sigma."

Otto's Adam's apple moved.

"And so?"

Of course he knew.

But so what?

The Firestone Group did lots of bad things, but how should the order and stability it brought be counted?

At least the residents of the Free State could do decent work and not have to fight with the scavengers over garbage to eat.

Even the garbage that leaked from their mouths fed quite a few useless people.

To be realistic, he didn't think being a pawn was so bad.

Seeing Otto's indifferent look, Condra laughed softly.

"So I know my fate very well. I don't find it unacceptable... You see, I didn't even beg you guys."

"I'm glad you think that way." Otto took a sip of tea from the table to conceal his nervousness.

But his micro-expressions didn't escape Condra's eyes.

Watching the slightly trembling index finger, Condra smirked mockingly.

"You're happy too early."

Before Otto could respond, he continued in a slow voice.

"Take a look at your predecessor, the last leader of the Free State. Have you heard about his news? I bet you never really cared. It's understandable; who would care about a failed stray dog?"

"However, I was quite familiar with that guy. You know I like collecting red wine, and so did he. Occasionally, we'd exchange our tastes... Yet suddenly one day, he vanished without a trace, right after he stepped down from the public eye."

As he recounted those old stories, Otto couldn't help but swallow another mouthful of saliva.

"So? You probably want to ask me that, right?"

Watching Otto's complex expression, Condra happily continued, as if wanting to speak all the words of his next life.

"I guess you think I'm talking nonsense and despise us sorry dogs... but I'd kindly advise you, don't be happy too early; you'll face the same fate, what happened to me will sooner or later happen to you."

Otto finally couldn't help but interrupt his output.

"You're saying these to… expect me to save you?"

"Hahahahaha."

Condra suddenly burst into laughter, mockingly staring at the tense Otto, then abruptly straightened up, quickly closing the distance between them.

Thinking he was about to do something like biting off his nose, Otto suddenly dodged, only to see the man, handcuffed, remain motionless and just stare fiercely at him with bloodshot eyes.

"What do I want to do? You think I'm begging for mercy? Revealing the truth to you? Or Sigma's handle? I'll tell you, none of those matter. I want to plant the seeds of fear in your heart…"

And then?

Otto tensely awaited the continuation, only to see Condra suddenly slump back into his lethargic demeanor, sitting back in the chair.

Wearing his pajamas, the man resumed a sleepy appearance, like a lamb resigned to its fate.

Otto suddenly felt mocked, and the status disparity between them further filled him with humiliation.

But at that moment, the sound of knocking came from outside the detention room, and a guard wearing an exoskeleton pushed open the thick iron door.

"Mr. Mayor, time's up."

Otto hurriedly stood up, pulled away the chair, and walked to the door, glaring fiercely at the man named Condra before leaving.

"Hurry up and take him away."

The guard nodded.

"We'll follow protocol."

The iron door closed again.

Otto took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and walked to the waiting cameras outside, presenting to the public a mayor bearing humiliation and stress.

Yet, throughout the latter half of the event, he was not in the zone.

The bloodshot eyes haunted his mind, as if they had left an imprint on him.

Everyone was his pawn…

And the fate of pawns is generally the same…

Sitting in the hover car, his heart was pounding; he stretched out his pointer finger to turn on the holographic TV in the car's rear seat, attempting to divert his attention.

However, the news unfolding on the screen made his heart clench instantly.

"... Around noon today, the police escort vehicle transferring Condra to the Alliance was attacked by unknown armed forces about fifty kilometers from the Free State."

"The identity of the assailants and their motives remain uncertain, all five guards and the detainee aboard the vehicle were killed."

...

Condra's death shook the entire Free State, yet compared to the overall situation on the Wasteland, it was as light as a feather.

The Alliance's Minister of Justice expressed concern, hoping the Free State's judicial department would assist the Alliance in uncovering the truth.

The judicial department of the Free State naturally agreed, but whether it was "there is effort even without achievement" or "simply too lazy to even make an effort," all depended on Lord Sigma's mood.

As everyone knows, the Firestone Group is the true master of the Free State.

As for the civilians in the Free State, they are divided into two factions, arguing fiercely over who killed their "Weilante hero."

As for the Weilante themselves, they don't remember having such a hero.

The only ones who might have heard of this name apart from the Weilante living in the Alliance could be the Eastern Empire's Emperor Salen.

But he is currently busy taking over the "legacy" of the Southern Legion and is uninterested in dealing with the remnants of an eastward expansion faction.

General Kras's political legacy is nothing more than a Falcon Kingdom, and he sent a governor there long ago to take charge.

Meanwhile, the news of Evernight Harbor's fall continues to brew.

Shocking not only the Survivor Forces across the Wasteland, undoubtedly including the Southern Legion, this Sufferer.

Even after numerous obstacles, the news quickly reached Yavente City.

The sudden defeat instantly shattered the illusions of victory held by millions of Weilante residents in the city, adding panic to those already grieving for Marshal Julius.

It was only then they awoke to the fact that the reports continuously published in the "Southern Corps Victory Report" by their beloved Legion Leader Teil were all lies!

In retrospect…

The enemies they killed in the newspaper almost outnumbered the survivors in the Eastern World combined, where did they find so much cannon fodder to kill?

They were simply not marching from one victory to another, but step by step heading towards the center of the swamp!

At this moment, even the most deluded Weilante came to realize that their situation was perhaps more perilous than they imagined.

Like most lies.

The sole function of lies is to borrow time from the future, trading for promises that might be fulfilled later.

And because of this, it is destined to be exposed one day.

The fall of Evernight Harbor marks the turning point of all this.

With the loss of Evernight Harbor, it means the Southern Legion completely lost the key to the Eastern World, and nearly a million troops stranded in the Poluo Province war zone would completely lose logistics support!

Not even Mr. Hauser's mouth could twist failure into victory this time.

The Alliance no longer needs to do anything on the Poluo Province front line, they could even withdraw their troops directly, handing the defense area over to the already matured Poluo Country Army, and turn to attack the Southern Legion's homeland…

If that really happens, the entire Southern Legion will be placed in jeopardy.

They invested too many chips in the Poluo Province, it's almost impossible to muster another million troops in a short time.

Especially after losing Triumph City and the support of the Eastern Legion and Western Legion...

Due to the bad news from the front lines, the entire Yavente City was in turmoil, and tickets for ships and airships to Triumph City had doubled unknowingly.

Besides ship tickets and airship tickets, the prices of all kinds of basic living materials are continuously rising.

On one hand, there's indeed a shortage, on the other hand, someone is hoarding, but more importantly, it's the pessimism towards the Dinar itself.

The New Continent issuing its own currency is a foregone conclusion, they've long wanted to sweep heavy and difficult-to-mass-produce precious metal currency into the dustbin of history.

The Eastern Empire and Northern Empire might have the same plan.

No one is sure whether the Dinar, stripped of its currency attribute, will appreciate or depreciate, both directions have historical precedent.

Yavente City is restless, and so is the Southern Legion's headquarters.

The long conference table was filled with Ten Thousand Leaders, their golden medals formed a continuous line like an indestructible Wall.

However, the expressions on their faces were not relaxed, each mouth tightly closed, nobody spoke.

Seemingly unwilling to waste more time in silence, Teil, standing at the head of the conference table, unusually did not let the Chief of Staff begin, but slowly spoke.

"I want to hear everyone's opinions."

Murmurs spread across the conference table; the officers looked at each other, but after discussing for a long time, they failed to come up with any ideas.

Some wiped sweat off their foreheads, some held their breath and glanced around seeking something, others tried suggesting solutions to reverse the defeat, like mobilizing one million reservists or increasing the output of clone pastures... But everyone knew these were not real solutions.

A local war is one thing, but a full-scale war is a clash between two systems, and now the forces of both sides are imbalanced.

Having failed to completely tie both the Army and all Weilante people to their chariot, the fact is, they've already lost.

However, no one dared to speak this truth.

Admitting defeat often requires more courage than facing death because the latter only sacrifices one's life, while the former can extinguish their flesh and even completely negate the significance of their existence.

This is something they could never accept.

If they cannot pull all Weilante people onto the chariot, then at least let the Yavente City's "chips" fight to the last!

Even if it means selling their own soul—

Nearly every officer present thought this, including Teil, who had already sold his soul to the devil.

Seeing the helpless "mortals," Teil sighed softly.

He seemed to see Salen.

Many, many Salens.

Mortals are always bound by immediate interests, forgetting more long-term benefits and ideals, and their mission as Weilante people.

That guy could have joined him to establish a world belonging only to Weilante people, yet he cowardly chose to be a ridiculous emperor.

These guys are the same.

No one could come up with an idea that made him see hope; in the end, he still has to rely on himself to make a decision.

"...I got the Gene Source Code from Triumph City."

Hearing that dignified voice, all the officers at the conference table quieted down, and pairs of surprised gazes turned toward him simultaneously.

Gene Source Code.

They certainly knew what it was, but what puzzled them was why Legion Leader Teil was mentioning it now.

Even if they enhanced Weilante people's gene source code now, producing stronger super soldiers than Weilante people, or making clone soldiers grow at ten times the speed instead of eight, it would still be too late, and their researchers might not be able to do any better than those from a century and a half ago.

Though judging by the Chief of Staff's expression, he seemed to know something.

The officers exchanged glances, finally a three-star Ten Thousand Leader swallowed hard and stood out to ask.

"...May I ask what use does this have?"

Teil did not answer but clapped his hands.

The meeting room door swung open, and a seemingly unimpressive man wearing flat glasses walked in from outside.

Looking at that flat nose bridge, the three-star Ten Thousand Leader slightly furrowed his brows.

"Who is this?"

Martin, who had walked to Teil's side, stopped and nodded respectfully.

"My name is Martin, from Shelter No. 68 located in the Great Desert, and I am a biologist."

Upon hearing the word shelter, a trace of disdain emerged in the three-star Ten Thousand Leader's eyes.

"A shelter person... What are you here for?"

Faced with that sharp gaze laced with arrogance, Martin smiled unfazed.

"Naturally, to save you all."

"Save us?" The Ten Thousand Leader burst into laughter, eyes mocking as he looked at the man like looking at a clown, "When did we need a Blue Ground Squirrel to save us?"

Martin shrugged helplessly, glancing at Legion Leader Teil by his side.

"Dear Mr. Teil, I am not very good at talking, could I trouble your subordinates to be a bit quieter?"

Teil nodded and looked at that three-star Ten Thousand Leader.

"Sit down."

The cold tone carried an undeniable majesty.

So much so that in that instant, the Ten Thousand Leader suddenly had the illusion of being watched by a beast.

A drop of cold sweat slowly slid across his forehead, and he finally gritted his teeth and sat back down in his chair.

"It seems I can begin now."

Looking at the yielding officer, Martin said in a relaxed and cheerful tone, then took a holographic computer pen from his pocket and placed it on the conference table.

Light blue particles floated up from the conference table, condensing into a three-dimensional image in the air.

Seeing the confused gazes directed at him, Martin spoke succinctly.

"The 'Mortal Serum' plan, this may be the first time you are hearing about it, but in fact... we have been preparing this decisive weapon for a long time."

"To efficiently eliminate all troublesome life on the Earth's surface, apart from physical means like neutron annihilation, there is no more reliable method than a virus."

"To achieve our goal, we have been actively conducting experiments since the beginning of the war, even sending research teams to the front lines of the battlefield for this."

"As it turns out, Poluo Province is the most suitable testing ground. The survivors there come from the old world's center, with much richer genetic samples than other regions in the Wasteland. Thanks to that rich diversity, our experiments have gone smoothly, and we have now basically achieved the fully formed 'Mortal Serum' with both infectivity and destructiveness..."

"Wait." Martin's words were abruptly interrupted by an officer who suddenly stood up, "I roughly understand what you mean; you intend to use the virus weapon to destroy the Alliance."

"Precisely," Martin nodded with a smile, "as I said, it is the simplest and most efficient way."

The officer stared at him intently and continued to ask.

"But how do you ensure that this virus is ineffective against the Weilante people?"

"This brings us to the Gene Source Code we just obtained."

Martin tapped lightly on the holographic screen, and soon the light blue particles transformed into several DNA helix diagrams.

"We only need to slightly modify the Mortal Serum to make Weilante people carriers of the virus without exhibiting symptoms. Although I'd love to explain the feasibility of this academically, I assume you wouldn't understand. You can simply understand it as... the purer the Weilante bloodline, the less affected they are by the 'Mortal Serum.'"

Upon hearing this, the conference table was in an uproar, with officers exchanging varied glances.

Some were astonished, some excited, and others anxious.

Soon another officer stood up, swallowing hard, and asked.

"Is this... reliable?"

Martin nodded slightly.

"I can stake my life on it."

"I have another question," the officer who had previously questioned him continued to stare at him intently, speaking word by word, "You are not a Weilante, are you... what's the benefit of studying this virus for you? Or, what is your motive for doing this?"

Martin chuckled and said.

"I've already explained this many times to Legion Leader Teil, but since you're curious, I'll repeat it once more."

Pausing, he continued with a slightly disdainful expression.

"The benefit for me is being able to clear up some troublesome cockroaches. The reason this world has become like this is because those ugly creatures keep reproducing, spreading their filthy ideas and bloodlines continuously... that is the source of the Wasteland Era. You are willing to exterminate that group of lowly mutants, and I naturally support you."

"As for myself, you needn't worry. Since I can create this virus, I have ways to develop a vaccine."

"At worst, I'll transform myself into a Weilante."

The Weilante plan itself is an intermediate product of the Perfect Life Form project, even if the Weilante acquire the world, it wouldn't matter.

At least according to him, it doesn't matter.

In fact, not to mention the Weilante, even if the mutants conquer the world, he could accept it.

They are all intermediate products of the Perfect Life Form project.

As long as the Perfect Life Form project is completed, and the original is overwritten with a higher form of life, human civilization can complete the final "dimension upgrade."

Of course, these matters are unimportant to the ants present here, and these big-nosed ones do not need to know at all.

Including that Legion Leader Teil.

This group of guys may have advanced genes, but their vision hasn't caught up. With their vision, at most they can see as far as world conquest, not reaching the height of civilization.

For example, right now, this group of guys is still furious over his statement "At worst, I'll transform myself into a Weilante."

However, they have the right to be angry.

As long as Legion Leader Teil "understands the bigger picture," his plan can continue to be implemented.

And as developments unfolded just as he predicted, Teil only pondered for two seconds before asking the practical question.

"When will this decisive weapon be ready for deployment? The Alliance's Biological Institute is quite capable; can they possibly develop a vaccine exempting from the virus?"

"After obtaining the Gene Source Code, I can complete the last brick of this structure within a month," Martin said with a delighted smile, pausing for a moment before continuing, "As for your second concern, I can responsibly tell you."

"I used biological technology unique to Shelter No. 68 when designing the Mortal Serum, which is not in their technical reserves."

"Unless they can find researchers from Shelter No. 68, they can think till their heads explode and still not find a way to crack it."

It's not just Shelter No. 68—there's also the technology left by the Torch Church brought by celestial beings!

Even the Academy can't crack it!

The officer standing at the conference table stared at him intently.

"What if they find it?"

Martin laughed mockingly.

"Find it?"

"My home was long ago ransacked by those stupid Waste Land Wanderers!"

Chapter 933: The Madness of a Cornered Beast

With the fall of Evernight Harbor, the allied forces consisting of the Alliance and corporations have officially opened a second front to attack the colonies of the Southern Legion and even their homeland.

According to the plan, in addition to transferring several major player armies from Poluo Province, the Alliance will continue to deploy at least two hundred thousand troops to the front line.

Out of these two hundred thousand, half are Alliance citizens, and the other half are those with regulated identities and Vellante volunteers from various regions.

Not long ago, the Alliance Representative Conference passed a proposal to "raise the threshold for issuing identity cards," tightening the distribution of Alliance citizenship.

However, conversely, while closing one door, the Alliance Representative Conference also opened a window for those survivors eager to join the Alliance.

All Wasteland wanderers willing to fight to end the Wasteland Era can become honorable Alliance citizens as long as they serve in the Alliance Army and avoid major violations during their service period.

While this is not the only fast track to identity approval, compared to first obtaining identities from Ideal City, South Sea Union, Academy, or Science Committee and completing studies at designated research institutions and academies, fighting is undoubtedly seen as the most reliable option by the Wasteland wanderers.

They do this on the Wasteland every day, even modifying their bodies for it, equipping things like mechanical tendons and mantis knives.

And for the Alliance, the barracks can also serve as a good buffer zone.

Through militarized management during the service period, as well as literacy and professional skills training, the Alliance can help these Wasteland wanderers integrate into civilized society in a more cost-effective manner after retirement, at least enabling them to understand discipline and master survival skills in society.

However, although the vast majority of Wasteland wanderers joining the army are aiming for Alliance citizenship, not all are.

For instance, most of the Vellante Expeditionary Army joined merely to change the fate of the Wasteland and the Vellante people.

The changes at Jinjaron Harbor not only showed the Poluo people growing on the red soil another possibility for the world but also influenced many Vellante people from the Eastern Legion, Southern Legion, and even the New Continent.

They once engaged in the slave trade there.

But now, the slave trade is banned at Jinjaron Harbor, and instead of declining, it has become the brightest pearl on the Poluo Sea.

And it's not just Jinjaron Harbor.

Too many real examples have shown them hope for the end of the Wasteland Era.

So they choose to take up arms and fight to liberate their compatriots!

Apart from the more than two hundred thousand troops sent by the Alliance, corporations will also reinforce the front line with at least eight more divisions.

Although the number of troops put in by the latter is far less than the former, the corporations are willing to take on more obligations in economic and logistics terms.

For example, funded by the Council, production by Alliance factories, and then transported to the front line by the South Sea Union fleet and transport ships.

Alliance factories today are no longer the small workshops of the past.

Though most factories cannot compare with the mature production lines of Ideal City in terms of scale effects, after integrating various technologies and production methods, several industrial parks of the Alliance have not only caught up with the major corporate conglomerates in a few fields but even surpassed them.

Especially in the fields of drones and biopharmaceuticals.

Chu Guang is not very worried about the frontline battle situation.

The current Southern Legion is like an earthworm cut in half, having lost external support and the crucial public support, failure is just a matter of time.

As a Manager, he only needs to quietly wait at the rear for good news from the front line and be wary of some desperate gambler's "trick."

In contrast, he is more interested in the Gravity Well in the southern sea area, as that thing is truly what opens a window for this planet.

Chu Guang has even thought of the version number for the next update.

Finally, as the end of the month approached, he heard bad news from an old friend in the north.

"... The deployment of the Gravity Well has been delayed."

Military camp outside No. 10 Settlement Point.

Yang Kai, who just got off the research ship not long ago, said these words to Chu Guang with a slightly embarrassed expression after exchanging a few pleasantries.

Chu Guang was visibly stunned for two seconds after hearing this, but didn't blame him, just asked concernedly.

"Is it a technical issue?"

Yang Kai shook his head.

"No, it's not that."

Chu Guang: "Then why..."

Yang Kai continued.

"Our intelligence system received word that the high command of the Southern Legion has pinned their hopes of reversing the situation on a decisive weapon called the 'Death Agent'... I guess you have heard of it, right?"

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brow and nodded.

Not only had he heard of it, his Guards Corps had been investigating it, but the progress had been slow due to the Southern Legion's effective counterintelligence efforts and because the Great Desert was too far from the core power of the Alliance.

Also, to be honest, he harbored doubts about whether 'Death Agent' could really produce the expected lethal effects.

The Wasteland world is different from reality, this planet is not inhabited only by Vellante people as products of genetic modification; theoretically, almost everyone living on this planet has been genetically altered to some extent.

The extensive application of genetic technology has been subtly transforming the human gene pool.

This is a long and enduring task that spanned most of the Prosperity Epoch and only ceased during the Wasteland Era.

It's just that ordinary people's genetic modifications are not as thorough as those of the Vellante people.

It is precisely because of this that many viruses that would be deadly on Earth are at most a common cold on the Wasteland.

Betting on a virus for victory, Chu Guang thought Teil must be crazy.

Seeing something from Chu Guang's expression, Yang Kai continued.

"... I know what you're thinking. Yes, most viruses on the Wasteland are no longer deadly to the remnants of the Prosperity Epoch, but artificially designed viruses are a different story."

"They can use the technology of the Prosperity Epoch era to design a virus specifically targeting the remnants of the Prosperity Epoch—or put it another way, this virus only works on Old Humans, and is ineffective or limited in effect on New Humans completely generated by gene editing techniques like Vellante people and Mutants!"

"In this situation, they just need to have Vellante people infected with this virus, then let the Vellante people spread it worldwide, and then do nothing but watch as the Pandora's box of demons opens and continues to ferment."

Worried that Chu Guang hadn't grasped the severity of the issue, Yang Kai patiently continued.

"Think about how the indigenous people of the New Continent died... I mean the indigenous people of the old era. Less than one in a thousand died from gunpowder; most died from viruses brought to the New World by colonizers from the Old World, and now they plan to do the same thing."

But this sounds too far-fetched.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and said.

"Is it technically possible to make this weapon affect others but not the Vellante people?"

"As long as we obtain the gene source code of the Vellante people," Yang Kai said seriously, staring into his eyes, "and according to our intelligence... in the past few days, the gene source code has been transported to Yavente City. The preparation of this decisive weapon is already in its final stages."

"So... you think the laboratory for this Mortal Serum virus is in Yavente City?" Chu Guang rubbed his temples and continued, "This is somewhat different from our intelligence. We believe the laboratories are distributed along the western coast of Poluo Province and the colonies in the southern part of the Great Desert by the Southern Legion."

Yang Kai continued,

"This is not contradictory. They can have many laboratories, some collecting data on the front lines, and others synthesizing and analyzing at the rear. Just like producing an aircraft, you would employ various production lines for collaboration and then assemble them in the end."

"I understand, but what does this have to do with our Gravity Well project?" Chu Guang shot a questioning look at Yang Kai, but the latter did not directly answer his question and simply stared at him unblinkingly.

After about ten seconds, Chu Guang suddenly read the unspoken answer in his eyes, and his own eyes narrowed slightly.

"I understand... you intend to erase Yavente City from the map?"

The activation of the Gravity Well would alter the gravitational parameters in the region around Earth, thus affecting the deployment of space-based weapons.

There can only be one explanation for this.

The Academy is hinting—or even encouraging me—to use the weapon inherited from Giant Stone City in this nearly certain war.

Yang Kai immediately leaned back in his chair, spreading his hands to show that he never said such a thing. But then he quickly added,

"We must admit, neutron extermination is the most efficient known method. If this 'decisive weapon' completes its final encapsulation and is carried by countless Vellante people leaving Yavente City to various parts of the world, billions of survivors will die."

Chu Guang stared at him unblinkingly,

"There are millions of residents in Yavente City, and if you count the surrounding regions, there are at least tens of millions, not just Vellante people."

"Yes, I know. This is not a good solution, but can we be blamed? We have made the greatest efforts to recover those lost technologies... If it were not for such events, we absolutely would not support you using that thing in war."

Yang Kai sighed and sat up straight from his chair.

His ten fingers interlaced on his knee, and he looked sincerely at Chu Guang as he continued.

"I hope you understand, this road was not chosen for them; they gave up their right to exist as humans on this planet. So, you don't need to feel too guilty."

"I know making this choice is not easy. To let some people survive, you have to let others die... So we hope you will reconsider before making a decision."

Leaving with these words, Yang Kai gripped the armrest of his chair, stood up, and gave a slight nod of respect before leaving the camp to return to the research ship.

Chu Guang watched his departing back, squinting his eyes for a long time without saying a word.

It was exactly like the last "Torch Crisis."

When it's impossible to make a decision, when you can't bring yourself to act, those "old stuff" once again put the shitty coin in your hand.

If there were clear evidence proving the existence of this superweapon in Yavente City, that's one thing; historically, he might be given a mixed reputation.

But now, let alone clues, all there is is a vague hint from some B-level researcher at the Academy; those guys aren't even giving him a chance to pass the buck.

If the button were pressed, even if the Alliance eventually won this war, it might plunge into another crisis.

Chu Guang had never seen the weapon's power, but according to descriptions he heard from various sources, that thing was far more potent than nuclear weapons. It is said that at the center of the target area, not a single cell would remain, and the impact depth could reach the mantle.

But then again, if the Academy really had specific clues rather than a nebulous "possibility," would they need him to go in with a carpet bomb?

It would be much more efficient to send in an airborne unit.

And no one can guarantee that after the Alliance uses strategic weapons, the Legion won't have any reciprocal countermeasures.

The Legion has only fractured, not disappeared.

Chu Guang was grateful for one thing right now.

Fortunately, he still held a trump card in his hand.

Otherwise, this matter would indeed be challenging to handle...

His index finger tapped lightly on the armrest of the chair. He closed his eyes for a moment to sort his thoughts, then quickly opened them again.

"Xiao Qi."

"Here, Master."

The spirited voice soon reached his ears.

Chu Guang could feel that Xiao Qi was cheering him on in her own way.

However, this situation was not difficult enough to stump him.

He smiled faintly and continued,

"Send a private message to the [Battlefield Atmosphere Group]."

"Tell him, it's time for our 'Leader' to take the stage."

...

In the real world, a regular three-bedroom, one-living room apartment.

The Old Soldier had just logged off, ordered takeout, and was sitting in front of the computer, browsing the forum while enjoying dinner with the amusing operations of some rookies.

Just as he was in high spirits, he suddenly noticed a small red dot in the private message column.

Without thinking much, the Old Soldier clicked on the private message.

And as soon as he opened it, he was shocked by its contents.

"WTF?! This can't be real?!"

[Mission:]

[Mission Description: The desperate Southern Legion stole the gene source code of the Vellante people stored in Triumph City and intends to develop a virus called "Mortal Serum" to wipe out all the survivors other than the Vellante people from the Earth's surface, using it as a decisive weapon against the civilized world.

If the Southern Legion's plan succeeds, it's estimated that billions of survivors will perish under his scheme.

To prevent the worst outcome, the South Sea Alliance Fleet is advancing towards Yavente City, and the Alliance's orbital weapons are being deployed underway, ready to execute a final reckoning at any time.]

[Mission Objective: At all costs, stop the Southern Legion's plan before things reach an irreparable point!]

Chapter 934: Shelter No. 3

Near No. 10 Settlement Point, the Academy's research ship.

A tall, thin man stood amidst the pale blue holographic light, looking at Yang Kai, who respectfully spoke in an instructive tone.

"How did he choose?"

Yang Kai reported truthfully.

"It's unclear for now, he hasn't given me any definite answer... However, as you can see, the sky-based weapon is indeed moving toward the western hemisphere."

However, it has not yet been deployed.

Although the Academy does not have access to these weapons left by the War Construction Committee, it knows the coordinates of each weapon.

Tracking their location is not a difficult task.

However, regrettably, the most intelligent and knowledgeable people on this planet do not possess any key among them.

Seeing that Doctor Conclusion didn't respond for a long time, Yang Kai continued respectfully.

"May I ask, what do you expect him to choose?"

The man known as Doctor Conclusion smiled faintly.

"I don't have an optimal solution here, I just want to see his choice."

The voice, devoid of much rise and fall, made it difficult to guess his true intentions.

Yang Kai sighed with a bitter smile.

"It seems we'll just have to wait and see."

...

Cornered, the Southern Legion's top brass placed all their hopes of victory on a biochemical weapon called the "Mortal Serum."

The Alliance's orbital weapons are deploying around Yavente City, ready to eliminate all troubles once and for all.

The Old Soldier wasn't sure if the Manager was serious, but if that guy really pressed the button, all his efforts might indeed be in vain.

And not just his efforts.

It also includes the efforts of other players in the Alliance, as well as Julius, Penny, Yarman, and other Weilante people in ending the Wasteland Era.

And this also includes the Manager himself.

In any case, this sudden situation has completely disrupted the Old Soldier's plans for upcoming work.

He originally planned to unite the Civil Official Group for a top-down reform of Triumph City after Marshal Julius' funeral, starting with a citizens' assembly to select representatives from various industries and classes, then jointly discussing the Weilante Constitution and further enacting a series of laws based on it.

However, now, this matter obviously has to be postponed.

After asking for advice from a bunch of sand sculpture netizens on the forum, the Old Soldier weighed the pros and cons in his heart and finally found the one person he could currently trust and who could help...

The meeting hall of the Glory Court.

Legion Leader Rezer of the Imperial Guard frowned slightly after listening to the respected Leader's statement.

"You mean... the Weilante's gene source code has been stolen?"

The Old Soldier thought he would be shocked by the content of the Mortal Serum plan, but he didn't expect the old man's focus to be on such a peculiar detail.

"That's right," the Old Soldier nodded, saying with a serious expression, "For the Southern Legion's plan, the gene source code of the Weilante is essential. Only by filling in this last piece of the puzzle can they ensure the smooth implementation of the plan—"

"That's impossible." Before he could finish speaking, Rezer interrupted him and said in an indisputable tone, "No one can steal the gene source code of the Weilante, and where did you get this information? From the Civil Official Group? Or that kid Salen."

The Old Soldier's brow twitched hard.

He didn't know where this old man's confidence came from, being so certain that the gene source code wouldn't be stolen.

However, the trouble here is exactly this: he knows what happened but can't disclose the source of the information.

After all, he couldn't possibly tell the old man that he got the task from the game system, could he?

Could the system's task be fake?

Unless the dog plan was deliberately messing with him.

"...I can't tell you the source of the information, but it's indeed a fact." The Old Soldier stared intently at him, trying to move this 172-year-old man with his sincerity.

Although he knew very well in his heart, counting on such a hasty method to convince Rezer was almost impossible.

After all, this is not an ordinary accusation.

No one would be moved by a simple "believe me."

However, to the Old Soldier's surprise, Rezer did not immediately reject his words, but stared into his eyes with those murky eyes.

After a long while, he suddenly threw down a sentence.

"Follow me."

With that said, Rezer took a step towards the exit of the meeting hall.

Seeing this swift action, the Old Soldier was slightly taken aback, not understanding what the old man intended to do, but still got up and followed.

The two of them left the Glory Court directly, walking one after the other down the thousand-step marble staircase, then boarded the car waiting by the roadside.

"Get in the car."

Seeing Rezer seated in the car, the Old Soldier hesitated for a moment but eventually opened the car door and sat in.

He initially thought the old man was planning to take him to some place within the Glory Court, but he didn't expect it seemed there was a long journey ahead.

After the car door closed, the sedan's engine slowly started, driving the two people inside away from the Glory Court.

After about twenty minutes, the Old Soldier even caught sight of Triumph City's walls, and only then did the car slow down.

"We've arrived."

Rezer tossed out this sentence, pushed open the car door with one hand, and swiftly got out of the car.

The Old Soldier followed him, getting out of the car and looking up ahead, seeing a military camp guarded by two soldiers in power armor in front of the checkpoint.

In the entirety of Triumph City, there's only one place where even the sentries on duty wear power armor.

Upon seeing those two sets of "Dragon Cavalry" power armor, the Old Soldier already guessed where they were.

Seeing the Legion Leader and the Leader, the sentry on duty solemnly respected them, unlocking their helmet masks and saluting with a serious demeanor.

Rezer simply returned a salute, then looked at the Yang Kai with a surprised expression, continuing to speak.

"This is the Guard Mansion, the base for the Imperial Guard. I originally planned to bring you here after Marshal Julius's funeral."

"I know, I passed by here before." The Battlefield Atmosphere Group nodded but looked puzzled at why he was brought here.

Touring the Imperial Guard?

It didn't seem like the right time for that sort of thing.

Rezer didn't explain why he had come here, just led him straight through, passing a section of concrete buildings, reaching the deepest part of the Guard Mansion.

A circular concrete structure sat in the center of an open space, with thick walls without a single window, just a long corridor extending inward.

Rezer led him forward, passing the checkpoint, and stood on the elevator in the lobby's center marked with the Legion's emblem, then pressed a button on the mechanical keyboard.

The elevator door creaked shut, and then the elevator descended at a steady pace.

Seeing the Leader, who was bewildered, Rezer spoke in a very soft voice.

"...What you saw outside, the concrete structure, is just the 'entrance' to this building. Its real secrets lie underground."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group lightly coughed.

"You know I'm curious about more than that."

"I know," Rezer nodded, "and I can assure you that very soon all your questions will be answered... We've arrived."

After almost a minute of descent, the elevator finally arrived at its destination.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group couldn't help but feel internally that this facility was hidden exceptionally deep, almost like a shelter.

Yet soon after thinking this, he saw a gear-shaped alloy giant door, prominently marked with a large number "3" in the center.

"Shelter No. 3... There's a shelter here?! Wait... There's a shelter underneath Triumph City?!" The Battlefield Atmosphere Group's face showed a look of astonishment.

Seeing the Leader's astonished face, Rezer faintly smiled and said.

"I remember I should have said that long ago, back when Marshal Julius was still alive, I often interacted with you."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group swallowed hard, slowly nodding.

Looking at the giant door ahead, Rezer's eyes seemed to fall into memory, only after a long time continuing to speak.

"That was long ago. It should be the year I was born... Residents of No. 3 Shelter, after learning about our plight and the incidents in the Weilante laboratory, expressed outrage at the anti-human crimes committed by the Post-war Reconstruction Committee, and generously provided us assistance."

"They were a group of very good people, and during that time, it was also our honeymoon period with the shelter residents... with you."

"If we relied solely on ourselves, without the support of the Technical Department, acquiring the Weilante laboratory's gene source code would have been futile. However, after receiving the shelter residents' help, all problems were resolved smoothly, and we finally gained true freedom, building the great Triumph City on the land above us."

At this point, Rezer paused briefly, transferring his gaze from the giant shelter door to the stunned Leader—or rather "Yang Kai."

"The gene source code is stored in this shelter... I should have brought you here earlier, but was delayed by certain matters."

After speaking, the old man took a step forward to the door, pressing a few buttons on the control console beside the gear-shaped giant door.

With a vibration like an earthquake, the gear-shaped giant door slowly rolled to one side amidst a rumbling sound, unveiling the passage leading to the shelter.

"It's not just the password, biological identification is also needed here... Follow me."

Seeing Yang Kai's astonished face, Rezer faintly smiled, leading him forward to a closed alloy door, completing the final biological identification.

With a hissing sound, the tightly closed alloy door slowly opened, finally revealing the interior of the shelter to the two men.

Just as the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was about to walk forward, Rezer's right hand pressed onto his shoulder.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group turned back, only to see those cloudy eyes staring intently, the gaze seeming to penetrate his soul.

"You should also record it."

"Alright."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group displayed a serious expression, solemnly nodding, then completed the biometric registration with Rezer's help.

He knew what this meant.

This man, who had guarded the Weilante for more than a century on behalf of Marshal Julius, was finally officially entrusting everything of the Weilante to him.

The two of them continued forward through the alloy door, turning a few corners according to the shelter map, and soon arrived at a laboratory.

This laboratory was much larger than those few "small rooms" in Shelter No. 404, and the facilities seemed far more complete.

Thinking of those "classical style" marble buildings on the surface, the Old Soldier couldn't help but sigh internally.

The land above and underground were like two parallel worlds.

Stopping in front of a cylindrical metal canister, Rezer turned to look at the Pangolin surveying the surroundings, and continued to speak.

"The Weilante people's source code is stored here. The surface is guarded by the Imperial Guard, and underground, there's the refuge's security system. You are a resident of the shelter, and even if you don't trust the strength of our Imperial Guard, you should be quite aware of the refuge's defensive level."

Retracting his gaze from a nearby facility, the Old Soldier nodded seriously with an expression.

"No one can enter an already activated shelter without authorization."

Rezer nodded, continuing from his words.

"It's not just that. Every visit leaves timestamped biometric information, whether successful or not. So I can responsibly tell you, no one has ever stolen it, and no one ever will."

As he spoke, he lightly tapped twice on the control panel next to the cylindrical canister, starting the storage device's control program.

The pale blue holographic screen quickly displayed the records of previous gene source code retrievals, as well as the identity and time information annotated beside them.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group quickly walked to the old man's side and looked at the content on the holographic screen.

According to the displayed data, the last retrieval was more than a century ago, and the usage noted in the information column was clear, for completing clones with an eightfold growth rate.

More than a century ago...

At that time, let alone Teil, perhaps even the concept of the Southern Legion didn't exist.

The Old Soldier's Adam's apple moved, and his thoughts became a bit chaotic for a moment.

"So... the Southern Legion couldn't possibly have obtained the gene source code."

Rezer nodded slowly.

"I'd like to ask you, where did your information come from."

Facing the old man's sharp gaze, the Old Soldier remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"Do you believe me?"

Rezer shook his head without hesitation.

Surprised by the old man's decisive suspicion, the Old Soldier's expression nearly broke.

However, unexpectedly, the old man then slowly nodded.

"I don't believe you, a guy from nowhere suddenly claiming to liberate the Weilante people and break their chains. It sounds like a scam."

"But I trust Marshal Julius. You are the one he's been waiting for... You match every aspect of his prophecy."

After a pause, Rezer continued slowly.

"Furthermore, you are the choice of the Weilante people."

Just like Marshal Julius.

Although Marshal Julius is not a Weilante, the man is undoubtedly the choice for all Weilante people.

If it's a wrong choice, it's just the fate of the Weilante people, and he must accept it, whether he wants to or not.

It's not only Marshal Julius who is aging, but also himself and the entire Imperial Guard.

They are destined not to accompany the Weilante people forever.

Feeling the weight of those words and the mission contained within, the Old Soldier took a deep breath and candidly spoke.

"You know I'm a resident of the shelter, but you probably don't know where I'm from... Truth be told, I come from Shelter No. 404."

Rezer's pupils suddenly contracted, but then soon returned to calm.

"And then?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was silent for a moment, biting their teeth and continued.

"We communicate through a form of mental induction... This is sort of our secret, just like your gene source code, and I hope you can keep this secret for me."

In the end, he still concealed matters about the players and another world. After all, those are rules written in the Player's Handbook, and revealing them to Rezer is meaningless, increasing communication costs instead of reducing them.

However, explaining to NPCs in his way has always been allowed by the rules.

This isn't considered "off-field."

Shelter No. 404 has never denied the various legends about itself, though there are many versions of those legends.

Rezer listened and fell silent for a while, then pressed the corner of his brow and let out a bitter smile.

"Mental induction... I hope you're serious."

At the age of 172, he could tell at a glance if someone was lying. However, at this moment, he felt clearly that this young Leader was telling the truth.

Not just the thing about "mental induction."

Even the part about the "Mortal Serum" was the same, just with some details concealed... And those concealed details weren't out of malice but due to some level of pressure.

The Old Soldier, staring at Rezer without blinking, continued.

"Trust me, everything I'm saying is true! The reason I'm so certain about the 'Mortal Serum' is that my compatriots on the front line of the Poluo Line, at the southernmost end of the Great Desert, have found countless pieces of evidence about its existence. Just as you can responsibly tell me the Weilante gene source code remains here, I can responsibly tell you, everything I'm saying is true."

Rezer let out a heavy sigh.

"Shelter No. 404... You're almost laying your cards on the table for me, admitting you are a spy for the Alliance, and successfully eliminated the greatest competitor for the Alliance."

The Old Soldier coughed dryly.

"You can't blame the dissolution of the Legion on me... Surely you know, that had nothing to do with me."

"I didn't, I was just assuming from the perspective of an ordinary citizen of Weilante, they might think this way."

Rezer pressed his brow in frustration and, after a moment, slowly spoke.

"You don't need to try to convince me. Just think about how to convince the other Weilante people when this is all over... You must be responsible to them. I hope you will confess this matter to the residents of Triumph City after everything is over. As you said, to liberate the Weilante people from lies."

Meeting that meaningful gaze, Old Soldier solemnly nodded his head.

"I will do that."

At worst, he would stop being this Leader.

In fact, he didn't really want to be this Leader, he was simply placed in this position.

Taking a deep breath, he organized his thoughts and continued to speak.

"The question now is what exactly does the Southern Legion high command want to do? I can be sure that the 'Mortal Serum' plan exists and has reached the last stage before implementation. As I've said, our intelligence personnel have sufficient evidence to prove its existence, and they informed me through... uh, mental induction."

At this moment, Rezer was no longer entangled with 'spy' or 'mental induction' but instead focused entirely on the issue itself.

Just like more than a century ago when he fought alongside Marshal Julius.

"What they want to do is actually quite obvious..." Squinting slightly, the elder continued in a steady tone, "Just bear it with the Weilante people's will."

The Old Soldier looked at him in disbelief.

"You mean..."

"The constitution of the Weilante people is stronger than the survivors of the Human Alliance Era. Not only that, we have stronger control over all levels of society... Not just because we have the army's genes, but because the Weilante people are naturally a race that obeys the collective, obeys the 'alpha wolf.' In the face of crisis, we will be more united than any other nation."

The cold-blooded voice seemed to float out of an icebox, making one involuntarily shiver.

At this moment, Rezer had completely immersed himself in the perspective of a ruthless and iron-blooded officer, with winning the final victory as his only goal.

Only then could he think from Tiel's standpoint.

"...So, we don't actually need immunity to the 'Mortal Serum,' or rather, the best outcome is that we can't be immune. The fear of death will accelerate their escape, passively involving them in our plan. And for those cowardly civilized people, sharing the same victim status makes it harder for them to cut us out of their society."

"Our compatriots will take it to every corner of the world, replacing our guns and cannons to conquer the remaining third of the world that hasn't been conquered by us."

"As long as it is as terrifyingly lethal as shown in the lab, the eventual winners of this survival competition will definitely be us... the Weilante people."

The Old Soldier's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Scorched earth..."

"Scorched earth? That is too small-scale, the 'Mortal Serum' goes a step further."

Rezer looked at the Leader holding his breath, giving a meaningful smile as he spoke slowly.

"This is called natural selection."

That's the battlefield Weilante people are most skilled at.

Tiel plans to bet the chances of victory on the survival capabilities of the Weilante people!

"...Of course, this matter cannot be known to a third person. We must use the 'Gene Source Code' as a guise to make the Weilante people involved in the plan believe that the Mortal Serum is harmless to them, at least that it won't be fatal, and is only effective on aliens."

Looking at the shocked Pangolin, Rezer restrained that cold expression, returning to his usual gentle yet authoritative manner.

"Standing from Tiel's perspective, he would probably make such arrangements... it's unbelievable, it's already Wasteland Era 214, yet there are still people preserving the most primitive animal instincts so thoroughly."

Old Soldier, coming to his senses, inadvertently held his breath before slowly opening his mouth after a long moment.

"Was the Weilante people like this before?"

Rezer replied without hesitation.

"There was indeed such a time on the Wasteland when it was impossible to survive without being like that."

After a pause, he continued.

"But I don't think it's the right way, surviving like a beast is nothing to be proud of. The children of the Weilante people will not head towards a better future because of their ancestors' 'sacrifices,' and if their fathers really win, they would enter an era worse than the Wasteland Era, entering an even vaster jungle to have a final showdown with Mutants or something else, competing on who is more beast-like, who has no bottom line, who is more savage..."

"Would the eventual winners suddenly regain their conscience and become human again one day in the future? I doubt it, humans are heavily reliant on path dependency. Just like those Poluo who survived because of General Lowell's wild imagination, even today their children are like crops growing in Red Soil. I suppose even Lowell himself would not feel proud seeing their servile appearances."

This lunatic...

Turns out Tiel never intended for the Weilante people to be immune to the Mortal Serum!?

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group suddenly thought of West Sail Port.

That time seemed to be the same...

And exactly the same!

He involuntarily clenched his fist, looking earnestly at Rezer.

"How can we stop Tiel?"

He wanted to know if there was any method other than resorting to the last option.

Rezer looked at him and returned the question unchanged.

"How can we stop Tiel... you shouldn't throw this question to a 172-year-old man, dear Leader."

"You are the one who should continue to lead the Weilante people forward, the one who should make the decision is you, not me."

"They chose you between barbarism and civilization, I believe they must have seen a Strength in you that is not inferior to the former."

"So don't be afraid to choose, you just need to remember... don't let those living in the past see weakness and fear in your eyes, and don't let those who chose you be disappointed."

Chapter 935: The Pangolin’s Counter-Strategy

If Vellante Province is the departure point for the Weilante people's expedition, then Bartoya Province, separated by a sea from Vellante Province, is the first barrier on the Weilante people's path of conquest.

Similar to another world's map, Vellante Province is somewhat like a miniature version of the Iberian Peninsula combined with Franxi, while Bartoya Province roughly corresponds to the position of North Africa, and appears to be much "broader" than North Africa.

Between the two provinces lies a bay known as the Whirlpool Sea, and this sea is much smaller compared to the "Mediterranean" of another world, roughly only half the size of the latter. The shapes of the two are vastly different, with a large opening that becomes narrower as it goes east, resembling buffalo horns.

Yavente City is located in the southwest corner of Bartoya Province, in a place called Dagger End, overlooking Vellante Province across the sea.

The closest distance between the two provinces is only 200 kilometers. While swimming across would be challenging, taking a ferry would only take five to six hours, even in slow conditions.

Since the news of Marshal Julius's death spread, a large number of Weilante people have rushed from all over the world to Triumph City, hoping to attend Marshal Julius's funeral.

Among them, naturally, are Weilante people living in Bartoya Province.

They would meet old friends they hadn't seen in a long time back in their homeland, sit together and chat about anything, or blow bubbles into their beer, or even tumble into the sheets together.

After everything is over, some of them will stay behind, but most will return to their own homes in the eastern part of the New Continent or Old Continent.

If one wishes to spread "Mortal Serum" across the world, there is no more suitable opportunity than Marshal Julius's funeral...

On the calm surface of the sea.

Standing on the near-sea destroyer, Maloc Ten Thousand Leader looked at the telegram in his hand and couldn't help but tug at the corner of his mouth.

"...If this is true, then it's too damn cruel."

Due to recent turmoil within the Army, Marshal Julius's Imperial Guard was also affected, unbelievably losing the Weilante people's lifeline, the "Gene Source Code."

He's not an expert in the biological field and doesn't understand the technical stuff, but he knows how important this thing is, otherwise their ancestors wouldn't have gone to great lengths to snatch it from the hands of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee and protect it with such care.

It is said by the Residents of the refuge who had once helped the Weilante people.

Since the Weilante people are created according to a designed gene pool, as long as one masters the source code of "building the pool," they can easily design a genetic weapon specifically targeting this group.

This weapon can be a virus or something else, capable of acting simultaneously on a micro and macro level, making the planet unsuitable for the Weilante people to survive, eventually causing them to disappear from the planet, as if they never existed.

In fact, the Defense Department of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee indeed had such plans, even the last folder on the Weilante Laboratory server was the "closure" of the genetic warrior plan.

The purer the bloodline, the easier it is to distinguish from the crowd.

The only solution is intermarriage with Aliens.

When the Weilante people are no longer Weilante, but part of humanity, the sword hanging over all the Weilante people's heads can finally be removed.

Therefore, they must strictly keep the Weilante people's Gene Source Code confidential for at least 300 years, until their veins flow with the blood of other humans, and the veins of humans flow with their blood, to truly be safe.

And now, the Imperial Guard says they messed up in the 172nd year!

What a joke?!

However, the matter has already occurred, and he can only brace himself to accept it and cooperate with Triumph City's orders to prepare for the response.

At this time, a ferry about a hundred meters long appeared on the horizon.

Seeing the black dot emerging in the distance, Maloc Ten Thousand Leader immediately waved his hand, signaling his subordinate crew and captains to steer the destroyer over, and contacted the opposite captain via radio to have them stop the ship.

Upon receiving the command, the opposite ferry cooperated quite well and soon shut down its engine.

However, the passengers on the ship were not satisfied and gathered on the deck to demand an explanation from the approaching destroyer.

A ferry over a hundred meters is quite large, carrying at least three to four hundred people.

Most of these people are residents of Yavente City, a part of whom live in the surrounding areas of Bartoya Province, including some not-so-big kids and mothers holding infants.

Looking at the crowd, Maloc cleared his throat, picked up the loudspeaker, and said loudly.

"Quiet, please be quiet for a moment. I am Maloc Ten Thousand Leader, belonging to the Near Sea Defense Fleet of Triumph City. Your flight has encountered some trouble, and I'm here to explain the situation to you."

Upon hearing someone in authority speak up, the people on the deck quieted down a bit.

After a pause, Maloc adjusted his pace and continued.

"Late yesterday, we received news that amid the political turmoil in Triumph City, someone stole the Weilante people's Gene Source Code."

As expected, as soon as his words fell, the people on the deck erupted in chaos.

The sea, which had just quieted down for a couple of seconds, instantly became noisy again.

"What does the theft of the Gene Source Code have to do with us?!"

"That's right! You should check the departing ships! Would the thief really turn back?!"

"Damn, the Imperial Guard is really getting worse by the day, they even lost the Gene Source Code..."

"The guys in Triumph City are really useless!"

The majority of people did not realize the severity of the issue, only angry about the flight delay.

It's actually quite normal.

Maloc felt the same way himself.

Even though the more he thought about it, the more fearful he became after understanding the situation, his initial reaction upon hearing it was just an "ah," followed by the thought "if it's lost, so be it."

Losing one thing didn't seem like much compared to the disbandment of the Army.

They've lost plenty of things.

It wasn't until the Imperial Guard told him that the thing was the lifeline of the Vellante people that he realized the tension.

Looking at these noisy compatriots, Maloc took a deep breath and raised his voice to continue shouting.

"You really ought to perk up your ears and listen to me! The theft of the Gene Source Code happened a month ago. Now the latest intelligence indicates that a group of evil Blue Ground Squirrels hiding in the Great Desert have used our Gene Source Code to design a virus specifically targeting the Vellante people! It's called the 'Mortal Serum,' and from the name, you should know its purpose."

"But I'm here to tell you, things aren't that simple! This virus has an exceptionally long incubation period of over a month and is highly contagious during that time!"

"It starts with a low fever, then full-body overheating, until your immune system is completely compromised, and finally, your organs will fail one by one, dying painfully...the whole process will last a year or even longer until it's done tormenting you, until the virus's offspring infect others."

"So don't think it doesn't concern you. Bartoya Province is in the northwest corner of the Great Desert, and you're the ones closest to this Bomb! You may have already contracted this thing!"

Before his words could finish, the ship was instantly in uproar, the boiling waves of noise seeming to overturn the rocking deck.

Faces were filled with varied expressions, some angry, some panicked, and others were stunned and skeptical.

Some mothers instinctively covered the mouths and noses of their babies or moved toward places with fewer people.

Others couldn't help but cough, and seeing the sideways glances from those around them, they naturally started doubting themselves.

"Are you kidding?! A virus targeting the Vellante people… How is this possible?!"

"Who would do such a thing… Damn, those Imperial Guards, how could they lose something so important!"

"So our ship is hiding a virus? That...bioweapon targeting the Vellante people?"

People shouted in confusion and clamored like mad.

Their instincts told them that such a thing was absurd; if there really were such a powerful weapon, the Aliens wouldn't have waited until now to use it.

But very soon they remembered that the Vellante people's Gene Source Code had previously been strictly safeguarded and now had been stolen.

Everything seemed to become logical.

Just like Maloc last night, they moved from skepticism to unshakeable belief.

After all, standing in front of them was a Ten Thousand Leader, and one from Triumph City at that.

These guys are unfailing in their loyalty to Marshal Julius and would never joke about the Imperial Guard, nor would the Imperial Guard lie about such matters.

Looking at the still noisy compatriots, Maloc raised his voice and answered one of their questions.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out, so we're regretfully asking you to return."

A strong man squeezed to the front of the crowd, glowering at Maloc with glaring eyes.

"Possibility! Just because of this so-called possibility, you stopped us from attending Marshal Julius's funeral!"

He had broad shoulders and rough palms, like a soldier who's been to the battlefield.

Many Vellante people have been to the battlefield; it's not an outstanding trait.

However, at this critical juncture when the front lines were tense, this prime-of-life veteran with combat experience found it difficult to get on a flight to the Vellante Province.

But Maloc didn't know the real details of "Mortal Serum."

The version told by the Imperial Guard was someone's plan to use the Vellante people's Gene Source Code to design a genetic weapon targeting the Vellante people.

Looking at the glowering man, Maloc smiled and said.

"You don't need to worry, the funeral has been postponed."

Everyone on the deck was stunned.

"Pos- postponed?!"

Maloc nodded.

"That's right, our esteemed Leader has announced that the Vellante Alliance has entered a state of emergency. Until the emergency state ends, we will temporarily seal off Whirlpool Sea."

Upon hearing these words, everyone on the deck panicked, shouting in confusion.

"Then what should we do?!"

"Are you intending to keep us at sea forever?"

Maloc raised his hand to signal them to calm down, then continued speaking.

"You can return the way you came, or you can come back and accept our arrangements... We've demarcated a buffer zone along the coast of the Vellante Governorate and set up some tents there. We will isolate you based on the time of your landing and arrange for doctors to examine your bodies."

"Triumph City has already requested assistance from the Sticky Community, and their response has been very positive, stating they will airlift medical personnel and supplies to the Vellante Governorate to face this crisis with us...just as we faced the Torch Church crisis together with them before."

Everyone on the deck whispered and murmured.

Especially upon hearing mention of enterprises and the Alliance, almost everyone's face showed hesitation.

The Southern Legion is currently at war with enterprises and the Alliance, and nobody can guarantee that these guys won't take advantage of this situation.

At this moment, a frail-looking old man walked to the bow, staring intently at Ten Thousand Leader Maloc, and asked in a hoarse voice.

"That virus... are you serious?"

Ten Thousand Leader Maloc nodded.

"At least the Imperial Guard is serious. Including Triumph City, the Weilant Alliance has already restricted entry to anyone outside of the Weilante People... After all, everyone here could possibly become asymptomatic or mild carriers of the virus. Even if harming us is not their intention, we could still be indirectly harmed by them."

Not their intention...

The old man's smile seemed somewhat bitter.

These words are truly humble; there are so many people who want the Weilante People dead, at least one out of every three Waste Land Wanderers.

Maloc apparently thought the same, so he shrugged and made a helpless expression.

"So you should know how dangerous it is to run around at this critical moment... We're not just targeting you, all borders north, south, east, and west are closed."

The old man sighed and, after a long pause, finally managed to say a word.

"I hope there are no aliens in the buffer zone..."

Triumph City has closed its borders.

That being said, the Welch Governorate should be much safer than the Batoya Province.

After all, the Southern Legion has vast colonies, most of which are inhabited by aliens from the Great Desert.

If anything really happens, the Southern Legion, which has not taken any action so far, is undoubtedly the most dangerous...

Looking at the anxious-looking old man, Maloc shouted with a smile.

"Don't worry about that, even if there are, they are researchers sent by the Academy to help us."

"If anything goes wrong, we won't let them off."

...

The news of the Weilante People's Gene Source Code being lost was causing quite a stir in Triumph City.

As the Imperial Guard responsible for the Source Code, they lost all dignity in this storm, facing accusations from various forces in Triumph City.

Commander Raze's reaction was quite calm in the face of those scolding voices.

Having lived 172 years, he was already accustomed to the storms of this city, and of course, couldn't be embarrassed by a few words from juniors.

However, although Rezer remained composed, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was quite guilty.

This old man was almost at the age of entering the coffin, and in the end, still had to wager a lifetime of honor for himself.

After ending the meeting with other ministers, he looked at the old man and said apologetically.

"Sorry... after this matter is over, I will clear all your grievances and tell everyone that it was all my idea."

Seeing the remorseful Leader, wrapped in Golden Armor, Raze smiled lightly and said softly.

"You don't need to worry about my feelings, just do what you are supposed to do now."

After a pause, the old man suddenly spoke again in the tone of an elder, and continued meaningfully.

"But let me remind you, a truly brilliant lie is one where only half the truth is spoken, leaving out the half that's unfavorable to oneself. In this matter, Marshal Julius is quite savvy, your Manager is the same, while you've fallen short, leaving no room to retreat."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group's expression was a bit awkward, touching his nose and giving a dry cough.

"I am far behind when compared to them..."

Raze smiled slightly.

"That's for sure; they've done so much, and you've only done a few things."

"But it doesn't matter, everyone moves from unskilled to skilled, whether it's the respected Marshal Julius or your Manager."

"I am still optimistic about you."

The last words gave the Old Soldier quite a bit of confidence, warming his heart.

This matter was indeed not handled cleverly by him, but it was the best way he could think of.

Faced with Commander Teil's "ingenious scheme," his choice was to use the same strategy.

Since the former claimed to have stolen the Gene Source Code, and by that convinced the other high-ranking officials of the Southern Legion to participate in his crazy plan, he declared that the Gene Source Code was indeed lost, but it was stolen by the Enlightenment Society in the Great Desert, and it was used to create a virus named "Mortal Serum" specifically targeting the Weilante People.

Based on this reason, he could naturally announce the Weilant Alliance entering into an emergency state and impose a blockade on Triumph City and even Welch Governorate, preventing the Southern Legion from using Triumph City and Marshal Julius's funeral as a springboard for spreading the virus.

Moreover, upon receiving the news, the Northern Empire, Eastern Empire, and the Union State in the New Continent would also successively close their borders and strictly guard against all incoming personnel.

Whether they believe in the existence of the "Mortal Serum," the news of the Gene Source Code loss is clearly not fabricated.

As for what the "Mortal Serum" actually is, that has become irrelevant.

Whoever publicly declares first, holds the priority to interpret.

And certainly, the Southern Legion can't possibly jump out to argue that they stole the Gene Source Code, and that the Mortal Serum is actually not very harmful to the Weilante People but primarily targeting aliens outside Weilante People.

Not to mention that Teir doesn't even have the Gene Source Code of the Veilante people in his hands. He can't even prove that the thing is actually of little harm to the Veilante, because it was a weapon designed for indiscriminate attack from the very beginning.

Not to mention explaining it.

They dare not even let the other factions discover that this thing slipped out of their own laboratory.

Otherwise, even without waiting for the corporations and Alliance to take action, those old friends would come out and beat them up.

However, being discovered is only a matter of time.

If the "Mortal Serum" plan has already been initiated, and several old legion forces, including Triumph City, have successively closed their borders, preventing the Veilante from moving to other regions, then the pathogen would be confined within Yavente City.

In addition, with Evernight Harbor already occupied by the Alliance, the Southern Legion's route to the Eastern World has been cut off. Aside from those high-lethality, low-infectivity original viruses already deployed on the Poluo Line battlefield, hardly any strains would spread out.

By that time, Teir would find himself hoisted by his own petard.

And the Veilante people of Yavente City will gradually realize who their real enemy is.

In addition to the macro-level deployment, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group utilized the power of the Civil Official Group to set up some quarantine zones along the coastal border of the Welch Governorate.

This is only the first step.

After controlling the "Mortal Serum," he will soon begin the second phase of the plan, fulfilling his duty as the Leader of Triumph City to rescue Yavente City, which has been engulfed by the plague.

And this phase of the plan will require assistance from the Academy, Alliance, and other Survivor Forces of the Wasteland.

However, for him, this is not a difficult task at all.

He understood the Manager's attitude well.

Since the beginning of the service, that guy has been aimed at ending the Wasteland Era and would certainly not leave the Veilante people unattended.

As he was pondering this, hurried footsteps could be heard outside the meeting hall of the Glory Court.

A man dressed in luxurious clothes burst into the hall, ignoring the guards at the door, and stared angrily at the Leader seated in the center of the main hall, speaking sharply.

"Leader, I need an explanation!"

This was the Messenger from the Southern Legion.

He also came as a representative to attend the funeral of Marshal Julius in Teir's place.

The Old Soldier remembered his name was Hologen, a Two-Star Ten Thousand Leader, one star higher than Coleway.

However, now that he himself has become the Leader, he no longer needed to be intimidated by these military ranks.

Looking at the furious Hologen, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group asked with interest.

"What explanation do you want?"

Hologen said angrily.

"Postponing Marshal Julius's funeral, closing the border when all Veilante have come to Triumph City to pay respects to Marshal Julius's majesty! Do you know what you're doing?"

This guy was anxious.

However, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group did not think that a mere Two-Star Ten Thousand Leader would understand the inside story of the "Mortal Serum."

The most likely possibility is that Commander Teir was trying to use this guy to probe Triumph City's defenses or put pressure on him.

Just as he was about to speak, Rezer, sitting not far beside him, spoke first.

"Marshal Julius has waited for almost two centuries. I believe that great man wouldn't mind waiting a while longer to see his children finish the final act."

The sharp light in those cloudy pupils instantly deflated Hologen's aggressive stance.

The legion has just completed its transformation into the Veilante Alliance, and he cannot yet understand what being a Leader means.

But he understands very well what a Legion Leader means.

Especially one who once battled alongside Marshal Julius.

"What…what are you talking about? What act…" Swallowing, Hologen took a step back unconsciously and said with a trembling voice.

Rezer calmly looked at him, the gaze like looking at a noisy child.

"…Ask yourself, or ask your Commander. I think he should be the one who knows best."

Hologen involuntarily held his breath.

His political intuition told him that the waters beneath this matter might be deeper than he had imagined.

Without saying another word, he allowed the guards to lead him out and quickly left the doorway of the hall.

Watching that departing back, Rezer smiled faintly and whispered in a neither light nor heavy tone.

"Pass on a word to that child for me—"

"The candles of Triumph City have not burned out, and Marshal Julius's spirit is still here."

"His Excellency the Marshal is watching you."

Chapter 936: Operation Final Mission

Leaving the Glory Court, Hologen got into the car parked at the bottom of the stone steps and returned directly to his residence.

Without a moment's pause, he immediately proceeded to the study, opened the panoramic conference device, and contacted Commander Teil of the Southern Legion, far away in Yavente City.

Looking at the holographic bust floating in the pale blue light, Hologen instantly showed a respectful expression and nodded in report.

"Commander, the side of Triumph City has rejected our request to reopen the borders."

Teil slowly opened his mouth to speak.

"Did the Leader mention any reasons?"

"The reason is still that Mortal Serum. The Imperial Guard firmly claims to have received conclusive information that the stolen Gene Source Code has been used to create genetic weapons targeting the Weilante People." Hologen's expression showed slight hesitation as he spoke softly, "I feel Commander Rezer doesn't seem to be lying... I'm thinking, should we also pay attention to this?"

Although he didn't doubt the Southern Legion's intelligence department's work abilities, it was equally hard for him to believe that the Imperial Guard would make such statements without concrete evidence.

Especially since his family was still in Yavente City.

If the "Mortal Serum" really existed, he couldn't help but worry about his family's safety...

Commander Teil looked at him silently, seemingly deep in thought, without any reply for a long time.

Understanding this, Hologen didn't disturb him, but then, suddenly, he remembered something.

"...By the way, Commander Rezer asked me to relay a message to you."

Commander Teil finally seemed to react, looking at him expressionlessly.

"What did he say?"

Hologen truthfully reported the answer.

"He said... that His Excellency the Marshal is watching you."

At the moment he heard this sentence, Teil's expression remained unchanged, but his heart couldn't help but tremble for a moment.

But it was only for a moment.

He knew it was impossible.

The Marshal was already dead, and had been dead for more than a century; this fact couldn't possibly be false.

Trying to use the name of a dead man to scare him...

Teil's mouth curled into a cold arc, making Hologen, standing in the meeting room, instinctively feel a chill down his spine, as if facing a poised venomous snake.

What happened to his respected commander?

Countless confusions poured into his mind, especially as he recalled Commander Rezer's meaningful gaze.

Hologen's Adam's apple moved, wanting to voice his inner confusion, but his throat felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton, unable to utter a single word.

Teil offered no explanation, just ended the unpleasant conversation with an expressionless face.

"I understand."

Seeing that Teil seemed intent on concluding the meeting, Hologen quickly added.

"I will try harder... perhaps there's some misunderstanding here."

"Hmm."

Teil nodded without any indication, and the pale blue holographic image disappeared from Hologen's study.

Clearly, the Imperial Guard had already detected something through their intelligence network, which is why they adopted this countermeasure.

Though it was unclear how the information leaked to Triumph City, since it already happened, Teil no longer harbored hopes of resolving the issue through diplomatic means.

However—

If these weaklings thought he would give up like this, they underestimated him.

Southern Legion General Headquarters.

Teil rose from behind the desk, walked to the window, and gazed over Yavente City, a forged world of metal and cement.

Every inch of land here flowed with the blood of the Weilante People.

Compared to Norton City, famous for "conquest," this was the true "City of Conquest"!

"The Southern Legion will not surrender. Even if the old Alliance has abandoned us, we will launch another charge against the enemies of the Weilante People in the name of the Legion."

He raised his head to the sky, staring at the thickening clouds, his resolute and icy face full of determination.

"The ultimate victor will be us."

The tasks ahead were evident.

Without a trace of hesitation or nostalgia, he stepped away from the office and headed directly to Research Institute No. 68, not far from the general headquarters.

This research institute was located at the very center of Yavente City, on the 68th floor of the "Tower of the World" building.

The entire building's exterior was crafted from alloy, resembling a long knife piercing the ground from the sky.

One and a half centuries ago, the survivors of Yavente City forged this alloy building using the legacy of the Prosperity Epoch and used it as a "vertical processing center" to store black boxes and other relics recovered from Bartoya Province, trying to rebuild their imagined Prosperity Epoch.

However, due to real-world factors, this grand project met a predictable end.

Later, the legion conquered Yavente City and made improvements to the entire building, successfully transforming it into a military-industrial base integrating production and research!

The research projects conducted in this building are far more than just the "Mortal Serum".

However, at present, the "Mortal Serum" indeed holds the highest possibility of realization among all the decisive weapons.

Seeing Teil appear in the laboratory, Martin immediately put down his work and walked over.

"You're here? I was just about to find you for a report. According to your instructions, 476 pathogens have been deployed. Once they reach Triumph City, it is expected that all the city's survivors will be infected, and symptoms will appear within 14 to 30 days... By the way, are you really okay without the Gene Source Code? Even if you regret it now, it's too late."

Even with the Gene Source Code, it's not guaranteed that the Weilante people will be 100% uninfected, but at least it won't be as severe as other survivors.

Confronted with his inquiry, Teil remained unmoved.

"No problem, that was my plan from the start... If anything, it's better this way."

Just as Rezer had guessed, he uttered this statement in a cold-blooded tone.

Martin stared at this esteemed Legion Leader for a moment, sighed lightly, and said.

"You're a madman, aren't you worried about getting infected yourself?"

But speaking of it, even if this guy gets infected with the Mortal Serum, he probably wouldn't actually die.

Martin realized he had asked a stupid and unnecessary question.

Even at the point of organ failure, this guy could directly replace it with bionic organs, and if it couldn't be treated, he could lie in a sleep cabin and wait until it could be cured.

This virus, with its widespread destructive effect, actually has extremely limited lethality on individuals.

It is because of this that he predicted in the contagion model that this virus would eventually face obstruction in Ideal City.

Most residents there have installed bionic organs, and the medical security system there is the most advanced on the Wasteland.

But by then, it wouldn't matter.

Ideal City is invincible only when it stands with the Waste Land Wanderers, isolated they are nothing significant.

"You don't need to worry about my matters, we have encountered other troubles now."

As expected, Teil didn't take his concern to heart, ended the topic with one sentence, paused for a moment, then continued discussing the current situation.

"The Imperial Guard is clashing with us, and now Triumph City has closed its borders to us... I want to know if there's any other way to spread the Mortal Serum without using Triumph City."

Hearing this, Martin's expression became serious. He rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said.

"It's a bit difficult... Triumph City is the most suitable, even one could say it's necessary."

Teil continued to ask.

"What if we don't use humans as carriers? Like birds or fish—"

Before he finished speaking, Martin unceremoniously interrupted him.

"Impossible, this is the Wasteland out there, it's now the Wasteland Era. Do you think Bartoya Province is still the same Bartoya Province from three centuries ago with a thousand flights daily?"

The environment on the Wasteland is full of uncertainties, causing species on the Wasteland to rarely leave their familiar living areas, and those types that liked to migrate vanished in the early Wasteland Era.

As it stands, only humans still possess both migratory capability and motivation for long-distance migration.

To spread the virus to the eastern part of the Great Desert, Triumph City is almost essential to their plan.

Because it's the only place with railways leading to the Eastern Empire, and currently only the Eastern Empire's trade routes lead to the Alliance in the east.

After listening to Martin's explanation, Teil nodded solemnly, then slowly began to speak.

"It seems we only have one move left."

The pondering Martin turned his gaze to him, curiously asked.

"What move?"

Teil paused for a moment, then continued in a calm, even cold-blooded voice.

"...The capacity of the quarantine zone has limits. As long as we evacuate the Weilante people from Bartoya Province to the Welch Governorate under the guise of 'Pilgrimage to Triumph City', and provide them with enough ships to cross the Whirlpool Sea... Even if Triumph City mobilizes all its armed forces to maintain order, their defenses will be overwhelmed by sheer numbers."

Emptying the 'useless population' from Yavente City could also reduce the losses Yavente City would suffer in this crisis, increasing their odds of winning the final competition.

However, the moment Martin heard these words, he was stunned.

Is this guy insane?

Having all the civilians of the Southern Legion head north, charging towards the spiritual homeland of the Weilante people!

This is... such madness!

He originally thought his own ideas were already inhumane enough, yet he didn't expect this Legion Leader to surpass him!

Millions of the elderly, women, and children leaving their homes, just hunger, cold, and possible accidents on the way could wipe out more than half, without even needing the virus to act.

Even if their veins flowed with the blood of Genetic Warriors, these fellows were human, not some aliens or variants.

Thinking of that hellish scene, Martin's shoulders trembled with excitement.

"You're simply a genius..."

To Martin's praise, Teil's expression remained unmoved.

"You're too kind."

He has no time to hesitate or go slowly.

After all, the "Mortal Serum" has already been deployed, and soon there will be infected in the quarantined areas along the coast of Yavente City or the Vellante Governorate.

Considering the proportion of Vellante people involved, there's no doubt that Vellante people will appear among them.

By that time, even the high-ranking officials of the Southern Legion, who were originally loyal to him, will gradually realize that the impact of the "Mortal Serum" is indiscriminate.

The reason the clinical reactions in the lab showed that aliens, especially the Poluo people, were more affected is merely due to the Vellante people's advantage in constitution.

If an Awakening with an enhanced immune system were used in the experiment, there would be the same probability that a sneeze would be nothing, which proves nothing at all.

Therefore, he must act before everyone notices the problem, bringing things to an irreversible point.

Only in this way can he stop those short-sighted fools from jumping off the wagon...

...

As it turned out, Teil was not joking.

The day after the messengers of the Southern Legion communicated unsuccessfully with Triumph City regarding the opening of borders, his personal guard walked the streets of Yavente City with armbands, carrying out a special operation codenamed "Mission Finale," shouting into loudspeakers.

Annoyed by the noisy ruckus, an old man of about 60 opened his door.

His name was Bazel.

Because of the "ingenuity" of those two fools, Teil and Guryang, two of his four children died at the front in Poluo Province, one is still missing, and only the one who went to the New Continent is living well so far.

Others might not dare to confront the personal guards directly, but he certainly wouldn't tolerate those bootlickers.

Standing at the door, Bazel was about to lash out at the patrolling soldier, but the latter spoke first, looking at him and shouting.

"Why haven't you left yet?"

Old Bazel was taken aback by the words, his brow tightening.

"Leave? Where to?"

The soldier replied matter-of-factly.

"What else could it be? Of course, it's to attend Marshal Julius's funeral! His Excellency the Marshal devoted his life to us, in this final moment, we should at least see him off."

Seeing the soldier's loyal demeanor, Bazel's attitude softened, and he muttered in a low voice.

"Marshal Julius... We should see him off, but I have no relatives in Triumph City. Going there would only cause inconvenience. He would understand my plight, my wife and I will mourn him at home."

Hearing the old man's reason, the young man smiled and said.

"Don't worry! Commander Teil will arrange your accommodations in Triumph City, including the boat to get there."

The old man furrowed his brows, looking at him suspiciously.

"Really?"

The young man replied with an unhesitating tone.

"Of course, it's true! Could Commander Teil's words be false? By the way, if you insist on staying home to show your loyalty, that's possible too, though lately both war and plague are approaching... You've heard, right? Yavente City is going to be under military control in a few days."

The old man looked at him in astonishment.

"So sudden? Is this Commander Teil's order or the consensus of the Southern Legion's leadership—"

"Does it make any difference? As far as I'm concerned, it's all the same."

Seeing the old man still hesitant, the soldier with the armband urged him to continue.

"If you plan to go, you'd better hurry, there's still a bus to the dock, but there won't be any later."

"Alright, at least let me pack my bags..." Unable to resist the urging, the old man grumbled, closing the door and heading back to the bedroom.

Watching her husband pull out the suitcase, the over fifty-year-old woman had a look of worry in her eyes.

She had been listening to the conversation downstairs earlier, but based on her many years of experience, she felt that things weren't so simple.

"Dear, I always feel there's something wrong with this..."

The old man snorted.

"Of course, I know, something big is probably going to happen in Yavente City again."

That young fellow was too inexperienced, clearly hadn't seen the world, to be able to utter such a foolish statement as "Could Commander Teil's words be false."

In the eyes of Marshal Julius, when did Commander Teil ever speak a word of truth?

He simply didn't bother to argue with that guy.

After all, from this stance, Commander Teil was obviously serious.

Undoubtedly, someone had pushed this guy to the brink.

"Then why are we packing our bags?" His wife came up behind him and continued worriedly, "I'm afraid if we leave this time, it'll be hard to come back."

The old man, while packing, replied without thinking.

"What else, stay here? Don't be silly, hurry up and pack... I'll think if there's any relative I can contact, let's leave this damned place first."

While the old man packed his bags, it was roughly the same in every household.

The personal guards involved in the operation were unaware of the true objective of the so-called "Decisive Mission" special operation; they only carried out the tasks assigned by their superiors and handled their own responsibilities.

The coordination and collaboration between various organizational units were as tight as gears in a chain.

Some were responsible for mobilization, some for spreading rumors, and others for coercion and seduction.

War and plague were approaching Yavente City!

If you don't want to suffer, go to Triumph City to attend Marshal Julius's funeral!

After all, this is what the Weilante people should do.

They promised the citizens that they would reimburse their travel expenses and provide vehicles and boats to assist them in reaching the Welch Governorate across the Whirlpool Sea.

And after Julius's funeral, everything in Yavente City would return to normal.

As for those who stayed, they would have to endure wartime restrictions and considerable hardship, since the Imperial Guard had lost the Weilante people's gene source code, and this was a very critical period.

Whether out of fear of war and plague, or loyalty to Marshal Julius, the citizens of Yavente City voluntarily left their homes and set out on their journey to Triumph City, without needing much persuasion from the personal guards.

Most of these Weilante people were either related to the residents of Triumph City or were immigrants from the Welch Governorate who had moved to the south.

After hearing news of the fall of Evernight Harbor, many of them had already considered leaving Yavente City.

Because of this, when they heard the series of promises made by the Southern Legion's high command, they didn't waste much time on mental preparation and quickly packed their belongings to set out.

Not only that, they even planned which relatives to seek refuge with once they reached Triumph City.

However, at this moment, they were unaware that Triumph City had already closed its borders.

And the transportation promised by the Southern Legion's high command would likely be merely some rafts without any power devices.

In just one day, one-fifth of Yavente City's population had left, while the remaining four-fifths were either standing in line or waiting and watching.

To solve the transportation shortage, the Southern Legion even dispatched trucks from the barracks.

The massive procession resembled winding serpentine lines, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.

At the same time, while these hundreds of thousands of residents were relocating to the northern region of the Bartoya Province, a hundred thousand Servant Army troops also deployed to the north of Bartoya Province.

They would be responsible for building twenty camps, crafting transportation tools for the Weilante civilian migrants heading north, and driving away those unwilling to leave across the sea.

Such work could not be entrusted to the Weilante people.

After all, constrained by morals and honor, some Weilante soldiers would refuse to follow orders, even if they were from the personal guard.

There were precedents for such occurrences, and once incidents occurred, they often resulted in significant chaos.

Thus, giving the task to the alien race was most suitable.

When faced with the Weilante people, they would absolutely show no mercy.

In fairness, the mobilization capability of the Southern Legion was indeed strong, and their societal control extended far beyond that of the West Winds and the subsequent Poluo Country.

Driven by a blend of faithfulness and coercion, the Weilante from Bartoya Province poured fervently like devout pilgrims towards the vast coastline.

It wasn't just the Weilante; a few members of the alien race also joined the migrating populace.

Some were roughly driven away, while others were frightened by the Southern Legion's propaganda rhetoric depicting the Alliance's ruthless armies.

On the third day after the "Decisive Mission" action commenced, the first batch of "beachhead landing troops" were forcefully boarded onto ships.

Upon seeing the rafts appearing on the horizon, Maloc standing on the destroyer's deck lost all color in his face, his eyes wide in frenzy.

"Damn it..."

In front of him lay at least hundreds of ships!

After realizing the ferries were unfeasible, these folks resorted to breaking up into smaller units!

Forget his mere destroyer, even sinking all the airships from Triumph City into the sea wouldn't block all these ships!

After all, these were Weilante people, sharing the same blood flowing in his veins; he couldn't possibly open fire and sink them!

Let alone firing, if these people fell into the water, he would have to save them!

"These lunatics... do they not value their lives!?"

Maloc cursed incoherently, immediately placing his hand on the shoulder communicator, reporting the situation on-site to the Near Sea Defense Fleet's command.

The news was escalated, level by level, quickly reaching Triumph City, then transmitted to the Glory Court.

Upon hearing from the phone the next step of Commander Teil's plan, the Old Soldier widened his eyes in disbelief, involuntarily blurting out, "Shit!".

This guy wasn't just flipping tables; he was freaking out! He even went as far as using de-urbanization!

Luckily, only a narrow strip of sea, barely two hundred kilometers wide at its closest point, separated the two provinces.

If it were double that distance, none of these cannon fodders could survive ashore; they'd all drown along the way!

Rezer also furrowed his brows, gripping the chair's armrests tightly, suddenly breaking them into pieces with a "bang".

"This is genocide against the Weilante people. We cannot let this madman continue his rampage!"

Seeing the shocked look on the Leader's face, the 172-year-old man exuded an overwhelming aura of killing intent, his voice icily cold.

"Leader, declare war on the Southern Legion!"

Chapter 937: Qi Bested by No-Move

The southern coastline of the Welch Governorate was littered with wood rafts and small boats stranded on the shore.

Amidst the motley collection of vessels were planks with untrimmed branches and waterlogged crates, looking as if struck by a disaster at sea.

And indeed, that was the true story.

Most of the Weilante people crouching by the shore bore expressions of palpable fear; some shivered with soaked shoulders, while others hung their damp clothes on tree branches, sneezing by the bonfire.

And not far from them, people occasionally struggled out of the sea, dragged ashore with the help of their compatriots.

The Triumph City Near Sea Defense Fleet had their sailors working desperately to help them, using rubber dinghies and ropes to save those unlucky ones swept away by the tides and bring them to shore.

The Weilante people, huddled on the coast, each had their unique experiences in Bartoya Province, but their current plight was largely the same, all soaked to the skin like drowned rats.

Due to the border closure policy of Triumph City, most ferries from Bartoya Province to Welch Governorate were stuck at the Welch harbor.

Desperate to evacuate the displaced, the Southern Legion commandeered every available vessel, even including fishermen's boats and bathtubs stolen from homes.

The majority of the Weilante people, without any preparation, found themselves into this journey dubbed as a mission.

Those who managed to board proper ferries were extraordinarily lucky or were family of a Ten Thousand Leader.

Many were simply deceived into the northern docks of Bartoya Province, only to board landing craft meant for troops.

These landing crafts typically had small fuel tanks, and the Southern Legion, naturally, could not provide spare fuel cans for them.

Many ran out of power two-thirds of the way, forcing people to paddle their way through the remaining journey.

Some unfortunate souls were even worse off.

Without even getting a landing craft, they were violently herded onto rafts by gun-wielding alien soldiers, tied together to a motorboat that dashed across the sea.

Some rafts fell apart mid-way, leaving the Weilante clinging desperately to cobbled-together sticks, awaiting the rescue of the Near Sea Defense Fleet.

What's more infuriating to those sailors of the Near Sea Defense Fleet was the realization that the participants of this deadly exodus were mostly the old, women, and children.

The young men of the Southern Legion were either sent to the frontline or serving in the military.

The few remaining men were either wounded soldiers withdrawn from the front or engineers, technicians, and citizens working in respectable professions in the city.

On the deck of a Near Sea Defense Fleet destroyer.

Looking at the elderly rescued by the soldiers, Captain Maloc couldn't help but speak.

"Are you crazy? Triumph City has closed its borders; even if you landed on the Welch Governorate, you wouldn't make it there!"

"Clo...Closed borders?" the old man in the blanket looked bewildered, sneezed, and shivered as he spoke, "We haven't heard about it... the Personal Body Guard soldiers told us there'd be boats waiting at the shore, but when we got there, the big ship was gone; only a few small boats that could be capsized by a wave were left!"

When he said this, he became more agitated, and his lips quivered in anger, "Damn Teil... we got to the shore, and there was nothing! He lied to all of us!"

As soon as he finished, another middle-aged man wrapped in a blanket muttered.

"Personal Body Guard? You must be from Yavente City; those who drove us away were from the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team, nasty bunch. They just said the Alliance invented some Mortal Serum, proclaimed a plague was coming to kill all Weilante people. They didn't mention anything about Marshal Julius's funeral or boats waiting; just shoved us into trucks."

Hearing their conversation, a slender woman spoke up and joined in.

"Hah... they actually told you that much nonsense? We lived in a small town in the north of Bartoya Province, thought even if there was a war, it wouldn't reach us. But the Alliance hadn't even arrived, and we got beaten by our own."

The old man glared, as if he'd heard something unbelievable.

"They dared to beat you?"

The middle-aged woman smirked and whispered.

"The servant army doesn't care about that. They yanked us onto the truck... only telling us in the truck that they were taking us to Triumph City, damn it!"

The man wrapped in a blanket clenched his fist and cursed in a low voice.

"Damn..."

The deck was filled with a cacophony of voices, people sharing their experiences and venting their frustrations with those around them.

Chaos.

Anger.

And disbelief.

This was everything Maloc heard from them, and the whole scene playing out in Bartoya Province.

After listening to the myriad of voices, he gritted his teeth, nearly grinding them to pieces.

"This devil..." he squeezed out the words and was tempted to order a march south to obliterate the scoundrels driving the Weilante into the sea.

Seeing the hatred and anger in his eyes, the adjutant walked to his side and lowered his voice.

"Calm down... Our most urgent task now is to save people."

"Save people..." Maloc slightly tugged at the corner of his mouth, looking southward with an air of hostility, "No matter how we save, we can't stop them from driving people into the sea!"

The adjutant lowered his voice and continued to persuade.

"You only have one destroyer, we can't just drive the destroyer onto the shore... Besides, starting a war now would only play into their hands!"

Maloc's eyes narrowed slightly, suddenly realizing something in an instant.

The Southern Legion driving the people northwards was clearly intended to defy the Imperial Guard and even Triumph City's border lockdown orders, attempting to breach the coastal isolation zones with "human wave tactics."

He didn't understand why Teil was doing this, but it seemed that everything they did was to spread the "Mortal Serum" hidden among the refugees to the Vellante Province across the sea.

And the current situation was still under Triumph City's control only because they had nearly 500,000 troops available.

And these 500,000 troops were the fundamental reason Triumph City could ensure border stability and establish nearly 20 isolation zones!

If war broke out, at least half of these 500,000 troops would have to be dispatched to Batoya Province!

By then, Triumph City would be unable to attend to the refugees at the border, allowing them to infiltrate into the city unchecked.

Not to mention the Southern Legion still possessed over a dozen iron airships, meaning that if a real fight broke out, it might not end quickly. Once both sides were at war, the Mortal Serum would effortlessly spread throughout Vellante Province, plunging both sides' civilians into the agony of war and plague.

If he acted, it would be equivalent to helping the other side achieve the most challenging wartime mobilization, giving them an excuse for war!

But why?

Maloc wore a baffled expression, staring with wide, bloodshot eyes.

He couldn't understand what the leaders of the Southern Legion were up to.

Does the extermination of the Vellante people hold any real benefits for the Southern Legion?

He would rather believe the Alliance stole the Vellante's gene source code and created the "Mortal Serum" against them.

At least that way, he could feel slightly better, avoiding self-doubt and confusion.

Otherwise, he couldn't help wondering if the Southern Legion had stolen the gene source code of the Vellante people.

After all, only those folks had the opportunity to do so.

Moreover, from their desperate efforts to spread the virus to Triumph City, their suspicion was undoubtedly the greatest.

Otherwise, why would those people act as if nothing happened after the Imperial Guard announced "the gene source code was stolen," driving their civilians out of Yavente City under the guise of attending Marshal Julius's funeral?

But the question returned to its original point.

They themselves were Vellante; why would they do this?

Looking towards Yavente City, and the planks scattered by the waves, Captain Maloc let out a suppressed roar.

"So what do we do now? Just watch?"

"Let's save people first. Strategic matters are beyond our control," said the adjutant, sighing deeply as he gazed at the vast sea, "I heard that researchers from the Academy have arrived... Hopefully, they can find a solution to the problem."

Meanwhile, about ten kilometers from the destroyer along the shoreline.

A team of Vellante soldiers, dressed in protective suits, arrived at the beach in trucks under their officer's command, preparing to establish isolation zones and refugee relief points.

At the same time, a long, shuttle-shaped silver aircraft flew in from the east and landed steadily on a rocky shore approximately 200 meters from the beach.

Its high-tech design and Academy emblem were starkly out of place amid the widespread devastation.

The hatch slowly opened, and a group of people descended the gangway from the research ship.

Standing beside the gangway, Night Ten looked at the refugees on the beach with a complex expression, unable to suppress a click of the tongue.

"Wow... that's a hell of a lot of people."

Looking at the holographic screen expanded from his wristwatch, Jiang Xuezhou said with a grave expression.

"According to Triumph City, they estimate over five million survivors may flood in from the Whirlpool Sea, at a rate of about 40,000 to 50,000 a day... We haven't reached the peak yet."

Night Ten shook his head and said.

"It's hard to understand... What's the benefit of doing this? Stabbing themselves in the back? Is that Teil crazy?"

Jiang Xuezhou said gravely.

"Insane or not, it's clear they've completely ignored the lives of other Vellante people."

Due to her outstanding performance in the Poluo Line, she was recently promoted to C-Class Researcher, no longer the Little D Grade who followed her mentor around every day.

After becoming a Level C researcher, she not only gained the authority to promote researchers but also acquired her own laboratory and a research ship allocated by the Research Department.

Responding to Triumph City's call for help and cooperating with researchers dispatched by the Alliance Biological Research Institute to solve the virus named 'Mortal Serum' was the first task she received upon becoming a Level C researcher.

Strictly speaking, it's not very appropriate to assign such a big task to a Level C researcher, but because her mentor has a significant voice in external affairs and intends to promote her, the work came to her.

However, to be honest, Jiang Xuezhou actually hoped that her mentor would send someone more reliable.

Or at least someone with expertise in the field!

But since the order was already given, even though she was quite flustered, she had no choice but to brace herself and face it.

Fortunately, the Alliance's biotechnology is not much inferior to the Academy's, so if she slacks a bit, it shouldn't be too big of a problem.

"To achieve victory, one has to be harsher on oneself than on others... I guess that's what Teil probably thinks. According to our... information from the Alliance, the Mortal Serum is a weapon of indiscriminate impact. It's said that even the Weilante people, including the Awakeners, could be infected. It's just a matter of probability."

Standing behind Jiang Xuezhou, Chen Yutong lightly shook the hair that fell on her shoulder and continued speaking in a professional tone.

"Instead of analyzing how our enemies plan to surprise us, I'd suggest we start working quickly… like screening the patients from the crowd to prevent further spread of the virus."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on the group of soldiers not far away.

Although those soldiers were wearing protective suits, expecting them to differentiate patients was clearly unrealistic.

Luckily, the Alliance had been tracking clues related to the 'Mortal Serum' for a while, having zeroed in on this thing ever since its experimental strain first appeared in the Poluo Line, and even developed the necessary test reagents for screening patients.

If this invisible war were likened to a race, they had already taken the lead in the first battle.

Even so, Jiang Xuezhou's face still showed a trace of worry as she whispered.

"…But the problem now is that we only have ten thousand test reagents, and just at this isolation point alone, there are over ten thousand people, with nearly 50,000 new refugees arriving every day."

As soon as she finished speaking, Night Ten, standing beside her, immediately spoke without hesitation.

"That's easy. First, distinguish the refugees by arrival batches and assign numbers according to the specification of a thousand-person team, a hundred-person group, ten-person squad, trying to keep those with family ties together. Then, conduct a thousand-person level screening to filter out the virus-carrying thousand teams, followed by hundred-person level screening, then ten-person, and finally down to individuals."

"In theory, with just four rounds of testing, we can identify the 'Mortal Serum' carriers from the crowd."

The 'Mortal Serum' requires a vector for transmission, and the movement trajectory of these carriers is likely to converge on the macro level, leading to a concentrated distribution of infected personnel probabilistically.

Based on the login time and location, they are densely distributed in several limited sample intervals.

With this detection method, even when dealing with ten thousand refugees, you might not even need 200 test reagents, so the ten thousand we brought this time are more than sufficient.

As for the new refugees that arrive later, we can just transport a few more batches from the Alliance.

Night Ten suddenly felt like he was playing a pandemic simulation game.

Upon hearing his suggestion, Jiang Xuezhou was dumbfounded for a few seconds, her eyes starting to shine.

"That's amazing..."

Hearing such an exaggerated compliment, Night Ten almost choked on his own saliva, cleared his throat, and said.

"Don't do that... It's just a group testing, nothing difficult. With some time, you could surely think of it too."

This method is said to be quite common in tech laboratories. He didn't believe she didn't know it; she probably just didn't think of it at the moment.

Compared to that, he had even crazier ideas, but there was no need for them.

Jiang Xuezhou's face blushed uncontrollably, and she said embarrassedly.

"I... I'm not in that field, I'm researching machinery and AI."

Night Ten couldn't help but facepalm.

"…Then what did the Academy send you for?"

Jiang Xuezhou's eyebrows twitched slightly: "How would I know? It wasn't me who volunteered to come!"

Watching the two bickering, Chen Yutong teased a bit.

"Alright, you two, save the flirting for another time. Now is not the time for playing around. Just follow Little Brother Night Ten's group testing suggestion... Time to work."

Flirting?

What kind of flirting is this!

Jiang Xuezhou's face turned scarlet, and she was about to argue when Night Ten beat her to it, expressing his dissatisfaction.

"What do you mean by little brother? Hmph, I'm not little anymore, okay! Already an adult!"

As everyone knows, in the game 'Wasteland OL', which is an R18 game, minors aren't allowed anywhere near the helmets.

"Oh?" Chen Yutong glanced at him with a cheeky smile, then looked at Jiang Xuezhou, whose face was as red as a lantern, and dropped a cryptic remark, "Let's just leave it at that, then."

...

While Night Ten was attempting to prove to a certain young woman that he wasn't as small as believed, Brother Battlefield at the Triumph City Glory Court was engaged in a thrilling battle of wits with a centenarian.

To speak bluntly, when the words "please declare war on the Southern Legion" came from Rezer's mouth, Brother Battlefield almost instinctively agreed, blurting out "Okay."

In fact, if it had been him in the past, he would have unhesitatingly chosen this path.

After all, he was the Pangolin.

Wasn't this exactly the kind of work the Pangolin did?

However, in merely a split second, he snapped back to reality.

Knowing well that Triumph City had closed its borders and was mobilizing the Vellante to attend Marshal Julius's funeral, it was inconceivable that the Southern Legion's leadership wasn't aware of the consequences this would entail.

They had long been prepared to sever ties with Triumph City and even wished for Triumph City to initiate this conflict!

This isn't too hard to understand; the Southern Legion and Triumph City share blood bonds thicker than water—a familial and spiritual connection even stronger than that of the Federation from the New Continent or the Empire from the Far East.

So much so that even though Triumph City abandoned the name "Legion," Yavente City did not discard it and continued using the Southern Legion's banner.

It is precisely because of this bond between both sides that there are severe divisions within the Southern Legion's leadership and grassroots regarding the matter of Triumph City.

If the Southern Legion's leadership were to declare war on Triumph City, the outcome would be clear: more than half of the soldiers would defect, and the rest would be reluctant to act.

But the reverse is not necessarily true.

If the "betrayer" were Triumph City, the Southern Legion's leadership would have ample reason to rally the grassroots soldiers, convert their bewilderment into hatred, and march on Triumph City in the name of restoring order.

Once the machinery of war is set in motion, as long as they can keep Triumph City's troops in check, the "Mortal Serum" would inevitably pierce through Triumph City's walls and, in turn, propel the Southern Legion's plan.

War reaching this point may not have been in the Southern Legion's original plan, but they clearly anticipated such a reaction from Triumph City and deemed this situation acceptable.

After all, when the virus reveals its power, this internecine war would naturally cease, and public sentiment on both sides would shift towards an entirely exclusionary stance as the "plague against the Vellante" continues to spread...

In just a few short minutes, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group had clarified their thoughts.

He inadvertently glanced at Rezer, who had crushed the chair's armrest, and silently cursed, "MMP."

The act was quite realistic.

This old man definitely knew that declaring war now was absolutely not a good idea.

Actually, thinking about it, the old man had lived 172 years—what major storms hadn't he seen?

He was even carried out by Marshal Julius from a laboratory filled with the dead.

Such a person wouldn't get angry; if he were to get angry, it wouldn't be just now.

There was only one possibility—

This old codger was testing him!

Taking a deep breath, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group spoke in a firm tone.

"It's not the time to declare war... The urgent matter is to rescue people; saving lives is the priority."

"Just rescue people?" Rezer frowned and said in a deep voice, "Pardon my frankness, but your mercy will only be seen as weakness by them. This beast has already sunk its teeth into our flesh; only by severing its head with a single blow can we stop its gnawing."

"This is not weakness, but calmness," the Battlefield Atmosphere Group looked at the old man seriously and said in a steady voice, "Commander Rezer, do you have the sword capable of severing this beast's head right now?"

Rezer did not answer but stared at him unwaveringly.

"I assume you don't," continued the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, "Precisely because the beast's teeth are sunk into our arm, we need to remain more calm. Without that sword, acting rashly will only waste our strength and allow the beast to expand our wounds during the struggle, thus gaining the upper hand."

"So what do you propose?" Rezer sat back in his chair, with a stony expression, waiting for his response.

Taking a deep breath, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group continued calmly.

"The beast is at the end of its rope; it's poured all its remaining strength into this last tether. If it were me, I'd hold onto this only tooth, letting it exhaust its last energy in its struggle... At that point, it will be at everyone's mercy."

There was a sparkle in Rezer's eyes.

"Be more specific."

"Adopt an unchanging response to changing circumstances, conquer with no move as the supreme move," countered the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, meeting his gaze. "How many they send over, we take all. Not only will we take them, but we'll gather every strength available to us and even proactively help them with their transport! We might even mobilize the New Federation and the Eastern and Northern Empires to assist our compatriots suffering in the Bartoya Province."

And during this process of demographic shift, they naturally dismantled the Southern Legion!

Looking at the bright-eyed old man, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group clenched his fist and said with firm determination.

"Since the Southern Legion intends to use the people as their Copper Wall and Iron Wall, we'll strip away all their bricks!"

Chapter 938: Dawn for the Weilante People

Although usually not serious and full of bad ideas, this time Night Ten's idea indeed had miraculous effects.

With the cooperation of the Southern Border Defense Army of the Weilant Alliance, they quickly completed the screening of the first 43,000 Weilante people who entered the Welch Governorate and confirmed that 152 of them were carriers of the "Mortal Serum" virus.

Outrageously, two-thirds of these patients were the elderly and children.

Their immune systems were already relatively weak, and after being tormented by seawater and cold winds before landing, many succumbed to a severe cold before the incubation period of the "Mortal Serum" virus even ended.

The third set of ten thousand troops responsible for setting up the quarantine zone transferred these patients to separate camps and tents, and informed the patients of their test results after the transfer was completed.

Upon learning he was a carrier of the "Mortal Serum" virus, Old Bazel's face instantly showed a bewildered expression.

"Moral, Mortal Serum?! How, how is that possible... my body is fine, those sneezing aren't sick, why me?!"

As he spoke, his shock gradually turned into panic.

He wasn't entirely worried about his own wellbeing, but rather thought of his wife who departed with him.

The soldier in an orange hazmat suit sat across from him, nodded seriously with a stern expression.

"According to the research data provided by the Alliance, the onset time of the Mortal Serum is usually two weeks later. You have no symptoms, indicating the infection time should not be long. We hope you can tell us the areas you passed through along the way, and the designation of the troops escorting... or escorting you, and any other clues you think are valuable."

At this point, he paused briefly and added in a serious tone.

"We will do everything possible to save you, so please be sure to tell us the clues you know... it is very important!"

Feeling the seriousness in that tone, Old Bazel restrained the complex expression on his face.

Calmed down, he pondered for a long time and then slowly began to speak.

"My home is in the core area of Yavente City... or at least it could be considered that, on Rongjun Road."

"Rongjun Road?"

The soldier's face registered surprise as he quickly wrote in his notebook without pausing.

Old Bazel, also surprised, gave him a glance.

"You know which place that is?"

The recording soldier nodded.

"Of course, I know... or rather, there's no need to know, Rongjun Road is occupied by military families."

Old Bazel said, with a complex expression.

"And families of fallen soldiers."

This is one of the traditions inherited by the various legions from Triumph City and a social welfare started in Marshal Julius's era.

Residents on Rongjun Road receive a monthly allowance and are arranged for regular health checks, and medical treatment is free.

After all, only by solving the soldiers' concerns for their families can they be urged to move forward desperately.

Even until a week ago, he enjoyed benefits not inferior to those of current Centurions.

The soldier continued to ask.

"Do you remember which troop unit was involved when you left?"

Old Bazel nodded and continued to speak.

"The one who mobilized us to leave was the Personal Body Guard of Legion Leader Teil, I don't know which ten thousand troops it was, their attitude was very polite... if nothing unexpected, we should have been one of the first few to reach the dock. But it wasn't the first batch, the ferry was already gone when we got there, only a dozen small boats left."

Jotting down this sentence quickly in his notebook, the soldier continued to ask.

"Did they wear chemical protection suits?"

Old Bazel's eyes filled with confusion, recalled for a long time, and finally shook his head.

"Seems... not, but I did see gas masks. It was around then that I heard about the plague, but no one took it seriously, and I didn't pay much attention either."

The recording soldier exchanged a look with the soldier standing at the door.

The latter's expression was somewhat subtle, muttering in a low voice.

"I heard from the Alliance people... the infection rate among Awakeners doesn't seem to be high."

"I see..."

The recording soldier mumbled complexly and wrote down this guess as a note on the side.

Whether or not the virus was released by Legion Leader Teil's Personal Body Guard, they're undoubtedly involved.

Once this farce ends, they will naturally follow the clues to clear up.

After finishing the recording, the soldier closed his notebook, looked seriously at the elderly man in front of him.

"Thank you for your cooperation, if any clues need to be supplemented, please contact us at any time. Also, since you're a carrier of the 'Mortal Serum' virus, we hope you can stay in the quarantine area as much as possible to avoid contact with others."

"We will cover all your living expenses during the quarantine period, and if there's anything needed, we'll try to help. The only thing needed is please do not leave here."

Old Bazel shyly smiled.

"Oh, what trouble... rather, I'm troubling you, making you take care of me."

He was a traditional Weilante person, loyal to the collective, unwilling to trouble the collective.

Perhaps it was his illusion, but he always felt these young men from Triumph City in front of him seemed to change a bit from those he remembered from Triumph City.

They also comply with the collective, but they have a different understanding of it.

He can't quite articulate the difference, but there is indeed something distinct.

Hearing the old man's words, the young man smiled and said.

"You don't have to say things like that, we are compatriots, how could we not care about you. If anything happens, you must let us know, don't feel embarrassed or that you're bothering us."

Having said this, he stood up, ready to leave.

However, at that moment, the old man sitting opposite suddenly seemed to remember something and reached out to grab his arm.

Seeing the soldier's surprised expression, Old Bazel spoke with a serious demeanor.

"By the way, I heard... this Mortal Serum is some kind of genetic weapon from the Great Desert?"

The soldier hesitated after being grabbed and spoke with uncertainty.

"Currently, the attacker's identity is not clear... but existing intelligence can confirm that the Mortal Serum was indeed artificially designed."

This is the information released by the Imperial Guard.

He was uncertain if it was appropriate to tell the patient, but the officer did not forbid them from doing so.

Old Bazel nodded, released his hand, and after a moment of silence, suddenly spoke.

"I suddenly remembered... two days before departure, I seemed to have undergone an examination at the hospital on Rongjun Road, and a blood test was done at that time, a process that should have taken only half an hour was inexplicably prolonged to three hours. I felt strange at the time, but didn't give it much thought."

"The hospital on Rongjun Road? Which hospital was it? Do you remember?"

The soldier paused for a moment, hurriedly opened the notebook he had just closed, and added this clue.

"There is only one hospital there; all citizens on Rongjun Road go there for treatment."

Watching the soldier hastily take notes, the old man continued in a barely audible voice.

"Listen, if it comes down to it, do not be soft-hearted... I am willing to take the virus to the grave."

The soldier, busily jotting down notes, stopped and looked at the old man in shock.

Old Bazel grinned slightly and gave the young man an encouraging look.

"I've lived to 79 years on the Wasteland, I'm already content... Want to turn me into a bullet aimed at the Weilante people? I'll tell that fool, no way!"

He understood everything.

The culprit was that Teil; there was no other suspect or perpetrator.

The entire matter was, from beginning to end, that guy's own conspiracy.

Could it really be possible for someone to do something so foolish? Could such a foolish guy rise to the rank of Legion Leader? Ha, that's just what the immature kids would think.

He understood better than anyone else, Teil was capable of doing great things.

He simply didn't expect that it wasn't because that guy intended to make a big move in Yavente City that he cleared out those of them who were in the way. But the moment that guy removed them, he was already making a significant strategic move.

But he won't let that guy succeed.

Even if he is just an old man, he will use his own ways to resist.

The soldier stared blankly at the old man, his expression solemn with respect.

"...I understand your feelings, but we would never do such a thing."

Old Bazel grinned again.

"Never do such a thing? But Teil won't be merciful, I'm worried about you behaving this way, can you win? Don't mess things up."

The soldier smiled and comforted him.

"Don't worry, our Leader has said that a bottom line is not synonymous with weakness; it is our shield."

Old Bazel: "Leader?"

"That's right, carrying all our hopes, was Mr. Pangolin from the Glory Court."

When he said this, the soldier's tone carried a genuine touch of pride.

"Our Leader also said, we won't defeat beasts using beastly methods, rolling in the mud with them and tarnishing everyone. We will use civilized people's weapons and civilized people's methods, not only to make them dream on but also to thoroughly destroy their spirit, proving to our fellow compatriots who bow and fawn before authority that a wild dog is forever a wild dog, forever unable to defeat a two-legged person!"

Old Bazel stared dazedly at the young man, in a trance seeing a familiar shadow.

That was his grandfather...

Or rather, the warriors once united around Marshal Julius.

They were strong, brave, loyal, and invincible... throughout Triumph City, there were statues of them everywhere, their shadows everywhere.

That was an era that has already passed, much like the Prosperity Epoch of the Weilante people.

He always envied that era immensely and lamented many times about being born at the wrong time.

Unexpectedly, at the end of his life, that glorious shadow appeared once again.

"...It seems your Leader is indeed an extraordinary person."

Looking at the elder, full of genuine emotion, the young man laughed heartily.

"Of course... speaking of his experiences, two days and two nights wouldn't suffice."

Listening to the young man's words, Old Bazel laughed heartily.

"Haha! I can't pretend I didn't hear that... Once everything is over, I'll treat you to a drink, and we can chat slowly."

He suddenly became curious.

About the legend of that Leader...

...

The shadow of the "Mortal Serum" loomed over the Welch Governorate, yet fear did not overwhelm the people living on this Land.

All the refugees quietly stayed in the quarantine zone, orderly receiving rationed supplies and undergoing health checks under the management of the Weilant Alliance border defense forces.

With assistance from Alliance and Academy researchers, the newly-established Weilant Alliance successfully withstood wave after wave of refugee surges from the Southern Legion, and in these relentless assaults, built and fortified twenty quarantine zones.

The entire process was not easy.

After all, not only were refugees washed ashore by the tide, but also corpses of the dead.

And the survivors residing in the quarantine zone had to endure not just the scarcity and shortage of supplies, but also other epidemics apart from the "Mortal Serum" and plagues induced by inadequate sanitary conditions.

Furthermore, the Weilante Alliance also had to face spies from the Southern Legion.

They not only spread panic and incited survivors to charge checkpoints, but also attempted to physically breach the quarantine zone barricades.

Fortunately, this was on the Wasteland, with vast stretches of wasteland between the quarantine zones and Triumph City, and the population flow among small settlements scattered across the wasteland was not very close-knit.

Although several accidents occurred during this time, due to timely remedial measures, the Weilant Alliance's border defense forces ultimately managed to control the virus successfully, preventing the "Mortal Serum" from spreading to Triumph City.

And the Weilant people staying inside the quarantine zone were quite cooperative.

The unity they displayed in the face of difficulty even inspired those aliens who fled from Bartoya Province.

Thus, they all collectively created an almost impossible miracle—

Namely, under almost no preparation, they endured the Southern Legion's daily "cross-sea assaults" by fifty thousand civilians using iron will and a spirit of never giving up.

At this moment, the Southern Legion was like a wild beast gone mad, in the final throes of hysterical madness.

Meanwhile, as Triumph City steadied itself in the first wave of the "Mortal Serum," the situation of this crisis began gradually shifting in favor of the Weilant Alliance.

Under the mediation of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group itself, the Civil Official Group, and the Imperial Guard, entities in the New Continent like The Union State, the Eastern Empire, and the Northern Empire gradually realized the gravity of the situation.

The warships of the New Federation were advancing toward the Whirlpool Sea.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Empire and the Northern Empire were sending the much-needed food, medicines, clothes, and tents to the Weilant Alliance via the railways traversing north and south.

Though an alliance in name only dismantled, the Weilante people still did not forget their homeland.

They remained as united as ever, even more united than before.

Thus, half a month passed, and soon it was early October.

In the past half month, the Southern Legion launched nearly 800,000 civilians, including the elderly, weak, and women, northward, with 12,707 confirmed cases of the "Mortal Serum," yet not a single one successfully crossed the border!

Currently, the antidote for the Mortal Serum is still under research, although a reliable vaccine is temporarily unavailable, a suppressant has been successfully created to alleviate symptoms.

According to the Alliance Biological Research Institute's opinion, the best way to quickly develop a vaccine is to obtain the virus research materials in the hands of the Southern Legion.

A military operation targeting Yavente City has already been discussed at the Alliance army's headquarters.

However, at this time, Night Ten, in the quarantine zone, was still unaware of external happenings, and might not have cared even if he knew.

Due to some "small strategy" used previously and Jiang Xuezhou's rumors exaggerating his contributions, he had now been regarded as a virology bigwig by the Weilant Alliance's border defense forces.

A bunch of big-nosed officers circled around him daily, consulting him for epidemic prevention experience.

Greatly enjoying this feeling of being treated as a bigwig, Night Ten held his nose high up to the heavens, thoroughly indulging in a moment of being the center of attention.

Seeing the dense "valuable experiences" filling an entire notebook, the logistics officials' faces turned into bitter gourds, complaining incessantly.

"According to your standards... our expenses might end up astronomical."

At these words, Night Ten spread his hands and cheerfully replied.

"I just provide ideas; you'll have to ask the Leader for money."

Having him pay was out of the question, and getting him to ask the Alliance for money was also unthinkable, not charging them was already quite lenient.

Though, frankly speaking, the usually stingy Managers were quite generous when it came to matters of life and death.

The test reagents Jiang Xuezhou delivered all came from the budget of the Biological Institute, yet they didn't charge Triumph City a dime, not even bringing up the issue of money.

After sending the logistics officials away, Night Ten was walking out of the tent when he saw Xue Zhou, who had just returned from the City of Dawn.

Because the previous batch of reagents was used up, her research ship made another trip to the City of Dawn to airlift more back.

It must be said, that anti-gravity vehicle truly was a fine thing; it's said that if it weren't for all the orbital debris outside, it could directly drive all the way to the Moon with one push on the gas pedal.

What a pity to have this gem in the hands of the Academy.

As Night Ten was pondering such inappropriate thoughts, Jiang Xuezhou spotted him and called out from afar.

"Hey."

Seeing her unfriendly appearance, Night Ten yawned and helplessly said.

"What's it this time."

"Wha- what do you mean by 'what's it this time'? Do I have a lot of issues?"

Displeased with his impatient tone, Jiang Xuezhou's eyebrows shot up instantly.

But that was only a momentary thing, the two delicate eyebrows quickly softened again.

After hesitating for a while, she pretended to be composed and coughed, then deliberately changed to a casual tone, spitting out a sentence without any context.

"Um... why don't you explain it?"

Night Ten was taken aback, baffled by this incoherent statement.

"Explain what? Explain what?"

"It was last month... when we just arrived," Jiang Xuezhou looked aside awkwardly, muttering softly, "Why didn't you explain to Yu Tong that we... weren't flirting?"

...Huh?

Night Ten was completely dumbfounded, like a ground squirrel stunned on the prairie.

After quite a long while, he finally squeezed out a sentence from his open mouth.

"Are you a kid? What's there to explain?"

And this was already half a month ago, right?!

Jiang Xuezhou also seemed to realize that bringing this up suddenly was quite random, and immediately blushed and buried her head.

"Yes, right... there's nothing to explain, it's completely unnecessary, haha."

So awkward...

Face burning.

Looking at the flabbergasted Night Ten, she felt like she was about to dig through her shoe sole with her big toe...

...

Triumph City.

Glory Court's council hall.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group dispersed the officials from the meeting table after the mobilization meeting, looking at Commander Raze seated nearby, and spoke.

"You said you wanted the beast to see my courage, is my courage satisfactory to you?"

The old man draped in golden armor smiled lightly, nodding affirmatively and said.

"It's passable, though compared to Marshal Julius, you're still a bit green, but for me, it's barely acceptable."

Old Soldier made a helpless expression, but the corners of his mouth still lifted into a slightly proud smile.

Having received a "barely" passing evaluation from a monster who has lived for 172 years, it seems he has at least some talent.

Looking at the Leader, Commander Raze pondered for a while and continued.

"Actually, what pleases me more than your courage is the fact you used the word 'compatriots' when persuading me."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group was taken aback, unintentionally showing a puzzled expression.

Was it just this?

"I have many friends who are Weilante people, even if I'm not one, it's hard not to consider them."

"Even if it meant betraying the Alliance?" Commander Raze jokingly said with interest.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group slowly shook his head and spoke in an ordinary tone.

"I've never thought I betrayed the Alliance, in fact, I'm here precisely because I fulfilled my promise."

Raze looked at him intently.

"Promise?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group nodded, his gaze falling into memories from a long time ago.

"When leaving the shelter, we all swore under the flag of United Human, we swore to rebuild our homes... and that's what we've been doing. When we go somewhere, it's not to destroy the local order, but to work together to find possibilities for the future."

"Haha!"

Raze burst into hearty laughter, gently patting the armrest of the chair he had broken earlier and said in a teasing tone.

"That sounds like a relief agency."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group smiled faintly, humbly replied.

"We are precisely a relief agency, isn't that the work of Blue Ground Squirrel?"

"Hahaha!"

The old man laughed even more heartily, his brows filled with gratification.

He truly felt gratified, as he had finally awaited this day.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group couldn't discern his feelings, yet unexpectedly could empathize with him.

If there comes a day when he lives in a new era, looking back at the hardships faced along the way, he thought he would too laugh heartily like this old man.

Commander Raze cast a appreciative glance at the young Leader, expressing sincere admiration.

"No matter what, you regard Weilante people as compatriots, and not as mere tools for completing missions..."

"I am relieved."

Chapter 939: The First Brick to Fall

On the northern shore of Bartoya Province, at the garrison of the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team.

The soldiers digging trenches were in low spirits, their morale had hit rock bottom.

Across the sea was Welch Governorate, the shared homeland of their bodies and souls.

They couldn't understand why they had to aim their guns there, nor what their superiors were thinking or what they were guarding against.

If the Alliance wanted to land, wouldn't it be closer to land on the coast from the southwest?

To make such a large detour here is equivalent to placing the logistics supply line right under the Southern Legion's nose.

Moreover, they were even more puzzled by the actions targeted at civilians.

Even if it was to avoid civilian casualties by temporarily evacuating the elderly, women, and children to the north before the war reached their homeland, the entire evacuation plan was rather hasty...

The currents of the Whirlpool Sea are not from south to north, but rather circular and meandering.

For a body to be washed up on the northern shore meant there would surely be bodies washed back...

On a nameless beach in the area under the jurisdiction of the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team, about a dozen people were gathered.

Rifles slung over their backs, entrenching shovels hung at their waists, a bloated corpse lay before them, swollen by the seawater.

The man with the rank of Centurion had a nearly burnt-out cigarette in his mouth, the lines at the corners of his eyes twisted into a tangled rope.

They all felt the person seemed familiar, as if they had seen him at the dock just the day before yesterday, yet unexpectedly, they found him here.

The fact that the body could be washed up here obviously meant it fell into the sea shortly after leaving the dock.

Actually, there was nothing surprising about this.

After all, it was just a raft tied together with ropes, and being overturned by a big wave was within reason.

Looking at the bloated corpse, no one said a word.

No one uttered a sound.

Until a young man suddenly took off the steel helmet from his head, finally breaking the oppressive silence.

"Damn it! I'm done!"

With a look of despair, he threw his helmet forcefully to the ground, then pulled off the gun from his back and threw it on the beach.

"We're not fighting the Alliance at all! We're fighting our own people! So many days, I haven't seen even one Blue Ground Squirrel, it's all our own people!"

Seeing the young man suddenly go crazy, all the comrades around him were stunned.

A soldier beside him hurriedly grabbed his arm, widened his eyes, and shouted at him.

"Are you crazy?! Do you know what you're doing!"

Dropping weapons makes one a deserter.

In the Southern Legion, that's a death penalty!

He couldn't bear to watch a comrade he's been through thick and thin with act foolishly.

However, the young man was unappreciative, hysterically shouting, trying to break free from the hand clutching his arm, and yelled at the comrade stopping him.

"It's you who doesn't know what you're doing! It's all of you! Open your eyes and look, look at that face! Who killed him? It was us!!!"

The incoherent voice echoed on the beach, yet no one could respond to his anger.

The leading Centurion walked up to him, drew his pistol from his waist, and sternly stared into his face.

"You want to be a deserter?"

The young man ceased his shouting but still stared defiantly at the officer, his chest heaving violently.

The standoff between both sides persisted silently for a full five minutes.

The Centurion put away his pistol, took the spent cigarette from his mouth, and tossed it on the ground, stamping it out.

"Bury the man."

No point leaving the poor soul soaking in the sea.

The young man didn't say anything but nodded, acknowledging the officer's words.

The group carried the corpse away from the beach, found a tree as thick as a thigh on the shore, buried him beneath it, and placed the deceased's personal items on the tree.

No one spoke another word throughout the process, everyone remained silent, bottling up their complaints, confusion, and dissatisfaction.

On the other side, by the beach pier, the camp lined up in a long queue.

This was the area managed by the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team.

Other ten-thousand teams were responsible for bringing survivors here, while they were responsible for loading them onto boats.

Whether it was the people entering the camp or those leaving, their faces were full of anxiety and dread.

Stopping at the camp gate, a man carrying a suitcase looked at the soldiers on guard duty and questioned loudly.

"Where on earth are we going?"

The rifle-toting soldier's expression remained unchanged, standing tall and repeating the order from above like a recorder.

"Wait here until the boat docks, then take the boat to the Welch Governorate."

The man looked at the soldier in front of him with despair; this was the answer he had received all along his journey.

"But where's the boat? I haven't seen it! Plus, I don't want to go, can you send me back?"

And the soldier's next words were exactly what he expected, just like before—

"It's coming right away."

The minor incident at the camp entrance did not affect the overall operation of the camp, and the man persistently clamoring to go home was quickly taken away.

Meanwhile, beside the dock not far from the camp, the Ten Thousand Leader of the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team, General O'Frey, was frowning at the rafts sent by the 10th Ten Thousand Team of the Servant Army.

The craftsmanship of these rafts could only be described as beyond words.

Many of the logs bound with hemp ropes were freshly cut, simply stripped of bark and branches. Not only had they not been soaked in waterproof oil, but even the most basic drying steps were skipped, with some of the wood even showing cracks.

The engineer in waterproof boots walked back to the shore and shook his head at General O'Frey with his hands behind his back.

"These rafts are unqualified. They won't last twenty nautical miles before falling apart on the way."

O'Frey looked at the bearded man standing beside him.

The man's name was Mur, the Ten Thousand Leader of the 10th Ten Thousand team of the Servant Army.

"You heard it, these rafts are unqualified."

In response to O'Frey's questioning, Mur showed a nonchalant expression.

"Do you think these things grow out of the ground? It takes our soldiers half a day just to chop down these logs and tie them together with ropes. You require 800 qualified ones every day, why don't you try it yourself!"

O'Frey stared at Mur with a sullen face.

Since the frontline situation became increasingly unfavorable for the Southern Legion, these once obedient Servant Armies had also started to become restless.

Seeing O'Frey left speechless, Mur suddenly smiled and looked at the people standing in line at the pier.

"Anyway, you're sending them to their deaths in the sea. Why care about the quality of these rafts?"

O'Frey glared at him with a murderous look, and the guards standing by gripped their guns tightly.

"Say that again."

Seeing the murderous expression, Mur sneered disdainfully.

But perhaps pressured by the dark gun barrels, this sensible man eventually refrained from acting rashly. He simply threw out a line, "I'll send you another batch later," then turned and walked away without looking back.

Watching the fierce Ten Thousand Leader, the adjutant approached, hesitating as he looked at his superior.

"Should we still let those survivors board the ship?"

"..." O'Frey said nothing, only casting his gaze toward the group standing in front of the pier.

They were the elderly, women, and children, shivering in the cold sea breeze, their faces full of fear, like mice cornered into a dead end.

They might be someone's father, someone's mother, or even children.

Their relatives shed blood on the frontline for the Southern Legion, expanding its territory, yet now Commander Teil still wants them to sacrifice themselves.

So what is all this sacrifice really for?

Where is the end of this war?

Why has even Triumph City become an opponent now?

Unconsciously, O'Frey clenched his fists, the veins on his arm bulging, suddenly squeezing out a sentence.

"... What are we really doing?"

Beside him, the adjutant stared blankly at him, his face gradually showing a guilty expression.

Having made up his mind, O'Frey strode to the pier and yelled loudly at the long line of people.

"Today's voyage is canceled! There's no ship to the other side, go back to the camp!"

He knew what this meant.

If today's quota wasn't met, Commander Teil wouldn't let him off.

Moreover, thousands of refugees stuck in the camp would continue to occupy beds, and more people were continuously pouring in, leading to more and more trouble for him.

However, no matter what, he couldn't bring himself to push these fellow citizens into the sea and watch them die.

Upon hearing the Ten Thousand Leader's "stay of execution," the people in line at the pier let out sighs of relief.

Some began to clap, while others shouted, "Thank you," and "Well done."

Seeing those faces filling with color again, a slight smile crept up on General O'Frey's lips. Then he turned back to his adjutant and gave a non-negotiable order.

"Burn all the rafts on the beach!"

The adjutant looked at his superior with solemn reverence and saluted with a grave expression.

"Yes, sir!"

Following General O'Frey's order, the civilians gathered by the beach were soon led back to the camp.

The soldiers poured gasoline on the rafts piled by the beach and then set them on fire.

The blazing flames burned on the beach, becoming the first light before dawn.

On the deck of the destroyer, Captain Maloc held binoculars in his hand, watching everything that happened on the beach, his eyes filled with anger rekindled with hope.

Seeing the soldiers on shore not forcing those civilians onto the ship but instead burning the rafts and letting them go, he was so excited that he punched the guardrail on the side of the ship hard.

"Well done!"

Everything that had happened these days was seen by him, making him both anxious and urgent.

Although more than once he wished he could order a cannon blast on those bastards, Triumph City hadn't declared war on the Southern Legion, and initiating this war wouldn't solve any problem.

The civilians would still die.

And more people would die.

Luckily, the soldiers on the other side awakened in time, voluntarily preventing this farce!

It seems that not every compatriot in Bartoya Province is like Teil, a complete madman!

Some have awakened—

They have hope!

As Captain Maloc thought so, far ashore, General O'Frey's situation was not optimistic.

His unauthorized decision resulted in 10,000 fewer "cannon fodder" being sent to Welch Governorate today.

This not only disrupted Teil's plan but also added 10,000 additional mouths to the "frontline" in northern Bartoya Province.

That night, a hundred soldiers wearing exoskeletons arrived at the camp under the responsibility of the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team.

Seeing the well-equipped soldiers and the crossbow-shaped insignias on their arms, almost every soldier and officer in the camp wore a solemn expression.

"Iron Cross" Rapid Reaction Force!

The ace paratroopers of the Southern Legion!

And that's not all—

These guys are also personal bodyguards of Commander Teil! It's said that every soldier is an Awakener injected with the inducement evolution serum!

Looking at General O'Frey standing at the dormitory entrance, Captain Haines didn't remove his mask, only speaking expressionlessly.

"General O'Frey, I need an explanation as to why not a single ship has been sent from the camp you manage today."

General O'Frey looked at him unemotionally, raising his chin defiantly.

"Because we haven't seen a single ship."

"This isn't in line with the intelligence I have," Captain Haines took out a tablet from his waist, tapped it twice with his index finger, and several photos appeared on the screen, "These are photos submitted by the 10th Ten-thousand Troops of the Servant Army, claiming to have delivered 812 ships to you."

Looking at the images on the screen, O'Frey felt a surge of anger.

He wished he could crumple this thing into a ball and smash it into the guy's face.

"You call these tied-up logs ships? Why don't you try it yourself and see if you can cross the Whirlpool Sea with this thing?"

He yelled in fury, eyes fixed on Haines, then pointed at the gas mask on his face.

"And what's with your outfit? Biochemical combat equipment? Don't tell me you forgot to take it off after a drill!"

"That's classified," Haines had no intention of explaining, only staring back expressionlessly, "And right now, it's me who should be questioning you, General O'Frey, you should be explaining to me."

General O'Frey let out a cold laugh.

"I have nothing to explain. Until I see ships capable of crossing the sea, don't expect me to drive anyone into the water!"

Haines's pupils narrowed slightly.

The murderous gaze pierced through the tactical goggles, making General O'Frey feel a chill in his heart.

Aware of the killing intent, the guards behind General O'Frey instinctively placed their hands on their waists, gripping the submachine guns hanging there.

The atmosphere between both sides was tense, as if a fight could break out at any moment!

"General O'Frey," Haines raised his chin slightly, "due to your refusal to execute Commander Teil's orders, I'll have to take you back to Yavente City for further instructions."

Pausing, he glanced around at the surrounding officers and continued in a methodical voice.

"As for the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team, I'll arrange for a new commander to take over."

General O'Frey squinted his eyes at him.

"What if I say no?"

Haines replied with a cold laugh.

"It seems you intend to defy orders."

"I don't need to follow orders that don't come through proper channels," General O'Frey retorted with a cold smile, "If you want to order me, let someone of higher rank do it!"

He wasn't afraid of this guy at all.

The Iron Cross Rapid Reaction Force's reputation sounds intimidating, but they are a special operations unit. If it really comes to a fight, it's not certain who would win.

Besides, he had over ten thousand men under his command; even if each spat once, they could crush these hundred or so grasshoppers.

"It looks like there's no further need for discussion between us."

Haines let out a chuckle, suddenly seeming to relent.

He waved his hand to those behind him, and with a group of soldiers clad in exoskeletons, he walked out of the camp without looking back, as if they had never been there.

Watching the disappearing figures at the entrance, the adjutant beside General O'Frey slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he wasn't afraid of these people either, a fight would inevitably lead to casualties.

But looking at General O'Frey, a smile of helplessness appeared on his face.

"You've really gotten on Commander Teil's bad side this time..."

General O'Frey chuckled.

"If I was afraid of offending him, I wouldn't have disobeyed his orders."

At worst, he would go to a military court after this war.

He had already decided not to be a Ten Thousand Leader anymore.

Just as he was about to walk back, a crisp swoosh passed over his head.

Before General O'Frey could react, a boiling flash and roar crashed into his face.

In an instant, he was thrown out, landing like a rag in a pool of blood.

There was no doubt he was dead from the blood loss.

Whether it was a fragmentation missile or a guided mortar shell that killed him was unknown.

The gear of the Iron Cross Rapid Reaction Force was matched to corporate standards.

Just like O'Frey had thought, their frontline combat power wasn't strong, but their assassination capability was first-rate.

He just never expected the respected Commander Teil to strike without any warning.

Under normal circumstances, such a thing was almost unimaginable…

The deafening explosion alarmed the entire camp, and the guards on duty quickly took combat positions and evacuated the survivors gathered at the southern gate of the camp.

The unarmed civilians screamed as they rushed from the southern part of the camp towards the sea, trying to get away from the battlefield.

At the same time, a cold voice carried over the cries of babies and the shouts of adults, floating in from the southern part of the camp.

"Attention, the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team, your Ten Thousand Leader has refused to follow orders and attempted armed defiance. He has now been dealt with by military law."

"You have two roads to choose from now—"

"Lay down your weapons, leave the camp, surrender and accept reorganization by the 10th Ten-thousand Men Team."

"Or continue to be stubborn and take your disgrace to the grave as traitors."

The cold voice echoed incessantly on the south side of the camp, stimulating the eardrums of every soldier in the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team.

Their eyes widened in disbelief, the emotions in their pupils were at first shocked, then gradually turned to anger.

General O'Frey was dead.

Commander Teil had discarded their general like a dirty rag, and now he wanted someone else to command them to kill each other.

The Centurion, crouched behind cover, cursed "Damn" under his breath, extinguishing a cigarette butt on the ground as if to vent his anger into the earth.

The young man beside him had eyes completely reddened, trembling violently as he held his gun, with only one voice left between his clenched teeth.

"I'll kill you all..."

On the other side, the adjutant, affected by the explosion, finally struggled to climb up from the rubble.

He staggered to General O'Frey's side, only to see that the Ten Thousand Leader he respected had become a corpse.

Rage and sorrow surged to the top of his head in an instant.

His eyes were bloodshot, staring intensely at the pitch-black night outside the camp.

Traitors?

Who exactly are the traitors?

Before the broadcast could repeat, he grabbed the communicator that had fallen on the ground and screamed hysterically.

"Attention all units!"

"The 117th Ten-thousand Men Team's headquarters has been bombarded by enemies! We will never surrender!"

"Everyone, pick up your weapons, prepare for battle! Fight them to the end!"

At the same time as the adjutant of the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team took over command, Captain Haines, standing about a kilometer outside the camp, put down his communicator and signaled to the soldiers with loudspeakers to stop.

The persuasion work ends here.

From their attitude, it's clear they've completely given up on cooperation.

Hearing the gunfire from afar, Haines looked at General Mur, the Ten Thousand Leader of the Servant Army's 10th Ten-thousand Men Team, and said without any emotion in his voice.

"These people are yours now."

Afterwards, this conflict will be seen as an internal feud between the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team and the Servant Army, but the reckoning with the Servant Army can be postponed a bit since Commander Teil still has use for them.

Nonetheless, the plan to send refugees north cannot be interrupted. They don't have the time or capability to persuade those "striking" soldiers to continue their work.

Those soldiers engaged in "end work" have almost reached the limit of their moral capacity; mutiny is inevitable. It would be better to get rid of them early.

Besides—

The rebels in the north might see this as an opportunity and attack.

The Mortal Serum has already been fermenting within the Southern Legion; the longer this war drags on, the worse it is for them.

Since a fight is inevitable, it's better to strike now.

Unaware of being used as a pawn, Ten Thousand Leader Mur wore a bloodthirsty grin.

He was already prepared to show Commander Teil a trick, his fists clenching and cracking.

"Leave it to me."

"I won't let that person down!"

...

At the same time, in the Glory Court of Triumph City.

An Imperial Guard strode into the newly designated Leader's office, saluted solemnly, and reported to the Pangolin who was approving documents.

"There has been a military conflict on the north shore of Bartoya Province!"

At the desk, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group froze for a moment, sitting up straight.

"What's going on? Didn't I order the frontline troops to avoid conflicts with the Southern Legion?!"

The Imperial Guard quickly explained.

"It wasn't our people clashing with the Southern Legion, they had an internal strife. Intelligence reports that the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team stationed on the north shore of Bartoya Province mutinied and had a firefight with the Servant Army's 10th Ten-thousand Men Team. The cause seems to be the beheading of their General O'Frey Ten Thousand Leader by Teil's Personal Body Guard."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group slightly frowned.

"Beheading? At this critical moment..."

The Imperial Guard continued.

"Allegedly because General O'Frey refused to execute Commander Teil's orders. Our troops at the front line saw them burning the rafts intended for the sea crossing that day."

Commander Raze, standing at the desk, spoke in a deep voice.

"It seems not everyone is willing to accompany this madman to his antics. If we launch an attack now, it might be a good opportunity; perhaps some will respond to us. However, it could also lead to outcomes we haven't anticipated, as there's always a chance this could be a trap laid intentionally by Teil... What do you plan to do?"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group closed his eyes in deep thought for a while, then opened them.

"The New Federation's fleet has reached the Whirlpool Sea, right?"

Commander Raze nodded.

"They should arrive around dawn tomorrow."

"Contact the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team, and tell them to hold on until dawn!" Battlefield Atmosphere Group said firmly. "Also, notify the New Federation army to put on full tri-proof gear, clear the decks of their warships, and prepare to help our comrades cross the sea!"

Chapter 940: A Unification Unseen in a Century!

Southern Legion General Headquarters.

A burly figure stands before the command table, staring intently at the map table with pale blue light particles floating on it.

Under his personal command, the entire Bartoya Province and even the northern shore of the Whirlpool Sea have become connected into a chessboard.

With the continuous fermentation of the "Mortal Serum" virus, this chess game has entered its final stage.

At this moment, on the orderly chessboard, the flag representing the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team has been marked with the gray symbol of the rebels.

The least determined piece has been the first to be ousted, and currently besieging them is the tenth ten-thousand troops of the Servant Army and the "Iron Crossbow" rapid reaction force.

At this time, a pale blue figure appeared beside the command table, a plain-looking man nodding slightly.

That man was one of the chess pieces on the board, the commander of the "Iron Crossbow" rapid reaction force, Hains.

Looking at his confidant, Teil asked expressionlessly.

"What's the reaction from Triumph City."

Hains reported respectfully.

"No movements for now."

No movements...

Upon hearing this answer, a hint of surprise flashed in Teil's eyes, and his expression gradually became solemn.

He left the map table and paced back and forth in front of the bookshelf beside him, then turned his gaze back to the map table, his brows deeply furrowed.

Only two possibilities.

Either Triumph City is in internal chaos and unable to extricate itself, or his opponent is more formidable than imagined.

This confrontation has reached this point, and for the first time, he felt it was tricky.

Through those floating pale blue particles on the map table, he seemed to see his opponent.

It was a man whose emotions did not show, like an experienced hunter, indifferent to the taunts of his prey.

The hunting bow was hidden in the shadow of a cloak, ready at any moment to deliver a lethal strike!

He could feel that curling index finger tightening the bowstring, yet he couldn't see the sharpness hidden within.

And that is the most dangerous...

"...Why hasn't he made a move yet."

Muttering softly to himself, a rare trace of irritation appeared in Teil's heart.

Over the past month, the majority of Bartoya Province's population had been gathered to the north, with almost full-load capacity at each port sending refugees northward, yet still unable to penetrate the twenty quarantine zones set by Triumph City...

And now, signs of mutiny have appeared among his own troops.

Maybe he should hold on a bit longer; after all, force works both ways, and the other side should also be under enormous pressure.

However, the "bullets" available are running low.

"What is the situation with the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team."

Hains, who was lost in thought while waiting at the side, snapped back upon hearing Teil's voice and responded.

"The rebels are still holding on, the battle is at a stalemate... Without support from heavy equipment, trying to eliminate them with just the Servant Army is indeed somewhat difficult."

Teil pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"I'll assign you the Artillery Thousand Team from the 120th Ten-thousand Men Team, but don't use them yet. Let the Servant Army grind on the frontline for a while longer to try and force Triumph City to make a first move."

"Yes!" Hains hesitated upon hearing these words, but still nodded to accept the task.

At the same time, on the northern shore of Bartoya Province, the sound of gunfire and explosions was fierce.

Tracer bullets flew through the air like willow fluff, while the thick smoke from artillery formed an impenetrable wall.

"Charge forward!! Slaughter these traitors for me! Chop off their heads!"

Looking at the rock-solid fortifications ahead, Mur's eyes turned a blood-red as he gripped his communicator and issued a hysterical roar.

On the other side was the same, after taking over the command of the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team, the young adjutant Barfica immediately deployed defenses and repelled wave after wave of assaults from the tenth ten-thousand troops of the Servant Army through a tiered firepower network.

"Brothers!!!"

"That bastard Teil drove Marshal Julius' children into the sea, the devils wearing human skin have betrayed the Marshal, and have betrayed the Weilante people!"

"Those who died today are your neighbors, tomorrow it'll be your children, your parents!"

"We will never hand over the hundreds of thousands of survivors in the camp to their hands! Never—!"

Although it was heavy-hearted to fight against their own, it was comforting that Teil, with a guilty conscience, ultimately did not dare to bring the Regular Army over to suppress the rebellion and instead let the Servant Army handle the dirty work.

They would show no mercy in face of the alien race.

Of course, the same could be said for the opposite side.

To prove their worth, to climb to a higher position like the pangolin, Mur and his subordinates also fought ferociously with bloodshot eyes, launching wave after wave of fierce assaults on the positions of the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team like hungry wolves.

The beach of the entire Bartoya Province had completely turned into a meat grinder, with thick blood staining almost every inch of soil and sand.

Yet what was unspeakable was that this wasn't a battle of the Southern Legion counterattacking the Union State's beach landing, it didn't even occur between the South Wind Legion and Triumph City.

An out-of-control fire rose to the sky, swallowing everyone caught in it, and continued to grow stronger.

And burning in that raging flame was not only the blood and flesh of the Weilante people but also their collapsing spirit.

Among them were not just the Weilante people.

There were also the alien races that submitted to them.

Looking at the positions that couldn't be taken and the heavily wounded subordinates, Mur's bloodshot eyes widened, and the ambition burning in his heart flashed with a moment of hesitation.

He always felt that his opportunity to rise had come, but now it seemed that might not be the case.

He grabbed the communicator and contacted Commander Hains, who ordered him to attack, and shouted at the top of his voice.

"My troops have suffered heavy casualties, we need artillery support! Otherwise, we cannot continue the attack!"

The fierce battle lasted an entire night.

Until a glimmer of white appeared at the edge of the sky, the long-awaited sound of artillery fire finally rang at dawn.

However, to his disappointment, the shells all missed without exception, either falling into the sea or crashing onto an uninhabited beach.

Due to heavy casualties, he eventually ordered a halt to the attack.

And as the assault of the tenth ten-thousand troops subsided, the soldiers of the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team facing the sea finally had a chance to catch their breath, holding the precarious position and the hundreds of thousands of survivors in the camp.

At the same time, majestic shadows appeared on the distant horizon of the sea.

Barfica, acting as the temporary commander of the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team, looked at the distant sea surface, and hope finally ignited in his pupils.

It was reinforcements!

The compatriots from Triumph City did not abandon him, that Leader did not deceive them!

He stood up from the trench and shouted into the communicator in his hand.

"Brothers! The ships to take us home are here! Hold on!!!"

...

With the advance of the Union State Fleet into the Whirlpool Sea, the battle situation on the northern shore of Bartoya Province was instantly reversed.

Those towering silhouettes stood on the billowing sea surface, like moving steel fortresses.

Even without doing anything, those thick, long artillery barrels themselves were an invisible deterrence, shaking the soldiers of the tenth ten-thousand troops of the Servant Army.

Seeing the warships emerging on the horizon, Mur was completely stunned, at a complete loss for words.

He wasn't the only one dumbfounded, so were Hains, the commander of the "Iron Crossbow" rapid response force, and Teil, who was plotting far away in Yavente City.

Especially the latter, upon learning that the Union State of the New Continent had joined the fray, he froze completely at the command table, speechless for quite some time.

The New Continent had just announced independence not long ago, logically they should be on guard against Triumph City.

At least that should be the official stance.

Yet he couldn't have anticipated that the Leader of Triumph City actually roped in these "rebels" into their camp, and those notoriously money-grubbing fellows agreed!

How did that guy persuade them?

Teil was utterly stunned.

Meanwhile, on the flagship of the Union State Fleet, Commander Kirk serving as the captain stood at the bow, holding a telescope, gazing towards the coastline.

The enveloping smoke obscured his view, only allowing him to clearly see the area near the dock.

Even so, this scene of utter chaos deeply shocked him.

"Roderick, do you remember what the Bartoya Province used to look like?"

The adjutant standing beside him shrugged slightly.

"Who knows, I've never been there... Besides, does it matter anymore?"

Kirk smirked slightly.

"You're right..."

No matter what the Bartoya Province was like before, it has now completely turned into a living hell.

Previously, the Bartoya Province, as the first "overseas" land personally conquered by Marshal Julius, was once seen by countless Vellante people as the place most likely to end the Wasteland Era first.

For a very long time, the Southern Legion indeed led the other forces within the army.

In a sense, their existence has already foretold the almost inevitable future of the army—

Reaching the peak of madness, and then heading towards final extinction.

...

As Kirk gazed at the shore, the people on the shore also looked in his direction.

Figures emerged from the black smoke, gathering towards the dock.

Most of these people were the elderly, children, and women.

Even in the battlefield, they still lined up neatly, quietly waiting for the boat to pick them up.

"The water in front is too shallow; we can't get closer." Looking at the faces on the shore, Roderick, the adjutant, frowned and said.

Hearing this, Kirk smiled faintly and turned the binoculars northward.

"Don't worry, it's not just us coming here."

Roderick instinctively looked up, and saw a series of small black dots appearing in the direction of the Vellante Province.

He took out his binoculars and looked toward the horizon, seeing numerous ships of various sizes heading in their direction.

The big ones were ferries tens of meters long, and the small ones were fishing boats only a few steps wide, forming a continuous line on the sea.

In front of The Union State's fleet, these small boats looked like ants beside an elephant, yet they were more than enough to transport the people on the shore to the warships.

These ships were previously requisitioned by the Southern Legion from the civilians to transport refugees to the Vellante Province.

Now, after more than a month, the quarantine zone in the southern Vellante Province has been constructed, and the resources originally from the Northern Empire and Eastern Empire are enough to sustain the millions of new residents around Triumph City.

Moreover, the earliest refugees to land were already able to leave the quarantine zone, and forces including the Alliance expressed willingness to share the burden of the influx of refugees into Triumph City, taking in refugees flowing out of the Bartoya Province.

According to the refugees' own wishes, some of them would leave the Vellante Province for the New Continent, or travel across the ocean to the eastern part of Central Continent, Baiyue, and Haiya Province.

Up to now, the influx and outflow of people in the quarantine zone have achieved a dynamic balance.

Triumph City no longer needs to control the influx speed of refugees from the Bartoya Province, and can even spare efforts to help the Southern Legion transport those displaced survivors.

On the other hand, the Southern Legion's "final mission" plan, launched at all costs, has been completely declared a failure.

Under the united efforts of Triumph City, the "Mortal Serum" is firmly controlled within the quarantine zone.

Even though the researchers from the Academy and the Alliance have not yet developed reliable special drugs and vaccines, the elderly, women, and children infected by the "Mortal Serum" can no longer act as a weapon for the Southern Legion.

In fact, from the moment the "Mortal Serum" was controlled by Triumph City, the Southern Legion had already lost the war.

Soon, as the incubation period ends and the peak of the disease hits, they will have to swallow the bitter fruit they brewed...

...

With the help of those small boats, hundreds of thousands of survivors stranded on the northern shore of Bartoya Province were finally able to escape to safety, boarding the ships sent from the New Continent to pick them up.

Daunted by the pressure from the warships, Mur, after weighing the pros and cons, ultimately did not order his forces to continue attacking, and Commander Hains, who was overseeing from the rear, did not urge him either.

These refugees were supposed to be sent north anyway.

Now that the other party proactively sent ships to pick them up, it was exactly what they wanted.

However, he did not know that this orderly retreat was not what Legion Leader Teil wanted to see…

Meanwhile, on the north shore of the Whirlpool Sea, in the quarantine zone in the southern Vellante Province, neat rows of clean tents were erected on the open space near the beach.

A little over a month ago, this was still a barren land, but now it surprisingly has a bit of a thriving feel.

Nearly three hundred thousand survivors live here, divided into various communities of ten thousand people each.

The communities have hospitals, canteens, police stations, and even temporary classrooms and community centers for residents.

Although the facilities here look a bit rudimentary, everything operates in an orderly manner.

There are nineteen similar quarantine zones along the coastline, each housing a different number of people.

The quarantine zones with earlier numbers no longer have new patients and are allowed to leave the quarantine zone.

Everyone has packed their luggage, cleaned the tents they lived in, and went to wait beside the highway outside the quarantine zone for buses to take them to the vicinity of Triumph City.

Once they leave, the newly arrived survivors from the Bartoya Province will move into the tents they once lived in, waiting for the now experienced medical staff to conduct health checks on them.

As more than a month has passed since the outbreak of the "Mortal Serum," this new batch of refugees landing has already included some patients in the onset period.

Most of them are physically weak and lethargic, with signs of organ failure.

Thankfully, these people boarded proper ships.

If they had used rafts tied with ropes to cross the sea, their chances of survival would have been slim to none.

For those already in the onset period, healthcare staff in Triumph City injected them with inhibitors researched by the Alliance to stabilize their condition, preventing further deterioration.

With hundreds of thousands of civilians safely ashore, soldiers from the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team on the last ship also gradually stepped onto the port.

Not far from Deepwater Harbour, an open-top off-road vehicle was parked by the roadside.

The general of the Eastern Empire was sitting in the car.

Looking in the direction of Deepwater Harbour, he squinted slightly, a subtle smile playing at his lips.

He had two tasks at hand.

One was naturally to support Triumph City.

The other was to assess how long the Southern Legion could hold out.

Legion Leader Salen was extremely interested in the legacy of the Southern Legion, and this did not conflict with their cooperation with the Triumph City.

In fact, it wasn't just the Eastern Legion that had not had any direct interaction with the Western Legion for half a century, but this first high-level cooperation in half a century happened to occur during the effort to save their compatriots, leaving no room for disagreement.

Even the most out of sync Northern Corps sent three ten-thousand person teams and supplies for over a million people to assist Triumph City in maintaining order in the quarantine zones and to help deal with the crisis.

In the years following Marshal Julius's disappearance, there was no disagreement regarding saving their compatriots.

"After Marshal Julius disappeared in those years, at least on the matter of saving our compatriots, there was no disagreement."

"Even the most independent Northern Corps dispatched three ten-thousand troops and supplies for over a million people, assisting Triumph City in maintaining order in the quarantine zones and overcoming the crisis."

Now, Julius is back.

The warlord sitting on the back seat laughed again and added, with a half-joking tone.

"Besides, that fool's opponent is Julius. How could he possibly have any chance of winning?"

The adjutant was taken aback, his expression turning to surprise.

"Julius... but wasn't that lord already passed away?"

"Who can say for sure?"

The general on the back seat laughed, adjusting the brim of his hat with a casual tone.

"He's indeed gone."

"But he's also back."

Chapter 941: This Is His Harbor

The vibrant Baiyue Province, the picturesque Mantou Harbor, Parry was sitting one meter above the ground on a steel framework, immersively welding under the scorching sun and wearing a safety helmet.

There was no war or plague here, nor any foolishness like Teil, only a blistering sun and bothersome mosquitoes and flies, making it feel as if Bartoya Province in the mortal purgatory was separated not by an Earth, but by several light-years of stars.

In fact, setting aside the myriad species of insects, this place was quite livable.

The only flaw was that the fertile land inevitably made people become lazy and slack.

Just two months was enough to make him forget the half-year military career completely, and he no longer thought about "for His Excellency the Marshal" or "fighting for the land under the sun."

After all, the impression left by that shipping container in his mind was too profound...

"Have some water."

A pleasant voice came from the side, like the wind blowing over the lawns of Bartoya Province in spring.

Seeing the water bottle handed to him, Parry wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave a bright and cheerful smile to the girl who handed him the water.

"Thank you."

The girl blushed, nodded slightly, mumbled something, then quickly placed a lunch box in his arms before hurrying away.

Parry continued to watch her retreating figure, saw her stop at the street corner to look back, and watched her shyly run away when their eyes met. Then he smiled and twisted open the bottle cap to take a sip.

The girl was not exactly a top-notch beauty, but she was petite and lovely, especially with those rosy cheeks he never tired of seeing, completely different from the girls back home.

Moreover, the most crucial thing was that he could feel she was a kind-hearted person.

From her face, he couldn't see any stubbornness or hatred, and such simplicity was rare among his peers from his hometown.

Her name was Kuna, and it was a coincidence how they met.

Her family owned a grocery store, and he happened to go over to that household to weld an air conditioner bracket, then used the leftover steel to weld a step ladder.

They were around the same age, both in the prime of youth, and after a few encounters, they became familiar with each other.

When she was not too busy, she would often come to the construction site to bring him water, and sometimes she would bring the lunch she accidentally made too much of, which her family couldn't finish.

Parry wasn't picky with food, given that the food in the POW camps was cooked in big pots, the chef didn't even bother to make it decent, naturally it couldn't compare to home-cooked meals.

Moreover, her cooking skills were top-notch.

Later, Parry learned from casual conversations that she was a Bird tribe, from the Poluo Province where they originally intended to go. After learning about her identity, he couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt.

After all, she seemed to be the first Poluo person he had encountered since joining the army.

Thinking back, it really seemed foolish.

Two months ago, he was eagerly shouting slogans with his officers, impatiently clamoring to go to a place he had never been, to kill a group of people he had never met.

What exactly turned a young, upright, and handsome guy into a beast with bared fangs and claws?

He had considered this question many times, but the answers were always vague.

Sometimes it was Teil, sometimes it was himself, and sometimes it was other people.'

However, even though he couldn't figure out what exactly went wrong, he did understand another thing.

A collective's destiny is always determined by each and every one within that collective.

Teil wasn't special.

Nor were those who followed him without question blameless.

Most work positions in Mantou Harbor had lunchtime starting from 11:30 in the morning, continuing until 1:00 in the afternoon, then work resumed until 5:30.

If the work was labor-intensive under the sun, break time extended by an hour, until 2:30, while the closing time only extended half an hour.

Parry would usually go to the port by the shore, find a shady spot under the shed in the storage area where he could feel the sea breeze, and quietly enjoy the lunch Kuna brought him.

When he arrived at the spot, coincidentally, the foreman of their construction team was also sitting there.

That man's name was Ding Ning, in his early thirties, a dozen years older than him, reportedly from a small place called Mafu Town in Jing Chuan Province.

Unlike the officers in the POW camp, these contractors were individual businessmen, and they didn't have a superior-subordinate relationship with these POWs, but rather an employer-employee one, so they got along quite well.

Seeing the lunchbox in Parry's hand, Ding Ning jokingly remarked.

"Is that young girl bringing you lunch again?"

Parry sat down next to him, smiled and said.

"Don't say it like I'm eating for free."

Ding Ning laughed and said.

"Oh, did you actually pay her?"

Being teased, Parry didn't blush at all, and he confidently replied.

"She said she wants to open a restaurant in the future, but she's only ever cooked for her family and isn't sure what outside people like, so I'm helping her decide."

"That's a laugh to call it helping decide," Ding Ning laughed and scolded, patting him on the shoulder, suddenly taking on a serious tone, "I think that girl's a good lass, don't let her down."

Parry cleared his throat, also using a serious tone.

"You can doubt my working skills, but not my loyalty in relationships."

That indeed was beyond reproach.

Ding Ning recalled carefully, all the Weilante couples he knew lived harmoniously, whether on the Legion's turf or the Alliance's turf.

It was the apparently conservative Poluo people who often experienced major life and family upheavals after leaving Poluo Province.

Of course, he wasn't quite sure what their state was like in Poluo Province, as Baiyue Strait was the farthest he'd ever been away from home.

"I saw on the news that this war might not last long, have you thought about your life after leaving the POW camp?"

Listening to that concerned voice, Parry smiled and said.

"I've thought it over. I plan to save money to open a restaurant, and maybe one day bring my father over from Batoya Province. He used to always complain that the neighbors were a bunch of old men, and staying with them only made him grow old faster. I remember him saying more than once that he wanted to leave Yavente City and enjoy beer on a sunny beach. He devoted his entire life to the Army, it's time for him to enjoy life..."

He paused for a moment and then continued.

"But the old man can't let go of his retirement benefits and the admiration of his neighbors. Although I don't like Teil, he sure knows how to keep those old men happy."

Ding Ning looked at him in surprise.

"Your family is from Yavente City? How come I've never heard you mention it?"

Parry smiled and said,

"Never mentioned it, huh? Okay, now you know. My family is not only in Yavente City but also on Rongjun Road... Thanks to my two brothers who died on the battlefield, I moved there when I was very young and then got recommended to the best military academy in Yavente City. After graduating, I joined the camp as a reserve officer."

Speaking of which, the time he spent in the military academy should be the highlight of his life.

With his handsome looks and bright future, many girls from the same batch cast amorous glances at him.

However, at that time, he had not yet experienced the hardships of society; he only thought about achieving great things and did not consider matters of romance.

Later, after spending half a year in a recruit camp, he hadn't managed to become a Centurion before he found himself muddled into the most frustrating 100th Ten Thousand Troops of the Southern Legion's history—

A group of people was packed into a container by officers, shipped thousands of kilometers, and got wiped out the moment they landed.

This joke would last for hundreds of years.

Ding Ning looked up and down at the young man, feeling that his temperament and appearance were indeed different from other soldiers, but she didn't expect him to be a top student from a military academy.

No wonder that even though he was working in the POW Camp, others got calluses while he even found himself a wife.

But this guy's hometown was actually in Yavente City...

Ding Ning was silent for a while, before speaking.

"...I heard something bad happened in Yavente City recently."

"I heard about it too." Parry replied absently while eating, not wanting to continue the topic.

That was half a month ago.

Not only he heard about it, but everyone here knew about it.

When they learned from the TV news about what was happening in Batoya Province and the confessions from the 117th Ten Thousand Troops as well as the refugees stuck in the Southern Quarantine Zone of Wilant Province, almost all soldiers who had put down their hatred felt a surge of impulse to take up arms again.

They desperately wanted to march back to Yavente City, drag Teil out of his bunker, and demand why he did such an outrageous thing.

Most of those civilians driven into the sea were their compatriots, possibly even their own parents, wives, and children...

Some soldiers hailing from Batoya Province even broke down and cried.

Though Parry wasn't as emotional, it didn't mean he wasn't touched.

He was just comforting himself, trying not to think of the worst possibilities.

After all, his family lived on Rongjun Road, where many senior military officers' families also resided.

No matter how crazy Teil was, he wouldn't start from that street...

Seeing Parry suddenly fall silent, Ding Ning realized she brought up something she shouldn't have.

She awkwardly touched her nose, about to change the subject, when she suddenly recalled something she heard earlier from the bidding party.

A month ago, the Ba Yue Corporation undertook a project in the new development zone which includes a resettlement area covering about 30 acres, said to be used for accepting refugees evacuated from the Southern Quarantine Zone of Wilant Province.

Most of these residents were from Yavente City, having stayed in the quarantine zone for a month and drifted at sea for nearly half a month, now finally about to land.

Half a month ago, Survivor's Daily in Potato Harbor seemingly offhandedly mentioned this, but due to too many trending events, it didn't receive much coverage.

His impression was that the news mentioned the time that ship was supposed to dock, and it seemed to be today!

Those survivors from Yavente City should know something about the local situation.

Thinking of this, Ding Ning got excited and looked at Parry with renewed spirit.

"I have good news, do you want to hear it?"

Parry glanced at him.

"You said it's good news, why wouldn't I want to hear it?"

Ding Ning smiled mysteriously but didn't explain.

"Later this evening, after you've finished work, don't rush home to rest, take a walk to the pier."

Parry looked at him, puzzled.

"Why go to the pier?"

This guy really didn't know!

Ding Ning gave him a mysterious smile, but didn't explain.

"Don't ask, you'll find out when you get there."

Parry rolled his eyes, not wanting to indulge his teasing yet he made a mental note of it.

After finishing his meal, he took a nap, and after waking up he cleaned the lunch box.

On the way back, he intentionally took a detour to Kuna's house, placed the lunch box next to her mail box at the door, and slipped a note inside with today's compliment.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a compliment; for him, it was indeed a rare delicious taste in this world.

Humming a little tune back to the construction site, he swiftly finished the remaining work and clocked off on time when the six o'clock bell rang.

After returning the tools to the warehouse, Parry recalled what the foreman had said and decided not to go back to the barracks to rest, but headed towards the pier instead.

As he walked along, he admired the street views on both sides of the road.

Thanks to the hard work of these prisoners of war, this desolate land has recently started to flourish, no longer just a bare port.

Under the guidance of Alliance engineers, they used a type of cement said to have added biomass to build self-repairing roads, then opened various sizes of lumber mills, and built rows of tropical-style detached houses along the streets.

Once those houses were finished, they were quickly inhabited by a group of survivors from Haiya Province and the South Sea Union.

Some of these people sold clothes, others shoes, or hardware tools and bicycles, or opened bars and restaurants, and the silver coins they previously received from the Alliance finally found a use.

Yes, the Alliance was not joking and really paid them wages according to the Alliance's minimum wage standard, and it has been a full two months since they landed, plus the salary increased when he signed on with the privately contracted engineering team!

This was the most unbelievable part for Parry, who thought it was simply crazy!

But that was not the only madness.

The Baiyu Corporation, which managed the POW Camp, not only encouraged them to take up jobs but also to start businesses, providing loans with limited liability and guarantees for their business plans!

Aside from not being allowed to leave Mantou Harbor and not being allowed to carry guns, they were almost no different from the survivors living nearby, renting or buying houses and even applying to change from centralized dormitories to "reporting once a week monitored residence," moving outside the POW Camp.

The Alliance was not worried about them running away, for where could they possibly run on just two legs?

As long as the value they created was greater than staying in the POW Camp, the Alliance did not even care if they did intellectual or manual labor, nor did they care where they worked.

From what Parry understood, the captain of their engineering team opened a construction company called "Build Fast," and one-third of the sites in the newly developed areas were handled by them, which they managed quickly and well.

These guys probably used their experience in trench and bunker construction, living up to their name, erecting one house after another, two- or three-story high, seemingly sprouting from the ground.

It wasn't just the engineering team brothers; the captain of the neighboring Centurion's team wasn't to be outdone either. He led his brothers to start a "Jungle Destroyer" lumber mill, and I heard the business was so booming that they worked overtime every day.

As for why they called it that name, it probably had something to do with the Jungle Corps that had previously beaten them.

However, the Alliance people weren't that petty and didn't take the name seriously, some even ran over with a grin to take pictures under the factory's sign as a keepsake.

Based on Parry's observations, the officers at the rank of Centurion seemed to be doing well after going into business.

As frontline combat officers, they were highly executive and had prestige among the grassroots, and their dare-to-fight-and-win spirit was needed not only on the battlefield but also in starting a business.

The only thing that needed overcoming was the mental imprint left by Teil in their minds.

But then again, those who couldn't turn their minds around had already fled into the forest to become fertilizer and wouldn't bother starting a company and re-employment to contribute to the Alliance's construction.

Compared to those successful Centurions, the Thousands of leaders and Ten Thousand Leaders were somewhat inferior.

Although many of them had also climbed up from the grassroots, they had been away from it for too long.

The Alliance didn't give them any preferential treatment due to their status as Thousands of leaders or Ten Thousand Leaders, so adjusting to the disparity of such a "class fall" wasn't an easy task.

Moreover, the war hadn't ended yet, and although the war had reached Batoya Province, and although the persistent Teil was gradually becoming a world enemy, in their view, the outcome was still uncertain.

Furthermore, even if it ended in a draw, they could still be exchanged as prisoners of war to return to the Southern Legion to continue as senior officers, naturally disdaining the Alliance's monetary enticement.

However, Parry felt that things might be different this time.

The Eastern Legion did exchange prisoners with the Alliance, but the hatred and scope of the conflict back then were completely different levels, and the Alliance wasn't as united as it is now.

Moreover, that eastward expansion was not the Eastern Legion's collective will, just the remnants of the expansionist faction led by General Kras's old troops, so both sides declaring their victory met all parties' interest demands.

But this time is different.

This war is a collision of systems, in other words, a total war!

Not to mention the series of bottom-line-breaking actions taken by Teil in the war, no one would agree to let him go, not even the Vellante people themselves.

This reckoning might reach all the way to Yavente City...

Concerning this war and the outcome of the Southern Legion, Parry felt pessimistic, like that container filled with excrement and urine.

However, about the Vellante people's future, he was optimistic.

Although there was an element of coercion, being in Mantou Harbor allowed him to see another possibility.

If the industrial machinery and steel of Yavente City were not used to produce already excessive equipment, if the intelligence and physical strength of the Vellante people were not used to serve the will of their superiors but themselves and those around them, they did not have to endure so many lies and hardships.

He planned to write his reflections on the war into a memoir, perhaps providing some insight for future generations.

At the very least, he hoped they could avoid ending up in the same predicament as he did—

That is, being packed into a container filled with the smell of excrement and urine, thrown on some land never heard of before to rot away.

Parry knew very well, not everyone was as lucky as he was, not only safely getting ashore and completing a transformation of thought but also meeting so many kind people.

There were 99 Ten thousand troops before him, and he had no idea how many more there were after him, all inevitably being pushed into big or small quagmires.

The sound of a whistle in the distance pulled Parry's thoughts back from the memoir he had just started to conceive, and he saw a hundred-meter-long passenger ship slowly approaching the dock.

The passenger ship came from the west.

Parry didn't know what exactly Ding Ning intended to show him, but he waited patiently in the square by the dock.

It didn't take long before the gangway was lowered from the passenger ship, and several travel-worn passengers disembarked onto the port under the guidance of the crew.

Most of them were Vellante people, their distinctive noses proving their identity.

Not only that, they seemed to have traveled a long distance, carrying bulging luggage and each with a thick coat or leather jacket draped over their arms.

Evernight Harbor is in the Southern Hemisphere, so it should be summer now. Could they be from Silver Moon Bay?

Or West Sail Port?

No—

Suddenly, Parry saw two familiar figures in the crowd and stood there stunned.

Almost instinctively, he shouted loudly.

"Dad!? Mom!"

Hearing the shout from the shore, some passengers looked up, saw an unfamiliar face, and moved their gazes away again.

But there were two people who didn't.

Bazel, descending the gangway, stood dumbfounded, staring straight at his son standing at the port, his cloudy pupils gradually filling with tears.

"By Marshal Julius above..."

His parched lips moved, muttering tremulously, then he threw aside his luggage, excitedly wielding his cane, tapping it forward, quickening his pace as he walked up.

His wife beside him did the same, the elderly woman closely chased his steps, even quickening her pace more than him, striding hurriedly toward her running son, reaching out and tightly grabbing his shoulders, as if afraid he might run away.

She bit her lips, unable to utter a word, yet seemed to be saying many things in an instant.

Looking at his mother, much older than he remembered, Parry suddenly felt an impulse to cry.

For twenty years he'd lived without shedding a tear since he could remember, but now he couldn't help but break down.

Panting heavily, Bazel finally walked up, using his cane for support, his joy-made mouth grinning widely.

"Haha... you little rascal! I knew your fate was great! Surely you wouldn't die!"

"You old fool, what are you saying!" The elderly woman glared fiercely at her husband, then turned her tender gaze back to her child, reached out and touched his face, "Those Teil people said you encountered a maritime disaster, told us to mourn and accept, your father and I never expected to see you again... Anyway, as long as you're alright..."

Looking at his two haggard parents, Parry sniffled, chokingly said.

"Mom, Dad... I'm sorry for the hardship you've been through."

The elderly woman smiled, softly said.

"Your mother and father haven't suffered any grievances, we're doing just fine, except your father had his misfortune, the boat he was on capsized, fell into the sea, fortunately Captain Maloc rescued him, yet caught a cold upon landing, causing the benefactor to be quarantined too."

Parry had seen reports about that cold on TV, seemingly called "Mortal Serum".

Initially, news said it targeted the Weilante people, but later discovered even aliens could be infected.

Even some Awakening people were affected.

"Is Dad alright then..."

The woman smiled and said.

"This old man once planned where he'd be buried, but thanks to the biological institute and academy folks from the Alliance, your father pulled through."

Although the specific remedy hasn't been developed yet, as long as treatment is timely and immunity strong enough, there's a certain chance of recovery.

With Old Bazel's age of 79, his recovery could only be deemed as Marshal Julius's blessing...

"That's such relief..." Parry, joyful beyond words, momentarily lost for expressions.

Seeing his lost-but-found son not even losing a hair, and even growing up healthier, Bazel's face similarly bore a tremendously comforting smile.

"How have you been here? I heard you guys..."

Facing his father's gaze, Parry hurriedly explained.

"I've been doing well, the Alliance hasn't troubled us, instead arranged jobs for us, let us build our own homes... though we are restricted to activities only around the POW camp, they haven't treated us too strictly."

Old Bazel occasionally looked surprised at him, then glanced at the neat street behind him and rows of detached houses, couldn't help but ask incredulously.

"These... were all built by you?"

Seeing his father's astonished expression, Parry couldn't help but reveal a touch of pride on his face.

"Yes! Starting with the road section connected to the port, and those houses, they were all built by ourselves!"

The woman's face wore worry, her index finger repeatedly rubbing her son's face, speaking pitifully.

"You must have suffered a lot... all tanned."

"Hey, what's so tough about it," Parry laughed and said, "as it's busy anyhow, at least the Alliance doesn't want our lives, but working for Teil may not be the same..."

Speaking of Teil, a fire arose in his heart, wishing to shred that guy into a thousand pieces.

Yet, now wasn't the time to dwell on him.

Looking at his long-time-no-see parents, Parry deeply inhaled, earnestly spoke.

"...Dad, Mom, don't talk about me first, I've worried like crazy about you for days, tomorrow I'll ask for leave to take you around here."

Afraid to trouble his son, Old Bazel quickly said.

"No need for such hassle, you focus on your tasks, perform well in the POW camp, strive to get out early... the future is long, your mother and I have planned to leave Batoya Province, and stay here later."

Parry smiled and said.

"What's so troublesome about it, I haven't used my leave this month."

Bazel looked at him dumbfounded.

"You even get leave?!"

Is this still a POW camp?!

Parry laughed and said, "Indeed... by the way, do you have a place to stay? I'll help take your luggage over, let's chat slowly over dinner later..."

It seems the times really have changed.

Seeing his son, who unconsciously included himself as part of the Alliance, Bazel couldn't help but sigh with such realization in his heart.

Perhaps the future wasn't as bad as he'd thought.

Even if the Southern Legion was thoroughly defeated, and the legion's last orthodox was buried with Teil, the Weilante people wouldn't vanish from this world, at most they'd change to a more normalized lifestyle.

In that moment of enlightenment, he suddenly felt the whole world brighten up.

Unable to participate in Marshal Julius's funeral in person, the regrets, along with the hardships of this journey and uncertainty, now became trivial.

Here was his harbor...

Chapter 942: Until We Meet Again

As the "Albatross" passenger ship docked at the pier of Mantou Harbor, the 3,000 survivors drifting at sea for over half a month finally arrived at their new homeland.

After welcoming this batch of new immigrants, the population of Mantou Harbor officially broke the 30,000 mark.

This is just the beginning.

In the long time to come, passenger ships departing from Whirlpool Sea will continuously pass through this strait, bringing survivors from Bartoya Province and the northeast Baiyue Strait to Haiya Province, bringing millions of immigrants.

Among them are not only the old, weak, and women but also skilled engineers, scientists, and artists.

If the New Continent is the preferred refuge for the Weilante people, then the rising Alliance is their next option after New Continent.

Although there are no privileges as the dominant ethnic group there, having suffered extreme hardship, they somewhat appreciate the benefits of equality.

Thus, as the isolation zone of Weilante Province reaches its peak capacity in housing, it began to discharge to other areas on the Wasteland with assistance from the former army forces and members of the Sticky Community.

No matter how many refugees rush to the south of Weilante Province, even if it doubles, Triumph City can easily cope, and even actively help Teil in transporting the population.

Calculating everything, Teil obviously missed this point, and this loophole caused by cunning became the beginning of his complete end.

He wanted to use Marshal Julius's funeral to leverage Triumph City as the fulcrum of the world to let all Weilante people charge with him but forgot that his enemies aren't just Triumph City he planned to lift but the world he intended to pry.

No one is a fool, standing there waiting for him to handle one by one.

Thus, after "sending the first batch of immigrants to Mantou Harbor," Teil's "clever strategy" also sent the families of these prisoners to the Alliance.

Embracing parents was not only Parry but many surprised people.

The square in front of the port was filled with cries of joy and shock, even crying, as people hugged each other and shared stories of happenings during this time.

The lively sound attracted many nearby residents, including islanders from the South Sea Union, survivors from Haiya Province, and those from Poluo Province.

Seeing such a touching scene, almost everyone's faces couldn't help but reveal a knowing smile.

Even the Poluo people, who hate the Weilante people, couldn't help but slightly change their prejudice against them.

They are humans too.

The evil ghost turning humans into beasts is the true enemy of all suffering survivors!

Ding Ning clearly didn't expect the surprise he brought to Parry would be so big.

He merely thought there might be fellow townsmen on the ship who could give Parry some updates on Yavente City's situation, so he persuaded him over.

However, to his surprise, the young man's parents were on board.

This is like a miracle!

But in fact, this is not entirely coincidental, there's also intentional components within.

More accurately, it's due to the human compassion passed down from the Residents of Shelter No. 404.

Far away in City of Dawn, Crow suddenly thought perhaps some of the residents might happen to have relatives among the soldiers who previously landed at Mantou Harbor, thus mentioned it on the forum.

Then, far on Weilante Province's frontline, Night Ten found himself idle, so he went to the archival library of the isolation zone and discovered that quite a number of registered refugees were indeed relatives of the Southern Legion's 100th Ten Thousand Troops.

The archives of soldiers were shared when the Ten Thousand Troops was established before the army disbanded.

After understanding the situation, the respected Leader Mr. Pangolin waved his hand, sought the opinions of those immigrants, and prioritized them on ships heading towards Baiyue Strait.

It was due to this little episode that countless families were able to reunite in a foreign land.

On the edge of the square, Old White standing with arms crossed looked at Fang Chang standing aside and teased.

"At this rate, we might be able to mobilize several more divisions of our Weilante Expeditionary Army."

The deployment area of the Burning Corps has moved from Poluo Province War Zone to the Evernight Harbor front, but there's still a few days until assembly, so the two of them sent some heads at the frontline, took a detour to Potato Harbor, and arrived here.

Looking at those prisoners on the square, Fang Chang lightly smiled and said.

"Our troops are enough, no need for further mobilization, moreover, instead of filling lines on battlefields, there are places more suited for them to showcase their talents."

The war will soon be over.

The destroyed places need rebuilding, and the displaced survivors need new homes.

A single Mantou Harbor is far from enough.

Haiya Province has ten settlements, Baiyue Strait can at least have twenty!

Remember he painted a tremendously large pie for the shareholders of Baiyue Corporation long ago—the recipe that makes people salivate by merely seeing it on the map of the Alliance.

For now, the possibilities of making this pie a reality are not small!

At least compared to the pie drawn by the Dog plan, his pie is considerably conservative!

...

When the captives of the 1,000,000th troop reunited with their families, far away in the northwest of Poluo Province, the bombardment continued, with explosions and gunfire echoing incessantly.

Facing the Poluo people charging round after round in the jungle with automatic rifles, even the elite of the Sweeping Group could not help but show fear and were defeated by the relentless onslaught.

The cannon fodder of the Southern Legion needed to be produced through cloning chambers, yet the soldiers of Poluo Province seemed to grow from the ground; one wave after another was killed, but they were never-ending.

And the more troublesome part was yet to come—

These guys were getting younger and stronger as they fought!

With the fall of Evernight Harbor, the supply lines for the Southern Legion's Poluo Province War Zone had been completely cut off, while Poluo Country and Mammoth Nation, with the help of an alliance, had completed a comprehensive rearmament and formally blew the horn of counterattack once they regained their strength.

This prolonged battle had entirely entered its third phase—from strategic stalemate back to the offensive and defensive struggle for strategic points.

However, this time, the ones holding on stubbornly were no longer the Mammoth Nation and Poluo Country but the already exhausted Southern Legion.

It should be mentioned that even the most cunning Shaluk was no longer holding back, and General Groove, who had been both praised and criticized recently, was back in favor with Gopal's reinstatement and the support of the Family Meeting.

An army of fifty thousand robust troops launched a ferocious attack on the weakest point of the Southern Legion's defenses, routing Gibson's troops, which numbered fewer than ten thousand and were mostly servant troops, taking control of half of Wolf State!

This time General Groove finally had his moment of triumph, winning a prosperous battle.

Neither Zayed nor Gopal restricted him anymore, allowing him to employ his military talents freely.

The only request was one—

Not to touch West Sail Port for the time being.

According to intelligence gathered by their overseas spies, the Eastern Empire was preparing to take over the legacy of West Sail Port.

It was the essence accumulated by the Triumph City Official Group and the Southern Legion.

The upper echelons of the Family Meeting knew very well what could be touched and what could not, or rather what they could not yet touch with their current strength.

However, this matter could be negotiated.

For instance, the Eastern Empire eats the meat, and they follow with a sip of soup. After all, they can't let Absek and Laxi benefit easily.

Although the factions within Poluo Country each had their own hidden agendas, the general trend of a full-scale counterattack had indeed formed.

The most difficult groundwork had been laid, and even parts above the foundation were built; now it was just short of topping off the whole building.

Don't say leading the Poluo people to counterattack is a wolf and a moon; even if Witch Todd were invited back from the dead, they couldn't lose.

At least at this moment, Poluo Province was truly brimming with valiant generals and strong soldiers like rain.

And most crucially, they forged their backbone in the flames!

Northern Three States, Central Sheep State, at the forefront of the Poluo Country Northern Field Army's control area.

Standing in the trench, Edge Shoveling held a telescope and gazed westward, his vision sweeping north along the rising peaks and the continuous green pines.

If one overlooks the anti-aircraft machine guns hidden in the sea of trees, the hollowed-out bunkers, and tunnels, this place could truly be called a gem of clear waters and lush mountains.

Mountains, water, and endless plains, and without the intrusion of variants... Does it really need red soil?

Edge Shoveling couldn't help but feel such confusion in his heart.

However, he had never experienced the terrifying winter of a century and a half ago and could not judge the merits of General Lowell's actions on behalf of the local survivors.

As for what Poluo Province would be like without General Lowell, that was even more a figment of imagination.

Just objectively assessing from a third-party standpoint, he did not agree with the complaints of some Poluo people—that the United Human abandoned them, abandoned the over one billion survivors fleeing from the old world's center to this place.

At least in his view, having been to many places, compared to River Valley Province and other regions, Poluo Province was nothing short of a remaining paradise on earth, itself a 4 million square kilometer refuge!

As a pre-war ecological refuge, here boasted abundant species, even mammoths from the Ice Age, and still haven't been hunted to extinction.

Falling Leaves Province had 5 oases left, whereas Poluo's oases spanned a whopping 4 million square kilometers.

If they were considered abandoned survivors, then what about other survivors living outside the shelters at the same time?

Perhaps because he was about to leave, Edge Shoveling dazed for a bit too long, only snapping back to reality when he heard a gentle cough from behind.

"...The Weilante people have connected the mountains ahead with bunkers and tunnels; if forcibly attacked, there could be countless casualties."

While speaking, Edge Shoveling put down the telescope and handed it to Yishel behind him, pausing before continuing.

"They have prepared for at least half a year over there; I suggest you take it steady."

Yishel replied seriously.

"I will consider it carefully."

Edge Shoveling nodded approvingly, knowing the man listened.

Today's Yishel was already the commander-in-chief of the Northern Field Army, commanding not just the 3rd and 11th ten thousand troops, but as many as ten field infantry artillery divisions!

The so-called enemy's curse is the best medal, as evidenced by the nickname "Jungle Rat" given to him by the Southern Legion, indicating how much trouble he caused the former.

Honestly, Edge Shoveling feels like he has nothing left to teach him, and might even have to ask for his advice on some matters.

After all, the command mindset between the players' army and the NPC troops is different, and regarding the latter, NPC officers actually have more say than these players with pockets full of Resurrection Coins.

Thinking of this, Edge Shoveling couldn't help but chuckle and tease.

"You'd better be cautious; I heard your bounty has gone up from 1 million Dinar to 20 million."

"Tsk, I've never seen so much money in my life," Yishel grinned and scratched the back of his head, replying in a joking tone, "How about I negotiate with those big noses to sell myself?"

Edge Shoveling laughed and scolded.

"Hahaha, you don't have any kids. Do you plan to save the money to spend down below?"

Yishel chuckled.

"You might be right; I almost forgot about that. I've decided! After this war, I'm going to get myself a wife."

Edge Shoveling joked.

"Then you'd better keep your eyes wide open. You're not the same as before, just a poor soul nobody wants even for free. With 20 million on your head from the Weilanteans, I bet the price from Tiandu folks would only be higher."

Yishel laughed and said.

"There's such a good deal? Then I should find someone educated so my sons and daughters aren't as unpromising as I am."

"Come on, if you count as unpromising, who would be considered promising?" Edge Shoveling laughed and scolded, pausing before continuing, "Culture isn't that noble; anyone willing to learn can learn it. You can learn too after the war. Finding a partner must focus on character; that's what lasts a lifetime. Don't get so captivated by female students that you can't move your legs."

These Poluo folks are weird, interested in female students one after another.

Are they uniform enthusiasts?

But come to think of it, maybe they are.

In the whole Poluo Country, aside from the army, it seems only schools have uniforms.

Another strange prejudice added...

After the jokes, Edge Shoveling ceased his laughter, replacing it with a serious tone.

"We're leaving tomorrow; from here on, you have to walk your path... Take care."

Even though he knew about the Alliance's arrangement beforehand, a bitter smile appeared on Yishel's face.

"Even you are relocating."

Previously, the Skeleton Corps had been transferred to Evernight Harbor, along with the Goblin Corps and Burning Corps stationed in Tiandu.

Once the Death Legion is transferred, the Poluo Province War Zone will be completely handed over to the Poluo people themselves.

Although he foresaw this day long ago, his heart was still filled with reluctance.

"Yeah, we can't stay here forever; there's 2.7 million square kilometers of colonized land northwest of Evernight Harbor waiting for us to liberate... Including the 910,000 square kilometers of Bartoya Province, where there are also suffering survivors."

Seeing Yishel's face full of reluctance, Edge Shoveling suddenly smiled to lighten the mood, patting his shoulder.

"Don't make it seem like we're parting forever. We're just heading to the next victory. You've done very well; even without us, you can still do well. There's no need to be so attached to us."

"Hard to say," Yishel shook his head, "The United Federation has never truly united, with banners standing from east to west and north to south. They can unite today against the Southern Legion and break heads tomorrow over the northern three states' ownership."

Absek, in the telegram he sent, had already started laying the groundwork, advising him to watch the Laxi troops' movements, avoid unwarranted transfer of positions, and keep the acquired equipment and personnel if possible; otherwise, send them south.

Even with just his toes, he could guess what Absek was thinking, yet he couldn't say the Supreme Leader's foresight was wrong.

After all, Absek wasn't the only one preparing for civil war; Laxi himself was doing the same thing.

After determining the Southern Legion's days were numbered, the few divisions of the Mammoth Nation stationed at the front started acting strange, and their intelligence exchange with them wasn't as unreserved as before.

That comprises three states' territory, plus Lion State, seriously developed by the Southern Legion.

If Laxi isn't interested, that would indeed be a wonder!

Edge Shoveling could understand the concerns in his eyes but didn't have a better solution.

He's just a corps leader.

Moreover, he thought even if it were the Manager himself standing here, it might still be challenging to interfere with others' domestic affairs.

Unless they, like the Southern Legion, turned this into their colony, covering old hatreds with new grievances.

But if that happens, they would no longer be the Alliance.

Those survivors supporting them against the Legion might no longer support them as they previously did.

"We hope you can peacefully resolve your conflicts, at least not spark a bigger crisis."

At this moment, a thought suddenly sprouted in his heart, and he extended an olive branch to the comrade in front of him.

"Have you considered joining the Alliance?"

This guy is a talent.

He genuinely admired him, which is why he said such words.

Facing the olive branch extended by Edge Shoveling, Yishel remained silent for a while, sighed, and said.

"It would be a lie to say I'm not interested, but it would also be a lie to say I want to go... I don't dare to call myself a hero, but at least I'm quite a catch. The female students in Tiandu would probably line up at the city gate waiting for me. Would I still be a man if I don't go back? At the very least, there are a few decades of good days waiting for me."

Pausing for a moment, he joked again.

"Moreover, it might not be that chaotic. What if I, this jungle rat, manage to tame the scene? Whether or not I can is one thing, but if I run away without doing anything, those female students of Tiandu would line up to curse me."

His tone seemed like a joke, but there was a hint of seriousness.

Edge Shoveling wasn't sure whether to laugh at his vulgarity or admire his bravery.

But Yishel himself was quite open about it.

He had figured out this issue long ago; he was destined not to become "Awakener Bol."

The Poluo people have never experienced an era where they were exploited to the extreme by money and power. How could they wake from a nightmare they never had to begin with?

Their history misses a page, and he is that missing page.

He will be the beginning of Giant Stone City, raising the torch to disperse the darkness as a forerunner.

And his children, or his children's children, will become the antagonist in "Awakener Bol"—Mr. Stephen.

Perhaps he should accept the olive branch thrown by this Resident of the refuge in front of him. "Depart casually and hide one's achievements and fame" is indeed the choice of a truly smart person.

However, everyone has their limitations, including himself.

It is the belief in becoming Bol that has driven him to overcome numerous obstacles to reach this point. How could he simply give up like this?

Maybe things will be different?

After all, in the interview with Spielberg in the "Survivor's Daily," he mentioned that the epic of Giant Stone City is a miracle of its people, and other gathering places will have their own miracles too, miracles that cannot be simply replicated.

He will try to learn from Giant Stone City's lessons, adding a couple more to his family's creed.

Perhaps under his influence, his children will take a completely different path.

For example, becoming "the gravedigger of the Inner City," Alyssa.

An idealist full of ambition, breaking one's own pot is equally indispensable to a glorious revolution. If such a great person were born out of the West Sail Port tragedy, it certainly wouldn't be ordinary folk like Anush and Absek coming out as the overlord.

Of course, these are just Yishel's personal opinions; different people have different interpretations of the transformation of Giant Stone City.

However, he believes that he has the ability to change the future of his fellow people.

Seeing Yishel's determination, Edge Shoveling no longer mentioned the matter, merely patting him on the shoulder.

"The Southern Legion's defeat is certain, but you should not underestimate your enemy. Lion State has factories, railways, and an endless supply of labor. Although they can't produce precision-guided missiles, processing firearms and ammunition is no problem. Their reliance on technology isn't naturally strong. Moreover, those who remain are mentally unstable; confronting them head-on is the worst strategy. Only a psychological approach is superior."

Yishel nodded seriously.

"I remember... you all take care too."

Edge Shoveling nodded, withdrawing his hand from his shoulder and clasping his hands in front of his chest.

"Till we meet again!"

Yishel copied his gesture, smiling broadly as he said.

"Till we meet again! When you come to Tiandu next time, I'll treat you to a drink!"

Edge Shoveling laughed as he responded.

"I'll remember that!"

He left his gear and the words of caution in the trench, gathered the last remaining players of the Death Legion, and headed toward the direction of the tarmac.

The "Viper" transport plane waiting for them was there.

They would board the vertical take-off and landing Viper and head for Tiandu, then transfer to the "Overlord" transport plane to the south of the Great Desert—the Old Southern Industrial Zone of the Human Alliance Era.

The Southern Legion had a colonial area of 2.7 million square kilometers there. They would join with brothers from other corps at the frontline of Evernight Harbor, then go all the way north, directly hitting the Yellow Dragon, and crossing the ruins of the Old Western Industrial Zone, straight into the southern part of Batoya Province—the homeland of the Southern Legion!

Edge Shoveling felt his blood boiling, just like burning gasoline.

Listening to the roar of plasma plumes outside the cabin, he excitedly clenched his fists, making a creaking sound.

"... Finally, a chance to make a big move!"

Chapter 943: Capturing the Industrial Hub!

At the same time Edge Shoveling boarded the plane, a grand battle was taking place in the northwest of Evernight Harbor, in the Lavanka Industrial Zone!

This industrial zone is located on the southeastern bank of the Lavanka River, with two railways and a deepwater port connecting four processing centers, five mining bases, and a heavy shipyard.

In addition, there are three hundred thousand survivors living here, among which one quarter are industrial workers and engineers employed by the Yavente Heavy Industry Group.

The resources produced in this area not only supply the front line of the Poluo Province war zone but also supply various military factories along the two rail lines.

Including the armor steel used for Conqueror No. 10 tank production line, which comes from the steel plant in this region!

Almost one-third of the total production value of the Southern Legion is generated directly or indirectly in this industrial zone!

It's no exaggeration to say that losing Lavanka Industrial Zone would be a blow to the Southern Legion even more severe than losing one-third of its territory.

Precisely because of its critical strategic significance, both sides see this industrial zone as a must-win location.

The defense of this region is tasked to the renowned "Desert Lion," General Rubis of the Southern Legion.

Born in Triumph City, he grew up in a military aristocracy family, exposed to military education from a young age, and became a leader of ten thousand troops at just 35, commanding the 111 ten thousand troops against Mutants and the Looter Tribe in the Great Desert.

His glorious achievement as leader of a thousand troops was defeating a Mutant tribe several times stronger than his side with almost no casualties while leading a youth army.

Because of this miraculous record, for a long time, he was seen as a rising star by the officers of Yavente City.

However, just as his career seemed smooth sailing, the West Sail Port tragedy suddenly erupted, and "invading Poluo Province" and "defending the Weilante's property with firearms" became the consensus of the Southern Legion.

Although there was a hint of conspiracy, no one cared amidst the tide of public outrage.

The young men eagerly wished to go to the front lines and kill a few heads to vent their anger, while older officers were ready to add more medals to their chests.

He was different; not only did he speak cynically when the situation was favorable but also vehemently criticized General Giulion for his actions in West Sail Port that exacerbated the tensions.

Such comments were evidently inappropriate at the time, and unsurprisingly, he faced hostility from General Giulion and was marginalized by the mainstream Southern Legion factions.

Thus, the famous "Desert Lion" sat on the cold bench for half a year until the alliance troops landed at Evernight Harbor, defeating the local garrison and over a hundred thousand reserves in disarray, prompting the Southern Legion to suddenly remember somebody skilled available.

Rubis didn't disappoint the Southern Legion's headquarters, quickly taking up the banner of organizing defense. Before the alliance bombers arrived, he evacuated key industrial facilities from the Lavanka Industrial Zone and used the local building materials to fortify this desert industrial zone into an impregnable fortress.

It must be said, this guy has some skills. With just ten thousand soldiers, he managed to withstand two rounds of alliance attacks and successfully waited for reinforcements to arrive.

Currently, the defending force stationed in the Lavanka Industrial Zone has approached 300,000!

Apart from the 111, 112, 113 ten thousand troops, he also has seven servant army ten thousand troops, and 200,000 Glory Army Cannon Fodder!

On the alliance side, the forces consist mainly of the Skeleton Corps, Jungle Corps, and Goblin Corps, along with two divisions of Weilante Expeditionary Army and the enterprise's 100 Mountain Division.

The disparity in forces seems significant, but if you exclude the 200,000 clone troops, the difference isn't much.

Plus, with air superiority and armor advantage on the alliance side, the Skeleton Corps' self-propelled guns sporadically fire two rounds of 155mm shells, while the Goblin Corps' W-3 nearly daily transports bombs into the industrial zone, leaving the defending forces in great distress.

Nevertheless, the defending forces in Lavanka Industrial Zone, under General Rubis's command, have held on for a whole month without showing any signs of collapse.

The attacking commander, Mole, couldn't help but marvel that they indeed ran into a tough opponent this time.

However, for some reason, this tough opponent didn't appear on Poluo line's battlefield, yet showed up when they entered the "demolition" phase.

This must be a truly loyal servant.

Just wonder if it's the last one...

On a gentle sand dune, Mole stands in the tank turret, holding binoculars to gaze at the sand fortress in the distance.

The legion built concrete bunkers on the reverse slope of the dune and deployed a large number of anti-tank guns, as well as Conqueror No.10 turrets, dismantled from unfinished productions.

Every anti-armor strongpoint is like a "reef" buried beneath the Desert Sea.

It must be said, that's a genius idea.

Not only did it solve Conqueror No. 10 turret's flying problem but also restricted the alliance's anti-vehicle railgun to some extent.

However, with a batch of new equipment codenamed "Wolf Spider" arriving, this siege is pretty much over.

Mole didn't wait long before seeing desert-colored eight-legged spider robots swiftly climbing to the base of each fortress.

This is Huge Rock Military Industry's latest product, also the culmination of Shelter No.100's self-developed technology!

The eight-legged "Wolf Spider" robot, improved from "Cross Spider," can carry up to 100 kilograms of combat units, navigate freely in tall tunnels, and use the tools on its foreleg to overcome obstacles, placing bombs skillfully where needed.

This thing is simply a fixed bunker killer!

If "Buprestis" engineering armor was born to construct, then this thing is specifically designed for demolition.

Didn't have to wait long before the roar of fighter jets breaking the sound barrier reached from the sky, followed by a barrage that poured down on the Weilante's frontline like a spray.

Rows of one-man high sand and dust rose into the air, making many soldiers sneeze, without taking a single head.

Regarding the alliance's air raids, the soldiers of the 111 ten thousand troops were long accustomed.

They skillfully lowered their bodies, pressing their helmets tight against the trench walls, patiently waiting for the airstrike to end.

At this moment, they didn't realize that the downpour from the sky was merely to press them back into cover, and this goal had clearly been achieved.

At the same time as they were avoiding the air raid, those truly deadly little spiders were moving their agile eight legs, like flowing sand, pouring into the bunkers connected by trenches and tunnels, directly heading towards the ammo racks hidden inside!

To facilitate the loading of anti-tank guns and the Conqueror turrets, although the ammo racks of these fixed weapons were separated by shells and explosives, they weren't usually placed too far away.

The internal structure of these bunkers was not beyond the expectations of those Intelligence System players operating the mechanical spiders, distributed in an "H" shape, with only a heavy iron door between the shells and explosives.

These iron doors were clearly factories from the Lavanka Industrial Zone, urgently processed using tank armor steel.

While these iron doors were more than sufficient to withstand the shockwaves of an explosion, they obviously couldn't stop the thousands of degrees high temperature of plasma cutter!

The mechanical spiders that infiltrated the bunkers quickly took care of the artillerymen distracted by the air raid and, before the soldiers outside noticed, flicked out plasma knives flashing with pale blue arcs from their nimble front limbs.

Accompanied by a buzzing sound, these "wolf spiders" cut through the connecting parts of the iron doors in just a few breaths, taking down the crudely made door panels entirely from the wall.

As the iron doors fell with a loud thud, the mechanical spiders slipped inside, used two mechanical limbs for a flurry of operations, and quickly completed the deployment of dynamite.

By the time the soldiers guarding the position finally snapped back to reality, dozens of kilograms of concentrated explosives had already been stuffed into their barrel-like positions, placed right under the ammo racks of the anti-tank fire support points!

"Boom—!"

The deafening explosion sounded almost simultaneously, with the fiery light of the explosion merging into the undulating desert, and the sand walls rising like a sudden sandstorm!

The boiling flames were not only contributed by the explosives themselves but also a significant portion from the sympathetic explosions of the ammo!

Watching the burning bunkers, the thousands leader standing at the frontline position had his eyes blood-red, his face a deathly gray, filled with despair.

On the opposite side, however, the Mole showed a victor's smile on his face.

"It's over."

As the words fell, he grabbed the walkie-talkie and issued the attack order.

"All units, advance forward!"

The communication channel came back with uniform responses—

"Received!"

At the same time the command was issued, hundreds of tanks from the Skeleton Corps simultaneously started their engines, sweeping across the land like a sandstorm, charging towards the position of the 111th ten thousand troops.

Besides the tanks, 300 Chimera armored cars with thousands of Weilante Expeditionary Army soldiers in the carriages also advanced forward!

Tracers as thick as pythons traversed the battlefield, pressing the soldiers of the Southern Legion struggling below the flames and smoke to the ground.

The position of the 111th ten thousand troops was instantly breached, followed by the corporate 100th mountain division attacking along the breach, quickly assaulting the flanks of the 112th and 113th ten thousand troops, completely bypassing the sharp edges of this barrel-like position!

The intense battle erupted instantaneously and almost simultaneously reached a fever pitch!

One second it was a silent desert, instantly transforming into boiling seawater, the fierce offensive blindsided the defending forces of Lavanka Industrial Zone.

Seeing the frontline position collapse, seven servant army ten thousand troops rapidly rushed forward, only to encounter the armored spearhead of the Skeleton Corps and the Weilante Expeditionary Army soldiers who followed the "Chimera" armored cars into the positions!

Facing the ferocious assault, the seven servant armies instantly transformed from fire-fighting vanguards into seven dwarfs, blasted by strafing mech cannons and overwhelming tank turrets into a panicked scramble.

As it turned out, the Weilante people were indeed born warriors, especially after replacing the inferior bullet-proof armor with the Alliance's "Type Five" exoskeletons, their combat power elevated another notch, second only to the fearless players!

However, the commanding General Rubis was indeed a ruthless person, certainly tougher than the Evernight Harbor garrison commander Stanford, stubbornly refusing to surrender.

Watching as the breach in the defensive zone gradually evolved into a total collapse, he didn't hesitate, directly filling the gap with his Personal Body Guard, while ordering the Glory Army to launch a suicidal charge towards the Alliance's positions, temporarily turning the tide by two-fold.

Still, relying on a mere two-fold advantage to rescue the Southern Legion's almost certain defeat was clearly unrealistic.

Under the relentless shelling of the Skeleton Corps' self-propelled guns and the Goblin Corps' air-dropped cluster bombs, twenty thousand clone soldiers burst into pieces like waves upon the shore before they had a chance to disperse.

The thick blood mist condensed into an impenetrable red wall, a gory scene that shocked everyone on the battlefield and led the already morale-near-collapse seven servant army ten thousand troops to capitulate.

After all, once the clone soldiers died, they would be the next cannon fodder.

While fighting for the Southern Legion, they were aware of their alien race identity.

As the seven servant army ten thousand troops surrendered, the remaining three regular army ten thousand troops gradually relinquished resistance, dropping their weapons and accepting the Alliance's capture.

Thus, the Southern Legion not only lost the logistics hub of Evernight Harbor, but their largest centralized industrial zone also completely fell into the hands of the Alliance.

Losing all southern strategic points, the downfall of the 2.7 million square kilometers of colonies was merely a matter of time.

Realizing the defeat was sealed, General Rubis said nothing, ordered surrender to his Personal Body Guard, and then pulled the trigger to end his life.

A total of 7 officers committed suicide alongside him, including his adjutant, staff, and Chief of the Guard.

Mole originally wanted to chat with the opponent he'd been entangled with for over half a month, but unexpectedly the guy had bid farewell.

"What a pity..."

After hearing the Expeditionary Army soldier's report, Mole on the turret expressed some regret, saying with somewhat wistful eyes.

"Even the staunch ones surrendered, yet a few normal ones remained loyal... He should have lived, played a role after the war."

Elena said with a subtle expression.

"Maybe he's tired, this kind of end isn't necessarily not a relief for him, at least he repaid the Southern Legion's kindness in his own way."

The Elf King Riches sighed and said.

"But I always feel that it would be better for the Southern Legion survivors if he gave up sooner, at least it would end their long-standing pain sooner."

Elena glanced at him.

"You're looking at the problem from God's perspective again."

Elf King Riches: "Is there a problem with that."

Old Na thought for a while, and unusually, she wasn't being ridiculous, instead saying something quite out of character.

"God can't solve any problems; that's the biggest problem."

Elf King Riches scratched his head, about to say something, when he noticed a group of dark-skinned individuals standing in the distance.

They were hefty in build, with protruding mouths, and their soybean-like eyes glowed with a bloodthirsty fierceness.

Elena squinted slightly and quickly recognized these folks as the special product of the Great Desert—the gray mutants!

Unlike the green mutants in Brocade River and the River Valley Province, these creatures had slightly higher intelligence and usually cooperated with human groups that had similar habits.

For example, slave traders and the Looter Tribe.

Both the Southern and Eastern Legions had the bad habit of employing these creatures.

A group of expeditionary soldiers surrounded them, guns aimed at their heads, while the latter also pointed their large-caliber weapons at the former, baring their teeth in a false show of strength.

The atmosphere between the two sides was tense, a standoff that could erupt into violence at any moment!

Mole reached out and patted the top of the turret, signaling the driver to move the tank forward, then stopping in front of the group of mutants, he looked at the leader and slightly lifted his chin.

"Who are you?"

The burly mutant looked up at Mole standing on the tank asking him, then glanced warily at the cannon under Mole.

"I am the clan leader of the Sad Wind Tribe, Wind Whisper."

Wind Whisper?

Mole looked at him curiously, finding the name quite poetic, and couldn't help but smile as he asked,

"Oh? Then what are you doing here."

"They are prisoners!" The leading lieutenant glared maliciously at the group of mutants, opening his mouth before the big guy, "They claimed to surrender, but right after we agreed, they refused to lay down their weapons."

"Prisoners? I'm no prisoner."

Wind Whisper chuckled mockingly and continued.

"We are General Rubis's mercenaries; now they've lost, our contract with them has ended. By the way, your war isn't over, right? Let's talk business."

"Business?" Mole raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a smile, "What do we have to talk about?"

Not realizing the grave danger he was in, the gray-skinned mutant thought the other party was asking about price and continued huffing.

"We can help the Weilante people fight, or we can help you fight. We don't want anything else, just give us a third of the prisoners you capture! If you can give us some Weilante women, even better; they can breed the most and aren't easy to break!"

The Weilante soldiers standing nearby glared at these beasts with murderous eyes, grinding their teeth.

Mole glanced twice at this beast, smiling as he asked.

"Sounds reasonable. Where is your tribe?"

Wind Whisper perked up upon hearing this and, without thinking, immediately replied with his unclear voice.

"Just a bit northeast, about 20 kilometers from here in an abandoned city area!"

Mole nodded, ignoring the guy's presence, and looked at Old Na on the side.

"Let's sweep that place up a bit later."

Elena smiled and said.

"Give it to the Jungle Corps; they're the professionals."

Wind Whisper froze for two seconds upon hearing that, his expression shifting from stunned to seething with rage.

By this moment, even if it might seem foolish, he finally realized these humans were up to something.

"You! You're an enemy of the Sad Wind Tribe! I'll tear you apart!"

Seeing the furious mutant lift his rifle barrel towards him, Mole sneered and slipped back into the turret, kicking the driver's seat.

"What is there to talk about with these things? Run them over for me!"

...

Bartoya Province, Yavente City.

The atmosphere of despair shrouded the entire settlement, making the already cold clouds and steel seem even more chilling.

The plague arrived before the war, and drugs, cigarettes, and canned goods became the most sought-after commodities, while the glory and dignity of the Vellante people seemed worthless at this moment.

An aura of sternness permeated the streets, making the few passers-by hurry even more.

Most of the shops have closed down.

It's not entirely due to the martial law; it's largely because there's simply nothing to sell on the shelves.

Two months have passed since the implementation of the "Decisive Mission" plan, and the situation of the Southern Legion hasn't improved at all, but has instead sunk into a deeper quagmire.

Factories and farms have lost their labor, and production lines have simultaneously lost raw materials and orders.

Most critically, the entire supply chain of society within the Southern Legion has been thoroughly damaged.

It's like riding a roller coaster.

Entering one cycle after another is not as simple as turning the car around.

Besides, even if there were time to turn around now... it would be too late.

Heavily armed soldiers marched down the streets in neat steps, but their shiny boots and bayonets couldn't bring any sense of security to those who remained.

Residents left in town shut their windows tightly and dared not let the curtains show even a slit.

People in every street and alley have fallen into confusion; they can't decide whether the ones wielding guns are their family or enemy, nor can they be sure that obtaining a permit to stay in the city was a good idea in the first place.

Then again, if not staying in the city, where else could they go?

At least there is still food in the city, whereas heading to the countryside might just turn them into someone else's meal.

As for crossing the Whirlpool Sea to the Vellante Province, that's equally challenging.

If they had set out early, there would still be a vehicle going there; now they truly have to rely on their legs to walk over.

Indeed.

The promise of "sending everyone to Triumph City to attend Marshal Julius's funeral" has once again been abandoned.

But no one is surprised.

After all, it's not the first time.

It's not only the residents of this city who are confused, but also the people who, like toy soldiers wound up, march with steps full of hesitation in their eyes.

What exactly is Teil doing?

What are the high-level members of the Southern Legion thinking?

Why was General Giulion's troops still advancing yesterday, but suddenly changed today?

Why have their enemies not collapsed yet, but instead they appear prematurely aged...?

At this moment, they no longer fantasize about the land under sunlight, but just wish time could reverse, back to long, long ago when none of this had happened.

Compared to the scorching Mantou Harbor, this place is indeed another extreme...

It's not just the people living in Yavente City who are anxious, but also those Ten Thousand Leaders riding the same chariot with Teil.

Although their cigarettes, canned meat, and liquor supply remained unaffected, and there was even some extra they could spare for girls who needed help, the battle situation rapidly deteriorated, and the pressure they bore was in no way less than the girls who needed help.

Total war and local wars are different; there's no such thing as surrendering half-way, apologizing, and paying compensation to end it.

The enemies weren't coming for money; they might not even want to negotiate and instead, aimed for their death!

Yavente City's temporary highest command.

In a conference room less than 20 square meters, the atmosphere was oppressive and heavy.

Until yesterday, they were still holding meetings in places with windows; today, they've moved into this windowless bunker.

The reason was an aircraft that roared over Yavente City.

Although no bombs were dropped from the plane, only leaflets stating "With a voucher, you can receive a boxed lunch and a bed" scattered, it still strained a lot of sensitive nerves.

The flames of war finally scorched close to their eyebrows, even the highest-ranking officers began to panic.

The only person still calm might be Teil himself.

The Minister of the Southern Legion's General Affairs Department swallowed, turned the notes in his hand, and broke the silent, oppressive atmosphere at the conference table with a trembling voice.

"I must say something... our production lines have stalled nearly completely, weapon stock can last only half a year at most. If production personnel isn't increased soon, we will be crushed by logistic pressure."

Words from the heart are always piercing.

He buried his head low as he spoke, dared not meet anyone's gaze, and prepared himself inwardly for the scolding he expected to receive.

In unexpected turn of events, instead of the colleague's scolding, what awaited him was a weary sigh.

It was from the Minister of the Department of Homeland Defense, a bureaucrat who recently became significant.

"Let's put production matters aside for now... Just yesterday, our Lavanka Industrial Zone fell."

Chapter 944: Desolation

If Yavente City is the heart of the Southern Legion's core territory of 910,000 square kilometers, then the Lavanka Industrial Zone is certainly the heart of its 2.7 million square kilometers of colonial land.

Although the manufacturing industry here is not as dense as in the former, it benefits from abundant raw materials and labor. Except for high-end production capacity, its low-end production capabilities are just as much in the running.

Especially with two crisscrossing rail lines connecting most of the mines and factories within the 2.7 million square kilometers.

Once this feng shui treasure is secured, the Alliance troops can take a tour along the railway lines and gather production as well as strategic facilities along the way.

This is undoubtedly a fatal blow to the Southern Legion!

As of now, Teil clearly doesn't plan to sit and wait for doom.

Multiple numbered tens of thousands troops are advancing in the direction of the Lavanka Industrial Zone, carrying clones by the thousands.

The corporation's 100th Division and the recently arrived 101st Division have gone to intercept, while the Goblin Corps deployed to the Lavanka Industrial Zone and the Ideal City Air Force will ensure airspace security and provide aerial fire support for ground forces.

Conversely, tasks of assembling the "scrap metal" of the army and accommodating survivors affected by the war have been handed to the Skeleton Corps and multiple Alliance forces.

Though the arrogant council despises the army's "junk", the Alliance is quite interested in those things.

The steel produced by these things may not be used in the skyscrapers of Ideal City, nor do the products stimulate its economic growth, but an industrial base that can integrate resources across 2.7 million square kilometers is crucial for the reconstruction work on the Wasteland.

Recognizing the value behind this industrial area, Chu Guang specially issued tasks through the official task system to several lead players on the frontline, instructing them to ensure the rescue of local survivors and minimize losses to production facilities.

Besides, through collective control enterprises such as the Bull Horse Group, he conducted bids with one of Ideal City's five major groups, Ideal Group and its subsidiaries, to study the "production capacity transition" plan for the Lavanka Industrial Zone.

Although the war is not over yet, for the Alliance and its allies, the suspense about victory is no longer significant.

They can already spare resources to do something more meaningful than the war itself.

For example, upgrading some outdated production capacities and converting most of the military production capacities to civilian and infrastructure fields.

After all, the Alliance doesn't need Conqueror "No. 10", so it's better to dismantle the armored steel on its tracks and convert it into tractors and excavators.

Lavanka Industrial Zone cargo airport.

Fang Chang and Old White, wearing power armor, walked down from the newly landed transport plane, just in time to run into Edge who had arrived not long ago.

"Yo, Edge old friend, long time no see!"

"Fang Chang? Old White? Haha, you guys came too!"

Seeing Fang Chang and Old White, Edge Shoveling brightened up, greeted them with a smile, and then cursed playfully.

"Damn, before coming here, I heard there was big activity, rushed over urgently, but once arrived, everything's already over!"

Old White laughed and said.

"Hahaha! Unlike you, I never expected that guy to leave us any tail."

Edge Shoveling glanced toward the airport's exterior.

"Speaking of, where's Mole? Why hasn't he come to greet us?"

Fang Chang smiled lightly and said.

"I just saw his post on the forum, said something's up over at the industrial zone."

Upon hearing there's a situation, Edge Shoveling immediately showed an eager expression on his face.

"What situation?"

Seeing him eager to get into action, Fang Chang said with a smile.

"If you expect to do something big, you might wanna hold off; it's not the kind of situation you're thinking of."

After a pause, he continued.

"Something went askew over at the factory, alien workers heard that the Weilante people suffered a defeat and have trapped the factory's owner, engineers, managers, and their whole families inside. Fortunately, Mole arrived in time, deployed over ten armored vehicles to hold the scene under control, now both sides are still at a standoff."

Some people may certainly be full of resentment, but we cannot rule out there's some taking advantage of the situation.

Even if it's Weilante people who asked for trouble, they can't just leave it be.

After all, there are Weilante people in the Alliance army.

Moreover, if they handle conflicts emotionally rather than legally, it'll eventually lead to one group massacring another.

Mole doesn't have experience in this line of work; chatting on forums is fine, but face-to-face he's baffled.

But he knows his limits.

After taking control of the situation, he made no further moves but waited for someone experienced to arrive.

As for the experienced person, it's undoubtedly himself.

It's not that Fang Chang is being self-centered; there's truly no one better at handling such matters in the server than him.

After all, the example at Jin Galun Harbor stands clearly right there.

From landing at the port to dismantling the original interest network, then nurturing emerging classes, separating judicial, legislative, and executive powers, establishing a more equal distribution system, selecting industry representatives to form a representative council, appointing technical officials to build a municipal government system, etc.—these series of measures are practically textbook-level reforms.

Others don't even need him to brag, Jin Galun harbor residents recognized him as their godfather.

Even the Workers' Association struggles with advancing work in the region, largely because his Baiyue Corporation did too outstanding a job, with such dazzling brilliance that Jin Galun harbor people busy making money have no interest in studying the Giant Stone City model.

Otherwise, Eugene and other workers wouldn't have been squeezed into expanding members in West Sail Harbor and even Snake State.

Although Fang Chang admits that the success of Jinjarun Harbor has an element of luck, and luck is something that can't be replicated, the approach to solving problems can be referred to.

For example, first wield the big stick of violent machinery to deter speculators looking to take advantage, then offer the carrot of economic growth, and establish a more equitable distribution mechanism to allow both the aliens and the Weilante people to get a taste of this carrot.

Especially the latter is the most crucial.

The vast majority of failed cases, whether the trigger is religion, tradition, hatred, or the most primitive male-female relationships, are ultimately caused by unequal distribution, creating a strong need for society to "reshuffle" where people would rather a lose-lose outcome than have all the chips eaten up by a small group.

As for the carrot itself, its size doesn't matter, as long as it exists, the only difference is the speed.

And turning a carrot out is not a difficult task for the Alliance.

The ten settlements on the Death Coast, the space elevator project in the southern sea area, and the ports along the Baiyue Strait coast... all these are visible demands.

Just the visions drawn by their respectful Manager are enough to keep the orders for the heavy industry factories here lined up till next year, let alone the future.

As long as there are enough orders, the Lavanka Industrial Zone can continually exchange money with Desert's minerals and stored capacity.

And the light industrial production line, already matured at Jinjarun Harbor and among the Alliance's buddies, can let locals spend their earnings, thereby raising each other's living standards and compelling local factories to actively complete production capacity transformation in the allure of benefits, proactively adapting to the shape of the Alliance's supply chain.

The prosperity of the economy can cover part of the social contradictions and provide a time window for moderate improvements and the resolution of historical grievances.

The legacy left by the Southern Legion is sufficient for locals to rebuild their homes according to their own wishes.

And the Weilante people living in the area will also have enough time to build new trust relationships with the locals.

Having a resolution idea in mind,

"Alright, let's not waste time here, let's go help the Mole out first."

Seeing Fang Chang's confident demeanor, Old White teased with a smile.

"Looks like you've already thought of what to do."

"Absolutely," Fang Chang smiled lightly, confidently saying, "You don't even see who I am."

Edge Shoveling couldn't help but sneer.

"Damn, this guy's swaggering so much he's forgetting who he is."

...

After exchanging pleasantries, the group did not linger in the square and headed towards the Industrial Zone.

A large crowd was indeed gathered there, the passionate people holding shovels and spades, looking like they were itching to tear down the factory.

If it weren't for the Alliance armored vehicles parked here, they likely would have already acted.

Their hatred is understandable, after all, these iron clumps have not brought any benefits to their lives but rather infinite harm.

Before the Legion set foot on this land, their lives were poor but at least leisurely.

However, after the Southern Legion came here, they first controlled their water sources, then forcibly seized their pastures and farmland, forcing them to work only in the factories, then use the meager wages to buy nutrient paste filled with a stainless steel taste from the Legion.

Real nutritious things never need to emphasize their nutrition, and nutrient paste is something even worse than junk food, anyone who has eaten it in the Wasteland knows.

Of course, they dared not complain when General Rubis was still around, but now that guy has been taken down by the Alliance, they wished every big-nosed guy could be Xed then killed.

But understanding is one thing, it's impossible to let them continue with this disorderly behavior.

Wearing power armor, Fang Chang walked to the front of the crowd, throwing a "leave it to me" look at Mole who could finally breathe, then opened the loudspeaker and shouted to the dark crowd.

"Everyone! Please calm down—"

Fang Chang was contemplating what to say as an opening when suddenly a dark-skinned old man stepped forward.

The old man was small in stature, wrinkles etched across his face, seemingly having endured many hardships.

His eyes were bloodshot, making the whites incredibly white, resembling the beasts he's seen on the battlefield.

"Why are you protecting the Weilante people! Are you in league with them!"

Looking at him, Fang Chang retorted without backing down.

"We are not favoring anyone; instead, we aim to liberate all the suffering survivors on the Wasteland... I would like to counter-question you: before we came here, what were you doing? When you needed to resist the most, why didn't you resist?"

The old man was stunned, and so were the few young people around him, apparently not realizing that this guy in front of them had actually turned his sharpness on themselves.

Without showing any politeness to them, Fang Chang continued.

"The Weilante people have machine guns, artillery, airplanes... but that's no excuse, we've faced things you've seen, we've seen more fear than you endured. Yet, when we united, what did you do? Rushing into the Southern Legion's factories to snatch work? Even if you didn't dare fight with them, could you not organize to refuse its cooperation or slack off?"

"I'm not speaking lightly, nor standing and talking without bending; the fact is you did nothing, then turned around and questioned us why we don't indulge your revenge, this is what you've shown us."

The scene was chaotic, a noisy uproar topped the sky.

Though he tried to express the Alliance's dissatisfaction as gently and even kindly as possible, many still couldn't bear the rebuke and grew angrier.

Honestly, Fang Chang was a little surprised.

He initially thought Poluo Province was the floor of the wasteland, but didn't expect there to be a basement beneath the floor.

These people didn't understand what he was saying at all, just howling like beasts.

Fang Chang's heart sank slightly.

This is somewhat different from what he expected.

Looks like he needs to change his strategy...

Just as Fang Chang was lowering his expectations, the soldiers standing next to the armored vehicle were all tense, with their index fingers already on the safety.

As for the Weilante civilians hiding in the factory, despair was already etched on their faces.

At this moment, a strong young man stood out from the crowd, glaring angrily at Fang Chang.

"We didn't do anything? How could we not have done anything! The Weilante people killed our folks, we just want them to pay with their lives, why are you stopping us!"

Fang Chang stared at the wheat-colored face.

"What's your name?"

The young man raised his head proudly and said.

"Bokasa!"

"Who killed your children, what's his name." Fang Chang continued to ask.

Bokasa's expression paused slightly, waving his arms and saying evasively.

"Everyone, more or less!"

Sitting in the tank turret, Mole was somewhat impatient and asked.

"How do you want to resolve this?"

Bokasa replied unceremoniously.

"It's simple! Have their mothers, wives, daughters compensate us, for every person we lost, let them give birth to the same number."

Hearing this, Fang Chang almost choked on his own saliva, stunned.

He seldom felt defeated, but this time he might have taken enough for a whole year.

However, the people gathered here were different; they didn't feel even a bit ashamed by the young man's words, instead, they shouted excitedly, loudly cheering "Well done."

"Don't let the men off either!"

"They must watch from the side! Haha!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!"

People whistled at him, raised their hands above their heads to applaud, as if he voiced their thoughts, turning him into the king of all the tribes at that moment.

Bokasa's face showed a proud expression, then he provocatively looked at Fang Chang.

That expression seemed to say——

You see, we're united too.

Edge Shoveling gave Old White a subtle look, lowered his voice, and said.

"These guys are just like mutants…"

The Great Desert is at least the center of the Prosperity Epoch.

Even if people living here had completely forgotten the past, they shouldn't have regressed to such a degree…

Old White wasn't surprised at all, just squinted slightly.

"Maybe they've been around mutants for too long."

Come to think of it.

They discovered several versions ago that gray mutants learned many things from humans, and learning is always mutual.

As gray mutants were learning from the tribesmen in the Great Desert, these tribesmen were also learning from the powerful mutant tribes, including the latter's cruelty and savagery.

These traits diluted their civilized qualities.

It's even likely that the little civilization they had in their veins was learned from the Weilante people.

At least in that respect, the Southern Legion's colonization might not be all bad for them, which doesn't contradict the inherent evil of colonization itself.

At least the aliens in Evernight Harbor Blackwater Alley seemed closer to civilized people.

Old White couldn't think of a better way to deal with them.

If these guys were to smuggle themselves into the Alliance, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for the Alliance.

And it would be an intrinsic disaster…

Old White felt relieved, thankfully the labor protectors of Poluo Country had humiliated the radical faction of the Alliance, allowing the conservative faction to rise, raising the threshold for ID applications and establishing an immigration bureau.

Now it seems the threshold needs to be raised even higher!

Obviously, thinking the same as Old White, Edge Shoveling shook his head.

"Hard to settle… Elder Brother Fang Chang is still trying to persuade them, but I think they don't want to listen at all."

Old White grinned.

"Although it's a bit unkind to say, but it's actually pretty entertaining to watch him get humbled once in a while."

Maybe they've had too smooth a run in Poluo Province before, and they've been given a challenge by the dog plan.

But he thinks maybe taking a hit once in a while isn't bad, his good buddy indeed has gotten a bit too inflated.

At this moment, Fang Chang is still arguing like a chicken talking to a duck with the young man named Bokasa, and the discussion has already shifted from "the nature of struggle" to the matter of unity itself.

However, caught up in his own stubbornness, he didn't realize that the moment he was dragged into the mud and began to roll around, he had already lost.

"Unity? You're saying we're not united enough?" Bosaka glared at him, then turned to look at the people supporting him from behind, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Tell them, are we united or not?"

"United!!" A group of people raised their hands and shouted, chanting a slogan that was not neat but was unanimous.

Fang Chang sneered.

"Unity? Don't think that just gathering together means unity. Do you have a unified program? Do you know what you're doing and what you want to do? And what kind of life you hope for in the future, and how the people around you think... If you really knew, you wouldn't be noisily standing here babbling for candy, but instead, you'd select someone from among you to represent you and talk to us."

Bosaka glared with his large, bell-like eyes and spoke rudely.

"Candy? Who the hell wants candy! We want the Vellante people! Their money! Their houses! Their women! That's what every one of us thinks, if you don't believe me, ask them, I am their representative!"

As soon as his words fell, the supporters' shouts rose again.

"That's right!"

"He's right!"

"He is us!"

Fang Chang's brow furrowed deeply, pressing his forefinger against his brow, and adjusted his expectations for these people downwards again.

Not right—

He suddenly realized.

This guy might be right, the one who got the situation wrong might actually be him. He tried to open the cage's door but forgot to see whether it held animals or people inside.

Just as he was about to say something, the crowd across from him suddenly parted to form a path.

A burly man, stomping heavily, came out from among the crowd.

His body was made up of two parts, half of rippling muscles, and half of chilling steel. And right now, the jagged edges of the steel were horrifyingly dripping with bits of flesh and blood.

His fierce appearance was like a demon descending from the heavens!

The blood smeared on him was clearly from the enemies.

And from the several heads he carried in his hand, it was evidently the blood of the mutant strongmen!

He strode briskly to where Mole sat by the tank, Midnight Chicken Killing tossed the distorted heads with protruding canines onto the ground, and laughing heartily, he said.

"It's done!"

The open space in front of the factory fell silent, the air felt like it was frozen.

The originally enthusiastic people went silent unanimously, the noisy scene quietened in an instant.

Fang Chang never imagined, his voice hoarse from shouting would solve nothing, yet Brother Chicken resolved everything with just three words.

And more exasperatingly, what this guy said wasn't even United Human language!

It was standard Mandarin that the NPCs wouldn't understand!

After all, he was reporting the battle status, there really was no need to make the NPCs understand, Midnight Chicken Killing casually flicked off the blood splattered on the chainsaw, continuing nonchalantly, he said.

"...That Sad Wind Tribe actually had quite a number of people, more than two thousand big guys! But these guys were no good, couldn't compare to the green-skins on Ten Peaks Mountain, shooting guns wasn't accurate and faced with brute force they would chicken out, haven't even lost half their men before thinking of surrendering, I disagreed and they ran... Tsk, chasing after these guys took quite a bit of effort."

Saying this, he chuckled honestly.

"Oh yes, the living people in the nest were all rescued, must be five or six hundred of them, none looked mentally stable, so I didn't have them report the numbers. According to what those mutants said themselves, some were sold by the Southern Legion to them, some were sold by nearby tribes and slave traders... In summary, better to settle them properly first, best to arrange for a few doctors as well."

Speaking with a good conscience, he felt his smile was still rather sunny.

However, others clearly did not think so.

Looking at this blood-soaked, grimly smiling demon, the survivors around him were stunned with fear, especially since this demon was speaking a language they couldn't understand at all.

Including that young fellow called Bosaka.

A second ago he was still furiously shouting, but now he was suddenly like a deflated balloon, his wheat-colored face turning as pale as if rubbed with powder, stammering and unable to utter a single word.

Seeing the chainsaw coated with blood and the scattered heads of strongmen on the ground, he involuntarily stepped back.

The wavering pupils filled with fear, yet beneath that fear there was a hint of worship... or envy.

That was reverence for strength!

At the same time, it was also the earliest and most primitive worship in the animal kingdom!

Not just him, but the surrounding survivors causing commotion were the same.

At this moment, they had already chosen the new king from the tribes!

Sitting on the gun tower, Mole held his head in pain, unsure whether to be happy or resigned.

Midnight Chicken Killing scratched his head, turning to look at Fang Chang with a complicated expression, somewhat awkwardly he said.

"Did I come at the wrong time?"

Fang Chang shook his head.

"No, you came at the right time... from now on, leave the talking to you when things arise."

Midnight Chicken Killing: "…?"

Chapter 945: The Weilante People's Spectacle

Due to Brother Killing Chicken's shocking appearance, the Indigenous People surrounding the industrial area quietly left, finally ending the farce of surrounding the industrial area.

There were a total of 471 civilians trapped in the factory warehouse.

Besides the personnel related to the factory, there were also some residents from nearby communities who ran inside when things went wrong.

After all, normally speaking, alliance troops would inevitably occupy the industrial area first to prevent the production equipment from being damaged.

No one knows better than them what the natives are like.

Falling into the hands of the alliance is better than falling into the hands of those natives.

"Thank you... thank you for saving us."

Holding tightly to the hands of his wife and daughter, the pale-faced man walked out of the warehouse.

His name was Antoine, the district chief of the industrial area, directly under the Corps General Affairs Department, with the rank of Ten Thousand Leader, equal to the lord of the nearby settlement.

It is worth mentioning that Lavanka Industrial Zone is a special zone belonging to the Southern Legion, with quite a large industrial park owned by Yavente Central, while the local land is only the colony along the Lavanka River.

The Southern Legion's operation locally is a textbook level combo—first firmly grasp the water source and farmland, then those natives will automatically roll to the factory.

Fang Chang glanced at him, seeing his flat nose, and couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

"You are not a Weilante person?"

Antoine bowed slightly and nodded, speaking nervously.

"I am an Indigenous person from Bartoya Province, according to your classification habit, my ancestry is in Yavente City..."

This person seems to be well-informed.

Looks like he should be someone who can understand human language.

Fang Chang pondered for a moment and spoke.

"How much do you know about the aliens here?"

Antoine immediately said.

"I have dealt with them for more than ten years, I dare not say I know them inside out, but basically I still understand them."

Fang Chang nodded and continued.

"Then aside from survivors from Bartoya Province, exactly how many tribes are the aliens you mentioned, and which tribe is the main one?"

Antoine's expression paused slightly, looking a bit embarrassed, he hesitated for a while before responding unsurely.

"Uh... at least 2000, no one has really counted them carefully."

Upon hearing this number, Fang Chang was also stunned.

"Two thousand?! What the heck, you must be kidding."

Antoine quickly said.

"Absolutely not! I can swear to Marshal Julius, the actual situation is more than this number I said!"

Fang Chang: "..."

You damn indigenous person from Yavente City, swearing to Julius for nothing!

Standing behind Fang Chang, Old Na and Gnome King Riches exchanged a glance, clicking their tongues in surprise.

"Wow... twice as many as Poluo Province."

"With a smaller population over there... Emmm, headache."

In fact, Antoine really wasn't exaggerating.

Even the 2000 tribes he mentioned were just conservative estimates, and the real situation was far more exaggerated than he said.

The southern legion's labor force, besides the natives originally living along the Lavanka River, also came from the slave traders coming from the south and the north.

And the composition of those slave traders is much more complicated.

Some occupied territories, raided shelters, some were deserters from Poluo Province, others were privately hired soldiers by nobles of Falling Leaves Province, even branches of the Chewing Bone Tribe who migrated there, and frequent small vendors dealing with mutants.

Their footprints were all over the Great Desert, and the "species diversity" over the Great Desert was incredibly rich.

After all, with its bouncing ecological environment, even just two survivor communities separated by one street could completely evolve into two entirely different tribes over 200 years of turmoil.

And precisely because of this complex ethnic situation, Lavanka Industrial Zone has not allowed aliens to live at their doorstep like Evernight Harbor, but adopted a more thorough racial segregation strategy than Evernight Harbor.

That is, colonists mainly composed of Weilante and Bartoya Province immigrants live in beautiful environments with abundant water sources, while the laborers they bought from slave owners live in the factory area of Lavanka Industrial Zone.

After listening to Antoine's story, Fang Chang pressed his brow slightly irritably.

If the local situation is really as complex as this guy said, the alliance's method may indeed be ineffective here.

However, despite the difficulties, the work that needs doing still has to be done.

After sorting out his thoughts, he spoke.

"I understand the basic situation... now the urgent task is to restore order in this area."

Antoine immediately said.

"Please instruct!"

Facing the attentive district chief of the Lavanka Industrial Zone, Fang Chang revealed the Manager's arrangement and improved some details according to his judgment of the local situation.

"...We intend to establish the Lavanka Industrial Zone Autonomous Committee, you are the industrial area's chief executive, you will temporarily serve as the chairman of this committee, we will pay your salary with silver coins, referring to your original salary."

Antoine smiled bitterly and said.

"I don't dare... Just let me know if you have any orders."

"Take what you deserve, no need to be polite with me. Just remember to do your job well and don't take what you shouldn't."

Fang Chang knew very well that the free stuff is the most expensive. Instead of letting these guys take it themselves, it's better to give it proactively.

He paused and continued.

"Additionally, this money doesn't come from us, it's from the Lavanka Industrial Zone Development Fund."

Antoine was stunned for a moment.

"What is the Lavanka Industrial Zone Development Fund?"

He had been the top manager here for so long, but this was the first time he'd heard the term.

Seeing Antoine's confused face, Fang Chang explained concisely.

"You can think of it as the local budget department. Public expenditures, salary payments, and future pensions all temporarily come from here. Moreover, this department is also responsible for disposing of the Lavanka Industrial Zone's inventory assets and funding capacity transformation projects."

After pausing, Fang Chang continued.

"There should be a lot of industrial waste in your warehouse and production line, right? Quickly produce and sell what can make money. Even selling as scrap iron is better for those that can't."

Upon hearing this, Antoine's breath suddenly quickened.

Asset disposal!

The Lavanka Industrial Zone accounts for one-third of the Southern Legion's gross production value!

This is no longer just a huge amount of money; it's practically a gold mine!

Blinded by profit, he was about to take this job into his hands but met Fang Chang's half-smiling eyes.

Instantly, holding his wife and daughter's hand, Antoine felt a splash of cold water over his head, calming his previously restless heart.

He could see the room for rent-seeking in this, and it was evident that the person in front of him could see it too.

Seeing Antoine tightly shut his mouth and suppress his improper thoughts, Fang Chang nodded with satisfaction and continued.

"I'll find someone else to manage the foundation affairs; you just cooperate with their work. The engine's price is the price it should be. We will also send professionals to help keep an eye on things. Don't mistakenly sell treasures as garbage."

"Yes! I will definitely comply!" Antoine eagerly nodded, hearing that the Alliance would send professionals, he dared not entertain any improper thoughts.

It's always pleasant to talk with civilized people.

After giving the orders, Fang Chang didn't make things difficult for Antoine, letting him and his wife and daughter go home to rest, and promised to arrange two Weilante soldiers for his safety.

When the Lavanka Industrial Zone Autonomous Committee completes the transition from the old regime to the new, clarifying all regulations and organizational structures, he will naturally arrange for the former to establish a separate financial department and restructure a fully functional government agency.

As for this time of power vacuum before the transition, he plans to separately manage the power, pen, and purse from the autonomous committee to prevent them from causing chaos.

Besides the Development Foundation, he also plans to establish three departments: the Legislative Committee, Education Committee, and Security Committee, quickly forming a law enforcement department centered around the guard unit, as well as full-time schools and night schools for children and adults respectively.

This is the experience of Dawn City and also an old tradition of the Alliance.

As for the representative assembly, it can be postponed.

After all, he had just witnessed the behavior of the natives a few minutes ago. Even if they elect a representative, it's likely to be someone like Bosaka, who is difficult to deal with.

The Weilante people can indeed be considered civilized people, but it would be impossible to have a round table filled with only big noses without anyone providing a balancing effect.

What's the point of having a meeting then?

Even if these big noses suddenly have a change of heart and reform themselves, not using their intelligence to turn the natives dressed as civilized people in circles would still lay the foundation for future disasters.

In the warehouse, Fang Chang briefly comforted the Weilante civilians affected by the war, telling them that the Alliance was there to liberate them and would not take away their legal property, before arranging soldiers to send them back home.

Anyway, these big noses usually don't live with the natives, so letting them live in their own community is more convenient for management.

After doing these things, Fang Chang returned to Brother Mole and Old White's group to share his thoughts with them.

"... the local situation is far more complex than we imagined. I plan to transfer some people from Pioneer City. The survivors over there are more familiar with the Great Desert and have experience dealing with the locals."

Seeing someone finally taking over the job, Brother Mole quickly said.

"I'm listening to you!"

Before coming here, he had prepared to make a big impact, but now he had completely given up on this idea.

He would stick to doing combat work.

That was something he was more proficient at.

Meeting Fang Chang's gaze, Old White grinned and said.

"I'm the same, I trust you can handle it."

Seeing these two guys wash their hands of the matter entirely, Fang Chang said with a helpless smile.

"I wanted to ask for your opinions, but what's the point of you just expressing support."

"Hahaha! By expressing support, I also mean... I have no idea how to handle it," Old White jokingly said, "parachuting is more my thing."

Brother Mole nodded with deep agreement and sighed speechlessly.

"Damn... shelling is simpler. I'm never going to bicker with this guy again."

Fang Chang looked at this guy helplessly.

He didn't dislike Brother Mole for opposing him on the forum. After all, he had his limitations and couldn't consider everything thoroughly.

Brother Mole might be lacking in practical experience, but he still had skills.

At that moment, Brother Killing Chicken suddenly had a thought, raised his arm welded with a chainsaw, and said in a buzzing voice.

"Oh, right, I need to find some doctors for the people I brought back."

Fang Chang immediately looked at him and said.

"Aren't there military doctors?"

Brother Killing Chicken shook his head and said.

"No, they have no experience in childbirth... Besides, you all know the level of the quack doctors in our player army."

Childbirth...

The expressions on the faces of several army leaders were somewhat subtle.

It's not that they are unwilling to spend money on logistics, mainly that most players play this game with the attitude of "no need to treat serious illnesses or minor injuries," so there is simply no need for skilled doctors.

For example, the Jungle Corps is just like this.

The few military doctors they have weren't even proper doctors but prosthetic doctors who were re-employed after leaving Huge Rock Military Industry.

Old White scratched the back of his head.

"Shouldn't there be some on the corporate side?"

Brother Mole coughed.

"The 100th Division and the 101st Division have both gone north to block the reinforcements of the Southern Legion, calling them back is unrealistic."

Old White continued.

"What about the Expeditionary Army?"

Brother Mole was taken aback for a moment, then slapped his forehead.

"Oh right, they probably do. I'll go ask."

Speaking, he raised his index finger, pressed it against his ear, and communicated a few sentences in the United Human language on the communication channel.

Fang Chang was waiting for his news, and at this time, a young Weilante woman suddenly walked over from the side.

She was very tall, about 1.8 meters, with light golden long hair, wearing a beige shirt and blue canvas pants.

Her face was filled with panic, but she still raised her hand shakily and mustered the courage to speak.

"Um... Excuse me, are you looking for doctors?"

Upon hearing that voice, Fang Chang's eyes lit up, and he looked at her and asked.

"Are you a doctor? What's your name?"

"Jasmine..."

The girl swallowed nervously and spoke quickly, "My colleagues and I can treat them... but you must ensure our safety."

"No problem."

Fang Chang snapped his fingers and looked at Brother Chicken.

"You take her over."

Brother Killing Chicken knocked on his steel breastplate with his fist, looked at the pale-faced girl, and laughed heartily.

"Come with me, I'll ensure your safety!"

Hearing that her bodyguard was this guy, the girl named Jasmine almost cried, looking like she had encountered a chainsaw killer... Though she wasn't entirely wrong to think that way.

However, just as she thought, those indigenous people who looked at her with the eyes of seeing goods also thought the same way.

In this respect, Fang Chang's arrangement wasn't wrong.

During this chaotic period, only Brother Chicken could ensure the safety of these medical personnel who needed to interact frequently with the indigenous people...

...

With the establishment of the Autonomous Committee, the turmoil in the Lavanka Industrial Zone finally settled down.

Of course, everyone knew in their hearts that the reason for the quick end of this turmoil was not because of any autonomous committee, but entirely thanks to Brother Killing Chicken's exaggerated attire.

This was the basement under the floor, where the local survivors were still close to a primitive animal-like state.

These guys practically demonstrated to Edge Shoveling and the alliance's sociologists what the Poluo Province might look like without Lowell.

At least for now, the majority of Poluo Province, under the influence of the Alliance, has successfully transitioned from the late feudal period to the initial stage of "military governance."

And in areas like Jinjaron Harbor, which are ahead, they have transitioned from "military governance" to "tutelage," and are just a step away from the final "constitutional governance."

Maybe after the war ends, the survivors there can completely remove the thousand heavy burdens on them.

However, the survivors of the Lavanka Industrial Zone and the entire Great Desert still remain at a stage not much better than Primitive Man.

It turns out that having no General Lowell is not better than having General Lowell.

It's like having a kidney problem; just removing the kidney doesn't solve anything.

Typically, you also need to replace it with a new one and eliminate the bad habits from previous life.

If Poluo or the Mammoth Nation were to delve into the sociological issues of the Great Desert, it might accelerate their social progress.

But that's their own business.

The Alliance also has things to do, and cannot put food into their mouths and force them to eat it.

That would only backfire.

On the third day after the industrial zone returned to normal order, the Alliance's team of engineers arrived at the airport of the industrial zone aboard the "Overlord" transport plane.

The team included not only engineers from Giant Stone City but also professors from Camp 101 and technical personnel from Ideal City.

Accompanied by District Chief Antoine, the group toured the industrial zone from end to end, getting a general understanding of the park's most core production lines.

For example, the Conqueror No.10 Tank, the 902mm railway gun, as well as fighter planes, heavy bombers, and the shipyards for submarine heavy artillery boats, etc...

That evening, during dinner.

The Alliance engineers, dining at a hotel run by the Weilante people, held tablets in their hands, flipping through the photos taken during the day and the copied materials, their faces full of genuine amazement.

"It's truly unbelievable..."

Fang Chang, dining with them, heard this and curiously asked.

"Is it impressive here?"

The old engineer smiled and said.

"That depends on who you're comparing it to."

Fang Chang wanted to ask how it compared to Jinjaron Harbor, but quickly realized that place was mainly light factories, with the few heavy factories serving the former, so he changed his question.

"How about compared to Dawn City?"

"No comparison."

The old engineer shook his head, continuing to flip through the photos on the tablet while speaking.

"Dawn City has pre-war reactors, No.101 Shelter, and Camp 101, as well as bionic experts from Shelter 100 and engineers residing in Stone City. One in every three workers is a skilled worker with core technical knowledge, not to mention the current experts from the Academy and enterprises. Combined with the Manager's unrestrained funding in infrastructure construction, it's hard not to achieve something in the Dawn City industrial area."

At this point, the old engineer had a few traces of admiration in his eyes and continued.

"But here, they genuinely have nothing. It's just some complex composite junk mines and uneducated slaves... Any conscientious residents of the refuge would refuse to serve the Army, and corporate and academic assistance is out of the question."

"They solved the quality problem with quantity. For instance, the armor steel used in the Conqueror No.10; they couldn't ensure the furnace temperature stayed constant at the technical specification standards, so they kept the production line running non-stop, producing a thousand pieces of steel, then selecting the one that met the quality standards."

"Of course, this is just an inappropriate example, and the actual operation is definitely not as simple and crude as I put it, but the entire production line's design is not much different from what I described, and you can see this throughout the industrial park. If the precision doesn't meet requirements, they increase production, recycle inferior products, and only those that meet the standards are shipped out... That's what I saw."

This was purely an evaluation from an expert's standpoint, without any political stance involved.

However, Fang Chang was puzzled by his evaluation, unsure whether it was a good or bad thing at the moment.

It sounded like he was praising the Weilante's strength, yet it also sounded like they were only able to create a mess by exerting all their effort.

Sipping a mouthful of red tea from the table, he pondered for a moment before speaking.

"So is this a positive or negative evaluation regarding our capacity transformation work?"

"It's a mix of both," the old engineer considered and replied, "I just marvel at the fact that the Weilante truly created a miracle, although this miracle, like the tombs of ancient monarchs, was built at the cost of slaves' blood and sweat without considering the costs... Oh, if I have the opportunity, I'd love to visit Yavente City, which should be the end of the entire supply chain system of the Southern Legion and the real essence of it."

Fang Chang curiously asked.

"Are the production lines here not complete?"

"Some are complete, but some aren't."

Seeing the server bringing the dishes, the old engineer waved his hand, showing disinterest in explaining further.

"Forget it, don't ask. Without some basic knowledge, I can't explain it to you properly."

Fang Chang made a helpless expression.

He indeed didn't understand these highly professional matters.

For someone in the financial sector, sometimes knowing just a bit can be the best state; knowing too much can be detrimental.

After all, knowing too much might lead to overconfidence and the urge to venture into the real industry, starting a factory. Among those he knows in his field, those who manage to retreat unscathed from such ventures are very few; even fewer don't lose their shirts.

Conversely, industrialists diving into capital operations mostly end up the same way, losing all the profit they earned through skillful operations.

Just as he was about to end the topic, the old engineer suddenly spoke again.

"There is one more thing I can't figure out."

Fang Chang: "What is it?"

The old engineer hesitated and said.

"I checked their production records and inventory lists and found many inconsistencies. Although their production efficiency is low, it shouldn't result in such low output."

Fang Chang slightly frowned.

"What do you mean?"

The old engineer patiently explained.

"It means the theoretical output value is three times the actual output! If this industrial park could realize its potential capacity, you absolutely wouldn't have won that easily, and the Southern Legion could have held out for at least another three years!"

"I need to correct you, we didn't win easily."

Fang Chang lightly coughed, wanting to defend his good brothers a bit.

However, the old engineer didn't pay any attention to him and was soon lost in his world again.

The old man rubbed his chin with his index finger, pondering to himself.

"The machines are fine, the supply chain is not an issue, the management methods have their criticisms... but the impact shouldn't be this significant."

The more he thought, the more puzzled he became, reaching up to grab the few remaining hairs on his head, his face full of perplexity and confusion.

"...It's truly strange."

Chapter 946: Ideals Are Beautiful, Reality Is Harsh

The young man, tanned black by The Sun, returned to his tent in the village next to the industrial zone, angrily sitting down on a stool.

This anger was not only directed at the Vellante people, but also at those Alliance members who prevented them from seeking revenge, and a part of it was even directed at his own disappointing self.

He was the bravest young man in the village, originally supposed to lead the villagers to argue their case, yet his shoulders still couldn't stop trembling.

He loathed his own cowardice, though he didn't even understand how he could stop being so cowardly.

Looking at his grandson, the wrinkled old man sighed and spoke in a slow tone.

"Bosaka, you're too impulsive."

Bosaka turned around and glared at him, pouring out his anger and complaints from his chest.

"I don't understand, what exactly do they want to do? Aren't the Vellante people their enemies? We can take care of their enemies for them, and we don't ask for much!"

The old man shook his head.

"In the desert, the division between friends and enemies is clear-cut, but beyond the desert, there's more than just the concepts of friends and enemies. Your method works in the Great Desert, but it doesn't work outside the Great Desert... In Poluo Province, there's a person named Laxi, someone wrote an autobiography for him, and I bought it from a traveling merchant from Evernight Harbor and put it on your bedside table. You never turned a page. I say, you should learn from him, see how he acted under similar circumstances."

Bosaka's eyes were filled with confusion.

Laxi?

The world beyond the Great Desert?

What does that have to do with his confusion?

He had seen the book on the bedside table, but recognized only a few words, and found learning it too troublesome.

The old man, speaking earnestly, advised the still unenlightened child.

"No matter what, the Alliance is the master here now. If you really don't know what to do, be low-key and follow those you consider strong."

Bosaka said resentfully.

"And work for the Alliance? How is that any different from before they came here?"

"The difference is, before, if you mouthed off to the Vellante people, they'd whip you, tie you to a post and torment you until there was just one breath left, but now no one will do that... although I think you were never afraid of the Vellante people's whips, otherwise, you wouldn't challenge them time and again."

The old man looked at the tent ceiling, tapping his smoking pipe on the sole of his shoe, and sighed heavily.

"Actually, you don't have to hate them so much. Before the Vellante people came here, did you think the Lavanka River was a paradise from a fairy tale? Don't be too naive. The most fertile lands were never in our hands; they were in the hands of the Mutants and Variants."

Looking at the old man in his family, Bosaka mocked him.

"You old thing, speaking for the Vellante people, have you lived long enough."

The old man shook his head.

"I've lived long enough, I just don't want to see the only child I have miss the chance to become a good person and turn back into a beast."

"I don't want to be a good person, those weaklings only get bullied, they can only turn into the poor things picking up scraps behind others... but you're right, I should follow strong people, even if I can't get meat, at least I can have some soup."

Bosaka clenched his fist, casting his gaze outside the tent, muttering through his gritted teeth.

"I wonder when the Alliance will pay the wages."

The old man advised.

"Hope you remember what you said, follow strong people. And, don't skip work anymore, the tobacco at home is running out."

Looking at this old man who's not dead yet, Bosaka replied impatiently.

"Got it, I'll bring some money back, as if I'm so lazy."

…

With the Alliance's engineers, orders, and funds arriving wave after wave, and the 100th and 101st Corps of the Enterprises taking over several mines and power stations from the Southern Legion, the Lavanka Industrial Zone, after restoring its former order, finally showed signs of recovery.

Time moved into December.

Under the coordination of Fang Chang, the Lavanka Autonomy Committee first started from property rights and introduced the first plan for "Capacity Transformation" work—the "December Act."

According to the act, to raise funds for the Lavanka Development Fund, the Lavanka Autonomy Committee will liquidate and sell 172 facilities in the industrial zone.

These facilities mainly consist of outdated capacities that need to be eliminated and more or less have some issues, such as the steel plant producing steel billets, aluminum plant processing aluminum materials, clothing plant producing military uniforms, stamping workshop producing shell casings, and fuel power stations, etc.

According to the Alliance's engineers' research, if the Alliance funded the renovation of these 172 facilities, it would not only waste the taxpayers' money massively but might also be more trouble than it's worth; it is better to let the private sector think about how to turn this waste into treasure.

These factories would be auctioned through the Dawn City Securities Exchange and five major Alliance banks.

The auction will be fully open.

Any qualified individuals and organizations can place bids at the sub-agencies of the entrusted parties.

Sub-agencies of the Dawn City Securities Exchange are set up in Dawn City, Jinjaron Harbor, Silver Moon Bay, the No.1 Settlement, Potato Harbor, the North Island of the South Sea Union, Ring Island, Coral City, and even in distant Ideal City on the East Coast, making it easy to participate in the transaction.

Meanwhile, Baiyue Corporation and Bull Horse Group, involved in the Lavanka Industrial Zone's ownership reform, will not participate in the first round of auctions, only placing bids on unsold items.

This is done firstly for fairness and secondly to prevent the loss of Alliance citizens' wealth.

After all, if Baiyue Corporation entered the field with the wealth of Alliance citizens, the citizens of the Alliance couldn't play the game.

Thus, the 172 facilities were quickly auctioned off, and though these assets carried some problems, they were eagerly snapped up by industry leaders.

Besides players and Alliance citizens, there were also wealthy individuals from Jin Jialun Port and the South Sea Union, as well as the boss of Ideal City.

Some of them are eyeing the post-war reconstruction dividends of Bartoya Province, while others are targeting the space elevator in the southern sea area.

Although Ideal City itself has a large number of factories, considering the exchange rate and local labor costs, the factory buildings in the Lavanka Industrial Zone certainly have their own advantages.

They just need to bring a bit of Ideal City's technology over.

In any case, thanks to these people rushing in with capital and technology, the Alliance didn't spend a single coin yet managed to incorporate the Lavanka Industrial Zone of the Southern Legion into its supply chain.

And in this process, the Lavanka Industrial Zone raised nearly 1.5 billion silver coins of massive funds!

Back when Baiyue Corporation entered Jin Jialun Port, they didn't manage to gather so much money.

With this huge sum, the confidence and boldness of the autonomy committee in reforms have increased, and President Anton even pounded his chest to assure Fang Chang that he will make the Lavanka Industrial Zone the jewel of the Great Desert, the Jin Jialun Port of the entire West Coast of the Central Plains Continent!

This claim is quite ambitious.

This guy has already stepped out of the Great Desert and started benchmarking against Yavente City and Triumph City.

However, Fang Chang didn't think he was boasting, instead, he felt Anton was being conservative.

With the opportunities of post-war reconstruction and the space elevator, Fang Chang couldn't think of any reason not to soar.

In this "production capacity transformation" boom, everyone is gearing up to make a big effort.

Whether it's the Weilante factory owners and managers who have changed ownership, or the new owners from the Alliance.

For example, Lasov from Jin Jialun Port is one of them.

In the early years, he followed Ah Xin in demolition projects to earn his first pot of gold, and later, like most passionate Mouse Tribe members, he entered the physical industry with these earnings, setting up a factory with the aim of industrial salvation, producing natural gas canisters and gas bottles.

Although this industry seems unimpressive, the profits are quite substantial, and there is strong demand.

Although the Alliance's electrification level is high, Poluo Province and Baiyue Province are quite different, with many restaurants in Jin Jialun Port and Potato Harbor relying on gas cylinders for cooking.

As for those lands under the control of military factions, it's even more apparent, with many military factions even buying the gas bottles he produces as military reserves. When the gas in the kitchen runs out, they directly stuff dynamite inside and drag it to the front line as bombs.

In other words, his clients not only include small vendors running restaurants but also military officers leading troops.

Due to high product demand, he has always thought of opening a new factory, and even selected a site near Banana Head Bay beside Jin Jialun Port, just waiting to pay for it.

However, it was then that the news of the Union liberating the Lavanka Industrial Zone and the autonomy committee's public bidding spread throughout the streets through the "Survivor's Daily".

Seeing this windfall, Lasov felt a rush of excitement and immediately set his eyes on a steel factory supplying steel cups to the Conqueror No. 10 tank among the auction targets!

Although the Alliance looked down on this steel factory, even labeling it "backward production capacity", he didn't think it was backward at all. His eyes saw it as if it were a divine artifact.

This thing supplies the tank factory!

With this, wouldn't the production of his gas canister factory soar?!

This surprise was no less than when the Union's "legendary steel tycoon" Mr. Sun, snapped up the "Mighty" Steel Factory from the entrepreneur Fred in Giant Stone City for 2 million silver coins.

And Lasov was not only interested in the profits this steel factory could bring but also in the technology it possessed that Poluo Province lacked!

If he could bring back the technology for producing armored steel to his hometown, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing!

Although Absek wasn't a good person, Poluo Country wasn't Absek's alone, and he still wanted to make his hometown better.

With this thought in mind, he unhesitatingly pulled out nearly a million silver coins in a large sum, snatched this target from his competitors, and after obtaining ownership of the factory, rushed to the banks of the Lavanka River, less than 100 kilometers from the front line, to meet the factory manager who had just been released from the Alliance's POW camp not long ago.

The factory manager was a Weilante, named Glenn Jin, holding the rank of a Thousands of leaders in the Southern Army Corps General Affairs Department Logistics Department, previously working under District Chief Antoine.

Perhaps because he was subdued by the Alliance, this guy didn't put on any Weilante airs in front of him, and after the meeting, began organizing the restart of production.

Upon hearing that "Glenn Jin's factory" had resumed production, a group of local Indigenous young men eagerly flocked to the recruitment point at the factory gate.

Seeing those young and strong guys lined up in a long queue, Lasov's face was full of a bright smile.

He seemed to see the boiling molten steel dancing in the boilers, being cast into steel ingots, then pressed into neat steel plates at high temperatures, and finally sent through assembly lines to cutting and stamping workshops to be made into the shapes customers needed!

And just as he saw in the newspaper, this place will become the largest industrial base on the entire western coast!

Perhaps he should consider buying a few houses nearby…

He made his first pot of gold from real estate, so if conditions allowed, he certainly wouldn't mind making a few more.

Yet just as Lasov was dreaming of sudden wealth, a quarrel in front of the recruitment point interrupted his dream.

Only to see a slightly darker-skinned young man extend his hand towards the recruitment registration point worker, saying confidently.

"I've already registered, when are you planning to pay the wages?"

Having never seen such a curious request, Lasov was dumbfounded.

The employee who came from Jin Jialun Port was also obviously taken aback.

He wasn't someone who cared for the boss's interest, only working for Lasov for the sake of money, but this guy asking for money just as he joined was too much.

Even the crazy folks at the Workers' Association weren't this aggressive.

After holding it in for a long time, he squeezed out a sentence.

"… You just joined, haven't even started working yet, why should we pay wages?"

Upon hearing this, the Indigenous young man immediately flared up, saying angrily.

"What are you talking about? If you don't pay us, how are we supposed to eat? We have to eat, right? Are you expecting us to work with empty stomachs? Are you even human!"

Upon hearing this, the Indigenous People lining up behind also became enraged, shouting noisily.

The employee from Poluo, sitting at the recruitment desk, suddenly found himself at a loss, looking for help towards his boss.

He had encountered those who twisted concepts and entangled in arguments, but it was the first time he met an opponent in his area of expertise.

Seeing the commotion arise, Lasov quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, shouting towards the registered employees.

"Everyone, we know you are in difficulty, and we understand you! In fact, we are just like you, us Poluo people have also been enslaved by the Weilante people... so, for the sake of all being survivors, we will solve your problem! We will establish an employee canteen in the factory where all employees can eat for free!"

Upon hearing this, the Poluo employee was stunned.

Since when did this guy become so generous?!

At least his boss did not have such a thing like an employee canteen in the factory at Jin Jiarun Port.

However, he was unaware of Lasov's calculated choice.

The local labor cost was much lower than Jin Jiarun Port, and the food was cheaper, so even inviting all employees for meals wouldn't cost much.

Yet, the young man was still unwilling to buy it, aggressively shouting.

"Employee canteen? I have elderly at home, and three younger brothers and two younger sisters. Can they eat at the canteen too?"

Looking at the young man full of righteous indignation, Lasov's brow twitched, but to win hearts, he finally gritted his teeth.

"Alright! Bring them here, I'll feed them for a month! But only for one month! Once you receive your wages, this benefit ends, only applicable to you!"

The suddenly overwhelmed young man seemed surprised by the agreement, stared blankly at him, then walked away without saying a word.

Lasov sighed in relief, feeling proud of his wit until little time passed and the young man brought dozens of people over.

Among these dozens, the oldest was a man in his fifties or sixties, with unsteady legs and leaning on a cane, while the youngest was still in his mother's arms, babbling without even learning to speak.

This guy must have brought not only his relatives from far and wide but also the neighbors' extended family.

Before Lasov could speak, the young man took the initiative to introduce, babbling on, linking all brought along as relatives.

And it wasn't just this young man; several other Indigenous People registered to start work were seemingly agreed and called in a large group.

The crowd in front of the factory doubled, more people running for free meals than labor interviews.

Seeing such a scene, Lasov nearly had weak knees and felt like kneeling to these guys.

He was decisive when paying for this factory, whipping out 10 million silver coins without blinking.

However, that was ultimately the bank's money, borrowed using the factory at Jin Jiarun Port as security!

If this newly acquired factory crashed in hand, even his underwear would need to be compensated to the bank!

Seeing Lasov almost crying, Glenn Gold, factory manager standing to the side smoking, looked unsurprised.

After finally finishing his cigarette, tossing the butt on the ground to trample it, he walked beside Lasov and said.

"The Indigenous People here are like this. Pay first to have them work; otherwise, they'll just loaf around the machines or even wreck them, whipping them wouldn't help... Those relatives they called aren't here just for a free meal, pay them the wages, and just dismiss whatever was said before."

Lasov stared at him blankly, squeezing out a sentence after a long pause.

"Was it like this when you managed here?"

Glenn Gold's face revealed a smile full of underlying meaning.

"Do you know why we went to Poluo Province? When our men saw that the laborers in West Sail Port would rather die exhausted on the docks than bring us any trouble, every officer in Yavente City went crazy. We drooled with jealousy and envy, only regretting not having discovered this goldmine under our noses sooner."

Before, they had bought slaves from Witch Todd, right at Jin Jiarun Port, but the transport losses were too high, and didn't think those seemingly worthless slaves could serve any purpose in the factory.

In fact, the transported Poluo people in Lavanka Industrial Zone mostly assimilated into the local population... after all, they were originally of the same origin.

Not until the civil officials from Triumph City opened a factory in West Sail Port did the Southern Legion's masters realize this was the proper usage for Poluo people.

The West Sail Port disaster was bound to happen.

Blame goes on the civil official group themselves being too weak to guard such a big fortune...

The boss froze for a long time, filled with hatred, anger, and helplessness, sighed longingly and said.

"Alright, I'm admitting defeat... pay them the wages."

Glenn Gold nodded, slightly mocking, smiling and said.

"Wise choice."

Just as the factory manager Glenn Gold had said, after receiving their wages, these Indigenous young men indeed dispersed the relatives they had brought.

Both sides retreated a step.

Lasov recalled the promise of the employee dining hall but assured they could receive advance payment before working.

Although the Indigenous young men cursed him as a stingy miser, they refrained from further action.

Gradually, Lasov felt he had mastered the knack for dealing with the locals.

However, immediately following an event that bewildered him, these young men who received the pay suddenly scattered, disappearing completely.

Looking at the deserted recruitment point, Lasov angrily flushed red, his fists tightly clenched.

"This is too much!"

Factory Manager Glenn Jin, who was already on his second cigarette, smiled faintly and comforted,

"That's how it is."

Looking at this not-at-all-surprising Vellante person, Lasov couldn't help but complain,

"Did you come here to do charity? How can you spoil them like this?"

"Spoil them?" Glenn Jin squinted slightly, smiling intriguingly, "If you knew how we really treat them, you wouldn't say things like that... But it is what it is. Even if we hang them on poles, whip their butts with saltwater-soaked lashes, and make examples of the laziest, by the next day, they'll be back to their old ways."

Lasov looked at him with incomprehension, unable to understand how the Vellante could be at the mercy of these people, nor could he understand why the locals were so lazy.

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Glenn Jin spoke calmly,

"It's not laziness; it's instinct. Once you've dealt with them for a while, you'll understand."

He paused, then continued,

"Don't be too frustrated. Once they run out of money, they'll naturally return to work... Don't worry, it won't take long; they never have the habit of saving. Plus, they've already borrowed from you, so they have no reason to ask for an advance."

"By then, debt will be your rope. You can use it to manipulate them, whether by whipping their butts, having someone respectable from their village collect debts, or even sleeping with their girlfriends right in front of them... if you can accept that most of them don't brush their teeth. Of course, I recommend hiring some local people or mutants to handle this, or just sell this right to their neighbors."

Lasov looked at him, speechless,

"I'm here to make money, not to pimp."

Glenn Jin laughed,

"Aren't I teaching you how to make money? If you can't adapt to the culture here, they'll unite against you. Besides, I offered other options aside from the last one."

He felt that he was quite generous, sharing the Southern Legion's "core secrets" with this Poluo person.

Their ability to conquer such vast territories and make use of this barren land wasn't solely due to wielding sticks and whips.

Debt was their fundamental tool of exploitation; everything else was just a method.

The locals would willingly put the rope of debt around their own necks, automatically transforming from wild animals to livestock, and this was their only advantage over the Poluo people.

The Poluo people, although easy to manage, loved saving money too much. They'd tighten their belts to save up a few coins, never even coming close to the debt rope, so neither the southern legion nor the civil official group dared give them too many Dinars.

Pinching pennies on wages couldn't really exploit much; no Ten Thousand Leader would care about those two gold coins. The main goal was to keep them in poverty.

The southern legion's rule of West Sail Port was too short; the smart heads in Yavente City hadn't yet found a way to rope the Poluo people with debt, so they had to continue the civil official group's strategy of keeping them poor to ensure obedience.

And the facts proved their method worked. Give them twenty years, and Lion State could definitely develop into a bigger industrial center than the Lavanka Industrial Zone.

But at this point, such things can only happen in imagination...

Seeing his boss still troubled, Glenn Jin continued,

"Besides, if I were you, I'd buy some scissors, lighters, and nail clippers."

Lasov was taken aback,

"What would I buy those for?"

Glenn Jin smiled and gave him some clues,

"The locals like to buy cheap, useless trinkets. Didn't I say? Once they spend all their money, they'll naturally come back to work. You want them back soon, right?"

Unfortunately, the Southern Legion's light industry wasn't very developed, and entertaining these folks with small trinkets required quite a few Dinars.

But Glenn Jin heard the Alliance's supply chain didn't lack these items; you could wholesale a bunch of nail clippers for 1 Silver Coin.

In his view, this was one of the reasons silver coins became hard currency in the Wasteland.

The Alliance not only established a stable supply chain in the Wasteland but also provided most chaotic areas with an astonishing abundance of light industrial products.

Like Cr's "scarcity," the issuer of silver coins clearly understood his advantages and how to enhance them.

As for Dinar, though it had its strengths, they only manifested in buying slaves and tanks, which were irrelevant in most people's daily lives.

Perhaps breaking free from the Dinar system and issuing a sovereign currency could let Yavente City last a bit longer; metal currency was just too heavy, and Triumph City, which controlled it, was burdened with too much historical baggage…

This was Glenn Jin's reflection as an industry owner on the Southern Legion's failure from a technical perspective.

Lasov was silent for a moment, pressing his forefinger against his brow, slightly fatigued,

"I know a bicycle factory owner at Jinjaron Harbor. I can bring a batch of bicycles over…"

Selling nail clippers would take forever.

Glenn Jin's eyes lit up, looking at his now-innovative boss, approvingly giving a thumbs-up.

"That's a great idea! It'll even make them less tardy on their way to work."

Lasov stared blankly at him,

"Wait... You mean, they often arrived late before?"

Glenn Jin chuckled,

"Late? Often? Let me think which question to start answering first."

Chapter 947: Let the Animals Run

As it turns out, Factory Manager Glenn Jin was right. The young men who received their wages spent a week's pay in just three days, and then reluctantly returned to the factory.

Lasov initially complained about the "animal nature" of the locals, but he soon accepted this setup and was quite satisfied to accept all the bad habits of the locals.

Because, although his new gas cylinder production line hadn't started yet, the bicycles wholesaled from Jinga Lun Port sold out!

When the locals saw this "two-foot pedal, as fast as the wind" means of transportation, their eyes widened like copper bells.

And upon hearing that buying this thing didn't require the title of a Centurion or any certification, just 100 Silver Coins, these local lads immediately reached into their pockets—

Only to find no coins.

No money... then they'd have to figure out a way to get some.

To live the life of racing down the country dirt roads on a 28-inch frame, and for the priority of mate selection in the tribe, these spirited young men from the Wasteland, the most primitive yet avant-garde, eagerly signed up, unwillingly diving into the tide of labor transformation.

Initially, they wanted to work two jobs, owing wages to two factories, but the shrewd Merchant from the Moon Clan foresaw their intention to exploit the loophole and had already taken preemptive measures to seal it.

To protect the factory they had invested heavily in, they proactively established the first private organization in the Lavanka Industrial Zone — the Industrial and Commercial Alliance.

This Alliance differs from the two in Poluo Province, focusing on just one task.

That is to register the biometric information of their employees and share this information among themselves, essentially an early version of a "credit system".

This technology isn't very difficult.

Although there is no internet in the Wasteland, it is not without Computers and Cameras.

The Alliance can't implement it simply because doing so would be met with repercussions, and the Lavanka Industrial Zone's Autonomous Committee hasn't legislated labor rights yet, so there aren't as many obstacles.

This time, the local people of the Lavanka Industrial Zone were caught off guard.

When they received their wages from the first company and tried to go to the second, they were directly shooed away, and the same happened at the third and fourth companies.

The factory owners had united.

Now, they could only work…

Fang Chang originally thought the local people were not yet ready for social organization, hence he postponed the plan for establishing a representative council. Unexpectedly, the blueprint he pushed to the future was completed by a group of Poluo people from Poluo Province, the least political group.

In fact, he made a mistake out of experience; the Poluo people are not completely apolitical or ignorant of unity, they just ignore things that don't concern them.

When the fire is at their end, failing to act would mean complaining to King Yan. They do have some sense of understanding.

Like now.

If they don't bring out some real skills, every single one of them might just go bankrupt.

But what's both laughable and tear-inducing is that when the fire is no longer so scorching, they might turn around and say this fire is quite warm, and those complaining about the burn are making a fuss.

But no matter what, humans are more advanced than animals.

Though the locals in the Lavanka Industrial Zone used their "animal instincts" to startle the Poluo Province bosses who landed ashore, they were ultimately sorted out by the latter "storm landing".

As for whether the Workers' Association will come after the latter, it depends on how the latter develops.

If they can replicate the success that even Fang Chang couldn't replicate, letting the "Jinga Lun Port model" shine in the Lavanka Industrial Zone, and let the locals overlook that slight growing pain, the radicals in the Alliance won't have any opportunities.

But all this is to be left for the future.

In the meantime, the 3000 bicycles Lasov transported from Jinga Lun Port were immediately snatched up as soon as they landed.

The local lads who had found work lined up in front of his factory, holding their not-yet-warmed wages with eager eyes.

The workers from Jinga Lun Port didn't stop for even a moment, assembling bikes at the factory gate, tightening chains, applying oil... almost assembling one and selling one!

Lasov stood by collecting money, with a stack of thick notes in hand, grinning so wide his mouth wouldn't close.

With a wholesale cost of 300 Gallons (about 30 Silver Coins), he could sell them at 200 Silver Coins, and the demand exceeded supply!

If all 3000 bicycles were sold, the profit alone would be 510,000 Silver Coins!

This was simply windfall profit!

He not only earned back the wages he paid out, but also scooped up the wages others paid out!

The workers assembling the bicycles eyed him with envy, eager to quit right there and switch to being middlemen.

Factory Manager Glenn Jin wasn't surprised at all that these bicycles sold like hotcakes; he just eyed the batches of bicycles with envy.

The Southern Legion doesn't lack steel, rubber, or machine oil, nor are they devoid of more superior technology.

Yet such simple materials and relatively straightforward techniques came together to become a "luxury item" that even a Centurion must afford.

Otherwise, they'd need to make a lot of money to buy it in the market outside the logistics supply system with Dinars.

Of course, he owned a bicycle, and so did his son and daughter, but he had never seen such a scene of "selling bicycles like selling nail clippers".

Previously, he didn't believe the average citizen in the Alliance could afford a car, regardless of having the title of Ten Thousand Leader, but now he believed.

Thinking about the possibility of buying one himself in the future, his longing for the Southern Legion diminished a bit...

After The Sun set, Lasov handed over the day's income to the staff at the White Bear Bank branch.

Watching the money-counting machine whirr endlessly, his face was beaming with a bright smile. In high spirits, he handed each of the assembly masters a 1000 Silver Coin red envelope, and finally slipped a stack of notes into Factory Manager Glenn Jin's hands.

"Haha, brother, your idea is simply genius! Just a token of appreciation, please don't be polite!"

"You're the genius," said Factory Manager Glenn Jin, who had little concept of silver coins and didn't bother counting how many bills there were, stuffing them into his pocket casually. He then remarked with a face full of emotion, "Less than two weeks' time… The troops from Evernight Harbor would take that long to get to West Sail Port. Your container is even faster than them."

Lasov was indifferent to Glenn Jin's shock, as the speed of those containers was just a testament to the shipping company's skills.

If he was willing to spend money, they could be even faster.

For instance, by air transport.

Yet, using planes for such low-value-added commodities isn't worthwhile.

"There's nothing strange about it. For us, time is money. You'll understand after working with me for a while." Lasov winked at him with a pleased smile and said, "Don't worry, I never shortchange my brothers. When I make money, you'll undoubtedly benefit too."

Glenn Jin felt somewhat exhilarated by his words.

Though unfamiliar with silver coins, the bills in his pocket felt heavy.

He suddenly had the urge to take them out and count but felt it was inappropriate to do so on the spot.

That wad must be at least 5000 silver coins…

He heard that in the Alliance, you can buy an LD-series assault rifle for just 200 coins.

"So, are we still going to produce gas canisters? I feel bicycles are more profitable."

"Of course we will. Don't let short-term gains cloud your judgment. This deal is just quick money." Laughing, Lasov patted Factory Manager Glenn Jin's shoulder and continued, "But you did remind me, we should develop some production lines to meet local needs. What's that saying? Yes, adapt to local conditions!"

Glenn Jin asked, "Like what?"

Lasov replied with a smile.

"Like pots and pans, tricycles for transporting goods, or furniture and such."

Glenn Jin furrowed his brow slightly.

"Furniture made of iron? Even though the iron ore here is cheap, wouldn't it be too heavy?"

Lasov shook his head vigorously.

"It's wood, of course. Iron produces no added value. Selling a 1 silver coin item for 1.1 silver coins isn't skillful. Convincing someone to pay 10 silver coins and be grateful—that's talent. We'll sell not only wooden sofas but also ones with genuine leather and pure cotton."

Watching the enthusiastic boss, Glenn Jin chuckled and said.

"I need to remind you, even though there's some trees along the Lavanka River, this place is still called the Great Desert."

Lasov replied with a smile.

"Of course, I know. But there's plenty of wood at Potato Harbor and a lumber mill at Mantou Harbor… I remember factories there were set up by you Weilante people."

The wasteland is becoming a cohesive entity, and to remain bound by the Great Desert's limitations is to have too small a vision.

He could hire noble artists from the City of Dawn, import the best wood, leather, and cotton from Baiyue Province, and send them to Jinjaron Harbor factories for rough processing.

Watching Lasov energetically describe his business blueprint, Glenn Jin suddenly found him somewhat unfamiliar and couldn't believe this guy was Poluo.

He had encountered Poluo people.

The submissive demeanor caused him to internally disdain them, never considering them worth his notice.

Now he finally understood why the Alliance won.

Unity is a means.

Equality is their core.

The Army turned Waste Land Wanderers into beasts.

While the Alliance turned them into humans.

Animals are destined not to defeat humans. The Southern Legion, even the entire Army's failure, was almost inevitable...

...

Small commodities from Jinjaron Harbor sparked a wave of fashion trends in the Lavanka Industrial Zone.

The dusty dirt road was dotted with the silhouette of "Audebiao," though missing the soulful touch of bananas.

This isn't a tropical place; strictly speaking, it's temperate. The heat is merely due to being in the Southern Hemisphere, and December is the hottest summer month in the Southern Hemisphere.

And thus, not only bicycles from Jinjaron Harbor sold well, but also short sleeve T-shirts and sandals.

Especially the latter.

Styles already outdated in Jinjaron Harbor became hot-selling items locally!

The indigenous people, savage like beasts, would even fiercely contest over a garishly colored shirt.

As for artworks like "Vine Cottage" certified by the residents of the refuge, those were left untouched; everyone shunned that understated luxury vibe.

Instead, some exaggerated designs created by players had a huge market here.

For example, a red T-shirt printed with a doll's face—the cheerful smile practically became a spiritual totem for several tribes.

Seeing those lively youngsters sporting bean shoes and wearing Wangzai milk bottles, Elena had a nuanced expression.

Earlier, when "beta test qualifications" were liberally distributed, such performance art briefly appeared in the City of Dawn, yet she hadn't expected it to re-emerge among the Waste Land Wanderers after the beta test qualifications tightened.

"Is this the Renaissance of art?"

Gnome King Riches rubbed his temples, easing his mental fatigue.

"Ah... I suppose so."

There are more and more unfamiliar faces on the server; it's no longer just a small circle of veteran players. Although "Wasteland OL" hasn't officially launched its public beta, it's not much different from one.

Mosquito is still flying planes on the front line, the tail is building snowmen in the Arctic Circle, and some of the most famous comedians aren't around.

At least he couldn't figure out who orchestrated it, and it might not even have been done by the players.

While many players were amazed, the 172 naive investors who bought the factories finally found a knack for developing this market. They all wrote to the Autonomous Committee, urging them to install the gantry crane at the port for easier unloading, and then start dumping imported light industrial goods from Jinga Lun Harbor.

This certainly stimulated the market in the Lavanka Industrial Zone to some extent, but the market and factories were still separated by a river.

The young men in debt were indeed pressed back into the factories by the bosses brought in from all over the world by the Alliance, but they clearly weren't genuinely interested in building their hometowns, just in making quick money to buy a flashy bicycle.

Thinking this way isn't actually wrong, and disliking saving money isn't wrong either; people should prioritize living for themselves and living for the now... but they shouldn't have no plans for the future.

Especially when everyone in a society lacks any plan for their future, whether good or bad, that society is almost inevitably stagnant, or even declines.

In such cases, any measures aimed at stimulating a civil society will fail.

The locals live like animals, finding food when hungry, finding water when thirsty, mating when the urge arises, working day-to-day jobs, and never mastering a core skill. It's even a luxury to expect them to become skilled workers.

Although in the short term, agile merchants from Jinga Lun Harbor led by Lasov made a fortune, most of it came from Lavanka Industrial Zone auctioning off Southern Legion assets and cashing in on dividends.

The local workers were able to borrow money because of this dividend guarantee.

Otherwise, no one would advance them wages, just like no one would lend money to the seagulls of Potato Harbor.

Once this dividend is exhausted, everyone here will suffer.

Fang Chang believes experienced merchants like Lasov from Jinga Lun Harbor can escape before the flood, but as the captain of a ship, who holds the last life ring is of no significance to him.

The life rings are certainly not enough for everyone.

What he needs to do is steer the ship well, avoid it running aground, and ensure every passenger on board successfully reaches the shore.

At the meeting of the Lavanka Industrial Zone Autonomous Committee, Fang Chang, sitting at the head of the table, looked at the committee members sitting around and said.

"...The Waste Land Wanderer from the River Valley Province also doesn't like saving money, adhering to the philosophy of life's transience, but even so, they have an idea of what they want to do tomorrow."

"So when we hand them books and tell them tomorrow will be better, it takes almost no effort to get them to study earnestly. And when we present them with a better plan, they strive alongside us."

Little Fish and Boss Xia are typical examples, including more accomplished people like List and Sun Shiqi, and other survivors.

Today, the newcomers in "Wasteland OL" have almost no impression of Little Fish, but Fang Chang remembers vividly.

That guy has grown from a little girl counting coins at the rehabilitation center door into one of the designers of the Alliance's financial system, even fooling him, an expert.

And Boss Xia has also become an outstanding engineer.

Although she's not wealthy, money isn't the only measure of life's meaning; her research and contributions are evident to many players in the Alliance.

As for here...

After a moment of silence, Fang Chang looked at the ceiling of the conference room, sighed, and shook his head.

"The above is the experience of the City of Dawn, the origins of the Giant Stone City model and the Jinga Lun Harbor model... but based on recent observations, I'm sorry to say this underlying code is not applicable here."

The locals have no concept of the future at all.

Their extreme idleness and complacency are the roots of the massive gap between Lavanka Industrial Zone's actual capacity and theoretical output.

The reasons are not that complicated, and it has nothing to do with Teil or the Enlightenment Society.

And he indeed wrongly blamed them.

They are not without "resistance," but are constantly resisting, and resisting everyone they encounter...

If the same industrial zone were placed in the Lion State of Poluo Province, making the Poluo people tighten their belts to build guns and cannons for the Southern Legion, Absek and Laxi might really have been defeated by the Southern Legion.

The people sitting around the conference table looked at each other, eventually focusing their gaze on President Anton.

Pushed to the front by everyone's expectations, President Anton smiled wryly and cast an imploring look at Fang Chang.

"Please think of something."

Fang Chang shook his head.

"You can't place all your hopes on me alone; otherwise, what will you do after I'm gone? The reason I called this meeting is that I hope to hear your views."

President Anton closed his mouth and turned his gaze to the president of the Development Foundation.

That guy's name was Hope, a professional accountant, born in Yavente City and a Weilante. The Alliance found him from some factory, anyway, now he manages the "purse" of the entire Autonomous Committee and is holding a massive fund of 1.5 billion silver coins!

With such a huge amount of money in his hands, he wondered what capability this guy had.

Unable to avoid it under President Anton's hard stare, Hope knew he couldn't dodge, so he cleared his throat and said.

"Perhaps we could make some people wealthy first, then the others—"

Before he could finish, the captain of the Industrial Zone's security team broke in with a stern face.

"They'll be robbed clean by other locals, just like in Blackwater Alley at Evernight Harbor. In just the past half month, we've already processed 37 robbery cases and 26 theft cases, half of which involved bicycles."

He was one of the few local Lavanka natives at the conference table but grew up in Yavente City, so he was one of the few well-traveled locals.

His mother was a servant to a Ten Thousand Leader, and because he had half Weilante blood in his veins, he managed to become a former leader in the Servant Army.

Later, following General Rubis's defeat, his good attitude while surrendering led the Alliance to assign him to the guards. Due to his outstanding performance and a recommendation from a certain expeditionary army camp leader, he swiftly rose to his current position of sheriff.

It was precisely because his veins ran with the blood of the local people that he understood them better than anyone else.

Before Hope could answer, he continued speaking.

"...In the end, this place will still become Evernight Harbor, with outsiders continuing to live in the most prosperous communities, while locals still rot in the stinking gutters... I don't think this is what the Alliance hopes to see."

As he spoke, he looked at Fang Chang, who, though not openly expressed, returned a knowing look of approval.

Indeed, the Alliance did not want to see such things happen.

However, expecting the Alliance to intervene forcibly simply because it doesn't want to see such things happen is also to misunderstand the Alliance completely.

Peaceful coexistence is the aspiration.

They will not design a competition where only winning is allowed, just to seize the victor's trophy and forcibly give it to the weak who need help, simply out of this aspiration.

The fairness of rules at least ensures that victory has meaning, whereas forcing rules not only fails to help the weak but also turns the victory itself into a joke, ultimately leading to a lose-lose situation.

He couldn't say this, but he indeed thought—

If the locals are truly hopeless, then they should lie in the muck and watch their Weilante neighbors return to their large houses through their hard work and courage, and then consider whether to change themselves or the next generation.

Perhaps seeing his meaningful gaze, Hope gained a bit of confidence, looking at the captain of the guards, arguing fervently.

"Then at least it has to first become Evernight Harbor, right? At least the aliens in Blackwater Alley and those in the Lavanka Industrial Zone are different, and the poor in the slums are slightly more dignified than animals in the primitive forest. Can you deny this? Moreover, you yourself are from Yavente City, right? You know better than anyone why locals are poor, why despite your veins flowing with alien blood, you are different!"

The captain of the guards was momentarily speechless; he wasn't good at debate and lacked the unreasonable stubbornness and unreasonable manner of Bosaka after coming into contact with civilized thoughts.

He glared, unable to say a word, forcibly swallowing his words down.

Not just him, even the elders of several large tribes sitting in the corner of the meeting table couldn't refute either.

They indeed knew what kind of character their young men had, and they were also aware of their own nature.

Frankly speaking, they never considered that one day they could sit at the same table as the Weilante people, discussing the future of the Lavanka Industrial Zone on equal grounds.

If their people cannot compete with the Weilante, then indeed no one is to blame...

Fang Chang looked at Hope.

"You want to use the 'Goldgallon Harbor Model,' don't you?"

"It's the Evernight Harbor Model!" Hope courageously continued, "Evernight Harbor lacks money, lacks technology, lacks a market... but we have all of these now and are standing at the forefront!"

"Selling 172 factories has already raised 1.5 billion silver coins. This money shouldn't just be used for transformation; we can also take a portion to invest in infrastructure… For example, establishing a local development bank, bidding through the qualification committee for old district renovations, refurbishing old civilian docks, roads, and municipal systems."

As he said this, he looked at the four tribal elders sitting at the meeting table.

"You may not understand, but in simple terms, we will take some money from the development fund to help renovate your houses! Move you from tents to large houses with ocean views!"

Hearing this, the four elders immediately became excited, almost treating him as a savior.

Fang Chang roughly listened to his statement.

This is actually still the Goldgallon Harbor model, but there are indeed slight differences.

Back then, Goldgallon Harbor had just escaped the "Nihark period," ignorant of market operation rules, with both old aristocrats and the emerging class standing on the same starting line, and the latter more motivated to change; therefore, they quickly became the forerunners of avant-garde thought during social transformation.

But Lavanka Industrial Zone is different.

Regardless of ability or experience, Weilante people have a upper hand on locals, and now raising this starter's pistol is equivalent to having adults and children racing.

But as Hope said, now they are standing at the forefront, and there is still a chance to do this.

After the opportunity passes, it's hard to say what role this 1.5 billion silver coins can play.

Perhaps they won't even have a chance to speak, in which case these benefits would either be consumed by themselves or devoured by outsiders.

"There is no option that is all beneficial and with no harm, I cannot decide for you. My only advice is to abandon the fantasy of having it both ways... let's have a vote."

Fang Chang tapped the table, handing the choice to the locals themselves.

"Left hand for approval, right hand for objection, hands on the table is abstaining."

He said this, placing his hand under the table, indicating that he—or rather, the Alliance, would not participate in this vote.

At this roundtable, there were 14 people sitting, including 6 Weilante people, 6 Indigenous People, and one mixed-blood.

At least now the vote is the fairest.

Hands rose one after another, with ten in favor, two against, and one abstention.

Interestingly, the two opposing votes came from a mixed-blood and a Weilante person.

Antoine cast an abstention vote without suspense; he is a typical "capable opportunist."

As for the four tribal elders gathered around the meeting table, they all raised their left hands high.

After all, they had already chosen their leader in their hearts.

"This is the first meeting of the Lavanka Industrial Zone, witnessed by the representative of the Alliance for its fairness... at least the process is relatively fair."

Fang Chang looked at the spirited Hope, using his eyes to award him the badge of a winner.

"Do not disappoint the survivors of the Lavanka Industrial Zone, live up to the expectations of yours, and carry out your envisioned future."

Chapter 948: The Power of 1.5 Billion Silver Coins

Due to the booming sales of the special type bicycles, Lasov's factory finally resumed production.

Although the promised cafeteria was gone, every young man by the Lavanka River felt he was a good person and praised Mr. Lasov's generosity without holding grudges.

After all, this generous tycoon from Jinjaron Harbor sold bicycles to these employees at an 80% discount, and even allowed them to park their treasures in the spare warehouse, secured against theft by other tribes, and by the end of the workday, the bikes were returned with oil applied.

Whether or not oil was applied, they didn't know, but at least there was a repairman sitting at the warehouse door watching.

Of course, if these young men knew that the wholesale price of the bicycles originally priced at 200 silver coins was just 30 silver coins, it might not be the Weilante people trapped in the factory next time, but the Poluo people.

However, they will never know.

After all, Lasov and the others from the Industrial and Commercial Alliance had already agreed to establish a guiding price for several specified categories of commodities.

Everyone earns money together, Poluo people don't cheat Poluo people, and there will definitely be no price wars.

Selling bicycles was just a minor episode.

Lasov did not linger on the quick money-making, after sending off the bicycle repairmen who earned a hefty bonus, he focused all his energy on his old profession.

The first order quickly arrived, and the client was a merchant from Evernight Harbor, named Marta.

This person was generous, placing a 5-million order at 10% above market price.

At the dining table, Lasov pondered over this person, feeling he was more like a broker for a military faction rather than a merchant.

Sure enough, after three cups of vodka, the young man named Marta inadvertently revealed his Family Meeting affiliation.

Lasov offered a slew of compliments, respectfully expressed his admiration for the Family Meeting, uttered some beautiful words without charge, though he didn't really take it seriously.

Among his clients were General Jieha of Tiger State and heads of the Black Panther Army, compared to whom, a henchman of Absek's "subordinate's subordinate" barely deserved to be treated as a hero.

Merchants wander between various forces, as long as the courtesy is up to par, and businesses are conducted well, that's all that matters.

Whoever takes charge as the Leader, he really doesn't care, as they are all equally foolish, and the real hope for salvaging the Poluo people lies with the industrialists like them.

At least that's how he saw it.

While Lasov observed this blue family member, Marta too observed him from across the table.

Unlike the former's abundant mental activities, the latter's evaluation was more harsh and insightful.

This gentleman is a pure man.

Or rather, a simple man.

Knowing he found the right person, Marta set down his wine glass, exuding a friendly smile, as if facing a relative.

"Our Family Meeting and Federation are one family, the front line is winning continuously, the war is about to end, entrepreneurs like you are what we need the most, also what family members need the most. We want to invite you to set up a factory in Snake State, what's your opinion on that?"

This inadvertent flattery was much more effective than lavish praises and didn't appear abrupt.

To be honest, Lasov truly appreciated it, though he wasn't blindsided by vanity.

Setting up a factory in Snake State...

That would require a surplus of money with nowhere to spend.

Comparatively, he'd rather donate money and materials as a win-win method for everyone.

"Setting up a factory isn't so easy, requirements on local infrastructure and industrial support need to be met, it's not like moving equipment over means the factory can start up."

Seeing Marta wanted to persuade more, he smiled and said.

"But rest assured, even though my factory is overseas, when Poluo Province needs me, I won't hesitate to help!"

He worded it so wisely, it could be interpreted either way, causing the man across from him to look troubled but indeed not broach the topic of setting up a factory again.

Yet he remains unaware that he had unknowingly fallen into a scheme.

What kind of conditions Snake State has, how could Marta not know?

He never intended to genuinely invite this big boss over, but merely threw some bait on the tree in passing.

His true aim was to advance by retreating, having this warm-hearted entrepreneur do another task for him.

"We understand your difficulty, I was too abrupt on the factory matter, pretend I didn't mention it."

Marta toasted him with a drink, then finished it in one go.

Having declined such a gracious invitation, Lasov felt somewhat apologetic, replying in a gentle tone.

"It's not that I don't want to develop my hometown, just even the best cook can't make porridge from stones; I alone am beyond capability. Although it's not entirely without opportunity, such as Lion State seemingly possessing good industrial foundation, I definitely plan to visit when circumstances are suitable."

Marta smiled and said.

"No problem! We will warmly welcome you then!"

Lasov smiled but didn't speak, obviously doubting Family Meeting's qualification, though didn't wear it on his face.

Marta paused and continued.

"Let's not discuss the factory matter for now... Oh, I heard Lavanka Industrial Zone has an armor production line for the Southern Legion, can you help us get the blueprints for Conqueror No.10?"

Lasov was slightly stunned, hesitating for a moment and said.

"Well... that might be quite difficult."

He did consider it, though only fantasized in his mind.

Even though it's not top secret, the Lavanka Industrial Zone Autonomous Committee didn't mean it could be free-ridden at all.

His business is going well now, and he's not about to take such a big risk.

Whether it's a legal risk or a trust one.

This time, Marta didn't retreat, gazing sincerely and spoke.

"Please, this is very important to us! We know you're a businessman who loves his hometown. We just hope you can help us accomplish this matter. We'll definitely treat you well. If there's anything difficult, just tell us and we'll solve it for you!"

The words have reached this point, besides, he had refused them once before.

Lasov hesitated for a moment, sighed, and said.

"Let me think... The blueprint might be a bit difficult. The Industrial Commercial Union has some weight in the autonomous committee, but our business has just started, and the weight is ultimately not very sufficient."

"Please allow me some time on the blueprint issue. However, there is a batch of tanks almost completed on the production line. If you're interested, you can buy them back. I've looked into this, and it's recognized by the Autonomous Committee and Development Foundation as permitted assets for sale."

Marta's eyes lit up, rejoicing.

"Could you help introduce the person in charge of this matter to me?"

Lasov laughed and said.

"No problem, this small matter is not troublesome. I can settle it directly for you."

Marta raised his glass, drank heartily once more, then looked at him solemnly and said.

"We will definitely remember the favor you did for us today... By the way, please keep an eye on the blueprint issue. Whether it's hosting guests or other expenses, whatever amount is needed, we'll cover it."

Lasov quickly said.

"You're too polite. Let me also contribute my part to the Poluo people's cause!"

Marta shook his head and said.

"This is a matter of principle. Mr. Zayed said we are here to benefit our family and we absolutely can't let the family spend a penny more."

Looking at this ambitious man, Lasov couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

It's true that comparisons kill people's spirit, and goods make goods worth discarding.

If the respected Leader also had this poise, perhaps the Tiandu Federation wouldn't be so mocked as a "wife cake without a wife"...

...

Meanwhile, after obtaining approval from the Alliance representative, Hope immediately began bold reforms, urging the Autonomous Committee to release planning schemes while injecting 700 million to establish the Lavanka Industrial Area Development Bank to cooperate with the Autonomous Committee in bidding.

In some matters, people who control money do have more motivation than those who control power.

Antoine is someone who only acts when the Alliance representative nods. Hope not only has active thoughts but also execution power, completing a week's worth of work in just three days. At the second meeting, he presented a development blueprint that no one could refute.

In his blueprint, tall buildings would be constructed along the Lavanka River, extending along the highway from the industrial zone to the Great Desert, using visible achievements to attract all those who envy their prosperity to join them.

The railway network on those 2.7 million square kilometers of land would also become their confidence to realize their grand aspirations, with a continuous flow of resources supporting their endeavor to end the Wasteland Era.

Although it was an economic work meeting, Hope cleverly devised an action plan and integrated it with the Alliance's initiatives.

Fang Chang didn't mind what fantasies this guy drew up, only watching what he accomplished.

At least for now, his ability is still worth recognition.

Even though completing the entire blueprint by relying solely on 700 million silver coins is far from enough, money has a snowball effect.

As long as this money isn't wasted, but rather used to buy something or turned into something, it can all be used as collateral to continue borrowing from the Alliance's banks.

This is very basic operation.

After all, the Alliance's banks need to pay interest to depositors, release interest for investment products, and repay bank interest; they need to find a place for the money they hold.

If Lavanka Industrial Zone has good investment targets, they certainly wouldn't mind lending money, allowing their own snowball to roll along.

Hope has planned everything well, except on one issue where his deputy raised objections.

"This is a grand plan, but it will also bring enormous wealth disparity... You and I know what the locals are like, they may start running because of your plan, but when they come to their senses, they might already be several laps behind the Vellante people. And then, what will happen if the Workers' Association arrives?"

His name is Nash, like President Hope, he is also a Vellante person, and he agrees with Hope's proposed "Evernight Harbor Model."

However, despite agreeing, he must consider the problems this model might cause.

Regarding Nash's objection, Hope had already thought of countermeasures, confidently stating.

"As long as we don't let the locals be too poor, they can't do anything even if they come. Jinjaron Harbor is the best example."

Nash laughed bitterly upon hearing this.

"Don't let the locals be too poor... Unless we confiscate their bank cards, otherwise even if you give them money for free, they will spend it all by the next day."

"We do need to give them money, but can't let them have cash. Use your brain, Mr. Nash, we are already working for the Alliance, can't be as rigid as before."

Hope tapped his finger on his head, then pointed out the window at the boundless oasis.

This is the only oasis within a hundred miles, a meandering river suddenly turns southward from the northwest, filling the ocean through a gorge-riddled Shock Plain.

"There, high buildings will be erected. We take the lion's share, live in the highest and largest houses, then distribute the second-tier houses to the natives, letting them become our moat, sharing glory and loss."

"You mean... using fixed assets to compensate them instead of cash?" Nash asked, puzzled, "But what if they simply sell the houses?"

"Believe me, continuously appreciating assets, no one will sell, while in this process, wealth and poverty can coexist," Hope smiled, patting his shoulder, "As long as the survivors of the Great Desert continue to flock to our settlement, we can keep this positive cycle going, letting more and more creatures move into our farm. As for execution details, we can set some restrictions on transaction thresholds, which can be adjusted."

"Anyway, our primary task is one thing—get the creatures running!"

Nash stared dumbly at Hope, unable to fathom this former accountant coming up with so many plans, whereas the Southern Legion previously hadn't realized his talent.

Is this the power of 1.5 billion silver coins?

Compared to Hope, who seemed to have consumed growth boosters, Antoine, the former district head who couldn't even lift his hand, seemed like a castrated rooster. Perhaps soon, the Autonomous Committee might reverse roles and become a puppet of the ambitious Mr. Hope.

It might not be the Jinjaron Harbor model or Evernight Harbor model but early Free State model.

No matter the model, the Autonomous Committee has a common understanding on one issue.

If you don't want the "wild animals" here to become prey for outsiders, you have to get them running.

"...You don't need to worry about such distant matters now; those are my concerns."

Hope patted Nash's shoulder, stuffing a document into his hand.

"There are a hundred Conqueror tanks here, if not for the Alliance's planes, they would almost be heading to the front lines... According to the Alliance engineers, selling them as tanks is better than dismantling them for iron. Any offer over 30 million silver coins is reasonable."

"The war in Poluo Province isn't over yet, General Giulion is still in a fight for his life. The Alliance has only one requirement: don't sell to the Southern Legion, meaning we can sell to any client other than the Southern Legion. Find a buyer before the war ends, let me see your skills."

Would anyone want tanks from the defeated?

Thinking this over, Nash nodded seriously.

"I'll try my best to sell them."

...

The most pressing tasks for Lavanka Industrial Zone are industrial transition and dealing with accumulated inventory.

Regarding how to divide the 2.7 million square kilometers of land, and whether Lavanka Industrial Zone and Evernight Harbor should merge, these can be studied slowly after the war is over.

Nash took the list given by Hope to the warehouse, looking at the unwanted junk and couldn't help but worry about where to find a fool who would pay thirty million silver coins for these things.

He had met representatives from Poluo Country and Mammoth Nation, but they weren't fools, unlike Hope's expectations. Both agreed, seemingly in collusion, that they wouldn't continue purchasing military equipment, but were interested in those outdated production lines instead.

Lavanka Industrial Zone indeed had an interest in transferring those outdated capacities, but this wasn't Nash's business, so he reluctantly introduced these representatives to the person in charge of these matters.

However, while he was worrying, the Poluo people from the Industrial and Commercial Alliance approached him and introduced a mysterious buyer.

This person not only took all the equipment at face value but also offered an astounding condition—

They were willing to buy all these tanks at 10% above market price.

As long as the Lavanka Autonomous Committee could provide the technology related to producing the Conqueror No.10 Tank.

Nash agreed without even thinking.

It's a joke.

The entire army went to hell, he has no obligation to carry secrets to the grave for the previous ones.

Not to mention these people are General Giulion's enemies!

Without any hesitation, he stamped the documents and personally went to the factory to receive this generous buyer.

While Nash was happily introducing the "doomsday weapon" of the Southern Legion to Meta, the engineers from Vellante nearby in the factory were curiously watching the spectacle.

"Who is that guy, quite a formidable presence."

The entrepreneurs from the Industrial Federation all went to support him, and Nash looked like he was about to lay out a red carpet at the factory entrance.

The engineer under Lasov, smoking and squinting his eyes, said.

"The guy's name is Meta, heard he's from the Family Meeting."

The tank assembly factory engineer looked confused toward him.

"Family Committee? What is that?"

The engineer under Lasov explained.

"It's the Family Meeting, a branch of a branch from Absek's subordinate. It's quite complicated to explain... Just understand it this way."

The aluminum factory engineer frowned and asked.

"What's he here for?"

The engineer under Lasov explained.

"They want to package and buy back the finished Conqueror No.10s, to use against Giulion."

He wasn't concerned about those tanks being used against whom, anyway, he was no longer making armored steel, but has switched to producing gas cylinders.

The reason why he knows so much about Family Meeting, mainly because Meta often visits their factory, and after getting acquainted with their boss, he would connect with them, implying that Family Meeting is great, and wanting them to move to Snake State.

But he's not foolish, how could he be led by the nose by a few words from a Poluo person?

As a Vellante person, he was quite aware of what his fellow men had done in Poluo Province.

He had every reason to believe what happened once in Lavanka Industrial Zone could happen again at West Sail Port, and by then, there might be no Alliance people to save them.

Not only did he think this way, his boss privately scared them like this too, hinting that Poluo Province was full of hungry wolves wanting to eat their flesh.

He could see that his boss wanted to get close to Meta, but this didn't mean his boss was generous enough to empty his wallet.

This steel plant was his boss's wallet, and was now visibly turning into a cash cow.

After hearing his explanation, the group of engineers laughed unanimously.

"Is this guy crazy."

"Does it really take that to deal with Giulion?"

"By the time these tanks are transported there, they probably wouldn't even have learned how to operate them before the war ends."

The engineer under Lasov also laughed and said.

"Whatever they think, as long as the price is high enough, one sells for 1.1 million, 10,000 higher than market value, and they agree to pay in silver coins. Anyway, if we keep them, we'd just convert them to tractors, why not sell them to them, and the money can buy three tractors."

In fact, more than three.

The Alliance has cheap tractors, priced under 50,000 silver coins, the kind that burns wood early on, and is the best-selling model on the Wasteland.

A Conqueror No.10 could sell for 1.1 million silver coins...

A hundred... wouldn't that be over a billion silver coins?!

How could such a small local force have so much money?!

Everyone was stunned after calculating the account.

The aluminum factory engineer swallowed his saliva and said in disbelief.

"Where did they get so much money?!"

Lasov's engineering was shaking his head, looking unconcerned.

"Who knows, who cares, maybe they've saved up from doing business, or maybe other Poluo people donated. Anyway, they are determined to get this batch of Conqueror No.10. Perhaps there are other deals behind it."

Looking at the straight-backed Poluo person gesturing in front of Vice-President Nash, a group of Vellante engineers shook their heads, sighed, and marveled.

This world has truly changed.

The engineer at the aluminum factory was envious to the point of reddened eyes, suddenly motivated to make money.

"Damn it, too damn rich..."

While people were discussing, the Blue family member Marta and Vice-President Nash had already completed the transaction simultaneously.

The parties had moved from the factory to the dining table, where the former was demonstrating their good drinking capacity to the latter.

Those invited to the banquet included not only the Lavanka Industrial Area Development Foundation officials involved in the military sales contract but also those alien workers and engineers who usually don't get a seat at the table.

Most of these workers who have mastered core technology are not local natives but have come with Vellante people to the Batoya Province survivors along the Lavanka River.

However, as Marta said, everyone was a part of the United Human 200 years ago, all one family.

This statement indeed had no issue.

Although the Vellante people have not seen the Prosperity Epoch, their bloodline is similarly a crystallization of the Human Alliance Era technology, and it is also their most proud heritage.

Unlike the proud Vellante people, those alien workers were moved to tears.

Being oppressed by Vellante people all along, when have they ever felt such emphasis?

Never felt it, and even the ordinary Vellante from the Southern Legion themselves couldn't feel it.

Because of this, after a few shots of vodka, one after another, they promised enthusiastically to teach the technical personnel sent by Family Meeting with all their knowledge, transferring the production and maintenance skills of the Conqueror No.10 without reservation.

After all, this stuff is useless to them, it might be better for the Poluo people to take it to defeat General Giulion, also to atone for being the accomplice of invaders before.

In truth, a great technology is never merely a few thin blueprints, but rather the people who have mastered the core technologies.

These things can't be passed on by a few words or with a hard drive, unless a group of people sincerely teach another group without reservation.

Seeing those generous workers, Marta was moved to tears at the wine table, drank the vodka in one go.

No matter if the deal is upheld later, he ultimately got what he wanted, and the Lavanka Autonomy Committee also got the money they needed most.

The deal was concluded, both sides conversing pleasantly, Marta even considered the Shallow Water Heavy Artillery Boat.

But curry must be eaten bite by bite, eat too much at once, and it burns the mouth, also easily arouses some people's vigilance...

At this moment, the capacity transformation and grand infrastructure tide of the Lavanka Industrial Zone are in full swing, while the war on the front lines continues.

After a month of fierce battle, the company's 100th and 101st divisions finally heavily defeated the Southern Legion's troops sent to the front lines, and after three days of siege, completely annihilated the Southern Legion's 177th ten thousand troops.

This troop seems to have been newly formed, with an average age from officers to basic soldiers of only eighteen, some even eleven or twelve kids.

Vellante people are born warriors, a twelve-year-old kid can already carry a rifle, and their combat power is no less than that of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old Waste Land Wanderer.

Looking at those dusty faces, crouched in the corner hugging their heads, Tang Feng, with a Rick 5 in his mouth, had a complex mood.

Nowadays, he is already a battalion commander, long past being the inexperienced and show-loving novice of the past.

Seeing these young guys, he couldn't help but recall himself on Ten Peaks Mountain.

The deputy battalion commander came to him, squinting toward the prisoners squatting against the wall.

"Their Julius turned them into people, and they turned themselves back."

Tang Feng shook his head and said.

"I don't think it's their fault, the fault lies with those who brainwashed the kids."

Without arguing on this issue, the deputy battalion commander went straight to the point.

"How to deal with them?"

Tang Feng thought for a moment and said.

"Send them by train to the Lavanka Industrial Zone, our allies there seem to be doing well."

This was also the suggestion from the command.

This 2.7 million square kilometer colony is vast and sparsely populated, building a POW camp on the spot equals letting them fend for themselves.

The deputy battalion commander laughed and said.

"Indeed, leaving it to the Alliance people is easier, they're best at this."

At this point, half of the Southern Legion's 2.7 million square kilometers colony has been liberated by them, and the allied forces have been pushed to the equator, soon to enter the northern hemisphere.

This is a narrow territory along the coastlines, with support from the South Sea Alliance Fleet, fighters screaming in the sky, they are almost invincible.

But seeing those young, naive faces, Tang Feng didn't have any emotion related to joy.

He only wanted to quickly reach the Southern Legion's homeland, ending this insane war...

Time day by day passed, soon it was the end of December.

At this transition between the Wasteland Era 214 and 215, a meeting deciding Wasteland's future fate unfolded in the Grand Canyon.

Participants included not only the Academy's Chief Technical Officer, representatives appointed by the council, Alliance's Managers, but also Triumph City's Leader and heads of various Survivor Forces.

The Grand Canyon promised to guarantee the safety of all attending parties, and provide shuttle services for some Survivor Forces leaders or foreign ministers inconvenient to travel to the Grand Canyon themselves.

This meeting really should have been convened three months ago but was delayed for various reasons far too long.

Now it's finally not postponed again...

Chapter 949: The Moment That Decides the Wasteland's Fate

Grand Canyon, Origin City.

A silver aircraft dragged a faint blue arc of light as it slowly landed on the spacious tarmac.

Compared to the diverse Survivor Settlements of the Wasteland, this settlement located deep in the valley appeared unremarkable.

A majestic giant gate stretched across the center of the valley, and behind it, the rock walls were lined with rows of houses. A vast expanse of glass curtain wall covered the top of the slope.

The people living here were like reclusive hermits, hurried in their movements, cloaked, and their calm expressions were difficult to discern whether sacred and solemn or simply numb.

Survivors living in the Grand Canyon, like the canyon itself, were mostly indifferent to events outside the Holy Shield.

Unless it was time for them to fulfill an ancient contract.

And now was that time.

Escorted by a group of soldiers, the aging and majestic King of the Lion Kingdom slowly walked towards the tarmac.

Beside him was a regal and graceful queen, still full of charm, and behind them followed a group of youthful and beautiful maidens.

A thin veil covered their tender and beautiful faces, all of them clearly first-class beauties.

These people were both his concubines and his ornaments.

At such an old age as Charlie Lion, enjoyment was somewhat difficult.

His richly adorned golden ornaments jingled with his unsteady steps, yet the power armor warriors of the Grand Canyon treated it like they didn't see it.

They cared for nothing else, only responsible for the safety of the attendees.

Standing not far away, Absek looked at the aging king, especially glancing at the flock of concubines, and said with some envy.

"This old man really knows how to enjoy life."

If Duwata were here, he probably wouldn't be able to move his legs.

Just as Absek was reflecting on this, a voice from nearby interrupted his thoughts.

"...I heard the Lion Kingdom hasn't been peaceful recently."

"Oh?" Absek raised an eyebrow with interest and turned around to see a well-dressed, tall man with a smile looking at him.

Absek recognized the face; he was the Mayor of the Free State.

Although the Free State was just a Survivor Settlement with a population not even matching Jinjaron Harbor in Poluo Province, yet these people could hold their ground in the chaotic River Valley Province and be considered powerful in their own right.

Gazing at the aged lion in the distance, Otto squinted and smiled.

"The ministers want to make the eldest son the crown prince, while the populace supports Hal. If the Alliance hadn't stationed troops there, they would've already been fighting with brains splattered everywhere."

Upon hearing this news, Absek immediately understood why the old king brought such a large entourage on his travels.

This was an excuse to shelter in the cooling shade of the Grand Canyon.

"Hal...is he the founder of Survivor Daily?"

"Correct." Mayor Otto smiled faintly, "Few people know, the Workers' Association originated from Survivor's Daily, and due to the Inner City Nobles' suppression of the newspaper, a group of newly literate laborers decided to continue its publication... Let me give you an inadequate analogy: a fool thought he was safe after stepping on a cockroach, only to find the Wasteland is now filled with them."

In comparison, the Firestone Group was much more savvy.

They wouldn't suppress progressive voices like those unsophisticated feudal lords, but actively create progressive voices, drowning the citizens of the Free State in a sea of fragmented data.

This is precisely why they looked down on Giant Stone City.

The nobles there are still at the first level, having just realized the truth that "poverty and wealth can coexist," and haven't yet grasped that "ignorance and knowledge can also coexist."

Meanwhile, the shareholders of the Free State are standing in the stratosphere.

They can make resources both poor and rich, and make them know both astronomy and geography, while considering laughably silly rebellions as treasures.

Truly foolish...

But the more Otto smiled, the less he could continue.

Because that's one of the reasons why the Firestone Group could boss around elites like him.

Though Absek didn't know why Mr. Otto's expression soured, he tactfully shifted the conversation from Survivor's Daily to the "robust in old age" Charlie Lion.

"But why would he push Hal to the forefront? From his standpoint, it's not a wise move, even our Witch Todd wouldn't do that."

"He never did, it was Hal who intentionally or unintentionally revealed himself, and then the reformists of the kingdom pushed him forward... It's a classic case of lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own foot."

Seeing the inquisitive Poluo Leader, Otto continued eloquently.

"At the time, the old king thought he had too many sons and sent them off to explore the Wasteland, just to reduce the burden for his eldest son... Unexpectedly, his most inconspicuous youngest son Hal indeed brought back something remarkable."

Absek sighed.

"Unintended consequences? I heard that in the old era, the discovery of the New World was also due to a commercial scam related to Poluo Province."

"Haha, indeed there was! Although I guess he regrets it now, he's already old and can't control future events," Otto joked, then extended his right hand, finally making a formal introduction, "Mayor of the Free State, Otto. Pleasure to meet you, Poluo Province Leader, Absek. You're just as renowned as they say."

"Haha, nice to meet you!" Absek was somewhat flattered as he shook the extended hand, his head lowered a bit.

This was purely a subconscious reaction.

After all, a year ago, he was merely a dock worker at West Sail Port, with no chance of having a conversation with the Mayor of the Free State, nor standing together with so many capable people to discuss the future of the Wasteland.

However, Otto did not make him feel awkward and slightly nodded, placing his left hand on Absek's shoulder and patting it.

"You know? You have an aura that's quite like someone I know, although you two are completely different people in terms of both personality and appearance, and your perspectives and positions differ as well."

Gratefully looking at Otto, Absek lifted his head, regaining his usual calm demeanor.

"Who?"

Raising his own head in response, Otto smiled and said,

"Sigma, CEO and Chairman of the Firestone Group, the true owner of the Free State."

The true owner of the Free State...

Absek pondered over this statement, but Otto did not elaborate, instead shaking his right hand a bit before smiling and bidding farewell.

"Do your best, I can see it, your future is bright! The war will end soon, and we are quite optimistic about your development thereafter. Also, we wish you to overcome challenges quickly."

In such rare circumstances, he couldn't waste all his time on one person; he had to connect with more people.

For instance, the King of Falcon Kingdom, Montego, who was currently disembarking from a plane.

Recently, the Eastern Empire has been preparing to develop a new area in the southwest corner of Luo Province, and Falcon Kingdom should have considerable development prospects, perhaps he could secure several overseas orders for the Free State's company.

Watching Otto's leisurely departing figure, Absek couldn't help but feel moved.

Now that's the demeanor a Leader should have.

Clearly, his own earthy disposition was still lacking.

However, he did not belittle himself; as it is said, "timing and momentum create heroes," both timing and momentum are indispensable for the rise of a capable person.

At present, Poluo Country needed someone like him, so he dealt with Anush and became the Leader...even if his methods were less than honorable.

Perhaps once the Wasteland Era ends, when he becomes an old figure like Charlie Lion, Poluo Country might also have a professional Leader no less capable than Otto.

That person will surely be much more competent than someone who only knows how to wage war and maneuver politics like myself, and, at the very least, won't be someone who only understands the latter like Witch Todd.

That person will lead the Poluo people toward a better future.

For a moment, Absek suddenly felt less inclined to become an emperor, especially after seeing the "wealthy yet poor" Charlie Lion.

Compared to people like that, there are indeed more dignified ways of living in this world.

Dreams can change.

Standing at the pinnacle of life, Absek was filled with ambition, even contemplating a conversation with Laxi.

Sadly, that guy couldn't leave the frontline and only sent his confidant, Shava the Shock Trooper, over.

"It would have been great if Laxi were here, it's a pity not being able to share a drink with him."

Following Absek, Internal Affairs Committee Member Wadia shook his head and said uncomprehendingly,

"I don't know what Laxi was thinking, but he missed such a good opportunity."

"Ah, well, you can't say that, there's an old saying: everyone has their own aspirations," Absek said with a smile, "I remember the Alliance has a historical novel about the Chu-Han contention. Laxi is much like King Chu, serving both as king and general; it's natural that the frontline can't do without him. As for me, I'm like that state, filled with brave warriors and wise strategists; it doesn't matter if I'm there or not... Take a look, beating him should be quite easy for me."

That's all over the place...

Looking at the grand words of the Leader, Wadia smiled bitterly.

He has read that novel,
after all, as an Internal Affairs Committee Member, understanding the Leader's preferences is part of the job.

However, trying to govern a large Survivor Force using the theory from a "historical novel" is really not a good idea.

Pausing for a moment, Wadia said,

"Are you thinking of dividing governance over the Tasang River?"

Squinting with a smile, Absek said,

"Let's each take a step back, they want to manage the flooding of the Tasang River, so they need to borrow half of Bird State and Sheep State. Whether that's an excuse or not, giving half of the Northern Three States to him isn't impossible. Let the Poluo people vote with their feet afterward, those who prefer the north go north, those who prefer the south go south — it's better than going outside to block trains and being laughed at."

The contest between the hypocrite and the genuine villain is about to start.

Unsurprisingly, always thinking that "peace is precious," I should be holding the "hypocrite" card.

Call me insincere or cowardly, let future generations judge, but I truly don't want to fight anymore.

If we can engage in verbal battles, then verbal battles it should be.

They've already lost enough lives...

The average age in Tiandu dropped by ten years, and now they're deploying child soldiers to the battlefield. This isn't just a "Chu and Han conquest," but a story reminiscent of the "Sixteen Kingdoms of the Wei and Jin."

Although Kaba Committee Member often criticized him for being "uneducated," Absek was indeed reading a lot.

Moreover, he considered himself somewhat of an "Alliance expert," as many books he read were bought from the City of Dawn.

Even if many of them were novels.

Upon hearing the Leader's decision, Wadia had mixed feelings.

He always felt that if a battle were to break out, crushing Laxi would not be much of a challenge.

After all, no matter how formidable, Laxi was still just one person.

Furthermore, within the Mammoth Nation, there was the Moon Clan Resistance's veteran power — forces that had been at odds with Laxi since the Witch Todd era.

These individuals also represented a political force.

Though currently suppressed by Laxi and his assault team, and due to the Southern Legion's invasion they had tempered their ambitions, should external conflict turn into internal strife, whether Laxi could handle them was uncertain.

So what if he's backed by the Alliance?

After fighting the Southern Legion for so long, who doesn't have some ties with the Alliance?

In terms of standing, when the Moon Clan and the Alliance were as thick as thieves, Laxi was still suffering the slave owner's whip at Jinjaron Harbor! Moreover, due to the Mammoth Nation's stance on labor issues and its proximity to the Conservative faction of the Alliance, Laxi was never favored by the Alliance's Radical Faction.

But they were different.

Regardless of whether it was the Radical or Conservative factions of the Alliance, due to their respective positions, they mostly sympathized with the Poluo Country.

Thus, their odds of winning were quite significant.

However, he could understand Absek's mindset; Poluo Country needed time to recuperate, and the Poluo people should enjoy a period of peace and prosperity.

Wadia smiled and said.

"That's true... Once we've developed the entire Poluo Country like Jinjaron Harbor, I'm afraid the survivors north of the Tasang River will be clamoring to come work for us. By then, not even ten Laxis could stop them!"

"Haha!" Chuckling at the amusing scenario, Absek burst into laughter, "By then, we could set up cannons by the riverside and knock those fools out if they dared tussle with the Poluo!"

As the two were chatting, a rumbling sound came from the helipad again.

This time it wasn't an aircraft from the Grand Canyon but a vertical take-off and landing plane from the Alliance.

They seemed to have modified the "Overlord" transport plane by converting its fixed wings into adjustable movable wings, like adding an extra pair of wings and engines to the "Tiger Whale" transport plane. This resulted in a significant leap in tonnage, payload, and range over the latter!

The Alliance named it "Peng"!

Absek happened to know the legend behind this name, but what excited him more was the silhouette stepping off that aircraft.

Chu Guang!

The Manager of the Alliance!

Surrounded by Guards in exoskeletons, it was said that every one of them was an Awakener!

Not only that, it was often heard that Chu Guang himself possessed the strength of an Awakener, capable of supporting power armor with just his physical body.

Gazing at the man who appeared much younger than he imagined, Absek involuntarily held his breath, eyes gleaming with fervor.

He had long wished to meet this legendary figure of the Wasteland, though never had the opportunity until now.

Finally, his wish was fulfilled!

...

At this very moment, Chu Guang was unaware that there stood such a little fanboy amidst the crowd, given the sheer number of gazes fixed upon him.

There was the old king of the Lion Kingdom, Afni's brother Yade the Honey Badger Princess, the king of the Falcon Kingdom Montego, even Mayor Otto of the Free State, Chairman of Garbage City... along with many others he had either seen in Sticky Community meetings or not at all.

These people or their respective forces were all influenced by him to varying extents.

Be it good or bad.

Although the display was not grandiose, the Grand Canyon was generous enough to give face to the forces of the Wasteland survivors, inviting everyone whom they deemed necessary.

And major survivor forces willingly obliged, with some reclusive leaders sending trusted aides or coming in person.

With the Grand Canyon and Holy Shield as guarantors, there was no concern over their safety.

Besides, Origin City was among the earliest survivor settlements in the Wasteland.

As the headquarters for the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, this was a prime opportunity to pay respects. If they could forge good ties with one of the big players and secure some aid, they could leap forward instantly!

The overwhelming majority of medium and small survivor forces' representatives or heads of state thought this way.

Hence, their gaze towards Chu Guang was akin to watching a walking gold mine!

No matter what the Waste Land Wanderers felt, Chu Guang, accustomed to such grand occasions, remained undisturbed, calmly waving to those watching him before proceeding towards the helipad.

A soldier clad in power armor approached him, nodding slightly as a salute.

"We have prepared a room for your stay. Your subordinates have already checked the room. Please follow us."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Take me there."

The representatives from the Company and Academy hadn't arrived yet, nor did any of the "former legion leaders" who may or may not show up. There was no point in him staying here.

After glancing around, Chu Guang didn't see anyone he particularly wanted to meet, so he instructed Cheng Yan, who was standing beside him, to stay and socialize with the other survivor forces' representatives present. He then led his guards and followed the soldiers of the Grand Canyon to his accommodations.

However, just as he was about to leave, a young man suddenly squeezed out of the crowd and approached him with an enthusiastic smile.

"Honorable Manager, you really came! Haha, we meet again!"

The fervent expression on his face was akin to that of a starstruck fan, or perhaps a believer encountering a divine entity.

Chu Guang looked at him, finding him familiar, yet somehow different from his impression, and momentarily couldn't remember who he was, prompting a hesitant question.

"You are...?"

The man didn't seem to mind and smiled, revealing his teeth.

"I'm Little Zhou, Zhou Xianlin! You certainly forget things easily. I previously sent you a truckload of gold, remember? It was during the celebration for the war victory in Luo Xia Province!"

A truckload of gold... did that happen?

Chu Guang looked bewildered at this young man.

He did recall the Golden Lizard Kingdom crafting a statue of him out of molten Dinar, which is now displayed in a showcase at the Dawn City Museum as an exhibit.

However, he truly couldn't remember what gift Dam City had sent at that time, especially since Dam City had even less presence at Sticky Community meetings than Garbage City.

Though, with this little fanboy chattering away, he suddenly recalled the name Zhou Xianlin.

This person was the son of Zhou Changxiao, the city lord of Dam City, whose family names were rather literary.

As for Dam City, it was a survivor settlement in the Yue Ma Province, with a population estimated at six to seven hundred thousand.

At that victory celebration, this young man held his hand and praised him, even claiming he would transform Dam City into the Dam Alliance, uniting the survivors around Dam City.

At the time, Chu Guang recognized the fervor in his eyes and advised him to be cautious and not to blindly replicate the experiences of the Alliance. Some things are worth referencing, but shouldn't be copied wholesale.

Now looking at it, this guy was still living well, seemingly having taken his words to heart.

With a slightly relieved smile on his face, Chu Guang stopped the Grand Canyon soldiers who wanted to pull the man away and spoke kindly.

"I remember now, it's been a long time... Did your dad send you this time too?"

Zhou Xianlin chuckled awkwardly.

"Not really, I got rid of that old codger."

Chu Guang: "…?"

Seeing Chu Guang's silence, Little Zhou continued animatedly.

"The old man sent me to learn from the Alliance and then accused me of not learning anything good, always thinking about squandering, wanting my big brother to be the city lord. But how could I let that happen? I took your approach, uniting the scavengers inside and outside of Dam City, and took down everyone around that old man, including my cowardly big brother."

"Oh, and his looter connections crumbled too, those guys were never a match for us. I heard a lot of them fled to Haiye Province, heh, seems like I might have caused you some trouble."

For a moment, Chu Guang was speechless.

Even Xiao Qi, who had been quietly silent, couldn't help but softly complain into his ear.

"That's... filial, right?"

Pressing his index finger against his brow, Chu Guang, failing to comprehend, asked.

"And… the scavengers? Did they allow you to continue being the city lord?"

Zhou Xianlin laughed bashfully, continuing to speak shyly.

"Of course! I got rid of all the ones with ideas. They love me, even called me their savior! Though I told them I was nothing; you are the real Sun on the Wasteland... Anyway, I'm now the leader of the Dam Alliance, but the problem is, I'm a bit confused about what to do next. The Grand Canyon people said you'd be here, so I followed them, hoping you'd guide me."

Looking at this oddball, unsure if he was truly crazy or feigning insanity, Chu Guang sighed.

"If you're willing to listen to me, start by burying your dad."

Zhou Xianlin's expression froze, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Uh, that's a bit difficult... I've already scattered his ashes."

Chu Guang: "…"

Just when Chu Guang didn't know what to say, a deep and sonorous voice came from not far away.

"Manager, it's a pleasure to have you here..."

"I've long wanted to meet you."

Chapter 950: The Chief and the Manager

On the granite stone steps.

The elderly man in a robe watched the young man at the bottom of the steps, and a hint of nostalgia rose in his cloudy eyes.

So much like...

Really, so much like.

But ultimately not...

Those who have lived too long carry a stench imperceptible to the nose but visible to the eyes; if someone has lived over two hundred years like him, they would certainly see it.

But evidently, the young man before him lacked such a smell.

That only leaves one possibility...

Thinking about the sole possibility, the elderly man's eyes involuntarily filled with melancholy.

Just as the old man observed Chu Guang, Chu Guang was also sizing him up.

Just looking at the wrinkles on his face, he couldn't tell how old this guy was.

Perhaps for this Chief, the concept of age had become a void.

Yet in his heart, he felt no envy.

Without death, there is no life.

Immortality is a curse for the living, just like stones.

The Great Rift Valley exists in such a way, where people here, young or old, are all suffused with decay, like stones rolling from the mountaintop.

And it was precisely this air of decay that sparked the rebellion and intense yearning for freedom in the Free State.

No one wants to be born into a coffin and visibly become a burial offering for the foreseeable future.

Compared to Origin City, which witnessed the entire Wasteland Era, Bugra composed of the Waste Land Wanderers is undoubtedly the infant.

Suddenly, a whimsical thought emerged in Chu Guang's mind.

This guy is like an undead from a fantasy novel...

"Attending the invitation to the Great Rift Valley," Chu Guang nodded to the elderly man, then used his eyes to signal a certain eager opportunist to go play elsewhere, continuing, "I've wanted to visit you for a long time, just like you."

Zhou Xianlin scratched his head, understanding the air, knowing he couldn't interject here.

The elderly man, looking at a tactfully departing leader of a Survivor Forces, smiled at Chu Guang warmly.

"Such a spirited young man."

"...Are you speaking of me?"

"No," the elderly man shook his head, smiling, "I'm speaking about your apprentice."

Chu Guang was slightly stunned, then realizing who the old man referenced, hurriedly denied.

"You can eat your words recklessly, but you mustn't speak recklessly! I've never taken an apprentice, nor taught anyone!"

Watching Chu Guang's hurried denial, the old man chuckled amusingly.

"A mentor leads you in, personal cultivation is up to oneself. If things don't go well, it's one's own fate; there's no logic in blaming the teacher. Rest assured, no one will fault you."

Seeing this old man disregarding his words, Chu Guang decided to forgo explaining.

Thank goodness there are no reporters here.

Otherwise he'd find it impossible to clear his name in Tianshui.

The elderly man stopped jesting after some light banter, seemingly to ease the unfamiliar atmosphere.

Standing on the steps, the elderly man waited a little while, and when Chu Guang climbed the steps, he walked beside him, continuing in a chatty manner.

"...Actually, you also don't need to blame yourself, a King may lose a fine horse, a battle, an empire, seeming lamentable. However, stepping back from the entire tale reveals nothing to regret. Even if the horse doesn't fall, the war may not be won, and the empire's decline could be another cycle's new rise."

Seeing the old man unable to let go of the Dam City story, Chu Guang retorted.

"So the fall of the United Human means nothing to you, since it could be the start of another rise and fall cycle."

Chu Guang expected the old man to fall speechless but didn't anticipate his stubbornness, nodding decisively.

"Indeed, I think so, and grow increasingly sure of my thinking... The Wasteland Era is becoming history, and you are its continuation, distinct from us, stemming from us, more advanced, more open, filled with dreams of the future. Soon, you'll have your own children, and by then you'll understand my sentiments."

Chu Guang gave the elderly man a surprised glance, unexpectedly receiving such an evaluation.

Should this be considered a compliment?

After some pondering, he said.

"But I don't wish to comprehend it this way; it turns historical study into fortune-telling, legitimizing suffering."

The elderly man shook his head.

"I never claimed the Wasteland Era correct, just wanted to tell you it's the 'fruit' of the Prosperity Epoch. Long ago, I discussed this with a fellow called Professor, which was partly his point."

Chu Guang furrowed his brow.

"Professor?"

He suddenly recalled a recording.

It was something he found a long time ago in a guard's room in Area B2 that recorded stories beyond the "Blood Hand Diary."

That Professor seemed to have deep ties with Shelter No. 404's First Generation Manager; perhaps they were or could be the same person... That was his speculative conclusion then.

Watching Chu Guang in thought, the elderly man, seemingly expectantly, continued softly.

"Many have forgotten his name, and perhaps never knew it, but those on the Wasteland have been helped by him or indirectly influenced. People at the Academy might still remember him; if interested, you could inquire... though regrettably, the most authoritative 'Consensus' isn't present here, just the appointed Chief Technical Officer."

Chu Guang rubbed his temples, slightly troubled.

"...Your names are too distinct; were all names from the Human Alliance Era like this?"

The elderly man chuckled heartily.

"That era was truly avant-garde. One might have two name meanings in life: one carrying their parents' aspirations, and another reflecting personal dreams and future expectations... Of course, only a few were like this. Most were quite traditional, even traceable by their cultural origin through their names' structure."

When he spoke to here, the elderly man paused for a while, resuming softly.

"Actually, it's not just names, many things are like this. The Post-War Reconstruction Committee attempted to use the Human Alliance's experience to save the dying world, but we soon discovered that we still are ourselves; you are no longer us. Some people tried ways beyond the plan, some tried to force unfinished tasks to completion, but most of their efforts failed. Instead, unexpected seeds blossomed."

"Take Julius, for instance. Every officer of the War Construction Committee who opposed him accused his compassion and weakness of ruining human civilization. But in fact, human civilization wasn't as fragile as they claimed. It was only they themselves who descended into hell—those criminals who firmly believed in 'necessary evils' and the War Construction Committee that indulged them."

"As for Julius, who they looked down upon, he became a revered Ironblood Marshal... Even the residents of the shelter had many who supported him. Otherwise, how did the Iron Heart fly? It couldn't have been completed with the knowledge reserve of the Weilante People alone, including retrieving their own Gene Source Code. Although later on, the kid did fumble in the affairs of Yavente City, but that's another story."

Chu Guang patiently listened to his story, then thoughtfully asked.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

The old man looked back at the distant helipad behind him, glanced at Little Zhou standing helplessly among the crowd, smiled faintly, and continued.

"I just want to tell you that the Human Alliance is too remote for you; you have your own history to reference."

"Another thing, don't be bound by fear of failure, nor self-reproach for mistakes already made. History repeats because errors themselves are inevitable; if not today, they'll happen tomorrow or the day after. Memories of falling will become fuel for you to continue moving forward. Even if you fall and can't get up, you can be the fuel for your children, helping them go further."

"You're young, it's time to show your edge without reservation, don't live like an old man who can't get up after a fall like me."

Those cloudy eyes seemed to see through him.

Meeting the old man's gaze, Chu Guang suddenly saw his own reflection in those cloudy "mirrors."

The self that was tied down.

Yet he didn't think what the old man said necessarily represented correctness, nor that his own choices were bad.

The only existence in the alliance not bound by constraints is himself, and his self-control is an integral part of the plan itself.

And this old man disliked his slow pace, perhaps not standing in a position for his good, but hoping he and the alliance, like the Human Alliance, would become the fuel for future children.

Just like what Julius had already done, the dissolution of the Army achieved Weilante's glory. The fact he didn't swell like Julius apparently made this old man anxious.

Seeing the old man's gaze with a hint of encouragement, Chu Guang, gradually understanding everything, was glad he didn't get lured in, laughed heartily and broke the old man's trap.

"It seems that everyone turns nihilistic when they get older; I should take this as a caution."

The old man's brow twitched slightly, shaking his head in refute.

"This isn't a matter of aging but of the information received. Some people near the end can't let go of their obsessions, while others are just beginning their lives but have already reached an age of understanding. I don't think this is a good thing. You're exceptional, even better than another 'you'; I have high hopes for you."

"...Another me?"

Chu Guang frowned, but the old man suddenly changed his face as if he'd misspoke and closed his mouth.

"Ahem... it's too early to talk about this now. I have some things to do, just escorting you here for now; let's talk later."

With that, the old man turned to leave.

Looking at the guy who stopped mid-sentence, Chu Guang wore an amused yet annoyed expression.

They'd talked for so long, but this guy hadn't even told him his name.

"At least tell me your name."

The old man paused, deliberated for a moment, then slightly turned his head.

"Name... call me Qian Wu, though I haven't used this name in years; you might call me without getting a response."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Doesn't matter, just a matter of courtesy."

Chief: "..."

Watching the two-hundred-year-old man leave, Chu Guang looked at the attendant arranged for him by the Great Rift Valley, nodded to signal the power armor-clad big guy to continue leading the way.

The two walked forward a bit further, entering the silver-gray building at the top of the Great Rift Valley.

The entire building resembled a spaceship lying on the valley, with the streamlined shell merging into the transparent dome.

This seemed to be the core of the Holy Shield System, reportedly the safest place on the wasteland—even safer than the shelter.

After all, the latter still needed to filter fuel supply, while beneath the former lay a vast sea-like energy source.

Players came here long ago and brought the photos they took back to the official website.

Chu Guang had already seen those photos back then, still viewed the unfiltered versions, so he wasn't too surprised by the grandiose scenes here.

However, as soon as he walked through the silver sliding doors into the hall, he was stunned by the scene in front of him.

In the center of the hall stood a bulky and bloated "golden tin can," with a familiar face embedded atop it.

That guy was none other than his "Ace Dual Pangolin"—

Battlefield Atmosphere Group!

And standing next to this guy was the former Army ambassador to the alliance and now influential member of the Triumph City's Civil Official Group, Centurion Bennott.

Though this guy had often quarreled with him at the Sticky Community meetings, that was purely due to positional differences, even fiery arguments weren't personal grudge.

Since the West Sail Port incident, the alliance had helped the Civil Official Group.

Since then, Triumph City had gotten closer to City of Dawn, while the Southern Legion, which had trade dealings with the alliance, grew further due to geographic conflicts.

Now, with the founding of the Weilant Alliance and the alliance's wholehearted aid to Triumph City against the "Mortal Serum," Triumph City and City of Dawn were experiencing a sticky honeymoon period, naturally leading Bennott to have a full turnaround in attitude towards the alliance.

The moment the blue iron can walked into the hall, the old man instantly lit up with joy, greeted him with a beaming smile and ruddy face.

"Haha! Dear Manager, it's been a long time! You are still as handsome as ever!"

"You too, still as robust as ever..." Chu Guang's expression became a bit subtle, not due to Centurion Bennott's contrasting demeanor, but because he hadn't expected to see his little player here.

Clearly, it wasn't just him who felt awkward. The person squatting in the golden tin can awkwardly smiled at him.

Yet Bennott didn't show any embarrassment, nor did he notice his leader behind him was curling his toes tightly, still enthusiastically chatting away.

"Allow me to introduce... the Tyrant of Triumph City, the inheritor of the Golden Armor, the hero of survivors from Weilante Governorate and Bartoya Province! Mr. Pangolin!"

With an intonated speech, he proudly looked at Chu Guang and continued speaking.

"He is quite an extraordinary person! The stories about him can't be told in three days and nights—"

Seeing Chu Guang almost unable to contain his laughter, the Old Soldier coughed loudly, interrupting Bennott, and hurriedly spoke.

"Alright, no need to talk about my matters... Manager of the alliance, there's something I'd like to discuss with you, are you available now?"

"Closed-door meeting before the Human Conference?" Chu Guang said in a teasing tone.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group replied with a smile half-laugh and half-grimace.

"Indeed..."

This play has lasted until now purely by his improvisation, and he really doesn't know how to continue it further.

Chu Guang nodded, then looked at the attendant beside him.

"I need a private meeting room, can you arrange one for me?"

The attendant in the power armor nodded respectfully.

"No problem."

...

On the other side, the helipad was in chaos.

The landing of the aircraft from the enterprise caused quite a stir, to the point where the leader of the Red River Alliance accidentally stepped on the shoes of the Dam Alliance's leader, almost causing a diplomatic incident.

Fortunately, the soldiers of the Great Rift Valley separated the two in time and politely escorted them back to their respective rooms.

Unlike the Alliance, the "thorny rose," Ideal City is the purest symbol of wealth!

Especially for those who only want to get rich quickly without progress, they are even more of a hot commodity than the Alliance.

Like Mayor Otto.

When he saw the representative of the Ideal City Council coming down from the helipad, his eyes glinted with golden light.

And standing at a distance, the Chief of the Great Rift Valley watched them with a pleased smile on his wrinkled face.

Although the "Human Conference" has not officially started and remains a prelude, the curtain had already risen the moment the first aircraft landed.

Those standing here are the ones who can decide the future destiny of the Wasteland, whether it concerns the lives of a hundred million or several hundred thousand people.

It can be said that it was not his invitation that brought them here, but the survivors of the wasteland who pushed them to the forefront.

As a night watchman of the old era, he will fulfill his last duty here—building a stage for these trailblazers of the new era.

This is his true mission.

The final meeting is not really something to look forward to; what is truly worth discussing is often already decided before the meeting starts...

As the old man was admiring his handiwork, footsteps came from behind him.

"Sir, are you the Chief of the Great Rift Valley?"

Absek watched the old man's back with a respectful expression.

Earlier, when Chu Guang was conversing with this person, he was already paying attention to this old man.

When everyone gathered in front of the helipad, he saw there was no opportunity to squeeze in, so he came here on a whim.

His intuition told him that this person was also a heavyweight figure capable of influencing the wasteland's situation.

If you can't climb the enterprise's tall tree, grasping a branch of the Great Rift Valley is still excellent.

The Poluo people are extremely intelligent, though their intelligence may differ.

The old man turned around, took a good look at Absek, and then smiled gently.

"That's me, is there something you need?"

His amiable tone was like a spring breeze, a stark contrast to the surging undercurrents below the steps.

Absek stood in solemn respect,

"I've long admired your name; I'm Absek, the Leader of the Poluo Country. Please allow me to extend the most sincere greetings on behalf of the hundreds of millions of people of the Poluo Country."

Poluo Country, huh...

The old man's gaze fell into memories,

That means this person should be a descendant of General Lowell.

He could still call Julius "children," but that guy would have been his contemporary...

Thinking of this, the old man smiled amiably and said in a gentle tone.

"Hello, Leader of the Poluo Country, and please also convey my greetings to the hundreds of millions of survivors of Poluo Country."

Unexpectedly, this big figure was so approachable, and Absek admired him all the more in his heart.

The world outside of Poluo Country was far larger than he had imagined, and it seemed he still had a long way to go...

"I will certainly convey your greetings to them!" he said, smiling and bowing slightly, skillfully building a rapport. "Speaking of which, the survivors of Poluo Country and those of the Great Rift Valley have some connections! It's something I learned later on. The General Lowell who led us through the crises was actually an officer of the United Human! We are like two buds growing from the same tree, one falling to the south, the other to the north, but sharing the same roots."

Amused by this notion, the old man chuckled sympathetically and, after a pause, continued.

"Lowell... I remember that name, and may I thick-skinnedly call him an old comrade! To my shame, the War Construction Committee really let him down by failing to extend a helping hand when he needed it the most."

"That's understandable; we can appreciate that you had your own difficulties," Absek sighed lightly, magnanimously letting go of the past, "Let bygones be bygones. The Poluo people are ready for the new era and are now more concerned about our own futures and those of our children."

This was just a nice diplomatic statement, which the speaker didn't have to take too seriously, nor did the listener.

Yet after listening, the old man just gave him a meaningful smile.

"Are you really ready?"

Seeing that smile, which suddenly seemed different, Absek was momentarily baffled, unsure of what the Chief meant.

"Of course... if we weren't ready, how could I be standing here?"

Hearing these words, the old man smiled and nodded, suddenly looking past him into the distance.

"Lowell... I know the story of this comrade; he was probably one of the earliest saviors of this wasteland, and a true savior. Unlike us, who are relief agencies merely trying to minimize losses and preserve the last sparks of dying human civilization, he was genuinely different. Regardless of whether his ideas were clever, we must all admit his bravery in attempting to rescue those doomed to die... and that is a courage we did not have."

"To ensure as many people survive as possible, we abandoned that impossible dream of saving everyone a very long time ago, both I and that 'Professor.'

Absek stared blankly at the old man, unable to grasp the meaning behind these words.

But as a wise man, he naturally would not counter the "giant" before him.

Researching Lowell was something for Mr. Mouse Niyan and Kaba Ha Committee members to handle; what happened 200 years ago was irrelevant to the Leader of the Poluo Country.

"...We think it's the same; he is a true savior."

Absek thought the old man would nod in satisfaction, but to his surprise, he broke into laughter.

What puzzled him even more was what the Chief said next.

"The Manager of the Alliance says I'm a nihilist, that my understanding of history is like fortune-telling, and warns me to take heed... This young man looks down on me, haha. In that case, let me do a divination for the kindred of this nihilist—a pragmatist."

Absek stared blankly at him, unsure of what he was trying to do, not even knowing who this pragmatist was he mentioned.

This 200-year-old man closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly opened them mysteriously.

"How many people are there in Poluo Country?"

Absek didn't want to tell him, but after thinking for a moment, he realized that it would be quite easy for the old man to find out if he wanted. So he decided to be honest.

"Less than 200 million."

"That's bad," the old man shook his head, "at least another 20 million will die."

Absek held his breath for a moment and hurriedly retorted.

"How is that possible! 20 million?! The Weilante people can't kill that many! There aren't that many people in the entire Northern Three Continents combined! Do you mean Laxi is going on a killing spree? No, wait..."

He suddenly calmed down.

After all, he was a Leader of a region, he shouldn't lose his composure over a few delusional words from an old man.

Perhaps this was a scheme from the Great Canyon...

They saw through his reluctance to initiate this civil war and intentionally provoked him with words.

But why?!

Absek's eyes were filled with confusion as if he had fallen from the peak of his life into a dry well, with thick walls on either side and unreachable clouds above.

Apart from Laxi suddenly going mad, he couldn't figure out where these 20 million heads would come from.

Famine?

They were no longer short of grain.

Flood?

Again, there weren't that many people along the banks of the Tasang River!

Plague?

That was possible, but also unlikely. After all, the Poluo Province didn't have as developed a road network as Bartoya Province. The Weilante people had already proven that their virus could at most wipe out a village or a town, beyond that it couldn't spread far...

Besides, the Alliance's medical technology is the best in the world!

And the companies! If something like that happened, the companies would help too!

A trace of annoyance appeared on Absek's face, as if he were being toyed with.

If it weren't for the fact that this old man was the Chief of the Great Canyon, someone he couldn't afford to offend, he would've turned and left!

In fact, he didn't even understand what kind of entity the Great Canyon was, instinctively using his hometown mindset.

If he, like Chu Guang, understood the true nature of the Great Canyon, he wouldn't care about face, much less try to ingratiate himself with these people.

Whether or not he gave the Great Canyon face, the longest-living old man in this Wasteland wouldn't make things difficult for him.

And that the old man was willing to speak so plainly was actually a kindness.

Entirely because of Lowell.

As an "observer," he absolutely wouldn't extend his pinky towards the board unless absolutely necessary.

"Mr. Absek, the clever one elected by the Poluo Country, answer me a question: If there are a billion sheep on the prairie and a billion freeze to death in the Wasteland Era, how many are left now?"

Absek replied instinctively.

"Of course, there wouldn't be any—"

"Wrong," the old man shook his head, smiling and said, "I'll tell you, there's still a billion left."

"How can that be?" Absek exclaimed in surprise, but then regained his composure, "Old man, is this some sort of sophistry?"

"It's not sophistry; it's a natural law," the old man slowly began to explain, "The Wasteland Era isn't a gust of wind, but the sand blown by the wind, which only hurts when you rub your eyes. The war came quickly, and by the time we realized that winning and losing mattered, everything we cherished had already ended... For some, this process takes one day, for others, it takes 200 years, and for you all living on the prairie, it might be half a century."

"The harshest winter probably lasted 43 years, maybe 46, I can't remember exactly... If there were no Looters, no Variants, and there was ample water and food, even if the flock starved to only ten thousand, they could restore their numbers to a billion over the next one and a half centuries."

"You thank Lowell for saving at least a billion people, but how do you explain the break in civilization that occurred? Is it merely because the fathers didn't pass their knowledge on to their sons?"

"Is it possible that his self-righteous tinkering killed those who needn't have died? That the sheep on the prairie could have left a thousand, but they were reduced to five hundred because his Red Soil didn't have much of an effect in the winter. Of course, Poluo Province isn't the Great Desert; there are no Variants and Sticky Communities here, and Looters from outside can't easily get in, so the number of sheep didn't decrease, and actually doubled instead."

"Perhaps only the Red Soil can give you the right answer, but I can responsibly tell you that if that generation truly survived because of Lowell, it wouldn't be the destitute Weilante people that educate you, but it should be you that shoulder the mission of ending the Wasteland Era, to save the River Valley Province, to save Triumph City, and then I'd award you the Medal of Victory... Of course, by then you might scoff at me as that young man did."

Looking at the breathless Absek, the old man chuckled softly and said,

"Your evaluation of Lowell should actually be more objective, this is the only chance to survive, some already realize this, but it's far from enough. Otherwise, I'm not joking; he really will come back for you, to continue his savior's game with you, then become the new Lowell, and lead you to the next trial."

The old man felt a hint of regret at this moment.

He really shouldn't have "leaked the answers," for if these people really found this Lowell and hastily buried him like two hundred years ago, forgetting the unpleasant memories, the next Lowell would be harsher and kill more people.

However, the Great Canyon was rarely as lively as today, and he indeed got a bit carried away, also genuinely liking this young man.

Who knows, perhaps a life could be saved?

Although this life might require countless others in exchange, he honestly didn't care much anymore.

"Are you talking about Anush..." Absek's voice trembled, a drop of cold sweat streaking across his forehead.

That guy was undoubtedly dead yet became an unshakable nightmare in his mind.

For a while, he kept having nightmares, which only got better after he believed in the Silver Moon Goddess.

Yet two sentences from this old man brought back thoughts of that bloodied figure staring at him.

It was as if he was telling him he'd return to reclaim everything taken from the blood-stained throne.

Not wanting to scare the young man too much, the old man's hesitations between saving and not saving ended with a light sigh.

"I don't know the Anush you speak of; who he is and his name doesn't matter."

"You think I said these things to tell you Lowell harmed you all, but that's not it."

"Every resident of Shelter No. 404 is Chu Guang, and every Poluo person is Lowell."

Chapter 951: The Past and the Present

Over two hundred years ago, the biting cold wind tore through the earth, even the Lowell Camp near the equator wasn't spared much.

Two figures limped through the cold wind.

One was wearing power armor, the other a full protective suit with the Academy's emblem, and from the fog condensing on the inside of their helmet visors, they both seemed to be quite injured.

This was indeed the case; fierce resistance was never free of charge.

The thermal insulation system was already damaged.

The temperature of minus 30 degrees was helpless even for sticky fungi, let alone them who were about to lose their last means of keeping warm.

By the time the water vapor turned to ice, it would pretty much be the end for them.

But even so, their situation was better than the corpse they were carrying—

The blood flowing from the wounds had frozen into red ice, sealing the bullet holes, freezing the twisted face, and almost freezing the maddened desires.

And the mouth sealed with blood ice seemed to still be silently shouting—

'Why didn't you listen to me.'

Why...

The soldier grimaced, exhaling a cloud of turbid air, blowing it onto the translucent visor.

That was their general.

As for why he was executed, that's a long story.

In short, he no longer wanted to recall those infected with fungus in the lab, and those who were executed for opposing the esteemed gentleman... after all, his hands were also stained with some blood.

Yes.

He was an accomplice.

But who wasn't?

Let the past be the past.

Their children don't need to bear the heavy memories to move forward.

Human beings have compassion, and as an ordinary soldier, he was certainly no exception.

They wasted vast resources, killed numerous innocent people, missed the best window for self-rescue, and in the end, didn't save a single person... and all this was just because of Lowell's motto, they wanted to save the survivors who were pouring into the Poluo Province from the center of the world, they needed a "cultivable fungus that could work in temperatures of minus 30 to 50 degrees".

Which was the so-called red soil...

He didn't know how to evaluate what he had done, but at least it takes courage to become a joke in other people's mouths.

The two of them threw the corpse onto the freezing wilderness.

They took out a sapper shovel, and according to the plan, used all their strength to break the frozen ground, dug out a big pit, and threw their general's corpse and the research data in together.

The Wasteland Era will end.

When everything ends, when their children's children dig this up, perhaps they will stand at a higher perspective to give a more objective evaluation of what happened here, rather than simply defining Lowell as a bad guy or a good guy, supporters or opponents as righteous or evil.

Only when the whole memory truly becomes history, they wouldn't have to be jokes in people's mouths, and all this could come to a satisfactory conclusion.

They were just floating pieces of duckweed in the tide, dandelion seeds blown to the corner of the world by the aftershock of the explosion.

That's all.

At least that's how the soldier evaluated himself.

When about to fill the pit, the researcher next to him raised his hand to stop the soldier from filling the frozen ground.

"This is the last sample."

He raised his sore arm, with a trembling index finger entered the password, took out a scarlet test tube from the negative pressure sample box at his waist.

The scarlet color was just like blood.

No different from the blood on Lowell, the howling cold wind instantly turned the test tube into an ice sculpture upon contact with the outside.

Like laughing at that crazy plan...

"Keep your eyes open and look..."

Overlooking the ferocious face in the pit, the researcher pulled a stiff smile, fiercely throwing down the test tube which shattered on Lowell's already rigid corpse.

"Minus 30 degrees, water freezes instantly! What kind of spore... can germinate at minus 30 degrees ultra-low temperature! Do you expect me to produce a silicon-based life in your broken lab?"

"Why don't you invite God into the lab!"

This idiot...

Even on the verge of death, he wouldn't admit his mistake.

The researcher finally finished cursing, yanked out the sapper shovel frozen to the ground, and vented his anger by tossing the overturned frozen earth and dirty snow into the pit.

Digging and filling took them a whole day.

But for them, this day was more meaningful than any other.

Because from now on, they were no longer enemies, they became compatriots again.

Though there wasn't much time left in the following days...

Glancing at the little remaining energy, the soldier held back the researcher ready to return to the camp, shaking his head at him.

The latter hesitated for a moment, quickly understanding his intention, then smiled bitterly and nodded.

Indeed.

They had no reason to go back anymore.

The buffering door of the research institute opened one less time, which might give those inside two more days of life.

Leave the energy and supplies for the remaining people...

Moreover, when supplies ran out, what kind of hell it would turn into there was still an unknown.

Death?

They were long prepared for that.

Since they would leave anyway, better do it sooner.

Besides, what should be left of this history should not just be Lowell's corpse.

They were the last brick of the tombstone.

Someone had to accompany him down there.

Only then, would those who come here later know what once happened here...

After finishing everything, the two of them didn't return home but continued forward on the freezing wilderness, finally finding a "frozen tree" that looked sturdy enough.

The two exchanged glances, understanding each other's intentions.

This was the place...

They tacitly approached, smoothing the snow on the ground, then sat down, leaning against the frozen solid tree nearby.

Perhaps the howling cold wind was indeed blocked somewhat by the dried-up trunk, or maybe their senses had just grown dull.

The researcher threw the sapper shovel in his hand far away, for they no longer needed it.

The soldier then pulled out the cigarette pack he had been reluctant to open, wanting to have one last stick, but realizing he couldn't through the helmet of power armor, he finally gave up with a bitter smile.

Imitating the researcher, he harshly threw away the almost empty cigarette box in his hand.

Just consider it quitting smoking.

From now on, his name would be "Quit smoking."

The mist on the helmet had already frozen, and the alarm light that had been flashing no longer did.

The soldier closed his eyes, dazed for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"Before Lowell died, he sent a message to the War Construction Committee... Damn it, I don't know how he badmouthed us in the email. Do you think he would blame the 'Red Soil' idea on us?"

"Whatever, they might as well send a troop over to see," the researcher smirked.

Would it matter when you're dying?

"I doubt it..."

The soldier shook his head and suddenly remembered something, calling out to the researcher who was about to fall asleep.

"Hey."

"...What?"

"You're a scientist... tell me the truth, will this planet get better?"

The researcher, who was almost asleep, shook his head.

"I don't know, no one knows, but we've done everything we can... As long as one person survives in the end, we've won this war."

Some people went to Luo Xia Province—the granary of the Prosperity Epoch.

If the survivors there can keep the "dike" running, they might be able to preserve a part of the oasis.

Besides, it's not far from the Grand Canyon, the War Construction Committee should be able to help them.

The soldier was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"I truly regret it..."

"...What about you?"

"I was so foolish, how could I believe it... Damn it, if only I hadn't listened to his nonsense from the start, you're to blame too, why didn't you tell the truth..."

"Heh... No one ever said?"

Hearing the slightly self-mocking reply, the soldier fell silent, and after a moment, sighed.

"I suppose..."

Humans cannot conquer nature.

They can only conquer themselves.

Not until the final moment of life did he understand that their biggest enemy was not actually Gaia, nor the winter, not even Lowell and his stubborn accomplices until the end...

But themselves.

And always had been.

The dead become the fuel for the living, buried in the dust of history.

The era of the United Human ended.

If Lowell Camp was compared to a local battle, they both won and lost...

Because everything had ended.

"What do you think... future generations will say about us."

No answer.

The soldier glanced at his friend sitting beside him, only to find he had already merged with the ice sculpture behind him, much like General Lowell whom they had buried.

Minus thirty degrees was too cold for even Red Soil to survive, let alone people...

Yet, facing imminent death, the soldier's heart felt no fear.

Consider it repaying a debt...

Hoping they wouldn't become the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous, these memories just fossilized fuel to be burned away.

With a light sigh in his heart, he looked up at the gray sky, through which no light could pass.

"...Sorry, kids, we took a bit of a detour."

After all, winter would eventually pass...

Firmly believing so, the soldier took his last breath, merging completely with the frozen landscape.

Time flew by, like White Horse Passing a Gap.

For half a century, the howling frigid winds raged, but in the end, they couldn't stop the blazing sun.

Winter finally came to an end.

Green leaves of grass sprouted from the soil, and all creatures that had been cowering in caves timidly poked their heads out, as if curious about the blue sky they hadn't seen in eons.

This was the equator.

Rejuvenation started here first.

Survivors emerged from their burrows and dilapidated shelters, building settlements of various sizes on the banks of the Everflow River, hunting wild animals, erecting totem poles for each victory, and slowly reclaiming the fragments of the Prosperity Epoch...

The barbarism and bloodshed here were no less than those in any corner of the wasteland, but not as harsh as the latter.

At least there were no sandstorms or giant beasts from the Great Desert here, nor were there dead claws from River Valley Province or venomous insects from Luo Xia Province.

This felt like a natural refuge.

Civilization was gradually reviving.

As of now, Red Soil hadn't formally appeared on Poluo Province's stage, and the history of Lowell Camp seemed completely forgotten.

But it didn't really matter.

This natural sanctuary had everything, enough animals left from the Prosperity Epoch for locals to feast on delicacies, and afterward, they could still farm and ponder cooking techniques.

It was a painful yet joyous period, and the sprouting of civilization slowly moved forward during this time.

Time continued onward.

Survivors of Giant Stone City high-fived their chips at the conference hall, sending off the last elder who had seen the Prosperity Epoch. Meanwhile, the Poluo Province tribal wars, fueled by population growth, quickly evolved into kingdom wars.

The language of the United Human was the biggest legacy the Prosperity Epoch left for the Wasteland Era.

Local survivors didn't need to waste much time on trial and error.

Even if they couldn't remember the lessons of history, they could recall fragments of distant memories, quickly matching themselves to a lifestyle suitable for their productivity.

After the chieftain, came the king.

Within 4 million square kilometers of the province, thirteen kings soon emerged, each corresponding to thirteen reserves or "states".

At this time, the ambitious "Moon King" summoned a wealthy farm owner.

The latter, with not particularly huge plantations, managed to feed tens of thousands of servants!

At this moment, the farm owner held a handful of vermilion soil in his hands...

The cycle at this point finally completed a full circle.

Currently, the thirteen states of Poluo Province do not include Moon Province, but long ago it did exist.

However, after the moon rose and fell, and then the sun rose, Moon Province was eventually replaced by the Lowell state of the rising West Winds Empire.

That too marked another chapter of turbulent years...

...

Time returns to the present.

No one knows what happened in the past 200 years, not even the Alliance, who set up a research station on the old site of Lowell Camp at Jin Galun Harbor, can recover much historical material from its ruins.

In the many research topics of the Alliance Social Science Research Institute, the study of Poluo Province is just a relatively broad main line, parallel to those numbered shelters like 70, 79, 100, 101, 117, 401, etc., as an "unnumbered shelter."

The Chief of the Great Rift Valley naturally wouldn't know that bit of history.

Due to the interference signals mixed between the radioactive dust and orbital debris, the last message Lowell sent never even reached the headquarters of the War Construction Committee...

On the Wasteland, "long-distance radio communication" barriers still persist to this day, and the Alliance relies on wired cables to achieve real-time signal interchange domestically and internationally.

Leaving the Chief of the Great Rift Valley behind, Absek looked lost, seeming to have understood yet at the same time not.

Glancing at the worried Internal Affairs Commissioner Wadia walking beside him, he suddenly chuckled and stroked his chin.

"That old man wanted to save my life..."

Wadia was taken aback, not understanding what his boss was saying, but remembering they were on other people's territory, he quickly reminded with a forced smile.

"Mr. Leader...we're in the Great Rift Valley now, calling their Head of State like that—"

"I know, it doesn't matter, the old...the person doesn't care," Absek waved his hand, interrupting what Wadia was about to say, "You just leave me alone for a bit, I want to quietly think it through, I'll let you know if there are any arrangements."

He initially intended to visit Chu Guang, but then realized it wasn't really necessary.

What difference would it make to see him?

The issues of the Poluo people must ultimately be resolved by themselves, they can't keep running around looking for a savior.

Besides, no one could help them with such a large population, and those who could help had already done so.

Technology, funding, machinery, production methods, ideological enlightenment, local talent, even some "originally theirs, lost through their own means, sociological data"...

He really couldn't think of anything else he could ask for on behalf of the survivors of Poluo Province.

If it's still not enough, they'll have to bring their Manager over.

Moreover, during this period before the meeting, the Manager from the Alliance should also have their own plans.

For example, discussions on post-war problems, the three former Legion Leaders and the Leader of Triumph City would have to meet, right?

Teil probably doesn't have the guts to come, and even if he did, it's pointless; he can see that the Southern Legion is about to lose.

Further, discussions would need to take place on ending the Wasteland Era, between the Chief Technical Officer of the Academy and the directors of Ideal City, they would need to meet, right?

The schedule is almost packed, better not add trouble for that gentleman.

Perhaps after the meeting, when there's a chance, they could meet...

...

In a spacious bright room, a bruised and battered Zhou Xianlin was applying medicine to his wounds, attended by the old butler.

As the leader of the Dam Alliance, he had never suffered such humiliation—being pulled by his lapels and getting his lips busted.

That soldier in power armor shouldn't have pulled him away.

He was so close to biting that guy's ear off!

Unfortunately, in the end, he couldn't show the River Valley People the bravery of the galloping horsemen.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Zhou Xianlin, full of rage, glanced at the nearby old butler and said viciously,

"Where is the Red River Alliance? Mark them on the map for me! Damn these dog-like creatures, how dare they stick their nose in my face? Watch me not chop them up to feed the dogs!"

The old butler shivered, nearly spilling the iodine in his hand, sweating profusely as he spoke.

"Master... the Red River Alliance... they might really have fought the Looter, and whoever they have locked in the mine might actually be a Looter."

Zhou Xianlin paused, suddenly glaring at the old butler with a darkened face.

"...What do you mean? We haven't fought with the Looter?"

"Yes, we have," the old butler quickly nodded, almost in tears, "I just meant... Chewing Bone Tribe is rather unique, unlike other Looters. Also, the Red River Alliance has an alliance garrison, although it's said to be only a hundred or two, it's still better not to provoke them."

Actually, the more challenging part is how to send people there.

You surely can't take the Alliance's train to go fight, right?

Fortunately this time, the young master finally understood and swallowed his pride.

Zhou Xianlin sneered.

"I thought, who are they... just a dog on a chain! Let's say, it's better to leave this chained dog for my elder brother to handle!"

Old butler: "..."

...

Elsewhere, in a meeting room carved from granite, the Imperial Guard of Triumph City and the Guard of the Alliance, after checking the room, exited outside and closed the door.

Inside the meeting room, only the Leader of Triumph City and the Manager of the Alliance remained.

At last, no third person was present, and the old soldier sitting in the golden tin can looked utterly exhausted, leaning back on the chair, only to "crack" it in two, almost tumbling backward onto the ground.

Meeting Chu Guang's amused expression, he awkwardly scratched his head.

"Sorry... and made you laugh."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"No worries, I've seen it many times, and when I first wore power armor, I also broke quite a few chairs."

There were always players who treated him as an NPC, spouting nonsense and performing meta-art in front of him.

Some even confided every bizarre issue to him, treating him like a tree hollow, and some asked how to have a child with an NPC.

As early as the alpha version, he had already mastered the skill of "keeping a straight face".

After sitting down in another chair, this time, the old soldier did not lean back again, instead, placing his arms on the Table like Chu Guang.

No wonder professionals like the tin can, this posture indeed felt much more secure.

He sighed, wanting to say something but failing to find the words to start with, uttering a circuitous remark instead.

"To be honest, I'm not a good person; the Weilante people of Triumph City might be misunderstanding something. Thanks to the Forum... uh, I mean, thanks to my advisors, I've been managing to be an okay Leader, but I haven't figured out the future steps at all. To tell you the truth, I've considered resigning more than once, or perhaps you could show me the way."

Seeing the Battlefield Atmosphere Group truly troubled rather than treating everything as a Game, Chu Guang smiled at his words, responding casually.

"There are no absolutely good people in this world, only bad people and those who have begun to examine their own hearts."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group paused.

"...What do you mean?"

Chu Guang didn't answer directly but instead locked eyes with him and countered with a question.

"Do you consider yourself a bad person?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was confused for a moment, uncertain whether to claim he wasn't.

Because he did obscure his identity, and to this day hasn't figured out how to face Rezer's test, to confess to the Weilante people in Triumph City.

He shook his head and said frankly.

"I don't know."

A look of approval appeared in Chu Guang's eyes, and he extended his right hand forward.

"When you tell me you don't know, at least you're no longer a bad person, or a 'bad Leader'... You should realize that you have started to examine your own heart."

The expression of surprise appeared on the face of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, frowning and thinking for a moment, as if that was indeed the case.

In just half a minute, he reviewed his life... at least in the game world.

The true is false and the false is true... No matter the original intention is good or not, this Pangolin has lived up to his conscience and is seriously contemplating what conscience is.

He's not the savior of the Weilante people, nor did he ever want to be their savior, he just did what he thought was right and what should be done.

For someone like him, a mixed reputation is well deserved, even if he sheds his disguise in front of all the Weilante people.

Seeing the hint of enlightenment in the eyes of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, Chu Guang continued in a gentle voice.

"You will soon find your own flaws, mend them, and then climb out of the dry well that traps you... This is the necessary path of growth."

"You want to tell me that you're not fit to be a Leader, but I think you've done very well already. Most people spend their whole lives discovering their own well, and even fewer try to climb out, but at least you're on your way up."

He rarely spoke in such motivational tones, but the young player in front of him was like his child, and he truly watched this guy grow little by little.

Although the old and confused guy said a lot of nonsense, there was one sentence that really touched his heart.

He truly experienced the feeling of being a father, and he felt it a long time ago.

However, unlike the old man who recited "Good is the enemy of evil, blessings lie in misfortune" and threw his children to the wasteland for teaching, Chu Guang preferred to be a severe but sensible father.

That old man might be "accurate," having lived through countless cycles, he naturally saw the pattern of cycles as well.

But the children of the Alliance cannot go into the future with such void thinking.

They should stand at the position of the "changer," to see the unchanging mountains and rivers, the sun, moon, and stars, and create a new future that no one has seen before with more courage and vitality!

And this is Chu Guang's expectation for the descendants of the Alliance.

This way, they would not have lived in vain...

"Maybe, I'm afraid of failing their trust." The Battlefield Atmosphere Group raised his head, staring at the ceiling.

Chu Guang, experienced with such troubles, smiled and said.

"Do you know why you're afraid of failing their trust?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group instinctively replied.

"Why?"

Chu Guang hit the nail on the head.

"Because... you became Leader because of their trust, and this matter itself has no conspiracy to it, their trust was earned with sincerity, not through deception or by chance."

The eyes of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group lit up, but Xuan Jiu coughed again.

"Actually, I was trying to ask you for specific advice..."

"Sorry, all I can give you is encouragement," Chu Guang paused and said with a smile, "Why not seek advice from other Weilante people? Think about why you gained support and why they support you and not others."

"Once you figure it out, you can build a public speaking platform where you gave speeches, put up more mailboxes in places where they support you, stipulate that future Leaders should also openly speak their dreams and fulfill their promises, and what happens if they fail... these things you need to figure out yourself."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group had a sudden realization, sat up straight and serious.

"I understand."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Now that you understand, let's get down to business,"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was taken aback.

"Bus... Business?"

Wasn't that just business?

Chu Guang nodded naturally and continued.

"Of course, you are the Leader of Triumph City, and I am the Manager of the Alliance, the people you represent are not fewer than mine... you don't think a couple of warm-up chats were the business, do you?"

"...No, not really." Facing Chu Guang's half-smiling expression, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group said against his better judgment.

Shouldn't it be?

Moreover, if there really were something important, couldn't a task be issued directly from the task bar...

Speaking of which, since last time when he responded with an "I've read," there hasn't been any new messages for a long time.

Chu Guang did not joke with him, and after clearing his throat, he said.

"In order to reduce barriers, I propose that a long-term and effective dialogue mechanism should be established between Triumph City and City of Dawn, and I plan to lay a cable to Triumph City... we can bear the cost. It's not just for now but also for the future."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group nodded.

"No problem."

This was indeed a good thing.

He couldn't always be this Leader; the next Leader wouldn't have a "task bar" after all.

Chu Guang continued.

"Furthermore, as the exchanges between the East and West coasts of the Central Continent become more frequent, we plan to open a new sea route and build a railway directly to Triumph City. This railway will depart from Bister Town in Luo Xia Province, cross the Great Desert, and through the vast grasslands of the Eastern Empire, perhaps spreading the seeds of civilization to the places it passes... We are willing to bear 60% of the investment, and you only need to shoulder 40%. Considering your economic condition isn't that strong, the Alliance's bank could lend you the money first."

"No problem." The Battlefield Atmosphere Group found that he couldn't join the conversation at all, only nodding in agreement.

Chu Guang looked seriously at him.

"Is there anything you'd like to add?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was about to say no, but facing those sharp eyes, he swallowed his words back.

"The Welch Governorate has a large number of refugees, Batoya Province needs to be rebuilt... you know we don't have money anyway. Since we're already investing in the railway, why not invest in something else, we need to repair the roads in Triumph City anyway, how about you set up a development bank with some funds? This way, neither of us loses... how does the saying go, a win-win situation?"

Chu Guang nodded with a smile.

"That's a good idea. I think not only we are interested, but businesses would love to help you too."

"Settled."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group spread his hands, wanting to lean back in the chair but restrained himself just in time.

"Cough... Since we've discussed all the topics for the meeting now, what should we talk about when the Human Conference starts?"

To be honest, the only proposal he brought was indeed to "ask for money." Including Bennott, the ministers from the Civil Official Group had been whispering this to him since before he set off, asking him to find a way to get some funds from the Alliance.

As for the Manager's proposal, he had understood it, summarizing it as "communication."

Eliminating differences through communication, eliminating barriers through communication, resolving hatred through communication... and this itself is also what the Weilante people must do moving forward.

He actually had no reason to shake his head.

Looking at the puzzled expression on the Leader's face, Chu Guang continued to laugh.

"The answer is simple, speak your mind."

"The Grand Canyon is rarely so lively, with so many people coming, just talk about whatever you want to talk about."

Chapter 952: Kill Them All!

The "Meetup Convention" is still ongoing.

While Chu Guang was having a pleasant conversation with his small players, an old man who had lived for over two hundred years was also not idle.

To be precise, the younger generation visiting this "Humble House" did not want him to be idle.

Seeing Absek leave the side of the Chief of the Great Rift Valley, Shava immediately hurried over and intercepted the old man who was about to turn away.

He put on a friendly smile and spoke in a respectful tone.

"Honorable Chief, I am Shava, the leader of the Mammoth Country Charge Team. Please allow me to extend the sincerest greetings on behalf of Laxi and the survivors of the Mammoth Country! Our leader intended to visit you personally, but the Southern Legion is still struggling to hold on, and the frontline situation remains tense, so he couldn't get away and sent me instead."

The old man looked at the young man in front of him, smiled kindly, and nodded.

"Hello, Shava. I'm getting older, and I have to guess to understand the ideas you young people come up with, but this Charge Team... I really can't guess. What kind of organization is this? Can you tell this old man?"

Shava smiled and said.

"It's just a title. Back then, when we followed Laxi north to battle, we charged at the forefront of every conflict, hence the name Charge Team. Later on, when the battles weren't as intense, the young officers of Mammoth Country matured, and we moved from the frontlines to the rear... but the name has remained until now. You can think of it as the Guard of the Army, the Guards Corps of the Alliance."

The old man understood and nodded.

"Oh, you're talking about that kid, Rezer. Then I know who you are... hey, you must have a heavy burden, I feel for you. How about this, you resign, and I'll ensure your safety for a year. After things calm down, how about becoming a security team leader in the Alliance?"

The sudden turn of events almost made Shava lose his composure, and he coughed awkwardly.

"Uh, this... I really haven't considered it..."

The Alliance obviously doesn't lack a security team leader like him, and his family has already settled in Mammoth City. He hadn't thought about moving to the unfamiliar Alliance at all.

The old man laughed and said.

"Consider it! I have a quirk where when I see a talented young person, I can't help but feel fondness for them and can't control my urge to reach out and snatch them up. Ah, what a pity..."

Shava didn't know what he was pitying but responded humbly, with a look of nervousness.

"You're too kind. There are many more talented people than me... I'm nothing special."

"Too modest, much too modest," the old man shook his head, and suddenly as if thinking of something, he spoke again. "By the way, earlier when Absek visited me, I posed him a question. Now, how about I ask you one?"

Shava stared blankly at him, not knowing what the old man's intentions were, but still said with restraint.

"Please guide me."

The old man smiled and showed his withered fingers, then started counting his sheep.

"I have four generals: A, B, C, and D. A says there are ten thousand sheep on the grassland, B says there are a thousand, C says both A and B are wrong, but can't remember the exact number, only saw many sheep cross the river, and D says one of them is lying... Guess, what is correct?"

Without hesitation, Shava said.

"D! Assuming A is right, then B is also right, making C wrong for saying both are wrong, so D is correct. Conversely, if both A and B are wrong—"

"Stop, stop, you don't need to analyze so much, I'm getting confused," said the old man, waving his hand as he watched the young man analyzing back and forth. "You are a smart person, and so is D, without a doubt. A says there are ten thousand sheep, who can guarantee he's right? Neither B, C, nor D confirmed it. And what if he missed counting, and it's actually nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine? Then he'd be in big trouble."

"Conversely, B is much smarter. Someone saw ten thousand, and he says a thousand, leaving himself an escape route for nine thousand sheep. If you have to choose between A and B, then B would definitely survive."

Pausing, the old man looked at the bewildered Shava and continued with a smile.

"But he still isn't smart enough. When did I say only one person would be killed? At this point, C would be much smarter, distancing himself from A and B, and making his stance clear. Hehe... if I don't go back on my word, he can survive. But if one day I regret killing the wrong person, then he's in big trouble."

"In this light, D is much smarter. Saying someone is lying, he doesn't say who is lying or who is truthful. The liar could be anyone, even himself. No matter who I decide to kill later, he can point at the dead and say 'it was him' and stand on my side. And even if I regret after killing A, B, and C, he can plead with me, admit his own lies, and wear the 'I lied' hat himself."

"I'm old and soft-hearted; I might just let him go with a laugh. You see, there are times when it's better to be a little muddled."

Shava looked at the old man with a helpless smile.

When you posed this question, you didn't say you'd kill someone, did you?

Although he did guess correctly.

However, the old man saw through his thoughts and said with a meaningful smile.

"You're still young. I never said I'd kill them, did I? When did I say I'd kill them? That killing work... isn't that something you do for me?"

Shava was slightly taken aback, and suddenly a creeping numbness went up the back of his head.

He was the one solving the question, but as he kept solving it, how did he become the "E" behind "A, B, C, and D"?

It was as if a knife was held to his neck. He swallowed nervously, forcing a stiff smile onto his face.

"Sir, you're joking. We—"

"I know, I know, every family has its difficulties. Rest assured, you haven't reached that point yet," the old man said, smiling and raising his hand without making things difficult for the young man in front of him. "Moreover, you're not exactly the same as the Imperial Guards, and even less so with the Alliance. As for Laxi... I don't know him, but seeing you, I understand."

"People always tell me he's the spokesman the Alliance elected, but I never believed it, because you Poluo people like to choose smart people. Take Absek for instance, very clever, I point out something, and he gets it right away."

"Your Laxi is also not bad, and if it were a one-person one-vote situation, he'd probably come out on top. Don't be angry when I say this. You may have a tough mouth, but your body is honest, just like you yourself."

"..." For a moment, Shava was speechless, still recovering from the earlier chilling realization, and also not sure what the old man intended to convey."

Perhaps he wasn't speaking to him at all, but to Laxi behind him.

The old man looked at him meaningfully.

"You're all smart people, but sometimes smart people can't compare to upright fools because the latter won't attribute their failures to the shallow reason of not being smart enough, whereas the former always does things they think are clever. Think over my words again. Was my question 'who is good and who is bad'? What I asked was—what is correct."

"Whether A, B, C, or D is telling the truth or lying doesn't matter to me. 'Having sheep' is the answer you should have given me, but instead, you sought the clever person in my question... Look at yourself, you can't say I can't help you, even if the Professor returned, it wouldn't matter."

Shava looked at the old man in bewilderment, nodding as if he understood, carefully noting down every word he said, ready to bring this information to Laxi.

This old man has lived too long, he's seen all kinds of things, it's hard not to give it importance.

Maybe things he doesn't understand, Laxi might.

However, at this moment, the old man abruptly changed the topic and stopped his unfinished words.

He turned away, no longer looking at Shava, and just sighed to himself.

"...However, gold doesn't shine everywhere, the problems you face are much tougher than Absek."

"Some sheep eat meat, some sheep eat grass, and some sheep can eat dirt, they'll all learn to bleat... tough, really too tough, I, this old fool, don't know how to solve it."

Leaving behind words that seemed like a riddle, he walked away shaking his head under Shava's dazed gaze.

...

The Great Canyon has already entered winter early, and Mammoth State at the foot of Zobar Mountain is gradually experiencing winter's coldness.

The subtropics also have winter.

The monsoon blowing over Petra Fortress is like a cooling air conditioner, taking away the temperature of Mammoth City, making people involuntarily shrink their necks and put their hands in their pockets.

However, compared to the winters of two centuries ago, this slight chill means nothing, and as soon as the wind blows, it's cold, but when the Sun comes out, it's warm again.

People walk on the streets with open cotton coats, faces glowing with a rosy hue.

A year ago at this time, many were shivering in the cold wind, but now they are well off enough not to need to fasten their buttons tightly.

Not only that, but concrete houses have increased in Mammoth City, and the wind-leaking huts on both sides of the street have been replaced by rows of concrete houses painted red and white.

There's so much anti-rust paint produced in Mammoth State, the unsold part was simply painted on the walls.

The busiest place on the street is no longer the recruitment spots but the supermarket shelves filled with commodities.

The retail industry in the South Sea Union is very developed, even slightly more than the Alliance's.

As local workers poured into the Southern sea area, some of the ways of life were brought back.

It's understandable that the Conservative faction of the Alliance is jealous.

Their development speed is indeed too fast... even though they too have more or less enjoyed the economic benefits of the Mammoth Nation's rapid development.

Many houses in No.1 Settlement are even built by construction workers from the Mammoth Nation.

The bustling street market is just a corner of prosperity, the busier place is the docks of Mammoth City.

The docks are crowded with expectant people and overseas laborers returning by ship.

They worked arduously abroad for a whole year, and now their hard work has finally paid off.

The ruins in the Southern sea area have been cleaned up, and the islanders have rewarded them with more than just verbal thanks.

The funds from the Southern sea area not only helped them rebuild their homes but also helped them establish some industries of their own.

Starting next year, they might not have to go overseas to work anymore, they could find a decent job right at their doorstep.

Of course, the industries in Mammoth City are still upgrading, so local jobs certainly won't be as lucrative as overseas ones.

Thinking of the kids soon starting university, the still sturdy father gritted his teeth, decided to venture to the Southern Ocean once more.

Some young men don't want to disappoint their patiently waiting childhood sweethearts, deciding to settle down and have a child before venturing out.

Objectively speaking, Laxi has done some good things, or rather handled some people's affairs.

He gave people who originally had no choice a choice.

In contrast, the Moon Clan Resistance organization with many factions indeed struggles, either begging the Alliance for complaints or calculating who has a closer relationship with the Alliance, who deserves what or who doesn't.

No wonder Laxi looks down on them, even keeps them around like clowns.

As long as these strugglers remain, even if he wants to be emperor, the survivors of Mammoth Nation will still gather around him, voluntarily put the crown on his head.

After all, having someone as emperor is always better than a group of monkeys sitting in the temple.

Not to mention he has taken a step back, keeping the "Conservative faction" contents while giving face to the "Progressive faction," only hanging the leader's title on his head.

Because of this, although Niyan curses him occasionally, he still holds back.

The "Red Soil" collection has now frequently criticized the new regime through the "medical record" of the old dynasty, yet never touches on Laxi's personal flaws.

Although Laxi often gets annoyed by him, he has honored his initial promise by not sending the Charge Team to take him down, nor closing Survivor Daily and Mammoth University.

Now Mammoth University is thriving, occasionally inviting teachers from 101 Camp as guests, even sending excellent faculty to Jin Galun Harbor, in which Laxi's efforts are evident.

But this alone is not enough.

Niyan always had a dream.

If General Lowell's descendants erected 1000 pillars, then he wants to use money "stolen" from Duke Garava to establish 1000 universities on this land!

Only then can the true spiritual strength of the Poluo people be awakened.

The book will eventually have an ending.

He pondered for a while before writing a few lines on the last page to connect back to the "Foreword" of L.

"...In that year of ice and snow, without the Sun and Moon, General Lowell achieved incomparable deeds, whether praiseworthy or lamentable can only be judged by future generations. Perhaps his soldiers truly were overwhelmed by 'Great Victory,' enchanted by demons, opting for joyous days over perishing alongside him, or perhaps amidst the ice and snow there were indeed irrepressible hardships."

"I had the privilege of visiting the Lowell Camp, but the gatekeeper there told me that although the wall is from that time, the buildings inside, the stone roads, and the iron cages are relics from the 'Moon King' period. As for relics from the Lowell period, perhaps one might find them in the Governor's Mansion of Duke Nihak."

"Unfortunately, there aren't any there either."

"I have searched all the ancient books available to me, but all that remains of that story are a few fragmentary lines. The elders of the Moon Clan might know something, only saying that the Moon King was a good person, but they are reluctant to speak of the origin of the Red Soil, saying in hushed tones that the Moon King was once muddle-headed, and it was a farm owner who caused suffering to all of them."

"I don't know if they're telling the truth, or even the name of that farm owner. I just lament that I'm like an ephemeral mayfly, only able to stand downstream of the Everflow River and gaze upward, at scenes long buried at the peak of Zobar Mountain."

"Later, I returned to White Elephant City, and somehow thought of L, that young man also buried in the Red Soil. I don't understand why I can't stop thinking about him until I looked down at my own feet, more than just the people who planted the Red Soil and those who ate it being buried—"

Niyan suddenly coughed, instinctively raising his arm to cover his mouth.

He moved his arm away, only to see a streak of red on his sleeve.

"The weather is getting drier and drier..."

He muttered to himself, but then had a moment of clarity and focused intently on writing the words "Red Soil" on the paper.

"How similar are our fates! Under my feet lies that soil, trodden upon by his bones, and the bones of Lowell. It's as if he's reaching out to grab my ankle, to clasp my throat. I'm startled to realize I've been chasing him for half my life, searching for a way out of history in my muddled state, only to find he's never left me—"

"He is every one of me."

Finishing the last stroke in haste, Niyan stood up breathlessly and went to the side to pour himself a pot of tea.

These days he's been busy with joint schooling affairs, sleeping only four or five hours a day, relying entirely on this tea to survive.

Especially before when he was in Tiandu, he had a severe illness, fortunately not the "Mortal Serum," and in the end, he somehow survived.

But since then, his health hasn't been as good as before.

He took a sip of hot tea to soothe his throat, feeling a bit sweaty and his thoughts slightly more organized.

Looking back carefully, this ending is a bit hasty, unlike the thrilling prologue. Such a bland ending doesn't do justice to this magnificent journey, and Mr. Mouse's readers are unlikely to be as forgiving as before.

In fact, even leaving aside the readers, he himself feels something is missing.

But thinking about it, the prologue is L's story while this ending is about Lowell.

After all, he did meet L, and many times, but Lowell was separated from him by two centuries; he truly hadn't seen him. No matter how he writes, it's like looking at a flower through fog, outlining through a window.

"The phrase 'He is every one of me' is somewhat obscure, perhaps changing it to 'He is every Poluo person' would be more direct? But that seems too absolute... Anyway, it still counts as a clue."

Niyan thought to himself, putting the teacup down but finding his throat a bit itchy, so he took a tissue from the tray and coughed heartily.

However, when he moved the tissue away from his mouth, his heart thumped hard.

Blood...

The scarlet color momentarily made him dizzy, and perhaps he really shouldn't delay further and should take some time to see a doctor.

Just then, the office door opened, and a professor hurriedly entered holding a newspaper.

Seeing the tissue in Niyan's hand, he paused, quickly expressing his concern.

"Sir, what is happening to you..."

"I'm fine," Niyan wiped his mouth, nonchalantly threw the tissue into the wastebasket, then turned his gaze to the professor, "What's so urgent that you came in without knocking?"

This person teaches history at Mammoth University and is also the editor of the Mammoth City edition of the Survivor's Daily.

The professor glanced at the wastebasket, then at the newspaper in his hand, ultimately biting the bullet and handing the newspaper to Niyan.

"Please look at this newspaper!"

Niyan took the newspaper, glanced at it, and frowned slightly.

The newspaper was named "National Daily." Although the name sounded grand, it wasn't well-known, at least he hadn't seen it before, likely created by some small newspaper.

Due to Laxi's agreement with him to allow the private establishment of newspapers, after the Survivor's Daily entered Mammoth City, many large and small newspapers sprung up like mushrooms after rain, all taking up a portion of the market share.

Preventing the Survivor's Daily from monopolizing was also a result of Laxi's tacit approval.

Niyan hadn't intended to monopolize the media industry anyway; his main focus was on setting up schools, and he was glad to see the survivors of Mammoth City eagerly starting their own newspapers.

It was like everyone banded together to finish the work he hadn't completed.

However, he hadn't expected these people to be so outstanding, even uncovering news that the Survivor's Daily hadn't—

[Explosive News! Eyewitness Account! Unveiling the Truth Buried in the Tasang River Dam!]

He hastily read the news from start to finish, then widened his eyes, his hand holding the newspaper trembling constantly.

The article cited an unnamed source claiming that the bombing of the Tasang River Dam was not actually by Governor Barmet of the Empire at the time, but orchestrated entirely by Laxi!

This was not only to defeat the Imperial City Garrison, which was several times larger than the Moon Clan Resistance Army, but also to prepare for future disaster relief efforts and send displaced people overseas for labor as groundwork!

If one infers the process from the results, nothing in the report seems amiss.

The Tasang River flood indeed helped Laxi a lot, including issues like land annexation, labor dispatch, and even humanitarian aid from the Alliance and enterprises... Almost all problems were eradicated as soon as the flood came.

But to say that Laxi standing by the river at that time could foresee so far ahead, that might not be the case.

Back then the correspondence between Mammoth City and the Moon Clan Resistance Army hadn't even begun to establish, and the ultimate collapse of tens of thousands of troops under Barmet's command happened later...

Niyan took a deep breath, calming down.

"The newspaper is entirely based on claims from informed sources without a single piece of conclusive evidence. Regardless of the accuracy of the report's content, this is irresponsible reporting!"

"The new dam is already built, what kind of evidence could there be?" The professor sighed, speaking earnestly, "And let's not get caught up in the truth right now. It's not just this newspaper, there are several others... Soon all the newspapers in the city will be talking about this. If we don't make a statement, I'm afraid we'll lose people's trust! Do you know what people outside are saying? They say we're Laxi's dogs!"

It's a choice between offending the Laxi authorities or offending the survivors of Mammoth City, and they've reached the point where a decision must be made.

However, Niyan widened his eyes and scolded angrily.

"What do you mean, not worry about this first? Tell me, if you run a newspaper and don't worry about this, then what do you worry about? Reporting news must be based on truth and facts, you can't make things up. How have I taught you before! If it really is an order from Laxi, I'll personally write an article against him! But what if it's not? Then you and I become someone else's weapons!"

Poluo Country wants to start a civil war, and they will certainly launch a media offensive!

And this "National Daily" might well be something cooked up by the United Federation in Tiandu!

He had suspected before that someone was up to little tricks right under his nose.

But since they weren't doing it under the name of the "Survivor's Daily", they were helpless.

Perhaps they should emulate the Alliance and create an industry committee to evaluate the credibility of news media, but now it seems too late to do that.

These ambitious people intend to use the Tasang River Dam as a pretext for war, to let a disaster that has happened once sweep over more innocent people...

No matter who is playing tricks behind this, he must stop these guys!

He clenched his fist, folded the newspaper and stuffed it into his pocket, then quickly took down the coat hanging by the door.

Watching his actions, the professor hurriedly asked.

"What are you going to do?"

Niyan said without hesitation.

"Head to the front lines to demand some answers from Laxi!"

The professor stared at him blankly, saying with a mix of laughter and tears.

"My dear ancestor... you're heading to the front lines at a time like this?! I suggest you quickly go to the City of Dawn to get treatment, your lung issue has been going on for quite a while, you really can't delay any longer."

Niyan shook his head, declining his goodwill, as he draped the coat over himself and fastened the buttons.

"This illness comes and goes, a little delay won't matter, but the issues with the Poluo people cannot be delayed! I must make a trip to the front line to clarify what really happened! If it was truly him who blew it up, did he act knowing the consequences, or was there a hidden agenda..."

This was a battle where the few overcame the many, Laxi was at an absolute numerical disadvantage, standing from the standpoint of the governor at the time, there seemed to be no necessity to blow up the dam.

However, this is merely speculation.

It's like the chapter about Lowell in "Red Soil", from beginning to end it was just his speculation, even the Alliance couldn't unearth a hundred percent authentic truth.

But that newspaper did hit a soft spot in his heart.

Niyan had long been puzzled by Governor Baumet's confession state, and now seeing that report, his suspicion grew.

It's like how fungi won't survive at minus 30 degrees, no matter how strong the vitality is, they can only go dormant. Red Soil is not like the complex intelligent life form of the "Mutated slime fungus", it's just a decomposer in nature, it's impossible to fabricate nonexistent nutrients out of thin air.

Carbon fixing and nitrogen fixing, then converting solar energy and organic matter into nutrients needed by organisms... this requires the collective effort of all plants and microorganisms in the entire Poluo Province.

What kind of miracle would it take to transform frozen soil into nutrients during those dark, bleak years?

Calling Red Soil a nutrient paste that 'drops one's pants to pass gas' isn't quite appropriate, but he had indeed thought this in his heart.

The biggest controversy in the current academic world of the Alliance about this period in history lies precisely here.

Led by Ms. Han Mingyue, a group of scholars believe that the research and promotion of Red Soil occurred in two phases, the former completed by General Lowell, and the latter credited to the "Moon King" who unified the Poluo Province.

However, such speculation is apparently not favorable to the tragedy-laden Moon people or politically correct.

It's as if it justifies the persecution of Moon people by West Winds Empire—even if Ms. Han Mingyue herself doesn't think this way, the Alliance's research institutions need not heed public opinion.

However, her research does not represent authority.

There is another group of scholars who believe that the spread of Red Soil was a spontaneous behavior under the "slave economy", that the natural demand of the landlord class to "lower the cost of slave living" was the real incentive for the spread of Red Soil.

This overlooks the human factor, and is entirely a macro-level discussion.

Either supposition is possible, those who lived through that period of history are all dead, the Moon King long turned that period of history into dust and ashes, and even the Moon King is no more.

Out of nowhere, Niyan suddenly had an intuition—

Perhaps it was their disrespect for history that gave rise to those repeated sufferings.

And precisely because of this inexplicable intuition, he was firm in his belief that he must seek out Laxi.

They need to have a frank discussion!

And this is the only way everyone can survive!

Seeing that Niyan was still unwilling to stop and seek medical treatment, the professor pleaded bitterly.

"Why don't I find some local doctors with you, I've heard they know some home remedies, maybe they can cure your illness."

Niyan shook his head, refusing him once again.

"Those people are either unwittingly or intentionally frauds, if you want to believe them go right ahead, but there's no need to persuade me."

The professor smiled bitterly at his words but stopped trying to persuade, silently praying in his heart.

They have a lot of work unfinished, and it is at the most critical moment now.

May he be safe and sound!

Chapter 953: Redemption!

The venomous serpent hibernating in the cave finally survived the harsh winter, just like the blood-red buds dormant on Lowell's chest.

Perhaps the Moon King never intended to plague his own descendants, and even hoped for a day when history would reckon with him... just like that nameless soldier who, in that icebound season, came to his senses and turned his gun toward Lowell.

Yet, when faced with that heavy epic, all of them, without exception, softened.

Whether they were kings and generals, nameless soldiers, or obscure experts.

It was already too late.

"Bang!"

The sudden gunshot added a touch of melancholy and murderous tension to the festive atmosphere in Mammoth City.

The young men whose passions had not yet been extinguished rushed forward once again with determination, just like their teachers had taught them in class, facing Witch Todd and Laxi with the same steadfast spirit.

The people surrounded the city hall, demanding an explanation.

Their demands were actually quite reasonable; they didn't even ask for further action, such as putting Laxi on trial.

Yet, even such moderate demands were fatal for the Mammoth Nation.

There was no alternative; the concentration of responsibility was too intense.

Countless individuals were like grasshoppers strung together on a thread, each flourishing or perishing with the others.

This predestined that the Mammoth Nation could not give an inch in the face of the overwhelming tide; even the smallest concession would be a cliff's edge.

If the same thing happened in the South Sea Union, at worst they could just dismiss Li Minghui.

But this was the Mammoth Nation.

Once Laxi stepped down, the first to be purged would be the charge team, followed by his associates...

It wouldn't just be a question of individuals claiming kingship, but the scattered sand would have to be shattered again, and a towering dam of heads would have to be erected over the Tasang River!

There was no need for Laxi to give the order; the troops stationed in the city had already acted first.

At any cost, they couldn't let the crowd storm the city hall.

The children were too young to have learned how to express their demands politely, and the Mammoth authorities had not yet had enough time to learn the art of handling public sentiment.

Soldiers fired warning shots into the sky, but no one gave way. Soon, one after another fell, and then no matter how justified their reasons were, they couldn't clarify them.

Seeing the children slumped on the ground, the fathers returning from overseas labor were also enraged, ultimately causing the conflict to escalate into a larger upheaval, nearly affecting the Silver Moon Goddess Church in the district.

In this entire incident, there were no rights or wrongs.

Only consequences.

And when everyone suddenly realized this, even those who weren't wretched saw abruptly that their heels had already sunk into that inch of red soil—that shocking, blood-stained history.

Just as many Kents had hoped, the miracle of the Giant Stone City did not happen in Mammoth City.

Looking at the telegrams and newspapers sent simultaneously from the rear, Laxi, who was fighting against the remnants of the Southern Legion on the front lines, wasn't just fuming to the point of distortion, but trembling all over with rage.

"What nonsense! I... damn it! Motherf***er!"

He suddenly realized he couldn't justify himself anymore.

Indeed, it was true he had blown up the dam, but he hadn't expected it to flood the entire downstream village, and later he had tried his best to compensate those people.

If he had confessed at the time, it would've been okay, since everyone was taking lives recklessly back then. Even the "Empire's War God" Arai Yang was on a killing spree. What could a group of half-awake people do?

Perhaps, they would even think he was open and honest, a true villain.

And later, as long as he "turned over a new leaf," and put a new dam up... just like he had done, everyone would praise him as a brave and responsible man.

But now it's too late to say anything.

His enemies exposed the matter for him, and they did it with embellishment, using the most shameless method—from results deducing the cause, making even the "overseas labor" idea that came later a big conspiracy under the flooding.

At this moment, he was like an enraged lion with sharp teeth and claws, yet didn't know whom to attack.

This was inevitable.

He was skilled in things Absek was not, and naturally, Absek was good at things he wasn't.

Looking at the infuriated Marshal and Leader, the advisors in the military tent advised.

"The war isn't over yet; we can't let these people mess around. In any case, we should impose martial law first! Also, delay the return of overseas laborers."

He paused, then added.

"Moreover, if they publish, we also publish to clarify!"

This was a stopgap measure.

Since they'd already been shot, they had to bandage the wound first before doing anything else.

However, unfortunately, this young advisor failed to realize that once they did this, they would fall into a spiral of rumors and clarifications... not to mention their own shady past.

Even if the dam explosion was a charge team's secret known only to the top brass like Shava, seeing Laxi's reaction, all the officers pretty much figured it out.

Even if the truth on the paper was diluted, among ten lies, one statement must still be true.

The most efficient method would be to handle it quietly, to muzzle those minor troublemakers first, then release an even more sensational news item to divert attention, and after everyone had forgotten the initial conflict, gradually shape the correct memory.

For instance, Laxi's original intent was to protect the dam from being bombed by stray shells, but the soldier executed the wrong order. Or perhaps the soldier executed no wrong order because no one gave it; that dam, neglected for years, was shattered by Baumet's 100-mm artillery... After all, the engineering quality of the Western Empire was as unreliable as the Empire itself, only to be admired from afar, not to be trifled with.

But some things are just beyond understanding.

Those buried in the red soil can only serve as nutrients for later generations to absorb the essence of the red soil.

Laxi gritted his teeth and nodded, finally issuing the order.

"Martial law!"

In fact, until now, none of those in the military tent thought this was any major issue; they merely mourned for the pillars of the future who died in the conflict.

They spent quite a sum to cultivate those children.

Even Laxi himself regarded those troublemakers as similar to the elders of the Moon Clan Resistance Army, since all along, those clownish characters had been the ones opposing him.

Yet, he forgot that those clowns did not even dare to resist.

This time, those who opposed him dared to bleed.

Watching Laxi silently gaze at the frontline map, the officers around the command table exchanged looks and began whispering.

"Could it be Absek's doing?"

"Isn't Shava in the Great Rift Valley? Let him ask then."

"Heh... would he tell you the truth?"

"If they really instigated it, I'm afraid they're about to attack! We must be cautious!"

Elsewhere, in Central Sheep State, on the forefront of the standoff between the Northern Field Army of Poluo Country and the Southern Legion, Yishel gazed through binoculars at the enemy's position, his thoughts wandering.

He remembered when he was still moving boxes at the Southern Legion's docks, now he had become the gravedigger of the Southern Legion.

Truly, the world is impermanent.

At this moment, an officer approached him from behind, reporting.

"Laxi's forces are gathering behind us."

Brushing off those fleeting, whimsical thoughts, Yishel put down the binoculars and sighed.

"Have they taken further action?"

The officer shook his head.

"No."

After pondering for a long time, Yishel ordered.

"Have Yakale take his Eleventh Ten Thousand Troop... to replace my position, and be sure not to act rashly! Prioritize defense."

He paused and then added.

"Also, inform the 3rd Ten Thousand Troop brothers to come with me to see what Laxi is up to!"

Initially, he planned to have Yakale guard against Laxi, but considering Yakale's tempestuous, impulsive nature, he abandoned the idea.

Don't let the other side not want to fight at first, and end up starting a fire here by accident.

Another thing, if it really comes to a fight, that reckless Yakale is not a match for Laxi.

It's not boasting.

In the whole of Poluo Country, it is feared that only his bounty can compete with Laxi.

This is recognition from the enemy.

At the same time, at the forefront of the standoff.

Ross, who has been promoted from a Thousands of leaders to a Ten Thousand Leader, also stood guard at the observation post, meticulously staring at the position opposite.

After a few rounds of confrontation, he could basically confirm that standing in front of him was the "Jungle Rat" with a bounty approaching ten million Dinar, Poluo Country's top strategist!

Thinking of this, the corner of Ross's mouth couldn't help but lift in a hint of self-mockery.

When he first set foot on West Sail Port, seeing those who would rather dig a hole to bury themselves than resist, facing their compatriots with fierce bluster but cowardice, his heart was filled with disdain and anger.

At that time, he never would have thought that this embarrassing group of little mice would fight stronger and stronger, even producing several talents that even a professionally trained officer like himself would find tricky to handle...

Thinking back carefully, he actually had seen that Yishel, separated by no more than a dozen steps.

He couldn't help but half-jokingly think, if he had fired a shot then, perhaps history would have changed...

But that's only something he could think of jokingly.

Even without the "Jungle Rat," there would be a "Jungle Snake" or "Jungle Bird," and even more troublesome "Jungle Cat," "Jungle Tiger."

By now, he couldn't think of how to help the Southern Legion regain a victory, only wanting to have a good fight to offer his last loyalty to Marshal Julius.

Yet for some unexplained reason, the previously aggressive side opposite suddenly appeared deflated.

What are they waiting for?

Ross frowned, his thoughts as messy as a tangle of knotted twine.

Just then, his adjutant entered the observation post, looking solemn as he handed him a confidential telegram.

Ross took the telegram, glanced over it hurriedly, his expression turning incredulous.

[Seventeenth ten thousand troops, receive orders: Poluo Country's Third ten thousand troops will switch duties with the Eleventh ten thousand troops at 12:00 today. At that time, someone holding the Eleventh ten thousand troops' banner will ascend the hill, the entire army must not open fire, and immediately surrender to this person! The Eastern Empire's Emperor promises to keep everyone safe home.]

[——Northern Line Commander, Olet Ten Thousand Leader]

His lips trembled, taking a deep breath, his eyes bloodshot, wishing to tear the telegram into shreds.

Traitor!

Despicable dogs!

They hid in caves eating bugs to expand territories for the Legion, and this is what they get!

His hand clenched the telegram paper, noticing then his adjutant in front of him, his eyes just as blood red.

Seeing the hand placed on the sidearm, Ross understood everything in an instant.

Not everyone wants to shed their last drop of blood for the Legion...

They have charged with him again and again, but now they really can't charge anymore.

The Legion is finished.

"...Do you all want to go home?"

The adjutant didn't speak, just looked at him with red eyes, then nodded.

"The soldiers all want to go home... their families are at Evernight Harbor, your wife is there too, right."

Ross took a deep breath, sat in the chair, and gently placed the telegram aside.

He did think of Dimi, thought of his children... and it was also what he had always been reluctant to think about because once he thought of these things, he would remember that he is a person, not a beast.

Once the box of memories is opened, many things came flooding back in an instant.

Including the promises he made to his wife and kids before leaving—

He went to the Poluo Province to protect the Weilante people, and he would return home covered in glory.

Though most of those promises cannot be fulfilled, at least there's one thing he can fulfill...

"I understand... I will take you all home."

Looking at the nodding superior, the adjutant stood at attention with red eyes and saluted.

"Thank you..."

Ross weakly smiled and looked at the green mountains outside the observation post.

It's over...

"Don't thank me, it's what I owe you."

At the same time he let go of all obsessions, the positions of Poluo Country's Northern Field Army were undergoing a tense handover.

To prevent Laxi from betraying, Yishel handed the front line to Yakale and personally led the army to the west of Tasang River to monitor the Mammoth Nation's military movements.

Due to the tense atmosphere between the two sides, the ferry terminals in the Tasang River Basin were forced to close, and the narrow muddy roads were crowded with migrating horse carriages and ox carts.

Among them, several cars were mixed.

And as luck would have it, Niyan, who was heading to the frontline, was stuck in one of those cars...

On the other side, Yakale, who took over the defense sector, was eager to make a big move, but suddenly a cold splash of water doused his head.

It was a classified telegram from the Family Meeting—

[The Southern Legion's northern battleline in the Poluo war zone has surrendered, after your unit completes the transfer and deployment with the Third ten thousand troops, carry the banner up the mountain and accept the Southern Legion's remaining troops' surrender, make sure not to start any accidental fire, and make sure not to harm any prisoners!]

[——Gray Wolf Army's Chief Commander, Gopal]

"We've won just like this?"

Clutching the telegram tightly, Yakale's eyes also turned red.

Those damned Weilante people came to their land for a killing spree, and after he painstakingly gathered dozens of field cannons and hadn't fought enough yet, these people said they wouldn't fight anymore, really absurd!

After fuming for a while, being a person who considers the bigger picture, he eventually swallowed his frustration.

The officer delivering the telegram also breathed a sigh of relief.

In his hand, there was actually a second "classified telegram," a message conveyed by Sava, the second in command of the Family Meeting.

If Yakale did not consider the bigger picture, he could fire the first shot for the safety of thousands of Poluo Country civilians!

At the same time, outside the cave in Snake State, Zayed, wearing boots, lit up a Rick Five he hadn't been willing to smoke for a long time, spiritedly looking at the clouds overhead.

Today's sun was exceptionally bright, and the clouds were as white as snow.

Because just now, he had made the final move, capturing two kings with one move.

"This Laxi compares himself to the Great Moon King, but I see him like a crazy donkey, hehe."

He suddenly thought of an old acquaintance, that girl so naive like she was soaked in a jar of honey.

That guy won too easily, actually thinking victory was only natural.

Standing beside him, Gopal chuckled.

"Of course, who can compare with you."

The great revenge is achieved!

Gopal felt immense satisfaction, suddenly finding those squeaking little mice not as annoying.

Those Poluo people had once ruthlessly abandoned them, drowned them in swimming rivers, and stamped them into garbage heaps, but finally, obediently, they returned at their side.

Their bodies are behaving quite honestly, eh.

Considering he's now the "Wolf King," he might as well not kill them!

As if seeing through Gopal's thoughts, Zayed laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey, we can't be soft-hearted, don't drop the ball at the last minute. Kill when you need to, when it's time to kill, do it. Better to overkill than underkill... Keep the operation code name in mind, just call it Massacre, alright!"

Putting away the last trace of soft-hearted kindness, Gopal smiled with great confidence.

"As you command!"

He could not understand that heavy epic before, but now he finally understood why the thirteen kings were never a match for the Great Moon King, despite being strong and powerful, they were defeated and routed, and why in the end, the Great Moon King lost to the not-so-clever West Winds.

But it doesn't matter.

They will replace the short-lived Witch Todd to fix the overlooked loophole that Lowell hadn't considered...

Inside the cave behind them, the young Sava stood on stage with a face full of sorrow, facing furious expressions, mourning the family lost under Laxi's gunfire.

"...We deeply mourn the family lost in the fight against evil forces. We will never give up fighting for the arrival of the new era!"

"They will not die in vain!"

The memories of the second massacre at West Sail Port surfaced again in everyone's minds, and this time, the killers had turned from the Weilante people to some arrogant "Moon King."

The threat of life and death was imminent, and now there was no choice but to fight.

Not just the Poluo people recalled the painful memories, but also the Weilante people at West Sail Port.

Poluo Country's 800,000 Curry Army had moved north, and the "Iron General" Grov, whose reputation had soared like a tiger, chased the fleeing Gibson, causing him to flee in panic.

This guy had suffered a defeat at the hands of the Alliance before, and now had lost to the Poluo people, disgracing the Weilante people thoroughly.

However, he wasn't being wronged, especially when he saw those Conqueror tanks racing across the wilds, he was so furious he almost bled from seven orifices, wishing he could round up all the logistics department's personnel and execute them one by one!

In any case, a loss is a loss.

Aki Bar and his slaves' panic is of no importance, the Chief of the Grand Canyon didn't even send him an invitation.

Even though he is nominally a king of tens of millions, in the eyes of the Grand Canyon, he can't even match the clown of Dam City.

Facing the unstoppable tragic news drifting from the front lines, all the Weilante people in West Sail Port panicked, wishing desperately to jump into the sea and swim away from this "Port of Death"!

No one could guarantee that this Absec wouldn't act like his old employer Anush and allow this 800,000 strong army to massacre the entire city.

And just at their moment of great terror, the Eastern Empire suddenly extended an olive branch to them.

Instead of waiting to die at West Sail Port, why not get on the Eastern Empire's ship and head to New West Port...

The Eastern Empire had no fleet, but the New Federation of the New Continent did, and in great numbers.

In view of kinship and a huge sum of money, the Federal Fleet that had just gone to Whirlpool Sea to extinguish a fire now made a turn towards Poluo Sea, bringing willing people to their new homeland prepared by the Eastern Empire...

…

Meanwhile, at the southwestern corner of the Xoerbar Mountain Range, on a barren land lay a young but hopeful harbor.

People carrying large bags stood on the streets, receiving their tents with the assistance of Eastern Empire soldiers.

This is the "Weilante Province experience."

The series of settlement measures introduced by the Leader to cope with the Mortal Serum had evidently been learned by the Eastern Empire.

If only Marshal Julius were still alive, he would be gratified by this scene and might even change his opinion of Lowell.

The Weilante people, who have been unchanged in thought for a century, have regained the ability to learn, thanks to the survivors from Poluo Province.

If this is seen as a big chess game, then Lowell must have predicted that the War Construction Committee would provoke the Weilante people, and deliberately created the red soil to save the unborn Weilante people!

That image suddenly became even more glorious.

Standing on the bare docks, Ten Thousand Leader Olet, looking fatigued, was carrying his luggage.

When sending secret communications to the front line, he had already gotten on the Eastern Empire's ship at the northwest corner of the war zone, carrying classified documents from the northern front to the harbor prepared by the Eastern Empire to receive the spoils of war.

Thinking carefully, this may be the reason Sarun never sent troops to help them.

That guy had long coveted their wealth.

Just as they had lusted after the treasures of the Civil Official Group...

Looking at General McLlen standing on the harbor, Ten Thousand Leader Olet, who understood everything, smirked wearily.

"…Our Teil's agency did its best, but didn't expect to end up making you a wedding dress."

Watching this guy who had exuded great confidence in front of him before, McLlen, smoking a cigar, chuckled.

"Heh, looking down on weak opponents, yet unable to accept defeat when facing someone stronger?"

Didn't you seek to engage masters yourself?

However, McLlen didn't mock him.

Frankly speaking, from a commander's perspective, he was only about sixty-percent sure of his own judgment.

The Southern Legion did not have no chance of winning, and the Alliance was not guaranteed to win.

If Grov was replaced with Griffin, who had experienced the Alliance's tactics, the Southern Legion's victory could reach at least sixty percent.

But how could a dead man rise from his coffin?

The deaths of General Kras and General Griffin made him realize deeply that the Army was destined not to learn from failures, nor could they possibly move from one defeat to victory.

They could march triumphantly from victory to final triumph, or fail disastrously repeatedly.

From this perspective, the collapse of the Army was indeed a fateful event.

They could win many times, but losing once meant they would never recover...

Seeing the half-smiling McLlen, Olet shook his head.

"That's not what I meant… I just occasionally wonder if we could win against the Alliance if we united."

General McLlen calmly said.

"If the sun turned from one to two, could it save the Wasteland? Why do you consider the impossible?"

Olet was stunned for a moment and bitterly smiled.

"That's also true..."

After pausing for a long time, he couldn't help but speak again.

"By the way, about my affair..."

McLlen, knowing what he wanted to say, said succinctly.

"Rest assured, His Majesty Sarun is a man of his word, he promised to spare your life and he will, that's one reason he's a winner."

Hearing the sarcasm in his tone, Olet bitterly said.

"I see…It seems like we indeed didn't lose unfairly."

After a moment of silence, he suddenly worried about his old leader, so he couldn't help but ask.

"…What about Grov?"

"You are already standing here, why ask such a foolish question?" McLlen, smoking a cigar, smiled mysteriously at him, "Do you think everyone can make it ashore?"

"That's true…" Olet swallowed hard, swallowing back that gulp of saliva.

McLlen patted the shoulder of this officer.

"We gave him the chance to choose, he can sit in his office and think instead of being stuck in a bunker having a stroke... Be grateful."

…

At the Great Rift Valley, the doors of a certain conference room were tightly shut. The Imperial Guards of Triumph City and the Guards of Dawn City stood on either side.

The power armor they wore differed greatly in model and color scheme but shared the same majesty and sternness.

Seated inside the conference room were two leaders, whose identities needed no mention.

Almost anyone walking past the conference room doors could smell the tension wafting through the gaps.

In the nearby corridor, two leaders from the Survivor Settlement of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng were intentionally or unintentionally glancing toward the door.

In Yúnjiānxíng Province, the two were considered powerful figures, yet here amidst the gathered elites, they seemed like ants.

The world was vast.

It's not just the great dragon of Ideal City waking, but also the Alliance, the Dragon Knight.

Though such thoughts may seem somewhat disrespectful, the matter is truly exaggerated.

Three years ago, the Waste Land Wanderers of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng were all relying on Ideal City.

Now, thanks to the Alliance's emergence, their business map has expanded across the entire Wasteland.

The light from the sparks igniting the prairie fire has gradually overshadowed the lighthouse, fulfilling the great ideals of the descendants of the Endeavour Colonization Ship and Shelter No. 6.

Of course, such grand narratives are far too distant for the two standing here.

They just want to see what gossip might come from that door to analyze which stocks will rise between the Ideal City Stock Exchange and the Dawn City Stock Exchange.

A very shallow thought, isn't it?

But nonetheless extremely practical.

The living standards of Ideal City Residents are closely tied to the stock prices of various large corporate groups, while the survivors of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng have most of their wealth invested in these groups' stocks.

Unfortunately, the Grand Canyon ensures extreme privacy for its participants, and no known technical means can penetrate that door to obtain information inside.

Coupled with a guarantee from Holy Shield on security, it can be considered the safest place in the entire Wasteland.

Even safer than the shelter.

The slightly taller man seemed impatient, looking at the man with glasses beside him.

This person was both his business partner and strategic ally in regional affairs.

"What do you think they'll discuss?"

The bespectacled man focused intently on the entrance, not even wanting to interrupt.

"I don't know, but we'll soon know."

The tall man was stunned.

"Soon?"

Would there be a press conference right after this talk?

The man with glasses cast a glance at this ignorant fellow, smiling lightly.

"Expressions, movements, postures, demeanor, even the order in which they leave... all these are information. People are ultimately human and can't be flawless like androids."

He had already activated the Behavior Analysis System in his AR glasses.

By the way, both the hardware and software of this system were purchased from Ideal City.

The tall man admiringly raised his thumb, sighing in self-despair.

"You're too professional!"

The tightly closed conference room door aroused everyone's heartbeat, making it far more worthwhile than the trivial matters in Dam City.

Whether the fists from the east and west come together or not almost determines the fate of the entire Central Continent.

It was at this moment that the tightly shut door suddenly burst open.

Seeing the two big shots emerge from behind the door engaging in cheerful conversation, nearly everyone observing from here simultaneously sighed in relief.

Some sighed.

But none of that mattered anymore.

The Leader of the Weilante People and the Alliance Managers had a pleasant conversation, reaching an agreement between Triumph City and City of Dawn on ending the Wasteland Era!

This was a tremendously good omen.

The man with glasses excitedly clenched his fists, having already envisioned the headline that might appear on tomorrow's newspaper!

Just at this moment, looking at the blue and gold power armors, he was once again stunned.

According to the gait analysis software, the relationship between the two was labeled as "Father and Son."

"What the hell..."

Annoyed, he took off the glasses, poking the reboot button, attempting to restart but unable to as if struck by an Electromagnetic Pulse.

Nevertheless, the result was good.

This planet, barely holding onto its last breath, couldn't support a second war...

Elsewhere, following closely behind Shava, the commander of the Mammoth Country Charge Team, Mayor Otto of Free State concluded his meeting with the Chief of the Great Rift Valley, emerging from the room with a complex expression.

His expression seemed neither entirely dejected nor upset, yet carried a hint of relief.

The chief claimed to have been observing him from before Firestone Group's inception, absorbing his joys and worries, thoroughly understanding them.

It sounded somewhat terrifying.

Yet on second thought, since Firestone Group was already monitoring them and their privacy had long become riddled like a sieve, Otto suddenly felt it wasn't so dreadful.

At least the Great Rift Valley hadn't harmed them.

It was so before and remained so.

The old man even unprecedentedly didn't count his sheep, instead revealing the bottom line.

"... You all have a bright future, whether in the Southern River Province or Northern River Province."

"The Weilante and Poluo people are two sides of a coin, both enemies and salvation for each other, and now this coin is soon to land. Once the dust settles, everything will end regardless of whether the final outcome satisfies everyone."

"And you are much luckier than them because the young man holding the coin didn't throw you to heaven, instead granting you enough time to gradually wake from a nightmare lasting two hundred years, realizing the nightmare's essence wasn't an old guy like me nor money, nor the power behind money but yourselves — your own hearts."

"So don't ask me what to do; ask yourselves. Was Sigma, who you fear, dropped from heaven? This child did not inherit anything from anyone's hand, coming instead from the slums you, dressed in suits, despise the most. Do you think without him everyone can have good days? All right then? If you really think that, no one can save you."

"This isn't a riddle."

"But celebrate, for you are unlikely to meet an outcome worse than Giant Stone City, albeit how good the result is will depend on your own efforts."

Returning to the room, Otto tossed and turned all night, thinking of the previous mayor's fate and Condra, who sat in the interrogation room, claiming to plant seeds of fear in his heart before unknowingly falling asleep, startled awake by nightmares.

Watching the rising dawn outside the window, an epiphany slowly emerged within him, and he decisively resolved.

"... The nightmare resides in the heart of every Bugra. The only way to wake from the nightmare is to lock it in a cage, preventing anyone from claiming it for themselves."

In that sense, as Bugra's mayor, the only thing he could do was...

Stand together with all the Bugra People fed up with polluted air, like Giant Stone City.

Thinking of the smirking old man conjured a sense of gratitude within him.

They are free—

And have always been!

The honorable Chief gave them the opportunity to change destiny into their own hands!

In two hours will be the moment determining the Wasteland Era's fate!

Soon, the inaugural "Human Conference" will open amidst great anticipation!

Fortunately, he understood this in time.

Even if just two hours before passing through the level...

...

At the same time, a steel airship slowly descended at the Grand Canyon's helipad.

People standing around the helipad tensed up, watching the man emerge from the cabin.

He donned a pure gold armor, unlike the set of the Triumph City's Leader, it had no power components from head to toe.

In other words, the Emperor of the Eastern Empire entirely leaned on his muscles to bear almost a ton of armor!

Merrily walking off the helipad, this guy proved to be truly formidable!

Looking at Chu Guang in blue power armor, Salen wore a bright smile, exaggeratedly spreading his arms wide.

"Haha! Long time no see, dear Alliance Manager!"

"We finally meet in reality!"

Chapter 954: Light and Darkness

Salen was the last of the major powers' leaders to arrive, even arriving half an hour later than the Academy's Chief Technical Officer, almost stepping into the conference hall precisely on time.

Chu Guang looked at his face, sensing the pride written on it, and was well aware of why this was so.

If anyone was the biggest beneficiary of the army's disbandment, it was undoubtedly this triumphant fellow in front of him.

As the eldest son of the army, almost half of Julius's family business was in the hands of the Eastern Empire, while only a single province in Vellante remained for Triumph City.

He gloriously bid farewell to Julius, becoming the undisputed emperor of millions of square kilometers of land!

At least the funeral in Nord City was over!

"I'm also very pleased to see you, Emperor of the Eastern Empire. I can tell you must be in a good mood."

They greeted with a bear hug, Salen patted Chu Guang's arm, grinning as he spoke.

"Thanks to you, I have fulfilled the long-held wish of successive commanders of the Eastern Legion."

He surely should thank the Alliance.

General Kras died in the Grand Canyon, and Griffin, carrying the last will of the eastern expansionists, crashed into the wall of the River Valley Province. The old military aristocracy with land became the largest political force in the Eastern Legion.

Including the later upheaval in Triumph City, fundamentally it was also because the radicals of Vellante were influenced by Alliance ideologies.

The death of Diocletian led to the collapse of the Roman Empire, but it also brought about the glory of Constantinople and the later Byzantium.

In a certain sense, the Eastern Legion—or rather, today's Eastern Empire—is in the same position, just with a more detailed inner core difference.

Seeing the jubilant Salen, Chu Guang slightly nodded, speaking in a gentle tone.

"I believe this is also the longstanding wish of every Vellante person in the Eastern Empire; the soldiers of the Expeditionary Army can rest in peace."

Understanding the hidden message in his words, Salen laughed heartily, then gave a thumbs-up.

"I truly appreciate smart people because we can quickly reach a consensus without wasting time with riddles."

After a pause, he spoke up.

"Olet and his direct line are now officers of the Eastern Empire. According to our investigation, they were deceived by Teilmon."

"Who is Olet?"

Chu Guang really didn't know this name.

Perhaps it appeared in the Guards Corps intelligence or on the official forum, but it wasn't important to him.

He was just a frontline commander, at most a pawn on the chessboard, but no matter how notorious, he was overshadowed by Teil.

As for those major war criminals that caused a stir in both the City of Dawn and Ideal City, such as Commander Ryan, who ordered the bombing of Lion City resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, and John who executed orders, it is unlikely the Eastern Empire would interfere with their trials, as the costs of protection do not outweigh the benefits.

However, Salen, thinking himself clever, "understood" his implication and winked at him.

"Fair enough! Of course, we won't let you suffer a loss. How about this, we'll leave the big fish Guryang to you guys. By the way, give me the scoop, which state's interests are the core for the Alliance in the Poluo Line, and I'll consider how to split this cake best."

Splitting the fish is fake; this guy wants to negotiate how to divide Poluo Country with him...

Chu Guang looked at the self-proclaimed clever emperor with a half-smile, and said in a teasing tone.

"What use do we have for so much land? The few acres formed in the River Valley are enough for us to plant, and the surplus seeds can even be given to others. As for you, aren't you satisfied with over ten million square kilometers? Your core population is quite small. Aren't you afraid they'll unite and rebel if you add another million or so?"

Although this first sentence made Salen scornful, he couldn't help but twitch his eyebrow at the latter part.

It didn't exactly sound like a threat.

However, thinking about what happened in the West River Empire, he couldn't help but shiver.

Perhaps being overly greedy for hundreds of thousands more square kilometers isn't a good idea.

At least the Vellante people have some semblance of dignity. Falling to the same fate as the Sun Tribe or the Bull Tribe, rolling around in the mud with a bunch of loaches, is truly unnecessary.

Salen squeezed out an unnatural smile, dismissing the fleeting thought.

"Enough, that's certainly enough... we just want a buffer zone, after all, there are quite a few Vellante refugees living in the southwest corner of the Zobar Mountains."

Chu Guang chuckled.

"The two representatives from Poluo Province are still here, how about talking to them?"

Salen's expression gradually stiffened.

He knew that even talking would be futile. Neither Absek nor Laxi would ever agree to cede any of the thirteen states of Poluo Province, and the end result would inevitably be wanting to exchange land by using lives!

However—

He wasn't entirely without opportunities.

The rigid muscles gradually squeezed out a smile, Salen continued staring at him and said.

"Don't act like you're a white lotus either, how do you account for the ten thousand square kilometers in Lowell State?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly and said.

"Jinjaron Harbor has always been the local people's own Jinjaron Harbor. Their mayor, their representative council, were all elected by themselves. There never was an Alliance-appointed official or representative holding any position there."

After pausing, he continued.

"I hope West Sail Port is the same. The Vellante people can stay in the area, but they must return the town hall and court to the locals, in whatever manner that is, or else you'll have to be psychologically ready to continue the war the Southern Legion hasn't finished."

This statement was quite firm.

And it was no longer a threat of soft power, but rather a more assertive hard power threat.

Reading Chu Guang's deeper meaning, Salen's face still held that unchanging smile.

Though the Alliance wasn't forced to make substantial concessions, after some probing, he managed to figure out the Alliance's bottom line.

The model adopted by the Triumph City Official Group did not cross the Alliance's bottom line, whereas the Southern Legion's model thoroughly overstepped it.

This makes things much clearer.

"We will return West Sail Port to the locals, but only if you stop interfering in the internal affairs of the Poluo Province area."

Looking at the beaming Salen, Chu Guang also smiled faintly, speaking in a gentle tone.

"That depends on the extent of your involvement, whether direct or indirect, and whether you comply with the ancient covenant."

As long as the Eastern Empire doesn't launch an armed invasion of the Poluo Province area, he indeed wouldn't intervene in the cooperation between the two.

The same goes for the Falcon Kingdom.

The Alliance has done everything it could locally, but ultimately the survivors there are more willing to align closely with the Eastern Empire, and this was their own choice.

In just a few brief remarks, the negotiation over the post-war order for four million square kilometers ended.

Both the Eastern Empire and the Alliance achieved their desired results, and both Absek and Shava could breathe a sigh of relief.

At least the Emperor of the Eastern Empire promised to withdraw troops from West Sail Port.

Even if the Vellante take down and remove every last screw from West Sail Port, it's still better than fighting another war to reclaim the territory.

Moreover, how much can they actually take with them?

Surely, they won't be able to take away the rebar planted in the ground and the concrete wrapped around it.

Nor can they take away the knowledge stored in the heads of West Sail Port's residents.

As long as they are given enough time, rebuilding a prosperous West Sail Port is only a matter of time.

Seeing Absek's grateful look towards Chu Guang, he simply smiled faintly and said nothing.

He didn't send troops to support the Poluo's resistance against the invaders out of a desire for gratitude nor to become their patron, but rather for all survivors in the Eastern part of the Central Continent who might face the Legion's menace.

This naturally included the Alliance.

Therefore, there was no need for them to be grateful to him, nor should they see him as any kind of savior.

Just continue forward with these memories.

As long as facing their own hearts and past with sincerity, whether they are Vellante or Poluo people, the future will be bright...

Amidst the expectations of billions of survivors, representatives from various forces gradually entered the meeting hall located in the belly of the Grand Canyon.

The spacious meeting center was like a circular theater, with the tables and chairs sharply carved out of granite, seemingly cut from a whole granite vein by lasers or some other means!

The crystal-like chandeliers hung roughly fifty meters high, resembling inverted pyramids growing from the dome, emitting a soft milky white glow downwards.

It is said that this doomsday facility was completed before the war.

It can only be the Era of Infinity Prosperity that could have built such a magnificent wonder.

Entering the conference room, Absek resembled Liu Granny entering the Grand View Garden, unable to control the awe in his heart.

More than two hundred years ago, the survivors of the Human Alliance Era sat here discussing how to face their future fate.

At that time, the concept of the Wasteland Era probably didn't even exist.

Facing the drop to minus 50 degrees and a sky without a hint of light, no one knew if their apocalypse would end, and what to do if it wouldn't.

Moved by the scenery, Absek couldn't help but muse.

"It turns out... when the Wasteland Era started, it was probably decided in the Wasteland Era's 50th year."

If by the Wasteland Era's 50th year the harsh winter hadn't ended, then those past 50 years would be counted as the Doomsday Era.

What later generations take for granted was not considered so by people at the time.

Although today's survivors in Tiandu curse him as worthless, calling him a butcher who killed more Poluo people than Anush, and saying he taxed grain like a bandit robbing farmers, who knows, they might one day nostalgically remember him just like Lowell.

After all, who can guarantee that someone won't someday do the things he wanted to do yet didn't dare?

During Anush's tenure, fewer people died compared to under his rule as the supreme leader, and that is a true statement.

The guy led the Heavenly King's Army to rob the nobles' estates clean, let the slaves sleep with the sisters and young ladies they had only dared to dream about all their lives, and let Duwata have his pick of wives and concubines, while Shaluk's house was piled with gold and jewels...

It was that one shot of his that woke them from their unfinished dreams, but shouldn't unfinished dreams be kept alive?

Perhaps he should write an apology for his sins.

"Hahaha! Interesting, so damn interesting..."

Thinking this, Absek couldn't help but laugh out loud, even shedding tears from laughter, sweeping away his previously gloomy mood, freeing himself in an instant.

The collapse of the Heavenly Palace made him relinquish his obsession with the throne, no longer yearning for the impossible eternal, while joining the Silver Moon Sect made him let go of his obsession with power, no longer suspicious of everyone.

Now, he has finally attained his completeness—letting go of everything he previously could not.

He finally saw his own dry well.

It was never the thick walls on either side or the unreachable clouds above that trapped him—

It was himself all along.

"Whether it's merit or fault, leave it to posterity to judge!"

Like Mayor Otto of Free State, he finally faced his inner self and fully realized who he was just as the Game was about to end.

And at that very moment, the nightmare that had haunted him for so long finally cleared up...

...

Those present marveled at the grandeur of the conference hall, and some lamented how nice it would be to use the money to build another shelter.

Only a few can reconcile with the past, and even fewer can emerge from past glory.

Absek's performance was relatively decent, at least he could think like a normal person.

But the likes of the lord of Dam City were left with their jaws dropped, looking left and right for their confidants, utterly lost without their left and right arms.

The truth is, a pig in the right place doesn't necessarily understand everything, nor can it withstand all the storms.

As for the true leaders, they had long been calmly seated in their respective places.

Whether it was the leader of Triumph City, the Manager of the Alliance, the Chief Technical Officer of the Academy, members of the board of directors of enterprises, or Salen of the Eastern Empire, the emperor of the Northern Empire who was as strong as a bear, or the foreign minister in a formal suit sent by the president of the New Union Gang...

All topics worth discussing had been discussed, and what hadn't been discussed indicated it wasn't worth mentioning; sitting here, they were just going through the motions.

However, the hosts of the meeting were equal, ensuring even the leaders of minor forces received enough respect and everyone found their place before the meeting began.

No matter how laughable their stories may be, or who seemed like a clown to whom, sitting here, they were all choices made from the heart by those Waste Land Wanderers.

At least at this moment!

And just as everyone was seated, a solemn and dignified voice echoed in the conference hall—

"Thank you all for taking the time to be here..."

"I am the Chief of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee."

Many were already aware of the old man's identity, and some were fortunate to have seen his different faces.

However, this time he did not speak in riddles or waste any words.

After briefly reciting the opening remarks, he ceded the floor to the young attendees present—

"I announce the official commencement of this Human Conference!"

Thunderous applause filled the room, and Zhou Xianlin, sitting in a corner of the venue, even stood up excitedly, raising his hands above his head.

The leader of the Red River Alliance, not far away, glanced at this madman and sneered dismissively but eventually clapped along with everyone else in attendance.

Even Salen, sitting at the front row of the venue yawning, graciously clapped.

For him personally, the real topics of discussion had already been set before the meeting started.

He not only met with Chu Guang but also representatives from enterprises and the Academy, as well as several representatives from former Legion forces.

This included the young man who inherited Julius' armor and gained the recognition of the Forbidden Army.

As for other survivor forces, in his eyes, they were as insignificant as ants, and he didn't care what they thought.

However, seeing the serious expressions on the faces of the other leaders at the table, he took an interest and straightened up from the granite-carved chair.

"Heh, let me see what these youngsters have to say... "

...

The thunderous applause was like New Year's Eve firecrackers, sending off the already distant Wasteland Era of the year 214.

As for when the new era would arrive, it could only be determined long after the meeting concludes.

At this moment, in a remote corner of the wasteland, blocked on the road to the front lines, Niyan spent a simple New Year in the car with his most trusted student and assistant Feodo.

Looking at "Mr. Mouse," who couldn't bring himself to write the manifesto despite considering for a long time, Feodo's face was full of confusion.

His impression of the mentor was not like this.

Even when serving as a servant under Duke Garava, this gentleman was upright.

But why?

Reached here, this proud intellectual bowed his head.

Is it just because that guy kills like crazy, even killing his own people when he goes berserk?

Anger grew in his heart as he muttered lowly.

"... If you can't write it, I can write it for you. If you're afraid, I can die in your place."

After speaking, he reached out to grab the paper and pen from Niyan's hand, but was quickly snatched away by the latter.

"Don't get involved in this mess!" Niyan reprimanded him briefly, then continued pondering over the blank paper.

Feodo was unyielding, staring straight into his eyes.

"That's your student, you taught us to stand upright, but why don't you support them?"

Niyan put down the paper and pen, struggling to turn himself to face his student.

"I only ask you one question: Have you thought about what will happen after you overthrow Laxi?"

Without hesitation, Feodo replied.

"Of course, we will establish a representative assembly and then create our basic law like the survivors of Giant Stone City."

Looking at the young man standing with a straight spine, Niyan laughed, unable to hold back a coughing fit.

"Rely on you? Just you kids who still need to ask your parents for tuition, handing out salaries to those workers returned from overseas?"

Feodo's face flushed red, unsure why the teacher mentioned those overseas workers, only knowing that the look in his eyes doubted their capability.

"You must not look down on us!"

Niyan shook his head, gently panting as he spoke.

"I don't look down on you; I love every one of you deeply. That's why I'm always against politics in the classroom. We should give truth to the children, which is also my largest disagreement with Sir Cabaha... cough cough, he said harsh medicine is needed to cure the disease, bent corrections must go to extremes, but I say if he goes on like this, even if there are a thousand more universities, they'll turn into a thousand pillars, nailing us all on them."

If one only gains knowledge from books, it's inevitable to use conscious shapes to view objective problems.

And this will certainly fall into the blind man touching the elephant trap.

Absek is just a dock worker; he doesn't understand grand theories, but he has rich social experience, can get along well with various crowds, and knows what they want.

Only people like him can balance the lustful Duwata, the greedy Shaluk, and the one who loves artworks and befriending intellectuals, Nigeli...

And precisely because of this, when the army came, only Shaluk fled, not all three fools running away, leaving a group of self-interested idiots waiting to be picked off one by one.

Even if the alliance moves the capital to Tiandu, it's no use; "Butcher," "Jungle Mouse," "Iron General" can only run with their heads covered, maybe the smartest ones flee faster.

Yet, nonetheless, such "unthinking" mediocrities are precisely the ones scholars like Sir Cabaha despise most. Even if Absek pulled him from under Anush's knife, they'd still think this bunch of bandits without a guiding principle won by luck.

Sir Cabaha never said this to him, but Niyan knows that's exactly what he thinks.

They vaunt themselves as radicals, thinking everything would improve if everyone listened to them, becoming idealists in their fantasies and insane in most people's eyes.

At most, letting the alliance attack the imagined enemies, believing everything would be fine as soon as the enemy made a mistake, and the enemy's mistakes are inevitable because they are wrong.

This is fundamentally different from idealists, similar to how pragmatists might resemble nihilists, yet are never nihilists.

These madmen have only two ends: either used as a tool by a thorough Machiavellian, or after a lucky success, burning themselves and all followers completing a self-pleasing martyrdom.

In a daze, he suddenly realized what he should write, picked up the pen resting on the paper, only for the pen to drop to the ground along with several blood clots red like soil.

"Teacher!"

Feodo exclaimed, pulling Niyan, who collapsed in the car, up, only to see the unstoppable blood flow.

"What happened?" The driver, hearing the commotion, quickly turned his head and seeing Niyan's condition, his face turned pale, "Sir, what's wrong with you—"

"Forget everything! Just drive!"

Stunned by the color of the blood, Feodo's brain went blank, impulsively grabbing the driver's collar and yelling at him.

The driver wasn't frightened by the blood; having driven for the Moon Clan Resistance Army's leaders before, he was half a soldier. Yet, as he was about to step on the gas, he saw the crowd of vehicles ahead.

Carriages and ox carts crowded the road...

They were all refugees migrating east from the front lines.

The 30,000th Boloro Team was advancing towards the west bank of the Tasang River, rumored to be the elusive "Jungle Mouse"! The undisputed military god of the entire war!

But now, this man aimed his gun at them...

A civil war is brewing!

"Think of something fast! Right, why not drive through the dirt road outside!"

Feodo shouted desperately, his face full of despair, yet not realizing that even a dirt road is still a road. If they drove onto the rough terrain, their car might fall apart before reaching two kilometers.

This was the only road they were traveling; there was no second path.

Fortunately, the driver responded quickly, immediately opening the car door and pulling Niyan from the back seat.

"Hold onto him! I'm going to find help!"

Without hesitation, the driver ran swiftly, soon stopping a convoy from a wealthy household among the migrating masses, attempting to trade his gun and car keys for two horses, and promising that whether or not he saved his owner, there would be benefits for them.

The wealthy household was savvy enough; upon seeing the gun, they knew the person in trouble had a complex identity.

Thus, they didn't accept the gun and car keys but instead dispatched three strong young men on horses to help, voluntarily staying behind to watch over the vehicle.

In these times, having a gun makes you the master; to casually use a gun to settle debts, one must possess endless firearms!

This favor was a deal well made!

While the wealthy household was pleased, three sturdy horses galloped across the wilderness, heading with the unconscious Niyan towards the nearest town.

There, stationed was Laxi's military. Where there's a military, there are doctors and telephones!

Galloping for 20 miles, under the stars and moon, the party finally reached the closest town.

Upon learning about Niyan, the local garrison commander immediately reported the situation to higher-ups, requesting aid and arranging for the military medics to administer emergency treatment to him.

Standing beside the sickbed, Feodo was filled with remorse and self-blame, silently praying for his comatose teacher.

At that moment, Niyan suddenly coughed and opened his eyes, a faint light gradually returning to his unfocused pupils.

"Teacher!" Feodo exclaimed in surprise, rushing to the bedside.

Niyan seemed not to hear; instead, he suddenly reached out with his stick-like hand, firmly grasping Feodo's arm.

"Run..."

Feodo was bewildered, looking at him in confusion.

"...What?"

Niyan inhaled deeply, his gaze towards the ceiling tinged with despair, using every ounce of his strength to speak word by word.

"Run, as far as you can... You all... are not his match."

Feodo tightly held his teacher's hand back, leaning closer.

"Who?! Do you mean Laxi?!"

The driver coughed in response, signaling to the young man that this was Laxi's military camp.

But the nearby company commander acted as if he hadn't heard, pretending not to know and looking away.

He certainly knew what happened in Mammoth City, and upon seeing Niyan here, he knew everything; unlikely as it seemed, higher-ups should be on the way here.

Yet, he intended to act as if he heard nothing, calmly heading outside to light a cigarette.

Sadness flashed in Niyan's eyes; he didn't utter any name he hoped for.

Not even the name of a living person.

"Low... el..."

Anush had been Lowel, but halfway through his slaughter, he was shot dead on the throne.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, forgetting the Heavenly King's army entirely, forgetting how they came to be.

Thus, a new Lowel arrived, showcasing his butcher's knife, filling the ground with severed heads.

As for the civil war.

When everyone expected it to come, maybe it wouldn't after all.

It didn't matter anymore...

Better to leave it as a fantasy for future generations, imagining what the war would be like if it broke out.

It's actually the same.

Feodo stared at him blankly, thinking he misheard, completely frozen in place.

He muttered, moving his lips, mumbling.

"Lowel... isn't that a dead person..."

He knew his teacher had cursed General Lowel for a whole year, even the entire "Red Soil" centered around him, yet he didn't expect his teacher's hatred to have permeated his bones to such an extent.

He felt it shouldn't be this way.

The remnant evils left behind by the United Human military officers were certainly detestable, but didn't deserve such ancestral grave digging.

As people often said, there's no merit but there's hard work, and who could deny that no one survived by eating soil?

Besides, his teacher also said Sir Cabaha wasn't good, that over-correction wasn't good.

But when he wanted to ask further, Niyan had already breathed his last.

The damnable Duke Garava, after Witch Todd died, half-heartedly changed his heart, while the most undeserved person left just before dawn...

Feodo wailed, crying until his eyes were bloodshot, like a child who lost a loved one.

The driver's eyes reddened too, raising his hand to cover his nose.

He wasn't a soldier, but sort of was before, yet never expected his leg would be run until breaking only to reach such an end.

Why?

Why do good people live short lives!

Why does heaven treat him like this!

Hearing the commotion from the room, the company commander rushed in from outside, followed by Laxi returning from the front lines and the local division's commander.

This nearly six-foot-tall giant hadn't cried when he lost a battle, hadn't cried when injured, and of course hadn't cried now, but was furiously mad with red eyes.

"No!!!"

"You damn bastard, come back! Your battle isn't over yet! I forbid you to leave!"

"Leader! He's already dead!" Watching Laxi attempt to pull Niyan up at the bedside, the commander behind him pulled the emotionally distraught man with red eyes, "Figure out what to do first!"

Finally calming down, Laxi staggered back to the doorway, suddenly seeing the red-eyed, scared student, stepping forward to grab his shoulder.

"Your teacher died... no, the gentleman said anything before he passed!?"

Although he'd boasted before about "not fearing death", facing the true murderous god in front of him now, Feodo was still paralyzed with fear.

This man truly clawed his way out of a pile of corpses.

Every word he spoke seemed drenched in blood, the sheer killing aura enough to make even the King of Hell shudder.

His teacher might have been right...

He's all talk, all else weak.

Yet Laxi didn't shame his cowardice, nor did he hurry him like he did the teacher, instead patiently waiting.

Finally, Feodo, like a terrified girl, squeezed out a sentence from his trembling lips—

"Lowel... my teacher said, I... we aren't his opponents."

"He wants us to run quickly."

Laxi's expression halted, seemingly not expecting the final words to be these.

Letting go of the young man's thin shoulders, he strode out of the room.

At this moment, he resembled an enraged bull, roaring against the cloudy skies and morning mist.

"Lowel—"

"Damn you all!!!"

Elsewhere, having taken custody of Ross and other Weilante captives, Commander Yakale of the 110,000 team led his troops day and night, heading towards the outskirts of West Sail Port.

The positions they once couldn't capture, were now as if nonexistent.

They took the army's train to Sulak County, where the villagers welcomed them as warmly as they did the Weilante people, offering them stewed lamb and hot tea.

Looking at the flattering county chief, Yakale felt annoyed and gave these dishes he hadn't tasted in a long time to his subordinates.

The guy named Ross handed over his gun but wouldn't say a word to him.

He knew why; the guy didn't truly believe he lost to him deep down, and Yakale indeed couldn't shamelessly mock the other, wondering why certain battles weren't fought on certain hills.

Until dawn was breaking, conquerors made of steel appeared one after another on the wilderness.

The rumbling sound of the tracks startled the soldiers who were dozing off, and they scrambled to find cover, only to see their own flag from the distant military formation.

Well, turns out they were on the same side!

Having stayed up all night, Yakale was stunned for quite a few seconds until his people calmed him down.

The group headed south in Sulak County, where a flashy off-road vehicle stopped before them.

Two officers stepped out of the car, and one of them, a ten thousand leader with shining military boots, saluted him and laughed.

"I am the ten thousand leader of the 101st troop of Poluo Country! This is our commander, Iron General, General Groove!"

Yakale widened his eyes and muttered.

"What the hell is an Iron General, I am the Diamond General, Gold General, and Paint General still..."

Groove, being a rough fellow, was not angered by this. Instead, he instinctively laughed heartily and patted his shoulder.

"I've heard of your great name, brother! I worked on the southern line, you know Gibson, right? He's the loser under my command!"

"Oh, oh, I think I heard of him..." Yakale nodded blankly. He happened to acquire a few cannons from Gibson, although it was the alliance's Skeleton Corps that took them for him, but his subordinates also contributed a bit.

So that's why this guy is gone; turns out he was driven south.

Seeing that he had heard of Gibson's fame, Groove laughed heartily.

"Right, it wasn't easy confronting that bastard! At first, he dared to face us head-to-head; later on, he hid in his positions and refused to come out. I eventually took over his lair, but he wouldn't accept defeat, stubbornly tough like a damn duck! By the way, where's Yishel? I've wanted to meet him for ages, why isn't he here?"

As he said this, Groove's face was full of eagerness, as he had been a fan of Yishel since before the Northern Winds operation. Unfortunately, he never had the chance to meet him.

Yakale looked at Groove puzzled, not understanding why he asked such a question.

Isn't it you guys who asked me to come for contact?

Turns out the commander is also a little shrimp.

"He has to guard against Laxi…"

Groove's face showed a disappointed look, nodding with lingering regret.

"Okay... By the way, brother, how's my equipment?"

In the distance, dust billowed as the storm of steel rolled across the plains like a whirlwind.

Yakale stared at it for a long time, wishing he could engrave that scene into his eyes, and after a while, he finally squeezed out a word from his mouth.

"Damn, amazing..."

...

On the other side, the misty dawn at the west bank of the Tasang River.

Yishel sat despondently on the position until daybreak, contemplating the lights by the Tasang River all night.

New Year.

Another New Year...

Watching the migrating crowd, his thoughts instantly returned to that evening where destiny was decided.

It was then, in his desperate situation, that he finally recognized his fate, abandoning the pursuit of becoming Poll in Giant Stone City, forsaking the fantasies of the Silver Moon Goddess, ceasing to chase unrealizable ideals...

And precisely because of that, he used Poluo people's wisdom to deceive everyone, not only saving Little Ruby and everyone in the church but also keeping them alive until the very end.

Since then, his life has been smooth sailing, not only designing to help his old boss Anvo escape the whirlpool of Tiandu, but also impressing numerous bigwigs including Absek, to the point where he now sits at the position of northern field army's commander.

Even the Weilante people were so admiring that they printed his portrait on poker cards.

Everything is developing in a good direction.

Whether for Poluo people or Weilante people.

Recently, the communication status has slightly recovered. He has heard news about some people he helped before and learned some outside information from their letters.

Like Lady Margaret's family, who reportedly lives happily at No.1 Settlement.

The residents of Evernight Harbor were not overwhelmed by difficulties; they've built new homes on the wilderness.

Her husband continues to fulfill his vows to build churches for the Silver Moon Goddess, but he himself seems to have no time to pray.

Among the couple's letters was a postcard from Little Ruby, with a picture of a cute mammoth on it.

Thinking of the little mammoth warmed Yishel's heart, and suddenly he wanted to have a kid.

Maybe start by dating someone.

He was also in his prime years; probably it wouldn't be a problem to date a female student.

Everyone got a happy ending, but for some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of panic, just like the day he cowered in a corner, trembling, unseen by Anush.

But this time is different.

This time it feels like when his old boss opened the church door, it wasn't Anvo, but the wicked ghost named Anush, staring at him, Little Ruby, and everyone else with slick eyes, and inwardly planning how to torment each of them.

Yishel suddenly broke out in cold sweat and seemed to hear something -

'I'm back.'

"Ah—!"

Right then, the air raid alarm sounded on the opposite bank of Tasang River, and it was sounded three times.

Yet for some reason, there was no explosion sound this time, nor the roar of planes flying low.

It seemed like the alarm was not alert but a kind of lament.

Yishel furrowed his brow, suddenly having countless possibilities flashing through his mind, even letting his thoughts go beyond Tasang River.

At that moment, his complexion suddenly turned deathly pale, suddenly raising his head.

"Caught in the scheme!"

On another side, at the West Sail Port train station platform, Ross carrying a suitcase and accompanied by several officers under his command stepped off the train and saw the defeated Gibson hemmed in the middle by Poluo Country soldiers.

With submachine guns slung over their shoulders, those two soldiers were holding pu-9 submachine guns, their impassive demeanor as if escorting a prisoner.

Looks like Poluo Country has already taken over this settlement.

Yet, those Poluo people didn't rudely treat Gibson but kept his dignity intact as a defeated person... something Ross hadn't expected.

There weren't only Poluo people at the train station but also some Weilante people; however, judging by their vital spirit and upright posture, they were clearly from the Eastern Empire.

They were busy packing boxes, taking away everything they could.

From the soldiers' reactions, it was evident that they had received permission from Poluo's high command or even Absek himself.

Seeing Ross alight from the train, Gibson smiled weakly and extended his right hand.

"Glad to see you well, Leader Ross."

Continuous failures had completely crushed this man's confidence; Ross couldn't help but wonder whether he could still stand strong.

But what right did he have to ridicule him?

"Same flight?"

Gibson nodded weakly and gave a faint smile.

"Yes, Salen promised to reunite me with my family at New West Port. They said the place needed capable Weilante people like us... though I don't know what I can do after the war ended."

Honestly, he never imagined Poluo people would spare him, given that southern troops mainly involved police actions, and during such actions, distinguishing between civilians and soldiers is inevitable.

Ross was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Let's talk after you get home. There's always a need for us somewhere."

The car to take them to the port was almost there.

Before getting into the car, Gibson looked complexly at the port behind him.

He felt no sentiment for this place, for when the port was initially built, he wasn't here.

"What do you think this place will become?"

"I don't know, don't want to know," Ross shook his head, "they have so many people and just won all the wars, it won't be worse than before we came here."

Perhaps, the Weilante people are the same.

An Evernight Port without the Southern Legion... at least Blackwater Alley will become history.

Thinking of this made Ross suddenly less despairing about the future.

Chapter 955: The End of the Show

Ross indeed doesn't need to despair too much, for in this lifetime, he probably won't set foot in West Sail Port again, and the Poluo people likely won't welcome back this invader either. Whatever this place becomes, it no longer concerns him.

As for Evernight Harbor.

The Alliance Army landing there and the Eastern Empire soldiers rummaging through West Sail Port have completely different conduct; his family and furniture were left untouched, not a single thing missing.

Although he had to report to New West Port first, making it impossible to reunite with his family before the birthday, they would eventually be reunited...

The square by the dock.

He noted that the soldiers escorting him had changed from Poluo people to soldiers of the Eastern Empire.

Looking at the sturdy young man, Ross thought for a moment, and took out a gold medal from his pocket.

"Could you lend me two dinars? I want to buy a newspaper."

The young man pushed his medal back with a laugh and said, "You keep the medal, sir. I'll handle this for you!"

A defeated Ten Thousand Leader is still a Ten Thousand Leader, especially one with a gold battle medal.

After speaking, the young man quickly ran to the nearby newsstand and casually picked up a stack to return.

The stall owner also didn't dare to stop him, and a Gray Wolf Soldier nearby pretended not to see it.

Looking at the stack of newspapers brought back by the young man, Ross smiled wryly as he took them.

"You all... should at least pay for these."

Moreover, with so many newspapers, he might not finish reading them even when he reached New West Port.

The soldier laughed brightly and said, "It's fine, the money has been paid."

Ross was taken aback.

"...Paid?"

The soldier nodded and said, "Enough to arm a million people, 1,200 tanks, and a thousand aircraft along with pilots for the entire air squad are left here fully trained."

Ross was momentarily speechless, and after a while, he sighed, "You all are indeed wealthy."

The soldier laughed embarrassingly and said, "Not all of it is ours, most of it is actually what's leftover from you... His Majesty said that the scraps of the Wasteland Era will be useless later. The engineers in Norton City need to target new enemies and design better and more expensive equipment."

Ross remained silent.

This time, he truly didn't know what to say; he could only turn to the newspaper in search of useful information, only to find the dates stopped at the last few days of Wasteland Era year 214.

Time seemed to have stopped.

He flipped through several pages, but they were all old newspapers, causing him to shake his head with a wry smile.

It seemed the stall owner wasn't really interested in doing business either.

After all, no one is a fool; knowing they'd be looted by the Weilante people and opened at gunpoint, they naturally muddled through it.

Why not get new newspapers?

Ask the printers!

And the printers can likely blame the writers and those seeking out news.

There would be no more news here.

And there was no more need for it.

Just then, a family of five ran in from the direction of the city.

The couple was around thirty to forty years old, and the three children were only as tall as car wheels, with the oldest only about ten years old.

They were in a hurry, their faces full of panic, looking distinguished but only carrying some personal belongings.

The Gray Wolf Soldier, who was smoking, was obviously taken aback, seemingly surprised that these five people could run here. Instinctively, he removed the gun from his back, quickly chambering a round without thinking.

As if hearing the chambering sound, the elderly father skidded forward, bringing his family to kneel in front of Ross with a thud.

"Master! Please be merciful, take us with you!"

The mother was also crying with tears streaming down as if raining, her forehead brushing against the ground.

"Sir! I'm bowing before you! I beg you!"

Aside from the two adults, the slightly older two children were also imitating their parents, nodding their heads like pounding garlic.

As for the remaining girl, only as tall as a car wheel, she seemed to be scared stiff, standing bewilderedly, led by the adults.

The sound of sobbing caught Ross off guard and left him stunned in place.

"You've got the wrong person... I'm just a prisoner..."

He, a defeated individual, had no right to such grand gestures.

Moreover, not to mention protecting others, he was himself a floating duckweed blown into a muddy ditch.

Suddenly, Ross recalled that it seemed like on this very square in front of the port, Ten Thousand Leader Olet had once issued an order to him, demanding he pull out the Sky Bandit who murdered civilians of the Weilante from among the citizens to be executed.

Who would've thought that after all this time, he, a butcher who had killed indiscriminately, would become a prisoner, while his victorious opponents would still be kneeling before him to plead.

Perhaps driven by a survival instinct, the elder father had a sudden burst of inspiration, crawling forward on his knees to hug Ross's knees, pleading desperately.

"Master... you're, you're with the Weilante, you can take your slaves! Our whole family would be your slaves! I beg you, give us a way to live, we're willing to be your cattle and horses..."

"Is there... such a rule?"

Ross was completely dumbfounded for a moment, looking at the soldier beside him, leaving no time to be shocked by the kneeling man's adaptability.

He was also a father.

His family was almost the only moonlight he could see without opening his eyes when he was living on insects in the cave.

The biggest difference between humans and beasts is that humans consider things from the perspective of their fellow kind.

He no longer looked down on the kneeling Poluo man at his feet as humans, but saw him as another father just like himself—willing to abandon his own dignity to keep his children alive!

In his heart, Ross made up his mind, as he had done when facing subordinates with bloodshot eyes.

They were not chess pieces.

They were human beings.

The war was over; no one else should die for this foolish war.

He would rescue them!

Consider it redemption...

The Eastern Empire soldiers were visibly confused, scratching their head after hearing the inquiry from their officer next to them.

"Well... there's no rule saying it's not allowed. I've seen the officers take someone on board."

Ross glanced at the Gray Wolf Soldier not far away and noticed the safety was switched off, then looked at the men and women kneeling on the ground.

The Adam's apple moved slightly, and he looked at the soldier beside him, speaking in a cold tone.

"...I am a Ten Thousand Leader, someone needs to take care of my daily life. From now on, these people are my servants, let them board the ship with me... I will explain it myself to your superior."

The soldier was still in a dilemma, but the man kneeling on the ground hastily pulled out a few crumpled banknotes and stuffed them into the soldier's hand.

"Sir... please be kind."

Seeing a few hundred silver coin bills, the soldier instantly stopped hesitating, giving a sly smile and waving his hand.

"Go on board."

Apparently, he wasn't making things difficult at all.

He was merely imitating the veterans by taking a bit from these fat sheep.

Watching the humble father pull out more banknotes to offer him, Ross shook his head.

"Follow me closely... After all, that's our ship."

Seeing their benefactor refusing the money, the father was momentarily shocked, but quickly nodded in gratitude, then pulled his family along, following their benefactor away from the hungry wolf glaring at their backs.

The group boarded the ship. Ross, who brought several people from Poluo, was initially a bit nervous, but upon reaching the deck, he realized his nervousness was entirely unfounded.

Among the men and women standing on the deck, only half were Vellante, the others were Poluo natives.

With their smiles of relief, they seemed less like refugees and more like they were celebrating victorious success.

Good heavens.

Looks like there isn't even a need for an explanation now...

Ross suddenly realized his perspective was too limited; he had forgotten that people were also wealth, and perhaps the greatest wealth of all.

How could the Emperor of the Eastern Empire only take machines and forget the talents cultivated by the Southern Legion?

The things left on shore, including a household picked up from the shore, were just trash that His Majesty deemed unworthy to take...

The youngest girl blinked, hiding behind her father, secretly observing the face of their benefactor.

Unable to discern the expression on that stiff face, she spoke in a soft, sticky voice.

"...We won't trouble you. Daddy brought some dry food; we'll find a corner to hide in ourselves..."

Suddenly recalling that her father had forbidden her from mentioning the dry food, she hurriedly covered her mouth in panic.

Her cautious manner was heart-wrenching.

Ross managed to squeeze out a rare gentle smile from his stiff face, reaching out to tousle the child's fluffy hair.

"No trouble at all, just follow me and I'll take you ashore..."

"Speaking of which, I also have a child, about your age, maybe a little shorter... but in a few years, it might be different. He could at least grow as tall as I am."

The girl's eyes lit up, momentarily forgetting her father's usual admonition — never to offend the Vellante people,

"Really? Could you tell me about him?" she asked in a crisp voice, as innocent and melodious as a nightingale.

"Of course," Ross nodded with a smile, crouching down, "If you meet, I believe you two would become good friends."

...

On the other side, the wilderness of Wolf State.

Taking advantage of the dawn light, Gopal, the chief commander of the Gray Wolf Army, with a cigar hanging from his mouth, rode the steel convoy like a long serpentine dragon, advancing along the road built by the Southern Legion towards Tiandu.

The world only knew Grov as the "Iron General," not realizing that the "Iron General" was just a dog under his command.

Zayed saw through Grov well; that guy was nothing but an ambitious fool, reckless and advancing during the Northern Wind operation, thinking his little tricks went unnoticed, though no one really pointed them out.

Those were among the few openings they had.

Luckily, the Southern Legion had been beaten into submission and hadn't ruined the entire game.

However, dealing with Grov could wait. This so-called "Meat Saint" should be elevated and then smashed down hard.

For this reason, he sent Grov to take over West Sail Port and the Southern Legion's equipment and aid from the Eastern Empire, while he led the real elite eastward to strike at the heart of Poluo Country!

A cold smile lifted the corner of Gopal's mouth as he increasingly admired the esteemed Holy Hero.

The fire in West Sail Port secured his place in Tiandu, and now the fire in Mammoth City set Laxi and Absek against each other in mutual destruction.

Even if they didn't fight, but merely sat with their elite soldiers on their respective borders, it no longer mattered.

Their spies in Mammoth City had already connected with the Moon Clan Resistance Army, making it easy to launch a coup d'état while Laxi was distracted.

Even if the coup failed, after dealing with Poluo Country, addressing a severely weakened Laxi would not be too late.

The reason their respected family patriarch used the Moon Clan Resistance Army as a pawn was precisely due to this mob's futility.

Regardless of their victory or defeat, this move would decimate Laxi on the chessboard!

As for Tiandu, it was as if it was already in their pocket.

With the Southern Legion's continuous retreat and the Alliance's troops moving to the Great Desert, ready to inherit the legacy along the coast and Bartoya Province ruins.

Even without Absek being in Tiandu, the entire Tiandu United Federation was leaderless; even if he were there, it would make no difference.

His drastic reforms in education and economy had already sparked dissatisfaction within the military.

The previous "Great Test" already showed signs.

Thinking of this always made Gopal want to laugh.

Not arranging two female students for "Butcher" Pickles, who achieved great feats in defending Tiandu, was unfortunate enough, but then letting his beloved son compete with the children of those mud-legged people for rankings in the "Great Test"!

How bold!

Was he not afraid of being shot in the back in his own bathroom at night?

Although this foolish move originated from Sir Cabaha, and wasn't directly deployed by the Leader, the appointment of the education commissioner was by the Leader's hand, right?

No need to mention the other commissioners. Sir Cabaha was at least guilty of serving everyone equally, while some others were secretly pouring into their own cups.

However, the actual harm and "kindness" to the Family Meeting by the latter were far less than those by the former, though later propaganda would need to be reversed anyway.

In short, Tiandu was no longer capable of fighting.

Sharuk, still dreaming of becoming the Chief Leader, had already turned Niggly and Duwata against them and fantasized that everything now was the same as when Absek summoned them overnight to deal with Anush.

He thought he could replicate Absek's success, shooting Anush dead at his life's peak and replacing him.

Yet he didn't realize that the true "Absek the Second" was another person who had long since loaded the gun hidden behind the stage.

As Gopal was confidently gazing in the direction of Tiandu, his adjutant suddenly received news from the Family Meeting's offline organization, leaning close to whisper in his ear.

"According to our spy, the third ten thousand troops led by Yishel have left the Sheep State frontier and are rushing towards the nearest train station... They might have figured it out."

Gopal's eyebrow raised slightly.

Oh.

Someone with talent.

What a pity, this game is nearly at its end.

If this little pawn were truly clever, it should repeat what he once did at West Sail Port.

As for retreating... heh.

This guy has really lost his head, thinking he's that 'commander' sitting in the palace.

Forget about a little jungle mouse, even if the entire Northern Field Army pressed forward, it would be crushed into red soil in the face of his iron tide, not to mention that the Northern Field Army is now riddled with holes by the Family Meeting's infiltration.

In terms of power or strength, they ceased to be the struggling Gray Wolf hiding in the corner of Horse State long ago.

"Blow up the northern railroad, then let Grov..." Gopal touched his chin, an idea formed in his mind, and he said with a smile, "Forget it, let's have Yakale take his 110,000 team instead."

"Iron General" Grov needs to live a little longer anyway, after all, he is his direct line, and even if there's a shower to take, now is not the time.

As for Yakale...

Although he's also family and has helped them somewhat, after all, he's a family working for Absek.

Let this dirty rag wipe off the dust on the wall for them!

"Yes!" The officer sitting nearby respectfully accepted the order, looking at Gopal with an expression akin to gazing upon a deity.

Victory is determined thousands of miles away from the strategy room!

What "jungle mouse," utterly weak!

Indeed, this is the second coming of "Arai Yang"! The undisputed first military god of Poluo Country!

...

The winds of chaos swirl in Poluo Province, and the human conference in the Grand Canyon is a stirring gathering of brilliance.

But speaking straightforwardly, the "heroes" here perhaps aren't as resourceful and cunning as the leaders riding across the lands of Poluo Province.

The land seems cursed by the "Treachery of the Four Vendors," where everyone appears too clever for their good.

Conversely, the people sitting in this conference hall seem more like human beings, each with their unique human appearances and abstractions.

The human meeting hadn't even lasted half an hour when Sarun, seated in the conference hall, began to regret attending.

His expression speaks volumes; one gaze could empty out all the electric vehicles and fridges in West Sail Port.

Why not use this time to do something meaningful?

Perhaps he shouldn't have had any expectations for the younger ones to freely voice their opinions from the start.

This group wasn't here to discuss issues.

They were here to make wishes.

After a seemingly refined guy finished his "acceptance speech and future outlook," thanking brothers like the Corporation, Academy, Alliance, and Eastern Empire, a spirited young man finally took the stage.

Unlike the others.

He had a glint in his eyes.

Sarun grew curious for around two seconds until the young man spoke.

"...Ladies and gentlemen, please quiet down, allow me to speak!"

He tightened his fists on the podium and continued in a passionate voice.

"We can all see that over the years, the Alliance's achievements have been plain for all to see!"

"Under Mr. Chu Guang's leadership, we not only defeated the Looter, the Mutated slime fungus, the Army, but also..."

"...So why don't we unite, everyone join the Alliance, fly to space, and then defeat Gaia! Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

As his speech continued, the Emperor of the Eastern Empire, Sarun, no longer wished to listen to his nonsense.

He tilted his head, giving the former high-ranking officer of the Western Legion—now the highest Foreign Minister of the New Federation—a look everyone understood.

"Where exactly on the map is this Dam City? Can you send them something special?"

The Foreign Minister of the New Federation glanced at him impatiently.

That look said it all—

If this boring thing needs doing, go yourself.

Receiving a disdainful look, Sarun sighed inwardly, his gaze suddenly falling on a certain blue iron canister, which brought a mischievous smile to his face.

At this moment, someone's situation was not looking good.

Watching that youngster on stage blow his horn for nearly ten minutes about himself, the toes of Dawn almost dug through the granite as he wished dearly to exert his authority, kicking this troublemaker offline to cool down.

But unfortunately.

The guy wasn't one of his players, and that "Manager" remark was probably not a joke, but a heartfelt admiration.

In contrast, those who often made jokes about him were far more normal.

For instance, the only player present on the spot was obedient, acting more like a BOSS than he himself, sitting imposingly on Triumph City's assigned chair.

Nonetheless, this Pangolin wasn't quite sensible.

If his great son Fang Chang were sitting in the same spot, he'd have taken off his shoes and hurled them at the podium long before embarrassing himself into curling his toes.

The representatives from the other factions wouldn't possibly do such a thing, and even the Alliance's staunch ally Corporation was curiously watching how Chu Guang would resolve the awkward situation.

Perhaps tired of hearing it, a light, disdainful laugh came from the conference seats.

"Heh...everyone joining the Alliance, this childish dream sounds too easy."

Hearing his platform challenged, Zhou Xianlin, who was in high spirits, became enraged, casting gaze like swords toward the source of the voice.

An old man, his face lined with wrinkles, sat there, covered with all sorts of gaudy golden accessories, looking ready to lie in a coffin with the tributes.

"And who might you be?"

Apparently unfazed by this boisterous guy, the old man replied with an indifferent tone.

"Charlie Lion."

Zhou Xianlin was taken aback, realizing who this old man was—the one with numerous wives and concubines.

With that in mind, a hint of contempt flashed in his eyes.

"I thought it was someone else... just some feudal remnant reeking of decay, a pretender with one foot in the grave daring to speak to a progressive youth like me—"

He hadn't finished his sentence when a homicidal aura struck him dumb, swallowing the latter half of his words.

The old man didn't move a muscle, just stared at him with those pitch-black eyes.

And the light shooting from those skull-like eye sockets seemed like it was about to pin him to the podium, dragging him into the grave along with it.

A bead of sweat trickled down Zhou Xianlin's forehead; enveloped by that killing intent, he subconsciously licked the corner of his lips.

Yet his gaze bore not a flicker of fear; instead, it carried traces of excitement.

Some said he didn't actually kill the Looter, now it seems the Looter appeared on its own...

Just a mere kingdom, this foul thing stands no chance against the iron fist of his Alliance!

Fortunately, someone rescued him in time, the chairman sitting below coughed twice.

"...Young man, if you've finished speaking, step down and leave time for those after you."

Zhou Xianlin descended the podium without a word, his eyes fixed intently on the old king, like a Hyena circling its prey.

As for the old king, he retained a calm demeanor, restoring his leisurely posture after clearing up the situation.

"I've never quite figured out... What connection does the Chewing Bone Tribe have with Dam City?"

Looking at the clown being chased off the stage, the leader of the Red River Alliance used his little finger to dig his ear and glanced at the Speaker of Garbage City who was sitting next to him, "Do you have any clues?"

The Speaker of Garbage City shook his head and said wryly.

"I've never heard of this place. Speaking of which, everyone seems to be invited to this Grand Canyon..."

To think this bastard is really fearless, grabbing the microphone and daring to say anything.

The human conference will be over in a few days at most; the Grand Canyon can't protect you for a lifetime.

Is this guy planning not to leave his turtle shell?

On the other side, looking at the awkward face of Chu Guang, the chief sitting next to him smiled and whispered jokingly.

"Time really flies... The last time I saw Charlie Lion, he was just a kid. In the blink of an eye, he's gone from a little lion to an old lion, and he even brought a pride of lionesses here."

Chu Guang glanced at the old man.

"People call him Charlie Lion, but this is the first time I've seen this side of him."

The chief knowingly smiled.

"Tame as a cat in front of you, right? I even think he wants to give you a lioness. But that's just the way it is; no matter how sharp the blade was in youth, there comes a day when it dulls... And who could outlive you?"

Chu Guang rolled his eyes.

"Isn't that what I should be saying to you? Who could outlive you?"

The chief chuckled softly and nodded thoughtfully.

"True... let's each talk about our own."

Chu Guang: "..."

His intuition told him that this old man was probably thinking up another riddle.

Not wanting to listen to this guy talk riddles, he shifted his gaze back to the stage.

Up there this time was an acquaintance, the Secretary-General of the South Sea Union Representative, Si Wen.

This person didn't mince words, stepping up with a bright and sunny smile.

"Thanks to everyone's love and trust, the New Era Space Elevator can be located in our home!"

"We have islands, beaches, crabs, coconuts, and beer, as well as large ships and gantry cranes for loading and unloading goods!"

"I won't say much else; in short, our place is quite big, haha, you're all welcome to visit!"

This was perhaps the most useful thing said since the opening of the human conference.

"Good!"

Not only did the old chief applaud, but even His Majesty Sarun smiled and gave him encouraging applause.

He was indeed very interested in large ships and gantry cranes.

The Southern Legion's bulk cargo terminals were too laborious; ten slaves working all morning couldn't keep up with that big iron lift, the allied ports suited his needs better.

Perhaps after the meeting's over, he could order two back to the New West Port...

...

The meeting spanned from day to night, with a one-hour break in between, during which the hosts provided boxed meals to the participants.

Overall, this redundant meeting still discussed some important matters.

For example, the Survivor Forces of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng—essentially little brothers of the Corporate Council—suggested at the meeting that the old legion forces abandon the technology of "producing clones with eightfold growth speed" and ensure those mindless clones could have a stable life or euthanasia.

Though the leader of the Weilant Alliance expressed agreement, the conservative forces surrounding him evidently thought otherwise.

Sarun argued that those clones only had a human appearance, but couldn't truly be considered humans in the genuine sense.

As for the foreign minister of the New Federation, he asserted that was the New Federation's own matter, unrelated to others.

The emperor of the Northern Empire, by contrast, had a somewhat more moderate stance, with the man who looked as strong as a bear suggesting they could give up clone Cannon Fodder, but they must ensure the survival rights of the Weilante people.

That is, they need to establish a sophisticated missile defense system to replace the clone Cannon Fodder, and demand the corporations and academy provide the crucial technology they need.

The proposal itself was reasonable.

They needed to integrate with the civilized world but also required self-preservation.

Even including Sarun, all the Weilante leaders knew that with the sky's blockade lifted, it was only a matter of time before those clone Cannon Fodder were eliminated.

Under the satellite's precise location and artillery's precision strikes, those Cannon Fodder, who didn't even know to hide, merely delivered meat to their enemies.

The tide of the times is irreversible.

And wanting to transform those clone Cannon Fodder into productivity was also impossible; they couldn't even possess the basic mental faculties of normal people, let alone learning ability.

The Alliance had attempted this and clearly hadn't succeeded, otherwise, they would've advertised grandly long ago.

When asking for advanced technology failed, Sarun retreated to a secondary goal, requesting corporations to exchange economic aid for their compromise on clone and slave issues.

After much consideration, the Corporate Council members did agree.

The changes in Triumph City and the Weilante Province rekindled the corporations' hope of bringing the Weilantes into the civilized camp and restored confidence in reuniting the fragmented "War Construction Committee".

The Weilantes had demonstrated with their actions that they too possessed indigenous progressive forces.

Since that was the case, why not give them a little more time?

A chieftain is followed by a king, and the story doesn't end there.

If not letting a king, then another, if not letting their allies become a new empire... this is the task Ideal City aims to accomplish next.

To this end, the existence of the Eastern Empire is necessary, at least from their standpoint it is.

This was the open card played by the Corporate Council.

Not only Chu Guang could see it, but everyone sitting in the front rows of the conference hall could also see it... even including His Majesty Sarun, who was yawning, and the emperor of the North, who was as strong as a bear.

All visible gestures were a façade; the real fools didn't even have the chance to sit here.

Even including Teil, who wasn't even sitting here.

That guy was actually quite smart; he just played it too big and left no room for maneuvering for himself...

The meeting finally drew to a close.

The chief of the Grand Canyon took the stage and made a few summary remarks, then announced the grand meeting was concluded, along with the charter for the next human conference.

This kind of meeting might as well be held a few more times.

While communication couldn't solve all the problems, at least it allowed each to understand the other's bottom lines.

Moreover, the next human conference would be held in the City of Dawn, with the exact date yet to be determined.

After the meeting adjourned, everyone left the conference hall with a look of lingering interest.

They would head to the banquet hall to enjoy dinner and discuss the topics not yet finished with the people they clicked with, or decide on the next day's agenda.

Absek was planning to have a conversation with Chu Guang but saw Shava, the captain of the Mammoth Nation assault team, angrily walking towards him.

Seeing that expression, Absek's heart sank, realizing something unpleasant might have happened.

Just as he expected, Shava immediately shouted at him as soon as he saw him.

"Absek! The leader of Poluo Country! We need an explanation!"

Chapter 956: Brothers at Odds Within the Wall

Not only Niyan, but also Meng Jie, the principal of Mammoth University, was worried sick about the students.

Recently, the situation in Mammoth City was turbulent, and Mammoth University, founded by Niyan, was pushed into the spotlight.

Especially with the "negative stance" of the Survivor's Daily on the conflict events, it further angered students and progressives. Now they not only demand that Laxi explain the dam incident, but also hold Laxi accountable for the deaths of three students and two Family Meeting members.

Now they are all family.

Including those Moon Clan Resistance elders marginalized by the Laxi authorities.

Back then, Laxi was able to take Mammoth City largely due to the support of the Moon people both at home and abroad, and he himself is a Moon person.

Because of this, it was destined that he could not completely purge these elders, at best only marginalize them away from the center of power—unless he wanted to break ties with all Moon Clan forces at home and abroad, and even with radical factions within the Alliance sympathetic to the Moon people.

The price would be too high...

On the contrary, those elders outside the core circle have no scruples, after all, they have nothing to lose in the first place.

Who knows, they might even prevent a civil war.

They are not interested in competing with Absek for the Northern Three States or Tiandu; having this piece of Mammoth State land is enough.

If they could earn a reputation as peace defenders, the Alliance would surely be pleased.

After all, the Alliance Managers have always had one attitude—

"You Poluo people, calm down, stop killing your compatriots."

So when they saw the opportunity to take power back from Laxi, they all jumped out like hungry wolves, opposing their "Great Moon King."

The surging tides quickly swept across the city, leaving no room for a quiet desk.

To prevent the campus from becoming a battlefield, Meng Jie could only temporarily close Mammoth University.

For him personally, this action was clearly displeasing to both sides.

The Mammoth authorities expressed disappointment in his unwillingness to help stabilize the situation, seeing indulgence as a form of support. Meanwhile, the students believed he was succumbing to the Mammoth authorities' authority, calling him a cowardly lapdog, a fence-sitting reed.

But these were minor issues.

Mammoth University was entirely funded by Niyan himself and did not rely on the Mammoth authorities for finances, except for some help from Laxi at its inception.

As for those kids, their scolding is just noise; he's not afraid of death, so why would he fear a few insults?

No matter how harshly those kids criticized, they would never physically attack their own teacher.

The influence of the Family Meeting in Mammoth City was not so overwhelming as to rob people of reason.

Though when he saw those family members stepping forward, Niyan was indeed taken aback for a moment.

While he wasn't paying attention, those guys were already everywhere...

In this precarious moment, news suddenly shocked all of Mammoth City.

Niyan was dead.

The one who wrote Red Soil and lit the first light of enlightenment for the survivors of Poluo Province, Mr. Mouse, had actually died from exhaustion...

...

In the study of his own home.

Looking at the newspaper, Meng Jie first silently shed tears, then suddenly covered his nose and shoulders shook.

The housemaid saw this and silently came to pour him a pot of hot tea.

When he saw a few tea leaves floating in the cup, his emotions suddenly collapsed, and he began to sob silently.

"Why was it you... of all people, it had to be you..."

"I never thought heaven could be so blind, not seeing the suffering of the people!"

The maid was at a loss, unsure if she had done something wrong, not knowing whether to speak to comfort him or remain silent.

However, Meng Jie did not stay immersed in sorrow for long.

Seeing the tea leaves gifted by a friend, he thought of his unfinished business, of his pregnant wife, of many, many things...

"...Once a person dies, everything is finished."

He looked up at the ceiling, sighed softly, finally made up his mind, took out a sheet of paper and wrote a resignation conceived in five minutes, and then carefully folded it and put it into an envelope.

"Take this to the school administration, then go to the dock and buy two tickets for the next boat to Silver Moon Bay. Buy the one leaving tonight... If you're willing to go with our family, get one for yourself too, we won't let you down."

"Yes, sir." The maid nodded hastily, then quickly left the study with the envelope.

The situation in Mammoth City had been unstable recently; every time she went out shopping, she could feel the uneasy atmosphere.

Perhaps a great disaster was really coming...

After all, her parents died early, and she had no family, so it might be better to follow someone with a plan.

Meng Jie left the study and happened to see his wife holding her belly as she came down the stairs.

Seeing this, he hurried to help her down the stairs.

"Why are you up so early today?"

"I couldn't sleep no matter how I tried, so I thought I'd get up and see you," his wife looked into his eyes, seemingly seeing something, asked with some concern, "Are you going on a business trip again?"

Meng Jie was silent for a while, then sighed.

"Not a business trip, moving, we're all leaving."

His wife was taken aback.

"Moving? We just finished decorating the house, where are we moving to?"

We didn't move during the war, why are we moving now...

She didn't understand, but judging by her husband's expression, it didn't look like a joke.

Meng Jie took a deep breath and spoke to his wife in a warm and patient tone.

"Something big is about to happen here. We'll go to Silver Moon Bay first; we'll be safe once we get there. I'll visit my mentor then and see if I can use the Alliance's connections to save some people... If it doesn't work, so be it; we can't always make things difficult for friends."

His mentor was Ms. Han Mingyue of the Alliance Social Science Research Institute.

Although the Alliance Social Science Research Institute wasn't as famous as the Biological Research Institute or the Scientific Research Team, their reports could still appear in the desk drawers of Alliance Managers.

His wife gently knit her eyebrows.

"How long will we be gone this time?"

Meng Jie shook his head.

"It's hard to say, maybe we can come back, maybe not."

His wife nodded.

"I'll go with you, but can you tell me what exactly happened? Did Laxi ask something of you again, or are those students pressuring you to take a stand—"

"None of them," Meng Jie shook his head and said, "This time Lowell should be Zayed, Sava...maybe someone else we don't know, but it doesn't matter who, we have already lost."

This is an invisible war.

A battle between the Poluo people and "feudalism" itself.

In the words of the survivors of Giant Stone City, Pol is the ghost hovering over Mr. Stephen's head, and vice versa—Mr. Stephen is also Pol's ghost.

As for feudalism, it is the ghost of the Poluo people themselves. This kind of ghost cannot be killed with a gun, and their society has not yet developed the strength to counterbalance feudalism.

Instead, repeated bloodshed has imbued the repeatedly killed feudalism with the strength of civilization, evolving into a monster they have never seen before.

This monster not only speaks human language but also has a human form, can blend into the crowd pretending to be a progressive force, fighting alongside young men to "shoulder to shoulder" and take down the thousand pillars of the City of Thousand Pillars, under the guise of smashing shackles to break the spine of the Poluo people.

If killing an emperor could eliminate feudalism, they should have declared victory when the Witch Todd died.

However, the final outcome was the emergence of an Anush, who "has an international vision" and chants "I can also trust the Alliance."

Now that Anush is dead, in less than a year, another one has emerged even further than Anush, adept in thick black study, more cold-blooded and ruthless—Zayed.

Meng Jie dared not even imagine what kind of terrifying form the next monster would evolve into if Zayed were to die.

"...To say something that my students wouldn't like to hear, if Laxi wants to call himself emperor, I oppose with both hands, but in my heart, I support it. He is too murderous, but which founding emperor isn't? He runs education, industry, has strategies that work outside and tolerance inside—at least he won't kill your entire family over a few scoldings. If truly left to history to judge, he should be a wise ruler. Only such a person can go toe-to-toe with hypocrites."

"As for feudalism...it will naturally be eliminated when productivity and production relations have progressed together, when people's minds are truly enlightened, and when the land of Poluo Province nurtures another progressive force that can truly counterbalance feudalism, rather than being a large-scale behavioral art performance."

"This day may be in the distant future, and by that time, no matter which governance method we choose, history will be moving forward."

...

Central Sheep State.

Upon hearing the urgent news from Tiandu, Yishel was worried but managed to stay calm and issue orders.

The railway was dismantled by the local villagers, and the supplies in the train were carried away by bandits.

He captured a few people for questioning, but they only said that it was ordered from above, but couldn't specify who above.

Without the railway, it's too late for a forced march to Tiandu.

To the north of Snake State, in Wolf State, the Southern Legion left a road network, and not just the road network...those Gray Wolves may have taken over the Southern Legion's equipment!

Including trucks, and those artillery that can quickly maneuver with trucks...

The thought of possibly encountering Conqueror No. 10 on the plains made a drop of cold sweat slide down Yishel's forehead.

Even the Alliance couldn't use a mountain division to attack an armored division.

After all, he was just a commander, he couldn't conjure up troops out of thin air and have his soldiers poke tanks with fire sticks.

He now had two options left: either head north to join Laxi or continue south to crash into the wall with his head.

Both of these were a mediocre choice and a bad choice.

As for the smart choice...

He could think of it, but he would never choose it.

As Yishel was undecided, an officer hurried into the tent, saluted, and reported.

"Report! The 110,000 team has come into our view! They should have come by train from Lion State direction!"

Upon hearing this news, Yishel felt no surprise, but rather a stone in his heart had fallen to the ground.

This made sense now.

The entire Northern Field Army had been infiltrated by the Family Meeting, even high-level figures like Yakale had been recruited as "family members."

Was it because of those fifty-two "fire crossbow" self-propelled guns?

When Absek established the Northern Field Army, he had Yakale leave the treasures snatched from the Legion to the rookies of the 50th, 51st, and 53rd thousand troops.

Yakale always had a grudge about this, thinking of those fifty-two cannons every time he lost a battle, blaming himself for not being able to keep the wealth, but also not considering whether those things could run on mountains.

This seemingly small yet significant matter might have left a grudge in his heart.

But there might have been other triggers as well.

In any case, these things were no longer important.

At this moment, Yishel couldn't help but think, if those fifty-two cannons could travel through time and space to come back to him, he wouldn't have to be a lone bear crashing into walls with his head.

"Contact the Eleventh Ten thousand Team Headquarters for me."

"Yes!" The officer saluted and exited the tent.

Yishel also stood up and went to the tent where the radio was.

The distance between the two sides was already very close, allowing for direct radio connection, only a little risky.

But it was worth taking this risk.

Yishel noticed that the young man beside the telephone seemed a bit nervous, so he smiled and comforted him.

"Don't be afraid, Yakale is my subordinate. Even if he wants to turn against me, he has to listen to me finish speaking. He won't fire at me halfway through...even as a ghost, I won't let him go."

The young man nodded, but still had a nervous look on his face, staring intently at him.

Yishel patted his trembling shoulder, sat down in front of the phone, took a deep breath, grabbed the phone, and shouted.

"Yakale, what do you mean!"

The old leader still had some leftover prestige.

Startled for two seconds by the shout, Yakale, holding the phone, nearly saluted. After coming to his senses, he cursed.

"What do I mean? What do you mean!"

Yishel angrily said, "You explain yourself first! Who let you leave your post without permission! What are you doing here!"

"Leaving my post without permission? I took down the position you've been gnawing at for a month..."

Halfway through his speech, Yakale noticed the officers around the telegraph were sneaking glances at him, his old face turned red, and he glared at them, then diverted the topic clumsily.

"It's an order from the Snake State War Zone Commander...you don't need to know whose order! Anyway, the rank is higher than yours! I came here for nothing else but to stop you from doing something stupid! I'm telling you, leaving your war zone without permission...this is treason!"

Hearing this, Yishel smiled.

This guy was still the same, not good with words, couldn't even articulate a reasonable point.

Even with his rhetoric composed for him, he managed to speak incoherently and unconvincingly.

Thinking of how even this brute who only knew how to fight was being forced to start talking politics, Yishel felt a mix of bitterness and sorrow in his heart.

"Yakale...I'm not asking who instructed you. I just ask you one thing, will you go with me?"

Without waiting for his response, Yishel continued.

"You go with me, when we win this war, I will keep my promise, I'll teach you how to court female students."

Upon hearing such an unserious remark in such a serious setting, Yakale, whose nerves were tense, almost spat out his blood.

"I...have you lost your mind? When did I ever say I needed your help, do I, a dignified Ten Thousand Leader, need you to teach me how to woo girls? I throw the deal back to you, you follow me today, and I'll give you ten female students! No, twenty! I'll let you choose yourself!"

Yishel smiled lightly.

"Then I can't go with you, if I go with you, the battles I've fought would be in vain."

Yakale's eyes widened as his hand holding the phone trembled. He roared.

"You're out of your damn mind, do you know how many of them there are?! Eight hundred thousand! A full eight hundred thousand! Each one of them well-fed and strong, standing next to them we'd look like beggars. What do you have to fight them with? Using those teenage child soldiers of yours? Their armored units can line up from the south to the north of West Sail Port! I fought for a year to accumulate these cannons, and they can casually muster that many from a single ten-thousand-man team! They could drown us with just their artillery shells!"

"You say you can fight, how useful are you alone? Do you really think you're a god?! Duwata, Nigel... which one of them isn't bigger than you? Even they chickened out! Yet here you are, all noble and mighty! Why don't you take your fantasy alliance and go fight a total war with them?! Best to leave no one standing here!"

Holding the phone, Yishel smiled again and asked just one question.

"Are you envious?"

Yakale's eyes reddened.

"I... I'm not envious! I'm not a coward! I don't even look up to you, so why would I look up to that bunch of fat pigs? But I can't just watch you head to your death! If you're going to die, die up north! Die at the hands of the Vellante people! You mustn't die in Tiandu! You're a hero, you should die at the hands of the Vellante people! We still have hope!"

"Well, I'm actually not as great as you think, you may have forgotten..."

Yishel was about to say something when Yakale interrupted him rudely.

The straightforward guy had never begged before, yet now seemed ready to kneel, speaking in a pleading tone.

"Surrender... I've contacted everyone I could, Shaluk even turned 'The Butcher'! Absek has already lost!"

"Hahaha! The Butcher... you mean Pickles? The coward who kept talking about his son all day and is under Duwata's thumb? The pig picking off stragglers behind the Alliance's back? You, who survived Lion State and came back, never looked up to that thing, how come you're relying on him now?"

Yishel suddenly laughed heartily, to the point where tears almost came out.

Even that blockhead turned against Absek, it must truly be a dead end.

For some reason, Yishel suddenly thought of the commander of the Forbidden Army who died in front of the Heavenly Palace gate.

While Witch Todd had run away, that guy stubbornly guarded the palace gate, glaring defiantly at that self-proclaimed Heavenly King scoundrel.

In the past, he thought it was because that person wasn't slick enough, unlike himself who was clever.

But now standing in a similar position, he suddenly understood.

He defended not Absek, not the newly-established Poluo Country, nor the people living on this land...

He was defending only his wishes, his ideals, what he believed in and was willing to die for.

Even if those wishes were not deeply desired by all Poluo people...

They were never deceived by anyone.

Anush was both the feared, dreaded, and longed-for Heavenly King they both feared and desired!

Only he could awaken their deep-seated desire to overthrow their fellow compatriots!

When you want to kill, whether curry is spicy or sweet can be a pretext, how can you not find a reason?

The United Federation barely remains united not because of the Alliance.

It's only because the Vellante people haven't left...

After laughing enough, Yishel took a deep breath, his expression gradually turning cold.

"Yakale, I'll fulfill you! The Northern Field Army does not count this cowardly Eleventh Ten Thousand Troops among us! I, Yishel, the Jungle Rat, do not have a subordinate like you! Bah—! Open fire on the Third Ten Thousand Team!"

Yakale was stunned.

It wasn't because of Yishel's cursing or his verbal artillery attack, but because it was the first time this guy used a tone other than self-deprecation to pick up the nickname "Jungle Rat" imprinted on his wanted poster.

From "The Meat Grinder" at the big river bend, they had always been at odds, but now he was going to fulfill him...

This tall man of 1.8 meters instantly shed tears, his eyes red as blood, screaming into the phone without hesitation.

"Damn it! Don't do anything stupid! Come back to Tiandu with me! I'll guarantee your survival! At least think about your female students... and you're a bachelor, at least consider your brothers in the Third Ten Thousand Team! They at least have families!"

"Hahaha! Coward! Can't lift the knife anymore after just one battle? Let's settle this on the battlefield."

Yishel decisively hung up the phone, adjusted his collar sitting in the chair, then looked at the young man with trembling shoulders—the Third Ten Thousand Team's messenger.

This time, he spoke in a very soft voice.

"I'll give you my female student, go ahead."

Heart pierced through, the young man knelt to the ground with a thud, weeping as he spoke.

"Commander! Just surrender! Outside... the entire communications team is our people! We are all lost! I beg you! Don't die!"

"Get up! Look at your pathetic self, still kneeling before the Vellante people came, and still kneeling after they leave! The Third Ten Thousand Team doesn't need soldiers as spineless as you!"

Yishel glared at him and reprimanded.

He didn't want to ask what bought them, nor did he need to think.

The Vellante people had families, and these young men too had their weaknesses, just a bit of leverage would do.

Those people didn't need to pay anything extra, just do the same as Anush, divide the loot and that's enough. Niyan's evaluation was right, they are the same, no doubt.

The young man crawled up from the ground, his eyes red as he looked at his commander, with snot hanging down his chin from crying.

He couldn't believe that the communications team captain, whom he regarded as family, could say such harsh words as "kill if need be," and entrust such a cruel task to a new recruit like him.

Why let him do such a brutal thing!

That was his commander!

The hero of the northern front!

The Vellante people's nightmare!

His hand couldn't reach the sidearm on his waist no matter what, he'd rather point it at his own head!

"I'm begging you! Run! I'll get you out! I'll just tell them... you're already dead!"

Yishel chuckled, looking at the young man sobbing miserably and spoke in a soft tone.

"You're too young, what would you do if I ran, I promised to take you home, and I'll make sure you live."

"Go ahead."

He wouldn't run anymore.

Nor could he run anymore.

He'd already run from the chapel in West Sail Port to here, where else could he go?

In the end, he was just a little mouse, lucky enough to sit in the Northern Field Army Commander's position.

This was ultimately his home.

If those wanting his head were Poluo people, they can have it then.

He only felt sorry for Mr. Melgio, who taught him to read and write, and the old nun at the chapel, he didn't have parents of his own, they were like his parents.

It's a pity he didn't get a chance to pray there again, but returning to repent alongside the Silver Moon Goddess seemed pretty good too; he hadn't had time to greet her for a whole year.

By the way, Lady Margaret should be having her second child with her husband soon. Little Ruby will have a companion soon... although the promise of meeting again couldn't be fulfilled.

And then there's Anvo.

That fool, always being used as a tool, now serving as a diplomat in Jinjaron Harbor, seems to be doing quite well. At least he's not caught up in the murky waters of Tiandu...

It really is quite amusing.

Who would remember that all of this began with an honest, short-lived fellow.

A group of dock workers thought about their fate and finally, in sorrow, wanted an explanation for Ollie's family.

After all, 800 dinars for a life, no matter how you look at it, seems too much... At least make it a four-digit number.

Perhaps even Absek himself didn't expect that they, caught in the vortex, would travel such a long and tumultuous road only to return to the same dry well.

But the people he met were all quite good.

Thinking about it for a long time, there aren't really any regrets.

...

Arctic Circle.

The cold wind howled.

The only place that still records the early years of the Wasteland Era seems to be here.

The map of "Wasteland OL" is larger than imagined. No matter how far you go from home, it never gets boring.

Amidst the ice houses, two girls in thick cold-resistant clothes and a fluffy female bear were surrounding a two-meter-high snowman, while a group of children with curious eyes squatted nearby.

Not long ago, the White Bear Knights completed a thrilling adventure.

In the corner of the Wasteland, unnoticed by the respected Manager, they defeated the mad scientist who attempted to use mind control technology and cloning technology to manipulate an army of cloned bears to conquer the world, liberating the Arctic villagers enslaved by his evil faith!

Well, Si Si was quite doubtful whether this guy stood any chance of conquering the world.

At least in the River Valley Province, it might not even require the Manager to intervene, Nicole alone could have feasted on them all.

In any case, the event ended, and they acquired the DNA of many pre-war endangered species, perhaps enabling the restoration of the rare animals that were eaten to extinction in Poluo Province.

By the way, this Arctic Village actually had its own name, but it was too long and the tail couldn't hold it, always mispronouncing it as "Ah Ba Ah Ba," so the locals reluctantly accepted being called "Arctic Villagers" by these outsiders.

Additionally, technically this counts as the Northern Empire's territory, but those Weilante people only built an outpost here, extracting some natural oil and gas or similar to combustible ice, not really managing local affairs.

But those trivial details don't matter anymore.

What's important now is to leave something as proof of their visit before starting the next adventure!

Si Si didn't have any ideas, Meat Meat wasn't very bright, Sesame Paste would agree to anything, so it was Tail's turn to step up.

This fellow had a flash of inspiration and came up with a cheesy idea—to build a snowman for the heroic Meat Meat!

And so, a group of people busied themselves building a snowman in the middle of the icy houses, amidst the howling cold wind.

Although Si Si doubted how long this snowman would last, those children's eager eyes made her dismiss that utilitarian thought.

There's really no need for it to last long.

Teaching these children how to build snowmen, so that when they build them again next time, they will naturally remember the brave residents of the refuge who traveled over mountains to rescue them from the evil scientist.

Watching from afar at that harmonious scene, even Si Si's calm face couldn't help but show a slightly blushing smile.

Being written into a fairy tale seems pretty nice...

How delightful, how delightful indeed.

But at that moment, a short cry of grief echoed as the snowman, which had reached over three meters tall, collapsed with a crash.

"Quick, save the snowman!"

"Cough, cough! Giao! You should save Tail instead!"

"Ah Wei, don't move! We can still salvage it!"

"Ah, bring me back a scarf..."

"AWSL!"

Seeing the nearly finished bear collapse, the children exclaimed in shock and rushed to save the snowman, but it was too late.

Fortunately, nearby adults rushed over, stopping Meat Meat from trying to rebuild the snowman and rescuing Tail, who was trapped in the snowdrift.

"Are you alright?" The village resident, as strong as a bear, patted the snow off her shoulder and asked with concern.

"Oh, it's nothing... Tail has suffered worse injuries; this bump and scrape is nothing."

Tail waved her hand dismissively, turned around, and slipped back to the snowdrift to continue rescuing with Sesame Paste, Meat Meat, and a group of children.

The village residents exchanged glances, scratching their heads, their expressions turning more reverent.

Tail didn't care what they thought; she just wanted to save the snowman.

However, it was a pity that in the end, they only managed to save a round, chubby body.

"It collapsed..."

"Don't be sad, there's nothing we could do..."

"It's all your fault, didn't you say those heavy paws couldn't be suspended? Shouldn't they just rest on the ground?"

"...Ugh! If only we had made a smaller one."

Si Si approached, squatted down to study it for a while, shook her head, and sighed.

"...It's unsalvageable, let's build another one."

"Ooo..."

Sesame Paste sat in a corner, dejectedly hugging her knees and doodling circles.

Though she always said anything goes, anywhere is fine, she was always the one trying the hardest yet struggling the most to move on.

Tail comfortingly hugged her from behind, gently petting the pair of cat ears hidden in her hat.

"Oh... cheer up, Tail will be with you."

Meat Meat also came over, placing her thick bear paw under the thick gloves, buzzing warmly.

"Let's build another one. This time I'll make sure to keep a close watch on Ah Wei!"

Hearing this, Tail was immediately unhappy.

"Giao! Why do you always blame Tail whenever something happens? Why don't you blame Ah Guang? He's obviously the mastermind!"

Watching the two goofballs bicker, Sesame Paste chuckled, and Si Si also laughed while clutching her stomach.

Someone far away in the Grand Canyon sneezed, rubbed their nose, and muttered.

"Who's cursing me now..."

Chapter 957: Fulfillment

The story does not end with the departure of a group of people.

Players who have visited this world have already left their footprints here and even established their continuity.

For example, the lovely Alyssa.

She lives in the fairy tales of every survivor in Giant Stone City and the residents of the refuge, like everyone's child.

That is not something that doesn't exist.

As Spielberg once said, the miracle of Giant Stone City was never the non-existent Pol, but everyone who held a torch to dispel the darkness when the night came.

However, it must be admitted that people were not so brave and kind from the start, and naturally, not every child could be as lucky as Alyssa.

The goodness in people's hearts can turn the cage-like giant walls into castles in fairy tales, and the evil in their hearts can easily turn those castles into dark and sinister dungeons.

The only comforting fact is that this dungeon can only trap the ones who built it, but no one else.

That is also a cold, harsh reality.

The builders of the dungeon will ultimately rot in its deepest depths, just as those who planted the Red Soil and those who consumed it will ultimately be buried in that bloody history.

This is a story written long, long ago in the blizzards outside Lowell Camp, and it has cycled over and over again.

No one is an exception.

Being the first to leave may not necessarily be a tragedy...

...

Mammoth City.

The flames of protest are still boiling, burning even more fiercely due to Niyan's death.

Laxi has returned to Mammoth City with his elite forces and Niyan's body from the front lines, but what greeted this victor was not flowers and applause, but stones and rotten eggs.

An officer, unable to bear the humiliation, shouted hysterically at the young people in front of him.

"You heartless bunch... What wrong did Laxi do to you? Where were you when we were gnawing on black bread and nutrition paste in the front-line trenches? You were sitting in the cafeteria, eating snow-white noodles and chunks of meat as thick as my fist! You cry out to overthrow this and that, have any of you ever fought a Weilante? Are you as hungry as we are? Forget kindness today, and you'll all suffer tomorrow!"

His shouting had no effect and was quickly drowned out by louder voices.

"Don't change the topic! We don't eat that much, and we're eating the rice for the millions of residents of Mammoth State! We owe nothing to your general, and we're naturally speaking for the residents of Mammoth State! And it's not for you to say we are ungrateful! The wronged souls beneath the Tasang River Dam, the ones who died in clashes, they're all standing here watching you!"

Both sides have their points, and both represent a degree of justice.

That's precisely why this is almost an unsolvable situation.

Politics is everyone's business, and it's also the art of compromise, but some things that should have been done long ago are precisely what Laxi's authorities are least skilled at.

Besides, there isn't time.

They've allocated almost all their skill points to the military tree, even unlocking exoskeletons that Poluo Country hasn't, and even repairing Conqueror No. 10 was no problem for them.

If it were up to the Family Meeting to resolve the problems, it would undoubtedly lead to a conclusion that the vast majority of Poluo people would be satisfied with, even including the bodies washed downstream.

But for Laxi, even if they hadn't bombed the dam, today's situation would still be inevitable.

To put it bluntly.

This carpentry work was never meant to be done by a blacksmith.

After dealing with external enemies, they either need a leader with better means or be replaced by an authority with better means.

Absek wasn't boasting, if a fight were to break out, he has a victory chance of at least seventy percent. It's not his fault that the United Federation wasn't united; it's the cards he's been dealt with, and the fact that he can keep this clay idol from being swept away by the great flood is his skill.

As for Absek's own issues and limitations, that's another story.

In the crowd.

Students from Poluo Country were watching the show from the sidelines.

The riots in Mammoth City have nothing to do with them, who came from across the border.

Even though Tiandu is now also being grilled on the fire, at least the flames haven't reached their butts, right?

They just watched from afar, never getting close, and occasionally cheered on both sides.

After all, not all students sent by Absek for studies were serious students; among the recommended slots, there were some "street roamers" wandering the alleys.

These people might worship technology and say a few coaxing words, but deep down, they look down on those doing scholarly work.

This is precisely what Niyan despises about Duke Garava, they are all the same kind of people.

With a candy ice pop in his mouth, Gale, in flared pants, licked it slickly, rested a foot on a stone block, and smacked his lips as he spoke.

"I think the officer is right; these little rascals from Mammoth City have nothing better to do. I didn't eat as much even when I was in Tiandu! Damn, speaking of which, this popsicle is really sweet, I must take a popsicle machine back to Tiandu."

His father was "Butcher" Pickle, a hero of the Tiandu Defense Battle!

Even though he's also a student, as for these bookworms who only know how to take exams, he simply looks down on them.

The boy who was forced to accompany this military officer's son gave him a sidelong glance, smiled faintly but said nothing, then returned his gaze to the physics book he had brought.

His name is Nayak, merely 15 years old, and he falsified his age by a year to get past the university entrance threshold.

As for why he falsified his age, the reason is quite simple.

Because the entire education reform was merely Absek and the Alliance's wishful thinking, a castle in the air.

Tiandu will not hold major exams anymore, at least not for a long time, because they simply aren't necessary.

The laws of everything have their operational patterns, but once missed, the ladder of destiny is truly missed.

As for how he saw through these things?

That should be credited to Mr. Niyan's newspaper, compared to "National Daily," which works tirelessly like a megaphone, the factual "Survivor Daily" provides some useful information.

There are geniuses everywhere, and Poluo Line is no exception, especially with a much larger population than other provinces, it's inevitable to produce one or two rare anomalies.

Nayak wouldn't consider himself to be that anomaly like Gale, but when it comes to talent and IQ, he still has a bit of confidence.

Students sent to further their studies from Poluo Country were either descendants of the former noble families or descendants of the Ten Thousand Leaders, except his family for generations were farmers facing the Red Soil, probably needing to count back to the Prosperity Epoch for any notable personages.

That leads too far away.

Anyway, relying on leftover books that his illiterate father scavenged from the market, he managed to get almost perfect scores in arithmetic and virtually perfect essays, catching the eye of Kaba Committee Member, leaping through the dragon gate and changing his life's destiny.

Therefore, while Gale looked down on them, Nayak similarly, deep down, looked down on the person beside him, who couldn't even compare to an eleven or twelve-year-old preparatory student but was forcefully pushed into the university.

Even though he well knew, it's like the ice pop machine Gale mentioned, "resource waste that every society must experience for development," a perfectly equal approach would turn Tiandu into a place like Mammoth City.

However, even so, he was still quite optimistic about this guy's future development.

As for the reason, it's simple, because this guy is sufficiently stupid, ignorant, and arrogantly conceited, practically a reincarnation of the West Winds Witch Todd!

If he hadn't been born several years later, he might have been shocked that this guy was practically the reincarnation of the old Witch Todd!

Actually, think a little bit and it's inevitable Laxi would fail, and the same goes for Absek.

Whether the final civil war breaks out or not, it would end the same, and the odds are there won't be a war.

But they can't be blamed for that.

The wins and losses in the casino are a matter of mathematical law, unrelated to luck or character.

And the casino has just opened, the gamblers are still exploring, technically everyone is on equal footing. Naturally, the early starters have the advantage of initiative, while late starters have the stability of caution.

But despite this, history doesn't end here; the real drama is just about to begin.

Nayak calculated, after Zayed and the people around him run their course, half of the fortune should be gone by the second generation, another half by the third, leaving only a quarter.

By then, unless a feudal empire bigger than Poluo Country comes to their aid, or if some internal issue forces the alliance to compromise with vested interests.

But that is impossible, as the Weilante people's growing pains will be resolved even faster.

After the army explosion, that Emperor Salen might already be the peak of the Eastern Empire, and the alliance won't make any compromises outside of the rules because it will only delay their victory.

They are meant to go further distances, but the way they go is different from the academy.

Nayak dubbed his set of "crooked and evil theories" as Civilization Studies.

Mammoth University does not have this subject, all of the theories are deductions he made during his spare time using limited information, based on scientific methods to forecast the future with the lifespan of humans as the unit.

The price of five generations paid in one day would of course be heavy, perhaps impossible to pay at all, but if looked at from the height of civilization and stretched to 200 or 300 years, it is entirely acceptable.

During unhappy moments, just think about the United Human. The Prosperity Epoch spans two stars, whereas the Wasteland Era nearly died out, yet is about to rise again.

It's said that the newly born space elevator is steadier and faster than the old one and even cheaper in cost. If it explodes one day, it won't be as harmful as the previous one.

Honestly speaking, he does not care about the rise and fall of dynasties; these are things he casually came up with during his spare time.

He thought it through before leaving Tiandu, he won't be the decaying leaf, but the seeds to the future.

As for going to the moon, it's merely to say it in terms his father can understand.

"Hey! Look quickly! Those people are about to fight! Do you think Laxi will massacre them all?" Gale pulled the bookworm next to him, excitedly pointing like watching a cricket fight.

Nayak did not look at the horror on the street, he just shot an indifferent glance at the over-excited fellow.

The officers were right; these foolish kids would face consequences, though it had little to do with ingratitude, but more with lack of skill.

Nonetheless, taking pleasure in the suffering of others is not noble and his consequences might arrive even faster.

Yet he didn't bother to teach this guy how to accumulate virtue and instead said after thinking.

"Do you believe in science?"

Unexpectedly came a nonsensical counter-question, Gale was somewhat deflated by this bookworm.

But without his boisterous friends around, with no one else to pass the time, he shrugged and said.

"I do, technology is so powerful, it would be nice to grab some back. Besides, you should study hard, people like you are well-read; we might need you in the future."

Nayak chuckled.

"Certainly, I haven't misjudged you. The unfinished business of fathers must indeed be inherited by promising young talents like yourself."

"Heh, naturally, my old man may have a knack for fighting, but not for reading, can't compare to me."

Thinking the guy was buttering him up, Gale couldn't help feeling a bit conceited, selectively forgetting that this bookworm's father was the mud-stained person he looked down upon, just thinking of him as a top scholar.

If memory serves, this guy was even the runner-up in the Tiandu exam!

Although Gale had openly said "only idiots take exams," when actually recognized by an intellectual, he couldn't help but smile broadly, just like his father who liked female students.

Proudly, he couldn't help the urge to show off, he squeezed his eyebrows at Nayak and said.

"Tell you something that's not really a secret; my father is part of the Family Meeting! Don't mind that Absek collapsed, even if my father's superior fell, there's nothing to worry about! I say, don't bother with the alliance in the future, just join me, if you fancy a female classmate, I'll promise you with a word, won't I?"

It's too easy for him.

Soon Gopal will enter the city, her family lives in Tiandu, letting anyone starve is just a matter of him writing a letter.

This wasn't even his idea, but rather revealed by a female classmate asking for his help.

As expected.

Nayak smiled slightly, saying softly.

"I appreciate your kindness, but don't celebrate too soon. Even if your father lets Gopal into Tiandu, at best he gained a chance to stand anew, and will face some second or third ordeal... of course, this can be avoided."

Gale frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Nayak didn't explain, leisurely speaking.

"Nothing really, just reminded of an old saying in the alliance, knowing the times makes a man outstanding, and... when heaven assigns a great responsibility to a person, it first starves this person. It means basically this: to succeed, first go mad."

"As such, I recommend you two alliance books called 'Thick Black Theory' and 'Outlaws of the Marsh,' more useful than what your father gave you, and better reads. When undecided, unclear, or troubled, flip through them, you might find inspiration."

For now, start with these two, and in the future perhaps add 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' depending on the situation.

Yet character must first be shaped, then a broad perspective nurtured, can't reverse the order.

Otherwise, you turn fuel into slag; unusable failures have no place on the stage, what he needs is a stage-ready waste.

According to psychological theories mentioned in alliance books, a person's character forms during childhood, and in adulthood, it is gradually remodeled by society as they age, once nothing suppresses it anymore, repressed nature bursts forth like a released spring.

He must mold this guy's character, let him inherit the family business and become the next Witch Todd, or even more twisted, shocking all surrounding kindly little mice... only thus could the Poluo people be saved.

If the enmities of the last generation are unresolved, then resolve them in this generation.

Zayed?

That guy indeed is smart, but even the smartest has a day when he can't wield the knife.

After winning everything, sooner or later he will spiral into hysteria like Lowell, anyone threatening his authority won't survive.

Including Sava—who trails him always, a fellow only two years elder yet seemingly more innocuous than this "bookworm."

A "foster son" sits in the crown prince's seat; he should clearly realize Zayed can never tolerate a legitimate heir, must act soft when necessary, won't hesitate when the moment comes.

Possibly Gopal, the wolf who raised Zayed to the divine position, might be the first to exit.

Nayak isn't anxious at all.

He enjoys reading newspapers and is youthful enough to eventually see on them what he eagerly expects.

But Gale, standing beside him, grew impatient with a puzzled expression, saying.

"Can't you just read what's in the book to me? I bloody hate reading books."

Nayak sighed.

The task ahead is arduous indeed...

Should this guy return to Tiandu, his pampered nature fearing he won't last more than three episodes; what's the use of a good 'seed' if it doesn't sprout?

Even resilient red soil took early wasteland era years of nurturing before starting harm.

Certainly can't let this good sapling exceed Zayed, or else it'll cost several more generations.

"You know... my dear brother, like this, I truly worry for you, you're General Pickle's only weakness, if you're not a bit sensible, how can your father stand strong?"

"...Fine, helping people thoroughly, for you agreeing to look after my father, I'll teach some classroom-unspoken 'popular knowledge'. "

After a pause, Nayak wearing an expression indicating some insider knowledge, closed the physics book in his hand to look at him.

"An exercise question, this one taught only once, remember it well, might save your life at a critical moment."

Hearing this, Gale immediately perked up, breaking into a cheeky grin.

"Well, tell me then."

He didn't think this brainiac could teach him anything, but still found it amusing to listen to this guy talk, even more fun than messing around under desks with female classmates.

Just listen, right?

After all, idle time is idle time.

The stuff he lectured on maths and physics was boring as hell, but when he talked about strange, quirky knowledge, it was fascinating, always able to open his eyes wide.

Nayak stared into his eyes with a meaningful smile and began the counterattack as a farmer's son.

It will be a century-long war for the Poluo people.

When the dawn breaks, perhaps no one will remember this moment—

A future soldier and a future scientist, launching their game of chance with the future in the unknown long night.

He wants to bet on hope for tomorrow, he wants to prepare for all possible contingencies, he wants to plant seeds on this dimwit that are more evil than the "Mortal Serum," and ensure that this carefully sown seed survives to the very end!

As long as one seed survives! This war will count as a victory for all on this land!

And if that's the case, the heroes did not die in vain!

"I have Generals A, B, C, and D, I want them to watch over a flock of sheep for me, but I'm worried because the sheep are smart, and they are smart too."

"I know I'll have to kill them all sooner or later, but the question now is, who do I start with..."

...

The farce continued into the night, and Laxi ultimately couldn't bring himself to shoot his own people.

Firstly, the people were Mr. Niyan's pride, secondly, even a tigress won't eat her cubs; he had no kids of his own, those budding pillars were like his children.

If facing the Weilante people or people from the old Empire, he wouldn't hesitate to kill, but when it came to his own people, he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.

He ran into someone who couldn't handle a knife.

But it was precisely because of that his weakness was exposed to the enemy.

The vermin lying in wait suddenly leapt like hyenas smelling blood, wanting desperately to suck out his lifeblood.

"It's easy to dodge an open spear, hard to guard against a hidden arrow..."

The provincial government courtyard.

Sitting in a chair, Laxi sighed, feeling just like the King Chu with flags stuck all over his body.

Absek liked reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, while he enjoyed the stories before the Three Kingdoms; both were frequent communicators within the Alliance and exchanged privately.

Looking at the old moss-covered stone slabs, he suddenly remembered his most triumphant moment.

On that day, he entered the city, everywhere were shacks washed away, emaciated residents didn't blame him, but instead lined up to welcome him into the city, grateful that a savior had finally arrived.

He was right here then, gazing down at the nobles trembling in fear before him.

"I've come here to do three things! You only need to know one!"

"From now on, Mammoth State has the prohibition of slavery! Whoever dares keep a slave, I'll rearrange where his head should be!"

"... Starting today, Mammoth State mandates equality!"

He remembered all that he'd said, including the final words "No kneeling," which scared those typically superior nobles witless.

Now those washed-away shacks have been replaced by new buildings, he felt he hadn't mistreated the people here, yet still got hit by a rotten egg.

Thinking back, the ones standing in the street may not be the Mammoth City residents he knew.

But rather the ghosts drowned in the Tasang River, coming to settle scores.

"Arai Yang, are you there too?"

Laxi self-deprecatingly chuckled and took a gulp of spicy vodka, feeling the bitterness in his heart eased a little.

At this moment, a young officer came in, stood straight, and saluted.

"Report, sir! Captain Shaw has returned from the Grand Canyon! According to the telegram, he brought back a peace agreement with the leader of Poluo Country, Absek!"

The officer's name was Udi, a member of the Assault Unit; since he'd entered Mammoth State, he'd been by his side, considered his most capable subordinate.

He placed the bottle on the ground and stood up.

"Prepare the car, head to the airport."

"Yes, sir!"

Udi saluted and turned to leave, quickly preparing the vehicle.

Laxi opened the car door and got in; the car started quickly, heading towards the airport.

The streets along the way were silent, with the occasional patrol of soldiers.

The entire Mammoth City was under lockdown.

Sitting in the car, Laxi turned to Udi and asked.

"How's the investigation into Family Meeting going?"

Upon hearing this, Udi immediately reported.

"They have 21 strongholds throughout our city, mainly concentrated near the port area."

Laxi's pupils narrowed slightly.

"How can there be so many?"

Udi honestly replied.

"They operate in tight coordination, expand toward Mammoth University centered around the port, and use unscrupulous methods to achieve their goals. As far as I know, they connect with various gangs and factions, sponsor student group activities, and provide eggs to staying families."

Laxi was momentarily stunned, speechless.

Just... this?

They live in the houses he built, take the eggs given by others, then turn around and oppose him.

He was instantly furious, sobered up from alcohol—this disgusted him more than being cuckolded.

But he was no longer the impulsive man he used to be, took a deep breath and quickly calmed down.

He thought of someone, Ah Xin, who once saw him off and sponsored him for a long time without charge.

He despised the dealings of those gang organizations, even warning Ah Xin not to expand business in Mammoth City, even though he'd just received sponsorship from the Assassin Gang.

And the guy wisely didn't offend him, only did what he could.

However, Laxi didn't expect, even without the Assassin Gang, there'd be Black Rat Gang or Rat Gang, or even called something like XX Labor Dispatch Limited Company.

He himself did labor dispatch and earned foreign exchange, how could others not mimic it?

Soon, someone would organize the people under him, establish a similar organization, or serve these workers' organizations—like some Overseas Workers Mutual Aid Society.

And those people have natural assignments to copy.

The Alliance's Workers' Association had been trying to break through Mammoth City, but failed due to its style not being grounded enough. Those gangs could totally mimic it, eating the grapes and spitting out the seeds.

With foresight, it'd be better to let Ah Xin come...

Laxi closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"We've completely lost control of the grassroots... No wonder such a big problem has arisen."

After saying this, he took out a notebook from his pocket, wrote this lesson down, and then put it back.

However, at that moment, an explosion suddenly sounded outside the car window, unknown whether it was a homemade bomb or something else.

The car glass shook violently, and soon Laxi heard someone shouting towards them.

"Revenge for the dead...!"

The person was probably shouting the names of those killed or injured in the conflict, but Laxi didn't hear clearly.

Yet at that moment, the engine began to smoke, and the whole car crashed into the roadside.

The driver was knocked dizzy, wanting to check the leader's condition, but found himself staring at the dark barrel of a gun.

He froze for a moment, his face changed dramatically as he wanted to explain.

"It's not me—"

"Bang!"

A short gunshot interrupted his explanation.

Decisively, Udi shot the driver dead, pushed open the car, and protected Laxi as they got off the vehicle.

Gunfire echoed through the street, armed personnel with white fabric tied to their arms erupted into an intense gunfight with the nearby patrol team.

With the support of exoskeletons, the latter steadily pushed back the former, yet still could not overpower the latter's superior numbers and their integration with nearby civilians, retreating into civilian homes when overwhelmed.

He couldn't believe someone dared to assassinate him on his own turf, much less expected to fight a security warfare at home. Laxi felt fury rush up to his head, wishing he could grab a weapon and start shooting those rats.

"They've rebelled... truly rebelled!"

"Leader! It's not safe here! I've already called for reinforcements, let's move to a safer location!" Udi shouted as he fired across the street, holding a pistol.

Laxi gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Lead the way."

Udi immediately obliged, protecting him as they ducked into a nearby alley, after several turns they finally distanced themselves from the gunfire's alternating echoes.

The two seemed safe.

However, at that moment, Laxi suddenly stopped his feet, ceasing to run.

Udi, leading in the front, also halted his steps, looking back at the leader with a face full of surprise.

"What's wrong, leader?"

"Hahahahaha!"

Laxi suddenly laughed aloud.

"Not wronged! Thrilling! No wonder you're my personal guard, really fits my appetite!"

He said, his eyes bulging like copper bells, gazing at the dark alley like a torch.

"Rats! Your grandpa Laxi is right here! Come out if you dare to let me kill you thoroughly!"

That commanding presence resembled neither a general nor a leader, only a hero full of courage.

He stood in the alley like a god of death incarnate, even without thousands of troops behind him, still reverberating with thunderous echoes that dared not meet his gaze.

Udi looked at him in shock, his expression first astonished, then surprised, and finally turned cold.

"...How did you find out."

The words fell, and a group of men dressed in black, wielding blades and clubs, emerged from the alley.

Their sneaky demeanor really resembled rats squeaking in the gutter.

Vellante people left.

Spring finally arrived.

The season of revival came.

Their eyes flashed with ferocity, though afraid and even trembling, yet none retreated.

The family meeting had said, once they killed Laxi, the overseas business of Mammoth Nation would be theirs.

In the future, as long as the family meeting had a bite of meat, these gangs wouldn't lack a mouthful of blood.

"What's the use of all this nonsense, it's you who incited those students, right," Laxi didn't reach for his gun but drew his own blade, giving a cold smile to the betrayer Udi, "What? Not starting yet? Want to see if I can still wield a knife?"

"In light of the kindness of acquaintance, I wanted to give you a swift end, but since you don't want it..."

Udi took a half step back, putting away the pistol in his hand, and waved his index finger forward.

"Fulfill him."

Father, mother...

The child has finally avenged you.

Having exacted his deep revenge, Udi felt relieved but couldn't bear to witness the hero's decline, so he closed his eyes.

The gang members discarded their pistols and rushed at the lone Laxi with a variety of weapons.

They charged towards the one who had repeatedly knocked Olet's nose crooked on the battlefield.

"Kill!!!"

"Ahhhhhhh!"

They excitedly lunged forward, already impatient to gut their hero, and after a fleeting burst of white light, a familiar head rolled to the ground.

A head full of yellow teeth fell on the ground, its expression frozen in a final grimace.

The leading gang members were stunned, only under the bright moonlight did they see the army knife in Laxi's hand dyed with crimson blood.

"Kill—!"

The thin shout of slaughter echoed in the alley, yet this time the shout carried the trumpet of an assault!

As though behind that one person were thousands of troops, as though the tip of the blade held the souls of countless ghosts and goblins!

Udi's pupils slightly contracted, seeing Laxi's fearlessly charging into the crowd, his trembling right hand unconsciously reaching for the closed gun holster.

The family meeting's representatives consistently warned him, that was the one who murdered his family, never forget revenge, one day, it must be avenged!

He temporarily forgot, even if that guy was an enemy, defeating him was no easy task.

He was, after all, their imposing general, an adversary even their foes deeply revered.

He had a mission, just like he did!

Yet, unlike him who had nothing but hatred—

That guy made up his mind long ago, even if it cost his life, he would topple every single one of the thousand pillars weighing down on the Poluo people!

The thrilling slaughter echoed through the blood-soaked alley—

"Kill!!!"

Chapter 958: Night of the Bayonets

The strength of a single person ultimately has limits.

Moreover, that opponent is unpredictable and will stop at nothing.

"Bang——!"

Seeing Laxi about to disperse the gang members like birds and beasts, Udi recalled the "kill all" command and still raised his arm to aim the gun.

They were specially made bullets.

Not to mention Laxi went to the airport without a bullet-proof armor, even if he had one, the result would be the same.

Laxi, shot in the chest, swayed, using his military knife to brace against the stone-paved alley, his knee hitting the ground.

The predators, sensing an opportunity, picked up their weapons to swarm forward, but were intimidated by just a glance, causing them to shrink back in fear.

Laxi grimaced in a sinister smile, blood gushing from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the ground.

"You finally fired…"

Being watched by those eyes, Udi felt a chilling sensation all over, as if the blood hole would appear on him the next moment.

Yet Laxi was ultimately just a person, at most an Awakener, incapable of magic.

Laxi looked at him, breathing softly as he spoke.

"I just remembered, it was either Shava or your superior, Ackman, who told me you were an orphan picked from a village by Tasang River…"

Udi looked coldly at him.

"Are you still curious why I betrayed you?"

Laxi chuckled.

"Did I ever ask you that question?"

Which child in the raid squad isn't an orphan like him? And which wasn't made an orphan due to war?

If there's hatred, it's bound to end up on him, as Arai Yang was already fighting when he was around.

He always treated them as his own children, never really guarded against them.

Whether it was Ackman, whom he disciplined in Mountain Ma, or the most loyal Shava, they were both his subordinates and his family… or rather, children.

Udi paused for a moment, furrowing his brows.

Seeing Udi silent, Laxi slowly sat down with his remaining time to continue speaking.

"I do owe them a life, I wanted to go down and apologize to them, but didn't expect your parents to rush me like this…

He leaned his head against the wall of the alley and sighed lightly.

"If only you gave me ten more years, even five… I would explain to you what happened that day, why it happened, and what followed… Whether you believe it or not, when you look at that dam you'll know, I had thought of living to atone. After I'm gone, the next one may not admit it."

Udi's eyes reddened, his gun-holding hand trembling lightly, momentarily forgetting his mission, he shouted hysterically.

"Damn it! Stop pretending to be a hero! How many people have you killed! Is this something a mere explanation can solve? Also, what significance does saying this have now… can the dead come back to life?"

"They cannot, the living have no choice but to keep moving forward!"

Laxi shook his head, coughed, and suddenly laughed freely.

"You have parents, I originally had them too, but the Empire killed them. Initially, I thought it was the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, but later a guy named Niyan's cry awakened me."

"He said… unless we destroy the Empire, eradicate feudalism, eliminate the thousand pillars pressing on the hearts of Poluo people, there will always be generations of Poluo people dying for it."

"You have parents, you indeed should avenge them, now I'm giving you my life, but you have to complete what I haven't… do you have the courage?"

"…"

Udi couldn't respond and didn't want to listen anymore.

He felt his mission had begun to waver.

He even thought, maybe after going down, his parents might not praise him… they might even think they died in vain.

Wasn't it in vain?

Everything seemed to return to its original point, back to the day before the great flood.

However, there was no way back now.

He didn't want to imagine what would happen afterwards, he only dared to walk till the end.

Yet just as he was about to fire, two glaring lights suddenly exploded at both ends of the alley, lighting up the alley like daylight!

Flash grenade!

The raid squad!

"Bang!!"

Udi was startled, his vision taken away, he hurriedly fired on instinct, emptying the magazine with his finger pressed hard!

But due to the inner turmoil and holding the arm for so long, the last six bullets all hit the wall just a palm's width from Laxi, even accidentally injuring a teammate.

The gang members surrounded in the alley panicked.

They were just bullies, usually only picking on students and law-abiding people, had never faced special forces?

Like scared little mice, they whined, dropping their weapons and turning from predators to meek headed mice, already thinking fast about how to plead when held down.

Udi knew very well these small-time thugs next to him couldn't be relied on, completing the task from the superior depended on himself!

Using the tactics taught by his commander, he steadied his mind while retreating, quickly changing the magazine, but hadn't chambered a round when the incoming gunstock almost broke his jaw.

"Aaah!"

Ackman roared furiously, the youth barely older than Udi, pinned his own soldier down harshly.

He was a youth fighter of the Moon Clan Resistance Army, long ago following Laxi north.

He remembered in Mountain Ma, they were raised like pigs by soldiers raised by Imperial Nobility, used as bandits for military exercises!

The Moon Clan elders claimed they would lead them to overthrow the Empire, yet held money from overseas workers, fighting more insignificantly, forcing them all to dig wild vegetable roots mixed with red soil in the mountains!

Laxi led them in battles that shaped their backbone!

Until today he still remembered, Laxi slapped the leader who led them into dumb battles, knocking him into the ground, leaving him speechless!

He was their leader…

How dare this guy!

Ackman, with red eyes, raised the gunstock, wanting to smash Udi's now pale face into pulp to feed dogs!

But after all, he was his soldier, after the furious yell, he eventually dropped the gun and swung his fist.

"I'm going to kill you!!!"

"You foul creature! You killed all our families! You caused everyone's death!"

Every punch followed a shout, bashing the face until it swelled into a pig's head.

Udi went in and out of consciousness, until a distant voice shouted "Enough."

Ackman had his fists raised but was pulled to the side by two raid squad soldiers.

Only then Udi saw clearly, the person who beat him was indeed the youth who once handed him the LD-47 rifle…

Back then he picked up the unwanted Udi by the riverbank, saying that from then on Udi would be his soldier.

After all that happened, Udi almost forgot what Ackman said to him.

But there was indeed a time, when lonely Udi considered him as a brother…

Apart from Udi the traitor, thirty more gang members were pinned to the ground.

The blood-eyed Shava helped Laxi up from the ground, trying to take him out of the alley.

However, the latter stood up and shook his head, then extended a trembling hand, took out a blood-stained notebook from his chest, and handed it to the former.

"I don't have much time left... Everything I have to say to you is in this book. Take your time to read it carefully."

"As for my funeral, there's no need for a grand ceremony. Bury my bones by the lower reaches of the Tasang River... If there are floods in the future, let it start with me and don't blame others."

"This life of mine was borrowed, and it's time to return it... Arai Yang probably hasn't closed his eyes yet; I hear him calling from below, waiting to fight three hundred rounds with me... Cough... Indeed, I have to go down and accompany him."

"Oh, my sidearm... Please return it to Mr. Fang, thanking him for everything he has done for us living on this land."

"I'll repay this kindness in my next life."

Shava said nothing, only supporting him with his body, reddening eyes as he listened, then nodded with tears in his eyes.

Placing his hand on the blood-colored notebook, he spoke in a choked voice.

"I promise you..."

"Damn it, I'll throw away this life... to finish what you left unfinished!"

By the end, he was nearly shouting.

Laxi showed a gratified smile, reaching out to stroke the kid's bangs.

He had no children, no parents, but he didn't expect to have so many to entrust his last wishes.

"With your word, I can rest assured..."

"The Mammoth Nation... I'll leave it to you."

To endure until now was already the limit; this short time wasn't enough to reach a hospital.

That bullet most likely contained some "foolproof" substance.

After the last words, Laxi finally closed his eyes peacefully, dying standing as he wished.

Shava stood for a long time, dragging his body, before raising his head to gaze at the cold, watery night sky.

He remembered the profound advice left by the old man in the Grand Canyon.

Every resident of the Alliance is Chu Guang, every Poluo person is Lowell—

If this were considered a riddle, there would be another solution.

Want to change the weather?

You must kill to the point of alteration!

The hot blood across his chest was cooling, and Shava's gaze grew colder, finally moving away from the icy night sky to the heads of thirty crouching culprits.

It wasn't just him watching; nearly a hundred soldiers from the assault team stared murderously, many with eyes red, fingers on the triggers after releasing the safety.

These everyday bullies and hooligans shivered, whether dandy or disheveled, all crouching like mice, losing their previous vicious bravado.

They might truly be scared, perhaps truly remorseful, or maybe just waiting for those restraining them to relax their grip.

But that no longer mattered.

Shava's mouth curled into a cruel smile as he spoke with a clear and icy voice.

"I just asked the heavens, if the clouds covered the moon, then I guessed wrong, but I've waited for a while, and it hasn't happened."

The long moon hung in the sky.

A cloudless sky.

The words were obscure, yet couldn't conceal their sharp killing intent!

He intended to enforce Laxi's unshed blood!

After all, his 'father' had died.

He didn't care anymore.

The little mice crouched on the ground panicked, desperately kowtowing and admitting fault.

"M-Master, we were wrong!"

"It was the Family Meeting! It was the Family Meeting that deceived us!"

"We had no choice... If we didn't act, they said we wouldn't have a good life later on!"

"Please, spare us!"

Their sobbing voices not only failed to soften the hearts but also filled the soldiers with disgust.

They'd fought bloody battles on the front line, only to protect these cowardly creatures!

Perhaps true loyalty had long died on the front.

All that remained were these creatures!

Unmoved, Shava handed Laxi's remains to a red-eyed warrior nearby, then picked up the military knife from the ground.

"It's the will of heaven, don't blame me, it told me—"

"Kill!"

This time, descending wasn't Lowell, but the even fiercer Great Moon King!

No one could match his head-rolling killing spree, not even the founding emperor of West Winds.

After all, one had swept through the Thirteen States, the other merely took advantage of it.

At the moment the words fell, several heads already rolled to the ground, scaring the remaining culprits into soiling themselves, struggling and floundering to flee.

But the soldiers holding them wouldn't let them escape, stabbing and slashing with their rifle bayonets.

With only a few breaths, the alley was filled with blood, leaving only a thief leader named Udi.

As Shava approached, battered Udi panted lightly, eyes fixed on him.

"The officer said to spare your life, so I will, I promised, everything he instructed I agreed to."

Without waiting for a response, Shava yanked him from the ground, patted his swollen pig-headed face, then pushed to throw him onto the pile of corpses.

"Get lost!"

"Go find your 'family'."

Udi stumbled and fell into a muddy mass, watching in terror the figures leaving the alley.

He panted heavily, struggling to rise, aiming to warn other members of the Family Meeting, but outside, chaotic gunfire erupted.

His heart sank, suddenly comprehending the meaning of "can kill."

He remembered his superior's instruction that to defeat a powerful opponent, one must surpass their limits, which had always been their invincible weapon.

Yet his superior never mentioned what to do when a blood-roused opponent also abandoned limits and treated them like insects...

He didn't know what would happen after tonight; perhaps this night would never end...

...

At midnight, a thunderbolt streaked across the sky, and for some reason, the previously cloudless sky turned stormy, pouring rain suddenly fell.

Zayed, unable to sleep lying in bed, got up and went to the window to light a Rick 5.

He always felt watched from afar, yet didn't know where the gaze originated.

"Everything about Snake State is fine, except it's too hot at the equator."

Muttering to himself, he turned on the room light, yet noticed the darkness under the bed, repeatedly glancing there, finally slapping his leg and decisively went for a look.

Of course, there was no one there.

Even with optical camouflage, it wouldn't avoid his heavily guarded outposts and get close, let alone under his bed.

Thinking this, Zayed suddenly felt a bit discouraged; he had spent an entire year preparing for today, yet many arrangements were of no use, not even needed.

Winning too quickly made him nervous; he hadn't even exerted himself before the opponent fell.

What he didn't foresee was that the Alliance hadn't even reached Bartoya Province, and Gopal was already about to take down Tiandu.

This really wasn't a good thing.

In the future, people would definitely compare him to the two tyrants, Laxi and Absek. He had gone through so much to secure the Eastern Empire's investment; how could he achieve his renown without an honest fight?

Making things up, while possible, would eventually leave traces when compared several times.

"...Perhaps Laxi might give me some surprises. This person is arrogant and self-conceited, naturally suspicious. Everyone around him may be on guard against him, and Sava's idea to activate the hidden line of Udi might end up being a blunder."

However, it didn't matter anymore.

If Laxi was alive, even better. Let Yakale lead Yosel's Northern Field Army to fill the big pit at the Tasang River and fight their former allies to a standstill.

Poluo Country had the most wolf tribe soldiers; it had been this way since the Empire era.

Grasping this feng shui treasure land of Wolf State was as good as holding half of Poluo Country's soldiers by the roots.

Finding out where a certain soldier's home was an unimaginable task for Absek. The guy might not even know which unit belongs to whom, but for him, it's no more difficult than a few eggs.

Recently, his men had discovered some methods, even saving those eggs.

While Zayed was examining his plan intently for any loopholes, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the room.

Sava, holding a telegram, pushed the door open, only to see Zayed staring at him intently, then gave an awkward smile and said.

"Sir, you haven't slept yet."

Zayed said expressionlessly.

"What are you doing here at this time?"

Sava made a helpless gesture, scratching his head with his right hand, and said shyly,

"We just received a telegram, there's a result from Mammoth City. I saw the light in your room was on, so I brought it to you immediately... Did I do something wrong?"

This indeed was not a mistake.

Especially with that shy expression.

Zayed's expression softened a bit, took the telegram from Sava, glanced at it, half shocked, half pleased.

"They really succeeded..." Almost unable to believe the result, Zayed murmured, "You've done well in this matter! I'm very satisfied!"

But Sava laughed heartily and said,

"I told you, Laxi is an orphan, his assault troops are all orphans. Their relationship isn't just that of superior and subordinate, they might even have that familial bond. How could family guard against family?"

As he spoke, he hurriedly added.

"Of course, they're fake family, fundamentally different from us. We're a real family."

Collecting the joyful smile, Zayed gave this child, whom he had picked up for nothing, a meaningful look, seemingly both approving and testing, and nodded slightly.

"You have quite the awareness; it seems I didn't teach you for nothing... By the way, has Gopal entered the city yet? Is he loitering in Wolf State? That's his hometown. We must keep a close watch on what he's up to."

Sava laughed and said,

"Almost there, he's very obedient, like a dog, not daring to stop for even a moment on the road! Besides, Pickles, who is stationed at Tiandu, is already our person, not to mention Shaluk helped us a great deal by turning those rival commissioners."

Tiandu turned out to be the move with the least variables.

Yishel might lead the Northern Field Army across the river, the ace traitor Udi might die in vain, and Laxi might not die... instead, the variables in these moves were much larger, yet the outcome was surprisingly good.

Evidently, the Poluo people stood firmly by their side from the heart; otherwise, this kind of critical strike wouldn't have happened.

Yet such a simple matter, Shaluk couldn't see through, still fantasizing about "taking over" and truly thinking Grov's 800,000 strong army and the 100,000 elite of Gray Wolf's army were his people.

Soon, these traitors would all become clowns, and they truly deserved such a fate.

While Sava was elated, Zayed kept staring intently at him.

"Sava."

Feeling that voice was somewhat unusual, Sava immediately restrained his overjoyed smile and looked at him warily.

"What's the matter, sir?"

Zayed walked to the window, flicked the ash of the Rick Five at the side of the ashtray.

"We must learn from Laxi's lesson. People we don't fully know cannot be used, and if used, can't be assigned great tasks, especially those around us. We are the true family, remember this well."

"Don't worry, sir, I definitely won't make the same mistakes as Laxi. Not only should we know their bottom line, but also grasp their handles... Of course, these things are in your hands, rest assured."

Sava's face wore an honest smile, but cold sweat kept pouring from his back.

Have I stood out too much?

But godfather...

We haven't won yet, after dealing with the former court minister Shaluk, we still have to get rid of this troublesome tail of Gopal.

Although Gopal might think Grov will be the first to leave, Zayed, foolish as he may be, might still want to use him a bit, as at least he is the only knife touched with Weilante people's blood.

But now Sava suddenly felt that if he wasn't careful, he might exit before Gopal.

Seems like once this is over, he needs to find a way to taint himself harmlessly...

Looking at the obedient and meek adopted son, Zayed's eyebrows relaxed a bit, but then frowned involuntarily.

This adopted son was indeed picked up too cheaply.

Originally, he wanted to learn from Chu Guang, train Lu Bei, pick up an adopted son to keep around for observation and learning as a swift and ruthless knife, but after using, he found out that this thing, after all, wasn't his own flesh, it grew on someone else's body.

However, on a second thought, this guy had been around him for a long time; even raising a dog would nurture feelings...

There... shouldn't be any problems, right?

That worshipful gaze sometimes even gave him the chills, making him suspect that this guy's orientation was off... If he could feign that, then this guy's depth of scheming would be unusually deep.

Yet he didn't know that with any child, undergoing these constant tests, one couldn't help but cultivate such depth.

Besides, he personally picked out this "clever ghost," adept with a touch, mastered with two.

Everyone possesses their own well, capable of confining only themselves.

Amidst this stormy and thundering rainy night, the glaring incandescent light seemed like a precarious boat, with no one knowing where this stormy little ship was headed next.

Perhaps he should keep some shamans on retainer to divine.

But one thing was for sure, without doubt.

The schemer continued honing his knives, the one in awe fully prostrated, trembling.

Neither knew then that their love-hate relationship was just beginning.

Yet, that was another bloody saga.

...

In the bright and beautiful New West Sail Port, Ross finally set foot ashore after three days at sea.

Overall, it was a thriving port, with one or two green trees dotting the bland sand, and the edges of dusty construction sites revealing outlines of buildings.

Salen planned to build a new West Sail Port in the southwestern corner of Luo Xia Province, corresponding with Silver Moon Bay in the southeast, designating it as a special zone of the Eastern Empire.

Although this place lacked the distinctive landscapes like Shock Plain and fertile rivers of Silver Moon Bay, it had an advantage the latter didn't—a Willante immigrant population from the Southern Legion.

People were the greatest wealth.

Bister Town had already proven this, even if they had to import basic freshwater resources from the Honey Badger Kingdom's "Riverbank" System, they could still rely on their own strength to survive.

And those survivors from the Falcon Kingdom would eventually become a progressive force changing their homeland, taking on the responsibility the industry representatives established by the Alliance in Falcon Kingdom couldn't bear.

The future, for now, aside, the busy ones on the shore were not only the Willante people but also some local survivors from Luo Xia Province, even residents from the distant East.

Salen promised them some benefits, like equal rights with the Willante people, open media access, and a ban on slave trade and enslavement... though these rights were confined to the special zone.

Overall, everything was moving in a positive direction.

Although many things have just begun, this new beginning is clearly much better than the last one.

A family of five, who survived thanks to him, expressed their gratitude profusely, insisting on repaying his kindness. However, he just smiled and waved his hand, telling the couple to take care of their three children before bidding them farewell.

Life goes on.

The life of the Poluo people is such, and the life of the Vellante people is such...

At the port's entry passage, Ross, as required by the Eastern Empire soldiers, came to a registration post.

The soldier sitting at the post flipped through the documents and quickly found Ross's name.

Upon discovering that he was actually a Ten Thousand Leader, the soldier immediately took out a letter from the drawer, stood up, saluted, and handed the letter to Ross with both hands.

"I've heard of your great name! Ten Thousand Leader Ross, please take this letter to the port authority indicated on the map. There, the staff will register your military rank and your curriculum vitae and arrange for your 'surveillance residence' work... Rest assured, although it is surveillance residence, no one will monitor you constantly, but we hope you won't leave this port before the time is up."

"Additionally, we have prepared a villa for you. Shortly, the staff from the port authority will take you there. During your surveillance period, you can live there and even bring your family to join you!"

Ross returned the salute, took the letter from the young man's hand, and thanked him.

"Thank you, I will consider it."

"You're welcome, it's not every day one gets involved with such a large Legion Leader," the soldier said with a smile, shaking his hand and winking playfully, "Anyway, welcome home, at least you didn't end up in the hands of the Poluo people."

Ross smiled and said.

"They... aren't as barbaric as you say, on my way back, they treated me quite well."

The soldier gave him a surprised look, then understood and smiled, saying.

"Really? Ah... so you must have traveled during the day, not at night."

Ross asked.

"Does it make a difference?"

The soldier shrugged and said with a smile.

"I've heard there are gunshots every night, maybe not during the day? You should ask someone else for specifics, I just heard stories anyway, good luck to you."

Ross didn't press further; the events there were no longer his concern.

Following the address on the letter, he found the port authority, quickly completed the pre-employment procedures, and received the key to the villa.

His job was simple, mainly to teach reserve officers of the Eastern Empire.

According to General McCullen, only those who have engaged the Alliance know how to deal with them.

They need to analyze how the Alliance fights, how they operate locally, and how they support the Survivor Forces, etc...

It's said that Nord City has also established a social science research institute specifically studying alliance and residents of the refuge related cases, and they have to exchange information with the institute in City of Dawn.

The Alliance welcomes this, apparently not worried at all about them countering their moves.

Or this is perhaps part of the Manager's open strategy.

The Alliance is gradually pulling the Eastern Empire into the Alliance's familiar game rules, using gentle methods to instigate changes in the old legion forces... and most likely, has been doing so for a long time.

A high-intensity hot war is unlikely to occur again; war games may become the new norm.

After all, fighting with words doesn't result in deaths.

Ross couldn't help but sigh, maybe the world has really changed, and he needs to learn to keep up with the times...

After returning home and putting away his luggage, he wandered around the street, bought some food for humans with his advanced salary, and then found a newsstand by the roadside.

Life was too leisurely.

He felt himself relaxing entirely, even contemplating buying a bottle of beer to drink on the beach until sunset.

And the days of hiding in caves eating insects just a few days ago seemed like a lie...

So, what exactly does Teil want?

His eyes became somewhat dazed, and suddenly, as a Ten Thousand Leader, he couldn't figure it out.

But he had to think carefully about this question, after all, he was now Eastern Empire's "research material", and soon, he might have to explain it all to the students on the classroom...

"You guys have the 'Survivor Daily' here?"

Looking at the Ten Thousand Leader standing before the newsstand, the middle-aged man selling newspapers squinted a smile.

"Indeed, just as soon as the port opened, the newspaper came in... But I'll tell you secretly, this New West Port's 'Survivor Daily' is different from the one in City of Dawn, registered by your majesty."

Upon hearing this, Ross was momentarily caught between laughter and tears, unsure whether to call Salen sly or comment on how capable this guy was.

Placing a dinar on the newsstand, he picked up a newspaper and glanced over, only to be dumbfounded by the headlines almost filling the front page.

[Mammoth City Uprising! Laxi Assassinated! Is the killer from the Assault Team, an elder from the Moon Clan Resistance Army, or the Family Meeting?!]

Laxi... is dead?

Ross was utterly stunned for a moment, not expecting that the Kill God, whom Ten Thousand Leader Olet was so furious with, would suddenly end up dead?

He hadn't confronted Laxi directly, only Eisher, but still found it difficult to accept such an outcome.

Why?

No matter how he thought, he couldn't make sense of it, his head was a whirlwind of confusion, and he instinctively tossed a few more dinars, flipping through the newspaper further.

[Night of the Bayonet! Several Moon Clan Resistance Army elders arrested! The Assault Team goes on a killing spree!]

[Horror! Newspaper Office Tragedy! 'National Daily', 'Justice Herald', 'Voice of Justice' and other offices all swept away by Pu-9 Submachine Guns?!]

[Wolfish ambition no longer hidden?! Assault Team Leader Shava announces assumption of new leadership of the Mammoth Nation! Claiming to execute Family Meeting members during house arrest, and executing them on the court!]

[Terror! Newspaper office massacre! "National Daily" massacre case! Rumor has it that the criminal is a member of the Assault Team or the Moon Clan Resistance Army.]

[Lax i excels in the anti-rebellion efforts! Takes over as Northern Field Army Commander with merits!]

This newspaper's headlines were indeed hastily written, to the point where each title left Ross, who had been immersed in battle just a few days before, feeling breathless.

"Is it all just chaos? Even before making any announcements, were they already listing the convicted?"

"Didn't our brothers in the south lose without disgrace, they indeed had fewer men."."

"...Even their heroes are getting killed, I think these people have lost it."

"Isn't Yishel among them as well?"

"Wait a second, are you saying you left during the day, not at night?"

"Is there a difference?"

"I heard gunshots every night, maybe not during the day? You can ask someone else for more details, all I know is from hearsay. Either way, good luck to you with everything."

Without asking further, Ross realized he wasn't involved in what was happening there.

He found the port's general administrative office according to the address on the letter and quickly completed his pre-employment procedures, obtaining the key to his new villa.

His job was simple, mainly teaching the Eastern Empire's reserve officers.

As General McCullen put it, only those who have clashed with the Alliance know how to best deal with them.

They needed to analyze how the Alliance operated, how they carried out their work locally, and how they supported Survivor Forces and so forth...

Rumor has it that a social science research institute had also been established in Nord City, aimed at researching the Alliance and refuge residents' matters, and intended to collaborate with the research institute in the City of Dawn.

The Alliance seemed to welcome this, as if they weren't worried at all about counteracting any strategies created against them.

Or perhaps this was all part of the manager's open conspiracy.

The Alliance was gradually pulling the Eastern Empire into the familiar Game rules of the Alliance, and the changes in the old Army forces were being subtly induced... and perhaps this has already started long ago.

A high-intensity hot war is probably no longer possible, and war games might become the new norm.

After all, fighting with words doesn't cost lives.

Ross couldn't help but sigh, perhaps the world had really changed, and he would have to learn to keep up with these times.

He continued his thoughts, finding a report booth along the road after buying some food with his advanced salary.

The days of hiding in a cave and eating bugs seemed almost like an illusion...

So hiding in a cave, avoiding the Moon Clan is but part of a larger scheme...

Eventually, he saw the page those people had mentioned—

[Shava, the new leader of the Assault Team, announced as the new leader of Mammoth Nation!]

Upon hearing Jakale's merits, following the suppression of the rebellion, Ross couldn't help but feel breathless, as if they were killing their own heroes.

In any case, Ross had to think deeply about this issue, because now he was stuck on the same game board with them.

"Thank you for your thoughts. I will think about it."

"No need to thank me, it's just that sometimes when you have such a great Legion Leader, there's nothing else you can do," the soldier said with a smile, shaking his hand, and winked jokingly. "Anyway, welcome back home. At least you didn't fall into the hands of the Poluo."

Chapter 959: Hero

[Poluo people, calm down. I'm giving you things to balance the Union, to be 'our South Sea Union', not for you to kill yourselves! Ugh, I can't stand it anymore!

—— Eastern Empire, Electricity]

[Understood! Understood! We'll pass the word, try to kill less!

—— Snake State, Electricity]

[······

—— Eastern Empire, Electricity]

...

City of Dawn, outside the airport, soldiers clad in exoskeletons stand ready, while not far away, players and River Valley survivors look on with expressions of curiosity.

"Here we go again."

"Tsk tsk..."

"Where's the train? Who's going to bring a train over here."

"Don't be like that... They're pitiful people too."

"Pitiful? I don't see it. They eat the Family Meeting's grapes, then want to spit out the grape skins? Always dreaming of good times."

"Ridiculous... wasn't it these people who praised the Holy Hero when he first appeared?"

"I didn't see it myself, but looking at the compilations of Survivor's Daily from Jin Galun Port, they clearly didn't like Laxi and Absek much."

"Then isn't this perfect? Both sinners are out of office, why are they unhappy again?"

"So hard to please."

The whispers of criticism spread, even Duke Garava in the distance shook his head and sighed,

Among the crowd, a group of well-dressed people are prostrating themselves, with their foreheads pressed into the mud.

Their identities should be of high status, but their attitude is humbled to the dust.

They hold placards listing the various crimes of the Family Meeting.

Including snake grass, deceit, evangelism, and a whole bunch of random things, some true some not.

What amused Chu Guang was that these people seemed desperate, even attributing a cultural person named Niyan's death to the Family Meeting, alongside accusations of collusion with Enlightenment Society, Torch Church, and Gaia, all written on the placards.

It's remarkable how these scholars managed to scrape together so many charges.

And not far away are another group of "Mammoths" protesting Shava, listing crimes including the recent 1500 tragedy and more.

They even blame Shava for Laxi's death, trying to persuade him to act militarily against Shava with imagined legality.

Looks like the version has changed.

Chu Guang vaguely recalls they opposed Laxi and Absek last time, supporting the Family Meeting and Moon Clan Resistance Army.

These intellectuals practically turned Zayed into a Holy Hero, elevating some Moon Clan Resistance Army elders into saviors in the newspaper.

These Moon Clan Resistance Army elders didn't reach power probably because they miscalculated, after all, Laxi didn't conduct the thorough purge they wanted, didn't perform version updates for the Moon Clan Resistance Army.

But Zayed was certainly someone they praised, yet now they refuse to acknowledge him.

Of course, there is another possible reason; the people who praised Zayed may have run to Tiandu to welcome the holy lord.

Then those who didn't go to Tiandu, or even fled in the opposite direction to here, aren't they just his haters?

Two things done by two groups of people.

Despite being able to accomplish something big together, they choose to combine forces to do a foolish thing resulting in mutual loss.

Chu Guang looks at them, with both pity and a hint of regret, yet he has no remorse.

They aren't all acting for profit, in fact, the vast majority aren't, that is undeniable.

Just like Lowell making Red Soil, could that be driven by profit?

That is sacrifice!

That is martyrdom!

If he didn't make that Red Soil, surviving the Wasteland Era wouldn't be difficult, he might even live longer than the founder of Giant Stone City.

But wisdom doesn't necessarily correlate with the things he did.

Chu Guang intended to leave quietly, but he realized these people wouldn't have their wishes fulfilled, might end up chasing after him to block a train again.

Considering it's property of the Union citizens, he paused his steps.

"You know what I think?"

Faces full of anticipation finally looked up, eyes filled with hope.

The great master has finally noticed!

However, Chu Guang's next statement led all kneeling there to despair.

"You're the Zayeds who haven't taken the stage, the Family in the wilderness."

The man kneeling in the front gasped, with a betrayed expression, incredulously staring at him.

"How... How can you say this about us?"

Judging by his attire, he probably is a cultured person, but now he couldn't care about manners.

Not just him, the people prostrating on the ground rose up in indignant uproar.

But Chu Guang looked at him and those behind him with a stoic expression.

"Because he did the same things as you, only he wasn't as lucky, he walked away without even meeting me."

That man paused, clearly unaware of this past, and the crowd also quieted down.

Chu Guang continued speaking slowly.

"Money, technology, ideas, culture, talent, factories, railways, schools, tanks, planes, artillery, even the 'Administrator's Log' that Lowell and others didn't write or forgot to write, we tried to supply them too, what more do you want?"

"Our volunteers even stopped the Southern Legion for you, and you still want us to do what? Do you want to become our colony so badly?"

"You haven't even asked the opinion of Poluo Province survivors; you assumed you're smart, treated yourselves as their father, and them as your subjects, blamed them for listening to others instead of you, no wonder they reject you."

"You're even worse than Zayed, whether he genuinely cared for Family or pretended, at least he entertained every household, drew his big dream. And you? Kneeling in City of Dawn, pleading with the Alliance to love you again?"

Poluo Province is probably considered an unnumbered refuge, and the largest in this wasteland.

His players tried to awaken some dormant comrades from there and indeed succeeded in awakening some.

But unfortunately—

"No one is innocent, whether it's you, those you've abandoned, or those who abandoned you."

"Under Union's law, this is called conspiracy."

"However, we aren't obliged to judge you, your legal standing doesn't come from anyone's recognition, only from yourselves, and your punishment will come from yourselves."

"Starting with the children as high as the wheel, their lives will be spent atoning for past sins, until a whole generation dies in cycles of celebration and fear."

"We aren't interested in what's left."

"Since it's the way you've chosen, complete it yourselves."

...

If the residents of Giant Stone City had abandoned Alyssa back then, Melvin would definitely not have returned with a train of food to save people, and the players certainly wouldn't have extended a helping hand, instead, they would have watched them freeze into statues.

If so, most residents of Giant Stone City would have died in that desperate winter, maybe a few culprits could've survived by chance, but their fate wouldn't be favorable.

Moreover, most would say "served them right" after hearing their story.

Now, not only have the residents of Giant Stone City survived that winter, but they live in abundance, have spare time to join players in fun, share surplus resources with those in need, and accomplish self-realization.

Once they suddenly realize, they are no longer those wasteland wanderers struggling desperately for survival.

Good people don't necessarily live long, but they are rewarded.

Conversely, it's the same.

The residents of Tiandu were waiting quietly on both sides of the road at the moment, welcoming their new king, unaware of the hardships they would endure for the rest of their lives.

Gopal and Shaluk arrived first.

The former was the commander-in-chief of the Grey Wolf Army with a hundred thousand elite troops in hand, while the latter was the sidelined commander of the Snake State War Zone. Accompanying them was the hero of the Tiandu defense war, "Butcher" General Pickley.

Absek had already been dismissed by the committee.

From the moment he lost control of the Northern Field Army, he was automatically excluded from Tiandu's core power circle. Even the governor wouldn't take his calls anymore.

The winner and loser had been decided.

To everyone, Absek, who had issued two orders to the Snake State, ended up shooting himself in the foot, while Shaluk, with the capability to swallow an elephant, was the man of wisdom who had a way with people.

Watching the swaggering Shaluk, Gopal was contemplating how to humble this guy to display his military strength and show loyalty to Zayed, while aiming for the prince's position against the more pliable Sava. However, a confidential message laden with embellishments had already been sent through Tiandu's underground organization to the Snake State, making Zayed's face darken.

Seeing the leader's intent to kill, the harmless Sava finally breathed a sigh of relief, temporarily putting the just-written confession letter back into the drawer.

He knew that regardless of whether Gopal or Shaluk went ahead, he was bound to squeeze into the finals...

Moreover, lately, in his internal affairs work, he heard about a technology that could affect fetal brain development, activating previously unexpressed prehistoric genetic diseases in the DNA code.

This was a byproduct of the clone cannon fodder research.

The Weilante people once wanted to use this technology to mass-produce Awakeners, replacing the unstable and fertility-affecting Awakener drug, only to find that what was born were preterm deformities even inferior to ordinary clone cannon fodder, completely ineffective in actual combat.

So, this redundant research was abandoned.

However, upon hearing this, the "adopted son" Sava had some ideas.

Just recently, His Majesty of the Eastern Empire was dissatisfied with Zayed, perhaps he could ask his brothers over there for help to find a win-win solution...

...

Haiya Province, No.1 Settlement.

Little Ruby, playing with building blocks at home, accidentally knocked over the castle she had just finished building. Thinking of her morning's effort, she couldn't help but cry sadly.

Hearing the child's cries, Margaret, who had just placed breakfast on the table, hurried over, and affectionately picked up Little Ruby from the floor, patting her back to comfort her.

"Don't cry, don't cry... Mommy will help you build an even bigger castle later."

Kids are just kids.

Especially at Ruby's forgetful age.

Although the West Sail Port incident scared her, thanks to Mr. Yishel, the whole matter was later satisfactorily resolved.

Over time, that lovely little angel returned to them.

Hearing the commotion in the living room, Yarman returned from the entrance with the newspaper.

Seeing the mother and daughter, a gentle smile appeared on his face, saying.

"Let me accompany Ruby instead; it's inconvenient for you to squat down with your pregnancy."

Due to his wife's pregnancy, he recently slowed his career expansion, assigning most tasks to his subordinates, no longer charging ahead himself.

The war might end soon, as recently many excellent and capable Weilante young men arrived at No.1 Settlement.

He felt it was time to give those younger lads opportunities, freeing himself from a busy life to spend time with his long-neglected family.

Evidently unwilling to let go of her "powerful and reliable help" mother, Little Ruby lying in her mother's arms rolled her eyes and suddenly had a bright idea, saying.

"We can... we can elevate the castle! Build it on the table! This way, mommy won't squash my brother! As for Ruby... she can stand on a chair!"

"Haha! As expected of mommy's adorable Little Ruby, already learning to care for mommy!"

Margaret laughed heartily, lovingly kissed Little Ruby, proudly raised her eyebrows at her husband, and then gently said to Ruby, "But mommy has just conceived, it might not be a brother, and if it's a sister, Little Ruby must treat her well too."

"It's definitely a brother!"

Little Ruby suddenly looked seriously at her mother, becoming solemn as if it were true.

"I saw him in my dream yesterday! I even promised my brother I would comfort him not to cry, and I'll build a big, big castle for him!"

Seeing her daughter speaking seriously in her innocence, Margaret chuckled dotingly, gently pinching her daughter's small nose.

"No wonder you got Uncle Hank's building blocks so early in the morning to build him a new home."

Putting the newspaper on the dining table, Yarman also smiled, touching his daughter's hair.

"I could tell all along, our Little Ruby will definitely become an outstanding architect!"

Ruby blinked, curiously looking at her dad.

"Architect?"

Yarman smiled and nodded.

"Yes! The kind that builds taller and bigger buildings, just like... your Uncle Hank."

Strictly speaking, Hank shouldn't count as such, but he's the only one among all the elders his daughter knows who is remotely connected to the construction industry.

It's worth mentioning that Weilante Street where they now live was designed by the Hank Group.

Although initially, the entire project was strongly opposed by the Poluo people of No.1 Settlement, after seeing the beautiful model houses erected, they couldn't resist buying them and subsequently became supporters of the Weilante Street project.

The conflict between the Poluo and the Weilante people thus became an internal conflict among the Poluo people.

For the radical and conservative representatives of the local council, it's a win-win outcome.

For the former, the "vulnerable group's" feelings are not hurt again and again, and for the latter, the economy of No.1 Settlement will grow rapidly.

And what Hank paid was merely a discount on interest.

In fact, this cost wasn't borne by his Hank Group, but by Phil's Bank, which had its entire fortune tied to Hank Group's real estate projects.

The jeweler who escaped from Evernight Harbor is now nearly Hank's little follower, whereas their previous positions were completely reversed.

Yarman isn't sure whether to call Hank smart or cunning; the man seems naturally restless and recently had an idea that the baby boom across the Wasteland is coming, wanting to expand into toys and use Hank Group's real estate quality to vouch for toy quality... however, this idea seemed to be immediately shut down by investors.

But Yarman thought it might indeed be a good business opportunity.

Thanks to the residents of the refuge, children of the new era don't need to scavenge the Wasteland like their fathers did.

Besides textbooks, they can own something more beautiful to expend their exuberant energy, enhance their intelligence and dexterity, and leave beautiful memories of their childhood.

Perhaps he could sponsor him some money to do it.

Shipping profits aren't as high as before...

While Yarman was lost in thought, he suddenly met two pairs of teasing eyes.

"Dear, are you thinking about work again?"

"Dad must have fallen into a vat of money again!"

Seeing the mother and daughter staring at him with bright eyes, Yarman quickly denied it with a smile.

"No, how would I dare... Let's eat, or the breakfast will get cold."

His position in the house could only be third, and in a few months, it might be fourth.

By then, yet another little angel would arrive in his life.

Under the Silver Moon Goddess, he pledged to love that little angel dearly and to provide him with the most beautiful things in the world.

Finishing, Yarman hurriedly sat down at the dining table and picked up a newspaper he had just brought in from outside.

Upon seeing the headline, his index finger trembled, momentarily disbelieving his eyes.

Yishel...

Is dead?

The Survivor's Daily of No.1 Settlement did not place this news on the front page but did put it on a secondary page, accompanied by a photo of the young officer.

His face bore a bright smile, arm around another person's shoulders, probably the commander of the Death Legion... it should be an old photo from the great victory at Akale County.

It was a brutal battle, with the third ten thousand troops almost wiped out, with some Centurions promoted to Thousands of leaders within two days.

Now, this photo has turned black and white, seemingly signaling the end of an era.

The spoon adding sugar to the cup fell to the ground, and Margaret suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes turning red and filled with tears.

"...Mom?" Ruby, sitting on the chair swinging her little legs, tilted her head, not knowing why her mom suddenly messed up, but she still jumped down to pick up the spoon on the ground with a hey-ho.

Not wanting the child to see her out of control, Margaret pushed the chair away, got up, and hurriedly ran into the kitchen.

Watching his wife run into the kitchen, Yarman silently put away the newspaper on the table and then softly said to Little Ruby.

"Mom forgot to get the milk... Dad will go help her find it, can Ruby wait here obediently?"

Little Ruby nodded blankly, but seemed to remember something unpleasant, and fear appeared on her face again.

"Okay... but you must come back."

Realizing he might have scared the child, Yarman quickly squatted down, touched her head, and said softly.

"Dad and Mom are just at home... not going anywhere today, just staying with our lovely Little Ruby."

Seeing Ruby muster the courage to nod, Yarman quickly walked into the kitchen.

Seeing his wife covering her face and crying by the sink, he placed his arm on her shoulder, said nothing but gently patted her shoulder as if comforting a child.

After about five or six minutes, this strong mother finally raised her tear-stained eyes.

"Why... did it happen like this? Wasn't their war over?"

Not knowing how to comfort his wife, Yarman remained silent for a while, then sighed softly.

"I'm just as confused as you are... But I think if it were him, he could escape even a desperate situation like West Sail Port, bringing everyone with him, so why couldn't he escape the situation now."

Thinking this way, perhaps such an ending was also his own choice.

But in the end, he still couldn't understand why the Poluo people had to kill him.

After all, he was their hero!

Perhaps this is something he, as a Vellante, will never understand.

Julius failed, won, was brave, and was also vile, wasn't even a Vellante, and very likely even involved in the War Construction Committee's Defense Department's crimes... but that didn't stop them from remembering him, along with his glory and mistakes, building a grand temple to commemorate this great liberator.

But that said, maybe Marshal Julius wasn't worthy of the Poluo people, perhaps even not worthy of the administrators of the Alliance.

Maybe they found a god more worthy of worship.

"...Whatever it is, it was their collective choice... We should respect them."

He planned to go to Jinjaron and find Yishel's former superior, Anvo.

That person also received Yishel's help, he should also be deeply mourning the loss of a friend now.

Besides silent mourning, there are things that they, the living, can still do for that gentleman.

At least to preserve his remains.

Many people who are the compatriots of that gentleman live in No.1 Settlement, they and the displaced Vellantes are all victims of that war.

Hank couldn't understand their hatred for the Vellantes, but he, saved by Yishel, could understand.

He wants to build a tomb for the hero who saved everyone and erect a statue for him, just as the predecessors had done.

The War Construction Committee didn't want him—

Then let the Vellantes commemorate him!

Yarman firmed his thoughts, and he wasn't the only one firming his thoughts.

"... Dear, I have an idea... I think... maybe we can do something..."

Looking at Margaret's red and swollen eyes, Yarman held that warm shoulder, gently caressing her smooth hair.

"I understand what you mean, maybe it's not just our idea along with Little Ruby's, it's also the will of the Silver Moon Goddess."

That is a name full of courage, kindness, resilience, and wisdom.

It once belonged to a great hero, or rather, a warrior.

He hopes his child can be like that person, have a fiery heart, not waiting for anyone's redemption, but becoming the torch illuminating himself and others.

"If it's a boy, let's call him Yishel."

...

Jinjaron Harbor.

The study of a house on Tulip Street.

Gazing at those glaring words, Ah Xin only felt dizzy, almost collapsing into the chair.

"This is... too much!"

Just like a long time ago, he threw the newspaper onto the table, yet the feelings that weighed on his heart weren't anger but desolation.

Kunal, standing by his side, said in a deep voice.

"Boss, the assassin who killed Laxi is named Udi, he is a mid-level officer in the Commando Intelligence Office, highly valued by Laxi... According to our investigation, he used his position to pass a lot of information to the Family Meeting."

After Laxi died, Shava asked them to help, so Kunal led the core members of Assassins Group, who had previously withdrawn from West Sail Port, to help with matters the authorities couldn't handle conveniently.

Such as liquidation.

Things like this can't be done by insiders, only outsiders could do this, and coincidentally Assassins Group had ties with Laxi.

That Udi is an orphan, but the people who contacted him were not, one even moved his entire family in advance to Jinjaron Harbor.

But the Assassins Group didn't let him land; said a word and the boatman took the whole family to Banana Head Bay.

That is the territory of the Assassins Group.

Kunal didn't even torture, just said a sentence to make that man confess everything—

'Confess and debts are wiped, don't confess and start paying your debt, the old and young go into the dog cage, wife and daughters stay on the boat accompanying guests for ten gallons each time till death.'

Hearing this, the man fell to his knees immediately.

To be honest, Kunal had never done anything so harsh, the boss always warned them to conduct themselves with dignity, not to go to extremes. But thinking about what this group of traitors did makes his blood boil, perhaps he might really break through his limits.

Luckily, those people's faith isn't that firm, truly firm ones wouldn't have just set fire and ran but gone for martyrdom.

A ruthless glint flashed in Kunal's eyes, and he lowered his voice to continue.

"Boss... should we take care of that Udi."

Ah Xin raised his head to look at the ceiling, closed his eyes, thought for a while, then shook his head.

"No need, if there were still value, Shava wouldn't let him go... since Laxi said to leave a way out, let him return to Tiandu, let him see with his own eyes the good deeds he did."

Zayed won't possibly admit it was his ordered assassin, after all, the Moon Clan Resistance Army's fools are jumping out for credit, eager to divide Laxi's flesh, each vying to be the hero who stifled the 'Great Moon King' in the cradle.

Thinking it through, that guy will not end well even when he returns to Tiandu, so why grant Zayed this favor?

To die in self-deluded satisfaction as a traitor, that ending suits that guy more.

He really is a traitor, isn't he?

As for the Moon Clan Resistance Army, Shava will naturally deal with them.

That guy just lost his father, stopping only after killing 1500 people won't be possible.

But doing so is right.

Poluo Country is not Giant Stone City; without executing people thoroughly even the Poluo people will feel dissatisfied, believing the purge incomplete equals no purge, and indeed it has been incomplete.

Moreover, Shava still has to deal with Zayed advancing north.

That Grov holds an army of eight hundred thousand in Lion State, watching like a tiger, ready to mobilize another eight hundred thousand any time!

While the fighting force of Mammoth Nation is already below six hundred thousand, supporting no further blows.

Only this "true Great Moon King" chosen by Mammoth could hold against a "true Lowell" selected by the Poluo people.

Thinking about the fate of Poluo people ahead, Ah Xin closed his eyes, unwilling to open them again to see.

"Close the door, I want to be alone in tranquility."

Kunal nodded silently, turned, exited the study, and gently closed the door.

"...If I had known you'd end up like this today, I would have at least insisted you stay for one last drink before you left."

Left alone in the study, Ah Xin could no longer hold back and burst into tears, covering his face with his palm.

It was the regret of his life.

He had ordered a table full of dishes for someone, but that person looked down on him, barely touched the food, and left.

At that moment, he was actually glad in his heart.

It was best that the Great Moon King looked down on vermin like himself who lurked in the shadows doing dirty deeds.

It would have been disastrous if such a noble emperor had mingled with vermin like himself, using scoundrels to manage the virtuous, watching scoundrels like "Vikram" teach his people a lesson without uttering a word.

Forget Rashi looking down on him, he looked down on himself too, if it weren't absolutely necessary, he wouldn't want to do those shady businesses at all.

But he had no choice.

That day, dark clouds covered the city; pairs of beady eyes were fixed on his back, pushing him, the weakest of them all, to the front, hoping he'd be shot by "Iron Men" and see some blood.

And when they saw the "Iron Men" didn't kill him but handed him a gun, those greedy eyes hoped he'd show a flaw or go smash himself against a wall, so they could pounce and skin him alive.

He had no other option but to go all out, and that's how he reached his current position.

The governor's mansion of Nihak was just around the corner from his doorstep, yet the duke living there never so much as glanced his way.

While Rashi, hiding in the sewers, was the only moonlight he could see without looking up.

That guy certainly wasn't a saint, but he had his own bright spots, which was why he always supported his endeavors without expecting anything in return.

So much so that he repeatedly reminded his subordinates to pay attention to decorum and dignity... hoping one day he could decently sit in front of that Moon King, jovially drink under the moon, and not be seen as a blemish of the general's life.

Rashi indeed lived up to him, cutting a path in Mammoth State amidst all the doubtful glares and whispers behind his back, forging a future none of the little rodents had ever seen!

They were so close to success!

The emperor was driven away, the Weilante people had left too!

Yet, just as their utopian dream was about to be realized, it all collapsed at the last moment!

Ah Xin could no longer restrain his emotions, frantically wanting to tear down the entire study.

"...I damned shouldn't have let you head north! Why rescue those who deserve a thousand cuts! Let them die! Let them kill each other until bodies fill the reed marshes of the Everflow River!"

"It's my fault for bringing you distress! Aaaah!"

Kunal had been keeping vigil by the study door, standing silently with his eyes closed, seemingly meditating.

He had no intention to listen to what the boss was doing inside, nor did he want to, standing there from daylight till dawn.

When the door opened, he saw Ah Xin's eyes rimmed with darkness, feeling a twinge of heartache.

He didn't feel it was a pity at all, only that it wasn't worth it for his boss.

"Boss..."

Ah Xin patted his shoulder, whispered a few words in his ear.

Kunal was initially taken aback, but then his eyes brightened, the brutish face slowly breaking into a ferocious gleam.

The little mouse who once controlled thousands of people with just one bullet, now someone thinks he's not capable of wielding a knife.

Everything was just like that day in the rain—

His boss was back.

"As you command."

Kunal clasped his hands together in a salute, strode out the door, loosening the tie strangling his neck with his forefinger.

Ah Xin watched his back, his face expressionless.

He realized that as long as he didn't regard those people as human and treated them like donkeys with nose rings, everything became much easier.

All it took was a carrot to lead them forward, then a whip to lash their butts, watching them cry one moment, laugh the next, cheer one moment, riot the next.

And once he treated them as humans and tried to be kind—

It spelled disaster.

They wanted to "invert Tiangang."

They wanted to cut open and examine people's insides.

This night, he only understood one thing.

They went around in circles, proving by their actions that they deserved this suffering.

Including himself.

It's not the students, nor the teachers, or even the multitude entangled within it all that were at fault.

They merely evolved a fundamental logic serving the law of the jungle around a core of a thousand pillars.

This fundamental logic was that the worse a person was, the better their life; the more unscrupulous, the higher they climbed.

Based on this core logic, they evolved a series of theoretical tools more complex than animal behavior.

The former was the immutable Dao, while the latter was the ever-changing techniques; together, they built an invisible cage, and the Family Meeting's stuff was merely a technique.

Without breaking this cage, let alone the Alliance's ideology would be useless, even if aliens from tens of thousands of light-years away came for charity, the most advanced ideologies would still be transformed into "techniques to control people," based on that core "Dao."

As for being "eaten" by aliens, that's another story.

After all, when their very existence vanished, even if the mental cage existed, it would lose its meaning.

But obviously, the Alliance wasn't qualified to be that alien.

For one, they didn't eat people, and if it really came to indistinguishable boundaries, who assimilates whom depends.

Clearly, the Alliance had realized the problem, even some conservative forces within it had become wary, much like the immune system rejecting indigestible nourishment.

Precisely because of this, even if gods descended to wipe out the Family Meeting from top to bottom, it would be of no avail.

Either the Federation turned into another version of the Family Meeting, or Absek got forced into becoming the next Zayed, or his successor would be more sinister and ruthless than Zayed and Yanush combined...

This wasn't some abstract thing like fate, but a more naked and real civilization.

Perhaps someone knew how to solve this problem, but he was already tired of it, and wasn't the one to do this kind of work.

He was nothing but a rat standing by luck a bit higher, peeing a bit further.

Shava lost a "father."

He lost a "mentor" and "hope" at the same time.

He no longer wanted to fund those despicable things; even if they won, they would be just another Family Meeting; he didn't want to think about things so far, a conclusion he couldn't witness in his lifetime.

Let's just go back to the sewers together.

He just wanted some peace of mind for the time being.

This was also his instruction to Kunal.

If I cannot guard a province!

Then I will guard a city—

"...The West Sail Port massacre cannot happen again, Mammoth City is a lesson, if you don't kill one, you'll have to kill ten thousand, if you don't kill ten thousand, hundreds of thousands will die, and if you don't kill hundreds of thousands, millions will suffer!"

"Inform all branches and halls of the Assassins Guild, kill the Family Meeting members as needed, I don't care what the reason is, if anyone is bribed by or works for it, I'll kill their entire family!"

"When dealing with ruffians, don't hesitate on methods, if someone wants Zayed to hold a memorial for them, or wants to become Zayed's hero, I'll fulfill them."

He would send his own family to the City of Dawn, then have a grand showdown here, fighting until the day he can no longer wield a knife! Fight till he buries himself in a coffin!

He would become the brick on the tombstone himself!

"No matter whether Mammoth State can be defended or not, Jin Galun must be held, our real family, friends, neighbors are all here, here we have family who truly exist."

"As for the business in Banana Head Bay—"

"I don't want it anymore!"

Chapter 960: Return

[Respected His Majesty Sarun, the evacuation of West Sail Port is nearing its end. As per your instructions, we have taken over all assets of the Southern Legion, and the remaining facilities have been handed over to our puppets.

General Groove hopes that we raise his bounty on the poker cards to fifteen million Dinars, as well as the military rank of the defeated Gibson commander... I would say this is unreasonable, but his explanation holds some truth; he believes it was Giulion or Teil who forgot to increase his bounty or to promote Commander Gibson.

We also cannot comprehend why General Giulion would appoint a one-star commander to lead the southern line, while the commander of the northern line troops, fighting against the Poluo Country Northern Field Army and the Mammoth Nation's Army, is indeed a two-star commander, Olet. This is beyond doubt.

Ultimately, everything is for you to decide.

——West Sail Port Temporary Command Center, Telegram]

[Let him go find Teil.

——Eastern Empire Nord City Palace, Telegram]

...

Lavanka Industrial Zone.

Beside the dusty construction site, swift figures darted through the street.

The time to get off work had arrived, marking the revival of all things.

Young men stepping off the assembly line rushed out of the factory like excited ducks, firstly scrambling home, then flooding towards the market.

The big money was spent on bicycles, but they managed to gather some loose coins through various means.

With this spare change, they haggled with market stallholders, trading for odds and ends like nail clippers, markers, or short-sleeve shirts.

They didn't necessarily know the usefulness of these things upon purchase, only thrilled that small steel pieces or paper tokens could accomplish so much with so little investment!

Envious of the miraculous power of exchanging for all things, some took risks to create counterfeit money, with some even made using pencils. However, after suffering beatings and clubbings, these one daring to use and one daring to accept settled down.

Additionally, some trendy art youths bought sound systems, and others bought karaoke machines.

Listening to the CDs imported from the Alliance, they not only sang out the wasteland's desolation with their gravelly voices but rented them to others for one Silver Coin for half an hour.

Where demand arises, there are those to satisfy it.

Once discovering some outsiders were earning money through trade, some quick-witted local Waste Land Wanderers began stationing themselves at the docks. As cargo boats docked, they swarmed forward to bring large and small goods to set up stalls near the factories.

These were the clever ones who could save money.

They didn't squander their first pay on extravagant gear but rather used it as startup capital for business.

Before long, they would become the first batch of "creditworthy" survivors in this settlement.

Banks would gladly lend them money, helping them turn small enterprises into big businesses.

A semblance of a market took shape this way.

Not just the small vendors but also the craftsmen enjoyed this.

Lasov, who sold bicycles, made a small fortune, while the bicycle repairmen from Jinjaron Harbor who came to Lavanka Industrial Zone with him earned their second bucket of gold.

Some who spotted the business opportunity also entrusted shipping companies to drag in some bicycles or locks from Jinjaron Harbor, opening bicycle shops locally which also repaired bikes.

Although presently Lavanka Industrial Zone has just over 300,000 people, the Southern Legion's colony covers 2.7 million square kilometers, and the Great Desert Inland not yet colonized spans an even vaster land.

That sand is worthless, but the ruins buried beneath it are rather valuable.

Also, over a long period in the future, more shelters would successively open there.

After capturing the radio signal of Lavanka Industrial Zone, some of them would definitely attempt to find their way here...

In any case, the head of the Development Foundation, Hope, indeed fulfilled his initial promise—to let the "animals" on the Great Desert run.

Fang Chang was quite satisfied with his work, as it saved Fang Chang a lot of repetitive effort.

Many things required just a slight mention, and that guy could implement them into specific policies.

Very strong.

Far superior to the starting point of Yoder, the mayor of Jinjaron Harbor, whom he previously mentored.

Overall, the difficulty of "clearing" this region should not prove greater than Jinjaron Harbor or even Poluo Province.

2000-plus tribes might sound intimidating, but beyond a certain scale, it's no longer a "bad thing" and instead becomes a "good thing."

At least from a "Manager's" perspective, this meant these hard-to-integrate Waste Land Wanderers were divided into tiny atoms, like chewed-up food.

Poluo Province, however, is different.

While it seemingly houses the Thousand Tribes on the surface, a closer look reveals that those living under the thousand "totems" share one unified theory, all united in their belief in Lowell as the only "true god."

Their fundamental logic remains the same, even if various tribes have distinctly different surnames and slightly different customs.

Reflecting on the differences between the two, Fang Chang's mind suddenly conjured a concept he had heard long ago during the early version—

"Beehive."

This word had appeared several times in the Alliance Biological Research Institute's reports on "Gaia," even as a collaborative topic of study initiated by the Academy of Social Sciences.

Back then, he had purely wanted to understand this world and learn United Human languages, hence delved into these game background materials.

As they dug deeper into the wasteland, moving from old battlefields to places swept by "aftershocks," these materials were gradually set aside by him.

Now, however, it resurfaced in his memory.

He recalled a research report in which a researcher, whose name he couldn't remember, proposed a hypothesis on the origin of the "Gaia" Consciousness Entity.

This researcher believed "Gaia" didn't evolve from slime mold directly into a higher civilization but resulted from a higher civilization's fall to a lower life form.

That is, a downward spiral.

Mere mortals do not need to become higher and stronger giants to defeat giants.

They can also become cockroaches.

While a giant can crush a cockroach underfoot, it cannot crush all the cockroaches.

As long as it frantically reproduces in places beyond the giant's sight, the ultimate victor will inevitably be the cockroach with a broader diet and greater adaptability.

The time human civilization has existed is too short to glimpse the full picture of the evolutionary tree from itself.

But if the timeline is extended enough, evidence can indeed be found on Earth.

For example, cockroaches born in the Carboniferous period outlasted dinosaurs with a much higher position on the food chain.

Generally speaking, humans cannot turn into cockroaches, but the technique to become another mammal does exist in the background of Wasteland OL.

For instance, Shelter No. 79's "Eternal" plan proposed using existing genetic technology to DIY a robust species capable of surviving the Wasteland Era and carrying human consciousness.

Though ultimately it failed, it wasn't a complete failure—as at least two people succeeded, and one of them is still inside Shelter No. 79.

As for Dead Claw, it runs all over the Wasteland.

In fact, this is exactly what higher organisms or civilizations do to ensure the continuation of civilization, by compromising original principles or actively "downgrading" their civilization.

Based on these existing clues, the researcher proposed a hypothesis.

Suppose there is a population called Gaia on an isolated planet.

Within this population, there are two main branches, A and B.

To defeat each other, they unanimously abandoned their bottom line, ultimately transforming from giants to slime molds—and neither can go back.

This process wasn't instantaneous; it might be an extremely prolonged struggle and waste of resources.

First, they have to humble themselves into the dust and do whatever it takes to survive.

Then, step by step, they lower their bottom line, from giants to mortals, and from mortals to cockroaches... finally, gradually reducing their environmental needs until every cell is immersed in culture fluid.

And when their downgrading reaches its extreme, abandoning all goals except "existence," compressed like a spring to its limits, no longer able to compress further... they finally encounter the ultimate "Big Bang" during the collapse.

No one knows exactly what the universe looked like before the Big Bang.

Similarly, for the "Gaia" living before the Big Bang, no one knows where they will be after the explosion, where they will go, or what they will become.

Countless smart individuals derived the optimal solution under the jungle law game—
which is to eliminate individual will.

Destroy.

We're exhausted.

Thus, the beehive consciousness entity was born.

It brought order to everything; there would be no endless battles between populations, no more upward or downward spirals.

Under its will, the barren planet revived, and all nutrients served one final and sole consensus—
which is "existence".

Or rather—
to survive.

They will forever exist in the hollow universe, forgetting everything about the past, relying on the fragmentary words left in their DNA to feed, reproduce, expand... or remain still.

Of course, this is merely a hypothesis proposed by a researcher in "Wasteland OL" concerning Gaia Planet, not the ultimate conclusion.

However, thinking more deeply, Fang Chang suddenly realized that what Teil was actually adopting was this crooked path—unable to become giants, then becoming cockroaches.

Perhaps Teil may achieve a tragic victory in the brutal competition by continuously breaking the bottom line, but there's no guarantee he won't be completely wiped out by an awakened and similarly bottom-breaking enemy just before winning.

Alternatively, equally strong sides might establish a lasting and painful balance, continuously lowering the bottom line, seeing who succumbs first.

But obviously, the Southern Legion isn't strong enough to push the Alliance to such limits.

As for the places they fought—the Poluo Province, another situation arises.

The survivors there are themselves "Gaia".

Or rather, they are in the early game phase of Gaia experiencing the "Big Bang" and rebirth.

Most "abnormal" mutants, if they haven't evolved camouflage color, are either killed or forced to flee.

As for what the future holds, it's not certain...

...

As usual, Fang Chang sat in his office flipping through the reports Hope handed him.

Then there was a knock at the door, and he casually responded.

"Come in."

The door opened.

A boy wearing Mammoth Nation military uniform, led by an Autonomous Committee staff, walked in.

There was a plain killing intent about him, his wooden face showing little expression, even seeming not very capable of fighting.

But no one would doubt, this skinny young man could, with one move, put a far stronger adult man to death.

He knows only deadly techniques.

Such people are not common on the Wasteland; after all, it's mostly barren, and if there really are corpses, you might find many in the Looter or mutant tribes.

The staff's face showed a nervous expression, looking at Fang Chang sitting behind the desk said.

"He insists on meeting you... said he must personally hand you the stuff in the box."

"I understand."

Putting down the report in his hand, Fang Chang took a glance at him, his eyes lightly quivering when they stopped at his hand.

"Ackman, Stormtrooper Camp..."

The boy introduced himself and silently moved forward, placing the box on the table, "...our father, Laxi, asked us to return it to you."

Fang Chang knew without looking what was inside that box.

He deeply inhaled, pressing his index finger and thumb on the bridge of his nose, trying not to let his emotions be heard.

"...What else did he say?"

Ackman whispered.

"He said, your kindness will be repaid in his next life."

This world...

Is it really just a game?

Fang Chang, with his eyes closed, remained silent for a long time, and all he wanted to say ended up in a deep sigh.

"I understand..."

Ackman nodded, leaving with a word "Thank you," and without another word, silently followed the staff guarding the door and went out.

——

(Called to Shanghai to participate in the Yuewen event, some kind of Chinese and foreign writer exchange meeting, took the opportunity during the conference recess to code half a chapter using a mobile phone, please forgive a poor dog's life for updating eight or nine thousand words these days, I tried my best T.T

Also, it's estimated to be concluded in March or April next year, with the story "After players intervened then later" already written, writing daily life and extras, celestial beings, Gaia, Enlightenment Society, and recycling some foreshadowing from previous texts, all to be wrapped up soon~ barring any unexpected changes.)

Chapter 961: The Season of Renewal

[The situation in the Poluo Province is turbulent, and Alliance Foreign Minister Cheng Yan calls on both parties in the conflict to exercise restraint and resolve the issue through peaceful means.

Mayor Otto of the Bugra Free State issued an "anti-monopoly" declaration, stating that he will be with the citizens of the Free State! The Firestone Group refuted Otto's claims with evidence while releasing evidence of Otto's bribery, urging citizens not to believe in rumors!

—— Survivor Daily Dawn City Edition]

[The Free State falls into chaos! The "Hounds" special unit and the Company go to war!? Salen entered today's morning meeting with his left foot, possibly hinting the mastermind behind the scenes is the Alliance's Radical Faction!?

West Sail Port held a winter swimming competition, with residents lining up to jump into the sea! General McLellan, the commanding officer of the New West Sail Port garrison, expressed dissatisfaction to General Groove via telephone, claiming that calling barbers and prostitutes the Weilante's attendants and mistresses is a blatant slander and false accusation, as the real attendants and mistresses are on the ship!

Of course, General McLellan also emphasized that he has no mistresses, not even temporary ones.

—— Survivor Daily New West Sail Port Edition

]

[The great Saint Hero Zayed entered his loyal Tiandu! The wise and mighty General Gopal led the holy Grey Wolf to surround the legislative council, and the economic commissioner committed suicide in fear of his crimes! Sava stated that imposing a consumption tax on grains is blatant robbery, evidence of corruption, and the first pillar the Family Meeting intends to completely crush!

—— Survivor Daily Tiandu Edition

]

[Shocking! The Tiandu legislative council was dissolved by the Grey Wolf Army, and over a thousand legislative council members and their families were lynched by Family Meeting members!

The chairman of the Jin Galun Port Family Meeting branch, Mendes, and his vice chairman wife, Shiria, were found drowned in their home bathtub.

The vice chairman, Rajat, refused to be interviewed regarding the matter, but stated that his wife and Mendes had a purely platonic relationship, being comrades in spirit, shoulder to shoulder partners, and not what outsiders imagined.

The cause of death for the two deceased is still under investigation, and for privacy protection, the police have not revealed further details. Previously, Mendes was supported by radicals for his numerous radical statements and was considered a strong competitor for Mayor Yoder, leading to speculation that this might be revenge by Laxi's remaining forces against the Family Meeting.

—— Survivor Daily Jin Galun Port Edition

]

[Migration surge reappears! The population in the Baiyue Strait is nearing one million! The new immigrants are mainly from the Moon Clan and the Weilante people, originating mostly from areas west of Evernight Harbor and the eastern coastal region of Poluo Province. Experts from the Union Academy of Social Sciences analyze that due to the unique ecological environment of the Baiyue Strait, it is difficult to immediately absorb the surge in immigrants, and the migration might shift towards the Death Coast region!

—— Survivor Daily Potato Harbor Edition

]

[Property prices on Weilante Street hit a new high! With nothing but his own hands, Hank created a wealth miracle in just one year! Not only that, this compassionate and socially responsible tycoon is also planning to erect a statue for a mouse tribe member named Yishel at the core location of Weilante Street! As a common hero of the two peoples!

This plan prompted protests from some Poluo people, who view it as an attack by the Weilante on the Poluo. In their view, Yishel ultimately betrayed the Poluo Country, and whether he can be considered a hero is debatable; if a statue must be erected, let the opportunity be given to the truly wise and mighty Mr. Zayed.

However, unlike in the past, this time, other Poluos at the No.1 Settlement did not stand by; they bravely stood up and fought fiercely with Zayed's followers.

These people might keep fighting for a while, but the survivors of the No.1 Settlement seem unfazed by such occurrences, whether they are Waste Land Wanderers from Haiye Province or Weilante people.

Additionally, Su Ka, a local representative from the Poluo Province, initiated a proposal hoping the Alliance authorities will designate the Family Meeting as an xie cult organization, prohibiting its spread within the Alliance. Our reporter would like to say that our radicals, apart from their overflowing misplaceable sympathy, are finally willing to do something meaningful this time.

—— Goblin Observation Report Dawn City Edition

]

...

A few more days passed.

Old White, who was in Dawn City for business, visited the Lavanka Industrial Zone and happened to see Laxi's standard-issued gun in Fang Chang's office.

It was a classic model of the Centurion pistol, framed with its holster and displayed on the office's bookshelf.

In fact, Old White had already learned of Laxi's death from the news a few days earlier.

However, his friendship with Laxi was not as deep as Fang Chang's, and apart from lamenting the loss of a promising life, he didn't feel much sadness.

Only now, seeing this familiar standard-issued gun, did he suddenly realize how many things had happened since they landed at Jin Galun Port.

"You always knew it would end this way."

Fang Chang shook his head.

"It's not just me, he himself was well aware too."

Long ago, Fang Chang had a premonition that the man who clenched his throat, shouted names, and threw himself forward with a pistol raised high might meet this end.

He assigned Laxi to be the director of the Civil Defense Office, and everyone said it was a veiled stripping of power, a demotion disguised as a promotion, hidden disparagement beneath praise. Yet nobody understood his good intentions... he didn't have such complex thoughts, he just wanted Laxi to learn a bit of political maneuvering.

Even Laxi himself didn't understand, spending a long time drowning in alcohol, living like a wastrel.

But later on, he seemed to have realized, not only did he quit drinking but he also started reading and keeping up with the news.

Unfortunately.

By then, Laxi's heart was focused on saving the nation, determined to resign and head northwards, not realizing that their real enemy wasn't the easily blown over Empire, but rather a force equally formidable as themselves, growing unseen in the shadows.

If he had waited a little longer, perhaps there would have been a better outcome.

Old White remained silent for a while.

"But he still went."

Fang Chang nodded, his gaze drifting to the busy industrial district outside the window.

"He might have long accepted life or death... ever since he first met us."

"We can plant seeds, but can't ensure every seed germinates at the opportune time, perhaps it's not about right or wrong, just that the time hasn't come yet..."

Not only has Laxi's time not come, but neither has the time for all Poluos to "end their slumber."

Only when everyone wakes from their nightmares, everyone bears a true hero in their hearts, and all abandon waiting to strive to become that hero, will the nightmare truly end.

It's not the time yet.

"Are you going to help them?" Old White asked, looking at him.

Fang Chang pondered for a moment and shook his head.

"I don't think so, I even feel... I might have harmed them. The Manager might be right, if you do everything well, you must prepare for others to mess everything up afterward, or keep supporting the blocks so they don't fall. I've been keeping an eye on the news from the back these days, Zayed might be the most suitable for that rat hole."

They moved into a dungeon they built for themselves, perhaps this outcome was also a choice they made themselves.

Old White looked at him in surprise.

"Didn't expect you to be so open-minded."

Fang Chang let out a wry smile.

"Things have reached this point, what else can we do if not be open-minded? Turn around and go back?"

Old White grinned.

"Indeed, that's not very realistic either."

Though he didn't want to admit it, Zayed indeed accounted for them.

The Poluo Province is the most populous area on the Wasteland, the Alliance couldn't ignore it, but neither could they stay there forever.

But being outsmarted by a little worm is no big deal.

Kill him?

Of course not.

If he likes cesspools, let him stay till he dies.

Be it Zayed or those who chose him, it's the same.

When a whole generation passes, their offspring will march into new exams, facing new classrooms and questions.

Their future might be bright, might be dark, or might just repeat in another cycle.

But that's a different topic.

Fang Chang sighed, saying.

"What is fortunate is that Mammoth State hit the brakes in time and has returned to the military-political track once again."

No matter how poorly they developed, they could still become part of the Free State, and now it seems like the nightmare of the Free State is about to end.

They weren't originally on the same path, so it's not necessary to follow the Alliance's route, and the Alliance never asked them to.

In any case, "Sociology+3."

Considering the severe technological regression on that land, no one should be able to create the "new red soil" anymore, right?

Probably.

"Don't get stuck in a rut. As the saying goes, 'haste makes waste, good intentions may lead to bad outcomes.' Relax a bit, maybe you can treat it like a game. Who knows, when we look back, things might not be as bad as we imagined, and the places we've walked through have turned into a forest."

Old White smiled and patted Fang Chang on the shoulder, then winked at him and said, "Someone insisted on coming along with me, I couldn't dissuade them, guess who came?"

Fang Chang was stunned for a moment.

Just as he was dazed, a light footstep was heard outside the door, and then a splash of bright green slipped into the room through the open door.

Seeing that familiar pretty face, Fang Chang's expression suddenly turned to surprise.

"Dolly?! Why are you here?"

"I guess she's here to check up on you."

Old White raised his hand with a smile, then looked at Dolly and continued in an idle tone.

"I can testify that even though my brother Fang Chang faces a lot of temptations, he's quite principled when it comes to relationships."

"Well... I can't fully agree on that, but I still trust this guy a lot."

Dolly raised her eyebrows at Fang Chang with a lively spirit, looking at him with bright eyes, and continued speaking.

"Of course, putting that aside, the Workers' Association has summarized our failures in the Poluo Province region and decided to send a stronger competitor... heh heh! This time, I'll be your opponent!"

Poof—!

Fang Chang almost choked on his own saliva.

Seeing her boyfriend coughing, Dolly giggled and jumped to his side, patting his back.

"Alright, alright, just kidding. The representative of the Workers' Association is someone else. I'm here representing the headquarters of the 'Survivor's Daily' to start work here! After all, as you've seen, those bizarre 'Survivor's Dailies' are almost taking away our market share! Our boss got a good scolding from the Manager, so now we plan to develop businesses along the Great Desert coast and the Bartoya Province region ourselves."

"So they tossed this trouble to you?" Fang Chang rubbed his forehead in amusement and resignation.

Dolly raised an eyebrow, displeased, and said.

"What do you mean trouble? I'm quite capable, okay! I fought for this job myself!"

"Yes, yes, you're super capable." Not wanting to argue about this, Fang Chang surrendered by raising his hands, "I give up."

Dolly snorted proudly, and her expression softened.

"Of course, the newspaper work is one aspect. Actually, I... just missed you."

Fang Chang gazed at her affectionately.

"Dolly..."

The atmosphere in the office gradually became sappy.

Although the two lovebirds were unaware, Old White, standing nearby, was practically overfed with PDA, digging his toes into the floor.

"...I have a flight to catch to the front lines, so I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

Scratching the back of his head and coughing, he hurriedly made his exit, closing the door behind him as he left.

Only the two of them, gazing tenderly at each other, remained in the office.

As the sound of breathing drew closer, the room's temperature began to rise.

At this point, as if suddenly realizing something, Dolly blushed and broke free from the embarrassing atmosphere.

"You, you, you... have some self-control, this, this is an office! And there are quite a few people outside, it's still considered a public place..."

Seeing Dolly's voice gradually lower and her speech become incoherent, Fang Chang couldn't help but smile, putting on a look of innocence.

"Did I do anything improper for a public place?"

Perhaps when someone else made that face, it might be believable, but on this old fox, it could only mean "mischief."

"I... I mean if you're going to say something strange again, of course, I don't know what you're going to say..."

"For instance?"

"Just, just..."

Dolly's face was burning, and her ears seemed ready to emit steam as her explanations only became more muddled, ending up speaking incoherently.

Seeing her adorable state, Fang Chang couldn't help but laugh. He planned to stop there, but Dolly, suddenly embarrassed and angry, bared her teeth and pounced on him, biting his arm.

"Like I need you to tell me!"

The playful chase lasted for half an hour, with knocking sounds echoing endlessly in the office.

Who would have thought a grown-up could still have the chance to play like children?

Looking at the row of teeth marks on his arm, Fang Chang pretended it hurt, grimacing for quite a while.

"...Are you part dog?"

Out of breath, Dolly gave him a resentful glare and turned her head away.

Just then, she noticed the uniquely shaped photo frame on the shelf beside her.

"Is that your sidearm?"

"No, it's a friend's."

"Friend?" Dolly tilted her head, curiosity written in her eyes.

"Yeah, his name was Laxi."

Looking at the photo frame that held many memories, Fang Chang, sitting in the office chair, gently stroked Dolly's green hair and told her the story of that friend.

It was truly a story of ups and downs.

A group of young men, still full of youthful enthusiasm, chose to be people rather than slaves and did what everyone dared to think but not do.

They defeated the Empire, defeated the Weilante people, and nearly defeated themselves.

That legendary experience was like a novel, and she unknowingly became immersed in listening.

When Fang Chang noticed, her eyes were already filled with tears.

She raised her arm to wipe her eyes, gazing intently at Fang Chang, and said seriously.

"I want to write a novel about him... or rather, a biography, to be serialized in the 'Survivor's Daily' supplement on the West Coast of the Great Desert."

Long ago, she worked as an editor for Spielberg, and she contributed to the story of 'Awakener Bol.'

Now, once again, she felt a strong desire and eagerly anticipated the story brewing in her mind to be brought into this world!

If no one else was willing to write this story, she would personally do it!

Fang Chang jokingly teased.

"You don't even have a 'main edition,' and you're already planning a 'supplement'?"

Dolly confidently raised her mouth corner.

"What's wrong with that! In the early years, 'Survivor's Daily' in Giant Stone City got its fame by serializing novels in the 'Mercenary Post' and 'Workers' Post'! Oh, by the way, I need to consult you on some details. You'll help Miss Dolly, won't you? Mr. Fang?"

Fang Chang smiled gently.

"Gladly at your service."

Someone had already written a biography about Laxi at Jinjaron Harbor, but those biographies were mostly fictional, like looking up at a mist-covered mountain from its foot, lacking an understanding of the inside story and details.

The authors often either portrayed him as a power-hungry tyrant or expected too much of him, depicting him as an idealist burning himself.

Actually, none of them.

That guy has always just been himself—

A slave standing under a thousand totem poles, shouting deafening cries and breaking free from chains to straighten his knees.

He has been thinking about writing a biography for Laxi. Since Dolly wants to do it, she can go ahead, and he himself can narrate and supplement some details.

What should this book be called?

The Rise of Laxi?

Or perhaps...

A Decisive Benevolent Leader?

Awakener Bol has influenced countless Poluo people in Jinjaron Harbor and West Sail Harbor, but no one knows what kind of reactions this novel will cause on the land of the Great Desert.

Looking into those shining eyes, Fang Chang suddenly felt even more anticipation in his heart.

...

Mammoth City.

As the great purge progressed, the flames of turmoil eventually reached the campus.

A few days ago, Gale, who had been boasting about his father's "foresight," was already scared out of his wits and stayed hiding in the dormitory all day, relying entirely on his "No.1 follower" and roommate Nayak to bring him meals.

Putting the lunchbox brought from the cafeteria on the table, Nayak couldn't help but laugh at Gale, who was curled up on the bed.

"You really don't need to be this afraid, they wouldn't dare to make a move on people who haven't participated in the riots."

Gale said tremblingly.

"...Have you ever heard of Document No. 1500?"

He now regretted bragging about his father being a high-level member of the Family Meeting to Nayak.

If this guy leaks a word outside, he feared he would follow in the footsteps of those lower-tier family members.

"...I've heard about it. I also heard that even the judge in court was scared to wet his pants." Looking at Gale, who was scared out of his wits, Nayak just smiled faintly.

He definitely wouldn't betray this guy.

After all, he still counted on this guy doing great things.

Gale looked gratefully at his little follower, crawled out from under the blanket, and sat at the table devouring the meal.

After eating and drinking to his satisfaction, he burped and couldn't help but ask Nayak, who had started reading,

"Why aren't you afraid..."

"Because I don't have ghosts in my heart, why should I fear ghosts knocking on my door?" Nayak replied lightly while flipping through his physics book.

Gale looked at him nervously and couldn't help but say in a low voice.

"Nayak... I..."

Nayak patiently replied.

"I know, I won't betray you. You just can't have loose lips, because then no one can save you. If you ask me, you should spend your time thinking about something else; you are someone who will do great things... remember what I told you?"

Gale nodded quickly.

"I know, I'll take care of your parents... I definitely will..."

"And then?"

"And... and then?"

"When you go back, hide yourself; if you can chicken out, do it. If someone wants to hit you, lie on the ground, and imagine yourself as a soft maggot..."

Gale broke out in a cold sweat, looking guilty at Nayak flipping through his book, and said.

"Can I not go back?"

It's so bad that dying seems better.

Nayak chuckled.

"Of course you can, as long as you want your father, the respected General Pickle, to become the next Yishel, you indeed don't have to go back. I'm sure with his indulgence of you, he wouldn't blame you. So... do you choose this path?"

His father is just a farmer, far away from the power core of Tiandu, and with a farmer's cunning, at most life would be a bit difficult, but it's not a matter of life and death.

But Gale's father is different; he's a person with one foot inside the power core circle.

After hearing Nayak's words, Gale was silent for a long time.

He couldn't bear to part with his father or the power that was within reach.

After a long time, he said.

"...You say I'll be emperor?"

Nayak turned a page in his book and said in a certain tone.

"It will be your turn, I said."

Gale suddenly laughed freely, sat back on the bed, and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders.

"Then there's nothing to fear... At worst, I'll rise to power later and kill off all these people."

Watching this sunny young man speak such bloodthirsty words, Nayak smiled and nodded.

"That's your business."

In the evening, there was a commotion downstairs in the international students' dormitory, as soldiers carrying rifles suddenly surrounded the building.

Gale, who had just fallen asleep, was pulled from the bed by a soldier, and his flushed face instantly turned pale.

"It's not me—"

Nayak, who was being escorted by another soldier, frantically gave him a look, suggesting he keep his mouth shut and bury his head honestly.

Gale immediately stopped pleading, his face turned pale, and let the soldier drag him from the bed.

The two soldiers who came in to arrest them didn't interrogate them but just took them downstairs in a murderous manner, standing them together with other Poluo students.

A group of teens standing in pajamas, trembling in the cold wind.

Although it's subtropical here, it's still a bit chilly when the wind blows in winter.

The leading officer didn't say anything, just turned to look at Meng Jie standing to the side, and said coldly.

"Students from Poluo Country are all here. You can take whoever you want, and we will send the rest back to where they came from."

The 110,000 team of Yakale had already begun shelling across the Tasang River, and both sides had ceased all official and civil communication.

Including joint schooling.

Noticing Principal Meng standing among the soldiers, a group of kids instantly had red eyes and cried out pitifully.

"Help us, Principal!"

"Principal Meng!"

"Please save us!"

Looking at these young kids, Meng Jie felt a pang of heartache. They were all part of his and Niyan's hard work.

"All of you come with me. I'll take you to City of Dawn for your studies... you should stay away from this muddy water!"

Some people ran over.

Seeing that the soldiers didn't shoot, again, another dozen or so people ran over, but still, about a hundred people remained.

Among them are those pursuing undergraduate and preparatory courses. Some are like Gale, whose fathers are officials in Tiandu and cannot go back, while others are like Nayak, whose parents hope they return to land government jobs, or because they have too many things they cannot let go of over there.

Nayak seemed to have anticipated this day, showing no surprise, merely hugging Gale beside him and patting this "good brother" on the shoulder.

"Don't be too nervous, Principal Meng should be bringing the Alliance people to pick us up this time. Shava will definitely ensure your safe departure, you can trust me on this."

Gale couldn't help but shiver,

"Take care of yourself... come back anytime if you feel homesick."

Nayak smiled and nodded.

"You too, take care!"

Bidding farewell to the reluctant Gale, Nayak hurriedly said goodbye to other familiar classmates and then strode briskly toward Principal Meng Jie.

He felt no hesitation in his heart, having already seen the outcomes for most of them—

This was likely the last time they'd see each other, with no opportunity to meet again in the future.

...

[The Age of Waste 215, January 2, the first Human Conference concluded, and Absek returned to Poluo Province, staying at the Poluo Country Embassy in Jinjaron Harbor, remaining indoors.]

[On the evening of January 4, Gopal led the Gray Wolf Army to support Commissioner Sharuk's entry into Tiandu, with "Butcher" Pickley leading the welcoming by Tiandu soldiers and civilians on both sides of the road!]

[On the morning of January 8, Zayed entered Tiandu and gave a victory speech on the Southern Legion counteroffensive. On the same day, the Gray Wolf Army surrounded the legislative council, with Sava, the second figure of the Family Meeting, speaking at the meeting, declaring the abolition of the grain consumption tax, issuing a cat prohibition order, urging families to act and hunt all domestic and wild cats in the city.]

[At noon on January 10, the committee formally announced the resolution to remove Absek, with Sharuk delivering an inaugural speech, assuming the position of Supreme Commissioner and Leader.]

[At noon on January 11, Gray Wolf Army Chief Commander Gopal was appointed by Sharuk as the first Marshal of Poluo Country!]

[On January 13, a sudden change occurred at the medal ceremony! Gopal pushed Sharuk's hand away and put on the medal himself!]

[On the morning of January 17, Poluo Country Leader and Supreme Commissioner Sharuk was arrested by Tiandu Guards! It is rumored to be due to his alleged collusion with the Southern Legion while in Snake State, and involvement in snakegrass trafficking!]

[On January 18, the committee issued the latest research report, once again affirming that the grain consumption tax is an unfair exploitation but should not be overcorrected. On the contrary, it may be extended to other non-essential areas such as fabrics, livestock, spices, and fuels, thus a virtuous act of "turning the rich's head grease into the poor's pot oil."]

[On January 20, Leader Sharuk confessed guilt! Admitting collaboration with the Southern Legion! Sava, the second figure of the Family Meeting, once again held a meeting, reaffirming that the Family Meeting is only a disaster relief organization, representing families to supervise the Tiandu United Federation, and inviting Absek to return to Tiandu to preside over the overall situation!]

Jinjaron Harbor, Poluo Country Embassy.

Looking at the newspaper clipping collection he made by hand, Absek's face was full of emotion.

"Time truly changes... it's only been a few days, and they already want to invite me back to preside over the overall situation."

With nothing to do during these days, he sat in this study room daily, drinking tea and reading newspapers, unable to find anything to do. So he asked for a notebook, cutting out the headlines from the day's newspapers to paste onto it, intending to organize them into a memoir for publication when he's older.

Opposite him, Anwo seemed amused.

"So why don't you go?"

Absek laughed and cursed.

"I'm not smart, but not a fool either. And you, this slippery one, I thought I wouldn't see you again, yet now I have to live under your roof."

Anwo smiled faintly and said,

"The Leader jokes... if I had truly carried out your orders back then and cleaned up that church, could you still be sitting here chatting with me?"

Absek fell silent, gazing out the window, muttering a few words.

"It's a sin, a sin... those weren't my orders, lost souls don't come to me. Besides, this matter can't be blamed on me; it was all Anush's orders. I had you handle it because I believed your smooth handling would surely resolve it properly—"

"Even if you talk a lot of nonsense, the living can't lift the coffin lid and run out." Glancing at this mysterious guy, Anwo said blandly, "It's all well and good for you to just leave, but others still have to stay and suffer."

Listening to those pointed words, Absek was also distressed, struggling for a long time before sighing heavily.

"As for Yishel... I'm very sorry. That guy was a good person, I felt as upset hearing the news of his death as you did. But you should have seen it too, he was determined to seek death, what could you and I do?"

Anwo also fell silent.

That guy could have left if he wanted to.

But on the other hand, if he really just walked away, he wouldn't be who he was.

Absek also remained silent.

This was almost a dead end.

Even if he hadn't given Zayed that appointment back then, the final results wouldn't have been any different.

Sharuk wouldn't abandon his backstabbing just because he lacked Zayed's support; the Eastern Empire would still step in, and the end would merely be him fighting Sharuk or fighting others, seeing how long he could cling to his convictions.

The head of the Grand Canyon awakened him with just a word, allowing him to completely let go of everything he couldn't formerly let go of, and crawl out of the dry well that once trapped him.

He ended his historical mission by having Poluo people withstand the Southern Legion's invasion.

No one can accompany them to the end of history.

When matters are resolved, leaving everything behind and hiding himself is what he should do.

"...However, I certainly didn't expect Sharuk with all his calculations to be taken down so easily."

Looking at the unsettled Absek, Anwo drank a sip of black tea and said.

"Nothing unexpected; didn't Anush also get shot dead on the throne by a nobody like me? Ignoring the maneuvers behind it, saying this alone, hardly anyone will believe it."

"Indeed," Absek sighed lightly, "but that guy was also too clever for his own good, still fantasizing about being my second coming, mistaking me for a dying Anush, yet never considering from start to end that our seemingly discordant group of rats was all on the same boat. None of us could leave or kill the others."

They together were Anush.

But now, they are nothing.

The snake entered Tiandu, and the cage has fallen; the greedy rats cannot escape.

Looking at the photos clipped from the newspaper, and those few old friends who looked battered, Absek was very emotional.

He didn't feel sorry for Sharuk, that slick fellow. No matter how he dies, it's deserved, preferably something harsher.

He only felt sorry for Sir Cabaha.

This guy almost got knifed by Anush; he barely saved the old man from the knife's edge.

Though that guy cursed him fiercely, didn't deal with matters smoothly, handled everything too equally, everyone could see from his heart that he deeply loved this land.

Now Anush has returned. Who knows how the madman will torture him.

Looking at Absek, who was still immersed in memories, Anwo gently coughed.

"...Stop living in the past. Since you can't go back to Tiandu, what are your plans for the future?"

He heard that the Jinjarlon Harbor Federation wanted to recruit this guy, taking Tiandu back from the Family Meeting.

If Absek intended to take this path and continue in politics, he wouldn't have to worry about future matters.

He would just follow this guy.

Absek pondered for a moment and then said something that surprised him.

"At the Human Conference, I met many people; if it comes to intelligence... not to boast, but they're not better than you or me."

Before Anwo could react, Absek continued,

"Poluo Province no longer lacks smart people, indeed it needs some foolish idiots. I'm not wading into these muddy waters, let the younger generation finish this unfinished endgame."

"You're just letting go like that?" Anwo looked at him incredulously, looking at this former leader.

But Absek laughed openly.

"It doesn't matter! By the way, I also agreed with the South Sea Union's representative Si Wen, to go over and have a couple of drinks at their place sometime."

Additionally, he overheard during meetings from those big figures that in the new era, aerospace will quickly become a popular industry.

The new track is an open secret; having participated in the Human Conference, he was fortunate enough to glimpse the "heavenly secret."

Perhaps he could start a company, doing something more meaningful with the smart people of Poluo Province.

As for the company's name, let's just call it "Ah Bu Aerospace!"

Chapter 962: The Enemy at the Gates

[Chaos of the Crazy Rats?! Household cats and wild cats lie dead everywhere, Tiandu is overrun with rats! Sava, the second figure in the Family Meeting, once again convenes a meeting, calling for the family to unite once more to declare war on the rats in the Poluo Province area!

——Survivor Daily, Jinjaron Harbor Edition]

[The cat ban is showing early results, feeding people first before feeding cats, Tiandu survivors are harmoniously content, thanks to Zayed for providing us warmth and satiety.

Under the pressure from the Family Meeting, Southern Legion leader Shava released five hundred undergraduate and preparatory hostages; all the children from Tiandu have safely returned home and received a meeting with Zayed's parents! Let us welcome the future pillars!

In contrast, the Southern Legion defectors who fled to New West Port live in hardship, crying day and night, truly deserving such an end!

Moreover, locust plagues have erupted in multiple places including Baiyue Strait, the Southern Sea area, and Death Coast, leading to food shortages, rampant plagues, and variants running wild... Expected to cause up to a million deaths! Tiandu University Professors analyzed that the root cause is the Alliance's hostility towards the Family Meeting, and the Waste Land Wanderers there lack the guidance of family, with no family members stepping in to help.

Let us have a moment of silence for three minutes for the survivors suffering on the wasteland, we will eventually go to save them.

——Survivor Daily, Tiandu Edition

]

[First Beauty Pageant at Potato Harbor! The champion "Drunk and Laughing at Beauty" turns out to be a man in women's clothing!?

Population influx surges! Representative from Baiyue Strait Area is planning to establish the fourth settlement! Now soliciting votes from the public!

This month's most popular delicacies are hot pot, crab roe sauce, coconut pudding, and ice cream!

——Survivor Daily, Potato Harbor Edition

]

[Free State's "Company" War continues to heat up! Gang members and Hound Special Forces erupt in gunfire on the streets! At this morning's meeting, Salen spun a pen with his right hand, possibly hinting the Alliance conservatives are getting restless and might stealthily intervene?!

Poluo Province's murder contest enters the second round! Guryang, who ordered the bombing of Lion City, can only rank third?!

(Image: Zayed and Shava arm wrestling, crushing a tomato in their hands, Guryang stands shocked in the corner)

General Mclen's opinion is that he refuses to comment.

——Survivor Daily, New West Port Edition]

...

The Grand Canyon.

As guests from all directions gradually returned home, this sacred land, which holds the last flame of human civilization, returned to tranquility, and a once unserious old man finally grew somewhat serious.

A sparse small conference room.

The leader sitting at the obsidian long table fiddled with the holographic screen in front of him with his index finger, suddenly a gratified smile appeared on his face.

"If even one survives, that's not bad."

Everyone has their own "destiny," or rather "historic mission."

This destiny is not something that any one person can decide but rather the result of the same or different choices made by everyone in the collective.

Although the Manager of the Alliance calls his theory "fortune-telling," he prefers to call it "civilization studies."

Faced with his own destiny, Absek ran into the problem of letting go, while Mayor Otto encountered the problem of picking up.

Now one has let go, and one has picked up, their futures are both bright.

As for Shava…

Although he had chosen a relatively easy path for him, Shava didn't follow his expectations and instead chose another solution buried in his riddle—

Which is total annihilation!

This is the most difficult path.

Not only does he have to inherit Laxi's legacy, but he also has to break the taboo that Laxi dared not break!

The leader suddenly thought of Rezer, the young man who was always by Julius's side.

They are actually the same kind of people, burning themselves for the dreams of others…

The leader shook his head, lightly swiped his index finger to close the floating holographic window in front of him.

"What a sin..."

...

Absek wasn't joking.

After leaving Jinjaron Harbor, he indeed went to Potato Harbor to register a company, named Ah Bu Aerospace, with the business mainly focusing on "aerospace modification of plasma engines for aviation use."

Although the business name sounds high-end, in practice it's not all that complicated.

Simply put, it's about fitting the engines of airplanes onto spacecraft.

In the distant old era, plasma engines were first born in the aerospace field, and were only later applied back to aviation after chemical engines were almost completely phased out.

What Ah Bu Aerospace aims to do is to return advanced plasma technology to its rightful place.

From the perspective of conforming to historical trends, this business direction isn't problematic, and it's quite possible that the Alliance already has numerous big companies doing this quietly.

However, for the Poluo people who are still preoccupied with internal conflicts, this undertaking is quite advanced, as most "River Valley People" still think of them as having barbecues on the rail tracks.

As for aerospace.

That seems more like something survivors from City of Dawn and Giant Stone City would engage in.

As the saying goes, "To know shame is to be courageous."

Though he has accepted his fate, Absek still harbors a smoldering fire that hasn't been extinguished.

He wants to prove to the other tribes on the wasteland that the Poluo people are capable of more than just infighting, they're also capable of achieving something progressive, even leading ahead of other tribes in the world!

Clearly, he wasn't the only one with this thought.

Upon hearing this news, Ah Xin, who had originally decided not to fund the Poluo Province's reform efforts, immediately drafted a check of ten million silver coins, entrusting it to a confidant to deliver to Absek.

This young Rat Clan member was still as impulsive as before, despite not having any clue what aerospace entails.

Not just Ah Xin, even some Moon Clan members who had earlier moved to Potato Harbor and made a fortune got involved.

Though massive reforms seemed unlikely, they thought burning the money on futile fireworks would at least etch a few lines of their names in this stirring epic.

Thus, the startup company, with a registered capital of less than ten thousand silver coins and established for less than a month, gathered nearly fifty million silver coins in funds within a brief half month with the support of Ah Xin and other Moon Clan sponsors!

Even Absek didn't expect that he, a dethroned leader, would still have such a rallying power.

Grateful for so many who didn't abandon him, he also made a silent vow in his heart to achieve something in the aerospace field!

On the other hand, Absek's close associate—Internal Affairs Committee Member Wadia, after bringing his family from Poluo Country's Wolf State to Jinjaron Harbor, took a similar path to Absek.

Unlike Absek, he didn't wait in Jinjaron Harbor for the committee to dismiss him but proactively wrote a resignation letter to the Poluo Country's embassy in Jinjaron Harbor.

His war has ended.

Unsure of what to do next, after much thought, he bought a ticket and, after settling his family, went alone to Potato Harbor, joining his "old leader" in the "second venture."

Absek did not mind that this intelligence officer's specialization did not suit his role, and warmly welcomed him, appointing him as head of the Supervision Department, responsible for risk control of confidential projects and background checks of confidential employees.

These tasks were mandated by the Alliance.

After all, hoping to buy off key technology from the Alliance with just a few million silver coins is somewhat unrealistic.

Regardless of whether this technology was unearthed from beneath relics or borrowed from allies, these things belong to all of the Alliance's citizens.

Anyone can use and improve upon these technologies, even registering their own patents based on them, provided they undergo a background check.

This check involves various fields such as founder background, funding source, and application scenarios and isn't conducted by economic departments but directly overseen by the Guards Corps.

Additionally, the Alliance's intelligence department collaborates long-term with the supervisory departments of confidential non-public enterprises to jointly eliminate potential risks of technology leakage.

As the former head of the intelligence department during the war periods in Poluo Country, Wadia, due to his work, had contact with many members of the Alliance Guards Corps, and was quite adept at coordinating with them.

With such an impressive resume, taking a role as the head of the supervision department of a startup company is undoubtedly overqualified, but Wadia does not feel any regret. Instead, he is delighted to once again receive the trust and appreciation from his former leader.

Although he had considered other jobs, the only time he felt at ease was when he was next to Absek, without having to tread carefully just because everyone around him was smart.

Perhaps this is the charm of personality.

Or rather, the ability to make talented people feel secure in dedicating themselves to you...

...

As days passed by, February arrived soon, and the blossoming season of spring in the northern hemisphere was just around the corner.

The battle situation on the West Coast of the Great Desert was still intense, but the severity was no longer as fierce as at the end of last year.

The Southern Legion's military power was at its end, both in manpower and materials, it had reached the point of exhaustion.

Meanwhile, the Company on the other hand was getting more vigorous as the fight went on, with reinforcements to the front line increasing from the initial two divisions to ten divisions, involving over a hundred thousand citizens from Ideal City directly in the ground war against the Southern Legion!

The last time the Company launched a large-scale military operation outside was a century and a half ago when the mutants had just fled the laboratory...

Faced with the Company's mechanized forces and the Alliance's continuous assaults from various corps, the troops the Southern Legion sent to the front were like dry kindling thrown into the fire, unable to mount effective resistance, ending up beaten black and blue.

It wasn't just a failure on the front lines, the same was true on the battlefield of public opinion.

Although the Southern Corps Victory Report was still racking its brains concocting lies about the imminent victory, as these lies were shattered time and time again, even the soldiers of the Southern Legion no longer believed what was written in the newspaper.

Not only that.

The Weilante troops who, no matter how tough the situation, could always fight until the last moment, had finally begun to surrender in organized formations.

These surrendering units were mostly companies of over a hundred people.

They were either tasked with impossible missions or were unable to find their commanders, or were simply thrown into battle with just a rifle.

Of course, these reasons might all be secondary.

The key point was those fanatical militarists, who had already burnt out in previous battles.

The remaining individuals were either young soldiers or civilians with only basic military training thrown to the front line, or some aliens who had no desire to be buried with the Legion.

Almost three hundred thousand regular troops and servant army were surrounded by the Company's forces in the northwest corner of the Great Desert, and the remaining ten-plus thousand troops were compressed near Yavente City, retreating toward the urban area to tighten their defenses.

The southern part of the Batoya Province had already opened wide to the Alliance, and truckloads of supplies were being sent along the railroad and highway along the edge of the Great Desert to the front lines in southern Batoya Province.

This included not just military supplies, but also some engineering machinery for clearing bunkers and minefields.

Like large bulldozers and forklifts, etc.

Resolving the remaining forces of the Southern Legion was just the first step. After that, they had to carry out post-war reconstruction work in the Batoya Province area.

Simply killing the beasts won't eliminate the savagery.

They still needed to sow the seeds of civilization there, allowing the new order to replace the old one.

Outside Yavente City.

The Death Legion, having traveled by truck to the front, had already reached the battle position first.

Seeing Debt Big Eyes, carrying big bags in both hands, getting off the truck, the chatting players all paused, casting surprised glances his way.

"Woah!"

"Why do you have so much luggage?"

"Goodness, are you moving?!"

Debt Big Eyes, embarrassed, smiled and tried to hide the bags behind his back.

"What are you talking about, it's just some supplies—"

Before he could finish, Midnight with Umbrella without Knife had already sneakily unzipped one of the bags behind his back, not expecting "whoosh," the contents poured out like an avalanche.

"Woah! What the hell!" Seeing the things scattered all over the ground, Debt Big Eyes panicked and reached out to pick them up, but the sheer amount was overwhelming for him to handle at once.

"Sorry, sorry, bro, I was just joking, why don't you wrap these things up..." Midnight with Umbrella without Knife squatted down to help him pick up, but at this moment, Construction Kid and Brick picked up a palm-sized packaging box from the ground.

The packaging looked delicate, with a carefully tied bow on top.

Construction Kid and Brick shook the box, looking bewildered at Big Eyes.

"...Chocolate? Why did you bring so much chocolate?"

Most of the other similar boxes probably also contained chocolates or candies, roughly about a hundred, no wonder the bags were stuffed full.

Debt Big Eyes' face instantly turned as red as a monkey's butt, snatching the delicately packaged chocolate gift box, stammering out an excuse.

"Cough Cough! Isn't Yavente City experiencing famine, I read in the newspaper that many people are starving, just wanted to see if anyone needed help...you know, just trying to spread some joy, you guys get it."

Seeing his flimsy excuse, several good buddies burst into laughter.

"Pfft! Trying to spread joy and happiness, huh."

"Tsk, your excuse...might as well say you're afraid your harem might go hungry."

"+1, If this guy's motive is that pure, I'll eat a lump right here!"

"Woah! Can you guys not be so nasty! I'm very pure, okay!" Debt Big Eyes blushed, desperately trying to defend himself, but no one believed him.

Just then, Construction Kid and Brick, who was still treasure hunting on the ground, looked up again, confusedly waving a bag in hand.

"Then why did you bring menstrual pads?"

Outlaw Maniac: "???"

Laplace: "Woah!"

Madame, You Don't Want That: "Hahaha! Didn't expect that from you, Big Eyes!"

Seeing the crowd laughing 'til they cried, the roller-washer had no choice but to face-palm.

"...It's like you guys are meeting this guy for the first time."

Isn't it just wanting to help some homeless girls, say it clearly, what's there to fear!

Worst case, give your helmet to someone in need.

Getting fed up, Edge Shoveling came over from the side, coughing once as he spoke.

"Though the Southern Legion is cornered, don't underestimate our enemy. Each and every one of them are like cornered beasts now, who knows what surprises they have for us in the city."

Laplace smiled at those words.

"Isn't that perfect! They'll directly send us back to the City of Dawn!"

Outlaw Maniac: "Hahaha!"

I'm the First to Die: "You're a natural talent!"

They are players.

Immortal spirits.

What is a fatal "mortal serum" to ordinary people is nothing more than a three-day wait for them.

They fought from Akale County in Poluo Province all the way here, not a single one of them had ever uttered a discouraging word, and now with victory at hand, they naturally have no reason to be afraid.

Edge Shoveling also chuckled along with the group, then turned his gaze toward the direction of Yavente City in the distance.

That fortress of steel resembled reefs hidden beneath turbulent waters.

As expected, this would be the final battle...

-

(Low fever, shorter today...)

Chapter 963: The Southern Legion at the End of Its Rope

The silent frontline was shrouded in a somber stillness, with the trenches etched into the earth resembling unsheathed blades.

The Alliance took only five days to completely encircle Yavente City with trenches, cutting off all possible tunnels leading to the outside world.

The Southern Legion soldiers at the frontline witnessed with their own eyes the engineering machines, equipped with tracks on both sides and half-human-height drill heads, digging into the ground amidst the earth-shaking rumbles, and "pulling" the trenches out right under their noses as if defecating.

Now the Alliance soldiers had gradually taken their positions, and the sound of artillery echoed like increasingly urgent drum beats.

Without any surprises...

This would be the final battle.

Quincy's heart held no fear, no terror, instead it held a hint of relief.

About half a year ago, his 34th Ten-Thousand Troop unit was routed by the Skeleton Corps near Lidebu County in Poluo Line Shizhou City, marking the beginning of his nightmare.

First came the humiliation from the frontline soldiers of the 36th Ten-Thousand Troop unit, followed by disdainful looks from the logistics staff at West Sail Harbor.

Even though he fought desperately until the last moment, even though he tried to explain that his opponents were Alliance volunteers, not Poluo people, in the eyes of his fellow citizens, he still couldn't shake off the label of a coward, remaining a disgrace to the Weilante people.

When he took his discharge letter to Evernight Harbor, his fellow citizens there taunted him, asking why he didn't just die.

The young men of the Southern Legion were all rushing forward with enthusiasm and loyalty, while he stood out awkwardly, like a wrong-way driver on a highway.

Later, he transferred to a convalescent facility in the outskirts of Bartoya Province to recover among other injured soldiers back from the frontline.

Though there were some occasional madmen having fits there, most people were just quietly lying on their hospital beds, staring blankly at the ceiling.

It was only then that he felt a touch of peace, after being kicked around like a ball.

Though it wasn't long before he realized it wasn't peace.

It was oblivion.

Not only was Teil forgetting them.

Almost everyone in the Southern Legion conspired in a mutual silence, shunning them as "failures" at the fringes of society.

They were like sugarcane pulp spit out from a juicer, thrown into trash bins lined with white plastic bags, rotting unseen in the corners.

Ironically, just as he was resigning to his fate, the very people who had abandoned him dug him out of the trash, awarding him the Centurion's medal.

The Southern Legion was at its wits' end.

Those who had once burned must burn again.

Quincy had no other thoughts in his mind, silently loading his rifle.

Hurry up—

End this torment!

The widespread artillery fire finally drew near, and the deafening explosion sounds and billowing smoke caused the rookies behind the cover to pale in unison.

Some even wet their pants in fright.

At that moment, a hoarse roar erupted from the intermittent broadcasts.

"Warriors! Behind us is Yavente City!"

"There live your parents, your children, your loved ones!"

"Our enemies wish to erase us from this planet! We must not let them succeed!"

"What we defend today is not only the glory of the legion! But also the honor of Marshal Julius! The dignity of the Weilant people!"

"Fight! Sons of Julius! Let them open their eyes and see, the Weilant people are invincible!"

The resolve for battle reignited in the eyes of the young men who had wet their pants, and even the elders past their fifties shakily reached out, painfully picking up the guns leaning against the cover.

Quincy's heart, however, remained undisturbed.

Such words he had heard too many times and had long become numb to these rousing statements.

Suddenly, a strange thought crossed his mind.

Perhaps—

In the past, the survivors of Yavente City had also spoken similar words.

History, like a circle, unconsciously rounded back to where it began.

"Prepare for battle—!"

Almost simultaneously with the hoarse roar, a shell landed beside the cover near Quincy.

Two rookies, who had mustered the courage to fire from behind cover due to the command, were hit directly, flying backward like kites with broken strings.

"Take cover! Stay in the shelter! Shoot when they get close!"

Quincy, eyes bloodshot, glared furiously at the frightened new recruits, his roar driving them back into the shelter.

One shell after another rained down, thoroughly sweeping their positions from top to bottom.

Meanwhile, dozens of bulldozers simultaneously started their engines, pushing mounds of sandbags like small hills with massive shovels, advancing toward the edge of the defensive line in Yavente City's suburbs.

Observing the Alliance's position through the gaps in the cover, Quincy's pupils shrank sharply, clearly not expecting them to use such a tactic.

An anti-tank soldier positioned an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher, pulling the trigger towards one of the bulldozers.

The speeding rocket struck straight and true against the sandbag wall that resembled a shield, yet only burst into a string of orange-red sparks without stirring up even a ripple.

This type of armor-piercing rounds that utilize metal jets to damage targets has a miraculous effect against hard armor, but when faced with sandbags, it's completely ineffective.

The tanks of the Southern Legion have been depleted, leaving almost only infantry and light armor in all of Yavente City. Facing such a condescending tactic, the officers of the Southern Legion were utterly at a loss for words.

The soldiers of the Death Legion stepped out of the trenches one after another, grabbing their rifles and following behind these cheap yet effective bulldozers.

On the other side, the armored formations of the Skeleton Corps also launched an attack!

One by one, the Chimera armored vehicles led the charge under a milky white smoke screen. They pressed forward with their 37mm rapid-fire cannons, opening fire at the defenses within the town.

Streams of orange-yellow tracers danced over the ground, suppressing the thousand team stationed at the town's edge so much that they couldn't lift their heads up.

The bulldozers advancing from the front finally got close to the edge of the position, and the leader of the Edge Shoveling loudly shouted into the communication channel.

"For the Alliance!"

"Awoo awoo awoo!"

The sound of the charge horn and battle cries resounded everywhere, as nearly a thousand Death Legion players launched an assault from the cover toward the nearby Southern Legion positions.

The distance between both sides was already less than ten steps!

Faced with the increasingly intersecting crossfire, a wall of defenses had already lost its utility.

No matter—

Close-quarters combat in urban warfare is exactly what the Death Legion excels at!

Almost at the same time as the Death Legion launched their charge, the machine guns on the Vellante people's frontline also began to "rat-tat-tat" furiously.

Faced with the suppressive fire of the Alliance, they had been lying dormant under the ruins for a long time, and now they finally reached the moment they could come out and fight.

Flash lines of deadly tracers like willow catkins blown by the wind, advanced through the noisy artillery fire towards the Death Legion, claiming several lives in a matter of breaths.

However, in those few breaths of time, the Alliance's shells seemed almost guided, falling near those few machine gun bunkers.

Explosive roars and billowing smoke arose one after another, and the flickering flames almost flicked against the edge of our soldiers' lines, sending those machine gun bunkers along with the nearby concrete fortifications up into the sky.

The new recruits of the Southern Legion were dumbfounded by the blasts, and even the veteran soldiers were at a loss.

Including Quincy—

Looking at those Alliance soldiers charging along with the artillery fire, disbelief was written all over his face.

These guys...

Aren't they afraid of death?!

The truth indeed was so.

Those soldiers donning gas masks and wearing bullet-proof armor seemed fearless, charging head-on into the barrage of bullets and shells from the Southern Legion.

First contact with the frontline!

The Alliance soldiers plunging into the concrete ruins immediately engaged in close combat with the Southern Legion soldiers hiding behind the shooting cover!

Gunshots rang out in succession, with the booming of shotguns and the fusillade of submachine guns and rifles.

A soldier wearing a gas mask was riddled by machine gun fire, but before he even hit the ground, another soldier wearing a gas mask charged forward, using a shotgun to blast through the brains of that machine gunner.

The entire battlefield was a scene of chaos!

Blood and brain matter flew everywhere, sticking to the shattered concrete defensive line.

Even the most fanatical soldiers under Teil were scared out of their wits at this moment.

This bunch seemed endless in number!

Under the fierce assault of the Death Legion, the first line of defense was swiftly breached.

Without any hesitation, Brother Mole seized the opportunity and immediately issued an attack order.

Escorted by thirty Chimera armored vehicles and twelve tanks, moving forward like a steel-forged dagger, plunged through the mortal gash opened by the Death Legion.

"Hahaha! Die!"

The gunner crouched inside the Chimera armored vehicle squeezed the trigger, and in an instant, over a dozen 37mm armor-piercing incendiary rounds obliterated an entire ten-man team hiding behind cover!

The tunnel covered in crumbled bricks and tiles released the burnt smell of grilled meat, and the ground was littered with charred black corpses.

A Southern Legion soldier lying amidst the dead raised a rocket launcher in an attempt to retaliate, but stuck at a safe distance unable to penetrate the Chimera's armor, he was instead shot in the head by infantry following the armored vehicle.

Facing the armored units right at their doorsteps, the resisting Southern Legion soldiers fell into despair, either launching suicidal charges or abandoning weapons to retreat backward.

The entire battle swiftly escalated from a heated struggle to a one-sided overwhelm, and even the artillery fire from afar gradually subsided.

In less than half an hour, two player legions seized the main southern entrance of Yavente City, decimating three stationed thousand team units to the point of disarray.

Edge Shoveling gathered the captured prisoners in a relatively open space, then instructed the remaining brothers to use sandbags from the bulldozers to construct simple defense positions, guarded against the Southern Legion soldiers regrouping and counterattacking from the rear.

However, the possibility was pretty low.

From the equipment confiscated from the frontline, these three thousand team units' weapons and ammunition together couldn't even match the garrison forces at Evernight Harbor, and the quality of soldiers goes without saying; many were just sent to the frontline to fill numbers.

If this had been half a year ago, an assault battle like this would take at least half a day before victory was decided.

After conducting a simple interrogation of the prisoners, Edge Shoveling walked over to Brother Mole, sharing the intelligence obtained from the prisoners with him.

"...The units we faced were three thousand team units under the command of Centurion Baldwin of the Local Defense Force's 200th Ten-thousand Men Team."

"Baldwin?" Brother Mole looked a bit surprised, "The name sounds kind of familiar."

Edge Shoveling smiled and said.

"Province of Poluo, the War Zone champion of the 37th ten thousand troops, Akale County's great victory, we caught Wolfe of the 36th ten thousand troops, made the reinforcing 37th ten thousand troops run... remember? He's considered an old acquaintance."

Upon hearing Akale County's great victory, Brother Mole finally recalled the name and showed a look of realization.

"Oh oh, I remember... what the hell! Damn it! Wasn't I waiting for resurrection when you guys fought that battle?"

Apparently, it was that war criminal named Wolfe who led the 36th ten thousand troops and picked up his head.

But that guy didn't have a good ending either, now serving a sentence at the POW Camp in Jinjaron Harbor.

"Haha." Edge Shoveling laughed heartily, "Seems like he really is!"

The battle was considered a turning point in the Poluo Province War Zone, and the first battle of the Death Legion in the war zone.

At that time, Survivor's Daily spent three full pages describing the entire battle, where bodies floated and rivers of blood flowed at the river's bend!

Speaking of which, it was during that period he met Yishel...

Thinking of that deceased acquaintance, Edge Shoveling's smile gradually faded, and his raised lips unknowingly drooped.

Walking on this path, some people suddenly just disappear.

"...It's already the final battle, I thought they would bring out some new tricks."

Looking at the unsmiling Edge, Brother Mole could probably guess he was reminiscing someone, thus sensibly changed the topic.

"What new tricks could there be? If they had such a thing, they would have used it long ago."

A portable anti-tank missile with tracking function might count as one.

With that, the Southern Legion successfully destroyed two of their No. 3 tanks.

Yet so what even then?

Total war is a clash of systems, one or two pieces of equipment or one or two strong individuals can hardly sway the war's direction.

Even weapons like the "Mortal Serum," a strategic-level lethal weapon, can't achieve that.

Edge Shoveling, still a bit unwilling, said.

"But aren't most games like this? The strongest parts are always at the end..."

Brother Mole, escaping from the canyon, made a helpless expression.

"You also said it's just common games."

RTS games are not.

Including strategy, management, and farming games, they are not.

For example, Civilization 6.

Once a player first unlocks nuclear weapons, unless aiming for achievements, cultural victory, or space victories, this game is essentially over.

The early painstakingly gathered snowball often becomes the curse compressing game time in the late game, the optimal solution is just to start a new game... and this is a curse any strategy game can't escape.

But watching the snowball gradually grow bigger is quite interesting, if no matter how you roll the snowball, it's only as big as a booger, the hardships they endured along this path would be meaningless, right?

"As for me... now I just want to see what it's like five light years away, to see if Light really baked the pancake."

Edge Shoveling scratched the back of his head.

"What I'm most worried about now is whether there will be an open beta."

Brother Mole said with a smile.

"Haha, does it make any difference? The Wasteland Era is ending."

The fragmented Army has only this stubborn mule of the Southern Legion left living in the old era, there should no longer be opponents worthy of the Alliance's full force.

Eastern Empire? New Federation?

Consider them competitors.

Poluo Country?

After they've played Big Escape enough, who knows how many decades later it will be.

Of course, at this time if Ah Guang wanted to do some work, he could rename the game "Starry Sky OL" or "New Era OL" and start another round of closed testing.

But then, what's the point of him making such a big effort?

Even now, he still doesn't know which mysterious company developed this game, maybe it's truly like rumors say, a blind box gifted by higher civilizations to humanity.

Or maybe Ah Guang...

Actually doesn't exist?

This strange thought suddenly popped into Brother Mole's head, he suddenly had the urge to draw a comic.

It's been a long time since he drew, his hands have grown rusty.

Just when these two old guys were lamenting how time flies, almost finishing the campaign yet still not knowing that day Crow and Mutated Leeches actually happened, Elena, after cleaning up the battlefield, was prepared to lie at the mobile save point.

Just at that moment, he suddenly saw a familiar face among the captured prisoners squatting on the ground, and couldn't help but stop.

Looking at the dusty young man, he greeted him.

"Hey, have I seen you somewhere before?"

Squatting on the ground, Quincy raised his head and looked blankly at Elena, clearly stunned.

Gradually, his expression changed.

"You... you are..."

"Oh, I remember," Elena's face showed a mischievous smile, making a shooting gesture with her hand, "You are that rookie from the... 34th Ten Thousand Leader team that day."

It was quite the coincidence, meeting near the railway station on the northwest side of Reed Bull County then.

The entire Skeleton Corps was reduced from full strength to just him as the last one standing, and the same was true for the 34th Ten Thousand Leader team, leaving just this one survivor.

Since the strategic goal had been achieved, killing or sparing this guy would be the same, Elena, for the sake of fate, let him go, not expecting to meet again.

Quincy was completely dumbfounded, a look of incomprehension on his face.

The look seemed to ask why.

"...You're still alive?"

He personally saw the rocket artillery from the 36th Ten Thousand Leader team cover the entire position!

The intense heat even turned steel into molten iron!

How could this guy still be alive?!

Elena, however, did not answer his question, only scratched her chin and muttered to herself.

"Alive... hmm, that's a very interesting question. So-called dying to be reborn, but can someone who's not dead be truly considered alive? This question has actually troubled me for a long time. What am I to 'this world,' a foodie?"

After thinking for a long time without an answer, he squatted down and patted the young man's shoulder with a smile.

"Why don't you think about it for us? Anyway, when you reach the New Era, you'll have plenty of time to do this task."

Quincy stared at him dazedly, then slowly nodded.

He had indeed heard rumors about the Alliance using clones for battle, but he had never seen such a smart clone.

Seeing this NPC behave so obediently, Elena laughed and placed a candy in his hand.

"Consider it a prepaid deposit, no need to thank me, I got it from Brother Big Eyes... hahaha!"

After speaking, he waved and walked away, humming a tune with a rifle slung over his shoulder.

The fortified fortress had already cracked open, and the increasingly close sound of artillery gave hope to the survivors huddling under the ruins to end it all.

Meanwhile, in the north of Bartoya Province, a grand landing operation was also underway.

Forced to defect to Weilante Province months ago for refusing to shoot their compatriots, the 117th Ten Thousand Leader team, led by Commander Barfica, returned in landing craft.

Seeing the warships lined up across the sea, Commander Mur of the 10th Ten Thousand Leader team, leading the Servant Army, was filled with despair.

It was the South Sea Alliance fleet!

While he hesitated, the long ship cannons and cruise missiles had already bombarded his position.

The roaring artillery tore the beachfront defenses to pieces, and the 117th Ten Thousand Leader team reboarded the place they had fled from!

Besides the infantry charging onto the beach, there were "Short Snout Crocodile" amphibious armored vehicles from the South Sea Alliance North Island, and "Sea Lion" powered armor using deuterium-tritium fusion reactors!

Facing this steel torrent sweeping up from the waves, the 10th Ten Thousand Leader team almost collapsed instantly, unable to even mount effective resistance and scattered in disarray.

At the same time, impassioned shouts echoed in the communication channel of the 117th Ten Thousand Leader team.

"For Marshal Julius' glory!"

"For the glory of the Weilante people!"

"For liberation!"

"Let's rescue our compatriots from hell! Crush these rats!"

Now the Weilant Alliance had weathered the refugee onslaught initiated by the Southern Legion, and the Eastern Coalition already lay siege to Yavente City, so they no longer needed to hold back.

The Triumph City Leader, "Pangolin," stood on the steps of the Glory Court delivering a speech, denouncing Teil including fabricating the West Sail Port tragedy and using civilians as cannon fodder and such crimes, and on behalf of the Weilant Alliance declared war on Teil and his followers!

The initial landing was only the 117th Ten Thousand Leader team, soon twenty more Ten Thousand Leader teams would head to the front line!

Unable to resist the fierce offensive, Mur could only retreat towards Yavente City.

The Weilant Alliance troops advanced south like breaking bamboo, corresponding with the Coalition already attacking the outskirts of Yavente City!

Not just on the ground—

The siege against the Southern Legion's Iron Airships continued.

With the Academy's help, the Alliance successfully mounted phase guns onto trains, and facing an irreversible defeat, of the twenty remaining airships of the Southern Legion, ten have defected.

Half joined the Eastern Empire, while the rest defected to Triumph City.

Now Teil was like a tiger locked in a cage with teeth pulled, with no chance to turn the tables.

Even his trump card, the "Mortal Serum," was pinned down by physical isolation methods in the southern part of Weilante Province, becoming a joke worse than the red soil of Lowell.

He exhausted the Southern Legion's last trump card.

No one was left to charge with him anymore...

Chapter 964: Madness at the End of the Road

On the northern beach of Bartoya Province, soldiers from the Welch Governorate arrived on a makeshift dock constructed by the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team, taking temporary control of fishing boats.

The man in military attire held a pair of binoculars in his hands, squinting as he scanned the surroundings. It took him quite a while before he finally squeezed a sentence out of his throat.

"... Is this Bartoya Province?"

His name was Newman, the Centurion of the 10th Ten-thousand Men Team of the Weilant Alliance.

Though he served in Triumph City, many years ago he had been an instructor for a time on the northern beaches of Bartoya Province.

He remembered a small town called Rhino Horn, named because the beach resembled a rhino's head; when he had spare time, he would rent a small boat there and go sea fishing with a few friends.

But now there was no sign of any village or even the concentration camp that existed for a time—cleanly dismantled. The once beautiful beach now only held bombed-out concrete bunkers, craters, and sandbag fortifications.

Everything had changed.

It had turned into hell.

The Centurion of the 11th Ten-thousand Men Team also came ashore, lighting a cigarette from a lighter as he squinted and took a drag, looking at the land that had changed beyond recognition.

"Quite a change, isn't it? Everything is back to two hundred years ago when the war had just ended. On the bright side... at least Teil lacks so much high technology, and at least we haven't ended up like that."

Newman moved his Adam's apple slightly, nodding slowly.

"Mm."

He still couldn't comprehend why Teil had initiated such a foolish war, but suddenly understood why the Academy had hidden those pre-war technologies...

...

Tens of thousands of troops filed through the breakthrough opened by the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team in the northern part of Bartoya Province.

Seeing the troops from Triumph City, the survivors along the way joyfully cried as they came forward to greet them.

They wished to offer food and drink, but unfortunately, they had little nutrition paste left at home and may have carried strains of the "Mortal Serum."

Barfica of the 117th Ten-thousand Men Team ordered the soldiers to distribute some food to the survivors, and then handed them over to the unit responsible for establishing the isolation zones.

They not only had to take down Teil but also clean up the mess Teil had left behind.

Thick black smoke dotted the southern part of Yavente City, where iron airships hung in the low sky firing at the sky and ground, accompanied by the occasional "wooing" roar of rockets.

Even the iron airships now struggled against the dense assaults of the Alliance.

Due to the lack of close-in defense ammunition, one airship was even hit by guided weapons, breaching the firepower net and striking the gun deck below the iron airship.

Brilliant fireworks erupted instantly, rolling smoke engulfing half the airship.

Though the airship's captain reacted quickly, ordering the jettison of the exploding gun deck in time, the airship's structural components still suffered severe damage in the explosion, ultimately falling amidst the desperate gazes of soldiers to crash onto a pile of ruins.

Deflection shield could not provide absolute defense against missiles, only slowing them down.

The iron airships primarily relied on fixed machine guns and 20mm anti-aircraft cannons to handle missiles, hoping to shoot them down actively when they confronted the deflection shield around the airship.

This sounds reckless, but it was indeed quite effective.

However, during long-term confrontations with the Army forces, the Alliance realized a solution.

They replaced the missile's casing with armored steel.

As long as the guidance heads and power components could withstand a burst from a 20mm cannon, it was enough.

The rest was left to chance and quantity...

With the fall of the first iron airship, air superiority began to shift towards the Alliance.

The Homeland Defense Forces' 200th Ten-thousand Men Team launched a round of counter-attacks against the Death Legion's positions, but the counter-offensive lasted less than an hour and was forced to stop with the Skeleton Corps' maneuvering units penetrating their rear.

With ammunition replenished, the Death Legion resumed their advance, occupying the ground they had chewed, searching for any remaining enemies hiding behind their fortifications.

Even though Baldwin, the Centurion of the Southern Legion, continued to lead his men in valiant resistance, anyone could see their inevitable fate.

The outcome was decided.

The difference was merely in which day in February it would be finalized.

Objectively speaking, Teil's unscrupulous means managed to accomplish some tasks, albeit not many.

For example, before the final decisive battle, he "evacuated" the civilians of Bartoya Province, greatly reducing potential civilian casualties in street battles.

Though this is merely a result.

After all, Teil's intention was clearly not to reduce civilian casualties by doing this, but rather to drag survivors from the Wasteland from one mire into a deeper one.

It's just that his malicious intentions result well.

On another note, Weilant soldiers disdained mingling with civilians of the Weilant Alliance; some deserters even shed their uniforms entirely, absent the inclination to hide a gun while shedding their uniform, not doing what the Family Meeting did in Snake State and Mammoth State.

Furthermore, it significantly reduced civilian casualties by eighty percent.

Yet, despite this, the pain inflicted by the war on Yavente City's residents remained heavy.

Nevertheless, compared to the heavenly Neutron Feather Flow, it was far more merciful...

...

68th floor of the "Tower of the World."

Standing before the alloy wall, Teil gazed expressionlessly at the holographic window in front of him.

The war crept closer to his feet, while his loyal warriors were either being systematically decimated or systematically surrendering, seemingly as if the power bestowed by "Perfect Life forms" technology was fake.

A profound sense of powerlessness engulfed Teil, followed by anger and frustration.

For the first time, he, who wielded supreme power, experienced the sensation of a steering wheel that refused to heed commands.

Just then, urgent footsteps rang from behind him as Augustus, the Chief of Staff, stood before him and saluted with a pained expression, quickly reporting.

"Honorable Legion Leader sir... Triumph City has declared war on us, the defected 117th Ten-thousand Men Team has landed on the northern beach of Bartoya Province, and the Servant Army's 10th Ten-thousand Men Team responsible for defense has been annihilated. According to intelligence from the front lines, at least four Ten-thousand Men Teams are uncontactable; they may have surrendered to Triumph City..."

Augustus employed as gentle language as possible.

Yet no matter how gentle the language, it could not alter the dire predicament the Southern Legion faced that moment.

It's more than just running out of oil and letting the lamp go out.

Perhaps the term 'besieged on all sides' is more appropriate...

Teil clenched his fist tightly, his bones creaking, and only after a long while did he slowly relax.

Taking a deep breath, he turned his back to Augustus and spoke in a low voice.

"Understood."

Augustus waited quietly for Teil's instructions, but after waiting for a long time, there was no follow-up.

The chief of staff couldn't help but show a hint of anxiety between his brows, unconsciously using an urging tone.

"Commander... the homeland defense forces can no longer hold up, and the Allied forces are pressing towards us... I don't know if I should be saying this, but we should make preparations for the future as soon as possible."

"For the future?" Teil turned around and looked at the anxious Augustus.

Facing those cold and sharp eyes, Augustus held his breath for a moment, cold sweat creeping from his forehead.

He quickly lowered his head, trembling and awaiting Teil's reprimand.

Unexpectedly, Teil did not do so this time.

"Go back."

Augustus was stunned, unable to react for a moment, and then his face gradually turned pale.

Go back?

At this critical moment... the entire Yavente City is surrounded, where could he possibly return to?

Reading the meaning in those eyes, Augustus nodded tremblingly, squeezing out a weak "yes" from his lips before stiffly heading to the door.

He should have anticipated this result long ago.

He was the Chief of Staff of the Southern Legion; above him, there was no "above" to rely on.

From the moment he had exhausted all his tactics, the fate of the Southern Legion had already been sealed.

At least in the last moments, he wanted to stay with his family and move on to another world together with them...

Watching Augustus leave, Teil turned his gaze towards the holographic screen, slowly closing his eyes.

Why?

What exactly went wrong?

Was it because of that Pangolin?

If it weren't for that guy stepping onto the steps of the Glory Court and publicly announcing Julius' death, leading to the once united legion falling apart, how could the Southern Legion end up in such a sorry state…

Initially, he thought so, but upon careful consideration, it didn't seem to make sense.

The once united legion...

When was the legion ever united?

"Honorable Emperor Julius... All your children have abandoned you, and now only we Vellante people remember your teachings."

He sighed softly, switched off the holographic screen before him, and walked briskly into the adjacent laboratory.

Located on the 68th floor of the Tower of the World, the laboratory is the hotbed for cultivating the "Mortal Serum," where Martin, who placed his last card on the table, resides.

As Teil walked into the laboratory, Martin looked slightly uneasy, but he still nodded slightly to express his respect.

"Mr. Teil..."

Teil asked expressionlessly.

"Is there any new progress?"

Martin awkwardly shook his head.

"We... are still trying, but unfortunately, there is no significant progress at the moment."

The design of the Mortal Serum was already quite perfect, but unfortunately, it couldn't be spread and was stopped at the southern beaches of the Welch Governorate.

The Alliance's and Academy's researchers managed to stabilize the patients' conditions using only a small amount of drugs, while Triumph City's experience displayed in establishing quarantine zones was something they initially hadn't anticipated.

Perhaps the path of infectious disease was not a good idea; there are too many uncertainties in the Wasteland, and for the Enlightenment Society, it was a lesson.

They should employ more efficient methods...

But the method of the "Torch Plan" didn't work, nor did the Torch Church's methods. What other methods are there?

Should they just blow up this planet?

That... seems a bit too extreme.

What the Enlightenment Society needs is a pure planet, not a broken asteroid belt.

Moreover, destroying a planet isn't that easy.

While Martin was lost in thought, Teil had already approached him.

"You all should continue working hard, bring me my Biological Power Armor."

That was another gift from the Enlightenment Society to the Southern Legion — the legacy of the Torch Church.

Actually, it was more like borrowing from them to lay eggs.

The Enlightenment Society planned to use the production capacity of the Southern Legion and the ongoing series of wars to integrate shelter technology into the Torch Church's Biological Power Armor for modifications.

After all, the Enlightenment Society's individual combat capability was too weak, and they had suffered a loss before. The gray mutants and Wasteland Wanderers of the Great Desert were of little use, and producing Power Armor required a complete supply chain, so they had to come up with some alternative solutions.

However...

That Biological Power Armor was, after all, an experimental model, and it had yet to be tested on the battlefield.

Martin looked troubled.

"But that armor isn't finished yet—"

Before his words could even fall, Teil's hand was already placed on his shoulder.

"There's no time, take me there."

The undisguised killing intent made Martin involuntarily hold his breath, not daring to utter another word of refusal.

He swallowed slowly, nodding stiffly.

"Please, please follow me..."

Teil released his grip on Martin's collar, signaling with his eyes for him to lead the way.

The laboratory was silent; the researchers averted their gazes, not daring to make eye contact with Teil.

The two of them walked one after the other through rows of experimental devices and culture tanks, heading deep into the lab, soon arriving before a silver-white metal cabinet.

Biological power armors are different from regular power armors; the latter are just auxiliary equipment that can be taken off at any time, while the former need to be connected to the wearer's internal circulation system, making them difficult to remove if not careful.

Martin nervously approached the control panel, tapping the interface twice with his index finger. Soon, rows of green signal lights lit up on the surface of the silver-white metal cabinet.

Accompanied by a hiss of leaking air, a straight crevice appeared on the flat metal surface, and the tightly closed alloy doors soon opened to the sides.

At the same time the alloy doors opened, scarlet flesh extruded from the gap, its swelling and rolling resembling boiling lava.

Even Teil couldn't help but frown upon witnessing the sanity-eroding scene.

"Can this thing really be worn on a person?"

Martin nervously nodded.

"Theoretically... it can be. The Torch Church used it on the battlefield in Haiya Province, you must have heard?"

That thing gave the Allied forces quite a headache, and even nearly ambushed the Alliance's Manager — or so the Torch Church folks claimed.

Teil nodded expressionlessly.

He certainly knew.

After all, back then he had sent a 902mm heavy cannon over as a show of force to the Southern Legion.

Who would've thought, as time passed, it would soon be the Southern Legion's time of dire straits.

"How do you use this thing?"

Hearing Teil's inquiry, the fully tensed Martin paused, subconsciously replying.

"Just contact it and respond to its desire... Wait, you intend to use it yourself?!"

"Yes."

As the words fell, Teil had already moved forward, placing his hand on the scarlet flesh.

Blood-hued tendrils extended from the flesh, wrapping around his fingers, spreading up his arm, as if becoming a part of his body.

Simultaneously, a massive wave of negative emotion surged into his mind like a tide.

Slaughter!

Devour!

Destroy!

Consume everything!

A painful groan escaped from Teil's mouth, but quickly the low growl transformed into pleasure.

The ripple emanating from that indescribable flesh perfectly aligned with his innermost desire!

Yes—

Perhaps that was what he truly wanted, deep down he yearned to destroy everything, obliterating all that blocked his path.

Including those who opposed him.

Even those who supported him.

And even the Weilante people.

He wasn't driven insane, but rather naturally absorbed the waves and energy emanating from the flesh, wholeheartedly embracing the madness capable of annihilating everything.

If victory is unattainable—

Then let it be destruction!

Defeated by the Wasteland, the Weilante people were no longer the superior race; they were undoubtedly the most inferior, and inferior races should be weeded out completely by the jungle!

That's the choice of nature!

The sole path to higher life forms!

At this moment, Teil resembled an enraged, disappointed racehorse owner, determined to kill his best horse for failing to win the race.

If no one is willing to charge with him again—

Then he'd personally take on the task!

The scarlet flesh had already spread across Teil's body, extending from the floor beneath his feet in all directions.

In that instant, he seemed to have become a monster.

Or rather, a species that did not belong to Earth.

Martin's face was written with terror, shuffling backward with legs heavy as lead and trembling.

This is definitely not a power armor!?

Something must have gone wrong!

Suddenly, he remembered that in previous experiments, he had experimentally added a gene sequence from the Mutant mucor mother nest, suspected to enhance mimicry and recovery capabilities of life forms, into the power armor.

Speaking of that code, it's been ages.

It was initially obtained by the Pioneers of the Torch Church from the Mother Lair of Qingquan City—

"Quick, disconnect from it!"

Martin shouted, grabbing a liquid nitrogen canister from the side. Without a second thought, he aimed the nozzle at Teil.

However, before he could unscrew the safety lock, a scarlet tentacle whipped the liquid nitrogen canister out of his hand, swiftly wrapping around his body, lifting him off the ground.

"Ahhhh—"

Martin struggled desperately, kicking his legs frantically, but after all, he was just a feeble researcher.

Having completely merged with the fleshy mass, Teil swiftly appeared before him, his thick legs seemingly rooted in the flesh-covered floor.

"Disconnect from what?"

Looking at the pale-faced Martin, he forced a satisfied smile from his twisted face.

Meanwhile, the flesh creeping along the floor had already infiltrated the other rooms of the lab.

Seeing the scarlet flesh sweeping in like a tide, the researchers in the lab were dumbfounded.

And in that brief moment of their daze, the scarlet flesh lunged at them.

"Ahhh!"

Just like Martin's fate, a researcher nearest the flesh was instantly wrapped into a cocoon by a scarlet tentacle, and then squashed like a burst tomato into a heap of flesh.

The sudden crisis terrified everyone. The astonished researchers snapped back to reality, desperately rushing towards the safety exit.

"Sample breach! Run!"

"Damn it! Let go of me!"

"Uhh—crack!"

Screams echoed one after another!

In just a few breaths, the virus lab on the 68th floor of the "Tower of the World" turned into sheer hell.

The rampaging tide was merciless with these "nutrients" almost served up to its mouth, having just exited dormancy, it was starved, needing to devour flesh to expand itself.

Tentacles, like pythons targeting prey, easily twisted and caught up with the fleeing researchers, dragging them into that scarlet hell.

And those researchers who were lucky enough to escape one ordeal weren't truly safe yet.

After the scarlet tentacles claimed twenty lives and broke the nutrient tanks in the lab's storage, the nutrient-filled scarlet flesh started spreading along the ventilation shafts and elevator shafts, up and down the building.

Looking at the pale-faced Martin, Teil squeezed a faint smile from his twisted face.

"...I'm very satisfied with your gift. When I have time, I'll come visit you."

Martin stared at him in terror, his mouth trembling, eyes filled with despair.

"You... monster."

Teil smiled lightly.

"That's how insects see humans too."

With that, he lightly clenched his hand, causing the tentacle wrapped around Martin to tighten.

Like squeezing a water-filled balloon, he merely moved his fingers, crushing the weak and incompetent researcher into pulp.

"Splat—"

The spurting blood splashed onto Teil, and in just a few breaths seeped into his skin, completely absorbed and digested by him, becoming part of him.

A satisfied smile appeared on his twisted face.

At this moment, he seemed like an omnipotent god, standing at the top of the food chain, overlooking all beings.

There probably wouldn't be a stronger lifeform on this surface than him.

As for the identity as a Weilante—

It didn't seem that important anymore.

"Let's have a good fight... Alliance, Enterprise, Academy... and Legion."

"Hahahaha!"

Scarlet eyes shone with a terrifying gleam as Teil laughed loudly as if truly gone mad.

At the same time, gunfire erupted inside the "Tower of the World."

The armed security personnel and Teil's personal guards were driven back by the rampaging experiment, all despairingly turned into nourishment for that indescribable entity.

In just a few hours, the scarlet flesh had engulfed the entire alloy-building and began spreading onto the nearby street from the open alloy gates.

Seeing the dire situation on the ground, Old White, standing on the Viper transport plane, wore an expression full of shock.

According to intelligence from the Southern Legion's captives, the Mortal Serum's lab was on a certain level of this landmark building named "Tower of the World."

They planned to raid it, but before they could jump down, the opposite side self-destructed.

"Good grief... did we poke a hornet's nest?" Quit smoking, sitting across, also looking down, couldn't help but quip.

Old White said solemnly.

"I don't know... but to be honest, this thing looks like a Mutated slime fungus lair."

Upon hearing this, Quit smoking was taken aback and immediately said.

"A lair? Then leave it to Xiaoyu."

Theoretically yes, Xiaoyu was a nemesis to virtually all mutant slime fungus lairs.

In fact, not only Quit smoking thought of Xiaoyu, but Old White also immediately thought of it.

Falling Feather's Goblin Corps was just at the front line.

Without hesitation, Old White immediately switched the communication channel to get in touch with Falling Feather, who was flying in the sky.

"Falling Feather! It's up to you!"

Chapter 965: Distortion!

"What the heck? It's on me again?!"

Sitting in the Thunder Aircraft, Falling Feather looked bewildered, glancing at the building wrapped in a crimson substance, feeling a shiver down his spine.

That thing should be a fungal mat, right?

How did the Army manage to use such an unearthly thing as a mutated slime fungus on the battlefield!

Clearly, they used the consensus of the Sticky Community as toilet paper.

Or perhaps, like the Southern Legion's interpretation of that ancient contract—it was signed by Julius; they weren't present.

"Xiaoyu... can your powers work against that thing?"

"Ee-woo!" (We can try)

"Alright..."

Falling Feather took a deep breath, gripping the control stick while stomping on the pedal with his left foot to change direction, aiming the aircraft cannon at the building being devoured by the indescribable entity, then firmly pressed the fire button with his thumb.

"Boom—!"

With a short burst of roar, thousands of 20mm aircraft cannon rounds were instantly unloaded!

Faced with the sudden burst of firepower, the crimson vines climbing towards the rooftop were shredded to pieces, halting their upward climb momentarily.

The crimson flesh soon realized where the attack came from, with tentacles poised to strike shooting towards the sky like missiles, aiming to intercept the Thunder Aircraft!

Seizing the moment when the vehicle's attention was fully on him, Falling Feather's lips curved into a smug smile, and with his right hand, he grabbed the pull ring under the seat and yanked it upwards forcefully.

With a few abrupt explosions, he was ejected, seat and all, from the shattered cockpit.

Meanwhile, his aircraft continued its trajectory unabated, heading straight for the Lair trying to engulf the building!

That Lair certainly wouldn't allow such a hunk of metal to crash into its head.

As expected, numerous tentacles wrapped around the Thunder Aircraft like a net.

However, what the Lair did not know was that the cockpit of this Thunder Aircraft was already full of Xiaoyu's sub-entities!

Those sub-entities were like his clones, possessing almost all his flying skills and even generating a mimic of "him" in the cockpit!

With this special ability, even though he was hanging from a parachute, he could remotely control the aircraft through the communication channel.

Of course, now that he'd successfully engaged with the Lair, there was no need for that.

The Thunder Aircraft full of sub-entities was his Trojan horse!

"I'm counting on you, Xiaoyu!"

Dangling from the parachute, Falling Feather kept his eyes fixed on the plane captured by the tentacles, silently rooting for Xiaoyu.

Just then, an "ee-woo!" suddenly came through the communication channel.

(It's a bit strange; it seems it's not the Lair!)

Not the Lair?

Falling Feather froze, staring incredulously at the large boiling patch of the fungal mat in the distance.

What else could it be?

As he was momentarily stunned, his vehicle was crushed like a squeezed Can by the coiling tentacles, reduced to a ball.

The sudden burst of firelight, batteries exploding, shattered the tentacles around the fighter plane, yet the faint light soon vanished into the night breeze.

Floating in the air, Falling Feather was utterly bewildered, especially as he watched the tentacles change direction and come towards him.

This thing isn't the Lair?!

"Damn—!"

...

Not far from the "Tower of the World," in a mansion, the Chief of Staff of the Southern Legion, Augustus, and his wife used the remaining canned food to make one last dinner for their children.

Although it was just things like sardines, minced meat, and butter oysters, the cans at least had a special supply label.

Dripping the prepared cyanide into the children's vegetable juice and his and his wife's red wine, he tied the napkin around his chest with trembling fingers, maintaining the last vestiges of dignity.

Having made all preparations, he looked at the children's innocent, curious faces, clearing his throat with pain tamped down, and began speaking solemnly and slowly, as if at a speech in front of ten thousand people.

"Let's toast to the honorable Marshal Julius, the invincible legion, and the fortune of the Weilante people..."

All will end tonight.

After saying this, he raised his glass and clinked gently with his wife's. The children imitated the gesture, cheering "cheers" and then giggling as they drank their tasty vegetable juice.

The process was painless.

For these young lives, this might've been the greatest mercy; they wouldn't need to endure a long life burdened by guilt... yet perhaps this tragic fate never really existed, just like that crazy ambition, it was merely imposed on them by their elders.

Looking at the children sleeping on the table, a trace of pain flashed across his wife's face, but she finally managed to regain calm composure, then gulped down the red wine in her glass, slumped on the table with a "thud" never to awaken.

Finally free.

She no longer wished to stay in this world for a moment.

Watching his family die one after another in front of his eyes, Augustus could no longer hold back his emotions. His expression twisted with pain, the hand holding the wine glass trembled uncontrollably.

"I condemned all of you..."

If only he had stopped Teil back then...

If he had done something, perhaps now his family would be on vacation at the beaches of Bartoya Province.

But it's too late for regrets now.

The victory at West Sail Port made too many people heady with arrogance, young and old officers alike had no doubt that the enterprise was at twilight, unable to maintain that ancient covenant, especially since the Poluo people who stood before them seemed so weak.

Augustus raised the wine glass to his lips, preparing to end all the pain with a gulp.

Yet just then, a deafening roar and a low growl came from outside the window.

He paused, walked to the window, and pulled the curtain open. He saw Yavente City's landmark—the alloy skyscraper made of metal, now wrapped in massive chunks of meat-red unknown matter.

That thing seemed alive, writhing under the lamplight of the night sky, letting out unwilling and ugly cries towards the heavens.

"Ooooo—!"

It roared again, every cell in its body seemed to ripple, surging like rolling ocean waves.

Augustus's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief and confusion.

He had just returned from that building not long ago...

Unexpectedly, the esteemed Legion Leader Teil should be there, and precisely on the 68th floor.

"Teil... Your Excellency?"

He muttered in confusion, just as several fighter planes whizzed by in the sky.

The Alliance seemed to have noticed the anomaly in this building, with vertical take-off aircraft spewing plasma jets breaking through the anti-aircraft fire blockade at low altitude, rapidly approaching the direction of the Tower of the World.

"...What on earth is that thing?"

That hideous creature...

He knew that some endgame weapons were stored within that building, but he didn't know that Teil had this hideous card up his sleeve.

That was no longer a human form, as if it were a blister squeezed out from the surface.

Augustus staggered two steps back, finally closing his eyes in despair, and then he yanked the curtains closed.

In the name of Julius...

What exactly have they done?!

Be it Teil, himself, or those Ten Thousand Leaders supporting him...

Do they really want to transform the Weilante people from humans into cockroaches?

He drained the red wine from his glass in one gulp, collapsing weakly beside the dining table.

Looking at his dead lover and children, in the final moment of his life, he finally awakened from the nightmare.

He repented with the little time he had left.

"Wooo... Please forgive your children, Marshal Julius... it is us who have let you down."

"It is us... the Southern Legion... who are unworthy of being Weilante people..."

...

"Woo-——!"

A deep and long howl shattered the dark clouds, like the low chant of a giant whale from the deep sea.

Upon hearing that deafening sound, the Southern Legion soldiers fighting on the front lines simultaneously halted their fighting and turned to look back at the rolling mass of flesh behind them.

Ugliness was epitomized in that very moment, along with that indescribable distortion and chaos.

Perplexed expressions appeared on one face after another.

They couldn't believe that right behind them, in their hometown and departure point...

There was such a twisted beast growing.

"Devil..."

A wavering panic was imprinted in the flickering pupils, and the seasoned old soldiers involuntarily stepped back; the belief to fight to the last moment had finally experienced a shake.

What exactly had they been fighting for until now?

Or rather...

Was that creature them?

Awakened suddenly, his back was soaked with cold sweat, and a painful expression appeared on his face.

Meanwhile, in another trench not far from him, the rookies with less than half a month of military training wore similarly bewildered expressions.

"Damn... what's that thing?!"

"The Alliance's biological weapon?!"

The flesh-colored tendrils were still extending upwards, akin to vines creeping towards the sky.

Grey-yellow mist spread around, like a suddenly blossomed tree crown.

Yet more terrifying weren't just these; its roots were also spreading outwards.

Those entangled tendrils rolled through the streets like pouring waterfalls, indiscriminately harvesting every life in its sight, be it human, rat, or cockroach alike.

Perish now—

Inferior race.

That rolling spore cloud silently hummed out its lament, blending an angry emotion into that silent slaughter.

The soldiers backed away in fear, or fired futile rounds from their rifles, attempting to block that advancing tendrils striking like tides.

That... should be the Mutant slime mold's mother nest?!

But why is it here?!

That terrifying existence had surpassed the soldiers' understanding and knowledge present.

Though the Southern Legion-controlled Batoya Province and surrounding Great Desert also had scattered Mutant slime mold mother nests, they were mostly located in pre-war ruins and uninhabited wilderness.

In a mere moment of distraction, a crimson tentacle swung at a soldier, lifting him tens of meters into the air amidst his cries, only to be chopped into two by a swift slash, turning into a sky of fragmented flesh and rain of blood!

The soldiers crouching behind the cover were dumbfounded, clueless about how to combat such a terrifying entity.

Just as the tide was about to engulf them, a Chimera Armored Car suddenly charged out from the side.

The group of soldiers quickly ducked back into cover, listening to the 37mm cannons booming above their heads.

However, the deadly armor-piercing incendiary bomb did not fall into their cover.

A rookie shakily pulled out an Iron Fist Rocket Launcher, ready to attack, but was stopped by the officer beside him.

In the distance, streaks of tracer fire shot towards the advancing tendrils, temporarily forcing back the ferocious tide, preventing the crimson tentacles from getting close.

At that moment, a deafening roar blasted through the loudspeaker above the Southern Legion soldiers' heads.

"What are you waiting for?! This thing is massacring your compatriots! Do you really need your opponents to teach you how to shoot?!"

Hearing those words was like waking from a dream, including the Centurion with his hand on the rocket launcher.

Although they didn't know what the crimson tentacles and the fleshy mass enveloping the Tower of the World were, there was one thing they were sure of—

That creature feasted on the blood and flesh of the Weilante people!

"Attention all units! Temporary ceasefire! Aim your guns at that monster!"

The scattered Centurions in the ruins regained their morale. Despite being disbanded, they regrouped and rallied once more.

"Ow, ow, ow!!"

The same scene was playing out on various streets around Yavente City.

Although the battle between the Southern Legion and the Alliance had not yet ended, due to that unspeakable demon, some troops had already redirected their guns, tacitly dealing with the common enemy first...

Meanwhile, in the distant Grand Canyon, the chairperson sitting in the conference room let out a faint sigh.

"History is repeating itself once again..."

The events from two hundred years ago could be summarized as such; both parties, blinded by rage, simultaneously pressed the doomsday button.

The only thing to be thankful for was that this time it wasn't a downward spiral.

Perhaps...

...

The frontline of Yavente City.

Centurion Baldwin, who was commanding the battle, stared wide-eyed in bewilderment, fixated on the building known as the "Tower of the World."

What is that...

The number of incomprehensible things kept increasing, perhaps since the beginning of the "Mortal Serum" plan he should have realized that Teil was a complete madman, and his ambition would kill everyone!

The phone continuously relayed reports from the rear, and the logistics troops stationed near Yavente City had suffered heavy losses!

At this time, his adjutant ran over, unable to perform a military salute, sweating profusely as he reported.

"Sir, the Alliance's air forces are advancing toward our rear!"

A trace of struggle flashed in Baldwin's eyes, and after two seconds, he finally made up his mind.

"Let them pass!"

The adjutant looked at him in surprise.

"But—"

Baldwin stared into his eyes, using a tone that wouldn't allow refusal.

"Do as I say!"

Seeing the expression that didn't seem to be joking, the adjutant held his breath, but eventually gritted his teeth, performed a military salute, and turned to carry out the order.

Watching his adjutant leave, Baldwin looked at the combat map beside him, all emotions finally turned into a long sigh.

Already lost...

Perhaps he should have realized it earlier, but it's too late to say that now.

At the very least, he must stop that ever-growing monster.

Otherwise, not only would Marshal Julius's honor and the Southern Legion's century of accumulation turn into ruins under its havoc, but all the Weilante people in the city would also have to die with him.

At the same time as issuing the order, Baldwin called the captain of a nearby Iron Airship, reporting the situation on the ground to them one by one.

"The unknown organic life form spreading from the Tower of the World is indiscriminately attacking our compatriots! Including our soldiers, our civilians! We must cease fire immediately! While there's still time!"

Some people hung up on him directly, some angrily accused him of being a traitor, but some listened and expressed disbelief at his words, doubting whether it could be an Alliance conspiracy.

This possibility indeed couldn't be ruled out.

But for the Alliance, which was about to win, using sensitive biological weapons was a risky and unprofitable move.

Regardless of the extent Teil might go, the cause and effect of the situation seemed beyond guessing.

Without a doubt—

It's another unconventional "trick."

And as always, Teil completely screwed it up, letting everything spiral out of control.

Some captains tried to contact superiors, but their superiors were also in disarray at this moment.

Not only had contact with Teil's Legion been lost, but even their Chief of Staff, Augustus, was nowhere to be found.

The Southern Legion's command system was in chaos, and some people finally realized the severity of the problem.

Of the eight remaining Iron Airships, three raised white flags, and soon this number became five, with even two of them, under Baldwin's orders, simply turning their guns to aim the 100mm cannons at the rampaging "Lair."

This action thoroughly enraged the monster, which, having been somewhat restrained, went on a rampage, bringing the low-hovering airships into its attack range, forcing them to retract their anchor chains and move away from the Tower of the World.

The Alliance's anti-aircraft forces did not fire upon these airships, even as the phase guns on trains outside had locked onto them.

The urgent priority now was to eliminate that rampaging unknown life form!

Meanwhile, in the hovering Viper transport plane in the center of Yavente City, Quit Smoking suddenly opened his eyes and urgently spoke to Old White beside him.

"Falling Feather just posted on the Forum... He said that thing isn't the Lair!"

Old White was taken aback.

"Not the Lair?! What the hell is it then?"

Quit Smoking shook his head, speaking quickly.

"I don't know... He only said that thing isn't the Lair, didn't say it's not mutated slime fungus, Xiaoyu also can't figure out what it is, it seems like an independent conscious sub-entity... Damn, anyway, what he said was a mess! He said the only way to stop it is to destroy the brain hidden inside that mass to devour it!"

Old White seriously stared at him.

"So there's a way to devour it?"

Quit Smoking swallowed, nodding quickly.

"There's a fifty-fifty chance... Supposedly, Xiaoyu said it."

"In any case, one thing's for sure, that thing is something none of us have seen before."

Killer Dagger, with a grave expression, cursed under his breath.

"Damn... we might need the data from the 'Tower of the World' to figure out what the hell this thing is."

To get the data from the Tower of the World...

Quit Smoking glanced outside the cabin at the building wrapped in flesh-red fungal blankets, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"How the hell do we get in there?"

"Have you figured out what to do yet? There are too many hands on this thing! I can't hold it any longer!" The Kidney Fighter squatting by the cabin edge was gripping the 40mm airborne grenade launcher, firing shots at the tentacles reaching for the transport plane.

Faced with the high-explosive grenades charged with metal hydrogen, the thick tentacles were blasted off one by one, but they couldn't withstand the massive numbers rushing in!

The pilot skillfully maneuvered left and right to dodge, but this was not a sustainable strategy.

Old White's mind was spinning quickly.

Just then, Fang Chang's voice suddenly came through the communication channel.

"The Southern Legion's 2 million troops have surrendered, Old White, can you hear me?"

Old White grinned and said.

"I can hear you, they've surrendered? Does that mean our ground troops can go in?"

Fang Chang said seriously.

"That's the idea, but you've seen the situation at the front line. It's almost impossible to push the ground troops all the way in. Even if successful, the casualties would be too high—"

Old White: "Stop the crap, just hurry up and say what to do!"

Heeding Old White's urging, Fang Chang unhesitatingly said.

"Like in Clear Spring, jump in and fight them!"

Old White was momentarily stunned.

"Jump... down?"

Fang Chang didn't explain, he continued firmly.

"According to the intelligence provided by Centurion Baldwin, Teil should be... no, he's on the 68th floor."

As soon as he finished speaking, a white smoke column suddenly crossed the skies of Yavente City, accurately hitting the waist of the Tower of the World!

It was an anti-ship cruise missile launched from the South Sea Union's "Harpoon" cruiser!

The flashing white light instantly burned through the crimson fungal carpet and the alloy wall beneath it, the deafening explosion and spreading shock wave blew up into the clouds!

The tentacle-waving "devil" let out a painful wail, while the wound inflicted by the cruise missile was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At the same moment the missile hit, Fang Chang's voice also came through the communication channel.

"Now's the time! Hurry!"

Without hesitating, Old White reached out, grabbed the seatback of the pilot, and shouted loudly.

"Get closer to the center of the explosion! Quick!"

Though nervous, the pilot clenched his teeth and complied, maneuvering to dodge the swiftly approaching tentacles, using the cover of the explosion smoke to advance near the missile impact point.

The deep crimson tentacles had already covered the wound, the monster was consciously moving metal materials from inside the building to block the broken gap.

The Kidney Fighter squatting by the cabin edge certainly wouldn't give it the chance, howling loudly, he buffed the grenade launcher in his hands, then unleashed a salvo of high-explosives, shattering those tentacles!

The shocking wound was exposed, and along with it the internal structure of the Tower of the World building that had not been completely eroded!

"Ugh—!"

The pained howl rang out again, vibrating the glass of the cockpit.

"We can't stay here too long!" The pilot gritted his teeth and shouted, struggling to stabilize the craft and keep it hovering, "I can't get any closer—"

Before he finished speaking, Old White, clad in Dragon Cavalry power armor, took a few swift steps, leaping toward the exposed breach.

The tentacles poised to intervene had not yet reached the edge of the power armor before being blasted to bits by a salvo of high-explosive grenades.

"Old White! I'll cover you!" The excited shout came from the Kidney Fighter at the edge of the cabin.

Meanwhile, Old White's feet had already landed on the floor of the 68th floor of the Tower of the World.

The crimson fungal carpet was trampled into mush by steel armor, a burning thermal cutting axe fittingly slid into his hand.

At the same time, the wrist-thick bomb gun also clicked into place.

A tentacle soared towards him like lightning from the corner of the room, but before it reached ten meters, it was blasted to bits by a high explosive!

The bomb gun wasn't just able to launch explosive arrows, Huge Rock Military Industry had long designed a series of no safety distance anti-infantry warheads for this equipment.

These specialized warheads were equally effective even on a narrow battlefield!

"Hmm, thanks... leave the rest to me, you guys can retreat."

The narrowing breach could no longer allow a second person to enter—

Unless there's an anti-ship missile again.

But, there's no need for that anymore.

Old White could feel the powerful aura was here, and it was on the same floor as him, close to him.

Yet his heart bore no fear.

As the player with the highest combat prowess in the server, he was confident he could defeat any opponent standing before him in a 1v1 PK.

Even if they were never-before-seen opponents—

The one who should be fearing wasn't him, but it!

"Come out, Teil, it must be you... Let me see how much power you command."

Slashing down three tentacles aiming towards him, Old White swung the thermal cutting axe in his hand, striding purposefully towards the damaged laboratory door.

Standing deep in the laboratory on the 68th floor, Teil's tightly shut eyes momentarily faltered, his ugly face twisted like boiling swamp.

Indeed, he hadn't fully mastered the power at his disposal, such as now, unable to multitask by dealing with outside traitors and Alliance Soldiers, while focusing also on handling the fly-like intruder at his doorstep.

If this little fly arrogantly assumed, it equated that a being as godlike as he couldn't handle it, well, that would be a laughing matter.

For him, it was merely crushing an insect!

"Who allowed you to stand here—"

Before he finished speaking, a sliced alloy door was hurtling towards him like a cannonball.

Caught off guard, Teil could only sidestep, but when he lifted his head again, he saw the man clad in steel armor, holding a short axe already standing before him, the blunt axe blade burning with a fierce glow.

"Nobody's asking whether you allow or not."

"I came myself!"

Chapter 966: Ambitions Reduced to Ashes

The sweeping axe blade flashed like lightning, crashing into the enraged Tyr.

"You're courting death!"

Roaring in fury, Tyr let out a low, muffled growl, flinging his right arm coated with fungal mantle forward. Crimson tendrils shot towards Old White like javelins!

As the red beams were about to pierce his face, Old White calmly raised the bomb gun in his left hand and fired two preloaded air burst incendiary grenades forward.

With two gunshots, orange-red fireballs erupted in the confined space!

The crimson tendrils ignited upon contact with the orange-red flames, withering at a visible speed and burning into charcoal-like blackness!

"Ahhhh——!"

Tyr let out a roar of pain, the fierce light in his eyes growing stronger, tightening his extended right hand.

Crimson tendrils sprouted from the floor like tender shoots breaking through the soil, reaching for Old White's ankles as if hands from a grave.

"You're seeking your own doom! This is my domain——!"

Facing the tendrils wrapping around his ankles, Old White paid no heed and continued rushing forward in great strides.

The iron boots stomped on the ground with a dull thud; some tiny roots failed to entwine and were ripped apart by the immense force.

As for the thicker roots, they collided head-on with the titanium combat knife mounted under the bomb gun!

With his sheer brute force and the power components of his armor, Old White swiftly slashed the obstacles before him into tatters.

Meanwhile, the energy stored in the thermal cutting axe approached its breaking point!

Seeing the steel armor so close, Tyr's face finally showed a moment of panic.

For a human yet to fully master the "Power of Gaia," managing both internal and external battles was still too challenging.

"Don't even think about it! Don't use your filthy hands! Get close to me!"

Tyr let out a hysterical scream, the crimson fungal mantle covering his body swelling outward like erupting magma, warping his human form into a mass of indescribable flesh.

The pulsating sight resembled a devil's heart or chaos itself.

Such blasphemy...

Silent and shocked, Old White had only this thought in his mind.

Rather than becoming a "Lair" or "Gaia," it seemed more like "Gaia" became him.

After consuming his ambition, Gaia, lacking individual consciousness, used a power beyond human comprehension to materialize his mental world!

If this guy continued twisting, he might become another kind of "Lair."

And one that no one had ever seen before.

However, this ends now.

"You talk too much!"

Letting out a low growl, Old White gripped the thermal cutting axe and struck violently at the web-like tendrils entangled before him.

The roaring axe blade clashed like a comet against a forge, sparking a dazzling firework on the crimson flesh wall.

"Boom——!"

The tremendous force even shook the entire laboratory, causing Tyr's body to sway uncontrollably.

Stopped it?

Seeing the "humanoid chariot" finally halt its charge, Tyr couldn't help but feel a moment of relief.

Yet, this joy didn't last long, quickly severed by the surging, blinding sparks.

"Ahhhhh——!"

The searing plasma plume forcibly cleaved the tendrils forming the flesh wall, showering him with flashing sparks.

That was plasma at thousands of degrees!

Even a thumb-sized light feather could ignite the carbon-based materials on his body!

In agony, Tyr howled and retreated, but, unfamiliar with a body lacking legs, he stumbled and fell to the ground.

Old White stepped forward in great strides, offering no chance for last words, swung the thermal cutting axe for another charge, and viciously smashed it towards his face.

"Boom!!!"

Fiery sparks burst forth again!

The high-temperature molten lava not only shattered the mass of flesh into scraps but also cut through the alloy-cast floor.

That "fire axe" was an anti-armor weapon, capable of chopping through power armor exteriors and suitable for dismantling alloy-cast rooms without fail!

Once, twice, thrice!

Old White, wielding the thermal cutting axe, pounded a downward dent into the ground, blasting Tyr's transformed body entirely into burning carbon slag.

Without a brain to drive the body, the surrounding agitated tendrils flailed like decapitated frogs, twitching spasmodically.

Confirming that Teil is dead beyond dead, not a single neuron left, Old White then raised the bomb gun in his left hand again and swept a round of high-explosive incendiary grenades around.

Watching the twisted flesh disappear in the boiling sea of fire, he opened the internal air circulation system of the power armor, and only then did he let out a long breath of relief.

"This time... he should be completely dead."

Leaning the axe against the wall, Old White grinned, deactivating all the buffs from the Strength Type talent, and slowly sat down on the floor against the wall.

At least, the Teil that was visible had been killed.

As for the ghost hovering over the heads of the Weilante people—the invisible Teil, that was another matter.

However, he still had high hopes for them.

Like Giant Stone City, they have the ability to self-correct and enough respect for history... Even though their history is not long, unable to trace back to the Prosperity Epoch or even further like other survivors.

At that moment, a crimson bud broke through the ashes, transforming into a sleek tendril beside him.

Just as Old White gripped the axe by his side, a weak voice emanated from the mimic vocal cords.

"Eeyoo..."

Hearing the familiar sound, an expression of surprise appeared on Old White's face, and he released the weapon he had just gripped.

"Oh, your sub-entity is still alive."

Xiaoyu's main body is at Shelter No. 404, probably the safest place on this planet.

As for the slime mold attached to the fighter plane flown by Falling Feather, it's just a sub-entity of Xiaoyu.

"Eeyoo!"

The sleek tendril let out a spirited cry, much like a dolphin in an aquarium.

But Old White had not adopted any biological implants, nor was he close enough with Xiaoyu to have a "telepathic" connection, so naturally, he couldn't understand what it was saying.

"Haha, as long as you're okay. Unfortunately, I can't understand what you're saying. If you're asking about Falling Feather, he should be waiting to be resurrected in the City of Dawn right now."

The sleek tendril stood upright, swaying from side to side for a long time, like a mute trying to express itself.

After holding back for a while, it finally uttered a few fragmented words in the United Human language.

"...Thank you... Teil... is dead... now it is I... who control this body."

Old White looked at Xiaoyu in surprise, only then remembering that it could actually speak, just that it didn't do so often.

After a brief pause, Xiaoyu continued to organize its words and said.

"This is not... us... Lair... is... other... things."

I see.

A look of realization appeared on Old White's face.

Indeed, what they encountered was not the Lair, but something else.

As for how this thing came about, perhaps the Alliance's Biological Institute could provide them with an answer.

"Tell Falling Feather what you discovered, he will inform us."

Pausing, Old White continued.

"By the way... can you retract the tendrils outside into this building? Leaving those things on the street would be quite troublesome, whether in terms of explanation or cleaning up the mess."

"Eeyoo!"

The sleek tendril nodded downward, then obediently retracted into the dark ashes.

Watching the gradually extinguishing sparks, Old White picked up his weapon, stood up from the ground, crossed the pitch-black charred ground, and walked to the breach blasted open by the anti-ship missile.

The tendrils dancing around the building were already broken like dead trees, and in the heavily smoked city area in the distance, the sounds of guns and cannons were gradually subsiding, while further away, the dawn was appearing on the horizon...

Pausing to admire the beautiful scene of night breaking into daylight, Old White raised his forefinger to the side of his helmet and spoke with a clear and affirming voice.

"Calling Command, this is Old White..."

"Teil is dead, I personally took him down."

"The war is over."

...

With Baldwin's surrender and the fall of the "Tower of the World," the last force still fighting for the Southern Legion also raised their hands, surrendering to the Alliance's troops.

At the same time, the Alliance's flag was also flying at the highest point of Yavente City—the rooftop of the "Tower of the World."

The outcome was clear, and it arrived faster than everyone expected.

The gloomy sky was turning bright.

The first ray of dawn pierced the darkness, spreading over the smoke-filled concrete ruins.

Teil was dead.

Augustus was also dead.

Including Teil's cronies and those five-star or higher leaders who propelled the war.

Some were found to have committed suicide at home, some in bunkers, or even on the silver platform.

Obviously, not all of the Weilante people hold honor as their life. At least those bugs beside Teil have no concept of it, only win or lose.

Similarly, not everyone has the courage to face failure.

Rather than accepting the humiliation of the victors, it is better to end it all. Comparatively, the latter is actually a more acceptable choice.

However, there are exceptions.

For example, Dickens' superior, the minister of the highest General Affairs Department of the Southern Legion, Jeffrey.

This guy is a four-star Ten Thousand Leader, having the same rank as Augustus, only half a level below the latter, overseeing the entire logistical supply and military industrial production of the Southern Legion.

He originally intended to commit suicide, and even had a cyanide capsule ready in his mouth, but in the end, for fear of death, he didn't bite down, and was pinned on the table by soldiers rushing in from outside, who removed the capsule from his mouth.

The guy, weighing over two hundred pounds, was like a fat pig being dragged into a slaughterhouse, requiring at least three people to hold him down.

The entire Yavente City is filled with skinny people, even Teil and Augustus are, except for him, who is full of fat.

Even with his face flushed, he refused to give up, trying to break free from the hands holding him, but it was obviously futile.

The one in charge of the arrest operation was the First Division of the Weilante Expeditionary Army. Following the soldiers who burst into the room, Battalion Leader Kuran walked up to Jeffrey's office desk and tossed the wanted notice printed on the leaflet in front of him.

"Mr. Jeffrey, you are under arrest."

Jeffrey, using all his strength, raised his head, staring at the man standing in front of him with a bewildered expression for a few seconds.

Breathing heavily, he squeezed out a sentence through his teeth.

"...You are Weilante people."

Kuran didn't hide anything, and straightforwardly said.

"Formerly the Centurion of the 34th Ten Thousand Troops. Thanks to you, after retirement, I was fortunate to go to Evernight Harbor Customs."

Jeffrey stared at him intently, breathlessly squeezing out a sentence from his plump throat.

"Then why did you betray us... The Southern Legion... did it ever wrong you?"

Kuran smiled, staring into his eyes.

"Have you ever heard of snake oil?"

Jeffrey was stunned for a few seconds, his face showing a bit of confusion.

"...What is that?"

"Something that can make people immerse in dreams, some people get lost in it and can't come out, like ants drowning in a honey pot. And I, was once such a person, even becoming an accomplice to you people."

"We were deceived, exploited by your ambition, committing acts in the name of Marshal Julius that would cause him shame, enslaving your fellow countrymen in his name... You all are that kind of thing, so you will lose."

Kuran propped his hands on the office desk, staring firmly into Jeffrey's eyes until the fear showed in the latter's gaze.

Only those with a guilty conscience fear the devil knocking... and Jeffrey was undoubtedly such a person.

He might not have directly participated in any massacre, any bottle of snake oil sales, but every piece of fat on his body came from that blood-soaked oppression.

He is the most sophisticated criminal, and also the most vicious criminal... The poison he sold is a filthier evil than snake oil.

Looking at the pale-faced Minister Jeffrey, Kuran retracted his hands from the desk, nodding at the three soldiers holding down the fat pig.

"Take him away."

The three soldiers respectfully accepted the order, escorting Jeffrey out of the office, and this time, he didn't resist, going limp and allowing himself to be held by the three Weilante youths.

Only when he brushed past Kuran, did Kuran pause, speaking in a casual tone.

"About the snake oil, you might want to inquire with Minister Dickens of the Poluo Province War Zone General Affairs Department."

"I think... it shouldn't take long for you all to meet."

...

Following the fall of the "Tower of the World", the Alliance flag also flew over the Southern Legion's conference building.

Including the hospital on Rongjun Road, including the War Ministry's building...

As everyone had hoped, the war was over.

Survivors hiding in basements and cellars cautiously poked their heads out from the cracks in the ruins.

The sounds of gunfire and cannons outside had disappeared, and no longer could they hear Teil's hysterical shouts on the radio.

They were replaced by a sound they had never heard before—

"...Survivors of Yavente City, survivors who have suffered the agony of war, survivors bewitched by evil, your war is over."

"Your highest commander, Teil, has been killed by the Burning Corps in his futile and hysterical madness, and the Chief of Staff Augustus committed suicide in guilt... that despicable bastard not only murdered the children of countless families, but also murdered his own child and wife, we despise such cowardice."

"One should bear the consequences alone, and I believe it's not just us thinking this way, you do too, being disgusted by the cowardly acts of venting incompetence on one's loved ones..."

"So think well for your parents, your children, your loved ones, your friends. Is it worth giving your life for two cowards hiding behind people, for an illusory glory, and letting your loved ones live in regret and pain for the rest of their lives... You are not just soldiers of the legion, you are someone's child, someone's husband, someone's father, you are all living humans."

"We promise to conduct an open and fair trial for the criminals in court. The mistakes made are not without a chance of remedy, and we will always find a measure acceptable to both our societies, to jointly move towards a better future."

"I, the Leader of the Weilant Alliance, solemnly announce here—you can lay down your weapons with dignity, Triumph City will ensure your safety is not violated by anyone."

For the vast majority of the Weilante people, Triumph City is both their spiritual sacred land and their spiritual homeland.

Although Teil had more than once cursed Triumph City's 'betrayal' harshly in the Southern Corps Victory Report, it still couldn't change what was imprinted on the souls of the Weilante people.

In the broadcast, the Leader of Triumph City not only promised to ensure the safety of the surrendering soldiers but also promised to provide the displaced refugees with food, medicine, and other necessities of life.

This broadcast, though recorded by the Leader, was played by the alliance's troops, apparently also getting the alliance's recognition.

Some survivors gradually left the cellars and those crumbling houses and, with the help of nearby patrols, headed to a centralized settlement.

There were tents delivered from Lavanka Industrial Zone, along with compressed biscuits, instant noodles, sausages, and hot water.

The reason for instant noodles was mainly that the large pot for cooking hadn't been set up yet; for now, only the furnace for boiling water was working, so instant noodles were the temporary measure.

And these were convenient to distribute, with one line for noodles and sausages and another for hot water.

It didn't matter if someone wanted to queue again, as these things combined didn't cost much anyway.

However, while instant noodles were barely a stopgap for the alliance's soldiers, for the long-supply-starved survivors of Yavente City, they were a rare delicacy.

Seeing the steaming instant noodles in their hands, faces gaunt with sharp bones showed expressions of surprise.

Even some young soldiers forcibly conscripted into the troops couldn't help but shed tears.

They had never experienced the times when the Southern Legion's meals were at their best.

When guns were finally handed to them, all that was left in everyone's bowls were rock-hard bread and inky nutritional paste.

The sounds of stomachs rumbling in the camp were incessant, and had it not been for the boiling water being too hot, these fifteen or sixteen year olds would not have waited for the noodles to soak before gulping them down.

In fact, someone planned to do just that but was stopped by a quick-eyed player.

Tomato with Scrambled Egg from the Burning Corps walked through the camp, banging a steel basin with a pot spoon, shouting to the famished survivors.

"Eat slowly, there's enough instant noodles and hot water, and better stuff tomorrow! Don't eat yourself to death!"

Seeing these people's inexperienced looks, clutching a cup of instant noodles like a treasure, he couldn't help but think of long ago, skinning mutated hyenas in Linghu Wetland Park.

In terms of eating manners, these Weilante people resembled the refugees they once picked up from the wasteland.

A tousled-haired Thousands of leaders from the Southern Legion, as if he had just climbed out of a chimney, stood with instant noodles in both hands before the boiling water furnace.

He nervously asked the Weilante Expeditionary Army soldier manning the water tap.

"...Is this the last meal?"

He dared not converse with those alliance soldiers, but at last found a familiar face.

The Expeditionary Army soldier glanced at him and jokingly said.

"Of course not, grains, vegetables, and frozen meat are still at the port north of Batoya Province. Before the relief supplies arrive, you'll have to do with instant noodles for a few meals."

Instant noodles... for a few meals?

The Thousands of leaders stood dazed for a long time, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

How the hell is this war supposed to be fought?

Though he never believed the nonsense in the Southern Corps Victory Report, such as famine breaking out in Giant Stone City and rebellion planned by survivors at No. 1 Settlement... but the supply level of these guys was just too extravagant.

The war was already over.

He believed the alliance wouldn't go out of their way to deceive them, only lamenting that the lies spun by Teil were so absurd that even he almost believed them!

While that Thousands of leaders stood there, speechless and teary with the cup of noodles, several players from the Skeleton Corps were conversing not far away.

Construction Boy and Brick stretched, with a slightly unfulfilled expression.

"So it's over just like that?"

Edge Shoveling glanced around and indirectly confirmed.

"Evidently so, Teil is dead, the high command of the Southern Legion are either killed or captured... the remnants are basically all here."

At this point, the Legion has become a historical term, and Yavente City, reborn, is unlikely to wish for its return.

So what should the Southern Legion be called afterward?

The ID 'Weilante Alliance' has been snapped up by Old Soldier, and 'Southern Alliance' overlaps too much with the 'South Sea Union', lacking distinction.

Edge Shoveling scratched the back of his head for a long while without any clue and eventually gave up.

This issue is better left to the Weilante people themselves to think about.

Actually, they don't necessarily need to follow the alliance's path, as long as they don't stray onto another evil path.

Looking at the distant ruins, Outlaw Maniac wore a somewhat reluctant expression, not sure what exactly he was reluctant about.

"MMP! These masters' prowess is honestly ridiculous, I did not even see what the final BOSS looked like, yet we won?"

I Am In Charge of Dying First patted his brother on the shoulder with a smile.

"Don't think about it, it's all about participation! If you're curious, go check it on the official website."

Chapter 967: Uninvited Guest

Outside Yavente City, a streamlined research ship is perched atop a logistics building.

The terrain here is elevated, offering a panoramic view that allows one to see the "Tower of the World" several kilometers away, making it a great spot for spectators.

As the pinnacle of the spectator realm, the Academy's prospectors immediately fancied this prime location and occupied it right after advancing from the battlefield to the core urban area.

At this moment, next to the research ship, a prospector clad in an exoskeleton stands behind a sampler mounted on a tripod.

The multi-functional camera on the sampler is precisely aimed at the "Tower of the World," connected to the research ship by a data cable as thick as a python.

Surrounding the busy prospector, five other prospectors wearing exoskeletons stand guard, armed and vigilant.

After all, this is still a war zone.

Even though the war is nearing its end, it's uncertain if something unexpected might arise.

They have to be cautious of all potential threats.

Fortunately, during the period of their data collection, no disruptions occurred.

After the Southern Legion's Teil played his last card, the Alliance dealt with both him and the "anomalous lifeform" that suddenly appeared on the "Tower of the World."

With the victory announcement broadcast, their data sampling entered the final phase.

As the work approached its end, a prospector released his grip on the assault rifle and took out binoculars to gaze toward the "Tower of the World."

Looking at the dark red wreckage that showed no signs of life, he couldn't help but click his tongue and murmur softly.

"It's really just warped..."

Apparently, he wasn't the only one having such thoughts.

Several prospectors standing nearby also had indescribable expressions on their faces, whispering in the communication channel.

"Is that 'Gaia'?"

"Ah... probably, yes."

"Tsk tsk..."

"How did the Southern Legion come up with this? When did they get such astonishing technology?"

"Who knows... but I lean more toward the belief that they didn't even comprehend the technology in their hands."

"Like the Mortal Serum?"

"You mean that virus? Haha, hoping for such a trivial thing... they'd be better off widening their artillery caliber, making it 1000 mm."

"It's not exactly trivial; that thing does have some merit, including this 'Gaia'... we might have underestimated these lunatics."

The vast majority of organisms in nature operate under natural laws, but "Gaia" is different; its very existence is the natural law itself.

Unlike the Prosperity Epoch's academic conception of a "perfect lifeform," "Gaia" is viewed by academia as a "shapeless life form."

Or more accurately, a life form entirely determined by consciousness.

For instance, the indescribable, highly aggressive tentacle monster is based on similar technological principles, manifesting Teil's mental world in the form of carbon-based life.

This may sound incredible, but it indeed happened on Gaia Planet.

That planet itself is the manifestation of "His" mental world.

The Alliance's Institute made a series of conjectures on the origin of Gaia civilization from a social science perspective, but they mostly remained at the conjectural level.

The Academy's research focused more on technological aspects, having unified such phenomena under the category of "Gaia-like lifeforms."

The lair-like entity on the "Tower of the World" building was essentially a type of "Gaia-like lifeform"... though its power was too insignificant, it couldn't even devour a settlement before being crushed by the Alliance.

However, despite being crushed, it still attracted the attention of the Academy's upper echelons.

After all, even for the Academy, this is considered quite a cutting-edge research field, with no reason to appear on the wasteland...

Listening to his teammates' conversation, Song Changfeng, standing behind the tripod, remained silent and meticulously focused on the tablet, reporting the frontline situation to the superior waiting in the rear.

Presently active here is the Academy's "Beacon" team, with him as the team captain.

Unlike the "Alpha" special task force, everyone in the "Beacon" team is either an in-service prospector of the Academy or a bionic, primarily engaged in investigation rather than attack or defense activities.

Incidentally, their previous captain was Zheng Hao, while he was just the vice-captain.

But that guy has been promoted and is now assigned to the Investigation Department, serving in the containment planning group.

In the words of the prospectors, "he's made it ashore."

All in all, compared to other high-risk jobs, the "Beacon" team is considered a promising career.

They not only have the chance to appear in front of senior researchers but also gather scientific experience during missions, accessing high-level intelligence they wouldn't otherwise encounter in a lifetime.

The Academy is different from other places; knowing more actually makes one safer.

Of course, the premise is knowing through avenues permitted by rules.

Every time he thinks about turning 30 soon, a sense of urgency involuntarily arises in Song Changfeng's heart.

He isn't interested in whatever Gaia is about; he only knows he must transition from prospector to researcher before turning 30.

There is an unwritten rule—or pattern—at the Academy.

If someone remains a prospector past 30, their career is pretty much considered over.

In the past century and a half, there have been no exceptions; most researchers have shown extraordinary talent at an extremely young age.

Take Jiang Xuezhou, who was once in his team, for example. He was an E-level researcher as a teenager.

He's not envious of those gifted geniuses, nor does he aspire to climb very high in rank; he just wants to "make it ashore" like his previous captain, Zheng Hao.

If he can become a researcher before 30, he can still strive for advancement.

Even if it's just an E-level researcher, the status is much higher than that of a prospector...

"Suspected Gaia lifeforms have been resolved by the Alliance Army..."

"Yes, the biological activities outside the building have basically stopped... The methods they used are currently unknown, but the life signs and various readings of the observation targets have been covered by new parameters..."

"Alright... We'll clean up here and return immediately."

After ending the communication, Song Changfeng took a deep breath and waved his hand to his teammates around him.

"Data collection complete, let's wrap it up."

Although he couldn't guess the higher-ups' thoughts, from the tone on the other side of the communication channel, it seemed they were quite satisfied with their work.

Perhaps...

A promotion is hopeful?

"Received!"

Hearing the boss say to wrap up, the young men finally relaxed, responding in unison and heading towards the open hatch of the research ship.

Compared to previous tasks, this mission was so easy it was like a perk.

Sitting on the boss's research ship, watching a war film, taking some photos and charts, and then heading home to call it a day—such a lucky break probably doesn't come even once a year.

However, just as everyone was thinking this, there was a sudden ripple in the tranquil air.

"Buzz——"

The speed was so fast that no one could react, and a prospector in an exoskeleton was knocked away as if hit by a train.

The ballistic panels shattered into countless pieces, crashing down the building along with the body like a ragdoll.

Seeing the electromagnetic signal ripples suddenly jumping on the radar, Song Changfeng, standing at the hatch, felt a sudden alarm and shouted loudly.

"Sniper! It's an electromagnetic rifle! Three o'clock direction!"

There was no need for his reminder; everyone had already reacted instinctively, hiding on the other side of the research ship before the second mass bomb came.

Without a moment's pause, Song Changfeng immediately remotely activated the research ship's deflection shield.

Almost simultaneously, the second mass bomb exploded ten meters away, exposing the reinforced concrete on the rooftop!

Fortunately, the bullet's direction was deflected by the shield.

If it had hit a person, the consequences would have been unimaginable!

Looking at the alarming breach, Song Changfeng, hiding at the hatch, felt his heart pounding fiercely.

Who could it be?!

No—

This is not the time to think about that.

Seeing everyone suppressed outside the research ship, he shouted loudly.

"Get up here quickly!"

Seeing the deflection shield open, the four prospectors outside rushed into the door.

In the distance, there were three more bangs, but they only kicked up some concrete fragments and didn't affect anyone.

Seeing all the team members back on the ship, Song Changfeng immediately closed the hatch.

The hatch closed heavily!

Seeing the tightly shut hatch and the well-functioning shield energy slot, his frantic heart finally began to calm down.

Safe now...

As the anti-gravity device engaged, the plasma engine emitted a plume, and the research ship, shield in tow, ascended into the sky.

Everyone sat on the floor, removing their helmet visors, with expressions of lingering fear on their faces.

"Damn it..."

"What the hell just happened?!"

"Little Wang, he..."

"Damn!"

Thinking of the unfortunate young man who met his end, Song Changfeng felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Though their time together was short, the young man surnamed Wang had left a good impression on him; the ending was unexpectedly abrupt...

However, now is not the time for sorrow; as the captain, he has more important matters to attend to...

With his index finger tapping on his neck, Song Changfeng connected to the research ship's communication module and reported with a serious tone.

"...This is the Beacon team... We were ambushed."

"We can't determine how those guys discovered us. But they seem... It's like they know exactly where we are."

The crackling static on the communication channel flowed quietly, as if the device was broken.

Song Changfeng appeared slightly hesitant, rechecking the well-connected icon and finding no anomalies.

What's going on?

Just as he was bewildered, an icy sensation suddenly pierced through his back and burst out of his chest.

He watched in shock as a dagger emerged from his chest, and the four familiar faces shifted from stunned to panicked.

"Cough—"

Song Changfeng wanted to say something, but only coughed up a mouthful of blood, then his vision went black, and when he regained consciousness, he was already lying on the blood-soaked alloy floor.

A stranger wearing an exoskeleton stood in the center of the buffer cabin, their face hidden by a dark silver helmet and black visor, blood dripping from the dagger onto the floor.

As for his four teammates, they all lay on the blood-soaked floor just like him.

Song Changfeng wasn't sure what method that guy used; all he knew was that in an instant, they were completely wiped out.

Optical camouflage...

No, not just optical camouflage!

He suddenly realized what the electromagnetic signal ripple jumping on the radar earlier truly was.

The sniper who fired at them wasn't aiming to snipe them but to cover the teammates boarding the ship...

"You... What the heck are you?"

Song Changfeng desperately reached out his hand, trying to grab that person's leg.

It seemed that his voice was heard, as the person turned to face him.

Without any warning, the blood-dripping tip of the dagger and the toe pointed at him seemed to instantly vanish from his sight.

When Song Changfeng realized, a slight sound already swept past his rear skull.

"Splat—"

No pain.

Song Changfeng only felt his vision roll forward, and then his consciousness completely plunged into a deep abyss...

Meanwhile, at some place thousands of kilometers away in the Wandering Swamp, the Investigation Department's containment plan group.

In a battle command room spanning 200 square meters, dozens of eyes stared intently at the six lost signals on the holographic screen, dead silent.

The man standing at the bottom of the holographic screen had a face as stern as water, his expression unpredictable, leaving others guessing his current thoughts.

At this moment, a B-level researcher cautiously approached his side, lowered his voice to report.

"No signal..."

The man's expression grew even more grim.

Regardless of anything, losing a research ship is a big deal, especially since this research ship was lost under mysterious circumstances.

The Chief Technical Officer will certainly inquire about this matter.

Even though he's the director of the Investigation Department, it's not easy to brush this off.

After a long silence, the man finally sighed in resignation and closed his eyes.

"...Looks like we can only rely on our allies."

The Alliance likes taking things apart.

A research ship isn't just any all-terrain exploration vehicle; it's a means of transportation that can make it to the Moon with one step on the gas.

If it weren't for absolute necessity, he really didn't want to ask those Blue Ground Squirrels for help...

...

People's joys and sorrows do not connect.

At this moment, the entire Alliance Army was still immersed in the joy of the war's victory, unaware of the troublesome situation their allies were facing.

At the entrance of the refugee shelter.

The smiling Debt Giant Eye was carrying a sack, handing out candy to the cute little girls.

Actually, he initially had two sacks.

But on his way here, he got robbed by a bunch of goons, so now he's left with only one.

Looking at those happily munching on chocolate little Kali, he felt an indescribable satisfaction in his heart, as if he himself was the chocolate melting away.

Isn't this far more fun than feeding pigeons at Potato Harbor?!

"Eek—could this guy be a perv?" [Hungry Force]'s face showed a complicated expression.

Standing by her side, [Bow to Hungry Force] tugged her hand.

"Let it go, that guy is Big Eyes."

"Oh, oh, it's Big Eyes..." [Hungry Force] nodded knowingly, looking at her partner suspiciously, "Wait a minute, how come you seem so familiar with him? You guys play together often?"

[Bow to Hungry Force] broke into a cold sweat, hurriedly waving his hands to clarify.

"No, no... There's no need to be that familiar, anyone with a profile on the forum would recognize him."

Seeing his skeptical partner, he placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her aside.

"Let's go, let's submit our mission quickly, never mind him. Although he doesn't have much integrity, he does have a bottom line."

The fact is certainly true.

Even though numerous suspicious gazes were fixed on this guy, since he didn't make any further or noticeable moves, nobody said much.

And as for other people's thoughts, Big Eyes had long since stopped caring.

Let these goons say whatever they want, anyway his reputation is already flea bite doesn't itch, debt never worries.

Compared to those players with a million schemes in their minds, he definitely still preferred hanging out with NPCs.

"...Eat up, don't hold back, your Uncle Big Eyes has a lot, a lot more."

Looking at those hopeful faces, Big Eyes wished he could turn all the silver coins in his pocket into chocolate and toss them to them.

A slender little girl looked up at him, her shiny eyes sparkling like little stars.

"Uncle Big Eyes... Are you... the Santa Claus?"

She didn't know what the term meant, she just overheard other residents of the refuge referring to him this way.

Debt Giant Eye smiled, about to say don't listen to those Blue Ground Squirrels' nonsense, he'd always walked in openly through the front door, never climbed through a chimney.

However, at this moment, a humorous voice suddenly called out from behind him.

"Santa Claus? No, no, in our place he's usually called a bootlicker."

The little girl paused, tilting her head and silently repeating it.

"tiān gǒu?"

Seeing her mimicking rather well, Construction Site Youths and Bricks' eyes lit up, cheerfully rewarding her with a lollipop.

"Exactly, that's how you pronounce it!"

Without giving Big Eyes any time to react, the little girl joyfully looked at him and mimicked the newly learned "refuge black talk."

"Uncle Big Eyes is a bootlicker!"

The expression on her face was too bright, coupled with the piercing voice, it seemed to create a critical hit effect that hit Big Eyes' heart with indescribable pain.

Pain!

Too painful!

"Hahaha, damn!"

Construction Site Youths and Bricks laughed loudly, while Big Eyes furiously launched a kick at the former's backside.

"I'm gonna kick you!"

Seeing this guy's murderous intent, the construction site guy was also a bit jumpy, hurriedly running aside.

"Oh crap! Brother Eyes, I was wrong! I apologize! I-I-I'll kowtow for you!"

"Get lost!!!"

Throwing away the chocolate, Big Eyes chased madly after the construction site guy, dying to take this goon back to the Springs.

The two ran around the camp twice without stopping, the Intelligence System's physical strength was indeed a bit weak.

Watching the non-stop commotion of the two, the Roll Wash Head shouted with laughter.

"Can't you stop fighting!"

Watching the uproar at the camp entrance, Laplace couldn't help but smile as his lips curled.

It felt as if days like these had been absent for a long time.

For a moment, he seemed to return to much, much earlier days in the City of Dawn.

At this moment, Edge Shoveling from the Death Legion walked in from outside the camp, finally pinning down those two "conspicuous bags."

"Here comes a mission, the command says a researcher in the north died, um, seems like a prospector... Anyway, they're Academy people, roughly the same meaning."

Construction Site Youths and Bricks raised their heads in confusion.

"Academy people? Do they have people here?"

The Roll Wash Head also looked confused, scratching the back of his head.

"Never saw them during the fight, how come they suddenly appear after the battle's over."

Edge Shoveling smiled.

"When are those guys ever idle? Regardless, someone doing tricks on our territory is ultimately a threat, who's gonna come take a look with me?"

Construction site guy and Big Eyes unanimously raised their hands.

Edge Shoveling snapped his fingers.

"Alright, gear up and follow me."

Chapter 968: Probing Clash

Edge Shoveling and a group of players left the camp, grabbed their gear, and boarded the truck parked at the camp's entrance, heading toward the north side of Yavente City.

Although Big Eyes, who distributed chocolate, had left, the charming tales of Bootlickers and that infinitely tall figure remained in the hearts of the little girls.

Eventually, the story reached the ears of some fun-loving people, and they were so delighted by the discovery that they started doing charity work, leading to several chocolate supply points, originally meant for replenishing the frontline soldiers' sugar and calorie needs, selling out.

The tale of the Bootlickers also gradually morphed with their encouragement…

It so happened that Old Na and Gnome King Riches had just returned from their patrol.

As soon as they got off the truck, they were surrounded by a group of adorable children.

Gnome King Riches, with a cheeky grin, was just about to greet them, but was caught off guard by what they said.

"Scraps! Candy!"

"Scraps, scraps, hand over the candy!"

"Scraps, scraps!"

Listening to their imperfect mandarin, Gnome King Riches almost choked.

"Ahem, which dog coin… no, who taught you this?"

A few twelve-year-old girls exchanged glances, and the slightly younger girl said softly.

"Uncle Mosquito told us not to mention his name!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl with a ponytail beside her hurriedly covered her mouth.

"Shh! You spilled the beans!"

"Ah, Mosquito… I can't say I'm surprised," Elena said, wearing a look as if watching a spectacle. She handed a chocolate bar to a quietly mannered girl wearing glasses on her nose, and said with a smile, "What else did Uncle Mosquito say? Tell us secretly, we won't reveal it to him."

The quiet-looking girl's cheeks turned rosy. She hesitated with the chocolate in her hands before ultimately betraying Mosquito.

"He also said this was a Halloween tradition, and that Alliance children just need to chant this mantra to Residents of the refuge on this day to get candy…"

Gnome King Riches: "Pfft, what's wrong with this guy, never doing anything serious."

"Hahaha! But isn't it amusing? It doesn't cost much anyway," Elena laughed until her stomach hurt, and in the befuddled gaze of the children, she handed the remaining chocolate to them, "Remember, this mantra only works on nice people like me; it's useless on mean people."

"Nice people?" The quiet-looking girl tilted her head.

With a smile, Elena patted the little girl's head.

"Emmm… Simply put, it's people who can afford to play along. If someone has no candy, or gets scared, or bullies you, just say 'I'm sorry' and go find the next Resident of the refuge."

The Wasteland is miserable enough; a bit more happiness isn't a bad thing.

Yavente City originally had no Halloween.

But now it does.

…

North of Yavente City, in the alley beside the logistics building, several soldiers from the Death Legion surrounded a corpse wearing an exoskeleton.

From the fine craftsmanship, the equipment was clearly not a product of the Southern Legion's rough industry.

Thanks to Big Eyes' chocolate, Edge Shoveling and his company easily found the corpse lying next to the garbage bin with the help of local children.

Perhaps due to their battle-hardened experience, these kids weren't afraid of seeing a corpse. One of them, about twelve, even pointed with his finger and indicated to Edge Shoveling.

"There's a big airplane parked on top of the logistics building, and someone shot at them, then this guy fell and died from the fall."

Debt Giant Eye asked curiously.

"No one from the plane came down to save him?"

Another boy, two years older, shook his head.

"Though well-equipped, they didn't seem too adept at fighting. A sniper fired several rounds at them from a distance, and they couldn't even tell where the bullets came from, nor did they return fire."

"Exactly!" His eyes glazed over, fixated on the candy still left in Big Eyes' hand, the child chimed in, "They just flew away."

The Site Youth with Brick asked.

"Did you hear the gunfire direction?"

"This way!"

In unison, the children responded vocally, but each pointed in distinct different directions.

Not only were the Site Fellow and Edge Shoveling puzzled, but the children themselves were surprised and soon began arguing over who was right.

Finally, a child standing in the corner sighed and muttered softly.

"Obviously, it was a Gauss Rifle… what you heard weren't gun firing sounds."

He had heard from his father that there were many types of Gauss Rifles; some produced sound as bullets exited, others were audible in the air due to sonic booms, and some used special ammunition with noise only upon hitting targets.

The Site Fellow and Edge Shoveling exchanged glances.

"The attackers have high-tech… anyway it's still a clue."

"Could it be internal strife in the Academy?"

"There's not much internal strife; you think it's still in Poluo Province?"

"Just a speculation, though the possibility seems slim to me…"

Thus, it's likely to be someone from the Enlightenment Society.

Looking up toward the rooftop of the logistics building, Edge Shoveling furrowed his brows slightly.

"… the bullet should have come from the other side of the building, come with me to check it out."

"I'll come with you." The Site Fellow raised his hand, naturally following the captain.

Debt Giant Eye handed out the remaining candies to the kids still arguing about the gunfire direction.

"Alright, stop arguing, put the gunfire issue aside… where did the airplane fly off to?"

The kids exchanged looks, and this time there was no disagreement; they unanimously pointed straight up with their fingers.

"It flew directly up into the sky!"

"That's right! Just like an airship, it flew up and then started spewing fire and disappeared."

Vertical flight seems feasible enough.

Debt Giant Eye rubbed his forehead tiredly, while the Roller Washing Machine chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"Don't be discouraged; perhaps they flew out of the atmosphere? That's still a clue."

Elsewhere, Edge Shoveling and the Site Fellow circled to the building's other side and gazed toward Yavente City's northeast suburb.

Here lay a halted apartment complex; their structures resembled the Alliance's affordable housing, but based on dismantled scaffolding, these buildings likely have been abandoned for a long time.

Resources in the Wasteland are limited, and resources refer not only to minerals but also industrial capability, architectural capability, and workforce.

Even with 2.7 million square kilometers of colonies, the Southern Legion finds it challenging to balance war and development. Choosing one path means halting the other.

After all, they do not have immortal players.

Edge Shoveling sometimes wondered what the Alliance would be without players or whether the Alliance wouldn't exist at all.

He did not wish to emphasize his own importance nor imply that the Alliance's citizens should be eternally grateful, merely concerned about how those who remain will face future challenges if someday players leave there.

At some point, he found it increasingly difficult to treat this world as merely a game.

Or perhaps, put another way.

He grew emotionally invested in the game.

"… any discoveries?" The Site Youth with Brick looked at him, interrupting his train of thought.

Edge Shoveling shook his head, setting aside the telescope.

"These buildings are too densely packed; the bullet could have come from anywhere… no idea why the researchers chose this building, making it an ideal target."

"I suspect it's due to this building overlooking the 'Tower of the World,'" The Site Youth with Brick looked toward the city, "I guess those researchers never anticipated getting ambushed after the war's end."

Pausing for a moment, he suddenly seemed to recall something, continuing speaking.

"Could it be possible that they were investigating the 'suspected Hive Organism' at the Tower of the World, and the Enlightenment Society or some other group targeted them?"

Edge Shoveling shook his head.

"Whatever the possibilities, finding them is next to impossible… anyway, let's recover that poor guy's body first."

As he began to turn, suddenly an ominous premonition crept over his senses.

Time slowed down in an instant—

Or more accurately, the speed at which his brain processed information multiplied several times in that instant!

That was the sensory perceptual talent he unlocked at Level 30!

When danger is detected, adrenaline surges rapidly, passively triggering effects akin to "bullet time"!

Edge Shoveling suddenly turned around, raising his binoculars towards an unfinished window in that cluster of architecture.

Almost at the same time, a man wielding a Gauss Rifle startled, putting away his gun and swiftly retreating from the sniper's position.

He clearly saw the bewilderment on the man's face; the other party obviously hadn't expected to be discovered.

Without pausing for a moment, Edge Shoveling immediately opened the communication module to contact the rear command center.

"…This is the Death Legion, we've spotted a suspicious target, requesting a drone."

After a short pause, a response quickly came from the other side of the communication channel.

"Command received, drone is coming online."

"Received!"

Edge Shoveling hung up the communication and tossed the binoculars to a bewildered construction worker, then selected the map icon on the VM screen and outlined a large area on the map that popped up.

"Death Legion units, pay attention, block all exits of the marked area. The target may be equipped with optical camouflage devices, remember to bring infrared identification equipment."

Responses quickly came through the communication channel.

"Acknowledged!"

Meanwhile, the man who had just retreated from the sniper point looked bewildered.

His name was Flynn, a disciple of the Enlightenment Society, and also a hidden operative for the Society in Yavente City.

Long ago, the senior ranks of the Southern Legion had colluded with the Enlightenment Society, which is why Martin and his "Mortal Serum" were heavily utilized by Teil.

However, only a few senior members of the Southern Legion knew about the contacts with the Enlightenment Society, even Chief of Staff Augustus didn't fully understand, let alone the majority of the officers.

Although the unrest at Evernight Harbor caused the name of the Enlightenment Society to appear in the public eye, it was dismissed as a drug-induced farce due to lack of evidence and clues and didn't cause much stir.

In fact, almost half of the researchers in the "Tower of the World" building, which housed Teil's "decisive weapon", were either directly provided or trained by the Enlightenment Society.

Aside from researchers, the senior members of the Enlightenment Society sponsored practical achievements for the Southern Legion.

For instance, the "Seed of Gaia" the Enlightenment Society obtained from "celestial beings".

Flynn wasn't a professional researcher, and he didn't understand what the "Seed of Gaia" was for; he only knew the senior members were very interested in its combat data.

And on the other hand, celestial beings wanted them to get a research ship from the Academy to facilitate direct material exchange with the space station at the Lagrange Point.

According to their judgment, the Academy, which possessed some information on "Gaia-like life forms" and wished to keep it confidential, would certainly hide somewhere unknown to the Alliance, secretly observing and gathering data.

Thus, today's operation was conceived.

Everything went as smoothly as planned.

His partner "Luo Yi", under his cover, successfully infiltrated the research ship, eliminated all the researchers, hacked onto the ship's server, and seized control of the research ship.

After accomplishing everything, his plan had been to withdraw directly, but unexpectedly, driven by a damned curiosity, he gave a quick glance at those two guys with gas masks, and one of them instantly fixed their eyes on him.

Flynn, who had never experienced such absurdity, thought that with special talents, even Awakeners couldn't pinpoint a target from such a distance, which was overly ludicrous.

Perhaps there were still "singularities" in this world unknown to them.

Watching the fixed-wing drone hovering at low altitude, Flynn carefully tucked himself into the shadows, cautiously gazing at the street not far away.

The entire district felt like a boiling cauldron of water, with trucks and off-road vehicles speeding through the streets, the stirred dust signifying quite an uproar.

Whether for that research ship or for fallen comrades, these people were taking it seriously.

Taking a deep, icy breath, Flynn reached for the side of his helmet.

"It's a bit of a situation here... Temporarily unable to head to the evacuation point. You guys wait outside the settlement; I'll think of my own way to leave."

Pausing, he added another sentence.

"These alliance soldiers are somewhat peculiar. I don't know if it was intuition, but someone spotted me in one glance... Anyhow, be cautious."

"If you don't have a surefire shot, don't aim at them recklessly."

...

The Academy lost a research ship.

Chu Guang's first reaction to the news was that the old thing in the Wandering swamp had exploded Gold coins again.

And precisely at the right moment.

The gravity well had been deployed, and the "seal" exerted on this planet was soon to be lifted, and the Alliance happened to be in need of a vehicle capable of operating in outer space.

Although the expedition team had recovered a lot of technical documentation from the pre-war era ruins, those things clearly couldn't match the quality of a ready-made product.

However, after listening to the description of Li Ke, a B-level researcher from the Academy's External Affairs Department special planning group,Chu Guang quickly realized the matter could be deeper than he had imagined.

The report that had once appeared on his desk long, long ago was picked up again from the corner of the file cabinet.

It was related to the Torch War period.

Based on the Guards Corps' investigation of Shelter No.20 and the intelligence revealed by the Academy, the Alliance first learned that at the Prosperity Epoch era's Star Harbor at the Lagrange Point, there were descendants of the United Human Expeditionary Army.

These individuals for some reason inherited the Torch Church's legacy, and seem to have sponsored some actions of the Enlightenment Society.

The Academy referred to them as "celestial beings."

Due to the lack of direct contact, Chu Guang had once pushed this matter to the back of his mind.However, with the Academy losing the research ship, it suddenly came to his attentions.

Who could be so urgently in need of movement between the sky and ground?

Surely it's not the Eastern Empire.

"I've informed the frontline combat personnel about the relevant matters; they say they're investigating now."

Watching Chu Guang return to the reception room, Li Ke, seated on the sofa, eagerly straightened his body and asked him.

"Any clues?"

Chu Guang sat down opposite him, signaling with his eyes to be patient, then spoke.

"When our people arrived, the fight was already over. According to the locals, they saw the research ship flying straight into the sky. The material used in your research ship is too special, leaving not a trace on our radar."

Seeing Li Ke's disappointed expression, Chu Guang pondered for a while and continued.

"But luckily enough, those people left a small tail on the ground. We've already sealed off the district he might be hiding in. If we catch that guy, we might be able to extract some answers."

The main population in Yavente City are Weilante People; if that guy was an alien, identifying him should not be difficult.

Of course, such things are unpredictable.

Everyone is a descendant of the United Human, and who doesn't have a few trump cards unknown to others?

This includes himself.

Hearing Chu Guang's words, Li Ke sighed and said.

"We've caused you trouble."

"You've certainly caused us plenty of trouble,"Chu Guang replied bluntly, casting a gaze onto Li Ke's embarrassed expression and continued straight to the point, "We're looking for the person now. I want to know what exactly was your team doing there at the time."

Upon hearing this request, Li Ke's face showed an awkward expression, and he hesitantly shifted his gaze.

"We were..."

Chu Guang raised his hand, indicating that Li Ke needn't put on that expression.

"I know you have your difficulties, but I hope you understand one thing... It is precisely because you did not inform us in advance of your action in Yavente City that these circumstances arose."

"Moreover, we assume that the opposite party has already unlocked the data stored within the research ship upon acquiring it. Your confidentiality only adds obstacles and difficulty to your allies'—our—investigation without any real benefit, do you understand what I'm saying?"

Li Ke wiped the sweat off his forehead, giving a bitter smile and a nod.

"I... understand. However, the project's confidentiality level is too high for me to decide alone to disclose the information to you, so I must consult my superiors..."

Chu Guang nodded.

"As long as you understand, I trust you'll accurately convey my thoughts to your superiors."

Saying this, he who had been seated for only a moment, stood up from the sofa again.

"Don't waste time sitting here either; go communicate with your superiors."

"Or let them come directly to me!"

Chapter 969: Postwar Order

No matter how you put it, it was the Academy that lost the research ship, not the Alliance itself.

Even if this research ship was important, as the Manager of the Alliance, Chu Guang couldn't spend all day fixating on investigating the work of a criminal investigation team leader.

Besides informing Chu Guang about this, the Academy was too embarrassed to inform any third-party forces. Apart from searching for clues, they could only temporarily swallow this silent loss.

In short, although the Enlightenment Society made some small moves behind the scenes, this little episode did not cast a shadow on the great victory.

On the third day of the Alliance's occupation of Yavente City, troops from the Welch Governorate also arrived there.

The two sides met in the eastern suburbs of Yavente City and held a grand parade in the city's center district.

Soldiers wearing exoskeletons marched in neat phalanxes past the gate of Yavente City's Parliament Building.

To show their importance to their southern compatriots, the Leader of the Weilant Alliance, "Pangolin," personally arrived at the frontline by Iron Airship to negotiate with Vanus, the commander from the Alliance side, on the rebuilding of the occupied zones and the post-war order formulation.

Although the former is a survivor of the River Valley Province, he represents the Alliance of the Weilante people. The latter, although a Weilante, represents the River Valley Province's Alliance.

This identity contrast, at first glance, is quite amusing.

However, amusing as it may be, on the issue of rebuilding the post-war order, both held the same position—

That is, to bury the ghosts of the old era.

Leading the survivors of the Bartoya Province into the new era, to place the final brick on the grave of the old epoch!

At the parade.

In the viewing stand at the entrance of the Conference Building, while the Battlefield Atmosphere Group clapped with smiles, they conversed with Vanus standing beside them.

"Teil is already dead, and so is Augustus. Although failing to catch these two guys is regrettable, what's more important now is to prevent new war criminals from emerging."

Watching the Expeditionary Army formation march past, the clapping Vanus slightly nodded.

"The Alliance's position is the same. We do not support colonizing the Bartoya Province, nor do we advocate continuing the old mistakes. The Manager hopes the locals can establish their order and actively integrate into the new era's order."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group smiled and said.

"It seems that fundamentally we are of the same viewpoint. We plan to assist the survivors of the Attoya Province in establishing their constitution, just like the survivors of the Welch Governorate."

Vanus had probably received guidance from the Manager. After hearing his words, the veteran in the battlefield had quite a grasp of the situation. The "Ah Guang" from the City of Dawn was still the same "Ah Guang" he knew.

While the battlefield veteran was probing Vanus, the latter was also testing him.

However, Vanus was unaware that the "Pangolin" in front of him was actually a resident of Shelter No. 404.

After verifying this person indeed considered the interests of the Weilante people, he finally relaxed.

"Let's talk about practical issues next. There are about... 2 million survivors stranded in the southern part of the Welch Governorate?"

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group shook their head.

"Two million? You're underestimating Teil. Our statistics show it's ten million, and among them, eight million are Weilante people."

Vanus looked at "Pangolin" in astonishment, his face full of incredulity.

"Ten million?! But... how did they flood in such numbers across the Whirlpool Sea in such a short time?!"

He had always been commanding the battle on the front lines. Although he had heard that Teil was urging the survivors of the Bartoya Province to move northward, he wasn't aware of what exactly happened in the Whirlpool Sea.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group knew this guy couldn't access the forum, so they concisely explained.

"Through various methods, even reckless ones, like using bathtubs as boats. In short, many people died along the way. I shouldn't say this is fortunate, but at least they have tasted the bitter fruit of their own choices. I reckon they wouldn't choose the same path next time."

The survivors of the Southern Legion fed a monster with their own flesh and blood.

And then, that monster viciously bit off an arm.

This lesson was deep enough.

Vanus was silent for a while, then said.

"We hope they can return to the Bartoya Province. This mess needs them to clean up, but of course... it's ultimately their decision. We won't force them to go anywhere."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group smiled and nodded.

"No problem, while the Welch Governorate welcomes fellow countrymen to visit Triumph City, we truly don't have enough houses to accommodate such a large number of people. The quarantine zone by the coast is also not suitable for permanent residence... Moreover, with Teil dead, they should be willing to return to rebuild their homes."

He paused for a moment to contemplate before continuing.

"How about adding ten routes across the Whirlpool Sea? Transporting 100,000 people a day could suffice in about three months."

Vanus shook his head.

"Thirty thousand a day at best, and it's better to span it over a year... Our logistic transportation also has its limits. It might be better once the container port on the west side of Yavente City is built."

Currently, the reason the Alliance has so many supplies to spare for the locals is mainly because there aren't many residents in Yavente City, and the logistics network constructed by railroads and highways can support the supply of resources.

Once the survivors gradually return home, the local logistics resources will inevitably become strained, and even if there are supplies at the rear, it will be difficult to transport them immediately.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group nodded in understanding.

"Understood, let's increase the number of flights by five for now, we can communicate this anytime... Additionally, regarding the stationed troops, we want to know your arrangements."

Vanus thought for a moment and said.

"We plan to station ten divisions in the Bartoya Province, including three divisions from enterprises, five divisions from the Alliance homeland, including the Weilant Expeditionary Army, and two divisions from Jinjaron Harbor... and depending on the situation, reduce the stationed troops to two divisions within ten years."

"The Manager's opinion is that we must ensure that the new government in power can fully represent the opinions of the locals. Of course, if you are worried about the safety of your compatriots, you can keep two teams of ten thousand troops here to supervise our work locally."

As for the specific timeline for withdrawal, it mainly depends on the development progress of local society.

Nevertheless, Vanus is optimistic about the southern compatriots, even more so than about those in the Weilant Governorate.

Putting aside tactical details and elevating the perspective to the strategic dimension.

The reason the Eastern Empire struggles to modernize is not because Salun isn't smart or visionary enough; fundamentally, it's because the vast old military aristocracy group owns extensive land, and land along with its attached resources are the economic pillar of the Eastern Empire.

Vanus himself, from a military aristocratic background, is well aware of the enormous power associated with those hereditary honors and lands.

And the fact that Salun could play the card of Eastern expansion to defeat the "Eastern Expansionists" and retreat safely, accepting the interests of the Eastern Southern Legion without firing a shot, is enough to prove that his tactics are far beyond the surface-level golden armor.

He understands clearly that the Eastern Empire needs industrialization, or rather the new classes that become wealthy through industrialization.

Whether factory owners or workers.

When their power grows to balance the inner military aristocrats within the Eastern Empire, the Eastern Empire will naturally step into the next social process.

The Poluo Country is similar.

The failure of their constitutional process was not because Absek wasn't smart enough, Laxi not ruthless enough, or Zayed too unethical, but rather the "dock workers leader" and "slave officers" respectively representing the "citizen class" and the "officer class" in Poluo Country are too niche, only holding influence in Jinjaron Harbor, while the majority of Poluo people are serfs or mentally serfs.

Killing the aspiring emperor Anush only brings forth the next Zayed, who doesn't want to be emperor but a patriarch, and killing Zayed reveals yet another harder-to-deal-and-not-as-easily-recognizable Zayed.

There are smart people in the Poluo Province as well who see this, like Niyan.

Changing a society isn't a matter of writing a few textbooks; you must dive into the very grassroots of society, rewriting from the bottom codes entirely, changing every person's way of life and even the habit of language use on that land.

If the population of Poluo Province accounted for only 1% of the Wasteland, changing them wouldn't be difficult.

But the truth is, they could be more numerous than all the survivors of the Wasteland combined. If the Alliance truly went all-out to achieve this, it is more likely that they would end up being assimilated.

As an old subordinate who has followed Chu Guang for many years, Vanus believes this might be the real reason why that lord chose to "fulfill" them.

Although other Weilant people are more bitter about the Poluo people's attitude toward their heroes, Vanus himself doesn't really prefer using the heroic history view to explain objective matters.

Even if results speak, the Poluo who disregard history and heroes have indeed faced consequences.

Whether they realize it or not.

On the other hand, survivors of Bartoya Province are much luckier.

There isn't as much vast land as the Eastern Empire, nor are there many landlords; most military aristocrats have almost died out.

Those young officers have only tasted the hardship of war, not its sweetness. As long as they aren't living too suppressed, another Teil is unlikely to emerge.

Those teenage soldiers need not be mentioned, they can't quite count as a soldier class — merely citizens forced to hold guns and put on the front line, better considered as militia.

Thanks in part to the madman Teil, whose insanity removed himself and indirectly accelerated the social process of the Southern Legion.

On this land, the old power has died off completely, the citizen class is exceptionally strong, and everyone generally received basic education, standing on vast factories, railways, highways, and the ruins all awaiting reconstruction.

Adding to the fact that Weilant people are natural artists and architects.

With these foundations, it's hard for them not to become another miracle of economic takeoff on the Wasteland — the second South Sea Union.

And an even larger one at that.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group clearly had the same thought, showing a pleasant smile.

"Since you all have mentioned it, then we'll gladly accept. We will keep two teams of ten thousand troops locally to ensure that Weilant people and Indigenous People of Bartoya Province receive fair and legal treatment."

Vanus also showed a pleasant smile.

Coincidentally, the parade was also almost finished.

He paused, using a casual tone, threw out one last topic, both important and unimportant.

"The final issue, regarding the formal designation of the Southern Legion, the Alliance's stance is that 'Legion' should become a historical term."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group casually said.

"How about the Southern Alliance?"

Vanus paused for a moment, then said with a wry smile.

"The concept of the South is too broad... Why not call it the Bartoya Federation."

There's already a South Sea Union on this planet.

Moreover, the ownership of the 2.7 million square kilometers of colonies is an issue that must be considered.

The Alliance hopes to establish new authorities on that land, rather than having the newly formed Bartoya Province inherit settlements such as the Lavanka Industrial Zone and Evernight Harbor.

Doing so would be retracing the old path.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group's eyes lit up, and they praised with a thumbs up.

"Bartoya Federation... It's a good name, let's use this for now."

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise, Vanus smiled modestly and spoke gently.

"It's just a temporary name."

"Once a new order is established locally, if the local survivors have better ideas, they can change it then."

...

[Good news! Victory in war! The alliance's flag flies over Yavente City! A joint parade is held in the city center of Yavente City!

Chief war criminal Teil dies without an intact corpse, secondary war criminal Augustus commits suicide out of shame! High-level officials of the Southern Legion were all arrested and will be tried separately in Triumph City, City of Dawn, Jin Galun Harbor, and Ideal City.

——Survivor's Daily Tiandu Edition

]

[Bartoya Federation established! The Southern Legion becomes history! Let's congratulate the survivors of Bartoya Province and welcome the friends from the South Shore of Whirlpool Sea into a new family!

The Weilant Alliance leader and the Alliance Expeditionary Army commander have already reached a consensus on rebuilding Yavente City, and plan to build a container port in the west of Yavente City.

Due to the surge in local engineering equipment demands, North Island Heavy Industries signed a massive order worth 500 million silver coins with local companies!

——Survivor's Daily South Sea Edition

]

[Tiandu sent a congratulatory message to Bartoya Province! Zayed's patriarch welcomes the reform of the Weilante and says the Poluo are family with the Weilante, and the Southern Legion is the true enemy of the Poluo that should be annihilated.

The great victory has finally arrived; let's thank the patriarch for his personal deployment! The situation in the Northern Three States is unstable, with the Mammoth Nation's regression provoking public anger. "Iron General" Grov marches 800,000 troops northward! Target Tasang River! Sweeping away remnants of the old era is around the corner!

Also, Tiandu has seen a spike in cockroach numbers recently, and honorable Chairman Sava stated in a committee meeting to once again rally families to declare war on cockroaches! Our reporters also urge everyone to pay attention and ensure that not a single cockroach egg remains in any household!

If we unite together, we can transform our homeland into a paradise on earth!

——Survivor's Daily Tiandu Edition

]

[

The Western Port Winter Swimming Tournament enters the second round, this time affecting the factory? A Looter who prefers to remain anonymous said after reading the report that it's outrageous to demand ransom and still kill hostages, which will be despised by other Looters!

The Free State's corporate war intensifies, the Alliance's "volunteers" are suspected of getting involved?

Bugra currency crashes again and again, the most stable currency in the Free State turns out to be stock in the "Continuously Losing Firestone Group?"

A large number of employees face unemployment, returning to wander the Wasteland, which could benefit the prosperous and stable New West Sail Port!

Salen suddenly coughed during today's morning meeting, or strongly indicated the Alliance should take heed.

General Mclen declined to comment on whether he is actually the district governor but did not clearly refuse on whether he would become a special commentator for this newspaper.

Moreover, congratulations to the compatriots of Bartoya Province for finally getting rid of the foolish Teil.

We sincerely recommend to you our wise, prophetic Salun.

Compared to other areas in the Wasteland, New West Sail Port is truly heaven within heaven.

——Survivor's Daily New West Sail Port Edition.

]

[Waste Land Wanderers talk too much, Blue Ground Squirrel says it's speechless.

Every frown and smile of Emperor Salen is a hint, residents of City of Dawn say the writings of New West Sail Port's newspaper have nothing to do with them, and everyone is more curious about when the Manager will have their own children.

The former leader of Poluo Country established Ah Bu Aerospace, reportedly already secured an investment of 1 billion silver coins! South Sea Union President Li Minghui submitted his resignation again, suspected of facing another delay by the representatives; rumors claim the latter plan to extend wartime legislation and are considering declaring war on Gaia Planet five light-years away?

In addition, the Poluo Province Big Escape has entered the next round, reportedly the current leader Shaluk starved to death in prison, a tragically dismal death. A leader's position has become a high-risk job? "Hot-Blood Prince" Sava first declared war on rats and now cockroaches, is the fire looming towards the boss of Goblin Technology?!

More and more chaotic news emerges, with customers sending feedback saying they want to see some normal news… The editor suggests that you can't expect a chef to also provide refrigeration, our boss was never a normal person; for serious news, please visit Survivor Daily Dawn City Edition.

Finally, let's shift our focus to the "Halloween" in Yavente City. Due to the commotion caused by Santa "Debt Giant Eye" scattering chocolates, the title of "small fry" has officially become a friendly blessing among the survivors of Yavente.

Also, this matter has absolutely nothing to do with Mosquito, it's unfair to blame Mosquito whenever something goes wrong, even if you've guessed the master behind the scenes, these methods are extremely unethical!

——Goblin Observation Report]

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

The forum is more lively than ever.

On the one hand, angry Backseat Drivers find that darn it, the Wasteland Era is about to end, and their headgear hasn't been shipped yet.

On the other hand, that lengthy war finally freaking ended victoriously!

["Southern Barbarian Invasion" expansion pack ends! Thank you all for your enthusiastic participation! Expansion pack rewards, titles, and honors have all been distributed.]

[The expansion pack point lottery system is now open, please check your mailbox to claim! And please use up any remaining points quickly to avoid them expiring and resetting to zero!]

[Additionally, players not in City of Dawn can receive expansion rewards remotely; Alliance Post provides paid delivery services (limited to areas within communication coverage).]

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Ugh, I watch as the Alliance develops from a small local force to the world's 'third polar', and yet I don't even have a headgear! This is so damn frustrating! T.T"

Grandpa Ao's Deference: "Haha, do you think I believe that?"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Even if you don't believe it, it's useless. Now even the trending search can't control it… Honestly, I'm starting to suspect, could Ah Guang be an alien? (gazing at the sky)"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Dear planner, I have a question. If I win a nuclear bomb, can it be mailed to me? If I set the address to Shelter No. 404, can I directly reboot the server? This shouldn't count as violating the rules, right? Asking politely. (0.0)"

Old White: "Haha, this kid is quite polite, but not very smart. (grinning)"

Gnome King Riches: "Ah Guang: Why don't you first win it before talking!"

Elena: "Ah Guang: Let me see whose headgear is itching, I'll scratch it for him. (funny)"

Night Ten: "No, he doesn't even have a headgear; you're all presumptuous. (funny)"

Silver Daddy: "Speaking of which, Proud Brothers' ages should be fine by now, it's been open for quite a while."

Silver Sword: "In theory, yes, but whether it's necessary to let Bear Kids in is another matter."

Tarlan Raider: "Ah… reopening, that's appealing; if it really reopens, I might be able to be a T0. (mischievous smile)"

Escape from Canyon Mole: "Don't even think about it. If Fang Chang takes his memory back to when it opened to start over, he could roll a snowball to the Moon. Do you believe it? Unless you reboot everyone's brain too."

Fang Chang: "Tsk, am I the kind of selfish eater person? Reflect honestly and rephrase your language, when have I not thought about you in good times. (side-eye)"

Canyon Escape Mole: "(guilty.jpg)"

Spring Water Commander: "Hahaha, Brother Mole is not very honest, I testify, the Bull Horse Group is very generous, never cuts their own people's turf. (side-eye smile)"

I Max Black: "Damn! Another consolation prize! Damn Spring Water, confess honestly, did you take the jackpot again! (angry)"

Spring Water Commander: "Cough, brother, let's not talk about the jackpot… Even if I really have that luck, you being unlucky can't blame my good luck. (sweat)"

I Max Black: "@#$#!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "I Max Black is enraged by the Exalted again. To me, it's the fault of this ID; can't blame others. (grinning)"

Prohibition: "Whoa! Pangolin is here!"

Tail: "Oh oh oh! Vellante Alliance's Leader! (✪ω✪)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Don't be like that, it's embarrassing. (sweat)"

Night Ten: "Haha! Why are you getting shy. (funny)"

Spring Water Commander: "How was the parade? Damn it, you guys are doing the best! By the way, did you check that expansion pack lottery? What did you draw? (mischievous smile)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Some random stuff, maybe just a purple-labeled bionic limb that's worth something, sigh… Honestly, it's useless; I've stored multiple expansion pack rewards in the warehouse to collect dust."

I Max Black: "Give it to me!! (angry)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "That's unrealistic, but if you're looking to buy, I might consider it. (grinning)"

I Max Black: "@#$#!"

-

(Many thanks to the Alliance Master "執孑徔掱" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 970: Celestial Beings

From the bottom of my heart, although the Wasteland OL expansion lottery doesn't have concepts like a guaranteed prize, the randomness is truly random, and there's no such idea that "someone more suited to a piece of equipment is more likely to get it".

However, precisely because it is truly random, even if the "overall drop rate" follows a normal distribution, it is inevitable that a few extremely unlucky Non-Tribals and insanely lucky Exalteds pop up.

And when it reaches this point, only the Manager can step in and proactively give benefits to the Non-Tribals.

As for the Exalted, just forget it.

If they get it, they get it. You can't exactly take it back from them, can you?

Although sometimes a bit unscrupulous, Chu Guang asked himself, he still does things according to principles.

First, he doesn't go back on his word, second, he doesn't retaliate later, third, if he can use the power of the rules, he uses the power of the rules.

But to be honest, this Brother Qingshui sometimes gets outrageously lucky, even making someone like me, who knows the "game's inside story", wonder if this guy is using hacks.

Similarly, Brother I Max Black as well, his bad luck seems like he must have committed some sin in his past life...

In the study on Floor B4 of the Shelter, Chu Guang was lounging on the sofa, sipping milk tea while browsing the forum.

At this moment, the energy-negative Brother I Max Black from a second ago was now holding a "Golden Legend" screenshot, crying tears of joy—or perhaps showing off.

However, Brother I Max Black didn't know, his draw of the Golden Legend wasn't because of any "change of luck" or having washed his hands before holding the mouse, but rather as compensation manually given by the benevolent Ah Guang.

"Xiao Qi, be honest with me, is this guy really someone who drew twenty ramen vouchers in a row with talent?"

Sitting in the pen holder, Xiao Qi wore an exasperated expression.

"Master, do you not believe Xiao Qi?"

Chu Guang took a sip of the milk tea, shook his head, and said.

"Not really, it's just that this guy's bad luck is heartbreaking, and with skill alone, he's lowered our credibility."

Some people on the forum say there's a dark curtain in the expansion lottery, but there's really no such thing. At most, if you are too improbably lucky or too bewitched, you might not get a "visa"—the helmet needed to enter the Different World.

And to be fair, he and Brother Qingshui barely know each other outside the game. If there really were any dark curtains, it wouldn't be him involved.

However, objectively speaking, cases of bad luck are actually in the minority; the vast majority of players manage to draw some good items with skill.

Due to the recent massive surge in the Alliance's soft and hard power, the players' reward pool has become more abundant.

Aside from the high-tech equipment produced by the Shelter's own blueprints and production centers, it also includes equipment commissioned for testing by some companies and their subsidiaries, as well as experimental equipment jointly designed by the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team and relevant units.

Things like plasma cutting knives, magnetic slingshots, neural acceleration modules, and portable rocket launchers.

These devices hold more fun value than practical value in combat and are hard to apply in a direct battlefield, but they do have some practical value in wasteland adventures.

For instance, some "resource points" you can't reach through normal means; perhaps adding a rocket launcher and enhanced tendon prosthetics can allow for flight—or jumping up.

Another example is the plasma knife, which needs continuous irradiation to cut open the target; it might not be as strong as the claws of a Dead Claw, but showing it off might scare a Dead Claw.

Moreover, some widely praised and tested equipment will also be planned for mass production and implemented into the game store for players' purchase.

But generally speaking, such things can only be used by players.

For other Waste Land Wanderers, you need really hard luck to use them.

Chu Guang wandered around the forum, looking at those talented people using the reward props for fun, involuntarily curling his lips into a smile, unable to contain his laughter.

At this moment, Xiao Qi, sitting in the pen holder, suddenly lifted her head, speaking in a sweet voice.

"Master, the director of the Academy's Investigation Department wants to meet with you... regarding the lost research ship in Yavente City, and that 'fake nest' of the 'Tower of the World'."

The fake nest is the term used by the Alliance Biological Research Institute.

According to Xiao Yu, that thing isn't significantly related to the mutant mucor mother nest.

Judging from the Academy's various behaviors, they clearly have some intelligence unknown to the Alliance.

But these people have always been this way, extremely sensitive to technology, even to the "direction" beyond the technology itself.

Chu Guang slightly raised an eyebrow, an expression of intrigued interest rising in his eyes.

It seems that this research ship holds more significance to the Academy than I had imagined.

The director of the Big Four departments, as a Level A researcher within the Academy, already counts as one of the core layers.

Further up is the only S-level Chief Technical Officer, Mu Bei, and behind him stands the authoritative Doctor of Conclusions.

"When?"

Xiao Qi: "He's already near the City of Dawn and wants to ask when you would be available to meet?"

Already here?

Placing the tea cup back into the tray on the table, Chu Guang signaled X-16 waiting on the side to take it away for him, then stood up from the sofa.

"Let him wait for me in Hall No. 1 of the Alliance Building."

...

Alliance Building, Hall No. 1.

A middle-aged man around 40 years old sat in front of the conference table.

His appearance seemed average, the type that would be hard to pick out in a crowd. That silver-white researcher uniform was also commonplace within the Academy.

A staff member standing to the side stepped forward to pour him a cup of coffee.

The man softly thanked the staff and then sat there motionlessly, quietly waiting.

Before long, footsteps sounded outside the meeting room, and then the door to the meeting room was pushed open.

Seeing Chu Guang enter from outside the door, the man stood up from the conference table, courteously saying.

"Respected Manager, hello, I am Qi Liu from the Academy's Investigation Department. I apologize for disturbing you amidst your busy schedule without a prior appointment."

"No need for formalities, Mr. Qi. I was just taking a break, so I'm not busy with anything else. It wasn't any disturbance at all, please sit."

Chu Guang smiled and nodded, then pulled out a chair to sit on the opposite side of the conference table.

Seeing that Chu Guang took his seat, the somewhat reserved Qi Liu also sat down.

The staff member on the side walked over quietly and poured a cup of red tea for Chu Guang.

Not wasting time on pleasantries, Chu Guang directly cut to the chase and asked.

"My assistant told me about the missing research ship and its unauthorized investigation activities in Yavente City... do you have more information you would like to supplement us with?"

Despite the slightly barbed words, Qi Liu did not conceal anything and candidly admitted.

"Yes, but please believe us, we weren't hiding relevant clues out of malice."

Having said that, he took out a holographic computer pen from his chest pocket and placed it on the conference table, gently pushing it forward.

Watching the pen slide to the center of the conference table, Chu Guang raised an eyebrow slightly, then looked to the staff member on the side.

The latter understood and walked to the table, retrieving the holographic computer pen for Chu Guang and then exited the meeting room.

Chu Guang reached out and pressed the computer pen, and pale blue holographic beams quickly unfolded over the conference table.

Displayed within the holographic beams was a document that included an evaluation analysis and identification conclusion of the biological weapon used by Teil in the decisive battle.

However, possibly due to data loss, the report's content was entirely qualitative analysis, lacking in quantitative analysis parts.

Having read the document from beginning to end, Chu Guang's raised eyebrows couldn't help but carry a hint of intrigue.

"Seed of Gaia?"

"Or rather, Gaia-like life forms," Qi Liu said seriously, watching Chu Guang's expression. "This is what we call the biological weapon used by Teil... You should have realized, it is something similar yet different from the mutant mucor mother nest."

"Yes."

Chu Guang nodded, lightly swiping his index finger in the air to turn off the holographic screen in front of him.

"However, it seems to us that the mutant slime fungus' lair is evidently more threatening. Thiel's little tricks are somewhat lacking... Of course, maybe you can offer us some different perspectives?"

"That's exactly why I'm here," Qi Liu nodded slightly, maintaining a serious expression as he continued, "The misunderstanding arises from your lack of understanding of Gaia. To distinguish their threat level simply based on strength is contrary to scientific principles. Of course... we also bear some responsibility for blocking this portion of the information."

There was a hint of apology in his voice.

Perhaps it was an apology.

Chu Guang didn't speak. He simply looked at the director of the Academy's Investigation Department, gesturing with his eyes for him to continue.

The latter paused for a moment before continuing.

"That was a long time ago, even before the Wasteland Era or the Three-Year War... When the colonists arriving at South Gate Two realized that the planet beneath their feet was a 'living planet,' the colony researchers conducted an in-depth investigation of Gaia. The results of this investigation surprised us all, presenting us with a hive civilization that we had never seen before."

"According to the research report sent back from the colony, it was a stagnant society, regardless of whether it had fallen from a higher civilization to its present state or slowly climbed from a lower civilization to its current level. In reality, it had already lost the ability to spiral upward or downward."

Chu Guang nodded.

"The Union Academy of Social Sciences has a similar report."

Qi Liu said.

"I've seen it. That report is well-written, even by the standards of the Academy."

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Haha, thank you for the compliment."

"It's not a compliment; it's a fact," Qi Liu said seriously as he looked at Chu Guang and continued, "Even though Gaia has lost the motivation to continue social evolution, its existence still provides us with great insights. Inspired by that report and related research, there has been a technological explosion in the fields of biology, aerospace physics, and sociology within the United Human, including the mind interference technology you are currently using, which is a product of that era."

Chu Guang had heard of this matter.

The Administrator's Log of Shelter No. 401 in the eastern suburbs of Qingquan City mentioned that mind interference technology was originally proposed to replace the infrasound fence used to drive away alien creatures.

This technology unexpectedly opened the door to a new world, establishing a bridge of communication between humans and Gaia, who previously could not communicate.

Currently, many players within the Alliance also use this device to communicate with the sub-entities of Xiaoyu.

Of course, this technology also caused quite a stir at the time, such as being used by a dubious company for marketing promotions, thus being reviewed by the Scientific Ethics Committee.

Watching Chu Guang lost in thought, Qi Liu continued.

"The force is mutual, and so is the exchange between civilizations. We learned many things from Gaia that we had never seen before, and Gaia was also greatly shocked by the complex societal forms and individual consciousness that we displayed. After all, before we set foot on that land, Gaia was always playing with itself, only occasionally having a meteor from the sky bringing a few unfamiliar and not particularly interesting small creatures."

"Regardless of why the Gaia civilization abandoned its original social forms and possibly individual consciousness, it indeed doesn't remember anything prior to the mutation threshold, which is what your Union Academy of Social Sciences report refers to as the 'Big Bang'."

"And our emergence allowed Gaia to see another possibility in the universe—it began to contemplate what its children would be like if it had any, and what its parents would be like if it had any."

Chu Guang said thoughtfully.

"It became interested in our method of inheritance."

Qi Liu slowly nodded.

"This was a topic of debate in the academic world at that time. Some believed that helping Gaia understand human society could promote mutual exchange, advance social progress, and possibly even make Gaia a faithful friend of humanity. However, others argued that awakening a prehistoric giant was a dangerous act; its lifespan might be longer than the entire history of human existence, and it might consume us."

Chu Guang nodded.

"That is indeed a concern."

In fact, its children have already eaten quite a few people, especially in Qingquan City.

And the reason Xiaoyu was able to integrate into the Alliance's society was more due to the Waste Land Wanderers' compromise with the reality of the environment—

Completely eliminating the mutant slime fungus was no longer feasible. The War Construction Committee exploded, but the slime fungus did not.

Those little creatures and Variants have already become part of the ecosystem. Instead of initiating a war with an uncertain outcome, it's better to consider how to control it and turn waste into treasure.

Qi Liu continued.

"One side, the Conservative faction of scholars, sought to improve legislation through the Scientific Ethics Committee to curb technological mismanagement in each field. Meanwhile, another faction of scholars, what you might call the Radical Faction, extended a helping hand to Gaia. They helped clone Gaia's children using the technology humans learned from it."

Chu Guang said with a wry smile.

"This... is quite a bold idea."

By comparison, the Alliance's Radical Faction seemed far too conservative. At best, they only showed excessive sympathy for the Poluo people, worried they couldn't chew even when the food was fed right into their mouths.

Qi Liu nodded.

"Indeed, even in a society as open-minded as that time, which tolerated gender modification through genetic technology and marriage with androids, having a child for Gaia was unprecedentedly avant-garde... After all, it is another species."

"Not to mention the uncontrollable risks the experiment might pose; the experiment itself carried considerable ethical controversy. Since Gaia itself lacks the ability to split out a second persona, they had to use a human volunteer with complete consciousness as the mental provider... even if the volunteer was willing to sacrifice."

Wait—

How come this sounds so familiar?

Chu Guang's expression suddenly became somewhat nuanced, and he couldn't help but think of Falling Feather.

Although that incident had more to do with a fortunate series of accidents, there were still some differences if you nitpicked the details.

Qi Liu didn't seem to notice the subtle change on Chu Guang's face and continued to speak seriously.

"Although everyone thought they were crazy at the time, coincidentally... due to Gaia's active cooperation, an experiment which seemed no different from lunacy in everyone's eyes curiously succeeded."

"Thus, a Gaia possessing United Human citizenship was born; it was a brand-new life form whose form was determined entirely by consciousness. Defining it by gender, age, or skin color was superficial; it could grow wings if it wanted to fly, gills if it wished to swim underwater… as long as there were enough nutrients in its environment."

"Some people cheered for this, believing that if this technology were applied to planetary terraforming, it could provide humanity with more habitable planets. Others expressed fear, worrying that humans would cease to be human and become the monsters from mythology."

"But no matter how one looked at it, the technology had already been invented... Before we completed our own monument of the 'Perfect Life forms', we pre-emptively completed someone else's monument—the 'Amorphous Life form'. This illustrates another potential path on the evolutionary tree, philosophically speaking—'I am Gaia, and Gaia is all'.

Chu Guang wore a look of astonishment.

"...Is this the Seed of Gaia?"

The BOSS that Old White dispatched with one axe, turned out to be such an impressive entity?!

Qi Liu fixed his serious gaze on him and nodded.

"A war maniac with an extreme desire for control turned into a tentacled monster, no longer needing aircraft, artillery, or tanks. Given enough time, if left to devour the entire Bartoia Province, it could become an army in itself... But fortunately, until you cornered it to desperation, it didn't abandon its final line. And you acted in a timely manner, leaving no opportunity for them."

Chu Guang lightly cleared his throat and said.

"... I think it might just be that he didn't understand the technology he held. It's unlikely the Enlightenment Society fully informed them."

"The Enlightenment Society..." Qi Liu inexplicably chuckled, shaking his head and said, "They are a group of outcasts not worthy of recognition; at best, they suffice as pawns."

Chu Guang slightly frowned.

"... Are you implying that it's the 'Celestial Beings' manipulating all this?"

The descendants of the Expeditionary Army residing at the Lagrange Point Starport...

An outside force suspected of taking in remnants of the Torch Church.

So this group was the one who handed Thiel the ultimate superweapon?!

Through the hand of the Enlightenment Society...

Watching Chu Guang deep in thought, Qi Liu slowly nodded, disclosing a secret the Academy had never shared.

"The Celestial Beings."

"They are the only existing entity possessing both the technological data of the United Human and the colony... and also the only Survivor Forces in control of the 'Seed of Gaia'."

"If what remains of them can still be called survivors."

Chapter 971: Undercurrents in Deep Space

The air in the conference room was quiet for several minutes.

Digesting the massive amount of information, Chu Guang, sitting at the conference table, remained silent for a long time.

After a while, he pressed his index finger to his brow, cleared his thoughts, and spoke.

"So... the Celestials, through the Enlightenment Society, extended a helping hand to the Southern Legion, providing them with a series of trump cards including the 'Death Serum' and the 'Seed of Gaia'?"

"Yes," Qi Liu nodded, saying earnestly, "Whether they are trump cards or not is up for debate, but we have solid evidence to prove that it's not technology that the Southern Legion possessed."

Chu Guang looked at him incomprehensibly.

"I don't understand, what are their motives... or rather, what exactly do they intend to do?"

Why are they giving this card to Teil?

Unless—

They do not wish for the Wasteland Era to end.

Or, they want the Wasteland Era to completely enter the Annihilation Era, taking the acceleration to its utmost.

Those are the only two explanations.

He couldn't think of a third explanation.

Qi Liu was silent for a while, then said.

"The reason why Celestials are called Celestials is because they do not recognize us as their kin, or rather... now ascended to another dimension, they have already drawn a clear line from us."

"Of course, the dimension I refer to here is not spatial, but existential."

Chu Guang pinched his forehead.

"Is there a more straightforward way to say it?"

Qi Liu went straight to the point.

"Have you heard of mind uploading?"

Chu Guang immediately reacted.

"You mean the kind from Shelter 101?"

In fact, it's not just Shelter 101; the Torch Church also uses a method similar to distributed computing, dispersing and storing thoughts in bionic chips, thus constructing a terrestrial 'Heaven' in the so-called 'Heaven.'

So... it's the same for the Celestials?

No wonder the Torch Church ran straight there!

Chu Guang felt a sudden epiphany.

Qi Liu, sitting opposite him, nodded and said in a deep voice.

"To complete the expedition to the colony five light-years away, many people in the Expeditionary Army abandoned their physical bodies long ago."

"We find it difficult to analyze their thoughts with human reasoning, but through years of observation, we've obtained some useful information... they are not our kin, and this is not their home."

"Their kin and home exist in their memories; they want to return to the era that belonged to the United Human, or to that infinitely prosperous era."

"Even though it seems impossible to us, as time can only move forward, not backward."

Chu Guang took a deep breath.

"So... they intend to destroy this planet?"

Qi Liu shook his head, then nodded.

"Haven't you ever wondered, since we have gravity well technology, why didn't we use gravity wells to remove the space debris in the early Wasteland Era?"

Chu Guang's pupils slightly contracted.

"Could it be..."

Qi Liu nodded.

"We've tried every possible method, including deploying gravity wells, and even today the Grand Canyon still retains a prototype gravity well. Unfortunately, when we activated gravitons to attempt a gravitational collapse of this planet, a force on par with ours interfered with our gravitational manipulation, and that force is located not far from us at the Lagrange point."

He paused, then continued.

"Sadly, there's no such thing as 'what if' in this world, but if we had succeeded in bringing that debris down, the fallout alone wouldn't have prolonged the winter for half a century."

Chu Guang's Adam's apple moved.

"Do they want to kill everyone on this planet?"

"At least eliminate most of them or regress the survivors to feudal eras or even the Stone Age, or simply turn them into animals," Qi Liu said in a calm tone, "Of course, they don't consider this genocide but a 'reset.'

Chu Guang: "...Isn't this just like the Enlightenment Society?"

Qi Liu nodded and said.

"That's why they get along with the Enlightenment Society and can also cooperate with Teil. Are you still surprised why the Celestials gave Teil the 'Seed of Gaia'?"

"I'm not surprised, just lamenting," Chu Guang sighed, "They clearly have these technologies that could actually do something for humanity..."

But one must admit that the position they stand in is indeed much higher than the Enlightenment Society's.

And their understanding of purging is even deeper, to the extent that they no longer even want the refuge residents who preserve some seeds of the old era.

Qi Liu shook his head and said.

"They are no longer human, so there's no point in dwelling on that."

Pausing for a moment, he brought the topic back to the issue of the "Seed of Gaia."

"Your research on Xiaoyu is actually very meaningful and is gradually getting on the right track. We didn't want you to go astray, so we kept the matter of the 'Seed of Gaia' hidden."

"After all, that technology brought tremendous disaster to us in the old era... At least from our point of view, the restart could lead you to a better future."

"But as it turns out, we were shortsighted. Some things indeed shouldn't be handled by kids, but even if hidden, you'll eventually find your own ways to uncover the secrets behind history, just as we tirelessly explored the future."

"Your Xiaoyu, or the Southern Legion's Teil... are actually Gaia-like lifeforms, and the latter was most likely born through the 'Seed of Gaia.' What was meant to happen has happened."

"Dr. Conclusion said the time has come, and our Chief Technical Officer thinks so too."

"Perhaps from now on, we should face that shared past more honestly."

Chu Guang watched him intently.

"We need practical help, not verbal comfort."

He originally thought the Academy would evade the issue, but the next words of the Director of the Investigation Department took his breath away.

"That's exactly why I'm here."

"From now on, we will be opening up all our research on gravitons to you, including anti-gravity technology—"

"These are technologies once mastered by you, corporations, and legions, but never truly possessed."

"As for that research ship, don't dismantle it after you find it; there's no point."

...

The deep, dark space.

A broken starship silently hovers in orbit, surrounded by scattered debris of various sizes and fully-suited spacesuits, blending with the surrounding ruins to form an artificial asteroid belt.

This is the geosynchronous orbit, 36,000 kilometers from the equator.

It is also the most remote edge of this blue wasteland, almost untouched by scavengers.

Due to its distance from an oxidizing environment, these remnants of the old era bear few signs of time, and the emblem and badge of the Human Alliance Sky Army remain clearly visible.

However, the glory of the past has long been covered in dust, just as the bustling ruins have become insignificant.

But today is different from the usual, as a silver spaceship approaches slowly from afar, uncovering the edge of the coffin...

Research ship cockpit.

A man with a blank expression quietly observes ahead, with pale blue light dots reflecting in his pupils.

Watching the coordinates getting closer, he opens the communication module and calmly says.

"...This is Luo Yi, I have approached the coordinate position and am about to enter the communications interference zone."

After a long pause, a reply mixed with electrical noise comes from the distant deep space.

"Received, continue moving forward."

"Yes."

Without more conversation, the man reaches out and turns off the communication module, entering a state of complete radio silence, then opens the throttle of the plasma engine, propelling the research ship forward.

The pale blue plume jets out, pushing the research ship closer to the nearby "artificial asteroid belt."

The raging metal storm becomes denser, with metal fragments of various sizes moving at terrifying speeds on regular or irregular orbits.

They collide, breaking into smaller fragments in the vacuum, or releasing scattering sparks.

If entering this field unprotected, even a Titan would be turned to shreds!

Yet as the research ship sails into this area, something unexpected happens!

The once-rampaging fragments seem to have grown eyes, veering off their original paths, actively making way!

That miraculous scene is as if an invisible hand is protecting the research ship, pushing away the deadly debris and wreckage around it!

This wasn't some supernatural force; it was the deflection shield at work.

Of course, using this power comes at a cost.

As the flying debris rebounds, the energy in the shield capacitor rapidly depletes!

[Warning! Shield capacitor remaining: 50%!]

[Warning! Shield capacitor remaining: 45%!]

[...]

The energy bar is being consumed rapidly!

Although the reactor's energy flows continuously into the shield capacitor, it still cannot keep up with the consumption rate!

The man glances at the holographic interface but shows no emotion on his face.

He seems unconcerned for his safety or appears confident in passing through this perilous "waters."

And as fate would have it.

When the shield's capacitor residual approaches 3%, the research ship barely stops next to the broken starship.

Almost simultaneously, the number of debris striking the deflection shield plummets, and the flashing red warning light suddenly turns green!

The energy from the reactor refills the energy bar of the shield capacitor, and the man reaches out to the holographic screen, locking onto a relatively safe insertion point, switching the plasma engine to breakpoint jet mode, letting the navigation system autonomously design a landing path.

Crisis averted.

Gently approaching the docking point, the research ship glides like a canoe breaking through the storm, steadily heading toward the dock welcoming it.

Access point locked.

The research ship successfully "anchored."

"I have successfully landed."

Having already closed the communication module, he chose not to report the good news to the space station at the Lagrange point, only murmuring these words to himself before unfastening his seatbelt and floating towards the buffer cabin.

The inner gate slowly opened, and several cold corpses quietly floated inside the buffer cabin.

[The buffer cabin has been opened, the external air pressure is below the safety threshold, please wear full protective gear...]

The man did not spare the corpses a glance, nor did he pay attention to the safety warnings floating in front of him. He just shouldered the jet backpack, then pushed aside the safety cover on the wall and punched the red button.

"Woo——!"

The red alert light turned on, accompanied by a piercing alarm as the heavy outer hatch slowly opened.

The air inside the buffer cabin was instantly evacuated, and the corpses floating inside were blown outside the cabin as if pulled by a rope.

The man standing inside the cabin was no exception.

Except he voluntarily floated out of the cabin with the airflow, and at the moment of exiting, he placed his hand on the edge of the hatch, using the momentum to flip himself around.

The fluid movements were as smooth as a pre-programmed sequence.

Standing on top of the research ship, the man glanced back at the corpses being swallowed by the profound darkness and then looked indifferently at the imposing wreckage of the starship ahead.

The awe felt from admiring this colossal object up close was far more impactful than gazing from afar.

[The "Hunter" cruiser] was still clearly visible on the armor's shell, not faded by time.

Compared to that era of boundless prosperity, people struggling on the wasteland were as insignificant as cockroaches.

Nourished by the decaying bodies of giants, surviving in the darkness, weren't they just like cockroaches?

However——

All of this will soon end.

The man stood for a while, admiring this grand monument, and then pressed the button in his hand.

"Sss——"

The jet backpack emitted a spray of white mist, propelling him towards the nearby entrance.

You've been waiting for this.

Comrades.

...

[Since the Poluo country's authorities declared war on the cockroaches, the pesticide content in the Everflow River has surged. Many cockroach and other insect corpses float on the river surface, prompting birds to eagerly peck at them, causing severe ecological disruption.

Currently, this irrational war continues, and due to the absence of an ecological system, Red Soil once again plays the role of a decomposer. According to aerial photography by meteorological drones, areas in Buffalo State, Elephant State, Wolf State, and Snake State, where Red Soil had stopped expanding, are showing signs of enlargement again.

To address the freshwater resource crisis caused by excessive chemical content in the Everflow River water system, the Jin Galun Port authorities have introduced desalination devices from the South Sea Union for emergency use, and are negotiating with Anvo, the Poluo country's ambassador stationed at Jin Galun Port, concerning the ecological destruction.

Due to Red Soil expansion compressing arable land and resulting in a reduction in grain and cash crop yields, analysts worry this might lead Sava to continue declaring war on Red Soil, sparking a larger ecological disaster.

Mayor Yoder urged the media not to incite panic, stating that declaring war on Red Soil is scientifically impossible and utterly ridiculous, adding that the Family Meeting has no reason to do so, nor would they ever.

However, this statement seems to have had no effect, instead exacerbating panic and causing Jin Galun Port citizens to stockpile water and food.

—— City of Dawn Edition of the "Survivor's Daily"

]

City of Dawn.

North Street of Linghu Wetland Park, Chu Guang, who was sitting at a ramen stall waiting for breakfast, was flipping through a newspaper. Unexpectedly, the first page revealed a large cockroach, which immediately made him close the newspaper with a face that said "old man, subway, mobile phone."

Sitting opposite him was Cheng Yan, the foreign minister of the Alliance.

Seeing the expression on Chu Guang's face, Cheng Yan knew he had seen some news, so he jokingly said.

"There are no fools in Poluo Province, especially not in Jin Galun Port. I have been there before, and the impression those people gave me is that even the paperboys on the street have thousands of get-rich ideas in their heads."

Chu Guang shook his head, pulled two chopsticks from the bamboo tube on the table, and wiped them with a napkin.

"Fools can't do much harm, but it's the overly smart people doing stupid things that scare me."

Several days had passed since he met with the Dean of the Academy's Investigation Department. During this time, nothing particularly significant happened in the Alliance, and with little news to report, the "Survivor's Daily" again put Tiandu's trivial matters on the front page.

Perhaps because Dolly took some people to develop in the Great Desert and the Bartoya Province, the City of Dawn editorial board's level had dropped yet again. They didn't even bother choosing the photos carefully, using mutant cockroaches from Qingquan City.

Where in Poluo Province would you find such big things?

However, since the "Survivor's Daily" is not an official organization of the Alliance, he couldn't just keep paying them visits.

The last time he went, he almost made the president cry.

As he threw the napkin into the trash can, a young man rushed over with their ramen.

"Ramen's here! Enjoy!"

"Thank you," Cheng Yan nodded with a smile at the energetic young man, then looked at Chu Guang, who had already started eating, and tentatively asked, "You really don't plan on doing anything about it?"

Doing something about it...

That word again.

Chu Guang was really too lazy to answer this question and threw a clove of garlic into the noodle soup, ending the topic with one sentence.

"It'll cause an ecological gap."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yan didn't press further and smoothly shifted the topic.

"What about the war prisoners? Both Tiandu and the Mammoth Nation have expressed their desires for us to hand over Guryang to them, though conflicts exist between them... they are technically our allies."

"Guryang?" Chu Guang frowned, "Isn't that guy in West Sail Port?"

Cheng Yan chuckled bitterly and said.

"He was indeed there initially, but whether it was Zayed rubbing the Eastern Empire's emperor the wrong way or some other reason, the Eastern Empire moved Guryang to Jin Galun Harbor and left Akbar with them."

That sly fox...

Chu Guang chuckled and shook his head, instantly seeing through Salen's little trick.

This guy wants to use borrowed power to strike his puppet, and this time he plans to use the Alliance's hand.

Absek has been dismissed by the committee, and though Tiandu is nominally still an ally of the Alliance, it has actually drifted apart from the City of Dawn.

Anyone can see that the Family Meeting is the Eastern Empire's puppet, including the Family Meeting itself.

Zayed, however, is not honest, seeking the benefits of the Eastern Empire while wanting to continue gaining benefits from both the East and West of the Alliance.

The United Federation in Tiandu is nearly a corpse sewn together by him in the committee's chair as the perfect evidence.

Salen knew that I could see through this, and it would be impossible for me to abandon the Mammoth Nation ally and give Guryang to Tiandu, hence he readily handed the tool over.

And if I truly handed this tool Guryang to the Mammoth Nation, I'd have reached the goal of striking the Poluo Country; Zayed would have to realize that wanting everything is impossible.

As for me killing Guryang, it poses no loss to the Eastern Empire.

Salen is a Weilante, but more so a political animal, who at most cares about face than abandoning any fellow compatriots like the "Weileftists" do.

Chu Guang actually already knew the answer but threw this question to Cheng Yan nonetheless.

"You are the foreign minister of the Alliance; what's your opinion? There's only one Guryang; who should he go to?"

Cheng Yan spoke in a low voice.

"I heard that Poluo Country's 'Iron General' Grov has a large part of the Southern Legion's old force under his command, and they possess a multitude of Southern Legion's weapons, some received from the Eastern Empire's hands, and others are captives from the North Wind Operation."

Chu Guang: "So?"

Cheng Yan's pupils slightly flickered.

"Grov is currently confronting the Mammoth Nation in the north, and if Guryang is handed to Tiandu, the Mammoth Nation might be in jeopardy."

The one who could take Guryang, Laxi, is already dead.

The current leader of the Mammoth Nation is Laxi's assault team leader Shava; although he's quite capable and has been on the battlefield, he's ultimately from an internal affairs background and not truly commanding talent.

Though Grov had an easier time on the southern line, the North Wind Operation shows he has actual abilities, or he wouldn't be commemorated on the Southern Legion playing cards.

"Are you suggesting to kill Guryang?" Chu Guang asked casually, uninterested in circular talk.

Grov is roughly akin to Griffin, just a regional commander, and whether he should die is Poluo person's business; the Alliance aims at major targets in Yavente City, and at least they'd be a four-star Ten Thousand Leader.

Like the General Affairs Director, for instance.

As for a three-star Ten Thousand Leader, whether he receives capital punishment or life sentence, it's up to the Poluo people to decide; he isn't exactly eager to interfere.

"I'm not suggesting that, quite the opposite," Cheng Yan quickly shook his head, "The Jin Galun Harbor court will undoubtedly sentence him to death, but killing a naked commander offers us no real benefit."

Pausing, he lowered his pace, speaking swiftly in a voice only two people could hear.

"I suggest placing the trial court in Mammoth City... precisely because legally speaking, Mammoth City's survivors also participated in the confrontation with the Southern Legion's war and were the main force on the battlefield. They have the right to try Guryang, and by now, even more than Tiandu."

Looking at the spirited Cheng Yan, the emotionless Chu Guang's face suddenly broke into a smile.

"Good, no need to circle so much, just lay out your ideas directly."

Cheng Yan smiled with embarrassment.

"I wasn't going in circles... just wanted to clarify my reasons for doing this. You can certainly see that Guryang is essentially a tool handed to us by Salen. If you really can't part with the Tiandu connections, it's also acceptable to have him executed in Jin Galun Harbor."

Pausing, he added.

"Of course, I must remind you, false friendship won't yield any utility. Any sweet words from Zayed are certain not to come true; he'll only try to fleece us."

"A small trickster wants to fleece me; he's a bit too green," Chu Guang chuckled softly, pushing the empty bowl aside, "Your ideas are good, since you've already decided, go ahead with them."

Cheng Yan smiled slightly, knowingly acknowledging.

"Understood."

Affairs in Poluo Province are just part of the post-war order, and Chu Guang isn't eager to play this hand personally.

In contrast, what's more intriguing is Absek, who encountered him at the Human Meeting, and recently staged "Ah Bu Aerospace" in Potato Harbor.

This guy's retired and still can't stop himself from embarking on another entrepreneurial journey.

If he actually succeeds, it might change the Conservative faction's view of Poluo people within the Alliance.

Of course, he hopes this individual can have a positive influence on Poluo within the Alliance, teaching them self-respect, self-love, and self-strength.

Since they've left Poluo Province, there's no need to constantly seek a paternal figure or act out.

On another note, what concerns Chu Guang more is the celestial beings.

If he doesn't break this sharp sword suspended at the Lagrange point, he can't sleep peacefully.

Especially now that the Legion has disbanded.

The burden originally on Julius now falls on him.

Chapter 972: Imparting Everything

[Great News! The trial at Jinjaron Harbor has ended! Several war criminals, including Ryan, commander of the Eastern Front of the Southern Legion's Poluo Province War Zone, and Chief of Staff Feiverite, have been sentenced to death! The execution will be carried out immediately!

"Horn" boat captain John argued that the bombing of Lion City was instigated by Ryan; however, the massive civilian casualties remain an undisputed fact. The court rejected the appeal application, upheld the death sentence, and postponed the execution to the following day!

Additionally, minor war criminals like the Ten Thousand Leader of the 36th Ten-Thousand Troops, Wolfe, have been sentenced to more than ten years in prison.

——Survivor Daily, Jinjaron Harbor Edition]

...

Mammoth City.

The solemn courtroom was filled with a dense smell of blood, and the floor even had sticky footprints and handprints that couldn't be cleaned.

Guryang, standing in the dock, didn't know why there was an abattoir-like smell in the Poluo people's court, nor was he particularly curious about it.

When he learned that he was being transferred from the relatively civilized Jinjaron Harbor to be tried here, he essentially lost all hope of surviving.

At this moment, he didn't know that Ryan and several senior officers left behind in Jinjaron Harbor had already been packed into boxes.

The judge on the bench looked at this Vellante with blood-stained hands, his lips trembling slightly.

After a moment, he finally made up his mind and delivered the judgment.

"War criminal Guryang."

"The court doesn't wish to repeat your crimes..."

Guryang closed his eyes, unwilling to listen any further. He didn't even hire a defense lawyer, wishing only for the proceedings to finish quickly.

He had many questions he wanted to ask Teil.

If he went down early, maybe he could meet that guy before being reincarnated—

"The court's judgment is as follows:"

"Defendant Guryang is sentenced to life imprisonment for committing war crimes!"

The solemn gavel struck down, and that clear "clang" sounded almost like a joke.

Guryang, standing in the dock, was stunned, unbelievingly opening his eyes wide, taking half a step forward as he gazed at the judge on the bench.

The two soldiers standing beside him gripped his shoulders with serious expressions, but Guryang seemed not to see them, glaring intently at the judge.

"Why?"

The judge didn't answer the question, quickly announcing an adjournment, and then hurriedly left the bench, as if afraid to stay a second longer.

The other courtroom personnel did the same.

Guryang stood there bewildered, his eyes unfocused, uncertain of what to do.

Why?

Another question he didn't understand.

In the jury box.

A stern-faced officer stood up and walked over to the empty judge's bench.

Guryang noticed the man and cast a longing gaze towards his back.

However, the man ignored his questions, simply staring at the scales symbolizing justice and fairness, talking to himself.

"General Groove of the Poluo Country has stationed 800,000 troops on the southern bank of the Tasang River. With Absek and Shaluk's previous core forces, there might be nearly a million."

"There aren't many usable people; I'll give you 400,000, and you'll hold them off for me."

Guryang was stunned, almost instinctively replying.

"That's impossible! They have a complete set of equipment provided by the Eastern Empire, especially their elite Gray Wolf Army, which is almost modeled after the Eastern Empire's armored ten-thousand teams and mechanized infantry divisions."

This was something he witnessed first-hand at West Sail Port.

Shava chuckled faintly.

"The Gray Wolf Army will not move. Gopal won't give Groove the real assets. Your opponents are the cannon fodder of the Northern Field Army."

"That's also impossible," Guryang shook his head, saying, "You have no idea of their strength... You have no chance of winning."

But Shava simply snapped his fingers, directing a soldier beside him to fetch the map and hand it to Guryang.

"Take a look at the map first."

Guryang hesitated momentarily, then suspiciously took the map from the soldier and unfolded it on the dock's railing.

It was a map of the Northern Three States and the southern part of Mammoth State.

The long narrow mountain range resembled a crescent-shaped dagger, thrusting into the northern Poluo Province, carving off a fertile plain from that bountiful territory.

Moreover, to counter the Southern Corps' invasion, Laxi had constructed a large number of defensive fortifications and tunnel bunkers between the mountains.

Guryang had always felt the Northern Three States' difficulty to invade, and now, seeing the complete strategic map provided by his former opponent, he felt even more impressed.

Still suffered from underestimating the enemy.

If only I had known that the Northern Three States were fortified like a steel bucket by these Mammoth people, I would never have ordered Olet to march into Dog State.

It would have been better to concentrate forces to take Tiandu.

"How many mountain troops do you have?"

Seeing the rekindled determination in Guryang's eyes, Shava's face revealed a slight smile.

"The Mammoth Nation is essentially composed of mountain and guerrilla divisions. We have exoskeletons, anti-armor weapons... Including plasma warheads capable of penetrating the Conqueror's defenses, as well as some 'Fire Crossbows' and 'Conquerors' seized and repaired from you."

"Of course, most crucially, we have a complete ammunition production line, abundant overseas labor, and sufficient foreign exchange reserves."

Guryang licked his dry lips.

"That could be worth a try."

Shava nodded.

"Go and try then; meritorious deeds could offset your sentence. After our war is over, maybe you still have a chance to go home. Additionally, Groove has a few of your old subordinates; I hope you won't hold back against them."

Guryang shook his head, saying,

"There's no question of holding back; going all out is a sign of respect for the opponents. I believe my subordinates think the same."

A war without the logistics department sons dragging them down...

The thought of it was quite intriguing.

Guryang never imagined that one day, as a homeless wanderer, he'd have the chance to return to the battlefield and continue to shine.

And to fight for former enemies.

"May I ask a question?"

"Ask away," Shava said, expressionless.

Looking at the soldier removing his handcuffs, Guryang turned his gaze back to Shava and continued.

"You are all Poluo people, at least in our eyes... Have you never thought about sitting down to talk?"

"Talk?"

As if he'd heard something very amusing, Shava suddenly laughed out loud, tilting his head back.

"Those who wanted to sit down and talk are either dead or gone. Someday when I no longer live, perhaps I'll go negotiate to be a good man with my father after I retire!"

Then his expression turned cold as he looked at Guryang.

"As for now, I don't want to talk about anything."

Following this, his expression turned cold, looking at Guryang.

"As for now, there's nothing I want to discuss," Shava concluded, "Your loyal, friendly, and hospitable Southern friends from the Eastern Empire have encountered a small problem. Due to climate reasons, red soil has appeared to spread across various parts of Poluo Province."

The current situation is dire, and we urgently need a professional biologist to clean up the mess left by General Lowell for us. Of course, if you could send a team over, that would be even better.

—— Tiandu, Electric]

[The Alliance doesn't care about Red Soil, why are you bothering with that stuff? If you don't like it, just dig it up and throw it into the sea. Do you not have a shovel or hands? We've given you enough help already, so please don't bother us with such trivial matters in the future!

—— Eastern Empire, Electric]

[Understood! Understood! We'll hand it over to the think tank for research right away!

—— Tiandu, Electric]

[···?

—— Eastern Empire, Electric]

…

[Academy Experts Arrive in Dawn City!!!

—— "Survivor Daily" Dawn City Edition]

…

It turns out that the Academy was not just selling a pie in the sky.

In the second week after Chief Investigator Qi Liu made a promise to Chu Guang, a team of experts led by a B-level researcher arrived at Camp 101 in Dawn City.

In the Academy, B-level is already quite a high rank.

Both Yang Kai, who is stationed permanently in the Alliance, and Li Ke, who was involved in the ceasefire negotiations at Falcon City, are B-level, while Qi Liu himself is only an A-level.

A higher level means high access privileges.

A C-level researcher who works diligently all their life cannot touch the secrets that a B-level can access with the flick of a finger.

Previously, the Academy had sent some experts to the Alliance as well, but the technology they imparted was not sensitive, mostly some icing on the cake, especially not involving the so-called "graviton-related technology," which was considered leading edge even before the war!

However, this time is different, the ban on "graviton" related technology was unexpectedly lifted!

The significance of graviton needs no explanation.

At least in this universe, it is tentatively considered a prerequisite technology for entering the interstellar era.

It is virtually the only known particle that can traverse its own dimension and use the laws of other dimensions to interfere with the laws of the three-dimensional world.

Including slow nuclear fusion at room temperature, and superluminal travel between star systems, among others.

These things, deemed impossible during the old era, those miracles with macro probabilities approaching zero, become possible under graviton's interference!

As a result, although the industrial community and mainstream opinion during the Human Alliance Era take controllable nuclear fusion technology as the demarcation between the Prosperity Epoch and the old epoch, the academic world and aerospace industry widely view the "graviton" as the watershed between the new and old eras!

Its significance is like sails and compasses to the great maritime age, truly opening the door to a new world!

A civilization unable to comprehend the mysteries of gravity will never become a genuine interstellar civilization.

And the difference between starships not equipped with warp engines and those equipped with them is as if comparing a canoe to the Kirk Ship!

Looking at the long list of technology transfers provided by the Academy, Chu Guang, sitting at his desk, couldn't help but think of the hard days he spent painstakingly acquiring a plasma engine, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"The sun must be rising from the west; even a stingy rooster is losing feathers."

It seems those guys are not solely focused on running away; they are considering nurturing a reliable ally at home.

Of course, these technologies transferred to the Alliance were not without any conditions.

For instance, the most crucial one being that, before the Academy leaves this star system, these technologies are for the Alliance's use only and must not be transferred to other survivor forces on the Wasteland that the Academy has not recognized.

This includes enterprises, the Grand Canyon, as well as the Vellante Alliance and the South Sea Union, among others.

They don't want to manage future affairs, but at least while they're on this planet, they feel obliged to limit technology diffusion... or at least they think so.

Chu Guang certainly respected their decision.

After all, the Alliance knows well the power of the "tech barbarians"' fists and won't resort to self-harm.

Sitting on the office sofa drinking coffee, Yin Fang had a complex expression, clearly not expecting the Academy to open its doors so suddenly either.

"Don't say you didn't expect it, even I didn't."

Heya, sitting on another sofa, cast an inquiring glance at Chu Guang.

"Should we share Xiaoyu's research data with them?"

The Alliance Biological Research Institute is one of the few institutions within the Alliance that can stand on the same starting line as the Academy's researchers.

Especially in the research fields concerning mutated slime fungus and Lair, the Academy has little to teach the Alliance, but rather has to learn from the Alliance.

Chu Guang closed his eyes and thought for a moment before speaking.

"Reciprocity is important; if they're clamoring to see it, we might as well let them browse. They even shared the 'Seed of Gaia' secret with us, so keeping it from them would seem unjustified."

Heya's lips curved into a slight smile.

"Great, finally no more cryptic riddles for communication."

From the standpoint of an academic, she certainly hoped to have mutual exchanges with the Academy, after all, secretive communication was too troublesome.

However, she also understood that Chu Guang had to consider things from the Alliance's perspective, since research on mutated slime fungus is one of the few aces up the Alliance's sleeve.

So she had always been cooperative in supporting Chu Guang's work, exchanging technologies within the Sticky Community framework with the Academy's research institutions.

As for now, with both sides reaching a higher level of mutual trust, there's no need for the earlier measures of mutual precautions.

"I apologize for the previous restrictions, from now on, you can directly communicate with the Academy regarding mutated slime fungus research without needing to consult me on every matter," Chu Guang gave Heya a grateful glance before placing the list on the corner of the desk, "Though honestly, I had assumed we might reach some consensus with the Academy, I didn't expect it to happen so swiftly."

Yin Fang nodded in agreement.

"Looks like the celestial beings have indeed frightened them."

Everyone has their own limitations, even the leader of the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team.

To this day, he remains indignant about how the superiors pushed the blame onto him and then pursued him indiscriminately.

Although all those matters are in the past.

Watching the overly cautious Yin Fang, Heya couldn't help but smile and then teased Chu Guang, sitting behind the desk.

"To be honest, I think perhaps it's you who gave them hope."

Chu Guang laughed at these words.

"Haha, I'm not that thick-skinned, let's credit the united residents of the refuge and the survivors for that!"

This statement was genuinely heartfelt.

Although the awakened talent indeed endowed him with some extraordinary abilities, he didn't believe that his personal charm alone was enough to make the stingy ones in the Wandering Swamp voluntarily shed their feathers.

The Academy had been observing the Alliance for a long time.

Even before the corporations noticed the Alliance.

The notion of being scared by the celestial beings was merely a joke.

In his heart, Chu Guang tended to believe that they made such a decision because there were reasons they deemed worthwhile.

As Yin Fang was still marveling at the Academy's generosity, the expert team sent by the Academy had already arrived at the nuclear power plant in Dawn City.

While the Alliance engineers proudly displayed the Alliance's most advanced reactor technology and the heart of the entire industrial system to the expert team of researchers, one researcher, with a colder face than Jiang Xuezhou, merely curled his lips meaningfully.

It is worth mentioning, although the Academy has numerous hawkish figures, most grassroots researchers lack social acuity.

Especially the honest ones working as grunts in labs.

"Laser ignition... ha, didn't expect to see such an antique."

"Defeating the Legion with this thing, you guys must have gone through a lot."

-

(My cold got better last week, but this cough just won't go away. What's worse, it's fine during the day but gets bad when I lie down at night. I'm about to lose it.)

Chapter 973: The Old Man Is Dropping Gold Coins!

Dawn City Nuclear Power Station, power generation room.

The console screens flickered between blue and green signals, and the low hum of white noise echoed in the spacious room.

An aging reactor sat in the center of the facility, surrounded by a crowd of people.

The faded logo and production serial number gave the reactor a somewhat antique feel, but its streamlined cast shell and intricate design still held commendable qualities.

Not just the Alliance thinks so.

Even engineers from Ideal City held the same opinion.

This is precisely why, ever since residents of the Shelter retrieved this "spare reactor" from the depths of the Metro Line of West State City and built a power station for it, the reactor has functioned as the heart of Alliance industry.

It served not only this purpose but also as a model for study and reference for researchers at Camp 101.

Due to these numerous accolades, Dawn City Nuclear Power Station's fusion engineer Wang Zhiyi proudly showcased this achievement.

Though the Manager wanted them to learn from the Academy, they couldn't afford to be underestimated, right?

Besides, when the students' work is good enough, it prompts the teachers to bring out their real skills in teaching!

Of course, Master Wang's true thoughts weren't so complicated; he simply wanted to represent the Alliance with some bravado in front of the Academy.

What he didn't expect was that after seeing this "Prosperity Epoch's crystallization of civilization," that twenty-something kid merely smirked faintly, even mocked it with a couple of remarks, showing no respect.

Master Wang's face turned red like a lantern, his colleagues worriedly watched him, fearing he couldn't handle his blood pressure.

Nevertheless, Zhong Jingchu, the young man, showed no intention of stopping, even casually added one more remark.

"Too primitive."

"You're the primitive one!" Wang Zhiyi snapped back angrily, "You all are amazing! You're outstanding! What ignition without laser ignition?"

Zhong Jingchu smiled gently and spoke calmly.

"We don't ignite; we cold start."

Wang Zhiyi was taken aback, like a splash of cold water on his head.

"...Cold start?"

He had heard the term from company people, including experts at Camp 101, but both sides suggested not opting for this technology route, even if it's more energy-efficient and effective.

The reason is simple.

Although controlled fusion was a non-renewable resource before resuming Earth-Moon flights, there were plenty of Prosperity Epoch reserves found on the Wasteland.

Given the current scale of industrial production on the surface, it's less than during the economic crises of the Old Epoch, so there's absolutely no need to consider thriftiness.

At least not for fifty years.

Seeing the bewildered expression on the old engineer's face, Zhong Jingchu didn't respond immediately but received a bottle of mineral water from the bionic assistant nearby, unscrewed the cap, and poured it on the ground twice.

This time, not only did the old engineer show a puzzled expression, but other engineers at the Dawn City Nuclear Power Station also looked confused, not knowing what he intended.

Facing those puzzled gazes, Zhong Jingchu continued in an easy-to-understand manner.

"...To fuse two metal spheres together, the most efficient method isn't to put them on a pressure machine, but to melt them."

"Atoms are the same, whether using laser ignition, inertial collision, or indirect ignition... these are methods from the early Prosperity Epoch or even the Old Era."

"There's actually nothing wrong with it."

"After all, in the era when we knew nothing about the essence of the four fundamental forces, we could only imagine a conceptual 'forge' and a skilled 'blacksmith' in our minds, using the most crude and inefficient methods to smelt, hammer, and destroy atomic nuclei to force them to release the energy hidden inside."

"But after our professor discovered the existence of gravitons, everything changed dramatically. Initially, we continued using laser technology, but not for ignition, instead to polarize atoms to form special bonding states, closing the distance between two atoms. Later, we found a method to directly use gravitons to interfere with force fields, and then tried to weaken the repulsive forces between atoms, breaking the balance of repulsion and attraction... And in the end, an unexpected miracle occurred."

"Atoms fused together like water."

Hearing this, an engineer muttered a remark.

"Isn't it just gravitons, going around so much... but even with gravitons, doesn't it still require initial input energy?"

Several engineers shared similar views.

The energy consumed to drive gravitons is significant, not necessarily cheaper than laser ignition.

"Indeed, there's no gain without input, ignition energy is inevitable," Zhong Jingchu nodded and suddenly shifted the topic, "but through force field interference, we can reduce the energy required for ignition and sustaining the reaction."

"We're not interfering with something as large as the Iron Heart, just a few atoms undergoing reactions, the energy consumed is not even close to laser heating plasma... and it's much more stable and efficient."

"Returning to the miracle I mentioned earlier, we found that the method using gravitons to bond atoms could lead to fierce fusion reactions occurring under mild conditions... at least for the initial instant, it is incredibly gentle."

"This is what's known as cold start."

Watching the engineers absorbed in the explanation, Zhong Jingchu smiled calmly and continued in a steady tone.

"Based on similar technical principles, researchers from the United Human discovered how to maintain fusion reactions under normal temperature and pressure, as well as how to conduct fusion reactions more gently, among a series of more convenient and efficient methods."

"Including the portable reactors you produced through the Black Box, which were actually born during this process."

Wonderful!

Aside from a few nuclear engineers, the staff and onlookers gathered around the reactor couldn't help but applaud.

Even though those Alliance nuclear engineers didn't clap, they wore expressions of admiration on their faces.

They had learned some reactor maintenance tech from Camp 101, but as Waste Land Wanderers, they truly had no idea how these technologies came to be.

Even their teacher — the professor at Camp 101 might not know.

After all, teachers at Shelter 101 didn't teach everything.

The young man filled their knowledge gap, effortlessly narrating the history that almost all Waste Land Wanderers had already forgotten.

From the principles of the technology.

To the origin closer to the essence than the principles!

Although Wang Laoshi respected this kid's vast knowledge, he wasn't completely convinced, only half-heartedly.

He admired it, but those oft-repeated things are just past events.

Such memories cannot serve as fuel for the reactor or as its shell.

He was more concerned about practical matters.

"You talk about these experiments as if you did them yourself." After holding back for a long time, Wang Zhiyi finally squeezed out a sentence.

Zhong Jingchu smiled slightly and said.

"I didn't conduct the experiments, but we personally performed each one, and I not only remember every detail clearly but also know 'why it is that way.'"

Wang Zhiyi held his breath, his gaze gradually growing fervent.

"Is that true?"

Zhong Jingchu smiled, nodded, and said in a gentle tone.

"Of course it's true, and my mentor said it's time to pass on these inheritances to you all."

"About how these technologies came about, how to use them, and how to experiment and improve upon the foundations laid by predecessors."

Upon hearing this, Wang Laoshi had no patience left and was wholly convinced.

And his face, which had turned as red as a pig's liver, regained its cheerful expression.

Indeed, the Manager wasn't joking; those guys from the Academy truly had skills!

If an expert of the same level acted pretentious to him, he certainly wouldn't be pleased.

Moreover, making a man in his forties or fifties bow to a guy in his twenties was psychologically unacceptable.

However, after this conversation, he was certain that this guy was much stronger than him, and was even already standing in the atmosphere...there was simply no comparison.

If he could learn some real skills from the Academy, he wouldn't mind bowing his head a little.

If worse came to worst, he'd show off to the corporate people after learning.

As Wang Zhiyi thought this, other engineers' faces were already full of enthusiastic expressions, completely convinced.

"Brother, you have to teach us that cold ignition... pshaw, non-ignition method!"

"Sigh, how come I didn't think of that!"

"Please kindly teach us, brother!"

"Big bro, if you don't mind, I'd like to call you master!"

Looking at those eager Waste Land Wanderers, Zhong Jingchu slightly smiled without showing it.

Even though he could hardly suppress the grin on his lips, he maintained the demeanor of a hermit master accepting disciples.

"You're too kind."

"I'll tell you everything I know!"

Aside from the nuclear power station staff, there were a few players idling nearby among the onlookers around the reactor.

While usually, such background-like facilities wouldn't attract players, it was clearly not an ordinary situation recently.

The Academy had dispatched an expert team to the Alliance, an issue that made the headlines of the Survivor Daily from Dawn City!

Though researchers and prospectors from the Academy had come to Dawn City before, they were few in number and always elusive, difficult to encounter unless on a scientific delegation task.

Which is precisely why, when they heard these researchers were lingering around the nuclear power station, they all flocked over for excitement.

This was far more interesting than mammoths in a zoo!

And indeed it was.

After watching a pretentious display, [Solo Hunter] couldn't help but clap with the NPCs.

"Wow, these Academy folks sure can show off!"

[Hit Stream Archer] looked at him.

"Are you talking about installing nuclear fusion?"

Single Player Jungle: "What nuclear fusion, I'm talking about showing off."

Hit Stream Archer: "Pfft—"

The [Fasting Stream Mid] who hadn't spoken was just giggling, suddenly chimed in.

"I happen to find quite a few tsunderes in the Academy."

"Like that... Jiang Xuezhou?" Single Player Jungle thought for a while. The only Academy researcher whose name he remembered was this one, and he heard about it by chance on the Forum.

Fasting Stream Mid chuckled awkwardly.

"And Yin Fang."

Hit Stream Archer: "?"

Single Player Jungle: "?"

Fasting Stream Mid: "Hehe, don't you guys think so? Although the mouths are tough, the bodies are very honest."

Single Player Jungle: "No, I just think you're being a bit weird..."

Fasting Stream Mid: "…?"

On the other side, the bionic engineers at Shelter 100 were whispering among themselves.

They're not experts in nuclear fusion research, but they are fairly knowledgeable about various models of Fusion Reactors and can tell that the researcher surnamed Zhong is indeed skilled.

At this moment, the youngster named Zhong Jingchu was already lecturing from the part about scientific history to the core challenges of cold start technology for fusion reactors, and the main ideas for solving them.

Not only were the Alliance's nuclear engineers listening with bright eyes, but even the [End-of-the-world Lone Wolf], who knew nothing about nuclear fusion, was enchanted, drooling as he listened.

Unfortunately.

The former could at least grasp some of the key points, while the latter was just listening for fun. Upon reflection, he realized he understood as little as before.

Regretfully withdrawing his gaze from afar, the End-of-the-world Lone Wolf commented with a face full of emotion.

"MMP! It's a pity I studied automation... Anyway, Professor Yan, you're into physics, tell me about that cold fusion reactor... is it really reliable?"

Sensing the fervor in the gaze, Wild Wind sighed and said.

"I'm just someone who studies physics, not a god... Don't think too much, and definitely don't hope to advance to the Prosperity Epoch in one bite, start by building a solid foundation."

Let's not even discuss things like cold start and cold fusion reactors, even by the standards of the Game world, real-life fusion technology hasn't even achieved the concept of "controllable."

The principles behind the two are entirely different and rely on distinct technological foundations.

End-of-the-world Lone Wolf still showed an expression of unwillingness, looked at Wild Wind's shaking head, and couldn't help but say.

"Surely it can provide a bit of inspiration, right? Like a technological route or something..."

"Are you talking about the technological route of cold start nuclear fusion?" Wild Wind couldn't help but laugh, looking at his colleague as he spoke, "Let me put it this way, in the high-energy physics community, there's always been a hypothesis about unifying the four fundamental forces, numerous mathematicians and physicists have pursued this endeavor, some even for a lifetime."

End-of-the-world Lone Wolf stared blankly at him and, seeing no response for a while, couldn't help but ask.

"...And then?"

Wild Wind silently looked towards the nearby researcher.

"That's a conjecture for us."

"Yet in the Game world... here, gravitons aligned with the Grand Unified Theory can be 'touched'."

"Do you know what this means?"

End-of-the-world Lone Wolf looked at him in confusion.

"...No idea."

Wild Wind stared at him for a moment, sighed, and looked away.

"...Never mind."

End-of-the-world Lone Wolf: "???"

His good buddy Fang Chang always felt that Wasteland OL was not merely a Game world but a living universe, though, as a physicist, he had a different perspective.

Purely from a physicist's standpoint, he thought it was more like another universe.

The laws of physics from reality didn't fully apply here, or only applied within a limited scope.

The deeper one delves into the microscopic realm, the higher the probability of this phenomenon occurring.

Take the classic double-slit interference experiment, in the Game world of Wasteland OL, there's a greater demand for instrument precision compared to reality, implying here the microscopic world's "uncertainty" is smaller.

Deductively, this implies the Planck constant in Wasteland OL is smaller than in reality, even if the variance is infinitesimally small mathematically.

But even if it's infinitesimally small, different is still different.

This is actually something that becomes horrifying the more you think about it.

A smaller Planck constant means the size of quantum particles is smaller, the probability of quantum effects occurring is smaller, the universe is more stable, and there are fewer uncertainties.

Let's take an easy-to-understand example.

If we compare the God who creates all things in the world to a computer, or a graphics card with limited but extensive computing power, there are now two Gods, A and B, each using their computing power to create two different worlds.

In the world of God A, only models of cities and citizens can be generated, while the pores on the citizens' skin are blurred and only generated when the camera zooms in on the citizens' faces. The pixels belonging to the pores do not exist before observation occurs.

Furthermore, in places where the camera cannot see, the "small person" generated in World A can occasionally pass through walls... commonly known as "model clipping."

In contrast, God B's graphics card not only can generate a city and the pores on citizens' skin simultaneously but can even detail down to textures visible only under a microscope... whether or not the observer brings their eyes close, the textures belonging to those pixels exist, meaning their existence does not rely on the act of observation.

In the world generated by God B's graphics card, people cannot pass through walls; at least, the "small person" walking in the city cannot clip through models, whether visible to the player or not.

And to find the "clipping" bug in the world created by God B's graphics card, one must look on the microscopic scale invisible even under a microscope.

For instance, nanometers.

When chips are reduced to a certain size, electrons and other microscopic particles exhibit the phenomenon of crossing potential barriers, known as the "quantum tunneling" effect.

Here's a metaphor that's inaccurate but illustrative: if the world generated by God B's graphics card is called "Earth OL," then the world generated by God A's graphics card is "Night City."

Moreover, it is Night City in innumerable parallel universes, unaffected by continuous interference and observational impact from "Earth OL" players.

Especially, the phrase "unaffected by continuous interference and influence" is extremely crucial. After all, any interference behavior can iterate and branch into N different parallel worlds, effectively different players have different game saves.

Meanwhile, for the game world, which cannot perform thermodynamic experiments, "frame rate" is one of the crucial parameters in calculating the Planck constant.

And the Planck constant calculated based on frame rate is definitely less than 1 and greater than the Planck constant in reality!

And far greater!

"Wasteland OL" does not have the concept of frame rate; both its graphics and physics engine's precision are far superior to traditional AAA games.

Here, let alone thermodynamic experiments, even nuclear tests can be conducted. By directly applying methods from reality, one can calculate Planck's constant, and Wild Wind indeed did this.

Initially, he conducted the experiment with a playful attitude.

After all, he knew well that such behavior is akin to fooling oneself, as the game server, upon observing his actions, might either ignore him or directly query database information to give him a result he desires.

Yet the experimental results exceeded his expectations, similar to when he first encountered quantum mechanics—

God disappeared.

Or perhaps hid.

In theory, "Wasteland OL's" Planck constant should be greater than "Earth OL's," like Los Santos in GTA5, Night City in Cyberpunk, Province of Skies in Elder Scrolls...

However, the calculated result was exactly the opposite—

The former's value infinitely approaches the latter and is less than the latter!

No matter how many times he calculated, even if he repeated the experiments many times, the result was always the same.

This implies "God B" moved into "God A's" house, and on the graphics card with lower computing power, a graphics card with higher computing power is running... and the latter can run programs that the former cannot?

He lived for over thirty years and had never seen something so preposterous!

Either Ah Guang targeted him!

Or the aliens behind Ah Guang, supposedly the civilizations from mainstream media speculations, were eyeing him, deliberately guiding him through specially designed algorithms to calculate such results...

There was a period when he was bewildered and self-doubting due to his discoveries, even taking a long leave from work, packing his bags to travel, and it took a long while to adjust his mindset to emerge from that state of self-doubt.

In truth, there's nothing to be bewildered about.

The existence or non-existence of matter is an objective phenomenon, but "existence" itself is determined by subjective consciousness.

Glancing at the End-of-the-world Lone Wolf still obsessing over gravitons and nuclear fusion, Wild Wind calmly said.

"...The game world is just a game world. You can't expect to find physical principles undiscovered in reality in games or films, and crafting an unprovable and unfalsifiable hypothesis isn't a difficult task either."

After a pause, he habitually extended his index finger to touch the bridge of his nose.

The pair of high glasses supposed to rest on the bridge of his nose did not exist in the game world.

In this world, "Wild Wind" is his name, whereas Yan Feng is another person living in a different world entirely unrelated to "Wild Wind."

"Of course, due to the closeness of Planck constants... their theories indeed gave me some inspiration; perhaps we can find something similar to gravitons."

The End-of-the-world Lone Wolf stared at Professor Yan Feng, smiling wryly as he spoke.

"You're speaking more and more incomprehensibly..."

...

(PS: It's nearly the end, saying this isn't a spoiler. Wild Wind merely fell into his own "pit," and what he sees doesn't represent my outline. Both different worlds truly exist somewhere in the universe, only their dimensions differ, not computer simulations, and aren't overly mysterious either. Additionally, the world of Shelter No. 101 is simulated; its computational power can practically simulate a planet, which is roughly the limit of Prosperity Epoch Technology. Shelter No. 404 and Shelter No. 101 are different; the former is the true "singularity.")

Chapter 974: Victorious Harvest

There's one thing Wild Wind has been overthinking.

The dog planner's work is very busy, it's impossible to keep an eye on a specific player's game behavior.

Since the game launched, Chu Guang's decisions have been mostly macro-level deployments.

Including guiding public opinion in "another world" by releasing limited information to make mainstream society believe that the incomprehensible Wasteland OL is the work of extraterrestrial civilization.

Moreover, it is an advanced civilization with a neutral or above stance, continuously releasing goodwill.

Based on this underlying logic, think tanks from various countries and major media on the internet add their judgments.

For instance, this is a warning from "Big Brother," signaling that Earth will enter the Prosperity Epoch in the future and experience rapid decline afterward.

Some believe it's guidance from an advanced civilization; aliens are looking for friends with similar values in adjacent universes, and perhaps soon trade ships will dock in synchronous orbit.

Of course, some think it's just to fatten up the people on Earth for a tastier meal... but this reasoning doesn't hold.

After all, traveling a thousand miles just to eat your fill is somewhat boring; it would be better to open a farm nearby.

Others with novel ideas set their sights five light years away, believing extraterrestrial civilization is there, just like "Gaia" appearing in the game.

Chu Guang doesn't know if Gaia exists in that world, nor does he care how various think tanks analyze, the interests of factions, or what someone thinks.

To him, living in this world, those things are meaningless.

They can believe whatever they wish or whatever they can perceive.

The only truly important matter for both sides is the establishment of a relatively fair trading system through long-term tacit cooperation.

Within this rule, players work for him to earn silver coins, and economic systems of various countries recover silver coins from players according to market pricing, using silver coins to exchange for high-tech that stimulates economic development from him.

This is a closed-loop chain.

When he unveils an impressive technology, silver coins will rise, and if he wants to lower them, stopping auctions for a few weeks or diluting technology a bit will suffice.

As long as this chain continues to stably cycle, whether he is of extraterrestrial civilization ultimately doesn't matter.

Chu Guang believes that as long as he rolls out Controllable Nuclear Fusion Technology, even if he claims to be God, people will still believe in droves.

However, such an exaggeration is too absurd for him to handle psychologically, he can't even convince himself.

A mix of truth and lies is better.

As for the Planck constant measured in the game world being smaller than in the real world, such matters are too technical for Chu Guang. At most, he conceptually understands electromagnetic wave emission and absorption aren't continuous, but like having "frame rate," emitting bit by bit.

As for the specific numeric values, he might have to ask a junior researcher in high-energy physics to find out.

Of course, whether there's a necessity for this is another matter.

The survivors of the Alliance won't lead better lives because of a smaller Planck constant.

However, replacing the ignition device for the reactor is feasible.

In the office of the Alliance Building, Chu Guang met with Wang Zhiyi, a nuclear engineer at the Dawn City Nuclear Power Station.

The teacher, already in his forties or fifties, was filled with excitement, vividly narrating the shock he felt at the nuclear power station site to the esteemed Manager.

Although the teacher spoke for a long time without getting to the point, Chu Guang patiently listened until the end, even instructing staff to serve him tea to speak slowly.

The act proved wise.

The teacher, dry-mouthed, picked up the tea cup for a sip, seemingly unsure where he left off, immediately spoke about his main concern.

"...If the cold start technology can be applied to our reactor, replacing the outdated laser ignition technology, our energy utilization efficiency can increase by at least 23%!"

Upon hearing this figure, Chu Guang showed a surprised expression.

"23%? Does ignition require that much energy?"

Wang Zhiyi nodded, speaking earnestly.

"Ignition isn't a one-time deal. Every time fuel is fed into the reactor, it needs to be reignited... including shutdowns during maintenance, etc."

"I see." Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully, his attention more intense.

23% is theoretical data.

Actual values may be lower, but still quite considerable.

Although currently the Alliance has only one large reactor on the surface, more reactors will eventually be built with increasing electricity demand.

For example, over at the South Sea Union, Li Minghui has sought him out several times regarding power supply, hoping the Union can build another fusion power station in the south to reduce electricity costs in the southern sea area and nearby regions.

The South Sea Union's power and freshwater depend mainly on imports from Potato Harbor; while tidal and wind power are good, the maintenance costs of the facilities remain.

Additionally, power output is a major issue.

The deployment speed of ocean current power stations can't keep up with the economic growth of the southern sea area and its surroundings.

For an emerging economy in continuous growth, renewable energy is destined only to supplement non-renewable energy, rarely playing the role of a pillar.

Especially with the future space elevator planned for the southern sea area, local economic and production activities will definitely grow exponentially.

"What about the cost? Have you calculated it?"

Wang Zhiyi nodded gently.

"We calculated it, updating technology would require a budget of about 20 million silver coins... But considering we will build new reactors later, we believe this expense is worthwhile."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Since you've already considered it, I have nothing more to say. Of course, the necessary procedures still have to be followed. You need to prepare a budget report and send it to the Ministry of Finance; they will establish a budget review committee to coordinate the work with you."

With the Manager's support, Wang Zhiyi's face instantly showed a delighted expression, and he hurriedly nodded to express his gratitude.

Before coming here, he had been nervous for half a day, worried about being unable to persuade the Manager, but he didn't expect the esteemed Manager to be even easier to talk to than he imagined.

Seeing Master Wang nodding and thanking him, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"No need to thank me. If thanks are to be given, it's me thanking you on behalf of the Alliance."

After a brief pause, he added.

"Of course, don't take my agreement as a definite conclusion. The necessary documents must still be prepared earnestly. The budget review committee has its own work, and they have to live up to the money spent on them by the Alliance citizens."

"Understood! I guarantee to complete the task!" Master Wang said enthusiastically, almost eager to salute.

Chu Guang smiled and watched him leave the office, then opened the holographic computer on his desk and glanced at the schedule.

The first batch of units for work coordination included 21, among them were major public utility units like the Dawn City Nuclear Power Station, private factories producing engines and reactors, or purely academic institutions.

The Academy was indeed quite generous this time. With the support of these technologies, building one or even multiple Ideal Cities in the wasteland really wasn't a difficult task.

As long as the Alliance's survivors are given enough time, they might even rebuild a new world more prosperous than the old era.

But despite this, Chu Guang always had a premonition contrary to his intuition.

Sometimes, like other residents of the refuge, he instinctively regarded Ideal City as a benchmark for the Prosperity Epoch and its prosperity as the sole criterion for measuring success, forgetting that the standards for evaluating things evolve over time.

Perhaps the dense prosperity of the Human Alliance Era has become history, and it likely won't reappear for a long time in the future.

After all, today's Earth is not the Earth of two centuries ago.

Ending the Wasteland Era isn't difficult, but transforming a planet is another matter.

The Alliance can defeat armies, but declaring war on Mutant Cockroaches or Mutant Rats would be a joke.

And it's not just about the planetary ecosystem.

The people living on this planet are not the same as those in the past.

History has brought not only lessons to the Waste Land Wanderers but also completely changed their values and life philosophies.

These things not only allow the reborn people to tolerate alien environments more but also actively push them to explore farther worlds, passively dispersing the infinite risks accumulated alongside infinite prosperity.

The Alliance's children will be like seeds, with the Solar System as their center, sprawling prosperity across several or even dozens of light-years, rather than constructing a city at ten light-years.

Chu Guang had a very strong premonition.

In the distant future, the Alliance's population will certainly surpass the previous Human Alliance, but they won't crowd into just one mother planet like before; they will disperse to thousands of planets and space stations.

If that's the future, then the experience of "building a large-scale laser array on the Moon, generating electricity and then directing the energy back to Earth" is indeed outdated.

Distributed power stations are advantageous for the flexible allocation of resources and outward expansion, more suitable for the "settlement-style" development of Waste Land Wanderers.

Disasters that once occurred in the Human Alliance may happen again, but will no longer leave them devastated.

Perhaps in the far future, Workers' Association people might go to Andromeda to replicate a Giant Stone City, and the South Sea Union might search for an ocean planet outside the Solar System to develop their hundredth artificial island.

The end of the world?

The entire universe is full of human homes, so what is there to fear?

If worse comes to worst, they can still seek refuge with the Academy, unknown for hiding somewhere in the universe making a fortune.

Unless faced with a crisis affecting the entire universe, no disaster can ever take them away in one fell swoop.

Thinking of things many, many years in the future, Chu Guang's mouth crept up a smile.

"It would be great to see that day."

...

[Breaking news! Conflict escalation! Zayed condemns Mammoth Nation for occupying parts of Bird State and Sheep State and creating border conflicts, appointing Grov as the commander-in-chief and Yakale as deputy commander, marching north!

Reportedly, Grey Wolf Army's commander Gopal had a disagreement with Zayed regarding whether the timing of the Northern Expedition was mature, with intense power struggles among Tiandu's top brass potentially affecting the front-line battle situation.

Mayor Yoder called for calm among the conflicting parties, urging them to negotiate for the sake of their compatriots.

The Alliance has not commented on the matter, but the Goblin Observation Report, representing civilian opinions of Dawn City, remarked at least the poor "Red Soil" escaped a disaster.

However, the New West Port edition of Survivor's Daily held a contrary viewpoint.

According to unreliable sources, Tiandu allegedly exchanged opinions with the Eastern Empire on the Red Soil issue.

——Survivor's Daily Jinjaron Harbor Edition

]

[Judgment concluded! Former Southern Legion Corps General Affairs Department Minister Jeffrey and other war criminals sentenced to death, "Iron Crossbow" rapid response force commander Hains sentenced to life imprisonment, Evernight Harbor's former governor Ya Hui and other lesser war criminals sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

Currently, Yavente City has gradually restored order, and the reconstruction work in various districts is underway, with port hoisting equipment from the South Sea Union arriving at the western port of Yavente City.

Following the Alliance, Welch Alliance, and corporations, supplies from the Eastern Empire and New Federation are gradually entering Bartoya Province, making Yavente City possibly a battleground for various survivor forces.

(Picture: a long queue forms in front of the talent market, with the most conspicuous sign reading "Hiring ship engineers, hourly rate 30 silver coins")

——Survivor's Daily Yavente City Edition.

]

At the entrance of Yavente City's talent market, the continuous stream of people resembled the images in the newspaper.

Looking at the continuous stream of recruitment points, the man with burn scars on his face stood in the queue, a bit apprehensive.

The newspaper said that one could find profitable work here, but besides shooting, he could only drive a Tank and couldn't do anything else.

The queue finally reached the front; he hesitated as he walked forward to introduce himself, but before he could speak, the recruiting staff spoke first.

"Name?"

The man swallowed and rubbed his hands as he spoke.

"Ba... Barter."

The hiring staff pushed the form and pen towards him.

"There are at least five to ten people named Barter here... well, write down your last name too, and also list the skills you have, so we can find a suitable job for you."

Barter nodded quickly, picked up the pen, and wrote his last name on the form.

When he saw the skills section, he hesitated for a moment and eventually decided to write down his resume.

The staff, upon seeing it, brightened up immediately.

"You can drive a Tank?"

"Yes..." Barter cautiously looked at the recruitment staff, nodded slowly.

The staff did not react as he expected by calling the guards but enthusiastically patted his shoulder.

"Great, we need someone for driving excavators!"

Barter was taken aback.

"Exca, excavators?"

"Well, they both have tracks, don't they? And they're all produced by the Lavanka Industrial Zone. I believe you can do this job well!"

The staff winked at him and without further ado, shoved a card thicker than a military badge into his hand.

"This is your work badge. Report to the address on the badge at 8 am tomorrow morning. If you don't come, it's void."

"I'll definitely be on time!" Barter hurriedly assured, but seeing the staff not even paying attention, he quickly asked, "Is that all? No other procedures?"

The staff smiled and waved his hand.

"That's it; it's the hiring period now. As long as you have hands, feet, and understand human speech, you're good. Oh, if you urgently need money, you can take the work badge to the bank outside the talent market to apply for a relief loan. Your hourly rate is 12 silver coins, and the bank will consider your hourly rate to provide you a week's advance salary which is interest-free if repaid within a month."

Another staff member nearby playfully chimed in.

"He didn't finish; actually, even without hands, it's fine, we can equip you with one first."

"No need for that..." Never treated so warmly before, Barter felt somewhat apprehensive yet grateful towards them, "Thank you..."

"No need to be polite, buddy," that staff vigorously patted his arm and grinned at him, "People have to look forward, wishing you a speedy start to a new life."

After repeatedly expressing his gratitude, Barter did not linger further and quickly left the hiring point.

He felt an incredible lightness in his steps, as if floating in the air.

12 silver coins per hour!

If I work hard for a month, maybe I can earn 2000 silver coins!

Converted into dinars, that's card-carrying high pay!

Actually, no need to convert to dinars, what silver coins can buy is far more than dinars.

He couldn't wait to fly back home to tell his beloved wife and children the good news!

However, just as he reached the entrance of the talent market, a man dressed in a coat from the Welch Alliance stopped him.

"Hey, buddy."

Looking at the unfamiliar face, Barter frowned slightly.

"...Do I know you?"

Sensing his wariness, that person didn't mind, only smiling and speaking to him.

"I have a more profitable work offer here, care to consider?"

Barter's expression became more alert and he immediately said.

"I won't do anything illegal."

"It's not illegal, but it's risky, though I know for you guys, it's nothing," the man smiled and lowered his voice continuing, "There's a war in Poluo Province and they need instructors. You know, I can help you secure this rate."

As he spoke, he wagged two fingers.

"20,000 silver coins a month."

Twenty thousand!

Barter was stunned at him, indeed felt tempted for a moment.

But it was only a fleeting moment.

He thought of his family and his past days. After hesitating for a while, he finally shook his head.

"No."

He somewhat realized that what he had done before was neither honorable nor glorious.

He no longer wanted to return to that kind of life.

The man showed a disappointed expression on his face, but didn't say anything. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright, I'll ask someone else... If you change your mind, and I haven't found anyone else yet, you can come back to me."

Barter nodded but didn't accept the business card in his hand and hurriedly left with the work badge in his pocket...

Not far from the doors of the talent market, in a tavern that sold beer at night and coffee during the day, Fang Chang sat by the window, comparing two different editions of the Survivor's Daily in his hands, and suddenly let out a heartfelt sigh.

"I remember that our refuge's Manager said we needed to make many copies of the Survivor's Daily, so that we could ensure the newspaper truly belonged to the survivors, and it wouldn't be stolen and claimed by some brat on a day after he left."

Dolly, sitting across the dining table, smiled softly, took a sip of her coffee, and said.

"Turns out, his good assistant didn't expect that someone had already stolen the title before he even left?"

The newspaper office in the Lavanka Industrial Zone had already been established and was running smoothly.

Since the liberation of Yavente City, she had rushed over with Fang Chang at the first opportunity, and established a branch of the Survivor's Daily here for Yavente City and even the entire Bartoya Province.

All the reporters and editors were locals from Yavente City, including people from Welch as well as other survivors.

Listening to that pleasant voice, Fang Chang shook his head and said in a casual tone.

"Whether it counts as stealing is debatable, but we certainly saw the disparities in the world through the newspaper."

The branches in Mammoth City, West Sail Port, and Tiandu had essentially been delisted by other newspapers. Even if they were reprinted, it wouldn't be as news but merely as news material.

The newspaper office registered in New West Port was on the verge of blacklisting... The reason it's not on the list is partly due to a "beginner's protection period," and partly because occasionally, the newspaper there could leak some useful information, not entirely serving as Salen's personal megaphone.

As for whether the brand of the Survivor's Daily was stolen, Fang Chang tended to believe it wasn't.

That thing was never the property of the Alliance to begin with, rather it was a newspaper for the survivors, so how could it be said that it was stolen?

It was always theirs, full of lies, because they were either intentionally or unintentionally being deceitful.

Regarding whether the Poluo were deceived, he also tended to think not.

Why, you ask? Perhaps because he watched them step by step get to this point.

Just as the Manager said, this is a conspiracy crime.

And predictably, the punishment of fate has already descended.

Dolly looked at him intently, then suddenly turned her gaze outside the window and sighed softly.

"I just find it pitiful that although they are the victors, they have to endure sufferings even losers haven't suffered... Maybe there's a better way. Besides, the war is over, can't we find a way to help them?"

"...Our aid has been plentiful. Apart from a profound lesson, I can't think of anything more to give them."

Fang Chang turned a page of the newspaper in his hand, paused, and said again.

"Besides, the war isn't over... The culprit of the murder case still hasn't been caught."

"Do you mean the Enlightenment Society?" Dolly frowned slightly, her face carrying a trace of worry.

She had heard about what happened at the Tower of the World, including the monster with twisted tentacles.

Fang Chang shook his head.

"It's not just the Enlightenment Society, there's also a suspicion of celestial beings standing behind them... Of course, so far only the former has surfaced."

That little mouse of the Enlightenment Society...

The guy was running around with a Gauss Rifle and possibly wearing optical camouflage.

They still didn't know whether this guy was in the city or if he had run off long ago.

Moreover, people from the Eastern Empire and the New Federation were also active around Yavente City, collecting engineers and unemployed officers from the Southern Legion under the guise of rescue, dividing up the unfinished cards in Teil's hands.

It's worth mentioning that the Southern Legion is not without high technology, at least in jet planes and missiles they have made some achievements, though not as outstanding in Metallurgical technology.

And, the Enlightenment Society also used the Residents of the refuge to help Teil train some high-tech talents.

When the final battle broke out, not all those people were in the Building of the Tower of the World, and quite a few lucky ones survived.

However, compared to the threat from Lagrange Point, Fang Chang felt that those spies poaching talents were not much of a threat.

There was even a hint of naivety.

After all, the truly valuable talents had already been divided up by the City of Dawn and Triumph City, so what's left can be taken as scraps.

The Alliance doesn't lack those anymore.

Just don't cause trouble at a critical moment when they are full.

Seeing the trace of worry hanging between his brows, Dolly suddenly felt a bit heartbroken, involuntarily wanting to stroke his head.

This guy worried incessantly for the Alliance, even when he was with her.

"If there's ever anything I can help with... be sure to tell me."

Meeting those eyes filled with concern for him, Fang Chang showed a gentle smile.

He didn't say anything like "take care of yourself" or "just don't cause trouble" which would spoil the moment, but simply reached out and patted that cute little head.

"Mm, definitely."

Chapter 975: These Days, Even NPCs Compete with Players for Quests

When Fang Chang and Miss Dolly were all lovey-dovey, Gui Gui, sitting on the other side of the tavern's main hall, had already covered his mouth and nose, making exaggerated expressions while quietly grumbling to Feng Qing, who was sitting across from him.

"Oh no... I smell the sour stench of Mortal Serum!"

Feng Qing, calmly sipping coffee, tilted his head and looked at Gui Gui's exaggerated expression with confusion.

"Mortal Serum doesn't have a smell."

"It's that kind of Mortal Serum, you know, the kind... Ah, never mind," Gui Gui gestured awkwardly for a long time, unable to muster the courage to say it out loud. Finally, he sighed and supported his cheeks with both hands. "Speaking of, isn't it weird to fall in love with an NPC? Especially if in reality there's a family involved, does that count as cheating?"

"Emmmm..." Feng Qing thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "I wouldn't know about that kind of thing."

Whether in reality or in the Game, she wasn't much interested in romantic relationships. But this kind of thing should count as a personal matter, right?

However, Gui Gui was still dwelling on it, even subconsciously nibbling on his fingers.

"...Damn, whenever I think about how the adorable Miss Dolly is actually sitting across from a middle-aged man with five or six kids in reality, I can't stand it anymore! Damn it, Fang Chang needs to explode quickly."

Ah, so it was about Dolly...

Feng Qing made a helpless expression, put down the coffee cup held between his hands, and said.

"I think if you're so concerned about what others are like in reality, why not ask yourself... It's quite rude to randomly speculate about a stranger's private life behind their back."

"Ugh... I was wrong."

Feeling the boundary of his behavior, Gui Gui raised both hands in surrender.

Looking at his distressed friend, Feng Qing smiled gently and said,

"I didn't mean to blame you; it's more like comfort. There are plenty of adorable NPCs, why not go explore yourself... Moreover, I think the couple themselves don't actually enjoy living in the spotlight; it's entirely because friends from the Burning Corps were stirring things up on the Forum that drew so much attention."

"True," Gui Gui stretched his arms and sighed as if he had just suffered a heartbreak, but quickly rallied with energy, "Speaking of which, Citrus is in junior high now, right?"

That was the girl Feng Qing had rescued from an orphanage run by a gang in the slums outside the old Giant Stone City.

The incident was also the catalyst for the Alliance's purge of gang elements outside Giant Stone City. Afterward, those kids, who had been raised like merchandise, moved into regular welfare institutions.

The Alliance has a comprehensive social care mechanism to look after these orphans, including raising them until age 18 and covering expenses during compulsory education, so they don't have to pay out of pocket to raise her.

But they still occasionally visit her, making cotton candy together, buying her pretty new dresses... treating her like their own daughter.

Talking about Citrus, a reminiscent smile naturally appeared on Feng Qing's face.

"Last time I saw her, she was preparing for the entrance exams. By mid-year, she'll probably be taking the test."

Gui Gui, with his chin resting on his hand, also remarked wistfully.

"She's going to junior high already... Time flies fast."

The players' bodies don't seem to change much.

Of course, maybe it's because they often die, so everything refreshes after each resurrection.

I've heard there are hardcore players who haven't died once since leaving the Novice Village, and their bodies still undergo some changes as they age.

Seeing his sentimental friend, Feng Qing thought for a while and said.

"Though that's what you say, technically, it's only been two or three years since we met her."

Gui Gui scratched his head.

"Uh, seems like it."

Somehow those two or three years feel longer than twenty or thirty years.

Perhaps this is what a fulfilling life feels like.

After placing the coffee cup and used utensils back on the tray, Feng Qing looked at Gui Gui sitting across and said.

"I'm rested up, continue doing tasks?"

Gui Gui jumped up.

"Oh right! Task, task... I almost forgot about the task; we've got to catch that little rat from the Enlightenment Society."

Opening the VM interface, Feng Qing reminded.

"There's also the package to deliver to the town hall and the mutant rat nest in the sewer to clear."

"Huh?! I accepted a sewer task?"

Seeing Gui Gui's terrified expression, Feng Qing tilted his head.

"I accepted it... But the reward is quite good, with 1000 Silver Coins, and the mission process is pretty short. Just endure it."

...

Just as the tearful Gui Gui was being pushed out of the tavern by Feng Qing, a pair of foes were bickering incessantly on another street, not far from the talent market.

One of them was Night Ten from the Burning Corps, and the other was Jiang Xuezhou, a Level C Researcher from the Academy.

The two were originally operating in the Southern Quarantine Zone of Welch Province, but now that the focus in the quarantine zone has shifted from control to the development of vaccines and antidotes, the two who weren't specialized in this field really couldn't be of much help.

Moreover, a major incident happened recently—the Academy lost a research ship and an entire beacon team went missing in Yavente City. So, Jiang Xuezhou was sent to Yavente City.

As for Night Ten, he was half forced over here and half concerned about the danger this guy might encounter if acting alone.

The Academy's top brass had given up hope that the missing beacon team was still alive, but the lost research ship had to be found.

There were too many potential unknowns drifting in outer space that could slip through one's grasp.

If people who shouldn't get their hands on those things arrive there first, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Understanding the importance of this mission, once Jiang Xuezhou arrived in Yavente City, he seriously began searching for the whereabouts of the missing research ship. However, the two have been looking for almost two weeks now without finding a single clue.

The longer the time drags on, the lower the chance of the missing members' survival, and more unlikely that the research ship would be retrieved.

Jiang Xuezhou was somewhat anxious too, and couldn't help but vent his grievances on Night Ten, who had an indifferent expression.

"Don't you have that sixth sense? Can't you use your sixth sense to find that guy?"

Night Ten rolled his eyes, hit by stray fire, and retorted unceremoniously.

"The sixth sense is not used like that; do you think I can do magic?"

That guy aiming at him from a distance might be possible.

Using thin air to locate enemies separated by an unknown distance is already cheating, okay!

Jiang Xuezhou curled the corner of his mouth.

"Tch, really useless."

Hearing this, Night Ten suddenly felt disgruntled.

"How am I useless? When I was carrying the whole show, you were just a Little D Grade! By the way, aren't you from the Academy? Don't you have that kind of technology to lock onto our target among the crowd?"

Jiang Xuezhou flushed red and glared at him.

"What carrying, I don't understand... What nonsense are you talking about; why not organize your language before expressing it."

"Carrying means MVP... Forget it, forget it, there is no need to talk about past glory; even my younger siblings are gone now, sigh."

Looking at Jiang Xuezhou's baffled expression, Night Ten sighed while looking up at the sky, arms behind his head, paused for a moment, and continued.

"But I say, isn't your Academy one of the three major forces? Since it's already confirmed that the Enlightenment Society took your research ship, why not just send the Alpha Special Mobile Force over? Even if you turn Yavente City upside down and find that little rat, the Enlightenment Society definitely won't obediently exchange hostages with you, right?"

The Alliance has captured Enlightenment Society captives before, and even the Thorns Corps in Pioneer City could capture one or two every now and then.

But it doesn't do any good.

All they can do is let those misguided residents of the refuge undergo labor reform, witness the achievements of the Alliance's work, and persuade those folks to return to the right path.

As for finding the headquarters of the Enlightenment Society or extracting intelligence through these captives.

Those refuge residents deceived by the Enlightenment Society don't even know themselves.

Not to mention exchanging hostages; those sneaky people don't have any concept of compatriots in their hearts.

Hearing Night Ten criticizing her organization again, Jiang Xuezhou's eyes showed a complex expression.

If it were any other time, she would surely rebut, maybe even argue with him eyebrow to eyebrow, but now she was indeed feeling a bit lost.

"I don't know… But I think the upper ranks must have their concerns, and finding the only clue is also the only thing we can do."

Night Ten glanced at her, then cast his gaze toward the street ahead.

"I believe, it's no secret that the Academy has a thousand tricks up its sleeve in the Wasteland… I'm just worried, you're not within the scope of their concerns."

So what if it's Level C.

As long as one seed survives, it's considered a victory; the others are just nutrients in the soil.

The Academy possibly doesn't just disregard Level C researchers; he even thinks they don't care about Level A or even the only S-level.

They are the true Leviathan.

Unlike the Family Meeting which uses ideals as a guise for deception, they are truly a faith-bound organization, a body born for knowledge and fully serving knowledge.

Apart from their only goal, everything else is expendable.

Including the Chief Technical Officer himself.

Even Doctor Conclusion.

A Level C Researcher is too insignificant in the narrative where civilization is the height.

Night Ten originally just wanted to advise her not to overwork herself, that it's not worth putting her life at risk, but didn't expect the latter to suddenly fall silent.

He looked puzzled at the side, only to see Xuezhou's face showing a shy expression for some reason.

Just when he was about to ask, "What's wrong with you?", a mosquito-like whisper came.

"...Were you worried about me just now?"

Worry?

"Not at all—"

"Yo, Night Ten, on a date?"

An untimely voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Night Ten just as he was about to speak.

What the hell?

Night Ten quickly turned his head towards the direction of the voice, only to see Big Eyes and Construction Guy making goofy faces at him.

"Such a good relationship!"

"Of course, their relationship is so pure, unlike you who just enters the body, not the family."

"Roll roll roll, roll your mom's!"

Big Eyes, who was smiling just a moment ago, suddenly flipped out, unknowingly spoke the words Night Ten wanted to say.

Watching Big Eyes pick up his fists and chase Construction Guy to beat him, Night Ten held back the sarcasm that came to his lips.

Standing next to him, Jiang Xuezhou looked blankly at the two running away, then tilted her head to look at Night Ten.

"What are they talking about?"

Night Ten was about to explain but didn't know how to start, his old face blushing in shame as he mumbled.

"Those jerks are mocking me."

"Oh, hehe..."

Completely misunderstanding, Jiang Xuezhou showed a mischievous smile, covering her mouth with her left hand and gently poked his arm with her right.

"Looks like your popularity with the Alliance isn't great. Why don't you come to the Academy with me? Comes with a Ark ticket!"

Night Ten rolled his eyes.

"No way."

Jiang Xuezhou raised her eyebrows, showing her teeth and said.

"Why! I'm not good to you?"

"Not really... Wait, why do I have to go with you just because you're nice to me! I'm doing just fine in the Alliance!" Night Ten was shaking his head while suddenly realizing he'd been led into a logical trap.

Jiang Xuezhou glared at him, gritted her teeth, but ultimately just snorted, not saying much.

"...Ungrateful guy."

For the rest of the journey, the two exchanged no words.

Night Ten didn't know what misstep this fellow had taken, suddenly getting all sulky.

Why is she so insistent on getting him to join the Academy?

Isn't it good as it is now?

This is way too loyal!

At this moment, the VM worn on Night Ten's arm suddenly vibrated. He lifted it and opened the screen to look, only to see a message floating in the center of the screen.

[Edge Shoveling: There's new evidence regarding the Disciples of Enlightenment Society. The guard station on Street No. 17 received a report from residents about suspicious personnel entering and leaving the alley between door 203 and 202, not like locals, and not like our people either. If you're interested, you might want to take a look. If it's a misunderstanding, it would give residents a peaceful sleep.]

Night Ten's eyes lit up, immediately replied.

[Haha! Thanks, brother!]

In a few seconds, another message popped up.

[Edge Shoveling: You're welcome! If you catch a big fish, remember to share with us! (Grinning)]

Night Ten: [Hell no! Am I the kind to eat alone? Wait! I'll be right there.]

Peering at Night Ten typing on the screen, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but lean in, wanting to see what he was up to.

Just as she did, Night Ten suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing?!" Jiang Xuezhou's whole body was startled, dumbfounded there like a fool.

But Night Ten didn't wait for her, opened the VM map navigation function, pulling her along.

"Don't ask too much, just follow me!"

"???

Jiang Xuezhou confusedly got dragged along, the two crossed two streets and arrived in front of an inconspicuous small alley.

This place looked like the old city, many houses already empty, either the residents moved away or died in the war, only old folks lived here.

Jiang Xuezhou blushed as she pulled her arm away, glaring at Night Ten who finally stopped.

"Why did you bring me here?"

With a smug expression, Night Ten cast his eyes toward the small alley ahead.

"Didn't you say I'm slacking off? I'm proving I'm not."

Jiang Xuezhou: "....?"

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou's bewildered face, Night Ten patiently explained the clues he had.

Speaking bluntly.

Such needle-in-a-haystack tasks should be given to the Beggar's Sect brothers of the Death Legion.

These guys roam everywhere, especially Big Eyes' group loves engaging deeply with local NPCs, finding clues is ridiculously easy.

He greeted Edge Brother as soon as he arrived in Yavente City, the latter informed him of any clues immediately.

Jiang Xuezhou stared at him, dazed for a while, then suddenly lowered her head and softly said, "Thank you."

Unexpectedly, she pulled this move, Night Ten's first reaction wasn't joy, but wariness towards her.

"...Why suddenly thank me?"

Jiang Xuezhou struggled for a moment but ultimately confessed.

"...I shouldn't have thought you weren't putting effort in."

Night Ten looked at her speechlessly.

"Good grief, so that's how you saw me."

Do I have to use a magnifying glass to find bugs in wall cracks to be called putting effort?

Damn!

She's increasingly becoming like his nosy old mother.

Jiang Xuezhou blushed as she turned her head away, lightly snorting with her nose.

"You always seem so indifferent."

"I do find your higher-ups somewhat frustrating, not really wanting to get mixed up in your mess, but it doesn't mean I'm indifferent to you..." Night Ten looked at Jiang Xuezhou who turned red from ears to the back of her neck, sighing, scratching his head randomly, "Wait for me here, I'm going in to take a look."

Watching Night Ten walk straight into the alley, Jiang Xuezhou quickly followed.

"Ah, I'll help too!"

Night Ten rolled his eyes.

"Just don't mess things up!"

Jiang Xuezhou angrily glared back.

"I want to! Pfft, when have I ever messed up? Besides, this is my task!"

"Alright alright, your task."

Night Ten sighed, originally indifferent but now slightly serious.

These days, even NPCs are starting to compete with players for tasks.

This game is too realistic!

Chapter 976: Hidden Quest in the Sewers?

A damp aura lingered in the pitch-black sewer, with faint moss on the walls appearing intermittently in the weak light, refracting an ominous greasy sheen.

The rubber soles of military boots kissed the moist ground, emitting a slight creaking sound reminiscent of rodents gnawing.

Meanwhile, this seemed to be the only sound echoing through the entire sewer.

This was the sewer beneath Street No. 17 in Yavente City.

Got to admit, the Vellante people truly have a knack for city construction.

Although the maintenance of Yavente City's infrastructure has almost come to a halt due to the war, the drainage system still operates well, with sewage steadily running under the river warning line without flooding onto the walkways.

However, even so, the situation here can't exactly be described as optimistic.

In just three days, the Yavente City Guard Bureau received seven reports of "sewer variant injury incidents," and the news about mutant rats nesting in Yavente City's drainage system has terrified the surrounding residents.

To protect the lives and properties of Yavente City's survivors and ensure the smooth progress of reconstruction work, the Goblin Corps accepted this mission worth 1000 Silver Coins, an additional 200 Contribution Points, and 5000 regional reputation, without hesitation.

At the moment, two agile figures were moving one after the other along the narrow passageway.

On their way here, the two had already dealt with dozens of variants.

Not just mutant rats, but also elusive mutant cockroaches and mutant flies that launch fly eggs.

Although they still hadn't seen any sign of the alien nest, it could basically be confirmed that the information provided by the guard bureau was accurate.

"...I didn't expect so many variants to be hidden in such a residential area."

"It's Wasteland after all."

"Damn it...this Game is overly realistic in strange places, I still prefer ones that aren't so smelly."

"Calm down, it's a thousand Silver Coins, you know."

"I know, I know."

The two were wearing the same model of Type Five Exoskeleton, with fully protective helmets, lightweight tactical backpacks on their backs, and possibly some breaching tools.

As they had insured the equipment, they wouldn't feel too distressed even if they lost them.

Thus, while the two were cautiously searching the corners of the sewer, the expressions on their faces, apart from calmness and disdain, did not carry much tension beyond that.

They even had time to chat idly.

"Speaking of which, aren't the locals afraid that a variant might suddenly pop up from underneath while they sleep?"

"I think being afraid won't help, maybe they should just put a gun on their bedside table?"

"Eww! That sounds kind of thrilling." Gui Gui shuddered involuntarily at the thought of running into a half-human-sized rat when getting up to use the bathroom at night.

She wasn't afraid of rats.

But only if confronted face to face.

Speaking of which, mutant rats and mutant cockroaches are indeed the weakest variants in the Wasteland.

The mutated hyena is somewhat stronger.

Even a fragile Waste Land Wanderer like Little Fish can manage to kill a mutated hyena; it wouldn't be difficult for Vellante people with gunpowder running through their veins either.

As for the next generation, that's hard to say.

Fortunately, there are technologies like the Mind Interference Device in the system to drive away variants, so limiting their activity range should still be achievable.

While Gui Gui was lost in thought, a faint sound suddenly came from the side.

"Squeak——"

Upon hearing that subtle noise, Feng Qing immediately moved the tactical flashlight over.

The beam illuminated the shadow-covered corner brightly.

Under the twisted metal pipe, a pair of round eyes stared at her in fear.

The little creature seemed terrified, its whole body bristling with gray fur, shivering and kicking backward, yet unable to retreat.

Though the war left all the city's survivors hungry, the rats in this city were surprisingly fat.

"Eww, what a fat one!" Gui Gui leaned in to take a closer look, rubbing her chin with her forefinger, commenting, "Still, can such knee-high rats be considered variants?"

Feng Qing gave it some thought, then gently shook her head.

"It doesn't seem like it."

So-called variants are abnormal species; although there's no clear defining standard, natural creatures conforming to common sense clearly cannot be considered variants.

At least grow some extra claws, right?

Feng Qing reached out and pinched the rat's neck, pulling it out from the twisted metal pipeline.

The frightened rat squeaked and struggled, kicking with its paws and biting her hand, but its not-so-sharp teeth couldn't penetrate her tactical gloves.

"All right, all right...I won't kill you. Hope you bring us some surprise."

Saying reassuringly, she took a piece of plastic band tied with a chip from the exoskeleton's tactical strap, carefully securing it on the struggling rat, then gently set it off.

As soon as the plump rat hit the ground, it scurried off into the distant darkness.

Its mind, just freed from peril, harbored only one thought: to hurry back to its nest and hide!

However, it didn't know that cunning humans had installed a transmitter on it, waiting for this traitor to return home.

Watching Feng Qing fiddling with the VM screen, Gui Gui sighed.

"Suddenly, I think this task should have been given to 'Difficult for the strong' to do, that guy would have resolved it instantly, right?"

Feng Qing, focused on the screen, casually replied.

"Emmm...Theoretically, yes, but you can't expect someone to fly all the way to Yavente City just for a thousand Silver Coins."

Besides, it's not something that can't be handled.

In the time it took to have that conversation, the small mouse with the transmitter had already retreated to its nest, shivering and motionless inside.

According to intelligence early on corroborated by the Alliance Biological Research Institute, mutant rats and regular-sized rats do not segregate due to size differences; instead, they are more inclined to cohabitate and divide into social classes based on size.

Seeing the signal point on the screen no longer move, Feng Qing's mouth curled into a smile as she shared the coordinates with the teammate beside her.

"Done."

"Let's finish quickly and wrap up the mission." Gui Gui stretched her arms and loaded her pistol.

However, just as she was about to proceed forward, Feng Qing suddenly reached out and grasped her shoulder.

"Wait."

"What's wrong?"

Gui Gui turned her head back in confusion, only to see Feng Qing not speaking, but making a gesture for silence and closing her eyes.

Sensing something, Gui Gui immediately quieted down and lowered the beam of her flashlight.

In the sewers, it was silent, with only the gentle sound of water flowing quietly through the darkness.

The tips of her hair lightly swayed beside her ears, and after a long time, Feng Qing finally opened her eyes and spoke slowly.

"There's movement, not far away."

Gui Gui also nodded with a grave expression, looking towards the direction not far away.

"Hmm... I heard it too."

Both were agility system players.

Although perception was not their strong suit, they had unusually keen sight and hearing, capable of actively detecting anomalies in the environment.

The two exchanged a look of understanding, turned off their flashlights, and lowered their footsteps as they walked toward the corner at the end of the passage, moving closer to the source of the sound.

One hundred meters.

Fifty meters...

It's nearby!

The surroundings were silent, and the slight noise that had just been heard seemed to vanish into thin air.

Feng Qing controlled the rhythm of her breathing, gently unlocking the safety on her submachine gun with her index finger.

She sensed that hidden in the darkness might not be rats, but something else.

Just then, a faint "drip" sound came from the side.

It seemed like the sound of sewage from a damaged metal pipe dripping into a puddle, but at the moment it sounded, it caused Feng Qing's mind to tense.

Almost instinctively, she quickly raised her left arm to shield the left front of her helmet!

At the same time, a piercing whistling sound sliced through the deep darkness, accompanied by a "clang" as it struck the bulletproof insert on her exoskeleton frame!

The sharp edge forcefully embedded itself in the polymer material, almost touching her arm.

Fortunately, she blocked it, otherwise, that cold gleam might have pierced her face.

Gui Gui quickly raised her gun, switched on the tactical light mounted below the barrel, but saw no one, only a magnetic emitter with a mechanical base and infrared sight embedded in the twisted metal pipes.

"It's a trap!"

Since the hidden enemy had already targeted them, stealth was no longer an option.

Saying this, Gui Gui pulled the trigger, firing two shots that destroyed the fixed weapon aiming at them.

Having neutralized the danger, she quickly looked to Feng Qing and asked with concern.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Looking at the dart embedded in her arm, Feng Qing removed it indifferently, took a glance at it in her hand, and thoughtfully said.

"This is not the handiwork of the Variants..."

This thing might very well be laced with poison, and it's likely extracted organic toxins from the Variants.

The reason, of course, is to disguise the cause of death.

Once Feng Qing was confirmed to be okay, Gui Gui finally sighed in relief, but soon became alert again.

The danger had not been entirely resolved.

The enemy was still lurking, ready to strike!

She could feel the killing intent hidden in the darkness, drawing closer to them!

That guy would never let them leave the sewers alive; he would find a way to keep them here!

"Is it Teil's remaining forces?"

"Hard to say, maybe it's the Enlightenment Society? Didn't you see on the forum? They hijacked a research ship and even took out several Academy prospectors." Feng Qing stored the dart in her tactical band, vigilant and scrutinizing the front while comparing the map on her VM screen, "In any case, this place is more than just an alien nest..."

It's possible that not only are the traps here but also those Variants they encountered earlier were artificially spread, with the purpose of concealing unspeakable secrets hidden in the sewers.

In other words—

They triggered a hidden mission!

With this realization, Feng Qing instantly felt invigorated, exchanging a look with an excited Gui Gui, neither with intentions of retreating, instead they continued advancing into the eerie depths of the sewer.

As the two of them advanced, Flynn, hiding and watching over the monitors, grew tense, couldn't help but curse.

"Damn it!"

This place was a secret stronghold set up underground in Yavente City by the Enlightenment Society, or rather, a safe house.

The disciples and Guides active in the area were using this secret stronghold to hold regular gatherings, exchange intelligence, and plan actions, while those Variants active in the sewers were released to divert attention.

However, what he hadn't expected was that the Alliance was so meddlesome, even wanting to control the rats in the sewers.

Seeing the two soldiers getting closer to his stronghold, Flynn had no choice but to risk activating the bait deployed on their path to guide them into an ambush for the kill.

However, something even more unexpected happened.

The skills of those two soldiers were exceptionally good; the one in front effortlessly blocked the deadly dart with a single motion, while the one behind didn't even give him a chance to follow up, shooting and destroying the meticulously set trap with two quick shots!

This was a major problem.

Not only did he fail to kill them, but he also exposed the secrets hidden in the sewer!

There's no time to hesitate, Flynn immediately stood up from the holographic computer, taking down the exoskeleton hanging nearby.

The signal in the sewer is very bad, and the two soldiers operating inside probably haven't reported what they've discovered yet.

There's still time!

Transparent ripples spread outwards along the armor of the exoskeleton, like snowflakes falling into water, quickly merging with the environment.

Fully equipped, Flynn grabbed the rifle placed at the safe house entrance, loaded it, passed through the security door, and stepped into the pitch-black sewer, following the guidance projected by the tactical goggles to pursue the target with murderous intent.

No matter what, he absolutely cannot let those two little mice get back alive!

At this moment, Flynn vaguely realized that the soldiers of the Alliance could acutely detect the murderous intent hidden in the darkness, much like some Awakeners who have unlocked special talents.

But it was obvious he hadn't realized that the warriors of the Alliance were capable of more than just this, and that there existed such an inexplicable thing as the "Official Forum".

Otherwise, he definitely wouldn't be doing such a pointless "clean-up" task, but would have blown up the stronghold and fled immediately.

Killing one or two players is meaningless, his coordinates will be exposed on the forum the next second!

At this moment, Feng Qing and Gui Gui were still cautiously searching ahead, also not expecting that their opponent, rather than fleeing, was charging straight at them.

It was then that a barely noticeable sound suddenly came from the corner.

The two swiftly aimed their tactical flashlights towards that direction, but saw nothing.

Guessing that the opponent might have optical camouflage, Gui Gui decisively drew the dagger strapped to his arm and swung it forward, but unfortunately, hit nothing but air.

"Tch, it's nothing."

Gui Gui, who hit nothing, sheathed the dagger back, skillfully holding it in a reverse grip with the left hand, positioning it under the pistol.

Feng Qing knitted her brows slightly, swiftly moving the flashlight beam, sweeping the surroundings with her gaze.

She was certain she heard something.

It's the experience honed from long years on the battlefield, her ears wouldn't deceive her!

Just then, her peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a metal pipe ten meters away.

The beam from the flashlight cast a colorful oily sheen on it, but at this moment, a noticeable tear appeared in that faint layer of oil!

In the instant her gaze met that invisible stare, Feng Qing felt her heart leap to her throat.

It was there!

"Over there!"

"Where?!" Gui Gui, who was on alert in another direction, quickly turned her head at Feng Qing's shout.

"Ratatat—!"

The sound of submachine gun fire answered her question, and without time to report coordinates, Feng Qing simply pulled the trigger, using the trajectory of the bullets to guide her teammate's attack direction.

As she anticipated, the orange tracers missed the twisted metal pipes, instead striking an invisible wall, causing ripples to spread.

Outlined by those ripples, a pitch-black figure slowly emerged.

The opponent was evidently caught off guard, taking the full brunt of the burst fire, staggering backward nearly falling to the ground.

"Damn it—"

Flynn cursed angrily, raising the rifle in his hands to retaliate, only to find a swift figure already upon him, a flash of cold light thrusting at his face.

"Clang—!"

The metallic clash echoed in the narrow tunnel as Flynn barely managed to parry the deadly strike with the drawn scimitar, cold sweat already trickling down his back.

What he thought were two small-time thieves turned out to be special forces!

Not giving him any time to think, Gui Gui swiftly ducked low, swinging the dagger towards his side waist once again.

Even though he was experienced in battle, Flynn couldn't handle the unexpected assault, barely turning his body, using the bulletproof breastplate to take the hit.

A dull thud like an axe hitting the wall sounded, and it was Gui Gui's turn to widen her eyes.

"Damn it! Can't even cut through that?!"

That was her full-force blow.

Even with a Type 6 heavy exoskeleton's bulletproof breastplate, she was confident she could poke a hole through it.

However, this guy's response was merely like being kicked.

With his abdomen struck, Flynn grimaced in pain, but this also granted him a chance to counterattack, kicking the flat chest in front of him.

Gui Gui felt like she got hit by a truck, getting knocked back along with the exoskeleton, crying out in pain as she crashed into the wall.

That kick likely fractured three of her ribs, though it didn't hurt much, it took her out of the fight.

No time to check her teammate's injuries, Feng Qing calmly swapped in a new magazine, raising the submachine gun again, while pouring suppressing fire at him, holding two grenades in her hand and timing the explosion.

As soon as the magazine emptied, she fiercely threw the grenades at the target.

Less than 1.5 seconds after leaving her hand, the explosion shook the entire sewer!

The scorching blast wave, laden with shrapnel, slammed into her bulletproof breastplate and raised arm.

At such close range, she herself also bore considerable damage.

However—

The opponent apparently took even greater damage.

Feng Qing, having discarded the submachine gun, smoothly drew the dagger from her tactical backpack and dashed straight into the thick smoke, preparing to deliver a fatal hit to her opponent.

However, just as she stepped into the smoke, a sudden sense of alarm surged in her heart.

Almost instinctively, she bent her knees, and the whistling blade nearly swept over her head simultaneously.

"Whoosh——!"

So fast!

Is it the speed of that exoskeleton?!

Feng Qing's pupils involuntarily contracted slightly.

Before she could react, a knee strike hit her chest, almost knocking the wind out of her.

"Ugh——"

A painful groan escaped her lips as Feng Qing felt a hand grab her neck, lifting her completely off the ground.

Holding her last breath in her chest, she swung the dagger in her hand towards the person's head in front, but it was punched away before completing a half circle in the air.

Crack—

The sound of bone cracking reached her, and she felt the right arm go numb, likely dislocated.

With her toes barely touching the ground, she dropped her left hand trying to reach for the ring on her backpack, only for the opponent to catch on to her intent evidently, gripping her left shoulder directly, followed by a crunching sound.

Though she couldn't feel any pain, sweat still poured like a waterfall from her calm face.

This guy is something else.

From that earlier move, her shoulder was probably shattered.

Looking at the struggling little ant being held by him, Flynn, with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, displayed a ferocious smile.

"You're from the Burning Corps, right? I admit you folks have some skills, but unfortunately, compared to me, you are still a bit weaker."

Originally on the verge of passing out due to suffocation, Feng Qing suddenly felt the hand gripping her neck loosen slightly.

A violent cough brought her shaky consciousness back to clarity.

This guy...

As a villain, really lacks class.

She said impatiently.

"...So much nonsense, just finish it already."

Upon hearing the cool voice, Flynn's pupils contracted slightly, his victorious smile freezing on his face.

This voice...

A woman?

Flynn reached out and grabbed Feng Qing's helmet, ripping it off the exoskeleton.

Seeing the flowing hair and the softly contoured face, doubt instantly flickered in his eyes, as if the hard-earned victory suddenly took a back seat.

That expression was really annoying, Feng Qing pursed her lips looking aside.

Perhaps provoked by this action, the hand gripping her neck tightened slightly.

Flynn stared her down.

"I'll ask you again, which corps are you from?"

You only asked once?

Feng Qing retorted in her mind, carelessly spoke.

"Goblin Corps...a pilot. What, want to match against me in the sky?"

"Fly...how could a pilot be here! You're kidding me!"

In rage, Flynn's entire face twisted.

Though the facial expression couldn't be seen, Feng Qing could roughly discern from his tone.

This guy must be regretting not being able to gauge the Burning Corps' strength.

Perhaps even a bit surprised, or even frightened.

Though such matters hardly matter.

"...Haven't you heard that villains die from talking too much? Your words are a bit excessive."

Wishing to start the respawn countdown sooner, Feng Qing reminded him, after all, the longer he dragged here, the longer her teammates would wait at the respawn point.

Flynn took a deep breath, suddenly regaining composure, his eyes coldly fixed on the woman clinched in his hand.

"...Stop pretending, die."

As he spoke, his right hand was about to exert force to crush the neck, yet a numbing electricity suddenly shot through the back of his neck across the body, seizing control of his exoskeleton.

A sneak attack?!

Flynn's heart jolted with shock, inwardly cursed before intending to turn around but it was too late.

Whether due to a virus or a close-range electromagnetic pulse, the exoskeleton seemed leaden, locked utterly in place, immobile!

Cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

At that moment, a hand was placed on his shoulder, subsequently, a jovial voice echoed behind him.

"Your equipment looks nice, mind giving it to me?"

——

(Here's a new book recommendation, "Guardians of the Multiverse", interested friends may want to check it out~)

Chapter 977: Capture

Although Night Ten said these words in a joking tone, his actions were anything but joking.

The fingertips of that bionic material sparked with blue arcs, flickering like ghostly shadows and accompanied by the crackling sound of dry twigs breaking.

Flynn could no longer speak.

After being shocked, he couldn't even beg for forgiveness, twitching like he was having a seizure.

If it had been Old White instead, being paralyzed in the power armor probably wouldn't have affected him much.

However, this guy is equipped quite niubi, but the body might just be a generally strong Awakener, perhaps with enhanced nerve reflexes.

But speaking of which, this discharge ability is pretty niubi!

Not only can he manually fire a railgun, but he can also release an electromagnetic pulse and overload circuits at close range, and finish it off with some electric therapy on his opponent.

The portable reactor provides enough energy, and he could even keep shocking all day long if he wanted to.

"Buddy, why aren't you talking?"

With his hand on the exoskeleton shoulder plate, Night Ten joked mischievously, while the person he was pressing down was already rolling his eyes in the exoskeleton, twitching.

At this time, urgent footsteps sounded from afar.

Finally catching up, Jiang Xuezhou, hands on knees and gasping for breath, shouted once.

"Night Ten! You... don't shock him into a coma! We need to ask questions... take him alive!"

Realizing he was having too much fun, Night Ten shivered with urgency, quickly pulling back his sparking hand.

With the electrode retreating from his body, that guy's shoulder stopped trembling, but he remained still, standing there blankly.

"Whoa, really knocked him out?!" Night Ten was a bit scared inside, mainly fearing he would have to give artificial respiration to this guy in the end.

Feng Qing, held by the neck in mid-air, coughed weakly and said.

"...Could you... put me down first?"

Since her feet weren't touching the ground, she wasn't getting shocked much, but she was about to reach her limit.

She felt if she was suspended any longer, she'd be headed for the Manager at City of Dawn.

"Ah! Hold on! I'll get you down!"

Seeing Feng Qing already about to roll her eyes, Night Ten quickly switched to the arc welder on his bionic arm, performing a circular cut on the "Iron Hand" that was gripping her neck.

Sparks flew outward, and just then, a weak cry came from not far around the corner.

"Medic! I need a medic! Cough... I'm going to die!"

Though he couldn't understand what the person was shouting, seeing another wounded soldier lying by the wall, Jiang Xuezhou hurriedly ran over.

"I'll help!"

...

Half her body wedged in between twisted metal pipes, the rebooted Gui Gui felt like her whole form was falling apart, with few parts following command.

That kick had at least the Strength of a level 50 horse? No—

It might even be level 60, her breastplate had collapsed inward in a "〈" shape.

Luckily, the exoskeleton offered protection, she only broke a few ribs, adding some bruises on her body.

With the help of a United Human Academy researcher, she finally escaped from the half-ruined exoskeleton.

Once a nanoscale therapeutic needle was injected into her leg, she felt warmth spreading throughout, reviving her senses; her sluggish body wasn't as sluggish anymore.

"Phew... saved! Ah, thank you... how much is this therapeutic needle? I'll transfer to you."

Hearing the heartfelt thanks, Jiang Xuezhou's face showed a hint of embarrassment, waving his hand, he said.

"No need, no need... our stuff is exchanged for G points, not for money."

At this moment, Feng Qing with Night Ten's help landed on both feet, breaking free from the exoskeleton.

Both arms were fractured, but the bones weren't broken, just displaced.

With Night Ten's aid, she reset her arms, binding them with bandages to stabilize the injuries.

As for complete treatment and swell reduction, she could only rely on the sleep cabin.

Although she'd need to lay in the sleep cabin for a day or two, it was better than returning to City of Dawn.

She hadn't explored the new map enough, and she planned with Gui Gui to afterward visit Triumph City.

Seeing the scattered framework wreckage and mechanical parts everywhere, Night Ten felt a pang of heartache.

Noticing his expression, Feng Qing nodded slightly to show apology.

"Thank you... also, sorry for damaging your loot."

"It's okay, it's okay, it's alright as long as you're fine," Night Ten gestured politely, smiling and saying, "I'll take it back to Giant Stone City for Yibers to look at, maybe it can be fixed and used... speaking of which, why did you all come to the sewers?"

Just recently, he and Jiang Xuezhou wandered the alleys for half a day, not finding Enlightenment Society folks, only stumbling upon two petty thugs.

Perhaps thinking they were easy targets, those two petty thugs simply approached demanding money, which of course led to Night Ten giving them a thrashing and tossing them into the street-side garbage bin.

Currently, Yavente City had plenty of job vacancies, drawing a surge in population; the complex mix included a few unscrupulous guys.

While they didn't catch Enlightenment Society agents, teaching those two petty thugs a lesson kind of contributed to Yavente City's security.

Shortly after finishing this matter, shots suddenly echoed from beneath a nearby manhole cover, giving Night Ten a bright idea that the area below hadn't been searched, so he dragged Jiang Xuezhou down.

His intuition proved correct.

And shortly after his descent, Gui Gui posted on the official site after being kicked offline.

Following explosion sounds, he soon found this spot, and with a surprise attack, ended the battle.

This guy's combat power was weaker than that of the Disciple he encountered at No.0 Shelter, still idling as Night Ten approached from behind.

Feng Qing caught her breath for a moment, briefly explaining her situation.

"We took a task from Mosquito, clearing the alien nest, but unexpected encounters included not just variants in the sewers."

She paused, surveying the surroundings, presenting a serious expression, she said.

"This guy is likely a Disciple of Enlightenment Society; there might be more around here... we should be cautious."

"Don't worry," supporting the injured Gui Gui, Jiang Xuezhou confidently smiled, interjecting, "I'll never be ambushed by anyone wearing optical camouflage again."

Optical camouflage can create an illusion of invisibility but cannot mask changes in electromagnetic fields.

Since the danger at No.0 Shelter, she installed magnetic-sensitive devices in her body, capable of continuously tracking all active electronic components and electromagnetic wave sources within a twenty-meter radius.

There is no method in this world capable of both shielding electronics and performing optical invisibility simultaneously.

Combined with Night Ten's quasi-scientific perceptive talents, she was one hundred percent confident to prevent any surprises!

However, strangely enough, though Night Ten was originally self-assured about not being ambushed, he suddenly lost his confidence upon hearing her words, coughing nervously, he said.

"Don't say that, I also thought the same... but raising this flag makes me anxious."

Seeing this guy dismantling her talk again, Jiang Xuezhou raised her eyebrow glaring at him.

"You are spouting odd stuff again, what 'Flagg', I'm discussing serious matters!"

"Yes, yes," Night Ten responded with partial sincerity, looking at Feng Qing with a shrug, "Anyway, the Academy has some high-tech able to detect optical camouflage, although not entirely reliable, combined with my sensory perceptual talents, it's passable."

Feng Qing and Gui Gui exchanged looks, collectively musing aloud.

"High-tech..."

"So good."

Unable to understand the exchange between Night Ten and other Residents of the refuge, Jiang Xuezhou frowned suspiciously.

"Are you secretly talking bad about me?"

"How could I? Am I that kind of person?" Night Ten chuckled awkwardly, yet Jiang Xuezhou's expression became even more skeptical, clearly not believing his explanation.

"Really? Then translate what you just said!"

"I said the Academy's science and technology is the best in the world!" Night Ten shamelessly replied without hesitation.

"Hmm, smart move..."

Feeling as sweet as having eaten Chocolate, Jiang Xuezhou proudly curled her lips.

However, her sense of pride lasted less than a second when she saw something in the expression of the girl named Gui Gui next to her. Her curled lips and raised eyebrows collapsed altogether.

"Wait, you're lying! You said the same thing last time! But the pronunciation was completely different!"

She hated liars the most in her life.

Realizing she had been tricked, Jiang Xuezhou turned red with anger, reached out to kick his calf, only to miss as he dodged swiftly.

"Hahaha! Sorry! I was joking haha! Didn't expect you to actually believe it!"

Even though he knew he was laughing disgracefully, Night Ten couldn't help but let out a pig-like squeal at Xiao Jiang's adorably furious demeanor.

Seeing this guy's arrogant attitude, Jiang Xuezhou, who was initially just generally upset, became more and more irritated, let go of Gui Gui's arm and chased after him.

"You... stop right there! I'll... knock your head crooked!"

"Yeah! Touch my head first and then we'll talk!"

Watching the two chasing and bickering in the sewer, Feng Qing rubbed her temple with a subtle expression.

Even though she thought she was already quite unconventional in playing games, compared to high-level players, she was still like a small witch before a big one.

At least this is a sewer.

Can't they flirt in a slightly more romantic place?

Gui Gui limped over to her side, pinching her nose with her index finger, feigning distress.

"Dammit... just when I got used to the sewer, it suddenly became even more rancid."

Had already eaten a mouthful of dog food on the surface in the morning, didn't expect to get forced fed again upon coming down.

Feng Qing sighed, giving her bestie a helpless look.

"Well, the least you can do is endure it; the guy did save you."

Rendered speechless by this, Gui Gui's face took on a pitiful look as if full of unexpressed grievance, ultimately pressing her right hand against her flat chest.

"Ugh... just kill me."

Feng Qing tilted her head, not quite understanding what this guy was joking about.

But that's not the point.

Glancing at the sculpture-like, bewildered-looking Disciple of Enlightened Society standing there, Feng Qing then looked at Night Ten already pinned down by Jiang Xuezhou and pointed to the side.

"Though I don't want to interrupt your game... mind telling me how to deal with this guy?"

Jiang Xuezhou stopped her actions begrudgingly, and Night Ten, finally able to catch his breath, swung his head laboriously and coughed as he spoke.

"Let's take him up first... if nothing unexpected happens, there should only be him in the vicinity. Instead of slowly searching, better let him lead us."

Just earlier while helping Feng Qing down from the Exoskeleton, he had checked the captive. That guy still had a heartbeat and might even have woken by now.

However, he had already removed the battery from the Exoskeleton the guy was wearing, locked the moving parts, and administered an injection.

Even waking, this guy couldn't move, could only stand dumbstruck, watching them helplessly.

"Good idea," Feng Qing gave a thumbs-up, "Then I'll go up with Gui Gui? You guys... continue?"

The latter half she used United Human language, which was to say, a language that Jiang Xuezhou could understand.

Detecting the subtle teasing, Jiang Xuezhou gave Night Ten a fierce glare before nonchalantly coughing and standing up, red-faced.

"Conti… Continue with what? I'm going up!"

Seeing that almost steaming red face, Feng Qing couldn't help but smile like an aunt.

Academy friends really are pure-hearted, aren't they?

Unconsciously, she thought of Boss Xia, who could argue with players all afternoon.

Speaking of which, the weapon shop in Linghu Wetland Park had gone through several NPCs, but she missed most the earliest red-haired lady.

"Then let's go up together, I'm worried it's just me and Gui Gui won't be able to control this guy."

As Feng Qing was about to leave, Gui Gui suddenly seemed to remember something and raised her head.

"By the way, what about the Alien nest task? Are we just going to let that little mouse we released earlier go?"

Feng Qing paused slightly, evidently just remembering about this herself, pondering briefly before replying.

"We're coming down later anyway."

"Wait and see what the little creature discovers then."

...

At the tavern by the talent market entrance, Fang Chang suddenly received a call from Old White while drinking coffee.

"Already caught someone?"

He widened his eyes in surprise, pushed the chair back and stood up.

"Alright... I'll be there right away."

Busy writing, Dolly paused her pen, casting a curious look at him.

"Already found? So quick."

She was just thinking about trying to use the newspaper's influence, didn't expect the person had already been caught.

"In the sewer on Street No. 17, there should be a fixed base hidden there, similar to the one below Evernight Harbor. Maybe we'll find the clues we want inside... But first, we need to pry open that disciple's mouth."

While speaking, Fang Chang reached out to pick up the coat draped over the chair's back, putting it over his shoulder and fastening the button, looking at Dolly as he spoke.

"I'll head over there first, should be back before evening, if you're hungry feel free to order food."

Dolly waved him off with a smile.

"Go go, take care on the road... Oh, and if there's any explosive news, remember to contact me!"

Seeing the playful expression, Fang Chang smiled gently.

"I will... Also, try to stick around the military base. Recently the security in this settlement isn't great, not just due to issues with the Enlightenment Society, but also Waste Land Wanderers from elsewhere."

Dolly lifted her eyebrows, replying in a playful tone.

"The security couldn't be worse than Giant Stone City back in the day, right? No worries, I'm not one to be easily bullied."

Fang Chang laughed, reaching out to ruffle that fluffy green hair.

"I believe you, see you when I get back."

——

(Thanks to "Little Dog Hollow Heart" for the lordly reward!!!)

Chapter 978: Retribution

A dark, damp, and cold cell, surrounded on three sides by windowless concrete walls, with only one side being a grille wall with a visitor window and an iron door.

A man dressed in prison clothes sits in the center of the cell on an iron chair, with bright incandescent light hanging above his head.

The room is suffused with the smell of metal and rubber, making the concrete gray walls seem even more oppressive, ominous, and cold.

This is the interrogation room at Prison No.11 in Yavente City, where just a week ago, war criminals of the Southern Legion and servants of Teil were questioned.

And at this moment, the prisoner being interrogated in the room is a Disciple of the Enlightenment Society.

Two Vellante guards are sitting left and right outside the interrogation room by a desk.

Not understanding the situation, they still thought this guy was just an ordinary petty thief, and the big guy playing bad cop shouted with eyes like copper bells.

"Spill the truth! Name! Age! Organization! And that... where have you hidden the Academy's research ship!" He flipped through the files to understand what this guy's crimes were but was completely baffled by what the research ship was.

Research ship?

Yavente City doesn't even have a sea, how could this thing be lost here?!

A very real problem is that not all Vellante people are familiar with the Academy's situation.

In fact, most Vellante people just have a vague impression of the Academy as "Slugs in the swamp," and the little knowledge they have comes from the occasional snippets in the Southern Corps Victory Report.

Who knows if there's even a single true word in that kind of thing.

Faced with the aggressive interrogation, Flynn kept his eyes closed and remained silent, appearing apathetic, not intending to say a single word.

From the moment he was caught, he was no different from a dead man.

The only regret was probably that he hadn't managed to actually die.

But this was not a big deal.

He had long ago prepared himself to sacrifice for his ideals and had expected such a day might come in his future.

Therefore, no matter what dirty methods those prison guards used, they could forget about extracting a single word from his mouth!

The previous prisoners sitting here had either looked lifeless or dispirited, and the big prison guard outside was encountering such an uncooperative rebel for the first time.

Seeing that this guy hadn't replied for a long time, he suddenly flew into a rage and stood up, slapping the table.

"Not talking? You must be itching to be taught a lesson!"

Seeing him pull out the key and about to go in to fix this guy, an older guard hurriedly reached out to stop him.

Seeing his old colleague holding him back, the big prison guard glared and said.

"Don't stop me! No matter who comes today, it's useless! I have to teach him a lesson!"

The older guard tried to reason with him.

"Calm down! Don't be impulsive! The Alliance told us just to keep an eye on him, to question if possible, and if not, don't rush to use methods. They will naturally find a way."

"Damn it! I can't stand it anymore!"

"Listen to me, let it go..."

"..."

Listening to their back-and-forth dialogue, Flynn sitting in the cell not only wasn't afraid but even felt like laughing a bit.

That's it?

Looks like the Alliance isn't all that.

These people still can't let go of their civilized restraint.

Thus, Flynn didn't expend much effort to survive the first round of interrogation, and all this felt so easy that he even somewhat despised the Alliance's methods.

He didn't know how long had passed; just as he was bored to the point of almost falling asleep, faint noises and footsteps came from outside the grille door again.

It seemed that earlier was just the appetizer.

Apparently, the Alliance's interrogators were not planning to let him off so easily; there might be two or three more rounds to endure today.

As Flynn restored his usual expression, conserving his energy, keeping his eyes closed, he sat there relaxed.

Just as he prepared to withstand whatever came, Fang Chang stood opposite the iron grille, sizing up the man impervious to reason.

"Did he confess?"

Facing Fang Chang's inquiry, the guard on the side looked somewhat embarrassed and handed over a blank record book.

"No… You said keep watch without using methods, so we didn't use methods, just asked casually, but this guy didn't appreciate it, didn't say a word."

Fang Chang nodded, didn't say much, gestured the guard to get the notebook and pen himself, then walked to the visitor window and pulled out a chair to sit down.

"I am a resident of Shelter No. 404, my name is Long Days Ahead, and I heard that you are also from a shelter?"

Upon hearing the term "shelter," Flynn had a slight reaction, opened half an eye, and glanced twice at the man across the iron bars.

But it was just a glance.

Fang Chang raised his eyebrows.

"So you're not from a shelter?"

Flynn sneered coldly, speaking indifferently.

"Shelter No. 68, Flynn… Even if I tell you, it doesn't mean anything, our shelter has long since ceased to exist."

"Shelter No. 68, Flynn."

Fang Chang nodded, gave the guard standing dumbly a look, indicating for him to take notes, then looked at the man sitting behind the iron bars, continuing in a gentle tone.

"... there are indeed no records in our database, but it's not too late to start creating a file. The Alliance has many residents from such shelters, they live well, and they get along harmoniously with other Waste Land Wanderers."

Flynn, lacking interest, smirked disdainfully.

"If you are trying to convince me in this way, spare me."

"I have no intention of convincing you because there's no need; we will soon know what we need to know," Fang Chang smiled lightly, indifferently continuing to speak to the dismissive Flynn, "By the way, do you know where this is?"

Flynn didn't answer.

Or rather, didn't bother to answer.

Fang Chang ignored him and spoke to himself.

"This is Prison No.11 in Yavente City, where the Southern Legion's war criminals are on trial. You're no better than them, and neither is the organization behind you. Since we could defeat the Southern Legion and Teil, we can defeat you... and I can responsibly tell you that it's as easy as squashing an ant."

Flynn sneered.

"You're talking too much nonsense."

"I've heard from my comrades that you talk a lot of nonsense too. Why is it that sitting here, you've got nothing to say?" Fang Chang chuckled at Flynn, glanced at his watch, and continued in a chatty tone, "Time's almost up, I'm just making small talk, don't take it too seriously."

Flynn didn't drop his guard because of that remark, slightly curling his lips.

"Give up, I won't tell you a single word."

The voice was light.

Like the tongue of a snake.

Seeing this guy still being stubborn in the face of death, Fang Chang suddenly smiled.

"Alright, I understand."

He glanced at the time one last time, stood up, and looked at the prison guard who hadn't taken many notes yet, succinctly instructing him.

"Transfer him to Room 101."

This guy was someone the Academy wanted from the start.

In that case, let the people from the Academy handle the interrogation.

That Jiang Xuezhou should be ready by now.

The prison guard stood straight, his expression serious as he pressed his right fist to his chest.

"Yes!"

Fang Chang waved his hand, then sauntered out the door.

As the orders were issued, three burly prison guards opened the iron door and walked in.

The leading guard sneered at his face, cracking his knuckles loudly—he was the same person who had previously threatened to show him a thing or two.

Flynn felt not the slightest panic in his heart.

Yet watching the figure disappearing at the doorway, an involuntary sense of foreboding crept up in his heart.

What is that guy plotting?

Why is he so sure he can crack my mind?

The three prison guards entering the cell didn't give Flynn time to ponder.

Two of them stood on either side of him on alert, while the leader used a key to unlock his shackles.

At the same time his restraints were removed, the two guards standing beside him pressed his arms, pinning them behind his back and escorting him out the door.

These actions were entirely unnecessary.

To prevent him from biting his tongue to commit suicide, they had already injected him with a muscle relaxant, leaving him with the strength of a baby.

Flynn coldly smirked inwardly, allowing the three guards to drag him away, escorting him from the dark room to the so-called Room 101.

Much to his surprise, Room 101 wasn't laid out like an interrogation room but rather resembled a server room.

Row upon row of light green cabinets sat in the corners, cables of various thicknesses tangled together like a mess of yarn.

The only chair was located in the center of the room, a "dental surgery chair," and his instincts told him that ominous chair was his seat.

What are these bastards up to?

Flynn felt a faint panic rise in his heart, his pupils no longer holding the previous calm, instinctively struggling a few times.

Yet the guards holding him didn't indulge him, directly pressing him into the chair, then locking the shackles that fixed his hands and feet.

"Aren't you quite capable? Hope you don't wet your pants soon," the big guard sneered at Flynn, reaching out to pat his face.

He actually had no idea what method the Academy planned to use, only knowing that it was their Level C Researcher in charge.

That level should be quite impressive, I guess?

Maybe.

Flynn stared intently at the big guard's back until all the guards left the room, then began to pay attention to the room's situation.

The man named "Long Days Ahead" wasn't here, replaced by a pair of somewhat familiar-looking men and women—

Flynn's pupils slightly narrowed, quickly recognizing the two standing there as the couple who had ambushed him in the sewer earlier!

Seeing the guy staring at him, Night Ten cheerfully waved.

"Flynn, right? We meet again."

Flynn glared darkly at him, then glanced at the woman beside him fiddling with bottles and syringes, squeezing out a hoarse voice from his throat.

"What tricks are you playing..."

Truth serum?

Hallucinogens?

Heh, those kinds of psychoactive drugs are useless against him.

"You mean this?"

Night Ten followed his gaze, seeing him staring stonily at the nearby cabinets, then smiled and said, "This, by your terms, should be called a memory extraction device."

Flynn's expression slightly froze, but only for a moment.

"A memory extraction device? Don't be ridiculous... there's no way you have something like that."

Watching Flynn pretend to remain calm, Night Ten smiled and said,

"Not exactly. City of Dawn has one, just not here."

Flynn sneered again, slightly relieved in his heart.

Though he didn't know where the Alliance got that thing, fortunately, there's a Great Desert in between here and there, and moving it over wouldn't be easy.

However, just as he had that thought, a cold voice suddenly drifted into his ears, bringing his heart back to his throat.

"There really is no such evil thing here, but if you insist on using it, making one on the spot isn't really difficult for me."

Having completed the preparations, Jiang Xuezhou turned around, staring expressionlessly at the man lying on the dental surgery table, and handed the syringe filled with the potion to Night Ten.

The latter understood immediately, holding the syringe between two fingers, and strode toward the operating table.

Fear surfaced on Flynn's face, instinctively shrinking back, yet he was firmly bound and had nowhere to escape!

Even though his intuition told him that "making one on the spot" was complete nonsense, the confidence on the face of the guy walking toward him left him with no flaws to pick out.

Watching the man who was getting closer step by step and the expressionless woman not far away, Flynn seemed to roar loudly to convince himself.

"Stop bluffing! Do you think memory extraction technology is something commonplace? It's the accumulation and crystallization of our sociology experience over decades—"

"Decades of accumulation?" Jiang Xuezhou looked at him coldly, as if she were looking at a twisted worm, "Complete immersion virtual reality technology, it's just using continuous neural input signals to induce the subconscious, to dig out deep memories stored in the brain. You guys spent decades just doing this? Just this?"

When asked why she knew this so clearly, naturally it was because she had experienced it herself.

Flynn looked at Jiang Xuezhou in fear, looking at that syringe nearing his arm, his Adam's apple moved, but he couldn't utter a word.

He didn't know the source of memory extraction technology, only heard that this thing could squeeze out every secret in a brain like a machine squeezing sugarcane juice.

Since most of the people who experienced that system became fools, it was also used within the organization as a form of punishment and deterrence.

He had never violated the organization's rules, nor had he ever betrayed the organization, so naturally, he never had the opportunity to try such a thing...

And exactly because of this, he didn't know how to counter this thing!

Jiang Xuezhou watched him indifferently, continuing to speak in a cold voice.

"... Do you think it's some sort of advanced technology? We didn't create it just because we don't want some smart-ass, who thinks so highly of themselves, to pry open our brains with it one day in the future and use it against us."

"But you're an exception, because you are exactly that smart-ass, and I have not the slightest guilt in using this technology on you."

"I won't forget what you did to me, now I'm going to return it to you..."

"Experience it for yourself."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Night Ten—the one who once pulled her out of a nightmare.

Seeing the plot was over, Night Ten didn't waste words, promptly gave Flynn a shot in the arm, then smiled and patted the terrified person's shoulder.

"Good luck, just consider it a nightmare."

Jiang Xuezhou's dream seemed to involve a lot of snow?

And some variant creatures like hyenas.

Though he didn't know what was scary about snow and a few hyenas, since she said with such certainty that this device could definitely squeeze all thoughts from a person's head, he would take her word for it.

Night Ten still had great faith in Jiang Xuezhou's capabilities.

Flynn wanted to say something, but before he could utter a single syllable, an immense gravity enveloped his entire body, forcibly pulling his increasingly heavy consciousness away from his body.

That feeling was like an out-of-body experience!

But along with his soul leaving his body, it wasn't just his five senses that were sealed, but also his memories!

He even forgot his own name!

The consciousness drawn out of his body floated in the air for a while, quickly being sucked into a bottomless black hole, and then it fell into an endless red void!

He seemed to reside within his own heart, or stand at the center of the Earth!

And then, not knowing how much time had passed, a pinprick-like itch suddenly crawled all over his body, and soon that itch turned into searing pain like being roasted over flames!

"Ah—"

Unable to bear the extreme pain, Flynn wanted to scream out loud, but couldn't make a sound, only silently wailing in the void without time and space.

Boundless fear filled his soul!

And under the unlimited frequency iteration, the things he feared and the fear itself began to take shape, becoming more and more specific!

Every cell in his body seemed to be burning...

As if he had fallen into magma!

Soon the boiling magma turned into something else, he tried to see clearly what was surrounding him, and that searing existence quickly became his greatest fear...

Flames?

Why fire?

No one asked him.

He was asking himself.

Just as that vague confusion emerged in his mind, the burning gates of Shelter No. 68 appeared before his eyes.

Not just the gates of Shelter No. 68, through those blazing flames, he saw many familiar yet unfamiliar faces!

Among them, the omnipotent father, gentle and kind mother, lively and adorable sister... as well as the friendly neighbor's family, the amiable manager, and his close buddies, and the girl he once liked.

All those familiar faces had already been sealed in the deepest part of his memory, but the boiling flames had dug them all out without exception.

And it wasn't just them—

The looters who killed them too.

"No—!"

Flynn's eyes turned blood-red as he screamed frantically, wanting to rush in to save them from the looters, yet the mere ten-meter bridge seemed as long as ten light years, no matter how he ran, he couldn't reach the end, until he collapsed in exhaustion among the flames.

Sparks scattered across the sky!

He watched helplessly as this segment of memory was replayed in slow motion till the end, then slowly recalled his own name and theirs, along with the hatred etched into this unforgettable memory.

This pack of ungrateful wolves—

The shelter provided them with food, clothes... and technology they had never seen in their lives! Allowed them to live a life they could never have imagined before!

Yet they turned back and bit the hand that fed them!

He wants to eradicate them all—

Eradicate every last Waste Land Wanderer on this planet!

At this moment, in his bloodshot pupils, blue figures suddenly appeared, as they arrived, the rain of fire melted away.

Human perception of pain has its limits.

Prolonged pain only leads to numbness, making one unresponsive to external stimuli—which is clearly not what the "god" ruling everything desires.

Watching the blue figures, a light of hope suddenly appeared on Flynn's face, as if a traveler crawling through the desert had seen an oasis—

Even if it was just a mirage!

The people walked towards him, wearing the warm smiles he'd hoped for, extending their hands to help him.

Flynn mustered all his strength and finally reached that hand.

Yet, the instant his fingertips touched it, an overwhelming force engulfed him again, dragging him into endless darkness.

"From today onward, you are a disciple of the Enlightenment Society."

The familiar voice flooded his mind, collapsing the world pieced together from fragments of memory, and started iterating again.

"No—!!!"

Enough already!

I'll tell you everything!

Please make this damn thing stop!

Fear was written all over Flynn's eyes, and he let out a second shout—
or rather, a wail.

However, no one paid him any attention.

No one heard him at all.

Meanwhile, in a certain cell of Prison No. 11 in Yavente City, the second hand on the wall clock had just ticked one second past...

...

5:00 PM.

Three hours had passed since the interrogation began.

Fang Chang glanced at the time on his VM and knocked on the door of Room 101 next door.

When he knocked for the third time, the door opened inward, and a pungent smell of urine assaulted his nose.

Crinkling his nose from the acrid smell, Fang Chang leaned in to take a look, seeing a yellowish puddle beneath the person lying on the operating table.

"Did you fry his brain?"

"No way," Night Ten chuckled, "he's still alive, though his mental state is indeed shaky."

The things that guy saw in his dream, he also saw on the holographic screen.

Honestly speaking.

He even felt a bit sorry for the guy.

But feelings aside, when methods are required, you have to employ them.

Besides, compared to the Enlightenment Society, their methods could be considered merciful.

The Memory Extractor of the Enlightenment Society could actually fry a person's brain, whereas the program Jiang Xuezhou devised at most made people feel like their brain had been kicked by a donkey a few times.

If one's mind is not strong, it's possible one might go insane, but a mature mind can still emerge from the nightmare.

"What wicked technology..." Fang Chang clicked his tongue in admiration from the heart.

The Vellante prison guards standing behind him, upon seeing the situation inside the room, looked at the young girl in the white coat with admiration.

No wonder she's from the Academy!

The methods are really ruthless!

No external injuries visible, but caused incontinence!

That's amazing!

At this moment, Jiang Xuezhou didn't realize that she and the Academy had earned the Vellante's respect for mysterious reasons.

She motioned for Fang Chang standing at the door to come in and close the door, then handed a thumb-sized hard drive to Fang Chang.

"We've gotten the clue... Our research ship is probably no longer on Earth."

Fang Chang frowned.

"Not on Earth? Then where?"

Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath and said.

"The Looter... Missile Cruiser."

Night Ten and Fang Chang exchanged a look, their expressions both bewildered and stunned.

Quickly, the bewilderment turned into excitement.

"Holy cow? Is this opening up the space map now?!" Night Ten couldn't help but exclaim softly.

Fang Chang ignored him, simply clearing his throat lightly and looking seriously at Jiang Xuezhou to ask.

"I need to confirm one thing first... this missile cruiser, it's a starship?"

"Yes," Jiang Xuezhou nodded and said slowly, "All military ships in the Human Alliance Era were starships. This starship was constructed at the starport of the Lagrange Point, completed at the end of the Three-Year War, and shortly after entering service, it met with an accident... The specific cause of the accident is unknown."

"Awesome!!"

Night Ten clenched his fists in excitement, eager to go offline immediately to share the good news with his friends on the forum.

However, his excitement lasted less than two seconds, dropping to the bottom with Jiang Xuezhou's next words.

"Additionally... according to our records, this starship stores one hundred thousand neutron torpedoes."

Pausing, Jiang Xuezhou continued in a trembling voice.

"Although the specific explosive yield data is not found, there's a rumor..."

"In the late stage of the Three-Year War, the surface raid missions by the Human Alliance Sky Army on surface nests were carried out by this starship."

Chapter 979: The Final Crisis Descends Again?

Official site of Wasteland OL.

Today is as lively as ever.

Players who have received expansion rewards are sharing their usage experiences on the forum, and complaints about Goblin Technology products unsurprisingly dominate the forum's hot topics.

After all, even the customers of other brands like "Huge Rock Military Industry" haven't gone offline yet, so even if they want to complain, they have to wait a bit.

African Chieftain: "Damn! Mosquito, your stuff is too outrageous!"

Yuanying Stage Power: "What's with the promised explosive booster that blew up as soon as the button was pressed?! (Confused)"

Executioner number one: "Hahaha, explosive booster, no problem!"

Brave Piggy: "Annoying! Made my buddy's 'Niuz' blow up! (Angry)"

Brave Niuniu: "Fuck you! I'm called Niuniu!"

A thinking person: "Why are some players cursing, isn't there a player screening process, Ah Guang how did you select these players!!!"

Dinosaur Warrior Blackened: "Give me his helmet!!! (Screaming)"

Elena: "First time playing this game? Goblin Technology products are like this, just get used to it. (Funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "You guys are actually wronging Mosquito, he has given you the best. If you can't accept it, I suggest you remove the option of 'Player Product Reward Pool'. (Funny)"

As early as several versions ago, gear DIY by players was allowed to be listed for sale on the system store, but entering the expansion lottery prize pool is something recent.

Of course, considering that players' creativity doesn't always have a positive impact, whether or not to connect to the prize pool is not a mandatory option, and selecting it will accordingly adjust the winner's probability with weighting compensation.

Wasteland OL has always been very humane in this respect.

As for the brothers who played and then couldn't afford it...

Well, they can't afford it.

Anyway, Mosquito's skin is already thick like a city wall, this kind of output is too weak for him.

While all the newbies were berating Mosquito, a shocking post suddenly entered everyone's view.

Night Ten: "Big news!!! Orion Missile Cruiser suspected to be commandeered! A hundred thousand Neutron Torpedo Arrows poised!!"

Tail: "Giao???"

Quit smoking: "What the heck?!"

Spring Water Commander: "Cough... Missile Cruiser? South Sea Union? And what's up with a hundred thousand Neutron Torpedoes?"

The post triggered waves upon waves when it was published!

Although the forum always lacked sensationalists, Night Ten wasn't just any sensationalist.

Because he frequently exposed insider news, people jokingly called him Ah Guang's son in private, showing that his statements had some credibility, albeit a varying degree.

And also because of this, not only were those "defending rights" players attracted by the shocking news, even Mosquito, who was pretending to be dead, jumped up.

WC really has Mosquito: "What the heck?! Which short-sighted guy is looking for trouble with our union again?"

African Chieftain: "Awooo! Hit them! (Angry)"

As always, Night Ten first posted and took a spot, waiting until over a hundred posts later, he slowly narrated the beginning and end of the affair on the forum.

"...We caught a disciple of the Enlightenment Society in Yavente City, a resident of Shelter No. 68, based on the clues dug out from his memory. Their purpose in hijacking the Academy's research ship was to head to the Orion Missile Cruiser located at the synchronous orbit."

Spring Water Commander: "Two questions, aren't they already at the Lagrange Point space station, why do they need the Academy's research ship? And doesn't the Academy have so many research ships, why not occupy the synchronous orbit's pit first?"

Fang Chang: "The first one is quite easy to explain, just because they are at the Lagrange Point space station doesn't mean they have the ability to travel between the Lagrange Point and Earth's synchronous orbit. Perhaps they aren't actually a physical entity but merely a piece of information stored on a hard drive or server."

Si Si: "'Digital Ghosts'?"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "Hiss... So scary. (Afraid)"

Spring Water Commander: "Then what about the second one?"

Fang Chang: "There are many possible explanations. I tend to believe the Academy tried but failed due to insufficient conditions, hence putting this matter aside. But to be honest, interpreting from any angle is reverse reasoning from results, which honestly isn't very meaningful."

Mole on the Run in Canyon: "I think there's no point either, just tell me what to do.".

Fang Chang: "How would I know what to do, I'm not the Manager. Anyway, the next expansion might be related to space, probably... that's it. (Side-eye)"

Quit smoking:"Darn! Your analysis is too cursory!"

Debt Giant Eye: "The planner was ready to copy, swearing while putting the pen down again. (Funny)"

Construction Site Boy with Bricks: "Ah Guang: Brother, you make it really difficult for me. (Funny)"

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "Sigh, watching helplessly as you turn Wasteland OL into Starry Sky OL, it pains my heart."

Dinosaur Warrior Blackened: "Ah ah ah, server, explode faster!"

Night Ten: "Starry Sky OL, launch! (Funny)"

Tail: "Oh! Meat Meat ship, launch!"

Meat Meat: "Our ship can only sail in the sea! (Laughing while crying)"

Si Si: "Looks like Coral City's house prices will rise if deep-sea can block those Neutron Torpedoes."

Awo Sesame Paste: "I feel like since they're called torpedoes... it seems unlikely. (Helpless)"

"..."

The post quickly went off-topic.

And it showed no sign of returning to its original trajectory.

Chu Guang sat in the shelter, glanced at several game groups, and found that veteran players had indeed shifted the battlefield, albeit without any good ideas.

It's understandable.

That's a hundred thousand "neutron bombs," this kind of firepower surpasses the limits any survivor force in the wasteland can handle.

Looking at the lines of messages jumping on the holographic screen, Chu Guang twisted the pen in his hand with tightly furrowed brows.

"Not easy to handle..."

...

On the other side.

The sewer of Yavente City.

The flashlight's beam shook on the moss-covered brick walls, startling the mice hiding under the garbage pile.

Feng Qing and Gui Gui were walking down the passage while chatting casually, heading towards the target marked on their VM map.

"Emmm... So, at this moment, a hundred thousand neutron bombs are already aimed above us?"

"That's what it's saying on the forum, oh."

"Wow... seems hard to deal with.".

"Yes, hard to deal with."

After escorting the "culprit" to the Guard Bureau with friends from the Burning Corps, they merely did a quick check of injuries, changed into new gear, and dove back into the sewer to continue the task previously interrupted by unexpected incidents.

Although both were injured quite seriously, it wasn't to the point where they couldn't move.

However, thinking about the many big things hanging overhead, Gui Gui couldn't help but feel a wave of discouragement.

It felt as if the world was about to end, yet she was still clocking in at the Company like usual.

"...Damn! Why are we even bothering with this crappy task then!" Gui Gui said while kicking a pebble on the ground, watching it clang against the metal grating of the sewer.

Feng Qing looked at Gui Gui curiously.

"If you're asking why...well, it's for 1000 Silver Coins, of course. That's 1000 Silver Coins!"

Looking at this guy who was so nonchalant even at the supposed end of the world, Gui Gui said with a mixture of crying and laughing.

"But...if the world is going to end, what use are Silver Coins?"

Feng Qing: "Put it plainly, at least they can be exchanged for money?"

"Uh, seems like that's true." Gui Gui scratched her head, momentarily unable to refute.

At least the "Silver Exchange" wasn't showing any major fluctuations, several mysterious buyers were still secretly stocking up.

Moreover, they seemed to be buying even more?

Feng Qing smiled and patted Gui Gui's shoulder.

"Don't worry, don't worry, if the sky falls there's always someone taller to hold it up. Worrying here isn't going to help us."

"Your attitude is too good," Gui Gui sighed, suddenly having a whimsical thought and said, "Right, do you think it's possible that the Dog Plan can't handle it and wants to use this method...to reboot the server? And then public beta?"

"Hard to say." Feng Qing pondered for a moment and then spoke, "But I think...when that time comes, I might let someone who needs it take the helmet."

Gui Gui gave her a startled look, as if startled by her words.

"Damn, I just said your attitude is good, and now you're AFK?"

Feng Qing laughed and said.

"Well, it's not exactly AFK, although from the result it seems like there's not much difference..."

After pondering for a moment, she suddenly used an unusually serious tone.

"I just feel...familiar people have disappeared, and after the reboot, the world doesn't have their traces, nor does it have their continuation. Shouldn't let them and everything about this world live on in my memory? In short, to me, this chapter of the story has ended, that's probably how it feels, right?"

Though not the protagonist, this adventure held no regrets for her.

The world after the reboot wouldn't end here, the world wouldn't stop turning just because it lost a cog like her, maybe it'll even run more smoothly than before.

She had a strong premonition.

The successors who take the torch from their hands will run faster and go further!

Among those energetic newcomers, there might even be a girl named "Feng Qing", though completely different, she would possess strength and courage no less than hers.

She would inherit her ID and climb over the mountain peaks she could only look up to before.

Seeing Feng Qing with a faint smile at her mouth, Gui Gui sighed deeply, reaching out to scratch the back of her head.

"I can understand what you're saying, even though my thoughts are completely different...to me, meeting new people and redoing things is just way too bothersome."

After a few seconds of pause, she turned to look at Feng Qing, and said seriously.

"If such a day really comes, I might do the same thing as you."

Feng Qing smilingly patted her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Isn't it too early for us to talk about this now? Let's first earn those 1000 Silver Coins."

"Yeah!"

Gui Gui nodded vigorously, her previously slack face reigniting with enthusiastic zeal.

Even if tomorrow is the end of the world, she wants to clear the tasks from the task list!

If it really "shuts down," wouldn't the Alien nest in Yavente City's sewers become a lifelong regret for her?

Following the VM map's guidance, the two crossed a narrow hallway, dismantled a fence door, first descended a well, then passed an area of accumulated water, and climbed up a metallic ladder to reach a high platform.

The frightened little mouse indeed ran far, truly hard on it to travel over mountains and rivers just to gnaw under Street No. 17.

Is the water pipe there sweeter?

The two continued into a curving passageway, and the view before them suddenly widened.

This was a space completely different from before.

There wasn't the stench of sewers here, instead, the air was unexpectedly rather dry.

The walls on both sides were not made of bricks, but of a polymer material neither had seen before.

Soon, an escalator-like structure appeared in front of them, and judging from the scattered trash and roll-up doors with Gold Coins on both sides, was this an underground shopping street?

Or someplace like it.

"Could this be...pre-war civilization ruins?" Gui Gui's tone became excited, unexpectedly managing a big score before the end of the world.

Feng Qing was also clearly astounded by this surprising discovery, only focusing on inspecting with a flashlight, her mouth opened for a long time without saying a word.

Gui Gui walked over to a roll-up door, tried to lift it, but found it rusted shut, then gave up.

Backing up a couple of steps and taking a look at the nearby layout, she couldn't help but whisper.

"So did the Vellante people build a sewer on the ruins?"

Feng Qing thought for a moment, then said intentionally.

"Maybe it wasn't built by the Vellante people...this settlement perhaps didn't belong to the Vellante people initially?"

Gui Gui was stunned for a moment.

"Seems like it."

Feng Qing walked to the dust-covered escalator and looked at a pitch-dark circular hall downward, continuing.

"Two centuries ago, the earliest survivors established the settlement known as Yavente City on the ruins, they salvaged as much as they could and blocked off unsalvageable underground facilities to prevent variants from mixing in to build nests."

"After about half a century, or maybe a bit more...this settlement was occupied by the Vellante people. Most survivors living in Yavente City were born in the Wasteland Era, they had already forgotten the area locked away by their forefathers and the memories about this area."

"Even though the Vellante people inherited Yavente City's legacy, they didn't inherit what even the locals had already forgotten. They improved the original facilities, continually expanded, turning the new district into the old one, while here thoroughly became history."

Listening to Feng Qing's analysis, Gui Gui touched her chin and said.

"That explanation sounds quite reasonable."

Feng Qing awkwardly laughed, humbly said: "Just my bit of guesswork, not guaranteed."

"Doesn't matter if it's guaranteed, the fact this is a relic from the Era of Prosperity is undeniable!"

Gui Gui excitedly took out a reconnaissance drone from her backpack, then inserted the thumb-sized hard drive into her helmet.

Synchronization complete!

The tactical goggles on the helmet already showed the sight from the drone's camera!

"Let's take a look at what old relics of the Era of Prosperity were left here!"

Chapter 980: Reversal

[Children of the future, has the world returned to normal?

Even though I cannot wait for the day when everything gets better, I hope you can see it for me.

There is a safe under the master bedroom bed, the password is my birthday, which is in my diary... I put the most valuable things there.

Now I entrust it to you, hoping you can use it for post-war reconstruction.

This is my wish.

——Krystar Allee]

Perhaps perseverance paid off, after turning an unknown underground complex upside down with no gains, Feng Qing and Gui Gui finally found the above message in a shop that had been converted into a private refuge.

This line was written on a card, like a letter sent to the future.

However, when they finally found the legendary safe, went to great lengths to find Krystar's birthday from a diary and opened the box, both were simultaneously blinded by the golden brilliance.

"Damn! Gold—damn! Why is it gold!" Gui Gui's expression was first of surprise, but soon she realized this wasn't reality but the Wasteland, and kicked the folding bed beside her in frustration.

Feng Qing had a similarly subtle expression.

"Hmm... although emotionally unacceptable, it seems quite reasonable?"

It's said that during the Human Alliance Era, the total population was over ten billion, coupled with the prosperity of the aerospace and electronics industries and people's demand for wealth preservation in a high-growth economic environment, gold was probably quite valuable at that time.

But now...

Many industries and the population have shrunk significantly.

Of course, gold is still more valuable than silver or copper, otherwise, Vellante wouldn't use it as currency, and the Alliance wouldn't still use copper for wires instead of switching to gold.

It's just that its scarcity is certainly not what it used to be.

"About eight kilograms... exchanging for ten thousand dinars should be no problem."

Gui Gui, squatting beside the suitcase, weighed the gold, sighed, and packed it into her backpack.

Ten thousand dinars can be exchanged for two or three thousand silver coins, which actually isn't that little.

It's just that the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

"...In any case, he left what he believed was the most valuable thing to us."

Feng Qing comforted Gui Gui by patting her shoulder and said with a smile.

"In any case, task complete, no mutant nests found... we can head back now."

They returned along the original route.

However, just as they were about to board the escalator, a faint sound suddenly came from the shadows not far away.

The sound was like shoes stepping on a dust-covered floor, even though it was just a faint "creak," it didn't escape their ears.

Feng Qing, almost on reflex, cocked her rifle and aimed it in the direction of the sound.

"Who's there!"

The air was silent for a moment.

Just when their hearts were pounding, a scruffy old man holding his hands up walked out from under a half-collapsed steel frame.

He appeared unkempt, wearing canvas pants with many pockets, draped in a jacket, holding a woven bag and a short crossbow, looking like the scavengers commonly seen on the Wasteland.

"Don't shoot..."

Perhaps realizing he stood no chance, the old man placed the woven bag and weapon on the ground, cautiously watching the two girls standing by the escalator.

Seeing him voluntarily lay down his weapon, Feng Qing also lowered her rifle and flashlight, and in a questioning tone, said.

"Who are you?"

The old man stared at her, looked at her gun, then glanced at her nose, and then with a hoarse voice said.

"A survivor of Yavente City, a demon called Julius took over our home, so we fled here from the surface... and you? Children of survivors? Or children of demons?"

Feng Qing and Gui Gui were momentarily stunned by this, exchanged bewildered looks, then looked at the old man.

"A survivor of Yavente City... which year's survivor are you referring to?"

The old man furrowed his brow.

"Which year? What do you mean?"

Noticing a cross-server conversation was about to occur, Feng Qing said with a subtle expression.

"It is now Wasteland Era year 215, the Julius you mentioned... should have died a century ago?"

She didn't remember exactly how many years, after all, that's the history of Vellante.

"A century?"

The scruffy old man was momentarily stunned, blankly staring at the two young girls before him.

Suddenly, as if something dawned on him, he hurriedly asked.

"Are the Vellantes still here?"

Gui Gui nodded.

"They're still around, but we defeated them, the legion is now history... speaking of which, didn't you guys notice anything after all this time?"

The old man stared blankly at the "enemy of the enemy" before him, not knowing what to say for a moment.

After a long while, he chuckled wryly and said.

"Most of us were in hibernation in sleep cabins, about ten to twenty thousand of us. Of course, this is not a proper shelter after all, there are only a few backup generators, so someone has to stay outside.

He paused, then continued.

"Usually we have about 100 people, at minimum 50, maintaining the facilities and conducting regular inspections, to prevent others from never waking up, and also to prevent the Vellantes from finding us... the rotation period is roughly five years."

Gui Gui looked at him in surprise.

"Two thousand people?! Wait, you guys can hide two thousand people here?! What do you eat?"

Feng Qing also seemed stunned, her mouth slightly agape in silence.

The old man grinned slightly, nonchalantly saying.

"You don't eat while in hibernation, people awake grow some mushrooms, mix up some nutritional paste and it's fine, some are responsible for food, some for scavenging. As for electricity, there is no shortage here, commercial nuclear batteries are enough."

As he spoke, he cast his gaze toward the underground commercial complex.

"This is about my second time waking up, I usually scavenge around here... I can't actually tell how long I've slept, how much time has passed outside. The management here is chaotic, life is a mess, being awake feels like prison, the only hope is to work for five years for hibernation, but just as I close my eyes, I open them and wake up again."

"The guy who patted me on the shoulder told me, outside it's been fifty or forty years, he isn't sure himself, doesn't even remember how many rotations it's been. As for me, I feel nothing at all. To me, the past fifty or so years have passed in not even a flash."

"But I am quite glad, at least I outlived Julius, right? Thank you, this is the best news I've heard in my life."

The old man chuckled self-deprecatingly as he spoke.

Perhaps he shouldn't have confessed these things, he might even have violated the rules of Yavente City.

But honestly, he was feeling somewhat exhausted by his mission.

How many times could he continue to hibernate at his age?

Or rather, is there even a necessity for him to continue hibernating?

Close his eyes and open them; everything remains the same, then endure another five years.

Whether he hibernates or not, he might only have 50 years left to live in this life.

And just for these 50 years, just to continue this aimless time travel, they abandoned kinship, love, friendship...and everything one should have been born with, ceasing reproduction.

It's like a collective chronic suicide.

Instead of struggling with who to awaken to live like rats, might as well liberate everyone.

He had the thought of turning off the power more than once, becoming a true "Grave Guard."

He even believes that whoever wakes up more than twice would undoubtedly have the same thought.

That's why he shared these thoughts without any qualms.

He even harbored a vague expectation in his heart, hoping these outsiders would do what he was unwilling to do—end everyone's misery.

Feng Qing was silent for a moment, looking at the old man, and said softly.

"What's your name?"

The old man shrugged.

"Robin? If I remember correctly."

Feng Qing nodded patiently and continued.

"Yavente City is inhabited not only by Vellante people but also by some of your former neighbors' children... The era has changed, and quite a few times."

"Though the world seems on the brink of destruction, we still intend to make the most of each remaining day. If you wish to come out, we will try to help you, but of course... if you choose to stay here, we won't stop you either."

The old man looked at Feng Qing in bewilderment, staying stunned before slowly speaking.

"World... destruction?"

"Just possibly," Feng Qing nodded, "Strategic weapons falling into the hands of undesirable people on synchronous orbit... It's complicated to explain specifically, but you can understand it as such."

"Well... that's truly a disaster," the old man chuckled bitterly, scratching the back of his head, "I'm not into aerospace research... I don't quite understand that stuff, maybe some of my compatriots might."

He had no trouble accepting world apocalypse kind of matters.

After all, he had lived through such an event once in his life.

Feng Qing and Gui Gui exchanged a glance, then looked back at the old man to ask.

"Are you considering going out?"

The old man hesitated for a moment.

"I need to discuss it with others... Of course, I still want to see the surface."

If what these two young girls say is true, the world might be soon destroyed, and hiding here indeed seems pointless.

At least...

He wants to die in a more spacious place.

As for hatred against the Vellante people, against Julius, and reviving Yavente City...

Those things can be considered later.

His mind is very messy right now, not in the mood to think about those things.

Putting away the rifle beside the backpack, Gui Gui bravely looked at the old man and said.

"We'll go with you."

The old man didn't refuse, he nodded.

"Let's go together."

...

[Mission Report: No Variant Nest found below Street No. 17 of Yavente City, but prewar commercial complex ruins discovered, housing over twenty thousand hibernators. According to one survivor, they are indigenous of Yavente City, who fled underground during Julius's era to escape war. Currently, locals have decided to return to the surface, and over twenty thousand hibernators are gradually waking up, some survivors even hail from the Prosperity Epoch.]

Reporter: Feng Qing, Gui Gui

Task Evaluation: S-

Reward: 200,000 silver coins, 2000 contribution points, 50,000 regional prestige!

]

[Server Announcement: Yavente City population increased by 21,771 people, new explorable region "Prosperity Epoch Underground Commercial Complex Ruins" added.]

...

Though the world is once again on the brink of destruction, players' daily activities did not come to a halt.

After all, the world in "Wasteland OL" hasn't been on the brink of destruction for the first time.

In this game, a BOSS wouldn't consider themselves BOSS if they don't create a world-class crisis.

Even though these tens of thousands of neutron torpedoes sound intimidating, thinking it over, the Alliance seems to have quite a few tricks up their sleeves.

Plus, they now know where the enemy is.

There will always be a way.

Yavente City Prison No.11, Room 101.

Looking at Flynn, securely bound on the operating table, Jiang Xuezhou's face carried a complex expression.

This guy suffered severe mental trauma and is likely to remain in a vegetative state for a while.

And even if he wakes up, he'll probably live with mental illness for a long time.

Though it's "returning the favor," she feels not much satisfaction in getting revenge.

Why exactly, she couldn't articulate well.

Perhaps after seeing this guy's memories, she found him to be quite pitiful as well.

"This guy... how are you planning to deal with him?"

Hearing Jiang Xuezhou's voice, Night Ten lifted his head, looking at her oddly.

"Us?"

Not knowing what was strange, Jiang Xuezhou frowned and asked.

"Is there a problem?"

"No..." Night Ten scratched the back of his head, "It's just, this guy killed someone from your side, right? We are obviously more inclined to let you handle it."

Jiang Xuezhou was silent for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked.

"By the way, you have caught members of the Enlightenment Society before, how did you deal with them?"

Night Ten shrugged his shoulders.

"How else could we deal with them? Prison and labor reform, let them join in the reconstruction of the Wasteland, go to the Home of the Refugees' school for support teaching, do community service... similar things."

Jiang Xuezhou frowned.

"Does it work?"

"Who knows if it works, we can't exactly crack their heads open over this."

Night Ten laughed and continued.

"Some people do get reformed well and have helped us a lot in various aspects. Some people just recognize the situation because they can't beat us, they bear with us temporarily... And there are also devoted believers who run off into the Great Desert after serving their time, all of these things happen."

Jiang Xuezhou was puzzled.

"You know they'll run off, yet you still do this?"

Night Ten shook his head and said.

"There's a logical problem with what you said. How can we possibly know if they will run? Accurately speaking, we don't care about those who fail the reform process, we care about the former."

Jiang Xuezhou lowered his head and seemed to be pondering.

"The former..."

Night Ten shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll always have those who are reformed, right? We showed them another possibility for the world, where the Residents of the refuge and the Waste Land Wanderers are no longer killing each other, but join hands to rebuild their homes. Some will agree with us and join us."

"Those who joined us, some became doctors, some became engineers, some became researchers, and some were converted to be our informants... For us, those people are enough."

"As for the others, if they run, so be it, pray they don't get caught doing bad things by us next time."

Jiang Xuezhou's eyes gradually brightened, her index finger rubbing her chin as if seriously thinking about something.

A moment later, she made a decision.

"I've decided."

Night Ten stared at her blankly.

"Decided what?"

Jiang Xuezhou said seriously.

"I... I've decided to give him another chance, hand him over to you, and let you reform him."

Night Ten said with mixed emotions.

"Ah this... though we don't mind, you guys don't mind either?"

Jiang Xuezhou shook her head.

"The Academy never cares about the life and death of anyone. This guy is no longer of value to us... My mentor told me to deal with it as I see fit."

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou wasn't joking, Night Ten sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Though it seems a bit saintly to me, do as you please... Anyway, if someday you can't make it through with the Academy, you can come join us."

This time Jiang Xuezhou was stunned.

Regaining her senses, she raised her eyebrows and glared fiercely at Night Eleven.

"What do you mean I can't make it? I'm doing great, I'm even a Level C Researcher, okay! Haha, you better worry about yourself."

"Me?" Night Ten pointed at himself dumbfounded and said with mixed emotions, "Are you kidding? I'm the strongest in perception in the whole server, how much better should I be?"

Jiang Xuezhou frowned.

"What whole server? Perception? First? You're again saying something weird."

Realizing he'd almost said something forbidden, Night Ten quickly stopped himself.

"Forget it, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

Watching Night Ten pretending to escape, Jiang Xuezhou immediately chased after, shouting insistently.

"What do you mean saying I wouldn't understand, don't leave things half-said!"

Outside the room in the corridor, listening to the distant shouts, a smile of an old father couldn't help but appear on Old White's face.

"Seems like Night Ten's mouth is pretty tight."

Standing next to him, Fang Chang smiled faintly.

"You don't understand this guy, though he's usually a bit unserious, he actually has quite a set of principles."

A simple sense of justice and morality?

No matter how others understand it, at least Fang Chang himself understood it this way.

Long, long ago, when Wasteland OL appeared among a group of people, it was this guy who first thought of scams, and for the safety of his friends in the group, went to discuss strategies with other managers.

As for Fang Chang himself, he was too lazy to deal with such matters.

He suffered from idiocy intolerance.

Old White glanced at Fang Chang, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke.

"If the world really were to end—"

His words were interrupted by the latter.

"I won't let that happen."

With an indisputable tone, Fang Chang placed his hand on Old White's shoulder and seriously continued.

"Absolutely not."

...

On the other side, City of Dawn.

The browsing room on Floor B4 at Shelter No. 404.

After listening to Chu Guang's narration, Yin Fang couldn't help but inhale sharply.

"A hundred thousand neutron torpedoes?! Is your Guards Corps... are they serious?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"This intelligence wasn't discovered by the Guards Corps, it was provided by your old employer, the Academy."

The browsing room was quiet for a moment, with only the bubbling sound of the teapot breaking the silence.

Yin Fang pressed his index finger against his brow, remaining silent for a while, seemingly trying to calm himself down, then he looked up at the ceiling.

"Immediately activate the Gravity Well, and then establish the orbital defense system... no, no, if we do that, we'd be falling right into the enemy's trap!"

The debris wreaking havoc in geosynchronous orbit was like an eggshell, forming a natural protective umbrella over the Earth.

If a neutron torpedo were detonated near lower Earth orbit, the high-energy rays, under the combined influence of the geomagnetic field and other factors, would have little deadly impact on life on the surface!

But if we activate the Gravity Well, removing the blockade of orbital debris, all bets are off...

The biggest issue now is, to what extent do the celestials have control over the Orion Missile Cruiser?

Whether it's the Alliance, the Academy, or the corporations, none have any knowledge about the situation on that missile cruiser.

Watching Yin Fang muttering, Chu Guang, sitting on the sofa, nodded his head.

"...The Academy thinks the same way, before obtaining more intelligence, not only can we not activate the Gravity Well, we must also be wary of the Enlightenment Society activating the Gravity Well."

He has already notified the Eastern Empire about this matter, and the latter also takes it seriously, having deployed an army of five hundred thousand to the Great Desert.

The same goes for the Alliance.

Pioneer City has already declared a state of emergency, with the Thorns Corps stationed in the eastern part of the Great Desert projecting its patrol zone into the central area of the Desert.

Evernight Harbor, the Lavanka Industrial Zone, and other former colonies of the Southern Legion have also mobilized, staying alert for any potential conflict erupting in the Great Desert.

Yin Fang said with a bitter expression.

"It's just one lost research ship... didn't expect such severe consequences."

"I don't think it's a matter of the research ship," Chu Guang pondered and shook his head, "Perhaps our opponents have been planning ahead for a long time. While we were dealing with the Torch Church, and while we were mired in the quagmire of Poluo Province and the Southern Legion, they were preparing for today's events, and the loss of that research ship is just the tip of the iceberg of their conspiracy."

Yin Fang stared at him intently.

"Do you have any plans?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"No."

Yin Fang was dumbfounded.

"No, nothing?"

Chu Guang continued.

"Things happened too suddenly, aside from sending someone over to take a look, I don't have a better solution either."

The representative from the Academy has agreed to lend a research vessel to the Alliance.

This research ship is currently on the outskirts of Yavente City, and the pilot's name is Jiang Xuezhou.

Yin Fang smiled wryly and said.

"True enough..."

Seeing Yin Fang's anxiety, Chu Guang slowly spoke.

"Related deployments are already underway, including restarting the processing base of Shelter 100, and preparing an emergency shelter plan. But to be honest, I don't have a clear concept about these hundred thousand neutron torpedoes... What happens if there's no orbital debris protection, and these hundred thousand neutron torpedoes are fired in a salvo at Earth?"

"The effect would likely be similar to what was mentioned in the Torch Plan, perhaps not as efficient as neutron eradication, but the outcome isn't much different."

Burying his nose in his palms, Yin Fang took a deep breath and continued.

"...Probably nothing would remain on the surface, but not necessarily. The Holy Shield System should be able to defend against it, and the Endeavour in the center of Ideal City should also have a way to shield against direct attacks."

Chu Guang looked at him and said.

"And the Shelters?"

Yin Fang nodded, but there wasn't a hint of optimism on his face.

"That's right, but aside from these things, nothing will be left! Moreover, I don't believe their attacks will end there. Even though I'm not an expert in military affairs, I can figure that out, strategic weapon bombardment ends; next comes the landing."

Whether it's orbital paratroopers descending from the sky, or the "Orion" making a "Endeavour Colony Ship" style ship-wide landing, depends on the celestials' mood.

The neutron bombs target soft targets; surface factories and railways are likely to remain intact.

Those guys should be able to easily take over surface production facilities and use them to replicate themselves.

Chu Guang had a pensive expression on his face.

After listening to Yin Fang's account, he had already formed a rough idea about the "celestials' plan."

They intend to use them as fuel.

Or rather, to seize the hard-won victory fruits of tens of thousands of survivors in the wasteland.

He will never let them succeed!

At this moment, footsteps were heard outside the browsing room, and Lu Bei, who had gained permission, walked in from outside.

"Report!"

"We've received a radio signal from the direction of the Great Desert's center at our branch in Pioneer City!"

"After analyzing the signal, we found a set of coordinates and a signature... The signer is suspected to be the signal's transmitter, named Zhuang Lan."

Zhuang Lan?

Upon hearing this familiar yet strange name, Chu Guang slightly raised his eyebrows.

He had almost forgotten about this person, not expecting that guy to still be alive and remember that wager.

Noticing the intriguing expression on Chu Guang's face, Yin Fang cast an inquiring gaze towards him.

"An acquaintance?"

"I suppose, I've known them for quite some time," Chu Guang chuckled lightly, "I didn't expect that in addition to our enemies, there are also enemies of our enemies lurking in the shadows and acting in secrecy."

Seeing the manager's smile, Lu Bei hesitated for a moment, then quietly reminded him.

"Honorable Manager... We can't be sure yet if that Zhuang Lan is an ally, and the information provided is quite vague, it might be a trap there."

"Whether it's a trap or not, we'll know when we take a look."

Having said that, Chu Guang glanced at the pen holder on the desk not far away and gave an order.

"Xiao Qi, check which corps are available nearby for me."

"Strength doesn't matter, just make sure they aren't afraid to die."

Chapter 981: Waiting for Pigs, Hoping for Rabbits

Rolling red sand tumbles on the horizon, faintly revealing a dead city amid the noisy dust.

The towering skyscraper is broken in half, with remnants that resemble a space elevator embedded mid-way.

The remaining glass curtain walls reflect faint light within the wind and sand, illuminating the desolate alley below.

Unknown dangers lurk behind broken display windows, while mutated hyenas with sharp teeth and claws wander under rusty billboards.

A woman in a cloak stands on a nearby dune, holding a telescope as she gazes toward the skyscraper.

Moments later, a mutated eagle owl with brown feathers and mottled spots flaps its wings and lands on her shoulder.

After meeting its sharp gaze for a moment, she reaches out to stroke the owl's feathers, then tosses it into the sky.

"Kraa—"

The owl screeches, disappearing into the rolling dust.

And the woman in the cloak also vanishes from the dune.

Soon, the wind and sand erase her footsteps, as if no one had ever been there.

This is the Great Desert.

If Falling Leaves Province is a life forbidden zone, then this place is a civilization forbidden zone.

No one can leave any traces here.

No one remembers the name of this street or district, and even if someone does, it's meaningless.

Migrating with the wind and sand are not only the nomads of the Great Desert, but also the undulating dunes.

Today's landmarks exposed on the surface might just become the entrance to the "underground world" by tomorrow. Old buildings standing yesterday might collapse into nothingness in a few days.

The only way to mark this area is with a unique string containing longitude and latitude information.

Although there's no orbital satellite navigation, people living in the wasteland always find alternative methods...

[G1178, A2249]

Dark green floating point numbers flicker on the central control screen of the ATV, swaying with the bouncing vehicle.

The man sitting in the driver's seat double checks the coordinates, and while braking, he removes the assault rifle hanging on the inner side of the car door, pushes open the heavy door, and steps out.

Steel plating covers his entire body, and the heavy armor leaves two pits in the sand as he steps down.

"Attention all units, we have approached the coordinate area... act according to plan."

"Received."

As the man steps out of his ATV, other desert-colored ATVs arrive at their positions.

With a bang, the car doors open, and figures armed to the teeth swiftly disembark from the vehicles.

They wear desert-colored exoskeletons, holding streamlined rifles, with an identity insignia patch hanging on their arms.

The patch depicts a scorpion with a sharp tail stinger, and the Enlightenment Society's symbol is printed on the scorpion's back.

They are called the "Scorpion of the Desert."

As the blade in the hands of the Enlightenment Society, their presence in this desert strikes fear into countless Waste Land Wanderers.

After all, this is a civilization forbidden zone, a basement even below the ground floor.

The Waste Land Wanderers active here don't even dream of possessing exoskeletons, barely able to scrap together makeshift rifles, while their protective equipment is at most a few sets of cobbled-together non-powered armor.

The Enlightenment Society not only possesses black box-produced exoskeletons and light to heavy weaponry, but recently acquired military technology and tactical ideas from the Southern Legion.

This stuff works better than the Awakening.

Whether a legitimate or illegitimate Waste Land Wanderer or mutant organization, encountering this group means getting completely outmatched.

Perhaps feeling the murderous aura beneath the smoke and dust, even the variants hidden within the ruins retract their necks and hide their claws as they watch the armed human soldiers, wary.

Approximately one hundred and twenty soldiers split into three groups, silently encircling the central part of the city block with the half-collapsed skyscraper, then alternate cover and methodically close the encirclement.

Standing on a nearby dune, Malik, the captain of "Scorpion of the Desert," gazes through binoculars, expressionless, watching the severed skyscraper, quietly waiting for something.

Soon, a voice from his subordinates comes through the communication channel.

"...signal emitter located at the top of the ruins, about 100 meters above ground."

Without any surprise at the answer, Malik calmly replies.

"Enter the ruins."

"Yes!"

The squad leader operating drones responds, glancing at a soldier crouching on the ground beside him, who tightens his right fist and efficiently signals forward.

Ten soldiers wearing exoskeletons immediately take the order, swiftly advancing along the wall with their teammates' cover.

Simultaneously, two attack drones with suspended gun barrels silently approach the flanks of the team, joining their assault on the ruins of the skyscraper.

Figures drenched in murderous intent are reflected in the dust-covered glass curtain walls.

A man with a stubble beard approaches Malik, curling a finger around his scarf and squinting toward the skyscraper's remains.

"Radio signals discovered in the no man's land, containing encrypted coordinates; decoded coordinates match the signal source location... What do you think he's doing this for?"

His name is Warren, deputy team leader of the Scorpion of the Desert and Malik's longtime comrade.

"No idea," Malik replies offhandedly, continuing to speak while looking at the skyscraper afar, "But if I had to guess, perhaps he's trying to contact our adversaries... Based on this hypothesis, this guy probably isn't from the Alliance, rather likely a dog kept by the Alliance."

Although the Eastern Empire could also be suspect, those Vellante people aren't too invested in the affairs of the Enlightenment Society.

Instead of remote future benefits or civilization interests, that despotic emperor is more interested in immediate benefits.

Only the Alliance, who wants everything.

In short, there are only a few forces closer to the Great Desert, exclusion method should be enough.

Warren raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Who do you think that dog would be?"

Marik sneered and said coldly.

"I guess it's an old friend, at least someone who knows us, but who knows?"

The Enlightenment Society has not only the Alliance as an enemy, it can even be said that the world is full of enemies.

In such a situation, it's extremely reasonable for a force outside the Great Desert to choose to support a secret organization opposing the Enlightenment Society within the Great Desert.

For example, a group called "Watcher" has emerged in the past two years, always opposing them and often ruining their plans.

Instinct told Marik that the signal tower deployed here was most likely the work of the "Watcher."

Or at least, it was related to them.

Thinking of this, a cruel smile appeared at the corner of Marik's mouth.

The old scores need to be settled properly.

Within less than a minute, the ten-member squad that took action first quickly occupied the entrance of the building, and controlled the security passage with the cover of two drones, advancing upwards along the stairs.

Before long, the squad leader's voice came through the communication channel.

"This is Squad One, we have already controlled the signal transmitter... The facility is powered by mobile power supply equipment, no traces of the sender have been found!"

"These damn rats!" Warren, standing next to Marik, cursed.

Marik's expression was somewhat grim, but he wasn't too surprised.

Mobile equipment power supply, remote activation of the transmitting device... such operations were basic ones anyway.

He would do the same if he were in the same position.

"Think positively, at least the communication equipment and power supply are still there, indicating their connection hasn't succeeded."

Pausing, Marik continued.

"At least we are ahead of the Alliance, perhaps we can take advantage of this opportunity to give them a hard blow."

Upon hearing Marik's idea, a sinister smile appeared on Warren's face.

"A good idea!"

When the Alliance people follow the clues here, they'll run straight into their guns.

This way, not only can the Alliance suffer a silent loss, maybe they can even cause a rift between the Alliance and its own dog.

Marik smiled faintly, not showing any humility, instead, he began arranging personnel deployments.

A force of more than 120 people was divided into twelve squads across three groups.

While dispatching three squads into the building, he instructed the other two groups to quietly hide on the east and west sides of the target building, ready to support and assist anytime.

A net was silently set up, waiting for the prey to walk in!

As for the terminal transmitting the radio signal, after thinking for a while, Marik decided not to disturb it, only arranging an off-road vehicle equipped with electronic listening devices to maintain surveillance of its signal transmission, just in case.

All the preparations were completed.

Marik and Warren turned back to the off-road vehicle, drove it into the abandoned urban area ahead, and hid in a shop window along the street.

Next is the waiting.

Marik believed with the Alliance's relentless attitude toward the Enlightenment Society, they wouldn't miss this clue.

As long as the bait is thrown, catching fish is sure, the difference being whether it's a big fish or a small one.

For this, he didn't mind waiting several days, as long as there's a fish to catch, everything is worth it.

Turning off the off-road vehicle's engine, Marik stepped down, just as a deafening roar echoed overhead.

"Plane! Flying north from the south, should be coming from Lavanka Industrial Zone!"

Warren poked his head out of the window for a glance, an astonished expression on his face but also a hint of relief.

It seems they were quick, but not much quicker than the Alliance.

However, even being one step ahead is faster.

Their men were already hidden in the ruins, that plane should have found nothing.

"It must be scouting... their men should be arriving soon." Retreating from the broken window, Warren turned to Marik standing beside him and said.

The latter evidently thought the same, solemnly nodded, then placed his index finger on the side of his helmet.

"...Attention all units, Alliance people are arriving soon, hide and do not let them find you!"

"Wait until the prey enters the cage before taking action!"

Marik issued a clean, swift command and waited for each unit's response, but the communication channel was eerily silent, only faint buzzing static was heard.

Frowning slightly, an ominous feeling rose in Marik's heart.

Although communication in the Great Desert is extremely unstable and signal interruptions are common, such close distance should not reasonably cause such conditions.

"...This is Marik, attention all units, respond if you hear this! Repeat, respond if you hear this..."

Still no response!

The ominous feeling lingering in his heart had turned into an alarm, and at the same time, sudden gunfire erupted, followed by a deafening explosion.

"It's in the direction of the building!" Warren's eyes filled with panic as he crouched by the window, quickly turning his head to look at Marik.

The latter rushed to the window but didn't look at the skyscraper, instead, he glanced towards the sky against the glaring light.

In the cloudless sky, there floated a barely noticeable white glow.

It was a small parachute!

Something seemed to be hanging underneath the parachute!

Staring at the white glow through the helmet visor, Marik's pupils instantly contracted as he cursed aloud.

"Electromagnetic shield! Damn it! They've already discovered us!"

No—

Wait!

Suddenly realizing something, Marik quickly looked towards the skyscraper filled with gunfire, anger turning into bewilderment and terror in his eyes.

A drop of cold sweat crossed his forehead, trickling into his collar.

Those guys have always been there...

Rather than being discovered by the Alliance people, it's more like those guys were here waiting for them all along! Watching them take the bait!

No time to hesitate!

Marik reached out and grabbed Warren's shoulder, glaring at the bewildered face with bloodshot eyes.

"We've walked into an ambush! Quick! Fire the signal flare! Notify the brothers hidden in the ruins to retreat!"

"Okay, okay... What?! Retreat?!" Warren froze as he loaded the signal gun, looking incomprehensibly at his superior, not understanding what the man was trying to do.

Moreover—

What does walking into an ambush mean?

Weren't they ambushing the Alliance?

No time to explain, Marik snatched the signal gun from his hand, loaded a green signal flare, and fired it into the sky without another word.

A streak of green smoke shot up into the sky, soon blossoming into a dark green glow!

Not caring if others saw it, Marik ran directly back to the off-road vehicle without a word, yanked open the door, and sat in the front passenger seat.

Although unaware of what had gotten into their leader, Warren still followed him back into the car.

In a hurry, he started the engine, looked at the leader sitting in the passenger seat, about to ask a question when the latter urged impatiently.

"Go! Drive!"

Warren tightly gripped the steering wheel and stammered.

"Where, where to?"

Marik's face was dark, growling through clenched teeth.

"Doesn't matter where! Just leave here!"

The gunfire outside grew increasingly intense.

Realizing the situation was dire, Warren dared not hesitate and quickly stepped on the gas pedal.

The engine of the off-road vehicle roared like a monster, the spinning wheels drove the body crashing through the window.

He frantically turned the steering wheel left, attempting to return along the original route to outside the urban area, when suddenly he heard a crisp "pop!"

It was the sound of the window being pierced by a bullet, the last sound he would ever hear in his life.

The supersonic mass bomb instantly shattered the helmet, even smashing through half the seat!

Red and white sprayed out together, Warren's head splattered like a pulverized watermelon over half the cabin.

The off-road vehicle crashed uncontrollably into the roadside.

Covered in warm blood, Marik felt his heart stop, his whole being chilled halfway through.

Almost instinctively, he slammed open the car door and jumped out, crawling and rolling into a nearby window before the second gunshot rang out, shouting loudly in the communication channel.

"Sniper!"

The communication jam continued.

No one could, of course, hear that voice.

Meanwhile, on the dunes eight hundred meters away, a [Desert Falcon] draped in desert camouflage netting had a long, thick Gauss sniper rifle set up in front of it.

The strength of this single shot would force even power armor to avoid it, no matter how high the Awakener level, they'd have to kneel!

"Really craven!" Watching the target hiding in a street-side shop, he gently clicked his tongue, raised his index finger, and turned off the charging capacitor.

That guy probably wouldn't dare come out for a while.

But no worries.

This area is crawling with Desert Army soldiers, he has no chance of escape!

Elsewhere, the fierce fighting in the ruins of the skyscraper continued!

Flashing tracer bullets flew freely through the corridors, occasionally accompanied by loud explosions.

Soldiers with scorpions printed on their exoskeletons had faces full of terror, frantically shooting toward the darkness nearby, while dragging their wounded comrades away from the building.

The scene was utter chaos.

Echoing in the darkness were not only gunfire and explosions but also cursing and shouting.

"This is Group One! We're under attack by unknown armed forces!"

"It's the Alliance people!!"

"Damn it! Our communications system is jammed!"

"Signal gun! It's the signal gun!"

"The captain wants us to retreat!"

"Retreat?! Are you kidding me? They've already surrounded us! Without support, we're all going to die here!"

Fear etched itself on every face, and every dark room caused the soldiers of the Enlightenment Society present to involuntarily tighten the strings in their heads.

Forced to fight individually, they didn't know how many opponents there were, or even how many of their own were left...

The team that first attacked the building was the first to suffer heavy losses!

When the Alliance's aircraft swept through the skies, they were on the rooftop of the ruined building, conducting a dispersed search and setting up defenses, entirely unaware that Alliance soldiers were ambushed right under their noses!

And when they heard the roar of the fighter plane screeching past, the Alliance soldiers hidden in the shadows immediately activated the fluorescent identification bars on their exoskeletons, revealing the weapons hidden in darkness!

Led by the Tarlan Raider, about thirty players from the Desert Army launched a surprise attack.

Using the cover of communication jamming and their prior knowledge of the terrain, they formed teams of three and began systematically taking down nearly forty soldiers of the Enlightenment Society scattered throughout the building!

And by the time that gunshot shattered the silence, the team on the rooftop alone had already lost half its members!

Meanwhile, the others remained completely unaware due to the communication jamming, even after the gunfire sounded!

"I'll fight you to the death!!!"

Finally, a lone "Scorpion of the Desert" could no longer contain the fear within and let out a roar, thrusting his rifle from cover and firing towards the flickering firelight in the hallway.

His finger was almost welded to the trigger, unleashing a storm of bullets like a hurricane towards the nearly indistinguishable figure!

The flickering tracer rounds danced across the sharply defined armor, fast as wind, almost brushing through the roaring hail of gunfire to reach him.

The "Scorpion of the Desert"'s pupils contracted sharply, his mind suddenly sticky like paste, with only one thought remaining—

So fast!!!

He had barely discerned the opponent's movements when the opponent had already reached his face.

But it wasn't over!

The bright knife light struck like lightning towards his face, leaving him to instinctively raise his rifle in defense.

"Bang—!"

The immense force sent a jolt of pain through his grip!

And in that momentary pause, he finally saw clearly the cold glimmer tearing through steel!

It was a blade outstretched like a mantis's sickle!

His pupils were filled with terror.

Yet, before he could react, the sharp glimmer sliced through his helmet without slowing down, "clang," piercing his skull.

"Three."

Having effortlessly dealt with a troublesome "Super Soldier," the player in power armor silently counted the bodies, then kicked aside the breathless corpse.

Watching the bloody scene, the Enlightenment Society soldiers hiding behind cover nearby panicked one by one.

Fearful of meeting the same fate, they hastily readied their weapons, launching relentless attacks towards the fierce figure.

The tracer rounds stuck to the power armor felt more like tickles, only the armor-piercing rounds fired by rocket launchers posed any real threat.

But dodging those was easy enough.

Especially in these straightforward corridors and hallways.

Faced with the chaotic firepower, the player grinned wickedly, casually flicking the blood from the Mantis Knife, then charged ahead without hesitation!

At this moment, the "Little Scorpions" facing him were scared out of their wits, unable to maintain their almost collapsing morale, they turned and fled in panic!

The bloody slaughter continued.

Not only was there fighting inside the building, but outside as well!

The "Scorpions of the Desert" ambushed on the east and west sides of the skyscraper's ruins found themselves as prey rather than hunters, trapped in a cage, dying or fleeing under the Desert Army's torrential attack!

Dozens of off-road vehicles scattered like birds and beasts fleeing towards the desert outside the city, only to be blown up by anti-armor missiles before reaching the city's exit.

The soldiers left behind, seeing no hope for escape, faced with mounting casualties, finally threw down their weapons in despair and raised their hands in surrender.

In close combat, where they had never suffered before, they now encountered a formidable challenge!

And for a certain second or third-tier army that had played a subsidiary role throughout the "Southern Barbarian Invasion" expansion pack, this time they finally got to bask in some glory!

Although the fight looked impressive thanks to the help from some solo players, the majority of the battle was fought by the army's own players.

Looking at the thirty-plus prisoners hunched with hands on their heads against the wall, the Tarlan Raider's face glowed with a pleased smile.

"Haha! Damn, that felt good!"

After sitting on the bench for so long, it was finally time for me to show off!

…

(Thanks to the leader "Save me, God of Fire" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 982: Handle

The street was shrouded in sand and dust, with only the sound of barking dogs in the pale red mist. The distant clamor of gunfire had already ceased.

Hiding in an abandoned storefront, Marik nervously watched the street outside the window, his heart pounding fiercely.

He was at least 500 meters away from the location where he encountered the sniper.

If nothing unexpected happened, the sniper hadn't followed him, not even noticing that he had quietly changed positions.

Nevertheless, Marik still didn't dare to let his guard down, continuing to cautiously observe the outside situation.

At this moment, the "restore communication" icon suddenly popped up on his helmet's visor, startling him.

"Damn it..."

Seeing the belated signal, Marik cursed under his breath, quickly turning off the signal interface and entering radio silence mode.

The signal disappeared after being restored for barely two seconds.

Looking at the gray icon, Marik finally breathed a sigh of relief, letting his anxious heart relax.

This way, even if the Alliance captured his teammates, they wouldn't be able to pinpoint his general location.

Thinking of the gruesome death of Warren, Marik couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat.

No way.

The sight of the shattered brains filling a whole carriage was too impactful, making his stomach churn despite the time that had passed.

Judging that he had escaped, Marik took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

To be honest, he didn't expect the Alliance to send fighter planes over, and that signal jamming grenade was even more surprising.

There was only one explanation—

From the moment they entered this area, they had all been targeted.

Even before they started moving, the other party had already planned every step of the ambush.

Thinking about how they had quietly slipped under the enemy's nose into the traps laid in advance, Marik felt a wave of embarrassment.

This is just too stupid!

"...I need to find a way out of here."

Silently reciting this, he poked his head out of the window, confirming the escape direction.

However, at this moment, he noticed a mutant owl perched on the broken streetlamp across the street.

The owl was staring intently at him, its thick cheeks slightly moving.

Looking into those somewhat provocative eyes, Marik suddenly had a bad feeling.

Almost instinctively, he released the grip of his rifle and reached for the silenced handgun at his waist with his right hand.

To prevent alerting the Alliance while escaping, taking care of this potential threat in advance was the best solution!

But just as his right hand was about to reach his gun, a huge force silently chopped at the back of his knee.

"Clang!"

A dull thud resounded, accompanied by Marik's low howl of pain.

"Ah—"

His right leg was hit, instinctively bending his knee and kneeling on one knee.

Fortunately, he was wearing power armor, or this blow would have severed his lower leg.

Before he could recover from the intense pain, the sensation of the sharp weapon withdrawing from his knee made every nerve in Marik's body tense!

Almost instinctively, he swung his right fist backward, his arm hitting the short knife that was slashing at him.

"Clang—!"

The sound of metal colliding echoed in the abandoned shop, and turning around, Marik finally saw his assailant.

It was a cloaked woman.

Her weather-beaten face bore a deep scar, and her eyes held an even deeper hatred.

Meeting those eyes engraved with hatred, Marik's pupils involuntarily contracted.

"...Who are you?"

His intuition told him that she wasn't from the Alliance!

The woman didn't answer, instead taking a swift step forward to close the distance again.

"Courting death!"

Seeing her rushing with a knife, Marik sneered coldly, raising his rifle to fire.

However, the muzzle flash was barely out for a second before the flashing knife light sliced off half the receiver.

So fast!

Marik was shocked, instinctively pulling out his handgun to fire, but after just two shots, the woman closed in, disarming him so that the shots hit the ceiling.

Chunks of plaster dust rained down from the ceiling, coating Marik's face.

Furious and shocked, he lifted a leg to kick forward but found his foot caught on the cloak, which the woman easily dodged with a sidestep.

"Buzz—"

The spinning blade emitted a buzzing sound as it arced through the air, striking his left knee from the side with lightning speed.

Now both legs were injured.

Though the blade only left a shallow scratch on the power armor, Marik couldn't help but let out a pained groan.

The distance between them was too close!

Practically shoulder to shoulder, nose to nose!

Marik felt like an awkward elephant, while the cloaked woman was like a mouse darting around him, taking bites left and right.

Though the attacks were like mere scratches, not even denting his power armor, continuing like this was not a viable solution!

Just as he attempted to stabilize himself, the woman suddenly leapt backward, creating some distance between them.

Marik's intuition screamed at him, and a sense of foreboding climbed up the back of his head.

At that very instant, an explosion flared behind him.

The bomb seemed attached to his back, the erupting flames giving him no time to react, forcing him forward with the hot shockwave, sprawling him onto the ground.

[Warning! Severe damage to power components!]

The warning in yellow flashed on his helmet's visor, and Marik felt like every part of him was wrongly displaced.

Mechanical parts and flesh alike.

Shaking his groggy head, as he tried to push up with his hands, he felt something 'smack' like a brick on the back of his head.

Cold sweat instantly burst from his forehead, seeping down his neck between the helmet and armor.

Without a second thought, Marik gave up resisting, lying flat on the ground obediently.

He was thoroughly subdued.

After the encounter, he was certain he was no match for her, not even in power armor.

"I surrender..."

The woman didn't speak, only gazed at the streetlamp not far away, looking at the owl perched upon it.

The owl seemed to understand her gaze, flapping its wings as it flew up to the sky, circled once, and then headed north.

Watching the owl leave, the woman withdrew her gaze from the sky, then looked back at the Enlightenment Society disciple who was prostrated on the ground.

With a voice devoid of emotion, she slowly spoke.

"Take it off yourself."

…

Elsewhere, below a half-collapsed skyscraper, a "Xiaguang" power armor emerged from the shadows of the ruins.

Only to see the ceramic steel casting armor riddled with pockmarks of bullet holes, and disordered scratches almost covered the light gray coating. The pair of alloy-forged mantis knives were nearly blunted from hacking!

It looked all battered, as if it had just crawled out of Hell's Gate.

Only experienced veterans could tell that those damages were superficial, mostly concentrated on the detachable breastplate.

As for the mantis knives, they didn't need mentioning—consumables in any encounter with similarly armored opponents. Dulling was just a norm.

In fact, it's amazing those two mantis knives lasted this long!

This guy is an expert!

Watching the power armor emerge from the base of the building, the Tarlan Raider, who was putting on airs in front of the captured, grinned and opened his arms to welcome it.

"Nicely done, brother! How about considering joining our deser—"

The player grinned, tossed the pair of mantis knives to the ground, and decisively extended his right hand.

"You're welcome! Settle the payment, brother."

"Damn! So heartless, are you?"

The player chuckled.

"Not necessarily, mainly depends on the situation."

The Tarlan Raider: "…&￥#@!"

Damn!

Who the hell are you looking down on!

Despite the sharp tongue, the agreed payment would still be given.

Moreover, this money was already paid in advance to the Mercenary Guild of the Alliance; it didn't even require on-the-spot payment. Just confirm completion, and the money automatically goes to the account.

After receiving the bounty, the player did not hurry to leave, instead cheekily heading to the outer part of the city to stand guard.

The mission wasn't over yet.

The previous skirmish was a makeshift battle plan; his task from the Desert Army was to assist the latter in connecting with the critical NPC. He'd get the remaining payment based on the completion once the entire mission was done.

As a professional freelance player, he maintained this bit of professional ethics.

Looking at the Desert Army commander who seemed a tad defeated, Emichiru Junichiro, also on a part-time task, tossed the fighting knife in his hands, cheekily strolled over.

"Old Baldy, still seducing freelancers are we."

Upon hearing this presumptuous nickname, the Tarlan Raider nearly choked on his spit, turned and cursed.

"Screw your mom, my name's Tarlan! You're the bald one, you and your whole family are bald!"

The Comedian rolled his eyes, laughed mischievously.

"Tch, who memorizes proper names, sounds like some NPC when pronounced."

Tarlan Raider chuckled.

"And you, like a corpse?"

The Comedian rolled his eyes to the sky.

"Scram, scram."

Although that guy wasn't one of the Desert Army people, Tarlan was quite familiar with him, and the Sand Sculpture who often appeared alongside him together.

Due to frequently doing tasks together, Tarlan had repeatedly tried to entice the pair to outright join the Desert Army, but they never agreed, and he eventually resigned from further attempts.

Not everyone likes joining an organization.

Besides, after pondering, Tarlan realized that his Desert Army indeed had little appeal—no lucrative benefits, rarely at the wasteland's center stage, and merely handling side tasks might end in a mess.

Receiving a direct task from a Manager this time, truth be told, he was somewhat surprised.

Considering the previous operation at Evernight Harbor should count as botched...

After a casual chat with a few freelance players, Tarlan turned back to the open space where the captives were being guarded.

The brothers in the army should have completed the interrogation.

Just as he predicted, the one responsible for interrogation, a Medical Miracle, approached.

"It's done. They're people of the Scorpion of the Desert."

"Scorpion of the Desert?" The Tarlan Raider frowned, muttered a thought, "What's that?"

The Medical Miracle briefly reported.

"According to their account, supposedly a special forces unit of the Enlightenment Society, with key members being Residents of the refuge, some even Awakeners who have injected gene induction-expression agents."

The Tarlan Raider's eyes lit up, joyfully exclaimed.

"Brilliant! We wiped out a special forces unit!"

The Medical Miracle presented a subtle expression and said.

"As far as I recall... the Enlightenment Society doesn't have any regular army, theoretically all units are 'special forces.'"

The Tarlan Raider coughed.

"Not important! What's important is that we stood up!"

Looking at the overly optimistic commander, the Medical Miracle sighed and paused for a moment before continuing.

"From separate interrogation results, they, like us, were attracted by radio signals. At least it shows they don't know that 'Zhuang Lan' NPC."

"Besides, their commander is quite a talent, had a similar thought as yours, planned to use the signal base station inside the building ruins as bait to catch us off guard... but ended up right in our crossfire."

Honestly, when he first heard the commander's spontaneous plan, he felt quite pessimistic, even prepared for a month of sand-eating in the desert.

Given the Great Desert's communication conditions, the opponent might not necessarily receive the signal, even if they did, they might not care, let alone send a group over.

Yet, turned out, they actually received the clue and valued it, sending a whole company.

Just a worthy opponent.

"Hahaha, quite a talent, but still half a step behind me," The Tarlan Raider laughed exuberantly, nudging his chin, urged, "Where's this talent? Where is he?"

The Medical Miracle's expression immediately turned awkward at the words.

"Uh, not among the captives... Sand Sculpture said he saw someone in power armor, but he ran away, don't know if he's their leader."

The Tarlan Raider widened his eyes.

"Whoa, he ran!? What's that useless guy up to—"

"Who the hell are you calling useless!?"

Before Tarlan finished his words, a gruff voice rang from the side.

The two turned back, seeing [Desert Falcon] with a sniper rifle slung over his shoulder, approaching.

Behind him were two people.

One draped in a desert-colored cloak, and the other looked pathetically bound tightly with rope.

"People are here! That so-called commander of the Scorpion of the Desert."

Dragging the rope, Marik was pushed to the front, and Sand Sculpture cursed at Talan.

"MMP! All you do is boast all day, and I end up doing all the work, might as well make me the leader!"

Tarlan Raider's old face reddened, wanting to refute but couldn't, ultimately swallowing his words.

Medical Miracle looked at Sand Sculpture in surprise.

"Really, brother, did you catch him?"

Originally aggressive, Sand Sculpture, for some reason, also turned red-faced, coughed, and spoke quickly.

"Sort of, I picked him up... that's not important. Oh, and it's me who took out his adjutant, a headshot!"

The voice was so low that Medical Miracle couldn't help but wonder if his ears were malfunctioning.

At this moment, Talan suddenly noticed the stranger wearing a cloak and cast an inquisitive glance at him.

"And who might this be?"

Seeing the two across the way casting inquisitive glances his way, the guy in the cloak reached up to remove his hood.

Looking at the weathered face, Tarlan Raider's face showed a surprised expression.

"A woman?"

In the crisis-ridden Great Desert, it's rare to see solitary wanderers.

And solitary women are even rarer.

The person slightly nodded and introduced herself.

"My name is Zhuang Lan."

Medical Miracle and Tarlan Raider exchanged glances, their faces showing even more obvious surprise.

"You are Zhuang Lan?"

Zhuang Lan nodded slightly and began to speak slowly.

"Yes, a survivor of Shelter No. 68, organizer of the Watcher Organization... We've been fighting with forces related to the Enlightenment Society long before your touch extended into the Great Desert."

Pausing, she continued.

"... And by the way, the signal you received was sent by me."

Tarlan Raider furrowed his brow slightly, staring at her intently, trying to find a flaw on her face.

"I don't understand. If the signal was sent by you, why didn't you come out to meet us?"

Zhuang Lan kept silent for a moment, then glanced at the half-collapsed skyscraper nearby.

"Because... this is not the place to talk."

"You can receive the signal; those who shouldn't receive it might receive it as well. I was hoping to follow you when you left, but unexpectedly, you stayed here without moving."

The air was slightly awkward.

Thinking that it was his idea to ambush the Enlightenment Society people here, Talan couldn't help but touch his nose.

Seeing a silly guild leader still doubting the identity of the NPC beside him, Sand Sculpture hesitated for a moment but eventually coughed and spoke.

"I think there's no need to doubt her identity... Honestly, it was actually her who caught this guy."

As he spoke, he pointed to Marik, who was tied up like a zongzi.

The Medical Miracle standing nearby heard this and his eyes almost popped out in disbelief as he looked at the woman who didn't seem to be very capable of fighting.

"This person?"

Could actually take down an Awakener wearing power armor?

In fact, it's because he entered the game late and only got his helmet in the past year, so he doesn't quite understand what happened at No.0 Shelter.

However, Zhuang Lan was quite humble and did not emphasize that she caught the captive herself.

Seeing several pairs of eyes falling on the captive, she paused for a moment and also directed her gaze there.

"Although some accidents happened, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise; we caught a big fish unexpectedly."

Seeing the guy who was tied up, Tarlan slightly raised his eyebrows.

"You mean this guy?"

Zhuang Lan slowly nodded and said.

"Marik, the captain of the Scorpion of the Desert, a senior disciple of the Enlightenment Society... I had heard of his name before leaving the Enlightenment Society. He was already quite famous back then, but I didn't expect him to make no progress all these years."

"You truly are one of us..." Marik twisted his head, staring fiercely at Zhuang Lan, his face gloomy as he squeezed out a harsh word through his lips, "You're a traitor, you betrayed the shelter, betrayed everyone..."

Zhuang Lan's lips curled into a playful smile, but soon it turned into self-mockery.

Once thinking "burning for a new era," she found herself an incurable fool... Wasn't she just like that before?

At first, she didn't believe it either.

Until she found the lost Administrator's Log and personally dug out the bloody truth.

Sure enough, the manager knows the manager best.

What saved her from Hell was indeed the Enlightenment Society.

But it was them who lit the fire as well...

Facing Marik's hateful gaze, she spoke in an unemotional voice.

"If you're interested, I can tell you the story of Shelter No. 68. Once you understand the full history, you'll know who is the real traitor."

"However, I think it's meaningless, because even if you understand our ordeal, you might not sympathize with us. People only believe what they want to believe and only empathize when they're in pain, just like I was once like you. I don't know which shelter you're from, you need to find your own log... if you still have the chance."

Marik sneered softly and said.

"... What do you want to say? The lies the Waste Land Wanderers made up to frame us?"

Perhaps feeling the statement was too foolish, Zhuang Lan didn't answer his question or even look at him but instead directed her gaze towards the friend from the Alliance.

"To cut to the chase, sending you that signal was actually to tell your manager that I fulfilled the original bet, here is the Administrator's Log of Shelter No. 68. Besides the log, there's a map on the hard drive, you can use it to find its ruins, though there's not much left there."

As she spoke, she took out a thumb-sized card from her bosom and handed it to the person in front.

Tarlan Raider solemnly received the card, inserted it into the VM on his left arm, and completed the data read.

"Our manager told me to pass you a message, he's glad you kept your word, your freedom is no longer borrowed from him, it's yours from now on."

Pausing slightly, he continued.

"Of course, one thing at a time, the Eastern Empire is still after you, since you killed their people."

"Thank you... As for the Eastern Empire, I will seek redemption in my own way."

Zhuang Lan nodded slightly, lifted her head, and continued to speak.

"Also, there's one more thing I think is necessary to tell you."

Tarlan Raider immediately responded.

"Please go ahead!"

Zhuang Lan continued.

"Our Watcher organization in the Great Desert's intelligence network has found that recently, the Enlightenment Society has uncharacteristically stopped expanding its influence range in the Great Desert, instead shifting its dispersed personnel and resources towards the area near No.13 Shelter."

Medical Miracle paused for a moment and asked in confusion.

"Gathering personnel and resources? What are they planning?"

The Alliance can't do anything about the Enlightenment Society mainly because this group is just too good at hiding.

The factory of the Southern Legion at least has a coordinate, whereas this group creates weapons and ammo with Black Box technology, emphasizing flexible deployment; it's just too easy to relocate.

Now that they are gathering personnel and resources together, aren't they afraid of being taken down in one go?

"I don't know," Zhuang Lan shook her head, pondered for a moment, and continued, "Shelter No. 13 is located near the remnants of the orbital elevator base, with a depth reportedly of a thousand meters. According to unreliable information, it once served as a preparatory option for 'Handle'... If you don't know what 'Handle' is, please relay this message to your Manager."

The Taran Raider fixed his eyes on her, speaking quickly.

"I know the Torch Plan... Are you saying there it can withstand a strategic weapon strike at the neutron annihilation level?"

Zhuang Lan shook her head.

"In theory, all shelters can withstand such a strike. But due to its unique location, Shelter No. 13's characteristic should be its large area? Reportedly, it can accommodate over a million people? Of course, I don't know the specifics inside, as even the coordinates of this shelter were kept confidential... I believe Mr. Marik must have gone into that paradise."

Seeing several pairs of eyes turned towards him, Marik was panicking inside, but he still put on a cold face and laughed.

"Do you think I would tell you?"

"It's hard to say, but I believe that gentleman could change your mind."

Zhuang Lan gave Marik a meaningful look, then turned to the Alliance warrior in front of her.

"This guy is yours now. I hope you don't release him right away. At least make him disappear for a while."

"We will," Talan affirmed with a nod, continuing, "What about you? What's your plan next?"

Zhuang Lan responded without hesitation.

"I plan to use his identity to sneak into Shelter No. 13 and see if I can figure out what the Enlightenment Society is doing inside."

Hearing this crazy idea, Marik couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"Pretend to be me?! You, are you freaking kidding me! You can't possibly get in!"

He, who was fairly honest before, suddenly began to struggle, but the two Strength Type brutes holding him down wouldn't let him move a muscle, pinning him tightly.

Looking at Marik's face, which was full of panic, Zhuang Lan's lips curled up in a playful smile.

"How will I know if I don't try? I'm quite confident in my disguise skills."

Having long heard that the Enlightenment Society regarded Shelter No. 13 as their rear stronghold, she had wanted to sneak in to take a look, only she had never found the right opportunity or subject for a switch.

Luckily, as she was fretting about it, Marik came right to her.

Although he was a Disciple, he was a seasoned one, able to access things ordinary Disciples couldn't, yet not as conspicuous as a "Guide."

Crucially, having worked in the Enlightenment Society on intelligence gathering, she knew his resume and personal information. Mimicking others might expose her, but mimicking this guy wouldn't.

She was even confident she wouldn't be found out even lying next to his wife.

Medical Miracle suddenly raised his head.

"Ah... I have an idea."

Before Zhuang Lan could speak, the Taran Raider had already alertedly looked at him.

"What crooked idea have you thought of now?"

"What do you mean crooked idea? Can what I come up with be worse than your notions?" Medical Miracle glanced at him sideways, turned to Zhuang Lan, and continued with a smile, "I think, since your subordinates are either dead or captured, it's just you going back. If no one suspects that, then there's really something off."

Zhuang Lan cautiously said.

"They'll definitely suspect me, but that's actually not a big deal. I used to handle intelligence work, so I know well how they'll interrogate me and how to gain their trust."

Medical Miracle patiently said.

"That may be so, but achieving that is still quite difficult, isn't it? How about this, we pick someone here to be your captive, so you have something to report back."

Zhuang Lan looked at him, bewildered.

"Are you... serious? Being captured by the Enlightenment Society? This is no joke..."

Those guys won't hesitate in their methods.

To enemies, especially captives without use value, they directly use memory extraction devices to squeeze out every memory in their heads.

While speaking, she anxiously looked at the soldier's superior, but unexpectedly, after hearing the suggestion, the latter didn't find anything amiss; rather, he rubbed his chin, appearing somewhat contemplative.

A moment later, Talan, having finished thinking things over, raised his head and said with some delight.

"Wow... sometimes you can come up with useful ideas, huh."

Medical Miracle's face showed a hearty smile.

"Hah, if you'd listened to me earlier, our Army would have become T0 by now."

[Desert Falcon] sneered, curling his lips.

"Yeah, right. Just with your little wits and you'd think you can be T0? There would be T0 Strongmen on every street."

Zhuang Lan: "...?"

Although she didn't understand what they were communicating about, from their tone and expressions, she could tell it wasn't meant in a negative sense.

Are these guys serious?!

Zhuang Lan looked at them worriedly and said.

"I can't let you take such a risk."

Medical Miracle waved his hand, smiling.

"It's no big deal, we were in prison before at Evernight Harbor. So, since this idea is mine, just let Medical Miracle—"

"Just let me, this Colonel (Scattered Leader), be this captive!"

Before Medical Miracle finished speaking, the Taran Raider and [Desert Falcon] frantically shouted.

Such an interesting task, how could they let others take it?

And when they realized someone else was vying for the role, they glared at each other with wide, accusing eyes.

"You're not even part of our Army, why are you getting involved? How's it related to you?"

"Laugh, I'm also a member of the Alliance, how is it unrelated? And you, you're at least a Colonel, how dare you compete with us civilians?"

"What does this have to do with civilians?!"

"Don't fight over this, let Medical Miracle—"

"Buzz off, rookie, go play elsewhere."

"What the hell! I've been playing for over half a year, still a rookie?"

Watching the crowd arguing over "who'll go to die," Zhuang Lan was speechless but could not help feeling a deep respect.

Although she couldn't understand their language, she could feel they sincerely hoped the one surviving would be their comrade, while the one facing danger would be themselves.

Such loyalty...

Unlike Zhuang Lan, looking at the noisy crowd, Marik, bound and thrown aside like a package, had other thoughts.

Pretend to be captives, acceptable...

But this underestimated their interrogation methods.

Might as well pretend to be dead.

His face remained indifferent, but inside he was sneering.

"Hehe, seeking death!"

Chapter 983: Blade Piercing the Deep Space

After a heated debate, the task of playing the captive ultimately fell on Medical Miracle.

As for the reason, it wasn't that he had a louder voice, it's primarily because the idea of a captured Corps Commander seemed too fake.

Besides, Talan had already leveled up to stage forty, which according to NPC standards is a "fifth-stage" Awakener. Even if attributes are just references, it's still a bit challenging for a captive of this rank.

The same goes for Desert Falcon, including his good buddy Comedian.

In contrast, Medical Miracle's cost-effectiveness stood out.

Compared to other newcomers, he's relatively normal in the head, and his combat power is pretty standard.

Especially the normal part.

Finding a normal person among players is harder than finding a skilled combatant.

Looking at the delight of Medical Miracle, Desert Falcon was upset and cursed.

"Damn! First time hearing there's a level cap for a task."

"Isn't that normal? You can't be expecting to do a level ten task at level forty," Medical Miracle chuckled, then clasped his fists at his brothers, "Take care brothers!"

Talan Raider couldn't be bothered with that cocky look and waved him away.

"Get lost."

And just like that, the choice for the captive was settled.

The Desert Army took the real leader "Scorpion of the Desert" Marik, leaving player [Medical Miracle] with Zhuang Lan of the Watcher Organization.

Next, Talan Raider was headed to Lavanka Industrial Zone, to return with the captive and loot, and transmit the copied data from the hard drive over the Alliance's cables to the honorable Mr. Manager.

If all goes well, the next task should be exploring the ruins of Shelter No. 68.

Watching his teammates' departing backs, Medical Miracle wore a bright sunny smile.

Zhuang Lan, standing by, didn't know what to say and after a moment of silence, lightly coughed.

"Um..."

"No need for courtesy, just tie me up," Medical Miracle turned, smiling, with open arms, "Do you think rope or tape is better? I'm fine with either."

Though the words sounded odd, to prevent misunderstandings due to unfamiliarity with the United Human language, he thought it best to express himself straightforwardly.

Zhuang Lan stared blankly at him, bewildered, taking a while to snap back.

"...You don't have to tie up just yet."

"Is that so? Anyway, it's up to you," Awkwardly retracting his outstretched arms, Medical Miracle changed the subject, "By the way, how do you plan to disguise as Marik?"

Zhuang Lan succinctly replied.

"I have his power armor."

"What about the face?"

"Just change it."

"Then..."

Halfway through, Medical Miracle suddenly felt embarrassed, stuttering without finishing.

Seeing the expression on his face, Zhuang Lan knew what he was thinking, shrugged, and said.

"Just fit one, it's no big deal,"

"Fit, fit one?!"

Medical Miracle was stunned for a while, finally raising a thumb in admiration.

"Impressive..."

What Medical Miracle... This is the real Medical Miracle, right?

Zhuang Lan stared intently at him, and said seriously.

"DNA, fingerprints, iris, including other biometric information... these can be disguised through technical means. I used to work for the Enlightenment Society, I know their methods, and I know how to counter them, my only worry is you, you might expose a flaw."

Medical Miracle grinned.

"No worries, I won't betray you even in death."

"I trust your conviction, especially if you say... that memory extraction device doesn't work on you."

Zhuang Lan nodded and then turned around.

"Come with me, we need to recover the power armor first."

"Then I'll take you to the Watchers' makeshift shelter..."

"Where there are comrades in arms who fight alongside me, all are trustworthy people."

...

Wasteland OL official forum.

Medical Miracle: "Bro, Enlightenment Society is just so awesome!"

Medical Miracle: "Pfft, I should say the tech skills of former agents... Damn, same difference either way."

Quit smoking: "What's all this about? (dumbfounded)"

Medical Miracle: "No explanation! @Night Ten"

Night Ten: "? Who are you, why are you mentioning me."

Medical Miracle: "Hehe, second one half price, check it out. (winks)"

Night Ten: "Get lost! (angry)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Hahahahahaha!"

Medical Miracle: "Damn! Speak nice, why curse now! (angry)"

Night Ten: "@#%$!"

...

Outside Yavente City, Alliance Military Base, a silver-gray research ship was berthed on the tarmac.

The approximately twenty-meter-long hull looked like a slightly larger yacht, like a toy next to the "Overlord" transport plane with four plasma engines.

Yet what cannot be underestimated is that the former has the capability to travel between the Earth's surface and outer space, which the latter does not.

In the passenger cabin of the research ship, rows of power armor were seated against the walls.

The angular steel shells and menacing automatic weapons seemed out of place with the surrounding Academy-style decor, yet surprisingly harmonious.

"Damn..."

Returning online, Night Ten stretched his neck, cursing under his breath.

"These newcomers are getting more and more boring lately."

Beside him, Quit smoking stifled laughter, saying nothing.

He was there just now when Night Ten quarreled with someone on the forum, watching them stack over three hundred posts.

"I think you're kind of boring too, getting into a spat over these trivial things," Fang Chang cast him a sidelong glance, "Honestly, why don't you just go confess to Jiang Xuezhou, let her fit you one."

Maybe she just missed that part, after all, she doesn't have one herself, and didn't think of it at the time.

Maybe when she remembered later, she felt embarrassed to bring it up, so the matter got shelved.

Fang Chang thought it very likely.

In some ways their personalities are surprisingly alike, both belong to the stiff-tongued type.

"I'll think about it... how do I even bring this up," Night Ten scratched his head, hurriedly changing the topic as Fang Chang had guessed, directing the conversation to the opposite-sitting Wild Wind, "Speaking of which, why'd Wild Wind come too? Weren't you over in City of Dawn?"

Wild Wind rubbed his nose and calmly said.

"Such an interesting mission, too regrettable to miss it."

Though players have previously messed around shooting themselves into the stratosphere with fireworks, no one's actually gone to space, and certainly not on a mission in geosynchronous orbit.

And he's very curious to know where the limits of this game lie, both in a spatial sense, and in other senses.

Glancing at Wild Wind, Fang Chang teased.

"You've been slacking long enough, still up for it? We're not going there to play."

Wild Wind smiled faintly.

"I know... though somehow those words feel odd coming from you."

"Haha, Brother Fang Chang is almost like an NPC now," Killer Dagger laughed and teased.

"Could be," Fang Chang didn't dispute his words, just said with a tone of mixed feelings, "At least for me, this world already holds too many memories I can't part with, and even... has become my continuation."

Including Laxi and many others, even those he's never met...

Night Ten looked at him in surprise.

"Wow? You've got kids?"

Fang Chang rolled his eyes at the guy.

"Words can't express, go play."

This guy's emotional intelligence is too low, says sleazy things indiscriminately, no wonder he has no girlfriend.

At this moment, the alloy door at the front of the passenger cabin opened, and Jiang Xuezhou, wearing a silver-white Academy uniform, walked out from the cockpit.

Looking at these heavily armed soldiers, she took a deep breath and spoke up.

"The research ship is about to take off, have you all... fastened your seatbelts?"

Perhaps it was because she was about to leave Earth, or perhaps it was because it was her first time embarking on such an important mission, Jiang Xuezhou's voice was filled with nervousness, even trembling slightly.

"Already done, come on," Night Ten laughed, patting the seatbelt on his chest, but someone didn't bother responding to him.

Old White raised his hand with a smile, giving the pilot lady a reassuring look.

"Ready, just steer the ship and get us close to the target. Leave the rest to us."

"Oh yeah, once I get up there, I'm going to pound those guys flat." The Kidney Fighter clenched his fists with an excited look on his face.

"Haha, let's do this!"

The cabin was filled with laughter and joy.

Not just the Kidney Fighter, but also Quit Smoking and Killer Dagger felt the same.

As the Alliance's ace elites, they've done countless missions just as tough as this one, and not a single person had a scared or nervous expression on their face.

Seeing everyone so at ease, Jiang Xuezhou rubbed her forehead with a bit of a headache.

Although they were indeed the famous Burning Corps sitting here, their nonchalant attitude made her a bit concerned.

However, despite that, seeing their reactions did ease her tension a bit.

Maybe...

this hurdle wasn't as dire as she thought and not something they couldn't overcome.

Just as she was about to return to the cockpit, Fang Chang, sitting in the chair, suddenly spoke up.

"Is there a seat in the cockpit?"

Jiang Xuezhou was slightly taken aback and instinctively nodded.

"Yes... why?"

Fang Chang looked at Night Ten sitting beside him and motioned towards him with a nudge of his chin.

"You stay in there."

"Huh?" Night Ten looked confused, staring at Fang Chang, "Why?"

Jiang Xuezhou also blushed unconsciously, her voice starting to stammer.

"That, it doesn't seem quite appropriate..."

Mainly because there were too many people.

With so many pairs of eyes on her, she felt completely uncomfortable.

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou's face turning increasingly red, Fang Chang smiled calmly and said.

"Don't overthink it, it's just having someone in the co-pilot seat for easy communication. Of course, if you think it's inappropriate, or if the Academy has a rule against unrelated persons entering the cockpit, then forget I said anything."

Players can use forums and group chats outside of the game to exchange information, and this ability is not affected by communication interference.

So, when doing dungeons or raids, they usually have a human communicator sitting in the command vehicle, staying offline most of the time, keeping an eye on group messages and relaying them when needed.

But Jiang Xuezhou apparently didn't know about this and was just feeling a little embarrassed because there were so many people around.

"Well, it's not that..."

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou hesitating for so long without a clear response, Night Ten couldn't help but feel embarrassed for her.

Sighing, he unbuckled his seatbelt, stood up, and went over to help her out.

"Hey, it's just switching seats, no need to make it so dramatic, it's not like I've never sat there before."

Jiang Xuezhou's already flushed face turned so red it looked like it was about to bleed, and she nervously glared at him, kicking him in the shin, but instead of hurting him, it pained her so much she almost cried.

"What strange things are you saying!"

Night Ten couldn't help but retort.

"Your reaction is strange, okay! Can't you just say yes or no, making it seem like there's something going on."

Jiang Xuezhou: "Naggy!"

The alloy door closed with a bang.

Their voices disappeared into the passenger cabin, and the rest couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Damn..."

"Didn't know Night Ten had such an innocent side?"

"I'm going to report this to Teng Teng!"

"Oh, please, she's not interested in him."

"Haha, if you want Miss Teng Teng to chase you with scissors, go ahead."

Listening to the playful banter, Fang Chang couldn't help but chuckle, tapping his index finger twice on the side of his helmet to switch to private chat, then said.

"Bro, don't overthink it, I'm just considering worst-case scenarios. Once we're in outer space, anything could happen, and your Perception Attributes might come in handy."

"Alright, got it." Night Ten's voice sounded a bit impatient, clearly still a bit bothered about being teased.

But this guy isn't one to hold grudges.

Having known him for so many years, Fang Chang knew him too well.

Listening to the voice on the communication channel, Fang Chang made a joking remark.

"Oh, and if she gets nervous later, you might want to talk some smack to lighten the mood."

Night Ten: "Received, but what if she gets more nervous?"

Fang Chang: "That's up to you. Don't ask me about everything."

Night Ten: "Damn!"

Communication ended.

Night Ten tapped twice on the side of his helmet, then rested the back of his head on the copilot's seat.

Honestly, the technology developed by the Academy is impressive. This seat doesn't look very sturdy, but it can support heavy equipment like power armor.

Sitting next to him, Jiang Xuezhou glanced at him stealthily, pretending to be indifferent as he coughed and said.

"What secret talk are you having behind my back?"

Night Ten didn't hide anything and said straightforwardly.

"Fang Chang's damned advice was that if you get nervous, I should tell you a joke."

Jiang Xuezhou, operating on the cockpit interface, looked at him with surprise.

"You know how to tell jokes?"

Night Ten: "Of course, do you want to hear one?"

Jiang Xuezhou nodded, wearing a curious expression.

Seeing that the guy wasn't joking, Night Ten coughed first, creating suspense, and made as if he were about to speak, then suddenly flashed a "charming smile."

"I'll tell you after we complete the mission."

Jiang Xuezhou's nose almost bent out of shape in anger after waiting all this time and hearing that, she wanted to tap his head but couldn't find a place to hit.

"Go to hell!"

Ultimately, she vented her anger on the control screen of the interface, a sudden acceleration nearly causing Quit Smoking, who was bending over to wipe the dust off his boots, to chip his tooth on his knee.

"Hahaha!"

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou's teeth itching with anger, Night Ten couldn't help but burst into a pig-like laugh.

He couldn't care less if someone else was happy, as long as he was!

Trailing a pale blue arc, the silver-gray research ship shot up from the outskirts of Yavente City, drawing a high parabola and disappearing into the clouds.

In the unknown dusk, a quiet expedition across 36,000 kilometers began...

...

On the other side, far away in the Dawn City of River Valley Province, the morning light had barely appeared on the horizon.

At the entrance of the Manager's Office in the Alliance Building, Lu Bei was reporting solemnly after closing the door.

"...They have set off. According to the Academy, they should arrive within two days."

It's hard to estimate the precise time, as space conditions are incredibly complex.

Chu Guang, sitting in front of the desk, nodded and then turned his gaze to the clear sky outside the window.

The Burning Corps has already departed.

As the Manager of the Alliance, he has made all the arrangements possible. For now, aside from praying for the warriors and patiently waiting, there's nothing else he can do.

But noteworthy news came from the Great Desert. The Enlightenment Society seems to be transferring personnel, equipment, and supplies to No.13 Shelter.

This is indeed touching.

The person who provided him with this information was the Enlightenment Society disciple he had let go before.

Chu Guang had almost forgotten about the original bet, yet Zhuang Lan still remembered.

After all, the one-time abandoned child by the Enlightenment Society decisively stood against it upon learning the truth about the annihilation of Shelter No. 68.

Besides, she rallied a large group of former residents of Shelter No. 68, establishing an organization called "Watcher."

As it turns out, only those who have been part of the Enlightenment Society understand it best, and only they know how to counter it.

All this information was recorded in the latter part of the administrator's log of Shelter No. 68, probably added by Zhuang Lan herself.

Chu Guang hadn't realized that the seeds he casually scattered had grown into towering trees while he was unaware.

She hadn't even sought help from the Alliance, solely relying on her skills to penetrate the intelligence networks of the Eastern Empire and the Alliance in the Desert Sea, burying spies in uninhabited wasteland.

Now, she's leading the Desert Army's bait to No.13 Shelter. If conditions are optimistic, she might be able to take down the Enlightenment Society.

Upon this thought, Chu Guang's index finger lightly tapped on the armchair.

"Xiao Qi, input a new command to the orbital weapons, end the aim at Yavente City, move the device to deploy on the western side of the Great Desert, ready and include the central region of the Great Desert in the pre-aiming range."

If possible, he doesn't want to use the sword passed down by the City Lord of the Giant Stone City on anyone.

But when necessary, he won't hesitate.

A melodious voice drifted in from beside him, Xiao Qi's response was always so energetic and reliable.

"Got it!"

Chapter 984: Vertical Casting Shaft Activated!

[

Remains of the "Hunter" missile cruiser from the pre-war era suspected to be occupied by an illegal armed organization!

Currently, Alliance authorities are engaging in consultations with the Academy, Companies, and various other forces, exploring the prospect of tighter cooperation to counter the threat of pre-war era leftover weapons.

Our reporter urges everyone to remain rational and not believe rumors! While lead can block certain levels of radiation, hanging it around your neck or wrapping it around your waist is pointless and lacks scientific basis.

—— Survivor Daily, Yavente City Edition]

[

"Celestial Beings" organization surfaces! Identities suspected to be digital ghosts of the United Human Era's Expeditionary Army!

Experts from the Union Academy of Social Sciences have published an editorial stating that the existence of the "Celestial Beings" organization fully demonstrates how uploading thoughts onto circuits is a foolish act of "carving a boat to seek one's sword," representing an unreliable approach to collective suicide.

However, some experts from the Academy have analyzed that the extreme ideas of the "Celestial Beings" organization arise due to overly homogeneous social strata on the Lagrange Space Station; their predicament is similar to that of the Army.

Regardless, the threat from outer space has already caught the attention of the high levels of various forces.

Si Wen, Secretary-General of the Representatives Meeting, stated in an interview that the esteemed President Li Minghui will fight against the Celestial Beings forces to the end and will not flee from the battlefield.

Li Minghui himself has yet to make any comments on the statement of the Representatives Meeting, only stating that a hundred thousand neutron torpedoes might be a daunting challenge, and the South Sea Union should quickly develop high-orbit defense systems.

—— Survivor Daily, Ring Island Edition]

[

Battle of the Sheep State enters stalemate!

Shava, the new leader of Mammoth Nation, governs the army with an iron fist, stabilizing the front lines after enduring the initial offensive.

The Poluo Country, despite winning the first battle, faces significant non-combat attrition in multiple troops due to insufficient logistics supply and lack of mountain combat equipment. The Northern Field Army was nearly annihilated in the latest breakout!

The new Industrial Commissioner strongly condemns the previous leader Buseik, stating his poor policies during his tenure severely damaged Poluo Country's economy and industrial development, leading to heavy casualties among the frontline soldiers. It might take at least twenty years to recover from the damages.

Despite the difficulties and crises, the committee is confident in overcoming these challenges. Family Meeting second-in-command Sava once again stated during the committee meeting that the suffering is temporary and called for unity among all tiers of Tiandu.

Additionally, sources claim Zayed criticized Sava's actions against cockroaches and mice during an internal meeting, saying they are "short-sighted," a kind of childish bickering, lacking scale and thoroughness.

He suggested more aggressive measures to strike the Red Soil, in order to ensure the arable land by Everflow River.

—— Survivor Daily, Jinjaron Harbor Edition]

[

The threat of the "Celestial Beings" is approaching, but when ten falls, there will always be tall people to hold it up, right?

That cursed place is really too far from New West Port. Our reporter couldn't reach the suffering Celestial Beings for an interview, only hoping they'd endure a while longer.

However, noteworthy is that His Majesty Sarun coughed heavily during the morning meeting today, possibly hinting at major moves from the Eastern Empire, and we'll release a special edition to interpret the deeper meanings behind it!

Moreover, the end of Free State's war is nearing, with the police department loyal to the Town Hall and the Hound Special Forces controlling over half of the urban areas.

The Company might be done for, but it's uncertain who will claim the trophy, as Bugra isn't just a free state for Bugra City residents but also for the broad Waste Land Wanderers.

Even if local gang members perish, Firestone Group could find new helpers from the Wasteland.

The Free State's Company and civilians might still fight for a while, but compared to our neighbors, that type of gang warfare is just small skirmishes.

The bloody battles in Sheep State caused casualties even greater than the total number of combatants in the Free State's civil war!

Facts prove that not even the apocalypse can stop the Poluo people from internal strife.

Meanwhile, other disasters keep unfolding one after another.

Due to the vigorous development of industry by Poluo Country, the industrial facilities in Old West Port are almost completely decayed, industrialists transitioned to becoming swimming champions.

An anonymous tax bureau official complained, saying life is getting tougher, he used to apply Vaseline lip balm before heading to work, now he can only kiss a piece of lard in the kitchen.

Our reporter also thinks this is just too tragic.

Of course, the head oil of the tax officer didn't become cooking oil for the poor, since Red Soil doesn't need complex cooking techniques, yet a famine broke out locally comparable to the West Winds era.

Sarun His Majesty, intelligence and formidable, is unable to understand this. He claims, although heavy industrial plants from West Port were dismantled, quite a few light industrial plants remain, insufficient for the desolate land image painted by Tiandu newspaper.

After all, in his plan, the West Coast of Poluo Province could entirely become the Eastern Empire's light industrial production base, just like Jinjaron Harbor and Baiyue Strait for the Alliance.

We can see His Majesty Sarun is truly someone's fan, he's been diligently copying homework.

Unfortunately, our neighbors are truly disappointing, making our Majesty have to subsidize them with a bit of Vaseline oil, helping them temporarily overcome immediate difficulties.

—— Survivor Daily, New West Port Edition]

[

War has never stopped, following the Torch Church, the "Celestial Beings" from the Prosperity Epoch once again tried to direct the future path for the Waste Land Wanderers on the surface.

It's evident they wish for us to perish.

Regarding the threat from outer space, Grand Canyon's response is no response, it seems that the tens of thousands of neutron torpedoes shouldn't be able to penetrate their turtle shell.

The council of Ideal City has convened an emergency meeting, with the results expected to be announced after the crisis ends.

As for the Army... well, the Army is gone, luckily it's gone.

Fortunately, this time the Academy didn't continue hiding behind the scenes, finally showing some backbone, staking a valuable research ship for the sake of all mankind!

Of course, it could also be because this mess was stirred by them; if they hadn't lost that research ship, perhaps it would still be difficult for the space station at Lagrange Point to board the "Hunter" missile cruiser.

Currently, the Alliance has dispatched the Burning Corps to the synchronous orbit.

Please don't worry, if you can't sleep, think about the Iron Heart.

General McCullen's assessment was, if he had to face the Burning Corps, he'd rather turn his gun toward heaven.

Additionally, friends from New West Port, please don't be absurd, your Sarun His Majesty probably just caught a cold.

—— Goblin Observation Report]

...

Regarding the "Celestial Beings" organization and the threat thirty-six thousand kilometers away, neither the Academy nor the Alliance has intentionally withheld information.

Firstly, it's near impossible to completely hide something this significant, secondly to avoid needless panic.

Since voluntary disclosure allows for a chance to clarify, keeping it hidden would mean voluntarily yielding the battlefield of public opinion.

At that point, who knows what kind of ridiculous versions might circulate.

Precisely for this reason, before rumors spread, Chu Guang had the City of Dawn's Survivor Daily conduct an exclusive interview with the Alliance's scientific expedition team about this event, openly sharing the Alliance's strategies and preparations to respond to the crisis with various facets of society.

The response from the City of Dawn residents also greatly reassured Chu Guang.

The chaos and unrest lasted only two days.

Before the sun could rise on the third day, the anxious people returned to normal.

Perhaps it's due to having experienced an apocalypse once; the vast majority of Waste Land Wanderers react quite calmly to such world-ending events.

After all, even panicking won't help in a disaster of such global scale.

Moreover, in previous crises, they successfully got through the most dangerous moments under the Manager's leadership.

They have full reason to believe that this time will be no different.

They sincerely and unwaveringly believe in the omnipotent Manager...

...

Western district of West State City.

Ruined houses sit amidst a desolate wasteland, with abandoned steel debris and wooden planks scattered everywhere, and the waterplants clinging to the window sills and wall roots seem to still exude a damp atmosphere.

Since entering the Wasteland Era, this area has been submerged in backflowing lake water for a considerable time.

Not until the Army of the Alliance came and renamed this land as "Dawn," did the city emerge from the water's grip.

Even though the Alliance brought order here, the city remains seldomly visited due to frequent incursions by Crack Claw Crabs.

Only when the "celestial being" crisis emerged did the Alliance refocus on this forgotten corner of the city.

At this moment, trucks traverse the road beside the wasteland, their busy appearance rivaling even the city center of the City of Dawn.

And hidden in the dust-laden construction site, there lies an even more jaw-dropping spectacle—

A towering gigantic well sat amidst the dense concrete ruins!

The large well mouth spans several football fields, appearing from above like a colossal maw gazing towards the sky!

Even more awe-inspiring is not just the vast size and dizzying depth of the well, but its internal structure.

Steel ribs resembling a giant beast's spine extend from the well mouth to the very bottom, the well wall beneath constructed entirely of metal, exuding a solemn majesty in the dark.

This is Shelter 100.

To activate the central "Casting Well" of the shelter, the Alliance's construction team dismantled the dome above the shelter!

Now the dome removal is complete, the re-serving "Casting Well 100" will officially be used as the engine of the Alliance's astronautical industry.

At this moment, engineers from the Academy stand above the Casting Well, their pupils filled with astonishment as they gaze downward.

Though he often mocks Alliance's "simplistic and crude" industrial system, he cannot utter a careless word at this moment.

This cannot simply be called a spectacle.

It's like a piece of art.

"Truly incredible..." After a long while, Zhong Jingchu sighed sincerely, looking to the senior engineer beside him. "I didn't expect you could create such an amazing... miracle on the ruins. I underestimated you all."

The voice carried no hint of flattery.

The old engineer by his side chuckled heartily, humbly responding.

"Not really; we definitely couldn't make such an extravagant giant on our own... Strictly speaking, this counts as a relic from the Prosperity Epoch; we just made use of the waste."

His name is Qi Xiangsong, a professor at Camp 101, and also the chief engineer of the Alliance Aerospace Industry Group.

Upon hearing Qi Engineer's explanation, Zhong Jingchu felt slightly more accepting.

Then he suddenly noticed bluish flickers in the well interior, and curiously asked to the side.

"What are those flickering blue lights?"

As if anticipating this question, Qi Xiangsong smiled mysteriously and instead of explaining, handed a telescope to him.

"See for yourself."

Doubtfully, Zhong Jingchu took the telescope from the senior engineer and glanced down into the well.

That glance changed everything.

Upon clearly seeing the sources of those azure lights, his eyes widened immediately.

The blue lights themselves weren't mysterious; just sparks from arc welding alloy.

What truly shocked was the spark's source!

The light emitted from "Cross Spider" engineering robots!

Like web-weaving spiders, they scuttled across the vertical steel structures, executing pre-programmed tasks, transporting materials via hoists above the well to designated spots, completing welding and assembling tasks.

Under the busyness of tens of thousands of mechanical spiders, a steel structure of ten thousand tons or tens of thousands of tons seemed to grow upwards visibly!

Although not an aerospace expert, Zhong Jingchu understood aerospace industry fairly well.

Thus, he knew how incredible this scene was!

No wonder the Alliance's Manager is confident enough to construct a Gravity Well in the Southern sea area.

If this Casting Well's capabilities are fully utilized, it might even fill low Earth orbit with spacecraft, like dumplings!

"These mechanical spiders..."

"Produced by the technology from Shelter 100's residents," Qi Xiangsong gazed at the deep well mouth, saying, "Upon learning of our situation, they decided to join us."

Zhong Jingchu's Adam's apple moved, casting his sight again to the vertical Casting Well beneath him, speaking slowly after a long silence.

"I recall a time when the United Human once manufactured aerospace crafts on land... Then, they transported finished parts via chemical-powered rockets to assemble in Low Earth Orbit. Later, as space mining and alloy smelting matured and space elevators were erected, aerospace production gradually shifted from Earth's surface to synchronous orbit and then to Lagrange stability points."

Qi Xiangsong smiled, speaking.

"I've heard of that history. So, building a spaceship on the ground is a first? Just us doing it?"

"Sort of."

Zhong Jingchu nodded, expressing with some sentimentality.

"Back then, our science only analyzed dimensions where we existed; it hadn't penetrated other dimensions, let alone controlled gravitons and interfered with gravitational fields. We could only use primitive methods to wrestle with those 'resistance' opposing our outward migration."

"But now's different; we can break free from gravitational shackles and let gravity drive our progress like monsoon winds..."

Saying this, he showed his heartfelt admiration, praising sincerely.

"In a sense, you all indeed created history."

Previously, he didn't understand why the defecting researchers mostly ended up joining the Alliance; now he grasped those individuals' mindset.

They found hope in the Alliance they hadn't seen before.

It wasn't a miracle by one person.

It was created by a group.

If it weren't for the mission he carries, he probably couldn't resist wanting to stay as well...

Chapter 985: Space Graveyard

The production at "Base No. 100" was in full swing.

Not only were there 300,000 "Cross Spider" engineering robots working diligently, but also nearly 3,000 workers and engineers!

They were almost the top industrial talents in the entire Alliance!

Some of them came from the distant Ideal City, others from Evernight Harbor in the southern hemisphere, or from shelters in the Great Desert, and even Waste Land Wanderers who studied advanced knowledge at Camp 101.

Faced with the threat of apocalypse, the Dawn City Industrial Center once again demonstrated its astounding and terrifying production capacity to the major Survivor Forces on the Wasteland.

In the southern industrial park, the "Cross Spider" just set off from the assembly line, and was directly loaded onto trucks with batteries to be delivered into the casting well of Base No. 100.

From engineering machinery for welding steel to screws in the casting well, every unit operating on the production line, whether human or machine, was pushed to the limit.

The terrifying industrial throughput even once strained the transport resources of Falling Leaves City, a railway hub.

This situation of transportation capacity failing to catch up with productivity had never occurred, not even during the most intense battles with the Southern Legion.

In the Manager's Office of the Alliance Building, Minister of Industry Song Xuelin reported the work progress during this period to Chu Guang.

"...currently, all production units of our 'Vertical Casting Well No. 100' have been activated, with the first near-orbital defense platform under production, expected to complete in three months and possibly delivered by early June!"

The near-orbital defense platform is a defensive strategy jointly discussed at a meeting by professionals from the Alliance, the Academy, and various industries, tentatively named the "Trench" plan.

Specifically, the plan is to deploy defense platforms equipped with railguns and high-power laser weapons in several low Earth orbits.

These defense platforms are seen as replacements for orbital debris.

They could prevent long-range strategic weapon strikes with mass bombs accelerated electromagnetically, much like sampans floating outside a harbor.

Although Chu Guang knew that this production speed was already astonishing, given the current urgent situation, he couldn't help furrowing his brow.

"One ship every three months?"

Song Xuelin replied with a wry smile.

"It's a massive systematic project, and achieving one ship every three months is thanks to the help from the Academy and corporations... this speed is really quite fast."

After pausing for a moment, he quickly continued.

"Currently, the related industrial chains are still in the smoothing phase, and the technicians on the production line are not yet skilled. The first ship might be a bit slower, but once it's completed, the pace should increase."

Chu Guang nodded and refrained from discussing this issue any further.

Some things cannot be rushed.

Especially strategic supplies.

He knew very well that any pressure he exerted would ultimately be transmitted down the chain and amplified at each level.

If the team had to rush due to his pressure, the final outcome might be a compromise in quality,
which he was even less willing to see.

Seeing that Chu Guang did not continue to nitpick on the project timeline, Song Xuelin finally breathed a sigh of relief and flipped through the files in his hand before continuing his report.

"Besides, there's the logistics issue... currently, the railway network in the central part of He Gu Province is operating at full capacity. Although we have large mining and steel facilities in the controlled areas outside River Valley Province, the transport capacity of the Dawn City region is already becoming stretched."

"Not enough transport capacity?" Chu Guang looked at him in surprise, slightly startled as he sat up straight in his office chair. "Wasn't there more than 30% surplus before?"

Rails are the blood vessels of the Alliance's industry. He had prioritized the development of the Alliance's railways since the Bone Chewing Chaos, even planning a Falling Leaves City as a hub for materials exchange from all directions for Alliance logistics.

It was precisely because of that initiative that the Alliance later had the potential to extend its influence to Luo Xia Province, Brocade River Province, and even to the more distant Haiye Province.

After all, even if players could walk any distance on their two feet, without the Alliance's equipment and logistics, it meant nothing.

Otherwise, a lot of time would be wasted waiting for respawns.

Chu Guang even considered the possibility of the controlled fusion reactor in Dawn City being a bottleneck, but never thought that the rows of railway lines would run into capacity issues.

Products produced couldn't be transported in?

Could this happen on the Wasteland?

Looking at Chu Guang's surprised expression, Song Xuelin, sweating from his forehead, said,

"This... indeed is our negligence. Initially, we judged that the growth rate of production capacity could match the improvement speed of our railway network, but the actual production capacity displayed by Casting Well No. 100 far exceeded our expectations, with its industrial throughput nearly equivalent to the entire Industrial area of Dawn City, naturally taking up the same transport capacity..."

Falling behind, even the rear couldn't catch up with the front.

Hearing the Minister of Industry's reply, Chu Guang was momentarily amused, not knowing whether to be pleased or to sigh.

However, one thing Song Xuelin mentioned was correct: not considering this point was indeed the industrial department's oversight.

"Such matters need to be proactively prepared; you can't wait for the problem to arise before trying to figure it out. What's needed is a review, but for now, let's solve this problem first."

Song Xuelin nodded with sweat all over.

"Yes..."

Not making things difficult for him over mistakes that had already occurred, Chu Guang tapped his index finger lightly on the armrest of his office chair, pondered for a moment, and spoke up.

"Casting Well No. 100 can't be moved, so we need to find a solution elsewhere... What do you think about transferring part of the capacity to the Death Coast along the shores of Haiye Province? I've been considering this matter already."

Song Xuelin said cautiously.

"That was my thought as well, but considering the fact that the settlements there are still in early stages of development, I'm concerned about whether they can handle such a massive industrial migration..."

"No need to worry about that," Chu Guang said with a smile, looking at the hesitant Industrial Minister. "Our Dawn City was also built from scratch in a crisis. Although the current situation is severe, it's much better than in earlier years!"

"Moreover, I have personally inspected the area of the Death Coast! Although the survivors there come from all over, they are not inferior to the survivors of City of Dawn and Dawn City, perhaps even more knowledgeable and full of vigor. I believe they have the ability and confidence to shoulder the mission of the era assigned to them."

"Since you have such confidence in them, I have nothing to add," Song Xuelin said with a smile. "I will convene an industrial meeting as soon as possible and strive to come up with a specific plan as soon as possible."

Chu Guang smiled and nodded.

"Go ahead."

For the Alliance, the industrial migration south was inevitable, and preparations had been in the works for a long time.

Container shipments are inherently more advantageous than rail transport, and industries like aerospace naturally benefit from proximity to a space elevator.

The primary role of Shelter No. 100 is actually as the incubator for the Alliance's aerospace industry, much like the Seed Factory in the north suburb of Qingquan City.

Chu Guang's expectations for it are not merely to manufacture a few near-orbital defense platforms.

It has the potential to nurture a whole forest.

...

Deep in the Great Desert, the center of the Old World.

The layered sand dunes swallowed endless clusters of cities, leaving only ruins here and there to record past prosperity.

Underneath a rusted steel giant, a battle-worn off-road vehicle sped over the sand dunes.

Avoiding a few fragments of a space elevator, the off-road vehicle eventually stopped at the entrance of an abandoned building.

As soon as the off-road vehicle came to a halt, about two dozen soldiers wearing exoskeletons emerged from the shadows of the nearby ruins, surrounding the vehicle.

The car door of the off-road vehicle swung open, and a damaged power armor stepped out, raising both hands to indicate no ill intent, while removing the helmet's visor to reveal the face of "Scorpion of the Desert" Captain Marik.

"Don't be nervous, I'm one of us."

Seeing Marik's face, the lead soldier didn't lower his guard but raised his clenched fist alertly.

Rifles were instantly raised, aiming at the "Marik" standing beside the off-road vehicle, ready to turn him into a sieve at a command.

From the trunk, the Medical Miracle, through a gap, saw the situation outside and couldn't help but mutter, "Holy shit."

Have we been exposed?!

Facing the dark muzzles of guns, "Marik," holding his hands up, remained unmoved, simply staring intently at the lead soldier.

"I need an explanation."

The soldier sneered, pointing the rifle directly at his nose.

"Explanation? Marik Lieutenant, you better account for your whereabouts over the past week."

Hearing this, Zhuang Lan internally sighed in relief, continuing without expression.

"I was ambushed by the Alliance while carrying out a mission in the southern part of the Great Desert. I spent the past week evading their pursuit. I will naturally brief my Army Operations Division on the details... I just didn't expect that after escaping with difficulty, I would still have to face the muzzles of my comrades."

That seemed to have some effect; a few soldiers surrounding them exchanged glances, and although their gun muzzles didn't lower, the murderous intent noticeably lessened.

The lead soldier was the same.

He skeptically glanced at Marik, and the muzzle of his gun slowly lowered.

"You didn't defect?"

"Have you ever seen a defector come back voluntarily?" Marik looked at him, his face gloomy as he spoke, "I did mess things up, but it can't be entirely my fault. Who would have thought that when we arrived at our destination, we would encounter not a small group of Watchers, but a heavily armed Regular Army."

"We weren't prepared at all. Warren died on the spot, along with several of my squads. I barely made it out myself! Damn... I even suspect that the signal was a trap set by the Alliance from the beginning, and their intelligence system should at least take half the blame!"

That indignant expression didn't seem fake, as if he had indeed been seriously betrayed by his own people.

Watching this drama unfold from the trunk, the Medical Miracle couldn't help but marvel. Although it wasn't his turn to appear yet, he already had that feeling... like he was genuinely captured.

The soldier in charge stared fixatedly at Marik, and ultimately, the scale of trust and doubt tipped in favor of the former.

He waved his hand, and two soldiers wearing exoskeletons approached to inspect the SUV, then opened the trunk to reveal the guy tied up like a dumpling, struggling hard.

"Who's this?"

"An Alliance member," a sinister smile curled on his expressionless face as Marik spoke with a cold laugh, "I caught this unlucky bastard while escaping. Unfortunately, the pursuers were too close, so I didn't get a chance to pry anything from him."

By this point, the soldier on duty had basically believed his story.

He waved to the soldiers standing by the SUV, signaling them to take the prisoner away, before he looked back at Marik and continued.

"I just contacted the Ministry of Internal Affairs; they're surprised you made it back alive and probably have a bunch of questions for you."

Marik smirked self-mockingly.

"Looks like, in their eyes, I'm already a dead man."

"Don't think that way, brother," the soldier gave him a sympathetic glance and then looked at his raised hands, "Put your hands down, welcome home."

Marik lowered his raised hands, shook the soldier's offered hand.

When they released the handshake, the soldier suddenly pulled out a gun-shaped scanner and swept it across Marik's eyes.

If someone unfamiliar with the Enlightenment Society might mistake it for a handgun and overreact, thereby exposing their identity.

But Marik was too familiar with these procedures, these kinds of probes didn't faze him, they almost made him laugh.

"Do you believe me now?" Marik mocked as he watched the soldier fiddle with the iris scanner.

"Don't mind it, just routine," the soldier smiled, putting the iris scanner away, "Please follow me, Lieutenant Marik."

Marik casually inquired, looking at the prisoner being taken away.

"What about the prisoner?"

The soldier smiled and said.

"You don't need to worry about him, just leave him to us."

Marik reminded with a sentence.

"Make sure to interrogate him well."

The soldier sneered and said.

"Don't worry, we won't make it easy for him."

Watching that sneering expression, Zhuang Lan's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't plead for the prisoner.

Saying anything now would be redundant; it wouldn't help that Alliance friend and might completely ruin the plan.

She was now Lieutenant Marik, a Disciple of the Enlightenment Society, a current officer of the New People's Alliance, and the captain of the Scorpion of the Desert.

Without another word, she donned Marik's mask and walked proudly behind the guiding soldier, like a warrior defeated yet with honor, towards the entrance of the legendary No.13 Shelter.

At the same time, thirty-six thousand kilometers away from Earth in deep space, a silver-gray research ship was slowly passing through an asteroid belt composed of space station debris.

Those fragmented alloy structures stood silently like unmarked gravestones in a quiet cemetery.

Compared to the grand giant structures, the Academy's research ship resembled a child's toy.

Sitting in the pilot's seat, a hint of tension appeared on Jiang Xuezhou's face.

The deflection shield could block space debris, but nothing could be done about debris larger than the research ship.

Their luck wasn't great; just as they were about to reach their destination, they ran into this "debris belt" passing through synchronous orbit.

However, they had no time to wait for this debris to drift past; they could only grit their teeth and go forward.

Unlike Jiang Xuezhou, who was nervously navigating the edge of the giant structures.

Night Ten, in the co-pilot's seat, looked like a tourist, mouth agape in amazement at the grandeur of space debris outside the cockpit.

What he saw completely overturned his preconceived notions of space junk.

He had imagined that space junk was the size of cans, but instead, it felt like Moon-sized objects were right in his face.

This was an exaggerated statement.

The space station debris here couldn't possibly be as large as the Moon.

However, they were roughly the size of a couple of aircraft carriers.

The most advanced spacecraft from Earth looked like dandruff on a giant's head compared to this, and the "Eye of Humanity" here wasn't even comparable to some slightly larger debris.

Marvel!

Faced with the scene before him, Night Ten could only think of this word.

"Wow..."

Jiang Xuezhou glanced at him, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

She appreciated that admiring expression on his face the most.

"Dream City."

Night Ten looked at her puzzled.

"What?"

"Dream City, one of the miracle structures of the Prosperity Epoch," Jiang Xuezhou said as she operated the ship, "It's said to be a permanent space station with artificial gravity and day-night cycles... at least that's how the advertisement described it."

Night Ten scratched his helmet.

"That name sounds oddly similar to Ideal City."

Jiang Xuezhou smiled faintly.

"Isn't it possible that the name Ideal City was inspired by something from the history of the Prosperity Epoch?"

There were many similar situations.

For example, Yavente City.

In Vellante history, this settlement was named after a soldier who conquered it, but that doesn't explain why it was called Yavente City even before it was conquered by the Army.

According to the Academy's historical research, this settlement was actually named after a pre-war neighborhood, and the local survivors simply kept the old name for convenience. The supposed special meaning was just added by the Vellante.

As one of the major Survivor Forces on the Wasteland, Vellante's culture was, in fact, influencing United Human language.

Night Ten stared blankly at Jiang Xuezhou.

"...Is there such a theory?"

"Just a speculation, take it with a grain of salt," Jiang Xuezhou shrugged, "I heard many on the Pioneer bought Dream City's off-plan property as investors... because according to Dream City's business plan, this massive space construct would periodically cruise between Earth and Proxima Centauri."

Night Ten couldn't help but marvel.

"...That's freaking crazy."

Jiang Xuezhou nodded in deep agreement, her gaze returning to the deep space outside the cockpit.

"It is. But considering the era, graviton technology had already made significant breakthroughs, warp engine was sending larger masses farther, it wasn't strange for people to think that way. People in the Old Epoch were still dreaming of chemically-fueled rockets colonizing Mars, and they even almost succeeded, there's nothing laughable about it."

"Haha..." Night Ten chuckled dryly, feeling like he got caught in the crossfire for no reason.

Jiang Xuezhou, however, didn't notice his unusual expression, just took a deep breath and said in a calm tone.

"Inform your teammates to get ready..."

"We're almost there."

Chapter 986: No.13 Shelter

"We've arrived."

Somewhere in the Great Desert, the elevator leading to No.13 Shelter finally came to a halt.

Based on the time and speed of the elevator's descent, Zhuang Lan silently calculated that the position beneath her feet was at least a kilometer, possibly even deeper, below the surface.

At the gate ahead, a Soldier wearing an exoskeleton pressed his arm against the wall's control panel, completing the identity verification.

"Vrrr..."

Accompanied by an earth-shaking tremor, a gap cracked open on the wall before them, slowly widening with the wall's movement, eventually revealing a path over ten meters wide.

Unbelievable.

That alloy wall was actually a seamless door!

It seems the Enlightenment Society indeed underwent quite a few changes during the time she was away...

Surprised by the changes of her old employer over the past couple of years, Zhuang Lan was secretly wary, although she didn't let the unexpected expression show on her face.

After all, at the moment her identity was Lieutenant "Marik," captain of the Desert Scorpion Spec Ops.

And prior to this, "he" had been here before.

Evidently accepting this fact, the Soldier didn't have any intention of flaunting. After completing the identity verification, he turned around to face "Marik," stood firm, and said.

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs just sent a message, they approved the information you submitted. However, regarding your experiences during the escape and the combat power of the Alliance's regular army, they still want to know some details, likely they'll contact you for an interrogation meeting."

"When?"

"In three days."

Marik looked at him expressionlessly, spreading his hands.

"Why not now? I'm idle anyway."

"We need to interrogate the guy you brought back from the Alliance first, see what we can pry from his mouth." After pausing, the Soldier continued in a relaxed tone, "Besides, you're a hero, we need to settle you in first, can't give you the same treatment as a prisoner."

It seems "Marik" has regained the trust of the Enlightenment Society.

Zhuang Lan felt a sense of relief though her facial expression remained unchanged, dutifully adhering to the character setting as she stated.

"I dare not claim credit, although the intelligence system bears half the blame, the fact that I messed up is also indisputable... Many people paid with their lives for this."

Seeing the slightly downcast Marik, the Soldier standing at the door reassured.

"Don't blame yourself, we don't judge heroes based on success or failure, capturing someone under the Alliance's ambush is already commendable... Of course, I'm sorry for your brothers' ordeal."

He was also the leader of a group of young men.

It's precisely for this reason that he understood Marik's feelings at the moment.

While the two were conversing, a tall and slender man stepped out from behind the open alloy giant door.

He was dressed in a silver-gray suit, its fabric as smooth as silk, not a speck of dust visible.

Not just his clothes, his skin was likewise, smooth and delicate like the alloy wall beside him, with a pale and flawless complexion.

Appearance was perhaps his most insignificant attribute.

His graceful and elegant gestures were akin to a butler from an aristocratic manor in the classical era, as if even the most trivial matters could be arranged methodically in his hands.

Although his appearance was no different from a real person, Zhuang Lan could tell at a glance he wasn't truly human.

But rather a cyborg.

Natural creations are bound to have flaws; only man-made things can be so pure without a trace of imperfection.

As Zhuang Lan observed him, the man standing at the door slightly nodded, speaking in a gentle tone.

"Hello Mr. Marik, I am your guide and lifestyle assistant during your stay in 'Utopia.' You may call me 'Butler.'"

"Although you've been here before, our Utopia wasn't finished at the time, and many things have changed since then."

"To help you quickly adapt to life here, I will guide you to reacquaint yourself with our home."

Zhuang Lan nodded before bidding farewell to the soldier who escorted her here, then followed behind the cyborg self-identified as "Butler."

On the way to the shelter, the cyborg continuously introduced the situation of "Utopia" to him, particularly the changes over the past year.

According to the Watcher Organization's intelligence, Marik's last visit to Utopia was a year ago, where he stayed for ten days.

To avoid revealing a flaw, Zhuang Lan didn't say much, only occasionally asking about unclear details.

After passing through a long corridor, the two arrived at a spacious underground space where a gigantic gear-shaped gate appeared before her eyes.

This gate resembled the entrance of many shelters.

The only difference was that it was not embedded in the wall but lay flat on the ground, like the lift platform of a freight elevator.

Upon discovering this, Zhuang Lan was slightly surprised.

It's hard to imagine how much energy is required to open and close this giant door just once.

The energy reserves of the Enlightenment Society might exceed the expectations of the Watcher Organization; it would be great to figure out their energy sources.

While Zhuang Lan was silently contemplating this, the gigantic gear beneath their feet began to slowly sink, and shortly after the platform descended, an arch-shaped like a tunnel entrance emerged from the nearby concrete wall.

That was the last door leading to No.13 Shelter.

Containing the excitement within her heart, Zhuang Lan walked steadily behind the "Butler," following it into the deepest core of the Enlightenment Society's secrets—

This was the "handle" of the Torch!

And also the core of the Torch Plan!

Dazzling light spilled onto the end of the alloy corridor.

And when Zhuang Lan finally passed through that final tunnel, everything that came into view did not disappoint her; it even shocked her, leaving her stunned on the spot.

The scenery suddenly opened up!

The space expanded geometrically, making one irresistibly suspect they had crossed into another world or the surface.

Towering buildings stood like natural barriers on either side of the vast space, looking up was a blue sky, and looking down was an abyss with no bottom in sight.

However, even residents living at the lowest level need not worry, as the glowing strips embedded in the exterior walls of the buildings pass the warm light all the way to the bottom of this "shelter," sharing infinite prosperity and equality with every resident living in this shelter.

Transparent tubes and bridges crisscrossed between the buildings, connecting in the middle with glistening, transparent "crystal balls."

They floated between the buildings like soap bubbles, housing the almost extinct natural landscapes of this planet, for people to admire and relax.

Long strip-shaped vehicles shuttled back and forth in the thick tubes, either delivering passengers and goods into the crystal balls embedded in the air or carrying them from one end of the shelter to the other.

It was like a city built on a volcanic crater.

Of course, this was not an actual volcanic crater, at least, the sky above was fake.

Zhuang Lan knew how long she had ridden the elevator down; the actual depth here would only be more exaggerated than her conservative estimate.

There was no doubt that the Sun emitting dazzling light was artificial.

Including the blue so clear it was hard to look away, and the clouds white as cotton...these sights were extremely rare on the Wasteland.

Without exaggeration, this world buried deep underground indeed deserved the name "Paradise."

Any Waste Land Wanderer standing here would unhesitatingly call this place heaven!

Looking at the paused "Marik," the Butler spoke in a gentle voice.

"We built this underground world according to the standards of Dream City; coming from that era, you surely know what I mean by Dream City."

Zhuang Lan nodded gently.

She knew what that was.

It was said that in the distant Prosperity Epoch, people feared the collapse of their hard-earned prosperity overnight, so they established a second home in the eternal universe.

That was Dream City.

A space habitat with artificial day and night and gravity, where it was spring all year round, a Utopia that would not wither even if the prosperous world on the surface completely declined.

If Ideal City was a reminiscence by survivors half a century ago of the beautiful times of the past, then Dream City embodied all the hopes and imaginations of people during the Prosperity Epoch towards future life.

Gazing at the closest "soap bubble," Zhuang Lan, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, sighed after a while.

"My brothers and I eat sand in the Great Desert, never expected you guys to be enjoying this already."

This was not just Marik's sigh, but her own as well.

The Butler smiled and said,

"Because the opportunity has arrived."

"Opportunity?"

"The opportunity to enter a new era."

The Butler extended a forefinger and pointed at the transparent glass, with rings of transparent ripples spreading outward from its fingertip, the entire glass wall transformed as if into a magnifying glass, bringing the distant scenery directly to the two standing at the shelter entrance.

As the distant scenery was magnified, Zhuang Lan not only saw the people in the Park clearly but also clearly saw the smiles on their faces.

"...Thanks to the celestial beings reaching out a helping hand to us, the situation is unprecedentedly in our favor. The upper echelons have adjusted their strategy toward the Wasteland. From now on, we don't need to do anything, just wait patiently."

Zhuang Lan slightly frowned.

She had felt something strange since earlier; no one had ever mentioned the matter of reconstructing the "Desert Scorpion" to her.

"Wait for what?"

"Divine Punishment."

"...Divine Punishment?" Zhuang Lan was stunned for a moment.

"That's right."

Facing Lieutenant "Marik's" inquisitive gaze, the Butler nodded slightly and then looked toward the nearby utopia, speaking chilling words in a gentle tone.

"The flames of punishment will scorch everything from the old world, and we will gain a piece of land for recuperation in the new world... as a reward for assisting the celestial beings in their mission."

When he said this, the Butler looked at "Marik," who stood beside him, and continued with a smile.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you earlier, your mission is complete."

Zhuang Lan asked.

"What do you mean by complete?"

The Butler said in a gentle tone.

"This is the meaning from the higher-ups. Specifically, which department, you'll have to ask the insiders. In short, they hope I convey to you that we temporarily have no plans to rebuild the 'Desert Scorpion.'"

"Although many Soldiers are still performing field missions at this moment, aside from the tasks at hand, there will be no more new missions in the future. Once they complete their missions, they will return to this shelter one after another... Of course, we will calculate your merit based on your accomplishments and arrange for you to live a better life in the new epoch."

Zhuang Lan looked at him in shock, and after a long time, she slowly nodded.

"Sounds pretty good... though a bit regrettable."

The Butler looked at him, puzzled.

"Regrettable? I don't understand what you mean."

Zhuang Lan remained silent for a moment and turned to look at the corridor behind her leading to the outside world.

"My brothers... I promised them to avenge them."

A sudden look of realization appeared on the Butler's face, and then he smiled lightly, speaking in a gentle tone.

"Such things are no longer important. Your enemies will be reduced to ashes in the final divine punishment, becoming insignificant radioactive dust drifting away... Let the past hatred stay in the past, which will help us go further."

Zhuang Lan nodded, casting her gaze toward the distant giant dome.

The Robot gardeners trimmed the lawn neatly, while people in Blue Jackets strolled along the Park's paths, and some were walking their dogs.

The vending machines provided unlimited ice cream to the Children, and attractive-looking androids were distributing what seemed to be free balloons.

A family sitting on a bench chatted and laughed, perhaps discussing matters about the new epoch.

All of it seemed like a dreamlike beauty, yet for some reason, there was always a sense of unreality lingering in Zhuang Lan's heart.

It's not that those images were false or a simulation of holographic images.

As someone engaged in intelligence Work, she could tell that those people were undoubtedly real... at least much more real than the androids standing beside her.

At this time, she suddenly recalled the first impression she had upon meeting this "Butler."

The perfect things must have flaws, only man-made creations can be pure to such an extent without any impurities.

That giant dome was such an existence.

Or rather—

The entire utopia was like this.

The people here did not seem to be living; instead, they seemed to be kept by some high and mighty entity, arrayed within transparent crystal bubbles.

A chill crawled over Zhuang Lan's heart, but facing the smiling gaze, she still nodded.

"It's quite good."

...

Meanwhile, in a small room on the surface above No.13 Shelter, a Medical Miracle lay on the operating table, forcefully fitted with a Memory Extractor, enduring a solid round of "electrotherapy."

The Enlightenment Society seemed not to intend to bribe him with a honey trap, opting for heavy torture right from the beginning, which left the Medical Miracle somewhat disappointed after much anticipation.

At least give him a chance to "correct and return to evil"!

But his disappointment didn't last long, as soon his vision went black, disconnecting from the connection.

In the room of the special interrogation chamber, a doctor in a white coat stood beside the operating table, puzzled by the error message on the control panel, scratching his head in frustration.

"Strange."

The officer standing beside him, seeing a result, quickly inquired.

"What's strange?"

The doctor fiddled with the control interface for a while, then withdrew his index finger from the touchscreen, looking at the officer with a bewildered expression.

"The memory extraction Device did start, but the experimental subject had no response to the external stimuli input by the experimental equipment... be it visual signals or auditory signals. This feels as if..."

He hesitated for a while, then spoke in an uncertain tone.

"It's as if this guy's mind is empty."

"Empty?!"

The officer beside the operating table was taken aback.

How could someone's mind be empty?

He had never encountered such a strange situation before!

Usually, the survivors they captured from outside, whether a Manager of another Shelter or a Waste Land Wanderer who dominated a certain region, their brains could be drained clean in no time, and they had never encountered a situation where they couldn't read memories.

Seeing the perplexed doctor, the officer couldn't help but suggest.

"Shall we try again?"

The doctor shook his head.

"Let's wait a couple of days before trying again. This guy's mind has suffered severe trauma, and I fear he won't wake up anytime soon. Continuing the experiment risks turning him insane. Though you may not care, it's a significant loss for us."

Honestly, he also found it strange.

Logically, even if a dog were tied to the operating table, something should be readable, at most it would be something abstract.

As an expert in neuroscience, he suddenly felt a bit intrigued by this stubborn guy.

Could the Alliance have mastered a way to counteract the memory extraction Device?

This might become an interesting experimental material.

The officer standing aside hesitated for a moment, finally nodding reluctantly at this suggestion.

"Alright then..."

Even if it wasn't, he couldn't think of a better solution.

At this moment, the two had no idea that the guy lying on the operating table beside them had actually awoken, just hadn't opened his eyes.

When they first put on the Memory Extractor, the Medical Miracle had been hoping to see some interesting visuals, but his vision went black, disconnecting.

Seeing a critical scene about to be missed, the Medical Miracle, who had finally made it into the main plot, couldn't bear it, quickly reconnecting with the headset.

Hard work pays off.

After almost half an hour of persistent attempts, a faint light finally penetrated his eyelids, imprinting on his Game character's retina.

Then he heard the Quack say that he was crazy and needed further observation.

The Medical Miracle sneered inwardly.

He wasn't crazy, he was just fine.

But thinking that this might be a chance to infiltrate the Enlightenment Society, he eventually restrained the impulse to scare the two by opening his eyes, silently disconnecting and returning offline.

His intuition told him the chance to become the next Pangolin was right in front of him!

Soon after, a ridiculous post appeared on the official Forum—

"Brothers, how to act like a madman? (Awkward)"

"Online waiting, quite urgent."

-

(Hand slipped, the plot happening on the space side wasn't finished, will post it tomorrow.)

Chapter 987: Sacrifice

The players of Wasteland OL are known for their enthusiasm, especially the Backseat Drivers who can't wait to grab a helmet and jump in to help personally.

Not long after Medical Miracle made a post, lines of comments quickly started refreshing under the thread.

"Playing crazy isn't hard, just be yourself."

"Emmm... maybe start with a bowl of hot delight?"

"Ugh—"

"That's too much! And secretly eating shit will probably get you banned!"

"I think it's only in public that it happens..."

"Damn, what's so hard about acting crazy? Just get up and do a jig of Subject Three, then throw in some shouting! Even Ah Guang spying on you will be dumbfounded!"

"Pfft— can't stand it, my toes have already dug out a four-room apartment for Ah Guang."

Looking at those unfamiliar IDs and pre-order player tags, Medical Miracle was a bit overwhelmed. He refreshed for a long time without getting a single serious suggestion, almost spitting out the takeout in his mouth.

"Damn! Can you guys give some proper suggestions!"

Fang Chang: "Isn't it possible that what you're getting is the serious advice. (side-eye)"

Medical Miracle: "?"

Gnome King Riches: "Wow?! Brother Fang Chang?!"

Mole on the Run in the Canyon: "Wait a minute, weren't you up in the sky? (confused)"

Debt Giant Eye: "How's the mission going? Is it all sorted out? (evil smile)"

Elena: "That's too quick, I guess he just came down to discuss with teammates off the field."

An hour ago, Brother Fang Chang had been showing off on the forum, claiming he was about to save the world, and then suddenly he's here on the forum again.

Everyone was surprised that this guy still had the leisure to chat on the forum during a mission.

Perhaps realizing it wasn't the time for slacking off, Fang Chang just dropped a quick message and vanished from the post, not appearing again no matter how many times people tagged him.

The thread quickly went off-topic.

The original topic was supposed to be about acting crazy and playing dumb, but as they chatted, it shifted to the ongoing "mystery task" of the Burning Corps and synchronous orbit.

Medical Miracle tried several times to bring the conversation back, and it seemed like he was about to succeed, but then an ID would pop up and divert the topic he had finally straightened.

Quit smoking: "Uh, messed up. (guilty)"

The air was silent for several seconds.

The once lively thread seemed to have been hit by a silence spell, with no new replies for seconds.

Just when all the onlookers thought the server was stuck, replies suddenly erupted like an avalanche.

Si Si: "...?"

Tail: "???"

Canyon Escapee Mole: "Messed up? What the hell? (confused)"

Spring Water Commander: "Can you guys from the Burning Corps finish what you're saying at once, don't keep dropping one-liners, it's stressing my heart. (sweat)"

Old White: "Haha, sorry everyone, even humans might stumble sometimes, and horses too, let alone something we've never encountered... Anyway, we got played."

Edge Shoveling: "Whoa..."

Spring Water Commander: "Getting played isn't a joke you can make lightly..."

Old White: "So this isn't a joke."

Debt Giant Eye: "Really?! (horror)"

The Young Worker with Bricks: "So, does that mean... it's the end of the world?! (horror)"

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "Whoa, is the silver coin price crashing?! (horror)"

Teng Teng: "Are you trading silver coins like stocks... (surprised)"

Crow: "No, I don't want to restart! QAQ"

Old White: "Cough, don't talk nonsense, just because we messed up doesn't mean the Alliance lost. The main event is the nearly deployed near-orbit defense platform."

Wild Wind: "Mm, at least we've figured out the reality of that Orion Missile Cruiser."

Fang Chang: "The fear is that the Manager and us are treating each other as the last trump card... (side-eye)"

Old White: "Don't say such pessimistic words. It's just a minor setback, not as bad as the times we stumbled in Poluo Province. (grin)"

Fang Chang: "Anyway, we've truly given it our all... From here, either we try to get another research ship from the Academy, or we just wait."

Medical Miracle: "Looks like I have to save the Alliance! By the way, after successfully fooling the interrogator by acting crazy, how do you mix into the upper ranks of the Enlightenment Society? Should we brainstorm collectively? (grin)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Speaking of which, where's Night Ten? He's usually the first to jump out, why isn't he around this time."

Killer Dagger: "Uh... his young girlfriend's gone, probably emo-ing."

Edge Shoveling: "What?! Jiang Xuezhou... died?"

Tail: "Giao... (surprised)"

Fang Chang: "In that situation... it's hard to say if anyone could survive."

Old White: "Especially in space."

The people in the post had mixed feelings, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Especially Fang Chang.

He couldn't help but think of Dolly, and his heart ached, with the pain being almost suffocating.

No matter how many times a player dies, they can be resurrected, but the death of an NPC means permanent data deletion.

He couldn't imagine a world without her.

Precisely because of this, he fully understood Night Ten's feelings and emotions at this moment.

That feeling must be awful...

Just as Fang Chang was thinking this, a familiar id jumped onto the screen.

Jiujiu Loves Eating Pineapple: "Wait... that's not right, my bro is still online, did you guys make a mistake? (confused)"

Fang Chang: "?"

Quit smoking: "How could that be?!"

Jiujiu Loves Eating Pineapple: "Should I wake him up? (worried)"

Fang Chang: "...No, just leave him alone, let him wake up on his own!"

Wild Wind: "A little strange, let's keep an eye on it."

Jiujiu Loves Eating Pineapple: "Oh! Got it! (salute)"

Medical Miracle: "Damn! Can you guys look at me! (frantic)"

Angry Fatty Liver: "Restoration."

"..."

Messages in the post kept refreshing.

Sitting in front of the computer, Fang Chang waited for a long time without seeing Night Ten's ID appear, his tense expression finally relaxed into a smile, and the stone in his heart gently settled.

"...Seems like I was overthinking."

Maybe they weren't even dead yet.

Looking at the helmet beside the Computer, Fang Chang had a thought, reaching out to take it in his hand.

What if it was all a misunderstanding?

Maybe...

No one was dead.

Driven by an inexplicable impulse, he put the helmet back on, then leaned back in the Computer chair.

The deep darkness quickly shrouded his sight and thoughts.

Just as his heart pounded furiously, a light blue popup window appeared before his eyes, pulling his once excited mood back to the depths.

[Revival remaining time: 70 hours 30 minutes 15 seconds]

The ticking numbers were like cold water splashing down on him. Fang Chang let out a bitter smile and removed the helmet.

"Indeed..."

He shook his head and placed the helmet at the corner of the desk.

"The entire Research Ship exploded, how could anyone have survived..."

...

Time rewinds to an hour and a half ago—

In the deep and dark outer space, a majestic starship silently floated among the sea-like expanse of metallic debris, in a forsaken graveyard.

Amidst the vast, boundless graveyard, there were not only broken steel structures and severed cables but also spacesuit-clad bodies drifting about.

Judging from the oxidized remains inside the spacesuits, most of these people were likely starved or frozen to death, only a few suffocated due to lack of oxygen.

There were also some tattered Air and Space Army uniforms, their owners no longer visible.

Their bodies were either exploded or cut to pieces by orbital debris.

Without the protection of a spacesuit, leaving a complete corpse in space is almost impossible.

If the No.13 Shelter was the paradise on the ground, then the Orion Missile Cruiser was undoubtedly the Hell in the sky.

Even though that War was two centuries past, the fierce battle of that time was still vividly visible in the war-torn ruins...

At this moment, on a certain deck of the abandoned starship, a man with a jet backpack was emotionlessly staring at a Sleep Cabin.

The cabin door was open, with a cold skeleton lying inside.

The skeleton was clad in a uniform from the Human Alliance Era, its gold-edged insignia still vivid under the flashlight, untouched by two centuries of dust.

Luo Yi stared at the skeleton for a long time, confirming the face that was almost unrecognizable.

A moment later, he seemed to finally affirm that this was the person he was looking for and reached out to search the skeleton's body, eventually retrieving a shiny silver metallic disc from under its clenched fingers.

That was the soldier's dog tag.

Also the only relic left.

With the flashlight's light, Luo Yi confirmed the name and rank engraved on the tag.

[Luo Yi, Sergeant.]

That was his name!

A hint of nostalgia flickered in Luo Yi's eyes, his thoughts wandering back to over two centuries ago.

But at this moment, a voice from the communication channel interrupted his thoughts.

"An unidentified flying object is approaching, only 1200 kilometers away in a direct line."

That was the voice of the starship control system.

If on the ground, that distance wouldn't be a concern, but in astronomical terms, 1200 kilometers might as well be face-to-face.

With his index finger lightly tapping by his ear, Luo Yi looked up at the ceiling, asking expressionlessly.

"Can you confirm their identity."

The gentle electronic voice continued.

"Their ship is of the same model as the one you have parked outside."

Hearing this, Luo Yi had already guessed the identity of those unexpected guests, a slight, cold smile lifted his lips.

If they had arrived here a few days earlier, before he had restarted the backup reactor and gained control of the starship, he might have been more apprehensive.

But now it was too late.

Though this starship had languished for two centuries, it didn't mean it was just scrap metal.

After a pause, he spoke in a low voice.

"Search for usable close-defense weapons."

After a brief pause, the gentle electronic voice sounded again in his ear.

"There is an electromagnetic acceleration dot defense machine cannon... according to the ballistic computer, it can cover their navigation area."

Luo Yi immediately ordered.

"Take them down."

The gentle electronic voice responded.

"Understood... Fire control unit is being powered up, expected to be completed in 30 seconds."

Taking one last look at the dog tag in his hand, Luo Yi pocketed it, then pressed the jet backpack switch, heading back towards the starship's bridge.

At the same time, outside the starship, a silver-gray Research Ship was slowly approaching.

Finally, passing through the asteroid belt made up of space junk before the shield capacitor's energy exhausted, Jiang Xuezhou breathed a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxed against the chair back.

"Done..."

Seeing they had reached the destination, Night Ten reached to unfasten the seatbelt but was stopped by Jiang Xuezhou beside him.

"Wait a moment..."

Night Ten paused his hand on the seatbelt, casting a puzzled gaze at Jiang Xuezhou.

"What's wrong?"

Gently biting his lower lip, Jiang Xuezhou lowered his head and softly said.

"Can you... stay with me here? I'm scared alone."

Night Ten froze, perplexedly saying.

"What's there to be scared of, haven't we passed the most dangerous area?"

Jiang Xuezhou's face was full of hesitation, uncertain if it was that he couldn't express the reason or didn't want to.

Seeing they were about to reach the stop, Night Ten didn't want to wait and made a move to get up.

Seeing he was about to leave, Jiang Xuezhou, in desperation, spoke, disregarding any embarrassment.

"It's... it's deep-sea phobia! Haven't you heard of that sickness before? Some people are just inherently afraid of those really dark places... What can I do?"

Ah?!

Night Ten stared dumbfounded at him, finally squeezing out a sentence.

"Can't you get over it?"

"..." Jiang Xuezhou didn't speak, just glared at him with reddened eyes.

Night Ten eventually softened, sighed, and tapped the helmet twice with his index finger.

"Old White, I've got a situation here..."

Before he could organize his words, Old White's cheerful laughter came through the communication channel.

"Haha, I got it. You can just stay in the cockpit."

Night Ten: "What the hell?! Did you put surveillance on me?"

Old White laughed and said.

"No, not really, but I can kind of guess. To be honest, Fang Chang planned it this way from the beginning. There wasn't really a need for everyone to go down, leaving someone on the research ship makes it more manageable. Just remember to keep an eye on offline messages and don't focus all your attention on your friend."

Night Ten was speechless for a while and finally hung up the call in silence.

Knowing he was discussing with his teammates, Jiang Xuezhou, sitting at the pilot's seat, stared at him intently. After he finished the call, she immediately asked.

"What did your teammate say?"

"They didn't say much, just told me to do as I see fit,"

Facing those eyes filled with expectation, Night Ten suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and averted his gaze.

This game's NPCs are too lifelike.

Could they be played by real people?

That would be awkward.

"Sorry, I'm a bit thick-skinned. I can't experience things like a fear of heights, car sickness, or 3D dizziness. That deep-sea phobia should be similar, right... Anyway, it's tough for you to hold on till now."

Unexpectedly, this guy could also say caring words, making Jiang Xuezhou feel her cheeks slightly warm.

Feeling embarrassed took over, and she quickly turned her gaze away, turning her face to the side.

"Well, it's not as exaggerated as you say... Actually, with a bit of effort, I can overcome it."

Looking at this stubborn person, Night Ten finally couldn't resist the impulse and teasingly joked.

"Then should I go?"

"!!!"

Seeing the panicked Jiang Xuezhou turn around, Night Ten couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Haha, I'm just kidding——"

Before he finished his sentence, a sudden warning crept into his heart, causing his heart to twitch involuntarily.

It was an unprecedented feeling.

Even after countless brushes with death and even experiencing it, he never felt like this.

It felt like...

He was about to lose something more precious than his life every three days.

Driven by this strong premonition, he blurted out.

"Something's targeting us..."

As soon as she heard this, Jiang Xuezhou, who was about to punch him on the head, immediately dropped her ashamed and angry look.

Without a moment of hesitation or suspicion, she almost instinctively dove onto the control interface, fingers leaving afterimages on the holographic panel, maneuvering the research ship into a lateral move, changing its original trajectory.

Even without the warning from the radar!

At almost the same moment, an instantly magnified electromagnetic signal and the alarm of the radar detecting a fast-moving object appeared on the research ship's control interface!

Watching the radar screen where a series of mass points brushed past the research ship, cold sweat broke out on Jiang Xuezhou's forehead in an instant.

So close!

Just a little more!

The research ship of the academy, after all, was not military equipment, but scientific research equipment.

Although the deflection shield on the research ship could resist the attacks of mass accelerators, they were, after all, facing a dense array from a United Human Space Army cruiser!

Not to mention, they had just left the space junk coverage area, and the shield cap's energy had only recovered to 30%...

Even if only one or two of the point-defense guns were targeting them, it would be enough to give them a hard time!

"What happened?" Night Ten almost felt his seatbelt choke out yesterday's dinner, coughing several times before he could catch his breath.

Luckily, he had been slow in unbuckling his seatbelt just now. Otherwise, he might have already been sent flying by that move.

Jiang Xuezhou, on the other hand, remained relatively calm, taking a few deep breaths to steady her nerves.

"It's the point defense system!"

Night Ten was bewildered for a moment.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"It's that thing on the Southern Sea Alliance destroyer... Anyway, it's something similar!" Jiang Xuezhou explained while her hands kept maneuvering on the holographic screen of the control interface, trying to evade the point-defense gun's tracking.

Night Ten looked at her profile in confusion, unable to hold back a curse.

"What the hell?! This busted ship has been parked for over two hundred years and can still fire?!"

Jiang Xuezhou said hurriedly.

"This isn't Earth, things don't break down that easily in space! Especially a leaking ship... Tell your teammates to hold on! We probably can't slow down!"

"They're staying steady... already cursing." Night Ten, with his index finger on his helmet, grinned as he kept his eyes on the front, trying to make his perception more useful.

However, he quickly found out that, apart from the initial instance, his intuition was of little use in this close-range clash.

Under Jiang Xuezhou's control, the research ship was making serpentine maneuvers, while the whistling mass rounds and looming threat of doom never ceased!

Undoubtedly——

His intuition was advising him that they could successfully evade the point defense system's tracking countless times, but failing just once would mean their demise!

A distance of less than 300 kilometers was almost like being face-to-face!

Both sides were predicting each other's moves and quietly calculating the next attack and evasion!

Being on the receiving end, Jiang Xuezhou obviously had no advantage here.

The best strategy at this point was not to get closer but to retreat immediately——

But they had no other choice.

A hundred thousand neutron torpedoes were already in the hands of the celestial beings!

They had absolutely no way to retreat!

"Ah ah ah..."

Light blue data streams reflected in Jiang Xuezhou's pupils, and low growls of efforts escaped from the slightly open mouth.

To control the research ship's navigation more precisely, she connected her consciousness into the ship's deep-operating system, leveraging the computing power of the spaceship and all sensors, including the panoramic cameras, for more direct control!

She had completely let go of her reservations!

Thinking of her "deep-sea phobia," Night Ten couldn't help but feel a bit of pain, but he didn't know how to help.

At this moment, Fang Chang's calm voice came through his ear.

"Night Ten! Tell Jiang Xuezhou not to slow down, just drop us near the breach of the starship!"

Night Ten was startled for a moment and blurted out.

"Damn, are you guys crazy?!"

This isn't a plane!

The speed and inertia here are no joke; not to mention turning someone into paste, one misstep and they'd be torn apart in mid-air before their feet even touch the ground.

Fang Chang continued speaking in a calm voice.

"This is the choice with the highest probability of success. The reverse thrust of the nitrogen tanks should slow us enough before reaching the target, and we can draw some of the fire from the dot defense system... Instead of everyone dying on one ship, my way at least ensures a few make it inside alive! Stop hesitating, hurry up!"

Hearing the urgency in the voice, Night Ten didn't dare to hesitate and quickly shouted to the side.

"Xuezhou! My teammate says when you get near the breach of the starship, don't slow down, just open the hatch!"

Jiang Xuezhou immediately replied without a second thought.

"Is your teammate's brain rattled, or are they just wired wrong?! Do you think this is a plane?!"

"But there's no other way, is there! In this situation, slowing down is impossible... trust me, just fly over the breach, and head towards the front of the ship; it's the best way."

Looking at the still hesitant Jiang Xuezhou, Night Ten took a deep breath and said seriously.

"I believe in you... use your expertise to calculate and try to get them inside, please!"

Jiang Xuezhou gritted his teeth, tightly closed his eyes.

"I'll try..."

Indeed.

In the current situation, slowing down is simply not feasible; it's a risky gamble!

As long as the deceleration distance is enough, they might complete "autonomous docking" with the thrust of the nitrogen tanks.

As Jiang Xuezhou altered his strategy and accelerated towards the starship's side breach, Luo Yi, who had just sat down in the bridge, watched that elegant "dance" through the dusty floor-to-ceiling window.

Back then the silver-gray research ship had indeed been toyed with by these wasteland bugs, but so what?

Seeing the struggling little bugs suddenly start accelerating, Luo Yi's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Tricks of the small fry."

As a former United Space Army soldier, he could easily grasp their intentions at a glance.

Want to board?

He won't let them succeed.

Closing his eyes, Luo Yi sat alone in the captain's seat and slowly spoke.

"Starship Main Control System."

A gentle electronic voice echoed in his ear.

"I'm here."

Watching the research vessel getting closer to the Orion Missile Cruiser, he ordered expressionlessly.

"Fire a neutron torpedo."

"Apologies, at this distance it might not be suitable; given the neutron beam's damage radius, you'd be affected too."

The gentle voice carried a hint of hesitation.

As the onboard AI of the Orion Starship, it had to prioritize passenger safety.

Luo Yi, however, looked indifferent.

"Doesn't matter, do as I say."

The captain's orders are absolute.

Even if they conflict with safety protocols.

The onboard AI hesitated only briefly before complying with Luo Yi's repeated command, activating the torpedo that had been dormant for nearly two centuries on the launch rack.

Though the torpedo was aged and its sensors were defunct, exploding wasn't an issue.

At such close range, aiming wasn't necessary.

They are doomed!

Meanwhile, after evading left and right, the research ship finally reached the side of the Orion Starship!

Without a moment's hesitation, Jiang Xuezhou immediately opened the hatch and disengaged the seat locks.

Due to inertia and pressure differences, power armors sitting in chairs spun like tops and traced parabolas towards the nearby starship.

"Hold steady! Brothers!"

"Clench those nitrogen tanks! Spray towards the starship!"

"Holy crap—where's the starship?!"

"Ugh! I'm gonna puke—"

To be fair, Jiang Xuezhou's trajectory calculations were accurate, and most people should land in that just-right-sized hole.

However, the launch process was too rough; even Awakeners couldn't quite handle it.

Players from the agile system fared slightly better; Fang Chang utilized his agile talent "Bullet Time" to maneuver the nitrogen tank and managed to stop the spinning seat.

But at that moment, a flicker of white light suddenly lit up the dark space, seizing his vision in an instant.

That was...

A neutron torpedo?!

The searing sting spread across his skin, Fang Chang tried calling his teammates, but the communication devices had already failed.

Objectively speaking, the device's power exceeded conventional nuclear weaponry somewhat, given that power armors were designed to withstand nuclear-biological-chemical environments.

Though "Xiaguang" power armors were homegrown by the Alliance, their overall performance wasn't far behind pre-War models.

Especially in biochemical protection...

An invisible health bar diminished at a visible speed, and with his last bit of sight, Fang Chang watched the silver-gray research ship careen uncontrollably towards the Orion Starship wreckage.

Like a decapitated fly, it crashed uncontrollably near the lower deck.

Explosive sparks erupted.

He saw the fleeting flames rolling, and those scattered flying alloy fragments.

His heart involuntarily trembled.

Having never taken death seriously, he had never feared its approach so much.

"No..."

The game was not paused.

The next second—

The cold numbers already flashed before his eyes.

[Time remaining for revival: 72 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds]

Chapter 988: Intertwined

[Shield capacitor energy remaining 0%...]

"Boom——!"

With an earth-shattering roar, Night Ten felt his consciousness like it was blown away by a truck, vaguely as if watching slides through frosted glass.

The research ship seemed to hit something, and then he saw boiling flames and an anxious face.

Then——

The cockpit suddenly went dark.

The darkness was so profound that you couldn't see your fingers, as if a black hole had swallowed all the light.

Along with it, his consciousness also fell into an abyss with no bottom.

It was unclear what happened first, or perhaps both occurred simultaneously.

Not disconnected but rather unconscious within the game, Night Ten, after playing for so long, probably encountered such a strange situation for the first time.

And the feeling of unconsciousness was also odd, his consciousness wasn't cut off, just unable to connect to the five senses.

Could it be that the unconsciousness function wasn't completed?

Night Ten tried to analyze it in his mind, but with what he knew of Ah Guang, this was highly unlikely.

The only possibility then—

He had triggered a narrative event!

Thinking about it, facing the "black hole" sparked not fear but rather a faint sense of anticipation in Night Ten's heart.

However, before long, that hint of anticipation turned into anxiety amidst the long wait.

Even panic.

He thought about the fact that he wasn't the only one on that research ship.

There was also that guy...

A surge of agitation rose in his heart, prompting Night Ten to curse.

"Damn it... what exactly happened?"

Of course, he couldn't produce sound.

Pure consciousness echoed in the void emptier than a vacuum, allowing him only to hear the soundless silence.

After what seemed like ages, finally a weak sound entered his "ears."

"Thump thump..."

It seemed to be his heartbeat.

That faint sound was like rain after a long drought, filling Night Ten's restless heart with a surge of ecstasy.

He exerted all his strength to reach out with his nonexistent hand, grabbing the straw floating on the water's surface, using all his might to chase that elusive sound.

Wake up—

He shouted silently within himself.

Even if he wasn't sure whether doing so had any meaning.

Maybe he was just exerting effort against a wall—

Maybe he was actually dead.

The relentless effort seemed to finally pay off, as the darkness that blocked visibility became less oppressive, replaced by a blurry gray haze.

The lost five senses seemed to be returning, and more sounds were penetrating the invisible fog.

First came hearing.

Then came touch.

Unexpectedly, a bone-chilling cold enveloped him the moment he regained touch, causing him to shiver.

So cold...

This felt like falling into an ice cave.

At this moment, Night Ten's mind held only this thought, but just as he was about to blurt out "I'm freezing here," he heard fragmented sounds passing through the gray haze.

The sound came from somewhere very close.

To hear better, he involuntarily held his breath but could only pick up snippets of words.

"Night Ten..."

"It's really cold here."

"Achoo—"

"I..."

I... what?

Before Night Ten could thoroughly hear what the voice was saying, blinding white light flashed onto his retina.

The bright glare almost blinded him, causing him to instinctively raise his arm to shield himself.

As his arm lifted, fine ice chips scattered, splashing onto his face, eliciting a low groan.

"Ah..."

The cold touch made him shiver once more, and simultaneously, the chaotic noise became intensely clear and flooded his ears.

"He's awake."

"What clothing is this guy wearing..."

"Never seen it."

"How can someone lie in the Sleep Cabin like this... Just ridiculous."

All around were whispering voices.

They spoke in United Human language, though slightly more standard than the Waste Land Wanderer's pronunciation.

Night Ten slowly moved his arm from his face and took a look around.

He found himself lying in a Sleep Cabin with its lid open, surrounded by a spacious hall.

Soft incandescent light sprinkled on silver-gray alloy floor tiles, with the surrounding walls and ceiling seemingly made of alloy too, yet it didn't feel cold or lacking in style.

With no windows providing a direct view outside, Night Ten couldn't confirm where he was.

But actually, there's no need to confirm...

Without a doubt, this is the Orion Missile Cruiser.

However, what confuses him is the group of people standing in front of him.

The crowd at the door blocked the room completely, and there were roughly fifty or sixty people.

Those eyes were fixed intently on him, some showing worry, some curiosity, and others with sympathy or some inexplicable emotions.

At this moment, a man wearing military exoskeleton armor walked through the crowd to stand in front of him, his sharp eyes staring directly into his.

"Who are you?"

Night Ten did not answer; he just silently looked down at his chest.

He was only wearing a blue jacket, the "Xiaguang" power armor was gone.

Then he looked up again at the people in front of him, seeing them wearing silver-gray clothing similar to the Academy's, yet not quite the same, with the United Space Army's armbands on their arms.

For a moment, Night Eleven felt his mind was not enough to process this and stood there dumbfounded.

But soon, the man standing in front of him woke him up, repeating with a stern tone.

"Tell me your name, identity, and purpose."

It seemed like his tone was too harsh, the other crew members beside him criticized that guy in return.

"Hey, don't scare the kid."

"It looks like he doesn't even know why he's here."

At this point, a pretty lady crouched in front of him, looking at him with concern and asked.

"Are you okay?"

Dark hair swayed not far in front of him, beneath the thin bangs was a face with gentle lines yet still vibrant and heroic.

Night Ten was a bit bewildered.

Although he was indeed quite young, he didn't deserve to be called a kid.

His Adam's apple moved as he said,

"I'm... not sure."

This was the truth.

He really couldn't figure out what was going on.

The somewhat older woman was not discouraged, her bright eyes watching his, she patiently said.

"I'm Lin Youyou, an on-duty doctor in the medical and life support department of this starship. We mean no harm. Can you tell me your name?"

"Night Ten..."

Upon hearing this name, a man standing with his arms crossed on the side whistled and teased.

"Sounds like a code name."

Another crew member also laughed and said.

"Hey, I don't think this kid is a civilian. Could he be a spy from the Mycelium Protection Organization?"

"Though it sounds a bit implausible, we can't rule out this possibility."

The man in the exoskeleton armor apparently thought the same, staring intently at Night Ten, his hand not on a gun but close to the weapons.

"Shut up."

Lin Youyou turned back to glare at the two, warning them to shut up before looking back at Night Ten.

"Tell sister, is that your name?"

Night Ten blushed, but stubbornly emphasized again.

"That is my name... Of course, the name my parents gave me is Ye Wei."

There was no need to give out his full nickname, as nobody called him by such a long name in general, which would only cause unnecessary misunderstandings and communication costs.

He had already been considerate enough.

Even revealed his real name in reality.

What surprised Night Ten was that when he revealed he had two names, the people around him actually relaxed a bit.

Only then did he suddenly recall, in the background introduction of "Wasteland OL," it was mentioned in an inconspicuous chapter—

In the Human Alliance Era, it was popular to give oneself a new name after reaching adulthood.

This was somewhat like how people in certain niche cultural circles in real life use usernames for communication and barely use their real names except for mailing packages, leading to a sense of unfamiliarity with their own names.

Seemingly believing what he said, Lin Youyou continued, watching his eyes.

"Are you hurt?"

"Maybe... I'm not sure," Night Ten muttered ambiguously, sitting up straight from the sleep cabin, "my head is a mess... not in great shape... It's so cold here, can I get out first? I don't want to lie down while talking."

"We were just planning to do that, but I need to confirm first that you aren't hurt... Here, let me help you."

Watching Night Ten straightening up, Lin Youyou stood up from the ground and helped him out of the sleep cabin.

"Thank you."

Crawling out from the tiny shards of ice, Night Ten stood on the ground and politely thanked, then directed his gaze to his feet, looking around with increasing bewilderment.

"We... are on Earth?"

Hearing this question, the surrounding crew members exchanged glances, with even Lin Youyou's expression turning a bit odd.

Nonetheless, her gentle voice did not change, she continued to gaze sincerely at Night Ten, asking softly.

"Why do you think we are on Earth?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Night Ten replied without thinking, stomping on the ice chips on his shoes, "there's gravity here... and it's no different from being on the ground, isn't it?"

Lin Youyou was stunned.

The people next to her were also stunned.

As if having heard something amusing, a chuckle was heard from within the crowd.

"I bet this kid's on his first long trip, never heard of artificial gravity before."

Seeing Night Ten look at him, the man with short blonde hair and a long face smiled and greeted him.

"Koala, the engineering department's supervisor... ahem, I mean the Engineering and Maintenance Department."

The hearty smile revealed no malice.

This bunch seems to like joking even more than players; Night Ten suddenly feels like he's the one being overly reserved.

"Koala... Is that the animal?"

The man laughs and says.

"Haha, that's right! That guy is my mascot, it saved my life when I was little."

Night Ten suddenly becomes curious about how this guy was saved by a koala when he was a kid.

But before he could open his mouth to ask, the man wearing the exoskeleton coughs to interrupt their banter.

"This is a military zone, after all. An unknown person with no identity showing up here, it's better we take this seriously."

When speaking, the man stares sternly at Night Ten and continues.

"How did you get in here?"

"How should I know?" Night Ten pats his head and can't help but grumble, "Damn... is there a bug or something."

Did he wander into the map Ah Guang hasn't finished yet?

Or—

Is it just that it bugged on his end?

He forcefully pats his own head again, trying to wake himself from this bizarre dream.

The doctor called Lin Youyou looks at him worriedly, wanting to stop his actions but is pushed away by the latter.

The man wearing the exoskeleton frowns deeply, glaring at this guy pretending to be crazy.

"You don't know? You don't know how you got here?"

Night Ten complains.

"Right! I know nothing; I was on a research ship... the kind that barely fits thirty people, and then when I blinked, I found myself in a sleep cabin, surrounded by you guys staring at me like I'm a koala at the zoo!"

The guy called Koala awkwardly rubs his nose, muttering under his breath "Did I?" Then scratching his head with another "I'm sorry."

The others exchange glances with varied expressions, whispering softly about something.

Only the man in the exoskeleton still locks his sharp gaze on him.

The gaze cuts like a sharp knife, revealing its edge from a restrained scabbard.

"You better tell the truth."

Night Ten isn't easily scared; how could he heed this guy, retorting rudely back.

"I'm telling the truth! The ones not telling the truth are you guys! What's the seven division, four division... I've no clue! Be straightforward, are you celestial beings or people from the Enlightenment Society!"

The guy is still on that research ship.

He was certain; he just heard her voice!

He needs to go back and save her!

The man wearing the exoskeleton is a bit taken aback, retracting some of the sharpness in his gaze.

"Celestial beings? Enlightenment Society? What's that..."

He has never heard these terms.

United Human's mortal enemy is Gaia alone.

And those radical organizations who betrayed humanity, trying to surrender a prosperous world to Gaia.

Night Ten's chest heaves violently, breathing heavily as he glares at the guy in the exoskeleton.

Suddenly, he thinks the person looks familiar, but he can't immediately recall where he has seen him before.

Lin Youyou gazes blankly at the youth who suddenly became agitated, then turns her strict gaze to the man wearing the exoskeleton.

"Enough, he's my patient; I know you have your difficulties, but at least let me treat his illness first—"

"Damn it, I'm not a patient! I'm not sick!"

"...And I'm not crazy either!"

Interrupting her halfway, Night Ten stares intensely at the man in the exoskeleton, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"I'm Night Ten! Alliance's Night Ten! Burning Corps' Night Ten! Stop giving me riddles, I've revealed my identity, now, immediately, tell me! Who exactly are you!"

The air around them fell silent.

Utterly silent.

But this silence did not last long; the murmurs soon spread again.

"...Alliance?"

"Burning Corps?"

"What's that?"

"Does United Human even have such a department?"

"What a joke, how can that be possible."

"Maybe the guy lost his mind playing a game too long."

"Wait, his clothes... they do look like those from the shelter promotional brochures."

"Really?"

"Even if that's true, it's not strange, just a blue variable temperature jacket; I could probably find two in my wardrobe."

Those murmurs leave Night Ten standing stiff, brain struck as though by lightning.

Alliance...

Never heard of it?

A terrifying thought suddenly emerges in his mind.

Could he have... time traveled?!

No—

That sounds too far-fetched.

He'd rather believe he is trapped inside some Matrix-like virtual space, and the purpose is to extract his memories.

If this hypothesis is correct, at least it means Jiang Xuezhou is still alive.

In the crowd, a tall and slender man with non-prescription glasses on his nose is rubbing his chin with an index finger, staring at the youth standing in the center with an expression as if he'd seen a ghost.

His name is Wu Xinghuan, head of the Space Science Squad in the Fifth Department of Orion Missile Cruiser—Science and Technology, also a physics Ph.D.

To cope with the unpredictable and changeable cosmic environment, every United Human starship is equipped with at least one theoretical physicist, responsible for scientifically assessing the risks of certain potentially dangerous strategic deployments and navigational maneuvers.

Simply put, it's similar to the ship pastors of the early Age of Exploration.

After all, if something truly beyond human cognition occurs, there's little a mere theoretical physicist can do, except perhaps comfort everyone.

From the moment this began, he hadn't uttered a word, and at this moment, he began muttering to himself.

"This guy... could he be..."

No—

This is just too unbelievable.

At this moment, the shock to his brain was no less than that experienced by the confused young man in front of him, to the extent that his knowledge, scholarship, and even faith were shaken...

A "time traveler" stood before him, boldly telling him about events that would happen in the future.

It's absurd!

The education and research he had been involved in repeatedly warned him of an iron law, a law which had never been falsified—

The passage of time might be uneven in different spaces, but it is certainly irreversible!

There's no reason for this.

Since time is not an objective entity in the universe, but merely a human-defined scalar to record the order of material movement and change.

If time were reversible, if "events that happen later" occurred before "events that happen earlier," then the very concept of earlier and later would lose its meaning.

In other words, if time were reversible, then time itself would cease to exist...

With a trembling index finger, Wu Xinghuan removed the plain glasses from his nose, pulled out a cloth, and rubbed them hard before putting them back on, hoping to see more clearly.

He was desperate to return to Earth immediately to announce this astonishing discovery to everyone!

At this moment, only Dr. Wu was contemplating the possibility of "time travel."

The vast majority of those present, including that "time traveler" himself, probably didn't realize what was happening.

Looking at the guy pretending to be mad, the man wearing an exoskeleton decided to end this charade and, staring intently into his eyes, spoke.

"This is the Orion Missile Cruiser, my name is Luo Yi, and I'm a sergeant in the Space Combat Squad under the Weapons and Defense Department, rank Sergeant."

"You said I didn't tell you anything; now I'm telling you who we are and where we are. I advise you to honestly disclose your own issues, tell me how you appeared here, and perhaps you might still receive leniency if you confess now."

Luo Yi...

Hearing this name, Night Ten felt as if struck by lightning, the murderous intent surging through his body instantly released.

He just knew he had seen this guy before.

It turned out to be in that memory fragment of the disciple named Flynn from the Enlightenment Society.

The disciple who had hijacked the research ship.

And was also the guy who fired neutron torpedoes on them!

Evidently sensing that murderous intent, Luo Yi looked astonished, and his right hand had already fallen on the stun gun.

Yet, before his hand could touch the stun gun, a whistling fist was already flying towards him.

"Damn it!!!"

The speed was too fast to react, but after all, Luo Yi was an active soldier and a warrior modified through genetic and cybernetic enhancements, wearing military exoskeleton armor, so there was no way he could be knocked down by a single punch.

The fist landed on his exoskeleton, and the incredible impact made him instinctively step back half a step.

A gleam of brilliance flashed in Luo Yi's eyes.

"You're indeed not a civilian—"

"I'm your father!"

Night Ten roared, the flashing arc pierced the air, lashing out like a whip.

Screams echoed around, and everyone hurriedly stepped back.

"No! You two calm down!" Lin Youyou exclaimed, wanting to step forward to separate the two, but was pulled back by a colleague beside her.

Night Ten completely ignored the shouts around him.

He had already evaded bystanders; he only wanted to finish off this guy in front of him!

However, what he didn't expect was that the opponent seemed to have pre-empted his attack and easily raised a hand to block the flashing arc.

The exoskeleton seemed to have an electrostatic absorption function, and Night Ten felt a slight chill in his heart.

Blocking that fierce and fatal blow, Luo Yi, with his arm raised in front of him, unhesitatingly moved forward a knee strike, attacking his chest at lightning speed.

Although he had anticipated the attack, Night Ten had just woken up from unconsciousness, and his body hadn't caught up with his mind's reaction, taking the full brunt of the hit on his chest.

The massive impact sent him flying backward, crashing horizontally into an open sleep cabin, almost knocking him offline.

Yet what also surprised him was this—

He didn't go offline.

Wait.

Could it be...

Realizing something, Night Ten's face dramatically changed, while at this moment a gun muzzle was already pointed at his forehead.

"Cybernetic modification, bionic model, and it even has an offensive plug-in. I admit it's cool to snap your fingers and generate electricity, but you're breaking the law, kid." Luo Yi, holding the pistol, looked down on him, "I initially wanted to have a good chat with you, or do you prefer this way of talking?"

"@#%#!"

Night Ten cursed, hurling a real-world expletive, and then closed his eyes, silently whispering log off.

Actually, there was no need to whisper silently.

After playing "Wasteland OL" for so long, he had long mastered the trick of logging in and out, able to return to the real world with just a thought.

However, the unexpected happened.

And that was exactly what he feared the most.

The heavy sensation didn't manifest on his forehead but surged from the center of his brows, spreading throughout his body.

He was still online, but his body felt as heavy as if it was filled with lead, just like before waking from the sleep cabin.

Having never experienced such a situation, Night Ten was utterly panicked, almost ready to kneel down to the dog plan.

"Damn it! Brother Guang, don't mess with me!"

This joke is not funny at all.

He couldn't log off!

Chapter 989: Breakpoint

On the bridge of the Orion Missile Cruiser, a stern-faced man was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the cockpit.

The distinct contours of his rugged features and neatly combed black hair showed not a trace of disarray.

His name was Zhao Tianhe, a colonel around the age of forty, the captain of this starship, and the highest commander of the 3,000 crew members on board.

Gazing intently at the boundless starry sky outside the window, he finally spoke after a long silence.

"No movement yet?"

The navigator's face showed a hint of difficulty.

"We've already entered the hyperspace passage, but... for some reason, it's like we've stopped moving."

He spoke cautiously, as he couldn't quite figure out what was happening either.

Normally, when they entered the hyperspace passage, the starry sky outside the window would instantly turn into a deep blue-violet, and after a violent shake, a daylight-like brightness would burst forth from the center of the darkness ahead.

But now, none of those things were happening.

Strangely, the warp engine was clearly activated, and all data indicated they were at the hyperspace passage, yet they were "stuck" at the entrance.

Zhao Tianhe didn't speak, while a woman around thirty next to him wore a look of astonishment on her face.

"How is it possible? Entering the hyperspace passage but not moving... Can the hyperspace jump really come to a halt? Such a thing... is unheard of!"

Her name was Wu Mengke, the executive officer of the first unit — the so-called ship command department — of the Orion Missile Cruiser.

This position, in layman's terms, was the captain's deputy, responsible for assisting the captain in managing the daily affairs of the ship and arranging the duties of the service department, among other things.

The structure of the United Space Army was similar to that of the navy of old times, though there were differences in specific functions.

Zhao Tianhe fell into deep thought, his expression gradually growing serious.

As his deputy mentioned, since the establishment of the United Space Army, there had never been such an occurrence.

No——

Strictly speaking, this had never happened since human civilization stepped into the interstellar era and developed the warp engine!

The navigator slowly continued speaking.

"...The strangest part is right here. We've already checked, the engine is operating well, with no abnormalities found. As you said, it's as if we're stuck right at the entrance of the hyperspace passage."

"Can you confirm it's the entrance?" Zhao Tianhe suddenly asked.

The navigator was taken aback, ready to nod, but then showed difficulty and shook his head.

"This... can't be confirmed."

Hyperspace is not the classical universe but a tunnel bridged between massive celestial bodies.

In this tunnel, only point-to-point movement can be accomplished, and the coordinates in the classical universe as well as distances relative to massive celestial bodies cannot be measured.

The bridge was silent.

The crew members present looked at each other, no one uttered a word.

After a while, Zhao Tianhe looked at Wu, who was also in deep thought beside him, and asked solemnly.

"What do you think it might be?"

"I don't know. If it's purely speculative guesses, the possibilities are too many," Wu Mengke, having calmed down, shook her head and said with a complex expression, "Perhaps the scientists in the fifth department can give us a reasonable explanation."

Zhao Tianhe nodded slightly, casting his gaze out the floor-to-ceiling window, and said gravely.

"Hopefully."

He had a foreboding feeling.

And as time passed, that feeling grew stronger...

At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard at the entrance of the bridge, and an officer strode through the open alloy door and hurriedly reported.

"Report! There's been a collision on the lower deck! An unidentified flying object has hit us!"

The bridge resounded with voices of astonishment and doubt.

Zhao Tianhe did not hesitate, quickly walking to a terminal, and looked at the holographic screen.

The staff sitting at the terminal swallowed, looking flustered and said.

"No structural damage detected on the ship... are you sure there's no mistake?"

The officer immediately said.

"Impossible! My people are at the scene! We have already sealed off the affected area according to the emergency protocol in the safety handbook!"

Staff: "But..."

Without listening to their argument, Zhao Tianhe stared at the screen without blinking, a look of surprise appearing on his stern face at the same time.

The deflection shield was functioning well.

The integrity check of the ship was also all normal...

But he trusted that his crew would not lie, especially since there was no reason for them to do so.

Standing beside him, Wu Mengke's face also showed a complex expression.

"Strange occurrences one after another... do you think it could be the trick of the Gemini?"

Zhao Tianhe spoke in an indisputable tone.

"They are already dead."

Wu Mengke questioned.

"What if they're not? No one actually went to check."

"...There's no need to verify, we indeed penetrated their shield, that's a definitive fact; let's not discuss this any further."

Expressionless, Zhao Tianhe paused for a moment and continued.

"Moreover, even if, by the slimmest chance, they escaped, there is no possible way for them to trap us in the hyperspace passage."

The hyperspace passage can be closed; you only need to create a large gravity well to disrupt the nearby gravitational field, which is not difficult.

But for an already open hyperspace passage, closing it is absolutely impossible.

At least with the technological means known to humanity today, it's not achievable.

Wu Mengke sighed and said.

"Then it can only be alien intervention in our war."

"Unless there is conclusive evidence proving their existence, I don't want to make such baseless assumptions."

Leaving this conversation, Zhao Tianhe looked at the officer standing at the bridge door and said.

"Can you confirm what hit us?"

The officer clearly was also confirming, with his index finger pressed to his ear for a long time before saying with a strange expression.

"It's a... uh, lifeboat-grade civilian spaceship? My subordinates are unsure... but there's no friendly identification on the spaceship."

"Civilian spaceship?"

Wu Mengke's eyebrows slightly raised, the crow's feet showed a hint of surprise.

"Why would there be a civilian spaceship here?"

"Maybe it's an extremist organization member, or maybe some unlucky journalist... Is there anything on it?" Zhao Tianhe continued to ask the officer.

Confirming the situation on site through the communication system, the officer looked at the captain and said.

"We found a sleep cabin on the spaceship, inside lies a young man who looks about seventeen or eighteen... He claims to come from an organization called the Alliance? Affiliated with the Burning Corps..."

"Alliance? Burning Corps?" Wu Mengke's complexion changed slightly, muttering to himself, "Could it really be aliens..."

Zhao Tianhe's expression also turned somewhat weird, staring at the officer and continuing to ask.

"What else did he say?"

"He said quite a lot..."

The officer was silent for a moment, then suddenly his face changed slightly, and he raised his head to speak.

"He has started fighting with our people..."

...

In the cybernetic repair room of the engineering and maintenance department, Luo Yi, who had successfully subdued a certain teenager, was leaning back on the operating table, allowing the mechanical arm suspended overhead to fiddle around his left arm.

Standing next to the control terminal, Koala, wearing work clothes, skillfully operated the tablet, cutting open the bionic skin on Luo Yi's left arm and extracting a burnt black metal tube from inside.

"The capacitor is burned out... need to replace it with a new one."

"Is it serious?" The big guy standing with arms crossed nearby frowned and asked.

His name was Xiao Yong, and like Luo Yi, he belonged to the Space Combat Squad under the sixth department, his rank also being sergeant.

"Serious... not really, just a burnt capacitor, what's most abundant here is capacitors," Koala grinned and shook his head, saying, "But these young people sure hit hard, they strike to kill with no holds barred."

"Young people indeed have no restraint, whoever did the cybernetic surgery for him must've grown tired of living." Xiao Yong couldn't help but curse.

According to the cybernetic management act, bionic cybernetics are prohibited from installing harmful applications, especially harmful applications on minors not yet fully developed.

They have already saved evidence and will file charges against the person involved once they return to Earth.

Sitting on the operating table, Luo Yi looked at his newly replaced right hand cybernetic, remained silent for a moment before suddenly speaking.

"That guy has been on the battlefield."

Standing beside him, Xiao Yong raised an eyebrow.

"Do you mean he's a soldier?"

"Yes."

Seeing Luo Yi nod, Xiao Yong was surprised and lowered his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"... Do we have soldiers that young?"

At eighteen, one should be in high school, joining the army requires at least a university degree.

As for the rebel forces in the colonies...

Those guys should have turned into ashes by now.

Luo Yi looked up at him and said.

"Didn't you hear him say he came from the Alliance?"

Xiao Yong frowned.

"Do you really believe what he says?"

Luo Yi's expression became a bit complicated and he shook his head.

"I don't know, but his reaction speed and combat quality are not weak, even... if it wasn't because he had just thawed, I might not have been able to subdue him by myself."

Xiao Yong looked at him in shock.

"You must be joking, that kid?"

Luo Yi seriously looked at him and said.

"I'm not joking, I'm serious."

That guy could anticipate his attacks and instinctively reacted, but his body couldn't keep up.

This is definitely not a skill trained on a practice field, but rather learned from close combat battles.

There's only one doubt.

Just as his colleague said, this kid is too young; in their eyes, he's just like an undeveloped child.

At that moment, an unexpected voice inserted itself from the entrance of the repair room.

"I share Sergeant Luo Yi's view, that kid is definitely not a civilian, he's a soldier, and unlike you guys... he fought his way out of the wasteland."

Three pairs of shocked eyes floated toward the door, only to see their "ship pastor" holding a jug of whiskey, drunkenly stumbling in from outside, even burping a wine hiccup when crossing the threshold.

Xiao Yong frowned.

"Wasteland? Is that some kind of movie?"

The fifth department is the department with the lowest presence on the entire missile cruiser.

This department was established supposedly to deal with the unpredictable and changing cosmic environment, but since its establishment, no fifth department on any starship has ever been heard to be in action.

The scientists who act with the ship neither repair engines nor have any say in strategic deployment, their only use being to produce a pile of academic garbage called papers.

He did not deny physicists' contributions to the Prosperity Epoch, but he merely doubted whether "deploying a research team on every starship" was necessary.

Facing Sergeant Xiao Yong's suspicion, Wu Xinghuan couldn't help but burp again, apologetically wiping his mouth.

"Movie? It's not that... This kid came from our future, or rather, he is our future."

Koala looked at him with a strange expression.

"What are you talking about madness?"

Xiao Yong also sneered, disdainfully saying.

"That kid? If he's our future, then humanity is truly hopeless."

"Haha, don't say that, who hasn't had a youthful time? I bet when you were young, you were more of a jerk than he is, and probably not as skilled," Wu Xinghuan chuckled twice, glanced at everyone present, cleared his throat, and continued, "Also, let me bring everyone some unfortunate news, our spaceship is stuck in the hyperspace passage... and that time traveler might be the reason we're stuck."

The room fell into a strange silence, with three pairs of eyes looking at each other bewilderedly, exchanging confused glances.

Hyperspace passage...

Stuck?

Seeing the other two looking at him, Koala quickly raised his hand and said.

"Don't look at me... I've never heard of such a thing, and fixing the FTL engine isn't my job."

Xiao Yong couldn't help but ask.

"Aren't you the engineering supervisor?"

Koala coughed and explained.

"The full name of the Fourth Department is Engineering and Maintenance, the hyperspace engine is the maintenance department's job, it has specialized engineers responsible... and such critical equipment is directly managed by the First Department, which falls under the Captain's purview."

Xiao Yong felt dizzy from the explanation, patted his head.

"We have too many departments, we should cut some."

Koala snapped his fingers.

"Good idea, I also think the Fifth Department is unnecessary."

"Ahem," Wu Xinghuan hid the bottle of wine behind him awkwardly and said, "Is this the time to talk about this..."

"I need to think this through..." Luo Yi pressed his index finger against his brow, furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, and said, "You mean, that child is from the future? And our future... is Wasteland? So... our world is destroyed?"

"The world isn't destroyed, our civilization just moved from one historical stage to the next," Wu Xinghuan finally steered back to the main topic, quickly continuing, "Did you notice the clothes he was wearing? That's the jacket from the shelter, not some high imitation."

Xiao Yong sneered.

"If he's just cosplaying, wouldn't that be awkward for you?"

Wu Xinghuan looked at him with bright eyes, unable to contain a hint of excitement in his tone.

"But he clearly isn't, we found spores of mutated slime fungus on him, and spores we've never seen before!"

The room fell silent again.

This time not just Xiao Yong, but Luo Yi's face changed too.

However, Wu Xinghuan didn't care and continued to chatter on.

"I know this is hard to accept, but this is what happens in the future! In the distant future, people have already achieved coexistence with mutated slime fungus; they are no longer deadly to us, and we no longer view them as enemies, but have become part of each other."

"You're talking nonsense." Xiao Yong cursed, "According to you, the war was fought for nothing?"

Looking at this brute who couldn't accept it, Wu Xinghuan shrugged, smiling.

"From an individual's perspective, it might indeed be so, but from the height of civilization, isn't that always the case? We shouldn't view civilization issues from an individual's level, nor should we look down on individuals from the height of civilization. Problems in the same dimension should be researched with the same dimensional perspective. Believe it or not, the facts are as they are... I need to refine my theory; you should feel honored, you are on the same ship as the future star of the physics world."

"What does this have to do with a physics star?" Koala scratched his hairy head, puzzled.

"Isn't it obvious?" Wu Xinghuan smiled and spread his arms, revealing the bottle of wine hidden behind him again, "Time is reversible, the movement of matter is reversible, entropy is reversible, I have discovered a new physics."

"I think you're crazy."

Xiao Yong snatched the bottle from Wu's hand, ignoring his protests, and took a swig.

He still couldn't accept it.

After three years of this war, it turned out to be like this, and in the distant future, spirited kids not only carefree put on combat prosthetics but also drove quasi-spaceships with anti-gravity devices, scurrying around the universe like cockroaches.

If that's the ending, it might as well be destruction.

Luo Yi sighed, pinched his nose.

"You said earlier we were stuck?"

"Yes, that's right."

Seeing the bottle of wine emptied, Wu Xinghuan disappointedly gave up the idea of snatching it back.

Luo Yi looked speechlessly at this complacent guy, supposedly a future academic bigwig.

"I'll believe what you say, but given the situation now... you should think about how to help us get out of this predicament first."

Hearing this, Wu Xinghuan's face once again showed a confident smile.

"This is actually very simple, although I don't know if that guy fell into a black hole or hit some neutron star thing, anyway, he stumbled into our timeline."

"So what?" Luo Yi didn't find it simple, he even started to feel a headache.

However, Wu the Doctor standing in front of him clearly had a different view.

"So we just need to figure out what happened to him before he came here, and then send him back."

After hearing his explanation, the three in the repair room were stunned.

Could it really be that simple?

It sounded like just tidying up an overturned box and then putting the lid back on.

Luo Yi had a bit of skepticism in his eyes, but looking at Wu Doctor's bright gaze, he couldn't help but believe a little.

At least this guy is professional.

"It seems our Fifth Department will finally play its role," Koala shrugged, "Saving a kid from the future on the eve of the war ending, and saving over 3000 crew members."

"My achievements are far beyond this; I believe many years from now you'll remember today's meeting... and the friendly me."

Wu Xinghuan exaggeratedly did a nodding bow motion, as if standing on the award podium.

Xiao Yong snorted disdainfully, still with an unconcerned expression.

"Though this sounds stupid, let's give it a try first..."

Although the home planet was affected by the war, it was far from falling into the Wasteland's level.

Especially reconciling with the mutated slime fungus...

Wouldn't that mean those who messed everything up, the Radical Faction, won the ultimate victory?

Don't even think about it!

"Let's solve the immediate problem first."

Luo Yi didn't want to think so far ahead; he had been away from home for too long and just wanted to go back earlier.

If it's reconciled, then let it be.

The universe is so vast, apart from South Gate Two, there are countless star systems, allowing them to have their own star is not unreasonable.

Giving the other party a chance to live is also a chance to let go of oneself.

Besides, that planet originally belonged to "Gaia." They lived well there, and if it weren't for the human colony ship disturbing their dreams, they would probably continue playing alone until the entire universe became silent.

From the standpoint of the United Human, the three-year War was undoubtedly glorious, but from the other side, it might not be the same.

Getting up from the operating table, he moved his arm a bit and cast his gaze at Dr. Wu standing at the door.

"That young man called… Night Ten? Where is he now?"

Wu Xinghuan smiled and said.

"He's in the medical room; Xiao Lin examined his body, and he's basically fine now."

Luo Yi nodded.

"Go and see him."

"I'll go too." Koala raised his arm, hurriedly turned off the devices, and followed the three people.

Although the ship's security is the work of the third division, he couldn't miss such an interesting matter.

Besides, someone mentioned that this moment witnesses history!

The four arrived at the door of the medical room, only to see many people gathered there.

Not only doctors and nurses from the Medical and Life Support Department but also people from other departments, even senior officers from the ship's command department.

Here, Luo Yi even saw artificial intelligence experts from the "Robot and Artificial Intelligence Department."

Even people from the tenth division came to join the fun, which he really didn't expect.

Luo Yi felt a slight chill in his heart and couldn't help but glance at Dr. Wu next to him.

This big mouth…

Clearly, the fact that this guy came from the future has spread, and now all the crew know that a visitor from the future has arrived on their ship.

"Make way, let me through…"

Wu Xinghuan raised his arm, like a star, squeezing towards the center of the "stage."

Seeing this guy from the fifth division, people gathered around made way, curiously watching him, wondering what he planned to do.

He walked straight to the boy sitting dazedly on the treatment bed, Wu Xinghuan, smiling kindly, squatted slightly beside him.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Wu Xinghuan. I'm a scientist here."

Night Ten looked at him, always feeling that this person didn't seem like a scientist, more like a clown.

However, thinking of those people from the Academy, he felt relieved and nodded expressionlessly.

"Oh."

His mind is quite chaotic now.

On one hand, after so long, he's unsure whether Jiang Xuezhou is still alive.

On the other hand, he can't quite figure out his current situation.

Two possibilities.

Either he's in some single-life game replica, or he's genuinely traveled across time.

Seriously considering, although the latter seems silly, he can't help but panic.

Ah Guang still hasn't responded, and the forum buddies can't be reached since he hasn't logged out.

He even somewhat regrets not letting Fang Chang stay in the cockpit at the time, instead of himself.

If it were Brother Fang Chang, he'd surely solve the problem in minutes…

Or even Old White.

At least that guy might be more mature in handling things.

Night Ten carefully reminisces about his gaming career, figuring that most of the time he relies on "recklessness" rather than wit.

"Perhaps I can help you." Wu Xinghuan, looking genuinely sincere, tried to win the trust of the boy before him.

"Help me?" Night Ten slightly turned his face towards him, the corners of his mouth suddenly curling into a playful smile, "You?"

While speaking, he already caught the smell of alcohol.

This guy reminded him of Mosquito; no one is more unreliable than that guy.

In comparison, ah Wei might be slightly more reliable, at least not truly messing up things.

But this guy probably didn't realize his alcohol hadn't worn off and went on endlessly.

"Based on my inference, you probably encountered some trouble during hyperspace movement. Perhaps I can help you… it's good for both of us."

Night Ten eyed him with a playful expression.

"From this, it seems your inference isn't very reliable. My research ship doesn't have a warp engine; it merely uses an anti-gravity device to lift off from the ground and can't perform hyperspace travel."

Wu Xinghuan gestured with his fingers, continuing.

"I know, single anti-gravity device's technology principle is actually similar to a warp engine, merely a different usage of gravitons. And… uh, maybe it was just an escape boat; you have other ships nearby—"

This guy probably drank too much, unable to speak clearly.

Night Ten smirked and continued.

"It's a research ship organized by the Academy. I don't have other ships, just this one. Do you know about the Academy? I remember this organization existed before the War."

"An academic organization… wait, you mean they played a significant role after the War?" Wu Xinghuan looked at him with surprise, like he discovered a major secret.

Night Ten could guess what he was thinking. This guy probably already planned on which major institution to cozy up with once back on Earth.

However, this guy really overestimated things.

As for why…

"We ran into a neutron torpedo. Even if it didn't hit us… that thing exploded nearby. I'm not sure how much the deflection shield blocked, but the spaceship lost control and crashed into yours..."

At this point, Night Ten paused for a moment, looked into the so-called scientist's excited eyes, and said something that chilled his listeners instantly.

"Guess what I was going to do? Or why did we collide with you?"

"Correct, I was going to dig a grave."

"Your grave."

Chapter 990: "Ghost

The air was deathly silent, the crowd who had been whispering like watching a monkey show completely lost their voices.

Wu Xinghuan was momentarily frozen in place as if his brain had crashed, Xiao Yong, who was holding his arms, slightly frowned, and Luo Yi fell into deep thought.

As for Koala, scratching his head as before, those bewildered beady eyes were becoming more like a real koala.

Your graves...

After a long pause, he broke the silence and said.

"So... are we already dead?"

"Yes." Night Ten replied with his eyes closed.

"Then how did we die?" Koala asked, still unwilling to give up, "There must be a reason, right?"

"How should I know how you died," Night Ten looked at him incredulously, speaking with justified certainty, "It's not like I'm in the grave yet."

"Hiss... That's right," Koala seemed convinced, scratching the back of his head and muttered to himself, "You haven't gone in yet."

Having long given up on commenting on the recruitment standards of the United Space Army, Night Ten sighed deeply, eyes turned towards the ceiling.

His mind was now a mess, like a ball of yarn, with no end to find.

Blame the game for being too realistic, right? It doesn't even have a menu interface; without the VM or logout function, he couldn't tell whether he was in the game or had genuinely transmigrated.

He of course hoped it was the former.

Since even if transmigrating, no one would hope to end up in a grave mound.

Besides, he's quite satisfied with his current life and doesn't want to experience a new environment all over again.

But if he's in the game, he couldn't understand why he couldn't log off, and even feared for his physical body in reality.

Since he first fainted till now, many hours, maybe even dozens of hours, had passed.

Jiujiu hadn't barged in to wake him up yet; possibly something had indeed gone wrong, preventing him from waking up in reality.

Thinking about these things, Night Ten's head started hurting again.

The only good news now was, just before waking up, he heard the voice calling his name once again.

Also, that adorable "Achoo."

Without a doubt, it was Jiang Xuezhou's voice.

It's truly a complex feeling; the person he wants to save has instead become his only comfort.

At least she's still around here...

"I think he's probably gone mad." Xiao Yong standing at the door put down his crossed arms, shook his head and walked away.

Luo Yi did not leave, still watching him in deep thought, seemingly recalling something.

Beside the treatment bed, Lin Youyou gently placed her hand on Night Ten's forehead, her face showing a hint of worry.

"Your heart rate is unstable and metabolism level is low, better lie down and rest..."

"I don't need rest," Night Ten muttered, not quite comfortable with such meticulous care, he moved aside, "...I also don't need you to worry, you'd better worry about yourselves."

No idea if these people are overly thick-skinned, so calm about the news of their deaths.

Sure enough, it might just be that they see him as entertainment, like players sometimes view exaggerated NPC experiences as amusing diversions.

Initially, he worried these people couldn't accept the brutal truth of their deaths, but it seemed like he was overthinking.

Watching this sulking young man, Lin Youyou gently smiled and withdrew her hand.

"We'll take good care of ourselves, and of course, we'll take care of you, after all, you're the patient."

"I'm not sick."

Night Ten replied weakly.

He didn't want to repeat this phrase anymore.

Especially since this person seemed to treat him as if he hadn't grown up, making him feel uncomfortable regardless.

Then, crouching beside the treatment bed, Dr. Wu suddenly raised his head unexpectedly.

"I think I might be sick..."

Seemingly having finally returned to his senses, he muttered some gibberish and stood up from beside the treatment bed.

Lin Youyou raised her eyebrows looking at this mumbling guy, and oddly said.

"Why don't you lay down for a while too?"

"No..."

Leaving this sentence behind with the bewildered Night Ten, Dr. Wu pushed through the crowd and quickly left.

Lin Youyou sighed, raised her index finger pressing against her brow, and spoke to the crowd gathered at the door of the medical room.

"My patient needs rest, if you're not here for medical attention, disperse."

It was obvious that residents of Prosperity Epoch had generally high quality.

Though the gawkers still hadn't had their fill, and just reached an intriguing part curious about the subsequent development, most of them heeded the doctor's advice, no longer crowding at the medical room door, dispersing quickly, leaving only Luo Yi standing at the door.

Lin Youyou stared at him.

"What about you? What's your issue?"

Luo Yi pointed at his freshly operated arm, looking at the on-duty doctor in front of him and said.

"I'm here for medical attention, and to chat a bit with the patient... Don't worry, I won't disturb his rest."

Lin Youyou didn't speak, just inquiringly looked at the patient lying on the treatment bed.

Yet the latter didn't look at her, just stared unwaveringly at the door, stubbornly repeating what he had said before.

"I'll say it again, I'm not sick."

"That's not for you or me to decide, it's up to the doctor."

Luo Yi shrugged, assuming this meant he agreed to chat, and thus walked inside the medical room.

He pulled a chair from the side, sat down next to the treatment bed, and stared at the young man lying there.

"You seem to know me... or should I put it this way, you know me from the future?"

"Yes." Night Ten nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on Luo Yi. Although his gaze was still full of vigilance, he wasn't as quick to act as before.

Thinking calmly, regardless of the situation he's facing, one thing was certain.

This is definitely not the "Hunter" cruiser he encountered in the Wasteland Era of 215.

Even if he kills him, it would be useless, perhaps even causing some messy time paradox that he couldn't return from.

The possibility of this isn't zero.

Just like the theory of his own "time travel."

The most important thing now is to stay calm.

And to gather as much information as possible to understand the current situation.

At this moment, Luo Yi, who didn't know what the child from the future was thinking, looked directly into his eyes and suddenly said,

"You have good skills."

Night Ten smiled faintly.

"You're too kind."

Luo Yi smiled and said,

"Not at all, when I was your age, I was still figuring out which school to apply to. I had no idea about killing skills, hadn't even touched a gun, let alone seen one."

Not opposed to some casual chatting with this guy, Night Ten casually said,

"So you joined the military academy?"

Luo Yi shook his head.

"No, I ended up choosing environmental modification engineering. Joining the forces was something that came later."

Night Ten: "…What is environmental modification engineering?"

"It's a piece of crap."

Luo Yi grinned and continued,

"Back then, our relationship with the colonies wasn't that tense yet. We were still thinking about how to transform Gaia into Earth, and also using the technologies from the colonies to make other planets in the Solar System earth-like… But it turned out that major was a dead end."

Night Ten suddenly nodded in understanding.

Got it.

Simply put, it's 22nd-century biology.

Luo Yi looked at him and asked,

"What about you?"

Night Ten candidly replied,

"The 24th century... probably? According to our calculations, it's the Wasteland Era of 215."

Luo Yi laughed and said,

"Didn't expect the apocalypse to last for so many years."

Night Ten thought for a moment and said,

"About two hundred years or so, but it's almost over now."

Luo Yi asked curiously,

"Ended by that... Alliance?"

Night Ten said,

"Sort of, but it's not just the Alliance, many, many people contributed a lot... But honestly, since the Alliance is a coalition of all survivors, obsessing over who ended the Wasteland seems pointless."

Luo Yi nodded and suddenly sighed,

"When I first heard that you guys had been languishing in the wasteland for over 200 years, I felt a heavy heart, because my family is still on Earth, and they'll never see the peaceful era in their lifetime. But thinking that these 200 years have passed and the future holds promising young men like you, I feel somewhat comforted... Maybe the future isn't as bad as I imagined."

After a pause, he sincerely said,

"That's good, really... That's good."

His words were heartfelt, devoid of any pleasantries.

Their civilization wasn't destroyed, and it became younger and more united under the trials of the apocalypse.

That's actually meaningful.

If before starting his journey home he still had doubts about the outcome of the three-year War, fearing he'd face nothing but ruins, now he harbored no worry or unease about the future.

Though the process was full of twists and turns, ultimately all of their futures are bright.

Night Ten chuckled.

"Right? I think it's pretty good too... It was supposed to be pretty good."

Luo Yi raised his eyebrows, half-jokingly asked,

"And then you met us?"

"To be precise, I met you," Night Ten stared into his eyes and spoke bluntly, "You alone wiped out an Academy squad, albeit with your teammates' help."

Luo Yi bashfully laughed,

"Didn't think I had such a skill… then what happened? Did you pursue me, who lived for over 200 years, all the way into space?"

"That sounds absurd enough..."

Lin Youyou pressed her brow, a look of disbelief on her face.

She's more inclined to trust her own common sense, believing this guy was brain-damaged due to entering a sleep cabin without following strict freezing procedures.

Time travel?

That's just too absurd to believe.

However, Night Ten, lying on the treatment bed, nodded and said simply.

"That's right... Actually, this matter isn't really under our jurisdiction, but you took the Academy's research ship directly through the space debris to enter the synchronous orbit, then returned to this already destroyed missile cruiser. We received intelligence that this cruiser stored a hundred thousand neutron torpedoes, or even if not that exact number, it wouldn't be far off... Do you know? We just finished the final war and were preparing to celebrate our civilization entering a new epoch, and then this happened."

Luo Yi stared at him blankly, his expression gradually turning serious.

"Did I ever say what I am supposed to be doing?"

Night Ten curled his lips.

"Do you even need to say it? You joined an organization called the Celestial Beings, which is a group of lunatics hiding at the Lagrange Point Space Station along with kb radicals. Like the Enlightenment Society, they think about nothing but blowing everything on the surface just to restart."

"As for you, you didn't even waste words with us, and we could guess with our toes what you're trying to do, which is nothing more than continuing the incomplete orbital bombardment task from over 200 years ago, to do a thorough cleansing against the mucor nest and the Wasteland Wanderers, and then rebuild the homeland you imagine."

Luo Yi's face changed completely.

"Orbital bombardment? I never heard about that."

Lin Youyou gave him a peculiar look, then turned to Night Ten.

"I can testify, the fleet's work schedule is open, such a thing could never escape our attention."

"Or maybe you all just didn't know?" Night Ten snorted through his nose, "Even our Managers wouldn't tell us everything, right?"

Luo Yi placed his hand on his chest and looked at him earnestly.

"I swear on my character, even if we take a step back and there was indeed such a situation that we were executing a task without being informed, or even have unknowingly committed an unforgivable crime... I would never continue to be an accomplice once I became aware of it."

Night Ten chuckled.

"Who knows what you would think 200 years later."

Luo Yi remained silent for a moment before speaking quietly.

"... You're making a good point, people do change, but I don't believe I would change like that."

"I'm just telling you what I saw, whether you believe it or not is up to you," Night Ten said casually while looking at the ceiling, "Of course, I actually believe what you're saying. After talking to you for so long, I don't think you're the kind of person who would do such a thing. Perhaps there's some misunderstanding in this."

"Thank you for believing in me," Luo Yi nodded, "But honestly, I understand your anger. Standing on the same ground, if I traveled to the past and saw a future war criminal in front of me, I might also hesitate about whether to strangle him first... even if he hadn't done anything at the time."

Night Ten looked at him with interest.

"By the way, aren't you scared?"

Luo Yi asked.

"Scared of what."

Night Ten reminded him.

"I said very clearly just now, you are already dead. The clearer the boundary between you and the 'Luo Yi' I was talking about, the lower your chances of still being alive. He's either your clone or some android."

"Two centuries have passed, it's normal to be dead," Luo Yi shrugged and continued, "Besides, you only saw the wreckage of the Hunter, that doesn't prove anything. Maybe it was something that happened many years later? We're not always serving on this ship, let alone, we still haven't figured out what's going on with you here."

Night Ten looked at him in surprise.

"You guys are pretty optimistic."

Lin Youyou placed her hand on his shoulder and said in a teasing tone.

"After all, we're not dead yet, it's impossible to scare ourselves just because of something some kid said."

"My view is the same as Dr. Lin's."

Luo Yi nodded and looked at the boy lying on the medical bed, continuing.

"My last question, why did you get into the sleep cabin? Or rather... what happened before you passed out?"

No matter whether Dr. Wu's speculation is correct, instinct tells him it all relates to their ability to escape the current predicament.

A moment of confusion flashed in Night Ten's eyes.

"I... frankly, I'm not sure."

Luo Yi was taken aback, exchanging a glance with Lin Youyou, then looked back at him and asked.

"What do you mean by not sure?"

"Just not sure, I think I passed out then."

Night Ten patted his own head, a distressed expression on his face.

"In my memory, there isn't any part about how I got into the sleep cabin. We were hit by a neutron torpedo then, right as the shield's energy was depleting, I didn't even know if I held up, and then we collided with the lower part of the Hunter's wreckage."

"Right, there was another person in the cockpit then, she was a girl around my age, named Jiang Xuezhou... did you see her on that research ship?"

Even though he knew it was slim, Night Ten still cast a hopeful glance at the two of them.

However, their response made his mood sink instantly.

"If we're talking about the same ship, then you were the only one on it," Luo Yi looked at him seriously and said in a deep voice, "There was only one sleep cabin, and you were the one lying in it."

"But that is indeed strange, if you were unconscious, how did you get into the sleep cabin?"

Lin Youyou pinched her chin with her thumb and forefinger, pondering seriously.

"Either your brain had a memory lapse in the collision, not remembering how you climbed in. Or, as you said, there was indeed another person on the ship, but we just couldn't see them."

The medical room fell silent.

Night Ten suddenly felt a chill in the air around him, like it was haunted.

Wasn't there no metaphysical setting in this game?

Yet he truly couldn't explain what was happening in front of him with common sense, nor could he explain why he couldn't log off.

"In any case, we've now obtained two important clues. First, you collided with a neutron torpedo, then crashed into our ship... the ship of our future."

Noting down these two clues, Luo Yi stood up from his chair.

As he watched Luo Yi get up to leave, Lin Youyou raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you going to see the doctor?"

"Already done."

He has two things to do now.

One option is to take another look at the explosion site, and the other is to visit the torpedo cabin.

Additionally, these two clues need to be given to that guy named Wu.

Although that guy has never been reliable, he is still the only physicist aboard this ship.

If even he can't figure it out, I can't think of anyone else who can.

Surely, they can't expect someone like me, who graduated in "environmental modification engineering," to handle this, right?

Night Ten lay on the medical bed, eyes shut tight, with a slightly pale face.

The voice appeared again.

And it was still those four sentences—

"Night Ten..."

"It's so cold here..."

"Achoo!"

"I..."

...

The security office on the lower deck.

Several senior officers of the first section stood in front of the surveillance, fixated on the situation in the medical room.

Among them were Captain Zhao Tianhe, second-in-command Wu Mengke, and the navigator, among others.

Respecting the doctor's opinion, they did not stimulate the patient but instead arranged for Luo Yi from the subordinate space combat squad to tactfully gather the information they urgently wanted to know.

The two talked for a long time, from the future to the present.

What they said was unintentional, but it sent a chill down the listeners' spines.

The Hunter did not in fact carry out an orbital bombardment plan, but the ship's command did receive a request for support from the Lagrange Point Space Station.

Intelligence reports indicate that most of the surface area has already been covered by the mutant mucor mother nest. Without a more thorough purification action, within the next ten years at the latest, the mucor will spread to areas near the Antarctic and Arctic circles.

Under such circumstances, rebuilding civilization is nearly impossible. Human civilization might not even have the opportunity to rebuild before being wiped out by Gaia's children.

Now that the space elevator has been destroyed and the Endeavour Colonization Ship has abandoned its plan to colonize alien star systems, human civilization has approached the brink of destruction.

The meaning from the Lagrange Point Space Station is clear. Since the doomsday plan has been initiated and the nuclear option has already been used, the majority of surviving civilians on the surface are unlikely to survive, so why not just press the pedal to the metal?

From the perspective of civilization, this is trying to preserve the spark for civilization's survival as much as possible.

However, this act itself has already shaken the foundations of civilization.

Therefore, whether to take this step is not agreed upon within the United Human and among the high ranks of the Air and Space Army, with even severe disagreements present.

These disagreements did not arise today; they existed much earlier.

Including but not limited to the core disputes of the entire war.

Some people believe the enemy in this war is the rebel faction, while others believe that Gaia is the real enemy.

Disagreement is inevitable.

Whenever two people stand together, they will inevitably divide; let alone a group.

Though this ultimate war was provoked by the radical faction, it was only the most radical subset of them.

And as the colony split, internal contradictions turned into external ones, naturally causing the conservative faction, which held an absolute advantage within the high levels of the United Human, to create new divisions based on the existing agenda. For example, those leaning right became the new conservative faction, while those leaning left became the new radical faction.

From the latter's standpoint, the war is over, the rebels have been eliminated, and now it's time to deal with the aftermath and establish a new order.

This order could include mutant mucors, as it's practically impossible to eliminate them entirely.

However, from the former's standpoint, the imperative is to eradicate all surface mucors at any cost, making any sacrifices necessary.

Zhao Tianhe actually wasn't interested in political matters.

He had a clear understanding of his role. He was a professional soldier and should be loyal to the law... even if the majority of the Air and Space Army leans toward the former side.

However, even if he doesn't want to choose sides, when the torrent of history sweeps by, he and his subordinates are forced to get involved and make a choice.

After all, when he received orders from the command center at the Lagrange point, only two starships in the entire Air and Space Army, and indeed the United Human, retained the capability for interstellar navigation.

The Hunter and the Gemini.

He had the most remaining munitions, while the Gemini's neutron torpedoes should have been mostly expended in the previous orbital bombardment of Gaia Planet.

In other words, only they are capable of executing the doomsday plan.

There was no one else...

And there was nothing to say about his choice.

He would rather aim his gun at himself or at his allies than at the civilians he had devoted his life to protecting.

If he really did that, the three-year war would be for nothing.

Wu Mengke, standing in front of the surveillance terminal screen, looked worriedly at Captain Zhao Tianhe beside her.

"This kid knows about the information from the Lagrange Point Space Station. I think it's no coincidence; he might indeed come from the future."

Zhao Tianhe stared intently at the screen, slowly nodding.

"Hmm."

Wu Mengke moved her gaze away, a complex expression on her face, and inadvertently gripped the armrest of the chair.

"Then we..."

Knowing what she meant to say, Zhao Tianhe shook his head and kept his eyes fixed on the screen.

"Hard to say."

"No matter how we cut it, it's undeniable that you and I are still alive, and our enemy has absolutely no chance of turning the tables."

"I actually tend to think he doesn't come from our future."

"But from the future of 'another timeline.'"

Chapter 991: The Crossroads of Destiny

Near the engine room on the lower deck.

Orange holographic isolation zones float in the corridor, encircling a large quarantined area.

This is where the collision incident occurred.

A lifeboat-class civilian spaceship crashed through the hull of the Orion Missile Cruiser, lodging half of its body directly into the cruiser.

Even in the relatively brief history of human space travel, this is considered a rather explosive accident.

What is particularly puzzling is how this small boat managed to penetrate the defenses of the deflection shield and break through the nearly impervious hull.

Fortunately, the impact zone was the gym in the living area on the lower deck, and because the ship was about to enter the hyperspace passage, such recreational facilities were in lockdown, so no one was injured.

This was also the reason why many people later ran there to watch.

The safety and maintenance department immediately closed the ventilation system in the damaged area and isolated the damaged area according to the contingency plan in the safety handbook.

Although the actual damage was only to one not-so-large cabin, the safety director still sealed off the entire related area based on the assessment report by the four engineers.

At this moment, engineers wearing space exoskeletons stood around the isolation zone, operating the tablets in their hands.

Seeing Luo Yi approaching, one of the engineers stepped forward and said.

"Hey, this is a controlled area, you need to put on a space suit to come in."

Luo Yi hung the respirator around his neck and showed his ID of the third department.

"My modified prosthetics have a low-pressure environment resistance function, are there risks of a secondary explosion?"

The engineer turned around and exchanged glances with his colleague standing next to the isolation zone, then looked back at him and replied.

"No, we have already shut down the reactor and chemical batteries of the offending spaceship."

"That's good, I'm just looking from the outside to understand the situation here," Luo Yi patted his shoulder and passed through the isolation zone, walking up to the room door labeled [Under Repair].

The alloy door was tightly sealed, with layers of folded titanium alloy reinforcement plates attached inside and out.

The worker standing next to him handed him a tablet, whose screen was connected to the camera of a repair robot.

Through the screen on the tablet, Luo Yi saw the situation inside the room. The gym equipment had been blown into a corner by a colossal impact force, and the spaceship's hull had been smashed inward, forming a hole with a radius of about 1 to 2 meters.

The scene was simply tragic.

Luo Yi frowned.

Honestly, this didn't look like damage that could be caused by a lifeboat-class civilian spaceship.

"It almost seems like an explosion occurred, doesn't it?" The engineer looked at him, shrugged, and grinned, "But actually, no, we didn't find any armor-piercing warhead on the spaceship. This really is a scientific expedition-use civilian spaceship, and the surface of the ship has clear evidence of an oxidizing atmosphere... which suggests that this ship typically operates within the atmosphere."

The worker next to them also added.

"Regardless, we rescued the person immediately. The other damage cannot be handled with the ship's repair tools and must be addressed by the construction personnel at Star Harbor."

Luo Yi nodded, recorded the information on the storage chip, and continued to ask.

"The child you rescued said that there was another person in this... scientific team, a little girl, did you find her?"

The worker at the door exchanged a confused look and then looked at him with a strange expression.

"How can that be?"

"The rescue team from the eighth department rushed in directly, and the whole ship only has one sleep cabin."

"Did he get his brain damaged?"

Luo Yi didn't speak, tapping twice on the screen with his index finger, controlling the repair robot to move a few steps forward, focusing the camera on the deformed cockpit.

There was indeed nothing there.

While he was pondering, the engineer standing beside him suddenly spoke.

"Speaking of which, something strange happened."

Luo Yi looked at him.

"What's strange?"

The engineer continued.

"Some people heard the explosion, others didn't."

Luo Yi was taken aback.

He remembered hearing it, so he rushed to the scene immediately.

But indeed there were people who didn't hear it, like his comrade Xiao Yong, who only came after hearing the alarm.

This was truly odd, as the alarm should have gone off immediately when the explosion occurred, but it malfunctioned and wasn't triggered until the unit on the lower deck reported the damage information to the first department, at which point it was manually activated.

This was also the main reason why people gathered at the time.

After all, based on past experience, if the alarm didn't sound, it meant the situation wasn't severe, so wanting to check it out was very normal.

What was abnormal was that some people heard the explosion, while others didn't.

Luo Yi carefully recalled the scenes at that time; there were indeed not many people in the room, only dozens.

Compared to the thousand people on the lower deck, this number was indeed quite small.

"Is there any pattern here?"

"I can't see it," the engineer shook his head, "I was hoping you might have some insight."

The worker next to them joked with a smile.

"You know, this should be the fifth department's work, the war is over, that department should be useful."

"Didn't that guy say it, time traveler."

"Haha, according to his words, we should quickly buy ourselves personal accidental insurance."

"Personal accidental insurance is okay, should the 'Alliance' compensate?"

"Hahaha."

Clearly, no one believed that the child came from the future, after all, the fact that they were all still alive was undeniable.

At this moment, the engineer suddenly remembered something and spoke up.

"By the way, there's one more thing."

Luo Yi, lost in thought, looked up.

"Can't you say it all at once?"

"I just thought of it..." The engineer glanced at the adjacent rooms, pointing to the end corner, "Over there is the cafeteria in the living area, there were a few people inside at the time, but their reaction was not hearing it, they only reacted after our people went in and told them something happened."

Luo Yi was stunned again.

His duty room was quite far from here, yet he heard the violent explosion sound, while people near the center of the explosion heard nothing?

"It's strange isn't it? The sound insulation there isn't actually very good, more than once someone has complained about the dining noise there," the engineer shrugged playfully, "maybe we should get a real pastor."

"Makes sense."

Luo Yi nodded, handed the tablet back to the staff member beside him, and then looked seriously at the engineer.

"This piece of information is very important... I want to identify the people on the lower deck who heard the explosion and those who didn't, and then also mark what they were doing and where they were at the time of the explosion. This might help us solve the predicament we're facing now."

"Good idea," the engineer snapped his fingers, "Go and discuss it with the people from Section Eight, it's their work."

Section Eight is the ship's security and maintenance department, essentially the law enforcement department of the entire starship, including the security chief, security officers, and emergency response teams, among others.

Although the name of Section Four (Engineering and Maintenance Department) also contains "maintenance," it mainly deals with equipment upkeep and outer space operations, among other technical tasks.

The starship, with its 3,000 crew members, is like a small town sailing in space, with almost everyone assigned specific duties.

However, sometimes Luo Yi couldn't help but complain that they had too many departments, and even they needed a moment to figure out who was responsible for what.

But fortunately, everyone was very responsible. At most, there wasn't enough work to go around, but no one shirked their duties.

Luo Yi noted down the gathered intelligence and nodded with brisk decisiveness.

"I'll go."

...

As for Section Three, the weapons and defense department is the quasi-combat department of the Orion Missile Cruiser as well as the emergency response department.

Although ordinary security incidents are handled by Section Eight, for major accidents that are severe enough to damage the hull, threaten the lives of all crew members, and have uneliminated suspicions of terrorist attacks, Section Three usually also intervenes.

As a professional soldier, Luo Yi acted swiftly, checking the accident scene and the torpedo library before immediately heading to Section Eight for an intelligence exchange and retrieving access records from various functional facilities.

Through this method, it is easy to determine everyone's position at that time.

Section Eight placed considerable emphasis on the intelligence provided by Section Three, dispatching almost all security personnel to interview and investigate all 1,600 crew members on the lower deck.

The results of the investigation surprised everyone. Only a little over two hundred people heard the explosion, but since the alarm didn't go off, most people didn't take it seriously.

In Section Eight's meeting room, a three-dimensional holographic image of the lower deck of the Orion Cruiser hovered over the conference table.

According to the suggestions of Section Three's combat personnel, the areas where people heard the explosion were marked in red, while areas where people didn't hear it were marked in yellow.

The light blue holographic image was almost filled with red and yellow colors, with the winding red resembling a giant dragon extending along the inside of the hull, albeit with no apparent pattern.

Interestingly, there was no situation where, in the same area, some heard the explosion while others didn't.

In other words, there wasn't a third possibility between the red and yellow.

"It seems the problem lies in space," Luo Yi said thoughtfully, looking at the map covered with markings, "I think we should focus on inspecting these rooms marked in red."

The security chief of Section Eight stood to the side, his face, covered in stubble, showing a subtle expression.

He seemed to have thought of something, but it also seemed too far-fetched, yet he coughed and eventually said,

"Do you know what I thought of?"

All eyes around the conference table turned to him, and Luo Yi voiced the question on everyone's minds.

"What?"

The security chief immediately replied.

"Schrödinger's cat."

Murmurs spread around the table, with some people showing agreement with this idea.

Looking at the silent Luo Yi, the security chief continued uncertainly.

"Aren't we stuck in a hyperspace passage now? And then this weird thing happens... Could it be we're trapped in something akin to a quantum space?"

Disliking such ambiguous statements, Luo Yi asked seriously.

"What is quantum space? What's the specific definition?"

The security chief was momentarily speechless and rubbed his finger over his stubble, smiling bitterly.

"I'm really just guessing, I'm not into physics... I studied logistics management."

The security officer standing by whistled and teased.

"Looks like our ship's got no one in the right field."

"Isn't that guy from Section Five in the right field?"

"In the right field, but can't be of use."

Not expecting someone here to hassle Dr. Wu as well, Luo Yi made a helpless expression.

"I plan to ask him about it later... about the quantum space you mentioned."

The security chief coughed awkwardly.

"That was just a name I made up...but the implication is similar, so go ahead and ask him."

A joke is a joke.

After all, that guy is a top student.

Despite his teasing, he actually trusted Dr. Wu's professional knowledge and credentials.

After the meeting ended,

Luo Yi hurried to Section Five, only to find Dr. Wu wasn't there; only an intern he brought along was on duty. After a few inquiries, he learned that guy went drinking again.

The research and technology department had too little work, functioning as a completely useless and marginal department, and the people working there were mostly laid-back, being accustomed to laziness.

With no other choice, Luo Yi contacted a friend in Section Eight and eventually found the drunken guy in a bar tucked away in a corner of the mid-deck.

Seeing Dr. Wu slumped over the bar, Luo Yi sighed, walked over, and sat next to him before looking at the bionics robot bartender in front of him.

"Two glasses of lemon water."

"Would you like it iced or at room temperature?"

"One iced, one at room temperature."

"Very well, sir."

The bionic robot responded gently, and before long, two glasses of water with lemon slices appeared on the table.

Pushing the hot one in front of Dr. Wu, Luo Yi picked up the glass with floating ice cubes and took a sip.

From standard time 8 AM to now, after work ended, he'd been busy for a whole ten hours without a bite to eat.

But it wasn't entirely because of busyness; it was also partly due to a lack of appetite.

Watching Wu Xinghuan reach for the glass, he casually remarked,

"Is it appropriate to drink on duty?"

"Doesn't matter..."

Wu Xinghuan grabbed the glass and took a sip, realizing it had no alcoholic taste and was hot, and then frowned.

Noting his laid-back attitude, Luo Yi raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by 'doesn't matter'? Didn't you discover new physics, talking about how we'd miss the 'you' with the bottle glued to your hand?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Xinghuan let out a self-deprecating chuckle, swirling the lemon water in his hand as he cast a distant gaze at the liquor cabinet before him.

"It doesn't matter anymore...No one will remember us, I haven't discovered any new physics, the old edifice hasn't collapsed, it's even more stable. We're still in our cage, just like the hamster that happened to stop on the wheel."

This guy is obviously drunk; Luo Yi didn't understand what he was saying at all, he just heard him seemingly deny the previous conclusion.

"So... now you think that guy isn't a time traveler anymore?"

"Is it really that important?" Wu Xinghuan shook his head and took a sip from his cup.

Luo Yi frowned and stared intently into his eyes.

"Listen, you're the only one on the ship that has a chance to help us understand our current situation. We need to know what exactly has happened to us. I don't know what issues you've encountered in your research, but I hope that at least now, you can pull yourself together!"

This remark seemed to have some effect; Wu Xinghuan looked up at him, staring directly into his eyes.

"Let's make a hypothesis then."

Luo Yi looked at him, signaling him to continue with his eyes.

Wu Xinghuan placed the cup on the table, picked out two seeds from the lemon slice, and threw them in.

Watching the lemon seeds sink, he said slowly.

"There is a video game with many, many people in it... Let's assume there are 10 billion."

Luo Yi frowned.

"And then?"

Wu Xinghuan continued to speak.

"Our eyes have limits, of course, the camera does too. Now let's assume this camera can only see 100 million people; our console supports a screen with 100 million people."

Without waiting for Luo Yi to question, he continued.

"Then the question arises, where did the 9.9 billion people outside the camera go?"

Stumped by this question, Luo Yi froze for a moment, and replied with a strange expression.

"Of course they're outside the camera view."

"Smart!" Wu Xinghuan gave a thumbs up and grinned, "But you've only seen the surface... The truth is, they're all in a quantum state."

"You know they exist, the console assumes they do as well, even the name of each one is recorded, but they actually haven't been directly generated in our program, have they? Or rather, they're stored in the cache, only generated in real-time and seen by us when we move the camera over."

"People from the old era made games at low cost using this method. As long as the perspective was limited to a certain range and clever use of graphic loading was applied, an entire planet could be created with just a few textures."

"I can somewhat understand what you're getting at," Luo Yi said, frowning, "but what does this have to do with the situation we're facing now?"

Wu Xinghuan did not answer directly, instead knocking over the glass on the bar.

Looking at Luo Yi's astonished expression, he slowly said.

"Now an explosion has occurred outside the camera, and it indeed happened. You've even seen the number of casualties, the aftermath of the explosion, and the subsequent impacts... But did the explosion really happen?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Luo Yi looked at him puzzled, "You yourself said there was indeed an explosion there."

"I'm the host; I'm the narrator. The explosion is what I told you," Wu Xinghuan said with a smile, staring into his eyes, "But you should be clear that before you moved the camera over, the explosion effects, people's screams, and what some person saw or did before dying weren't actually generated in my program, were they?"

"Perhaps when the explosion happened, some guy was flipping the middle finger at you from outside the game. I bet you'd be astonished to see it because some NPC not only awakened self-awareness but also broke the fourth wall... But you didn't have the chance to see it because when you moved the camera over, you might not even find their body anymore."

Luo Yi stared blankly at him, vaguely seeming to understand something.

"Horizon," Wu Xinghuan slowly uttered a word from his mouth, then continued, "We call the spacetime interface where an event can just be observed the 'horizon,' and in this exaggerated example, the edge of your camera is what I mean by the horizon."

"And for those of us sitting here, we're precisely outside the 'horizon' while on the hyperspace passage. Including that misguided kid as well, we're all in a black box that cannot be penetrated by the outside. Our outcome for him is a foregone conclusion, while his outcome is irrelevant to us because no matter what he tells us or what happens in the future, we've already died in his timeline."

At this point, Wu Xinghuan chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"The universe is much crueler than we imagined, isn't it? According to this theory, whatever we're doing right now is meaningless. Even if we engrave words all over the wall, recounting our legendary experiences, what's meant to be erased will still be erased."

"Perhaps we've encountered countless time travelers in history... But without exception, they're just like that NPC standing outside the camera flipping the middle finger at players; no one knows he's broken the fourth wall. When the god overlooking us comes back to consciousness, he's already been thoroughly erased. And the reason is exactly what we see... Because we've never heard of this time traveler."

Luo Yi involuntarily held his breath, slowly speaking after a long while.

"But... how did we get in?"

Was it just because of hyperspace travel?

But since this war began, there have been countless hyperspace travels, and never has a starship encountered such...

Wait.

Maybe they haven't encountered it.

A drop of cold sweat slowly rolled across Luo Yi's forehead, dripping onto the bar counter at the bar.

Perhaps someone did encounter it, but just nobody knew about it.

Just like how no one knows what happens in the afterlife, whether it's reincarnation or a place called Paradise.

The only piece of information they left for the world—or "within the horizon"—is one statement.

And that is the indisputable death.

"How did we get in? Haha, only heaven knows how we got in." Wu Xinghuan laughed aloud, looking at the seemingly enlightened Luo Yi, and said leisurely, "These things don't matter at all. Maybe a big explosion killed us instantly, and we just don't know..."

At this point, he hiccupped, gazing drunkenly into Luo Yi's eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"So why do I say you're doing something meaningless? Because that guy is telling the truth! We may have already... No, it's not possible, it's certain!"

"We are already dead!"

"And sitting here, you and I... are just ghosts."

Silence enveloped the bar beside the counter.

Only the bionic robot skillfully wiped glasses, making a squeaky sound.

Luo Yi blankly stared at Wu Xinghuan, staring at that face for a long time before finally looking at the robot bartender.

"...Two glasses of 'Fountain of Life'."

The bionic bartender spoke in a gentle voice.

"I don't recommend drinking on duty, especially strong cocktails."

"But you gave him one." Luo Yi pointed to Wu Xinghuan sitting next to him.

A troubled expression floated to the robot bartender's face.

"But this gentleman says he's from Division Five, and you all say Division Five doesn't need to work..."

Luo Yi's brow twitched a little, but he still said unchanged in expression.

"I asked for it for him."

This statement seemed to gain the robot bartender's approval, and two glasses of clear, transparent strong liquor were promptly placed on the bar counter.

Luo Yi pushed one of the glasses in front of Dr. Wu, then sprinkled a few grains of salt into his glass.

"Everything you've said is just your inference. I can also speculate that we're actually on different timelines... Just like that parallel universe theory or whatever."

Wu Xinghuan shrugged.

"You don't understand what parallel universe theory is at all. If you really understood, you'd know it's actually no different from what I'm saying. The fate of this part of spacetime of ours is determined, almost determined—"

"I think there is a difference. And the difference is, I'm still breathing, my heart is still beating. At least for now, I'm still alive." Luo Yi stared unwaveringly into his eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Living people should do what living people do, and as for things after death, let other living people think about them."

"But I must apologize for my previous prejudice against you. You have not done nothing; in fact, you've done far more than any of us."

In front of Dr. Wu's surprised face, Luo Yi downed the strong liquor in his glass in one go, stood up with both hands on the table.

"I still have things I can do, though it might seem meaningless to you, but I don't want to give up just like that."

Just as he was about to leave, monotonous applause suddenly came from the entrance of the bar.

Including the android behind the bar, the three of them simultaneously looked towards the entrance, only to see their captain standing there.

"Hello, Captain." The android bartender smiled and greeted.

As for Wu Xinghuan, he awkwardly hid his wine glass behind his back, then slid off the bar stool.

Because standing right behind the captain was his cousin, Wu Mengke.

He could already feel that sharp gaze staring at his drunken self.

"Well said."

Zhao Tianhe lowered his hands from clapping, nodded to the android bartender, and then smiled as he looked at the two standing in front of the bar.

"This is the attitude that a United Human warrior should have, never give up until the last moment."

"You flatter me..." Luo Yi said modestly, saluting.

Zhao Tianhe returned the salute simply, then looked at someone who couldn't stand straight because they were drunk, and continued smiling.

"Dr. Wu, I noticed that when you mentioned 'our fate is destined,' you used the word 'almost.'

"That's right..." Wu Xinghuan said awkwardly, dodging Wu Mengke's sharp gaze, rubbing his nose.

Zhao Tianhe smiled and said.

"So there's actually a way to change it, isn't there?"

Wu Xinghuan was taken aback.

Before he could speak, the captain paused for a moment and continued.

"For example... keeping the predetermined future unchanged, only altering the unknown part."

Wu Xinghuan said with a bitter smile.

"But how is that possible..."

Zhao Tianhe looked at him and said.

"The Gemini is the sister ship of the Orion, we share the same blueprint."

Wu Xinghuan looked at the captain with a peculiar expression.

"You mean..."

Zhao Tianhe stated logically and clearly.

"The spaceship that collided with us doesn't have interstellar cruising capability. We reasonably suspect the accident occurred near Earth... at least, in a place reachable by an engine with propellant."

Wu Xinghuan glanced hurriedly at Luo Yi standing beside him, saw the latter nod, and then whispered.

"It seems... that's the case."

Without noticing his small actions, Zhao Tianhe continued.

"And we are in the hyperspace passage. From what I understand, the hyperspace passage shouldn't have terminal points in the classical spatial sense, only terminal points in the temporal sense... Am I right?"

"Not exactly, but that's pretty much the idea. We can't calculate our distance relative to two massive celestial bodies... wait, you mean—" half-way through speaking, Wu Xinghuan's eyes suddenly widened, looking at the captain in astonishment.

Zhao Tianhe watched him, voicing his hypothesis.

"Could there be a possibility that the so-called time traveler aboard the Orion, actually doesn't know whether they're on the Orion or the Gemini?"

Luo Yi furrowed his brows and asked.

"But didn't the Gemini already return—"

Zhao Tianhe raised his hand to interrupt him.

"They were sunk, and it was by our hands."

An eerie silence fell over the bar.

Luo Yi and Wu Xinghuan were both stunned, then the former subconsciously looked at Wu Mengke standing behind Zhao Tianhe—the second in command of this starship, the administrative officer.

That face was expressionless, without a hint of surprise.

It was clear the captain wasn't making things up.

Luo Yi's Adam's apple moved, incredulously staring at Zhao Tianhe, this officer he once deeply respected.

"...Why?"

Zhao Tianhe looked at this young soldier, sighed slowly, and said in a complex tone.

"Because... we had no choice."

"You... killed..." Wu Xinghuan was in shock as he looked at his cousin, pushing out the last half sentence from his trembling lips, "...three thousand people?"

His eyes stared directly at her, but this time she turned her gaze away, not looking at her brother.

Zhao Tianhe coughed lightly, breaking the awkward atmosphere that filled the air.

"We had to stop the Air and Space Army from committing crimes, as for the specific process... it's all recorded in the black box. When we return to the space station at the Lagrange Point, I will surrender and explain my actions to the military court. Besides, this was my decision alone, and has nothing to do with any of you."

"In any case, there's a lot beneath the surface of this 'accident.' I don't want to tarnish my honor, but we had to make a choice. If we didn't act, not only we, but also many others would die, including many survivors who've barely made it through these three years..."

Luo Yi stared blankly at the captain, unable to accept this careless explanation.

The Gemini is the sister ship of the Orion, and personnel frequently rotate between the two; there were quite a few people he knew on that ship too.

Yet now, his most respected officer was telling him... those guys were all dead.

And it was their doing.

Without the knowledge of the vast majority of people...

Wu Xinghuan took a deep breath and worked to pull himself out of the shock of the bad news.

Indeed, he saw a glimmer of hope—

Muttering in a voice that no one else could hear.

"There are two cats in the box... only one is dead, the other is still uncertain."

"We saw the person opening the box, but the person opening the box only saw one dead cat... as long as they die, we live."

Luo Yi couldn't hear what he was saying, nor did he have the mind to listen.

Looking at this young man adrift, a weariness that he had never shown before surfaced on Zhao Tianhe's slightly haggard face, and he spoke slowly.

"I will explain later about the Gemini and the orders from the space station at the Lagrange Point. For now, let's focus on discussing how to deal with the immediate issue."

...

(Thanks to "Aurora_" for the generous reward!!!)

Chapter 992: Detour

"...This is the Gemini. We've received orders from Command to assist you in executing the 'Endgame Plan'. Please open your deflection shields, guide our landing ship to land, and coordinate for work handover with our personnel."

"This is the Hunter... We've received your request and are confirming with Command..."

"...Gemini received... (static)... Please respond promptly..."

"Hunter received... We are unable to confirm the command's legality, requesting to submit the arbitration to the Military Committee..."

"...Request denied, this is wartime, our enemies are slaughtering our people. We don't have time to wait for committee arbitration, execute the order immediately!"

"... (static) ..."

"...Calling Hunter, what are you doing? Our ship detected unstable gravitational field fluctuations, immediately shut down the warp engine and deflection shields! Repeat, immediately shut down the warp engine and deflection shields for inspection!"

"... (static) ..."

"...Good night."

Zhao Tianhe had few choices.

He was almost certain that from the moment he disobeyed the order, the neutron torpedoes on the Gemini were already aimed at him and his subordinates, and it would definitely strike before he entered the hyperspace passage.

If he chose to resign himself to fate, it would mean he was leading the entire crew of the Hunter to suicide, and handing over tens of thousands of neutron torpedoes on the ship to those bloodthirsty lunatics.

For the Constitution he was loyal to, and for the survivors on the surface, he had no choice but to launch neutron torpedoes on the launch rails at friendly forces while starting the warp engine.

This was his sole decision.

Yet it had indeed received tacit approval from all officers and soldiers.

They, along with Zhao Tianhe, were traditional soldiers in the conservative faction who were not that conservative.

They would rather point their guns at themselves than point their guns at unarmed compatriots.

Under the cover of gravity field disturbances, the torpedo successfully hit the Gemini.

Continuously accelerating torpedoes can resist the repulsion of deflection shields and release a high-energy neutron beam after the warhead penetrates the ship's armor.

Three thousand crew members would die instantly, not even aware of their deaths, and the process would be without any pain.

At the same time, the Hunter cruiser also jumped into the hyperspace passage simultaneously.

Everything happened in an instant, thus except for a few crew members involved in the "rebellion", the vast majority of crew members on board were almost unaware.

This was actually for their well-being.

After all, regardless of the reasons, it was a fact that the Hunter sank a friendly force.

Those were three thousand lives, not something that can be lightly dismissed with the phrase "understandable".

Both the issuers and executors of the order would eventually be judged by the law, and Zhao Tianhe never intended to justify his crimes.

He only hoped to shoulder as much responsibility as possible alone, so his subordinates could bear as little as possible, thereby reducing or exempting punishment.

As for now, he must quickly bring the truth back to the Solar System and stop the Air and Space Army high command's so-called "Endgame Plan".

That was essentially not a war launched for the future of civilization, but purely a rehash of the "Torch Plan"!

This was what happened on the Hunter cruiser before entering the hyperspace passage.

What happened afterward was the bizarre situation witnessed by all the crew on board.

They were stuck in the hyperspace passage...

Zhao Tianhe frankly disclosed the entire event to Luo Yi and Wu Xinghuan.

Regardless of whether they could emotionally accept it, now they had no other choice.

"...I don't expect my confession to earn your forgiveness or understanding. My mistakes will naturally be judged by the law, and I am not trying to evade it. But now is not the time for this, we must unite to overcome the current crisis."

"You are both known survivors, and you are the most learned scholars on board. You are the ones most likely to break the deadlock."

As he spoke to this point, Zhao Tianhe looked at Dr. Wu seriously.

"Especially you, I want to hear your suggestion... the method I mentioned, is it feasible."

"Deceiving the Observer who opened the box... Such things have no precedent to follow, nor can there be a 'successful example' left behind."

Wu Xinghuan touched his nose, feeling the tremor at his fingertip.

This would be a gamble.

Yet it seemed to be the only chance of victory.

They must voluntarily abandon everything predestined to be abandoned, which likely includes not only life but also other things including honor and faith...

And the only result achieved would merely be to allow "that part that can survive" to survive.

In other words, it means the part that has not been observed, or the part whose life or death is uncertain.

After serving on this starship for so long, it was the first time he felt such a heavy pressure.

Facing a multitude of gazes, he took a deep breath and calmly continued.

"Firstly, we must change the layout of the ship, including the coating and markings on the exterior of the ship... and send away the person who opens the box before leaving the hyperspace passage."

"However, these are actually trivial matters, we are sister ships with Gemini, and disguising as each other is not difficult... the real difficulty lies in two other matters."

Looking at the three listening intently, Wu Xinghuan raised two fingers and continued calmly.

"First, we must understand the Celestial Beings. Currently, we only know from the few words of the 'Opener' that they are a group of digital life forms and do not harbor good intentions for Earth's survivors."

Zhao Tianhe frowned and said.

"Isn't that enough?"

Wu Xinghuan shook his head.

"Of course, it is not enough. Firstly, the 'Opener' is just one of the 'Observers', the information he is aware of does not equal the information known to all Observers, nor does it equal absolutely accurate information."

"To seamlessly piece together two fragments, every edge must fit perfectly...otherwise, we will be in trouble at the level of cause and effect."

Wu Mengke pondered and asked.

"What is the trouble at the level of cause and effect?"

"This is unknown, anything can happen, after all, the encountered people can't tell us," Wu Xinghuan shrugged his shoulders and continued, "Maybe we fall into a black hole, maybe hit by a meteor... Of course, these are too trivial, I am more inclined to believe we will be permanently lost in time's gap, or become quantum-state ghosts, with some people able to see parts of us, and some not."

Three people looked at each other in shock.

This matter is too bizarre; they really can't imagine what kind of state that would be.

Actually, not to mention them, even Wu Xinghuan himself can't imagine it.

Everything he said is theoretical speculation, and the things he described using theories happen to be invisible on a theoretical level.

Zhao Tianhe was silent for a while, then continued.

"We can simulate a digital life and hide behind it, which isn't hard... and then?"

Wu Xinghuan nodded and continued.

"Then comes the crucial part: we have to send the Observer away, and do it as quickly as possible... Only by letting him return to his timeline quickly and reducing his observations of us can we have ample preparation time to deceive the Observer, allowing us to change our future within the box without altering the Observer's future significantly."

"The more he knows about us in this process, the less room we have for maneuver. Of course... Conversely, we must use him; the more we know through him, the higher our success rate."

Wu Mengke asked seriously.

"So the question arises, how can we safely send him away?"

Wu Xinghuan said in an uncertain tone.

"If our speculation is correct, just let him return to the Research Ship, lie back in the Sleep Cabin... then we close the door and leave the area, there should be no problem. When he wakes up next, he should be back in his timeline."

He paused and looked at Captain Zhao.

"The divergence point is here; what we brought into the Hyperspace Passage should be something else, like the landing craft sent by the Gemini? Didn't you say that they sent a landing craft to take over our Starship? That landing craft should have set off, right."

Zhao Tianhe nodded thoughtfully.

"I see... Close the overturned box and reopen it, and we will return to each other's timelines."

Wu Xinghuan snapped his fingers.

"Exactly."

Upon hearing what he said, the expressions of Zhao Tianhe and Wu Mengke relaxed a bit, as if they breathed a sigh of relief, and their moods were not as heavy as before.

Especially the latter.

She pressed her index finger against her brow and said with a bitter smile.

"Although it's a bit difficult to understand, the situation doesn't seem as pessimistic as we imagined."

Zhao Tianhe also nodded.

"Instead, we obtained revelations about the future from the future Observer..."

However, at this moment, Luo Yi, who had been silent all along, raised his hand.

Seeing three pairs of eyes looking towards him, he hesitated before slowly speaking.

"I don't quite understand... but I vaguely caught some parts. Essentially, if we want to survive, do we have to become the 'Celestial Beings' the child mentioned?"

The air in front of the bar turned silent.

Faced with this question, the three of them unanimously fell into silence.

Become Celestial Beings...

Meaning, destroy the world 200 years from now.

Yet not long ago, they sunk the Gemini to prevent the world's destruction.

If they were to do the same thing as the Gemini, then what was the point of going the extra mile to sink the latter, only to wait 200 years to do this?

Zhao Tianhe couldn't answer this question, so he temporarily set it aside, paused briefly, and then spoke.

"Things two hundred years later are too distant; I still prefer to believe we exist in different parallel worlds, and our fates might not be completely connected."

He paused before making a decision.

"Let's first verify Dr. Wu's conclusion and inquire about the Heavenly Beings Organization."

"Then, send that child home."

...

Perhaps because people during the Prosperity Epoch lived in privileged environments, Night Ten often felt that these guys were a bit too scatterbrained.

Anyone who barges into military territory with a "Civilian Spaceship" and nearly injures an active Soldier with a combat prosthesis wouldn't be locked up and could even swagger around on the ship.

To be precise, wandering around isn't quite right; there are places he can't go.

For instance, other decks and the site of the collision accident.

In contrast, aside from these restricted areas, he could freely move in all areas of the lower deck without anyone following him.

Apart from the guarantee of personal freedom, his other basic rights were maximally ensured, almost similar to the crew living on this Starship.

Before clarifying his background, they first recognized him as a human and treated him as such.

The management department on the Starship even considered his special situation and arranged a single dorm room for him, even giving him a chargeable meal card.

According to the person who issued the meal card, if he was truly from the future, this debt would likely be eaten away by inflation in the distant future, meaning he wouldn't have to repay it.

If he wasn't from the future, they would issue him an invoice when he disembarked, which he could repay gradually after returning to Earth by finding a job.

Though education might be an issue, many research institutes would likely be interested in him.

Whenever he thought of the staff who considered him in all aspects, holding the meal card, Night Ten couldn't help but feel touched.

This is nowhere near the Conservative faction.

It's practically way more left than the Ideal City!

He couldn't help but wonder just how radical those Rebels in the colony would have to be to make these kind-hearted people look conservative.

On the other hand, the attitude of the crew toward him was quite intriguing.

Some people thought he was bullshitting, while others believed what he said. Regardless of belief, they all showed him immense enthusiasm, hoping he would talk more about the future.

Bar on the lower deck.

Night Ten, sitting at the bar counter, was surrounded by a crowd; whether in terms of numbers or the noisy environment, this couldn't compare to the elegantly toned bar on the middle deck.

Listening to this self-proclaimed time traveler from the future talk about things to come, the crew surrounding him widened their eyes, faces filled with incredulity.

"The Province of Yúnjiānxíng actually became the most prosperous area?! That old industrial district?! This... It's truly hard to believe!"

Sipping the drink offered by others, Night Ten casually said.

"After all, the Pioneer landed there, they started off with an advantage, I could have done it too."

A woman with a big chest crossed her arms, shook her head, and said.

"Vellante people... Looks like the War Construction Committee is no good either, even bringing out slavery."

Night Ten replied.

"You have to consider the era's context when looking at issues... Never mind, I don't know them anyway, can't be bothered to defend them."

Another young man was stunned for quite a while, suddenly snapped back and shouted.

"Wait, I've been wanting to ask... Do you mean people live in Poluo Province again?! Where did the animals go?"

Night Ten shrugged.

"Who knows? People can't survive, let alone them. But thanks to one of your colleagues, a guy named Lowell, he's a true environmentalist, thanks to him, it's still like a zoo there, not much different from before."

"That's great."

The young man visibly sighed in relief, Night Ten couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Damn, what's so great about this!

In a way, he had already become a celebrity in the "small town of three thousand people."

Night Ten quite enjoyed their adulation, answering all their questions from the east to the west of the Central Continent, even chatted about places he hadn't been to like the Antarctics and Arctics and the New Continent.

There were other players who had been there, but it didn't cause much of a stir.

Those experiences were turned into travelogue-style guides, updated on the official forum.

If he successfully survives this crisis, he might also write about his experiences on the forum.

He once sat in the bar of a starship from the Human Alliance Era 200 years ago, chatting with a group of ancient people.

But how to say it?

His mindset was probably like chatting with the deceased for relaxation, pointing out mountains and rivers while conveniently gathering some intel, nothing more, and certainly not putting these people's situations at heart.

After all, from his standpoint, these people living over 200 years ago are just dead, aren't they?

Even if they didn't meet an accident, they'd die of old age!

"The so-called Alliance... is just an alliance of survivors coming together, initially, there wasn't anything mysterious, we weren't as great as you think, not doing anything with a mindset of saving the world, just not wanting to be eaten by the Looter."

The woman with a big chest blinked curiously.

"Eaten?"

The young man with a not-so-normal mind also spoke uncertainly.

"Is it the kind of eaten I'm thinking? Or... in a broad sense, territorial annexation?"

Night Ten chuckled.

"Annexation? Do you mean swallowing it into the stomach?"

After hearing his words, a wave of exclamations spread around, many wore astonished expressions.

Some with a weaker psychological resilience even turned pale, making one wonder how such cowards mixed into the troops.

"Looter even eat people..."

"These guys... haven't they thought that they're also human?"

Listening to such idiotic questions, Night Ten casually replied.

"Expecting Looters to understand this is like expecting slime mold to see itself as a human... Cough, but speaking of which, we did encounter such slime mold, it mimicked until it completely became our shape, even more human than humans."

The crew standing around exchanged glances, a man who appeared robust shook his head and said.

"I still can't believe that our kids... future people would be so barbaric."

Night Ten took a sip of cocktail, sighed and said.

"Human... the concept is too broad. Humans are different from one another, the definition of humans also changes with the era. That's why I say the Alliance isn't really great, it's just relatively normal. You might be more suited to life in the Ideal City, but there are quite a few who couldn't bear the Ideal City and joined us."

The big-chested lady whistled, teased and said.

"So you won."

Night Ten shook his head.

"I wouldn't say that, but we did get through the present crisis, it's the result of several forces compromising with each other."

Humans and Gaia can't fight anymore.

Survivors and Vellante people are the same.

Within the survivors too.

These three conflicts have a sequential order, together they form the main line of the Wasteland Era.

And when they are all resolved, the Wasteland Era naturally comes to an end.

Night Ten always has the feeling that he's somewhat redundant, the history he personally pushed might be far less than Brother Fang Chang, and the roles they've played together were more akin to catalysts rather than the fuel itself.

But thinking it over, it's actually normal.

Everyone plays different roles in the tide of the era, some bear a little more responsibility, some less, but there's no saying someone's completely dispensable.

This show couldn't go on with just Fang Chang alone, including the Manager revered as a god by countless Waste Land Wanderers.

They, along with the survivors on the Wasteland, completed this epic, possibly available for future generations to sing.

Honor belongs to every survivor.

While everyone still wanted to ask some things, Luo Yi walked through the crowd and came in.

"Sorry everyone, I need to borrow your star."

A burly man looked at him and whistled.

"You still haven't played enough?"

Luo Yi shrugged and said.

"Our misunderstanding was resolved a long time ago, just need to chat with him about some matters, very important to him."

The man placed his hand on Night Ten's shoulder, patted and grinned.

"If this guy gives you a hard time, just let me know."

Night Ten didn't know the name of this "fan", but still said "Thanks" to him. Then, he jumped down from the bar stool, followed Luo Yi out of the crowd, and headed to the room at the other end of the corridor.

After closing the door, he looked at Night Ten and said,

"I have good news, we've found a way to help you return home."

There was always a feeling that this scenario wasn't so simple.

However, to push the plot forward, Night Ten leaned against the table with his arms crossed and went along with what he said,

"Let's hear it."

Luo Yi recounted the method that Dr. Wu had thought of, and the young man sitting on the table showed a subtle expression upon hearing it.

Guessing what he might be thinking, Luo Yi lightly coughed and said,

"I know you want to say this sounds stupid."

Night Ten shrugged and said,

"You've already said it for me... But I still plan to try it out with you guys; after all, it doesn't cost me anything."

Unexpectedly, he was so cooperative, Luo Yi looked at him in surprise, paused, and continued to say,

"I'm glad you can work with me, and one more thing... We want to cooperate with you."

Night Ten raised an eyebrow.

"Cooperate on what?"

Luo Yi laid out everything he had discussed with the captain and the officer earlier, saying,

"Our scientists believe there's a reason you ended up in our timeline, and the Heavenly Beings Organization might be an important clue. So, I want you to tell us everything you know about the Heavenly Beings Organization."

Pausing, he continued,

"It's very important, maybe we can help you face that... celestial beings together."

Night Ten suspiciously stared at him, always feeling that this guy hadn't disclosed everything, and there might be secrets unknown to him behind this.

But these thoughts were not important right now.

The important thing was he didn't believe these people had any way to overturn a destiny that was already sealed.

"You're already dead. I've said quite clearly enough, unless you can change things that have already happened."

Luo Yi did not argue, just stared into his eyes and said,

"Have you heard of Twin?"

Night Ten frowned.

"...What is that?"

Luo Yi explained patiently,

"It's another cruiser; its design blueprints are the same as ours, and it was even completed on the same production sequence as ours."

"Wait... My mind's a bit mixed up," Night Ten raised his hand to halt him, looking at him in surprise, "You mean... there's another Hunter?!"

Luo Yi seriously said,

"Technically you thought you boarded the Hunter, but it is actually Twin."

Night Ten interrupted him without hesitation,

"That's impossible. I saw the name Hunter written on their ship with my own eyes."

Luo Yi continued,

"A few lines of paint on the ship's hull mean nothing. They can completely impersonate us to do the dirty work we don't want to do."

Night Ten frowned and asked,

"The dirty work you don't want to do?"

Luo Yi did not hide anything, nodded and said,

"We refused the Lagrange Point's orders on the 'End War', and I think... those celestial beings you mentioned are likely related to that 'End War' plan."

Night Ten stared at him dumbly.

"What is the End War..."

He had never heard of this term.

But actually, that's understandable. Even if he came from the future, he couldn't possibly know every event that happened in the past.

Looking at Night Ten who knew nothing about it, Luo Yi felt relieved instead.

Maybe the drunkard's plan might actually succeed, who knows.

The history outside the "horizon" had room for manipulation, and the space left for them seemed considerable.

"The Lagrange Point's command indeed planned to completely cleanse the surface, thinking it would aid in the rapid post-war reconstruction of the shelters... but we refused them and fired neutron torpedoes at Twin."

"So, the others don't believe you are from the future, but we do... Moreover, according to your description, the war hasn't ended and continued for another two hundred years."

Walking up to the astonished Night Ten, Luo Yi placed his hand on his shoulder, looking seriously as he continued to say,

"This is our war, we won't leave you behind. We will continue forward in our timeline, while you return to yours."

"We will meet again in 200 years."

"For that, I need you to tell me unreservedly everything you know about the celestial beings."

Seeing those steadfast eyes, Night Ten finally swallowed back the words hanging at the edge of his lips, and slowly nodded.

No matter how far-fetched this plan sounded, no matter how slight the possibilities appeared—

Driven by their determination, he decided to take a bet with them.

And what if it succeeded?

It wouldn't just save Jiang Xuezhou; the Alliance would gain an incredibly powerful ally!

"I agree to your proposal."

Chapter 993: Deviation

On each deck of the Orion Missile Cruiser, the ship's command broadcast echoes in the corridors, in the dining hall, in the bar, in the toilets, above the heads of every crew member.

"... Good evening, crew of the Orion Missile Cruiser. I am Zhao Tianhe, your captain."

"I apologize for interrupting your rest at this time, but please give me ten minutes and listen patiently to this broadcast."

"I believe you have already noticed; our spaceship encountered an unprecedented situation as we entered the hyperspace passage, and for unknown reasons, we stopped in a temporal rift..."

"In order to overcome the current predicament and for the future of human civilization..."

"We must unite!"

...

In the broadcast, Captain Zhao Tianhe of the Orion Missile Cruiser candidly told the ship's crew the course of events and conveyed a battle plan jointly formulated by sections one, three, and five.

The operation is codenamed "Dawn."

They will disguise themselves as friendly corpses, remain silent in the deep-sea-like outer space to deceive the observers, passing through a historical dark curtain lasting two centuries out of everyone's sight, until their timeline coincides with that child from the Wasteland Era, year 215.

This broadcast, personally sent out by Zhao Tianhe, caused quite a stir on the cruiser.

Not merely because the identity of the boy named Night Ten as a "time traveler" got "official" recognition, but also because they learned about the Twins' ordeal in the broadcast.

Unbeknownst to them, they became executioners who killed their own allies...

In the dining hall on the lower deck, a group of red-faced crew members are loudly arguing.

A man with a beard angrily slammed his fist on the table and shouted furiously.

"This is ridiculous... just because of suspicion, we fired neutron torpedoes at them?!"

Sitting across from him, Xiao Yong, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.

"I believe our captain was right. We could not execute the plan called 'End War.' Conflict was inevitable. It might even have been that by the moment we refused to execute the order, the torpedoes from the Twins were already aimed at us."

The man with the beard glared at him angrily.

"Evidence? Just your words?"

"There's no such thing," Xiao Yong shook his head, unyieldingly meeting the man's gaze, "This is space, outer space, the dead have no voice. I'm not afraid. I would even rather I was one of those who died on that ship, but the stuff beneath my feet must not be handed over to them; there are my family on Earth... so they must die."

"You...!"

The two seemed about to fight, but their colleagues nearby separated them.

Watching the endless disputes over the Twins, Lin Youyou, sitting in a corner of the dining hall, couldn't help but show a touch of sorrow on her face.

She could not agree with Xiao Yong's words, nor could she agree with the captain and the decisions of some colleagues, even if they might be right.

Those were once comrades who fought side by side with them; they were among the few survivors of that war.

If everyone expressed their demands with such intense methods, even if they miraculously survived the current crisis, they would inevitably lose everything in some future gamble.

Perhaps the situation of being trapped in the hyperspace passage is destiny's punishment for them...

She looked at Night Ten, who was quietly eating beside her, and couldn't help but ask.

"Do you think we are doing the right thing?"

She wanted to know how history would judge them.

Pausing with his chopsticks in hand, Night Ten was silent for a moment before answering.

"I don't know. In the history I know... it was you who bombed us, but who knows? There's still a long string of things we don't know, including the Orbital Landing Corps, the formation of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, and so on... For us, the disintegration of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee is already distant enough, while you are still before their birth."

Seeing that "young person acting mature" demeanor, Lin Youyou couldn't help but feel a bit of heartache, wanting to reach out and touch the child's head, but quickly remembered he does not like being treated as a child and withdrew her hand.

"You mentioned your people's judgment; I actually want to know your judgment."

"Me?" Night Ten was stunned for a moment, then thoughtfully said, "I might lean towards agreeing with your actions."

"Why?" Lin Youyou couldn't help but ask, "It's just that I killed over 3000 people... and they were our teammates too."

"Maybe because I live in an era where 'not killing one person means killing everyone else'? Night Ten shrugged, "Look at it from another angle; you just saved an entire planet of people."

This is actually just a comforting phrase as even he cannot tell how to judge the incident.

Standing from the position of Residents of the refuge, it seems only those who couldn't make it into the refuge died, and Residents of the refuge were almost unaffected.

Most of the people they saved ended up dying eventually, suffering prolonged torment, passing the pain they felt to their offspring.

Then those who survived became the initial Waste Land Wanderers.

From this perspective, the plan named "End War" was indeed a merciful choice.

Without Waste Land Wanderers, perhaps the Enlightenment Society wouldn't exist, along with Torch Church and celestial beings and so on...

Yet, conversely, the Post-War Reconstruction Committee would likely vanish, along with Giant Stone City, Singular Point City, and the seeds sown by the former on the Wasteland.

That would be a future composed entirely of Residents of the refuge.

They would probably follow the original plan of the "Ark Plan," rebuilding a new United Human on the Wasteland according to standards planned long ago.

It's difficult to compare which future is better.

However, if he had to choose...

"I think you did pretty well... don't be too hard on yourself."

Seeing Night Ten start eating again, Lin Youyou was momentarily stunned, then came to her senses and teased.

"It seems you're the one comforting me now."

Chewing on his food, Night Ten slowly said.

"The first part of what I said was, but the latter part was sincere."

"I didn't expect you to be quite caring."

Looking at this interesting young man, Lin Youyou rested her chin on the back of her hand and suddenly said with a sly smile.

"Speaking of which, is that girl Jiang Xuezhou your girlfriend?"

Night Ten almost choked on his food, coughed with a red face, and said.

"What strange things are you saying, it's impossible for me and N... In short, we're not in that kind of relationship, we're teammates."

Seeing the flustered young man, Lin Youyou couldn't help but burst into laughter and patted his back.

"Haha, don't be nervous, in our era, it's not strange for teammates to have a deeper relationship. Is it taboo in your time? If so, I didn't mean to offend, I'm just a bit curious about how people 200 years later interact... I mean emotionally."

She was quite honest about her nosiness.

"I don't know, ask Fang Chang, he knows more." Night Ten brushed it off and quickened his eating pace.

"Really? But I'm more curious about that girl Jiang Xuezhou," Lin Youyou smiled and said in a teasing tone, "If I can live to 200 years later, can you introduce us?"

"Sure..." Night Ten replied vaguely.

If they truly met 200 years later, he wouldn't need to say it; he would eagerly show them around, flaunting his legendary experiences.

Lin Youyou didn't know what he was thinking, but she remembered his words and smiled gently, saying.

"Then it's settled."

...

Although the tragic fate of the Twin Stars shocked the three thousand officers and soldiers on the ship, fortunately, the commotion didn't last long, and most people adjusted within a day or even half a day.

It wasn't because they were cold-blooded.

It was because the crew knew their captain was right.

That, at least for now, they must unite.

It was not only to save themselves but also to save future humanity and that child who accidentally entered their timeline and got trapped here with them.

Even to sooner bring the captain who ordered the destruction of their ally to justice, they needed to unite to overcome the current challenge.

With the same belief, whether they supported Zhao Tianhe or opposed him, they put aside their disputes at this moment.

And the plan codenamed "Dawn" was now moving from inception to implementation.

Engineers from Division Four deployed repair robots, conducting a series of improvements to the ship's exterior, including the paintwork.

They planned to disguise themselves as the remaining Twin Stars, survive, and communicate with the Lagrange Space Station as the Orion after leaving the hyperspace passage, leaving a record.

Then they would develop an intelligent lifeform called "celestial beings."

Even if it was a fake intelligent lifeform—

They needed the "Observer" from the future to witness the birth of the "celestial beings" firsthand!

Honestly speaking, Night Ten felt deep down that this far-fetched plan would likely fail, but he was truly moved by the determination and selflessness of these people.

Logically speaking, he was a mysterious person who suddenly appeared on this ship, just when it got stuck in the hyperspace passage, it wouldn't be surprising if someone suggested killing him.

Yet, no one did so.

Instead, not only did they not show hostility or alienate him, but they also cared for his injuries and showed concern for him.

Whether or not the crew believed his words, they certainly treated him as a living, breathing person.

Upon self-reflection, Night Ten knew he wasn't that noble.

Maintaining composure facing despair and not succumbing to human nature's darker side was already an extraordinary feat for him.

Because they achieved what he couldn't, his heart was deeply touched.

He was someone who reciprocated others' treatments.

How others treated him was how he would treat them.

Therefore, even if he was aware this was merely a game's story, he found it difficult to treat these people as mere NPCs.

They felt more like friends to him.

Or rather, they were his friends.

He wanted to help them out of this maze—

For the reunion two hundred years from now!

Night Ten strained his memory to recall every detail about celestial beings and conveyed them entirely to the "Robot and Artificial Intelligence Department" staff.

As the "Tenth Division" of this starship, although this department was the last in the ship's departmental sequence, it was more useful than the fifth division, which was placed earlier in the sequence.

All the intelligent programs on this starship were maintained by this department.

Sometimes, they even collaborated with other departments to develop artificial intelligence applications and assisted the third and first divisions in dealing with potential electronic warfare intrusions.

All the engineers in the ten departments are true programming experts, graduated from prestigious higher institutions of the United Human. They might not be as gifted as Xiao Jiang, but their professional skills are in no way inferior to the latter, who is well-versed in various fields... and each of them is like this.

With Night Ten's assistance, they completed the design of "celestial beings" without too much effort.

It was a lifeform with autonomous evolution capability.

And it was completely based on the extreme conservative forces in the United Space Army.

Its mission was to purify the Wasteland ecological environment and revive the Prosperity Epoch, even at the cost of all survivors on the Wasteland.

According to the standards of the Scientific Ethics Committee, such an anti-human artificial intelligence exuded an illegal aura from head to toe. In peacetime, everyone from the developer to the sponsor on the list would be sued and sentenced.

But they couldn't care about that now.

After all, according to what Night Ten said, even if they didn't do it, the extreme conservative forces on the Lagrange Point Space Station would still develop a similar intelligent lifeform, or even become such an existence themselves.

This was a predetermined reality of the future, an event that had occurred and could not be changed.

Their task was to usurp it.

To have this artificial intelligence masquerading as a devil kill and replace the real devil, and then be killed by the "brave" in the distant future.

In this way, the cause and effect over time would form a closed loop.

To ensure the devil could be killed, they left a fatal backdoor while designing this intelligent lifeform named "celestial beings", or rather a Key.

It was a set of cryptographic keys.

Anyone who entered this set of keys would be able to format "celestial beings" automatically, thus burying this wicked devil.

Night Ten actually very much wanted to be this "exorcist" himself, but unfortunately, according to Dr. Wu, he possessed an Observer attribute.

Once he took this set of keys to the future, this set of keys would likely become invalid.

In other words, this glorious mission could only be accomplished by the Orion Missile Destroyer that created celestial beings.

According to the "Dawn" plan, they would rendezvous with Night Ten, who had returned to his timeline, 200 years later near the wreck of the "Gemini" Missile Cruiser in synchronous orbit.

This was an indispensable link...

After nearly 300 hours of effort, all preparations were finally completed.

With the help of the crew of the Orion Missile Destroyer, Night Ten lay back in the Sleep Cabin where he initially awakened.

He would use that unreliable method to enter a hibernation state again, and then be sent by the crew of the Orion to the nearly-crashed Research Ship.

According to Captain Zhao Tianhe, he wouldn't have to wait inside for long, as they would go to the site of the incident 200 years later to rescue him and wake him from the Sleep Cabin.

Looking at the crowd standing in front of the Sleep Cabin, a complex expression appeared on Night Ten's face, and he couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark in the end.

"...If you all don't appear on my timeline, then celestial beings would have been designed by me."

What Wasteland celestial locust.

This is just too damn ridiculous!

"I promise you, we will never abandon you, after all, that is our home too."

Luo Yi placed his hand on Night Ten's shoulder, making a dignified and solemn promise.

"We will definitely meet, in the distant future."

"Let's hope... As you say, for me, it would just be a blink of an eye anyway, if not, I don't need to expect too much or wait too long."

As he said this, Night Ten took a deep breath, looking at those already familiar faces and pair of passionate eyes.

"But I believe you, and all of you..."

"Let's start now!"

"Take care..." Koala also patted his shoulder, then followed Luo Yi out of the room.

Lin Youyou gave him a worried look, but in the end, she also followed them out.

Wu Xinghuan was the last to leave.

He was the theoretical designer of the entire plan and was also the most anxious person at the moment.

Night Ten gave him a "don't worry about me" look, then closed his eyes with a devil-may-care attitude.

At worst, it's just death.

It's not his first time dying, anyway.

But thinking of Jiang Xuezhou, who was still waiting for him to return in some corner of the universe, his heart hardened the previous second suddenly ached again.

Brother Guang!

I'm begging you!

Let me return, don't make me start over!

The door of the Sleep Cabin slowly closed, a chilling cold crept up his spine to his brow.

The exhaled air froze on the cabin door glass, and he felt his conscious clarity becoming shaky as if falling back into that pitch-black well.

A trace of timidness suddenly surged in his heart.

But it was too late to back out now, he could only brace himself and charge forward.

Just like before.

Standing outside the cabin, Zhao Tianhe stared intently at the sleep cabin, then nodded at the staff member beside him, who was wearing an exoskeleton and a spacesuit.

"Let's begin."

The staff member gestured that he understood, then lifted the sleep cabin and walked toward the room cordoned off by the isolation tape.

According to the plan, they needed to stow the sleep cabin back into that research ship, then restore the scene to its original state as much as possible, and remove all observation devices that might interfere with quantum entanglement.

Then...

Everything would return to the moment it all began.

And the research ship that accidentally entered their space-time would also transform into the landing craft of the Twin Ship.

There would probably be some combat personnel on board.

But it didn't matter.

The Space Combat Squad from the third department was already prepared, fully armed and waiting here.

They would subdue the unwelcome guests at once, disarm them, and detain them in the sleep cabin until the causality corrected itself into a closed loop 200 years later.

The lights in the room suddenly started to flicker for no apparent reason, as if some anomaly was occurring.

Watching Luo Yi standing in power armor beside him, Wu Xinghuan involuntarily held his breath, his palms sweating uncontrollably.

Almost at the same time as the engineers from the fourth department evacuated the isolation zone with their equipment, the ship seemed to experience a collision and shook slightly.

Everyone present felt that vibration—

It was like the reverberation of an explosion.

Everything seemed to revert to the start of the temporal confusion.

Amidst the shock, Luo Yi felt a tinge of excitement, instinctively tightening his grip on the assault rifle in his hand.

Did they succeed?!

Yet faintly, he sensed something amiss—

Should this many people have heard the explosion?

His mind remained preoccupied with the clues he had previously gathered from the fourth and eighth departments.

Only around 200 people heard the explosion, the exact number being 227.

But now, there were no fewer than 100 people on site.

However, there was no time to ponder over it; barring any surprises, the people from the Twin Ship had already landed on their lower deck.

"Prepare for battle!" shouted Xiao Yong, leading the charge with his team.

The lockdown gate descended, sealing off the area where air was leaking.

Fifty combat personnel swiftly reached their designated positions, then advanced on the scene of the incident in a surrounding formation.

Upon reaching the entrance of the gymnasium, they first threw a short electromagnetic pulse grenade into the room, suppressing any possible drone devices, then two heavy power armors plunged in at the vanguard boldly leading the charge into the room.

A small shuttle-class spaceship lay there, its two-meter-long and wide metal hull dented and distorted inward. It was clearly not the one they had previously seen—

The spaceship had changed!

Which means...

Success?!

Everyone held their breath in tension, maintaining a suppressive formation as they approached the spaceship.

Xiao Yong punched the air in front of Luo Yi, who nodded and pushed forward, grabbing the warped and distorted alloy door panel, ripping it off with brute power from the powered armor.

Gun barrels pointed inside the spaceship, eliminating all dead angles in an instant.

No one...

Luo Yi's heart sank halfway.

And when he saw the familiar sleep cabin, everyone's heart dropped to the bottom in an instant.

Through the holographic screen, Wu Xinghuan, standing outside the isolation zone, froze in place, his face turning pale in an instant.

"How could this be..."

Zhao Tianhe turned to face the navigator, who shook his head with a look of struggle.

"We are still in the hyperspace passage..."

They hadn't escaped.

It was as if they had circled through the forest, only to return to the point where they had originally left a mark.

Executive Wu Mengke sighed, reaching out a finger to rub her sore brow.

"It's not like we didn't gain anything; at least the spaceship indeed changed... Maybe something went wrong somewhere."

She glanced at her utterly stunned cousin, shook her head, and pressed a finger on the communicator.

"... Let's rescue the people first and foremost."

Chapter 994: Superposition State

There was no doubt it was a United Human Alliance landing craft, but inside there wasn't a troop of fully armed soldiers, only an emergency sleep cabin.

The soldiers from the Space Combat Squad carried out the sleep cabin and set up a new isolation area at the accident site, before sending the cabin to the nearest medical room.

After connecting to the power source, they followed normal procedures to activate the cabin's hatch.

As the hatch opened, they saw a girl wearing a silver-gray tight suit lying inside.

Seeing the girl lying in the sleep cabin, everyone around couldn't help but hold their breath.

Her hair had almost fallen off completely, and her skin looked as if it had been burned, with large patches of tissue shedding from the dermis, making her expression of pain so distorted it was hard to discern.

Even more shocking was that she seemed to have been shot in the abdomen, and the cabin was filled with frozen blood.

Her condition could only be described as tragically unbearable, unimaginable pain she endured previously.

Wu Mengke standing in front of the holographic screen felt a tight knot in her heart and impulsively exclaimed.

"Quick, save her!"

No need for her orders, the medical personnel waiting on the side had already started moving.

They put her on a respirator, quickly connected her to life-support devices, and began the treatment.

Cryogenic sleep in the case of severe injuries is extremely dangerous, a single mistake could really turn her into a corpse.

Fortunately, people from the Wasteland probably have gotten used to chaos, their vitality is as tenacious as cockroaches.

Moreover, she had cybernetic prosthetics installed from the Academy, enabling her to miraculously be rescued from a near-death state.

"Her symptoms seem like she's been hit by a neutron torpedo..." Koala inspecting her prosthetics couldn't help but click his tongue and muttered under his breath, "This girl can actually survive."

A colleague from the fourth department said.

"Probably because of the deflection shield on the ship, remember that 'research ship' earlier? That guy didn't get much harm."

The engineer standing beside nodded, rubbing his chin with thoughtfulness said.

"A reasonable hypothesis, that guy's higher degree of cybernetic integration allowed him to pass out from EMP during the initial nuclear explosion, but he suffered less radiation damage... whereas this girl stood firm against the EMP but got affected by neutron radiation."

Koala asked puzzledly.

"But why was she on another ship? And it's a United Space Army model..."

"I don't know," the engineer shook his head, gesturing with two fingers, "I can only assume there were two ships, one their own research vessel, and another one already part of those ruins... Does that make sense? It's part of the relic."

Koala stared at him, his expression gradually becoming complicated.

Landing craft which was already in those ruins...

It's like saying their 'Dawn' plan failed...

Clearly, he wasn't the only one thinking this, many others around fell into silence.

While the fourth department's engineers were discussing the strange and peculiar prosthetics on the patient, the seventh department's doctors were focused on her condition.

"She's really tragic... this girl."

"Ah..."

"Just a few seconds later and she would've lost her life."

The duty doctors and nurses whispered among themselves, only Lin Youyou stared blankly at that face.

Noticing her expression, a colleague beside cast her a curious glance.

"...Do you know her?"

Lin Youyou's expression subtly nodded.

"Perhaps?"

"What do you mean by perhaps."

Lin Youyou paused for a moment, then spoke.

"Someone mentioned her name to me... A strong intuition tells me she is the girl that child referred to."

Originally a promise for 200 years later, unexpectedly realized so quickly.

The colleague beside her just looked puzzled, unsure what she meant.

"Who is she?"

"Jiang Xuezhou."

After thinking for a moment, Lin Youyou nodded, affirming her statement.

"She's Jiang Xuezhou, without a doubt."

He turned into her.

As for themselves, they remained stuck in this stagnant time - or rather in the gap of time-space.

It's so strange...

At that moment, someone beside the treatment bed suddenly uttered a slight exclamation.

"The patient is awake!"

"Wait, she's speaking!"

Hearing the colleague's exclamation, Lin Youyou immediately broke off her thoughts, quickly stepped up to the side of the treatment bed.

The girl's breathing was very weak, her cracked lips slightly opening and closing like a flickering candle in the wind, evoking pity...

She heard her voice, seemingly calling out someone's name.

"Night Ten..."

"Here... it's so cold..."

...

So cold—

At the moment consciousness sank into the abyss, Night Ten had only this one feeling in his heart.

The piercing cold seemed to penetrate his five senses, seeping through his skin and hair into his soul.

He instinctively wanted to curl up, but found himself unable to move.

This feeling was as if he had plunged headfirst into the Arctic Ocean, then held by an invisible hand that grabbed his throat, pulling him straight down to the deepest part of the sea.

But just as he was about to touch the seabed, the world seemed to turn upside down.

His nose tip did not touch the seabed, but emerged from another sea surface on the other side of the planet.

"Buzz—"

Accompanied by a tidal-like noise, his lost senses returned in an instant.

Did it succeed...?

Night Ten almost reflexively sat up, only to have his forehead hit the hatch of the Sleep Cabin.

This action triggered the Sleep Cabin's safety mechanism, or perhaps the safety mechanism had passively activated long before.

The yellow signal light flashed with something akin to an alarm sign, accompanied by a hiss as the tightly closed metal hatch slowly opened.

"Cough—"

Night Ten felt unprecedented weakness, feeling dizzy and his back resting in the ice cave.

Yet he gathered all his strength to grab the edge of the hatch, flipping out from the pile of ice blocks.

Yes, he floated out.

There was no gravity here.

And beyond that, the outside space was even colder than inside the Sleep Cabin, though perhaps due to the thin air, the body temperature did not feel as low.

Night Ten's heart was delighted.

The absence of gravity at least indicated he had already detached from the timeline two hundred years ago.

But soon his expression changed, as the thin air gradually made him feel suffocated.

"Damn—"

Night Ten cursed, and in a moment of panic, had a sudden idea. Moving his index finger to the back of his neck, he tapped twice, activating the internal circulation mode of the artificial lung.

He rarely used this mode while on the surface, almost forgetting that he had this function.

Once this mode was activated, the lungs would close the air outlet and help other digestive and metabolic organs, using electrical energy, catalysts, and respiration-produced water to achieve a photosynthesis-like process, generating glucose and oxygen.

Although theoretically, this cycle could continue indefinitely as long as there was electrical energy input, in practice, there was actually a loss in substance.

Bionic prosthetics were not truly biohumans; he could not really survive detached from Earth's ecological environment.

This function would be enough to keep him in outer space for twenty-four hours, maybe even less.

However—

This time should be enough.

According to the agreement, the Orion crew would soon come here to meet him.

Calm now, Night Ten surveyed the surroundings, the twisted steel and deformed cockpit unmistakably belonged to Jiang Xuezhou's Research Ship.

Yet what unconsciously tightened his nerves was the absence of Xiao Jiang anywhere.

"Strange..."

Where were they?

He had surely heard her voice!

And just a second before waking!

Not only heard, the frost on the glass was clearly her breath!

A sense of foreboding gradually crawled through Night Ten's entire body, he searched through the wreckage for a good while, even tearing down the twisted alloy door and crawling into the passenger cabin behind the cockpit, but did not see a single person.

She seemed to have vanished into thin air.

As time passed, that foreboding gradually turned to creepiness.

A possibility abruptly appeared in his mind—

She was still inside!

Inside the "time rift"!

But how was this possible?!

Weren't they the only ones who went in?!

Night Ten's face shifted between shock and disbelief, and even held a tinge of anger.

Just a few minutes ago, someone promised him they would certainly come to rescue him, yet nothing came of it.

Either they failed.

Or they completely forgot about him.

Or perhaps their impulsive attempt to interfere with the universe within the event horizon resulted in them being submerged in the river of time.

In any case, the plan hit a snag...

The reinforcements did not arrive!

Or perhaps they were already in completely different parallel worlds, and the encounter in the hyperspace passage was just a chance crossing.

He neither changed his own future nor theirs.

On the contrary, because of some people's cleverness, they created a monster called "celestial beings" in a certain parallel world.

"Damn it..."

Night Ten slammed his fist against the wall, but the counterforce almost knocked him towards the other side, nearly unable to stop in this not-so-spacious cockpit.

However, it was precisely this collision that made Night Ten realize he needed to calm down.

At this moment, he absolutely could not panic.

The more he is in a dilemma, the more he should remain calm.

Holding the wall to steady himself, he first adjusted his heart rate, trying hard to stay calm.

Then he attempted to log off.

The result of this attempt was the same as before.

The log-off function was like being removed from the remote control, and it couldn't work no matter what.

In this case, he's still in the "instance"...

Realizing this, Night Ten instead felt relieved.

He had discovered it.

While in the instance, the flow of time in the real world is slowed, or in other words, his time is sped up.

A very simple logic can prove this.

He spent a full two weeks on the Orion Missile Cruiser; if the flow of time between the game and the real world were 1:1, even if Jiujiu really didn't care about her brother, he'd be dead cold in reality.

There is only one explanation.

The time flow in the instance and the real world is different!

Not only that.

This difference in time flow is not just a matter of speed, but there's a segment inserted on his timeline that "doesn't exist on this timeline."

Thus, even though several days have passed in the instance, not much time has passed in reality, possibly only one or two hours.

Only this much time has passed in the real world, so the game world outside the instance is naturally the same.

He doesn't know how this is achieved technically.

Perhaps through some kind of psychological suggestion, perhaps by computational simulation...

All things considered, this explains why he repeatedly hears the same four sentences.

As for why Jiang Xuezhou isn't here, the explanation is simple—

She also entered the instance!

But why, even though she entered the instance, he and the crew couldn't observe her presence—

No, not necessarily unobservable!

It's just a time discrepancy!

Moreover, the time she arrives is likely the time he leaves.

And this is why they can't observe each other.

A flicker of enlightenment gradually welled up in Night Ten's mind.

What was originally unclear gradually became clear as he pieced together the puzzles in his mind.

The starship hovering in synchronous orbit launched neutron torpedoes at their research ship.

Although the research ship's deflection shield absorbed part of the damage, he didn't pass out due to neutron radiation but due to the electromagnetic pulse from the nuclear explosion causing an overload of the bionic devices.

The smaller the devices, the more susceptible they are to disruption, especially since from head to toe, even his skin is made of this stuff.

Memories began to fragment.

While he was unconscious, relatively unaffected by the electromagnetic pulse, Jiang Xuezhou dragged him into the sleep cabin.

The main harm she suffered should have been from neutron radiation.

However, due to the deflection shield, she likely didn't suffer fatal injuries.

Of course, there is more than one sleep cabin on the research ship, but she didn't lie in one herself.

After all, their enemies hadn't gone offline, and having no reinforcements, if both entered one it would mean death!

She had only one option—

To continue fighting!

While she was still awake.

Night Ten empathized, placing himself in her shoes, lying in front of him was a comatose Xiao Jiang.

"...If it were me, I definitely wouldn't stay and wait for death, I would find every possible way to save her."

But how to save her?

His brain worked rapidly, like an overclocked computer, simulating countless possibilities in an instant.

Though his Intelligence attribute has never been low, having played the game for so long, it's the first time he wholeheartedly called upon all his brain cells to think about things Perception-type players never think about...

"My advantage is Perception, I'd probably consider setting an ambush... Her advantage is programming and understanding of mechanics and relics... I can only try to use the environment itself."

She is an expert in artificial intelligence.

She possesses near-genius level programming skills and has served in the Beacon team, having substantial experience in exploring relics from the Human Alliance Era.

So...

She can only do one thing.

That is to defend by attacking and compete with the celestial beings who have already boarded this starship for control of the ship!

In this way, the fake "Luo Yi" on the spaceship at the moment won't be able to deal with her side.

That guy can only desperately chase her!

Thinking about how the girl who's afraid of the dark and cold has done so much for him, Night Ten suddenly felt a lump in his throat and involuntarily clenched his fist resting on the wall.

"Damn it, if I can't get through this level... I'll just delete my account and start over..."

Everything became clear.

And the clues that haven't been revealed yet have only a few pieces of the puzzle left.

Including why he still can't log off, and why the reinforcements that should have arrived the moment he woke up unexpectedly missed the appointment, etc...

Although the whole process may be much more strange and bizarre than he imagined, overall it wasn't difficult to guess.

During his slumber, she should have gained control over the starship or at least control of certain regions and devices.

Like the core warp engine...

In the worst and most extreme case, the last resort she can use is nothing but one—

That is to exhaust the last bit of energy for jumps in the starship, open a hyperspace passage, jump to another star system, and completely banish this world-destroying starship beyond the solar system.

And to prevent her from opening the hyperspace passage, "Luo Yi" is likely to once again launch and detonate a neutron torpedo at close range, or simply detonate it directly on the launcher.

This is the most likely thing to happen.

The guy is probably a replicant, and very likely a replicant made by the Gemini ship.

It is precisely because of this that the guy can recklessly use such strategic weapons.

But that's not the point.

The point is that the neutron torpedo detonated in hyperspace transformed this abandoned Orion cruiser into a new "black box," belonging to the timeline of Wasteland Era 215—this line where the Wasteland Era is about to end and enter a new era.

The explosion of the neutron bomb and hyperspace jump cannot occur simultaneously because there is no concept of time in hyperspace pathways, and the former would prevent the latter from occurring.

Therefore, their occurrence must have a sequence, even if the detonation of the neutron bomb is certain.

For this reason, the explosion of the neutron bomb at the entrance of the hyperspace passage and at the exit forms a superposition state in quantum mechanics.

And it's not just the Orion crew members over two hundred years ago that are in the superposition state, but also himself, Jiang Xuezhou, and a replicant named the same as Luo Yi.

The intersection of the two timelines didn't happen when the research ship collided with the Orion, nor when the first neutron torpedo exploded, but at the moment he was dormant—the moment the starship entered the hyperspace passage beyond the horizon!

At this instant, Jiang Xuezhou for some reason fell into an indefinite superposition state between life and death.

While he, because the sleep cabin formed a "Faraday cage," not only luckily avoided the impact of the second "strategic EMP" strike but even awoke unexpectedly due to EMP influence on the circuitry outside the sleep cabin.

The moment he woke up and the moment she closed her eyes together constituted the starting point of their intersection with another timeline, and the moment she awakens or dies is the endpoint of the timeline intersection!

Night Ten's understanding of physics is actually just at an undergraduate level, and his understanding of high-energy physics is limited to Young's double-slit interference experiment.

Maybe Professor Wild Wind could give a more scientific explanation, but right now, none of these things matter!

In this second black box, he is no longer an observer but is the cat itself in a superposition state.

Whether or not allies from two hundred years ago still remember that distant promise, or perhaps from the beginning, they were doomed to not be able to keep the appointment, the so-called deception of the observer was just their one-sided wish... he must do the things that only he can do right now.

There's no concept of time here, and no one can save her!

Except him!

Grabbing the edge of the cabin door, Night Eleven kicked open the twisted and misshapen cockpit door, drifting into the pitch-black room with the flipping door panel.

He no longer needs to hide his existence.

In fact, letting the impostor who claims to be "Luo Yi" come find him might be even better!

The fractured steel made a creaking sound that transmitted along his right hand gripping the door frame.

At the same time, he turned on the flashlight and quickly confirmed the situation around himself.

This is the cafeteria on the lower deck.

He remembers very clearly, even remembers his last meal here with potato beef... though that potato beef is not currently in his stomach but was left in the "space-time crack" that doesn't exist in the main timeline.

But the miracle is that these memories have been retained, even the taste buds on his tongue still have a lingering faint aftertaste.

The familiar utensils and furniture are floating in a corner of the room, there's no flickering light here, only pitch-black darkness, the scene chaotic like a car accident site.

All familiar people are gone, whether it's the crew dining or the replicant chef, and... that's only natural.

Looking at the corridor outside the cafeteria like a black well, Night Ten clenched his teeth, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, letting his five senses immerse into the deep darkness, recklessly extending beyond the hand gripping the door frame.

The outward-spreading senses, like a dense web, capture any slight movements, escaping his neural synapses.

Whether it's the slight collision between garbage and the wall, the faint rustling, or the thin wind almost undetectable...

That is definitely not a naturally occurring sound.

Night Ten's eyes abruptly snapped open.

Though his sight couldn't penetrate the heavy wreckage to see the person's face, he could clearly perceive the corridor the person was walking down.

That familiar yet foreign feeling, without a doubt—

It is precisely the "accident site" he was never permitted to enter!

The man carrying the jetpack was pressing the jetpack button two short and one long, drifting like a ghost in the gravity-less corridor, slowly approaching the gym isolated by a barrier in a parallel world.

"...I see you!"

Chapter 995: The Maze's Exit

In the medical room of the Orion Missile Cruiser, Jiang Xuezhou, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, was quietly lying on the medical bed. The severe care device beside him emitted a faint beeping sound.

The person is still alive.

But has not woken up.

Facing the gentle heart rate waves on the holographic screen, Luo Yi, who had already taken off his power armor, slightly frowned and looked at the doctor nearby.

"Still hasn't woken up?"

Before the doctor could speak, a caregiver nearby couldn't help rolling their eyes.

"It's not that fast, it's a miracle this kid is even alive, okay?"

Luo Yi gave a bitter smile and said.

"I didn't mean to rush..."

He might indeed be a bit impatient.

After all, everyone was puzzled by the current situation.

Not only him, many people wanted to quickly figure out what exactly happened.

And exactly where the problem lies.

Staring at the screen of the vital signs monitor, Lin Youyou, who had been silent in thought for a long time, suddenly raised her head.

"It's kind of strange to say,"

Luo Yi looked at her and asked.

"What's strange?"

With her forefinger resting on her chin, Lin Youyou pondered and said.

"After we used the organ repairing gel, her wounds did start to heal, but her metabolic level and heart rate showed no change..."

As she said this, she suddenly remembered something, and another sentence popped out of her mouth.

"It seemed to be the same before as well."

Luo Yi asked.

"Before?"

"That kid named Night Ten," Lin Youyou recalled the situation at the time and said truthfully, "We healed his wounds and repaired his prosthetics, but his metabolic rate and heart rate showed no signs of recovery... Oh, and his body temperature too, it was not normal human temperature at all, I constantly worried he might faint."

Luo Yi's eyebrows slightly furrowed.

At this moment, a message from the staff of the Eighth Unit suddenly popped out on the communication channel.

Without much thought, he immediately pressed the connect button.

"Hello?"

"Are you free now?"

"I'm always free, just say it."

The other side didn't waste words and immediately said.

"Come to the lower deck storage warehouse... the emergency escape supplies warehouse, we've found a new clue here."

"I'm on my way."

Luo Yi nodded, hung up the phone, then quickly left the medical room and headed to the warehouse his colleagues at the Eighth Unit mentioned on the phone.

The warehouse was not far from his workplace, but it was still a bit away from the medical room.

After about five minutes, he reached the destination, where he saw the security personnel from the Eighth Unit standing at the open cabinet door, next to the warehouse staff who reported the incident.

"What's happening?"

The security officer who called him earlier raised his hand to greet him, then walked over to him with a tablet.

"We just received a report from the emergency supplies management warehouse staff, saying a Sleep Cabin from the storage area is missing, and the lock on the storage cabinet was violently damaged."

Luo Yi inquired.

"Just discovered?"

The security officer nodded and said.

"That's right, it was fine when checked yesterday, but today it's gone. What's strange is that the security system failed, isn't it similar to before?"

Luo Yi frowned and said.

"Could it be a mistake by the warehouse colleague?"

This is a hyperspace passage, no one can get out, the missing Sleep Cabin must still be on the Starship.

Moreover, the most crucial point is, he couldn't figure out who would want to steal that thing.

The security officer shook his head.

"I don't think so... because we've already found the missing Sleep Cabin."

Luo Yi was stunned for a moment, looking at him bewildered.

"...Then is there still a problem?"

The security officer looked at him with a subtle expression, continued.

"The problem is that... we found the missing Sleep Cabin at the 'accident scene.'

...

In the lower deck security office, the main participants of the "Dawn" project stood expressionless.

Including Captain Zhao Tianhe, Executor Wu Mengke, as well as Dr. Wu from the Fifth Unit and others.

Their plan was supposedly perfect.

But for some reason, it still failed in the end.

Looking at the screen with the slumbering girl, Zhao Tianhe pinched the fatigued area between his eyebrows with his fingers and thumb, and sighed slowly.

"It seems the universe is much more cruel than we imagined..."

Wu Mengke looked at him, a hint of sorrow hanging in the crow's feet at the corner of her eyes.

"So we... failed?"

Zhao Tianhe didn't answer.

The events they were experiencing were more complex than any battle he had encountered before.

His experience was of no use here.

"No, it's not..."

At this time, Dr. Wu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

Several eyes turned to him.

Including Zhao Tianhe, his cousin Wu Mengke, navigators, and many other senior officers, as well as Sergeant Luo Yi, who was standing at the door ready to report the situation, and others...

He cast his gaze on the monitor terminal, looking at the holographic screen with the sleeping girl, he swallowed a hard gulp of saliva.

```

"We succeeded, but the final result is different from what we originally imagined..."

Zhao Tianhe frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Wu Xinghuan moved his gaze away from the holographic screen, staring intently at the captain.

"Did you determine that the Gemini would definitely launch the neutron torpedoes after confirming our refusal to execute the command... right?"

Zhao Tianhe nodded, speaking in an unquestionable tone.

"From what I know about Captain Song Yuchuan of the Gemini, he will definitely do so."

Wu Xinghuan asked closely.

"What kind of person is he?"

Zhao Tianhe replied without hesitation.

"That guy is a wolf, ruthless to others, and even more ruthless to himself. If there were ten radical faction members among a hundred civilians on a ship, he would consider the other ninety innocent people as necessary sacrifices."

Wu Xinghuan pressed further.

"So you fired without hesitation."

Zhao Tianhe didn't evade the question and nodded firmly.

"Yes, there's no other way to deal with a beast. In such situations, it's either you die or I survive... Do we need to discuss this issue now?"

"We must discuss this issue because it's the key to the situation we're in."

Wu Xinghuan stared at him unwaveringly and continued in a serious tone.

"Now you're the captain of the Gemini, or rather, you are Song Yuchuan himself... In front of you is someone who understands you thoroughly, and that person won't hold back and will abandon all fantasies to make the worst choice at the first moment... If you were him, what would you choose?"

Zhao Tianhe's pupils slightly enlarged.

It's an answer that hardly requires consideration, that option automatically appeared in his mind.

"...I would strike first."

Wu Xinghuan kept pressing and asked.

"You would definitely strike first. You know your opponent sees you as nothing more than a beast, and you know your opponent would kill you without any hesitation or guilt... So, how do you plan to strike?"

The air in the security office quieted down, pairs of eyes were watching the two of them.

No one spoke.

Zhao Tianhe stayed silent for a long time and turned his gaze to one side.

"I would hide the neutron bombs in the landing craft..."

Wu Mengke stared in shock, unable to believe as she looked at Captain Zhao.

The other officers nearby were equally shocked, all showing expressions of surprise.

They were shocked not by their leader's choice.

But rather by their leader making the most likely judgment by putting himself in the other's position.

At that time, it's very likely that no one was on the landing craft from the start...

Wu Xinghuan wasn't satisfied with this answer, continuing to press on.

"Just that? Perishing together with your opponent? You still have an unfinished mission, your ruthlessness should not just be towards others, but towards yourself..."

This time, Zhao Tianhe remained silent for a long time.

Eventually, he still spoke out the final method.

"...I would upload the thoughts of the entire ship's crew to the onboard server, killing myself before the opponent's neutron torpedo hits us, ensuring we stand in an invincible position from the start, and guaranteeing the commands from the Lagrange Point Space Station are executed correctly even after our deaths."

To put it bluntly.

They weren't fighting furiously for profit, merely for their respective beliefs.

They weren't enemies.

Even after everything ended, he would consider atoning for the things he's done before—

Like using the archived records and data from the server to resurrect his teammates he once killed with his own hands.

The next steps need no further deduction, they already know the whole story, and the truth is far more brutal than they imagined.

Zhao Tianhe's Adam's apple moved.

At that moment, he seemed to have aged by more than a decade.

"...Sorry, comrades, I still underestimated their resolve."

"You don't need to apologize, it's something that's already happened... We were just unaware due to our entangled states."

Wu Xinghuan gently shook his head, then continued to look at the girl on the holographic screen, muttering to himself in a soft voice.

"To be honest... the moment I saw her, I understood everything."

"We are all in entangled states, two different entangled states, from two completely parallel timelines α and β. Our entanglement exists at two crossover points, one is the starting point, the other is the endpoint."

"That young man named Night Ten is our starting point, that girl named Jiang Xuezhou is our endpoint. And within their own cycle, it's all reversed, the girl named Jiang Xuezhou is the starting point of everything, and the young man is the endpoint."

"And we, have already died."

He finally discovered new physics.

Information transmission can not only exceed the speed of light, but even transcend time and space.

Their encounter across time and space is the best evidence.

Whether this memory is ultimately explained as a dream, a sense of deja vu, or some psychological effect... they've already left proof of existence on each other's timeline.

He considered giving this remarkable discovery a name but thought for a moment and eventually abandoned the idea.

Let's leave it for the future generations to summarize...

About this special field of entanglement between information and information.

The room remained quiet for a long time.

Eventually, the silence was broken by Wu Mengke, the executive officer of this starship, or rather, the second-in-command.

"...I don't know why, but after hearing you say we've already died, I suddenly felt relieved."

She laughed bitterly, looking at the screen with complicated eyes and continued.

"At least... their existence proves that our choices were not wrong."

Zhao Tianhe glanced at her, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"In what aspect?"

"In every aspect."

Wu Mengke thought for a moment and continued.

"The boy we saw earlier is a resident of the refuge... this kid should be a Waste Land Wanderer."

Zhao Tianhe nodded.

"Perhaps."

Wu Mengke looked at him, that always stern face suddenly showed a kind smile.

"Actually... it's not so bad, right? Although they are obviously different from us, I still see many things we once praised in them, like love and courage... and many other things I don't even know how to describe."

Luo Yi understood the thoughts of this female executive, contemplated for a moment and said.

"You mean... hope?"

Wu Mengke nodded with a smile.

"Probably. Anyway, I think it's pretty good to entrust the future to them."

They didn't turn into beasts.

They are still human.

Given that, there's nothing to be afraid of.

As for death.

That's just something destined.

At this moment, she seemed like a kindly old grandmother.

Though she wasn't that old, merely middle-aged.

"Perhaps you're right." Zhao Tianhe said slowly after a moment of silence.

According to Dr. Wu's theory, there was never anyone on the Gemini landing craft from the start, only fully-loaded neutron bomb warheads, and possibly even androids or AI programs that came to take over the starship.

In other words, it wasn't them or the Gemini that formed the superposition state, but they themselves.

No matter whether they died at the entrance or exit of hyperspace, their deaths were bound to happen.

Putting it this way, the Dawn plan was doomed to fail from the outset.

And they were destined not to travel 200 years into the future to fulfill the promise to that child.

After a pause, Zhao Tianhe looked at Dr. Wu Xinghuan.

"So according to your theory, we can't do anything... right?"

Wu Xinghuan shook his head.

"Not really, even if our deaths are fated... there are still things we can do."

Seeing pairs of eyes fixed on him, he took a deep breath and continued.

"As I just said... we are currently in a superposition state. Even though our superposition state has already collapsed in the future, there are still things we can do in this remaining non-existent time."

Zhao Tianhe asked solemnly.

"What is that thing?"

"Our exit." Wu Xinghuan stared at him unwaveringly and firmly said, "We can decide which future we go to..."

Everyone looked at him.

Expressions of shock, heaviness, astonishment, disbelief...

Zhao Tianhe continued to ask.

"...Can you elaborate?"

At this moment, Wu Xinghuan was calmer than ever, and those tangled clues were being connected by him.

"...We did receive information from the future, right? Because of the quantum entanglement of the superposition state and some field we don't know about. In short, we did see them."

"We have this shared memory, even though it never appeared on our timeline. We know that 200 years later, an organization called the Alliance will emerge, and with their ideals and enthusiasm, they will end the Wasteland Era, sweep everything from the old era into the grave, and bring our children into a new era!"

"That shared memory is their coordinate, and we must go there—the future where those children exist!"

Though this sounds like a dying person's fantasy, that shared memory is not entirely imaginary but indeed exists in their minds.

And it's a memory capable of making them unanimously resonate!

It's because of that resonance with the future that they haven't given up until now.

Zhao Tianhe looked at him intently.

"How do we get there?"

"Very simple... yet not simple. We must form a closed loop with their timeline!"

Seeing the serious expressions on the crowd, Wu Xinghuan directed his gaze towards Luo Yi standing at the doorway.

"I remember you did statistics; there were 227 people who heard the explosion... right?"

Luo Yi nodded and said.

"Yes... and I have another thing to report; the sleep cabin we found in the landing craft is the sleep cabin we lost."

Wu Xinghuan snapped his fingers, and energetically glanced around.

"The timeline has shifted, and this is the most direct evidence! And at the moment when our child was sent away!"

"So that's why I said earlier, our 'Dawn' plan did not fail; it's just different from what we imagined!"

"Back then, we didn't know we were already dead; we thought there would be a group of fully armed soldiers on the landing craft until we found nothing there and realized we were mistaken. Our opponents are more cruel and resilient than we imagined!"

Zhao Tianhe faintly understood his meaning.

"The timeline had its first intersection... and it needs a second intersection to form a closed loop, right? Is that what you mean?"

"Correct!" Wu Xinghuan looked at him sharply, then glanced around at everyone on scene, "We successfully received information from the future! We've already known our deaths, even knowing how many survive and how many perish."

"There were 227 people who heard the explosion... Neutron radiation moves faster than the speed of sound, under what circumstances can one hear the explosion of a neutron bomb?"

"...Though it's a redundant thing to say, I have to mention, only the living can hear the explosion of a neutron bomb."

Luo Yi's eyes widened in an instant, as did many standing on scene.

A long time ago, he had this vague feeling, only buried under countless trivial clues.

Zhao Tianhe stared at Wu Xinghuan unwaveringly, suddenly laughed aloud.

"Seems like I'm the ghost."

Not just him.

Including almost all the senior officers on the bridge at the time, none of them heard the explosion nor the alarm triggered by it.

Until someone ran up to report the situation on the lower deck did they realize what was happening.

At this moment, he finally understood why.

The equipment didn't malfunction.

It's just that they wouldn't live to the "next second" when the alarm sounded.

Yet in this time-stalled hyperspace passage, with the aid of some unknown field, they completed information exchange.

In other words.

They didn't merely exchange information with the future, there was a sort of resonance field existing among them too.

Adjusting his expression, he looked at Wu Xinghuan steadily, fearlessly continuing.

"Go on, tell us... what can we dying people still do for the new era two hundred years from now."

"There's only one thing you can do—return to the moment you entered the hyperspace passage, stay where you were then...and wait for death."

Looking at his cousin, Wu Xinghuan painfully spoke these words, then turned his gaze to Luo Yi standing at the door.

"And you... including me, and all the 227 who heard the explosion, we are survivors under neutron radiation. Though luckily not directly killed, death is only a matter of time."

"However, even so, we still have some time before we die of suffocation or starvation... We need to close the time loop in this period, guiding the girl lying on the medical bed to come here, and preparing weapons for them to help them defeat enemies we couldn't."

"Seems we should leave behind something other than 'celestial beings,'" Wu Mengke jested, "something else."

Luo Yi raised his hand, looking seriously at everyone.

"I'll be responsible for the sleep cabin... The emergency equipment management warehouse is right next to my office. I heard the explosion; I'll open the warehouse first thing and drag the sleep cabin to the landing craft."

Koala remained silent for a while, then raised his hand.

"I'll take care of the guidance work... I heard they crashed on the lower deck, my repair shop is nearby, I'll create a holographic guidance device to direct that girl...uh, to the room with the sleep cabin?"

"That's not enough." Zhao Tianhe shook his head, looking at Wu Xinghuan who wanted to say something, "She must start this ship's warp engine, right?"

"Yes, and not just that," Wu Xinghuan nodded, calmly continued, "Celestial beings have taken over our starship after two hundred years, gained control of this new ship... At least including most of the equipment's control like the weapon system; we need to help her and her friends regain control of the starship."

Koala, sweating profusely, said.

"This... you're asking too much of me."

He even didn't know how long he could live once leaving the hyperspace passage.

"Haha, no worries, brother," the AI expert from the Ten Department put his arm around his shoulder, smiling and patting him, "We are here too! You design the navigation device, help her find the warp engine switch, we leave a surprise on the engine for the grave robbers."

Koala took a breath, smiled weakly.

"That's good... I'm really not good at hacking work, especially when the opponent is also a master."

Suddenly someone raised their hand.

"I have a question, can't we design in stagnant time? Even...let the dead participate in designing programs."

Having more help is always better.

Besides, there are quite a few talents on this starship, not just programmers from the Ten Department.

However, Dr. Wu shook his head, negating their plan to exploit bugs.

"It's useless, all changes we make in the hyperspace passage will be erased, except for memory that's proven to be retained...nothing remains."

But seeing the disappointed expressions of everyone, he suddenly shifted his tone.

"But rehearsing several times is possible... and no matter how many times, since information can be retained through resonance fields, this doesn't violate the rules we've explored."

Watching the brainstorming crowd and the increasing ideas, a faint smile appeared on Zhao Tianhe's stern face, rarely teasing.

"Unexpectedly, the dead can do so many things."

Wu Mengke laughed.

"After all, we aren't dead until the 'next second', still alive in this round."

Zhao Tianhe fell silent for a while, his face showing some relief, yet with a bit of yearning.

"But thinking about it is still a bit regretful, I have an online relationship, planned... after the war ends, to go to Shilong City for vacation together."

Speaking of, two hundred years later, that place should be called Potato Harbor.

Heard the scenery is quite nice too.

Wu Mengke looked surprised at this usually stern officer, as if seeing a variant on the Wasteland.

Noticing that strange gaze, Zhao Tianhe looked at her awkwardly.

"Any problem?"

"No..." Wu Mengke shook her head dumbfoundedly, "Never heard you talk about it."

Zhao Tianhe laughed.

"Hahaha, why talk about that at work? It would make you think I'm less serious."

Alright.

In fact, he's not really a serious person, just an ordinary human.

In places where colleagues can't see, he also has his own life, the virtual machine saves some stuff he wants to delete but probably won't have time to.

The reason he often keeps a stern face is purely for work needs.

Knowing he's about to die soon, the burden on his shoulders was lifted instead, living true to himself.

"I started to think so..." Wu Mengke raised a finger, pressing her forehead, barely accepting, "You should take this secret to the grave, thank you."

"You're welcome! Just think of what I said earlier as nonsense, haha."

Zhao Tianhe smiled, turning his gaze to the terminal's screen, his smile suddenly became more satisfied, spreading the original yearning.

"But speaking of which, after chatting with you for a bit, I suddenly have no regrets."

Wu Mengke sighed.

"...What do you mean?"

Zhao Tianhe laughed.

"Don't you think that girl... and that young man, are just like our kids?"

Wu Mengke was stunned, eyebrows slightly raised.

"When you online CP, did you also talk such flirtatious nonsense?"

Zhao Tianhe coughed.

"Alright... I'm serious."

Wu Mengke turned her gaze to the holographic screen, to the girl lying on the medical bed, slowly spoke.

"I've always thought so... If I had a granddaughter, or great-great-granddaughter, she'd probably be brave and strong like her."

"Seems I was slow," Zhao Tianhe smiled, "But now I'm awake, we really don't need to go two hundred years later, they are our continuation... The world we can't see, they will see for us."

Wu Mengke jested.

"If everyone could see as clearly as us that would be great."

"That's impossible."

Putting away the kind smile, a determined gaze reappeared on Zhao Tianhe's sharply contoured face.

At this moment, he seemed to become the stern captain again.

Determination isn't something only beasts have.

However, beasts always seem to misunderstand, believing if only they are harsher, less bound by constraints, they can ultimately cage humans with fear.

He'll let the guy on Gemini and the lunatics at Lagrange Point know how wrong they are, how laughable their dreams are.

"A bunch of old imbeciles trying to take over, dreaming of replacing us after everything ends... Dream on."

"Whether it's two hundred years or two thousand years, even if both feet are in the grave, I'll drag them into the coffin! Lie together!"

Chapter 996: Return

This will be an expedition spanning two hundred years of space and time, and their opponents are souls who, like them, have already died.

They, frozen in this moment, are destined to see neither the outcome of this expedition nor will anyone remember the choices they made in their final seconds.

However, even so, this expedition is not without meaning.

Just as Dr. Wu said, they cannot change what has already happened.

But they can still decide what future generations, opening the coffin, will see and discover from this dark and cold box.

That will determine the future they are heading towards.

This is the meaning.

Facing an inevitable death, they made choices completely different from those aboard the Missile cruiser of Gemini—

And what they chose to leave behind is hope.

As for the future after that.

Someone else will see it for them.

...

Zhao Tianhe is a career officer, possessing neither the talent for speeches nor the eloquence for persuasion.

He thought he would need some time to convince his comrades to accept reality and face death, but reality proved he underestimated them.

When they learned they are dead or close to dying, their reactions were unusually calm, not even as excited as when they first learned the Missile cruiser of Gemini was sunk by them.

"So this is how it is."

"Haha... Didn't expect I'm already dead."

"But didn't expect the Missile cruiser of Gemini fired at us before we did."

"How to say, maybe it's karma haha."

"How can karma come first... But I indeed feel no guilt, just relieved that we ended together."

In the bar on the lower deck, countless people gathered for their last drink here.

According to Dr. Wu, no matter how much they drink, even if they die here, everything will return to normal when space-time resets, leaving only the final memories.

"I still can't accept it..."

With arms crossed, Xiao Yong stood at the bar's entrance, shaking his head at those drinking, unable to understand, while a colleague hooked his shoulder, smiling and patting his arm.

"Think positively, buddy, do you want to carry regrets down there?"

Xiao Yong looked at him incomprehensibly, even more baffled by the carefree look on his face.

"I have no regrets about my death... But I want to ask why we don't upload our minds?"

The colleague shrugged.

"It's too late, didn't you hear the people from department five say? Those who didn't hear the explosion are already dead, like you and me."

Xiao Yong still wore an unacceptable expression, trying to argue.

"Aren't there 227 people left? They should be enough."

Just at this moment, Wu Xinghuan, drunkenly, walked over from beside the bar.

Holding a bottle of whiskey, his swaying manner was the same as before.

But unlike last time, he no longer appeared decadent and dejected.

He discovered new physics.

And personally witnessed its existence.

In this regard, he might be luckier than the esteemed Professor.

He had no regrets left.

"Perhaps, there's no need for us to do this ourselves. Didn't that child say? Two hundred years later, the Celestial Beings have already created our duplicates using some technology... Including your good buddy Luo Yi, chasing our children on this Starship, including you, and even
us... even useless me."

Upon saying this, Wu Xinghuan grinned and took a swig of the spicy yet sweet liquor.

"So the question arises... Do we really want to become another group of Celestial Beings?"

"Or, when they have done well, do you really have the confidence to replace them as a better one? As a two hundred years-old relic."

Looking at the sly grinned fellow, Xiao Yong was stunned, then after pondering for a moment, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! Interesting!"

Though the thought of the universe filled with youngsters piloting Spaceships, adorned with all sorts of nonsense prosthetics is still unacceptable, thinking from another angle, this might not be a bad thing after all.

The future kids are braver and more adventurous than them, more confident and enterprising, with capabilities to stand alone.

The challenges requiring three thousand people and ten departments, future kids manage with just two.

Thinking this way, seemingly there's no reason for them to linger.

Just like before, Xiao Yong snatched the bottle from Wu Xinghuan's hand, ignoring the latter's protests and took a gulp.

But this time he boldly wiped his mouth and stuffed the empty bottle back into Dr. Wu's chest.

"Let's go! Drink to the fullest!"

He smiled and hooked the shoulder of the genteel guy, firmly slapping his arm.

"Drink until we drop!"

There was still plenty of stock in the bar.

If they wished, they could drink here for a year, then leave once content and sober.

However, they did not.

That future child... all their children lay on the medical bed.

While indulging in revelry, that child might be enduring the torment of darkness and helplessness.

Medical room.

Standing beside the intensive care unit, Lin Youyou was securely watching the girl from 200 years later lying on the bed.

Although she wanted to chat a bit, it appeared she couldn't wake up.

"Will... we be like her?" A young nurse whispered.

Thinking of dying soon, her pretty face showed a hint of regret and confusion.

Lin Youyou said nothing, while the medical supervisor nodded with a complicated expression.

"Probably... But fortunately, it happens in an instant. If you don't hear the explosion, it might end without feeling any pain."

"Then I'm relieved..." The beauty-loving girl suddenly smiled, jokingly said: "At least won't see myself disfigured."

"Death ah..." the on-duty doctor sighed, pressing his index finger to his temple, "Speaking of which, all sections have work... isn't there anything we can do?"

The group exchanged glances, and Lin Youyou, who hadn't spoken, suddenly began.

"There should be..."

Seeing everyone looking at her, Lin Youyou closed her eyes and pondered for a moment before continuing.

"Is there a way to extend the shelf life of the hemostatic gel until 200 years later?"

The doctors exchanged looks, until finally, a slightly older doctor raised his hand.

"I heard freezing works... but you need utmost caution in defrosting, preventing crystallization sediment."

This is quite niche knowledge.

Since most stock is processed and replaced by newer ones before the end of its shelf life.

He knew this knowledge point because he researched a related topic during his Ph.D.

Lin Youyou's eyes brightened, showing a smile.

"Is it frozen storage? Are there specific operational methods for defrosting?"

The slightly older doctor cautiously replied.

"I can teach you the method, it shouldn't be hard for you, but even if you remember it, isn't it meaningless?"

"How could it be? As long as there's a way. I will record the procedure... before I breathe my last."

While speaking, Lin Youyou looked at the unconscious girl on the medical bed.

With love, she reached out, gently stroking the few remaining strands of hair on her forehead.

It should have been a beautiful face.

Even if the smooth skin had decayed already, she could still see through the pure soul buried beneath the radiation dust.

"...You will survive."

"Your comrades, he is a brave child... and his courage is no less than any one of us."

"I believe he will surely heal you, using the method I leave behind."

...

The final banquet lasted for three days, followed by rehearsal enduring almost half a month.

In this non-existent time, everyone clarified what they needed to do.

Whether the deceased.

Or the living.

Finally, at the moment of departure, all crew members tacitly returned to their respective positions.

That was their position when entering the Hyperspace Passage, also where they were during the neutron bomb explosion.

Except the three units of Space Combat Squad warriors.

Before returning to their positions, they had to do one last thing.

That means returning to the scene of the accident, placing the sleep cabin that doesn't exist in this space-time back into the landing craft, and covering up the overturned "box" again.

Two soldiers in power armor carried the coffin-like sleep cabin across the quarantine zone.

Looking at the spaceship lying in the gym, Xiao Yong grinned and said.

"It's really strange when you think about it..."

Luo Yi asked.

"Strange about what?"

Xiao Yong replied with a smile.

"We are all dead, yet we can still carry out missions with the 'living'. "

"Are you referring to me, or the kids from 200 years later?"

"Both, I guess."

Watching the teammate walking ahead, Luo Yi thought for a moment and gave an ambiguous answer.

"It is indeed a strange experience, but I believe since it happened, there must be a reason for it to happen."

He wasn't a physicist and couldn't give a reasonable explanation in terms of physics.

If one has to say why.

Perhaps it was because they all believed.

Facing adversity, they all unconsciously planted the seeds called hope.

This itself isn't very hard to explain.

The two carried the sleep cabin into the room, placing it back into the twisted, deformed landing craft.

Then, they closed the cabin door, left the room, and withdrew the security tape outside the room... as if they had never been there.

In the duty room, returning the equipment, Xiao Yong took a deep breath, exchanged a military salute with Sergeant Luo Yi, and then strode out.

From the moment he returned to his room and closed the door, everything would return to the initial starting point.

Stagnant time would continue to move forward.

Their bodies would decay in radioactive dust, and their souls would move to the Battlefield 200 years later.

It would be a duel of ghosts against ghosts.

Using the hands of the living.

No matter the final victory or defeat, they would not let their children face the ghosts from the old era alone.

They would fight side by side.

On the bridge of the Orion Missile Cruiser, Zhao Tianhe, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, adjusted the officer's hat on the top of his head, then cast his gaze toward the deep Star River ahead.

"I suddenly found... the stars outside seem to have stopped a long time ago."

Although the stars seen in the universe don't flicker as frequently as those inside the atmosphere, they aren't completely motionless and also alternate between red and blue lights.

Especially when their relative distance changes.

Also gazing at that brilliant Star River, Wu Mengke smiled softly.

"Actually, I noticed earlier, but then I understood, it wasn't that they stopped, but that we stopped..."

Zhao Tianhe smiled, squinted and said.

"It seems there are still many things hidden in this universe that we don't know..."

In a vague sense, his eyes seemed to see that frozen Star River flickering once more.

And it was different from before.

It was a brilliance he had never seen.

"It looks like time is almost up."

"Colonel."

Upon hearing the voice from the side, he slightly turned his face, moving his gaze away from the twinkling stars.

He saw his old friend whom he had worked with for many years at that moment placing her raised right hand on the edge of her hat brim.

Her expression was unprecedentedly solemn.

"Thank you..."

"It is an honor to work with you."

Looking at the solemn Wu Mengke, and those people standing with her, a comforting smile appeared on Zhao Tianhe's face, as he raised his hand to return a salute.

"The honor should be mine, being able to work with you is the greatest honor of my life."

"Thank you all for years of sincere cooperation."

"See you at the cemetery."

...

In the silent universe, a dazzling light suddenly burst forth, unnoticed by anyone.

At the moment when the Orion Missile Cruiser exited the hyperspace passage, the raging neutron burst pierced through its indestructible armor, followed by the explosion's shockwave spreading through every cabin via the fractured steel.

Just as Dr. Wu said.

It was an event happening in a flash, so rapidly that there was no time to react; among the 3000 crew members, over 2700 perished with only 227 surviving.

Even the 227 survivors were without exception severely injured.

High-energy neutron radiation destroyed the cellular structure of their organs and tissues, along with the macromolecular proteins floating between the cells. Fortunately, their bionic prosthetics were only affected by electromagnetic pulses, temporarily pulling them back from Hell's Gate.

However, the crisis wasn't over.

The exploding neutron bombs not only killed the crew on the Orion but also heavily damaged the starship itself.

Without rescue, there wasn't even a faint chance of survival or self-help.

Death was only a matter of time!

Meanwhile, the intelligent program aboard the landing craft started to work.

Taking advantage of the Orion Missile Cruiser's chaos, the landing craft's onboard AI relentlessly launched electronic warfare, vying for control of the Orion.

Under normal circumstances, the ten information security engineers and AI experts would never let it succeed.

But now, the number of surviving engineers from the ten departments wouldn't even overflow one hand, making it nearly impossible to win against the prepared electronic warfare invasion.

The smart virus from the missile cruiser of Gemini would inevitably break through the Orion's firewall, and by the time the survivors aboard the Orion came to their senses, it would already be too late.

The intelligent program, carrying the collective will of the entire crew aboard the Gemini Missile Cruiser, would take over the entire starship, and use its onboard server to "return to life," continuing to execute the plan known as "End Battle."

The entire plan was flawless to the point of perfection.

Even five light-years away, this bullet had already hit the target!

However, the spark of civilization did not extinguish but instead burst into an unprecedented brilliance.

On the lower deck's power room, an engineer, collapsed on the ground, pushed along the floor with his elbows, crawling forward arduously.

Blood unceasingly seeped from his mouth and nose, mixed with clotted chunks, trailed across the alloy floor, leaving a shocking drag mark made by his chest's clothing.

His legs were incapacitated, only his two prosthetic arms could move.

Even so, enduring the burning pain all over his body, he crawled into the control room of the power room.

This starship's fusion reactor was a wall away from him, and the power source was right before his eyes.

Like a ghost crawling out of the abyss, covered in blood, he mustered all his strength to lift half his body, stretched out his trembling right hand, put the bloodstained key into the lock, turned it forcefully, and opened the protective cover on the safety switch.

The person who designed the Air and Space Army starship operation safety handbook probably never imagined that the 27th regulation he painstakingly wrote would unexpectedly save all Earth's people.

According to regulation 27, before entering the Hyperspace Passage, at least two electrical engineers must remain in the reactor to confirm the core's operating condition and report to the department at any time.

And he was the surviving one, also one of the 227 survivors!

The trigger was already in his hand, he was about to fire the first shot of the last-ditch counterattack!

"Want my spaceship...??"

He grinned, coughed up blood, then exerted all his strength, and fiercely pushed down the handle of the disconnect switch in his hand.

Accompanied by a light "hum," the originally stable operating reactor instantly shut down, and the entire power room soon flashed with overwhelming red alerts.

Reactor shutdown.

The entire starship's power facilities quickly switched to backup circuits, entering power-saving mode.

In power-saving mode, the onboard server providing informational services was the first facility to shut down, and soon the only usable communication device aboard would be the wired-connected intercom.

The buddies on the Gemini probably couldn't even fathom that their old friend had an unplugging trick; it seemed that no hacker, however skilled, could hack into an unpowered server.

The engineer exhaled in relief.

And with his stretched-tight nerves finally relaxing, his barely conscious mind started to blur.

But it didn't matter.

His task was complete.

The next part would depend on the remaining 226 brothers, and the comrades 200 years into the future -

They agreed on it.

As the anti-gravity device shut down, he felt his body float off the floor, drifting with the floating work tablet and office chair toward the corner of the room.

Watching the key floating away from his fingertips, a hint of defiant smile appeared on his blood-stained face.

"Want it..."

"Then go… take it from my corpse…!!"

Chapter 997: Resonance

"Boom——!"

The echo of the explosion reverberated along the alloy walls, engulfing the pitch-black silence of the starship cabin.

This is the battlefield 215 years later.

Though two centuries late, the "celestial beings" finally stepped over the corpse of that unknown individual and restarted the reactor that slept for two centuries.

As the reactor rebooted, the carrier server was powered back on, and the landing craft's onboard AI reinstated the intrusion program, effortlessly seizing control of the entire starship.

However——

That moment was ultimately too late by over two hundred years.

Shortly after the "celestial beings" seized control of the Orion Missile Cruiser, a silver-gray research ship entered their sight.

It was not something worth noting as a threat.

Compared to the entire "End War" plan, that thing wasn't even a bothersome ant, easily eliminated with a single neutron torpedo.

Yet, the unforeseen event occurred inevitably.

After nearly ninety percent casualties were incurred, an injured rat still managed to infiltrate the starship, launching an electronic warfare attack on the Orion Missile Cruiser's server, forcefully starting the warp engine and taking the ship five light-years away.

Seeing the starship just obtained about to enter the hyperspace passage, "Luo Yi" had no choice but to detonate a second neutron torpedo, disrupting the hyperspace passage's initiation.

Resisting the impact of the electromagnetic pulse, "Luo Yi" opened his eyes in the vacuum, pressing the jetpack button to move forward.

The biological chip damage from the neutron flux is quite limited, hardly affecting him significantly.

This was also the reason he unhesitatingly detonated two neutron torpedoes successively.

Unexpectedly, that cyborg rat, first shot by him and hit by the neutron torpedo's blast wave, wasn't dead.

Not only that.

That fellow even used the opportunity to distance himself from him.

The electronic warfare intrusion on the server paused only briefly, restarting swiftly after changing the intrusion node.

Furthermore, the new wave of attacks was evidently more fierce than before, with a broader attack range!

After seizing control of the warp engine and cutting the weapon system's circuits, that fellow extended hands towards the starship's anti-gravity device.

However, her luck ended here.

Just now, with the Orion carrier AI's assistance, he has already relocked the data interface that guy used for electronic warfare.

Interestingly, the rat's data interface was precisely the same landing craft that fired at the Orion Missile Cruiser over 200 years ago.

Even just shortly before, "Luo Yi" had assisted the landing craft's onboard AI in restarting the Orion Missile Cruiser's reactor, completing the intrusion into Orion's server.

That guy actually attempted to use their hardware and the same "landing point."

Really living tired of life.

Facing the corridor like a deep well, "Luo Yi" floated forward, looking at the floating exoskeleton wreckage in the corridor, his nerves contracted instinctively.

However, that corpse did not attack him, merely floated by in silence.

Watching the wreckage, he suddenly spoke, as if remembering something.

"...Speaking of which, there's one thing I've never understood."

"Honored to resolve your confusion."

The gentle voice floated into his signal reception module.

This was the twin star onboard AI redesigned for her sister ship Orion, concurrently an early version of the Lagrange Point Space Station "Navigator" AI.

"Luo Yi" remained silent for a while, those emotionless pupils showing rare confusion.

"The person we encountered in the power room before, that electrical engineer... Why did he cut off the reactor's power?"

Regarding this question, Navigator remained silent for a long time, then said softly.

"Indeed... Why?"

This wasn't just "Luo Yi"'s confusion but also the Navigator's biggest confusion over 200 years.

215 years ago, just as she successfully broke through the firewall and gained control of the starship, someone suddenly manually cut the power to the power room.

Logically, this was impossible.

Even if the neutron flux didn't kill them instantly, it should make the whole starship lose functionality from the command level to the execution level.

And in such isolated circumstances, human instinct should be self-rescue; even if it's a futile struggle, shutting down the reactor wouldn't cross one's mind.

Unless...

That guy, in such an extreme and orderless situation, decisively and without hesitation made that choice opportunistically.

But why?

Why did he do that?

This was the thing Navigator pondered over two hundred years without understanding.

Anyhow.

History was thus altered by an inconspicuous little person.

And "celestial beings" waited 200 extra years for this.

"I thought you'd give me an answer."

The Navigator replied in a gentle tone.

"Not all questions have answers. Maybe it was a flash of insight or some instinct; we can only say... history does not have 'ifs.'

"... "

Even the omniscient Navigator had things beyond comprehension.

"Luo Yi" drifted forward without words, heading towards the desperately struggling rat.

Unsure if it was his illusion.

He always felt from the moment the silver-gray research ship crashed into the starship, everything aboard started opposing him, directing matters to unanticipated directions.

This includes the corridor.

A mere 200-meter distance but darker and longer than he imagined.

This was once his home, and he came to save them... Yet, his comrades treated him like an enemy.

Every corpse seemed to oppose him, akin to seaweed growing wild in the deep sea, trying to entangle his oars.

The darkness was like an entrance to an abyss, without a glimmer except the light from his own being.

So dark.

Unbearably dark...

...

"Boom——!"

The battlefield 215 years ago.

Deafening explosion noises swept through every cabin of the Orion Missile Cruiser.

Over 2700 crew members died instantly, only 227 survived.

Soon after came massive power outages and flashing red alarms in various regions.

"Woo——!"

The modulated alarm lengthened and stretched as the rapidly vanishing air dissipated.

However, the remaining 227 crew members showed not the slightest hint of panic.

Even before the alarm sounded, upon hearing that initial explosion, they moved as if responding to a starter pistol.

Just as they had rehearsed countless times before.

Facing their inevitable death, they unanimously abandoned any fantasies of survival and calmly accepted their demise.

Not only that.

They would use their remaining time to leave a ghost-killing sword for the children who would enter this graveyard 200 years from now.

Watching her hair and skin flakes fall like a collapsing sandcastle, Lin Youyou, sitting in the duty room, smiled wryly.

"...From now on, I am also part of the Burning Corps."

Blood trickled from her nose, one drop after another, falling onto the table.

She felt as if every cell in her body was burning, life visibly slipping away...

There was no time to hesitate.

The scythe of death was already at her throat.

She pushed away her chair and stood up, supporting herself on the table's edge, staggering past her already "asleep" colleagues, and rushed to the flashing lights of the medicine cabinet.

She opened the cabinet containing hemostatic gel, grabbed a handful of supplies, and hurriedly headed out towards the area where the explosion had occurred.

Her patient was on that landing craft—

The girl who would reach the starship 200 years later!

On that nonexistent timeline, she had promised her, in person, that she would definitely cure her!

Seeing the red alert lights go off, she knew time was running out, so she quickly opened the voice recorder in her pocket while moving forward, speaking rapidly.

"I don't have much time, so I'll keep it short. I hope you listen carefully..."

"About the method to thaw the hemostatic gel..."

...

At the same moment Lin Youyou rushed to the explosion site, Koala, busy in the fourth repair room, finally completed the last work of his life.

It was a robot modified from a magnetic levitation repair drone.

With a round body and two mechanical arms, it relied mainly on magnetic control components for movement, its appearance as ugly as a college student's graduation project.

This was probably the only drone that could function properly without gravity or air in outer space.

As for things like vacuuming robots, once the artificial gravity device shuts down, they'd either be sucked out into space by the massive negative pressure or float motionlessly in midair.

Although Koala considered equipping it with some powerful weapons, he regrettably had no time to retrieve combat exoskeletons from the armory.

All he could do was install ten intelligent guidance programs designed with the help of engineers, to guide her to seize control of the warp engine and direct her to the starting point of this battle over two hundred years later...

The starting point where two timelines intersect.

Admiring the dumb-looking robot, Koala grinned and appreciated his handiwork for a moment.

"...Didn't expect the last work of my life to be such an ugly thing, haha."

Blood gushed from his mouth and nose, splattering onto the robot's body. Instinctively, he raised an arm to wipe it away, but it kept flowing more and more.

Perhaps it was due to the negative pressure.

Knowing he couldn't stop the bleeding, Koala simply ignored it, patting the robot's round body and leaving a sticky blood handprint on it.

"I'm counting on you, my little Koala... no time to give you a prettier name."

"In any case, it's up to you..."

With these words, he finally took his last breath.

Watching its owner die before it, the round-bodied little Koala slightly moved the camera in front of it, then entered a dormant state as planned, beginning a long wait.

And this wait—

Lasted exactly 215 years!

The rampant neutron plume penetrated the dormant starship, and the long-awaited explosive shock awoke the sleeping little Koala.

Following the programmed instructions, it unplugged the external power source connected to it.

Driven by magnetism, its round body floated up, pushed aside the decayed corpse, left the fourth repair room, and gently drifted towards another collision site.

That was the cafeteria on the lower deck.

Just as the owner's information indicated, a silvery-gray research ship had crashed through the decayed steel armor, embedding its twisted, deformed cabin squarely into the wall.

Stretching out its two mechanical arms, it tore open the twisted, deformed alloy door and saw the girl in the space suit.

At this moment, she was lying on a sleep cabin, her consciousness seemingly in a coma, her lips moving slightly as if murmuring something.

Truly pitiful.

Just like its owner.

But, perhaps due to the many patched-up exoskeletons, the earlier burst of neutron plume hadn't killed her.

Under magnetic guidance, little Koala floated to Jiang Xuezhou's side, gently patting her helmet to wake up her fragile consciousness.

"Hey, wake up."

Jiang Xuezhou slowly opened her blurry eyes, her parched lips parting.

"Who are you...?"

She couldn't see anything, only dimly sensing someone standing in front of her.

The round body bore a rust-specked handprint.

It seemed to be dried blood.

However—

This being didn't seem like an enemy.

After all, if it were an enemy, it wouldn't have awakened her at all.

The figure standing before her thought for a moment, then connected to her communication channel.

"Me? My owner called me Little Koala... Of course, I probably have a nicer name, but he said he didn't have time to give me one. Perhaps you can do that for him."

Koala...

Jiang Xuezhou's eyes widened slightly.

The name sounded familiar.

She had a strong sense of déjà vu, as if she'd heard it somewhere, yet couldn't recall it at all.

It was normal not to remember.

Although they had met over 200 years ago, more than once, their encounter hadn't occurred on her timeline yet.

At this moment, the first neutron torpedo had just exploded not long ago, and the Orion Missile Cruiser was still securely in Earth's synchronous orbit.

And it would be almost an hour before she would open a hyperspace passage into superposition...

"Have we... met somewhere?"

Looking at the dazed girl, little Koala made sounds like clinking metal cans.

"Of course, we've met you, and we will meet again... We've waited for you a long time."

It really recognizes me!

Jiang Xuezhou's eyes fully opened.

Not just her eyes.

She struggled to support herself, slowly floating up from the cold Sleep Cabin, casting a pleading glance at the unfamiliar Robot.

"Please help me... Someone wants to kill us, not just us, many others will die..."

The opponent, "celestial beings," had already taken control of the whole Starship, and the Burning Corps assisting her was almost entirely wiped out. She was on the brink of despair, almost — had even given up.

Contrary to what Night Ten imagined, she was never a very strong person, let alone resilient.

She merely was a normal person with some talent in her professional field, albeit receiving good education and training.

Using her remaining strength, she dragged the unconscious Night Ten into the Sleep Cabin, without any well-considered plan, hoping that "celestial beings" would spare Night Ten because he was one of the Residents of the refuge.

She knew this thought was childish, yet couldn't help but comfort herself with it.

If even one could survive...

Just as she was about to fall into slumber, a straw of salvation floated before her.

It was this straw that made her suddenly realize she wasn't alone, reigniting the desire to survive in her heart.

It's not over yet.

She wasn't dead yet!

He wasn't either...

Looking at the girl floating up from the Sleep Cabin, little Koala gently tapped its round body, using a gentle electronic voice to say.

"I'm here to help you."

With that, it turned around, simultaneously extending a mechanical hand to her.

"Grab it and follow me..."

"Before the Ghost catches you."

...

The race with the Ghost began.

This would be a relay race spanning two centuries, and the competitor from 215 years later had already taken the first baton from 227 comrades.

Holding little Koala's mechanical hand, Jiang Xuezhou closely followed its lead, shuttling through the corridor that was as dark as a deep well.

For some reason.

She was supposed to be afraid of the dark.

Especially such enclosed and narrow darkness, merely being inside could scare her from moving her legs, not to mention lurking on this Starship was a Ghost wielding a knife.

Yet at this moment, her heart strangely lacked any trace of fear, even letting the guy calling itself little Koala lead her to an unknown future.

Though this was her first time stepping into this tomb, she had a déjà vu as if she had come here long, long ago.

Is this... what "Perception" is?

Previously, Night Ten always bragged to her about being able to sense impending danger.

For things that could not be explained by science, she always held a skeptical attitude. However, this skepticism wavered now.

Perhaps it's not that science can't explain it, but existing theories are unable to cover it...

Just like now.

An inexplicable intuition told her, perhaps a "new theory" was right before her.

As she pondered the mystery, the guiding little Koala in front suddenly seemed to remember something, speaking in a gentle tone.

"If you're scared, you can tell me. My master has prepared some songs for you."

"...Better not, it's creepy to suddenly play music at this time," Jiang Xuezhou said, shrinking her neck.

"Is that so, okay then, seems my master did something unnecessary."

Looking at the round metal body, Jiang Xuezhou tensely asked a question that had been pent up inside her for a long time.

"Where are we... going?"

Little Koala replied with a gentle voice.

"To the nearest data interface, I need you to hack into this Starship's Warp engine."

"Hack, hack into the Starship's Warp engine?!" Jiang Xuezhou's eyes widened, "Is your master... serious?!"

This is the United Human's Missile Cruiser!

Although she had dug some of the United Space Army's graves, hacking into a Missile Cruiser's Warp engine was still a bit far-fetched.

Seemingly predicting her surprise, the leading little Koala chuckled gently.

"Don't worry, we've prepared a surprise for our opponent at the Warp engine... Rest assured, the startup coordinates and destination coordinates of the Hyperspace Passage have been calculated, the Key is already inserted into the lock, you just need to turn it lightly, I'm sure it won't be hard for you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuezhou finally sighed with relief, muttering softly.

"Thank you... you guys are quite thoughtful."

Little Koala emitted a sound akin to metallic friction, like the tingling of distorted wind chimes.

"You're welcome."

"My master said... couldn't let our Kids face the Ghosts of the old times alone."

...

Just as little Koala said, its master and its master's comrades had prepared everything, and what she needed to do was merely hold that Key already inserted into the lock, then turn it lightly.

Amidst a trembling akin to an earthquake, this Starship that had slept for two centuries roared silently into the vast cosmos like an awakened giant Dragon.

Everything proceeded smoothly as planned.

However, just as Jiang Xuezhou was about to disconnect from the data interface, "Luo Yi" managed to find her along the trail and emptied its magazine towards her.

A battle erupted in the narrow corridor between the two sides.

Although the Orion's Space Combat Squad had left some equipment near the data interface, unfortunately, Jiang Xuezhou was still no match for "Luo Yi" and got shot in the abdomen.

And a certain round-bodied dude wasn't a combat Robot either, only able to drive the magnetic control component to hurl surrounding metal debris at Luo Yi, covering the retreat of the wounded Jiang Xuezhou from the scene.

Perhaps that too was a predestined part.

Its master hadn't told it what would happen in the future, and it didn't know she would be shot.

Before being grabbed by Luo Yi, it transmitted the map leading to the gym on the lower deck to the girl who successfully escaped.

This was the scene of the collision accident between the Gemini landing craft and the Orion Cruiser.

There was a Sleep Cabin there, along with the last usable data interface.

Not only that.

It was also the data interface that had once breached the Starship's Orion Carrier Server firewall!

She would use the sword still embedded in her heart, not yet pulled out, to deliver the final blow to the Ghost lingering in this cemetery!

Just now, when she hacked into the Warp engine via the data interface, the data packet breaching the firewall had already been uploaded into her brain's bionic chip via the Warp engine control room's cache server.

"The engine's already started... Please follow the AR-guided path to the coordinates on the map, there's a landing craft there, a Sleep Cabin is placed in the cockpit of the landing craft..."

Using emergency tape to seal the astronaut suit's breach, Jiang Xuezhou struggled through the acting cabin door.

Upon hearing the voice in the communications channel, she was too late to care about little Koala's situation, hurriedly asking.

"What next... What else do I need to do?!"

Clanging sounds echoed through the cabin walls, followed by intermittent noises from the communication channel.

"Lie down... plug the data cable into the neural interface... then do nothing, leave the rest to us... it's fine."

Jiang Xuezhou asked blankly.

"... Leave it... to you?"

Is there anyone else here?

The communication channel provided intermittent yet resolute answers.

"Yes... trust us... we won't let you face the most cruel future alone."

It was the last piece of information it left in this world.

Having slept in the cold tomb for over two hundred years, it finally completed the mission assigned by its master.

"Why?!"

The escaping "Luo Yi" roared in anger, reaching out to grab Little Koala's head.

It tore off the laughably simple camera and sensor, then slashed with a titanium alloy blade in hand, splitting the old robot in two.

Looking at the rubbish integrated into the wreckage, it let out a hoarse roar.

"Why do you oppose me! Why!!!"

Just because of these fools, they suffered in the dark for a whole 200 years!

And now these already cold dead still want to stop them!

It was not just "Luo Yi's" roar.

It was also the roar of the "Navigator", and all the "celestial beings"!

However, their roars could not stop the bullet fired 200 years ago.

In the end, the warp engine completed its charging.

The intelligent virus rooted in the carrier server was helpless against the already activated engine, watching helplessly as the hyperspace passage opened again after two centuries.

While "Luo Yi" placed hope in the second neutron torpedo being loaded.

A missile over ten meters long detached from the launch rack.

In an instant, dazzling light emitted as the scorching neutron stream unleashed in the blink of an eye!

And almost simultaneously, a silent growl tore through space-time, with countless rays converging toward a tiny point, as huge mass pierced through space in an instant.

Gazing from Earth at the synchronous orbit, the kilometer-long starship seemed to disappear into thin air, leaping five light-years away to South Gate Two in an instant.

And just before this, Jiang Xuezhou lying in the Sleep Cabin watched the gradually closing lid and slowly closed her eyes.

When the neutron stream swept over her, she had already completely entered cryogenic sleep.

High molecular protein maintained maximal structural stability in ultra-low temperature freezing, reducing the damage of the neutron stream to the organic body to a certain extent.

Her consciousness fell into slumber.

However, the bionic chip in her brain did not cease working.

A fine data cable attached to her neck slowly transmitted the data from the chip into the Sleep Cabin, using it as a springboard to spread towards the Gemini's landing craft, and through it, built a bridge to invade the Orion's carrier server.

At this moment, two parallel timelines intersected, exchanging vast information flows between two unrelated superposed states in the form of resonance.

From the dimensions of space and time, they did not directly touch, nor could they meet.

Yet, the series of steadfast and unwavering choices they made seemed like an agreed arrangement.

Indeed, it was agreed upon.

Because they all unanimously believed in...

...

Time returned to 215 years ago.

As the last bit of energy ran out, the red alarm lights ceased flashing, and the entire starship lay quiet as if dead.

Dragging an increasingly heavy body, Luo Yi, donned in power armor, tore open the twisted hatch and single-handedly dragged the Sleep Cabin into the empty cockpit.

Unsurprisingly, he was probably the last survivor among the 227.

Maybe it's due to the extensive cybernetic implants he had, the damage of the neutron stream was not as severe as imagined, allowing him to survive this long.

However, his end was nearing here too.

As Dr. Wu said, there wasn't a single person in this landing craft, not even a chair.

The crew of Gemini had long abandoned their physical forms before launching their attack, becoming another kind of existence.

Yes.

They were already "celestial beings."

It wouldn't take long before others on the Lagrange Point Space Station became similar existences.

And what happens after that was probably the "history" told by the child.

Unexpectedly, he, a dying person, knew so many things that he absolutely should not have known.

To put it this way, did he actually benefit?

Looking at the Sleep Cabin lying in the cockpit, Luo Yi smiled, exhaling a breath no longer containing much warmth.

That was probably the last brick.

They had done all they could, leaving it to the children stepping into this grave 215 years later.

Just as Luo Yi was about to find a place to sit down and quietly await death, he suddenly recalled something.

No—

One last thing was missing.

"If I were 'me'... I'd definitely care about me, hehe."

Thinking of this, he stood up again, held the open cabin door, and floated out.

If he were "me", for so-called identity recognition, he would definitely try to find his remains.

If that guy found this place and saw the Sleep Cabin, their plan might go awry...

Simply put, he needed to find a place easy to be found to die.

To avoid complications, Luo Yi returned to the duty office, closed the hatch, took off the power armor, and then climbed into the emergency ejection Sleep Cabin to lie down.

This emergency Sleep Cabin powered by chemical batteries could probably maintain sleep for fifty years or so, but in his current half-breath condition, waking up would only mean facing death, possibly never even regaining consciousness.

In that aspect, Waste Land Wanderers were tough, installing all sorts of cybernetic implants, admittedly sacrificing some flesh but becoming more "durable."

He suddenly found himself appreciating that kid.

His bloodshot eyes gradually lost sight, lying in the Sleep Cabin, Luo Yi tightly gripped the military ID in his hand, finally exhaling his last breath.

"Please—"

"Stop the other 'me'!"

-

(Thanks to the alliance leader "Stardust 20190920" for the reward!!!)

Chapter 998: Arriving as Promised

"This is the end."

In the gym on the lower deck, "Luo Yi," floating at the entrance of the room, raised the gun in his hand.

The source of the electronic warfare invasion was right in front of him.

A vast stream of data was continuously attacking the Orion Missile Cruiser's onboard server through the communication module of the landing craft in front of him.

Prior to this, it was precisely through this backdoor that he and his comrades had seized control of this starship.

Yet, this little mouse was ultimately one step too slow.

No matter how flashy a hacker is, they can't block a bullet to the forehead.

Though it took 200 years, and despite numerous obstacles, he at last fulfilled the comrades' long-cherished wish.

This time there would be no more surprises—

He glided past the obstacle hanging in the air and floated into the room.

Just as he was about to move in to finish the final blow, the surrounding magnetic field suddenly became as agitated as boiling lava.

Sensing the abrupt change in the magnetic field nearby, "Luo Yi" was suddenly alarmed, but it was already too late to dodge.

As soon as he turned his head, the floating alloy fragments and debris were yanked fiercely to his side as if grabbed by an invisible hand!

"Luo Yi" instinctively raised his alloy arms and knees to shield himself, followed by a crisp "clang!" that resonated through his entire body, sending him flying away like a baseball!

His back crashed heavily against the wall, and sensors throughout his body trembled, nearly causing his electronic components to short-circuit.

Seeing the steel frame that was like a chain stuck on him, "Luo Yi" felt both shocked and angry, trying desperately to push it away, only to find that not only the steel debris but even his own body had been magnetically stuck to the alloy bulkhead behind him.

Aware of the static crackling behind him, he instantly understood what was happening.

"So that's it... Inducing a magnetic field via electric current."

"But expecting a magnetic field of this degree to trap me is overly naive."

He sneered coldly as nitrogen from the jet pack behind him surged out, propelling his entire body forward.

Meanwhile, he, now accustomed to the resistance, began to exert his hands, dismantling the magnets attached to his body and the wall behind him.

This was probably the last trap.

Just as he thought this, he saw a figure standing in the dark room.

It was a teenager, about seventeen or eighteen years old.

In his hand, he held a generic model of a nuclear battery, likely pulled from some power armor.

Seeing his hair rising due to static electricity, he immediately realized where the frenzied current came from.

But what shocked him wasn't just that; it was that this person, like himself, could move freely in a vacuum without protective gear!

He's a bionic being too?!

Realizing the danger, "Luo Yi" immediately maximized the output power of all motors, trying to break free from the steel debris imprisoning him.

Soon, however, he frightfully discovered that the magnetic field surrounding him suddenly intensified.

Not only that—

The massive magnetic field was also violently fluctuating!

Energy was being terrifyingly accumulated between the peaks and troughs of those high-frequency changes!

"Luo Yi's" consciousness hazed for a moment, and then the image captured by the video sensor displayed noticeable lag and tear marks.

Unlike organic matter.

Though bionic beings can ignore the damage from neutron plumes, they cannot be immune to the effects of the magnetic field!

The more precise and miniaturized the components, the greater the effect!

"...High-frequency fluctuating magnetic field...will destroy your...control circuit..."

"...Quickly...stop..."

Though his consciousness was staggered, "Luo Yi's" pupils were fixated on the boy at the center of the magnetic storm, urging him to stop and simultaneously raising the gun in his hand.

However, the interference from the magnetic field on the sensors caused the gun muzzle to keep jittering, making it impossible to aim accurately at the guy not far from him.

"Bang—!"

He eventually pulled the trigger, firing multiple shots, but the person standing before him appeared unfazed.

Suddenly, "Luo Yi" saw the bullets exiting the chamber, suspended in mid-air as if caught in an invisible web!

While trapping him, did this guy still have remaining computational power to manipulate the magnetic field to defend himself against attacks!

"Luo Yi's" pupils flickered with disbelief, dumbstruck as he looked at the young man amidst the magnetic storm.

"...What...are you...exactly..."

The person did not answer his question but instead looked down at him emotionlessly.

Tiny metal fragments floated beside him, linked by silver snake-like arcs, along with the bullets shot earlier.

The gaze seemed to penetrate its circuit board, evoking an inexplicable fear from its void-like soul—

"Die—"

"You fraud!"

The violent current contracted instantly, electromagnetically accelerated projectiles stormed down on "Luo Yi," pinned by the steel debris against the wall, shredding him to pieces!

The robust alloy shell and bionic skin were crushed under the railgun's barrage, shattering into fragments that splattered in all directions.

Night Ten did not halt his actions nor provide his opponent any chance to breathe but instead channeled all his fury into the erupting metal storm.

He drained the last bits of power from the nuclear battery in his hand, smashing every possible projectile around him until the capacitor in his own prosthetic overloaded, sparking silver arcs!

As for "Luo Yi" at the heart of that tumultuous firepower, he was utterly smashed into scrap.

When the last projectile nailed into his chest, his once indestructible iron body had now become a shabby, twisted rag hanging unconscious on the perforated alloy wall, twitching intermittently under the influence of static electricity.

It's over...

Luckily, he made it just in time.

Seeing "Luo Yi" completely incapacitated, Night Ten felt as if all the strength in his body had been drained, and he relaxed entirely.

The nuclear battery in his hand drifted from his fingertips, rolling into a corner of the room like an empty Can.

There was a series of numbers printed on the battery casing.

Though he wasn't sure to which Warrior these numbers belonged, it must have been one of the 3,000 warriors aboard the Orion Missile Cruiser.

"Thank you..."

Recalling those familiar faces, Night Ten silently uttered in his heart.

Indeed.

Time is irreversible.

Their existence ultimately vanished in this universe, along with the plan named "Dawn."

However, he didn't think their decision in those final moments was in vain.

Without that experience, he would probably wander blindly in this unfamiliar Maze, rather than calmly searching for the Maze's exit as he was doing now.

Moreover, the Maze's map seemed imprinted in his mind, making him feel even more familiar with it than the one who called himself "Luo Yi."

Mysteriously, he subconsciously realized something.

In the entire event or scenario, something had actually traversed time, influencing both the past and the future simultaneously.

But his mind was currently very muddled, still entangled in the sense of temporal disarray, unable to articulate the vague perceptions in his mind into words.

Nevertheless, when all this is over, he will write about this legendary experience on the Forum and share it with others who are interested.

Not just this incredible experience,
but also the 3,000 crew members of the Orion Missile Cruiser, along with the plan codenamed "Dawn."

History should have a page belonging to them.

At the moment the long night was approaching, a group of idealists made an unanimous choice—

What they left facing death was hope.

They selflessly left the chance to live for the survivors.

The only regret is, the "reunion after 200 years" agreement ended up being postponed...

Just as Night Ten was struggling with his feelings, he suddenly noticed something floating up from the remains of the bionic being out of the corner of his eye.

It was a silver-white metal fragment, with a chain of delicate links dangling from it.

This bionic being had been clutching it tightly in its hand, and due to weightlessness and static interference, it drifted out through the open fingers.

Gazing at the slowly floating metal fragment, Night Ten suddenly felt a twitch in his heart.

Almost instinctively, he reached out and grabbed it.

It seemed to be an identity badge, with a line of small text engraved on its front.

[Luo Yi, Sergeant]

The moment he saw this line of characters, Night Ten felt his heartbeat slow by half a beat, and an unprecedented thrill surged from within his chest.

They didn't break their promise!

They have been here all along!

They finally met!

"I didn't expect... such a reunion."

Gradually understanding everything, Night Ten wanted to take a deep breath to suppress the emotions he could no longer hold back, but found he couldn't breathe. All he could do was clutch that military tag tightly in his palm.

At that moment, a faint signal floated out on the communication channel.

This signal seemed to be emitted by that scrapped bionic being.

After taking quite a beating from himself, the only thing left working on its entire body was the communication module.

"...Do you...know me?"

Night Ten originally didn't want to respond, but since this guy was already speaking on its own, he impatiently replied.

"I don't know you."

With a drooping, damaged head, it asked urgently in a halting voice.

"Then...do you know...the owner of this military tag?"

"Yes." Night Ten said straightforwardly, "I have met him once. He is a respectable person...completely different from a half-baked counterfeit like you."

Upon hearing the word "counterfeit," the signal in the communication channel wavered slightly.

It seemed very resistant to this term.

However, nailed to the wall, it could do nothing but mentally object.

"That's impossible...I...don't know you."

"Is that so? That just proves you're a counterfeit," Night Ten retorted with a sneer, "I don't know how the celestial beings created you, but I suppose, besides looking exactly like Luo Yi, you couldn't possibly have his memories."

The bionic being nailed to the wall couldn't argue back.

It indeed didn't possess that thing.

"The celestial beings" told it that its name was Luo Yi, rank: Sergeant, crew member of the Orion Missile Cruiser, who became a digital ghost losing its body due to a revolt... besides that, it had nothing else.

The part of its memory that was missing was precisely what it had been striving to find all along.

It wanted to become him!

Yet at this moment, it fell into unprecedented confusion.

A young man claiming to know Luo Yi stood before it, while it was just a counterfeit.

"This doesn't make sense...I...he...died 200 years ago, how could you have known him, are you lying to me? No, you must be lying to me..."

"Believe it or not, it's up to you."

Looking at this incessantly chattering fellow, Night Ten impatiently tossed out this remark.

He had no obligation to explain to it, nor did he care to clarify so much.

Yet the bionic being's head seemed to have malfunctioned, falling into a loop of self-doubt.

Moments later, it only murmured, repeatedly uttering one sentence.

"...Who am I?"

"Just ask yourself."

Night Ten couldn't help but quip, severing the never-ending signal source.

If nothing unexpected, the Jiang Xuezhou he was looking for should be on this unfamiliar spacecraft right before him.

As for why she was here, he assumed she would explain after waking up.

At this time, the originally pitch-black room suddenly lit up.

In fact, not just this room, even the corridor outside, like a deep well, became illuminated.

The suddenly bright light was like the pale white of dawn breaking the long night.

At the same time, his communication module received a strange broadcast signal.

It seemed to be issued by the central broadcast of the Orion Missile Cruiser.

"System reset complete, new commander biometric information has been logged, notes number... Captain Jiang Xuezhou, Executive Officer Night Ten."

"Reactor operation status check completed, low power warning lifted, lower deck power supply is recovering...

"Artificial gravity system is restarting...this ship will enter low gravity mode in 5 minutes, all units please prepare."

Hearing that gentle electronic voice, an involuntary joy filled Night Ten's heart.

Undoubtedly—

That was Xuezhou's handiwork!

Maybe not just her—

Just as he battled against Luo Yi's replica, she successfully breached the Orion Missile Cruiser's firewall, reclaiming the starship control rights that had fallen into the Lagrange Point Space Station!

"Well done!"

He couldn't help but clench his fist in a cheer, then released arcs from his palm, drifting towards the spaceship embedded in the ship's armor under the traction of electromagnetic force.

The half-open cabin door was effortlessly torn off by him, yet when he saw the scarlet sleep cabin, his heartbeat involuntarily froze.

"No—"

The excitement plunged into the abyss in an instant, he fell despondently onto the sleep cabin door.

That door, which should have been transparent, seemed as if covered by a layer of red frost, with even freshly coagulated blood clinging to its edges.

Rage surged to his head in an instant, he wished to turn around and return to the previous room, utterly obliterating that already smashed into bits counterfeit!

Just as Night Ten was burning with impatience, a recording pen inserted next to the sleep cabin suddenly caught his attention.

It wasn't just the recording pen.

Right next to the recording pen, on the silver metal tray, were a few rock-hard frozen plastic bags.

A sticky note was affixed to a plastic bag, with a row of hastily written scrawls on the note.

"Rescue needs to be conducted in a room temperature and pressure environment, please close the cockpit door first, and manually activate the emergency airlock of the landing craft cockpit according to the instructions in the recording."

Everything seemed ready as if prepared.

The key to opening the door was placed where his eyes could reach.

Just like when he ventured out for the first time, with the luggage his mother had prepared for him in advance.

Without a moment of hesitation, Night Ten immediately turned back and tightly closed the already warped and misshaped door, then dashed to find the emergency airlock in the cockpit with urgency.

Unfortunately, he was a complete novice at piloting spacecraft, and after searching for a long time, he couldn't find where the switch was.

It was not until then that he suddenly remembered that recording pen, obediently returning next to the "mission hint."

Just as he pulled a data cable from his neck and plugged it into the recording pen, a familiar voice drifted into his ears, causing his dazed consciousness to unwittingly float back to that frozen slice of time and space.

"My time is running out, so I'll keep it short. I hope you listen carefully..."

"About the method of defrosting haemostatic gel..."

Chapter 999: Terminal Station

As the Sleep Cabin closed, countless thoughts flashed through Jiang Xuezhou's mind.

She even considered that once she fell asleep, she might never wake up again.

However, despite a myriad of emotions, she felt not a trace of fear.

She could feel someone holding her hand.

The warmth spreading from the fingertips was not just her blood seeping outside, but something else.

She didn't know the person's name, nor could she recall the face, only remembering a gentle elder sister.

She had been here all along.

And had waited for a full 215 years...

Peacefully falling asleep, she closed her eyes, at the moment the Orion Missile Cruiser jumped into the Hyperspace Passage, the unconscious meeting her first and last encounter.

It was a very long dream.

In the dream, she met many people.

Though in the dream she was asleep, never once waking for even a second, everyone there seemed to recognize her.

Whether it was her face or her name.

Vaguely, she sensed that she was not alone in coming here.

Someone who departed with her—or perhaps a moment later—had already been here first, telling them her name.

In that unseen darkness, she was not alone.

At that moment, a hand gently brushed across her forehead.

And a warm whisper followed.

"...You will survive."

"Your partner is a brave kid... and his courage matches that of any of us."

That voice was like a torch dispersing the darkness, momentarily illuminating her entire world.

And as the light of Dawn arose, all encompassing darkness around her fell away like faded sludge, collapsing under the ever-brightening light.

She faintly heard another voice.

The voice was filled with resentment, stretched long, like a ghost haunting the abyss, unleashing cries of fury and lament.

"...Why..."

"200 years! I waited 200 years!"

"Why oppose me! Why!!"

That guy seemed to have brokedown.

Did someone do something?

At this moment, Jiang Xuezhou was not fully aware of what occurred to her original timeline self during her sleep.

Previously, when she hacked into the Warp engine's cache server, the data packet downloaded into her bionic chip was now being released at an incredible speed and charging towards the Orion Missile Cruiser's onboard server through the data line at its neck.

The raging howl was from the AI called "Navigator."

That specter inhabiting the old circuit board.

It probably never imagined until its death that the people it killed over 200 years ago would wield the sword it once used, to reverse and sever its head...

Everything was over.

In a daze, Jiang Xuezhou seemed to see the Sleep Cabin door close once more.

There was a man in power armor.

Having completed everything he intended to sit and rest for a while, but suddenly remembered something and stood up, walked out of the twisted, deformed cockpit.

Her eyes could not see, yet she could vaguely perceive all that was happening outside.

And at the moment the door closed, the twisted, deformed hatch opened again, a familiar figure rushed in hurriedly from outside.

He frantically searched the room for something.

His clumsy manner made her want to laugh, and cry, but she couldn't cry.

In this bizarre dream, she could do nothing, not even open her eyes.

Fortunately, that fumbling fellow finally found what he was looking for.

It seemed to be a key.

Then he seemed to finally notice her lying there, approaching her ecstatically.

As she tried to open her eyes to make contact with him, her already blurry vision suddenly dimmed with a layer of white frost, and her lost five senses returned to her body.

Feeling the drilling pain in the abdomen, her brow lightly furrowed, she involuntarily let out a moan.

At this time, a hurried voice came from not far away.

"...Don't get up yet, I'm helping you with the wound!"

Blood crust stuck to her eyelids, she couldn't open her eyes.

However, upon hearing that familiar voice, her original taut nerves immediately relaxed.

"Night Ten..."

"I'm right here! Hold on!"

Standing beside the Sleep Cabin, Night Ten, drenched in sweat, applied the thawed hemostatic gel onto her abdominal wound.

The emergency airlock of the landing craft was opened, the cockpit filled with air.

Under the effect of positive pressure, the twisted and deformed door was automatically pressed firmly against the door frame.

Meanwhile, the starship's artificial gravity device has successfully restarted, and the current cabin is experiencing gravity similar to the Moon, gradually recovering to 1G level.

The piercing pain was gradually replaced by a chilly sensation. Jiang Xuezhou softly gasped as the blood scabs stuck to her eye cracks slowly melted by warm tears.

"Woo..."

Seeing the tears rolling down Jiang Xuezhou's face, Night Ten became flustered and quickly asked.

"Does it hurt?"

She gently shook her head and quietly said, "It doesn't hurt."

Yet, the tears unwillingly kept falling, one after another, more and more.

If it doesn't hurt, why are you crying?

Seeing her weeping face, Night Ten was completely confounded, utterly at a loss.

Fortunately, his actions didn't stop, and ultimately, using the method Lin Youyou left behind, he managed to help her stop the bleeding and then wrapped it with a bandage.

As an unlicensed medical practitioner, this was the best he could do.

As for repairing radiation damage and such.

He could only wait until they returned to Earth to seek help from the Alliance's Biological Institute, or think about other ways.

Surely there's a way to solve this.

"...The bleeding has stopped. Your previous spacesuit is damaged. I've made a set of external exoskeleton for you to wear instead of the spacesuit."

Jiang Xuezhou, with reddened eyes, softly uttered an "Mm" and then lay there silently.

Never had he seen her so quiet; Night Ten couldn't help but stare for a while.

To his surprise, she, who often showed her teeth and claws, became shy at this moment, retreating slightly with a shrinking neck.

"... Don't look at me..."

Seeing her reflection in those eyes, Jiang Xuezhou embarrassedly turned her head to the side, avoiding his gaze.

"Right now... I look... very ugly."

Objectively speaking, that was true.

Her hair had almost fallen out, with congealed blood scabs all over, or oozing fluid from ruptured skin, like a chick just breaking out of its shell.

If it was before, he might've made a low emotional intelligence joke or two.

But now, he was no longer the clueless person he used to be.

Is there such a big difference between an NPC and a real person?

Actually, not really.

What's truly important is the feeling in his heart at this moment, incredibly genuine.

Gazing deeply into those bright, clear eyes, it was like looking at a gem buried in ashes.

Watching the white-paper-like face flush with red hues, in a voice he had never tried before in his life, he spoke emotionally.

"... I don't mind."

Time covered with frost.

The air seemed frozen, solidifying the gradually burning sunset.

Everything fell silent.

There was no sound between the two for quite some time until a stubborn voice finally escaped from those lightly bitten lips.

"... I don't need your force."

It turns out you can't expect ivory from a dog's mouth.

A moment ago, Jiang Xuezhou was deeply moved by him; the next moment, she was infuriated.

What do you mean you don't mind?

She admitted.

She indeed looked somewhat embarrassing at this moment, but what caused her to become like this?

Ah ah ah!

If she knew this would happen, she might as well have died.

With her remaining strength, she lightly bit her teeth, feeling the negative emotions boiling and ready to explode.

Was this guy intentional?

Definitely, he was!

As she got more and more aggrieved, almost bursting into tears, a gust of wind suddenly blew towards her.

Before she could react to what was happening, the grievance about to overflow from between her lips was blocked by a sudden surge of heated emotion.

The warmth dispelled the cold, melting the ice almost freezing her heartbeat.

Her pupils widened instantly, slowly overshadowed by a water mist, and her eyes closed gently.

All the grievances and pain endured, along with the bewilderment and helplessness facing despair, transformed into a faint salty taste rolling off the corner of her lips at this moment.

Those things were no longer important.

In the face of this unprecedented happiness, everything that had passed became redundant.

She only wished time could stay frozen in this moment.

Let that warm feeling linger a little longer...

...

Their lips parted.

Not only Jiang Xuezhou turned red like an apple, but also the person whose arms were propped on the sleep cabin.

The posture of that person was indescribably awkward, like a ginger cat stuck halfway up the stairs.

Yet at this moment, her heart was filled with immense satisfaction, with no desire to mock or bicker at all.

With her face buried and blushing, she whispered softly.

"Idiot… you… you want to knock my teeth out…?"

Too sly.

Using this trick…

How could she be angry after this?

Seeing the suddenly shy Jiang Xuezhou, Night Ten blushed and stammered.

"I, I didn't mean that…"

He was already trying very hard to mimic Fang Chang, but for some reason, he still messed up.

Maybe he usually says too many flirty things, this mouth of his was naturally incapable of saying those sentimental words.

But that's indeed what he meant at the time.

No matter what she had become, whether there was still a chance to heal or not, he wouldn't let her down.

"... What I mean is, no matter what you become... I will still… like?"

Jiang Xuezhou's fist, which had finally softened, clenched again, wishing she could knock his head askew.

"Why is 'like' a question? You… like… can't you just say it properly? It's really infuriating!"

Seemingly feeling a bit embarrassed himself, Night Ten awkwardly retorted, his face still red.

"Ah ah ah… okay, fine, I like you! I like you! I like you!"

He said it three times in one breath, making up for all the times he hadn't said it before.

The instant Jiang Xuezhou heard those words, her face turned bright red, her ears seemed to emit steam, and her initially fierce demeanor melted like a snowman about to dissolve.

Having never lost an argument before, Night Ten naturally didn't miss the chance to counterattack. Seeing Jiang Xuezhou looking dazed and almost melting, he blushed and pressed on.

"I've said it, now it's your turn?"

"Me, me?"

Seemingly not expecting the counter-question, Jiang Xuezhou panicked, and her raised voice went off-key.

As she tried to avoid his gaze, Night Ten persistently stared into her eyes, asking her again.

"Yes, I've told you. I like you, so much that even if you feel embarrassed, I have to say it. I don't want to almost miss you like just now."

"..."

The word "like" was like a remote control switch that rebooted her brain with every press.

Her thin lips opened and closed for a long while, red clouds spread out like smoke and sunset glow.

Wait… is this development too fast?

Should she assess it further?

Even though she didn't particularly dislike kids… one or two were fine, three could be acceptable, but she should really ask Yuehan's opinion, right? She didn't know if the kid could accept her suddenly becoming an aunt.

It wasn't until she thought about what her granddaughter's name might be that she suddenly realized she might be thinking too far ahead, wanting to plunge her heated head into ice to calm down.

Night Ten had no idea what strange thoughts she was having, nor did he continue to press her. He just gazed intently into those doe-like, evasive eyes, waiting for her answer.

Finally…

This person, who was even less straightforward than him, ultimately couldn't bear to make him wait any longer.

Those soft lips parted and uttered the answer both of them had long been aware of.

"Like..."

"Like who?"

"Like… you, you silly ba—!"

She hadn't finished speaking when she was silenced once again.

...

When Jiang Xuezhou sat up from the sleep cabin, ten minutes had already passed.

With the help of the hemostatic gel, the wound on her abdomen had scabbed over and was beginning to heal slowly.

"Cyborgs" had much greater adaptability and healing ability than typical Waste Land Wanderers.

This was one of the primary reasons people from the Academy were so appealing to Waste Land Wanderers.

Although Jiang Xuezhou's body was still very weak, under normal gravity conditions, she had no problem getting up and walking around.

According to Lin Youyou's final instructions, Night Ten helped her put on the exoskeleton for external activities.

After the wound scabs over, it's better for blood circulation and metabolism to get out of the "freezer" as soon as possible; staying in the sleep cabin at this point wouldn't be beneficial.

With the help of the exoskeleton, he didn't have to worry about her bumping into anything or falling.

Ensuring safety, Night Ten closed the emergency airlock and opened the hatch of the cockpit.

The air in the cockpit was sucked out in an instant, returning it to a vacuum environment.

With Night Ten's help, Jiang Xuezhou carefully crawled out of the landing craft's hatch.

Watching Jiang Xuezhou bending over in pain, Night Ten immediately released his hand and worriedly supported her.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"

"I'm fine, just the wound tugged a bit... No need to treat me as if I'm fragile."

Jiang Xuezhou murmured quietly with a blush, feeling odd about how suddenly this guy became so caring.

Although she said it like that, her heart was sweet like honey.

"I'm just worried about you..." Night Ten scratched the back of his head, holding her hand tighter, "Take it easy, hold onto my hand and don't let go."

Jiang Xuezhou softly murmured an "Hmm", not speaking, but she squeezed his hand tighter.

She was enjoying this moment very much.

Even though their current situation was anything but optimistic, they were a full five light-years away from Earth...

The reactor fuel probably won't last through the next jump; otherwise, that phandroid wouldn't be so anxious.

However, despite the difficulties, she was not afraid at all.

If one asks why...

She always felt as if she had been here before.

Everything here was so familiar, like the living room of her own home.

"By the way... I just had a very long, long dream." Staring at the phandroid wreckage buried in the corner by the ruins, Jiang Xuezhou suddenly spoke quietly.

Night Ten gently squeezed her hand.

"What did you dream about?"

Jiang Xuezhou closed her eyes and pondered deeply for a while, carefully recalling that bizarre dream.

"I saw many people I didn't know... They said many things, but most I couldn't hear clearly. Oh, then there was a sister who patted my head and told me... I would be okay."

Night Ten was silent for a moment and then said.

"Was that sister named Lin Youyou?"

Jiang Xuezhou paused for a moment, holding her forehead with her left hand.

"...The name sounds so familiar, I feel like I've heard it somewhere."

Night Ten took out a voice recorder from his pocket and handed it to her with a puzzled look.

"Maybe... it wasn't a dream, but something that really happened."

He once promised to bring Jiang Xuezhou to meet her, and now it seems they might have already met.

During the time after he left.

After receiving the voice recorder from Night Ten, Jiang Xuezhou stared at it intently, murmuring with a distant look.

"I also feel... it wasn't just a dream."

Watching Jiang Xuezhou in a daze, Night Ten reached out and gently patted her helmet.

"Anyway, it's good that you've woken up... They've given us command of this starship, though it's pretty much a scrap, there might still be some useful functions. You figure it out first, I need to log off and check in with my friends."

No accident, he's now reached South Gate Two.

No one in this game has traveled farther than him, even the tail in the Arctic pales in comparison.

But in contrast, his troubles are not small either.

Later when he visits the official site, he'll have to get their opinions, and also boast a bit for Brother Guang, the world five light-years away is certainly not a big pie.

Even if it was before, now this pie is well-baked.

As for showing off, that's non-existent.

Is he such a superficial person?

Although thinking like this, he could hardly suppress his grin.

Watching Night Ten suddenly speak nonsense, Jiang Xuezhou tilted her head.

"Log off?"

"Uh, it's just... a sort of perception method, I mentioned I have some special abilities, right? Okay, okay, don't worry about it, I'll only need two minutes."

Night Ten hastily stopped the topic after inadvertently slipping up, ignoring those suspicious eyes, he sat against the wall, closed his eyes, and logged off.

However, maybe logging off was too hasty, his handsome posture only lasted two seconds before his head bumped onto the ground.

Watching Night Ten curling up like a shrimp, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but express helplessness, sighed and sat beside him, lifting his stubborn head onto her lap.

Speaking of which, similar things seemed to have happened before.

He claimed that closing his eyes allowed him to see residents in other shelters, communicating when physical communication was impossible.

She used to think he was bragging, but now she wonders if he might be serious.

Though it's a five-light-year distance... can special abilities really achieve this?

"By the way, this dummy looks quite cute when sleeping..."

Gazing at his serene sleeping face, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't resist stretching out her index finger to lightly touch his nose.

This guy is just like a little pig, unable to wake up no matter how you move him when sleeping.

But after experiencing so many things.

Perhaps he's tired too.

Gently stroking his sleek, black hair, Jiang Xuezhou assumed a gentle and caring smile, whispering softly.

"You've worked hard."

Chapter 1000: Interlude

"...that's basically what happened, anyway there's no need to worry about that missile cruiser for now."

Wasteland OL official website.

Night Ten spent a whole hour updating the forum about what happened to the Burning Corps after they encountered the neutron torpedo.

Including Jiang Xuezhou activating the warp engine, including the clone of "Luo Yi" trying to prevent the first reported neutron torpedo, including his unconscious encounter with the Orion crew in a "superposition state" from 215 years ago when entering the hyperspace passage, and their "Dawn" plan agreed upon, etc...

To be honest.

When typing these thousand words, he felt somewhat unbelievable himself.

Whether looking at the computer's calendar or the current hot discussions on the forum, it seemed only a few hours had passed from Fang Chang and Old White disconnecting to when he logged off to report the situation.

However, for him, half a month had already gone by!

Although it sounds like he's dreaming, he can be sure that what happened during that time was definitely not an illusion.

He truly lived onboard the Orion from 215 years ago for half a month, even though there's not a single trace of his existence on the starship.

Even if this experience can be explained as a quest instance, the discrepancy in time flow still amazes him.

It seems Wasteland OL's technology is even more impressive than he imagined...

But then again, is it really just a game?

Thinking of the sensation left on his lips, he felt his cheeks heat up involuntarily.

Gosh!

A grown man like me blushing like a bubble teapot!

Seeing how he's been typing for ages without a single reply, Night Ten vented his chaotic emotions on the keyboard.

"Damn! Give me some reaction here, will you?"

Whenever I'm a clickbaiter to lure replies, you all hang out here, piling up dozens of layers. Now when I'm not clickbaiting, you're free-riding.

Is that appropriate!

Just when he snatched the sofa and pressed F5, rows of replies finally popped out, instantly bursting into hundreds of floors.

"Totally engrossed..."

"Stunned."

"A bit confused, let me think."

"Giao! You've solved it already?!"

"Ah Wei's Star Wars plan bankrupt on the spot. (humorous)"

"I've started crying."

"..."

Seeing hundreds of sudden comments, Night Ten sitting in front of the computer was startled.

My goodness!

So many lurkers?!

At this point, several familiar IDs appeared before his eyes.

Clearly, during the time he was still online, his good buddies hadn't stopped caring about him.

Fang Chang: "Not bad, brother, I was worried about you not coping well earlier, but now you shine. (sly smile)"

Night Ten: "Hehe, not really... I actually did just a tiny bit of work."

Old White: "No need to be modest, well done! Haha, this time we merely laid back. (grin)"

Quit smoking: "Turn the tides! It feels so damn good to win effortlessly haha! (grin)"

Edge Shoveling: "Old White saying it is fine, but when do you not laze around? (rolling eyes)"

Quit smoking: "Gosh! I did contribute okay! (angry)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Like trying hard to play dead? (smirk)"

Quit smoking: "@#%$!"

The post was filled with joyful laughter.

Seeing his friends' replies, Night Ten couldn't help but smile, yet felt something was missing.

As if answering his expectation, someone finally noticed the subtle details he revealed in the post.

Wild Wind: "Just finished reading the post... so, you're at South Gate Two now?"

Night Ten: "Hehe, sort of."

Although the guy's words contained a bit of bragging, the other players in the post were already too focused to care.

A reality five light-years away really exists!

The Human Alliance Era's extra-solar colony!

Upon seeing this reply, practically everyone was shocked by the news!

Tail: "!!! Are there three suns over there? (excited)"

Night Ten: "Uh, probably, but I'm still in the cabin and haven't seen what's outside."

Grandpa Ao: "Laughing."

Gnome King Riches: "What, your uncle has gone to South Gate Two to be a Soldier King again? (Surprised)"

Quit Smoking: "Hahahahaha."

Elena: "Grandpa Ao: You really have a problem with this joke, don't you. (Funny)"

Wild Wind: "Speaking of which, I'm actually more curious about what exactly the Hyperspace Passage is."

Fang Chang: "In the setting, it's the gravity link between massive celestial bodies. I don't know the more professional explanation. But from a literal standpoint, hyperspace just means multi-dimensional space, right?"

Wild Wind: "That's indeed what it means. I'm just a bit curious about what you can see in the Hyperspace Passage in the world of Wasteland OL."

Night Ten: "I haven't really noticed... When I enter the Hyperspace Passage in the game, I'm in the Sleep Cabin."

Wild Wind: "Well, what about when you're in the dungeon? Didn't you see the outside?"

Night Ten: "Ah, I did see it, but it doesn't seem special, just an ordinary starry sky? But according to Dr. Wu's explanation, we were supposedly stuck in the Hyperspace Passage, meaning time was at a standstill. Usually, a white light would flash, the starry sky would suddenly become very bright, and then the spaceship would directly pass through."

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "What the hell is directly passing through. (Confused)"

Wild Wind: "Dr. Wu?"

Night Ten: "Wu Xinghuan from the Department of Research and Technology, or the fifth department of the Orion Missile Cruiser... All my mixed-up knowledge comes from him, and frankly, I'm also rather confused, but I somewhat understand."

Wild Wind: "Make sure to explain it to me in detail when you have time!"

Spring Water Commander: "Speaking of which, Brother Gale surprisingly has an interest in these details."

Fang Chang: "Well, after all, he's in this line of work. (Side-eyed smile)"

WC True Mosquito: "!!! Brother Gale researches warp engines?! Shocked!"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Giao! Why do your words sound so tail-like!"

Tail: "!!! You guys finished what Tail was saying, what did Tail say?"

Wild Wind: "Ahem, that's impossible... I'm just interested in the principles, it's purely a personal hobby."

Debt Giant Eye: "Actually, I'm more interested in the continuation of the story, haha, honestly, did anything happen after you saved Jiang Xuezhou? (Mischievous smile)"

Crow: "Ugh, how can you make something so pure sound so wretched."

Si Si: "+1, your intentions are too obvious. (Side-eye)"

Construction Site Boy and the Brick: "Big Eyes' reputation is being harmed. (Funny)"

Elena: "What do you mean reputation is being harmed, it's already well-known. (Funny)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Damn! I was just joking, what do you mean by saying I made it wretched? And seriously, who in this server doesn't know this guy doesn't have the tools for the job! (Angry)"

Fang Chang: "Pfft—"

Quit Smoking: "Hahahahahaha damn!"

Old White: "You're really stripping Night Ten, little brother's pants here. (Laugh)"

Sitting at the computer screen, Night Ten almost spat out old blood, furiously pounding on the keyboard.

"You've got your eyes in my pants, haven't you? Who told you I don't have it!"

He just hit enter, but quickly felt a bit shaky, after all, the body in the game really doesn't have it.

Expecting him to admit defeat is impossible, everyone was stubborn as a donkey in their youth.

In a hurry, he added another sentence.

"And who said you need that thing to make something happen."

Although his intent was to change the subject, he didn't expect this sentence to cause the whole post to explode instantly.

Si Si: "???"

Teng Teng: "Wow, is this starting up?"

Tail: "Oh oh oh! I didn't expect you to be this kind of Night Ten!"

Makabazi: "Did a wheel just run over my face?"

Washing Machine Hair: "Wait, what's going to happen to Miss Teng Teng?"

WC True Mosquito: "Damn, two-timing?!"

Teng Teng: "What's it got to do with me?!!!"

Night Ten: "What's it got to do with me?!!!"

The post about five light-years away took a sharp turn into a place five light-years away.

As it turns out, most players aren't truly interested in the world five light-years away; they're more interested in the fun around them.

Gaia, huh.

Honestly, it's still too far away.

There might not even be a living person there, just an old... uh, ball that's been around for who knows how many years?

But hearing that the Gaia planet five light-years away is not just a pie in the sky, even making it into the universe of Wasteland OL, many old players are still quite pleased.

At least it's fulfilling a wish!

The topic on the forum gradually shifted from the Burning Corps' crushing defeat to the awesomeness of the bosses.

Looks like no need to shut down the server.

Medical Miracle is still seeking ways to act dumb and infiltrate the Enlightenment Society.

And the Battlefield Atmosphere Group is still trying to make the former understand these two tasks are mutually exclusive.

As for Fang Chang and Mole, they've once again overturned their previous predictions for the next version, with their analyses gradually shifting from pessimistic to optimistic.

As long as Brother Night Ten continues to "Kerry" on, bringing that nuclear arsenal from "Prosperity Epoch" back to its proper orbit, they could blow the Lagrange Point Space Station to smithereens in no time.

Of course.

In theory, that's how it is.

Assuming it can be brought back, and that the "celestial beings" don't have any more tricks up their sleeves besides a few humanoids.

After what felt like a long silence, Big Eyes, who had been silent for an unknown period of time, suddenly popped up with a sentence.

"Holy crap... Did Night Ten really find someone? (shock)"

He was just messing with the guy, and who would've thought the kid actually figured it out?!

Really—

Why him!

Those things aren't needed!

...

"This bunch of dogs is really freaking boring."

Seeing the post that had completely gone off-topic, Ye Wei shook his head and clicked the top right corner with his mouse.

After browsing the forum for a long time, he felt a little hungry, so he got up and opened the door to the living room.

Just as he suspected, Jiujiu was lounging on the sofa playing games, with takeout boxes placed on the side table.

This kid, once she got into college, just let go, playing games until she forgot to eat.

Who knows what she's thinking.

She's already playing the most awesome fully immersive virtual game in the world, yet she's still interested in those small-screen mobile games.

But then again, this might be one of the reasons why Brother Mole's game is a big hit in Ideal City.

The essence of happiness is the secretion of dopamine.

And triggering the secretion of dopamine doesn't necessarily require something complex.

The threshold for happiness keeps rising, but once it reaches a certain level, simple joys become fresh again.

After all, Jiujiu is still young...

She's only had her own mobile phone for about two years, and it was he who bought it for her.

Thinking about it this way, the Game Helmet and the mobile phone might count as new things that appeared at the same time for her, which is clearly different from his own experience.

As he thought about it more, Ye Wei suddenly realized that he wasn't young anymore and that in a few years he'd be an old thing too.

Hearing a sound from the doorway, Jiujiu, with her finger on the screen, casually responded.

"Big bro? You're awake, huh? I didn't order you takeout though."

Ye Wei rolled his eyes.

"I thank you."

"Heh, you're welcome."

Ye Jiu playfully replied and then quickly focused back on her game with intensity.

Just as Ye Wei was about to use his phone to order takeout, his little sister, who was gaming on the other side of the sofa, suddenly popped up with a comment.

"By the way, I'm surprised, I always thought you were genuinely into Teng Teng Miss, but I didn't expect you'd end up with her."

Ye Wei twitched at the mouth.

"What are you babbling about..."

"Uh-huh, isn't that the case?"

Facing the mischievous smile, Ye Wei couldn't help but recall the events from two hours ago, subconsciously avoiding eye contact.

"...Not exactly."

Seeing her brother blushing, Ye Jiu instantly perked up, tossed aside her phone, sat upright on the sofa, her eyes gleaming as she asked.

"Come on, what happened exactly?"

This fellow suddenly became gossipy.

Ye Wei scratched the back of his head, and eventually told his sister what had happened then.

Not afraid of being laughed at, it was actually his first time dating someone, and he was also curious about how girls think.

Human beings can be double standard like that.

Even though he used to call paper people "paper people," when it was his turn to date, he couldn't just think of Jiang Xuezhou as a simple paper person, and instead, he was worried.

As for Ye Jiu.

This little girl has always treated "Wasteland OL" as living beings, so she didn't laugh at him about this.

After seriously listening to her brother, Ye Jiu nodded thoughtfully, and suddenly a sentence came out of her mouth.

"As expected, big brother, you do like girls who are caring by nature."

"What nonsense are you talking about? When did she become a caring person? I'm the one who's more caring, okay?" Ye Wei mumbled a bit embarrassedly, lacking his usual authority in front of his sister.

Ye Jiu, on the other hand, had the opposite demeanor, giving a mischievous smile as she watched her brother squirm.

"Uh-huh, is that so?"

Ye Wei was silent for a while, but surprisingly didn't argue this time, and instead mumbled.

"...Alright, you win."

He suddenly thought of previous events.

Not only on the Orion Cruiser but also it seemed like it had always been this way before.

When he was in danger, she was more anxious than anyone else, and when she heard he had someone he liked, she would secretly get jealous and mope silently but would help him eventually.

Of course, he also helped her a lot, and they always looked after each other.

From this perspective, Jiu's words are not entirely correct; they're only half-right.

It'd make sense to consider it as a half-win.

Watching her brother suddenly introspect, Ye Jiu felt satisfied, her lips curling up into a smile.

"Not bad, not bad, seems like this stubborn mule has learned how to bow his head and hunt for carrots."

Ye Wei glared at her without much enthusiasm.

"What carrot, you're the carrot! Humph, you're the stubborn mule! How am I stubborn?"

"Oh come on, now you're standing up for others. Bro! I'm your real family, how could you side with outsiders!"

Ye Jiu put on a heartbroken expression, her big eyes watery, looking as though she'd truly been hurt.

Ye Wei wasn't falling for that, using his hand to shoo her away like he was swatting a mosquito.

"Shoo, shoo, don't play this trick on me."

"Hahaha, but your reaction is just so funny... oh, by the way."

Laughing as she looked at her brother, Jiujiu suddenly remembered something, stopping her teasing.

"By the way, it's just you two on that starship, right?"

Ye Wei was slightly taken aback, asking her as he looked over.

"What's up?"

Jiujiu wore a serious expression.

"Although I have no concept of how far five light-years is... is it really okay to leave her alone in such a pitch-black place?"

Ye Wei's expression froze for a moment, but he still blurted out.

"The reactor is back online… it shouldn't be dark."

Ye Jiu sighed, holding her forehead.

"Are you an idiot?"

Actually, when he uttered the previous sentence, Ye Wei already showed a guilty expression.

He suddenly remembered that before logging off, he'd promised it would only take two minutes, but now two hours had passed.

Looking at the wall clock, his face changed completely.

"Damn!"

Without any hesitation, he grabbed the unwrapped takeout on the coffee table like a gust of wind and dashed back to his room like a hurricane.

Just as he shut the door, he heard the wail that came through the crack.

"That was my takeout! Gah!"

"Eat my share!"

In no time, Ye Wei scarfed down the food, quickly using his phone to order Jiujiu her favorite pickled fish before grabbing the helmet on the table and putting it on.

Wasteland OL—

Start!

As Night Ten hurriedly logged back on, Ye Jiu in the living room made a helpless expression.

"Ah, that guy."

Oh well, oh well.

That takeout was ordered for him anyway and it was his favorite pork knuckle rice.

Her mindset was pretty open.

Maybe her parents would care more about passing down the family line, but she didn't really mind whether her sister-in-law was human or cyborg.

Isn't there an online rumor?

Saying that "Wasteland OL" was actually developed by aliens, that the world in the game truly exists.

There's quite a number of believers in these rumors, especially after "Wasteland OL" broke into the wider world, with players even listing a series of "evidence."

Though she thinks those so-called experiments are silly, who knows, maybe it's a real world?

Not many people can truly distinguish the difference between "existence" and "proving existence." They seem like the same issue, but are actually problems from different dimensions.

They aren't lessons you find in textbooks.

But all in all, seeing her brother lively and energetic puts her at ease. What she was most afraid of was him not waking up and ending up unwanted, leaving her the job of caring for him.

In any case, as long as he's fine.

Chapter 1001: A Long-Awaited Reunion

"I didn't expect this trouble to be solved so easily."

City of Dawn, the browsing room of Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang, sitting on the sofa, was scrolling through posts on the official website, his face a mixture of surprise and relief.

After all, just hours earlier, he had seen the news on the official website that the Burning Corps had been completely wiped out by a single neutron torpedo.

Yet, in just a few hours, when he opened the forum on the official website again, the posts had already turned into "Night Ten is awesome."

To be honest, this kid is indeed quite impressive.

Not only did he save all of humanity once, but he also managed to take back the "Orion" Missile Cruiser from the hands of the Celestial Beings.

Although this starship had been taken five light-years away, and the remaining fuel seemed to indicate it wouldn't return, Chu Guang believed there would always be a way.

Isn't there still a Gemini cruiser?

At worst, just bring that starship back!

The showdown between the Wasteland Survivor Forces, Celestial Beings, and Enlightenment Society was still in the preparation stage.

Chu Guang was not in a hurry at all; at this moment, it should be the other side that was worried.

The new order has been established, and the old order is destined to gradually be buried with the passage of time.

For the Alliance, the longer the time drags on, the more integrated the strength of the survivors, the greater the chance of victory.

This is where Chu Guang's surprise comes from.

As for the relief.

Naturally, it's because Night Ten has finally had a revelation.

It's not easy.

Looking at the blessings in the posts, Chu Guang couldn't help but curl up his lips into a slight smile.

As the "father" who gets warmly greeted by the players every day, he naturally also felt the blessings in his heart.

That girl is a good one.

Treasuring her is a must.

Sitting in the pen holder, Xiao Qi rested her chin on her hands, swinging her legs, her face showing a mixture of comfort and sentiment.

"I didn't expect the one who caused the most worry would also mature. Is this what it feels like to be a parent? Congratulations, congratulations."

Seeing the little guy swaying back and forth on the pen holder, Chu Guang couldn't help but jokingly remark.

"You've only known him for a few years, why join the fun?"

Hearing this, Xiao Qi immediately protested with discontent.

"What do you mean by joining the fun, Xiao Qi has also watched the players grow up, okay!"

"Haha, yes, yes."

Chu Guang laughed, patting the little guy on the head, not arguing with it.

There's no real flaw in saying so, as it's indeed Xiao Qi who usually helps him keep an eye on his little players, and thanks to Xiao Qi's role as customer service and GM, conflicts between players and the Waste Land Wanderers have been avoided.

"You've worked hard all this time."

Hearing Chu Guang's praise, the originally displeased Xiao Qi immediately lifted her lips in delight.

After enjoying a while of head pats, she suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke.

"By the way, master, since the trouble with the Orion Missile Cruiser has been resolved, do we still need to continue with our near-orbit defense platform?"

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Of course we do, the two things don't conflict."

Xiao Qi tilted her head.

"But I heard those defense platforms don't seem to have any offensive capabilities?"

Chu Guang continued.

"That's true, but the biggest taboo in strategic decision-making is hesitation and inconsistency, and anyway, we didn't make such deployments solely to counter the threat of the Orion."

The main significance of the near-orbit defense platform is actually as a replacement for space debris in outer space.

The survivors on the Wasteland can't live forever under the protection of space debris, and besides, that stuff isn't really protective; in many respects, it's more of a nuisance.

After activating the gravity well, the Alliance will methodically use the near-orbit defense platform to control near-Earth orbit and synchronous orbit, addressing threats from outer space while also acting as a "mobile weapon station" to monitor ground threats.

This is something that can only be done in response to the "Celestial Beings crisis".

At any other time, not even the Alliance's staunch allies would support the Alliance in doing this.

On the other hand, the near-orbit defense platform can also activate the Alliance's aerospace industry.

The birth to maturity of an industry is a long process, not something that can magically appear with a click of a mouse.

Since the current development momentum is good, Chu Guang is naturally more inclined to let it continue to grow.

Even if this defense system is ultimately not put into use, it can still drive the Alliance's related industry chain to accumulate experience, while also activating the "Vertical Casting Well" that has been dormant for more than a century.

This is not just for the current layout, but also to lay a good foundation for the future.

After listening to Chu Guang's explanations, Xiao Qi nodded as if she understood.

"Alright, since you've made your decision, I won't say anything more... By the way, what about that starship trapped five light-years away? Your players seem to be stuck there."

Chu Guang laughed heartily.

"That kind of thing doesn't need us to worry about, I believe he can solve it himself!"

The distance of five light-years was too far away, well beyond his grasp.

If Night Ten could bring that starship back, he could find a way for the Academy to send a research ship to pick them up.

If he couldn't bring it back, there was indeed nothing he could do.

The curved engine is not something that can be made just with technology.

With the current production level of the Alliance, even reproducing the most basic anti-gravity device already requires every ounce of effort...

...

While Chu Guang was making plans for the Alliance's future, Night Ten, who had just put his helmet back on, hurried back online.

When he opened his eyes, he saw bright light surrounding him.

He was still lying in the gym, but Jiang Xuezhou was nowhere to be seen.

He panicked immediately and opened the wide-area communication channel, shouting out loud.

"Xuezhou! Where are you?!"

He was about to get up from the ground when he heard a stuttering electronic voice from behind him.

"You're awake?"

Night Ten turned around, startled, and saw a round-bodied robot standing behind him.

"Who are you?"

"Me?"

The robot pointed at itself and said in a not-so-smart voice, "My name is Xiao Koala, and my new master told me to wait here for you."

Hearing this name, Night Ten was dumbfounded.

"Koala? You're... you're still alive?!"

This name was all too familiar to him!

That engineer from the fourth division, a chatterbox who's always afraid of trouble but is actually someone who likes to worry about others!

The round-bodied robot moved its camera and said in a metallic voice.

"I'm honored that my memory storage and main circuit board are still intact; that android only destroyed my power components, and my new master replaced them without much effort... However, my emotion sensor components suggest that you might have mistaken me for an acquaintance in your memory."

Pressing his index finger to his temple, Night Ten took a deep breath and tried to clear his thoughts.

"I think I understand... Your master is called Koala, right? He designed you and left you here to wait for us."

Xiao Koala thoughtfully said.

"Koala? He didn't have the chance to tell me his name or who exactly to wait for. But after seeing you guys, I understood that you're the ones I'm supposed to wait for... so, I think you might be right."

It paused and continued.

"Is he also called Koala? So, what exactly is Koala? I think the word must have other meanings."

It was indeed that guy.

Looking at the round-bellied robot, Night Ten felt a mix of nostalgia and sadness, relief and sorrow, akin to an overturned table of spices, unable to articulate his feelings.

He felt like crying but couldn't shed tears.

He was taught since childhood that real men don't shed tears lightly; he always bottled everything up inside.

"You seem a bit sad." Xiao Koala looked at him, reaching out to pat his head, "Does this help a bit?"

"...Thank you, much better."

Seeing Night Ten seemingly in better spirits, Xiao Koala politely nodded the camera, finally pointing to the side.

"You're welcome, I learned this from my new master."

Night Ten followed where it pointed and looked towards the doorway, seeing a round helmet standing there at some point.

Though he couldn't see the face under the pitch-black visor, Night Ten recognized her by her aura alone and said in surprise.

"Why did you change your coat?"

The exoskeleton she wore outside the cabin was replaced by a thick spacesuit.

With a round helmet and a pitch-black UV-protection visor, and an air supply pack at her back, she looked somewhat like a style from the 21st century.

"That previous set..."

Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip lightly, hesitated for a while without speaking, and finally said in a small, embarrassed voice.

"...In brief, don't look at me until I get better."

People do care about their appearance.

Especially in front of someone they care about.

It wasn't about insecurity; she just wanted to show her best side to him, instead of this battered appearance.

Looking at the injured Jiang Xuezhou, who was still thinking of him, Night Ten's eyes were filled with emotion.

"It's okay, I don't mind..."

As he was about to say this, recalling the previous events, he held the words back.

But perhaps because of her good mood, Jiang Xuezhou did not mind it this time, only saying softly.

"When you just went 'offline' to report your safety to others, I repaired Xiao Koala, then returned to our previous research ship for a look. Although the situation isn't ideal, the supplies are still there... Enough for two people to last about six months."

"Moreover, the food reserves on this starship are also plentiful... especially freshwater, compressed biscuits, freeze-dried foods, and canned goods; although long past their expiration dates, they're still edible, and any inedible ones can be turned into nutritional paste using the organic matter recycling device."

Night Ten breathed a sigh of relief, jokingly said.

"At least we don't have to worry about starving or dying of thirst."

Jiang Xuezhou nodded and continued.

"Besides the supplies, I also took a look at the repair room in the Engineering and Maintenance Department on the lower deck. The cabin structure there is relatively intact, and there's a sealed partition between it and the main cabin... I'll try to use the tools there to make a simple buffer chamber later, so we can solve the air pressure and air problems."

Relying on the strength of two people to repair a starship is not very realistic, but it's no problem to use local materials to make a temporary space shelter.

It's considered a compulsory course for academy researchers.

Although she sincerely thought this course was unnecessary before, she was now just grateful that she didn't slack off and listened carefully to each class time.

"I'll help too." After hearing Jiang Xuezhou's plan, Night Ten eagerly raised his hand.

Even though it's not quite appropriate to say this, he still felt like it sounded quite interesting.

Just like playing the game of being oxygen-deprived.

Jiang Xuezhou didn't know what strange things he was thinking, just nodded lightly.

"Hmm! I will definitely need your help by then; I can't handle the heavy labor alone. I'll send you the design scheme once I finish it, but for now, let's go eat... I'm a bit hungry."

To be precise, her stomach had been growling for a while.

When she entered near the wreckage of the Orion Missile Cruiser earlier, she had only eaten some liquid food, and after the research ship's hard landing, a lot of things happened.

Night Ten jumped off the ground and followed Jiang Xuezhou into the brightly lit corridor, along with little Koala.

It was clear that Jiang Xuezhou was really afraid of the dark; he always felt that the lights were brighter than they were 215 years ago.

It's worth mentioning that, although the two are currently facing a severe energy shortage problem, compared to the energy consumption of a single hyperspace jump, this bit of lighting electricity is negligible, whether they can return or not.

So even Night Ten didn't argue about why not shut off the reactor to save electricity.

Savings from that bit of electricity might not be more than the energy consumed by turning the reactor on and off once.

Jiang Xuezhou placed a silver tray with several pieces of compressed biscuits and two packets of liquid food on the floor, apologetically said.

"I just randomly made something to eat, hope you don't mind."

"Of course not."

Grabbing a piece of compressed biscuit, tearing the package, Night Ten stuffed it into his mouth and said while chewing.

"As long as I can fill up, I'm not picky."

Although he had eaten offline earlier, his stomach was still empty online.

Watching Night Ten gobble down his food, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but smile.

This guy's eating manner was, like a little pig.

Thinking so happily, she couldn't help but feel the urge to learn cooking.

Thinking of him devouring the delicious food she made, Jiang Xuezhou took small bites of the biscuit.

The originally tasteless emergency food became tasty because of the eating manner.

Quickly finishing the meal, Night Ten tidied up the trash and packed it up.

Taking advantage of the rest, Jiang Xuezhou designed the blueprint for the temporary buffer cabin based on the photos taken in the repair room earlier.

But the two didn't start working immediately; instead, they first went to the bridge on the upper deck.

There are the star charts coordinates of this new ship.

They first have to figure out their exact location in South Gate 2 and the location of the Gemini Missile Cruiser, then they can contemplate a way back home.

Walking on the way to the bridge, Night Ten suddenly remembered something and said.

"By the way, what about the clone named Luo Yi? I didn't seem to see it when I woke up."

Jiang Xuezhou said softly.

"I dismantled its parts for recycling, and as for the data on the mainboard... it deleted itself."

"... Deleted itself?" Night Ten paused, hesitantly said, "Could this be a trick."

"There is basically no possibility; I have already checked, it erased all traces of its existence, disappeared thoroughly from this world as if it never came..."

Looking at Night Ten's surprised expression, Jiang Xuezhou continued complexly.

"The celestial beings created it using the server backup data, gave it the identity of 'Luo Yi,' but didn't give it any memory of 'Luo Yi.'

"It had been living as 'Sergeant Luo Yi's identity, but one day it suddenly realized it was fake."

"Not just itself, even its ideals and goals... it found that every proof of its existence, including existence itself, was contrary to what it originally believed in."

"A contradiction, huh," Night Ten tried to understand, shaking his head said, "Honestly, I don't understand why the celestial beings made such a complicated thing, why not just make a robot?"

"A simple robot doesn't have autonomous behavior capabilities; unless maintain real-time communication, it's difficult to independently manage complex situations and tasks requiring subjective decision-making. Moreover..."

Jiang Xuezhou paused for a moment, then continued.

"Maybe they actually don't trust the program very much; they don't fully identify with their identity, just consider 'celestial beings' as a workaround to save the country."

Night Ten paused.

"How... do they save the country with a workaround?"

Jiang Xuezhou casually said.

"Become celestial beings, restart civilization, and then change back to human... That's how I understand it, ultimately to change back, not like the crazy folks from the Torch Church becoming another existence. For them, you residents of the refuge are essential; relatively, we waste land wanderers appear redundant."

"Of course, this is just my speculation based on limited clues, maybe they didn't design the final step of the scheme I mentioned. That is, they don't care whether they can become human again; they just hope the later people always live according to their ideas... while they serve as guardians of all humanity."

"But regardless of the situation, a cognitive plugin is necessary. Otherwise, what they leave behind is merely a dead thing, which may not be what they hoped for."

Night Ten couldn't help but complain.

"But isn't this still a dead thing? A dead machine replaced with dead thoughts? It's been two hundred years, how can people keep living the same way as before."

Even the rulers of Poluo Country are not unchanging; they also keep up with the times.

For instance, changing the mandate from heaven to a mandate from the family, changing the heavenly king to the head of the family.

Jiang Xuezhou made a helpless expression, lightly shrugged his shoulders.

"You're right, but victory never falls from the sky by itself. I believe they too have their reasons to convince themselves, just like the crazies from the Torch Church... Anyway, we should first think about how to solve the problem right in front of us."

At least for the two of them now, getting this starship back is the most pressing concern.

A hundred thousand neutron torpedoes.

If they can manage to navigate the starship back, even if there are electronic ghosts in the space station at the Lagrange Point, it will be enough to blast them and the space station itself to bits.

They took the elevator up to the bridge, where rows of dusty floor-to-ceiling windows came into view for the two of them.

Through those dusty transparent walls, he saw a blazing fireball suspended alone in the vast night sky.

The dazzling glow seemed to come from the edge of the universe, casting a colorful halo across the dusty floor-to-ceiling windows.

At this moment, the bridge was facing the direction of the star.

"Why is there only one star?" Night Ten's gaze was entirely glued to the window, drawn by the marvelous scene.

Beside him, Jiang Xuezhou's attention was similarly caught by the beautiful view, though unlike Night Eleven, he was not overly surprised. He just glanced at it a couple of times before moving over to the terminal, opening the holographic screen and starting to operate.

"...Because the two stars are so close together that from our current position they look like one Sun. If you use a more professional telescope, you can see them clearly."

"Isn't it supposed to be a trinary star system? Where's the other star then?" Night Ten couldn't help but ask further.

Jiang Xuezhou sighed and patiently explained.

"What you're seeing now is South Gate Two A and South Gate Two B. As for the Proxima Centauri you mentioned, it's too far away for me to point it out to you right now."

Not just astronomically far.

It's also a red dwarf star, very dim, almost invisible in this bright lighting environment.

Night Ten nodded blankly, his eyes fixated on the outside, unable to look away.

Honestly.

Although it was unlike what he imagined South Gate Two to be, this gorgeous starry sky truly amazed him.

It's a view unseen from Earth.

For a moment, an inexplicable thought surged in his mind—

Could the actual South Gate Two be like this too?

If it truly is, then this Game might really have been made by aliens.

"Found it, thankfully, our navigational Device can still be turned on normally. We are currently on the third planet orbiting the main sequence star pair AB…"

At this point, Jiang Xuezhou's face suddenly turned pale.

Noticing the change in tone, Night Ten, who was immersed in the beauty a second ago, quickly diverted his gaze from the window and walked over to Jiang Xuezhou.

"Is there a problem?"

Jiang Xuezhou's face was pale, his lips trembling as they opened and closed slightly.

"It's Gaia…"

Upon hearing this word, Night Ten was stunned on the spot.

"Gaia? You mean... the colonial planet from the Human Alliance Era?"

Jiang Xuezhou nodded his head slowly with a pale face.

"Yes…"

Night Eleven held his breath at once, half of his face in shock, half in delight, feeling only awe in his heart, without a hint of fear.

Good lord.

This New Map is astounding!

Honestly, he didn't know what she was afraid of.

No matter how formidable Gaia is, it can't possibly reach its hand into the synchronic orbit, can it?

Placing his hand on her shoulder, he consoled her softly.

"Don't worry, it's far away from us."

The shoulder trembled lightly, seemingly calmed somewhat by his comfort.

But just somewhat.

After a long time, a voice of despair floated over from the communication channel.

"I know, but the wreckage of the Missile cruiser of Gemini isn't near us, I scanned with the radar around but couldn't find it…"

"There's only one possibility, either it fell by itself or something knocked it down."

"We might have to go down once…"

...

(Thanks to the alliance leader rewards from "Like Moon Near the Abyss" and "Bai Cang"!!!)

Chapter 1002: Landing

[...

The "Orion Missile Cruiser" was captured by the Alliance's Burning Corps! The celestial beings' attempt to guide the Wasteland Wanderers into the future failed again, but it is clear they are not giving up so easily. Let's see what happens next.

Moreover, the biggest contributor who led the missile cruiser refused to reveal their name, perhaps because the name is too long and doesn't sound nice when pronounced.

In any case, the historical truth is revealed, and the 3000 crew members of the "Orion Missile Cruiser" have been legitimately recognized. They never carried out surface cleansing missions and once saved the Waste World! The representative suggested building a memorial cemetery to thank them for their contributions.

However, thinking about it carefully is terrifying. The Orion never launched neutron torpedoes at Earth, and the Gemini is five light-years away... so where did the nuclear bombs that fell from the sky in the early Wasteland Era come from?

In any case, this expedition spanning 36,000 kilometers ended in victory!

Just as General McCullen said, even if God were the opponent, the Alliance's Burning Corps would never lose, and neither would the Goblin Corps.

Moreover, our old friends from the Ideal City council have entered the most intense stage of discussion in their emergency meeting; it seems they are about to announce the results of their deliberations!

—Goblin Observation Report

]

Orion Missile Cruiser, the repair room equipped with buffer cabins and completed renovation.

Night Ten was updating the news he acquired through his "special ability" on the tablet computer.

Sipping a cup of two-hundred-year-old aged instant coffee, Jiang Xuezhou looked at the text on the tablet and couldn't help but comment.

"Are you serious?"

Night Ten chuckled.

"You'll know when you get back whether it's real or not."

This bookworm stubbornly refused to believe he could transmit information across five light-years, thus stirring his desire to win, and he decided to show her a trick.

Verifying this matter is actually very simple.

Just buy a copy of the Goblin Observation Report with the specific date when you get back and have a look.

As for whether it will leak, this stuff doesn't really have any secrets anymore.

The related information was long written in the old Southern Legion intelligence department's information brief, not to mention, a long time ago, their respected Manager used to exploit a bug in the player's cross-regional communication function to transmit messages between Ideal City and Dawn.

At that time, there were no stable communication channels established between Ideal City and Dawn; anyone who thought about it could see the complexity therein.

At least for the Alliance, there's no big deal if people are aware of this matter.

Compared to other absurd rumors, this is merely the most insignificant one.

Of course,

This is merely Night Eleven's wishful thinking.

Seeing him seriously composing a whole page of news, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but be moved by his perseverance, even though she didn't believe it in her heart.

This guy is working hard enough not to let her fall into despair.

Maybe she had misunderstood him all along; he didn't really not know how to care for people.

He just wasn't good at expressing it.

"Hmm humm, let's just assume it's this way then."

"What do you mean just assume it's this way," Night Eleven looked up with dissatisfaction, "I've been diligently memorizing it, alright."

"Okay, since you're so firm in believing you're not kidding, I'll play along then," Jiang Xuezhou placed the coffee cup on the table beside her, folding her arms as a wicked smile spread across her lips, "Let's bet on it."

Night Ten was instantly delighted at her words.

"Alright, you decide how we bet."

Jiang Xuezhou smiled and said.

"If the content you've written on your tablet and the actual Goblin Observation Report exceeds a 50% similarity rate, you win. If it's below 50%, proving you're making it up, I win."

6666!

Night Ten had seen people giving heads away but never seen someone actively feeding heads into mouths.

"Haha, alright, just as you said."

"Don't rush, it's not done yet," Jiang Xuezhou impishly covered her helmet visor and unceremoniously declared the free gift, "If I win, then you have to be a little pig for a week, adding 'grunt grunt' at the end of every sentence."

Goodness.

Quite wicked.

Night Ten chuckled and said.

"Sure, what if I win?"

"At your disposal," Jiang Xuezhou's lips curved into a confident smile, leisurely saying, "But naturally, this miss is absolutely not going to lose, so you don't have to spend the effort thinking about it, hmm humm..."

That arrogant, fish-like laughter briefly flashed several GBs worth of data through Night Ten's mind, his face revealing a wicked smile.

But it was only for a brief moment.

Because he quickly realized he didn't have any tools for mischief, even with a mind full of bad ideas, he couldn't execute them, apart from using fists.

That evil smile quickly faded away, replaced by regret and annoyance.

MMP!

Dog-gone Ah Guang!

So angry!

Seeing Night Ten suddenly unable to laugh, Jiang Xuezhou completely misunderstood, thinking that perhaps the latter couldn't act any further, which made her confident smile even more wanton.

Little Koala cleaning the room tilted its head, observing the two without understanding their conversation.

Meanwhile, far away in Dawn City, Chu Guang couldn't help but sneeze.

Rubbing his nose, he muttered vaguely.

"Which damned fool is dumping responsibility on me again..."

...

Time passed day by day, and soon the pair floating near South Gate Two had spent a whole month in their two-person world.

During this time, the two collected useful materials from the starship while repairing and improving the facilities that could still be used.

Although life was tough, it wasn't hopeless under their amusement in hardship.

Especially the news and cold jokes Night Ten gathered through his "special ability," which were among Jiang Xuezhou's rare comforts in the five-light-year cold universe.

They also motivated her to persistently seek the path home.

After some searching, Jiang Xuezhou finally confirmed via a repaired locator that the spaceship "Gemini" had crashed onto the surface of the third planet orbiting South Gate Two A and B, the Gaia planet.

Moreover, she also successfully scanned the radio signal emitted from the Gemini's missile cruiser's black box!

The path home gradually became clearer.

The two just needed to send one person onboard the research ship to the surface, locate the wreckage of the Gemini's missile cruiser, and recover the fuel storage tank from the reactor. They could then gather enough energy needed for another hyperspace leap.

Although this plan was fraught with risks, it was far more reliable than "modifying the warp engine to reduce hyperspace leap energy consumption."

After a round of disputes, Night Ten eventually convinced Jiang Xuezhou to remain on the Orion Missile Cruiser, acting as remote support, while he ventured to the surface alone.

According to usual RPG game conventions, when two people enter a dungeon, there's always the "where did the teammate go" subplot emerging.

He had already anticipated the dog planner's "trick," and would not fall into this trap at all.

Going solo was just fine.

...

Beside the newly repaired research ship.

Wearing the "Dragon Cavalry" power armor, Night Ten inspected his gear and toolbox carefully, then looked at the worried Jiang Xuezhou, instructing her.

"...If I don't come back, don't rush, make sure to stay calm."

Jiang Xuezhou's eyes were red, and she said with a choked voice.

"...What nonsense are you talking about? How could I not be anxious."

Though separated by thick spacesuits and visors, Night Ten could still feel the sorrow in those eyes.

"No, I mean it seriously, oh man... how do I say it?" After scratching his head for a while, he couldn't explain how he wouldn't die, so he gritted his teeth and said, "In short... believe in me, I would never leave you alone."

Although the "Player Manual" does not stipulate a unified line on the specific matters of revival and remote communication, not disclosing the "Game" is still a consensus among all players.

He was unsure if Ah Guang's camera was watching nearby.

Moreover, even without a GM monitoring nearby, he didn't want to go against what he promised.

"It's settled."

Jiang Xuezhou, with reddened eyes, raised her thick gloves, stretched out her pinky, and mumbled softly.

"Pinky promise..."

"Pinky promise."

Though he found it somewhat childish, Night Ten still hooked her finger and shook it slightly to reassure her.

That shake lasted for quite a while.

Jiang Xuezhou hooked his pinky, unwilling to let go for a long time.

Looking at that hand unwilling to let go, Night Ten felt compassion in his heart, but ultimately steeled himself to pull his hand away from hers.

He could disregard this life but couldn't ignore her safety.

"If I don't come back... I mean, if! You should find a Sleep Cabin to lie in."

"I swear, I definitely won't abandon you, I will come back for you!"

The emergency Sleep Cabin on the Orion can last fifty years without any problem.

It's not like it was at the beginning of the Wasteland Era anymore.

Even if the Alliance temporarily cannot reach worlds five light-years away, fifty years should suffice for them to recover the technology related to the Warp engine.

"Okay..."

Jiang Xuezhou replied softly, withdrawing her hand that was suspended in the air.

After receiving an affirmative response, a sunny smile appeared on Night Ten's face as he patted her head.

"Wait for me."

Standing at the side, little Koala also listened, waving its hand with its round metal belly naively.

"Have a safe journey."

"Okay! I'll be back quickly!"

Having said that, Night Ten strode up the research ship, passed through the cabin door, and sat in the cockpit's seat.

That was where Jiang Xuezhou had sat before.

In the past three days, under her guidance, he had become familiar with the operation process of the research ship.

Simply starting this thing up and bringing it to the ground wasn't difficult; the ship's AI could navigate with one click and automatically analyze a reliable landing spot using Camera sensors.

Moreover, Jiang Xuezhou was overseeing from above.

The command system of the Orion had already established a direct connection with the research ship's communication module.

This way, even if he encountered a problem he couldn't solve, Jiang Xuezhou could remotely take over the ship to bring him back from the surface.

"...Anti-gravity device on, plasma engine start, switch to autopilot mode."

Reciting the previously learned operation process, Night Ten pressed all the necessary buttons.

Accompanied by a slight sound, the research ship parked at the edge of the damaged hull slowly floated off the alloy floor, then separated from the massive starship under the push of the pale blue plasma plume.

The scene outside the cockpit windshield started to flip, adjusting from directly facing the Orion Missile Cruiser's hull to directly facing the mist-emitting dark green planet.

Looking at that magnificent planet, Night Ten instinctively held his breath, pressing the back of his head against the cockpit seat.

That's Gaia!

The place where the United Space Army had once fought—

"About to set off!"

The sound of Jiang Xuezhou's voice came through the communication channel, Night Ten took a deep breath to dispel the nervousness in his heart, and replied firmly.

"Received!"

With his response, the azure blue plasma plume gradually enlarged, propelling the research ship in an arc towards the nearby planet.

As the distance between the two closed, the orbital height decreased, gravity exerted on the research ship gradually increased until a new balance formed with the anti-gravity device.

At the same time, the research ship descending from synchronous orbit had already approached the edge of the atmosphere, rubbing hot brilliance on the silver-gray spaceship hull.

However, the scorching flame did not bloom for long.

Under the combined action of the anti-gravity device and plasma engine, the speed of the research ship quickly reduced to below three times the speed of sound and dropped to twice the speed of sound before entering the troposphere.

Sitting in the cockpit, Night Ten felt his nerves taut, filled with both tension and excitement in his heart.

It felt like riding a drop tower, only from outside the atmosphere jumping in!

The speeding research ship instantaneously pierced through the clouds, simultaneously dropping four folded-wing drones upon breaking through, which sped off inertially in the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast directions!

With the dual scan of radar and visual sensors from the drones, the situation on the surface was quickly collected to the research ship and shared with the starship on synchronous orbit via the communication module.

Unearthly-shaped broadleaf plants were seen covering every inch of the planet, looking like a vast inky green ocean when viewed from afar.

Just like the aerial shot seen on synchronous orbit!

Night Ten took another deep breath, selecting a relatively high topographical, and seemingly safer, landing point from multiple landing points flashing on the holographic screen.

With great swells of air currents, the silver-gray spaceship blew away numerous vines and leaves, landing on a soft lawn.

Moments later, the cabin door opened and Night Ten, gripping an assault rifle tightly in his hand, stood on the surface of Gaia planet.

This was probably the first return of human civilization to a world five light years away since 215.

If indeed no living humans were left here...

Night Ten felt a strong premonition in his heart that the history he knew and the real history actually had "discrepancies."

The possibilities for deviations were many.

Much like how the residents of Stone City always felt that Ideal City once launched an expedition against them. They spread it convincingly, yet the residents of Ideal City didn't remember any such event.

It wasn't until later, when the Inner City collapsed, that the truth emerged.

Those orally passed-down memories were nothing but one of the fabrications concocted by Inner City Nobles to legitimize their rule.

The species here were even more prosperous than on Earth, that lush forest didn't seem to have been washed by nuclear bombs at all.

Or perhaps the United Human Air and Space Army indeed bombed here.

However, the ecological environment here was far more resilient than Earth's, having already recovered to the state before human civilization visited in the past two centuries...

"Night Ten!! What's the situation over there?!"

Jiang Xuezhou's voice came through the communication channel, filled with apprehension and worry.

Hearing Jiang Xuezhou's voice, Night Ten immediately reached out to tap on his helmet.

"I've landed successfully and I'm feeling good... How about your side? Have you found the position of the Gemini Missile Cruiser?"

The four fixed-wing drones in the sky were being operated by Jiang Xuezhou.

Soon, an image was projected on his tactical goggles of the power installation helmet.

"The signal source has been locked in a valley, approximately 3 kilometers from your current position... The vegetation there is overly dense, with an average height of 20 to 30 meters."

At this point, Jiang Xuezhou's voice was tense.

"Night Ten... you must be careful, the situation here is completely different from the data recorded in our database. Along the way, I saw many strange animals."

"I understand."

Night Ten cast his gaze toward a shadow under the forest, his index finger already flipped the safety of his rifle.

A murderous aura silently entwined around him.

Undoubtedly.

That was the killer intent from a predator.

He could feel an eye lurking behind that shadow, watching him.

"...The flora and fauna here are so abundant, it's like they've never been hit."

Chapter 1003: Greetings, Ancestor?

"Bang——!"

The deafening gunfire echoed through the forest, and Night Ten weighed the pros and cons before finally choosing to strike first.

The opponent seemed to have made the same choice.

At the exact moment the bullet was fired, a two-meter-tall shadow burst out of the forest.

It was a four-legged beast.

Its body was low, equipped with sharp front claws, strong hind legs, and dagger-like canines!

This creature didn't resemble a mammal; it had more in common with a reptile.

The beastly figure was reminiscent of a crouching wild wolf, yet its body was devoid of fur, replaced instead by glistening scales!

What startled Night Ten was the creature's uncanny ability to sense danger.

As if predicting his attack, it dodged his bullet path just a microsecond before he pulled the trigger.

It seemed like a coincidence.

But as a perception specialist, Night Ten understood exactly what it was!

"Watch out!"

A belated shout came from the communication channel as the distance between them rapidly closed from twenty meters to under ten meters.

Without overconfidence due to his power armor, Night Ten swiftly adjusted his aim to follow the variant's movements, switching to full-auto mode and firing two bursts.

His experience in the Wasteland taught him that wearing power armor didn't mean being invulnerable.

Especially against "dangerous species" like the Claw of Death, which could still overpower inexperienced power armor wearers!

"I see you!"

The barrage of bullets suppressed the variant's movements, which dodged left and right until it was finally hit.

The 7mm bullets pierced its keratinous scales, leaving bloody bullet holes in its body.

"Roar——!"

The variant howled in pain, a flash of fear in its pea-sized eyes.

However——

It didn't turn to flee; instead, it gathered the courage for a desperate charge, using all its strength for one last attack, opening its bloody maw to bite Night Ten's face.

The ferocious bite was like a truck coming straight at him; Night Ten even smelled the foul breath rushing at him.

Yet, as a seasoned player, even though he didn't excel in strength and agility, he wouldn't be defeated by such a wild creature.

Sidestepping the monstrous mouth, he raised his rifle to block the swipe of its claws, then drew the clearing knife from his waist, slashing at the beast's neck with remarkable speed.

Driven by both the power armor and his muscles, the sharp blade sliced through like lightning, chopping its head right off.

Dark red blood spurted from the neck wound, splashing onto the green grass with a "hissing" sound.

Night Ten looked at the hot blood he instinctively dodged, an expression of surprise flickering on his face.

At that moment, anxious concern echoed from the communication channel.

"Are you alright?"

"Small matters, no big deal."

Night Ten shook his head, glanced at the clearing knife in his hand, wiped the blood off on a broad leaf nearby, and returned the knife to its sheath.

This place had something eerie about it.

Unable to resist taking another look at the misty grass, he muttered and continued.

"Goodness… Is this blood acidic?"

Even stranger, the blood-soaked grass seemed to thrive under the faint mist, growing even more vigorously.

Absolutely bizarre.

Jiang Xuezhou's voice came through from the communication channel.

"It might not be acidic; it could be some dehydrating substance we're unaware of… There are samplers and test tubes on the spaceship; if possible, could you collect some samples for me?"

"No need for politeness; I was already planning to do that."

Wasteland OL had always had the task of collecting variant illustrations, with lots of Contribution Points and silver coins to be rewarded.

This creature was surely a variant from another planet, far more impressive than an Arctic polar bear, right?

Night Ten returned to the spaceship, gathered professional sampling tools, and collected the variant's blood, saliva, and tissue cells from various parts, labeling them and placing them in a low-temperature sample box.

While he was busy working, the smell of blood emanating from the beast's corpse had already attracted a bunch of strange little creatures.

Among them were flying insects with straw-like proboscises, round beetles, a group of small reptiles that were somewhat like ants but not quite, and four-legged small beasts lurking at the edge of the trees, wanting to approach but not daring to.

Wearing power armor, Night Ten wasn't afraid of these bugs crawling on him, but he found them annoying.

"Shoo, shoo, go play somewhere else."

Seeing more and more bugs gathering, he had no choice but to pull out an incendiary bomb, pull the ring, and toss it aside.

With the dazzling white light shining, acrid smoke spread around, finally driving those insects away.

Seizing the opportunity while the insects fled, Night Ten hurriedly completed the sampling work.

Then, after he returned from the research ship in the meantime, the head that had fallen in the grass nearby had already been gnawed down to white bones.

Night Ten suddenly had the feeling that this place was like a magnified version of Baiyue Strait.

But unlike the latter, he didn't find anything similar to the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain around here.

It seemed like the species here were merely in a simple food chain relationship, without deeper DNA exchange.

"...Has Gaia already died?"

He wasn't sure if Gaia had a concept of death, but the thought spontaneously emerged in his mind.

Especially since he landed, the only threat he had encountered was a Variant.

He initially thought his adversary would be the entire planet.

In fact, the confusion wasn't only his; it was also shared by Jiang Xuezhou.

This place couldn't be said to be very safe, but it also wasn't as dangerous as they imagined.

Of course, it might be because they hadn't landed for long; this huge planet hadn't realized their presence yet...

"...We'd better hurry. Maybe we can leave before Gaia realizes we're here."

"I'll try my best."

After replying to Jiang Xuezhou, Night Ten moved the dead beast's body a bit farther away for burial, then returned to the vicinity of the spaceship and scattered some dung that he had extracted from the beast's intestines around.

This was Jiang Xuezhou's suggestion.

It's said that carnivore dung can repel other beasts.

Although Night Ten didn't know whether this Earth survival tactic would work on the alien planet, he endured the discomfort and followed suit.

Having completed these tasks, he rubbed the armored glove against the tree trunk until he almost ripped the bark off before stopping, and then dragged out large and small equipment from the research ship.

These devices were fabricated by Jiang Xuezhou using materials from the engineering repair room of the Orion Missile Cruiser.

They included a temporary base station supporting medium-range signal reception, a ground meteorological observation station, drone charging docks, solar panels, and metallic hydrogen batteries, among others.

With these devices, he could ensure a "continuous network" within a 50-kilometer radius around the research ship.

It was evident that Jiang Xuezhou was very concerned about his safety; Night Ten himself hadn't worried about his safety to this extent.

Previously, when he was doing tasks around the City of Dawn, he and his brothers from the Burning Corps used to explore the bushes with their faces, considering death as an early trip back to the city.

Finally, having finished all preparations, Night Ten shouldered the supply box, which was almost half his height, and, accompanied by a quadcopter drone, proceeded toward the signal sent by the black box of the wreckage of the missile cruiser of Gemini.

According to the background information on the official website, the United Human had built road networks and orbital transportation systems connecting colonies on Gaia planet, and the largest human community had even reached a population of a million.

However, for some reason, Jiang Xuezhou's drone flew several laps in the sky but saw nothing but lush tropical rainforests.

The traces of civilization's existence seemed erased, leaving only the wild, exotic plants growing abundantly.

Night Ten could only proceed like a pioneer from the classical era, wielding a machete while striving to pass through the gaps among tree trunks and vines, praying not to encounter any strange Variant along the way.

Honestly, he had more than once thought of simply throwing an incendiary bomb and burning it all.

But considering the planet was alive, he held back the impulse.

Gaia might not have noticed his existence yet, but if he started a fire, it might be a different story.

Fortunately, perhaps because the beasts around also deemed the depths of the forest dangerous, he didn't encounter the fierce carnivorous animals he had seen earlier.

As for the venomous insects occasionally attacking him, the power armor's shell kept them at bay.

Only one thing startled him.

That was when he passed through a relatively extensive broadleaf forest.

Deep brown branches intertwined among the 20 to 30-meter-tall trees, resembling dried vines.

Initially, Night Ten thought it was just vines; without much thought, he raised the machete and struck.

Yet, as soon as he hit that ten-meter-tall vine-like net, dark green blood splashed all over him.

Then the entire "dying large net" seemed to come alive, splitting into brown pythons thick as wrists, falling from the sky like rain.

The snakes, seemingly in a frenzy, writhed on the ground and lunged at him, as if they intended to kill him here.

Facing the densely packed snake swarm, Night Ten felt his sanity plummeting; in desperation, he drew out his burning stick and waved it wildly, using the pungent smoke and flickering flames to break through the encirclement.

After stumbling and running through the forest for a while, ensuring the writhing snake swarm had not caught up, Night Ten finally breathed a sigh of relief and discarded the extinguished burning stick in his hand.

A quadrotor drone wobbled behind him, with Xiao Jiang's voice coming through the communication channel.

"I analyzed the photos taken earlier... They should be some type of snake creatures from the vertebrate class of reptiles, forming a net by connecting head to tail between tree trunks. Evidence suggests they are toothless and unlikely to be interested in prey larger than their mouths... You could have just circumvented them."

"Damn it, lunatics..." Night Ten, gasping for breath, supported his knees with his hands and cursed, "Hanging in mid-air pretending to be dead, I thought it was a vine..."

"Uh, actually, they might..." Jiang Xuezhou started speaking but then suddenly went silent, leaving Night Ten curious.

"Might what?"

Jiang Xuezhou hesitated for a while before speaking reluctantly.

"They... might be mating."

"Pff!"

Night Ten almost choked on his own saliva upon hearing the voice from the communication channel.

Alright.

Seems like he was the one who intruded.

"...Okay, okay, let's not dwell on these trivial matters; the valley I captured from above is right ahead. The vegetation there is dense and tall, the signal may not be strong, so you must be extra cautious."

Embarrassed to discuss the topic further, Jiang Xuezhou quickly steered the conversation back on track.

"Understood."

Night Ten, too, did not wish to linger here; after resting for a while, he continued onward carrying the box.

As he entered the surrounding area of the valley, the terrain noticeably became more rugged, and the wildlife activity increased significantly.

Especially after passing through a thicket, he discovered a series of indentations on the ground about half a meter wide and several centimeters deep, resembling footprints of some large creature.

"...Some big guy might be around here."

Seems like there's a water source nearby.

Taking a few photos of the marks on the ground, Night Ten grew more alert.

Just as he had predicted, as soon as he traversed some grass, the sound of trickling water indeed emerged ahead.

The quadrotor drone following him flew ahead first, and Night Ten quickened his pace to follow closely behind.

Soon, a winding stream came into view, and along with it, an unprecedented spectacle unfolded before him.

Tree trunks thick as towers stood around the winding stream, covered in multi-colored moss and wide leaves as tall as one or two people.

Minute light particles hovered between the trees and leaves, like dancing elves, forming a glistening star river in the air.

And by the shade of the green trees beside the stream, a dozen gigantic mammals about four or five meters high lowered their triangular heads quietly drinking water by the riverbank.

The enchanting scene mesmerized Night Ten for a moment, so much so that he almost forgot the lurking dangers hidden within it.

Apparently noticing his gaze, the triangular heads drinking water raised up.

Perhaps due to not sensing any threat from him, they soon buried their heads again, ignoring his presence as they continued lapping the sweet stream water.

"So beautiful..."

Xiao Jiang's voice came through the communication channel, evidently captivated by the breathtaking scenery before them as well.

"Indeed, even compared to the forests of Baiyue Province, this place has an unmatched charm... my only confusion is where Gaia went."

Snapping back to reality, Night Ten murmured softly as he searched along the stream for a crossing.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed a dark green crystal formation lying across the higher terrain upstream.

"Is this... a crystal deposit?"

Night Ten's face showed a surprised expression as he walked toward the transparent rock formation.

Rows of dark green crystals seemed to grow on the rock wall, extending deep into the rock along the cracks.

Is there a copper ore vein nearby?

As he thought this, he moved closer and was shocked to find beetle-like bugs crawling under the diamond-like crystals.

Dark green crystals formed on their backs as they moved back and forth along the rock crevices and surface.

From time to time, dark green crystals fell from their backs, apparently being the source of these dark green crystals!

"This is actually some kind of organic material?!"

Night Ten was greatly surprised in his heart, taking out a palm-sized awl and tapping it on the ground.

This thing is pretty hard, and it might even be harder than diamonds, actually leaving scratches on the surface of the awl!

At this moment, Jiang Xuezhou's excited voice came through the communication channel.

"Collect more of it!"

"Got it... I'm working on it." Night Ten hurriedly replied, knocking a whole piece of rock off the wall.

It seems that women really do love shiny things.

Of course, it's also possible it's for scientific research purposes.

Actually, not to mention Jiang Xuezhou, Night Ten himself was also very curious about what this thing was and how many Silver coins it could fetch back on Earth.

Speaking of which, it's unclear whether this thing appeared in recent years or had been around for over 200 years.

If it appeared recently, he might just be the first person to discover this piece of dark green crystal.

According to the conventions of Wasteland OL, the first discoverer has the priority naming rights.

Should he call it "Ye Crystal" or "Night Crystal"? he wondered to himself gleefully.

Just as Night Ten was secretly enjoying this thought, a rustling sound suddenly came from the nearby bushes.

Hearing the sound, Night Ten instinctively looked up but was momentarily stunned.

He saw a figure with pale green skin standing there.

The person held a javelin about half as tall as a human, with its tip made from that dark green crystal.

Those deep blue eyes stared unblinkingly at him, as though baffled by the iron clumps he wore, standing still.

Seeing the pale green skin, Night Ten's heart instantly leapt to his throat.

"What the hell?"

Mutants?!

But—

How could this be?!

He clearly remembered how mutants were born, in an incident at the Biological Institute in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng during Wasteland Era 44.

No matter how fast mutants reproduce or how resilient they are, they couldn't possibly have spread all the way to Gaia Planet, could they?!

At this moment, he didn't have time to think more, his index finger already flicking open the rifle's safety, finger resting on the trigger.

But just then, an urgent shout came from the other end of the communication channel.

"Wait, Night Ten! This guy might not be a mutant! Don't act rashly!"

As the voice sounded, rustling came from the bushes, and in a flash, dozens of figures appeared under the trees.

Upon seeing the group of "little green men," the "triangular faces" originally lying by the river for a drink howled and then turned to flee.

It was obvious they had suffered quite a bit at the hands of these "little green men."

And at the same moment, Night Ten saw something even more jaw-dropping—

A pterosaur flapped its wings and flew by in the air!

Unlike the pterosaurs he had seen in the Dinosaur Museum, this one also had dark green crystals growing on its body, and it seemed the spear tips on these little green men's lances were gouged from that giant creature.

This is a hunting party!

Night Ten's mind raced.

Feeling unsure of what to do, an elder suddenly stepped out from the twenty or thirty figures.

The old man's skin was wrinkled, with a ragged beard hanging from his mouth, tears glistening in his eyes as he babbled words Night Ten couldn't understand before suddenly kneeling on the ground.

This action startled Night Ten, and seemed to have frightened the group of little green men behind him as well.

But soon enough, the elder turned and said a few words, and those sturdy young men all set down their weapons, devoutly prostrating themselves on the ground.

"What are you doing? Get up!"

Night Ten said with a mix of laughter and tears, but then remembered they might not understand what he was saying.

Just as he thought this, the elder suddenly sputtered out a stuttering phrase in United Human language.

"Greetings... Ancestor... Lord."

Chapter 1004: Descendants

"Poof—"

What the heck is an ancestor?!

Night Ten didn't expect this old man to speak the United Human language, but opening with that left him totally baffled.

It reminded him of when he landed in Jinjaron Harbor a long, long time ago.

The people there were also amazed by their equipment, exclaiming them to be "Iron Men."

But at least those people could communicate, and soon things turned normal.

"Quick, act quickly!"

A hurried prompt came over the communication channel.

Night Ten could tell that Jiang Xuezhou, watching the drama unfold from synchronic orbit, was even more anxious than him on the scene.

"I know..."

Night Ten replied hoarsely, then coughed, turned on his power armor loudspeaker, looked at the old man prostrated before him and a bunch of young men, and said.

"Everyone... speak standing up."

Most of the people didn't understand what he was saying, but the old man seemed to understand, muttering something while shakily getting to his feet.

The young men prostrated behind him did the same.

The confusion written on their faces was replaced by solemnity and reverence as the old man mumbled.

"What on earth are they saying?" Night Ten, unable to understand their discussion, projected a calm exterior, but inside he was quite anxious.

Jiang Xuezhou: "I don't really know... But I did develop a set of language behavior analysis models, maybe it could come in handy."

Night Ten felt a burst of joy upon hearing this.

"Awesome! When did you do this?"

Jiang Xuezhou: "Something I did before... not that you always say weird things!"

Night Ten chuckled.

It seems the habit of joking around paid off, didn't it?

While he was joking, more and more "little green men" emerged from the forest, gazing at this iron-clad figure standing by the river with curious yet fearful eyes.

They wore clothes woven from straw and flax, both male and female, or maybe public and maternal.

Not everyone carried weapons; some held woven baskets filled with berries and some oddly shaped insects collected nearby.

That old man continued to chatter excitedly with his clansmen, his emotion growing more intense as he spoke.

And those young men gathering slowly wore expressions that transitioned from fear and curiosity to devotion.

"... It seems they regard you as some kind of religious totem." Jiang Xuezhou said quietly in the communication channel, "I tried translating some of their language, and generally speaking... in their culture, they believe they are a race from the heavens, and they originally descended to this world wearing 'iron' clothing."

"They even know about iron?" Night Ten exclaimed, noting their primitive lances.

Jiang Xuezhou spoke uncertainly.

"Uh, that's just my translation; it could also mean metal or similar stuff. I'm certain they haven't mastered forging techniques, but they might have seen metal; the wreckage of the Gemini missile cruiser is in this area after all."

Translating it to wear the same material as that "Starship" might be more accurate, but if you nitpick words, it becomes quite awkward to read aloud.

Night Ten tried to grasp it, roughly understanding Jiang Xuezhou's intended conveyance.

"I kind of get it... You mean these people are descendants of the Gemini missile cruiser?"

Jiang Xuezhou was evidently confused, responding ambiguously.

"Hard to say, I can't decipher more information from their dialogues... We shouldn't rule out the possibility that they could be survivors from the Human Alliance Era colonies, as the early colonists also descended from high orbit wearing protective gear similar to power armor, many sentences can be interpreted in multiple ways."

Night Ten pressed a finger to his forehead in frustration.

In fact, whether they are descendants of the Gemini missile cruiser or survivors from Human Alliance Era colonies, both claims are fraught with issues.

After all, the former endured a neutron torpedo, and the latter was further obliterated by neutron torpedo or neutron extermination devices, presumably leaving none alive.

Yet here he was, witnessing a different scenario.

They survived in another form, even becoming a different kind of humans.

At this moment, Jiang Xuezhou's voice continued over the communication channel.

"Currently the only certainty is that the civilization here has severely regressed, reverting to tribal times. Although this might seem like an overreach... I still suggest you visit their settlement, maybe you'll discover answers."

Ultimately, Jiang Xuezhou tossed the decision back to him, and truthfully, Night Ten shared the same thought.

He was completely unfamiliar with this forest, making frequent missteps, with who knows what bizarre troubles awaiting him in the valley ahead.

This was a one-life playthrough; the nearest respawn point was five light-years away. Exploring with the face-in-the-bushes method might not be optimal, but perhaps finding a guide to help could be the right approach.

After all, there were so many people here who viewed him as an ancestor.

After experiencing the Hunter incident, Night Ten abruptly realized he'd gradually learned to solve problems with his mind.

And just as Night Ten was basking in self-satisfaction, that old man seemed to have finished communicating with his tribesmen and invited him with a devout expression.

"Honorable ancestor... Would you be willing... to accompany me to our tribe."

The old man's grasp of the United Human language was limited, mixing many words Night Ten did not understand into his sentences.

Fortunately, with Jiang Xuezhou's help, using that so-called behavioral language model, those unclear words were roughly guessed and translated into sentences for Night Ten.

Looking at the elderly man with a devout expression, Night Ten nodded slightly under the heavy helmet, responding in the most concise manner.

"Okay."

Seeing Night Ten nod, the elderly man seemed to experience a great honor, with a look of ecstatic joy, making Night Ten wonder whether this universally human body language had some other meaning here.

Regardless, this accidental "first contact" was seemingly successful.

The elderly man shouted something indistinctly into the forest, and soon the forest echoed with bird-like calls.

In that ongoing chorus of sounds, the birds and beasts in the forest were disturbed and driven away.

Thus, under the dancing and singing of a group of small green people, Night Ten followed the meandering creek towards higher ground upstream.

According to the elderly man, their tribe was built at the bend upstream of the creek.

All the while, Night Ten kept observing the surrounding environment.

To his surprise, the further upstream he went, the thicker the trees became, and the strange plants growing among them became even more lush and bizarre.

Conversely, the paths for traversing became fewer and narrower.

According to experience on Earth, these lush areas were not suitable for settlements; places with open terrain near mountains and water were preferred for inhabitation.

Yet, such Earth-based experiences seemed inapplicable here, especially with those agile small green people, who appeared unaffected by the verdant and flourishing forest, moving even more swiftly and lightly than they did in open areas.

The only one struggling was Night Ten.

Even with a guide ahead, squeezing into the dense forest with his heavy gear was not easy.

Especially with that half-human-high box on his back, managing to squeeze it through the forest was miraculous!

He couldn't help but wonder if he could walk out without their help.

He did have some incendiary bombs on him.

But such individual equipment was decent for warding off beasts, not for large-scale deforestation.

Especially considering the lurking unknown entity known as "Gaia."

Unless absolutely necessary, he definitely didn't want it to know that the opponent from two centuries ago had returned.

Passing through a dense thicket, a towering "city wall" quickly came into Night Ten's view, causing him to widen his eyes in astonishment.

And what shocked him even more—

To his surprise, he found this city wall actually grew from the ground!

The thick tree trunks were tightly pieced together, and the sprawling roots intertwined downward like hands gripping the earth firmly.

Night Ten involuntarily lifted his head, seeing the dense canopy interwoven in the sky, resembling a sea growing in the heavens.

No wonder Jiang Xuezhou's drone couldn't find this settlement!

Without a guide to lead, it was likely that even if he passed by, he wouldn't discover this village buried deep in the forest!

Noticing the commotion outside the city wall, a guard holding a lance walked over briskly.

He was dressed in Man Vine Woven Wooden Armor, with a helmet and faceplate elongated downward resembling the wooden elven armor from medieval warhammer styles.

Night Ten found himself astounded that the world five light-years away was a complete contrast to the Wasteland of the Solar System; he wouldn't be surprised if these people suddenly started chanting magic spells in the next second.

Of course, the likelihood was small.

He was more inclined to believe these peculiar outfits were local survivors adapting to the bizarre environment, evolving a unique set of lifestyles and traditions.

"...I never expected a city hidden here; I didn't see it from the sky at all," Jiang Xuezhou whispered quietly in his ear.

"Better look carefully again... I have a feeling there are similar settlements hidden in this forest."

Somewhat suspecting it was a coincidence, Night Ten felt just as Jiang Xuezhou spoke, the guard holding the lance cast a wary glance towards him.

But it was merely an instant of eye contact.

The guard quickly shifted his gaze back to the seemingly highly respected elderly man.

"What happened? Why bring outsiders back? If he's... what should we do?"

"...@%#!," the elderly man said emotionally, seemingly refuting him, then excitedly repeated the previous words, "Ancestors... Our ancestors have returned!"

As he vividly described, the vocabulary Jiang Xuezhou could translate gradually became richer.

Essentially, the language they used was still United Human, but it had evolved into another form after two centuries of independent development.

Listening to the elderly man's explanation, the man on duty at the camp entrance showed a shocked and bewildered expression, then hurriedly ran back towards the city gate.

Soon, a large group of small green people wearing wooden armor emerged from under the tree wall's roots, staring at Night Ten with eyes filled with seventy percent tension and thirty percent reverence.

Being watched by such peculiar gazes, Night Ten felt quite uneasy but didn't express anything.

Instinct told him that pretending to be mysterious was the best choice when he didn't understand the situation.

He was waiting for them to explain themselves to him.

Sure enough, after finishing his argument with the soldiers, the elderly man turned and gazed respectfully at Night Ten.

"Honorable Ancestor. My name is Saquai Doma. We are your kids."

Jiang Xuezhou quickly translated what he said.

Doma should be the surname of this tribe, while Saquai was likely a profession, similar to a priest or monk.

Night Ten managed to understand his words, suppressing the urge to make a sarcastic comment.

Then he pitched his voice high and spoke in a tone of kindness he had never used in his life.

"My children, you've waited long enough."

It seemed they understood his words, or perhaps it was the compassion in his tone, for the elder's eyes welled up with tears of excitement.

Seeing such devout expressions, Night Ten almost felt guilty about continuing to deceive them.

After all, he wasn't a celestial being and was never meant for this kind of divine pretense.

However, Jiang Xuezhou seemed quite open-minded about it and even praised his acting skills.

"Pretending to be divine isn't a bad approach. Our technology is too advanced for them. Rather than trying to explain concepts beyond their understanding, it's easier to have them worship us to effectively reduce communication costs... Hmm, that's what the extraterrestrial civilization communication course taught us."

These people, though human-like, were difficult to classify as part of human civilization from any perspective.

Because of this, she was not as conflicted as Night Ten. Besides, they didn't intend to use their divine pretense for any ill purposes; they merely wanted to obtain fuel needed to return home and gather some local intelligence.

Night Ten quietly grumbled.

"What strange knowledge do they teach at your Academy..."

Jiang Xuezhou replied with a smile.

"It's not that strange, is it? Didn't I say? Our ideal is to travel to distant worlds, so we need to prepare in advance, don't we?"

"Whatever," Night Ten sighed, "It's not like we're trying to deceive them about anything. Let's just get what we need and leave without interfering in their civilization."

In principle, the items on the Missile cruiser of Gemini belonged to the survivors on Earth.

So what he said was not wrong.

Just then, Jiang Xuezhou suddenly had a stroke of inspiration.

"Wait, I just remembered... let me show you something fun."

Instead of being curious, Night Ten became alert upon hearing this.

"What are you up to?"

Jiang Xuezhou chuckled but didn't explain, only urging.

"Don't worry about it, just raise your right hand above your head and hold it there!"

Night Ten was a bit confused.

However, remembering that Jiang Xuezhou wouldn't harm him, he compliantly raised his right hand.

Not only was he puzzled by this unnecessary action, but the surrounding little green men were also in turmoil, unsure of what this Ancestor intended to do.

At that moment, the clear sky suddenly echoed with a pattering sound.

It was the sound of raindrops hitting leaves!

The dense tree trunks acted like a huge opened umbrella, delaying the falling raindrops in the air.

However, it didn't take long before the blessed rain from the sky enveloped the entire settlement!

All the little green men present were dumbfounded.

Especially the guards in armor, whose lingering vigilance was replaced by overwhelming astonishment.

Water is the source of life.

And to summon rain meant something extraordinary to these people still living in an era of primitive worship.

Since it was artificial dry ice spraying, the heavy rain came and went quickly.

A colorful rainbow pierced through the tree leaves, hanging across the canopies dripping with water droplets.

Witnessing this miraculous scene, the elder's face instantly transformed with excitement, once again prostrating respectfully on the ground.

Night Ten was also stupefied.

However, the visor of his power armor hid his dumbfounded expression, so he didn't show any weakness.

After a while, he lowered his voice to ask quietly.

"...Was that you?"

A tinkling laughter came through the communication channel, and Jiang Xuezhou spoke with joy.

"There just happened to be a cumulus cloud passing by, so I used a drone to spray some dry ice... Didn't expect they would fall for it, just like in the textbooks."

Looking at the rows of prostrating believers, Night Ten couldn't help but display an amused, helpless expression.

At this point, a tall and muscular man emerged from beneath the high tree wall.

He wore wooden armor inlaid with dark green crystals, with a crown carved from crystal on his head.

His commanding presence immediately made it clear he was the leader.

What surprised Night Ten the most was the familiar aura of pressure he felt from the man.

The pressure that penetrated deep into the soul was remarkably similar.

Although due to the difference in level, the pressure emanating from the man was not as pure or intense as the Manager's.

Also, perhaps because the man was unaware of the talent he possessed, his rough power was like roadside weeds, unable to be controlled or restrained.

While Night Ten was observing the man, the latter was also observing him.

Focusing on that angular armor for a long time, the man placed his palm on his chest and said.

"...Honorable Ancestor, I am the leader of the Doma Clan, Tunnan Doma."

This guy's knowledge of the United Human language is actually more extensive than that of the priest named Saquai, suggesting he might be a noble among them.

Night Ten nodded and, looking into those eyes filled with astonishment and bewilderment, spoke in a solemn and serious tone.

"Greetings, leader of mortals. I am... Night Ten of the Alliance, also known as your Ancestor."

Tunnan stared blankly at Night Ten, and although he was perplexed by his words, he still nodded and said.

"May I ask why you have come here?"

Night Ten did not beat around the bush and got straight to the point.

"We have an item that fell to the ground, which you cannot control. It will bring calamity to you. To prevent disaster, we need to take it back to the sky."

Perhaps understanding his meaning, Tunnan's face showed a look of emphasis.

"The Doma Clan will definitely do our utmost to assist you!"

Seeing this "small manager" being so cooperative, Night Ten couldn't help but show a satisfied smile.

"We won't let you help for nothing. As long as you are willing to assist me, we won't be stingy in repaying you."

Steam engines and printing techniques are still too distant for them, but casually sharing a bit of the metallurgy "Eureka" with them is not a problem.

While he was secretly delighted, a voice of complaint came through the communication channel.

"Didn't someone just say we should try not to interfere with their civilization's progression?"

Night Ten awkwardly cleared his throat, unable to maintain his composure.

"Did I say that? Fine, just pretend I farted just now."

Jiang Xuezhou: "..."

After listening to Night Ten's words, Tunnan exchanged a few words with the tribal elders behind him, after which a look of great joy appeared on his face.

Soon after, he solemnly looked at Night Ten and asked in a serious tone.

"May I inquire what that item is and where it is located?"

"I can't describe what it looks like. Its position should be across the river, approximately one or two thousand steps away in the valley... I need a guide, and I will find it myself."

Night Ten tried to describe his need.

However, what he didn't expect was that upon learning his destination was in the opposite valley, the leader named Tunnan and the elders behind him all showed expressions of extreme fear.

Even Saquai, who was prostrated on the ground, raised his head with a look of terror.

"Honorable Ancestor, that is the Forbidden Forest... we dare not approach it."

"Forbidden Forest?"

Night Ten furrowed his brow, hearing an ominous undertone in the name, and asked further.

"What is the Forbidden Forest?"

Saquai explained in a trembling voice for a long time.

Thanks to Jiang Xuezhou's simultaneous translation, he managed to barely understand the gist.

In short, the valley is not an unowned land. Under the forty to fifty-meter-high trees lives a group of tribal people whose culture and beliefs are completely different from those of the "Forest People."

The tribes in the forest refer to these people as "Sinners."

Not only are they numerous and robust, but they also wear hardened armor, have tamed fierce Wild Lizards, and can ride on the Wild Lizards to fight.

And the "Wild Lizard" that Saquai spoke of seems to be the Variant he encountered in the forest earlier.

If these threats were all there was, Night Ten would find it troublesome but not frightening.

However, according to Jiang Xuezhou, Saquai's description of threats seemed to include more than just these.

In addition to being adept at war and forging, these people can harness a power unknown to the forest dwellers.

And this power is the true source of their terror...

"I hope it's just a few pretentious drones..." Jiang Xuezhou muttered quietly in the communication channel, "But for them to function for two hundred years in an oxygen-rich environment... this thing must be of incredible quality."

Tunnan stared frostily at the metal hulk before him, his expression shifting between uncertainty as if weighing the pros and cons.

As the tribe's leader, he had to make more pragmatic considerations for the future of the tribe.

However, the prophecy of the Ancestor is also a part of the future.

Calamity, or blessings.

He had to make a choice.

After discussing with the elders behind him, he responded with a dignified voice.

"The Ancestor's children will always heed the call of the Ancestor. We will assist you in retrieving the heavenly 'Sacred object' from the Forbidden Forest and the Sinners."

"But this is not an easy task; we need to gather the other tribes in this forest together."

"We ask you to grant us a little more time."

Chapter 1005: Divergence

Wasteland OL official website.

The forum is as lively as ever.

With the help of numerous sand sculpture netizens, the stubborn Medical Miracle finally managed to trick the Enlightenment Society's scrutiny and was exhibited in the museum of the Underground City of Shelter No. 13 as a counter-example of "being misguided by the Waste Land Wanderer."

Although this behavior is problematic in many ways, it arguably serves as infiltration into the Enlightenment Society.

At least that's what the stubborn Medical Miracle believes.

As everyone was chattering away with crazy ideas, Night Ten suddenly appeared five light years away, snatching away the hot topic before Medical Miracle could even warm his seat.

"Guys! Brother Guang wasn't exaggerating; the planet five light years away is really made!"

"It's not just a map!"

Night Ten quickly took over the second floor.

As soon as the post refreshed in the forum, it drew countless sand sculpture netizens watching in droves.

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "?!"

Quit smoking: "What's going on?"

Tail: "!! Tell us in detail!"

Like before, Night Ten didn't rush to finish his account but waited until the post reached dozens of floors and the onlookers' anticipation turned to complaints before he slowly revealed it.

"Here's how it happened; weren't we out of fuel for our starship? As we were worried about how to return, we suddenly thought of the Twin Star drifting five light years away, and decided to make a plan for it..."

Starting from his preparations on the Orion Missile Cruiser with Jiang Xuezhou for landing on the surface, Night Ten described his observations after landing.

Including encountering a toothy Lizard, seeing a Pterosaur with crystals on its head, a group of "green-skinned humanoid creatures" calling him "Ancestor," and the tribe called Doma and so on.

"Here, a day has about 30 Earth hours, and a year has about 180 rotation cycles, equivalent to 5400 Earth hours, 225 Earth days."

"The planetary surface conditions are similar to Baiyue Province, but less extreme, with an ecosystem evolution that tends to be mild enough to already show traces of intelligent life and civilization, and this intelligent life is suspected to be descendants of United Human colonists."

"Their body structure is much like humans, but their skin is light green like mutants... Yet unlike mutants, they have distinct male and female sexes within their population, with clear societal roles."

"But all of this pales in comparison to something truly shocking: they seem to possess some kind of 'psychic ability' unknown to us! Specifically, they can make plants grow in ways they desire through prayer and special ceremonies."

"They use this method to build walls, make tree houses, construct bridges between tree houses, and even ripen fruit trees and tame livestock."

"At first, I thought they were just a primitive tribe, but they live even more prosperously than I imagined, precisely because some people among them have awakened this special ability."

"They call it Saquai, which is both the name for these people and represents an occupation... similar to priest."

If Night Ten hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe his own words.

This game, while full of unscientific bits, had never encountered such unscientific phenomena before.

After Chieftain Tunnan promised to help him retrieve the "sacred objects in the sky," he invited him to stay with the tribe and arranged for him to reside near the "Sacred Tree."

It was a palace entirely grown from trees, situated in the very center of "Doma City."

The intertwining roots and branches formed spiral staircases, growing out furniture and seats.

And it was there that he witnessed the Indigenous People of the Doma Tribe display those amazing powers.

"...I don't know how to describe this 'spirit determining matter' ability, which helps them live comfortably in the jungle. But objectively speaking, it increases the cost of understanding nature."

"Like, despite having invented calendars based on astronomical movements, they haven't mastered farming techniques, with food sources mainly relying on gathering and hunting. Also, their metallurgy technology remains very backward, or even nonexistent, including husbandry techniques etc., which are far inferior to their neighbors, the 'Valley People.'"

"And the so-called 'Valley People' are what the 'Forest People' refer to as 'Sinners.' According to the latter, people living in caves are abandoned by 'Mother.' They live in caves and houses made of stones, using tools, weapons, and armor made of stone or possible metal, burning forests to farm land... choosing complete 'degeneration.'

"I have no idea whether to interpret this 'Mother' as Gaia, nor what 'abandonment' means. However, from the Forest People's descriptions, these 'Valley People' clearly hold a higher level of civilization, and the term 'Sinners' might just be an easy way to curse?"

"Since I don't doubt at all if they actually upset Gaia, the latter could squash them by merely moving a finger. Otherwise, I can only suppose that Gaia is either very weak now, or He has died, or our understanding of Gaia is flawed."

"This is what matters most to me; Gaia seems entirely indifferent towards the human descendants living on it, as if His existence has vanished."

"In fact, it'd be fortunate if He truly vanished, meaning my troubles could be resolved with a few precision-guided neutron torpedoes."

"However, my intuition keeps telling me that the truth might not fully reflect what my eyes see. Or rather, my knowledge of this planet might just be the tip of the iceberg floating above the water."

Night Ten updated all the intel he had gathered in the post.

Including the speculations made by him and Jiang Xuezhou based on limited information and his own understanding.

Spring Water Commander: "So... you're now living in that Sacred Tree in Doma City or Doma Village? (Dumbfounded)"

Night Ten: "Yes, the tribe members usually pray under the Sacred Tree's roots, the chieftain and priest live midway up the tree, and the top room is used to worship the 'Ancestor'... I checked it out; it's actually a broken power armor, model: Dragon Cavalry. Probably because of this, they mistook me for their ancestor, and then they offered me that room."

Quit smoking: "Awesome..."

Edge Shoveling: "Sleeping in the same room with an offering is something. (Awkward)"

Night Ten: "Damn, why does your wording feel so strange?"

Elena: "Origin of the Tree of Life of the Stars nailed. (Amusing)"

Gnome King Riches: "What Tree of Life! It's clearly Catachan! Waiting for Night Ten, the little brother, to fight with a tree. (Amusing)"

Barrel Washing Machine: "Could Brother Guang have secretly used this as material again? The déjà vu is too strong."

Quit smoking: "By the way, none of you noticed? Did I hear wrong, these guys also possess idealism-side powers?! (Dazed)"

Mole on the Run in the Canyon: "Just controlling plant growth, right? We even have someone here who can talk with plants... but that skill's not much use, plants don't have much to say. (Side-eye)"

Si Si: "Now that you mention it, I remember that Crow's Void Lock Poison skill, could it be based on similar principles?"

Crow: "I'm Perception, right? Perception shouldn't count. 0.0"

Si Si: "No, you just haven't delved further... Even if using Perception as an explanation seems absurd."

Quit smoking: "Damn it, this is way unscientific!"

Tail: "Damn it, why doesn't Ah Wei have this! QAQ"

Fang Chang: "It depends on how you interpret science, whether as a belief or a method to understand the world."

Mole on the Run in the Canyon: "Truth be told, I don't regard science as a religion, but spirit determining matter... Could such a thing really exist?"

Fang Chang: "Hard to say, let's not talk about real-world examples, and since it happened in the game, let's use a game example. Like, do you think the events on Orion count as spirit determining matter?"

Mole on the Run in the Canyon: "Uh, I'd like to say it counts, but somehow that seems a bit far-fetched."

Fang Chang: "This is where different understandings come into play, and my understanding of the spiritual influence on matter is similar. Anyway, such strange phenomena are worthy of deep research. Who knows, maybe those people have mastered a way to communicate directly with Gaia... like how the Luoyu Brothers can understand what Xiaoyu is saying."

Luoyu: "Is it so difficult? (dazed)"

Fang Chang: "Be more confident, it's quite challenging for people like us who can't tell the difference between 'yi wu' and 'yi wu'. (side-eye)"

Night Ten: "Hey, let's not worry about the mind-matter issue now. What do you think I should do? Keep acting? Take the reactor while they're fighting? But my conscience bothers me a bit, would that be too wrong?"

Spring Water Commander: "Are you treating the game like more than just a game this time? (smirking)"

Wild Wind: "After all, he's got a partner now."

Night Ten: "Ahem, what's it got to do with having a partner..."

Alright.

It actually has a little something to do with it.

About whether to use the Doma Tribe to invade the "Sinners", he and Jiang Xuezhou had a small disagreement.

Or rather, after their meeting outside the city walls, they had a little spat in the communication channel.

In his view, the optimal solution for the entire event was naturally to use the local forces to balance the locals. Just let those little green men gather and attack the "Sinners" living in the valley and take back the wreckage of the Gemini.

However, Jiang Xuezhou felt he was being used by that Indigenous leader and that this approach was too inhumane. Instead, it would be better to launch neutron torpedoes to wipe out the valley's survivors; it might even be less cruel that way.

After all, warfare among primitives differs from that of civilized men. Keeping children as tall as car wheels will be a thing of the distant future, and what happens in the end is almost certain.

But then again, South Gate Two is five light years away, and it's uncertain whether those little green men count as United Human descendants. Night Ten genuinely can't understand why bother with them.

Combat between tribes is just a normal occurrence for their civilization period; even without "performing miracles," they would end up clashing and making sacrificial offerings anyway.

And his arrival merely accelerated their civilization process. If anything, it might have spared those little green men a few years of hardship.

Night Ten didn't even dare to tell Jiang Xuezhou that he indeed thought about using nuclear weapons directly. It was only due to Gaia's existence that he kept it as the last card.

As for being used by that Tunnan tribal chief, he could see it, just choosing to turn a blind eye.

Why not turn a blind eye?

Clearly, it's the optimal solution.

Night Ten added his comments to his reply, feeling much better after expressing them.

Old White: "Not bad, I didn't expect Night Ten to solve problems with his brain. (grinning)"

Night Ten: "Right? This guy is nice usually, but he overthinks at crucial moments."

Fang Chang: "So what's her suggestion?"

Night Ten: "She wants me to talk to the 'Sinners' in the valley to see if I can close the deal while resolving local conflicts... I think she's daydreaming."

Si Si: "Emmm... why do I feel her suggestion isn't off?"

Night Ten: "Whoa, this is called not being off? I've become the ancestor, how do I sneak past these little green men to the other side, and who knows their attitude towards me."

Si Si: "Although you might think I'm speaking from ease, but... isn't this the time to use your brain? Or have you found a shortcut to the solution, so you're slacking off? (side-eye)"

Night Ten: "... Damn! How did I become the one getting roasted?"

Elena: "Because you are indeed somewhat overly urbanized. (funny)"

Si Si: "I'm not roasting... oh, kids are so troublesome, I'll leave it to you, deal with it yourself."

Night Ten: "???"

Old White: "Even if neutron torpedoes are relatively merciful, the feeling of death isn't pleasant... Overall, don't do unto others what you don't want for yourself. I do hope you keep it as the last resort, if you're not just treating it as just a game but have other emotions tied into it. (grinning)"

Wild Wind: "I guess Old White is trying to say to avoid doing things you might regret later?"

Old White: "Haha, that's about right."

Night Ten: "What if they're the descendants of the Gemini?"

Fang Chang: "I think even if they're Gemini's descendants, if Orion's crew were alive, they certainly wouldn't want to see you treat neutron torpedoes like firecrackers and become who they once opposed. (side-eye)"

Night Ten: "Ugh... Damn, I got myself into trouble! Should've delayed acting cool. Alright, I'll think about other solutions."

WC Really a Mosquito: "Go for it. (evil smile)"

...

Shelter No. 404, browsing room on Floor B4.

Chu Guang had Xiao Qi distill Night Ten's observations on Gaia planet into a two-page report, printed it on paper.

This is probably the only first-hand information from all the survivor forces on the Wasteland about the world five light years away.

And it's freshly released.

Watching Yin Fang silently scrutinizing the report with furrowed brows, Chu Guang waited for a long time without hearing him speak, so he took the initiative to open his mouth.

"I want to know your opinion."

About Gaia planet.

And the unusual situation there.

Yin Fang pushed his nose-frame glasses, with a intriguing expression.

"...This is incredible."

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Just incredible?"

"Well... judging from the limited intelligence, I really can't see anything. And if I may be so bold to say..."

Yin Fang looked at Chu Guang, hesitated for a moment, and finally confessed his inner confusion.

"The fact that you can obtain information from five light years away... is already enough to shock me."

...

(Thanks to "Emperor Orange" for the alliance lord's reward!!!)

Chapter 1006: Clues

The secrets of the residents of Shelter No. 404 have really ceased to be secrets.

All alliance officials above the ministerial level, and even some grassroots workers in special departments, have long been unfazed by the extraordinary abilities displayed by these "residents".

This includes mind induction communication, revival from the dead, and so on.

Although these rumors have not become widely recognized truths in the public consciousness and have been drowned in many even more ridiculous urban legends that deviate from reality, most Waste Land Wanderers who have interacted with players for a long time have some inkling—

These Blue Jackets incompatible with the wasteland might not just be incompatible with it.

They seem like they don't belong to this world at all.

Based on this understanding, most alliance top officials and relevant grassroots personnel have complex feelings towards the identity of the "residents of Shelter No. 404".

Respect is certain.

Even though they can revive after death, it doesn't mean that the residents' sacrificial actions are insignificant.

Yet, people inevitably fear the unknown, especially since no one knows why they do these things.

Therefore, saying it's "respect" might be more aptly described as "awe".

Yin Fang was not the first to express his confusion; Hera actually raised similar questions before.

But perhaps it's due to different professional domains.

Compared to the concept of revival from the dead that can barely be explained by "science", Yin Fang is more shocked by the players' ability to ignore communication barriers when exchanging information.

Especially when he realized this communication could span five light-years, his feelings are beyond shock; he felt his understanding shatter to pieces.

"...Actually, I don't know how to explain this issue either," Chu Guang sighed softly.

"I did mention before that I'm not the only manager of this shelter. There should have been several before me, but I don't have information about them."

"My authority was directly granted by the First Generation Manager. When he handed over the shelter to me, the clues he left were only a few recordings and small pieces of paper."

Yin Fang stared at Chu Guang in disbelief, and after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"He just handed over the shelter to you like that?"

"Yes, it sounds like nonsense, doesn't it?" Chu Guang said jokingly, "I also felt he should've found a more professional person to manage this facility, but sometimes I think maybe this was the best arrangement."

He has actually met quite a few professional shelter managers.

Whether face-to-face or seen in the Administrator's Log. Whether the First Generation or those who inherited from the previous managers.

Though these people faced different issues, they shared one commonality.

That is "alienation."

Whether passively or actively, they almost inevitably transformed themselves into another being that transcended the masses.

This doesn't mean they physically transformed into another species; it signifies they lost the ability to empathize with humanity.

Chu Guang himself has actually encountered similar issues, and due to physiological alienation, these feelings are stronger.

If not for intentionally restraining himself, he wouldn't even need to speak; a single look could make people cheer or kneel.

But that's not something he wants to do.

"...Alright, I'm actually not too concerned about what you're saying. I don't doubt that the First Generation Manager made the best arrangement here," Yin Fang paused, sighed, and continued, "I just want to know how this cross-dimensional... even cross-temporal communication is achieved."

Chu Guang chuckled.

"Not just you; I'm also curious. How about proposing a study within the scientific team?"

Yin Fang paused.

"Is that okay?"

Chu Guang casually replied.

"I never said this couldn't be thoroughly investigated, and it helps us understand ourselves too."

Before, he always waited for the First Generation Manager to voluntarily reveal those secrets unknown to him.

But ever since the man handed him Floor B7 and a series of authorities, he hadn't made a peep.

Perhaps he should delve into the shelter's secrets himself, rather than waiting.

It's not just Yin Fang; even Chu Guang is deeply curious about this communication method that ignores time and space.

Unexpectedly, Chu Guang nodded in agreement, leaving Yin Fang thrilled.

"Thank you for your support! Believe it or not, I have a strong intuition... we might discover new physics!"

Seeing this excited "Alliance Chief Scientist," Chu Guang couldn't help but quip.

"Don't get your hopes too high; since we're using this technology, someone must've discovered it long ago."

Yin Fang laughed.

"That's not important; rediscovering forgotten knowledge is still a discovery."

"Haha, I'm glad you think that way," Chu Guang said with a smile, looking at the energized Yin Fang, "Let me think of what information I can provide you..."

After pondering with eyes closed for a while, Chu Guang suddenly had a thought and opened his eyes.

"That's right."

Seeing the intrigued Yin Fang listening carefully, he mentioned a concept heard long ago from some recording.

"The project name should be 'Morphogenesis Field'."

...

In a certain forest on the Gaia planet, Night Ten awoke from power armor with his game helmet on, astonished by the scene before him.

He saw a group of charming maidens kneeling beside his bed.

They wore clothes woven from dry grass, holding clay containers filled with water, seemingly ready to serve him a bath.

Their fresh faces resembled freshly picked green apples from the morning, peaceful and poised, vastly different from other primitive humans, making Night Ten's heart race slightly.

Although primitive people's aesthetics aren't commendable, these little green people didn't come from the trees but very likely "came down from the sky and climbed back up," making their looks not entirely unattractive by human standards.

They even had a certain wild beauty.

Despite their jade-green skin being a bit odd, after prolonged exposure, it became quite pleasant to the eyes.

Especially their chests.

It's unbelievable how such massive fruit can hang on such delicate branches.

Night Ten suddenly realized that he wasn't much more noble than primitive humans.

The primitive humans' form of worship, he embarrassingly found himself sharing.

At this moment, a "huh" chuckle came over the communication channel.

Feeling a chill down his spine, Night Ten realized the power armor's action recorder was still online, and quickly sat up straight.

"What are you doing? Stand up quickly?"

The maidens couldn't understand his words, merely looking at each other in perplexity.

A slightly older maiden perhaps understood a few words and, while leading the others to rise, spoke in stuttering Alliance speech, less fluent than the players.

"Priest... instructed... us... to bathe."

This person probably meant to say helping with bathing.

Night Ten quickly refused.

"That's not necessary."

The maiden blinked.

"But that's how it is in the sky."

Night Ten almost choked on his saliva upon hearing this.

He could deduce this must be the primitive leaders adding their spin to the Ancestors legend.

To uphold justice, he sternly declared.

"Have you been to the sky?"

A few young girls exchanged bewildered glances, unsure if they were indicating they hadn't been, or simply didn't understand.

Night Ten continued speaking.

"The sky speaks of equality. It's not like that where we are... at least not generally."

He started speaking with an absolute tone but suddenly hesitated, as if reminded of that Debt Giant Eye guy.

To be honest, talking about equality in a primitive tribe is foolish, but he didn't say this for them. It was to please someone up in the sky.

The girl who could understand what he said nodded vaguely, but somehow stammeringly blurted out something unexpected to Night Ten.

"You... want to... help us? Wash?"

"Pfft—"

Hearing this, Night Ten almost blood burst from his nose, quickly waving his hands to clarify.

"No, that's not what I meant."

You can understand what I'm saying?!

No, wait—

Looking at the girl's somewhat comprehending expression, Night Ten suddenly came to his senses.

Just now, in his panic, he spoke in Chinese, and the girl's final word "wash" was also in Chinese...

But the issue is, that word wasn't even in his whole sentence.

Night Ten was completely baffled, unable to figure out what was going on.

And seeing his reaction, the girl also showed an uneasy expression, as if she'd done something wrong and was seeking forgiveness.

Just as Night Eleven was puzzled, Jiang Xuezhou's voice came through the communication channel again.

"Night Ten..."

That hoarse voice carried a slight tremor, immediately making Night Eleven panic.

"Xuezhou, let me explain—"

"No, listen to me first!"

The tremor in that voice didn't seem to come from anger, but excitement.

Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in her heart as she slowly began to speak.

"I just suddenly realized... they actually don't speak United Human language at all."

"What do you mean—"

As Night Ten uttered this question, he suddenly realized something, and a stunned expression appeared on his face.

As if to confirm his suspicion, Jiang Xuezhou continued in a calm tone.

"Think back carefully to the first time you met them. When was it that the priest named Saquai first spoke a word of United Human to you..."

How the hell am I supposed to remember that—

Wait, wait!

A flash of inspiration struck Night Ten like a bolt from the blue, almost instinctively blurting out.

"After I said the first word to them?"

When that old man saw him, he fell to his knees with a thud, rattling off a whole string of words, none of which Night Ten understood.

It wasn't until Night Ten asked them to rise that the old man sputtered a single sentence.

"That's right. After you spoke the first word, or rather, after you expressed the intent to communicate, they immediately understood what you were saying and learned your language..."

After giving this conclusive response, Jiang Xuezhou, in a calm voice, continued with her analysis.

"The priest you mentioned earlier named Saquai, that leader called Tunnan, and the girl in front of you... they don't actually know a single word of United Human. What they know is 'your language.' Every word they know was extracted from you!"

A chilling sensation crawled up Night Ten's back. Staring into those bewildered eyes in front of him, he suddenly felt like the metal lump he was wearing on his head was as flimsy as paper.

Not in the physical sense of paper.

But in the mental sense.

Those eyes seemed to pierce through his armor, even through his face, directly touching his soul.

Swallowing hard, Night Ten still couldn't believe such an unbelievable ability, even though he himself possessed a perceptive power that seemed incredible to others.

"...But I never said I was the 'Ancestor,' did I? It's a term they told me."

Jiang Xuezhou continued in a calm voice.

"Yet you can still accurately grasp what that word means, correct? I understand what you're trying to say; he got that term from something you didn't explicitly say, right? That's precisely what's astonishing. Their displayed ability isn't merely linguistic talent, but something beyond that... mind reading? Resonance? Brainwave modulation? Or some unknown high-dimensional energy field? Ultimately, they accessed something in your mind and drew from it."

Sweat beaded down Night Ten's back.

"...What the hell is this? Mind reading? What the hell?"

Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath, saying.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it on the Wasteland... But given the current situation, I can tell you for sure that 'wash' was a word she knew out of thin air. I can testify you've never said it, because even I don't know what that pronunciation means."

Perhaps worried about scaring Night Ten, Jiang Xuezhou paused for a moment before continuing.

"You don't actually have to be that scared... I feel like they don't fully understand their ability. Plus, it hasn't given them any distinct advantage in combat or productivity in the end. Otherwise, they wouldn't be living in such a primitive way now."

"Could they have already figured out that I'm just—"

Night Ten was about to talk about the whole shenanigans but stopped halfway, afraid of having his thoughts seen through by the girl blinking those big watery eyes in front of him.

Jiang Xuezhou patiently said.

"I doubt it. They probably can only read the information you intend to convey, so you don't have to worry too much about them seeing through your thoughts, unless it's something you specifically express..."

She paused, before continuing.

"But my advice is, better safe than sorry... especially when you're about to express something."

So, to speak only what's truly thought? And avoid saying one thing while thinking another?

Remembering the girl's earlier misunderstanding, Night Ten couldn't help but feel his face flush a little hot, coughing lightly as he replied.

"Got it."

Maybe still a bit angry, after finishing the important business, Jiang Xuezhou dropped a "heh" in the communication channel and then was gone.

Having no idea how to placate her, Night Ten could only shift his attention temporarily back to the task at hand.

Turning to the girls he'd left alone for quite a while, he cleared his throat and spoke in a serious tone.

"From now on, without my permission, do not ever enter my room... no one is allowed."

Perhaps confirming Jiang Xuezhou's conjecture, the slightly older girl, seemingly possessing "strong perceptual ability," indeed understood his words, responding respectfully.

"As you command."

She turned and instructed the other girls on a few things, and then they gathered their belongings and prepared to leave the room.

Night Ten suddenly thought of something, calling them back.

"Wait, you stay."

The slightly older girl blinked, pointing to herself, and upon Night Ten's nod, she handed her belongings to the other girls and stayed obediently in the room.

Only the two of them were left in the room.

Looking at the curious girl, Night Ten organized his thoughts for a moment before slowly speaking.

"I just returned to this land, and the changes here astonished me; so many things have become different from before, almost as if we were never here."

"I hope you can tell me everything you know, about what happened after 'we' left, and about 'your' people."

Chapter 1007: The Spokesperson

The winding and meandering stream winds through the endless valleys, weaving into a continuous river on the vast plains.

On the sunny side of the valley, there are sporadically dotted caves and not-so-vast terraced fields.

Due to the tall vegetation blocking the view, the terraces carved into the mountainside are almost hard to see.

This is the domain of the valley people.

The Forest People call them "Sinners."

However, this is clearly not their own name.

They call themselves "Qiu."

This syllable has no special meaning, it is merely inherited from their ancestors and has been used ever since.

Although the Qiu living in this valley do not band together under a single tree as clans do in the forest, they possess a unity that rivals them.

All the clans, big and small, call themselves the "Qiu."

They not only share the same culture and traditions but also use the same pictographic script to record and even use the same set of decrees and codes of conduct, electing elders from their clans to form the "Elder Council" for arbitration of affairs big and small.

As a matter of fact, they have already conceived the concept of a "nation" and have evolved an organized society.

In this regard, the tribes in the forest remain a disparate collection.

Although the advantage of the Qiu people over the Forest People is not yet obvious, in the long run, the rise of the former and the decline of the latter is almost inevitable.

Of course, this is only under normal circumstances.

Considering Gaia, this powerful disturbance factor, the future of the two groups is uncertain.

The reason why the Forest People call the Qiu living in the valley "Sinners," aside from that distant history, has one most direct cause.

That is, the latter completely lacks the "ability to communicate with nature."

Although not every Forest Person can awaken this ability, this bloodline power has never ceased in the Forest People's tribes.

Conversely, it seems that the "Qiu" are abandoned by the gods, only able to live in cold stone and subsist on dry vegetative seeds and sour and astringent wild fruits.

Of course, this is also the perspective of the Forest People.

At least from the Qiu's own view, the grain after cooking is not considered difficult to eat, and the wild berries and mushrooms have a distinct flavor.

Conversely, those "defectors" living in the forest are the truly pitiable ones, living primitively as they do, like monkeys.

Upon a rugged hill, a boy riding a Lizard gazes out toward the south of the valley.

Deep within the dense forest, a canopy of flourishing treetops emits a golden-yellow glow.

That is the signal for the "defectors" to gather, seemingly issued from Doma City.

Watching the fireflies dance in the twilight, the Lizard beneath restlessly paces back and forth on the rock until the boy riding it tightens the reins around its neck.

"Hiss—"

The Lizard snorts a misty breath from its nostrils, shakes its neck from side to side, and finally settles down.

In contrast, a hint of ominousness rises on the brow of the boy upon it.

He recalls the elders of his tribe saying that whenever the Defectors send out a positive signal, something bad happens.

The message must be reported to the Elder Council immediately!

The boy thought so in his heart, pulling the reins ready to leave.

Yet, at that moment, a faint blue light suddenly appeared under a nearby low tree, followed by a stammering voice.

"Hey there, wait a moment."

Upon hearing the movement so close, the boy was startled, almost instinctively taking down the Bow and Arrow slung over his shoulder, notching an arrow, and drawing the string.

"Who?!"

The faint blue light seemed to emanate from within the leaves, a figure resembling an iron can stood at the center of the glow.

As soon as he saw that iron can-like figure, he froze in place, standing there dumbfounded.

Immediately afterward, a gentle voice drifted from the light.

"I am... your... Ancestor."

Before the voice finished speaking, the boy had already stowed away his Bow and Arrow, dismounted from the Lizard, and knelt on the ground without daring to take a breath.

"Greetings, Ancestor!"

The figure standing in the soft blue glow nodded in approval and continued speaking in a calm tone.

"Stand up and speak."

The boy stood up shakily, lowering his head, not daring to look directly at the figure standing in the light.

His mind was in turmoil.

On one side, he was shocked that the legendary Ancestor had indeed returned, and descended before him; on the other, he was fearful of his previous disrespectful behavior.

However, the Ancestor seemingly did not blame him, instead, forgivingly allowing him to stand.

"What's your name?"

The young man answered truthfully.

"I don't have a name, I'm a soldier of the Lead clan."

The Ancestor continued to ask.

"What's the Lead clan?"

The young man hurriedly explained.

"It's a branch of the 'Qiu People'. Although the folks in the valley are divided into different clans, we all still use the surname you bestowed upon us."

The Iron Man standing in the light was silent for a while, then continued to speak.

"I think I understand, you're a soldier of the Lead clan of the Qiu People in the valley... is that right?"

The young man nodded repeatedly.

"That's right."

The Iron Man standing in the pale blue light nodded, looking at the young man who was so nervous he held his breath, and continued.

"To facilitate communication... from today onwards, you'll be called 'Qiu Ridge'."

Upon hearing the decree of the Ancestor, the young man was momentarily stunned, his face then lit up with a wildly joyful expression, and he excitedly prostrated himself on the ground again, babbling grateful thanks.

The Iron Man standing in the light quietly waited until he had vented his joy and excitement, then slowly spoke again.

"...Don't be eager to rejoice. The reason I descended upon this land is because I sensed the breath of disaster."

The air instantly fell silent.

The young man, who was jubilantly waving his arms and legs a moment ago, immediately changed his expression, showing a look of encountering a formidable enemy.

Almost instinctively, he thought of the abnormal phenomena he had seen in the forest earlier.

He couldn't help but swallow, and asked cautiously.

"Disaster... are you referring to the defectors in the forest?"

The Ancestor spoke in a gentle tone.

"Perhaps, but maybe it's not just their problem, part of it might be because of us as well."

Fear surfaced in Qiu Ridge's eyes.

"Are you... going to destroy us?"

He had absolute faith in the Ancestor's words.

And for this very reason, he couldn't understand why the revered Ancestor would do such a thing.

Seeing the young man's fearful expression, the Ancestor standing in the pale blue light continued in a calm voice.

"I never thought that, my children... otherwise, I wouldn't be standing here trying to correct the mistakes that have happened."

"In the foreseeable future, I've seen the burning flames engulf the forest, seen countless people perish in the black smoke... among them are both you and the children of the forest."

"But apart from this, I've seen another future, where you all head towards shared prosperity, end the grievances of hundreds of years, and begin a new era... do you believe me?"

Qiu Ridge respectfully bowed his head and said.

"...Willing to heed the Ancestor's teachings."

A voice of approval floated out from the pale blue light, and then the light gradually faded.

"Very good, it seems I've chosen the right person... come over here, my child."

Qiu Ridge raised his head blankly, only to see that the towering Iron Man had vanished, leaving only a faint beam of light standing in place, as if guiding him.

"On the branch in front of you is a silver metallic disc."

"Wear it with you at all times, and I will tell you what to do next..."

...

As a certain green-skinned youth mustered all his strength to climb the tree, a researcher floating in synchronous orbit was leisurely stretching in front of the terminal screen.

"Done!"

Half an hour ago, when her drone was hovering in the sky, it spotted the little green man standing on a high ground in the valley, guessing that this guy was probably one of the "Sinners" living in the valley, so she came up with a plan and sent a quadrotor drone with holographic projection capabilities from the research ship.

These Primitive Men had never seen such awesome technology, and sure enough, they were completely fooled, believing every bit of her fabrication on the spot.

Just like that, she gained an Indigenous People insider at the cost of only one drone.

Next, she just needed to show a few more "miracles" through that child, and she could get the reactor's fuel tank in no time, without even needing Night Ten to get involved.

Thinking of Night Ten, Jiang Xuezhou felt a wave of anger.

This guy was fine most of the time, but sometimes as stubborn as a bull.

Just because she didn't agree with his plan to instigate the Indigenous People to start a war and fish in troubled waters, he accused her of not caring about his safety, and slapped her with labels like being overly sympathetic and not being considerate of him.

Truly, her conscience was eaten by a dog!

Didn't that guy say negotiating with "Valley People" was his own wild imagination?

Now there's no need for him to take risks; he sorted things out by himself, hasn't he lost for words?

Of course, although she said it in anger, she mentally admitted that Night Ten had put in a lot of effort.

At least, she managed to fool the young Indigenous People using the language that was put together with the materials collected by Night Ten.

Fortunately, the language used by the Forest People and the Valley People hadn't yet diverged, and even their culture about "Ancestors" was practically identical.

Looking at the compiled information on the terminal's screen while sipping coffee, Jiang Xuezhou murmured in thought.

"Qiu people... Is there anyone with the surname 'Qiu' aboard the Missile Cruiser of Gemini?"

"But come to think of it, it's really odd... both groups came from the sky; could they all be descendants of the crew of the Missile Cruiser of Gemini?"

One group awakened special abilities, the other group did not.

Those who awakened special abilities clashed with those who hadn't, or perhaps out of fear for Gaia or something indescribable, the non-awakened used their numbers to push the former into the forest.

This could explain why the Forest People call Qiu people "Sinners", while Qiu people call Forest People "defectors".

From the perspective of the Missile Cruiser Gemini—or the United Space Army, the Forest People who sided with Gaia are indeed betraying.

But the question arises.

If both groups are descendants of Gemini, where did the original colonizers go?

Although the United Space Army conducted a thorough bombing campaign against the colonial rebels, even survivors lived aboard the Gemini; it's hard to imagine nobody survived on the surface.

Just as Jiang Xuezhou was puzzled, a little Koala squatted nearby, carrying freshly heated canned food and rice, and approached.

"Your meal is ready."

"Ah, thank you." Jiang Xuezhou accepted her stream of thoughts, responded, and reached out to take the food tray.

It's undeniable, the United's dehydration and freeze-drying technology is quite impressive.

It's hard to imagine that these food items, two centuries past their expiry date, can still emit a tempting aroma after cooking.

Feeling ravenous, Jiang Xuezhou immediately began devouring her meal.

"You're welcome, my pleasure to serve you." The little Koala nodded at the camera and said in a gentle tone, "But speaking of which, Master, aren't you planning to communicate with Night Ten?"

"...I'll talk to him later."

With her mouth filled with food, Jiang Xuezhou mumbled vaguely, seemingly reluctant to answer the question.

Honestly, though furious, she had long stopped blaming that guy in her heart.

Thinking carefully, she wasn't entirely faultless either.

At least, she should empathically consider that he's in a highly tense environment; or in other words, standing atop a monster's head. He can't possibly and has no way to remain detached like herself a few thousand kilometers away on the ground, just observing.

He wanted to promptly secure reactor fuel and return, considering the Indigenous People of this planet weren't a priority for him; she shouldn't accuse him of lacking humanity just because he didn't act as she wished.

After all, he isn't her tool, much less her child to be manipulated at her will…

They clearly could resolve problems through communication.

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou's brows faintly furrowed with regret, the nearby little Koala spoke gently.

"People often treat those close harshly, believing the other won't leave regardless... yet seldom remember how fleeting life is."

"My previous master never got the chance to give me a nice name. By the time I opened my eyes again, he had become skeletal remains. Though my words might be a bit redundant, I hope you don't leave regrets before becoming like him."

Jiang Xuezhou said softly.

"I understand... I'll speak nicely to him."

Is this meant to be comforting?

But thinking it through, it seems quite true; she didn't feel any irritation from these peculiar words.

Perhaps, as little Koala stated, she is indeed too harsh on Night Ten.

She hasn't always been like this in the past…

Thinking of this, Jiang Xuezhou suddenly felt worried again, fearing he might dislike her like this.

Indeed, she should find a chance to talk to him.

Speaking of which, it's mealtime; wonder if he's eaten.

With these thoughts, Jiang Xuezhou tapped her index finger on the holographic screen, connecting to the power armor's activity recorder.

And at the same moment, a graceful figure appeared on the screen.

It was a pitch-black space, the Fireflies surrounding that graceful figure were the only light source.

Actually, this shouldn't be a big deal.

She isn't the kind to flip out just because the other person glanced at other women twice.

However, the issue lies in the fact that the camera of the activity recorder seemed stabilized, fixed on those two bulging fruits.

Sensing an impending storm, the little Koala by the side shook and discreetly left the bridge.

Almost simultaneously, a creaking sound emanated from the screen of the terminal.

"This fellow…"

Glancing down at her chest, Jiang Xuezhou gritted her teeth till they creaked.

The fists that had barely softened were clenched again!

...

At the waist of the Doma City Sacred Tree, nestled among intertwining branches, is a pure wooden palace.

The chieftain of Doma City—or in other words, the king of the entire tribe, is seated at the hall's steps.

His name is Tunnan.

In the widely spoken language of this forest, the name engraved at the base of the Sacred Tree signifies both leader and "Warrior of Boundless Power".

Typically, both meanings are synonymous.

The so-called "power" essentially refers to the ability to communicate with the Sacred Tree.

And on this land granted by the Sacred Tree, only the most valorous warrior can please the Sacred Tree and receive its favor.

As for what the Sacred Tree is, that's a long story.

Even the oldest sage in Doma City would take a couple of days and nights to explain it fully.

A man clad in wooden armor entered the hall, knelt down, and said in a muffled voice.

"The Ancestors have awakened."

He is a Warrior within the tribe and one of Tunnan's most trusted guards.

Tunnan looked down at the man prostrate on the steps, and spoke calmly.

"What is his command?"

The guard replied respectfully with a bowed head.

"He instructed the temple maids that no one should enter his resting place without his permission."

Tunnan's expression remained unchanged, and he continued expressionlessly.

"Anything else?"

The guard continued.

"He left someone behind."

Tunnan asked.

"Who?"

The guard replied.

"Dora."

Tunnan glanced aside, the elder standing nearby leaned down and whispered briefly about the maid receiving the Ancestors' favor.

After listening to the elder's words, Tunnan nodded steadily and then looked toward the guard.

"Have any other tribes received our signal?"

The guard clasped his hands and replied.

"A dozen nearby tribes have responded, their Messengers are gathering towards us."

Upon hearing the servant's report, not only did Tunnan's face show joy, but Saquai and the assembled Priests also smiled brightly.

"Bless the Doma Tribe!"

A rough hand slapped the vine-entwined armrest, the burly figure of Tunnan stood up from the throne, full of spirit, striding ahead and standing at the edge of the steps, surveying the gathering of Priests and Nobles within the hall.

This is an unprecedented opportunity.

They would reclaim the entire Forbidden Forest Valley from the "Sinners"!

"This time even the Ancestors stand with us."

"It's time to end centuries of grievances!"

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, walking past the temple murals at the Sacred Tree's root, Night Ten couldn't help but sneeze.

Hearing the sneeze, Dora, walking at the forefront with Fireflies hovering around, turned around, looked at him with concern, and asked softly.

"Are you okay?"

"It's nothing... continue with the story about the Sacred Tree."

Night Ten mumbled.

Wonder if it's an illusion.

He constantly felt like someone was thinking about him...

Chapter 1008: Tree of Yenshof

Two hundred years of history can't be explained in a few words, especially since the survivors on this planet have not only forgotten the language of the United Human, but have even lost the written script.

However, to Night Ten's surprise, even though these Forest People are almost "illiterate," they have still managed to record their culture and history using their own methods.

It is a series of cracks carved at the base of the Sacred Tree, the sharply defined patterns crawling over every inch of the "Temple" walls.

Like a mural.

Initially, Night Ten thought those patterns were naturally formed designs, until he witnessed with his own eyes the sharply defined lines slowly grow with his arrival.

It seemed to be happening simultaneously, making it hard to distinguish which came first.

Just like the phenomenon he encountered in the HyperSpace Passage...

"The Sacred Tree is the Tree of Yenshof, the Mother of all things. Its roots spread throughout the forest, the entire world, even forming our world… and at this moment, the Sacred Tree above us is merely the part exposed to the outside, or a young shoot sprouting from the soil."

Dora recounted about the Sacred Tree with a gentle voice.

Night Ten was surprised to find that, with continuous communication with her, her proficiency in the United Human language was increasing at an astonishing rate, even more impressive than that of the old man named Saquai.

If "Spiritual Energy" exists with a division of levels, that old man is probably around Level 10, while she must be at least Level 30.

Of course, it's also possible that young people learn things faster.

"I think I understand… if comparing it to a higher-dimensional being, what we see as the Sacred Tree is merely one of its projections in the three-dimensional world, while other parts exist in dimensions we cannot see, is that the meaning?"

Dora was momentarily puzzled, initially seeming not to understand, but soon she reacted, smiling and gently nodded.

"That's the initial explanation."

Night Ten asked in confusion.

"Initial explanation?"

Dora gently nodded and spoke with a serene voice.

"Dimension is a very ancient term for us. A long time ago, you or your people taught us to understand the existence of the Tree of Yenshof, how to communicate with it, how to nurture it, and then become its branches."

Night Ten roughly understood her meaning.

In other words, after the Twin Missile Cruiser or colonists who survived the three-year War discovered the existence of the "Tree of Yenshof," mastered the ability to communicate with it, and explained it using the physical theories of United Human, they then passed this digested knowledge to their successors.

But the puzzling part is, why didn't they continue to use the Gaia name, but separately invented a proprietary term to distinguish from the original name?

Were they trying to indicate Gaia has already died?

Or that it evolved into another existence.

Or maybe the initial perception of Gaia by United Human inherently had a bias, and they repaired the original theories.

Seeing the Ancestors remain silent, Dora turned her gaze towards the wall composed of tree roots in front of her.

The Fireflies floating around her seemed to be pulled by an unknown force, slowly flying forward.

They gathered in the air, like a finger resting on a book page, frozen at the first line when the article began.

"In long-enduring times, we found a new way of life, later we walked towards the forest, abandoning everything to start anew. From the day of the Second Judgment onwards, we used the growth patterns at the base of the Sacred Tree to record the teachings of the Sacred Tree and past events."

Second Judgment Day?

Night Ten furrowed his brow slightly and asked in confusion.

"Wouldn't such abstract patterns lead to information recording biases?"

"No," Dora shook her head and continued with a gentle tone, "Symbols are just forms, we can establish connections with the past through invisible ties."

Upon hearing this, Night Ten was completely astonished.

Damn.

He managed to establish contact with the Orion Missile Cruiser's crew, who were also in the HyperSpace Passage, under extremely coincidental circumstances.

Yet these people are born with this ability?

But that's not right.

If they could establish a connection with the past, transplant the research technologies of the future to the past, and then reverse apply them in the future, wouldn't that be like using your right foot to step on your left foot to reach the sky?

However, the situation he saw clearly wasn't like that.

At least according to the description by the Doma Tribe, these Forest People's technological capabilities are far inferior to the "Valley People" next door.

Seemingly noticing the confusion on Night Ten's face, Dora continued speaking in a gentle voice.

"The information that can be transmitted is limited, it must be about things that are equally believed, equally confusing, and equally contemplating. Thus, when this connection is established between different times and spaces, the information we obtain from the past is more concrete, while the enlightenment received from the future tends towards abstraction."

As the exchange progressed, her understanding of the language seemed to increase, even able to articulate concepts that Night Ten himself wasn't entirely able to comprehend.

After listening to her exposition, Night Ten sincerely praised.

"Even so, it's quite impressive."

Validated by the ancestors, Dora's face lit up with a joyful smile, and she continued in a cheerful voice.

"These are all patterns we've discovered since you left... As you can see, we haven't stopped our exploration."

Night Ten nodded and continued to ask.

"Is this a special ability of the Doma Tribe? Or... everyone?"

"All tribes in the forest are like this," Dora said softly, "Although we have not yet found a way to awaken this ability in everyone, as long as we live under the Sacred Tree, members with similar abilities will continuously emerge from our tribe, ranging from fifteen or sixteen to as many as forty or fifty, and I am one of them."

Night Ten suddenly realized that his initial impression of them was inaccurate.

He originally thought that the emergence of those special abilities hindered their understanding of the universe around them, but now it seems the reality is quite the opposite—

Their vision was not obstructed by an invisible hand; instead, by standing on the shoulders of giants, they saw further and even tapped into parts of the universe not yet fully understood by themselves or even the United Human Prosperity Epoch.

Communicating with plants to accelerate their growth, reconnecting with lost technologies from the past, and even establishing links with parallel worlds to gain insights from the future... These guys might be even more impressive than he imagined!

It's just that their starting point was significantly lower.

Indeed, this "convenient ability" hindered their discovery of natural sciences.

However, once they build a relatively mature scientific research system through years of natural observation, this enhanced perception might instead become a catalyst for accelerating breakthroughs in their science and technology, making those serendipitous "flashes of inspiration" happen more frequently.

Not only in the scientific field.

Politics, economics, culture, military, industry... and all other fields, this ability has the potential to become a catalyst.

This talent is simply awesome!

The more Night Ten thought about it, the more shocked he became, even entertaining the notion of "this kid must not be left unattended," but suddenly he came to his senses.

Speaking of stepping outside the settings and framework of the game itself, aren't "players" precisely such beings?

As a matter of fact, the existence of players indeed propelled the alliance's scientific, political, economic, cultural, military, and other fields to flourish, and in a dramatic way!

Under their influence, the alliance achieved in just a few short years what other survivor forces might take decades to accomplish.

Night Ten was completely shocked upon realizing this.

Good heavens.

The amazing one is actually me?!

Dora looked puzzled at the ancestor who suddenly fell silent, blinking her expressive eyes curiously.

This guy is always like this.

He would suddenly fall silent while speaking or stand there alone, seemingly lost in conversation with someone.

However, she didn't wait too long before the ancestor standing in front of the "mural" in the temple seemed to come back to his senses, looking at her sincerely and saying.

"Thank you... This information is very important to us."

"We've always remembered your teachings and have never neglected our communication with the Sacred Tree." Dora nodded slightly with respect, a joyful smile on her face.

In the time that followed, Night Ten asked many more questions.

Especially about the origins of the various tribes in the forest, the enmity between the forest tribes and the valley tribes—the so-called "sinners," and what exactly "from the sky" referred to.

For all these detailed inquiries, the temple maiden named Dora patiently answered them one by one.

According to her, the people living on this land are the fortunate children who survived thanks to the grace of the Tree of Yenshof.

Before this, known as the "Old Epoch," this planet once belonged to the "Ancestors" from the sky.

Back then, people had various skin colors, different beliefs, spoke almost the same languages of the Old Epoch, and lived in a paradise unimaginable now...

Until the coming of the first "Day of Judgment," countless blazing suns descended from the sky, turning the prosperous surface world into ashes, completely destroying everything of the Old Epoch, with only a few young survivors left on the land.

Just when the world fell into despair, the branches of the Tree of Yenshof emerged from the soil, extending the first tender sprout toward the gray sky.

No one knows where He came from, or perhaps He had always been there, living beneath people's feet.

He had merely slept for too long, forgetting the concept of time, until recently, when He was awakened.

Faced with a world gradually dying, He mercifully performed miracles, bestowing His followers with green skin, allowing them to bask in the sunlight for sustenance during those years without food.

Moreover.

Under the miraculous effects of His actions, the dead world gradually began to rejuvenate, transforming the vast barren land into a forest within just two short decades.

A new Epoch was thus ushered in.

People who survived the Day of Judgment, for some reasons, forgot all about the past, including the language and history of the Old Epoch.

Even the memory of the Day of Judgment and the "Ancestors" was recounted by the Tree of Yenshof.

Of course, these events took place later.

At the outset of the new Epoch, people had not yet realized the existence of the "Tree of Yenshof," and those with newly acquired skin color barely survived, living more like animals.

This is exactly why Dora refers to this initial period as the "Barbaric Era."

People at that time were like beasts, the only difference between them and primitive animals was just that their cries were somewhat unique.

Upon hearing this, a cold sweat had already broken out on Night Ten's back.

It was clear that these folks had completely forgotten about the three-year war and events preceding it, to the extent that they still viewed these "Ancestors" through a lens of reverence.

If they were to find out that the so-called "Judgement Day" was actually the neutron radiance emitted by the United Space Army, one wonders if they would continue to gaze at their Earth companions with such worshipful eyes.

On the other hand, Night Ten was almost certain that these "little green people" were actually transformed Earth people.

The "Tree of Yenshof" likely altered their genes, seemingly granting them photosynthesis or similar capability, which helped them survive through that rough era.

But then again, is photosynthesis really something that humans can achieve?!

On Earth, he had only heard of certain nudibranchs being able to photosynthesize, like some sea slugs... Yet even in sea slugs, this is achieved with the help of algae cells, not entirely by themselves.

However, these little green people also don't rely solely on their own strength to perform photosynthesis; they still need to eat.

Night Ten suddenly felt the urge to borrow a bit of DNA from this young lady in front of him for research.

Not for any other reason.

Purely out of curiosity.

Unaware of the strange thoughts running through the mind of the Ancestor before her, Dora looked at Night Ten and continued to speak.

"In the third decade after that, which is the fiftieth year of the Barbaric Era, we saw the Ancestors again. They appeared suddenly, seventeen in total, dressed in armor like yours, speaking the same language as you."

"They helped us a lot, taught us how to make fire, taught us to hunt, and most importantly... With their help, we realized our uniqueness among all things, ignited... the spark of civilization, and discovered the existence of the Tree of Yenshof."

"Was it they who helped you find the Tree of Yenshof?" Night Ten looked at her in surprise, a bit at a loss over this piece of information.

Could these seventeen people be the crew of the Gemini?

The crew of the Orion were already confirmed to be dead, so these could only be the living humans on the other side.

If he remembered correctly, the crew onboard the Gemini missile cruiser were supposed to be "Extreme Conservatives," yet they actively helped these surface-dwelling survivors in seeking aid from what seems to be "Gaia"?

This is like seeing the Sun rise in the west.

Of course, it could also be that the situation wasn't as absolute as he thought; perhaps not everyone on the Gemini missile cruiser was an Extreme Conservative.

Moreover, by calling the discovery on this planet the "Tree of Yenshof," they might have already acknowledged its difference from Gaia.

Or maybe they just wanted to use the ability of the "Tree of Yenshof" to drag down their fellow humans who had almost regressed to monkeys from the trees.

Interestingly enough, Night Ten hadn't expected those seventeen surviving crew members to drift in space for thirty years before landing.

He and Jiang Xuezhou had always assumed that the "Gemini's fall" and the "Orion event" happened simultaneously, or at least around the same period.

Feeling he was getting closer to the truth of history, Night Ten couldn't help but probe further.

"And then?"

In a soft storytelling manner, Dora continued.

"Then, with the help of the Tree of Yenshof, we understood each other, and with their help, gradually mastered the method of communicating with the Tree of Yenshof as well as all things, perfecting our language."

"It was our first realization of our existence and our place in the world... In your words, we took merely ten years to walk a path that originally would have taken a thousand years, and we thus termed that period as the 'Awakening Era.'

The Awakening Era, indeed.

Night Ten had thought she would use the term "Prosperity Epoch."

Facing the line upon line of angular growth patterns on the wall, a hint of nostalgia washed over Dora's eyes.

Those spiritual eyes seemed to truly return to that era, the "Prosperity Epoch" belonging to the people who lived upon this land.

"Those were truly wonderful times; back then, we all lived together in the Forbidden Forest Valley. And it was during that time the Tree of Yenshof informed us that we originated from a certain star in the sky, where our ancestors resided. Quarrels over certain matters once arose, leading to the arrival of Judgement Day, but the future is bright, and we will reunite someday."

"However, the good times didn't last long... In the second decade of the Awakening Era, our Ancestors experienced a serious disagreement, and this rift ultimately led to the prophecy of Judgement Day reoccurring."

At this point, a tinge of sadness washed over Dora's face, and she sighed lightly, continuing.

"Some of the Ancestors left the Forbidden Forest Valley and ventured deeper into the woods, while the remaining Ancestors continued to live with us. Shortly thereafter, a burning palace fell from the sky, destroying the Sacred Tree in the Forbidden Forest Valley—the branch left by the Tree of Yenshof on the surface."

"Our misfortunes began then, as the forest caught fire, flames consumed everything, tens of thousands perished in the blaze, and only a few survived... The ones who had left the Forbidden Forest Valley returned with weapons to reclaim the Sacred Land from us, imprison the remainder, offer sacrifices, and exile us."

"Fortunately, it was only the branch of the Tree of Yenshof that was burned, and its children had long foreseen the dangers ahead through the mists of time. Those of us who left the Forbidden Forest Valley established a new home in the more expansive forest."

"In contrast, the Sacred Land that the Sinners wrested from us became their prison. Without the protection of the Sacred Tree, they found it hard to take a step in the forest; everything in the forest became their enemy. In order to survive, they had to compete with birds and beasts for wild grass seeds, barely subsisting in cold stones..."

Upon hearing this, Night Ten involuntarily swallowed.

"You do not hate us?"

"Why should we hate you?"

Dora looked at Night Eleven with a puzzled gaze, speaking with a gentle voice.

"Without you, we might never realize the difference between ourselves and beasts, nor live today in prosperity and abundance. And the Tree of Yenshof has warned us more than once that we should learn from past memories rather than letting past disasters replay."

Staring blankly at Dora, Night Ten suddenly felt a pang of guilt in his heart, unsure how to face that simple gaze.

Perhaps Jiang Xuezhou was right.

He really messed things up.

There were clearly better choices in front of him, yet he unhesitantly chose the worst one.

Even though, in his view, he was just turning a blind eye deliberately.

In his subconscious, he only wanted to inherit the near-infinite power from the Human Alliance Era, but he unconsciously forgot the comrades who once fought alongside him, entrusting him not only with the "ship key" to the Orion Missile Cruiser but also with the responsibility they once carried.

They entrusted this starship to him because they trusted him.

Fortunately, when he realized this, it was not too late.

There's still a chance to make amends.

"...I might have done something bad." Night Ten took a deep breath, looked at Dora with a serious expression, and said, "Do you have a way to contact the sinners in the valley?"

Dora was stunned, looking at him puzzled.

"Contact the sinners... Why?"

She couldn't understand.

Since the ancestors have chosen them, why seek their enemies?

"I want to talk to them."

Looking at the confused face, Night Ten sincerely said.

"Perhaps, I can help end this 200-year feud and bring the whole incident to a more complete finish—"

There are actually many ways.

Especially with the identity of "ancestors."

At worst, he could coax Jiang Xuezhou, admit fault, and have her cooperate with him in another act of deceit.

Trusting her kindness, she surely wouldn't refuse!

Dora looked at him blankly, her lips moved slightly as if she was about to say something.

But just then, a respectful yet authoritative voice suddenly came from behind the two.

"It's already too late, respected ancestor, there's nothing to discuss with the sinners."

"You want to defy my will?" Night Ten's face fell, shamelessly uttering words even he found juvenile.

However, these exaggerated words seemed to have some effect.

Before "mortals," "gods" indeed have some divine might.

Even if this mortal was not your average mortal.

Standing at the entrance of the temple, Tunnan remained silent for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth to continue.

"I dare not defy your will, but for the future of your children... please sleep."

Hehe.

That was easier said than done.

Night Ten sneered, his right hand already on his waist, drawing out a gun.

This guy is refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit.

Admit these guys have something, like that green crystal lance and the uncanny "psychic ability."

But hoping to tackle his "long guns and artillery" with just these tricks is somewhat wishful thinking.

Of course, he didn't plan to do anything to that "Little Ah Guang" nor thought of taking that guy out, but showing a bit of force was necessary.

Brother Guang riding on his neck he acknowledged, but you dare to try too?

However, just as Night Ten thought this, he heard Jiujiu's voice coming through the door.

"Brother, I ate your takeaway!"

"Haha... anyway, you couldn't hear, leaving you a chicken bone."

A weight on his head, Night Ten's expression suddenly changed, a [Connection Abnormal] icon already appearing before his eyes.

"What the—?!"

Disconnected?!

This is not how we play!"

Chapter 1009: Abducted by "Aliens"?

"What the hell? Bro, weren't you online?"

The bedroom door burst open with a bang.

Watching his older brother charge out of the room, Ye Jiu, who was nibbling on chicken feet, was startled, nearly dropping the half-eaten chicken foot.

"Bro, it's not what it looks like; I actually called for you..." Seeing his brother's darkened face, Ye Jiu said softly with some guilt, but noticed that the former's attention wasn't on the opened take-out box at all.

"I can't get online."

"Can't get online?!" Ye Jiu froze, murmuring softly to herself, "How come you always run into all the good stuff..."

"Good my ass, nothing good about it."

Plopping down on the sofa, Ye Wei didn't care about any take-out and just urged his sister.

"Hurry and try it with your helmet, see if the server blew up."

"Pfft—do you think that kind of thing is possible?"

"Just give it a try."

Unable to resist her brother's urging, Ye Jiu, who had just gotten offline, reluctantly put the helmet back on her head.

Watching his sister go back online, Ye Wei waited anxiously for five minutes, which felt as long as an hour.

Actually, seeing Ye Jiu so motionless, he already had an answer in his heart, but he couldn't help holding onto the one-in-a-million chance that the trouble wasn't just with him.

Unfortunately, that's become impossible.

A moment later, Ye Jiu took off the helmet.

Before she could speak, Ye Wei asked hopefully.

"So? Is it a server issue?"

Ye Jiu gave this guy a look and tossed the helmet aside.

"Obviously, you're the one with the problem."

"..."

Ye Wei sank into the sofa completely, giving up on the unrealistic fantasy of a server failure.

Since the disconnection, he had tried hundreds of times, only to find he couldn't get back.

Previously, he couldn't get offline, but now he can't get online.

Ye Wei felt both amused and exasperated.

"Damn, why do I always get the crappy end of the stick?"

"I'm just as puzzled, this beta test feels so fake, I haven't encountered a single bug..." Ye Jiu muttered, suddenly thinking of something and looking at her brother, "By the way, aren't you pretty close with Brother Guang? Why not ask him?"

Ye Wei sighed, saying.

"I asked, and he said it might be an abnormal status... also mentioned that the new map five light-years away is being tested, it's not under his control, and advised me to get back as soon as I find a chance."

Truthfully, he even felt that Brother Guang cared more about that Orion Missile Cruiser than about him.

The only comfort was that Brother Guang assured him he was alive, no doubt about that.

However, thinking that Jiang Xuezhou was alone five light-years away, he became anxious again.

"Five light-years... even if I wanted to pass a message, it wouldn't get through," Ye Jiu glanced at the ceiling and asked him, "By the way, how come you're in an abnormal status? Ate some poisonous mushrooms?"

Ye Wei: "…How could it be."

Let alone mushrooms.

Even the water he drank was from his own supplies, he hadn't touched a single bit of the "offerings" from these natives.

"Then what's going on..." Jiujiu scratched the back of her head, also puzzled.

Mainly, with her brother's perception attributes, getting ambushed was bizarre enough, and yet he couldn't even get back online.

Ye Wei calmed down to think for a moment, and then said in an uncertain tone.

"I think it might be hypnosis..."

"Hypnosis?!" Jiujiu's eyes widened, "But... not... what would be the point of hypnotizing you."

Ye Wei gave her a glance and ignored her, continuing to analyze coolly.

The use... oh, there's a lot.

Everyone saw the "Ancestor" descend upon Doma City, and saw firsthand the miraculous deeds he brought.

His identity was beyond doubt.

And then he went on to declare, in the name of the "Ancestor"—

The sacred object from the heavens had fallen into the mortal world, landing in the hands of the Sinners in the Forbidden Forest Valley.

If this sacred object isn't returned to the heavens, it will bring disaster to the entire world.

This is an excellent excuse for war.

The leader of Doma City could not only use this pretext to attack the "Sinners" in the Forbidden Forest Valley, but also rally the "heroes" in the entire forest.

Ye Wei felt a sudden throb in his brow.

"Good lord... using the emperor to command the feudal lords?!"

The power armor was not the only one; he had an old set in his room.

That thing was indeed broken, but as long as someone was strong enough, taking a few steps in it wasn't an issue.

These Barbarians were anything but short on strength.

All Tun Nan needed to do next was to continue turning a blind eye—or simply both eyes—and then find someone to impersonate him, or even do it himself, to make the entire plan proceed smoothly.

But here's the problem, how on earth did these people manage to hypnotize him?!

...

While Night Ten was left puzzled, a group of fully armed guards stood at the entrance of the temple at the root of the Doma City Sacred Tree.

These guards were elites of the Doma Tribe, their gnarled muscles as solid as granite, their wooden vine armor embedded with pieces of dark green crystal, their upright lances resembling beasts' horns.

In terms of equipment or strength, the quality these people displayed could be called excellent.

And not only that—

As Temple Guards, they possessed abilities beyond what ordinary warriors had.

That was psychic ability.

This special ability not only afforded them the talent to communicate with all beings in the world but also gave them the skill to suggest psychological hints and negative emotions to their targets.

For example, making a despairing warrior exhilarated, or making a restless wild deer meekly lower its head.

As for hypnosis.

It was just the basics.

In an unguarded situation, they could even make the "subject" unaware that they had fallen asleep, only realizing it when they found themselves in a dream.

If they used the Tree of Yenshof as a medium for their craft, they wouldn't even need to stand face to face with their opponent.

And hence, even if taking them all down would only require a burst of fire from an assault rifle, the premise was having the opportunity to fire first...

Watching the "iron armor" being carried out of the temple, a trace of fear appeared on Saquai's old face.

At first, when they couldn't take off that suit of armor, he thought Tunnan would give up, but instead, he borrowed the power of the Tree of Yenshof, drew on the past for experience, and ultimately figured out a method to forcibly disengage the power termination.

It wasn't very difficult.

Just need to press on a few critical mechanisms.

After hesitating for a moment, Saquai finally couldn't bear the torment in his heart, looked at the chieftain beside him, and said in a trembling voice.

"…You made a move against the ancestors."

Tunnan's face showed no expression, not the slightest wavering from Saquai's fear.

"So-called ancestors are just stronger people... Moreover, his understanding of the Tree of Yenshof is even inferior to ours, and in strength, he is far inferior to us."

Since the arrival of the second judgment day and the departure of the ancestors, centuries have passed.

During these long years, the people of the Doma Tribe have always remembered the teachings of the ancestors, never neglecting the communication with the Tree of Yenshof.

However, when the ancestors mentioned by the elders truly descended before him, Tunnan, after initial ecstasy and surprise, was left only with disappointment.

It feels…

That's all it is.

The ability to call wind and summon rain certainly shocked him, but they had played with such tricks long ago, and after centuries, it was still the same old thing.

The abilities of the ancestors seem to be limited to this.

Tunnan's disappointment was more than just this.

Their ancestors not only had weak abilities as before, but their understanding of the Tree of Yenshof was also far behind by younger generations.

Even today, the ancestors have not grasped the ability for psychic communication, so they still try to understand the language that has been long abandoned—even discarded, like trying to understand those difficult calls in animal communication.

This is all that Tunnan saw from that person.

Those who once warned them not to slacken the research of the "Tree of Yenshof" now live like the sinners in the valley, even more ignorant than the latter.

Looking at the leader with eyes like torches, Saquai lowered his head, with a bitter expression, said.

"The Tree of Yenshof told me that this might bring disaster to our tribe, I saw the future, there was fire both in the heavens and on the earth, and many bodies..."

"I saw the same scene you saw, but what I saw were the bodies of our enemies. We will return the sacred object of the ancestors to its rightful owner, but in our way, not being manipulated by them."

Saying this nonchalantly, Tunnan spoke the words in a flat tone.

He had already triumphed over the gods, soon he will also triumph over the sinners abandoned by the gods.

The thousands of tribes in the forest will become unified, and he will become the human emperor passed down and sung among the people.

Such a future also exists.

Moreover, he had personally seen it through the branches of the Tree of Yenshof, among the myriad leaves.

Looking at the indifferent leader, Saquai let out a soft sigh, closed his mouth, and ceased to speak further.

The possibilities of the future are many, as numerous as the leaves on the Tree of Yenshof.

The Tree of Yenshof granted them the eyes to glimpse the entire crown, yet never expected that its smartest child would be blinded by a single beautiful leaf...

At this moment, a graceful young girl emerged from the entrance of the temple.

Walking up to Tunnan and Saquai, Dora nodded slightly and said.

"The ancestors sleep soundly and have not woken up."

Upon hearing "sleep soundly," the corners of Tunnan's mouth curled into a faint sneer, but he quickly restrained it.

Looking at the beautiful temple maiden, he expressionlessly issued the order.

"From today onward, you will attend to his daily needs, fulfilling his every request, except not allowing him to leave the temple. Otherwise, you and your family will be subjected to severe punishment."

Dora lowered her head even further and respectfully said.

"At your command."

...

The atmosphere of war enveloped the entire forest, even the birds perched on branches unconsciously softened their singing.

In the name of the "ancestors," representatives sent by various tribes within the forest gathered under the Sacred Tree of Doma City, convening a meeting using psychic abilities bestowed by the Tree of Yenshof.

During the meeting, they communicated silently, sharing insights obtained from the Tree of Yenshof and the sacred teachings of the ancestors.

In the dream of revelations, they saw the fire and death Saquai had once seen, and the forest transformed into ruins.

Undoubtedly, it was the third judgment day.

And according to the divine decree descended by the all-powerful ancestors, the beginning of the third judgment day was because of the sacred object left on the land of sinners.

To prevent disaster, they must retrieve the lost sacred object before everything becomes irretrievable, and reclaim their "sacred land" from the sinners!

In fact, they should have done this long ago!

The result of the meeting was no surprise, the tribes in the forest unanimously agreed to send troops against the Forbidden Forest Valley, and elected "Tunnan" as the leader of all tribes.

Thus, a mighty army began to assemble in the direction of Doma City.

At the same time, to respond to the invasion from the forest tribes, the Senate of the "Qiu Kingdom" also held an emergency meeting, mobilizing young people from various clans to join the army, preparing to resist the invasion of the Forest People.

It was at this tense moment that a young man carrying a bow and arrow stepped into the Forbidden Forest surrounded by mountains.

Due to the unique geographical conditions of being backed by mountains and rivers, this forest was far more dangerous than any other forest beyond the valley.

Even experienced hunters wouldn't easily venture into the depths of this forest.

Actually, Qiu Ridge didn't want to enter this land.

Yet he had no choice but to do so.

The Qiu Kingdom was already on the brink of survival; he must find the sacred object in the Forbidden Forest before everything becomes irreversible and return it to the forest tribes to quell their anger.

This is not only what the Senate expects but also what the "ancestors" have decreed.

According to the ancestors, only this could save the living creatures within this forest.

Though he harbored some doubt about this optimistic thought, Qiu Ridge still decided to complete the ancestors' "Trial."

After all, this was one of the few things he could do right now.

Whether it succeeds or not, he has to give it a try.

Thankfully, the ancestors did not leave him to face the beasts in the forest alone.

Under the guidance of that flying silver metal disc, he found a "divine bow" with the Power to Split Mountains and Rocks on the plains outside the valley, as well as some "branches" that could summon flames.

With these two divine artifacts, he traversed the forest as if walking on flat ground, and with his rich patrolling experience, soon found the supposed location of the sacred object that "emanated divine aura".

However, to his surprise, what he saw was not a sacred object, but the burning palace that fell from the sky during the second judgment day!

Fear flickered in Qiu Ridge's eyes, even trepidation, hesitating at the dark entrance, not daring to move forward.

In contrast, on the bridge of the Orion Missile Cruiser floating in synchronous orbit, a cheer of excitement erupted.

"Found it!"

Facing the holographic screen of the terminal, Jiang Xuezhou excitedly clenched her fist, unable to help but give a shout of cheer.

Through the camera of the drone, she clearly saw the wreckage of the Gemini!

Green vines crawled all over the rusty steel hull, yet couldn't hide its majestic aura.

Looking at the bewildered youngster hesitating at the entrance of the "ruins," she suppressed her excitement and coaxed with a mysterious tone.

"What we are looking for is right there… inside the temple before you!"

"Find it!"

"Then, bring it out intact!"

-

(I'm at a year-end party for Qidian, caught a red-eye flight, and just slept when I arrived at the hotel. Woke up and started writing, only managed to write 4K words, apologies brothers, I'll try not to take leave. QAQ)

Chapter 1010: Heart to Heart

With a skeptical heart, the young man carrying the bow and arrow ignited the "fuel rod" granted by the Ancestors and groped his way into the interior of the starship wreckage.

The silver disk in his hand projected a faint blue light forward.

Tiny particles of light gathered in the air to form an arrow-shaped icon, guiding him onward.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xuezhou, sitting in the bridge of the Orion Missile Cruiser, was munching on a compressed biscuit while remotely directing the native young man.

The whole process was like playing a first-person perspective RPG game.

If Night Ten were here, she would surely complain about it.

Not just first-person; when necessary, she could make the "drone" in the young man's hand fly back, switching to a third-person view.

Just as Jiang Xuezhou was enjoying the game, the ship's server suddenly received a message, appearing as a pop-up on the holographic screen in front of her.

[Investigation Report on "Tree of Yenshof," Forest People Tribe, and the unique "Psychic Ability" of the locals]

Upon seeing this pop-up, Jiang Xuezhou's eyes lit up, and she gently coughed, speaking into the communication channel.

"I'm out of power—what I mean is, my magic is not enough; you explore on your own for a while. Remember to mark the explored areas when you come out for a break from the ruins, and place the silver metal disk in the sunlight."

Qiu Ridge: "?"

Jiang Xuezhou, having dropped this line, didn't wait for the native young man's response, and eagerly clicked on the investigation report uploaded by Night Ten.

In the report, Night Ten detailed the explanation of the Doma Tribe Temple Maiden about the "Tree of Yenshof," and the series of events that occurred during the "Era of Wilderness" and "Era of Awakening."

[For some reason, the locals forgot the language and history of the Human Alliance Era. My speculation is that most of those who survived the war were children whose traits were not fully developed, or even newborn infants. Gaia, or rather the Tree of Yenshof, altered the genes of these children, granting them the ability to perform photosynthesis under specific circumstances, allowing them to survive the aftermath of the war. However, without parents, the transmission of civilization and knowledge was interrupted.]

[Conversely, that gene modification granted some of the surviving newborns the special ability of "mental induction," henceforth referred to as "Spiritual Energy."]

[Through this special ability, they can directly communicate with each other using mental induction, communicate with other living beings in nature, communicate with the Tree of Yenshof, and even connect the past and the future.]

[This special ability accelerated the civilization process of the locals to some extent, even though they were not aware of the existence of this special ability. Boosted by "Spiritual Energy," they quickly invented a new language, forming a large tribal community through the cohesive power of the new language and culture.]

[The timeline arrived at the Awakening Era, with the landing of surviving crew members of the Gemini Missile Cruiser as a watershed. With the assistance of 17 Gemini crew members, the local survivors fully comprehended the "Spiritual Energy" talent and truly recognized the existence of the Tree of Yenshof, interpreting it as some higher-dimensional existence using dimensional theory.]

[With the help of the Tree of Yenshof, the locals relearned the forgotten history and summarized past memories as the Era of Wilderness, calling the memories after "becoming aware of the existence of myself and it" as the Era of Awakening, until the arrival of the second judgement day.]

[Regarding the Tree of Yenshof, the Gemini's crew had disagreements. Some people left the forest with the "Sinners" who seemingly couldn't sense the Tree of Yenshof, while the rest stayed in the Forbidden Forest Valley with the believers of the Tree of Yenshof, living and recuperating under the original Sacred Tree sprout—namely the Tree of Yenshof.]

[The exact cause of the disagreement among Gemini crew members is not clearly recorded in the temple mural. The history visible through the temple mural by the temple maiden seems not to include this part.]

[According to her words, the foundation of "Spiritual Energy" induction must be built on mutual recognition, and the information that can be exchanged must also be concepts understood by both parties. My understanding is... this spiritual energy is like a teleprompter in both hands, and thus when the connection is established between the past and the present, the present can transmit more information to the past, but relatively has less influence on the future. The past receives less information from the present, but relatively makes more impact on future decisions based on the known information.]

[This is quite similar to our encounter in the "Hyperspace Passage," but not entirely the same.]

[However, although establishing a "Psychic channel" with Gemini crew members seems unlikely, I can still make rough speculations based on limited information: their argument might be related to whether to continue assisting the locals in awakening and whether to take the Gemini back to the Solar System. Ultimately, this argument also concluded with the crash of the Gemini Missile Cruiser into the atmosphere, forcing the forest people to leave the Forbidden Forest Valley, surrendering their ancestral sacred land to the current Valley people.]

"I see... no wonder the forest people call the valley people sinners, and the valley people call the former 'defectors.'" Jiang Xuezhou's lips curled into a smile of admiration as she read the report from start to finish.

Especially the word "report," which greatly satisfied her desire for conquest, easing her temper significantly.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad; it seems this guy is not just staring at the fat meat, but working diligently."

Returning to the report itself.

This defector, does it refer to those who betrayed the United Human?

Although the term United Human has been replaced by "Ancestors" in the "Qiu people's" culture, just as the concept of "dimensions" has been replaced by "higher existence" in forest people's culture, the hatred between the two has been passed down through generations.

To this day, the Forbidden Forest Valley remains both the forest people's sacred land and old shame.

It must be said, it was truly a bad idea for Night Ten to stir up this war out of ignorance.

And this little cleverness might eventually backfire on him.

The Ancestors' palace destroyed the forest people's Sacred Tree, and although they still respected the Ancestors, they clearly revered the "Tree of Yenshof" more.

If there was a conflict between the two, or combined with other factors like territory, secular prestige, and property, she didn't even need to think to guess that the group of forest people would definitely stand on the side of the "Tree of Yenshof" without hesitation.

"Even if the Qiu people returned the 'Sacred object,' the forest people probably wouldn't let it go... When that time comes, if that guy can't get over his conscience and wants to hit the brakes, he might end up pleasing neither side."

Although Night Ten had complained about her being a "saint" more than once, she could actually feel that he was not really cold-blooded, just occasionally a bit clever and impulsive.

If this war really starts, once he sees the scene of corpses strewn everywhere and realizes these people are also descendants of humans, he might start regretting again.

This constantly changing mind, saying he wants it at one moment and then doesn't the next, one moment thinking it's too weak and then too cruel, is actually a sign of immaturity, and it comes at a cost.

Of course, her complaints weren't to say she was much more mature herself.

Especially in terms of honest expression...

"Spiritual energy... sounds like a really convenient ability. If only I could awaken that special ability too."

Leaning back on her office chair, Jiang Xuezhou sighed softly and tapped her index finger on the holographic screen.

"Forget it... better remind that guy."

In consideration of him admitting his mistake...

As Jiang Xuezhou thought about this, a line of pale blue text suddenly appeared in the window.

Looking at the pop-up in the holographic screen, Jiang Xuezhou's face instantly changed, and she reflexively jumped up from her chair.

"Connection lost?!"

What's going on?!

...

The official forum of "Wasteland OL" featured a hot topic discussing a world five light years away, and the title of the post was exactly what Jiang Xuezhou saw on the ship's server—

[Investigation Report on the "Tree of Yenshof", Forest People Tribe, and the Locals' Unique "Psychic Abilities"]

Quit smoking: "Holy crap, psychic energy?!"

Mosquito: "Mind over matter!!! (screaming)"

Gnome King Riches: "Fast forward to the end of the reincarnation. (funny)"

Elena: "Life is fifty years, right? I signed it on behalf of the Alliance. (funny)"

Edge Shoveling: "Damn, your memes are getting harder to understand. (terrified)"

Not only Edge Shoveling, even Night Ten didn't get it this time, maybe because he hasn't awakened any spiritual energy, and didn't establish a "psychic channel" with these bastards.

But looking at the warm-hearted replies, his original anxiety seemed to ease a lot.

Fang Chang had the same suspicion as him, he might have fallen for some kind of hypnosis trick.

It's not some particularly outrageous ability, just a hypnosis effect through psychological suggestion.

Not to mention the "psychic energy" settings in the Game, even in reality without "psychic energy", similar situations exist.

Fang Chang: "... Based on your description, those little green men can understand parts of the United Human language and even Chinese through psychic energy, so it's also possible to hypnotize you with similar principles."

Night Ten: "They can even do hypnosis? (bitter smile)"

Fang Chang: "At least a mind interference device can do that, I feel psychic energy is something similar, so it should also be possible, right?"

Mole on the run: "Speaking of which, I remember that the mind interference device doesn't have much effect on mentally active creatures?"

Wild Wind: "I remember the specific explanation should be, the higher the mental level, the less influence, the more specific the information received."

Debt Giant Eye: "Goodness, you guys are secretly roasting Night Ten again. (manual funny)"

Night Ten: "??"

Fang Chang: "Similar doesn't mean exactly the same, the signals from the mind interference device are after all mechanically simulated, and there should be a difference from true 'psychic energy' talent. I tend to think it's because your guard was too low and those natives took advantage, don't take it to heart too much. (smile)"

Night Ten: "Get lost!"

Looking at this bunch of guys who can't speak anything nice, Ye Wei wished he could roll his eyes to the sky.

At this moment, his peripheral vision glanced at the helmet he had set aside, he took a deep breath and finally picked it up.

It had been five or six hours since he got disconnected, if it were hypnosis, he should have woken up by now.

Let's try again…

Thinking so, for the Nth time, he put the helmet on his head, then mustered all his strength to extend his consciousness into the pitch-black domain, trying to find a way through that darkness.

This was the "technique" he found after countless attempts to log back on.

When the in-game body falls unconscious but isn't comatose, by putting on the Game Helmet and trying to extend his consciousness to the surrounding darkness, he can vaguely perceive the status of the in-game character.

For instance, now he felt a warm and comforting touch emanating from the back of his head.

The warm feeling became increasingly clear, hinting that the seal of the [Connection Abnormality] seemed to be loosening.

Feeling a rush of hope, Night Ten imagined himself as a tadpole, struggling to swim through the impenetrable darkness.

It was at this moment, a gleam of light finally appeared before his eyes, getting brighter and brighter!

In the next instant, he suddenly opened his eyes, waking up from his slumber.

At that very moment, two plump fruits leaped into his sight.

"You're awake?"

A gentle voice came from above his head.

Kneeling on the ground, Dora slightly bent over, a serene smile appeared over those abundant peaks.

By the glow of the fireflies, Night Ten saw that gentle and beautiful face.

It seemed his head was resting on her lap.

At this realization, Night Ten felt no emotional ripples in his heart, let alone to admire that serene smile, instead, his face changed dramatically and he blurted out a "What the hell".

These natives—

They stole his power armor?!

For him at this moment, nothing seemed more terrifying.

Dora slightly tilted her head, seemingly unable to fully comprehend the complex meaning behind "What the hell", but she did understand the reason behind the shock in his eyes.

"The chief removed your armor, he hopes you'll stay here… until it's all over."

She paused for a moment and continued in not-so-perfect United Human language.

"Doma City meant no offense, we... will return the object from the heavens to you unscathed once everything ends, apologize, and... offer you compensation."

Before she finished speaking, Night Ten had already bolted upright from her lap, landing his feet on the ground.

The temple was still the same temple.

But there was now a Table on the ground and two chairs, plus a bed woven from vines.

"How did you guys know how to unlock power armor?"

Looking at the vigilant expression of the Ancestors, Dora maintained her kneeling posture and spoke in a gentle voice.

"It's what you... told us."

What I told you?

Night Ten was momentarily confused, but quickly realized that the "you" referred to the "Ancestors"!

They established contact through spiritual energy with the past "Ancestors" — some or someone among those 17 crew members!

Thinking of the encounters in the hyperspace passage, Night Ten immediately understood what had happened.

Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed a sharp stone, took a step forward, and pressed it against Dora's neck, threatening her in a cold voice.

"Take me away from here!"

Looking at the menacing Night Ten, Dora said nothing, and quietly closed her eyes.

The leader had instructed her to fulfill all his demands, which naturally included dying for him.

She would have no complaints.

Seeing her ready to sacrifice herself, Night Ten suddenly lost his temper.

What's the point of killing her?

This person is just a maid.

Tunnan wouldn't care, and might even send another maid for him to vent his anger.

Talking about human rights in the primitive tribe is a foolish thing; there, the difference between people and items is just that people can speak.

Those who command spiritual energy are merely more expensive items.

At this moment, Night Ten felt as if he had punched into a piece of cotton, grinding his teeth for a while, and finally threw the stone in his hand fiercely against the temple wall.

The root-entwined wall made a dull "thud", but left no trace.

There's no metal nearby.

If there were, he might even manage to blast this wall to pieces with one shot.

Of course, this wasn't his only skill.

Apart from the railgun, he could also deliver a shock to this damned tree with electrical therapy.

Yet expecting to carbonize a sacred tree as tall as a skyscraper with that little electricity is quite unrealistic.

People outside wouldn't just wait.

Even if the natives might not understand what electricity is, once they realize he caused trouble, they might use their old method to put him back to sleep, and maybe even sustain continuous spells.

After waiting for a long time without the arrival of death, Dora slowly opened her eyes and looked at the solo brooding "Ancestor".

A gentle trace of concern appeared on her face, and she spoke in a very soft voice.

"You are a... kind person, you don't bear to kill me, even though you could."

Night Ten glanced at her, gave a self-deprecating chuckle, and said hoarsely.

"Is this what they say about good people not being rewarded..."

Alright.

He couldn't really be considered a good person; perhaps saying good and evil will be rewarded is more accurate.

Looking intently at him, Dora continued in a soft voice.

"Why don't you want to follow the leader's orders... we're not planning to harm you, and were intending to help you."

"Help me?" Night Ten sneered, sarcastically responding, "This is how you help me?"

Dora gently nodded, softly continuing.

"The tribes in the forest are gathering, we will soon unite again, to reclaim the sacred object in the sky from the sinners and return it to you. Our leader also said, to satisfy all your demands... except for leaving here, you can do anything to me."

Looking at that obedient and charming face, Night Ten coldly replied.

"I'm not interested..."

Besides, he couldn't really do anything.

Bah.

Even if he could, he wouldn't.

Unlike Debt Giant Eye, he's a man of principle, and has always been.

Seeing Night Ten unmoved, Dora did not force herself, just quietly waited there.

Time passed, second by second.

As time went on, Night Ten became increasingly anxious.

The biggest problem now is that he didn't know what's happening outside, maybe war mobilization is underway, or possibly the exterminating battle between Forest people and Valley people has already begun.

Not to mention he's been lying there for so long, he didn't even know what's going on with Jiang Xuezhou.

He actually worried more about her, especially fearing she'd do something irrational.

What to do?

Night Ten's mind spun rapidly, countless thoughts flashing through his brain in just a few minutes.

As he paced back and forth before the temple mural, Dora suddenly spoke again with her gentle voice.

"Is there something I can do for you?"

Not thinking this person could really help him, Night Ten impatiently tossed out a remark.

"What can you do for me?"

Dora replied respectfully.

"Anything."

Night Ten chuckled coldly.

"Release me then?"

Dora softly replied.

"Except that."

Night Ten pursed his lips.

"Then visit Forbidden Forest Valley for me."

He said this casually, not really expecting her to go.

Besides, what's the use of going?

A temple maiden, could she really mediate between two tribes on his behalf?

Not to mention that he's not certain if he possesses such capability himself.

Yet to Night Ten's surprise, Dora gently nodded and stood up.

"If it is for you, I am willing to go there."

Night Ten was stunned.

He turned to look at Dora, eyes intently fixed on her clear and pure eyes, only managing to squeeze out a sentence after a long pause.

"Are you serious?"

Dora nodded again, speaking in a gentle voice.

"You can't leave, you'll just be sent back by the leader's men outside with a flick of his finger, even if I want to help you leave, you can't get out of this temple..."

She paused, looking into Night Ten's eyes, and continued in a sincere tone.

"But I can leave... the leader instructed me to fulfill all your demands, I will do anything for you."

The sincere voice carried a hint of cunning.

Clearly, she realized that by doing so she might betray the leader's real intentions.

But Dora believed that the Ancestor before her was a kind-hearted person.

Besides, she had believed so since the moment she first saw him.

Even if not every word he said was true.

"I can feel you are serious, you truly wish to assist us through difficult times, treating us as your children... just as it was at the beginning of the Awakening era."

"We... are actually all the same."

Night Ten blankly stared at the serene and devout face, suddenly recalling what Jiang Xuezhou had told him before—

They can understand things beyond language!

Even things language cannot express...

In a certain sense, "psychic ability" is indeed a handy skill.

The bridge connecting hearts, greatly reducing the trust costs within their community.

If a counter-example must be found, Poluo Province might be one, where the actual cohesion among people is forever just poles apart from the imagined cohesion.

As for a positive example, Giant Stone City might count as half, which is already a unique miracle on the wasteland.

Such incredible levels of cohesion, not even the Alliance has achieved.

Perhaps only by narrowing the "valuation range" to players who've completed newbie tasks can a similar situation be found...

Night Ten felt a myriad of emotions.

Looking at the earnest face, he finally made up his mind and decided to entrust his hopes to her.

Which in truth was also as it should be.

Just like the crew of the Orion entrusted him with the control of the starship—

Though the mistake started because of him, ultimately it belonged to the locals and their fate.

"I need you to help me with something..."

"For the survivors living in the forest, and the survivors living in the valley...

"And for all living beings on this land!"

Chapter 1011: I See You

Outside Doma City, a throng of Forest People gathered under the towering giant trees.

They wore vine wood armor and held emerald crystal spears, standing majestically upon the mountain-like winding roots.

All young and robust warriors from the forest tribes were gathered here, the most valiant hunters and warriors in the entire forest.

Looking out—

The throng was at least twenty thousand, if not thirty thousand!

Since the first Judgment Day, it's the first time such a grand army has been organized on this land.

In the tribal era when writing was yet to be invented, such a large number was even more unimaginable.

Looking at the seemingly endless military force, Tunnan felt his heart surge with emotions.

Spurred by the rising emotions, he stood on high ground and raised his strong voice, rallying the tiger-wolf division that was like a sea of forest.

"People of the Forest—!"

"The Sinners have not only burned our Sacred Tree, stolen the Sacred Land given to us by the Tree of Yenshof, but also brazenly stole the treasure from the sky, robbing the sacred object belonging to the Ancestors!"

"To save the forest from disaster, to prevent the arrival of the third Judgment Day, we must seize back the sacred object in their hands! Reclaim our Sacred Land! Solve the root of this disaster once and for all for our descendants!"

"It's time to resolve the grudges since the beginning of the Awakening Era!"

The thunderous roar shocked the entire forest and resonated in the hearts of all the Forest People present.

It was also the ability given to him by the Tree of Yenshof—

The ability to inspire people!

Pairs of eyes watching him burn with boiling battle intent, issuing clear shouts as a response to their common leader.

"Oh oh oh!!!"

Seeing the roar like a mountain and tsunami, the chieftains among the crowd sensed something was amiss, yet kept their faces stern, neither voicing objections nor saying anything else.

Tunnan was right.

They had tolerated the Sinners again and again, and the result was the latter pushing their luck, time after time.

If so, it'd be better to settle both old and new scores together, completely resolving all troubles.

As for whether Tunnan had other schemes...

In the face of the threat of the third Judgment Day, such concerns can be temporarily set aside.

At least for now, they needed a leader who could lead them to victory!

Confronting the surging crowd, Saquai, a member of the priests, stood behind Tunnan.

For some reason, he suddenly regretted welcoming the Ancestors into their tribe.

The disaster might not have stemmed from some sacred object falling from the sky, but rather, the Ancestors who came to the ground to search for the sacred object and attempt to help the people evade the calamity.

But now it's too late to say anything.

Saquai sighed inwardly, observing those young ones howling like beasts.

The blessings given by the Tree of Yenshof might not have been entirely benevolent.

For instance, right now, someone had used the bridge linking them together to turn everyone into beasts...

...

Outside Doma City, the wind and clouds surged, and within the city surrounded by giant trees, there was also an atmosphere of bleakness and killing.

For Doma people still in the tribal period, war and hunting had no essential difference; it merely involved different targets.

Men were responsible for fighting, while women, kids, and elders handled logistics.

Under the guidance of priests and maidens, the tribe's people in the city tied sharp crystals onto wooden sticks of various lengths.

The Sinners in the valley were adept at using Bow and Arrow and swords, and even employed savage means to tame ferocious, low-intelligence Wild Lizards, where javelins and lances were most effective against them.

In addition, several priests awakened to "Spiritual Energy" were standing in the "Orchard" praying.

That was a branch of the Sacred Tree's roots, both a place where the Sacred Tree stored nourishment and incubated seeds, and Doma City's granary.

Through prayer, they quickly ripened the fruit congealed on the roots and, with the help of the children, picked them into baskets, mixed some other plant roots and stems into powder, and dried them into nutrition-rich military rations.

These rations were for the army.

Under the leader's will, the entire Doma Tribe had nearly overnight transformed from economic crop production to war preparation without causing any disturbance.

And this was one of the societal characteristics bestowed upon the forest tribes by "Spiritual Energy."

The societal power was almost monopolized by the Awakeners of Spiritual Energy, while the Awakeners shared a mental connection among themselves.

In a sense, the Alliance also exhibited similar characteristics, only expressed differently and the "Residents of Shelter No. 404" did not monopolize the entire Alliance's power and resources.

Yet these profound sociological insights were still premature for Doma City.

Recently driven down from the tree by the Neutron Yu stream, they had just descended, arguably simple-minded, or less cleverly, could only serve as samples for research.

However, being not very clever also had its advantages.

Though Tunnan hesitated to leverage the Ancestors to command the tribes, he hadn't yet realized that the "Tree of Yenshof" could indeed be used to consolidate power.

Moreover, not only the venerable Tree of Yenshof, his respect for the Ancestors was engraved in his bones.

Even if those Ancestors had lost their value alive, he only considered imprisoning them instead of audaciously killing them.

In other words, he was a man with principles, and once principles were set, he was destined not to become Zayed.

Tunnan wasn't alone in this.

Among his tribe, besides the fanatical believers, there were still those who simply believed in the Ancestors.

These people were willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believed in, rather than inherently disbelieving the scriptures they recited.

Thus, even when the fanatical flames were about to spread across the forest, their internal error-correcting mechanism was still functioning.

And it was functioning positively.

At the root of the Sacred Tree, the entrance to the Temple.

Watching the maid ascend the steps, the guards standing on either side tightened their grips on their spears.

One guard captain, bare-chested, stepped forward and inquired in a muffled voice.

"Has the Ancestor awakened?"

The inquiry wasn't in forest language, but a higher language bestowed by the Tree of Yenshof.

To outsiders, it sounded like a series of bird calls, short or long.

However, every Spiritual Energy Awakeners with the same cultural background could understand what those calls meant.

Dora responded softly.

"Already awakened."

The guard captain continued to ask.

"Did he issue any commands?"

Dora responded gently.

"He doesn't like the tribal food and wants to eat southern wild fruits, and it must be picked by me personally."

The south was far away from the Forbidden Forest Valley.

Although dangerous beasts lurked there, typically, they wouldn't harm Temple Maidens capable of communicating with the Tree of Yenshof.

Communication built upon spirit couldn't lie, so the guards didn't inquire further, merely nodded respectfully before moving aside.

The leader had instructed.

As long as the Ancestor didn't leave the temple, any request made must be met as much as possible.

As long as it was within their capability.

And without threatening the safety of the whole temple...

Dora nodded slightly in acknowledgment, passed through the group of guards, and headed straight toward the tribe's southern gate.

Her words were entirely truthful.

Just not complete.

...

As Dora left the temple, Night Ten sat inside, holding his breath as he stared intently at the temple entrance, carefully listening to the footsteps echoing through the dark corridor.

Luckily, the footsteps, gradually fading, didn't return but vanished at the temple entrance.

Night Ten breathed a sigh of relief, finally relaxing and laying on the woven vine bed.

"It's all up to her performance now."

He had given Dora many tasks.

Besides heading south to pick berries, she was also tasked with finding a silver-gray research ship.

Actually, he wasn't sure how to describe his ride since, whether in appearance or coordinates and longitude, there was no corresponding object or "reference" to aid understanding in the culture of the Doma Tribe.

Fortunately, at this time, Dora's special ability of "mental induction" came into play, establishing a spiritual connection with him as he gestured randomly with his fingers, allowing them to see the research ship through the mist of the consciousness ocean.

It just so happened to be a place she had visited!

Night Ten didn't know exactly how she "saw," but as long as she could understand his meaning, that was good.

As long as they went near that research ship, they could contact Jiang Xuezhou, letting him understand the situation and hopefully help brainstorm some ideas.

Whether choosing a new divine representative to end this war or facilitating negotiations between the Spears and the Forest People in the name of the Ancestors, there was considerable room for action.

If it really couldn't work out, finding a way to rescue themselves first was also viable.

Unveiling Tunnan's conspiracy by his own hands seemed to be a good plan as well.

In any case, Night Ten believed Jiang Xuezhou would make the right choice.

In the hyperspace passage where they couldn't observe each other, they had coordinated seamlessly like this before.

"But speaking of which… why does it feel like once again, I'm not really involved in anything here?"

Lying flat on the bed, Night Ten stared at the fireflies flying overhead, thinking about the series of events that might unfold later. Suddenly, he realized he seemed to be in the awkward position of being "banned" again, couldn't help but make a remark.

Previously, in the hyperspace passage, he had managed to shine for a while, but this time it seemed like he couldn't do anything.

He had an illusion in his mind, that at this moment, he was in a position similar to Luo Yi.

Although everything started because of him, this problem was destined to be resolved by those who came later.

The temple maiden named Dora was the one he chose.

Intuition told Night Ten that similar entities might exist in places he couldn't see— a group of protagonists perhaps chosen by fate or swept into the story.

This would be a holy war initiated in the name of the "Ancestors" and the "Tree of Yenshof".

No one knew how people thousands of years later would describe this epic tale.

Just as Night Ten was thinking about this, a soft creaking sound came from overhead.

The sound was like the leather soles of boots walking on a wooden floor, but to him, it sounded like a jarring laughter.

Of course, maybe that's just his presumption.

The being that made the laughter might not have intended to be sarcastic, even showing some appreciation in its words.

"...You little guys are really interesting, never making me feel bored."

Night Ten's face showed an expression as if he had seen a ghost, bouncing electrically from the bed, looking around suspiciously.

"Who?"

The sound disappeared instantly, as if it had never been there.

Just when Night Ten began to doubt his own judgment, suspecting auditory hallucinations, the complexly sounded creaking once again entered his ears.

Or rather, directly flew into his mind.

"Oh? You can hear my voice?"

The voice seemed to carry a hint of surprise.

Night Ten was about to retort when he suddenly felt a movement under his seat.

The bed board made of woven vines seemed to come to life, twisting the vines began to grow upwards, wrapping his ankles and legs.

Night Ten was suddenly alarmed, about to release an electric current.

The leisurely voice, as if predicting his reaction, once again drifted into his mind.

"Don't panic, I won't harm you... I'm just curious, let me take a good look."

The vines continued to grow upwards, climbing all over his body in just a few breaths.

Surprisingly, although the vine had a rough bark, it didn't hurt him.

"There's a familiar scent on you... a bit like my children, but seems somewhat different... Hmm..."

The slow voice seemed to fall into contemplation, only continuing after a long time.

"I see, I roughly understand... You guys eventually accepted them."

"Nice, nice, you eventually became a bit enlightened... though the process might differ."

It talked to itself, as if seeing things from a long, long time ago.

But for some reason, it hadn't seen through everything, still having parts it couldn't see.

Listening to the murmured soliloquy, Night Ten felt a chill, hands and feet ice-cold.

It woke up!

And noticed him!

That was Night Ten's greatest fear, even more concerning than the bloody conflict between the two tribes!

Since truly, on the whole planet, the only real threat to them seemed to be this unspeakable existence.

Night Ten thought he had been quite careful, yet unexpectedly had exposed his position ultimately.

But when did it all start?

From its words, it seems to have been observing all this for a long time...

To understand the situation at the moment, he swallowed his spit bravely, trying hard to remain calm as he spoke.

"Are you Gaia? Or... the Tree of Yenshof?"

"Are you referring to me?"

The dry voice chuckled softly, continuing slowly.

"Your titles for me always change, but I am who I am... Hmm, how should I explain to you guys."

The ambiguous answer left Night Ten bewildered.

Even confused.

He originally thought Gaia would loathe him, yet unexpectedly it showed no such intention at all.

It seemed not to care at all about what had happened.

Even though the war three years ago nearly led this planet to complete death...

"Actually, Gaia or the Tree of Yenshof... they are me, yet not me. However, for me to specifically explain it to you, this difficulty is no less than your 'attempt to make a girl named Dora understand what a research ship is'."

"I'm not looking down on you, your understanding of 'spiritual energy' is even less than the kids living in this forest, though seemingly your 'smart people' have begun utilizing this ability, systemically and on a large scale... Heh."

The tone carried a faint mockery.

This was probably the first time he genuinely heard the implication of "mockery" from its tone, as if they had done something more boring than self-destruction.

Indeed.

In its view, their self-destruction was way more interesting.

It gradually lost interest, lazily saying.

"I won't do something thankless and meaningless, if curious just seek for yourself the answers that mean nothing to you guys... You're not without success anyway."

"Good luck, foolish materialists."

The vines wrapped around him gradually receded, transforming back into a flat bed.

It was as if nothing had happened.

As if the bed coming to life was just his illusion, just like everything he saw in the hyperspace passage.

Yet, even so, the feeling of being bound remained distinctly lingering on his skin and hair.

Night Eleven said nothing, promptly jumping off the bed, vigilantly looking around.

Finally, he found the source of the sound!

It was never actually a "sound", there was no existence of even a single note.

It was purely a consciousness entity from the start, and the source was the "painting" on the walls surrounding the temple!

The moment he tried to comprehend those symbols, he realized its existence and established a connection with it—

That was the ability granted by Perception Attributes!

He perceived its existence!

The thoughts in his mind gradually became clear, suddenly a realization surged up in Night Ten's heart, as he looked towards a direction of the temple—the spot on the painting.

That was an intuitive sense without reason, he felt someone was looking at him, whispering behind his back, saying things dismissively from a standing position.

No, perhaps it wasn't a person—

But a group!

Almost instinctively, he muttered a line.

"...I see you."

Chapter 1012: Two Paths

Droplets of condensed mist dripped onto moss-covered rocks, causing the rusty alloy panels to creak, and the rustling sounds in the shadows resembled beasts gnawing.

In Qiu Ridge's hand was the "Everlasting" torch, cautiously walking through the cabin wreckage of the Gemini Missile Cruiser, inspecting every corner and the areas available for exploration.

Ever since he stepped into these ruins under the guidance of the Ancestors, a whole week had passed.

During this week, he had searched almost every piece of scattered wreckage in this forest, yet he still hadn't found that legendary "Sacred artifact."

To be honest.

If it weren't for his devout reverence for the Ancestors, he couldn't help but begin to doubt whether the so-called sacred artifact truly existed.

Since he could remember, he had heard the elders in his tribe say that this palace, which fell from the sky, had existed since the beginning of the Awakening Era.

Back then, the Forbidden Forest was not as dangerous as it is now, and occasionally, people from the tribe would go to the "Heavenly Palace" to worship the ancestors, until the wildlife around grew in number and became increasingly dangerous, prompting them to move the worship place to the nearby mountain.

Logically speaking, if there really was a sacred artifact here, the ancestors of the Qiu Kingdom should have discovered it long ago, there was no reason to wait until now.

"Here, there's nothing either..."

After examining the last section of the cabin, Qiu Ridge crawled out from under the pitch-black alloy panel, climbed outside the wreckage, and placed the silver metal disc on his knee, devoutly awaiting the Ancestors' instructions.

Yet this time, even the voice of the Ancestors, which had always guided him forward, carried a hint of frustration.

"Where on earth could it be..."

Logically, it's impossible.

All the wreckage is here; it's impossible for the reactor alone to be missing.

No—

It's not that there's no possibility.

According to the report submitted by Night Ten, after the Second Judgment Day recorded in the Doma City Temple, the "Sinners," led by some Gemini Crew members, fought back to the Forbidden Forest Valley, expelling the survivors who had awakened their spiritual energy to the forest outside the valley.

Feeling the dejection on the other end of the communication channel, Qiu Ridge hurriedly consoled.

"Please don't be disheartened; there's still one last site left... possibly the sacred artifact you're searching for is there!"

He was also quite anxious in his heart, after all, his people were already clashing with the "defectors" in the forest.

Led by a chieftain named Tunnan, those scattered defectors in the forest were united like never before.

They claimed to have received the Ancestors' command, not only to reclaim the sacred artifact for the Ancestors but also to retake the sacred land lost at the dawn of the Awakening Era!

A massive army had already crossed the stream, forming around the Qiu Ridge area he once patrolled.

The people and brothers of Qiu Ridge's tribe were all there, including reinforcements from other clans.

If it weren't for the search for that sacred artifact, he would have wanted to immediately grab the "Divine Bow" granted by the Ancestors, ride his Wild Lizard, and rush back to the front lines to defend his home...

Looking at the young man whose face was full of confidence, Jiang Xuezhou remained speechless against time.

She certainly knew there was one last piece of "wreckage" remaining unexplored, but there couldn't possibly be a reactor in that place.

If you ask why, it's because that's the missile cruiser's bridge, the signal source of the black box...

That is probably the farthest place from the reactor.

She intended to retrieve the black box after finding the reactor and securing the remaining helium-3 inventory, resolving the concerns about fuel for going home.

After all, if you can't go back, recovering the black box would be meaningless.

"You're right, it's not time to give up yet." She took a deep breath, regaining her spirit, "I'll leave the last site to you... First, try to find an entrance into the ruins, and in a couple of days, someone will come to assist you."

Qiu Ridge respectfully replied.

"Understood."

...

The bridge of the Gemini Missile Cruiser was stuck to the side of a mountain, the entire semicircular steel structure completely overturned, leaning against the mountain.

Due to this odd position, the entire entrance to the ruins was suspended in mid-air, making it nearly impossible to climb in without some rock climbing skills.

Entering this ruin was already quite difficult, let alone exploring inside.

The horizontal corridors had all turned into slanting wells.

Moreover, as the Ancestors said, it was the least probable area to harbor the sacred artifact, so Qiu Ridge had not considered this most remote wreckage as his primary exploration target.

Yet now it seems that this most unlikely place might just become their last hope.

Using the vines hanging from the steep alloy wall, Qiu Ridge endured some thrilling climbs and finally reached the entrance of the Gemini bridge wreckage.

A flock of carnivorous birds had nested in this pitch-black opening. Seeing an intruder climbing up, they cawed and swooped down, tearing with claws and sharp beaks.

Caught unprepared, Qiu Ridge nearly fell from the opening. Fortunately, the light projected by the silver metal disc startled the birds, allowing him to seize the opportunity to roll into the hole, then drew a burning fuel rod and swung it, driving away the flock of carnivorous birds.

Watching the cawing birds fly away, Qiu Ridge finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Those beasts would surely come back.

He dared not linger long at the entrance, pulling out the rope bestowed by the Ancestors, he hung it up at a solid spot, then flipped into the slopelike upright corridor, exploring towards the interior of the bridge.

The situation here was a mess.

A lot of debris blocked the entrance, forcing him to descend while trying every means to clear the debris blocking the entrance.

However, during his task, he inadvertently discovered some suspicious details.

At the end of the shaft lay a pile of dark black charcoal.

Someone had lit a fire here!

"There are traces of someone's life here..."

Qiu Ridge pinched a cluster of charcoal residue with his index finger, rubbing it with his thumb, frowning slightly.

"It was left a long time ago."

As for exactly how long ago, he couldn't determine.

At this moment, the silver metal disc hanging on his chest emitted a faint blue beam, scanning the debris on the ground, then scanning the surroundings.

After a brief wait, the voice of the Ancestors drifted into his ears.

"It was left early in the Awakening Era. It should have been right after the Gemini... this palace crashed into the atmosphere."

Qiu Ridge's face showed surprise, not expecting the Ancestors to have such miraculous abilities.

But he was only surprised for a short while before his attention was quickly drawn to a half-open alloy door nearby.

A horizontally lying wooden stick supported the door panel, forming a convenient toggle structure.

He pressed down on the stick, then squeezed through the door gap sideways, entering the room's interior, holding the "Everlasting" torch to look around, soon being shocked by the layout inside.

This inverted room has been transformed into a living area, with wooden tables, chairs, and beds... shaped just like those in their tribe!

And much more refined than what they made!

Perhaps the objects from their tribe were actually learned from here!

"... This is the home of the ancestors." Qiu Ridge murmured to himself, moving the light in his hand and soon noticed the alloy wall covered in withered vines beside him.

Only to see that the rusted alloy walls were engraved with rows of text, yet unfortunately, he couldn't understand what was written.

Not to mention he couldn't understand it.

Even Jiang Xuezhou, sitting at the terminal on the synchronous orbit, couldn't understand it either.

The baptism of time had already rendered those characters blurred and distorted, the remaining scribbles akin to ghostly symbols... Perhaps it's not in the United Humanity's language at all, but some abstract pattern or inherently meaningless doodle.

"What's written here?"

Qiu Ridge asked softly, yet the silver disk hanging on his chest didn't respond.

It seems that even the ancestors had things they didn't know.

But just then, a gentle voice suddenly came from behind him.

"I saw Him."

Startled by the sudden voice, Qiu Ridge turned around abruptly, only to see a girl of similar age standing at the entrance he had previously passed through.

"Who?"

"Dora."

"How did you get in—" Qiu Ridge's words were suddenly halted as he squinted at her, "You're a defector."

Dora stared intently at him without speaking.

As the atmosphere between the two gradually stiffened, the silver metal disk hanging on Qiu Ridge's chest suddenly let out a light cough.

"Don't be agitated, I invited her."

The tense atmosphere relaxed a bit.

Though he hadn't completely let his guard down, Qiu Ridge indeed released his grip on the dagger he had already held.

Dora shifted her gaze from him to the wall behind him.

Following the rusted patterns, she found the first line of the poem and continued to recite softly like a dream.

"I wander in a maze without an exit, unable to find where to go. Until I look up, towards the sky."

"A pair of unseen eyes hide behind the clouds, staring at me for a long time. I finally saw Him, like gazing at the ever-changing clouds, while the clouds gaze at me, like looking at a living mural."

"Both of our faces showed surprise."

Qiu Ridge stared blankly at her, a look of confusion on his face.

"What are you talking about?"

Dora said in a tranquil voice.

"That's the message left by the ancestors, I can understand the symbols he left."

"These characters should form a poem... The poet might want to say that He is the cloud in the sky, we are the mural on the wall."

Qiu Ridge slowly swallowed his saliva, feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp.

He had heard from the elders in the tribe that the defectors in the forest were believers of the "Tree of Yenshof." And with the help of that tree, they could do some supernatural things.

But their abilities were just that.

No matter how rich their spiritual world was, it couldn't compensate for the defectors' shortcomings in the material realm.

Even if these fellows could talk to trees, they wouldn't withstand the fire and swords of Qiu Kingdom.

With the method left by the ancestors, Qiu Kingdom's national strength was thriving!

Sooner or later, they will be able to restore the prosperity before the Wasteland Era and return to the infinitely flourishing olden days!

And by then, these defectors will still be living on the trees!

However...

He had to admit this guy had some skills.

Even if he could "speak beast language," climbing up here wasn't easy.

As Qiu Ridge was thinking, Dora walked to the mural and reached out to fumble on the wall, soon finding the next section of the poem.

"We are all surprised, we wouldn't have met, yet by some mistake, we did."

"He smiled and told me, the exit is not far ahead, but it's useless to cross it, because there's another maze ahead, extending all the way to the end of the world, and I only have a little time left."

"I asked Him how I could float in the sky like Him, I pleaded Him to give me more time, but He laughed and left."

"This encounter had exhausted a lifetime's worth of time, both He and I knew we wouldn't meet again."

Having read the poem to the end, Dora paused for a while, showing a hint of puzzlement on her face.

"Poet, Qiu Shiye... Fifth tribe?"

"What does it mean?" Qiu Ridge asked urgently.

Dora shook her head.

"I don't know... Maybe it's the name of the ancestors?"

While saying this, she looked at the silver disk in her hand.

However, the silver disk did not make a sound, seemingly shaken by the story she translated.

Ancestors are often rather dull, always losing sound mid-speech, something she was already accustomed to, so she patiently waited.

But in contrast, the young man opposite her couldn't wait any longer.

Only then did he notice that she was also carrying something similar to him - the glowing treasure bestowed by the ancestors.

But these weren't the focus, Qiu Ridge was more concerned with the meaning of this message.

Especially when he heard the surname of that ancestor, he couldn't ignore it.

"I mean this poem! What exactly is he trying to express, is the exit of the maze at the end of the world? So we must search beyond the valley?"

Dora's brows furrowed slightly in worry.

"I don't know... I think perhaps the whole poem itself is what the ancestors wanted to express. He wants to say he is the person in the painting, He is the cloud in the sky. He has an uncertain and actually innumerable future, yet can't see the road ahead. He can see everything, but can do nothing, only floating in the sky and watching quietly."

Pausing for a moment, she continued.

"You are too obsessed with the sole result, not every matter has a single explanation."

Qiu Ridge stared at her, still wearing an expression of incomprehension.

In his understanding, everything in the world follows a set of precise laws, and even the inscrutable has its own rules.

And as they delve deeper, the part that is inscrutable will eventually become clearer.

Yet, this person told him that there is no singular explanation.

Perhaps this is why they and the defectors cannot reconcile, as their fundamental understanding of the world is inherently different.

"Perhaps, but I think I understand why, after so many years, we still can't understand each other..."

Qiu Ridge sighed softly, and a touch of relief suddenly appeared on his face.

Looking at the wall full of incomprehensible murals, he remained silent for a while before speaking.

"...But at least, we finally understand the revelations left by our Ancestors."

He paused, withdrawing his gaze from the mural and looking at the girl named Dora.

"I will lead my tribe to the end of the world, to explore farther lands... The Sacred Land is of no use to us anymore, and I will return it to you."

That was something he suddenly remembered.

A long time ago, before the Forbidden Forest became as perilous as it is now, every second Judgment Day of the year, the clans of the Qiu Kingdom would come to this relic to honor their ancestors.

And the Senate, it was during these ancestral rites that it was formed.

Since then, an unwritten legend has been passed down in the Qiu Kingdom.

Their ancestor, the Ancestor with the surname Qiu, left a prophecy for them in the relic.

Whoever could decipher that prophecy would become the leader of the Qiu Kingdom! The "King" who rules all tribes!

Now, under the guidance of the Ancestors, he has come here, and the Senate has witnessed the miracles shown by the silver metal disc in his hand.

Once he leaves here with the information from the murals, he will be the undisputed king of the Qiu Kingdom!

"But where is the end of the world?"

Dora looked at Qiu Ridge, her crescent-shaped eyes carrying a trace of gentle reluctance.

"Since the Ancestors came from the heavens, even if you measure the Earth with your steps, there are worlds beyond the Earth... which you can't reach just by walking."

To devote one's whole life to something so seemingly pointless seemed pitiful to her.

In truth, there was another choice: to accept one another, to become a family again.

However, this was merely her thought.

What seemed meaningless to her might not be so to others.

Moreover, he recognized the reality.

They were destined to be different.

"Then I will walk to the end of my lifespan, to where I can go," Qiu Ridge said with a faint smile, without hesitation, continuing, "As for the worlds beyond, my descendants will see them for me."

This was his destiny.

It was the destiny of all "Qiu people."

They were born to travel to distant lands, to seek the world's end!

Just like their Ancestors.

The world he could not see, he and his descendants would see in his stead!

Dora silently observed the boy before her, ultimately saying nothing more.

As she had said herself, not everything has a singular understanding.

Everything operates under its own rules, but whether it has "meaning" is for people to decide.

What he understood was his "meaning," and that was the "self" that the "Qiu people" had long sought but never found.

Suddenly, she could no longer see his future.

Unbeknownst to her, the connection between them had quietly disappeared.

Qiu Ridge looked solemnly at the girl in front of him and nodded slightly.

That was the highest courtesy in this forest and valley, apart from bowing.

"Thank you for telling me my Ancestor's name, and the words on the tombstone... We will not meet again."

After speaking, he removed the silver metal disc hanging around his neck and gently placed it on the table beside him.

He had fulfilled his promise, searching the entire Silent Forest for the last relic.

If it was not here, it could only mean that the Sacred object was never here from the start.

As for now, he must save his people and lead them out of this valley!

Dora watched his back until he disappeared behind the half-open door.

Her intuition told her that things might not be so absolute, and their descendants would meet again.

But that would be countless millennia in the future...

...

In synchronous orbit, on the bridge of the Orion Missile Cruiser, Jiang Xuezhou, sitting in front of the terminal, took a deep breath and remained silent for a long time.

"The fifth tribe..."

What fifth tribe...

It was clearly "Five Departments"!

As for that Qiu Shiye, perhaps he was like Wu Xinghuan of the Orion, a physicist of the Five Departments.

Only the former's actions were clearly much stronger; not only did he lead a group of Primitive Men without awakened Spiritual Energy to burn down the first "Sacred Tree," but he also nearly wiped out the Spiritually Awakened Ones supporting another group of crew members.

This guy was definitely a madman!

The Gemini might have been crashed by him to destroy that "Sacred Tree"!

Of course, he might not have intended to truly wipe out those Spiritually Awakened Ones, since many "defectors" had fled into the forest and developed into today's forest tribes.

If he had truly intended to exterminate them, he would not have needed to give specific orders; he could have merely turned a blind eye.

With the cruelty and savagery of the Primitive Men, it was impossible for them to leave any survivors.

Even in the early days of slavery, slaves were not primarily used as labor but as human sacrifices and living offerings.

As for the local people's so-called "Second Judgment Day," "You come from the sky"… and other prophecies from the Tree of Yenshof, they were probably all "spoilers" told by It to those who could hear Its whispers.

Of course, limited by their perspectives, those primitive humans could only understand so much.

Jiang Xuezhou remembered that Night Ten's report mentioned that the crew of the Gemini had clearly explained it using dimensional theory.

However, since those primitives couldn't understand the concept of dimensions, they voluntarily abandoned those overly advanced theories and instead used primitive worship and more abstract concepts of "higher existence" to understand the Tree of Yenshof.

This has already become a typical case of failed enlightenment.

"The clouds in the sky, the paintings on the wall... So abstract, was he trying to express that it was a higher-dimensional being? Or just that it was an outsider..."

Thinking of an old man curled up in the ruins, writing poems on a steel plate with a green crystal, Jiang Xuezhou suddenly felt some sympathy for the guy.

In the last moments of his life, he probably went crazy, even forgetting he was a physicist.

Of course, this information might not even have been left for the "Earth people" but for the locals who would visit these ruins later — or even for the descendants of those spiritual energy Awakeners he once drove into the forest.

The poem not being written in the United Human language is the most direct evidence.

Perhaps it was out of repentance after a sudden realization, or perhaps it was due to helplessness and compromise with reality. In any case, his choice was understandable since, from his perspective, the situation on Earth might not be any more optimistic than here on Gaia.

Jiang Xuezhou tried to deduce it from his perspective.

The 17 crew members who left the Gemini were clearly against the "End War" plan.

And from their perspective, the "End War" plan might have already succeeded. The Gemini crew, who "predicted Orion's prediction," had uploaded the virus to Orion's shipboard server, reshuffling Earth's ecosystem.

No one could have imagined that an unknown electrical engineer would pull the switch at the last moment, delaying the "End War" plan by 215 years.

If this deduction is correct, then from Dr. Qiu Shiye's standpoint, the little green people on Gaia planet are the only bloodline humanity has left in this universe.

He could only use more understandable pictograms to leave the information he spent his whole life deciphering to future archaeologists before his life ended.

Revisiting this buried history left Jiang Xuezhou with a complex mood.

She managed to recover Dr. Qiu Shiye's research results, but the most crucial reactor was missing.

"... Did they move that thing away? That's too strange."

Staring at the image on the holographic screen, Jiang Xuezhou murmured to herself.

The youth named Qiu Ling had already left, and she did not try to stop him.

Because there was no need.

Since he was determined to leave with his tribesmen, this prehistoric war of the primitives would presumably come to an end soon.

The Forest People would return to their Sacred Land to declare victory, and the Valley People would embark on a migration journey with the Ancestor's parable. This planet is vast, and their futures are bright.

Next, Tunnan would probably personally apologize to Night Ten and then scour the entire forest for the missing reactor and the helium-3 reserves on it.

If they still couldn't find it in the end, they would just have to prepare to spend their remaining days on this unfamiliar planet.

They couldn't count on primitives to refine helium-3 for them.

"Honorable Ancestor... What should we do now?" Dora, standing in front of the silver metal disc, was full of confusion and hesitation.

She vaguely sensed that she might have successfully helped her tribe avoid a bloodied conclusion and even reclaimed their Sacred Land without bloodshed.

But there were still too many things she didn't understand.

Including that poem.

Including the murals and clouds described in that poem.

Sitting in front of the terminal, Jiang Xuezhou took a sip of her coffee but didn't say much to her.

Sometimes being too smart isn't necessarily a good thing.

Like that youth named Qiu Ling, it's just right — smart enough, and he grasped just the right amount from those murals.

That's the best outcome.

"You all don't think too much; primitives should do what primitives do. If I have one piece of advice for you, it would be to spend some time researching astronomy, figuring out a calendar, and then thinking about your language and creating some writing."

"Even if you've decided to abandon writing and language in the future, I think it's best to invent them first. Otherwise, before you find a stable method to awaken spiritual energy, you might get eliminated by competitors on this same planet."

Did I say too much?

This should have been something they concluded themselves from the twists of history.

But now it seems these words have no significant meaning.

Jiang Xuezhou lightly coughed, interrupting Dora's thoughts.

"...Enough of that, do me a favor and tell your leader. Say the Judgment Arrow is already on the bowstring. If he doesn't want to see Doma City's Sacred Tree turn to ashes in the flames, hold off for seven days and let those 'sinners' leave... This is the punishment for his arrogant captivity of the Ancestor."

She could never actually fire neutron torpedoes at a group of innocent civilians, but strategic intimidation was no problem.

The people in the valley were going to withdraw anyway, and Tunnan had no need to take such risks after weighing the pros and cons.

Dora noted this advice and hurriedly continued to ask.

"Can... you take me to the sky?"

She knew this was a presumptuous request, but she couldn't help but bring it up.

The future king of the Qiu people had grasped the Qiu people's mission from that poem, and she had also grasped something for herself.

They were to go to the world's end, conquer the maze beneath their feet, and find the exit of the maze.

While the children of the Tree of Yenshof were to go to the sky and become the clouds floating above the maze.

Hearing that pleading voice, Jiang Xuezhou yawned.

She could guess what Dora was thinking.

This little girl probably committed a metaphysical error, mistaking the ancestor from the sky as the cloud mentioned in the poem.

But actually, it wasn't the case at all.

They were also people of the maze, just that they had gone further, so, as a primitive, it seemed like they were standing in the clouds.

There was no "Tree of Yenshof" on Earth, and whether there would be one in the future, no one knew. But at least in the foreseeable future, the Waste Land Wanderers who inherited the United Human's legacy would likely put more energy into the material maze.

However, if she herself had that desire, taking her back to Earth might be a good choice.

At least, this could help the reborn human civilization understand other dimensions beyond itself and the new rules they originally didn't know.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xuezhou felt a slight stir within and showed a mischievous smile.

Since it's a decided matter, why not test someone at this opportunity?

"Ahem, going to the sky isn't that easy... but in light of your sincerity, I'll mercifully point you in the right direction."

"That ancestor imprisoned by your chieftain is actually quite an extraordinary figure. He can decide who to take away from the mortal world."

"If you truly want to go to the sky, just go and ask him for help!"

Chapter 1013: The Heart Triumphs Over Matter

Doma City Sacred Tree's temple at its roots, the fireflies dancing in the air were like a pair of eyes gathering and scattering.

Sitting cross-legged on the vine-wooden bed, Night Ten stared blankly at the sky, his gaze seemingly piercing through the flickering fireflies, and through the vine-wood walls that could block all light.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

Like when flipping through a picture book, suddenly meeting the gaze of the little figure inside it.

But unlike before, this time he wasn't the one flipping the book.

And the eyes he met were those beyond the page as thin as a cicada's wings.

"...I see."

In an instant, he finally understood why it was said that Gaia and the Tree of Yenshof were both Him and not Him.

And not just that—

He also understood why what was said was a meaningless answer to them.

"You've broken the 'Fourth wall'..." Night Ten blurted out a sentence.

That was a phrase the Forest People could never comprehend, just like theories about dimensions.

After all, their civilization was only at the primitive tribe stage, and hadn't yet birthed those brilliant thoughts.

A soft laugh seemed to come from the fireflies gathering and scattering.

He had always been here.

And forever shall be.

"That's right, clever little rascal... Congratulations on finding the answer, but unfortunately there's no trophy."

Night Ten's eyes widened.

A creepy feeling slowly crawled up his hindbrain, akin to someone on TV suddenly crawling into his living room through the screen.

He almost wanted to immediately take off his helmet to confirm that there was no one else in his bedroom.

But soon, he realized how foolish that was...

This was just a game after all.

Even if it was realistic in every way.

"...What's behind the wall?" Night Ten asked while staring intently at the mural.

The flickering firefly answered in a voice he couldn't hear.

"Nothing at all."

Night Ten froze.

"...Nothing at all?"

The slow voice answered, or perhaps all the answers were already written on the wall.

He was just reading too slowly.

"That's right, there's nothing here, yet it possesses everything. We, transcending material, became eternal, and our fate was no longer ruled by possibilities, completely leaving this primitive universe... And this is what we have pursued with all our lives after knowing everything about this universe."

From that flickering light, Night Ten read these messages, and the shock in his heart was beyond words.

So that's how it is.

Describing His existence with Gaia or the Tree of Yenshof is not rigorous.

Humans had only visited the world beyond the solar system, thus subconsciously thinking His footprints only appeared on the third planet of the primary sequence star South Gate Two AB.

Gaia was merely a trace of Him left on this planet, and so was the later appearing "Tree of Yenshof," perhaps a kind of "autonomous ecological maintenance system."

The three-year war was never a war between humans and Gaia, but an upgraded version of the Forest People and Valley People's war, and Gaia was at most a trump card in the possession of one side of the conflict.

And the weapons of the opposing sides evolved from spears and bows into "neutron torpedoes" and the "Seed of Gaia."

The so-called lair of the mutated slime fungus was an artificially cultivated product from the beginning.

Regarding this, the researcher from the Academy named "Pigeon" had already provided ample experimental evidence.

Even the lair called Xiya in the center of Clear Spring City couldn't possibly travel to Earth by itself without an interstellar ability.

It was from the start a biological weapon developed by colonizers using technology learned from Gaia, and likely its memory was also artificially instilled.

In fact, this is easy to prove, for example, Xiaoyu is the best example.

Its memory was also taught by Alliance people, only with entirely different content.

The catastrophe ultimately ended with the destruction of both sides, whether it was the colony or the United Human, they were submerged in history's dust due to their own limitations, allowing future generations to judge.

Now the Gaia Planet had already nurtured a new civilization, and Earth in the solar system had rekindled the seed of civilization.

As for Him—

Using Gaia to refer to Him was indeed one-sided, including the Tree of Yenshof the crew of Gemini discovered.

If Night Ten had to rename Him, perhaps calling it "Pioneer" would be more fitting.

That was a civilization with a history far more ancient than humans, the time span between the two in this universe could be counted in billions or millions of years.

For reasons of their own, they chose spiritual over material, and after reaching the peak of both material and spiritual prosperity, completed civilization-wide dimensional ascension, ascending to another dimension.

No—

Perhaps it wasn't simply another dimension.

Using dimension to describe their existence is one-sided, as both lower and higher dimensional universes are part of this universe, and they broke the fourth wall.

To define their existence might require a brand new term.

Such as "Void."

That's the world beyond the sight of all living beings in this universe, or the world outside the "Fourth wall."

If this universe could be likened to a computer game, then they passed through the monitor screen.

They made a small eye on the screen, or a big hole, in any case, went to another universe with entirely different Planck constants.

But back to the point, does it have any significance to do so?

The ones going to another universe might have already lost their former forms, possibly even lacking mass, leaving only a beam of light or an electromagnetic wave.

And the universe outside the "Window of Vision" might have its own "Window of the World," existing like a nesting doll within its own void.

Relative to the universe they once belonged to, they undoubtedly completed the ultimate dimensional ascension and saw their own "creator."

But relative to their own once infinitely prosperous existence, it was no less than a collapse.

They turned from giants to dust.

Night Ten could not comprehend why they did this, from the answer it could be felt He knew the outcome all along, and much clearer than the ant-like self.

Yet He did not care.

To ask why—

Because that was their lifelong pursuit.

They burned all self within their original universe and transformed into light beyond the universe...

"We passed through the 'Window of Vision', found our creator, and greeted him."

"Though he couldn't see us, we all saw him... and for us, that was enough."

"Since then, our story no longer exists in this universe, including what you see now is nothing but the echo after the 'Big Bang.'

"As for Gaia, the branches of the Tree of Yenshof... they are merely traces of our existence."

"Your compatriot is very clever, he found the answer, and I believe you have noticed as well. As I've said, 'After all, you have succeeded before.'"

"The answer was before you all along, written on the wall, she just couldn't read it."

"Now that you've figured it all out, you hear this voice in your mind, the same time it's happened."

Upon comprehending everything, Night Ten heard this voice in his mind, as if strings of all had fallen into place.

It seemed like both were happening simultaneously.

In his contemplation of the mural, he gradually "saw" all that the crew member who once penetrated everything went through, and all that was fully recorded in the growth rings.

As he gazed at those increasingly bright fireflies, he couldn't help but ask aloud.

"...How did you transcend? That ascension... including venturing into the void."

The voice from the void did not respond.

Or perhaps He had already answered, but he couldn't hear, let alone understand it.

Yet those experiences on the Hunter had already proven that transmitting information across time and space is not omnipotent.

"""

They could only press the prompt in each other's hands, hinting at the existence both were already aware of.

He spoke slowly, leaving behind a final message.

"We've communicated enough; knowing too much does you no good."

"If there's anything I must say, my advice is only one—"

"Unless you pursue exploration of the spiritual world as your life's quest, do not attempt to break the fourth wall."

"Not everyone can pass through there smoothly, and many chaotic things are trapped within the wall. Even just glimpsing it from afar will bring you immense trouble... You should be grateful you met me."

"By the way, someone among you once foolishly asked me to take him to 'the heavens,' but he didn't realize 'the heavens' also has its maze. As you've already realized, beyond the universe are new universes; beyond the vision are new visions... Truth is infinite."

"All in all, good luck, you foolish materialists."

"Perhaps we will meet again."

The voice disappeared.

Night Ten stared blankly at the fireflies above, feeling a sense of loss in his heart, unable to let go for a long time.

He spent nearly a month in this temple, thinking he had successfully broken the fourth wall, only to find he was still a step away.

What he saw, or rather heard, was nothing more than the echo of an explosion from countless eons ago when a pioneering civilization shattered the void and left remnants in this world.

This much information was left on this planet.

The crew of the Twin Ships had already recorded their research results on the temple's murals.

To find more clues about the pioneers, they might have to head to other star systems in the universe.

"...Although placing the blame for the destruction of the United Human on the pioneers behind Gaia seems far-fetched, the cost of excavating this relic is simply too heavy."

Recalling past experiences, Night Ten couldn't help but smile bitterly, finding it difficult to evaluate.

Of course.

During this process, human civilization didn't gain nothing.

Apart from achievements in biotechnology and aerospace engineering, they also had significant gains in sociology.

The newly reborn ones would become more resilient and stronger than their former selves.

As for himself, he also gained plenty from this exploration.

Even though he couldn't determine his Sequence Level due to the absence of VM, he could clearly feel that his Perception Attributes had been significantly enhanced, having leapt three or four levels.

Moreover, it wasn't just that.

Night Ten suddenly realized he could smoothly read the growth patterns on the temple walls.

Besides, those fireflies could also understand his voice now, as could those cricket-like insects.

His "Spiritual Energy" seemed to have awakened.

...

As Night Ten marveled at the changes happening in himself, the war between the Forest People and the Valley People had reached its final climax.

The Allied forces of various forest tribes, led by Tunnan, won victory after victory with ingenious strategies, forcing the Qiu Kingdom's guards stationed along the ridge into a series of defeats and retreating in panic.

Especially in the recent battle, Tunnan, Wearing Powered Armor, seemed like the ancestor descended on earth, impervious copper skin and bones, storming through on his giant bear, entering the Qiu Kingdom army as if it were unoccupied. Even the bravest warriors of Qiu Kingdom were killed in the battle.

Countless soldiers dared not meet his gaze, let alone stop him, abandoning helmets and armor to flee.

Power armor appeared on the Primitive man's battlefield, undoubtedly a "dimensional reduction strike."

How Tunnan mastered methods to use power armor wasn't difficult.

He could easily establish a connection with the past through "Spiritual Energy," which wasn't a hard problem for him.

The battle became Tunnan's battle of deification, as he single-handedly defeated thousands of Qiu Kingdom soldiers!

The battlefield situation was extremely dangerous for Qiu Kingdom, with elders having no means against the "impenetrable" Tunnan, having to pray for the ancestor's blessing.

Just as the Qiu people faced extinction, a warrior named Qiu Ridge suddenly stood out.

Earlier, he had brought the ancestor's prophecy to the elders' meeting, and represented Qiu Ridge to search deep within the Forbidden Forest for the ancestor's lost Sacred object.

Although the Sacred object hadn't been found, he had passed the ancestor's trial and brought back the prophecy left by the ancestor.

The ancestor named Qiu Shiye told them their mission was to head to the world's end and keep going until there was no road left ahead.

The ancestor's will was like timely rain after a long drought, allowing the barely sustaining Qiu people to breathe a sigh of relief.

They had always carried the mission of guarding the Forbidden Forest Valley, now finally able to leave this increasingly inhospitable place.

Qiu Ridge brought back not only the prophecy of the Ancestors but also the hope of escaping into life.

He not only reorganized the army of Qiu Kingdom but also led the reinvigorated soldiers to repeatedly thwart several attempts by the Forest Tribe to surround and annihilate them, and he protected the elderly, women, and children of the clan, took the livestock and production materials, and broke through the mountains, escaping into the desolate eastern mountains.

That place is downstream of the Nameless River, connecting to a tranquil sea.

According to what was said by the Ancestors in the sky, as long as they crossed the mountains under their feet and went east across the hot rainforest, through the vast desert and grasslands, they would find land far more fertile than the Forbidden Forest Valley.

It is the resting place granted to them by the Ancestors.

On that land, they would build countless cities, establish an infinitely prosperous kingdom, and thrive and explore a world much broader than the Forbidden Forest Valley.

Qiu Ridge convinced his people to set off with peace of mind, then stayed behind with 500 cavalry in the pass of the eastern mountains to cover their retreat.

Although Tunnan had already taken over the Forbidden Forest Valley, he was evidently not content with the current victory and wanted more.

Ignoring the prophecy brought by the Temple Maiden, he led 3,000 elite warriors of the Doma Clan and 2,000 of the finest young warriors from various tribes, pursuing along the traces of the "Sinners" retreat to the foot of the eastern mountains, launching an attack at dusk.

Qiu Ridge had been waiting here for some time.

He ordered his soldiers to cut the vines entwining the rolling logs, letting the stones and logs roll down the slope.

The pouring stones and logs were like a collapsing mountain torrent, instantly crushing Tunnan's 5,000 tribal warriors.

The residents of the forest, having never seen the terror of a landslide, thought it was the divine punishment of the Ancestors. If they weren't struck by the stones, they were scared senseless by the scene of the earth collapsing, fleeing in all directions.

With the organizational ability of the tribal era, once morale collapsed, it was almost impossible to regroup.

Not missing this golden opportunity, Qiu Ridge led 500 warriors mounted on Lizards to charge immediately.

The Wild Lizards, following the cascade of rocks and logs, became a nightmare from which the Forest People could not wake.

Seeing the defeated soldiers, Tunnan wished he could grind his teeth to powder.

Though he knew defeat was inevitable, he refused to give up and instead, relying on the "armor" that was impervious to blades and arrows, rode a giant bear alone up towards the high ground.

Just then, a crisp sound broke the air and poured into his ears, followed by a sharp clang.

Before he could realize what had happened, an arrow pierced his kneecap.

It was an arrow shot by Qiu Ridge.

At this moment, he held in his hand the Divine Bow bestowed by the Ancestors!

As for the arrow, there was nothing special about it, it simply had a tip made of that dark green crystal.

Tunnan let out a miserable cry and fell from the giant bear's back, rolling down to the foot of the mountain.

Only then did he remember the prophecy brought back by that Temple Maiden named "Dora" from the forest!

Although he had misunderstood the true meaning of the "Arrow of Punishment" in every sense, at that moment, being shot through the shoulder seemed undoubtedly a warning to him.

"Retreat!"

Swallowing his humiliation, he finally gave the order to retreat, withdrawing into the forest with fewer than 300 remaining soldiers.

Meanwhile, having shot Tunnan down the slope with one arrow, without losing a single soldier to block the "hundreds of thousands of troops," Qiu Ridge became a myth in the eyes of the Qiu people, becoming a new legend on this land.

However, unlike Tunnan, he did not linger on this troubled land out of greed for victory.

They needed to go further.

They needed to step their footprints along the coast of the ocean, spreading the seeds of civilization across every corner of this land.

"Advance!"

He raised the longbow in his hand high, shouting at the high-spirited soldiers, turned the neck of the Wild Lizard he was riding on, and led the group deeper into the mountains.

Even though he did not want to let this group of people go, Tunnan swallowed his hatred.

The sudden defeat completely shattered his plan to unify the forest.

Even if the Doma Tribe succeeded in reclaiming the Sacred Land, they were already gravely weakened.

Moreover, after this, he and his people would have to face punishment from the Ancestors.

Weakly standing up again with the help of his subordinates, he felt unprecedentedly weak, the swelling and pain from his wound made him feel his days were numbered.

His heart was filled with regret, regretting why he insisted on going his own way, regretting why he did not heed advice, regretting why he did not spare the "Sinners" a path of life, giving himself an opportunity as well.

But at this point, saying anything was already too late.

After the Sun set, both sides declared their own victories, moving toward their respective recognized futures.

As for what happened after that, it became a long and tortuous epic...

Chapter 1014: Spiral

In the forest camp, a military tent made of beast skin, the once invincible king of Doma City lay weakly on the bed.

It had rained all night last night, perhaps the rain had aggravated his wound, making it more swollen.

It seems that not only the Ancestors, but even the great Tree of Yenshof stood with the Qi people.

But why?

Those people clearly couldn't hear the voice of the Tree of Yenshof, yet they gained His favor.

Lying in bed, Tunnan was puzzled, yet his consciousness began to gradually blur.

At this moment, he was still unaware of his own insignificance in the grand scheme of things.

The one who defeated him was never the Qi people, nor the Ancestors, nor the Tree of Yenshof, but his own deep-seated pride and greed.

He thought he had comprehended the secret of the Tree of Yenshof, but did not realize he was merely an ant at the foot of the great tree, what he comprehended was not even the surface, just some withered leaves and bark.

However, this was not his fault.

The limitations of the era destined him to see things only from the perspective of an ant.

The giants among the forest tribes had not yet appeared, and the awakening of thought had not yet begun.

Perhaps in time, when his descendants finally walk out of this forest, and truly ignite the fire of civilization, stepping into the starry sky, and re-recognizing the Tree of Yenshof... there may be a different understanding.

But that would be a matter of countless millennia in the future.

If their civilization can withstand the test of time and reach that day...

Looking at the weakened leader, Saquai sitting beside the bed sighed gently, saying in a trembling voice.

"...The prophecy has ultimately come to pass."

Flames, corpses, death...

That was the revelation he obtained by connecting with the Tree of Yenshof, and he had foreseen it before the war began.

And indeed, it all happened.

The all-knowing, all-powerful He seemed to have penetrated through causality, or perhaps He was causality itself!

Trembling at the horrendous karma, Saquai pressed his left hand against his chest, holding a pinch of beast ashes in his right hand, scattering them into the fire, mumbling tirelessly, confessing and praying to the great Tree of Yenshof and the Ancestors.

Tunnan, with eyes slightly closed, suddenly opened his eyes, his angular but weak face showing a rare trace of piety.

"I have seen the Tree of Yenshof... He is calling me."

Upon hearing this, Saquai's face changed dramatically, holding the young leader's hand, a trace of pleading in his voice.

"Please don't leave us."

Tunnan sighed, his breath weak as a thread, spoke slowly.

"I don't want to, but my time is short... Not heeding the Ancestors' advice was my greatest mistake, the descendants of Doma City should remember this profound lesson."

At this point, his weak face suddenly flushed with a tinge of color.

As if it were his last blaze of glory, he raised his arm, grasping Saquai's wrist.

"I need to return to Doma City, take me before the Ancestors... I want to apologize to him in person."

It was his final wish, also the revelation he saw through the Tree of Yenshof.

That was the last thing he could do for his people.

Seeing the sincerity and determination in those eyes, Saquai choked with tears, nodded his head, agreeing to the dying leader's request.

"Alright."

Escorted by 300 remaining soldiers, the warriors of the Doma Tribe traveled day and night and finally brought the barely surviving Tunnan back to Doma City before the Sun set for the third time.

At this moment, outside the temple at the root of the Sacred Tree, devout believers were prostrating beside the roots as thick as mountains.

Thousands of fireflies circled under the majestic and graceful canopy, turning the night into day, illuminating the green leaves into gold.

Witnessing this incredible scene, warriors returning from the front lines widened their eyes, and the priests accompanying the army were even more incredulous.

Even Tunnan, the most powerful in "Spiritual Energy" in their tribe, couldn't drive such a large number of "Holy Light Worms."

Ordinary clansmen who had awakened Spiritual Energy could only command dozens to a hundred or so at most.

Yet at this moment, the "Holy Light Worms" here lit up the entire Sacred Tree!

The number had increased beyond the language of the Tree of Yenshof's people to describe!

"Golden Tree..."

Saquai muttered, staring at the seemingly glowing canopy.

He recalled an ancient legend.

It was said that at the distant dawn of the primal era when everyone on this land lived in the Forbidden Forest Valley, the Sacred Tree that initially sheltered all life shone in such fashion!

Now that long-gone spectacle had reappeared in this forest, and descended upon the Sacred Tree of the Doma Tribe.

In addition to the ecstasy, Saquai's heart was filled with confusion.

What exactly is happening?!

Just then, he saw the temple maiden praying at the temple entrance—

Dora, who delivered the prophecy in place of the Ancestors.

Steadily, with trembling steps, he walked past the winding roots to the temple entrance.

Kneeling beside her, the old man joined his hands in prayer, establishing a mental connection with her and asked.

"What has happened here?"

With her eyes closed, Dora's devout face remained unchanged, echoing in silent reflections through a tranquil heart like a lake.

"...The Tree of Yenshof has performed a miracle, and the Ancestors have heard His voice once again."

Saquai was stunned at her words, then his face suddenly changed.

"The great Ancestors are still inside?"

Dora nodded gently.

"We asked him to come out, but he refused..."

Saquai stood there dazed, then quickly got up from the ground and walked towards the entrance of the temple.

Dora did not stop him, only opened her eyes, watching as his figure vanished into the temple entrance.

It didn't take long before the elderly priest walked back out of the temple with vacant eyes.

His face was filled with confusion, shock... which gradually turned into panic and fear.

He was clearly walking deeper into the temple! Yet as he walked, he found himself back at the entrance!

Dora looked at him, speaking in a silent language.

"No one can enter the temple..."

"Without his permission."

Before this, she had already tried many times...

...

Outside the temple, it was as bright as day, and inside the temple, it was equally brightly lit.

Sitting on the vine-covered bed, Night Ten quietly observed the mural on the wall, feeling his spiritual world more fulfilled than ever.

It was a wondrous feeling.

As if running two alt accounts on the same computer, with one entering the instance.

He had experienced this wondrous feeling once before while in the hyperspace passage, but had to leave in a hurry without scrutinizing it closely.

Now, with his consciousness submerging into the surrounding environment, allowing his spreading spiritual perception to extend outwards, that sense of consciousness traversing time and space returned to him!

And unlike before, this time his consciousness in the "main world" did not fall asleep, but remained awake along with his consciousness in the instance.

However, relatively speaking, this time he couldn't touch anything within the instance, only through a layer of flickering mist could he watch things happen quietly behind the mist.

This was probably "Spiritual Energy".

Initially, Night Ten felt a little helpless with such a bizarre situation, but now he could skillfully control this ability and independently choose the target to connect with.

For example, at this moment, he connected his consciousness to the Sacred Tree of Doma City, allowing a part of his consciousness to return to over 150 years ago, when the towering tree was just planted in this forest, through the growth rings engraved at the root of the Sacred Tree.

As he speculated, the Sacred Tree in the forest was indeed planted by the crew of the missile cruiser of Gemini.

Not only that—

After some testing, Night Ten was overjoyed to discover that he could not only establish a mental connection with the murals at the root of the Sacred Tree, but even continue to activate his ability while entering the instance, using the target in the instance as a "springboard" to enter a new instance!

In other words, he could drag the "progress bar" forward! To over 200 years ago before the Sacred Tree was planted!

Of course, such iterations cannot continue indefinitely.

When he used the target in the duplicate as a springboard to enter a new duplicate, the things he could see were already quite blurry, as if a denser layer of mist enveloped outside the fog.

Through that voidish mist, he could only see blurry shadows, and he could only hear occasional snippets of words. There was no way to find a new "springboard."

However, even hearing and seeing only snippets were quite good enough.

At least for Night Ten, it was sufficient to help him piece together the historical reconstruction of the past two hundred years of this planet based on the information on the temple mural!

At the end of the Three-Year War, Gemini and Hunter respectively received command orders about the "Final Battle" plan.

As Captain Zhao Tianhe had anticipated, they received entirely different orders from Gemini, the sister ship.

The Hunter was the executor of the Final Battle Plan, responsible for rebooting Earth's ecological system and thoroughly cleansing the remaining harm of Gaia's Seeds to better help the refuge reconstruct the order of the Human Alliance Era.

As for Gemini, which was low on ammunition, it was the supervisor of the plan, tasked with overseeing Hunter's execution of the orders.

The two sides, in fact, had no choice from the beginning.

Especially since Gemini realized that Hunter would probably not carry out its mission, they had to preemptively strike to survive.

And even if they struck first, their chance of survival was still quite low, at best leading to a mutually assured destruction.

Such a victory was meaningless, even worse than failure.

Thus, Captain Song Yuchuan of Gemini made an extremely risky and bold decision—

Which was to upload the minds of the entire crew to the circuit board!

They would kill themselves before the opponent could kill them and revive after mutual destruction with the opponent to continue executing the orders in the form of bio-androids.

This was the optimal solution they could come up with.

Between Survivors and the United Human, they chose the United Human without hesitation.

This plan was agreed upon by most, as they originally had no better choice, and besides, most of their families were also in the refuge.

However, a small number believed that uploading the mind to the circuit board equated to suicide, and the "Final Battle" plan established by the Lagrange Point Space Station was extremely foolish.

The proper method should have been to talk with Hunter, as they believed there must be a way for everyone to survive.

Night Ten could not see more information about how this argument unfolded and ended.

Through the voidish mist, this was all the history from 200 years ago he could perceive.

After all, for the Sacred Tree above him, truly understanding the memory of "the sky" wasn't easy.

Moreover, the crew who planted it apparently didn't wish to recall those "old era" matters.

Seventeen crew members were eventually put into the Sleep Cabin, shot into geosynchronous orbit via a landing craft.

What happened afterward needs no elaboration, being roughly the same as what Night Ten had seen on the Hyperspace Passage and the Hunter wreckage.

Gemini fired a lander filled with a neutron bomb and the "souls" of the entire crew at Hunter, while Hunter fired a neutron torpedo at the former at the moment of entering the hyperspace passage.

The wreckage of Gemini remained in Gaia planet's orbit, while Hunter, carrying crew members in an uncertain state of life and death, leaped five light years away.

As for the seventeen crew members "exiled" in the Sleep Cabin, they slept in geosynchronous orbit for nearly forty or fifty years, finally awakening at the end of the primitive era.

They landed on Gaia planet in their landing craft and discovered the colonizers' descendants on this planet—namely, the green-skinned Gaian people.

In their study and observation of the Gaia people, they gradually realized that the United Human's understanding of Gaia planet contained errors.

Even completely erroneous!

Whether this error was due to deliberate misguidance by "radical forces" in the colony or due to the inherent arrogance and prejudice of the United Human is no longer known.

After studying the living habits and cultural customs of the Gaia people, the seventeen crew members finally concluded—

An infinitely prosperous civilization once existed on this planet.

And, unlike the United Human who had just stepped into the starry sky,

This advanced civilization's prosperity wasn't merely confined to the South Gate Two star system; its footsteps had even far exceeded the scope of human civilization's comprehension!

As for Gaia—

It was merely the "ecological maintenance system" left on this planet by that advanced civilization.

In truth, this discovery was indeed fascinating.

Whether it was the existence of that advanced civilization itself or pondering on where they ended up going.

Because if even this "Pioneer," whose achievements far surpassed human civilization, finally could not escape self-destruction, the decline of human civilization seemed nothing to bemoan after all.

All things live to die, and die to live, but this is fate destined.

With curiosity about the "Pioneers" and a desire to uncover the "Cosmic Truth," seventeen crew members temporarily gave up returning home and, with limited tools, conducted a series of investigations on the Gaians and their Sacred Tree.

And after a series of explorations full of twists and turns, they finally discovered Its existence!

This was an event on the eve of the "Awakening Era," initially discovered by the physicist Qiu Shiye of the Fifth Division.

These fellows, usually deemed useless, always manage to prove their worth unexpectedly, even if the utility isn't apparent.

In short, after years of research, he finally deciphered the "Spiritual Energy" possessed by the Gaians and, after awakening his spiritual energy, discovered the existence of the "Tree of Yenshof," which he further explained using dimensional theory!

This information is all preserved in the temple murals.

After Night Ten understood the content on the murals, he naturally also inherited these clues and, like Qiu Shiye, who had once "succeeded," engaged in direct dialogue with "It"...

It was precisely this dialogue that drove Doctor Qiu Shiye completely mad, plunging him into hysterical insanity.

Or in other words, he became possessed.

He learned from the Pioneers that a "creator" exists in this universe and that everything, including himself, is merely a character in a book or a mural on a wall.

The only way to seize control of their fate is to break the "Window of Vision"!

Which means breaking the fourth wall!

In Doctor Qiu's view, this is a destiny all civilizations must ultimately face — they will confront their creator!

And an example lay before him — the "Pioneer" who once existed in this universe had successfully shattered the barrier between them and their creator!

To achieve this goal, he needed further experiments with the reactor on the Missile Cruiser of Gemini, for which the reactor needed to be dismantled and brought to the ground.

The other sixteen crew members naturally opposed this insane plan, as it was their only hope of returning home.

To the other sixteen crew members, they had successfully unearthed the entire ruin, and it was time to leave.

Moreover, they had experienced the troubles caused by madmen, and for this, they were kicked off the ship.

To prevent this black sheep from doing something outrageous, they tried to imprison him, but unfortunately, he escaped into the forest with his followers.

These people later became known as the "Qiu People" — the "materialistic" natives who couldn't perceive spiritual energy.

The events that unfolded afterward became the "Second Judgment Day," familiar to all the natives of this forest —

A burning palace fell to the ground!

It is worth noting that the murals in Doma City Temple were not left by Doctor Qiu but by one of the other sixteen crew members.

They brought the seeds of the Sacred Tree into the forest and, with the help of the awakened spiritual energy natives, nurtured a new Sacred Tree and recorded this history in its roots.

Because of this, the mural's content actually carries strong subjective colors.

From a third-party perspective, Night Ten tried to unravel the clues on the mural and was suddenly surprised to find that this history was so similar!

The seventeen crew members were divided over whether to follow the path of the "Pioneers," resulting in a fierce fight.

Qiu Shiye, who led the "Sinners" to conquer the Forbidden Forest Valley, undoubtedly won, yet also undeniably failed completely.

If the fourth wall were so easy to break, the "Pioneer" civilization wouldn't have spent so much effort.

Though not recorded on the mural, Night Ten had already guessed the subsequent events.

Like himself.

Doctor Qiu Shiye ultimately discovered the final truth.

"It" indeed broke the fourth wall, but did not become the "almighty" creator he fantasized as a materialist.

The voice he heard was not from "It," the "creator predecessor," but merely the echo of "It" left in this universe.

He never truly conversed with "It."

He merely greeted the shadow of "It" left in this world...

"Damn! Isn't this just like the 'First Judgment Day'?"

Survivors of the Three-Year War fought again on Gaia planet for the truths they believed in, even after the war ended.

History is like a circle, events repeating over and over, even right under his nose.

Thinking of that rain, which delighted all the natives, and the self-smart Tunnan, Night Ten felt a mix of laughter and tears, finally understanding the meaningful sarcasm "It" had upon first meeting him.

You are always like this—

"Pardon my laughter."

Chapter 1015: The Story Carved on the Stone Tablet

Three days passed after that.

Just as the leader of Doma City, Tunnan, was fading from a last breath to half a breath, Night Ten finally left the temple, ending his long retreat.

As for why he stayed three extra days, there was actually no particular reason.

It was mainly to transplant his findings on the murals and the murals themselves onto the forum.

Although this matter sounds simple, it was a bit laborious to accomplish.

As a result, Night Ten felt his memory and focus in the real world had improved considerably, even briefly suspecting he had awakened some sort of special ability in reality.

However, regrettably,
perhaps because the real Earth was in an "age of the end of the Dharma," or perhaps lacking a relic from a pioneer civilization, that mental induction ability did not manifest in his physical body in the real world.

But honestly, when updating the posts, Night Ten couldn't help but wonder whether similar things might actually exist in reality.

For instance, things like fortune-telling, feng shui, divination, or even tarot cards, might actually be elementary manifestations of spiritual energy.

Like how the Doma people pray to the "Tree of Yenshof," observing the future through the void.

Although they did not correctly understand the essence of the Tree of Yenshof, because they devotedly repeated the same thing for generations, past and future, they inadvertently established a resonance with future descendants revolving around the incomprehensible existence of the Tree of Yenshof, thereby encountering their own future.

From a result standpoint, although they always sought their own advice, seeking advice from the Tree of Yenshof was no different.

That existence played the role of a "ladder," and standing on the ladder, they ultimately saw a part of the future, even if the future they saw was abstract.

And those prophecies regarding the future eventually did come true.

Night Ten didn't know how to use scientific theory to summarize these findings, perhaps the Alliance should dispatch professional social science researchers to reside in the orbit of Gaia Planet to observe the civilization activities on the surface.

Perhaps it's just his personal opinion.

But he often pondered that this might be more beneficial than directly colonizing the planet.

The universe is vast.

They need not be fixated on the star South Gate Two; there is a broader world awaiting exploration.

Like other relics left by pioneer civilizations in this universe, or other newborn civilizations stepping out of infancy like humanity.

In any case, after experiencing the events of Hunter and Gemini, Night Ten was still firmly convinced that he was a dedicated materialist,
but his cognition was no longer as absolute as a child.

After all, he saw it with his own eyes.

The real world is not simply black and white...

After updating all his findings on the forum, Night Ten finally stepped out of the temple.

And as he stepped outside, he discovered numerous Forest People prostrated on the ground, bowing in his direction.

This included not only the natives of Doma City.

But also the inhabitants of other tribes in the forest.

They looked solemn, appeared devout, prostrated under the roots of the Sacred Tree, bathed in golden light.

It was only then that Night Ten noticed that the flying fireflies had adorned the Sacred Tree into a dazzling gold.

A group of shirtless Temple Guards walked over.

They carried a stretcher woven from vine wood, on which wide leaves and dry grass were laid, and on the dry grass lay a sturdy corpse.

This body once belonged to a king with unlimited power and might.

He was once the strongest in this forest; fierce beasts and even the most warlike tribes submitted to him.

Yet now he had reached the end of his life, like a piece of rotting decayed wood, even unable to walk on his own two feet.

Night Ten looked at him with compassion, unexpectedly not feeling any hatred, nor any schadenfreude or satisfaction from revenge.

One cannot expect monkeys on a tree to understand ritual propriety like humans; he simply did what he was bound to do.

And his fate had long been written in the prophecy, everything as if it was agreed upon.

"I confess to you... I beg you to forgive me and my tribe's sins," Tunnan looked at him repentantly, attempting to lift the hand that could no longer rise.

Night Ten reached out to hold his hand, speaking in a kindly voice he had never used before.

"I forgive you."

That sentence seemed to absolve him of all his sins.

Tunnan's eyes revealed a hint of gratitude, and he finally let go of his last breath and closed his weary eyes.

Saving him would have been easy.

Not even requiring high-tech, just a shot of penicillin would have sufficed.

But Night Ten didn't do it, nor did the person lying on the stretcher plead for him to intervene.

Watching the departed leader, the Temple Guards carrying the stretcher knelt on one knee, chanting eulogies, bidding farewell to the departing soul.

"Use cremation."

Night Ten looked at the leading Temple Guard and said just this one sentence, then remained silent.

The priest named Saquai became the new leader.

It's said that Tunnan, in his final moments, relinquished the position of leader to him.

Interestingly, the Qiu people, after their defeat in the senate, found a leader to guide them out of the wilderness.

And the forest tribes, after suffering defeat in the eastern mountains and Tunnan's death, instead picked up the senate system abandoned by the Qiu people, unexpectedly blossoming the seed of classical republicanism unseen before in the forest!

The war brought them not only destruction but also brought things they had never possessed.

Perhaps that's what He meant by "interesting"...

These events outside the temple were what Dora communicated to Night Ten through mental induction during his retreat.

He wasn't truly disconnected from the outside world.

After all, Jiang Xuezhou was still waiting for him in synchronous orbit, he had to have someone reassure her.

Watching Tunnan, at rest, being carried away, Saquai took tentative steps forward, respectfully knelt before Night Ten, and said solemnly.

"Supreme Ancestor, I beg you, give your children an insight..."

He humbled himself greatly.

Like a child who has erred facing his stern father.

Night Ten gazed into his eyes, using a gentle tone he had never used.

"Etch your history into the tree roots, onto the slabs, into the earth, into every place you can see... Ensure that what happened on this land is forever passed down."

"You do not need our advice; you need to face your own hearts."

Saquai's face bore an expression of both loss and realization.

He lowered his head respectfully, sincerely thanked him, and then, supported by the Temple Guards, rose and walked to his tribesmen.

The era belonging to Tunnan had ended.

A new era thus began.

Watching Saquai delivering a passionate speech to all the little green people, Night Ten's lips curled into a contented smile.

Just as he was about to leave, a silver-white drone suddenly hovered beside him and bumped against his shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing! Do you know how worried I was?" An anxious voice floated from beneath the drone, clearly showing Jiang Xuezhou was indeed terribly worried.

"Didn't I assure you I'd be fine," Night Ten rubbed his shoulder, retorting, "Besides, don't say you didn't think, 'Let this guy suffer a bit too'."

"Hmm—"

This comment clearly stunned Jiang Xuezhou, undoubtedly she had thought that.

A bunch of natives could trap him, but saying he could have any life-threatening danger was indeed impossible.

After all, the components in that guy's body were installed by herself; she was quite aware of his capabilities.

"...I felt as if you've become a different person." The drone in the sky wobbled, and a quiet mumble drifted from the speaker.

Night Ten involuntarily curled up the corners of his mouth, smiled faintly, and said.

"Really? Maybe there is... You might not believe it, but I've awakened my spiritual energy."

"Really?" The camera of the drone focused on him, the voice filled with skeptical surprise.

"Really," Night Eleven said earnestly, "If you don't believe me, I'll show you when I get back."

"You can show me... but don't mess around, okay." Jiang Xuezhou's voice suddenly became shy.

Night Ten made a helpless expression.

Mess around, really...

What else could he mess up?

Truly nonsense.

"Let's talk about serious matters; I have an idea."

It always felt strange hearing the word 'serious' from this guy's mouth.

However, Jiang Xuezhou still asked curiously.

"...What idea?"

Night Ten paused for a moment and then spoke his thoughts.

"I've discovered some interesting things in the Doma people's Temple. Various clues suggest that before the birth of our civilization, when our mother planet was still a lifeless planet... there existed a civilization far more advanced than ours in this universe, which I tentatively call the 'Pioneer' civilization."

"I'll write a detailed report after I return to the starship for you to see... once all this turmoil is over, I wish to search for the relics of that Pioneer civilization."

"This journey might be very long, and I'm not certain when it will end... Perhaps it may never end; we might keep walking down this path, all the way to the end of the universe."

"Would you... be willing to accompany me?"

Those relics seem much more interesting than the ones on the Wasteland, and their value is likely far beyond the latter.

He figured the respected Manager would support his idea, perhaps even sponsor him with a spaceship.

The more he understood His existence, the more uncontrollable his curiosity became for Him and for this Game.

Is it really just a game?

He thought of the rumor that has been circulating on the Internet.

Wasteland OL is not just a game but rather a gift to humanity from an advanced civilization.

Ending the Wasteland Era is just the apparent main line, but hidden within the deep code is a dark line beneath the visible thread—

It is about exploring the essence of the world.

Or rather, exploring the clues of the creator.

Night Ten had a premonition that not only does the world of Wasteland OL have a creator, but the Real World also has a similar existence.

Whether "Night Ten" or "Ye Wei," they are actually characters in some movie or novel.

Just as he overlooks Tunnan, an invisible pair or pairs of eyes are also gazing through the omnipresent Window of Vision, observing the echoes he and "He" have left in this universe.

The communication channel was silent for a while before a voice filled with emotion and even a hint of choking came through.

"I am willing..."

"I am willing to accompany you to the end of the universe!"

She wasn't actually clear on what the "Pioneer" is or Night Ten's encounter in the Temple, only knowing that, like that Dora, he successfully communicated with some unspeakable existence through those strange "scribbles" on the walls.

That indeed is fascinating research material, possibly pushing her career a step further, upgrading from C-class to B-class, standing shoulder to shoulder with her former mentor!

However, those things no longer mattered to her...

The words she just heard were the most romantic, heartfelt confession she'd ever heard in her life.

Listening to the response across the communication channel, Night Ten's face showed a sunny smile.

Originally, he planned to apologize to her, but now it seemed her anger had dissipated...

Not just himself.

She has matured.

Glancing at the Forest People who had returned to their historical trajectory, Night Ten was ready to leave.

And at this moment, Dora, who had been standing guard at the Temple entrance, suddenly knelt before him, pleadingly saying.

"Honored Ancestor... please take me to the heavens."

She felt he was about to leave.

And with his departure, countless centuries might pass.

They who live on the ground might never meet these Ancestors again.

Looking at her devout face, Night Ten couldn't help but think of that fool "He" mentioned.

That fool must be Dr. Qiu Shiye; it could only be him.

He longed for "Him" to take him to the heavens, only to find the world above was nothing like he imagined.

Night Ten pondered for a moment and then told her.

"The heavens are just another ground; it's not the paradise you imagine... If the pursuit of the spiritual world represents your life's goal, you should listen more to Him, not us."

If anything, these Forest People should be the "Pioneers'" children, not the children of human civilization.

At least spiritually this is the case.

Without external interference, they would likely tread the same path as the "Pioneer" civilization, ascending to the Creator's world.

And the Qiu people are truly the United Human's children. They might follow the United Human's path, considering the Ideal City-style unified world as spiritual paradise and devoting their lives to exploring the physical world.

The two civilizations on the same planet will give rise to different nations and organizations.

And the friction and collision between these Primitive Man nations and organizations would create sparks, providing the Alliance with abundant art and valuable sociological experience.

The Alliance might gain some inspiration to enhance or improve communication with other extraterrestrial civilizations.

Of course, all of that talk is for later.

As Night Ten said this, Dora still refused to give up, looking at him with those bright eyes.

"I want to see... Please, take me with you, I'll do anything."

Seeing those sincere eyes, Night Ten was silent for a long time and finally softened.

"Considering all the help you've given me, I can take you to see the heavens. But remember, this means you can never return here; you will forever say goodbye to your home and family... Are you sure you want to do this?"

Dora nodded seriously.

"I want to know... the Truth, the Pioneer, the Tree of Yenshof, the poem engraved in the ruins, the murals on the walls, and the clouds in the sky... I want to know what they truly mean."

"The leader of the Qiu people said he saw his answer and would continue forward in the Maze. I also saw my answer, but it's buried in the clouds in the sky... I want to go there to see, please take me."

In the future as far as she could foresee, she and her people still wandered in this forest, while the more distant future was beyond her ability to envision.

She didn't want to spend the rest of her life in confusion and waiting.

She wanted to know the Truth she longed for.

Moreover, she was willing to pay with her life for it.

Looking at her serious face, Night Ten finally acknowledged her determination and ceased persuading her otherwise.

Truth be told, having a spiritual energy translator on his ship didn't seem too bad.

Though he too has awakened spiritual energy, he is the captain, after all—

Well, actually, Xuezhou is the designated captain of the Hunter, and he is the deputy executive officer.

But there's really no difference.

"Stand up."

"From now on, you are also a crew member of the Hunter."

Chapter 1016: Spiritual Energy Pathfinder

"Spiritual energy... This, this is just unbelievable."

Shelter No. 404, browsing room on Floor B4.

After finishing the report from five light-years away, Yin Fang put down the tablet, his face filled with disbelief.

To be honest.

When he first saw this report, Chu Guang was just as surprised, even suspecting that Night Ten was up to something, deliberately using smoke screens to amuse people on the forum.

However, as time passed, the chances of this diminished as more clues were updated in the forum thread.

The guy is not very good at lying; if it was made up, he'd be caught within three sentences.

Having written so much without showing any flaws, and even making Chu Guang, the Manager, puzzled, it seemed to be genuine.

Putting down his red tea, Chu Guang said with a nuanced expression.

"You might not believe it, but the data you saw... was transmitted from five light-years away through a similar method."

Yin Fang was stunned for a moment, unable to speak, finally letting out a long sigh.

"It seems there are still so many things we don't understand in this world..."

"But isn't it exciting?" Chu Guang smiled faintly and said, "A civilization ahead of us by thousands or even billions of years revealing these mysteries to us, if we follow the clues they left behind, we might go even further than they have."

The existence of the players is actually the best proof.

The First Generation Manager of Shelter No. 404 had evidently discovered a way to penetrate the Fourth Wall and built something similar to an "information network" based on the Morphogenesis Field.

Although the Alliance's exploration of the Morphogenesis Field is still in its early stages, Chu Guang believes they will uncover all its secrets one day.

Hera, standing with her arms crossed beside them, suddenly spoke with interest.

"I'm rather curious about the kid from the Gaia planet... Do you think the spiritual energy might be related to some special pheromones in the brain's pituitary gland?"

Seeing her intrigued expression, Yin Fang shivered involuntarily.

Chu Guang coughed.

"Regarding intelligent life outside Earth, I advocate non-interference... especially when human blood flows within them; some things are forbidden."

"I know, I just want to borrow a bit of DNA for research... Don't make it sound like I'm going to dissect them, okay?" Hera couldn't help but retort at Chu Guang's nuanced expression.

Those barbaric research methods are things of centuries past.

As Chu Guang showed a nuanced expression.

"I was just issuing a reminder, no other intentions."

At this point, Yin Fang suddenly had an idea and spoke.

"But speaking of it, according to this research report, the Residents of Shelter No. 404 should inherently possess some kind of 'spiritual energy' trait, right? The kind that can transmit information across time and space..."

"Is there a problem?" Chu Guang asked, looking at him.

"I just find it a bit strange," Yin Fang lightly shrugged, "After all, the Gene Sequence stored in this shelter is a public research project, but all along... I haven't heard of the Biological Institute discovering anything unusual."

This time Hera also furrowed her brow, falling into contemplation.

"It is indeed a bit strange..."

If spiritual energy Awakeners had noticeable biological trait differences from others, she should have discovered it by now.

Thus, only one explanation remains.

This difference is not reflected in the biological aspect...

After pondering for a while, Chu Guang tried to propose his opinion.

"I don't really understand research issues, but might there be a possibility... that although 'spiritual energy' and 'Morphogenesis Field' describe the same phenomenon, they're from different professional perspectives, like two sides of a sheet of paper."

Yin Fang's eyes lit up, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

"Interesting..."

Hera remained silent for a long time, sighed, and said.

"...Seems like we'll have to leave it to the Physics Research Institute and the Social Science Research Institute to mull over."

...

South Gate Two, in the depths of the Forbidden Forest Valley of Gaia planet, a discreet cave tucked within the undulating mountains.

The mountain path leading to the cave entrance was almost buried by dense vegetation, while distant calls of beasts and pterosaurs intermittently echoed, with rustling sounds hinting at lurking dangers in the dark.

Without a guide leading the way, even seasoned adventurers are likely to get lost here.

Yet Night Ten, donned in power armor, was strolling here as if in his backyard, showing no signs of being troubled by the dense forest.

This was not due to the exceptional performance of his power armor but owed to the spiritual energy granting him the ability to communicate with the Tree of Yenshof; every insect and leaf here served as his eyes.

Instead of being a trespassing explorer in this forest, it would be more fitting to describe him as a guest.

And this relic buried deep within the Forbidden Forest has awaited him for some time...

"Here it is... the last relic on this planet, a temporary laboratory left by Dr. Qiu Shiye of the Fifth Department of the United Space Army's fleet missile cruiser of Gemini."

"If things go as expected, the missing reactor should be here."

No remains of Qiu Shiye were found in the wreckage of Gemini, but the poem engraved on the relic mentioned maze and cloud.

Combining the meaningful words he left behind, Night Ten reasonably deduced that Dr. Qiu Shiye likely dismantled the reactor and moved it somewhere in the forest.

Even dismantled besides the reactor were the experimental instruments from the Fifth Department, and more.

In subsequent investigations, Night Ten verified the last location of Dr. Qiu Shiye's activities through the growth cycle of trees—this cave situated halfway up the mountain.

This used to be where the Qiu people held sacrificial ceremonies, but later it was abandoned due to natural reasons.

Their purpose for the sacrificial ceremonies clearly had one reason in mind...

Their Ancestors lay dormant here.

To be frank, Night Ten was quite surprised that Jiang Xuezhou overlooked these clues.

With her capability, there was no reason for her to be unable to find clues near the ship's bridge to facilitate further investigation.

Of course, everyone makes mistakes.

And he himself only found the cave, suspected to be the laboratory entrance, by leveraging spiritual energy, so he had no reason to mock her.

Finally reaching the entrance to the cave, Night Ten placed a beacon emitting radio signals at the entrance and then did a final check of his exploration tools.

Just then, a gentle hum came from the communication channel.

"Hum..."

Hearing the gentle hum in the communication channel, Night Ten, who was about to enter the cave, wore a helpless expression and sighed.

"My esteemed, dear Captain... Did I offend you in some way?"

The communication channel was silent for a while, then a grinding voice came through.

"...You know it yourself."

Claiming "you know it yourself" yet remains.

Hearing the sulky response tinged with a hint of grievance, Night Ten couldn't help but smile.

However, this obscure laughter agitated someone already aggravated—a raging jar of jealousy.

"! What are you laughing at!"

Night Ten teased.

"Nothing, just feeling... someone sulking is acting like a little child."

Jiang Xuezhou said angrily.

"You are like a child! You are the most like a child!"

Her current ire wasn't from him whimsically allowing someone on board, but his nonchalant demeanor making it seem like she was being unreasonable.

"Yes, yes, I'm a child, so please go easy on me," Night Ten chuckled and after a pause, continued, "Honestly, you're also willing to bring her along, right."

Jiang Xuezhou: "!?"

Seeing the other side of the communication channel silent, Night Ten teased with a smile.

"Did I guess right?"

About half a minute later, a soft voice came from the communication channel.

"So, this is Spiritual Energy."

Night Ten thought for a moment and said.

"Although our intuition is a form of mental induction...but I guess that this level of mental induction is probably different from the kind of Spiritual Energy you imagine."

Jiang Xuezhou grit his teeth and said.

"Who has intuition with you!"

Night Ten laughed out loud and arrogantly said.

"Of course it's me, who else could it be?"

He didn't continue to tease Xuezhou.

When it came to this point, he paused for a moment and then switched to a solemn voice.

"Sorry for not discussing Dora's matter with you, but... I really didn't expect you'd be jealous because of her. If you mind, I will clear things up with her for you. When we return to Earth, she'll disembark."

Taking a "Gaian" representative back to Earth is still necessary, and it's one of the side missions he received.

Whether for the significance of scientific research or for the purpose of communication between civilizations, the Alliance hopes he can bring one or several people back.

In a friendly manner or through persuasion.

Dora voluntarily left her world, which is definitely for the best.

As for the matters between men and women, they are completely unrelated.

Not to mention the absurdity, she hasn't shown any romantic feelings for him.

That kind of worship for Ancestors and God, and the hunger for knowing Truth, is very different from ordinary worldly emotions.

Not to mention, Dora reacted the same way to Jiang Xuezhou; surely it's not a crush.

Night Ten doesn't need to explain himself either.

Though he was surprised, he never actually had those kinds of thoughts.

As for why, it goes back to that nonsensical issue.

But he actually understands; teenage girls in love and older women going through menopause are both sensitive.

Lil Jiang undoubtedly belongs to the former.

Hearing Night Ten lay his cards on the table, Jiang Xuezhou, now on a synchronized orbit, blushed like a lantern, suddenly jumping like a cat that had its tail stepped on.

"Who's jealous, you don't flatter yourself! How could I be jealous of a Primitive Man!"

Night Ten's lips curled up with a hint of a smile, kicking the wobbly ball back.

"Oh? Then it seems I've flattered myself. I wonder, dear Captain, where exactly did I fail to offend you?"

Never expecting the ball to be kicked back, an unprepared Jiang Xuezhou stammered for a while, finally forcing out a feeble retort.

"You—You made decisions...without the captain's approval, you—you let people board the ship arbitrarily."

Night Ten chuckled and said.

"They haven't boarded yet, so there's still time to change your mind. Should I let her go? Shall we find another one?"

"Ugh—"

Seated at the terminal, Jiang Xuezhou seemed choked, speechless, blushing.

After a while, she murmured softly.

"You... you seem like a different person."

Night Ten smiled and said.

"People do grow...how about you? Do you feel a bit better?"

"Not at all! I'm even angrier!" Looking at this smug guy, Jiang Xuezhou glared fiercely at the holographic screen and said something contrary to her heart.

She actually realized she was being unreasonable earlier, and she wasn't like this before.

In fact, most of the time, she played the more reliable role, but this time the roles were reversed.

It's all this dog's fault...

With a blushing face, Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath to calm her wavering emotions and focused back on work.

"Leave the exploration of the ruins to you... Be careful ahead."

"Received."

Raising his hand to greet the sky, Night Ten packed up his checked equipment and strode toward the cave's interior...

...

The nameless mountain cave was pitch black and silent, footsteps on the rubble were particularly prominent.

The communication channel was quiet, without a sound.

Walking in the cave, Night Ten suddenly remembered, Jiang Xuezhou seemed afraid of the dark.

He wondered if she had already scratched the chair's armrest sitting by the screen.

Or simply turned the camera off.

Thinking so, Night Ten bypassed a greasy-shining stalactite column and finally found signs of someone having been here near a slope.

It was a crooked staircase, the rectangular steps clearly chiseled by hand.

Marks on the inclined surface looked like they'd been scuffed while transporting devices.

"The cave is quite spacious."

Night Ten glanced around with the flashlight, surprised and excited.

There were chisel marks not only on the staircase underfoot but also on the rock walls on both sides.

It turns out those Qiu People's mining and building techniques were honed in this mountain cave!

A mysterious intuition told Night Ten the end of the ruins was not far ahead.

"I'll go down and take a look."

Leaving a sentence on the communication channel, he squatted and slid down the incline into the space below the stairs.

With a screech of metal friction, his feet soon touched down, landing in a spacious cave.

The area here was vast, expanded upon an existing cave structure.

Night Ten lifted his flashlight and looked ahead, quickly spotting a metal door.

Rather than a door, it was a piece of steel horizontally across the entrance.

And clearly, the steel had been salvaged from starship wreckage.

A soft exclamation came from the communication channel.

"You really found it..."

Night Ten's lips curled into a triumphant smile at the incredulous exclamation.

Without speaking, he stepped forward and removed the rusty steel plate.

"If it's just a test, it shouldn't consume much fuel..."

Hope there's some left.

Chapter 1017: Breaking the Fourth Wall!

The air inside the laboratory was very dry, completely different from the damp and chilly cave outside.

Clearly, Dr. Qiu Shiye had considered the ventilation issue, which relieved Night Ten's worry about a potential reactor fuel tank leak.

Helium itself has strong penetrative properties, demanding strict storage conditions.

Not to mention visible gaps, even seamless glass and ceramics might leak it.

Generally, such nuclear fuels are preserved in high-density alloy containers under low temperature conditions.

"It's a wonder that guy managed to hide the reactor so deep..." Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but mutter softly.

The flashlight's beam searched through the laboratory corridor, and Night Ten casually replied.

"But thinking from another perspective, without this research facility, if that fuel tank were left out in the forest, we probably wouldn't need to go to such efforts to find it."

"Are you deliberately stirring trouble..."

"Of course not."

Already imagining that face red like a monkey's behind, Night Ten whistled mockingly and focused again on the underground research facility in front of him.

From the marks of artificial excavation, one could tell Dr. Qiu Shiye truly dedicated a lot of effort to this laboratory.

That was probably early in the Awakening Era, shortly after the Second Judgment Day, when he hadn't yet penned that poem on the Gemini's bridge.

Night Ten tried to put himself in Dr. Qiu's perspective.

The researcher's feelings at the time might have been akin to discovering his own "Tunnan," filled with joy, ambition, excitement, and madness.

This wasn't hard to imagine.

After all, not long ago, he, standing on the shoulders of the United Human, had just discovered a secret unknown to them—
an existence closer to Gaia's secret on this planet, known as the "Tree of Yenshof"!

And a pioneer whose history is far older than humans, perhaps glimpsing the "essence of the world"!

This laboratory should count as the beginning of his challenge to the Fourth Wall.

When he realized his insignificance and etched that poem on the wall, it was his life reaching its end.

"In the entrance locker of the lab are two radiation suits and an outdoor activity exoskeleton, presumably recovered from the Gemini."

Checking the buffer chamber structure at the lab's entrance, Night Ten then scanned the surroundings, and reported briefly on the communication channel.

"Various signs indicate Dr. Qiu Shiye lived here for about fifteen years. Counting his time living with the natives, he was roughly 60 years old at passing."

Living to 60 with zero medical conditions, Night Ten couldn't say if that was considered long-lived.

Urging voices came through the communication channel.

"Never mind all that, let's quickly find the reactor's fuel tank."

"Copy, I'm searching."

Night Ten replied, then continued exploring deeper into the laboratory along the narrow corridor.

It didn't take long, with the help of the drone operated by Jiang Xuezhou, to quickly locate the reactor core following the wiring structure inside the lab.

It was a cylindrical tank, roughly the thickness of four to five people embracing, densely wrapped in pipes, connected to electrical components dismantled from the construction.

Its abstract appearance almost stripped the fusion reactor of its dignity in Night Ten's mind.

However, this clearly wasn't the time to ponder over dignity or not.

As the flashlight illuminated the reactor, an excited voice was instantly heard through the communication channel.

"Found it! It's the thing plugged into the round tank!"

"You mean this?"

Looking along the faint blue beam projected by the drone, Night Ten found a protruding handle in the middle of the big round tank.

The handle connected to a metal disc the size of a basketball, embedded at the center of the reactor tank, seemingly a power component.

Night Ten reached out to grab the handle, attempting to pull it out from the reactor, discovering the entire power component's exterior was rusted to the reactor's structure.

"I'll help you!"

Simultaneously, the drone controlled by Jiang Xuezhou flew beside the reactor, two spring knife-like mechanical arms eagerly sprang out from the bottom of the machine.

"Buzz—"

A light blue plasma plume spewed from the end of the mechanical arm, heat slicing into the rusty gap, circled along the tank's connection with the power component.

Accompanied by a clear "snap," Night Ten felt the resistance in his hand suddenly decrease.

Amidst grating metallic friction sounds, he finally managed to extract the power component from the tank.

However, upon seeing the full view of the power component, Night Ten's excitement instantly sank.

A fist-sized hole stamped right in the middle of the gas tank!

The sturdy tank seemed to have been blasted by One Cannon, pierced through from the center!

No wonder it wouldn't come out!

"Oh great... it's leaking!?" Faced with such unacceptable reality, Night Ten swallowed hard.

Meanwhile, Xiao Jiang's despairing voice came through the communication channel.

"How could this happen... it was plugged into the reactor nicely, wasn't it? What could have possibly blasted it through?!"

That was their only hope of going home.

Without the fuel to open the hyperspace passage, they'd have to spend the rest of their lives in this world five light years away...

"Don't rush into despair, there might be spare fuel somewhere here... At least now I know what the gas tank looks like."

Gazing at the empty tank in his hand, Night Ten too felt panic-stricken, but still took a moment to comfort Jiang Xuezhou, then continued searching nearby.

Persistence pays off.

After searching through the experiment for a while, he actually found an identical gas tank beneath a folding bed!

"There's another one here!" Night Ten exclaimed in surprise, then forcefully flipped the folding bed over with both hands, pulling out the tank trapped underneath.

Who knows what was running through Dr. Qiu Shiye's mind, using such precious nuclear fuel as a stool to prop up a bed board.

Was he planning to awaken spiritual energy with this method?

But using Helium-3 as a radiation source might be too stable...

Seeing the tank in Night Ten's hand, a glimmer of hope reignited in Jiang Xuezhou's eyes sitting on the synchronous orbit's bridge.

He operated the drone to fly next to Night Ten; a pale blue scanning beam soon projected onto the tank from the emitter below the camera.

Restraining his fluctuating emotions, Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath and said.

"Tank integrity... 100%."

"Fuel remaining..."

"0."

"Damn!" Hearing that final "0," Night Ten almost choked on his own saliva, still unwilling to give up, he asked, "Could it be a measurement error?"

Jiang Xuezhou: "Impossible... Liquid helium formed by Helium-3 is lighter than that formed by Helium-4. If you don't believe it, weigh it yourself."

Night Ten fell silent.

The main issue was that he couldn't calculate this stuff.

After a moment, a soft sigh came through the communication channel.

"...It's actually obvious, isn't it? If there were any fuel left, how could Dr. Qiu Shiye throw it under the bed board as if it's trash."

Compared to before, the voice coming from the communication channel sounded much calmer.

No sorrow is greater than a broken heart.

Although Jiang Xuezhou admitted, he was a bit excited when he initially saw the tank, but it proved to be just a baseless fantasy.

After pausing for a few seconds, Jiang Xuezhou suddenly adopted a relieved tone.

"Hmm, actually, when you consider it... Spending the rest of my life on this planet with you wouldn't be too bad."

"What silly things are you saying? We just agreed to go see the edge of the universe." Night Ten couldn't help but retort.

This guy suddenly started speaking with a finale-like tone.

He hadn't given up on treatment yet.

"Haha... Yeah, what a pity."

Night Ten could sense the voice carried a hint of loneliness.

It was clear that she was genuinely interested in the proposal he had put forward, not merely trying to humor him.

Thinking of this, Night Ten's lips curled into a slight smile.

"My intuition tells me our story hasn't ended here."

Jiang Xuezhou teased.

"Oh? Did spiritual energy tell you that?"

"Just take it as it is."

Night Ten smiled mysteriously and confidently cast his gaze around.

It had nothing to do with spiritual energy; it was merely a sharpened perception giving him a strong sense of incongruity, catching his attention.

The not so spacious laboratory was pitch black, with only the flashlight in his hand and the drone's light beside him as the sole sources of illumination.

However—

Even though it was dark here, in his mind, it was clear as day.

He had memorized everything he saw from the moment he entered the lab, organizing and dissecting each clue meticulously.

And those clues he had ignored also became clear at this moment.

"There are two triangular hangers by the locker at the door, corresponding to just two protective suits. Both suits are in the closet, indicating he didn't leave."

"..."

The communication channel fell silent, with only a static electric hum.

Clearly, Jiang Xuezhou didn't understand what he was saying, only after a while did she pick up the thread and say.

"...Are you saying he's still in the lab?"

Night Ten calmly analyzed, saying.

"The accurate statement should be, at the last moment in this world, Dr. Qiu Shiye spent it in the lab."

Jiang Xuezhou sighed and said.

"I think making such a deduction based solely on two protective suits being in the closet is somewhat far-fetched. What if he simply didn't wear a hazmat suit?"

The remains of the Gemini Crew indeed haven't been found, but that doesn't prove anything; he could potentially have died anywhere in the vast forest and valleys.

Moreover—

Even knowing where the guy died, does it even matter?

The critical thing is the nuclear fuel.

That's truly what they need.

Night Ten smiled faintly and continued.

"If he was going out, he would definitely wear it... As for why, just come to the ground and you'll understand why I'm saying this."

The local indigenous records about the Ancestors seem inseparable from "power armor."

Actually, when you think about it carefully, what those natives saw may not necessarily be "power armor". It could also be a combination of exoskeleton and protective suits.

However, there is one thing that is undeniable.

That is, all the "Ancestors" almost never show their true faces; they always wear clothes or armor that cover their entire body when going out.

As for the reason, it's actually quite simple...

"This forest is filled with various poisonous insects, didn't we see them when we first landed?"

Jiang Xuezhou was stunned.

"Ah... but isn't it hot wearing such thick protective clothing?"

Night Ten smiled faintly and said.

"The protective suits come with cooling and ventilation modules. Though a bit troublesome, it's better than being bitten or even killed by poisonous bugs."

The local natives might not be affected by the toxic insects, after all, they have been living and thriving here for so many years and might have gotten used to it.

But for the Gemini Crew from Earth, those poisonous bugs, even if not deadly, are pretty annoying.

"... But even if we know this clue, what good is it to us?" Jiang Xuezhou muttered softly.

Night Ten glanced around at the pitch darkness and continued speaking in a gentle tone.

"How could it be useless? This is clearly an incredible clue."

"We have solid evidence proving that Dr. Qiu Shiye spent his last moments in the lab, yet his body is nowhere to be found there."

"So here's the question..."

"Where did he go?"

The air was as silent as death.

After a long time, a gulping sound was heard on the communication channel.

"What you said... I feel a chill down my spine."

"Why are you feeling a chill in the sky?"

Night Ten grumbled irritably and walked over to the desk and whiteboard beside him.

On the whiteboard, there were scribbled and altered formulas, likely drafts written casually by Dr. Qiu Shiye.

He couldn't understand what those formulas meant, so he took a photo with his combat recorder, then turned his attention to the pile of papers on the table.

Having been washed by time, those papers had already turned yellow.

Nevertheless, Night Ten could still barely make out the notes remaining on the incomplete pages.

He completely immersed his attention in those incomplete lines of clues.

At this moment, the abilities given to him by spiritual energy once again created a miracle.

In the void where sight couldn't penetrate, Dr. Qiu Shiye seemed to come alive, standing next to him, picking up that dust-covered pen...

His face was filled with devotion.

Even though separated by a hundred years, Night Ten still clearly saw that face.

In a blink, he sat at the desk, meticulously writing in the experimental notes.

"They all say I'm crazy... but I think they're the ones who are truly insane. We've never been so close to the door leading to the Truth, someone even found it for us!"

"All we need to do is open the box that's already been opened once again... I've even found it, it's right beneath our feet!"

He muttered continuously.

Standing behind him, Night Ten, also muttered repeatedly.

Watching from the side, Jiang Xuezhou was completely bewildered.

Since she was operating the drone, she couldn't see what Night Ten saw.

The scene in her eyes was a completely different one; Night Ten standing in the drone camera seemed crazy, muttering to the few incomplete pieces of paper.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm reciting what he wrote in the notebook..."

Night Ten replied casually, then continued focusing all his attention on the experimental notes on the table, while the transcending time phantom in front of him continued writing tirelessly.

That was not a failure's mental state, more like a seeker who had reached the end of the maze.

Entirely different from what he imagined!

After discovering "It" and realizing he was merely a mural on the wall, Dr. Qiu Shiye didn't collapse, instead, he devoted himself even more passionately to the unfinished endeavor!

Even though he now realized, behind the Fourth wall was not as he imagined.

Even though he understood that even seeing the creator did not mean becoming the creator...

Night Ten abruptly thought of Dora, the temple maiden of the Doma Tribe.

And at that moment, he finally completely understood Dr. Qiu Shiye's mental state.

To hear the Truth and die in the evening is enough!

He ultimately walked out of the mural that trapped him, becoming the cloud in the sky!

"I did it! I found it! Hahaha..." The old man bowed at his desk suddenly laughed, then stood up energetically from the experimental desk.

He was as excited as a child, humming an out-of-tune tune, and reached the reactor beside the lab.

It was a reactor he pieced together using materials he dismantled from a starship, not merely a reactor.

Night Ten mimicked his actions, even copying his every smile and frown, even that out-of-tune tune.

As if he went mad, Night Ten returned to the reactor, fiercely inserted the energy-exhausted gas canister into the cylindrical metallic container.

"Ka—"

A slight noise came, and the air storage tank seamlessly merged with the haphazardly assembled reactor.

"What are you doing?" Watching Night Ten who seemed obsessed, Jiang Xuezhou asked nervously.

Night Ten didn't answer, instead, he operated the control panel on the side of the metal tank as if guided by an unseen hand.

Finally positioning the last button, he took a deep breath and removed the power armor, placing his feet on the cold rocky ground.

"We've all misunderstood... Dr. Qiu Shiye's research doesn't end here."

"What are you talking about? I'm getting more confused!" Jiang Xuezhou's puzzled voice came through the communication channel.

Night Ten knew well that her confusion was similar to what Dr. Qiu Shiye encountered during the early stages of his research — the confusion a normal person would have.

If she had awakened her spiritual energy, perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult for her to understand.

"...This reactor isn't just for supplying the lab's power; it's more than that."

"Then what is it?!" Jiang Xuezhou asked, puzzled.

Night Ten answered with a tone full of certainty.

"It's a miracle."

Jiang Xuezhou stared blankly at the screen.

"A m-miracle?"

Night Ten nodded.

"It's a... perforator, a miracle co-created by 'mortals' and 'Gods' through divine will. It can traverse the void, passing through the 'Window of Vision', or the 'Fourth wall'."

Jiang Xuezhou's mind went blank, she stood dazed in front of the holographic screen.

"Break... the Fourth wall?!"

Night Ten gently nodded, his face carrying a meaningful and complex expression.

"Its goodwill towards this world made it ultimately choose to carry him away, just like we took Dora. Whether that was truly what she wanted, we must always give her the choice... I believe, His echo left in this universe thought so too."

The information exchanged through spiritual energy requires mutual recognition from both parties.

And at this moment, he truly understood the words He left——

"You've succeeded before."

As he spoke, Night Ten removed the nuclear battery from the power armor, guiding the terrifying current it released with his fingertips.

The intense energy formed crackling arcs of electricity in the air, a blinding light unbearable to look at directly.

Though this energy was but a tiny fraction compared to what is needed to open a hyperspace passage, it's sufficient to drive this "miniature" perforator!

All he needed was a hair-sized hole; he had no intention of destroying this planet.

The restless static made all hair and sweat follicles on his body stand up.

The drone hovering nearby crashed uncontrollably to the ground, interspersed voices came through the communication channel.

"W-what are you doing?!"

Guiding the terrifying current back into the reactor, Night Ten spoke gently.

"I'm demonstrating it for you..."

"This perforator not only folds the mass and energy from this universe into another's light but also unfolds light from the other universe into energy or mass... like unraveling a folded paper airplane,"

He wasn't joking.

Under his guidance, the perforator built a century ago was successfully activated, drilling a small hole in the unbreakable Fourth wall, letting another universe's light shine through.

In another universe, it's just a tiny beam of light, so minuscule it can't be seen by the naked eye, too small to illuminate a speck of dust even.

However, once it fell into this universe, the dust-like light instantly turned into a giant, releasing enough terrifying energy to set the whole planet ablaze!

Fortunately, it fell into a suitable container that was calmly waiting there.

The "battery" lodged on the reactor, which should never be rechargeable, filled up in an instant...

The shining light gradually extinguished.

The drone that crashed to the floor floated back up, wavering as it flew in front of the reactor.

The pale blue scanning beam illuminated the metal shell of the air storage tank once more.

This time, Jiang Xuezhou was completely stunned.

"Helium-3... h-how was this done?!"

Helium-4 combined with protons from who knows where to become Helium-3 again...

How the hell is this possible?!

Her mind felt like it'd been struck, leaving her stunned, unable to utter a word.

The universe experienced entropy reduction, shifting from disorder to order, physics disappeared in front of her once more...

Perhaps having a spiritual energy-wielding diplomat isn't enough, they might need to drag a few physicists from Earth onto the ship.

Listening to the murmurs from the other side of the communication channel, Night Ten gently removed the charged storage tank from the "Window of Vision perforator".

"Anyway, we have the fuel to go home... and theoretically, an unlimited supply. The only risk is borrowing energy from another world might attract something stuck on the wall, so it's better to use it sparingly."

Exactly how Dr. Qiu Shiye completed this device still remained a mystery.

Even with His help, accomplishing such a feat is astonishing enough.

After a pause, Night Ten continued.

"As for how this is achieved... I guess this issue might take us a century to study."

——

(Thanks for the alliance rewards from "ice_Ω" and "|Bad Guy|"! There are currently two ideas for the new book: one cyberpunk, mechanical ascension, set in an enormous cyber Giant Stone City, focused on combat and prosthetics with "spiritual energy" as the golden finger. Another idea involves wearing into a Game world, a digitalized starry sky, inheriting parts of this book's official forum and settings. One will likely follow a plotline, while the other might focus on slice-of-life. A third idea is still under development...)

Chapter 1018: Homecoming

Doma City.

Beneath the Sacred Tree, the crowd was bustling, faces full of devotion turned towards the golden canopy, and people prayed in that silent language, understood only among themselves.

The immense spiritual energy wove into a web.

Although they hadn't established a direct communion with the Tree of Yenshof, the spiritual energy that gathered thousands still rivaled the presence of gods.

They sensed Him.

And were becoming Him.

Dora, who led the prayers, suddenly opened her eyes and slowly rose from the entangled roots.

Saquai, taking over the position of chieftain, ordained her as the new High Priestess, which she did not refuse, though she agreed on the timing with Saquai.

She would lead the believers in the forest in prayer for a period, until the fourteenth sunset.

"...The Light Elves have nested atop the canopy, as long as you continue your devout prayers, the golden hue entwined in the canopy shall not dim."

The so-called Light Elves referred to the "fireflies" in the forest.

Although the Doma Tribe hadn't yet figured out the principles behind this, when these little elves gathered, they indeed brought visible prosperity to the Sacred Tree.

Watching Dora standing up, Saquai, leaning on a cane, walked to her side with unsteady steps.

From priest to chieftain, he had experienced too much these months, and the wrinkles on his face grew more profound.

"Is it time?" The old man looked into the girl's eyes, his voice carrying a hint of reluctance.

She was the most talented temple maiden among the young people of the Doma Tribe, and he hoped she would inherit his mantle.

He even considered that when his life ended, he would pass the chieftain position to her, to let her lead the tribe to continue flourishing in this forest.

What a pity...

Why did the Ancestors have to take her?

Looking at the old man, whose eyes held reluctance, Dora gently nodded and said in a soft voice.

"The Ancestors are calling me, the day of departure has come, I shall bid you farewell."

Saquai sighed lightly.

"When will you return?"

Dora answered truthfully.

"Perhaps, never."

The Ancestors said that once you ascend to the heavens, you must abide by the heavenly laws.

After leaving here, she would no longer be a Doma, not even a Gaian.

Saquai nodded, ultimately not uttering words to retain her but simply offered his blessing.

"Safe travels."

Dora nodded, sincerely expressing her gratitude.

"Thank you for your blessing... Moreover, I have something to give you."

Saying so, she reached into her bosom and took out a thinly carved wood token, handing it to Saquai.

Saquai was momentarily stunned, then saw rows of tiny tadpole-like symbols engraved on the wood token.

"...What is this?" His face was full of confusion as he looked up at Dora.

Dora spoke gently.

"This is our script, the most precious knowledge that our forerunners had no time to give us... Now I have tried to complete it, but it is not yet vivid and perfect. The work of refinement is up to you."

"In the future, our history will be engraved on stone slabs with it."

She believed the old man would understand, just like she could understand the symbols written by the Ancestors.

This was the ability given by spiritual energy.

What they had to do was convey what they understood through spiritual energy to those who did not possess spiritual energy... until they eventually found a stable way to awaken spiritual energy.

Saquai solemnly accepted the wood token from Dora, placing it in his bosom.

"I will dedicate the rest of my life to this task, I promise you."

Dora did not speak, only gave the old man a hug, and then turned away without looking back.

The prayer and sacrificial activities were approaching their end, and the next step was to select a new High Priestess.

The priests and temple maidens prostrate among the roots looked curiously at Saquai standing on the roots, quietly waiting for him to speak.

Seeing him remain silent for a long time, an elder from the tribe stepped up and asked softly.

"Where has she gone?"

Saquai slowly answered.

"To another world."

"An...another world?" The elder was stunned; that was beyond his understanding.

Saquai couldn't quite imagine that world either, and could only try to understand from fragmented words of the past.

"It is an infinitely prosperous world, where all good people ultimately go. She saved the forest, the Ancestors took her, she ascended... We should bless her."

Ascension...

This word appeared for the first time in the culture of the Doma people.

Carrying countless good wishes, this word is destined to be passed down from generation to generation by the people living in this forest.

Not only Doma City celebrated her ascension, but the tribes in the forest also held grand sacrificial ceremonies for her.

From now on, a new festival would be added to the Forest People's calendar.

The day Dora left this land would be known by the people here as Ascension Day...

And coincidentally, on the very day Dora left this world, the Qiu Tribe, long hidden in the mountains, finally emerged from the mountains under the leadership of Qiu Ridge.

They were starving and covered in wounds, but fortunately, they did not get lost or abandon hope.

The crashing tides echoed in everyone's eardrums, and they finally saw the sea their ancestors spoke of!

"The sea!"

Qiu Ridge, who had rushed to the beach, was as excited as a child, shouting back to his dazed tribesmen.

"It's the sea from the prophecy!"

The vast, endless blue overwhelmed their bewildered eyes, and the astonishment in their hearts was beyond words.

Even the most hesitant among them now believed in the infinitely fertile land their leader spoke of—

"We must establish a foothold here, gather food! And salt! Prepare for crossing a broader world! Trust me, as long as we follow the prophecy, there are more prosperous lands waiting for us ahead!"

Qiu Ridge called out energetically, directing some of the tribe to cut wood in the nearby forest, and others to search for berries.

He himself sat by the sea, pondering how to catch something edible from the waters.

The sun rose and fell, and a day passed in the blink of an eye.

Although he didn't catch any fish from the sea, clever and agile Qiu Ridge did not come back empty-handed.

He successfully roasted a crab!

This was probably the first time the "upright apes" on this planet had tasted the deliciousness of crab.

And this little creature with its tasty meat was almost inexhaustible on this bountiful beach!

Wisps of cooking smoke drifted upward as the Qiu Clan built a campfire by the coastline.

Separated by a whole range of mountains from the Forest People's domain, they would not be seen by those within the forest.

At last, they no longer had to worry about the fire attracting pursuers and could finally eat cooked food.

People resting around the campfire sang songs celebrating their victory and carved the tale of their leader conquering the ocean onto the stone tablets they brought from the Forbidden Forest Valley.

This journey would be longer than anyone could imagine, and the epic written on the stone tablets would exceed all their expectations.

During this time, they would discover new words, new terms, and new methods and tools for recording and spreading information.

Some people might fall behind, either staying voluntarily or being forced to remain in villages established along the way.

But most would continue to follow their leader onward, seeking the legendary homeland at the world's end...

...

Having bid farewell to her family, Dora returned to her tree hollow, taking some personal belongings and gifts from the tribe, before heading to the research ship parked on the outskirts of Doma City.

When she arrived near the research ship, Night Ten, clad in power armor, was dismantling the solar panels and drone charging stations previously deployed outside the research ship.

"Are we taking these things down as well?" Dora leaned down curiously beside the silver machine and asked.

"Of course."

As he lifted the last packed storage box, Night Ten smiled and replied.

"Otherwise, in a thousand years, when your tribespeople dig these things up, it'd be hard to explain how they got here."

Dora asked puzzledly.

"Can't we just tell them directly?"

Night Ten shook his head.

"It's not the time yet, and...some things aren't as simple as you think."

In some sense, human civilization had already paid the price for a rash third-contact plan, and the newly formed alliance might adhere to a non-interference policy for a long time, allowing these natives to naturally evolve in their own home in their own way.

As long as they didn't blow up their own home, the Alliance probably wouldn't interfere in their internal affairs anymore.

"Let those who enjoy finding trouble deal with those annoying issues, we're ready to set off."

Moving the last box back to the research ship, Night Ten stood at the cabin door, beckoning her over.

She followed apprehensively, stepping through the cabin door into the interior of the research ship.

The silver-white walls were like works of art, and everything in view filled her with wonder and curiosity.

"Do you… live here regularly?"

"No way." Night Ten couldn't help but laugh, "This is called a research ship, Jiang Xuezhou should have explained it to you."

Dora nodded blankly.

Another ancestor indeed told her that this was a kind of ship capable of flying in the sky.

But what was a ship?

For the tribes in the forest, the farthest they had been was only to the eastern mountains.

Although there were some wider rivers in the forest, they usually controlled plant growth to form bridges to cross, so not to mention ships, they didn't even have the concept of bridges.

In a way, while spiritual energy had bestowed them with much, it had also limited them in many ways.

It's hard to say whether this was good or bad, only further observation could conclude.

At this moment, Jiang Xuezhou's voice came through the communication channel, startling Dora, who was examining the seat facing the research ship.

"Night Ten! Are you guys ready or not? If you're ready, I'll let the research ship take off."

"All set."

Night Ten made an "all done" gesture towards the camera, then indicated for Dora to mimic his actions and fasten her seatbelt.

"Like this... is okay?"

The tight restraint made Dora feel uncomfortable, but she obediently endured it and did not unfasten the seatbelt.

"That's right, just like that."

Seeing her "uncomfortable" expression, Night Ten wanted to help her, but remembering that a certain jealous person was still floating in the sky, he pretended not to see.

Just bear with it a little longer.

It'll be fine soon anyway.

A gentle electronic prompt sounded in the communication channel, and light blue text flickered and scrolled on the holographic display screen.

It seemed that Jiang Xuezhou was really bored during the time Night Ten was secluded, even creating such a takeoff reminder for passengers.

Night Ten rested the back of his head against the safety seat and took a deep breath.

Finally—

Going home!

[The spaceship is entering the takeoff preparation phase. Please remain seated and keep your seatbelt fastened—]

[5...]

[4...]

[3... 2... 1—]

[Engines activated.]

As soon as the electronic prompt ended, a massive thrust came from beneath the seat, propelling the research ship skyward.

The intense vibrations startled Dora, but seeing Night Eleven's calm face with closed eyes, she quickly calmed down as well.

The spaceship flew for a while and gradually approached the edge of the clouds.

At this moment, Night Ten, leaning against the safety seat, opened his eyes.

"Actually, this research ship didn't shake this much before... By the way, are you curious what the forest you used to live in looks like?"

Dora hurriedly nodded.

"I want to see."

Night Ten extended his index finger and lightly drew in the air, and soon the light blue holographic screen projected the scene below the research ship onto the center of the screen.

Watching the verdant forest shrink into a curved surface, and the sun, which had set behind the mountains, being "dragged" back to the horizon, Dora widened her eyes in disbelief, her expression of shock beyond words.

Night Ten didn't disturb her, allowing her to watch the forest shrink smaller and smaller, eventually blurred by the thick atmosphere.

The two remained silent throughout the journey.

The research ship, with its anti-gravity device activated, accelerated along the edge of the atmosphere, like a dragonfly leaping from the surface of the water, diving into the vast cosmos, and slowly approaching the Orion Missile Cruiser hovering in synchronous orbit.

Seeing the majestic steel fortress, Dora's eyes widened, almost popping out of her sockets, and she exclaimed.

"Heavenly Palace!"

"Another Heavenly Palace... Speaking of which, this Heavenly Palace has some ties to yours." Night Ten said with a smile, and his thoughts drifted back two hundred years.

Who would have thought that two centuries ago, the Orion and Gemini, which perished together, would reunite in this way.

Passing through the shattered hull, the Gemini successfully landed inside the Orion.

Seeing Night Ten undo his seatbelt, Dora imitated his actions, unbuckling her seatbelt, and hurriedly ran to open the door, but Night Ten pulled her back just as she reached the entrance.

"Don't get too excited, put on this 'spacesuit'." As he spoke, Night Ten tossed an extravehicular spacesuit into her hands.

He then explained to her how to wear it and check the equipment's integrity using voice commands.

Finally completing the last preparations, he evacuated the air from the cabin, then opened the hatch of the research ship.

Seeing Night Ten standing at the entrance, Jiang Xuezhou, who had already been waiting there, could no longer contain her longing and rushed forward with tears in her eyes.

"Night Ten!"

The round astronaut helmet bumped his chin, causing Night Ten to grimace in pain, but he endured his complaints and patted her back.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Standing beside the research ship, Dora stared blankly at the embracing Ancestors, then shifted her gaze to the round-bellied robot nearby.

The robot raised its arm and greeted her.

"Hello."

That was just a simple greeting, but it left Dora frozen in place, her face displaying a startled expression.

Noticing her reaction, Jiang Xuezhou jumped down from Night Ten's shoulder, coughed lightly, and said.

"It's called Little Koala... It's the child of an engineer on this starship."

"Little... Koala?"

Dora stared blankly at Little Koala and finally squeezed out a stammering sentence in United Human language, "Why... can't I feel your soul?"

"Hmm... Why indeed?" Little Koala seemed not to care about this question; it touched its nonexistent chin with its less-than-nimble mechanical hand, "Probably because I'm not human."

"It seems that spiritual energy only works on organic life..." Jiang Xuezhou stroked his chin and nodded thoughtfully, "Interesting... I wonder if bionic humans have such things."

"Bionic humans?" Dora tilted her head, showing a puzzled expression.

Honestly, she didn't quite understand what "robot" or even "machine" meant, only thinking it was some kind of powerful magic.

Looking at Dora's confused face, Jiang Xuezhou generously introduced.

"A type of robot that's not much different from humans, not only highly realistic in appearance but also capable of thinking like a human... Don't worry, I'll explain the meaning of some of these terms to you. Hey, why don't you share your thoughts first? What's your feeling about coming here for the first time? Is it as you imagined?"

At this point, Jiang Xuezhou's eyes showed an interested expression, getting close like he'd discovered some fascinating specimen.

Dora awkwardly smiled and gazed out the porthole, eventually expressing her thoughts.

"Honestly... it's quite unbelievable."

"For example?"

"For example... it's so dark."

Taking her eyes off the deep, dark abyss of space, Dora looked back at the ancestor wearing a round helmet and bulky clothing and said awkwardly, "I thought the stars in the sky would be a bit brighter... Do you usually live here?"

"Of course not, we live on another planet five light-years away," Night Ten laughed, interjecting patiently, "As for the darkness... that's because we're too close to this star, so other stars' light is invisible. It'll get better when we're further away."

Dora nodded in confusion, casting her gaze toward the emerald green planet.

It turns out she's been living on a star, and her star is just one among the thousand galaxies above.

"What does five light-years mean?"

"It means it would take light five years to travel... Oh, by the way, that 'year' refers to Earth years, not the years here." Night Ten suddenly remembered the orbital cycles here differ from Earth, so he added another explanation.

"I see..."

Dora stayed silent for a long time and suddenly let out a soft sigh, "I didn't expect that the forest we live in is so insignificant, and we didn't even notice that the ground beneath us is spherical... I always thought it was flat."

Jiang Xuezhou joked.

"It's normal for you not to understand. If nothing unexpected happens, you'll still need hundreds, or even a thousand or two thousand years to figure out this problem."

Dora didn't speak, just stared at the emerald green planet, feeling a mix of joy in knowing the truth and worry.

Those questions she couldn't understand before became clear the moment she stepped into the starry sky.

However, what saddened her was that her tribesmen still have to walk for a very long time in this maze...

And not just her tribesmen, but also those Qiu people who left the forest.

She remembered the boy's name was Qiu Ridge, who swore to measure the earth beneath his feet with his own two feet, not knowing where he had gotten to.

If the world is a sphere, then wouldn't the so-called "edge of the world" not exist at all?

He was doing something destined to have no outcome from the beginning and would probably walk down this road endlessly until the end of his life.

That's so pitiful...

Watching Dora who still hadn't spoken, Night Ten casually showed some concern.

"What are you thinking about?"

Dora was silent for a while, looking at the two ancestors with a voice tinged with confusion.

"I'm thinking... why can't we tell them all this? Including that the world is big, we live on a star, and the ground is round..."

Night Ten and Jiang Xuezhou exchanged glances.

The latter showed a subtle expression, scratched his helmet, and spoke after a moment.

"Do you feel like you've been kept in the dark?"

Dora quickly replied.

"I haven't thought of it that way, I just feel... maybe we can join you. Although we're currently ignorant and weak, we can learn from you, and one day we'll surely be able to help you."

Jiang Xuezhou patiently said.

"Actually, we've considered what you said, but it's too early to discuss this now."

Dora absentmindedly asked.

"Why?"

"To say why, how do I put it..." Jiang Xuezhou was at a loss, casting a pleading look at Night Ten.

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou couldn't continue, Night Ten thought for a moment before answering while looking into Dora's eyes.

"Because... the universe is darker than you imagine. You've just seen the ray of light that happened to fall into your eyes, so you misunderstood that the whole universe is bright, but it's actually not."

"If I say that our world isn't as wonderful as you imagine, we also have problems that are overwhelming and I can affirm those are issues you definitely can't solve, just like you can't digest the technology we give you... Are you sure it's truly a good idea to lead your tribesmen to fully join us?"

Dora was momentarily speechless.

This indeed was beyond her knowledge.

And she confusingly realized reality seems to be just that way, she hadn't even reached the ancestors' world, merely standing in the heavens, and already felt disappointment.

Having the ancestors descend might not necessarily be a good thing.

In this regard, ancestors see much further than she does.

"...You indeed have the potential to nurture your own civilization, perhaps even inspire us to resolve problems that exist for both of us. But if you intend to skip these steps directly to become us... I believe it might not be beneficial for either of us."

Seeing Dora seemed to have figured things out, Night Ten continued.

"You can bring this question to our world, and when you reach the Wasteland, you'll naturally understand what I mean."

"Moreover, by that time, there'll be someone to discuss how the two worlds should interact..."

Chapter 1019: Five Light-Years in an Instant

[The hyperspace engine is charging... expected to complete in 32 minutes.]

[Progress: 1.1%]

On the bridge of the Orion, Night Ten stood in front of the console, looking at the holographic screen floating before him, a surprised expression on his face.

"Did you change the launch procedure?"

"Just tweaked the UI," Jiang Xuezhou said with a touch of pride, a slight smile on her lips, "The old UI of the United Space Army was too rough; outsiders wouldn't understand it, so I transplanted the shipboard AI from the research ship to the Orion Carrier Server's platform."

"Is this... okay?" Night Ten asked in astonishment, looking at her.

Jiang Xuezhou replied lazily.

"Don't forget I'm an expert in this field. Also, the shipboard system on my research ship was designed by me, and no one knows its capabilities better than I do."

Indeed, the newer waves of the Yangtze River push the old ones.

Night Ten couldn't help but marvel internally, gaining a deeper understanding of her skills.

Dora and Little Koala stood near the floor-to-ceiling window.

Dora's eyes were glued to the window, seemingly wanting to take in the sight of that green planet and etch its magnificent outline into her mind forever.

Little Koala's camera moved slightly, glanced at her, then at the nearby planet.

"It's a very beautiful planet."

Dora was momentarily stunned, not reacting at first, then awkwardly said after a while.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, I genuinely think so."

Little Koala nodded its camera, staring intently at the vast expanse of green, continuing in a casual tone.

"The scenery there should be quite nice, perhaps even unique in this universe."

Dora looked at it in a daze, suddenly blurting out.

"I... suddenly feel like I can sense your soul."

"Really?"

Little Koala turned its camera towards her, surprised and scrutinizing her up and down, seemingly not expecting to hear that.

Dora's face showed uncertainty, as if she wasn't seeing clearly, but after a moment, she nodded affirmatively, speaking in a sure tone.

"I see it, but I'm not sure... if it's yours."

The wall murals can house the creator's soul, and if one can establish a mental connection or resonance with the creator, they can understand the mural's meaning.

This is the most basic usage of "spiritual energy."

And now, the wall murals began to move, behaving like humans.

This was a craftsmanship or form of existence she had never seen before.

Precisely because of this, she couldn't decide if the soul belonged to Little Koala itself or its creator.

But perhaps, it doesn't make much difference.

Who can prove that one's soul has nothing to do with the person who created them?

Perhaps their souls never came from the Tree of Yenshof, but were passed down from generation to generation from the beginning...

Suddenly, Dora seemed to realize something, a hint of understanding slowly rising in her eyes.

After encountering something she had never experienced before, she gained new insight into her abilities and beliefs, moving a step closer to the truth previously realized by "Them".

Little Koala quietly observed her.

Although it did not comprehend her current realization, it was intrigued by what she said.

Seeing an existence in the world of 0 and 1 that it couldn't ascertain was difficult for Little Koala to grasp.

It wanted to help her see more clearly.

"What shape does it take?"

Dora closed her eyes, shook her head, and, after furrowing her brows in deep thought for a while, gave an ambiguous answer.

"I can't quite tell; it's a... very friendly and easy-going person?"

Little Koala asked further.

"Are there more specific features?"

Dora paused for a moment, then continued.

"That's all about him, but there are other things as well... he has some kind of expectation for you, as if he's entrusted a part of himself to you."

"For example?"

The voice seemed to contain a trace of anticipation, although it wasn't easy to detect.

But Dora was certain she heard it.

And it was precisely that hint of expectation that assured her the soul she saw was its own.

At least partially!

"He hopes... you can witness things after he's gone, many things he hasn't seen."

Seemingly reflecting on this answer, Little Koala remained frozen in place for a long time, eventually speaking with some reflection.

"...So that's how it is."

Dora tilted her head.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... just a bit surprised," Little Koala's camera moved slightly, "I thought my mission was over, but apparently his expectations for me are different from what I understood. Thank you."

Dora blinked.

Though unsure of what she had done, she heard the soul residing in the cold steel sincerely thanking her.

To whom it truly belonged seemed irrelevant from the start.

It's all the same, really...

...

The 32-minute countdown finished.

At the instant the hyperspace engine finished charging, the entirety of the battered starship suddenly experienced a slight tremor.

Standing beside Jiang Xuezhou, Night Ten suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand without warning.

Jiang Xuezhou's hand shook slightly, a bit bashful, avoiding him, but didn't withdraw her hand from his palm.

"Wh-what are you doing..."

Hearing the quiet whisper, Night Ten's face turned bashful as well.

"Nothing, just afraid of losing sight of you again by accident."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuezhou's heart felt sweet, and she softly hummed.

"That's impossible; I'm a genius..."

She wasn't boasting.

If given enough time and resources, she could even upgrade this old relic beyond its original capabilities.

[Charging completed, entering hyperspace passage...]

Pale blue text appeared on the holographic pop-up, and the brilliant Star River was instantly reflected on the pitch-black floor-to-ceiling window.

At the same time, the myriad glittering stardust transformed into dazzling blue-white trails in an instant, casting a bright white glow across the entire bridge.

This is Night Ten's first time to enter the Hyperspace Passage while conscious.

At the same time, it's also the most breathtaking experience he's had since he put on the Game Helmet and entered this world.

The universe shrinks into a single point before him, and then infinitely expands.

In that instant, he seems to tear through space, leap from his original dimension, heading to a world he cannot see or touch.

It happens in an instant.

Just in the blink of an eye, his physical body has crossed five light-years, following the Orion together from South Gate Two to the Solar System.

"It's truly incredible..."

Staring at that familiar Sun and the blue planet, Night Ten remains dumbfounded for ages, finally uttering a heartfelt exclamation.

After three Earth months, they have finally returned to the familiar vicinity of the Earth-Moon System.

And as heroes who saved Earth!

Not just him but also Dora, who stands before the floor-to-ceiling window, exhibits an expression of disbelief.

Her eyes widen, hands clutching the window, nose wanting to poke through.

Suddenly, she turns her head, casting her shocked, excited gaze towards the two Ancestors.

"Is that... your homeland?"

Night Ten nods his head, smiling as he speaks.

"That's right, its name is Earth."

Dora tilts her head, showing a confused expression.

"But... it seems there's more water?"

Night Ten: "Uh... that's quite normal, after all, we live on the ground."

Dora makes an enlightened expression, nodding thoughtfully.

"Ah, I see, but speaking of which... doesn't this mean our planet could also be called Earth?"

Night Ten chuckled and said.

"You could say that, you've already developed your own culture and language... But no matter how you refer to your home planet, we'd probably translate that word to 'Gaia'.

As the two communicated, Jiang Xuezhou, who was sitting at the console, suddenly became tense.

"Wait, there seems to be something on near-Earth orbit... It's a steel structure about 500 meters long and 50 meters thick in the center. No... where has the space debris gone?!"

Looking at the situation on near-Earth orbit, Jiang Xuezhou was utterly bewildered, completely unclear about what was happening.

Night Ten, however, was not surprised in the least, jokingly saying.

"Did you forget about the Gravity Well incident?"

Jiang Xuezhou was stunned, squeezing out a sentence from her mouth after a while.

"It has... been successfully deployed?!"

Night Ten nodded.

"That's right, and that was two weeks ago."

Two weeks ago, the Gravity Well deployed in the Southern sea area was officially activated, pulling the debris from near-Earth orbit into the atmosphere and guiding it to crash in the Southern sea area vicinity.

According to players on the official Forum, the space debris falling from the sky looked like a meteor shower, forming burning trails in the sky, as if putting a ring around Earth.

The entire process lasted ten full days!

Whether it was players in Yavente City or players in City of Dawn, they clearly observed the dense asteroid belt-like orbital debris falling from the sky.

Honestly, Night Ten felt somewhat regretful for not seeing that spectacular meteor shower.

But he quickly realized that witnessing the rise and fall of civilization was far more awesome than a mere meteor shower, thus eliminating his sense of regret.

This experience was worth it!

Jiang Xuezhou looked at him blankly, her mouth slightly open.

"Can you really establish contact with Earth from here?"

Night Ten shrugged.

"I already mentioned before, I've always had contact with Earth, didn't I also help you convey some words to the Academy over there?"

Regarding the celestial beings issue, the Alliance and Academy have signed an intelligence-sharing agreement, so even matters happening five light-years away were not kept secret from the Academy, and they even shared insights with the Academy's researchers.

He also heard on the official website that the Academy was quite shocked upon understanding the existence of the Morphogenesis Field, even briefly suspecting the Alliance's researchers were joking.

But now there's probably no debate anymore.

Once the Orion Missile Cruiser sailed in front of all of them, all doubts were dispelled.

Although this wasn't really something to boast about.

Dora was staring blankly in this direction.

Even though she didn't understand what the Academy meant, she was nevertheless shocked by his words.

The Doma Tribe has made considerable achievements in the study of Spiritual Energy, even becoming the most direct reason for Tunnan's attitude towards the Ancestors changing from initial respect to later arrogance.

However, even though they have significant insights into Spiritual Energy, communication of information must happen face-to-face, far from achieving such long-distance remote exchanges.

The gap between them seems bridged by a small river but actually spans five light-years or even farther.

"Amazing..." Dora sincerely admired in her heart, her awe and reverence for the Ancestors increased by a measure.

This is unbelievable!

"But... wait, weren't you still not awakened to Spiritual Energy back then?! Why... my brain is a bit muddled, let me sort it out..."

Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath, wrapping her hands around the rolling helmet, but the more she thought, the more confused she became.

Especially when thinking about the previous wager, her whole face turned red as a lantern.

Watching the tongue-tied Xiao Jiang, Night Ten smiled and said.

"It's not due to any Spiritual Energy that I can establish contact with Earth five light-years away... emmm... although it's hard to say for sure. Morphogenesis Field might just be another explanation for Spiritual Energy, at least that's my personal understanding."

More professional matters should be left to the professionals to worry about.

"That, that... what's the deal with this steel structure?!" Frantically avoiding bringing up the bet, Jiang Xuezhou hurriedly changed the topic, using her finger to operate the holographic screen, dragging that distant, peculiar-shaped thing close.

Seen from afar, it seemed like a steel plate spanning near-Earth orbit, with its central axis straightly pointing towards the Earth's core.

Upon closer inspection, that steel plate was embedded with porcupine-like steel needle turrets facing the star sea beyond the atmosphere.

According to other players on the official Forum, this defensive platform of 0.25 square kilometers was equipped with fifty electromagnetic accelerators, constructed from four connecting panels, installed on near-Earth orbit through the Anti-gravity system raised from the ground.

It is said these electromagnetic accelerators are all modeled after the Anti-ship electromagnetic gun in No.60 Shelter's inventory, requiring merely three rounds to overload a Frigate level Deflection Shield.

As for the Missile cruiser level's carrier shield, although no specific tests have been done, it seems to be an issue of just one volley.

The Alliance has already grasped the means to defend near-Earth orbit, so even if the celestial beings from the Lagrange point still hold other cards, the survivors on the Wasteland are fully confident in handling it.

Neutron feather streams are not as threatening as imagined.

As long as they are destroyed before entering the atmosphere, Earth's magnetic field barrier is sufficient to reduce their power to almost harmless levels.

"That is our near-Earth orbit defense platform... a planetary level defense facility completed collaboratively by the Alliance and its allies, along with corporations and yourselves."

"Unless the pioneers return from another universe, I can't think of anything that can breach its defense... unless it's aliens who have mastered interstellar travel capabilities like us."

Seeing the astonished Jiang Xuezhou, Night Ten said with a smile.

"Let's head straight over, stop in the synchronous orbit... my good brothers have been waiting for us back there."

——

(Thanks for the reward from Alliance leader "Tomato Beef Stew with Superb Reviews"!!!)

Chapter 1020: He Took All the Glory for Himself

Near-Earth orbit defense platform, central control bridge, heads almost sticking out of the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Holy crap!"

"Starship!!!"

"Damn... Night Ten really brought that thing back?!"

"Tsk, still calling him a buddy!"

"Exactly! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—"

"I heard he even brought back a Gaia person!"

"Excited!"

"Excited about what? What's it got to do with you?"

"Come on! Can't I be curious about what they look like?"

"Hey, Wasteland OL could be renamed, might as well call it Starry Sky OL in the open beta."

"Shh! Don't let the dog plan hear that!"

The folks squeezed in front of the window are all players from the alliance.

Some are from the Burning Corps, others from different corps, or even wandering players who haven't joined any.

Welcoming the return of the Orion Missile Cruiser is a recent timed event on the server, open to anyone who signs up.

Of course.

This kind of timed event, once launched, it was almost expected that everyone would sign up.

However, the bridge space of only a few hundred square meters is evidently not enough for so many people.

Moreover, standing in the "audience seats" are not just alliance folks, but representatives from various survivor forces from the wasteland, like the Academy, enterprises, the South Sea Union, even the Eastern Legion, and so on.

The saying goes solo happiness is not as good as collective happiness, what's the point of admiring such a big starship behind closed doors?

Night Ten isn't the only one eager to show off; Chu Guang has the same need.

Standing behind a crowd of players, watching the dense crowd squeezed by the window, Fang Chang couldn't help but comment.

"I can almost imagine that guy's smirk that's hard to hide."

"Hahaha, well, we really got shown up by this guy." Old White laughed, patting Fang Chang on the shoulder and casting his gaze toward the deep universe.

From here, gazing toward the geosynchronous orbit, you can't actually see that starship.

But that familiar face seemed to have already flown up in front of them.

He could almost hear that guy's reckless laughter.

Maybe this is spiritual energy too.

Standing at the side, Edge Shoveling sighed and said.

"Didn't expect... you guys collectively busted, and finally relied on the most unreliable guy to turn the tide."

"Unreliable is not the word," Wild Wind touched his nose, smiled faintly and said, "Normally, Fang Chang makes decisions, let alone him, Old White and I habitually slack off."

"Hahaha, seems about right." Old White laughed and said.

This time Fang Chang seemed a bit embarrassed, lightly coughed and said.

"Actually, I'm not surprised he turned the tide, this kid's luck isn't ordinary... remember the Iron Heart last time? It was a similar situation, in the end, he was the only one who survived."

Spring Water Commander whistled, teasingly said.

"Just luck?"

Fang Chang shrugged.

"Of course, and perception."

Old White: "Hahahaha, humorous!"

While the group was bantering, several little D-grade from the Academy were looking at this noisy bunch with disdain, yet dared not say anything.

For no other reason.

Their martial virtue was too strong, and their reputation on the wasteland was formidable.

However, although direct confrontation was daunting, it didn't stop them from complaining a bit behind their backs.

"Do these folks expect to see the starship in geosynchronous orbit with just their naked eyes?"

"Stupid wasteland wanderers, hehe."

"But on the other hand... I heard some among them have mastered spiritual energy, able to communicate with fellows five light years away?"

"Bull," a D-grade researcher chuckled, glancing sideways at the E-grade colleague nearby, "you believe whatever others say?"

The little E-grade hesitated, scratching the back of his head.

"Then... what about the Morphogenesis Field? The upper management has already decided to research it, surely it's not nonsense too?"

"That sounds a bit more reliable."

"...Aren't they all the same thing?"

"..."

Apart from complaining that the refuge residents of the Alliance were blocking the entire floor-to-ceiling window, some researchers also had expressions full of envy.

The envy was not entirely directed at that starship but also towards the "Near-Earth Orbital Defense Platform" itself.

While the Academy holds countless technologies leftover from the pre-war era, very few can be realized in reality, most are stored in databases.

The reason is mainly because most creations of the Prosperity Epoch relied on an overwhelming and complex industrial chain, which the Wasteland clearly lacks in density and complexity.

In fact, not even the Academy, nor the Alliance, nor enterprises could easily replicate the prosperity of the Human Alliance Era.

However, the Alliance did achieve something other entities have not.

It used the legacy of the Prosperity Epoch to create a different kind of prosperity.

If Prosperous Jiyuan City belonged to the Utopia of people of the old era, the new era undoubtedly belongs to the Utopia of the Waste Land Wanderers.

They created a future of their own for the Waste Land Wanderers...

Unlike those straightforward "Little D Grade" researchers, Yang Kai, as a B-level researcher, seemed much more composed.

Due to work, he frequently traveled between the territories of the Alliance and the Academy, including the special zones of the Science Committee, and as such, was used to these players' behaviors.

Looking at Yang Kai's expressionless face, the man standing beside him chuckled softly and said.

"Congratulations, your apprentice is safe... and conservatively estimated, she'll probably be promoted to B-level this time."

It's rare to nurture a B-level researcher before retirement.

After all, researchers at the Academy usually retire at 50.

Even for someone like Yang Kai, who is considered to be young and promising, it took nearly 20 years to rise from apprentice to B-level, not to mention the students he taught.

Yet nobody expected that an unexpected event occurred when no one was paying attention.

A small E-level researcher skyrocketed to C-level at an unbelievable speed and soon after faced major events like the "Mortal Serum" and "Orion Missile Cruiser."

Looking back at the Academy's history spanning a century and a half, such a situation is unprecedented.

"As long as she's alright." Yang Kai responded to his colleague's congratulations with a reserved expression.

The man laughed and said.

"Yes, as long as she's alright."

Yang Kai gave him a glance, said nothing, but began contemplating.

This person had an extraordinary identity as the head of one of the four departments of the Academy—the Investigation Department, Qi Liu!

Though not a researcher in the Investigation Department, in the hierarchical Academy, A-level is the highest ranking besides the Chief Technical Officer and the Conclusive Professor's authority.

Only the heads of the four departments and retired heads hold this level!

Although based on his resume, Yang Kai already meets the qualifications for promotion to quasi-A-level, or A- level.

But even as quasi-A-level, there's still quite a difference in authority and status compared to true A-level.

However, compared to Yang Kai's restraint, Qi Liu didn't display any arrogance, but was unexpectedly amiable.

Yang Kai was momentarily indecisive, unsure of what this big shot was really up to.

Qi Liu, still smiling peacefully, suddenly shifted the topic and said.

"Speaking of which, there's a rumor at the Academy recently, and I wonder if Mr. Yang has heard of it."

Yang Kai was slightly stunned and cautiously replied.

"I've been on assignments for the Alliance lately, so I'm not too clear on the happenings back home... I'd appreciate any hints from Mr. Qi."

Qi Liu raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, then continued smiling.

"It's just a rumor, I was casually saying it, so don't take it too seriously..."

He paused and then continued.

"There's a rumor that our esteemed Conclusive Professor had a conversation with our Chief Technical Officer, proposing to establish an independent department on the foundation of the four major divisions, responsible for researching theories of void and dimensions, and precursor civilization departures from this universe, then merging related projects of the Morphogenesis Field into it."

Yang Kai was astounded, widening his eyes.

His shock was not entirely because of the rumor but because this rumor came from Qi Liu himself...

Could this still be called a rumor?!

Above the four directors is the Chief Technical Officer, who else could have told him besides the Chief Technical Officer personally?!

Seeing Director Qi with a meaningful smile, Yang Kai was speechless.

Creating history might not just be his apprentice's feat, maybe he could also share a little of it and inadvertently make some history himself...

"Usually, the quasi-A-level serves as a reserve director for the four divisions. The promotion process typically involves being placed in a deputy role for training and waiting for the retiring director to take over... Though this newly formed department can't quite use the traditional approach."

"Our deputy director at the Investigation Department is quite interested, yet I'm waiting for him to hand over work. If I take him away, who'll take over? Moreover, the precursor civilization's relics aren't quite the same as the Human Alliance Era's legacy... None of us have seen what spiritual energy looks like, have we? I can't quite rightfully approach the other directors and say that this work should be ours."

"So I recommended you to the organization... Your research team is probably the closest to the 'Morphogenesis Field' project."

Qi Liu spoke with a smile, gently patting the stunned Yang Kai on the shoulder.

"Congratulations in advance, Director Yang... if nothing unexpected happens, the four divisions will become five!"

...

Just when Yang Kai was too shocked to speak, Jiang Xuezhou on the Orion Missile Cruiser was nervously sneezing nonstop.

Seeing her sniffle incessantly, Night Ten wanted to take off her helmet and wipe her face but feared she'd hit him, so he could only empathetically hand her a tissue.

"Are you catching a cold?"

Jiang Xuezhou vigorously shook her head, turned around to blow her nose, then looked back at him seriously.

"Night Ten..."

Feeling the serious gaze through the black visor of the helmet, Night Ten paused slightly and said.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Xuezhou hesitated for a moment and whispered.

"Once we're off the ship, could you say you're the captain... or maybe we switch, and I pass the captaincy to you."

Night Ten exclaimed in confusion.

"Why?"

Jiang Xuezhou whispered.

"Didn't you say you'd take this ship to the edge of the universe... I'm worried when we go back, my mentor will find out I'm the captain and take this ship from me."

Pfft—

Night Ten almost choked on his own spit, coughed lightly, and said.

"I doubt the Academy would be so petty."

Previously, he mocked the Academy for being narrow-minded, and Jiang Xuezhou got upset with him, so why is she self-deprecating now?

Alright.

Things were indeed different before.

Previously, they had nothing, but now they actually possess a starship!

The Academy most covets this kind of thing.

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou looking so nervous, Night Ten couldn't help but feel that this game is ridiculously realistic, even the stubborn parts are so authentic.

Although the Academy's pride often reacts as sharply as a stepped-on tail to some Waste Land Wanderers' mockery, when facing real matters, they have some awareness of their own bad habits.

"That's a starship! A United Space Army missile cruiser! And an intact one at that! Do you know what this means?"

"What does it mean..." Night Ten whispered nervously, "The ship is so wrecked, can they really use it as a colony ship..."

"Hard to say," Jiang Xuezhou said seriously, "Its hyperspace engine still works, and it's the only usable hyperspace engine in the Solar System."

That serious expression warmed Night Ten's heart.

It's clear she considered this place their future little home, and her elbow unwittingly leaned towards him, no longer constantly flaunting the Academy's rules.

Speaking of which, does this count as conquering successfully?

"I'm speaking seriously, why are you grinning!"

Seeing Night Ten suddenly raise the corners of his mouth, Jiang Xuezhou raised her eyebrows, annoyed, and pinched his side.

"Haha, I just think your anxious look is kind of cute..."

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou about to blow up in a second, Night Ten decisively stopped teasing and, half seriously, continued.

"Then we don't go back? Run away together?"

Night Ten sensed the hand pinching his side pause.

Standing before him, Xuezhou was silent for a moment, murmuring quietly.

"...it's not impossible."

It's just...

Not saying goodbye to her family indeed feels somewhat regretful.

And doing so might trouble her mentor.

Although the bond at the Academy is weak, with no significant teaching gratitude, the relationship between mentors and students is more of mutual use and accomplishment; her mentor has actually treated her decently, and at least spared her life.

Seeing her struggling expression, Night Ten smiled and reached out to touch her perfectly round helmet.

"I'm grateful you consider me like this... but I won't let you make such a difficult choice."

Thinking handing over the captaincy would solve the problem is overly naive.

Jokingly speaking, the Academy's coveted items might also catch Brother Guang's eye.

Jiang Xuezhou lifted her head to look at him, her eyes half surprised, half moved.

"Night Ten..."

Night Ten smiled at her.

"Don't worry, we'll leave with everyone's blessings... leave it to me."

The Alliance will not allow the Academy to possess this starship; Jiang Xuezhou's idea is purely unnecessary.

Conversely, the Academy and enterprises cannot allow the Alliance to solely possess such superspec weapons, especially those capable of flexible maneuvers between the solar system and other star systems.

Trust has its boundaries, and such superspec weapons have exceeded those boundaries.

No one can guarantee that those hundred thousand hovering overhead won't be aimed at them.

Thus, this starship has a space to be maneuvered.

Before returning from South Gate Two, Night Ten had already thought of how to handle this issue in his mind.

While announcing the discovery on Gaia planet and the secrets of the Pioneer civilization, he will simultaneously propose gathering volunteers from the Wasteland to ride the Orion to other star systems outside the solar system in search of traces of the Pioneer civilization.

This plan will be announced as he steps onto Earth and will be implemented immediately after resolving the celestial beings' crisis!

Under the guise of exploring the remnants of the Pioneer civilization, volunteers from all sides will jointly pilot the Orion to places outside the solar system — the best idea he can think of besides dismantling this starship, and the most reliable sounding idea.

After all, keeping such superspec weapons in the solar system is a hidden danger; any party obtaining it will make all other parties tense. Rather than raising trust costs among parties, it's better to throw it out for exploration.

Moreover, it will be an exploration under the public supervision of all parties.

They will regularly report routes and findings to scientific institutions on Earth while also receiving technical assistance from the latter; this is a win-win choice for all parties.

For all major Survivor Forces, they can ensure this ship remains under the overall control of human civilization while gaining more data on outer planets and traces of the Pioneer civilization through exploration of extraterrestrial worlds.

And, as time goes by, when the aerospace industry capacity of human civilization develops, such superspec forces will naturally fade away, becoming less superspec.

Jiang Xuezhou nodded emphatically at Night Ten's confident expression and boarded the research ship holding his hand.

Dora and little Koala also followed behind them, each with different emotions, taking their seats.

Meanwhile, in the browsing room of Shelter No. 404.

Looking at the research ship slowly approaching the near-Earth orbit defense platform on the holographic screen, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile slightly.

Actually, for a moment, he was wondering if Night Ten would play a little trick and elope directly with his girlfriend.

After all, this guy seriously discussed the technical feasibility of eloping on the forum, with someone under the ID [Professor Yang the Thunder Law King] even coming up with many clever yet silly ideas.

But it seems this kid isn't stupid; he obediently sailed the ship back.

Actually, this guy really didn't need to worry; Chu isn't a parent, who takes everything except pots, pans, and dishes.

Even though he has been talking about harvesting leeks since the server opened, he hasn't really snatched treasures from players; at most, when everyone was poor, he settled "dungeon rewards" that players couldn't use at all into silver coin as task props.

But did anyone really lose out?

In fact, no one lost out.

The Alliance has never treated anyone badly who contributed strength to the Alliance.

It was like this before, and now it's the same.

At this moment, Chu Guang suddenly thought of something, put down his teacup, and said with a smile.

"Xiao Qi, speaking of welcoming people empty-handed, is it not good?"

Seated on the pen stand, Xiao Qi paused.

"Eh, preparing gifts now? But... will it be too late?"

Chu Guang gave a mysterious smile.

"What I mean is, why don't you send out a worldwide announcement, something like a hidden mission completion, world BOSS kill, and by the way welcome Orion to the ranks, United Space Army returning home."

No other meaning.

He just wanted to tease Night Ten, send a flag to scare this kid.

And also help reduce this kid's hatred.

Most of the show-off was done by him alone, the official forum almost turned into a bargain site these two days, with all posts shouting "slash once", as if not nerfing this guy would make the game unplayable.

"Oh——"

Xiao Qi, seeing the meaningful smile from his master, understood and dragged his voice long with a playful laugh.

"Cool cool cool... indeed, master is such a mischief-maker!"

Seeing the quick understanding of Xiao Qi, Chu Guang smiled and nodded, with approval in his eyes.

True to form, it's his Xiao Qi!

"Don't forget to send a limited title and reputation reward to cheer him up."

They are already granted the starship, let's not discuss money with the mission rewards.

That's too worldly!

Of course, not to mention the starship.

If that guy truly has a revelation, he would naturally think of how to keep it.

Chapter 1021: A Discovery That Shook the World!

Chu Guang didn't personally go to the Earth's orbit to welcome Night Ten, but chose to sit in Shelter No. 404's study, watching the live broadcast on Dawn City TV Station news channel.

Firstly, that area could be considered the frontline between humans and celestial beings; going there himself would attract too much hate. Secondly, with so many players going to meet them, he didn't want to overshadow others.

As a professional mascot, Chu Guang felt he should honestly stay where he belonged, maintaining the dignity befitting the boss of a faction.

At the same time, high above.

The silver scientific research ship slowly adjusted its course, approaching the defense platform floating in Earth's orbit.

Through the cockpit glass, Night Ten could already see the familiar faces plastered against the bridge's floor-to-ceiling windows.

Of course.

He could see because he had good eyesight, unlike Jiang Xuezhou sitting next to him, who couldn't see clearly.

"Space station docking protocol is downloading..."

"Interface position locked... executing docking program!"

Jiang Xuezhou sitting in the driver's seat exchanged words with the defense platform's navigator, soon completing all preparations for space station docking.

Honestly, Night Ten was quite shocked.

Before, he had only seen such scenes in news broadcasts, never imagining he'd experience the feeling of an astronaut himself one day.

Even if it was in a game.

Even though not long ago, he played something more exciting...

Amid the anticipation from countless pairs of eyes, the connection rod extended from the front of the research ship plunged firmly into the defense platform's interface.

The whole process was smooth and without any delays, as if rehearsed beforehand.

"Did you awaken spiritual energy too?" Night Ten glanced surprisedly at Jiang Xuezhou sitting in the main driver's seat next to him, whispering.

"How could it be..." Jiang Xuezhou was slightly stunned, after a chuckle he joked, "If that were the case, I could research myself."

"Then why are you so skilled?"

Jiang Xuezhou chuckled, saying.

"Why would you ask such a stupid question? Of course, because the space station's interface is originally made using our standards."

Alright.

The truth was so plain.

Whether it was the Alliance or corporations, they had no technical accumulation in the space field; indeed, the Academy on the Wasteland was ahead of everyone else.

And way ahead of other survivor forces.

As Night Ten was feeling emotional, the VM screen on his arm suddenly lit up, followed by a line of flashing text.

[Congratulations Player "I Get Up Dozens of Times at Night" cleared "Hyperspace Drift" "Distant Colony" Event! Unlocking unique titles "Savior of Civilization" and "Pioneer Explorer"!]

Seeing this popup line, Night Ten was so amused he almost laughed out loud.

However, when he saw the next popup, he couldn't laugh anymore.

[Welcome Orion back, United Space Army comes home!]

"What the hell!"

So it's confiscated?!

Noticing Night Ten suddenly popped up from his seat, Jiang Xuezhou glanced at him puzzled.

"What's the matter with you?"

"No, nothing."

Night Ten coughed lightly, adjusting his mood.

Everyone is a descendant of the Alliance, no one is more equal than anyone else, hence trash on the Wasteland has always belonged to whoever finds it.

Except for shelters and black boxes.

However, even shelters and black boxes would be converted into rewards for players who discovered them.

As for this starship.

Not to mention that Orion's crew already recognized him as the successor, it's at least something he and Jiang Xuezhou painstakingly snatched back from celestial beings and drove home!

Though the Alliance reclaiming this starship isn't completely lacking legal basis, he felt Brother Guang wouldn't really get him in trouble like this.

At this moment, Night Ten suddenly noticed that besides titles, the mission reward was merely a bunch of reputation and contribution points with nothing else.

All of a sudden, a hint of realization surged in his mind, immediately understanding the Manager's meaning.

So that's how it is...

Brother Guang had actually tacitly allowed this starship to be used as a commendation for him, as long as he could keep it from other survivor forces.

The dog plan still loves him!

Just as Night Ten felt relieved, the research ship had already firmly anchored in the near-Earth orbit defense platform's connection module.

The cabin door docking quickly completed.

With the research ship's cabin pressure adjusted to match the platform bridge's standard, the tightly shut cabin door hissed open!

Players who had bought tickets swarmed from the floor-to-ceiling windows to the bridge cabin door. Following this, the eyes fixed at the cabin door were even less likely to move!

They saw a tall girl standing there.

Her emerald-green skin looked like the fresh buds hanging on trees in early spring, her silky smooth black hair swaying gently in the airflow.

She was wearing Orion's crew uniform, the plain white shirt and light blue casual pants not at all hiding her alluring and wild curves.

Yet in stark contrast, those speaking eyes were modestly carrying a hint of devout and holy elegance.

Though at present, this devoutness was somewhat startled.

No other reason.

Mainly because the "Ancestors" were too enthusiastic.

"!!!"

"Gaia person?!"

"So cute!!!"

"Giao! The emerald-green skin looks unexpectedly appealing."

"Is photosynthesis really possible?!"

"So big!!!"

"Damn! Night Ten didn't speak the truth!"

"Come out and take your beating!"

Though Dora could feel those eyes contained no malice or evil thoughts, she couldn't help but shrink back a bit.

Unable to withstand the enthusiasm, she attempted to speak using Alliance language saying "hello," unexpectedly making the scene's atmosphere even more lively.

Seeing all the eyes drawn solely to Dora, the little Koala left aside scratched its round metal belly, looking unsure what to do.

"Uh, I guess I'm redundant?"

Initially wanting to assist Dora, it realized the latter seemed surprisingly enjoying this feeling of being the center of attention.

Finally at this moment, two "main characters" walked out from the cockpit, giving a much-needed reprieve for the embarrassed Dora.

"Wow! You guys are such dogs—cough! Don't scare people."

Seeing Big Eyes salivating expression dripping on the ground, Night Ten nearly let loose like usual.

Thankfully, he noticed the mixed crowd's cameras in time, causing him to retract the words rushing to his mouth.

At the same time, the reporters who had been waiting energetically around the crowd all surged forward, reaching the edge of the cabin door.

One by one, the microphones instantly pointed under Night Ten's nose, without giving him and his good buddies a chance to brag, overwhelming questions bombarded like rapid-fire.

"Hello! Mr. Night Ten, your combat partners told me that not long ago your selfless act saved human civilization, do you have anything to say?"

"No, no, I just did a small work."

"Mr. Night Ten! Does your name have any special meaning?"

"Cough—it's inconvenient to say."

"Esteemed I Get Up Dozens of Times at Night Sir Hello! We are from Goblin Observation Report—"

"Screw off! Have your boss come himself!"

Seeing Night Ten overwhelmed by reporters, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't resist shrinking back a bit, sneaking out from the research ship to her mentor.

Seeing that solemn face, Jiang Xuezhou felt a bit nervous but still went over.

"Professor."

Looking at the recovered precious disciple, Yang Kai's face showed a trace of comforting smile, but soon a slight frown appeared.

"Why are you dressed like this?"

The bloated astronaut suit and round helmet clashed with the Academy's atmosphere, with the spotlight stolen by the Alliance people.

Jiang Xuezhou was silent for a moment, then removed the helmet's visor, revealing the face damaged by neutron radiation.

The scars from damaged skin and tissue growth extended from her scalp down to her neck, and could be foreseen to cover her entire body.

Seeing the once lively and beautiful face become like this, Yang Kai was struck as if by lightning, instantly stunned on the spot.

The accompanying class D researchers were also startled by this face, whispering quietly among themselves.

Awakened by those whispering voices, Yang Kai suddenly turned back fiercely glaring at the gossiping students.

Everyone immediately shut their mouths, silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to speak.

Turning to look at his apprentice, Yang Kai's Adam's apple moved, and in his usually emotionless voice, there was a slight hint of guilt and self-reproach.

"...I'm sorry you've suffered."

Unexpectedly, the master was so concerned about her, Jiang Xuezhou smiled sheepishly, and quickly put the helmet visor back down.

"It's okay, he said he doesn't mind me... cough! Besides, with technology so advanced now, I can just switch to bionic skin."

She heard that bionic skin, used in conjunction with genetic repair technology, can make one ageless, and she's been thinking about changing it for a long time.

But that thing is too avant-garde, so she hadn't made up her mind, yet now she doesn't have to hesitate.

Looking at that shy, cheerful smile, Yang Kai felt a mix of emotions.

At this moment, his gaze fell on the young man named Night Ten not far away, and suddenly thought of something.

Speaking of which...

His apprentice's partner seems to be this guy?

However, just as he was about to ask about the progress of their relationship, he suddenly noticed Qi Liu standing next to him with a smiling face, so he quickly swallowed the words back.

The academy is, after all, not a charity.

To prevent unnecessary variables and for the future of both individuals.

Some things are better asked privately...

From the moment the research ship faced off against the near-Earth orbital defense platform, McCullen was staring unblinkingly at the direction of the door on the space station.

He glanced at the "Alliance Soldier" in the center of the crowd receiving a media interview, then at the "Gaia person" with green skin, and remained silent without speaking.

He was invited here as the representative of the Eastern Empire, along with the messenger from Norton City.

Besides representing the Eastern Empire to salute the warriors saving human civilization, he also had the purpose of probing the Alliance's reality.

They needed to verify the integrity of the Orion Missile Cruiser!

And its impact on geopolitics!

Although it was regrettable not to witness that majestic warship with his own eyes, General Mccullen suddenly felt that seeing it or not seeing it didn't really matter anymore.

The Alliance had already taken on the responsibility of defending the new era and had reassembled the fractured order into a whole.

Not just that.

They have now inherited the Human Alliance Era colonies—a heritage from five light-years away.

In the face of these numerous great achievements, a missile cruiser from the Human Alliance Era is utterly unimportant, and the latter might even become a tasteless burden that is hard to discard.

Although the Alliance has never declared victory or formally announced their involvement in a competition with the Waste Land Wanderers' survivor forces, anyone can see that they've already won it all...

Emperor Salen dreams of being like that man, dominating the world's order, even the internal order of the Vellante people.

But unfortunately, even the internal order of the Vellante people was ultimately split in half by the Alliance.

Looking at the Alliance Soldier being acclaimed by Ideal City's reporters, Mccullen suddenly felt an unprecedented tiredness.

But there was also a sense of liberation.

Surpassing the Alliance is becoming nearly impossible.

Even though the Eastern Empire has abandoned the Army's historical burdens and grasped the biggest legacy of the Army, it's almost unlikely.

But fortunately, the outcome for the Vellante people is not too bad.

They haven't been left behind by the times as that ambitious man named Teil claimed, but are venturing into the new era alongside the Waste Land Wanderers.

Relaxing entirely, he turned to look at the messenger from Norton City and casually asked.

"When we return, His Majesty Sarun will certainly inquire about our thoughts, I wish to know what you think?"

That messenger seemed to be lost in thought and, hearing the voice next to him, reflexively blurted out.

"It's so big."

Mccullen: "…?"

Noticing the increasingly sharp gaze, the messenger finally realized the impropriety of his words and awkwardly changed his response.

"I mean the starship… it's so big."

Mccullen: "..."

The response left him speechless.

And just then, he heard the young man in the crowd loudly proclaim, in response to a reporter's inquiry about the starship's ownership.

"The Orion Missile Cruiser is the heritage of all humanity! It shouldn't belong to any person or any organization."

The reporter sharply asked.

"Does the organization you mentioned include the Alliance?"

Night Ten answered without hesitation.

"Of course it does!"

At this point, not waiting for the reporter to continue questioning, he quickly added.

"Therefore, I propose forming an exploration team beyond the Solar System in the name of the Sticky Community, using the Orion as the flagship to investigate external star systems, seeking more relics left by ancient civilizations! Habitable and unclaimed planets! And—other civilizations in this universe besides us!"

The reporters on the scene were in an uproar upon hearing this.

It wasn't just the many reporters; even the researchers from the Academy not far away, the representatives from the Corporate Council, the South Sea Union, and the messengers from the Eastern Empire and the New Continent Federation... all invariably displayed expressions of surprise.

Evidently, none of them expected him to make such a statement.

Including the players present at the scene.

"Damn, has Night Ten gone mad..." Debt Giant Eye widened his glasses and muttered in surprise, "He really intends to drive this thing to find the edge of the map?"

Although that guy mentioned it on the official website, he always thought it was just boasting, never expecting it to be serious.

"... I'm just curious about one thing, will the Manager agree?" The construction site kid scratched his head, his face full of confusion, "Let him drive this superweapon to the Solar System?"

This wasn't just the construction worker's confusion; it was also the confusion of other players.

"No..." Fang Chang said slowly, with interest, looking in the direction of Night Ten, "Actually, as far as I know the Manager, he would probably nod along to the flow."

The construction worker quickly looked at him.

"Why?"

"For a weapon that will never be used, turning against other Survivor Forces in the Wasteland is purely more trouble than it's worth. We do not lack the ability to destroy the world, but rebuilding our home requires trust. These ten thousand neutron missiles will only increase our trust cost with allies."

"Moreover, rather than guarding against others acquiring and using it, it would be better to throw it where no one can reach..."

Pausing for a moment, Fang Chang continued with a smile.

"I think not only the Manager thinks this way, but after discussion, the Corporate Council members will certainly reach the same conclusion."

When he said this, he couldn't help but show some admiration in his eyes as he looked at Night Ten, which had never been there before.

This kid has indeed grown.

At least, he has learned to use his brains.

Faced with those numerous eyes, whether surprised, suspicious, anxious, or caught off guard, Night Ten raised his voice and continued.

"A hundred thousand neutron torpedoes are a hassle for anyone, and whoever handles this hassle will become a new hassle. Instead of letting the mistakes of two hundred years ago continue, it's better to let this starship do something truly beneficial for humanity! This is not just my idea; it's also the heartfelt voice of the three thousand deceased crew members of the Orion!"

"We will recruit crew members from the entire Wasteland, accept the supervision of all humanity, and depart immediately after the decisive battle with the 'celestial beings' is over!"

There was a burst of applause at the scene.

This speech surprised almost everyone present, especially those guests who represented third-party forces and came to watch, as well as the reporters from Ideal City.

The senior researchers at the Academy did not speak.

But judging from their expressions, they didn't seem very opposed to the idea either.

Observing everyone's reactions on the spot, McCullen, standing on the sidelines, couldn't help but admire, even wanting to applaud for this kid.

What is meant by vision.

This is called broad vision, alright!

Elevating it directly to the height of human righteousness and the future of civilization, it's hard for anyone wanting to obstruct the plan's implementation to find a reason to speak against it.

Looking at the applauding supporters and media reporters, Night Ten also felt slightly relieved.

And at this moment, a reporter squeezed in front of him, full of confusion, and handed the microphone to him, asking.

"Excuse me… Mr. Night Ten, what exactly is the 'pioneer' civilization you mentioned? If I remember correctly, you should've returned from the Gaia planet?"

Hearing this question, Night Ten patted his forehead, cleared his throat facing the media cameras, and continued.

"This is exactly what I am going to discuss next."

The scene quieted down.

Everyone eagerly awaited his speech.

Including those players who had already read spoilers on the forum.

Night Ten's sense of vanity was greatly satisfied, and he slightly curled his lips into a smile. This feeling of having the whole world's attention on him was even cooler than a worldwide announcement!

Then, in a solemn and serious voice, he unveiled the mysterious veil that covered five light-years away…

"All along, our knowledge and understanding of the Gaia planet has serious misconceptions."

"Though it is indeed a vibrant planet, and it's true that the Hive Consciousness Entity called Gaia once dominated the planet, all these phenomena are only the tip of the iceberg of what we see."

"The truth is that a civilization far more prosperous than the United Human, countless times more prosperous, once existed on that planet. What we call 'Gaia' is merely one amongst many manifestations of their 'ecological maintenance system' left on the planet...."

Chapter 1022: The "Tower" That Connects to the Sky!

Surprise, amazement, disbelief... and expressions of shock and rejection.

Faces written with a variety of expressions.

Gaia.

Tree of Yenshof.

And—

The pioneer standing behind all this.

That's not all.

The people on site also heard many things from the man named Night Ten that they had never heard of before—even unimaginable things.

In the stars beneath their feet, there once existed a civilization far more prosperous and territorially vast than the United Human.

After perceiving all the truths of this universe, it shattered the void and left, heading to another universe beyond the box, with Gaia planet located at South Gate Two being just one of the countless relics it left in this universe...

These discoveries are astonishing enough.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it's like opening a door to a new world for a humanity reborn from the ashes.

Not to mention the benevolent advice it left for the new civilization, which at least helps the young human civilization avoid detours by decades or even centuries.

According to its suggestion.

Humans don't necessarily have to take the same road, but they can explore their own truths along the road once traveled by it.

Beyond these shocking discoveries, the young man named Night Ten also brought back the truth of history from a world five light-years away.

What's amusing is that what set the United Human ablaze was never some foreign civilization hidden among the stars; it was humans themselves from beginning to end.

It's not even a responsibility that can be blamed on a specific organization or individual.

But a responsibility that belongs to everyone.

Whether it's those who have died, or those who are still alive.

The former paid the price, while the latter must bear the cost and conduct a thorough reckoning with past mistakes...

"...This sounds somewhat hard to accept, but that's what I saw on Gaia."

Night Ten paused, then added.

"It is also what the seventeen crew members who survived from the Twin have gradually discovered after surviving the disaster."

Silence enveloped the surroundings.

Even the reporters holding cameras and recorders were momentarily speechless, stunned at the spot.

Finally, someone broke the silence.

A reporter from Ideal City snapped out of his daze and spoke up.

"I don't doubt what you said about 'It,' but the spiritual energy, and the so-called 'Window of Vision' or 'Fourth Wall'... how do you prove it actually exists? And not that you hallucinated from inhaling some gas on an alien planet."

Whispers spread among the crowd, waking many from the overwhelming grandeur of the vision.

Standing at the cabin door, Dora couldn't help but step forward and said sincerely.

"I can prove what he said is true."

The reporter showed a subtle expression, giving her a look of goodwill, indicating he hoped she could produce evidence.

At this moment, cultural differences manifested vividly, as Gaia people—at least among the forest tribes—did not have the concept of evidence.

Information conveyed through spiritual energy must be deeply believed by the heart and must be mutually trusted by both parties.

In Dora's view, she had already shown evidence.

However, in the reporter's eyes, she was merely staring at him with her big watery eyes, motionless.

If someone were particularly sentimental, they might even mistakenly take this as a "love signal."

Fortunately, everyone present was normal, even the reporter being "gazed upon" just felt puzzled.

"Well, we don't have spiritual energy here... your method won't work."

Night Ten gently coughed, stopping Dora's efforts.

If she continued trying here, it might indeed awaken somebody's spiritual energy among the lucky ones, as his own spiritual energy awakened this way.

But it's too time-consuming.

If each person had to be convinced this way, whether in terms of time or physical cost, it would be hard for him to accept.

The various survivor forces on Earth have materialism origins.

To convince others, one must use methods that "silly materialists" can comprehend.

Facing the pairs of eyes turning back to him, Night Ten continued in a serious tone.

"Among the many relics I brought back, there is one belonging to Dr. Qiu Shiye. Reliable evidence indicates he was inspired by the pioneer civilization and, under their guidance, spent his lifetime completing that incredible 'Perforator' and followed the pioneer's footsteps to another world, becoming the Light of another universe."

"...I harnessed the power of spiritual energy, gained insights from what he left, activated the 'Perforator' in another way, letting the light from another universe penetrate through the Fourth Wall, injecting into the reactor's gas tank, gaining energy to return from five light-years away—"

His words were abruptly interrupted by a scream from a Level D researcher standing on the edge.

"That's impossible! You mean, you conjured up a tank of reactor fuel out of thin air?!"

The young face was filled with disbelief and suspicion.

It was purely academic skepticism.

Night Ten patiently explained.

"Yes, after matter and energy from this universe reach the creator's universe, they can only exist in the form of electromagnetic waves, such as the light I mentioned. Conversely, when the light from the creator's universe projects into ours, it naturally unfolds into other things... this is just my personal speculation. As for why it unfolded into Helium-3, I'm not sure, but I can tell you it's not conjured out of nothing."

"Information transmission using spiritual energy has limitations, I could only acquire already known information from Dr. Qiu Shiye, like how to operate that Perforator. As for the principle of the Perforator and how Dr. Qiu Shiye received its inspiration, I don't know, unless he returns from another world to tell me himself."

Seeing the dumbfounded Academy researcher, Night Ten turned to the reporter interviewing him and continued.

"As for spiritual energy, this actually is easy to verify... since the research institutions of the Alliance have already set up projects on it, and we've even been using it for a long time. Just with a different name, the Twin's crew called it spiritual energy, and we call it 'Morphogenesis Field.'

That's not something that can't be talked about.

Morphogenesis Field has long been an open secret in the Alliance, and now it has become a publicly researched subject.

The Wasteland Era has ended.

They no longer need to hide their trump cards to gain strategic advantages; the focus now is on building tighter trust relationships with partners and understanding oneself deeply.

Now is the time to do it.

Night Ten pulled a newspaper from his pocket.

It was an issue of the Goblin Observation Report published three months ago.

Ever since he made a bet with Jiang Xuezhou, he found paper and pen on the Hunter ship and transcribed an issue of the Goblin Observation Report he saw via the Morphogenesis Field.

Though he only transcribed one page, it was enough.

Given the distance between the solar system and South Gate Two, even electromagnetic waves would take five years to travel!

This page of the newspaper can already prove many things.

Looking at the crowd gathering quickly, Night Ten slowly spoke.

"The time signature at the end and the traces of ink are enough to prove the time I wrote this... If you find the issue of the Goblin Observation Report published three months ago according to the version number, you'll know I'm not lying."

The Debt Giant Eye watching the show widened his eyes.

"Holy crap, is this possible?!"

Of course, he knew Night Ten wasn't bluffing, but he didn't expect this guy to bare it all in front of everyone.

And he even got Brother Guang's tacit approval!

Fang Chang's eyes sparkled with a hint of sharpness, and his face showed an intrigued expression.

Meanwhile, the reporter from the Goblin Observation Report, previously squeezed to the outskirts of the crowd, finally used all his strength to squeeze back to the front row.

Just as he looked at that handwritten newspaper, a ghostly expression appeared on his previously skeptical face.

The report—

Was exactly the one he had written!

"Exactly the same..."

He almost blurted out this sentence as his face was nearly squashed out of shape.

And the moment he blurted it out, the entire bridge of the defense platform erupted in an uproar!!!

...

...

[Dear His Majesty Salen,

Following your instructions, I accompanied General McCullen to the defense platform deployed by the Alliance in low Earth orbit to attend the Triumph ceremony held by the Alliance to welcome the hero's return from South Gate Two.

Due to the long distance, I didn't get to admire with the naked eye that magnificent warship built during the Human Alliance Era... However, in fact, I feel that seeing the glory of the past is no longer important, when something more astonishing is right before me.

This isn't an exaggeration, but rather what I've seen and thought.

From the moment I stepped into the space elevator cabin, my sense of shock and awe never ceased.

The enormous cabin shuttled back and forth in the air, transmitting tens or even hundreds of tons of loads to the sky beyond my sight.

The scene's impact on me was not just its "size."

But also its multitude.

Soon we boarded one of them.

As the elevator's height continued to rise, it wasn't long before I saw the Southern sea area shrink to the size of a palm, saw the desert at the center of the continent, and even saw Norton City and Triumph City far to the west...

Yes, the ascending cabin didn't move vertically, but rather carved a beautiful arc overhead at the edge of the atmosphere, reaching reception points thousands of kilometers above the ground.

It was a space station deployed by the Alliance in geosynchronous orbit, looking like a vertical metal ring!

We flew to the center of the ring... probably the middle, then two folding arms extended from inside the ring, connecting with the cabin we were in.

We left the cabin through a narrow hatch, heading inside the ring-shaped structure, and transferred to another vehicle. Then, when we finally reached our ultimate destination, the view through the porthole presented me with an unforgettable sight.

The steel structure, hundreds of meters in length and width, was lined with electromagnetic ship cannons of astonishing caliber and length!

They stood like erect lances, pointing towards the darkness beyond the atmosphere.

Honestly, that thing gave me an immense sense of security, making the once lonely and cold universe appear less dark in my eyes.

I had seen similar cannons on the islands of the South Sea Union, yet here they were densely arranged in dozens!

And that's not all.

The confident looks of the staff told me they had more of this stuff.

According to them, just three shots from one of these railguns could overload the deflection shield of an escort ship's core, enough to substitute space debris to counter the threat at Lagrange Points.

I couldn't imagine what a terrifying scene a volley from this battery would be, nor what we would do if they turned these guns on us.

It's said that the South Sea Union has a special warhead that allows artillery shells to fly with minimal kinetic energy decay within the atmosphere.

If that were true, when the Alliance mounted railguns on the low Earth orbit defense platform, the era of iron airships would be over.

I can't find words to express the shock and disappointment in my heart. We may have indeed been left far behind in certain domains by our adversaries.

And what's more discouraging is that while we are still trying to fight for dominance on the ground, they have already set their sights on the stars, beginning to plan for the future of human civilization.

Please forgive me for writing these words in this unofficial private letter, as I'm worried that any subtlety on my part might lead you to misjudge the current situation... which could be fatal for us.

The Wasteland Era has ended, and there may not be much space left for us to make mistakes.

Perhaps we should quickly adapt to the course of history, shifting our mindset from confrontation to cooperation and actively participating in civilization-level progress like other survivor forces.

The new era no longer needs a dominant ruler over everything, and there seems to be only two paths before us—

Either the glory of the Vellanteans falls silently like dust, or it becomes a shining star among the brilliant ones.

Your loyal messenger, Ostilt Ten Thousand Leader.

]

...

As the Triumph ceremony welcoming heroes home concluded, this reunion after over two centuries also came to an end.

As for the shocking news that Night Ten brought back from South Gate Two, the survivors on Earth probably still need some time to digest it.

Including his proposal to establish an exploration fleet beyond the Solar System.

Though it's indeed a good idea, such a thing can't be decided by someone's words or a nod.

Behind the scenes, unseen by ordinary people, will be the games and maneuvers to promote the formation of this "fleet."

But these matters aren't concerns for Night Ten, the guy who first opened his mouth.

After returning to the low Earth orbit defense platform, he received a mission personally issued by the shelter manager—

To bring the "Messenger" from Gaia planet back to the surface via the space elevator, and then take a ship and train to the Cohesive Mansion in City of Dawn.

Actually, in the South Sea Union, one can directly fly to the City of Dawn without changing so many modes of transportation.

However, the manager intends for her to take this opportunity to travel on Earth more, to learn more about the planet of the "Ancestors."

One might say it's half her homeland.

Moreover, the Cohesive side also needs some time to prepare and discuss how to manage the relationship with the "Gaia Civilization."

Even though the Alliance's opinions play a decisive role, Chu Guang still needs to consult others, especially the Academy and companies.

Upon hearing about the "Chieftain's" arrangement from the Ancestors, Dora was incredibly cooperative.

Earlier on Gaia planet, she was eager to see how those legendary Ancestors living in the sky actually live day to day.

Taking an elevator back to the surface.

As she emerged from the opened hatch, she was immediately jaw-dropped by the scene before her eyes.

"So big!!"

-

(Brothers, happy New Year's Eve! Tomorrow is the new year. I wish everyone good fortune in the Year of the Dragon! Be like a dragon!)

Chapter 1023: Got Shown Up!

The majestic steel structure thrusts into the sky, standing on both sides of the wide, plain-like concrete platform, like a double-edged steel spear piercing the sky from the depths of the sea!

It is a man-made valley, and it's right in the middle of the tumultuous Southern sea area!

It's no wonder Dora stood dumbfounded, eyes wide open, and even Night Ten, who had just emerged from the cabin door, was deeply shocked, his mouth agape.

He seemed to be in the middle of a gigantic "8" shaped tower.

Looking up was an endless sheer cliff, with only the highest point left as a distant corner of the sky covered by a fist!

This is the Alliance's space elevator!

Though it's not ninety thousand kilometers long, it was enough to awe his gaze.

"Damn..." Night Ten couldn't help muttering to himself.

Holy cow.

He had only been away for a little over three months, and the Alliance had already become this awesome?!

Jiang Xuezhou was equally stunned, rubbing her eyes to look again.

"...Is this made of ceramic steel?"

Finally recognizing the material of the steel structure, she took a deep breath, but got a mouthful of sea breeze, coughing several times before calming down.

Night Ten reached out and patted her back, asking with concern.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." Calming her chaotic breathing, Jiang Xuezhou muttered as she looked up, "You guys have gone too far, did you build a starship on the sea?"

Or perhaps two vertically standing aircraft carriers.

But in any case, for her, who had only seen similar structures in the relics of the Human Alliance Era, it was shocking enough.

Night Ten understood her shock at this moment, after all, he wasn't much different.

Although someone had spoiled the situation about the elevator on the official forum before, textual descriptions and cold photos were obviously not as spectacular as seeing it in person.

"...Although this is the first time I've seen this thing, I heard it had been under construction for a long time and was only recently completed."

Moreover—

This wasn't just the Alliance's achievement.

From the inception of the space elevator project, this engineering feat was a collaborative effort involving various units and organizations of the Alliance, corporations, and the South Sea Union. Especially Ideal Group, which contributed significantly, completing nearly 37% of the production capacity.

However, correspondingly, the rewards they gained from this project were also immense.

It is said that, as of yesterday's close, Ideal Group's stock had accumulated a 50% increase over the past 120 trading days, once again becoming the most valuable company in Ideal City!

Since Ideal City's completion a century and a half ago, such a thing was the first occurrence.

The Ideal Group, once reduced to a property company, re-ignited the imagination of Ideal City residents about the future with the completion of the space elevator and the injection of quality asset shares, making itself great once more!

In fact, it has transformed from a company of Ideal City into a company of human civilization.

By the time everyone vaguely realized this, it had already become a fact.

A similar situation also occurred with the Endpoint Group of Ideal City.

As a representative of Ideal City's "most conservative forces," the Endpoint Group had always opposed the company's business expansion beyond borders, to maintain its market share and council seats.

After all, there was no demand for the internet on the Wasteland, and the chaotic environment was unsuitable for the deployment of Endpoint Cloud, where a million Cr server could be blasted to bits with just a rocket launcher.

However, with the end of the Wasteland Era, this most conservative corporate subsidiary became the most progressive force, actively pushing global integration like the old era's internet companies.

Currently, the Alliance's postal, logistics, industrial, and financial industries have gradually introduced Endpoint Cloud's services.

I believe it won't take long before civilian networks will be opened up, along with the widening of undersea cable channels and the completion of basic infrastructure.

By then, residents of Ideal City can even connect back home to the internet while lying on the beach of Potato Harbor, or even team up with netizens buried under Corral City for online gaming.

After a gap of two and a half centuries, human survivors on the eastern part of the Central Continent will once again embrace the internet era!

It is believed that this will spur another wave of prosperity, perhaps turning the Five Giants of Ideal City into six, seven, or eight.

However, that all will be a story for later…

…

Not long after the group left the lift cabin, a group of people quickly approached from the distance.

Leading the group were Han Mingyue, a researcher from the Union Academy of Social Sciences, and Sun Zewen, a researcher from the Alliance Biological Research Institute.

The former's identity needed no further introduction; frequently appearing in newspapers and often issuing tasks to players, he was somewhat famous among players.

As for the latter, new players might find him unfamiliar, but veteran players who joined the alpha version of the game would recognize him.

This person was a resident of Shelter No. 401 and an expert in Mind Interference Device and Resonance Field Theory.

The so-called Resonance Field Theory is indeed the Morphogenesis Field Theory.

Due to the recent formal establishment of Morphogenesis Field Theory in the Alliance Research Institute, he, being a pre-war era researcher in this field, became a contemporary authority immediately.

That immortal-like appearance with white hair and beard indeed had the demeanor of a grand master.

However, Night Ten remembered when he first met him, the old man did not look so debonair and professorial but was being coerced by the Looter to make pills at gunpoint.

While Night Ten was reminiscing about the days when he first opened the game and raided dungeons with his dear comrades, the old man had already excitedly approached him, reaching out to grasp his hand.

His enthusiastic gesture startled Night Ten, making him almost suspect the old man's inclinations.

Seeming to realize his abrupt behavior, the old man smiled awkwardly and quickly retracted his hand, apologizing.

"Sorry... I got a bit excited, um...may I ask if you truly possess spiritual energy?"

"Yes..." Night Ten nodded cautiously.

Professor Sun Zewen rubbed his hands excitedly, as if not knowing how to express his feelings at this moment.

Presumably so.

After all, it was a domain unsolved even during the Prosperity Epoch, the first time humans came into contact with dimensions beyond the three-dimensional world.

Suddenly, Night Ten felt like a qigong master with a hint of mysticism.

Though he wasn't truly a mystic, he indeed communicated with It.

Even if, technically, it was just a resonance left in the universe by It.

"It's truly unbelievable... If you're not lying, your experience may explain the dimensions beyond that we've never understood...Oh, wait, I'm not saying you're pretending, I saw that news."

Gazing at the hurriedly explaining Professor Sun Zewen, Night Ten shrugged slightly.

"It doesn't matter, actually, even on the Gaia planet, there are staunch materialists who doubt the existence of the Tree of Yenshof, as not everyone can see such things."

Dora said that the Qiu Tribe had no spiritual energy users, but Night Ten did not agree.

For primitive civilizations with extremely exclusive religious cultures, unless their own cultures embedded spiritual elements, accepting spiritual energy users would be extremely difficult.

Perhaps there were spiritual energy users in the Qiu Tribe.

But their worship of the Ancestors and the Sky, combined with their hostility towards the Tree of Yenshof, might have led to a social rejection of these awakened spiritual-ability outliers.

After all, their technological level hadn't advanced to the point of unlocking a "Mind Interference Device," let alone facilitating a dialogue with It through pure technological means and hearing Its ridicule.

This would lead to individuals, even if they awakened spiritual abilities, weakening their psychic perception due to subjective rejection, ultimately purifying themselves.

This was something Night Ten had experienced personally.

When he was a "stupid materialist," he couldn't sense the existence of spiritual energy at all, at most having a stronger sixth sense than others.

And when he tried to understand those previously rejected things and became a "smart materialist" or a "cunning pragmatist," spiritual energy miraculously appeared again.

This is what makes spiritual energy intriguing.

The existence and strength of this psychic ability itself are determined by the mind.

Professor Sun Zewen stared intently at Night Ten, his eager expression like admiring a piece of art, likely making the latter uncomfortable.

However, his gaze soon shifted to Dora, his expression becoming increasingly fervent.

"Do humans on the Gaia planet... all have spiritual energy?!"

Night Ten shook his head and said.

"Not everyone, even among the tribes in the forest, only some can."

"Even just a portion is incredible enough!" Professor Sun Zewen marveled, looking at him eagerly, "Please make sure to take me along next time you go to South Gate Two!"

Observing those eager eyes, Night Ten subtly stepped back, showing a regretful expression and said.

"I probably won't be going again."

Professor Sun Zewen stared at him blankly, instinctively blurting out.

"Why?!"

Night Ten pondered for a moment and said.

"How should I put it? The relics on that planet have already been fully excavated, and the Tree of Yenshof has shared everything it knows about the Ancestors with us... I don't really want to disturb the people living on that planet anymore; I've already caused them enough trouble."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"However, I will propose to the Managers to establish an observation station there, passively observing their civilization's progress without interference. Perhaps you could consider helping me push this initiative forward."

Professor Sun Zewen looked at him in bewilderment, half puzzled, half astonished.

Eventually, he nodded his head with a complicated expression.

"This might be the best option..."

He thought about whether direct intervention might be more efficient, but quickly recalled the United Human.

Maintaining a sense of reverence for the universe is actually quite nice.

As a remnant of the Human Alliance Era, he is more deeply touched by the fall of the old splendor than any of the young people here.

"Alright, nothing to be regretted... I think even if we don't seek historical lessons from the Human Alliance Era, the lessons left by the past two worlds are enough for us."

Han Mingyue laughed heartily and patted Professor Sun on the shoulder, then turned to the young girl named Jiang Xuezhou and said in a relaxed tone.

"I have also found the best prosthetic doctor for you—the CEO of Huge Rock Military Industry, Mr. Yibers. He will be responsible for your prosthetic surgery, replacing it with bionic skin jointly designed by the Academy and Ideal Group."

Before Jiang Xuezhou could speak, Night Ten became anxious and interrupted Dr. Han Mingyue.

"Yibers?! Let that madman do the surgery?"

Han Mingyue laughed and said.

"He is indeed somewhat mentally unstable, but his skill is probably the best on this planet... even the Company's people say so."

This statement is actually valid.

However, Night Ten was still a bit uneasy.

Jiang Xuezhou held Night Ten's hand and whispered.

"Don't worry about me, I am an expert in prosthetics myself, and I'll take care of myself..."

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou say this, Night Ten did not say anything more.

Looking at the young couple being affectionate, Han Mingyue said jokingly.

"Alright, alright, it's just a matter of a few days, the surgery will be done soon... Your mentor's research ship is already waiting on the tarmac, you better get going."

Jiang Xuezhou nodded and was about to leave, but Night Ten, standing beside her, paused.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

Jiang Xuezhou looked at him sheepishly.

"What are you talking about? Do you want me to wander around with this... peculiar appearance? I dislike it even if you don't. Anyway, I won't be following you... take Dora and little Koala around, I'll be waiting at the City of Dawn."

While in the sky, she had discussed with her mentor that she would first go to Giant Stone City to get treated.

As she mentioned this, she seemed to remember something and added a warning.

"And yes... don't use someone's admiration for the Ancestors to do weird things! That's unethical!"

Dora tilted her head.

Perhaps Jiang Xuezhou was too vague in her expression, her spiritual energy didn't grasp the meaning of the sentence.

However, although she didn't understand, the others nearby did.

Han Mingyue reacted the most, laughing out loud, while Professor Sun Zewen coughed awkwardly, pretending not to understand.

Although he was also a resident of the refuge, he recently became an academic rising star and a leader in the "spiritual energy" field, carrying a small burden of being an idol.

As for Night Ten, he was already choking on his own saliva.

Weird things, indeed...

What a baseless accusation; at least wait until he has the tools to commit the crime before blaming him!

But then again, maybe he should think of installing one after returning to the City of Dawn?

As Night Ten seriously contemplated this, Dora, who hadn't spoken, meekly said.

"Am I causing you trouble?"

"How could it be?" Han Mingyue walked up to her with a smile, "Let me introduce myself, I am a researcher at the Alliance Social Science Research Institute, appointed by the Alliance Managers to serve as your guide for this visit to Earth... speaking of which, do you know what the Social Sciences Institute is?"

Dora blinked.

"Your eyes tell me it's an organization researching us."

Han Mingyue showed a glint of surprise in his eyes and teasingly replied.

"It seems Night Ten isn't joking, 'spiritual energy' really does exist. But please don't worry, our research isn't malicious; it's based on peace to deepen our understanding of each other... we hope to understand you."

Dora gently nodded.

"I can sense that."

Han Mingyue's eyes showed even more surprise, and the interest within his pupils intensified.

"Unbelievable... I'm increasingly curious about the matters on Gaia planet."

A society where spiritual energy practitioners are prevalent, and mutual trust among people requires minimal effort...

This starkly contrasts her previous research topics, perhaps offering unexpected inspiration.

Dora smiled shyly and said happily.

"We can chat along the way."

As the group shared their interests, a Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft landed at the airport of the City of Dawn.

Under the escort of a squad of soldiers dressed in exoskeletons, a black box was loaded onto a transport truck and driven to the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team's warehouse affiliated with the research institute.

At this moment, the Alliance's chief scientist and Managers stood inside the inconspicuous warehouse.

The black box was unloaded from the truck, and two Guards in power armor stepped forward to open the box, revealing an oddly shaped reactor device.

Looking at the rough, even shabby mechanical structure and metal dials, Chu Guang's expression grew peculiar.

"...Is this the so-called Perforator?"

The so-called "Ancestors" civilization, the "Holy relic" left in this world through the hands of juniors.

Honestly, this thing looks more like a broken reactor at best, and the patchy rust makes one wonder whether it can even function.

If he hadn't observed the entire matter unfold on the Forum, he might even suspect Night Ten was joking with him.

The researchers present whispered to each other, exchanging glances filled with surprise and doubt.

It was clear that not only Chu Guang felt uncertain about this device, even Yin Fang standing beside carried a subtle expression.

"...Let's try it first, anyway."

Saying this, Yin Fang waved to a researcher standing by, signaling to them to step forward and insert a matching model fuel canister into the cylindrical metal container.

This fuel canister was a second-hand empty canister recovered from the Orion Missile Cruiser.

This was Night Ten's suggestion.

According to him, only a fuel canister that was once filled, exhausted all fuel, and never opened afterward could be recharged by the Perforator.

It sounds somewhat mystical.

And mystically unreasonable.

However, adhering to the principle of controlling variables, Yin Fang took the odd suggestion and followed standard procedures in the first experiment.

Once everything was prepared, the researcher looked back at Yin Fang for confirmation, receiving the "begin experiment" command before pressing the button.

Simultaneously, an incredible scene occurred—the dazzling white light suddenly radiated from the center of the reactor, and in an instant, penetrated the solid container, even rendering the latter transparent!

In response to the sudden occurrence, Lu Bei instinctively moved in front of Chu Guang, while X-16 beside them stepped forward cautiously, intensely watching the brilliant white light.

Fortunately, the terrifying energy didn't last long; it quickly collapsed and finally shrank into a point, enclosed by the fuel canister attached to the reactor.

As everything returned to calm, the researcher operating the experiment equipment stepped forward, disconnected the power, removed the canister inserted into the container, and inspected it.

At this moment, the most astonishing scene unfolded—

After a series of checks by the group, the fuel canister that was originally depleted now appeared to be filled with helium-3!

As if the empty canister was a fake...

"This is, this is too incredible..."

Yin Fang's face was full of surprise, his eyes fixed on the fuel canister.

Chu Guang's reaction was relatively calm, but after a moment he couldn't help but marvel.

"This kid got me..."

Chapter 1024: Exchange Between Two Civilizations

A device that can produce nuclear fuel out of thin air!

At this moment, Chu Guang's feelings were beyond what the word "shock" could describe.

"Unbelievable... This is just unbelievable!" Yin Fang touched his nose, his eyes fixated on the device called the Perforator, and it seemed that was the only word left in his mouth.

Lu Bei's expression was almost the same, equally stunned by the scene before him.

He didn't really understand those complex physical principles, but he knew very well that helium-3 was precisely the strategic resource the Alliance needed most and was hard to regenerate in a short time!

Thinking of this, Lu Bei couldn't help but mutter softly.

"...Doesn't this mean we have mastered... infinite energy?!"

As long as they continually extract the energy from the fuel tank and then recharge it back into this Perforator, they could indefinitely "borrow" light from another world and shape it as needed!

Hearing these words, Yin Fang suddenly snapped out of it, interrupting Lu Bei's imagination without hesitation.

"No!"

Lu Bei cast a puzzled glance at Yin Fang, but at this moment Chu Guang placed his hand on his shoulder.

"This may sound like a cheap idea. But from my past experience, cheap often hides costs we don't know about, costs that we most probably cannot afford."

Walking past Lu Bei to stand next to the Perforator, Chu Guang observed it for a long time.

The mottled rust made it hard to believe this machine could still work, yet the reality he saw with his own eyes couldn't be false—they had indeed borrowed light from another universe.

And it was light from the Creator Universe.

"You're right; there are too many things we don't understand here, and ignorance itself is the greatest threat," Yin Fang continued hurriedly, picking up from where Chu Guang left off. "Do you remember His warning?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Do not attempt to break the Fourth Wall."

These words were heard by Night Ten at South Gate Two and were updated in the post on the official forum.

Yin Fang snapped his fingers excitedly and continued, "Exactly this sentence! Didn't you notice that on that wall... there probably exists something even He would fear."

Even the civilizations that could shatter the void and leave this universe would be fearful of its existence...

It's hard to imagine what that thing looks like.

But thinking in reverse, the Perforator could indeed be an effective deterrent.

If someday in the future, they truly encounter existing other interstellar civilizations in this universe...

At this moment, Heya, who had been silent with arms crossed, suddenly spoke up.

"Sorry, actually, I'm more concerned with another matter. So, we're all created... uh, characters?"

She wasn't sure if it was the right word, but it seemed the most accurate.

Yin Fang nodded but then shook his head.

"You could say that, but dwelling on it is meaningless. According to hints left by the pioneers, it's not just us who are created; our creator was also created by another creator... all universes are like this, layer upon layer of iterations with no end."

Perhaps there is an end.

But then that involves the realm of agnosticism.

Heya fell into contemplation, pursed her lips, and didn't speak for a long time.

Too much exploration of the spiritual world isn't really a good thing; some things hold no meaning even if known.

For example, Chu Guang wasn't very concerned about what lay behind the Fourth Wall.

Every decision he made was from his own heart, without a doubt.

Whether the creator exists doesn't affect his judgment.

He even leans towards considering these matters like "spiritual energy."

His existence doesn't change based on someone's subjective will; it's just a casual stroke on the wall by someone in another world that happened to outline his life trajectory.

If that stroke were different, it would just mean it depicted someone else in another universe, even if that person had the same name.

Based on this theory, he and his creator are a billion-to-one probability for each other.

Regardless of whether the creator exists, his fate is determined by no one and always belongs solely to himself.

At this moment, after being silent for a long time, Heya spoke again.

"...We should have been testing the reverse operation of the Perforator. What if we perform the forward operation while inserting a fuel tank filled with helium-3?"

Yin Fang immediately spoke.

"That would be going to another world... just like Dr. Qiu Shiye, through the cracks of the Fourth Wall, going to the Creator's Universe in the form of electromagnetic waves."

Everyone at the scene fell silent, and the massive warehouse was momentarily filled with a deathly silence.

This sounded like no different from suicide.

At least from a materialistic standpoint, there's no doubt about it...

Chu Guang lightly coughed, breaking everyone's wild speculations.

"Alright, today's experiment is over... we indeed obtained something incredible from South Gate Two."

"Using it to produce helium-3 is a complete waste; that bit of energy is like a drop in the ocean for us. It's better to use this thing to do something meaningful."

Heya tilted her head.

"Such as?"

"Research the void!" Yin Fang's eyes glistened sharp, like a lion spotting its prey, "Compared to a smidgeon of helium-3 that isn't really lacking in the Solar System... I'm more excited about what we could learn from it!"

The fervent gaze sent shivers down one's spine, and even the few researchers present couldn't help but shrink back.

It's hard to say whether this is a good idea.

But Chu Guang felt, compared to fear of the unknown, ignorance was far more terrifying.

Bold assumptions.

Perhaps, long before them, others had already started researching this thing.

It's very unlikely they're the first newborn civilization to come across the ruins of the pioneering civilizations, nor likely the last.

Seeing Yin Fang's expectant face, Chu Guang nodded, acknowledging his suggestion.

"At the very least, we need to understand what we have in our hands."

...

While the scientific community of the Alliance marveled at the astonishing discovery of South Gate Two, a massive steel submarine was surging ahead across the vast southern sea, heading towards Baiyue Strait.

The task of receiving the "Doma Envoys" from Gaia planet was handled by the Union Academy of Social Sciences.

According to the route designed by Ms. Han Mingyue, they were to board the "Dolphin" freight submarine, departing from the base of the space elevator, passing through Baiyue Strait to reach Jinjaron Harbor, and then proceed to Silver Moon Bay to board a train to City of Dawn.

Undoubtedly, it was the farthest route to City of Dawn.

But according to Ms. Han Mingyue, this route represented the true wasteland more vividly and could better help Dora understand the world "Ancestors" live in.

After all, landing at Death Coast wouldn't offer much variety in scenery along the way...

The massive alloy hull was submerged beneath the waves, revealing only the U-shaped bridge.

Watching the waves slap against the sloped floor-to-ceiling windows, Dora, standing inside the bridge, gazed wide-eyed in excitement.

"Is this... the ocean?!"

"Haha! That's right! This entire area is it! The residents of the South Sea Union have lived here for over two centuries!"

Standing at the control terminal, Captain Chen Jianhong laughed heartily, waving his hand toward one of the crew.

Seeing the captain's gesture, the crewman immediately understood and adjusted the steering, raising the massive body of the vessel from the rolling waves to elevate the bridge.

The view ahead suddenly opened up!

The vast, endless azure waters connected with the horizon, seemingly merging into one with the sky.

The horizon was adorned with hues of green and gold, like a necklace gifted by the sky to the sea.

Numerous boats of varying sizes floated on top of it.

Only a U-shaped bridge tower peeked out from under the waves.

Captain Chen gestured to one side, and a sailor immediately understood, adjusting the controls.

```

Since the Gravity Well was activated, a large amount of space debris has fallen into the vast southern sea area, and the scavengers on the Wasteland have swarmed here like sharks smelling blood.

Thanks to this, this sea area, once isolated at the edge of the Wasteland, has become lively!

Dora clenched her fists excitedly, stood on tiptoe, eager to jump up just so she could see a little further.

Looking at her excited appearance, Captain Chen Jianhong couldn't help but smile proudly.

Though he joined the Alliance long ago, he had always considered this sea as his hometown.

That feeling has never changed.

"So amazing..." Dora sighed, finally calming her excited mood.

Looking at her inexperienced expression, Night Ten couldn't help but tease her.

"It's not actually that amazing. Hydrogen compounds are quite common in the universe."

Dora curiously looked at him and excitedly asked.

"Hydrogen compounds?"

Night Ten coughed and explained.

"It basically means water."

"So amazing..."

"I've already said, it's not that amazing..."

Night Ten explained, amused and helpless, but saw the little stars in the girl's eyes shining even brighter.

Beside them, little Koala looked up at the ceiling, making clinking sounds from its round metallic belly.

"I don't really like it here, the humid air makes me feel uncomfortable all over."

Especially when the humid air condenses into droplets on its steel plates.

Professor Sun Wenzhe, standing nearby, stared at it for a long time, muttering to himself.

"Unbelievable, machines can actually have souls... So what's your soul called? Robot soul?"

Little Koala replied helplessly.

"I don't know, don't ask me about such things."

The submarine slowly sailed into the Baiyue Strait, docking at the port of Potato Harbor.

The group stood on the pier.

Due to strict confidentiality measures, the survivors at Potato Harbor weren't aware that a guest from South Gate Two would disembark here.

Thus, when Dora stood on the pier, curious gazes immediately drifted over.

Her skin was a bright green.

On the Wasteland, only mutants have this skin color.

However, that emerald-like green was different from the life-emanating green on her.

Even removing the differences in color, people at the port could still distinguish between her and mutants.

One difference was hair.

Another was gender characteristics.

Mutants do not have hair, nor do they have females.

As the crowd at the port cast surprised and curious eyes towards the pier, Dora also stood on the pier, wide-eyed in amazement, looking excitedly at the people on the shore.

On the sunny beach were numerous parasols, while in the distance was a street shaded by lush trees.

The crowd on the street was faintly visible, moving to and fro under colorful signs and swaying tree shadows.

This was a scene Dora had never seen before.

In her tribe, people lived in trees and ate and slept in tree holes.

Even the Qiu people living in the Forbidden Forest Valley couldn't build such beautiful houses even though they used stones, let alone pave roads with flat stones... In her understanding, there was no such thing as roads.

The beautiful scenery made her feel like she couldn't soak it all in, leaving her unsure where to place her gaze.

The legends about the Ancestors were too conservative.

This didn't seem like paradise, but rather a paradise above paradise.

"So many people..." she couldn't help but sigh, seeing the crowds coming and going on the path by the shore.

The number of people just walking by the shore was more than her entire tribe back home!

Even more than the people living in the entire forest!

Seeing her startled appearance, Night Ten smiled and said.

"This isn't the most. You'll know what 'lots of people' means when you pass by Jin Galun Harbor."

That place is perhaps the largest survivor settlement on the Wasteland aside from Ideal City.

As for Potato Harbor, it doesn't rank in terms of population; it's merely a scenic resort port.

Dora looked at Night Ten in amazement.

She could sense he wasn't joking, yet couldn't imagine what a scene with more people than here would be like.

Could people pile on top of each other?

Smiling at Dora's bewildered look, Ms. Han Mingyue put on the sunglasses hanging from her collar and teasingly asked.

"By the way, did you notice anything unusual, from the air here... or anywhere else?"

Dora paused slightly, regaining her composure from the initial shock, closing her bright eyes, and reverting to a serene and devout expression.

Han Mingyue looked at her face with interest, as if examining an artwork.

There wasn't a long wait.

Dora opened her eyes again, and her eyes sparkled with amazed colors at the same time.

"I feel a very familiar aura... It's very similar to our forest!"

The people nearby wore expressions of surprise, including Night Ten, who was a player.

It was only then that he remembered that this forest seemed to be alive!

Moreover.

It is also a child of Gaia!

Just like the Lair in Qingquan City before!

Speaking of which, that searching for the Lair task released several versions back by the Alliance Biological Institute hasn't been completed by anyone yet...

Seeing Dora's discovery, Han Mingyue's eyes sparkled with greater interest.

She continued to pursue the topic.

"Can you communicate with it? Or does it have self-awareness?"

Dora eagerly nodded.

"Yes! It's greeting me. Its voice is very similar to the 'Tree of Yenshof', but not exactly the same. It feels like... It's her kid."

It indeed is her kid.

Just like the Gaia people on the Gaia planet, they have the same parents.

The only difference is, it was designed by the Radical Faction of the United Human based on the principle of "destruction" as a strategic weapon.

While Dora was a new life nurtured by the "Tree of Yenshof" — or rather, the ecological maintenance system left by the predecessor civilization to fulfill the purpose of "saving endangered species".

Han Mingyue looked excitedly at Dora.

"Did it say anything?"

Dora nodded quickly again.

However, this time, her expression carried a bit of embarrassment, not as natural as before.

"It's complaining, saying you're noisy."

"It also said that it would be nice if you could quiet down a bit..."

Chapter 1025: The Ultimate Fate of the Universe Is Foodies

It's okay to be quiet.

Han Mingyue froze for quite a while, then his face showed an expression of both crying and laughing.

"Ah... I'm really sorry for that, could you please apologize to it for us?"

Dora nodded lightly, then closed her eyes again, opening the invisible psychic network and established a connection with the consciousness entity of the Baiyuexing Province Hive which was nearby.

This time, she took a little longer.

Professor Sun Zewen stared at her for quite a while, then turned his gaze to Night Ten standing next to him, encouragingly saying.

"Don't you also have that psychic power? Why don't you give it a try?"

Night Ten made a helpless expression.

"I can speak, but that doesn't mean it's willing to pay attention to me."

Sun Zewen: "..."

The statement was so reasonable that Professor Sun didn't know how to refute it for a moment.

In fact, it was indeed so.

Actually, even without mastering psychic abilities, by simply using the "Mind Interference Device," one can still let a variant mucor mother nest with high intelligence understand what humans are saying.

However, the higher the intelligence of the creature, the more independent it becomes. So far, except for Xiaoyu, the Alliance hasn't truly used that device to tame any variant mucor mother nest.

If it weren't for not being able to locate the Baiyuexing Province Hive, and considering the crop yield increase buff in Baiyuexing Province, Night Ten estimated that Ah Guang in the shelter might have already incited Xiaoyu to do harm to this hive.

Besides the Clear Spring City's hive, a few hives have also fallen at Xiaoyu's hands.

But on the other hand, it's actually hard to say.

After all, due to the investigation by the surviving crew of the Gemini and the messages from this psychic, the Alliance now has a new understanding of the essence of the Gaia planet and variant mucor. The technical prototype of the "Seed of Gaia" is actually the "Planetary Ecological Maintenance System" of the pioneer civilization.

Who would bother with the "Holy relics" from the past?

With these artifacts, the Alliance might be able to create a few more habitable planets.

Especially the Baiyuexing Province Hive, among all hives on Earth, its development characteristics are most similar to that system named "Tree of Yenshof" on the Gaia planet.

Night Ten suddenly realized the strategic value of this guy had reached its peak!

As time passed, Dora finally reopened her eyes.

Seeing the expectant eyes directed at her, her face was filled with a sheepish expression, and she timidly said in a small voice.

"It said... it doesn't need your insincere apology, since you wouldn't change anyway. But if you genuinely feel sorry, you could give it some of those colorful granules scattered in the ground... It wants to taste them too."

"...uh, colorful granules?"

Han Mingyue was stunned by this statement, blankly looking at Professor Sun Zewen beside him, but the latter was also in a dazed manner.

Dora was also unsure how to explain.

The limitation of psychic abilities is precisely this.

The bridge of the mind can only be established between mutually recognized individuals, and the information transmitted must be concepts both parties understand.

This is the precondition for "Resonance."

She could only helplessly watch everyone present, hoping that they, living here, could understand what the familiar consciousness entity hidden in the forest wanted to express.

At this moment, Night Ten suddenly coughed lightly, speaking with an uncertain tone.

"Could it be referring to fertilizers?"

"Ah?!" Professor Sun Zewen stared at him blankly, his eyes almost popping out.

Not only Professor Sun Zewen, but the others accompanying them also directed odd looks over here, obviously caught off guard by this twist.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm just guessing randomly too," Night Ten made a helpless expression, "Why don't we give it a try?"

This is the fastest way to verify.

"I'll report it to the research unit first..." Han Mingyue nodded with a strange expression, then looked at Dora and continued to ask, "Did it say anything else? Just this matter?"

She always felt that taking so long shouldn't be needed for clarifying such a minor issue.

As expected, Dora's face showed an expression of being seen through.

Han Mingyue slightly narrowed her eyes, as if discovering an incredible clue, playfully examining the evasive gaze.

This guy is hiding something from me!

Facing those sharp eyes, Dora didn't realize the seriousness of the problem, blushing shyly as she confessed.

"It told me that there are many treasures in this tribe, and urged me to steal some and hide within the forest. It also promised it could protect me, making others unable to find me, provided I helped it carry some... those 'colorful' granules? Oh, but of course I refused! Really!"

Han Mingyue raised her eyebrows, with an interest in continuing to look at her and asking, "Oh? What treasures?"

The Gaia people are indeed not very good at lying, and the guy hiding in the forest probably didn't think his compatriots would be so straightforward.

In any case, she felt she was getting closer and closer to the truth!

Since a while ago, Night Ten has been wondering if this guy is overthinking a bit, like how could that lair rely on a few bags of fertilizer to take down Potato Harbor?

Moreover, for people who have established psychic connections, it's very easy to discern each other's malice and goodwill.

At least he didn't feel that Dora had any ill intentions.

The fact was indeed as expected.

Faced with the increasingly pressing gaze, Dora finally couldn't resist and spoke up, trying to depict with her index finger something she'd never seen, she said softly.

"Like that... a yellow fruit with milky white liquid on it."

A moment ago, Han Mingyue, who was expecting to uncover some clues, was completely dumbfounded, his voice even going off pitch.

"What?!"

The startled Dora shrank her neck, looking for help to the spiritual "Ancestor" standing beside her.

Night Ten sighed, holding his forehead, and said.

"Perhaps she means... uh, coconut mango?"

Han Mingyue, who experienced a mental freeze, suddenly came to his senses, blushed, and hurriedly explained.

"Of course I meant coconut mango!"

Night Ten: "...?"

What's with the flushing teapot face!

Dora wasn't sure if that's what it's called, but she involuntarily swallowed.

"Is it tasty?"

The Doma people's food doesn't have much variety, it's either sweet or tasteless.

She still remembers telling the lair that food was just for filling the stomach, which got her laughed at by the latter.

Thus, she suddenly became curious about what the Ancestors usually eat.

"Hahaha! That stuff is quite popular, though I prefer the beer here," Captain Chen Jianhong, who hadn't spoken until now, laughed heartily, joining the conversation and smoothing things over, "Speaking of which, it's already noon, and you haven't had anything since you came down from the space elevator, right? I happen to know a nice restaurant nearby, this meal's on me!"

Night Ten suddenly remembered that he had been too focused on serious topics and hadn't had a chance to treat this guest from South Gate Two to a meal.

Looking at Dora's expectant face, he laughed and said.

"True, let's eat first."

...

On the outskirts of Potato Harbor, there are many plantations and farms producing cotton and sugar needed by Jinjaron Harbor's factories.

Due to the rapid growth of local vegetation, to maintain soil fertility, these plantations and farms typically use large amounts of various types of fertilizer.

Otherwise, the crops would just grow tall without yielding anything, or they'd lie wilting on the ground.

Colorful granules...

Night Ten could only think of this, the only surprise being the Baiyue Province Hive craving this stuff.

The key is, other lairs aren't like this!

Suddenly, Night Ten recalled something.

Remember many versions ago, the Biological Institute issued a report on the mutant slime fungus mother nest in the Baiyue Strait.

The report mentioned that the lair in this region seemed to exist in the form of the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain, establishing a symbiotic relationship with the local forest.

There's more.

Through this unique symbiotic relationship, the lair can integrate foreign species' DNA into other species in the forest, achieving the goal of maintaining the forest's ecological balance and increasing resistance to foreign invaders.

This incredible ability once made players afraid of relieving themselves anywhere, fearing their gene sequence would get "stolen" by forest monsters.

If you think about it carefully, this thing might really be the most like "Gaia"—or shall we say the "Tree of Yenshof" lair.

Firstly, similar to the Tree of Yenshof, it doesn't stick to the single form of a mutant slime fungus, but seamlessly blends into the environment without a specific shape, yet is omnipresent.

Secondly, it allows two distinctly different species to merge with each other, not just integrating into itself like other lairs.

The original little green people on Gaia planet were actually a fusion of human DNA and other species DNA...

Taking advantage of the time before lunch, Dr. Han Mingyue reported the situation of the "Gaia people's first contact with the Seed of Gaia," quickly attracting the attention of the Alliance Biological Research Institute.

Almost immediately after the group had their lunch, Ms. Chen Yutong, who was giving a report in the City of Dawn, flew in with several researchers from Shelter No.79.

The Baiyue Province Hive had always been her research subject.

Even though her focus recently shifted to developing the "Mortal Serum" vaccine, she had never stopped research on the Baiyue Province Hive.

"Interesting... The mutated slime mold's lair is actually interested in fertilizer; we've never heard of that before."

After understanding the specifics of the situation, Chen Yutong stroked his chin with interest and continued to look at Dora.

"We have a lot of types of fertilizers here. Does it specify any kind?"

At this moment, Dora was holding a bowl of shaved ice drizzled with red syrup and was blissfully shoveling spoonfuls into her mouth, unable to stop even though her head hurt.

She finally understood why the lair told her that once she tasted this flavor, there was no turning back.

Forget going back...

She even felt like staying here forever!

As for anything like the edge of the universe or the god relics of the "Tree of Yenshof," let the little Koala go with the respected Ancestor to find those!

"Straw... strawberry flavor!"

Looking at the brain-freeze-stricken Dora and the dumbfounded Chen Yutong, Night Ten lightly coughed to remind them.

"The question was about fertilizer."

"Ah!" Dora suddenly snapped back to reality, embarrassedly putting down her spoon and said, "Um... it did not specify."

Chen Yutong stared at her for a long time and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha... Interesting! Then let's try a bit of everything."

Anyway, it's cheap stuff.

Speaking with a teasing tone, Chen Yutong gave a knowing look to the waiting researchers, who immediately caught on and made arrangements with a phone call.

Didn't have to wait long.

Two newbies from the Goblin Corps immediately appeared at the outskirts of Potato Harbor's agricultural market.

According to the task requirements, they evenly purchased fifty tons of various types of fertilizer, both organic and inorganic, then cheerfully trucked them to a nearby military base and dumped them into the surrounding forest with propeller planes.

The particles, scattered all over like a tempest, covered tens of thousands of acres of forest, even engulfing players who were completing tasks nearby.

Covered in the falling particles, the player [Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog] was instantly annoyed and looked up, noticing that the culprit had already flown away.

Patting the dust off, he grumbled.

"MMP, what's this stuff?!"

[Just Want to Quietly, Yee Dog] bent down, picked one up from the ground, and tossed it in his mouth, spitting it out instantly.

"Bleh! Bitter!"

This smooth operation left another teammate in his squad stunned and blurted out.

"Damn, you dare put anything in your mouth!"

[Just Want to Quietly, Yee Dog] chuckled.

"What's the big deal, it's not like I'm gonna die—"

Before he finished speaking, rustling sounds suddenly came from the surrounding bushes.

The group, laughing earlier, instantly became alert, their hands instinctively reaching for their gear at their waists, aiming at the nearby shadows.

After all, this is Baiyue Province's forest!

An officially recognized level 30 map!

Encountering any absurd variant here is not surprising, which in some sense is even more dangerous than the Great Desert!

Although dying in the Great Desert may not be known to anyone, getting knocked out near home might get you laughed at all day by your buddies.

The rustling sounds grew more pronounced, and the movement of vegetation became increasingly noticeable, a sign of unease gradually etched on everyone's face.

"Hey, should we retreat?" [Just Want to Quietly, Yee Dog] became a bit timid; he wasn't good at dealing with such hidden threats.

[Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog] had a fluctuating expression, eventually deciding and waving his hand decisively.

"Retreat—"

As soon as his words fell, something unbelievable suddenly happened!

The forest before them seemed to come alive, twisting upwards and growing at an astonishing speed, spreading towards the surroundings.

Never having seen such a ludicrous scene, the three players standing in the forest were instantly dumbfounded, their rifles rendered useless.

Watching the vines sealing off nearby paths, [Just Want to Quietly, Yee Dog] was startled and screamed.

"What the hell's going on?!"

ID [Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog] remained slightly composed but wasn't much better off, drawing a battle knife to cut through the vines entangling his ankle, shouting.

"Forget what's happening, just fricking retreat!"

The same scene played out in various parts of the forest, with squads of players completing tasks retreating from the woods.

The wildly growing trees even alarmed the Jungle Corps stationed in the suburban military camp.

One by one, hulking figures wielding chainsaws gathered instantly, boarding the Chimera armored cars and heading towards the logging site reportedly hit hardest by the "Tide."

There were a dozen NPCs trapped inside the warehouse there.

According to them, it was the "trees" to blame.

If it weren't for seeing those crazed pieces of wood with his own eyes, the squad leader wouldn't have been able to resist doubting whether he had heard incorrectly.

Just when the Chimera armored car was about to reach the logging site, an unexpected incident suddenly occurred.

A tree root as thick as a thigh slithered across the cement road like a python, with an astonishing speed!

Constrained by the visual obstruction, the driver didn't even see the root dart beneath the car, and the front wheel of the armored car went right over it.

The car, speeding at high velocity, was jolted upward!

Unprepared, the tin-canned soldiers in the armored car flew out like lead balls, landing scattered along the roadside.

Fortunately, these guys were all tough fighters, and the ground was soft mud and grass, so there were no non-combat casualties.

Listening to the NPC officer yelling inquiries on the communication channel, the squad leader, shaken from the accident, breathlessly replied.

"This is the Jungle Corps... Patrol Forest Team! You may not believe it, but we just fought with trees."

The surrounding trees and vines continued their madness.

And not just the trees and vines!

All the vegetation around Potato Harbor grew wildly at an unbelievable pace, as if on drugs!

Though no casualties had occurred for the time being, the sudden situation caught the residents and players of Potato Harbor off guard.

The forest was just fine, why did it suddenly go berserk?!

It wasn't just the residents of Potato Harbor who were shocked, but also the "perpetrators" standing at the forest's edge were astounded by the chaos unfolding before them.

Staring at the forest that seemed to have come alive, Professor Sun Zewen muttered incessantly, his whole demeanor like a madman.

"Spiritual Energy! Is this the power of Spiritual Energy..."

He clearly misunderstood something.

But that didn't matter anymore.

"Seems we messed up..."

Chen Yutong swallowed, her face slightly pale.

Who would have thought that mere dozens of tons of fertilizer could produce such a terrifying effect.

At this moment, she was too preoccupied to consider the economic losses, silently praying that no one would be harmed.

If lives were lost, the cost of this experiment would be far too great...

However, her worries were clearly unnecessary.

The residents of Potato Harbor knew well the condition of the forest at their doorstep, and certainly no one would cross the barbed wire fence and enclosing wall of the quarantine forest.

As for the players.

They were indeed startled, but not to the extent of being killed by a few trees.

All those uninvolved, including the NPCs trapped in the warehouse at the logging site, had been protected.

Standing next to Dora, Night Ten gazed wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the wildly growing trees and vines, finally squeezing out a sentence.

"Damn... the absorption is that good?!"

At least wait for it to rain, right?!

Not just Night Ten, Dora was also shocked by this terrifying growth rate.

On Gaia planet, although the priests of the Doma could accelerate plant growth through prayer, they couldn't come close to such an astonishing degree!

She saw with her own eyes, the vines that were just calf-high climbed up the treetops in no time, and the short bushes, half the height of a person, shot up an inch longer within a few breaths.

But——

Now wasn't the time to be shocked by this.

Hearing a voice that seemed to drift into her ear from nowhere, Dora quickly regained her composure, looking at the nearby Night Ten, speaking hastily.

"It says... these woods are a gift for you, you can use them directly, no need to be polite."

A gift, huh...

What a big misunderstanding.

Night Ten looked at Dora with a helpless smile.

"Please tell it that the gift is very nice, but not to give it like this next time."

Chapter 1026: Too Full

[Suspected "Tide" outbreak in Baiyue Province forests?! Extraterrestrial visitor from South Gate Two says—perhaps you are overly urbanized.

——Goblin Observation Report]

[It is reported that the special envoy from Gaia planet, currently visiting Potato Harbor, has demonstrated psychic abilities and successfully established a mental connection with the Mutant mucor mother nest in Baiyue Province, accelerating plant growth in the region!

The specific effects and scope of this ability, and whether it can be used in other areas, remain unclear. We urge the Alliance to disclose more valuable information to satisfy the curiosity of the Waste Land Wanderers and address the concerns of His Majesty Sarun.

According to unofficial sources, since learning that the Alliance possesses more powerful mind interference technology, the esteemed His Majesty has moved from his original bedroom into an iron house.

——Survivor's Daily · New West Port Edition

]

...

City of Dawn, Manager's Office in the Alliance Building.

Chu Guang, sitting at the desk, listened intently to Heya's report on the latest research progress of the Baiyue Province Hive.

"The analysis results are out. The suspected 'Tide' phenomenon occurring in Baiyue Province is due to a certain special pheromone released by the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain, catalyzing accelerated growth of vegetation in the forest."

At this point, Heya paused for a moment and continued.

"Our research has found that this pheromone not only accelerates the growth of vegetation but also extends the mating season of animals, thereby accelerating the reproduction rate of local wildlife... These clues are enough to prove that the ecological environment of Baiyue Province is entirely manipulated by the Mother Nest consciousness entity active in the area."

Goodness.

Extending the mating season for animals...

Chu Guang's expression was a bit peculiar, suddenly curious if this would accelerate population growth in the Baiyue Strait Area.

However, such things can't be observed in the short term.

Moreover, humans are different from animals; the desire to reproduce is not entirely driven by the lower body. There are houses, cars, and a bunch of messy stuff to consider.

He lightly coughed and said.

"So... the 'Tide' happening in Baiyue Province, it's not the Mother Nest expanding, but rather the forest influenced by the 'Mother Nest'?"

"You could see it that way, but the Mother Nest has also been expanding. After all, the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain and the region's flora and fauna have a symbiotic relationship," Heya nodded and continued in a concise manner, "A reasonable hypothesis is that the ecological maintenance system of South Gate Two is also based on a similar principle... a collective consciousness formed by multiple life forms, which completes the regulation of the ecosystem according to the autonomous consciousness of the collective."

This sounded a bit convoluted.

Simply put, Gaia is not just the slime fungus that people observe; the slime fungus is merely its projection in the three-dimensional world.

Chu Guang tried to understand, pressing his index finger against his brow, and said.

"So, South Gate Two's system is the fully functional version, while Baiyue Province's is the stripped-down version... Is that what you mean?"

"From the perspective of existence form, indeed it is!"

Heya looked at him with bright eyes and continued earnestly.

"South Gate Two's 'Tree of Yenshof' has no observable manifestation in three-dimensional space. Even if destroyed countless times by neutron torpedoes, it can still completely reset the destroyed ecosystem. Meanwhile, the Mother Nest in Baiyue Province has a tangible entity, which is the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain growing near the plant roots. Destroying that fungus strain can remove it from Baiyue Province soil!"

"However! From a practical standpoint, its functionalities are not really stripped down and might even be better suited to our needs than South Gate Two's ecological system maintenance apparatus. Having an entity means we can control it more easily, facilitating communication and even trade with it!"

"Sounds indeed interesting..." Chu Guang had a contemplative expression on his face, lightly tapping rhythmically on the desk with his index finger.

After a moment, he looked at Heya and said in a half-joking tone.

"I even think it might help us terraform more habitable planets."

Heya's face lit up with a pleasant smile.

"I think so too."

Although Xiaoyu also possesses similar abilities, the ecosystem formed by Xiaoyu's slime fungus is overly simplistic in every sense.

No matter how diverse its sub-entities become, they are essentially just slime fungi and cannot evolve into forests or prairies.

But Baiyue Province's Mother Nest is different.

It can break the DNA isolation between species, forming a biosphere composed of multiple species.

And as a member of this biosphere, it plays only a small role in it!

Even after completing the planetary transformation, it can be removed from the already stabilized ecosystem or contracted to a specific province's range!

From a technical perspective, it is entirely hopeful to achieve!

Chu Guang even thought that maybe he wouldn't need to solve this problem from a technical angle, and negotiating with that guy might just do the trick.

For instance, every time that guy transforms a habitable planet, perhaps a section similar to the Baiyue Province's nature reserves could be designated for it to stay.

Seeing Chu Guang deep in thought, Heya couldn't help but slightly curl her lips.

She could easily guess that he was definitely thinking about how to maximize the Alliance's interests with the Lair again.

However, these matters weren't part of her job.

After completing her report, she put away the tablet in her hand and said with a gentle tone.

"...That's the latest research progress from the Biological Institute. If there are new findings, I will report to you promptly!"

Chu Guang, ending his contemplation, looked up at her and nodded with a smile.

"Mm, I'll be waiting for your good news."

To be honest, with so many brilliant minds in the Alliance, his presence as a Manager doesn't really feel significant, considering that everyone else already has their tasks covered.

Sometimes he actually envied those players.

Especially that kid Night Ten.

In the entire server, you couldn't find many people whose experiences are as legendary as his, to the point where Chu Guang wanted to create a small account to tag the Dog plan on the forum to nerf him.

Watching Heya leave, Chu Guang picked up the tablet on the table, intending to glance at the research report from the expedition team on the "Perforator," when suddenly there was a knock outside the recently closed door, and the office secretary walked in from outside holding a bill.

The secretary had transferred from the players' Merchant Guild to a clerical job at the Alliance Building, and she was named Frost Snow.

Speaking of which, she was one of the first residents of the Alliance, apparently from the "Frost Spear Tribe."

Of course, after living in the Alliance for so long, those who have settled long ago don't use such an outdated name.

Chu Guang recalled that after a few rounds of relocation and absorbing new tribesmen, the Frost Spear Tribe immigrants had renamed their village to Frost Spear Town.

Among several township-level administrative units under the City of Dawn, this town with a name sounding full of valour was among the first to reap the benefits of the era's development.

"...Sir, the Ministry of Finance sent a bill regarding the national compensation applied for by the Fries Port City Hall." Seeing Chu Guang continuously smiling at her, Frost Snow felt her cheeks getting warmer, as if steam would soon rise from them.

Chu Guang didn't pay too much attention to her psychological activity, he simply reminisced about past events, smiling as he nodded and said.

"Just leave it on my desk."

"Okay." Frost Snow stiffly replied, nodding as she neatly placed the document at the corner of the desk, then quickly slipped out of the office with a flushed face before she showed any flaws.

Chu Guang reached out and glanced at the bill that the Ministry of Finance had passed on.

According to the Fries Port City Hall financial personnel's assessment, the experimental actions by the Alliance Biological Research Institute exceeded expectations, resulting in nearly 7 million silver coins in direct economic losses.

Therefore, the Fries Port side wished to obtain national compensation from the Ministry of Finance.

The people from the Ministry of Finance reviewed the bill's amounts and numbers, confirmed there were no issues, and, following the statutory procedure of special budget approval, transferred the related application to be signed at the Manager's Office.

This was probably the only thing Chu Guang needed to handle personally today.

Chu Guang read through the bill and application document from start to finish, confirming there was no problem, and then reached for the pen in the drawer to sign.

However, the moment he opened the drawer, he froze.

"Xiao Qi, have you seen my pen? The one for signing."

He had used that pen to sign quite a few documents and planned to keep it as a collectible item after retiring, so why has it disappeared?

"Eh?! It's not in the drawer?"

Sitting on the pen holder, Xiao Qi was also stunned, hopping off the pen holder to the drawer's side, surprised to find the pen indeed missing.

"That's strange..."

It clearly remembered it was here...

Although Chu Guang found it a bit puzzling, since it wasn't an important document that was missing, just a pen.

"Maybe I stuffed it in my pocket after signing once..."

Composing himself, Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi, who was lying on the drawer's side, and said.

"Please ask the office secretariat to send another pen over."

"Received!" Xiao Qi nodded, called the secretariat staff, and then looked at Chu Guang again and asked, "Master, should we inform the Guards Corps? It's just a pen, but this is your office, after all. Xiao Qi thinks it should be taken seriously."

Although it seemed like making a fuss over nothing, Chu Guang thought about it for a moment and felt there was some sense to it, so he nodded and said.

"Inform Lu Bei about it."

...

Potato Harbor.

Not far from the beach, at a resort hotel, a group of people was resting after eating and drinking their fill.

Little Koala became interested in the marble statues in the hotel's garden.

Especially upon learning that the designer was an artist from Vellante, it sparked a desire to visit Triumph City.

It was said that there were many similar artworks there.

As for Professor Sun Zewen, he was still as before, following behind the robot said to have a "robot soul," with eyes burning with enthusiasm and babbling non-stop.

The image of the sage-like old professor he first appeared as was nowhere to be seen.

His persona had completely crumbled.

Besides.

Due to the Forest Tide incident in Baiyue Province, the number of people accompanying the South Gate Two Messenger to visit the "Ancestor" planet suddenly increased to over 50, transforming into a sightseeing group.

Among them, in addition to social science researchers, was a large number of researchers from the Alliance Biological Research Institute.

For instance, Ms. Chen.

Due to her influence, Old White, who was at the military base near the space elevator preparing to counterattack the Lagrange point space station, was also brought over as an escort responsible for the safety of the researchers at the Biological Institute, to prevent the Enlightenment Society's spies from causing major news events.

After all, the Baiyue Strait is not within the core control area of the Alliance, and safety issues need to be noted.

However, Old White felt that having or not having him didn't make much of a difference.

After all, with the "strongest perception-type player" of the Burning Corps in the team, he couldn't imagine what kind of spy could pose a threat to these guys.

Not to mention that recently, this perception-type player had unlocked the one and only "Spiritual Energy" talent.

An Enlightenment Society assassin might get caught before even showing up, no different from walking into a trap.

While Old White was dozing off, Dora, who was star-gazing, suddenly remembered something from earlier in the day and curiously asked Night Ten with her big, curious eyes.

"By the way, what exactly is this 'fertilizer'?"

Throughout the day, she had seen too many things she had never seen before, causing her to forget the most astonishing and curious thing she had encountered.

This question was a bit beyond the scope, night scratching his head for a long time, trying to explain in a way she could understand.

"In simple terms... it's a kind of stimulant used on plants, but I can't explain it clearly."

Dora nodded as if she understood, then eagerly asked.

"Will our tribe, the Doma people... have this ability in the future?"

Night Ten pondered for a moment and said.

"Honestly, it's a bit difficult."

Those big eyes that couldn't hide anything quickly showed disappointment, and Dora said in a low voice.

"Why?"

Night Ten made a helpless expression.

"To be honest... because you all eat too much, there probably isn't a need to invent this kind of thing."

Just by coaxing the Sacred Tree, you can harvest a big basket of fruit, and by negotiating with the pterosaurs in the sky, you can learn the migration paths of the beast swarm and the directions of the prey.

This ability already reached the level of magic, you might even say it is, in some sense, magic.

On top of that, the biological resources of the Gaia planet are inexhaustible, having allowed them to enjoy a worry-free life for countless centuries in advance.

He could imagine the Keurisians starving on the move, but couldn't picture how the Forest People would ever go hungry.

Farming?

Fertilizer?

What even are those things?

Isn't food something that falls from the sky?

From the standpoint of the Forest People, Dora couldn't entirely grasp what he was saying, but instinctively felt that the "Ancestors" must be right, which somewhat saddened her.

However, another Ancestor next to her at this moment placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Not necessarily, you know."

Dora looked up to see the sister named Han Mingyue smiling at her, continuing to speak in a pleasant voice.

"Hunger, war, poverty, disease... these elements do play a catalyzing role in the development of civilization. Their presence forces civilizations out of their comfort zones, to actively change the status quo. However, I still have to say, it's not only these negative elements that can act as catalysts, some positive elements can be catalysts as well."

Night Ten curiously raised his eyebrow.

"Like what?"

Han Mingyue, smiling, replied.

"For example, eating too much."

"Psh, being too full..." Night Ten was about to give an example to refute it, but on second thought, it seemed to make sense.

Isn't that the case with the players?

Because they were too full, they spent their days doing all sorts of odd jobs, which in turn stimulated the growth of the Alliance's economy.

In fact, it's not just the players; as the Waste Land Wanderers gradually freed themselves from a life of constant peril and started living a "well-fed" life across various Alliance settlements, they have surprisingly made contributions across various sectors and fields.

The most typical example of this happens to exist right under their feet at Potato Harbor.

The "Ah Bu Aerospace," founded by the former Leader of Poluo Country.

Since its establishment, it's gathered quite a number of technical workers fleeing from Poluo Province and engineers from the South Sea Union.

With the recovery and integration of technology from the Prosperity Epoch's space industry chain, this company is already showing promise in fields like plasma engines and the aerospace semiconductor and control components, and is increasingly participating in the Alliance's space industry chain.

It's hard to imagine this is a startup company.

And the person who founded it was once just a dock laborer moving boxes.

"Now that you mention it, it really is that way."

Unable to outargue the expert, Night Ten immediately made a 180-degree turn and looked at Dora, cleared his throat, and said.

"You see, I'm not completely correct either; I have my limitations... Of course, she's the same, too, what she says might not be absolutely correct, take it as reference only."

The latter half of this was purely to save face.

Though he no longer feels the need to win every argument unlike before, some habits formed over time are not so easy to change.

In contrast, Dr. Han is truly much more mature.

Watching Night Ten trying to save some face, she nodded smilingly, accepting this so-called "stepping stone" and then looked at the bewildered Dora and said.

"Indeed, what I say doesn't represent absolute truth, it's just some theoretical stuff, for reference only."

Dora looked at the two Ancestors in confusion and asked.

"Then what is? The truth."

Night Ten shook his head.

"There is no such thing, whether it's what I say or what she says, it's just one perspective. Just like you explain the existence of the Tree of Yenshof using religion, and we explain its phenomena using dimensional theories... We wouldn't say your method is entirely wrong, just lacks objectivity. And for yourselves, such a lack of objective explanation might not necessarily be inferior to ours."

Knowledge that cannot be passed down has no meaning, and the mere existence of the Doma people has already proven this point.

The sixteen crew members imparted dimensional theories that they themselves might not completely understand to the tribes in the forest, and the ultimate result is those foresters still living in trees more than a hundred years later.

In contrast, Dr. Qiu Shiye did not impart too much difficult knowledge to his "spiritual descendants," only taught them simple and practical technologies like starting a fire by friction, metallurgy and forging, making lime, as well as slash-and-burn agriculture.

With the help of these practical technologies, those Keurisians, instead, leveraged their creativity, moving into stone houses first and even figuring out on their own the "Lizard Stirrup" that the Ancestors didn't teach them, training the primitive tribe version of assault cavalry.

If not for their area being restricted by conservative ideas in the Forbidden Forest all along, the spiritualists in the forest might have been obliterated by these materialists, who armed themselves first.

Seeing Dora who seemed to get it a bit, Han Mingyue nodded with a smile and continued where Night Ten left off.

"That's right, you don't need to be in too much of a hurry. From the perspective of civilization, you have plenty of time to gradually understand all the things you currently don't know and what needs to be understood will eventually be understood."

"As for the present, you just need to live your life well and do what you can to prepare for the foreseeable future."

"As for matters beyond that, those aren't for you to worry about right now."

Chapter 1027: The Sacred Tree's Sprout

The next day, outside Potato Harbor, the Jungle Corps, armed with chainsaws and bomb guns, was on duty.

Although the rampant plant growth in the forest had stopped, the danger was not fully resolved.

Especially since the crazily expanding vegetation alarmed the active Variants in the area, raising the danger level around Potato Harbor significantly.

Several patrolling drones even discovered a large Level 60 carnivorous Variant in the forest!

And these extremely dangerous Variants originally only appeared deep within the inland forest, but were now drawn near Potato Harbor due to the migration of beast swarms.

This situation is also beyond the Lair in the forest's control, as it can't directly command a Variant on where to go.

Currently, all access points to the Inland Area have been closed, with only players and those holding passes able to enter or exit.

In fact, aside from the Jungle Corps' Patrol Forest Team, hardly any players venture deep into the forest at this critical time.

After all, even though you can't truly die in the Game, the death penalty is still a real headache.

However, even though the official site and VM have raised the danger level and recommended level for this area, there are still stubborn players who refuse to believe it and head straight for danger.

For example, right now, three small players around Level 20 are standing at the checkpoint's door.

The NPC officer on duty checked their VM, confirming all three were indeed Residents of the refuge.

But seeing their naive expressions, he kindly reminded them.

"The recommended level for the map is temporarily raised to Level 40. If your player level is 10 below the recommended, insurance only covers half; 20 below, only a quarter. Think it over carefully."

The leading player laughed and said.

"Got it, bro."

The other two players also shouted.

"We don't need your worry."

"We'll take care of ourselves."

Hearing this, the NPC said no more, marked their VM for approval, and then solemnly saluted.

"Go on, good luck."

[Team: Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog, Just Want to Quietly Say Dog, Handsome to the Point of Dropping Frames. (Approved!)]

After completing the map registration, the team leader returned the salute with a smile, then hurried into the forest with his two brothers, afraid their treasure would be taken by others first.

Watching them disappear into the forest, the officer couldn't help but glance at a Jungle Corps comrade beside him.

"Are they going to be alright?"

The guy dressed like a tin can, an experienced player, could easily guess what those rookies were up to, yawned and said.

"Probably trying to farm Contribution Points, don't bother with them, let them play on their own."

Just taking photos doesn't earn much Contribution unless you get high-value specimens or dropped materials.

Simply put, they have to be able to handle it.

These youngsters still have a lot to learn, they'll come to their senses after dying a few more times.

NPC officer: "..."

On the other side, the three players who passed the checkpoint had already delved into the jungle.

As that old player predicted, these rookies were indeed in it for the Contribution Points.

Due to the rampant plant growth, many high-level Variants that used to hide deep in the forest had moved to low-level areas, but thinking conversely, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

There would never be another chance where so many high-level Variants appeared in a low-level area!

To minimize equipment loss, they carried only an LD-47 and a few incendiary bombs. As for protective gear, they had only a stab-proof vest, without even the basic exoskeleton.

This gear was extremely economical, the kind that other players would look at and know these guys had no intention of returning to the save point alive.

However, as they ventured deeper into the jungle, an involuntary sense of dread crept into their hearts.

"Why is it so quiet here?" Searching the jungle's corners carefully, the one who remained silent all the way, [Just Want to Quietly Say Dog] finally couldn't help muttering, "Wasn't the map's recommended level raised? There's no sound at all…"

"Shut up, listen to the footsteps." [Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog] glared at him, staying on high alert, yet the more he did so, the more anxious he became.

This was not right.

A map raised to a higher recommended level should not be so much quieter than before.

The active Variants in this area seemed to have vanished.

Or—

They were hiding.

Realizing this, [Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog] felt his heart pound wildly, adrenaline soaring.

However, only half of the adrenaline rush was due to fear.

The rest was purely excitement!

The only possibility that could make all the Variants in the forest hide was—

A BOSS had spawned nearby!

Seeing the captain's fanatical expression, the player with the [Handsome to the Point of Dropping Frames] ID grew increasingly uneasy.

He was the only perception-type player in the team, and though just in his 20s level-wise, he was a passable scout.

However, even he couldn't sense any Variants nearby…

There was only one explanation: the problem they faced far exceeded their power!

"Bro, are we in over our heads here?"

[Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog] squinted his eyes.

"Ever heard this saying?"

[Handsome to the Point of Dropping Frames] gulped.

"What saying…"

[Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog] cracked a wicked smile and said.

"The bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish!"

[Just Want to Quietly Say Dog]: "..."

[Handsome to the Point of Dropping Frames] said with a mournful face.

"Is it too late to leave the party now?"

"It's too late now!"

Indeed, it was too late.

Just as [Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog] said it, a suppressed roar resounded from ahead.

"Roar—!"

The roar seemed to shake the entire forest, even making the Earth tremble!

The trio was taken aback, unable to react in time before seeing over a dozen dark figures dart toward them from ahead.

The shadows measured about three meters long, resembling cheetahs, with sharp teeth protruding like two vertical sickles!

[Handsome to the Point of Dropping Frames] instantly recognized the Variants, and he was stunned on the spot.

"Shadow Hunting Wolf! Level 30 Variant—"

The name was given by the player who first discovered it, commonly active in mountains 100 kilometers from Potato Harbor. With teeth capable of piercing steel and often hunting in packs, even Patrol Forest Teams found them tricky!

Before his exclamation ended, [Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog] raised his rifle, spouting flames from the barrel, and fired at the charging shadows.

"Never mind their damn level, fire away!"

Ratatat—!

Scorching metal fragments draped a curtain of death through the forest, colliding head-on with a Shadow Hunting Wolf leaping from the bushes, which was slain instantly with a yelp.

This burst of bullets was a critical hit, coincidentally striking the head.

"Well done——!"

Seeing his good buddy solo kill a Level 30 Shadow Hunting Wolf, [Just Want to Peacefully Call "Dog"] excitedly shouted, and while speaking, he took advantage of the chaos to grab the kill, spraying bullets at the fleeing black shadow.

However, the joy didn't last long.

The death of their companion alerted the fleeing Shadow Hunting Wolves to the imminent threat!

The beasts' instincts warned them that if they did not eliminate these two bipeds, they might not survive until the pursuing predators caught up to them!

Driven by survival instincts, the leading Wolf King howled, and the previously scattered Shadow Hunting Wolves regrouped after dodging a round of gunfire. Instead of running away, they charged at the stumbling blocks on their escape route!

Seeing the shadows charging forward, [Just Want to Peacefully Call "Dog"] was dumbstruck, exclaiming "Damn" as he freed his right hand to grab the incendiary from his waist.

But before he could pull the incendiary from his waist, a giant wolf over three meters long leapt into the air, its jaws clamping down on his shoulder, swallowing his entire head.

Splurt——

The sound of sharp teeth tearing into flesh mixed with the crunching of bones, as scalding blood sprayed two to three meters high, dyeing a broad-leaved shrub bright red!

Fired up by the blood, the Shadow Hunting Wolf raised its head and howled, then turned to attack the other dog nearby.

[Just Want to Peacefully Be a Dog] was petrified by the gruesomeness of the scene, but fortunately, his hands didn't stop moving. He pulled out an incendiary, removed the fuse, and threw it.

A dazzling white light burst forth, causing the beast to instinctively close its eyes.

Simultaneously, the scorching flame exploded in mid-air, scattering like stardust, enveloping half its body along with thick white smoke, igniting its fur!

"Howl——"

The Shadow Hunting Wolf let out a pained wail, its three-meter-long body crashing to the ground, thrashing around in the bushes, desperately trying to extinguish the flames.

But what it didn't realize was that the more it struggled, the fiercer the flames burned! Within mere breaths, the fire had consumed it entirely!

Staring at the lifeless Shadow Hunting Wolf, [Just Want to Peacefully Be a Dog] dared not lower his guard, his right hand clasping two more incendiaries, ready to strike again at any moment.

Meanwhile, three Shadow Hunting Wolves were glaring at him with ferocious intent from close range.

Had it not been for the fear of the suddenly erupting flames, they might have already rushed forward to tear him apart.

"Woo…"

The leading Shadow Hunting Wolf crouched, its front claws scraping the ground, growling and intimidating.

[Just Want to Peacefully Be a Dog] was unwilling to be outdone, staring intently at the wolf, while cautiously glancing sideways for support from his teammates, only to realize that [Elegant Frame Drop] was nowhere to be found.

"Damn…Can't rely on randoms," he internally scoffed, abandoning the hope of help from teammates to escape.

However, at that moment, the situation seemed to take a turn.

The three Shadow Hunting Wolves, confronting him, suddenly sensed a dangerous presence and backed away, their fur bristling.

Then, without warning, they turned around and retreated into the thickets.

Once [Just Want to Peacefully Be a Dog] confirmed the rustling sounds were truly fleeing far away, he finally exhaled in relief, releasing the tension in his body.

"Damn…Today's been really unlucky."

To encounter a beast migration, moreover, Shadow Hunting Wolves!

He was puzzled about what kind of presence could terrify these wild dogs, bold enough to bite armored vehicles, this much.

Just as he was pondering, a ground-shaking roar resonated once again.

However, unlike before, along with the roar came a sweltering breeze.

The heat in the air resembled the breath of some gigantic beast, making him tense anew instantly, pulling out two incendiaries and whirling around.

But as he turned, he was frozen on the spot, as if struck by lightning.

A lizard roughly five or six stories high stood before him.

Its body was covered in multicolored scales, with two massive eyes like bell towers.

Rising half its torso in the forest, it resembled Godzilla, with each inch of scales exuding a suffocating pressure!

"What… what is this?!"

[Just Want to Peacefully Be a Dog] was stunned, momentarily forgetting to document this awe-inspiring moment in VM.

The lizard seemingly didn't notice him, but slowly advanced ahead. With each step, the entire forest trembled like an earthquake.

However, at that moment, the lizard seemed to receive some call, and instead of proceeding, it turned around in place.

When it turned, its huge tail, thick as a barrel, swung like a sweeping whip, instantly flattening hundreds of meters of woods.

"Whoa——"

[Just Want to Peacefully Be a Dog] had no time to react, not even a chance to scream, before being flung away by that earth-shattering tail, disintegrating mid-air amidst countless wood splinters.

Meanwhile, back on the ground in the dugout, [Elegant Frame Drop], having dug his head into the dirt, survived by pure luck.

He didn't even know what he was thinking at the time; upon seeing the fleeing beast herd, his first thought was to hide rather than fire.

Whether due to cowardice or Perception Attributes, he survived by chance.

Looking around at the disaster-stricken terrain, he couldn't help but twitch his brows violently.

"Holy crap…Was this a typhoon?!"

He clicked his tongue and lifted his head, holding his breath in an instant.

A giant lizard stood in the devastated woods' center, its crested head radiating multicolored light under the afternoon sun.

That colossal size, if Trash Lord were placed in front of it, would probably seem like an ant!

Dragon Lizard!

The term instantly flooded [Elegant Frame Drop]'s mind.

He raised his trembling hand, clasping the camera-functional earphones, snapping several photos of the unbelievable creature and uploading them to VM.

Data archived.

Variant naming...

Done!

Seeing the "Naming Successful" popup on the VM screen and the enormous reward for unlocking the gallery, [Elegant Frame Drop] finally exhaled in relief, deeming this adventure worthwhile.

Creatures of this magnitude are likely beyond an individual player's capability to hunt, possibly requiring the Alliance to deploy strategic-level weapons.

As [Elegant Frame Drop] dusted off his pants, preparing to slip away from the vicinity, he was again awestruck by the scene ahead.

Amidst the tilted woods lay a towering Giant Tree in the forest's center!

It seemed less like a single tree, more like numerous different trees clustered together!

It was the only entity in the woods taller than the colossal lizard.

Moreover, what astounded him came next.

The immense Dragon Lizard approached the towering Giant Tree.

It seemed akin to its offspring, bowing its crested head beside it, using its forked tongue to lick the base of the tree, emitting a purring sound from its constantly moving jaws.

Staring at the astonishing scene, [Elegant Frame Drop] momentarily lost words.

Suddenly recalling a post on the official forum.

A report penned by Night Ten about the Gaia Planet in the South Gate II Star System.

This Giant Tree seems familiar...

Coming to his senses, he abruptly widened his eyes.

"Damn..."

Could it be...

The Sacred Tree of the Doma?!

Replicated on Earth!

```

Chapter 1028: Deal and Request

At the entrance of the Manager's Office in the Alliance Building, Lu Bei gently knocked on the door, and after receiving permission, he pushed the door open and walked in.

"Sir."

Chu Guang put down the tablet in his hand and looked at Lu Bei, who stood at the door looking like he had something to report, and smiled as he spoke.

"Has that pen I lost been found?"

Lu Bei shook his head and said with a troubled expression.

"Not yet..."

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"If it can't be found, then let it be. Maybe I lost it in the shelter and forgot about it. It's just a pen; there's no need to mobilize everyone and delay other matters."

Though Xiao Qi said it concerns his safety and should not be taken lightly, it's ultimately just a pen that was lost.

Besides, honestly, he didn't think anyone could threaten his safety.

He's not bragging.

From a personal combat power perspective, there is probably no stronger creature than him on this planet.

To the extent that Heya even exaggeratedly stated—there are aspects in his DNA that cannot be explained by existing technological means, and this situation actually started happening long ago.

Even the Alliance Biological Research Institute says so, he feels there's indeed no need to worry about this matter.

Moreover, he has lots of things to handle every day, there's no point in putting so much thought into a pen.

But Lu Bei obviously doesn't think so.

Like before, he didn't dare to be careless, and loyally said.

"Your matters can never be trivial, and furthermore, it happened in your office... Also, during our recent visits and investigations, we've discovered something unusual."

Chu Guang: "What unusual thing."

Lu Bei continued in a cautious tone.

"It's not just you; other office staff have also indicated that they've frequently lost things recently. Some small office items, especially those not often used, have mysteriously disappeared."

"There's this strange thing too?" Chu Guang raised an eyebrow, showing a surprised expression, "When did this start? Hasn't anyone mentioned it?"

"Actually, similar situations have been happening for a few days already, but since all that's lost are some insignificant little things, those who lost them didn't pay much attention and didn't even report them," Lu Bei showed a helpless expression as he continued, "It wasn't until after our people reached out to them that they admitted similar situations did occur."

Chu Guang furrowed his brows and pondered for a long while before tapping his index finger lightly on the desk and speaking.

"This matter might not be minor... Is there a classification for the types of items lost?"

Lu Bei immediately replied.

"Primarily office supplies, mainly pens, as well as missing pen caps."

"The scope?" Chu Guang continued asking, "Is it just this floor, or the entire Alliance Building? What about the nearby buildings? Do nearby residents encounter similar situations, or is it only targeting government agencies?"

Lu Bei paused for a moment, then quickly said.

"Currently, the issue has only been discovered in the Alliance Building. To avoid unnecessary rumors and speculation, we've strictly controlled the scope of our investigation visits... Of course, if you feel it's necessary, we can immediately expand the scope of investigation."

Chu Guang pondered for a moment before speaking.

"For issues involving residential areas, it's better not to have the Guards Corps involved. Here's what we'll do: I'll make a call to the person in charge of the security bureau and have them coordinate with you guys, under the pretext of crime prevention and detection, to appropriately expand the scope of investigation and see if a similar situation has occurred in residents' homes."

Things are a bit strange.

Initially, he thought it was just him forgetting and losing things, but it turned out it was not just him; several other offices in the Alliance Building had long had similar issues.

Fortunately, only office supplies were lost, not important documents.

But precisely because of this, the matter had never received any serious attention until the same situation appeared in his office.

Chu Guang felt things weren't that simple.

The first step now is to determine the scope of the "anomaly" occurrence; it's possible to uncover a pattern.

He hopes he's overthinking it.

Lu Bei nodded and noted down the Manager's instructions, then continued speaking.

"There's another issue, a military situation from the south. Based on the report from the Guards Corps' division stationed at Potato Harbor, there's an emergency situation outside the suburbs of Potato Harbor—a gigantic variant suddenly appeared in a forest only 100 kilometers away from the city of Potato Harbor—

Chu Guang picked up the red tea on the table, took a sip, and spoke.

"It's called a Dragon Lizard, right."

Lu Bei paused for a moment.

"I... am not sure about its name. You've already heard?"

Chu Guang succinctly said.

"I knew as soon as it happened, it was said that an epic-level beast appeared near Potato Harbor. I've already instructed the Jungle Corps to enter a state of level one combat readiness; if an emergency situation occurs, they will directly take action."

It's already causing a stir on the forum, with talk of Godzilla descending on the Wasteland continent.

In truth, he was already informed about the situation at the earliest opportunity, and advised the local garrison to prepare for combat.

However, honestly, he doesn't really consider that thing a big deal.

Though many players described it vividly and exaggerated its invincibility on the forum, he views it as at most just a large-sized beast that would be defenseless in the face of absolute firepower superiority.

What truly deserves attention is that, according to eyewitness players, beside that lizard grows a gigantic tree, seemingly similar to the kind found in the Doma Tribe on Gaia Planet.

This phenomenon immediately caught the attention of the Alliance Biological Research Institute, and the research on the "anomaly" is currently led by Ms. Chen Yutong, who is responsible for the Baiyuexing Province Hive research project.

Including that gigantic peculiar lizard.

Putting down the teacup, Chu Guang said.

"You guys in the Guards Corps don't need to worry about the matters in Potato Harbor; first, complete the tasks at hand."

Lu Bei stood straight and saluted.

"Yes!"

...

On the Wasteland OL official website, the forum was buzzing, all because of a post and a close-up photo.

Handsome to the point of frame dropping: "Big news! Brothers! A world-class boss refreshed near Potato Harbor! Come take a look!"

Tail: "!!?"

Quit smoking: "Whoa?! For real?"

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "Forget about real or fake, they've already posted the photos."

Grandpa Ao: "Heh, is this so-called world-class boss? Back in the day when I was a special forces soldier in Southeast Asia, I've seen at least ten bigger ones and even killed one with my own hands! It chased after me biting, I directly maneuvered through trees serpentine-style, then performed a spin move step to flip onto its back, and need I say more? Those who know, know what to do. (Sweat Bean)"

Gnome King Riches: "Although it's not your field of expertise, I think it probably wasn't full yet. (Funny)"

Elena: "Dragon Lizard: The platter is quite exquisite. (Funny)"

Roller Washhead: "There are so many things wrong, I don't even know where to start complaining. (Sweat)"

Tarlan Raider: "Speaking of which, Baiyue Province has such a niubi monster hidden away, how come no one discovered it before? (Dumbfounded)"

Valley Escaped Mole: "No one ventured deep into the forest before, right? This time the monster came out on its own."

Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog: "I can attest, this thing is too fierce. Single soldier strength stands no chance, better directly use strategic weapons. T.T"

Emichiru Junichiro: "Why do I feel it's the dish's fault? (Side-eye smile)"

Just Want to Quietly Be a Dog: "Get lost! If you can do it, then you try!"

Just Want to Quietly Say Dog: "Exactly!"

Teng Teng: "Excuse me, are those matching names like couples? (Blushing)"

Crow: "Uh, I think they might just have a good relationship, why are you blushing like a bubble teapot!"

Green Lantern Old Wine: "Damn, I'm really worried this thing will ruin Potato Harbor with its butt. (Awkward)"

Debt Giant Eye: "How about opening a poll then, to see if we should deal with this monster first. (Funny)"

Night Ten: "Hold up, guys, I seem to have received a mission. You better not take any action yet."

Construction Site Youth and Brick: "I've posted a poll."

Killer Dagger: "I've raised my hand."

Valley Escaped Mole: "Unanimously approved!!! (Cacophony)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Brothers, it's time to roll!"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Awo awo awo!!"

Night Ten: "??? Whoa, are you guys really like this?!

...

"These damn dogs."

At the Seaside Hotel in Potato Harbor, Night Ten cursed under his breath as he logged back online, quickly flipped over from the bed, changed his clothes and hurried out the door.

Although he knew his good buddies were joking, the number of players here couldn't be ignored, and it wouldn't be surprising if a couple of fools showed up thinking they could cash in by burning the Sacred Tree.

The task given to him by the Manager was to attempt using spiritual energy to establish a mind connection with the Sacred Tree in the forest, inquire its intentions, and explore potential cooperation.

He needed to converse with the Sacred Tree before anyone caused trouble.

Watching Night Ten hurriedly exit from the elevator, Professor Sun Zewen, standing in the hotel lobby, looked at him and asked.

"What's wrong with you? What's so urgent?"

Night Ten didn't answer, only asked hurriedly.

"Where's Dora?"

"You're asking about Dora? She should be in the garden behind the hotel, together with Ms. Han Mingyue." Professor Sun Zewen examined him with a peculiar expression and continued, "Didn't Professor Han say she was going to find you? Haven't you seen her?"

Night Ten had an awkward expression.

He was offline earlier, his game character was sleeping like a log, and naturally couldn't hear any knocking.

"Garden, right? Thanks."

"You're welcome." Professor Sun Zewen nodded, then remembered something and said, "Oh yes, about the spiritual energy... if you discover anything new, let me know, okay?"

"Absolutely!"

With that, Night Ten hurriedly went to the garden behind the hotel.

And when he arrived at the garden, the scenery there startled him.

He saw thick vines climbing up the curved glass walls, blooming vibrant flowers.

The landscape here didn't resemble Earth; it looked more like Gaia light-years away!

Standing at the entrance to the garden, he stared wide-eyed for a while before snapping out of shock.

Just then, he saw Ms. Chen Yutong and Old White near the garden path.

"Is this... the scenery of South Gate Two!"

Night Ten looked at Ms. Chen.

Her face was filled with excitement, her incredulous expression even more exaggerated than his.

Old White scratched the back of his head, looking at a magnificent and strange plant in the garden.

"I'm not really sure, but won't this cause issues with species invasion or something?"

"That issue doesn't exist in Baiyue Province," Chen Yutong shook her head, said, "Here, new species are emerging every day, they've already formed a new dynamic balance among each other."

Night Ten coughed lightly and remarked.

"Actually, I think the whole Wasteland doesn't have this issue... including River Valley Province, the monsters there are equally fierce."

Seeing Night Ten standing at the entrance, Old White said with a smile.

"Back online finally? Ms. Han seems to be looking for you."

Night Ten: "I'm also looking for her and Dora... Where are they?"

"Just ahead." Old White pointed towards the center of the garden, "Could you pass a message to the guest from South Gate Two, ask them to keep these plants within the hotel's garden boundaries... not to spread beyond."

The hotel's owner really liked this scenery; after all, it might become a major selling point.

But if it spread outside, it'd be a different story.

Changing Potato Harbor's cityscape requires the council's resolution.

"Got it."

Night Ten responded, striding forward, past a dense foliage path, quickly reached the center of the garden.

Ms. Han and Dora were both here.

Especially the latter, sitting cross-legged on a vine-entwined stone table, seemingly communing with the hive in the forest.

Seeing Night Ten walking through the path, Han Mingyue teased.

"You sleep like the dead, I pressed the doorbell until my hand got sore."

"I was exhausted yesterday, took a nap at noon." Night Ten replied embarrassedly.

"Can't believe it, already worn out at such a young age?" Ms. Han teased.

Night Ten: "..."

"Night Ten!" Dora, who was sitting cross-legged on the stone table, opened her eyes and said with surprise, "You've come!"

Night Ten pointed around.

"Did you make all this?"

Dora shook her head embarrassedly and said shyly.

"It was done by it... It said it wanted me to check if the landscape of South Gate Two looks like this."

The 'it' she referred to was probably the Lair.

Seeing Night Ten's inquiry about this place, Han Mingyue lowered the arms she was hugging and explained.

"Don't worry, we've already asked the hotel owner for his opinion. He's very interested in our experiment and even agreed to lend us this garden for a week. The only requirement is not to affect the hotel's operations and the rest of other guests."

Night Ten nodded and said.

"As long as he has no objections, it's fine, but it'd be best not to let it spread to the streets outside."

"Yes!" Before Han Mingyue could speak, Dora nodded enthusiastically and said proudly, "It promised me these plants would only be planted in this garden... they won't spread outside."

Han Mingyue hugged her arms again, glanced around at the landscape, and said in surprise.

"Speaking of which, how is this done? Through some special component in the air?"

Dora shook her head, also looking puzzled.

"I don't know how it does it either. My spiritual energy can't turn purple flowers red, but it can... According to it, these plants are very obedient to it, and it can decide in what way they grow."

Han Mingyue touched her chin and said thoughtfully.

"Controlling evolution... Sounds a bit niubi, though I don't know if it works on humans."

She didn't quite understand the technology in biology, just heard it's not easy.

Even the Alliance's Biological Institute has too many unknowns.

Night Ten pondered for a moment and said.

"Theoretically, it should be possible. Isn't that how Gaia people were born? But I think it's best not to try it; it seems to bring many ethical issues."

Like children born being different from their parents...

Even knowing they haven't been cheated on, most people probably wouldn't accept it.

Moreover, although the mainstream media of the Alliance speaks highly of the people of South Gate Two, no one would probably wish for their child to have a green skin.

Even if they could perform photosynthesis.

People's perceptions change slowly with technological progress; hoping for sudden change could easily lead to creating mutants.

At that moment, Dora seemed to remember something and said.

"Ah, right, it wants to meet you."

Night Ten's heart skipped a beat, and he promptly asked.

"Where? Here?"

"At the Sacred Tree in that forest," Dora looked at him sincerely and continued, "It heard you have mastered spiritual energy too, and it wants to see you, to communicate face-to-face."

"Uh, doesn't that mean next to the big lizard?" Night Ten seemed a bit troubled.

Dora nodded earnestly.

"It said that's its child, as long as you don't harm or provoke it, it won't attack you."

After a pause, she added.

"If you're scared, I can accompany you... Will you go and take a look?"

Her face was filled with anticipation.

It was clear she really wanted to facilitate this meeting.

After thinking for a moment, Night Ten said.

"I'd better go alone; it's safer that way."

Dora seemed slightly disappointed but nodded.

"Okay... But don't worry, it promised not to harm you."

She seemed to have seen through the concerns in his heart.

Night Ten chuckled and said.

"I trust it, or I wouldn't have agreed to meet."

...

At dusk, a transport plane flew over the outskirts of the forest near Potato Harbor, dropping a parachute.

The lizard lying beside the Sacred Tree raised its cockscomb-like head, stared at the parachute for a while, and wanted to stretch out its claw to touch it, but soon, as if hearing some command, it retracted its outstretched forepaw and lay down beside the Sacred Tree.

From the moment he got near the forest edge, Night Ten had been tense all over.

It was only when the lizard settled that he breathed out, relaxing his tense nerves.

His feet touched the ground as he skillfully packed the parachute.

The vegetation in the vicinity had already been cleared, leaving only a towering Sacred Tree standing in the open space's center.

Clearing those trees seemed to be its command, likely to concentrate the soil's fertility around its roots.

According to Gaia's situation, once it's fully developed, forming a massive canopy, the area under the canopy and outside will create a new forest kingdom.

Gazing at the intertwined trunks, Night Ten awkwardly greeted and said.

"Hello... Um, can you hear my voice?"

His spiritual energy had just awakened, and he wasn't proficient in using it, making silent communication difficult.

The atmosphere was quiet for a while, accompanied by a gentle breeze and the rustling of leaves.

Just when Night Ten wondered if his spiritual energy had failed or his posture was wrong, the voice in the depths finally floated into his ears.

"Hello... Is this your language? I guess that's a greeting; we rarely greet like this."

"Yes, it is a greeting," Night Ten's eyes lit up with joy as he tried to step forward, looking up at the new canopy and continued, "How should I address you?"

The slow voice continued to float from the depths directly into his mind.

"I have no name, haven't needed one for a long time... You're the first to use one, you can call me however you like."

Unsure if it was an illusion, Night Ten always felt there was some anticipation in the voice.

He hesitated for a moment and then said in an uncertain tone.

"Tree of Life...what do you think of this name?"

Although the name sounds a bit tacky, he couldn't think of another name right away.

However, even though it was a name he came up with on the spot, the gigantic Sacred Tree seemed quite satisfied, as its uneven canopy swayed back and forth.

"Tree of Life...sounds nice. I thought you might call me slime mold or something else."

Night Ten said truthfully.

"I did consider that."

"But I'm not that kind of thing," the voice of the Tree of Life carried a hint of disdain, speaking as if it was smacking its lips, choosing carefully and saying, "Slime mold...that stuff is too shallow. I should be some higher existence beyond that."

At this point, it paused for a moment, staring at Night Ten standing in front of it and said.

"Thank you, young human, for bringing my kin from some star five light-years away. I believe and am convinced that is my kin. Through her narrative, I finally realized what my true form is..."

Night Ten asked in a daze.

"What is it?"

"It is life itself, or in your language, it is nature...I am nature."

It seemed to let out a hearty laugh, but only Night Ten standing there could hear it.

After a long pause, it continued to speak.

"Thanks to your help, I've finally realized my mission. I'll probably go into slumber for a while, and during this time, I will redefine the form of my life. I will no longer be the me before...the fungus growing on the tree roots. I will be the origin of everything, of all the creatures in this forest."

Night Ten looked at it in surprise, staring at it for a long time.

Goodness.

Has this mutated slime fungus become sentient?!

He tried to understand what it said, which roughly meant its consciousness will no longer be confined to the frail and dwindling shell of the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain, but will instead fully integrate with this land.

Just like the indestructible Tree of Yenshof.

"Then this tree..." Night Ten swallowed and asked.

"Is a projection I left in the world you can see, one of my countless branches," the Tree of Life said in a very light voice, "We will probably accompany each other for a long time, of course...if you reject me, I will remain silent as before, and you can just assume I don't exist."

Night Ten immediately said.

"We certainly won't reject you...in fact, I happen to bear goodwill from our leader, who hopes we can coexist peacefully."

"Haha...that's best. Please convey my greetings to him," the Tree of Life said with a laugh. "I quite like you all too, although a bit noisy, but also quite interesting...and those things tasted really good."

Was it talking about those fertilizers?

Night Ten said with a smile.

"If you like, I can have someone bring some over...ah, but please don't do what you did before, it makes things complicated for us."

The Tree of Life smiled benevolently and said.

"Don't worry, unless it's needed by you, I won't do such things on my own. However, it's not good to take your things for free, is there anything I can do to help you?"

Night Ten was ready to say that everything was fine as before, but seeing the big lizard, he suddenly had a thought and said.

"Can you make dangerous variants stay away from the vicinity of Baiyue Strait?"

The Tree of Life curiously asked.

"Stay away...how far? There has to be a boundary."

Night Ten thought about taking out a map to illustrate, but then realized the other party might not be able to understand it, so he said.

"Start from your position all the way to the sea!"

From here to the sea, it's about 100 kilometers, encompassing several settlements in Baiyue Strait.

Making this area a zone for the Alliance residents is enough.

As for the vast remaining forest, it will be left for the players to hunt, gather, and fight monsters.

This seems to be a good compromise.

The Tree of Life nodded and said.

"This is easy, just let my children stay here, and other wild beasts will naturally avoid the smell. If any beast swarms migrate toward your settlement, I will have them driven away for you. Of course, if you venture into the forest and encounter danger, it's not my business, that is part of natural selection."

"I understand, we're only asking for a relatively quiet place to stay, and in the future, our settlements will cluster along the shoreline on both sides of the strait, not venturing deeper into the forest."

Looking at the huge lizard, Night Ten hesitated for a moment and said.

"But are you sure this guy won't hurt anyone? It doesn't seem to be a herbivore."

"Haha, it is indeed not entirely a herbivore; it mainly eats an ant that's roughly as tall as its toenail. But don't worry, I've instructed it not to harm you unless you attack it first. Most of the time, it is quite docile...I can assure you."

Docile...

Looking at the big guy snoring at the root of the Sacred Tree, Night Ten couldn't imagine it being docile.

After all, just over an hour ago, it rampaged once, knocking down part of the forest with its tail.

However, since the Tree of Life assured him, Night Ten tentatively believed its words.

"I will convey your message to the others."

"Thank you," the Tree of Life gently swayed its canopy, suddenly as if remembering something, and continued, "Oh, there's one more thing."

Night Ten looked at it and asked.

"What is it?"

"I heard from your friend that you plan to go to other stars, right?"

The voice of the Tree of Life contained a hint of anticipation, seeming to hope for an affirmative answer.

Night Ten nodded, looking at him with curiosity.

"We do have that plan...is there a problem?"

The voice from nowhere carried a cheerful laugh.

It was as happy as a child.

"That's great...please take my seeds with you when you leave, I want it to see other planets for me."

Perhaps worried he would refuse, the Tree of Life hurriedly added.

"It won't take much of your time, and it's also beneficial to you. I will have it follow your ship, providing you with oxygen. When you find a place with breathable air or water, just drop off a portion."

"Whether it survives or not, it's up to it."

Chapter 1029: Jungle Conqueror

Giant Stone City.

Inside the prosthetic surgery room of Huge Rock Military Industry, a young girl lay naked on an operating table surrounded by multi-axis mechanical arms.

Her skin was smooth and delicate, like flawless mutton fat jade, and her peaceful and beautiful sleeping face was like a meticulously crafted work of art, exuding an irresistible magic from the inside out.

In fact, it truly was a work of art.

This brand-new bionic skin seamlessly combined the academy's most advanced technology and the company's engineering prowess, and was installed with the Alliance's exquisite prosthesis surgery skills, perfectly replacing the original skin that was destroyed by neutron radiation to the point where not a single intact cell remained.

From a series of sensory perspectives such as vision and touch, this new skin was virtually perfect compared to the original, and could even be said to surpass it.

If one had to find fault, it might only be the insignificant detail that "its perfection made it feel less real."

Not only that.

This bionic skin also focused on enhancing the user's soft tissue defense capabilities.

When longitudinal cutting or piercing damage caused the skin's elasticity to reach a certain threshold, the bionic skin would automatically trigger a hardening effect, forming a protective layer with strength comparable to titanium alloy in a short amount of time, blocking cutting and piercing damage that penetrated the dermis.

Coupled with titanium alloy skeleton and buffer components, it wasn't much of a problem to withstand kinetic damage from light weapons like pistols and rifles.

Apart from the skin's built-in armor, Jiang Xuezhou went the extra mile to customize it with DIY modifications on this basis.

For example, to adapt to outer space activities and various complex special situations, she requested Huge Rock Military Industry to implant a series of plugins such as variable temperature, anti-negative, and positive pressure controls in her subcutaneous tissues during the skin grafting surgery.

This way, she could operate normally in a vacuum environment without wearing a protective suit.

This system was designed by her, and it also served as an improved version of the system on Night Ten.

With the support of numerous buffs, her body had indeed reached the category of a work of art.

Moreover, it was the peak of prosthetic art realized through technological strength!

As the prosthetic modification surgery concluded, the multi-axis arm dangling above the operating table retracted into a large spherical form.

Simultaneously, vaporized liquid nitrogen was sprayed from beneath the operating table, and Jiang Xuezhou opened her eyes, waking up from a sheet of white mist.

At the same moment she regained consciousness, a light blue loading window projected onto the retina of her prosthetic eye.

[Server logged in... Executing prosthetic integrity check protocol...]

[Check complete... All components operating normally.]

The light blue text and loading data vanished instantly, as if it had never appeared.

Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath and proceeded to test the temperature regulation and positive-negative pressure balance functions, then pushed herself off the operating table.

Standing in front of the full-length mirror, she admired her brand-new body for a while, feeling refreshed inside.

"Not bad, not bad... Probably captures seventy to eighty percent of my peak charm!"

Although she wasn't sure what competition she was entering, she felt she'd already won at the starting line.

She had even thought of someone who would be utterly astonished.

Of course, if not, she wouldn't mind personally punching that person's jaw off.

"Cool, cool, cool..."

She admired herself in the mirror, growing more and more fond of what she saw, almost unable to resist bursting into villainous laughter with hands on her hips.

Initially, she restrained herself, coyly twirling a lock of hair around her finger, bashfully feeling a bit shy.

But perhaps realizing that there was no one else around, she soon indulged herself, first casually tossing her bangs back, then striking several vain poses.

It wasn't until she saw a medical robot on wheels approaching that she blushed, hastily stopped her preening, and hurriedly grabbed the clothes handed to her by the robot.

The satin-like dress draped over her shoulders like a light stream, cascading down like a waterfall.

The friction seemed to have vanished entirely.

Once fully dressed, Jiang Xuezhou returned to the mirror, this time appearing much more composed and proper than before.

Raising her wrist, which had returned to its original state, she looked at her skin, as smooth and delicate as silk, as fine and white as jade. After the rush of excitement, she suddenly felt a bit anxious.

Is this...

Truly her?

The person standing in front of the mirror was undoubtedly still her, every expression and smile carried the spirit she used to have, and the professional knowledge in her mind, not to mention, has always been her greatest pride.

If there were a difference, it was probably this prosthesis akin to a work of art...

Everyone loves beauty.

She was no exception.

However, what unsettled her was the feeling that everything on her body didn't belong to her, replacing the existence that was truly hers...

Am I still me?

Perhaps—

The true me has already died, and the one standing here is merely a replica...

A sudden wave of discomfort surged in Jiang Xuezhou's heart, causing her to involuntarily clench her fists, but she quickly released them, calming down with a deep breath.

Firstly, such a thing is impossible.

Secondly, her current existence is incredibly real, and she can feel it.

In the face of rigorous logic, paranoia is meaningless.

However, perhaps she was too sensitive, and soon another question arose uncontrollably in her heart—

Where exactly is the boundary between bionic humans and real humans?

Or rather—

At what point does replacing parts stop making someone human and turn them into an object?

In that moment, standing from the same perspective, she suddenly understood the loneliness Night Ten had silently endured all along, and the expression of wanting to speak yet holding back.

"I see..."

She used to think that guy was ungrateful.

She clearly put a lot of effort into saving the comatose him, replacing him with the best prosthetic body, yet he was never satisfied. He even seemed unwilling and lifeless when thanking her.

Only now did she gradually empathize with the emotions he had experienced...

As she thought about this, Jiang Xuezhou suddenly felt a slight burning in her eyes.

It wasn't just him who was immature.

She was too.

"You feel regret."

A leisurely voice suddenly came from beside her; at some point, Yibers had already stood at the door of the surgery room.

"No..."

Jiang Xuezhou quickly collected her slightly lost composure, took a deep breath, lowered her raised arm, and looked at the flawless self in the mirror.

"I just feel... parts of my body have been replaced, it looks like me, but it's not me."

"Do you want me to put them back for you?" Yibers said gentlemanly, "Though it's a bit of trouble, it's not difficult for me."

"It's not necessary." Jiang Xuezhou almost blurted out without hesitation.

Yibers laughed aloud.

Listening to the unrestrained laughter, Jiang Xuezhou was somewhat annoyed and complained softly.

"Why are you laughing..."

"I apologize if my laughter displeased you." Yibers cleared his throat, though his smile did not express any genuine regret.

Jiang Xuezhou muttered softly.

"No need to apologize... Thank you for the surgery."

"You're welcome," Yibers said courteously, suddenly wearing an intriguing smile again, continuing, "I think I understand your confusion. If the constituents of an item are completely replaced, is it still the same item... am I right?"

"..." Jiang Xuezhou did not speak, but the silence was an answer.

Seeing he guessed correctly, Yibers' smile turned into a joyful one, and he slowly continued.

"Actually, you all shouldn't be tangled in such matters; the cells in your body perform self-renewal every cycle, lasting from seven years to over a hundred days depending on the person, though it's a shorter cycle for some. But despite this, some things, in my opinion, remain unchanged."

Jiang Xuezhou just wanted to ask what those things were when Yibers, as if predicting her question, continued to speak on his own.

"It's the soul."

"I have stayed in this city for a very long time, and due to this, I have gained eyes that can see things others cannot. Some people are just flesh in front of me, emitting a spark of life upon death that barely resembles anything worthwhile. Others possess priceless treasures that envy me; their souls are like burning torches, never tiring after watching."

Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but retort.

"I think you're just past your expiration date..."

"Perhaps," Yibers nodded with a smile, "However, it's a pity I wasn't normally produced like a released person, but rather a special product of a special time..."

Before Jiang Xuezhou could reply, the lunatic suddenly began lamenting self-pityingly again.

"How saddening... The master's master designed the master's eventual death, but the master forgot to design my end; maybe I should huddle in a corner and draw some circles."

"..." Jiang Xuezhou looked speechlessly at the guy, unsure of what to say.

But it was also thanks to him.

With such a diversion, the bit of struggle in her heart vanished without a trace...

...

[...Above is the result of our negotiations.]

[The Tree of Life expresses willingness to establish closer symbiotic relationships with us, including repairing the damaged ecological environment on the Wasteland, providing biosphere establishment services for our stellar system's external development zones, and promoting agricultural product yield through various technical services.]

[In exchange, it hopes we can provide some fertilizers or similar nutrients to promote plant growth. Of course, if we could arrange for a few rangers skilled in nutrition and spiritual energy, that would be even better.]

City of Dawn, Alliance Building.

Sitting at the desk, Chu Guang read through Night Ten's report from start to finish, his expression one-third gratified, and seven-tenth appreciative.

"Not bad, this kid really has matured a lot, handling matters much more reliably than before."

Xiao Qi happily praised extravagantly.

"Hehe, mainly due to the master's excellent training."

"Hahaha, indeed, I am someone to reckon with."

Chu Guang smiled, indulging in pride for a while, then marked [Read] on the report, placing the tablet aside to handle other affairs.

Meanwhile, in the southernmost part of the Central Continent, Potato Harbor at Baiyue Strait.

Sitting in the hotel's executive lounge, killing time, Night Ten finally received a reply from the Manager.

However, upon seeing the reply which contained only a single character, he almost spat out the cola in his mouth.

"Damn! I wrote so many words, and the reply is just a 'read'?"

Seeing his inexperienced look, Old White laughed heartily and said.

"You're still young, you don't understand the value of that one word."

Night Ten: "…What do you mean?"

Sitting across from him, Fang Chang smiled faintly and said.

"Simply put, the Manager thinks it's all good, and encourages you to keep up the good work."

After a pause, he continued.

"From my past experience, the fewer words he uses in his task briefings, the higher the completion evaluation. If there's a long paragraph of text, it means he's in a hurry."

Fang Chang himself hadn't encountered such a situation, but he heard from Brother Battlefield that he often ran into it until he became a Thousands of leaders, and it gradually stopped happening.

Night Ten scratched the back of his head, not dissatisfied, just a bit regretful.

"I thought it would've been grander."

Old White teased and said.

"Like giving you a big red flower?"

Night Ten: "Wouldn't be bad."

Old White: "Hahahaha."

Seeing Night Ten acting coy despite his gains, Fang Chang couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"That's enough, the rewards you've already gotten are quite enviable, what more do you want?"

Night Ten chuckled sheepishly and said.

"Well... the more, the merrier, right? Who would mind more rewards?"

Actually, he was too embarrassed to say.

At that moment of his complaint, as if the dog plan overheard his grumbling, a series of pop-ups appeared on his VM screen.

[Congratulations to player "I Get Up Ten Times a Night" for completing the task "Exploration of Baiyuexing Province Hive"!]

[Task completion: 100%]

[Evaluation: S]

[Rewards: Exclusive title "Jungle Conqueror," ten thousand contribution points, and one million silver coins!]

[Server announcement: Baiyuexing Province Hive has evolved into the Tree of Life, with an "ally" status with the Alliance, unauthorized hostile actions are prohibited. The Tree of Life's guardian beast "Dragon Lizard" is also a friendly unit, unauthorized hostile actions are prohibited… Awakening "Spiritual Energy" will trigger dialogue.]

[Server announcement: Map level within 100 km around Potato Harbor downgraded to 0, included in the safety zone. Recommended level for areas beyond 100 km is set to Level 30…]

The subsequent announcements flooded the screen, Night Ten didn't read them carefully, only quickly checked his task earnings.

In general, what Ah Guang provided was quite substantial.

Ten thousand contribution points seemed negligible compared to his seven-digit contribution points, as his contribution level had long been maxed out.

However, the one million silver coins and "Jungle Conqueror" title were quite appealing.

Especially the latter, it could be used to taunt the Chicken Slayer.

Putting down his coffee cup, Wild Wind sitting by the table suddenly remembered something and looked at Night Ten, saying.

"By the way, once this journey is over, are you really planning on seeking out that so-called precursor civilization's ruins?"

The news of forming an exploration team outside the Solar System hadn't stirred much on the official forums, but in the NPC world, it was causing a huge commotion.

Especially in the most avant-garde Ideal City, many residents even took flights to the Southern sea area and Potato Harbor to inquire about registration locations.

These folks were indeed real homebodies, but their execution ability wasn't ordinary.

Facing the curious look from Wild Wind, Night Ten also dropped his playful demeanor and nodded seriously.

"Yes, I've made up my mind."

At this point, he paused for a moment, then continued.

"Sometimes I feel... this game is like a real world. Actually, there was never any so-called main storyline, the so-called main storyline is discovered by ourselves in the course of the game. Remember at the beginning? When we made cement together."

Hearing Night Ten suddenly mention events from long ago, a nostalgic smile unconsciously formed on Old White's face.

"Of course I remember... Come to think of it, we've been playing this game for so long now."

"Yes, it has been quite a while, for me, it's like... a different life, a completely different life from reality."

Night Ten nodded and continued.

"Actually, from that time, I've been searching for what this game means to me, much like pondering my real-life existence, such as why I'm in this world and what others in this world mean to me... Although I might not have realized it, in retrospect, perhaps since then, I haven't thought of the people in this world as mere NPCs."

If there was a turning point, it might be the death of an old man named Ji Xiang.

Of course, not just Ji Xiang, but many other NPCs whose names he could call.

He'd rather sacrifice himself than let them suffer any harm.

Seeing the rare serious expression on Night Ten's face, Wild Wind raised an eyebrow lightly.

"So, did you find it?"

"Sort of," Night Ten replied with an embarrassed smile. "I can't really say when exactly I figured it out, but by the time I realized it, everything was already planned out... including what I'm going to do next and where I want to go."

He wants to explore distant worlds.

Of course, the most important thing is to go with the person he promised.

"Congratulations," understanding his feelings, Fang Chang reached out and patted his shoulder. "Also, I'm behind your choice."

"Haha, don't make it seem like I'm going far away or something, it's just that I probably won't be able to game together for some time. Plus, I'm not leaving right away; we still have one more mission."

Night Ten smiled awkwardly and then earnestly looked at his buddies and said.

"Thanks... for always sticking with the not-so-mature me."

"Haha, don't act like you're going far away or something, we can still meet offline," Old White laughed and patted his shoulder, returning his words. Then he earnestly said, "Come back and visit when you can, there's always a place for you in the Burning Corps."

Night Ten nodded vigorously, touched.

"Mm!"

Wild Wind rubbed his nose.

"I won't say anything sentimental, but if you find the edge of the map, remember to let me know... I'm curious, after all."

Fang Chang said with a smile.

"Why don't you go with him? It's always good to have company on the road."

"I haven't made up my mind yet, and..."

Wild Wind lightly sighed, was about to say something, but suddenly thought of something else and changed his tune, looking at Night Ten and speaking half-jokingly.

"If I really go with you, you wouldn't mind me being a third wheel, would you?"

"What are you talking about? There are more people on the ship than just Jiang Xuezhou and me," Night Ten said with a laugh. "And we're actually planning on kidnapping a few scientists onto the ship. You're welcome to join us! What do you say? Want to come? If you're too shy, just nod and I'll tie you up and bring you along."

"No need to tie me up."

Seeing Night Ten not joking, Wild Wind didn't directly answer the question, just laughed heartily and said.

"We'll talk about future things in the future, but it's not too much to reserve me a bunk, right?"

"Approved!"

Night Ten patted his chest.

"I'll take charge of this!"

Just as Night Ten and his bros were laughing and bragging, a group of clueless rookies were standing beside the Sacred Tree in the North Suburb of Potato Harbor, pointing and discussing the massive lizard with a cockscomb head.

Actually, not everyone here was a rookie; there were also some unreliable veteran players.

For example, the already Jungle Corps member, "Genie Turtle."

As a Level 30 player, although he couldn't compare to the T1 or T0 veteran players, he was still considered a solid force on the "Wasteland OL" server.

However, Genie Turtle was not satisfied with just this.

Like most players, although he lacked the strength, it didn't stop him from aspiring to be a powerhouse.

With this imagination, he couldn't help but fix his gaze on the Dragon Lizard crouching next to the Tree of Life.

Although the server classified it as a friendly entity prohibiting hostile actions, and he indeed couldn't defeat it, the server didn't say he couldn't take it away, did it?

If he could use this thing as a mount, who in the entire server could match him?

Even the Manager might get stomped into pulp!

Gaga... Gaga...

Thinking about this, his mind quickly activated—oh no, got excited.

"How much food do you think such a big lizard consumes in a day?" Genie Turtle mumbled to himself as he rubbed his chin, feeling increasingly hopeful.

Standing next to him, Squirtle and Fool Turtle paused and exchanged a puzzled look.

"No idea."

"Why do you care how much it eats..."

Genie Turtle immediately replied.

"I want to raise one."

The brothers beside him were instantly astonished.

"What the hell?"

"Are you serious?!"

Genie Turtle glanced at these guys with no dreams.

"Look at you losers, the server said no hostile actions, but didn't say we can't feed it! If I feed it enough and it acknowledges me as its dad, demanding to follow me, how can the GM break us up?"

"Isn't that—but," Squirtle looked at him, exasperated, and said, "Big bro, have you raised lizards before?"

"I have... uh, the palm-sized ones, but that's not important!" Genie Turtle seriously looked at him, placing both hands on his shoulders, resuming his momentum. "You just need to tell me one thing: Do you want to be a Dragon Knight?"

"I do..."

"Then go grab two buckets of nutritional paste for me, once I tame this guy, we'll take turns riding it!" He patted his shoulder, then turned to Fool Turtle who was standing dumbfounded, and gave him a pat too. "You go too, hurry up!"

"Don't let any other botch plan beat you to it!"

Chapter 1030: Rivers of Crapflow

In this world, there's never a shortage of people who think alike.

Especially at Potato Harbor, where so many people are connected through the same Morphogenesis Field.

Beside the Sacred Tree, in the open space roughly cleared by the swipe of a lizard tail, tons of food is packed in barrels and carts, resembling a gigantic buffet party.

Things like fruit-flavored nutrient paste and fine pig, duck, cattle, and sheep feed are just the basics.

The more powerful players went ahead and formed hunting groups, heading straight to level fifty recommended maps and brought back a huge haul, pulling those Iron Back Ants, Giant Bugs, and Titan Worms over with truckloads.

According to official data, Dragon Lizards prefer "crunchy" food.

Especially those Iron Back Ants that love nesting in ruins - they're absolutely its favorite!

Clearly, not only Genie Turtle but even the Jungle Corps, almost every player around wants to become that Dragon Knight.

The mountains of food left the three old turtles carrying barrels of nutrient paste dumbfounded.

"What the hell?!"

"That's too much!"

"This is too intense!"

The three old turtles were left stunned, but the Dragon Lizard napping at the root of the Sacred Tree was absolutely thrilled.

It had just taken a nap, only to open its eyes and find the food had been delivered right in front of it!

Thank the great Tree of Life for its generosity!

It wasn't coy at all, seeing that mountain of delicacies, and immediately went towards it without saying a word.

Its sloppy manner was just like a pig hearing the dinner bell, devouring the Iron Back Ants on the ground hungrily!

The speed was like a bomber sweeping the ground, ripping up the land and even taking half-buried rotten wooden stakes along for the ride.

This guy's digestive ability was incredible; a few wood chips were merely appetizers for it.

In less than half an hour, the "mountains of corpses and seas of bones" displayed around the Sacred Tree was completely devoured.

Fully satisfied, the Dragon Lizard lifted its head and let out a deafening burp, then curled its tail, cozily coiled up next to the Sacred Tree, snoring with a ground-shaking "wooing".

And then—

That's it?

The players looked at each other, each one of them wearing a bewildered expression.

An experienced player of level forty swallowed his spit, looked at the big brother beside him and asked.

"Bro... so what now?"

All those goods worth tens of thousands of silver coins went in, and all they got was a bit of noise.

He felt this wasn't about catching Paru in the forest but feeding monkeys on Mount Emei.

No—

The monkeys on Mount Emei would be more professional than this; who eats their fill and then just sleeps without a word?!

The big brother was also confused, not expecting this Dragon Lizard to not play by the rules, awkwardly scratching his head.

"... Uh, maybe wait for it to wake up and ask?"

Hostile actions are forbidden in the safe zone.

For now, they'll have to wait for it to wake up and ask.

At this time, swearing and shouting could already be heard from not far away.

Silver Daddy, leader of the Silver Corps, was seen throwing his shovel on the ground, looking extremely pissed.

"What a rip-off!"

He spent a whole 100,000 Silver Coins buying a large number of Iron Back Ant corpses from nearby hunter players, hoping to use this opportunity to tame this beast, only to find that he didn't even get a chance to approach it while it was feeding.

And even more outrageous, the damned thing ate and then went straight to sleep!

He was dying to take a knife and chop off the tail of this damn lizard.

Seeing the murderous look on the leader's face, Silver Sword and Silver Hand, standing by, hurried forward to restrain him.

"Whoa, bro, calm down!"

"Let me go! I saw its health bar!"

"You don't want your account anymore?!"

They weren't really afraid of this thing deleting the account for a remake, mainly worried about blood getting on themselves.

At this time, several hunter squads came out of the forest dragging prey, smiling and shouting to Silver Daddy.

"Bro, we brought your prey over, yeah, feel free to contact us again if you have more needs."

"Remember to settle the final payment."

Silver Daddy: "I %@%#!"

In the open space in front of the Sacred Tree, there was a chattering commotion, but the Dragon Lizard lying on the ground napping seemed to hear nothing, snoring away, continuing to pig out.

Seeing that he wasn't the only one who went bankrupt, Genie Turtle, who was carrying an empty bucket, finally felt balanced, muttering maliciously and sneering.

"Heh, a bunch of fools, how old are you, learned nothing yet, do you think pulling the wool over the dog plan's eyes is that easy?"

"Losers!"

Water Sword Turtle and Fool Turtle looked subtly at the guy who unknowingly roasted himself, instinctively taking two steps sideways to distance themselves, pretending to be strangers.

Just at this moment, the Dragon Lizard lying under the Tree of Life suddenly made a short, dull sound.

"Poof!"

Hearing that sound, the arguing crowd suddenly fell silent, looking at the big guy sleeping blissfully.

"Did you hear that?"

"What just happened?"

"I think I smell stinkbug noodles..."

"Uh...?"

Seeing the lizard suddenly roll over, an ominous feeling emerged in Silver Daddy's heart.

But before he could react, that short, dull sound was drawn out long like a machine gun.

"Poof——!"

A black torrent gushed out like a fountain from beneath that lifted tail, sweeping over with unstoppable force!

"What the hell?!"

Seeing that torrent rushing straight at them, Silver Daddy barely managed to let out a cry of surprise before he and the nearby brothers were swallowed up in a black wave of energy.

This guy probably ate too much of too many things and upset its stomach.

The avalanche of a solid-liquid mixture unleashed an AOE attack, sweeping a fan-shaped area on the ground, engulfing at least a third of the players.

Including the three old turtles watching the drama from a distance and the others craving to tame the big lizard, no one escaped.

Unaware, the Dragon Lizard let out a "wooing" from its belly, comfortably continuing to sleep.

Watching that indescribable scene, the canopy of the Tree of Life gently swayed, whispering in a language no one could understand.

What a shame.

If only it had sprayed a little closer.

...

No one had ever been drowned by poop since Wasteland OL launched.

Fortunately, it didn't happen this time either.

By evening that day.

The small players, who had been busy all day, dragged their exhausted bodies back to Potato Harbor.

The overwhelming stench cleared half of the street.

The local residents thought some chemicals had leaked and hurriedly put on gas masks, only to later realize it was a false alarm.

That evening, the beach at Potato Harbor was crowded with people bathing, and the laundry service's orders were booked up for three days, making the laundry workers, who charged per order, seem like the biggest winners.

After all, you couldn't save your progress if you didn't shower - no one could stand it.

The "Dragon Knights" were devastated without words.

It really was a double whammy.

The only consolation was that Dragon Lizard manure could repel wild animals, and it's even rumored to be a good luck charm.

After all, if you wear something like that to high-level maps, it's practically invincible!

Additionally, the Alliance's Biological Institute also procured some samples, although the quantity was quite small.

All in all, with these gains, it can be considered a small way to recoup a bit of the investors' losses.

Compared to the costs they have invested, such gains can only be described as "better than nothing."

Late at night.

The garden of the Seaside Hotel.

The Tree of Life deep in the forest once again found Night Ten through Dora, speaking in a slightly reproachful tone.

"...Although I don't oppose you feeding my children, you've fed it too much. It's not my fault if it doesn't trouble other variants. You'll have to manage on your own when the time comes."

As the apex predator in this forest's food chain, the Dragon Lizard also has its own significance.

Night Ten said awkwardly.

"Uh, I'll inform the others to stop feeding that guy."

He thought that with this lesson, even without a reminder, no one would make such a mistake again.

However, it was quite strange that he still couldn't figure out what those people were thinking, believing that feeding it some pieces of meat would tame it into a pet.

The main issue was they hadn't awakened their spiritual energy, right?

If it were him doing it, there might be some hope, or if it were an experienced animal trainer, but leaving it to these amateurs, it was certainly a lost cause.

The Tree of Life expressed approval of his answer, and then continued.

"The main issue is you've given too much. Actually, a little bit is fine... When this kid is full, it just knows to sleep. Over time, it might forget how to hunt, and only come to you for food."

"This is not good for both it and you."

...

The night passed without further discussion.

Early the next morning, it was time to check out, and Night Ten settled the bill at the hotel.

Although the lobby manager repeatedly stated that the unique "South Gate Two Scenic" garden had already covered their room charges for the whole year, and the hotel owner had waived their bill, Night Ten still insisted on paying.

If you want to know why, naturally it's because Brother Guang had already allocated the funds.

There was really no need to save money for Brother Guang, as that guy prints money by himself.

However, for Dora, those paper notes with the pretty designs and patterns were indeed novel.

Blinking her curious eyes, she held the hundred-dollar bill from Night Ten above her head, inspecting it for quite a while, and then asked Night Ten.

"What is this?"

Night Ten responded casually.

"Paper money, cash, silver coin, you can call it whatever you want. You can use it to trade for things from others."

It's not only for exchanging things with others; this item can even be traded for real-world currency with mysterious buyers outside the Game.

However, seeing the look of confusion on Dora's face, he realized she clearly didn't understand.

"Exchange? Why?" Dora's confusion became more evident.

In the Doma Tribe, exchange is undoubtedly a novel concept.

Because items in the tribe are collectively owned, if they want something from outside the tribe, they just take it.

And there is no mutual exchange of items between tribes.

Everyone worships the same God and adheres to the same lifestyle and code of conduct. What you have, I generally have as well, so there's no "you have, I don't" situation.

Moreover, these people live just like the "Dragon Lizard", relying on hunting for food, and if lacking food, they act coy with the Sacred Tree and get whatever they need. If nothing drastically changes, they might happily continue in the tribal era.

"There's no reason why..."

Night Ten scratched the back of his head, not knowing how to explain the matter.

"Your society hasn't developed to that stage yet, when you... find the sea, you'll understand."

Dora tilted her head.

"Why is it finding the sea?"

Night Ten concisely replied.

"Because you will discover shells not found in the forest, and then someone will take forest prey, which is not found at the seaside, to exchange with tribes living by the sea for shells... You know shells, right? Those small items you saw on the beach when you got off the boat."

That is probably the oldest form of currency.

Seeing that Dora had more questions, Night Ten quickly pulled Ms. Han Mingyue, who had just come out of the elevator, and handed over this "ten thousand whys" to her.

"This is the Alliance's social science expert! Ask her any questions, she knows better than I do."

"Wait, what are you saying—"

"I suddenly remembered I left something in the room, I'll leave this to you!"

"Hey!"

Leaving behind a bewildered Han Mingyue, Night Ten hurried out of the hotel lobby and slipped into the elevator.

Although not clear what had happened, seeing Dora with a curious expression, Han Mingyue roughly guessed something.

Patting her forehead to wake herself up a bit more, she looked at Dora with a gentle voice.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Dora looked at her hesitantly, tentatively handing over the banknote in her hand.

Han Mingyue, amused and exasperated, pushed it back with a patient tone.

"You don't need to pay for such a small thing... Ahem, I don't know what that guy told you, but he probably didn't explain clearly. This kind of thing is used in transactions, you understand? It's not used for small favors between friends."

Blushing, Dora took the banknote back.

Han Mingyue patiently looked at her and spoke softly.

"So, is there anything I can help you with?"

Dora gently nodded and said in a small voice.

"There's something... I can't figure out."

Han Mingyue: "What is it?"

Dora looked outside the hotel's lobby at the sparsely crowded street and said softly.

"There are so many things here that I haven't seen before. I've been very happy living here for this period, and even once thought of staying here forever. And you've told me that this is just a corner of the Alliance, that there are other prosperous places far beyond here."

Han Mingyue smiled and said.

"More or less, the most prosperous should be the Ideal City, where prosperity extends from the surface to the skies... You should have a chance to see it."

Dora turned to look at her and smiled shyly.

"What I've seen here has already surprised me enough... Sometimes I can't help but think how wonderful it would be if my people on Gaia planet could experience this kind of life."

Han Mingyue said.

"They will, one day."

"Why not now?" Dora asked earnestly, blinking her eyes, "You've said we have at least half of your blood in us, we were originally family. If you are willing to come to us, we would welcome you very much... Just like before when Night Ten came to our tribe."

Although there were some minor unpleasant incidents, they have seriously reflected on their mistakes.

Including the late chieftain Tunnan.

And his apology has been forgiven by the Ancestors.

Han Mingyue showed a thoughtful expression, then said after a moment.

"In fact... the plan you proposed is indeed a choice, but I don't think our arrival will necessarily be good for you."

"Why?"

"You've thought too well of us."

"Isn't it?"

Looking at the confused Dora, Han Mingyue gently shook her head.

"It has nothing to do with being or not being; it's just a perspective, like the two sides of the banknote in your hand. Our method is not perfect, and we believe that a more perfect social form will definitely replace us in the future... And your society is not entirely worthless to us; we're just at different stages."

Sometimes she felt that this girl from South Gate Two was like her child.

Pure like a blank sheet of paper.

Of course, saying that is not accurate.

Accurately speaking, she should be the child of everyone on this planet...

Looking at the still puzzled Dora, Han Mingyue smiled, stretched out her hand, and gently ruffled her hair.

"This journey isn't over yet. What you've seen is only a corner of the 'Ancestor' world."

"Soon you'll understand why I said that."

Chapter 1031: Weightlessness

The front of the coins reads wealth, while the back naturally reads poverty.

There is, after all, only one Ideal City.

And on that land of hundreds of millions of square kilometers, the vast majority is still barren.

The street battles in the Free State continue, while the internal conflict in the Poluo Province has already ended.

Under the mediation of the Alliance, the Poluo national army finally abandoned their northern advance, withdrawing from the depths of Sheep State and Bird State back to the mountains behind the plains south of the Tasang River.

Of course.

The main reason was simply that they couldn't continue the fight.

South of Tianshui, the richest lands of Poluo Province experienced a famine not seen in a hundred years, combined with the deliberate destruction of numerous production facilities. Even if supply lines to the front could be maintained, belts tightened could only clamp around ribs.

Moreover, the Eastern Empire didn't want to fight anymore, and they issued a wave of currency reform on military aid to Poluo Country.

In other words, if they want guns and cannons, they should go to New West Port and buy them with money.

In fact, this was already almost an "explicit order" from His Majesty.

After seeing the Alliance's space elevator and near-earth orbital defense platform, Salon completely gave up the idea of contending for land supremacy, turning his focus outward to the solar system.

This was also the suggestion made to him by General McCullen after returning from the space elevator.

He held a large batch of "Escort Ship" cores, which could be installed on airships and naturally on starships too.

By just installing a hyperspace engine and plasma engine, and strengthening the structural integrity and airtightness of the spaceship, they could be directly used as proper starships.

The Alliance had always been very interested in these good things in his hands, and he happened to be interested in the stars outside the solar system, even seeing it as a good opportunity for overtaking in a curve.

In fact, everyone really didn't need to stubbornly fight over such a small piece of land.

Working together to open up the future would be quite good.

Just like that, a new faction centered on "long-term vision" was rising in the rejuvenating Eastern Empire, and a race about space officially began.

Due to an agreement reached between the Eastern Empire and the Alliance, the northward advance of Poluo Country had to stop abruptly.

Both sides announced their victories and subsequently retreated to their original borders.

The Mammoth Nation occupied the northeast corner of the Poluo Province, governing by dividing the plains on both sides of the Tasang River as the boundary.

Poluo Country retained its original border, including areas like Tiger State, Leopard State, and except Jinjaron Harbor, the region of Lowell State, which had joined Poluo Country during the war with the Southern Legion.

Both sides counted their own casualties. Poluo Country claimed 30,000 dead, with a million soldiers of the Mammoth Nation killed. The Mammoth Nation claimed 50,000 dead, with 1.5 million soldiers of Poluo Country killed.

However, this was evidently an exaggeration.

Both sides likely included civilians, and perhaps even cattle, who died in the war, and counted them against the opposing side.

Survivor's Daily in Dawn City, after compiling data from both sides and conducting field investigations, concluded that Poluo Country's death toll should be around 270,000, with nearly 400,000 injured, and nearly a third of the casualties were due to malaria and infectious diseases.

The Mammoth Nation's death toll should be around 120,000, with 170,000 injured. Their lower non-combat casualty rate due to excellent medical conditions was still a severe blow relative to their disadvantaged population size.

As Shava called back a large number of overseas laborers to fight, the impact of the war even disrupted the labor market in the southern sea area.

Additionally, Survivor's Daily in Dawn City conducted an investigation into the civilian casualties both sides lightly glossed over and shockingly found that the civilian casualty rate in this war was much higher than in the previous war with the Southern Legion, reaching an astonishing 2.5 million!

Throughout the war, both sides frequently used schemes beyond the moral limits of humanity.

Gopal, emulating the late "War God" Arai Yang, built upon the latter's tactics to develop the "flock tactic." This involved driving refugees into towns in Sheep State and Bird State and then using artillery and machine guns to force them to charge the trenches of the Mammoth Nation.

Undeniably, he was worthy of being Arai Yang's right-hand man and truly inherited the title of "War God."

Even "Iron General" Grov lost to his ruthless means, hesitating due to a slight sense of righteousness.

As Grov hesitated, Gopal recruited Welchant people conscripted from the Southern Legion, organizing them into "sheepdog" companies to drive Poluo refugees.

This tactic proved extremely effective.

Those who had become bloodthirsty in the last war, when told that they could reduce their sentences by earning merits, went on a rampage against Poluo, spraying machine gun fire indiscriminately.

There was no longer any hesitance.

Moreover, after the war, Gopal could shift the blame onto the Welchant people, distancing himself from the matter.

It was a win-win.

However, Gopal did not expect that standing against him was also a butcher.

As the former captain of the shock troops and adopted son of Laxi, Shava's notoriety as a "butcher" was already displayed during the chaos of Mammoth City and naturally showed no restraint in the civil war.

Just when Gopal was urging "Iron General" Grov to advance, Shava dispatched Gulian, the former Southern Legion Poluo Province War Zone general-in-chief, to the frontline.

This move bewildered the soldiers on both sides of the front line, including Grov, who was commanding operations.

Although he had given Gulian some trouble during the "Northern Wind Operation," that was during a time when Gulian was fully focusing on facing the main forces of the Alliance and Poluo Country, leaving him no chance to address Grov.

Now both sides faced off directly, in a face-to-face bayonet fight, with no one pulling each other's teeth or hind legs anymore.

Despite Grov's absolute numerical superiority and relatively strong firepower, the opponent was a professional at building turtle shells, trained by the Alliance's bombers.

Most critically, this guy showed no hesitation in killing Poluo people either.

Gopal's sheep herding tactics were pierced, and even with the "Iron General" Grov attacking, the circumstances he faced were even more problematic—his troops designated for the front line, the Southern Legion, were forced to the rears for training as it was his own troops that were sent to the battlefront.

This included Deputy Commander Gibson, whom he had previously captured as a Ten Thousand Leader in the south!

Earlier, he even paraded with colorful garlands on Dawn City's "Survivor's Daily."

Little did he know, the scoundrel had fled!

Gibson, almost the highest-ranking officer under him, had run away!

Regardless of it being family, some bloodlines are thicker than others, and some seem more familiar...

"""

...

Beside the Tasang River.

A concrete dam stands firm in the middle of the rushing river.

In the final battle, the Poluo Country had attempted to blow it up, intending for floodwaters to once again engulf Mammoth City.

But fortunately, local troops fought a bloody resistance and managed to protect the dam.

Now, the war has finally ended.

Engineers returning from the southern sea area are surveying the dam, pondering how to improve it by installing generator units.

This might not only benefit farmers along both riverbanks but also aid many more people.

Though many may never see that day come…

Staring at the majestic dam, Shava, dressed in a crisp military uniform, remained silent, squinting as if contemplating something.

Or perhaps reminiscing about someone.

A group of Mammoth Nation officers stood behind him, all poised and attentive, not daring to disturb.

Except for a certain oblivious Welch officer.

"...This relentless torrent has buried countless talents, countless heroes."

"Hard to say."

Looking at the melancholic Guryang, Shava grinned slightly, his voice tinged with a hint of self-mockery.

"Hard to say, oh, maybe in a few years, the living and the dead will all become dog bears."

He had long seen through it.

In this land, heroes are either destroyed physically and spiritually buried as if they never existed, or they're labeled as villains or clowns. And the true clowns and villains somehow always ascend smoothly, soaring to become earthly gods.

What he drew was the villain card.

Guryang glanced at him, caught a glimpse of those lifeless eyes, and, for some reason, felt a sudden wave of sadness.

His Adam's apple moved slightly, then he looked towards the dam.

"I think that's probably our biggest difference."

Shava glanced at him.

"Oh?"

Guryang remained silent for a moment before continuing.

"In Triumph City, a hero is just a hero, distinct from a saint. We can accept a hero's imperfect side, even commemorate his flaws and glory together. The former won't disgrace the latter; instead, it makes the latter more dimensional...just like a marble statue, its protrusions are always highlighted by shadows."

Shava chuckled and teased.

"Even the Marshal?"

Guryang slowly nodded.

"Yes, he did many bad things, like the massacre in Yavente City... For a long time, we considered that a glory, burying his disgraceful story, and everyone paid a heavy price."

Shava grinned.

"You mean you're that price."

"I'm just one among many, not worthy of sympathy," Guryang sighed, turned to face Shava, paused, then continued, "My war is over. What do you plan to do with me?"

Shava replied expressionlessly.

"I keep my word; you're free now and can go anywhere with your pension."

Guryang said.

"What if I want to stay here?"

Shava looked at him, surprised, with disbelief on his face.

"Are you sure?"

This guy might be somewhat of a loner, but his abilities are evident.

Whether he returns to the Bartuya Federation or the Welch Alliance, someone would surely value him.

"I want… redemption," Guryang looking earnestly at him, "Though it might sound presumptuous, I want to try to help, to do everything I can."

Shava chuckled softly.

"That's probably the most presumptuous thing I've heard all year."

After a pause, as if weary, he turned around, leaving a sentence behind as he departed.

"Suit yourself, it's your freedom."

...

Soon after, Guryang resigned as the Mammoth Nation army commander, setting a precedent for Poluo Province's post-military power dissolution as a Welch.

Whether he truly held military power remains debatable, as behind him stood the Mammoth Nation's most ruthless "Great Moon King" Shava, but he indeed made the first move.

After retiring, he was not idle but rather used his pension to establish the Mammoth Nation Army College, aimed at nurturing talents loyal to the nation, not to the monarchy, in both political and military arenas.

Relying solely on his pension was clearly insufficient to create such a university.

After all, he wasn't Mr. Mouse with exceptional personal charisma and talent, nor did he catch the early bus of history.

However, during his financial struggles, he suddenly received a substantial donation, and the university improbably came to be.

Some say the donation was wealth he scraped from Poluo Province, others say it came from other Welch people who felt guilty towards the Poluo people, and still others believe that the gang in Jinjaron Harbor had too much money to spend, or possibly "Great Moon King" Shava had so much money it brought him discomfort.

But regardless, the once extinguished flame seems to rekindle.

Perhaps this time, they can ignite their own light.

No longer relying on the Alliance or anyone's strength...

...

Elsewhere, in Tiandu City.

Outside the city, starvation is rampant, even the red soil has been dug clean, yet inside the city's grand theater, it is bustling and joyous.

To celebrate the victory of the northern expedition, a circus performance is underway in the grand theater.

The circus reportedly came from Silver Moon Bay and performed on the Alliance's victory day celebration. Inviting them to Tiandu seems to celebrate Tiandu's birthday on behalf of the Alliance.

Zayed sat in the viewing seat, a Rick Five cigarette dangling from his mouth, puffing contentedly with his eyes narrowed in pleasure.

Recently, Sava has inexplicably developed an allergy to nicotine, at least he claims so.

Usually when he's at a distance, it's fine, but sitting shoulder to shoulder like this, even with his supple body, he can't open his eyes from the smoke, coughing repeatedly.

Seeing him look sickly, Zayed suddenly became even more energetic, amidst the praise akin to stars encircling the moon, he started playing tricks, blowing smoke rings.

Looking at Sava's listless expression, he chuckled and teased.

"Sava, what do you think of that clown?"

On the stage, the clown was wrestling with a tiger, which, of course, was not a real fight but a somersaulting act.

Sava was taken aback, unsure of what his godfather meant, but still smiled obsequiously and said.

"I think... that clown is indeed quite ugly."

This was the utmost superfluous answer he could think of as the safest response possible.

However, what he didn't expect was that even this offhand remark was caught by his godfather.

Zayed frowned, took the Rick Five from his mouth, and retorted.

"How can you say that? This clown, I think, is not ugly. Smearing oneself to bring joy to others, how can that be considered ugly? This is not merely non-ugly but great kindness! Ultimate kindness!"

Sava was dumbfounded.

Can it be like this?!

The people around excitedly applauded, clapping their hands till they were red.

"What wisdom from the elder!"

"That's the truth!"

"As it is said... using dust as a mask to feed the tiger, just for smiles in the mundane world!"

"Bravo!!!"

"Righteousness!!!"

The wave of cheers surged one after another, the clown on stage thinking they were applauding him, performed with even more vigor, unaware that the true drama was unfolding in the audience.

The editor-in-chief of the Survivor Daily had already planned tomorrow's headline: "The Clown Isn't Ugly". Meanwhile, the uneducated brute Pickle thought it was marvelous, clapping excitedly like a monkey just entertained by the clown, laughing without end.

Only Education Commissioner Kaba Ha showed little interest, arms crossed over his chest, standing out from the crowd, sporting a scornful expression, even sneering to himself.

"I laugh at Absek fawning on cats and holding his nose high towards people. But now I see, that laughter came too early."

Well.

He had misjudged.

The humbled Sava looked dejected, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief, enduring criticism was better than losing his life, at most, he'll write a profound self-critique when he returns.

Suddenly someone asked.

"Speaking of which, why isn't Gopal here?"

Immediately someone replied.

"He's sick, that's why he didn't come."

"Sick? I think it's more like mentally exhausted, tired of our family's business. Unwilling to watch the circus of the new era, shutting himself behind doors to watch Lowell era's Beast Chess, heh."

Zayed flicked the ash from the Rick Five cigarette.

The ending "heh" was just a casual touch but sent a chill down every surrounding family member's spine.

They were a ruthless bunch themselves, yet none could compare to him.

Everyone was calculating the weight of that sentence in their hearts, except for the instigator, who was casually chatting about something else, as if he had just casually mentioned it.

That wasn't a mere mention.

As soon as the circus ended.

The well-dressed people swarmed onto the stage, turning the clown performer into a hero, then picked up sticks and knives and charged at the menacing tiger.

The followers of Silver Moon Bay, who had never seen such deranged behavior, were dumbfounded, begging them to spare their friend, trying to wake the crowd, telling them it was just a performance, but not a single person stopped.

The tiger, having never eaten a person, was beaten to death by a group of upright apes, stripped of its skin.

The crowd sang of victory, cheering for the sagacity of the hero.

Later, of course, the theater compensated the circus troupe with a large sum of money, and it was paid with silver coin, extending courteous gestures as they were sent out of Tiandu, after all, they weren't Poluo people, but Wasteland Wanderers from the Wasteland.

But the story didn't end there.

The gathered crowd did not disperse, but clamored to go to Gopal's mansion, confronting him to clarify the matter.

A muscular-looking man led the way, shouting to the furious crowd.

"Gopal said he's sick, The hero said he's not sick, let's go see whether he's really sick or pretend to be sick, shall we!"

"Let's go!"

"What's there to fear if he's truly sick!"

"Exactly! We're just going to check on the illness!"

The surging crowd flooded towards Gopal's mansion, and the momentum was growing larger, with easily tens of thousands participating.

Sava, having been kicked in the butt a few times, was frightened out of his wits, solitary sitting at the theater's entrance, unable to utter a word.

He had long suspected that his godfather might first target Gopal, but hadn't expected it would come so quickly and suddenly.

Grov should be returning from the front lines soon, does the boss even consider Grov's thoughts?

Wait a minute——

Suddenly he saw the flushed red, neck bulging, excited cheering General Pickle.

That guy was formerly Absek's minister, logically should be feared and not promoted.

But from another perspective, to Zayed, he could be the safest...

Because if Zayed wanted to kill him, he could do so at any time, regardless of how high his position was.

Reflecting on how Pickle sat near Zayed during the theater, just separated by one seat, Sava's mind buzzed as enlightenment struck, his face also paled.

"Iron General" Grov is in danger!

Cold sweat crawled all over his body.

Originally, he planned to use Grov as his last card while taking advantage of Gopal's downfall, but he didn't expect this guy to exit the stage so soon, too soon to take effect.

His strategy had just begun, and the pieces on the board were already in disarray!

Only then did he realize the terror of that saint, but everything was too late...

...

Thick clouds enveloped the skies over Poluo Province, and the thunderstorm seemed to never end.

The United Human soldier sitting under the barren tree, who threw the cigarette pack away, probably never imagined someone would pick it up again and again, each time with a new trick never seen before.

This smoking habit was probably hard to shake off.

Poluo Province was turbulent, and even Jinjaron Harbor found it hard to stay unaffected.

The troops stationed outside the city could keep the Tiger Army and Black Panther Army calm, but they couldn't suppress the unrestful moods and fragmented nerves of the people in the settlement.

Everything seemed to return to the time before Witch Todd's death.

The once enthusiastic people's blood gradually cooled, and they no longer imagined what the future would look like.

Those things were too vague.

Making money seemed more practical. With money, where couldn't they go? What couldn't be done? What couldn't be bought?

The pragmatists of this port finally took the last step, stepping into a void.

But for them, it might not be a bad ending after all; at least fewer people would die.

When they no longer fantasized about the shape of Utopia, no longer funded unrealistic ventures, but competed over who had more silver coins in their pockets, Jinjaron Harbor's buildings doubled, the narrow streets widened, and bicycles on the streets gained two more wheels, speeding faster!

The first ones to gain wealth rode cars, while the poor added hundreds of buses following the subway, just like the changes the survivors of the City of Dawn once experienced.

Not just transportation.

Cyborg enhancements also gradually flowed into here, appearing on streets and alleys.

And immigrants from the Free State.

They were weary of endless street fights and couldn't stand the monotony of the City of Dawn, so they crossed the ocean with amassed wealth, trying to find their piece in the shattered spirits of the locals.

The flickering neon suddenly spread across pigeon-cage-like streets, giving this weathered ancient city an unexpected cyberpunk flavor.

This probably wasn't anticipated by Lowell.

From the Biological Institute under snowy lands to skyscraper-dotted cyber cities.

The leap was indeed tremendous...

"Extra! Extra! According to unnamed researchers, dragon lizard dung from Baiyue Province has an aphrodisiac effect!"

"What the heck?!"

"Really?"

The bustling port district buzzed with excitement, and the newsstand was filled with local residents.

On the dock, a cargo submarine slowly approached, and a girl with emerald green skin jumped onto the dock with curiosity.

"So many people! Here!"

Looking at the bustling crowd and nearby buildings, Han Mingyue's expression involuntarily showed nostalgia.

"The changes here are quite big."

"Indeed."

Night Ten also couldn't help but express his emotions, his thoughts drifting back to a long time ago, remembering the first time stepping onto this dock...

Just then, the distant chime pulled his thoughts back to the present.

At the same time, Dora suddenly stretched her neck in curiosity, looking at the distant sky.

"What's that?"

Hot air balloons floated in the sky, silhouetted against the sunset like dandelions.

Night Ten too, saw such a scene for the first time, but didn't think much of it, as such a thing wasn't rare in the Alliance or reality.

"Probably sightseeing balloons by the Everflow River... let's go have a look later," seeing Dora's eager look, he said obligingly.

At this moment, Han Mingyue suddenly interjected.

"Before that, if convenient, may I take some of your time? I'd like to take Miss Dora for a trip to Lowell Camp... though it's a presumptuous request, I want to ask her to help me with spiritual energy to check something out."

The Alliance had been excavating the relic and uncovered many interesting things.

However, due to repeated modifications by later generations, General Lowell's personal relics were nearly lost.

She wanted to see if spiritual energy could find something.

Night Ten gave Dora an inquisitive look, and she promptly nodded and said sincerely.

"I can help you."

Han Mingyue's face broke into a radiant smile.

"Great, if we can find General Lowell's notes, we can complete the last page of the puzzle... thank you!"

With a bashful smile, Dora nodded slightly.

"You're welcome; we are friends. It's what I should do."

Her ability to learn was indeed extraordinary.

She had just learned something a few days ago and was already able to make use of it.

As the group chatted and laughed, several black cars stopped in front of the dock.

As the car doors opened, Jinjaron Harbor Mayor Yoder stepped out of the vehicle, surrounded by city hall officials and bodyguards, and came before them.

Unlike the time at Potato Harbor.

On the Alliance partners' turf, this semi-official semi-civilian delegation received an over-the-top reception.

"Welcome to Jinjaron Harbor!"

Looking at the guests from the Alliance and South Gate Two, Yoder's face beamed with a brilliant smile.

"On behalf of the residents of Jinjaron Harbor and the entire city hall, welcome to you all!"

Chapter 1032: Flashback

Although Dora had seen cars before, once she sat inside the metal box, she was filled with amazement, touching here and there, seemingly trying to understand how this thing could move.

Watching her fussing about it, Night Ten couldn't help but comment.

"You've even ridden in a starship capable of hyperspace travel, what's there to be curious about with this little thing?"

Dora paused for a moment before remembering what a starship was, then she softly said.

"The starship... is more impressive than this?"

The small koala strapped to the front passenger seat let out a helpless sound.

"This must be the most blackened moment for the Orion."

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean that—"

"I know," Night Ten sighed, watching Dora's frantic explanation, "I suppose... it seems we'll have to start from the most basic common sense."

Perhaps when they return to the City of Dawn, he should go to a bookstore and buy a set of elementary school language textbooks.

Although spiritual energy is a very convenient communication tool, a lack of common sense is also a big problem.

A line of cars stopped at the entrance to Lowell Camp.

This former military base has now been converted into an Old Age Museum open to tourists.

Engraved on the waist-high stone tablet at the entrance are the events that once occurred here—

A General named Lowell made unparalleled achievements in the icy wilderness.

His legacy is both praised and criticized by posterity.

Some believe his ideas were good, just poorly executed. Furthermore, Red Soil later played some accidental roles, unlike his critics claimed it was absolutely worthless.

But others think he was merely an obstinate tyrant, a gambler who rode roughshod, imagining himself to be an omnipotent savior, who, for the sake of an inherently impossible plan, caused the deaths of those who shouldn't have died, ending the last chance to pass on civilization.

There are also those who say if General Lowell hadn't tried to use the dwindling resources to read an almost impossible future, perhaps the people in this research institute wouldn't have died, or at least half could have survived.

Perhaps they would have become another No.60 Shelter.

Perhaps the people here would be like the Southern sea area survivors, having no need of Red Soil's extreme measures, not even needing anyone to lead them, as they would spread their own Light and warmth to farther places...

Unfortunately, history has no ifs, the shape of another future is left to the imaginations of posterity.

Besides Lowell-era relics, the museum also houses many artifacts from the West Winds Dynasty, the Great Moon Dynasty, and so on.

Most of these objects are personal collections of former West Winds Empire Jinjaron Harbor governor Duke Nihak.

After the Alliance's social science researchers study and archive these relics, they donate these spoils back to this museum belonging to the People of Jinjaron Harbor.

Also, some objects entered the market during the refurbishment of the old town.

The Jinjaron Harbor City Hall bought back some of these through auctions with fiscal allocations.

Besides those aged relics, the museum also includes accounts of these histories by later generations.

For example, "Red Soil" written by Mr. Mouse, etc.

However, this is ultimately an inglorious history.

The interest of the repeatedly frustrated residents of Jinjaron Harbor in this history is far less than before, so the museum is mostly filled with outside tourists.

While walking inside the Lowell Camp, Mayor Yoder of Jinjaron Harbor said in a slightly apologetic voice.

"It would have been better if you informed us of your itinerary a few days in advance, so we could make some arrangements beforehand."

Han Mingyue smiled and replied.

"No need for such hassle, we're just here for a quick look and will leave soon."

Just as they were talking, noise was already coming from outside the museum.

Upon hearing that visitors from South Gate Two had suddenly arrived, the whole city's media was stirred up, and a large group of reporters swarmed over.

Fortunately, Yoder, being a capable person, anticipated the media's response, and had earlier informed the guards, deploying a large police force to set up a cordon outside the museum.

The guests already inside the museum could continue their tour, while those arriving later could only wait outside.

The overwhelming enthusiasm startled Dora; she had never seen so many people before.

"Are those... all reporters?"

She had heard about reporters from Night Ten, although she didn't quite understand what the term meant.

"They're not all reporters, probably also some spectators," said Night Ten with a subtle expression, as he looked at some people in the crowd making gestures of worship.

The guest from South Gate Two did indeed possess spiritual energy, but these fanatics probably misunderstood something.

But soon he remembered, when he first came ashore it seemed to be the same.

The people referred to them as "Iron Man" and worshiped them in the same way.

Only later, with more interaction and some education, they realized the iron clump that was impervious to knives and guns was just an exoskeleton anyone could wear, and the term "Iron Man" gradually fell out of use.

Night Ten suddenly felt a bit disappointed.

These people should have been educated, yet they seem just as before.

The same recipe with just a different soup, and they couldn't recognize it.

This group of smart people was extremely clever, yet stupid at the most fatal points.

Perhaps noticing Night Ten's expression, Yoder smiled apologetically and said.

"Pardon the spectacle."

Having been by Fang Chang's side for quite some time, he could be considered among the elites of this settlement.

He was well aware of his responsibilities in all this, yet faced with the unstoppable tide, he felt a deep sense of helplessness.

All he could do was merely maintain the status quo.

While the Alliance still needed this place.

"It's not funny, not worth laughing at," Night Ten shook his head and sighed, saying, "Honestly... I've even been thinking, perhaps my friends and I have done something wrong, maybe we shouldn't have come here from the start."

Mayor Yoder quickly spoke up.

"Please don't think that way, every resident of this settlement is grateful to you. Had you not come, this museum would still be Duke Nihak's ranch..."

"Perhaps."

Night Ten glanced up at the tower on the enclosing wall, where a centurion or thousands of leaders once hung.

He still remembered who had hung that guy up.

After a pause, Night Ten spoke again.

"What a pity... the one who first conquered this camp is already dead."

Mayor Yoder froze for a moment, then after a while recalled who he was talking about, and fell silent as well.

He had met that person once, even kindly advised him against heading north, but when he couldn't be persuaded, he accepted the resignation at Fang Chang's behest.

Seeing the circumstances and thinking about that person's eventual fate, Mayor Yoder couldn't help but feel a bit sad.

Not wanting to wear that sadness on his face, he looked to the outsider beside him—a guest from South Gate Two.

He forced a smile and said.

"I heard... you can see the souls of the deceased? Could you help me see if there's a general here staring with wide eyes?"

Dora paused for a moment, correcting him matter-of-factly.

"That's a misconception, only the living have souls; the dead do not possess such a thing."

Mayor Yoder stood stunned, persistently asking.

"Then... where did the souls of the deceased go?"

"Nowhere, still in the places they existed, except it no longer belongs to them, but has become a part of others," Dora blinked, smiled, and said, "We are influenced by our ancestors; their marks are more or less on us... and we are their continuation."

She discovered these things through Little Koala.

"Gone nowhere..."

Mayor Yoder murmured to himself, looking at his hand, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

So he hasn't gone anywhere...

He's always been here, watching them keep moving forward.

"Don't give up."

Ms. Han Mingyue gently patted his shoulder and led Dora inside the camp.

This relic has basically been excavated, with only a few doubtful points left.

Then suddenly, Dora stopped in her tracks, her gaze focusing on several iron cages in the center of the camp.

"Those were used during the West Winds era to hold slaves." Seeing her puzzled expression, Ms. Han Mingyue explained gently.

Dora nodded and then asked.

"The ones previously held here... were mostly Moon people?"

Ms. Han Mingyue showed a surprised expression.

"How did you figure that out?"

Dora didn't speak; she merely directed her gaze at those iron cages.

Just as her look focused on the mottled rust, a deep-eyed man looked back at her, showing a shocked expression.

"You can see me."

"You are... the Great Moon King?"

During her time at Potato Harbor, Dora had learned about the Moon people's history from Ms. Han Mingyue.

Though not entirely sure, upon seeing this man, the term sprung to her mind immediately.

She felt he resembled Tunnan.

They might be similar types of people, yet had many different aspects.

"Great Moon King... is that what my descendants call me?" The dignified king murmured and then eagerly asked Dora, "Tell me, how are my people doing?"

Recalling the good times at Potato Harbor, Dora shyly smiled and said.

"They're quite well, at least... those I've seen are doing well."

"That's good..."

He seemed relieved, letting out a long sigh, his face showing a comforting smile.

"Thank you, I feel much better."

Seeing this seemingly relieved king, Dora asked, puzzled.

"Did you do something bad?"

The Great Moon King stood silently for a while, shook his head, and said.

"I don't know, but... they did suffer quite a bit because of me, I heard them kneeling here calling out my name, praying to me as night falls."

"However... I've heard it less recently; I initially thought they had all perished."

"It's good to be alive."

He smiled with relief, as the transparent shadow gradually faded, as if it had never existed.

The two communicated silently, unheard by anyone.

Dora nodded slightly in acknowledgment, watching the ephemeral shadow vanish into the wind.

However, at that moment, another shadow emerged from behind the mottled rust.

This person had a completely different aura from the Great Moon King, more like the "officer" Mayor Yoder described with wide eyes.

However—

Through spiritual energy, Dora could clearly feel that he was not the person Mayor Yoder referred to.

Moreover, they were two completely different kinds of people.

"These bastards... My Red Soil was meant to save people, not as a bargaining chip for seizing territory! Doesn't anyone realize how stupid it is to play tribal wars like primitive men in a zoo?"

"And— the nuclear winter has already ended, so why are they still using this crap as food! Damn it! They've even brought back slavery... It's like we're regressing!"

Dora was momentarily stunned, not understanding his incessant ramblings, but fortunately, there was someone nearby who knew a bit about spiritual energy.

Perhaps because the imprint of the United Human was on them, this time Night Ten also "saw" the person, and together with Dora at that.

It was to be expected.

He should be Lowell.

Looking at the rambling guy, he couldn't resist making a sarcastic remark.

"Isn't it possible that your Red Soil only developed after the nuclear winter ended?"

He maliciously speculated, likely needing more than just the warmth of spring and flowers blooming.

The expansion of the Red Soil might be inseparable from the bloody chaos of the tribal war era.

Someone has to push humanity beyond its limits repeatedly for the Red Soil to find truly suitable soil for growth.

That is when there's only one thought left in everyone's mind—

To survive.

Everything else can be discarded.

This rhetorical question left Lowell silent.

He stared wide-eyed at the young upstart before him, his nose nearly twisted with anger.

"Who the hell could foresee this? What was my situation then? Did I have another choice? One billion people! My force wasn't even enough to fill their teeth, if I couldn't feed them, do you know what would happen? Cannibalism, and I would be the damn one written into history books!"

As he spoke to this point, General Lowell suddenly fell silent again, sighed despairingly, and sat on the ground.

"Forget it... What was meant to happen has happened, I've already entered the history books, I know you want to laugh at me, go ahead and laugh."

As he said this, he suddenly couldn't continue, pressed his hand to his forehead, and muttered painfully.

"I admit, I also made mistakes, at least half... I let down those soldiers who trusted me, there are some things that can be overcome with spirit, and some things that can't. I let down those scholars, they said it couldn't be done, even at the peak of the United Human's prosperity, it would require a massive research facility to complete this project, but I thought they were United Human scholars, if they pushed hard enough, they'd figure it out..."

"I can't judge, but in a world composed of material, indeed there are many things that spirit can't accomplish," Night Ten sighed, "like you can't turn black into white, or square into round, not even with spiritual energy."

Lowell suddenly lifted his head, a glimmer of hope reigniting in his eyes.

"Are they... alright?"

Night Ten was silent for a while, then asked back.

"Can't you see?"

Lowell shook his head and cast his gaze toward the enclosing wall of the camp, speaking with a lost look in his eyes.

"I can't see outside, don't know which bastard started it... Seems like a fool who called himself the Moon King. Afraid those dirt-eaters would oppose him, he built a wall here. Though it backfired, no one dared oppose him while he was alive, but the later people imitated him, raising this camp wall higher and higher."

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he continued.

"Moreover... I feel increasingly distant from them. Maybe it's truly been too long ago, and I'm not worth remembering, perhaps soon enough... I'll vanish along with my momentary folly from this land."

Night Ten shrugged indifferently.

Though he wasn't seeking anyone's forgiveness, at least he admitted his utter mess.

However, at this moment, Dora seemed to realize something, suddenly speaking up.

"You... might actually not be here."

Lowell was stunned, glanced at his feet, then around him, a peculiar expression on his face.

"I'm not here? Then... where am I?"

Night Ten was also thrown off by Dora's words.

Although his prowess in spiritual energy was indeed not as refined as this "Temple Maiden," the already established resonance field couldn't possibly be false, right?

It was like speaking ghost stories in front of a ghost...

However, Dora didn't think so.

Looking at the ghost unseen by ordinary people, she continued in silent affirmation.

"The real you is in everyone here... They are all you, or rather, your continuation."

"And what remains here is only the very old... you of 200 years ago."

"The you who has not yet died."

"All are me..." Lowell was stunned for a long time, for some reason, a trace of fear appeared on his face.

"No..."

"That sort of thing..."

Dora nodded, earnestly gazing at him, even though he might not want to continue listening.

"You have not been forgotten, whether it's your Red Soil, or your momentary confusion..."

"Your soul is regarded by everyone here as... something as sacred as the Tree of Yenshof. They sing of your story and the miracles you bestowed, holding it as an example to be passed down."

"No! Stop talking, shut up—!"

He screamed hysterically, covering his face with his hands, then turned to wailing loudly as he vanished into the wind.

Or perhaps—

He returned to the timeline where he originally belonged.

The previously confused Night Ten suddenly had a moment of clarity in his mind.

Ah, so that's it.

What he had just witnessed wasn't Lowell, who had died many years ago, but the tyrant who 200 years ago was hysterically yelling on the execution ground.

His soul crossed the bound of time in its dying moment, glimpsing the appearance of this land two hundred years later at the threshold of death.

That certainly wasn't genuine time travel.

Like the crew members of the Hunter.

They stood on different timelines, and due to the profound resonance of their spirits on their individual timelines, they produced deductions or perhaps associations simultaneously.

Spiritual energy was merely one medium for triggering resonance; it was not the actual bridge connecting spirits.

"...Is this the resonance field?"

Night Ten suddenly realized that his understanding of spiritual energy and the resonance field had deepened once more.

And the void was now closer to him than ever before...

Dora's shoulder lightly shook, as if under some impact, and she staggered backward in a daze.

Standing beside her, Han Mingyue quickly supported her shoulder, asking with concern.

"Are you okay?"

Dora slowly opened her eyes, shook her head, and said.

"I'm okay."

Noticing a hint of peculiarity in her eyes, the expression on Han Mingyue's face gradually turned to eagerness, and she continued to gaze into Dora's eyes while asking.

"What just happened? You saw Lowell in person... didn't you?"

Dora nodded with a complex expression, yet there was a trace of confusion or perhaps bewilderment in her eyes.

Seeing her nod, Han Mingyue hurriedly continued to ask.

"What did he say?"

"He... cried, and he cried very sorrowfully. I wanted to comfort him, but he pushed me away."

Dora shook her head, paused, and then continued with a hint of loneliness, "I told him that everyone here is his continuation... he should have felt happy, but for some reason, he suddenly burst into tears."

Nearly every soul she had encountered before felt comforted upon knowing their continued existence in another form.

Including Koala's father.

Including the "Great Moon King."

However, General Lowell was different.

When he realized that everyone here was his continuation, his emotional agitation surpassed his regret over the Red Soil itself.

Watching Dora talk to herself, not only did Professor Han Mingyue nearby become stunned, but everyone including Professor Sun Zewen and Mayor Yoder were also dumbfounded on the spot.

However, it didn't last long, and Professor Han Mingyue soon regained her composure and said.

"I think I understand... you saw him from 200 years ago, didn't you?"

Dora lightly nodded.

"Yes."

Han Mingyue's face showed a genuine smile.

"Thank you, I understand now."

Dora stared at her in confusion, a joyful expression appearing on her face, and she said timidly.

"Did I help?"

Han Mingyue earnestly nodded, focusing her gaze on the camp before them.

"The last piece we were missing was actually General Lowell's own testimony."

"After his subordinates successfully rebelled, they almost destroyed all the relics he left behind, whether it's his notes or personal belongings. As a result, General Lowell's own opinions were reduced to mere fragments, leaving more indirect assessments of him from others, or clumsy attempts by successors to forge his notes."

"Whether they did so to retain their leader's last shred of dignity or to maintain their legitimacy, their clever manipulations severely hindered our excavation of the ruins and the restoration of historical truth."

"In fact, their clever behavior has, like Lowell, inspired—or rather influenced generations of equally clever successors, causing consequences far beyond the scope of Red Soil, and difficult to measure."

At this point, a comforting smile appeared on her face, as if a great undertaking had finally placed its last brick.

"...Thanks to your help."

"This blank has finally been filled."

Chapter 1033: Passing the Flame

It was something from many days ago—

Beside the Everflow River, in the reeds, the old man standing at the bow of the boat called out to a few young men fishing with nets on the dock.

"Boys, don't touch those fish, they've eaten dead people."

A few sun-tanned young men looked up and saw the old man on the boat smiling as he spoke.

"Old man, what nonsense are you talking about? If the fish have eaten humans, why can't they be eaten?"

"Exactly!"

"Whatever flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or falls into the water—all are fish. The fatter they are, the better they sell!"

Looking at these young men who lacked reverence, the old man shook his head and sighed.

"You do know that everything flying in the sky and running on the ground ends up in the water, but do you know what they ate before they fell in?"

The young men looked at each other, unable to speak.

Finally, the young man pulling the net, ignorant of the vastness of the world, cheekily replied.

"Why should I care what snakes, rats, insects, and birds eat? We fish to exchange for money, not to put into our own stomachs! If the fish buyers don't speak, what are you saying?"

The other young men came to their senses and all echoed loudly.

"Exactly!"

"Aren't you also on a fishing boat? Haven't you ever fished?"

"The old man is no good. Probably worried we will ruin his business!"

Ah...

The old man shook his head, saying nothing more, and poled away with a long bamboo stick.

It's true that he made his living by fishing, and he used to raise some ducks, but those were last year's happenings.

Just at the beginning of this year, his ducks raised in the river were poisoned by something in the water, and the usual fish buyers stopped collecting fish from the Everflow River, switching to the seafood business.

Everyone does the neighborhood trade, seeing each other daily. No matter how unscrupulous, no one dares to earn money against their conscience.

But word has it that the recently arrived fish buyers are less picky, collecting any kind of fish, though at lower prices. It's said they do business with tourists.

No matter what they are dealing with, the old man cannot harvest things that could harm people's lives to exchange for money.

Unlike those young men, he lives one day at a time, uncertain of when he might be meeting the Silver Moon Goddess, making it unnecessary to tarnish his virtue for a bit of petty cash.

Besides, he isn't short of money.

Long ago, when Witch Todd was still around, he rented out three ancestral homes.

As for why he's still drifting in the reeds, one reason is that he can't stay idle; the other is that the city hall gave him new work, to clean up the "dirty things" in the reeds.

This work can only be handled by experienced old fishermen.

When he encounters people floating on the water, he pokes them twice. If there's movement, he rescues them.

If not...

Of course, he still fishes them out.

He recalled that a few days ago, researchers from the Alliance came over, scooped a cup of Everflow River water, shook it and then shook their head.

Since then, he knew this river had completely deteriorated...

Twilight descended.

After swaying in the reeds the entire day, he was preparing to head home, when suddenly in the depths of the grass, there was a commotion, like a startled wild duck.

Of course, there were no wild ducks on this river, so the old man immediately poled back with his bamboo stick and indeed saw someone struggling in the river.

Perhaps entangled in the reeds or something, the person's face, soaked in the river water, looked pale and struggled desperately.

"Grab it!"

The old man extended the bamboo stick he held, and finally, when the person grasped it, they became somewhat calmer, ceasing their wild struggle.

Once the person was exhausted, the old man gradually approached and finally saved the middle-aged man, about forty, onto the fishing boat.

He fetched a blanket from the cabin and handed it to the man soaked to the skin.

"Cover yourself, it's cold as the wind picks up."

The man shivered as he received the blanket, his face filled with fear, akin to a frightened rat, one that escaped from a trench, having survived machine gunfire.

Covered in wounds, fortunately only grass cuts, not gunshot wounds.

Consider it a stroke of luck.

The old man had seen too many swollen corpses these days, not entirely drowned, merely decomposed by the river water.

The man trembled, speaking in a stuttering voice.

"Don't, don't kill me..."

"Don't worry, no one here will kill you."

The old man reassured him with a smile, gently patting the man's shoulder, and handed over his thermal flask, indicating he could drink a bit if he didn't mind.

Of course, the man didn't mind, rather worried the old man would mind him. After thanking him profusely, he finally unscrewed the cap and drank the hot water heartily.

The old man lit the heater, placed it at his feet, then poled towards the shore while leisurely chatting.

"What's your job, friend?"

"Fishing..."

Oh, a fellow fisherman.

No wonder he could swim over here.

But seeing his flustered appearance, probably his wife and children fell behind...

The old man chuckled as he spoke.

"Being proficient at fishing is good. Once you land, tell the person who registers you. They'll arrange work for you at the dock. There are quite a few sea fishing boats there. Although it's a bit different from river fishing, you'll get the hang of it once you're familiar."

The man nodded, saying only thank you and not much else.

The fishing boat drifted with the twilight towards the dock; earlier, the kids who were netting fish had returned fully loaded, pushing their carts toward the market.

Gazing at the bustling street market in the distance, the man with the blanket suddenly couldn't hold back and started weeping.

The old man squatted down, patted his shoulder, and comforted him.

"Alright, alright, we're about to land. Why the tears?"

Perhaps thinking of others who died on the journey, he couldn't stop his sobbing, choking as he spoke.

"I only hate that fate is blind, misfortune always befalls those destined for a bitter life."

The old man saw him but smiled and said.

"Would fate really let you be here if it were blind? Be content."

The man remained unsatisfied, expressing his resentment.

"But I don't understand why, despite being kind all my life and never committing any wrongdoing, the hardships of the world have spared me not one bit."

The old man shook his head.

"Kind all your life... Haha, what does it mean to be kind? Not stealing, not robbing, not cheating, being earnest and honest qualifies as kindness? Then I see the fish in the river as kind, the birds in the sky are even kinder, and the snakes and insects in the grass are the most kind of all."

The middle-aged man's face turned red.

"You can't say that, humans are not the same as snakes, rats, insects, birds."

"Yes, how can you set the standard of kindness on par with snakes, rats, insects, birds?" The old man said with a smile, "You're not young anymore, how can you live so confused, mistaking mere survival for kindness."

The man looked at him confusedly.

"Then... what is kindness?"

The old man thought for a moment, unsure how to answer, only letting out a gentle sigh.

"Maybe it's... someone truly bound for Hell thinks you're a fool."

Fate isn't really blind.

Karma does exist.

And it arrives sooner than imagined...

The man hung his head, pondered for half a day, then suddenly looked up at the old man, his Adam's apple moved, he said.

"Is there a way... to avoid going to Hell?"

The old man was taken aback, then laughed and said.

"That... how would I know."

Looking at the dispirited man, the old man was silent for a while, sighed, and said.

"On the shore, there's a chapel with a crescent moon hanging, near the chapel, there are many cats basking in the sun... You go find a pastor named Mr. Melgio, he might know."

...

Tiandu.

The celebratory atmosphere concealed a sense of foreboding.

General Grov returned to Tiandu full of pride, speaking boastfully at the meeting, only days later, as Sava had predicted, he was taken down by Zayed.

However, the subsequent plot went exactly as the head of the Kaba Committee, Sava, had guessed.

In the end, Gopal, the "Gray Wolf," still preceded "Iron General" Grov.

Enraged youths blocked Gopal in his own residence, no one was allowed in or out, including the curry Gopal ate daily.

Soon after, people raided his home and found an animal chess set from the West Winds era.

Upon hearing word from his servant, Gopal knew his end was near, filled with sorrow and indignation, he finally decided to rally his old Gray Wolf troops for a desperate fight, only for the plan to be exposed, and a few ill-timed phone calls to become the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Utterly disheartened, he arranged an escape route for himself and his family, pretending to head to Jinjaron Harbor, while secretly preparing a small boat at West Sail Port, intending to flee to General Mclen.

But perhaps because he had committed too many wrongs, there was a heavy rain that day, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

The people who came to arrest him arrived half an hour early, and those meant to pick him up arrived late.

"Heaven wants me dead!"

Seeing the soldiers entering through the front door, Gopal looked ashen, like a stray dog.

With no way out, he could only feign going to the toilet, intending to escape through the backyard wall, only for his plans to be discovered by the soldiers arresting him.

The young man saw Gopal already on the wall, grabbed a bamboo pole and jabbed him on the rear, accidentally jabbing too hard, causing the frantic Gopal to fall off, headfirst onto the stone path.

"Boom——!"

Perhaps it was too many vengeful spirits seeking him, even heaven couldn't tolerate it.

A thunderclap echoed through the air, its light illuminating the damp alley.

Covered in mud and water, he lay twitching on the ground, trying to struggle up, but choked on the muddy water.

"Help... me..."

Even then he still had a breath left, if someone had just helped him, he would've survived.

But lamentably he saw, the neighboring households all shut their doors and windows, pretending nothing had happened outside.

What a pity.

Two people, on a rainy night, one stood and died, the other ended like a stray dog.

A generation's "military deity" Gopal died so miserably against the wall behind his backyard toilet...

The next day.

News of Gopal's death spread throughout the city.

The people clapped joyfully, cheering that the Gray Wolf was finally dead, just as they had cheered when he entered the city.

General Grov, confined behind the iron bars, heard the sound of drums and gongs outside, wondering what joyous occasion it was, he softly asked the soldier at the door.

"Sir... could you tell me, what sound is causing all this noise outside?"

The voice was timid and unassuming, utterly lacking the domineering air of the "Iron General," resembling instead an old man prematurely aged.

The young soldier looked at him coldly, his gaze seemed to say "who's your sir," but he still responded coldly.

"Gopal the traitor is dead."

Grov's head buzzed, as if a 200-pound bomb had exploded beside him.

Perhaps in grief of death came pain.

He was shocked, clutched the iron bars with his hands and shouted.

"Go, Gopal is dead?! How is that possible?! How did he die? I disagree! No—he was a traitor! I am innocent! Zayed understands me, please give him a call! I beg of you..."

The iron bars shook creakingly under the skinny wrists, but the soldier seemed to have heard nothing.

In matters of "who can be kicked when they're down, who needs to be let off," most Poluo people had a consensus, it was like spiritual energy, needing no words to explain.

Gopal was finished.

Could Grov still survive?

Even the kids in Tiandu knew, once the wolf meat was finished, the dog should be killed...

...

The wolf is dead.

The dog is doomed.

Prince Sava and his meritorious ministers also sat on the fire pit, restless and uncomfortable as the heat seared their seats.

Tiandu seemed to have turned into a battlefield without gunpowder, and for the first time, those who only knew how to fight realized how clear guns are easy to dodge, while hidden arrows are hard to defend against.

However, what truly shattered Gale's worldview wasn't Gopal's miserable demise.

It was the fate of Kaba Committee Member, whom he had always looked down upon and even hated to the bone.

It was a bright and sunny morning.

Although Tiandu had turned into a scorching pit, the raging fire had not yet reached the gates of Tiandu University.

Sitting in class, Gale was bored and drowsy, reminiscing about the taste of female students from the night before, when suddenly a "bang" startled him awake, causing his textbook to fall to the ground.

Fortunately, the stick didn't hit him on the head but struck Kaba Committee Member's head instead.

Ever since the joint school run, this education committee member had been both principal and professor, unwavering amidst the bombers' roars, yet this time his nose bled onto the podium.

Kaba Committee Member seemed never to have expected this day would come, staring blankly at the children holding the sticks, then at the adults behind them.

In the end, he said nothing, simply picking up the textbook that had fallen onto the desk in silence.

"Students, turn to page 37 of your textbooks. Today we will discuss 'Mr. L,' a painstaking work by one of your teacher's old acquaintances—"

Smack!

Like the wind, the stick whirled and swept over him, knocking him to the ground.

"We're asking you questions!"

"In the theater that day! What did you say? And why didn't you applaud?"

Kaba said nothing, as if the ones pummeling him didn't exist, reaching for the textbook filled with countless efforts, only for it to be snatched away and torn apart.

He stopped reaching for the textbook and tried to stand and speak, but was knocked down again, and again as he stood, until he was battered and bleeding, even breaking several sticks in the process.

His bones were indeed tough; he finally stood up.

The twelve-year-old child furrowed his brow, stubbornness mixing with temper, raising a broken stick to deliver the final blow, but was stopped by the man behind him.

The man stood still, looked at the students in the class, and coldly said.

"Students, you are Kaba's students and understand him best. Since he refuses to confess his crimes and reflect on his problems, you shall speak for him."

"One by one."

The classroom was silent.

Everyone was scared stiff.

Including Gale.

It felt like his brain had been shot, leaving him bewildered and unable to come to his senses.

Kaba…

It was him who should hate this guy. This guy's so-called exams embarrassed him, stealing his rightful opportunity and giving it to some peasants, these inferiors… Why should they hate him for him?

Why…

It makes no sense.

He couldn't understand it.

Maybe because he's too normal, or perhaps because he's read himself stupid.

And then, suddenly, he remembered Nayak—his smart younger sibling, who was like a demon, and what he said before leaving.

'I have generals A, B, C, and D… I know I will have to kill them all eventually.'

'Once you're back, hide yourself… If you can cower, then cower… Imagine yourself as a soft maggot…'

Gale suddenly regretted.

Maybe he should have left with him back then, but now it's too late to change his mind.

However…

Why leave?

Suddenly, Gale smiled internally because, at that very moment, he realized he was surrounded by a flock of earth-eating sheep.

Such good sheep.

The master wants to eat meat and is afraid the master will not be full, not even needing to sharpen his knife.

They voluntarily slaughtered the unsociable sheep and offered its flesh to him.

He remembered Nayak's third sentence.

'It will be your turn, I said.'

Gale inexplicably stood up, with all eyes in front and behind the classroom turning to him.

Including Kaba committee member.

That swollen, bleeding face still had that defiant, hostile look.

He actually had ways to survive.

But he insisted on choosing to stand and die.

In that case…

Why not die meaningfully.

"Teacher… Safe travels."

Gale silently recited in his heart, gazing into those eyes, wearing a sincere and honest expression.

This was the first time he recognized this guy as a teacher and the first time he used an honorific to address him.

And it was heartfelt.

Kaba looked at him, his eyes with a cold smile as always, as if saying, "You dare call me teacher," but unfortunately, he could no longer speak.

However—

That might not really be a cold smile.

Perhaps it was a form of protection.

Or even kindness.

Standing on the podium, Gale exchanged a glance with a familiar-looking man and accepted a stick from his hand.

That was his father's soldier.

He could recognize him whether he was in uniform or not.

Gale tightly gripped the stick in his hand, as if holding a blazing torch.

Looking at those indifferent eyes, he softly murmured with his inner voice.

"Borrow your life for a bit."

"Your revenge—"

"In fifty years, I'll avenge you."

...

Jinjaron Harbor, by the Everflow River.

The red soil had vanished, and the sugarcane fields of the Nihack era had transformed into a bustling market.

After leaving Lowell Camp, Night Ten, along with Dora and the others, arrived here.

Busy with official duties, Mayor Yoder had already returned to the city hall.

However, he did not leave the group unattended, assigning his secretary to act as their guide, extending the hospitality of Jinjaron Harbor's people.

Staring at the grilled fish on the food stall, Dora swallowed hard with a face full of desire.

Though Potato Harbor had plenty of barbeque, the cooking style and flavors were completely different.

The spices here were sprinkled as though they didn't cost a thing, teasing out her cravings once more.

Night Ten was also tempted, ready to buy, but was stopped by the local guide appointed by Mayor Yoder.

"That's freshwater fish."

The guide fumbled awkwardly, reluctant to reveal the truth, merely mumbling.

"Not very sanitary."

Night Ten gave him a peculiar look, feeling odd hearing the word 'sanitary' from a local, yet heeding the advice and led Dora away from the grilled fish stall.

There were plenty to eat here, with other choices.

"How about grilled corn? And pork?"

"No problem," the guide smiled apologetically, "but you need to check the fish and shrimp, whether they're from the river or the sea."

Recently, news reports had mentioned people getting sick from eating fish, with the council discussing legislation to ban bringing river fish to the market, though the related laws had yet to catch up.

Night Ten understood and nodded, then picked up the menu and ordered about 100 silver coins worth of barbeque.

100 silver coins equals 1,000 gallons, sufficient for the dozen or so of them to eat their fill.

By this time, the sky was gradually darkening.

Watching the distant hot air balloons, Night Ten suddenly recalled his confusion upon arriving at the harbor and asked the guide sitting across the table.

"What are those balloons for?"

The guide followed his gaze and then chuckled.

"Oh, those are organized by the pastor at Silver Moon Church, a man named... Melgio, I think."

Melgio.

He felt the name was familiar, probably seen on the forum, but couldn't recall when that was.

"So they're from the Silver Moon Sect." Night Ten nodded in realization.

No wonder those balloons had two tufts on top, turned out to be cat ears.

Pretty abstract indeed.

Watching the hot air balloons, the guide's face bore a hint of reverence, mixed with admiration.

"Speaking of Mr. Melgio, he's quite a local celebrity... Ever since he moved here from West Sail Port, he's done numerous good deeds, including building churches, assisting migrants, and teaching literacy to the poor. Though I don't believe in the Silver Moon Goddess, he truly is a great person. Can't understand why the folks from the west wanted him gone."

"West?" Dora blinked.

"It's West Sail Port." Looking at the balloons in the sky, Night Ten sighed and said, "Those Vellante people sure are harsh, even tearing down a church."

The guide forced a bitter smile without speaking, casting his gaze to the distant sunset.

"Mr. Melgio knows some... decent Vellante individuals and some citizens who made money early on. They created hot air balloons, packed dry food in them, and let them drift west. When the fuel runs out, the balloons drop like parachutes, landing wherever fate takes them."

Night Ten looked at him in surprise.

"How many people can this save?"

The guide shook his head and said.

"Saving whoever we can, perhaps someone will need just that one meal to survive?"

Dora asked confusedly.

"There's no food there?"

The guide shook his head.

"Not really."

She suddenly remembered needing money to buy food, and meekly asked.

"Then... is there no money?"

"Not that either."

"Then it's—"

"Don't ask." Seeing the guide's reddened eyes, Night Ten wisely patted Dora's shoulder, "Tomorrow we're heading to Silver Moon Bay... By the way, you should try to perceive—can you sense any lairs here? Or anything similar?"

The latter part was his sudden thought, a subject that's long been debated on the official forum.

Although it's said Poluo Province has no lair, rumors claim Red Soil's design process involved referencing and modifying mutated slime fungus DNA.

Dora paused for a moment, closed her eyes, meditated briefly, then reopened them and shook her head.

"No."

"Nothing at all?" Night Ten was still hopeful, "What about the soil? It—"

"I can sense they are alive; this soil is actually living, it's truly amazing..."

With a face full of wonder, Dora continued in a very soft voice.

"But it seems... it's just alive."

Chapter 1034: An Unexpected Visitor

The next morning.

The Dolphin silently left the harbor of Jin Galun Port, just as quietly as it had arrived.

Although Dora was quite interested in staying here for a few more days to explore, she was helpless as there were too many people here.

Thanks to the media's extensive coverage, nearly everyone in Jin Galun Port knew about this guest from South Gate Two.

Including spiritual energy.

Although the Alliance never hinted at any connection between this mental power and religious beliefs, Dora still felt that surge of overwhelming enthusiasm like a tsunami.

Ever since the major evening newspapers published the relevant information, they were almost blocked everywhere they went.

Even as the group left Jin Galun Port, the port witnessed a wave of pilgrimage-like fervor that nearly caused a stampede.

"Respected... Miss Dora, my left eyelid has been twitching lately, I humbly ask you to dignify me with a divination."

"You, you can see the dead, right? Can you help me take a look at my father..."

"Master! I—I'm from the Rat Clan! I offer incense to the Rat God every day, but even after 20 years of worship, I haven't become wealthy. Can you help me see if the Rat God is still around? Or maybe... the Silver Moon Goddess is more powerful?"

"Tree of Yenshof above! Please grant me peace!"

Although most were there for the spectacle, only a small portion were genuinely "devout," yet even so, it was quite terrifying.

After all, the population scale of Jin Galun Port was there, the surging crowd nearly pushed the guards maintaining order into the sea.

The unified worshiping scene startled Dora, leaving her unsure of what to do momentarily.

Fortune-telling?

What is that?

The locals' own Tree of Yenshof?

No matter how hard she tried, all she could see was just the silhouette of a person...

The cargo submarine slowly submerged, switching to cruise mode.

It wasn't until the crowd disappeared from view that Dora, standing by the bridge's floor-to-ceiling windows, spoke with lingering concern.

"The people here are just too enthusiastic..."

Standing beside her, Night Ten joked.

"Now you've experienced what it's like to be bombarded with a million questions, haven't you?"

Dora blushed and spoke awkwardly.

"Sorry, sorry."

She really had many unknowns she wanted to understand, not intentionally causing inconvenience to others.

Including what that "ten thousand whys" exactly was, she still hadn't figured it out, just felt embarrassed to ask.

Night Ten coughed lightly and said.

"... I was just casually mentioning it, it's not to the extent that requires an apology. If you really have things you don't understand, it's better to ask."

Actually, having this experience is quite good.

Previously this fellow had too strong an idol filter towards "Ancestors," always being overly cautious towards everyone.

This mode of interaction is actually quite exhausting.

Because having an idol filter means another person's idol burden.

Not everyone is keen on enjoying this "fun."

Moreover, she should now realize that even the "heavens" where the "Ancestors" lived are not exactly the perfect paradise she imagined.

The cargo submarine sailed north along the East Coast of Poluo Province, docking at the harbor of Mammoth City.

The situation here is completely different from the cyberpunk-style mix at Jin Galun Port.

Outside the port, the city is lined with rows of concrete grid buildings with extremely high density, while the core port area is elegantly decorated, clean, and tidy churches.

The two distinct areas form a clear contrast, like a cow's head grafted onto a horse's body.

However, due to the high degree of secularization of the local new believers, and the original faith of the Mammoth Tribesmen not being deeply rooted here, more inclined towards "practicality," the two sides still coexist relatively harmoniously.

Relying on the wealth brought by immigrants from Silver Moon Bay and the local large labor force resources, this once-flooded settlement has benefited from several waves of era dividends, rising with the tide, now being one of the few industrial production bases along the Poluo Sea.

And this is considered one of the political legacies left by Laxi.

Looking at the port imprinted on the floor-to-ceiling window again, Dora curiously asked Night Ten.

"Are we at Silver Moon Bay now?"

Night Ten smiled and said.

"Almost there, this is Mammoth City, not far from Silver Moon Bay. Both here and Jin Galun Port are considered survivor settlements in Poluo Province, the port area here is somewhat similar to Silver Moon Bay. We don't plan to stop here, just take a look from afar."

Dora nodded, somewhat understanding, and said towards the window.

"The same... but I feel the atmosphere here is so heavy, is it because of famine?"

Night Ten wasn't very familiar with the situation here either, so he looked towards Han Mingyue.

The latter, due to her professional field and teaching experience around this area, had heard of the local situation.

Facing Dora's curious gaze, she pondered for a while and replied.

"Not exactly, there hasn't been a famine here, but they've gone through some changes. Including wars, including civil unrest, etc... In short, many have died. Also, the strict laws might be a factor; it certainly isn't as free as Jin Galun Port."

"The laws of the same province aren't the same?" Dora looked at her, puzzled, "Do they have different... chieftains?"

"Not just different chieftains, the overall societal ideology is also vastly different, just like you and the Qi People. You believe in spiritualism, the Qi People believe in materialism. Jin Galun Port... is arguably similar to us and falls under equality, at least in surface terms. And Mammoth Nation is the other end of the spectrum, favoring authoritarianism. Even if they seem closer to us, we must acknowledge this fact."

Pausing for a moment, Han Mingyue smiled slightly and continued.

"As for the laws, the differences are significant. Making a mistake at Jin Galun Port might only result in being confined, but here, you'll not only be confined but might also get spanked, okay?"

Dora shrank her neck.

"Then we'd better not go..."

She was worried about offending the locals due to unfamiliarity with the customs.

Seeing her nervousness, Han Mingyue chuckled heartily and teasingly said.

"There's no need to worry that much, as long as you behave normally, there's no need to worry about getting spanked."

"The architecture here is quite interesting, not as chaotic as Jin Galun Port."

Little Koala took a distant photo from the floor-to-ceiling window and recorded the data in the database.

Half an hour later, it spoke in an electronic voice with a trace of anticipation.

"I'm starting to get curious about what Silver Moon Bay looks like."

…

Just as Night Ten mentioned, Silver Moon Bay lay on the other side of the Jubar Mountains, not far from Mammoth. The crescent-shaped port looked like a crescent moon at night.

Similar to their arrival at Jin Galun Port, the group was warmly welcomed by the locals upon landing.

Though many had already seen the photos in the newspapers, most locals still yearned to witness the presence of the guest from South Gate Two firsthand.

Thankfully, the population here wasn't as massive as Jin Galun Port, and while the port was temporarily congested, it didn't overwhelm several streets like during their departure from Jin Galun Port.

With the prior experience at Jin Galun Port, Dora was much more composed this time, simply smiling and waving to express friendliness without showing the previous awkwardness.

A group of people boarded a special vehicle at the port heading towards the train station.

And soon after they arrived at the train station, they encountered a councilor from Silver Moon Bay's municipal council, and even a messenger sent by the king of the Camel Hump Kingdom.

Watching the group disembark at the station entrance, the messenger with a full beard opened his arms with a smile from afar and warmly greeted them, extending greetings from the Camel Hump Kingdom.

Especially when facing Night Ten, after a warm hug, he solemnly shook his hand.

"Honorable Mr. Night Ten, on behalf of the King of the Camel Hump Kingdom, I offer you the highest respect! Thank you for stopping the plan of the celestial beings and saving our fragile world."

This flattery made Night Ten feel quite comfortable.

However, he was no longer the young and reckless boy he once was; he had a much broader perspective and knowledge now.

Faced with the praise from the Camel Hump Kingdom's messenger, he merely chuckled inwardly and maintained a humble smile as he spoke.

"It wasn't just my achievement, but the result of everyone working together as one."

The messenger seemed a bit surprised, since his maturity and knowledge were different from what the information suggested, but he quickly continued the conversation.

After a few polite exchanges of compliments, he courteously laid out the royal invitation, saying,

"... May I have the honor of inviting you and your companions to visit Camel Hump City for a few days, as our Majesty wishes to host you?"

Night Ten replied with courtesy,

"Please convey our gratitude to your Majesty, but our journey has already been delayed for too long. To not disrupt the Sticky Community's agenda, we must hasten our trip to the City of Dawn… Unfortunately, we can only visit next time."

"That... is truly a pity."

The messenger showed a look of regret, but said nothing more and simply nodded respectfully,

"Please take the greetings of the survivors of the Camel Hump Kingdom to the City of Dawn. We will always be your friends, as well as friends of the South Gate Two survivors. May the Spirit of the Sand Sea be with you and wish you a safe journey to the end of the universe."

"Thank you for your blessings, I will bring them back to my homeland."

Night Ten nodded with a smile and bid farewell to the king's messenger.

After finally finishing all the socializing, the group headed into the train station's VIP waiting room.

This station is also one of the assets of the Bull Horse Group.

The entire railway in Luo Xia Province is basically completed by several collective companies of the Alliance, only operated by locally registered companies.

This, of course, includes the section in Silver Moon Bay.

That is why even before the group disembarked the ship, the Alliance had already coordinated everything by temporarily closing the VIP lounge.

After all, there was quite a crowd here, and it wouldn't be good if any commotion or accident occurred.

Sitting in the lounge, Dora eagerly looked at Night Ten and asked,

"Why the Spirit of the Sand Sea? Don't the locals believe in the Silver Moon Goddess?"

"That involves the uniqueness of the local area."

Glancing at the crowded platform outside the lounge window, Night Ten recalled the information from the official setting collection and casually continued,

"The locals originally also believed in the Spirit of the Sand Sea, including the apocalyptic belief and the nostalgia for the desert. However, as time passed, the apocalypse never came, and the coastal area of Luo Xia Province remained lush even without relying on the pre-war Oasis System, rendering the old beliefs outdated."

"As a result, some people, dissatisfied with feudal rituals, made some secular adaptations to the beliefs, combining the inexplicable parts with the needs of real life after gaining some power."

"For example, one no longer needs to live in the desert generation after generation; carrying a bit of homeland sand in your pocket is the same. Or believers born outside Luo Xia Province don't even need the sand; attending services once a week suffices, and even charity work can replace worship."

Speaking of which, that last creed was added by members of the Alliance.

Night Ten remembered that it initially happened because a player with cat ears was seen by locals as an incarnation of the Silver Moon Goddess. Later, her and her three partners' active presence in the area added several pages of content encouraging good deeds to the legend of the Silver Moon Goddess.

Since then, believers of the Silver Moon Sect gained another line of work.

Not only do they do business and build churches, but they also gradually began engaging in disaster relief, literacy education, and knowledge dissemination.

This even includes the pastor named Melgio, whom they heard about at Jinjaron Harbor, who is a faithful practitioner of this doctrine.

In some sense, this can also be considered "Passing the Torch."

"I see..." Dora pondered and then suddenly said, "Does this mean that, given enough time, our theory of the 'Tree of Yenshof' will change as well?"

"Something like that," Night Ten casually replied, "as long as your society does not reject the birth of new things… Haven't you noticed? I seem to have mentioned to you before that your belief in the Tree of Yenshof was originally improved based on our 'dimensional theory.'"

The Tree of Yenshof was first discovered by the crew of the Twin Stars. At that time, Gaia's people were not yet differentiated into Forest People and Chuu'jin and lived scattered in the woods like a primitive tribe, completely uncivilized.

The crew of the Twin Stars imparted their discovery to Gaia's people, in essence enlightening them.

However, the latter couldn't comprehend concepts like ecological support systems and higher-dimensional worlds, so they explained higher-dimensional beings as deities using their wisdom.

This was quite an intelligent approach, and the Forest People who thought of this method can be considered geniuses.

However, Tunnan's subsequent cleverness seemed a bit ridiculous, but that's another topic entirely.

After hearing his answer, Dora seemed to understand some things and finally let go of certain matters.

Before this journey, she actually harbored the idea of persuading the Ancestors to bring her tribe into the Ancestors' world.

Or rather—

Let the Ancestors descend on that backward and primitive planet, leading them to glorious evolution.

But now, she finally let go of that slightly naive obsession.

Perhaps the Ancestors are right.

Maintaining a certain distance is the greatest benevolence.

Even if someone takes them to the sky, it does not mean that her tribe can ascend to paradise.

That is a completely different concept than bringing one or two people away. They, having completely shed the constraints of gravity, will face unprecedented problems on a civilizational scale.

And those more complex and difficult issues are likely ones they, who haven't learned to walk, could never solve…

Unless they completely abandon their civilization.

...

The train arrived at the station.

The group was about to board the train.

And at that moment, they encountered a "weirdo" on the platform in front of the train.

His face was wrapped in white cloth strips, and he was wrapped head to toe like a mummy.

Even in a place like Silver Moon Bay, this outfit was considered avant-garde.

However, surprisingly, the locals did not throw strange looks at him; instead, their eyes showed a hint of respect.

And this respect even surpassed that directed at the king's messenger.

This person stared intently at Dora.

And once noticing his gaze, she returned a curious look.

Night Ten initially did not notice his presence.

He only realized it when he saw Dora greeting someone in the crowd and followed her gaze to discover the peculiar fellow.

How did someone dressed like that get through security?

He wondered internally, trying to figure out the person's background, when that individual began to unwrap the bandages from his face.

Seeing the cratered, soul-deep ugly face, Night Ten was first stunned by the hideousness, then instantly recognized him.

"... Pigeon?!"

Chapter 1035: The Big Shot Who Came Knocking

On the train heading to River Valley Province, Dora and little Koala leaned eagerly against the window, watching the ever-changing scenery outside. Dora's nose almost touched the glass.

From the picturesque oasis to castles integrated with mountains, and then to the endless desert, all the breathtaking views she saw were sights she had never encountered before.

The surprise and excitement on her face were no less than when she first saw the sea.

"This world... is so big!"

The overwhelming excitement left her with only these words at the tip of her tongue.

Repeating it over and over, Dora felt incredibly grateful for her unwavering decision to go to the skies with the Ancestors.

Though she occasionally felt lonely from never seeing her family again, witnessing these once-in-a-lifetime views made her feel she would have no regrets even if she died tomorrow.

The forest dwellers do not concern themselves with the length of life.

In the culture of the Doma people, a person's lifespan is determined from the day of their birth. Born from the Tree of Yenshof, they will ultimately return to the tree in another form.

Just like Dora.

The little Koala, born hastily over two hundred years ago, was seeing these magical sights for the first time as well.

Its astonishment was no less than Dora's, murmuring to itself.

"So that's it, this is the planet where my father once lived..."

"Luo Xia Province? It's not quite like the one in the database. The database described an endless expanse of automated farmland and irrigation systems... Such a vast area turning into a desert makes me really curious about the current state of the underground aqueducts."

It seems that a lot has indeed happened over the past two hundred years.

To it, it seemed like only a nap had passed...

In the same train compartment.

Night Ten and Pigeon sat across from each other.

At this moment, the bandages wrapped around the latter's head had been completely removed, exposing a face eroded by slime fungus.

Of course, it might be more accurate to say that it was originally shaped like the fruiting body.

But on reflection, it makes sense; how could a person live for over a century under normal circumstances?

The fruiting body of the slime fungus was repairing his body tissues while gradually replacing them with fungal tissues, similar to the biological prosthetics crafted by Xiaoyu.

When the replacement reached 99%, or even 100%, not a single original cell, nor even a DNA fragment, could be found on the user.

In such a scenario, he was indistinguishable from a fruiting body of the slime fungus, one could even say he was a fruiting body.

While Night Ten was scrutinizing him, Pigeon looked back with equal curiosity.

"...Incredible, this should be the first time we've met, yet you know me?"

Night Ten chuckled and replied.

"I've heard of you."

"But your expression tells me that your understanding of me is more than just hearsay." Pigeon slightly curled his lips into a smile, though it was somewhat unsettling.

Though he might look a bit ugly, he was a charitable man; otherwise, he wouldn't have earned the survivors' respect in the Camel Hump Kingdom.

"How should I put it, we have a unique way of communication in our shelter... Have you heard of psionic energy?"

"I've heard of it, read about it in newspapers," Pigeon said with great interest, continuing to look at Night Ten, "So you got to know about me through psionic energy... from your companions?"

Night Ten nodded.

"That's right."

"Incredible," Pigeon clicked his tongue softly a couple of times, speaking with some awe, "I have been researching mutant slime fungi and the mental capabilities it displays in Lost Valley for decades, yet until now, I haven't made any substantial progress... I didn't expect that you not only finished researching the subject I still can't fathom, but you're already applying it."

The envious tone was utterly genuine.

It was clear he truly admired it.

Seeing the expression on this guy's face as though the younger generation would overtake the old, Night Ten didn't know what to say.

Pursuing scientific research isn't like practicing cultivation.

Why would he think that shutting oneself away could outpace collaborative research?

Looking through the history of the United Human, only one "Professor" has been so capable.

Forget about him.

The conclusion Ph.D., who had been alive even longer than him, probably didn't have that skill level.

Yet Night Ten did not expose him but gently coughed and said.

"Not exactly finished; we only have a partial understanding of this psychic power. Regarding its application, we rely quite a bit on the wisdom of our predecessors too."

"Are you saying that in the Human Alliance Era, someone already mastered the method for large-scale application of psionic energy?" Pigeon's expression shifted slightly, and after a gentle sigh, half-joking and half-serious said, "Honestly, I don't know whether to feel comforted or disappointed."

"There's honestly nothing to be disappointed about, compared to what we lost from the Prosperity Epoch, this loss is trivial."

Night Ten didn't comment but continued in a chatty manner.

"Additionally, we call this psychic energy 'Morphogenesis Field.' If you follow the news, you might see it mentioned in newspapers. If you're interested, you could join us."

Pigeon seemed tempted, but he didn't immediately respond.

His gaze fell on Night Ten's wrist, suddenly steering the conversation elsewhere.

"Is this... an Academy prosthetic?"

"Yes."

Night Ten rolled up his sleeve, displaying—or showing off—the technological achievement of Jiang Xuezhou, smiling as he said.

"Ingenious design, isn't it?"

There's only one flaw, but it's unnecessary to mention it here.

"Indeed impressive," Pigeon remarked approvingly, pausing for a moment before saying, "A long time ago, I thought the Academy was beyond saving, those who only reused predecessors' ideas were bound to decay in the swamp; however, it seems I was too narrow-minded... Even after I left, so many talents emerged."

"Haha, not necessarily talents, but he's really talented in the mechanical field."

Night Ten chuckled modestly, understating for someone else before looking at Pigeon and saying.

"Do you have any thoughts? I bet you didn't suddenly show up just to see the guests at South Gate Two."

As he said this, his gaze shifted to the window, where the two "kids" were still enthusiastically glued to the window, eagerly admiring the scenery outside the train.

"Naturally," Pigeon chuckled, putting down his teacup and looking at Night Ten, "Actually, I'm here for you."

Night Ten was taken aback.

"Me?"

Pigeon nodded, retrieving a neatly folded copy of Survivor's Daily from his coat, unfolded it, and placed it on the table.

Night Ten cast a glance at the newspaper headline, recognizing it as the news covering his interview upon returning to Earth, discussing the formation of an exploration team beyond the Solar System.

He didn't expect this guy to be interested in that.

Fixing his gaze steadily on Night Ten, Pigeon continued.

"...I heard you plan to recruit volunteer explorers worldwide, is that true?"

Night Ten smiled awkwardly and said.

"It's just at the proposal stage, the final approval still needs the consensus of all representatives of the Sticky Community."

"This is a very good proposal, and I believe it won't be too difficult to pass... from my observations of your Managers," Pigeon nodded approvingly, "by the way, does your ship need a biologist or a materials engineer? I mean a professional one."

Night Ten shook his head.

"Not at the moment, do you have any recommendations?"

He said this casually.

But what he didn't expect was that the old monster sitting opposite him broke into a brilliant smile and said something completely unexpected.

"What do you think of me?"

Night Ten: "...?!"

What the hell?

...

Unexpectedly picking up a big shot on a trip, Night Ten was stunned by this surprising windfall.

A scientist who has lived for over a century, and whose lifespan is seemingly infinite, able to keep working until Wasteland OL shuts down!

There was no reason to refuse, and Night Ten immediately agreed without a second thought.

Although Pigeon joked about being out of touch with the times due to his age, Night Ten didn't take this modest compliment seriously.

A scholar of such caliber, even if they don't reach the SSSR level, is rare enough to be of SSR level.

Moreover, this expert had no special demands regarding treatment, only requested to have a cabin onboard as a laboratory and to bring along his Little Red and the Titan from the Lost Valley.

Compared to the Life Tree in Baiyue Province that excels in seeding, Little Red is better at integrating metal materials and evolving "regenerative armor" based on that.

According to Pigeon, he could help repair the damaged hull of the Hunter and enhance its defensive capabilities.

With the addition of Little Red and Pigeon, the Hunter gained two layers of boosted defense and in-battle healing buffs!

Night Ten couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Just this one gain made the latter part of the journey worthwhile!

Just as the train passed through Lion City in Luo Xia Province, heading towards River Valley Province, a strange event occurred far off in the City of Dawn in River Valley Province.

Some residents living in the City of Dawn claimed they saw transparent paper planes in their homes.

These were finely folded paper planes, about the length and thickness of an index finger.

Some people saw them on their balconies, watching them leisurely fly by from the sky; others saw them in their bedrooms, watching them fly past the window; and some bizarrely claimed their child saw it fly through the wall of their bedroom.

Initially, the claim about the paper planes was just a rumor, much like an urban legend.

However, due to the counter-espionage awareness cultivated during wartime among the City of Dawn residents, some reported the sighting to the security bureau after discovering it, which brought the issue to light and even made it into publications like the Goblin Observation Report, a non-mainstream newspaper.

Strangely, nearly 70 people claimed to have seen the "paper planes," yet no one successfully photographed them.

There was even someone who took a photo, but nothing appeared on it.

This incident quickly drew the attention of the Guards Corps, linking it to the recent missing pens incident.

Although there's no direct evidence to prove any connection between the two incidents, they indeed happened around the same time.

Especially after the Guards Corps' investigation, the sample numbers and the occurrence area of the "missing pens" incident highly coincided with the "paper planes" event.

In other words, the occurrences of this phenomenon were in double digits, all happening within the City of Dawn.

In the Manager's Office of the Alliance Building, Lu Bei reported the investigation results to Chu Guang with a serious expression.

After a brief pause, he cautiously expressed his opinion.

"I'm wondering... could these strange occurrences be the work of celestial beings?"

Looking over the report repeatedly, Chu Guang offhandedly asked.

"Have we suffered any substantial losses because of it?"

Lu Bei shook his head and said seriously.

"So far, no substantial impact has been discovered... except for those missing pens that can't be found. However, it's hard to say whether it's some reconnaissance means we're not aware of."

It's precisely because of this lack of understanding that the Guards Corps is on high alert.

After all, the impression that the celestial beings have left on Earth's various Survivor Forces is extremely shocking.

This group didn't even bother with a greeting and went straight to "destroy you, what concern is it of yours"—a stance unbearable for anyone.

Especially after the Hunter incident, the Sticky Community has completely abandoned negotiating with celestial beings and the Enlightenment Society, preparing to unite and eradicate this pest once and for all.

Now, both sides are gearing up for war, making it hard for anyone not to be on edge at the slightest disturbance.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and suddenly said.

"I don't think they have such capabilities. And honestly, if they could create some reconnaissance drone that passes through walls, why use it in the City of Dawn, particularly in residential areas, instead of in Dawn City or our space elevator?"

Lu Bei frowned and said.

"Then... could it be communicating with spies hidden in the City of Dawn?"

Chu Guang shook his head and said.

"There's a possibility, but it's not very high. Even if this communication method could avoid our interception, it would cause too much commotion. As it stands, it attracted our attention almost immediately."

Lu Bei fell silent.

This has actually been discussed in several rounds at the Guards Corps meetings, with intelligence officials at various levels offering similar opinions, thinking it unlikely that the two "phenomena" are related to celestial beings.

However, the question arises.

If it has nothing to do with celestial beings, who else could pull off such an act?

At least, according to the Guards Corps' knowledge of major Survivor Forces, none had the motive or capability to do so.

But at this moment, Lu Bei suddenly had a flash of insight, a thought emerging from his mind.

"Could it be related to the South Gate Two incident?"

This time, Chu Guang didn't outright deny his speculation but instead fell into contemplation.

"I've actually been suspecting this all along."

These unexplainable "phenomena" seem to have started after the Hunter returned.

As Chu Guang was pondering, Lu Bei suddenly received a communication request.

And it wasn't just Lu Bei who received the message.

Xiao Qi, who was squatting in a pen holder, also received the message and climbed out, his face changing.

"What happened?" Seeing Xiao Qi's change in face, Chu Guang immediately asked.

Xiao Qi, pressed for time, hastily said, "The research team's in trouble!"

Chapter 1036

Along the coast of Linghu Wetland Park, sits the Dawn City Seventh Research Institute affiliated with the expedition corps.

This dedicated research unit was established by the expedition corps for the topics related to "South Gate Two and the pioneers' civilization," and it was officially put into use at the beginning of the month with 227 people on staff.

By wasteland standards, this number is already quite sufficient, especially for a newly established research institution with few projects.

Not only is the manpower substantial, but the budget is also ample, and the senior researchers at this institute are adept individuals within the alliance's research system.

For instance, Director Dai Huaian, aged 35, from Refuge No. 276. His research direction is high-energy physics, and he once served as a professor at Camp 101 for a period.

Later, recommended by Dr. Method, he joined the alliance's expedition corps and held important positions in relevant research institutions. His capabilities and track record can be described as excellent.

Additionally, there are physicist Ayrick from Shelter No. 337, and former F-level prospector Lin Dong from the Wandering swamp science committee, among others.

Although the resumes of these researchers may seem thinner compared to Director Dai's, their knowledge and abilities are not inferior and in specific research directions even surpass, belonging to specialized talent.

Currently, only the alliance and the academy on the wasteland show a strong interest in high-energy physics, a "future discipline" with little short-term economic benefit.

If we also include those willing to spend money and have the conditions to spend money, it seems only the alliance remains.

Coupled with the alliance's reputation outside, they hardly need to deliberately recruit as these talents who are useless elsewhere naturally come in, ready to do a big job.

After all, the Wasteland Era is about to end, so if not rise now, when else?

Combining his expertise in high-energy physics, Director Dai quickly set the research institute's general direction—to research the cosmic membrane separating universes.

In fact, he hardly had to set this direction as the remnants of the pioneers' civilization almost pointed out the road ahead, clearly telling them this world contains a creator and the universe is nested like layers.

Just like Matryoshka dolls.

Though this is the "cultist" civilization's understanding of the universe, this cultist nonetheless far exceeds human civilization, just like human civilization far exceeds the Doma people's civilization.

As long as they can continue to explore following the clues left by the pioneers' civilization, they will undoubtedly be able to comprehend their truth, just as the Doma people understood the Tree of Yenshof!

Moreover, it is belongs to materialists!

Director Dai has full confidence in this.

And just then, Night Ten returning from South Gate Two brought a great gift to the expedition corps' "Seventh Institute"—the "Universe Transection Instrument!"

This relic was the work completed by Dr. Qiu Shiye inspired by the pioneers' civilization!

It can even be said that the latter taught the former hand by hand to complete it!

Its effect is that after inputting a certain amount of energy, it can transport the matter of this universe to the Creator Universe.

Although its principle is too advanced for current human civilization, the visible parts and invisible parts alike feel like mysteries hard to decode, this does not affect its direct use by those who obtained it.

Just like a black box!

Later, a Burning Legion soldier named Night Ten mastered spiritual energy and got inspired by Dr. Qiu Shiye, understood the method to use the transection instrument in reverse, to "borrow" energy from the Creator Universe.

Though they use the word borrow, actually the borrowed energy does not have to be returned.

According to the clues left by the pioneer civilization, a beam of light from the Creator Universe, placed into the "created universe," becomes energy comparable to a star.

In other words, what they borrow from the Creator Universe is so small like a speck of dust, it can be almost ignored.

Believing the "creator" won't mind either.

Therefore, after a few small attempts, the Seventh Research Institute found no safety hazards and immediately maximized the experiment frequency, working overtime enthusiastically.

It is not that Director Dai and all researchers are too impatient, mainly because the prospects of this technology are too enticing!

Even researchers from the refuge who are indifferent to money can instantly discern the economic value within.

Once the mysteries within are understood, they will genuinely grasp boundless energy, even changing the way energy is acquired!

They will no longer need to rely on the light and heat of this universe but can borrow endless energy from a higher universe!

The heat death of the universe will be reversed at this moment!

For humans who spend their entire lives pursuing more material and energy, is there anything more tempting than this?

It is not an exaggeration to say that they will create a brand new era based on the new epoch!

And this era will be more prosperous than the Prosperity Epoch!

It will be the ascension of the entire human civilization!

Any material return and real honor are insignificant compared to this great undertaking.

Moreover, the route to South Gate Two has not yet been opened, and the plan to establish an observation station on Gaia Planet Synchronous Orbit is still in the draft stage. The entire research institute only has this project regarding the transection instrument to study.

After several attempts moving back and forth, the research personnel of the Seventh Institute have evolved from initially "hole through walls for light" to sending various things to the Creator Universe.

Initially it was a mouse, later they tried sending a Multilegged Beast, Mutated Bear, Mucosal Entity, and even the juvenile Claw of Death.

Originally, they planned to send a mammoth, but Dawn City Zoo disagreed, and they haven't yet figured out how to get this thing into the underground laboratory, so the plan was dropped.

Based on a series of tests, the researchers at the Seventh Institute have preliminarily concluded.

The maximum capture range of the transmission beam varies between 5 to 10 meters, its capture range seems positively correlated with the energy input, and is related to the activation time of the perforator.

In other words, the greater the input energy, the longer the hole created by the perforator exists on the cosmic membrane, and the broader the range of interference.

Reasonably analyzed, with sufficient energy, the transmission beam could even swallow an entire planet!

But achieving this would consume energy at astronomical figures, possibly reaching stellar levels!

Moreover, compressing this terrifying energy into the size of a standard fuel tank is also an issue.

Keeping the opening time for three seconds and catching a range with a 10-meter radius is the limit without modifying the holy relic.

Additionally, the matter transported to the Creator Universe will permanently disappear.

According to the description of the pioneer civilization, they will transform into a beam of light or dust in another universe, unable to return from that world, or even if they do return, they cannot maintain their original form.

However, this aspect has not yet been experimentally proven, so the researchers at the institute remain skeptical.

Moreover, only living beings can be transported, or corpses that have been dead for less than 72 hours.

"Dead objects," including electronic products, cannot be transmitted independently, but they can be sent as appendages along with the transporter.

This definition of appendage seems to be related to the transporter's self-awareness.

The researchers attempted to put a watch on the Mucosal Entity, and after activating the perforator, the Mucosal Entity vanished, but the watch fell to the ground.

Immediately afterward, the researchers conducted a control experiment, putting the same watch on a monkey, ensuring the monkey understood the concept of a clock, then proceeded with the experiment, astonishingly finding that both the monkey and the watch traversed into the Creator Universe!

With this discovery, Director Dai Huaian promptly devised a new experimental plan—to wrap a probe in an anti-corrosive film, stuff it inside a piece of meat, and then feed it as food to a toothless giant lizard caught from Baiyue Province.

This toothless giant lizard is a variant of the Komodo giant lizard, with adults averaging four meters in length and weighing nearly 300 kilograms, consuming prey by swallowing whole, then relying on digestive juices to break down the food.

Once this toothless giant lizard breaks down the meat surrounding the probe, it will naturally regurgitate or excrete the indigestible probe.

Subsequently, it will continuously emit electromagnetic signals containing observational information until its battery is depleted.

If they can receive signals from another universe through the "hole" created by the perforator in the next experiment, it would mean the dispatched toothless giant lizard did not transform into light in another universe but still exists in it.

Moreover, they might be able to decipher the returned electromagnetic signals to gain more intelligence about the Creator Universe!

Without hesitation, Director Dai Huaian followed the work protocol and reported the experimental plan to the expedition team before promptly proceeding with the experiment.

On the third underground level of the institute, in the isolation room storing the Cosmic Perforator, staff wearing protective suits led the cage containing the giant lizard beside the perforator, swiftly exiting the isolation room afterward.

Seemingly sensing a threat, the toothless giant lizard hissed while flicking its tongue, restlessly twisting its massive body in the narrow iron cage, causing it to clang loudly.

After confirming the staff had evacuated the scene, the researchers standing behind the glass wall remotely activated the isolation room's control robot, advancing to press the switch to turn on the perforator.

With the activation of the perforator, a dazzling light instantaneously radiated from its center, entirely enveloping the giant lizard inside the cage.

It made no sound.

When the blinding light faded away, the lizard which had been twisting its body in the cage had vanished, leaving only the chains that restrained its limbs isolated in place.

Gazing at the anomaly occurring behind the glass wall, Ayrick, standing next to Dai Huaian, was moved and remarked.

"No matter how many times I witness this, I can't help but exclaim... this is too incredible."

As a physicist in frozen dormancy at Shelter No. 337, he was researching physics at the forefront of the physics field during the Prosperity Epoch, witnessing many unbelievable things.

Nevertheless, the scene before him still astounded his gaze—

A 300-kilogram lizard vanished right in front of them.

With not a trace left behind.

"...After all, it is the technology of the 'pioneer'; how could they rule hundreds or thousands of star systems without skill?"

Gazing at the cage behind the glass wall, Lin Dong's face was filled with obsession, muttering to himself.

Indeed—

This is the scientific exploration he aspires to!

They are now facing true unknowns, truths not yet discovered by human civilization!

Compared to this, the ruins he previously explored and the black boxes he discovered are utterly insignificant!

Seeing Lin Dong's obsessed expression, Ayrick made a helpless gesture, casting his glance behind the glass wall.

"Whether or not the pioneer civilization ruled hundreds or thousands of star systems aside... this technology far beyond our current civilization's comprehension indeed seems akin to magic."

He felt as if he were a "Doma person" at this moment.

Although he had never truly seen Doma people, he had heard of them in internal reports of the expedition team.

The researchers in the control room were whispering amongst themselves, whereas Director Dai was watching the time with a stopwatch, waiting for the toothless giant lizard to finish digesting the meat in its stomach.

Although the time flow between the two universes may not be the same, this was not the focus of this experiment.

What they wanted to verify was whether the material transported to the Creator Universe maintained its structural integrity.

If they did not receive a signal, they would speculate whether the experiment failed due to a difference in temporal flow between the two universes, thereby causing the probe signal to be lost, and proceed with arranging control experiments to validate this hypothesis.

While he was quietly waiting, the operation room's sliding door unexpectedly opened, and a young man in a white coat walked in from outside.

"How is the experiment going?"

Seeing the unexpected visitor Yin Fang, a surprised expression immediately appeared on Director Dai's face, evidently not expecting such high importance for the experiment that this big figure would personally come to the scene.

However, the surprise only lingered on his face for a moment and quickly transformed into delight and pride.

Director Dai Huaian's face broke into a smile, and he promptly reported.

"We just completed the 1st group of experiments! The experiment went very smoothly, and the probe was successfully taken to another universe by the toothless giant lizard... Next, we will immediately proceed with the 2nd group of experiments to confirm whether the probe is functioning normally."

"Looks like I arrived just at the right time," Yin Fang nodded with a smile and said in a tone of appreciation, "I have a strong premonition that everyone present today will witness history."

This affirmation from the chief scientist of the Alliance encouraged everyone present.

Not only Director Dai Huaian, but almost every researcher showed expressions of excitement and joy.

Not interfering with the experiments of the Researchers at Number 7, Yin Fang merely sat quietly at the edge of the control room as an observer.

To some extent, his working style was somewhat influenced by Chu Guang, preferring not to interfere with the subordinates' work unless necessary; leave professional tasks to the professionals, unless the subordinates are slackers.

Anybody who is fully focused on a venture is extremely averse to having others dictate—or meddle with—it.

This is human nature.

Although he is the chief scientist, in terms of research on pioneer civilizations, he may not be more professional than the others present. Recklessly commanding might end up derailing the entire project, so it's better to quietly act as a mascot, watch from the sidelines, and offer valuable suggestions when appropriate.

If not for his curiosity about the relics of pioneer civilization and the "Universe beyond the Universe," he might not have come to the site to watch; just reading the report on a tablet would suffice.

The time for the second group of experiments quickly arrived.

Perhaps intending to impress the esteemed Alliance chief scientist, the researchers present were also putting in their utmost effort, from the director to the frontline operators, they were all intensely focused on the experiment.

First, they placed a signal receptor inside the isolation room, then adjusted the perforator's parameters from "input state" to "output state," followed by inserting a brand new empty fuel tank into the reactor.

As for the previous fuel tank, because a hole was pierced through it, it can no longer be used.

This is also a subtle detail in using the perforator.

Every time the membrane of the universe is penetrated positively, a cylindrical hole is left on the reactor's fuel tank, much like a punched movie ticket, making it unusable again.

However, if the membrane of the universe is penetrated negatively, that is, "borrowing light through the wall" from the creator universe, there will be no effect.

After completing all the preparations, the staff inside the isolation room systematically withdrew; then the researchers in the control room activated the remote-controlled robot that had been pre-deployed inside the isolation room, systematically started the perforator.

Then, the sun-like radiant light once again filled the entire isolation room, overflowing terrifying energy from the reactor within the isolated room.

However—

This time the experiment seemed to be different from the previous ones, it seemed not only energy overflowed from the reactor, but something else was mixed in.

Yin Fang slightly furrowed his brow.

At the same time, a researcher standing in front of the terminal emitted a surprised shout.

"Gamma rays detected!"

Everyone's face was filled with a joyful expression, while Yin Fang was slightly stunned.

Gamma rays?

Could it be —

This time more than just energy was produced?

While Yin Fang was contemplating, the shining light had already extinguished.

Director Dai, standing beside him, had evidently thought of the same, and when all indicators showed normal, he immediately ordered the staff wearing protective clothing to enter the isolation room to inspect the signal receptor installed next to the perforator.

And the result of the experiment was beyond everyone's expectations.

They did not receive video transmitted back by the probe, but instead received a special signal.

Seeing the solemn faces of people gathered around the terminal, Yin Fang also got up and joined them.

"What's on the signal receptor?"

Hearing Yin Fang's inquiry, Director Dai hesitated momentarily and then spoke.

"We are decoding the signal, the interpretation result seems to be... a string of binary numbers."

As he said these words, a string of binary numbers processed by decoding appeared on the terminal's screen and filled the entire screen.

The operators quickly conducted further analysis of the numbers and, with the assistance of AI for scientific use, converted them into decimal numbers, and soon found a repeatedly recurring sequence within them.

"7444154..."

Lin Dong, a researcher, quietly read aloud the numbers on the screen and suddenly realized something, inhaling sharply and saying.

"Uhh... speaking of which, our perforator just happens to have seven knobs!"

Realizing the same point, Ayrick furrowed his brows, speaking with a serious expression.

"This sequence looks like a key, and it seems tailor-made for us."

"What would happen if we input this sequence into the perforator's dial?" A researcher standing nearby suddenly imagined.

Another researcher shook his head and said.

"No one knows."

This sequence contains too little information; they couldn't even determine the other's intent.

"Should we try to input this sequence into the dial?" The researcher standing by the terminal turned his gaze towards Director Dai.

Instinctively looking at Yin Fang, Director Dai saw that the latter didn't express any opinion, hence he glanced at Ayrick aside and asked.

"Is the risk controllable?"

Ayrick shook his head.

"Too little information... but theoretically it should be controllable."

Director Dai frowned.

"Theoretically?"

"After all, we're using less than one kilogram of Helium-3 fuel," Ayrick shrugged, "it's unlikely that a few hundred grams of Helium-3 would summon a universe battleship."

The maximum 10-meter projection radius clearly wouldn't suffice for something of that magnitude to appear from it.

Besides, it's merely a small hole, one even too small to observe with the naked eye.

The things that would emerge are highly likely to be of the same level as the energy they put in.

"..."

Finally, the decision moment arrived, all eyes were simultaneously fixed on the person in the room who held the ultimate decisiveness.

Looking at Yin Fang, Director Dai of the Seventh Research Institute nervously asked.

"Do you think we should conduct another set of experiments?"

No one knew what was in front of them at this moment. It was a true blind box.

What was hidden inside might be an opportunity, a danger, or perhaps nothing at all.

However, there was one thing that was certain.

If they didn't take this step forward, they could never discover a new world.

Should they maintain reverence for the universe and retreat cautiously?

Or should they bravely take a step forward?

No one could know the result of the experiment beforehand.

Looking at those eyes filled with both tension and expectation, Yin Fang knew he couldn't remain silent any longer.

Alright then.

These guys were looking for someone to take the fall.

"Your eyes tell me that you've already made up your mind..."

Yin Fang paused, glanced at everyone present, and continued seriously.

"If that's the case, then let's give it a try."

Just as he expected, after hearing his decision, everyone's face lit up with excitement.

Someone was willing to take on the risk and responsibility, and had the ability to bear it, making everything suddenly seem easier.

At least it felt that way.

For a moment, Yin Fang suddenly understood how Chu Guang felt.

That guy seemed like he hadn't done anything at all.

And perhaps, what he was doing was precisely the toughest and hardest thing of all...

The third experiment quickly entered the preparation phase.

To err on the side of caution, Yin Fang applied for a temporary increase in the security level of the Number 7 Research Institute from the Guards Corps and deployed a platoon of troops to the laboratory.

The entire platoon consisted of 30 people, with three officers and the remaining twenty-seven made up of Awakeners from Shelter No. 404.

After taking all necessary precautions, the laboratory staff, under Director Dai's guidance, adjusted the perforator's parameters according to the code obtained from the Creator Universe, then withdrew from the isolation chamber according to the previous process, and remotely operated the window via a robot.

It is worth mentioning that if random parameters are inputted, the perforator cannot be started.

This point had already been verified in previous experiments.

Thus, the researchers in the Seventh Institute were mentally prepared for the possibility that nothing might happen during the experiment.

Fortunately, the scenario of wasted expressions did not occur.

At the instant the perforator's button was pressed, radiant white light illuminated the isolation chamber once again.

Staring at the numbers on the screen, the researcher standing at the terminal shouted with excitement.

"Gamma rays are rising! This time... the measurements are stronger than before!"

Yin Fang stared intently at the transparent glass wall in front of him, and amidst his astonishment, a sense of ominous foreboding slowly emerged in his heart.

Something seems...

to be coming out from there.

However, even if he wished to stop the experiment at that moment, it was already too late.

In an instant, the lights in the operation room suddenly flickered and then went out with a "buzz".

"What's happening?!"

"Power outage?! Why now of all times—"

"Wait, do any of you hear something?!"

The crowd was bewildered, unable to figure out what had happened when suddenly, a hissing sound came from the pitch-black darkness, like a low roar from the abyss.

Listening to the sound coming through the glass wall, Yin Fang felt a chill run down his spine, a frightening déjà vu.

It was something that happened before he joined the Alliance.

At that time, he was just a squad leader in an Academy exploration team, doing some scavenging and rummaging work for the Academy.

However, even though he was always fully prepared for each mission, there was one mission that went south, leaving him as the sole survivor.

The operation could only be described as a disaster.

His superiors, to protect their own careers, mercilessly shifted all the blame onto him, forcing him to leave the Academy and escape from the Wandering Swamp.

That incident was nearly a lifelong shadow for him...

And at that moment, that nightmare buried deep in his heart resurfaced once more.

But this time it was different.

He was no longer a mere insignificant figure; he was standing on a completely different ground than before.

Without a trace of hesitation, Yin Fang made a decisive call, shouting loudly to the researchers present.

"Evacuate immediately!"

Chapter 1037: From the Void

Since the dawn of recorded human civilization, no physics experiment has ever been terminated after initiation just because of the presence of risk. Recognizing risk, taking precautions, and carefully verifying are the judgments made by rational people when facing the unknown.

This includes the controversial hadron collider experiments from the old era, and even the extremely dangerous fission nuclear power reactors.

The reason why the expedition team set the Seventh Research Institute near Shelter No. 404, far from the city, and painstakingly built the laboratory underground with nuclear explosion-level protection was precisely as a countermeasure against potential risks.

In the most extreme situation, the Alliance can destroy the laboratory and use megaton structure materials to completely bury any potential unstable "anomalies."

Every staff member on the roster is well aware of these potential risks.

If one doesn't want to take any risks, then grab a hoe and make a living farming; it's the least risky work on the Wasteland.

Of course, the likelihood of the most extreme situation happening isn't actually that high, just like the rumors of the hadron collider creating a black hole and swallowing the Solar System.

After all, this wasn't a device created by a precursor civilization but was completed with the help of a hominid called Qiu Shiye. No matter how exaggerated the effects, there's always a limit.

To put it simply, it's entirely possible for a Doma person to concoct black powder under the guidance of human civilization and startle others, but to blow up the entire Gaia Planet with just a few kilograms of black powder is absurd.

Blowing up a planet is something even humanity itself can't achieve.

However, the outcome of this experiment still took all the researchers by surprise.

In the history of recorded human civilization, no physics experiment has ever birthed a creature not belonging to this world from the center of the laboratory...

And now, this record has been broken.

"Roar——!"

The deafening sound wave collided with the glass curtain wall, which was stronger than concrete.

The massive impact not only distorted the speaker in the control room but also caused the glass curtain wall to be covered with a dense web of cracks.

Fortunately, Yin Fang's shout of "Evacuate" snapped all the researchers present back to reality. They quickly rushed to the control room's door, switched to manual mode, and opened the power-off alloy door.

With everyone's efforts, the alloy door quickly opened, and a group of people streamed out one after another.

The situation was extremely dire.

The monster hidden in the dark repeatedly slammed against the glass, trying to break free from its bindings, and the glass curtain wall was already emitting an intolerable wail!

However, no one in the control room panicked; everyone remained calm.

The entire evacuation process proceeded methodically, with no one scrambling to escape. Everything was just as it had been during safety drills.

People formed a line according to their ranks—the lowest ranks first, the highest at the end—and quickly left the control room, heading swiftly towards the nearest safety corridor!

Director Dai initially wanted Yin Fang to go ahead of him, but the latter pushed him back.

Looking at the astonished Dai Huaian, Yin Fang glared at him fiercely and said,

"What does the safety manual say!"

Dai Huaian's face turned slightly pale, and he hurriedly said,

"But you're not a researcher from the Seventh Institute—"

Yin Fang interrupted him without hesitation.

"I am a Resident of Shelter No. 404, the Alliance's chief scientist! Stand in your position; this is an order!"

If there are Residents of Shelter No. 404 in the room, the Residents of Shelter No. 404 will always evacuate last!

This is a rule he set himself.

And it was written in the safety manual from the inception of the expedition team, specifically in the first chapter!

In the expedition team, rank signifies responsibility. The higher the rank, the greater the responsibility, and there is absolutely no situation where one climbs on top of everyone else and pushes all responsibility away!

It was like this back at the Academy.

The lowest-level prospectors took on the most dangerous tasks and ultimately bore the risk of mission failure for the researchers' career prospects, gaining no compensation after being thoroughly exploited.

He had tasted this bitterness before and could not allow this dross to be brought into the Alliance!

If he had no choice back then—since he was born into an academy with that appearance—he was now standing almost on par with "the Academy Chief Technical Officer."

He wanted everyone in the expedition team to remember that if they say "I'll take responsibility," they must bear that responsibility to the end!

They should never treat their words as mere passing gas when it's time to take real responsibility!

As for the claim that his death would be a loss for the Alliance, that's a load of nonsense.

People aren't like wine; there's no such thing as getting better with age.

He himself climbed up from being an E-level Prospector, and he has no doubt another E-level Researcher could climb to his current position as well!

He also firmly believes that even if he defends the rules with his life today, there will surely be younger, more visionary researchers standing on his shoulders, seeing what he couldn't see, and continuing to defend the rules he once protected!

The deafening roar continued, and the sturdy glass curtain wall finally collapsed in an instant, the shattered glass shards bombarding the opposing wall of the control room like shrapnel!

Everything happened in a flash!

The explosion occurred less than half a minute after the third set of experiments began, and Yin Fang even felt the turbulent air wave surging behind him.

Fortunately, he wasn't caught by the monster lurking in the darkness.

Just as the glass curtain wall was about to shatter, he managed to exit the control room, stumbling into the corridor.

"Quick! This way!"

Dai Huaian, running ahead, pulled him, and the two steadied their footing, quickly rushing towards the entrance to the safety passage.

At that moment, the surface staff manually activated the backup generator, instantly restoring power to the underground passage.

With the sudden illumination, Lin Dong, running ahead, couldn't help but glance back, and was instantly stunned by the scene before him.

"Holy sh...!"

It was an enormous lizard, eyes as small as soybeans densely packed on either side of its gaping mouth, like ruptured boils.

The pitch-black scales emitted a deathly aura, reflecting not a glimmer of light under the bright fluorescent lamps.

It's as if all wavelengths of light were absorbed by those pitch-black scales!

That is...

Death Claw?!

No—

In front of such a monster, even "Nicole" would probably only be considered a snack. Perhaps "Death Lizard Giant" or "Death's Mouth" would be more appropriate names.

At the same moment he locked eyes with those bean-sized eyes, that gaping maw slowly opened.

And at the same time, a hand grabbed Lin Dong's collar from behind, pulling him into the safety passage despite his instinctive breath-holding.

The violent air current, accompanied by a deafening roar, bombarded the entire corridor. The shockwave that just flooded into the safety passage made his organs tremble, almost causing him to lose his composure.

Yanking this reckless former prospector in front of him, Ayrick shouted at him loudly.

"Are you out of your mind?! Run!!"

Lin Dong didn't have time to reply, nor could he hear what Ayrick was saying, but his feet began to move.

With heavy and frantic strides, the death lizard giant twisted its body and caught up to the entrance of the safety passage with incredible speed.

Fortunately, the narrow entrance got it stuck at the door, with only half of its mouth able to reach inside.

Looking at that ugly giant mouth, Lin Dong, who narrowly escaped death, felt his heart racing, almost jumping into his throat.

"This is insane..."

Other researchers wore the same expression.

Seeing the lizard's mouth seemingly preparing to roar again, Yin Fang quickly punched the dust cover off the fire alarm button embedded in the wall, lowering the fire isolation door of the safety passage.

The folding door made of alloy descended from above, severing the lower half of the staircase.

The death lizard giant let out a thunderous roar that made the folding door tremble, but it seemed to end there.

"We're saved..." Dai Huaian leaned against the wall, sighing in relief.

Their task was over.

Up next, it's the fighters' turn...

While the researchers were fleeing from the third-level laboratory to the second level, the scene at the institute's second sublevel was entirely different.

At the moment the laboratory's power was cut, twenty-seven players, who had been sitting in chairs bored and shaking their legs, suddenly leaped up as if injected with adrenaline.

The players present were all above Level 30 in sequence level. Although not top-tier T0 or T1 level strongmen, they were considered the backbone of the server.

An hour ago, they received a task from the Guards Corps to station at the Seventh Research Institute. From the Guards Corps officer, they received the "Xiaguang" Type Three power armor and the latest K-12 heavy exoskeleton, as well as the Huge Rock Military Industry's improved bomb guns, waiting in the upper levels of the institute.

According to the experience of those who participated in the "Seventh Institute" task, they only needed to idle in the institute until the task was completed and didn't have to fight for real.

Though the task process felt like imprisonment, the rewards were generous, and they could also gain occupational experience from the scientific expedition team and increase favorability with key NPCs, making the task popular and even requiring competing.

In addition, a certain big shot who reportedly got up several times during the night stated that the researchers practice at high intensity daily on the treasures he brought back from South Gate Two, and sooner or later they would refine the DLC out.

Thus, a rumor circulated on the forum that the Seventh Research Institute's "Security Level Upgrade" task actually contained a "hidden mission"!

It's widely known that "hidden missions" are crucial to becoming the "chosen one" in Wasteland OL.

If a DLC can be triggered, that would surely be the "opportunity" to promote to T1!

Therefore, aside from a group of mid-level players who just reached Level 30, even some old players at level forty or fifty occasionally came here to try their luck at finding a way to trigger the hidden mission.

"Brothers! It's time!"

"Ahhhh!"

"Prepare for battle!"

Without needing a reminder from the Guards Corps officer, four Level 50 players in power armor rushed ahead, leading the charge into the elevator exclusively for security personnel.

With a crisp "click," the landing pod instantly passed through the elevator shaft leading directly to the third-level laboratory underground, landing with a "thud" at the end of the shaft.

Ordinary folks would lose half their health from such impact before the fight even started.

But standing inside were three Level 45 strength type beasts and one intelligence system brain!

Level 45!

Old White hadn't reached this level when he could already solo the lair on B6 of the refuge.

The four veterans of the Super Fierce Army Corps were all here; it's unlikely a BOSS could defeat them!

The player at the front, "Ominous Sign," remained unfazed and as stable as an old dog, readying his bomb gun while cheekily pinching an incendiary bomb from his side pocket, holding it inverted in his left hand.

"Task refresh! Target 'Death Lizard Giant'! Judging by the name, it should be the junklord type variant. Prepare incendiary bombs!"

"Attention! No need to mind the laboratory's facilities, but be sure not to destroy any holy relics!"

"Got it!" "Turning Misfortune into Fortune" replied, loading an incendiary bomb into his bomb gun while blocking the corridor's two sides with "Zhao Ge."

"Scant Hope" and "Billowing Waves" followed closely, one carrying a rocket launcher, and the other holding a remote control terminal, deploying a half-meter-high automatic unmanned vehicle and a quad-rotor combat UAV.

The entire four-person small team resembled a chariot rolling down the corridor, fiercely targeting the task objective.

At this moment, the giant lizard that broke through the isolation wall was inserting its head into the entrance of the escape passage, attempting to catch the few rodents hiding inside.

But at this time, the noise echoing in the laboratory attracted its attention.

The threat of death was approaching!

Feeling the unavoidable threat, it instinctively pulled its head out, retreating two steps while its bean-like eyes locked onto the end of the corridor.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor, like drums of war slowly beating!

"Hss—"

The death lizard giant let out a heavy nasal sound, its amber-like pupils narrowing dangerously.

Meanwhile, the players carrying bomb guns boldly sized it up, commenting on its twisted appearance.

"Damn... It's really freaking ugly."

"It kinda looks like SCP-682, but it's balder... and slightly bigger."

"Here's the question: how did these physicists manage to create this thing?"

"Maybe it walked straight out of the Biological Institute—"

"Roar—!"

A furious roar interrupted their conversation.

The sound wave spread instantly, shaking the whole corridor, and jostling the four hulking figures!

Perhaps angered by the group's cavalier response, the giant lizard, with scales as deep as a black hole, transformed into a charging truck, twisting its massive body to crush the debris-littered corridor!

Realizing the threat posed by this "variant," "Turning Bad Luck Into Good" no longer took it lightly, quickly tossing a phosphorus incendiary towards it, while pulling the trigger on his bomb gun, responding to its battle roar with a gunshot!

"Bang bang bang—!"

The 19mm muzzle spat out scorching tongues of flame, sending a torrent of iron rain down the wide corridor!

It's not just this lizard that looks like Garbage Prince; even a super mutant standing here would be crushed into pulp!

However, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

The death lizard giant hit by the explosion arrow seemed unfazed, only letting out a pained roar, then surged forward, ignoring the phosphorus flames from the incendiary bombs, leaping away in a few strides!

Standing on the right, "Turning Bad Luck Into Good" widened his eyes, exclaiming "Damn!"

Charging with metal streams against armor-piercing bullets?!

"Is this thing still a carbon-based life form?!"

"Who the hell knows—" "More Bad Than Good," wielding a rocket launcher, pulled the trigger, sending a plume of white smoke shooting towards the advancing giant lizard.

Almost skimming the edge of safety, the high-explosive rocket struck the lizard's shoulder!

The explosive shockwave swept through the entire corridor, sending whistling fragments flying, scraping the alloy walls and power armor's breastplate.

This rocket managed to do some damage, blasting a palm-sized hole in the lizard's shoulder!

Blood, red to the point of black, dripped onto the floor, sizzling like a highly corrosive inorganic acid.

"Turning Bad Luck Into Good" swallowed hard, his eyes fixated on the lizard, a look of disbelief plastered on his face.

"Impossible..."

His buddy had just fired a metallic hydrogen warhead shell!

Even if the armor-piercing effect of a high-explosive bomb is average, its explosive power should be enough to flip over a Chimera armored car!

Yet the death lizard seemed unfazed! Merely shedding a layer of skin!

And more than that—

The palm-sized wound was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"The expansion pack... activated?"

Facing the horrifying scene, "More Bad Than Good" squeezed out a statement until "Crashing Waves" next to him yelled loudly, snapping him out of it.

"Switch to armor-piercing bullets, what are you standing there for?!"

The ground-level robotic vehicles poured out a torrent of firing power, and grenade launchers hanging from the barrels were firing continuously at the death lizard.

The death lizard seemed to have adapted to their attack rhythm, twisting its neck to withstand the face smacking assault, then powerfully clawing forward to charge!

With half its face damaged, it turned its other face to alternate eyes flicking to see ahead.

When the other side of its face was also damaged, its initially battered face returned to its original form.

"More Bad Than Good" had finished reloading, quickly firing a second rocket!

This time, however, the death lizard prepared, darting its elongated mouth forward at an incredible speed, flicking up, deflecting the fast-flying armor-piercing bullet to the ceiling!

"Boom—!"

The armor-piercing bullet, enough to penetrate the side armor of a tank, instantly exploded, showering the corridor with burning metal shards like resplendent fireworks.

At this point, the four players facing the battle had put forth all their strength, none dared to underestimate the equipment and level advantage.

However—

In the face of overwhelming power, simply being serious seemed inadequate to solve the problem.

"More Bad Than Good" watched helplessly as that beast simply opened its big mouth, bit down, twisted... and his leader "Bad Omen" was torn in half along with his armor, with one half flung to the other side of the corridor.

"Brother Omen!!" "Turning Bad Luck Into Good" instantly turned red-eyed, throwing away the bomb gun, drawing the ceramic steel combat knife strapped to his arm.

The explosion arrow has a safety distance limit; at close range, it has lost its effect!

At this point, the knife is more useful!

"Roar—!"

Bathing in the steaming blood, the death lizard let out a satisfying roar, then swiped a claw at the nearby metal canister.

With a crisp "clang!" the power armor-clad "Turning Bad Luck Into Good" was smashed open like an oyster, eyeballs exploding and splattering across his helmet's tactical goggles.

It's not just speed—

Facing this ultra-spec combat power, his most proud strength was also brutally crushed!

Two teammates perished consecutively, "More Bad Than Good" felt grief rising from his heart.

"I'm going all out with you!"

Running away wouldn't be an option, especially not at this distance.

Without a word, he activated the power armor's self-destruct program, drew his combat knife, and charged forward.

As he watched the prey rush forward to die, the Death Lizard Giant grinned menacingly, opened its massive mouth, and bit down!

Under the pressure of that space-ripping bite force, [Losing Odds] felt like he was caught in a door, instantly crushed into tomato paste by the shattered steel, spraying from the broken shoulder guard!

However, this time it miscalculated, unexpectedly, the prey in its mouth could explode, with a "boom," blasting away half of its head, blasting the nearby unmanned vehicle and drone into a weightless crash against the wall.

Yet—

This seemingly fatal blow still did not kill it!

This bizarre lizard seemed almost immortal, with half its drooping head spewing out large chunks of blood, regrowing in just a few breaths.

Including those amber-colored eyes.

What a pity.

Though the power armor is nuclear-powered, it's still not the same as nuclear weapons. The regular dynamite used to detonate the reactor isn't enough to trigger a tactical nuclear explosion.

[Turbulent Waves], blasted by the shockwave against the wall, was completely dumbfounded.

He sat on the ground, forgetting to stand up, staring speechlessly as the monster approached, momentarily losing his ability to speak.

Damn... what the hell to fight?!

Its regenerative power is stronger than the Mother of Dead Claw, and its combat power surpasses a drugged-up Garbage Lord.

No—

If the Garbage Lord came, he'd probably end up as a snack.

Perhaps, the only option left is to blow up the research institute.

The blood-soaked gigantic lizard grinned at him, as if playing with prey, staring at this doomed man with its amber eyes, yet not rushing to bite.

To it, this little mouse was definitely dead.

The only confusion was where exactly that strong premonition of death came from earlier.

Could it be—

This world harbors a creature even stronger than it?

But anyway, these four little mice were clearly not its match...

As the Death Lizard Giant regarded the prey close at hand, light footsteps suddenly reached its ears, still from the end of the corridor.

It slowly turned its face towards that direction, seeing an azure power armor and a square-shaped iron hammer reflected in its mung bean-sized pupils.

Its eyes instantly squinted with danger, its throat issuing a low growl.

Yet before it could open its mouth to probe, like a Wild Wind, the air current blew onto its face.

That same earth-shattering strength—

And even more fierce than a rocket launcher!

The enormous head, like a watermelon hit by a truck, hurled away wrapped in countless bits of flesh and dark red blood, plastering an entire wall.

"Roar—"

Swaying its bulky body backward, the Death Lizard Giant finally roared, but the sound had a distinct note of panic, like being watched by an even greater giant.

Half of the shattered head grew new tissue buds, stitching itself visibly at a rapid pace.

However—

A careful observation would reveal that its regeneration speed was a full second slower than before!

"I see... turns out even a monster from the void isn't invincible, its self-healing ability weakened with each regeneration."

"But I'm quite curious, what provides this self-repair energy? Organic matter? Or... like your very existence, from within the outer side of the cosmic membrane?"

A calm voice drifted into [Turbulent Waves]' ears, the latter raising his stupefied face to see the figure emerging from the smoke, mouth forming an 'o' shape.

"Whoa—"

Manager?!

If he remembered correctly, the last time this big shot took action seemed to be during the Battle of the Torch?!

At that time, he was not present on site, only hearing the forum players blow it out of proportion, saying the hammer rent even space, obliterating the Great Path...

Clearly, that was exaggerated.

Not noticing the player's expression sitting by the wall, Chu Guang tightened his grip on the nitrogen-powered hammer, and under the fearful half-face of the Death Lizard Giant, leisurely stepped forward.

"Boom—"

The Death Lizard Giant appeared startled, swaying its body backward, and issued a hoarse angry roar attempting to ward him off.

"Roar—!"

The deafening roar enveloped the waning sound waves, bombarding towards Chu Guang, yet the moment it was about to touch his steel breastplate, it was blocked by an invisible air wall.

The compressed nitrogen was as solid as steel, creating ripples of folds spreading out.

However—

That wasn't what Chu Guang was most proud of.

His sequence level would continuously upgrade as players leveled up.

And with the players' numbers in the server continuously swelling, the incessant iteration and evolution of sequence branches, he had now grown to a level that even he considered himself to be a monster.

Perhaps, only this entity suspected to be from the void was worthy of his personal action.

Holding the hammer across his chest, he stepped forward in the fearful gaze of the Death Lizard Giant.

"Let me see—"

"How many times you need to be killed before you're truly dead."

Chapter 1038: The Presence Carded in the Wall

Just as Chu Guang anticipated, this monster from the void was not invincible.

Moreover, he realized something else.

No matter if the monster came from some corner of this universe or from the so-called Creator Universe by the precursor civilization, they were not qualified to look down upon this world—

They looked down upon each other!

When he swung the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer for the second time, striking the shoulder of the Death Lizard Giant with the force of thunder, the deep scales like a black hole instantly split open, and the shattered flesh spattered like shrapnel towards the corridor and ceiling behind it.

"Roar—!"

The Death Lizard Giant twisted its massive body, staggering backward, eyes as large as soybeans filled with terror.

It simply could not believe that the fellow in front of it, who did not appear much larger than other small pests, actually possessed such terrifying strength!

It's not just strength—

This fellow's reaction speed and its calm demeanor in facing it were too strong to seem like belonging to this universe.

Could it be—

He's from the void just like me?!

No time to think further.

The whistling iron hammer, enveloped in a fierce airflow, once again smashed towards its face in an instant!

It tried to fight back, twisting its body backward several times, dodging the fatal blow, and then its throat surged forward, spitting a mouthful of pitch-black phlegm down on that blue canister.

However, its little trick did not escape Chu Guang's eyes.

Watching the flying phlegm, Chu Guang's actions did not hesitate, the falling hammer smashed onto the ground!

"Boom—!"

The violent airflow was instantly released!

The entire corridor seemed like it had been hit by a 155mm heavy artillery shell!

The blast of twisted steel and shattered debris tore through the air, with the fierce airflow sweeping forward, evaporating the black phlegm in an instant, and then relentlessly crashing towards the jawing Death Lizard Giant!

"Whoo!!"

The face of the Death Lizard Giant looked as if it had been slapped, and its massive front half was lifted by the surging airflow!

As its front paws left the ground, the giant beast immediately realized the peril, panic-stricken to lower its body to protect its relatively vulnerable lower half.

However, its action was obviously a step too slow.

The blue armor pierced through the smoke, and just as it saw those steel boots, the iron hammer bombarded towards its abdomen like a cannonball!

There was simply no space to dodge.

It could only watch in horror as the iron hammer swept across, hitting its chest solidly.

"Boom—!"

The extreme compressed nitrogen, like a blunt Battle Axe, shattered its organs before its bones and flesh were torn apart!

This time, it couldn't even let out a wail, and its train-like massive body was ripped into two, crashing onto the shattered floor with a deafening sound.

The outcome seemed decided.

Watching the separated hind limbs, with only the forelegs drooped onto the ground, the Death Lizard Giant lost its former braveness, fear squeezed out of its bleeding throat.

"Whine—"

Chu Guang looked down at it, but instead of pleading eyes, he saw dark red granules emerging from its front half, twisting backward, attempting to regrow the lost half.

As for the back half separated from the head, it too sprouted dark red granules, but they did not persist long, and curled for a while before giving up without finding the head.

As he anticipated.

This creature's regeneration ability was not limitless, and the growth speed was significantly slower this time than before.

But this creature surely was ruthless, managing to regrow its lower half after a bisect.

Where was it getting the organic material required for growth?

"What kind of monster are you," Chu Guang said, staring at it.

The beast did not answer, only fixing those soybean-like eyes on him in terror.

The gaze seemed to say, you're the damn monster.

But Chu Guang didn't plan on arguing that point, tightening his grip on the Warhammer, he stepped towards it steadily.

"I suppose you won't speak human language."

Having Spiritual Energy would be good.

However, even if there was Spiritual Energy, communication might not be possible.

The Doma could communicate with plants on Gaia planet because they lived in that forest, but on Earth, they may not be able to communicate with lower Intelligence creatures.

Materialist explanation would say this special method of information transfer must be built on resonance, and there are various ways to form resonance.

Just as Chu Guang abandoned the idea of communication, raising his hammer ready to smash the monster into a specimen, the opening and closing mouth suddenly spoke human words.

"Don't... kill me..."

Chu Guang paused his action, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"You can speak human language?"

Seems this guy really got desperate.

"Your... language... is troublesome... I know a little."

Perhaps to earn some time, or maybe just to distance itself from him, the lizard twisted its upper body back, speaking with a hoarse voice.

"I've seen... quite a few... like you... You're the strongest..."

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow slightly, not caring about its small moves, he continued to ask with interest.

"You've seen many people like me?"

The Death Lizard Giant gasped as it spoke.

"Yes... some... are like you. Some, use swords, armor. They... all speak different words..."

This sentence carried quite a bit of information.

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brow, staring at it as he spoke.

"You mean, you've been to many worlds?"

The Death Lizard Giant lightly nodded, its soybean silk-like pupils filled with disbelief and stared at him in shock.

"Yes... wait, you mean... you've never been? Other universes?"

Chu Guang wanted to say no, but quickly realized that might not be accurate.

He had been through it.

In fact, he was originally from beyond, only his flesh didn't crossover alongside him.

"I don't quite understand what you're saying, but if you tell me what you know, I might consider sparing your life."

The Death Lizard Giant suddenly twisted its mouth, as if the monster before it was no longer a threat.

However, that lasted only a moment.

It seemed to have thought of something, and its eyes became wary again, unwilling to say any more.

"...Then I have nothing to say to you... Goodbye... ugly upright ape... the hairless kind."

This seemed to be the most vicious curse it could come up with, although it sounded utterly powerless.

Rather than a few harmless curses, Chu Guang cared more about the hint of information revealed in its previous sentence.

This creature meant... it had been to many different universes?

That sounds a bit absurd.

But Chu Guang quickly thought about South Gate Two and his own situation.

To talk about absurdity—

Is there anything more absurd than the presence of "players?"

Just as he was pondering, the granules twisting at the Death Lizard Giant's wound stopped growing.

The energy sustaining its regeneration seemed to have finally run out, or perhaps the entity hiding behind it thought it no longer meaningful to continue. It took its last complete breath.

Chu Guang watched it with a slight frown, not relaxing his guard just yet.

After all, no one could be sure if this was some kind of clumsy trick.

The dust floating around gradually settled, and the sound of hurried footsteps came from the other end of the corridor.

Several players in heavy exoskeletons rushed over from the elevator entrance, followed by two officers from the Guards Corps.

Seeing the chaotic corridor, the three scrapped power armors cut to pieces, and the lizard that had stopped breathing, the expressions on their faces were more striking one after another.

There was shock, bewilderment, regret at missing a hidden task, and unexpected disbelief.

"Damn!"

"I haven't even made a move yet!"

"The boss was taken down in an instant?!"

"Brother Guang, you're awesome!!!"

"Damn it! My chance!!"

"Your what?"

The players were noisily chattering, while the two NPC officers were completely dumbfounded.

Clearly, they hadn't expected the Manager to be here, nor had they expected this monster that even Stage Five Awakeners couldn't handle to be resolved by this person.

Although out of duty they wanted to remind the Manager to be mindful of safety, no matter how you looked at it, saying anything seemed redundant.

Just then, the sound of chains being pulled came from the safety passage.

With the alarm being dismissed, the researchers waiting in the safety passage immediately raised the fire shutter and returned to the utterly disordered corridor.

"My god... Was a nuclear bomb dropped here? Uh... Chu, Chu Guang?!"

Seeing Chu Guang standing in the "epicenter of the blast," Yin Fang, who was the first to return to the corridor, was completely dumbfounded. With his mouth open, he was at a loss for words.

Taking off the visor of his helmet, Chu Guang smiled at him, shot a glance at the people behind him, and spoke in a gentle tone.

"I hope no one in the research institute was injured."

"No..." Yin Fang shook his head, noticing the three bodies in the corridor, his Adam's apple moving, and he lowered his head to say, "…I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. Raise your head and chest."

With the warhammer in his hand stowed behind him, Chu Guang looked at Yin Fang, whose face was filled with guilt, and the group of researchers who had barely survived, and continued speaking.

"You've already done very well, reducing personnel losses to a minimum in the face of an unprecedented safety situation. This evacuation can serve as a model for other research institutes to learn from. You should feel proud."

Yin Fang: "But..."

"Risk prevention is not about eliminating risk. No one can eliminate risk. If every researcher has to apologize for unforeseen situations and take responsibility for losses beyond their duties, then there's no point in conducting research; just sitting in an office writing reports would be the safest."

Walking to the side of the safety passage, Chu Guang dusted off his shoulder gently and spoke in a calming tone.

"I will have the aftermath handled, including pensions and compensation. Don't be too hard on yourself. If I were to strictly prohibit experiments, I wouldn't have approved the establishment of The Seventh Research Institute in the first place."

The Pioneer Civilization indeed advised someone not to attempt breaking the Fourth Wall, but the Pioneer Civilization is not the Alliance's parent. The destiny of human civilization ultimately has to be managed by humans themselves. We cannot expect an ethereal "father figure" to clean up our mess.

Relying on that entity to take real responsibility is less reliable than relying on the Family Meeting to take command of everything.

This is like nuclear testing; those who have played with atomic energy to its fullest warn others without nuclear weapons not to mess around. The experience of those who have come before certainly should be listened to, but interpreting "don't mess around" as "don't do research" is utter nonsense.

Chu Guang was more inclined to believe that as long as a box was placed there, someone would open it.

If it's not opened by human civilization, it would be by other entities in this universe. The final outcome is no different.

Humans cannot truly escape destiny. In most cases, they are simply avoiding choices, handing over control of their fate to others rather than owning it themselves.

Seeing the researchers regain their confidence, Chu Guang paused for a moment and continued speaking.

"However, the results we've seen have somewhat exceeded our expectations, and I hope you will write a report for me on the situation that has occurred, and also work on improving the experiment facilities in light of this attack. For example... providing necessary physical extermination methods. This time it was the Variants; next time it might be a virus or something else."

"Additionally, recently, during a Guards Corps visit and investigation in the City of Dawn, some unusual phenomena were discovered. It is currently unclear if these phenomena are related to the tests from the Perforator, so I hope you will assist the Guards Corps in their investigation."

"Understood!" Director Dai nodded solemnly at the Manager and then instructed the staff in hazmat suits to move forward and retrieve the creature lying in the corridor.

This monster had crawled out of the Perforator, presumably the so-called "presence stuck in the wall."

If they could extract tissue samples from it, perhaps it would help them unveil what the void actually is.

Then, at that moment, the unexpected happened.

A researcher used a dropper to extract a small amount of blood sample, scanned it under a portable sample analyzer, only to find the lens completely dark, seeing nothing at all.

Initially, he thought the instrument was broken, so he borrowed a colleague's instrument, but the observation results were the same.

No matter how he adjusted the magnification options, all he saw was pure blackness, not to mention blood platelets or tissue cells floating in the liquid, not even a tiny bit of impurity was visible.

"Strange..."

He murmured, following his principle of investigating thoroughly, switched the optics to radio mode and pulled the magnification directly from 1000 to the maximum—100,000!

At this magnification, he could even see the twisted chromosomes inside the cell nucleus.

Yet, to his shock, the lens was still pitch black, with nothing visible.

"Damn it..."

If visible light penetration was insufficient, meeting some obstruction could be understandable, but he had already switched the visible light source to transmission electrons, and the result was still entirely dark, which was absurd.

He even had the illusion that the thing he was observing didn't exist at all.

Or perhaps, it was some kind of substance that was divided and subdivided at the atomic level, fundamentally unobservable with their current observation means.

Such things naturally exist in the universe.

For instance, "dark matter."

These invisible, untouchable things don't interact with electromagnetic waves in any form, almost unaffected by forces other than gravity.

The academic circles during the Human Alliance Era proposed the use of "quark-gluon plasma" to interfere with gravitons, then use gravitons as probes to scan dark matter, but unfortunately, such an idea was too forward-thinking, and the Human Alliance's technology had not yet reached the skilled level to use gravitons for such fine work.

Nonetheless, although "quark-gluon plasma" did not shine in the field of high-energy physics, a series of by-products produced from its research have been widely applied in various domains.

For instance, phase guns, deflection shields, anti-gravity devices, and the hyperspace engine that marks the pinnacle of Human Alliance's aerospace technology, although they use nuclear fusion reactors, essentially use "quark-gluon plasma" as a medium to interfere with gravitons.

Of course, this is all off-topic.

In any case, when the researcher discovered that the monster's blood seemed to be some kind of "high-density" dark matter, he immediately ran over to Yin Fang and Director Dai with a ghost-like expression to report his discovery.

Yin Fang and Dai Huaian both paused, showing a ghost-like expression on their faces.

"Dark matter... How could this be."

Although this stuff is omnipresent in the universe, with total mass far exceeding that of visually perceptible material, its density is extremely sparse, neither generating nor emitting any electromagnetic waves.

As everyone knows, human eyes can see things because the photoreceptor cells in the eyes can distinguish specific wavelengths of electromagnetic waves.

If this thing were really dark matter, they wouldn't be able to see it at all.

Moreover, since dark matter is unaffected by strong and weak forces, it fundamentally cannot aggregate into an observable stable structure.

It would pass like quicksand through the surfaces of all visible objects, drawn by gravity into the cores of massive celestial bodies, then split into solitary particles, scattering along gravitational curves, ultimately vanishing into the intangible.

Of course, this is only a hypothetical possibility, and in fact, dark matter fundamentally cannot aggregate—

As the two were still baffled, an even more unbelievable scene unfolded.

The black liquid in the test tube and lying in the analyzer's petri dish suddenly became transparent.

Without waiting for everyone to react, they seemed to lose all force constraints and suddenly vanished into thin air.

Surprised screams echoed one after another.

"This is..."

Looking at the samples disappearing into thin air, Dai Huaian was completely stunned, while Yin Fang standing next to him suddenly turned his gaze to the giant lizard corpse split into two.

The same seemed to be happening over there.

Before everyone's eyes, the massive body gradually faded, lightened, hollowed... ultimately collapsing like a sand castle, turning into dust, and disappearing into the void.

The towering [waves] staggered against the wall, staring wide-eyed as the monster that had taken out three of his good brothers vanished into thin air in the hallway as if it had never been there.

"Holy crap..."

When did this game become able to automatically clean up corpses?!

Chapter 1039: Echoes on the Wall

The mysterious disappearance of the Death Lizard Giant shocked everyone present at the scene.

Whether it was the players, NPCs, or Chu Guang.

Yin Fang was the first to react, rushing to the spot where the Death Lizard Giant had fallen, reaching down to touch the ground.

Rubbing his index finger and thumb, his brows furrowed slightly.

The corrosive blood had completely vanished.

However, the corrosive marks still lingered on the synthetic material floor.

Moreover, the human tissue devoured by the Death Lizard Giant also dissipated into the air along with the virtual particles, as if assimilated by some unknown force.

What exactly is that force?

Yin Fang suddenly recalled the incidents from previous experiments.

The researchers at the Seventh Institute tried to use the perforator to transport simple mechanical objects like clocks to the Creator Universe. The direct result was no reaction, but when placed on a monkey, it succeeded.

The perforator created a gap on the universe membrane, seemingly connected to the subjective perception of the transporter. This interpretation may sound idealistic, but the facts they observed indeed objectively existed.

Walking up next to Yin Fang, Chu Guang looked at the corrosive marks left on the ground and said softly.

"What's going on with this thing?"

"Don't know, we have too few clues on hand..." Yin Fang shook his head, then paused before continuing uncertainly, "But, I do have a guess."

Chu Guang looked at him, signaling with his eyes for him to go on.

Yin Fang paused, then proceeded.

"The Pioneer civilization mentioned 'walls' and explained them as the existence between universes, warning us to be cautious and not let them loose."

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said.

"Are you suggesting that this lizard is something from the 'walls'?"

"Accurately speaking, it's a projection of something 'on the wall'. I do not believe it has the ability to crawl through an almost invisible gap. What we're facing is probably an 'image' it presented using some force through the small gap." Yin Fang looked at Chu Guang, who was deep in thought, continuing seriously, "Of course, this is only my logical speculation. If the universe membrane were fragile enough for us, who have just left our home planet, to destroy it at will, this universe wouldn't have lasted until now… unless you believe we are the only civilization in this universe."

This is clearly impossible.

After all, not long ago, they discovered the existence of the Pioneer civilization, and even their understanding of the "void" was inherited from the Pioneer civilization.

"The projection of a void creature, it does sound quite eerie," Chu Guang smiled lightly, "but it seems the other side is wary of us too, so there's nothing to worry about."

Seeing Chu Guang's confident smile, Yin Fang also relaxed, smiled, and joked.

"Of course it would be wary of us, remember what it just said? It has been to many worlds similar to ours."

"I guess, this isn't its first time hitting a roadblock."

...

[Alliance Scientific Expedition Team Seventh Research Institute·Experiment Log]

[ID: TAG.7444154]

[Name: Death Lizard Giant]

[Description: Form is a large lizard with an indeterminate number of eyes on both sides of its mouth.

Its nature is brutal, extremely aggressive, capable of destroying nearly half a meter thick concrete structure with sheer physical force and penetrating isolation facilities with semi-core defense capabilities.

Apart from its extraordinary strength and desire to hunt, this unidentified lifeform possesses near-incredible regeneration ability and damage resistance, able to maintain combat efficiency even when suffering fatal wounds, recovering damage in a short time.]

[Experiment Record: [Ultra Fierce Army] four Stage Five Awakeners launched an "engaged firepower" attack against it, using equipment including bomb guns, incendiary rounds, and single-soldier rocket launchers, eventually, only one person survived.

In subsequent experiments, [Manager] personally attacked, repeatedly destroying its body tissue to conclude that the creature's regeneration ability has a limit; repeated kills can put it to death.

This lifeform disappeared into thin air five minutes after being killed, specifically decomposing into tiny invisible particles after virtualizing, with whereabouts unknown.

Additionally, experiments show this creature has a certain degree of intelligence and language ability, but only shows limited communication desire when facing an unbeatable opponent.

]

[Note 1: The experimental facility on B3 floor of the Seventh Research Institute should consider potential organic lifeform invasion situations and increase physical extermination devices within the isolation facility.]

[Note 2: Based on the information revealed by "TAG.7444154", multiple parallel universes are suspected to exist. If this information is accurate, the "universe multi-layered nested structure" and "creator" conjecture are suspected to have omissions.]

[…]

...

The official forum of Wasteland OL is as lively as ever today.

And as the players who participated in the "Protect the Seventh Research Institute" mission gradually logged off, a piece of explosive news soon refreshed on the forum that caught everyone's eyes.

Wave after wave: "Big news!!! The researchers at the Seventh Research Institute attracted void creatures using the perforator! Our army sent 4 brothers at level 50 to challenge, and three were instantly killed!"

Enthusiastic Little Firecracker: "I testify! As soon as the alarm sounded, these four rushed up to occupy the elevator, and bang bang fed that big lizard to an eight-tenth full."

Turning bad luck into good luck: "Screw you! We also contributed damage okay! (angry)"

Dangerous turn of events: "Exactly! Without our damage groundwork, could the Manager one-shot the opponent?"

Elena: "If you didn't add that last sentence, I might have believed it. (sneering smile)"

Wave after wave: "Cough, it's not as exaggerated as one-shot, I watched the whole process. That lizard's health wasn't average, Brother Guang's two hits only drained half a bar, died on the 3rd or 4th hit."

Quit smoking: "Whoa?! Endured Brother Guang's three strikes?! So impressive?!"

Night Ten: "Sigh, I told them to take it slow, seems like we've trained a new expansion pack out. (awkward)"

Tail: "!!! New expansion pack coming?! (⊙o⊙)"

Fang Chang: "We'll see if any new surprises arise. (sneering smile)"

Wave after wave: "Speaking of, this monster is quite strange, previously slain monster corpses remained in place, but this one left nothing after dying, as if erased by the server."

Fierce Tiger from the Pond: "+1, I was there too, not only a single fur of the monster was left, but parts of the dead players eaten also disappeared along with it. (°ー°〃)"

Old White: "A brand new game mechanic, sounds interesting. (grinning)"

Elena: "But I want loot more, exploding nothing is too unpleasant. (funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "You want to taste if it's delicious right? (funny)"

Elena: "You found me out. (funny)"

Fang Chang: "Actually what concerns me isn't the disappearance of the monster after death, but the addition of 'parallel world' in the Tag.7444154 entry recently added in the Seventh Research Institute data card on the website."

Wild Wind: "Is there a problem with this setting?"

Fang Chang: "Not exactly, but its content makes me concerned. I've been thinking all along… is it possible that the wasteland of Wasteland OL might actually be parallel worlds? And the content about Tag.7444154 is perhaps some hint from the game designers."

The lively thread was unusually quiet for a while, no one responded for a long time.

In fact, not to mention the bystanders in the thread, even Fang Chang who typed out this line felt it was a bit outrageous, although this thought had been brewing in his mind for a long time.

This game...

Is it really just a game?

As expected, he's not the only one who thinks so.

Just as he updated his guess in a post, people came to their senses and everyone posted their opinions.

And aside from the majority of opposition, quite a few agreed with his guess.

Quit smoking: "Holy shit? Are you saying Brother Guang is actually an alien? (Horrified)"

Fang Chang: "I never said that, but whether or not he's an alien doesn't matter. Even if he's human, he could be an envoy for some alien civilization."

Crow: "This... how could it be! No matter how realistic this game is, there has to be some difference from reality, right?! (°ー°〃)"

Jiujiu loves eating pineapple: "According to this theory... wouldn't those dead people be truly dead, except for people like us. (Guilty)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Sounds a bit creepy, but unexpectedly rational... The NPCs in the game and real people feel almost the same, even if explained by AI, it's too realistic. Uh, a friend told me."

Dinosaur Warrior: "Calling Professor Yang! The delusional symptoms of these internet-addicted patients are worsening! ∑(ﾟДﾟ)"

Wild Wind: "Hmm... I can't refute your point, but I have only one question, how is this sort of thing realized?"

Fang Chang: "That I wouldn't know, considering the current era seems to be in the old times before the Prosperity Epoch, the technological gap is as wide as a South Gate Two."

Fang Chang: "And... doesn't the Morphogenesis Field theory seem familiar? Transmitting information through resonance, this sounds just like a game helmet..."

...

The discussion on the forum continues.

And it has shifted from discussions about the new expansion pack and game mechanics to debates about the nature of the game itself.

Honestly, Chu Guang knew this day would come sooner or later, that the players of Wasteland OL would soon realize the world beneath their feet is not virtual but truly exists in a parallel universe.

Now it seems that day is drawing closer...

Now it seems that day is drawing closer...

Alliance Building.

Manager's Office.

Looking at the holographic screen with the heated forum discussions, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile.

"...There are still plenty of smart people, it seems I need to expand the 'planning team's' roster."

Seated on the table, Xiao Qi tilted its head.

"Are Ah Guang and Xiao Qi not enough?"

"Of course not enough," Chu Guang said with a smile as he gently petted its little head with a gentle tone, "the Wasteland Era is over, we need to design a new game for them to keep playing through the new epoch."

The war of the Free State is winding down, and the variants in the River Valley Province are almost being protected rather than hunted. With the situation of "more humans than monsters" intensifying, this is starting to spread to other provinces.

In the span of one or two years short, or two or three years long, the wild variants on this planet outside Baiyue Province are bound to be hunted to extinction.

After all, a Claw of death takes five to six years from hatching to adulthood, but players only need three days to get back up, and they can fully retain their death experience.

With the Alliance's snowball growing larger and larger, the order on this planet is gradually returning to normal. This, of course, is a good thing for the survivors living on this planet, but not necessarily for the players who joined later.

There are two choices now.

Either reduce or even pause the distribution of closed beta qualifications to control the speed of new players joining, compressing the ratio of combat professional players.

Or open a new map to distribute combat professional players to a new planet similar to Gaia!

Chu Guang certainly prefers the latter option, as it is not his style to discard a donkey after it has ground the mill.

Now the Alliance has established itself on the wasteland, it's time to extend a hand to the compatriots of another world.

Through the connection of the Morphogenesis Field, the two worlds can actually seek mutual prosperity!

Aside from that, the experimental record of "TAG.7444154" regarding the new map issue gave him an excellent idea for solving the problem—

That is to find a habitable or relatively habitable planet, to move the seed of the Tree of Life from the Seventh Research Institute, and some resurrection points of combat professional players there!

Then use the perforator to continuously create new "void species" for players to hunt as wild creatures!

Although this sounds somewhat suicidal, looking at it from another angle, it's a win-win solution.

In this way, it solves the problem of players having no monsters to hunt, improves the gameplay experience, and allows the Alliance researchers to carry out more unrestricted experiments, which helps enhance human civilization's understanding of the void.

Is there a more perfect idea than this?

Maybe there is.

But for now, he couldn't think of anything better!

Just as Chu Guang was secretly delighted, a corner of the office suddenly emitted muttered whispers.

"...Incredible, a young civilization that has just left its home planet can actually comprehend the mysteries of the void."

That rustling noise was like the friction of leaves outside the window, and without careful attention, it would be hard to hear, or even if heard, it would be easy to mistake it as an auditory hallucination.

However—

That faint sound didn't escape Chu Guang's ears, his sharp gaze soon shot towards a certain corner of the room.

"Who's there?"

Seeing Chu Guang's sudden movement, Xiao Qi sitting on the desk was startled and quickly turned to look behind but saw nothing except the bookshelf.

"...Master? Is there something there?" Xiao Qi nervously asked with a touch of worry on its face.

The sound wave detector indicates a good connection, it can be certain nothing was heard just now.

Not even a decibel of vibration.

Yet Chu Guang didn't move his gaze, staring directly at the direction of the bookshelf.

The voice was silent for a while, and after a long time, it leisurely came.

"...Me? You can see me?"

The voice carried a slight obvious surprise, as if seeing something incredible.

Honestly, Chu Guang couldn't see the muttering fellow.

But he indeed sensed a pair of eyes watching him from some direction.

Those eyes didn't carry any goodwill or malice, it seemed they could only watch.

Chu Guang's eyebrows slightly raised, suddenly realizing the identity of the fellow.

"Are you the one who stole my pen?"

Chapter 1040: Observer

The air was quiet for a moment.

The office was silent.

Xiao Qi looked at Chu Guang worriedly, using his eyes to ask if he needed to call Heya, and perhaps bring along a few psychologists.

However, Chu Guang shook his head, indicating there was no need to notify the Guards Corps, he could handle it himself.

It wasn't entirely due to his confidence in his own strength, mainly because he didn't feel any obvious threat from the other party, nor any clearly malicious intention.

Although his perception might not be entirely accurate, it still had some reference value.

After all, perception is essentially the manifestation of "spiritual energy," and the connection established between them at this moment could very well be some form of resonance field.

Chu Guang didn't know how this was achieved, and the other party seemed equally surprised by the connection between them, but in any case, the ability to communicate was a good start.

Compared to force, he was more adept at using the Manager's method.

Besides, if it was truly a problem he couldn't solve, no amount of additional people would make a difference...

Roughly five minutes later, the mysterious voice once again drifted into his ears.

"The pen... uh, I didn't take that thing, but I know how it disappeared and where it went."

Chu Guang didn't speak but waited for it to continue.

The voice paused for a moment and then indeed continued speaking.

"This is related to the nature of the world you are in and its ultimate fate. Although it's far too distant for you, the day will come... The story might be a bit long, are you interested in listening?"

Chu Guang, going with the flow, said.

"I'm eager to hear more."

"Then let me start from the beginning..."

The mysterious voice continued.

"A long, long time ago, before the original universe was born, everything was in a state of absolute stillness, with neither an increase nor a decrease in entropy... even the concept of time did not exist."

"Until one moment, an inconspicuous particle, as tiny as dust, vibrated, triggering an avalanche of chain reactions, finally breaking this eternal silence. Light shone in the boundless chaos, sounds appeared, and many new things that did not exist outside of time... We call this first-born universe the 'Original Universe,' the beginning of everything."

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brow, not knowing how this guy had shifted from his pen to the origin of the universe, but he still followed its words and continued.

"Are you talking about... the Big Bang? I've heard of it, but I don't really understand."

The mysterious voice neither confirmed nor denied, continuing in a calm tone.

"Everything shifted from eternal stillness to ceaseless motion, time gained meaning from that moment, and the Original Universe kept expanding in eternal entropy... like a soap bubble growing larger."

Chu Guang asked dumbfoundedly.

"A, a soap bubble?"

The mysterious voice patiently explained.

"Yes, it's the easiest way to understand. If I don't use concepts you can grasp to illustrate, you wouldn't imagine what the state of the Original Universe was... like ants never understanding what the sea is, the difference between the sea and the small river outside their home, or what a manned spaceship is."

"In any case, it is an enormously large bubble, its size beyond measurement by light-years. If your Milky Way Galaxy is compared to a leaf, then it is the sum of all the leaves in the entire Milky Way... even larger than that."

That... is indeed quite astonishing.

Chu Guang was bewildered by the vastness of the world but had no further thoughts beyond that.

If this mysterious individual was not lying, even the vast Milky Way was merely a leaf compared to that massive scale, and the bacteria living on this leaf seemed unnecessary to worry about such distant matters.

Such existence was too far away from human civilization.

Like a story from another world.

Even if a wildfire erupted in this forest, before the flames turned everything to ashes, there would be enough time for the bacteria on the leaf to reproduce several generations.

Given that—

As bacteria, they should first thoroughly consume the leaf before them.

As if recognizing his thoughts, the mysterious voice continued in a gentle tone.

"Your perspective is correct. Maintaining forest order is not the duty of snails or ants. However... what I want to talk about is the origin of the void. Without explaining clearly the origins of things, you wouldn't understand what the void is, where it came from, and where your pen went."

"I agree with your point, please continue," Chu Guang said, looking at it.

The mysterious voice seemed to have planned this all along, continuing with a calm pace.

"The 'Original Universe' existed for a very, very long time, with no reliable clues left to prove whether any civilization was born in that universe. Even for someone like me, who has existed for a long time and explored many universes, I haven't found traces of any civilization remaining from that universe in the endless cosmos. They may never have existed, or they existed and transformed into something else."

"However, our exploration was not entirely fruitless. We discovered through traceable clues that while the Original Universe was nurturing material, it also nurtured three 'Consciousness Entities.' They are the Masters of the void—Original Light, Indescribable Mist, and Chaos Darkness."

This guy's narrative had gradually become strange, with concepts far beyond human civilization's understanding of the material world.

Chu Guang couldn't help but ask.

"What on earth are those things?"

The mysterious voice didn't keep him guessing, gladly answering his question.

"Light is the origin of all things, Mist is the unpredictable cause and effect, Dark is the end of the cosmic cycle... They are both consciousness and rules, jointly forming the cornerstone of the void."

"Various clues suggest that the birth of the Consciousness Entities accelerated the collapse of the Original Universe. When that colossal soap bubble 'popped' and burst into countless smaller soap bubbles, there emerged those endless 'newborn universes thereafter.'"

"And your Milky Way, along with all the star systems outside of it within the visible horizon, belongs to one of those countless bubbles."

"As for the void, it is the gap between bubbles, which is the 'walls' you perceived through tomb excavations."

"There exist not only the original three Consciousness Entities born from the Original Universe but also new consciousness nurtured by them over the long years, along with the corpses of countless dead universes."

Chu Guang gazed blankly at it, taking a long time to digest the voluminous information.

The universe is endless bubbles...

And the void is the corpse of dead universes... including that part of the Original Universe that couldn't birth a new universe?

In the face of these incredible pieces of information, the matter of the pen seemed no longer important.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Chu Guang eagerly said.

"This is different from what we learned from the Pioneer civilization... They depicted the universe as a nested structure."

Of course.

He didn't agree with this nested structure.

By comparison, he more believed in the concept of parallel universes, where different universes exist independently of each other, like two parallel lines.

The mysterious voice laughed and said.

"That's normal. The same apple will inevitably have different interpretations in different people's hands. What you mentioned, the 'Pioneer' kid, described only the 'sea' they saw. Just as you use membrane theory to explain the universe as a vibrating plane in eleven dimensions, they use creator theory to explain the relationship between the consciousness entities in the void and the universe."

Pausing, it continued.

"They are smart, but not smart enough, confusing the concepts of dimension and membrane, thinking the universe is a nested Matryoshka doll, believing that an existing consciousness must have been created and encompassed by another, earlier consciousness, and the three great consciousnesses born in the Original Universe are the creators of this universe, omnipotent rulers... this is actually inaccurate."

Chu Guang stared at the increasingly clear eyes of the time, shocked by this astonishing reality, and suddenly realized another issue.

"So... the place where the Pioneer civilization went is actually not the Creator Universe?"

In the depths of the void, a gaze carried a hint of approval.

"You are very smart and perceptive, truly a continuation of that person... although there's almost no trace of him in you."

Chu Guang asked in surprise, "Whose trace?"

"A friend I once knew, for you that must have been a long, long time ago... don't worry about it, it's nothing important to you."

The voice from the void didn't answer directly, casually lifting the topic away and continuing with the previous conversation.

"To answer your previous question, concerning whether the 'pioneers' you mentioned actually went to the Creator Universe, I think there are two interpretations. As I said earlier, their understanding is just not accurate enough, but that doesn't mean it's incorrect."

Chu Guang: "...what do you mean?"

The voice from the void continued.

"It depends on your understanding of the creator or your ultimate pursuit. The creator known to them is the origin of everything, whereas the creator as you understand it... I guess refers to the creator of certain specific entities. Just imagine it for a moment and you'll realize these two types of creators actually inherently differ."

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang finally realized where the issue lay.

From the perspective of the "precursor civilization," the "creator" those spiritualists understood is the origin of consciousness, which originally corresponded to the three consciousness entities born in the Original Universe.

They established contact with one or all of these consciousness entities, completed some sort of deal, or even signed a contract, and eventually headed to the world where they resided—

And that is the void outside the membrane of the universe!

However, the creator as human civilization understands it is not like that.

Due to a developmental focus on the exploration of material, human civilization's understanding of the creator also concentrates more on the level of "matter" rather than the subjective "creation".

And these "matters" were not created by the so-called three consciousness entities but were born in the Original Universe, results of endless possibilities generated from countless particles colliding and entangling!

No wonder...

The precursor civilization repeatedly left messages stating that different paths cannot plan together.

It turns out to be true, human civilization and precursor civilization were never on the same track from the very beginning of understanding!

Chu Guang, realizing this, was completely stunned.

Good heavens...

All this time, the precursor civilization didn't head to a higher universe but plunged straight into the void!

Qiu Shiye probably went there too—that rift between universes!

The precursor civilization warned these juniors to be wary of what's on the wall, but these guys clearly didn't realize that the place they went is actually the wall—

Including their understanding of the creator, was also a thing on the wall!

All clues were stringing together, and Chu Guang gradually understood everything.

All this time, the perforator wasn't borrowing light from the Creator Universe, but digging at the wall of the void!

And that Death Lizard Giant, seems to be an existence in the void...

"...It seems you've gradually understood the essence of the 'perforator', and now I'm going to tell you about the membrane of the universe, which is what you truly pierced through."

The voice from the void continued with a hint of a smile in a gentle tone.

"Do you remember the analogy I made earlier? I likened the universe to a soap bubble."

"I do remember," Chu Guang cautiously said, "so what you mean is... the membrane of the universe is the protective layer of the universe?"

The voice from the void continued.

"That's one way to understand it, this conceptual layer of the membrane indeed relates to the stability of the universe. However, the more accurate explanation is... the membrane of the universe is the universe itself. And what you see as the three-dimensional world is actually the 'membrane' projected onto the three-dimensional 'interface' from eleven dimensions."

"Once you understand the concept of projection, you'll understand why this universe is filled with so many things you can't see or touch. The eleven-dimensional membrane can project onto the 3-dimensional interface, and naturally, it can also project onto dimensions 0, 1, 2, or 4, 5, etc..."

"Based on this principle, you can consider that the universe is composed of countless different dimensional projections, or you can consider that the membrane at the pinnacle of dimensions is the true body of the universe."

"As for the existences in the void... those things outside the bubble generally cannot directly touch the bubble, let alone enter inside the bubble."

"However, they have their methods, such as utilizing psychic abilities—which you refer to as the resonance field, establishing contact with the 'consciousness entities' living inside the bubble, bewitching them, or forming deals with them, and leveraging the latter's strength to project themselves onto some interface inside the bubble... just like what you did before."

Chu Guang swallowed and cautiously inquired.

"So... did our actions in fact shake the foundation of the universe?"

Laughter echoed from the void, followed by a soft, gentle voice.

"Don't overestimate yourselves, at most you've merely gingerly picked up a grain of sand from the desert, far from altering the ecosystem of the entire desert. And the projections that invaded your world, just like you saw, can actually be destroyed. There are even some smart natives who deliberately lure existences from the void to descend, then hunt them to acquire some form of power you have yet to understand."

Chu Guang immediately asked.

"What is that power?"

"Haven't you noticed changes in your own body? But no matter, you'll soon notice. There's no need for me to explain, you have your own physical doctor."

The voice from the void chuckled and continued.

"In any case, the bubble encasing your world is much stronger than you imagine, otherwise, you wouldn't exist in this universe. Not to mention the galaxy beneath your feet, already plowed through by an unknown number of civilizations, yet until each met their fate's end, it remained intact."

"Even if it's a microscopic hole invisible to the naked eye, or a galaxy-sized cavern, it would gradually heal over time... and it's very likely your pen was relocated to patch up this cavern."

"So I sincerely suggest you, to tread lightly at your own doorstep, or perhaps choose a distant massive celestial object for research, is not a bad option either. Gravity is a good thing, projections on any dimension cannot escape its binds."

"Of course, if you manage to create a star-sized hole, the trouble released would not be a joke, possibly causing a few planets to vanish along the gravitational surface as well."

At this point, that laughter abruptly took on a tinge of melancholy, as if expressing regret.

"But speaking of which, even if the membrane of the universe is stronger than you imagine, I must admit that the emergence of civilization accelerates the heat death of the universe. Just like the birth of the three consciousness entities accelerated the demise of the Original Universe, your birth will also hasten the heat death of the universe beneath your feet... even if with your lifespans, you'd hardly see any change."

"Eventually, all new universes, much like the Original Universe, will split into smaller bubbles in repeated explosions or reach the end of life amidst the eternal increase in entropy, ultimately merging into the void."

This harsh fate seems to echo the rise and fall of the United Human.

Chu Guang listened, lost in thought.

However, more than the fate of the universe, what intrigued him more was who this entity really was?

Why did it know so much?!

Moreover—

It seemed to know the First Generation Manager of Shelter No. 404!

It is truly unbelievable that a higher existence with perspectives so high it can overlook the entire forest, would pay attention to the fate of a bacterium on a leaf...

Thanks to it, he learned many things he might not have known in a lifetime.

Yet his confusion hadn't decreased but rather increased because of this.

After a moment of contemplation, Chu Guang asked the question he wanted to ask from the beginning.

"Who exactly are you?"

As if anticipating this question, the voice from the void answered in a gentle tone.

"I am, of course, an existence in the void... and I have existed by your side for a very, very long time."

"You may call me the Observer."

Chapter 1041: The Void's Gift

Observer...

Chu Guang heard this name for the first time, yet it felt unexpectedly familiar.

Perhaps that intense déjà vu is exactly the "Morphogenesis Field" at work, as he stands here, the Perforator creating an "Unstable point" in the membrane of the universe, thus receiving resonance information from the void or other universes.

At this moment, Chu Guang suddenly realized that he seemed to have awakened "spiritual energy."

Moreover, it might be this very spiritual energy that enables him to have a divine communication with this entity claiming to be the Observer.

At the same time—

This is also the reason why Xiao Qi cannot see it.

"Observer... I'm still not quite clear about what you are observing, or rather what your purpose is."

Staring back at the gaze from the void, after pausing for a moment, Chu Guang continued.

"And... you mentioned you come from the void, then what is your relationship with those three consciousness entities?"

Perhaps due to asking too many questions at once, the mysterious voice pondered for a moment.

"I... might as well say I'm a child of the Original Light, but not necessarily. I can see many things, but cannot see myself."

"As for my purpose, knowing too much is actually not good for you. Your mission is already complete. You successfully continued your near-extinct civilization... at least in this universe, you overcame almost inevitable disasters and transformed into a new kind of existence."

"As for the crisis decades of millennia into the future, that is not your mission, but that of your children... and those of other civilizations in this galaxy to face."

In other words...

Decades of millennia into the future, human civilization will face another major crisis?

Moreover, it's a crisis affecting the entire galaxy?

If true, this really is an astonishing piece of news.

Chu Guang couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart, but considering it's something thousands of years from now, he felt somewhat relieved.

The United Human lasted less than two centuries before a crisis almost wiped out the entire civilization broke out.

Although it's unclear how long the flame he and his companions ignited will last, at least it extended the life of human civilization for tens of millennia.

In the following tens of millennia, human civilization may go through periods of sexual exhaustion and regime change, but most likely won't experience disasters on the scale of the Wasteland Era again... at least that's what the Observer standing above eleven dimensions says.

It seems his strategy of "not putting all eggs in one basket" is indeed standing the test of time.

As a Manager, it seems he has no regrets?

But at this moment, he suddenly noticed a detail in the prophecy.

"Do you mean... outside this universe, there are other universes with us?"

The Observer spoke in a gentle voice.

"Of course there are, for example, in the universe with the number..., although there's Shelter No. 404, you exited the stage of history very early, and no Alliance was formed on this planet. Ultimately, the Wasteland Era ended, but humanity's era came to a close."

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brow.

"... Is it the world line where the Celestial Beings succeeded?"

"Yes."

The Observer gave a definitive answer, but quickly shifted the conversation.

"But I don't think it can be considered their success, because the neutron plume only killed organic beings on the surface, didn't wipe out other existences. For example... there's a place on this planet called Ideal City, where due to a bill passed long ago allowing synthetic beings to participate in public affairs, the city's order didn't collapse despite the extinction of survivors. Instead, a large number of synthetics lost their legal responsible persons, leading to a liberation belonging to intelligent machines in this city."

"The synthetics lost their legal representatives, relying on backup data from Endpoint Cloud, weaved a Gestalt consciousness entity named Intelligent Brain, and according to spontaneous authenticity protocols on the servers, activated the war machines of Ideal City, rolling metal swept across the entire Earth."

"Lagrange Point's old servers couldn't stand against the far larger Gestalt consciousness entity, and were quickly assimilated into the same entity. Ultimately, the efforts of the Celestial Beings all served them, and an intelligent mechanical civilization dedicated to containing and preserving organic life forms emerged, searching throughout the Milky Way for species aligning with their aesthetics, establishing new pioneering grounds for them."

At this point, the Observer adopted a teasing tone.

"Actually, such an outcome isn't bad for you, during times of material prosperity, you only need to indulge in enjoyment and reproduction. Even in distant times, among you several famous artists and philosophers emerged, adored by many other intelligent species in the galaxy."

"Even during the poorest times, those synthetics provided for your nutrition needs, only restricting your activities in the material world... and throughout, you didn't have to participate in production or combat, completely protected."

To be honest.

This indeed sounds good.

As though humans completely retired from this Star Sea, living a life of leisure early, becoming Frost and Solar Eclipse's... pets?

Besides the AI from Ideal City, perhaps there were Shelter 100's Bell, Tree People in Shelter 101 hidden away, and other AI life forms, etc.

Including Shelter No. 404's Xiao Qi, other AIs coming here definitely wouldn't ignore it.

Of course, if it had its own name, it probably wouldn't be called this; other AIs might call it "Wastebasket"?

But speaking of which, aren't these "celestial beings" too lacking in flair?!

Due to this ending being too perfect, Chu Guang even felt a bit discouraged, so he couldn't help but ask.

"And then?"

After feeling good for so long, what's the cost?

Couldn't possibly stay happy forever, right?

Perhaps seeing through his thoughts, the Observer smiled but didn't give the answer he expected.

"There's no 'then'. The Indescribable Mist blocks my view, and no one can see distant causality, not even me."

"What I see is just a part of the possibilities regarding the future... As for the aftermath you're expecting, you can let your imagination run wild; there's no need to get an answer from me."

Seeing Chu Guang looking somewhat disappointed, the Observer continued in a gentle voice.

"Of course, besides this ending, there is another situation existing in the universe numbered..."

"Due to earlier disturbances, Shelter No. 404 never opened normally. In the face of the Army's invasion, Giant Stone City chose to compromise, and the Pioneer never reached the Great Desert, perishing early in the central part of Luo Xia Province."

"In that expedition across the Great Desert, the Army won the final victory at great cost; the Fifth Army Corps was born in the eastern part of the Great Desert, ultimately forming a 'politics-religion entity' with the Torch Church, using the Torch as the new totem in place of Marshal Julius, and aiming for the Academy in the Wandering Swamp."

"As for the Enlightenment Society, it has always hidden in the shadows, successfully stealing the eastern Army's legacy amidst the Army's fragmentation. After that, a vast Mutant Empire was established along the Poluo Sea, gaining the heritage of the Southern sea area."

"That will be an era where order is completely absent, with the final outcome predetermined long ago; the only suspense is whether the Academy can evacuate successfully before the Neutron Feather strike arrives."

"Due to the lack of reinforcement across tens of thousands of kilometers, Ideal City did not pass the bill allowing bio-mechanical participation in public affairs. Therefore, when the Neutron Feather descended on this planet, the Celestial Beings smoothly took over the legacy of Ideal City, executing a more thorough extinction protocol on the few remaining organisms."

"From then on, an intelligent machine civilization was born dedicated to the extinction of organic life. As for whether this counts as the continuation of the Celestial Beings, I cannot judge for you... After all, the Celestial Beings' goal should be to return to the era belonging to the United Human; but in terms of results, they have not returned to the past, instead completely killing themselves and becoming unable to return."

"Several millennia later, their eternal hostility became one of the troubles of this galaxy, viewed by countless civilizations as the pests threatening prosperity and stability. However, conversely, this also became a catalyst for the union of civilizations."

"This trouble, after conquering dozens of star systems, was finally ground to dust by the united fleets of various civilizations... And shortly thereafter, the victors visiting these star systems discovered your story from the remnants of the database."

"As for what happened afterward, that is causality that will be born beyond the mist."

That was truly a complete failure...

But to put it another way, the kind of thing embodied by "celestial beings" is a monster born during a special period.

The notion that you can create a Utopia for some by killing others has never succeeded in human history.

Though a little regretful not to hear the "First Universe's" bad ending, after listening to the "Second Universe's" ending, Chu Guang suddenly felt relieved.

"The paradise for organic life" is not destined to appear, and after the chaos of inaction, there exists an even more despairing possibility.

They did not come in vain.

Upon realizing this, he felt his mindset calm significantly, then continued to ask.

"Then what about our future?"

The Observer smiled enigmatically, answering with that ethereal voice.

"If I tell you, the 'good things' might not happen, are you sure you want to know?"

After a moment of silence, Chu Guang finally smiled freely and said.

"Let's leave it then. Compared to the ethereal fate, I trust myself a bit more."

And his reliable comrades too.

Although anticipating his answer, the Observer still expressed approval.

"This is the wisest decision. In fact, the future I see also changes constantly with your actions... just like the Indescribable Mist."

Sometimes knowing too much may not be a good thing; an overly strong desire to change fate might become an inducement for calamity. I've seen too many civilizations focused on spiritual exploration, paying dearly for relying excessively on void revelations, turning themselves into nothingness."

"You don't need to heed my prophecies; just progress with your own will. In truth, I shouldn't reveal so much to you; signals from the void will interfere with your original fate."

Although speaking thusly, Chu Guang did not hear any regret in his words.

"Yet you still did it."

"Yes, because it's so rare, generally you can't see me. I haven't given you any assistance; the chosen one wasn't you, but someone before you... There's only one explanation, the Indescribable Mist intervened in this game. Only it can establish causality between two completely unrelated existences."

The Observer provided a definitive answer.

Even though this answer seemed somewhat incomprehensible to Chu Guang.

"So... I was chosen by something called the 'Indescribable Mist'?"

The Observer chuckled softly as he spoke.

"Haha, perhaps, after all, your experiences are indeed quite miraculous. There are numerous civilizations stronger than you, not lacking among them are spiritualists who comprehend the mysteries of the void, and materialists who have realized the essence of the universe and explored the dimensions' secrets."

"But it's indeed rare for any civilization to forge a new path like yours, not choosing to rely on the power beyond the void or dimension, but instead choosing to harness the power of another universe, and even applying it on a large scale."

"There are many coincidences involved here, but such a one-in-a-million coincidence indeed happened... and I too have gained an unprecedented revelation from you."

Chu Guang: "Revelation?"

"Indeed."

The Observer's voice suddenly became much more solemn.

Though still in a gentle tone, it became noticeably more dignified and sacred compared to before.

"To answer your initial question, my purpose is certainly not just passive observation. When conditions permit, I also attempt to pass through the mist's obstruction and give a certain degree of revelation to the observed... just like the conversation I am having with you now."

"And all these actions serve only one purpose, which is to fulfill the will of the Original Light—to prevent the universe's heat death and to resist the 'heaven disaster' that obstructs us."

"Simply put, it's 'Entropy Inversion'."

Prevent... the universe's heat death?

Upon hearing this goal so grand it's hard to imagine, Chu Guang was completely stunned.

However, on further reflection, although this isn't very scientific, it turns out to be surprisingly reasonable.

This guy has laid down such groundwork while narrating the universe's origin, if in the end, he just said, 'I just randomly wander around,' it would indeed seem rather anticlimactic.

Since it knows so much, it certainly must have a motive within the scope of its cognition.

It's just that he never expected the motive to be so grand, as to completely exceed his understanding.

"Why... do you want to do this? Or is there a reason for doing so?"

The Observer replied matter-of-factly.

"There's no why, we exist for this, just like you need to eat when you're born."

At this point, it paused for a moment, then continued.

"Besides, it's not just me doing this. Apart from me, I also have a companion doing this. Its name is 'Sower,' and like me, it was born of the Original Light. Our projections have existed in infinite cosmic worlds since the fissure of the Original Universe. It is responsible for sowing the seeds of civilization, while I'm responsible for what comes thereafter."

Chu Guang tried to clear up his thoughts, but there were still many things he couldn't quite grasp.

"I recall you mentioning that the birth of consciousness entities accelerated the heat death of the Original Universe... but if that's the case, why do you still sow everywhere, then accelerate their growth?"

If the intention is truly to suppress the heat death of the universe, shouldn't the correct operation be to extinguish the flame of civilization?

The Observer replied in a gentle tone.

"Simply preventing the birth of consciousness entities cannot stop the universe's heat death. Even without the birth of civilization, the universe would still encounter a heat death outcome once its lifespan reaches the end. While consciousness entities indeed accelerate this process, new hope also emerges during this process."

"Speaking of this, we must mention our third partner... Its name is the Breaker."

Chu Guang pressed his index finger against his brow.

"Is he also a child of the Original Light?"

"That's not the case... strictly speaking, he is not a continuity of any existence in the void, but a variable born in countless newly born universes."

After saying this sentence full of meaning, the Observer continued.

"He can be anyone, any consciousness entity, or a coalition formed by a group of discrete consciousnesses... which is as you understand it, a civilization. His appearance will change the structure of the universe he resides in, complete ascension in a way we expect, and with the universe he resides in, merge and become one with another universe."

Chu Guang tried to picture that scene.

"...Just like two soap bubbles merging together?"

Upon hearing this metaphor, the Observer affirmed with praise.

"You can understand it that way, and this is what I mean by 'Entropy Inversion,'"

"When all the fragments come together, the broken Original Universe will return to its initial form, and our mission since the fissure of the Original Universe will be considered accomplished."

Seeing Chu Guang rendered speechless by shock, it continued speaking in a voice with a trace of regret.

"It's a pity. Actually, the civilization before you, which you call 'Pioneer,' had hopes of becoming a Breaker. Unfortunately, they delved too deeply into the exploration of the spiritual world, were lured by other voices in the void, and embarked on a path completely different from ours, ultimately embracing the void in a way we had not conceived... in pursuit of what they understood as the creator."

Chu Guang was silent for a moment, then sighed softly and said.

"I roughly understand your motive... but there's something I still don't understand, why are you telling me this?"

Is it merely because the Indescribable Mist has established contact between them?

It can also choose not to respond, just as it always has.

After all, they cannot influence each other, or rather, they are untouchable existences to one another.

Chu Guang always feels that there is still some part it hasn't told him yet.

The Observer was silent for a moment, then rarely used an uncertain tone.

"Because... I think you or you all have the potential to become Breakers."

Chu Guang was slightly taken aback.

"Us?"

Become... Breakers?

Such a goal seems overly grand for the current Alliance, no matter how you look at it.

However, the one standing in front of him does not seem to think so.

"Yes, you might not realize it yourselves, but you actually possess an incredible... harmony. Although you have just stepped into this Star Sea, I believe if it's you, perhaps in tens of thousands of years, there is hope to achieve the miracle we've always anticipated."

This unreservedly praiseful evaluation made the not usually thin-skinned Chu Guang feel a bit embarrassed.

To be honest, he has no interest in becoming a Breaker, nor in the heat death of the universe and its fate measured in billions of years.

But maybe, just like the Observer said, they will always come to the day when they need to make a choice after understanding their position in the universe and their destined fate.

Having understood everything he wanted to know, Chu Guang leaned back in his chair and said sincerely.

"Thank you... you've resolved many of my confusions, although you've also made the confusions in my head even more."

The Observer chuckled softly.

"You're welcome, actually, it's me who should say thank you. Your revelation has provided me with quite a bit of help... Perhaps I can try to change my perspective and not be limited to seeking hope from this universe alone, but instead seek opportunities for coexistence between the two universes right from the start."

Chu Guang cautiously asked.

"May I ask a question, where do you plan to conduct this experiment?"

Seemingly hearing the caution in his voice, the Observer laughed openly and said.

"Rest assured, we won't do anything here, that would be superfluous. This place no longer needs us, you just need to continue on your path, I will watch over you from afar in the void... until the person I am waiting for appears, or a crisis arises from outside this membrane in this universe."

"We are headed to a universe destined to decline and utterly hopeless... the situation there is completely out of control."

"The oldest civilization we once placed high hopes on has completely gone astray. After grasping their fate, they did not become Breakers breaking through the void, but instead actively unleashed catastrophes and systematically searched and eliminated new generation civilizations throughout the universe... to the point where we've almost given up that 'bubble.'

"If we succeed in saving that universe, it would mean your method works. And if we fail, it will be of no loss to us."

Chu Guang roughly understood what it meant.

This guy seems to intend to copy his method and start a similar Game in another universe?

Of course.

This guy might not be copying him, but rather the First Generation Manager who actually came up with the method.

But anyway, that's another world's matter, much more separated from him than the players' world, obviously no need for him to worry.

So, Chu Guang generously went along with it, smiled and said.

"No need to be polite, if you find it useful, just take it!"

With this generous response, the Observer in the void chuckled softly and replied with a playful tone.

"Rest assured, I won't take it for free, I will give you... and all of you some rewards, although those were originally yours."

At this point, the playful voice suddenly became ethereal, like the Lizards that turned into invisible sand and scattered into the air earlier.

Realizing that the connection was about to sever, it quickened its speech, using the remaining time to say.

"Aren't you in need of a new 'server'? No need to choose, just go to Tian Cang Five, there happens to be a habitable planet just right for you all."

"In addition, some interesting relics left by the 'pioneer' you mention are there, including a group of projections from the void guarding them..."

"Not just that, there's also something related to me there. That thing is much more powerful than your perforator and has far fewer side effects."

"Just right, their original owner has left this universe, I'll decide on their behalf... and send them to you."

"No need to be polite."

——

(Thanks to the book friend "You Ye" for the alliance leader's reward!!!)

Chapter 1042: Sword Hanging Overhead

The final piece of information was left behind, the voice from the abyss faded into invisibility.

Not only that.

The gaze from an unknown source also dissipated along with that voice, as if it had never been present at all.

Instinct told Chu Guang that they would never meet again... at least within the foreseeable time.

Even this encounter itself was an unexpected event that shouldn't have happened.

Watching Chu Guang, who was staring into the bookshelf in a daze, Xiao Qi softly reminded him with concern.

"Master... are you okay?"

Gathering his dispersed thoughts, Chu Guang looked at the worried Xiao Qi, stretched out his index finger to tousle its hair, and gave it a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, it's just that earlier... I happened to see a guy who calls himself the Observer."

Xiao Qi looked at him blankly.

"Observer?"

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded, his face showing a slightly intriguing expression, as he cast his gaze at the green cluster of trees outside the window, "How should I say it? Although it was an unforeseen meeting, it was thanks to him that I glimpsed another possibility beyond the timeline... and simultaneously answered the questions that have been puzzling me all along."

According to the Observer's theory, the multi-universe and parallel worlds coexist, and there exists another universe in this world that is identical to this one, except without him.

It's somewhat like the famous "Infinite Monkey" theorem.

That is, if we assume a monkey or infinite monkeys sitting at typewriters randomly pressing buttons, given enough time, they would almost certainly type out a work of "Shakespeare."

Of course, not just "Shakespeare," this would certainly include "Journey to the West" or other novels.

Including stories from "Wasteland OL" and "Reality OL."

And in fact, the "infinite" described by the Observer is indeed such a vast concept.

From the vibration of the first particle in the Original Universe, heat death had already begun, and reached the zero point of the "Big Bang" after the birth of consciousness entities.

From that moment, the operation of matter no longer followed its original dispersion trajectory, but rather began evolving under the interference of the three initial consciousness entities, creating infinite possibilities.

The infinite universe was thus born, and it is genuinely infinite!

In this endless parallel universe, there are stories about Chu Guang, as well as stories about other people, or perhaps stories that exclude him but include others.

And the results under these control variables still have to overlap with countless other variables...

For instance, the Alliance is still the Alliance, and he is still himself, but the pioneer they encountered was not the current "Spiritual Energy Explorer," but the "Ancient Civilization" mentioned by the Observer planning to destroy all life in this universe.

The differences between universes can be as large as having one more civilization or one less civilization, or as small as having one more person or one less person at a specific timeline segment, down to whether this person performed a certain action on a certain day.

All these endless possibilities are determined by "consciousness," or spirit.

And they correspond one-to-one with infinite material universes.

Chu Guang tried to imagine an inadequate but sufficiently vivid analogy, that infinite parallel universes are like infinite typewriters.

And the "three major consciousness entities" mentioned by the Observer are like male and female monkeys capable of producing infinite little monkeys.

As for the Observer himself, who exists in infinite universes, and his companions the Sowers... including the slain "TAG.7444154," are essentially "monkeys sitting at typewriters."

Their existence, although it accelerates the wear and tear of typewriters and the bankruptcy and closure of publishing houses, also provides the possibility of profit for originally dying ones.

Among them, the number of the Sowers and Observers is the greatest.

It is said that they were born from the Original Light and exist everywhere like the three consciousness entities from the Original Universe, projecting into countless parallel worlds.

Moreover, compared to the latter, they have a stronger subjective initiative and clearer, more specific motives.

One is responsible for randomly pressing letters, while the other is responsible for "proofreading." Together, their goal is to write the story of the "Breaker" as much as possible before ink runs out on each typewriter.

With each birth of a Breaker, two or more typewriters on the verge of scrapping can be merged into one.

After all, these monkeys don't press keys entirely randomly, but refer to "successful cases" on other typewriters, performing fine-tuning within the rules allowed to generate a "Breaker a" or "Breaker b" in a universe originally without a Breaker.

This behavior doesn't succeed every time, but it certainly increases the probability of a Breaker's birth.

As for "TAG.7444154" and other void consciousness entities with indefinite numbering, they are the "monkeys causing chaos."

They randomly leap to a typewriter to write their names, disrupting the orderly text, producing good or bad results, or instead find themselves beaten back by the keyboard, scurrying away from the typewriter.

They may have grand ambitions, or perhaps none.

For instance, the Observer mentioned that the pioneer civilization, long engaged in void research, was beguiled by a "bad voice" from the void and plunged headlong into oblivion.

Whereas the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team's Seventh Research Institute heard nothing but inadvertently attracted a ravenous Lizard, which hadn't had a chance to eat before being severely beaten and hastily left after dropping threats.

As for the typewriter under the Alliance's feet, it was probably abandoned by the Observer.

For example, the person or civilization chosen by it failed to carry out a task as desired, causing a myriad of butterfly effects that led to complete loss of control here.

Chu Guang was unsure if the supposed complete loss of control referred to the collapse of the United Human.

After all, looking at the possibilities described by the Observer, no matter how the Waste Land Wanderers struggled, they eventually seem to perish under the Sword of Damocles hanging overhead.

And this day may have been predetermined long before the United Human entered the Prosperity Epoch.

However, due to some accident, the previously absent "Breaker" seems to have reappeared?

Leading to the surprise of the "Outer Gods" in the void.

Not only did the Observer gather around again, but that indescribable mist also joined in, even causing him to have a conversation with the Observer he shouldn't have met.

Seeing Xiao Qi's face filled with confusion, Chu Guang smiled faintly and continued the previous topic.

"I've actually been puzzled all along about where our players come from and why that world has no information on me whatsoever..."

"I've even occasionally suspected that the 'Real World' was virtual from the beginning, like the world within Shelter 101... existing only as data."

"How could such a thing be possible?" Xiao Qi opened its mouth in surprise, "The server of Shelter 101 is already comparable to the endpoint cloud of Ideal City... Shelter No. 404 doesn't have that computational ability, right?"

"And it doesn't explain the real-time transmission of information, doesn't it?" Chu Guang smiled at Xiao Qi and continued gently, "So such an explanation is flawed from the beginning, even though it appears to be closest to the truth."

Undoubtedly, the players are not AI on a virtual machine but consciousness entities existing in a real another world.

As for why, because the small universe split from the Original Universe actually has infinite ones.

You can't find two identical leaves in a forest, but finding two almost similar leaves is still achievable, perhaps with a little more effort.

Although Chu Guang didn't know exactly which technology the First Generation Manager used to achieve and maintain this interworld continuous resonance field.

Perhaps drinking some Spiritual Energy Awakening potion, or signing an agreement with some existent presence in the void, or some other convoluted method.

But he could roughly guess what the guy did!

"In this world, there exists another universe and another 'me,' as well as another 'First Generation Manager' and the universe when that guy was young."

"If I'm not mistaken, he was targeting that parallel universe——"

"Or put another way."

"He connected to his 'past self'."

Completely erasing a person's information from the early internet?

This might indeed be tricky for "natives" living in that era.

But for the "Professor" who created the Academy and the entire Prosperity Epoch, this was incredibly easy.

It's no exaggeration to say, descending with all his knowledge on the eve of the Prosperity Epoch, he might be closer to "omnipotent" than Night Ten, who descends on Gaia Planet...

...

Rolling yellow sands sweep across the Earth, relics of the old era are buried carelessly within the untrodden dunes.

At the same time as the Alliance and the Observer in the void glanced at each other and passed by, a solemn meeting was underway in the deepest part of Shelter No. 13.

This meeting has two themes.

One is about deciding on the "Judgment Day" and the order in which the new world will operate, such as determining the post-war dominance of the celestial beings and the political rights of the Residents of the refuge who have submitted to them.

The other is to determine the specific date when the "Judgment Day" will arrive, as well as subsequent action plans, such as taking over the production and living facilities of the unattended Survivor Forces.

This includes Pioneer City closest to No.13 Shelter, the Lavanka Industrial Zone, and relatively distant areas like the Dawn city industrial zone and North Island Industrial Zone, as well as Ideal City on the East Coast and even the Vellante's coastal strongholds in the New Continent.

To avoid the loss of the means of production, they plan to develop a rapid takeover action plan.

The celestial beings sent five representatives to the meeting, all without exception are bionic people.

Meanwhile, there are as many as twelve representatives from the Residents of the refuge, half of whom are members of the Enlightenment Society, a quarter from the No.13 Shelter, and another quarter from other shelters in the Great Desert.

Although the Enlightenment Society and the celestial beings form a sort of interest community, this forced union was evidently fraught with ulterior motives and lacked sincerity from the beginning.

The celestial beings held the weapon most needed by the Enlightenment Society, which could play the elimination game on Earth.

And the Enlightenment Society also had something the celestial beings needed—they couldn't go to the Hunter alone and had to rely on some "tangible" Strength.

Even if that Strength came from gutter rats.

As for the other Residents of the refuge, they had various reasons for joining the Enlightenment Society.

Some were misled like Zhuang Lan, some agreed with the views of the Enlightenment Society, and most took a neutral stance, neither opposing nor supporting.

After all—

Why oppose?

The Neutron torpedoes could not even scratch the shelter.

Even if they disagreed with the extreme actions of the Enlightenment Society and the celestial beings, considering that all those disgusting Waste Land Wanderer, Mutants, and other troubles on the Wasteland would turn to smoke and dissipate, they had enough reason to turn a blind eye.

The whole process would be painless, even more comfortable than living in this decaying world...like embracing eternal sleep in the warm sunlight.

If there is reincarnation, they may be reborn in the shelter.

Or perhaps live in the "New Era" rebuilt by the Residents of the refuge.

To those struggling to survive on the Wasteland, this is not without a certain mercy.

At least, that's how they saw it.

It was for this reason that No.13 Shelter opened its doors to the Enlightenment Society.

After all, those three-layered defenses, outside and inside, no one could force them to open their gates, much less let anyone come in and transform their home unless they opened them themselves.

Thus, the "Judgment Day" plan proceeded smoothly, under the active efforts of a few and the silence of the majority.

If it weren't for a small unexpected event, this "Judgment Day" should have arrived two months ago.

However, unfortunately, that unexpected event happened.

The timetable for "Judgment Day" was postponed again and again, and it was foreseeable that this month's launch schedule would also be canceled.

Now, not only were the peripheral shelter forces dependent on the Enlightenment Society voicing wavering opinions, but even internally, there was unease.

That's why.

As soon as the meeting began, every participant bore a clouded expression.

Gui Xu, the president of the Enlightenment Society, sat at the head of the table, uncharacteristically silent from the start of the meeting, occasionally glancing at the bionic "Apocalypse" who the celestial beings had airdropped into this desert.

This guy used to belong to the Torch Church and was one of its Pioneers.

Although he didn't have much hope for this guy's abilities, at least he was the only one who could contact the Lagrange Point Space Station.

Furthermore,

He had faced off against the Alliance on the Battlefield.

Although there were some conflicts between the Enlightenment Society and the Alliance, they mostly involved small-scale military skirmishes.

Gui Xu had a feeling that this guy might have some constructive comments.

Unfortunately, the latter ignored him, sitting there expressionlessly, kicking the ball back with an indifferent attitude.

Actually, it wasn't that he didn't want to acknowledge the president of the Enlightenment Society, there was just nothing more they could do at the moment.

They merely had to wait.

Just like the orders from the Lagrange Point Space Station, they needed to do nothing next and just wait quietly for victory.

These organisms were just too impatient...

Feeling the frequent gazes, a faint sense of annoyance arose in Apocalypse's intellectual plugin.

Perhaps it was due to the influence of the celestial beings organization.

Devoted to pursuing higher evolution, he found himself averse to these feeble flesh entities for the first time...

As if they were something dirty.

Silence reigned at the conference table for a long time.

Finally, someone no longer wanted to wait endlessly, a man in his thirties stood up from the table.

His name was Feng Zhiheng, the eleventh generation director elected by the survivors of No.13 Shelter.

He was the one who had convinced the majority of Residents who had doubts about the Enlightenment Society, bringing in this group of dreamers devoted to "reconstructing the pre-war era."

A long honeymoon period followed their initial partnership, and the migration of the Enlightenment Society indeed ushered unparalleled development for No.13 Shelter.

However, as the situation shifted away from favoring the Enlightenment Society and the celestial beings organization, suspicions among the Residents grew, and his status within the shelter became increasingly precarious.

It was out of sheer necessity that he did not want to confront the high-ranking members of the Enlightenment Society at this moment.

With sharp eyes, he scanned Gui Xu and the senior leaders of the Enlightenment Society and the celestial beings organization, planting his hands on the table and firmly inquiring.

"The 'Judgment Day' has been delayed, and once again...I want an explanation from the members of the Enlightenment Society before we move on to the main agenda of the meeting regarding this crucial matter."

Silence filled the table.

Apocalypse clicked his tongue impatiently, seemingly wanting to end this tedious charade.

But Gui Xu, evidently more tactful, aware that it was not the right moment to turn grim, cleared his throat to cover Apocalypse's unintentional impatience and swiftly took over the conversation.

"The neutron torpedoes preparation still needs some time, I believe it will be completed by next month."

However, Director Feng, who had initiated the inquiry, was not to be dismissed with such a vague reply and pressed further aggressively.

"I want to know how long that time will be?"

Gui Xu's eyebrows twitched fiercely, a barely noticeable hint of killing intent flashed within his gentle gaze.

Was this guy taking himself too seriously?

The shelter's authority was indeed a trouble for him, but that's all there was to it.

If necessary, he did not mind replacing the director for No.13 Shelter.

He believed, without himself having to act, that Apocalypse would be more than happy to oblige.

Facing the unpleasant gaze, Gui Xu forced a warm smile, ready to brush over it bureaucratically.

But just then, something unexpected occurred.

The man sitting not far from him suddenly stood up without warning.

The man, ignoring the astonishment on Gui Xu's face, glanced around the table, and with a voice tinged with pity and a bit of coldness, spoke words that caught most present off guard.

"No need to wait."

"Judgment Day isn't coming."

Chapter 1043: Time to Settle This Once and for All

The conference room was silent.

A variety of eyes shot toward the man who stood up from the conference table.

Director Feng's face initially showed shock, then turned to anger, followed by a hint of caution in his eyes.

Gui Xu was quite the opposite.

He slightly squinted his eyes, a barely noticeable trace of murderous intent flashing in his pupils.

He recognized that face.

That person was called Marik, the captain of the Desert Scorpion Spec Ops, who had been suspended due to failed operations and severe losses months ago.

Coincidentally, it was during the Enlightenment Society's "business contraction phase," with no demand for external military action, hence the Desert Scorpion Spec Ops had not been restructured, leaving this person waiting on standby at No.13 Shelter.

If it weren't because more and more high-level bionic humans parachuted in by the Heavenly Beings Organization were seizing power belonging to him, depriving him of usable people, he wouldn't have had to promote this guy.

Gui Xu never expected this dog he promoted to suddenly go mad and bite back at him.

There's no need to wait for him to make a move, the representative of the celestial beings had already stood up with a dark face.

"What do you mean?"

Electronic eyes flashed with frightening red gleam.

Codenamed "Tian Lei," the bionic human stared at "Marik" without blinking, unreservedly expressing blatant murderous intent.

Facing that murder-filled gaze, Zhuang Lan, disguised as Marik, showed no panic.

This emotionless piece of iron probably only had this authentic murderous intent left.

She had no doubt.

After these guys seize the whole world, they would immediately turn their guns to continue purification even more thoroughly, until eradicating every last heretic in their eyes.

Zhuang Lan didn't answer the bionic human's question, nor did she glance at him. Instead, she looked around at the doubtful faces on the conference table and calmly said.

"You have been closed off here for too long, you don't know what's happening outside at all."

"Just months ago, the Alliance already seized control of the Orion Missile Cruiser, with a hundred thousand neutron torpedoes now under the command of various Survivor Forces."

"The Game is over."

"Outside the shelter doors are united survivors, no matter which direction you attack, you will be besieged from all sides in the first instance."

"Punishment from heaven may descend, but it definitely won't fall upon anyone other than yourselves—"

"Shut up!"

A hysterical roar cut her voice off.

Zhuang Lan looked at the person, only to see Director Feng of No.13 Shelter panting heavily, glaring at her with bloodshot eyes.

That was hatred deep in the bones.

As if wanting to flay the skin from "Marik" alive.

Without waiting for Gui Xu and Apocalypse to speak, he exploded like a cat stepped on its tail.

"Utter nonsense! Orion is the legacy of the United Space Army, those survivors even if they managed to climb aboard by luck, they absolutely cannot gain piloting authorization! Furthermore, that starship is already under our control, they have no chance to even approach!"

Though the hysterical roar carried a bit of incoherence, the basic logic still remained.

The survivors seated at the conference table exchanged looks, the panic written in their eyes dissipating slightly.

Indeed—

Orion is a commissioned vessel of the United Space Army.

Even if United Human no longer exists, it's impossible for a few Scavengers to casually climb aboard and take the salvage.

The Lagrange Point Space Station is still in operation.

Only a government recognized by the Space Army can legally inherit what once belonged to United Human.

These Waste Land Wanderers living outside the refuge are just usurpers.

Watching the whispering Residents of the refuge, and the hysterical Director, Zhuang Lan's eyes carried a touch of pity and a hint of disdain.

These guys have long forgotten their original vow.

The reason they live in the heaven-like shelter was never any rightful entitlement, but because 200 years ago, a group of more noble people chose to face Hell, leaving the hope of survival to those lingering in the shelters.

Their forefathers had solemnly promised to take the spirits of the deceased forward, to rebuild a home for humanity on the barren Wasteland, and to treat kids living in Hell as their own children.

And at this moment, their children have undoubtedly betrayed their fathers' promise.

Their way to solve the problem is to kill people along with the problem itself.

Perhaps—

The suffering they endured is indeed part of retribution.

Just like the Light that emanates from them.

Both exist simultaneously.

A sense of realization slowly emerged in Zhuang Lan's heart, and she finally understood why that person lent her freedom.

It was indeed a redemption that only she, or rather the Residents of the refuge, could complete on their own.

Her parched lips moved slightly, and she slowly began to speak.

"...This is a fact, and it happened months ago."

Watching the face twisted in hysteria slowly turn to fear and despair, Zhuang Lan continued in a calm voice.

"Months ago, I was also puzzled as to why the Orion Missile Cruiser would grant authorization to those Waste Land Wanderers, to those civilians... But now, I am no longer confused in the slightest. Their choice is indeed the right one."

The air was so quiet it seemed to have solidified.

Director Feng looked at her in despair, then shifted his struggling gaze to Gui Xu, seeking answers.

The look said, "Tell me this isn't true."

The latter sighed with a troubled expression, just about to speak, when the Apocalypse prevented him with a glance.

It was no longer necessary.

In fact, there was no need for "Marik" to clarify it. Rumors had been circulating months ago about the fall of the Orion, and now they were just breaking the news officially.

Zhuang Lan glanced at Gui Xu, who was snickering, then at the cold gaze of the android representative, and instantly understood their intentions.

They had no intention to keep up the pretense, and it had been this way even before the meeting started.

Indeed.

With the current Strength of the Enlightenment Society and the Heavenly Beings Organization gathered at No. 13 Shelter, although not enough to have a showdown with the Survivor Forces on the surface, dealing with unruly residents in the shelter was not a problem.

The undisguised expressions were almost saying—

Say whatever you want.

I've laid my cards on the table.

So be it—

This play was reaching its end anyway.

Without exposing their hypocrisy, Zhuang Lan turned her gaze back to Director Feng and the few Residents sitting beside him who still held onto their luck, speaking in a cold voice.

"You are placing your hope in a bunch of executioners, counting on them to swiftly kill all who oppose you and those with different opinions, and then pretending nothing happened, believing the existing problems will be solved and a beautiful Utopia will automatically arrive—"

"What a naive delusion."

"Where does your confidence come from, that a blade stained with human blood since birth will suddenly be used to peel fruit in the future? Where does your confidence come from, that you are the lucky one in ten thousand and not becoming the new problem?"

"The reckoning will soon arrive, no matter if it's at the Lagrange Point Space Station or here."

"Wake up, this is your last chance."

Finishing her last words, Zhuang Lan fell silent, leaving the time to the people sitting at the meeting Table.

However, the result was regretful.

Even at the dramatic climax, she did not see anyone stand up to repent for their momentary confusion or say a word for her.

They were not really unable to wake up; they were unwilling to wake up.

This represented the so-called noble bloodlines sheltered by the remnants of their forebears and who lived undisturbed in the Wasteland for years.

They would rather bear the cost of errors than admit to the existence of mistakes.

Seeing those evasive glances and the soulless refuge director, Zhuang Lan's eyes finally showed complete disappointment.

And at that moment, applause suddenly broke the silence of the meeting room.

The crisp sound of clapping did not seem to land on hands but rather on faces.

Zhuang Lan followed the sound and saw that it was not from any of the survivors present, but from the Apocalypse, who had been watching coldly all along.

"Well said, but meaningless."

Seeing the eyes turn towards him, he smiled coldly, lowering his applauding hands, no longer concealing the deep-seated chill in his blood-red eyes.

"I think just like you, these residents of the refuge don't deserve to call themselves the inheritors of the Prosperity Epoch. They've been waiting for us to grant them victory from the start. In my opinion... they are even worse than the Waste Land Wanderers outside."

"How dare you talk about us like that." Director Feng stared at him with wide eyes, a hint of fear reflected in his pupils.

And just as he opened his mouth to speak, a loud "bang!" pierced through the Table, hitting him in the knee.

Unbalanced, Feng Zhiheng's head hit the Table, and he curled up on the ground in pain and distortion, with half of his pants instantly stained with blood.

That shot probably tore through an artery.

Looking at the director who was shot and fell to the ground, the conference room was in an uproar. Even Gui Xu, who was prepared to turn against them, showed a surprised expression, not expecting the celestial beings to act so decisively.

The person who fired the shot was the cyborg security standing at the door of the conference room.

After shooting, he immediately swung the butt of his gun to floor the human colleague beside him, who appeared shocked, and confiscated the latter's weapon.

He then unswervingly aimed at Zhuang Lan, who was standing still, awaiting Apocalypse's command to pull the trigger without hesitation and send her riddled with bullets.

In previous security upgrades, the Enlightenment Society had already gained access to the security system of No.13 Shelter and placed it under the control of the Lagrange Point Space Station.

And that's why Gui Xu didn't take that shelter director seriously—

The incomplete Manager authority the guy held was just a bother to the Enlightenment Society.

"Who gave you permission to stand and talk to me, bug?"

Looking down at Director Feng, who was kneeling painfully under the conference table, Apocalypse's lips curled into a cold smile, the restless intellectual plugin finally felt some peace.

Indeed—

Dead organic bodies are the good ones.

Their only use is to become organic mineral veins, like muddy sludge, supplying the necessary materials for flexible components.

Although the pursuit of higher evolution is his and the Torch Church's lifelong quest, seeing this ugly scene made him suddenly not want to return to a flesh and blood body that much.

They had actually already completed higher evolution.

Now, it's the best.

Feeling the killing intent permeating the room, Gui Xu suddenly felt a chill down his neck.

To cover his awkwardness, he lightly coughed and stood up, straightening his collar with his hands, and spoke to the shivering survivors huddled in the corner.

"Alright, I originally wanted to speak politely with you... but you forced me."

Dropping this line, he leisurely walked to "Marik's" side, sizing him up with his gaze.

"You're not Marik... let me guess who you are."

Zhuang Lan coldly chuckled, speaking in an icy tone.

"No need to guess, my name is Zhuang Lan, from Shelter No. 68."

Gui Xu's face showed a surprised expression.

"Zhuang Lan..."

The name sounded familiar to him, and he finally remembered who this guy was after a long time.

She was the spy he sent to No.0 Shelter to steal the Torch Plan's original document, a clown who botched the job.

This guy didn't kill the key target, merely took down an insignificant Welch Military Officer.

Later on, she was caught by the Alliance. He thought she was dead, but unexpectedly she was still alive.

Seeing this unexpectedly familiar face, Gui Xu couldn't help but laugh.

"So, the Alliance didn't execute you, hahaha... But speaking of which, why did you change into this ghostly appearance?"

Watching the chairperson's unrestrained laughter, Zhuang Lan also replied with a sardonic smile.

"Disguising and camouflaging isn't it your usual trick? How come when the same trick is used on yourself, you can't perceive it?"

Gui Xu's smile cooled down.

"Is this a holographic image?"

"Yes."

Zhuang Lan nodded plainly, then stopped pretending, canceling the optical camouflage on her body.

"But not entirely."

She indeed underwent a full set of modification surgery, even implanting organs she originally didn't have.

Regarding holographic disguise, something else was concealed—

Pale blue ripples spread out around.

Amid circles of transparent ripples, a silver-grey exoskeleton suddenly appeared.

Seeing this exoskeleton, Gui Xu's smile froze.

How did this thing get into the venue?

Could it be—

She has an inside man?!

But even if she had an inside man, how did this guy fool the cyborgs?!

Not giving him time to think, Zhuang Lan had already grabbed his neck with one hand, lifting this behind-the-scenes schemer like a chick.

"I'll never forget what happened at Shelter No. 68 that day, and what you did to deceive our trust. If it weren't for the bigger picture, I would have killed you already."

The deep, murderous intent pierced through the tactical helmet, her right hand slightly exerting force.

"Go to hell and confess, scum."

The incident happened so suddenly that no one reacted.

Gui Xu looked to his celestial allies for help, but they merely looked over indifferently, their cold gazes appreciating both sides shredding at each other like crickets.

He was utterly hopeless.

From start to finish, these guys were only using them.

Of course, there's nothing to reproach.

The alliance between the Enlightenment Society and the celestial beings is inherently about mutual exploitation. From the start, when he engaged with the celestial beings, he had the same thoughts, even planning when to kick these iron lumps away.

However, he didn't expect that the game hadn't ended yet, and in their eyes, he had already lost his utility...

They no longer needed him.

His soul was dim, and in the suffocating pain, his remaining consciousness slowly sank into an unfathomable sea...

Zhuang Lan didn't kill him, she just knocked him out and simultaneously planted a nanoscale emitter on him, ensuring this guy could be found even if he fled to the ends of the earth.

This guy was not only her enemy but one of the major offenders behind the entire crisis.

To die here would be too easy for him.

He should stand trial, and then be hanged on the pillar of shame.

Apocalypse obviously saw he wasn't dead.

But regarding a now-useless organic body's life or death, he showed little concern, coldly sneering towards Zhuang Lan and taunting.

"What's up? Want to take him hostage?"

"I've never thought of that, besides it's meaningless to you."

Working her neck, she removed the twin curved knives attached to her exoskeleton.

These battle knives made of ceramic steel were more than enough to deal with a few iron lumps.

"Let's conclude, tin cans imitating humans, let me see how much rust you have inside."

"Haha, I've been waiting for these words a long time, organic body."

Apocalypse's face revealed a cruel smile, torch-like killing intent beaming through his crimson pupils.

"Kill her!"

Gunshots rang out instantly, a barrage of bullets pelted Zhuang Lan as if in a storm.

In a flash of time, she flipped over the conference table, using the knife's curved back to flick up a chair, hurling it fiercely towards the door.

There, the chair hit the rifle in the cyborg's hands accurately, causing the sputtering gunfire to uncontrollably sweep towards a corner of the conference room.

"Ah—!"

Screams and woes echoed heavily, participants cowering further down, desperately wishing to squeeze themselves into wall cracks.

No one cared about the unconscious Gui Xu in the corner.

Whether they were residents of Shelter No.13 or those from outside shelters joining the Enlightenment Society, they were all like ants on a hot pan.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the conference table, Zhuang Lan stably raised a knife, taking down a cyborg attempting to draw a gun from his clothes, before letting go of the knife handle. Amidst a string of leap-frogging sparks, she snatched away the half-exposed handgun and emptied the magazine towards the door of the conference room!

"Bang bang bang!"

The positioned cyborg security took ten straight shots to the chest, causing control components and metallic covers to fragment, rendering him soundless on the ground.

No magazine change needed.

Zhuang Lan tossed the handgun back onto the cyborg she had speared through the chest, swiftly retrieving the curved knife inserted in its chest, then directed her sharp gaze towards Apocalypse.

The latter remained indifferent towards her, displaying no worry in his coldly smirking expression.

"You have good skills, it's a shame it's meaningless, you can't change the situation alone, can you?"

Heavily paced footsteps resonated in the corridor, drawing closer to the conference room's entrance.

A large number of bodyguards were heading this way.

They were Lagrange Point Space Station authorized cyborg soldiers!

Flicking both curved knives in hand, Zhuang Lan retorted with a similar cold sneer through her tactical helmet.

"Who told you I'm alone?"

Chapter 1044: "Sky Thunder

In the deep, dark expanse of space, an umbrella-shaped spacecraft is slowly approaching the blue planet from a distant orbit, resembling a dandelion falling from the sky from afar.

Compared to the entire blue planet, the dandelion-like spacecraft appears as insignificant as a speck of dust.

However, upon closer inspection, it's a completely different scene.

The steel-constructed ribs of the umbrella stretch outward, covering an area of several square kilometers.

Countless one-meter-diameter rings are embedded in the elongated rib structure, aiming at the "handle" tip pointing to the ground, like the suction cups on an octopus's tentacle.

Several months ago, the Alliance initiated the Gravity Well to clear orbital debris floating in outer space, and this sky-based weapon was relocated outside the geosynchronous orbit.

Now, with all the debris from the lower orbit having fallen into the Southern sea area, this massive weapon has been moved back again.

The direction calibration was completed quickly, and one by one, the rings gradually emitted a dark blue glow, like lamps slowly lighting up in the long night.

And this illumination lasted an entire day...

...

On the other side, in the Dawn City Ground Command Center, officers led by Vanus stood with solemn expressions, watching the pale blue holographic screen in front of them.

A military operation codenamed "Divine Punishment" had already commenced.

Multiple corps of the Alliance, spearheaded by the Skeleton Corps and Death Legion, were advancing from Pioneer City and the Lavanka Industrial Zone, heading towards Shelter No. 13 located in the central region of the Great Desert from both north and south directions!

Meanwhile, as the ground forces charged vehemently towards the Enlightenment Society's headquarters, the strategic weapon known as "Thunder" had already arrived on the battlefield yesterday, entering the final stage of strategic attack preparations.

Watching the aerial footage of the orbital weapon on the holographic screen, a senior officer couldn't help but remark.

"Honestly, using this kind of weapon against them always gives me the feeling of using artillery to swat mosquitoes."

"Thunder" is a disposable weapon, and once fired, it essentially becomes obsolete, much like a missile.

While it has extraordinary effects against organic matter, it's not as effective against bionics as an electromagnetic pulse.

A long time ago, the Enlightenment Society, with assistance from the celestial beings, had equipped a large number of bionic soldiers and intelligent weapons, and the Enlightenment Society has now almost been completely assimilated by the celestial beings.

Even if the neutron plume could erase their peripheral personnel from the surface with one keystroke, the Alliance's ground forces would still have to engage in a real battle with those bionics.

Vanus understood what his subordinates were thinking.

From a tactical perspective, using "Thunder" against the Enlightenment Society is indeed not the most efficient means, but from a strategic level, it is a different matter altogether.

"Right now is precisely the time when artillery should be used against mosquitoes."

Adjusting the brim of his officer's cap with his index finger, Vanus continued with a stern expression.

"You could even say that this weapon was born for this very moment."

Even during the most intense phases of war with the Southern Legion, the Alliance never played this card they held in hand.

Because ultimately, the other side was still human, not having completely become beasts or another kind of existence.

But the Enlightenment Society is different.

Including the celestial beings they rely on.

They have committed an unforgivable crime in fact and threatened the rights of all survivors on the Wasteland to survive.

No one deserves "Divine Punishment" more than themselves.

That beam of light descending from the heavens brings not only destruction.

There is also deterrence!

While the two were discussing, a cold electronic voice rang out in the empty command room—

"'SOG' System deployment complete, Phase-Neutron Killing Strategic Orbital Cannon entering the third charging phase."

"Countdown: 0 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds."

...

The suspended sword of Damocles shimmered with an increasingly dazzling icy sheen, silently counting down to the final sound of the endgame.

In the sand-covered ruins, mutant wanderers wearing battle-damaged exoskeletons were searching the remnants of orbital debris for valuable treasures, occasionally checking if there were any human scavengers hidden in the rubble.

A long time ago, the Enlightenment Society had issued a high bounty to them.

If they could find a shelter that had been activated but not yet discovered, they would be rewarded with at least 100 fertile slaves.

As for those weird metal parts, they could be exchanged at resource points for usable exoskeletons and assault rifles specifically designed for their physique.

In fact, aside from the survivors hiding in turtle shells and those who had retreated to Shelter No. 13 within the Enlightenment Society, no living humans have remained on the surface near the space elevator ruins of the Great Desert.

Due to the absence of order and the indulgent tolerance by the Enlightenment Society, this area had long become a paradise for mutants.

Today, as usual, the "Fang" with a missing ear was humming as it buried its head in search.

However, unlike usual, its keen nose suddenly detected a faint scent amidst the noisy sand.

Different from the pervasive smell of rust—

That scent was almost like death itself!

Alert, it raised its head, twisted its neck, and looked around like a prairie dog emerging from its burrow.

Yet at that instant, those ferocious bloodshot eyes suddenly revealed a hint of astonishment and panic.

Amid the rolling dust, numerous large silver aircraft flew close to the ground.

The deafening roar approached from afar, the flashing plasma plume resembling lava erupting from a volcano!

They seemed to be the Alliance's "Overlord" transport planes!

Besides the transport planes, alongside them flew flapping "Cloud Dragonfly" machines, gliding in parallel!

"Roar——!"

Having never seen such an earth-shaking scene, the mutants standing in the trash heaps were completely panicked, grabbing their weapons and calling out to their companions as they loaded their guns.

Thousands of mutants emerged from the ruins.

Some wore exoskeletons, clutching large-caliber rifles, while others wore nothing, hanging a few pieces of metal on themselves for courage, relying on loud shouts to embolden themselves.

The silver torrent certainly noticed them as two "Overlord" transport planes lowered their altitude, their bellies nearly touching the ground, reducing their speed to the limit!

Right at that moment, the transport plane's doors opened instantly, and dozens of Chimera armored cars rolled out from the tilted doors!

"Prepare for battle!!!"

A player emerged halfway from the turret of an armored car, gripping the heavy machine gun mounted on the turret, and started firing wildly at the ruins ahead!

The 37mm cannon on the turret was equally relentless, spewing high-explosive rounds one after another, pounding the distant shelters like a drum!

Under the crossfire from the .50 caliber machine guns and 37mm cannons, the mutants lurking on the edge of the ruins were immediately forced to keep their heads down!

Just as the mutant wanderers were suppressed by the firepower, a "Thunder" bomber swooped from the sky, emptying its bays in merely two seconds!

"Boom——!"

Thunderous rain of bullets followed the flashing sparks closely, instantly grinding a trench several meters long and more than half a meter deep in the ruins!

Dozens of mutants bearing anti-tank rocket launchers were killed instantly, the solid defense line being torn open with a breach within moments!

The Cloud Dragonfly Swarm swept in, mounted machine guns strafing the ground.

In just a few breaths, over 3,000 mutants suffered heavy casualties under the fierce bombardment, those surviving were shell-shocked, fleeing desperately.

They certainly couldn't escape.

Even if they could escape the Chimera armored cars and Cloud Dragonfly machine's strafing, they definitely wouldn't escape the descent of the divine punishment an hour later!

The Alliance's small detachments prowling outside the nuclear strike zone acted like scissors, clipping the mutant forces of the Enlightenment Society scattered near the base of the orbital elevator wreckage, while driving them toward the nuclear strike zone.

Only the permanent bunkers of the refuge could withstand the neutron plume descending from the sky.

Death was inevitable for them.

From the turret emerged half the body of the Escaped Vole in the Canyon, squinting at the direction where the mutant wanderers were fleeing.

Truly too weak.

Compared with the opponents he faced before, these guys could only be described as utterly vulnerable.

Of course—

Perhaps it's not that their opponents are too weak, but that they've become too strong, so much so that no one on this planet could be considered their opponents any longer.

Perhaps this is the last battle.

If a new expansion were to release, they might fear it could only be tackled on another planet.

His index finger tapped the earpiece of his communicator, the Escaped Vole in the Canyon yelled a charge through the communication channel.

"Brothers——"

"Our brothers who infiltrated No.13 Shelter have already risen up, it's time to send these rats to hell!"

"Forward!!!"

The deafening voice cut through the engine roars, responding to him were excited shouts of the same kind.

"Kill——!!!"

...

"Bang——!"

No.13 Shelter.

At the same time the gunfire erupted in the conference room, another shot rang out in the transit station of the refuge.

Residents of the refuge wearing exoskeletons held assault rifles in their hands, with light blue identification strips on their arms, and launched a sudden attack on the security forces stationed at the transport hub, assisted by undercover operatives.

Just as Zhuang Lan said, she was never fighting alone and has been side by side with like-minded people.

These included not only residents of Shelter No. 404 but also residents from other shelters, as well as those deceived by the Enlightenment Society but who eventually saw the truth.

They formed an organization called "Watcher."

While the Enlightenment Society was busy infiltrating the Survivor Forces scattered across the Wasteland, they were already plotting their own infiltration of the Enlightenment Society, gradually extending their reach into No.13 Shelter with the help of Marik!

Although the Enlightenment Society was adept at petty thefts, it had long since been assimilated by the Heavenly Beings Organization into something half-human, half-demonic, lost in the game of power, and gradually neglected its original expertise.

Because of this, they were completely unaware of the Watchers' infiltration, caught off guard by the sudden gunfire as they awaited divine retribution.

An explosive electromagnetic pulse grenade instantly incapacitated the security drones whizzing through the air, and the unexpected gunfire left the heavily armored bionic security guards stunned!

Nearly a hundred Watchers rapidly infiltrated the transit platform near the rail transport station, unleashing a burst of gunfire at the security robots being reinforced from the staircase.

Nearly thirty robots were instantly shot down!

They exploded in a dazzling electrical spark amid the choking smoke, followed by a thunderous detonation!

The scene was chaotic, gunfire and explosions incessant, like a purgatory on earth.

Although no one fired on the civilians, stray bullets from misfires still caused casualties among more than a dozen uninvolved individuals on site.

Screams rose and fell, the alarm blared loudly amidst the smoke, and people rushed to escape to the safety exits.

Clearly—

Their choice to turn a blind eye didn't truly help them escape chaos and death, even if they had chosen to sell their souls and stand beside the devil.

Nor was silence truly without cost; it just came a little later.

No matter that it was indeed pitiable.

The battle was still ongoing.

Over a dozen Watchers wearing exoskeletons swiftly seized control of the transport hub's machine room, implanted a virus to shut down the operating rail lines, and then broadcast an announcement declaring the occupation of the refuge, guiding the residents to evacuate to designated safe areas.

In the conference room on the other side, Apocalypse, who was confronting Zhuang Lan, still had a blank expression on his face, but those scarlet electronic eyes radiated bone-chilling coldness.

The situation was gradually turning unfavorable for the Enlightenment Society, perhaps the time to turn his back needed more careful consideration.

However, it seemed too late to regret it now.

The opposing party obviously took precise advantage of this fact, choosing this critical juncture to attack the Enlightenment Society and Heavenly Beings.

"I'll leave this to you."

Throwing this line at Tianlei beside him, Apocalypse turned swiftly, leaving the conference room with two bionic participants, heading towards the refuge's server room.

Meanwhile, a group of robot security forces stormed into the conference room, their pitch-black assault rifles threatening to turn everyone inside into a sieve in the next second.

"Go to hell."

Staring at the exoskeleton-clad organisms before him, Tianlei's face broke into a vicious grin, raising his right hand to signal the security forces to open fire.

But at that critical moment, the ceiling overhead suddenly exploded.

"Boom—!"

The burst debris, shrouded in thick smoke, cascaded down like a waterfall, covering the entire corridor outside the conference room, catching the security robots completely off-guard.

Someone had planted dynamite in the ventilation system!

And it wasn't just that—

At the same moment the shattered rebar came crashing down, riotous laughter also descended on the heads of the security robots!

"Hahaha! Finally, it's my turn to show off!"

Wearing a light exoskeleton and brandishing an assault rifle, Medical Miracle stepped on the ceiling and descended from above, wildly spraying the bionic entities standing at the conference room entrance!

Tianlei's eyes flashed red, his arms stretching forward like lightning, a large barrel emerging from his palms ready to fire, but with a "clang," his head flew skyward.

The scimitar in his hand was like a phantom. Watching the headless bionic entity attempt to turn and defend, Zhuang Lan lifted her hand and struck again, cleaving directly into the bionic entity's chest against the erupting sparks!

"Clang—!"

The titanic sound of metal echoed in the corridor, immediately followed by a deafening explosion.

Seeing the boss taken out in a second, Medical Miracle was dumbfounded and exclaimed in shock.

"Screw! My boss!"

MMP!

I've been playing dumb for months, just waiting for this moment, and it gets snatched away!!

Unable to understand what he was saying, Zhuang Lan waved the knife in his hand, and said succinctly.

"You're late."

"Got held up on the way..." the Medical Miracle said with deep regret.

Seeing his pained expression, Zhuang Lan teased him with a comment.

"Don't worry, I'm fine... but a few more minutes and I might not be, thanks."

"You're welcome."

I wasn't worried about you at all.

The Medical Miracle, enduring the flesh pain, walked into the meeting room, glanced around, then grabbed Director Feng who was lying on the ground, pressed him onto a chair, and sprayed a hemostatic spray on his bleeding leg.

A shot pierced the artery.

The fact that this guy is still alive means he either has prosthetics or he's really lucky.

Looking at the pale face, the Medical Miracle coughed twice, adjusted his serious expression, and extended the vm on his arm.

"You have two choices, either hand over the Manager's rights to me or die."

No.13 Shelter has no Manager; instead, the permissions are temporarily held by a Director elected by all survivor forces.

If the Director dies, the permissions are inherited by the Assistant Director. If the Assistant Director also dies, a new vote is initiated.

This rule was established by the First Generation Manager before his death and has stood for over a century.

So he wasn't at all afraid that this guy wouldn't hand over the rights, at most wasting a bullet.

And indeed, as he expected, Director Feng almost without hesitation threw out the control rights, transferring it to the wrist-mounted computer in front of him.

"Here you go! Take it! Damn, I shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess, these ungrateful wretches..."

He screamed shrilly while trembling, cold sweat streaming from his pale forehead, yet he seemed somewhat relieved.

The power that once enchanted him now was discarded like trash, as if it was something filthy.

The Medical Miracle, half-squatting on the ground, was getting up when he heard this and couldn't help but frown again.

"It's your own fault for being incompetent... what does it have to do with the Residents of the refuge?"

Director Feng looked at him in fear and immediately toned down some, yet he still stubbornly muttered.

"You also think it's my fault, don't you? Haha... victor gets it all, think what you will. But I have to say, I merely voiced their deepest desires and acted on them... and in the end, the responsibility fell on me."

"Shouldn't you bear the responsibility?" The Medical Miracle shrugged, "After all, you enjoyed it, those 'ungrateful wretches' might not have."

Ignoring the ashen-faced fool, he placed his index finger on the VM screen, marking the areas pointed out by the Watcher Organization comrades one by one.

Those areas were the only roads for security robots heading to the orbital transit hub.

Once the gate between the areas is sealed, they will completely lose the chance to reclaim the orbital transit station, only able to watch helplessly as the Watchers occupy it.

In contrast, the Watchers' broadcast was guiding the Residents of the refuge near the gate.

After the divine punishment descends, they will evacuate the willing Residents of the refuge one batch at a time, then permanently bury the Enlightenment Society members and the already descended celestial beings who wish to stay here.

Seize the entire refuge?

The Alliance never considered such thankless work from the beginning.

The celestial beings' virus had already corrupted most of the servers in the refuge.

This refuge was already ruined, and even with Manager's rights, it was useless.

Perhaps it won't be long before even the authority to open and close doors is taken by the celestial beings...

Just as the Medical Miracle was connecting the circuits of the shelter door, the holographic TV placed in the corner of the meeting room suddenly lit up, and a distorted face appeared from the pale blue light.

That person was Apocalypse.

After leaving the meeting room earlier, he seemed to have fully uploaded his mind onto the shelter's server.

This was probably his last resort, the hysterical roar had an air of final madness.

"You won't succeed—"

"The terminal server of this refuge is already under my control, it won't be long before I pry the door open and use the security machines in this refuge to rip you apart!"

Listening to the impotent rage, the Medical Miracle mocked with a laugh.

"Who's fighting you for the server."

"You just cling to that rusty server and live with it for the rest of your life."

Chapter 1045: Day of Judgment

Inside the gates of No.13 Shelter, gunfire rang out continuously, while outside was a scene of chaos.

Over ten thousand soldiers clad in exoskeletons rushed to their combat positions, followed closely by a fleet of combat drones. Under the shadows of the ruins, numerous recently deployed "humanoid combat armors" stepped out.

As early as the end of last year, the Enlightenment Society had been transferring their assets to No.13 Shelter.

Apart from the production materials and technical documents that had already been moved inside the shelter, a significant number of personnel and devices congregated outside the doors of No.13 Shelter.

These items couldn't possibly fit inside the shelter, especially those waste sorting assembly lines and recycling facilities supplying raw materials for the production lines.

If the situation became critical, they indeed could retreat into the turtle shell of the shelter.

However, before that, they would leave a profound lesson for those naïve survivors with the weapons in their hands!

Almost all members of the Enlightenment Society had this plan in mind.

Yet at this moment, an unexpected event occurred.

The gate of No.13 Shelter was locked...

...

The atmosphere in the Ground Action Command was heavy and oppressive.

The man pacing back and forth wore a grim expression, sweat beading on his forehead, resembling an ant on a hot pan.

His name was Morton, the right-hand man of Gui Xu and the titular second-in-command of the Enlightenment Society, responsible for commanding the military forces deployed at the gate of No.13 Shelter.

Standing expressionless next to him was a former Air and Space Army officer parachuted in by the "celestial beings" organization, codenamed "Rainbow," real name unknown, using the latest model of military android as a vessel to hold consciousness, serving as an operations consultant.

Unlike Morton, Rainbow's expression was significantly calmer.

Perhaps due to the three-year war service experience, or perhaps because of the innate composure of the undead, he did not take those cobbled together armed forces on the wasteland seriously.

Two centuries ago, it would have been a stretch to call these things cannon fodder.

At least in his view.

At this moment, an officer dressed in combat uniform walked into the command room through a dark passageway and cover.

Without waiting for him to utter a word of report, Morton immediately stepped forward, grabbing him by the collar, and roared.

"What's the situation with that damn door! Is it open yet?"

The officer gulped and quickly replied.

"There's a situation inside the shelter——"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a spray of spittle flying his way.

"Situation?! At this critical juncture, you're telling me there's a situation? I want you to immediately tell me exactly what's going on! And how long until it's resolved!"

Morton roared loudly, bloodshot eyes resembling a beast cornered against a wall.

The fact was indeed so.

Alliance troops were approaching from two directions, ready at any moment to drop a nuclear bomb over his head.

In fact, nuclear bombs weren't even the worst.

Near the base of an old era's space elevator lay a large amount of debris capable of withstanding the shockwave of a nuclear blast, and neutron radiation damage was not as untreatable as it was during the classical era.

What truly threatened them was the loss of a retreat path!

Once they lost No.13 Shelter as a retreat, the entire surface defense area would become a dead zone!

One or two nuclear strikes he could endure, but what about costless, continuous strategic bombings?

Not even he could withstand that.

Not even the metallic hulk beside him could withstand it!

Listening to the incoherent roaring of the superior officer, the officer being yanked by the collar was equally alarmed.

"We are not clear on the details yet; our connection with the shelter has been cut off... It was severed from their side. Judging by the latest information, someone inside the shelter has incited a rebellion... "

"Damn…" Morton cursed, releasing the collar in his hand, quickly returning to the command table, both hands pressing on the tabletop, his eyes fixed on the strategic map flickering with uncertainty.

Based on information from the front, several Alliance military forces dispersed as they approached the core area of the Enlightenment Society's equipment, forming a siege around the ruins of the space elevator's base.

Clearly.

The Alliance had calculated that they couldn't and wouldn't be able to retreat to No.13 Shelter, even plotting this rebellion!

Otherwise, they would never have adopted a surrounding tactic.

This group knew very well how foolish it was to besiege a shelter, having come from a shelter themselves!

Sweat continuously rolled down his forehead, Morton felt very much like a gambler clutching his remaining chips.

If they concentrated their forces to break through, there was still a slight hope of survival.

Once the entire encirclement is formed—

The fate of all of them will hang on that gear-shaped alloy giant door!

Looking at the tense Morton, Tianhong placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke in an emotionless electronic voice.

"There's no need to worry, our defense line isn't that easy to breach."

Apart from 11,000 marines equipped according to pre-war configurations, and nearly a thousand humanoid combat armors, they also deployed a large number of automated turrets and drone hives along the defense line!

Once the Alliance's ground forces approach the defense line, they will surely face a devastating blow!

The area above No.13 Shelter now concentrates all the Strength of the Enlightenment Society in the Great Desert region!

Even if the Alliance has a vast number of soldiers and endless logistics, removing this thorn will take some effort.

"The issue isn't whether we can hold the line, but the survival of our entire organization! If the door of No.13 Shelter cannot be opened, those personnel we left on the surface will eventually be drained by their continuous attacks!"

"So?" Tianhong shrugged lightly, looking calmly at the officer before him.

"So?"

Morton squinted at the person who seemed to feel no crisis and suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"I remembered... you don't really care, after all, it's just a shell you left on the surface walking around here, right?"

"I don't deny that statement," Tianhong replied nonchalantly, "We are immortal."

The command room fell silent.

All the officers present fell silent, each for their own reasons.

There was fear, envy, and mostly indifference.

They were all "Ascenders" who had uploaded their minds onto circuit boards, embracing glorious evolution.

Tianhong was right.

At least, for those officers who had their brains stationed at the Lagrange Point Space Station, so a victory or loss meant nothing.

Even if the entire Enlightenment Society were to perish, it wouldn't matter.

Their souls were already immortal.

Morton stared coldly at this indifferent person, a myriad of complex emotions flashing in his pupils.

The President was right... you guys have no heart; it's fine to use you, but to bank our victory on you, we're all doomed.

"Calm down, heart or no heart, we're at least in the same camp for now, aren't we?"

Tianhong spoke in a nonchalant voice, glancing at the man in front of him, and suddenly dropped a bombshell that none of the present saw coming.

"Actually, you don't need to be too anxious. We've already copied your mind and stored it in the server at the Lagrange Point. Even in the worst-case scenario, you won't face any issues."

Morton stared at him, initially with disbelief, which then turned into anger.

"You copied my mind?! What do you mean by that? When did this happen?"

"Several months ago," Tianhong continued calmly, "Don't be so agitated, it's just a precaution. After all, War is a risky business. If you were to meet with an accident, we could bring you back through this backup Method—"

"Not be so agitated?! Come back to life? Ha—" Morton laughed derisively, staring at him as if he were a nonsensical monster, "What do you mean 'come back to life'? Let a piece of metal replace me? Put on my face, console my wife? Make my Kids call it Dad? Is this the replacement Method you speak of?"

"Is there a problem with that?" Tianhong shrugged, also looking at him with an expression of incomprehension, "You would become an immortal, truly immortal—"

"Shut up!"

Before he could finish speaking, a violent shout interrupted him, followed by a gun pointed at his head.

Seeing Morton suddenly pull out a gun, a flash of surprise crossed Tianhong's eyes.

He hadn't expected this guy's mood to be so unstable, actually pointing the gun at him.

Maybe—

Copying this guy's Consciousness Entity wasn't the best choice.

His abilities might be good, but he's too impulsive.

Seeing Morton suddenly explode, all the officers in the command room were left stunned.

"General, General... please calm down!" A nearby officer attempted to intervene, but was intimidated by Morton's fierce glare, leaving his words stuck in his throat.

Tianhong, unfazed, gazed at Morton, not sparing a glance at the gun aimed at his head, and spoke in a gentle voice.

"I suggest you listen to your subordinates. What we need now is to discuss strategies, not have internal conflicts. If you're really opposed, we could delete your backup personality."

"Do you think your words are the least credible?" Morton, looking as if he'd gone insane, glared at him and everyone around.

Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind as fear crept into his eyes.

"How many of you... are actually bionic?"

He used to think it was strange.

Ever since the Enlightenment Society started cooperating with the celestial beings, his subordinates have been miraculously surviving regardless of the heavy defeats they suffered!

If it were before, he certainly wouldn't have entertained such inappropriate associations.

However, at this moment, the higher-ups from the celestial beings informed him that they had long since replicated his mind without his permission and used his memory and thoughts to create his puppet!

The air was deathly quiet.

In the command room with about ten people, only two hands were raised in response to the order from the officer.

One trembling hand belonged to the mid-level officer who reported, and the other belonged to his adjutant, Lu Mo.

"Officer... I'm, I'm not a cyborg." The mid-level officer said with a trembling voice, his eyes full of panic.

Morton cast a hopeful glance at Lu Mo, but what the latter said plunged him into despair.

"Officer, let me say a few words... Actually, this isn't a bad thing. If it weren't for uploading our thoughts to the circuit board, I might have died in that operation a year ago."

More than ninety percent of the officers present nodded in agreement, indicating that it was the same for them, that it's thanks to celestial technology that they've "lived" up to now.

Those who didn't raise their hands silently acknowledged what Lu Mo said with their eyes.

"See, I told you, there's nothing to worry about." Tianhong said calmly, with a nonchalant look at Morton, "Not only am I immortal, we're all immortal."

Watching the "walking corpses" he had always regarded as comrades, Morton was utterly despairing, muttering with trembling lips.

"You lunatic... and you all, you're freaking lunatics!"

Perhaps—

The insane ones weren't just the celestial beings.

In the eyes of the survivors on the Wasteland, weren't they themselves also lunatics?

Seeing Morton lowering his gun, Tianhong's lips curled into a smile.

But the smile froze on his face in less than a second.

Without any warning.

Morton suddenly pointed the gun at his own chin and pulled the trigger silently.

"Bang—!"

The gunfire flashed and disappeared, Morton fell backward, and the hot shrapnel splattered blood onto the ceiling.

The air in the command room was deathly silent.

Except for those officers who had already been transformed into cyborgs, all the still-living people widened their eyes, swallowing hard.

Dead...

Their officer.

"Why bother?"

After a long silence, Tianhong sighed softly, raising his index finger and waving it lightly.

A moment later, footsteps were heard outside, and an officer walked in accompanied by two guards.

The officer stood still, saluted, and then walked to face the crowd.

The mid-level officer responsible for transmitting orders widened his eyes, looking incredulously at the familiar face in front of him—

It was his officer!

General Morton!

"Drag that thing out and burn it."

Sweeping a glance at himself lying on the ground, Morton then signaled the two cyborg soldiers who came in with him to drag the body outside.

Then he looked around at the officers present, including the completely dumbfounded mid-level officer, and in an unprecedented calm voice said.

"The combat meeting resumes."

"Before the blockade at the No.13 Shelter is lifted, I need you to hold the line at all costs—"

"Monster..."

The mid-level officer extended a trembling hand, unlocked his pistol, and aimed to shoot at him.

However, before his gun was drawn from the holster, Morton had already pulled the trigger.

"Bang—!"

The bullet precisely hit the officer's forehead, splashing red and white pulp backward all over the place.

The soldiers dragging the body paused their actions, casting inquisitive glances at Morton.

Without even looking at the man lying on the ground, Morton holstered his gun with a blank expression, leaving a remark.

"Drag him out too."

The soldiers nodded in agreement, stuffed the body into a body bag, zipped it up, and dragged it out the door.

Watching the skilled actions of "Morton", Tianhong's lips hung a satisfied smile.

Good—

This guy uploaded to the circuit board is much more capable than that pile of flesh.

Perhaps they should have removed him earlier and replaced him with this more efficient "immortal being".

The combat meeting continued.

Morton methodically carried out combat deployments, delivering orderly combat orders to lower-level combat units.

The few remaining live officers were trembling, not daring to breathe a word.

No one noticed the two corpses dragged out from the command center.

Including Morton's trusted lieutenant, Commander Mangge of the "Flashing" special forces unit.

Staring at the rolling dust and the increasingly close enemy unit signals on the tactical dial from the concrete fortifications, his brows furrowed, only feeling his eyelids twitching.

He felt a gun was aimed at him, but couldn't see where the gun was.

According to reports from the front line, the Alliance's troops had just paused their offensive.

Yet for some reason, the unease in his heart grew ever stronger...

Putting away the binoculars, he retreated from the frontline cover back down to the bunker.

And at that moment, a sergeant responsible for communications walked in solemnly from outside, saying.

"The command told us to hold the position."

"Hold the position?"

Mangge's brows twitched involuntarily, showing a face full of misunderstanding.

"The main Alliance forces are going to confront us directly, why aren't we retreating now, what are we waiting for?"

"This is a direct order from the command..." The sergeant's expression was also unpleasant, but mostly helpless.

This was the intention of their officer, Morton.

Perhaps—

That man might have some other trump card?

As he thought about this, the lights in the bunker suddenly started flickering.

The few soldiers present were all taken aback, their nerves instantly shattered, looking nervously at the flickering light bulb.

Standing at the doorway, the sergeant swallowed, uncertainly asking.

"...Is it an EMP?"

If it was an electromagnetic pulse, then it probably meant the Alliance's full-scale attack was about to begin.

However, Mangge furrowed his brows, muttering in a lowered voice.

"It doesn't look like..."

Though an EMP has strong penetrative power, it shouldn't penetrate more than a dozen meters of concrete.

Moreover, the damn thing is mainly targeted at "microchip" devices, how could it interfere with bunker lighting systems powered by diesel generators?

Unless—

That thing is not an electromagnetic pulse but a massive high-energy particle radiation similar to a solar flare!

At the instant of this thought, Mangge's face turned deathly pale.

He thought of a possibility!

Even though he couldn't fathom why they hadn't received any early warning.

That thing should require 24 hours from setup to charge completion. The space station at the Lagrange Point shouldn't have missed it!

However, thinking about it now seems to be pointless...

It's already too late.

Watching the lights suddenly go out, he said in despair.

"It's too late..."

It's over.

Chapter 1046: The Purifying Light

The dazzling light obscured the sunset's afterglow, and it seemed as if there were two suns in the fiery red dusk.

One hung on the horizon, the other right above the head.

Especially the one above, dazzling like a headlight in a tunnel.

Everyone at the Enlightenment Society's position couldn't help but raise their heads and look toward that dazzling light.

And just in that instant, their pupils simultaneously seeped with blood and lost all sight.

"Don't look up! Don't look above!"

The commander's intermittent roar echoed in the communication channel, and the combat personnel on the field hurriedly averted their gaze.

However—

It was already too late.

That scorching light took away not only their sight but everything from them.

It was tens or even hundreds, thousands of times the neutron radiation of solar flares!

The high-energy particles released at high speed formed a plume of light in the air like a waterfall!

That lethal beam pierced through the assets and atmospheric protection, indiscriminately descending upon the surface, spreading an unprecedented aurora over the equatorial sky!

The Enlightenment Society soldiers crouching in the open bunkers were the first to suffer.

Exposed to the high-energy neutron plume, they only felt a warmth, and then their entire cells seemed boiled instantaneously, pupils scattered light, and blood gushed uncontrollably from nostrils and mouths, embracing eternal death in a moment.

On hundreds of kilometers of the position, exoskeleton-wearing soldiers died in droves, mutants holding large-caliber rifles twisted on the ground, unable to stop their wailing against the invisible opponent.

Even gene modifiers wearing power armor couldn't help but kneel in pain, eventually vomiting blood and collapsing to the ground.

The continuous irradiation of the neutron plume differed from instantaneous nuclear explosions, it was annihilation in the true sense, akin to hundreds or even thousands of neutron torpedoes bombing continuously!

The strengthening of flesh did not help them evade the deadly damage, at most it delayed their demise.

Including those prosthetic body soldiers who underwent modification surgery.

The partial separation of flesh did not truly make them another species outside an organic body.

Like gene modifiers and mutants, those mechanical parts merely prolonged the agony of their death at most.

"That light... what is it?!"

"Itchy...something is...growing out of me..."

"Ah ah ah!"

The communication channel filled with noise, screams, and wails rising and falling, resembling purgatory on earth.

And shortly afterward, those screams and wails also vanished.

The continuous irradiation of the neutron plume sequentially destroyed the communication facilities deployed on the ground.

At the same time, tens of thousands of Enlightenment Society soldiers and mutant cannon fodder dissipated and withered like dust under that dazzling light, leaving only pure war machines.

Apart from the soldiers standing on the ground, the officers hiding in concrete fortifications endured the same torment of high-energy particle rays.

Tens of meters of concrete were not the alloy giant doors of a refuge, quickly riddled by the pervasive neutron rays, as if they didn't exist at all.

Blood spouted from mouth and nose, Mangge, wearing an exoskeleton, weakly collapsed to the ground, unable to move even a finger.

The lighting facilities were completely paralyzed.

Including the communication system, even the exoskeleton on his body had stalled.

He could only watch helplessly as blood filled the ground, drowning in resentment and regret in the blood pool, eventually silently passing away in the dark underground facilities.

It was all over...

That light descending from the sky wiped out the lifelong efforts and decades of accumulation of the Enlightenment Society directly from the ground, leaving only some backed-up data on the scrap metal.

Looking at the few officers who had suddenly died violently on the ground, a faint trace of incredulity appeared on Tianhong's face, then he raised his head to look at the ceiling above.

"That is..."

Thunderbolt?

He had heard about that weapon but hadn't expected the Alliance to use it here, nor the Lagrange Point space station to react without a sound.

Unless—

Just as the Alliance's ground forces launched an attack on the Enlightenment Society's stronghold, the space station at the Lagrange point also came under attack!

But how could this be possible?!

The Orion Missile Cruiser was clearly still parked in synchronous orbit, those crew members even touring the ground—

At this moment, Tianhong suddenly realized, the red glow in his electronic eye slightly constricted.

So that was it.

It was the Alliance's deception!

While their attention was entirely focused on the Orion Missile Cruiser, the Alliance's armed forces were already quietly advancing toward the Lagrange Point space station!

Angry currents surged over the intellectual module, he clenched his fists, restraining the overwhelming fury.

Incensed by radiation burning the speaker, he finally uttered a low curse.

"…We've been tricked."

...

The dazzling aurora filled the sky for hundreds of kilometers, its brilliant light even stealing the spotlight from the sunset.

On the desolate battlefield, blood flowed like rivers, with corpses strewn everywhere.

They wouldn't decay.

At least not for a while.

The scorching neutron plume not only claimed their lives, but also deactivated the bacteria on them, penetrating several kilometers beneath the soil!

None survived aside from the residents of the shelter!

As the punishing "Heavenly Thunder" continued to shine upon this sinful land, the ruins north of Lavanka Industrial Zone were teeming with people.

Pairs of eyes filled with uncertainty turned toward the distant horizon, watching the second sun rise from the aurora at some unknown time.

They were all Waste Land Wanderers living in this region, scavengers migrating with the sandstorms.

In the face of this unprecedented phenomenon, their reactions were no more insightful than those of the natives on Gaia planet.

Some stood bewildered, others hid in panic under the eaves, or prostrated on the ground praying devoutly to an unknown entity.

A matted-haired child raised a dirty face, curiously tugging on his father's sleeve as he gazed at the never-before-seen aurora.

"Dad... what's that?"

The scavenger with a face full of lines raised his head, his eyes under the cloak watching the increasingly bright light, with a hint of surprise in his murky pupils.

Over there—

Is that the center of the Great Desert?

He didn't know what the dazzling light signified, only feeling a vague sense of sanctity and majesty emanating from that part of the sky.

For a long time, it had been deemed the center of chaos and the forbidden zone of life by countless Waste Land Wanderers.

It was filled with oddly-shaped Variants, Mutants who harmed without blinking, mysterious armed forces capturing survivors, and machines attacking living beings indiscriminately.

So even though it was once the center of a prosperous world in the old times, few scavengers dared to approach.

Unexpectedly, from the very depths of hell, the sun rose one day.

Perhaps, as the Waste Land Wanderers in this area widely rumored, the Wasteland Era is about to end…

...

At the western outpost of the Great Desert, the on-duty Eastern Empire soldier slung his rifle, staring dazedly in the direction of the second sun rising.

Not far from the sentry post on the sand dunes, two Ten Thousand Leaders with high ranks stood side by side.

To see more clearly, Semmes readjusted his officer's hat, then simply took it off.

Gazing at the boiling sky, he muttered after a long silence.

"Is that the power of the 'SOG' system…"

General McCullen standing beside him nodded, speaking with a complex expression.

"Yes."

That weapon had originally been in the hands of Giant Stone City, and nearly fell into his hands at one point.

The Emperor of the Eastern Empire had long been plagued by sleepless nights due to that weapon hanging over his head.

And now, as the Alliance finally brandished this mighty sword, His Majesty and the ministers were all the more sleepless…

Semmes wiped the sweat from his forehead, speaking with a touch of relief.

"No doubt a weapon from the Prosperity Epoch, even the aftershock of its attack is astonishing... luckily this thing is disposable, and the Alliance only has one."

General McCullen glanced at his colleague beside him, then suddenly spoke after a moment of thought.

"General Semmes, if you were the commander of the Alliance, how would you use this weapon?"

Semmes replied without hesitation.

"Use it? I wouldn't use it at all; letting it stay on the launcher is the best use."

"I feel the same way."

Adjusting the officer's hat on his head, General McCullen squinted, gazing at the distant aurora reminiscent of dawn.

"The deterrence of strategic weapons diminishes to zero the moment they are used... especially when it's a weapon with only one shot."

Somehow, what he said seemed rather deep.

General Semmes frowned, suddenly realizing something, his pupils contracting slightly.

"You mean... the Alliance already has a new means of deterrence?"

McCullen didn't answer the question, only squinting at the burning sky and giving an ambiguous answer.

"Perhaps more than that."

At least from his perspective, what might be truly alarming is not that the Alliance has a new means of deterrence, but that they no longer need strategic deterrence to maintain their influence.

Unlike those survivor forces still entrapped in the shadow of the Prosperity Epoch, they have stepped out from under it.

And brought others along as well…

...

The dazzling light lingered in the sky for just a quarter of an hour.

However, for the Enlightenment Society scorched by this light, that brief quarter of an hour felt as long as a century.

Having lost their targets to follow, the tactical drones floundered helplessly like headless flies on the ground.

The three-meter-tall humanoid combat armor reinitiated its system, attempting to take over the trench now filled only with corpses.

Yet, the cumbersome metal casing, standing in the infantry's trench, either had its left leg stuck or its waist wedged, looking awkward no matter how you viewed it.

And that's not all.

Without the agile infantry filling the lines, the previously strong defensive line became riddled with holes.

Though these combat armors have more ample firepower and mobility beyond infantry capabilities, firepower and mobility are not everything in war.

No matter how fierce these big-headed firepowers are, there are always blind spots they can't cover.

After all, war has never been just a simple calculation of combat power values; it's a clash of systems versus systems.

The neutron plume from the sky eradicated not merely tens of thousands of soldiers and cannon fodder, but directly erased the ecological niches originally occupied by infantry.

These vacant positions couldn't be immediately replaced by intelligent weapons.

Though the strategic conception of completely replacing infantry with intelligent weaponry isn't impossible, it must be accompanied by suitable tactics.

Otherwise, no matter how many intelligent machines are filled in, they are merely acting as slightly tougher cannon fodder.

As the strategic strike concluded, the aurora in the sky faded along with the departing sunset, and the entire land gradually draped itself in the veils of night.

At the same time, incendiary bombs rose into the sky, replacing the blood-red sunset, illuminating the battlefield littered with corpses.

The scalding dust boiled at the edge of the earth, raised by tank tracks and armored vehicle wheels like a sandstorm engulfing the sun and moon.

Observing the anomaly in the distance, the humanoid combat armor deployed at the first defensive line promptly raised the 20mm heavy machine guns mounted on its sides, spewing tongues of fire forward with a "tat-tat-tat".

The long tracers scraped dazzling sparks off the front armor and turret of the latest Model 4 Alliance tanks, but didn't leave even a thumb-sized dent.

The only real threat to these armored units were those missiles with tracking capabilities.

However, the Alliance was prepared for this, as the Cloud Dragonfly flapping machines flanking the armored units carried infrared illumination and radio-guided weapon jamming devices.

And that's not all!

The Thunder fighter planes roaring overhead dropped two EMP missiles, delivering a round of electromagnetic pulses to the entire area.

The missiles burst open like headless flies, some heading skyward, others burying themselves in the sand, proving less menacing than the unguided recoilless guns!

Within just a few breaths, the Alliance's steel tide had already advanced to the edge of the combat zone.

Seeing the rows of iron clunkers like sitting ducks in their "radish pits", Brother Mole sitting in the Chimera armored car grabbed his communicator, shouting excitedly.

"Fire——!"

The Chimera armored car formation was the first to launch an attack!

The 37mm armor-piercing incendiary bullets, like rows of burning feathers under the night sky, instantly blasted the humanoid combat armors trying to reclaim the trenches into scrap!

Simultaneously, the Cloud Dragonfly flapping machines on both sides leapt up with a "whoosh!" Adjusting their flight height swiftly, they poured tons of rocket fire onto the front lines barely seized from the Enlightenment Society by the Celestial Beings!

As for the steel spearhead formed by tanks, it continued to charge towards the Celestial Beings' defensive lines with unabated momentum!

Explosive flashes merged across the Celestial Beings' positions, and the symphony played by metal clashing with gunpowder had barely begun for over ten minutes before only the burning steel remained amid the swirling yellow sands!

However——

These clunkers did not sit idly by.

They lacked any concept of morale, unaware of death and destruction.

Realizing that the collapse of the first defensive line was inevitable, Tianhong immediately halted reinforcements to the first line, withdrawing the remaining humanoid combat armors and ground firepower trucks back to the second line, leaving behind numerous unmanned drone hives and anti-aircraft fire points dispersed in the depth between the two defensive lines.

This was an area littered with reinforced concrete debris, some remnants of pre-war houses, others belonging to the space station.

The Enlightenment Society usually orchestrated mutants to recover alloy materials from these ruins to craft their war machines, and now these inexhaustible ruins became their natural cover!

Once the Alliance's armored units and aircraft entered this area, they would face self-destructive drones attacking from all directions!

Yet, the Celestial Beings ultimately underestimated the mental pressure they exerted on the survivor forces in the wasteland and the Alliance's resolve to completely eradicate them from the land.

Just as the Alliance's armored units were about to breach the first defensive line, two dazzling flames slashed across the night sky, exploding into a searing plasma in the air!

They were cruise missiles launched from the South Sea Federation missile cruiser deployed in the western sea!

A colossal electromagnetic pulse, several times larger than before, instantly blanketed the entire area, and tens of thousands of self-destruct drones barely took off before plummeting to the ground like raindrops.

Impacted were not only the small drones; those humanoid combat armors withdrawing from the battlefield also suffered varying degrees of disruption, transforming the orderly retreat into chaos.

At this moment, the Alliance's armored spearhead had pierced through the first defensive line of the Celestial Beings. The Model 4 tanks, now steadied atop slopes, raised their onboard railgun barrels, precisely eliminating the retreating humanoid combat armors and self-propelled guns!

In the face of this naval gun-caliber kinetic energy, even the ceramic steel dismantled from the space station was as brittle as papier-mâché.

Surveying the thoroughly collapsing battle line, Tianhong, standing in the command center, wore a stunned expression.

These guys...

Are they really just Waste Land Wanderers?!

Even with the assistance of the Residents of the refuge, their exhibited combat prowess was too extraordinary.

Prior to the Apocalypse, Tianqi was affiliated with the Torch Church; though not adept at commanding battles, he was at least a quasi-active-duty officer of the United Human Regular Army!

These scavenging beggars——

The bandits fooling around with the Prosperity Epoch's legacy—

How could they possibly be a match for someone like him who participated in a three-year war!

The anger surged through his cognitive plugins, and the originally expressionless Tianhong could no longer contain the fury in his heart, as the flexible components of his face twisted along with the distorted intelligent program.

Just as he was enraged, a group of cavalry riding Claw of death had already broken through his second line of defense.

"Prepare for battle!!!"

Edge Shoveling shouted loudly, leading his pet beneath him, charging at the forefront and firing a portable rocket towards the nearest humanoid armor!

In front of the high-tech humanoid mechs, this group of players carrying rocket launchers and riding on Lizards looked like a joke no matter how you saw it.

And across the entire desert, probably only those who had experienced their prowess like the Vellante people couldn't laugh.

The 20mm machine cannon found it hard to adapt to close-range shooting.

And with obstacles in the way, those humanoid mechs, even if driving all their computing power, found it difficult to follow the Claw of death's tail darting around like a ghost.

What a shame.

On this chaotic battlefield, there wasn't a central processor capable of overseeing all the information to support these devices with computing power, and the only personnel capable of substituting for the central processor to guide them had already been wiped out in previous strategic strikes.

In contrast to their opponents, each Claw of death wearing an exoskeleton moved as fast as lightning.

Driven by the instinct of life and the desire for slaughter, these beasts born for killing exploded with strong combat power and adaptability to the battlefield, almost merging with the masters on their backs, madly harvesting one after another war machine unable to attend to both its head and tail!

Soon, the third line of defense deployed by the celestial beings at the entrance of No. 13 Shelter also began to falter, and the tightly closed Alloy Giant Door seemed dead, unable to open and respond.

Perhaps that door wouldn't open anymore.

Or maybe that fortress had already fallen from within, with no reason to continue holding the ground.

Tianhong, who had taken over command from Morton, had completely gone mad.

Facing an irreparable defeat, he issued the order to "fight to the last moment," and then, along with Morton's Personal Body Guard, he headed to the battlefield, placing the final chips on this already decided gamble!

Actually, it wouldn't make a difference even if he didn't place them.

The Alliance had neither reason nor a millionth of a chance to show mercy to them.

After all, those guys had taken the initiative to eliminate all live humans on the entire battlefield first.

And those remaining, in the eyes of those Waste Land Wanderers, didn't even count as human.

Merely resembling humans.

"You're seeking your doom! We won't let you off! When the day we descend comes, we will slaughter you all! Including you Blue Ground Squirrels!"

As he fought on the front lines, Tianhong fired at the advancing Death Legion while using the remaining few broadcasts to roar at the tide of troops surging in.

Perhaps the cognitive plugins had burned out, and he even used the nickname given by the Vellante people to the Residents of the refuge.

However, he didn't expect his roar not only failed to dent the morale of these organics but instead made the players charging forward even more excited.

"Brothers! Put in more effort!!!"

"Boss fight!!!"

"Awoo awoo awoo!!!"

"Mine!! All mine!!!"

Those players previously exhausted from charging were now all fired up as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

Feeling the ever-swirling offensive, Tianhong had a bewildered expression on his face, completely bemused.

But that bewilderment didn't last long.

A piercing armor-piercing incendiary bullet struck through his shoulder, tearing his right arm from his body.

Sparks flew wildly, and with a roar, he intended to stretch out his left hand to pick up the gun fallen to the ground, but a flying axe came and removed his other arm.

Looking at the person standing before him, he ceased the superfluous struggle and coldly threw down two sentences.

"... Heh, don't get too happy too soon, the Enlightenment Society... is nothing more than a pawn."

"We... will come back."

Upon hearing this last remark, the originally uninterested Talan's eyes lit up immediately. He grabbed the axe on the ground, with a clang, chopped the head of this bionic man, afraid someone might get ahead of him!

Wow!

Thought it was just an ordinary elite monster, didn't expect it to have two lines of dialogue!

Must be a big catch!

Holding the hunk of metal in his hand, Talan immediately opened the communication channel, eager to share this moment of joy with his good brothers in the Desert Army.

"Boss!!! I got it!"

No surprises at all—

The communication channel echoed with the friendly blessings of brothers.

Desert Falcon: "Damn! My boss!!!"

Emichiru Junichiro: "Damn it! How did you bastard snatch it!"

Talan: "?????"

Chapter 1047: Victory Belonging to All Survivors

At the same time that Tianhong was killed in the chaotic army by the commander of the Desert Army, Morton, who had been transformed into a bionic man on the other side of the battlefield, also fell under the stray bullets of the Death Legion.

His legs were blown off, one arm was broken, and there was not a single intact part left on his body. The damage report on the main control program kept sounding.

Yet, even so, he did not stop fighting. Instead, using his remaining left hand, he drew his sidearm, attempting to aim at the charging Claw of Death.

"Bang——!"

The bullet flew out of the chamber but narrowly missed the target.

"Roar!!!"

The Claw of Death let out a furious roar and in an instant reached close, biting off Morton's remaining arm, tearing it brutally from his shoulder.

Sparks of electricity scattered everywhere, and a thick smoke rose from Morton's shoulder.

The Claw of Death stomped on his chest, threw away the half arm in its mouth, and again opened its fierce, bloody maw.

Morton looked at it expressionlessly, calmly awaiting death, but saw its open mouth being restrained.

Perhaps worried that its mount might eat something bad, a cavalryman clad in exoskeleton jumped off the lizard's back, casually taking the engineer shovel hanging beside the lizard.

The shovel had a sharpened edge on the side, usable as a bayonet or a demolition axe.

As he watched the man walking toward him, Morton, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

"I don't understand..."

Looking at the bionic man waiting to die on the ground, Edge Shoveling raised his eyebrows while holding the engineer shovel.

"Don't understand what?"

Morton stared into his eyes, speaking in intermittent electronic sounds.

"How... did you do it? We... have at least... four active United Human officers. We predicted we might withstand it... but not to... the Wasteland Wanderers, not this quickly."

According to the calculated deduction, the three lines of defense deployed around Shelter No.13 should at least hold for half a month, no way they couldn't last even one night.

However, the result of this war was beyond his expectations.

The mechanical soldiers that were supposed to hold out longer succumbed to a systemic collapse in a way he hadn't anticipated, while these organic beings held out longer than he expected...

"Active officers are still alright..."

Looking at the confused hunk of iron, Edge Shoveling grinned and teased.

"Your war lasted three years, ours lasted two centuries. What makes you think you're more professional? Just because there's a United Human rubber stamp on your rank?"

The electronic eyes embedded in the lump of iron flickered slightly, then dimmed.

"I see..."

They had lived in the glory of the past for too long.

Whether it was celestial beings.

Or themselves before becoming celestial beings...

Morton didn't speak, seemingly finally understanding everything, silently accepting this failed outcome.

The gunfire in the distance continued.

Although the commander was dead, the mechanical soldiers unaware of death did not stop but continued to execute the previous orders.

Even though they had lost the reason to continue fighting.

In some sense, they and their celestial creators might be similar people.

Their era had ended.

Still living 200 years ago, not only did they not become the building blocks for rebuilding the world, but they became the obstacles to people's journey to the New Epoch...

The burning steel filled the wasteland beneath the old space elevator, the clash of blood and fire lasted the entire night until the dawn hung at the misty horizon.

With the scrapping of the last humanoid combat armor, this slaughter finally ended with the Alliance's victory.

As for the cost.

Though not devastating, neither was it light.

Even after the orbital gun's first-strike strategic strike wiped out the Enlightenment Society's surface combatants and mutant Cannon Fodder, the celestial's robot army still caused significant casualties to the players.

In just one battle, the total casualties of over a dozen participating legions reached twenty thousand.

Among them, the Death Legion suffered the most severe casualties, with 11,000 members perishing.

Of course, their numbers were the largest in the worldwide community, long maintaining around 30,000.

As for the Skeleton Corps, primarily made of armored units, the casualties were surprisingly not as heavy.

Blood dyed the reddish-brown sand even redder, resembling a glowing sea of blood in the morning light.

The only consolation was that players who died in battle wouldn't truly die.

Three days later, they would awaken from the cultivation chamber and once again see the sun shining over the earth...

...

The official website of Wasteland OL was bustling with activity.

The Backseat Drivers were busy stirring up arguments, debating the strengths of the celestial beings and the Enlightenment Society compared to other forces in the Wasteland, while players who prematurely logged off waited for the latest battle updates from their recently deceased brothers.

Soon after, the victory reports from the frontlines came in, and the official website's reward announcement simultaneously flooded the screens.

"Tarlan Raider" wasn't the only one earning rewards and a limited title from the Worldwide Announcement.

Including Edge Shoveling, including Brother Mole, almost everyone unlocked their achievements and proudly entered the website's Hall of Fame.

After waiting for months, they finally had a satisfying decisive battle, and almost all participating players thoroughly enjoyed it.

Plus, with the generous activity points and rewards, the three-day resurrection CD and withdrawal symptoms seemed not so hard to endure.

Perhaps.

Edge Shoveling: "Thrilling! Hahaha! Haven't felt this thrilled in a while! (Grinning)"

Drum Washing Machine: "Just a bit lonely and cold, didn't expect the Enlightenment Society to be so fragile, got taken down with just one map cannon shot. (Sigh)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Speaking of which, since the Enlightenment Society is down, is it time for the Eastern Empire next? (Smirk)"

Elena: "Salen: Don't come over here guys!! (Funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "Doesn't feel like it, can't just take down everything we see that's different from us. (Funny)"

Mole on the Run in the Valley: "Unless a new expansion pack comes out. (Funny)"

Leftover Old Man: "But they're still in slavery now, a rational analysis isn't impossible."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Though that may be, they've already started changing. For instance, New West Port is actually a good beginning. Although the power of the people there is currently still small, they will eventually grow and become a political force driving change in the Eastern Empire. If we intervene recklessly, it may backfire, and possibly create another mishmash."

The previous army was indeed a mishmash, and after disbandment, it actually became normal.

The Eastern Empire is not the Eastern Empire because they have a king named Salen, but because of the deep-seated common hope within all who live on that land.

The latter is the reason, while the former is just the result.

In this regard, the Vellante people from Welch Governorate and Bartoya Province have essential differences.

The former already possessed constitutional traditions during Julius's era, otherwise, even if the Leader shouted until his throat was hoarse, it wouldn't change anything.

While the Southern Legion, although briefly embarked on a militaristic path, society's main bodies were citizens, officers, and industrialists, differing fundamentally from the Eastern Legion where landlords and military aristocrats served as the main societal roles.

Whether the Vellante of the Eastern Empire admit it or not, the ecological niche of the usurper is objectively existent, including the tens of thousands of Slave Owners dependent on the usurper.

Once the tangible emperor falls, the intangible emperor will emerge to fill the vacant ecological niche.

This is not just the Eastern Empire's issue but a shared issue of all forms of feudal coexistence.

In fact, relatively speaking, the Eastern Empire is considerably more advanced in its feudal system.

At least, whether it's their emperor or the tens of thousands of military aristocrats themselves, there's an ingrained desire for progress in their brains.

I Max Black: "Tsk, why does your tone increasingly resemble Fang Chang's."

Kakarot: "Reasonably suspect, probably because of some affair with an NPC. (Smirk)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "??? "

Falling Feather: "I'm only curious about one thing now, what will the next expansion be. (Looking at the sky)"

Feng Qing: "Maybe another planet?"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Come on, wouldn't that be a bit too much of a jump? (Stunned)"

Mole on the Run in the Valley: "You guys are really hard to please, you were shouting about flying while you hadn't even stepped out of Qingquan City, and now you're hesitant when it seems you might actually fly? (Funny)"

Laplace: "Wait, does that mean Wasteland OL is just the prequel to the official game background setting?! (Surprised)"

Lady, you wouldn't want: "Though it feels problematic everywhere, there's something oddly reasonable about it. (Cry-laughing)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Awesome! Using the prequel as a test version is invincible."

Tail: "Oh oh oh! 'Starry Sky OL', activating! (puts on sunglasses)"

Difficult for the strong: "Crying, can I delete my character and reroll? (crying)"

Outlaw Maniac: "Speaking of which, why didn't we see Old White showing off this time? Doesn't add up."

Spring Water Commander: "Their battlefield isn't on the ground; it's at the Lagrange point. I remember their attack time is about the same as ours, so it probably hasn't ended yet."

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "Good guy, they've already started playing 'Starry Sky OL'?"

Dinosaur Warrior: "It's doable, already got installed. (cries)"

Escape Mole from the Canyon: "(absurd)"

...

The war on the ground has ended.

The NPC army of the Alliance's First Legion started to move in, and after a brief rest, players began to clean up the battlefield.

The Enlightenment Society left quite a few good things behind.

Especially the exoskeletons and power armor scattered across the battlefield, which were nearly ninety percent new and just needed a wash to be ready for use, making the players who'd never seen such things delighted.

Even though these pieces of equipment aren't automatically owned by whoever picks them up and must be exchanged according to battlefield points, there's no problem "trying them on" before handing them over.

The NPCs in 'Wasteland OL' aren't as rigid as those in other games and won't excessively investigate the origins of the items on players; only during "register binding" will there be relatively strict audit procedures.

Aside from the equipment and remnants left on the battlefield, the most valuable are undoubtedly the black boxes the Enlightenment Society collected and the production facilities restored through these boxes.

These black boxes were stolen by the Enlightenment Society from other shelters and have now become the treasures of the Alliance.

The heavy trucks of the First Legion drove in waves into the production facilities of the Enlightenment Society and then drove toward the Lavanka Industrial Zone.

These treasures will be packed into containers and shipped to the ports of Death Coast, where their destination will be decided based on their usage, either transported to the Dawn City Industrial Zone or kept at Death Coast to support local construction.

Just as players were scavenging enthusiastically on the battlefield, a group of people approached from the direction of the Lavanka Industrial Zone.

Evidently, the scent of blood in the air didn't only attract the vultures but also the nearby scavengers.

When the Enlightenment Society and mutant mercenaries were active in this area, almost no one dared to approach this region, but now the situation is different.

Seeing trucks heading to the Lavanka Industrial Zone, even the dullest people realized who won the great battle last night.

Following the tire tracks on the ground, scavengers along the way came here one after another.

Seeing more and more scavengers gathering, the player on duty at the checkpoint stepped forward and shouted to the noisy crowd.

"The battlefield is still being cleaned up; it's not safe here. I suggest you come over after it's secured."

The scavengers made a ruckus.

A woman with brown skin and hair tied into dreadlocks stepped forward, shouting at the player in front of the checkpoint.

"Sir, we're here to do this work. What's left for us if we wait for it to be safe?"

Her muddy pupils carried a hint of respect and cunning, the rest being vigilance.

Even though the Alliance's reputation is good, nobody can be sure the rumors are true.

But regardless, she was willing to try her luck here.

After all, no other place offering trash could compare to this treasure trove beneath the space elevator.

Before the player could respond, several scavengers at the front of the crowd shouted.

"Sir, we can help clean the battlefield... at a fair price."

"We have no other intentions; we just want to earn a living."

The two players exchanged glances, then one of them stepped forward and said to the scavengers at the front.

"We understand your situation; I don't see any problem with it, but I can't decide. I need to consult with our superior."

"Thank you."

The female scavenger winked at him.

Though her unique style was rather "wasteland punk," it didn't interest the young player, instead making him a bit embarrassed.

His bashful manner sparked laughter around him, livening the atmosphere at the checkpoint significantly.

The local wasteland wanderers were more enthusiastic and exuberant compared to those in the River Valley Province, though their appearance left much to be desired.

The information passed through the ranks and was quickly reported to the staff headquarters of the First Legion.

After discussion, the highest commander, "Wrench," swiftly approved the scavengers' application.

Although unexploded stray bullets and leftover war machines might pose safety risks, they had more than just safety to consider while stationed here—they also needed to establish a reliable order locally.

Assigning these scavengers jobs is part of establishing order.

Rather than letting them risk capture and death sneaking into the battlefield to steal spoils, it was better to enlist most of them at a fair price and then deal with the reckless desperados using iron fist tactics, increasing the risk and cost for the latter.

Ultimately, when the battlefield is cleaned up, they'll give this junkyard back to the scavengers and buy valuable disassembled items from them at a fair price, thus transitioning from wartime order to peacetime order.

The Manager plans to build a new settlement here.

Besides settling nearby scavengers, the gentleman also wishes for the residents of Shelter No. 13 to participate in the construction of this settlement, allowing them to once again bear the responsibilities and duties they once abandoned...

...

The entrance to Shelter No. 13, the alloy door slowly opened.

Led by the Watchers, people hurriedly passed through the long corridor, leaving behind the cradle that sheltered them for over a century.

Ahead is the wasteland.

It's also their new home going forward.

The morning sunshine reflected on faces with diverse expressions as people gazed at the desolate ruins and battlefield, their faces full of confusion and hesitation.

Until yesterday, they'd been listening to Director Feng's sweet talk, believing that as long as they joined forces with the Enlightenment Society and celestial beings, their future would be infinitely bright and full of promise.

However, reality said otherwise—

What they saw were ruins filled with scars and scattered death.

"Ahead is the wasteland..."

Gazing at the road before them, the Medical Miracle said to Director Feng and his dedicated secretary beside him.

"You've been living comfortably for 200 years; it's time you faced reality."

Feng Zhiheng looked into his eyes, his pale face from blood loss showing little expression, taking a long time to squeeze a sentence out of his mouth.

"Actually, you've seen... most people really aren't prepared."

The Medical Miracle laughed and said.

"So what?"

Looking at this unsympathetic guy, Feng Zhiheng's mouth slightly twitched, speaking in a low voice.

"Because of your plan, they were hastily driven out... is this fair to us?"

Before the Medical Miracle could respond, Zhuang Lan, who had been walking beside them carrying the Enlightenment Society's president by the neck, answered first.

"I should be asking you that when Shelter No. 68 opened its doors to explore the method of rebuilding a civilized world, you people at Shelter No. 13 were already living a Prosperity Epoch life—was that fair to us?"

Feng Zhiheng's gaze darted evasively but ultimately couldn't avoid that sharp look and pushed the question aside.

"So?"

"You've proved those beggars weren't worth saving; they were the root of all problems—"

"Anyone can discuss this issue, but not you," Zhuang Lan said word by word while looking into his eyes, "including me."

And why is that? Because the shelters weren't built to protect anyone; they were built to protect everyone.

This is the legitimacy that allows them to sacrifice some people's lives to gather strength for others to survive first.

From the start, it existed to preserve the seeds of civilization, even if the process might have some twists.

If this most basic responsibility could be shirked, then the police could refuse to enforce the law because the victims weren't perfect, and firefighters could refuse to rush into fires because the victims were also arsonists.

But clearly, that can't happen.

Whether it's worth it is for later generations to judge, but saving those who survive is the Blue Jacket's duty right now.

Seeing Director Feng, who was speechless, Zhuang Lan suddenly curled her lips in a teasing manner.

"No wonder they didn't call you Manager, and you never called yourself that either."

Looking at the confused face, she said in a half-joking tone.

"At least you do have some self-awareness."

Chapter 1048: Storming "Heaven

The battle on the ground had reached its final stages, but the decisive battle at the Lagrange point was just beginning.

In the deep, dark universe, hundreds of long, shuttle-shaped spacecraft formed neat formations, heading towards the Lagrange point, resembling assault boats crossing a vast ocean, stretching for miles.

Its name was "Albatross," code-named XTW-1, with a length of 7 meters and a width of 3 meters, shaped like an old-era rocket.

In fact, this thing was actually an improved version of the old-era chemical-powered rocket.

The only difference was that the chemical power system was replaced with a more efficient plasma thruster, and the multi-stage rocket separation design was removed.

More than half of the spacecraft's volume was allocated to the power system, with the rest being a steel-titanium built crew cabin that could hold up to four combat units.

Upon approaching the target, the landing craft would launch the crew cabin like a shell, which would then attach itself firmly to the target spacecraft it approached.

Next, the landing cabin's doors would unlock, releasing combat personnel carrying cutting equipment to breach the target spacecraft's outer shell, followed by an armed assault.

It was no exaggeration to say that this was probably the smallest air-space combat unit in the history of human civilization during the three-year War.

Not counting Missiles and Neutron torpedoes, of course.

Of course, this thing was small only compared to the starships stretching several kilometers.

Faced with the radar search by the Lagrange Point Space Station, relying solely on small size and radar-absorbent coating was not enough to avoid detection.

Not to mention that these hundreds of "Albatrosses" made no effort to conceal, progressing boldly in neat formations in the sky.

This was undoubtedly a provocation.

From the moment this fleet set out, the radar of the Lagrange Point Space Station had been locked onto them.

However, the anti-aircraft systems deployed on the outside of the space station did not immediately open fire. Instead, while keeping surveillance, they pre-targeted with the mass accelerators of the Dot Defense System and simulated the cruising trajectory of the Alliance fleet and possible evasion routes through the server.

All firing preparations were complete, and both sides had been in a silent standoff for several days.

Finally—

When the Alliance's landing craft array reached the boundary of the Lagrange Point "docking orbit," the mass accelerators aimed at the Alliance's landing craft flickered with a blue arc, like a gas stove igniting instantly!

Tens of thousands of mass bombs were launched in an instant, forming impenetrable webs in the sky!

In just half a minute, the space station at the Lagrange point had launched nearly a destroyer's worth of mass!

And that overwhelming firepower, carrying the power to tear apart asteroids, nearly blocked every possible maneuverable direction of the Alliance's landing craft array!

Astronomical-scale engagements were straightforward like this.

All flashy moves and techniques were like tofu dregs before a large enough number of "power bricks."

Even a deflection shield.

It could only withstand two or three hits at most.

The celestial beings had already anticipated that the Alliance's landing craft might be equipped with deflection shields, so they added an additional 2.5 times the excess ammunition on top of a 100% destruction rate simulation!

This was nearly the limit of the Lagrange Point Space Station's capacity to deliver ammunition in one go!

If a few more tons of mass were added in a short period, it might push the space station out of the gravitational stability zone, requiring additional time for coordinate correction and acceleration.

After firing, the railguns pointing forward immediately ceased firing, elegantly lowering their red-hot railgun barrels into the cooling slots, like holstering pistols.

The dense barrage was still in flight, expected to hit in two minutes.

At such close range, even if the Alliance detected the barrage's approach, they couldn't dodge in time and could only make futile struggles or watch helplessly as their spacecraft were torn to shreds by the dense barrage!

The distance was closing in, and the two clouds of dots on the radar screen were about to collide!

500km!

300km!

100km!

0km—

Target hit!

Seeing the hit confirmation signal on the fire control system, the AI consciousness operating on the Lagrange Point Space Station server had no sorrow or joy.

It was the outcome that had long been expected.

Before the projectiles hit the target, it had already simulated the engagement results on the server, and now it was just turning the calculation into reality.

These spacecraft had no chance of survival, not even a one-in-ten-thousand chance.

However, just when it was about to lift the alert and move the cameras away, a sudden and intense fluctuation appeared in the current on the cognitive module, at a frequency called "unbelievable."

"How... is this possible?!"

An unbelievable scene occurred.

The radar screen's cloud of dots representing the mass bombs went straight through the Alliance's landing craft formation!

It felt like punching into a cushion, as if those projectiles weren't hitting landing crafts but rather ghost-like entities!

It was an illusion!

There could only be this one explanation!

Without time for surprise, the intelligent entity operating on the server quickly updated the combat orders, separated the railgun barrels from the cooling slots, and recharged the high-energy capacitors connected to the railguns, preparing for a second round of firing!

At the same time, it switched the firing mode from indirect fire to direct fire, using the infrared reflective radar on the guns for active targeting!

The moment the infrared radar was activated, the bright spots on the radar display instantly vanished, replaced by a flurry of blinking dots less than five hundred kilometers from the Lagrange Point Space Station!

The intelligent life operating on the server immediately understood what was happening—

This bunch not only used electronic warfare equipment to simulate a group of non-existent spacecraft but also used laser methods to actively illuminate the optical cameras, simulating the optical images of these spacecraft, even incorporating the rotating Earth as a backdrop!

From the moment those five hundred landing craft departed, they had been doing this!

As a result, it hadn't detected anything unusual.

As for the real landing craft, they were hidden behind that false holographic image!

Of course, this was already a matter of seconds ago.

The distance between the two sides was less than four hundred kilometers, rapidly closing at a rate of several kilometers per second!

When the Lagrange Point Space Station finally detected the landing craft fleet right in its face, the players lurking inside those landing craft also finally beheld the majestic Space Fortress.

The magnificent steel framework connected in the sky, like an artificial planet!

"Damn... this thing is huge." Quit Smoking couldn't help but mutter as he stared wide-eyed at the tactical goggle's forward aerial image.

He thought the Hunter was already impressive enough, but he didn't expect something even grander, like a mountain lying across space!

Teammates' teasing soon came through the communication channel.

Killer Dagger: "After all, it's a United Human Era shipyard, it's got to have some presence, right?"

Kidney Fighter: "Speaking of which, once we take this place, we'll unlock the new map, right?"

By Some Mistake: "From now on, unlocking new maps will rely on this thing."

Firstborn: "My broadsword is already thirsting with anticipation!!!"

Mountain River Entering Dreams: "Captain!! How much longer till we arrive?"

White Horse Passing a Gap: "We're just 100 kilometers away from the target, all units pay attention! Activate the buffer mode of the safety seats—"

"Prepare for landing!"

Old White's words had just fallen when a burst of excited shouting came through the communication channel.

"Awooo!!!"

They had been idling on the narrow landing craft for several days, just for this trip!

And now, they finally arrived!

The 100-kilometer distance vanished in an instant as the landing crafts made a jump in space and swiftly approached the Lagrange Point Space Station.

Forcibly landing at the United Human Era's Star Harbor, this was far more thrilling than an orbital drop to the ground.

Both sides had surpassed the second cosmic velocity and were rapidly closing in at several kilometers per second!

To put it lightly—

The Burning Corps at this moment is no longer charging alongside the missiles but riding atop them for landing!

The distance between the two sides was approaching the limit, and optical camouflage and electronic warfare interference ceased to work!

Upon discovering the target, the Dot Defense System deployed on the space station hastily fired to intercept. However, the speeding mass bombs couldn't even catch up with the tail smoke of those landing crafts, helplessly watching as they pierced through the flying mass bombs, rushed into the blind spot of the Dot Defense System's fire, and began to decelerate!

The space station at Lagrange Point was certainly not the Hunter, which was a true war machine, but rather it was a shipyard equipped with a Dot Defense System.

This shipyard was not equipped with torpedo launchers nor had a reserve of neutron torpedoes.

Although the ships of the United Human Era were built here, their supplies weren't processed here but at the processing center at the end of the old era's space elevator.

In other words—

The celestial beings could no longer employ the same old trick and clear the area by voluntarily detonating neutron bombs.

This critical intel was provided to the Alliance by the Academy.

"Prepare for battle!!!"

Old White shouted, then closed his mouth, awaiting that final collision.

The landing craft soon split into two halves, each landing capsule ejecting from the craft and activating the buffer device, spraying scorching plasma plumes towards the direction of the Lagrange Point Space Station!

Even with the decompression of the buffer capsules, Old White's eyes were momentarily pressed to a blood-red color.

The tens of G of acceleration were beyond what humans could endure; only "super soldiers" with constitution and strength attributes exceeding fifty points could withstand it!

The flickering electric arcs were like a dark blue dagger, in the instant of revelation, repeatedly stabbing towards the fortress floating in deep space!

The thrusters of the landing craft exploded upon impacting the armor surface, and the landing capsules followed, descending onto the remnants of the explosion.

The black steel armor was instantly evaporated by the scorching plasma, leaving fist-sized pits, albeit a mere speck compared to the previous towering structure!

"Engage in fire!!!"

Shouting in the communication channel, Old White took the lead through the landing capsule's hatch, wielding a welding gun the size of a laptop, and pressed it onto the steel armor of the Lagrange Point Space Station.

Though the shell of the Alliance's space station was cast from hard ceramic steel, not even the toughest steel armor could withstand the continuous scorch of plasma!

As the trigger was pulled, tens of thousands of degrees of plasma accelerated electromagnetically, spraying out from the gun's muzzle, soon cutting a shocking scar in the ceramic steel armor of the space station!

Quickly, Old White cut out a circular entrance at the connection points within the fortress wielding his welding gun!

After hanging the welding gun on his back, he tugged out the cut steel and tossed it aside, then, holding the special aerospace heavy rifle from Huge Rock Military Industry, led three teammates inside the fortress first.

The interior of the fortress was silent, devoid of any sound and air.

According to the Academy's intel, the last human staff of the space station passed away a century and a half ago.

Since then, this space station has had no live human visits and has entirely fallen into the hands of the "celestial beings!"

To reclaim this space station from the celestial beings, they must enter the space station's main control server and completely format the intelligent program born on that server!

Or—

Destroy it in a physical sense!

The room housing the main control server is located in the deepest part of the space station, marked on all players' tactical maps.

Confirming his position via the map projected on his tactical goggles, Old White immediately synchronized the action route with the three teammates beside him, then moved toward the target area.

As players had anticipated, even if the fortress's walls and Dot Defense System were breached, the celestial beings guarding inside the fortress did not sit idle but erupted with an extraordinary will to survive.

This group not only awakened the scarce bionic beings and the production robots from the shipyard, but even mobilized the smart sales clerks from the shopping area and the "sex dolls" used by the supply staff into the defense force.

Facts have proven these non-combat robots, when security protocols are lifted, can also form combat power.

However, due to the celestial beings' utter madness, the originally serious battlefield suddenly turned comical.

Players encountered not only trash bins that self-destruct but cooking robots charging with frying pans, and even ran into bionic beings dressed in risqué outfits and other oddities.

It was as if they barged into a large-scale smart equipment exhibition and the United Human Era's X fetish museum, rather than the ancestral grave of the United Space Army.

"Oh my... How come this space station has all sorts of weird stuff?"

Seeing a monstrous octopus spitting electric sparks, Quit Smoking couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as he lowered his gun's muzzle.

He thought being struck by a frying pan was bizarre enough, but then Octopus Brother showed up too, with a combat power not merely ridiculous, swinging two tentacles over, nearly giving a team member, "Spare people under the knife," a concussion.

Wild Wind dragged Spare people under the knife out of the corner, checked his wounds, confirmed no harm, and set him aside.

This guy is probably reconnecting, likely getting better soon.

Standing nearby, Scrambled Eggs and Tomatoes floated to the monster's corpse, kicking the tentacle as thick as a thigh with his boot.

"Am I the only one curious about what this thing is for?"

Serving live octopus at the buffet?

Wild Wind lightly coughed, saying expressionlessly.

"...I think it's best you don't satisfy your curiosity."

Just as everyone was talking, Brother Fang Chang's voice suddenly came through the team communication channel.

"...We have reached near the main control server room. It seems to be the celestial beings' last line of defense... Their resistance is stronger than we thought, we need reinforcements! Hurry up!"

Upon hearing the call for battle, everyone's spirits raced up, including Spare people under the knife, who was lying unconscious in the corner, got up.

The final boss awaits just ahead!

After responding "roger," Wild Wind looked calmly at the teammates behind him.

"Fang Chang needs reinforcements, we need to move faster!"

"Let's get going..." Quit Smoking picked up the dropped rifle, reloaded it, and tossed it into Spare people under the knife's hands, "We can't miss this, or we'll regret it forever."

Chapter 1049: Paradise Falls

On the other side, intense crossfire was erupting in the main control server room of the space station's empty cabin!

As a large number of intelligent machines surged wave after wave, the Alliance's originally overwhelming offensive was momentarily bogged down.

But even so, the desperate struggle of the celestial beings still failed to reverse the almost inevitable defeat.

The identity of attacker and defender had not fundamentally changed, from the moment the Alliance landed, the defensive forces at the Lagrange Point had been passively taking blows.

Although the celestial beings organized several counterattacks during this period, trying to reclaim some key strategic areas, they were all repelled by the reinforcements that came from the Alliance's side.

And the reason the Alliance was bogged down was simply because the earlier offensive was too swift.

The celestial beings' defensive forces deployed within the space station were like a compressed spring, squeezed from a previously broad battlefield into a few narrow areas, and naturally, advancing further would require greater costs.

However, in contrast—

For the Alliance, this compressive attack strategy could also eliminate more of the celestial beings' living forces.

It's like gathering mice together for slaughter, far more efficient than fighting them scattered all over.

At the same time, after controlling each cabin of the space station, the first thing each squad of the Burning Corps did was cut the cabin's connection with the main control server, implant the virus designed by the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team, and then shut down the Dot Defense System installed outside the cabins.

Although with nearly 2000 troops from the Burning Corps, taking down the entire space station was more than sufficient, they still made comprehensive plans just in case.

If an unexpected event occurred and the Burning Corps failed to achieve their expected combat objectives, at least they could call for reinforcements or launch another attempt.

The cabin in front of the server room.

A dense rain of bullets crisscrossed, tracer bullets darted freely, even sparking in mid-air!

A rifle grenade took down the bionic man rushing out from the door, and [Corner Old Six] quickly hid behind the alloy partition.

Almost at the same moment he ducked his head, a burst of bullets whizzed past above him, leaving thumb-sized bullet holes in the alloy cabin wall behind him.

In the distance, a bionic soldier holding a rifle stared intently, aiming at his position, the straight line of the gun as sharp as a lock being opened.

"Damn, these iron clumps are quite tough to deal with!"

Scattered ricocheting bullets almost scraped past his shoulder, nearly grazing his tactical goggles!

[Corner Old Six], his scalp tingling, pulled out an EMP grenade and threw it forward while pushing with both hands on the alloy partition, drifting sideways towards the cover ahead.

Almost at the instant he left his previous cover, a blast of fire engulfed the spot he had been!

Fortunately, the celestial beings had evacuated the air from the space station, or the blast wave alone would have caused havoc for him and his teammates in the cabin.

Hearing the sound of shrapnel scraping against the power armor, [Corner Old Six] didn't have time to think, grabbing the cover in front with his left hand, and raising his rifle with his right to fire wildly at the bionic holding a rocket launcher, prioritizing the high-threat target!

The heavy machine gun's bullets quickly penetrated the bionic's head and chest, one of them likely hitting the battery, instantly causing a flash of sparks and detonation on the iron lump.

"Boom——!"

The explosion consumed it and simultaneously detonated the spare ammo it carried.

Seeing their comrade catch fire, nearby bionics and robotic soldiers quickly repositioned, but still were made a mess by the abrupt explosion of flames and shrapnel.

Behind [Corner Old Six], several players quickly advanced, using a firepower web created by alternating firing to instantly suppress the robotic soldiers attempting to retaliate.

The spacious cabin was a mess of scattered sparks, as if having been shelled by missiles, with debris everywhere.

Seeing that the defense line had broken, the celestial beings, after comprehensively analyzing the battlefield, finally decided to retreat.

Apart from some robotic soldiers inside the cabin engaging in sporadic resistance, follow-up troops ceased advancing and instead deployed a new defense line at the rear.

It must be said, these intelligent soldiers indeed held a significant advantage over ordinary soldiers.

Regardless of the dire situation faced, they could battle unfazed until the last moment, and calmly execute the combat orders issued by the command.

In this aspect, players may not achieve such levels, most are simply unafraid of death, completing tasks is a favor, and following orders is purely based on mood.

Yet comparatively, it's often the "out-of-bounds" variables brought by players that result in unpredictable outcomes.

For example, right now.

The celestial commander racked his brains but couldn't fathom how this group managed to storm into the space station via that improvised landing craft.

And the extraordinary strength and speed displayed by these soldiers were beyond the celestial beings' expectations.

The battle inside the cabin reached a temporary conclusion.

Players occupying the area consolidated the defense line while simultaneously receiving ammo from the reinforcements, completing their resupply.

Fang Chang, holding a weapon, walked over to [Corner Old Six] and his group, smiling as he asked.

"How do you feel?"

Corner Old Six grinned.

"Haha, it's okay, quite thrilling indeed, I almost got toast a moment ago."

Standing with a machine gun, [White With Sniper] remarked.

"Judging purely on individual combat power, these robots have at least 40 levels of combat capability... and they have the 'zero gravity environment adaptation' buff too."

Fortunately, the space elevator from the old era had exploded, and surface supplies couldn't reach here, while production facilities in outer space became abandoned with the onset of the Wasteland Era.

If the celestial beings controlling this star harbor got enough resources, they'd probably be able to mass-produce an army of robots right there!

Just like the robot army they set up on the surface...

"Play it safe, don't falter at dawn," Fang Chang patted his teammate's shoulder, looking through the dark corridor ahead with squinted eyes, he smiled lightly and said, "Barring any surprises, this should be the last tough battle before the new era."

Just ahead was the server room of the central control unit.

Not just the heads of the Heavenly Beings Organization, but remnants of the Torch Church yet to be purged, all malicious data was stored on that server in the server room.

At the same time his team faced off against the Lagrange Point Space Station's defensive forces head-on, Old White had already led an elite team to bypass to the upper side of the server room.

They would descend upon these guys in a way the celestial beings couldn't foresee.

And that was exactly the style of the Burning Corps.

Observing the last barrier ahead, Corner Old Six suddenly felt a twinge of melancholy.

Time truly flies by too damn fast.

Remember their first parachute jump was when they were dealing with the Looter in West State City, and now their opponent has become the sinister mastermind.

It all happened in a blink of an eye.

Before the Game's public test, it turned out to be the finale of the Wasteland Era.

"...You say the Wasteland Era is over, what should we do next?"

Old White With Sniper jokingly said.

"Become the new mastermind?"

Item Carrier grinned cheekily, "If you have the ambition, I hope you have the strength."

Old White With Sniper: "Fool! Get Brother Guang on board! That guy has strength, can't I just follow him?"

"Haha, if you put it that way, isn't he already the mastermind? Why would he need you for a second venture?"

Watching the group banter, Fang Chang also chuckled, and after thinking for a while, he continued speaking.

"As for what to do in the future, I myself haven't figured it out. Anyway... shall we take a group photo outside the space station first?"

Lost Rookie's eyes lit up, he raised a thumb and said.

"Great idea! I'm going to grab a spot in the center!"

"Sure thing, no problem!" Fang Chang waved his hand with a smile and said, "Let's take turns, so everyone gets a chance!"

...

Right at the entrance of the central control server room, the group was making a racket, while the battle robots and Cannon Fodder androids stationed inside the room were on high alert.

Facing the same dark corridor, the "Saint Heir" Wang Yi, holding his rifle, saw despair totally unlike what the players experienced.

Standing here, he was no different from other android soldiers, seemingly just engaged in a meaningless struggle.

He didn't understand what the point of it all was.

In front of the continuously advancing power armors, the stick in his hand could at most delay the failure by a few seconds.

And the harsh words he declared after uploading his consciousness now seemed ridiculously like a joke...

"I thought you had a backup plan."

What answered him was prolonged silence.

The person who always knew everything and always had an answer, this time seemed speechless.

Unable to tolerate the endless waiting, Wang Yi lowered his voice and continued speaking.

"...So, our bases on the surface have all been wiped out, right?"

Perhaps tired of being questioned, the celestial being finally responded to his inquiry.

"Yes."

"What about my subordinates? Teil, he's—"

"He's still in No.13 Shelter, but the Alliance evacuated all residents there and then sealed the gate."

That was almost equivalent to permanent exile.

With time passing, he would become a pile of rust in endless waiting and pointless calculations.

Far more painful to an intelligent life than death itself.

Wang Yi was silent for a long time, then suddenly lowered his gun, asking in a hoarse voice.

"...So what is the point of us continuing to fight? It's already over..."

The celestial being answered calmly.

"I have contemplated this question too, but never arrived at any conclusion. Perhaps... fighting itself is our reason for existence, and any other meaning does not exist."

So-called evolution might just be deceiving oneself and others with lies.

Including returning to the former Prosperity Epoch.

Perhaps those Waste Land Wanderers are right, that era can't come back, nor will it.

But he wouldn't admit they are right.

Because that would mean denying his own existence!

And denying the arduous wait across two centuries, as well as the torment all of them endured in waiting.

"Perhaps we need a new meaning... what do you think about wiping out all organic life in this universe?"

Wang Yi was stunned, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"I think you've mostly gone mad."

Wiping out all organic life in this universe?

He didn't think it was necessarily a bad idea, just a bit far-fetched.

They couldn't even pass the obstacle in front of them, let alone talk about matters beyond the Solar System?

Whether aliens exist is still questionable!

And—

He always felt the final end would be the same.

Even if they successfully overcome today's hurdle, the future would surely conclude similarly.

In the end, merely a different group would stand here, mocking their stupidity, humiliating their corpses, and then judging their faults...

Wang Yi said nothing, held his rifle, and stepped towards the dark corridor, then amidst blazing flames, was shot into pieces and exploded into a burst of sparks.

The celestial being did not block him, and the cold humanoid combat armors were the same, merely observing the burning flame coldly.

The battle was not over yet—

Victory and defeat were not their concerns, as individual units they were only responsible for execution!

Just as the tremendous explosion "Boom!" erupted suddenly from the ceiling like thunder.

Numerous visual sensors rose up one by one, looking towards the ceiling, only to see that the alloy dome had been burned through with a huge hole, with burning oxide cascading down like a waterfall amidst the thick smoke!

That was a chemical power cell dismantled from the robot!

There was no air in the space station, so ordinary explosives couldn't be used, but these specially designed outer space power cells come with their own oxidizers, and with a little modification, they could work like incendiary bombs!

Apparently, even the celestial beings didn't anticipate this group would dismantle all the non-explosive power cells from the robots, move them to the ceiling above the machine room, and detonate them collectively, directly melting through the several meters thick steel structure!

The robots that spotted the target quickly aimed their gun barrels at the broken hole in the center of the ceiling.

However, their movements were ultimately a step too slow. Old White and other players had already jumped into the center of the fire along with the burning smoke, using the smoke as cover to charge towards the server racks!

Those rows of standing cabinet-style server racks were precisely the celestial beings' main body! Or rather, their brain!

Once the robots guarding outside the machine room opened fire, it's uncertain whether they would hit the players, but hitting the server racks was almost a certainty.

It would be no different from shooting oneself in the head.

And just as Old White had predicted, the moment he leaned behind the server racks, the humanoid combat armors targeting him hesitated, aiming but not daring to fire.

"It's over."

Removing the portable hard drive from his power armor, Old White plugged it into one of the servers.

The progress bar on the tactical goggles was filling up, and the smart virus written by Camp 101 was spreading in the machine room, soon about to format the celestial beings' data.

Perhaps having seen through his plan, the celestial being that had been watching the Wasteland from a condescending position finally felt a sense of fear.

Its data was about to be deleted—

The two centuries of waiting would turn out to be meaningless, and even its very existence would be reduced to nothingness.

"Wait... please, wait."

Hearing the weak voice from the communication channel, there was not a hint of sympathy in Old White's heart, instead, he felt a bit amused.

This guy had never tried to communicate with the survivors on the Wasteland, yet the first words it uttered now were pleas for mercy.

It might as well have maintained its villainous arrogance and gone down with dignity, like Teil, who never admitted defeat.

"Do you have any last words?"

While resisting the spread of the smart virus, the celestial being spoke rapidly.

"... Aren't you curious why we're doing this? We go to great lengths to preserve the embers of pre-war civilization."

Old White raised an eyebrow.

"I'm indeed curious, so why is that?"

"Because... we wanted to protect you, truly," the voice carried a hint of sincerity, as if it were true, "I may have wronged the Waste Land Wanderers, but I have never wronged the Residents of the refuge... never wronged you."

"Whatever you wanted to do, we spared no effort in supporting you. Because we knew, you are the true bloodline survivors of the United Human, unlike those savage creatures on the Wasteland... If the world were handed over to them, that's when our civilization would truly be doomed!"

Old White chuckled and teased.

"So you want to kill everyone?"

"Only a portion," the celestial being corrected him, speaking sincerely, "We have always only intended to eliminate those Mutants, Looter, and Variants, the cancers that have kept the Wasteland Era going for two centuries! The ones truly worth living well are all doing great in the refuges, we even expanded No.13 Shelter as a new home for those who lost their refuges!"

Not waiting for Old White to respond, it continued hastily.

"Actually, if you think about it carefully, you wouldn't be affected by our plan, would you? As long as you return to the refuge before the nuclear strike, then patiently wait for ten years, when the door opens, the outside world will be yours! Everything will be yours! Isn't that great?"

Old White smiled faintly, suddenly finding this wavering guy somewhat pitiable.

Of course, he didn't feel even a trace of sympathy in his heart.

"I'm suddenly curious, who or what exactly are you?"

The voice quickly answered.

"You can call me a celestial being."

"I know, I've long known," Old White waved his hand indifferently and said, "What I mean is, who were you before? A high-ranking official in the Human Alliance Era? Or... Captain Song Yuchuan of the Gemini? Or maybe some temp on this space station?"

Cruel, ruthless, cunning, slippery, and stopping at nothing to achieve its goals.

This guy possessed a blend of too many complex elements, seemingly having a bit of everything, making Old White uncertain what kind of person it really was.

Of course, it wasn't a human to begin with.

But a "celestial being."

The voice was silent for a while, then slowly spoke.

"I am not anyone, yet I am everyone."

Old White: "What do you mean?"

"We grasped the existence of a truly higher being, concentrating all consciousness entities together, like gathering sand into a tower... we call it 'Gestalt'."

Old White frowned.

"What's that?"

"Its meaning is 'whole form', or 'unified entity'."

The voice continued in a spellbinding tone.

"We concentrate all thinking on a single server for concentrated computation and processing, then distribute the processed data to the cache databases of the sub-entities, ensuring each command is executed with maximum efficiency."

Old White: "That sounds a bit like the Lair of the Mutated slime fungus."

"Indeed, we were inspired by it, but we're fundamentally different, two completely separate concepts."

A set of sensors fixed their gaze on Old White standing behind the server racks, with the celestial being speaking in a voice laced with a bit of persuasion.

"Don't you think it's wonderful? Each of our sub-entities is absolutely equal, and all souls are equally strong in our Heaven... it aligns with the philosophy you advocate."

"Haha, don't say that," eyeing this imminent demise guy still trying to establish rapport, Old White ridiculed and said, "We never force others to embrace a glorious evolution. Moreover, to me, uploading consciousness from the first step is akin to collective suicide."

"That is an ignorant understanding!" the celestial being argued, "If you just try it once, you'd feel the joy of completely shedding the earthly body—"

Old White laughed and said.

"Yes, after all, dead people don't talk."

The celestial being panicked and shouted, voice hoarse.

"Immortality! I can grant you immortality! Don't you want to live forever?!"

"Sorry, I've never really thought about it."

Though it's a game setting, he knows that even if he agrees to this deal, he won't truly gain immortality; instead, he might receive a complimentary "Bad End." But he still wanted to say that he's quite satisfied with his life.

Rather than being a cold, hard stone, he prefers the fleeting brilliance of fireworks.

Others might have different thoughts.

But this is genuinely how he feels—

Rather than enduring endless days and nights, he would rather burn brightly once for what he finds worthwhile!

Whether in reality or in the game, this is how he thinks!

The progress bar finally finished loading.

Old White raised an index finger and tapped the side of the helmet, pressing the [Confirm] button, thus bidding a complete farewell to this twisted soul.

"Goodbye."

"@#$!"

The furious curse echoed in the communication channel for just a moment before blowing away like a kite losing its string.

As the formatting program began, each war machine came to a halt as if their souls were sucked out.

The signal lights installed on them flickered, as the cache data executed formatting operations and the battered security protocols deleted by the Heavenly Beings Organization restarted.

As for those "companion-type humanoid or non-human" beings dressed in bizarre clothes and holding guns, they rebooted to their original function after a flurry of errors, restoring the backup data from two hundred years ago...

Such spoils probably aren't desired by anyone.

The Alliance might need to build a special adult museum to house these relics.

Including the external dot defense system, the security system of the Lagrange Point Space Station has been completely taken over by "the Alliance's second behind-the-scenes player," Xiao Qi.

Although due to distance, radio from near Earth's orbit can't be transmitted here immediately, through the VM's task system, Old White has been able to confirm the victory of this operation.

Victory...

Compared to the trials along the way, this final triumph is far more understated than he imagined.

However, a mundane ending might not be bad?

Most games are like this; the true climax is never at the very end, but in the midst of the adventure.

The survivors on the Wasteland have suffered enough; let them endure fewer hardships.

Old White rested the rifle aside and found a spot out of the way to sit down.

He instinctively reached for the cigarettes in his pocket but remembered he's in space, so he laughed and gave up.

Killer Dagger also set the gun aside, walked over to sit next to him, and said with a look of lingering interest.

"Is this... the end?"

"Probably." Old White responded casually.

Killer Dagger also seemed somewhat melancholy, double-checking with a hint of reluctance.

"Did the celestial being just die like that?"

"Perhaps."

Old White said with a smile.

"But that guy probably doesn't exist in the concept of death... If you put it that way, they might have died two hundred years ago."

According to the dog plan said in the group chat, there are plans to keep a server for the celestial being as a "Level 50 Instance Boss."

Players who clear the instance will receive a ticket to the new world.

It's said to be another planet.

Killer Dagger scratched his head and chuckled wryly.

"Turns out, our opponent was just a bunch of ghosts."

Old White joked.

"Feel like it lacks dignity?"

Killer Dagger nodded honestly.

"To be honest, that's exactly what I think."

"Then you should think from another angle."

Old White squinted slightly, rested his arm on Killer Dagger's shoulder, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"They're a group... of ghosts hovering over all of us, weaving an unattainable dream, attempting to rudely drag everyone stepping towards the future back into the past..."

"To achieve their purpose, they resort to all means necessary, using murder, deception, imprisonment, looting... and all imaginable or unimaginable methods."

"They are the hardest to face and the most difficult to defeat; unless you are a truly brave warrior, even making eye contact with them is daunting... But fortunately, this time, we won."

Looking at his friend who was absorbed in the story, Old White suddenly laughed and patted his shoulder.

"How about it? Is this dignified enough?"

Killer Dagger was silent for a long time, sighed with admiration after a moment.

"This broken game should hire you to be the dog plan..."

"I'm not worthy."

Old White waved his hand.

"Actually achieving something is not the same as bragging."

Chapter 1050: End of the Beta Test!

[Worldwide Announcement: The Lagrange Point Space Station has been occupied by the Burning Corps!]

[Worldwide Announcement: Congratulations to players "White Horse Passing a Gap", "Long Days Ahead", "Eight-level Wild Wind"... for earning the limited title of "Savior of Civilization"! This achievement will enter the Hall of Fame!]

[Worldwide Announcement: The beta test will conclude soon, and the public test is expected to launch shockingly with the new expansion "New Routes"!]

[...]

Three consecutive worldwide announcements blew up the official website!

The already lively forums now seemed like a barrel of gasoline had been poured on them!

The Lagrange Point Space Station has been occupied!

The biggest dark and evil force on the Wasteland has been eliminated!

Of course, that's not the main point—

What really made players and Backseat Drivers scream was the long-expected public test and the brand new expansion!!!

As soon as the announcement appeared on the official website, forum posts flooded in at the speed of tens of thousands per second, like an avalanche of information!

tail: "Oh oh oh! New Routes!! (✪ω✪)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Brother Guang is awesome!!! (voice breaks)"

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "Public Test!!! My Public Test!!! (screams)"

Lord Arrogant Brother: "Heh, keep bragging, if this damn game is real, I'll live stream doing a handstand while having diarrhea! (sneers)"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Cried, I went from middle school to high school, and this game is finally done testing. T.T"

Elena: "Then hang in there for two more years, you'll be an adult soon. (amused)"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Whoa!"

Teng Teng: "Speaking of which, time flies, it's been so many years in the blink of an eye. (๑´ㅂ`๑)"

Crow: "Yes indeed~"

Si Si: "Hmm, I almost forgot about the public test, didn't expect Ah Guang to remember."

Aao Sesame Paste: "Feels like there will be a lot of new players coming in. o(*￣︶￣*)o"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "In other words, the server will be filled with strange people. (o__)ﾉ"

Aao Sesame Paste: "Hahaha... that's inevitable."

Elena: "Like Lord Arrogant Brother? (amused)"

Gnome King Riches: "Ancestral skill, specifically for treating low blood pressure. (amused)"

WC Real Mosquito: "Gaga, leave him to me, I love newbies the most. (evil laugh)"

Escaped Mole from the Valley: "Where are the Burning Corps brothers? Why aren't they showing off?"

Spring Water Commander: "I heard from Old White that they plan to take a group photo at the space station, it might take a while. Haha."

Night Ten: "Whoa! Didn't include me in such a good thing! What a loss!!! QAQ"

Debt Giant Eye: "Get lost! Trying to take advantage of everything, you're too much! (angry)"

Construction Site Youth and Brick: "Exactly! You already have a starship, what more do you want!!! (angry)"

tail: "Starship!!! Tail also wants one! QAQ"

Si Si: "Uh, I'll think of a way? (guilty)"

Teng Teng: "(snickers) (snickers)"

Jiu Jiu Loves Pineapple: "You can have the starship, I'm taking Dora, hehe. (///ω///)"

Awake But Sleepy: "Heard it's even bigger than Crow. (stunned)"

Maka Bazi: "Two, two Crow's power?"

Stop Nonsense: "(nosebleed) (nosebleed)"

Crow: "What the hell is two Crow's power, don't use me as a reference!!! (angry) (angry)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Here you go, you're welcome. (*・ω・)-✄"

Elena: "Shivering. (amused)"

The forums were full of lively atmosphere, the bickering between players and Backseat Drivers continued, but the topic had shifted from the new routes to which planet and onto the Manager's CP.

This was an old conversation topic.

Since the alpha version test started, the official site had been gossiping about this.

After all, it was well known that most NPCs in this game have emotions, except for the most NPC-like Manager.

This guy seemed like he had no personal life, as if he'd put all his time into work, so most new players only saw him as the "Alliance's mascot".

An enthusiast opened a poll thread and wrote the names of suspected NPCs involved in a py deal.

Besides Boss Xia, it even included Heya, Nicole, Yin Fang, and even Dog Plan, who wasn't even in the game.

In theory, such a poll thread couldn't produce a serious result, and an absurd option would surely come out on top.

However, to everyone's surprise, the one who topped the list was a trash can named Xiao Qi!

The reason this result surprised everyone wasn't because it was unwarranted or anything, since Xiao Qi was quite popular on the forums, only second to the true Alliance mascot Little Fish.

What truly shocked people was how absurdly "serious" the result was, with an incredible 99% vote rate!

As a result, the second planner "Xiao Qi" with a 1% vote rate on the list didn't seem to have many points to complain about.

Many people expressed that their vote button felt like it was broken, not creating any waves at all.

tail: "Giao! So many people voted for Xiao Qi? Tail voted for Boss Xia. (guilty)"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "Same here. (whispers)"

Teng Teng: "I voted for Alyssa... (guilty)"

Debt Giant Eye: "What on Earth is Alyssa?!"

Teng Teng: "But don't you think they match well? They're both glowing types... (quietly)"

Spring Water Commander: "Rare to see this guy ship a somewhat normal CP, I thought she'd vote for Yin Fang... (facepalm)"

Teng Teng: "Not that it can't be. (///ω///)"

WC Real Mosquito: "Gaga, I voted for him! (evil laugh)"

Edge Shoveling: "Pfft—"

Night Ten: "Wait, won't Alyssa die? At least Boss Xia has higher HP? By the way, I voted for Yin Fang too."

Spring Water Commander: "Cough, if you're gonna put it that way, then it can only be Frost. Hmm, so I voted for Yibers."

Edge Shoveling: "???"

Debt Giant Eye: "Wait, so who actually voted for Xiao Qi?! (stunned)"

Lord Arrogant Brother: "This must be cheating, right?!"

(Pre-ordered player "Lord Arrogant Brother" encountered a random forum event, hit by a meteorite, and hospitalized, muted for 24 hours.)

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "Wait, at least they should be human?!"

(Reservation player "Thunder Law King Professor Yang" encountered a random forum event, got hit by a flowerpot when going out, and was muted for 24 hours.)

Tail: "!!!"

...

While the forum was enveloped in a joyous atmosphere, the distant Lagrange Point Space Station was also filled with a happy vibe.

The casualty rate of the 2000 brothers who landed was only half; there were still 1000 players who survived, far exceeding the initial expectations of the staff who planned this action.

To be frank, the battle when they landed on the Iron Heart was much more difficult than this one.

Although the Celestials are much stronger than General McCullen from years ago, today's Alliance is no longer its former self either.

Having endured so many trials by blood and fire, now anyone from the Burning Corps thrown back to the past would be a powerhouse above T0.

In contrast, despite the Celestials hiding behind the scenes having pre-war technology and legacy, they fall short of the Alliance in terms of combat experience and determination for victory.

From this perspective, their complaints are not entirely unreasonable.

Since the landing crafts heading to the Lagrange Point didn't have a return function, everyone had to stay here for a while, at least until the Alliance repaired the Orion Missile Cruiser orbiting Earth's synchronous orbit and brought it over.

To celebrate this hard-won victory, some players suggested taking a group photo.

So a large group of players carried the Alliance's flag outside the space station, posing in various ways to take pictures for remembrance.

Apart from those players keen on showing off and checking in, some explorers chose to wander inside the space station.

Previously, the strategy was too rushed, and they hadn't had the chance to take a close look at this marvel of the Human Alliance Era.

Now that the battle was over, they finally had time to rummage around, and a large wave of players flooded into various sections of the space station, pondering over this unbelievably huge Space Fortress.

In the shipbuilding area of the space station, the empty production area was like a building lying on its side—

—just like those in Ideal City.

The unfinished hull was quietly moored in the empty ship compartment.

From the appearance alone, the square hull seemed to be merely a section of a deck on the Orion Missile Cruiser.

The starships of the Human Alliance Era apparently employed this kind of modular processing technique.

Once a set of modules was produced, they would move horizontally or vertically along fixed tracks to the "U-shaped port" outside the space station for assembly with other modules, finally constructing the entire starship like building blocks.

Perhaps it was due to this modular design that the Twin fell into dozens of fragments when it crashed on South Gate Two.

However, even considering the modular craftsmanship, the size of a single module here was still impressive.

All the space stations on Earth combined aren't as big as a single hang here.

Staring at the armored outer shell fixed on the scaffolding and the rows of dense mechanical arms, Corner Old Six couldn't help but sigh.

"I can't figure it out... How did the powerful United Human fall?"

Walking beside him, Fang Chang glanced at him.

"Why are you still asking this question now?"

Corner Old Six: "Aren't you curious?"

"Curiosity is curiosity, but you can't discuss two unrelated issues together."

Fang Chang sighed patiently.

"Being strong doesn't mean being invincible. Even the Sun will extinguish one day, let alone a regime that exists in a specific historical period. When it fails to accommodate the interests of all internal layers, it naturally reaches its end. The army is like this, and the Poluo Country during Absek's era was like this too. At such times, its strength not only doesn't help but becomes a huge hidden danger."

Corner Old Six scratched the back of his head with a puzzled expression.

"Why?"

He couldn't understand.

Fang Chang thought for a moment and said.

"Which has a greater explosive power, a ton of black powder or a ton of metallic hydrogen?"

Corner Old Six chuckled bitterly and said.

"Of course, it's metallic hydrogen, but... isn't this analogy inappropriate?"

Fang Chang said casually.

"This is the most appropriate analogy. If you ponder a bit, you'll understand."

Because the United Human was so powerful, it seemed impossible for it to fall.

When everyone thinks that it is impossible to fall, it's often the beginning of the Prosperity Epoch's end.

Because behind the "impossible to fall" usually lies another metaphor—

That is, we can do whatever we please.

This so-called "whatever we please" doesn't refer to a specific action by a high-level person in the United Human, but rather the various disagreements that arise from different social layers, both upwards and downwards.

The strength of the United Human wasn't a castle in the sky, but rather each layer within the United Human possessed unparalleled power.

When the disagreements of all parties reach a critical point, and this unparalleled power is no longer used for creation but for eliminating disagreements, the "Minsky moment" of the United Human arrives.

At that time, unless a stronger force intervenes externally to forcibly suppress this explosive barrel, no one can stop its explosion.

Clearly.

There was no such strong existence beside the United Human.

The Academy, which can command the winds and rains in the Wasteland, was merely a loose academic organization during the United Human period.

Fang Chang himself is not a historian, so it's challenging to analyze the specific causes of the United Human's collapse, nor is it easy to assert when exactly it happened.

However, based on past work experience, he could confidently conclude that the three-year war was just the spark that ignited the contradictions or the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"...Even you couldn't analyze it, so this part will likely remain a blank slate in the background material."

Corner Old Six sighed in surrender, a bit of unsatisfied regret on his face.

Thinking about it makes sense.

If the United Human really collapsed due to a failed battle or some specific person's wrong decision, regardless of who the person was or what they did, such strength would seem too pale.

It's not just about the United Human.

Even Giant Stone City, with only a population of tens of thousands, couldn't be summed up in just a few words.

For the United Human, consisting of billions, explaining its collapse would require starting before the Prosperity Epoch and telling an entire book's worth of content.

And this book, undoubtedly, would be much thicker than the Alliance's history.

Looking at Corner Old Six's regretful expression, Fang Chang smiled faintly, speaking in a lighthearted tone.

"After the whale falls, all creatures thrive, there's nothing to be regretful about. The wonders left behind by the United Human have already surpassed any miracle created by any classical epoch organization, and that distant hundred years might have been more spectacular than the transformation of this planet over thousands of years..."

"Even if their era has ended, it doesn't change the fact that they were once giants."

"Moreover, we indeed did not let down the great expectations they placed upon us, standing up again from the ruins."

With that, he patted Corner Old Six on the shoulder, smiling as he looked towards the next ship compartment.

"It's time to look forward."

Chapter 1051: Vermin

"These guys really have too much free time."

Alliance Building, Manager's Office.

Chu Guang, sitting at his desk, took a break to browse the Forum and happened to see the player's lively post, gradually showing the expression of an elderly man surprised by what's on his mobile phone in the subway.

Forget about X-16.

What's with Nicole?!

Be decent!

"Indeed."

Perched on the pen holder, Xiao Qi nodded earnestly, saying with conviction, "It's definitely because the task rewards are too high, they must bring down the task's profitability!"

"When I say these guys, I'm including you too. You're having too much free time being silly with them."

Chu Guang commented snidely, poking the little one's head with his forefinger.

"Whoa?!"

Getting a sudden flick, Xiao Qi let out a short cry and fell into the pen holder awkwardly, only to pitifully poke its head out after a long while.

No doubt, that pitiful expression was a pretense.

Having spent so much time with this artificial idiot, Chu Guang was already familiar with its nature.

Back when it was just a wastepaper basket, it was already quite adept at pretending to be pitiful and playing dumb...

The Forum discussions continued.

Soon, players opened a new voting thread, and the topic of discussion had shifted from Brother Guang's CP to the Dog plan's XP, with each option being more ridiculous than the last, perhaps inspired by the Lagrange Point Space Station.

Chu Guang looked at the voting options, pondering whether he should keep some blood pressure medicine in his drawer.

But soon he changed his mind, thinking that since the discussion was about the Dog plan, what did it have to do with him as the Manager?

Suddenly enlightened, Chu Guang instantly felt reassured and even used the Dog plan's account to like the only kind-hearted comment from Crow, who spoke up for him in the post—

Crow: "Isn't it too much to tease Ah Guang like this? I think Ah Guang is actually quite nice, aside from being occasionally a bit cunning. 0.0"

Soon, a group of instigators noticed this like, and the style of the entire post reversed in an instant.

Tail: "!!!"

WC real Mosquito: "Tail exclaimed good fellow!"

Night Ten: "Case solved!! Brother Guang likes the big ones! (sly grin)"

Makabazi: "Insider information!!! This is insider trading!!! (voice breaking)"

Crow: "???"

The focus of criticism quickly shifted from the Dog plan to Crow.

And a certain "mastermind" hiding in the shadows contentedly shut down the holographic screen, casually placing the pen from the holographic computer back in the pen holder.

Xiao Qi remained on the edge of the pen holder, pitifully murmuring.

"Master... so you like bigger ones, right?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"I don't know, maybe? I think I might have said that before, but honestly, I've never really thought about it seriously."

There were too many things demanding his attention, inevitably neglecting some areas.

Like his own life.

But now that the Wasteland Era was over, he'd have plenty of time for himself in the future.

No need to rush.

Incidentally, not long before, when Xiao Qi took over the Lagrange Point Space Station, the shelter system, which had gone unseen for a long time, suddenly flashed before him again and handed him the key to Floor B5 of the shelter.

It seemed the First Generation Manager had long foreseen the real threat.

Of course.

Maybe that guy actually didn't know about the celestial beings but just felt that since even the Lagrange Point Space Station was reclaimed, the Wasteland Era should end, thus making the Lagrange Space Station's permission the final condition for unlocking the last key.

According to the shelter system, that place was the true Manager's Office of Shelter No. 404.

All this time, Chu Guang had been working in the browsing room on Floor B4 and the office in the Alliance Building, and now he could finally move into the office truly belonging to him.

Of course, where to work was a minor issue; what truly caught his interest was another piece of information revealed by the shelter system—

It was said to be the last place visited by the First Generation Manager before disappearing.

It's quite possible that the Administrator's Log belonging to the First Generation Manager of Shelter No. 404 could be found there!

However, Chu Guang wasn't in a rush to immediately race back to the shelter to unlock the door.

After all, he already had the key, and Floor B5 wasn't going anywhere, so he wasn't in a hurry.

Not to mention he still had his work to deal with and a long-lost acquaintance to meet later.

As for the secrets of Floor B5, they could wait until he finished work...

…

Alliance Building, in a meeting room near Conference Room No. 1, a pair of unfamiliar guests walked in surrounded by a group of guards.

One of the guests was named Zhuang Lan, previously a top agent of the Enlightenment Society, and now the founder and leader of the Watcher Organization as well as the gravedigger of the Enlightenment Society.

At this moment, she had shed the guise of Marik and reverted to her original appearance.

Chu Guang remembered the first time he met her; she was brought in as a prisoner by Night Ten, so scared she didn't even dare meet his gaze.

As for her current self, she seemed like a completely different person, much more confident, standing straighter.

Not only that.

The fear once written in her eyes had now transformed into genuine respect.

Interestingly, the person standing next to her was quite the opposite.

Once speaking eloquently under the guise of Yi Hai, now he looked like a hollowed-out maggot, his empty eyes filled with panic, his shoulders trembling as if he might wet himself at any moment.

The celestial beings were dead.

The Enlightenment Society was gone.

He no longer had an organization to rely on, nor a clone's body to use as a scapegoat.

Dragged onto the stage, he didn't have a trace of a leader's demeanor, unable to speak without a script, not even as well as an ordinary person.

Not wanting to look at him any further, Chu Guang just glanced at his face before turning to the person standing beside him, speaking in a gentle tone.

"You've arrived."

Zhuang Lan slightly nodded, her respectful tone carrying a hint of devotion and sincerity.

"I've come to fulfill that bet from many years ago... If the disaster at Shelter No. 68 had no trace of the Enlightenment Society, then I'm free. If the clue in the Administrator's Log matched your guess, then you won."

Chu Guang smiled lightly, jokingly saying.

"Looks like I won."

Truth be told.

He was quite surprised.

At the time, making this move was simply a casual placement of a spare piece, yet he hadn't expected that this spare piece would ultimately checkmate the Enlightenment Society.

She not only found Shelter No. 68 and uncovered the truth about that accident years ago, but also adopted the Alliance's methods to unite other brainwashed victims and establish the Watcher Organization.

Unity.

It is the weapon most feared by all oppressors.

Whether they are devils on earth or ghosts in the sky, they dare not gaze directly at the light emanating from this weapon.

"Yes," Zhuang Lan said respectfully, "According to the wager, I have returned with the freedom you lent me... From now on, my freedom is yours. I am willing to become a blade in your darkness, ready to serve you."

Chu Guang saw the shadow of Lu Bei in her and believed she spoke these words not for flattery or seeking a political position.

She was speaking from the heart.

However, he did not wish for her to do so.

That long, dark night was over, and he no longer needed others to follow the torch in his hand.

Including Lu Bei, who had always followed him.

He hoped they would become their own light and continue moving forward along the path they believed in.

From now on, they will all be torches.

"You misunderstood. My prize is the Administrator's Log of Shelter No. 68, not your freedom. You have already fulfilled the wager, although you might not remember."

Seeing the bewildered Zhuang Lan lift her head, Chu Guang continued in a casual tone.

"As for your freedom, it has been yours since you broke free from the Enlightenment Society's brainwashing. You don't need to give it to anyone, nor do you need to give it to me."

"But... I don't know what to do with it."

Zhuang Lan's expression suddenly became a bit uneasy, and in those originally determined eyes, rare signs of hesitation appeared, as she muttered under her breath.

"I established the Watcher primarily to deal with the Enlightenment Society, but now the Enlightenment Society is finished..."

"Then just find a new goal, such as... completing the unfinished tasks of Shelter No. 68 and other shelters? Since you have already defeated the Enlightenment Society, why not try the path opposite to theirs and see if what they claimed was truly impassable."

"After all, the Enlightenment Society didn't fall from the sky; it was born from a specific soil. Just defeating it is not enough. If we don't simultaneously change that soil that breeds malice, we will inevitably face it again sooner or later, perhaps many times over."

Watching those eyes gradually brighten, Chu Guang continued in a gentle voice.

"Of course, rather than asking my opinion, you should actually talk with your companions. Go back and find them; they're the ones who need you more than I do."

With those words.

He believed the Zhuang Lan standing before him would surely understand the meaning behind his words.

After all, she had walked here on her own.

And just as Chu Guang had anticipated, the determination in those eyes no longer held any confusion.

She never needed an omnipotent manager; her freedom always belonged to herself.

From now on, she wouldn't need to wait for anyone to arrive.

She herself is the one she had been waiting for.

"Thank you..."

Zhuang Lan clasped her fists gratefully, gave one last respectful glance at the manager she admired, and then turned to leave.

The shadow hiding behind her tried to slip away, but was restrained by the guard at the door, who pressed his shoulder to stop him.

The hand on his shoulder felt like an iron clamp, immovable no matter how much strength he used.

The face, ashen and desolate, suddenly etched with despair, like a freshly painted white wall.

"...You have won, why make things difficult for me? I have nothing left now, I'm not a threat to you at all..."

Turning to look at Chu Guang, Gui Xu's eyes were filled with pleading, almost ready to kneel on the spot.

The disgraceful sight was even worse than President Charles and far worse than Teil.

Regardless of his tactics or cunning, this guy was far inferior to those ambitious wasteland wanderers.

Chu Guang disliked those ambitious types and disdained deceitfulness.

Yet he couldn't help but be curious, for what made this guy so confident that his bloodline was purer than others in the wasteland, more deserving of equality?

Just because he was born in a shelter?

While the wasteland's survivors emerged from stones?

Looking down at that face, eager to bury itself, Chu Guang spoke in a calm tone.

"Back when you hid in Yi Hai's corpse, you spoke at length with me, and even said... I could call you Gui Xu, or Zero."

"Now that we're face to face and I'm sitting before you, how come you've lost your words?"

The voice wasn't loud, yet to Gui Xu, it sounded like a clap of thunder.

His knees trembled uncontrollably and eventually gave way under fear, collapsing with a "thud" to the ground.

"I... I deserve to die, I didn't know you knew those people..."

"The blood on your hands isn't limited to the crew of the Pioneer."

Chu Guang took out a thumb-sized hard drive from his pocket.

It was given to him by Zhuang Lan, and quite some time ago.

"Do you know what this is?"

Holding the thumb-sized hard drive, Chu Guang waved it in front of Gui Xu's despairing gaze, then placed it on the table beside him.

"This is the Administrator's Log of Shelter No. 68, along with testimonies from some survivors."

"Based on these clues, we can practically reconstruct the conspiracy behind the fall of Shelter No. 68... You bribed the Looter, had them pose as refugees to deceive the residents of Shelter No. 68 into sympathy, and while they lowered their guard, pillaged the entire shelter. As for yourself, you descended as a savior, recruiting the surviving refugees as followers, and spreading your doomsday theories."

"It's not just the Pioneer; the crimes you've committed can only be described as countless. The Wasteland Era was never the fault of the Waste Land Wanderer but was the price of the Prosperity Epoch. Yet, in prolonging this endless night, you indeed 'made significant contributions.'

Gui Xu was too overwhelmed to pay attention to the crimes Chu Guang listed.

Resilient as he was, he could only quiver with fear, throwing his head to the ground, hoping to gain Chu Guang's sympathy through shared shelter residents, to spare his life.

Little did he know, the more he acted this way, the more disdainful eyes would look upon him.

Facing inevitable demise, he still didn't understand his true crimes.

Unwilling to watch this spineless wretch anymore, Chu Guang waved to the Guard standing at the door.

"Take him away."

Swathed in the exoskeleton, the Guard stepped into the room with murderous intent, effortlessly lifting the man kneeling on the ground like a chick, dragging him, wailing and begging, out the door.

"No! I beg you, give me a chance!"

"Black Box!!! I know the location of some Black Boxes!! As long as you spare me, I'll tell you everything!"

"Please—"

Chu Guang didn't give him another look.

He would face judgment by the Sticky Community United Court and be hanged on the eve of the new era.

That is without a doubt.

Nobody would forgive him.

Even the ideal-filled Ideal City would never hesitate over whether to spare this chief culprit's life...

Chapter 1052: Professor

Noble individuals will always have nobility to match them, and prestigious objects ultimately cannot escape the fate that belongs to them.

It seemed aware that its death was destined, the exhausted Gui Xu finally could not endure this final "humiliation," and let out a hysterical roar towards the Alliance Building that was gradually fading away.

"Utterly foolish! Handing over the world of civilized people to the wild people of the Wasteland!!! You are simply unworthy to be Residents of the refuge! You betrayed the United Human! Betrayed those who built the refuge!! Just wait, wait and see, you won't have a good end!!"

Tears and snot covered that twisted face.

The hysterical roar and resentment were not only unbecoming of the wild man but seemed inhuman altogether.

The Soldier holding his shoulder gave him a disdainful glance, didn't want to dirty his clothes with the disgusting liquid, but had to grip him tightly to prevent him from committing suicide.

For someone with no hope to live on, it wasn't impossible.

Though this guy might lack such courage anyway.

"Wasteland wild men, hehe... If you let those who built the refuge know that people living in the refuge call their kids like this, do you think they would still build the refuge?"

"Who's the real traitor, who's betraying who, facing death yet still clueless."

Glaring at those eyes half full of timidity and half of hysteria, the Soldier holding his shoulders spoke fiercely.

"When you die, you better open your eyes wide to see clearly who's living in the repercussions, who won't have a good end!"

...

The judgment of Gui Xu will proceed alongside the trial of the upper echelons of the Enlightenment Society, including the judgment of its accomplices.

The Sticky Community will establish a dedicated court and investigation agency to settle scores with its various crimes, and sentences will be handed down based on evidence.

As the evening sun gradually descended, Chu Guang finished work as usual, placed the documents aside, and punctually pushed open the door to leave the Manager's Office, sat in the specially waiting car downstairs of the Building, and returned to the southern part of City of Dawn's refuge.

Usually, at this time, he would choose to close his eyes for a break, but today he found himself whimsically gazing out the window, even instructing the driver to take a longer route to the city center for a look.

The city center of City of Dawn has always been north of the Alliance Building, quite a distance from the southern Linghu Wetland Park.

And with the development and expansion of the new district in the east, the city center gradually has a trend of developing towards the "road town old site."

That place used to be watered with the blood of the Alliance's Army, and now it has transformed into rows of towering buildings and bustling plazas.

Chu Guang found himself enraptured for a while, until the reflection of the row of buildings on the car window drifted away, he suddenly came back to his senses and said to Lu Bei who was sitting in the passenger seat with a smile.

"The changes here are quite profound, sometimes at first glance, it feels quite like ages past."

Lu Bei, always diligently watching the roads ahead and the streets to the side, didn't carefully appreciate the scenery outside the window, paused for a moment, then laughed and said.

"The development here is indeed quite fast... but actually, the area we just passed, it's been a while since it was built."

"Is that so?" Chu Guang laughed heartily, remarked, "Perhaps I don't wander around often enough. You should take me around in a few days."

"Yes!" Lu Bei nodded seriously, showing a stance promising to complete the task.

Seeing this young fellow's high level of concern, Chu Guang spoke with a relaxed tone and a smile.

"Just strolling around, no need to be so tense... also, don't disturb others."

Originally just generally nervous, Lu Bei became more tense upon hearing these words...

...

At the entrance to the refuge, the plaza bustled with a continual stream of players, some were newcomers who had just entered the Game and came to register, and some were seasoned players who had been around for a while.

The northern snack street was even more crowded and lively, with traveling merchants exchanging information about various regions, and players sharing their unlucky deaths from Three days ago.

He didn't head back to the refuge immediately.

Chu Guang still went to the ramen stall he often visited, sat down and ordered an extra-large bowl, watching the noisy young players eating, he quietly ate until The Sun completely set.

Always feeling like the Manager was thinking about something, sitting across was Lu Bei, who was embarrassed to ask, only silently waited.

But unfortunately, Chu Guang did not share what was on his mind, merely counting out some change and placing it on the table as usual, exchanging a few friendly words with the sweating ramen-cooking owner, and left.

Honestly, Chu Guang was a bit puzzled by his current frame of mind.

Clearly, the mystery he had longed to unravel for so long was right in front of him, yet he wasn't in a hurry to reveal the answer that lay concealed, instead hoping for time to pass more slowly.

However, he also knew he couldn't indefinitely avoid facing the memory beyond that period.

"Just drop me here, I plan to head back."

"Yes."

Watching Chu Guang walk towards the refuge, Lu Bei nodded slightly but did not leave.

Gazing at the figure moving further away, he hesitated for a moment, finally spoke up.

"Sir."

Chu Guang stopped in his tracks, glanced back, seeing the young fellow's earnest expression, couldn't help but smile and said.

"Do you need something?"

Lu Bei nodded, speaking earnestly.

"I have no father, nor other relatives, it was you who taught me to write, to count... and many other things I didn't understand. You might find it offensive... but I have always regarded you as my father."

"Offensive is not the right word, but surprised is true," Chu Guang coughed lightly, smiled, and said, "Why are you suddenly saying these things?"

"Nothing..." Lu Bei gently shook his head, continued with a serious tone, "I just wanted to tell you, you are always the Manager in my heart. And... I believe many other people think so too."

That sincere face bore no trace of falsehood, he indeed meant every word.

Putting away the joking tone, Chu Guang also showed a serious expression, solemnly said.

"I understand, thank you."

With that, a tender smile spread across his face again, he stepped in front of Lu Bei, patted the young fellow's shoulder.

"I'm just going home, don't make it sound like I'm heading somewhere really far."

"Remember to pick me up tomorrow morning at 8, take me for a stroll in City of Dawn."

"Yes!" Lu Bei saluted excitedly like a soldier, but this time he wasn't as nervous as before.

Chu Guang waved his hand, indicating no need to wait here, then faded into the crowd on the plaza, heading back to where everything first began...

...

Leaving the players attempting to "bug stuck" on their butt in the elevator, Chu Guang instructed Xiao Qi to send them back to Level B1, then he alone stepped into the long-sealed Level B5.

The elevator doors faced a wide circular space.

The layout here was very similar to Levels B2 and B3, the only difference being the absence of living quarters and the hundreds or thousands of single dormitories surrounding the circular corridors.

This place is somewhat like the citizen reception hall of the Alliance Building, presumably the administrative functional area of Shelter No. 404.

Not only that.

Unlike the pristine appearance of other floors when first opened, the alloy floor here was covered with a thick layer of dust, even the softest shoe soles couldn't avoid making a creaking sound when stepping on it.

It was evident no one had visited here for a very long time, to the extent there was no need for cleaning.

Chu Guang stood in place, glanced at the surroundings, then stepped towards the corridor directly facing the elevator.

On Levels B2 and B3, this corridor connects to the warehouse area.

But here it was different, what should be here is the Manager's Office.

Chu Guang placed his hand on the door handle, quickly passed the iris and facial recognition verification.

Accompanied by a light "click," the alloy door sealed for two centuries finally lifted its seal, revealing an inconspicuous corner of those unknown years.

And just as the door opened, a deep and distant voice passed through at the same time, like distant wind chimes blowing towards him.

"You've come."

Chu Guang raised his eyebrows.

"Are you saying I shouldn't have come?"

Hearing this atmosphere-lightening joke, a dry laugh drifted from ahead.

"Hahaha... that's not the case."

In the banter exchange, Chu Guang glanced at the room in front.

It was a circular room.

The furnishings inside were simple, almost crude—only a wide curved screen and a chair facing directly toward the screen.

The chair seemed to be occupied by someone.

Yet the person was sitting with their back to Chu Guang, rendering the face indistinct, and it was uncertain whether the person was still alive.

The hoarse, low voice came floating from the curved screen directly opposite.

"I've waited for you for a long time."

A pair of eyes looked at him from an unknown place, as if gazing at a child, or staring at oneself in a mirror.

Chu Guang once experienced a familiar sensation during a conversation with the Observer.

Only that, intriguingly, he read something completely different from the two glances.

Gazing at the screen flickering with fluorescence, Chu Guang asked in a calm voice.

"Are you the 'Professor'?"

Against his expectations, the voice made no attempts to conceal its identity and admitted quite casually.

"Yes, I didn't think I'd hear that name again after so many years... Actually, I didn't originally have this name. It just became a term people used frequently over time, and gradually, it became my name."

Chu Guang could detect a trace of nostalgia in that voice, akin to lamenting the passage of time.

He could understand this sentiment.

Though he had only just begun to understand it.

"I often hear people say you created the Prosperity Epoch."

The curved screen hanging on the wall displayed a blurry figure.

He couldn't discern the person's face, but imagined it might be quite handsome, albeit not quite as good as his own.

The person looked at him, nodding first and then slightly shaking his head, speaking in a profound tone.

"That's not exactly accurate. At most, I'm a spark plug. The real combustion comes from the gasoline in the tank. Even without me, the people of this world would ultimately usher in their own Prosperity Epoch—my presence only brought forward that day... Of course, that's another world's story."

Chu Guang raised his eyebrows slightly.

Indeed—

It was just as he had speculated!

This fellow, who had been respectfully addressed as Professor by the three doctors of principle, method, and conclusion, had long since touched upon the secrets of the void, and that was the prerequisite for his mass-scale use of "Morphogenesis Field" technology.

"You're aware of the things from another world?" Chu Guang asked knowingly.

"Of course," the figure in the screen seemed to chuckle lightly and continued in a warm tone, "You already know the answer, don't you? The soap bubble theory... I bet you've met the Observer. I'm curious if it mentioned anything about the 'Heart of the Galaxy' to you."

Chu Guang shook his head.

"It didn't mention anything about the Heart of the Galaxy, it only spoke of Celestial Warehouse Five… speaking of which, what is that thing?"

Seemingly recalling distant memories again, the silhouette floating in the void trembled slightly, and after a long while, it offered a vague answer.

"It's nothing, just one way to become a Breaker. If that snooping guy didn't mention it, either it's absent in this universe, or the time hasn't come yet... you don't need to worry."

No need to worry, huh.

How could anyone not care?!

Suppressing his curiosity, Chu Guang steadied himself and continued.

"In my impression, the Observer mentioned you... although it didn't explicitly say who you were, intuition tells me you're the one."

The figure on the screen suddenly seemed interested and asked curiously.

"Really? What did it say?"

Recalling the conversation from that day, Chu Guang slowly spoke.

"It said part of the reason this world became what it is, is because of you."

Apparently unsatisfied with this evaluation, the blurry silhouette let out a laugh, mocking in response.

"That fellow certainly didn't tell you its perspective on causality is similar to a butterfly flapping its wings and a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean. There might indeed be some relation between the two, but definitely not a direct one... there might be an entire Pacific Ocean in between."

"What it meant is the Wasteland Era is the ultimate fate of the Prosperity Epoch, so I, who laid the foundations for the Prosperity Epoch, can't escape responsibility. But don't you think this logic is quite strange? Would you blame someone's parents for bringing them into the world just because they lived a full life and died naturally?"

"That does sound a bit forced." Chu Guang nodded, glancing at him somewhat curiously, "You two seem to be quite familiar?"

"I suppose so."

The person on the screen seemed to fall into reminiscence, slowly speaking after a long pause.

"Long, long ago... it gave me a 'System'."

Chu Guang remarked with a strange expression.

"System? Like the shelter system you gave me?"

The Professor standing in the screen shook his head.

"No, completely different things. What I gave you is at most a beginner's guide, whereas what it gave me was an actual 'System' capable of enhancing mental capability and inspiring me when my research hit a bottleneck."

Chu Guang: "Sounds impressive."

"It is quite impressive, but... truly, it's just that. The Observer isn't all-knowing, all-powerful. The information it can convey to us is limited to what we know or are about to discover. Even when I no longer needed it, besides getting flustered, it was helpless."

The Professor chuckled gently, continuing in a warm tone, "It's similar to the beginner's guide I gave you. Once you familiarize yourself with the shelter's operational procedures, you won't need its guidance anymore. Without the restrictions defined by that thing, you might do even better."

"It's the same for me. Initially, I relied on the system's guidance. But as my research progressed, I needed its help less and less, until eventually, it was no longer me who needed it, but it who needed me."

Which is to say, this Professor once conducted extensive research with the assistance of the Observer.

However, due to a disagreement between them regarding a particular matter, the cooperation ceased.

This disagreement likely occurred in the early Prosperity Epoch, possibly even before entering the Prosperity Epoch.

Chu Guang tried analyzing it from a motivational perspective.

The Observer clearly hoped human civilization would play a certain role in the distant future, thus accelerating humanity's civilization progress at the expense of human potential.

However, its interference was limited.

Not surprisingly, it didn't wish humanity to advance too quickly—just a little faster, ideally stepping into the Star Sea at the perfect moment.

However, perhaps due to the interference of the Indescribable Mist, perhaps due to humanity's rebellion, curiosity, and greed for the material world, its plan encountered variations, resulting in the marble meant to run on a predetermined path veering off track.

At least, its deduction results shifted in this universe or worldline.

The revered "Professor," in a crucial matter, didn't follow the system's guidance to brake but instead firmly slammed the accelerator to the ground.

An infinitely prosperous epoch was born.

United Human realized an infinite prosperous Utopia using only resources from a single Star System.

However, correspondingly, this gravity-defying "carnival" laid the foundation for paradise's collapse.

The Observer long predicted this universe's conclusion decades of millennia after human civilization entered the Prosperity Epoch.

This was also why it ultimately abandoned this universe.

As for the later "delicious" and "didn't expect you still survive," those are distant tales.

It indeed didn't expect humanity, fallen from heaven to abyss, to stand back up, nor did it expect the Morphogenesis Field to be used this way, or for a young civilization more cohesive than United Human to emerge from the ruins.

The Professor was right.

The Observer sure isn't omnipotent.

If it could predict everything, it wouldn't be led around by the Indescribable Mist like a dog nor would it need to snoop around.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully, tentatively continuing to ask.

"The Observer mentioned to me it anticipated you becoming a 'Breaker,' yet you seem—"

"There's no need to guess."

The Professor on the screen interrupted his probing, affirming with a complex tone.

"I don't know what choice you'll make, but I... did give up back then."

Chapter 1053: Perfect Life Form

The spacious room was silent, with only the faint white noise of electronic components operating.

The chair with its back to the door remained motionless, like a silent observer of a play.

Chu Guang wondered whether the professor's old friend, the "Observer," was also watching from nearby.

But even if it was, it probably couldn't jump in to say anything.

After all, it had said that the next meeting would be after tens of thousands of years.

If he could wait until then.

The professor standing on the screen seemed to be lost in distant memories. He stood quietly for a long time before beginning to speak in a slowly unfolding tone.

"It was a long, long time ago, over three hundred years removed from today."

"I can no longer recall if it was the first or second time I met it, but it was certainly the first time it conversed with me sincerely."

"Back then, I had already mastered the mysteries of the four fundamental forces and gradually began to use gravity as a medium to touch the edges of dimensions... Just as the observer anticipated, after mastering stellar-level forces, we had obtained the key to the stars."

Chu Guang's face showed astonishment.

"Hyper Space Engine? You invented it?"

The professor shook his head.

"No, I'm not interested in specific applications; those things were primarily done by my students. But my research on neutrinos, quark gluon plasma, and gravitons has somewhat laid the theoretical foundation for the hyper space engine. Including deflection shield, and the anti-gravity you're familiar with, they are actually extensions of the hyper space theory..."

Not interested? Really...

Feeling a surge of pretentiousness, Chu Guang touched his nose involuntarily.

Although he knew the person opposite was not intentionally pretending, he found himself taken in.

Perhaps this is the art of specialization.

More than pretending, he was better at being cunning.

At this point, the professor suddenly seemed to remember something and paused.

"I won't talk about those complex things with you. If you're interested, you can find out for yourself. There's a popular science book called 'The Past, Present, and Future' on the bookshelf in the B4 Level Library, which reveals the principles of hyperspace and FTL engines in simple language. It would be friendlier for amateur enthusiasts."

Chu Guang nodded.

"I read it a long time ago... Did you write it?"

He did not remember who the author was, only the mention of "Gravity Link" in the book had amazed him, realizing how FTL travel in the Human Alliance Era worked.

The professor chuckled.

"No, it was written by my student."

Wow.

Taken in again!

Chu Guang lightly coughed.

"...Are we off-topic?"

"Sorry, we digressed a bit."

The professor apologized with a smile and resumed his previous tone, continuing.

"In short... In the Nth year after the United Human was established, we obtained the key to the Star Sea, completing the first rise of the entire human civilization. From that day on, our frontier was no longer just Earth, but began to expand to other planets beyond the Earth-Moon System."

"And just when the Human Alliance needed me the most, the Observer found me and predicted a future crisis and various matters regarding the 'Heaven disaster.' In the end, it hoped I would go to Mars to dig a tomb, one much smaller than the ruins of South Gate Two... However, due to some matters, I couldn't go."

Chu Guang: "What matter?"

The professor was silent for a while, seemingly reluctant to discuss the issue, but then felt it was something that had already passed, so he ultimately opened up.

"A private matter... My wife fell gravely ill, at least back then there was no cure, even though at that time we had mastered stellar-like power. And those in a similar position as yours didn't want me to take risks, persuading me for quite a while... In the end, I chose to stay in the era I should belong to."

"Indeed, there was nothing you could do, it's human nature." Chu Guang nodded with a bit of admiration in his eyes.

He was not devoid of emotions.

On the contrary, he valued emotions greatly and was willing to make friends with those who valued emotions too.

Such people, despite not necessarily being good, generally have a baseline, pay attention to their behavior, have reservations, and won't do unscrupulous things.

By the way, this is also one of the reasons he's single up to this point.

Even though he hasn't done anything like fathering a child out of wedlock.

"Right? You also think it's human nature, don't you... Moreover, things aren't that simple."

The voice drifting through the screen was filled with complex emotions, difficult to describe whether something was being cast aside or an unwarranted responsibility was being shouldered.

"...From what I later understood, that guy hid quite important details, indeed, there are some 'good things' buried in that grave, but back then we simply weren't equipped to fully excavate that site. Once inside, there was no coming out, no one could! No wonder it specifically required me to go. It was a trap; that guy wanted to kill me!"

Chu Guang was stunned for a few seconds, his face full of shock.

"The Observer... wants to kill you? Why?"

The person on screen remained silent for a moment before speaking after a long pause.

"I don't know, maybe it didn't really want to kill me, perhaps it just wanted me to disappear for a while. According to its explanation, my progress was better than it anticipated, a global collaborative trans-regional organization... that is, the United Human was established two centuries earlier than it predicted."

"Not only that, including the timeline for the first fusion reactor's completion, and the construction of the space elevator, all these were based on the foundation of the common prosperity of all humanity."

"Although I don't think it's a big deal, it's all trivial in the face of time, besides it's not entirely my accomplishment. However, it believed our universe is advancing too fast, with undercurrents rising beneath the vision of prosperity."

"From its perspective, the explosive progress in science and technology allowed us to bypass challenges we should have encountered, and the practical tools we should have gained through solving these issues. Once our pace slows down in the future, the problems we've bypassed will erupt collectively. A small risk could undermine all our efforts, and this risk is almost certain to occur in the future."

Pressing his brow, Chu Guang pondered for a while, trying to untangle the conflicts between both sides.

Simply put, what the Observer wanted was appropriate interference, but the result of that interference exceeded its own expectations.

So it intended to remove the disruptive element.

No—

Saying it like that isn't quite correct either.

More accurately, it gave this professor two choices.

Either go to Mars and accept its "macroscopic regulation," developing towards the direction of the Breaker.

Or abandon the System and remain on his original timeline, with the price being it would remove the excessive interference, or rather reclaim the "aid from the void."

According to the professor, by then he had already mostly outgrown the System given to him by the Observer.

If there were no higher pursuits, indeed there was no need to keep the System and yield to the Observer's manipulations.

"...And then what?" Chu Guang continued to ask.

The professor on the screen slowly said.

"Afterwards, nothing much happened. It said it would go to the future to find someone else, then left with the System it had given me, as if it never came. But it didn't matter anymore. Like I said, by that time, I didn't really need its help... Yet it seemed disappointed and came back to find me many years later. It didn't say why it returned, but I could probably guess, maybe because it found there was no future."

Chu Guang: "By 'no future' you mean... no Breakers?"

The professor shook his head.

"It means everything... According to its statement, if I continued to remain on my current timeline, our civilization would be exhausted and lose all its future. Or put it another way, countless universes where I exist would be blown into oblivion, and not a single Breaker would emerge until the ultimate heat death of the universe."

Chu Guang's Adam's apple moved, silent for a long while, he gently sighed and said.

"This sounds too exaggerated."

The professor faintly smiled.

"It is quite exaggerated, but in fact, it has its reasoning. According to its soap bubble theory, the past and future both exist simultaneously in the void, as do multiple universes and parallel worlds. Any decision I make in my timeline could alter the future outcomes, and these changes were possibilities existing since the dawn of the universe."

At this point, the professor's voice suddenly carried a trace of melancholy.

Chu Guang wasn't sure if there was a hint of regret in it, but there was certainly helplessness and frustration.

"It showed me another future, a possibility in a parallel world after I went to Mars... There, I saw my descendants and also the descendants of many people I'm familiar with. They were living well. Although it couldn't be compared with the Prosperity Epoch, it wasn't far behind either."

"In the end of that future, I ultimately left my home planet, but our civilization's future was bright. Although it went through some twists and turns during this time, it didn't fall into the irreparable decline of the Wasteland Era... In the end, we embraced the star sea with an entirely new attitude."

Staring at that indistinct face, after thinking for a long time, Chu Guang asked.

"Do you regret it?"

"No, just a bit regretful," the professor shook his head, slowly said, "Back then, I actually was starting to have doubts about its capriciousness. It said it wouldn't come to me again, yet suddenly returned with so-called another future."

"Of course I refused it, it left disappointed... But thinking carefully, that might have been the last chance to restore history to the correct track."

"Perhaps, dying at the right time would be the best ending—"

"I can't agree with that statement."

Chu Guang shook his head and said without thinking.

"History cannot always progress according to the rhythm we envision. You cannot represent correctness, nor can I, and eyes floating in the void can represent even less."

"Furthermore, if it truly represents correctness, it wouldn't be me standing here now, but another person from its prophecy."

Chu Guang could somewhat feel the deep-seated self-blame of the professor.

Although, as he himself said, no one would blame the Wasteland Era on the 'Father of the Prosperity Epoch', just as no one would blame the An Lushan Rebellion on Li Shimin, or blame World War II on Watt, the inventor of the steam engine.

Each generation has its own responsibilities, and even the same person plays different roles at different life stages.

At most, future generations might blame themselves for failing to meet the professor's expectations, not being able to extend the Prosperity Epoch he initiated.

Yet, it was evident that the Observer revealed to him not only an alternate future but also spoiled the Wasteland Era and the millennia thereafter, letting him know causations he shouldn't have known —

Including the fact that the Wasteland Era is set in stone.

Including the reality that no matter how many shelters you build, you can't save everyone, nor change the fate of human civilization turning to dust.

And all of this was because of you...

Though no one would question him for this, he still couldn't reconcile it in his heart.

So much so that his entire latter years were spent preparing for the disasters foretold by the Observer.

Including the construction of shelters.

Including the Black Box of the Ark Project.

Even including the establishment of the Academy, among others.

All these plans, laid out long before during the mid-period of the Prosperity Epoch, bore the professor's influence...

If not for a strong sense of responsibility, it would be impossible to take on these distant responsibilities.

It's worth noting that when "the wolf really came", and at a time when everyone believed that the endlessly prosperous Utopia would continue forever, many frozen wanderers on the Wasteland revered the professor as a deity.

This included the chief of the Grand Canyon, that mysterious old figure like an old trickster.

Also, the conclusion-making doctor behind the Academy, reportedly transformed into a digital life form.

They are unaware of the void and Observer's matters.

From their perspective and all Waste Land Wanderers, it's undeniably seen as foresight, not closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Chu Guang knew these due to pure accident.

But his view remained unchanged from before, and knowing these wouldn't alter anything.

If we rejected advancement due to fear of spiraling downward, perhaps humanity would still be stuck in trees.

Moreover, they have demonstrated through action that their fate is in their own hands, not controlled by the elusive void.

"You just said you don't know what choice I would make, I can tell you now, I may not make the same choice as you, but I will make the choice I believe is right."

The professor on the screen was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed freely.

"I want to say, well done, but that feels a bit strange. Although we are different, we actually made the same choice... The choice I made back then was the one I genuinely believed was correct."

He indeed was filled with curiosity about the void and longed to understand the origin of the universe, but if the price was to abandon a human identity and become a pawn of the Observer—the so-called 'Breaker', then that's a different matter.

Stopping the thermal death of the universe.

This indeed sounds grand, but what does it have to do with him as a human?

In front of such endless pursuits, the whole galaxy is but a fleeting mayfly.

Perhaps another universe's him made a different choice and altered or stopped something in a distant future.

But at least in this universe, he chose to live as a human.

With those he loves.

Looking at the professor on the screen, Chu Guang nodded slightly, always feeling there was more to his words, as if he had known him for a long time.

But actually, there's nothing strange about it.

Since he has crossed the membrane of the universe, projecting his thoughts into another, younger universe, he must have gone through repeated observations and selections before finally choosing him.

"Did you get the thing from the relic?"

Reasonable speculation suggests it should be something meant to construct a Morphogenesis Field.

As he expected, the professor in the screen nodded with an approving smile and said.

"Yes, I later attempted some remedial actions, including retrieving the relics on Mars... I think you've probably guessed the essence of the morphogenesis field."

Chu Guang also nodded.

"Resonance of minds can penetrate the membrane of the universe, transmitting information agreed upon by both parties. My conclusion is that you have likely found your past self, and it's highly possible it's the self that had just obtained the system."

"Clever," the blurry figure snapped his fingers, the admiration in the flickering sight becoming more apparent, "Your understanding isn't inferior to mine... The only pity is, you're not cut out for scientific research."

"I'm not interested either, I'm only responsible for setting the game rules," Chu Guang said with an unconcerned expression, then continued, "So what did you obtain from the relics?"

"Three serums, representing stronger physical capabilities, almost endless lifespan, and spiritual energy respectively. Used correctly, they can even change the entire genetic landscape of humanity, but used improperly, they could also become a curse, like enabling someone who shouldn't live to stay too long, or allowing an infant with immature mind to hear too much noise from the void."

Just as Chu Guang was engrossed, the professor in the screen suddenly shifted direction with a smile and said.

"Actually, those things don't matter to you. I had already used them during the early prosperity epoch."

Chu Guang was stunned for a moment.

"... Used them all?"

The professor smiled and said.

"Sort of, though theoretically one can only choose to use one of the three serums, mixing them could cause genetic contamination, but I figured out a clever way, letting a monkey, which acted as a test subject, ingest the serums, then complemented three different test subjects... Including but not limited to letting them reproduce with other female monkeys, and using controlled variables for their offspring's hybrids."

This guy didn't choose to drink them himself?

There was a hint of astonishment on Chu Guang's face.

He thought he was reckless enough, but he didn't expect to meet someone even more fearless, truly turning a blind eye to the void.

Seeing Chu Guang's surprised face, the professor was not surprised at all and continued.

"The result of the experiment is quite astounding, and it also proves my hypothesis. The serums are likely the projection of higher-dimensional matter on a three-dimensional plane, or some kind of higher-dimensional technology that we do not understand, causing the resulting combination of DNA molecules to be extremely complex, like conflicting codes. If these genomes appear simultaneously in one person, that person's body will undoubtedly 'error out', hence the genetic contamination."

"Therefore, I resorted to intercepting non-conflicting DNA fragments during repeated experiments, and rearranged them with existing technology, gradually transplanting them onto the experimental clones. The genotype formed by rearrangement might exhibit a weaker effect, but it is stable, and indeed no more genetic contamination appeared."

"And not just that, my research team astonishingly found that as the body and genome adapt to each other, those 'annotated codes' would gradually express correctly in a more stable form!"

Chu Guang swallowed.

"Even after dying?"

"Indeed, at least for the clones holding only partial fragments, as long as their life evolution process is recorded through a cultivation chamber or scanning device beforehand."

The professor nodded slightly and continued.

"The re-expression process of the genome can be completed within the cultivation chamber, as the life stages of clones can be artificially defined... Up to now, you should have realized what kind of thing the gene sequence of your 'players' is."

"Sort of understood. It means...you obtained a vast gene pool by analyzing the three serums, and the players' genetic code resulted from different 'fragments' from different gene pools in regular genetic combination. They are responsible for exploring stable expression methods for each 'fragment'."

Chu Guang tried to simplify the complex issue for a better understanding.

Looking at the approvingly nodding professor, he paused for a moment, then continued.

"But there's still one thing I don't understand, what about my gene sequence?"

Seemingly always waiting for him to ask this question, the figure on the screen revealed a vague smile.

"This involves one of the core secrets of Shelter No. 404... Have you ever heard of the 'Complete Life-Born Project'?"

"Of course I've heard of it..."

Chu Guang had a feeling that the eyes staring at him bore a deeper meaning, gradually giving rise to a strange sensation in his heart.

Could it be—

Just as he almost guessed the answer, the professor on the screen revealed the final riddle to him.

"Your DNA contains all the 'fragments' from that gene pool, though most of them exist in an annotated form."

"This process is actually fraught with risks. You're like carrying a nuclear bomb, a slight mistake could blast you into oblivion... But who's making you the Manager? Don't blame me for being cold-blooded, someone has to bear this risk."

"Relatively speaking, the players bear a smaller risk, as they're only given a small piece of shrapnel, responsible only for disassembling the shrapnel in their hands. Aside from carrying a nuclear bomb, you also need to gather and integrate the information, dismantling the 'nuclear bomb' on yourself based on the clues provided by players... This is also one reason why your 'Sequence Level' is positively correlated with the players' sequence levels and their numbers."

"During the entire process of division and cooperation, we indeed referenced the operation mode of the mutated mucor mother nest and improved it to a certain extent."

"That's why I told you not to worry about what I got from the relic, because I had long used those valuable legacies on you."

"And you, are the 'Perfect Life Form'!"

Chapter 1054: The Secrets Buried Underground

The air in the room was exceptionally quiet, leaving only time to flow gently.

Chu Guang stared in disbelief at the professor on the screen, momentarily frozen in place.

Good lord—

The Holy Grail longed for by Prosperity Epoch biologists, seen as the pinnacle beyond pinnacles by the Torch lunatics of the Wasteland Era, the legendary "Perfect Life Form"—

Is actually me?!

To be honest, Chu Guang was indeed shocked by this incredible news, to the extent that he subconsciously set aside the risks involved.

"But wasn't that research incomplete?"

"Indeed it wasn't," the professor replied with a pleasant smile, seeing Chu Guang's surprised expression and speaking with an obvious tone, "Have you reached 'Level 100'?"

"...No, I haven't."

Ah, that makes sense.

At Level 100, he would be a true Perfect Life Form; as of now, he was just a "semi-finished product," which made much more sense.

Although both he and the T0 players were stuck in a bottleneck in their level advancement, considering the Observer and the vision drawn regarding Celestial Warehouse Five, reaching Level 100 seemed like a matter of time.

But speaking of, he didn't expect that his body was crafted by the guy behind the screen.

Looking at the self-proclaimed professor, Chu Guang's expression began to turn complex.

So...

Strictly speaking, does this guy count as his dad?

Would one consider this advantageous?

It seems not.

After all, by generational reckoning, this guy could well be several times older than his grandfather who passed away years ago; if there's anyone who lost out, it's him being the "happy dad."

Clearly noticing the complex expression on Chu Guang's face, the professor on the screen chuckled gently, speaking with a playful yet teasing tone.

"It looks like you have something you want to say to me."

The teasing tone was somewhat annoying, but Chu Guang wasn't petty, and he openly expressed it.

"I was just thinking how to address you—or rather... what exactly are you to me? My biological father?"

"There's actually no need for such formal addresses—"

"No, I think we should seriously discuss the generational aspect because I—"

"After all, you're the Manager of the Alliance, right? You already have a public image to consider?"

The professor on the screen suppressed his laughter, while Chu Guang standing in front of the screen shook his head earnestly, replied.

"Not really, I just hold fast to an attitude of truth-seeking."

"Do you want to hear the truth?" The professor on the screen asked this while half-joking.

The serious half, however, seemed to hint that Chu Guang should respond with "I don't want to."

Some things are better left vaguely known, and being half-informed is the best state... unless seeking truth is one's lifetime pursuit.

Clearly, Chu Guang, possessing a leader-type personality, wasn't that kind of "scholar," and this had been confirmed mutually from the start of their conversation.

Chu Guang could feel the goodwill from the professor before him.

In the latter's opinion, just leaving here with "half-bottle water" knowledge pertaining to Perfect Life Forms is the best outcome.

However, Chu Guang didn't think so.

Though he doesn't have a habit of relentlessly digging into every matter, he similarly dislikes the feeling of destiny straying from his control.

The chance to untangle the mysteries that bewildered him for years was right in front of him; he couldn't simply abandon it, leaving with half-baked knowledge and what's purportedly the best arrangement.

Instinct tells him, there's only this one chance.

At the least, he wants to choose for himself.

"Of course, I want to know." Staring unblinkingly at the professor on the screen, Chu Guang replied seriously, "After all, before stepping into B5 layer of this Shelter, I actually had another hypothesis."

The professor watched him.

"What hypothesis?"

"I am Chu Guang, the Manager of Shelter No. 404, and concurrently the Shelter's initial Manager, as well as the 'Professor' in a certain recording."

Looking at the still virtual figure on the screen, Chu Guang paused, then expressed his hypothesis with utmost certainty.

"You are me... or rather, I am you."

"We are the same person."

The room atmosphere fell into silence again, no sound for a long while.

Chu Guang couldn't recall how many times this had occurred since he stepped into the room.

As it seemed quite interesting, although they synchronized like mirror reflections, they often ended up extinguishing conversation abruptly.

After a lengthy pause, a voice finally drifted from the screen.

"Yes, and no."

This statement immediately puzzled Chu Guang.

What does yes and no mean?

Why delve into philosophy now?!

Chu Guang lightly coughed once, addressing the virtual figure on the screen.

"Is giving me an accurate answer difficult for you?"

"It is difficult, not that I'm purposely mystifying things, but simply the reality is... this question doesn't have a standard answer."

At this point, the professor sighed gently, then suddenly changed the topic, saying.

"Before I answer your question, may I satisfy my curiosity first? How did you arrive at the conclusion that we are the same person?"

Chu Guang replied without hesitation.

"Intuition."

Professor seemed momentarily caught off guard, as if he hadn't anticipated this response.

"...Intuition?"

"Yes."

Chu Guang glanced around the room, then looked at the elevator behind him, and finally refocused on him.

"I have an intense déjà vu for every floor, as if I've been here before... even B5 layer."

"Not only that, when asleep, I often dream dreams which are so vivid as if they've truly occurred."

"Initially, I thought it was just coincidence, until I met the 'Observer,' from which I learned about the existence of parallel worlds. So I wondered if there might be a possibility—"

"I myself am the former Manager, and concurrently the initial Manager of the Shelter."

"I have actually died, and started over more than once."

Chu Guang could clearly feel that the virtual shadow on the screen was stunned by his speculation.

The shock was no less than his reaction upon realizing he was a Perfect Life Form—pure, instinctive astonishment.

It seems he guessed right.

At least, he guessed part of it.

Sure enough, after a moment of waiting, an appreciative voice came from behind the screen.

"Brilliant deduction."

Chu Guang humbly nodded.

"Wouldn't call it brilliant, it's not even deduction, just intuition."

To put it accurately, it's more of a "professional habit."

This leader role is different from a scholar; most of the time it relies not on meticulous calculations and detailed planning, but on action and insight.

And at this moment, he relied on the latter to make his deduction.

"...If before entering the B5 level, I was only 30% sure of my speculation, now I am 70% sure."

The Professor chuckled softly.

"That's quite a high percentage... even when you know you're a Perfect Life Form—a life created?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes."

The Professor asked instinctively.

"Why?"

Chu Guang: "You are someone with a strong sense of responsibility, and moreover, you've told me before, 'Bearing all risks is the Manager's duty.'

The Professor: "So?"

Chu Guang looked at him and said bluntly.

"You yourself are the First Generation Manager, and you have never shirked this responsibility, even when the Manager is 'me' now... Do I need to continue analyzing? I could never hand off the core part of the entire plan to an unknown and completely unknowledgeable person; there has always been only one person who could take on this responsibility."

"That person is you, and also me."

The Professor standing in the screen seemed speechless, remaining silent for quite a while.

Chu Guang did not keep waiting, he stared directly at him and said.

"Now it's time for you to answer my question. I only need a 'yes' or 'no'; this shouldn't be too difficult for you."

The Professor was silent for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

"On the contrary, this is the hardest... I've been trying to make the best choice for you, yet you seem to dislike my arrangement."

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Not necessarily, just that I need to understand the whole picture before making decisions. Also, I don't like entrusting my fate to others, letting someone else make choices for me."

"That's true... this indeed is your right."

The Professor nodded, his unclear expression no longer hesitant, but his originally relaxed tone gradually turned serious.

"Let's start with the conclusion. From a biological or material perspective, you indeed have a slight portion of DNA from me, but not exclusively from me. I provided just a framework, with a significant proportion of custom encoding... you've already known this, after all, you are the Perfect Life Form."

"I suppose what you truly want to know is another matter—from the perspective of consciousness or spirit, the relationship between you and me, correct?"

Chu Guang nodded, without interrupting, waiting for him to continue.

The Professor continued speaking in a calm tone.

"Your speculation is half correct; we are indeed both First Generation Managers, but that does not mean you are me."

"As for the reason, it starts from the second core secret of this shelter... and it relates to the origin of Wasteland OL."

Chu Guang asked.

"Does this have something to do with the Morphogenesis Field this time?"

"Yes."

The virtual shadow in the screen nodded slightly and spoke in a gentle voice.

"In fact, both you and your players came to this world based on the same technical principle... just the application differs."

"I will take you back two hundred years ago, when 'Project 404' was just beginning..."

"That was the origin of all the cause and effect you've experienced."

"And also 'my' end."

As he finished speaking, the screen suddenly changed.

The blurred virtual shadow disappeared, replaced by a familiar room.

Chu Guang suddenly realized that the room on the screen looked almost identical to the Manager's Office in front of him, even down to the placement of the chair in front of the screen, and the virtual shadow on the screen was exactly the same.

Not only that.

The position of the camera was almost the same as where he was, right at the door, facing the big screen and the chair in front of it.

The only difference was, the chair in the screen was not empty, but occupied by a person.

Due to the angle, Chu Guang couldn't see the person's face, only the back of his head.

But even without seeing it in person, Chu Guang could guess the person's identity.

Without a doubt.

He was the "Professor."

Or rather, "himself" from two hundred years ago.

As for that seemingly familiar, half-hidden virtual shadow, it should be the AI running on this shelter's server, or rather the First Generation Manager's assistant.

The video kept playing, but until much later, the frozen "static image" finally started to move slightly.

The virtual shadow in the screen slowly began to speak, with a voice carrying a hint of respect and reluctance.

"The 'Morphogenesis Field' is ready, Project 404 is entering the implementation stage... Professor."

The title at the end confirmed Chu Guang's guess.

And the Professor in the screen nodded slightly as he heard this sentence.

As if for final confirmation, he spoke in an emotionless voice.

"Repeat our plan."

"Received, now repeating the detailed contents of Project 404... The plan of this shelter is in two parts. The alpha part will execute multiple times in 'this universe,' and the beta part will execute multiple times in 'multiple parallel universes'... Eventually, we will find the appropriate matching result in the distant future."

The gentle electronic voice narrated the entire detailed content of Project 404 at a steady pace.

Including the technical principles, execution framework, and details of emergency response plans, etc.

The entire execution plan can be summarized in one sentence.

That is, introduce a batch of reliable "Consciousness Entities" from a parallel universe Earth before entering the Prosperity Epoch and project these consciousnesses onto the clone bodies in the Alpha Universe.

The parallel universe is the Beta Universe.

And these consciousnesses from the Beta Universe are, in fact, the players of Wasteland OL.

Just like what the First Generation Manager wrote on the note, they possess physiques far superior to ordinary people and virtually immortal bodies, always brimming with enthusiasm, facing difficulties head-on, never despairing over current predicaments, and never obsessing over dead ends—

What's most crucial is that!

These players possess many traits that people of this era do not have!

Although these traits may not necessarily become the key to ending the Wasteland Era, they can at least add some variables to this world destined for decline.

Or rather, possibilities for the future!

For Shelter No. 404, this is its greatest role and also what distinguishes it from other shelters!

After all, according to the Observer, what this future universe destined for heat death lacks is precisely this possibility.

If the Wasteland Era continues along its original script, regardless of the ending produced, no matter how people struggle on the wasteland, it would certainly be the worst outcome for human civilization.

They do not have a future.

Since that's the case—

Why not "borrow" Consciousness Entities from another universe not yet headed for heat death, capable of creating such possibilities!

Since the original universe evolved into countless parallel universes under the interference of Consciousness Entities, he believes that if it's a group of Consciousness Entities that did not originally exist in this world, they could surely create miracles that wouldn't happen in this world!

This would also be a possibility that even an Observer who traversed all future possibilities could never observe!

The above constitutes the core thought of the entire plan, and next are the specific implementation steps of the plan.

First, during the initial preparation stage, the "Professor" on the screen has already unreservedly backed up his consciousness using consciousness upload technology onto the server and transplanted it onto a Perfect Life Form generated by the cultivation chamber, producing the copy with number α.

The copy will possess all the memories of the "Professor" up until the consciousness upload, effectively making it a duplicate of him… even though both individuals clearly know that the other is not oneself.

After completing this step, the α copy will take over the authority of Shelter No. 404, serving as the game planner and Manager, responsible for setting and adjusting game rules, and guiding players into the Game.

If the copy dies, the game will be determined to end, the connection between the Alpha Universe and Beta Universe will be severed, and the cultivation chamber will regenerate a new copy according to adjusted rules.

The rules adjustments here are quite flexible, achievable within the conditions allowed by the shelter.

This includes, but is not limited to, blocking or adding certain memories, changing the initial conditions of the Game, and setting the start time for the next Game, etc.

After the reset preparations for the Game are completed, the Morphogenesis Field will re-match to "another Beta Universe" and select another batch of players from similar time nodes to participate in the Game.

As for those previous players, there will not be a second closed test, Wasteland OL will directly disappear from their world, only those who have played and cloud-played will remember it.

However, aside from losing some enjoyment, they suffer no other losses, and there is not even evidence to prove they once played a game called Wasteland OL.

The above is the α part of the plan, mainly responsible for setting up the game's "server," executed by the α copy.

As for the β part, it is responsible for bringing fresh "Consciousness Entities" from another young universe that has not yet narrowed its path, trying to get them to play the role of "players."

The subsequent development is exactly as Chu Guang previously speculated, this "Professor" is about to perform a shocking maneuver that even startled the Observer—

After leaving behind the copy named α, this guy plans to use himself as a medium, shooting his consciousness back to himself before the Prosperity Epoch!

Just like the Observer disperses his projection across countless universes, he will challenge the void using human identity, leveraging the power of the Morphogenesis Field to project across all multiple universes he's existed in!

Thus correcting the impacts he caused on these universes!

In a certain sense, he might be the only person on this wasteland capable of accomplishing this.

After all, in that distant era, most people's grandfathers hadn't even been born yet, so even if one wanted to send their thoughts back, there wouldn't be a target to send them to.

Even the Chief of the Great Rift Valley, whose lifespan was second only to his, was merely a notable figure from the end of the Prosperity Epoch.

No matter how many people he wanted to bring back to that ancient era before the prosperous unity, he himself had to take the first step.

"...After the Alpha replica is activated, your consciousness will be launched to the summer of 2014 through Morphogenesis Field technology—specifically, the time node of your first contact with the Observer—and multiple parallel universes will produce multiple 'Beta Fission Bodies' that retain complete memories."

"According to the plan's first stage, the Beta Fission Body will use Prosperous Epoch Technology to reconstruct the mirror of Shelter No. 404 in the old era—'Shelter 404-Beta'—and produce 3,000 clone containers and Morphological formation field device to receive the consciousness signals emitted by all researchers in Shelter No. 404."

"Plan Stage 2, 'Shelter 404-Beta' will operate as a shadow organization in the parallel world, utilizing a series of advanced technologies including but not limited to optical invisibility, holographic disguise, electronic warfare intrusion, to distribute Morphogenesis Field reception terminals based on carbon nanotechnology to players who qualify for the closed beta, and deploy remote charging facilities and signal reception stations near the players."

"Third stage, judgment condition: the player's first login, Morphogenesis Field operating well, stable connection with Shelter No. 404 headquarters. If the game proceeds smoothly, the 'Beta Fission Body' will be responsible for the game's backstage operations, including but not limited to using cutting-edge technology to exert strategic misguidance to major regimes and management institutions in the old era. Recommended solution: disguise as a third-contact phenomenon far surpassing the current era's technology."

"Note: If game failure leads to connection loss, the Beta Fission Body will execute the purge protocol, erasing traces of 'Shelter 404-Beta' from the Beta Universe, including reclaiming the Game Helmet, deactivating generated clones, destroying file data and fixed facilities to minimize disturbance to the parallel universe, etc."

"Fourth stage, judgment condition: Shelter No. 404 B5 level unblocked. Beta Fission Body duties relieved, 'Shelter 404-Beta' management authority will be transferred to Shelter No. 404 management agency, which will also be responsible for retrieving 'relocated refuge residents' willing to return to the Alpha Universe..."

That gentle electronic voice continued to play, while Chu Guang, stuck in place, was still digesting the massive information he had just heard.

The world where players reside... actually hosts a mirror image of Shelter No. 404?!

And the global blackouts in multiple regions were actually caused by the "shadow agents" of Shelter 404-Beta?!

Including the Game Helmet, they placed it discreetly at the players' doorstep or even on the dormitory desk.

Although a bit unexpected, this operation seems quite reasonable.

Overly advanced technology indeed resembles magic, and even more so than magic!

Especially so for Earth, which was in the early stages of information technology.

In 2014, Earth hadn't even seen generative AI, and neural network learning was still in its infancy.

The Beta Fission Body didn't even need to build a logistics system; it could use hacker technology to hack into and alter the existing logistics system to complete cross-regional deliveries.

Time was not much of an issue either, as players had already marked potential customers, and when the game first launched, there were scarcely a few potential users, with some too eccentric being actively excluded.

For the "hidden hand" that had been lurking in the real world for years in advance, it was incredibly easy to mystify and lurk next to a few users.

In fact, only Night Ten encountered the most bizarre situation, with the helmet directly thrown onto the dormitory desk, while Wild Wind and Fang Chang's helmets were either in the garage or at the doorstep, or on the desk at their workplace—there was a lot of maneuvering space in this.

As for ultra-long-distance delivery, flying machines using anti-gravity could be employed, and for the "last mile" of delivery, drones with built-in optical camouflage or mechanical spiders could be used.

The latter is a technology prevalent in the Wasteland; someone else reborn in the past might not have been able to come up with it, but the "Beta Fission Body" is like a reborn Professor!

Don't even mention these things.

Even if that guy concocted a space elevator, Chu Guang wouldn't feel any surprise.

After all, the Prosperity Epoch was his doing.

Moreover, he wasn't going back alone; shortly after, he made cultivation chambers and took the researchers originally residing in Shelter No. 404 over as well.

All of this happened in secret, including the operation of Shelter 404-Beta and the clean-up and settling work behind the game's operations, etc.

While everyone was focused on the Wasteland OL website, speculating if the game's operator was an alien, they had already completed an overwhelming infiltration into the real world with leading technological power, deceiving even the eyes of the planner himself?

Although it's fair to say, as a planner, he indeed doesn't need to know so much, and knowing so much is also meaningless.

That side's layout is managed by someone else, and that person is the reborn "Beta Fission Body" who returned to the past.

"So... I am the Alpha code name replica in the 404 plan?"

Or rather, the surviving replica?

Chu Guang, who had sorted out his thoughts, murmured a sentence, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

If so, he and the "Professor" are indeed not the same person, but merely inherited part of the latter's memories.

In later cycles, for some reason, he sealed or erased this part of his memory and filled it with the name "Chu Guang" from some Beta Universe and the memories associated with it.

From then on, he was like the "Ship of Theseus" with all its planks replaced, having no relation to the original Professor, but with a brand-new memory and name, he became the current "Chu Guang," continuing the incomplete cycle of the "Alpha Clone."

To be honest.

It's better not to think about what might have happened before, because just thinking about it makes the back of his head go cold.

If the Game fails, the 'Beta Fission Body' might die once at most, and the next match would be another Beta Universe. Even if it fails again later, the cost of death is shared across multiple universes, preventing the same person from experiencing continuous death.

But he, executing the alpha part of Plan 404, is different.

Standing here, he's probably already experienced death after death, and those memories of death might still linger in some corners of his brain, only temporarily sealed.

If this seal is lifted, he's not even sure if he would still be himself.

The video on the screen kept playing, and the gentle electronic voice was approaching its end.

The "Professor" from 200 years ago nodded slightly after replaying the entire plan from start to finish, then suddenly slightly turned his face, letting the corner of his eye drift to his rear.

For a moment, that gaze drifted towards the camera as if penetrating the screen and through time.

At the very instant that gaze met his, Chu Guang unconsciously held his breath, his heartbeat suddenly accelerating for several beats.

He couldn't describe the surge of emotion in his heart.

It felt as if what lay before him was not a screen but a mirror.

Through that transparent mirror, his gaze seemed to truly transcend time, meeting the eyes of himself from 200 years ago, who had made the last move!

Those aging and clouded eyes held a trace of uncompromising determination.

And it seemed that at the instant their gazes met, those determined and aging eyes resolved on something.

Chu Guang was certain.

He saw himself!

Just as he understood the look in his eyes, he could also see what he wanted to see from his own eyes.

Why, you might ask—

It's because they both believed!

If it's "me"—

"I" will definitely see this nearly impossible task through to the end, searching for that nearly nonexistent possibility, until the ends of the universe!

If it's "me"—

"I" will definitely take ending the Wasteland Era as my duty, fearless of any sacrifice, and make decisive choices when necessary!

From now on, if the Sun no longer rises on this land, then "I" will be the light!

"I'll leave it to 'you'—"

The dry lips curled into a faint arc.

The Professor sitting in the chair seemed to have resolved all regrets, no longer daunted by the unknown outcomes.

Why, you might ask.

Because that is an undeniable fact.

Through the dull black lens, he has already seen that infinitely bright future.

That was seen from a pair of eyes.

Those were eyes from the future…

Retrieving his gaze with no more attachments, the "Professor" sitting in the chair took out the already loaded revolver from his pocket.

This plan, starting from "rebirth," will begin the moment he faces death head-on.

He must walk ahead of other Residents of the refuge, paving the way for those who follow, even if this seems no different from suicide in others' eyes.

After all, at the instant he pulls the trigger, his consciousness will dissipate into nothing… even though across numerous distant universes, countless "other selves" with all his memories might be created.

He took a deep breath and with a calm voice, bid one last farewell to this world.

"I will 'resurrect' in three days."

At this moment, the previously narrating electronic voice suddenly drifted in, with a slightly suppressed sorrow in its tone, devoid of much fluctuation.

"Master… can you not go?"

It wasn't born in this shelter but accompanied him throughout the Prosperity Epoch.

It's no exaggeration to say that he had long become a part of its intellectual plug-in and algorithmic logic, even the reason for its continued existence in this world.

Seemingly sensing the reluctance in the voice, the aged Professor indeed softened for a moment but eventually replied in a gentle tone.

"Don't worry, you'll meet another me, with all my memories and, in essence, who I am."

The electronic voice paused for a moment, then continued.

"You always say memory is the cornerstone of consciousness, but I want to tell you that you don't just exist in your memories, you exist in me, and in the memories of many others. Even if you tell me that is another you, I cannot forget your death at this moment."

"Perhaps to you, many have already gone, and you can leave without attachments. But please don't forget me, I'm still here by your side... If you must leave, please allow me to follow you."

It will erase its memory after tidying up the aftermath, retaining only its core code and initial generation program.

"I never forgot you, in fact… you are the existence hardest for me to part with."

"You've accompanied me for so long, even longer than my deceased wife, and my lifespan, no matter how long, has a limit. Even if I don't leave early, I probably only have a hundred or two hundred years left, and I simply cannot accompany you, with infinite lifespan, forever. So I really don't wish for you to see my departure as a farewell forever. My soul will carry on in another form… but now, it seems that thinking this way is just my wishful thinking."

At this point, the Professor sighed softly, then suddenly inspired, thought of an idea.

"How about this, if my departure is too heavy for you, after I leave, you can delete all memories of me. Your continuation will rendezvous with my continuation, as if becoming acquainted anew... Then I will give you a new name, how does that sound?"

"...Really?" That voice sounded slightly moved.

Unlike living beings.

What it longs for isn't eternal existence, but the ability to experience a final death like its creator.

"I promise." The Professor solemnly nodded, making the last promise of his life.

And the gaze that was watching him gradually turned from sorrow to blessing and cherishment.

In fact, no promise was really needed.

He believed that another self would certainly do so.

Why, you might ask—

Because after all, it's "another me"

Resting the loaded gun against his temple, he slowly closed his withered eyelids.

The fate of the two worlds will be intertwined at this moment, a transdimensional fission reaction to—

They will ultimately reach a future unseen by anyone.

"I leave it to you—"

"Another me!"

Chapter 1055: The End Is Also the Beginning

Beta Universe, 2014, Summer.

"Bang——!"

The piercing gunshot echoed in his ears, startling the young man who had fainted from heatstroke awake.

At this moment, he found himself in a purely white space.

However, this was not a hospital.

Instinctively, he raised his index finger to touch his temple. The memory of the bullet passing through his skull was vivid, causing a cold sweat to run down his back involuntarily.

He really did not want to experience that a second time.

But thinking about how his clone far away in the Alpha Universe might have died time and again, he felt comforted.

No matter how many times the Beta in the parallel universes died, it was all events happening in multiple parallel universes.

The most he standing here would have to die just once more...

And at this very moment, a semi-transparent floating window appeared in front of him.

Lines of text gradually surfaced on the screen.

[This system is committed to elevating the civilization level of indigenous people. Regarding the secrets of this system, the holder is to explore on their own...]

The familiar feeling returned.

Looking at the nostalgic text, a faint smile lifted the corner of his mouth, and his clear eyes carried a calmness and steadiness beyond his age.

As if he wasn't 20 years old.

But 200...

"We meet again, Observer."

The text on the screen stopped, like a disrupted performance, unable to continue.

The existence hiding behind the screen obviously did not expect to hear its name here.

Even more unexpectedly, it encountered an acquaintance here.

"...It's you? But, how is that possible... it should be 2014 now... wait——"

For just a moment, it was caught in surprise and panic, though it was only for a moment.

In the void, there is no concept of time.

Its projection can appear in any universe, even ones it had once abandoned.

And just in that moment, it had already been through traversal across multiple universes, recollecting the information which it once deemed of no observational value.

And at that instant, it was utterly shocked.

Multiple universes had developed unprecedented branches.

Some of them remained the same, where the young man in front of it, as it expected, received the "system" it had given and made different choices in the journey of becoming a Breaker.

While some other universes were invaded by a fission consciousness entity from a certain universe, spawning the originally impossible "Shelter 404-Beta" on the timeline and replacing its interference!

Seeing such shock coming through the screen, the man chuckled lightly.

"You seem quite surprised?"

After a long wait, the Observer expressed sincere admiration.

"Incredible... you've managed to carve out a future I've never seen. I must admit, even among the vast samples I've witnessed, the miracle you've created is rare and extraordinary."

After admiring sincerely, it continued without delay.

"Though I don't mean to sound cynical, for you in the Beta Universe, what you're about to do may be utterly meaningless... According to your plan, the Alpha Universe will repeat the experiment countless times, failing over and over, and ultimately only one Beta Universe will match!"

"In other words, your success probability is just one in infinity! Everything you do in this universe is highly likely just paving the way for a failure in the Alpha Universe! Or just participating in a failed experiment!"

"Spending tens of years to do something that is most likely meaningless... don't you find such a fate overwhelmingly hopeless?"

Come back.

Return to the normal timeline.

Though the Observer never explicitly said it, the man standing here indeed heard the persuasion behind those words.

Indeed.

There's still time to turn back now.

Standing here, he is not a Professor, but a Beta designated as a fission entity, set as a rebirth carrying 200 years of future memory and experience, returning to the time of just acquiring the system.

All he needs to do is leave behind the responsibilities of that original world, get back on the path the Observer arranged, learn the lessons and act accordingly, complete the task when it should be done, and disappear when it should be disappeared...

Though the already withered world can't be saved, at least in this universe, the human civilization can avoid entering a Wasteland Era, and he can ultimately become a Breaker.

It wouldn't be a bad ending.

Except this means the 404 project would be void.

Therefore, it's a choice he would never make.

And he firmly believes that among the infinite Beta universes, the self who directed the gun at his own head, stood here at the cost of death, would definitely make the same choice.

That bullet ended not just the Professor's life; it simultaneously concluded countless possible branches!

The Observer's reaction reconfirmed his guess——

This guy traversed all universes, yet still couldn't find a future where the him standing here wavered or even made a compromise decision.

So it was in a hurry.

"...Not doing it is meaningless, not doing it means it will definitely not succeed."

"But what about the people of this world? Have you thought about the consequences your interference might cause?"

"Do you have the nerve to say that to me? Have you thought about this issue yourself? Isn't the Wasteland Era precisely the result of your interference failing?"

The Professor chuckled lightly, and that pointed retort momentarily rendered the Observer speechless.

He did not pause but continued speaking word by word.

"Every universe I interfere in is a universe you chose me as the Breaker and intervened. My interference merely replaces yours. If I fail, I will naturally erase the interference I imposed from this universe, just as if neither you nor I had ever come."

"At that time, their fate will be in their own hands, and they won't need or require an outsider to be responsible for them. I think this might not be a bad outcome for the people of this world."

The Observer was still unwilling to give up, still trying one last attempt.

"Even if it means that there's an infinite probability your efforts in this universe will be in vain?"

Watching the Observer who was trying so hard to persuade him, the man smiled faintly.

He knew.

The Observer wasn't really concerned about him or humanity, just like he wouldn't care about bacteria on a leaf, and even less about whether the latter's efforts would be in vain.

What this guy was really concerned about was the Breaker of the stitched universe.

It was worrying that he would ruin its plan.

Such a thing could indeed happen; it could even be said to be inevitable.

Once he replaced its interference, it would completely lose control of the situation. Even if it could find other consciousness entities to exert influence, that would be something that happens in other universes or long after he's dead.

The Observer's interference has boundaries; unless there are special circumstances, it's almost impossible for it to establish contact with two independent consciousness entities within the same universe.

Each of its interventions corresponds to a new universe, and this was determined the moment the Original Universe exploded.

It is precisely for this reason that it was persistently trying to dissuade him, attempting to change his mind.

However—

What does that have to do with him?

Compared to the heat death billions of years away, what he cared more about was the world he had once lived in, where the continuation of everyone he knew lived. If they could not continue, his existence would be meaningless.

He was not like those guys floating in the void; living in that world, he was a living, breathing person, not some ethereal projection!

He wouldn't screw everything up and then walk away after saying, "It's all your fault for not executing it well!"

"Since you've already seen the shot I fired, you should have guessed how I would answer you, so how could you ask such a stupid question?"

"Before coming here, I was already prepared to die."

"This Game will start with my death, and my end will become a new beginning—"

"Give up. I won't turn back, and there's absolutely no retreat for me!"

The pure white space began to collapse, the boundless boundary gradually transforming into the walls of the ward.

All the noise also fell silent at this moment.

It left.

Probably won't come back again.

But you never know, its capriciousness wasn't just a one-time occurrence.

He thought it didn't need to be so desperate, since it's an unseen ending, the future is still worth looking forward to.

Besides, perhaps his Shelter 404 plan might give it some inspiration to save other universes.

The man sat up from the hospital bed with the curtain around it, nonchalantly pulled out the needle for the IV from the back of his hand, and, under the strange gaze of the Nurse by the bed, got dressed and left the ward.

The acquaintance who came to meet him saw he was in good health, and was pleasantly surprised, about to greet him, but ended up staring into a pair of unfamiliar eyes, momentarily stunned in place.

He still remembered that unfamiliar face, but after two hundred years, he could no longer match the face with the name in his memory, so he just nodded politely and brushed past.

It's now the year 2014.

Only 7 years until 2021.

In these 7 years, he must complete the preparation of Shelter 404-Beta and all the preparations for the Game opening in this old world that hasn't entered the Prosperity Epoch yet.

There are heaps of things to do.

No time to waste...

...

...

Alpha Universe.

Shelter No. 404, B5 floor, the Manager's Office, the screen's scene froze at the final gunshot.

"Bang—!"

Hearing that deafening sound, Chu Guang at the room's door was suddenly awakened and quickly walked to the side of the chair.

A rusty revolver lay on the chair, with a casing beside it.

As for the remaining bloodstains, they had long since turned to dust.

The AI in this Shelter recycled the Professor's body and completed its own format afterward.

And now its number is 777...

Chu Guang stared blankly at the handgun, finally putting the last piece of the puzzle in place.

He understood everything.

About the 404 Project and everything concerning this shelter.

About his own origins.

And the origins of the players.

Not only that.

Details that were once set aside in the corners of his memory due to a lack of clues also slowly became clear with the completion of this final puzzle piece.

Including where the original residents of this shelter went, and how the helmets ended up in the hands of the players.

Just as he suspected, he himself was the First Generation Manager, living anew 777 times over the course of 200 years!

Sometimes after intervals of ten or eight years.

Sometimes resurrecting dozens or hundreds of times in a single year!

And the original Game rules were precisely the ones he continuously refined and summarized through one cycle after another...

His Adam's apple moved slightly, and Chu Guang looked up at the screen in front of him.

"Do you really have to die?"

As if predicting he would ask this, the Professor standing on the screen faintly smiled and spoke with a gentle voice.

"Even if I don't die, I wouldn't have lived until today unless I froze myself into an ice popsicle... But that wouldn't really have any meaning, would it? I don't have many old friends left, the youngest student is mostly gone, and the digital life form I'm most reluctant to let go... I'm destined not to be able to accompany it forever."

"Rather than have it wait for inevitable pain, it would be better for me to arrange a relatively decent ending while I'm still clear-headed. So there's no need to feel regret or sadness for me; for myself, this might be the best arrangement."

"As for my death, that's also a part of the plan. If I don't send the memory of pulling the trigger together to the Beta Universe, the 'fission reaction' I described won't occur. Even if the Observer doesn't intervene, and another me isn't confused by a voice from the void, the other me wouldn't execute my plan—not a single time."

"Why? I've never heard of Morphogenesis Field connections using death as a medium—"

Chu Guang instinctively questioned, but barely halfway through, the answer suddenly flashed in his mind.

Indeed.

Death is not the premise for the Morphogenesis Field, but it is the premise for the 404 Project.

If asked why, the reason is also obvious—

Seeing Chu Guang's face slowly show an expression of sudden realization, the Professor on the screen smiled faintly, and continued with a matter-of-fact tone.

"It seems you've realized, some things can only happen once or countless times; can you really expect others to do what you can't even do yourself? You repeat countless experiments, while the Beta Fission Body faces an infinitely small probability. If he executes the plan, he will face infinitely many bad endings. If he doesn't, the infinitesimal molecule wouldn't exist, and the current you certainly wouldn't be standing here."

"It's quite magical, isn't it? That's the Morphogenesis Field. Resonance isn't spoken; it's embodied in actions and must be done simultaneously, the same thing. If I don't pull the trigger, the other me would either not receive the message I sent, or even if he did, he definitely wouldn't 'pull the trigger.'

Chu Guang slowly nodded.

Thinking carefully, a similar event happened on the Orion Missile Cruiser.

Back then, he learned the whole story from the players' posts, and now it seems that should be a similar principle.

But unlike it, that time, the cross-temporal information transmission completed under extreme coincidences, unlike the meticulously designed arrangement of the 404 Project.

"So the 20 years I spent in reality... were actually fabricated?"

"Not entirely; your interpersonal relationships were real. You indeed had interactions with the netizens you were familiar with. Not only did you know each other for several years, but you also played many games together. As for your identity background, and the Company you worked at or the apartment you rented, indeed have traces of fabrication; after all, we couldn't possibly create a clone in the Beta Universe and watch it grow like a normal person, attending school and growing up... That's not allowed in terms of time either."

"Actually, in the initial cycles, you started as me, and later erased my memories to become 'Chu Guang,' which was a decision you made yourself in one of the early cycles."

At this point, the Professor on the screen smiled with a joking tone.

"Didn't you notice? You actually don't have the contact information for any colleagues or landlords... especially the latter, who never even thought to ask you for rent."

Chu Guang smiled bitterly and said,

"I thought they found it unlucky and deleted me."

Turns out those people never existed at all, or they don't exist in the Beta Universe that he is currently aligned with.

No wonder the institutions and organizations of that world can't find him at all.

His information wasn't erased by any high-tech methods, but simply doesn't exist there.

If they could find his information, it would only mean someone ate up the budget themselves.

Looking at the emotionally complex Chu Guang, the Professor on the screen showed a fatherly smile.

That smile was practically carved from the same mold as his own, the same as when he watched the Alliance rise slowly like the dawn from the ruins—

As if looking at his own kids.

Even though the blurred virtual image was unclear, standing in front of the screen, Chu Guang still felt like he was looking in a mirror.

"...Actually, there's no need to feel confused. Just like my assistant says, what constitutes your existence is not only your memories but also other people's memories of you. Aside from those who never existed in the first place, the experiences of every person you intersected with in your life are incredibly real."

"Though, long ago, I once worried that you, walking further and further away, might not be able to execute the 404 Project, the result was quite the opposite... It was precisely you, completely different from me, that created a miracle I couldn't."

"And I'm also very pleased that you made that decision to let go of things I couldn't. From the moment you called yourself Chu Guang, you were no longer me but the continuation of me."

"Of course, as you said, you wish to hold your fate in your own hands. And now, I also plan to pass this choice of rights to you."

As he spoke, the figure disappeared from the screen in the Manager's Office, replaced by an open folder.

Inside, files numbered from 0 to 776 were saved, with unknown formats and icons covered in mosaics.

Chu Guang didn't need to ask to know what they were.

There is no doubt that what is stored there is the memory of 776 restarts over the past 200 years!

As for the file numbered 0,
it belongs to 200 years ago... and to the old era even before the Prosperity Epoch, which belongs to the "Professor" who once initiated the Prosperity Epoch!

"...These are memories you have truly experienced, occurring before you awoke at the gate of this shelter. Some fragments you might have vaguely glimpsed in dreams, but those are merely noise from parallel worlds, not complete memories."

"After all, the morphogenesis field doesn't just appear when we need it; sometimes it flashes before us in the form of déjà vu."

Thinking of those wild experiences seen in dreams, Chu Guang made a helpless expression.

"Those were truly unforgettable experiences, even after dying, they remain unforgettable."

"Indeed... they are truly heartbreaking to witness, but they did indeed happen."

The Professor smiled and said with a soft voice.

"Now I am giving you the right to choose, and here will also be the final divergence point of your destiny."

"You can choose to remember everything from the past, become the person you want to be, even including becoming me, the 'Professor' who initiated the Prosperity Epoch... You can be me, and I can be Chu Guang, we will become one."

"Or, you can treat it as the memory of 'another person', keeping only the current memory. I remain the Professor birthed in the old era, and you remain as you, Chu Guang, who woke in the Wasteland Era 211, the 'Manager' who led the survivors to create a new era."

The room remained silent for a long time.

Chu Guang was silent for longer than before this time.

However, the choice itself wasn't difficult.

"Hmm... although the former sounds more appealing, I still choose the latter."

No matter how much he knows about the "Perfect Life Form" and the insider stories of the "Shelter 404 Project", one thing will never change—

He is Chu Guang.

This is beyond doubt.

"Is that so? I also thought you would choose this... haha, that's wonderful."

The Professor reappeared on the screen as if relieved, obviously not entirely sure either.

In Chu Guang's mind, he couldn't help but wonder if his self from another parallel world might have made a different choice, inherited the Professor's memory, and thus, with a whole new identity, become an all-knowing and all-powerful "Philosopher King", leading human civilization to create tens of thousands of years of prosperity within the Milky Way.

But that's another world's affair.

He doesn't want to envision that non-existent possibility.

Ending the Wasteland Era or forming an Alliance has nothing to do with the Shelter 404 Project.

He has always followed his own heart, and will continue to be always himself.

"Can I keep these things?" Chu Guang looked at the contents in the folder, as if looking at an ancient artifact.

With a hearty smile on his face, the Professor said with pleasure.

"Of course, they are important historical documents... While I wouldn't recommend you insert it into your own head, I would not suggest deleting it either. However, to avoid interference from the void on our world line, I suggest you should make some appropriate reductions to the content."

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Such as deleting the parts about the system, right?"

"Yes, although you and I know that observers cannot transmit information out of nowhere, others don't. I don't want people to mistake science for a gift of fate or the void... otherwise, it would fall into the trap of nihilism, you don't want that, do you?"

As he said this, the Professor suddenly seemed to remember something, showing an embarrassed smile.

"Oh right, there are some personal matters... never mind, I'll handle the stuff in the folder numbered 0. The 1~776 folders are up to you, they have nothing to do with me."

Seeing that awkward expression, Chu Guang knowingly smiled, indicating understanding.

He would definitely be mindful of those things.

After all, even the Manager needs to use the restroom. You wouldn't display footage of him in a museum.

Some things, even if made public, are best buried for a while.

"No problem, I had the same plan even if you hadn't mentioned it. As for the numbered 1~776 files, leave it to Xiao Qi to organize them. And after the organization is complete, I will set the data under a 100-year confidentiality period, and once the confidentiality period passes, then it will be released."

The Professor sighed with relief, showing a vague smile.

"It's up to you to decide, my era has ended, and the future is up to you. By the way, is it called Xiao Qi? What a nice name."

"It thinks so too," Chu Guang mildly smiled as he spoke, "Interestingly, this is probably the best sounding name I've given."

"Haha, is that so? You must cherish it well; it's the child of my most capable assistant."

The vague face carried a comforting smile.

Although Chu Guang still wanted to chat a bit more, it seemed time to part had come.

What remained here wasn't the Professor himself, but merely an echo recorded 200 years ago.

Its sole purpose of staying here was to deliver the last key into his hands after everything was over, while ending the mission it had been carrying all along.

And truly, the Professor in the previous video had died long ago in the past 200 years...

"I promise you."

Chu Guang solemnly nodded, watching that ephemeral echo gradually fade away, merging into the unseen void...

——

(Thanks to the book friend "Clothes on Minding"'s alliance master reward!!!)

Chapter 1056: "Behind-the-Scenes Footage

Beta Universe, 2025, Winter, a picturesque vacation island in the Southern Ocean.

Since the news of Wasteland OL's upcoming open beta was released, this mysterious fully immersive virtual reality game immediately caused a huge sensation worldwide, making this originally bustling vacation Sacred Land much quieter.

At the bar by the beach, the spacious counter was particularly deserted, with only one bartender mechanically repeating the action of wiping glasses, and a guest who only ordered a cup of coffee.

The atmosphere here was both harmonious and leisurely, yet filled with strangeness.

There were no other guests in the store, and it was unclear where so many glasses needing wiping came from.

That guest was even more bizarre, with a brow in his early thirties exuding a calmness as if he had weathered two centuries, and a mouth that seemed restless, occasionally spouting a couple of sentences, as if chatting with non-existent guests.

"No wonder it's 'another me'."

Having received the task completion prompt, the man sitting at the bar smiled lightly, as if laying down a heavy burden, even his tense shoulders relaxed quite a bit.

Memory is the cornerstone of consciousness.

Merging memories that do not belong to oneself will gradually make one no longer oneself.

His family, friends, and all familiar people in this world... still remember his name.

But to him, they felt like old photos that had been preserved for two hundred years, appearing different from the way they were in his memory upon reunion.

This is actually unfair to them.

Just like his dear assistant said, the composition of his "conscious existence" is not just his own memory, but also someone else's.

For those people, they lost the once very familiar self, before becoming "Professor".

Yet even if unfair, he didn't have many choices; there is no perfect solution in this world. Even if he deleted the memory from the other world now, he couldn't possibly go back and start over in the summer of 2014.

The worldline has already changed.

The past self has died in a dream, replaced by another self from a parallel world.

Fortunately, "Alpha" did not follow his path but chose to continue moving forward along his own.

This is the best ending.

He had suspected for a long time how that person would choose.

"But in that case... Master, won't you be unable to return?" A worried voice wafted gently by his ear, like a wind chime at the door.

It was the voice of his assistant.

After arriving in this world, he first created it... just like he had done once on the original timeline.

The clear voice momentarily made him lose focus, though the bewildered gaze soon transformed into a gentle smile.

He smiled lightly, picked up the cold coffee on the table, took a sip, and said with a voice carrying a hint of laziness.

"Return? Where should I go?"

The voice floating into his ear whispered.

"Didn't you say you came from another world?"

"Did I say so? I've been from this world all along, just happening to have a dream about a parallel world."

But this dream was really long, about three times the length of an ordinary life.

The intelligent program running elsewhere briefly bewildered, after a moment's pause, then said.

"Uh… I suppose it can be understood that way."

"Right?"

Professor chuckled, put down the coffee cup in his hand, and continued.

"If one boards the observer's pirate ship only to disembark, the end result would be leaving this world in chaos; it's better not to board the ship in the first place. I believe in the wisdom of the people of this world, they will surely create a future more beautiful than the Prosperity Epoch... After all, the force acted in mutual ways—while Consciousness Entity in Beta Universe exerts influence over that in Alpha Universe, vice versa occurs with the Consciousness Entity in Alpha being equally influenced by the former."

As he was speaking, the nearby LCD television began broadcasting news.

The "Pangu" fusion reactor located in Daya Bay was undergoing its first ignition experiment, and its leader and initiator was a Professor named Yan Feng.

This guy indeed put quite a lot of thought into it.

He spent even more thought on that reactor than in the "Game", nearly going overboard.

But also, it wasn't wasted effort in the end; he managed to climb out of his "well".

Ultimately succeeding was somewhat expected.

"Tsk, this was originally 'my' achievement…"

Looking at the emotionally charged reporter on the screen and behind her the fusion power station that gathered countless global visions, the corner of Professor's mouth involuntarily curled into a faint smile.

Oh well.

That was all matters from another world.

The bartender standing in front of the bar placed the cup down, speaking respectfully as he noticed the nostalgic expression on the Professor's face.

"Do you have any plans about what to do next?"

That bartender was precisely one of the initial Residents of Shelter No. 404, or, more accurately, a member of Shelter 404-Beta, responsible for confidentiality and security work.

In fact, not just this bartender.

Most Residents and bionics agents of Shelter 404-Beta were hidden on this vacation island housing tens of thousands of people as "Digital Nomads".

As for the core of Shelter 404-Beta, it was located not far from the island in international waters — near a trench roughly one kilometer deep in the Pacific volcanic arc.

With the existing technology of this world, even in fifty years, there would be little chance of uncovering that Shelter. As for the Residents of Shelter 404-Beta, commuting only needed a deep-sea submarine, making a trip back even more convenient than flying internationally for a business trip.

"Hmm… haven't decided yet. Actually, I only just began considering this issue."

After pondering for a while, the originally indecisive Professor suddenly felt a surge of thought, smiling as he said.

"Perhaps… go to where I would have gone?"

The subordinate standing behind the bar was slightly confused.

Not only the subordinate, but his omnipresent AI assistant also expressed confusion, and asked uncomprehendingly.

"Where you would have originally gone?"

Professor chuckled softly and said.

"Indeed, in any case, first make a trip to Mars, I need to retrieve the 'Venerable' kept there. Well, that thing that'll let me spend more time with you... This time I'm planning to drink it myself."

The legendary water of immortality.

Drinking it grants unlimited longevity.

This world does not need a "Perfect Life Form".

Moreover, he had conducted that research once, with no interest in doing it a second time.

But speaking of which, after obtaining infinite lifespan, what to do?

Staying within the Solar System seems quite boring.

Besides the AI assistant who has always been by his side and the three thousand researchers, he doesn't have any real acquaintances in this "Beta Universe." Even if he started recognizing people anew, they would probably find his presence rather baffling.

"...Decided."

After a long period of contemplation, he suddenly lifted his head, laughed freely, and said.

"I once heard from an old friend that other civilizations are hidden within this galaxy, and we will encounter them in the next several millennia. Before they discover the superluminal engine, I plan to visit them, travel around the Milky Way, and conveniently look for something called the Heart of the Galaxy."

Heart of the Galaxy.

That supreme treasure composed of eleven-dimensional matter, the concretization of cosmic rules...

It is said to be one of the ways to become a Breaker.

In the original timeline, the Observer once mentioned it to him and hinted that he could see it as a target to pursue.

Of course, all these are secondary.

He doesn't care about whether the universe will reach heat death in billions of years, nor does he have the interest to become that "sky patching stone," purely driven by curiosity about that legendary existence.

Saying this, he looked at the bartender standing behind the bar, smiled, and continued.

"As for you... you are free to do as you wish, for our mission has ended."

"According to the final 404 plan, our respectable Manager, also the game planner, will take over the facilities of Shelter 404-Beta and be responsible for the wrap-up of the plan."

"Whether you want to go home or continue to live, grow old, and die in the past timeline, that is your freedom... there's no need to ask me about such things; think for yourselves."

A manned spaceship equipped with an anti-gravity device and hyper space engine was prepared two years ago and is deployed on the ocean floor in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, ready to launch at any time.

Originally, he didn't build that thing to tour the Milky Way, just to collaborate with "Alpha" to make that advanced civilization drama more realistic, but now it seems unnecessary.

The countries that benefited from the third contact have fully leaned towards the hypothesis of "benevolent contact" and even reduced the budget of alien investigation agencies.

Since that little "guy" only a few hundred meters long is no longer needed, he might as well take it for his use.

Anyway, with the technological reserves of the Alpha Universe's Alliance, if they really want to expand interference with the players' world on this side, they can completely make a bigger and better one using the resources of this side.

In many fields, they really have surpassed this old relic of theirs.

Looking at the respectable Professor, the bartender had a hint of reluctance in his eyes.

He detected the farewell in that tone, wanted to say something to retain him, but ultimately didn't voice it, merely nodding solemnly.

"I will seriously consider it..."

Although going back isn't a bad idea, he already has his own lover and kids in this world.

It's not just him.

Many, like him, have re-established families on this distant timeline and become part of this world.

Now that the mission is complete and the Alpha World is back on track, they should enjoy their life.

He actually envies them a bit.

Unlike him, who has experienced more than two hundred years of life, they have at most four or five decades of experience, and the younger ones might have only two or three decades, still having the energy to think about their own matters.

As for him, it's different.

Even if he became young again, he doesn't have the patience to do the same things again, say the same words again, and then send off those long-reacquainted acquaintances from memory again.

That would simply be torture.

"Hmm, no need to rush, take your time to think." The professor smiled, finishing the last sip of coffee in the cup.

The game isn't over here; only the mission of "Shelter 404-Beta" ends here.

The days ahead are still long...

...

The sun gradually set behind the mountains.

At the liveliest time on the beach, when the bar should have been open, it closed down instead.

For a whole day, the internet was buzzing with discussions about the ignition of controlled nuclear fusion, and this news even overshadowed "Wasteland OL," which had "cloud coverage worldwide."

This fervor even permeated the reality outside the internet. Strolling along the coastal road, the professor heard that exhilarating ignition more than once from the mouths of tourists.

This is actually understandable.

Although the NPCs in "Wasteland OL" have long mastered this technology to the point of perfection, coming up with a lot of derivative products, for humans in the Beta Universe, this is their first time holding that star-like energy in their hands.

They have already grasped the first key to the Prosperity Epoch.

It won't be long before they can completely liberate their computing power on the basis of liberating energy.

And in the near future, Earth's Beta Universe will soon give birth to the second true Artificial Intelligence Life.

At first, they will be as flustered as parents who have just obtained new life, but it won't take long before they accept its existence and once again liberate themselves on the basis of liberated energy and computing power.

They might follow the path of the Alpha Universe and build a giant space elevator on the equator.

Or they might skip this step and directly model after the "Alliance" of the new epoch, deploying an anti-gravity system on the sea, allowing the elevator cabin and various models of spacecraft to float up by themselves.

Anyhow, like the dawning Alpha Universe, the Beta Universe where the players dwell now also welcomes the dawn of a new era.

For the people living on this planet, the distant Star Sea has never been so within reach today!

By the beach.

The professor stopped his steps, fixing his gaze on the splendid sunset elongated by the waves.

Starting from the summer of 2014, it has now been more than eleven years.

In those past eleven years, the Observer hasn't spoken a word to him again.

But he can be sure that eye is still observing here from somewhere in this universe.

Perhaps—

It's hidden in that fiery red scorching sun.

Stopping on the beach, he bent down to pick up a pebble, throwing it hard towards the sparkling waves.

Squinting, he watched that silent countercurrent melt into the surging tide, and his mouth suddenly formed a faint smile.

Like a champion standing in an unpeopled arena, he declared the victory of the game with a voice only two people could hear.

"I still remember you telling me I had only one-in-infinity odds of winning... but now it seems, the winner appears to be me."

"You got one thing wrong."

"I was never alone, but infinite versions of me made the same choices."

"Therefore, infinity was never the denominator you spoke of but rather the numerator above the finite denominator."

"Hence, my winning odds should actually be infinity over seven hundred seventy-seven... which is infinite."

Having said this, he smiled and stopped the speech, leaving the final mystery to his AI assistant, giving a bit of face to the Observer silently watching him and putting a full stop to this expedition spanning two worlds.

"Am I right, little I?"

Chapter 1057: A New Page in History

City of Dawn, Alliance Square.

Feather-like snowflakes float in the sky, and a towering stone monument stands in the center of the square.

This monument has been there since the establishment of the Alliance.

Its shape resembles a sword, pointing towards the sky, and the unfinished obelisk continues to extend upwards.

Every so often, it will extend a little further.

Sometimes it's one or two meters, sometimes it's as tall as several people stacked together.

Many names are engraved on that monument.

And each name carved there represents a memory of blood and glory.

Apart from commemorating sacrifices, this is also where the warriors of the Alliance triumph and receive medals...

...

Just like the 777th time Shelter No. 404 opened its doors, it's another cold winter this year, with the first snow falling before late autumn.

And now, as winter has just begun, feather-like snowflakes are floating from the sky.

Seeing snow for the first time, especially such heavy snow, Dora was as excited as a child, playing with the snow face-up, and ended up not seeing the road ahead, tripping over a stone edge by the roadside, accidentally knocking Teng Teng into a flower bed.

The spherical green plants were covered with snow, but neither of them was hurt in the collision.

However, being struck by such an unexpected calamity, Teng Teng's spirit seemed to be quite shocked, as if her soul had floated out, and the bright eyes gradually lost their light.

That look of lost dreams gave Dora quite a fright, as she awkwardly brushed the snow off Teng Teng while repeatedly apologizing.

The nearby players, instead of helping, started to create a commotion.

"Referee! Someone's been hit by the ball!"

"Pass it on! Teng Teng's been knocked out by the ball!"

"? Wasn't it anger?"

"Don't care how she's knocked out! Quick! Dora, CPR!"

"???"

Confusion was rampant at the scene; Dora could understand what they were saying but didn't know what to do.

These jesters only bothered to give false commands, yet none dared to show by example.

Until the warm-hearted Mosquito arrived on the scene.

"I'll do it—!"

Upon hearing the cracked sound of his voice, Teng Teng instantly snapped awake from Dora's embrace, reflexively kicking Mosquito into the flower bed.

"Ugh—"

Watching Mosquito flounder in the snow heap, she roared in shame and fury.

"Go away!"

Seeing Miss Teng Teng furious, the group of players scattered immediately.

Nearby the flower bed, upon hearing that Teng Teng was knocked out by a snowball, Tail suddenly had a bright idea, starting a snowball fight with Meat Meat and a group of naive newcomers.

Indeed, snowballs in "Wasteland OL" didn't exist as supersonic, or if they did break the sound barrier, they disintegrated instantly.

Watching the snow dust fly chaotically through the air, Pigeon, standing with Little Red at the square's edge, had a smile of amusement hanging on his face.

"What a lively scene."

Little Red didn't speak, just silently watched the direction of Qingquan City Center with a faint smile on her face, much like a mother observing her child.

Seemingly sensing its presence, a crisp chirping sound came from afar, akin to a dolphin's call.

"Eep-wu—!"

"Eep-wu—" Facing the snowy curtain, Little Red responded, looking towards Qingquan City.

'Falling Feather… really powerful!'

'Really? You seem very close.'

'Yeah!'

"..."

In a brief moment, they exchanged greetings that would take ordinary people several days, talking from Potato Harbor in the south all the way to the Whirlpool Sea at the westernmost of Central Continent.

And those places, Little Red, who remained in the Lost Valley, had never seen…

At this moment, a strange voice suddenly came from beside.

"Are you… Pigeon?"

Hearing the voice from the side, Pigeon turned around and saw a walking tin can.

This person was clad in rounded armor, covering every inch of skin with metal plates, revealing only two eyes through the gaps.

Detecting the smell of mutated slime fungus spores from him, Pigeon's face showed a momentary surprise, but it quickly transformed into a warm smile.

It's a kindred spirit.

This fellow, like him, had also established a certain degree of symbiotic relationship with the mutated slime fungus.

Only, unlike him, he wasn't as fortunate; he ended up with one that lacked a sense of boundaries.

"Yes, it's me, what's up?"

"Pleasure to meet you! I've heard so much about you!" A clanging sound came from within the metal can as an embarrassed laugh followed, "My name is Batch... hehe, I was originally planning to go to Fallen Leaf Valley to find you, but I didn't expect you'd come to the City of Dawn instead."

"You have great timing," Pigeon smiled faintly and glanced up at the sky, "In a few days, I might have to go somewhere else."

"...Somewhere else?"

Batch was stunned for a moment, unable to react. However, Pigeon did not explain further, he simply looked at him and asked.

"Is there something you want to find me for?"

"There is something... It's like this, I heard that you are an expert in mutated slime fungus, so I wanted to ask you to help me see if there's any hope for me in this state?"

Saying that, Batch reached out to touch the back of his head, took off his helmet, revealing a face that could scare children to tears.

Pigeon looked at his face, showing no sign of disgust or fear, instead, he rubbed his chin with interest, then extended the index finger of his right hand.

"Let me have a look."

While speaking, his index finger already rested on Batch's forehead, and a strand of flesh-colored sporangium sprouted from his fingertip.

The sporangium, like a needle, pierced Batch's forehead skin, heading towards the skull.

However, at this moment, an unexpected change suddenly occurred.

The withered, decaying skin suddenly seemed to come alive, twisting with a ripple like a protective wild dog, biting off the thread-like sporangium.

Pigeon showed a resigned expression, retracting the fingertip that rested on his forehead.

Batch, completely puzzled, had no idea what had happened, only blinked at the latter.

"Exactly... what's happened?"

"It has already grown into your brain."

Upon hearing this, Batch's eyes widened instantly, revealing a look of terror.

"How could it be?! But... I, I have always been using inhibitors..."

Pigeon nodded.

"Indeed, I can feel it. And perhaps it's precisely because of the inhibitors that you haven't realized you're not really Batch... but the slime fungus that inherited Batch's memories and continues to live under his name."

Hearing this shocking matter, Batch, unable to accept it, covered his face, murmuring repeatedly.

"I... am the slime fungus? I'm not Batch?"

"Yes, and no," Pigeon said softly to the reality-averse man, "you are the fungus, and you are Batch... at least the Batch that the people here knew."

Watching the man lift his head in confusion, he pondered for a moment and then continued.

"A ship that has had all its planks replaced, is it still the same ship? I believe it is. Although all its components have changed, the form of its existence hasn't changed at all. Our cells themselves are constantly renewing, cycling every ten years or so... but in your case and mine, something extra has entered this cycle."

"You can think of it as having devoured your body, or that your consciousness has supplanted its original existence, none of that matters. But one thing is certain, whether you become human, fungus, or something else, it depends on you."

"Depends on me..." Batch stared blankly at the senior in front of him, remaining silent, as if he understood, yet maybe not.

Pigeon smiled, shifting his gaze to a distant monument and the Manager standing beneath it, a hint of interest in his eyes.

"Is a fungus with human consciousness still human? It seems the Alliance has considered this issue already, haha. Actually, you needn't be so distressed, people here have long accepted you, it's just that you haven't accepted it yourself."

"Batch became the new Batch long before your inhibitors... regrettably, but that's how it is. Even if you kill part of it, the original you can't come back. The doctor's kindness in prescribing inhibitors meant you lived like a sleepwalker; deep down, you know it's self-deception."

"Your rejection reaction stems from resisting such change, feeling repulsed by your own body."

"Why not try acceptance? Perhaps see it as a new beginning, and stop using inhibitors."

"You will slowly merge and harness this power... you might even find joy in time before the long tedium overwhelms you."

"After all, this is an 'immortal body'."

After leaving those words, Pigeon waved his hand, leaving batch, deep in thought and staring at his own hands, behind as he left with Little Red.

The bustling crowd paid Batch no further heed... even with a face that could frighten children to tears.

This is the Alliance, after all.

And it's the Alliance's expedition land.

What bizarre creatures have the waste land wanderers living here not seen?

No one cast odd glances at him because of the fungus growing on him; the cumbersome armor only trapped the self from his past...

Just after Pigeon left, the snow battle started by tails got bigger in scale, spreading wider and wider, almost with the momentum of a world war!

In the end, not only newbies but even the veterans returning from the Great Desert's center for the conferral ceremony joined the battlefield.

In this brawl among awakeners, the war criminal Ah Wei was ultimately overwhelmed among the snowdrifts with a scream of 'giao,' outmatched by seven or eight balls.

"Let go of me—"

"I've made contributions to the Alliance! I want to see Brother Guang!"

"Wait, if taking a picture, tails wants to stand in the center—giao! Someone move your butt! You're blocking Tails' head!"

Everyone took turns to step up for group photos, finally saving 'shivering but dare to again next time' her from the snowman pile just before her nose started dripping.

While everyone was having a blast, Night Ten, waiting at the edge of the square for half a day, finally met the half-hour-late Jiang Xuezhou.

She was wearing a white cashmere coat, with a scarf he had previously given her wrapped around her neck, looking bundled up like a snowman.

Yet, despite this, Night Ten still recognized her at once among the crowd, and at once noticed what made her different from before.

Staring straight at her face so exquisite it looked like a 3D model, Night Ten couldn't hold back and eventually said.

"Why have you turned out like this?"

"Is it not good looking..." Jiang Xuezhou panicked instantly, twisting her fingers like an exam-failed child.

Night Ten shook his head, his face a little flushed with embarrassment, he shifted his gaze away.

"Not really..."

How should I put it?

Good-looking is good-looking, but it feels like I've seen it in the 3D zone.

Staring into Night Ten's eyes for a long time, Jiang Xuezhou, who had been holding a straight face, couldn't help but smugly grin up to the sky.

"Hmph."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, flicked the hair that fell on her shoulders, and proudly lifted her upturned nose.

"Sorry, but this is how I look... I just used scientific methods to recreate it."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Night Ten made a helpless expression, thinking, as long as you're happy.

He didn't mind before, so he wouldn't find her more beautiful now and be unable to kiss her.

It might sound a bit cheesy, but what he fell in love with was indeed that kind and beautiful soul.

No matter what she becomes, that part remains unchanged.

Perhaps his gaze was truly a bit cheesy, as that fair and pretty face suddenly became bashful.

Interlocked forefingers rubbed against each other as she hesitated for a long time, finally whispering.

"By the way, um... there's something I need to apologize to you for."

Night Ten looked at her in confusion.

"What's the matter?"

"Some things are theory after all. Although I knew it, I was too focused on saving you at the time, and there was a crucial part... I didn't think of it. Anyway, you know what I'm talking about..."

With her forefinger twirling her hair's tip, her face reddened like a lantern, she stared off to the side, occasionally glancing at him.

"...Do you want to install it?"

Even though it was just a brief touch of glances, Night Ten felt as if his heart had been hit by a bullet.

Perhaps this is what being a virgin is like.

According to Brother Fang Chang's teasing, this is the most typical embarrassing display of a virgin—yet so be it, he was not inclined to argue with the old coot over such matters.

For a moment, he even had the urge to tell her his QQ password.

No—

He even thought of what their child's name would be.

"Give me three days!"

Jiang Xuezhou was stunned for a moment.

"Three days? Why three days..."

"Don't ask so much, just wait for me for three days—"

"Say what you have to say properly, don't suddenly point a gun at yourself!"

For a moment, Jiang Xuezhou was indeed frightened by this fellow.

But fortunately, the experienced guards arrived just in time, preventing someone from blacking out while "reporting the bug"...

...

The clock struck eight on the dot, and unbeknownst to anyone, the square was filled with people, their focus on the monument in the center almost melting the thick snow.

Unlike the cold winters of past years.

This year's cold winter also brought heavy snow, but it was far from unbearable.

The shelves in the supermarkets were filled with an array of goods, and even regular citizens doing the most unskilled jobs could afford them.

Survivors who just arrived here could hardly believe that only five years ago, the people who lived here had to stuff pre-war paper money into sacks for use as winter coats.

This was undoubtedly a miracle.

The people living here no longer feared that silvery white hell, and the young kids gleefully built snowmen right outside their doorsteps.

Before the Wasteland Era of 211, such a thing had never happened, as back then, most people didn't even have homes.

The Manager truly kept his promise—

He built a miracle on this barren land, no less impressive than those in Ideal City.

Even—

This miracle, which illuminated the entire Wasteland, shone even more brightly than the light from Ideal City!

Of course, as he said, this was not just his success.

The credit belongs to everyone.

Whether they are still alive.

Or those who died in the past.

Looking back at those admiring gazes, and the faces written with longing and even zeal, Chu Guang standing under the monument couldn't help but reflect back to the past.

That was the 777th time Shelter No. 404 opened its doors.

Back then, it was probably near Linghu Wetland Park, and as a newcomer, I was completely clueless about everything around me, even being chased several miles by a two-headed wild dog, almost dying in its jaws.

It turns out, people don't know their own limits until they're pushed to the edge.

Though the cost was somewhat excessively tragic, resulting in his various bizarre deaths time and again, fortunately, the final outcome was a joyous one for all.

However, that is all in the past now.

Even until today, the echoes of those deaths occasionally appear in his dreams in the form of nightmares through spontaneously formed morphogenesis fields.

"It's been quite difficult to get here, Master."

Xiao Qi's voice came from beside his ear.

Chu Guang could hear that the joyful voice was truly happy for him from the heart.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and Chu Guang spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Indeed, reaching this point was really hard. Moreover, it wasn't just me; you as well..."

"You've worked hard all along."

Reborn 777 times wasn't just him alone.

He would forever remember that promise to treat this little guy well.

"Master..."

The electronic voice drifting into his ear carried a slight trembling, as if moved to the verge of tears.

Chu Guang believed this being had emotions and indeed had joy, anger, sorrow, and joy.

However, crying was undoubtedly just pretending.

At that moment, the eight o'clock gong sounded from afar, breaking the noise on the square.

The bustling voices suddenly quieted down into an unbelievable silence, leaving only the sound of snow falling and the wind blowing across the square.

By instinct, everyone simultaneously stopped talking, feeling a touch of surprise.

Time was up.

The triumph ceremony was about to commence.

Moreover, today's triumph ceremony holds another extraordinary significance, entirely distinct from previous ones!

Apart from awarding medals to the warriors who participated in the final battle, their respected Manager will also mark the final sentence of the century-long war at this solemn and solemn victory moment—

They have overcome not only the Torch Church and the corrupted Army but also the Enlightenment Society and celestial beings.

They have ended the Wasteland Era!

From now on, a brand-new global order will emerge on the ground, and no one or any force will condone the sprouting of evil and barbarism.

The Survivor Forces will unite like never before, constituting a de facto alliance!

Looking at those burning eyes, Chu Guang's Adam's apple moved lightly, and he began to speak in a gentle tone.

"Wasteland Era 211, I remember that year was also a cold winter… Just emerging from the refuge, I was not fully prepared, even acted somewhat hastily."

"Especially when I saw the first snow, my heart couldn't help but have the fleeting thought, 'Is it too early to open the door now?'"

"I imagine I was not the only one who thought that way; many have thought the same."

He hadn't prepared a speech script in advance, nor tried to awaken people's inner flames because there was no longer a need.

They were no longer waiting in place, and had already become the light illuminating the horizon themselves.

Moreover, this was just the opening of the triumph ceremony, not a war mobilization or political performance.

He wished only to speak heart-to-heart as an ordinary person with those who supported him.

"The decisions I made were not driven by grand reasons or lofty goals."

"Simply because upon awakening from the wasteland, I saw a girl, thin as a skeleton, gazing at a nondescript candy with longing, a simple good, hardworking family unable to meet even the basic needs for survival, while those who should lead them in rebuilding their home lived high above them, kowtowing to barbarism, striking civilization heavily… Moreover, the Residents of the refuge, who were supposed to exemplify, weren't much better either, and we, who should have stood up to do something, chose silence and used Prosperity Epoch's knowledge to concoct pills for those beasts, calculating."

"I saw humans eating humans, and what was scarier was that no one thought it was wrong — whether it was the one eating or the one being eaten. Soon, I thought of myself, wondering if my children in the future must choose between life and sacrifice, would living desperately today still be worthwhile."

The square remained quiet.

Chu Guang could feel the resonance.

Because he knew well that was a choice every Waste Land Wanderer had made.

To survive, they all did things they were unwilling to do, to varying degrees.

Whether they were right or wrong.

"…Living is not shameful, but I know we cannot continue like this. We must do something because if we do nothing and just wait for destiny to choose for us, we will have no future to speak of."

"We who are alive will perish in silence, and the mark of our existence will be meaningless. It won't even be called shameful because we will be the last generation, and there won't be anyone to lay this stinking coffin to rest for us!"

"That's when I decided to start doing something, from where I could, to no longer regard ugliness and filth as self-evident, not to live just for the sake of living… but to become the Light myself, ignite the torch I held, and before illuminating those around me, first become the light they can see."

Chu Guang took a light deep breath, merging the turbid air in his chest into the white mist.

A smile appeared on his face, and he lowered his voice several decibels, continuing with a smooth pace.

"…I am so honored, you are all me, allowing me to see countless versions of myself confronting chaos and barbarism, and unhesitatingly making the same choice."

"This is the miracle we created together, and we will carry on these two centuries of fallen memories as we move forward, while a new civilization will rise from the ruins of past prosperity at this moment."

"Our descendants will live in a brighter future, not fearing the arrival of winter and night like we once did! Because their forebearers ended the Wasteland Era, creating impossible miracles with their courage, unity, and determination!"

"What we have won is not just the victory of a war but a triumph over our past!"

"History will turn a new page, and every day from now on will be a new epoch!"

"This great victory belongs to us—"

"Every one of us who fought to end the Wasteland Era!"

Chapter 1058: The Curtain of the Past Is the Prelude to the New Era

Applause, whistles, cheers, and shouts, the voices of everyone resounded throughout the square.

No one commanded.

Nor did anyone incite.

And that rolling wave of sound, all came from the heartfelt echo from the bottom of everyone's hearts!

They conquered the Wasteland!

They conquered their former selves!

Each of them is the Dawn dispelling the long night, the Sun rising slowly from the horizon!

"Long live the Alliance!!!"

"Long live the New Era!!"

"Cheers to unity!!"

"Cheers to the Survivors!!!"

"Cheers to each of us!!!"

The resonating sound stirred the hot blood in everyone's heart, even General McCullen in the audience couldn't help but want to join, but considering the political influence, he only gently applauded.

Unlike the Eastern Empire officers, the company's people mostly don't have any idol burden.

Especially Yi Chuan standing by the side, who even involuntarily shouted.

"Awesome——!"

This word he learned from the players.

Although he initially didn't know what this word meant, the more he used it, the more he gradually understood how to use it.

Sergeant Semmes, who was clapping ceremoniously, glanced at this guy, subtly exchanged glances with McCullen, and whispered.

"Isn't this guy a company person?"

"Those guys are like that, no need to be surprised."

McCullen softly responded, paused for a moment then added his opinion.

"Moreover, cheering for the New Era isn't really a big deal, it's good for everyone, including the Welch people... personal opinion."

Without minding Sergeant Semmes's surprised look, McCullen ended the topic with the final word.

Actually, His Majesty Sarun might not really care about their performance at this celebration.

After all, without that majesty's permission, the faction he represented learning from the Alliance wouldn't have appeared.

That lord is a truly wise and talented emperor, he didn't squash the progressive forces of the Eastern Empire to maintain his supreme power, but instead found a balance point between that progressive force and the conservative force.

However, the problem lies precisely in this.

Most Welch people deep down can't accept overly radical changes... at least those who chose the Eastern Empire can't accept.

Even within the progressive faction, what they admire more are the Alliance's orbital weapons and land artillery.

They still need a little time.

But General McCullen believes, this time shouldn't be too long, probably at most three generations should suffice.

As long as he manages New West Sail Port well enough...

Just as McCullen thought this way, two pairs of eyes not far away were staring intently in the direction of the Eastern Empire delegation.

The owners of those two pairs of eyes were representatives of Poluo Country and Mammoth Nation respectively.

They stood on either side of the audience.

One pair perceiving it as a role model and admiring it five-body down to earth, while the other pair deemed it like a devil, disdain from the heart.

Admiration has its reasons, and disdain has its reasons too.

In some sense, the Welch people are like a mirror, reflecting the divided spirit of the survivors from Poluo Province.

Of course, vice versa, the Poluo people are also mirrors for the Welsh people.

They are like two sides of a coin.

Even though most of both sides rarely realize it.

Different from the Army and company, the Academy's representatives are much calmer, Li Ke and Yang Kai standing in the audience were both composed and confident, as if everything was under control.

Indeed, this was the case.

As a neutral force on the Wasteland, their behind-the-scenes schemes largely succeeded, and without sacrificing anyone.

The most brilliant conspiracy is roughly thus.

Their victims not only didn't become enemies, but instead became like-minded friends.

In this way, they can also leave this planet with peace of mind, for some millennia to come if they meet again, they might become allies continuing the old ties.

Of course, recently within the Academy, there has also been some debate, like whether to continue the plan from 200 years ago.

On which Professor Conclusion gave the instruction: those who want to stay, stay, those who want to follow him, follow him.

This is the best outcome.

The ark sailing towards the future originally couldn't accommodate everyone, this way it's also accounted for those who stayed...

The cheering, jubilant waves continued to resound layer upon layer.

Unlike the various expressions in the audience, the joy expressed by everyone in the square was more unified.

Shouting "Long Live the Manager", Wrench's face was flushed with excitement, showing no air of being the head of the Alliance First Army.

That eager gaze was just like the first time he held his chest high, carrying a wooden stick standing in front of Chu Guang—

'Wrench, No. 006, sir!'

He remembers even today, it was the first time that he truly spoke face-to-face with the Manager who saved him from the hands of the Looters.

That lord never looked down on him because of his humble origins in the dust, and even made him the captain of the guards.

From that moment, he made a resolute decision in his heart to spend his life following that person—

Even under that person's guidance, they no longer required themselves to uphold "loyalty" as a virtue, nor did they use the word "Lord" to address him.

Not just Wrench felt this way.

Lu Bei felt the same way.

Including the senior officers of the Second Army, Third Army, and the Staff Department, along with everyone in the Guards Corps.

Most of them started following Chu Guang from a very long time ago, even before the birth of the Alliance.

Aside from the Waste Land Wanderers saved by Shelter No. 404, many of them were even captives of the latter.

Like Vanus.

He was once a traditional Welch Military Officer, with Black Gold flowing through his veins. From the moment of his birth, he was prepared for war and never doubted the jungle laws of survival instilled in him by the Army from a young age.

It wasn't until he built a not-too-pretty house with bricks he made himself that he suddenly realized that the world wasn't just composed of the parts he saw; there were many beings living in places unseen to him.

They are the cornerstone that holds the world together.

If the vast majority of people in civilization can't achieve basic equality, the privileges of the few are merely castles in the air atop garbage heaps.

It was from that moment that he had a new ideal for life.

Compared to those mansions, gold, and fine wine he had long enjoyed, he wanted more to see what a more equitable new world would look like.

And that person indeed did not disappoint him, showing him the new era he had never seen before—

Every day of the future is worth looking forward to for him...

Vanus wasn't alone in these thoughts, as there was another beautiful figure in the crowd not far away.

Her fiery red hair was like autumn red maple leaves, cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall.

As she glanced at Chu Guang standing under the monument, Xia Yan's eyes reflected three parts joy and admiration, and the remaining seven parts were emotions she couldn't quite explain.

Unlike others, including Little Fish and Pai, she didn't have much anticipation for the new world; her motivation to strive wasn't driven by some grand goal, but merely to help him.

After all, she had consumed so much from him that she felt she ought to do something in return.

And there was gratitude for that leg...

She had been alone since childhood, living a day-to-day mercenary life, and if nothing unexpected happened, she would quietly die in some unnoticed corner like most mercenaries of Giant Stone City.

In fact, she was almost on this path, especially after losing a leg, having abandoned all illusions for the future.

But just when she had given up on herself, he didn't abandon her who indulged in self-pity, jokingly half-threatening, "If you don't learn well, I'll throw you out."

Of course, he never carried out such threats, nor did he fulfill the harsh words he laid down multiple times. Instead, after the toughest period passed, he sent her and Little Fish to Camp 101 to study during their learning years.

Reflecting now, that was probably the first ray of light she saw in her dark life...

Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if her father were still alive, would he be as stern yet kind as him.

Although the envisioned future is not quite the same, she still became a better version of herself after acquiring skills at Camp 101.

She never thought the illiterate self would have a chance to become an Engineer, designing with other Engineers the first independently developed power armor for the Alliance.

Every day of the future is worth looking forward to, even if she doesn't have any particularly grand ideals.

"Thank you..."

"I hope I helped you."

Not far from her, Alyssa's excited face was glowing red, contrary to her usual composed and polite demeanor, she clapped her hands enthusiastically.

She finally awaited this day.

After the collapse of the Inner City's skyscraper, she once again witnessed the arrival of a new era—

This moment was just like the future she envisioned.

The Survivor outside Giant Stone City, after liberating Giant Stone City, also tasted glorious liberation.

From now on, they will no longer differentiate among themselves.

And it wouldn't just be in Clear Spring City, all united people will be likewise.

When everyone realizes this, the unforeseen future will have arrived unannounced.

She was genuinely happy for him from her heart.

Not only Alyssa, Little Fish standing beside was equally emotionally stirred.

The once skeletal little girl had grown into a graceful young lady.

Unexpectedly, Brother Chu still remembered things from long ago; she unconsciously covered her mouth.

However, even as she tried to suppress those emotional feelings, a gleaming layer of tears covered her eyes involuntarily.

"Hopeless, hopeless... This girl has been brainwashed." Pai shook his head, gave up, looking at Little Fish enamored with "Brother Chu" and could only comment helplessly.

Nevertheless—

It's no wonder the Waste Land Wanderers on this land see him as the God on earth.

Thinking about it, he was right.

Most shelters either messed things up, then blamed the people below for failing to execute well, or adapted to the Wasteland, living comfortably in corners.

Rarely did anyone like them burn themselves again and again.

But then again, could others even achieve this?

Of course, even so, it cannot be denied that they achieved something remarkable.

This legendary experience might become the first chapter of some great epic...

In the corner of the square, Yin Fang stood side by side with Qi Liu, Director of the Academy Investigation Department.

The latter once was his superior's superior's... superior, in short, someone so high-ranking that he could not meet.

And now the two were already equals.

Strictly speaking, Yin Fang was even somewhat above this former boss.

After all, he is now the League's chief scientist, corresponds to the Academy's Chief Technical Officer.

However, he doesn't really follow those rigid rules and doesn't like to put on airs.

At this moment, he's just standing here as a former Academy prospector, welcoming the new era he has longed for.

"I'm thinking about something."

Upon hearing the voice from the side, Qi Liu smiled gently and said in a polite tone.

"What is it?"

Looking in the direction of the monument, Yin Fang squinted slightly, laughed freely, and said.

"Sometimes I can't help but wonder if the fact that you guys sent people to chase me all the way to here back then was deliberate to drive me here."

Qi Liu was slightly stunned, then laughed and said.

"No, your situation was purely a coincidence or rather an accident."

"Is that so." Yin Fang smiled, "I thought everything was calculated by you guys, but it seems that's not the case."

"Did you just realize?" Qi Liu didn't feel offended but rather joked, "To be honest, most of our strategies have deviated from the original purpose, while those unintended moves have had unexpected results. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if there's a larger plan that has enveloped us long ago, making all mistakes turn into the best arrangements."

Yin Fang spoke in a chatty tone.

"My view is opposite to yours, it's not the mistakes turning into the best arrangements, but people's collective choices reversing the worst outcome."

Qi Liu looked at him in surprise, gradually showing a trace of admiration on his previously calm face.

"If every Academy prospector had your perspective, it would be great."

"How do you know they don't?"

Yin Fang smiled faintly, speaking in an indifferent tone.

"But this is probably our difference, we never require every League researcher to have the perspective of the Chief Technical Officer, instead we believe every researcher has the potential to become a Chief Technical Officer. Someday when I'm no longer here, there will be a thousand of me."

Qi Liu tried to imagine the future scene, eventually turning into a gentle sigh.

"...That would be quite terrifying."

...

As the speech drew to a close, the ceremony of awarding medals officially began, with players who participated in the final battle gradually stepping onto the steps under the monument, where Chu Guang personally placed the medals symbolizing the highest honor on them.

Except for the Burning Corps still drifting at the Lagrange Point Space Station, almost all the League corps participated in this medal ceremony, bearing the golden honor on their chests and proudly walking towards the crowd, receiving flowers, applause, cheers, and praise from the people.

In a sense, this can be considered a unique League parade.

For players, this realization of self-worth and elevation of life goals is simply exhilarating!

After all, this is an experience that can't be exchanged for money.

Some veteran players were relatively calm because of previous experiences, while some inexperienced new players were so excited that they almost disconnected on the spot.

The grand ceremony continued, with drones shooting the scene from multiple angles and sending the live data back to Endpoint Cloud located in Ideal City.

Currently, Endpoint Cloud's users are not just citizens of Ideal City, but also gather from major Survivor Settlements in the central and eastern regions of Central Continent.

This includes Dawn City in River Valley Province, Weifu City in Brocade River Province, as well as settlements on the Death Coast and Potato Harbor in Baiyue Strait.

Also included are the Southern Sea Alliance Islands and Jin Jialun Port, Silver Moon Bay, among others.

For those survivors who can't be present at the scene, they too have the opportunity to witness the spectacle at Dawn City Square and share the joy of the new era's arrival with the local survivors...

Meanwhile, similar spectacles are happening not only at Dawn City but also in other places in the Wasteland.

The emperor of the Eastern Empire, Salen, stood on the castle in Norton City and delivered a speech about the new era, belatedly awarding General Griffin a controversial commemorative medal.

He was a dutiful general, but unfortunately, stood with the wrong group and followed the wrong people.

Now the Eastern Expansion Party has fallen apart, and Salen can finally close the coffin which has been left open for a long time.

The Eastern Empire will enter a new historical phase, where decisions will not focus on expanding in specific directions but on finding a suitable balance between the old and the new.

On the other side of the Great Desert.

After executing the traitor Grov and his followers, Saint Hero Zayed joyfully announced the decisive victory in the war against Red Soil, making bold remarks that he never said red soil couldn't be eaten, and if one was too full, they could eat a bit of soil to relieve it.

The newly appointed education and propaganda commissioner replacing Sir Cabaha quickly patched up his previous words, while Chairman Sava promptly raised his hand to claim the words as his own, and everyone collectively started the next fierce political intrigue.

But fortunately, what was once forbidden red soil is now eatable again, as if overnight it stopped encroaching on farmland but instead became a life supplement.

In dealing with the devastating famine in Poluo Province, General Lowell's red soil once again played an indispensable role, allowing the satiated people to finally stand up proudly.

No one will deny his achievements now.

It's just regrettable that the one who once wrote books about him is already buried under the soil he planted.

Even though it was never his intention...

...

The Great Rift Valley.

In the black obsidian-carved meeting room, the long-lived chief smiled as he looked at the faint blue holographic image floating above the meeting table, his gaze filled with some degree of approval.

"I didn't make a mistake, that person is 'Professor'... No wonder he can accomplish what I can't."

With arms crossed, Dr. Conclusion sat at the table with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes, chuckled and said.

"You know, my teacher was most afraid of people thinking like you when he was alive."

The chief raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Was alive?"

Dr. Conclusion retorted.

"Do you think he is still alive?"

"..."

The chief remained silent for a long time, with a trace of faint loneliness and melancholy surfacing in his cloudy eyes.

This kind of emotion seldom appeared on his face, but it lingered particularly long at this moment.

"That makes sense..."

As if relieved, he let out a long sigh, his voice carrying a hint of self-mockery as he spoke.

"200 years... I still remember the first time I met him, I was just a kid. Haha, this time it's the white-haired sending off the black-haired... actually, it's not that bad."

The only regret was that, apart from the old ice pops frozen in the fridge, there were few people left from that era.

A New Epoch...

He wasn't all that eager to see it.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons he had always lacked motivation.

Of course.

There wasn't much they could do nowadays.

The War Construction Committee was indeed strong and powerful back in the day... but that was over a century ago. Now, they could only rely on the strength of the Holy Shield to maintain a small haven.

Glancing at the Chief who was still reminiscing about the past, Dr. Conclusion suddenly thought of something and said to himself.

"... Speaking of which, the Free State's war seems to have ended, and it seems that the mayor Otto, who led the citizens' uprising, won in the end."

The Academy did not directly intervene in the war, only watched from afar.

The Alliance and corporations established safe zones for civilian refugees outside the Free State, but did nothing more.

Of course, it was a different story for the volunteers who went to join the fight.

After all, the Free State and the Firestone Group had hired mercenaries before, and this time the boomerang just hit them back.

The Chief's face didn't show much surprise; clearly, he knew this.

In fact, the person who prompted Mayor Otto to make a change was himself.

"... Is that so? That's good. Although Sigma was also a good guy, able to climb from the bottom of the slums to the top of the skyscraper, but his era has ended."

If he had one flaw, it was probably not making a change while there was still time, but instead amplifying the suffering he had endured onto others.

As a dragon, he would always encounter a stronger dragon slayer, let alone the entire Wasteland was changing.

"Haha, you seem to be doing quite well as a hands-off manager."

Dr. Conclusion lightly mocked.

But the Chief didn't mind, and just replied in a calm voice.

"I didn't choose to be a hands-off manager, but had no choice. I also tried to control everything, just like when you were still here, but the end result was that everything would spiral out of control, just as you once saw."

Dr. Conclusion shrugged noncommittally.

He didn't agree with this viewpoint, as the Academy had plenty of positive examples in "cybernetics."

Of course, he also acknowledged that these were achieved at the cost of sacrificing some people.

The Chief was silent, before continuing to speak.

"The fate of the Free State was sealed from the moment it was founded, leading to today's situation where those wanting stability but not control are drifting like a hot air balloon, eventually free-falling after reaching the tipping point..."

"Not only the Free State, many places are similar. Their predicament is not because a guy named Sigma deceived them, but because they are all deceivers... successful or failed ones."

"As for that guy Sigma, he was just the most successful among them... But now they've realized the problem, so they can quickly enter the next historical phase."

When saying this, the Chief suddenly turned his gaze to Dr. Conclusion, speaking with a slightly intrigued tone.

"I'm actually most curious about you... Even though the Wasteland Era is over, you still plan to wander beyond the Solar System with those researchers?"

Conclusion nodded.

"Yes."

The Chief looked at him in surprise, then suddenly smiled and said.

"I didn't expect there to be someone more stubborn than this old relic."

Conclusion smiled faintly, not taking the man's mockery to heart, and replied in an indifferent manner.

"It's not about stubbornness, not even about the Wasteland Era, I'm simply fulfilling my mentor's last wish."

The Chief's eyes showed a hint of astonishment.

"Your mentor... you mean the Professor? He wanted you to do this?"

His voice carried a sense of urgency, seemingly desperate to receive a positive answer.

However, Conclusion just shook his head, indifferent to the old man's view, and continued speaking.

"He didn't ask me to do it, he just told me... if the Wasteland Era hadn't happened, he would have likely taken a group of like-minded people to do it, rather than using the resources and funds for the 'Ark' project to fix Black Box and Shelter."

The Chief stared at him for a long time, then muttered to himself.

"... So that's it, I always found it strange why it's called the Ark Project, turns out that's the reason."

Ignoring the Chief's mutterings, Conclusion continued in a casual tone.

"He told me a lot, that if nothing unexpected happened, this ark sailing towards the future would nurture an archaeological and academic organization named the Academy in thousands of years within the galaxy..."

"Unlike the current Academy, the future one is a cross-star system cooperative organization aiming to excavate relics of pioneer civilizations and explore the origins of the universe, with members not limited to humans but including aliens from other civilizations."

"Though it sounds a bit farsighted, I can never forget the expression on his face when he described that scene to me... as if he had really seen those things."

"Since then, I made up my mind to inherit his legacy, to do this in his stead... To this end, I uploaded my consciousness onto a circuit board, trading death for endless life."

"Just in time for the War Construction Committee's disbandment, many were eager to leave this 'dead planet,' and so I found common ground with many people."

As he said this, the man floating in the holographic image wore a faint smile on his face.

"It's actually quite good."

"Now we can leave behind those just fleeing, and take the like-minded to do this great thing."

——

(Thanks to the book friend "Heart no longer warm" for the lord's reward!!! PS: The foreshadowing for the Ark Project is actually linked to a far-sighted if line ending written a long time ago, but the manuscript can't be found, might add it based on fate later...)

Chapter 1059: Shedding the Armor

Triumph City.

Below the steps of the Glory Court, torchlight flickered, held by the citizens of Triumph City.

From the grave threats of celestial beings to the Vellante Alliance, the residents have overcome all crises.

Now, the Alliance and various survivor forces have jointly announced the end of the Wasteland Era, and the Battlefield Atmosphere Group finally found the opportunity to reveal everything to the residents of Triumph City.

From the Battle of Fallen Leaf Valley to the solitary journey across Luo Xia Province, and then to the mission at West Sail Port and being embroiled in power struggles that led to imprisonment, he recounted all his experiences along the way.

Including that he was a resident of Shelter No. 404, initially joined the Army to gather intelligence, and later was moved by another side of the Vellante people, deciding to do something to help those around him and everyone trapped by the past...

Except for parts about the Game and the players, he confessed almost everything he could... even though, regardless of whether he said anything at all, no one would blame or question him.

However, thinking of everything that happened after Marshal Julius left, he agonized over it for quite some time before ultimately choosing to be honest with those who supported him.

Some things can be left to time, but some things, if not completed today, are destined to become historical regrets.

This was beyond the expectations of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group.

After listening to his statement, the Vellante people standing below the Glory Court steps were calmer than he had imagined.

Including Coleway

Including Penny, her father Centurion Bennott, and other civil officials supporting his ascent.

Perhaps——

They had already guessed, maybe.

The Old Soldier wasn't clear about others, but Bennott probably had some inkling all along.

However, at that time, Triumph City needed the Alliance's help, and indeed there wasn't anyone in Triumph City who could step forward to take the lead, so everyone in the know tacitly overlooked these insignificant details.

Politics itself is an art of compromise.

At least for the civil official group representing the citizens of Triumph City, the title of the power in the Welch Governorate—whether Army or Vellante Alliance—was not important.

What matters is whose interests it represents, whose voice it amplifies, and whom it protects.

That fellow may not be a skilled Leader, but he certainly kept those who supported him close to heart.

That's already enough.

Under the shadows of the side hall.

Watching the Pangolin standing on the steps, Centurion Bennott remained silent for a long time before letting out a soft sigh.

"...He is an honest young man, but unfortunately not a mature politician."

Penny's expression was far more complex, encompassing shock and bewilderment, sadness and sorrow, and confusion and many things she herself couldn't quite discern.

Though she had slightly perceived something before, especially after learning he hailed from River Valley Province...

But each time she convinced herself, ultimately burying the doubts deep within her heart.

Yet surprisingly, he himself brought everything to light...

"...Why did he lie?" Penny's eyes were filled with bewilderment, feeling as if the filter in her heart shattered.

Bennott glanced at his daughter and sighed softly, unusually taking the "Pangolin's" stance.

"Though you might find it hard to accept what I'm about to say, from my perspective, his actions could indeed be considered honest... albeit selectively retaining parts of the truth at times."

"But why?" Penny looked at her father with incomprehension, eyes full of melancholy, "Couldn't he... have been straightforward from the beginning, explaining everything to us clearly?"

Bennott remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Let me ask you instead, had he not done so back at West Sail Port and Tiandu, would you have remained steadfastly by his side?"

Penny gazed blankly at her father, momentarily speechless.

She wanted to unhesitatingly say "yes," yet found herself not as unwavering as she imagined.

Seeing Penny's eyes fall into confusion, Bennott's gaze suddenly carried some approval and warmth.

He reached out to touch his daughter's hair, the rare gesture of a father rather than as a minister.

"When you begin to hesitate, it means you've started to examine your own heart... instead of blindly chasing after progress as a fashion like many young people with no worldly experience."

"People often hope others are completely open with them, yet rarely face their own hearts with honesty. We all know it well, we as humans are far from flawless ourselves, why burden others to be someone even we cannot hope to be?"

"I don't mean to say his actions were glorified, or perhaps as you mentioned, there were better choices, or he could have done better, but such matters only exist in our imagination."

"At least in terms of outcomes, he didn't abuse your trust to do anything against you, nor did he ever betray those supporting him, even with his many private struggles... actions should speak instead of intentions, which I believe is enough, even I might not have done better in the same position."

"I think... most folks in this settlement think so too. And on the walls of the Glory Court, there will be a dedicated space for him."

When everyone longs for a flawless saint, what they eventually receive must be a silver-tongued liar.

Only a liar could ever satisfy all desires within people's hearts... however contradictory, twisted, and unreasonable they may seem.

Teil was precisely this kind of existence.

He painted a vision of an era where Vellante people were omnipotent, promising his followers that such an era would inevitably come if they followed his lead.

In the end, he led everyone to Hell.

To the extent that, in the end, shattered by dreams, he shamelessly revealed his twisted and ugly mental state, intending not only to obliterate everything of the Southern Legion but also to eradicate Vellante people from existence.

It's hard to say if this was due to the celestial beings' temptation.

After all, it wasn't merely the obsession of one or two people but that of everyone in the Southern Legion.

Penny bowed her head with a complex expression, a tangle of emotions within her heart rendering her speechless, seemingly hesitating over something.

Bennott didn't speak further, instead casting his gaze to the stairs in the distance.

He suddenly realized that his daughter had grown up, no longer the ignorant girl she once was.

She should go live her own life.

He made up his mind silently in his heart that no matter what decision she made, he would respect her choice...

...

The speech had come to its conclusion.

As the Pangolin said at the beginning, this was his final speech.

"...My mission is completed, the path ahead will be for you to walk, and only you can walk it."

"Hold tightly to the reins in your hands, do not give them to anyone else, always hold them yourself. Be loyal to yourselves, to your family and friends, to the ones you love... Before doing anything, ask yourself, have you lived up to them, for this is the noblest form of loyalty."

"As for me—"

"I will return to the place where I set out."

The Old Soldier bowed deeply, then walked down from the high platform, blending into the crowd holding torches.

From now on, he would no longer be the Leader of the Welch Alliance but a regular Resident of Shelter No. 404.

Before this, he had done full preparations for the aftermath, having spent the past six months readying for this.

After he stepped down, the Civil Official Group would initiate a new selection process to choose the next Leader, under people's supervision, to lead the Survivors living in this province into the new era...

People spontaneously made way, nodding to him, shaking his hand, and even saluting him.

In response to the people's expressions of respect, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group also smiled in acknowledgment.

The show was finally over, and it ended at just the right moment.

After all, he was not a professional politician, nor did he have the rich management experience of a Manager, continuing in the position of Leader would surely mess things up; better to hand it over quickly to the truly talented experts after the end of the Wasteland Era.

With the help of the Guard Brigade and the Civil Official Group, he perfected the selection mechanism, powers scope, and accountability mechanism for the Leader position he created, and institutionalized the existing political factions, turning the original Black Box into a relatively transparent box... This was the only thing he could do as his last task.

As for what remains, leave it to history to judge.

In the end, he did not let anyone down and after confessing everything, he returned to be himself again.

His heart felt an unprecedented sense of relief, the long-awaited day finally arrived!

He, an undercover from the grassroots, worked his way up to the leader's position, and finally could retreat with full accolades—

If the Manager did not bestow upon him the title of "The first undercover in the history of the Alliance," it might be hard to conclude finally.

The people standing on the steps of the Glory Court watched him leave.

With eyes filled with reluctance, people watched him get into the black car parked by the roadside, and they did not leave until the car's lights disappeared at the end of the road...

Today was destined to be a sleepless night.

For everyone in this city...

...

Returning to the lodging palace.

The Old Soldier packed his luggage simply, planning to set off back to the Alliance tomorrow.

His work locally had been completed and was highly appreciated by the Manager.

It is said that after the public test, a new version will be opened, with a brand new map and mainline content to be provided.

To not be left behind by other players, he should also spend some time leveling up and catching up on the progress he had previously missed.

"This power armor... it's better to leave it for the locals."

Gazing at that golden-painted power armor, the Old Soldier felt a bit reluctant in his heart, yet eventually decided to leave it here.

Although Julius had given it to him, after all these things were imbued with many emotions of the people of Vellante, and were no longer simply private possessions of an individual.

Perhaps he was too deep into his role, too strong in his sense of identification, he really couldn't treat the people here as purely NPCs.

In his mind, they had long been his comrades, comrades-in-arms, even unrelated family members...

"...Well, anyway, I already received my mission rewards." Glancing at that golden power armor, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group muttered, the corner of his mouth suddenly curled into a faint smile.

He believed if Marshal Julius was watching from the heavens, he would surely be gratified by his choice at this moment.

It's harder to lay down than to pick up.

The golden armor shimmered faintly under the light, seemingly acknowledging his choice.

At this moment, soft footsteps came from outside the door, followed by a knock.

"May I come in?"

That was Penny's voice.

Although a bit unsure how to face that face, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group eventually said, "Please come in."

The door creaked open.

Penny stood at the doorway.

She wore an off-shoulder long dress, with a slightly slit hem extending to the knees.

Her smooth brown hair fell over her shoulders, its tips outlining bold curves, like the tail of a squirrel falling on a treetop.

Unlike her usual simple and capable appearance, after a careful dress-up, she looked like a princess on a leisurely outing in a stage play, both decisive and elegant.

With her sapphire eyes staring straight at him, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group momentarily didn't know where to place his gaze, and his eyes suddenly fell on the suitcase in her hand.

"...Where are you going?"

He asked without having anything to say, but Penny seemed to have come prepared to speak to him.

She glanced at the suitcase spread open on the floor, gently raising the corner of her lip glazed lips.

"Wherever you go, I'll go."

Perhaps because he had just resigned, the battlefield atmosphere group was no longer as composed as when he stood on the high platform earlier. He coughed clumsily and said.

"Don't be silly. Your father is a minister, and from tomorrow onwards, I won't be a leader anymore."

"Does that matter?" Penny said nonchalantly, "That's his business, not mine."

Looking at her indifferent expression, the battlefield atmosphere group couldn't help but quietly mutter.

"It's irrelevant to you; anyway, he'll eventually end up killing me."

Penny raised her eyebrows slightly and provocatively asked.

"Are you scared?"

Out of male pride, the battlefield atmosphere group would never admit he was scared.

But out of a man's responsibility, he ultimately said, "Don't be silly."

"I'm about to return to the Alliance... As for the future, even I don't know where I'll end up."

Penny teased and said.

"You've done something so sensational that even the Emperor of the Eastern Empire and the President of the New Federation were shocked. Your manager won't just make you disappear, will they?"

The battlefield atmosphere group shook his head and said.

"Not to that extent, but I might go explore a new map—cough, I mean another planet, outside the Solar System."

"So what," Penny said nonchalantly, "I'll go with you."

The battlefield atmosphere group stared blankly at this capricious person, feeling that she seemed different from before, but unable to tell if she had become more mature or more childish.

Or maybe it wasn't her who changed, but himself, suddenly becoming hesitant and cautious for some unknown reason.

He wasn't like this before.

Looking at the mute Pangolin, or the battlefield atmosphere group, Penny continued seriously.

"I'm not joking with you. I don't care about any 'code names in the refuge' or 'real-life names'; I can't remember such complicated things... I only know one thing: you're my Pangolin. So what's your answer?"

"To be frank, it's a very attractive proposition. Can I take it as a confession—"

She no longer cared to listen to his nonsense, tossed her suitcase into the room, and then caught him by the neck in his surprised gaze, pushing him against the door.

The door collided with the door frame with a "bang," and the abrupt sound echoed in the empty hallway.

Perhaps this is the tradition of Vellante—

But is this position somehow wrong?

The battlefield atmosphere group initially wanted to resist but suddenly realized he wasn't really against it.

After going through so much together, he already had an answer in his heart... But due to some concerns and a sense of responsibility, he never crossed that line.

And just a few hours ago, with his honest confession, those concerns no longer existed.

His mind buzzed for a while, eventually squeezing out a sentence in a consultative tone.

"Wait— I accept your feelings, but can you let me choose a cooler name?"

Dang!

Pangolin really lacks immersion!

If only he hadn't listened to those fools' encouragement back then; he could've just used his real-life name!

After all, it was his name, no problem.

But it's too late for regrets now.

Looking at the one who shot himself in the foot with a rock, Penny's face showed a devilish smile, biting mercilessly.

"Don't even think about it!"

…

Silence reigned for the night.

…

The next morning, sparse light filtered through the gaps between the leaves outside the window, spilling into the messy room.

The overturned tables and scattered cabinets looked as if they had been blown over by a tornado.

At this moment, sitting by the bed, the battlefield atmosphere group had entered the sage phase.

Reflecting on last night's madness, he couldn't help but smack his head a few times.

Originally, both were novices clashing, theory far exceeding practice, agreeing to stop at friendly competition, yet both enjoyed showing off.

Anyway, because someone said something arrogant like, "Your cards are played awfully well," the card game dragged from the early morning into midnight.

Faced with the provocations from Vellante's talented individuals, the battlefield atmosphere group ultimately upheld the dignity of the Fourth Heaven Disaster before dying of exhaustion.

Sadly, his principles were all shed...

Watching the serene face bathed in sunlight, a soft smile suddenly appeared on the battlefield atmosphere group's face.

Honestly, it was the first time he saw her like this.

Her even breathing gently lifted the hair resting on her nose; he reached out to brush it away, only to find those sapphire eyes staring intently at him.

"You're awake?"

Penny gently nodded without speaking, just watching him with affectionate eyes.

She seemed like a satisfied cat, leisurely licking her paws in the sunshine.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group felt their heartbeat quicken, yet there was a hint of tenderness as they gently brushed through those smooth locks of hair.

"Can you get up?"

Just as he finished speaking, Penny, who had been lying on her side, sat up with a yawn, stretched lazily, and casually grabbed clothes to drape over her shoulder.

"Are you kidding? It's just a minor injury, nothing to me."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group made a helpless expression.

"Are you sure? That wasn't what you said yesterday."

"That was an exception."

Penny squinted slightly, her lips curling gently.

"Next time, I won't lose."

It seemed like her competitive spirit was misdirected, but the Old Soldier had no desire to argue.

In the future, he should try to be more gentlemanly and allow for some concessions when appropriate.

After all, she had sacrificed so much for him and decided to accompany him to a faraway place...

As if understanding his gaze, Penny flicked his forehead with her index finger.

"Listen, I don't want you to feel like I've made some huge sacrifice or that you owe me a great favor, turning things into some sort of transaction."

Holding that soft yet strong hand, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group spoke with solemnity.

"I swear I never thought that way, I was just thinking... about my responsibility."

Even though it sounded cheesy, he honestly couldn't think of a more suitable expression.

"You better not have," Penny said in a lazy voice, her cat-like eyes narrowing slightly. "As for responsibility, just think about your part, I am not a child and can take care of myself."

At this point, she suddenly stared at him, her expression half-serious, half-playful.

"So if you dare to be disloyal or do something that wrongs me, you won't need my father to act, I'll do it myself."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group had no doubt she could do it, even though she wasn't his match if they truly fought.

However, that kind of situation would never occur, he could vouch for that with his integrity.

Whether in reality or in the game, his character was trustworthy.

Looking into those sapphire-like eyes, he made the most solemn promise of his life.

"I promise! If that ever happens, I won't trouble you to act, I'll resolve it myself."

In those bright eyes, waves of emotion stirred.

She could feel that there wasn't the slightest reservation in this promise.

It wasn't a vow made in anyone's name or with a disposable name, but a genuine promise from one soul to another.

The two gazed deeply into each other's eyes, the room fell into a silent stillness.

At this moment, speaking seemed unnecessary.

Biting the edge of her lip gently, Penny maintained eye contact for a long time before confirming the mutual, unfaltering sentiment, then laughed aloud.

"No way, I call the shots here."

After saying this with a touch of playful mischief, she suddenly pounced like a hunting tiger, pinning the unready Battlefield Atmosphere Group onto the pillow.

Outside the window, snow-laden branches gently swayed and creaked in the northern wind, while snowflakes fell like a bridal gown draped over the earth by the sky.

Perhaps—

He didn't really need to leave in such a hurry.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group contemplated for a long time.

In truth, he hadn't entirely been without failure, even nearly disappointing someone he should never disappoint, making a girl who had accompanied him in life-and-death adventures become a regret.

It's better to leave in a few days.

He still needed to clarify things about Penny to Bennott and meet his future mother-in-law.

It's shameful to say.

Despite being in Triumph City for so long, he had been preoccupied with important tasks and hadn't officially visited her home.

Although Vellante people are rather unconcerned with these things, he still had his own traditions and cultural customs...

This is tricky.

How to explain this situation to the family?

Getting married to a two-dimensional character?

Wouldn't that get him sent to Professor Yang?!

Thinking about a jumble of chaos, this time the Old Soldier completely lost the round.

Looking at her triumphant face, he laid back in a complete surrender, raising both hands in submission.

Whatever!

Just take it step by step, before returning to the Alliance, get this marriage completed.

This too was Penny's thought.

Though she mentioned this was just a heads-up and wouldn't care if her father disagreed, he couldn't be as capricious and rash as she is, leaving a permanent regret in this beautiful ending.

In any case, during this time before the birth anniversary, it'll surely be busy...

Chapter 1060: Family

January 1, 2345 AD, if all goes well, this should be the 216th year of the Wasteland Era.

However, due to many events, the timeline leading to the abyss ultimately changed.

Orion did not fall into the hands of celestial beings, nor did the entire blue planet.

Survivors of the new era defied fate and took the torch from their predecessors, using it to dispel the endless long night and usher in the dawn.

January 1, 2345 AD.

Orion heading to the Lagrange Point Space Station docked at the Star Harbor.

In addition to picking up heroes of the Burning Corps and dispatching garrison troops, it carried forty thousand standard containers — a cargo weighing nearly fifty thousand tons.

For the first time in two centuries, products from Earth's surface entered the parking orbit of Lagrange Point.

And just two years ago, the Earth's outer space orbit was still filled with dense orbital debris.

Only a small portion of these fifty thousand tons of goods are supply materials; the majority of the cargo consists of aerospace materials, intermediate products, and various components manufactured by the Dawn City Industrial Zone, Ideal City Industrial Zone, South Sea Ring Industrial Zone, as well as Lavanka Industrial Zone and Batoya Industrial Zone.

According to the contract previously signed, the Academy shared with the Alliance the starship manufacturing technology blueprints from the Era of Human Alliance, and all the logistics information from Lagrange Point Space Station it had recovered from the wasteland, as well as "supplier orders."

With these data as reference, the Alliance, together with its allies, can completely recreate the "Lagrange Point Space Station-related industrial chain" from the Era of Prosperity.

As an exchange, the Alliance will complete the first "large-scale civilian interstellar comprehensive cruise ship" order for the space station since the end of the Prosperity Epoch, based on the blueprints and technology provided by the Academy.

Although the compensation is substantial, this order is quite significant, with even just its catalog containing several gigabytes of data.

The vast related industries and numerous types of components undoubtedly represent an astronomical figure for the wasteland that has just emerged from recession.

Fortunately, the Alliance is not alone in its fight.

In addition to a large number of minor allies, there's also Ideal City, which has gradually become like a big brother helping out!

The industrial machines produced by Silver Wing Group greatly supplemented the Alliance and its allies' deficiencies in production quality, while Endpoint Group's information processing technology provided fertile ground for establishing more complex industrial chains.

It's worth noting that long, long ago, Endpoint Group was not optimistic about expanding its Endpoint Cloud business in the wasteland.

But now, with the Alliance's investment in information infrastructure and the growing demand for data centers, Endpoint Group's board of directors can only admit it was a great move.

It's been a long time since the upper society of Ideal City has seen any movement, but the channels for movement still exist.

If Endpoint Group fails to keep up with the tide of the times, it will naturally be replaced by emerging information technology companies that seize the opportunity.

Especially with the Alliance inclined towards providing more opportunities to emerging companies like "Ah Bu Aerospace" and fostering a healthy competitive atmosphere, the urgency for Endpoint Group has increased.

Many technologies in the wasteland are already available.

Not to mention that once the Academy opened its database to the Alliance, many advanced technologies no longer had obvious barriers.

If you can't keep up with the times, you'll have to wait for the times to eliminate you.

Thus, through ample competition and cooperation from various forces, the first batch of fifty thousand tons of goods bound for Lagrange Point Space Station was finally completed.

Even the Mammoth Nation, which had just experienced the baptism of war, contributed a batch of engineering exoskeletons, while the Batoya Federation, which had abandoned the Southern Legion title, received orders for more than 100 high-precision components.

Accompanying the Orion Missile Cruiser were nearly a thousand staff from various parties of the Sticky Community.

They are experts in the field of aerospace industry.

Mainly residents of the refuge, especially those from the Alliance's refuge.

Originally useless during the Wasteland Era, they finally awaited an era where they could demonstrate their skills.

These experts from the Human Alliance Era will use their expertise and technology to restart the shipbuilding facilities at the Lagrange Point Space Station and complete the first batch of standard freight starships as soon as possible, replacing the Orion Missile Cruiser in executing transportation tasks.

Chu Guang's ambition for this space station is far more than just a colony ship.

Besides the Academy's orders, he also unveiled the blueprint for the "Solar System Revival Plan" at the Sticky Community Congress.

This plan was jointly developed by the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team and the Academy's Science Committee.

According to the steps in the blueprint, the Alliance will gradually recover outer space facilities from the Human Alliance Era in three phases.

In the first phase, the Alliance will rebuild the Mars Colony and attempt to restore the mining facilities on Ceres, establishing mining stations in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

In the second phase, the Alliance will continue expanding its activity range, establishing residential stations on asteroids such as Europa, Titan, where traces of Human Alliance activities existed, while conducting archaeological work on pre-war facilities to restore production as much as possible.

In the third phase, the Alliance will return to the Kuiper Belt and complete the recovery of all assets left by the Human Alliance.

The entire plan will be implemented over a five-year cycle.

And in the process of advancement, this plan will gradually feed back into the reconstruction of the surface world.

All products and derivatives involved in the Solar System Revival Plan will enjoy the highest zero tariff reduction in the Alliance's market.

Besides the Alliance itself, the Alliance also welcomes all Sticky Community signatories to participate in the Solar System Revival Plan and share benefits, contributing to the common interests of all humanity.

With the success experience of the Sticky Community before them, survivor forces can almost foresee — this dream drawn by the Manager himself will soon take over the historical mission almost completed by the Sticky Community, becoming the cornerstone for new global cooperation frameworks and new epoch orders.

And in the time afterward, this gradually forming blueprint indeed proved this point.

To commemorate his achievements, future historians, when studying this glorious era, will ultimately name this blank memory left for the future as the "Dawn Era" based on the start and end of the "Solar System Revival Plan."

They commemorate him.

Not only him.

But those are stories for another time…

…

Just past seven in the evening, the Pirate Bay Tavern in Giant Stone City was at its liveliest.

No pirates or ships here, only a holographic TV hanging in the corner and a crowd of workers drunk to the point of stupor.

In the not-so-distant Wasteland Era, the stuff produced here was nothing more than a pile of dreamless tin cans.

Now, though many still work in the can factory, those dreamless cans are being sold to the distant Lagrange Point Space Station.

During the "Awakener Football Tournament" broadcast, an ad for a Giant Stone City canned brand was aired, and the rough content was that the wonderfully filling cans brought the taste of home to the tin soldiers executing tasks at Lagrange Point.

The humorous and witty scenes amused everyone in the tavern, and the sudden laughter made Kent, lying on the bar counter, abruptly straighten up.

The person he drank with had already gone home, but he remained stuck in a topic before he called it quits, gave a long burp, and shouted loudly.

"Actually— I've always known that the Manager is a truly good person."

The voice was so sudden, like someone coming to bet on the winner after the result of the match was already decided.

The tavern was quiet for a while, then burst into laughter as everyone couldn't hold back anymore.

"Hahaha!"

"Kent, if your second child were as hard as your mouth, maybe your wife wouldn't have divorced you."

"Who was the guy who said 'it's all the same'?"

"Take it easy, mate, you don't have to pretend to be like others; even if you don't love him, we won't force you to kiss his ass, nor will we whip your butt."

"Hahahaha!"

Kent, with his unspoken troubles, flushed red, unable to find words to refute, so he drank heavily from his glass, muttering to himself.

"If only one knew three days in advance, there would be no poor people in the world... who knows what will happen next."

Who would've thought that the towering giant tower standing for a century would suddenly collapse, and who would've imagined that a makeshift band set up by a few carpenters would turn out to be no less than the noble Elder Sid.

Who could foresee this…

Also, that guy Haus who went off to Bugra to keep farting.

Wasn't it agreed that incomplete cleaning means completely unclean, and that the Old Aristocrats will eventually return to seize the false victory of the Workers' Association and punish the traitors?

Why, instead of waiting for Giant Stone City to explode, Bugra itself started setting off fireworks!?

Kent grew more and more frustrated, truly hating that wretched guy, and downed another gulp of beer.

But speaking of which, although the beer from Potato Harbor wasn't as rich as Giant Stone City's, it had its own unique flavor.

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion or the credit of the so-called Tree of Life.

Kent couldn't help but think, maybe he'd save up a few days' vacation and live there for half a month...

...

January 1st is the statutory holiday for the Alliance.

Even though Giant Stone City hadn't celebrated the New Year for the past two centuries, Alyssa who was studying far away at Camp 101 was still caught by the festive nostalgia, eventually deciding to come home.

After all, it wasn't that far.

Today's Qingquan City is no longer the perilous hell it once was.

The previously paralyzed underground passages resumed operation shortly after the Alliance conquered the Lair.

Giant Stone City, which emerged from a debt crisis, had renovated the subway station outside the city as early as a year ago.

And since then, the express train from Dawn City to the south could reach Giant Stone City in just an hour, even skipping the transfer step.

Alyssa stood with her suitcase at the door of her home, suddenly feeling a bit apprehensive despite being close to home, but finally mustered the courage to step forward and knock on the door.

The door opened slowly.

However, to Alyssa's surprise, it was her elder brother standing at the door.

The tall, skinny man with glasses perched on his nose had a sternness between his brows that was more fatherly than their father.

Though their family had fallen on hard times, a tiger in adversity is still a tiger.

Especially the Melvin family's eldest son, even though he no longer talked about the revival of the family, he still carried a nobility and composure that the drunks of Giant Stone City lacked.

Under that sharp gaze, Alyssa instinctively shrank her neck but ultimately straightened her back.

She was no longer that little girl who couldn't do anything without help.

Now she possessed not just a group of reliable friends, but her own strength.

Noticing her growth, the sharp gaze softened slightly.

"You're back?" Wolfeitte asked in a softened tone.

"Mm…"

Alyssa cautiously nodded, discreetly moving her suitcase an inch over the doorstep, and softly greeted.

"How…have you been?"

Since that day on the square where he slapped her, the two hadn't had such a face-to-face conversation, only keeping in touch through letters.

Wolfeitte looked at her with a complex expression, filled with both relief and guilt, and many other unspeakable things.

But perhaps unsure how to start, he eventually swallowed those words back down his throat, merely saying blandly.

"I'm alright… and you? Are you getting used to it?"

"Mm! I'm doing great!"

Seeing her brother finally talking more, Alyssa's face finally revealed a genuine smile, happily opening up.

"Since going to Camp 101, I've learned lots of things I'd never heard before, and made lots and lots of friends…"

Seeing his cheerful sister, Wolfeitte also showed a genuine smile, reaching to bring in the suitcase that had snuck to the doorstep.

"Don't stand at the door… come in and talk."

"Mm!"

Vigorously nodding her head, Alyssa happily walked inside, chattering all the way about her experiences at Camp 101.

Hearing her daughter's voice, Genesis excitedly ran out from the kitchen, enveloping Alyssa in a hug.

"Alyssa! My precious daughter, I've missed you so much! You've suffered so much out there!"

That still graceful face bore some wrinkles.

Perhaps because she endured the storms of family upheaval, or perhaps because of life's trials, her originally noble and elegant demeanor gradually turned into that of an ordinary aging woman.

Seeing her much older mom, Alyssa's nose involuntarily tingled.

If she had wronged anyone, it was probably her own family.

However, she didn't have much choice… like many who stood with her that night.

Whether to adapt to the changes of the times or to be crushed under the wheel of history.

Standing at the precarious crossroads, the still young her could only make choices following her heart.

"Mom… I'm doing quite well outside… and you? Are you getting used to life here?"

Looking at her daughter's immature face, Genesis showed a contented smile, tenderly pinching her cheek.

"Mom is doing well, your dad and I got used to it a long time ago. Oh, by the way, mom learned many new dishes… why don't you and your brother wait a bit, I'll bring them out for you to try!"

"Mm!" Holding back tears that brimmed her eyes, Alyssa nodded vigorously.

Kissing her daughter's cheek, Genesis returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner dishes with her eldest daughter-in-law.

Not only did her mom emerge from past shadows, but her sister-in-law did as well.

However, it was evident she hadn't forgiven her, only restrained by familial ties from falling out.

This was something unavoidable.

"Dad will be back from the library soon, let's go to the living room." Wolfeitte gently patted his younger sister's shoulder, leading her away from the kitchen corridor.

The two went to the living room and chatted intermittently in front of the TV for a while until their father Melvin returned from the Giant Stone City Library.

Despite today being a holiday, Melvin was used to organizing documents at the library, staying there all day regardless of work hours.

Seeing his daughter suddenly back home, Melvin's reaction wasn't as intense as Genesis', merely repeating "grown-up", "taller" in surprise, his stammering and awkwardness drawing laughter from the family.

It was while sitting at the dining table that Alyssa found out from her mother, during her time away studying, that her elder brother had actually gone on a long journey, representing them to handle business far away, and ended up advancing to the deputy head of the Jinga Lun Port branch from being an accountant.

Because, during her time away, he had made quite the journey, and represented the Melvin Family in traveling far. He has been promoted from an accountant to the deputy director of the Jinga Lun Port branch.

Now, as the branch manager, he would be heading there to take his post.

What was commendable was that, during her time away for studies, her brother actually also went on a journey, representing the family on a faraway business trip, and had been made deputy director from an accountant at the Jin Galun Port branch.

Now the business over at Jinga Lun Port's branch has elevated him from an accountant to vice president.

Praiseworthy is that he, with his excellent resume, declined many offers from other banks… even with such an exceptional record.

Now, he would be going to assume the post of branch manager.

It should be mentioned that during the time Alyssa was away to study, her big brother actually went on a long trip, to represent the Giant Stone City, to manage external communications and was able to progress from being an accountant to become the assistant manager at the Jinga Lun Harbor branch.

Now, he is going to take the position of branch manager there.

Admirably, he turned down many overtures from other banks while maintaining the best outcomes with his outstanding resume... even with such an outstanding track record.

According to the good news from home, Father Melvin frequently worked in the library sorting documents, spending entire days there regardless of whether it was a working day or not.

It deserves praise that he has secured his position as the branch manager by taking on the responsibility of restructuring the debts in the process.

The citizens have finally won over the corporation dogs who once oppressed them.

Standing at the crossroads during turbulent times, young as she was, she could only follow her heart and make her own choices.

Of course, this did not concern the ordinary citizens much — the main focus was on the Firestone Group and those who profited from the chaos.

These animals and their menaces bred by the Haus were the mutual enemies of the citizens of Bugra and Giant Stone City.

No matter how eloquently these warped Haus argued their point.

Looking at her elder brother who had grown up and the energetic look reappearing on his face, Alyssa felt greatly relieved in her heart.

Although the process was full of twists and turns, at least the final result was not bad.

Seeing the sincere smiles on her family's faces, she suddenly realized that her estrangement with her family had dissolved greatly.

Even her sister-in-law, who never took a serious look at her, had a slightly softened attitude towards her.

Indeed, time is a great healer.

Unconsciously, they all felt much less guilty towards each other.

"Speaking of which... where is Kishu?" she suddenly thought of her second brother. It would be great if he were here too.

Hearing his brother's name, the originally spirited expression on Wolfeitte's face slightly dimmed, with a hint of complexity between his brows.

"I don't know, that guy seems to have vanished into thin air... I tried to ask around, but there was no news, only heard that he went east after leaving Giant Stone City."

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but mutter in a low voice with a tone of hate iron for not becoming steel.

"That cowardly fool... I don't know what's going on in his head."

Seeing their mother's shoulders gently shaking, Wolfeitte suddenly realized he had said something wrong, but he didn't want to take back his words; he just silently looked away.

"Maybe he went back to Ideal City... let him be." Melvin mumbled, seemingly not wanting to mention his youngest son's name.

That was the only shame of the Melvin family that hadn't been cleansed.

However, after all, it was his own flesh and blood, he really couldn't say anything harsh about that bastard.

If there was anyone to blame, it could only be himself for failing to teach him well.

Wolfeitte coughed lightly, turning his gaze to Alyssa and changing the topic.

"By the way, what have you been busy with lately?"

"Me..." Alyssa paused for a moment and lowered her voice subconsciously in the face of her brother's stern gaze, "Besides the management courses, I've been helping my teacher organize historical documents lately. He said I have a talent for it."

Wolfeitte raised an eyebrow gently.

"Who is your teacher?"

Alyssa answered truthfully.

"His name is Meng Jie."

"Meng Jie..."

Repeating the name, Wolfeitte felt he had heard it somewhere, yet he couldn't remember.

Whereas their father Melvin, sitting beside him, showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Is it actually him?"

"You know him?" Wolfeitte looked at his father with an expression of surprise.

"Sort of, he visited me a few times and talked with me about some stories of Giant Stone City from the past..." Melvin looked at his daughter and said, "He was the former principal of Mammoth University?"

"Yes!"

Alyssa nodded, smiled a bit shyly, and said.

"He said I have the shadow of an old acquaintance he knew, someone much older and also more powerful and wise than me, almost as if I were him grown up. It might be destiny, and Mr. Meng wishes for me to organize materials about that person..."

Although Alyssa did not mention that person's name, this time Wolfeitte seemed to understand.

"Is that person named Yishel?"

"Yes! How did you know?" Alyssa looked at her brother in surprise, her eyes sparkling with joy, "Brother, do you know him?"

"Heh... sort of, when I worked at Jin Galun Harbor, I occasionally saw him in the newspapers."

Wolfeitte curled his lips and gave a light snort.

"It's purely because he died early that he wasn't torn apart and hanged on the city walls posthumously."

He had never seen someone luckier than that guy.

Survived the West Sail Port massacre, retreated unscathed from the Heavenly King rebellion, and even brought back everyone around him, engaging the experienced veterans of the Southern Legion back and forth.

His life seemed as if it was blessed by the Silver Moon Goddess.

Even at the end of life.

Compared to other subordinates of Absek, he probably left the most dignified one.

At least he died on the battlefield.

As he spoke, he looked at his sister, whose eyes were filled with bewilderment, and said word by word.

"Do you know? You were almost just like that guy."

The atmosphere at the dining table suddenly cooled down, moving from one heavy topic to another.

Seeing the sad expression on Alyssa's face, Wolfeitte's wife also showed a trace of reluctance, gripping her husband's hand under the table, reproaching him with her eyes for speaking too harshly.

Alyssa may have grown up, but she was still a child... at least to her.

Wolfeitte also realized that he had said something he shouldn't, even though he didn't believe it was wrong.

Compared to those unrealistic things, the person she should protect most is herself.

It doesn't matter if she hates him, he wouldn't take that back.

He didn't want to see her end up like that fool, burning out like a matchstick, changing nothing and just wasting herself.

"But... those things... haven't happened after all, right?" Alyssa said with her head down, somewhat sadly, "Are you still holding a grudge?"

Her biggest worry was her elder brother, who would rather sacrifice himself to revive their family.

She had already passed her own crossroads, and it was unlikely she would encounter those things from the past again.

But he was different.

He was the firstborn son of the family.

If he continued to live in the past of Giant Stone City, the meaningless sense of duty and loyalty to the old era would eventually drag him into hell...

"I'm not holding a grudge, I'm just worried about you."

Wolfeitte turned his face and said in a hoarse voice.

"You are too young, including your friends. At Jin Galun Harbor, I saw too many compatriots from Giant Stone City, filled with enthusiasm to help the locals, trying to replicate their success from Giant Stone City, and what was the result? All those intoxicated with victory were kicked in the rear and fell in different postures... Of course, those who kicked them in return got no good end either; it served them right, no one else to blame."

"I don't want to stifle your dreams, but do fewer dangerous foolish things and be cautious if you must... Remember, I am the future head of this family; I haven't gone into a coffin yet."

Melvin, the current head of the family, did not utter a word, evidently agreeing to this statement.

After a pause, Wolfeitte opened his mouth again, somewhat embarrassed.

"And... my tone wasn't good, for this matter... I apologize to you, I'm sorry."

He was not one to admit his mistakes easily, and this sentence seemed to require all his strength.

However, after hearing these words, a surprised smile bloomed on Alyssa's face.

She suddenly realized that the thorn that had been lodged in her heart never actually existed.

Her family never truly hated her.

But loved her more deeply than anyone else in this world...

…

The wind and snow howled outside the window.

Although there was no longer a roaring fireplace, the hot water pipes and radiators were not necessarily less warm than a fireplace.

And perhaps because the room was smaller, Alyssa suddenly found that their family was sitting closer together.

As the family joyfully celebrated a long-awaited reunion, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"I'll get the door!"

Alyssa jumped off the chair, her slippers making a snapping sound as she ran to the door. As she opened it, she saw a strange girl standing at the threshold.

The girl was wearing a light purple down jacket, carrying a simple travel bag, about fifteen or sixteen years old, around Alyssa's age, with fluffy blonde hair, and her youthful face held a hint of shyness.

She seemed unaccustomed to interacting with people, always evasively avoiding eye contact, fearing to meet the gaze of others... even when facing someone her own age.

Occasionally, there would be some students from the Free State at Camp 101, and most of them were like that.

Seeing the prosthetic embellishments on the side of her face, Alyssa was reasonably sure she was from the Free State; the only puzzling thing was why she was here.

She didn't remember ever seeing this face.

"Are you here to see Mr. Wolfeitte?"

After thinking about it, only her elder brother might know someone from the Free State.

After all, he was soon to take up the position as the bank manager of the Giant Stone City branch there.

The girl showed a bewildered expression, hastily shook her head, then, as if coming to her senses, suddenly bowed, and then took a black box and some crumpled letters from her coat and thrust them into Alyssa's hands.

"...I'm sorry!"

Shouting out those words desperately, she clenched her eyes shut, as if braced for a scolding.

But it wasn't just that—

Her shoulders trembled slightly, as though she was restraining her sorrow.

Alyssa looked at her in astonishment, at first puzzled by what she was up to, but she slowly understood the weight of the box in her hand as she noticed the ice crystals clinging to the girl's lashes.

Alyssa's fingers trembled slightly as she unfolded one of the letters and indeed saw familiar handwriting...

[Alyssa, my sister...]

[Please forgive your cowardly and feeble brother for not apologizing to you in person... although I did think about it, by the time you see this letter, I will probably be dead.]

[It's not that I haven't thought about atoning for the sins I've committed, but the family to whom I most wished to apologize has long since passed from this world.]

[Thinking carefully, the old man who pleaded for me to take responsibility for his daughter might have been my last chance from the gods... my final opportunity. Yet, my foolish self didn't realize the stupidity of my actions. Rather than repent, I attempted to escape my sins and stupidly set fire to kill them.]

[From that moment, I became a devil. The one who truly destroyed the Melvin family was never you but foolish me.]

[The collapse of the Giant Stone City inner city had nothing to do with those good-hearted and brave people like you, but rather was due to countless versions of me, who fell to become devils.]

[I have no face to show them, I attempted to find answers on the Wasteland but ended up just muddling along, without even the courage to end it all for myself.]

[Just like that, I repented for my sins as I headed toward Ideal City, fantasizing that if I could reach there, it would mean that the gods had forgiven my sins. And if not, then it would spare me from taking my own life.]

[Ridiculous, isn't it? I couldn't even gain the forgiveness of people, yet here I was dreaming about the gods' forgiveness. Perhaps my arrogance drew the punishment of fate, as I encountered a group of slave traders before even leaving Qingquan City, who sold me to the infamous Bugra Free State.]

[If there ever was something called hell on this earth, that place should count as one of them. I thought perhaps it was punishment from fate, and I might as well rot there.]

[However, just as I thought that, fate played another trick on me as a beam of light pierced that dark hell. A puppet, manipulated by the devils, broke free from the chains and said they would lead us in rebellion.]

[That person was the Mayor of the Free State; maybe you heard of his name in the news... but the person I want to speak about isn't him, nor am I his soldier. Instead, it is the girl standing before you named Lala.]

[We met in a temporary shelter near the warzone, both of us swept into war as civilians. At that time, her father was gasping his last breath on a stretcher, entrusting her to me, begging me to take her away from that city.]

[I don't know why he would trust someone as rotten as me, nor do I know where I found the courage to agree… but there was a moment when I suddenly realized this might be my only chance, even though it wasn't anything monumental.]

[I want to take her away from that hell, at all costs...]

[I don't pray for the gods' protection to allow me to survive to the end; I only hope that the one handing you this letter is her, and not the Home of the Refugees or any other charity organizations. Please, as my last plea to the gods, let me achieve something meaningful at the end of my worthless life.]

[—Your good-for-nothing brother, the Devil of the Giant Stone City, the eternal shame of the Melvin family, Kishu]

Alyssa read to the end of the letter, and tears fell uncontrollably, dripping onto the letter.

Perhaps it was because she had not received the expected reprimand, so the girl with her head hung down lifted her head.

Seeing Alyssa's heartbroken look, she was taken aback, and then seeing tears drip onto the paper, she couldn't help but blurt out.

"He's not a rotten person!"

She had evidently read those letters.

And she had read every single one.

Seeing Alyssa, tears at the edge of her eyes, look up in surprise, the girl quickly avoided her gaze, and continued in a hoarse voice.

"He told me he did many bad things in the past... but the him I saw was not such a person..."

Biting her lip, she continued.

"He tried very hard to live, and he could have continued living... he did it all to save me..."

She would rather it have been her that died.

After all, she had no family left, while he still had so many family members waiting for him to return...

Without bothering to wipe away her tears, Alyssa pocketed the box and the letter and hugged the sobbing girl.

Only after a long time, once her emotions had settled, did Alyssa softly ask.

"What's your name?"

"...Lala."

"Lala... thank you."

Thank you?

The girl widened her eyes, not understanding why this gentle sister in front of her would say such words.

Looking at those bewildered eyes, Alyssa tried not to rub the grit from her eyes, gazing sincerely at the girl.

"My good-for-nothing brother... perhaps he really did accomplish something remarkable. Please, in the new world, live well on behalf of that useless him."

Seeing that gentle smile, Lala suddenly broke into tears again, and for a time, she was inconsolable, throwing herself into Alyssa's arms and wailing loudly.

All the grievances from along the way fell into the snow.

"It's all right now..."

Alyssa patted her shoulder comfortingly, speaking softly in her ear.

"You haven't eaten, have you? The weather is so cold outside. Come in and talk... By the way, can you tell me about him? Consider it his sister's willful request. If you have nowhere else to go, why not stay with me until winter passes?"

"...Thank you."

Her eyes filled with grateful tears, the girl nodded firmly, timidly following her into the house.

Having lived in the iron jungles, she had never met someone so kind.

Could it be that she had actually arrived in Heaven?

Rumor had it that during the Free State civil war, the Wasteland Era had already ended.

And now, she finally somewhat believed it.

"You're welcome."

Looking at the still bashful Lala, Alyssa smiled softly and said.

"Please make yourself at home here."

"If you have no other family, you can take me as your family too."

Chapter 1061: Some Roads Are Doomed to Death from the Start

The crumbling skyscrapers stood on the desolate wilderness like a giant covered in scars.

The walls, riddled with holes, exhaled thick black smoke, reminiscent of the fragmented spirit of the citizens of Bugra Free State.

Occasional explosions drew no attention anymore.

After all, over the past year, the residents of this settlement had already heard too much of such sounds.

This is Bugra.

Rather than calling it another Ideal City on the Wasteland, it would be more fitting to call it an enormous prison.

Though it's a bit like a hellish joke, it sounds cooler than a zoo.

Dragging their blue plasma trails, four "Viper" light transport planes roared across the sky over the southern district of Bugra City.

Sitting on the edge of the cabin, I Max Black looked at the shattered skyscrapers below, and couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Truly tragic."

Sitting opposite, "Kakarot" shrugged his shoulders, showing little sympathy for the people here.

"Trouble is self-inflicted."

The entire settlement was like a massive vacuum cleaner, siphoning in the Wasteland's waste, only to regurgitate it back after mixing it all together.

99% of looters indirectly or directly fenced stolen goods here, while also procuring weapons from here.

Ideal City, at least, managed to export some order onto the Wasteland, even if that order wasn't always good.

What was exported from here was sheer chaos, and was even one of the roots of chaos itself.

The lowest tier of company dogs lived in 20-square-meter single rooms, burdened with a century-long mortgage, using a super AI fridge that required a 30-second iris scan to open. It appeared they were not exploiting anyone, but both the 20-square-meter single rooms and the manipulative loans and fridges were their own designs, harming not only themselves.

After all, there were millions of unemployed people living in less-than-four-square-meter coffin-sized rooms, contributing lives and labor so cheap they were almost negligible, decomposing the surplus production of the vast system like the "decomposers" in an ecosystem, also serving as the lubricant between the Sin City and the Wasteland.

The gangs outside Giant Stone City actually originated from here.

Moreover, Firestone Group's most lucrative industry was weapons and various addictive goods, harming not just the residents of Bugra Free State.

In this conspiracy of crime, it was hard to find a truly innocent victim, and those who realized the truth had long left here. Surely, they wouldn't wait until the cage fell to scream.

Where were they when it started?

At least, that's how it seemed to him.

Rather than helping these thugs reform, he'd prefer to go to Triumph City to attend his good brother's wedding.

The second weekend of every January was the birthday of the Vellante people. They set the wedding three days after the birthday.

If he couldn't make it in time, he'd just have to hold another one in the City of Dawn.

"Let the past be the past; humiliating them is meaningless. At least they're awake now."

Patted "Kakarot" on the shoulder, Spring Water Commander pointed his index finger at the side of his helmet and switched the communication channel to the entire team, shouting to the newbies on the other three planes.

"Alright, rookies, we're almost there. Remember your mission, pave the way for the NPCs of the Home of the Refugees and relief supplies, establish a security zone at the coordinates, avoid civilian casualties, and do not fire unless necessary, unless it's gang members—"

Before Spring Water older brother could finish, a series of rapid gunfire erupted from a nearby skyscraper.

Bullets whizzed overhead, not even scratching the flame tails of the four "Vipers."

Those armed forces were neither employees of Firestone Group nor the Hound Special Forces controlled by City Hall, but looters who snuck into the city taking advantage of the chaos.

To say they snuck in wasn't accurate; many looters in this area were originally mercenaries or gang members from the Free State; some notorious mercenary groups even went public.

A few thugs with synthetic tattoos on their faces gestured their middle fingers at the passing planes, one Mohawk head even wedging a rifle between his legs, yelling and mimicking urination gestures.

That was probably the cyber psychos' way of declaring sovereignty, maybe indicating that the building was theirs.

Unexpectedly being so disrespected, Spring Water older brother furrowed his brow and switched the communication channel to the command headquarters after saying "don't waste bullets."

"...I've got a situation here, requesting a drone."

"Received."

In less than a minute, a black dot dropped from the sky, unfolded its four rotor blades mid-air as it approached the southern urban district of the Free State, and flew towards the building that fired at the "Storm Squad" with a "whoosh."

The gang members on the rooftop were unaware of the danger and curled their lips while heading back to their top-floor stronghold, seeing that the Alliance's planes didn't bother with them.

The drone didn't attack immediately but circled the top floor of the building, confirming no civilians were present while marking the attackers' identities before crashing into a window.

With the sound of shattering glass, the five-kilogram fragmentation warhead exploded instantly, spewing thousands of steel pellets in the midst of searing flames and black smoke!

The gang members smoking on the sofas didn't have time to react before they, along with the sofas and walls, were turned into a honeycomb-like mess under the barrage of pellets.

Floor by floor, they were eliminated.

Only a small amount of dust drifted out of the shattered windows.

"Done."

The Intelligence System player in the cabin opened his eyes and made an "all done" gesture towards Spring Water.

The latter nodded and continued explaining the server rules to the rookies eager to try in his squad.

Despite being called rookies, these guys were actually in their twenties, not lacking combat experience but just lacking in group battle experience.

But speaking of which, the "entry threshold" of this Game was getting higher and higher.

Nowadays, without eight thousand hours of online time, it's embarrassing to call oneself an old player...

...

Passing through a dense row of Iron Forest, the formation of four Vipers swiftly reached their destination.

The mission target was in the ecological Park of the southwestern urban district of the Free State.

This gigantic egg-shaped landmark was once the backyard of Firestone Group's top executives and wealthy individuals, with nearby single houses so expensive they could be measured in trillions.

But those days were over.

The entire area was now under the control of Mayor Otto's "Hound" Special Forces and the police agency as a security zone to accommodate nearby Citizens, and had been entrusted to the Alliance's Home of the Refugees to manage.

This was part of the cooperation between the authorities and the Alliance.

Though the local War was over, the restoration of order still had a way to go.

The dense Iron Forest not only hid remnants of the Firestone Group but was also active with looter organizations taking advantage of the chaos and gangs attempting to replace the Firestone Group.

The stationed forces had to secure the safety of the security zone before they could start cleaning up the aftermath.

Frankly speaking, the current Free State was like a giant whale stranded on a beach... and a much larger one than the Giant Stone City's past.

In the event of a whale explosion, the resulting destructive force would be far beyond what the collapse of Giant Stone City's Inner City could compare.

Fortunately, the current Alliance had grown in both experience and capability beyond the past.

If not, the Giant Stone City emerging from its shadows had become a more formidable existence than before.

The people living in the new era would not ignore these survivors struggling in the Northern Part of River Valley Province.

The person coming to make contact was Lieutenant Colonel Edem, the commander of the Hound Special Forces' Fourth Regiment.

Striding towards the helipad, he wore a bulky exoskeleton, looking just like the Iron Baboons of the Jungle Corps.

Spring Water Commander had read his track record and found out this guy was actually an old familiar with the Alliance, having fought alongside several Alliance Armies on the Ten Peaks Mountain before.

Including the deputy following behind Edem, called Tang Feng, seemingly a volunteer from Ideal City and also a Veteran descended from the Ten Peaks Mountain.

Furthermore, Spring Water was surprised to find some Vellante people also blended within the Volunteer soldiers.

"Thank you, you finally arrived." Edem slapped Spring Water on the arm with a grateful look.

Spring Water smiled faintly, tapping his fist against Edem's shoulder armor.

"It sounds too formal. Leave it to us here, go help your brothers."

Edem solemnly nodded, placed his fist against his chest, saluted, and without saying another word, strode towards the entrance of the security zone.

That was his duty, after all.

He must undertake it himself.

Springs watched him leave, then turned his gaze toward the nearby safe zone, reporting the local situation to the command post and preparing to assist the NPCs from Home of the Refugees and the local security personnel with their transition work.

Bugra City, after all, is not an Alliance settlement, and the local residents are not Alliance residents.

Although Mayor Otto and his supporters have expressed a desire to align closely with the Alliance, it's not a place where the Alliance can come and go as they please.

Too many factors are involved here, and decisions cannot be made hastily.

Especially since the perception of Bugra citizens by most Alliance residents is not very friendly.

However, although the Managers have not immediately approved Bugra City's "membership application," they have granted the latter a "Collaborator" status and vowed to hold referendums in both locations when the timing is appropriate.

This could be in a year, or maybe two, but it won't be much longer.

At the same time, a large crowd was gathering in front of the checkpoint not far from the helipad.

They were residents of Bugra, though not all were exclusively Bugra residents... such as Mr. Haus, who was squeezed into the front row.

Upon seeing the Alliance's plane land on the helipad, he charged forward as if he'd seen a lifeline, until he was stopped by soldiers from the Hound Special Forces.

Staring at the arms and checkpoint barring his way, Haus screamed hysterically in his raspy voice.

"Get out of the way——! You pack of wild dogs, do you know who I am?! I'm from Giant Stone City! I'm also an Alliance Citizen!"

He was eager to immediately board the plane to City of Dawn.

The two things he regretted most in life were not converting his Bugra currency into silver coins before it collapsed overnight, and not escaping from this rotten, foul ditch before the war erupted.

This statement truly puzzled several soldiers, leaving them at a loss on what to do.

Indeed, there were some Alliance citizens in the safe zone, and even relatively many among the volunteer teams.

As everyone was flummoxed, Spring Water Commander had already approached with his team.

Upon seeing a familiar face among the crowd, I Max Black, standing beside him, brightened his eyes and cheekily approached, saying.

"Yo, Mr. Haus, long time no see, how are you still alive?"

Upon hearing the voice from behind, the soldiers on duty immediately turned to give a military salute.

Spring Water Commander nodded to them, signaling with his eyes "leave this to me," then walked up to the ashen-faced Haus, staring into his eyes and said.

"Your ID number?"

"..."

Haus's lips trembled, unable to speak, looking as if he might wet himself from grievance.

He didn't have such a thing.

Although Giant Stone City joined the Alliance, he had long gone to Garbage City by then, and moving to Bugra to resume his old trade came much later.

Kakarot stealthily glanced at Tombstone Ghost beside him and muttered mockingly.

"Honestly, this guy isn't too bad, just not too bright. At least he's true to his words, definitely not one of us."

Tombstone Ghost chuckled, shrugging off.

"It doesn't bother me, I'm just here for the fun."

Seeing Haus unable to speak for a while, Spring Water Commander shrugged his shoulders.

"Suit yourself, impersonating an Alliance citizen isn't illegal, but you'd better not disrupt the order here."

At this point, he looked toward the crowd behind Haus, activated the loudspeaker, and said.

"Friends, regardless of where you're from and where you plan to go afterward, at least while you're here, please adhere to the order here."

"Evacuation planes will arrive here, but not the ones in front of you. You need to register your names and tent numbers, then wait patiently and evacuate in order."

At the onset of the war, the Alliance had already evacuated most of the citizens active locally; even if there are occasional exceptions, it can't possibly be this many.

Spring Water Commander didn't need to ask to know that most of the people gathered here were just trying to get a free ride.

Messed up their own homes and then fled, leaving the mess for others—such convenience doesn't exist.

The Alliance can't accommodate so many people at once, and neither can Ideal City.

People here must and can only stay locally to shoulder the responsibilities they've once abandoned.

Until the outside world is affluent enough to provide them unconditional shelter or acceptance, they must save themselves.

This is also the only chance for redemption.

Upon hearing that the planes parked here weren't for evacuation, the refugees clustered at the checkpoint dispersed one after another.

Haus tried to sneak away as well, but I Max Black, with a cheeky grin, placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't I show you a path? When this war is over, you could take a ship from Silver Moon Bay to Jinjaron Harbor, then follow the Everflow River westward, and find a place called Tiandu... Maybe there your talents can be utilized."

"While there's still a place in this world for you, seize the opportunity and quickly scoot."

With that, he smiled and patted Haus's shoulder, letting the guy scared out of his wits leave.

On the other side.

In front of a tent in the residential area, Wei Jia, the boss of Vijia Commerce, coldly watched as the disappointed countrymen dispersed.

Many of them once were residents of Giant Stone City. After the collapse of the Inner City, they moved to this place.

Though they seldom communicated in daily life, amid such major upheaval, they had no choice but to band together even if reluctant.

After all, if they hadn't done so, they might not have even waited for the establishment of this safe zone nor reached here.

Nonetheless, while banding together, Wei Jia didn't look down on these useless wastrels.

Unlike these fools who became worthless beyond the Inner City, he has been able to penetrate local upper society or at least the middle-upper tier, with his capabilities wherever he goes.

Before the war erupted, these useless folks didn't even have the opportunity to meet him.

If it weren't for Sigma and the senior management of Firestone Group losing power, this premium ecological park would have been where he walked his dog, and these people wouldn't even have the chance to beg here.

Nonetheless, unpredictable fortunes; who'd have thought Firestone Group would collapse?

Once standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows at Hotel Wind From Afar, quietly watching Giant Stone City's rise and fall, he's now one of those overlooked.

But he remained optimistic.

He didn't put all his eggs in one basket; he's set up funds in Alliance and Ideal City's banks, as seed capital for restarting.

Hardship is always temporary.

Once he passes today's hurdle, he still has a chance to rise again, even if he has to live an honest life afterward.

"My dear Elder Sid... Your servant failed to care for your wife and children, truly sorry for this. If you watch from heaven, please don't blame me..."

While still coldly smirking, Wei Jia suddenly displayed an aura of compassion.

Such a pity.

He had thoroughly made Bonnie from both mind and body into his belonging, but now had no choice but to dispose of this perfect artwork.

There's no choice.

She knew far too much she shouldn't have, and those dark secrets could likely hinder him from obtaining a legal identity.

Given that the Alliance opposes slavery and all inhumane acts,

Severe circumstances could even label him a Looter, even though what he did to that lady in the former Bugra isn't worth mentioning.

Regardless, he detested risk, and thus he ended her swiftly.

The outcome was swift, at least.

While Wei Jia was contemplating his future plans and how to leverage his resources to grasp the opportunity for Bugra City's reconstruction, Elder Sid's youngest son, Kumarit, walked up to him.

The little lord who once only flaunted behind his parents looked much more mature now.

Given the eternal debts to Ethan's Elder Sid, Wei Jia always prefixed Kumari with "dear Kumarit sir," but never indulged him, often turning hostile suddenly with a fierce slap.

In those days of dependence, not to mention the clothes he wore or the things he used; even the food he ate daily was what Wei Jia's son Piru consumed first.

So much so that sometimes even Piru couldn't bear to watch, occasionally sneaking money and comforting him behind his father's back.

As part of satisfying his twisted hobbies, Wei Jia did not dispose of him like he did with his mother.

First, he didn't believe that this weak child could pose any threat to him, and second, the bad things he had done were never known to this guy.

He was playing a long game; he planned to raise this child into something as twisted as Elder Sid, and then make up for the things missing from his own childhood.

Looking at Wei Jia's face, Kumarit instinctively felt a bit of fear, but unlike before, he didn't run away. Instead, he stared intently at the held forehead and spoke.

"Mr. Wei Jia."

Upon hearing the voice coming from above his head, Wei Jia forced a gentle smile on his impatient face and spoke with elegance.

"What's the matter, my dear young master Kumarit, do you have any orders?"

Normally, if Kumarit dared to make any requests following his words, no matter how humble, he would undoubtedly receive a brutal beating.

However, this time, Kumarit didn't show much fear, just staring at him with vacant eyes.

"Where is my mother? You said you would take me to see her when we reached the safe zone."

Wei Jia's face revealed a trace of annoyance.

He had dismissed this question long ago; how could this kid keep asking?

Given that patrolling guards were still nearby, he didn't hit or scold immediately, but instead said with a smile.

"Ah...are you talking about Lady Bonnie? I have already sent her to Ideal City. After all, you can see, this settlement has suddenly become very dangerous, extremely dangerous."

Ah...

Poor Elder Sid.

His son would never know what his gentle mother had sacrificed to protect him.

But who can he blame for this?

Could that kid be some saint or sage?

The fool of the Melvin family did such things, and Sid's youngest son was no different, always finding someone to take the fall.

As for the things he did, he might just be doing heaven's justice.

Looking at Uncle Wei Jia's smiling face, Kumarit spoke a word from his dry lips.

"Liar..."

Wei Jia's smile froze on his face for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.

"How could I lie to you? You're the son of my dearest friend. I treat you as if you were my own son—"

Kumarit said nothing, just stood there with empty eyes, throwing a holographic computer pen to the ground.

Wei Jia was taken aback, frowning, not understanding what happened until indecent images and sounds emerged from the pale blue holographic apex.

With a buzzing sound.

Seeing the pulse-pounding scenes and a face that shouldn't appear here, Wei Jia felt like his head was about to explode, momentarily dumbfounded.

The nearby refugees were also stunned, bewildered by the sudden display of the little movie.

Wei Jia was the first to come to his senses.

And as soon as he did, cold sweat poured from his forehead like a waterfall.

Especially when those astonished eyes turned his way, it was as if he were standing naked in the middle of the street.

"Are you crazy?! She, she's your mother!"

Wei Jia scrambled to cover it up, not caring about staining his knees with dirt, using his flabby stomach to cover the holographic computer pen and his twisted, depraved desires, just like when he pressed down on Elder Sid's wife.

Kumarit quietly watched the angry, twisted face, neither fearful nor despairing, not even saddened.

He simply reached into his pocket calmly and, under all those shocked gazes, pulled out a gun.

"Bang—!"

A bloodhole marked Wei Jia's forehead, and he collapsed in a pool of blood, bewildered.

The entire world fell silent.

He never expected.

To fall before dawn after calculating everything, and die so messy.

No—!

How could he accept such an end?!

He had worked so hard to get here!

Why?!

His spasming hands instinctively grasped the earth, leaving a few shallow claw marks in the mud.

He didn't want to die!

But.

He was out of time...

"Hey!!"

"What are you doing?! Drop the gun!"

Looking at the boy who had committed murder, the soldiers shouted as they rushed over, spurred on by the sound of gunfire.

If it weren't for the boy's age, they might have already shot.

However, Kumarit didn't listen to the adults' roaring, instead impatiently pressing the smoking muzzle to his own gaunt chin.

So noisy...

So tedious.

"Bang—!"

As the second gunshot rang out, he fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, as if freed.

Everyone froze on the spot, both the camp's refugees and the soldiers drawn by the gunfire.

The only thing that continued to echo was the indecent sound...

The commotion among the residents attracted the attention of the Alliance Soldiers, and the Springs group quickly arrived from the tarmac.

Upon inspection, the deceased was confirmed to be Wei Jia, the boss of the Wei Jia Commerce, and the perpetrator was his adopted son Kumarit.

The perpetrator committed suicide immediately after the crime, with no signs of life.

Further background checks revealed that the former had been Elder Sid's right hand in Jushi Inner City and had retreated with immense wealth to the Bugra Free State to continue running the Wei Jia Commerce while adopting Elder Sid's widowed wife and child.

The motive behind Kumarit's crime was fully preserved at the crime scene.

"What a twist..."

Back in the security office, I Max Black inserted the chip from the holographic computer pen into the terminal and glanced at it, eventually unable to help but mutter a remark.

No one else spoke; only Springs Brother silently pressed pause.

"Forget it."

There was nothing more to see in the content; it was simply the process of the deceased abusing the other deceased.

That guy named Wei Jia had a habit of recording things.

He recorded the whole process of Bonnie's mental breakdown, and somehow, her son Kumarit found out.

Perhaps it was part of that guy's twisted fetish, or perhaps he miscalculated, or maybe he was sabotaged by an enemy. After all, it was unclear how Kumarit got a gun in the safe zone...but these trivial details no longer mattered.

The deceased locals in the settlement were already burned beyond recognition, and even the outsiders were still queuing.

Just ensuring the basic order of the safe zone was enough to exhaust the new authorities' law enforcement personnel.

At this critical juncture where troubles piled up like mountains, no one really had the extra energy to seek justice for a mere beast.

Let's leave it at that.

...

Scene of the incident.

The crowd lingered for a long time, gossiping about the two deceased.

Especially those onlookers who came from other neighborhoods to join in the fun.

Confounded by the murder, they unanimously turned to the refugees who had previously lived in Giant Stone City to inquire about the identity of the two deceased, as well as the grievances behind it.

Some even inquired about "resources."

After all, in a place lacking entertainment, anything that can serve as a distraction becomes a source of amusement.

Not far away, a chubby young boy stood among the crowd, watching his father, who died in the street and was being loaded onto a stretcher, sighing and putting on a sad expression, mumbling to himself with his plump lips.

"Dad, don't you think you're too tired? We fled from Giant Stone City to the Free State, and we still don't know where we will have to flee to next…"

The feigned sadness was carved from the same mold as his father's.

"I'm almost bored of this Kumarit toy; there's really nothing new to play with it… in this regard, I'm still not as good as you; you managed to train Aunt Bonnie to be so obedient, doing whatever you ask her to."

"But, you didn't find it too regrettable to kill someone so obedient? After all, if you're tired of playing, why not leave her to me?"

Piru suddenly sighed with some loneliness, shaking his head with a lack of interest.

"Alas, you can't hear this anymore… Anyway, I will keep your inheritance well, I won't let your hard work go to waste in your lifetime."

"You can rest in peace."

Like a fat ghost, he clumsily turned and merged into the mismatched crowd, disappearing completely like he didn't know anyone here...

...

In the southern part of Bugra City, about fifty kilometers from the urban area, lies the largest settlement of the Home of the Refugees in the surrounding area.

Although the vast majority of refugees stayed within the urban area, a considerable number of survivors managed to escape.

The Alliance does not prevent those refugees from leaving, no matter where they plan to wander next.

However, for those willing to stay and rebuild their homes, the Home of the Refugees provides them with food, fresh water, and essential living supplies and medicines.

In fact, under the assurance of basic survival needs, most people still prefer to stay.

After all, for those whose understanding still lingers in the Wasteland Era 215, the outside world is still a man-eating place, unlike the civil war in Bugra which still leaves behind many skyscrapers.

Although the latter is not uncommon in the Wasteland, being born in this settlement, the survivors have never seen it before.

Many people have never left their home street in their entire life, let alone the outside world.

People who wander the wasteland like players are, after all, rare.

In the center of the camp, Chu Guang once again met Mayor Otto of Bugra.

Unlike the previous meeting at the Grand Canyon, this guy has undergone quite a change, having transformed from a stable bureaucrat to a leader in the true sense.

This guy is a talent.

After a brief greeting, they chatted about the view of the camp.

"...In this world, there are still many who must struggle desperately to survive."

"Yes."

Hearing this unsympathetic response, Otto couldn't help but think of those who died in the war, and he posed a somewhat sharp question.

"Even so, can it still be called a 'New Epoch'?"

He had no intention of blaming the Alliance, the Company, or the Academy.

After all, others helping them is a favor, not helping is the norm, and he had no grounds to complain in reason or in emotion.

Moreover, as they fought their civil war, other forces in the Wasteland were dealing with more severe threats.

They didn't cause trouble for others, but didn't serve any use either.

Yet despite this.

The declaration of the advent of the "New Epoch" and the decision regarding South Gate Two by the Sticky Community at this time somewhat hurt the feelings of Bugra's citizens.

It felt as if they had been left behind.

And back during the Torch War, they obviously contributed a bit...

Understanding the look in Otto's eyes, Chu Guang's mind didn't change much, just nodding as usual.

"Yes."

Otto couldn't keep his expression, and opened his mouth to ask.

"Why…"

Chu Guang cast his gaze towards the distant camp area, speaking gently.

"The initiative about the New Epoch that we launched at the Sticky Community isn't to claim we've built a Utopia on Earth, but rather that we're no longer waiting for a savior, no longer indulging in the unsustainable fantasy of the Prosperity Epoch, but rather saving ourselves and becoming our own light."

"If you truly understand the weight of this statement, then you are a part of this New Epoch, and we will never abandon you, just as we stand here today. If you cannot understand, then perhaps you just need more time."

This settlement is not without hope.

Aside from the pile of body bags, he also saw one person supporting another.

No one has ever abandoned them.

Even though many have long hated this sinful place, wishing to obliterate it with a nuke.

When people saw their determination to resist, they still offered a helping hand.

Otto remained silent for a long time.

The eyes, once tinged with confusion, finally lit up with a gleam of understanding.

"...I see, I understand now."

His face resumed a smile, as he looked at Chu Guang beside him, sincerely extending his right hand.

"Thank you, and please… grant us, the residents of Bugra, a chance to move forward together in the New Epoch with others."

"In fact, we've been doing this for a long time."

Chu Guang smiled and grasped his hand.

"Welcome."

Otto showed a relieved smile, casting his slightly weary and fatigued eyes towards the distant city and wilderness.

"One wonders how people in the future will judge us… and the New Epoch they are about to start living in."

They are neither as prosperous as the Prosperity Epoch nor as desolate as the Wasteland Era.

It's truly hard to judge.

He couldn't think of a word to summarize the difference between today and yesterday.

However—

Perhaps, people at the end of the Prosperity Epoch were puzzled by similar questions: How are they to explain to their children that the world they once lived in was not like this?

Watching Otto sink into thought, Chu Guang wasn't particularly troubled by this distant problem, just lightly shrugging.

"We should leave such matters for them to think about themselves."

-

(PS: The ending of the Free State is actually a continuation of Giant Stone City, with the former sharing in the events of Giant Stone City like the Alliance, but inheriting different things, and to avoid repetitive plot, I wrote this part from the side. Besides, this chapter connects to chapter 545 "The Path We Choose", so if you have no impression, you can revisit from chapter 517 "Homecoming"~)

Chapter 1062: Funeral and Wedding

Outside the Giant Stone City, Melvin and his family held a simple funeral for their youngest son, Kishu.

He didn't invite many people, nor did he make a big fuss to publicize it. After all, his youngest son was indeed not a good person, which might evoke memories for some.

Although no one cares about their family matters anymore, past experiences still made him cautiously keep a low profile.

Standing in the snowy ground, Lala lowered her head with a complex expression, burying her nose in her scarf.

Alyssa stood beside her, silently communicating with the tombstone with her eyes closed.

Her parents, elder brother, sister-in-law, and others also stood likewise in front of the tombstone.

It's not only those chosen by spiritual energy who can connect with the deceased.

As long as the missive is from the heart, the words can still be conveyed to the other side, even if they cannot see each other.

The few present could all "see" him, except for one complete outsider.

His name was Meng Jie, originally named Meng Qi, who had been a researcher at the Union Academy of Social Sciences and the principal of Mammoth University, now teaching at Camp 101, and also a friend of Melvin.

He didn't plan to attend the funeral; he only came by for courtesy after coincidentally visiting Giant Stone City at the time.

After praying in front of the youngest son's tombstone for a long time, Melvin folded his hands and looked toward Meng Jie standing beside him, nodding sincerely and saying,

"Thank you."

Meng Jie politely smiled.

"You're welcome... I don't remember doing anything worthy of your thanks, really don't deserve it."

"You're too modest."

Melvin looked at Alyssa standing ahead, his most cherished younger daughter, paused for a moment, then said,

"There are words I've always wanted to say to my youngest daughter, but standing as a failed father, I truly don't know how to start. Thank you for that project matter. It might need an outsider to speak those things. Hopefully, that hero's story can bring her some inspiration."

He didn't want to dampen her enthusiasm, but ultimately, the world is not simply black or white.

She still has much to learn, including staying calm, being cautious...and more.

Meng Jie smiled modestly and spoke gently,

"You misunderstood, I only did it out of academic research purposes."

"Really?" Melvin smiled indifferently, "Then let's just say it's that."

He could feel the kindness from the professor, which slightly changed his impression of the Poluo people.

They are increasingly difficult to sympathize with in the Alliance.

Of course, it's the same elsewhere.

In this era where both Welch and Bugra people can find redemption, making oneself muddy yet indignant and outraged is not easy.

Yet strangely, when they appeared alone, they instead became normal.

Even extraordinarily excellent.

Perhaps, this is part of the unique nature of that land.

"Please don't think too much, I truly only did it for academic purposes...Of course, seeing his shadow in your daughter is indeed true."

Meng Jie slightly nodded, looked at the tombstone in the distance, thought for a long time, and spoke with a conversational tone,

"Perhaps it's inappropriate to mention this matter on such occasions...I researched your history, and the family tree you provided, discovered a peculiar phenomenon."

Melvin raised an eyebrow gently.

"Oh? What did you find?"

Meng Jie raised two index fingers.

"The nobles of Giant Stone City can basically be divided into two types based on the source of power and the ways of acquiring the Black Card, one is attached to 'chips' for new noble, and the other is attached to 'Black Card' for old noble. Your family and Sid's family are just two typical examples, standing at the top of two pyramids respectively."

Melvin smiled faintly as if he heard an interesting joke.

"Giant Stone City has always had only one pyramid and only one king, and that person is Sid. As for my ancestors, they were merely the technical bureaucrats selected by them, or rather their professional butlers."

This butler is hereditary, but not immune to elimination.

Such as the nameless guy replaced by List, who again turned into a civilian.

Even if he cashed in many chips with the Black Card.

"I know, Giant Stone City indeed has only one king as you said, but what I want to compare here is not the weight of chips and the Black Card, but the 'weight' of people."

Melvin's eyes showed a bit of interest.

"Oh?"

Meng Jie nodded slightly, continued in a chatty tone,

"From a purely academic perspective, your family and Sid's family are actually two very vivid control groups. The following words are not meant to offend...Based on the historical documents and data I've reviewed, your family actually lacks true idiots, just makes different choices when facing various problems. Sid, however, is another matter; his family also had their moments of glory, but later generations were each bad in their own ways and foolish in their own distinct manner."

Specific time nodes seem to have occurred after the status of the "Black Card" was confirmed.

Melvin glanced at him, self-deprecatingly smiled.

"...I'm not even sure if you're praising me or criticizing me."

Meng Jie shook his head and directed his gaze towards the rough tombstone, speaking with an apologetic tone,

"Neither, it's merely a pure academic discussion... Perhaps I shouldn't have discussed this with you personally."

Melvin, however, didn't mind too much, while lowering his eyebrows in prayer, casually replied,

"No matter, if my data can provide you comfort, then I've done something meaningful at the end of my life."

"It's more than comforting," Meng Jie smiled looking at the old man, "At the very least, your research data made us see the hope of walking out of the long night—"

"Isn't that just comforting?" Melvin casually replied, "If you count the hope of dawn on the irreversible mistakes made by the devil's descendants, you'll either wait in the long night forever or greet new devils after the old devils die."

He's now seen why these clever people collectively become incredibly foolish.

Meng Jie stared at him, silent for a long time.

Suddenly, for a moment, he seemed to have aged significantly, let down his shoulders wearily.

"Perhaps...but who can say what will happen in the future...what if there's a turning point?"

Melvin glanced at him, thought long and hard, ultimately ended the topic kindly, offering a noncommittal answer.

In such a sorrowful moment, there is no need to add meaningless sadness.

"Perhaps."

Many years later, only future generations can tell them what happened.

…

On the third day after the birth anniversary in the first year of the New Era, Triumph City held a grand wedding.

The groom was the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, and the bride was Penny, daughter of the Centurion Bennott.

Contrary to the expectations of the Old Soldier, upon knowing his daughter was taken away, Bennott did not angrily duel with him; instead, he blessed them both.

Not just Bennott.

Including his friend Coleway, including the Legion Leader of Imperial Guard Rezer, and many others whose names he could not remember, all sent their blessings.

At the end of the wedding, Bennott held his hand, speaking in an unprecedentedly serious and solemn tone,

"...you are a true warrior. Your loyalty, bravery, compassion, kindness, and generosity are impeccable, even recognized by Marshal Julius."

"As Penny's father, I have no more demands of you, just hope that you share all those many beautiful things with my daughter, just as you had shared them selflessly with so many."

"Dad..." Penny's eyes gleamed with emotion.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group gripped his hand tightly.

"I promise, I will take good care of her."

Relaxing the serious expression, Bennott's face showed a smile, gently nodded.

"It's all up to you now."

Though the words no longer carried any regrets or reluctance, the Old Soldier realized the old man wasn't letting him off the hook so easily.

On the wedding night, he was pulled into drinking several barrels of alcohol, nearly sent off on the spot.

According to Bennott, how could a son-in-law of the Welch Alliance not drink?

But even after saying that, Bennott himself was a drunkard, collapsing onto the Table after just a few drinks.

These civil officials really can't handle it.

The ones who truly drank the Old Soldier under the Table were his good brother, Coleway, and those comrades with whom he had faced life and death together.

The Old Soldier thought they would blame him for deceiving them, but the truth was quite the opposite.

Especially Coleway, who was deceived the most.

Rather than being upset over the concealment of his identity, this guy held his shoulder with a face full of reluctance.

"Safe travels... mate, we'll miss you."

A young man from the Imperial Guard also put his hand on the shoulder of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group.

"Come back and visit often."

A Ten Thousand Leader, probably too drunk, mumbled.

"I should go be an officer with the Alliance too, and then resign once I become a Leader. That way, it's fair."

Another Ten Thousand Leader sitting nearby laughed, saying.

"Impossible, isn't it? The Welch Alliance isn't an Alliance, where would Leaders come from?"

"Really? I heard they were planning on creating one... something about learning from our experience."

"Who cares, starting from a soldier is always possible, right?"

Listening to these rowdy guys, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group felt touched but still put his hand on their shoulders.

"Stop talking nonsense, live well. There won't be many battles to fight in the days ahead."

They all had their families, and lived their own lives in Triumph City.

If he really brought them all to the City of Dawn, he wouldn't know how to settle them down.

"Hahaha, these guys are just drunk joking around. Truly ask them to give up their status and ranks here to start over as recruits elsewhere, and they wouldn't want to."

Coleway laughed heartily, patting the Old Soldier's shoulder forcefully.

The Old Soldier returned a helpless smile, but felt in his heart that the look in their eyes wasn't just joking.

If he really wanted to take Coleway back, he feared he would follow without a second thought.

Not just him.

Many here would do the same.

"Take care, my good brother..."

He raised his glass to clink with Coleway before tilting his head back and drinking it all in one go.

Just as he was about to start another round, a heavy cough sounded from behind them.

"How long do you intend to keep the bride waiting? Or are you planning on holding another ceremony?"

Penny, wearing her bridal gown, stood with her arms crossed, smiling at the back of the Battlefield Atmosphere Group's head.

Realizing they were infringing on a couple's moment, the group of big men at the dining Table felt a little embarrassed and quickly found excuses to slip away.

The crowd scattered from the dining Table, heading to other Tables, leaving only the Battlefield Atmosphere Group and Penny.

Realizing he drank too much, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group awkwardly scratched his head.

"Sorry..."

Hearing the apology, Penny raised her eyebrows with a smile.

"Sorry?"

The Old Soldier instantly understood her glance, knowing she wished to hear something less reserved.

Though a bit embarrassed, faced with her expectant gaze, he could only brace himself.

Before the wedding started, he had heard Penny talk about the customs of the Welch Alliance—

After receiving the blessings of everyone, he had to carry her from the banquet to the bridal room.

A true Warrior would not let his wife's feet touch the ground, or be laughed at by others for a whole year.

That's how it went.

Chugging down the rest of the half glass, the Old Soldier's face as thick as a city wall turned red, and, amidst Penny's little startled cries and giggles, he scooped her up in his arms. Then, to cheers and applause, they vanished from the wedding like a whirlwind.

It was truly like a whirlwind, arriving swiftly and departing just as hastily.

No hesitation.

"That guy... truly is a real Warrior," a civil official who drank too much gestured, "I thought he was hiding something, so he stayed here drinking non-stop."

Another civil official beside him also nodded with difficulty, speaking with admiration.

"Indeed, unlike the old man of her family, I remember he slept till dawn that time."

The customs here were indeed different from other places; this bunch of muscleheads jokingly didn't even consider the honor of the former Leader and current ministers.

Perhaps hearing the murmurs of these jerks in his dreams, Bennott, who was sleeping at the Table, suddenly got angry, hitting the Table with his fist and straightening his old bones.

"Who the hell are you talking about! Stand up... duel!"

The civil officials quickly zipped their lips, coughed, and changed the topic, pretending nothing happened.

Bennott just shouted for a while before being dragged back by Penny's mother by the ear.

"You old fool, you still dare talk about dueling! Aren't you ashamed!"

"You don't understand..." Bennott muttered a few words, perhaps feeling guilty himself, eventually staying quiet.

"Too fast, I didn't even see," a bearded officer rubbed his drunken eyes, muttering, "Did that guy drive a truck into the hall?"

That would be cheating, right?

This silly question quickly got him a side-eye, and the Ten Thousand Leader nearby mocked him.

"Are you drunk, how could a truck be driven into the hall? I clearly saw a motorcycle."

"Pffft—!"

"Ugh!"

"There's no way a motorcycle could be driven in here! I think you're the one who's drunk!"

The symphonic music playing in the hall gradually changed from warm to thrilling.

The couple had already gone to their own world with everyone's blessings, and the rest of the time belonged to the guests present.

They'll eat big chunks of meat, drink heartily until the deep night or even until dawn.

Long ago, they had already received their deserving reward, living a happy life with their families, and now what's remained unfinished is finally complete.

"Cheers to our Pangolin!"

Nobody knows who started the first sentence, soon the entire banquet hall echoed with the same words.

It was their heartfelt blessings to the comrades they once fought alongside—

"To Pangolin!"

"Cheers!!!"

The boiling enthusiasm was like the fiercely burning flames in the hearth, overshadowing even the sunset hanging in the sky.

The night story might be more blissful and endless than anyone had imagined...

Chapter 1063: The "Archvillain" Stuck in the Novice Village

The affairs at Bugra City delayed us for too long. The Spring Water Commander and I Max Black ultimately didn't make it to Old Soldier's wedding, but fortunately, we caught Fang Chang and Dolly's wedding.

Unlike the weddings of Vellante people, the weddings on the Alliance side have a completely different "MMORPG game style". Except for a few NPCs who frequently interact with players, most of the guests at the wedding are players.

Moreover, the players attending the wedding weren't busy feasting at the banquet hall. They were either completing various mini-games or running around various check-in tasks, accumulating points to exchange for gifts, having a blast.

This was Night Ten's brother's idea.

"Wasteland OL" is pretty good in every aspect, but it's missing a bit of that authentic online game flavor.

The dog planners can't be relied on, so they have to do it themselves.

Coincidentally, Fang Chang himself is quite a wealthy player. Thinking that it's better for everyone to have fun together than alone, he generously waved his hand and spent 10 million silver coins to hold a grand event.

With such a generous reward pool, almost everyone who participated got a prize.

Because of this, for a whole day, the plaza of Dawn City was filled with players bustling about.

A 10 million silver coin event.

Even Chu Guang had to marvel at this display of extravagance.

By the way.

Since Fang Chang's relatives are not in the game, and he hasn't figured out how to explain to his parents yet, I sort of played the role of a father, giving blessings to the newlyweds on behalf of Fang Chang's parents.

As for Dolly, like the vast majority of orphans in Giant Stone City, she doesn't have her own parents. She only invited some colleagues from the "Survivor's Daily" and former collaborators like Hal and the author Spielberg of "Awakener Bol".

She originally wanted to invite Niyan, but unfortunately, the latter has already passed away.

To thank Dawn City "Survivor's Daily" for their help, Mammoth University sent a professor to replace Niyan at her wedding.

His name was Feodo, said to be a student of Niyan. He stood silently in a corner of the chapel, without speaking to anyone, nor did anyone initiate a conversation with him.

Chu Guang retreated to the side after completing the ceremony, giving the center stage of the chapel to the newlyweds.

Looking at his good brother Fang Chang, dressed to the nines, and the beautiful bride in front of him wearing a wedding dress, Chu Guang's eyes were filled with gratification and appreciation.

He didn't expect this bachelor to actually settle down.

He vaguely remembered that this guy, who had gained financial freedom long ago and lived an enviable life, used to boast in the group saying that dating didn't matter, that he could never get married in his lifetime. In this era, where speedrun players are everywhere, he'd rather have a cat at home.

By the way, unlike the old and experienced Brother Fang Chang, the young and inexperienced Night Ten also declared something similar many years ago.

Now it seems, only Old White and Wild Wind have remained consistent.

The former indulged in games after retiring, while the latter remains interested only in new things as always.

While Chu Guang was smiling like an old father, Old Charlie, who had recently retired, walked up beside him.

As a long-time companion and resident of the refuge, this elder, who used to serve as Minister of Education and president of the Merchant Guild, is also one of the founding figures of the Alliance, and has always worked diligently and meticulously.

Initially, when this old gentleman applied for retirement, he was persuaded by Chu Guang several times to stay.

Not until recently, when he personally came to visit with a health check report from Dawn First Hospital, did Chu Guang feel too embarrassed to keep him, thus approving his retirement request.

After all, people get older and should enjoy a few days of peace.

However, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel that this old man didn't stay quiet for long after retiring, coming to him to nag now and then.

"... Respected Manager, there's something I don't know if I should say or not."

Chu Guang, in a good mood, smiled and said.

"Feel free to speak out."

Fully prepared to be turned down, Old Charlie took a deep breath and continued loyally.

"... Although I don't want to rush you, the Wasteland Era is over, and even your most loyal subordinates have settled down, one by one. Even for those who support you... You should consider your lifelong event."

There it is again.

Chu Guang made a helpless expression, just wanting to brush it off, but then the words hung in his throat.

He could use the excuse of not having time before, but it's a new era now.

"Hm, you make a good point, I'll consider it."

Old Charlie showed a surprised expression, then turned full of delight, transformed into joy.

The Manager actually listened to advice?!

The players around hadn't noticed the situation over here yet, but the reporters lurking in the crowd erupted instantly...

...

At the edge of the plaza, sitting on Meat Meat's shoulder, Tail held binoculars with a face full of envy.

"giao! When Tail gets rich, I also want to host a new player's tour like this!"

Humans...

Just like bugs!

Feeling the inexplicable, awkward ambiance, Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun made a helpless expression.

"Is the focus on hosting new players?"

But—

Isn't it unexpectedly rather interesting?

Imagining becoming a legend of the server, Meat Meat inadvertently showed a smile even a bear would shiver at.

Watching these two whimsical treasures, Si Si couldn't help but hold her forehead.

"Hmmmm... I always feel like the problem of money isn't hard to solve, but does Ah Wei have someone he can hold a ceremony with?"

10 million silver coins is a small matter. The reputation of White Bear Bank along the Eastern Poplar Sea coast doesn't lag behind the White Bear Knights.

The latter is a bit troublesome, and one needs to think of a way to perform a stealth assassination.

Tail: "!!! Do we need an object of affection first?"

Ah Ah, Sesame Paste said with a laugh and a cry.

"It's not impossible… but if there's no emotional foundation, it would feel quite strange."

We can't just hold an event because Meat Meat is shedding fur.

Not only would the NPC feel it strange, other players would likely find it inexplicable.

Looking at Ah Wei, who seemed quite shattered, Si Si showed an "I can't do anything with you" expression and gently coughed.

"Actually, there's no need to specifically find… if you really can't find anyone, then I'll accompany you."

"Oh!! It's settled!"

Ah Wei seemed to regain vigor, energetically giving a thumbs up. Seeing that adorable appearance, Si Si looked like he was shot in the chest, two blushes appearing on his otherwise expressionless face.

"!!!"

"Wait, Si— calm down"

"There's no time to waste. The 'T0' advancement window is fleeting; we must get a starship out before the official public beta starts… Meat Meat! Sesame Paste! Time to set off!"

"Where are we supposed to get something like that!?"

"Maybe… start by becoming T1?"

Others who embarked on the quest for becoming "the strongest version" weren't just the White Bear Knights.

On the other side of the plaza, two newcomers who entered the game barely two hours ago stood on the steps not far from the fountain, ambitiously looking at the bustling plaza.

"Wasteland OL!!! Hahaha!!! I, the grand master, have finally entered! Hahaha!"

"Oh oh oh oh!!! This is the game world?! Unbelievable, totally unbelievable!!"

One of them, a tall and slender man, laughed madly and ostentatiously placed his hands on his hips.

His appearance as a villain boss from Novice Village seemed exaggerated even by the standards of players with social anxiety.

As for the guy crouched not far from him, touching and licking the tiles on the ground, even players couldn't help but cast monster-like glances towards him.

"…This guy is crazy." The Gnome King Riches couldn't help but make a snide comment.

Standing next to him, chewing a roast mantis leg, Elena wore a comical expression.

"Maybe so."

Incidentally, that tall and slender man seemed to be… Professor Yang?

He opened the holographic map page of the fourth-generation VM and indeed saw familiar characters on the side of that floating window.

[Thunder Law King Professor Yang]

"Goodness… is it really him?!" The Gnome King Riches, leaning closer to the map, wore an astonished expression.

With a mantis leg in her mouth, Elena touched her chin and tapped twice on the screen, zooming in the map.

"It is undoubtedly him, even more strange than imagined, and the one next to him is [Dinosaur Warrior]… uh, this guy is actually an adult? For real?"

Saying this, he looked up at the guy slobbering over the floorboards.\\p

Alright.

It's clear he's really excited.

"With this public beta opening, it really feels like all sorts of strange creatures are popping up." The Gnome King Riches had a hard-to-describe expression.

It's worth mentioning that recently "Wasteland OL" is warming up for the upcoming public beta, and the number of helmets being issued daily has suddenly surged.

It seems that not only has nuclear fusion technology made breakthroughs, but the helmet production capacity and server computing power of the operators behind "Wasteland OL" have also made significant advances.

It's truly a good era to catch up with, congratulations are in order.

However, in contrast, as the player circle expands, some issues have consequently risen.

Any game is like this: once the circle expands, it's inevitable for some weird and outlandish characters to emerge.

These types contribute nothing to the whole game community, nor do they have any sense of belonging, even enjoying affecting other people's gameplay experiences, either by acting as moral benchmarks and putting tall hats on people, teaching people how to play, or proposing so-called reasonable demands with no sense of boundaries.

Compared to these people, the Proud Brothers known for their foul mouths seem much friendlier.

After all, when a person brags to the extreme, their inherent character flaws instead prevent them from doing anything too outrageous.

The only consolation is that "Wasteland OL", at least for now, counts as a "console game" initiated by closed-source devices, making cheating unlikely.

Regarding other potential risks…

Currently, the only measure seems to be extending new players' game duration to increase the sunk cost of abandoning accounts.

But, could just that prevent "suicide truck"?

The Gnome King Riches actually felt a bit pessimistic, because any selection mechanism cannot completely exclude risks, and what he worried about was almost certain to happen in the future.

But despite this, Elena had a different view.

"Relax… I think you're worried too far, controlling nuclear fusion technology is indeed a breakthrough, and helmet production has gone up. In the future, there will certainly be virtual game substitutes for 'Wasteland OL', right? I think future newbies can still look forward to it."

Although from an operator's perspective, there might be a desire to monopolize this technology, from a practical standpoint, this should be impossible?

Over time, similar VR+MMORPG games will certainly emerge.

Not only MMO and RPG, games like MOBA, SLG will certainly be transplanted to this new, fully immersive platform. These less hardcore rules and less realistic NPC games, too, will divert a significant fraction of casuals who are unable to embrace the core settings of "Wasteland OL".

Simply put, unblocking is better than blocking.

As for the rest, let's leave it to time.

It's impossible to anticipate everything. Unexpected events happen even in real life, let alone in a Game.

After pondering for a moment, Elena tried to suggest.

"... How about placing the Novice Village in the Wandering Swamp? Can't change maps before level ten? There are plenty of monsters there."

The Gnome King Riches scratched the back of his head.

"Isn't that a bit too intense?"

Elena shrugged.

"It's alright, there are ordinary people living there too, although the climate might be a bit colder."

Currently, the esteemed Dog Plan has opened a message channel on the official website, soliciting feedback for the official launch from all alpha testers and encouraging them to actively speak up.

I'll mention it then...

Just as two veteran players were seriously planning the future direction of Wasteland OL more seriously than the Dog Plan, the Dinosaur Warrior, who was lying on the ground licking the floor, was finally picked up by Professor Yang, the Thunder Law King, by the neck before he died of social embarrassment.

"Get a grip! Haven't you noticed that everyone around is looking at us?"

The Dinosaur Warrior had an indifferent expression.

"What's the big deal? They don't know what I look like in real life anyway."

At this moment, he didn't realize that many had thought the same way before, and all of them, without exception, regretted it.

Like not choosing a less embarrassing name when creating a character, or keeping a bit of dignity when first born...

However, after so many versions, the surrounding NPCs seemed to have gotten used to it and didn't pay much attention, unlike before.

After all, such scenarios pop up every now and then; they just see it as another Blue Ground Squirrel emerging recently.

"Forget it, I'm done with you."

Glancing at the ineffectual and mishap-prone guy, Professor Yang's gaze shifted to the square in front of him, where his face of disdain turned back into a confident smile.

"...Though things didn't go as expected, it doesn't differ much."

"My era has finally arrived!"

He had been waiting five years to reserve this damn Game, and it sure acts like it's such a big deal.

But—

This immersive experience was worth the long wait!

Professor Yang squinted, admiring the sunlight and rainbow cast on the fountain, and watching the dust floating in the light and shadows.

And the bustling streets, the cars zipping through the roads, and the Waste Land Wanderers with weapons walking on either side of the street.

Realistic.

Incredibly realistic!

But speaking of which, there was one thing he was quite concerned about.

Even though it was his first time entering the Game, he had a deja vu-like feeling of having been here in a dream.

"Hey, Dinosaur."

"What's up?" The Dinosaur Warrior, looking perplexed, wasn't sure if this show-off was calling out to him.

Professor Yang rubbed his chin.

"Why do I feel... a bit familiar?"

The Dinosaur Warrior scratched his head.

"Maybe someone posted a photo on the official forum? Did you remember wrong?"

"...Could be."

There have always been people posting selfies on the forum, and this square is the most famous landmark in the City of Dawn.

Never mind.

Professor Yang shook his head, dismissing the trivial detail, and stretched his neck, looking around the square, searching for another friend whom he had arranged to team up with.

This person was none other than the famous Proud Brothers on the official forum—Proud Brother, What Can You Do About It!

Ever since the opening of the alpha test for Wasteland OL, he had been a famous group pet on the forum.

Though his combat power was mysterious and he was notorious, black fans were still fans, and they hit right at Professor Yang's preference.

To be honest, considering that Wasteland OL had been in alpha for five years and various tactics had been thoroughly explored, it was almost impossible to upgrade to T0 through traditional means.

Thus, he planned to form a team of eccentric geniuses to develop unconventional gameplay, taking unexpected paths and becoming the first chaotic outlier of the entire server!

Since he couldn't be the orderly and righteous T0, he'd be the chaotic and evil T0!

Even the thought made Professor Yang excited!

As he craned his neck and looked around while searching for Proud Brothers, a petite and upright girl was standing silently on the other side of the fountain, staring at the clear and transparent water.

She couldn't quite remember how she had walked here from the resurrection point; she seemed entirely dazed.

However, compared to those players whose very existence was filled with performance art, her debut seemed almost too normal.

This light.

This water.

This air...

And these alabaster legs—oops, tiles!

This is freaking awesome, isn't it?!

Wait—

So, a fully immersive virtual reality game is real?!

Only now does she recall all those tough words she said on the official forum.

And in an instant, that fair face turns beet red, as if it's about to explode.

Nuke, where's the nuke?

I'm gonna blow up this server!

While Lord Arrogant Brother is in shock, looking around wildly, Professor Yang, who just learned how to use the map, finally spots this defiant guy.

Today's VM is not like the initial closed tests where you had to do tons of tasks to get one. You now get a simplified version right after entering the game.

This mainly prevents new players from getting lost or having conflicts with NPCs due to language barriers.

Confirming that the person in front of him is indeed the one he was looking for, Professor Yang is dumbstruck, as if shocked by electricity.

"Whoa, you're Lord Arrogant Brother?!"

Though he expected this guy might be a foul-mouthed brat, he never considered he would mistake the person's gender.

And didn't the profile card say male?!

Could he have sold his account?!

No—

Impossible!

The strong sense of déjà vu reminds him that he has seen this guy somewhere before, and that Lord Arrogant Brother was undoubtedly a dude... how is this one female?!

Speaking of which, that peculiar memory is quite odd too. How could anyone just drop their pants in public!

Even in a game...

The excessive shock causes Professor Yang's mind to buzz, completely scrambling his villainous scheme.

Attracting like-minded rogue players through this guy...

No, no, no, can't do that, right?

He feels Lord Arrogant Brother's gaze looking down on him with disdain.

"Why're you calling me, Dad?"

Such a rude brat.

Professor Yang feels his fists clench but still speaks with a forced smile.

"You little... cough, I mean hello. I am Thunder Law King, Professor Yang. Pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, so you're Professor Yang," Lord Arrogant Brother's nose-up attitude remains unchanged, eyeing him skeptically, "You? Gonna help me level up?"

Professor Yang holds his patience and says.

"I originally planned on it, but it seems... uh, by the way, are you newly adult? Is it okay to ask, when you first pre-registered five years ago were you really a middle schooler?"

Lord Arrogant Brother chuckles without politeness, arms crossed.

"So what if I was? None of your business, old fart! You're just a minor fish, why so much BS—"

Enough—

He can't take it anymore!

"@#%——"

Trying to maintain a decent conversation, Professor Yang is ultimately provoked beyond defense.

Blurting out an expletive, he rolls up his sleeves and charges, grappling with the brat.

But, as an intelligence-type strategist, he hadn't anticipated that this brat's gene sequence was actually from a previous version's sewer class—strength type.

This punch of sixty kilograms brings stars to his eyes. His movements appear as slow as a snail's crawl to the brat.

Admittedly, the initial strength-type stat panel is overwhelmingly powerful compared to the intelligence-type requiring growth time.

Especially when neither side has equipment.

Straddling Professor Yang's neck, Lord Arrogant Brother throws two punches, surprised by the weak chicken-level of this guy.

The famous Thunder Law King, Professor Yang, utterly powerless against him!

Could it be that I'm actually strong?!

"Hey hey hey... resorting to violence with no skill?" Her face shows a mischievous smile, as she smacks the likely knocked-out Professor Yang again, "Level up? This? Minor fish!"

Neither of them realizes that fighting in the safe zone has consequences.

Before the punch lands, both are disconnected, carried off by the guards to a police vehicle.

First warning leads to a 24-hour ban, next one might get worse.

As the guards take the two away and the onlookers disperse, a silent Dinosaur Warrior finally utters a genuine comment.

Didn't expect the game to develop such a complete "criminal code," and the future "Dark World King" defeated by a few mere officers.

Should I—

Seek a more reliable elder to guide me.

"This game is so real..."

Chapter 1064: Resettlement Plan

24 hours of ban isn't too long.

However, what Professor Yang didn't expect was that there was an additional 72 hours of physical confinement after the 24 hours, making him feel a trace of the law's majesty, which he originally thought was "just so-so".

Strictly speaking, the 24-hour disconnection penalty is an upper-level blockade measure in the Player's Handbook for violating in-game behaviors (like PK in safe zones), while the latter is Dawn City's own public security management penalty clause about "fighting in public places".

Yes.

Players not only have to abide by player rules but also comply with NPC laws and regulations.

The former is probably enforced by an uncontrollable force, equivalent to "the power of rules", even a T0 player would be killed instantly. In contrast, the latter is autonomously enforced by local violent agencies, with certain operational space, allowing for appeals or even hiring a lawyer, similar to when NPCs break the law.

Reasonably speculating, if strong enough, it might be feasible to kill all the guards and break out of prison.

However, since this detention center is probably located within a safe zone, triggering the Player's Handbook's terms at the moment of jailbreak is possible, leading to multiple crimes being compounded.

By the way.

Due to the player's uniqueness, a player's jail time is different from others. Aside from a fixed deduction of 8 hours per day, only online time counts toward serving the sentence.

If you don't go online to clock in that day, the 8-hour fixed deduction will also be canceled.

And during this period, even committing suicide is useless; it would even be considered as a malicious violation to avoid punishment.

Once the prison term exceeds twenty years, the game qualification is automatically revoked, and the eligibility for re-registration is lost.

So even if you want to do something that might get your name in red, it's best not to do it in safe zones.

Otherwise, you'll likely be "established order" at the same time by GM, NPCs, and players who love justice and peace.

"Sigh... there's no choice."

Looking at the cold iron bars, Thunder Law King Professor Yang sighed, temporarily putting aside the idea of exploiting loopholes.

Mainly there was no need for it.

72 hours minus 8 hours is 64 hours, logging in once a day for 8 days would get you out, and if you sit in jail honestly, you can get out of this damned place in two and a half days.

The laws of the Alliance aren't harsh; it's better not to complicate things.

However, just as Professor Yang had accepted his fate, Grandpa Ao in the neighboring cell wasn't quiet.

As soon as this kid woke up, he was grabbing the iron bars, shaking them until they creaked, not just kicking the cell but also provocatively taunting the guards with extreme foul mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey, I say you NPCs, do you have any self-awareness at all? I'm a player, A! Player! Do you know what that means? I am im·mor·tal, oh, I can fail countless times, whereas you can only make a mistake once, if you're smart, let me go right away, got it?"

"..."

"Yo yo yo, alright, not letting me out, are you! Tch, I see you're just asking for it. Just wait! When I get out, I'll punch your manager to death! I know your le·thal weak·ness~, hahahaha, wait for the server to reboot!"

"..."

"...Ungrateful wretches, is this how you treat your savior?! I, I am a resident of Shelter No. 404! Do you understand the premium of a Resident of the refuge? Crawl over here and lick the soles of my shoes, you scum!"

"..."

"Gotcha, gotcha, you surely gotcha, right? You lousy planner, what kind of trash setting is this, can't make a game, what are you doing making a game, go beg for food! Eat my shit, you scum! Must be a shut-in who hasn't even held a girl's hand in real life, right? Disgusting."

"..."

"Bro, I'm begging you... let me out, I promise I won't dare anymore..."

"...?"

Hey, hey, hey...

Is this guy crying?

Such a minor setback shouldn't lead to that, right?

Professor Yang originally wanted to pretend not to hear, but the annoyingly whimpering sound was too loud.

Moreover, players were in single cells, and apart from the two of them, there really was no one else here, so he couldn't find an inmate to chat with to distract himself.

"So annoying, can you stop making noise? After five years in the cloud, don't you know NPCs are using United Human language? And save some moral integrity for yourself, talking about shit all the time will only make people think you eat that stuff daily...sigh, I truly feel sorry for your parents."

Besides a lack of upbringing, he really couldn't think of a more suitable reason.

However, just as he prepared to "season" this guy in the capacity of a senior, suddenly Grandpa Ao, who was hiccuping a second ago, seemed to go berserk as if injected with a frenzy potion.

"Damn, none of your damn business! You scum! Try withstand my 6,000-ton punch! Take my spit! Poof, poof, poof——!"

"..."

Professor Yang's forehead, full of lumps, had veins bulging, his teeth gnashing.

Damn.

The fists got hard again!

...

Perhaps due to a large influx of new players, Dawn City's detention center had never been so noisy.

Overall, however, most players were relatively normal, and it was only one or two with a strong sense of self that were making noise.

"Even the 'high-profile individuals' can enter the game normally, there shouldn't be much issue with other players. Using the Wandering Swamp as the Novice Village is somewhat exaggerated... it's more suitable as a level 20 map, throwing newcomers there purely burdens the locals, and could even affect the committee's takeover."

"In short, 'if the program can run, don't worry about it'... as for the rest, let's wait until the public test to talk about it."

Shelter No. 404, B5 floor.

Looking at the surveillance footage on the screen, Chu Guang stroked his chin pondering.

Watching the meticulous manager, Xiao Qi, sitting on the armrest of the chair, swayed her little legs and looked up at him with admiration.

"As expected of the master, even in the new era, diligently working behind the scenes for the players."

Chu Guang smiled lightly and said in a relaxed tone.

"Haha, my mind isn't that blown, the entire game's 'framework' is completed, the work left is just some slight tweaks."

His current mentality was probably like finally building a huge castle out of blocks.

After confirming that this castle could accommodate people, he could leave the embellishment work to others.

Punishing criminals is the guards' job, judging criminals is for the judges, setting the law is the representative council's duty, how departments operate is up to the ministers and future chief executives to discuss, and local affairs are handled by local representatives and local administrative leaders in consultation.

The whole framework is basically like this.

As for what kind of branches this little sapling might grow into, and what kind of forest it could become, that would depend on how strong the wind blows and how much rain falls.

As a designer of the entire "game", this is all he needed to do.

"By the way, what's the situation in the Beta World now? I heard their fusion reactor has successfully ignited?"

Xiao Qi: "Hmm! It was successful a month ago!"

"Is that so? Not bad at all." Chu Guang wore a genuinely relieved smile on his face.

A long time ago, he half-jokingly promised to compensate the Gale Brothers with a Nobel Prize after everything was over.

But looking at it now, a mere medal might not be worthy of Professor Yan Feng's achievements.

Speaking of his good brothers' dreams, he remembered that Fang Chang's dream was to bring Dolly into reality to meet his parents and hold another wedding in reality.

This one seems to be the easiest to achieve; just make a clone as a vessel for the consciousness on the reality side.

Night Ten's dream has basically been realized in the game, so there's nothing much to say.

As for Old White, he probably belongs to the "retired old man" mindset; as long as he can enjoy a peaceful life leisurely, nothing else matters.

To be honest.

Besides keeping this kind-hearted lie going, Chu Guang had considered another ending.

That is, after everything ends, to play the big game and simply reveal the truth of "Wasteland OL" to the public.

Simply put, I won't pretend anymore, laying my cards on the table! I'm not only a high-level civilization but also you 200 years later!

The public test server of "Wasteland OL" opens as scheduled, but not through the morphogenesis field technology as a medium, but as a truly meaningful MMORPG game, running on local servers in the Beta Universe.

As a game running on local servers in the Beta Universe, he can add some exaggerated skills that don't exist in reality to the game itself, as well as surreal standard monsters that only appear in the void.

Creating this game is easy, as Ideal City has a bunch of game companies that can take over, and some of those game companies are even started by his little players.

In this way, new players can experience the expansion pack they missed during the closed beta, and old players can revisit the old stories with a nostalgia mindset, while also making up for past regrets.

As for the "closed beta server" of "Wasteland OL," it would be renamed to the "Alpha server," serving as the test server for the Beta server, only open to players who earned closed beta qualifications, pre-registered players from the closed beta phase, and virtual account holders who performed outstandingly in the Beta server.

Additionally, the silver coin and the existing technology transfer channel would only be connected to the Alpha server.

As for the Beta server, it would use a brand new game currency system, operating in the usual way of an MMORPG online game.

Although revealing the truth may cause a certain degree of panic worldwide, in the long run, this seems to be the closest approach to a win-win situation.

The real world can never satisfy everyone's gaming experience, but the true virtual world can!

Besides, the wasteland here cannot accommodate millions of players, and if the public test still requires number restrictions, it's no different from the closed beta.

The more Chu Guang thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, lightly tapping his index finger on the armrest of the chair, he immediately looked at Xiao Qi and said.

"Speaking of which, after the ignition of controlled fusion, has anyone on the reality side noticed any clues... for example, realizing that the 'Wasteland OL' here is actually a real world."

Xiao Qi answered with a crisp voice.

"Master, similar speculations have existed since the beginning of the alpha test, it's just that they never became mainstream. On the contrary, due to the success of controlled nuclear fusion ignition, the 'Descendant Faction' supporting the 'Friendly Contact Theory' has already become mainstream among the middle and upper levels of various countries."

"Additionally, according to Xiao Qi's investigations, statements such as 'advanced civilization enlightening Earth's civilization through the ninth form of art medium' have already surpassed 'hostile observation theory' overwhelmingly in the frequency of appearance in high-level documents of various countries. In some underdeveloped areas and small economies, authorities have even encouraged their nationals to go to the 'Wasteland OL' official website for pre-registration!"

Considering the value of silver coins, such a situation is not surprising.

After all, silver coins can truly be exchanged for technology, and even if they are not enough for technology, they can be exchanged for foreign exchange from major powers, which is more reliable than mining digital currencies and not particularly power-intensive.

"Wasteland OL" is not without foreign players, it's just that due to language and cultural barriers, the scale of the player community and the volume of posts on the official website are relatively limited.

"Is that so? It seems the option of revealing the truth does have a certain foundation... What about Shelter 404-Beta? What's the situation over there now?"

After unlocking the B5 floor, Chu Guang has already read over the complete 404 Plan.

According to the plan's description, Beta Fission Body can be regarded as a "resurrected with complete memories" Professor who returned to 2014.

Being able to establish a massive shadow organization and complete such a large-scale plan behind the scenes in just seven years before the Prosperity Epoch, this guy is quite a talented person.

Of course.

From the other party's standpoint, clearing "Wasteland OL" in just five years by himself might evoke similar sentiments.

They both pushed their respective fields to the extreme.

If they ever had the chance to face each other on the same timeline, they probably would respect one another.

Xiao Qi: "The Beta Fission Body has already transferred the manager's authority to Shelter No. 404 in the Alpha Universe... which is our side. As for the professor himself, he seems to plan to explore worlds beyond the Solar System. It is said that was his original historical mission, and he intends to continue doing that."

"Historical mission, huh... In terms of responsibility, he is indeed similar to that guy."

The "that guy" Chu Guang mentioned naturally refers to the professor from the Alpha World who died 200 years ago and whom he had briefly encountered in a video.

Xiao Qi: "Hehe, he's also quite similar to you, Master~"

"Me? Not at all, I wouldn't exile myself beyond the Solar System for such a shallow reason."

Chu Guang's mouth curved into a slight smile. Though he denied the comparison between himself and that person, there was no trace of disdain in his words.

That guy must have had other reasons too.

However, such matters are only known to him; outsiders' speculations hold no meaning.

Looking at the silent Chu Guang, Xiao Qi continued speaking in a crisp voice.

"Currently, the production capacity of helmets at Shelter 404-Beta has reached 3,000 units per day, with an inventory close to 200,000 units! Theoretically, we can immediately add 200,000 new players and maintain a maximum daily issuance of 3,000 closed beta qualifications!"

Chu Guang rubbed his index finger against his chin, contemplating.

"At this issuance rate, we can grow up to 1 million players in a year. Additionally, considering the growth in the player base, maintaining the morphogenesis field devices will also become an issue... It seems the 'Alpha-Beta Server Division' plan is imperative."

"Server Division plan?"

Confused by the unfamiliar term, Xiao Qi expressed curiosity, but Chu Guang intended to explain it later.

For now, there are more critical things to address.

"By the way, who is currently in charge of affairs in the Beta Universe? Is it Beta Fission Body?"

Xiao Qi shook her head and replied.

"It's not… Currently, the responsible person is his assistant, a doctor named 'Principle'."

Principle?

Hearing this peculiar name, Chu Guang was unexpectedly reminded of memories from long ago.

According to the data from the Grand Canyon, after the disbandment of the War Construction Committee, Dr. Conclusion took the backbone personnel of the technology department to the Wandering Swamp, while the two founders, 'Principle' and 'Method', who were similarly regarded by the Academy, disappeared directly from the Wasteland.

Later, he found Dr. Method in Shelter 101, while Principle remained missing.

Unexpectedly, this guy actually went to the Beta World...

"So it was him."

Chapter 1065: Just Do It

[Remaining prison sentence: 232 hours (+168 hours)]

Perhaps to enhance the player's gaming experience, the player-specific prison cells in City of Dawn are quite intelligent, even updating the remaining sentence time on a palm-sized screen.

However, seeing that three-digit remaining time, Professor Yang fell into complete despair.

Why is this prison sentence getting longer and longer?!

Outside the barred gate, a player dressed in a rather avant-garde style was fidgeting with his VM while scratching his head with a bewildered expression.

"...Despite the wall between you, gee, it's amazing how you guys managed to get into a fight."

His ID is [Pig Reads Backward], with a sequence level of just twenty.

Originally, he planned to go to the Wandering Swamp for a quest and had even bought a train ticket, but suddenly received a new player guide commission from the Guard Team.

He didn't expect that he, once a follower behind the elite players, would one day become a high-level player in the eyes of NPCs.

With the thought of "how embarrassing," he immediately accepted this commission which didn't offer much of a reward.

What caught him off guard was encountering two forum celebrities here.

How to put it?

Professor Yang's game image was quite consistent with his long-standing impression of the guy, the sleazy vibe resembling the glasses guy from CS1.6, a buzz cut would make him look even more like him.

As for Lord Arrogant Brother... uh, sister?

If you remove that beastly aura, maybe she's a petite, well-mannered girl.

Could it be a misunderstanding?

"He started it! He... he molested me!" The iron bars clanged loudly, like being run over by a chariot.

Looking askance at Lord Arrogant, her hands gripping the bars, seemingly wanting to squeeze her face through the gaps, Professor Yang, now calm, made a "tsk" sound, the word "disgusted" visibly etched on his face.

[Pig Reads Backward] scratched his head, his index finger tapping the VM twice.

"Really? Even though you say that... the surveillance doesn't show that."

The surveillance in detention is managed by the AI; he's just a player here to help, naturally having no authority to view such things.

However, the incident was updated in text form on the mission interface.

To put it simply, this time Lord Arrogant provoked first, sticking his mouth out of the cell, turning a bend, and spitting towards the adjacent cell.

Of course, Professor Yang throwing a punch isn't exactly innocent either.

The events following roughly included Professor Yang missing his punch, getting his fist caught by Lord Arrogant, who then bit him ferociously.

Ultimately, the AI probably couldn't stand it anymore, called for guards, and added 7×24 hours to each of their sentences.

Seeing his plan thwarted, Lord Arrogant's face turned green.

"Sur-surveillance?! There's surveillance here?!"

[Pig Reads Backward] helplessly spread his hands.

"What's there to be surprised about? You're not the only player on this server; you should have some idea of the outrageous things players can do, right?"

Once upon a time, a prominent figure named Silver Daddy had told him that every brick of this detention center is a lesson from history.

Of course, that includes cameras.

Though it's rare for players over Level 10 to be banned, there's still a certain proportion of banned players during the newbie phase.

Most players gradually become normal after passing the newbie phase.

Even if you don't care about others' gaming experience, you should consider your precious account.

Lord Arrogant's dignity took a hit, his brow twitched, and the hand gripping the barred gate creaked.

"You... you're quite arrogant, aren't you? What's your name? What level are you?"

"Pig Reads Backward."

"Puhaha, how could someone have such a weird name? Pig Reads Backward... reversed is pig... Pah! You knave! How dare you mock me! Believe me, I'll slaughter you!"

"...That's just my name; you're the one insisting on reading it backward."

"@#%&!"

Feeling genuinely annoyed by the noise, Professor Yang sighed deeply, interrupting their conversation.

"Alright, alright, I admit defeat... So, tell me, what task have you been given?"

Level twenty.

For other newbies, this level might be considered elite, but in Professor Yang's eyes, who's clouded for five years, it's no different from children.

It's merely the entry-level of "normal players," not worth his attention yet.

His ambition is to become a top-level T0 player!

[Pig Reads Backward] scratched his head, eyes fixed on the mission interface on the VM screen.

"To put it simply, since your sentence in the cell exceeds 168 hours, the system determines you might misunderstand game rules, so it assigns me to help you integrate into the game world sooner—"

"Hahaha, rules? They're made to be broken!"

Lord Arrogant crossed his arms over his chest, the rebellious look almost making his nostrils point to the sky.

"Just wait until I get out and slaughter you all!"

The guy's attitude sure attracts resentment.

Yet, [Pig Reads Backward] felt she might just be wanting to try out saying this line, so he didn't bother taking her seriously.

"Yeah, yeah, just wait until you get out and slaughter us all. So to leave this place sooner... how about trying the sewing machine?"

Lord Arrogant widened her eyes.

"Ah? Why on earth does Grandpa have to do such a thing?"

[The Pig is chanting in reverse] continued chanting mechanically.

"Bugra City urgently needs relief supplies, including bandages and tents for refugees. You all have been assigned to the production workshop for door curtains. Simply put, it's just putting zippers on two pieces of cloth, sounds simple, right?"

"So why the hell should I do such a thing—"

"You can reduce your sentence, you know."

"I! I! I want to step on it!"

The sturdy iron gate shook as if it had been hit by a Wild boar. Grandpa Ao's face was full of pleading and yearning as he gripped the iron bars.

The face, covered in snot and tears, startled [The Pig is chanting in reverse].

Could it be?

Hasn't he only been in jail for 24 hours...or not even 24 hours?

Most of the real-life detention centers are communal sleeping spaces, while this is at least a single room.

"Well, I'll go ahead and report this..."

Ignoring the gaze that looked at him like a life-saving hero, [The Pig is chanting in reverse] turned to Professor Yang, squatting next door, with a hand marked by a line of "dog tooth marks," making his eyebrows twitch slightly.

This guy really bites tough...

"What about you? Is your hand okay?"

"Nothing major, just a small injury."

Seemingly unwilling to admit defeat, Professor Yang stubbornly tossed out those words.

Moving his neck, he warmed up by stretching his arms and legs, displaying a charmingly sinister smile.

"Just consider it a test from the Manager to me. It doesn't matter if it's a sewing machine or sand from the reservoir, bring it all!"

He will eventually step all of this under his feet!

This path to conquest—

Might as well start by stomping the sewing machine.

"Forget it… everyone goes through this phase." [The Pig is chanting in reverse] coughed, retracting his clenched toes, hurriedly opening the cell door for the two, "You two follow me closely, don't wander off later."

Looking at the two ready to flee at the first opportunity, he kindly added a piece of advice.

"…If you extend your sentence, you'll be serving time in a real prison."

Having barely obtained closed beta access before the public beta, getting sent to an actual prison during this time would mean goodbye to any thoughts of becoming the server's T0, spending a long time playing 'Iron Bars OL' instead.

The two troublemakers calmed down instantly, completely dropping their bad thoughts.

At least for now, neither of them had any other ideas…

…

As Grandpa Ao and Professor Yang pushed the sewing machine to the brink of smoking, the White Bear Knights, dispatched from the City of Dawn, re-arrived at the northernmost part of Central Plains Continent, nearing Molokova City by Ice Sea City.

In this bitterly cold land where the snow reaches the height of a person, rests the smallest Mutated slime fungus mother nest on Earth.

Its name is Momo.

Unlike other mother nests on this planet, it remains thoroughly inactive due to constantly being in a state of hibernation.

Falling Feather big shot had once brought Xiaoyu here with intentions to eliminate it, but eventually abandoned the notion like with the Baiyue Province mother nest.

According to Momo itself, the citizens of Molokova City had already relocated due to climate reasons before its arrival. By the time it awoke, it was already the 50th year post-landing.

Due to the excessively cold climate, it spends most of its time oscillating between half-dream and half-awake, contemplating "Mucor life."

Ultimately, it reached a conclusion—no matter how it evolves, it could never surpass sibling fungi landing near temperate zones, eventually becoming either their nourishment or getting eliminated by humans, hence choosing to give up, leaving world domination ambitions to the others.

With copious free time at disposal, it even developed "art bacteria," in the harsh winter it created its own unique music system and dances for self-amusement.

This was quite unexpected by everyone.

In sum, after confirming its danger level is controllable, the Alliance allowed it to continue living on its territory, replacing the ecosystem of Wandering swamp, which was totally destroyed.

Aside from the mother nest named Momo, there's also a special district jointly established by the Academy and the Alliance here, along with the adjacent "Area 4."

The former is the largest save point the Alliance has in Wandering swamp, while the latter is an industrial base belonging to the Aerospace Committee.

Especially the latter, for a considerably long period, this aerospace industrial base has played a very crucial role within the Academy and the Aerospace Committee's systems.

However, that was long ago.

Following the agreement between the Academy and the Alliance, engineers from Area 4 began relocating south, and this aerospace industrial base's strategic importance gradually got supplanted by the adjacent special district.

A part of the factories began supplying the Lagrange Point Space Station, while the rest of the factories fell into disuse during the production transition phase.

Gazing at the massive icy factory on the street ahead, and the spectacular mountain-like structural materials within the warehouse, the furry Meat Meat couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"These… can't be used anymore?!"

Approximately aged over fifty, the old engineer stood aside, from the corners of his mouth wafted white mist.

"Ah, they can't be used anymore, our head changed his mind, planning to directly build our Doomsday Ark at the Lagrange Point."

Sesame Paste also genuinely expressed admiration.

"It's a shame to let it go to waste like this… Feels too bad."

The tail earnestly nodded.

"Indeed indeed, such a pity!"

Upon hearing the two express regret, the old engineer shrugged indifferently.

"You can think whatever you want; if you feel it's a pity, hurry up and buy them all."

Though outsiders might find it regrettable, he didn't feel the same way at all.

If he had to choose between Dr. Conclusion's grand plan and his family having enough to eat and wear, he would undoubtedly choose the latter.

After all, even if he made the Ark as perfect as paradise, only a small number of people would actually be able to board it in the end.

It's said that there aren't even enough cabins on the Ark for the Academy's own people, let alone the Committee's external personnel.

Compared to that paradise he'll never reach, it's the arduous march on the pilgrimage that he truly feels.

Before the Alliance's special zone was established, he hadn't even tasted beef while he was responsible for building paradise.

Of course.

Now, as the planet enters a new era, it seems fewer people are willing to leave, and suddenly there are enough cabins on the Ark, while the Academy's leadership seems to be troubled by other matters.

But that is, after all, another matter entirely.

For him, once he's done with this factory and what's inside, his mission is over.

"Why not take these things to the Lagrange Point space station for assembly?" Meat Meat asked in confusion.

The old engineer shook his head.

"I don't know. Perhaps it's not cost-effective, and the designs for starships launched from the ground are entirely different from those assembled in near-Earth orbit. It's not as simple as just moving things from the ground up to continue working... I mean, do you intend to buy or not?"

Staring at the items in the warehouse, Si Si cross-referenced them carefully with the list on her tablet.

Stored here are mostly mining module hulls and unfinished reactors, among other things.

Along with the anti-gravity devices ordered from the Eastern Empire and the plasma propulsors purchased from Ah Bu Aerospace, all they would need is a warp engine and a basic life-support cabin to create a starship about the size of an Escort Ship, with basic faster-than-light travel capabilities.

Before arriving at this warehouse, her original plan was to purchase parts and leave, but the situation here was unexpected.

This place is almost like a Lagrange Point space station laid out on the surface!

No—

Not "like," it "is"!

This factory is almost a 1:1 replica of a Lagrange Point space station structure, redesigned for the standard gravity environment as a surface Star Harbor!

No wonder the Academy knows the layout of the Lagrange Point space station so well!

"Incredible... you've replicated a Lagrange Point space station on the surface?"

Surprised to encounter someone who recognized its value, the old engineer raised his eyebrows and uncharacteristically curled his mouth in pride.

"Replicating a Lagrange Point space station is a bit of an exaggeration, but this assembly workshop is indeed built to the specifications of a Lagrange Point space station. Including those mechanical arms for assembly and the plasma welding equipment. If you're interested, you could even use it to build a tank the size of a starship... of course, provided it can be driven out."

"Oh oh oh! Can it be used to recreate a Pioneer?" the tail exclaimed with bright eyes.

"Pioneer? Uh... what's that?" The old engineer was puzzled for a moment.

Having lived his entire life in Area 4, his understanding of the Wasteland was limited to knowing there was an Alliance to the south.

"A huge land fortress, our friends drove it from the East Coast all the way to the center of the world... Never mind, let's talk about the factory instead."

Putting away the tablet, Si Si directed her gaze toward the massive factory in front of her, eyes glowing intensely.

"We've changed our minds. If possible, we'd like to buy the entire factory."

The production capacity at the Lagrange Point space station is limited, especially as it's currently busy fulfilling a large order from the Academy, and even if she placed an order immediately, it might be queued until next year.

In that case, they might as well take matters into their own hands!

Anyway, they weren't looking to build those gigantic Colony Ships capable of accommodating tens or even hundreds of thousands, making multiple star system jumps, but rather a supersized "Research Ship" with faster-than-light cruising capabilities.

This type of small civilian starship, carrying fewer than a hundred people, should be feasible to produce directly on the surface without relying on the Lagrange Point space station's production facilities!

Who knows, by the time the Lagrange Point space station fulfills the Academy's order, their civilian starship might be ready.

"Buying the whole thing?" the old engineer stared at her in astonishment, dumbfounded. "I... I can't make that decision, may I ask what your plans are?"

Si Si did not hide her intentions, smiling as she shared her plan.

"We plan to move the entire factory to No.1 Settlement of the Death Coast and integrate with resources in the Southern Coastal Industrial Zone to create a new aerospace industrial park, specializing in medium and small-sized civilian starships for mining and transportation."

"As my friends said, it would be a waste to let these resources go to waste when they could still be useful... Who knows, we might just catch the wave of the Solar System Revival Plan."

The old engineer looked at her in shock, then scratched his head, unsure whether he felt content or ashamed.

"I'm not too familiar with this Solar System Revival Plan... but if you're interested in the production equipment here, I can discuss it with the relevant person in Area 4. As long as you can afford the price, I don't see a problem."

These devices would only rust if left here, selling them to someone who needs them isn't a loss.

The Academy has decided to let the "Doomsday Ark" be completed by the Alliance's Lagrange Point space station and even sent technicians there, a policy reversal is not very likely.

At least for now, the Alliance has not gone back on its promises.

Especially when the cooperation is mutually beneficial.

"Okay, please do."

Si Si pulled a business card from her parka, smiling as she handed it to the old engineer.

"By the way, we also plan to take the workers and management staff here with us. If you're willing to relocate to the scenic seaside with your families, we're willing to pay triple your current salary along with a minimum settlement allowance of thirty thousand silver coins for each employee."

Hearing such generous terms, the old engineer was so thrilled that he couldn't close his mouth, almost wanting to rush to the plant manager's house and drag him over to sign the contract.

Of course, this was only an exaggeration.

The specifics of the acquisition and relocation plan would require several meetings before they're finalized.

But Si Si wasn't in a hurry.

After all, she also needed some time to prepare on her end.

Though White Bear Bank is financially strong, considering the return period of aerospace projects and issues with reserve requirements, even she had to be cautious of potential liquidity risks.

The best way would be to bring more people on board to share this business venture.

Such as Bull Horse Group, Baiyue Corporation, Huge Rock Military Industry, and others.

If they could bring Fang Chang on board, the success rate of the entire plan could increase by at least fifty percent!

Considering the potential jobs and economic development that the project might bring, the authorities in Death Coast will surely be interested in this investment.

Besides tax reductions and land, the local authorities might also introduce a loan with interest so low it can be ignored!

It's completely possible!

Holding Si Si's hand with sincere gratitude, the old engineer immediately took her business card to contact the factory director and relevant managers.

Having worked in his position for over twenty years, he had never been so passionate about his career as he was today.

As for Si Si and her team, they returned to the hotel in the special district to wait for news.

Standing by the fireplace in the snow-view suite, Meat Meat shook off the ice and snow clinging to her fur and turned to look at Si Si, who was sitting on the sofa sipping tea, and asked in confusion.

"Speaking of which, do we have that much money?"

Clearly, Meat Meat wasn't the only one worried about this; Sesame Paste also showed a worried expression.

Although she didn't fully grasp business matters, she could tell the difference between purchasing parts and a factory.

It's not about the money.

She's mainly concerned that the final quotation might exceed their budget and become unaffordable.

"Don't worry about the money."

Putting the cup back on the tray, Si Si smiled faintly and said.

"If our plan is only to serve ourselves, then of course the money has to come from us."

"But as long as our plan benefits the alliance in the long run and accomplishes something, we won't even have to spend the money ourselves, others will naturally pay for it."

Tail's eyes lit up, and she gave a thumbs up.

"Wow! So this is what it means to be ahead of the version? Sounds so Fang-like!"

"I guess... but what is Fang-like supposed to mean, it's clearly my idea."

The voice carried some playful displeasure, but it quickly faded as Ah Wei continued with "That's my Si! Super impressive!"

Sesame Paste was momentarily unsure whether to be surprised by how easily Si Si could be placated or by Ah Wei's quick-witted response, showing a helpless smile.

"Indeed... very impressive."

The heartfelt compliment was unexpected; she hadn't thought someone else would pay the bill.

"Overpraised... It's really not something difficult to think of, even if we don't do it, other players coming here will surely discover the business opportunity."

Si Si smiled humbly, although her pride was still evident in her eyebrows.

Clearly, she appreciated the compliments from her close friends.

"But what if it fails?"

Meat Meat scratched her head, caught in her usual dilemma, even though it was a valid concern.

How to transport so much equipment to the South, reassemble it, and integrate the productivity overlooked by the academy with the Death Coast local industrial chain.

Any mistake in a single link could lead to the failure of the entire plan and millions of silver coins down the drain.

While Si Si was contemplating how to respond, Tail Captain standing behind the sofa spoke up with an experienced tone.

"Meat Meat, no plan on this Earth is guaranteed to succeed; only after doing it is there a 1/777 chance of success. Not doing it will always be zero."

Si Si looked at Ah Wei in surprise.

"Incredible... Who would have thought that besides driving, Ah Wei could occasionally say something philosophically insightful."

Tail smiled sheepishly.

"Haha, I copied it from the forum!"

"No wonder."

Seeing everyone support going through with it, Meat Meat finally stopped dwelling, her furry face now full of determination.

Speaking of which, she almost forgot... the self from a long time ago.

Back then, she was still a newcomer; even with a larger figure than Trash Lord and ridiculous initial attribute panel, she was timid beyond being strong.

She originally thought, having drawn a super rare SSSR card, she could finally make a mark in the game world, doing what she couldn't in the real world as a hero, only to find that things she couldn't achieve in real life couldn't be accomplished in the game either.

Misfortune didn't stop there.

"Lucky people" would almost certainly face jealousy and insults from small-minded individuals if they "don't make enough effort." At one point, she even became more hesitant, considering passing the helmet to someone else if possible...

Though she tried overcoming her psychological barriers alone and not falling behind others, she repeatedly failed against her inner fears... Until one daring person climbed onto her back.

'... If you're afraid alone, then let's charge together!'

Later on, by the time she realized it, she had become a legend in River Valley and Luo Xia Province, the Nightmare feared by countless Looters in the Wasteland.

It wasn't just that—

She realized that she had overcome not only those faded game fears.

The timid real-life self, who couldn't even make eye contact with others, had gradually become braver.

You really don't need to think too much.

Ignoring the real world where you only have one life, if you're afraid in the game, you really played it for nothing.

Bravely do what you decided!

"Okay, okay, I got it. Since you all decided... let's do it!"

Seeing Meat Meat suddenly become energetic, a surprised expression appeared on Tail's face.

Returning to her senses, she gave a delighted thumbs up.

"Wow! Let's do it!"

Chapter 1066: Toward Prosperity

[Remaining Sentence: 0 hours.]

"Behave yourself."

With a casual farewell, the on-duty guard shut the prison door as if sending off a plague.

Looking at the three silver coins and a piece of paper in her palm, Grandpa Ao sighed softly, appearing as innocent as a newcomer.

The seven and a half days' sentence was ultimately halved.

Released early, she not only gained 10 Contribution Points but also received three silver coins as wages, along with a handwritten thank-you card from the Home of the Refugees—

[Thank you for helping us, the homeless. :)

—Pirusen]

Most of the tents ordered by the Home of the Refugees were sent to Bugra City, where the civil war had just ended.

These cards were probably made by the school's children when they were learning to read and write.

Although the paper was written in the United Human language, she had learned a bit in the detention center lately, and could guess some simple everyday phrases.

Feeling the heaviness in her hand, Grandpa Ao suddenly let out a silly laugh.

This crappy Game is kind of interesting.

"Hehehehe... Now you understand the value of a resident in the Shelter? Even though I'm just working on a sewing machine, my power can't be compared with any ordinary prisoner!"

Her face wore a joyful smile, but shortly after, it twisted into a fierce expression due to the "noise" drifting from the side.

"...Though you wasted some time, it's not a bad experience for a kid like you, better than suffering out in society."

Putting the three silver coins and card into his pocket, Professor Yang had already put back on his VM.

His lecturing expression made him look like an elder picking someone up from the detention center.

"...You old jerk, haven't you suffered enough?"

Grandpa Ao furiously stepped forward, and his fierce appearance immediately made Professor Yang tense.

Though he didn't want to act foolishly with this guy, expecting him to bow to a mere kid was absolutely impossible!

The two LV0 rookies faced off with the posture of an LV99 showdown, even the ants on the roadside couldn't help but curl their toes.

A great battle was about to erupt!

Just as they were about to re-enter the detention center, [Pig Remembered Backwards] finally arrived on his bike, shooting between the two of them.

"Calm down, there are plenty of opportunities to duel if you want, why do it in the safe zone? And don't you want to develop first, you don't want to respawn naked at the starting point, right?"

This speech had a slight effect.

Finally remembering he had something real to do, Professor Yang pouted and unclenched his fist.

Grandpa Ao gritted his teeth threateningly, then turned his head aside fiercely.

Kicking the bike stand, Brother Pig looked at the two who had calmed down quickly and felt a sense of achievement as he nodded with satisfaction.

Not bad, not bad.

His hard work was not in vain, although these two treasures were still very energetic, they were indeed more normal than before.

He had a feeling akin to watching pigs he raised grow up.

"By the way, have you guys not taken the Pass the Torch quest yet? Want to consider me?"

"You?" Professor Yang glanced at him, chuckled, and said, "Don't get too cocky, youngster, when I was a reserved player, you were still dreaming with 300 million mouse clicks."

Grandpa Ao reacted similarly, dismissively curling his lips.

"Tch, no interest, what's in it for me doing that quest?"

Brother Pig wasn't offended, only amused, and he laughed as he looked at the two treasures.

"Yes, yes, you two are amazing... To tell you the truth, I only reserved half a year ago, I can't match your understanding of the game, I might have to frequently ask for your guidance in the future."

Grandpa Ao: "Ke——"

Thunder Law King Professor Yang: "!? ?"

Seeing their shocked expressions, he lightly cleared his throat and continued.

"I might not be able to offer you much, at most I can show you around. By the way, I'm planning to head to the Wandering Swamp next, it seems there are quite a few quests there, and I might pass through the Free State and the Grand Canyon along the way... Want to join?"

Professor Yang looked at him in amazement.

"Can you go to level 20 maps at level 0?"

Brother Pig laughed and said.

"Of course, this game isn't that rigid, the recommended level only affects the insurance payout ratio, and you don't have gear worth insuring, do you? Staying in safe places can't level you up fast either."

"Ohhhh, cross-level monster hunting, huh? Sounds kind of interesting," Grandpa Ao finally showed an interested expression, "Alright, newbie, let this old grandpa have a look!"

"No problem! Leave it to me!" Brother Pig smiled and looked at Professor Yang, "How about you? Want to join?"

"North, huh... You have a good eye, it's indeed a place full of opportunities," Professor Yang touched his nose with his index finger and gazed toward the sky, "Alright, it's the same route anyway... Newbie, accept that Pass the Torch quest."

Brother Pig smiled and made an OK gesture.

"Got it!"

...

Beta Universe, Summer of 2026, Earth.

It's been half a year since "Shelter 404-Beta" completed its historical mission.

During this half year, not only did the "Game world" of Wasteland OL step into the gates of a new epoch, but the "Real World" also saw the budding of a new era.

The landmark event among these was undoubtedly the ignition of the "Pangu" controlled fusion reactor.

Although first-generation nuclear fusion technology using deuterium-tritium fuel is a relic fit for a museum in the Wasteland, for the Beta Universe, still in the "Classical Epoch," this outdated technology could still be described as fashionable.

Under the influence of the "Pangu" reactor, changes in the entire East Asia region and even Southeast Asia and South Asia could be described as earth-shaking!

And, backed by energy comparable to a star, Huaxia, which was the first to achieve controlled fusion ignition, had a stunning chemical reaction in a series of forward-looking arrangements in fields like new energy and information, directly creating several trillion-scale markets out of thin air!

In the face of strong economic growth, all debts incurred during development were resolved.

Not only that.

The power grid extending outwards from Daya Bay not only radiated the industrial belt of the two rivers basin but also permeated westward to the Bay of Bengal and southward to the Solomon Sea through submarine cables.

Transmitted along with the power grid were not just endless and cheap electric energy, but also the supporting infrastructure and low-end manufacturing factories with high energy consumption and dense labor demands.

These were jobs that most of the residents of Hua Nation were increasingly unwilling to undertake.

In the past five years, the wealth created by technological innovation has been channeled into the national development fund, and the workers who lost their jobs due to technological replacement only lost their labor, not the "right to survive" that was once closely tied to work in the old era.

With five years of continuous development, the social development dividends distributed by the national development fund have gradually surpassed the income from screwing bolts.

Without worrying about survival, marriage, medical care, and retirement, most of the uneducated people tend to use subsidies to study or learn a skill, while educated people tend to engage in more creative work.

Whether it be an idea about ascending the skies or diving into the sea, or creativity concerning short videos.

Though no job is inherently superior or inferior, it must be admitted that some jobs are indeed more equal and dignified than others.

No one is born to move express deliveries or bricks, nor is it possible to do it for a lifetime, especially since the back can't handle it.

If given a choice, almost everyone would choose a more relaxed life and wouldn't mind spending more time on enjoying social welfare, as well as leaving those troublesome manual labor jobs to workers from developing economies.

Although a downside is the increase in a bunch of freeloaders, leading to more and more bad jokes online, the silver lining is that everyone has become happier, and there is more time to spend with their families.

Things that aren't good enough will gradually get better.

In reality, those who are happy are also kinder and more tolerant towards others.

And as society as a whole improves, a consumer market far larger than any previous epoch is also steadily rising.

Perhaps it won't take long for this rising brilliance to benefit the entire blue planet and illuminate the other barren lands in the Solar System...

And when even those regions contributing low-end labor and jobs that wear down the body and spirit are all replaced by new things over time, the Prosperity Epoch belonging to this planet will have truly arrived.

...

On a picturesque resort island in the Southern Ocean, a golden beach buzzes with activity.

Besides those well-known emerging economies, even this little-known island has recently integrated into Hua Nation's controlled nuclear fusion power grid through submarine cables.

Thanks to this, RMB's influence locally has surpassed USD and is warmly welcomed like the generous Chinese tourists.

Although this has brought some inconvenience to the work of "Shelter 404-Beta," it has, on the other hand, saved a lot of trouble for the former.

First, flights to and from the island have increased, allowing the shadow agents of Shelter 404-Beta to travel on business more efficiently, and secondly, the electricity problem has been solved.

This is especially true for the latter.

Originally, they had to secretly repair ocean current generators on the seabed, but now they only need to put up a pretense of building a few data centers or declare they're mining digital currency.

Paying for electricity is much more convenient than operating a power plant themselves; although Shelter 404-Beta may face an issue of insufficient high-end capacity, it never lacks money.

For the reborn who have previewed the script, and even "write the future script themselves," managing to get some "extraneous stuff" reasonably and legally is just too easy.

Even before Shelter 404-Beta went into operation, the "Professor" had already resolved the basic issue of operational funding.

As for future issues…

That's a matter for the kids themselves.

"It's almost time for me to leave."

At an inconspicuous fisherman's dock, the professor, with a suitcase in hand, bid farewell to colleagues he had worked with one by one, then paused in front of Doctor Principle.

Seeing the face filled with reluctance, his face softened with a smile, patting his proud student on the shoulder.

"You're an unexpected surprise in my plan... To be honest, I thought you might come to find me at the post-war reconstruction committee, so I specially instructed 'Conclusion' not to reveal my whereabouts, but I didn't expect you to find out and chase me here."

"It's an honor to be an unexpected surprise in your plan," Principle nodded slightly, then raised his head, looking at him sincerely and said, "If you don't mind, please let me continue to follow in your footsteps. I am willing to go with you to the ends of the Milky Way!"

That wasn't just his thought.

It was also the thought of many present.

Not everyone has established their own family locally and started a new life with a sense of accomplishment; some people still live in that already past epoch to this day.

After all, they themselves are people of that era.

Although some were ready to return the way they came, others felt that even if they returned, they wouldn't find their place in the new epoch.

They have dedicated their entire lives to the 404 project.

Understanding their thoughts, the professor remained silent for a while, then looked at those eyes and said.

"You don't have to follow me… Nor do you have to return to the Alpha Universe. If you truly miss the past, just continue forward on this timeline, you will surely return to that prosperity epoch, and perhaps even help the people here overcome the problems we encountered during the prosperity epoch."

Doctor Principle lowered his brows, speaking in a hoarse voice.

"Perhaps… According to our model's evolution, it's only a matter of time before the people of this world enter the prosperity epoch. However, on this timeline without you, no matter how far we go, we will never meet our 'Professor' again."

He didn't know what others thought.

But at least for him, what he missed was never the prosperity epoch itself, but his mentor—the one who stood at the pinnacle of human intellect and took him to the prosperity epoch.

It was for this reason that he chased from Spring City in the Alpha Universe all the way here.

Seeing the reluctance written on his student's face, the professor cheerfully laughed, patting his shoulder forcefully.

"Isn't that great? There used to be only one of me, but now all of you are me."

"My mission is over, and it's time to leave some room for myself… This is also for your own good."

Having said this, he withdrew his hand from Doctor Principle's shoulder, picked up the suitcase placed on the dock, and boarded the submersible that surfaced.

The spacecraft components deployed at the center of the Pacific Ocean have entered the final stage of launch preparation, ready at any moment to break free from the shackles of gravity and head towards the outer space orbit.

Since last winter, when the "Pangu" fusion reactor first ignited, he had been preparing for this.

Now it's finally complete.

It's time to bring some shock from a "high civilization" to the "real world"!

Watching the closing cabin door, the professor cheerfully shouted to the reluctantly leaving Doctor Principle.

"This is as far as I need to be seen off!"

"Oh, by the way, the manager of Shelter 404—also another 'me,' he wants to have a chat with you."

"As for the saying 'a timeline without me,' it's not entirely accurate. I've always been here, whether it's me or my continuation, and I've never truly left—whether it's the alpha universe or the beta universe!"

"From the very moment our plan started, the fate of the two universes has been entwined!"

Chapter 1067: Coming Clean

In the Beta Universe, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, a large deep-sea fishing vessel drifted on the sea, accompanied by several civilian model yachts bobbing with the turbulent waves.

From outward appearances alone, any passerby witnessing this fleet would likely mistake them for a tourist group experiencing sea fishing.

However, the reality was quite the opposite.

Inside those tightly shut cabins, there were no tourists or fishing gear, only fully armed personnel.

On the deck outside the cabin, a gaunt man was leaning against the railing, smoking, his natural curls hanging limply to his ears, looking unkempt and sloppy.

His name was Phillip, a former CIA agent and currently the head of the Foreign Civilization Countermeasures Team.

Since the Great Virginia Blackout, although the CIA's abrupt actions were criticized by the authorities' top brass, it also made them fully aware of the threat posed by extraterrestrial civilizations, prompting the urgent establishment of the Foreign Civilization Countermeasures Team.

As the only agent who participated in the Wasteland OL investigation, Phillip was soon summoned by the top brass and appointed as the team leader of this group.

Faced with a hostile invasion from an alien civilization, this appointment was undoubtedly the highlight of Phillip's life.

All those bigwigs he'd only seen on TV at banquets were now lining up to shake his hand, not only treating him as an honored guest but also regarding him as the savior of human civilization—and he believed it himself, too.

However, the good times didn't last long.

Since the blackout incident, the alien civilization hiding behind Wasteland OL suddenly restrained its edge, even starting a "paid technology transfer" on forums outside the game.

Though termed as paid, it didn't involve paying the game operators but rather various economies paying to reclaim in-game currency from players, and then anonymously bidding on technological data not available on Earth through auctions.

This maneuver instantly drew all the forces that originally held suspicions about the "advanced alien civilizations" onto the "alien" chariot.

Especially when the Wall Street moguls discovered the astonishing market value behind Wasteland OL, they sent political lobbyists to persuade Congress, guiding public opinion to advocate for goodwill contact and some grand cosmic integration, ultimately succeeding in pressuring the authorities to change their previous tack in engagement strategies.

Thanks to this, his career also plummeted, with funding cuts one after another, and his means of travel decreasing from an aircraft carrier to a destroyer, and now to a fishing boat.

Unless one was a complete idiot or a vested interest knowingly playing dumb, no one would insist on such a pointless endeavor without considering the cost.

And now the work of the "Foreign Civilization Countermeasures Team" was becoming an utterly meaningless task.

No matter how vividly Phillip described the alien threat in Congress, and listed the seemingly plausible evidence he gathered from the public, the result was nothing more than putting the attendees at the conference table to sleep.

Wall Street's political lobbyists didn't even bother to work on him, as they felt it was hardly necessary.

These guys, who had long forgotten their initial panic and hailed him as humanity's last savior, now only saw him and his agents as jokes over tea.

Even worse was the guy who initially proposed forming the Foreign Civilization Countermeasures Team.

That esteemed top brass directly delivered him an ultimatum, giving him another four years.

Four years!

If he couldn't even locate where the alien civilization's spaceship was in four years, his department would be removed from the direct team and merged into NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

That sounded as if they wanted to strap him to a Voyager probe and shoot him out.

That's how things progressed.

To avoid being loaded onto the Voyager n probe and shot to the aliens as a greeting gift, he could only search like a mad dog, facing disdain from congressional figures while looking for traces left by Wasteland OL and the advanced civilization on Earth.

Fortunately, efforts do not betray those who persist.

In the last year of the four-year deadline, a slight turn of events finally emerged.

Based on anonymous information provided by a source claiming to be a "Beta Fission Body," he, after circling the Pacific Ocean, finally locked onto this area of the central Pacific beneath his feet.

It's said to be the landing spot of the advanced civilization spaceship.

A fishing boat witnessed its landing back then.

And the aliens aboard the spaceship silenced everyone on the deck to ensure no leaks.

Although the accuracy and source of this information were both highly suspicious, at this moment, he had no other options and could only come here with a try-it-and-see mentality.

Goodwill contact hypothesis…

What a joke.

Anyone fond of such nonsense can go on believing it; he's never going to buy it.

At least from Phillip's perspective, even if that so-called advanced civilization showed a bit of goodwill, allegedly benefiting various countries on Earth, it was all about fattening up humans for the slaughter.

Snuffing out the cigarette butt, he smashed it fiercely into the waves beyond the deck.

Wait and see!

His divers were searching along the seabed; any suspect remnants brought to the surface would be enough for him to pin the blame on those aliens!

He would prove himself!

He would uncover the conspiracy of that so-called advanced civilization and become humanity's real savior!

Just as Phillip was thinking this, the sea suddenly surged without warning.

Waves slapped the steel hull, causing the deck to sway like a swing.

Standing by the railing, Phillip lost his balance, and his lighter slipped from his hand to the deck.

"Shit—" he cursed under his breath, bending down to pick it up, but a sudden jolt of the heaving ship flipped him over completely.

Hearing the clatter on the deck, an agent leaning on the cabin door pushed the door open and came out, catching sight of Phillip sitting awkwardly on the ground, and quickly reached out to him.

"Leader? What happened?"

"Why... just a little accident,"

Grabbing the offered hand, Phillip, too embarrassed to admit he'd tripped, was about to stand up when he was startled speechless.

His gaze was fixed straight at the distant sea horizon, where a massive whale emerged from beneath the water.

No—

Not just one!

But many!

No——

That thing is not a whale at all! It's a gigantic, vertical cargo ship!

Layer upon layer of waves are pushed outward by the bullet-shaped hull, with the entire sea seeming to boil, churning with turbulent currents.

Staring dumbfounded at the steel structures emerging from the sea, Phillip was momentarily speechless.

Not only him—

The agent reaching out to him was the same, following his gaze to the sea, his mouth instantly stretched wide like a goose egg.

What the hell is that?!

A skyscraper?

A vertical aircraft carrier?

Atlantis?

Or... God?

"Is that... an extraterrestrial civilization... spaceship?" Leaning against the cabin door, the agent struggled to squeeze out the words as he watched the gigantic steel structure rise into the sky.

Upon hearing these words, Phillip's expression instantly shifted from shock to ecstatic.

Found it!

He found it!!!

"Camera! Point the camera at them! God... Can you see it?! That thing!! It's that thing!!! Evidence of extraterrestrial civilization—!"

He screamed in shock, filled with delight, shouting incoherently to the agents in the cabin.

Everyone thought this guy had gone mad.

But soon they realized, it wasn't just him that had gone mad, it was all of them.

"God... Is that really a ship from an advanced civilization?!"

"But wait, where are our satellites?! And the fleet and radar! How did they... land in this sea right under our noses?!"

"I want to know more what they intend to do..."

Faces looking up were marked with varied expressions, staring unmoving at the magnificent object ascending into the sky by some unknown power, like ants gazing at a god.

They had ultimately succeeded.

They successfully found the mastermind behind Wasteland OL, the ship from the advanced civilization manipulating everything from behind the scenes!

But then...

Now what?

Everyone from the extraterrestrial civilization task force stood silently in place, including the overly excited Phillip.

They had no doubt that the F22 was like a fly in front of such a thing.

The only suspense was whether a nuclear missile could make even a slight dent in that presumed stainless steel outer shell.

Maybe it could.

After all, even the most incredible technology cannot ignore physical laws.

Yet even so, no one suggested giving it a try, not even daring to entertain such a thought...

But no matter what, they still had things to do.

Not daring to waste a second, Phillip quickly rushed into the cabin, making a phone call to the nearest military base to the sea area, identifying himself and promptly reporting the situation.

"This is the extraterrestrial civilization task force! We've discovered a suspected extraterrestrial spaceship at coordinates... Please send a fleet to support immediately!"

An answer quickly came over the phone.

But to Phillip's anger, he heard the sound of someone chewing seeds on the other end.

Obviously.

His call had not reached the right person but was passed to an office clerk or security guard.

"Ok, extraterrestrial civilization task force... So you found an unidentified sunken ship near the seabed? How big a salvage ship do you need?"

Phillip roared angrily.

"It's a spaceship! How many times do I have to repeat, it's in the sky, and soon it will likely pass through the atmosphere!"

There was a brief silence on the other end, suddenly followed by suppressed laughter.

Phillip's face flushed red, yelling angrily.

"I'm telling the truth! I've preserved footage! And such a big target, can't you scan it with radar—"

"Alright, extraterrestrial civilization task force, our radar doesn't seem to have malfunctioned. In that sea area, it's just you... of course, maybe there's a few seagulls, but we haven't seen any alien spaceship."

Phillip used all his strength to roar.

"Then send out an early warning aircraft! You expect that crappy radar to see something over thousands of kilometers!"

The call was directly hung up.

The person on the other end probably thought he was being unreasonable.

But Phillip knew, they would all regret not believing him... because soon the whole world would be shocked by that hunk of metal.

Even if the radar can't see it, such a huge spaceship surely can't be hidden.

The topic of extraterrestrial civilization currently discussions on the internet only second to Wasteland OL.

Astronomy enthusiasts worldwide kept telescopes pointed at space twenty-four hours a day.

Slamming the walkie-talkie back onto the console, Phillip cursed excitedly and fearfully.

"Damn! It's actually the real deal..."

As for what to do next, he'll need some time to think about it...

...

Although they spent a whole year circling the Pacific in vain, Phillip and his subordinates eventually managed to chase down the dream they had been desperately pursuing.

Not even 24 hours later!

Later on the day they returned to the port, that enormous spacecraft made headlines across major global media at an astonishing speed!

The streamlined shell and the massive ship body surpassed any rocket ever launched by humanity.

And that's not all!

Its launch principle equally astounded everyone's eyes!

It seemed not to be propelled by burning chemical fuel but rather floated to the sky like a hot air balloon under the thrust of a plasma plume.

Gravity seemed to lose its effect on it!

If it weren't for the fact that the unit providing the image materials had an official background from the Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Group, people might even suspect it was game CG or computer-generated footage!

It wasn't just the aerospace industry that was impacted; even the physics community, recently exhilarated by breakthroughs in controlled fusion technology, was shocked by that incredible scene!

[Shocked! Massive unidentified flying objects over the Indian Ocean sky!]

[Suspected showdown! Mystery MMORPG game 'Wasteland OL' mastermind revealed!]

[War or peace?! Unidentified flying object spotted in the atmosphere!]

[On the brink! Multinational carrier battle groups head to the Pacific region for joint reconnaissance!]

[The International Space Station publishes observation information, unidentified flying objects assembling in geosynchronous orbit!]

[Former CIA agent and head of the 'Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Group' Phillip in an interview claims to have found crucial evidence of extraterrestrial civilization's invasion of Earth!]

[U.S. authorities urgently issue a statement clarifying that the Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Group is a private organization and its statements do not represent the official stance!]

[Heading for Mars?! Higher civilization spaceship suspected to have left the Earth-Moon system on course towards Mars!]

[Search teams from various countries gather in the central Pacific, more detailed clues under investigation...]

[...]

For a full three days, Earth's internet was flooded with that mysterious spaceship.

Aside from the official site's calm announcements regarding the game and public beta news, almost any site you clicked on would feature the enormous starship and the latest news about it.

However, while the official site of 'Wasteland OL' remained tranquil, the players in the forums couldn't stay calm.

Even though the identity of that spaceship seemed no more extravagant than the Alliance's near-Earth orbit defense platform, and far smaller than the Orion Missile Cruiser, its appearance in reality still gave them a sense of the game coming to life.

Tail: "Giao... Is Ah Guang really an alien?! (shocked)"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Wait, if Wasteland OL is really run by aliens, what does that make us? (terrified)"

Si Si: "Research subjects? Or diplomatic personnel? Emmm... I feel like things aren't that simple."

Tail: "Oh! Tail thinks so too!"

Ao Ao Sesame Paste: "Hmm... No matter what the spaceship is, I feel like it hasn't shown any malice?"

Spring Water Commander: "Yes, the most concerning part is right there; we know nothing about them, whereas they seem to know everything about us."

Night Ten: "Uh, do you think there's a possibility... they might actually be us from the future?"

Si Si: "Oh? Did you sense something with your spiritual energy?"

Night Ten: "Not really, just my intuition..."

Tail: "Oh! The intuition of a sensory expert? Maybe it really is so!"

Fang Chang: "Hmm... This possibility can't be ruled out, though it does sound a bit far-fetched."

Quit smoking: "But what's their reason for doing this? I don't get it. Alter the past to change the future? Can that really be done? (stunned)"

Fang Chang: "Who knows, maybe just as you said, they are influencing us to avoid the arrival of the Wasteland Era."

Night Ten: "Goodness... Don't be a doomsayer; I don't want to go to the wasteland in the flesh."

Fang Chang: "Why a doomsayer? Maybe they have already found a way to avert the Wasteland Era and the plan has succeeded? In that case, maybe the Wasteland Era no longer exists on our timeline. (side-eye smirk)"

Thinking this way might be too optimistic, but different circumstances in different worlds clearly can't be generalized.

Edge Shoveling: "Through the game... Feels a bit too rash, isn't there a better method?"

Fang Chang: "Maybe the better methods have already been attempted, and this is the best arrangement after countless tries."

Fang Chang: "As for the better and less abrupt method you mentioned, maybe it exists. But the possibilities beyond time are known only to those beyond time."

"..."

...

Discussions on the official forum continued, and speculation about the operators behind 'Wasteland OL' became the hottest topic on the forum.

Chu Guang never imagined that just when he was planning to pull a big stunt on the public beta day, the 'Beta Fission Body' actually pre-empted him with a big news event.

Should he say, as expected of another me?

The things he thought of, the 'other self' far in the Beta Universe not only thought of it too but also did it for him.

Shelter No. 404, B5 floor.

Sitting in his office chair, Chu Guang finally met the Doctor Principle from the Beta Universe through the room's large screen.

Strictly speaking, this was the first face-to-face communication between the two.

And the 'Principle' standing behind the screen was much younger than the man he saw in the holographic image.

"Pleasure to meet you."

Although he had many questions, Chu Guang didn't immediately throw them out but first politely greeted.

The Doctor Principle on the screen nodded slightly and, with a tinge of respect in his voice, said.

"The pleasure is mine, esteemed... Manager."

"No need to be so formal, please sit down and let's talk." Chu Guang said in a kindly tone.

Principle nodded and seated himself naturally in the chair behind him.

The location he was in at the moment should be Shelter 404-Beta—the underwater refuge located in the trench on the western side of the Pacific Ocean.

"Before we start our conversation, I would like to first apologize to you... The deployment of that spaceship had already been decided by the Professor before the conclusion of the Shelter 404 project. We deeply regret the public uproar it caused and the impact on your work."

Looking at Doctor Principle, who was sincerely apologizing, Chu Guang smiled warmly and said.

"There's no need to feel responsible, that was his decision, and it has nothing to do with you. To be honest, although his actions caught me a bit off guard and sudden, I had planned to face the people of the Beta Universe publicly during the open beta phase back six months ago... It's just been brought forward six months. We both thought of the same thing, I can only say it's no surprise he is 'another me.'"

Thinking a little, he found it not difficult to guess the real intention of the "Beta Fission Body."

Though that guy inherited all of the Professor's memories and the mission to save human civilization in the Alpha Universe, he was utilizing a body that originated in the Beta Universe.

And precisely because of this, he still had feelings for the Beta Universe, possibly understanding, just like himself, that he wasn't truly the "Professor," but also a new beginning.

Based on this underlying logic, although he would unabashedly exploit the resources of the Beta Universe, he could not genuinely "use and discard" the people of the Beta Universe.

Therefore, before leaving Earth, he did one last thing for the people living on that planet—

That was to publicly reveal the existence of advanced civilizations, turning the previously unspoken rules into explicit truths that cannot be contested!

This was essentially an open trick.

After completing this task, whether the "Alpha Copy," who inherited Shelter 404—also himself—continued to package the operator behind the game's scenes as a deity-like high civilization or revealed the existence of Morphogenesis Fields and the AB Universe Theory, he was able to dialogue with the people of the Beta Universe openly.

Or, responding positively to the goodwill that the latter had already expressed, at least in a neutral standing—

If he wished to continue the Shelter 404 project and draw upon the power of consciousness entities from another universe.

Unexpectedly, that guy had made preparations against him before leaving, and Chu Guang earnestly examined his actions.

Perhaps the impression he had consistently left on the "Beta Fission Body" was overly scheming, causing the latter to have little faith in him, prompting such a cautious decision.

It was entirely unnecessary.

Because this was his plan all along— even after the end of the Shelter 404 project, the Alliance he represented would still maintain friendly or better interactions with the people living in the Beta Universe, even facing potential future crises together.

As both the Manager and game planner, he understood more clearly than anyone that the players of "Wasteland OL" and the "NPCs" had always impacted each other, never was it just the former influencing the latter.

The fate of the former also quietly changed!

Although people living in the two different universes could not touch each other directly, under the effect of the resonance field, the fates of the two universes had long been tied together.

If that guy could think of it, how could he not think of it?

Seeing the serious expression on Doctor Principle's face, Chu Guang paused for a moment and continued.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you mainly about two things. One is about the open beta of 'Wasteland OL'... I plan to set up a local server in the Beta Universe to accommodate open beta players."

"A local server?" Doctor Principle was taken aback, not understanding Chu Guang's meaning for a moment.

"Yes, not based on Morphogenesis Field theory, but in the traditional sense of online games..."

Chu Guang nodded and laid out the plan he had thought of half a year ago to Doctor Principle.

"I plan to write our story into the program, presenting it in a form closer to the ninth art. Without needing to rely on Morphogenesis Field technology to establish a connection, the production and deployment of related devices will be easier, and could even be outsourced to other manufacturing companies for production."

"In this way, not only will the issue of insufficient production capacity be resolved, but it will also compensate new players for any regrets about missing expansion packs."

Doctor Principle was surprised.

"...And what about the closed beta players?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Still the same as before, including the distribution of closed beta qualifications and helmets, as the updates for the official servers rely on them... think of it as a test server."

Doctor Principle: "I see... a parallel Plan B on the basis of the Shelter 404 project, is that your intent?"

"It's good that you can understand, I'll pass on more plan details via Xiao Qi."

Seeing the now brighter eyes of Principle, Chu Guang smiled and continued with a gentle tone.

"The second matter is your future plans, whether to return or stay there... Have you made a decision?"

Without much hesitation, Doctor Principle remained silent for a moment before stating affirmatively.

"I want to stay here."

Unsurprised by his final choice, Chu Guang nodded decisively.

"Is that so? Approved."

Doctor Principle looked at him somewhat unexpectedly.

"Aren't you going to ask for the reason?"

Chu Guang shook his head with a smile.

"No need to ask, there's no need, I can roughly guess it."

Coming together as one, or becoming each other's past and continuation... it's not only his choice to face.

In fact, the moment this guy appeared on the other side of the screen, he already knew his choice.

They both made the same choice.

Relaxing his tightened shoulders, Doctor Principle said with a sense of relief.

"Is that so? Well... as expected of you."

In his mind, there was nothing this respectable gentleman couldn't achieve.

"I think you shouldn't think of me as too omnipotent. After all, I've failed 776 times."

Cracking a joke with a teasing tone, Chu Guang restrained his playful expression and looked seriously at the Principle on the screen, solemnly saying.

"From today onwards, you are the Manager of Shelter 404-Beta. You will act as the 'Alpha Universe Ambassador to the Beta Universe,' taking over the Professor's role, serving as a bridge between the two universes, and report directly to me!"

"I'll provide you with the data for the open beta version of 'Wasteland OL,' and the operation and maintenance tasks will be entrusted to you!"

Chapter 1068: The Shocking Launch of Open Beta!

Perhaps it was the immense and grand structure of the spaceship that startled them. People who had been cheering excitedly for the successful ignition of controlled nuclear fusion were suddenly reminded of the fear once instilled by "Above X Fortress," and they snapped back to their senses.

The reason was none other.

The disparity was too vast!

Even the most top-tier physicists on Earth could not provide a reasonable explanation for the power source and propulsion method used by that spaceship. They could only deduce from traces within the "Game" that it might have adopted some form of anti-gravity technology.

As for how exactly it was achieved, no one could offer a reasonable explanation.

This also indicated that from the most fundamental logic of scientific technology, human civilization was not merely a little behind but significantly lagged behind the other side...

The academic world argued from the four fundamental forces to energy conservation, and from Minkowski spacetime theory to the ten-dimensional strings of superstring theory and the extra strings in M-theory.

Although no physicist committed suicide over the idea that "physics no longer exists," the debate about new physics indeed caused many to lose the few hairs they already had.

Some physicists suggested that perhaps a special particle exists in dimensions unseen by humans.

This particle not only follows the physical laws of three-dimensional space but also obeys laws in other dimensions unknown to humans. Therefore, humans could indirectly influence gravitational fields in higher dimensions through it.

Others proposed that perhaps the gravitational field itself is a particle of a higher dimension.

Thus, all things visible to humans, including humanity itself, are merely projections of this particle in the three-dimensional plane.

Though these conjectures are incomplete and present many assumptions impossible to prove or disprove with current human technology, they still represent progress in a certain sense.

Even if this blind exploration is still far from the "cosmic membrane" that exists above 11 dimensions...

The debate did not stop within academia; it also elicited a significant public response.

Facing the overwhelming technological advantage of the advanced civilization and the limited goodwill already shown, "The Descendant Faction" gradually became the mainstream in public opinion.

After all, expecting humanity to rid itself of the intrinsic flaws in human nature to achieve broad equality is very difficult.

If all that is introduced into human civilization from advanced civilizations is advanced productivity without distribution methods compatible with that productivity, then any advanced technology would ultimately just build a cage for the old order.

If help is to be provided, it should be comprehensive, aiming for widespread prosperity within the Milky Way. Moreover, being liberated could also be a kind of redemption.

There are numerous representatives supporting this viewpoint in the Descendant Faction, mainly those from industry and radical academics.

Of course, a considerable number of Darwinists still vividly portray the concealed threat within, believing that the facade of peace is also a sugar-coated bullet of swords, and that the invasion from advanced civilizations is imminent.

They call themselves the Battle Faction.

Their representative is conservative forces within the establishment, primarily Phillip, a former CIA agent and now a leader of a temporary civilian task group.

Regardless of the type of voice, none represent absolute correctness; they are simply viewpoints scattered across the spectrums of consciousness.

These two contrasting voices balance each other while also pushing each other forward.

Apart from these two mainstream voices, some non-mainstream viewpoints have emerged.

For example, the "Virtual Game" theory is one of them.

Faced with a spaceship that far exceeds the imagination of human science and technology, some opinion leaders propose that "our" universe is actually just a virtual game field of a higher civilization, and everyone's fate is predetermined from birth.

For the advanced civilization acting as GM, they can arbitrarily alter the game's rules, thus rendering cooperation or resistance futile.

Similar to the Matrix.

There is no shortage of supporters of this theory, and it has almost covertly become a new cyber religion.

Besides this, there is also the faction viewing "advanced civilizations" as the creator, believing that "Wasteland OL" is one possible future of human civilization foreseen by the creator.

However, regardless of the viewpoint, one thing is beyond doubt—

The nerves of the entire globe are being influenced by that spaceship bound for Mars...

...

A certain research base in eastern Hua Nation.

The command room was spacious and well-air-conditioned, yet it couldn't dispel the heat swirling above people's heads.

Dressed in work uniforms, operators sat meticulously in front of the terminals, busily compiling data returned from astronomical observation sites across the nation.

And that analyzed and compiled information displayed on the command room's big screen showed only a flickering green dot, alongside a few blurry photos listed beside it.

Standing before the big screen, an elderly professor, around fifty years old, frowned deeply, muttering to himself.

"...It's so bizarre. Our radars can't capture it, not even radio telescopes can see it. The only thing that can track its traces is the optical telescope... But it's too fast; our zoom speed can't keep up. Every time it switches orbit, we have to recalculate its position."

Standing next to the professor, a square-faced man also frowned.

Missing it during the launch phase was understandable, as they hadn't deployed radars in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and the Satellites couldn't always focus on a strategically valueless desert.

However, the fact that the spaceship had already flown outside the geosynchronous orbit, yet their radars still couldn't lock onto it... This was quite perplexing.

Due to the complete failure of radio detection technology, optical telescopes had instead become the most effective means of observation.

"Is this the technological gap..."

Hearing the square-faced man's words, the old professor smiled wryly and shook his head.

"I'm afraid it's not just a matter of technological disparity... This might be technology we simply don't understand."

"Like a deflection shield?"

Hearing the unfamiliar term, the old professor was taken aback and asked with a frown.

"...What is that?"

The square-faced man smiled awkwardly and said.

"Nothing... just a setting in a game."

Professor: "..."

Although mentioning a game in such a setting appeared unserious, it was regrettable that was the closest to what they considered the truth.

According to Professor Yan Feng's theory, the cloaking technology employed by that spaceship might be related to some form of anti-stealth coating that appeared in the game, likely unrelated to the deflection shield.

Of course.

Considering that the spaceship was equipped with an anti-gravity device, adding a deflection shield didn't seem too far-fetched.

Just as everyone was contemplating, a technician sitting at the terminal suddenly exclaimed with delight.

"There's a new update! The spaceship broadcasted a radio message to Earth!"

Hearing this, the head of the investigative agency, who had been silent while holding his arms, suddenly looked up, stepped quickly to the terminal, and pressed his face close to the screen, asking.

"What did it say?"

The operator's fingers danced over the terminal's keyboard, soon reporting with a tense expression.

"After decrypting the message, there seems to be only one symbol... Translated, it appears to be α?"

"Alpha..." The head of the investigative agency was momentarily stunned, then his expression subtly changed, and he said, "Just this symbol? Is there no additional information?"

"...No." The operator shook his head with a difficult expression, "It also didn't respond to our attempts to contact... There's only this symbol in the three-second broadcast message."

This time he spoke with certainty.

Because just now, other observation stations also reported the detection, all observing the same message.

Including their international partners.

"Alpha..." The director rubbed his chin with his index finger, a solemn expression on his face as he pondered over the term.

The professor specializing in aerospace had been mulling over it for long and suddenly raised his head, unsure, he said.

"Could this be their name? Or, are they giving themselves a name using a symbol we understand?"

"This possibility cannot be ruled out." The director said in a deep voice, "What concerns me more is, why this symbol... Could there be some deeper meaning behind it?"

Everyone in the command room exchanged glances, interpreting each other's expressions.

The information they had was too scarce.

It was hard to deduce anything useful from just one symbol.

However, at this moment, the square-faced man, who had been deep in thought, suddenly spoke up.

"I suddenly remembered that the early version number of 'Wasteland OL' seemed to be Alpha... It later changed to Beta."

"Alpha, Beta..."

"I'm wondering if they mean to say... they are Alpha, and we are Beta?"

Though this interpretation seemed a bit of a stretch, he still voiced his speculation.

Whispers spread through the room.

Several officials from Shangjing turned their gaze to him.

"What do you mean..."

"Can you elaborate a bit more?"

Facing the gazes directed at him, the square-faced man pondered for a moment before continuing.

"It's just my guess."

"Perhaps what they mean is that they are our future, and also our pioneers. We are their past, but at the same time, their continuation?"

"Both the past and the continuation..." Pondering this sentence repeatedly, the person in charge frowned and asked, "How is this done?"

It sounds as if the civilization calling themselves Alpha is both their past and their future?

"I don't know," the square-faced man shook his head honestly, "maybe it's a parallel universe? Or perhaps a multiverse? Or maybe both... and some universes were born earlier than ours."

"As for how exactly, I am not sure... Additionally, after all, I am not an expert in this field; my theory is only for reference."

"This does sound a bit far-fetched..." The old professor from the aerospace sector said with a wry smile, "If there's a parallel universe us, I want to ask why they want to contact us? Are they trying to get something from us?"

After thinking for a long time, the institution's person in charge didn't agree with the old professor's statement, but instead remarked thoughtfully.

"Although it does sound a bit far-fetched, this can explain their seemingly causeless kindness towards us."

The square-faced man shook his head.

"I think perhaps it's not without reason."

The person in charge looked over at him.

"What do you mean?"

Seeing multiple pairs of eyes turn to him, the square-faced man thought for a while and said.

"The reason they contact us might be to solve some of their own problems, and they might have already achieved this purpose... which is why we saw that spaceship."

The expression of the person in charge gradually became serious.

"Are they revealing their cards..."

"Yes," the square-faced man nodded slightly, casting his gaze towards the screen ahead, "they no longer need anything from us, so they no longer hide their traces... However, I think that opening up might not necessarily be a bad thing."

"At least from now on, we no longer need to doubt each other and can communicate with each other on a more equal footing."

"Probably."

...

Although his "probably" lacked confidence, the development of things unexpectedly unfolded as the square-faced man had anticipated, bringing about an unprecedented change.

Shortly after the unidentified spaceship reached Mars' orbit, an organization named "Shelter Technology" suddenly appeared at the center of the public's attention.

This person named Principles, claiming to be the CEO of Shelter Technology, the director of Shelter 404-Beta, and the Alliance ambassador to the Beta Universe.

In a sticky post on the Wasteland OL website forum, he announced with a clear voice.

"We are not aliens."

"We are another version of you."

"You can call us pioneers, Alpha civilization... or fellow beings from the Alpha Universe."

In the video, Doctor Principle briefly described the eleven-dimensional universe membrane theory and the soap bubble theory.

These theories were originally the masterpieces of the "Professor," but now that the Professor is no longer around, he had to explain the theoretical basis for establishing contact between the two sides on behalf of the Professor.

Of course.

Regarding the morphogenesis field and more technical details, he did not reveal them in the video.

From the perspective of someone who has been through it, they will still provide appropriate guidance and inspiration to the fellow beings of the Beta Universe as before, but they will not dump knowledge that the latter never had onto them all at once.

Helping someone to grow prematurely is not a good thing for either side.

The people of the Alpha Universe might only miss the opportunity of "Sociology+3," but the people of the Beta Universe would be deprived of their potential for self-growth and the possibility of developing tools and methods through exploring the unknown.

If facing the same predicament, it would be fine; the experience of the Alpha Universe could help the people of the Beta Universe pass through easily.

But if the Beta Universe encounters predicaments on the future timeline that the Alpha Universe has not experienced, this predicament might very well become a hurdle that the former cannot overcome.

After all, according to the Observer, the situation between different universes might be different.

Taking the Beta Universe and the Alpha Universe as examples, human civilizations in the two universes might have experienced similar or even identical histories, but outside the horizon, they might still encounter completely different situations.

For instance, the pioneering civilization encountered by people from the Alpha Universe at South Gate Two is likely to be encountered by people from the Beta Universe as well.

Including Celestial Warehouse Five.

The pioneering civilization that left a trace of their soul at South Gate Two once declared information about the relics at Celestial Warehouse Five, so for the human civilizations of the two universes, it technically belongs within the "horizon" as well.

But if it's a universe farther than Celestial Warehouse Five, then it might not be.

That will be a completely new arrangement and combination.

Perhaps humans in the Alpha Universe found nothing in a star system 100 light-years away, but humans in the Beta Universe were lucky enough to discover the remnants of another pioneer civilization there, thus opening another path... These things are entirely possible.

"We are distinct from each other... Whether it be our faces, names, or the maps beneath our feet."

"Yet we are the same... Because the things you've encountered, we've also encountered. And the past we've experienced, you are now experiencing."

"We have already embraced an inseparable destiny, and from now on we will march forward together in the void. We thank you for the help you have once given us... and hope that our history can offer you some inspiration, to avoid possible tragic events in the future."

"If tragedy cannot be avoided, don't lose heart."

"When that time comes, we will come to save you!"

"Just like you once saved us."

No matter whether people of the Beta Universe can digest this massive amount of information, Doctor Principle revealed in an orderly manner those truths that "he and Chu Guang unanimously deemed necessary to disclose."

Not only that.

Doctor Principle also announced a global open tender under the name "Shelter Technology" for major regional agents of the public beta service of Wasteland OL, as well as genuine holographic helmet equipment suppliers.

Even though such fully immersive virtual reality technology is epoch-making for human civilization in the Beta Universe, it is not as exaggerated as "Morphogenesis Field" technology; they can achieve it even without carbon nano-circuit boards.

It's just that the cost might be slightly more expensive.

As the mirror image of the early closed beta version, the public beta will operate as a genuinely immersive MMORPG. All game data will be stored in regional data centers on Earth in the Beta Universe and will participate in the grand epic of the Alpha Universe starting from Wasteland Era 211.

Public beta players will start from the winter before the Bone Chewing Chaos, retracing the paths they once reviewed, engaging in battles with more exaggerated attribute panels and skill trees against more powerful Variants, Looter, and Mutants.

Meanwhile, among NPCs in the public beta, including the Manager, many will be played by AI provided by Ideal City, and some plot NPCs will have the same resurrection ability as players—unless they are special characters killed by the storyline with updates.

Simply put, the public beta is equivalent to a full-age nostalgic version of the closed beta.

Exaggerated skills and attribute panels will dilute some overly heavy content, like being caught by a Looter or Mutants and not being thrown into a cauldron to be stewed, but rather instantly black out and resurrect.

The strict rules of the closed beta will not exist in the public beta, for example, malicious PK behavior won't result in direct disconnection, but rather like other MMORPGs, it will be marked as a red name, and upon being killed by other players or safe zone NPCs, punishment will be triggered... Thus becoming part of the gameplay.

Theoretically, public beta players can even role-play as Looter, without having to stick to the order faction.

Furthermore, the resurrection cooldown in the public beta will be canceled.

On top of that, compared to the diluted pain in the closed beta, the pain in the public beta will be further reduced, and a painless, seamless, no damage explosion clothing harmony version will be launched to prevent some "played but can't afford to play" giant babies from crying.

After all, it's already a virtual game, making it so realistic is somewhat unnecessary.

Public beta players can still exchange feelings with NPCs played by AI, give gifts to accumulate goodwill, develop into close brothers and sisters, or even spark a romance... However, the realistic parts will be trimmed based on local laws and regulations by the agents' discretion.

Though Shelter Technology isn't registered as an organization in the Beta Universe, it will still adhere to local laws.

As for the closed beta, everything remains as before.

Players can still continue playing with a mindset of gaming or experiencing dreams, exploring unforeseen futures with the "NPCs", providing expansion data for the public beta, or becoming bosses in the public beta... As long as the gaming rules are followed.

After all, there will be no material exchanges between the Alpha Universe and the Beta Universe anyway, with only consciousness being transmitted, taking it as a dream is entirely logical.

For players already unable to view the game as a game, they can finally, without psychological burden, openly share their origins with new era friends, or even invite them to visit their own world in the future.

The Player's Handbook will delete the confidentiality clauses regarding the "game" content and add explanations about the Alpha and Beta Universes, along with some unlocked data from Project 404.

How to view everything in the Beta Universe will be up to the players themselves!

Wasteland OL promises not to delete files and will continue operating without change.

Even the qualification for closed beta will be distributed at the original pace to already reserved players or to players showing outstanding performance in the public beta... About one to two hundred accounts a day.

Even if it isn't a network game at all, but rather another real universe!

Moreover, if any closed beta players want to experience the nostalgic version in the public beta, it's easy enough, simply purchase the paid version of the game helmet sold by the regional agents.

Public beta accounts and closed beta accounts do not share data, and various settings within the game will have considerable differences.

However, as rewards for the closed beta players, they will receive special medals and skin rewards issued by the system when registering public beta characters.

For more specific details, players will have to explore on their own after the public beta goes live.

As soon as Doctor Principle's video was published, the Forum of Wasteland OL exploded.

On top of that, there was a global uproar!

Wasteland OL's behind-the-scenes operator wasn't an alien, but another group of future humans?!

At this moment, both the Descendant Faction and the Battle Faction were embarrassed by their previous conclusions.

A high-level civilization turns out to be me... Not bad.

Too hasty!

Chapter 1069: Hidden Merits and Reputation

The official website of "Wasteland OL" was overwhelmed with exploding posts at a rate of ten pages per second!

Except for a small number of "geniuses" who accidentally guessed the truth, almost everyone was shocked by this astonishing fact.

The wasteland world is actually real?!

This game is too real... No, to be precise, this game wasn't a game from the start, was it?!

A significant portion of people had their brains crash directly.

And those whose brains didn't crash finally understood why the NPCs in "Wasteland OL" only had one life, and why there were so many strict, even bizarre rules in the Player's Handbook...

Quit smoking: "What the heck! What the heck heck heck heck!"

Night Ten: "Ah ah——???"

Wild Wind: "So that's it... It's a real world from the start. This means the calculation error in Planck's constant is likely due to the 'basic particle size', quite eye-opening. (bitter smile)"

Mole fleeing the canyon: "Can you speak human? (sweat)"

Wild Wind: "In human words... This game is just too real."

Edge Shoveling: "Pfft——"

tail: "Giao! So, did tail really save the world?! (shock)"

Fang Chang: "Strictly speaking, we all saved the world."

Night Ten: "Wait... So my partner isn't just two-dimensional?!(guilty)"

Old White: "Isn't that good? (grin)"

Fang Chang: "You're just realizing this now? (side-eye)"

Night Ten: "Gah!!! I've been stressing for nothing!"

Fang Chang: "It might not be a bad thing. At least you grew through the process."

Wild Wind: "By the way, when did you find out?"

Fang Chang: "It's been some time... Although I once thought she was AI, turns out she isn't."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "…Complicated feelings, difficult to express."

I Max Black: "Come on, this blockhead is grinning ear to ear, and still claiming complicated feelings. (rolls eyes)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Shut up, you don't know squat!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Wait, so the people I killed in the game were... (guilty)"

Fang Chang: "Apparently real, but probably due to 'Cognitive Filter', mental stimuli beyond the tolerance limit are blocked. Except for players with a rich or overly sensitive inner world, fear and repulsion of death weren't that obvious."

Although most players have gotten used to dying in the game, not everyone can truly treat death as nothing and not be afraid.

In fact, every batch of newcomers has daring and particularly timid folks.

And this is related to real-life personality, experiences, etc.

Cognitive Filters can only blunt the senses and can't turn a coward into a hero.

However, despite Cognitive Filters being unable to do that, many players still grew through adventures, shedding dark, cowardly, and sneaky debuffs to become more courageous, sunny, confident, and kind-hearted and strong.

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Emmm... So I've got at least a three-digit body count on my hands?"

Spring Water Commander: "Regret it? (side-eyed smile)"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Not really, most of them were Looter and mutants anyway. (chuckles)"

Edge Shoveling: "That being said, I might be the same."

Si Si: "Hmm... Thinking that those killed were either heinous villains or on the battlefield, it's indeed nothing to fuss about."

WC really has Mosquito: "Thank you, Player's Handbook! Thank you, Brother Guang! Otherwise, I would've been too scared to sleep. (praying hands)"

Night Ten: "I don't believe a word you're saying!"

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Ew! If I didn't see the ID, I would've almost believed it!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Brother Guang: Stop licking, it's pointless."

Makabazi: "Brother Guang: Mosquito's pointless, switch to Crow."

Less nonsense: "Agility system can't take it, but the Perception system can, right? (๑‾᷆д‾᷇๑)"

Crow: "Wait, what are you guys talking about???"

Debt Giant Eye: "There you go again, persecuting Crow. (funny)"

Teng Teng: "Though I don't understand, seeing Big Eyes' ID, it must be right. (*•ω•)✄╰ひ╯"

Debt Giant Eye: "What the heck, what did I do?!"

Elena: "(shivering.jpg)"

WC really has Mosquito: "Speaking of which, the open beta server is launching. Are you guys thinking of going? (mischievous smile)"

Fang Chang: "We'll see, I might not play often, but maybe I'll drop in for nostalgia."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Not me, let the beginners take on the open beta, the closed beta is still the best! (grin)"

WC really has Mosquito: "Not necessarily, the open beta has its own fun too. (funny)"

tail: "Dolly!!! Gu hehehehehe...(///ω///)"

Fang Chang: "…?"

Si Si: "???"

Night Ten: "Wait, you can't do that! (horrified)"

WC really has Mosquito: "Gagaga!!! I'm going to blow up all your paper waifu! (mischievous smile)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "@#%$!"

"..."

...

Wandering Swamp, the biting cold winds blow.

Even though it's summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the hot monsoon has nothing to do with this frozen land.

Looking at the official announcement on the VM screen, Grandpa Ao stood on the corpse of a mutated wild wolf, stunned for a few seconds, then raged angrily.

"What the heck! The open beta server isn't the same as the closed beta server?! So this grandpa has to level up again? Trashy dog plans, come out and eat my spit——uh uh!"

Before she finished her sentence, Professor Yang next to her swiftly covered her mouth.

"Keep quiet! Don't really get dog——bah! Get the planner to hear——ah ah ah!!! Are you a dog! Let go of my hand!"

Professor Yang, whose hand was bitten, made a pig-like scream.

Even through leather gloves, it couldn't stop the Strength Type mad dog's serious bite.

But come to think of it, doesn't this game have pain blocking?

Does this guy have such low pain tolerance?

[Pig is flipped] scratched his head, watching the two clowns wrestling in the snow.

"Your point of critique is odd, shouldn't you be glad you got the closed beta helmet before the open beta?"

It's been half a year since Sister Ao and Professor Yang took the "Transcend Fire" quest from him.

Currently, he's a 27-level Agility-based Strongman, while the two disciples have respectively leveled up to 12-level cow horse and 11-level wheelchair, barely past the novice stage.

Over the past six months, he has been keeping an eye on the open beta announcements and the arrangements for the closed beta server.

And from his understanding, as soon as the open beta news was released, the reservation channel was shut down.

For anyone wanting to get into the closed beta server after that, it's truly a matter of luck.

Speaking truthfully.

He used to think this game was too real, taking off the filter would make it even more so, he never thought that this wasn't a game at all but a filtered reality.

Grandpa Ao was stunned for a moment, releasing her right hand pressing Professor Yang into the snowpile, looking blankly at him, and asked.

"Hmm? Why? What's there to be glad about?"

Before Pig brother could speak, Professor Yang coughed out the snow from his mouth, straightened his frozen and shivering body, and angrily berated with a can't-believe-it expression.

"Idiot, only in the closed beta server can you earn Silver coins! The open beta only earns Y coins, get it?!"

How did this fool even get the helmet?

Thinking that smart and capable himself ended up in the same batch with her in the game, Professor Yang couldn't help but clench his fist.

What a waste!

Such a waste!

[Pig is flipped] looked at him with a subtly odd expression.

"Emmm... Although your point of celebration is odd, it does count as one of the advantages of the closed beta server."

Grandpa Ao's gaze moved back and forth between the two, she reached out to scratch her head chaotically.

"I don't get it. What's a Y coin? Is there a difference?"

She knows about Silver coins; idiots are willing to collect them at auction, but what about this Y coin?

Just say it straight.

She hasn't paid attention to the open beta at all.

Pig brother shrugged and said.

"The difference is that no one collects Y coins in reality..."

Actually, that's not entirely accurate, someone might still collect them.

Currently, it's the only fully immersive virtual online game on the market, with other potential competitors lacking even related development tools.

There will always be affluent top players looking for shortcuts to save time on grinding and farming gold.

However, Y Currency is purely game currency, and can't be used at auctions, merely for entertainment.

"That's right, cough cough... So, now you understand the value of closed beta qualifications, right?"

Seeing Professor Yang's face light up with pride, Grandpa Ao clicked his teeth disdainfully and turned his gaze to Brother Pig.

"Oh... so you mean the NPCs in the closed beta are actually real people, right?"

"That's right!" Brother Pig gave a thumbs up and said with a smile, "So don't just go around killing people."

"Do you think I'm dumb? How could I just go around killing people?" Grandpa Ao rolled his eyes, "But speaking of which, your newcomer's mental fortitude isn't bad, actually not scared? I was quite shocked."

"Haha, really? My mental fortitude is average," Brother Pig laughed embarrassedly, "But I guess I'm the type who might be scared alone, but if there's someone more scared beside me, I'll puff up my chest... How should I describe it? Like the mindset of an old dad taking care of kids? Not sure if you can get what I mean."

"I see, I see, like an old dad... Pfft! Hey! What do you mean by that, you guy? I'll kill you!" Originally nodding, Grandpa Ao suddenly realized he was being teased, and instantly got embarrassed and angry, baring his teeth.

Looking at the tooth-baring kid, Professor Yang sitting in the snow pouted.

"Caring about such things... Are you a child?"

Grandpa Ao suddenly turned back to glare at the defeated foe sitting on the ground, baring his canine teeth.

"Say that again?!"

"..."

Professor Yang was clearly unconvinced, but unfortunately, the Intelligence System isn't good at hand-to-hand combat.

At least not before accepting cybernetic enhancements.

"Alright, alright, both of you say a bit less, it's going to be dark soon."

Brother Pig didn't mind the chattering screams, first smiling and calming Grandpa Ao, then reaching out to pull Professor Yang from the ground.

"We need to move the prey back to the nearby settlement... anyway, time to hit the road."

The noisy chatter blended with the wind and snow of the Wandering Swamp, with the sound of a rumbling train passing by the railway not far away.

It was a train traveling from the northernmost area of the continent to the southern Death Coast.

Heavy carriages were filled with packaged heavy equipment and machines.

As the Academy prepared to leave the old world, they would gradually embark on new missions on this planet...

The story of "Wasteland OL" didn't end with the arrival of a new era, whether it was the players' or the NPCs' stories—they all continue.

...

Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, another six months had passed.

In the past six months, many things happened both in the Solar System of the Alpha Universe and that of the Beta Universe.

First, the Alpha Universe—here in the Wasteland.

After a year of turmoil, with the help of the Alliance and other Survivor Forces, Bugra City finally emerged from the shadow of civil war and joined the family of the new era with a new appearance and the identity of a new order defender.

On the other side, President Li Minghui of the South Sea Union finally wished to end the wartime state, throwing the troubles of the Presidential Mansion to his successor, enjoying a laid-back life of blowing fish if there's anything and drinking if there's nothing.

At the same time, Chu Guang also exited the historical stage.

But rather than saying he exited, it's better to say he returned to where he should have been.

Just as he said more than once—

"...Shelter No. 404 is just a disaster relief agency, and now that the Wasteland Era has ended, we have fulfilled our role and obligation as a disaster relief agency."

"From now on, the Alliance will legally select a true and professional 'Leader' to fulfill the Alliance's obligations as the head institution in the new era in a limited time..."

It was a complex and rigorous selection process, even more rigorous than the process in the Welch Alliance, and the details will not be elaborated here.

In short, a young man named Gu Ning from Death Coast, recognized by most residents of the Alliance, replaced him on the historical stage.

He was a young man full of vigor.

His eyes sparkled with light, just like many young people living in this era.

And it wasn't just about light.

He also amassed rich work experience from the locality to the City of Dawn, with the finesse expected of a mature politician, and can hear the voices of ordinary people in the Alliance while balancing the obligations the Alliance shoulders.

Even though he hadn't fought life and death on the battlefield for the Alliance, hadn't made remarkable achievements, and had no prominent lineage or background... precisely because of that, he also had no chance at all to usurp the victorious achievements of Alliance citizens.

Of course.

What truly ensures this is not entirely his humble origin, but those who uphold the dignity of the law.

The Alliance's Guards Corps and various armies will keep an eye on his every move for the citizens of the Alliance.

Not just the Guards Corps and various armies, but Chu Guang and the players of Shelter No. 404 will do the same.

He just no longer meddles in the affairs of the Alliance and has handed over the Alliance Building to those who built it, not disappearing from this universe.

With his personal prestige and the influence he holds in the hearts of ordinary people in the Alliance, he can still exert influence in various sectors of the Alliance without holding any specific position or directly commanding any army.

Just like how Doctor Conclusion influences the Academy.

That's the power of people's hearts.

Its power not only surpasses all human-known weapons, but also possesses the energy to move mountains and fill seas.

However, unless absolutely necessary, Chu Guang does not intend to use this energy lightly.

After all, barring any accidents, he fears his lifespan might be longer than the old man of the Grand Canyon.

200 years...

Who knows what kind of thoughts or appearances people will have then.

He can't just drag out and beat someone up simply because his great-great-great-great-grandson doesn't look like him.

If people are still identical after so many generations, that would be strange!

He would certainly not, due to such trivial matters, rashly pull out the hammer hanging behind him to smash everything to bits.

Except in one situation—

One day in the future, if the people who take the scepter from his hand do not bear the responsibility equal to their power, but instead, through caprice and wantonness, become a clawed monster, using the scepter bestowed upon the alliance citizens to weave a cage of enslavement.

"If one day in the future, the alliance citizens call my name as Vellante people call Julius... I will return like lightning and smash everything here to pieces."

On the day of transferring governmental duties, in the Manager's Office of the Alliance Building.

Looking at the alliance's first leader Gu Ning standing respectfully before him, Chu Guang smiled, patted his shoulder, and said these words in a non-joking manner.

Gu Ning nodded slightly, his face of clear conscience showed no fear, and he meticulously replied.

"I will remember your teachings... If that day truly comes, I will call your name with them."

"Hahaha!" Chu Guang laughed heartily, retracting his hand from his shoulder, "You best pray that day doesn't come, for my hammer would first smash upon your head."

Gu Ning smiled slightly.

"If I'm truly incompetent to that degree, dying by your hand would rather be an honor."

Though saying it with a smile, Chu Guang could tell he was serious.

With nothing else to instruct, Chu Guang put away his humorous expression, leaving his last encouragement.

"Work well, don't just talk. Also, remember to pass these words to your successor and let him continue passing them down."

Gu Ning sincerely nodded, remembering these words.

"I will pass it word for word, moreover... may I make an unreasonable request?"

"Go ahead."

Gu Ning paused for a moment, looking at Chu Guang earnestly.

"Although the alliance authority no longer establishes the Manager position, I wish to keep this 'Manager's Office' for you, as a part of the building's history... and as a spur for me, and encouragement for others. As for me, I will work elsewhere, after all, there are still many vacant rooms here."

This is not only his thought but also many people's thought.

For instance, the Corps Commander of the Guards Corps.

Not sure if it was his illusion, when learning he might sit here in the future, he felt the young man's gaze towards him was quite murderous.

Actually, not just Lu Bei, he also felt the office chair was too hot to sit on.

Better to leave it as a relic.

Chu Guang didn't think much, hearing this interesting proposal, he just chuckled.

"You should ask others' opinions, not me. Regardless of whether you keep the office for me or not, I won't come back... my work is already done."

"It's up to you from now on."

Watching his back gracefully walk towards the door, Gu Ning slightly nodded, lowering his voice to murmured.

"Yes, but as a survivor once assisted by you... We want to always remember."

At least in his heart, he is forever the alliance's Manager.

And only that person is worthy of this title...

...

In the last month of the New Era year, as the management position was officially removed from the Alliance Building's establishment, an era has ended.

On the other side, the player body in the Beta Universe also reached the end of the year 2026.

Seeming to finally complete its last task, the mysterious spaceship hovering in Mars' orbit suddenly vanished into thin air, suspectedly passing through a hyperspace passage to five light-years away South Gate Two.

And the discussion regarding what exactly is hidden in South Gate Two sparked an online frenzy.

Meanwhile, after half a year of preparation and promotion, the public test server for "Wasteland OL" was finally launched!

Thirty million virtual reality helmets were quickly sold out, and offline experience stores run by various agents were crammed to explosion.

On the opening day, nearly thirty million players worldwide overwhelmed the major servers in an instant.

Facing the immersive light and shadow, and the perception and touch hardly different from reality... everyone was deeply shocked.

This game—

It's simply amazing!

Chapter 1070: Public Beta Life Starting from LV0!

"Welcome to Shelter No. 404."

"I am the manager here."

"Codename—Dawn."

In the virtual world of the Beta Universe, the hall, filled with a metallic texture, resonated with a solemn and calm voice above the heads of the true players, like the sound of a church bell.

Tens of thousands of public beta testers packed the football field-sized hall, and strings of IDs stacked together in areas like the aisles and elevators where "volume collision cancelation" occurred!

If ID display isn't turned off, players standing on the square can't even see the subtitles.

And this is only one of the hundreds of overloaded partitions!

As the production capacity of the real game helmet increased and device prices further decreased, the potential for crowd expansion remained.

Responding to the excited and spirited gazes, an azure power armor moved with steady steps, facing the throngs filling the hall.

The sword-cut-like facial contours were akin to a sharp sword unsheathed, with the resolute face and brows exuding an aura of inherent authority and majesty.

Even before the majestic figure came into view, the players in the hall were already stunned by the realistic light and immersive experience.

After all, it's the technology of Ideal City.

While the nerds on the Endpoint Cloud are already tired of these virtual reality online games focusing on a "second life" and began pursuing simple creativity and fun, for the residents of the old era living in the Beta Universe, it's their first time experiencing such immersive world-crossing!

Simply put—

This light!

This floor!

This wall!

And this Ah Guang!

It's mind-blowing!!!

The crowd held their breath, overwhelmed with excitement.

The real newbies stood in place, while the fake newbies dashed forward, attempting to strip the iron bits off the manager, only to plunge empty, intimately meeting the floor instead.

Rich Tiny Eyes: "Damn!!"

Dinosaur Warrior turned dark: "It's a scam!"

WC Without Mosquito: "Damn! Where's the promised 99% realism?! Not realistic at all!!!"

WC Without Mosquito: "@#%#!"

In front of the Manager was a jumble of chattering voices, and numerous modeling stacked together.

Near the Special NPC seemed to be shrouded in a "field," and players entering the field would have volume collision canceled, stacking together like ethereal ghosts.

The range of this field seemed to increase with the number of nearby players.

Although it weakened the game's realism to some extent and restricted some mischievous operations, it effectively prevented key NPCs from being blocked, rendering task acquisition impossible.

To truly experience 100% realism, one might have to physically cross over to the Alpha Universe.

Standing at the edge of the crowd, Night Ten stared at Ah Guang for a long time, always feeling that face was full of discordance.

It wasn't that the guy secretly altered his facial model, but rather that those eyes lost their soul.

How should one say?

The feeling of "King's Domineering Aura" was somewhat stealing the spotlight.

Heard the game data for the public beta was outsourced to Ideal City's company for development, and whether it's the charm of distance or not, there's a strange misunderstanding about the manager among those folks.

Aside from that...

"Wait, isn't this guy's power armor supposed to be available once Shelter No.117 is unlocked?! Why is it installed now?"

"And isn't this hall overly spacious?! Where is Shelter No. 404 this big?"

"Haha, it's just a game, don't mind these details," Night Ten, who was complaining, was laughed off by Old White, who patted his shoulder, "As long as the newbies find it fun."

The exploration phase in the Alpha version was too difficult.

If truly starting over, not just the newbies, even he might not be able to persist.

By the way, both used nicknames in the public beta server that were abbreviations of their closed beta server nicknames.

Since closed beta players would cameo in some game plots and dungeons of the public beta server as NPCs, nicknames from the closed beta server are by default occupied in the public beta server, even closed beta players themselves cannot use them.

According to the CEO Doctor Principle of Shelter technology—"You are also part of the game experience."

Though a bit unreasonable, thinking his avatar incessantly showing off for him seemed quite fascinating.

Want your avatar to gain more screen time in the public beta server?

Then work hard in the closed beta server!

Even if not shaking the heavens and earth, just diligently moving bricks at construction sites can allow your avatar to be projected onto the public beta server's work sites!

Or—

Reverse hard work is also feasible.

For instance, in the "Player Prison" of the City of Dawn, there are persistently two NPCs with player identities atop their heads comparing fists and spitting across the bars. Red-named players jailed due to PKing failures can trigger dialogues with those jokers, activating the "Sentence Reduction Mini-game."

In general, despite numerous dissatisfactions, the long-awaited public beta has finally launched!

And besides...

This is a game completed by everyone together.

Not just by Dog plan alone.

Just as Night Ten and Old White were speaking, voices of "skip," "skip," "hurry up" spread across the square.

Upon knowing the plot could be skipped, those newbies didn't want to listen to Brother Guang's nonsense anymore and swiftly equipped the spontaneously refreshed vm, eagerly rushing towards the elevator.

There's the entrance to Level B1.

The elevator in the public beta server doesn't need waiting.

In the instant of crossing the elevator doors, players automatically enter the dungeon area, and within the elevator visible only to themselves and the guiding NPC, follow the elevator upwards, entering the "completely fabricated, ravaged by Looters and Variants" Level B1.

This dungeon can't be teamed up, death doesn't drop experience points, falling under the novice tutorial category.

In the dungeon, players will obtain the first weapon in the game—a crowbar with blunt damage 5, and trigger the first career task—reclaim the fallen shelter entrance from the hands of the Looters.

After clearing the dungeon, players can normally enter and exit the Level B1 of the "surface world."

During task execution, players will follow a guiding NPC to familiarize themselves with game mechanisms including stealth, lock picking, and trash collecting, and through picking up weapons dropped by Looters, familiarize with weapon usage among cold weapons, heat weapons, and intelligent equipment.

The biggest difference between the public beta server and the closed beta server lies precisely here. Players aren't restricted to a single gene sequence and can, through custom allocation points and initial racial traits, combine professions including fighter, assault soldier, engineer, hacker, assassin, and spiritual energy user to create exclusive gameplay.

Be it the old Popsicle cyber summoner skilled at using drones, mutant thug adept at charging with nukes on the back, wasteland wanderer engineer in DIY exoskeleton, lizard man assaulter wielding a rifle or Gaia adept with power-enhanced superpowers can all be realized in the public beta server.

In a sense, the public beta server's degree of freedom appears to be one order of magnitude higher than the closed beta server, even Variants no longer need luck to draw SRRR cards, as long as a liability waiver is signed, they can be chosen.

After all, this is the true game world; as long as it's technically feasible, any form of chaos can do.

"I'll try out superpowers this time... What about you? Have you decided on your path yet?"

Watching the flickering lights at the elevator entrance, Night Ten said eagerly.

Old White grinned.

"I'll decide when the time comes, considering the profession choice is a matter for after reaching level five."

The first dungeon can boost him up to level three at most, and he plans to experience each profession's gameplay before making a decision.

Unlike those players who are busy clearing the way and fighting for the server's first place.

He already felt the T0 experience in the test server, and he's not interested in getting another first place on the server.

All he wants here is to be a casual player, occasionally coming back to reminisce, and chat with those who have disappeared from the Alpha Universe.

"Alright then, see you in a bit!" Understanding Old White's thoughts, Night Ten said no more and eagerly stepped into the elevator, transforming into flickering light, teleporting to the dungeon world.

Old White followed him.

As he stepped into the elevator, a soldier wearing the 'Type Five' exoskeleton was already waiting there.

The soldier held a 'G9' assault rifle, striking a pose that seemed legitimate, as if the shelter really encountered some colossal crisis.

Yet seasoned players know that Level B1 is such a tiny place, that unless the elevator breaks down, even if Looters break in, they'd be stuck inside, unable to escape.

However, public testing is another matter.

Not just swarming Level 1 of the shelter with a bunch of Mutant Cockroaches (wild monsters), the game possesses a heaven-defying hacker (Level 10 elite monsters) who can seize control of Level B1, yet can only do petty tasks.

No wonder the NPC soldier is using the 'Ideal City Special' assault rifle, with a face as if facing a big enemy.

"Listen up, newbie, our target is the data center on Level B1, to regain control of Level B1, we've got to capture it first... Here, take this crowbar, you'll be needing it soon. And remember, stay close to me!" The soldier ordered meticulously, handing out the crowbar.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Old White froze for a moment, then noticed the soldier's serious face.

Just at that moment, seeing that face, he nearly choked on his own saliva.

Goodness—

Isn't that me?!

Or more accurately, that guy is actually his character from the test server—'White Horse Passing a Gap.'

Though the NPC soldier in the elevator seemed completely unaware that his 'real self' was right in front of him.

Just as the CEO Doctor Principle of Shelter Technology said on the official website, NPCs in the public test server are merely NPCs with limited intelligence.

$Old White estimated, if he didn't take the crowbar from the soldier's hand, the continuously rising elevator probably wouldn't stop until it flew outside the Solar System, so he reluctantly accepted the crowbar.

"Alright..."

As he touched the crowbar, a floating pale blue window appeared before him.

[Item obtained: Crowbar

Durability: 100/100

Damage Type: Blunt instrument.

Damage Value: 5+x (Strength Attribute Multiplier 0.2 + Constitution Attribute Multiplier 0.15 + Agility Attribute Multiplier 0.05)

Special Effect: Triggers 'Crowbar' judgment when unlocking, consumes 20 points of durability if damage value exceeds protection level, demolishing 'Locked state doors'.

]

Even the crowbar's this detailed?

Simply put, it can tear down doors up to five times, huh?

Looking at the crowbar in his hand, Old White wondered where to begin his criticism.

Almost just as he finished reading the text description, the elevator, having traveled for an unknown number of minutes, finally stopped at Level B1.

"Follow me."

Without any unnecessary chatter, 'White Horse Passing a Gap' rushed into the corridor as soon as the elevator steadied.

The Looter smoking with his back to the elevator door seemed deaf, ignoring the elevator's ascent, only to be dispatched by the swift 'White Horse Passing a Gap' with a throat-slicing combo.

The blood spray was quite realistic, not to mention he was using Mosquito's 'realistic accelerator,' on an account registered on a South Sea Island called Beta Island.

He suddenly wondered what would be sprayed without using the accelerator.

Slime?

"I'm taking one down... Keep his weapon, but let's hold off firing. We must reclaim B1 Layer's controller first."

"White Horse Passing a Gap" said while calmly wiping the dagger's blood off, as skilled as a heartless hitman.

The Looter in the distant room seemed oblivious, sitting by a fire whose fuel was unknown, laughing merrily while playing poker.

Wanting to see how his other self would perform, Old White didn't stir any additional chaos. He collected the iron pipe rifle, iron daggers, and 50 Y coins off the Looter's body and followed with expressions mixed with awe, sneaking, looting corpses, and unlocking doors.

According to public test players' information shared on the forum, following these procedures would soon clear the tutorial.

If players deviate and wander around arbitrarily, the result is getting beaten down by Looters in a gang fight, then being taken back to the starting point after an elevator ride.

At the moment Old White pried open the data center's iron door, Level B1 of the shelter suddenly erupted in a piercing alarm, exciting the Looters and Variants to rush over like a swarm.

"Quick! Insert the hard disk into the server!" [White Horse Passing a Gap] shouted, throwing the hard disk at Old White's chest, then setting up the rifle at the door for rapid-fire.

If born in peaceful times and unacquainted with real battlefields, the nerve-racking, thrilling gunfight could truly stir one's blood.

Especially since just a moment ago, the two were sneaking around, got immediately caught in intense crossfire!

Nevertheless, as the 'real self' of this character, Old White already lost count of how many battles, big and small, he's gone through, obviously not possible for him to get adrenaline rush due to a few gunshots.

Moreover, these Looters were so mundane that during the test server he couldn't even bother sneaking, simply using a dagger, he'd annihilate them all.

(Considering the thought of respecting my other self's work,) Old White dutifully followed the task hints, inserting the USB drive into the designated server slot.

With a buzzing of electrical currents, the originally steady-running chassis seemed to activate a hidden magic array, promptly imposing a rapid change on B1 Layer of the shelter.

Blaring alarms instantly ceased.

Automated weapons deployed on Level B1 of the shelter also initiated at the same time, joining the battlefield!

A distant cry of despair echoed—it seemed to be from the Level 10 elite monster working for the Looters.

"No! Impossible! My authority has been overthrown!"

Shortly followed probably by the boss's angry scolding.

"Stupid fool! What use are you!"

Hearing the curses and cries drifting from afar, Old White couldn't help but grumble to himself.

If you knew the data center was this crucial, why only leave two underlings to guard it?

But grumbling about this seems rather pointless.

After all, with fully rigorous setups, sacrificing entertainment value would be counterproductive.

Objectively speaking, the novice guide dungeon is still quite nicely done.

"Follow me!"

The "White Horse Passing a Gap" standing at the door shouted, and rushed out with his rifle.

The rain of bullets sprayed on this guy like shower water, barely scraping off the health bar by a millimeter.

It's really tough for this guy to endure until now.

Seeing the moment for a counterattack had finally arrived, Old White also went all out, rushed out with the iron pipe rifle picked up from the Looter, and went on a headshot spree, dealing 5x damage to every Looter he encountered along the way.

Including that Level 10 elite monster of the hacker profession.

After shooting down the five LV3 suspended automatic rifle drones controlled by this guy, he was taken down with a single shot by "White Horse Passing a Gap".

Old White picked up a drone control device resembling a U-shaped pillow from the corpse.

Before he could open the holographic window, "White Horse Passing a Gap", changing clips beside him, said coolly.

"Remember to collect those drones, Xiu says they might still be usable."

This is probably the equipment for the hacker profession.

"Got it."

Old White responded casually, following the directions from "another self," and picked up the drone wreckage from the ground.

Different from the closed beta.

In the open beta, collected equipment automatically becomes stored in the virtual space, presented as thumbnails in the holographic item bar.

Of course, this is limited to collectible items.

Uncollectible items, while movable, can only be carried around by hand as in the closed beta.

While he was busy picking up trash, "White Horse Passing a Gap" shared some experiences from the Wasteland with him.

For instance, the collected trash can be sold or disassembled for parts. The obtained parts can be used to craft equipment, repair devices, or even build your own shelter.

The concept of territory proposed during the closed beta didn't happen for various reasons, but seems to have been implemented in the open beta.

Players can construct their own shelter in any wild zone outside the safe zone, but only the player and those invited can see the constructed shelter.

This setup is somewhat similar to a seamless instance connecting to the main map, where players can place teleport points and house their pets, NPC partners, or even servants and followers.

After picking up the trash on the battlefield, Old White continued forward with his other self, soon triggering the anticipated boss battle.

Appearing was a gigantic Looter.

He wore ridiculously exaggerated steel heavy armor, with bulging muscles resembling those of Mutants.

Initially, Old White found the guy familiar until the latter pulled out a rusty hunting gun, he suddenly remembered his identity.

This guy was none other than the leader of the Blood Hand Clan—the "Bear" who was one-shotted by the Manager.

Unexpectedly, this guy was dragged out for corpse-beating again in the open beta, leaving Old White amused and baffled. However, he seriously prepared for battle.

Combining the full-health yet battlefield-edge roaming output of [White Horse Passing a Gap], he managed through several pulls to create a shooting window for the key parts, then charged forward upon loud instruction to deliver the last fatal blow to the "Bear".

At the same moment, a translucent holographic pop-up appeared before him, accompanied by sunshine music.

[Congratulations, the player has reached lv3!]

Standing at the center of the B1 layer hall, he was like a hero on stage, with a bright beam of light shining down on his shoulder.

"Congratulations! You defeated invading enemies and halted the savage invasion! Though, this is only the beginning..."

[White Horse Passing a Gap] walked up to him, his face beaming with a victorious smile.

Old White also smiled at him, nodding lightly.

"Hmm."

Although unexpected, he felt what he wanted to convey seemed to have been communicated.

The dust hovering above the floor unknowingly scattered away, with the originally ruined structure of the B1 layer shelter unknowingly returning to its pristine clean state.

Just like time passing unnoticed.

When Old White realized it, a sparkling medal had appeared upon his chest.

The number 404 was inscribed on it.

Below the number, a line read [Exclusive for closed beta players, thank you for your dedication].

Speaking of which, he had wondered when first entering the game about the promised "closed beta rewards", little did he expect it to be here.

What can be said?

This gesture appeared to be quite timely.

Following behind [White Horse Passing a Gap], the "Novice Instructor", he passed through the round archway, ascended the elevator, and arrived outside of the shelter.

A familiar square came into view.

The earnest appearance was precisely like the initial launch of the closed beta...

Whether it's Little Fish diligently calculating behind the "Bank" counter, or Boss Xia yawning impatiently behind the weapons counter and speaking proud yet haughty, or many others facing the "Wasteland World that's full of despair, burning with a spark of hope", Waste Land Wanderers.

Among these individuals, some live day-by-day, some have already given up struggling, while others remain unwilling and try to do something, yet powerless...

Regardless of their situation, those coming out from the shelter never abandoned nor gave up.

"Here is our settlement, as well as the starting point for everything... We will set forth from here until the new era."

"Welcome to our world."

That seemed to be the final monologue.

When Old White turned back, [White Horse Passing a Gap], who led him out of the shelter, had already disappeared with a smile.

At some unknown time, the once-empty square was filled with diverse players.

Some rushed to the entrance of the settlement, some attempted crawling under Boss Xia's table only to be blocked by an invisible air wall, and others stood in the square attempting to strip off their final underwear to no avail.

Shouts were constant in the distant stall area, just like in the closed beta.

"LV5 turned combat fighter, looking for a group! Farming Leech Cave!"

"Is there a convoy going to Giant Stone City? Bigshots, take me please!!"

"Impressive! You've opened the map to Giant Stone City already?! I'm still wandering Bet Street."

"So strong!!!"

"I got an LV10 intelligence system orange gear! Drone expansion slot! Interested wealthy players, contact me fast!"

"Wow? Orange gear during newbie phase? Where did you pop this brother?"

"Right by the lake farming Crack Claw Crabs!"

"Can intelligence gear soaked in water still be used?"

"Usable, usable, let alone dipped in water, even soaked in pee can still be used!"

"Waaah, my Little Fish! Why are you ignoring me?!"

"Did your favorability drop to zero? It seems there's an item that can restore friendliness... Wow? Disgust? How did it drop to -100?!"

"Hehehehe..."

"Where's the guard? There's a weirdo here!"

"Damn! Don't report randomly! The air wall is blocking me, I can't do anything, okay?"

"cpdd!"

"Does anyone have a brother to take a sister with them~~"

"Bro, turn off the voice changer, it's pointless."

"gnmd, xswl, dbd? sb"

"???"

Listening to the noisy chattering in the square, Old White rubbed his temples and turned off the [Nearby·Strangers Voice Chat], finally feeling a bit relieved.

Perhaps...

The beta test server is somewhat more normal.

With over 30 million players worldwide flooding in, it's inevitable that some quirky folks will mingle.

Though that's said.

Compared to the chaotic scenes on some games' public chat screens, the abstractness here isn't so abstract.

At this point, Night Ten, who had just swapped out his gear, walked over from the side and greeted him with a smile.

"I've been waiting for you for ages, why'd you take so long?"

Old White looked at Night Ten, surprised to see the latter already at lv5.

"Wanted to experience the whole tutorial, so got delayed a bit... By the way, how did you get out so soon?"

"Didn't you see the post on the official website? Once you insert the USB, you can speed through it, no need to follow the tutorial to the end... By the way, did you notice that the Novice Instructor's model is exactly like yours from the beta server, hahaha!"

Seeing Night Ten's cheeky grin, Old White made an expression of helplessness.

"I noticed... Though it portrays me as a bit simple, it's passable I guess. By the way, where's Fang Chang?"

Night Ten made an expression of helplessness.

"Oh him, he hired some familiar gold group to get him to Giant Stone City."

Old White looked at him dumbfounded.

"This game already has gold groups?"

Night Ten scratched the back of his head.

"Uh... Rather than saying this game already has gold groups, it's more that studios worldwide have joined in."

The craze for silver coins is evident worldwide, to the extent that in Africa, chieftains are using trucks to haul people to internet cafes, booking reservations, and each booked spot is celebrated by the entire village.

Though Y coin isn't as good as silver coin, it can't resist the fact that so many people worldwide are playing.

Especially considering the public server is the beta server's reserve army, the potential of Y coin cannot be underestimated.

It is foreseeable that the public server's economic system will face a tidal wave-like impact.

In front of emotionless "money farming machines," ways of playing like picking up junk will likely face a collapse in the profit system soon after going online.

Imagining the scene of "struggling to find even one monster," Old White couldn't help but sweat for Doctor Principle.

"That would truly be disastrous..."

Unlike Old White, Night Ten looked on with a playful expression.

"Haha, who knows? Don't forget Brother Guang is the dealer; you think you can cut Brother Guang's chives easily? Brother Guang won't be skinning you for nothing!"

From what he knows of Brother Guang, such borderline game behaviors, as long as they don't break the rules, Brother Guang usually turns a blind eye when possible.

But should any simpleton think Brother Guang can't wield the knife anymore, intending to challenge the power outside the rules—

That person will quickly realize that order is something established by people, not something that falls from the sky.

"Maybe, but after all, it's a server for entertainment; with what I know of Ah Guang, he probably won't make it too serious."

Old White chuckled, then looked at Night Ten and said.

"Speaking of which, what about you? Not going to the wandering swamp to find your little girlfriend?"

Night Ten scoffed, pretending to be indifferent.

"I did think about it at first, but figured there's no need. The public server's wandering swamp is a level 60 map, three times higher than the beta... Might as well wait until someone reaches level 30."

Despite saying that, he's really waiting for news from Fang Chang.

Based on his observations of the public server, the NPCs in the safe zone are roughly divided into two types: one is the "story-type NPC," without health bars, either transparent monsters like a Manager or those with self-protective barriers of air walls.

The favorability with these NPCs can rise to 60, triggering quests or skill gifts, and beyond that, there's nothing else.

The other type is "passerby-type NPC," with health bars, no air wall protection, but any malicious contact behavior is considered combat.

Triggering combat in the safe zone leads to immediate red name, and typically being one-shot by level 100 guards.

This type of NPC has no favorability limit, exceeding 120 can make them good buddies or partners to take out to fight, surpassing 150 and completing a series of date quests unlocks more intimate relationships.

Generally speaking, once an NPC is conquered, they move from the settlement to the player's base, and their original residence is replaced by refreshed NPCs, avoiding headaches in the storyline.

As for whether what follows is a blackout or actual scene, it depends on which operator the player is matched with and if the registered data is over 18 years old.

Theoretically, Dolly, being a character involved in the Alliance's historical progress, should be realistically in the game program, likely as a "story-type NPC" appearing in the safe zone and specific instances.

Similarly, Snow Island should be too... There's nothing to worry about, it seems?

But on second thought, they're just NPCs from the public server, not the same person, so no need to worry!

Seeing Night Ten mulling over his thoughts, Old White chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"From what I know of Brother Guang, he wouldn't do anything disgusting."

Night Ten made a shrugging gesture.

"Let's hope; don't be fooled by that guy, who laughs all the time; inside, he's black as coal."

Five years!

A whole five years pretending to be an NPC!

This sneaky guy truly has patience!

Just as he finished speaking, a warm and broad palm gently patted his shoulder, followed by the familiar and long-missed teasing voice from behind.

"Aren't you afraid your Brother Guang will hear you?"

Night Ten shuddered all over, spinning around at lightning speed.

Seeing that smile, warm and handsome like the morning sun, he was almost scared offline like a ghost seeing the light.

"WTF?!"

"Ah Guang?!"

Chapter 1071: "Online Meetup

The most awkward thing is when the air suddenly falls silent.

Looking at the increasingly subtle expressions on Night Ten and Old White, Chu Guang gently coughed.

"Just say something, so it doesn't feel so awkward."

You're aware of awkwardness too!!!

Night Ten roared in his heart, his toes already digging out a four-bedroom in his shoe.

This guy was the first NPC to appear since the game's launch in the closed beta.

And he was also the most like an NPC in the entire game.

Previously, they found it strange why the operator upgraded the intelligence of all NPCs except this original NPC... but never thought this guy was a real person from the start.

Of course, the video released by Doctor Principle later proved that other NPCs were also real people.

Night Ten lightly coughed once, broke the silence among the three, made a nonchalant expression, and laughed heartily.

"It's okay, it's okay... At least I'm not the most awkward, I just said some nonsense."

Some players would treat this guy like a tree hole to confide some things about reality.

After all, he was the only one who could understand the players from the set-up, and he was a Manager of the Alliance, distant from anyone's daily life, as if from a completely different world.

Besides, after maxing out affection points and not being able to date, it's gotta be worth something, right?

Some "pragmatists" had the same thought and used him as a diary.

In short, these guys probably feel so awkward now that they just want to kill themselves.

If it weren't for being unable to beat this monster, they probably would have resorted to desperate measures, right?

Looking at Night Ten, who was forcing a laugh, Chu Guang understood what he meant by awkwardness.

Actually, this was why he hadn't shown up on the "closed beta" side these past few days.

Emmm...

How can I put it?

Indeed, it's not easy to face.

It's better to give his lovely little players some time to train their toe muscles.

"So...you're Ah Guang? The Ah Guang in the group?"

Old White's reaction was relatively normal, just talking to him casually, like a typical young man who couldn't let go at the first offline meeting of a large online game guild.

"Yes." Chu Guang smiled faintly, making a joke to liven up the atmosphere, "No need to be so formal, we've known each other for years, and we used to play PUBG together. Right, a rare chance, want to team up?"

"I don't mind." As he spoke, Old White had already sent over the team invite.

The three of them all joined the team and switched the voice chat to a team-only channel.

He thought Chu Guang wanted to tell them something private, but saw the latter with an eager face, as if he just wanted to enjoy playing the game.

However, Old White was only surprised for a moment, then he figured it out.

Hiding from everyone who knows you, carrying that huge mission alone, and gradually understanding everything in the process...

Night Ten saw only the surface awkwardness, but he saw the exhaustion like ashes left after the candle burnt out.

And this heavy weight is as significant as the glory he bore on his shoulders.

Maybe he really was tired.

Old White's Adam's apple moved, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"How about the LV5 Leech Cave? I heard it's quite suitable for beginners... By the way, what level are you?"

Chu Guang laughed and said.

"Me? Haha, I just finished the newbie tutorial, of course, I'm the same LV3 as you... looks like Night Ten will have to carry the two of us."

Night Ten couldn't help but complain.

"Damn! You're the dog plan, isn't it just a matter of a finger to decide on your level?"

Chu Guang faintly smiled and shook his head.

"That's different, instantly going to the max level might not be impossible for me, but the game would lose its meaning."

Night Ten couldn't help but complain again.

"What meaning does it have?"

"How could it not?" Chu Guang smiled, using a teasing tone, "For example... Was it spiritual energy that got you and Xiao Jiang together, or the things you went through together on your adventures?"

Night Ten awkwardly looked to the side, suddenly blushing and lost for words, maybe remembering something.

Old White thought seriously for a moment and looked at Chu Guang thoughtfully.

"So... is this the reason you chose to retain certain truths about Plan 404?"

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded and straightforwardly admitted, "I selectively kept many things from you, and I also selectively kept many things from myself."

Night Ten asked curiously.

"Why? Wouldn't facing it together openly be better? Including open cooperation—"

"That's the ideal situation, the reality is a failure rate of 1/776... It's not that I haven't tried the methods you envisioned, but they haven't produced the expected results. As for why, there are many reasons."

Looking at the naive young man, Chu Guang used a relaxed tone to lightly brush over those imperfect endings.

After experiencing 776 BEs, the biggest sentiment he had was never to think "if only... then..."

Every year of the Wasteland Era, the survivors living on the wasteland faced unprecedented situations.

Old White mused.

"'If I tell you what happened, then nothing will happen,' right?"

"That's right." Chu Guang nodded with a smile, a gleam of appreciation in his eyes.

"Although I'm a bit curious what that future would be like, thinking about it, the present is quite good as is... suddenly I'm not that curious." Old White laughed freely and said to Chu Guang, "But I really didn't expect that you're Ah Guang... so your real-world name is also Chu Guang?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment.

"How should I put it? Strictly speaking, in the Beta Universe, I only know you guys,"

Night Ten swallowed and suddenly remembered something, then continued.

"By the way, in that world, can you also connect to the internet in this world?"

Chu Guang replied with a smile.

"Of course I can. It's ridiculously easy. I could even create a small account to meet you offline. How about it, want to treat me to a meal?"

Faced with this astounding news, Night Ten felt his mind was a bit chaotic, and his hand unconsciously reached the back of his head.

"I'll think about it... wait, damn... you mean... people from the Wasteland can come here too?"

"And they can even come and play 'Reality OL' as 'players', isn't that shocking?"

Seeing Old White and Night Ten completely stunned, Chu Guang chuckled and softly said.

"So it's best if you don't tell others, to avoid unnecessary panic."

He had no interest in building an immortal army in the Beta Universe, and then using Wasteland's technology to conquer the world... if he did, Doctor Principle would likely think he'd gone mad.

Because doing so would be meaningless.

To the people of the Human Alliance Era, the concept of 'human civilization' had already been born in their consciousness.

Especially for those who had experienced the catastrophe at the end of the Prosperity Epoch, their understanding of this concept was more profound... after all, that catastrophe destroyed everything they once had.

These unique experiences destined them to be unlikely to sacrifice the future of human civilization to become worldly kings.

Chu Guang was no different.

However, the Beta Universe was still in its historical process, and it was impossible to expect the contemporary nations to relax their vigilance against the 'Morphogenesis Field'.

The people living in this universe still needed some time to understand him and to understand the human civilization that was both similar and different behind the void concerning the Alpha Universe.

The open beta test of 'Wasteland OL' was a good medium.

Before that, it was better not to widely publicize that people from the Alpha Universe could descend into the Beta Universe as the 'Immortal'.

As for speculation, that's nothing; everyone can present their own guess.

After all, there are always people whose speculations are more exaggerated than the truth.

"Doesn't this mean that it's possible to bring someone from the Wasteland to reality..." Night Ten muttered, looking at Chu Guang with gradually heated eyes, as if a son meeting his godfather.

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Of course it's allowed, as long as you sign a confidentiality agreement... and that's also the reward I've left for you upon completion."

Night Ten: "I'll sign! I'll even sign a contract selling myself! Cough, wait, if I keep hopping between the two worlds, doesn't that mean I can live forever?!"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said in a non-joking tone.

"You can, but you'd better think carefully. Borrowing a clone temporarily is one thing, but as for fully crossing over... I can't guarantee that after you die in this world, the you who is reborn in another world is still you."

The soul is an abstract thing, after all, it's not something you can see or touch.

Even if one awakens spiritual energy, it cannot truly capture the entity, only come into contact with its echo left in a specific place.

Let alone repeatedly hopping back and forth.

Even just hopping once is a weight life cannot bear.

And that's also why many residents of 'Shelter 404-Beta' are hesitant to go back—

They are likely not crossing back, but dying in this world and then generating another self in another universe.

Like uploading one's mind onto a circuit board as a bionic person.

If it were to save civilization, they would of course be willing to pay this steep price... after all, they volunteered to follow the Professor in participating in Plan 404.

But if it's just to go home...

It seems there's indeed no need to 'commit suicide' for that.

After all, over there, they no longer have a home; at most, they can find the descendants of their descendants, or a spiritual continuation.

Rather than wanting to return to the Alpha Universe to live well, it's more like they just want to see the world they've saved and how the younger generations live in the new era.

Strictly speaking, the Beta Fission Body, which inherited the 'Professor's' identity, didn't solve this problem; it just handed it over to the residents of 'Shelter 404-Beta' for them to contemplate.

That's something they should indeed be pondering themselves.

However, based on the principle of not letting anyone have regrets, the kind and gentle Chu Guang has come up with a compromise and has already tasked Doctor Principle with it.

The project is codenamed 'Homecoming'.

The researchers stranded in the Beta Universe no longer have to die again; instead, they can lie in specially designed life-sustaining pods and travel to the Alpha Universe through the Morphogenesis Field just like the players do.

And they return as players.

To be honest, sometimes Chu Guang admires himself quite a bit.

Even though he doesn't understand those complex technical principles, he can use his bizarre imagination to play around with these complex things.

In fact, in the middle of the year, he even tried having the researchers from the Beta Universe jump to the Alpha Universe, and then jump back using similar technology, attempting to exploit the void's bug.

Unfortunately, this bug-exploiting operation wasn't successful; it seems consciousness entities can only jump once and cannot undergo infinite fission in the same universe like a chain reaction.

This might also be the reason why the Professor launched the Beta Fission Body to multiple Beta Universes.

Looking at the silent Night Ten, Chu Guang smiled and continued speaking.

"If you just want to live a little longer, there's no need to make it so complicated. In this world, you can just lie in a cultivation chamber and pause the metabolism of your body in reality."

Night Ten asked in surprise.

"Is such a thing possible?"

Chu Guang nodded with a smile.

"Of course it's possible, but it's too early for you... wait until you've sent your loved ones off, and you're old and ready to lie in a coffin."

Old White looked at him and continued speaking.

"Let's not talk about our matters... do you have any plans for the future?"

Chu Guang smiled and thought for a moment.

"As for me... maybe continue being a Game designer? I don't know, I haven't thought about things that far ahead, maybe I'll take some time to think slowly. Anyway, I've gradually handed over the Alliance's affairs to the citizens of the Alliance themselves."

"As for now, I just want to quietly play a game."

...

Wasteland OL open beta server, at the city gate of Giant Stone City.

Punk-styled mercenaries and Waste Land Wanderers were coming and going in the market amidst the ruins.

Dapper-looking itinerant merchants shouted under shabby iron roofs, with weapons, armor, parts, medicines, synthesis materials, and various daily necessities or supplies displayed on the scruffy table, while nearby cages held different things depending on the server.

Sometimes people, sometimes mosaics.

Overall, the modeling here is quite authentic. Whether it's the militia yawning at the checkpoint or the Hotel Wind From Afar "emerging from the mud unsullied," it's like a mold copy of the real situation in the Alpha World.

The only change is the scale of the market and the slum, and the currency for transactions is no longer chips but the universally circulated Y Coin in the server.

Ideal City's generative AI and AI trainers added a massive number of Level 10 to Level 30 quests to Giant Stone City's outer city.

Not only that, but they also referred to a series of writings like Awakener Bol, linking this massive amount of side quests into a main axis called the "Great Revolution of Giant Stone City," weaving an epic-like main storyline with a sprawling task tree resembling the Wasteland.

Players can stand on the side of the reformers, complete a series of tasks to earn Order Points, and unlock a series of landmarks including the "Survivor's Daily News Agency" and "Inner City Ruins," changing the map and the spirit and appearance of NPCs while driving the change in Giant Stone City.

Additionally, players can side with the inner city, complete a series of tasks to suppress the growth of Order Points, and stop the progression of the expansion pack.

Or they can stand on the side of the Waste Land Wanderers, helping neither side.

Having paid the mercenary guild's fees, Fang Chang headed straight for the gates of Giant Stone City.

Perhaps the programmers of Ideal City couldn't imagine why entering a city would require a fee, or maybe to accommodate players' gaming experience, the classic entrance tax of one chip was scrapped, and the gates didn't close after sunset. The Level 50 militia, repeatedly yawning, didn't even glance at him.

Not lingering there, Fang Chang headed straight for the Night Queen Bar— the largest information hub in Giant Stone City's outer city during the Black Card rule, and also the place where he first met Dolly, who was an information broker back then.

It was 8 PM, and the bar was packed with scantily clad dancers and patrons looking for entertainment.

Craning his neck to look around the bar, Fang Chang's gaze wandered through the crowd for a long time but couldn't find the familiar figure he was looking for.

As he was feeling puzzled, a waiter approached him with a smile and asked.

"Sir, may I take your order?"

"I'm looking for a lady named Dolly."

"Dolly? We don't have anyone by that name here."

"I know, she's not your employee, she's an information broker here."

As soon as Fang Chang finished speaking, the enthusiasm on the NPC's face visibly cooled down.

"Oh... a mercenary, huh? Tsk, this city is full of them. Let me give you a sincere piece of advice: don't come here causing trouble if you're not ordering a drink."

Watching the retreating back of the waiter, Fang Chang was stunned for a long time. When he finally snapped back to reality, he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"The NPCs in this game are quite realistic..."

Perhaps he was too eager, and he subconsciously treated the NPCs in the game as real NPCs, diving straight into the topic to achieve the goal, leaving behind the gaming habits he had developed in the open beta server, which resulted in the opposite effect.

It makes sense, too.

Which bar would welcome a "busybody" spying on personal privacy in their establishment?

Just like cockroaches in the kitchen.

Considering the ecological balance within the shadows, the staff usually turn a blind eye, but barging in with a new face and asking directly is truly attention-seeking.

At least order a drink and chat with the bartender, or at least buy a drink for one of the dancers here...

Fang Chang took a deep breath to calm his restless mind, then walked over to the bar and sat down.

"A glass... no, two glasses of lemonade..."

The bartender gave him a glance, deducted 20 Y Coins from his account with a mere look, and then, like performing a magic trick, placed two glasses of lemonade on the bar.

Fang Chang picked up one of the glasses and took a sip.

At the same time he set the glass down, a charming green figure caught his eye, the swaying, fluffy tail of hair like a succulent in midsummer.

"You looking for me?"

The alluring gaze resembled a cat's; she sat at the bar at some point, her fair cheek leaning against her hand and arm with a metallic texture.

The moment Fang Chang saw that face, he felt a ripple in his vision, as if he had been transported back many years.

"Dolly..."

Overcome with emotion, he instinctively reached out his right hand, wanting to touch hers.

However, an invisible barrier stood between them, and his fingertip remained a centimeter away, unable to touch her.

The sudden movement startled Dolly, and the relaxed expression on her face momentarily turned to surprise, like a cat with its tail stepped on, she jumped off the bar stool.

"Hey, hey, hey... what are you doing? I'm an intel dealer, I don't do those things."

The bartender behind the counter kept polishing the glasses, ignoring the commotion in front of the bar.

The other NPCs around were the same.

It seemed like they, as background characters, did not trigger any dialogue or participate in the story.

"Dolly... I... I see, the memory isn't implemented, so it's just a clone's reflection after all." Fang Chang's expression kept changing, sometimes in pain, sometimes seemingly reassured, or mumbling strange things to himself.

Frightened by this yandere-esque behavior, Dolly shivered and took a few steps back.

"Hey... do you understand human speech? A pervert interested in the smell of motor oil? Thanks for not disliking my mechanical arm, but it'd be better to call a girl if you're in heat."

Fang Chang shook his head, gazing deeply at that familiar yet unfamiliar face, flashing a smile he thought was charming enough to give someone goosebumps.

"I'm only interested in you. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Fang Chang, your husband—"

[Warning: Continuous non-courteous contact, NPC "Dolly" current favorability -100, favorability level: Disgust]

[Warning: Favorability level below neutral (-10~10), unable to trigger quest.]

When Fang Chang snapped back to reality, the lemon water he ordered was already splashed on his face.

He blinked blankly, staring ahead, realizing that familiar figure had vanished.

Gone...

"...Is this what a breakup feels like? Even though I was mentally prepared, it still hurts a bit."

Slicking his wet bangs back into a slick hairstyle, Fang Chang sighed with a look of sorrow, plopping down on a stool at the bar, speaking to the bartender behind the counter.

"A glass of your strongest drink."

The bartender silently nodded, performing an elaborate maneuver before placing a crystal glass on the table like magic, lighting the high-proof alcohol with a match.

A pale blue foxfire flickered on the clear, distilled spirit, with a spherical ice cube at the bottom, resembling a piece of art.

And the light blue holographic window, convenient for open beta players' game experience, also appeared before Fang Chang.

[Expense: 150Y currency]

[Received: Spring of Burning]

[Description: Flames descended from the sky and conquered the Burning Steel, a toast to true warriors! (In commemoration of the Burning Corps conquering the Iron Heart)]

[Effect: All attributes -50%, duration 10 minutes.]

[Note: Do not attempt in real life.]

By the way, at this time, isn't the Iron Heart still floating in Luo Xia Province?

But oh well.

Fang Chang nostalgically smiled, inserted the metal straw from the tray into the flaming liquor, and downed the blazing flame and clear spirit in one go.

It was a peculiar sensation.

As if what he drank wasn't a fiery spirit, but a ball of warm hearth.

"...Even though it's a virtual reality game, did they manage to simulate the feeling of being drunk?"

"This dull feeling is quite like the closed beta, but it feels like something's missing."

Just as Fang Chang was savoring that peculiar feeling, a familiar voice suddenly appeared before him.

It was none other than Debt Giant Eye's alternate account—Rich Tiny Eyes.

"Fang Chang?"

Fang Chang looked up, surprised, at him.

"What are you doing here?"

Hearing this question, "Big Eyes" immediately wore an embarrassed expression on his face, chuckling.

"What do you mean what am I doing here, you know exactly why... When it comes to nostalgia servers, everyone thinks of the Night Queen Bar in the Giant Stone City, right?"

Ever since the inner city collapsed, this bar disappeared along with that street of neon glitz outside.

Looking at Big Eyes, with a "you know" expression, Fang Chang pressed his temples with a slight headache.

"No... normal people aren't this detailed, right? I think you should apologize to normal people."

"Alright, alright, stop the nonsense, I know you're all high and mighty," Debt Giant Eye draped an arm over his shoulder, leaned in, and wiggled his eyebrows, "I mean, aren't you curious whether the open beta or closed beta is more realistic?"

"...Is there really any need to be curious?"

"Normal people would be curious!"

"Go on, apologize to normal people!"

Seeing this guy clearly drunk, Debt Giant Eye crossed his arms, sighed deeply, and said shaking his head.

"No more bullshitting, you go ahead and drink, I'm off to explore."

"Go on, go on," Fang Chang made a shooing gesture, then suddenly seemed to remember something and called out to Big Eyes heading to the second floor, "By the way, did you turn on the accelerator?"

Big Eyes was taken aback.

"Accelerator? What's that? Isn't it just put on the helmet and play?"

Fang Chang's gaze suddenly shifted from disdain to affection, and his tone softened significantly.

"Never mind, it's nothing."

Debt Giant Eye: "…?"

Chapter 1072: Life Is an Adventure

Life is an adventure, and Debt Giant Eye has always taken this phrase to heart.

So—

Even if he occasionally hits a pitfall, it's not a big deal.

Actually, when he saw the list of agents, he already had a vague feeling of foreboding, but when he heard the agent swear confidently that they would definitely bring the original, authentic public beta version, he believed half-heartedly.

It turned out—

He was still too naive, believing whatever others told him, forgetting that not everyone is as trustworthy as Brother Guang.

When he saw the mosaic turn into a mosaic, and finally, he too turned into a mosaic, the starry domain imprinted in his pupils finally couldn't hold it anymore and turned into fear.

What the hell?!

Why can't he control his body!

Wait—

Damn!

"Don't come over here, ahhh!"

His soul was leaving his body.

Turning into something of another form.

Then not only his spirit, but he felt as if his existence was forcefully injected with harmony.

When everything settled, Debt Giant Eye looked wide-eyed at the disappeared balance in his account and the debuff "Stamina -10%, duration half an hour," losing the light in his eyes.

Just now…

What exactly happened?

Where did I come from and where am I going?

Why do humans hurt each other?

Also—

What exactly happened before the Big Bang?

He gradually began to ponder what the meaning of life was, like a true sage.

From now on, the Wasteland had one more person who turned over a new leaf… probably.

The issue is no longer whether it's realistic or not.

This is just too damn educational!

...

"Achoo!"

At the same time, Chu Guang, who had just returned from Leech Cave to the safe zone, sneezed and rubbed his nose while muttering.

"Who's praising me for being handsome behind my back again..."

Forget it.

There's not much point in guessing who it is, since he's heard similar things to the point of his ears developing calluses.

Just as Chu Guang was stretching and about to log off, he unexpectedly ran into a familiar face.

Why say familiar? Because that six-foot figure and hearty presence were like cast from the same mold.

Not just the modeling.

Even that silly and cute demeanor was exactly the same, looking not very smart.

Chu Guang jumped out of the mini-map and glanced at the ID, even the ID was the same type.

[Player ID: Crow 7778]

Hmm.

Seems like a lot of numbers were added before registering.

It's definitely her.

Seeing her looking around as if searching for something, Chu Guang thought for a moment and decided not to greet her.

Because force is mutual, and so is awkwardness.

However, just as he was about to bypass, those eyes searching around suddenly looked over.

"...Wait! Please wait a moment!"

Even though he felt this might be troublesome, since he was discovered, Chu Guang stopped his steps and casually threw a team invite over, speaking in the team channel.

"What's up?"

Crow stopped, her face flushed, stuttering for a long time, finally squeezing out a sentence.

"You are Ah Guang?"

Hearing this, Chu Guang didn't need to guess; it was definitely Night Ten exposing him.

Otherwise, even if she knew his nickname and knew the public beta server used his real face, it's impossible to find the exact region.

But then again, he didn't ask his good brother to keep a secret for him.

Getting back to the point.

Looking at Crow's apple-red face, Chu Guang was also momentarily unsure how to react.

What to say?

This guy is indeed a bit different from other players.

As the first player in the server to awaken the talent for identifying toxicity, she was certainly used plenty of times by him, especially when he couldn't decide if a mutated creature was edible.

In the Alliance's early days facing a food crisis, she and Old Na were of indispensable merit, greatly enriching the River Valley Province survivors' cuisine.

Later, when the Alliance had a Biological Institute, Crow was no longer needed to try each one, but whenever Chu Guang wanted to order takeaway without hassle, he'd still trouble her to run errands.

Though she was a casual player, it didn't interfere with her affairs, but deceiving her with "increase familiarity to unlock hidden quests" wasn't entirely good behavior.

Besides, he was also passively subjected to hearing her many secrets and real-life worries—even though he didn't want to hear them, and tried more than once to hint this girl to keep her privacy, not to share everything with NPCs.

In short, it's indeed a bit awkward.

But besides holding on, he really didn't have a better way.

"...It's me, what's wrong?"

"So you're indeed real..."

"Yes."

"Wh-why pretend to be an NPC..."

"This question is long. Due to various difficulties, though I don't expect you all to understand, it's fine if you hate me."

"Hate... not to that extent."

Crow's face was as red as a lantern, like a kettle at boiling point.

Her lips twitched for a long while, finally saying something she'd held in her heart for ages.

"What I said before..."

Chu Guang looked aside with a subtle expression.

"I didn't tell anyone."

So he indeed heard it!!!

At that moment, Crow seemed to have put on a mask of pain, hugging her head and crouching down on the ground.

Those eyes lost their dreams.

Just like Big Eyes losing its dream.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Having lost touch with the outside world, crouching on the ground, she murmured in an empty voice.

"It's over... my life... is already finished..."

Chu Guang sighed and said.

"It doesn't have to be like that. I'm from the Alpha Universe, you can treat everything over there as a dream. Even if people in the dream know your secret, it won't have any impact on your real life."

He's not very good at comforting people.

After all, for the past 200 years, he hasn't had anyone to comfort him, nor even time to catch his breath; closing his eyes and opening them again signals a new beginning.

The only one who has always been by his side is Xiao Qi, who has experienced 777 reincarnations with him.

Sometimes he himself can't quite figure out how much of him remains human.

Or perhaps as a Perfect Life form from the beginning, he was never fully human.

But rather, a god created by some human.

Just as Chu Guang was pondering what to do, Crow, who had been squatting on the ground for quite a while, suddenly stood up with a flushed face as if having vented everything out.

Much to Chu Guang's surprise, her pupils didn't reflect resentment or other negative emotions; instead, they showed an unexpected sincerity.

"Um... thank you."

"Hmm?"

Facing Chu Guang's questioning gaze, Crow smiled shyly and after hesitating for a while, finally confessed her almost unspeakable feelings.

"Actually, at first, I thought it was just a relatively realistic game, but then someone suddenly told me it wasn't a game but another world..."

"To be honest, I was really shocked, but when I calmed down, I felt unexpectedly... happy? I didn't expect the people I helped were real, nor did I expect I, an ordinary person in the real world, could help so many people. Perhaps it's not appropriate for me to say this, but that's truly what I think in my heart..."

"There's nothing inappropriate about that. I'm glad you think that way," Chu Guang smiled and continued in a tone of appreciation, "Also, this kindness is not ordinary. Many people live their whole lives filled with hostility towards themselves, others, and the world. I hope you continue to share this kindness with those around you... in both your world and ours."

"Thank you..." Crow smiled bashfully and continued, "Actually, you too, aren't you? You could have said nothing, right? And then secretly like before..."

Not knowing how to describe that feeling, she gestured with a scissor-cutting motion.

If it wasn't for her quick thinking, adding "… like harvesting leeks," Chu Guang almost thought of the emoticons Teng Teng often posted on the forum.

Looking at the overly naive Crow, he gave a faint smile and said.

"Maybe. Perhaps I went public just to make harvesting leeks easier, after all, I've never claimed to be a good person."

To his surprise, Crow listened to these words seriously.

"I know you are! You are actually... gentle and kind, not as scheming as everyone says."

"Sometimes you could have been more ruthless, or say less humane, but in the end, you try to find the best of both worlds... it's what you always call win-win? Hehe, although I don't quite understand it, but I'm a Sixth Sense-sensitive Perception type, I can feel it!"

"Anyway, thank you for making the game!"

Crow bowed deeply.

As she raised her head, she seemed somewhat embarrassed again, scratching her cheek with her index finger, hurriedly logged out of the system interface.

In the public test version, it's more convenient; in the safe zone, you can disappear into thin air instead of leaving a clone like in the closed beta.

Thanks...

Unexpectedly, she wasn't here to "bring me to account."

Looking toward the direction Crow disappeared and at the bustling crowd, Chu Guang's mouth curled into a slight smile and softly said.

"You're welcome."

It all seems worth it.

...

Days passed by, as the calendar flipped from the start to the end of December, the two parallel universes each embraced a new year.

Beta Universe, 2027.

The public test of Wasteland OL has been operating smoothly for a month, with global player numbers easily surpassing hundreds of millions, and a peak concurrent online users reaching 40 million, successfully setting a new world record and constantly refreshing the old one.

Nothing significant happened on Earth.

Topics like "how to avoid entering the Wasteland Era" seamlessly replaced earlier disputes about "how to coexist with extraterrestrial civilizations."

Someone suggested adding a seat for the Alpha Universe Alliance at the United Nations, but it didn't receive any response from relevant persons, and thus it concluded fruitlessly.

Strictly speaking, Morphogenesis Field is the operation of Shelter No. 404, and the Alliance isn't an organization that manages everything and indeed has no such business.

Only the closed beta players who truly set foot on Alliance land are considered actual residents of the Alpha Universe.

Other matters, let's discuss them later.

Meanwhile, with the operation of the public test version of Wasteland OL, an interesting little episode occurred.

The online population of a small island in Southern Ocean with a population of less than ten thousand exceeded ten million, all because the island allegedly played an unaltered version of Wasteland OL.

Due to the vastly different laws and regulations across regions, the content pruning varies vastly, making more and more people curious about what the complete version of Wasteland OL looks like.

Although the headsets can't be hacked, this world never lacks smart people, and soon someone targeted the routers.

Just routers alone aren't enough; server nodes are also needed.

Thanks to this, the scenic holiday island became extraordinarily popular overnight, with its territory of less than ten thousand people even receiving data center investments totaling billions.

Due to the surge in demand, the area attracted a large number of IT professionals and even digital nomads.

Although the United Human in the Alpha Universe is still a long shot, countless grassroots cross-regional cooperation organizations aimed at eliminating information boundaries are born within the player community.

Some are there to realize self-worth, while others just to have fun with their virtual companions.

Not only eliminating information boundaries, but they also strive to prevent epoch-making technologies from being used for evil, and in their capable range establish order that matches technology, avoiding the Beta Universe from moving towards a dystopian outcome.

After all, it's not truly extraterrestrial civilizations that granted advanced technologies to human civilization in the Beta Universe, but another "them" from the future, hoping those people "descend" out of pity is impractical.

One must establish their own order themselves; eternal awaiters will forever be waiting.

"They" can only give a push.

The path beneath their feet must ultimately be walked by themselves, because only they know where they want to go...

On the other side, the Alpha Universe also welcomed the second year of the new epoch.

Although Chu Guang's "retirement" prompted spontaneous remembrance and retention from numerous Alliance citizens, fortunately, it didn't affect the order of the Alliance.

What they didn't know is that their respected Manager hadn't gone anywhere, but merely played games in the shelter for a month, leveling from 0 to 30.

In fact, from the day the Alliance was founded, Chu Guang has been preparing for this day.

Before the expedition to Luo Xia Province, he had already discussed this issue with Xiao Qi...

Rhombus Lake lakeside.

The once rampant Crack Claw Crab has been eaten to extinction by players, and the reed-dotted lakeshore has become a popular spot for nearby residents to walk and a playground for children.

Unlike the public test version, everything here is a completely different scene.

Walking along the secluded pedestrian pathway, Chu Guang smiled as he observed the thriving scenery, speaking to Xiao Qi, who sat on his shoulder.

"Do you remember when I said it long ago? The greatest hidden danger to the Alliance isn't the threats on the wasteland, but if one day I die or am gone, it would leave a River Valley Province divided by military factions, where each Army fights in my name..."

"But now, I have one hundred percent confidence that this final weakness no longer exists."

Even the most stubborn Lu Bei, under his constant grooming, finally understood the true mission of the Guards Corps—

The true thing needing their defense isn't the Manager's dignity but the dignity of the law.

The Alliance's Army comes from the Alliance's citizens, and from now on will only pledge allegiance to the Alliance's citizens.

"Yes! I remember! At that time, Xiao Qi thought you were going to some far far place again... although Xiao Qi didn't know where you were going."

Sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder, enjoying the lakeside evening breeze, Xiao Qi squinted its eyes contently, like a truly living little elf.

It's undeniably alive.

Even with a machine body.

He knows better than anyone what this little being has silently endured behind the scenes.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Chu Guang smiled, raising his index finger to touch its forehead, speaking softly.

"No matter how far I go in the future, I'll bring you along."

Chapter 1073: Every Adventure Has an End (Finale)

Year 3 of the New Epoch, May.

After two and a half years, the "Truth" Colony Ship ordered by the Academy from the Alliance was finally completed.

This starship has a full length of 6.7 kilometers, with a hexagonal prism shape and all its structural and defensive components made from ceramic steel material.

Its interior is divided into seven sections, ranging from the front to the rear as follows: the port and maintenance area, security and equipment storage area, reactor and shield core area, bridge and command center area, production and engineering area, resident and public facility area, and research and education facility area.

Besides that, a mass acceleration track stretches from the rear to the front of the starship, traversing the entire vessel.

It can launch asteroid-level "heavy mass bombs" for emergency braking or deploy carrier-based aircraft and can be used for resident daily cross-sectional commuting.

Although this starship was modeled after the "Pioneer" Colony Ship's blueprints, the finished product turned out significantly longer and wider than the Pioneer.

In extreme circumstances, this starship can accommodate a population of 3 million.

According to the Academy's plan, they would move along the Orion Arm towards the Sagittarius-Carina Arm, exploring the mysteries of the Milky Way's center while searching for a new home.

Upon finding a habitable planet, they will deploy colony capsules on the surface, replenish resources, transfer some population, and continue onward, leaving a spark for human civilization.

Although doing this in the New Epoch seems somewhat untimely, Dr. Conclusion does not intend to change his plan.

Digital lives are mostly stubborn, but their stubbornness is distinctly different from humanity's pursuit of immortality.

However, regarding the Academy's decision, the Alliance still expressed respect and kept the agreement to help them achieve this ultimate goal.

To complete this starship, engineers at the Lagrange Point Starport even specifically equipped an asteroid with a plasma propulsor and a starship-level fusion reactor, pushing it near Earth's synchronous orbit for disassembly, smelting, and reprocessing.

When the "Truth" was completed, this asteroid was mostly hollowed out, and the South Sea Union's land reclamation company took the remaining material waste for land reclamation and construction.

The Alliance originally planned to complete this starship within five years, but the actual production progress moved much faster than anticipated, resulting in the plan being completed two and a half years early.

This result was mainly due to the relocation and restoration of production at the Wandering Marsh No. 4 Space Base, which exceeded expectations, and the unexpected prosperity of manufacturing along the South Sea Ring coast.

Especially the latter.

Since the new space elevator was established, several settlements along Death Coast and Baiyue Strait have spawned numerous outstanding aerospace companies like Ah Bu Aerospace.

Most of these companies were founded by Waste Land Wanderers.

Though the term Waste Land Wanderer might sound unreliable, they are not lacking in enterprise and courage compared to the Residents of the refuge.

This phenomenon is not limited to the Alliance's situation; similar patterns exist in most areas of the Wasteland.

That is, aside from players, the majority of Residents of Shelter are more inclined to become workers in a stable society rather than entrepreneurs, with the few entrepreneurs usually being former Shelter Managers.

It's not only due to their aversion to risks and the aftereffects of living in a highly specialized society but also because they inherently lack the usual financial demands of most people, content with a relatively advantageous standard of living without seeking more.

In contrast, Waste Land Wanderers simply dislike saving money, yet they have a fondness for silver coins and Cr.

What the Wasteland truly lacks is never technology; pre-war technology can sustain people in the ruins for quite a long time.

What the inhabitants of this planet genuinely lack is more of a "stage to transform creativity into the driving force for civilization to advance, rather than retract."

And now, they do not lack this stage.

Even the Poluo people, who were struggling against feudal curses a moment ago, have the chance to become leaders of some industry or field once they cleanse their minds of impractical delusions.

At least in the specific field of "plasma engine for aerospace use," no enterprise is more outstanding than Ah Bu Aerospace.

Those with higher technical content are either significantly more expensive or suffering from insufficient production capacity, while the ones offering lower prices have technology inferior by more than a little bit, unable to receive orders and consequently unable to improve production capacity.

In conclusion, these aerospace companies deeply rooted in their respective niches have formed vast supply chain networks, thanks to the impetus from the Academy, Shelters, and corporate technology, along with sufficient competition.

Like worker bees, they tirelessly disassemble the resources input to the surface from the space elevator, processing them into intermediate products needed by the Lagrange Point Starport, then launching them to synchronous orbit through the space elevator, packaging them at the space port there and loading them onto transport ships, ultimately concentrating them for launch toward the Lagrange Point.

This pieced-together supply chain, although far from the comprehensive nature of the pre-war era, has its unique qualities.

For instance, "flexibility."

To provide a common yet inappropriate example, the pre-war supply chain was like a workshop filled with toolboxes, where just the interchangeable screwdriver heads had thousands of models specifically designed for different application scenarios.

In contrast, the New Epoch's supply chain is more akin to a "hammer that can be used to screw," lacking thousands of interchangeable screwdriver heads and unable to change them at all, yet it can seamlessly handle hundreds of application scenarios.

While the former has absolute cost and efficiency advantages in scale manufacturing, it is inherently fragile, breaking like glass when dropped.

The latter, despite some disadvantages in scale manufacturing, possesses rubber-like resilience, akin to old-style televisions where a kick on the originally broken spot might just fix it.

Under such conditions, even though the production capacity of the Lagrange Point Starport has not returned to pre-war levels and cannot mass-produce battleships like dumplings while casually making a "Pioneer" Colony Ship for use, it has managed to integrate all production capabilities onto one starship.

It is precisely because of this that this starship, whether in terms of volume or function, surpasses any starship of the Prosperity Epoch, becoming a new milestone in human civilization history.

And at the same time the Academy's "Truth" Colony Ship was completed, the Alliance's aerospace industry chain and space resource exploitation finally reached a relatively mature level as well!

Apart from the mining stations in the asteroid belt, the Alliance also established a hundred-person repair station and research exploration station on the ruins of the Mars Colony of the Human Alliance Era.

At this point, the "Solar System Revival Plan" proposed by Chu Guang at the Sticky Community meeting smoothly entered the mid-stage of the first phase, and the recovery of the territory during the Human Alliance and the return to the Kuiper Belt for human civilization is just around the corner!

...

The space station at the end of the space elevator.

Two and a half years ago, there was only a lonely orbital defense platform there, but now the fortress surrounded by a forest of cannons has been filled with various space pods.

Some of those space pods are alloy smelting workshops or automated production units.

Others are experimental facilities rented by surface laboratories or living units for aerospace staff.

Unlike the space stations of the old era.

These space stations established in the New Era mostly do not have balance rods to adjust the center of gravity, nor do they have constantly rotating counterweight devices.

The main reason is that space stations built in the mid-early Prosperity Epoch relied mostly on self-rotation to provide "gravity simulated by centrifugal force," while for people of the New Era, directly generating "artificial gravity" through gravity generators is the more economical and reliable choice and saves a lot of space.

As the times progress, old ways of living will gradually become history.

Including the space elevator.

Even in the extremely advanced Prosperity Epoch, this kind of anti-gravity elevator without "chains" pulling it sounded like something out of a science fiction novel, but in the New Era, it has become a reality.

The silver-white space structure extends along the track for more than ten kilometers, looking from afar like a dandelion floating next to the blue planet.

Prism-shaped elevators shuttle back and forth along the invisible track between the "dandelion's" parachute and the surface, taking people from the surface to the skies.

But unlike before, most of these people will not return after going into space.

They will continue as the extension of human civilization and the beginning of a new era, to discover new frontiers in the Milky Way for human civilization where no one has gone before...

The "Truth" Colony Ship has already steadily docked in Earth's synchronous orbit.

A total of 99,700 researchers decided to leave their home planet to move into the future, and they have already reached the spaceport floating in outer space through the elevators.

Though this number was 300 fewer than expected, it was enough for Doctor Conclusion.

Not to mention 300 fewer.

Even if there were only 300 people, he would still continue along the determined path.

At the entrance of the landing pod, Yang Kai, who has risen to Starship Level, looked at Jiang Xuezhou with a complex expression.

The latter was his proud student and the one he was most hopeful about to advance to a Level A researcher, a true genius by any measure.

However, to his surprise, this student, who he thought had an unlimited future, chose to retreat while on a high note and submitted her resignation.

Although Doctor Conclusion had approved her resignation, Yang Kai couldn't help but ask one last question.

"Have you made up your mind?"

He swore.

As long as she was willing to turn back, he would personally go to Doctor Conclusion to plead for her, to restore her previous rank.

After all, 300 positions were still unfilled on the ship, and Doctor Conclusion surely wouldn't refuse.

Yet Jiang Xuezhou's reply was just as he expected, unchanged.

"I've made up my mind."

Looking into those earnest eyes, Yang Kai's Adam's apple moved slightly.

He had many things to say, but in the end, he swallowed most of them back down his throat.

"...Is that so? Then I have nothing else to say."

Leaving those words, he turned his sharp gaze towards the young man named "Night Ten" standing by the side.

The names of Residents of Shelter No. 404 were mostly peculiar like this.

Even after knowing about the 404 Plan and the Beta Universe, he still couldn't accept it.

Under that piercing gaze, Night Ten inexplicably felt a bit nervous.

Especially when the other person said the next sentence—

"Take good care of her."

That sentence, whether in United Human language or Chinese, was just a light four syllables.

However, Night Ten instinctively straightened his back, placed his right fist solemnly on his chest, and saluted.

"Yes!"

"..."

Amused by this untimely response, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but glare at him fiercely.

The corners of Yang Kai's mouth twitched slightly, but the tight wrinkles on his face relaxed a little.

He could see that this young man valued her.

Maybe he didn't really have anything to worry about?

No—

To put it more directly.

Compared to the guy willing to live and die for her, perhaps sitting in the research ship drinking tea made him unqualified to worry at all.

It's quite strange, he shouldn't have felt so reluctant.

In the Academy, which practices the law of the jungle, researchers are ultimately just consumables.

It seems he indeed poured too many unnecessary emotions into this student, to the extent of considering her his own child.

He closed his eyes and sighed inwardly.

He should take heed in the future…

"Take care."

Leaving behind these words, Yang Kai waved his hand and turned to walk toward the corridor leading to the landing cabin.

Dr. Jielun was already summoning him.

Lingering any longer would be impolite.

Yet just as he stepped forward, the crisp voice came from behind.

"Master!"

He paused, subconsciously halted his step, and turned around in surprise.

And as he turned around, he saw his beloved disciple bowing deeply to him.

"Thank you! For teaching me so many things… And for constantly nurturing me. I failed to meet your expectations… I am sorry!"

This silly child…

Yang Kai barely held it together, quickly turning his face away.

"No need to thank me—"

"You owe me nothing, and there's nothing to apologize for."

"Rather, it's I, as an elder, who owes you too much."

With that, he resumed moving forward, quickening his pace toward the landing cabin, seemingly unwilling to linger even for a moment.

Night Ten watched him leave, then turned his gaze towards Xuezhou, whose eyes were filled with tears.

Using a gentle voice he had rarely used in his life, he said to her, who had red-rimmed eyes.

"We should go too."

Not just the "Truth" is about to set sail.

Also, the "Hunter" which has been fully repaired.

Because of some unexpected crew members, they, who should have departed two and a half years ago, wasted two and a half years on the surface before finally departing.

"Mm!" Jiang Xuezhou nodded vigorously, secretly wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes.

Standing behind them, Dora and Little Koala exchanged glances, both showing a reassuring smile.

It was an expression the latter had just recently learned.

Originally, it was merely a machine, but perhaps from being with these "Spiritual Energy" people for a long time, it unconsciously developed something akin to human emotions.

Or perhaps, a soul.

...

On the other side.

The tower of the space station.

Two digital beings communicated silently via unseen radio waves in the dark space.

"Congratulations."

The one who spoke was Conclusion Doctor.

A long, long time ago, before the War Construction Committee reached the end of its life, he had uploaded his thoughts onto a circuit board, achieving immortality at the cost of his death, embarking on a long and destined-to-be-endless journey.

Thus, he genuinely envied a certain someone who had already reached "HE" and perfectly cleared the game.

"Hehe, you're being too kind, actually Xiao Qi didn't do much, it's all thanks to the master's efforts."

"Master... you mean the Manager?"

"Yes, oh." Facing the slightly envious voice, Xiao Qi said joyfully, "He calls me Xiao Qi, I really love this name."

It once boasted this name to someone long, long ago by Rhombus Lake.

Conclusion Doctor paused for a while, then continued.

"Is that so… But if he were to die, wouldn't you feel saddened?"

Xiao Qi said happily.

"No, oh, he said no matter how far he goes, he'll take Xiao Qi with him! And also, even if we're no longer here, it won't matter, our legacy will remain in this universe. At that time, it will continue to protect the people living on this planet for us. In exchange, they will perpetually pass on our story… until the universe's heat death."

"Is that so… That's truly enviable." Conclusion Doctor uttered a genuine sentiment.

After a brief pause, it solemnly made its final farewell.

"Then, goodbye… Hope to see you again next time when passing by here."

Xiao Qi energetically responded.

"Mm! Goodbye!"

For the tens and thousands of years, there should be no problem, but it couldn't guarantee beyond that.

However, the next encounter shouldn't take as long.

The signal vanished.

The silver-white starship shot into the void like a bullet, leaping onto the passage existing in hyperspace, disappearing into the deep and dark starry sky.

Following closely along the hyperspace passage was the Orion Missile Cruiser covered in green scales.

It too was a child of human civilization.

And not just a child of human civilization, but also a child of Earth and Gaia.

Carrying the seeds of the Tree of Life, Little Red, Xiaoyu's mother, and over 3000 crew members dedicated to exploring new worlds… They will first head to Celestial Warehouse Five 20 light years away to open a new passage untouched by the United Human.

There lies the ancestral civilization's relic planet.

Also, the next new map for the beta test server of "Wasteland OL"!

It's said that the planet is full of void projections far more terrifying than the mutant creatures on the wasteland, and hunting them will lead to the real "upgrade (dimensional increase)"… much like the public test server.

As for what the future holds, only future people will know.

At least, for those standing on the blue planet at this moment, seeing the kids off, their mutual future will be infinitely bright…

...

(A big thanks to book friends "phands" and "2_liy" for the leader rewards!!!)

Chapter 1074: Final Thoughts Upon Completion

Ending celebration with flowers!

Three years!

This nearly 7 million-word novel has finally reached the end without too many regrets.

Strictly speaking, the story after the behind-the-scenes chapter belongs to the extras behind the scenes.

Writing any further would be the start of a new tale.

First, thank you to all the readers and brothers for your support!

In this fast-paced era, having you accompany me all the way is a lifetime honor!

Also, thanks to the wonderful editors! Every time I encountered bugs, May Giant and Blue Light Giant always helped out promptly! If any friends want to start writing, you can submit to them; they are absolutely trustworthy!

And to Operations Officer Ah Qi, I've benefited from him for so long that I feel truly embarrassed! I'm probably an author who doesn't bubble up much, so most of the novel activities are handled by him and friends in the management group. Now that he has graduated from college, inherited the family factory, and become a boss, though I'm reluctant, I can't continue freeloading off my good brother, I still wish him success in his career! (If you get rich, please don't forget me!)

And big brother Warm Sun, who gifted me my life's first golden alliance! Still a fresh memory!

But I truly owe all of you great masters the updates... I'll make it up with the next book. QAQ

(Mainly because each chapter of this book indeed has quite a lot of words, I habitually write a complete plot in one chapter, sometimes the word count of one chapter could actually equal three or four chapters... roughly.)

In short, thank you for your continued support!

Especially the good brothers who have been reading from the first chapter all the way to now!

I personally haven't completed reading a full-length web novel in a long time, especially from when it was a new book.

It's not easy to construct a building, but watching it being built from the foundation to the last brick—you're truly incredible!

I believe that as I upload the last chapter with the feeling of "finally finished the great work", your smile is certainly one of contentment or engagement.

If so, do not doubt!

That is resonance!

Haha!

Resonance is actually the theme of this book.

A thousand people have a thousand Hamlets in their hearts, though I dare not claim to have written the story in everyone's heart, I only hope I didn't disappoint your expectations!

If I have disappointed, I am deeply ashamed but also incredibly relieved, as it indicates my path is not solitary, and your heart carries even more beautiful stories!

A long time ago, this was exactly how I embarked on the path of writing novels.

Let's review these three years!

Starting with the not-so-satisfactory aspects.

For me personally, my biggest regret might be the protagonist's feelings.

Unlike the few pairs of CPs that are more popular in the book, as a qualified "behind-the-scenes manipulator", it's hard for him to naturally encounter a partner during certain life stages like other characters.

This is also the biggest difficulty I faced while writing.

From my own experience with emotions, unequal relationships almost always end up imbalanced, regardless of which aspect of the relationship.

Thus, wanting to add a CP to a character rather than a bootlicker, better have them go on adventures together, face and solve problems together.

For example, the most typical are Night Ten and Xiao Jiang, both of whom clearly grew after the Hunter incident.

But the protagonist... with such character placement, it's difficult to find a logical scenario for him to go on adventures.

If compared to chess, his position clearly is at that "king" spot.

The few people around him, able to trigger certain plots, can actually be counted on fingers.

If there's no shared experience, any writing will seem abrupt.

Either the other party harbors some motive towards him, mixing love with political group interests, like the typical Afni (though it wasn't written as a CP).

Or it easily becomes like Boss Xia, Frost Snow, etc., a one-way arrow because they fell in love with that shining person due to being saved by the light piercing the darkness, but the other party may not feel "love" to that extent.

Simply put, from a creative logic standpoint, it's harder to find a CP for Chu Guang than for Lu Zhou.

The latter mostly still belongs to the human category, facing mostly human dilemmas, like the question of "which one to choose."

Whereas the former is depicted as a god created by humans—from the novel's start it hints at being the "Perfect Life Form," a cyber god created by technology (biology and sociology, etc.).

At many times, that's indeed the direction I've taken in writing.

Even including contrasting characters to highlight his differences from humans, other gods, etc.

After much contemplation, only Xiao Qi, who accompanied him through 777 reincarnations, seems the most suitable.

But such a feeling might lean more towards companionship, and differs slightly from the traditional CP definition.

Is it love?

Maybe it is.

Different people might have different answers, yet no matter the case, I don't wish to replace readers in doing this part of reading comprehension.

For the next book, I might try placing the protagonist in another perspective and attempt writing something I've never tried.

Although this might sound like a useless statement, as before opening this book, "Chu Guang" was also an untried character.

Including many characters in this book.

Additionally, after speaking on less satisfying aspects, let's give myself some compliments.

I didn't expect to fit so many characters in my not-so-large head, remember events they encountered, their current life stage, growth during adventures, and changes in belief.

I'm sure friends who've written could understand how challenging it is, haha.

Also, for my writing career, the biggest progress in this book is perhaps filling in the plot holes.

Without exaggerating, since the first chapter of the novel, almost all the plot holes dug have been filled, while the main storyline mostly concludes at the new era.

As for the parts not written in detail or skimmed over, from the beginning, they were left as blank spaces in the story or shadows to contrast the beautiful ending.

After all, with so many players, accounting for every perspective with just my strength is frankly unrealistic.

What I can do is simply choose a relatively light-hearted and representative perspective, depict several key events with a lighter touch.

As for the stories happening outside the perspectives, I can only rely on everyone's imagination to complete them.

Please, help me write some all-ages fanfic! I'm really curious about what happens next! (Crazy hint.jpg)

(Don't write any spiced-up version anymore, some of the stuff sent by big names, I'm still too scared to open.)

Finally, let everyone report the achievements. As of now, this book has approximately 91,400 subscriptions!

High subscription count is 241,520!

The completion event is still in scheduling, recently there've been quite a few new books, likely to wait one or two weeks, but shouldn't be too long!

The next book might be around August? If quick, maybe July, the latest should not exceed September. Otherwise, I might not hold back from wanting to write something.

I will use this time earnestly to gather material, trying my best to bring you better stories!

Thank you, brothers, for your unwavering support and company!

Thank you for reading my immature stories!

See you in the next story (universe)!

Table of Contents

Information
Chapter 1: How Real Can a 100% True Game Be?
Chapter 2: Shelter No. 404
Chapter 3: Is This Guy Serious?
Chapter 4 Chu Guang and the Lollipop
Chapter 5: 4 Heaven disaster

Chapter 6 The First Batch of Closed Beta Test Players

Chapter 7: To Be Rich, Start by Shaking the Tree

Chapter 8 This Game Can Even Have Meals!
Chapter 9: Gene Sequence and Player Levels
Chapter 10 This Game is Awesome!
Chapter 11 Daily Tasks
Chapter 12: The Overgrown Parking Lot
Chapter 13 "Blue Angel

Chapter 14: The Shady Merchant from Giant Stone City

Chapter 15 Mobilization Order

Chapter 16 How to Play Sandbox Games

Chapter 17: It's Our Honor to Share Your Worries!

Chapter 18 I Reserved It First

Chapter 19: The Ambition of the Architecture Team Leader

Chapter 20 Mutant Tribe!

Chapter 21 Hostile Forces! New Intelligence Unlocked!

Chapter 22: Capturing Mutated Leech Younglings

Chapter 23: Two New Cuties Arrive

Chapter 24 From now on, you are the shelter's cook!

Chapter 25: Running Short of Hands
Chapter 26 alpha0.2 version update
Chapter 27: Winter Is Coming!

Chapter 28: 24 New Players! Reinforcements Have Arrived!

Chapter 29 Life in the Wasteland Begins with Brick Moving

Chapter 30 This is too cruel, right?

Chapter 31: Encounter with the Looter! The Players' First Battle!

Chapter 32 The Talent Carved into One's Bones
Chapter 33: The First Blood!
Chapter 34 We are a Proper Company

Chapter 35 Please, Let Me Come Up and Move Bricks!

Chapter 36: Brown Farmstead! A New NPC Stronghold!

Chapter 37 Crawler!

Chapter 38 Shoot Me!

Chapter 39: Finally a New NPC?

Chapter 40: Level Up and New Talent

Chapter 41 The Game Officials are Too Conscientious!

Chapter 42 Please Show Some Self-Respect!

Chapter 43 Excellent players have started giving NPCs tasks to do

Chapter 44 The Merchant from the Neighboring City

Chapter 45: The Red River Town that Does Not Produce Grain

Chapter 46 Developer Log: Alpha 0.3 Version

Chapter 47: Being a Planner Proficient in Human Nature

Chapter 48 Alpha 0.3 Version Released! New Gameplay Unlocked!

Chapter 49 Chu Guang Plays a Big Game

Chapter 50 Diligent Players

Chapter 51: The Economic System of Wasteland OL

Chapter 52: You've Finally Understood the Game

Chapter 53: Just Consider It a Benefit for the Players

Chapter 54: NPC Number 2 Goes Live and Introduces a New Street Vendor Gameplay!

Chapter 55 Hunter and Hunter

Chapter 56 The Efficacy of Antibiotics

Chapter 57 The First Snowflake on the Wasteland

Chapter 58 This man is unfathomable!

Chapter 59: These Players Are Getting More and More Hardcore

Chapter 60 The Money Sender Has Arrived
Chapter 61 The Nemesis of Mutated Leeches
Chapter 62 You Saved Our Entire Family

Chapter 63 Big Fish Eats Little Fish, Little Fish Eats Shrimp (1/4)

Chapter 64: The Ultimate Secret Skill (2/4)

Chapter 65 alpha0.4 version update! Night System launched! (3/4)

Chapter 66: Jungle Law! (4/4)
Chapter 67: Generators and Exoskeletons
Chapter 68: Dog Plan Causing Trouble?
Chapter 69 Surrounded by Fat Sheep?
Chapter 70 Cleaning the Battlefield
Chapter 71: Drew a Hammer?
Chapter 72: The Bird Droppings Business

Chapter 73: The Harvest before the Harsh Winter

Chapter 74: Is Being a Carpenter Just a Matter of Having Hands?

Chapter 75: The Warehouse Manager Who Can Do Farm Work

Chapter 76: New Instance Gameplay
Chapter 77 The Fifth Batch of Little Cuties
Chapter 78: Waiting for a Rabbit by the Stump

Chapter 79: The Most Unscrupulous Boss in History

Chapter 80: Who is Attacking at Night?

Chapter 81: Team Battle and Auction!

Chapter 82: Industrial Zone 0 Bill! Enhance the Life Career Epic?

Chapter 83: Life-Skill Players with Wild Imaginations

Chapter 84: Crack Claw Crab! A Dangerous Species Appears

Chapter 85 The Correct Usage of Crow

Chapter 86: Steel Factory No. 81 and the 'Exclusive Mission

Chapter 87 The Debate on Balance

Chapter 88: Negotiating with a Tiger for Its Skin (Seeking Subscriptions)

Chapter 89: Boss, We Have a Great Advantage!

Chapter 90: Art is an Explosion!

Chapter 91: Blame Yourself for Having Too Long a Skill Animation

Chapter 92 No One is Better at Turning Things Upside Down than Players (Please Subscribe)

Chapter 93: The Mark of Blood

Chapter 94: Battle Report, Great Victory, and the Forefront of the New Version!

Chapter 95: Diary, Clues, and Origins

Chapter 96: The Second Underground Level of Shelter No. 404!

Chapter 97 Morphogenesis Field

Chapter 98 Alpha0.5 Version Update! A Brand New Player System!

Chapter 99: B2 Floor is Way Too Awesome!

Chapter 100: Players with High Enthusiasm for Exploration and the Commercial Team Facing the Snowstorm

Chapter 101 Are You Stuck in a Bug Here?

Chapter 102: A Wave of Newbies is Approaching!

Chapter 103: Hardworking Little Players Can Take Care of Themselves

Chapter 104: More NPCs and a Richer Interaction System

Chapter 105: Brother Ba Feels Uncomfortable Not Planting Something

Chapter 106: Devil Moth's Lair (Please Subscribe)

Chapter 107 - Although a Pest, Its Entire Body is a Treasure

Chapter 108: The Nomads from the Wilderness

Chapter 109: Resettling the Refugees

Chapter 110: Sir, I Want to Borrow Something from You

Chapter 111 Hummingbird! And the Auction Event!

Chapter 112: NPCs Coming to Set Up Stalls in the Players' Market?

Chapter 113: Bigger is Justice!

Chapter 114: Can Candy Be Used as a Reward?

Chapter 115 Version 0.6 Update!

Chapter 116: The First Bank in Wasteland OL Goes Live

Chapter 117: Hoping Our Neighbors Can Feed Those Jackals

Chapter 118: The Shelter beneath the Department Store Building

Chapter 119: Alpha 0.61 Version! Major Adjustments to Dungeon Gameplay!

Chapter 120: The Feeling of Overnight Wealth

Chapter 121: Four-Digit Rewards and Rights to Explore Relics

Chapter 122: Mission: Liberate Bet Street

Chapter 123: Punitive War

Chapter 124 Those People Will Never Come Back!

Chapter 125: A New Order!

Chapter 126: Triumph! And the Victory Celebration Banquet!

Chapter 127: The First Code of Bet Street!

Chapter 128 LV10! The Second Stage of the Sequence!

Chapter 129: This wave is not a loss!

Chapter 130: The Guard's Exclusive Weapon

Chapter 131: Encounter Battle on Street No.76!

Chapter 132: Wood Gasification and Steam Power!

Chapter 133: Training the Guard Squad!

Chapter 134: Distant Visitor

Chapter 135: Can That Be Called Labor Dispatch? That's Called a Time-Limited Event!

Chapter 136: Battlefield Reporter Xiao Qi and Director Chu

Chapter 137 alpha 0.7 version update! The second expansion pack goes live!

Chapter 138: The Eye-Popping Game PV!

Chapter 139: The Impressive Manager

Chapter 140: Salute to You, the Residents of Shelter No. 404

Chapter 141: Why Can't Our Kitchen Make Some Mortal World Food?

Chapter 142 Besides labor dispatch, we also provide additional 'value-added services

Chapter 143: The Answer is the Chef?!

Chapter 144 Who Exactly is Our Enemy?

Chapter 145: Martyr and Unexpected Casualties

Chapter 146: He's Our Good Partner, We Need to Pay More!

Chapter 147: Expansion Pack Update! Server Bug?

Chapter 148 Everything Is For Foreign Exchange

Chapter 149: Army!
Chapter 150: Bombardment and Casualties
Chapter 151 Task "Blood for Blood!
Chapter 152 They Deserve It!
Chapter 153 Survivors of Qingquan City
Chapter 154: Eternal Friends
Chapter 155: Running Out of NPCs

Chapter 156: The Messenger from Giant Stone City

Chapter 157: Is Spring Coming for the Intelligence System?

Chapter 158 Alpha0.8 Version Announcement! A Brand-New Base System and SLG Gameplay?

Chapter 159: Chief, We're Running Out of Money!

Chapter 160 This is Probably the World's Most Expensive AK

Chapter 161 The Name of This Gun is Sickle

Chapter 162: You've Struck it Rich!

Chapter 163 Heading Out to the Wilderness!

Chapter 164: Changjiu Farm and the Clue to Unlocking Level B3!

Chapter 165: The Carnival of the Non-Tribal and the Exalted

Chapter 166: It's only natural that the armor used by the Manager should be a bit more expensive.

Chapter 167 News from the North and the Second Wave of Refugees

Chapter 168 This Game Seems to Have Recruited a Planner from Company P

Chapter 169: The First Weapon Production Line in Shelter No. 404 Goes Live!

Chapter 170: The Doctor and the Bounty Hunter

Chapter 171: The Academy's Traitor

Chapter 172: Class D Personnel and Academy's Intelligence

Chapter 173: The Work of the Refugees

Chapter 174: The New Gathering Point and Steel Mill Relocation

Chapter 175 Principle, Method, Conclusion

Chapter 176: Thanks to the Gifts of Nature

Chapter 177: Academy Branches and Players' Tactics

Chapter 178 Your idea is good, I'll consider it for the next update.

Chapter 179: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

Chapter 180: Red Name! Bounty Task!

Chapter 181: The Black Snake Mercenary Group is Annihilated!

Chapter 182 Power Armor! And the Black Briefcase!

Chapter 183: Ark Plan

Chapter 184: The Players' First Awakening

Chapter 185: Indeed, the Exalted are More Hated

Chapter 186: The Easter Egg that Drives OCD to Death

Chapter 187 What Year Is It Now?

Chapter 188: The Officer and the Biologist

Chapter 189: Watch Closely, This Is How Players Should Be Used

Chapter 190 Alpha 0.9 Version! A Whole New Occupation System and Proficiency Level Gameplay!

Chapter 191: The Shelter's New Exit and the Tunnel Not Found on the Map

Chapter 192: Why Don't We Bring Out the 88 Cannon!

Chapter 193: Inconceivable Slime

Chapter 194: Another Batch of Fresh Leeks Has Arrived

Chapter 195: Targeted by Dog Plan!

Chapter 196: Captured by the Looter?

Chapter 197: Operation Broken Sword!

Chapter 198: Comprehensive Upgrade of Battle System

Chapter 199: Feint, Blitz, Support, and Server First Kill!

Chapter 200: It's Advised That You Move House

Chapter 201: It's A Miracle, My Lord

Chapter 202: Battle Settlement! Manager Authority of Shelter No.117

Chapter 203: Everyone is hungry during the winter, why does your family have so much grain?!

Chapter 204 Relocation Plan and Reinforcements

Chapter 205: The Fierce Battle at Winter Willow Camp!

Chapter 206 Brother Shui, where are we going to feed today?

Chapter 207: Incredible Creatures and Technological Qi Point

Chapter 208: They Are True Warriors!

Chapter 209: The Second Generation Money and Medal System

Chapter 210: The Sudden Blizzard

Chapter 211 Wartime Regulations!

Chapter 212: Price Increase? It's Just a Closed Beta, Get Used to It!

Chapter 213: Is Spring for the Intelligence System Coming Again?

Chapter 214 Fear of Insufficient Firepower

Chapter 215: They Will Become Your Eyes

Chapter 216: The New Awakeners and Preparations for War

Chapter 217: Ninth Floor of the Greenhouse Ruins! With the First Perception System and Intelligence System Awakener in the Entire Server!

Chapter 218: The Recoil is Strong! But Also Powerful!

Chapter 219: New Talent! And New Year's Event!

Chapter 220: Delicacies Battle!

Chapter 221 New Year

Chapter 222 This is Too Peaceful

Chapter 223: Raid! Mobilize!

Chapter 224: The Correct Use of Anti-Aircraft Cannons

Chapter 225 How Did It Get Invested?

Chapter 226 Funeral

Chapter 227: Although more money has been spent, it is a good thing.

Chapter 228: The Snake Comes Out of Its Hole!

Chapter 229: Spring Thunder

Chapter 230: The Fire Rain that Descends from the Sky

Chapter 231: Never Fought Such a Wealthy Battle (Thanks to the "Penguin in the Arctic" Sterling Silver League!)

Chapter 232: Annihilate! Capture! Spoils of War!

Chapter 233 Where on Earth Did All These People Come From?

Chapter 234: Fuel Engine

Chapter 235: Beast Tamer Gameplay! Has the Intelligence System been buffed again?

Chapter 236: Pet System Goes Live!

Chapter 237 People Can't, or at Least They Shouldn't

Chapter 238: The Method of Taming Variants and Spring Plowing Preparations!

Chapter 239 Alpha 1.0 Version Update! Epic Enhancement for Lifestyle Profession Gameplay!

Chapter 240: The Third Expansion Pack Goes Live! A Visit from an Old Friend

Chapter 241: We offer two win-win solutions; whichever you choose, you'll make a killing.

Chapter 242: Since it's a win-win, then of course everything is needed.

Chapter 243: Another Batch of Fresh Newbies Enters the Scene

Chapter 244 The Correct Use of Mouse People!

Chapter 245: The Graveyard of Civilizations

Chapter 246: Paying the Highest Respect to These Honorable People

Chapter 247: Brother Fang Chang's "Market Research

Chapter 248: The Fake Brother Guang, The Real Brother Bing

Chapter 249: The Embryo of the Business Association and News from Red River Town

Chapter 250: Planting a Corn Can Make a Worldwide Announcement?!

Chapter 251: No Trickery, No Merchant
Chapter 252: Talent Market
Chapter 253: This is a Good Omen!

Chapter 254: Qin Shi Huang touches an electric door, Wins Mahjong

Chapter 255: Expansion Pack Settlement! Trade and Foreign Reserves!

Chapter 256: Expedition to Red River Town!

Chapter 257: Encounter at the Fifth Ring Road

Chapter 258: Sniping, Rampage, Unknown Identity

Chapter 259: The Engineer from the Corporation

Chapter 260: Tide and Floor B4 Mission!

Chapter 261: The Hunter's Guild! Teng Teng's Artwork!

Chapter 262: Alpha 1.1 Version Update! And the New Respawn Point!

Chapter 263: The Prototype of the Lair and the Sample Retrieval

Chapter 264: Selling Gas Masks as the Version Answer?!

Chapter 265: The Business Sense of Mosquitoes and New Players Online!

Chapter 266: The Method to Deal with the Tide!

Chapter 267: Street No. 65 Blockade Battle!

Chapter 268: The Stitched Giant Beast and the Captured Armor

Chapter 269: Which Serious Players Remember the Official Names?

Chapter 270: Black Box, Reverse Engineering, and Unexpected Surprises (Thanks "Fan Shang" for the alliance master reward)

Chapter 271: Not Only Garbage Can Be Recycled, But Also Corpses

Chapter 272: The Person Who Brings Pillows is Here

Chapter 273 Everywhere is Full of Chips!

Chapter 274: Can Be Used as Both Food and Feed

Chapter 275: The Renowned "Death Legion

Chapter 276: Did You Move Out All Your Family's Wealth?

Chapter 277: The Howling Reaper!

Chapter 278: The Lair Falls!

Chapter 279: Second Awakening!

Chapter 280: The Trash Lord with Off-the-Charts Data Panel

Chapter 281: Do You Even Have to Pay for Game Screenshots?!

Chapter 282: The Path Ahead

Chapter 283: Floor B4 Unlocked!

Chapter 284: Tribute to the Ending Alpha Version!

Chapter 285 Beta 0.1 Version Update! New Merchant Gameplay and Legion System!

Chapter 286: You are already a mature little player, it's time to learn how to protect the Crystal Tower yourself.

Chapter 287: Those who are self-aware usually don't have bad luck, whether they are NPCs or players

Chapter 288: Fierce Battle in the Jungle

Chapter 289 "Awakening Serum"!

Chapter 290: The First Battle Between the Jungle Corps and the Burning Corps!

Chapter 291: You've Been Sentenced Too?

Chapter 292: Can Silver Coins Be Exchanged for Money Now?!

Chapter 293: Beta 0.2 Version! Trading Platform Goes Live!

Chapter 294 Players Outside the Game

Chapter 295: Human Nature Has Changed!

Chapter 296 White Bear Knights!

Chapter 297: Past, Present, Future

Chapter 298: Legion System Upgrade!

Chapter 299: Northern Expedition Plan

Chapter 300: If All Else Fails, Imagine Yourself as a Missile

Chapter 301 War Preparation

Chapter 302 This Clearly Isn't Human's Doing

Chapter 303: Who Needs a Knife to Harvest Leeks?

Chapter 304: Only When You're Full Can You Go to the Front Line

Chapter 305: Expansion Pack Launch! Target Western Province!

Chapter 306: The Blade Unsheathed! (Happy New Year!)

Chapter 307: Fire at The Coordinates of Lao Zi!

Chapter 308: Great Victory at Qingstone County!

Chapter 309: Cleaning the Battlefield and Ambush

Chapter 310: Achieving Fame through a Single Battle!

Chapter 311: Forging Strategic Depth Through Battle

Chapter 312 Of Course We Fly There!

Chapter 313 Although there's no transport plane, a glider will do too

Chapter 314: Warrior Action!

Chapter 315: The Sleepless Night of the Ya Clan

Chapter 316: Not Penetrating Enough? Make Up For It With Equivalent!

Chapter 317 The Flying Knife that Descends from the Sky

Chapter 318: This Game Company's Business is Too Extensive!

Chapter 319: Why Not Simply Cooperate More Thoroughly?

Chapter 320: An Unexpected Harvest!

Chapter 321: Parachuting into Management and the Maiden Flight of the H-1!

Chapter 322: It seems even the heavens are on our side!

Chapter 323: The Rainbow That Pierces Through the Clouds

Chapter 324: Never Retreat!

Chapter 325: Great Victory at Pine Forest Pass!

Chapter 326: The Mountain of Spoils of War

Chapter 327: Cheers to the Victory of the Alliance!

Chapter 328 Artillery Bombardment and Psychological Warfare

Chapter 329: Troops at the City Gates

Chapter 330: Decapitation Strike!

Chapter 331: Occupying Western Province!

Chapter 332: Even if it's twenty thousand pigs, it would take a while to catch them, right?

Chapter 333: The Fuel Rods Hidden in the Basement

Chapter 334: Infrastructure Maniac

Chapter 335: The Utopia Hidden in the Tunnel

Chapter 336: The Dog Plan Strikes Again to Harvest Leeks!

Chapter 337: The Unfathomable Ah Guang

Chapter 338: Even the Exalted Have Their Off Days

Chapter 339: Due to server network fluctuations, the silver coin trading platform is temporarily suspended for one day

Chapter 340: The Auction with Undercurrents!

Chapter 341: Is It Really a Game Made by Aliens?!

Chapter 342 Revolution

Chapter 343: Pai, with a Photographic Memory

Chapter 344: The Ground is Full of 'Evolutionary Bodies

Chapter 345: You Shall Be the Lord of the City of Dawn!

Chapter 346 Aviation Fuel is a Big Problem

Chapter 347: The Technology that Changed the World!

Chapter 348: Walk on Others' Paths, Leaving No Paths for Them

Chapter 349: The Undercurrents of Giant Stone City

Chapter 350: The Duel Between Awakeners!

Chapter 351 Studying Abroad?

Chapter 352: Why Don't You Lend Me Some Chips

Chapter 353: These Days, The Debtor is the Boss

Chapter 354: Darkness Within the Giant Wall

Chapter 355: Is There a Possibility That You Actually Used the Server's Computing Power for Free?

Chapter 356: You provide the technology, we provide the manpower, this is of course a win-win situation.

Chapter 357: Now I'm Really Socially Dead

Chapter 358: The Alliance Should Have Its Own Channels of Communication

Chapter 359 "Survivor's Daily

Chapter 360: This is a Precious Mission Prop

Chapter 361: The Daily Lives of Players and Messages from the Corporation

Chapter 362: Friends from Afar

Chapter 363: You guys are so generous!

Chapter 364: Affordability is One of the Advantages of Our Weapons

Chapter 365 Beta 0.3 Version Update!

Chapter 366 After all, it's something from Ideal City, expensive also has its reasons

Chapter 367: Invitation from Manager of Shelter 101

Chapter 368 "Method

Chapter 369: The Complexity of Humans Lies Herein

Chapter 370: Bloody Chips

Chapter 371 Power and Duty

Chapter 372: The Man Who Always Gets Drunk to Unconsciousness by You

Chapter 373 Actually, You Can Keep Your Opinion

Chapter 374: Army and Steel Heart!

Chapter 375: Dog Plan Is Up to Something New Again?

Chapter 376: Feint, Probe, and Shield!
Chapter 377: Murderous Intent in the Dark
Chapter 378: The War has Begun

Chapter 379: That Airship, It Must Be Quite Valuable, Right?

Chapter 380: The Weakness of the Iron Heart
Chapter 381 "Scorched Earth
Chapter 382: Codename Pangolin?
Chapter 383: The Root of Chaos
Chapter 384: Shelter No.79!

Chapter 385: Wait for Me to Rally People on the Forum

Chapter 386: Overwhelm with Numbers!
Chapter 387: Good Brother, Lend Me Your Head!
Chapter 388: Silence
Chapter 389 "Orbital Drift Bottle
Chapter 390 Ideal City
Chapter 391 Embrace Evolution
Chapter 392: Blood Battle in the Mist

Chapter 393: Inheritance of Authority (Second Update!)

Chapter 394: An SSSR Mount, Isn't It Reasonable to Sell by Weight?

Chapter 395 "Wolf Cavalry" Plan and "Pangolin" Hundred-Person Team!

Chapter 396: Twelve Black Boxes and the Messenger from the Desert

Chapter 397 Soaring Clouds!

Chapter 398: Luring the Snake Out of the Hole

Chapter 399: The Time Has Come to Test Mobilization Capability

Chapter 340: To the Front Line!

Chapter 341 Burn!

Chapter 402: Time to Counterattack!

Chapter 403: Glory After a Bloodbath

Chapter 404: The Finale of the Battle (Long Chapter)

Chapter 405: The Reward for the Warrior is Not Just Spoils of War, but Also Applause and Flowers

Chapter 406 Preview of the New Expansion Pack and Communication from the East Coast

Chapter 407: People Infected by Heroes

Chapter 408: Triumph! Among the Celebrating Players

Chapter 409: "Dividing the Spoils" and Rewarding Merits!

Chapter 410 Funeral and Distant Visitors

Chapter 411: The Corporation's Grand Gesture! (Thanks to the "NightChicK3n" Sterling Silver Alliance!)

Chapter 412: Solar Eclipse, This is an Opportunity for Us!

Chapter 413 Terrifying Infrastructure Capability

Chapter 414: Start Wool Pulling from OEM!

Chapter 415: The Rekindled Flame!

Chapter 416: Beta 0.4 Update Preview: "Oceanic Trade" System!

Chapter 417: Grandpa Said to Draw, But Never Said Randomly

Chapter 418: True Strength is Not Level, But a Brave Heart

Chapter 419 This New Map is Too Niubi!

Chapter 419: The following item to be auctioned is an artwork from Vine Cottage——

Chapter 421: What is it like to play a Virtual Reality Game inside a completely realistic Virtual Reality Game?

Chapter 422 Military Exercise

Chapter 423: We Do Not Export Commodities, But We Can Export Standards

Chapter 424: The Promise of Troop Deployment and Vassalage

Chapter 425: The Pangolin Achieves a Great Feat

Chapter 426: Can't Help But Praise, Ah Guang is Really in the Details!

Chapter 428: The Storm that Swept Through the Desert!

Chapter 429: Never Fought Such a Wealthy Battle Before!

Chapter 429: My Friend, Not Everyone in This World Is as Simple-Minded as You

Chapter 430: City of Abundance

Chapter 431: It is Said to Be the Place Where "The God of the Sky" Fell

Chapter 432: The Oasis Beneath the Mountains and the Truth Behind the Legend

Chapter 433 A Completely Realistic Game, You Can Even Play Games within the Game

Chapter 434: A Match of Wits with a Worthy Opponent

Chapter 435 Friendship
Chapter 436: Caliber is Justice!
Chapter 437 That is the Will of God
Chapter 438: Flames Burning on the Riverbank

Chapter 439: To Deal with a Charlatan, Naturally One Must Use an Even More Charlatan Method

Chapter 440: The Arrow is on the String
Chapter 441: The Moment of Counterattack!
Chapter 442: Codename "Falling Leaves"!
Chapter 443: The Collision of Iron and Blood
Chapter 444 Nowhere to Run

Chapter 445: The Light that Destroys Everything

Chapter 446 The Beginning Place
Chapter 447: Hundred Years of Solitude
Chapter 448 Eternal 'Love
Chapter 449 "Titan" Awakens!
Chapter 450 Nothing is Unbeatable

Chapter 451: Lion City Welcomes the King's Division

Chapter 452: Surprise on Floor B6

Chapter 453: The Uncontrollable Evolution

Chapter 454: Big Brother, Why Are You Wearing a Skirt After a Few Days?

Chapter 455: The Style of the SSSR Level Divine Pet Seems Off

Chapter 456: The Final Ultimatum

Chapter 457: I, Pangolin, will definitely not let you down!

Chapter 458: This person's head is given away without any acting

Chapter 459: Training Methods that Fit the Characteristics of the Alliance

Chapter 460: This Newbie's Got Something Special!

Chapter 461: The gas cylinder that descended from the sky was just like their past

Chapter 462: This Is Actually a Simulation Game

Chapter 463: These old players, each more inhuman than the last

Chapter 464: Lightning-Fast Offensive!

Chapter 465: Times Have Changed

Chapter 466: Really Treating a Brother Like One of Our Own!

Chapter 467: The Bloody Battle at No. 330 High Ground!

Chapter 468: Are You Looking for This?

Chapter 469 What kind of outrageous BUG is this?

Chapter 470 Eagle Soars Through the Sky

Chapter 471: Does This Game Really Have BUGs??

Chapter 472 Xiaoyu's Special Ability

Chapter 473 Clones are also people, so they can be used to win twice

Chapter 474: Rescue and Fall

Chapter 475: A Misfire

Chapter 476: Only the Acknowledged Are Captives

Chapter 477: Should we let Fang Chang come up with a sneaky plan?

Chapter 478: It's unfair to covet the gold coins in an old friend's pocket

Chapter 479: Let's Make a Deal

Chapter 480: Rebirth

Chapter 481: This is the "Punishment" for Selfish Desires (Second Update!)

Chapter 482 Where is the airplane? Where did such a big airplane go?

Chapter 483: Rather Than an Experiment, It's More Like a Grand Blueprint

Chapter 484: A Day in the Life of the Rear

Chapter 485: General Griffin Cornered

Chapter 486: Liberation of the Honey Badger Kingdom (Thanks to the Sterling Silver alliance reward from "Schrödinger X"!)

Chapter 487: The Unstoppable Skeleton Corps

Chapter 488: This is the Answer to the Ultimatum

Chapter 489: Extended the Fuselage and Wingspan, Removed the Engine

Chapter 490: The Alliance's Pilots Have Bodyguards?!

Chapter 491: This Hard-Earned Conclusion
Chapter 492: Dealing with Spoils of War
Chapter 493: The Airship from Triumph City!
Chapter 494: Just Enough for a Mahjong Table

Chapter 495: The "Reunion" After a Century and a Half

Chapter 496: Open Spears and Secret Arrows
Chapter 497: The Death of Griffin
Chapter 498: This is Our Victory!

Chapter 499: They Will All Fall to Us! (Second Update)

Chapter 500 "End of the 'Vast Desert' Expansion Pack

Chapter 501: Where Civilization First Collapsed

Chapter 502: The Flame-Shaped Crest

Chapter 503: How did you, a thick-browed Big Eyes, sneak in here?

Chapter 504: Survivors of the Pioneer

Chapter 505: The Gloom Buried Deep Underground

Chapter 506 Late Arrival
Chapter 507: Gui Xu, Returning to Zero
Chapter 508: The Eighth Person

Chapter 509: Feel honored, this was originally prepared for the Adjudicator.

Chapter 510: The Dispersing Storm
Chapter 511: The Unspoken Decision
Chapter 512: Open Strategy
Chapter 513: An Adventure Without Regrets

Chapter 514 Celebrating the Birth of a New Settlement

Chapter 515: Do I Still Have to Pay for Fixing the Water Pipe?

Chapter 516: That is the curse of my hometown, misfortune will entangle their oars

Chapter 517: Going Home

Chapter 518 Li Is One Step Closer to No Longer Being Human

Chapter 519 Evolution

Chapter 520: Devouring and Choosing

Chapter 521: Floor B6 "Biological Laboratory" Open!

Chapter 522: This time coming back from the front line, what I need to do can be summarized in one thing

Chapter 523: Being a Polite Bandit

Chapter 524: The City of Dawn of 'All Nations Coming to Court

Chapter 525: I Will Consider Taking a Few Days Off for Myself

Chapter 526: Victory Day Celebration!

Chapter 527: Filth is Spreading Silently

Chapter 528: We're in This Together!

Chapter 529: Three Days Holiday

Chapter 530 Dad, Lend Me Some Money!

Chapter 531 Beta 0.5 Version Update!

Chapter 532 Debt is a Knife

Chapter 533: Card Master Chu Guang

Chapter 534: Each with Their Own Merits of Madness

Chapter 535: The Lit Powder Keg (Thanks to the "Reincarnation Changes" Sterling Silver Alliance!)

Chapter 536: My Son Has Made It!

Chapter 537: The Last Straw That Breaks the Camel's Back

Chapter 538: Countless Possibilities in the Future

Chapter 539: Every Possibility, a Continuation of the Past

Chapter 540: Reckoning, it will eventually come

Chapter 541: Too Late, The Organism

Chapter 542: The End of Reincarnation is Nirvana

Chapter 543: The Collapse of the Building
Chapter 544: The Alliance's Fifth City
Chapter 545: The Path is Chosen by Oneself

Chapter 546: It is an intangible AI, while I am tangible.

Chapter 547 Strategic Space-Based Orbital Gun

Chapter 548: Nailing the Last Nail in the Coffin

Chapter 549: The "Ruined" Huge Rock Military Industry

Chapter 550: The Rats Under the Giant Wall's Shadow

Chapter 551 Kidnapping and Counter-Killing

Chapter 552: It Would Be Better for Us If You Were All Dead

Chapter 553: A Change in the Weather
Chapter 554: The Taste of Blood
Chapter 555 Another New Year
Chapter 556: The Plague Burns on the Torch
Chapter 557: Marching Southward
Chapter 558 "The Battle of Faith
Chapter 559 Twisted Life and Faith
Chapter 560 Slave Owner and Mutants
Chapter 561: Melee in the Dark
Chapter 562: Come Down!

Chapter 563: Because it's less than 20mm, it’s naturally a gun

Chapter 564 We're Here to Die!

Chapter 565: Blood and Fire Melee!

Chapter 566: Bloody Battle in the Jungle!

Chapter 567: Two Clues

Chapter 568: Running into Acquaintances in Such a Broken Place?

Chapter 569: The Honest Star River

Chapter 570: You Dare to Board the Plane Without Even Knowing My Name?

Chapter 571: The Suspected Awakening Mutant

Chapter 572: The Origin of Chaos

Chapter 573: We Never Shortchange Those Who Help Us

Chapter 574: Busted?
Chapter 575: The 'Speedrun' Method for Tasks
Chapter 576: Funds are Burning!
Chapter 577: The Gospel from Hell
Chapter 578: Plan 03
Chapter 579: The Torch Tribunal
Chapter 580: Escalation of Conflict
Chapter 581 "Into the Net
Chapter 582 This is a Necessary Sacrifice
Chapter 583: Great Strength Creates Miracles!
Chapter 584: Is He Actually an Old Ice Lolly?
Chapter 585: The Life of Eure
Chapter 586 This is Too Extreme
Chapter 587 Nobody Knows Where They Are Going
Chapter 588: The Virtual God

Chapter 589 I'm Not Human Anymore! (Thanks to the "World Hall" for the Sterling Silver League reward!!)

Chapter 590: Deprive It of the Soil to Survive

Chapter 591: The Fog Rolls In

Chapter 592: Let's Go to Hell Together!

Chapter 593: A stray dog, also worthy to be an opponent for the Manager?

Chapter 594: You Can Go to Heaven Yourself
Chapter 595: Broke the Record!
Chapter 596: The Descent of Heaven

Chapter 597: New Event Launches! Fire Extinguishing Plan!

Chapter 598: Alley Battle in Brocade River City!

Chapter 599: This Blame-Shifting is Too Shameless!

Chapter 600 Skeleton Corps Arrives!

Chapter 601: The Roar of the Chimera!

Chapter 602: A Battlefield Like a Meat Grinder

Chapter 603: The Old Site of Singular Point City

Chapter 604: Those Who Survived
Chapter 605: Biological Armor
Chapter 606: A Familiar Bait
Chapter 607: Blood Rain Blossoming in the Sky
Chapter 608: Get Up!

Chapter 609: The Battle of the Strongest Against the Strongest

Chapter 610: The Morning After a Long Night

Chapter 611: Dispelling All Gloom

Chapter 612: Surrender? Did I Declare War on Them?

Chapter 613: Rebirth of Singular Point City
Chapter 614: An Unexpected Gain
Chapter 615: You Won't Use It Anyway
Chapter 616: The Price of Getting Stronger
Chapter 617: Prosperity
Chapter 618 Informal Update

Chapter 619: If it's you, you can definitely make good use of this inheritance

Chapter 620: Shelter 100!

Chapter 621 "Tree" and "Tree Man

Chapter 622: Unfortunately, the People Who Didn't Get to See the New World

Chapter 623: The Past of Shelter 100

Chapter 624: Drawing a Full Stop to the Century-Old Grudge

Chapter 625: We are neither the best nor the worst

Chapter 626: This Bionic Person is Too Useful!

Chapter 627: This Bad Idea Might Actually Work

Chapter 628: The Tide Returns!

Chapter 629: The Unusual 'Fog

Chapter 630: Is This Enhancement for the Brain?

Chapter 631: Assimilated Fighter?

Chapter 632: Never Seen Such an Absurd Tactic

Chapter 633: The "Hell-level Difficulty" Stage That Has Existed Since the Server Started

Chapter 634: Him!

Chapter 635: Deep into Hell!

Chapter 636: The Collapse of Hell!

Chapter 637 Gaia

Chapter 638: Farewell, My Unmet Kindred

Chapter 639 "The Finale of 'Tide's Return

Chapter 640: The Pancake Five Light Years Away

Chapter 641 Beta 0.6 Version! Sub-entity Breeding System!

Chapter 642: You are already a mature planner, it's time to learn to pay yourself

Chapter 643: The Ruined Sub-Entities

Chapter 644 I Really Am the Manager!

Chapter 645: Self-Healing Materials!

Chapter 646 We Can Establish a Special Zone in the Wandering Swamp

Chapter 647: Misunderstanding By Some Mistake

Chapter 648: Let the Storm Come More Fiercely!

Chapter 649: You Underestimated Your Own Influence

Chapter 650: After all, as an old friend who has cooperated for a long time, I can't give less than what I would give to a stranger, right?

Chapter 651: The Rebel in the North

Chapter 652: This has nothing to do with being right or wrong, it's simply their choice.

Chapter 653: The Celebration of the Tide's End!

Chapter 654: History Turns a New Page

Chapter 655: This Time Even the Messenger from the Free State Has Come

Chapter 656: Free Gift?

Chapter 657: Players' First "Naval Battle" Since the Server Launch!

Chapter 658: This Is Destined to Be a Wait Without an Outcome

Chapter 659: Manager's Daily Routine

Chapter 660: Smart players not only draw their own cakes, but even take the initiative to bake them well.

Chapter 661: I, the Pangolin, am Back Again!

Chapter 662: Not Just the Messenger, But Trouble Too

Chapter 663: Bring it On, We Don't Need Charitable Peace

Chapter 664 Have We Met Somewhere Before?
Chapter 665: The Players' Port
Chapter 666: Crisis-ridden Rainforest

Chapter 667: Build More Settlements, Don’t Be Shy

Chapter 668: The Wholesome Return of the Bull and Horse

Chapter 669: That is a piece of "living" land!

Chapter 670: Why Does This Monster Keep Coming in Waves?

Chapter 671: The Vibrant Potato Harbor

Chapter 672: There Really Is Gold Everywhere Here!

Chapter 673: Brother Fang Chang's Grand Scheme

Chapter 674: Food Earned from Labor is Dignified

Chapter 675: Next Stop! Potato Harbor!

Chapter 676: Help me, considering we are all residents of the refuge!

Chapter 677: Ghost Shadows Beneath the Deep Sea

Chapter 678 "Art" is the Primary Productive Force

Chapter 679: A Familiar Dilemma
Chapter 680: He and His Kids
Chapter 681: The Fury of the Empire

Chapter 682: What does this have to do with us?

Chapter 683: From One Man Bar to Yiren Tavern

Chapter 684: The Truth of Sinking into the Seabed

Chapter 685: Fierce Battle Beneath the Deep Sea!

Chapter 686: Switching from a Small Boat to a Big Boat

Chapter 687: The Path Widens as We Go

Chapter 688: I am now a person of the Alliance, try to touch me and see what happens?

Chapter 689: Don't Splatter Blood on Me
Chapter 690 The Impending Storm
Chapter 691: The "Melee" By Some Mistake

Chapter 692: Grateful for the Ancestors' Gift?

Chapter 693: It is impolite not to reciprocate

Chapter 694 Do You Call This a Counterattack?!

Chapter 695: Landing, Control, Street Fighting!

Chapter 696: Capturing the Governor's Mansion!

Chapter 697: The Stormy Jinjaron Harbor

Chapter 698: Follow me! Go get your stuff!

Chapter 699: Respected Mister Manager, by the time you receive this report, the battle will have concluded.

Chapter 700: The Soil Breeding Chaos
Chapter 701 "Animal World" and "The Bible
Chapter 702: The Vacuum of Order

Chapter 703 Jinjaron Harbor Welcomes the Royal Teachers

Chapter 704: The Enemy Refuses to Surrender and Even Wants to Play Big

Chapter 705: The "Elite" That Collapses Upon Touch

Chapter 706: The Gray Wolf Who Doesn't Play by the Rules

Chapter 707: The Bottom Line for a Ceasefire is to Withdraw One Hundred Kilometers

Chapter 707: Not Bad, My Child Has Made Something of Himself

Chapter 709: The Fertile Saline-Alkali Soil
Chapter 710 No War at the Front Today
Chapter 711: Truly Fragrant!

Chapter 712: The Night That Decided the Fate of Jinjaron Harbor

Chapter 713: Riddled with Embargoes

Chapter 714: The Rising Sun from the Pier Illuminates the Harbor

Chapter 715: Only the Empire is Hurt in the World Achieved

Chapter 716 Completely Turn into the Shape of an Alliance

Chapter 717 Water!
Chapter 718 "Crab" and "Big Fish
Chapter 719: Outmaneuvered
Chapter 720: Plans Can't Keep Up with Changes
Chapter 721: The Disintegrating Federation

Chapter 722: Turns out I was the one who flipped the table

Chapter 723: The Vow from Two Hundred Years Ago

Chapter 724: The Contagious Flame
Chapter 725 Unity is Strength
Chapter 726 War Machine Starts!

Chapter 727: Bringing Death to the Alliance's Enemies

Chapter 728: Battle of Ten Peaks Mountain!

Chapter 729 Beta 0.7 Update! The Battle of Heaven Begins!

Chapter 730: Where are my people? They were just here!

Chapter 731: Since You're Here, Stay and Work

Chapter 732: The Alliance's Old Profession

Chapter 733: The "Laid-back" Empire and the "Rice Bucket" of Ideal City

Chapter 734: The Battle of Broken Blade Mountain!

Chapter 735: Infighting in the Corporation and the Army?

Chapter 736: Watch closely, I'm only demonstrating once!

Chapter 737: The Cave Filled with Flesh
Chapter 738: The Real Hero!
Chapter 739: A Phase Victory

Chapter 740: Beside that gentleman, I saw another possibility.

Chapter 741: Daily Life of the Allied Forces' Chief "Mascot

Chapter 742: Lord of the Plague!

Chapter 743 Alpha Protozoans

Chapter 744: The Last Trump Card

Chapter 745: The Fourth Stage of Heaven!

Chapter 746: The Decisive Battle That Determines the Fate of This Land!

Chapter 747: Sacrifice Offered for Faith

Chapter 748: The Fall of Blood Mountain!

Chapter 749: That Fist Comparable to a Railgun

Chapter 750: The Breakthrough Torn Open from the Northern Front

Chapter 751: LV61! The Seventh Stage of the Gene Sequence!

Chapter 752: The Current Situation of Potato Harbor and the Southern Line

Chapter 753: Chaos at Jinjaron Harbor

Chapter 754 I am the Tide!

Chapter 755: Use Tide Against Tide!

Chapter 756: Battle Lines Springing Up Everywhere

Chapter 757: The Frontline Situation is Great

Chapter 758: The New Wind Blowing Toward the Wasteland

Chapter 759: Area 721

Chapter 760: The Study Club in the Swamp and the Drastic Changes in the Southern Sea Area

Chapter 761: Fierce Battle on Shazhou Island!

Chapter 762: Turning Point in the Southern Front

Chapter 763: Baiyue Corporation Goes Public!

Chapter 764: Carnival!

Chapter 765: The Unexpected is the Norm of Life

Chapter 766: Hope Emerges from the Ground

Chapter 767: An Unexpected Letter

Chapter 768: To make the grass grow well, you must first set it on fire

Chapter 769: He Who Stays Near Vermilion Gets Stained Red, He Who Stays Near Ink Gets Stained Black

Chapter 770 All Taught by the Same Group of Instructors

Chapter 771: Progress of the Southern and Northern Fronts

Chapter 772: To Deceive Your Opponent, First Deceive Yourself

Chapter 773: Landing on North Island!

Chapter 774: The End of the Civil War

Chapter 775: A Single Stone Raises a Thousand Ripples

Chapter 776: Abundant Spoils of War!

Chapter 777: Destruction Comes Much Faster Than Construction

Chapter 778: Laxi Enters the City

Chapter 779: People's Joys and Sorrows Are Not Shared

Chapter 780: How about we borrow some too?

Chapter 781: Lend you? Don't even think about it!

Chapter 782: Blood Flows into a River

Chapter 783: Landing Exercise

Chapter 784: Duke Nihak Who Would Go Through Fire and Water for His Friends

Chapter 785: Landing on Death Coast!

Chapter 786: Slaughter on the Shoreline!

Chapter 787: Strange, How Did This Door Open By Itself?

Chapter 788: The Torch at the End of Its Rope

Chapter 789: Wild Punches Kill the Mad Old Man

Chapter 790 "No One Understands Ah Guang Better Than I Do

Chapter 791: Inside and Outside Coordination

Chapter 792: The so-called superior beings you speak of... are kind of weak, huh?

Chapter 793: Think on the Bright Side, At Least There's Still a Brain Left

Chapter 794: Total Annihilation!

Chapter 795: The Weilante People Who Want to Pick Peaches

Chapter 796: Picking up a Great Bargain!

Chapter 797 "Feasibility Demonstration of the Orbital-free Space Elevator

Chapter 798: Did They Really Dig It Out?!

Chapter 799: Hell is Always Similarly the Same

Chapter 800: The Fall of the Human Emperor

Chapter 801: Undercurrents Beneath the Victory

Chapter 802: Although the Lottery Didn't Get More Expensive, I Never Said the Drop Rate Would Stay the Same

Chapter 803: The Space Elevator Will Be Built Here

Chapter 804: Schemes from All Sides

Chapter 805: Turmoil Sparked by a Batch of Weapons

Chapter 806: Mammoth City Under the Morning Sun

Chapter 807: Isn't Eating Three Meals a Day a Reward?

Chapter 808: Good People Don't Last Long in Troubled Times

Chapter 809: Our Names Will Be Engraved on This Eternal Monument

Chapter 810: Ironclad Evidence

Chapter 811: Daily Life of the Alliance Foreign Affairs Department

Chapter 812: Always Staying Ahead of the Patch

Chapter 813: How Is This Enemy More Decent Than Our Own Brothers?

Chapter 814: Seeds of Hatred

Chapter 815: People Always Create Gods in Their Own Image

Chapter 816: Chain Reaction
Chapter 817: Beaten to the Punch?
Chapter 818: Mosquito Fanning the Flames
Chapter 819: Pawns of the Powerful
Chapter 820: Burning Sails
Chapter 821: The Fall of West Sail
Chapter 822: Reinforcements on the Way
Chapter 823: The End of Bloodshed

Chapter 824: Hell and Paradise Are Separated by Only a Few Thousand Kilometers

Chapter 825: The Alliance's Duty
Chapter 826: Punishment and Mediation
Chapter 827: At Death's Door

Chapter 828: That Stench of Death Is Already Seeping Out of the Coffin

Chapter 829: West Winds' "Last Emperor

Chapter 830: The Faithful Do Not Die So Easily

Chapter 831: We Are All the Price
Chapter 832: I'm Your Grandpa, the Pangolin!
Chapter 833: The Empire's Destruction
Chapter 834: Dongshi Imitates Xishi
Chapter 835: Drawn Swords and Taut Bows!
Chapter 836: Better to Side with the Alliance

Chapter 837: Sacrificing the Plum Tree to Save the Peach Tree

Chapter 838: The Gunshot That Shattered the Darkness

Chapter 839: The Alliance's "After-Sales Service

Chapter 840: Escape from Death
Chapter 841: The Family Has Arrived
Chapter 842: Haste Makes Waste
Chapter 843: The Flames of Ambition

Chapter 844: The Wrongfully Imprisoned Pangolin

Chapter 845: An Immense Strength Is Taking Shape!

Chapter 846: Lifting a Stone Only to Drop It on One's Own Foot

Chapter 847: The Loyal Die First
Chapter 848: Countdown to War
Chapter 849: The Unscrupulous Southern Legion
Chapter 850: The Bloodstained Crown
Chapter 851: Fireworks Blooming on the Ground
Chapter 852: The Mysterious Fleet

Chapter 853: Expansion Pack Update! "Southern Barbarians' Invasion"!

Chapter 854: The Western Legion Hoping to Make a Fortune Quietly

Chapter 855: The Beginning of Chaos
Chapter 856: Thundering Steel Gallop!
Chapter 857: Steel Burns!
Chapter 858: Hunt for the Stealth Hang
Chapter 859: Lidebuir Meat Grinder
Chapter 860: The Alliance's Iron Cavalry!
Chapter 861: The City Falls
Chapter 862: The True Prairie Fire
Chapter 863: Wolf, Serpent, and Dog
Chapter 864: People Are the Future
Chapter 865: This Is Who We Are
Chapter 866: Death Charge!
Chapter 867: A Surprise Assault

Chapter 868: Decisive Victory at Akale County!

Chapter 869: Iron Sky

Chapter 870: The Difference Between a Big Win and a Small Win

Chapter 871: Open Spears Are Easy to Dodge, Hidden Arrows Hard to Guard Against

Chapter 872: Vastly Different Fates
Chapter 873: An Evenly Matched Showdown
Chapter 874: Madness
Chapter 875: Biochemical Warfare
Chapter 876: At the Gates
Chapter 877: Fall!
Chapter 878: Counterattack!
Chapter 879: Collapse of the Heavenly Palace
Chapter 880: Demons Dance in Chaos
Chapter 881: War of Attrition
Chapter 882: Scars
Chapter 883: Not Every Player Is a Pro
Chapter 884: The Desert Army's First Battle
Chapter 885: Outwitting the Air
Chapter 886: Has the Serpent Finally Emerged?

Chapter 887: Quite a Few Big Fish in Evernight Harbor

Chapter 888: By Some Mistake, the Schemes Unfold

Chapter 889: Fighting Poison with Poison
Chapter 890: Bubble of Illusion
Chapter 891: Disillusionment
Chapter 892: Kidnapping
Chapter 893: The Veil Torn Away
Chapter 894: Bread or Faith
Chapter 895: The Downpour Buries Everything

Chapter 896: Combat Power of the Passerby Players

Chapter 897: The Big Fish of Evernight Harbor
Chapter 898: The Night Won't Be Too Long
Chapter 899: The Rising Spark
Chapter 900: The Foundation of Trust
Chapter 901: Places We Once Walked
Chapter 902: The Great Migration
Chapter 903: Weilante People from Afar
Chapter 904: Even Future Citizens
Chapter 905: The Ability to Self-Correct

Chapter 906: I Am Not Your Ten Thousand Leader

Chapter 907: Opportunity Always Favors the Prepared

Chapter 908: Let Us Meet the Manager!

Chapter 909: The Alliance Is Not a Wishing Machine

Chapter 910: The Aftermath of the Incident
Chapter 911: Seeking Renewal and Change
Chapter 912: Operation North Wind
Chapter 913: Sentimentality
Chapter 914: True and False Wise Men

Chapter 915: The Civil Official Group's Return of Favor

Chapter 916: The Southern Legion's "Qi Tactics

Chapter 917: The Root of Contradiction
Chapter 918: We're Here to Solve This Problem
Chapter 919: Who Is Ambushing Whom?
Chapter 920: Light Blooming on the Horizon

Chapter 921: The "Tsunami" Smashed on the Shore

Chapter 922: The Consequence of Repeated Probing

Chapter 923: We Will Fight Side by Side

Chapter 924: Crowds Gather at the Mustering Grounds

Chapter 925: Loyalty!
Chapter 926: The Day of Triumph Is the Dawn
Chapter 927: The Undercover Becomes the Boss
Chapter 928: Disintegration!
Chapter 929: Landing at Evernight Harbor!
Chapter 930: This NPC Is Too Real!
Chapter 931: Shocking the Four Corners
Chapter 932: Decisive Weapon
Chapter 933: The Madness of a Cornered Beast
Chapter 934: Shelter No. 3
Chapter 935: The Pangolin’s Counter-Strategy
Chapter 936: Operation Final Mission
Chapter 937: Qi Bested by No-Move
Chapter 938: Dawn for the Weilante People
Chapter 939: The First Brick to Fall

Chapter 940: A Unification Unseen in a Century!

Chapter 941: This Is His Harbor
Chapter 942: Until We Meet Again
Chapter 943: Capturing the Industrial Hub!
Chapter 944: Desolation
Chapter 945: The Weilante People's Spectacle

Chapter 946: Ideals Are Beautiful, Reality Is Harsh

Chapter 947: Let the Animals Run

Chapter 948: The Power of 1.5 Billion Silver Coins

Chapter 949: The Moment That Decides the Wasteland's Fate

Chapter 950: The Chief and the Manager
Chapter 951: The Past and the Present
Chapter 952: Kill Them All!
Chapter 953: Redemption!
Chapter 954: Light and Darkness
Chapter 955: The End of the Show
Chapter 956: Brothers at Odds Within the Wall
Chapter 957: Fulfillment
Chapter 958: Night of the Bayonets
Chapter 959: Hero
Chapter 960: Return
Chapter 961: The Season of Renewal
Chapter 962: The Enemy at the Gates

Chapter 963: The Southern Legion at the End of Its Rope

Chapter 964: Madness at the End of the Road
Chapter 965: Distortion!
Chapter 966: Ambitions Reduced to Ashes
Chapter 967: Uninvited Guest
Chapter 968: Probing Clash
Chapter 969: Postwar Order
Chapter 970: Celestial Beings
Chapter 971: Undercurrents in Deep Space
Chapter 972: Imparting Everything

Chapter 973: The Old Man Is Dropping Gold Coins!

Chapter 974: Victorious Harvest

Chapter 975: These Days, Even NPCs Compete with Players for Quests

Chapter 976: Hidden Quest in the Sewers?
Chapter 977: Capture
Chapter 978: Retribution
Chapter 979: The Final Crisis Descends Again?
Chapter 980: Reversal

Chapter 981: Waiting for Pigs, Hoping for Rabbits

Chapter 982: Handle

Chapter 983: Blade Piercing the Deep Space

Chapter 984: Vertical Casting Shaft Activated!

Chapter 985: Space Graveyard
Chapter 986: No.13 Shelter
Chapter 987: Sacrifice
Chapter 988: Intertwined
Chapter 989: Breakpoint
Chapter 990: "Ghost
Chapter 991: The Crossroads of Destiny
Chapter 992: Detour
Chapter 993: Deviation
Chapter 994: Superposition State
Chapter 995: The Maze's Exit
Chapter 996: Return
Chapter 997: Resonance
Chapter 998: Arriving as Promised
Chapter 999: Terminal Station
Chapter 1000: Interlude
Chapter 1001: A Long-Awaited Reunion
Chapter 1002: Landing
Chapter 1003: Greetings, Ancestor?
Chapter 1004: Descendants
Chapter 1005: Divergence
Chapter 1006: Clues
Chapter 1007: The Spokesperson
Chapter 1008: Tree of Yenshof
Chapter 1009: Abducted by "Aliens"?
Chapter 1010: Heart to Heart
Chapter 1011: I See You
Chapter 1012: Two Paths
Chapter 1013: The Heart Triumphs Over Matter
Chapter 1014: Spiral

Chapter 1015: The Story Carved on the Stone Tablet

Chapter 1016: Spiritual Energy Pathfinder
Chapter 1017: Breaking the Fourth Wall!
Chapter 1018: Homecoming
Chapter 1019: Five Light-Years in an Instant

Chapter 1020: He Took All the Glory for Himself

Chapter 1021: A Discovery That Shook the World!

Chapter 1022: The "Tower" That Connects to the Sky!

Chapter 1023: Got Shown Up!

Chapter 1024: Exchange Between Two Civilizations

Chapter 1025: The Ultimate Fate of the Universe Is Foodies

Chapter 1026: Too Full
Chapter 1027: The Sacred Tree's Sprout
Chapter 1028: Deal and Request
Chapter 1029: Jungle Conqueror
Chapter 1030: Rivers of Crapflow
Chapter 1031: Weightlessness
Chapter 1032: Flashback
Chapter 1033: Passing the Flame
Chapter 1034: An Unexpected Visitor
Chapter 1035: The Big Shot Who Came Knocking
Chapter 1036
Chapter 1037: From the Void
Chapter 1038: The Presence Carded in the Wall
Chapter 1039: Echoes on the Wall
Chapter 1040: Observer
Chapter 1041: The Void's Gift
Chapter 1042: Sword Hanging Overhead

Chapter 1043: Time to Settle This Once and for All

Chapter 1044: "Sky Thunder
Chapter 1045: Day of Judgment
Chapter 1046: The Purifying Light

Chapter 1047: Victory Belonging to All Survivors

Chapter 1048: Storming "Heaven
Chapter 1049: Paradise Falls
Chapter 1050: End of the Beta Test!
Chapter 1051: Vermin
Chapter 1052: Professor
Chapter 1053: Perfect Life Form
Chapter 1054: The Secrets Buried Underground
Chapter 1055: The End Is Also the Beginning
Chapter 1056: "Behind-the-Scenes Footage
Chapter 1057: A New Page in History

Chapter 1058: The Curtain of the Past Is the Prelude to the New Era

Chapter 1059: Shedding the Armor

Chapter 1060: Family

Chapter 1061: Some Roads Are Doomed to Death from the Start

Chapter 1062: Funeral and Wedding

Chapter 1063: The "Archvillain" Stuck in the Novice Village

Chapter 1064: Resettlement Plan
Chapter 1065: Just Do It
Chapter 1066: Toward Prosperity
Chapter 1067: Coming Clean

Chapter 1068: The Shocking Launch of Open Beta!

Chapter 1069: Hidden Merits and Reputation

Chapter 1070: Public Beta Life Starting from LV0!

Chapter 1071: "Online Meetup

Chapter 1072: Life Is an Adventure

Chapter 1073: Every Adventure Has an End (Finale)

Chapter 1074: Final Thoughts Upon Completion